* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:22] OKAY EVERYBODY, WELCOME BACK VALERIE BARRY AND GREAT TO SEE YOU DIRECTOR TINA PAEZ. WE WILL NOW GO OVER THE ADMINISTRATION AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS FFY 2025 PROPOSED BUDGET. I NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHY IT'S NOT ADMINISTRATIVE AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS, WHICH WOULD BE MORE GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT, BUT THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT. BUT HERE, BUT IT'S IN THE ORDINANCES THIS WAY, SO WE HAVE TO KEEP SAYING IT. BUT YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT. I KNOW. WELL, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND SAY ADMINISTRATIVE AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS. THE FLOOR IS YOURS. THANK YOU. UM, GOOD AFTERNOON, WILL CHRIS NEWPORT STOLE MY THUNDER 'CAUSE HE BROUGHT IN OUR PUPPIES. UM, SO I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING THAT EXCITING FOR YOU, BUT I DO HAVE OUR AMAZING A RA EXECUTIVE TEAM IF YOU GUYS WOULD ALL PLEASE STAND. WE STILL THINK THAT IT'S THE BEST CIVILIAN EXECUTIVE TEAM IN THE CITY. LET'S BEGIN AT SLIDE THREE. ARAS PROGRAMS OVERLAP ACROSS MORE THAN ONE STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE. FOR EXAMPLE, OUR ANIMAL SERVICES PROGRAM ALIGNS WITH BOTH SUB PUBLIC SAFETY AND QUALITY OF LIFE. ALSO, ARAS PROGRAM SPAN ACROSS ALL OF THE ADMINISTRATION'S STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES AND AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, SO THE TAKEAWAY HERE IS THAT ARAS RESPONSIBILITIES SPAN MULTIPLE CITY PRIORITIES. A RA WILL SEE AN, OH, SORRY, NEXT SLIDE JORDAN. UH, YEAH, WE WERE STARTING AT SLIDE THREE. SO IF YOU WOULD GO TO SLIDE FIVE. OKAY. A RA WILL SEE AN OVERALL NET DECREASE IN OUR BUDGET FOR FY 25 OF APPROXIMATELY 3%. THE NUMBERS THAT YOU SEE ON THIS SLIDE ARE NET OF THE INCREASES THAT YOU'VE SEEN FOR EVERY DEPARTMENT FOR HEALTH BENEFITS AND FOR RESTRICTED ACCOUNTS STARTING WITH ANIMAL SERVICES. YOU REMEMBER THAT IN FY 24 BARK RECEIVES SEVERAL ONE-TIME ADDITIONS TO THEIR BUDGET FOR SPECIAL PROGRAMS THAT THEY HAD FOR SPAY NEUTER AND SHELTER CLEANING AND LIVE RELEASE. THOSE ARE BEING TAKEN OUT FOR FY 25 BECAUSE THEY WERE JUST FOR FY 24. SO YOU SEE A NET 6% DECREASE IN THEIR EXPENDITURE BUDGET. NEXT YOU SEE A 16% DECREASE IN THE EXECUTIVE OVERSIGHT PROGRAM, WHICH IS MY OFFICE. AND THAT REFLECTS THE TRANSFER OF TWO EMPLOYEES FROM MY OFFICE TO THE RET COST CENTER TO SAVE MONEY. WE HAD TWO VACANCIES IN THE RESILIENT COST CENTER THAT CAME UP DURING THIS FISCAL YEAR AND WE MOVED TWO EMPLOYEES FROM MY CALL CENTER TO THAT COST CENTER TO COVER THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES. SO WE ENDED UP HAVING A LARGE DECREASE IN EXECUTIVE OVERSIGHT AND A SMALL DECREASE IN THE RESILIENCE PROGRAM. NEXT, THERE IS A 13% INCREASE IN ON-STREET PARKING MANAGEMENT, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE OF AN ANTICIPATED INCREASE IN OUR COSTS FOR HAVING ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS FOR PARKING AS WELL AS OUR BOOTING COSTS. AND FINALLY, THERE'S A 6% INCREASE IN REGULATORY PERMITTING, BUT THAT'S JUST FOR ONE TIME FUNDING FOR THE SHORT TERM RENTALS PROGRAM. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AS WE WERE WATCHING THE PRESENTATIONS LAST WEEK, WE SAW THAT SEVERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT THE 5% REQUESTED CUT. SO I ADDED THIS SLIDE TO SHOW YOU THE CALCULATION OF THE 5% CUT AS WELL AS THE SPECIFIC CUTS THAT WERE ALSO APPROVED BY THE MAYOR. SO FOR A RA, IT'S ABOUT A 3.52% CUT IN A GENERAL FUND. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THE FIRST OF OUR EIGHT PROGRAM AREAS IS AN OVERARCHING PROGRAM THAT'S CALLED ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES AND THIS INCLUDES A LOT OF OUR INTERNAL SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS. POLICY, PAYROLL, BAIL SERVICES, ASSET DISPOSITION, BUT IT ALSO INCLUDES OUR FRANCHISE ADMINISTRATION GROUP, WHICH IS THE GROUP THAT COLLECTS ABOUT $150 MILLION WORTH OF REVENUE AND FRANCHISE FEES FOR THE GENERAL FUND. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AND THESE ARE JUST THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES GROUP. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THE BARK ANIMAL SHELTER IS FUNDED THROUGH THE BARK SPECIAL REVENUE FUND AND FOR FY 25 BARK'S BUDGET IS $14.7 MILLION. BUT OF THAT 14.7, 12.89 MILLION IS THE TRANSFER FROM THE GENERAL FUND. LIKE ALL PUBLIC ANIMAL SHELTERS, BARK HAS STRUGGLED SINCE THE PANDEMIC. ALL OF OUR PARTNERS, RESCUE, FOSTER, AND TRANSPORT ARE ALL AT CAPACITY, SO GETTING TO LIVE RELEASES MUCH HARDER THAN IT WAS PRE PANDEMIC. AND YOU SEE THAT REFLECTED IN OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES IF YOU'LL LOOK AT THE TARGET FOR FY 25. SOMETHING ELSE TO NOTE ON THIS SLIDE IS THAT BARC HAS ALREADY RECEIVED MORE THAN 51,000 CALLS FOR ENFORCEMENT THIS YEAR. OUR CALLS FOR ENFORCEMENT HAVE BEEN SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER THAN EVER BEFORE. WE THINK THAT THIS YEAR WE'LL SET A RECORD OF 60,000 BEFORE THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR. BARC CAN ONLY RESPOND TO 56 TO 59% OF THOSE CALLS BASED ON OUR STAFFING. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE PRIORITY ONE, TWO, AND THREE CALLS ARE THE ONES THAT [00:05:01] THEY CAN ANSWER A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE TIME. AND THEY DO. YOU'LL SEE THE SPECIFICS FOR BOTH THE PRIORITIES IN WHICH THEY ANSWER THESE AND THE PRI AND THE ONE, TWO, AND THREE CALLS AND SLIDES 48 AND 49 OF YOUR PRESENTATION. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 3 1 1 IS THE PROGRAM WITH WHICH MOST OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS ARE FAMILIAR. THE $6.8 MILLION PROPOSED FOR 3 1 1 INCLUDES 77.9 FTES AND MOST OF THOSE ARE CALL TAKERS. OUR FY 25 AVERAGE SPEED OF ANSWER TARGET IS TWO MINUTES AS IT WAS FOR 24. HOWEVER, WE'RE HAVING TROUBLE MEETING THAT TARGET BECAUSE WE'VE HAD A LOT OF RETIREMENTS WITH EXPERIENCED AGENTS THAT WERE READY TO RETIRE AND WE HAVE VERY HIGH TURNOVER AND WE HAVE SINCE THE PANDEMIC. AND SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE NOT MEETING THAT TARGET, BUT WE CONTINUE TO HIRE NEW EMPLOYEES. IT'S JUST LOW GETTING THERE BECAUSE WE HAVE A SEVEN WEEK TRAINING PERIOD AND THEN THERE'S A VERY LARGE LEARNING CURVE BEFORE THEY CAN GET ON THE PHONE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THE EXECUTIVE OVERSIGHT PROGRAM IS BUDGETED FOR $2.3 MILLION IN FY 25, BUT YOU HAVE TO KNOW THAT THAT $2.3 MILLION IS FOR MORE THAN THE FOUR FTES YOU SEE BUDGETED HERE. HALF OF THAT AMOUNT OR MORE THAN HALF 1.4 MILLION IS FOR RESTRICTED ACCOUNTS FOR A RA. WE PUT ALL OF THE GENERAL FUND RESTRICTED ACCOUNTS INTO THE EXECUTIVE OVERSIGHT PROGRAM RATHER THAN TRYING TO ALLOCATE THEM THROUGH ALL OF THE PROGRAMS AROUND THE DEPARTMENT. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THE ON-STREET PARKING MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IS KNOWN TO YOU AND TO HOUSTONIANS AS PARK HOUSTON. THE PARK HOUSTON SPECIAL REVENUE FUND HAS A PROPOSED EXPENDITURE BUDGET OF ALMOST 19.8 MILLION. WHAT YOU SEE ON THIS SLIDE IS 15.1 MILLION AND THAT'S BECAUSE THIS IS NET OF A DEBT AND CAPITAL TRANSFER OF 1.3 MILLION AS WELL AS A GENERAL FUND TRANSFER OF 3.3 MILLION. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THE REGULATORY PERMITTING IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COLLECTION OF 14 AND A HALF MILLION IN REVENUES FOR BUSINESS LICENSES AND PERMITS THE PROPOSED FY 25 BUDGET OF 5.1 MILLION FUNDS, 32.8 FTES. THIS YEAR, WE ARE INCLUDING ONE-TIME FUNDING OF $300,000 FOR THE SHORT TERM SHORT-TERM RENTAL LOCATION SERVICE IN ADVANCE OF SHORT-TERM RENTAL REGULATIONS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. DID YOU NEED NEW STOP 310,000? IS THAT WHAT YOU SAID IS 300,000? 300,000? YEAH. OKAY. AND THAT'S THE LOCATION SERVICE. IT'S BASICALLY A DATA MINING SERVICE THAT WILL CONTRACT OUT. YES. RIGHT. OKAY. HALLELUJAH. BEEN PUSHING FOR THAT. UM, NEXT IS THE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM. THE FY 25 GENERAL FUND PROPOSED BUDGET FOR RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY IS $498,000 IN THE GENERAL FUND. THERE ARE THREE EMPLOYEES THAT ARE BUDGETED FOR THE GENERAL FUND. TWO ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES THAT ARE GRANT FUNDED THROUGH A PB BP GRANT. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THE SINGLE LARGEST BUDGET ITEM FOR A RA IS THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S PROPERTY INSURANCE, WHICH IS THE RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, APPROXIMATELY $30.2 MILLION OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET OF $37.2 MILLION FOR THIS PROGRAM. MANY OF YOU HAVE PROBABLY RENEWED YOUR OWN INSURANCE THIS YEAR AND YOU'VE SEEN 20 TO 60% INCREASES BECAUSE WE HAVE AN EXCELLENT RISK MANAGEMENT TEAM, THE CITY'S INSURANCE WENT UP BY ONLY 2.6%. UM, THIS PROGRAM AREA IS FUNDED THROUGH THE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY REVOLVING FUND. ITS EXPENSES ARE CHARGED BACK TO ALL CITY DEPARTMENTS. ABOUT 21.5% OF THAT IS IN THE GENERAL FUND. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THE DEBT SERVICE AND INTER FUND TRANSFERS PROGRAM REFLECTS DEBT SERVICE PAYMENTS AND TRANSFERS BETWEEN FUNDS. SO THIS WILL REFLECT THINGS LIKE THE TRANSFER FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO BARK AND THE TRANSFER FROM PARK HOUSTON TO THE GENERAL FUND. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THIS IS A GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF OUR PROPOSED FY 25 GENERAL FUND AND SPECIAL REVENUE FUND EXPENDITURE BUDGETS. THE FIRST PI REPRESENTS THE GENERAL FUND. THE BIGGEST PIECES OF OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET ARE 49%, WHICH IS PERSONNEL. THE $12.89 MILLION TRANSFER TO BARK IS 37 MILLION OF IT, OR 37% OF IT. AND THEN THE RESTRICTED ACCOUNTS, UH, BASICALLY ACCOUNT FOR THE REMAINING 14% OF THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET. AND THE SECOND PIE IS BARK'S. PROPOSED BUDGET, IT'S 14.7 MILLION, BUT AS I SAID BEFORE, 12.89 MILLION OF THAT IS THE TRANSFER FROM THE GENERAL FUND. 66% OF BARK'S BUDGET IS PERSONNEL. THE REST IS IN OUR SPAY NEUTER AND TRANSPORT CONTRACTS. AND FINALLY, THE THIRD PIE SHOWS THE BREAKDOWN FOR PARK HOUSTON. 40% OF THEIR EXPENDITURES ARE PERSONNEL. 17% ARE THE TRANSFER TO THE GENERAL FUND. NEXT SLIDE. AND HERE IS THE REPRESENTATION OF OUR PROPOSED FY 25 BUDGETS FOR THE REVOLVING FUNDS. THE PIE ON THE LEFT SHOWS YOU THE BREAKDOWN FOR THE CASUALTY, THE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY FUND, THIS IS WHERE OUR RISK INSURANCE PREMIUMS ARE. 3% OF THE FUND IS FOR PERSONNEL. 96% IS CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED FOR PREMIUMS. AND FINALLY, THE CENTRAL SERVICES REVOLVING FUND IS THE SECOND PIE. THERE'S NO FTES HERE BECAUSE IT'S MAINLY USED FOR CHARGEBACKS AND FOR VENDOR. VENDOR PAYMENTS FOR CITY THINGS LIKE EMPLOYEE TRANSIT AND POSTAGE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. [00:10:01] EARLIER WE SHOWED YOU EXPENDITURES BY PROGRAM. HERE OUR EXPENDITURES ARE ARE ALLOCATED BY FUND FOR FISCAL YEARS 23 THROUGH 25. THE GENERAL FUND IS IN GREEN BARK AND PARK HOUSTON. SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS ARE IN RED AND THEN THE REVOLVING FUNDS ARE IN BLUE. YOU CAN FIND THE DETAIL FOR THIS ON SLIDE 34 OF YOUR APPENDIX. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. NOW WE TURN TO ARAS REVENUES. SEVEN OUT OF ARAS PROGRAMS COLLECT REVENUES, BUT THE LION'S SHARE OF THOSE 90% OF THEM COME OUT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, WHICH IS VALERIE'S AREA IN THE FORM OF FRANCHISE FEES. THE $944,000 INCREASE, YOU SEE HERE IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INCREASES IN ELECTRICITY, FRANCHISE FEES, GAS FRANCHISE FEES, SOLID WASTE FRANCHISE FEES AND NETWORK NODE FRANCHISE FEES, AND THEN DECREASES IN TELEPHONE AND CABLE. THE NEXT LINE IS ANIMAL SERVICES. THERE YOU SEE THE REDUCTION. AS I SAID BEFORE, THEY'RE LOSING A LOT OF THE ONE-TIME MONEY THEY GOT FOR FY 24 THAT COMES IN AS A REVENUE TO BARK, WHICH IS WHY YOU SEE A DECREASE IN THE REVENUES HERE. THE OTHER BIG REDUCTION YOU SEE HERE IS IN REGULATORY PERMITTING. AND THERE IT'S BECAUSE WE'RE PROJECTING LOWER ALCOHOL REVENUES. ALCOHOL IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST REVENUES THAT WE HAVE IN LICENSING. LAST SESSION, THE LEGISLATURE APPROVED, UH, A BILL THAT SAID THAT MUNICIPALITIES COULD NO LONGER COLLECT FOR ALCOHOL FEES. THEY DRAFTED IT VERY NARROWLY, UNINTENTIONALLY, BUT IT DRAFTED NARROWLY. SO WE GOT TO CAPTURE THEM FOR TWO MORE YEARS. WE EXPECT THEM TO CAPTURE THAT ERROR IN 25, SO WE'RE ASSUMING A LOSS OF THAT REVENUE. AND FINALLY, THE LARGE INCREASE THAT YOU SEE HERE IN RISK MANAGEMENT ISN'T REALLY AN INCREASE. THAT'S JUST THE CHARGEBACK FOR THE PREMIUMS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THE PREVIOUS SLIDE SHOWED YOU OUR REVENUES BY PROGRAM. THIS SHOWS YOU OUR REVENUES BY FUND. AND AGAIN, THE DETAIL FOR THIS IS IN SLIDE 32. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THIS SLIDE AND THE NEXT ONE GO INTO THE NARRATIVE AND DETAIL FOR THE REVENUE CHANGES THAT YOU SAW ON SLIDE 20. FOR EXAMPLE, I TOLD YOU TELEPHONE FEES AND CABLE FEES WERE GOING DOWN. TELEPHONE FEES ARE GONNA KEEP GOING DOWN BECAUSE WE ALL CUT THE CORD AND DON'T USE LANDLINES ANYMORE. CABLE FEES ARE GOING DOWN BECAUSE HOUSTONIANS NO LONGER SUBSCRIBED TO CABLE SERVICE. THEY USE STREAMING SERVICES AND WE DON'T COLLECT FRANCHISE FEES FOR NETFLIX. THERE WAS ALSO LEGISLATION THAT YOU'LL REMEMBER THE TWO FOR ONE BILL SB 1152 IN 2019, WHICH SAID THAT IF YOU PROVIDE BOTH SERVICES, YOU ONLY HAVE TO PAY THE CITY FOR ONE OF THEM. I WON'T READ THE REST OF THIS TO YOU, BUT WE DID WANT YOU TO HAVE THE REVENUE DETAIL AND THE RATIONALE BEHIND IT. SINCE FRANCHISE FEES ARE $150 MILLION WORTH OF REVENUES. NEXT SLIDE. AND THIS IS JUST A CONTINUATION OF THE DISCUSSION FROM THE PREVIOUS SLIDE. ONE THING I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT BEFORE I LEAVE OUR REVENUES IS THE LAST CATEGORY AUDITS AND RECOVERIES. AS REVENUES CONTINUE TO DECREASE FOR ALL OF THE REASONS THAT I JUST MENTIONED ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, WE ARE AGGRESSIVELY AUDITING AND DOING FIELD COMPLIANCE TO TRY TO GET SOME OF THAT BACK. AS A RESULT FOR FY 24, WE ARE PROJECTED TO COLLECT $685,000 IN DELINQUENT FEES FROM OUR AUDITS. NEXT SLIDE. AND THAT DOES CONCLUDE OUR PRESENTATION. A LOT OF MATERIALS ARE IN THE APPENDIX, UM, INCLUDING RESTRICTED ACCOUNTS, DETAILS, DEMOGRAPHICS, AND SEVERAL OTHER ITEMS FOR A RA THANK YOU. GREAT, THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, RUSSELL WITH COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO'S OFFICE. THANK YOU CHAIRWOMAN, UH, DIRECTOR, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. AND I DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS. UH, BUT BEFORE I DO THAT, I JUST WANT TO GIVE A KUDOS TO YOUR DEPARTMENT. UH, WELL, YOUR FOLKS, UH, NILA SPECIFICALLY, SHE IS ALWAYS VERY RESPONSIVE TO ALL OF OUR QUESTIONS AND SO WE APPRECIATE THAT AND CERTAINLY TO YOUR BARK TEAM. WE'RE BIG FANS, UM, OVER IN DISTRICT H. IT WE ARE, UH, MAYBE ONE OF THE HIGHLY IMPACTED DISTRICTS HERE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON THAT EXPERIENCE, UH, UH, ANIMAL CONTROL ISSUES. AND SO JUST WANNA GIVE THEM A SHOUT OUT. UM, IN YOUR REDUCTION OF ANIMAL SERVICES, UH, AN A WAS DOWN 6% OR A REDUCTION OF 6%, IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT. UH, DOES THIS REDUCTION INCLUDE ANY ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICERS? NO. UH, NO PERSONNEL ARE BEING CUT FROM BARK. THE MAYOR SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDED THEM FROM THE GENERAL FACT CUT. THIS IS JUST, THERE WERE A LOT OF SPECIAL PROGRAMS THAT THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION HAD FUNDED FOR LIVE RELEASE AT THE END OF THE TERM. OKAY. AND THEN, AND, AND, AND MAYBE THAT ANSWERS MY QUESTION. MY NEXT QUESTION IS IN THAT, IS THERE ANY ANIMAL CONTROL ENFORCEMENT THAT IS BEING IMPACTED DUE TO THIS, THIS REDUCTION? NO, NOT AT ALL. OKAY. UH, WITH RESPECT TO PARK HOUSTON, SO, UH, I BROUGHT THIS QUESTION UP AND I CAN'T REMEMBER IF IT WAS NYLA WHO ANSWERED AND 'CAUSE I THINK I GOT AN ANSWER, BUT WHEN I, WHEN I GO TO MEETINGS DOWNTOWN, I PAY THE PARKING METER AND THEN I GO TO MY CITY MEETING AT VARIOUS BUSINESS OR NONPROFIT AND THEN I COME BACK AND I GET A REIMBURSEMENT FOR THAT, FOR THAT PARK, FOR THAT METER, THAT CITY METER. UM, IF I USE A CITY VEHICLE, AM I EXEMPT FROM PAYING THAT PARKING METER? NO. SO AND SO, IT'S, IT'S PRES, I PRESUME THAT SOMEONE THEN HAS TO PROCESS THAT, THAT, I MEAN THE ADMINISTRA, THE COUNCIL ADMINISTRATION OFFICE HAS TO PROCESS MY REQUEST [00:15:01] FOR REIMBURSEMENT. THERE'S PROBABLY SOME PROCESSING FEES, UH, WITH RESPECT TO ME USING MY CARD THAT THIS. SO I'M JUST CURIOUS, IS THERE ANY THOUGHTS AROUND, UM, EXEMPTING CITY VEHICLES FOR PARKING METERS? I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION AND, AND I DON'T THINK THAT WE'D EVER THOUGHT ABOUT THE PROCESSING COSTS FOR THE REIMBURSEMENT FOR EMPLOYEES WHO ARE USING CITY VEHICLES. YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ASKED THAT BEFORE, HAVE YOU? WHAT WE DO IS WE OFFER, UM, COME ON UP, MARIO DEPARTMENTS DO IS THEY ATTACH TO PCARD THE MOBILE PAYMENT APP AND JUST CANCEL. SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORK WITH YOUR OFFICE. RIGHT. BUT FOR FOR, I MEAN FOR MY TEAM I'VE GOT AT LEAST TWO OR THREE PEOPLE WHO USE VARIOUS, I MEAN, I DON'T, I PERSONALLY DON'T LIKE ANYONE OTHER THAN OUR SCHEDULER AND OUR COUNCIL MEMBER TO HAVE P CARDS FOR I MEAN OBVIOUS REASONS. WHAT WOULD BE THE ANSWER FOR THEM THEN? GOOD ONE P CARD IS ATTACHED TO. OKAY. ANYBODY CAN USE THE APP. THAT'S HOW WE HANDLE IT. BUT THEN AGAIN, I STILL DON'T THINK THAT ANSWERS THE QUESTION ABOUT THE COST OF PROCESSING. LET ME ACTUALLY LOOK AT THAT. 'CAUSE NOW I'M CURIOUS. OKAY. THANK YOU. WE'LL GET YOU AN ANSWER IN WRITING. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. AND HELLO DIRECTOR PEZ. HELLO SIR. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. A LOT OF INFORMATION THERE. I WANTED TO ASK YOU, UH, A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT SOME OF THE DEPARTMENT SHORT TERM GIRLS GOALS FOR THE BIG BOOK FROM THE BIG BOOK. UM, UNDER EXECUTIVE OVERSIGHT. ONE LISTED IS WORKING WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND HPD TO CREATE A REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR SHORT TERM RENTALS. MM-HMM . CAN YOU GIVE US ANY INFORMATION ON THE TIMETABLE FOR THAT? UM, WE HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO HAVE SOMETHING READY TO PRESENT TO A COUNCIL COMMITTEE BY JULY. JULY. OKAY. SO AT SOME POINT IN JULY YOU'LL SEE US COME. ALRIGHT, WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO THAT. I'LL MAKE SURE NOT TO MISS THAT ONE. , HOPE YOU'LL BE THERE. THAT'S TRUE. RIGHT. AND ANOTHER, UH, LISTED SHORT TERM GOAL IS WORKING WITH GSD TO IDENTIFY THE LOCATION OF THE NEW BARK ANIMAL SHELTER. UM, HA HAS IT BEEN DECIDED TO, TO KEEP IT WHERE IT IS? OR ARE WE STILL ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR ANOTHER LOCATION IN THE CITY AWAY FROM ITS CURRENT SITE? SO THAT IS THE BIG QUESTION FOR US BECAUSE WE CAN'T START DESIGN ON THE NEW SHELTER TILL WE KNOW WHERE IT'S GOING TO BE. UM, THE MAYOR'S COMING TO VISIT US ON MAY 30TH FOR THAT CONVERSATION. THERE IS A PROPERTY THAT'S BEEN IDENTIFIED OUT ON WESTHEIMER THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. BUT UM, YOU KNOW, THE QUESTION THERE IS YOU DOUBLE THE STAFFING OR DO YOU PUT IT WHERE THE CURRENT BARK SITE IS AND HAVE TWO SIDE-BY-SIDE SHELTERS. MAYBE YOU ISSUE AN RFP TO HAVE A NONPROFIT PARTNER, WHICH MANY OTHERS HAVE DONE. AND I KNOW THE MAYOR IS VERY INTERESTED IN HAVING US WORK WITH A NONPROFIT. SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE GOOD. WE'RE PLANNING TO TALK TO HIM ABOUT THOSE THINGS ON MAY 30TH AND SEE WHICH ONE HE'D RATHER DO HAVE ANY NONPROFITS EXPRESSED INTEREST IN, IN COLLABORATING ON THAT OR NOT? UM, WE HAD ACTUALLY SPOKEN TO HOUSTON PETS ALIVE. WE HAD SPOKEN TO THE HOUSTON HUMANE SOCIETY, EVEN THE SPCA, ALL OF THEM EXPRESSED INTEREST IN OUR DOING THAT RFP. MM-HMM . SO NYLA HAS ACTUALLY BEEN WORKING ON WRITING IT FOR ABOUT TWO MONTHS NOW. MM-HMM . AND THE SITE ON WESTHEIMER THAT WAS WAS SLASH IS UNDER CONSIDERATION. WESTHEIMER AND, AND WHAT? I DON'T REMEMBER. JARED, DO YOU REMEMBER WHERE IT IS? I'LL, I'LL, I'LL GET YOU THAT ANSWER IN WRITING. I DON'T REMEMBER INSIDE OR OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY. DO YOU REMEMBER IT? IT'S INSIDE THE BELTWAY GUESS NORISH. IT'S GU NORISH. OKAY. STILL KIND OF NOT, NOT A CENTRAL LOCATION THOUGH, RIGHT? IF YOU'RE WAY OUT IN CLEAR LAKE OR THE EAST SIDE, FOR INSTANCE, WHERE A LOT OF FOLKS ARE VERY INTERESTED IN, IN STRAYS, UM, STILL BETTER THAN, YOU KNOW. UM, ONE OF THE COMPLAINTS WE GET A LOT IS PEOPLE DON'T ALWAYS WANNA GO TO BARK BECAUSE THEY'RE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT LOCATION AND THEY MAY LIVE ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF TOWN. SO IT DOES GIVE THEM AN OPTION OF SORT OF EASTER WEST. YES. I GUESS PROS AND CONS. SO, UM, WHAT ABOUT FOOTPRINT? ARE YOU LOOKING AT THE SAME SIZE SHELTER? WHAT? WOULDN'T IT BE BETTER TO HAVE A LARGER SHELTER OR A LARGER FACILITY? WE ARE LIMITED BY THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WAS IN THE BOND. SO IT LOOKS LIKE IT'LL ACCOMMODATE ABOUT THE SAME NUMBER OF ANIMALS AS THE CURRENT SHELTER. IT WOULD BE IDEAL IF WE COULD KEEP THE CURRENT SHELTER BECAUSE THEN WE WOULD HAVE BOTH AND IT WOULD DOUBLE OUR CAPACITY. OKAY. I'LL GO BACK IN THE QUEUE. YOU'RE YOU GO. OKAY. GO AHEAD. ALRIGHT. UM, WELL, SO, SO HAVE YOU LOOKED INTO, UH, TRYING TO GET, UH, SOME OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS OR CORPORATIONS FOR INSTANCE, TO, TO HELP OUT WITH FUNDING A NEW BARK FACILITY? THE HOUSTON BARK FOUNDATION WAS ORGANIZED FOR THAT PURPOSE. UH, THE BOARD IS IN TRANSITION RIGHT NOW AND WE HAVE ASKED THE NEW, UH, MAYORS DIRECTOR OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS TO HELP US FIND NEW OFFICERS FOR THAT FOUNDATION. BUT [00:20:01] THAT IS THE REASON THEY EXIST. THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO HELP WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND GETTING THOSE DONATIONS FOR US FOR THE BUILDING. WELL, AND WE HAVE OFFERED, IF WE CAN BE OF ANY ASSISTANCE ON THAT, WE WOULD LOVE TO HELP. UH, I KNOW IT'S A CHALLENGING, CHALLENGING, UH, TO DO THAT, BUT, UM, LET ME SEE WHAT ELSE I HAVE FOR YOU. SO ON UH, PAGE FOUR AGAIN, OF THE BIG BOOK, THERE'S A PERFORMANCE MEASURE AND THIS DEALS WITH, UH, ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES. WELL, AT ANY RATE, UH, THE PERFORMANCE MEASURE IS REVENUE GENERATED FROM AUCTIONS. OKAY. NEAR THE BOTTOM OF, OF PAGE FOUR, THE BIG BOOK. MM-HMM . UM, SO FY 25 TARGET, THERE'S 2 MILLION. CAN CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT GETS AUCTIONED? IT'S AMAZING 'CAUSE THE ASSET DISPOSITION IS SUPPOSED TO HANDLE THINGS LIKE END OF LIFE. ANY SET END OF LIFE CITY ASSET FROM POLICE VEHICLES I SEE. TO, UM, DESKS AND CHAIRS. AND SO SOME YEARS WE MAY MAKE ONLY $500,000 'CAUSE ALL WE GOT WAS OLD DESKS AND CHAIRS. ONE YEAR WE HAD AN AIRPLANE AND WE MADE A LOT OF MONEY. SO WE TRY TO ESTIMATE CONSERVATIVELY, BUT WE HAVE CONSISTENTLY BEEN DOING VERY WELL. ALRIGHT. AND, UM, I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF HAVE STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT 3 1 1 AS DO OUR CONSTITUENTS. CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH SORT OF THE MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS OR INITIATIVES YOU'VE HAD IN THE RECENT PAST AND WHAT YOU HAVE PLANNED FOR, FOR THE FUTURE? YEAH. AND, AND ACTUALLY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE JUST APPROVED OUR CIP MONEY TO BE MOVED UP TO THIS FISCAL YEAR FOR THAT. SO IF I CAN BRING UP CHARLES JACKSON, THE HEAD OF 3 1 1 TO TALK ABOUT IT. YOU BET. GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYBODY. CHARLES JACKSON, HEAD OF HOUSTON 3 1 1. SO SOME RECENT INITIATIVES THAT WE'VE HAD, UH, WE'VE UPGRADED OUR CRM TO A MICROSOFT DYNAMICS PLATFORM, WE CALL IT CHRIS. THAT HAPPENED IN, UH, JUNE 28TH, 2021. WE RECENTLY IN FEBRUARY OF 2023, UH, UPGRADED THE CCL FIX APP. SO NOW THAT IT'S COMPLETELY INTEGRATED, SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE REMEMBERED THAT THERE WAS A COMPLAINT ABOUT THAT APP WHERE THE CUSTOMERS WOULD USE IT AND THEN THEY'D GET THIS KIND OF OBSCURE NUMBER AND THEY'D SAY, HEY CHARLES, YOU KNOW, I'M CALLING YOU AND I HAVE THIS, THIS SERVICE REQUEST NUMBER, BUT IT DOESN'T RELATE TO ANYTHING. AND SO WHAT WE DID IS WE FIXED THAT PROBLEM. SO NOW WHEN YOUR CUSTOMERS USE OUR CCL FIX APP, THEY GET AN ACTUAL SERVICE REQUEST NUMBER THAT STAYS WITH THAT SERVICE REQUEST FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE. WHAT I'M MOST EXCITED ABOUT, WELL TWO THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE BRINGING TO YOU VERY SOON IS CITI BOTT, WHICH IS A CHAT AND TEXT FEATURE THAT IS OPERATED IN 71 LANGUAGES. SO OUR CUSTOMERS WILL HAVE ACCESS TO TEXT AND CHAT AND 71 LANGUAGES. UH, AND IT'S, AND IT'S EMERGING TECHNOLOGY. A LOT OF BIG CITIES ARE USING IT. DALLAS HAS IT FOR FORT WORTH HAS IT, NEW ORLEANS HAS IT, DENVER HAS IT. UH, SO A LOT OF COMPARABLE CITIES ARE USING CBO. WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT BRINGING ON IVR AND IVR IS A SYSTEM WHERE IF THE CUSTOMER DOESN'T WANT TO TALK TO A HUMAN BEING, THEY DON'T HAVE TO. SO IF THEY WANT TO CALL IN AND LET'S SAY THEY'RE, IT IS A MONDAY AND MONDAY'S OUR WORST DAY, RIGHT? WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A FORMER 3 1 1 AGENT HERE WHO CAN TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT. SHE'S ONE OF MY PROUDEST UH, EMPLOYEES. AND, AND, UH, IF YOU CALL AND YOU SAY, I DON'T WANNA WAIT FIVE MINUTES TO TALK TO SOMEONE, I WANNA REPORT THIS POTHOLE NOW, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO DO THAT THROUGH THE IVR. IF YOU WANNA KNOW WHEN THE LIBRARIES ARE OPEN, IF YOU WANNA KNOW, UH, INFORMATION THAT AN AGENT WOULD NORMALLY TELL YOU, THAT'LL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE IVR AND WE'RE GONNA BE BRINGING THAT TO YOU IN THE COMING FISCAL YEAR. THAT'S EXCELLENT. MAY I BRAG ON 3 1 1 FOR JUST A SECOND? SURE. SO, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO IS CONTACT A LOT OF THE OTHER UTILITY LIKE SERVICES CENTER POINT XFINITY TO FIND OUT WHAT'S THEIR AVERAGE SPEED OF ANSWER. UM, HOW RESPONSIVE ARE THEY? I DO WANNA TELL YOU THAT WE, WE CHECKED NOT DURING THE STORM, DURING A REGULAR BLUE SKY DAY, WHAT IT IS. SO CENTER POINT, FOR EXAMPLE, THEY HAVE 120 AGENTS ON ANY GIVEN BLUE SKY DAY. THEY HAVE 125 CALL CENTER AGENTS WORKING THREE ONE ONE ON ANY GIVEN. BLUE SKY DAY HAS 29 CALL CENTER AGENTS WORKING. THE AVERAGE CENTER POINT EMPLOYEE ANSWERS 42 CALLS PER EMPLOYEE PER DAY. THE AVERAGE 3 1 1 EMPLOYEE ANSWERS 112 THREE CALLS PER DAY. IT'S AMAZING, GIVEN OUR STAFFING AND GIVEN, GIVEN OUR RESOURCES WHAT THEY CAN DO. MM-HMM . I'M VERY PROUD OF 3 1 1. THANK YOU DIRECTOR. AND, AND HAVE WE ASKED FOR, UH, I MAY HAVE MISSED IT. HAVE WE ASKED FOR MORE, UH, PERSONNEL TO TAKE UH, CALLS FOR 3 1 1? WE HAVE THE BUDGET FOR IT. WE JUST CAN'T RETAIN THEM. UM, WE HAVE ENOUGH MONEY FOR THEM AND, AND CHARLES IS CONSTANTLY HIRING. UH, HR HAS HAD SPECIAL AFFAIRS FOR US AND WE'LL BRING ON EIGHT TO 10 AGENTS AT A TIME. IT'S JUST, IT'S A DIFFICULT JOB. YOU DON'T WANNA HAVE PEOPLE YELLING AT YOU ALL THE TIME. LOTS OF HIGH TURNOVER. THE TRAINING PERIOD IS VERY HIGH, BUT THEY DO A LOT WITH WHAT THEY HAVE AND THE AGENTS THAT HAVE STAYED WITH US FOR YEARS ARE VERY DEDICATED AND THEY DO AN EXCELLENT [00:25:01] JOB. DO YOU, IN, IN LIGHT OF THE FACT WE CAN'T RETAIN 'EM, DO YOU THINK WE'RE PAYING 'EM ENOUGH? I I WOULD SAY NO, SIR. WE DON'T, UH, WE START OFF OUR AGENTS AT $18, 1850 AN HOUR. UH, WE WENT TO A CONFERENCE HERE RECENTLY AND THEY SAID THAT THE NATIONWIDE AVERAGE WAS IN THAT 2150 TO $22 AN HOUR FOR 3 1 1 AGENTS. SO WE'RE WELL BELOW BELOW THE, THE, THE MARKET AVERAGE. UH, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IT. AND FOR A LOT OF OUR EMPLOYEES, UH, THEY CAN GO TO BUCKY'S, THEY CAN GO TO COSTCO. YOU CAN EVEN GO TO BARK AND BE AN ANIMAL CARE TECHNICIAN AND MAKE MORE MONEY THAN YOU DO AT, UH, AT HOUSTON 3 1 1. AND SO, UH, FOR BEING A TIER ONE EMPLOYEE, I MEAN, GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. SINCE FRIDAY THE 3 1 1 TEAM HAS HANDLED 23,000 PHONE CALLS AND, AND, AND CREATED OVER 10,000 SERVICE REQUESTS. AND WE WERE AVAILABLE 24 7, WE LEFT NO HOUSTONIAN BEHIND. AND IT'S, IT'S DIFFICULT FOR SOMEONE TO SAY, HEY, I'M WILLING TO LEAVE MY FAMILY IN THE MIDDLE OF A, OF A, A WEATHER EVENT FOR $18 AN HOUR. YEAH, THAT'S TOUGH. ANYWAY, APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT THEY DO. UH, SO A COUPLE QUESTIONS ON OTHER THINGS, BUT THANK YOU FOR THAT. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANKS JOHN. THANK YOU. ONE MORE BEFORE YOU GO. CAN, CAN THEY WORK FROM HOME STILL? YES. GOOD. OKAY. YES. AND, UH, THE OTHER THING ABOUT 3 1 1, PLEASE, IF YOU TAKE NOTHING ELSE AWAY FROM THIS PRESENTATION, 3 1 1 DOES NOT CLOSE SERVICE REQUESTS. WE ARE JUST THE CALL TAKER. WE TAKE THE CALL AND WE, WE TRANSFER IT TO ANOTHER DEPARTMENT. THAT DEPARTMENT CLOSES 'EM. SO WHEN YOUR CONSTITUENTS ARE ANGRY AND 3 1 1 CLOSED MY REQUEST, JUST TELL 'EM 3 1 1 DID NOT CLOSE YOUR REQUEST. WE CAN, YOU CAN LOOK ON THE WEBSITE AND SEE EXACTLY WHAT THEIR REQUEST WAS AND WHO HANDLED IT. SORRY. OKAY. NO, I'M, I'M GLAD YOU CLARIFIED. SO WITH REGARD TO PARK HOUSTON, UH, WHERE, WHERE DID THE REVENUES GO FROM? PARK HOUSTON. SO MARIO, DO YOU WANNA COME UP AND EXPLAIN? I CAN'T TELL YOU THAT THERE'S A, I INTERRUPT YOU. UM, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ, BUT I HAD THAT QUESTION TOO ON THE, I'M LOOKING AT THE TRANSFERS TO THE GENERAL FUND. MM-HMM. LOOKS LIKE LAST YEAR 7 MILLION AND WE'RE DOWN TO 3.3 MILLION THIS YEAR. SO YOU'RE NOT TRANSFERRING AS MUCH TO THE GENERAL FUND. WE'RE NOT 19 MILLION IN REVENUES. WE HAVE NOT RETURNED TO PRE PANDEMIC LEVELS AT ALL. BUT THERE IS A MINIMUM FUND BALANCE THAT'S REQUIRED AND, AND MARIA CAN GO THROUGH WHERE ALL OF THE MONEY DOES GO. OKAY. SO, UM, PARK HOUSTON IS A SPECIAL REVENUE FUND AND OUR EXPENDITURES ARE FIRST PAID OUT, UM, FROM ANY REVENUE WE EARN. WE HAVE A ORDINANCE, UH, MANDATED $2 MILLION MINIMUM FOR OUR FUND BALANCE. AND ANYTHING OVER AND BEYOND THAT IS THEN TRANSFERRED TO THE GENERAL FUND. NOW THIS IS TRUED UP AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR. WHAT WE, WE MAKE ESTIMATES NOW AND THEN IN SEPTEMBER THE MONEY IS TRANSFERRED. WHAT'S HAPPENED IN THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF, WE'VE ADDED A FOURTH SHIFT. SO THAT'S INCREASED COSTS. WE'VE SEEN COSTS GO UP FOR SUPPLIES AND, UM, SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE USE. SO THAT IS KIND OF EATING INTO WHAT WE'RE GENERATING AND REDUCING OUR TRANSFER TO GENERAL FUND. UM, AND THEN ALSO IN LAST YEAR'S BUDGET, WE PLANNED TO EXTEND METER HOURS OF OPERATION AFTER 6:00 PM WE HAD PRESENTED THAT THE PLAN WAS TO MOVE FORWARD, UM, WITH THAT IN SEPTEMBER OF 2023, WHICH WE DID NOT DO. SO OUR REVENUES, THE PROJECTIONS FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR WERE BASED ON EXPANDING OUR HOURS OF OPERATION, WHICH WE DID NOT DO. SO REVENUES IN METERS IS A LITTLE BIT LOWER. GOT IT. GO AHEAD, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, CAN I JUST ADD ONE THING WITH THE, WITH THE EXPANSION OF THE FOURTH SHIFT, WE NOW OPERATE, YOU KNOW, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. WE'RE OPERATING ABOUT 130 HOURS A WEEK OUT OF 168. SO OUR OFFICERS ARE OUT THERE, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN WE NEED TO ADDRESS PARKING ISSUES AND IT'S STILL NOT ENOUGH. WE, THERE ARE STILL AREAS WHERE WE ARE NOT ABLE TO FULLY ADDRESS ALL THE PARKING CHALLENGES THAT COME UP WITH THE NUMBER OF DAYS AND HOURS THAT WE'RE WORKING. SO IT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STRETCHED, BUT IT'S, WE'RE THERE. OKAY, APPRECIATE THAT. UH, SOME OTHER QUESTIONS ON NOT HAVING TO DO WITH PARKING, BUT, UH, PAGE 18 IN THE BIG BOOK REVENUE SUMMARY, I SEE THERE'S A CATEGORY FOR OTHER FINES AND FORFEITS, UH, UH, ROUGHLY 10.8 MILLION. CAN YOU GIVE US AN IDEA WHAT THAT IN INCLUDES? OKAY, YOU SAID PAGE 18, OTHER FINES AND FORFEITS PORTRAIT. I HAVE IT. [00:30:13] CAN'T FIND IT RIGHT NOW. CAN WE GET YOU A WRITTEN ANSWER? VALERIE CAN'T FIND HER NOTE ON THAT. I'M SORRY. YEAH, NO PROBLEM. AND, AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'D BE ABLE TO, THE OTHER ONES I WAS GONNA ASK YOU ABOUT OR RIGHT UNDER IT, OTHER, OTHER FRANCHISE AND OTHER RESOURCES, BUT IF YOU NEED SOME TIME ON THAT, THAT'S FINE AS WELL. SO WE CAN ACTUALLY PROVIDE YOU DETAIL ON THOSE. OKAY. SO WE'LL SEND YOU A WRITTEN ANSWER ON THAT. OKAY. SORRY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. YOU FOUND IT. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. OTHER FINE. OH, OKAY. OH, YOU HAVE IT. WE HAVE IT. WE DO OTHER FINES AND FORFEITS ARE PARKING VIOLATIONS, BOOTING FEES FOR PARKING, DEPOSIT, FORFEITURES, FALSE ALARM PENALTIES, RETURN CHECK CHARGES, AND THEN MISCELLANEOUS FINES. OKAY. AND THE OTHER WAS MISCELLANEOUS FRANCHISE. ANOTHER. THERE YOU GO. GO . HI. UNDER MISCELLANEOUS OTHER, UM, THAT'S WHERE WE CAPTURE OUR BINGO FEES. UH, WE HAVE SOME SALE OF SCRAP METAL GOES THROUGH THERE AS WELL AS NON-CAPITAL EQUIPMENT AND MERCHANDISE. UM, THAT'S ALSO WHERE WE CAPTURE THE INTERFUND FOR, UH, OUR PARKING PASSES. UH, ANY INTERFUND THAT WE DO FOR, UH, THE PARKING GARAGES AS WELL AS MISCELLANEOUS REVENUE, THE ANIMAL ADOPTION GOES TO THERE AS WELL. OKAY, THANK YOU. AND DID YOU, DID YOU TOUCH ON OTHER FRANCHISE AND OTHER RESOURCES, OTHER FRANCHISES IF YOU HAVE IT? YES, THEY'RE DONE HERE. OH, , OH, OTHER FRANCHISES IS CABLE TV SOLID WASTE FRANCHISE, OUR SPUR TRACK FRANCHISE FEE AS WELL AS FIBER OPTICS AND ANY PRIOR YEAR COLLECTION THAT WE DO FOR, UH, SOLID WASTE AUDITS. OKAY. Y'ALL DO A LOT. IT'S A LOT OF CATEGORIES. AND, AND WHAT ABOUT OTHER RESOURCES? ANYTHING ON THAT? DO YOU HAVE OTHER RESOURCES? MM-HMM . THE 12.8 MILLION, THAT'S THE TRANSFER, UH, FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO UH, TO BARK. OH, I SEE. OKAY. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. YARI WITH THE STAR 3 1 1 FORMER EMPLOYEE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CAMAN, COUNCIL MEMBER WISHES SHE COULD BE HERE, BUT SHE WENT BACK ON THE FIELD TO ASSIST WITH DISASTER RECOVERY. UM, I WANNA GO BACK TO 3 1 1. UM, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE CHALLENGES, UH, THAT 3 1 1 IS CURRENTLY FACING DURING THE, UH, DISASTER AND DISASTER RECOVERY? LIKE, HOW MANY CALLS ARE THEY TAKING RIGHT NOW, DAY BY DAY? UM, LET ME BRING UP CHARLES AGAIN. WE DID TAKE 23,336 CALLS SINCE IT STARTED. YEAH, THAT'S CORRECT. AND IN FACT WE CAN, UH, IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN BY THE WAY, . THANK YOU. UH, WE CAN ACTUALLY BRING YOU, UH, A BREAKDOWN OF CALLS AND SERVICE REQUESTS BY DAY. UH, BUT SINCE FRIDAY AT MIDNIGHT, UH, IT'S BEEN 23,000, UH, PHONE CALLS AND WE CREATE OVER 10,000 SERVICE REQUESTS. ANY SPECIFIC CHALLENGES THEY'RE CURRENTLY FACING? UM, 3 1 1 OTHER THAN LIKE STAFFING. SO STAFFING WOULD BE NUMBER ONE. , RIGHT? AS YOU WELL KNOW. UH, WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE MORE AVAILABLE AGENTS, WELL-TRAINED AGENTS, UH, ON THE FLOOR OBVIOUSLY. UM, WE HAVE, WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT BEING A 3 1 1 IS WE ARE A MOBILE WORKFORCE. AND SO NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, WE'RE ABLE TO MOVE AGENTS INTO VARIOUS LOCATIONS WHERE THEY'RE ABLE TO WORK. SO EVEN AFTER THE STORM 28 0 5 MCKINNEY WASN'T AVAILABLE TO US. THE, THE NETWORK WAS DOWN. WE WERE ABLE TO MOVE AGENTS TO OUR, OUR BAGBY LOCATION. WE'RE ABLE TO MOVE THEM FROM HOME IF, UH, IF WE NEED TO MOVE 'EM TO THE HECK, UH, ANYWHERE WHERE THERE'S POWER. MM-HMM . AND THERE'S INTERNET 3 1 8 3 1 1. AGENTS CAN TAKE CALLS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, I KNOW THEY WORK REALLY HARD SO I JUST WANTED TO SPOTLIGHT THEM AS WELL. UM, I DO HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION. AS ING FALLS UNDER A RA, CAN YOU TALK MORE ABOUT THE PROGRESS THAT HAS BEEN MADE? UM, WHAT DOES THAT TRANSLATE INTO TERMS, UM, OF ACTUAL DOLLARS IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET PROGRESS IN WHAT AREA? UM, THE PROGRESS THAT HAS BEEN MADE WITH RESILIENCY IN OUR A RA OH, UM, LET ME BRING UP NICK HODGE. GEORGE, WHO IS OUR INTERIM CHIEF RESILIENCE OFFICER TO TALK ABOUT THAT SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU. I WILL TELL YOU THAT UM, THE MAYOR HAS SPECIFICALLY TOLD US THAT HE WANTS THIS TO BE A RESILIENCE GROUP THAT IS NOT ASPIRATIONAL, BUT RATHER FOCUSES ON FIXING THINGS AND ACTUALLY DEALING WITH HUMAN SUFFERING AND LOOKING, LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT IS IT THAT CAN ACTUALLY [00:35:01] HELP PEOPLE OUT FIX THINGS OUT THERE. MAYBE LET'S NOT HAVE, MATTER OF FACT WHAT NICK IS WORKING ON, AND HE'LL PROBABLY TELL YOU IS YOU HAVE A CLIMATE PLAN AND A RESILIENCE PLAN THAT ARE BOTH DUE FOR REVIEW NEXT YEAR. WE ARE PLANNING TO MERGE THOSE AND INSTEAD OF HAVING A MILLION ACTIONS THAT ARE POSSIBLE FOR THEM, BECAUSE REMEMBER UNDER THE EXISTING CLIMATE PLAN, ONE OF THE ACTIONS WAS JOIN AN ORGANIZATION. SO THIS ONE WILL BE A LOT MORE LEANING TOWARD WHAT CAN WE FIX FOR PEOPLE AND WHAT CAN WE FIX FOR THE CITY? DO WE HAVE BACK BACKUP GENERATOR GENERATION FOR THE CITY? WHAT IS IT THAT WE ARE MISSING EVERY TIME THAT WE HAVE A DISASTER? AND THAT WILL GO INTO THE NEXT PLAN. IT'LL BE A LOT MORE OF WHAT ARE THINGS THAT WE CAN REALIZE, FEWER ACTIONS, THINGS THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY TOUCH. BUT GO AHEAD NICK. HI, THANK YOU. HI, THANK YOU. UM, MY NAME IS NICK HAJI GEORGE, INTERIM CHIEF RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER. THE DOLLARS THAT YOU SEE IN OUR BUDGET ARE FOR, UH, FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES WHO WORK ON IMPLEMENTING THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN AND THE RESILIENT HOUSTON PLAN. UM, IN TERMS OF THE ACTUAL WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, THAT YOU CAN SEE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN THE GROUND. THOSE ARE DOLLARS THAT ARE LARGELY, UH, COMING FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES SUCH AS DONATIONS FROM THE CORPORATE SECTOR OR NON-PROFIT SECTOR. UM, AND THEN ALSO WE DO SOME WORK THAT IS ACTUALLY REPRESENTED IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS BUDGETS. SO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, GSD PUBLIC WORKS, YOU'LL SEE THAT ACTUAL IMPLEMENTATION DOLLARS, THE WORK THAT IS BEING DONE TO IMPLEMENT THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN IS COMING FROM DOLLARS FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS WHERE THE WORK IS HOUSED. SO IT'S NOT TOTALLY REFLECTED IN, IN OUR BUDGET. SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I ALSO JUST WANTED TO THANK RA AGAIN. UM, I KNOW NILA IS VERY RESPONSIVE. OTHER DEPARTMENTS, MARIA PARK, HOUSTON, WE WORK VERY CLOSELY. JACKSON, JARED WITH BARK. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR EVERYTHING YOU GUYS DO. THANKS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SO, UM, THE BARK I SAW LIKE 6 31 IS THE PER CAPITA. I MEAN, I'LL PUT IT IN WRITING, BUT ONCE AGAIN I'D LIKE TO COMPARE THAT WITH ALL THE OTHER CITIES WITH A MUCH HIGHER PER CAPITA BARK SPEND. I SEE NIKKI OUT THERE. I SAID WE'RE TRYING TO GET BARK SOME ALWAYS TRYING TO GET, BARK SOME, UH, RESOURCES. UM, ALSO WHILE WE'RE SHOUTING OUT PEOPLE, KATHERINE BRUNING, MAN, SHE'S THE BEST. HELPING US ON THE NOISE AND VARIOUS OTHER THINGS. UM, UH, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER'S OFFICE. THANK. THANK YOU MARY CHAIR. I JUST WANTED TO, UH, MENTION ON BEHALF OF CHAIR OF WARMAN CARTER FOR RESILIENCE THAT ALL THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE COMMITTEE ARE GONNA BE MEASURABLE MOVING FORWARD. SO JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT POINT. OH, WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND COUNCIL MEMBER, YOUR, UH, PAGE 48 HAS YOUR ANIMAL CONTROL BUDGET PER CAPITA FOR ALL THE STATES TOO, BECAUSE WE KNEW YOU WOULD ASK THE WHAT ON THE WHAT PER YOUR, YOUR PER CAP PER CAPITA. YEAH. WHAT IS IT? UM, GET ON THERE. THANK YOU. SO THIS IS FY 23 NUMBERS FOR HOUSTON, UH, AND FY 23. IT WAS 6 75. OUR CURRENT BUDGET, IT'S GONNA BE 6 33. SAN ANTONIO JUST GOT AN INCREASE. UM, SO THEY WERE AT, I THINK WE JUST MISSED IT. PARDON? PUT IT BACK. OH, YOU'RE, SHE'S FINE. THERE YOU GO. THERE YOU ARE. YEAH. EVERYBODY TAKE A GOOD LONG HARD LOOK AT THIS. AND WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING DOWN THIS YEAR FROM 6 75 TO 6 31. LOOK AT YOUR FOOTNOTES TOO. SAN ANTONIO AND DALLAS JUST BOTH RECEIVED BUDGET INCREASES. SO THEY'RE, THIS WAS SET 5 23 IN THE MAIN GRID, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR FOOTNOTES, THEY'RE NOW AT 1928 AND 1667 RESPECTIVELY. IT'S PRETTY EYE-OPENING. THANK YOU FOR THAT. COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. YES. UH, THE MADAM CHAIR COMMENTED THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING DOWN THIS FISCAL YEAR. CAN YOU TELL US WHY WE'RE GOING DOWN? UM, WE HAD A LOT OF ONE-TIME MONEY THAT WAS IN THE FY 24 NUMBER AND THOSE ARE BEING REDUCED FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR. 'CAUSE IT WAS JUST ONE-TIME MONEY. WE HAD A LOT OF EXTRA MONEY LAST YEAR BECAUSE OF ARPA, WHICH HAS GONE AWAY. AND NOW WE'D ACTUALLY BE TAKING IT FROM THE GENERAL FUND. OKAY. TINA, GREAT TO HEAR FROM YOU. EVERYBODY AT A RA. WE LOVE YOU. YOU DO GREAT WORK OUT THERE AND I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR ALL YOUR SERVICE TO THE CITY. I DO NOT THINK WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS, BUT OH YEAH, WE DO. TAMMY. TAMMY, YOU GOTTA BE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. UM, ABOUT THAT LANGUAGE. TERRY. TERRY. NOT TAMMY. SORRY. IT'S GETTING TERRY. UM, TERRY, WELCOME. TERRY CHEN, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. VALERIE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR GOOD WORK TOO. THANK YOU. UM, I, MY NAME IS TERRY CHEN. [00:40:01] I'M THE ORGANIZING AND POLICY ASSOCIATE FOR WOODY JUNTOS. UM, AS WE'VE BEEN ADVOCATING OVER AND OVER FOR MANY CONSTITUENTS DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH AS THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE IN HOUSTON. UM, AND IT'S CRITICAL WHEN WE THINK ABOUT 3 1 1. I'M SO EXCITED TO HEAR ABOUT THE CHAT OPTION IN 71 LANGUAGES. I DO WANT TO ALSO MENTION THAT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF ELDER FOLKS MAY NOT BE TECH OR PHONE SAVVY, SO I STILL WANNA PUSH FOR AT LEAST ONE OTHER LANGUAGE ON THE PHONE TREE IF POSSIBLE. UM, AT A MINIMUM, INCLUDING VIETNAMESE. THIS IS A PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE, A QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUE. AND YES, I DO WANNA GIVE BIG PRAISE AND SHOUT OUT FOR THE, UM, CHAT, CHAT AND TEXT OPTION, BUT STILL WANNA PUSH FOR MORE IF POSSIBLE. THAT'S ALL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH TERRY. REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR ADVOCACY AND INVOLVEMENT. IT'S MAKING A DIFFERENCE. OKAY, ANYBODY ELSE? MONICA. MONICA. OH, MONICA ROSCO. OH MY GOSH. WE TOTALLY MISSED YOU YESTERDAY, BUT WE GOT YOUR WRITTEN REMARKS AND THIS IS MY GIRL SCOUT THAT HELPED WITH OUR COMPOSTING PROGRAM AND SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO SPEAK YESTERDAY, BUT SHE'S GONNA SPEAK TODAY. GREAT TO SEE YOU. HI. GOOD TO SEE YOU TOO. SO SORRY ABOUT YESTERDAY. I HOPE STILL RECEIVED THE SAME IMPACT. UM, SO GOOD AFTERNOON TO EVERYBODY HERE. UM, I'M MONICA OROZCO. UM, THIS SUMMER I'M WORKING AS A STUDENT LEADER WITH ENVIRONMENT TEXAS. UM, ENVIRONMENT TEXAS IS A NONPROFIT ADVOCATE FOR CLEAN AIR AND WATER PARKS AND WILDLIFE AND A LIVABLE CLIMATE. I'M HERE TODAY BECAUSE I'M COMMITTED TO LEAVING A CLEAN AND GREEN EARTH FOR THE GENERATIONS THAT FOLLOW AND FOR MYSELF 'CAUSE I PLAN TO BE HERE FOR A WHILE. UH, I GREW UP HERE IN HOUSTON, TEXAS, UNAWARE OF THE IMPACT THAT MY ACTIONS HAVE ON THE ENVIRONMENT. BUT IN HIGH SCHOOL I LEARNED THE IMPORTANCE OF CARING FOR OUR PLANET AND BEGAN A COMPOSTING DROP OFF PILOT PROGRAM IN THE HOUSTON HEIGHTS. AS YOU KNOW, COUNCILMAN ALCORN. UM, AS I COMMEND YOUR COMMITMENT TO EXPANDING COMPOSTING IN THE CITY AS WELL. THIS PROJECT IGNITED MY DESIRE TO FULLY IMMERSE MYSELF IN SUSTAINABLE HABITS WHILE EDUCATING THOSE AROUND ME AND ADVOCATING FOR SUSTAINABILITY. I'M HERE TODAY TO URGE THE CITY COUNCIL TO ADOPT A BUDGET THAT ENSURES THE CITY IS ON PACE TO HIT OUR CLIMATE GOALS. WHILE WE'VE MADE SOME PROGRESS SINCE THE PLAN WAS ADOPTED IN 2020, SUCH AS GETTING 100% OF POWER FOR THE CITY GOVERNMENT FROM RENEWABLE ENERGY, GOOD WORK, IT'S CLEAR WE ARE NOT ON TRACK TO HIT MANY OF THE OTHER GOALS OR TO MEET THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT GOAL OF CARBON NEUTRALITY BY 2050. IN SOME WAYS, SUCH AS REDUCING VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED, WE MAY BE GOING BACKWARDS AS BIKE LANES, SIDEWALKS AND TRANSIT LINES ARE CUT. I RECOGNIZE THE CITY IS IN A VERY CHALLENGING FISCAL SITUATION, SO SOME CREATIVITY MAY BE NECESSARY TO MAKE SURE WE STAY ON PACE. UM, SOME EXAMPLES, UM, THE CITY COULD AGGRESSIVELY SEEK OUT FEDERAL FUNDING FROM THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT TO REDUCE BUILDING ENERGY USE THROUGH ENERGY EFFICIENCY, SOLAR AND OTHER COST SAVING MEASURES. THE CITY CAN SAVE MONEY BY CUTTING FUNDING FOR PROGRAMS WHICH INCREASE CARBON EMISSIONS, SUCH AS THE CHEMICAL RECYCLING PROGRAM OF THE SO-CALLED HOUSTON RECYCLING COLLABORATION, WHICH I WAS GONNA SPEAK ABOUT YESTERDAY. UM, RAISING MONEY BY ADOPTING A GARBAGE FEE AS SOMEONE MENTIONED YESTERDAY. ALSO, UH, THAT SOME CITIES HAVE A, UM, CHARGING IF YOU DON'T RECYCLE KIND OF FEE, WHICH BRINGS RES REVENUE AND UM, PROVES TO BE A WIN-WIN FOR THE CITY AS WELL. AND FINALLY, PARTNERING WITH THIRD PARTIES SUCH AS TEXAS POWER SWITCH TO MARKET, 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY PLANS TO HOUSTON RESIDENTS AT NO COST TO THE CITY. AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR YOU TODAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH, HUGO WITH COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER'S OFFICE. OH NO, YOU MUST STILL BE IN THE QUEUE FROM EARLIER, BUT UM, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GET INVOLVED WITH THE RESILIENCE COMMITTEE THAT, THAT UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER NOW CHAIRS AND UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN IS THE VICE CHAIR. UM, YOU ARE A BRIGHT SPOT IN OUR CITY. YOU ARE DOING GREAT WORK AND I REALLY, UM, I REALLY THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND TO OUR CITY. THANKS FOR BEING HERE TODAY. IT MEANS A LOT. YEAH, OF COURSE. AND I THANK YOU FOR PUTTING IN THE EFFORT AND SHOWING THAT YOU CARE AS WELL. IT MEANS A LOT. WE'VE ONLY GOT 10 MORE YEARS LEFT ON THAT MCCARTY LANDFILL MAN. WE GOTTA DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. YEAH, TRUE. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, TAKE CARE. YOU TOO, COLLEAGUES. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. UM, GREAT TO BE WITH EVERYBODY AND WE WILL RESUME THIS ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON. TUESDAY AFTERNOON OR NO MEMORIAL. YES, TUESDAY AFTERNOON. HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND. JUST CANCELED. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.