[Public Safety Committee on September 10, 2024.]
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I'M LOSING MY VOICE A LITTLE BIT, BUT I'LL DO THE BEST I CAN.
UM, I AM CALLING THIS MEETING TO ORDER AT 10:03 AM WE ARE JOINED TODAY, UM, BY COUNCIL MEMBERS FLICKINGER HUFFMAN RAMIREZ, ALCORN CARTER, AND COUNCIL MEMBER EVAN SHABAZZ IS JOINING US ONLINE, AND WE ARE JOINED BY STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON THOMAS MAYOR PRO TEM CASTEX TATUM'S, OFFICE COUNCIL MEMBER EVAN SHABAZZ'S, OFFICE AND COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO'S OFFICE AND STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER'S OFFICE AS WELL.
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
WE HAVE, UM, THREE PRESENTATIONS TODAY.
UM, WE ARE ALSO JOINED IN THE AUDIENCE BY A FEW GUESTS, INCLUDING, UM, CHIEF SATTERWHITE, DIRECTOR OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY.
AND I ALSO SEE MARTY LINKEDIN, PRESIDENT OF THE HOUSTON PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION.
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
UM, SO FIRST WE'LL HAVE INTRODUCTORY REMARKS FROM, UM, OUR NEW FIRE CHIEF AND NEW POLICE CHIEF, AND THEN THAT WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A PRESENTATION ABOUT THE CITY COUNCIL BUDGET AMENDMENTS.
DURING THE BUDGET TIME, WE HAD SEVERAL BUDGET AMENDMENTS THAT, UM, WERE REFERRED TO THIS COMMITTEE, SO WE WERE GOING TO DO PRESENTATIONS ON THOSE.
SO UP FIRST WE'LL BE, UM, CHIEF MUNOZ, AND THEN, UM, FOLLOWED BY CHIEF DIAZ.
AND WE BASICALLY WANTED TO GIVE BOTH CHIEFS THE OPPORTUNITY JUST TO TALK TO THE COMMITTEE AND TELL US WHAT THEY'RE WORKING ON AND ANSWER QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU ALL THIS MORNING.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO YOU, BUT ALSO TO THE STAFF BEHIND ME, OUR COMMAND STAFF, YOU KNOW, AS YOU MENTIONED THEM.
UH, WE GOT CHIEF WHITE, CHIEF GALVAN, CHIEF WEST, UH, CHIEF MARTINEZ, DR.
PER, AND WE GOT, UH, MARTY LANGTON, LOCAL THREE, UH, 41 PRESIDENT WITH US AS WELL, YOU KNOW, WORKING HAND IN HAND AND TRYING TO DEFINITELY SET THE GOALS.
I HOPE I DIDN'T FORGET ANYBODY.
UM, SO FIRST OF ALL, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT RIGHT, FOR THE FIRST, YOU KNOW, FIRST THING WE'RE LOOKING AT IS OBVIOUSLY THE STAFFING THAT WE'RE WORKING HARD DILIGENTLY TO, TO ENSURE THAT WE PICK UP THOSE NUMBERS.
I THINK IT'S, UH, FINAL REPORTS HAVE SHOWN APPROXIMATELY 600.
HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE STARTED THE REHIRING PROCESS AND AGREEMENTS, UH, YESTERDAY, HAVE THOSE PEOPLE THAT HAVE LEFT AND NOW COMING BACK.
SO WE SET THE PROCESS, BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY WITH HR, ALSO WORKING HARD WITH GSD ON IDENTIFYING OUR STATIONS THAT HAVE HAD ISSUES.
YOU KNOW, CJ MESSIAH AND HIS TEAM HAVE REALLY WORKED WITH US, COLLABORATED WITH US TO ENSURE THAT WE IDENTIFY THOSE STATIONS THAT ARE NEEDING THE HELP ASSISTANCE IN, IN HOW WE CAN GET THAT.
UH, I DO, UH, APPRECIATE THEIR SUPPORT ON THE STREAMLINE PROCESS OF HOW WE GET THIS, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE GOT OVER A HUNDRED STATIONS THAT WE HAVE TO HANDLE, THAT HE HAS TO HANDLE ON TOP OF ALL THE OTHER BUILDINGS.
SO IT'S, IT'S A GOOD PROCESS THAT WE'VE MET.
AND OF COURSE, THE APPARATUS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT'S THE TIMELINE LOOKING, WORKING WITH OUR FLEET MANAGEMENT, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE EXPIRATION DATES ON THOSE? UM, SO THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TAKING PLACE.
ONE THING THAT WE ARE DOING TOO, AS WE'RE VERY PROUD OF, IS, UM, MEETING WITH THE FIREFIGHTERS.
YOU KNOW, GOING OUT AND HAVING DINNER.
UM, WE JUST HAD ONE WITH STATION SIX YESTERDAY, YOU KNOW, OURSELVES, THE LOCAL, JUST TO LET THEM KNOW THAT WE'RE HERE FOR THEM, THAT WE WORK FOR THEM, AND WE ALSO WORK FOR THE RESIDENTS, RIGHT? SO WE'RE ESTABLISHING THAT WHOLE COMMUNITY APPROACH, NOT ONLY INTERNALLY, BUT EXTERNALLY AS WELL, WORKING WITH THE, THE COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE CITY TO MAKE THAT, UH, THE FIREFIGHTER ACCESSIBLE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THE MAIN UNDERLYING THING IS THERE'S SAFETY TO ENSURE THAT WE GET THEY, THAT THE RESIDENTS GET THE SUPPORT THAT IS NEEDED DURING THEIR WORST TIMES.
UM, BUT THOSE IS IN A NUTSHELL SOME OF THE BIG THINGS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
UH, AS I TELL THE STAFF ALL THE TIME, WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO.
WE'VE BEEN PUTTING IN SOME LONG HOURS LOOKING AT WHAT WE CAN IMPROVE ON, LOOKING AT WHERE OUR GAP ANALYSIS ARE, AND THEN HOW TO WORK SMARTER WITH WHAT WE HAVE AND MAKE THAT, EXPAND THAT, YOU KNOW, GOOD THING THAT'S VERY HELPFUL IS WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE UNION AND TO ENSURE THAT COLLABORATION EXISTS AND CONTINUES.
UH, HAD A GREAT VISIT, UH, WITH THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS, UH, WENT THERE WITH THEM TO SHOW THAT WE SUPPORT NOT ONLY THE UNION, BUT WHO MAY, WHO COMPRISES THE
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UNION, WHICH IS OUR MEMBERS.SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS DEFINITELY, UH, WE'RE VERY PROUD OF, OF WORKING TOGETHER WITH THAT.
AND THE MAIN OBJECTIVE IS ALSO TO LET THE FIREFIGHTERS KNOW THAT WE ARE HERE FOR THEM, THAT WE DO HAVE THOSE ISSUES.
SO, BUT YEAH, WE DID START THAT REHIRING PROGRAM, UM, AND IT'S GOOD.
WE HAVE HAD APPROXIMATELY 130 THAT HAVE CALLED, UH, THAT WANT TO COME BACK.
YOU KNOW, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, I KNOW THAT STATION ONE OH ONES SOME GOOD NEWS.
UH, I BELIEVE BY OCTOBER WE SHOULD HAVE THEIR, THEIR LIVING QUARTERS IMPROVED.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT ON THAT.
BUT AGAIN, THAT'S WITH GSD WORKING AND, AND YOU KNOW, AS THE CHIEF GALVAN HELPING THEM AS WELL WITH THE PERMITTING AND THOSE TYPE OF ISSUES THAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT.
UM, YOU KIND OF TOUCHED UPON THE DIFFERENT, THE NEEDS ON THE DIFFERENT STATIONS.
ARE YOU WORKING AT ALL ON A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF ALL THE STATIONS AND WHAT THE NEEDS ARE? I KNOW THAT IN DISTRICT A AT THE STATIONS, WE KIND OF HEAR ABOUT ISSUES AS WE GO AND VISIT THE STATIONS, AND THEY TELL US THERE'S AN ISSUE HERE AND THERE, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S NOT REALLY A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF WHAT THE NEEDS ARE AND WHAT THE TIMELINE IS TO FIX IT.
SO WE'RE, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, WORKING WITH GSD, WE DO HAVE THAT, THAT INDEX MEASURES OF WHICH IS THE BEST TO THE WORST, WHAT'S THE COST AMOUNT GONNA BE? AND THEN WORKING WITH GSD IS, WHAT ARE THOSE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS THAT I TALKED ABOUT.
SO WE GOT TWO OF THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, BUT WE ALSO HAVE THE GENERAL MAINTENANCE THAT, YOU KNOW, ACS BREAKING DOWN, UM, OTHER ISSUES THAT WE FIND PLUMBING ISSUES THAT ARE JUST THOSE THREE OR FOUR DAY FIXES.
SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT WITH, WE DO HAVE THAT LIST, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE FROM THE, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S IT GONNA COST, AND THEN WE HAVE THOSE THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS A PROJECTED TIMELINE ON A CERTAIN STATION? IS IT GONNA BE A REPLACEMENT? SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT C-J-M-S-I AND HIS TEAM ARE VERY GOOD WITH US.
WE HAVE STANDING MEETINGS NOW TO SEE WHAT THAT PROJECT TIMELINE'S GONNA LOOK LIKE, NOT ONLY IN THE GENERAL MAINTENANCE PIECE THAT YOU GET THOSE EVERYDAY CALLS, BUT THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS AND WHAT'S THE HOLD UP ON THAT.
SO I'LL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, THANK YOU.
HOW ARE, UM, SOMETHING WE WERE WORKING ON WITH THE PREVIOUS CHIEF WAS, UH, CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY ISSUES THAT COME ABOUT AT DIFFERENT SPECIAL.
MAINLY WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT CLUBS AND BARS AND STUFF AND, AND GETTING A WAY TO PUT MORE TEETH.
AND IF PEOPLE DON'T HAVE A CURRENT CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY, A WAY TO KIND OF LIKE SHUT 'EM DOWN.
AND I KNOW WE CLEAR BARS AND WE DO THAT AND, BUT, BUT SEEMS LIKE WE STOP SHORT OF EVER KIND OF REALLY ENFORCING THAT ISSUE.
SO I JUST, I THINK THERE WAS A TASK FORCE BEING PUT TOGETHER OR SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT WORK KIND OF CONTINUES SO WE CAN ADDRESS SOME OF THE ISSUES WE'VE HAD WITH SOME REPEAT VIOLATORS OF, OF CLUBS THAT DON'T HAVE THE PROPER PAPERWORK.
NO, I APPRECIATE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND, AND I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, CHIEF GALVAN NOW WHO WAS THE EX FIRE MARSHAL'S BACK WITH US ON STAFF.
SO THAT'S A, A GREAT ADDITION TO THE TEAM WITH HIS TALENTS AND OVER 30 YEARS.
AND, UH, FORTUNATELY WE TALKED HIM OUT OF RETIRING, SO HE'S GONNA BE WITH US A LITTLE LONGER, CHIEF.
SO WORKING WITH THAT GROUP, UH, HAS BEEN GREAT ON THAT.
AND WE GOT WORK, AND I KNOW IT'S NOT JUST FIRE, THERE'S PUBLIC WORKS AND OTHER PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THIS ISSUE, BUT ANY, ANYWAY, WE CAN KIND OF PUT SOME MORE TEETH INTO, UM, TO THE ISSUES WE HAVE, UM, CONCERNING, LIKE, PEOPLE, IT'S LIKE WE, WE DON'T, WE, WE WANT YOU TO HAVE HAVE A CERTIFICATE OFF AND SAY, BUT IT'S OKAY IF YOU DON'T KIND OF ATTITUDE.
YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE WE, WE CAN GIVE THEM A TA RED TAG OR WHATEVER, BUT WE CAN'T REALLY DO MUCH ELSE.
THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE
ANYTHING ELSE? THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS IN THE QUEUE.
I HOPE YOUR VOICE GETS BETTER.
UP NEXT, WE'LL BE A PRESENTATION FROM OUR NEW, UM, POLICE CHIEF CHIEF DIAZ.
AND I DID WANNA RECOGNIZE ALSO THAT, UM, WE WERE JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS AS WELL.
UH, THANK YOU CHAIRWOMAN PECK.
I APPRECIATE THE CHANCE TO COME BEFORE YOU AND EVERYONE ON THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, UH, BUT ALSO KNOW THAT I'M ALWAYS AVAILABLE OFFLINE.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR PUBLIC MEETING FOR ME TO ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
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I STRONGLY BELIEVE IN SERVANT LEADERSHIP, AND PART OF IT IS BEING READY TO WORK WITH YOU WHENEVER YOU NEED IN YOUR DISTRICTS.UH, TOMORROW MARKS MY FULL MONTH AS A CHIEF, UH, POLICE, UH, AN INCREDIBLE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO FANTASTIC PEOPLE.
UH, THE COMMUNITY EVENTS HAVE BEEN VERY, UH, WARM, UH, UH, GROWTH FOR ME, UH, ME AND THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF FOLKS WE HAVE IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, SO I'VE BEEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME JUST KIND OF GETTING OUT AND, AND, AND MEETING THE COMMUNITY AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY KNOW WHO I AM AND ME GETTING A FEEL FOR THEM.
UH, OUR, OUR RELATIONSHIP AS A, AS A POLICE DEPARTMENT IS PARAMOUNT THAT WE HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY.
AND EVERY ASPECT, GOOD, BAD, OR INDIFFERENT.
UH, YOU'LL SEE MORE OF THAT FROM OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT WITHIN YOUR DISTRICTS, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, BEING RESPONSIVE AND, AND PROVIDING EXCEPTIONAL POLICE SERVICES TO THIS COMMUNITY AS THE COMMUNITY DESERVES.
WE, WE CAN'T CLAIM TO BE A, A WORLD CLASS CITY WHEN WE HAVE, UH, MARGIN MARGINAL OR LESS THAN EXCEPTIONAL SERVICES FROM OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF CHALLENGES AHEAD OF US, UH, BOTH WITH OUR STAFFING AND OUR BUDGET, BUT I'M CONFIDENT THAT WITH A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT AND COUNCIL, UM, THAT, THAT WE CAN MEET THOSE, MEET THOSE NEEDS IN THE MIDDLE, UH, AS LONG WITH, UH, AS WELL AS WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF MAYOR JOHN WHITMEYER.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT YESTERDAY OF THE STARTING POLICE OFFICER PAY INCREASES IS AN EXCELLENT STEP.
UH, I CAN TELL YOU I WAS PRESENT AND THE, THE YOUNG PEOPLE THAT ARE THE FUTURE LEADERS OF THIS POLICE DEPARTMENT, THEY WERE, WERE, WERE VERY, UH, THEY WERE SHOCKED THAT THAT CAME AND HAPPENED.
'CAUSE THEY DIDN'T ANTICIPATE IT.
BUT IT'S BECAUSE OF THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
I, I KNOW HOW VALUABLE THE RESOURCE IS.
I KNOW IN A BIG CITY HOW HARD IT IS TO GET RESOURCES, BUT THEY APPRECIATED IT.
UH, MORE THAN YOU'LL EVER KNOW.
THE SMILES ON THEIR FACES WERE REAL.
UH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, UH, BECAUSE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS, IS, UH, WITHIN THE TAPESTRY OF THIS CITY, AND WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO GROW WITH IT AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DEVELOPING OUR TEAM TO MEET THE FUTURE NEEDS AND GROWING EFFICIENTLY, EFFECTIVELY WITH THIS COMMUNITY.
SO WE DON'T, UH, FALL SHORT, UH, FOR THE COMMUNITY IN ANY ASPECT.
ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHIEF.
UH, FIRST IS COUNCIL MEMBER MAYOR RAMIREZ.
COUNCIL, WELL, THANK YOU, CHIEF.
UM, I JUST WANT TO SAY, UH, I APPRECIATE YOU AND CHIEF MUNOZ, UH, GETTING OUT IN THE COMMUNITY AND MEETING FOLKS.
THAT'S PROBABLY NOT WRITTEN IN THE JOB DESCRIPTION IN DETAIL, BUT IT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE JOB, AND IT'S GOOD TO SEE BOTH OF YOU RISING TO THAT CHALLENGE AND BUILDING TRUST WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO, UH, THANK YOU BOTH FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING, AND, UH, I ASSUME WE'LL GET INTO MORE DETAIL THROUGH THE PRESENTATION SHORTLY.
THANK, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER.
UH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S VERY WARM, UH, FOR ME TO VISIT WITH PEOPLE.
IT'S, IT'S, UH, IT SHOULD BE AT THE VERY TOP OF MY JOB DESCRIPTION, RIGHT? UH, THAT, THAT, THAT WE ARE ACCESSIBLE AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UH, PEOPLE KNOW WHO WE ARE AND WE'RE PART OF THE, ON A FIRST NAME BASIS.
AND I, I LOOK FORWARD TO OTHER, OTHER MEETINGS THAT WE HAVE IN YOUR COMMUNITIES.
UH, I'M EXCITED FOR 'EM AND I, GOOD, BAD OR INDIFFERENT.
I GET THE COMPLAINTS, I GET THE LOVE.
UH, BUT, BUT WE'RE HERE TO SERVE IN EVERY ASPECT.
SO IT'S REAL, UH, POLICE BUSINESSES, UH, IS IT, IT'S NOT OF 1950 OR 60 MODEL.
SO WE HAVE TO MEET THOSE CHALLENGES FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
WE HAVE TO MEET THE NEEDS AND THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE PEOPLE WHOM WE SERVE.
I GOT THAT APPLICATION, MR. DAVIS FOR RIDE.
CHIEF, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU IN, YOU IN THE FIRE CHIEF.
LET ME JUST, FIRST OF ALL BY SAYING CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND A GREAT START AS WELL AS CHIEF KNOWS BOTH, YOU ARE DOING A GREAT START IN REGARDS TO OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AND FIRE DEPARTMENT, JUST OUTSTANDING.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING, UH, WITH BOTH OF YOU FROM THE MINISTER ADVISORIES GROUP THAT WE ARE PUTTING TOGETHER.
AND IT'S GONNA BE A BIG KICKOFF FOR THEM.
AND, UM, AND ALSO JUST TO LET YOU KNOW THAT YOUR, UM, A LOT OF YOUR IDEALS AND, YOU KNOW, ARE ON TARGET BECAUSE IT'S OUR DUTY TO BE AS PROACTIVE, BEEN REACTIVE TO MANY OF OUR CRIME.
AND YOU HAVE THE PROFESSIONALISM, AND OF COURSE, CHIEF MUNOZ THE SAME WITH THE RECRUITING
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SIDE OF ADDING MORE, UH, FIREFIGHTERS AS WELL AS WE'RE DOING WITH POLICE OFFICERS.YES, IT WAS AN OUTSTANDING JOB.
AND THEN OF COURSE, WE WILL MEET, UM, TO INTRODUCE THAT, UH, PPP THAT I SPOKE TO THE ADMINISTRATION ABOUT.
BUT CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND, UH, BOTH CHIEF MUNOZ FOR THE WORK YOU'RE DOING.
IT'S THAT JUST, I'M JUST ONE PERSON.
I HAVE AN INCREDIBLE TEAM BEHIND ME THAT DOES THIS STUFF EVERY SINGLE DAY.
UH, THE CIVILIAN, OUR CIVILIAN STAFF IS JUST STELLAR.
AND, UH, THEY, THEY'RE, THEY'RE DRIVEN.
UH, SO WE'RE, WE'RE HERE TO SERVE.
AND, UH, THIS, THIS JOB DOESN'T HAPPEN WITH A, WITHOUT THE MEN AND WOMEN BEHIND US.
SO, UH, I'M, I'M ALWAYS GOING TO CHAMPION, UH, AND I'VE SAID IT BEFORE PUBLICLY, THAT SILVER BADGE THAT'S IN KINGWOOD ON NIGHT SHIFT WITH TUESDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS OFF, RIGHT.
THAT'S GOT, THEY MAY NOT SEE A, A DAY SHIFT FOR 15 YEARS.
SO THAT, THAT'S WHO I WORK FOR, UH, THAT THAT'S WHO I'M GONNA ALWAYS CHAMPION.
AND TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THE NEXT GENERATION OF POLICE OFFICERS IS TREATED WITH THE SAME RESPECT AND DECENCY AND, UH, NOT, NOT GET SO, UH, HIGHFALUTIN AT, AT 1200 TRAVIS AND, AND FOCUS ON THE NEEDS OF OUR MEN AND WOMEN, BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE ACTUALLY DOING THE WORK.
THEY'RE THE ONES FACE TO FACE WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE MEETING THOSE NEEDS.
SO THEY NEED TO BE CHAMPIONED AND APPLAUDED AT EVERY, AT EVERY STEP.
AND, AND LAST, BUT THE, THE POINT OF IT IS THAT PP PIECE IS TO HIGHLIGHT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
PART OF THAT PPP IS TO HIGHLIGHT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WITH PASTOR WITH PEOPLE.
THAT'S THE REAL ISSUE, BECAUSE WE NEED THAT PASTOR, YOU AB YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY FORGIVE ME, UH, THIS BUSINESS, THE POLICE BUSINESS MM-HMM
IS ABOUT PEOPLE, AND IT'S ALWAYS GONNA BE ABOUT PEOPLE THAT, THAT IT'S, THERE'S NO SECRET SAUCE TO IT.
AND THAT I, I, I LOOK FORWARD, UH, TO ATTENDING IT.
I LOOK FORWARD TO VISITING WITH SOME YOUNG MM-HMM
MEN AND WOMEN TO BRING THEM INTO OUR RANKS.
UH, BECAUSE, UH, THEY'RE ALREADY NOBLE PEOPLE IF THEY'RE ATTENDING SERVICES AND WORSHIPING AND, AND THEIR PARENTS HAVE GOT 'EM TO THAT POINT, FOR US, IT'S JUST OUR STAFF TRAINING THEM TO BE POLICE OFFICERS.
AND, AND SO FOR ME, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S AN HONOR TO ATTEND THEM.
BECAUSE I REALLY FEEL THAT, UH, AND I BELIEVE IN THAT THE COMMUNITY OF FAITH IS, IS IS A CHAMPION FOR THIS OFFICE.
AND IF WE DON'T CHAMPION THAT, THEN NO ONE, WE'RE NOT DOING OUR JOBS.
WELL, SO THANK YOU FOR, THANK YOU FOR THE KINDNESS, AND I'M HONORED.
UM, WE ARE ALSO JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN.
UM, SHE WAS COMING FROM A PRESS CONFERENCE ABOUT, UM, SUICIDE VETERAN SUICIDE PREVENTION.
SO THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN FOR JOINING US AND STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ'S OFFICE AS WELL.
UP NEXT IS COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER.
UM, THANK YOU FOR AGREEING OUT TO COME OUT TO OUR TOWN HALL NEXT WEEK.
AND ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO HELP YOU, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF, UH, CONSTERNATION OVER THE CASES THAT WEREN'T WORKED OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS.
UM, I ASSUME YOU STILL DON'T HAVE THE MANPOWER TO WORK EVERY CASE.
WE ARE WORKING IT AT, AT, UH, BREAK NET BREAKNECK SPEED.
I THINK WE'RE, YOU'RE GETTING A CONSTANT UPDATE.
MOST OF THE COUNCIL IS, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE IS GETTING AN UPDATE TO WHERE WE'RE AT.
UH, WE'RE, WE'RE, AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE MOVING RESOURCES FROM OTHER JOBS MM-HMM
UH, SO WE'RE, WE'VE MADE A LOT OF HEADWAY ON IT.
AND, AND THAT'S THE BACKLOG, RIGHT? THAT'S THE BACKLOG.
SO NOW WE'RE STARTING TO PROCESS, UM, SOME PEOPLE BACK INTO THEIR ORIGINAL JOB, SO THEY DON'T HAVE A STACK OF REPORTS TO GO BACK TO.
NOW, HOW DOES IT LOOK GOING FORWARD? OH, WELL, WE'RE SHORT STAFFED THAT, THAT'S THE REALITY OF THIS BUSINESS.
UH, SO GOING FORWARD, WE'RE GONNA BE, BECAUSE OF COUNCIL, WE'RE GONNA GET A NEW RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN RMS SYSTEM THAT'LL COMPLETELY HELP WITH US PROCESSING, UH, HOW WE REPORT.
AND SO WHERE THERE'S NOT DIFFERENT REPORT WRITING SCHEMES OR, OR REPORTS, UH, NOT STYLED CORRECTLY, WHERE THEY'RE ACTUALLY ALL, UH, ROWAN IN THE SAME DIRECTION, AND WE CAN, THE REPORT WILL ACTUALLY FIND THE RIGHT PERSON TO WORK IT.
SO, SO, BUT AGAIN, IF, FOR US, IF THERE'S CHALLENGES, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE STAFFING SHORTAGES THROUGHOUT THE DEPARTMENT, BUT AGAIN, IT'S A PRIORITY AND WE'LL GET THROUGH IT.
DO WE HAVE ENOUGH RESOURCES TO WORK EVERY CASE? AT THE MOMENT, WE DO NOT.
WE'RE PULLING STAFF FROM OTHER DISCIPLINES WITHIN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT FROM, UH, MAJOR OFFENDERS, FROM, 'CAUSE IT TAKES THIS, IT IS AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT.
SO, BUT WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS THOSE GOALS TO, TO ENSURE THAT, THAT WE'RE, THEY'RE MEETING THOSE NEEDS.
IS THERE GONNA BE SOME KIND OF REPORT TO MAKE SURE THE PUBLIC'S FULLY AWARE OF THE NUMBER OF CASES THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO GET TO, AND WHAT THOSE CASES CONSISTED OF? SO SHORTLY,
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UH, THERE, THERE WILL BE A DASHBOARD AVAILABLE TO THE COMMUNITY.THAT'LL REPORT IT IN REAL TIME SO PEOPLE CAN SEE WHERE THESE, UH, CASES ARE.
AND THEN YOU CAN, THE COMMUNITY CAN GO UP THERE AND SEE WHERE THE CASES ARE, HOW THEY'RE BEING WORKED, AND WHERE WE ARE AS A METRIC COMPARED TO WHERE WE WERE AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE INVESTIGATION.
UH, THE, THE, THE, THE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR IS, IS, IS HONEST EVERY DAY ABOUT IT.
SO WE MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE'RE ON TOP OF IT.
AND AT LEAST MY OPINION IS THAT AS LONG AS YOU'RE IMPROVING EVERY DAY.
THAT'S, THAT'S ALL YOU CAN ASK FOR.
UH, WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING, WE'RE BETTER THAN YESTERDAY WITH RESPECT TO THE SL CASES.
AND WE'RE ALSO JOINED, UM, ONLINE BY STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER POLLARD'S OFFICE AS WELL.
UP NEXT STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS'S OFFICE.
UM, CHIEF NOE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
UH, YOU MENTIONED, UM, THE DEPARTMENTS ABOUT THE PEOPLE, UM, PEOPLE FIRST, I THINK THAT STANDS FOR THIS CITY AND THIS COUNCIL, AS WELL AS WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS STANDS FOR IN HER OFFICE.
YOU KNOW, SHE HAD A GREAT WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH PREVIOUS CHIEFS, UH, CHIEF, UH, CHIEF OF POLICE AND, AND FIRE CHIEF AS WELL.
SO WE THANK BOTH OF YOUR LEADERSHIP, UH, CHIEF DIAZ AND CHIEF MUNOZ, AND THIS NEW, THIS NEW, UH, THIS NEW WAVE OF LEADERSHIP THAT YOU HAVE BOTH BRING TO, TO HOUSTON.
AND WE HOPE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE WORKING TOGETHER, UH, WITH OUR OFFICES.
UH, WE KNOW WE HAD SOME RECENT FIRES IN A LEAF IN THE SOUTHWEST SIDE, UH, UM, LAST MONTH.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE DEATH OF THE CONSTABLE, UH, LAST WEEK AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S VERY TRAGIC AND IN THESE TRAGIC TIMES THAT WE HOPE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR OFFICES AND HAVE THAT OPEN DIALOGUE AND SEE HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO ADDRESS THE COMMUNITY AND ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY AND LET THE PEOPLE KNOW THAT WE'RE HERE STANDING TOGETHER.
UH, WITH THAT BEING SAID, NATIONAL NIGHT OUTS COMING AROUND THE CORNER.
I'M SURE YOU'RE GONNA GET A LOT OF INVITATIONS OUT THERE.
AND I WANT TO GO AHEAD AND EXTEND OUR INVITATION TO VISIT A FEW OF OUR COMMUNITIES.
AND WE, IF I'M NOT THERE, WE'LL BE THERE.
IT'LL, IT'LL BE, THAT'S ONE NIGHT OF THE YEAR THAT I'LL SPEED A LITTLE BIT.
SO, UH, I, I, I'LL, I'LL MAKE SURE THAT I MAKE AS MANY EVENTS THAT I CAN GO TO.
UH, AND I WANT TO THANK COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS FOR, FOR HER CANDIDNESS, FOR HER TOUGH QUESTIONS.
AND, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE HERE TO MAKE HER DISTRICT BETTER.
AND IT STARTS WITH, WITH THE COLLABORATIVE, WITH THE COMMUNICATION.
SO, UH, I, I HAVE NO QUALMS GOING TO MEET HER THERE AND, AND VISITING WITH HER.
AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER SHE NEEDS FROM THIS OFFICE IS, IS BEING, THAT HER NEEDS ARE BEING MET.
AND OUR TEAM, WHEN WE HAVE HAD DIALOGUE, WE'RE RESPONSIVE IMMEDIATELY.
IT'S, IT'S ABOUT DOING, DOING RIGHT AND DOING IT RIGHT NOW, AS OPPOSED TO LETTING IT SIT ON THE SHELF AND, AND NOT, NOT ADDRESSING THE NEEDS BECAUSE SHE'S HEARING FROM HER CONSTITUENTS.
SO IF THEY'RE, IF THEY HAVE THE GUMPTION TO REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY THROUGH, THROUGH THEIR ELECTED OFFICIALS, AND WE'RE HERE TO MEET THOSE NEEDS TO THE VERY BEST OF OUR ABILITY.
AND AGAIN, AND ALSO, UM, THANK YOU CHIEF MUNOZ.
I FORGOT TO SAY THANK YOU WHILE YOU'RE UP HERE.
I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE EXTEND OUR GRATEFULNESS.
THERE'S NO ONE ELSE IN THE QUEUE.
SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR FINAL PRESENTATION ABOUT, UM, THE CITY COUNCIL BUDGET AMENDMENTS.
IF WE COULD GET THAT ON THE SCREEN.
ARE YOU GONNA PUT IT IN THE QUEUE? YES.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S USUALLY, IT'S A POWERPOINT.
SO I'LL I'LL SAVE YOU SOME OF THE PO DEATH BY POWERPOINT, BUT, UH, BUT WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS IT, I GUESS.
UH, UH, RHONDA, YOU'LL KIND OF VISIT WITH THE MONEY AND, UH, I, I CAN'T THANK ENOUGH OF THE TRAINING STAFF.
THE TRAINING STAFF IS WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK, MAKING IT HAPPEN.
SO, SO, SO I'M VERY, VERY GRATEFUL FOR THEM AND WHERE WE'RE AT, ESPECIALLY FOR, FOR YOUR KINDNESS AND YOUR, YOUR, YOUR, UH, IMMEDIACY OF GIVING US THAT SIX CADET CLASS.
SO KNOW THAT IT'S WORKING AND IT'S THERE, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE JUST BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE READY TO SERVE.
AS THE CHIEF MENTIONED, I'M RHONDA SMITH, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER FOR THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT.
SO WE'RE GONNA GO OVER THESE SLIDES.
AS THE CHIEF MENTIONED, UH, SOME OF THE ITEMS HAVE BEEN RESOLVED, AND SO WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO, TO SEE THAT HAPPEN.
SO THE FIRST IS CADET HIRING INCENTIVE, AND I'M SURE EVERYONE, UH, SAW YESTERDAY THAT THAT WAS, UH, APPROVED.
SO LET'S GO THROUGH, UH, THE NEXT SLIDE.
THE CADET HIRING INCENTIVE OF THE NEXT SLIDE IS JUST, UH, TO GIVE YOU SOME HISTORY.
AND THE HISTORY BEHIND THE CADET HIRING IS THAT A COUPLE YEARS AGO WHEN WE RECEIVED ARPA MONIES, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO USE SOME OF THAT ARPA MONEY TO HAVE A INCENTIVE PLAN FOR THE CADETS.
AND SO THAT WAS FOR A TWO YEAR PERIOD, AND WE KNEW IT WAS GOING TO ACTUALLY, UH, EXPIRE.
AND SO NOW WE'RE HERE AND WE SAW HOW GOOD THAT PLAN WORKED
[00:25:01]
FOR US, AND WE WENT BACK TO THE ADMINISTRATION AND ASKED THAT THEY ACTUALLY MAKE IT PERMANENT, BUT NOT ONLY MAKE IT PERMANENT, BUT ACTUALLY INCREASE THE ACTUAL SALARIES.AND SO THE ARPA, THE ARPA ALLOWED FOR $10,000.
UH, THE ARPA ALLOWED FOR $10,000.
SO WITH THE ARPA FUNDING, UH, THERE'S A $10,000 INCENTIVE PAY FOR NEW CADETS.
THAT BUDGET TOTALED 7.2 FIVE TWO TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY, UH, MILLION DOLLARS.
AND IT SPANNED OVER TWO FISCAL YEARS, UH, STARTING NOVEMBER AND ENDING JUNE 24TH.
SO WITH CLASS 2256 TO 2 66 AND ONE LATERAL CLASS, WHICH WE HAD ABOUT 10 FOLKS IN, AND BECAUSE OF THE FUNDING, WE WERE ACTUALLY ABLE TO SQUEEZE IN ANOTHER CLASS, CLASS 2 66.
SO, UH, THE, UH, PAYMENTS WERE BROKEN INTO THREE PAYMENTS, AND THE FIRST PAYMENT WAS ABOUT 30 DAYS AFTER, UH, THE START OF A CADET CLASS, AND THEN 2,500 AT MIDPOINT.
AND THEN WHEN YOU ACTUALLY COMPLETED THE TRAINING AND THE T CODE CERTIFICATION, IT WAS $5,000.
SO THAT'S JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME INSIGHT AS TO WHERE WE CAME FROM.
SO THIS IS JUST A LITTLE HISTORY, UH, PRE ARPA AND THEN POST ARPA IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF CLASSES AND OUR CADET GRADUATION.
SO THE CADET CLASSES, UH, THAT ARE MOVING FORWARD STARTS WITH CLASS 2 67, AND THAT CLASS STARTED IN AUGUST.
AND SO INITIALLY, UH, THERE WAS NO FUNDING FOR THOSE CLASSES TO, TO PURSUE THE INCENTIVE AND THE PAY.
AND SO THE, THE ADMINISTRATION, UH, WITH WORKING WITH THE CHIEF, UH, ACTUALLY APPROVED THAT FUNDING.
BUT IT WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
BUT LEMME JUST GO THROUGH HERE.
THIS IS ALL THE CLASSES, UH, THAT WILL BE, UH, INITIATED THIS FISCAL YEAR, CLASS 2 67 TO 2 72.
IS THAT RIGHT? UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO HERE ARE SOME CHALLENGES THAT WE SEE IN OUR RECRUITING.
UH, AND, UH, SO THIS IS COMING FROM OUR RECRUITING GROUP AND THE FEAR APPLICANTS WANTING TO JOIN THE LAW ENFORCEMENT COVID PANDEMIC, NOTHING THAT WE HAVEN'T HEARD BEFORE, JUST WANTED TO REITERATE IT.
UH, NEGATIVE PORTRAYALS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS POLICE, THE LENGTHY AND COMPREHENSIVE HIRING PROCESS AND ET CETERA.
OTHER FACTORS, APPLICANTS CONSIDER AS OTHER AGENCIES, THEY MAY EVEN START AND THEN MOVE OVER TO ANOTHER AGENCY ACTUALLY PAYING HIGHER AND THE RETIREMENT BENEFITS ARE BETTER AT OTHER AGENCIES.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANTED ME TO ADD TO THAT? OKAY.
UH, SO THIS IS JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF THE CADET CLASSES AND THE PAY FOR THE FIRST YEAR.
SO FOR THE LOCAL, YOU'LL SEE IN SUGAR LAND, THE PAY STARTS AT $75,000, UH, FOR PASADENA, AT 73 FOR MISSOURI CITY, IT'S 65.
AND FOR KATY, IT'S 65, UH, STARTING IN OCTOBER.
SO WE ARE AT 42, BUT AS OF YESTERDAY, WE'RE AT 52.
SO THAT MAKES US MUCH MORE COMPETITIVE.
AND THEN THIS JUST MOVES ON TO TEXAS AND THE NATIONAL.
I DO WANNA ADD 52 PLUS THE 5,000 HIRING BONUS, WHICH WILL MAKE IT 57.
AND I KNOW THAT'S GONNA, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO, UH, KEEP DOING THAT EVERY TWO YEARS TO ASK PERMISSION TO MAKE SURE IT'S STILL IN THE FUNDING PROCESS.
SO THIS IS JUST FOR YOUR INFORMATION, SOME MORE COMPARISONS OF OTHER AGENCIES.
SO I'M NOT GONNA BELABOR THAT, UH, THAT SLIDE.
SO THIS IS JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA ABOUT THE INCENTIVE PLAN.
AS CHIEF CANTU MENTIONED, WE ARE GOING TO OFFER THE 5,000 AS WELL AS THE 10,000 FOR THE PAY INCREASE.
AND SO FOR AUSTIN, THEY HAVE 15,000.
FOR PASADENA, IT'S 10 AND SUGAR LAND, THE SALARY INCREASES THE 70,000 AFTER THE TECO.
AND JUST TO CLARIFY, THE 5,000 IS ONCE THEY COMPLETE THE GRADUATION CLASS, MEETING TECO AND CIVIL SERVICES.
SO NOW WE GET DOWN TO A FEW NUMBERS.
SO THE COST FOR THE 10,000 PAY INCREASE AND THE 5,000 HIRING INCENTIVE IS ABOUT 1.7 MILLION PER CLASS.
SO THE FISCAL YEAR 25 COST IMPACT, ASSUMING SIX CLASSES WILL BE ABOUT 4.5 MILLION.
SO THAT WAS ACTUALLY IT FOR THE INCENTIVE.
SO WE'RE GOING TO JUST KEEP MOVING THERE.
WERE ABOUT FOUR, UH, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE OUR QUESTIONS AT THE END.
SO THE NEXT SLIDE HAS TO DO WITH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM FOR RETIRED OFFICERS, OR AS WE LIKE TO CALL IT, OUR EPRO PROGRAM.
[00:30:01]
SO THE RETIRED EPRO PROGRAM, UH, ALLEVIATES LABOR SHORTAGES BY BRINGING ON RETIRED OFFICERS WITH VERY SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE.AND WE ACTUALLY REVIVED IT IN 2022.
IT DID HA IT DID OCCUR MAYBE IN 2014 OR SO, BUT WE REVIVED IT IN 2022.
AND PARTICIPANTS ARE HIRED BY EMPLOYEE EMPLOYMENT AGENCY.
SO EVERYBODY GOES THROUGH AN EMPLOYMENT AGENCY AND HPD SELECTS EMPLOYEES, WE VET, AND, AND THEY HAVE TO HAVE AN HONORABLE RETIREMENT.
THEY WORK AN AVERAGE OF 20 HOURS AND THEY SUPPORT ALL THE CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL.
JUST REAL QUICK TO COMMENT THAT, THAT THOSE ARE THE ADDITIONAL THINGS THAT ARE GONNA BE SUPPLEMENTING, UH, SPECIAL VICTIMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT TO HELP THE SL PROJECT AS WELL.
SO I JUST WANNA MENTION THAT THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE GONNA BE USED FOR.
SO THIS IS JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW THE EPRO PROGRAM WORKS NOW.
AND THIS IS JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION IN TERMS OF THE JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND, AND WHAT'S HAPPENING.
WE HAVE THE HIRING CRITERIA WITH OUR CURRENT BUDGET IS 1.5 MILLION.
OUR PROPOSED ADDITIONAL BUDGET FOR THE 40, THE CHIEF CANTU MENTION, OR I'M SORRY, THE 60 IS 2.2 MILLION AND THE TOTAL PROPOSED BUDGET FOR E PROS.
WELL, WE ARE REQUESTING OR PROPOSING THAT IT GO FROM 1.5 TO 3.7, AND THAT WOULD ALLOW UP TO 100 POSITIONS, AND THE SALARY IS $30 AN HOUR FOR THE POSITION.
AND AS CHIEF CANTU MENTIONED, THESE 60 WILL BE REALLY FOCUSED ON CERTAIN AREAS, THE AREAS THAT WE KNOW ARE, UH, NEEDING THAT ADDITIONAL HELP.
UH, THAT'S CASE MANAGEMENT WITH ADULT SEX CRIME OR CRIME AGAINST CHILDREN, THE CRIME AGAINST CHILDREN UNIT, AND THEN THE SEX OFFENDERS REGISTRATION UNIT.
SO WE'RE VERY TARGETED IN WHO WE'VE ACTUALLY RECRUIT AND WHAT WE WANT THEM TO DO.
SO THIS IS JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THE E PROS ARE DISTRIBUTED NOW, AND WE MADE IT ASTERISK FOR SPECIAL VICTIMS. AS YOU KNOW, AS WE SAW THAT WE NEEDED MORE ASSISTANCE IN THAT AREA, WE MOVED FOLKS AND WE SHUFFLED FOLKS.
SO MORE FOLKS WERE IN MORE EPRO, WERE IN THE SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT.
WE HAVE 41 90% RETENTION, UH, 39 ARE CURRENTLY FILLED.
SO FOR THAT, THAT 2.2 MILLION FOR UP TO 60 ADDITIONAL EPRO.
AND, UH, THIS IS CURRENTLY BEING DISCUSSED WITH THE CHIEF AND THE ADMINISTRATION AT THIS TIME.
THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, I'M SORRY, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.
SO THIS IS THE 10 NEW LIEUTENANT POSITIONS, WHICH ARE NOW BEING REVIEWED, UH, AND REALLY BEING PUT ON HOLD AND CHIEF, WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADDRESS THAT ONE? SURE.
I, FOR ME, WE'RE GONNA WAIT ON THE 10 LIEUTENANTS, WE'LL ADDRESS IT LATER.
MY, MY, MY GOAL IS POLICE OFFICERS IN PATROL CARS.
RIGHT? WE, WE, WE HAVE AMPLE MANAGEMENT MANAGERS NOW, SO I'LL COME BACK TO COUNSEL, UH, MAYBE SECOND QUARTER OF 26, 27, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE NEED THEM.
BUT OUR GOAL HERE IS TO HIRE THE CADETS AND GET PEOPLE IN THE PATROL CARS, UH, OUT WORKING AND ANSWERING CALLS AS OPPOSED TO HAVING A MID-LEVEL MANAGER AT THIS TIME.
SO LASTLY, THE, UM, HARRIS COUNTY, MOU FOR CADET TRAINING.
WE ARE ACTIVELY DEVELOPING AN MOU WITH HARRIS COUNTY.
AND CHIEF, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE OU AND I AND I BELIEVE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
WE'RE ON THE NEXT SLIDE AS WELL.
OKAY, SO HERE WE ARE IN DISCUSSION WITH HARRIS COUNTY.
WE VISITED THE FACILITY A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
UM, THEY DO HAVE SOME SPACE, HOWEVER, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE JUST IN THE PROCESS OF BUILDING, EXPANDING THEIR FACILITY, WHICH PROBABLY BE DONE IN THREE YEARS.
HOWEVER, WE ALREADY PARTNER WITH THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT IN TAKING IN-SERVICE CLASSES, TCO MANDATED CLASSES.
WE ARE ALLOWED TO TAKE CLASSES THERE AT NO CHARGE, WHICH WILL ASSIST OUR ACADEMY, UH, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE EXTRA PARKING SPACE IF THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO THAT ALLOWS US TO FREE UP SPACE FOR OUR ACADEMY, SPECIFICALLY FOR CADE CADETS, IF WE CHOOSE TO CONTINUE THE SIX SIX ACADEMY CLASS.
UM, IN REGARDS TO PARTNERING WITH THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, WE ALSO, AND THERE'S GONNA BE IN THE OTHER SLIDES AS WELL, UM, WE ALSO HAVE BEEN PARTNERING WITH OTHER FACILITIES, CITY OF HOUSTON FACILITIES, SPECIFICALLY ONE IN HARRIS COUNTY THAT'S ON IRVINGTON.
SO WE ARE PARTNERING WITH, UH, OTHER AGENCIES AND, AND OUR CITIES.
WE DO HAVE OUR CLASSES OUTSIDE OUR IN SERVICE, SO THAT MAKES
[00:35:01]
MORE ROOM, MORE PARKING SPACE AS WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE SIX ACADEMY, UH, ACADEMY.SO THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WE ARE PARTNERING WITH HARRIS COUNTY AND THE FACILITIES, AND I'LL JUST GO TO BULLET NUMBER THREE, WHICH TALKS ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DRAFTING, UH, HPD LEGAL TO ENCOMPASS THE FACILITY SPACE FOR TRAINING PURPOSES, WHICH INCLUDES RMS TRAINING, IN-SERVICE TRAINING, CADET CLASSES, AND OTHER TRAINING WITH NONPROFIT PARTNERS.
UH, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT RECOMMENDATION.
AND AS CHIEF CANTU MENTIONED, WE DO PARTNER WITH OTHER, UH, PARTNERS.
AND SO THIS IS JUST A LIST OF WHO WE HAVE ON OUR LIST.
AND SO WE'LL BE HAPPY TO INCLUDE, UH, HARRIS COUNTY.
SO I'M NOT GONNA GO OVER THIS, THIS IS JUST FOR YOUR INFORMATION.
IT'S AN OVERVIEW OF OUR CURRENT FACILITY.
UH, JUST TO LET YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS, WHO WE ARE.
UH, THE FACILITY WAS BUILT IN 1980, AND IT WAS INITIALLY DESIGNED AS A STATE OF THE ART FACILITY, UH, WITH 70 ACRES AND 1 MILLION SQUARE FEET.
AND WE HAVE CLASSROOMS, AUDITORIUMS, ET CETERA, AND IT REPLACED THE OLD REASONER.
AND THIS JUST IS A LITTLE BIT MORE GRANULAR INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THE FACILITIES ARE STRUCTURED.
SO, QUESTIONS BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE SIXTH CLASS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION UP.
FIRST, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN, AND THANK YOU.
I WANTED TO DEFER TO COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ, GIVEN PART OF IT'S ON YOUR, YOUR AMENDMENT.
IF, IF YOU, IF HE'S IN THE QUEUE, UM, IT, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THAT PRESENTATION UP NEXT AFTER THIS ONE.
UM, SO MAYBE AT THAT POINT, SHALL WE JUST GO AHEAD AND DO THE NEXT PRESENTATION? YEAH, IF YOU WANNA JUST FINISH IT AND THEN WE'LL TAKE QUESTIONS FROM EVERYONE AT THE END.
SO THIS IS THE, THE LAST, UH, BUDGET, UH, AMENDMENT.
IT WAS FOR THE SIXTH CADET CLASS.
AND AS EVERYONE KNOWS THE THANK YOU TO THE MAYOR.
AND, UH, THE ADMINISTRATION THAT, AND THE CHIEF THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE A SIXTH CLASS.
SO THE ADMINISTRATION HAS APPROVED THE SIXTH CLASS AND THE, THE CLASS IN FISCAL YEAR 25 AND HAS PROVIDED, AND IT ACTUALLY IS COSTING ABOUT 2.7, AND IT'S PROVIDED FOR IN THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT FUND.
SO THIS IS JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ALL THE CLASSES THAT HAVE GONE ON SINCE 2023.
UH, SO, AND OUR CLASSES FOR THE SIXTH CLASS STARTS WITH CLASS 2 67.
AND OF COURSE, THIS IS ONE OF OUR FAVORITE SCALE, UH, PRESENTATION SLIDES, IS WE LIKE TO SHOW YOU, UH, THE HOUSTON POPULATION AND THEN THE, HOW THAT CORRELATES WITH WHAT WE SEE HAPPENING WITH HPD AS FAR AS CLASSIFIED AND, UM, CIVILIAN.
UH, THIS IS JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA ABOUT WHAT WE DO.
SO WHAT WE ANTICIPATE IS THAT, UH, FOR, FOR EVERY YEAR WE NET A HUNDRED.
SO BETWEEN ATTRITION AND, UH, FOLKS COMING ON, WE NET A HUNDRED.
THAT'S OUR, THAT'S HOW WE GAUGE HOW WELL WE'RE DOING.
BECAUSE IN THEORY, IN FIVE YEARS, THAT MEANS WE HAVE 500 MORE OFFICERS.
AND SO THIS JUST IS A CHART THAT SHOWS HOW WE'RE DOING IN TERMS OF THAT.
AND YOU CAN SEE A LOT OF UPS AND DOWNS SIGNIFICANTLY WHEN IT CAME TO COVID AND WHAT HAPPENED IN 2008 18 OR OR 2019.
SO THE CURRENT STAFFING, THIS IS AS OF JUNE, IS 55,002 11.
UH, CIVILIAN WORKFORCE IS 880, AND IT WAS 1738 IN 2009.
SO, ADDING THE SIX CADET CLASS, UH, FOR ONLY ONE COUNT OR ONE, UH, FISCAL YEAR, UH, IT'S PROJECTED TO COUNT FOR ABOUT 5,641, UH, AT THE END OF 2028.
AND LET ME JUST GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE.
SO WE ALWAYS BUDGET FOR 75 'CAUSE THAT'S THE, THE, THE GOAL.
BUT WHAT WE DID IN THIS CASE IS WE AVERAGED WHAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING HISTORICALLY, AND IT'S ABOUT 65.
AND SO THIS, UH, ASSUMES ABOUT 65 PER CLASS.
[00:40:02]
AND IF WE ADD THE SIX CLASS, UH, FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS OR SO, THEN YOU, IT WOULD GET TO ABOUT 5,836.SO WE HAVE A TOTAL FOR CADET CLASSES OF 8,000,778.
AND THAT IS, UM, THE COST OF ADDING A CADET CLASS.
AND THEN WE TAKE THE BUDGET THAT WE WERE, THAT WAS APPROVED, WHICH IS 6,028,000.
AND THAT NETS US ABOUT 2.7 IN TERMS OF THE ADDITIONAL COST NEEDED FOR TO ADD THE SIX.
THEN WE ADD ON BENEFITS, AND THAT TOTAL'S ABOUT 3.4.
BUT THEN WE REDUCED, UH, THE SHOCK SPOTTER SAVINGS BECAUSE THAT CONTRACT HAS BEEN TERMINATED.
AND SO WE TAKE OFF THE 700,000 AND THAT GETS US ADDITIONAL COST OF 2 MILLION 7 0 9.
AND SO WHEN YOU HEAR US TALK ABOUT THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S HOW THE NUMBERS ADDED UP.
SO THESE ARE SOME OTHER COSTS THAT WE JUST WANT EVERYBODY TO BE AWARE OF, UH, BECAUSE WE'RE ADDING A CLASS, WE'RE, THERE'S EXTRA COST FOR BACKGROUND RECRUITING.
THAT'S PRIMARILY OVERTIME BECAUSE THE SAME FOLKS WILL BE DOING THE BACKGROUND.
AND NOW WE'VE ADDED ANOTHER CLASS.
UH, AND THEN THE ACADEMY WITH THE CLASS AND THE TEACHING.
AND THEN IF WE CONTINUE DOWN THE ROAD OF HAVING THE SIXTH CLASS, WE MAY NEED TO CONSIDER SOME ADDITIONAL STAFFING ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES SIDE.
BUT THAT'S, IF WE CONTINUE, WE CAN ABSORB IT THIS YEAR.
AND I'M GONNA ASK CHIEF CANTU, CHIEF, WE'RE READY FOR QUESTIONS.
A LOT, A LOT OF INFORMATION QUICKLY.
SO, UH, BUT THANK YOU FOR, UH, WHERE WE'RE AT.
WE'RE, WE'RE, EVERYTHING IS FORWARD.
UH, THIS, I THINK WE HAVE 30 YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE QUEUE FOR THIS NEXT ROUND OF, OF STAFFING.
SO WE'RE WORKING, WE'RE GONNA WORK THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS.
'CAUSE EVERY DAY WE'RE RECRUITING EVERY DAY, RIGHT? UH, EVERY DAY IN NOVEMBER.
SO WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE A BREAK 'CAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO GET THESE YOUNG PEOPLE, UH, IN, IN INTO OUR RANKS.
THANK YOU, UH, CHIEF AND RHONDA AND THANK YOU ASSISTANT CHIEF KTU, UH, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND FOR ALL THAT YOU DO.
AND, UH, I'M, I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT, UH, YOU'VE DONE THE MATH AND HAVE PROJECTED WHAT OUR HEAD COUNT WILL BE IF WE ADOPT A SIXTH CLASS EVERY YEAR.
AND I'M ALSO GLAD TO SEE THAT YOU ARE, UM, DOING WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO ADD SOME SPACE AND WORKING WITH THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, UH, TO USE THEIR FACILITIES AS WELL.
UM, I THINK IT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS FROM THE CHARTS THAT YOU'VE SHOWN TO OF THE LAST FOUR YEARS, ATTRITION HAS OUTSTRIPPED NEW CADETS COMING THROUGH THE ACADEMY, AND THAT'S A RECIPE FOR FEWER OFFICERS ON THE STREETS.
WE HAVEN'T HAD ENOUGH FOR A LONG TIME.
AND HOPEFULLY WITH THIS SIXTH CLASS, THAT'S A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
IT'S NOT GONNA SOLVE EVERYTHING AS YOU KNOW, BUT IT'S A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
AND I ALSO SEE THAT, UH, PROJECTIONS ARE THAT ATTRITION WILL GO DOWN.
AND I KNOW THAT YOU'VE GOT SOME, UH, IDEAS ON HOW TO REDUCE ATTRITION IN THE YEARS TO COME AND, UM, WISH YOU LUCK ON THAT.
THOSE TWO COMPONENTS I THINK WILL GO A LONG WAY TO ADDING MORE OFFICERS AND REDUCING OUR RESPONSE TIMES.
I DO HAVE QUESTIONS LOOKING AT BOTH OF THESE PRESENTATIONS.
I'M A LITTLE BIT, UH, CONFUSED.
THE SIXTH CADET CLASS PRESENTATION HAS THE SIXTH CADET CLASS ALREADY IN PLACE, IS ALREADY STARTED, IS THAT RIGHT? YES, SIR.
IN LOOKING AT THE EARLIER PRESENTATION ON THE BUDGET AMENDMENTS AND SLIDE NUMBER SIX, IT SHOWS THE SIXTH CADET CLASS STARTING MAY OF 2025.
KNOWING THAT WE JUST FINISHED FISCAL YEAR 24, IT WOULD SEEM THAT THIS CLASS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS ACTUALLY THE FIRST CLASS OF THIS FISCAL YEAR.
DO I HAVE THAT WRONG? SO, SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE ONE WITH THE, UH, 2 72, IS THAT THE ONE YOU'RE LOOKING AT? NUMBER SIX? YES.
SO THAT ONE, THIS, THIS IS, THESE WE'RE JUST COUNTING THE CLASS.
IT'S NOT NECESSARILY SHOWING THE SIX WHEN WE PUT THE SIX CLASS IN THAT, THAT, THAT WAS AUTHORIZED.
UM, THAT WE ALREADY HAD OUR SCHEDULED FIVE.
SO THE, THE, THE SIXTH CLASS WAS WE HAD TO SQUEEZE IN, WE HAD TO FIGURE OUT THE LOGISTICS.
SO TECHNICALLY THIS IS THE SIXTH CLASS BECAUSE OF THAT.
[00:45:01]
JUST, IT'S JUST PUTTING THAT, THAT'S HOW IN ORDER, THAT'S THE ORDER THAT WE'RE AT.BUT IT DOES THAT SIXTH CLASS IS THIS CLASS FOR THE REASON OF THE LOGISTICS AND US HAVING TO ADD THE EXTRA CLASS IN BETWEEN TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WORKED.
SO IF I UNDERSTAND YOU CORRECTLY, YOU'VE PUT CLASS NUMBER SIX AT THE HEAD OR AT THE START YES.
OF FISCAL YEAR 25, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE IT FIT.
'CAUSE WE ALREADY, WE, WE PLAN IN ADVANCE AND YOU SEE THE, THAT WE'RE UP TO 20, 25.
THOSE CLASSES ALREADY, THE LOGISTICS WAS ALREADY MM-HMM
SO ALL OF THAT STUFF WAS THERE.
SO IN ORDER TO MEET THE, UM, THE FY UH, CONDITION, WE HAD TO INSERT IT SOMEWHERE.
AND WE HAVE 46 BECAUSE WE ONLY HAD LIKE, MAYBE A MONTH AND A HALF TO DO THAT.
NORMALLY WHEN WE HAVE LITTLE BIT TOO, TWO MONTHS OR A LITTLE BIT OVER TWO MONTHS, WE'RE ABLE TO MEET THE 60 AVERAGE.
UH, MIND YOU, OUR CLASSROOMS HOLD 75 AND THAT'S WHY WE COUNT FOR UP TO 75 BECAUSE COMFORTABLY, YES, WE ALWAYS, WE TRY TO GET 82 FILES BECAUSE WE KNOW HISTORICALLY, UM, WE'RE PRAYING THAT THIS CLASS WILL BE DIFFERENT, THAT NOT EVERYBODY GRADUATES.
SOMETHING HAPPENS, THEY LEAVE A DEPARTMENT, THEY DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT, OR THEY GET HURT AND INJURED AND, AND THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS.
SO 75 IS WHAT WE CAN SOMEWHAT FIT COMFORTABLY, BUT WE CAN ADD MAYBE 80 AT THE MOST IN THE CLASSES.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH THAT.
AND IN REGARD TO FUNDING THIS ADDITIONAL CLASS, IF WE LOOK AT SLIDE NUMBER EIGHT, I BELIEVE IT IS, WILL YOU LAY OUT THE ESTIMATED COSTS, THE ADDITIONAL COST FOR FY 25, 2 0.7 MILLION, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT SHOT SPOTTER SAVINGS? IF I READ THAT CHART CORRECTLY, I KNOW HPD UM, GETS SOME MONEY FROM THROUGH ASSET FORFEITURES AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S CURRENTLY IN THAT FUND.
I KNOW THERE ARE LIMITATIONS ON WHAT ASSET FORFEITURE MONEY CAN BE USED FOR, YOU KNOW, ASSET FORFEITURE FUNDS.
IT'S A CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC, BUT IF THE DEPARTMENT HAS IT, UM, HOW ABOUT USING MORE OF THOSE ASSET FORFEITURE FUNDS TO PAY DOWN SOME OF THESE COSTS? I KNOW WE CAN'T PAY SALARIES WITH IT, BUT WE ARE ALLOWED TO PAY FOR TRAINING EQUIPMENT AND SO FORTH.
WHAT, WHAT ARE Y'ALL'S THOUGHTS ON THAT COUNCIL MEMBER? THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.
WE WILL RESEARCH IT THROUGH OUR LEGAL TEAM TO SEE WHERE WE CAN, UH, APPLY THOSE FUNDS.
'CAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT, WE DO GET FUNDING EVERY DAY, UH, INTO OUR ASSET FORFEITURE.
UH, I HATE TO RELY ON THAT FOR FUNDING IN THE FUTURE, BUT IF WE HAVE A LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY IN THOSE ASSET FORFEITURE, UH, ACCOUNTS, UH, WILL ADDRESS IT THROUGH OUR LEGAL TEAM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THE APPROPRIATE THING, UH, WITH U WITH THE USAGE OF THE ASSET FORFEITURE FUNDS.
'CAUSE A LOT OF TIMES THOSE ASSET FORFEITURE FUNDS ARE USED TO BY VESTS, BY SHIELDS, UH, BUY DIFFERENT EQUIPMENT FOR OUR, OUR SWAT OPERATIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO THAT POOL OF MONEY'S ALREADY, UH, TACKLED A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE'LL ADDRESS IT IF THERE'S MONEY LEFT OVER AND WE CAN FUNNEL IT TOWARDS A PERCENTAGE, IF YOU WOULD, UH, OF, OF, OF A CADET CLASS, THEN WE'LL, WE WILL LOOK AT THAT AND WE'LL REPORT RIGHT BACK TO YOU.
AND JUST PARTING THOUGHT, AND THIS IS FROM A SLIDE IN THE, UH, FY 25 BUDGET AMENDMENT PRESENTATION, AND IT'S SLIDE NUMBER EIGHT.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS PRETTY SHOCKING.
WE'RE SITTING AT 42,000 BEFORE THE MAYOR ADDED IN THE RAISE AND THE BONUS, WHICH I APPLAUD HIM FOR THAT.
I'M, I'M GLAD THAT HE'S PLACED A PRIORITY ON THAT.
AND IS THE DEVOTING THE FUNDS TO, UH, PAY THESE CADETS MORE SO IT'LL PUT US ON A STRONGER FOOTING TO, UH, ATTRACT MORE OFFICERS TO THE CITY.
BUT THIS CHART IS PRETTY SHOCKING, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE TO COMPETE WITH, UM, SMALLER CITIES THAT DON'T HAVE THE NEEDS.
LET'S, LET'S SAY THAT, THAT WE DO, UH, SO FAR BEHIND AND, UM, HOPE THE ADMINISTRATION WILL BEGIN TO THINK OF THINGS THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO BE DONE AT THE STATEWIDE LEVEL TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD IN SOME WAY.
SO ANYWAY, THAT'S THAT'S GREAT THAT YOU BROUGHT THAT UP BECAUSE IT HAPPENS EVERY DAY.
WE, WE ARE, WE WILL LOSE TWO OR THREE UP TO FIVE CADETS, UH, TO THE DPS ACADEMY EVERY CYCLE, EVERY TIME BECAUSE OF THE FUNDING.
AND THEY'RE WELL TRAINED, YOU KNOW, WE SPEND A LOT OF RESOURCES, A LOT OF THE COMMUNITY'S TREASURE IN TRAINING THESE YOUNG PEOPLE.
AND, UH, OUR, OUR COMMUNITIES NEAR US WILL GRAB SOMEONE THAT'S ALREADY TRAINED AND PUT 'EM RIGHT TO WORK, AND THEY'RE MAKING 10, 11, $12,000 MORE ON DAY ONE.
AND I DO WANNA COMMENT ON THAT.
WHEN OFFICERS RETIRE OR LEAVE THE
[00:50:01]
DEPARTMENT, WE, THEY DO AN EXIT INTERVIEW AND IT'S VOLUNTARILY, IT'S VOLUNTARY.SIX OF 'EM SPECIFICALLY SAID OUR PENSION COULD BE BETTER AND, AND ALSO THE PAY IF WE PAID MORE, BUT THEY ENJOYED WHAT THEY WERE DOING.
MIND YOU, TWO OF 'EM WENT TO A DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT AND WE'RE MAKING WAY MORE MONEY AND THEIR PENSION BENEFITS WERE WAY BETTER.
SO, SO, BUT, BUT THE MONEY, LIKE YOU SAID, UH, THAT, THAT, THAT THE GOOD MAYOR WHITMEYER PUT TOGETHER IS A GOOD START.
SO, SO WE'RE GRATEFUL THAT, THAT WE'RE MOVING AHEAD, MOVING FORWARD, AND THEN TAKING THE RIGHT STEP, UH, TO KEEP OUR CADETS, TO KEEP OUR OFFICERS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, THANK Y'ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION AND ALL THE WORK THAT YOU CONTINUE TO DO FOR THE CITY.
UH, ON PAGE FIVE OF THE, THIS FIRST PRESENTATION, TALKING ABOUT THE CADET CLASSES, AND THANK YOU FOR REFERRING TO WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY FUNDED, UM, BY THIS COUNCIL OF THOSE INCENTIVES.
SO WE'RE BUILDING ON, AND I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE WE'RE BUILDING ON THE WORK THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY DONE.
UH, BUT ONLY A 51 CHANGE, RIGHT? AN ADDITIONAL 51 CADETS WE'RE SEEING FOLLOWING THE 10,000 FROM ARPA INCENTIVES.
DO WE THINK THAT THAT 51 I ANY ADDITIONAL POLICE OFFICERS ARE WORTH IT? SO I DON'T WANNA SAY THAT, BUT UM, IS THAT A SUCCESS FOR US? IT IS BECAUSE WE'RE PUTTING PEOPLE IN, IN, INTO THE CADET CLASSES AND, AND GETTING THEM TRAINED AND GETTING AHEAD OF IT BECAUSE THEY'RE OUR BEST RECRUITING, UH, COMPONENT FOR OUR DEPARTMENT.
SO, UH, DIFFERENT THINGS HAPPEN.
UH, LIKE, UH, CHIEF CANTU SAID THIS LAST CLASS OF 46, WE, WE MISSED OUT WITH A, WITH A
SO, UH, BUT WE ARE SEEING THAT THE 10,000 INCENTIVE PAY FROM PREVIOUS YEARS HAS BEEN WORKING, YOU KNOW, TOWARDS THE POSITIVE YES.
COUNCIL MEMBER TOWARDS THE POSITIVE, BUT MORE IS NEEDED.
AGAIN, WE'RE BUILDING ON THAT WORK.
IF YOU GO TO PAGE EIGHT, PLEASE, THE SALARY COMPARISONS, DOES THAT INCLUDE THE 10 K FROM POST ARPA? THE ARPA DOLLARS? NO.
THE INCENTIVE PAY? IT DID NOT.
AND IS THAT, IF YOU CAN REMIND ME, I KNOW THAT DURING THE LAST ROUND OF POLICE NEGOTIATIONS THERE WERE SALARY INCREASES, IS THAT CORRECT? SO IN THE CONTRACT FOR EVERYONE, BUT CADETS, EVERYONE BUT CADETS, IT'S NOT PART OF THE MEET AND CONFER.
SO JUST WANTED TO BE CLEAR THOUGH.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CADET PAY, WHICH IS IMPORTANT, NOT OTHER TYPES OF PAY THAT WERE INCLUDED IN THE PAY RAISES AUTHORIZED BY COUNSEL AS IT RELATES TO THAT, THAT I THINK BRING THOSE NUMBERS A LITTLE BIT CLOSER.
IS THAT CORRECT? SO WHEN THEY'RE CADETS AND THEY GRADUATE, THEY'RE STILL MAKING THAT 52 TILL THEIR WHOLE YEAR AND THEN ONLY UNTIL, 'CAUSE THEY'RE STILL CONSIDERED THE CIVILIAN SIDE, RIGHT? THEY'RE STILL NOT COVERED.
SO AFTER THEIR YEAR, ONLY WHEN THEIR, THEIR, THEIR STATUS IS CLEAR FULL AND THEIR FTO TRAINING, THEN THEY GET THE FIRST YEAR OFFICER.
'CAUSE FOR THE A LAY PERSON SEEING THIS, RIGHT? YES.
THEY MIGHT THINK, OH, AN HPD OFFICER THAT'S BEEN SERVING FIVE YEARS, 10 YEARS.
SO I'M, WE'RE CLARIFYING THIS AS THE CADET'S.
FIRST YEAR, YEAR, THIS IS THE CADET AND PROBATIONARY OFFICERS ONLY.
OTHER THAN THAT, EVERYTHING ELSE IS PART OF THE MEETING CONFER AS A STEP.
SO AFTER THE, AFTER THIS YEAR, THEY GET LIKE 62,000 PLUS ANY SPECIAL PAY.
AND THERE WERE, UH, INCREASES INCLUDED IN THOSE CONTRACT AGREEMENTS.
UH, THE, AND NONE OF THESE LOCALITIES, 'CAUSE WE JUST HAD A BIG BUDGET MEETING YESTERDAY, THAT'S WHY I'M BRINGING SOME OF THIS UP.
SOME OF THESE LOCALITIES THOUGH DON'T HAVE THE TYPE OF, UH, REVENUE CONSTRAINTS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, AND I'M GOING TO JUMP REALLY QUICKLY TO THE, UH, EPRO PROGRAM.
UH, I'M HAPPY TO SEE WHAT WE SAW IN 2022.
SO AGAIN, PREVIOUS YEARS WE BROUGHT BACK THAT PROGRAM AND WE'RE SEEING THAT THAT'S WORKING.
AGAIN, I SEE THIS AS BUILDING ON THE WORK DONE TO MAKE EVEN MORE IMPROVEMENTS AND TO KEEP THE BALL ROLLING, UH, FOR SERVICE AND SAFETY IN OUR CITY.
THE TRAINING FOR THEM TIMES HAVE CHANGED, RIGHT? THE DEPARTMENT CONTINUES TO EVOLVE.
SO IF YOU'RE BRINGING SOMEBODY BACK FROM RETIREMENT, UM, WE DON'T HAVE TO DO IT IN THIS PRESENTATION, BUT IT WOULD BE HELPFUL, MADAM CHAIR, TO KNOW WHAT THOSE SPECIFIC TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
[00:55:01]
ARE FOR THOSE ENTERING, UH, BACK INTO SERVICE.UH, THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
'CAUSE AGAIN, WHEN THEY, THERE HAVE BEEN CHANGES SINCE THEN, USUALLY THE TEAM REACHES OUT TO THE STAFFING THAT HAS, UH, SPECIFIC DISCIPLINE, AN INVESTIGATIVE DISCIPLINE, BE IT HOMICIDE OR, OR MAJOR OFFENDER.
SO THE TEAM THAT'S HERE NOW WAS MENTORED BY THE RETIREE, SO THEY KNOW WHO HAS THOSE SPECIAL SKILLS, RIGHT.
THAT CAN COME RIGHT BACK IN AND CONTINUE MENTORING.
I I AND I APPRECIATE THAT CHIEF.
I'D JUST LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THE ACTUAL TRAINING REQUIREMENTS ARE OR WHAT QUALIFICATIONS THOSE REQUIREMENTS ARE.
WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE SPECIFICS.
UH, GOING BACK TO THE FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS AND I, I THINK MY TRACK RECORD OF SUPPORT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.
SO PLEASE KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT MEANT TO, UH, DETRACT FROM THE WORK THAT IS NEEDED IN RECOGNIZING THE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT THAT OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT NEEDS RIGHT NOW, ESPECIALLY.
BUT WE JUST AGAIN, HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT, UH, THE NEED TO POTENTIALLY RAISE TAXES, UH, BY A FEW SENSE, UH, YESTERDAY TO PAY FOR THE DAMAGE THAT THE CITY INCURRED DURING THE PAST TWO NATURAL DISASTERS.
UH, AND AT THE SAME TIME, WHAT I HEAR IS SAYING IS WE NEED TO BE PAYING MORE TO RE RECRUIT AND RETAIN, UH, VERY, VERY VALUABLE INDIVIDUALS, UH, THAT WANT TO SERVE IN OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENTS.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.
AND, AND WE SAY THE RETAINMENT OF OFFICERS THAT WE'VE TRAINED, WE SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON OUR, ON OUR PERSONNEL OBVIOUSLY.
AND ONCE AGAIN, AND I'M NOT TRYING TO BRAG, BUT WE DO HAVE ONE OF THE BEST TRAINING FACILITIES NATIONWIDE.
WHEN I'VE GONE TO THE FBI NATIONAL ACADEMY, WE TALK TO SMALLER AGENCIES THAT DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO HAVE THESE GRANTS THAT WE, WE GET.
BUT THROUGH THOSE GRANTS, WE'RE ABLE TO PUT ON CLASSES THAT OTHER AGENCIES HAVE TO PAY FOR.
THEY HAVE TO LOOK FOR PLACES TO GO AND ATTEND.
UH, OUR TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT FOR EXAMPLE, THEY HAVE THE BEST TRAFFIC, ENFOR TRUCK ENFORCEMENT.
THEY ARE BEING REQUESTED TO, TO SPEAK.
OUR HOT TEAM HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE FIRST IN THE NATION TO DO SO.
WHEN I TELL YOU THAT WHEN WE DO THINGS, WE'RE USUALLY SOME, MOST OF THE TIME AHEAD OF THE CURVE.
AND WE'RE THE FIRST TO DO SOME OF THESE THINGS WHERE OUR TRAINING AND FOR US TO LEAD, TO LOSE VALUABLE PEOPLE WHO HAVE ACQUIRED ALL THIS STUFF.
AND THEN WE'VE SENT THEM TO TRAINING AND INVESTED IN THEM.
IT, IT, IT, YES, IT, IT'S VERY DAMAGING TO OUR DEPARTMENT.
HOWEVER, THE PROCESS, NOW WE'RE STARTING BACK TO SQUARE ONE.
AND, AND THAT'S, THAT HURTS A LITTLE BIT.
AND YOU, AND YOU HIT ON SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE YOU ALL KNOW MORE THAN MOST THE VALUE OF THOSE GRANTS AND HOW MUCH HPD RELIES ON THOSE GRANTS.
AND Y'ALL DO A PHENOMENAL JOB GOING OUT FOR THAT.
AGAIN, THAT'S NOT RELIABLE DOLLARS, UH, THAT WE CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON.
BUT I DO WANNA GIVE KUDOS TO, UH, Y'ALL'S GRANT PROGRAM BECAUSE IT'S, I THINK IT'S ONE OF THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY.
UH, AGAIN, JUST RAISING THE QUESTION, NOT THAT THIS ISN'T NECESSARY.
AND COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ, THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUDGET AMENDMENT.
UM, I, I THINK IT PASSED UNANIMOUSLY, IF I RECALL.
UH, OVERWHELMING SUPPORT FOR IT.
AND I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT THAT'S BEING IMPLEMENTED.
UH, BUT JUST YESTERDAY WE HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE REQUEST AT THE CITY TO INCREASE HOUSTONIANS TAXES.
AND THAT VERY SAME DAY WE'RE ANNOUNCING A LOT OF THESE IMPORTANT INVESTMENTS, BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE A HARD CONVERSATION ABOUT THE FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS THAT THE CITY IS FACING AT THE SAME TIME.
SO, AGAIN, WE WANNA MAKE SURE, I WANNA MAKE SURE HPD HAS EVERYTHING THAT THEY NEED.
AND JUST YESTERDAY WE HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT RAISING TAXES.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING THAT Y'ALL DO.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR WORK.
GOING BACK TO THE EMPLOYMENT, UH, PROGRAM FOR RETIRED OFFICERS, I KNOW ON SLIDE, UM, 14 FROM THE FIRST PRESENTATION, IT TALKS ABOUT, UH, THE HIRING CRITERIA AND THAT HONORABLY RETIRED CLASSIFIED OFFICERS ARE THE ONES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
I KNOW THAT UNDER THE NEW, UM, F FIVE, THERE'S NO LONGER THE DESIGNATION ON THE F FIVE, WHETHER IT'S HONORABLE GENERAL OR DISHONORABLE DISCHARGE.
BUT IS THE DISCHARGE DESIGNATION STILL KEPT SOMEWHERE ELSE EVEN THOUGH WE'RE NOT RECORDING IT ON THE F FIVES ANYMORE? THAT'S A T COLE QUESTION THAT I'M NOT READY TO ANSWER ACCURATELY.
SO WHEN, WHEN WE SAY THEY LEAVE THE DEPARTMENT, WE, WE DO REVIEW THEIR FILES.
UH, MIND YOU, THE E PROS ARE HIRED BY, UH, A ONE OF TEMP
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ONE AGENCY, ONE OUR TEMP AGENCY.WHEN I TELL YOU THAT THERE, THERE IS A LIST OUT THERE, THE E THE PEOPLE SIGN UP FOR THIS, WE ENCOURAGED OUR, THE PEOPLE THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR TO SPECIFIC TO THAT DIVISION.
THE DIVISIONS PUT OUT THE DIVISIONS, MAKE THE CRITERIA SPECIFIC TO THEIR DIVISION.
AND SO WHEN, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE EPRO, THEY WILL ALSO REVIEW AT WHAT STATUS DID THEY LEAVE ON HONORABLE.
SO THEY, THEY WILL KNOW AND, AND THEY KNOW HOW TO SELECT IT.
BUT ONCE AGAIN, AS FAR AS HONORABLE, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT DESIGNATED, WE DO GO REVIEW TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING WAS CLEAN, TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT HAVE THE BEST INTEREST OF THE DEPARTMENT.
THEY'RE VETTED THOROUGHLY BY THE TEAM THAT'S THERE NOW TO MAKE SURE TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE COMING TO WORK AND NOT JUST TO HANG AROUND.
WE, WE WE'RE VERY, IT'S VERY SPECIFIC.
IT'S TASK ORIENTED, AND THEY'RE GIVEN THE INFORMATION AND FROM THE TEAM THAT WE TRUST NOW IN EVERY DISCIPLINE WE ARE, WE'RE TRUSTING THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, THAT THE E PROS THAT COME IN ARE, ARE, ARE GIVING US A DAY'S PAY FOR OR A DAY'S WORK FOR A DAY'S PAY.
SO WE'RE, WE, WE'LL MAKE SURE OF THAT.
COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER LOVE THE EPRO PROGRAM.
UM, SOUNDS LIKE A FANTASTIC IDEA FOR A LOT OF DIFFERENT REASONS.
WHY IS IT RUN THROUGH AN EMPLOYMENT AGENCY? THAT'S AN HR QUESTION.
SO THEY'RE CONSIDERED TEMPORARIES, AND SO WHEN YOU'RE TEMPORARY AT THE CITY, YOU HAVE TO PUSH IT THROUGH, UH, THE DESIGNATED TEMP AGENCY.
NO WAY WE COULD DO THAT IN-HOUSE AND SAVE SOME MONEY THERE.
THE DIFFERENCE WITH A TEMP AGENCY IS WE'RE NOT, WE'RE, THE REASON WE DON'T DO IT IS BECAUSE WE'RE SAVING ON BENEFITS.
AND WHEN THEY COME THROUGH US, WE USUALLY HIRE FULL-TIME AND WE GIVE THEM THE BENEFITS AND THE PACKAGE, WHICH WILL COST US EXTRA MONEY.
HERE, ALL WE'RE DOING IS, IS THAT THAT SALARY RIGHT THERE, AND WE'RE NOT REQUIRED TO GIVE THEM THE RETIREMENT.
UM, AND, AND THE INSURANCE AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
SO THIS IS WHY WE GO THROUGH THE 10.
I I KNOW COUNSEL HAS, UH, PART-TIME EMPLOYEES AS WELL.
AND I DON'T BELIEVE THOSE ARE RUN THROUGH A TEMP AGENCY.
SO THAT MAY BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT, UH, THAN THE EPRO PROGRAM.
AND SO THAT'S PROBABLY THE REASON WHY.
BUT WITH THE EPRO PROGRAM, IT'S EASIER TO GO THROUGH A TEMP AGENCY AND SOMEBODY UNDER UNDERSTOOD.
I MEAN, IT'S SOMETHING I THINK WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT, BUT HELPS MEDICAID AGAINST THINGS LIKE IF YOU BRING THEM ON PART-TIME AND THEY WORK OVER THE HOURS AND THEN THEY BECOME FULL-TIME.
SO ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE TAKEN CARE OF.
AND, UH, SO THAT'S WHY WE GO THROUGH THE TEMP AGENCY.
COUNCIL MEMBER REPORT TO YOU DIRECTLY.
WHAT, WHAT IS THE MAX CAPACITY PER A CLASS? THE MAX CAPACITY IS 75.
FOR A MAX CAPACITY, IT'S USUALLY 75.
WE CAN COMFORTABLY PUT 82 PEOPLE IN THAT ROOM SOMEWHAT.
OKAY, BECAUSE I SAW ONE OF 'EM WAS AT 82.
YEAH, 82 IS KIND OF LIKE, OKAY, THERE WE HAVE 'EM IN THE, SO 82 IS ABSOLUTE MAX IS ABSOLUTELY THE MAX MORE COMFORTABLE WITH 75.
UM, THE CADET CLASSES, WE HAD FIVE SCHEDULED, AND THAT BUDGETED COST FOR THAT WAS SIX, 6 MILLION.
WE ADDED A SIX CLASS, AND THE COST OF THAT WAS 2.7 MILLION.
THE DIFFERENCE WITH THAT IS OVERTIME.
INSTRUCTORS THAT NOW WE'RE ADDING A, A, A D.
AND, AND THANK YOU CHIEF, UH, CHIEFS AND DIRECTOR, UH, FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS.
UM, ON THE MOU SIDE, UM, DO YOU THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE A, UH, AS YOU'RE PROGRESSING A MODEL THAT YOU COULD ALSO PARTNER WITH, UM, OTHER VARIOUS COUNTY, YOU KNOW, MONTGOMERY COUNTY OR STATE AGENCIES? IT SEEMS, BECAUSE YOU ALL HAVE THE, UH, TACTICAL TRAINING CENTER OUT THERE, WHICH NO ONE ELSE I THINK IN THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS, TO THAT EXTENT, YOU KNOW, THERE COULD BE A TRADE OFF.
AND, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE OTHER IMPLICATIONS, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION IS CERTAINLY THE KEY.
COUNCIL MEMBER, EVERY SWAT OPERATOR IN THE STATE GOES THROUGH THE FINEST ONE, WHICH IS AT THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WE HAVE A, A BASIC SWAT SCHOOL AT OUR FACILITY, AND WE HAVE OUTSIDE AGENCIES THAT ARE ATTENDING IT.
SO WE ALREADY HAVE EXISTING MOUS.
UH, IF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, THEY, THEY, THEY'RE, SOMETIMES THEY'RE FULL-TIME, THEY'RE, OR IT'S NOT A FULL-TIME, UH, SWAT COMPONENT TO THEM.
SO THEY COME TO OUR OFFICE AND WE TRAIN THEM, AND WE'RE ALWAYS COLLABORATING.
THE, THE POLICE ARE ALWAYS WORKING TOGETHER IN EVERY ASPECT.
SO WOULD WE NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO, UM, DO OTHER TRAINING CADET CLASSES WITH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE PROVIDING THE ASSET OF THE FACILITY, YOU KNOW, TO
[01:05:01]
PARTNER WITH THEM, TO ACTUALLY UNDER THEIR INSTRUCTORS AND, YOU KNOW, WORK, OBVIOUSLY THERE WOULD BE SOME DETAILS TO WORK OUT, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ADDED A CLASS, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE WE COULD POTENTIALLY COLLABORATE WITH OTHER AGENCIES TO TRAIN MORE OFFICERS JUST IN GENERAL.AND WE COULD DO THAT, BUT WE HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL.
'CAUSE A, EVERY AGENCY IS DIFFERENT.
WE HAVE DIFFERENT THINGS, KIND OF LIKE THE COUNTY.
WE HAVE CITY ORDINANCES THAT THEY DON'T HAVE.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, DURING THE TRAINING PROCESS, WHEN WE'RE TEACHING A SPECIFIC CLASS, WE'RE TEACHING THEM TO MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND OUR POLICIES.
AND NOT EVERY AGENCY'S, UH, MIRROR THE SAME POLICY.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT, AND IF WE'RE GONNA HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY KNOW WHAT OUR POLICY IS FOR WHATEVER IT IS, WHETHER BODY-WORN CAMERA, THE TRAINING IN REGARDS TO USE OF FORCE, OUR POLICIES ARE DIFFERENT.
SO THIS IS WHERE IT GETS TRICKY, EVEN THOUGH WE WANT TO TRY TO, MAYBE SOMETIMES, UM, I REMEMBER BACK IN THE NINETIES WHEN I WAS AT THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, I WAS AT THEIR ACADEMY METRO WOULD COME INTO THAT CLASS.
UM, THEY, THEY WOULD, UH, FOR THE TECO PURPOSES, BUT WE HAD TO BE CAREFUL WITH WHAT THEY, WE TAUGHT.
THEY TAUGHT, THEY WERE TAUGHT.
BECAUSE ONCE AGAIN, THEIR POLICIES ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
WHAT THEY WERE GONNA DO WAS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN US.
AND SO, IF WE DID THAT, UM, AND ONCE AGAIN, THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT'S CADET CLASS IS LIKE NINE MONTHS, OURS IS SIX MONTHS.
WE HAVE DIFFERENT CURRICULUM THAT WE DO, UH, TO SPECIFICALLY FIT THE NEEDS OF OUR DEPARTMENT.
UNDERSTANDING THE, YOU KNOW, THE INS AND OUTS OF THE DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
I THINK THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT CREATIVE, I, MY CREATIVE THINKING ON HOW DO WE GET MORE OFFICERS, ASAP, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT, AT ADDING, CERTAINLY THE ADDITION OF ONE CADET CLASSES IS A WIN.
BUT IF EVERY TWO MONTHS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SIX CLASS, THAT'S, YOU'RE AT YOUR MAX WITH THAT, RIGHT? YES, MA'AM.
EVERY SIX, EVERY TWO MONTHS, YOU ADD A CLASS.
MATH IS EASIER FOR ME ON THAT ONE.
COUNCIL MEMBER, IF I MAY, THANK YOU.
WE'VE ALREADY VISITED WITH SHERIFF EZ, AND HE'S AGREED, UH, THAT, THAT, THAT MOUS IS IN THE WORKS THROUGH OUR LEGAL TEAMS, BUT KNOW THAT WE ALREADY TRAINED THERE.
UH, 'CAUSE WE, WE STILL HAVE ANOTHER 50, 211 MEN AND WOMEN TO TRAIN, UH, THEIR ANNUAL, UM, CERTIFICATIONS, THEIR TRAINING, LEGISLATIVE UPDATES.
SO FOR NOW, WE WILL USE, UH, THE RMS TRAINING.
WE GOT TRAINED EVENINGS, DAYS, AND NIGHT SHIFT.
SO WE WILL USE THEIR FACILITIES TO HELP US GET THROUGH OUR NUMBERS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, AND THEN THE ADDITIONAL IN THE FUTURE OF THE SIX CADET CLASSES THAT ARE COMING.
SO WE'RE WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP, UH, EVERY SINGLE DAY.
UH, SO KNOW THAT, UH, THOSE IDEAS ARE WONDERFUL.
SO WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE ARE BEING PRODUCTIVE AND, UH, DISCIPLINED WITH THE BUDGETS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE NOT, UH, UH, JUST SPENDING THAT'S A ONE VERSUS NEED FOR ME.
SO, UH, I'LL ENSURE TODAY THAT WE WILL MAKE EVERY, UH, TRAINING AVAILABLE, CHAIN TRAIN, DIFFERENT TRAINERS, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THE BEST PRODUCT OUT THERE AT, AT, AT A REASONABLE COST.
COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, THANK YOU, UM, FOR THE 2.7 MILLION THAT WAS BUDGETED IN GENERAL GOVERNMENT FOR THE ADDITIONAL CLASS, CORRECT? YES, BUT WE DON'T ACTUALLY, WE DON'T ACTUALLY SPEND, WHEN WOULD THE CLASS BEGIN? THE SIXTH CLASS.
SO IT ALREADY STARTED, SO WE HAD TO OKAY.
SO THAT, THAT WOULD BE ALL COVERED IN THIS, IN THIS FISCAL YEAR? YES.
SO, BECAUSE I KNOW HOW THE, THEY KIND OF ROLL, RIGHT.
COUNCIL MEMBER KAMAN, UM, SAID MOST OF WHAT I WANTED TO SAY ABOUT THE, UM, ABOUT THE, THE PRESENTATION THAT WE HAD AT BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS EARLIER.
WHATEVER WE CAN GET FROM THE STATE AND OTHER PLACES IS GREAT, BUT, UM, IT'S A REAL OPPORTUNITY FOR THIS COUNCIL TO TAKE, UH, MAKE THE HARD DECISION TO, UM, MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT ONLY COVERING THE COST OF THE DERECHO, BUT RAISING MONEY FOR OUR HARDWORKING POLICE OFFICERS COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ.
UM, HATE TO BEAT A DEAD HORSE, BUT, YOU KNOW, STILL WRAP.
TRYING TO WRAP MY HEAD AROUND WHY THIS CLASS THAT STARTED, UM, AUGUST, AUGUST 19TH IS CONSIDERED THE SIXTH CLASS.
SO JUST LOOKING AT YOUR CHARTS, IT LOOKS LIKE EVERY TWO MONTHS YOU'LL START A NEW CLASS.
DO I HAVE THAT RIGHT? PRETTY MUCH, YES.
AND AT ANY GIVEN TIME, HOW MANY CLASSES DO YOU HAVE GOING ON AT THE ACADEMY, AT THE CLASS? ALL AT ONE TIME.
AND SO TODAY YOU'VE GOT THREE CLASSES GOING ON, IS THAT RIGHT? YES, SIR.
SO YOU, YOU, AND WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER ONE NEXT MONTH.
SO, WE'LL, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'LL BE HAVING FOUR.
THAT'S WHERE THE SIX CLASS ADD.
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YOU ALL HAVE, HAVE CHOSEN TO CALL CLASS NUMBER TWO SIXTY SEVEN OR TO CONSIDER IT THE SIXTH CLASS? YES, SIR.EVEN THOUGH IT'S THE FIRST OF THE FISCAL YEAR? YES, SIR.
AND ONCE AGAIN, BECAUSE THE OTHER CLASSES WERE ALREADY SCHEDULED, ONE THROUGH FIVE WERE ALREADY SCHEDULED, AND IT WAS ORIGINALLY SUPPOSED TO START.
AND THE, THE DATE THAT YOU SAW THERE OCTOBER, UH, IN OC WELL, ACTUALLY IT WAS A DIFFERENT DATE, BUT WE HAD TO MOVE LOGISTICALLY TO MAKE SURE WE HAD EVERYTHING.
WE HAD TO PUT THIS CLASS HERE ORIGINALLY.
WE WEREN'T GONNA HAVE AN AUGUST THE 19TH CLASS.
SO YOU PUSHED THE OTHER ONES BACK A LITTLE BIT.
UM, QUESTION ABOUT, UH, SOMETHING YOU SAID REGARDING TRAINING AND, UM, UH, MY EXPERIENCE, I BELIEVE EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAY, HPD OFFERS MORE COURSES THAN, UH, MANY DEPARTMENTS DO WITH MANY DEPARTMENTS.
OFFICERS HAVE TO GO OUT, OUT ON THEIR OWN AND FIND THE CLASSES THAT THEY NEED BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT OFFERED BY THEIR DEPARTMENTS.
AND HPD TEACHES EVERYTHING YOU NEED AND MORE, I'M SURE, IN-HOUSE.
AND LET ME ALSO SAY, IN MY EXPERIENCE, HPD OFFICERS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AT THE TOP OF THE LEVEL OF PROFESSIONALISM, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT OFFICERS FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS AS WELL.
SO I KNOW THERE'S A HIGH DEGREE OF QUALITY TRAINING OFFERED BY THE DEPARTMENT.
I'M WONDERING, DO OFFICERS FROM OTHER AGENCIES SOMETIMES COME TO THE HPD ACADEMY TO TAKE CLASSES? YES.
AND I ASSUME THEY PAY TO TAKE THOSE COURSES? NO, WE USUALLY, THERE'S SOME SPECIFIC THAT YOU'LL HAVE SOME OUTSIDE VENDOR COME OUT, AND WE ALSO WILL PAY FOR A CERTAIN CLASS THAT WE DON'T HAVE THAT WE FEEL IS IMPORTANT.
AND THOSE ARE THE ONLY CLASSES THAT SOMEBODY FROM THE OUTSIDE WILL HAVE TO PAY.
OTHER THAN THAT PEOPLE CAN COME, THEY REGISTER, AND THEN WE ALLOW A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF NUMBER FOR OUTSIDE AGENCIES TO ENSURE THAT WE STILL MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR DEPARTMENT.
I HOPE WE'RE RECOVERING OUR COSTS WHEN WE TRAIN OTHER OFFICERS AT, AT OUR ACADEMY.
'CAUSE I KNOW IF YOU DON'T WORK FOR HPD AND YOU HAVE TO TAKE A CLASS SOMEWHERE, YOU GOTTA PAY FOR IT.
BUT LIKE, UH, CHIEF SAID, LIKE HARRIS COUNTY, WE'RE NOT REQUIRED TO PAY.
THERE'S SOME PLACES THAT WE GO AND WE PARTNER AND WE HAVE THAT AGREEMENT.
WE SEND SOME OF OUR OFFICERS FOR THE SPECIALTIES THAT THEY HAVE.
AND THEN SOMETIME, AND WE, WE, WE, ALL WE DO IS WE RECIPROCATE.
AND, AND I, AND I'LL SHARE WITH YOU THAT OBVIOUSLY AT, AT, UH, AT THE DPS DRIVING TRACK IN THE NINETIES WHEN I WENT THROUGH, I AUGMENTED MY PURSUIT DRIVING SKILLS AT THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT TRACK.
SO WE'RE CONSTANTLY TRADING TRAINING WITH OTHER AGENCIES TO GIVE OUR TEAMS DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE, DIFFERENT WAYS OF DOING THINGS.
SO AROUND THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA, THESE, THESE OTHER AGENCIES THAT, THAT, THAT ARE SMALLER, MOST OF THEM COME THROUGH OUR DRIVING TRACK FOR THE PURSUIT DRIVING, UH, DISCIPLINE BECAUSE THEY COME OUT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON, DOWNTOWN ONE STAR COLLEGE, AND THEY DON'T HAVE A DRIVING COMPONENT TO THEIR ACADEMIES.
SO WE TRADE OFF AND EVERY NOW AND THEN WE, WE, WE, WE, WE POACH ONE OF THOSE EMPLOYEES INTO OUR, INTO OUR MISSED BECAUSE THEY COME AND THEY, THEY, THEY GO THROUGH OUR WORLD CLASS TRAINING FACILITY.
I JUST HOPE WE'RE RE RECOVERING, RECOUPING OUR COSTS ON THAT.
WE'LL TRY TO GET YOU SOME HARD NUMBERS FOR THAT.
AND, AND SO, UM, THE, THE LAST THING, UH, I WANTED TO ASK YOU IS ESCAPING ME NOW, BUT, UM, UM, IN REGARDS TO THE OVERTIME THAT, THAT YOU ARE PAYING THE TRAINERS AT THE ACADEMY, IS, IS IT POSSIBLE TO, UH, FIND OTHER EXPERIENCED OFFICERS WITHIN HPD TO, TO TRAIN, UH, AND, AND LEAD THOSE CLASSES AT THE ACADEMY SO THAT MAYBE WE DON'T HAVE TO PAY THE OVERTIME? WE'LL LOOK AT THAT.
'CAUSE WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING AT HOW WAYS TO SAVE MONIES ON OVERTIME.
UH, BUT AGAIN, CLASS ADDS ANOTHER LAYER OF, OF, OF TRAINING FOR US.
SO WE HAVE TO KIND OF, WE, WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN INTO THE, THE GRANULAR STUFF ON THAT, BUT WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WHERE WE CAN CUT, UH, NOT, NOT RELY SO HEAVILY ON THE, ON THE OVERTIME PROCESSES.
UM, IN REGARDS TO THE, TO THE EXIT INTERVIEWS YOU DO, CHIEF CANTU, YOU SPOKE TO THIS, ONE OF THE COMMON REASONS LISTED IS, UM, GOING TO ANOTHER AGENCY THAT'S PAYING MORE.
UM, WHAT, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OTHER ISSUES THAT, UH, ARE MENTIONED IN THE EXIT INTERVIEWS? WELL, THE PRIMARY ONE WAS PAY.
THE, THE SECONDARY WAS, UM, UH, UH, WAS THE PENSION.
UH, THE THIRD IS THEY NEEDED MORE BALANCE IN THEIR LIFE.
UH, AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, HOW WE HAVE A LOT OF INCIDENTS.
SO WE, WE PUT 'EM INTO ACTION.
SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, WE, WE HAVE TO PUT 'EM OUT THERE ON SPECIAL RESPONSE AND COLLECT.
WE HAVE BARREL, WE REQUIRED THEM TO COME OUT HERE FOR 12 HOUR SHIFTS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE
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DO OUR JOB TO HELP THE, THAT, THAT'S JUST OUR BASIC THING.THEY WANTED SOMETHING MORE STABLE WHERE THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND, AND DEAL WITH AT THE LAST MINUTE, I GOTTA COME IN.
SO YOU DO HAVE A PAY PENSION, UH, STABLE, YOU KNOW, HIS WORK LIKE A SCHEDULE.
AND SO THAT JUST, RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, WE ANSWER TO A LOT OF CALLS BECAUSE IT'S NECESSARY TO, IT'S NECESSARY FOR PUBLIC SAFETY.
SO WE CAN'T CONTROL EVENTS LIKE THE HURRICANES BARREL AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE ISSUES.
AND IF YOU WANT, I, I'LL KIND OF SEND YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE.
THESE ARE NOT REQUIRED BY EVERYBODY.
SO WHEN WE GET 'EM, THEY'RE VERY FEW.
SO LIKE YESTERDAY I GOT MAYBE SIX OR SEVEN, BUT THOSE WERE OKAY.
AND THEN, THEN I'LL, I'LL, UM, LET, LET OTHERS, UH, SPEAK.
BUT, UH, AND CHIEF, YOU AND I SPOKE ABOUT THIS RECENTLY AND THE NEED, THE NEED TO CONTINUE FUNDING THE MENTAL HEALTH UNITS.
UH, WHERE YOU HAVE CLINICIANS GO OUT WITH OFFICERS AND DEAL WITH, UH, FOLKS WHO DON'T NECESSARILY NEED TO BE IN JAIL, BUT ARE IN CRISIS OF SOME SORT.
AND THEY'RE REDIRECTED FROM THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN ORDER TO GET THEM THE HELP, HELP THAT THEY NEED.
AND SO I HOPE WE CONTINUE TO FUND THOSE PROGRAMS BECAUSE WITH THE CLINICIANS, WHAT'S THAT? WITH THE CLINICIANS IS WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO? YES, YES.
I HOPE WE CONTINUE TO FUND THOSE PROGRAMS. UH, 'CAUSE I THINK THEY END UP SAVING US MONEY IN THE LONG RUN BY KEEPING FOLKS WHO DON'T NEED TO BE IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM OUT OF IT.
UH, AND WITH THE LOSS OF, OF ARPA FUNDING GOING FORWARD, UH, I JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, EMPHASIZE, I HOPE WE CONTINUE TO SEE THAT IN THE BUDGET.
STAFF FROM MAYOR PRO TEM CASTEX, TATUM'S OFFICE.
UM, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
I WOULD JUST LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT TO THE HOUSTON POLICE, POLICE CHIEF DIAZ ON BEHALF OF MAYOR PROAM CASTEX TATUM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ATTENDING THE MEET THE CHIEF EVENT IN DISTRICT K ON AUGUST 29TH.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR ENGAGEMENT AND DIALOGUE WITH OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE HOUSTON AND DISTRICT K SAFER.
UH, IT WAS VERY, VERY EYEOPENING FOR ME, AND THE PEOPLE CAME WITH THE TRUTH.
AND, UH, I WAS, I WAS THERE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE LISTENED TO.
SO I, I I, I I'D LOVE THE EVENT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
THERE'S NO ONE ELSE IN THE QUEUE.
WE WILL MOVE ON TO OUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
UM, EACH SPEAKER WILL BE GIVEN THREE MINUTES UP.
I'M A DISTRICT C CONSTITUENT, AND I'M SPEAKING TODAY ABOUT THE REALLOCATION OF FUNDS FROM THE SHOT SPOTTER CANCELLATION TO HIRING MORE POLICE OFFICERS.
IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE REACHED A CONSENSUS THAT WE NEED AS MANY OFFICERS AS POSSIBLE.
OH, BUT FIRST, UM, DURING THE PRESENTATION, I LOOKED UP CADET PAY AND THE OTHER LOCALITIES, AND IT LOOKS LIKE PASADENA PAYS 56,000 AND NOT THE 73,000 THAT WAS SHOWN IN THE PRESENTATION.
I DIDN'T SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON IT.
UM, BUT I EMAILED IT TO MOST OF YOU.
I WAS AT CITY COUNCIL MEETING RECENTLY WHEN SEVERAL COMMUNITY ADVOCATES ASKED YOU TO REIMAGINE PUBLIC SAFETY THAT DOESN'T INVOLVE MORE OFFICERS.
INSTEAD, SAFETY MEASURES THAT RESPOND, UH, THAT PREVENT CRIME, RATHER THAN RESPOND TO IT.
I'M HERE TO EXPAND ON THAT MESSAGE FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A TAXPAYER.
HARRIS COUNTY IS PLANNING TO BUILD A NEW MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR JAIL TO HOLD LOW INCOME HOUSTONIANS ARRESTED BY HPD WHILE THEY AWAIT TRIAL.
I SAY LOW INCOME FOLKS, BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE HELD AWAITING TRIAL WHEN THEY CAN'T AFFORD BAIL.
MANY OF THEM WERE CHARGED WITH CRIMES RELATED TO POVERTY.
INSTEAD OF ARRESTING SO MANY POOR PEOPLE THAT TAXPAYERS HAVE TO FUND A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR JAIL, HOUSTON COULD FIND WAYS TO ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSE.
AS COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ MENTIONED, THIS MEANS
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PROVIDING CARE TO POOR PEOPLE WHO NEED IT SO THEY CAN STAY OUT OF JAIL, STAY WITH THEIR FAMILIES TO REDUCE THE COST OF FOSTER CARE, STAY AT THEIR JOBS, AND STAY PART OF THE TAX PAYING ECONOMY.THE CARE MIGHT BE MEANINGFUL, ACCESSIBLE ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH CARE, INPATIENT AND OUTPATIENT TO KEEP PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH INDICATORS OR INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES FROM BEING ARRESTED AND DETAINED.
I HAVE A SPECIAL NEEDS GRANDCHILD WHO IS A PERSON OF COLOR.
I CAN EASILY SEE HIM BEING IN THIS SITUATION WHEN HE GETS A LITTLE OLDER.
UM, THEY DO NOT BELONG IN JAIL, BUT MOST FAMILIES DON'T HAVE RESOURCES TO CARE FOR THEM ON THEIR OWN.
I HAD AN MENTALLY ILL BROTHER.
WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH HIM.
UH, THE ONLY PLACE FOR HIM AT THAT TIME WAS JAIL.
PLEASE IMAGINE PUBLIC SAFETY THAT KEEPS IN MIND.
COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ COMMENT ABOUT KEEPING PEOPLE OUT OF JAIL WHO DON'T BELONG THERE.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND LISTENING AND OFFERING YOUR, YOUR VIEWPOINT.
I KNOW YOU REPRESENT A LOT OF FOLKS WHO FEEL THE SAME WAY, AND I NOTICED, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN HAS LEFT THE CHAMBER, BUT THIS MORNING, YOU KNOW, SHE HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE TO EMPHASIZE, UM, SUICIDE PREVENTION, ESPECIALLY AMONG VETERANS.
AND SO, UH, JUST THANK YOU FOR HIGHLIGHTING THAT AND FOR BEING DOWN HERE.
IS THERE ANYONE ELSE WHO WANTED TO SPEAK, WHO DIDN'T SIGN UP? I DON'T SEE ANYONE ELSE.
ALL OF THE MATERIAL, UM, PRESENTED TODAY CAN BE FOUND ON THE COMMITTEE'S WEBSITE, WHICH IS HOUSTON TX.GOV/COUNCIL/COMMITTEE/PUBLIC SAFETY.
OUR NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8TH, AND WE STAND ADJOURNED.