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WILL NOW MOVE ON TO[FY 2023 Budget Workshop: Solid Waste Management]
THE BUDGET WORKSHOP FOR SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT.ALRIGHT, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.
UH, MARK WOLF, SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT.
I JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT CAVEAT OUT THERE.
UM, ALSO WANT TO THANK OUR STAFF, UH, FOR GETTING TO THIS POINT.
YOU KNOW, I JUST MENTIONED BEEN HERE SIX MONTHS, BUT EVERYBODY'S BEEN WORKING TOGETHER.
UH, BUT I JUST WANT TO GO AHEAD AND, AND THROW ANOTHER CAVEAT OUT THERE ON THIS PRESENTATION TODAY, YOU'RE DEALING WITH TWO ROOKIES, RIGHT? SO I'M, I'M HERE.
I'M ALSO, UH, FLANKED BY OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.
HOW MANY MONTHS HAS IT BEEN? TWO MONTHS, I GUESS.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, WEALTHIER WHITE.
SO, UH, CONGRATULATIONS TO HER.
OKAY, SO WE'LL, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND, UH, JUST GET INTO THE BUDGET PRESENTATION.
UM, I APOLOGIZE I KIND OF, UH, BROKE THE TRADITIONAL FORMAT THAT YOU ALL FOLLOW, BUT I DO WANT TO CONCENTRATE ON THE BUDGET PORTION.
SO IF WE COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, JUST WANTED TO GIVE Y'ALL AN OVERVIEW OF OUR EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM HERE.
I THINK THE KEY TAKEAWAY FROM THIS SLIDE IS THAT, UH, WE HAVE ABOUT 400 AND AND 27 POSITIONS IN THE DEPARTMENT.
AND, UM, THE OTHER KEY TAKEAWAY FROM THIS SLIDE IS, AND I MENTIONED EARLIER HOW THE TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING WITH SYNERGY.
UH, OUR DEPUTY DIRECTOR, ANTHONY BOWIE, THAT'S HERE TODAY, I'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE HIM.
THIS WILL BE HIS, UH, LAST BUDGET PRESENTATION, GO AROUND WITH US AFTER 42 PLUS YEARS, HE'S GETTING READY TO RETIRE.
SO WE'D DEFINITELY LIKE TO RECOGNIZE MR. ANTHONY BOWIE FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS.
SO WE, WE'VE GOT SOME BIG SHOES TO FILL THERE.
JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU JUST A LITTLE QUICK OVERVIEW OF THAT.
OF COURSE, 77% OF THAT DEPARTMENT IS, UH, AFRICAN AMERICAN, FOLLOWED BY HISPANIC, UH, AND, UH, LATINO, AND THEN WHITE AND ASIAN.
BUT TO ME, THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY OF THIS IS THE DIVERSITY, GENDER DIVERSITY THAT WE HAVE IN THE DEPARTMENT, AND THE AMOUNT OF WOMEN THAT WE HAVE, UH, THAT ARE DOING THE JOBS TODAY IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT.
SO I JUST REALLY WANTED TO FOCUS ON THAT, THAT 29 TO 30%, UH, REALLY CAUGHT MY EYE WHEN I ARRIVED TO THE CITY.
AND I THINK, UH, THERE, THERE'S JUST MORE GOOD WORKS TO COME.
UM, JUST A, WHY DO WE HAVE TO HAVE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT FOR THESE THREE REASONS? RIGHT HERE YOU HAVE THE SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL ACT OF 1965, AS WELL AS THE, THE TEXAS HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE, AND OF COURSE, THE CITY CODE AND ORDINANCES.
AND OF COURSE, WITHOUT EFFECTIVE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT, OUR NEIGHBORHOODS WOULD BE OVERRUN BY ALL TYPES OF VERMIN AND, AND, UH, REALLY HAVE DEPLORABLE CONDITIONS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH THE FORWARD FACING DEPARTMENTS THAT WE HAVE OR FORWARD FACING, UH, BUSINESS UNITS THAT WE HAVE.
SO I WON'T SPEND MUCH TIME THERE EXCEPT FOR ON THE, THE LAST, UH, THE YELLOW HIGHLIGHTED AREA THERE.
UH, IN ADDITION TO ALL OF THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE ON A WEEKLY, UH, MONTHLY OR BIMONTHLY BASIS, UH, WE ALSO, UH, FOCUS HARD ON THOSE OTHER SUPPORT SERVICES SUCH AS HOMELESS, UH, ENCAMPMENT ABATEMENT PROGRAM, THE LITTER ABATEMENT PROGRAM, AS WELL AS MANY OF THE, UH, COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS AND KEEPING THOSE PROGRAMS GOING AS WELL.
JUST A FUNCTIONAL, UH, REVIEW OF OUR ORGANIZATIONAL CHART.
UM, YOU'LL SEE WHERE BASICALLY WE HAVE THREE, UH, DIFFERENT, UH, SECTIONS IN THE DEPARTMENT.
IT'S EITHER GONNA BE NORTH OPERATIONS, SOUTH OPERATIONS OR ADMINISTRATION.
AND WHATEVER DOESN'T FALL, UH, IN THERE WILL FALL, ALSO FALL UNDER OUR MAINTENANCE CATEGORY.
BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, THE ESTIMATED TOTAL FOR THIS FY 23 YEAR WILL BE ABOUT $95.6 MILLION.
AT THIS POINT, I'D LIKE TO TURN THIS POINT OF THE PRESENTATION OVER TO OUR CFO MS. WEALTHIER WHITE THANK YOU DIRECTOR.
THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT REVENUES ARE GENERATED THROUGH TWO FUNDS, THE GENERAL FUND AND THE RECYCLING REVENUE FUND.
THE GENERAL FUND REVENUES INCLUDES FEES FROM OUR DUMPSTER PERMITS, OUR EXTRA CAPACITY CONTAINER PROGRAM, OUR NON-RESIDENTIAL GARBAGE, AND OUR CONTAINER LEASE FEE, AND SOME OTHER SMALL ACCOUNTS.
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FUND IS GENERATED FROM THE SALE OF RECYCLABLE MATERIALS LIKE GLASS, SCRAP METAL BATTERIES, ELECTRONICS, WHICH ARE SOLD BY THE CITY.ALSO INCLUDED IN THIS FUND ARE FEES FROM OUR TIRE RECYCLING AND OUR BUSINESS RECYCLING PROGRAMS. ON THIS SLIDE SLIDE, WE SEE A PROJECTED 3% INCREASE IN GENERAL FUND REVENUES DUE TO THE ANNUAL CPI AND PRIOR YEAR REVENUE ACTIVITY TO BE REALIZED IN FISCAL YEAR 2023, THERE IS NO PROJECTED INCREASE IN THE RECYCLING REVENUE FUND.
AND WITH THESE REVENUE FUNDS, WE HAVE A TOTAL BUDGET REVENUE BUDGET OF $14.8 MILLION.
OUR EXPENDITURES BY FUNDS ARE OUR DEPARTMENT, OUR COLLECTION PROGRAMS, AND OTHER SERVICE DELIVERY, UH, COMPONENTS INCLUDES OUR GARBAGE COLLECTION, TREE WASTE, HEAVY TRASH DEPOSIT, DEPOSITORIES, CURBSIDE RECYCLING, DRIVE THROUGH RECYCLING, FACILITIES, SPONSORSHIPS.
ALL THESE AREAS ARE SUPPORTED BY THE GENERAL FUND AND THE FISCAL YEAR 2023 PROPOSED BUDGET IS $95.6 MILLION, WHICH REPRESENTS A 1% INCREASE FROM THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.
THE RECYCLING REVENUE FUND, PROPOSED EXPENDITURE SUPPORTS THE CITY'S RECYCLING PROGRAMS, RELATED SERVICES AND RECYCLING EDUCATION.
THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023 IS $4.1 MILLION, AND IT REPRESENTS A 5% INCREASE FROM FISCAL YEAR 2022.
YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND EXPLAIN, IF YOU CAN BACK UP ONE SLIDE TO THE PIE CHART.
UH, THE PROJECTED BUDGET BY FUND FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023 IN THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET PERSONNEL REPRESENTS 41% OF THE TOTAL BUDGET NON-PERSONNEL ACCOUNTS FOR 59% OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
AND WITHIN THAT 59% SERVICES ARE 23%.
AND RESTRICTED ACCOUNTS SUPPLIES, NON-CAPITAL TRANSFER AND DEBT MAKE UP THE BALANCE OF 36% IN THE RECYCLING REVENUE FUND.
THE PERCENTAGE FOR PERSONNEL IS 10.57 AND NONE PERSONNEL IS 89%.
THE NEXT SLIDE SHOWS THE NET CHANGE IN THE GENERAL FUND.
AT THE START OF FISCAL YEAR 2022, THE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT BEGAN WITH A BUDGET OF $89 MILLION, AND WITH ADJUSTMENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, IT INCREASED THE BUDGET TO 95 6 0 1 5 76.
LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FISCAL YEAR 2023 GENERAL FUND BUDGET, ADDITIONAL ADJUSTMENTS WERE MADE TO INCLUDE CONTRACTUAL AND MANDATED ADJUSTMENTS, RESULTING IN A PROPOSED BUDGET OF $95,000,610.
I MEAN, $610,939, WHICH IS AGAIN, A NET CHANGE OF APPROXIMATELY 1% FROM THE CURRENT YEAR'S BUDGET.
ALRIGHT, THANK YOU, MS. WHITE.
UM, NOW WITH THIS FY 23, UH, YOU KNOW, PROPOSED BUDGET, WE DO EXPECT SOME IMPACTS AND, AND A LOT OF THOSE IMPACTS ARE GOING TO COME JUST BY GROWTH IN, IN DEMAND, YOU KNOW, INCREASING GROWTH IN DEMAND THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UH, WE ALSO EXPECT SOME OF THOSE IMPACTS TO BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE VACANCY RATES THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON DRIVING DOWN, UH, OVER TIME AS, AS WELL AS TEMPORARY SERVICES THAT WE'LL USE TO MITIGATE SOME OF THE SHORTFALLS THAT WE INCUR THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
UM, OPERATIONAL PROGRAM SUBSIDIES WILL BE ANOTHER AREA THAT WE THINK WILL ALSO IMPACT, AND THAT'S JUST FROM OBSERVATION OF BEING HERE, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE MORE THAN SIX MONTHS, MEANING THAT, UH, WE MAY AT TIMES HAVE SOME, UH, A NEED TO SUPPLEMENT OUR SERVICES BY CALLING IN HELP FROM SOME OF OUR PRIVATE COUNTERPARTS IN THE INDUSTRY.
UH, AND THAT'LL BE IN THE AREAS OF HEAVY TRASH COLLECTION, WHICH WE'RE ABOUT TO EMBARK UPON RIGHT NOW, AS WELL AS, UH, CURBSIDE RECYCLING.
AND THEN, UH, WE ALSO, AGAIN, WE HAVE CHALLENGES WITH ADDRESSING SOME OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD DENSITY PROJECTS THAT ARE GOING ON AND, AND, UH, SOME OF THE INFLATIONARY, UH, CONTRACTS THAT WE'RE SEEING OR INFLATIONARY IMPACT TO CONTRACTS THAT WE'RE SEEING TODAY.
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OKAY.UH, AGAIN, FY 22 ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
UM, THERE, THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL THAT HAVE BEEN GOING ON PRIOR TO MY ARRIVAL.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SINCE MY ARRIVAL THERE, THERE CONTINUED TO KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING.
I THINK THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY, UH, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR HAS BEEN THE FACT THAT THE CITY HAS GOTTEN AGGRESSIVE AND THEY RECOGNIZE THE FACT THAT WE'VE HAD A SHORTAGE IN, UH, SOME OF OUR KEY OR CRITICAL POSITIONS, THAT BEING THE DRIVING POSITIONS AND THAT THE, UH, THE, UH, $3,000 SIGN IN BONUS WAS GREAT FOR A WHILE, YOU KNOW, UH, BUT NOW WE WE'RE RECOGNIZING THE FACT THAT EVERYBODY ELSE HAS GOTTEN HIP TO THE GAME.
SO WE, WE'VE GOT TO CONTINUOUSLY THINK OF SOMETHING NEW AND INNOVATIVE TO RECRUIT, RECRUIT AND ATTRACT MORE TALENT.
SO MAYOR TURNER IS, IS ACTUALLY, AND AS WELL AS SOME OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS HERE, HAVE BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN KIND OF HELPING US DEVELOP CDL UH, TRAINING PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON RIGHT NOW.
AND THEN WE'RE, WE'RE ALSO ACTIVELY STILL ACTIVELY RECRUITING, UH, LICENSED CDL DRIVERS, BUT, UH, WE'VE ALSO GOT A PAY INCREASE ON THE WAY FOR THEM AS WELL.
SO HOPEFULLY THAT WILL CONTINUE TO ATTRACT MORE QUALIFIED TALENT, UH, IN THIS AREA.
UH, SOME OF THE FY 23 GOALS, AGAIN, I THINK THE BIGGEST GOAL THAT WE HAVE, THAT YOU'LL HEAR ME CONSTANTLY SAY IS WE WANT TO, UM, REDUCE OUR DEPENDENCY ON THE GENERAL FUND.
UH, MEANING THAT WE WANT TO BECOME A MORE SUSTAINABLE DEPARTMENT IN THE WAY THAT WE, WE MANAGE OUR DEPARTMENT, THE WAY THAT WE MANAGE OUR RESOURCES, AND, AGAIN, BECOME MORE SOLVENT IN THAT PROCESS.
UH, WE WANT TO DIVERSIFY THE REVENUE STREAMS. I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT, UH, THE CITY OF HOUSTON NOT HAVING A, A RESIDENTIAL RATE.
AND THEN THERE THAT IS THE CASE TOO.
WE WOULD LOVE TO CONTINUE WORKING ON THAT.
AND THERE'S SOME OTHER OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL TO, UM, DIVERSIFY THE REVENUE STREAMS AS, AS WELL AS, AS IT INVOLVES, UM, UH, WORKING IN THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR OR OFFERING OUR SERVICES TO SOME OF THE COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS THAT MAY BE OUT THERE THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UH, WE ALSO PLAN TO REDUCE OUR VACANCY RATE.
WE'RE CURRENTLY HOVERING AROUND 17% RIGHT NOW, DEPARTMENT WIDE, MAYBE ABOUT 15% FOR OUR CRITICAL VACANCIES.
AGAIN, WORKING WITH MAYOR TURNER, UH, ADJUSTING THE STARTING SALARY THAT THAT SHOULD BE TAKING PLACE WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.
UH, WE NOTICE THAT WE THINK WE'LL BE A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPETITIVE WITH OUR, OUR COUNTERPARTS IN THE PRIVATE INDUSTRY AND GET OUR STARTING RATE UP CLOSER TO 22 OR $23 AN HOUR.
UH, AND THEN WE, WE REALLY WANNA WORK ON STANDARDIZING OUR ROUTES TOO.
AND A LOT OF THIS HAS TO DO WITH THE GROWTH, AND THAT'S A GOOD THING, THE GROWTH THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS INCURRED OVER THE LAST DECADE.
AND IT'S TIME FOR THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT TO CATCH UP WITH THAT GROWTH RIGHT NOW SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE OUR QUEST AND, AND ACCOMPLISH OUR GOALS AS FAR AS DELIVERING ON TIME SERVICES CONCERNED.
UM, IT'S JUST A LITTLE GRAPH AND, AND SOME STUDIES THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, AGAIN, WITH THE LONG CITIES OR THE DEPARTMENT'S LONG RANGE PLAN THAT'S BEEN OUT THERE.
YOU KNOW, OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, I BELIEVE WE SEE NOW THE POPULATION IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON BEING ABOUT 6.6 MILLION.
UM, THAT TO US, THAT REPRESENTS ABOUT 20,000 ADDITIONAL HOUSEHOLDS THAT WE'RE STILL SERVICING WITH THE SAME LEVEL OF, UH, ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT THAT WE HAD 10 YEARS AGO.
UM, AND, AND AGAIN, ABOUT A 300 OR A 225 TON INCREASE ON A DAILY BASIS THAT WE'RE STILL RESPONSIBLE FOR COLLECTING.
SO WE DEFINITELY FEEL THE STRAIN.
NOW, THE BOTTOM, THE OTHER ARROWS MAY SEEM A LITTLE BIT CONFUSING BECAUSE WE HAVE IT POINTED DOWN, BUT IT SAYS 2% INCREASE.
THE REASON I DID THAT IS BECAUSE, AGAIN, THE CITY HAS GROWN EXPONENTIALLY IN THOSE 10 YEARS, AND THE DEPARTMENT HAS NOT KEPT UP WITH THAT GROWTH.
AND THAT'S WHY WE ARE EXPERIENCING SUCH CHALLENGES WITH SERVICE DELAYS.
UH, PROBABLY A LESS THAN A 1% INCREASE AND NO INCREASE IN THE, THE SIZE OF THE FLEET.
UM, YOU'LL HEAR ME CONSTANTLY SAY, WE GOTTA INVEST IN OUR GREATEST ASSETS, EMPLOYEES, AND EQUIPMENT.
WITHOUT THOSE TWO, WE CAN'T DELIVER THAT SERVICE.
CAN, CAN YOU HOLD THAT SLIDE FOR A SECOND? UM, THE, THE, THE TOP OF THE CHART, THE, UH, LINE GRAPH, UH, JUST KIND OF ILLUSTRATES THAT RELATIONSHIP THAT YOU HAVE MOST, UM, CITIES OUR SIZE HAS WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO, AND FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES TO NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS SERVED.
AND YOU'LL SEE THE BLUE LINE, WHICH REPRESENTS OUR FTES, UH, NORMALLY SHOULD BE ABOVE THAT, THAT ORANGE LINE, UH, AS FAR AS HOUSEHOLDS SERVE THAT YOU WANT TO KEEP THAT RELATIONSHIP.
YOU SEE THERE'S A, A BIG DISPARITY THERE WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO OUR COUNTERPARTS.
AND THAT, THAT PRE CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION.
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT ANYONE MAY HAVE.
FIRST QUESTION COMES FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN.
UM, FIRST DIRECTOR, UH, THANK YOU.
AND PLEASE RELAY OUR APPRECIATION TO, UM, EVERYONE IN THE DEPARTMENT, ESPECIALLY OUR DRIVERS THAT ARE OUT IN
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THE FIELD.UH, ARE THEY STILL WORKING SIX DAYS A WEEK RIGHT NOW? YES.
WE'RE STILL AT SIX DAYS A WEEK, HOPEFULLY NOT MUCH LONGER.
AND I KNOW I'VE SEEN SOME DRIVERS OUT THERE.
UM, I MEAN, WE, WE ALL WORK LATE, BUT NOT AS LATE AS THEY DO.
WE'RE NOT UP AS EARLY AS THEY ARE, SO PLEASE RELAY MY GRATITUDE TO THEM.
UM, REALLY QUICKLY, THE, I WANTED TO CHECK IN, 'CAUSE WE TALKED ABOUT THE INCREASE IN MULTIFAMILY, UM, AND LOOKING AT ADDITIONAL NEEDS TOWARDS THE FUTURE.
UM, I, WE HAD, I HAD PASSED WITH THE SUPPORTIVE COUNCIL LAST FISCAL YEAR, A BUDGET AMENDMENT, UM, THAT WAS GONNA DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT BY THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 22 TO START THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
SO WE CAN BE LOOKING AT, UM, MANDATORY MULTIFAMILY RECYCLING, WHETHER THE CITY TAKES ON THAT BURDEN OR NOT, JUST REQUIRES, YOU KNOW, PRIVATE, BUT WHERE ARE WE IN THAT PROCESS? AND HAS THAT BEGUN YET? YES, AND THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT PROCESS IS GOING.
UH, I BELIEVE THE TEAM STARTED THAT PRIOR TO MY ARRIVAL.
AND SINCE THEN, UH, NOW WE ARE TO THE POINT WHERE WE ARE MEETING BIWEEKLY, AND BY, WHEN I SAY WE, I'M TALKING ABOUT MEMBERS OF THE APARTMENT ASSOCIATIONS, UH, AND, UH, OTHER INDUSTRIAL, UH, AND COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT TOWN, THAT, THAT REPRESENTS THOSE AREAS.
'CAUSE AS WE TALK ABOUT FUTURE NEEDS, AND I KNOW MANY OF US AROUND THE HORSESHOE BRING THIS UP AS TO YOU, UM, THE LIFECYCLE OF OUR LANDFILLS.
AND IF WE DO NOT START CURBING WASTE NOW, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE IN BIG TROUBLE.
SO I, UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT UPDATE.
AND IN TERMS OF THE PROFITABILITY OF RECYCLING MATERIALS RIGHT NOW, ARE WE SEEING AN IMPROVEMENT IN THAT? YES, THERE'S BEEN A SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT IN THERE.
I THINK OUR CFO CAN ATTEST TO THAT AS WELL.
UM, AND IN FACT, I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE TO PAY OUR PROCESSOR NOW.
SO, YOU KNOW, UH, I, THE WAY OUR CONTRACT IS SET UP IS THAT WHEN THE MATERIALS, THE BLENDED VALUE OF THE MATERIALS REACHES A CERTAIN THRESHOLD, UH, THAT THE CITY DOESN'T HAVE TO PAY.
AND JUST ONE FOLLOW UP ON THAT, AND THEN I, I'LL GO BACK IN THE QUEUE.
THE, UM, THERE WAS AN EFFORT TO EDUCATE ON THE CONTAMINATION OF RECYCLABLE MATERIALS.
ARE WE SEEING AN IMPROVEMENT IN THAT? YES, WE ARE.
AND WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH OUR PROCESSOR RIGHT NOW TO FIND OUT WHAT THAT NEW RATE IS.
UH, WHEN I ARRIVED, I BELIEVE OUR CONTAMINATION RATE WAS IN AROUND 39%.
WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING ANOTHER EVALUATION, UH, WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, IN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO.
AND WE EXPECT THAT RATE TO BE DOWN.
AND WE'RE ALREADY SEEING INDICATIONS.
AND IF I COULD GO BACK IN QUEUE PLEASE.
THANK YOU, MAYOR PROTO, AND THANK YOU, DIRECTOR.
UM, FIRST I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, ESPECIALLY IN DISTRICT A.
WE'VE SEEN A HUGE IMPROVEMENT IN COLLECTIONS, UM, SINCE YOU'VE BEEN ON BOARD, AND WHEN WE WERE MEETING ABOUT USING OUR SERVICE FUNDS TO SUPPLEMENT THE WORK, UM, YOUR QUESTION WAS, YOU WEREN'T JUST, OF COURSE, WE'LL TAKE YOUR MONEY, YOU WERE REALLY QUESTIONING, WELL, WHY ARE WE NOT PICKING IT UP ON TIME? AND I REALLY APPRECIATED, YOU KNOW, HOW YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT THAT.
SO, UM, MY QUESTION IS ABOUT THE BUSINESS RECYCLING PROGRAM AND THE COMMERCIAL COLLECTIONS.
HAS THAT BEEN, HAVE THOSE TWO PROGRAMS BEEN EVALUATED RECENTLY TO SEE IF IT'S, UM, BENEFICIAL TO CONTINUE THAT FINANCIALLY OR IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD SUSPEND OR INCREASE, OR HAS THAT BEEN EVALUATED? YES.
UM, AND, AND WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH SOME PARTNERS, UH, HERE.
WHEN I SAY PARTNERS, I MEAN, THESE ARE BIG PARTNERS, EXXONMOBIL AND, AND WHATNOT.
SO WE HAVE THE, THE SMALL, UM, SMALL SCALE RECYCLING, COMMERCIAL RECYCLING PROGRAM FOR THE SMALL PRODUCERS AND SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND THAT SEEMS TO BE WORKING RELATIVELY WELL RIGHT NOW.
WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT, AND WE'RE WORKING ON ADDRESSING THAT RIGHT NOW.
BUT PERHAPS I, I THINK THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY IS THAT, UM, UM, A LOT OF THE PARTNERS THAT WANNA WORK WITH US RIGHT NOW, THEY SEE THE VALUE IN THAT PROGRAM.
THEY APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT WE'VE GOTTEN STARTED AND THEY'RE READY TO HELP US TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
SO ABANDONING IT WOULD, WOULD NOT BE THE, THE RIGHT CHOICE AT THIS TIME.
AND AS FAR AS THE COMMERCIAL COLLECTIONS FOR TRASH PICKUP, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN EVALUATED TOO, WHERE COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES CAN BASICALLY CONTRACT WITH THE CITY FOR A PICKUP? THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I, I'M EVALUATING RIGHT NOW.
I STILL NEED TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH OUR REVENUE AND FINANCE TEAM, UH, BUT I DO SEE SOME SERIOUS POTENTIALS IN THERE.
WE CAN'T KEEP GIVING AWAY THE BUSINESS COUNCIL MEMBER, SALLY ALCORN.
THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR.
AND, UM, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, I, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE OPERATING ACCORDING TO THE SOLID WASTE, LONG RANGE, SOLID WASTE PLAN AT A 20 TO $40 MILLION DEFICIT.
JUST WALKING IN THE DOOR, 20 TO $40 MILLION DOWN.
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UM, WE'RE PICKING UP 391,000 HOMES, RIGHT? CORRECT.WE'VE GOT ANOTHER 50,000 ON SPONSORSHIP THAT ARE PAYING THEIR OWN PRIVATE TRASH.
I REALLY APPRECIATED YOUR SLIDE ON, UM, THAT HAD THE DIFFERENT CITIES ON THERE.
UH, I WOULD ADD THAT THOSE CITIES THAT YOU, THAT YOU HAVE ON THOSE SLIDES, ESPECIALLY DALLAS, SAN ANTONIO, AND AUSTIN, ALL HAVE A FEE.
UM, THE FEE IN DALLAS IS $34 AND 30 CENTS WEEKLY GARBAGE AND RECYCLING MONTHLY BRUSH AND BULKY BULK WASTE.
AUSTIN HAS PAY AS YOU THROW RANGES FROM $22 AND 65 CENTS TO $49 AND 50 CENTS A MONTH, SAN ANTONIO, $14 THROUGH, THEY ALSO HAVE PAY AS YOU THROW THROUGH $26.
IT'S EMPLOYEES AND IT'S EQUIPMENT.
AND I DON'T SEE HOW YOU GET THERE WITH $96 MILLION A YEAR FROM THE GENERAL FUND.
SO I'D LIKE YOU TO, UM, GIVE ME YOUR EXPERIENCE IN TAMPA AND ANY OTHER EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE WITH HOW A FEE, UM, WAS ORIGINATED AND HOW YOU THINK THAT MIGHT PLAY OUT HERE.
AND, AND TAMPA AS WELL AS OTHER, YOU KNOW, ENTERPRISE FUND DEPARTMENTS, UM, IN THE SOLID WASTE INDUSTRY, THE FEE WAS A LITTLE BIT HIGHER INTENSE.
IT'S AROUND $36, YOU KNOW, PER HOUSEHOLD, BUT THAT FEE WAS ALSO COVERING THE COST OF THE SERVICE, RIGHT? SO EMPLOYEES AND EQUIPMENT FIRST SUPPLIES THE OTHER ASSOCIATED EXPENSES THAT COME ALONG WITH MANAGING A SOLID WASTE PROGRAM.
PEOPLE OFTEN FORGET ABOUT THE, THE TRUE COST OF DISPOSAL.
UH, THOSE ARE REAL DOLLARS, RIGHT? SO WHEN WE SHOW UP AT A DISPOSAL FACILITY AT A LANDFILL, AND WE HAVE TO DRIVE ACROSS SOMEONE'S SCALES, THERE'S NO SORT OF, UH, INTERNAL FUND TRANSFER THAT SATISFIES THAT TRANSACTION.
THERE'S A CHECK THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR.
AND THAT DISPOSAL COSTS USUALLY COSTS ABOUT A, A THIRD OF THE SERVICE.
AND I, IF I WAS GONNA RANK IT, I WOULD PROBABLY RANK IT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN NUMBER ONE AND THREE.
UH, WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO THE ASSETS, IT'S GONNA BE RIGHT THERE BETWEEN THE COST OF EMPLOYEES AND THE COST OF EQUIPMENT, UH, OR THE TWO GRADE THREE GREATEST, UH, UH, COSTS OF THAT SERVICE.
SO AGAIN, THAT'S WHAT YOUR RATE IS DESIGNED TO COVER.
UH, IN TAMPA, WE, WE ALSO HAD A DIFFERENT DISPOSAL SYSTEM, SO WE HAD A BOND TO COVER.
SO OUR RATE WAS DESIGNED TO COVER THE COST OF, YOU KNOW, SATISFYING THE BOND EACH EACH YEAR.
UM, HOWEVER, ONCE WE REACHED THE, THE AREAS AND THE BONDS MATURED, AND WE, WE PAID THAT BOND OFF, WE ENJOYED A $14 MILLION SWING.
UH, REALLY IT'S ABOUT A $28 MILLION SWING.
ALL OF THAT MONEY DID NOT STAY IN THE DEPARTMENT.
WE COVER OUR RESERVES, RAINY DAY FUNDS AND WHATNOT.
THE REST OF THAT HAS TO GO BACK TO THE GENERAL FUND IN ORDER TO SUPPORT OTHER AREAS OF THE CITY.
SO WHENEVER YOU HEAR ME TALK ABOUT A RATE OR BRINGING ON A RATE, IT'S NUMBER ONE, TO TAKE CARE OF WHAT WE NEED TO TAKE CARE OF IN HOUSE SO THAT WE CAN DELIVER THE ON TIME SERVICE AND HAVE THE EQUIPMENT THAT WE NEED, UH, SO THAT OUR MEN AND WOMEN CAN SHOW UP AND, AND DELIVER THAT AND NOT HAVE TO STAY OUT UNTIL EIGHT OR NINE O'CLOCK AT NIGHT OR COME IN ON A SUNDAY.
UH, BUT IT'S TO COVER THAT FIRST AND THEN SUPPORT THE OTHER AREAS OF THE CITY THAT NEED IT.
AND WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO, RIGHT? SO IF WE WERE TO, UH, EMBARK UPON THAT ROAD, IT'S GONNA BE A COUPLE OF YEARS BEFORE WE START SEEING THE BENEFITS OF THAT RETURN.
BUT THE GOAL WOULD BE, AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, TO REDUCE OUR DEPENDENCY ON THE GENERAL FUND AND ALLOW THOSE FUNDS TO BE USED FOR OTHER AREAS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
I, I TOLD COUNCIL MEMBER PECK, I WAS OFFENDED WHEN SHE SAT ACROSS FROM ME AND SAID THAT SHE WANTED TO RUN HER SOLID WASTE PROGRAM.
I WAS LIKE, WELL, WHAT ARE WE
AND I THINK OUR RESIDENTS AND CUSTOMERS DESERVE BETTER.
COUNCIL MEMBER CAROLYN EVANS SHABAZZ.
THANK YOU MAYOR PROAM, AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE EVER SETTLED, I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT LIVING IN DISTRICT D, BUT AT ANY RATE, YES.
WE, WE TALKED BEFORE ABOUT HOT TEAMS HOT AND HOW ONLY SOME DISTRICTS HAVE TO EMPLOY PEOPLE FOR HOT TEAMS. IN MY PARTICULAR DISTRICT, WE EMPLOY FOUR PEOPLE AND PAY FOR TWO TRUCKS.
AND I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT HOW THAT COST COULD POSSIBLY BE ABSORBED, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT IS, YOU KNOW, IT DOES TAKE OUT OF OUR DISTRICTS, WHEREAS THERE ARE OTHERS THAT DON'T HAVE TO PAY THOSE COSTS.
SO I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING IN THE BUDGET REGARDING THAT.
AND SO I'M ENCOURAGED THAT THERE'S STILL AN OPPORTUNITY.
[00:25:01]
SO MAYBE YOU CAN, UH, ADDRESS THAT IN TERMS OF MAKING THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE EQUITABLE.AND TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION, ARE YOU, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO COVER THE COST OF WHAT THE HOT TEAMS ARE PROVIDING OR THE EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH THEM? ALL DISTRICTS? I DON'T THINK ALL THE DISTRICTS HAVE THEM.
THERE ARE THOSE THAT DO, BUT THERE ARE ALL DISTRICTS.
DO YOU HAVE ONE? A HOT TEAM? NO.
WE ARE NOT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOLID WASTE RIGHT NOW.
SO I'M NOT TRYING TO COMPARE WHAT EACH PERSON PAYS, BUT MY QUESTION IS, WE HAVE TO HIRE FOUR.
WE ARE FOUR MEN ARE WOMEN MM-HMM
AND WE PAY FOR TWO TRUCKS FOR TRASH PICKUP.
AND I'M JUST WONDERING, BECAUSE YOU AND I HAD THE CONVERSATION, RIGHT, NOT TRYING TO SAY THAT OTHERS DON'T PAY FOR OTHER THINGS MM-HMM
THAT I MAY PAY FOR SOMETHING THAT YOU MAY NOT, BUT SOMEWHAT, IT JUST DOESN'T SOMEWHAT SEEM EQUITABLE.
RIGHT? FOR SOME DISTRICTS TO HAVE TO PAY FOR A HOT TEAM AND EMPLOY ADDITIONAL PEOPLE TO PICK UP THAT, WHICH ALL HOUSTONIANS EXPECT.
RIGHT? AND SO IF YOU COULD ADDRESS THAT, I'D APPRECIATE IT.
AND I THINK WHAT WE MAY BE SEEING IS, UM, IT, IT MAY SPEAK TO, UM, TRYING TO FIND THE RIGHT WAY TO SAY THIS, THE, THE, THE DIFFERENCE IN NEIGHBORHOODS, YOU KNOW, THE, THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS AS LARGE AS IT IS, YOU HAVE SOME NEIGHBORHOODS, UM, WHERE WE SEE DEVELOPMENT OCCURRING.
AND AS THAT DEVELOPMENT IS OCCURRING, WE NOTICE THE AMOUNT OF ILLEGAL DUMPING AND THE NEEDS FOR HOT TEAMS WILL, WILL KIND OF DRAW DOWN, UH, IN OTHER DISTRICTS, THEY MAY HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, A FEW MORE COMMERCIAL AREAS THAN RESIDENTIAL AREAS.
SO THEIR APPROACH MAY BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
YOU KNOW, IT MAY BE A QUARTERLY APPROACH OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE.
BUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING AND WHAT I'M OBSERVING IS THAT EACH DISTRICT HAS ITS OWN UNIQUE, YOU KNOW, FEATURES.
AND, AND ONE DISTRICT MAY REQUIRE A HOT TEAM.
AND WE APPRECIATE THE HOT TEAMS, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THEY KIND OF, THEY KIND OF FILL IN THE GAP RIGHT NOW WHERE WE WANT TO, BUT WE JUST CAN'T BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS THE MORE PRESSING ISSUES.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S WHY YOU MAY SEE THAT FROM, AS I TRAVEL THROUGHOUT AND I LOOK AT SOME OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND I SEE WHERE THERE IS A GREATER NEED, YOU KNOW, FOR SOME OF THOSE AREAS.
AND I THINK THE, THE WONDERFUL THING THAT I'VE LEARNED ABOUT CITY OF HOUSTON, UH, I WAS KIND OF KICKING MYSELF 'CAUSE I WISH I WOULD'VE MET WITH THEM ON THE FIRST DAY THAT I WAS HERE, IS THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY.
THEY'VE GOT SOME WONDERFUL IDEAS.
AND, AND WE WERE CHATTING THE OTHER DAY ABOUT, UM, NOW THAT WE KNOW WHERE A MAJORITY OF OUR DEBRIS IS BEING GENERATED AT, UH, WHAT KIND OF PROGRAMS, HOW CAN WE AUGMENT OUR PROGRAMS SO THAT WE CAN CONCENTRATE OUR EQUIPMENT IN THOSE AREAS AND NOT AS HEAVY ON THE AREAS, YOU KNOW, WHERE THERE IS NOT AS MUCH GENERATION OF THE ILLEGAL DUMPING AND WHATNOT.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHY A LOT OF TIMES YOU'LL SEE THAT DIFFERENCE.
I, I DO UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S A DIFFERENCE.
BUT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT IT AND I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU WERE ABLE TO DO THAT, WHICH WE, WE TALKED ABOUT, BUT APPARENTLY NOT AT THIS JUNCTURE.
NOT, NOT AT THIS TIME, BUT WE'RE STILL WORKING ON IT.
WE HAVEN'T FORGOT ABOUT THAT REQUEST.
AND, AND IN FACT, I'M GOING TO, UM, ADDRESS SOMETHING IN YOUR, IN YOUR DISTRICT PRETTY SOON, VICE CHAIR, ED POLLARD, CHATTY KATHY OVER THERE.
AND THANK YOU, UH, DIRECTOR, UH, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, ONE, IF WE WERE TO HAVE A FEE, UH, WHAT WOULD BE SOME OF THE PRIORITY AREAS OF YOUR, OF YOUR DEPARTMENT THAT WOULD SEE AN IMPACT FROM THAT FEE? UH, FROM THE, FROM THE, FROM THE JUMP? WOULD IT BE ADDITIONAL DRIVERS? WOULD IT BE PAY FOR ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT? LIKE WHERE WOULD THAT MONEY GO TOWARDS? RIGHT.
SO WHEN, WHEN YOU SAY FROM THE JUMP FOR US, FROM THE JUMP MEANS AT LEAST A YEAR OUT, UM, WITH THE, THE TIME THAT'S REQUIRED TO SECURE EQUIPMENT, YOU KNOW, AND THE SHORTAGES AND THE, THE BACKLOGS AND, AND, AND WHAT IT TAKES TO SECURE THAT EQUIPMENT.
UH, YOU, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A, A GOOD YEAR, A YEAR AND A HALF OUT.
UH, SO WHAT, WHAT YOU WOULD SEE RIGHT OFF THE BAT IS ON TIME SERVICE.
SO YOU PUT YOUR RECYCLING CONTAINER OUT ON MONDAY, AND THAT'S YOUR SCHEDULED COLLECTION DAY IS COLLECTED BY MONDAY AT FIVE O'CLOCK.
AND ALSO, I JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU, UH, A SHOUT OUT FOR BEING REAL OPEN-MINDED ABOUT THE DISTRICT J PRIVATE TRASH DAY AND WORKING WITH OUR OFFICE TO COLLABORATE ON WAYS IN WHICH TO MAKE THAT PROGRAM EFFICIENT RIGHT.
IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE CONTINUING AND THAT THE, UH, CONSTITUENTS SEEM TO FIND BENEFICIAL.
YOU AGAIN, LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING WORKING WITH YOU.
AND, AND DIRECTOR WILFORD, I MUST SAY YOU'VE DONE A BANG UP JOB IN YOUR INITIAL TIME HERE.
I USED TO ALWAYS TELL EVERYBODY I LOVE ME SOME HARRY HAYES.
I'LL ALWAYS LOVE ME SOME HARRY HAYES.
BUT YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB COMING IN AND PICKING UP WHAT HARRY HAYES STARTED DEVELOPING.
I HATE TO SEE, UH, MR. ANTHONY
[00:30:01]
BOWIE RETIRING AND I SEE MISS CAROLYN OUT THERE.UH, THEY DID A GREAT JOB FOR US MANY, MANY, MANY, MANY TIMES.
AND ESPECIALLY IN 2017 WHEN I HAD THE BLESSING IN THE HONOR OF WORKING WITH, I THINK ONE OF YOUR COUNTERPARTS.
HE ACTUALLY DID A STINT IN TEMP IN TAMPA.
DAVID, MR. MR. MCC, CAREY MCC.
AND DAVID RAN SOLID WASTE IN SAN ANTONIO AT THE TIME, AND JESSICA AND I SPENT LITERALLY 40 DAYS IN A ROW WITH HIM, NEVER MISSING A DAY.
AND HE WOULD, HE AND I WOULD TALK ABOUT VARIOUS THINGS, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT STRUCK ME IS HE WAS TELLING ME THAT Y'ALL HAD A WASTE ENERGY PLANT IN TAMPA, AND YOU WOULD SELL THE WASTE TO THE ENERGY ELECTRIC COMPANY, AND THEY WOULD MOVE THE WASTE INTO ELECTRICITY.
IS THERE ANY OPTION FOR US HERE IN THE CITY TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU DID IN TAMPA? UM, I WOULD LOVE IT.
IT IS AN EXPENSIVE UNDERTAKING.
BUT IT IS, UH, IT IS DEFINITELY A WAY TO SAVE SPACE AND RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, IT ELIMINATES THE NEED FOR THE LANDFILLS.
THAT'S THE BIGGEST VALUE RIGHT THERE.
SO, UH, IDEA WISE, HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? UM, TODAY YOU'RE PROBABLY LOOKING AT ABOUT A BILLION DOLLARS.
THE, UH, THE LAST ONE THAT I KNOW OF THAT WAS PERMITTED IN SOUTH FLORIDA WAS ABOUT 880 MILLION.
AND THAT WAS ABOUT THREE OR FOUR YEARS AGO.
AND, AND A AND ANOTHER QUICK QUESTION, UM, YEARS AGO, WE MADE A LOT OF MONEY ON, ON, UM, COMMODITIES.
AND THE COMMODITY MARKET WAS A LOT DIFFERENT.
HOW IS IT TODAY? I KNOW THAT I'M, I'M LITERALLY THINKING MAYBE SIX, SEVEN YEARS AGO WE WERE MAKING A GOOD DEAL OF MONEY ON COMMODITIES AND THEN WENT SOUTH ON US, AND THEN WE STARTED PAYING WASTE MANAGEMENT TO TAKE OUR COMMODITIES.
IS THERE ANY COMING BACK IN THAT MARKET? I HAVEN'T REALLY LOOKED AT IT.
IT'S KIND OF LEVELED OUT, BUT WE'RE STILL NOT SEEING WHAT YOU ALL ENJOYED.
YOU KNOW, DURING THAT TIME AGO, IN FACT, UM, FROM FLORIDA, I USED TO LOOK AT THAT AND I USED TO CATCH HEAT BECAUSE PEOPLE WOULD SAY, HOW COME YOU'RE NOT DOING WHAT TEXAS IS DOING? YOU KNOW? BUT AGAIN, IT'S A REGIONAL, IT'S A REGIONAL MARKET.
IT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY VOLATILE.
YOU KNOW, I DEFINITELY WOULDN'T LIKE BET BET MY LIFE SAVINGS ON IT.
UH, BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF BREAKING EVEN, YOU KNOW, IN THAT RECYCLING MARKET AS FAR AS THE COMMODITIES ARE CONCERNED.
AND, AND DIRECTOR BOWIE, WE'RE GONNA MISS YOU.
YOU, YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB FOR US.
AND SO HAVE YOU, DIRECTOR WRIGHT, EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE, WE'RE NOT LETTING YOU COUNCIL MEMBER ROBERT GALLEGOS.
TIM, THANK YOU, DIRECTOR FOR THE PRESENTATION.
IT WAS, UH, EN ENJOYED, UH, VISITING WITH YOU, UH, LAST WEEK IN, IN REGARDS TO, UH, GETTING SOME UPDATES.
UM, I KNOW THAT, UH, LEAVING MY OFFICE RIGHT NOW, UH, CONSTITUENT SERVICES POINTED OUT TO ME THAT WE HAVE A CONSTITUENT THAT HAS BEEN WAITING FOR A TRASH CAN.
'CAUSE I BELIEVE THEIR TRASH CAN WAS STOLEN.
UH, AND THEY'VE BEEN WAITING FOR TRASH CANS SINCE APRIL.
UH, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE, UM, SOME TRASH A CANS THAT ARE SITTING ON CAPITOL STREET THAT THEY'RE STILL BEEN WAITING FOR THE, FOR, FOR THE, FOR THAT TRASH TO BE PICKED UP.
UM, AND I SAY ALL THIS BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO ELABORATE WHAT, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN REGARDS TO TRUCKS BREAKING DOWN THE LACK OF HIRING EMPLOYEES SO THAT WAY THE GENERAL PUBLIC CAN HEAR EXACTLY WHAT THE ISSUES ARE.
UH, 'CAUSE UM, ALL, ALL, ALL THEY SEE IS THAT THEY WANT THEIR CAN AND THE CAN'S NOT BEING DELIVERED.
ALL THEY'RE SEEING IS THAT THEY WANT THEIR TRASH CAN PICKED UP AND THEIR TRASH HASN'T BEEN DELIVERED, UH, UNTIL THEY CALL OUR OFFICE.
AND WE TRY TO EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT THE SITUATION IS.
UH, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE LEANING TOWARDS A A A FEE, WE NEED TO LET THE PUBLIC KNOW WHY.
YOU KNOW, SO IF YOU CAN ELABORATE WHAT, WHAT THE ISSUES ARE, PLEASE.
AND, AND THERE'S SEVERAL, YOU KNOW, COMPOUNDING ISSUES.
AND, AND I THINK WE, YOU KNOW, ALSO WANT TO BE CLEAR TO SAY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THE FEE GETS US GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND IT'S NOT THE THE MAGIC OF LAKE, SIR.
YOU KNOW, SO, UM, WHAT PEOPLE MAY BE EXPERIENCING WHEN THEY RUN INTO THOSE DELAYS IS, AGAIN, THAT, THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH, UH, 420 SOME ODD EMPLOYEES, DEPARTMENT WIDE.
UH, SO WHAT YOU SEE THE TEAM DOING IS CONCENTRATING ON, YOU KNOW, THE, THE BIG FIRES, YOU KNOW, AND TRYING TO KEEP THOSE FROM GROWING EVEN LARGER.
UH, SO IF SOMEBODY'S WAITING ON A CAN, IT COULD VERY WELL BE BECAUSE ANOTHER TEAM MEMBER WAS REASSIGNED TO TAKE CARE OF A ROUTE, YOU KNOW? AND THAT MAY HAVE BEEN MORE PRESSING THAT DAY.
UM, WE HAVE SOME SYSTEMS THAT WE ALSO HAVE TO KIND OF UPDATE AND HOW WE, UH, WHEN IT, AS IT PERTAINS TO LOGISTICS AND, AND MAYBE, UH, SERVICE ORDER MANAGEMENT, YOU KNOW, TO KIND OF MAKE THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE ELECTRONIC THAN MANUAL.
SO THAT'S PART OF THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES, UH, THAT WE HAVE IN THE DEPARTMENT THAT WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, YOU KNOW.
UM, AND AGAIN, YOU MENTIONED EARLIER ABOUT THE VEHICLES.
YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE VEHICLES IN OUR FLEET ARE AS OLD AS, UH, JEFF, HEY, JEFF, 10 MINIMUM
[00:35:01]
10 YEARS OLD, YOU KNOW, AND THE AVERAGE LIFE OF A GARBAGE TRUCK SHOULD BE AROUND FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS.YOU KNOW? SO WE'VE GOTTA GET THAT VEHICLE REPLACEMENT PROGRAM UP TO WHERE IT SHOULD BE SO THAT ONCE WE KNOW THAT FIVE TO SEVEN YEAR MARK IS THERE, WE'RE LOOKING AT TRYING TO REPLACE THAT.
BECAUSE BELIEVE IT OR NOT, YOU'RE SPENDING MORE MONEY ON MAINTAINING THAT VEHICLE THAN THE VEHICLE IS NOW WORTH.
YOU KNOW, SO WHEN THOSE VEHICLES BREAK DOWN, UH, IF THE MANUFACTURERS, AND YOU'VE GOT THE, YOUR THREE MODELS OR FOUR MODELS IN, NOW YOU'VE GOTTA WAIT ON A PART TO BE FABRICATED IN ORDER TO GET THAT VEHICLE FIXED, WHICH MEANS IT HAS TO SIT AND WAIT, YOU KNOW, FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS LONGER.
AND ALL OF THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE THE, AGAIN, TWO GREATEST ASSETS, THE ABSENCE OF EMPLOYEES, THE ABSENCE OF EQUIPMENT, YOU'RE GONNA EXPERIENCE THOSE DELAYS IN SERVICES.
UM, SO THE, THE, UM, THE MODEL THAT THE TEAM HAS GENERATED THAT SEEMS TO BE EFFECTIVE RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE ALWAYS GONNA CONCENTRATE ON GARBAGE FIRST.
WE DON'T WANT THAT TO SIT OUT FOR DAYS AND, AND WHATNOT AND DRAW THE FLIES AND VECTORS THAT COME ALONG WITH THAT.
AND THEN WE'LL MAKE UP THE RECYCLING A LITTLE BIT LATER, YOU KNOW, DURING THE WEEK.
SO JUST A SNAPSHOT OF THE DELAYS.
AND, AND, AND WHAT I'VE STATED WITH TO YOUR PREDECESSOR, YOU KNOW, DIRECTOR HAYES, WHEN HE BROUGHT THIS TO MY ATTENTION YEARS AGO THAT WE WERE NEEDING A GARBAGE FEE BECAUSE ALL THESE OTHER MAJOR CITIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS HAVE A MONTHLY GARBAGE FEE.
THE, UH, UM, WHAT I STATED AS, YOU KNOW, WHEN I WAS PRESIDENT OF MY CIVIC CLUB AND PRESIDENT OF THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD, AND I'VE MEN, I'VE ASKED AND MENTIONED THIS TO, UH, CIVIC CLUBS, WHEN I GO OUT AND, AND, AND THEY START TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, MISSED PICKUPS AND WHAT HAVE YOU WITH REGARDING TRASH, IS THAT IF THERE IS A GARBAGE FEE, IN MY OPINION, YOU KNOW, I'M HOPING IT'S NOT JUST TO PICK UP YOUR, YOUR, YOUR TRASH CAN AND YOUR RECYCLING MAN, IT'S ALSO GONNA BE TO PICK UP THOSE TIRES THAT ARE BEING DUMPED ON THE VACANT LOT.
IT'S ALSO TO BE, PICK UP THAT ILLEGAL DUMPING THAT'S BEING DUMPED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, THAT'S BRINGING DOWN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
THAT'S CAUSING CRIME BECAUSE OF, OF ALL THIS ILLEGAL DUMPING.
UH, SO IT'S A CATCH 22, UH, AND THEN WE PAY A, A GARBAGE FEE, A MONTHLY GARBAGE FEE.
CONSTITUENTS ARE GONNA EXPECT MORE THAN JUST PICKING UP THE TRASH CAN.
UH, AND, AND THAT'S WHAT I'M HOPING WILL HAPPEN IS THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO PICK UP THOSE TIRES, WE'LL BE ABLE TO PICK UP THE ILLEGAL DUMPING AND CLEAN UP OUR NEIGHBORHOODS AT THE SAME TIME.
AND I THINK THE PUB, THE MAJORITY OF PUB, THE PUBLIC WILL GO WITH IT.
AND, AND, UM, AND JUST TO ADD ON TO THAT, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME OPPORTUNITIES TO CREATE SOME MORE PROGRAMS, UH, THAT CONCENTRATE ON SOLID WASTE.
AND I KNOW WE HAVE CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND WE, WE WORK WITH OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, DEPARTMENT WITH THAT.
BUT, UM, IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES THAT WE HAVE NOW, I, I REALLY FEEL THAT THERE WOULD BE SOME BENEFITS FOR THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT TO HAVE ITS OWN CODE ENFORCEMENT TEAM, UH, MAYBE TWO OR THREE FOR EACH SECTOR.
AND AS WE SEE THESE, UM, UH, ILLEGAL DUMPING ISSUES POP UP, IT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONCENTRATE THE TIME THAT'S NEEDED ON MITIGATING ISSUES.
AND I KNOW YOU BROUGHT THAT UP TO ME WHEN WE MET MM-HMM
UH, AND, AND I TOTALLY AGREE THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE CODE ENFORCEMENT INSPECTORS IN SOLID WASTE SO THAT THOSE THAT END UP PUTTING THEIR ILLEGAL, DUMPING OUT A DAY OR TWO AFTER IT WAS ALREADY PICKED UP IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
THEY CAN BE TOLD, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THIS.
UH, AND HOPEFULLY THEY WILL STOP DOING THAT.
AND THAT WAY OF CLEANING UP OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
THAT, THAT'S COUNCIL MEMBER DAVID ROBINSON.
UM, DIRECTOR, THANKS VERY MUCH FOR ALL THE REASONS COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID, UH, WANTED TO PICK UP NOT ONLY ON, UH, POINTS MADE ABOUT THE, THE REQUISITE COLLABORATION THAT YOU HAVE TO DO WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS, WHETHER THAT'S THE DON, UM, IN THE CASE OF, UH, POTENTIAL, UH, GENERATION OF, OF ELECTRICITY THAT THE CHAIR ASKED YOU ABOUT.
UH, MAYOR PRO TEM ON OUR RECENT TRIP TO DENMARK, WHICH IS WHERE WE WERE ESCORTED WITH, YOU KNOW, THE DELEGATION WAS REALLY ABOUT THE, THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
AND THAT'S WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR COLLABORATION DIRECTOR WITH THOSE WHO HAVE MAYBE MORE INFRASTRUCTURE DOLLARS IN THEIR DEPARTMENTS ALREADY, OR WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN B BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN OUR SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT CONCERNS AND HOW, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT ACTUALLY EMBRACE, UH, HOW YOUR PART OF OUR ANNUAL BUDGET BECOMES PART OF OUR GENERATION OF ELECTRICITY AND OUR UTILITY STRUCTURE, AND PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE OVERALL MAINTENANCE AND THE MANAGEMENT OF OUR, UM, RESOURCES.
AND I, I KNOW THAT'S NOT NEWS TO YOU WITH YOUR EXPERIENCE IN TAMPA.
THAT'S, IT'S SOMETHING, I MEAN, YOU DID THROW OUT THE BILLION DOLLAR FIGURE FOR A PLANT.
RIGHT? UM, AND I'D LIKE TO OBSERVE THAT THAT IS A, A REALLY FUNGIBLE NUMBER THAT'S NOT SET AT 1.00 REPEATING BILLION THAT'S
[00:40:01]
SCALABLE IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.HOW YOU DO IT, WHAT YOU DO WITH THE MONEY IS ENTIRELY SUBJECT TO HOW WE MIGHT DEVISE OR DESIGN A, A PROGRAM.
AND SO IN YOUR SIX MONTHS HERE MM-HMM
I KNOW YOU'VE ALREADY BROUGHT A LOT OF INNOVATION, UH, TO THE DEPARTMENT, AND I'M SO PLEASED TO SEE IT AND, UH, WITNESS THE WORK YOU'RE DOING.
I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE OFFICE OF INNOVATION IN THE MAYOR'S DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS THE SUSTAINABLE OFFICE.
UM, AND THAT'S REALLY MY COMMENT.
IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD TO THAT, I'D LOVE TO HEAR IT.
UH, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON.
THE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT THAT BILLION DOLLARS TO SCARE YOU, RIGHT? IT'S A BIG NUMBER, BUT YOU, YOU GOTTA LOOK AT, UM, THE VALUE OF THAT BEYOND THE DOLLARS AND CENTS, YOU KNOW, SO THAT'S, UH, THAT'S LAND THAT YOU'RE NOT TAKING UP THAT THAT COULD PROBABLY USE FOR, BE USED FOR HOUSING OR SOME SORT OF FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OR, YOU KNOW, JUST PRESERVATION OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE.
AND THEN THE AMOUNT, UH, OF REVENUE THAT YOU GENERATE FROM THE SALE OF ENERGY, WHICH YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL OF NOWADAYS BECAUSE YOU HAVE OTHER, YOU KNOW, FORMS OF ENERGY THAT ARE NOW COMPETITIVE ON THE MARKET, C AND G AND, AND WHATNOT.
UM, YOU HAVE TO WATCH THAT, BUT IT DOES GO TOWARDS OFFSETTING THAT EXPENSE.
AND JUST TO GIVE YOU A QUICK STORY OF MY LEVEL OF IGNORANCE, UH, WHEN I WAS APPOINTED TO BE DIRECTOR IN TAMPA, THE FIRST THING I WANTED TO DO WAS SELL THE WASTE ENERGY PLANT.
YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT COST US 10 MILLION TO RUN AND WE ONLY GOT, YOU KNOW, 5 MILLION IN RETURN.
I'M LIKE, THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
BUT THEN I THOUGHT ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE WE GONNA GO? YOU KNOW, OUR TRUCKS ARE GONNA HAVE TO DRIVE 60 MILES NOW JUST TO GO TO ONE LANDFILL.
SO THE VALUE OF HAVING THAT WASTED ENERGY PLANT THERE, UM, UH, WAS, WAS MORE THAN JUST THE DOLLARS AND CENTS.
COUNCIL MEMBER, ABBY CAYMAN, DIRECTOR, NORMALLY, UH, I ASK A QUESTION, THE QUESTION, EVERYONE'S HEARD IT ALREADY ABOUT THE NEEDS OF THE DEPARTMENT LOOKING FORWARD, BUT I THINK YOU'VE COVERED A LOT OF THOSE.
UM, IN TERMS OF LOOKING AHEAD AT THE FUTURE AND WHAT WE NEED, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANNA ADD TO THAT THAT HAS NOT BEEN DISCUSSED? I'M GLAD YOU ASKED
NO, BUT WE, WE DID, WE COVERED A LOT OF IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS, AS FAR AS ANY SORT OF UNMET NEEDS, YOU KNOW, AS IT AS IT RELATES TO THAT, YOU HEARD ME TALK ABOUT, UM, UH, VEHICLE COORDINATION THAT REALLY INVOLVES MAY HAVING SOMEONE IN OUR DEPARTMENT THAT JUST FOCUSES ON NOTHING BUT VEHICLES, AND THEY, THEY MAINTAIN THIS OUTSTANDING RELATIONSHIP WITH FLEET MAINTENANCE.
THEY HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TAKING CARE OF THE, THE EQUIPMENT, AND THEN THEY ALSO WORK WITH FLEET MAINTENANCE TO MAKE SURE VEHICLES ARE AVAILABLE.
YOU HEARD ME SPEAK OFTEN ABOUT CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AS WELL.
ADDITIONAL DRIVERS, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW, PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST STARTLING THINGS THAT I'VE SEEN IS I GO OUT ON ROUTE, UH, RUN INTO, UH, I BELIEVE IT'S DANIEL WILLIAMS, YOU KNOW, AT THE SOUTHEAST SERVICE CENTER.
AND HE'S, HE'S PICKING UP, AND I ASK HIM, HOW MANY HOMES DOES HE HAVE ON HIS ROUTE? AND HE TELLS ME 3000.
I SAID, AH, HE'S EXAGGERATING.
I GET BACK TO THE SERVICE CENTER.
SAID, NO, HE IS TELLING THE TRUTH.
YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF THE DEPARTMENT CONTINUOUSLY TRYING.
ITS, ITS QUEST TO WANT TO SERVE OUR PUBLIC AND, AND PROVIDE THAT SERVICE AND GIVING US EVERYTHING WE GOT.
BUT I CAN TELL YOU, 3000 HOMES FOR ONE DRIVER IS UNREALISTIC.
THE TRUCK WILL BE THROWING IN THE TOWEL AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
WE END UP OVERWORKING THE DRIVER IN THE TRUCK AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WE END UP IN A BAD SITUATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I DEFINITELY WANT TO CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON THE ILLEGAL DUMP IN THIS HERE.
I WANT TO SEE IF WE CAN, YOU KNOW, START DROPPING SOME MORE CAMERAS THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND SOME OF THOSE AREAS THAT HAVE A LOT OF THAT, THAT UNNECESSARY ACTIVITY, SEE IF WE CAN CURB SOME OF THAT BEHAVIOR.
UH, PUBLIC WORKS HAS BEEN GREAT TO WORK WITH AS WELL.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA FIND SOME OF THE ROADS THAT ARE LESS TRAVELED, LIKE WHAT WE HAD ON THE NEWS THE OTHER DAY, UM, AND SEE IF WE CAN JUST BLOCK SOME OF THE, THE INGRESS AND EGRESS OFF THE CURB.
THAT BEHAVIOR, YOU KNOW, WELL, AGAIN, I APPRECIATE IT.
AND LIKE YOU SAID, UM, ONE TEAM OR ONE PERSON HAVING TO DEAL WITH 3000 HOMES, UM, WE SHOULDN'T BE ASKING ANY CITY EMPLOYEE RIGHT.
SO THANKS, MY GRATITUDE AGAIN.
AND ALSO, I KNOW YOU'VE REALLY PUT YOUR HEAD, UM, TO THE GROUND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT SOME NEW AND UNIQUE WAYS OF RECRUITING AND DROP JOB TRAINING.
SO, UH, I, I JUST APPRECIATE THE LEADERSHIP YOU AND YOUR TEAM ARE PROVIDING.
WHAT, WHAT ARE OUR ANNUAL TIPPING FEES? UH, I BELIEVE WE HOVER AROUND 25, 20 $6 PER TON.
AND ON THE RECYCLING REVENUE, YOU KNOW, THE RECYCLING FUND PERFORMANCE MEASURES, IT HAS 12% CURBSIDE RECYCLING.
WHAT, WHAT EXACTLY DOES THAT MEAN? WHAT IS THAT FIGURE? IT'S ON THE PERFORMANCE
[00:45:01]
MEASURES.IT SAYS CURBSIDE RECYCLING RATES, SINGLE STREAM, 12% TARGET.
YOU'RE SAYING IT'S IN THE BUDGET BOOK OR ON THE YEAH, IT'S PAGE, UH, PROPOSED ROMAN NUMERAL 10 DASH 1 64.
I'LL, I'LL GET, THERE'S SOME TARGETS.
IT'S THE SAME TARGET AS LAST YEAR.
I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.
WHAT'S, WHAT'S THAT? 12%? I'LL, I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU.
AND YOU MENTIONED 15% CRITICAL VACANCIES IN NUMBERS.
I'M, I'M CURIOUS ON HOW MANY DRIVERS YOU'RE DOWN.
WHAT ABOUT, ARE THERE, WHAT OTHER CRITICAL POSITIONS ARE VACANT? THOSE ARE GONNA BE THE CRITICAL POSITIONS.
SO WHEN YOU TALK CRITICAL VACANCIES, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT DRIVERS? YEAH, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DRIVERS.
AND, AND YOU'RE, YOU'RE IN THE WORKS OF BRINGING THOSE ENTRY LEVEL SALARIES UP.
UM, MAYOR TURNER AND I HAVE BEEN, HAVE BEEN WORKING, UH, TOGETHER AND WE'VE, UH, HE, HE'S AUTHORIZED A 6% INCREASE.
AND NOW WHEN WE GO OUT, WE WE'RE ALSO, UH, INCREASING THE NUMBER OF JOB FAIRS THAT WE'RE ATTENDING, WORKING WITH OUR HR DEPARTMENT, JANE CHEEKS AND HER TEAM.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP ON COMPOSTING.
I NOTICED IT ON YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
AND THANK YOU FOR WORKING WITH THE OFFICE OF INNOVATION AND MY TEAM ON WHAT MIGHT COME NEXT.
I AGREE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER GALLEGOS.
I THINK THAT THE, THE FEE IS GONNA HAVE TO COME WITH SOME EXTRAS AND, AND I THINK IF WE DO GO TO CURBSIDE, UH, RECYCLING, LIKE OTHER CITIES, IT WOULD BE A VOLUNTARY PROGRAM AND AN ADDITIONAL FEE ON THE PEOPLE WHO WANNA PARTICIPATE.
AND YOU'D BE SURPRISED HOW MANY WANNA PARTICIPATE.
UM, DENVER HAS STARTED THIS AND THERE'S THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS, SO, BUT I, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T PUT ANYTHING MORE ON THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT.
SO
COUNCIL MEMBER TARSHA JACKSON.
AND, UM, THANK YOU DIRECTOR AND YOUR TEAM.
I JUST WANTED TO COMMEND YOU GUYS ON A GREAT JOB THAT YOU'RE DOING.
UM, YOU KNOW, JUST WORKING WITH YOU, OUR, UM, HOT TEAM.
I HAVE THE HOT TEAM, AND YOU HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT, RIGHT? I WAS HOPING WE CAN PULL 'EM OUT, BUT, UM,
BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN A, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENCE.
YOU CAN SEE THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT, YOU, IT'S, IT'S CLEANED A LITTLE BIT BETTER, BUT IT, WE NEED, WE NEED MORE WORK AND I KNOW WE NEED MORE MONEY.
UM, AND SO JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW, I SUPPORT THE, UM, THE FEE, IF YOU GUYS APPROACH THAT, APPROACH THAT, 'CAUSE I KNOW WE NEED DOLLARS TO MOVE THE, UM, SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT TOGETHER, UM, FORWARD.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO SAY CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE DOING.
IF I CAN JUST ADD TO THAT, UM, AND I'VE, I'VE HEARD MAYOR TURNER MENTION IT AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, LARGE, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER PART OF SUCCESS, EVEN THOUGH IT DOESN'T INVOLVE THIS, IS THE, THE FUNDING, YOU KNOW, ARPA FUNDING AND SOME OF THE GRANT FUNDING THAT WE'RE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF.
I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO POSITION THE DEPARTMENT SO THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN THAT FUNDING GOES AWAY, WE CAN CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS, UH, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO EMBARK UPON RIGHT NOW.
AND I DID ASK MY QUESTION, THE ANTI LITTER CAMPAIGN, SO IT, WOULD THAT CONTINUE BECAUSE THAT'S BEEN A BIG HELP.
WE'RE ACTUALLY IN THE PROCESS OF EVALUATING BIDS ON THAT RIGHT NOW.
YOU SHOULD NOT EXPERIENCE A GAP IN THAT.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR KEEPING THAT COUNCIL MEMBER ROBERT GALLEGOS.
AND AGAIN, THANK YOU DIRECTOR FOR EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING AND DOING AN OUTSTANDING JOB.
I KNOW YOU, YOU, YOU'RE NEW HERE AND YOU, YOU, YOU'RE GETTING ALL THESE HEADACHES
UM, I, I JUST ALSO WANNA MENTION THAT IF, UH, WE DO GO WITH THE POSSIBLY IN, IN, IN THE NEAR FUTURE, IN THE FUTURE, UH, A, A FEE, UH, THAT ALSO, UH, HOPEFULLY WE FOLLOW, I UNDERSTAND DIRECTOR HAYES HAD MENTIONED, UH, THE SAN ANTONIO MODEL WHERE THEY HAVE A LARGE TRASH CAN.
AND IT DEPENDS ON THE HOMEOWNER.
IF THEY HAVE QUITE A BIT OF TRASH, THEN THEY'LL BE PAYING FOR A LARGE TRASH CAN, UH, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THAT MONTHLY FEE IS, RIGHT.
UH, IF THEY HAVE A SMALL TRASH CAN, THEN THEY'LL BE PAYING A LITTLE LESS MM-HMM
UH, SO HOPEFULLY THAT'S ANOTHER MODEL THAT WE CAN FOLLOW ALSO.
UH, SO THOSE, UH, AND THAT ALSO ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO PUT MORE RECYCLING STUFF INTO YOUR RECYCLING BIN SO THAT WAY YOU'LL HAVE A SMALLER TRASH CAN AND PAY LESS RIGHT.
UH, SO I'M HOPING THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LOOK AT AS WELL.
I CAN'T EVEN SPEAK YOU, YOU'RE TALKING JUST AS MUCH TRASH AS I AM RIGHT NOW.
SO THERE ARE NO OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS IN Q I'LL ASK MY LAST QUESTION.
A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, THIS IS PROBABLY SIX YEARS AGO, AS YOU WELL KNOW, UM, MANY AREAS OF THE CITY HAVE PRIVATE TRASH COLLECTION AND WE PAY THEM $6 A MONTH PER HOUSEHOLD, UM, TO, FOR THEM TO GET THEIR PRIVATE COLLECTION.
WE LOOKED AT ELIMINATING THAT AND WE DISCOVERED THAT ELIMINATING THAT WOULD COST US A TON OF MONEY MORE, MAINLY BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE WORKFORCE AND WE DON'T HAVE THE TRUCKS.
[00:50:01]
YOU TALK ABOUT GARBAGE FEE, I KNOW IT'S, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE ACROSS THE BOARD.SO EVERYONE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON WOULD HAVE TO BE A PART OF IT.
SO LET'S SAY IF YOU HAVE 500,000 HOUSEHOLDS MM-HMM
AND IT WAS $72 A YEAR, $6 A MONTH MM-HMM
TIMES 12 MONTHS, THAT WOULD EQUATE TO PROBABLY AROUND $34 MILLION THAT WE COULD USE ON SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
BUT MY QUESTION TO YOU, I'M NOT SURE WHAT YOU HAD IN TAMPA MM-HMM
OR YOUR OTHER EXPERIENCE, HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO GET FOLKS THAT ARE ON PRIVATE COLLECTION WHERE WE REALLY, IN ORDER FOR US TO PICK IT UP, IT WOULD COST US PROBABLY THREE OR FOUR TIMES THE $6 A MONTH.
HOW DO WE PUT THE GENIE BACK IN THE BOTTLE IN THAT CASE? UM, I, I THINK WE OFFER A RATE THAT IS JUST AS COMPETITIVE AS THE PRIVATE COMPANY THAT IS PROVIDING THAT CURRENT LEVEL OF SERVICE.
UM, I THINK ALTHOUGH WE PAY $6 A MONTH, I BELIEVE THAT THOSE RESIDENTS ARE ACTUALLY PAYING A LITTLE BIT MORE TO THE PRIVATE.
SO, UM, YEAH, WE, WE JUST HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE COVER OUR COST OF SERVICE.
AND NORMALLY WITH MUNICIPALITIES, THAT RATE IS A LITTLE BIT LOWER, YOU KNOW, THAN OUR PRIVATE COUNTERPARTS.
UH, THEY ARE THERE TO TURN A PROFIT, WE'RE THERE FOR RELIABILITY.
SO IT'S, IF WE COVER OUR COST OF SERVICE, WE SHOULD BE JUST AS COMPETITIVE.
UH, HOWEVER, UH, WE, WE WE'RE TO THE POSITION RIGHT NOW, WE, LIKE YOU MENTIONED EARLIER, WE CAN'T TAKE ON ANY ADDITIONAL SERVICE RIGHT NOW.
SO, UH, THE, THE KEY TO DOING THAT IS TO, TO CRAWL BEFORE WE WALK.
AND, AND BEFORE I LEAVE, UH, ANOTHER GREAT EMPLOYEE, FAIRLY NEW, VERONICA DOING A GREAT JOB FOR US, SO THANK YOU.
AND JUST TO JUMP IN, I, I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR.
IF YOU'RE, IF YOU HAVE PRIVATE TRASH RIGHT NOW, YOU'RE ALREADY PAYING A FEE FOR YOUR PRIVATE TRASH, YOU WOULD NOT BE PAYING THE CITY'S TRASH FEE.
IT WOULD BE LIKE CLEAR LIKE WATER AUTHORITY PEOPLE NOT PAYING THE DRAINAGE FEE.
WE GET SEVEN, WE GET $6 A MONTH, $72 A YEAR, AND WE PAY WASTE MANAGEMENT OR A TRASH COLLECTION.
SO MY QUESTION IS, IS IF WE TALK ABOUT A GARBAGE FEE AND IT GOES CITYWIDE, THERE IS NO WAY ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH, THESE GUYS WILL BE ABLE TO PICK IT UP RIGHT AWAY.
SO YOU'D KEEP YOUR PRIVATE TRASH.
AND THAT'S ALL YOU HEAR ME TALK ABOUT BUILDING IT UP, RIGHT? YEAH.
THE, THE FIRST PRIORITY, PRIORITY SHOULD BE REDUCING OUR DEPENDENCY ON THE GENERAL FUND.
THAT MEANS WE'RE ABLE TO STAND ON OUR OWN.
ONCE WE DO THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T TAKE ON ANY ADDITIONAL SERVICE UNTIL WE CAN COVER THE COSTS.
THAT MEANS THAT WE HAVE THE EMPLOYEES AND EQUIPMENT TO PROVIDE THAT SERVICE.
SO YOU HAVE TO HAVE A BUILDUP, I MEAN, TAKE YOU A YEAR TO BUY EQUIPMENT AND EMPLOYEES AND, AND FROM WHAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING RIGHT NOW, WE CAN'T GET DRIVERS.
SO ARE YOU GONNA GET DRIVERS TO DO CITYWIDE TRASH COLLECTION? MAYOR TURNER AND I GOT A PLAN.
WE HAVE A 1, 2, 3, 4 PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
UH, WE'LL START IT OUT WITH MR. JASON OLIVER, STAR SIX TO UNMUTE.
FIRST I'M CONCERNED ABOUT DRIVER SAFETY.
I KNOW THAT SOLID WASTE HAS BEEN DOING A LOT WITH, WITH VERY LITTLE, AND IT SEEMS LIKE EVEN LESS THIS YEAR IN, UH, IN THE BUDGET.
WE'RE LOOKING AT COUNCIL MEMBER CA AND TALKED ABOUT EARLY DAYS AND, AND LATE NIGHTS WITH PEOPLE WORKING SIX DAYS A WEEK.
I RECALL READING AN ARTICLE ABOUT A DRIVER FAINTING, UH, AND WE'RE APPROACHING THE SUMMER.
HOW ARE WE TAKING CARE OF DRIVER SAFETY AND ARE WE MAKING IMPROVEMENTS THERE? AND THEN A A SECOND QUESTION TO FOLLOW UP ON SOMETHING.
COUNCIL MEMBER POLLARD SAID, UH, 'CAUSE I WANNA MAKE SURE I, I KNOW WHO TO DIRECT MY COMMENTS TO.
HE SAID DIRECTORS REPORT TO THE MAYOR AND THEY WERE DIRECTED TO LEAVE.
IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE TELLING US THAT IT'S NOT CITY COUNCIL, BUT THE MAYOR WHO DIRECTED CITY STAFF NOT TO RESPOND TO OUR QUESTIONS.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, SHOULD WE BE DIRECTING OUR CONCERNS ABOUT THIS POLICY TO COUNCIL OR TO THE MAYOR? YOU CAN DIRECT YOUR QUESTIONS TO COUNCIL IF YOU HAVE A DIRECT QUESTION FOR COUNCIL.
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION THAT IS SPECIFIC TO A DIRECTOR, YOU CAN, YOU CAN SUBMIT THOSE TO YOUR COUNCIL OFFICE, AND WE WOULD SEND THOSE TO THE DIRECTOR TO GET A RESPONSE FOR YOU.
BUT THE, THE POLICY CHANGE THAT, THAT WAS MADE AROUND BUDGET WORKSHOPS THAT WE HADN'T HAD IN IN PREVIOUS YEARS.
I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE GET THAT BACK.
UH, JASON, JUST TO BE CLEAR, I SAID THIS BEFORE, I'M NOT CHAIR OF BFA, SO I CAN'T SPEAK FOR THAT.
BUT WHAT I DO KNOW IS THE CHAIR OF A COMMITTEE IS THERE IS ALWAYS, INCLUDING AT PUBLIC SAFETY, BEEN A, UH, STANDING PROCEDURAL RULE WHERE QUESTIONS ARE TAKEN FROM THE PUBLIC, SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENTS AND THEN RESPONDED TO.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS ALSO IN TERMS OF TIME, THINGS LIKE THAT, WE'VE
[00:55:01]
ALREADY BEEN HERE AND I, I WAS GONNA THANK, UH, SABA AND OTHERS FOR SITTING HERE ALL DAY.UM, I UNDERSTAND THE COMMITMENT.
ALL, ALL I'M EXPLAINING IS THIS WASN'T A RULE CHANGE.
UH, THE CHAIR EVEN INDICATED THAT WE MESSED UP THE FIRST GO ROUND.
UH, IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN OUR COMMITTEES, UH, THAT QUESTIONS ARE SUBMITTED FROM THE PUBLIC.
THEY'RE SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENTS FOR A RESPONSE.
FOR EXAMPLE, MY STAFF TAKES ALL QUESTIONS FROM PUBLIC SAFETY COMMENTS, SUBMITS THEM TO DEPARTMENT, AND THEN EMAILS THEM BACK.
SO I'M, I JUST WANTED, AGAIN, I, I'M NOT TELLING YOU WHICH WAY TO FEEL ABOUT IT, BUT I WANTED TO SPEAK UP, UH, FOR THE CHAIR IN TERMS OF IT, OTHER COMMITTEES, THAT HAS BEEN THE STANDARD PROCESS AS WELL.
RIGHT? BUT, BUT NOT FOR THE BUDGET WORKSHOPS.
WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN HERE IN PREVIOUS YEARS, SO I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR ABOUT LIKE THAT.
THAT'S NOT GENERAL PRACTICE AND IT HASN'T BEEN STANDARD PRACTICE IN PREVIOUS YEARS.
WELL, I'VE BEEN SITTING HERE FOR NINE YEARS DOING THIS, SO, UM, I THINK I KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT.
BUT ANYWAY, I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS, JASON.
GOOD TO HAVE YOU HERE THIS WEEK.
ROCHELLE, JILL, ROCHELLE, SIX TO UNMUTE JILL ING IF JILL'S IN, WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU.
UM, I HAD A COUPLE QUESTIONS, BUT I BELIEVE WHAT JASON'S SPEAKING TO IS THE FACT THAT LAST YEAR WE WERE ABLE TO DIRECT OUR QUESTIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT HEADS DURING THE BUDGET WORKSHOPS, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WAS A CHANGE BECAUSE IT WAS VIRTUAL, BUT WE DEFINITELY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY LAST YEAR.
SO WE, I CAN'T SPEAK TO PRIOR YEARS.
WE DID A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS DURING COVID WHEN EVERYONE WAS VIRTUAL, SO, UM, MAYBE WE JUST NEED TO GO BACK TO EVERYTHING BEING VIRTUAL.
I'M NOT A BIG FAN OF THAT, BUT, UH, YOU'RE RIGHT.
WE DID A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS LAST YEAR, UH, IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE OF THAT.
YEAH, IT, IT WAS, IT WAS REALLY NICE AND I APPRECIATED IT AS A CONSTITUENT.
UM, IN PAST WORKSHOPS, WE'VE BEEN TOLD THAT WE, UM, START EVERY DAY BEHIND BASED ON LOW BUDGET FOR STAFFING.
AND SO IN REGARDS TO TRASH, WHERE ARE WE IN TERMS OF THE ROUTES WE HAVE VERSUS THE ROUTES WE NEED BASED ON POPULATION GROWTH.
I BELIEVE THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF AN ADDRESSING ROUTES, BUT, UM, JUST SOME MORE DETAILS THERE.
AND THEN, UM, A COUPLE, ACTUALLY, SEVERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS ADDRESSED THIS, SO, UM, WE'VE, GO AHEAD.
DO YOU MIND IF I ASK A QUICK QUESTION? GO AHEAD.
SO WE'VE BEEN TOLD IN THE PAST THAT SOLID WASTE NEEDS SOMEWHERE AROUND 40 MILLION FOR ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT TO GET UP TO BASIC, ADEQUATE LEVEL OF SERVICE.
SO JUST UPDATES ON THAT NEED FOR THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE COUNCIL MEMBER, ALCORN AND POLLARD, YOU BOTH BROUGHT UP THE DISCUSSION OF FEES FOR SOLID WASTE.
I'M JUST CURIOUS HOW THIS COULD BE APPLIED EQUITABLY SO THAT EVERY HOUSTONIAN HAS ACCESS TO TRASH COLLECTION AND RECYCLING.
UM, 'CAUSE ILLEGAL DUMPING IS ALREADY AN ISSUE, AND SO JUST EVERYONE HAVING ACCESS TO TRASH.
UM, AND THEN, UM, YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S IT.
SO I THINK WE'LL HAVE TO REALLY, UM, STRATEGICALLY LOOK AT HOW WE PUT FORTH THE FEE.
WHAT DOES THAT FEE GET YOU? HOW IS IT EQUITABLE ACROSS THE BOARD, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, THOSE WHO MAY HAVE RESOURCES AND THOSE WHO MAY NOT.
SO THAT'S A DISCUSSION THAT WE NEED TO HAVE.
UM, BEFORE I THINK WE DO ANYTHING WITH A FEE, I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO EDUCATE, UM, THE VOTERS AND THE CONSTITUENTS ON WHAT'S DONE IN OTHER CITIES.
WHAT CAN BE EXPECTED HERE IN THIS CITY? WHAT ARE THE, WHAT ARE THE PROS? MAYBE SOME OF THE CONS AND SOME OF THE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS.
UM, BUT IT IS A CONVERSATION THAT WE NEED TO HAVE AND WE REALLY NEED TO BE ABLE TO HEAR YOUR VOICE ON THAT WHEN WE BRING FORTH WHAT THE, UM, POSSIBILITIES ARE.
UM, BUT WE ARE THE ONLY CITY, MAJOR CITY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND MAYBE EVEN IN THE US THAT DOES NOT HAVE THAT FEE.
AND SO WE HAVE TO FIND WAYS IN WHICH, IF WE DO PAY A FEE, ALL COMMUNITIES, UH, GET A BENEFIT AND SEE A BENEFIT BEYOND JUST NORMAL TRASH, BUT ALSO LOOKING INTO THE UNIQUENESS OF EACH AREA, WHETHER IT'S ILLEGAL DUMPING OR WHATEVER, UM, TO ADDRESS THOSE NEEDS AS WELL.
SO I'LL, I'LL GIVE YOU, UH, MY PERSONAL DEAL.
I GET MY TRASH PICKED UP BY A CONTRACTOR.
I'M ONE OF THE FOLKS THAT WE GET $6 A MONTH FROM THE CITY NOT TO PICK UP OUR TRASH.
THAT GOES TO OUR HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, WHO IN TURN PAYS FOR THE PRIVATE TRASH COLLECTION.
[01:00:01]
WE HAVE WHAT'S CALLED BACKDOOR DRIVEWAY TRASH COLLECTION.SO THEY GO DOWN THE STREET AND THEY ROLL UP TO YOUR DRIVEWAY AND EMPTY YOUR CAN AND DUMP IT INTO A BIGGER CAN.
THEN THE TRUCK COMES BEHIND IT, AND WE GET THAT TWO DAYS A WEEK.
WE HAVE RECYCLES PICK UP EVERY THURSDAY.
SO WE ARE VERY HAPPY WITH OUR TRASH COLLECTION.
SO IF WE DO GO TO OUR GARBAGE FEE AND WE HAVE TO CHANGE IT, WE BETTER DO EQUAL OR BETTER, OR I WILL GET MORE COMPLAINTS, NOR COMPLAINTS UNDER THE SUN THAN I CARE TO DEAL WITH.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAD AN ISSUE WITH FIVE, SIX YEARS AGO, I FORGOT WHEN IT WAS, WAS WHEN WE STARTED LOOKING AT THE ELIMINATION OF PRIVATE TRASH COLLECTION, WE REALIZED WE DIDN'T HAVE THE PEOPLE AND WE DIDN'T HAVE THE EQUIPMENT TO DO IT.
SO I'M NOT SURE WHAT SALLY ALCORN HAS TO SAY OVER THERE, BUT WE LOVE OUR PRIVATE TRASH COLLECTION AND WE PAY FOR IT, AND WE'RE GLAD TO PAY FOR IT.
SO IF THE, IF I HAVE TO SIT HERE AND VOTE FOR A GARBAGE FEE, AND I ARGUED WITH HARRY HAYES FOR YEARS ABOUT IT, IT IT'S GONNA BE TOUGH FOR ME TO DO THAT BECAUSE WHAT WE HAVE WORKS EXTREMELY WELL.
COUNCIL OF SALLY, OUT OF THE CITIES THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER ON ALL OF THE CITIES THAT HAVE THE FEE, YOU CAN OPT OUT OF THE FEE AND KEEP YOUR PRIVATE TRASH.
NOBODY'S GONNA MAKE ANYBODY WHO HAS PRIVATE TRASH GET CITY TRASH.
CAN I QUOTE YOU ON THAT, MAYOR? YES.
BECAUSE THERE'S ONLY ABSOLUTELY THERE ONE PERSON THAT CAN STATE THAT AND HE'S UP ONE FLOOR ABOVE US.
BUT I MEAN, WELL, A FEE THAT I WOULD SUPPORT WOULD NOT REQUIRE PEOPLE TO GIVE UP THEIR PRIVATE TRASH.
LET'S QUOTE, LET'S RUN THAT TAPE BACK.
MR. BUTLER, YOU GOT ANY ADDITIONAL? YEAH, I JUST, I'M, AND I APPRECIATE COUNCIL MEMBER POLLARD ADDRESSES.
I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT THE CONSTITUENTS THAT CAN'T AFFORD THE FEE.
I'M WORRIED ABOUT THOSE WHERE LIKE EVERY DOLLAR IS IS IS HARD.
AND THEM BEING ABLE TO ACCESS TRASH AND RECYCLING, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA SEE THAT GO EITHER.
SO THANKS FOR COMING, UH, FOR EVERY MEETING.
I'LL TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT.
BUTLER, NORTHEAST HOUSTON, UM, MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB OF ELIMINATING ILLEGAL DUMPING.
I WISH YOU WOULD TAKE A LOOK AT THEIR PLAN.
IT WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE STATE LEVEL.
THEY HAVE AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE STATE TO DEAL WITH ILLEGAL DUMPING.
BUT MY COMMENTS ARE, I WANNA APOLOGIZE FOR LOSING MY COMPOSURE EARLIER.
I DIDN'T EXPECT YOU TO REVERSE IT.
UH, BUT TO BE SIT HERE, TO SIT HERE AND BE TOLD THAT WELL COMPENSATED, EDUCATED AND SEASONED DIRECTORS ARE BEING SHIELDED FROM SPEAKING TO THE PUBLIC IS FRUSTRATING.
BUT I APOLOGIZE TO THE ENTIRE COUNCIL FOR LETTING MY PASSIONS GET THE BETTER OF ME.
I'D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE, UH, SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT ON OUR SIDE OF TOWN IN NORTHEAST HOUSTON.
ALICE COFFEE, RICHARD WYNN AND DESMOND ALLEN ARE NAMES THAT ALL NORTHEAST RESIDENTS KNOW.
WHEN THEY HAVE FAILED, THEY HAVE STEPPED UP.
AND EVERYTHING THAT THE DIRECTOR TOLD YOU ABOUT, WE ALREADY KNOW AS CITIZENS BECAUSE WE HAVE A COMMUNICATION AND A DIALOGUE WITH THEIR STAFF.
UM, SO OUTSIDE OF THAT, I WISH EVERY CITY DEPARTMENT WOULD RESEMBLE THE SOLID WASTE STAFF DEPARTMENT, AND AGAIN, MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA.
SO, DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT THEY DO? BECAUSE I, I, I MEAN WE, YEAH, WE TALK ABOUT, YEAH, I, THE, I READ THE WHOLE PLAN.
I, ONE NIGHT WHEN I WAS RUNNING FOR CITY COUNCIL, I, WHO'D YOU RUN AGAINST? I HAVE NO IDEA.
BUT THEY WERE VICTORIOUS, AND WE ARE GONNA GO WITH IT BECAUSE IN MY EYES TODAY, THEY STOOD 10 FEET TALL.
ALL I DID ONE NIGHT, I SAID, EVERYBODY'S GOT A THOUGHT ON THIS.
AND THEN I JUST WENT TO THE GOOGLE MACHINE AND I SAID, GIVE ME THE BEST SOLUTION FOR ILLEGAL DUMPING.
IT SAID, MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA.
THEIR ECONOMY DEPENDS ON TOURISM FOR PEOPLE TO COME TO THIS WONDERFUL CLEAR BEACH IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
BUT THEY HAD A ECONOMIC DOWNTURN AND ALL THIS TRASH SHOWED UP.
NOBODY WANTED TOURISTS TO COME AND SEE A FILTHY CITY.
THEY WERE GONNA LOSE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
THEY CAME UP WITH A GARBAGE FEE.
IT WAS $3, ENDED UP BEING $11.
THE FEE WAS SPECIFIC TO HIRE ONLY A TEAM ALONG WITH THEIR SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT.
BUT THAT TEAM ONLY WENT OUT AND REMOVED ILLEGAL DUMPING.
I THOUGHT IT DIDN'T MAKE A LOT OF SENSE, BUT AS I TALKED TO RESIDENTS HERE, THEY DIDN'T CARE HOW IT WORKED.
THEY JUST WANT THE TRASH GONE.
SO MYRTLE BEACH CREATED A STANDALONE HOT TEAM THAT THAT'S ALL THEY DID.
[01:05:01]
WENT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CITY AND REMOVED TRASH, AND IT WORKED VERY WELL.THEN THE CITY WENT TO THE LEGISLATURE AND ASKED THEM TO INCREASE THE FINES FOR PEOPLE WHO DID ILLEGAL DUMPING.
SO THEY HAD THE BUY-IN FROM THE STATE, THE COUNTY, AND THE STATE LEG, SORRY, THE, THE CITY, THE COUNTY, AND THE STATE LEGISLATURE.
SO THAT IF YOU DID DUMP IN MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA, YOU WERE GONNA DO JAIL TIME AND YOU WERE GONNA LOSE A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY.
AND SO NOW MYRTLE BEACH IS, AGAIN, THEY HAVE ONE OF THE BEST RESPONSES TO THE ISSUE, WHICH IS BASICALLY YOU COME HERE, YOU DUMP, YOU'LL EITHER GO TO JAIL OR YOU'LL BE FINED INTO THE STONE AGE.
AND IT HAS WORKED WELL FOR THEM.
I'M, I'M LOOKING IT UP RIGHT NOW.
AND IT'S INTERESTING, YOU KNOW, ONE OF, SORT OF OUR ISSUE, A LOT OF OUR ISSUES EMANATES FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS.
AND THE REASON WHY I SAY THAT IS, UH, WE HAVE A PROBLEM NOT WITH ILLEGAL DUMPING, BUT WITH SAND MINING OPERATIONS.
AND WE DISCOVERED THAT IT WAS LESS EXPENSIVE FOR THEM TO KEEP ILLEGALLY SENDING SAND INTO OUR TRIBUTARIES THAN IT IS TO REMEDIATE IT.
SO THEY KEPT DOING IT, AND THEY KEPT PAYING THE FINES AND THEY PAID 'EM GLADLY.
BUT YOU WON'T SOLVE THAT PROBLEM UNTIL YOU RAISE THE FINES HIGH ENOUGH TO WHERE IT ACTUALLY HURTS THEM.
AND IT SOUNDS LIKE READING ON MYRTLE BEACH, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THEY DID THROUGH THE STATE.
SO THAT THEY WEREN'T A STANDALONE ISLAND TRYING TO SOLVE A PROBLEM.
THAT OTHER CITIES WERE EVENTUALLY GONNA HAVE IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
WELL, I'LL FINISH READING IT, BUT YOUR, YOUR OTHER COMMENT, NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE.
I APPRECIATE YOUR, UM, YOUR VIGOR AND VITALITY
I, I THINK I'M SOMEWHAT LIKE THAT.
WELL, BUT REASON PEOPLE SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE A DISCOURSE BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, SOME OF THESE DIRECTORS, THEY DON'T DEAL WITH APP RIGHT EYE.
THEY DEAL WITH PEOPLE'S LIVES.
SO IT KIND OF MATTERS TO US THAT WE'RE THE LIVES THEY MIGHT BE DEALING WITH ONE DAY.
AND WE APPRECIATE THE EFFORTS OF THE COUNCIL AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
BEFORE WE ADJOURN, UH, PLEASE NOTE BUDGET WORKSHOPS WILL CONTINUE THIS WEEK THROUGH THURSDAY, MAY 19TH.
OUR NEXT BUDGET PRESENTATION WILL BE SPECIAL CALLED BFA COMMITTEE MEETING TOMORROW, THURSDAY, THE 19TH AT 9:00 AM UH, I WILL BE OUT.
I WILL BE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS AS MY SON MICHAEL IS GRADUATING TOMORROW AT 11:00 AM WELCOME, WELCOME.
SO, UH, JULIE AND I WILL BE THERE AND MY DAUGHTER WILL BE THERE FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.
PARTICIPATE IN THE FESTIVITIES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.
COME TO CLEAR LAKE AND COME SEE US.