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TRANSPORTATION, TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE.[Transportation, Technology, and Infrastructure Committee on December 1, 2022.]
MY NAME'S DAVID ROBINSON.I'M THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER AT LARGE POSITION TWO AND CHAIR OF THE TTI COMMITTEE.
TODAY IS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1ST, 2022.
IT'S 10:00 AM HERE AT CITY HALL IN HOUSTON, TEXAS.
AND I'D LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER RIGHT NOW AND NOTE THAT THAT DATE IS THE FIR IS THE 1ST OF DECEMBER.
UH, I'D LIKE TO WELCOME ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THEIR STAFF WHO ARE IN ATTENDANCE TODAY, AS WELL AS OUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS, UH, SHOULD THEY APPEAR, AND ALL OF THOSE, UH, STAFF AND DEPARTMENT LEADERS WHO ARE HERE TO PRESENT TO US TODAY.
I'D LIKE TO NOTE THAT THE MEETING IS BEING HELD IN HYDE MODE DUE TO THE DISCONTINUATION OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT.
THE PROVISIONS THAT ALLOWED PUBLIC MEETINGS TO BE HELD SOLELY, VIRTUALLY DURING THE PANDEMIC.
THE MEETING WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND THAT AS CHAIR AND PRESIDING OFFICER OF THE COMMITTEE, I AM PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN THE CHAMBER IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 5 51 0.1 27 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE APPLICABLE TO A GOVERNMENTAL BODY THAT EXTENDS INTO THREE OR MORE COUNTIES.
ALL OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE THE OPTION TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON OR VIRTUALLY VIA MICROSOFT TEAMS. UH, WE DO HAVE TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS HERE PRESENT WITH US TODAY.
WE HAVE VICE CHAIR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBER AT LARGE POSITION NUMBER FIVE, SALLY ALCORN, AS WELL AS, UH, DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBER AMY PECK FROM DISTRICT A.
WE HAVE STAFF FROM A NUMBER OF COUNCIL MEMBERS OFFICE, INCLUDING THE MAYOR, PRO TEM, DAVE MARTIN OF DISTRICT E, UH, THE, UH, STAFF FROM ABBY CAYMAN'S OFFICE, THE COUNCIL MEMBER FROM DISTRICT C, UH, CARLOS ROS OFFICE, COUNCIL MEMBER FROM DISTRICT H, AND FROM COUNCIL MEMBER MIKE KNOX, POSITION ONE AT LARGE.
HIS STAFF IS ALSO HERE WITH US, AS IS STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER LETITIA PLUMMER IN THE AT LARGE FOUR POSITION.
SO WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO MENTION THAT WE HAVE NO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TODAY.
WE DO HAVE FOUR ITEMS ON THE AGENDA, AND THE DEADLINE TO SPEAK WAS 5:00 PM YESTERDAY.
SO, AND HOWEVER, AS ALWAYS, ANY QUESTIONS THAT MIGHT ARISE FROM THE PRESENTATIONS TODAY MAY BE SENT TO THE AT LARGE2@HOUSTONTX.GOV EMAIL ADDRESS, AND WE WILL SHARE THEM WITH THE DEPARTMENT'S APPROPRIATE TO THE QUESTION.
AND FOLLOWING THE MEETING, WE WILL DISTRIBUTE, UH, RESPONSES TO ALL OF OUR MEMBERSHIP.
AND TODAY, AS MENTIONED, WE HAVE FOUR ITEMS ON THE AGENDA.
UH, TWO, UM, ALL RELATED TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, BUT COVERING A NUMBER OF DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING OUR FIRST ITEM, WHICH IS THE ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY SOFTWARE, THE E-DISCOVERY PLATFORM, SOFTWARE PURCHASE AND IMPLEMENTATION.
PRESENTING THAT TODAY WILL BE DEIRDRE PENNY, THE FIRST ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY FOR THE HOUSTON CITY LEGAL DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS RAFAEL FROM THE ENTERPRISE DATA OFFICER, UH, HOUSTON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS. AND, UM, OUR SECOND ITEM WILL BE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT EMERGENCY ALERTING SYSTEM REPLACEMENT.
IT'LL BE PRESENTED TODAY BY EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT CHIEF RODNEY WEST OF THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT.
WE ALSO HAVE CHIEF SAMUEL PENIA HERE IN THE CHAMBER WITH US TODAY.
AS WELL AS, UH, BERT CRAWFORD, WHO'S THE DEPUTY CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE FROM THE HOUSTON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES TEAM.
OUR THIRD ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE E-SIGNATURE CONTRACT AMENDMENT.
UH, WE'LL HEAR FROM SUMMER CHAO, WHO'S THE DEPUTY CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER OVER ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS, UH, THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE OF THE HOUSTON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES TEAM, AS WELL AS MAY FUN, THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS FROM THE HITS DEPARTMENT.
FINALLY, ON THE AGENDA TODAY, THE GTE MOBILE NET VERIZON WIRELESS AMENDMENT THAT WILL ALSO BE PRESENTED BY BERT CRAWFORD, OUR DEPUTY CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER FROM HITS, AS WELL AS ANTHONY EGAN, OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND HITS.
I'D LIKE TO REMIND COUNCIL MEMBERS TO REMAIN ON MUTE AND HOLD THEIR QUESTIONS TO THE END OF EACH OF OUR PRESENTATIONS.
NOTE THAT THAT IN QUEUE, WE WILL SEE YOU THERE AND SHOULD YOU SEND A TEXT TO US OR OTHERWISE CHAT IN ONLINE ON OUR TEAM'S ACCOUNT AND REQUEST TO SPEAK.
EACH COUNCIL MEMBER WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES.
SO FOR THE FOLLOWING PRESENTATIONS, I'D LIKE TO ASK THE SPEAKER TO INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AND ANY STAFF PRESENT, UH, FOR THE RECORD THAT THEY'D LIKE TO REFER TO.
AND WE WILL PROCEED NOW THEN WITH PRESENTATIONS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CONVERSATIONS, AND ANY FURTHER CONVERSATION.
SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET'S GET ONTO THE FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA.
AND I'D LIKE TO CALL MS. DEIRDRE PENNY, OUR FIRST ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY, ATTORNEY TO THE PODIUM TO TALK ABOUT ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY SOFTWARE, THE E-DISCOVERY SOFTWARE PURCHASE AND IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM.
PENNY, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
AND MS. MR. LUER, NICE TO HAVE YOU AS WITH US AS WELL.
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HITS IN LEGAL.I'M THE FIRST ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY FOR THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT, AS YOU MENTIONED, AND WITH ME IS MY COLLEAGUE RAFAEL REER, ENTERPRISE DATA OFFICER.
WE ARE HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY OR E-DISCOVERY.
IT'S CALLED A PROPOSED SOFTWARE PURCHASE AND IMPLEMENTATION.
ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY IS THE IDEA OF A VAST AMOUNT OF ELECTRONIC INFORMATION AND DATA.
WHAT YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU IS THE BELLWETHER OF ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY, THE ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY REFERENCE MODEL.
THIS CHART REFERS TO THE START AND FINISH OF ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY IN A LITIGATION MATTER.
ON THE FAR LEFT HAND SIDE, YOU SEE INFORMATION GOVERNANCE, WHICH IS THE IDEA OF HOW WE RETAIN OUR INFORMATION, HOW WE STORE IT, OUR NAMING CONVENTIONS.
THAT'S NOT EXACTLY EDISCOVERY, BUT OF COURSE THAT'S WHERE EVERYTHING STARTS.
YOU THEN MOVE ON TO EDISCOVERY WITH THE ORANGE, THE RED BOX IDENTIFICATION.
WHERE IS IT? WHO HAS IT? WHAT TYPE OF DATA IS IT? YOU THEN MOVE ON TO THE PURPLE BOXES.
PRESERVATION AND COLLECTION PRESERVATION IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE HAVE A LEGAL OBLIGATION TO MAINTAIN DATA.
ONCE WE ARE AWARE THAT LITIGATION IS LIKELY TO ENSUE OR LITIGATION IS ACTUALLY ENSUED, PRESERVATION THEN IS THE PROCESS WHICH ENSURES THAT THAT DATA IS NOT DESTROYED OR ALTERED.
YOU ALSO WOULD HAVE COLLECTION ACTUALLY GOING TO GATHER THE DATA BEFORE YOU MOVE TO THE BLUE BOXES, WHICH IS DOCUMENT REVIEW, PROCESSING THAT DATA, DOING THE TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESSES NECESSARY TO UNPACK THAT DATA, REVIEWING IT BY A TEAM OF ATTORNEYS OR PARALEGALS AND ANALYZING IT, IDENTIFYING TRENDS, DETERMINING WHICH WITNESSES YOU WANNA INTERVIEW, WHAT INFORMATION THEY HAVE, AND KNOW YOU THEN MOVE TO THE TEAL BOX OF PRODUCTION, WHICH IS PROVIDING THAT INFORMATION TO YOUR OPPONENT.
AND IF THE MATTER PROGRESSES FAR ENOUGH, YOU MOVE INTO PRESERVATION, WHICH IS, I'M SORRY, PRESENTATION, WHICH IS PRESENTING THAT DATA TO THE COURT, FOR EXAMPLE, IN A MOTION IN A DEPOSITION OR IN A TRIAL EXHIBIT.
THE IDEA BEING THAT ON THE FAR LEFT HAND SIDE WITH THE YELLOW TRIANGLE REPRESENTS THE HUGE VOLUME OF DATA THAT THE CITY POSSESSES.
AS YOU GO THROUGH THESE PROCESS OF ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY, YOU CALL THE INFORMATION TILL YOU GET TO THE GREEN BOX ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE WHERE YOU'VE IDENTIFIED A MUCH SMALLER SUBSET OF RELEVANT INFORMATION.
SO WHY DOES THIS MATTER? AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE A LEGAL OBLIGATION TO PRESERVE, COLLECT, AND PRODUCE DATA AND DOCUMENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RULES APPLICABLE TO THE CASE OR COURT ORDERS.
IF WE FAIL IN ANY OF THOSE STEPS, THE COURT COULD AWARD SANCTIONS.
THOSE SANCTIONS CAN BE PARTICULARLY DETRIMENTAL TO THE CASE.
THEY CAN RANGE FROM A JURY INSTRUCTION, LETTING THE OTHER, LETTING THE JURY KNOW THAT THE INFORMATION THAT WAS DESTROYED OR NOT PRODUCED WAS HURTFUL TO YOUR CASE AND HELPFUL TO THE OTHER SIDE.
IT COULD MEAN THE COURT SAYING YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO COLLECT ANY ADDITIONAL DATA.
MONETARY SANCTIONS REQUIRING YOU TO PAY THE ATTORNEY'S FEES OR COURT COSTS FOR THE OTHER SIDE, AS WELL AS DEATH NAIL SANCTIONS, WHICH WOULD BE DISMISSING YOUR CASE, WHICH OF COURSE WOULD BE TOTALLY DETRIMENTAL TO THE CITY OR ANY OTHER PARTY THAT WAS A SUBJECT TO THAT TYPE OF SANCTION.
SO THAT'S WHY IT MATTERS, WHICH IS WHY THE CITY CURRENTLY HAS ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY SOFTWARE.
WE'VE HAD IT SINCE APPROXIMATELY 2016.
IT ONLY ALLOWS US TO STORE HOWEVER, ABOUT 400 GIGABYTES OF DATA.
AS YOU CAN IMAGINE WITH ALL THE TEXTS AND EMAILS YOU RECEIVE EVERY DAY AND DOCUMENTS, WE NEED MORE STORAGE THAN THAT.
WE'VE ESTIMATED THAT WE NEED BETWEEN ONE TO TWO TERABYTES OF DATA.
OUR CURRENT SYSTEM ALSO RELIES HEAVILY ON TECH SUPPORT SPECIALISTS, WHICH MEANS OUR ATTORNEYS AND STAFF AREN'T ABLE TO GO IN AND DO SOME OF THE BASIC FUNCTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO DO TO MOVE A CASE ALONG FURTHER.
AND LASTLY, OUR CURRENT SYSTEM DOESN'T USE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY SUCH AS AI, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE THAT GROUPS AND BATCHES LIKE DOCUMENTS, WHICH MAKES IT EASIER TO FIND THEM AND REVIEW THEM.
IN CONTRAST, THE NEW SOFTWARE ADDRESSES THOSE CONCERNS.
THE PROVIDER IS CS DISCO AND WE'RE PROPOSING TO PURCHASE THEIR SOFTWARE THAT WOULD REPLACE OUR EXISTING SOFTWARE.
IT WOULD ALLOW US TO ADDRESS OUR DATA CAPACITY NEEDS BY PUTTING MORE DATA IN THE SYSTEM.
IT STREAMLINES AND AUTOMATES PROCESSES
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FOR PRESERVATION COLLECTION AND RETRIEVAL.IT ALLOWS US TO COLLECT DATA AND DOCUMENTS FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES, SHARED DRIVES, LAPTOPS, CELL PHONES, THE CLOUD, THE COST IS $1.94 MILLION OVER SIX YEAR PERIOD.
THAT INCLUDES THE INITIAL FOUR YEAR TERM AS WELL AS TWO RENEWAL TERM OPTIONS.
THIS CONTRACT WAS APPROVED BY THE OFFICE OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY WITH A 0% MWE GOAL BECAUSE THERE ARE FEW, IF ANY, MW VENDORS IN THIS SPACE AND THE LARGE MAJORITY OF THE PURCHASE PRICE IS SIMPLY THE PURCHASE OF SOFTWARE.
THERE'S VERY LITTLE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES INVOLVED IN THE OVERALL PROPORTION OF THE COST HERE.
AS I OUTLINE THE DISADVANTAGE OF OUR CURRENT SYSTEM, NOT SURPRISINGLY, THE NEW SOFTWARE WE'RE PROPOSING ADDRESSES THOSE CONCERNS.
IT ALLOWS USER DEPARTMENTS TO IDENTIFY, PRESERVE, AND COLLECT DATA MUCH EASIER.
IT STANDARDIZES AND AUTOMATES THE LITIGATION HOLD PROCESS.
I'M SURE YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH RECEIVING AN EMAIL OR LETTER FROM THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT ALERTING YOU THAT A LAWSUIT HAS BEEN FILED AND ASKING YOU TO PRESERVE DOCUMENTS.
THIS SOFTWARE WILL ENABLE US TO DO THAT MUCH MORE QUICKLY AND EASIER IN A STANDARDIZED WAY THAT WILL MAKE THAT PROCESS OF LEGAL HOLD NOTIFICATION UNIFORM.
IT ALSO EMPLOYS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
SO AS I MENTIONED, NOT ONLY WILL IT CLUSTER LIKE DOCUMENTS, BUT WHEN YOU'RE DOING A DOCUMENT REVIEW, YOU CODE DOCUMENTS, TAGGING THEM FOR INFORMATION, LETTING YOU KNOW THEIR ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE OR RELEVANT TO A PARTICULAR ISSUE OR FOR A PARTICULAR WITNESS.
THIS CASE WILL IDENTIFY DOCUMENTS THAT YOU'VE ALREADY CODED A CERTAIN WAY AND ALERT YOU TO PREDICT THE CODING THAT YOU WOULD USE IN THE FUTURE.
AS A RESULT, IT'LL ALSO ALLOW YOU TO IDENTIFY IF DOCUMENTS HAVE BEEN CODED INCONSISTENTLY.
AND LASTLY, IF DOCUMENTS ARE USED IN MORE THAN ONE CASE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO LEVERAGE THE WORK PRODUCT AND CODING THAT YOU DID IN ONE CASE FOR THE SUBSEQUENT CASE.
IT'S ALSO USER FRIENDLY, WHICH WILL ALLOW OUR ATTORNEYS AND STAFF TO MANAGE PORTIONS OF THE DOCUMENT REVIEW PROCESS AND PRODUCTION PROCESS ON THEIR OWN WITHOUT THE NEED FOR IT ASSISTANCE.
AND THERE'S ALSO STAFF AUGMENTATION SUPPORT AVAILABLE IF NEEDED, MEANING THAT IF WE HAD A MASSIVE DOCUMENT REVIEW, WE'D BE ABLE TO REACH OUT TO THIS VENDOR AND ASK FOR THEIR SUPPORT TO ASSIST US IN REVIEWING THOSE DOCUMENTS.
THE VENDORS I MENTIONED IS CS DISCO.
THEY'RE LEADING E-DISCOVERY VENDOR IN PROVIDING AN END-TO-END E-DISCOVERY SOLUTION.
THEY'VE BEEN IN THE BUSINESS FOR OVER NINE YEARS, PROVIDING LEGAL SUPPORT SERVICES TO OVER 900 CORPORATIONS, LAW FIRMS AND GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES.
THEIR SOFTWARE HAS BEEN USED IN A VARIETY OF LITIGATIONS SUCH AS THE BOEING 7, 7 37 37 MAX LITIGATION.
THEY'RE ALSO A GOOD CORPORATE PARTNER IS RECOGNIZED BY AN AWARD THEY RECENTLY RECEIVED WHERE THEIR CORPORATE COMMUNITY PROGRAM IMPACTED THE COMMUNITY BY HELPING TO VOLUNTEER FOOD BANKS, BUILD HOMES AND MENTOR STUDENTS.
AND LASTLY, THEY'VE BEEN RECOGNIZED IN THE INDUSTRY AS A LEADER AND AWARD WINNER E-DISCOVERY EARLY CASE ASSESSMENT.
AS I MENTIONED, THE OVERALL CONTRACT COST IS APPROXIMATELY $1.94 MILLION.
THAT BREAKS DOWN IN THE ANNUAL SOFTWARE FEE OF $278,400 PER YEAR.
THERE'S A ONETIME IMPLEMENTATION FEE OF $25,000, WHICH PRIMARILY RATES RELATES TO THE LEGAL HOLD SOFTWARE.
AND THEN WE BUDGET APPROXIMATELY $41,600 PER YEAR FOR OPTIONAL PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.
THAT WOULD INCLUDE THINGS SUCH AS TECH SUPPORT TO HELP US DO A FORENSIC COLLECTION OF A HARD DRIVE, A PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT ONE, FOR EXAMPLE, ONE THAT MIGHT BE PASSWORD PROTECTED AND LOCKED, ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR DOCUMENT REVIEW IF WE NEEDED IT, OR ADDITIONAL DATA STORAGE, AS I MENTIONED, IF OUR DATA EXPOSED EVEN MORE THAN WE ANTICIPATED, AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL CONNECTORS TO CITY OF HOUSTON SOFTWARE SYSTEMS TO BE ABLE TO COLLECT AND PRESERVE DATA.
THOSE CONTRACT COSTS BREAK OUT OVER A SIX YEAR PERIOD.
AS YOU CAN SEE BEFORE YOU ULTIMATELY OVER THE COURSE OF SIX YEARS, THE SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTION IS ABOUT $1.6 MILLION.
THERE'S THE ONE YEAR ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION FEE OF 25,000.
AND THEN THE AS NEEDED PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT THAT I MENTIONED, TOTALS A LITTLE UNDER 250,000 IF WE WERE TO USE IT IN ITS ENTIRETY FOR THE BULK OF THE SIX YEARS, WHICH RESULTS IN THE ULTIMATE TOTAL OF THE $1.945 MILLION.
WE'LL BE COMING BEFORE CITY COUNCIL IN THE COMING WEEKS, PRESENTING A RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE THE CONTRACT AWARD FOR THE PURCHASE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND THE IMPLEMENTATION THAT I MENTIONED.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
ARE THERE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? MS. PENNY? THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I THINK IT WAS, UM, SUCCINCT AND EXCELLENT.
WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE, BUT BEFORE CALLING ON THEM, I'D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE BEEN JOINED BY SEVERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS
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AND STAFF, INCLUDING OUR MAYOR PRO TEM, DAVE MARTIN FROM DISTRICT E, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER TAR JACKSON FROM DISTRICT B IS HERE HERSELF.WE HAVE, UH, VIRTUALLY COUNCIL MEMBER CAROLYN EVANS SHABAZZ, WHO IS ONLINE WITH US IN PERSON.
AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER MARY ANNE HUFFMAN FROM DISTRICT G IS HERE, VIRTUALLY ONLINE HERSELF AS WELL AS STAFF FROM OUR VICE MAYOR, PRO TEM, MARTHA CASTEX TATUM.
AND WITH THAT WE'LL TURN TO THE QUESTIONS, UH, HERE ON THE HORSESHOE, INCLUDING VICE CHAIR, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN.
THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU DERE.
SINCE THIS ISN'T A NEW SYSTEM, IS THERE TRAINING INVOLVED? IT SAYS IT'S USER FRIENDLY, BUT DOES, DOES THIS VENDOR PROVIDE TRAINING FOR THE ATTORNEYS USING THIS? ABSOLUTELY.
IS THAT INCLUDED WITH THE SUPPORT SERVICES? YES, MA'AM.
IT'S INCLUDED AT NO ADDITIONAL COST.
WE ALSO PILOTED THIS SOFTWARE DURING THE RFP PROCESS AND SO THE TEAM ALREADY, THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PILOT ALREADY RECEIVED TRAINING.
THERE'S UNLIMITED TRAINING ONCE WE MAKE THE PURCHASE AS WELL FOR FREE.
COUNCIL MEMBER NEXT IS COUNCIL MEMBER AMY PECK.
THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE, UM, YOU SAID THAT IT WOULD AUTOMATE THE, UM, AND STANDARDIZE THE LITIGATION OR LEGAL HOLD PROCESS.
WILL THIS ALSO INCLUDE, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN THERE'S OPEN RECORDS FOR REQUESTS ON OUR EMAILS, WILL IT AUTOMATICALLY PULL THOSE EMAILS? BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO LOOK FOR THE EMAILS OURSELVES AND I ALWAYS GET WORRIED THAT
I'D RATHER JUST SOME PROGRAMS TO JUST PULL EVERYTHING THAT HAS THOSE WORDS IN IT RATHER THAN RELYING ON US TO FIND ALL OF THOSE EMAILS.
THE PRIMARY INTENT IS NOT TO ASSIST WITH THE TPI PROCESS BECAUSE THEY DO HAVE GOV QA.
HOWEVER, WHEN WE DO HAVE MASSIVE TPIA REQUESTS INVOLVING A LARGE DATA VOLUME, OUR TEAM CURRENTLY WORKS WITH THE IT DEPARTMENT TO ASSIST IN THAT DATA PULL AND WE COULD CERTAINLY LEVERAGE THE E-DISCOVERY SOFTWARE FOR THOSE ITEMS. THANK YOU.
UM, MS. PENNY? I THINK THAT'S THE EXTENT OF THE QUESTIONS IN THE QUEUE.
I DO HAVE ONE FOLLOW UP TO COUNCIL MEMBER PECK'S QUESTION JUST ABOUT STAFFING.
GENERALLY SPEAKING IN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT, HOW WE'RE DOING, WHETHER WE HAVE VACANCIES TO FILL, AND IF ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, DOES THIS PROGRAM HELP OUR LACK OF HAVING ATTORNEYS OR, UH, HOW WILL IT HELP THE STAFF? WE DEFINITELY HAVE VACANCIES TO FILL IN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT.
THIS WILL HELP US IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO WORK SMARTER WITH FEWER PEOPLE.
AND SO WHILE WE DO HAVE THE VACANCIES AND WE'RE TRYING TO FILL THEM, THIS WILL HELP TO MITIGATE SOME OF THAT BECAUSE WE'LL BE ABLE TO DO THE WORK THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, MIGHT HAVE TAKEN THREE PEOPLE TO DO BECAUSE OF SOFTWARE USES THE AI AND OTHER FEATURES.
WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO SOME OF THAT WORK WITH ONE PERSON.
I WOULD CAVEAT THAT WITH, HOWEVER, THIS IS LITIGATION RELATED SOFTWARE, SO Y WILL HELP US WITH SOME OF OUR LITIGATION VACANCIES THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY ASSIST US WITH OUR VACANCIES ON OUR TRANSACTIONAL SIDE.
SOME OF OUR TPIA, OUR GENERAL COUNSEL SIDE, AND OTHER AREAS OF THE DEPARTMENT.
WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, TO YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
AND MR. LUER, IS THERE ANYTHING FROM THE IT STANDPOINT THAT YOU'D LIKE TO ADD? THANK YOU.
ALRIGHT, UH, WITH THAT WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM ONTO THE AGENDA.
THAT'LL BE ITEM THREE, THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT EMERGENCY ALERTING SYSTEM, THE EAS REPLACEMENT PROGRAM.
UH, HERE NOW WILL BE OUR EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT CHIEF RODNEY WEST.
AS WELL AS BERT CRAWFORD, OUR DEPUTY CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE FROM THE HITS DEPARTMENT.
WELCOME TO YOU BOTH, UM, AND THE FLOOR IS YOURS.
GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS WITH US.
UM, UH, WE HAVE, UH, I'M BURT FROM HITS, AND, UH, WE HAVE, UH, CHIEF RODNEY WEST FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
WE'RE GONNA CO-PRESENT WITH US IN THE AUDIENCE IS CHIEF SAMUEL PENA, THE FIRE CHIEF, AND ALSO ON ONLINE REMOTELY VIA TEAMS IS DIRECTOR LISA CANT FROM HITS.
SO WHAT WE'RE GONNA PRESENT TOGETHER, TOGETHER TODAY IS THE HFD EMERGENCY ALERTING SYSTEM REPLACEMENT PROJECT.
THIS SYSTEM IS ESSENTIAL TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
IT'S KEY TO ENSURE FIRE AND, AND EMS DISPATCHES OCCUR TO TAKE CARE OF THE RESIDENTS AND VISITORS TO HOUSTON.
SO IF WE CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
I'M GONNA COVER THE BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT, WHICH IS A LOT OF THE DETAILS SUPPORTING THIS, THIS PROPOSAL.
OUR COUNT SELECTION REQUEST IS FOR A SPENDING AUTHORITY.
THE VENDOR WE'VE SELECTED AFTER ANALYZING MULTIPLE VENDOR SOLUTIONS IS MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS.
THE UPCOMING COUNT ELECTION WILL APPROPRIATE FUNDS AND AUTHORIZED SPENDING AUTHORITY FOR A NEW CONTRACT TO PURCHASE A NEW FIRE STATION ALERTING SYSTEM FROM MOTOROLA, WHICH IS CALLED MOCK ALERT.
FUNDING FOR THE INITIAL DEPLOYMENT IS COVERED IN THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
BUDGET FOR HITS IN FY 23 SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE COSTS WILL BE COVERED IN THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR HITS FOR FY 25 THROUGH FY 27.
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THIS ACTION WILL REPLACE THE CURRENT FIRE STATION ALERTING SYSTEM THAT IS OVER 20 YEARS OLD AND IS THAT END OF LIFE TECHNOLOGY AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED WITH A MORE ROBUST COMMERCIAL OFF THE SHELF SYSTEM.THE TOTAL SPENDING ON 30 WE'RE REQUESTING TODAY IS $3,297,885 AND 17 CENTS.
THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT PROPOSAL IS FIVE YEARS, AND WE HAVE AN MWBE APPROVED OBO GOAL OF 2.51%, AND THE PRIMARY USERS OF THIS SYSTEM ARE THE HOUSTON EMERGENCY CENTER AND THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT.
SO IF WE CAN PLEASE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
CHIEF RODNEY WEST WILL TAKE US THROUGH THIS ONE AROUND THE HISTORY, THE USAGE OF THE SYSTEM, AND WHY WE BELIEVE THAT WE DIDN'T, WE NEED TO REPLACE IT.
GOOD MORNING, CHAIR AND COUNSEL.
UM, THE EMERGENCY ALERTING SYSTEM IS USED TO NOTIFY RESPONDERS WHEN WE HAVE A, AN EMERGENCY CALL.
UM, WE USE THE SYSTEM TO ALERT THE STATIONS AS WELL AS A VOICE TO TEXT, UH, MESSAGE OVER THE RADIOS.
IF THEY'RE NOT IN THE STATION.
THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE'RE USING, UM, TURNS ON THE LIGHTS, OPENS, THE SPEAKERS ANNOUNCES THE CALL THAT IS TO BE RESPONDED TO.
IT ALSO SENDS A MESSAGE TO THE MOBILE DATA, COMPUTERS WITH THE LOCATION INFORMATION AND MINOR DETAILS ABOUT THE INCIDENT AND THE LOCATION THAT WE'RE RESPONDING TO.
THIS SYSTEM ALLOWS US TO RESPOND QUICKLY AND THE THE RISK THAT WE RUN WITH THE CURRENT SYSTEM.
WE HAVE, AS BERT'S ALREADY MENTIONED, WE'RE AT END OF LIFE TECHNOLOGY.
UM, WE, WE CAN'T, CAN'T MOVE FORWARD WITH IT.
AND AS WE'RE GROWING AS A CITY AND AS WE'RE LOOKING TO IMPLEMENT MAYBE A NEW CAD, WE'RE ALREADY IN PROPOSAL OR TRYING TO CREATE A PROPOSAL FOR A NEW CAD.
HAVING SYSTEMS THAT WE'VE KIND OF PUT TOGETHER BASED ON, UM, LIMITED TECHNOLOGY AND, AND LIMITED RESOURCES, UM, WW WILL LIMIT OUR ABILITY TO BETTER SERVE THE PUBLIC.
SO WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT WITH THIS NEWER SYSTEM, IT IS AN OFF THE SHELF AND NOT NECESSARILY, UM, ONE THAT DOESN'T MERGE OR, UH, WORK WITH NEWER TECHNOLOGIES.
A SYSTEM THAT'S OVER 20 YEARS OLD IS, IS HARD TO, UH,
SO, UM, SOME FACTS ABOUT THE CURRENT EAS SYSTEM.
WE'VE ALREADY SAID IT OVER 20 YEARS OLD.
UM, WE ALREADY KNOW THAT, UH, FAILURE OF THIS SYSTEM WILL DELAY, UH, PRECIOUS TIME IN RESPONDING TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
WE DO HAVE BACKUP CURRENTLY, UH, BUT THAT BACKUP IS ANALOG.
UH, WE HAVE TO SPEAK VOICE INTO THAT, UH, WHICH TAKES AWAY PRECIOUS TIME IN RESPONDING.
NOW THAT WE'VE COVERED THE HISTORY, WE WANNA LOOK FORWARD FOR WHAT WE NEED GOING FORWARD WITH A NEW SOLUTION.
SO FROM A HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTS PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE SEEKING A MORE ROBUST COMMERCIAL OFF THE SHELF SYSTEM.
THIS BASICALLY MEANS A THIRD PARTY COMPANY THAT BUILDS DESIGN SUPPORTS AND ENHANCES OVER TIME WITH NEW FEATURES AND NEW CAPABILITIES TO PROVIDE US LONG-TERM SOLUTION HERE.
THIS IS PART OF THE HIT STRATEGIC PLAN AS WELL FOR COMMERCIAL OFF THE SHELF, WHEREVER POSSIBLE.
SO THE KEY IS TO GET MORE AND MORE FEATURES GOING FORWARD.
AS CHIEF WEST MENTIONED, THE CURRENT SYSTEM, WE CAN'T EXPAND, WE CAN'T ADD THINGS TO IT.
SO THIS ONE IS GONNA BE KEY FOR US GOING FORWARD.
WE NEED TO HAVE A MORE IMPROVED END USER INTERFACE FOR THE FIRE DISPATCHERS AND THE FIRE PERSONNEL TO BE ABLE TO QUICKLY UNDERSTAND AND, AND, AND UTILIZE THE SYSTEM.
AND WE ALSO NEED A FULL SYSTEM-WIDE SOLUTION FOR STATION ALERTING AT ALL 93 FIRE STATIONS TODAY WITH THE CAPACITY AND CAPABILITY TO EXPAND AS NEEDED.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THIS NEEDS TO BE BASED ON STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY CURRENTLY IN THE INDUSTRY WITH A MULTIPLE REDUNDANT DESIGN.
SO REDUNDANT DESIGN FROM AN INFRASTRUCTURE PERSPECTIVE, AND THEN REDUNDANT, REDUNDANT DESIGN FROM A COMMUNICATION PERSPECTIVE, WHICH IS WHAT WE LIMIT WE WERE LIMITED WITH TODAY IN OUR CURRENT SOLUTION.
SO IF WE CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, I I WANT TO TAKE US THROUGH SOME DETAILS AROUND THE PROPOSED SOLUTION CALLED MOCK ALERT FROM MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS.
SO FROM A FEATURES PERSPECTIVE AND BACKGROUND PERSPECTIVE, I'LL GO INTO SOME OF THE DETAILS.
SO THIS IS A FULL FEATURED FIRE STATION ALERTING SOLUTION DESIGNED TO PROVIDE STATE-OF-THE-ART FUNCTIONALITY AND RELIABILITY.
IT'S DESIGNED FOR RAPID RESPONSE, SEAMLESS INTEGRATION WITH CURRENT EXISTING COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS LIKE CAD.
AS CHIEF WEST MENTIONS ROBUST RELIABILITY EXPANDABILITY AND THE ABILITY TO GRACEFULLY ADD IN NEW FEATURES AND CAPABILITIES AS THE PRODUCT GROWS AND ENHANCES OVER TIME TO BETTER SERVE OUR CITIZENS, PROVIDE A SCALABLE
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FLEXIBLE SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE AND THE ABILITY TO ALERT FIRE STATIONS FROM EXISTING CENTRAL DISPATCH CENTER, WHICH FOR US IS THE HOUSTON EMERGENCY CENTER.AND THEN THE SOLUTION WILL BE DEPLOYED AT ALL 93 FIRE STATIONS PROVIDE FIRE STATIONING ALERTING CAPABILITY.
SO NOW THAT WE TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THE FEATURES OF THE, OF THE NEW SOLUTION, WE WANNA TALK ABOUT THE PRODUCT AND THE HISTORY AND THE STRENGTH OF IT GOING FORWARD.
SO THIS MOCK ALERT SYSTEM HAS BEEN AROUND FOR MORE THAN 16 YEARS AS A TEAM OF ENGINEERS AND DEVELOPERS THAT WROTE THE PRODUCT, SUPPORT THE PRODUCT, MAINTAIN IT, ENHANCE IT, AND ADD NEW FEATURES TO IT WITH AN INTENT TO FOCUS ON THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF FIREFIGHTERS.
THEY'VE HAD OVER 95 SUCCESSFUL DEPLOYMENTS OF THIS SOLUTION ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND THEY'RE CURRENTLY IN ACTIVE USE IN MORE THAN 1,400 FIRE STATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND MOTOROLA OF THE VENDOR IS COMMITTED TO ENSURING A SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION ON CUTOVER AND ALSO TO MAINTAIN THE PRODUCT AND TO INNOVATE AND ADD NEW FEATURES TO IT GOING FORWARD.
SO IF WE CAN NOW MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, I'LL GO INTO DETAIL AROUND THE EXPENSE BREAKDOWN FOR OUR PROPOSAL FOR REQUESTED SPENDING AUTHORITY.
AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE HAVE TWO FUNDING SOURCES FOR THIS.
FIRST IS THE FY 23 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN BUDGET WHERE WE HAVE $2.5 MILLION.
AND SECOND, THE OPERATING BUDGET, THE CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND WHERE WE'LL LOOK AT FUNDING 700 9790 $7,885 AND 17 CENTS.
SO NEXT I WANT TO TAKE US BACK DOWN TO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL WHERE WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE FISCAL YEAR OF THE CONTRACT.
THERE'S FIVE YEAR CONTRACT DESCRIPTION OF WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING PURCHASING EACH YEAR, AND THEN THE, THE COST FOR THAT YEAR.
SO FY 23 IS WHERE WE'RE DOING THE STANDUP, THE PURCHASE, THE, THE SETUP, THE CONFIGURATION, THE IMPLEMENTATION, THE DEPLOYMENT, AND THE CUTOVER.
SO THAT'S WHERE THE BULK OF THE, OF THE FUNDING COMES FROM.
THAT INCLUDES THE HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE THAT'LL RUN THE EN THE ENVIRONMENT AT THE DATA CENTERS AND ALSO AT EACH FIRE STATION THAT INCLUDES PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TO DO THE SETUP, CONFIGURATION AND DEPLOYMENT AND CUTOVER AND THEN SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE FY 24.
WE BELIEVE THERE WILL BE NO COST BECAUSE THE, THE, THE FIRST YEAR THAT THAT YEAR'S COST IS INCLUDED IN THE YEAR ONE COST OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE, OF THIS PROPOSAL.
THEN WE HAVE ONGOING SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE THAT WE NEED TO PAY FOR THE OUTLYING THREE YEARS OF THE CONTRACT FOR FY 25, FY 26 AND FY 27 THAT WE HAVE OUTLINED HERE.
AND THEN WE HAVE ADDED IN SOME CONTINGENCY FOR ANY UNANTICIPATED OR UNEXPECTED COSTS WITH IMPLEMENTATION AND CUTOVER AND FOR THE DURATION OF THE CONTRACT.
SO THIS IS WHERE WE COME UP WITH A TOTAL OF $3,297,885 AND 17 CENTS.
SO IF WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE THAT COVERS THE DETAILS OF THE PRESENTATION AND WE'D LIKE TO OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHIEF WEST AND, AND MR. CRAWFORD, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UH, WE DO HAVE AT LEAST ONE COUNCIL MEMBER IN THE QUEUE AND THAT'S, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER AMY PECK.
UM, CHIEF, YOU KINDA ALLUDED TO IT INTERFACING WITH THE CAD SYSTEM.
CAN YOU JUST CLARIFY, DOES THIS, WILL THIS INTERFACE WITH THE CURRENT CAD AND WHEN WE EVENTUALLY EVER GET A NEW SYSTEM AS WELL? IT'LL ALL INTERFACE WITH THOSE, IT WILL INTERFACE WITH, WITH THE CURRENT ONE AND, AND GOING FORWARD WITH, WITH THE NEWER ONE.
AND WILL THERE BE ANY KIND OF INTERFACE WITH THIS SYSTEM OR DOES THERE NEED TO BE WITH THE WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM OR ALERT HOUSTON WHERE IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S NOTIFYING, NOTIFYING HFD OF AN ISSUE THAT IT ALSO MIGHT NEED TO NOTIFY THE PUBLIC? OR IS THAT JUST A SEPARATE, THAT'S SEPARATE.
THAT SYSTEM, I BELIEVE IS RUN BY THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FOR THE, THE WIDE RANGE ALERTING AND IT WOULD BE A SEPARATE SYSTEM.
UM, AND THAT, THAT'S IT EXCEPT PERHAPS ONE FOLLOW UP QUESTION FROM ME.
I KNOW WE'VE SAID ALL THE STATIONS, ALL 93 OF THEM ACROSS THE CITY, AND WITHOUT GETTING INTO SPECIFICS ABOUT WHICH WOULD COME FIRST, I WONDER, UH, CHIEF IF YOU MIGHT SPEAK FIRST TO JUST HOW WE WOULD APPROACH THAT, IMPLEMENTING THEM, IF IT'S A PHASED UH, OPERATION OR ALL 93 HAPPENING AT ONCE, HOW WE'RE PLANNING TO COORDINATE THAT FOR, UH, MAXIMUM EFFECT AND EQUITY ACROSS THE CITY? IT, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE PHASED IN.
HOWEVER, THE STATIONS, IF WE HAVE A, A FAILURE OF A CURRENT SYSTEM AND THAT STATION IS, LET'S SAY, WORKING ON THE ANALOG BACKUP SYSTEM, THOSE STATIONS WILL BE REPLACED FIRST BECAUSE THOSE STATIONS WOULD HAVE A DELAY IN RESPONSE IF THEY'RE DOWN CURRENTLY.
UH, THANKFULLY WE DON'T HAVE ANY THAT ARE DOWN.
WE JUST, SO WE WOULD, UH, JUST DEPLOY THEM AS A, AS A WHOLE SYSTEMATIC.
ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD, MR. CRAWFORD? UM, JUST TO REITERATE, THAT'S WE, WE, WE, WE'LL PUT THE PLAN TOGETHER AS THE, THE PROJECT KICKS OFF IN A DETAILED DESIGN REVIEW.
WE ANTICIPATE IT'S ABOUT A YEAR TO ROLL OUT ENTIRELY, BUT CHIEF WEST IS, IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
WE'LL FOCUS ON ANY POTENTIAL PROBLEM AREAS FIRST AND THEN SPREAD IT OUT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE CITY.
AND I THINK TO COUNCIL MEMBER PECK'S POINT, IF ANY INDIVIDUAL DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBER
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WANTS TO KNOW WHAT, WHEN THEIR STATIONS MIGHT BE AFFECTED, I'M SURE THERE'S A WAY THAT THEY CAN FOLLOW UP WITH Y'ALL ABOUT THAT.WELL, THAT IS IT FOR YOUR ITEM ON THE AGENDA.
I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
AND OF COURSE, LIKE THE OTHERS, IT WILL BE ON OUR WEBSITE, UH, AFTER TODAY'S PRESENTATION.
NEXT, MOVING ON TO THE FOURTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA TODAY.
IT'S THE E-SIGNATURE CONTRACT AMENDMENT.
UH, PRESENTING THIS FROM THE HITS DEPARTMENT WILL BE OUR DEPUTY CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER SUMMER XO, UH, WITH ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE, ALONG WITH OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS WITH ITS, AND THAT'S MAY FUNG.
HELLO LADIES, NICE TO HAVE YOU HERE.
AND, UH, THE FLOOR IS YOURS FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, WE ARE HERE TO PRESENT THE E-SIGNATURE CONTRACT AMENDMENT.
MY NAME IS MAI FUNG, I'M THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OVER ENTERPRISE APPLICATION.
UM, GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF.
UH, MY NAME IS SUMMER SHE, I'M THE DEPUTY CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER OVER THE ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS AND THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE AT HITS.
UM, WE ARE HERE TO ASK TO AMEND THE PURE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS CONTRACT FOR E-SIGNATURE TO EXTEND THE TERM AND TO INCREASE THE MAXIMUM CONTRACT CON, UH, CONTRACT AMOUNT FROM $2,542,000 TO A TOTAL AMOUNT OF 5,918,000 A 137 AND 80 CENTS.
UM, THIS CONTRACT AND SOFTWARE IS USED CITYWIDE.
THE ORIGINAL CONTRACT IS A THREE YEAR TERM PLUS TWO ONE OPTION YEARS.
UM, THE NEW CONTRACT WILL BE IN A THREE ADDITIONAL ONE YEAR.
THE THE CONTRACT WELL IS, UM, AN MWBE APPROVED, UH, BY OBO FOR 0%.
AND THE VENDOR IS AN MWBE OWNED BUSINESS.
SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THE VENDOR.
THE E-SIGNATURE PLATFORM IS THE MOST WIDELY USED E-SIGNATURE SOFTWARE IN THE INDUSTRY.
UM, THE E-SIGNATURE SOFTWARE HAS OVER 1 MILLION CUSTOMERS WORLDWIDE WITH HUNDREDS OF MILLION SIGNERS ANNUALLY.
UM, THE E-SIGNATURE SOFTWARE IS FEDERALLY RISK AND AUTHORIZATION MANAGEMENT OR FEDRAMP COMPLIANT WITH OVER 4,000 FEDERAL CITY, COUNTY, AND ALL MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATIONS IN ALL 50 STATES.
SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON E-SIGNATURE OVERVIEW.
THE CITY OF HOUSTON IMPLEMENTED E-SIGNATURE PLATFORM IN JANUARY, 2018.
IN JUNE OF 2018, THE CITY APPROVED THE ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY EIGHT DASH SIX.
THE ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES MAY BE USED BY THE CITY DEPARTMENT'S AND DIVISIONS TO CONDUCT TRANSACTIONS BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL TO THE CITY.
E-SIGNATURE IS USED BY ALL CITY DEPARTMENTS FOR VARIOUS SIGN-OFFS AND APPROVAL PROCESSES NEEDED TO INCREASE DATA ORGANIZATION TIME SAVINGS, AND ELIMINATE MANUAL PAPER PROCESSING.
E-SIGNATURE PLATFORM WAS INSTRUMENTAL FOR THE BUSINESS OPERATIONS DURING THE PANDEMIC AND HAS BECOME ONE OF THE MOST FOUNDATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS IN THE CITY.
THE E-SIGNATURE ENVELOPE USAGE.
AN ENVELOPE IS DEFINED AS A PACKET OF ONE OR MORE DOCUMENTS SENT TO THE RECIPIENTS TO BE SIGNED ELECTRONICALLY.
UM, SOME IN STATISTICAL INFORMATION THAT, UM, WE HAVE SINCE 2018.
WE STARTED WITH 2,900 ENVELOPE SENT IN 2019, IT INCREASED TO OVER 11,000 ENVELOPE SIGN, UH, IN 2020 OVER 84,000 ENVELOPE SIGN IN 20 21, 100 OVER 134,000 ENVELOPE SIGNS AND ESTIMATED THROUGH THE END OF 2022 IS 148,000 ENVELOPE SIGN UP.
AND THE ESTIMATED INCREASE, UM, HAD BEEN MORE THAN 10% POST THE PANDEMIC PERIOD.
SOME E-SIGNATURE GREEN IMPACT.
UM, THE GREEN IMPACT ALIGNS WITH THE CITY'S CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.
THE ACTION PLAN FOR MATERIAL MANAGEMENT GOAL ONE, TO REDUCE WASTE AND TRANSFORM CIRCULAR ECONOMY.
THE GREEN IMPACT THE LOW WERE CALCULATED BY OUR SOFTWARE VENDOR BASED ON OVER 350,000 ENVELOPES.
SENT, UM, OVER 300, EXCUSE ME, OVER 3000 TREES SAVED, UH, 2.5 MILLION
[00:35:01]
POUNDS OF CO2 OVER 2.9 MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER.UM, OVER 160,000 POUNDS OF SOLID WASTE AND OVER 2.5 200, SORRY, 2,592 BARRELS OF OIL.
THE CONTRACT CORE COMPONENTS INCLUDES THE ENTERPRISE LICENSES, ENVELOPES AND, AND USER LICENSES AS WELL AS ENTERPRISE SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE.
OUR CONTRACT SPEND FORECAST INCLUDES BOTH ENTERPRISE LICENSES AND SUPPORT FOR THE FIRST YEAR OF $972,000 AND 58 CENTS FOR YEAR ONE, UH, FOR YEAR 2 20 24, ONE MILLION ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED THOUSAND AND SIXTY SEVEN CENTS IN FOR 2025 ONE MILLION TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY FIVE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND SEVENTY THOUSAND AND SEVENTY SEVEN CENTS WITH A TOTAL OF 3,000,300 AND $375,272 AND 2 CENTS.
AND THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION.
AND, UH, MS. HAW FOR ALL THAT YOU'VE DONE.
THE PRESENTATION WAS CLEAR AND APPRECIATE HOW YOU ADDRESSED A NUMBER OF THINGS, INCLUDING THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.
I'M SURPRISED THERE ARE NO COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE, INCLUDING THE VICE CHAIR WHO SOMETIMES TALKS ABOUT SAVING PAPER OR THE MAYOR PRO TEM WHO TALKS ABOUT USING PAPER
UM, UH, BUT IN FACT WE'VE GOT COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN WHO'D LIKE IT.
I WAS GONNA CUT THE MAYOR PRO TEM SOME SLACK, BUT, UH, YEAH, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A GREAT MOVE, UM, IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
IS THIS, I'M USED TO SIGNING DOCUSIGN.
IS THIS JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF DOCUSIGN OR IS DOCUSIGN PART OF THIS OR THIS IS DOCUSIGN? YES, IT'S ANOTHER, THIS IS DOCUSIGN.
COUNCIL MEMBER, WE'D ALSO LIKE TO HEAR FROM STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER KNOX'S OFFICE.
UM, COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHY WAS AN RFP ISSUED OR ARE THERE OTHER COMPANIES THAT DO THIS OR IS IT PROPRIETARY? WHY ARE WE JUST EXTENDING IT? YEAH, SO THIS WAS, UM, ORIGINALLY PROCURED UNDER RFP, RIGHT? WE'RE EXTENDING IT BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THIS IS THE EMBEDDED, UH, SOFTWARE THAT WE'RE USING.
WE'RE PLANNING, UH, TO START AN RFP IN THE NEXT YEAR OR SO TO REBID THIS OUT.
RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC AND THE, UH, AMOUNT OF USAGE THAT INCREASED IN TENFOLD, THE CITY, UM, HAS A HUGE ADOPTION RATE.
SO WE ARE PLANNING FOR AN RFP IN THE YEAR HERE.
AND WITH THAT LADIES, THANK YOU, UH, FOR BEING HERE FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
AND WE WILL CONCLUDE, UH, NEXT WITH THE FINAL AGENDA ITEM ON THE, UH, THANK YOU PROGRAM FOR TODAY.
UH, AND THE LAST ITEM ON TODAY'S AGENDA IS THE GTE MOBILE NET, THE VERIZON WIRELESS AMENDMENT.
UM, AGAIN, WITH US IS THE DEPUTY CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER FROM HITS INFRASTRUCTURE, BERT CRAWFORD, AS WELL AS ANTHONY AGAN.
AND, UH, HE WAS THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR HITS.
THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING HERE.
UH, BERT, IT'S YOUR TURN AGAIN.
AS MENTIONED, I'M BURT FER AND ANTHONY EGAN.
TODAY WE'RE GONNA HEAR TO, UH, TO TALK THROUGH THE GTE MOBILE NET VERIZON WIRELESS CONTRACT AMENDMENT PROPOSAL.
I'LL WILL COVER THE, THE CONTENT OF THE SLIDES AND ANTHONY EGAN AS THE SUBJECT MANAGER MAN SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT, CAN UH, COVER SOME OF THE, ANY QUESTIONS THAT COME UP.
SO IF WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
I WANNA GO THROUGH SOME OF THE DETAILS.
SO THE COUNCIL ACTION REQUEST IS A CONTRACT AMENDMENT PLUS THE SPENDING AUTHORITY INCREASE.
THE PURPOSE IS THE UPCOMING COUNCIL ELECTION WILL INCREASE THE MAXIMUM CONTRACT AMOUNT TO THE CURRENT WIRELESS CONTRACT TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL SPENDING AUTHORITY FIRST AND SECOND TO AMEND THE TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT TO ADD AN INCREASE OF REBATES PROPOSED BY VERIZON BACK TO THE CITY.
THE SPENDING AUTHORITY INCREASE IS REQUIRED SINCE THE CONTRACT STARTED RIGHT AT RIGHT BEFORE THE PANDEMIC STARTED, AND THE CITY HAD TO TRANSFORM OUR WORKFORCE INTO A MORE MOBILE WORKFORCE, WHICH REQUIRED ADDITIONAL LINES TO BE ADDED.
THE CURRENT AGREEMENT FOR CITYWIDE WIRELESS EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES INCLUDE CELL PHONES, TABLETS, AND HOTSPOTS FOR MOBILE CITY WORKERS CITYWIDE IN-CAR COMPUTING FOR H-F-D-H-P-D AND TELEHEALTH SOLUTIONS FOR EMS. IT ALSO INCLUDES CONNECTIVITY FOR SERVICES SUCH AS WASTEWATER, LIFT STATIONS, DRINKING WATER PLANTS, TRAFFIC SIGNALS, CUSTOMER SERVICE, HOMELAND SECURITY, AND THE LIBRARY COMMUNITY CENTER.
[00:40:01]
CONTRACT AMOUNT IS $39,730,131.THE PROPOSED INCREASE AMOUNT IS $9,932,532 AND 60 CENTS.
AND THE TERM IS A THREE YEAR TERM WITH TWO YEAR CONTRACT RENEWAL PERIODS.
THIS CONTRACT STARTED ON FEBRUARY 25TH, 2020 AND RUNS THROUGH FEBRUARY 24TH, 2025.
THE MWBE GOAL IS 24% AND THE PRIMARY USERS ARE ALL CITY DEPARTMENTS.
SO IF WE CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, I'LL BEGIN TO GO THROUGH A DETAILED EXPENSE BREAKDOWN OF THIS REQUESTED SPENDING AUTHORITY INCREASE.
SO THIS IS FUNDED AT A CENTRAL SERVICES REVOLVING FUND AND WE HAVE THE FY 21 ACTUALS, FY 22 ACTUALS, AND WE HAVE AN ANNUAL TWO YEAR AVERAGE OF $8,961,939 AND 90 CENTS.
AND NOW LET'S GO INTO DETAIL ABOUT THE BREAKDOWN BY FISCAL YEAR WHERE WE BELIEVE, WHERE WE BELIEVE WE'LL NEED ADDITIONAL SPENDING AUTHORITY FOR FY 23.
BASED ON OUR PROJECTIONS, WE, WE BELIEVE WE'RE FINE AND ARE NOT ASKED REQUESTING ADDITIONAL SPENDING AUTHORITY FOR FY 24 AND FFY 25 IS WHERE WE WILL BE REQUESTING ADDITIONAL SPENDING AUTHORITY.
FOR FFY 24, WE BELIEVE WE NEED AN ADDITIONAL $1,339,492 AND EIGHT AND, UM, 87 CENTS FOR FY 25.
THE PROPOSED ADDITIONAL SPENDING AUTHORITY REQUESTED IS $6,660,507 AND 13 CENTS.
AND WE ALSO HAVE A CONTINGENCY AMOUNT OF ONE 1.9 MILLION FOR ANY UNEXPECTED COSTS OR ANY INCREASES IN, IN USAGE.
SO THAT COMES TO A TOTAL OF $9,932,532 AND 60 CENTS.
SO IF WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, I NOW WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE VERIZON REBATE INCREASE PROPOSAL.
SO THE WAY THE SLIDE IS BROKEN DOWN, THE LEFT SIDE TALKS ABOUT THE CURRENT SITUATION AND WHERE WE ARE.
AND THE RIGHT SIDE IS THE PROPOSED REBATE INCREASE FROM VERIZON THAT WE RECOMMEND ACCEPTING IT'S SET UP IN THREE COLUMNS.
THE SECOND IS THE ATTAINMENT LINE COUNT MINIMUM QUANTITY, AND THIRD IS THE ANNUAL PAYMENT AMOUNT.
SO WE'RE FOCUSED ON YEAR FOUR AND YEAR FIVE.
YEAR FOUR STARTS IN FEBRUARY OF 2023 AND YEAR FIVE WOULD START IN FEBRUARY OF 2024.
SO BASED ON OUR CURRENT LINE COUNT OF 24,348, I HAVE BOLDED IN THE TABLE WHERE WE BELIEVE THE, THE VERIZON REBATE, UH, CHECK AMOUNT TO THE CITY WOULD BE FOR YEAR FOUR.
AT THE 20,000 LEVEL, THE REBATE CHECK SHOULD BE $1 MILLION FOR YEAR FIVE.
AT THE SAME LINE COUNT OF 20,000, IT WOULD BE 750,000.
SO IF WE NOW LOOK AT THE PROPOSED INCREASE FROM VERIZON, AND YOU'LL SEE IN THE TABLE THAT I HIGHLIGHTED WHAT, WHAT'S CHANGING IN GREEN.
SO IF WE'RE AGAIN FOCUSED AT OUR CURRENT LINE COUNT OF 24,348 LINES, THE REBATE WOULD BE THE SAME FOR YEAR FOUR AT 20,000 LEVEL FOR $1 MILLION.
BUT FOR YEAR FIVE, THE 20,000 LINE ENTRY INCREASES TO $1 MILLION.
SO BY IMPLEMENTING AND ACCEPTING THIS PROPOSAL, THE CITY WILL GET AN INCREASE IN VERIZON REBATE OF $250,000 OVER THE, THE LAST TWO YEARS OF THE CONTRACT.
AND AS A REMINDER, THE REBATE CHECKS WILL BE CREDITED BACK TO THE CITY'S GENERAL REVENUE FUND.
SO THAT COVERS THE DETAILS OF THE PRESENTATION.
WE'D NOW LIKE IT TO OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU AGAIN, MR. CRAWFORD.
AND, UH, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE, SO WE WILL GET RIGHT TO IT WITH OUR VICE CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN.
SO THE 24,348, THAT, THAT'S ALL CELL PHONES, TABLETS, HOTSPOTS, THAT'S WHERE THERE'S MORE THAN THE 21,000 EMPLOYEES? YES.
'CAUSE YOUR, SOME PEOPLE HAVE MULTIPLE DEVICES.
HOW MANY EMPLOYEES HAVE NO HAVE? WELL, I GUESS EVERYBODY HAS SOME THING, BUT THERE, THERE ARE EMPLOYEES THAT DON'T HAVE ANY CELL PHONE THAT I DON'T HAVE A CITY CELL PHONE.
UM, ANYWAY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GIVE IT TO ME NOW.
I JUST WOULD BE INTERESTED IN HOW MANY DON'T HAVE A, A HOTSPOT OR AN IPAD OR A CELL PHONE.
UM, ALSO I'D LIKE TO KNOW, UH, ABOUT WHY IS THE INCREASE SO HIGH IN 25? WHY IS THE BULK OF THE INCREASE SO HIGH IN 25 AND IS THAT JUST 'CAUSE WE'RE COMPLETELY OUTTA MONEY ON THE CONTRACT? AND ALSO THE CONTINGENCY SEEMS HIGH TOO.
UM, BUT IF YOU COULD EXPLAIN THOSE NUMBERS.
UM, YEAH, SO AS WE, THE WAY THE SPENDING IS SPENT OUT AND, AND BEEN DEFINED, WE HAVE ENOUGH FUNDING.
WE BELIEVE BASED ON OUR CURRENT AMOUNT TO GET US THROUGH FY 23, IT'S THE INCREASED AMOUNT.
'CAUSE WE ARE AWARE ABOVE PROJECTIONS OF THE LINE COUNTS WE WOULD'VE HAD IF WE HADN'T HAD THE PANDEMIC AND THE WORLD HADN'T CHANGED.
[00:45:01]
IT'S THE PAYING FOR THE OUTLYING YEARS OF THOSE SAME LINES THAT ARE MORE THAN THE FUNDING WE HAVE AVAILABLE AND APPROVED.AND THE CONTINGENCY, HOW DID YOU PICK THAT NUMBER? IS THAT, THAT SEPARATE? WE TEND TO GO WITH THE GENERIC PERCENTAGE OF, OF CONTINGENCY FOR, FOR ANY HITS PROPOSAL.
AND, AND THE REBATES BACK OFF THE 9 MILLION BASICALLY, I MEAN, IS IT, I MEAN, IS IT A, I MEAN, YOU'RE PAYING OUT THE 9 MILLION FOR THE CONTRACT FOR THE, THE AMENDMENT, BUT YOU'RE IN, THE REBATES ARE COMING IN, SO IT'S, YOU'RE REALLY NETTING OUT THAT FROM THE TOTAL COST.
IT, IT, COULD YOU LOOK AT IT THAT WAY A LITTLE BIT? UM, YEAH, SO WE, WE PAY FOR UP FRONT, YOU KNOW, THE TOTAL COST AS WE'VE PRESENTED.
AND VERIZON PAYS US BACK A REBATE FOR A PORTION DEPENDING ON THE VOLUME OF OUR USAGE.
AND THAT JUST GOES STRAIGHT TO THE GENERAL FUND? YES.
IT GOES STRAIGHT TO THE CITY'S GENERAL REVENUE FUND.
YEAH, I'M ALWAYS INTERESTED IN, IN THE USAGE.
UM, AND HOW MANY KIND OF EMPLOYEES, COUNCIL MEMBER, WE, WE ALSO HAVE DIRECTOR KENT, WHO'D LIKE TO ADDRESS YOUR QUESTIONS.
SO MAYBE MR. CRAWFORD, IF YOU HOLD ONE SECOND.
I, SO I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN THE CITY, THESE DEVICES ARE NOT NECESSARILY ASSIGNED TO INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES.
SO IT WAS IMPORTANT TO NOTE IN THE FIRST PART OF THE PRESENTATION, UM, MY TEAM INDICATED THAT THIS INCLUDES THINGS LIKE POLICE AND FIRE STATION OR FIRETRUCK DEVICES.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE ANYWHERE CLOSE TO ALL EMPLOYEES BEING ASSIGNED A CELLULAR DEVICE.
UH, WE CAN CERTAINLY FOLLOW UP AFTER THE PRESENTATION AND GIVE YOU THE NUMBERS.
SO THAT'S A LOT OF SYSTEMS THAT AREN'T INDIVIDUALS.
BOTH PUBLIC SAFETY AS WELL AS WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT ENTITIES LIKE PUBLIC WORKS WHERE WE HAVE A REMOTE MONITORING OF A THING, LIKE A, A LIFT STATION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UH, NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM COUNCIL MEMBER.
DOES THIS NUMBER INCLUDE, UM, IS IT JUST THE DEVICES OR IS THIS THE ACTUAL SERVICE FOR THE DEVICES AS WELL? IT'S BOTH.
AND, UH, NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM STAFF FROM VICE MAYOR PRO TEM MARTHA CASTEX TATUM OFFICE.
I HIT OH, YOU'RE SITTING IN THE WRONG SEAT.
I'M DOING SOME SOCIAL DISTANCING.
YEAH, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, WHEN I LOOKED AT THIS, A COUPLE OF THINGS DIDN'T COMPUTE AND THAT IS YOU HAVE A ROUGHLY A 25% INCREASE THAT WE'RE GONNA IMPLEMENT IMMEDIATELY.
BUT THEN AGAIN, WE'RE NOT GONNA NEED THE BULK OF THAT MONEY UNTIL THE YEAR, FISCAL YEAR 25.
AND A LOT OF IT IS FOR THINGS RELATED TO CO AND CONNECTIVITY FOR COVID.
AND I'M SEEING US MOVE AWAY FROM COVID AND I'M LOOKING AT 25 AND THINKING 25 WILL PROBABLY BE MORE OF NORMALCY THAN WE ARE SITTING HERE IN FISCAL YEAR 23.
SO THOSE THINGS DIDN'T ADD UP TO ME FOR A CONTRACT THAT'S ROUGHLY $40 MILLION WITH A $10 MILLION INCREASE.
CAN YOU HELP ME WITH THAT? YEAH.
SO I'D LIKE TO JUST ADD THAT, UH, MOST OF THIS, UH, SPENDING AUTHORITY HAS ALREADY BEEN PAID FORWARD, RIGHT DURING COVID, THE COST HAS IN, HAVE INCREASED OVER WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY FORECASTED WHEN THIS CONTRACT WAS CREATED.
SO, UH, IT MAY BE SLIGHTLY MISLEADING ON OUR SLIDE, UH, WHERE IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S, UH, AN INCREASE IN FY 25, THE SPENDING AUTHORITY THAT'S CURRENTLY ON THE CONTRACT WILL EXPIRE OR WILL RUN OUT OF SPENDING AUTHORITY.
AND FY 24, A SMALL AMOUNT WILL BE REQUIRED IN FY 24.
AND THEN THE ADDITIONAL $6.66 MILLION WILL BE REQUIRED TO TAKE US THROUGH THE TERMINATION OF THE, SO WHY WOULDN'T WE JUST WAIT TILL THE CONTRACT EXPIRES AND DO A NEW CONTRACT? BECAUSE THE BULK OF THE MONEY, OF THE $10 MILLION, THE BULK OF IT, ALMOST 7 MILLION COMES IN 25.
YOU ONLY NEED A SMALL PART IN 23 AND YOU NEED A SMALL PART ON CONTINGENCY.
SO WHY THE SENSE OF URGENCY TODAY WHEN WE'RE NOT GONNA SPEND THE ADDITIONAL AMOUNT, WHICH YOU'RE ASKING FOR IS $10 MILLION.
AND WHAT WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU IS 7 MILLION IN FISCAL YEAR 25.
SO I'VE LOOKED AT THIS AND SAID, WHY THE URGENCY IN IN BRINGING THIS FORWARD AT THIS POINT IN TIME? WHY NOT WAIT UNTIL CONTRACT EXPIRES IN 2025 OR, OR, AND DO A NEW ONE? SEE IF WE CAN GET A BETTER DEAL.
GENTLEMEN, IT LOOKS LIKE THE DIRECTOR IS IN QUEUE AGAIN TO SPEAK.
UH, AND, AND SHE COSTS ME MONEY.
I ALWAYS, THAT'S MY NEIGHBOR, SO I ALWAYS TELL HER SHE'S THE MOST EXPENSIVE NEIGHBOR I HAVE.
DIRECTOR KENT, WOULD YOU LIKE YES, I AM TO ADDRESS THE MAYOR PRO TEM? YES, SIR, I WOULD.
[00:50:01]
ONE, BUT A GOOD ONE.YOU NEED US AND YOU ENJOY THE USE OF OUR SERVICES.
SO, UM, A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I WANTED TO POINT OUT.
I THINK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PRESENTATION, WE INDICATED THIS CONTRACT WAS AWARDED IN FEBRUARY OF 2020.
THAT WAS RIGHT BEFORE THE PANDEMIC HIT.
SO WHAT, UH, ANTHONY EGAN WAS INDICATING WAS IT SKEWED THE BURN RATE THAT WE WOULD GO THROUGH THIS CONTRACT.
WE ABSOLUTELY DO INTEND TO RECOMPETE THIS.
AND AS YOU KNOW, THOSE RFP PROCESSES, ESPECIALLY FOR A LARGE ONE LIKE THIS, WILL TAKE MORE THAN 12 MONTHS TO DO SO.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE INDICATING IS THAT, UM, I I AM ALWAYS VERY TRANSPARENT WITH THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL AND COME TO YOU EARLY AND SAY, WE ARE SEEING THAT WE ARE GOING TO NEED MORE SPENDING AUTHORITY TO COMPLETE THIS CONTRACT.
SO WE WILL BE DOING THAT RFP PROCESS IN PARALLEL WITH FINISHING FY 24 AND 25, AND WE'LL BE PREPARED TO AWARD A NEW CONTRACT AT THE END OF THAT ORIGINAL CONTRACT TERM.
SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE WHAT YOU'RE THINKING THAT THE, THE MONEY THAT WE NEED, UH, I'M ON YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU SAID YOU NEED 6.6 $6.7 MILLION FOR FISCAL YEAR 25, BUT THE BURN RATE IS A LOT BIGGER THAN WE THINK ON A DAILY BASIS.
SO WHEN I LOOK AT IT, IF YOU ASK FOR MONEY THAT YOU'RE GONNA SPEND IN 25, WHY ALLOCATE IT IN IN THE YEAR CALENDAR YEAR 22? I THINK WE'RE JUST BEING PROACTIVE, RIGHT? WE'RE WE'RE TELLING YOU IN ADVANCE THAT WE NEED THAT SPENDING AUTHORITY.
IN FACT, EVEN THIS PRESENTATION, WE ARE COMING TO YOU NOW, UM, SIX MONTHS BEFORE WE EVEN BEGIN FY 24, WHEN, WHERE WE ARE FORECASTING THAT WE WOULD NEED THE 1.3 MILLION, RIGHT? SO IT'S A MATTER OF US BEING FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE AND TELLING, UH, THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL THAT, HEY, THIS IS WHAT THE HISTORICAL SPEND HAS BEEN.
UM, THE CONTRACT VALUE WAS ESTABLISHED BACK IN FY 20, UM, IN THE FALL OF THAT FISCAL YEAR PRIOR TO BRINGING IT FORWARD TO COUNCIL IN FEBRUARY.
AND WELL, I THINK IT MUST HAVE BEEN IN JANUARY FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE OF FEBRUARY.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE SIMPLY TELLING YOU WHAT THAT FORECASTED SPEND NEEDS TO BE DIRECTOR.
I THINK THAT MIGHT HAVE, UM, ANSWERED THE MAYOR PRO TEMPS QUESTION OR AT LEAST SATISFIED HIM FOR NOW.
I JUST DON'T BELIEVE IN SPENDING MONEY.
I DON'T BELIEVE IN SPENDING MONEY IN, IN PRESENT DAY FOR SOMETHING THAT'S COMING IN 25 WHEN WE HAVE A CONTRACT THAT'S GONNA EXPIRE FEBRUARY 25.
LET'S JUST RENEGOTIATE THE NEW AGREEMENT IN 25 FOR ANOTHER ADDITIONAL FIVE YEARS.
THANK YOU FOR, UH, YOUR QUESTION, MAYOR PRO TEM AND, AND DIRECTOR FOR YOUR RESPONSE.
GENTLEMEN, THAT'S, UH, THE REMAINDER OF THE FOLKS IN THE QUEUE FOR YOU TODAY.
WE WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
LIKE THE OTHER ONES, I WILL MENTION NOW AGAIN THAT THIS, UH, PRESENTATION WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE TTI WEBSITE.
THAT'S WWW.HOUSTONTX.GOV/COUNCIL/COMMITTEES/TTI HTML.
UM, WITH THAT AND WITH NO PUBLIC SPEAKERS HERE TODAY IN THE CHAMBER, UH, I'D LIKE TO ANNOUNCE THAT OUR NEXT TTI COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE THURSDAY, JANUARY 12TH, THAT'S 2023 AT 10:00 AM PLEASE NOTE THAT IT WILL DEVIATE FROM OUR STANDARD FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH TO GIVE PEOPLE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CATCH UP FROM HOLIDAY TRAVELS.
WITH THAT, WE WANNA WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY HOLIDAY, A GREAT END OF 2022, AND WE ARE ADJOURNED.