[Super Neighborhood Alliance Meeting]
[00:00:19]
IS THE APRIL MEETING OF THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE.I'M THE CHAIR THIS YEAR OF THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE.
SECRETARY IS, UM, STACY FAIRCHILD AND SCOTT COBBLER IS, UH, COMMUNICATIONS.
UH, WE WANNA WELCOME EVERYONE HERE.
UH, AND THIS IS THE PART OF THE AGENDA WHERE WE DO INTRODUCTIONS.
UH, I'D LIKE TO ASK EVERYONE, UH, WHO'S LISTENING TO PLEASE STAY MUTED, UH, TO AVOID, UM, NOISES IN THE BACKGROUND, UNLESS YOU ARE, UM, ASKING A QUESTION OR ONE OF THE SPEAKERS.
AND WE WILL HAVE TIME DURING THIS MEETING FOR, UH, Q AND A.
SO, UM, UM, DON'T WORRY ABOUT THAT ASPECT OF IT.
UM, WE'RE GONNA TRY SOMETHING NEW THIS MONTH.
UH, WE'VE BEEN, UM, TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO MAKE SURE WE CAPTURE EVERYONE WHO IS ATTENDING THIS MEETING.
UM, AND SO WE'VE GONE THROUGH A ROLL CALL, WHICH CAN TAKE QUITE A WHILE, CALLING ONE BY ONE BY ONE ALL THE SUPER NEIGHBOR COUNCILS TO SEE WHO'S HERE.
SO, UM, MICROSOFT TEAMS HAS
SO WE ARE GOING TO TRY THIS MONTH TO NOT GO THROUGH THE ROLL CALL OF THE DIFFERENT SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS.
UH, BUT JUST TO DO THE BELT AND SUSPENDERS, I'D LIKE TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE IN THE MEETING CHAT IF YOU ARE ON A COMPUTER WHERE YOU CAN PUT A CHAT, GO AHEAD AND PUT YOUR NAME AND YOU KNOW, WHICH ORGANIZATION YOU'RE WITH, JUST TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ANOTHER WAY OF IDENTIFYING.
AND I ALSO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO LOOK AT THE MEETING MINUTES NEXT MONTH TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAPTURED EVERYBODY APPROPRIATELY.
SO, UM, THAT WILL ALLOW US TO GO TO THE SECOND PART OF THE INTRODUCTIONS WHERE WE ALLOW THE DIFFERENT ELECTED OFFICIALS AND THEN THE REPRESENTATIVES OF DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS TO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES AND HAVE UP TO ONE MINUTE TO GIVE JUST A SHORT ANNOUNCEMENT IF THEY NEED TO FROM THEIR ORGANIZATION.
UM, AND CINDY, CAN WE START WITH JORDAN, PLEASE? CERTAINLY.
SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF CA, COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN.
THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO, UM, MAKE MY INTRODUCTION THIS EVENING.
I AM JORDAN FRAZIER WITH COUNCILOR SALLY ALCORN'S OFFICE.
SHE IS THE CHAIR OF THE REGULATORY AND NEIGHBORHOOD AFFAIRS COUNCIL COMMITTEE, WHICH, UM, SUPER NEIGHBOR ALLIANCE FALLS UNDER.
AS MANY OF Y'ALL KNOW, WE'VE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH, WITH MANY OF YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AT THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL, AS WELL AS CITY STAFF, TO REALLY NARROW IN AND STRENGTHEN, UM, CHAPTER 30 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES AS IT RELATES TO NOISE AND SOUND LEVEL.
UM, TOMORROW WE WILL BE HAVING AN RNA MEETING AT 10:00 AM TO DISCUSS CHANGES IN WHICH Y'ALL ARE WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE, UM, VIRTUALLY IN PERSON AT CHAMBERS, JUST EVERYBODY TO, TO PLEASE MUTE BECAUSE WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF ECHO JORDAN SPEAK.
CAN EVERYBODY PLEASE MUTE? OKAY.
SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU, JORDAN, BUT I WANT EVERYBODY TO HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
NO, I, I WAS AFRAID DOUG SMITH WAS GONNA CUT ME OFF WITH TIME
UH, ANYWAY, TOMORROW RNA WILL, UM, BE OCCURRING AT 10 O'CLOCK TO TALK ABOUT THE, DISCUSS THE PROPOSED CHANGES THAT INCLUDE, UM, DOUBLING THE FINE FROM 1000 TO $2,000, REVISING THE REQUIREMENT THAT A PERMIT IS ISSUED TO THE ESTABLISHMENT INSTEAD OF AN INDIVIDUAL.
SO TO A BAR, AN NIGHT CLUB INSTEAD OF A BOUNCER OR A DJ, UM, REQUIRING A NEW PERMIT, UM, WHICH IS THE COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT PERMIT, WHICH WILL BE FOR BARS AND NIGHTCLUBS THAT ARE WITHIN 300 FEET OF, UM, A RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY PLAYING AMPLIFIED SOUND, WHICH CAN BE HEARD OUTDOORS AFTER THE PROPOSED HOURS.
SO THAT WOULD BE AFTER 10 OR 11.
UM, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE CODIFYING AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING PROCESS TO HELP TAKE MATTERS OUT OF THE MUNICIPAL COURTS, CRIMINAL CASE, CRIMINAL COURTS, SO THAT WE'LL HOPEFULLY, UM, SPEED UP THE PROCESS IN GETTING, UM, BAD ACTORS BACK IN LINE.
UM, AND WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE DOING SOME HOUSEKEEPING AND PROTESTS RELATED, UM, CHANGES, WHICH SHOULD BE PRETTY MINOR, JUST TO HELP CLEAR UP, UM, THE LANGUAGE AS FAR AS IT GOES WITH HPD AND THEIR ENFORCEMENT AND TO HELP THEM HELP THEM OUT ON THAT END.
BUT I'LL PUT ALL THAT INFORMATION ON THE CHAT AND HOW TO PARTICIPATE TOMORROW.
BUT I KNOW THIS IMPACTS A LOT OF THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOODS, SO I WANNA MAKE SURE YOU ARE AWARE.
UH, WELL, IT'S ALWAYS AWKWARD TO KNOW HOW TO GO THROUGH THE, UH, ELECTED AND REPRESENTATIVES, BUT, UH, WHY DON'T WE JUST GIVE IT A TRY OF LETTING PEOPLE
[00:05:01]
SPEAK UP ONE BY ONE, AND HOPEFULLY WE WON'T STEP OVER EACH EACH OTHER TOO MUCH.ANY OTHER REPRESENTATIVE ELECTED OFFICIALS HERE? UM, I CAN GO NEXT IF THAT'S OKAY.
GLAD YOU'RE ALL HERE THIS EVENING.
I'M WITH THE HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, AND WE WANTED TO GET THE MESSAGE OUT TO ALL OF THE CONSTITUENTS IN HOUSTON OF ABOUT THE, UM, OUR PSA THIS MONTH, WHICH IS, UH, CHILD ABUSE AWARENESS.
UM, I DO HAVE A PSA IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH, I WOULD PUT IN THE CHAT, BUT, UM, I'M GETTING SOME ECHO BACK, SOMEBODY.
AND SO, UM, I WILL GET THAT TO YOU GUYS, UM, EITHER IN THIS CHAT OR I WILL HAVE STACY SEND IT TO YOU.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE A VIDEO, UM, THAT WE WANNA PUT OUT ABOUT CHILD ABUSE AWARENESS AND CRIME.
VICTIM AWARENESS IS THE LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH, AND WE HAVE A GREAT VIDEO, UM, THAT I REALLY WANNA GIVE, MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL GET IT, IS, UH, REALLY GOOD ABOUT GIVE, SAYING HOW THE PROCESS IS IF YOU WERE A, A VICTIM OF A CRIME AND WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM THE DA'S OFFICE, FROM, FROM THE MOMENT YOU GET YOUR POLICE REPORT TO THE TIME THAT YOU GO TO COURT, UM, SO ON, ON ANY TYPE OF INCIDENT.
SO IT'S REALLY HELPFUL TO HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
UM, SO I'LL BE GETTING THAT TO YOU GUYS AS WELL.
UM, AND I WOULD PUT MY EMAIL IN THE CHAT, BUT I DON'T HAVE IT, BUT I'M GOING TO, UM, HAVE STACY PUT IT IN FOR ME,
UM, BUT IT'S CORTEZ, C-O-R-T-E, ZCO SHERI, S-H-E-R-I, AT D AO DOT HC TX.NET.
UM, AND SO, BUT WE WILL GET THAT TO YOU GUYS SO THAT YOU HAVE IT.
AND THE BIG THING RIGHT NOW THAT I NEED TO, UM, REACH OUT TO ALL SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERSHIP RIGHT NOW IS I NEED YOUR MEETING INFORMATION.
WE ARE GETTING A LOT OF CONFLICTING INFORMATION, OR MAYBE YOU GOT BAD EMAILS OR, UM, JUST PEOPLE THAT ARE MEETING BI BIMONTHLY.
UM, AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET THIS ALL CLEARED UP SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE AT EVERY MEETING.
IT'S IMPORTANT THAT EVEN IF WE'RE NOT ON YOUR AGENDA, THAT WE HAVE A TEAM MEMBER FROM OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN YOUR MEETING JUST TO HEAR CONCERNS AND ALSO TO, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR US, WE MAY NOT HAVE THE ANSWER RIGHT THERE ON THE SPOT, BUT WE'LL FIND SOMEBODY THAT CAN GET IT FOR YOU.
SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU GUYS ARE SENDING US THE INFORMATION, UH, ABOUT YOUR MEETING IF THERE'S ZOOM OR IN PERSON.
SO, UM, WE'RE GONNA GET MY EMAIL OUT THERE TO YOU GUYS AND, UH, MAKE SURE THAT YOU ADD ME TO YOUR EMAIL LIST, UM, WHEN YOU'RE SENDING OUT YOUR CONFIRMATIONS FOR YOUR, UM, YOUR MONTHLY MEETINGS OR WHATEVER THEY ARE.
UM, OKAY, SHERRY, YOUR TIME IS UP.
AND SHERRY, I'LL YOU PUT YOUR EMAIL INFORMATION IN THE CHAT.
UH, I'M WONDERING IF EVERYBODY WHO WANTS TO SPEAK, UH, AS A REPRESENTATIVE OR AN ELECTED OFFICIAL.
I THINK IF YOU RAISED YOUR HAND, I WILL SEE THAT UNDER PEOPLE, AND THEN WE CAN JUST GO DOWN THE LIST.
UH, WE WANNA TRY DOING THAT, SO I CAN JUST CALL PEOPLE SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO.
UM, LET'S SEE IF THAT ACTUALLY WORKS.
HAS ANYBODY RAISED THEIR HAND YET? OKAY.
AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH, UH, DANIELLE KEYS, BESS, UM, WHO ARE YOU REPRESENTING? WELL, I'M NOT AN ELECTED OFFICIAL.
I'M DANIELLE KEYS BESS, AND I'M CANDIDATE FOR A STATE REPRESENTATIVE IN HOUSE DISTRICT 1 47.
SO GLAD TO JOIN YOU ALL AGAIN ON THIS MONTH.
I BELIEVE IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW NOT WHAT'S ONLY HAPPENING IN THE DISTRICT SUPER NEIGHBORHOODS, BUT SUPER NEIGHBORHOODS ACROSS THE CITY AND COUNTY.
UM, THE WORK THAT YOU DO HERE IS VERY IMPORTANT.
I WILL BE PUTTING IN THE CHAT SOME CONTACT INFORMATION FOR MY CAMPAIGN.
UM, SHOULD YOU ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT MY CAMPAIGN MYSELF OR JUST TO INFORM ME OF OTHER ISSUES? AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME TONIGHT.
ACTUALLY, I DON'T THINK NORMALLY THAT CANDIDATES SPEAK AT THIS POINT, STACY OR RHONDA, CAN YOU HELP ME WITH THIS? UM, THAT THAT'S CORRECT.
UM, YEAH, TYPICALLY AT THE BEGINNING, I, I WAS NOT CLEAR, SO THAT'S ABSOLUTELY FINE.
BUT LET ME BE CLEAR FOR THE OTHERS.
SO, UM, UH, IF YOU CAN, UH, IF YOU'RE AN ELECTED OR REPRESENTING A DEPARTMENT, AND CERTAINLY IF YOU'RE, UH, A CANDIDATE, PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME AND YOUR INFORMATION IN THE CHAT SO PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF WHAT YOU ARE.
AND THANK YOU ALL PEOPLE WHO ARE RUNNING FOR OFFICE FOR ATTENDING OUR MEETING, SO YOU CAN HEAR ABOUT WHAT THE CONCERNS ARE.
AND I APOLOGIZE FOR BEING A LITTLE UNCLEAR.
LET'S SEE, UH, SINA LANNICK, UM, CAN YOU UNMUTE YOURSELF AND SPEAK?
[00:10:01]
OKAY.SHE LOWERED HER HAND, UH, DEEDEE CHAVIS.
NO, IT'S GOOD TO SEE EVERYONE.
I'M SORRY I DID THE WRONG THING, BUT I WILL WAIT, CINDY, BECAUSE I AM SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF A CANDIDATE, SO I'LL WAIT TILL THE NEXT ROUND, IF THAT'S OKAY.
UH, DEI CHAVIS, DO YOU HAVE ANY, UM, FROM DISTRICT K? GOOD EVENING EVERYONE, AND THANK YOU.
UM, MADAM PRESIDENT, I'M DEI CHAVIS, CHIEF OF STAFF FOR VICE MAYOR PRO, TIM MARTHA GASEX TATUM, WHO'S ALSO COUNCIL MEMBER FOR DISTRICT K.
I WILL INCLUDE OUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE CHAT SO THAT THOSE WHO ARE NOT SUBSCRIBED TO THE DISTRICT K NEWSLETTER CAN DO SO AND RECEIVE IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
AND JUST WANTED TO, UM, ANNOUNCE THAT THE SOUTHWEST LIV LIVABLE CENTER STUDY WILL HAVE A COMMUNITY DAY ON APRIL 30TH AT TOWN WOOD PARK, BEGINNING AT 11:00 AM AND THIS IS TO ANOTHER PUBLIC MEETING FOR THE PUBLIC TO GATHER INFORMATION AND, AND FEEDBACK ON THE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE STUDY, AS WELL AS JUST TO GATHER AND, UM, HAVE FUN AND PARTICIPATE ALSO IN A SCAVENGER HUNT.
I'LL INCLUDE THE LINK TO THE SOUTHWEST CENTER'S SOUTHWEST LIVABLE CENTER STUDY IN THE CHAT, UM, FOR MORE INFORMATION AND ALSO TALK, UM, ON THAT SAME DAY.
THERE IS A GSMA DEVELOPMENT, UM, INFORMATIONAL MEETING THAT WILL BE MEETING AT THE WESTBURY HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM ON THE SAME DAY, APRIL 30TH, BEGINNING AT 10:00 AM AND AGAIN, PLEASE SIGN UP FOR OUR DISTRICT K NEWSLETTER TO GET MORE INFORMATION AND DETAILS.
I'M HERE WITH COMMISSIONER ADRIAN GARCIA'S OFFICE.
UM, BASICALLY TODAY WE JUST HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR NEW HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
WE HAVE A NEW EMPOWERING LAB WHERE PEOPLE CAN COME AND DO, UM, HAVE A GOOD HELP WITH THE RESUME, WRITING AN APPLICATION AND VIRTUAL INTERVIEWS.
I'M GONNA PUT MY INFORMATION IN THE CHAT IF, IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT.
UH, DO WE HAVE, UM, CINDY, I'M SORRY.
IF I CAN MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE IS PINNING THEMSELVES ON THE CHAT.
WE NEED TO MAKE ROOM FOR ALL OF OUR BOARD AND EVERYONE ELSE, SO MAKE SURE YOU'RE NOT PINNING YOURSELF ON THE CHAT TO WHERE YOU'RE PERMANENTLY UP THERE.
LET'S SEE, UH, IS THIS, UH, COUNCILWOMAN PLUMMER ON THE, ON THE LIST OR SOMEONE FROM HER OFFICE? YES.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE ANY COMMENTS? YEAH, YEAH.
IT'S ALWAYS GREAT TO SEE EVERYONE.
UH, I PUT MY INFORMATION IN THE CHAT IF ANYONE HAS ANY CONCERNS.
UM, YOU'RE AT LARGE FOR A MEMBER, AND SO I CAN ASSIST PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY AND SUPPORT MY DISTRICT MEMBERS.
SO IF YOU NEED ANYTHING SPECIFICALLY, PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO REACH OUT.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY.
ALSO, WE HAVE, UH, KENT K INGERMAN.
KENT K ERMAN HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT FOR COMMISSIONER JACK GEL'S OFFICE.
I WORK FOR COMMISSIONER GEL'S COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE DEPARTMENT, AND WE HANDLE ALL THE REQUESTS THAT COME INTO PRECINCT FOR, FOR ROAD BRIDGE MAINTENANCE IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS.
WE ALSO DEVELOPMENT, MAINTAIN THE PARKS AND THE COMMUNITY CENTERS.
MANY OF THEM ARE WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS.
AND IF YOU NEED TO GET AHOLD OF SOMEONE AT THE COUNTY, AND YOU'RE NOT SURE IF YOU NEED TO CALL, UH, POLLUTION CONTROL OR FLOOD CONTROL, OR ANIMAL CONTROL, OR ANY OF THE 40 SOME AGENCIES AROUND THE COUNTY, UH, COMMISSIONER KEGEL HAS COMMISSIONED MY DEPARTMENT TO BE A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR YOUR COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
SO MY, UH, PHONE NUMBER, EMAIL ADDRESS IS IN THE CHAT.
AND WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO REACH OUT TO US IF WE CAN BE OF ANY ASSISTANCE.
UH, AGAIN, KENMAN HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT FOR COMMISSIONER JACK GEL'S OFFICE.
I WAS TRYING TO TURN MY CAMERA ON, I'M SURE IT'S ON.
BUT, UM, THIS IS LAWRENCE BELWOOD HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT THREE COMMISSIONER TOM RAMSEY'S OFFICE.
UM, THEY DON'T HA I DO NOT HAVE A REPORT, BUT THE COMMISSIONER IS ACTIVELY, UH, LISTENING, LEARNING AND PROVIDING POSITIVE CONSEQUENCE, WELL, POSITIVE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE PEOPLE OF PRECINCT THREE, WELL, THE CONSTITUENTS OF PRECINCT THREE.
UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL LEAVE MY INFORMATION
[00:15:01]
IN THE CHAT AND, UH, FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME OR ROGER BRIDGEWATER FOR, UH, ANY HELP.I'M TRYING TO LOOK QUICKLY THROUGH THE LIST.
I THINK THIS MAY BE EVERYONE EXCEPT FOR OUR GUEST SPEAKER.
DOES ANYBODY ELSE, DID I MISS ANYBODY THAT, UH, WANTED TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF A DEPARTMENT OR AN ELECTED OFFICIAL? OKAY.
WELL, I WANNA THANK ALL OF YOU FOR, UH, SPEAKING AND LETTING US KNOW YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION.
UH, IT'S NOW FOR THIS PRESIDENT.
I WANTED TO CIRCLE BACK ON BEHALF OF LESLIE JUDGE LESLIE BRIS.
WE ARE, WE ARE NOT, UH, IF YOU, IF YOU'RE REPRESENTING A CANDIDATE, PLEASE PUT YOUR CANDIDATE INFORMATION IN THE CHAT, OKAY? OKAY.
AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL, UM, UH, IF WE HAVE SOME TIME LATER, IF PEOPLE WANT DURING THE DISCUSSION TO MAKE SOME COMMENTS, PLEASE DO THAT.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING.
IT'S NOW TIME FOR OUR FEATURED SPEAKER, AND THE INTRODUCTION WILL BE DONE BY, UH, ONE OF OUR REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, DOUG SMITH.
DOUG, GOOD EVENING, EVERYBODY.
UH, AS WE DO EVERY YEAR RIGHT BEFORE THE BUDGET SEASON STARTS, WE INVITE OUR CITY CONTROLLER TO COME IN AND UPDATE US ON THE PROCESS AND THE GOOD THINGS THAT HE SEES GOING ON AND THE PROBLEMS THAT HE SEES GOING ON.
CHRIS HAS BEEN THE CONTROLLER FOR, I THINK, SIX YEARS NOW, AND BEFORE THAT, FOR MANY YEARS, HE WAS THE, I GUESS, DEPUTY CONTROLLER.
SO HE'S VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE OFFICE, AND, UH, WE ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, HAVING HIM HERE.
AND, UH, HOPEFULLY HE WILL ALSO ALLOW SOME TIME FOR QUESTIONS, UH, NEAR THE END OF THE MEETING.
AND, UH, IT'S GREAT TO BE BACK WITH YOU ALL, ALBEIT VIRTUAL.
UM, PROBABLY SINCE THE LAST TIME I'VE TALKED, A LOT HAS CHANGED.
SO WE'RE, UH, EXCITED ABOUT GIVING YOU, UH, HOPEFULLY A QUICK UPDATE TONIGHT.
I KNOW WE DO HAVE A POWERPOINT SLIDE DECK.
I THINK THEY WERE GONNA TRY AND, UH, LOAD THAT UP.
SO HOPEFULLY SOMEONE WILL, UH, PUT THAT UP AND WE CAN GO THROUGH AND, UH, KIND OF TALK THROUGH SOME OF THESE ITEMS THAT WE HAVE, UH, ON TOPIC FOR YOU TONIGHT.
SO YEAH, WE'RE GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BUDGET AND, UH, GIVE YOU KIND OF A RECAP.
OBVIOUSLY, WITH COVID, THINGS HAVE CHANGED A LOT, AND, UH, WE'VE DEFINITELY TURNED THE CORNER, WHICH IS GOOD.
WE'RE SEEING A PRETTY ROBUST INCREASE IN THE, UH, UH, REVENUES THAT WE'RE GETTING, UH, FOR RIGHT NOW.
BUT, UH, GO AHEAD AND ADVANCE THE SLIDE.
YOU ALL KNOW, UH, I'M THE CITY CONTROLLER.
UH, WAS, UH, I FORMALLY THE DEPUTY CITY CONTROLLER AND, UM, HUSBAND WITH, UH, TWO KIDS, NOW SEVEN AND FOUR, UH, ELECTED IN 2015 AND REELECTED IN 2019.
SO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, OBVIOUSLY, UH, THE CFO AND ALSO TAXPAYER WATCHDOG.
WE HAVE ABOUT 60 EMPLOYEES, UH, IN THE OFFICE, UH, SIX FLOORS ON CITY HALL.
AND, UH, WE PROCESS PAYMENTS, CONDUCT INTERNAL AUDITS.
WE MANAGE THE $5 BILLION INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO.
UH, WE CONDUCT THE SALE OF THE CITY BONDS.
THEY'RE USED TO FINANCE ALL THE CAPITAL PROJECTS.
AND THEN WE ALSO DO, UH, THE ANNUAL AUDIT.
SO, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE HOUSTON ECONOMY.
AS YOU ALL KNOW, UH, IT'S VERY ROBUST.
UM, IF WE WERE A COUNTY, I'M SORRY, IF WE WERE A COUNTRY, WE WOULD RANK AS THE 27TH LARGEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD.
SO, UM, AND THAT WOULD BE BEHIND BELGIUM AND AHEAD OF NIGERIA.
SO WE'RE, UH, EVEN FROM A CITY IN THE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE A VERY LARGE, UH, FINANCIAL PLAYER.
UM, WE'RE STILL, ABOUT 42% OF OUR ECONOMY IS TIED TO ENERGY.
BUT AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN HISTORY, WE SEEM TO, UH, CONTINUE TO DIVERSIFY AWAY FROM THAT NEXT SLIDE.
SO, WHEN YOU LOOK AT OIL, WHICH IS THAT LARGE PERCENTAGE OF OUR ECONOMY, UH, IT'S BEEN PRETTY VOLATILE.
THE PRICES WE SAW IN 2020, UH, WHEN COVID HIT, OIL REACHED, UH, NEGATIVE $37 A BARREL, WHICH IS PRETTY CRAZY.
AND, UH, AS I MENTIONED THIS REVERSAL, WE'VE NOW SEEN, UH, ENERGY THAT IT'S, UH, PRICE OF OIL, UH, WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE THAT'S GONE OVER A HUNDRED DOLLARS A BARREL.
IT CAME OFF A LITTLE BIT TODAY, BUT WE'RE STILL CLOSE TO, UH, $100.
SO THAT'S HAVING A VERY POSITIVE IMPACT ON OUR SALES TAX REVENUE, AND OTHER REVENUES.
[00:20:03]
SO, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY HAVE TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THESE OTHER THINGS OTHER THAN ENERGY.AND ONE THAT, UH, I WAS RECENTLY AT THE OPENING OF THE TMC THREE, AND, UH, IT'S JUST AMAZING WHAT WE HAVE AT THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S 8 MILLION PATIENTS VISIT THIS, UH, SMALL CITY AS I LIKE TO CALL IT.
UM, AND WE HAVE, UH, ABOUT 50 MILLION DEVELOPED SQUARE FEET THERE.
AND THIS NEW TMC THREE, UH, RESEARCH FACILITY, UH, THAT'S GONNA BE AN ADDED, ADDED BENEFIT, UH, TO THE WHOLE SYSTEM.
AND, UH, AGAIN, I HAVE TWO CHILDREN, SO THEY DELIVER ABOUT 25,000 BABIES THERE EVERY YEAR.
SO THAT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, THE POPULATION OF SMALL CITIES IN TEXAS, UH, AND DELIVERIES AND, UH, HAVE ABOUT A HUNDRED, 6,000 EMPLOYEES.
SO WE ALSO HAVE TO LOOK AT REAL ESTATE.
I MEAN, IT'S BEEN PRETTY CRAZY BECAUSE IN THE LAST, UH, RECESSION, OH 8, 0 9, UH, RECESSION, UM, THE GREAT RECESSION, AS THEY CALL IT, YOU KNOW, REAL ESTATE REALLY WAS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE DOWNTURN.
WELL, UH, IN COVID, REAL ESTATE HAS DONE EXTREMELY WELL, PARTICULARLY RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE.
UM, SO WE'VE SEEN A RECORD NUMBER OF HOMES SOLD.
THE AVERAGE PRICE IS CONTINUING TO GO UP.
UH, AND THIS IS MOSTLY ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE.
UM, WE DO SEE SOME, YOU KNOW, SLUGGISH ACTIVITY IN THE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE.
UM, BUT WE HOPE AS COVID CONTINUES TO DECLINE, UH, THAT THE COMMERCIAL AND OFFICE COME BACK.
UM, BUT AGAIN, IT'S BEEN REALLY A UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH OVER THE LAST, UH, 18 TO 24 MONTHS IN THE REAL ESTATE SECTOR.
SO THAT'S REALLY BEEN HELPING TO BUOY THE ECONOMY IN HOUSTON.
SO, SOME OF THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES, UM, YOU KNOW, GROWING POPULATION, BUT THE GROWTH IS SLOWING.
WE'VE GOT A RISING COST OF LIVING.
UH, WE'VE GOT A TIGHT SUPPLY OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AS PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE, UM, WE CONTINUE TO HAVE A NEED FOR ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION.
AGAIN, STILL 42% OR ROUGHLY AS, UH, OF OUR ECONOMY IS TIED TO OIL.
SO WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO DIVERSIFY AWAY FROM THAT.
AND WE HAVE CRISIS, BOTH, UH, EXPECTED AND UNEXPECTED.
UNEXPECTED WAS, UH, COVID AND, UH, YOU KNOW, HURRICANE HARVEY, UH, EXPECTED.
WE CAN TALK ABOUT, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE AS WE GO ON.
THE POPULATION GROWTH HAS CONTINUED TO BE KIND OF, UH, METEORIC.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SEEN FROM 1950, ABOUT 600,000 PEOPLE, UH, THEN THEY INVENTED AIR CONDITIONING AND THE POPULATION EXPLODED.
AND TODAY WE'RE SITTING AT ABOUT 2.3.
I THINK THAT NUMBER'S ACTUALLY PROBABLY A LITTLE OUTDATED.
I THINK WE'RE CLOSER TO 2.4 MILLION NOW.
UM, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO SEE PEOPLE, UH, BECAUSE OF ALL THE THINGS THAT HOUSTON HAS, BENEFITS THAT WE HAVE, LOW COST OF LIVING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
MORE AND MORE POPULATION THAT GRAVITATES TOWARDS HOUSTON.
SO THE RISING COST OF LIVING, UH, RELATIVE TO OTHER CITIES, UH, IS ACTUALLY QUITE GOOD.
UM, WE'VE ALWAYS HAD THIS VERY LOW COST.
UH, WHEN YOU COMPARE US TO CITIES LIKE SAN FRANCISCO OR WASHINGTON, DC, UM, YOU KNOW, HOUSTON, UH, EVEN WITH INCREASING PRICES AND ENERGY, WE STILL HAVE A, A VERY LOW, UH, OVERALL, UH, INCREASE IN COST OF LIVING.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO BE A COMPETITIVE PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO WANNA WORK AND LIVE.
SO IN TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, UH, FY 23 BUDGET.
SO THAT WILL, UM, KICK OFF IN THE NEXT MONTH.
UH, WE'RE STARTING THE INITIAL, UH, LOOK AT HOW THAT WORKS.
AND JUST SO EVERYONE'S FAMILIAR WITH THE PROCESS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ACTUALLY DON'T VOTE ON THE BUDGET.
UM, THE MAYOR PROPOSES THE BUDGET.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S A SERIES OF BUDGET HEARINGS, UH, WHICH THEN COUNCIL ULTIMATELY VOTES TO ADOPT THE BUDGET.
UH, WITH OUR INPUT, OBVIOUSLY, WE, UH, CHIME IN ON DIFFERENT, UH, ASPECTS OF THE BUDGET.
AND ULTIMATELY, ONCE THE BUDGET IS, UH, PASSED WITH THE AMENDMENTS, UH, AND APPROVED, THEN WE, UH, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE SPEND ONLY WHAT WAS SET FORTH WITHIN THAT BUDGET.
SO WE'RE KIND OF THE CHECK AND BALANCE CHECKS AND BALANCES, IF YOU WILL.
SO, THE REAL CHALLENGE IS WE ALWAYS HAVE TO HAVE A BALANCED BUDGET, BUT THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A MISNOMER IN THAT BALANCED BUDGET, BECAUSE I SAY, IS IT STRUCTURALLY BALANCED? AND WHAT THAT REALLY MEANS IS, ARE WE MATCHING OUR REVENUES TO OUR EXPENSES? OR ARE WE SPENDING MORE MONEY THAN WE TAKEN IN REVENUE? AND UNFORTUNATELY, THE ANSWER, UH, TO THAT QUESTION IS, IS, YES, WE ACTUALLY SPEND EVERY YEAR MORE MONEY THAN WE TAKEN IN REVENUE.
UM, AND PEOPLE MAY SAY, HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? WELL, WE DON'T PRINT MONEY, BUT WHAT WE ARE ABLE TO DO IS WE SELL ASSETS, OR WE GET ONE TIME FINANCING SOURCES IN THE FORM OF TRANSFERS FROM OTHER FUNDS.
OR IF WE HAVE MONEY THAT, UH, WAS IN EXCESS OF A PARTICULAR AREA, WE CAN USE THAT TO HELP SHORE UP THE BUDGET FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
UM, BUT IT'S NOT REALLY A, UM, SUSTAINABLE,
[00:25:01]
UM, OPERATION.IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DO.
SO I'VE BEEN ADVOCATING TO TRY AND GET, UH, THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL EVERYONE TO PASS A STRUCTURALLY BALANCED BUDGET, WHICH WOULD JUST AGAIN, MEAN THAT WE WOULD ONLY SPEND WHAT WE GET IN RECURRING REVENUE EVERY YEAR.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE, THERE ARE THESE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE.
UM, WE'VE HAD THIS, UH, IMBALANCED STRUCTURALLY IMBALANCED BUDGET WHERE WE'VE BEEN SPENDING MORE MONEY THAN, UH, WE TAKE IN, IN RECURRING REVENUE EVERY YEAR.
UM, WE'RE SEEING THE RISING COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE GROWING POPULATION, UH, AND INCREASED SERVICE DEMAND.
AND THEN WE'VE BEEN OPERATING UNDER A PROPERTY TAX REVENUE CAP THAT LIMITS THE AMOUNT OF REVENUE THAT WE CAN TAKE FROM OUR LARGEST, UH, SOURCE OF REVENUE, WHICH IS PROPERTY TAXES.
UH, SO THOSE THREE THINGS SET UP KIND OF A, A DIFFICULT, UH, LONG-TERM FINANCIAL OUTLOOK.
SO, IF YOU LOOK AT, UH, TAX REVENUE, WHICH IS THE LARGEST SOURCE, UH, WELL, I'M SORRY, PROPERTY TAX IS THE LARGEST SOURCE.
AND THEN SALES TAX, UH, VERY CLOSE, UH, SECOND.
UM, THOSE ARE OUR TWO BIGGEST.
UM, AND WE SAW A REALLY BIG HIT TO THAT.
UH, WHEN COVID HIT, UM, IN MAY OF 2020 FROM MARCH TO MAY OF 2020, WE SAW A DROP OF OVER A 17%, $20 MILLION IN SALES TAX REVENUE.
UM, WE ALSO SAW, UH, PROPERTY VALUES.
UH, EVEN WITH THE ROBUST RESIDENTIAL, WE SAW SOME COMMERCIAL, WHICH IS ABOUT HALF OF THAT TOTAL VALUATION, UH, THAT DROP ALONG WITH THE DROP IN, UH, SALES TAX REVENUE.
SO, LUCKILY, UH, WE SAW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COME FORTH AND PRODUCE A, A SERIES OF DIFFERENT BILLS THAT GENERATED, UH, SUPPORT FOR CITIES, UH, IN THE FORM OF FEDERAL FUNDING WITH, UH, FIRST BEING CARES, AND THEN THE SECOND, UH, BEING ARPA.
NOW FINALLY, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE BILLS.
BUT, UH, FORTUNATELY THE CITY OF HOUSTON RECEIVED ABOUT A BILLION DOLLARS IN FEDERAL STIMULUS.
SO THAT REALLY HELPED TO PROP UP THE BUDGET WHERE WE HAD LOST MONEY IN, UH, SALES AND PROPERTY TAX.
AND, UH, HAPPY TO REPORT, UH, FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR FY 22.
SO FAR, SALES TAX IS ALMOST UP 20% COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.
SO AGAIN, WE'VE SEEN A REALLY, UH, STRONG REBOUND.
UM, BUT I'M CONVINCED IN PART THAT'S BECAUSE SO MUCH FEDERAL MONEY IS IN THE SYSTEM.
SO MANY BUSINESSES AND PEOPLE, UH, RECEIVE SO MUCH FEDERAL SUPPORT, THEY'RE JUST OUTSPENDING.
SO THAT'S REALLY PROPPING UP THE ECONOMY.
SO IT'S GOOD, BUT AGAIN, THAT KEY WORD IS IT'S PROBABLY NOT SUSTAINABLE.
SO, AGAIN, IN LOOKING AT THAT STRUCTURALLY IMBALANCED BUDGET, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN KIND OF GET A VISUAL HERE AND SEE, UH, IF YOU JUST LOOK AT, UH, KIND OF EVEN THE MOST CONSERVATIVE VIEW, UH, FOR FY 2026 ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER, WE'RE ESTIMATING THAT WE'RE GONNA SPEND, UM, OVER A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS MORE THAN WE'VE TAKEN IN REVENUE.
AND THEN THERE'S THE PESSIMISTIC VIEW, WHICH IS, UH, OVER 250 MILLION REVENUE.
SO THESE ARE ACTUALLY NUMBERS THAT WERE PRODUCED BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SAY UNFORTUNATELY, WE'RE, UH, IN THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, OUR INTERNAL NUMBERS ARE PROBABLY CLOSER TO THE PESSIMISTIC.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT, IT BECOMES A CHALLENGE BECAUSE WHEN YOU HAVE A $250 MILLION BUDGET DEFICIT THAT YOU'RE EXPECTING TO HAVE, UM, IT, IT, IT BECOMES CHALLENGING IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY KIND OF ONE TIME OR EX EXTERNAL FINANCING SOURCE TO COVER THAT.
AND I DON'T, YOU KNOW, KNOCK ON WOOD, I DON'T THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, CORONAVIRUS AND, AND WE ARE PROBABLY NOT GONNA GET ANOTHER BILLION DOLLARS.
SO WE NEED TO START THINKING ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA BRIDGE THAT GAP, UH, BY 2026.
UM, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WILL DEFINITELY HAVE FUTURE VARIANTS, UH, OF COVID.
I THINK WE'RE GONNA PROBABLY BE IN A SITUATION WHERE WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO LEARN TO LIVE WITH COVID, AND WE'LL HAVE, YOU KNOW, UPS AND DOWNS.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALSO SEEING AS A RESULT, UM, YOU KNOW, RISING INFLATION AND, AND I THINK THE FED AND THEY SIGNALED TODAY, UH, THEY'RE GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT MORE AGGRESSIVE IN RAISING INTEREST RATES.
SO WE'VE KIND OF GOT A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT ARE WORKING AGAINST US IN THE FORM OF INCREASED INFLATION.
AND, UH, NOW WE HAVE THE STRUCTURAL IMBALANCE ON OUR BUDGET.
SO, UM, WE NEED TO, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER HOUSEHOLD, IF YOU KNOW THAT THERE ARE GONNA BE SOME BIG EXPENSES COMING DOWN THE ROAD, LIKE, YOU KNOW, KIDS EDUCATION, WHAT DO YOU GOTTA DO? YOU GOTTA TIGHTEN THE BELT AND START SAVING NOW.
UM, SO WE ALSO ARE SEEING THE, UNFORTUNATELY, THE, UH, CONTINUED UKRAINE CONFLICT.
UM, AND THAT'S HAVING AN IMPACT, UH, ON OUR, UH, LOCAL SALES TAX RECEIPTS.
SO, THE, UH, ARPA THAT I MENTIONED WAS, UH, THE MOST, UH, OR
[00:30:01]
I GUESS THE SECOND, UH, FEDERAL STIMULUS PROGRAM.UH, AND IT WAS REALLY INTENDED FOR, UH, LONG-TERM RESPONSE FROM RECOVERY TO COVID.
THERE WAS 1.9 TRILLION IN TOTAL SPENDING IN THE US AND WE GOT 350 BILLION FOR STATES AND LOCALITIES, AND 130 BILLION EARMARKED FOR CITIES AND COUNTIES.
SO FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THAT DISTILLED DOWN TO BASICALLY US GETTING 606 MILLION.
THE FIRST PART WE'VE ALREADY GOTTEN, UH, THE SECOND PART WE'RE GONNA BE GETTING, UM, THIS MONTH.
SO, UH, THIS WAS DIFFERENT THAN THE CARES THE INITIAL 400 MILLION WE GOT, BECAUSE THIS ARPA MONEY, UH, HAD FLEXIBLE RULES THAT ALLOWED US TO REPLACE LOST REVENUE, WHICH IS A REALLY, A KEY FACTOR, BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY WHAT SAVED US.
WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE THIS MONEY AND BASICALLY USE IT TO OFFSET THE MONEY THAT WE LOST FROM, UM, THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC.
UH, AND THIS MONEY NEEDS TO BE SPENT BY DECEMBER 31ST, 2024.
SO, YOU KNOW, CURRENTLY WE'VE GOT QUITE A BIT OF MONEY, UH, IN THE CITY COFFERS AS A RESULT OF GETTING ALL THESE, UH, FEDERAL FUNDS.
UH, SO THE, THE CHALLENGE WITH THIS MONEY IS THAT WE REALLY SHOULD BE USING IT PROGRAMMATICALLY, UH, TO REDUCE THOSE LONG-TERM, UH, UNFUNDED LIABILITIES, THOSE LONG-TERM, UH, PLAN BUDGET DEFICITS.
UM, WHAT YOU DON'T WANNA DO IS YOU DON'T WANNA TAKE THIS ONE-TIME MONEY AND PAIR THAT WITH, UH, SOME EXPENSE IN THE FUTURE THAT IS RECURRING.
UM, BECAUSE THEN WHAT WILL HAPPEN IS ONCE THAT ONE-TIME MONEY RUNS OUT, YOU WILL STILL HAVE THAT, UH, RECURRING EXPENDITURE.
UM, SO WE, UH, ESSENTIALLY, UH, THIS YEAR FOR THE FISCAL YEAR, WE WERE FACING ABOUT A $200 MILLION OPERATING DEFICIT.
UM, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO USE ABOUT $190 MILLION FROM THE FEDERAL MONEY TO OFFSET THAT $200 MILLION DEFICIT.
AND THE CHALLENGE IS THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA BE RECEIVING THAT FEDERAL MONEY EVERY YEAR.
IT WAS JUST A ONE-TIME FINANCING SOURCE.
SO A LITTLE BIT OF A CHALLENGE THERE, TRYING TO WORK THROUGH HOW WE'RE GONNA BRIDGE AGAIN, THAT, UH, LONG-TERM UNFUNDED LIABILITY.
UH, THERE WAS ALSO THE THIRD FEDERAL, UH, RELIEF PACKAGE WAS THE INFRASTRUCTURE, INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT.
UH, SO MORE THAN 550 BILLION IN NEW SPENDING, AND THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT 'CAUSE IT'S GONNA ADDRESS LIKE THE DECADE, UH, LONG NEED FOR ROADS, BRIDGES, UH, ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS.
I KNOW THE ROAD CONDITION IN HOUSTON, UH, ISN'T, UH, AS GOOD AS IT SHOULD BE.
AND, AND A LOT OF THAT IS BECAUSE OF LACK OF FUNDING.
SO THIS IS GONNA BE, GONNA BE SOMETHING THAT CAN DEFINITELY HELP TO ASSIST THAT.
UM, SO THE CHALLENGE WITH THIS MONEY IS IT'S, UH, BASICALLY A GRANT MATCHING PROGRAM.
SO WHATEVER, UH, MONEY THAT WE END UP ULTIMATELY GETTING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, WE'LL HAVE TO MATCH A PERCENTAGE OF THAT 10 TO 20%.
SO WE'LL NEED MONEY IN THE CITY COFFERS TO MATCH, TO BE ABLE TO USE THOSE GRANT FUNDS.
SO, UM, IT CAN HELP THE CIP PLAN, BUT, UM, THERE IS GONNA BE AN INCREASED COST TO BE ABLE TO UTILIZE IT.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE BIG PICTURE IN MORE LONG TERM, UM, WE DID, UH, ADDRESS THE PENSION UNFUNDED LIABILITY, AND THAT WAS REALLY SUCCESSFUL, UH, TAKING ABOUT 80 PLUS PERCENT OF THAT UNFUNDED LIABILITY AND REDUCING IT DOWN.
UM, IN THE SHORT TIME FROM 2017 TO TODAY, WE TOOK IT FROM ABOUT 8 BILLION UNFUNDED TO, UH, UNDER ONE AND A HALF BILLION, UH, UNFUNDED, UH, AS OF THIS YEAR.
SO THAT'S A, A GREAT POSITIVE STORY.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE A SIMILAR CHALLENGE WITH THE OTHER POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS, WHICH IS THE HEALTHCARE PORTION OF THE PENSIONS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT LIABILITY CONTINUES TO GROW EVERY YEAR, UM, BY 150, UH, MILLION DOLLARS.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE THE GENERAL FUND OPERATING BUDGET DEFICIT.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT IS A CHALLENGE, THOSE THINGS TOGETHER.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE, UM, UNFORTUNATELY THE, UH, FIREFIGHTER, UH, PAY DISPARITY LAWSUIT.
AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING THROUGH THAT, TRYING TO GET, UM, YOU KNOW, A RESOLUTION IN, IN THE COURTS, BUT HAVE NOT BEEN SUCCESSFUL TO THIS TIME.
SO THERE'S, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY GONNA BE A RESOLUTION LEGAL, UM, YOU KNOW, LEGAL RESOLUTION THAT'S GONNA COME FORWARD.
AND, AND THERE'LL BE A COST ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
AND WE REALLY NEED TO START PLANNING AS TO HOW WE'RE GONNA FUND, UH, THOSE THINGS.
UM, AND THEN LIKE EVERY OTHER CITY, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, MAINTENANCE ISSUES.
WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, ASSETS, CARS AND OTHER TRUCKS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT, UH, ARE AGING AND NEED TO BE REPLACED.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF FINANCIAL NEED.
AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE CHALLENGE REALLY, AND THE TAKEAWAY FROM ALL THIS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT GONNA FIX THESE THINGS OVERNIGHT.
IT'S GONNA TAKE, UH, YEARS AND YEARS.
AND THE WAY TO DO THAT IS TO HAVE A FINANCIAL PLAN PUT IN PLACE, UH, AND TO BE VERY DISCIPLINED,
[00:35:01]
ALMOST MORE DISCIPLINED THAN, UH, YOU THINK YOU WOULD NEED TO BE EVERY YEAR TO TRY AND, YOU KNOW, REDUCE LIABILITIES, SAVE MONEY FOR, UH, FUTURE EXPECTED COSTS.'CAUSE IF ALL THIS STUFF HITS AT ONCE, IT'S GONNA BE VERY DIFFICULT, UH, TO TRY AND WORK THROUGH IT AT, AT THE SAME TIME, SIMULTANEOUSLY.
SO, A COUPLE POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS TO THESE CHALLENGES.
WE DID HAVE A PFM GROUP CAME IN AND THEY WERE HIRED PRE HARVEY IN 2016.
WE SPENT ABOUT, UH, 565,000, UH, DOLLARS ON A, A, WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A FANTASTIC STUDY THAT, UH, BASICALLY PUT FORTH, UH, 57 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THINGS THAT WE COULD DO TO SAVE MONEY, UH, AND ALSO GENERATE NEW REVENUE.
AND THEY IDENTIFIED ABOUT $300 MILLION IN NEW SAVINGS AND, AND REVENUE, UH, OVER 10 YEARS.
BUT AGAIN, LIKE I SAID, YOU CAN'T DO THIS OVERNIGHT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOTTA BE ABLE TO, TO KIND OF TAKE A LONGER VIEW WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH THESE LARGER STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS. UH, UNFORTUNATELY, WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THIS PFM REPORT AROUND THE HORSESHOE AT CITY COUNCIL.
UM, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT WE'VE, UH, IMPLEMENTED, UH, VERY MANY OF THESE ITEMS. I WOULD, UH, PROBABLY SAY AT BEST, MAYBE 10 OF THE 57.
AND THERE HAVE BEEN SOME SAVINGS, AND OBVIOUSLY THE PENSION REFORM WAS ONE OF THE BIG ONES, WHICH IS, IS A, A HUGE PIECE OF THIS.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT AT A POINT WHERE I, I HAD HOPED WE WOULD BE WITH THIS PFM REPORT BECAUSE, AGAIN, IN 2016 AND NOW 2022, SO WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A LITTLE MORE THAN HALFWAY THROUGH IT AND HOPEFULLY SAVING, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED PLUS MILLION A YEAR.
BUT, UM, WE DIDN'T QUITE GET THERE.
SO I, I CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE, UH, FOR TRYING TO IMPLEMENT SOME OF THESE, UH, ITEMS THAT WE WERE FOUND IN THE PFM REPORT.
AND HOPEFULLY, UH, COUNCIL ON THE MAYOR WILL CONTINUE TO TRY AND WORK ON THOSE.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT HARVEY.
OBVIOUSLY, THOSE OF Y'ALL THAT HAVE LIVED IN HOUSTON FOR A LONG TIME, UH, TROPICAL STORM, UH, ALLISON, UH, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE MAJOR FLOODS AND, AND THEY HAD HUGE ECONOMIC, UH, IMPACTS, NEGATIVE IMPACTS.
BUT ONE THING IS, IS FOR CERTAIN, AS A CONTROLLER, IS THAT, UH, AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND A CURE.
AND SO IF WE WERE TO SPEND SOME OF THIS, UH, INTERNATIONAL, UM, I'M SORRY, THE IIJA, THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL, UH, FUNDS THE FEDERAL FUNDS THAT WE'RE GETTING TO PUT, UH, SYSTEMS IN PLACE, UH, LIKE THE IKE D**E, UH, TO PROTECT THE HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL AND SOME OF THESE OTHER FLOOD MITIGATION, UH, PROGRAMS AND, AND PLANS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE.
YOU KNOW, NOW'S THE TIME WE'VE GOT THIS FEDERAL MONEY, UH, WE CAN DO THIS.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE LOOKED AT, UH, HURRICANE HARVEY, UH, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBERS OF DAMAGE, ECONOMIC DAMAGE TO THE HOUSTON REGION WHERE, YOU KNOW, IN EXCESS OF, YOU KNOW, 8,000 BILLION DOLLARS, UH, IF WE SPENT FIVE OR 10 BILLION, IT WOULD PROBABLY MITIGATE A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THOSE DAMAGES IN THE FUTURE.
SO AGAIN, I'M A BIG BELIEVER IN INVESTING IN FLOODING INFRASTRUCTURE TO TRY AND, UH, MAKE SURE THAT THESE KIND OF REPETITIVE, UH, YOU KNOW, WEATHER EVENTS AREN'T SO FINANCIALLY TAXING ON THE CITY.
AND, AND IF YOU LOOK, UH, THERE'S SOME PRETTY GOOD STUDIES OUT THERE THAT, UH, REINFORCE THIS THINKING.
SORRY, THAT WAS A, A LONG, UH, PRESENTATION.
I HOPE Y'ALL DON'T FEEL LIKE YOU'RE BACK IN, UH, BUSINESS SCHOOL.
I FELT A LITTLE BIT LIKE A PROFESSOR THROUGH THAT, BUT HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
WELL, THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH, AND WE ALREADY DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS POPPING UP.
SO, UH, I WILL, UH, PLEASE, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, RAISE YOUR HAND.
I'M GONNA START IN THE ORDER THAT, UH, THE QUESTIONS WERE RAISED, AND THE FIRST HAND THAT WENT UP WAS TAMARA BELL TOMORROW, UH, UH, GOOD EVENING, CHRIS.
UH, UH, YOU BROUGHT UP SOME, UH, CRITICAL INFORMATION, UH, AS A MEMBER AND THE HEAD OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE THAT IS, HAS ALWAYS CONCERNED ME WHEN YOU ALL SAY THAT THE CITY HAS A REVENUE CAP.
THE CITY DOES NOT HAVE A REVENUE CAP.
A REVENUE CAP MEANS THERE'S A CAP ON WHAT YOU CAN RECEIVE.
YOU ALL HAVE FEES FOR WATER THAT HAVE SKYROCKETED.
YOU ALL HAVE FEES FOR PERMITS.
YOU DON'T HAVE A REVENUE CAP THAT EVEN, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A, A CAP ON TAXES BECAUSE THE EXORBITANT INCREASE IN PROPERTY VALUE INCREASES HOW MUCH YOU PAYING IN TAXES.
YOU MAY HAVE A CAP ON THE RATE, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE NO CAP ON WHAT YOU CAN COLLECT.
AND THE PROBLEM THAT YOU POINTED OUT THAT I DO AGREE WITH YOU IS THE CITY DOESN'T HAVE A REVENUE CAP PROBLEM.
THE CITY HAS A SPENDING PROBLEM.
AND UNTIL YOU GET THAT SITUATION UNDER CONTROL, IT BOTHERS ME THAT THE CITY LOOKS TO THE CITIZENS TO START AND TO TAKE OUR MONEY TO SOLVE THAT BY COMING UP WITH TRASH FEES AND OTHER FEES WHERE THEY CAN TAX THE CITIZENS TO COVER THAT.
[00:40:01]
YOU BROUGHT UP THE PFM STUDY, WHICH I LAUGHED AT WHEN IT CAME OUT THE FIRST TIME, BECAUSE THE PFM STUDY WAS WRITTEN TO CORROBORATE THOSE WHO WERE HAVING IT WRITTEN NOT TO GIVE FACTS.IT MIGHT HAVE HAD SOME GOOD SUGGESTIONS, BUT IT SURELY HAD SOME INACCURACIES, ESPECIALLY AT THE TIME WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT, WHICH WAS DURING THE FIREFIGHTER, UH, CHALLENGE THAT WAS GOING ON.
SO, I, I, I REALLY THINK WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT TAKING TEMPORARY MONEY AND GIVING IT TO PERMANENT SOLUTIONS, IT DON'T WORK.
AND I'M DEARLY CONCERNED ABOUT WHERE WE AS A CITY WILL BE ONCE THIS TERM, THESE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION IS OVER BECAUSE NOBODY IS LOOKING AT THAT.
AND I APPRECIATE YOU COMING OUT HERE TODAY, BUT CHRIS, MOST OF THE TIME YOU DON'T SAY ANYTHING.
I MEAN, IN THE CHARTER, YOU CAN GO TO THE CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS, AND YOU NEED TO LET THE CITIZENS KNOW WHAT THEY'RE UP AGAINST, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA BE DETROIT.
AND AT THE RATE WE GOING, WE'RE GONNA EXCEED DETROIT.
OKAY? THE TIME IS UP TOMORROW.
WELL, SO A LOT TO UNPACK THERE.
UM, YEAH, I, I THINK YOUR, UH, CONCERNS ARE EXACTLY RIGHT.
I MEAN, I THINK WE'RE MAKING A LOT OF, UH, DECISIONS AROUND THE HORSE HORSESHOE, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYOR AND COUNCIL THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE LONG-TERM IMPACTS.
AND, AND I'VE, UH, YOU KNOW, BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS IN OP-EDS, I'VE BEEN ON TV, I GO TO COUNCIL, YOU KNOW, TWICE A MONTH.
I, UM, I MEAN, I, I I, I PROBABLY A HUNDRED DIFFERENT TIMES I'VE BEEN IN THE MEDIA TALKING ABOUT, UH, HOUSTON HAS GOT SOME FINANCIAL CHALLENGES AND WE'RE NOT ADDRESSING IT.
DID A GREAT JOB WITH THE PENSIONS.
I MEAN, FANTASTIC ON PENSION REFORM.
I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY A, YOU KNOW, AN EXAMPLE FOR THE REST OF THE COUNTRY OF WHAT YOU CAN DO AND WHAT CAN WORK.
BUT AFTER THAT, WE JUST REALLY DIDN'T, UM, YOU KNOW, DO MUCH.
UM, SO, UH, IT IS A CHALLENGE.
UH, REVENUE CAP, UH, IS KIND OF A, A NOMENCLATURE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND.
IT IS TAPPING THE TOTAL ASSESSED VALUATION OF PROPERTY.
AND IF IT'S EXCEEDING THE CAP, THEN WE HAVE TO LOWER THE TAX RATE.
IT'S A COMPLICATED FORMULA, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE DO PROBABLY LOSE ABOUT A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN PROPERTY TAX REVENUE, UM, BY HAVING TO LOWER THE TAX RATE, WHICH WE'VE LOWERED THE TAX RATE, UH, EIGHT OR NINE TIMES EVERY YEAR, UH, ABSENT THE CAP BEING THERE.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE ALL CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FACE.
AND I THINK, UM, THE REAL, UH, CRUX OF ALL THIS IS THAT, UH, AS MY FATHER, PETER BROWN USED TO SAY, FAILING TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL.
UH, OUR NEXT, UH, QUESTION OR COMMENT IS FROM STACY FAIRCHILD.
THANK YOU, CONTROLLER BROWN FOR SPEAKING TONIGHT.
I DID HEAR YOU, I THINK IT WAS ON COUNCIL EITHER LAST WEEK OR THE WEEK BEFORE, UM, TALKING ABOUT THIS.
AND YOU KNOW, IT VERY MUCH CONCERNED ME, SO I'M GLAD YOU'RE HERE TONIGHT TO, YOU KNOW, UM, GIVE THIS PRESENTATION.
SO WE KNOW WE'RE GONNA BE IN DIRE STRAITS, UM, AFTER DECEMBER, 2024, AND I REALLY AM CONCERNED LIKE TOMORROW, UM, THAT WE HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM.
I, I MEAN, I JUST, I HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT, YOU KNOW, WHOEVER THE NEXT MAYOR IS IS, I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW HE IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO NAVIGATE US THROUGH, UNLESS, YOU KNOW, HE IS, HE'S GETTING TRANCHES OF MONEY FROM SOMEWHERE.
UM, BUT MY QUESTION TO YOU IS, THERE ARE TWO COSTS IN RECENT CONVERSATIONS AT COUNCIL THAT HAVE COME UP.
ONE OF THEM IS REDISTRICTING, WHICH I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT RIGHT AFTER YOU, THAT IS, THAT HAS A COST, UH, TO IT.
I CAN'T REMEMBER, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS APPROVED, UH, LAST WEEK, BUT WHERE, WHERE IS THAT MONEY COMING FROM, FURTHERMORE, AND, AND WAS IT PLANNED FOR? I'M ASSUMING IT WAS, BUT I DON'T KNOW.
SECONDLY IS WHERE THERE HAS BEEN, TALK ABOUT THIS PRE MATERNAL LEAVE, UM, THAT IS SUPPOSED TO GO TO COUNSEL EITHER THIS WEEK OR NEXT, OR IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.
HOW MUCH IS THAT GONNA COST AND WHERE ARE WE GOING TO GET THE MONEY FROM IF WE ARE LOOKING AT A SITUATION WHERE WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, NO MONEY COMING IN, WE'RE AT A SERIOUS DEFICIT, UH, YEAR OVER YEAR IN BEGINNING IN JANUARY, 2023.
STACY, YOUR TIME IS UP, PLEASE, PLEASE.
SO FOR THE, UM, FOR THE, UH, REDISTRICTING, THE MONEY FOR THAT COMES OUT OF THE, UH, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT BUDGET.
UM, AND I KNOW THEY'RE HOLDING SOME TOWN ME TOWN HALL MEETINGS THAT ARE COMING UP IN THE FUTURE.
[00:45:01]
KIND OF GIVE MORE, UH, DETAIL ON THE COSTS AND THEIR PLAN, UH, FOR THE, UM, UH, LEAVE POLICY.I MEAN, TECHNICALLY IT'S BUDGET NEUTRAL BECAUSE WE BUDGET FOR THE SALARIES, BUT, UH, I SAY IT'S BUDGET NEUTRAL, BUT THERE IS A COST, BECAUSE IF PEOPLE WERE JUST TAKING SICK AND VACATION, THAT WOULD BE BURNING DOWN SICK AND VACATION.
UM, SO, UH, WITH BASICALLY GIVING THEM THAT AS COMP TIME OR PAID LEAVE, UH, UH, THERE IS A COST.
UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT TRYING TO MODEL HOW POSSIBLY WE COULD COME UP WITH A FIGURE AROUND THAT.
UM, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ON TRYING TO GET A NUMBER AROUND THAT.
UM, SO I DON'T HAVE A A, A GOOD ANSWER, BUT IT, IT IS BUDGET NEUTRAL, BUT THERE IS A, A COST BECAUSE AGAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE AREN'T BURNING SICK ON VACATION, SO, OKAY.
OKAY, THE NEXT QUESTION IS BY LEE KILGORE.
LEE KILGORE, SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD 14.
I'M IN, UH, LAZY BROOK TIMBER GROVE, JUST INSIDE THE LOOP.
THANK YOU FOR COMING TONIGHT TO TALK TO US.
I, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT, SO THAT PFM STUDY GENERATED 50 PLUS IDEAS ON HOW TO GENERATE REVENUE.
WHAT I WAS THINKING IS, AS I HAVE GONE BEFORE CITY COUNCIL AND TALKED TO OTHER PEOPLE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THEY CALLED? THE MY BRAIN JUST WENT DEAD.
THOSE THINGS THAT GO ON THE SIDEWALK, THAT LIGHT UP FROM NIC HOUSTON, WE DIDN'T WANNA HAVE 'EM, WHAT DO THEY CALL IT? ANYBODY? ANYBODY? DIGITAL KIOSKS.
SO DO YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE WITH US THE LIST AND SO THAT WE KNOW WHETHER OR NOT IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS GOOD FOR THE CITY THAT WE ARE INTERESTED IN HAVING, BECAUSE THESE THINGS KIND OF CROP UP ON US AND WE'RE LAST MINUTE TRYING TO SAY, OH, THAT'S A GOOD IDEA.
UM, IS, THAT'S REALLY WHAT I WANT TO GET TO, IS WHAT, WHAT WERE THOSE 50 IDEAS? YEAH, I'LL HAVE A GREAT QUESTION.
I'LL HAVE, UM, MY STAFF MEMBER POST THE LINK IN THE CHAT, UH, FOR THE PFM REPORT.
IT'S AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW ON THE, UH, FINANCE DEPARTMENT'S WEBSITE.
UM, AND, UH, I THINK HE JUST POSTED THAT JOHN SIDE THERE, THE 10 YEAR PLAN, UM, YOU KNOW, THE KIOSK, DIGITAL KIOSK, THAT WAS VERY CONTROVERSIAL.
UH, OTHER CITIES HAVE DONE THAT SUCCESSFULLY.
UM, THINK, AGAIN, I'M A CONTROLLER, SO I'M GONNA JUST TAKE IT FROM A REVENUE PERSPECTIVE.
I MEAN, IT'S A, IT'S A GOOD MONEY, UH, UH, GOOD REVENUE GENERATOR.
AND, AND IT'S ONE OF, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, 57 ITEMS. IT'S A COMBINATION OF COST CUTTING AND, AND NEW REVENUE.
AND THAT'S THE OTHER THING, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T JUST EXCLUSIVELY TALK ABOUT CUTTING COSTS.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO LOOK AT OTHER WAYS OF GENERATING NEW REVENUE.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD ONE.
ULTIMATELY, UH, DIDN'T GET THROUGH COUNCIL, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL SEE IF THERE'S ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY, MAYBE.
THE NEXT QUESTION IS DOUG SMITH.
UH, CHRIS, YOU SAID THAT WITHOUT THE UH, CARES MONEY OR THE ARFA MONEY, WE WOULD'VE HAD TO LAY OFF 2000 PEOPLE, UH, IN THE BUDGET WE'RE UNDER RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT? AND TWO WEEKS AGO AT CONS, UH, YOU INDICATED THAT, UH, THE WAY THINGS LOOK RIGHT NOW, UH, IN A COUPLE MORE YEARS, WE'RE GOING TO PROBABLY, UNLESS SOME DRAMATIC CHANGES ARE MADE, UH, SINCE ARPA MONEY IS DONE, WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT TWO TO 3000 PEOPLE THAT WE'RE GONNA LAY OFF MM-HMM
AND, UH, THAT WAS TWO WEEKS AGO AT COUNCIL LAST WEEK AT COUNCIL.
THE MAYOR ACCUSED YOU OF PROMOTING DOOM AND GLOOM, AND THAT YOU WERE DOING THAT BASED NOT ON FACTUAL INFORMATION, WHEN IN FACT ALL HE DID WAS ADDRESS THINGS THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT.
AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO COUNTER WHAT HE HAD TO SAY, BECAUSE IT WAS VERY UNFAIR, UH, OF HIM.
I MEAN, PEOPLE CAN SAY, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I'M A NUMBERS GUY, I'M A MATH GUY.
SO, UH, YOU LOOK AT THE SLIDE DECK THAT WE PUT UP HERE BEFORE THE 2026, WHICH WILL BE BASICALLY MOST OF CALENDAR YEAR 25.
SO THAT'S THE YEAR AFTER THE FEDERAL MONEY RUNS OUT.
UH, THAT SLIDE IS FROM BEFORE WE GOT THE FEDERAL MONEY.
THEY WERE ALREADY ESTIMATING A $250 MILLION BUDGET DEFICIT IN 2026.
SO, YOU KNOW, WITH THIS MONEY THAT WE'VE GOTTEN FROM THE FEDERAL, UH, GOVERNMENT, UH, AS I SAID, YOU, YOU KNOW, IT'S A ONE TIME FINANCING SOURCE, SO YOU SHOULDN'T BE USING IT TO ADD RECURRING EXPENDITURES.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE JUST ADDED, UH, RAISES FOR POLICE, FIRE, AND MUNI.
AND, UH, UNDER THE MAYOR'S OWN NUMBERS THAT HE PUT IN HIS PRESS RELEASE, IT'S GONNA COST, UH, $384 MILLION OVER THREE YEARS.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, MATH, UH, IT'S 384 DIVIDED BY THREES, 128 MILLION.
SO YOU CAN TAKE THAT TWO 50, YOU CAN ADD ANOTHER 128 MILLION.
[00:50:01]
NOW, WE WILL GET, UH, PROBABLY SOME MORE TAX REVENUE AND THINGS THAT'LL OFFSET IT A LITTLE BIT.BUT IT'S VERY REALISTIC THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WILL HAVE A $300 MILLION, UH, WHEN CALENDAR YEAR 20, 25 HITS AND WE'RE RUNNING, WE'VE RUN THROUGH AND EXPENDED ALL THE FEDERAL MONEY ABSENT OF SOME LARGE BUCKET OF MONEY OR SOME NEW RECURRING REVENUE OR SOME NEW, YOU KNOW, FALL FROM THE SKY GIFT.
UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE, YOU KNOW, A $300 MILLION BUDGET SHORTFALL.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT HISTORICALLY WHAT, UH, WE PAY OUR EMPLOYEES WITH BENEFITS, I MEAN, I THINK, YOU KNOW, 3000 PEOPLE, UM, THAT'S NOT GLOOM AND DOOM.
IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT FUN TO HEAR.
IT'S NOT FUN AS A CITIZEN OF HOUSTON WHOSE, YOU KNOW, FAMILY HAS BEEN HERE FOR 120 YEARS, AND, YOU KNOW, I'VE GOT MY FOURTH GENERATION, MY CHILDREN, ALL THIS.
IT'S NOT FUN AS A CITIZEN TO SAY THIS STUFF.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I'M A BELIEVER, AGAIN, IN IF YOU DON'T TALK ABOUT THIS STUFF, IT COMES ON YOUR FRONT DOOR AND YOU KNOW, IT'S TOO LATE.
SO WE HAVE THE LUXURY RIGHT NOW OF HAVING QUITE A BIT OF MONEY IN OUR COFFERS, AND, UH, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO USE THAT MONEY IN A WAY THAT MAYBE WE CAN REDUCE SOME OF THOSE LONG-TERM LIABILITIES SO WE CAN LESSEN THAT BLOW DOWN IN THE FUTURE.
'CAUSE I'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IS 70% OF OUR BUDGET IS PERSONNEL.
SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO ULTIMATELY DO IS, IS LAY PEOPLE OFF.
AND IT'S KIND OF IRONIC TO ME THAT EVERYONE'S GETTING RAISES RIGHT NOW, BUT THAT THOSE RAISES MIGHT CAUSE PEOPLE HAVING TO GET LAID OFF IN THE FUTURE, WHICH I THINK IS UNFORTUNATE.
UM, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M THE CITY CONTROLLER.
I CAN'T GET MY TRASH PICKED UP REGULARLY, SO I, I DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW HOW IT'S FOR THE REST OF Y'ALL, BUT IF WE LAY OFF ANOTHER THREE OR 400 SOLID WASTE WORKERS, I, I DON'T THINK THAT THAT SERVICE DELIVERY IS GONNA IMPROVE.
SO, YOU KNOW, MY THING IS CALLING ATTENTION TO IT.
I DID THIS DURING THE PENSIONS.
EVERYONE SAID I WAS GLOOM AND DOOM.
UH, THAT WAS WHEN WE HAD A $6 BILLION UNFUNDED PENSION LIABILITY.
UH, TODAY IT'S ONE AND A HALF BILLION, SO MAYBE WE NEED A LITTLE BIT OF GLOOM AND DOOM TO GET PEOPLE OFF THEIR, THEIR, UH, KEISTERS AND START DOING SOMETHING.
THIS IS WHAT I DO ON THE TAXPAYER WATCH, DOG.
OKAY, THE NEXT QUESTION IS FROM KEITH DOWNEY.
CHRIS, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
UM, DOOM AND GLOOM IS NOTHING NEW TO THE BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITY.
IT'S WHAT WE'VE HEARD FOR DECADES.
I THINK TOO MUCH IS BEING PUT ON THE CITIZENS WHO ARE THE LEAST OF BEING ABLE TO AFFORD A, FOR EXAMPLE, OPEN DRAINAGE, DITCHES, ALL THAT WORK THAT'S GOING ON IN CME GARDEN WITH THE, UM, WITH THE, UM, MAIN CHANNEL OF THE BIO.
LAST MONDAY NIGHT WHEN WE HAD THAT TWO INCH RAINSTORM ON TUESDAY MORNING, THE DITCHES WERE STILL HALF FULL.
THE OPEN DRAINAGE DITCH SYSTEMS, OF COURSE, NEED A LOT OF WORK.
AND THIS IS NOT JUST IN CASHMERE, IT'S ALL OVER.
BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT COMES TO THE CULVERTS AND ALL, TOO MUCH IS BEING PUT, I THINK TOO MUCH IS BEING PUT ON THE RESIDENTS WHO CAN LEAST AFFORD IT.
AND I JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT.
I THINK THAT, UM, WHEN WE WILL ULTIMATELY HAVE THIS, WHAT I CALL THE GRAND RECONCILIATION YEARS OF SPENDING ONE TIME FINANCING SOURCES ON RECURRING REVENUES, AND WE HAVE TO FACE THIS BIG BILL, WHICH WE WOULD'VE HAD TO FACE THIS YEAR, HAD WE NOT GOTTEN THE FEDERAL MONEY, UH, IT IS DISPROPORTIONATELY GOING TO AFFECT, UH, BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES.
AND I THINK THAT'S ALL THE MORE REASON FOR PEOPLE, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, ALL CITIZENS OF HOUSTON, BUT PARTICULARLY PEOPLE IN, IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS TO BE VERY VOCAL ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON.
BECAUSE WHEN, UH, THE LAYOFFS AND CUTS HAPPEN, UH, I MEAN, THOSE THAT IGNORE HISTORY ARE DIM TO REPEAT IT.
WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENS, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW WHAT GETS CUT AND WE KNOW WHO GETS AFFECTED.
SO IT'S GONNA BE A CHALLENGE AND ALL THE MORE REASON TO SAY LET'S START PLANNING FOR IT.
UM, BUT SIMPLY SAYING IT'S NOT AN ISSUE.
I, I, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT TO ME IS NOT THE RIGHT STRATEGY.
THE NEXT QUESTION IS FROM JOHN ZAVALA.
CHRIS, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
I'M 72 YEARS OLD, AND I'M WITH, UH, SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD 14, UH, LAYS BROOK, TIMBER GROVE.
I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT HOW MUCH DOES THE CITY OF HOUSTON SPEND ON ROADS, STREETS, AND BRIDGES PER YEAR? I MEAN, UH, BALLPARK AND HOW DOES THAT GET FUNDED? YEAH, SO WE HAVE THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UM, YOU KNOW, ROUGHLY A BILLION DOLLARS.
IT, IT SEEMS LIKE OVER THE YEARS WE'VE BEEN PAIRING
[00:55:01]
THAT BACK AND PAIRING THAT BACK AND PAIRING THAT BACK.UM, IT ALL GETS FUNDED ESSENTIALLY THROUGH, UH, ISSUING, UH, BONDS, WHICH WE DO IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
OUR OFFICE ACTUALLY MANAGES THOSE ONCE WE'VE ISSUED THEM.
UM, BUT WE WILL, I, I THINK THE SILVER LINING IN THE CONVERSATION TONIGHT IS WE WILL SEE, UH, QUITE A BIT OF, UH, FEDERAL MONEY, UH, FEDERAL GRANTS TO ADDRESS A LOT OF THESE LONG, UH, TERM INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
I, I'VE BEEN TO, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF CIP MEETINGS IN MY NOW 19TH YEAR AT THE CITY.
AND SO I, I KNOW I'VE BEEN TO MEETINGS WHERE, YOU KNOW, SAME PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ASKING THE STATUS OF A PROJECT FOR 6, 8, 10 YEARS.
SO, UH, HOPEFULLY THIS, UH, MONEY CAN HELP ASSIST US WITH SOME OF THESE LONG-TERM PROJECTS.
BUT, UH, ABSENT OF THAT, UH, GRANT MONEY, AND AGAIN, WE'LL NEED TO BE A MATCHING PORTION OF IT, MAYBE 10 TO 20% THE CITY WILL HAVE TO FUND.
UM, IT'S ALL DONE THROUGH ISSUING, UH, UH, BONDS.
I THINK THAT IS THE LAST OF THE QUESTIONS.
UH, I WANNA THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UH, BRINGING THE, UH, IT'S NOT GOOD NEWS.
I DON'T DON'T WANNA CALL IT GLOOM AND DOOM, BUT BRINGING THE FACTS SO THAT WE ALL UNDERSTAND CHALLENGES.
OH, IS THERE ANOTHER ONE? DID I MISS SOMEBODY THERE? THERE IS ONE.
MICHAEL LEWIS FROM SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD 62 MIDTOWN.
I DON'T SEE A, OH, THERE IT GOES.
HOW DID YOU SEE IT BEFORE ME? OKAY.
I APOLOGIZE THAT MY VIDEO'S NOT ON 'CAUSE IT'S DINNER TIME AT THE HOUSE HERE.
UH, CONTROLLER BROWN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR MESSAGE.
UM, JUST A PERSONAL PLUG, YOU MAY GET A RESUME FROM MY SON MATEO, WHO'S APPLIED TO THE HIRED HOUSTON YOUTH PROGRAM, AND HE WANTS TO WORK IN YOUR OFFICE BECAUSE HE WANTS TO BE AN ACCOUNTANT, SO OH, GREAT.
YEAH, KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR HIS RESUME.
UM, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO LOOKING AT THAT, UM, P FM REPORTER, IF I'M MISPRONOUNCING THAT, I APOLOGIZE BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, UH, THAT I WONDER ABOUT IS, YOU KNOW, DET MONEY THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND ARE YOU AWARE OF ANY CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE HAPPENING EITHER, YOU KNOW, LOCALLY WITHIN THE CITY OR STATEWIDE THAT WE ACROSS ALL OF OUR SUPER NEIGHBORHOODS CAN ENGAGE IN AS IT PERTAINS TO, UH, WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE INCREASING, UH, TOURISM MONEY THAT'S NOT BEING USED FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CITY AS A WHOLE? WELL, I KNOW THE TOURISM DOLLARS HAVE BEEN VERY CONTROVERSIAL IN THE SENSE OF, YOU KNOW, THAT MONEY THAT IS, UH, GENERATED WITHIN THAT TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT GOES BACK INTO THAT TAX INCREMENT RE UH, TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT, UNLESS IT'S A PETITION TOUR AND THEN THEY HAVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMPONENT.
BUT IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS DONE SOMEPLACE ELSE, OTHER THAN, UH, THOSE DISTRICTS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S, IT'S ONE OF THESE THINGS WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE JUST, YOU HAVE TO BE VOCAL AND ATTEND THOSE, UH, TS BOARD, NO, EXCUSE ME, TS BOARD MEETINGS, UM, AND, AND TRYING TO GET AS MUCH INFORMATION.
WE GET, UH, REPORTS, ANNUAL AUDITS FROM ALL THE TSS, UH, EVERY YEAR, AND WE ROLL THOSE UP INTO THE ANNUAL AUDIT.
UH, SO WE'RE WATCHING, BUT IT, IT'S A LOT OF MONEY.
I MEAN, THEY, THEY ARE THE INCREMENT.
I MEAN, THIS IS A GOOD THING, I GUESS, IN HOW THEY WERE DESIGNED BECAUSE THEY WERE DESIGNED TO TRY AND, YOU KNOW, REDEVELOP LIGHTED AREAS.
BUT, UH, A LOT OF THEM HAVE PROBABLY, UH, REACHED THEIR, UH, MAXIMUM, UH, CAPABILITIES IN THE SENSE THOSE AREAS ARE REALLY LOOKING GOOD AND IT NEEDS TO, MAYBE THERE NEEDS TO BE A DISCUSSION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE LONG TERM, UH, PLAN.
BECAUSE A LOT OF THIS MONEY COULD BE USED TO, UH, GENERATE FOR PLACES OUTSIDE OF THE DIS, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE OF THE DISTRICT IF THEY WERE, UH, SUNSETTED OR OR OTHER THEY COULD BE USED, UH, CITYWIDE.
SO, UM, HAPPY TO GIVE YOU MORE INFORMATION IF, UH, OFFLINE IF YOU NEED ANYTHING.
THANK YOU FOR THAT VERY PERTINENT QUESTION.
AND, UM, AGAIN, UH, CONTROLLER BROWN, THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH FOR, UH, ATTENDING OUR MEETING TONIGHT.
WE APPRECIATE CINDY, YOU SO MUCH.
CINDY, UH, YOU HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION TOMORROW? YES, I DID.
I FORGOT THAT, CHRIS, I WANTED TO ASK YOU THIS.
YEAH, BEFORE YOU GO, BECAUSE YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE LIMITED SPENDING.
UH, THE MAYOR HAS A DISCRETIONARY FUND.
I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT OVER THE YEARS, THAT HE HAS SOLE DISCRETION OVER CONTRACTS HE CAN ISSUE.
DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT IS ANNUALLY? WELL, THERE IS A GENERAL GOVERNMENT FUND, UM, AND, AND MAYBE THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FUND YOU'RE REFERRING TO, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN USE THAT MONEY, UH, TO ALLOCATE MONIES AROUND THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
UH, BUT ANYTHING OVER $50,000, EVEN WITH THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT FUND HAS TO BE APPROVED BY COUNCIL.
SO, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS, AND I'LL LEAVE Y'ALL WITH THIS, IS THERE ARE A LOT OF PAYMENTS THAT ARE UNDER $50,000.
AND SO WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS, UH, EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE, UH, WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT, UH, GIVING OUT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF SMALLER DOLLAR CONTRACTS, BUT COLLECTIVELY,
[01:00:01]
IF YOU ADD ALL THOSE UP OVER A YEAR, UH, IT AMOUNTS TO QUITE A BIT OF MONEY IN THE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF ALL THESE UNDER 50,000.SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN ADVOCATING FOR IS TO PUT A, UH, ONLINE CHECKBOOK LIKE EVERY OTHER MAJOR CITY.
HOUSTON'S THE ONLY CITY IN THE COUNTRY THAT DOES, UH, ONLY MAJOR CITY IN THE COUNTRY THAT DOESN'T HAVE AN ONLINE CHECKBOOK.
SO THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE WHERE ALL THESE UNDER $50,000 PAYMENTS ARE GOING.
UH, WE ACTUALLY, UH, HAD A BUDGET AMENDMENT IN 2019, BUT IT WAS OVERTURNED.
AND THEN I ACTUALLY FOUND MON MONEY IN MY BUDGET TO FUND THIS.
UH, WE STARTED THE PROJECT, WE GOT IT ABOUT HALFWAY DONE, AND THEN IT WAS ABRUPTLY CANCELED.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT IT AROUND THE COUNCIL TABLE AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS VOICE CONCERN AND SUPPORT FOR IT.
THE MAYOR HAS DECIDED TO MOVE FORWARD, UH, WITH A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT, UH, PROJECT, BUT, BUT STILL, UH, SIMILAR IN, IN NATURE, BUT IT'S, IT'S BEEN A YEAR, UH, NOW AND WE STILL HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING.
SO, UH, I WOULD SAY TO YOU TOMORROW IS WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT PROJECT AND TO THE WHOLE GROUP OF THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL THAT GETS, GETS DONE AND GETS ONLINE.
'CAUSE THEN YOU CAN SEE WHERE ALL THESE, YOU KNOW, IT'S THOUSANDS OF, OF UNDER $50,000 PAYMENTS ARE GOING TO, BECAUSE THOSE ARE NO, THOSE ARE NOT, THOSE CAN BE AT ANY, YOU KNOW, AT THE DIRECTOR'S DISCRETION, AT THE MAYOR'S DISCRETION, AT ANYONE'S DISCRETION.
THEY DO NOT NEED COUNCIL APPROVAL.
BUT CAN YOU GIVE THEM A TOTAL, I ALREADY KNOW, I WANT YOU TO TELL THEM ABOUT HOW MUCH TOTAL A YEAR IS IT RUNNING? OH, I THINK CONTRACTS
IT'S ABOUT 300 MILLION A YEAR.
AND I APOLOGIZE, TAMARA, YOUR, I THOUGHT YOUR HAND WAS STILL UP FROM YOUR FIRST QUESTION 'CAUSE IT HAD BEEN UP FOR A LONG TIME, SO I APOLOGIZE FOR MISSING YOU FOR THE SECOND QUESTION.
AGAIN, THANK YOU, UH, CONTROLLER BROWN.
UH, WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND, UH, WE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE, UH, REST OF THE PROGRAM.
I WILL REMIND PEOPLE THAT WE NEED TO FINISH OUR MEETING BY BEFORE EIGHT O'CLOCK BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A, A TECHNICIAN BROADCASTING THIS ON HTV, AND WE NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF WHAT TIME HAS BEEN ALLOTTED FOR THAT, UH, THAT STAFFING.
SO, UM, UH, STACY, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MEETING MINUTES? YES.
SO, UH, I DISTRIBUTED THE MEETING MINUTES TONIGHT.
UH, BUT THEY ARE NOT COMPLETE, AND I DO APOLOGIZE ON AIR FOR THAT.
UH, I, THERE HAVE, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME ISSUES ABOUT THE ATTENDANCE LIST, BUT AT LEAST YOU HAVE THEM IN TERMS OF THE INFORMATION, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED AT THE MEETING.
SO I'M HOPING BY THE END OF THIS WEEK, I AM ABLE TO PRODUCE, UM, A FULL DRAFT FOR MEETING MINUTES IN, I'M SORRY, IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH, SO THAT THEY CAN BE OFFICIALLY APPROVED ALONG WITH APRIL'S MEETING MINUTES AND AT THE MAY MEETING.
SO IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT ARE IN THE DOCUMENTS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME OR CALL ME, AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO WALK YOU THROUGH IT.
AND, UH, STACY, DON'T TURN OFF YOUR MICROPHONE BECAUSE, UH, YOU'RE NEXT, UH, TO TALK ABOUT, UH, UH, UNDER, UH, AGENDA ITEM FOUR, WHICH IS REDISTRICTING AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PUBLIC MEETINGS, PUBLIC MEETING.
LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU'RE ABLE TO SEE IT.
AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION, DON'T FEEL THE NEED TO SCREENSHOT OR WRITE ANYTHING DOWN.
I HAVE ALL THE LINKS READY TO GO TO PUT INTO THE CHAT, AND IF YOU MISS THEM FOR SOME REASON, FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME.
ALL OF THIS INFORMATION IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, BUT I FELT IT WAS PRETTY IMPORTANT TO HAVE THIS DISCUSSION AT THIS PARTICULAR MEETING BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE GOING ON, UM, THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, WILL BE USEFUL TO US AS WE AS DIRECTOR BROWN AND THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT LEADS US THROUGH THIS REDISTRICTING PROCESS.
SO IN ORDER TO, AND, AND REALLY THE MAIN MESSAGE HERE IS TO, IS THAT YOU ARE, UH, I'M GIVING YOU TOOLS AND INFORMATION TO KEEP YOUR SUPER NEIGHBORHOODS AND CIVIC CLUBS INFORMED SO THAT THEY DON'T GET LOST IN THE MIX.
AND, UM, SO AS WE GO THROUGH THIS, LET ME SEE IF I CAN, WELL, LET ME, THERE WE GO.
SO THIS MAP THAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE IS THE CURRENT BOUNDARY LINES OF THE CITY
[01:05:01]
OF HOUSTON COUNCIL DISTRICTS MORE THAN, UH, WELL, REDISTRICTING OCCURS EVERY 10 YEARS BASED ON CENSUS DATA THAT IS COLLECTED.AND AT THE END OF, UM, I THINK IT WAS LATE LAST YEAR AROUND SEPTEMBER, THE, UH, 2020 CENSUS DATA WAS GIVEN TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND, UH, AS A RESULT, THEY WERE ABLE TO PRODUCE EARLIER THIS YEAR, ACTUALLY THIS, THIS MONTH, UH, AT THE BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL COMMITTEE, UH, THE MARCH MEETING, UH, KIND OF, UM, BASICALLY THEY WERE GIVING CONTEXT AND PROCESS.
SO IT'S LIKELY BASED ON THE INFORMATION, UH, THAT CAME OUT OF THE CENSUS DATA THAT WE, YOU KNOW, YOUR SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD IS GONNA BE AFFECTED.
IN OTHER WORDS, YOUR DISTRICT BOUNDARIES ARE GONNA CHANGE.
SO I FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO BRING IT UP HERE AND, UH, IT'S GONNA BE VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU STAY INFORMED BY ATTENDING YOUR DISTRICT MEETING AND OTHERS THAT COINCIDE WITH YOUR SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES.
AND I'LL GIVE MY OWN SITUATION AS AN EXAMPLE.
IF YOU LOOK, CAN YOU SEE MY MOUSE THERE? I LIVE IN DISTRICT C.
MY SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD IS REPRESENTED BY DISTRICT C AND DISTRICT H, AND MY SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD IS RIGHT HERE.
I COULD END UP BASED ON THE DATA IN EITHER A OR G, AND PEOPLE LIVING IN H COULD END UP IN D OR I AND POSSIBLY EVEN B.
SO WITH THIS INFORMATION, TAKE A LOOK AT THIS MAP AND I'M GONNA SEND YOU THE LINK TO, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, UH, FULL MAP HERE, UM, SO THAT YOU CAN SHARE IT OUT WITH YOUR, YOUR SUPER NEIGHBORHOODS.
BUT TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND BEGIN TO LOOK AT THE SURROUNDING DISTRICTS THAT, UM, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, BUMP UP NEXT TO THE, THE DISTRICT THAT YOU'RE IN AND THE TWO DISTRICTS THAT AFFECT YOUR SUPER NEIGHBORHOODS.
THIS SLIDE, IT'S SLIDE NINE IN A, UM, IN THIS REDISTRICTING PRESENTATION THAT WAS GIVEN AT THE BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL COMMITTEE.
AND AGAIN, I'M GOING TO USE THE DATA THAT IS COMING FROM C AND H BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE TWO DISTRICTS THAT SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, 22 AS REPRESENTED BY.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT DISTRICT C, IT IS OVERPOPULATED BY 15%.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT DISTRICT H, IT'S UNDERPOPULATED BY 17%.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS, IS THESE, THESE BOUNDARIES ARE GONNA CHANGE AND MY SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD IS GONNA BE AFFECTED.
SO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT, AGAIN, THAT YOU ARE INFORMED ABOUT NOT ONLY THE DISTRICT YOU'RE IN RIGHT NOW, BUT THE SURROUNDING DISTRICTS.
AND THE LINK I'M GONNA GIVE YOU, UM, HAS, HOLD ON JUST, OKAY, I'M SHOWING YOU MY SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD HERE.
IF YOU LOOK AT FIRST WARD AND OLD SIX WARD, THEY ARE IN DISTRICT H AND I THINK EVEN A PORTION OF MEMORIAL HEIGHTS.
BUT EVERYTHING ELSE OVER HERE IS IN DISTRICT C.
AND I LIVE, YOU KNOW, IN THE RICE MILITARY AREA.
AND OVER HERE, THE PEOPLE IN OLD SIX, WARDEN FIRST WARD COULD BE IBI THINK IT'S D.
NEXT STEPS, AND I'LL END WITH THIS.
I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A LINK TO DISTRIBUTE, UH, THAT'S ON THE, UH, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT'S, UH, WEBPAGE THAT HAS TO DO WITH REDISTRICTING.
IT HAS A PROCESS OVERVIEW AND A TIMELINE.
IT HAS TOWN HALLS BY DISTRICT, AND IT ALSO HAS A CITYWIDE DISTRICT MAP THAT I STARTED THIS PRESENTATION WITH.
ALSO, PLEASE DISTRIBUTE THE REDISTRICTING PRESENTATION THAT, UH, THAT WAS PRESENTED THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS AS WELL, BECAUSE IT DOES PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT.
AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, PLEASE ATTEND OUR MAY SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING BECAUSE DIRECTOR BROWN WILL BE GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS A LITTLE BIT FURTHER.
AND, UH, YOU WILL WANNA HEAR MORE, UM, ABOUT THAT.
SO I FIND IT PRETTY INTERESTING.
AND I'M GOING TO JUST SO YOU GET A,
[01:10:04]
THIS IS LESS LET'S TALK HOUSTON.ORG/REDISTRICTING.AND IT HAS AN OVERVIEW OF THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS.
IT ALSO HAS A LISTING OF ALL OF THE DISTRICT MEETINGS THAT WILL BE HELD AT 6:00 PM THEIR LOCATION AND THE DATE.
AND IN MY PARTICULAR CASE, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMANS IS STILL, YOU KNOW, TO BE DETERMINED, BUT OVER HERE TO YOUR RIGHT, YOU'LL SEE THE REDISTRICTING TIMELINE.
THAT'S GONNA BE VERY, VERY BEN BENEFICIAL AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
AND IT SHOWS WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW IN THE PROCESS.
AND THEN IF YOU SCROLL DOWN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, YOU'LL SEE THE MAP THAT I SHARED FROM THE BEGINNING.
SO THAT IS ALL THE INFORMATION I HAVE TONIGHT.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME BEFORE WE MOVE ON? OKAY, I GOT A QUESTION FROM KEVIN.
IT'S, UH, HI, KEVIN STRICKLAND FROM SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD 15.
UH, UH, MY APOLOGIES, STACY, IF I MISSED IT.
DOES CITY COUNCIL VOTE ON THEIR OWN OR OUR OWN REDISTRICTING, UH, SO THAT I THERESA GEISER OR PLAN SOMEBODY FROM PLANNING CAN? UH, THAT MAY BE A QUESTION TO ASK NEXT WEEK WHEN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT GOES INTO MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE WHOLE PROCESS, RIGHT NEXT MONTH? UM, I, I WOULD SAY I WOULD ASK, I'M NOT REALLY SURE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.
I KNOW THAT THEY ARE HEAVILY INVOLVED, UM, IN EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.
I'M JUST NOT SURE WHAT IS THAT THEY APPROVE.
IS PART OF THAT QUESTION FOR YOU ALL.
I'M SORRY, THIS IS THERESA GEISER WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
MAY I ANSWER SOME OF THAT QUESTION FOR YOU? YES, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE SAVE US.
THERE WILL, AT THE CIP MEETINGS, IT WILL BE A LISTENING SESSION FOR EACH OF THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
THERE WILL NOT BE MAPS AVAILABLE AT THAT TIME.
IT WILL BE THE BE, UH, YOU KNOW, ALONG THE PROCESS, BUT STILL A LITTLE BIT EARLY ON THE PROCESS.
SO I HOPE THAT IS HELPFUL FOR YOU TO KNOW THE PROCESS IS ONGOING AND DIRECTOR WALLACE BROWN WILL HAVE MORE DETAILS AT YOUR MAIN MEETING.
AND, UH, I AM GETTING IT THROUGH, UH, ANOTHER CHANNEL THAT COUNCIL DOES VOTE ON REDISTRICTING, SO
THAT'S THE ONLY QUESTION I SEE, STACY.
UH, THIS INFORMATION IN THE CHAT, ARE YOU GONNA BE SHARING THE SCREEN? UH, OUR NEXT PRESENTATION IS BY ROY LIRA.
WHAT WE'RE DOING IS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, WE'LL BE FORWARDING LINKS OR AN EMAIL LINKS FOR AN SNA SURVEY WITH OVER 50 DIFFERENT, WITH MORE THAN 50 SUPER NEIGHBORHOODS.
IT'S TIME THAT WE TAKE A PERIODIC PAUSE AND JUST DO A PULSE CHECK.
AND THE REASON FOR THIS IS BECAUSE WE HAVE MEMBERS OF THE SNA WHO'VE BEEN ON BOARD 10 PLUS YEARS, AND WE HAVE OTHERS WHO'VE BEEN WITH US ONE OR TWO YEARS.
THIS, USING THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEVEL SET.
WE'RE FOCUSING ON FOUR KEY ITEMS. ONE, OBVIOUSLY WHAT'S THE SNA DOING WELL FOR YOU.
THE SECOND ITEM IS, WHERE DO WE NEED TO IMPROVE AND WHAT CAN WE DO FOR YOU? THIS INCLUDES, IS IT SOMETHING DEALING WITH TRAINING, UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE SNA IS? IS IT A WAY FOR THE MEETING TO RUN MORE EFFECTIVELY? ARE THESE AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT? AND THEN WHAT ARE THE KEY AREAS THAT ARE MOST CON THAT ARE CONCERNS OF YOUR SPECIFIC SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD? VISITING SEVERAL SUPER NEIGHBORHOODS OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, I'VE ALREADY FOUND A COUPLE OF TOPICS THAT WE REALIZE COLLECTIVELY WE HAVE A LARGER VOICE.
AND THAT'S WHAT THIS SURVEY IS ALSO INTENDED TO DO.
IDENTIFY THOSE FOUR OR FIVE TOPICS THAT MAY BE INTEREST GROUPS OF MULTIPLE SUPER NEIGHBORHOODS, CAPTURE THAT INFORMATION, SHARE IT, AND MAKE A CONCERTED EFFORT TO HAVE A LARGER IMPACT WITH CITY COUNCIL.
GOING TO OUR CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE IS HELPFUL, BUT IF WE'RE ABLE TO, AS A TEAM GO TO MULTIPLE, WE SHOULD HAVE A BIGGER IMPACT.
[01:15:01]
THIS IS ALSO INTENDED TO IDENT, TO SIMPLY ASK AND FIND OUT WHO'S WILLING TO GIVE A LITTLE MORE TIME.IF WE CAN IDENTIFY TOPICS THAT ARE OF INTEREST TO YOU AND YOUR COMMUNITY, THAT'S PROBABLY HOW YOU'RE GONNA SPEND YOUR TIME.
IF WE KNOW THIS, THAT MEANS AS AN SNA, WE'RE MORE EFFECTIVE AND WE HAVE A LARGER VOICE.
SO WHEN YOU DO RECEIVE THIS LINK, SPEAK WITH YOUR BOARD, YOUR COUNCIL TO FIND OUT WHAT ARE SOME OF THE COMMON ITEMS SO THAT WE CAN HEAR FROM AS MANY AREAS AS POSSIBLE.
THIS INFORMATION'S GONNA BE COLLECTED AND SHARED WITH THE ENTIRE SNA AT A LATER OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.
THE INTENT IS WE GET THIS INFORMATION, IDENTIFY WHERE WE CAN MAKE THE BIGGEST GAINS AND MOVE FORWARD IT FORWARD WITH IT OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
SO AS YOU, AS YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE REACH OUT.
THEY'RE NOT INTENDED TO BE DIFFICULT, IT'S REALLY IS JUST SOME THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS WITH WE NEED YOUR HONEST FEEDBACK.
AND WE REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING, UH, YOUR THOUGHTS, UH, ON ALL THESE TOPICS.
SO, UH, UH, PLEASE, PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO, TO THINK ABOUT IT AND, AND GET YOUR RESPONSES TO US AFTER YOU GET THE SURVEY.
UH, STACY, IS THAT YOUR HAND UP FOR THIS? IT IS.
UH, ROY, DO YOU WANT ME TO SHARE THE DRAFT? SURE, YES.
LET ME DO THAT REAL QUICK, JUST SO EVERYONE CAN SEE.
AND THE BENEFIT OF THIS, AS YOU'RE GOING THROUGH, AS YOU'RE LOOKING AT THESE QUESTIONS, WE'VE INCLUDED SOME ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES, RIGHT? IF YOU LOOK AT QUESTION NINE, WHAT ARE THE TOP THREE AREAS OF INTEREST FOR YOUR SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD? WE PROBABLY GET SO FOCUSED ON SOMETHING THAT DIRECTLY IMPACTS US.
AND THIS IS INTENDED JUST TO CREATE ADDITIONAL CONVERSATION AND THOUGHT, I'VE PILOTED THIS WITH OUR SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD AND WE'VE GOT SOME RESPONSES THAT I HONESTLY WOULDN'T HAVE THOUGHT THAT WE'D HAVE.
SO THAT'S WHY THERE ARE QUITE A FEW ITEMS ON HERE.
AND THIS IS ALL OF THESE, EACH OF THESE EXAMPLES IMPACTS AT LEAST ONE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
THERE'S SEVERAL, I THINK WE'LL IDENTIFY, THERE ARE FOUR OR FIVE THAT ARE REOCCURRING, AND THAT'S THE BENEFIT OF IDENTIFYING WHICH SUPER NEIGHBORHOODS.
HOW DO WE CREATE IT? HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP AND REALLY FOCUS ON THAT.
UM, AS YOU LOOK AT EXAMPLE QUESTION 11, ANOTHER IDEA OR OPTION CONSIDERATION IS ALIGNING SOME OF OUR COMMITTEES WITHIN THE SNA SO THAT THEY MIRROR THE CITY COUNCILS.
THE BENEFIT IS WE BEGIN TO CULTIVATE OUR OWN EXPERTS WITHIN THE SNA LIKE WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, AND AGAIN, EXPAND THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING, RIGHT? AND LASTLY, LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE WE DO THE END OF 2022 OR AT THE END OF EVERY YEAR, WHAT DOES THIS A SUCCESSFUL YEAR LOOK LIKE? AND THAT'S GONNA HELP US AS WE GO THROUGH THIS.
SO, UM, AND THANKS DANIELA, BECAUSE I'M SEEING THAT NOW AS A GOOGLE FORM.
IF THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING.
I THINK MAYBE TO HELP WITH THIS, IF THAT'S THE CASE, IF WE WERE IN PERSON, I'D SAY WE HAD EYE CONTACT AND THAT WOULD BE THE THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING
AND AGAIN, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, LET US KNOW.
THIS IS REALLY ABOUT US AS A COMMUNITY AND AN ALLIANCE BECAUSE THERE ARE TOO MANY VOICES IN THE CITY TO, TO JUST FOCUS ON ONE OR TWO.
LET'S USE OUR NUMBERS EXPERTISE AND FOLLOW OUR PASSION.
THANK YOU SO MUCH ROY, FOR, UH, UH, LEADING THIS EFFORT.
AND, UH, UH, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING, UH, ALL YOUR THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS TO EVERYBODY, UH, AND THE DIFFERENT COUNCILS AND, AND THE BROADER, AS, AS ROY POINTS OUT, YOU CAN GET MULTIPLE PEOPLE TO MAKE COMMENTS FROM YOUR SUPER NEIGHBOR COUNCIL THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S GREAT.
UH, I AM MINDFUL WE'RE COMING DOWN TO THE LAST 10 OR 12 MINUTES OF OUR MEETING.
UH, THE LAST BUSINESS ITEM, AND, AND THE REASON WE WANNA TALK ABOUT THIS IS, UM, THIS YEAR OUR MONTHLY MEETINGS ARE BEING BROADCAST, UH, NOT JUST THROUGH MICROSOFT TEAMS FOR THOSE WHO GET THE LINK, BUT ALSO OUR MEETINGS ARE BEING BROADCAST ON HTV SO THAT PEOPLE CAN GO BACK AND, UH, UH, HEAR THE INFORMATION FOR OUR SPEAKERS, HEAR WHAT THE CONCERNS ARE, AND THE QUESTIONS FROM, UM, OUR MEMBERS ATTENDING THESE MEETINGS.
UM, AND SO WE WANTED TO, UM, BRING UP, WE KNOW THAT, UH, IT'S A TOUGH, IT'S ALWAYS A TOUGH BUDGET SEASON.
UH, SO ON THE AGENDA SAYS, UH, CONSIDER A RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT TO CONTINUE BROADCASTING THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE MONTHLY MEETINGS ON HTV FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR VIA THE DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS BUDGET.
SO I WAS GOING TO, UM, ALLOW SOME TIME FOR PEOPLE TO, UM, COMMENT ON THIS AND, AND CONSIDER MAKING A RESOLUTION OF, UH, SUPPORT FOR THIS ITEM.
[01:20:03]
AND THERE'S DEAD SILENCE.OKAY, DOUG? YEAH, I SEE NO REASON NOT TO SUPPORT THIS RESOLUTION BECAUSE THIS GIVES PEOPLE A CHANCE THAT DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A COMPUTER, UH, BUT DO HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR TV TO BE ABLE TO WATCH US AND PARTICIPATE.
SO I, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER YOU'RE LOOKING FOR EMOTION, BUT, UH, WHEN, WHEN YOU ARE, YOU CAN COUNT ON ME MAKING THAT MOTION.
SO, THANK YOU, UH, ROY, YOU'RE NEXT.
I MEAN, IT'S IMPORTANT WE FOCUS ON INCLUSIVITY AS WE GO THROUGH THIS AND THE REALITY OF THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE INTERESTED IN WHAT WE'RE SEEING, THE QUALITY GUESTS WE GET, AND JUST TO DRIVE INTO DOWNTOWN, UH, KEITH DOWNEY.
KEITH, YOU NEED THAT MUTE? YEAH, I'M SORRY.
YEAH, BUT I'M DEFINITELY FOR IT BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT TRANSPARENCY AND MORE AND MORE PEOPLE AROUND HOUSTON ARE ABLE TO SEE WHAT THE SNA DOES AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THEY'RE ABLE TO ALSO PUT IN THEIR COMMENTS AND ADDRESS ISSUES PERTAINING TO THEIR COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR THOUGHTS, KEITH.
UH, BASICALLY I AGREE WITH WHAT EVERYONE ELSE HAS SAID, AND FRANKLY, THE LARGER THE FORUM, THE MORE PEOPLE IN THE CITY WHO CAN BE REACHED.
AND THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO DON'T EVEN KNOW THEY HAVE A SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD, LITTLE LESS, YOU KNOW, A SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE, WHICH ACTUALLY REPRESENTS THE ENTIRE CITY AND FOCUSES ON ISSUES THAT INVOLVE REALLY ALL OF US.
AND, UH, I THINK AS MANY DIFFERENT FORMS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE TO SEE THE MEETINGS AND BE ABLE TO EXPRESS THEIR CONCERNS IN WHATEVER WAY THEY CAN.
THOSE PEOPLE ARE NOT GONNA GO DRIVE SOMEPLACE FOR A MEETING, BUT THE FACT THAT THEY CAN WATCH IT IN THEIR OWN HOMES IS EXCELLENT.
AND THE MORE WAYS IT'S AVAILABLE, THE BETTER.
THANK YOU FOR COMMENTS, STACY.
I, I, UH, ECHO EVERYONE'S COMMENTS HERE.
IT HAS BEEN BENEFICIAL TO US AS AN ORGANIZATION, UH, TO HELP GET THE WORD OUT.
I THINK IT, STACY, THERE YOU GO.
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, I, I ECHO EVERYONE'S, UH, COMMENTS HERE.
I THINK OUR ORGANIZATION HAS BENEFITED GREATLY FROM THIS.
IT, I THINK IT HELPS AS N LEADERS DISTRIBUTE THE INFORMATION, UM, MORE QUICKLY AND EASILY.
AND I JUST, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, BIG TICKET ITEMS THAT ARE COMING DOWN, UH, THAT ARE BEING VOTED ON AT COUNCIL, AND THERE ARE CHANGES, YOU KNOW, BY THE ADMINISTRATION THAT, UH, WE'RE INFORMED AND THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO DO IT.
AND ALSO, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, HAVING CONTROLLER BROWN COME AND PRESENT TONIGHT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE FACING IN DECEMBER, 2024, UH, I THINK IT'S A, IT'S A BIG DEAL.
AND, AND ALSO REDISTRICTING, YOU KNOW, HAVING DIRECTOR BROWN NEXT MONTH TO GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS IN DETAIL.
UM, I JUST THINK THAT WE'RE ABLE TO REACH PEOPLE IN FORT BEND WHO DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO DRIVE ALL THE WAY INTO DOWNTOWN.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THE WEST SIDE AND THE EAST SIDE AND THE NORTH SIDE.
UM, NOW THAT WE'RE BECOMING MORE OF A MORE AND MORE DENSE DENSELY POPULATED, SO I THINK IT'S A GOOD THING.
DOUG SMITH HAD, UH, OFFERED TO MAKE THE MOTION, SO I WILL LIST HIM AS MAKING THE MOTION.
UH, CAN I GET SOMEBODY TO RAISE THEIR HAND OR SPEAK UP? IS IT KEITH DOWNEY A SECOND? IT, I SAW YOU RAISE YOUR HAND.
UH, ANY MORE DISCUSSION? UH, LET'S, UH, ALL IN FAVOR.
RAISE YOUR HAND UP ON ELECTRONICALLY.
I SEE LOTS OF HANDS GOING UP IN THE, UH, IN THE COMMENTS AND EVERYTHING.
UH, ANY OPPOSED? OKAY, THEN THE MOTION PASSES.
WE ARE AT THE END OF THE MEETING.
ARE THERE, IS THERE ANY LAST MINUTE COMMENT BEFORE WE NEED TO GO? YEAH, CINDY SINA, I THINK MAY.
THERE'S, THANK YOU PRESIDENT HANGING IN THERE,
[01:25:01]
ABSOLUTELY.I, AND I APOLOGIZE THAT I'VE BEEN ABSENT FOR SO LONG FROM THESE, THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE.
I THINK THAT'S WHERE I FIRST MET YOU, DOUG.
UM, I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF LESLIE BRIES.
SHE IS RUNNING TO BE YOUR NEXT COUNTY COMMISSIONER, BUT THIS WAS A LISTENING TOUR TO FIND OUT HOW COUNTY CAN, YOU KNOW, CREATE COLLABORATIONS WITH THE CITY.
THERE ARE MORE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENTS THAT WE CAN, UM, HAVE TO ADDRESS SOME OF OUR FLOODING ISSUES.
AND IT WAS REALLY GOOD TO HEAR, AGAIN, FROM THE CITY STANDPOINT, WHAT THE COUNTY CAN DO TO MAKE US A BETTER PLACE.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND THANK YOU FOR REMEMBERING THAT I WAS HERE.
THANK YOU FOR SITTING THROUGH THE WHOLE MEETING.
LAST WE WERE LITERALLY DOWN TO THIS MINUTES, SO JUST, UH, OKAY.
WELL, CYNTHIA, I WANTED TO, I GAVE STACY THE INVITE.
WE'RE HAVING, UH, EASTER EGG HUNT ON, UH, SATURDAY, APRIL THE 17TH AT RIVERSIDE PARK.
WE HAVE TWO BUNNIES THERE, UH, FOR PEOPLE TO TAKE FREE PICTURES OF THEIR CHILDREN WITH THE EASTER BUNNIES.
WE HAVE FAINTS PAINTING, WE HAVE FOOD, AND IT'S FREE FROM 11 TO ONE THIS SATURDAY.
UH, STACEY HAS THE INFORMATION AT RIVERSIDE PARK THE SAME PLACE WE HAD THE MINI RODEO, UH, LAST MONTH AND HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE SHOW UP.
AND SO PLEASE BRING YOUR KIDS OUT.
WE HAVE A RAFFLE FOR A BUNCH OF EASTER BASKETS, AND WE GOT 1200, UH, CANDY AND TOY FIELD EGGS OUT THERE FOR THE EASTER EGG COT.
THAT SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF FUN.
I'M NOT SURE IF YOU WANNA SPEAK ABNER LYONS, DID YOU WANNA SPEAK ABNER? I THINK THEY MIGHT HAVE JUST BEEN VOTING.
SO IT'S HARD FOR ME TO TELL CINDY.
JUST, JUST A REMINDER REALLY QUICKLY IN MAY, UH, IS EARLY VOTING.
I THINK WE CAN TALK MORE ABOUT THAT NEXT MONTH, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT, I THINK IT'S, I'LL, I'LL PUT THE HARRIS VOTES INFORMATION WITH, UH, WHEN EARLY VOTING STOP STARTS.
SO IT'S AFTER OUR NEXT MEETING, SO WE CAN, IT CAN WAIT, BUT JUST BE AWARE THAT IT'S ON THE HORIZON.
ANYBODY ELSE? PEDRO? CHRISTINA.
I'M GONNA TRY TO TURN MY CAMERA BACK ON.
UM, YEAH, JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I PUT MY, UH, CONTACT INFORMATION IN THIS CHAT AS IT'S USUALLY THERE, AND I'M GONNA RE PASTE IT NOW JUST IN CASE ANYBODY NEEDS TO CAPTURE THAT.
AND, UM, THANK YOU GUYS FOR, FOR CONTINUING TO DO WHAT YOU DO AND YOUR NEW OFFICER AND YOUR HOLD FIRST.
AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE, UH, MOVING TO REINSTATE THE VIDEO, UM, PRESENTATION OF THE MEETINGS.
LET'S SEE, PEDRO, UH, YEAH, GUYS, I PUT THIS ON THE CHAT ON APRIL 23RD ON A SATURDAY.
WE'RE HAVING THE GREAT TASTE OF THE HEIGHTS AT ALL SAINTS CATHOLIC CHURCH FROM, UM, 5:00 PM TO 10:00 PM IT'S THE FIRST TIME WE'VE HAD IT IN OVER TWO YEARS BECAUSE OF COVID RESTRICTIONS.
BUT I PUT THE INFORMATION ON THE CHAT IF ANYONE WOULD, UH, LIKE TO ATTEND.
WE'RE HAVING A KITE FESTIVAL IN A LEAF ON, UH, APRIL THE 30TH.
UM, IT'LL BE AT THE SIDE OF THE COMMUNITY GARDEN AND IT'LL START AT 10, I THINK IT'S 10 O'CLOCK TILL TILL TWO.
AND, UH, FREE KITES THE FIRST 200 KIDS THERE AND THERE'S GONNA BE A PETTING ZOO AND ANYBODY, IT'S ALL FREE.
SO WE APPRECIATE THE, ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO COME OUT.
UH, ALL THESE EVENTS SOUND WONDERFUL.
UH, GLAD TO HEAR ALL THESE ACTIVITIES GOING ON IN THE DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS.
I THINK THAT'S ALL THE COMMENTS, UNLESS STACY, YOU HAD ONE.
WELL, I WANNA HAVE ONE COMMENT.
I WANNA HAVE, UH, ONE COMMENT.
THERE IS A SPECIAL ELECTION FOR HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRUSTEE FOR DISTRICT TWO.
IT IS APRIL 25TH THROUGH MAY 3RD, AND MY NAME IS KATHY GUNTHER AND I AM A RETIRED TEACHER RUNNING FOR THAT POSITION.
WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY IS, IS ALL OF THESE ANNOUNCEMENTS, IF YOU WILL, SEND THEM TO SNA C H@GMAIL.COM, I WILL POST THEM TO OUR FACEBOOK PAGE TO BE SHARED OUT, UM, MORE EASILY.
I WOULD, UH, I THINK IT'S TIME SINCE WE NEED TO BE GONE BY EIGHT O'CLOCK, I WOULD SAY LET US ADJOURN AT 7 59.