[Budget and Fiscal Affairs on May 15, 2024.]
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I'D LIKE TO, UH, WELCOME EVERYBODY TO THE SPECIAL CALLED BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE.
UM, WE ARE STARTING OFF OUR BUDGET PROCESS TODAY AND REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, MY COLLEAGUES THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN ATTENDANCE.
WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER MARIO CASTILLO, MY VICE CHAIR.
WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER EVAN SHABAZZ.
WE HAVE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER TWILA CARTER.
WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER ED POLLARD.
WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER JOAQUIN MARTINEZ.
WE HAVE VICE MAYOR PRO TEM AMY PECK.
WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER LETITIA PLUMMER.
WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN.
WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIE DAVIS.
WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER JULIAN RAMIREZ.
WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ASHA JACKSON'S OFFICE.
AND I THINK THAT COVERS IT FOR NOW.
AND WE ARE FIRST GOING TO GET STARTED WITH MELISSA DEBOWSKI, THE, THE DIRECTOR OF OUR FI, UM, CITY FINANCE DEPARTMENT, WHO IS GOING TO GO THROUGH THE FY 2025 BUDGET OVERVIEW AND GENERAL FUND FIVE YEAR FORECAST.
AND THEN AFTER EACH, UM, AFTER THIS PRESENTATION AND BEFORE THE BUDGET WORKSHOP START, THERE'LL BE ABOUT A THREE MINUTE TRANSITION TIME FOR HTV.
UM, AND, BUT WE HOPE TO JUST MOVE RIGHT THROUGH SINCE WE GOT A LITTLE BIT OF A LATE START.
SO WITH THAT, AND, UM, AND ALSO MAYOR PRO TEM, UH, MARTHA CASTEX TATUM HAS JOINED US.
AND WITH THAT, UM, DIRECTOR, WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, SO BEFORE WE GET STARTED, I JUST WANTED TO TOUCH ON THE TIMELINE FOR THE REST OF THE BUDGET SEASON.
UM, YOU ALL SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED A MEMO THAT, UM, AGENDA DIRECTOR MARTA CJO EMAILED.
SO BASED ON THAT TIMELINE, UM, THIS MORNING, YOU ALL VOTED ON THE RESOLUTION TO SET THE PUBLIC HEARING DATE, UH, WHICH IS GONNA BE ON MAY 29TH, WHICH IS WHEN OUR PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE BUDGET WILL BE.
UH, TODAY, UH, WE'RE STARTING WITH THE, UH, FIVE-YEAR FORECAST, UH, WHICH IS THIS PRESENTATION THAT I'M ABOUT TO GIVE.
AND THEN, UM, FOLLOWING, LIKE, UM, CHAIR ALCORN MENTIONED, WE'LL HAVE THE DEPARTMENT BUDGET WORKSHOPS STARTING.
THOSE WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MAY 28TH.
AND THEN, LIKE I MENTIONED, WE'LL HAVE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THE 29TH.
UH, AND THEN ON JUNE 5TH, THE OPERATING BUDGET WILL BE PLACED ON COUNCIL AGENDA.
AND AT THAT TIME, COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL BE ASKED TO FORMALLY SUBMIT THEIR BUDGETARY AMENDMENTS.
OF COURSE, YOU CAN SUBMIT THEM TO US INFORMALLY, UH, BEFOREHAND, ANYTIME DURING THE PROCESS FOR US TO EVALUATE AND WORK WITH YOU ON REFINING ANY NUMBERS AND, UH, FIGURES, QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
UM, AND THEN AFTER THAT, UM, ON JUNE 12TH IS WHEN WE'LL ASK YOU ALL TO CONSIDER AND ADOPT THE PROPOSED, UM, BUDGET FOR FY 25.
SO, JUST WANTED TO GO THROUGH THAT TIMELINE.
I DID ALSO WANT TO, UM, MENTION THE BUDGET TOWN HALLS.
I'M SURE CHAIR ELKHORN IS GONNA GIVE MORE DETAILS ON THOSE, BUT THOSE ARE ALSO NEW THIS YEAR AND PART OF THE PROCESS.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE EXCITED FOR MORE INPUT.
YES, THANKS FOR MENTIONING THOSE.
UM, DIRECTOR, WE HAVE OUR FIRST ONE, THURSDAY, MAY 16TH AT THE SOUTHWEST MULTI-SERVICE CENTER, SATURDAY, MAY 18TH AT DENVER HARBOR MULTI-SERVICE CENTER.
TUESDAY, MAY 21ST AT SAGEMONT PARK COMMUNITY CENTER, AND TUESDAY, MAY 28TH AT WHITE OAK CONFERENCE CENTER.
AND BASICALLY WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN AT THESE TOWN HALLS, WE ARE REALLY HAVING THESE TOWN HALLS TO GIVE SOME HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THE BUDGET AS IT'S, UH, UH, THAT, THAT MY VICE CHAIR AND I WILL BE PRESENTING, UM, BASED ON THESE SLIDES AND SOME OTHER INFORMATION FROM THE ADMINISTRATION.
AND THEN IT'S MAINLY TO HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC.
WE REALLY WANT THE PUBLIC TO COME AND GIVE US THEIR PRIORITIES, GIVE US THEIR IDEAS, GIVE US THEIR FEEDBACK ON THE BUDGET.
AND SO I HOPE, UM, DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS, IF YOU'LL HELP PROMOTE THOSE BUDGET TOWN HALLS SO WE CAN HAVE SOME GOOD PARTICIPATION.
UM, AND NEXT, UH, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE MY ENTIRE TEAM AND THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, UM, PARTICULARLY THE FINANCIAL PLANNING AND ANALYSIS DIVISION, UM, THEY'RE LED BY PAULA PONIT.
SO THEY'RE ALL HERE TODAY, IF Y'ALL COULD STAND, THEY DON'T WANNA STAND.
THEY'RE TIRED, THEY'RE EXHAUSTED.
IT'S NOT JUST A SACRIFICE BY THEM, BUT BY THEIR FAMILIES AS WELL.
UH, THEIR FRIENDS ARE HOBBIES, RIGHT? THEY HAVEN'T HAD TIME FOR ALL THOSE THINGS OVER THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS.
SO I REALLY DO, UH, THANK THEM AND THEIR HARD WORK.
AND THEN THE REST OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, OF COURSE, HAS SUPPORTED AS WELL.
BUT I'LL GO THROUGH, UM, THE REST OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT TEAM WHEN I GET TO THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT BUDGET WORKSHOP.
BUT THEY'RE ALSO HERE, UH, JOINING AS WELL TODAY.
AND A BIG PART OF OUR SUPPORT TEAM.
UM, I ALSO WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T THANK THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS, THEIR DIRECTORS, THEIR STAFF AS WELL.
YOU'RE GONNA GET TO TALK TO EACH OF THEM ABOUT THEIR DEPARTMENTAL BUDGETS.
UH, IT'S REALLY A COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP PROCESS BETWEEN US AND
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THE DEPARTMENTS.SO, UM, THANK YOU TO ALL OF THEM AS WELL.
SO THERE'S A LITTLE TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR OUR PRESENTATION TODAY, AND THEN ON THE NEXT TWO SLIDES, WE HAVE SOME DISCLOSURES THAT THE LAWYERS LIKE US TO PUT.
OKAY, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT CONNECTING BUDGET TO STRATEGY FIRST.
SO THIS IS THE OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING, UM, SYSTEM OF BUDGETING.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, THIS IS OUR SECOND YEAR OF THE OUTCOME BASED BUDGETING.
UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY KICKED OFF LAST YEAR AND BEING IN THE SECOND YEAR OF IT ARE STILL GATHERING INFORMATION ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE METRICS, THE TARGETS, WHERE WE ARE FROM THE DEPARTMENTS BASED ON THEIR PERFORMANCE MEASURES.
BUT THE POINT OF THE OUTCOME BASED BUDGETING IS TO CONNECT THE BUDGET TO THE STRATEGY OVERALL.
UM, PART OF OUTCOME BASED BUDGETING IS ENGAGEMENT WITH THE HOUSTONIANS, LIKE CHAIR, ALCORN MENTIONED.
UH, WE WANNA HAVE AN INCREASED EMPHASIS FOR PUBLIC INPUT.
UM, I KNOW THAT THIS YEAR WE DIDN'T GET TO COMPLETE THE CITIZEN SURVEY IN TIME FOR INCORPORATION INTO THE BUDGET BOOK, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING WE SEEK TO DO DURING THE FISCAL YEAR, AND WE'LL BE MAKING THAT INFORMATION AVAILABLE.
ALTHOUGH I KNOW CHAIR ALCORN HAS HER, UM, DOES HAVE HER, UH, OWN CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT SURVEY.
SO WE WOULD, WE'D LOVE TO SEE THE, THE FEEDBACK THAT SHE GETS FROM THAT.
UM, SECONDLY, FOCUSING ON THE STRATEGIC GUIDANCE.
SO, UH, WORKING WITH THE MAYOR WHITMEYER AND HIS TEAM, UM, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED HIS PRIORITIES AND NOW WE'RE ORIENTING THE PROGRAMS TO THOSE PRIORITIES.
AND YOU'LL SEE THAT LAID OUT, NOT JUST IN THE BUDGET BOOK, BUT ALSO IN ALL THE DEPARTMENT, UM, BUDGET WORKSHOPS.
THE DEPARTMENTS WILL BE GOING THROUGH THAT, HOW THEIR PERFORMANCE MEASURES ALIGN TO PRIORITIES.
SO, AND THEN BUDGETING TO THOSE PROGRAMS. SO YOU'LL SEE IN THE BUDGET BOOK ALSO AND IN THE SLIDES, HOW MUCH EACH OF THOSE PROGRAMS COSTS IN TERMS OF EXPENDITURES, UH, FTES FOR EACH OF THOSE PROGRAMS. AND THEN LASTLY, ON THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES, YOU'LL SEE HOW THOSE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS PERFORM.
WHAT IS THE TARGET? WHAT IS THE PROGRESS TOWARDS THAT TARGET FOR THE PREVIOUS YEAR, FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, AND THEN FOR THE PROPOSED BUDGET YEAR NEXT YEAR.
SO ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF MOVING TOWARDS OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING IS A WAY TO DO DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING.
SO PART OF LOOKING AT HOW THE DIFFERENT, UM, PROGRAMS, UH, ARE MEETING THEIR GOALS AND THEIR, UM, PERFORMANCE MEASURES CAN HELP DRIVE CITY LEADERSHIP TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS ABOUT HOW BEST TO UTILIZE OUR LIMITED RESOURCES.
UH, THE GOAL OF THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES IS TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE MEASURABLE, UH, SO THAT THEY CAN BE EASILY UNDERSTANDABLE.
UH, WE LINK THE MEASURES TO THE GOALS, AND THROUGH ALL OF THIS, WE SEEK TO IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY.
SO YOU SEE IN THE BUDGET BOOK WHAT OUR TARGETS ARE, WHERE WE ARE, BUT WE'VE ALSO RECENTLY ROLLED OUT, IT'S ON THE OPEN FINANCE WEBSITE, UH, QUARTERLY REPORTING, UM, BY DEPARTMENT, BY PERFORMANCE MEASURE, WHERE EACH DEPARTMENT IS IN MEETING THEIR TARGETS.
SO THAT'S AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE AS WELL.
AND NEXT SLIDE ON SLIDE EIGHT.
UH, SO THESE ARE MAYOR WHIT MEYER'S PRIORITIES, AS HE FREQUENTLY TALKS ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY AS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.
UH, HE ALSO TALKS ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE BEING A TOP PRIORITY GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS AND, UM, QUALITY OF LIFE.
SO UNDER EACH OF THESE PRIORITIES, UH, THERE ARE CERTAIN PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE MOVING TOWARDS, AND YOU'LL SEE ALL OF THE PROGRAMS IN THE BUDGET BOOK AND IN THE DEPARTMENT PRESENTATIONS ALIGNED TO ONE OF THESE FOUR PRIORITIES.
SO THIS IS A BREAKDOWN OF HOW THE ENTIRE OPERATING BUDGET, THE $6.7 BILLION PROPOSED BUDGET IS BROKEN DOWN BY PRIORITY.
YOU CAN SEE THAT PREDOMINANTLY THE FUNDING IS ALIGNED WITH THE GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS CATEGORY AND GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS.
UM, THERE'S SEVERAL COMPONENTS, UH, FOCUSED ON THAT.
UH, ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS IN THE GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON IS MOVING TOWARDS A STRUCTURALLY BALANCED BUDGET, WHICH WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, UH, FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
THAT'S BEEN EVEN, UM, YOU KNOW, GOING BACK TO NOT JUST THE LAST ADMINISTRATION, BUT SEVERAL MAYORS BEFORE, UM, THAT TALK ABOUT THE STRUCTURALLY IMBALANCE BUDGET.
SO THAT IS ONE OF THE TOP THINGS THAT WE ARE FOCUSED ON.
UM, WE ALSO WANT TO PROACTIVELY IDENTIFYING WHAT SERVICE IMPROVEMENT NEEDS THERE ARE, UM, AT THE CITY AND REDUCING OUR LONG-TERM LIABILITIES, AND ALSO MANAGING AND LEVERAGING OUR, UM, OUTSIDE RESOURCES LIKE THE FEDERAL, THE STATE FUNDS.
UH, SO THAT'S A BIG PART OF WHAT THAT PROGRAM ENTAILS.
LIKE I MENTIONED, FOR IN ALL THE DEPARTMENT, UM, PRESENTATIONS, INCLUDING MINE.
LATER, YOU'LL SEE HOW WE, UH, BREAK DOWN OUR PROGRAMS TO THESE DIFFERENT PRIORITIES.
ONE OTHER THING I WANTED TO MENTION ABOUT THE OBB WAY OF BUDGETING.
YOU MIGHT REMEMBER FROM THE BUDGET BOOK TWO YEARS AGO, IF YOU'RE
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LOOKING FOR A PARTICULAR DEPARTMENT, YOU MIGHT HAVE TO LOOK IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT CHAPTERS TO SEE, WELL, THIS DEPARTMENT HAS GENERAL FUND AND THEY ALSO HAVE SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS.SO YOU'RE KIND OF FLIPPING BACK AND FORTH.
UM, AND I GIVE, I WANNA GIVE A LOT OF CREDIT TO, UM, THE FORMER FINANCE DIRECTOR WILL JONES, HE WAS A BIG, BIG CHAMPION OF OBB.
HE HELPED GET IT OFF THE GROUND LAST YEAR.
AND, UM, WE DEFINITELY WOULDN'T BE WHERE WE ARE TODAY WITHOUT OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING, WITHOUT HIM.
AND I KNOW THAT, UM, I HOPE WE CAN CONTINUE THAT PROGRESS FORWARD.
UM, BUT YOU'LL SEE AGAIN, IT WAS LAST YEAR IN THE BUDGET BOOK AND THIS YEAR THAT IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A PARTICULAR DEPARTMENT, YOU CAN SEE ALL THE FUNDING SOURCES FOR THAT DEPARTMENT IN ONE AREA.
SO YOU'LL SEE THE GENERAL FUND IF THERE'S SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS, IF THERE'S ENTERPRISE FUNDS IN ONE, UH, CHAPTER.
SO WE HOPE THAT THAT GIVES MORE TRANSPARENCY TO THE PUBLIC AND IS EASIER TO READ.
MOVING OFF OF OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING AND GETTING INTO THE NUMBERS.
SO THE TOTAL, TOTAL CITYWIDE EXPENDITURES, INCLUDING DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO, AS I MENTIONED ON THE PIE CHART ON THE RIGHT, UH, $6.7 BILLION.
SO THIS IS AN INCREASE OF ABOUT 7% FROM THE PRIOR YEARS.
UH, WELL, IT'S THE CURRENT YEAR, SORRY, FY 20 FOUR'S CURRENT BUDGET.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THE BREAKDOWN BY FUND ON YOUR SLIDE AS WELL.
OKAY, ON SLIDE 12, LONG-TERM LIABILITY.
SO, UH, WE HAVE BEEN TALKING FOR YEARS ABOUT THE PENSION REFORM.
UM, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE FOCUSED ON THE OPERATING BUDGET, THERE ARE, UH, THERE ARE THINGS THROUGHOUT THE CITY THAT HAVE NOT JUST A IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON THE BUDGET, BUT ALSO CREATE LONG-TERM LIABILITIES ON THE CITY'S BOOKS AND SPEAK TO THE OVERALL FINANCIAL HEALTH OF THE CITY.
SO, UM, A LOT OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE PENSION REFORM.
UM, THAT HAPPENED BACK IN 2017.
UH, THE PENSION LIABILITY NOW STANDS AT 2.4 BILLION, WHICH IS DOWN FROM WHERE IT WAS BEFORE, 8.2 BILLION.
THE FY 25 PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDES, UM, THE REQUIRED CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PENSION PLANS THAT ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DECREASE THOSE LIABILITIES OVER TIME AND IMPROVE THE OVERALL FINANCIAL HEALTH OF THE CITY.
AT THE SAME TIME, IT'S ALSO IMPROVING THE FINANCIAL HEALTH OF THE PENSION PLANS AS THEY'RE FULLY FUNDED.
UM, WE NEED THAT TO ENSURE THAT THE RETIREMENT FUNDING FOR THE CURRENT EMPLOYEES IN THE FUTURE AND THE CURRENT, UH, RETIRED EMPLOYEES IS, IS THERE FOR THEM.
ALL THREE PLANS ARE HEALTHIER, UH, IN A HEALTHIER FUND, UH, FUNDED RATIO STATUS TODAY THAN WHERE THEY WERE.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, THE CURRENT MAYOR DID SUPPORT AT THE TIME, AT HIS TIME IN STATE LEGISLATURE, AND I KNOW, UM, SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN VERY PROUD OF, UH, HAVING IMPLEMENTED ON OTHER, OTHER POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.
SO OTHER POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS, UH, REFORM.
SO THE LIABILITY IS CURRENTLY $1.8 BILLION.
UM, AS REFLECTED IN THE CITY'S NET POSITION AND IN THIS PROPOSED BUDGET, WE ARE, UH, PLANNING TO CONTRIBUTE, UH, IN FY 25, 12 $0.5 MILLION ACROSS ALL FUNDS, WHICH WILL ESCALATE OVER TIME.
AND YOU MIGHT REMEMBER THAT, UM, FIGURE WAS $10 MILLION IN THE FY 24 BUDGET.
SO YOU'LL SEE THAT AMOUNT INCREASE ANNUALLY AS WE, UH, MOVE TOWARDS A TRY TO MOVE OFF AS A PAY-AS-YOU-GO MODEL AND INTO, UH, SAVING AND INVESTING THAT FUNDS FOR THE FUTURE.
AND THROUGH THAT, UH, INVESTMENT OF THOSE FUNDS FOR THE FUTURE, AND GROWING THOSE, UM, GROWING THOSE ASSETS THROUGH INTEREST EARNINGS, WE, UM, EXPECT THAT THE LIABILITY FOR OPEP WILL BE REDUCED DOWN TO 1.1 BILLION BY 2048.
SO, MOVING ON TO STAFFING ON SLIDE 13, THIS GRAPHIC WILL SHOW YOU THE TRENDS OF THE CITY STAFFING OVER TIME, UH, GOING BACK TO FY 17.
AND YOU CAN SEE, UM, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE FY 23 ACTUALS COMPARED TO THE FY 24 CURRENT AND FY 2025 PROPOSED, UH, THE FY 23 ACTUALS NUMBER, THE VARIANCE BETWEEN 23 AND 24, YOU SEE A PRETTY BIG INCREASE THERE.
UM, THAT DOES REFLECT IN THE FY 23 ACTUALS, THE VACANCIES THAT WE HAD, UM, DURING THOSE YEARS.
SO AS YOU MOVE FORWARD, ONCE WE GET TO THE FY 24 ACTUALS NUMBER, UH, ONCE THE FISCAL YEAR IS COMPLETE, IT IS LIKELY THAT YOU'LL SEE THAT FY 24 CURRENT, OR AT THAT POINT, ACTUALS NUMBER DECREASED TO COME CLOSER IN LINE WITH THE FY 23 ACTUALS DUE TO OUR VACANCIES.
UM, HAVING SAID THAT, UM, I DO WANNA GIVE THE HR DEPARTMENT, UM, A SHOUT OUT AND THANK YOU FOR ORGANIZING A LOT OF JOB FAIRS.
UM, THEY HAVE HELD A FEW, PARTICULARLY FOCUSED ON THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT AND SOME HARDER TO RECRUIT, UM, POSITIONS IN DEPARTMENTS CITYWIDE.
SO THROUGH THOSE TARGETED JOB FAIRS, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF LUCK IN FILLING VACANCIES.
I KNOW THAT THE MAYOR MENTIONED IT YESTERDAY, BUT JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, AND I'M SURE YOU'LL PROBABLY TALK ABOUT IT DURING, UM, DIRECTOR WOLF'S PRESENTATION, BUT SOLID WASTE, FOR EXAMPLE, HAD A, A VACANCY IN THEIR, UM, POSITIONS OF ABOUT 27%, WHICH IS NOW DOWN TO 6%.
SO WE HAVE SEEN IMPROVEMENTS THERE, AND WE ARE, UM, HOPING THAT THOSE IMPROVEMENTS CAN CONTINUE.
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ON THE NEXT SLIDE.THIS, UH, SLIDE GIVES THE FULL-TIME EQUIVALENCE JUST FOR THE GENERAL FUND ONLY, AND BREAKS, UH, BREAKS THE NUMBERS DOWN BY CIVILIAN POLICE AND FIRE.
SO YOU CAN SEE A SIMILAR TREND THERE WITH THE BETWEEN THE FY 23 AND 24, AS I MENTIONED, DUE TO VACANCIES.
UH, I DO WANNA POINT OUT ON THIS SLIDE THAT, UM, THE FY 25 PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDES FIVE POLICE CADET CLASSES AND FIVE FIRE CADET CLASSES FOR FY 25.
THIS ONE, SLIDE 15, WE'LL GET INTO MORE SPECIFICS OF WHAT'S IN THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET.
THE PROPOSED BUDGET, UM, PUTS THE FUND BALANCE AT 11.1% OF EXPENDITURES LED DEBTS, LESS DEBT SERVICE, WHICH IS STILL ABOVE THE MINIMUM 7.5%.
IT'S $91 MILLION ABOVE THAT MINIMUM.
THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET INCLUDES THE 10% INCREASE THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED, 10% INCREASE, WHICH IS AN IMPACT TO BUDGETED BASE PAY FOR FIREFIGHTERS.
AND I DO WANNA, IN NOTE IMPORTANTLY, THAT WE ARE STILL WORKING OUT THOSE DETAILS THROUGH THE CBA, UM, AND THAT 10% IS NOT GOING TO BE A 10% ACROSS THE BOARD, AS I MENTIONED IN MY PREVIOUS BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS, UM, PRESENTATION, UH, THE GOAL IS TO ALLOCATE THAT INCREASE TO THE BUDGETED BASE PAY, TARGETED TO PARTICULAR STEPS AND RANKS THAT ARE FARTHER BEHIND, UM, THE MARKET.
THE FY 25 PROPOSED BUDGET ALSO INCLUDES THE LAST YEAR OF THE POLICE CONTRACT, WHICH IS A 3.5% ACROSS THE BOARD RACE FOR POLICE CLASSIFIED.
THE BUDGET INCLUDES FULLY FUNDING THE BUDGET STABILIZATION FUND, WHICH NOW STANDS AT OVER $25 MILLION.
AND THAT'S THE, UM, THAT'S THE AMOUNT OF MONEY IN ADDITION TO OUR REGULAR GENERAL FUND FUND BALANCE THAT WE HOLD TO THE SIDE IN CASE OF EMERGENCIES, DISASTERS.
UM, WE'VE USED IT IN THE PAST, UM, FOR WINTER STORM URI, HURRICANE HARVEY.
UM, SO THAT'S ANOTHER RESOURCE AVAILABLE TO US FOCUSING ON THE CADET CLASSES.
AS I MENTIONED, THE FIVE POLICE CADET CLASSES, UM, THAT'S ENOUGH TO, UH, ENOUGH FOR 375 CADETS.
AND THEN ON THE FIVE FIRE CADET CLASSES IS ABOUT, UH, 300 AND, UH, 15 CADETS.
IT ALSO, AS I MENTIONED, FULLY FUNDS THE THREE PENSION SYSTEMS AND THE OPPE TRUST CONTRIBUTION.
AS I MENTIONED, THE 12.5 MILLION TOTAL FOR ALL FUNDS.
OF THAT 10.7 MILLION IS COMING FROM THE GENERAL FUND.
THE BUDGET ALSO INCLUDES, UM, AS WE TALKED ABOUT YESTERDAY, THERE IS A FUND BALANCE DRAWDOWN TO CLOSE THE GAP FROM FY 25, UH, AS WE PREPARE TO MOVING FORWARD FOR FY 26.
UM, SO CURRENTLY THE, THE FUND BALANCE ENDING FOR FY 24 THAT WE'RE PROJECTING IS AROUND 18, ALMOST 19%.
SO WE ARE DRAWING THAT DOWN TO THE 11.1%.
AS I MENTIONED ON THE FIRST BULLET, IT DOESN'T, THE PROPOSED BUDGET DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY ONE-TIME, UM, LAND SALES OR ANY PAYMENT DEFERRALS.
OKAY, SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I KNOW THE PRINT'S A LITTLE SMALL, UM, BUT ON THIS SLIDE, IT LAYS OUT THE DIFFERENCE FOR THE GENERAL FUND, UM, COMING, COMPARING THE FY 24 ESTIMATES TO THE FY 25 BUDGET.
UH, SO HERE ON THE REVENUE SIDE SPECIFICALLY, UM, THERE'S A DECREASE OF $95 MILLION IN REVENUES.
THE MAJORITY OF THAT, THERE'S, THERE'S PLUSES AND MINUSES IN THAT CATEGORY, RIGHT? SO THE MAIN DRIVER OF IT IS THE, UH, FACT THAT WE HAD $160 MILLION OF ARPA FUNDING IN THE FY 24 BUDGET.
AND IN THE FY 25 BUDGET, WE ARE, UM, PULLING DOWN 10.4 MILLION OF ARPA.
SO THAT'S THAT, UH, THAT'S THE MAIN DIFFERENCE THERE ON THE DECREASE FOR THE REVENUES.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, SALES OF CAPITAL ASSETS, SINCE WE'RE NOT BUDGETING FOR, UM, LARGE ONE-TIME CAPITAL ASSETS SALES, UH, WE KNOW IN FY 24 WE DID, UH, ALTHOUGH WE DIDN'T BUDGET FOR CAPITAL ASSET SALES NECESSARILY IN FY 24, WE SAW, UH, ESTIMATES, UH, OF CAPITAL ASSET SALES OVER $10 MILLION.
SO THAT DECREASE OF 8 MILLION IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE FY 24 ESTIMATE AND FY 25 PROPOSED BUDGET.
UM, PART OF THE OTHER CATEGORY, UH, THERE ARE LOWER ANTICIPATED TRANSFERS FROM THE PARK HOUSTON FUND, UH, LOWER FIGHT OR FIGHTER RE UH, DEPLOYMENT REIMBURSEMENTS.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF MOVING PIECES IN HERE, BUT I'LL JUST FOCUS ON SOME OF THE LARGER ONES.
WE KNOW THAT IN THIS HIGH INTEREST RATE ENVIRONMENT THAT WE'RE IN, THE INVESTMENT POOL THAT THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE MANAGES, UH, HAS BEEN ABLE TO, UH, EARN MORE INTEREST.
SO WE'RE GONNA GO UP ON INTEREST BY $3 MILLION COMPARED TO FY 24 ESTIMATES.
UM, SALES TAX IS ANOTHER LARGE ONE, UM, GOING UP 1.4%, UH, FROM THE CURRENT
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ESTIMATE.AND THEN PROPERTY TAX, UM, THE, THE NUMBER YOU SEE THERE IS IN ALIGNMENT WITH HOW WE CALCULATE THE PROP ONE AND H CAP CURRENTLY UNDER THE LOCAL CAP.
SO ALL THOSE THINGS TOGETHER BRING DOWN OUR GENERAL FUND REVENUES.
UH, $95 MILLION LOWER THAN THE FY 24 ESTIMATE, AS I MENTIONED, PRIMARILY DUE TO THE ARPA.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, THIS IS WHERE YOU'LL SEE THE BREAKDOWN ON THE PIE CHART OF THE GENERAL FUND REVENUES.
YOU CAN SEE THAT PROPERTY TAX IS, UH, 50% OF OUR GENERAL FUND REVENUES.
SALES TAX, UM, IS ANOTHER 32%.
AND OTHER REVENUES AND FRANCHISE FEES MAKE UP THE REST.
SO THIS GIVES YOU A HISTORICAL VIEW OF WHAT THE GENERAL FUND REVENUES, UM, LOOK LIKE.
JUST FOCUSING ON FY 25, THE PROPERTY TAX STANDS AT 1.4 BILLION.
AS I MENTIONED, THAT'S ABOUT 50% OF OUR GENERAL FUND REVENUES, SALES TAX, 893 MILLION FRANCHISE FEES, 150 MILLION.
UH, AND THE OTHER REVENUES, UH, ARE ON THERE AS WELL.
FOCUSING JUST ON PROPERTY TAX REVENUE.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, UH, WE ARE PROPOSING A $44.5 MILLION, UH, HIGHER NUMBER ON PROPERTY TAX VERSUS THE FY 24 ESTIMATES.
BUT AGAIN, THIS IS IN LINE WITH THE PROP ONE AND H CALCULATION.
UH, OF COURSE, WE ALSO HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THE STATE, UM, PROPERTY TAX CAP, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO PERFORM THOSE CALCULATIONS AT THE TIME WE GET THE, UM, CERTIFIED ESTIMATE AND CERTIFIED ROLE FROM THE APPRAISAL DISTRICTS, WHICH DOESN'T COME UNTIL THE JULY TO AUGUST TIMEFRAME.
SO FOR NOW, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE BUDGETING BASED ON THE, THE LOCAL CAP, WHICH HISTORICALLY HAS BEEN THE MORE, UM, LIMITING OF THE CAPS.
BASED ON THIS, UM, INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE SO FAR FROM THE APPRAISAL DISTRICTS, WE ESTIMATE THAT OUR TAXABLE VALUE IS AROUND $320 BILLION.
BUT AS I MENTIONED, WE'LL GET FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ROLE, UH, LATE THIS SUMMER.
THE ESTIMATED TAXABLE VALUE NET OF THE TS IS, UH, 273 BILLION.
AND AS I MENTIONED, SINCE WE'RE BUDGETING BASED ON THE PROP ONE AND H CAP, UH, WE USE THE, UH, CPI INFORMATION THAT WE GET.
AND AS OF NOW, WE'RE USING A 0% GROWTH FOR POPULATION.
WE WON'T GET THAT INFORMATION FROM THE, UH, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT UNTIL THE LAST WEEK OF MAY.
SO YOU MAY SEE, UM, A CHANGE AS WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS.
TYPICALLY, WHAT WE DO, ONCE WE GET THAT INFORMATION ON POPULATION, WE WILL DO SOMETHING WHAT WE CALL, UM, UH, AN ADJUSTMENT, A RED LINE PROCESS TO THE BUDGET BEFORE IT'S ADOPTED TO, UH, TRUE THAT UP TO WHAT THE PROP ONE AND H CALCULATION, UH, IS AS OF THAT LATEST INFORMATION.
SO ALL OF THOSE CALCULATIONS TOGETHER, THIS $44.5 MILLION REPRESENTS AN INCREASE OF ABOUT 3.2% COMPARED TO FY 24 ESTIMATES.
UH, WE'RE KEEPING THE OVER 65 AND DISABLED EXEMPTION WHERE IT IS AT 260,000.
AND AS I MENTIONED, THIS BUDGET DOES NOT CONTEMPLATE AN INCREASE TO THE PROPERTY TAX RATE.
SO MOVING ON TO SLIDE 20, THIS JUST GIVES YOU A VIEW OF HOW OUR PROPERTY TAX REVENUE HAS TRENDED IN THE PAST.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT EVEN THOUGH WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A $44 MILLION INCREASE FROM 24 TO 25, UH, YOU SEE, IT'S NOT A VERY, UM, IT'S NOT A VERY LARGE INCREASE COMPARED TO SOME OF THE PRIOR YEARS, PARTICULARLY FROM 23 TO 24 ON SLIDE 21.
UM, THIS SLIDE, A LOT OF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH.
THIS GIVES THE VIEW OF THE IMPACT OF THE LOCALLY IMPOSED REVENUE CAP.
UM, SINCE WE'RE ONLY SHOWING, UM, FROM FY 18 FORWARD, UH, YOU DON'T SEE THE IMPACT FROM FY 17, 16 AND 15 BEFORE THAT, BUT THERE'S A NOTE AT THE BOTTOM.
SO SINCE FY 15, THE FULL IMPACT OF THE PROPERTY TAX REVENUE CAP HAS BEEN 2.2 BILLION AND FY 24 ALONE.
UM, THERE'S $400 MILLION THAT WE WERE UNABLE TO COLLECT DUE TO THE LOCALLY IMPOSED CAP IN 25.
THAT NUMBER STANDS AT ABOUT 338 MILLION JUST FOR THIS COMING FISCAL YEAR.
SO THIS IS ONE WHERE WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, A STRUCTURALLY IMBALANCE BUDGET.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT THIS $160 MILLION GENERAL FUND BUDGETARY GAP WE HAD, UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE HAD NOT HAD THE LOCALLY IMPOSED CAP, UM, WE COULD HAVE COLLECTED AN ADDITIONAL $338 MILLION, WHICH WOULD'VE EXCEEDED THAT, THAT GAP WE TALKED ABOUT.
SO JUST KIND OF, KIND OF TRYING TO PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE.
[00:25:01]
AND ON SLIDE 22, SALES TAX, AS I MENTIONED, SALES TAX WE'RE ASSUMING TO GO UP BY 1.44% INCREASE FROM THE FY 24 ESTIMATE.UH, WE FEEL AS THOUGH THIS IS A FAIRLY CONSERVATIVE ASSUMPTION.
UM, LAST YEAR WE BUDGETED, UH, WHEN I SAY LAST YEAR, I'M ALREADY MOVED ON TO FY 25
FISCAL 24, WE BUDGETED FLAT TO FY 23.
UH, AND SO FAR WE'VE SEEN, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, REVENUES IN EXCESS OF OUR BUDGET.
SO WE'VE ADJUSTED OUR ESTIMATE THROUGH THE MOFA.
UM, WE DO FEEL LIKE THE 1.44% IS STILL A CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE, UM, BASED ON THE, OUR OWN INTERNAL MODEL.
AND THEN THE EXPERT, UM, CONSULTANTS FROM THE OUTSIDE THAT WE WORK WITH, UH, THE MAIN DRIVER OF THE SALES TAX REVENUE IS EMPLOYMENT.
UM, IT'S THE MOST DIRECT, UH, AND IMPACTFUL DRIVER OF SALES TAX IN OUR AREA.
UM, THE SECOND MOST, UM, IMPORTANT VARIABLE PERTAINS TO THE ENERGY SECTOR.
SO WE DO LOOK AT ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE PRICE OF OIL AND RUN THAT THROUGH OUR MODEL.
UM, SO CURRENTLY THE, THE PRICE OF OIL IS AROUND $80 PER BARREL.
UM, AND BASED ON OUR MODELS, OUR INTERNAL MODELS, UM, WE'RE THE 1.44% IS COMING FROM A, UH, LIKE I SAID, IT'S A CONSERVATIVE, IT'S SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE PESSIMISTIC AND LIKELY SCENARIO ON OUR MODEL.
UM, AND SO WE FEEL COMFORTABLE TO, TO BUDGET AT THAT POINT.
SO ON SLIDE 23, THIS GIVES YOU A HISTORICAL VIEW OF SALES TAX, UM, OUR BUDGET VERSUS OUR ACTUALS AND ESTIMATES.
UM, JUST LOOKING BACK, YOU CAN SEE FY 22, UM, ACTUALS AND FY 23 ACTUALS.
IT'S ONE OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT'S PERFORMANCE MEASURES IS TRYING TO BUDGET SALES TAX IN ALIGNMENT WITH WHERE OUR ACTUALS END UP.
AND YOU CAN SEE IN 22 AND 23, UH, THE VARIANCES.
UM, YOU KNOW, THANKFULLY THE VARIANCE WAS ABOVE THE BUDGET, SO WE WERE VERY CONSERVATIVE IN OUR BUDGETING, BUT YOU CAN SEE SOME VERY, UM, LARGE SWINGS FROM THE BUDGET AS WE CAME OUT OF COVID.
AS INFLATION GREW, UM, WE HAD A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF SALES TAX GROWTH DURING THOSE YEARS, AND WE HAVE START TO SEE IT LEVEL OFF AT THIS POINT NOW, UH, WHICH I, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE IN THE FY 22 ESTIMATE WHERE WE HAVE INCREASED OUR ESTIMATE, BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE ONLY ESTIMATING $15 MILLION ABOVE THE FY 24 BUDGETED AMOUNT.
SO THIS SLIDE HAS A LOT OF INFORMATION ON IT, BUT THIS GIVES YOU THE MONTHLY LOOK ON HOW FY 24 SALES TAX IS COMING IN VERSUS THE BUDGET.
UH, THERE HAVE BEEN MOST MONTHS WE'VE COLLECTED ABOVE THE BUDGET IN SALES TAX, WHICH IS WHY WE FEEL COMFORTABLE TO INCREASE OUR ESTIMATE TO 880 MILLION FOR FY 24.
UH, YOU CAN SEE, UM, BASED ON THE CHART FOR THE REMAINING MONTHS, WHICH ARE THE THREE BARS, UM, UH, TO THE LEFT OF THE DASH LINE, UH, WE CAN STILL COLLECT BELOW THE BUDGET FOR THOSE MONTHS AND STILL MEET OUR ESTIMATE.
AND IN FACT, THE REMAINING MONTHS, UM, COULD COME IN UP TO 2.6% DOWN VERSUS THE PRIOR YEAR FOR US TO STILL COLLECT OUR ESTIMATE OF 880 MILLION.
AND WE FEEL COMFORTABLE, UH, WITH THAT, GIVEN THAT, UM, SO FAR WE'RE AVERAGING JUST ABOUT FLAT WITH PRIOR YEAR COLLECTIONS.
SO, MOVING OVER TO THE EXPENDITURES, UM, TOGETHER WITH THE REVENUE, UM, DECREASES PRIMARILY DUE TO ARPA.
WE ALSO HAVE, UM, UH, IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET EXPENDITURE INCREASES VERSUS FY 24.
UH, SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THE, THE INCREASE OF EXPENDITURES FROM THE FY 24 CURRENT BUDGET TO THE FY 25 PROPOSED BUDGET IS ABOUT $62 MILLION, WHICH IS THAT 2%, 2.1% THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER.
SO THE MAIN DRIVER IN THAT IS EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION.
UM, AND THAT'S PRIMARILY DUE TO THE POLICE CLASSIFIED PAY INCREASE FOR THE THREE POINT HALF PERCENT, WHICH IS THE FINAL YEAR OF THEIR EXISTING CONTRACT.
AND THEN ALSO THE NUMBERS, UH, IN LINE WITH THE DRAFT CVA AGREEMENT AS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE 10%, UM, IMPACT TO THE BUDGETED BASE PAY AND ALSO THE $10 MILLION THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT FOR, UM, THE SPECIAL PAYS AND INCENTIVE PAYS.
ON SLIDE 26, UH, THIS GIVES YOU A BREAKDOWN OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET VERSUS THE FY 24 CURRENT BUDGET.
UM, YOU CAN SEE HERE PUBLIC SAFETY STILL, UM, DOMINATES THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET AT $1.7 BILLION.
ON THIS SLIDE, YOU SEE A BREAKOUT OF, UH, THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET, UM, IN TERMS OF PERSONNEL VERSUS NON-PERSONNEL.
SO LOOKING AT THE CENTER PIE CHART, YOU SEE THAT 61% OF THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET IS PERSONNEL, AND OF THAT 61% CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL MAKES UP MOST OF IT, ABOUT 1.4 BILLION OUT OF THE 1.8 BILLION OF PERSONNEL.
[00:30:01]
REPRESENTED THERE AS WELL ON THE PIE CHART TO THE RIGHT.UM, BREAKING DOWN THE OTHER, YOU CAN SEE THAT A LARGE PORTION OF THE OTHER IN THE PURPLE IS DEBT.
SO THIS IS DEBT PAYMENTS THAT WE'RE MAKING FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, PREVIOUSLY COMPLETED CIP PROJECTS.
UH, THAT WOULD INCLUDE PENSION OBLIGATION BONDS, UM, TAX NOTES AND CERTIFICATES AS WELL.
AND THEN THE REST OF IT, THE OTHER SERVICES AND CHARGES IS ALL OF THE NON-PERSONNEL, NON DEBT ITEMS AT THE DEPARTMENTS.
UM, SO THIS SLIDE GIVES YOU A VIEW OF THE GENERAL FUND, UH, HISTORICAL EXPENDITURES BUDGET.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THE FY 25 PROPOSED BUDGET REPRESENTS A 2.1%, UM, INCREASE FROM THE FY 24 CURRENT BUDGET.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IT, UM, COMPARED TO HISTORICALLY, ALTHOUGH WE ARE INCREASING EXPENDITURES IN, IN, DO HAVE A DECREASE IN REVENUES, UH, THE HISTORICAL, UM, INCREASES YEAR TO YEAR.
WE'RE, YOU KNOW, IN LINE OR BELOW, UM, A LOT OF THE DIFFERENT, UM, YEARS IN TERMS OF YEAR OVER YEAR GROWTH.
ON SLIDE 29, UH, I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT THE PENSION REFORMS EARLIER ON IN THE PRESENTATION.
THIS GIVES YOU A HISTORICAL VIEW OF WHAT WE'VE CONTRIBUTED TO THE THREE PENSION SYSTEMS AND THE, THE TOP PART OF THE STACK BARS THAT THE NUMBER THAT YOU SEE STARTING IN FY 18, UH, THAT KIND OF GOLD PIECE OF THE BAR, UH, IS THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE WOULD HAVE HAD TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE PENSION SYSTEMS SHOULD, HAD WE NOT DONE THE 2017 REFORMS. UH, SO WHILE WE MAY NOT CALL PENSION REFORM COST SAVINGS, IT WAS CERTAINLY COST AVOIDANCE.
UH, AND HAD WE NOT DONE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN FY 25, OUR BUDGETARY GAP WOULD'VE BEEN $270 MILLION HIGHER THAN IT IS TODAY.
SO I WANNA FOCUS ON THE BUDGETARY GAP, UM, THE $160 MILLION THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT AND, AND TRYING TO, UM, UM, WALK THROUGH WITH YOU HOW WE GOT FROM THE $160 MILLION, UH, INITIAL BUDGETARY GAP THAT WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY AS OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
SO ON THE TOP LINE THERE, YOU SEE THE A HUNDRED AND 158.
SO IT'S $160 MILLION THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT.
THIS WAS THE ORIGINAL BUDGETARY GAP, UM, THAT WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.
AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE YEAR AND WE START LOOKING AT OUR FY 24 REVENUES AND OUR FY 24 EXPENDITURES AND HOW THINGS ARE TRENDING, THERE ARE A LOT OF DRIVERS, PARTICULARLY ON THE REVENUE SIDE, WHERE YOU HAVE MORE INFORMATION, RIGHT? PARTICULARLY ON SALES TAX, UM, ON INTEREST EARNINGS AND, UM, PROPERTY TAX, NOT SO MUCH BECAUSE WE'RE BUDGETING BASED ON THE PROP ONE AND H CAP, BUT PARTICULARLY ON SALES TAX.
AS YOU SEE, WE REFLECTED IN THE MO FAR, THE FY 24 ESTIMATE GOING UP ON SALES TAX.
THAT KIND OF SETS A NEW BASELINE FOR WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO START ESTIMATING YOUR FY 25 FROM.
SO BASED ON THE FACT THAT WE WENT UP BY $15 MILLION AND FY 24 ON SALES TAX, YOU SEE THAT FLOW THROUGH TO WHAT OUR ESTIMATES AND OUR PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FY 25 IS.
SO THAT WAS A BIG DRIVER THERE, YOU SEE IN ABOUT $19 MILLION, UH, INCREASE TO WHAT OUR REVENUE PROJECTION IS ON SALES TAX VERSUS WHAT WE THOUGHT IT WAS IN JANUARY.
UM, OTHER REVENUES, THE 24 24, ABOUT $25 MILLION, LIKE I MENTIONED, THE PRIMARY DRIVER OF THAT IS INTEREST EARNINGS.
AS I MENTIONED, WE'VE GONE UP IN THE MOFA ON INTEREST EARNINGS.
THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, UH, INVESTMENT TEAM HAS DONE A WONDERFUL JOB OF, UH, EARNING US INTEREST ON OUR ASSETS THAT WE DO HAVE.
UM, AND SO YOU SEE A BIG ADJUSTMENT THERE THAT'S 11 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS OUTTA THE 25 CHARGES FOR SERVICES.
UM, WE WENT UP, AS YOU PROBABLY, UM, REMEMBER FROM THE MOFA, UM, AMBULANCE FEES AND THE FY 20 FOURS.
AGAIN, THAT KIND OF SETS THE BASELINE FOR WHERE WE SEE 25 GOING.
ARPA, WE, UM, ARE RECOGNIZING ABOUT TEN FOUR MILLION, $10.4 MILLION OF ARPA REVENUE LOSS FOR THE PROVISION OF GO OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES.
AND WE WENT UP SLIGHTLY ON FRANCHISE FEES.
SO ALL THOSE REVENUES, UM, TOGETHER, UH, OUR TOTAL REVENUE ADJUSTMENTS ARE AN INCREASE OF $56 MILLION FROM WHERE WE THOUGHT THEY WERE IN JANUARY.
ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE, THE $160 MILLION, AS I HAD TALKED ABOUT, DIDN'T INCLUDE THE, UM, DRAFT COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT FOR THE FIREFIGHTERS, RIGHT? SO THAT'S THE PREDOMINANT MOVER OF THE EXPENDITURE ADJUSTMENTS THAT YOU SEE THERE.
UM, SO FOR THE DRAFT CBA, THE FIREFIGHTER, THE 10% IMPACT TO BUDGETED BASE PAY IS 36 MILLION.
THE ASSIGNMENT EDUCATIONAL PAY, 10 MILLION, UM, THE DEBT SERVICE PERTAINING TO THE FIREFIGHTER SETTLEMENT, UM, 30.6 MILLION.
AND THEN THERE ARE OTHER EXPENDITURE ADJUSTMENTS, UM, IN THE BUDGET, AND I CAN, I CAN, UM, DETAIL THOSE OUT FOR YOU IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THOSE.
[00:35:01]
FOCUS ON THE, THE FIRST LINE UNDER EXPENDITURE ADJUSTMENTS, THE 10, THE 11.7 MILLION.THIS IS THE DEPARTMENTAL BUDGET REDUCTIONS.
THIS IS WHAT STARTED OUT STARTING WITH THE CONVERSATION AS A CONVERSATION STARTER OF THE 5%, UM, TARGET SENT TO THE DEPARTMENTS AND GOING THROUGH THOSE PROPOSALS FROM THE DEPARTMENTS, WE DIDN'T WANT TO DO ACROSS THE BOARD CUTS, RIGHT? THERE ARE CERTAIN DEPARTMENTS THAT, UH, CERTAINLY NEED MORE FUNDING THAN THEY CURRENTLY HAVE, UM, AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT CAN REALIZE EFFICIENCIES.
SO IN GOING THROUGH DEPARTMENT BY DEPARTMENT, THOSE PROPOSALS, WE WERE ABLE TO, UH, ACHIEVE $11.7 MILLION OF REDUCTIONS.
AND YOU'RE GONNA HEAR FROM EACH OF THOSE DEPARTMENTS AS THEY GO THROUGH THEIR WORKSHOPS ABOUT SPECIFICALLY WHAT IN THEIR DEPARTMENT, UM, IS PART OF THE 11.7.
SO ALL OF THAT TOGETHER WITH THE REVENUE ADJUSTMENTS AND EXPENDITURE ADJUSTMENTS BROUGHT US TO THE FINAL BUDGETARY GAP OF 187 MILLION, WHICH IS THE AMOUNT THAT WE ARE DRAWING DOWN OUT OF FUND BALANCE.
AND ONE THING I DID WANNA MENTION, SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT ON THE, UM, ON THE DRAFT CBA, AGAIN, THESE ARE, UH, SPECIFICALLY ON THE DEBT SERVICE NUMBER.
THIS IS A SOMEWHAT A CONSERVATIVE NUMBER WE'RE BUDGETING FOR WHAT WE THINK THE DEBT SERVICE PAYMENT MAY BE.
UH, WE WON'T KNOW THAT UNTIL, UM, UNTIL THE SETTLEMENT IS FINALIZED, UNTIL COUNCIL APPROVES THE BOND TRANSACTION, UNTIL WE PRICE IT, UNTIL WE CLOSE IT, WE WON'T HAVE CERTAINTY ABOUT THOSE COSTS, BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BUDGETING SO THAT YOU CAN SEE FROM A CONSERVATIVE STANDPOINT THAT THE COSTS ARE INCLUDED HERE.
SO, TAKING A LOOK AT THE OVERALL GENERAL FUND FUND BALANCE, AS I MENTIONED IN FY 25 PROPOSED BUDGET, WE ARE ANTICIPATING TO DRAW $187 MILLION TO CLOSE THAT BUDGETARY GAP I TALKED ABOUT ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.
SO I WANNA, I WANNA, I GUESS KIND OF PUT IT INTO REFERENCE, LOOKING BACK HISTORICALLY, UH, FY 24 ESTIMATE AND FY 23 UC, WE HAD SOME HISTORICALLY HIGH FUND BALANCES.
UM, THE FY 25 PROPOSED WHERE WE ARE FUND BALANCE IS PUTTING US BACK ROUGHLY IN LINE PERCENTAGE WISE WITH WHERE THE FUND BALANCE WAS PRIOR TO COVID.
UM, JUST TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT THE FEDERAL FUNDING THAT WE'VE RECEIVED OVER THE PAST COUPLE YEARS, THE ARPA FUNDING THAT WE HAD AVAILABLE TO US THAT WE USED, UM, TO BRING IN AS REVENUE TO THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET AND FY 22, 23 AND FY 24, UH, THOSE FUNDS.
UM, AND FY TWENTY TWO, A HUNDRED AND THIRTY $9 MILLION OF ARPA REVENUE REPLACEMENT AND FY 23, IT WAS 162 MILLION, AND FY 24 WAS 160 MILLION THAT WE BROUGHT AS, UH, REVENUE INTO THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET WAS USED FOR AT THAT TIME FOR THE PROVISION OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES.
SO WE HAVE TO FOLLOW THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT GUIDELINES ON WHAT WE CAN SPEND ARPA REVENUE REPLACEMENT FUNDING FOR.
SO IN THOSE YEARS, WE BRING IN THE ARPA REVENUE REPLACEMENT FUNDING INTO THE GENERAL FUND, AND WE USED THAT FUNDING FOR THE PROVISION OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES.
SO WE SPECIFICALLY, AND YOU CAN SEE IN OUR ARPA REPORT THAT WE HAVE TO SUBMIT QUARTERLY TO THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT.
WE ALSO HAVE IT AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE.
UM, THE GOVERNMENT RELATIONS TEAM DOES A GREAT JOB OF TRACKING THAT.
UM, THOSE FUNDS WERE USED FOR, AGAIN, FOR THE PROVISION OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES.
BUT THAT DID ALLOW US, BECAUSE WE WERE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE THOSE ARPA FUNDS, ALLOWED US TO TAKE GENERAL FUND REVENUES LIKE PROPERTY TAX, SALES TAX THAT WE WOULD HAVE NORMALLY USED TO PROVIDE THOSE GOVERNMENT SERVICES TO SAVE THOSE FUNDS, AND FOR THEM TO FLOW TO FUND BALANCE RESULTING IN WHERE WE, WHERE WE ARE TODAY IN FY 24 WITH THAT HISTORICALLY HIGH FUND BALANCE.
SO MOVING ON TO THE FIVE-YEAR FORECAST AND SLIDE 33.
SO THE FIVE-YEAR FORECAST, UH, GOES AND SHOWS A PROJECTED BUDGETARY GAP RANGE BASED ON, UM, SOME CONSERVATIVE, UM, PROJECTIONS OF REVENUE AND SOME OPTIMISTIC PROJECTIONS OF REVENUE.
UM, WHEN WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE DIFFERENT REVENUE OPTIONS, WE'RE NOT INCLUDING ANY ONE-TIME LAND SALES, WE ARE STILL SHOWING THE PROPERTY TAX REVENUE AND COMPLIANCE WITH THE PROP ONE AND H LIMITATIONS, UM, INCLUDING THE SENIOR DISABLED EXEMPTION STAYING THE SAME WHERE IT IS TODAY AT 260,000.
AND WE ARE ASSUMING THAT THE PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS ARE BASED ON THE, UH, CORRIDOR MIDPOINT BASED ON THE STATE STATUTE, HOW WE HAVE TO SET THE, UH, RATE THAT WE CONTRIBUTE TO THE PENSION SYSTEMS. AND WE DID INCLUDE, UM, CERTAIN ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT EXPENDITURES, UH, INCLUDING STAFFING AND, UM,
[00:40:01]
CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS.SO WHEN YOU LOOK, UM, WHEN WE GO THROUGH THE NEXT SLIDES, I THINK ONE THING THAT WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT, UM, PARTICULARLY AS WE TALK ABOUT MOVING FORWARD AND FINDING EFFICIENCIES, UM, I KNOW THAT THE MAYOR MENTIONED IT YESTERDAY, UH, ENGAGING A THIRD PARTY CONSULTANT TO HELP US DO AN ENTERPRISE.
WE CALL IT ENTERPRISE SCAN, A CITYWIDE VIEW OF, UM, FUNCTIONS WHERE WE CAN FIND EFFICIENCIES, CONSOLIDATIONS THAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT TO FIND FURTHER EXPENDITURE REDUCTIONS IN SAVINGS AND EFFICIENCIES.
BUT AS YOU SEE WITH THE, WITH THE PROCESS WHERE WE LOOKED AT THE, UM, BUDGETARY REDUCTIONS THAT WE WENT THROUGH WITH THE DEPARTMENTS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE REALIZED $11.7 MILLION, RIGHT? THOSE EXPENDITURE REDUCTIONS WERE AIMED AT NOT IMPACTING SERVICES, BUT THAT $11.7 MILLION IS NOWHERE NEAR ON THE SCALE OF WHAT THE BUDGETARY GAP IS, RIGHT? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT $160 MILLION BUDGETARY GAP, AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE NEED TO DO MORE TO FIND EFFICIENCIES AND FIND SAVINGS, BUT I CAN'T SUGARCOAT THE FACT THAT THOSE EFFICIENCIES AND SAVINGS ARE NOT GOING TO BE ENOUGH TO COVER THE BUDGETARY GAP.
IT'S NOT SO MUCH ABOUT HOW MUCH CAN WE AFFORD TO DO X, Y, Z, IT'S MORE ABOUT HOW MUCH MORE REVENUE DO WE WANNA BRING IN TO PROVIDE THESE SERVICES.
UM, AND I THINK THOSE TWO HAVE TO GO HAND IN HAND, RIGHT? LIKE YOU, YOU DO DO HAVE TO LOOK FOR THOSE EFFICIENCIES.
I THINK IT WILL HELP US PROVIDE BETTER SERVICES FOR THE CONSTITUENTS SHOW THAT WE'RE BETTER STEWARDS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS, BUT IT'S NOT TO THE SCALE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH THE BUDGETARY GAP.
UM, SO THIS IS GONNA GIVE YOU SOME DIFFERENT KEY ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT REVENUES.
LIKE I MENTIONED, PROPERTY TAX GROWTH IN THE FY 24 PROPOSED BUDGET, WE'RE USING A 3.2% INCREASE IN THE OUT YEARS 26 THROUGH 29.
WE GIVE A RANGE FROM A LOW OF 2% TO A HIGH OF 3.9%.
AGAIN, THOSE ARE, UH, DIFFERENT SCENARIOS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE PROP ONE AND H CAP ON SALES TAX GROWTH, 1.44% IN THE OUT YEARS.
WE HAVE A RANGE OF 1.5 TO 2% BASED ON DIFFERENT, UM, INTERNAL MODELS THAT WE HAVE.
FRANCHISE FEES GENERALLY, UM, WE DO HAVE A, AN INCREASE IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET OF F FRANCHISE FEES, BUT IN THE OUT YEARS, WE ARE ASSUMING, UM, A DECREASE BASED ON HISTORICAL TRENDS AND THEN OTHER REVENUES, UM, AGAIN, WE HAVE RANGES.
UH, YOU'LL SEE THE RANGES WHEN WE GET TO THE, UM, TO THE GRAPHIC.
AND AGAIN, LIKE I MENTIONED, WE'RE NOT PROJECTING ANY ONE TIME LARGE, UH, SALE OF CAPITAL ASSETS ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE.
ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE, THE FY 25 PROPOSED BUDGET, AS I MENTIONED, INCLUDES THE 3.5% FOR THE POLICE CLASSIFIED, UM, IN THE OUT YEARS.
UM, THAT'S A AMOUNT TO BE DETERMINED BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T GONE THROUGH THE, UH, WE HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS WITH POLICE YET ON FIRE CLASSIFIED.
AGAIN, THIS IS BASED ON THE DRAFT COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT.
UM, FOR THE 10% IN THE OUT YEARS, WE KNOW WE HAVE RANGE FROM, UH, 3, 3, 4, 4 UP TO 6, 6, 6, 6 FOR THE OUT YEARS.
AND THE MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, AGAIN, THEY'RE, THE CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS, UM, ARE ONGOING.
UM, AND THAT'S KIND OF TO, TO BE DETERMINED FOR THE, FOR THE OUT YEARS.
ON THE PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS, LIKE I MENTIONED, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE, UH, ASSUMING THAT WE'RE CONTRIBUTING IN LINE WITH THE STATE STATUTE AND ON HEALTH BENEFITS, WE USE, UM, BETWEEN A FOUR TO 5% GROWTH RATE.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE WE HAVE SOME ILLUSTRATIONS, SOME ANIMATIONS I GUESS I SHOULD SAY.
SO I WANNA START OFF FIRST BY SHOWING THE GREEN LINE, UM, WHICH SHOWS YOU WHAT THE CURRENT BUDGETARY GAP WOULD BE ABSENT THE FIREFIGHTER DRAFT COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT.
SO I THINK THE, THE PREVIOUS FINANCE DIRECTOR, THE PREVIOUS MAYOR, THE PREVIOUS FINANCE DIRECTORS BEFORE THEM, UM, HAVE NEVER SHIED AWAY FROM THE FACT THAT WE HAVE A STRUCTURAL BUDGET GAP.
UM, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO ADDRESS AND TACKLE WHETHER OR NOT WE HAD, UH, ANY CONVERSATIONS WITH FIREFIGHTERS OR NOT.
UM, SO YOU SEE HERE AN FY 25, UM, INSTEAD OF THE $187 MILLION GAP IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET, THE BUDGETARY GAP WOULD'VE BEEN APPROXIMATELY 110 MILLION, AND YOU SEE THE PROJECTION FOR THE OUT YEARS.
SO THAT BEING SAID, OF COURSE, ADDING EXPENDITURES, UM, WOULD INCREASE THAT GAP.
UM, SO, UH, IF YOU COULD CLICK ONE MORE TIME.
SO THE RED LINE, UH, THE PESSIMISTIC BASICALLY PUTS THE GAP AT WHERE WE SEE IT NOW, AS OF THE FY 25
[00:45:01]
PROPOSED BUDGET, THE $187 MILLION IN FY 25, AND USING SOME GROWTH ASSUMPTIONS, UH, LIKE I MENTIONED, UM, TWO, SORRY, ONE SLIDE BEFORE, UH, TO LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE IN THE OUT YEARS, WHERE WE SEE THAT GROWING.SO THE RED LINE INCLUDES THE DRAFT COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT, LIKE I MENTIONED, UH, IN FY 25, YOU SEE THAT $187 MILLION NUMBER.
SO THIS BLUE LINE IS, THIS IS OPTIMISTIC, RIGHT? IT INCLUDES ALL OF THE SAME, UH, REVENUE SOURCES THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, LIKE THE PROPERTY TAX, THE SALES TAX, BUT IT INCORPORATES ADDITIONAL REVENUES.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IN FY 26 WHERE YOU SEE THE LINE DROPPING DOWN, GOING ACTUALLY BELOW ZERO INDICATES NOT A GAP, BUT A BUDGETARY SURPLUS.
SO IF YOU, THIS IS WHERE WE START TALKING ABOUT THE RECURRING REVENUE SOURCES THAT WE NEED TO BRING IN AND IDENTIFY, RIGHT? UM, SO PART OF THIS OPTIMISTIC SCENARIO, UH, YOU SEE IT'S ABOUT A $200 MILLION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE FY 26, UH, ESTIMATE OF THE PESSIMISTIC OPTION VERSUS THE OPTIMISTIC.
SO AS THE MAYOR MENTIONED YESTERDAY, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE, AND THIS IS WHAT THE BUDGETARY GAP COULD LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE YEARS IF WE IDENTIFY AND, UM, APPROVE AND BRING FORWARD THESE REVENUE ENHANCEMENTS.
ALSO, THERE'S GONNA HAVE TO BE THE EXPENDITURE REDUCTIONS, LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT AS WE GO THROUGH THE FISCAL YEAR, GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS WITH A THIRD PARTY CONSULTANT, GOING THROUGH AND LOOKING AT, UH, VACANCY REDUCTIONS THAT WE CAN, UM, ELIMINATE, UH, TO GET A COMBINATION OF RECURRING EXPENDITURE REDUCTIONS AND RECURRING NEW REVENUES.
BUT WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE, THE OUT YEARS, YOU KIND OF QUICKLY SEE THAT BY THE TIME YOU GET TO YEAR FIVE, IF YOU'RE ONLY REALIZING ABOUT $200 MILLION OF ADDITIONAL REVENUE, YOUR SURPLUS KIND OF QUICKLY BECOMES A GAP AGAIN.
SO THAT INDICATES THAT, YOU KNOW, EVEN BASED ON THIS OPTIMISTIC SCENARIO, BRINGING IN ADDITIONAL $200 MILLION OF REVENUE, AGAIN, OUR REVENUES STILL START TO GROW, UH, NOT AS QUICKLY AS OUR EXPENDITURES.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE WANNA KEEP IN MIND, NOT JUST WHEN WE EXPLORE THOSE REVENUE SOURCES, NOT JUST FOR THE NEXT UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR, BUT TAKING A LOOK, UM, LONG TERM AS WELL.
SO IN TERMS OF ADDRESSING THE GAP, WHAT'S NEXT? UM, WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE LOCAL, UM, PROPERTY TAX CAP AND THE STATE CAP.
UH, SO WE ARE CURRENTLY UNDER THOSE LIMITATIONS, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT AND EXPLORING, UM, TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO THERE.
UH, WE DO KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL, UM, AS WE COME TO, UM, MAKING ANY KIND OF EXPENDITURE REDUCTIONS, PARTICULARLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY, PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN FIRE POLICE, UM, I THINK COURTS AND HECK ARE ALSO INCLUDED, BUT THEY MAKE UP 68% OF GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES OTHER THAN DEBT AND PAY AS YOU GO.
SO STATE LAW, UM, STATE LAW DICTATES THAT WE CANNOT CUT PUBLIC SAFETY EXPENDITURES BY MORE THAN WE CUT THE OVERALL BUDGET.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE REALLY HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON AS WE LOOK AT EXPENDITURE REDUCTIONS IN SAVINGS.
UM, AND WE ALSO, OF COURSE, KEEP OUR EYE ON ANY POTENTIAL LEGISLATIVE CHANGES.
YOU KNOW, THE STATE HAS THEIR, UH, STATE IMPOSED CAP.
WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF OTHER STATE CHANGES HISTORICALLY ON FRANCHISE FEES.
UM, AND SO THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE ALWAYS KEEP OUR EYE ON GOING ON AT THE LEGISLATURE AND HOW THAT, THAT CAN IMPACT US SHORT TERM.
UM, AS I MENTIONED ALREADY, THE CITYWIDE EFFICIENCY ASSESSMENT, UM, THIS IS THE ONE THAT THE THIRD PARTY CONSULTANT IS GONNA BE COMING IN TO HELP US WITH.
WE WANNA CONTINUE OUR HIRING CONTROL PROCESS AND LOOKING FOR THOSE, UM, VACANCIES, PARTICULARLY AGED VACANCIES BETWEEN SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR OLD, UM, AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO CONTROL COSTS THERE.
UH, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING FOR COST COLLABORATION WITH OTHER LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT.
I THINK THE MAYOR TOUCHED ON A LOT OF THOSE, UM, KEY PROJECTS YESTERDAY.
UH, OF COURSE, SHORT TERM, DEVELOPING NEW REVENUE SOURCES.
THIS IS THE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, UH, WE HAVE THE CONTRACT NOW WITH, UM, BURNS AND MCDONALD WHERE THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS AND ALSO LOOKING AT, UM, WHAT A GARBAGE FEE COULD LOOK LIKE.
UM, THAT'S JUST ONE OF THE OPTIONS.
I KNOW OTHER THINGS WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, OTHER LOOKING AT, UH, OTHER FEES DOING A, A CITYWIDE REVIEW OF ALL OF OUR FEES.
TYPICALLY, RIGHT NOW WE'RE ON A, UM, A, A SCHEDULE THAT WE LOOK AT A CERTAIN NUMBER OF FEES PER YEAR.
UH, SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE WANT TO ACCELERATE AND SEE WHAT OTHER THINGS NEED TO BE BROUGHT IN LINE WITH THE COSTS THAT IT PROVIDES TO PERFORM THOSE SERVICES TO THE CONSTITUENTS.
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UM, AND THEN LONG TERM, OF COURSE, WE WANNA IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CITYWIDE EFFICIENCY ASSESSMENT AND, UM, CONTINUE TO COLLABORATE WITH OTHER JURISDICTIONS AS WELL.THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU, DIRECTOR, VERY THOROUGH.
I WILL GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER POLLARD, THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, I'M GONNA JUMP TO PAGE 36, WHICH IS THE SLIDE THAT YOU JUST SHOWED WITH THE, UM, THE OPTIMISTIC AND PESSIMISTIC LINES MM-HMM
SO RIGHT NOW, THIS IS A STRUCTURALLY UNBALANCED BUDGET.
AND BASED ON POSSIBLY THE PESSIMISTIC OUTLOOK, IT BECOMES MORE STRUCTURALLY UNBALANCED.
NOW THE BLUE LINE IS THE OPTIMISTIC, WHICH STARTS TO HAVE A SURPLUS, BUT AS YOU HAVE STATED, EVEN THEN THE SURPLUS STARTS TO DECREASE IF WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A POSSIBILITY OF A PESSIMISTIC OUTLOOK TO WHERE WE HAVE AN INCREASED STRUCTURALLY IMBALANCE BUDGET.
AND THE GOAL IS TO HAVE A STRUCTURALLY BALANCED BUDGET.
WHAT ADDITIONAL REVENUES IS THE ADMINISTRATION CONSIDERING OR POINTING TO THAT ARE REAL EXAMPLES, AND WHY AREN'T THOSE REVENUE STREAMS IF IDENTIFIED IN THIS CURRENT BUDGET SO THAT WE WON'T HAVE SUCH A LARGE GAP? SURE.
UM, SO I THINK THAT WE HAVE THE, UM, I CAN'T SAY GOOD FORTUNE, RIGHT? THERE WAS HARD WORK, BUT, UH, TIME IS ON OUR SIDE, I GUESS IN TERMS OF THE FY 25, UH, THAT WE DO HAVE THAT FUND BALANCE FROM FY 24, UM, THAT CAN CLOSE THE BUDGETARY GAP IN FY 25 SO THAT WE HAVE TIME TO, UM, FULLY VET AND IMPLEMENT THE RECURRING REVENUE OPTIONS THAT ARE, UH, AT THE LEVEL TO BRING US TO A STRUCTURALLY BALANCED BUDGET.
UM, I DON'T WANNA JUST FOCUS ON REVENUES, ALTHOUGH THAT IS, LIKE I MENTIONED, THAT'S DEFINITELY THE LARGER DRIVER, BUT ALSO THE TIME TO GO THROUGH THE EFFICIENCY ASSESSMENT TO FIND THOSE EFFICIENCIES AND COST SAVINGS AT THE AT THAT'S CURRENTLY HAPPENING TODAY AT THE CITY.
UM, TO IMPLEMENT NEW REVENUES, WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH A COST OF SERVICE STUDY, UM, WHICH CAN TAKE SEVERAL MONTHS, AND OF COURSE WOULD HAVE TO COME TO THIS BODY FOR THEIR APPROVAL ON THINGS LIKE A GARBAGE FEE.
UM, AND SO AS I MENTIONED, ALL THE OTHER FEES AT THE CITY GO THROUGH, UH, UH, A SCHEDULED REVIEW REGULARLY OF THE FEES TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE IN LINE WITH THE COST OF SERVICE AND WHAT WE, UH, TAKE TO THE CITIZENS.
I THINK THAT IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT A NEW FEE, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO REALLY THOROUGHLY GO THROUGH THAT WHOLE COST OF SERVICE FEE PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE ACCURATELY CAPTURING THE COST OF WHAT IT IS TO PROVIDE THAT SERVICE.
ALSO, IN YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU MENTIONED, UM, SOME OF THE DETAILS WITHIN THE PROPOSED FIREFIGHTERS AGREEMENT.
SO YOU HAVE THE 10%, UM, GO AHEAD.
YOU HAVE THE 10%, UM, FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, AND THEN YOU HAVE ALL THE FOLLOWING YEARS THERE AS WELL.
YOU, YOU HAVE THE EDUCATIONAL BASE PAY, YOU HAVE THE DEBT SERVICE PAY, SO THIS IS ALL BASED ON THAT PROPOSED PACKAGE, BUT COUNSEL FOR ONE, HAS NOT RECEIVED THAT PROPOSED PACKAGE.
TWO, I'VE BEEN TOLD BY THE ADMINISTRATION THAT THE REASON WHY WE'RE NOT SEEING IT IS IT'S STILL BEING NEGOTIATED.
SO WHY WOULD WE BAKE THOSE IN TO THIS BUDGET WHEN IT HASN'T COME BEFORE COUNCIL TO EVEN VOTE ON THAT AGREEMENT? MM-HMM
AND IT'S, IT'S LEADING TO THE ASSUMPTION THAT IT'S AUTOMATICALLY GONNA BE DONE.
AND IF WE DO VOTE ON THIS AS A PART OF THE FISCAL YEAR BUDGET, THEN IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER WHAT'S NEGOTIATED THROUGH, UH, THROUGH LEGAL CITY ATTORNEY AND MICHELLE, BECAUSE THE, THE ALLOCATION OF DOLLARS HAS ALREADY BEEN FUNDED.
SO ON THE FIRST POINT, YES, YOU'RE RIGHT, THOSE COSTS ARE INCLUDED IN THE FY 25 PROPOSED BUDGET.
THE GOAL OF DOING THAT IS TO SHOW FROM A CONSERVATIVE STANDPOINT, EVEN IF WE HAD TO PAY ALL THESE COSTS STARTING AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FISCAL YEAR, WE DO HAVE ENOUGH FUND BALANCE TO DRAW DOWN FOR THE FY 25 BUDGET, RIGHT? WE KNOW THAT THAT MEANS THAT THAT FUND BALANCE IS GONE.
IT'S ONE TIME, IT'S NOT AVAILABLE FOR FY
[00:55:01]
26, AND WE NEED TO GET THOSE RECURRING EXPENDITURE REDUCTIONS AND REVENUE ENHANCEMENTS TO, TO, TO PAY OUR BILLS IN FY 26.BUT SO YOU'RE ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WE'RE USING ONE TIME DOLLARS TO FUND IT RIGHT NOW, THAT COULD LEAD TO A LARGER STRUCTURALLY UNBALANCED BUDGET.
FY 25 IS A, IS A PROPOSED BUDGET THAT PUTS US ON THE PATH TO GETTING WHERE WE WANNA BE IN FY 26.
AND I THINK THAT TO, TO ADDRESS YOUR SECOND QUESTION OF IF IT'S IN THE BUDGET, THEN WHAT ARE WE LEFT TO NEGOTIATE? IT'S IN THE BUDGET, BUT ABSENT AN APPROVED COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT, THOSE COSTS ARE NOT GOING TO BE PAID OUT.
SO EVEN WHEN WE DID THE, UM, THE, THE 6%, 6%, 6%, WHICH AGAIN WAS OUTSIDE OF A CONTRACT, THERE WAS A SEPARATE ORDINANCE THAT WENT TO COUNCIL IN ADDITION TO THE BUDGET THAT COUNCIL HAD TO APPROVE IN ORDER TO MAKE THOSE PAYMENTS.
SO ALTHOUGH THEY ARE IN THE BUDGET WITHOUT A APPROVED AGREEMENT, THOSE PAYMENTS ARE NOT GOING TO BE MADE.
AND I DO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE, COUNCIL MEMBER MARYANNE HUFFMAN HAS BEEN IN ATTENDANCE.
COUNCIL MEMBER CAROLYN EVANS SHABAZZ IS ONLINE, AND WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER TIFFANY THOMAS'S OFFICE HERE, ALSO OUR CITY ATTORNEY, ARTURO MICHELLE IS HERE.
AND ALSO I WANTED TO NOTE THAT IF THERE'S ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE, SO THAT DID NOT SIGN UP ALREADY TO SPEAK PUBLICLY, THERE'S A SIGNUP SHEET RIGHT HERE, OVER HERE ON THE TABLE IF YOU'D LIKE TO SPEAK.
UM, NEXT WE'LL GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN.
THANK YOU CHAIR, UM, DIRECTOR TO YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE TEAM.
I KNOW THERE IN THE AUDIENCE AND THERE'S A LOT MORE EVEN BEYOND THAT.
UM, BUT I, I WILL START WITH, UM, I APPRECIATE THE INCLUSION OF WHAT WE'RE LOSING RELATED TO THE REVENUE CAP.
UH, EVERY BUDGET CYCLE, WE ASK THE QUESTION, HOW MUCH HAVE WE LOST? SO I, I THINK YOU SAID IT'S NOW UP TO 2.23 BILLION OVERALL LAST YEAR ALONE, 400 MILLION.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE STRUCTURAL IMBALANCE AND THE BUDGET SHORTFALLS, THAT NUMBER MAKES OR BREAKS THAT.
UH, AND I THINK THAT THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE, NOT JUST TO DISCUSS, BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE A SOLUTION YES.
UH, WE MUST ADDRESS THAT ISSUE, OR WE'RE GONNA KEEP COMING BACK TO THIS EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
UH, I APPRECIATE THAT THERE ARE NO LAND SALES OR ONETIME DEFERRALS.
UH, ARE THERE ANY ONETIME OFFSETS OTHER THAN THE ARPA DOLLARS? BECAUSE IT WAS SO SPECIFIC WHEN IT SAID RIGHT, NO LAND SALES OR, I THINK IT WAS, YOU KNOW, DE OKAY, GREAT.
SO AGAIN, I THINK THAT'S GREAT THAT WE'RE NOT LEANING ON THAT AS WELL.
IS THAT RIGHT? I KNOW IN THE PAST WE HAVE, UM, DEFERRED RENT PAYMENTS, DEFERRED ZOO PAYMENTS, THOSE ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS.
UM, DOES THIS BUDGET INCLUDE, OR IN ANY OF YOUR, UH, THE FIVE-YEAR FORECASTING INCLUDE A POSSIBLE SETTLEMENT OR THE POTENTIAL LIABILITY IN THE DRAINAGE LAWSUIT? BECAUSE WE'RE NOW POTENTIALLY INCLUDING, EVEN THOUGH WE DON'T HAVE A FINAL AGREEMENT ON THE SETTLEMENT WITH THE FIREFIGHTER ASSOCIATION MM-HMM
BUT WE'VE INCLUDED THAT, BUT YET HAVE WE INCLUDED THE DRAINAGE? NO, WE HAVEN'T.
AND SO THAT, I GUESS TO YOUR POINT, IN, UM, FY 25, THAT WOULD ADD APPROXIMATELY A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS TO THE BUDGETARY GAP.
AND, AND THAT GOES TO ONE OF MY QUESTIONS, WHICH IS HOW MUCH IS LEFT IN THE REMAINDER OF THE RESERVE MM-HMM
AS IT STANDS, IF THE BUDGET IS PASSED AS IT IS RIGHT NOW.
SO, UM, DOLLAR WISE, WE'RE $91 MILLION ABOVE THE 7.5% REQUIREMENT BASED ON THE $187 MILLION DRAWDOWN.
SO WE'RE AT 97 ABOVE, BUT WE COULD BE LIABLE FOR A HUNDRED MILLION POTENTIALLY.
AND THEN THAT LEAVES NO ADDITIONAL RESERVE OTHER THAN THE, UH, LEGALLY REQUIRED AMOUNT, EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW FROM YOUR, AGAIN, SEVEN FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTERS IN SIX YEARS, THAT WE NEED AS MUCH CUSHION AS WE CAN GET HERE IN HOUSTON.
SO THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY OF THAT.
IT WOULD PUT US OVER UTILIZATION OF THE FUND.
I GUESS I WANNA, UM, YES, BUT TO YOUR POINT ON THE DISASTERS, WE DO HAVE THE, UM, UH, BUDGET STABILIZATION FUND, WHICH IS ON TOP OF THE REGULAR FUND BALANCE.
SO WE DO HAVE THAT, THAT'S $25 MILLION.
THAT'S NOT INCLUDED IN THE NUMBERS WE TALKED BEFORE, BUT, BUT YOU'RE RIGHT.
IF, IF WE HAD TO COMPLY WITH THE, UM, WITH THE DRAINAGE LAWSUIT AND DO THE A HUNDRED MILLION ADDITIONAL, IT WOULD BRING OUR, OUR FUND BALANCE DOWN OR BELOW THE MINIMUM BELOW.
AND, UM, WHAT, I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE FIREFIGHTER DEAL, SO I'M HAPPY TO GO INTO Q BUT REALLY QUICKLY, UM, THERE WERE SEVERAL CUTS THAT YOU MENTIONED ON PAGE 25.
[01:00:01]
YES.SO, REDUCTIONS OF ONE TIME FLOODING, INCLUDING THE MAYOR LOVER PARKS INITIATIVE MM-HMM
I'D LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT THOSE CUTS ARE.
UM, THERE'S A EMPOWERMENT CENTER AT THE MCGREGOR PARK PROJECT, AND THEN THE SHARPSTOWN COMMUNITY CENTER WAS ALSO REDUCED.
SO I JUST, SO THESE ARE, I GUESS I WANNA BE CLEAR ABOUT THAT.
THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE ARE NOT TAKING AWAY FROM THE FY 24.
SO WHATEVER HAD BEEN, UM, APPROVED, APPROVED BY COUNCIL, REFLECTED IN THE MOFA, ALL OF THESE INITIATIVES, THEY WERE ONE TIME, UM, FUNDING SOURCES AND NOT RECURRING.
SO ALL THIS SLIDE SEEKS TO DO IS COMPARE FY 24 TO 25.
SO WHEN YOU'RE COMPARING THE TWO FISCAL YEARS, IF YOU INCLUDE SOMETHING THAT'S A ONE-TIME FUNDING SOURCE IN 24, IT LOOKS LIKE A DECREASE IN 25.
BUT IT'S NOT THAT, IT'S NOT THAT THE 24 AMOUNT HAS GONE AWAY, IT'S JUST NOT A RECURRING SOURCE.
SO GOING BACK TO THE SIDEWALK PROGRAM THEN, THERE'S NO FUTURE FUNDING OR WHAT WOULD, WHERE DOES THAT PLAY IN? SO THE $5 MILLION THAT WAS IN THE GENERAL FUND FOR THE SIDEWALK FUNDING, THERE WAS $5 MILLION IN THE GENERAL FUND FOR THAT.
IN 24, THAT SAME 5 MILLION IS NOT IN 25.
HOWEVER, YOU DO STILL SEE FUNDING FOR SIDEWALKS IN THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN, WHICH IS SEPARATE FROM THE OPERATING BUDGET.
SO IT'S JUST THIS, THIS WAS A SUPPLEMENTAL 5 MILLION THAT WAS ADDED FOR 24.
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR DEBOSKY.
I'LL TRY TO BE, UH, QUICK HERE.
SO PAGE 12, SLIDE 12, I SHOULD SAY.
OP E CONTRIBUTION FOR FY 25, 12 AND A HALF MILLION.
CAN YOU TELL US HOW THAT WAS ARRIVED AT? SURE.
SO, UH, WE WORKED WITH OUR, UM, EXTERNAL ACTUARY, UH, AND CLOSELY WITH THE HR DEPARTMENT, UH, TO DO A PROJECTION OF WHAT WOULD WE NEED TO CONTRIBUTE TO AN OP E TRUST FUND, UH, IN ORDER TO, UM, BRING THE OPEP TRUST FUND UP TO A CERTAIN FUNDED RATIO AND DRIVE DOWN THE LONG-TERM LIABILITY.
UH, SO THINK OF IT LIKE A SIMILAR TO KIND OF HOW THE PENSION PLAN WORKS, WHERE THE CITY SENDS A CONTRIBUTION TO THE PENSION SYSTEMS, THEY INVEST, THEY, THEY KEEP THE MONEY THAT WE SEND THEM, AND THEY GROW THROUGH INTEREST EARNINGS TO HAVE A HIGHER, UM, AMOUNT OF ASSETS THAT THEN FACTOR INTO THE LIABILITY CALCULATION THAT GETS REFLECTED ON OUR BOOKS.
SO, UH, THE, THE GOAL OR THE, THE THOUGHT PROCESS IN CALCULATING HOW MUCH WE'RE GOING TO SEND TO THE OPEP TRUST IS BASED ON TRYING TO REDUCE THE OPEP LIABILITY DOWN TO 1 BILLION.
SO WITH THAT GOAL OF REDUCING IT DOWN TO 1 BILLION, UH, WE HAVE A, A SCHEDULE OF WHAT THE PAYMENTS NEED TO BE ANNUALLY TO, UM, TO HIT THAT GOAL BASED ON CERTAIN INVESTMENT RETURNS.
AND DO YOU HAVE AN OPINION ON THE OVERALL HEALTH OF THE MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEE'S PENSION FUND? YEAH, I DO.
I THINK THAT THE, UM, THE OVERALL HEALTH OF THE PENSION FUND HAS, UM, IMPROVED DRAMATICALLY SINCE PENSION REFORMS. I THINK IT, UH, IT, IT TRUED UP THE FUNDED RATIO OF THE PLAN.
UM, WE HAVE A, A WEBSITE WHERE WE, UM, HAVE A LOT OF PENSION INFORMATION THAT I CAN SHARE WITH YOU, AND IT SHOWS HISTORICALLY WHERE THE FUNDED RATIO WAS AND, UH, WHERE IT IS TODAY.
UM, AGAIN, IT HAS DEFINITELY IMPROVED, UM, BOLSTERED BY, UH, NOT JUST THE CITY BEING OBLIGATED UNDER STATE LAW TO PAY THE FULL ACTUARIALLY REQUIRED AMOUNT, BUT ALSO, UM, THE PLAN HAS HAD, UH, UH, SOME VERY HEALTHY, UH, INTEREST EARNINGS, YOU KNOW, EXCEEDING THEIR 7% TARGET THAT HAS, UM, PUT THAT PLAN IN A, IN A BETTER FUNDED STATUS THAN, THAN THEY WERE BEFORE REFORMS. OKAY.
MOVING TO SLIDE 14, UH, FULL-TIME EQUIVALENCE IN THE GENERAL FUND.
SO WE SEE THERE WAS A, UH, AN INCREASE, THE LARGEST INCREASE WAS CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES.
IT ROSE ABOUT 550, IF MY MATH IS CORRECT.
CAN YOU TELL US WHERE THOSE WERE? IF YOU CAN SORT OF GENERALIZE AS TO THE CONGREGATION? DO YOU FOLLOW WHAT I'M, UH, BETWEEN, I'M SORRY, BETWEEN, YOU'RE GOING FFY 23 F FOUR, YOU'RE 24, YEAH.
UM, SO WE CAN DEFINITELY PROVIDE YOU A BREAKDOWN OF THAT.
I THINK GENERALLY THOUGH, WHAT YOU SEE GOING FROM 23 TO 24, AGAIN, 23 ACTUALS ARE GOING TO REFLECT POSITIONS THAT WERE ACTUALLY FILLED.
24 CURRENT BUDGET DOESN'T FULLY PICK UP ALL OF THE VACANCIES THAT WE HAVE.
SO A LOT OF VACANT POSITIONS ARE STILL INCLUDED IN THAT, IN THOSE, UH, THAT 13,000 EMPLOYEE NUMBER.
ONCE WE CLOSE THAT FY 24, YOU'RE GONNA SEE THAT NUMBER DECREASE AND PROBABLY COME CLOSER IN LINE WITH THE FY 23 ACTUALS.
BUT WE CAN, WE CAN PROVIDE A DEPARTMENT BY DEPARTMENT BREAKDOWN.
I CAN MOVE TO ANOTHER SLIDE OR GO BACK INTO THE QUEUE.
[01:05:02]
SO ONE OF THE BULLET POINTS, THE FOURTH BULLET POINT, UH, PENSION ASSUMPTIONS BASED ON MIDPOINT OF THE CORRIDOR.CAN YOU TELL US WHAT SOME OF THOSE ASSUMPTIONS ARE? SURE.
SO ON THE ASSUMPTIONS FOR THE CORRIDOR, UM, BASED ON THE PENSION REFORM, THE STATE LAW, UM, THE STATE LAW LAID OUT A PROCESS WHERE THE PENSION SYSTEMS ACTUARIES AND THE CITY'S ACTUARIES COLLABORATE TO, UM, LOOK AT THE VARIOUS ASSUMPTIONS, UH, AND PROJECTIONS OF THE LIABILITIES AND ASSETS OF THE PLAN TO PROJECT WHAT THE CITY NEEDS TO CONTRIBUTE AS A PERCENT OF PAY FOR A 30 YEAR PERIOD.
AND THEN THE STATE LAW SAYS THAT THE CORRIDOR OR MIDPOINT IS WHAT THAT, THAT, UH, PERCENT OF PAY HAS TO BE.
AND STATE LAW SAYS THAT THE CITY CANNOT CONTRIBUTE MORE THAN 5% ABOVE THE MIDPOINT OR LESS THAN 5% BELOW THAT MIDPOINT.
SO THAT'S THAT CORRIDOR THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
UM, STATE LAW DICTATES THAT IF, UM, SOME OF THE ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS DON'T COME TRUE, OR IF THE PENSION PLANS DON'T EARN THEIR 7% ASSUMED RATE OF RETURN, AND THAT INCREASES WHAT THE CITY'S CONTRIBUTION RATE SHOULD BE, THAT TRIGGERS A MECHANISM TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE, TO THE PENSION PLANS TO BRING THE CITY'S CONTRIBUTION RATE BACK DOWN INTO THE CORRIDOR.
SO WE'RE CAPPED AT WHAT WE HAVE TO PAY MM-HMM
SO IN TERMS OF THOSE ASSUMPTIONS, THEY VARY FOR THE DIFFERENT PENSION PLANS, BUT THE ASSUMPTIONS ARE BASED ON HOW LONG DO WE THINK PEOPLE ARE GOING TO WORK, WHAT IS THEIR AVERAGE PAY GOING TO BE? HOW LONG DO WE THINK THEY'RE GOING TO LIVE? AND THAT IS WHAT DICTATES THESE, UM, THESE NUMBERS.
SO LIKE FOR POLICE, FOR EXAMPLE, UNDER H POPS, UH, THE CORRIDOR AT MINIMUM, SO THE LOWEST AMOUNT THAT THE CITY CAN CONTRIBUTE IS ABOUT 27% OF PAY.
AND THE, THE CORRIDOR MIDPOINT SAYS THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTRIBUTE ABOUT 32% OF PAY.
UM, SO WE HAVE TO STAY WITHIN THOSE BOUNDARIES PER STATE LAW.
AND THEN THE NEXT BULLET POINT, UH, TALKS ABOUT, LEMME, LEMME PUT YOU RIGHT BACK IN THE QUEUE.
UH, LOOKING AT, UH, PAGE 19, THIS WAS THE, UH, PROPERTY TAX REVENUE ASSUMPTIONS.
I, I WANTED TO, UH, JUST KIND OF GO OVER THAT BRIEFLY IF I WOULD YOU, IN THE, IN THE OPENING, THE ESTIMATED TAX VALUE FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS THREE, IT'S 320 BILLION.
UH, FURTHER, WHICH IS, UH, A ROLE TO BE RECEIVED LATE IN THE SUMMER.
THE ESTIMATED TAX VALUE WITH THE TAX INCREMENT IS 273 BILLION MM-HMM
AND THEN THE CENSUS, YOU INDICATED YET TO BE RECEIVED, THE FINANCIAL DEPARTMENT APPLIED THE INFLATION RATE, WHICH WE BASICALLY AT A 3.4, WHICH I WOULD ASSUME THAT THAT'S UP OR DOWN MORE OR LESS, RIGHT.
AT THE RATE IS GOING NOW, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S MORE UP THAN DOWN.
WOULD YOU AGREE? SO INFLATION HAS SLOWED DOWN CERTAINLY SINCE LAST YEAR.
UH, THE INFLATION RATE THAT WE USED WHEN WE CALCULATED THE PROP ONE, AND I KEEP SAYING LAST YEAR, CURRENT YEAR, FFY 24, I'M SORRY, I'VE MOVED ON
UH, FY 24, WHEN WE CALCULATED THE INFLATION FOR THE PROPERTY TAX CAP FOR FY 24 WAS OVER 8%.
SO INFLATION HAS DEFINITELY COME DOWN.
UH, BUT 3% IS STILL ABOVE, YOU KNOW, HISTORICAL, UH, TRENDS WHERE WE WERE.
SO, SO WITH THAT, MY CONCERN IS THAT THAT INCREASE IN PROPERTY TAX REVENUE IS 3.2 MM-HMM
WHICH REPRESENTS 44.5 BILLION.
UH, FOR THAT WAS 2024 ESTIMATES MM-HMM
AND SO CALCULATING THE DISABILITY EXEMPTION AT 260, UH, THE PROPOSED 25, UH, 2025 BUDGET DOESN'T CONTEMPLATE AN INCREASE TO THE PROPERTY TAX RATE, RIGHT? CORRECT.
SO THEN WHAT DID ALL OF THOSE NUMBERS ARE ASSUMPTIONS? SO WHERE DO, WHERE DO WE GET ANY, UM, OUT OF THAT FOR THAT PROCEEDING BUDGET? 25, 26 AND UNDER YOUR ESTIMATES IT'S ALL ASSUMPTION.
SO WE, UM, TYPICALLY WE PROPOSE THE BUDGET BASED ON THE, UH, THE LOCAL REVENUE CAP, WHICH IS WHERE THE INFLATION
[01:10:01]
AND THE POPULATION NUMBERS COME INTO PLAY.WE HAVE TO FOLLOW THE FORMULA PRESCRIBED IN CHARTER, UM, AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE YEAR THROUGH THE SUMMER MM-HMM
WE'RE GOING TO GET THE ROLE INFORMATION, THE FINAL, UH, THEY CALL IT A CERTIFIED ROLE FROM THE APPRAISAL DISTRICTS AND SOMETHING THEY CALL A CERTIFIED ESTIMATE FROM THE APPRAISAL DISTRICTS THAT TYPICALLY COME IN JULY AND AUGUST.
SO ONCE WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION, UH, MY TEAM WILL WORK TO CALCULATE WHAT THE PROPERTY TAX RATE NEEDS TO BE BASED ON THOSE ROLES IN ORDER TO COLLECT THE BUDGETED AMOUNT OF REVENUE.
SO UNTIL WE GET THAT ROLE INFORMATION, THAT'S WHY I SAY IT'S AN ESTIMATED TAXABLE VALUE.
UM, BUT TYPICALLY WHAT WE DO IS THAT'S HOW WE WOULD SET THE BUDGET.
AND THEN AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE PROCESS, WE MAY MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE PROPERTY TAX ESTIMATE LATER ON IN THE YEAR, DEPENDING ON HOW THE ROLE INFORMATION COMES IN.
FIRST OFF, I WANNA JUST SAY YOUR, YOUR DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE ON THIS IS, IS EXTREMELY IMPRESSIVE
SO IT, IT REALLY DOES HELP US OUT.
IN YOUR PRESENTATION YOU SPOKE TO $11 MILLION OF, OF, UH, CUTS, BASICALLY, OR, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE PUBLIC MAY FIND AS WASTE OR THINGS THAT YOU CAN REDUCE.
UM, WHERE IN THE BUDGET DO, DO WE SEE NEW REVENUE? AND I ASK THAT BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, FROM A VERY SIMPLISTIC STANDPOINT, IN A BUDGET, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S STRUCTURALLY UNBALANCED, YOU EITHER, UH, FIND IT, FIND MORE REVENUE, OR YOU HAVE TO DECREASE YOUR EXPENDITURES.
I MEAN, THAT, IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT.
SO IF WE KNOW THAT WE'RE STRUCTURALLY UNBALANCED AND WE KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING IN POSSIBLY THE WRONG DIRECTION, WHAT IN THIS BUDGET THAT WOULD MAKE US COMFORTABLE SAYING, OKAY, WE'RE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, BRINGS IN NEW REVENUES MM-HMM
FOR, FOR THIS CURRENT YEAR, I WOULD SAY THAT THERE ARE NO NEW REVENUE SOURCES, RIGHT? NO NEW REVENUE SOURCES, NO THINGS LIKE A GARBAGE FEE IS, ARE NOT IN THIS PROPOSED BUDGET, BUT THERE ARE EXISTING REVENUE SOURCES THAT WE ARE BUDGETING WITH GROWTH.
SO, UM, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT SLIDE 16, UM, THIS BREAKS DOWN HOW THE REVENUES LOOK LIKE IN THE FY 25 PROPOSED BUDGET COMPARED TO THE FY 24 ESTIMATE.
AND THIS IS WHERE YOU SEE, LIKE I MENTIONED, UM, YOU KNOW, HIGHER INTEREST EARNINGS OF 3 MILLION, UM, HIGHER SALES TAX OF 12.7 MILLION COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
HIGHER PROPERTY TAX, YOU KNOW, BASED, AGAIN PRELIMINARY, BUT THESE ARE EXISTING EXISTING REVENUE SOURCES.
THESE ARE EXISTING REVENUE SOURCES THAT WILL GROW, BUT THERE ARE NO NEW REVENUE SOURCES THAT WILL PUT A BIG DENT IN THE POSSIBLE STRUCTURALLY IMBALANCED DIRECTION THAT WE'RE GOING NOT IN THE FY 25 PROPOSED BUDGET.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE WANT TO, UM, AS I MENTIONED WITH THE, WITH THE FEE STUDIES AND THE EFFICIENCY STUDIES GO THROUGH THE PROCESS IN A THOUGHTFUL WAY DURING THE FISCAL YEAR OF FY, EVEN IN THE END OF FY 24 INTO 25 TO GET READY FOR FY 26.
AND THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT DURING THE FISCAL YEAR IN FY 25, THAT WE CANNOT ADJUST REVENUES FOR NEW REVENUE SOURCES AT THAT TIME.
UH, WE CERTAINLY MID-YEAR COULD ADD A NEW FEE OR ADD A NEW REVENUE SOURCE AND REFLECT IT IN THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT AS AN INCREASED REVENUE.
AND THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO DECREASE THE DRAW ON FUND BALANCE AS WE GO THROUGH THE YEAR.
SO AS THE MAYOR STATED YESTERDAY, ALL OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE.
SO WHENEVER PEOPLE BRING OPTIONS TO BRING IN MORE REVENUE, UH, I THINK BASED ON THIS PRESENTATION, WE NEED TO CONSIDER THEM ALL.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME COUNCIL MEMBER TIFFANY THOMAS TO THE, TO THE HORSESHOE
UM, REGARDING THE ARPA DOLLARS, UH, THERE WERE ALSO PROVISIONS, UM, BOTH ARPA IRA ABOUT CLAWBACKS.
IF THOSE DOLLARS WEREN'T USED OR THEY WERE MIS MISUSED IN ANY WAY, DO WE HAVE ANY INSTANCES OF LIKE, HAVE THOSE FUNDS BEEN USED RESPONSIBLY OR HAVE WE INCURRED ADDITIONAL COSTS BECAUSE, FOR EXAMPLE, WE DIDN'T USE THEM OR IT WAS DEEMED INELIGIBLE? NO, WE HAVEN'T HAD, I'M
[01:15:01]
CONFIRMING NO, WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY, UH, CLAW BACK OR, UH, AND WE DO, LIKE I MENTIONED, QUARTERLY REPORTING TO THE, TO THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT.SO THEY ARE AWARE OF WHAT WE'RE SPENDING.
SO I WANNA COMMEND THE CITY OF HOUSTON EVERY SINGLE DEPARTMENT BECAUSE TO HAVE GONE THROUGH AS MUCH AS WE HAVE DONE USING THOSE TO NOT HAVE HAD A SINGLE CLAW BACK OR INELIGIBILITY THAT COULD HAVE PUT US FURTHER IN THE HOLE NEEDS TO BE RECOGNIZED.
IT IS, AND IT IS A TEAM EFFORT BETWEEN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, GOVERNMENT RELATIONS TEAM, CITY LEGAL PROCUREMENT, IT'S A, IT'S A, AND THE DEPARTMENTS.
SO AGAIN, I, I APPRECIATE THAT THIS HAS BEEN USED RESPONSIBLY.
AND I ALSO THINK TO COUNCIL MEMBER POLLS, POLLARD'S POINT EARLIER IT WAS USED RESPONSIBLY AND THAT WE HAVE SUCH A LARGER GENERAL FUND THAN WE NORMALLY DO TO GIVE US THIS YEAR OF RUNWAY.
I AM CONCERNED THAT AFTER THIS YEAR, WE'RE GONNA HAVE SUCH A SMALL AMOUNT WITHOUT A COMMITMENT ON A FEW THINGS THAT I'LL GET INTO, UH, MOMENTARILY.
UM, BUT ON PAGE 35 DIRECTOR, THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, WHEN WE'RE DOING THE FORECASTING ALL OTHER THAN FIRE POLICE, CITY EMPLOYEES THROUGH HOPE, ALL OF THAT'S TBD.
SO IN THE FIVE YEAR PROJECTIONS, UM, AND THE GRAPHS OR DIAGRAMS THAT YOU PRESENTED, ARE WE MAKING ANY ASSUMPTIONS OF THOSE INCREASES OR WHAT WERE THOSE BASED ON CURRENT LEVELS? BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THAT'S GOING TO GO UP, WE ARE MAKING ASSUMPTIONS ON INCREASES.
THEN, UM, GOING BACK TO ON PAGE 30, RELATING TO THE FIREFIGHTER DEAL, AND A LOT OF THIS IS A BIG CHALLENGE, AS WE SAID.
SO I JUST WANNA SAY AGAIN FOR THE RECORD, COUNSEL HAS STILL YET TO SEE EVEN A DRAFT OF THE CBA, THE FIVE YEAR, UM, AGREEMENT.
SO WE'RE GOING OFF OF WHAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE TELLING US.
UM, THIS IS BASED THE ONE WE HAVE THE DEBT SERVICE THAT'S RELATED TO THE JUDGMENT BOND.
IS THAT CORRECT? THE 30 TO TO THE REFUNDING BOND TO FUND THE JUDGMENT? YES.
AND THEN THE, UM, YOU INCLUDED IN HERE THE PROPOSED INCREASE IN PAY MM-HMM
LOOKING FORWARD WITHIN THE CBA.
THE ASSIGNMENT AND EDUCATIONAL PAY.
DURING THE, UH, JOINT COMMITTEE HEARINGS WE HAD, THERE WERE A LOT OF OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT OTHER POTENTIAL COSTS.
HAVE THOSE BEEN CALCULATED YET? AND ARE THOSE INCLUDED IN THIS? WE ARE STILL CITY ATTORNEY MICHELLE MAY HAVE TO REIGN ME IN, BUT, UM, WE'RE STILL, WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH THAT WITH THE UNION.
SO THERE COULD BE STILL AN INCREASE IN POTENTIAL COSTS BEYOND WHAT IS SPECIFIED.
PRESENTLY, WE ARE STILL WORKING THROUGH SOME OF THOSE MINIMUM STAFFING ITEMS THAT COULD NECESSITATE OVERTIME.
AS IT RELATES TO OVERTIME, DO WE HAVE AN ESTIMATE YET? WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH SOME OF THOSE PROVISIONS.
THE, THE FY 25 PROPOSED BUDGET DOES INCLUDE A BUDGET FOR OVERTIME, BUT IT'S ROUGHLY IN LINE WITH FY 20 FOUR'S BUDGET FOR OVERTIME.
AND I CHAIR, I JUST HAD ONE MORE QUESTION IF I MAY.
UM, AGAIN, WE TALK ABOUT THE FACT WE'RE BASICALLY NOT THE MOST CLEAN WAY TO DO THIS, BUT EATING THE MAJORITY OF THE RESERVE FUND BALANCE THIS FISCAL YEAR.
IF THIS GOES THROUGH AS PLANNED, UM, REGARDING THE REVENUE CAP, I KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN SOME PROPOSALS, WHETHER IT'S A, YOU KNOW, GOING BACK TO THE VOTERS, UH, TO LIFT, UH, INCREASE THE SPECIAL EXCEPTION FOR PUBLIC SAFETY TO THE REVENUE CAP MM-HMM
AND, YOU KNOW, ELIMINATE THE REVENUE CAP ALTOGETHER, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
BUT WHEN COULD THAT BE BROUGHT TO THE VOTERS TIMING WISE? SO I THINK TIMING WISE, THE EARLIEST IT COULD COME TO THE VOTERS ON A, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY ADD-ON, SIMILAR TO PROPOSITION H WOULD BE THIS NOVEMBER.
ANY SORT OF REPEAL OF THE REVENUE CAP IS A CHARTER AMENDMENT AND TWO YEARS.
AND SO MY, MY QUESTION IS, WE'RE PUTTING IN A COMMITMENT FOR FUTURE FUNDING.
ONE RELATE, WE DON'T HAVE A GUARANTEE ON SOME OF THE POTENTIAL REVENUE GEN GENERATORS, BUT WE'VE ALSO INDICATED THAT AN EXCEPTION TO THE REVENUE CAP WOULD BE IMPORTANT TO FUNDING PART OF THIS AND SUPPLEMENTING
[01:20:01]
THE NEEDS THAT WE NEED IN PUBLIC SAFETY.'CAUSE AGAIN, THERE'S A LOT MORE NEEDS THAN JUST THIS AGREEMENT, RIGHT? CORRECT.
LIKE YOU MENTIONED THE, UM, THE POLICE, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE, THE FORECAST FOR THE NEW AGREEMENT.
AND, AND THAT'S NOT INCLUDING NEW EQUIPMENT.
WE TALK ABOUT CAD, THE RMS SYSTEM, LIKE THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT COSTS WE NEED TO IMPROVE UPON THE SERVICES THAT WE ARE ALREADY PROVIDING.
SO IS IT, I'M POSING THE QUESTION OF HOW FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE IS IT WHEN WE DON'T HAVE APPROVAL FROM VOTERS AND I GUARANTEE THAT WE ARE GONNA HAVE A SIGNIFICANT FUNDING STREAM TO THEN BE PRIOR TO THAT.
I WOULD SAY IS IT PREMATURE TO BE COMMITTING ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT THE CITY CAN DO IF WE HAVE TO WAIT TILL NOVEMBER AT THE VERY EARLIEST TO START GUARANTEEING SOME OF THOSE DOLLARS IN? AND IT'S NOT EVEN GUARANTEED BECAUSE THAT'S UP TO THE VOTERS.
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR AND DIRECTOR BOBOWSKI, IF WE COULD GO BACK TO YOUR FIVE YEAR FORECAST.
SO THE LAST BULLET POINT ON PAGE 33, DEALING WITH EXPENDITURES, TALKS ABOUT CONTRACTUAL ESCALATORS.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO WHAT, UH, NUMBERS YOU USE THERE IN, IN, UH, CONTRACTUAL ESCALATORS? MM-HMM
AND I THOUGHT I HAD SOME OF THOSE DETAILS ON ONE OF THE SLIDES.
SO I THINK, WELL, ONE OF THEM I GUESS WOULD BE, UM, PERTAINING TO THE, THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT AND THE AGREEMENTS WITH THE OTHER UNIONS.
SO YOU SEE ON THE ON 30, SLIDE 35, UM, FOR THE FIRE, YOU KNOW, FOR THE, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, RANGES OF OPTIONS BETWEEN THE 3%, 3%, 4%, 4% UP TO THE 6% IN THE OUT YEARS FOR THOSE, UM, UH, FOR THAT ITEM.
AND THEN I THINK WE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OTHER, UM, WE HAVE OTHER CONTRACTS THAT THE CITY, FOR EXAMPLE, THE, UM, WE HAVE A, A CONTRACT WITH THE ZOO, UM, WHERE THERE'S A SET PAYMENT PLAN THAT WE'RE ON WITH THE ZOO.
UM, WE HAVE OTHER CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS LIKE THE, UM, THE HARRIS COUNTY TAX OFFICE THAT COLLECTS OUR PROPERTY TAX REVENUE FOR US.
SO WE MAKE CERTAIN ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT, UH, NON, UM, PERSONNEL CONTRACTS AS WELL THAT WE KNOW ARE SERVICES THAT WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN OVER TIME AND USE PROJECTIONS BASED ON HISTORICAL, UM, TRENDS FOR THOSE OTHER ITEMS. OKAY.
SO, SO THIS BULLET POINT, DOES IT EXCLUDE, UH, POSSIBLE PAY RAISES FOR POLICE AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES? SO THERE ARE, UM, CERTAIN ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE'VE MADE IN THE, IN THE FIGURES ON SLIDE 36 CERTAIN ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE'VE MADE ABOUT THOSE OUT YEARS, EVEN THOUGH THE NEGOTIATIONS IN ONE INSTANCE ARE ONGOING AND ANOTHER HASN'T BEGUN YET.
AND, AND BY THE WAY, YOU WERE ASKED ABOUT ARPA FUNDS.
HAVE WE USED ARPA FUNDS TO PAY RECURRING SALARIES? YES.
UM, LAST SET OF QUESTIONS I THINK DEALS WITH SLIDE 36, UH, BUDGET GAP FY 25 TO 29.
AND YOU POINTED OUT THAT IN THE OPTIMISTIC PROJECTION FOR FY 26, WE COULD END UP WITH, UH, WE COULD END UP IN THE BLACK, UH, IF CERTAIN REVENUE ENHANCEMENTS, UH, CAME, CAME TO FRUITION MM-HMM
AND SO CAN YOU TELL US WHICH ONES YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT? SURE.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE MAYOR SAID YESTERDAY, ALL THE OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE.
THIS, UM, THE, SOME OF THE FIGURES THAT ARE REFLECTED IN THIS SCENARIO, UH, ONE OF THEM IS A GARBAGE FEE THAT WOULD BRING IN ABOUT A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY.
THERE'S ALSO, UM, THE OTHER ITEM THAT WE MENTIONED, AND THIS IS STILL, YOU KNOW, NEEDS TO BE VETTED, BUT THE MAYOR DID TALK ABOUT IT YESTERDAY IN THE PRESS CONFERENCE, IS THERE ARE OTHER, UH, CITIES THROUGHOUT THE STATE THAT HAVE, UM, CITY OWNED UTILITIES, UH, THAT, I'M SORRY, WHAT WAS THAT? OTHER CITIES AROUND THE STATE THAT HAVE CITY OWNED UTILITIES, LIKE OKAY, UH, ELECTRICITY, UTILITIES, WATER UTILITIES.
AND, UM, SO, UH, THERE'S A, UM, DID, DID, I'M SORRY.
DID YOU ATTACH A FIGURE TO THAT PART OF THE OPTIMISTIC SCENARIO? YES, IT'S ONE OF THE OPTIONS.
UM, SO AGAIN, ALL THE OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE, AND THIS IS, THERE ARE ONLY A FEW MAYBE THAT ARE IN THESE NUMBERS, BUT THIS, THE NUMBERS THAT GET TO THIS OPTIMISTIC SCENARIO COULD BE
[01:25:01]
A RANGE OF POSSIBILITIES OF EXPENDITURE REDUCTIONS, OF REVENUE ENHANCEMENTS.UM, ONE THING THAT WE, UM, SO WE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE EVERY OPTION THAT'S ON THE TABLE IN HERE, RIGHT? IT COULD BE A COMBINATION OF SOME OF THESE OPTIONS.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE GARBAGE FEE, THE A HUNDRED DOLLARS, A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, THAT'S BASED ON THE ENTIRE CURRENT GENERAL FUND OPERATING BUDGET OF THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT.
SO WHEN WE GO THROUGH THE FEE STUDY, UH, YOU KNOW, WE MAY OR MAY NOT SET A FEE TO BE ABLE TO FULLY COLLECT THAT AMOUNT.
YOU COULD SET A FEE LESS, YOU KNOW, NOT MORE, BUT, UH, SOME COMBINATION OF REVENUE SOURCES.
BUT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ON, UH, A UTILITY RIGHT OF WAY, FRANCHISE FEE, YES, THERE'S A FIGURE CONTEMPLATED IN HERE FOR THAT.
AND THAT'S ABOUT AROUND A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS FOR THAT.
ANOTHER A HUNDRED MILLION MM-HMM
WHAT ABOUT, UH, CALLING SOME MONEY BACK FROM METRO? HAVE Y'ALL TALKED ABOUT THAT? DID YOU FIGURE THAT INTO THIS? WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT IT.
IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT ONE OF THE OPTIONS CONTEMPLATED IN HERE, BUT IT CERTAINLY COULD SUPPLEMENT OR IT COULD BE ONE OF THE LEVERS FOR SURE.
AND, AND COULD WE GET SOME MONEY BACK FROM SOME OF THE TS OR? SO THE TS RIGHT NOW, WE, UM, THERE IS FUNDING IN THE, IN THE BUDGET, IN THE REVENUES FOR WHAT WE CALL THE MUNICIPAL SERVICE CHARGE TO THE TOURS THAT THEY CURRENTLY, UH, REIMBURSE THE CITY FOR SERVICES THAT THE CITY PERFORMS INSIDE THE TOURS.
UM, CERTAINLY THAT IS AN, AN OPTION ON THE TABLE TO, TO WORK WITH THE TOURS, UM, TO SEE IF THERE CAN BE, UM, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL COST SHARING ON SERVICES THAT THE CITY'S PERFORMING IN THET ON THAT ITEM.
BUT IT'S NOT CONTEMPLATED IN THESE FIGURES, BUT THAT IS CERTAINLY ONE OF THE OPTIONS ON THE TABLE.
SORRY, REALLY QUICKLY, JUST GOING BACK TO THE TS IS FOR CLARIFICATION, WE CAN'T TAKE MONEY BACK FROM THE TURS THAT WOULD PUSH US BEYOND THE REVENUE CAP.
NOW THE TURS OFFSETS SOME OF THE WORK THAT THE CITY DOES, SO IT CAN SAVE THE CITY DOLLARS WHEN THE TURS TAKES ON EXPENSES FOR INVESTMENT OTHER THAN, FOR EXAMPLE, GO AHEAD.
SO YES, THE TS DEFINITELY DO, WE COLLECT THE PROPERTY TAX REVENUE.
WE, UM, REMIT THE INCREMENT TO THE TOURS.
THE TOURS PERFORM, UM, A VARIETY OF PROJECT COULD BE STREETS, PROJECTS, COULD BE PARKS.
THEY BUILT HOUSING, A FIRE STATION, AFFORD HOUSING, HOUSING, THINGS THAT CERTAINLY PROVIDE RELIEF TO THE GENERAL FUND AND, UM, OTHER FUNDS, ESPECIALLY ON STREETS PROJECTS.
UM, BUT THROUGH OUR CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION WITH THE TS, THE TOURIST DOES REIMBURSE US A 5% ADMIN FEE.
SO THERE ARE SOME LIMITED REVENUES THAT DO COME BACK FROM THE T TO THE CITY.
BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE REASON THE TS ARE SO CRITICAL IS IN PART THEY'RE PARTNER BECAUSE OF THE REVENUE CAP, THEY CAN ACTUALLY TAKE THE, THOSE REVENUES YES.
THAT WE COULDN'T TAKE TO GET THE WORK DONE THAT TRADITIONALLY THE CITY WOULD.
AND THOSE PROJECTS THAT THEY DO, THAT THEY TURN OVER AS CITY ASSETS BECOME, UM, YOU KNOW, THEIR, THEIR ASSETS ON OUR BOOKS.
SO THERE CERTAINLY IS VALUE GAINED FROM THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TS.
UM, DIRECTOR, I, I WANNA BE CLEAR ON THE OPE TRUST WE PUT IN 10 MILLION LAST YEAR.
ARE WE PUTTING IN AN ADDITIONAL TWO OR AN ADDITIONAL 12? SO WE'RE PUTTING IN 10 MILLION IN FY 24, AND THEN 12 AND A HALF MILLION IN 25.
SO NOT 12 AND A HALF MILLION INCREMENTAL.
SO NOT 22 AND A HALF MILLION IN 25, BUT 10, 12 AND A HALF.
AND I, AND THERE'S A, THERE'S A SCHEDULE I CAN SHARE.
UH, WITH YOU THAT LAYS IT ALL OUT.
SO IT'S THE SAME 10 FROM 24 WITH AN ADDITIONAL TWO OR NO, IT'S THE SAME.
THE 10 MILLION FROM 24, OH, OVER 12, OVER POINT HALF MILLION AND 25.
SO, SO BETWEEN FY 24 AND 25 FOR THOSE TWO YEARS TOGETHER, IT WOULD BE 22.5 MILLION.
SO IT IS, IT IS AN ADDITIONAL 12, A FULL ADDITIONAL 12 A HALF, IT'S AN ADDITIONAL 12 AND A HALF MILLION.
AND ON PENSION LEGACY, WHAT, DESCRIBE WHAT PENSION LEGACY SURE.
SO PENSION LEGACY, UM, THE WAY WE CONTRIBUTE TO THE MUNICIPAL PENSION SYSTEM, UH, IS A DIFFERENT FORMULA DICTATED IN STATE LAW COMPARED TO HOW POLICE AND FIREWORKS, UH, PENSION LEGACY IS A WAY OF THE CITY CONTRIBUTING TO THE MUNICIPAL PLAN.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS, THIS IS IN STATE LAW, IT WAS DONE THROUGH PENSION REFORM, UH, THAT THE CITY CONTRIBUTES A FIXED DOLLAR AMOUNT IN EACH YEAR TO THE, TO THE MUNICIPAL PENSION SYSTEM, PLUS A CERTAIN PERCENT OF PAY.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT, UM, PENSION LEGACY AMOUNT, PLUS THE PERCENT OF PAY IT APPROXIMATELY COMES OUT TO, IT'S ROUGHLY 30% OF PAY.
SO IT'S IN LINE WITH THE POLICE AND THE FIRE, BUT IT IS PER STATE LAW BROKEN OUT INTO A FIXED DOLLAR AMOUNT AND A PERCENTAGE
[01:30:01]
OF PAY.SO IS THAT IN ADDITION TO WHAT YOU SHOWED AS THE PENSION COSTS ON, ON WHATEVER SLIDE THAT WAS, LIKE IT WAS 325 MILLION OR SO, PENSION COSTS THAT IT INCLUDES THE PENSION LEGACY, IT INCLUDES THE PENSION LEGACY, YES.
BUT SO, AND THAT'S JUST GENERAL FUND BECAUSE WE RAN THE NUMBERS YESTERDAY ON PENSION AND IT'S MORE LIKE 4 75, BUT I GUESS THAT'S INCLUDING CORRECT.
THIS IS, THAT'S INCLUDING JUST GENERAL YES.
AND SPECIFICALLY FOR MUNICIPAL, THOSE OTHER DEPARTMENTS ARE HEAVY CONTRIBUTORS TO MUNICIPAL, RIGHT.
AIRPORT, THE ENTERPRISE PUBLIC WORKS.
UM, I WAS TOLD THAT WE, THAT THE AMENDMENT THAT WE VOTED UPON LAST BUDGET CYCLE THAT WENT TOWARDS LOCAL DRAINAGE PROJECTS, IT WAS A $20 MILLION ALLOCATION MM-HMM
UM, AND THAT THAT MONEY NEVER GOT TRANSFERRED INTO THE APPROPRIATE FUND FOR THOSE LOCAL DRAINAGE PROJECTS.
DO YOU HAVE ANY INSIGHT ON THAT? DO YOU, HAVE YOU, ARE YOU, ARE YOU AWARE OF WHERE THAT MONEY IS AND IS IT ACTUALLY GOING TOWARDS LOCAL DRAINAGE PROJECTS? THAT'S MY FIRST QUESTION.
AND YES, I BELIEVE IT WAS TRANSFERRED FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO, UM, UH, TO A CAPITAL FUND.
UH, SO AS FAR AS I KNOW THAT TRANSFER, I'M, I'M GONNA FOLLOW UP ON THAT THOUGH BECAUSE NO, AS FAR AS I KNOW THAT THAT MONEY IS STILL DEDICATED FOR THE, FOR THE LDP.
SO YES, PLEASE FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
AND IT IS THAT IT'S STILL DEDICATED FOR LDP AND WHAT PROJECTS IS IT ACTUALLY GOING TOWARDS? I THINK THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR US TO GIVE SOME CLARITY TO, UH, THE STAKEHOLDERS.
AND THEN SECOND, THE DRAINAGE FEE LITIGATION THAT WE JUST LOST IN COURT TO RECENTLY, THAT IS NOW ON APPEAL AND MAY GO THROUGH NEGOTIATIONS FOR SOME TYPE OF SETTLEMENT.
IF WE WERE TO PAY THAT, IF WE WERE TO HAVE TO PAY SOMETHING RIGHT NOW IT'S A HUNDRED MILLION, WHERE WOULD WE, OR WHERE WOULD YOU PROPOSE THAT MONEY COMES FROM? AND IF IT COMES FROM THE GENERAL FUND, THAT WOULD MAKE OUR STRUCTURE STRUCTURALLY IMBALANCED BUDGET EVEN WIDER.
SO HOW ARE WE TO FORESEE WHAT OUR STRATEGY IS TOWARDS THAT GOING FORWARD? MAYBE THE CITY ATTORNEY CAN SPEAK TO THE LEGAL STRATEGY ON THE, THE COURT PROCESS AND THE SETTLEMENT, BUT TO YOUR POINT, WELL, JUST FROM A FINANCIAL STANDPOINT POINT, FROM A FINANCIAL STANDPOINT, TO YOUR POINT, UH, THE, THE TRANSFER THAT HAPPENS TODAY, UH, FOR THE D-D-S-R-F AVALOR TRANSFER COMES FROM THE GENERAL FUND.
UH, SO IF, IF WE HAD TO COMPLY WITH THE, THE JUDGMENT, UM, YOU'RE CORRECT.
IT WOULDN'T, I THINK I, LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER KAMAN TOUCHED ON IT WOULD COME FROM THE GENERAL FUND.
SO WHY WOULDN'T WE COME UP WITH MORE REVENUES IN THIS BUDGET THEN IF WE, IF IF WE KNOW WE'RE ALREADY STRUCTURALLY IMBALANCED, WE KNOW WE'RE GOING IN THE, POSSIBLY IN THE WRONG DIRECTION, AND WE KNOW THERE'S A A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, UH, JUDGMENT OUT THERE ON US, WHY WOULDN'T WE PUT SOME REP INCREASED REVENUE IN THIS PARTICULAR BUDGET TO TRY TO MITIGATE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE DOLLARS THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO PUT OUT.
SO ON THE ADDITIONAL REVENUES, I THINK IT GOES BACK TO THE NEEDING TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS, THE FEE STUDY, TAKING TIME TO FULLY DEVELOP THOSE PROPOSALS.
SO LIKE I SAID, HOPEFULLY THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD, WE COULD EVEN DO AS SOON AS MID-YEAR.
AND THIS WAS A REALLY IMPORTANT PRESENTATION.
I WILL GO NOW TO THE PUBLIC COMMENTS.
UM, FOR THIS PARTICULAR SESSION, WE'LL START WITH, UH, LAJA NEWMAN OR AJA NEWMAN.
THANKS FOR BEING HERE AND YOUR PATIENCE.
I'M ALLEH NEWMAN, AND I'M THE SENIOR POLITICAL ORGANIZER FOR WOODY TTOS IN NAKASEC ACTION FUND, TEXAS.
UM, SO MAYOR WHITMEYER COMMITTED TO POSTING THE CITY, NOT THE CITY BUDGET, BUT CITY SPENDING ONLINE AND MENTIONED THIS MANY TIMES THROUGHOUT HIS CAMPAIGN.
THE MAYOR ALSO SPOKE ABOUT HOW DIVERSE OUR CITY IS, AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT GREAT.
WHILE YOU DO POST MONTHLY REPORTS, THERE NEEDS TO BE A DIGESTIBLE GRAPH, WHICH SHOWS ACTUALS COMPARED TO BUDGETED AMOUNTS PER MONTH.
THE CURRENTLY POSTED VERSIONS ARE NOT DIGESTIBLE FOR NATIVE SPEAKERS, NOR ENGLI, NON-ENGLISH PREFERRED SPEAKERS.
EVEN SITTING THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION TODAY, I FELT LIKE I WAS LOST.
AND JUST BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A DEGREE IN FINANCE OR I'M AN ADULT WITH A FULL-TIME JOB, DOESN'T
[01:35:01]
MEAN THAT IT SHOULD BE EXPECTED OF ME TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED TODAY.I SHOULD, ANYONE OFF THE STREET SHOULD BE ABLE TO COME INTO THIS BUDGET WORKSHOP AND FEEL LIKE THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON WITH OUR MONEY BECAUSE IT'S OURS.
SO, UM, I'M WONDERING WHAT IS THE MORE TRANSPARENT VERSION OF THE BUDGET THAT THE MAYOR IS PROPOSING DURING HIS CAMPAIGN? AND WHAT STEPS ARE YOU TAKING AFTER THIS BUDGET WORKSHOP OUTSIDE OF THE TOWN HALLS THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HOST TO CLOSE THESE GAPS, AND WHAT STEPS ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE ALSO LANGUAGE ACCESSIBLE? THERE ARE 145 LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN HOUSTON.
AND WE ARE, UM, TRANSLATING THE BUDGET OVERVIEW DOCUMENT THAT'S IN THE, WORKS INTO SEVERAL LANGUAGES, UM, TO YOUR LANGUAGE POINT.
AND WE HOPE THAT THE TOWN HALLS WILL, WILL BE INSTRUCTIVE.
AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE DONE 'EM, SO WE'RE HAPPY TO BE OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITIES, UM, BRINGING, UM, BRINGING THE BUDGET TO THE COMMUNITIES AND GETTING FEEDBACK FROM THEM.
BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ALICIA, FOR BEING HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER POLLARD, UH, EXCUSE ME.
I'M SORRY I DIDN'T, I JUST WANTED TO, WANTED TO COMMENT AS WELL.
UM, VERY GOOD QUESTIONS FOR ONE, THANK YOU.
UM, CAN'T SPEAK FOR WHAT THE MAYOR'S GONNA DO, BUT I THINK, UM, WE ALL HAVE TO UNDERSTAND IT.
IT'S ALMOST A $7 BILLION BUDGET.
IT IS GONNA BE PRETTY COMPLICATED AT TIMES.
UH, AND WE HAVE ALL THESE DIFFERENT FUNDS AND, AND, AND WAYS IN WHICH WE ALLOCATE THE DOLLARS, BUT THE INDIVIDUALS AROUND THE HORSESHOE ARE WHO YOU ELECTED.
AND SO I THINK WHEN IT COMES TO TRYING TO SIMPLIFY IT, YOU PUT THAT ON THE INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS TO SAY, OKAY, THESE ARE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS THAT I MAY HAVE.
YOU REPRESENT ME, WHETHER FROM A DISTRICT OR AT LARGE STANDPOINT, HOW CAN YOU SIMPLIFY THIS FOR US TO BE MORE DIGESTIBLE, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT MAY BE DIFFICULT TO PUT ALL THIS IN A, IN A DIGESTIBLE MANNER, BUT IF THERE ARE SPECIFICS REGARDING THIS TO WHERE YOU CAN SAY, HEY, ON THIS PAGE OR THAT PAGE, WE DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND THIS, OR WE HAVE A A, A FOCUS ON HOUSING OR A FOCUS ON PARKS.
CAN YOU DIGEST THIS FOR US? I THINK, UH, WE CAN COLLABORATE AND COMMUNICATE WITH YOU ALL AND TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO BREAK IT DOWN TO WHERE EVEN IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT, WE CAN HAVE A BACK AND FORTH UNTIL YOU DO.
UH, SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE THOSE WHO, UH, WANT IT TO BE MORE SIMPLIFIED, UH, TO REACH OUT TO US.
I KNOW FROM MY OFFICE, WE WILL TRY TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.
'CAUSE SOMETIMES IT'S DIFFICULT FOR ME AS WELL.
AND FROM A LANGUAGE STANDPOINT, TRY TO FIND THE RESOURCES TO ENSURE THOSE COMMUNITIES HAVE ACCESS AS WELL.
MY FOLLOW UP TO THAT IS, WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO POST ANY ANSWERS ONLINE? THERE ARE A LOT OF FOLKS WHO EITHER DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO TRANSPORTATION, UM, WHO DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET.
UM, WE DO HAVE A LARGE HOMELESS POPULATION AND THEY STILL DESERVE TO BE INFORMED.
SO WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO POST ANY DISCUSSIONS OR RESULTS OF THOSE ON YOUR WEBSITE? YEAH, IN THE PAST, I THINK WE'VE, WE'VE ASKED THE PUBLIC TO SEND US ANSWERS OR SEND IT TO THE, SEND IT OVER TO THE GO AHEAD.
AND I, I ACTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING ONLINE, A QUESTION, UM, FORM ON MY, UM, THE BFA WEBSITE, ON MY WEBSITE AT THE AT LARGE FIVE WEBSITE.
ANY QUESTIONS I'M HAPPY TO PUT, WE'RE COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT, HAPPY TO PUT ANSWERS UP.
UM, MEMBERS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE AN INTERNAL DOCUMENT CALLED SHAREPOINT, UM, THAT WE SUBMIT INDIVIDUAL LIKE FROM COUNCIL MEMBER QUESTIONS.
THAT'S OUR, JUST OUR CONDUIT TO GET THE QUESTIONS TO THE DEPARTMENTS.
PLEASE, UM, REACH OUT TO JORDAN, UM, ANY NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO WANNA WALK THROUGH THE SHAREPOINT SITUATION.
AND THEN, UM, I'M MORE HAPPY TO GET, UM, ANY, UH, TO BE TRANSPARENT WITH THE ANSWERS THAT COME FORTH.
JUST ONE LAST, UH, REITERATION OF A QUESTION.
SO I PROPOSE THAT YOU PUT POST THE ACTUALS AGAINST THE, UM, BUDGETED AMOUNT.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN COMMIT TO DOING FOR EVERY MONTH? YEAH, THAT THE ADMINISTRATION DOES A MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT WHERE YOU PUT THE CURRENT, CURRENT BUDGET IN WITH THE, AGAINST THE, THE PROPO AGAINST THE BUDGET THAT WAS PASSED EACH, EACH MONTH WHEN I'VE LOOKED, IT HASN'T BEEN, UM, COMPARED TO THE BUDGETED AMOUNT.
SO I THINK MAYBE IT'S WORTH TAKING ANOTHER LOOK AND, UH, BEING ABLE TO POST THAT SO WE CAN SEE WHAT WAS, WHAT WAS EXPECTED AND WHAT WAS BUDGETED ACCORDING AGAINST WHAT WAS ACTUALLY SPENT.
WE, WE CAN TALK TO YOU OFFLINE ABOUT THAT.
I THINK THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL DOES HAVE THAT FOR YOU, BUT WE'LL GET IT TO YOU.
NEXT, TERRY CHEN, WE ACTUALLY HAVE SOME FORMS TO PASS AROUND FOR
HELLO, MY NAME IS TERRY CHEN AND I'M A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER FOR WOODY JUNTOS AND DISTRICT A.
I AM ALSO A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT H.
TODAY I AM TALKING ABOUT LANGUAGE ACCESS WITH THIS DEPARTMENT, SINCE IT AFFECTS ALL OF MAYOR WHIT'S PRIORITIES OF PUBLIC SAFETY INFRASTRUCTURE.
[01:40:01]
THANK YOU.UM, GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS AND QUALITY OF LIFE, ESPECIALLY QUALITY OF LIFE.
UM, IT SHOULDN'T BE CONSIDERED JUST UNDER THE DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS.
HOW MUCH DOES THIS CITY OF HOUSTON SPEND ON LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION AND TRANSLATION PER DEPARTMENT? CAN WE EXPLICITLY SHOW THIS MOVING FORWARD IN OUR BUDGETS? UM, IN OTHER CITIES SUCH AS AUSTIN, DALLAS, AND SAN ANTONIO, THEY HAVE DEDICATED BUDGETS, UM, AND DEPARTMENTS FOR THE ENTIRE CITY REGARDING LANGUAGE ACCESS.
UH, THEY HAVE BUDGET LINE ITEMS FOR LANGUAGE ACCESS.
THE CITY OF AUSTIN ALONE HAS SPENT, UH, CLOSE TO A MILLION DOLLARS ON INTERPRETATION AND TRANSLATION, AND THEY'RE ABLE TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION EASILY WITH PEOPLE.
UM, AND WE ARE FALLING BEHIND.
I FEEL LIKE HOUSTON IS OBVIOUSLY BETTER THAN AUSTIN.
UM, AND LASTLY, CAN YOU COMMIT TO TRANSLATING THE BUDGET PRESENTATIONS DURING THE BUDGET CONVERSATION MEETING INTO VARIOUS LANGUAGES? THANK YOU.
AS I STATED BEFORE, WE ARE TRANS, UH, PROVIDING THE BUDGET OVERVIEW DOCUMENT.
I MEAN, IT'S A 600 PAGE DOCUMENT AND THE PRESENTATIONS WOULD ADD UP TO A LOT.
WE DID LOOK INTO ALL THE COSTS OF THIS, AND WE ARE WILLING TO, WE ARE DOING THE BUDGET OVERVIEW, UM, LANGUAGE, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU ONE-ON-ONE IF WE NEED SOMETHING SPECIFIC DONE.
UM, UH, AS FAR AS THE, UM, LANGUAGE, UM, THAT INTERPRETATION, WE HAD A BIG DISCUSSION OF THAT ON CITY COUNCIL TODAY.
WE PASSED A CONTRACT FOR LANGUAGE TESTING FOR OUR FIRST RESPONDERS, AND WE, UM, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS READY FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS ON THAT VERY TOPIC, WHICH WILL BE LATER ON THIS AFTERNOON.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING.
I THOUGHT YOU WERE SAYING HE WASN'T HERE.
JASON, NICE TO SEE YOU AS WELL.
I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE RETURN OF THE VIRTUAL OPTION.
I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE RETURN OF THE VIRTUAL OPTION.
IT, IT CAN DEFINITELY BE A CHALLENGE TO LIKE COME HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY.
UH, AND I'M ALSO REALLY EXCITED FOR THE TOWN HALLS, SO DEFINITELY SHARING THAT OUT AND, AND LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.
UH, FOR, FOR YEARS THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT HAS HIGHLIGHTED THE SERVICE CHALLENGES THAT WILL RESULT FROM THE ENDING OF THE 1115 WAIVER.
THINKING ABOUT THAT, ARE THERE ANY OTHER LIKE, MAJOR DEPARTMENT REVENUE LOSSES THAT WE'RE EXPECTING TO SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT SERVICE DELIVERY IN THE NEAR TERM? AND HOW ARE WE PLANNING AHEAD TO ADDRESS THEM? DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? SO LIKE, ARE THERE ANY OTHER SIGNIFICANT REVENUE LOSSES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT WITHIN THE, THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS AND LIKE, HOW ARE WE GETTING AHEAD OF THAT? WE WILL GET THAT QUESTION ANSWERED FOR YOU.
AND THEN I KNOW THE, UM, HOPE MUNICIPAL UNION NEGOTIATIONS CAME UP.
I MEAN, UH, UNION NEGOTIATIONS ARE A BIG ISSUE.
THIS, THIS BUDGET CYCLING WILL DEFINITELY BE AN ISSUE THIS NEXT BUDGET CYCLE.
UH, SO I'M WONDERING ABOUT WHERE WE CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE MUNICIPAL UNION NEGOTIATIONS.
ARE THEY PUBLIC? UH, AND ALSO WITH THE MEET AND CONFER AGREEMENT WITH THE POLICE UNION SCHEDULED TO END DURING FISCAL YEAR 2025, SINCE IT WILL LIKELY BE RENEGOTIATED SOON WITH THE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT THAT THESE CONTRACTS HAVE ON OUR BUDGET.
WE'LL COUNCIL WORK WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO PUSH FOR MORE TRANSPARENCY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE HAVE IN OTHER LARGE TEXAS CITIES.
FOR EXAMPLE, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS INCLUDE PRESENTATIONS DURING THE AMAZING NEW LABOR COMMITTEE, UH, AS WELL AS PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE NEGOTIATIONS.
AND I'M SURE, UM, WE WILL CHECK BACK WITH YOU WITH THE LABOR COMMITTEE, BUT YOU'RE, YOU'RE RIGHT, WE DO HAVE, UM, POLICE NEGOTIATIONS WILL BE COMING UP THIS YEAR AND WE HAVE H MEPS NEGOTIATIONS GOING ON UNDERWAY.
SO GOOD QUESTIONS AND WE WILL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT THE TOWN HALLS.
HOPING, YEAH, HOPING TO SEE THAT SUPPORT.
SEE THAT YOU'RE ON, I I SEE THAT YOU'RE ON SARAH SIX TO UNMUTE.
SO SORRY, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO GET YOU RIGHT NOW.
[01:45:01]
MY NAME IS STEVEN WU.I AM THE ORGANIZING AND POLICY DIRECTOR FOR WOODY JUNTOS.
AND I HAVE A VERY SIMPLE COMMENT AND QUESTION.
SO, NUMBER ONE, I JUST WANT TO REITERATE OUR APPRECIATION THAT, UH, YOU CHAIR AND THE AND COUNCIL HAVE MADE THIS PROCESS FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND TRANSPARENCY WITH THE BUDGET MUCH BETTER THAN IT HAS IN YEARS PAST WITH THE TOWN HALLS WITH THE 2 CENTS SURVEY THAT HAS ALSO BEEN TRANSLATED IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES.
UM, BUT THE ONE THING THAT I COME BACK TO IS, SO WE HAVE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO ARE NOT ABLE TO COME THIS WEEK BECAUSE THEY'RE PREPARING, THEY WRITE THEIR TESTIMONIES, THEY THINK ABOUT THE ISSUES THAT MATTER TO THEM.
SOME OF THEM ARE LANGUAGE ACCESS, SOME OF THEM ARE HOUSING RELATED, SOME OF THEM ARE JUST, YOU KNOW, CIVIC JUST BEING INVOLVED IN CIVIC LIFE AND HAVING THE BUDGET, PROPOSED BUDGET BEING RELEASED A DAY BEFORE THE BUDGET WORKSHOP BEGIN.
AND YOU ALL REFERENCED 600 PAGES.
AND THEN IT'S ALSO BIFURCATED BY DIFFERENT PRESENTATIONS THAT ARE RELEASED GENERALLY PRETTY CLOSE TO THE WORKSHOPS.
MY MAIN QUESTION IS, IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE THE PROPOSED BUDGET RELEASED EARLIER TO GIVE THE COMMUNITY MORE TIME TO REVIEW THEM AND DIGEST THEM, AND THEN PROPOSE THE QUESTIONS WHEN THEY COME UP FOR THESE WORKSHOPS AND TOWN HALLS? WE, WE ADVOCATED FOR THAT.
I WANT YOU TO KNOW, AND, UM, AND I HAVE BEEN GIVEN ASSURANCE DIRECTOR THAT THAT IS GOING TO OCCUR NEXT YEAR,
THE TIMING WAS SUCH THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE A LITTLE MORE TIME ON THE BACKEND THAN I, THAN I EXPECTED, BUT I AGREE WITH YOU, IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE THE BUDGET IN HAND FOR, FOR A LONGER TIME.
SO, UH, I, I PUSHED FOR THAT AND WE'RE GONNA GET IT NEXT YEAR.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMENT AND THANKS FOR YOUR ENGAGEMENT.
WHAT, WHAT IS THE, UM, THAT'S GREAT TO HEAR.
WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR NEXT YEAR? WAS IT, UM, THE WEEKS OR MONTHS BEFORE? I, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT DATES, BUT YOU'LL BE LOOKING AT KIND OF THE SAME KIND OF, UH, MID-MAY, UH, RELEASE OR MAYBE A LITTLE BIT EARLIER RELEASE.
UM, SO MAYBE SECOND WEEK IN MAY, OR, OR THIS IS THE SECOND WEEK IN MAY, I DON'T KNOW, A WEEK EARLIER THAN THIS.
HOPEFULLY, UH, THAT WILL, THEY'LL GET IT OUT FOR A LITTLE BIT FOR AN EXTRA WEEK BUILT IN.
UM, SO, SO THE PUBLIC AND COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL HAVE MORE TIME BEFORE WE JUMP RIGHT INTO WORKSHOPS.
I, I WOULD ENCOURAGE IF, IF A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME, I WOULD SAY A MONTH.
I KNOW OTHER CITIES DO, YEAH, I DON'T KNOW, A MONTH.
I'VE GOT FINANCE DEPARTMENT PEOPLE.
I THINK THAT THIS IS A MONUMENTAL EFFORT.
AND I HAVE TO RESPECT THEIR, THEIR, THEIR TIME.
I'VE BEEN AT THE CITY A LONG TIME.
THERE WAS MORE TIME BUILT IN AND I THINK THAT'S A, A SMART THING.
SO WE'LL GET AS MUCH AS WE POSSIBLY CAN, BUT THANK YOU.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
UM, NEXT WE'LL HAVE, OH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KABAN.
SORRY, JUST I WANTED TO ADD ON TO THAT, UM, JUST TO EMPHASIZE, I KNOW IT'S ALREADY BEEN SAID, BUT, UM, TO OTHER MEMBERS THAT CAN'T BE HERE, WANT TO ENGAGE AFTER ATTEMPTING TO DIGEST THIS, AND IT IS HARD.
I FULLY RECOGNIZE THAT MM-HMM
UM, YOU CAN STILL SUBMIT QUESTIONS ONLINE.
UM, YOU CAN STILL ENGAGE THROUGH THE PORTALS IF PEOPLE DON'T HAVE ACCESS, UM, ONLINE.
I KNOW THAT YOU ALL ARE SO WELL ORGANIZED.
YOU CAN IDEALLY HELP FACILITATE WITH THAT AS WE CONTINUE TO MAKE THESE IMPROVEMENTS AND YOU ALL BRING AND DO A GREAT JOB OF SHOWING US KIND OF WHERE THOSE BLIND SPOTS ARE.
UM, BUT IN ADDITION TO SUBMITTING ONLINE AND COUNCIL MEMBER, ALCORN HAS DONE A REALLY GREAT JOB WITH THE WEBSITE IN DOING THIS, UM, A LOT OF THE FEEDBACK THAT YOU'RE PROVIDING TODAY, WE ARE HEARING MM-HMM
UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO SHARE THAT FEEDBACK AT THE TOWN HALLS AS WELL.
UM, SO HOPEFULLY YOU'LL, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST ONE AND DONE TODAY MM-HMM
BUT I WANNA ENCOURAGE FOLKS REGARDLESS OF IF IT'S RELEASED A WEEK EARLIER OR NOT, UM, BECAUSE THIS IS GOING ON FOR THE NEXT THREE WEEKS TO SUBMIT ONLINE SO THAT WE CAN GET THOSE ANSWERS TO YOU ALL AS WELL.
AND THEN YOU ALSO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC SESSION COMMENT.
I MEAN THE WHOLE, UH, AS THE DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI SAID, UM, A BIG TE OF OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING IS PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, RIGHT? IS HEARING FROM THE, FROM THE PUBLIC, WHAT OUTCOMES DO YOU WANNA SEE FROM THIS BUDGET.
UH, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE EVERY ANSWER AT THESE TOWN HALLS, BUT WE CERTAINLY WANNA GET THE QUESTIONS AND WE WANNA GET 'EM BACK.
SO HOPEFULLY THAT'LL BE A GOOD, A GOOD AVENUE THROUGH WHICH YOU CAN SUBMIT MORE QUESTIONS.
AND NEXT WE WILL HAVE SABA BLANDING WELCOME, SABA.
[01:50:03]
INCREASING STAFFING AND POLICE AND FIRE.HOUSTON IS WELL ABOVE THE MEDIAN AND POLICE STAFFING AMONG OUR TEXAS PEERS, AND WE HAVE OVER 80 LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES OPERATING IN OUR AREA.
WITH THAT IN MIND, WOULD COUNCIL MEMBERS BE WILLING TO SUPPORT PRIORITIZING PUBLIC SAFETY THROUGH INVESTMENTS IN OTHER CITY FUNCTIONS SUCH AS CODE ENFORCEMENT AND YOUTH ANTI-GANG PROGRAMMING? YOU KNOW, I LOVE ME SOME PREVENTION AND MITIGATION.
AND, AND WE ARE HAPPY TO ASK ABOUT, UM, SPECIFIC INCREASES IN THOSE PROGRAMS. ALSO, UH, I DID HEAR THE MAYOR SAY MANY TIMES YESTERDAY ABOUT GREATER COLLABORATION WITH THE OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.
WE HAVE MANY IN THE CITY, AND HE IS, UH, WHAT I'M HEARING IS DEDICATED TO WORKING TOWARDS GREATER COOPERATION AND COLLABORATION TO, UH, FOR THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO WORK TOGETHER.
AND, UM, MY SECOND QUESTION IS, THE CITY IS DISCUSSING REMOVING THE REVENUE CAP, BUT THE CONVERSATION HAS EXCLUDED MANY OF OUR ESSENTIAL CITY DEPARTMENTS WITH POLICE AND FIRE BEING SO MUCH LARGER THAN OTHER DEPARTMENTS, WE COULD MAKE A MUCH BIGGER IMPACT BY INVESTING IN THE LIBRARY, HOUSING, OR NEIGHBORHOODS AND ADDRESSING SOME OF THE LONGSTANDING ISSUES THAT ARE VITAL TO PUBLIC SAFETY AND QUALITY OF LIFE.
I'M THE HOUSTON POET LAUREATE FROM 2023 TO 2025 AS APPOINTED BY THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION.
UM, MY CREATIVE WRITING PEDAGOGY AND LESSON PLANS ARE REALLY ROOTED IN PRACTICES THAT INCREASE LITERACY AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT HERE IN TEXAS.
THERE'S REALLY A TARGETED ATTACK ON, UM, BOTH OF THOSE THINGS.
UH, AND SO I REALIZED THAT WE STARTED TO PRIORITIZE THINGS LIKE FEAR-MONGERING AND EXCESS POLICING IN THIS STATE.
UM, AND I NOTICED ON THIS BUDGET, POLICE AND FIRE ARE LISTED AS A BUDGET LIMITATION BECAUSE OF THEIR OUTSIZED IMPACT ON THE GENERAL FUND.
WE KNOW THAT DEPARTMENTS LIKE PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS COULD REALLY BENEFIT FROM GENERAL FUNDS AND EVEN RELY ON OUTSIDE FUNDING LIKE GRANTS.
WE HEARD THAT LAST YEAR AND THE LIBRARIES PRESENTATION THAT WE WERE LIKE REALLY RELYING ON GRANTS.
UM, HOW ARE WE BEING STRATEGIC AND CAUTIOUS WITH INCREASING SPENDING ON POLICING IN A STATE WHERE WE'RE BASICALLY PROHIBITED FROM REDUCING POLICE SPENDING REGARDLESS OF WHATEVER CHALLENGES WE FACE AS A CITY? IS THAT A CONSIDERATION THAT'S PRESENT IN THIS BUDGET? UM, THAT'S MY FIRST QUESTION.
MY SECOND QUESTION IS HOW DO WE SEE, UH, HOW DOES THIS PROPOSED BUDGET ADDRESS ISSUES THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE CITY, UH, IN TERMS OF EFFICIENCY, STAFFING, COMPENSATION, AND A NEED FOR MORE AUDITING TO EXAMINE THE UNDERLYING PROBLEMS, CONTRIBUTING TO THE CHALLENGES LIKE HPDS SYSTEM-WIDE FAILURES.
THANK YOU FOR THOSE QUESTIONS AND WE ARE TRACKING YOUR QUESTIONS AND WE'LL MAKE SURE YOU GET ANSWERS.
UM, AND IF I STILL HAVE TIME, I ALSO WANNA ITERATE THAT, UM, I'VE BEEN DOING WORKSHOPS AT THE LIBRARIES HERE AT, UH, THE JULIA IEN, JULIA IEN BUILDING AT THE HUNTINGTON LIBRARY IN ALE AND IN THE NICK HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARY.
AND HAVE BEEN GETTING ANSWERS, UH, THROUGH CREATIVE WRITING POETRY SESSIONS, UH, ABOUT WHAT FOLKS WOULD LIKE TO SEE FROM NOT ONLY OUR CITY DEPARTMENTS, BUT FROM, UH, OUR LEADERS AS A WHOLE.
SO IF THOSE ARE THINGS THAT Y'ALL WOULD BE INTERESTED IN, I'D BE HAPPY TO SHARE THEM WITH YOU.
WAIT, HOLD ON JUST ONE MOMENT, MS. BROWN.
UM, YOU MENTIONED THE HEIGHTS LIBRARY AND ONE OF MY CONCERNS, UH, THAT I'LL BE SPEAKING TO LIBRARIES ABOUT IS THE FACT THAT THE HEIGHTS LIBRARY, NOT ONLY HISTORIC, BUT IT'S ONE OF THE TOP THREE MOST USED LIBRARIES IN THE ENTIRE CITY AND RANKED HIGHEST FOR, UM, DEFERRED MAINTENANCE ISSUES.
THE WINDOWS ARE LEAKING, THE BASEMENT FLOODS.
UM, I WOULD WELCOME ANY OF THE FEEDBACK YOU HAVE REGARDING THAT LIBRARY.
UM, AND WHAT YOU'VE HEARD ON THAT, GIVEN YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING IN THE LIBRARY WITH THOSE FAMILIES THAT USE IT EVERY SINGLE WEEK.
YEAH, SO I WILL SAY THAT WAS THE LIBRARY THAT HAS HAD THE MOST ATTENDANCE FOR MY, MY WORKSHOPS AS WELL.
UM, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE QUALITY OF THAT LIBRARY AND OTHER LIBRARIES HAVE BEEN STARK.
UH, SO I WOULD SAY JUST FROM A PERSONAL STANDPOINT, IT'S ONE THAT I WOULD WANT TO INVEST IN MORE BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF ATTENDANCE CONSIDERING, UH, EVEN WITH THE AILEY LIBRARY, THAT'S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, UM, WAS LESS ATTENDANCE THAN THE HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARY.
SO, UH, ANY SORT OF ADDITIONAL, UM, FINANCES, FUNDS, CUSTODIAL STAFF THAT COULD GO TO THE TOWARDS THAT LIBRARY WOULD BE WONDERFUL.
SO IF YOU COULD SEND MY OFFICE, JUST EMAIL ME SOME OF YOUR FEEDBACK RELATED TO THAT.
AGAIN, THERE'S, I THINK ASSUMPTIONS WHEN YOU SAY THE HEIGHTS, THERE'S ASSUMPTIONS, BUT WHEN YOU ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE FAMILIES THAT ARE UTILIZING, UM, THOSE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE, UM, IT'S EXTREMELY DIVERSE.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF FAMILIES THERE THAT DESERVE TO HAVE A QUALITY LIBRARY THAT ISN'T, UM, IN THE STATUS OF DISREPAIR THAT IT'S IN.
I DEFINITELY AGREE, BUT I WOULD ALSO SAY ONE OF THE REASONS WHY IS BECAUSE IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE ACCESSIBLE WALKING WISE.
[01:55:01]
HAD, UM, BETTER LIKE SIDEWALKS AROUND THEM, I THINK IT WOULD BE, UH, WE WOULD SEE MORE ATTENDANCE IN THOSE PLACES.THANK YOU TO ALL THE PUBLIC SPEAKERS THAT CAME.
UH, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A QUICK BREAK NOW AND NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
I REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S PATIENCE.
WE GOT AN HOUR LATE START DUE TO THE MAYOR'S PRESS CONFERENCE, AND THIS IS SO IMPORTANT, UM, THAT THE FIRST PRESENTATION WAS REALLY IMPORTANT, AS YOU COULD TELL BY ALL THE NUMBERS OF QUESTIONS IN THE HORSESHOE AND, AND FROM THE PUBLIC.
UM, WE HAVE SOMEBODY OUT HERE.
I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU'RE GONNA GO BACK TO SARA SIDE.
THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT.
I HOPE WE DIDN'T LOSE YOU AGAIN.
YEAH, I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE HAVING SOME DIFFICULTY GETTING ON AND I REALLY APOLOGIZE.
AS THE SENIOR COMMUNITY ORGANIZER FOR WOODY JUNTOS HERE IN HOUSTON AND DISTRICT A, UM, I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR HEARING US OUT.
UM, AFTER THIS BSA, UM, WORKSHOP, I DID HAVE A QUESTION THAT I JUST WANTED TO POSE.
UH, THERE IS A POTENTIAL GRANT OPPORTUNITY THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY REVIEWING WITH OUR PARTNER AT THE NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR NEW AMERICANS.
AND WE WILL BE PROVIDING POINTS FOR THIS BODY WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT AS WE FEEL THAT THIS OUTSIDE FUNDING COULD CONTRIBUTE TO LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY, UH, LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY.
IN THE SHORT TERM, WE HOPE THAT THIS COULD, THIS FUNDING COULD CENTRALIZE MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS INCLUDING EMERGENCY ALERTS UNDER OEM, OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OR INCREASE LIVE REALTIME INTERPRETATION THROUGH THE OFFICE OF NEW AMERICANS.
IN THE LONG TERM, WE HOPE TO COMMIT THIS TYPE OF FUNDING, THIS GRANT FUNDING, IF WE DO HELP FACILITATE TO THE CREATION OF A LANGUAGE ACCESS OFFICE, AS HARRIS COUNTY HAS ALREADY MOVED TO DO THIS TOO, AS OF THIS QUARTER, WE'RE HOPING THE CITY DOES AS WELL.
IS THIS SOMETHING THAT THIS BODY WOULD CONSIDER DOING? UM, IF, IF WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRING A GRANT TO THE TABLE WITH COMMUNAL SUPPORT, IS THIS SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD DEDICATE THEM TO LANGUAGE ACCESS? UM, AND AS WE'VE HEARD SOME OF THE SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM GOALS, WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE AS WELL THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATIONS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BRINGING UP THOSE POINTS.
APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR BEING ONLINE.
WE'LL TAKE A SHORT BREAK AND THEN WE'LL HAVE THE FINANCE, UM, PRESENTATION.
AND AGAIN, APOLOGIES FOR THE, FOR THE LATE HOUR.