* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. AND I THINK THIS DOES [00:00:01] CONCLUDE OUR SPECIAL CALLED BFA COMMITTEE MEETING. UM, SO THANK YOU CONTROLLER. WE [FY2023 Budget Workshop: Controller’s Office ] WILL NOW BEGIN OUR CONTROLLER'S, UH, OFFICE BUDGET WORKSHOP. SO CONTROLLER, I BELIEVE AT THIS TIME, WE'RE GONNA INVITE, UH, YOUR DEPUTY DIRECTOR LEONARD POLK UP FOR HIS PRESENTATION, AND, UH, GIVE HIM A MOMENT TO GET SETTLED. AND THANK YOU AGAIN CONTROLLER FOR YOUR, UH, WORDS OF WISDOM. AND I THINK OUR PRESENTATION IS ALL QUEUED UP AND ESSENTIALLY READY TO GO. SO WE'RE A LITTLE AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE DOING GREAT. SO GO AHEAD. YOU DON'T WANT TO TAKE A, UH, 20 MINUTE NO, WE'RE GONNA GET RIGHT INTO IT. WE'RE GONNA GET RIGHT INTO IT. I USED TO BE IN THAT CHAIR. I REMEMBER HOW IMPORTANT IT'S TO MOVE, MOVE PEOPLE THROUGH. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. OKAY. UH, ON, UM, ON BEHALF OF THE 53 ALMOST EMPLOYEES WORKING TIRELESSLY TO PROTECT OUR CITY'S FISCAL HEALTH, I'M PLEASED TO PRESENT THE PROPOSED FY 23 BUDGET FOR THE OFFICE OF THE CITY CONTROLLER. AS MENTIONED, UH, DEPUTY DIRECTOR LEONARD POLK IS HERE, UH, TO ASSIST ME IN ANSWERING, UH, SOME OF THE MORE DETAILED QUESTIONS. BUT WE'LL, UH, GO AHEAD AND, UM, GET INTO, UH, THE PRESENTATION. UH, FIRST AND FOREMOST, THE MISSION OF THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE IS PROJECT THE FINANCIAL INTEGRITY OF HOUSTON'S MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. UH, TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, THE OFFICE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING ALL PAYROLL AND VENDOR PAYMENTS, CONDUCTING AUDITS, MANAGING A $5 BILLION INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO, AND A $14 BILLION DEBT PORTFOLIO, WHICH WE DO IN-HOUSE PREPARING ACCURATE AND TIMELY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, PROVIDING FISCAL LEADERSHIP ON POLICY ISSUES RELATING TO THE CITY'S FINANCIAL HEALTH. UH, WE ARE THE INDEPENDENT AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT PERFORMANCE REVIEWS AND AUDITS OF THE CITY'S DEPARTMENTS, AND WE ASSESS THE CITY AND REGION'S FUTURE FINANCIAL OUTLOOK WITH ACCURATE FORECAST OF PROJECTED REVENUES AND EXPENSES AMONG OTHER INDICATORS, UH, AS WE'LL DISCUSS TODAY, THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FY 23 TOTALS $8,954,843, AND THAT REPRESENTS AN INCREASE OF 2.5% FROM THE FISCAL YEAR 22 BUDGETED AMOUNT OF $8,730,277. SO THIS INCREASE REPRESENTS A NET CHANGE OF $224,566, AND THAT'S, UH, PRIMARILY ATTRIBUTABLE TO RISING AMOUNTS IN RESTRICTED ACCOUNTS. SO THE INCREASE IN PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS, UH, CONTRACTUAL PAY RAISES FOR MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES AS WELL. OF THE TOTAL PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET, 84% OR $7,548,436 OF EXPENSES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH PERSONNEL COSTS. SO SIMILAR TO, UH, THE OVERALL CITY, THE OFFICE OF CITY CONTROLLER DOES NOT HAVE REVENUE TO REPORT, AND, UH, THERE IS NO CHANGE IN THE FTE COUNT FROM FY 22 TO FY 23. SO, LOOKING AT, UH, IF WE CAN GO BACK, SORRY, ONE SLIDE AND THE ORG CHART. UH, LOOKING AT, UH, OUR ORGANIZATIONAL CHART, UH, THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, WE HAVE SIX DIVISIONS THAT HELP PROTECT THE FISCAL WELLBEING OF THE CITY, ITS ENTERPRISES AND ITS COMPONENT UNITS. OUR OPERATIONS DIVISION IS THE WORKHORSE OF THE SIX AND RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE CITY EMPLOYEES AND VENDORS GET PAID. OUR TREASURY DIVISION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING A 5 BILLION INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO AND A $14 BILLION DEBT PORTFOLIO. AGAIN, BOTH OF THOSE ARE DONE IN-HOUSE WITHOUT OUTSIDE MANAGERS, AND OUR AUDIT DIVISION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE AUDIT FUNCTIONS OF THE CITY, INCLUDING MANAGING FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE HOTLINE. UH, IN TOTAL, THE FY 23 PROPOSED BUDGET OF 8.9 MILLION HELPS, UH, THE NEARLY 53, UH, CONTROLLER OFFICE TEAM MEMBERS ACROSS SIX DIVISIONS ACCOMPLISH THESE KEY TASKS. NEXT SLIDE. UH, TO HIGHLIGHT THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, UM, WE PROVIDE FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT OF CITY OPERATIONS. UH, WE DEVELOP FINANCIAL REPORTS SUCH AS THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT AND THE ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT, THE ANNUAL AUDIT. AND PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANTLY, UH, WE PROCESS PAYMENTS, UH, TO VENDORS AND EMPLOYEES. AND AS DEFINED IN THE CITY CHARTER, THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CERTIFYING THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR COUNCIL ACTION AND THE AUDIT FUNCTIONS OF THE CITY AND ITS REPORTING UNITS. NEXT SLIDE. SO, AS WE MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, WE WE DON'T HAVE ANY REVENUE TO REPORT, SO WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. AND AGAIN, NO REVENUE REPORTS. SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO, UH, SLIDE SIX. SO THE TOTAL PROPOSED BUDGET OF 8.9 MILLION IS 2.5% HIGHER THAN THE FY 22 BUDGETED AMOUNT. UH, THE FY 21 ACTUAL IS SEVEN MILLION EIGHT HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED FORTY SIX THOUSAND. AND YOU CAN SEE THE FY 22 BUDGETED IS $8,730,277. [00:05:04] SO, UH, THE VARIANCE ON THOSE, UH, IS 224,566. AGAIN, PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED 2.57%. UM, SO WE'VE SEEN A DECREASE IN FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR THE AUDIT FUNCTION, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I KNOW WE'VE DISCUSSED AROUND THIS, UH, UH, COUNCIL TABLE, UM, BETWEEN THE TERM OR RETIREMENT PAY AND COMPETITIVE EDGE AMONG AUDIT PRACTITIONERS WHEN COMPARED TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR, OUR AUDIT DIVISION IS DOING MORE WITH LESS. UM, AND WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. WE CAN SEE, UH, THE TOTAL PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET, UH, 84% OR SEVEN AND A HALF MILLION OF EXPENSES ARE AS SO DO ASSOCIATED WITH PERSONNEL COSTS. AND OF THE REMAINING 16%, 1.4 MILLION, UH, A MAJORITY OF EXPENSES, UH, 1.3 MILLION OF THAT 96% ARE ASSOCIATED WITH OTHER SERVICES AND CHARGES. UH, NEXT SLIDE. IN LOOKING AT THE NET CHANGE TO THE FY 22, UH, CURRENT BUDGET, THE FY 23 PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDES AN INCREASE OF $51,970 AS A RESULT OF SERVICE CHARGEBACK ACCOUNTS FOR ITEMS SUCH AS FUEL, ELECTRICITY, IT COUNT, IT ACCOUNTS AN INCREASE OF 139,209 AS A RESULT OF MUNICIPAL PAY INCREASES THROUGH THE HOPE CONTRACT, AND A DECREASE OF $9,090 DUE, DUE MAINLY TO HEALTH BENEFIT ADJUSTMENTS. SO WE'RE PROJECTING A DECREASE OF 4,000 IN AUDITING SERVICES. UH, WE HAVE AN INCREASE OF 20,000 FOR MISCELLANEOUS SUPPORT SERVICES, A DECREASE OF 20,000 FOR INFORMATION RESOURCE SERVICES, AND A DECREASE OF 5,000 FOR MISCELLANEOUS OTHER SERVICES. NEXT SLIDE. WE, UH, SEE A MAJOR DECREASE IN HEALTH INSURANCE FOR ACTIVE CIVILIAN PERSONNELS, AND THAT WOULD BE A REDUCTION OF $42,506. AND, UH, WE SAW THE INCREASE OF 134,141, UH, SEEN IN THE FY 23 HOPE SALARY ADJUSTMENT, AND THAT'S ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED PAY INCREASES THAT WERE NEGOTIATED EARLIER THIS YEAR. UH, NEXT SLIDE. SO, IN SUMMARY, EXPENDITURE INCREASES ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO RISING AMOUNTS AND RESTRICTED ACCOUNTS. SO IT'S REALLY NOT ANYTHING THAT WE'RE ADDING. IT'S ALL, UH, NON-DISCRETIONARY. UH, THOSE ARE INCREASED PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS, CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEE PAY INCREASES. UH, WE'VE, WE'VE REALLY TRIED TO MANAGE OUR BUDGET VERY EFFICIENTLY. I THINK, UM, WE AND LEONARD, UH, SOMETIMES GETS FRUSTRATED WITH ME, BUT WE, WE ALWAYS, UH, GO UNDER BUDGET. UH, WE'RE TRYING TO BE A, A GOOD TAXPAYER STEWARD. UM, BUT I WOULD SAY, UM, IN CLOSING, UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE COMPARABLE AMOUNT OF AUDITORS, UH, TO OTHER TEXAS CITIES, NAMELY DALLAS, SAN ANTONIO, AUSTIN, UH, WE'RE WELL BELOW THE NUMBER OF AUDITORS. AND AGAIN, UH, WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE PREVIOUS PRESENTATION ABOUT MAKING INVESTMENTS TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SAVE RECURRING, UM, MONEY IN THE FUTURE. UH, WE'VE BEEN, AND, AND HISTORICALLY, UH, SHOWN THAT WE CAN, UH, FIND AND UTILIZE SAVINGS, UH, FOR THE CITY THROUGH OUR AUDIT DIVISION. UM, SO I WOULD SAY, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE UNMET NEEDS, I KNOW PEOPLE, UH, HAVE ASKED ABOUT THAT. UM, WE REALLY NEED MORE AUDITORS. SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. AND THAT'S QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CONTROLLER. I BELIEVE THAT, UM, COVERS QUITE A BIT HERE, AND WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE WILL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN. THANK YOU, CHAIR ON THE, UM, YOU DON'T HAVE ANY REVENUES, BUT YOU MAKE A LOT OF MONEY FOR THE CITY AND TREASURY AND INVESTMENTS. UM, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT? ABOUT WHAT, LIKE, RATE OF RETURNS FOR LA FOR THE PAST YEAR? YEAH, SO OVERALL, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SEEN, UH, INTEREST RATES RISING. UH, IT'S BEEN QUITE FRANKLY, A LITTLE BIT OF A CHALLENGE IN OUR INVESTMENT FUND. UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE YIELD CURVE AND AS RATES RISE, THAT YIELD CURVE TENDS TO SLOPE UP POSITIVELY. UM, YOU HAVE A PRINCIPLE OF DURATION, AND THAT'S THE TIME THAT YOUR INVESTMENT IS, UH, LOCKED IN. UM, IT'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT OF A DANCE TO TRY AND GET THAT DURATION, UM, YOU KNOW, PERFECTLY MATCHED TO BE BEAT THE BENCHMARK. UM, WE CONTINUE TO THINK THAT RATES ARE GONNA CONTINUE TO RISE, SO WE DON'T WANNA LOCK IN SOMETHING AT, YOU KNOW, 3% AND RATES GO TO 4% BECAUSE THEN WE LEAVE MONEY ON THE TABLE. UM, EQUALLY, UH, COMPLICATING IS THE INCREASE IN RATES ON OUR DEBT PORTFOLIO BECAUSE THE OPPORTUNITIES TO REFINANCE, UM, ARE NOW GETTING, UH, LESS OPPORTUNE. UM, LUCKILY AGAIN, UH, MY BACKGROUND IN INVESTMENT BANKING, UH, EIGHT YEARS, UM, WORKING FOR AN INVESTMENT BANK THAT PRIMARILY DID FIXED INCOME. [00:10:01] UM, YOU KNOW, I KNEW THAT THIS LOW INTEREST RATE ENVIRONMENT WAS GONNA BE A HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON. UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UH, TO DATE, UM, RECEIVED OVER $600 MILLION, UH, IN INTEREST RATE SAVINGS FROM REFINANCING THE CITY'S DEBT. WE'VE BEEN VERY AGGRESSIVE WITH THIS. UM, OTHER CITIES, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL. I THINK HOUSTON IS MAYBE ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL. WE ARE ONE OF THE LARGEST CITIES, SO THAT NUMBER IS QUITE HIGH. BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE OPPORTUNITIES ARE PROBABLY GOING TO BE, UM, YOU KNOW, LESS OPPORTUNE GOING FORWARD. UM, BUT, BUT IT'S GREAT THAT WE DID THIS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT AND THAT'S CITYWIDE, UM, BUT YOU KNOW, ON AVERAGE A A PERIOD OF AROUND 15, UH, YEARS OF A WEIGHTED AVERAGE. SO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, $30 MILLION, UH, $40 MILLION A YEAR, UH, THAT THE CITY IS NOT PAYING IN DEBT SERVICE. YEAH. SO THAT, THAT SAVINGS, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL CONTINUE TO IDENTIFY THOSE AND BE AGGRESSIVE. UH, IT'S JUST IN THIS PARTICULAR ENVIRONMENT AND IT, IT ALL GOES UP AND DOWN EVENTUALLY, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THE RATES WILL COME BACK DOWN. WE'LL HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITY. THANKS. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER AND THANK YOU CONTROLLER. UM, NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM COUNCIL MEMBER AMY PECK. THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU CONTROLLER. UM, RELATED TO THE REDUCTION IN YOUR AUDIT DIVISION, AS YOU KNOW, I WANT TO SEE MORE AUDITS IN THE CITY AND NOT FEWER. SO CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THAT REDUCTION WILL MEAN IN TERMS OF HOW MANY FEWER AUDITS OR WHAT YOU'RE ABLE TO DO, UM, LESS WITH THE REDUCTION? YEAH. SO, YOU KNOW, I, WE'LL USE COUNCIL OFFICES AS AN EXAMPLE. UH, THOSE OF Y'ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE SEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THESE TOUGH TIMES WITH COVID AND OTHER, UM, YOU KNOW, REDUCTIONS, UH, IN OVERALL EXPENDITURES, UM, ESPECIALLY WITH COSTS LIKE HEALTHCARE AND PENSION AND ALL THESE OTHER THINGS RISING. UM, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY, I I, WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO INVEST AS MUCH AS WE'D LIKE TO IN THE AUDIT DIVISION. UM, WE WOULD LOVE, UH, AN EXAMPLE OF, UH, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY, UH, IF THERE WAS A WAY TO FIND SOME OF THIS FEDERAL MONEY TO GO OUT AND HIRE, UH, MORE AUDITORS. UM, I WAS LOOKING IN MY, UH, NOTES. UM, HOUSTON HAS ABOUT 10, WE HAVE 10 AUDITORS OR 10 TOTAL STAFF IN OUR AUDIT DIVISION. AUSTIN HAS 28, DALLAS HAS 20, SAN ANTONIO HAS 23. AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, PER EMPLOYEE, UH, HOUSTON HAS ONE AUDITOR PER 2,122 EMPLOYEES. AUSTIN HAS ONE PER 550. DALLAS HAS ONE PER 700, AND SAN ANTONIO HAS ONE PER 500. SO, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE A LOT MORE IN LINE. UM, SO JUST TO WRAP UP, UH, IF SOMEONE WANTED TO, AND I'VE MADE THIS PLEA BEFORE, IF SOMEONE WANTED TO OFFER A BUDGET AMENDMENT TO FUND MORE AUDITORS USING SOME OF THE FUNGIBLE ARPA MONEY, UH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A WORTHWHILE INVESTMENT. AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE AMOUNT OF SAVINGS VERSUS THE AUDIT, UH, BUDGET, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S A GREAT RETURN ON INVESTMENT. WE SPEND A MILLION AND A HALF DOLLARS A YEAR IN AUDIT. UM, BUT DURING THE TIME, UH, I'VE BEEN IN OFFICE, I THINK NOW OVER 11 MILLION IN SAVINGS. SO, UM, AGAIN, I THINK IT'S, IT'S A GOOD INVESTMENT AND I THINK WITH A BIGGER TEAM, WE COULD TAKE ON, UH, BIGGER AUDITS AND BE, UM, MORE EFFECTIVE IN, UH, FINDING EFFICIENCIES FOR THE CITY. THANK YOU, CONTROLLER. THAT MOMENT IS ALREADY ON MY LIST. OH, RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YOU WISH COME TRUE. UH, WE GOT A FOLLOW UP QUESTION FROM COUNCIL MEMBER HORD. THANK YOU. IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING WE'RE NOT TO SUBMIT BUDGET AMENDMENTS FOR ARPA MONEY, BUT NOT TO SAY THAT THAT WON'T HAPPEN. UM, AND THEN, UM, I WAS GONNA ASK YOU ABOUT THE PAPER REDUCTION. I AM A FIRM BELIEVER THAT THE CITY STILL USES CITYWIDE ENTIRELY TOO MUCH PAPER. AND COULD YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH THE INVOICES AND HOW MUCH, HOW YOU REALLY ARE TRYING TO GO PAPERLESS IN THE, IN THE, UM, CONTROLLER'S OFFICE? WE, YEAH. UH, GREAT QUESTION. WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR SOME TIME. UM, YOU KNOW, CURIOUSLY, HARVEY ACTUALLY PUSHED OUR HAND ON A LOT OF THESE THINGS. WE'VE MOVED TO, UH, DOCUSIGN TO DIGITALLY SIGN A LOT OF, UH, CONTRACTS. UH, SO THAT ELIMINATES THE MOVEMENT OF PAPER, UH, IN THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE. WE HAVE, UH, MOVED TO ELIMINATE PAPER CHECKS AND REDUCE INVOICES. UH, THERE'S STILL SOME WORK TO DO, UH, TO GET TRULY PAPERLESS INVOICES. AND, AND JUST LIKE WITH THE DOCUSIGN, WHEN WE WENT THROUGH THAT PROCESS, WE HAD FIVE DIFFERENT, UH, DEPARTMENTS THAT WANTED TO USE EACH THEIR OWN SYSTEM. AND, UH, IN ORDER TO PROPERLY MEMORIALIZE THOSE, UH, SIGNATURES, EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE ON THE SAME SYSTEM. WE WERE ABLE TO ESSENTIALLY GET EVERYONE, UH, TO HAVE BUY-IN. UH, WE'LL NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE BUY-IN FROM ALL THE DEPARTMENTS TO GET TRULY PAPERLESS INVOICING. BUT I WOULD SAY THAT THAT IS, IS THE FUTURE. UM, I, I THINK EVEN, UH, AROUND THE COUNCIL TABLE AND, AND US STILL SIGNING A LOT OF THESE CONTRACTS THAT ARE PAPER, I KNOW LEONARD, UH, YOU KNOW, HELPS IN EVERY WEEK GOING THROUGH WITH, WITH OUR, OUR TEAM TO SIGN OFF ON ALL THESE CONTRACTS, BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE [00:15:01] PAPER CONTRACTS ARE BEING PHYSICALLY MOVED. AND I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, COULD BE A HUGE SAVINGS FOR THE ADMINISTRATION TO MOVE TO A TRULY PAPERLESS SYSTEM. IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, IT'S DIFFICULT, UH, TO TRANSITION, BUT A LOT OF THE OTHER CITIES AND, YOU KNOW, SMALLER CITIES IN THIS REGION, SUGARLAND, PARA LAND WOODLANDS ARE, UH, USING, OR SUGARLAND AND PARA LAND ARE USING, UM, THESE TYPES OF SYSTEMS. SO SOMETHING I, I, I THINK IS A GREAT IDEA. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND, AND THANK YOU. I THINK ACTUALLY FOR THE TTI COMMITTEE, WE'VE HEARD FROM THE HOUSTON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM ABOUT SUCH TECHNOLOGY BEING EMBRACED AND HOPEFULLY SOON INCORPORATED. SO AGAIN, CONTROLLER, THANK YOU FOR YOUR REMARKS. I BELIEVE THAT'S THE END OF OUR QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL, UH, AND STAFF. UH, AND WITH THAT, WE WILL MOVE. I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A POINT OF PER PERSONAL PRIVILEGE, PLEASE, JUST, I, I DO HAVE SOME STAFF MEMBERS HERE. YEAH, IF YOU'D RECOGNIZE YOUR TEAM, THAT'D BE GREAT. UH, YOU GUYS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME AND I KNOW, UM, WE ARE IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION WITH MANY OF YOU. BUT I WANTED TO, UH, RECOGNIZE OUR CHIEF DEPUTY CITY CONTROLLER, SHANNON NOBLES, OUR, UH, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND, UH, DEPUTY CONTROLLER, ALEX OBREGON. UH, VERNON LEWIS IS OUR TREASURY ANALYST. UH, JOHN SEIDLER IS OUR COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR. AND, UH, CHERISE MOSLEY, WHO HEADS OUR TREASURY DIVISION. I WANNA JUST THANK THEM. AND LEONARD, UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, UH, THIS IS A LOT OF WORK AND WE, UH, A LOT OF TIMES GET UP HERE AND TALK AND LOOK GOOD, BUT IT'S THESE PEOPLE THAT GET US READY TO BE ABLE TO DO THE THINGS THAT WE DO. SO THANK THEM AND THANK Y'ALL FOR YOUR TIME TODAY. THANK YOU, CONTROLLER. WE KNOW YOU HAVE A GREAT TEAM, AND WE APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK Y'ALL DO UPSTAIRS. UM, THANK YOU AGAIN. WE'VE GOT TWO PUBLIC SPEAKERS, UH, BOTH OF WHOM WE BELIEVE ARE ONLINE VIRTUALLY AND PREPARED WITH A QUESTION. AND WE'LL START WITH MS. SABA BLANDING. GOOD MORNING. UH, GOOD TO ASK Y'ALL SOME MORE QUESTIONS TODAY. GOOD MORNING. UM, GO AHEAD. MY QUESTION IS, UH, YEAH, MY QUESTION IS, UM, AND THIS IS, I BELIEVE DIRECTLY TO COUNCIL MEMBERS, IF YOU COULD ADD ONE TO 2 MILLION TO THE CURRENT BUDGET, UM, IF, IF THAT MAGICALLY APPEARED, WHAT DEPARTMENT AND OR SERVICE WOULD YOU FUND AND WHY? WELL, I APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION, AND, UH, WE'LL COMMIT IT TO THE RECORD. MS. BLANDING, THANK YOU FOR THAT. I DON'T SEE ANY COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, JUMPING TO RESPOND, BUT IT IS AN INTERESTING QUESTION AND WE WILL CONSIDER WHAT WE WOULD DO WITH AN EXTRA MILLION OR $2. UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE TODAY. OKAY, THANKS. AND NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM MR. JASON OLIVER. MR. OLIVER, UH, IF YOU'RE WITH US, UNMUTE. YEP, I'M HERE. THERE YOU ARE. GO AHEAD, SIR. SO MY, MY FIRST QUESTION IS TO THE CONTROLLER. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. UH, WHERE ARE WE IN TERMS OF THE CHECKBOOK PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION? UH, IS THE, THE DATA AND INFORMATION PREPARED, SOME OF US, IF THAT INFORMATION IS, IS AVAILABLE, SOME OF US IN THE PUBLIC WOULD BE INTERESTED IN LIKE, WORKING ON A, A VERSION OF IT, DEPENDING ON THE CITY'S TIMELINE. SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET, UH, LIKE AN ESTIMATED TIME OF COMPLETION FOR THAT. AND THEN THE SECOND QUESTION IS, UM, IS TO COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON, YOU HAD MENTIONED THAT POLICY BUDGET AMENDMENTS WILL BE OUT OF ORDER. I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY THE, THE RESTRICTION ON BUDGET AMENDMENTS THIS YEAR. WE'RE GONNA START WITH YOUR FIRST QUESTION, MR. OLIVER. LET'S, UH, SEE IF THE CONTROLLER HAS SOMETHING TO RESPOND. SO THE, UM, NOW, UM, OPEN FINANCE, WHAT WE PREVIOUSLY DUBBED THE CHECKBOOK, UM, THAT PROGRAM THAT WE STARTED WAS, STARTED IN HALTED AND THEN, UH, RESTARTED, UH, ABOUT A YEAR LATER. UH, FROM THE MOST RECENT REPORT I'VE SEEN, THERE'S ABOUT 40% OF THE PROJECT, UH, THAT'S BEEN COMPLETE. I THINK THE DEADLINE, UM, IS SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER OF THIS YEAR. UM, BUT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT PROJECT COMPLETED AND, AND DONE, BECAUSE I THINK, AGAIN, UH, THERE'LL BE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, YOU KNOW, SCRUTINIZE EXPENDITURES AND MAYBE FIND SOME MORE EFFICIENCIES IF NOT ONLY THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, BUT COUNCIL AND EVERY CITIZEN OF HOUSTON HAS THE ACCESS TO SEE IN REAL TIME EVERY EXPENDITURE, UH, NOT JUST VENDOR PAYMENTS, BUT PAYROLL AND, AND OTHER EXPENDITURES. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC THAT THIS PROJECT WILL GET ONLINE. I WOULD JUST ADD, UH, THE GENESIS OF THIS WHOLE EXERCISE WAS, UM, A JOINT EFFORT BETWEEN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AND THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE TO, UM, UTILIZE AND BE, UH, ELIGIBLE FOR A TRANSPARENCY STAR, WHICH IS THE STATE OF TEXAS, UH, FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY RANKING SYSTEM. UH, AND YOU GET STARS FOR DIFFERENT, UM, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, NAMELY THE FIRST ONE HAS TO BE, UM, PUTTING ALL OF [00:20:01] YOUR EXPENSES ONLINE. WE'RE THE ONLY MAJOR CITY IN THE COUNTRY THAT, UH, DOESN'T HAVE OUR PAYMENTS ONLINE, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, UH, WE WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE EVEN IF WE DO THE OPEN FINANCE, UH, PROJECT FOR THAT TRANSPARENCY STAR, WE'LL CONTINUE TO BE THE ONLY MAJOR CITY IN THE COUNTRY, UH, WITHOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE TRANSPARENCY STAR IN THE SENSE THAT IF YOU DON'T HAVE FIVE YEARS OF HISTORICAL DATA, YOU DON'T QUALIFY FOR THE STAR. SO I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THE OPEN FINANCES AGREED TO BE ABLE TO PUT THAT HISTORICAL INFORMATION. UH, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE INCLUDED IN OUR PROJECT. UH, SO I WOULD SAY I'M HOPEFUL THAT THE, UH, PROJECT WILL GO ONLINE. I THINK IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT TOOL FOR NOT ONLY COUNCIL AND AND STAFF, BUT ALSO FOR CITIZENS OF HOUSTON. AND AS A TAXPAYER, I, I WANNA BE ABLE TO HAVE THIS TOOL, UH, AVAILABLE TO ME. UM, BUT WE ALSO NEED TO PUSH TO PUT THAT HISTORICAL DATA ON THERE SO THAT WE ARE ELIGIBLE TO GET THAT FIRST TRANSPARENCY STAR BECAUSE THE OTHER STARS WE'RE ALREADY DOING, UH, WE'RE ALREADY DOING ALL THE TRANSPARENCY STUFF AROUND THE DEBT, THE INVESTMENTS, BUT WE CANNOT GET THOSE STARS UNTIL YOU GET YOUR FIRST STAR, WHICH IS THE TRANSPARENCY PORTAL AND PUTTING THAT FIVE YEARS OF HISTORICAL DATA ON THERE. SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE THIS BODY TO ENCOURAGE THE ADMINISTRATION AS A PART OF THAT PROJECT, TO DO THE FIVE YEARS OF HISTORICAL DATA SO THAT WE CAN IN FACT GET, WE WOULD PROBABLY GET THREE OR FOUR STARS RIGHT OFF THE BAT. SO THANK YOU CONTROLLER. AND I DO BELIEVE WE'RE HEARING REGULAR PROGRESS BEING MADE TOWARDS THAT GOAL. SO HOPEFULLY, MR. OLIVER, THAT ADDRESSES YOUR FIRST QUESTION. AND AS TO YOUR SECOND POINT, UH, ABOUT THE WORDS I READ AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING, THAT, UH, COMING FROM THE ADMINISTRATION IS NOT A NEW RESTRICTION, BUT REALLY, UH, THE MAYOR FOCUSING ON AMENDMENTS AND TRYING TO GET AHEAD OF THOSE THIS YEAR BY REMINDING, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS IN OUR OFFICES THAT POLICY AMENDMENTS ARE NOT APPROPRIATE, UM, AND WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED, UH, AND TO FOCUS ON THE BUDGET. SO, UH, APPRECIATING YOUR COMMENTS. I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AGAIN. AND I BELIEVE THAT BRINGS US TO THE CONCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPONENT OF YOUR PRESENTATION CONTROLLER. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE, UM, AND YOUR WHOLE TEAM AND, UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE'LL TAKE A SHORT BREAK FOR OUR BEFORE OUR NEXT PRESENTATION FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE. AND WITH THAT, WE WILL TAKE A BRIEF ADJOURNMENT. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.