[Joint Committee on Budget and Fiscal Affairs and Service Delivery on March 17, 2025.]
[00:00:06]
OKAY, GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO THE ST.
PATRICK'S DAY EDITION OF THE JOINT, UH, SERVICE DELIVERY COMMITTEE AND BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEETING.
HAPPY TO WELCOME MY COLLEAGUES.
WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER TWILA DAVIS.
COUNCIL MEMBER JOAQUIN MARTINEZ, VICE MAYOR PRO TEM AMY PECK, COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIE DAVIS.
AND COUNCIL MEMBER JULIAN RAMIREZ.
WE ALSO HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER.
MY VICE CHAIR, MARIO CASTILLO, UM, STAFF FROM THE MAYOR PRO TEMS OFFICE.
CARTER TWILA CARTER, I'VE MESSED UP.
YOU ARE HERE WITH GREEN ON, UM, UH, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER TARSHA JACKSON'S OFFICE, WHO IS THE CHAIR OF, OF SERVICE DELIVERY AND WAS UNABLE TO ATTEND, SO IS BEING REPRESENTED BY THE VICE CHAIR JULIAN RAMIREZ.
AND STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN'S, OFFICE STAFF FROM PLUMMER AND STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER'S OFFICE IS HERE ONLINE, SO WE WILL HAVE A VERY FULL AGENDA, SO WE WILL GET RIGHT TO IT, STARTING WITH THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT CONTROLLER.
UH, HONORABLE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL AND STAFF.
UH, OF COURSE, I'D LIKE TO START BY WISHING YOU A HAPPY ST.
I WANNA STATE FOR THE RECORD THAT THIS SHIRT IS GREEN
UM, I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK MEMBERS OF COUNCIL WHO WERE ABLE TO JOIN US, UH, LAST MONTH FOR OUR OFFICE'S BLACK, UH, HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS CARTER CASTILLO, MARTINEZ, POLLARD, AND THOMAS.
REALLY APPRECIATE, UH, YOUR PRESENCE THERE.
UH, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE FIND OURSELVES NOW IN WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH AND, UH, MY OFFICE, AS IT DID LAST YEAR, WILL BE HOSTING A ROUND TABLE, UH, LATER THIS MONTH, UM, TO HONOR, UH, WOMEN'S HISTORY AND THE INCREDIBLE IMPACT THAT WOMEN HAVE HAD HERE IN HOUSTON.
UH, I'M JOINING YOU TODAY TO PRESENT THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT FOR JANUARY, THE PERIOD, UH, ENDING JANUARY 31ST, 2025.
THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE IS PROJECTING AN ENDING FUND BALANCE OF $245.1 MILLION FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025.
THIS IS $119.9 MILLION LOWER THAN THE PROJECTION OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
THE DIFFERENCE IS DUE TO BOTH LOWER REVENUE AND HIGHER EXPENDITURE PROJECTIONS THAN THOSE OF FINANCE.
NAMELY A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR DIFFERENCE, UH, THAT WE'RE ACCOUNTING FOR IN NECESSARY TRANSFERS FROM THE GENERAL FUND, UH, TO THE DRAINAGE FUND.
BASED ON, UH, THE RECENT LEGAL RULINGS, BASED ON OUR CURRENT PROJECTIONS, THE FUND BALANCE WILL BE APPROXIMATELY $55.3 MILLION ABOVE THE CITY'S TARGET OF HOLDING 7.5% OF TOTAL EXPENDITURES, EXCLUDING DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO AND RESERVE.
WE'VE INCREASED OUR REVENUE PROJECTION BY $1.6 MILLION FROM THE JANUARY, 2025 REPORT TO REFLECT THE SALE OF LAND TO T FOR THE NORTH HOUSTON HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT.
IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE CITY RECEIVED A $26 MILLION AUDIT ADJUSTMENT IN THE FEBRUARY REMITTANCE, WHICH REFLECTED DECEMBER RECEIPTS, UH, FOR SALES TAXES.
WHILE AUDIT RELATED ADJUSTMENTS OCCUR EVERY MONTH, ADJUSTMENTS OF THIS MAGNITUDE ARE UNCOMMON.
IN SOME CASES, PAYMENTS ARE ALLOCATED TO THE WRONG JURISDICTION, THEREFORE NECESSITATING CORRECTIONS.
AND IN THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE, A TAXPAYER WAS SHIPPING TO OTHER CITIES OUTSIDE HOUSTON, BUT THE SALES TAX WAS BEING REMITTED HERE TO HOUSTON GOING ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2019.
NOW, OUR FINANCE DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN IN TOUCH WITH THE STATE.
UM, AND SO THE AGREEMENT THAT TOOK PLACE, AND I'M SURE DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI CAN GO INTO MORE DETAIL THERE, IS THAT THE STATE WILL RETURN THAT $26 MILLION TO US IN MARCH AND IMPLEMENT A 43 MONTH ZERO INTEREST PAYMENT PLAN STARTING IN APRIL.
SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE SITUATION AND COORDINATE WITH FINANCE, UH, ON THAT.
WE'VE INCREASED OUR EXPENDITURE PROJECTION BY $105.4 MILLION FROM THE JANUARY, 2025 REPORT, UH, TO REFLECT THE FOLLOWING.
UH, FIRST THE INCREASE OF A HUNDRED $0.3 MILLION IN THE CAPTURED REVENUE TRANSFER TO THE DEDICATED DRAINAGE AND STREET RENEWAL FUND AT VALOREM TO REFLECT ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR DRAINAGE PROJECTS AFTER THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT RULING.
UH, AN INCREASE OF $3.5 MILLION IN THE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT TO SUPPORT HEAVY TRASH PICKUP, AN INCREASE OF 1.6 MILLION IN GENERAL GOVERNMENT DRIVEN BY A HIGHER TRANSFER TO THE PARKS MAINTENANCE, RENEWAL AND REPLACEMENT FUND, UH, DUE TO THAT LAND SALE THAT I MENTIONED A MOMENT AGO.
UH, AND THEN MOVING ON TO THE CITY'S ENTERPRISE FUNDS, A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN THE DEDICATED DRAINAGE AND STREET RENEWAL FUND.
UM, AS NOTED, NON-OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY A HUNDRED $0.3 MILLION FOR DRAINAGE PROJECTS.
AND, UM, AND THEN FINALLY, OUR PROJECTION FOR THE AVIATION OPERATING FUND COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM
[00:05:01]
FUND CONVENTION AND ENTERTAINMENT OPERATING FUND, STORM WATER FUND, AND THE OTHER, OTHER DEDICATED DRAINAGE AND STREET RENEWAL FUNDS REMAIN UNCHANGED FROM THE PRIOR MONTH FOR OUR COMMERCIAL PAPER AND BONDS.THE CITY'S PRACTICE HAS BEEN TO MAINTAIN NO MORE THAN 20% OF THE TOTAL OF THE TOTAL OUTSTANDING DEBT FOR EACH OF EACH TYPE OF DEBT IN A VARIABLE RATE STRUCTURE.
AND AS OF JANUARY 31ST, 2025, THAT RATIO OF UNH VARIABLE RATE DEBT FOR EACH TYPE OF OUTSTANDING DEBT REMAIN WELL BELOW THAT THRESHOLD.
UH, THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT, UH, BUT BEFORE, UH, I PASS THE MIC HERE LAST THURSDAY, YOU ALL RECEIVED, UH, OUR ENTERPRISE RISK ASSESSMENT AS WELL AS THE FFY 2025, UH, AUDIT PLAN.
UH, THAT AUDIT PLAN GUIDES, UH, THE AUDITS THAT OUR OFFICE WILL PURSUE, UH, OVER THE FISCAL YEAR.
AND YOU'LL HEAR MOMENTARILY FROM OUR DEPUTY DIRECTOR JENNIFER PIERCE, UH, ABOUT THE DETAILS OF BOTH THE ERA AND THE AUDIT PLAN.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CONTROLLER, DIRECTOR.
THIS IS THE SEVEN PLUS FIVE FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING JANUARY 31ST, 2025.
FISCAL YEAR 25 PROJECTIONS ARE BASED ON SEVEN MONTHS OF ACTUAL RESULTS AND FIVE MONTHS OF PROJECTIONS FOR THE GENERAL FUND REVENUES.
OUR REVENUE PROJECTION IS 9.4 MILLION LOWER THAN THE ADOPTED BUDGET AND 1.6 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH.
THE VARIANCE FROM THE PRIOR MONTH'S PROJECTIONS IS DUE TO AN INCREASE OF SALES OF CAPITAL ASSETS TO REFLECT LAND SALE TO TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR THE NORTH HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT.
UM, TOUCHING ON SALES TAX AS THE CONTROLLER MENTIONED, UM, WE WERE NOTIFIED BY THE STATE COMPTROLLER OF A, UM, I, I DON'T EVEN WANNA SAY UNUSUALLY HIGH UNPRECEDENTEDLY HIGH, UM, AUDIT FINDING.
UM, THAT COVERED A PERIOD OF APPROXIMATELY FOUR YEARS FROM JANUARY, 2019 TO 2023.
UM, THOSE SALES TAX RECEIPTS, UM, THAT AUDIT SHOWED UP IN THE RECEIPTS FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER.
UM, AND IF THAT AUDIT, UH, FINDING HAD NOT BEEN SHOWING UP IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER, UM, SALES TAX RECEIPTS FOR THAT PERIOD EARNED WOULD HAVE BEEN ABOUT 7.6% HIGHER THAN THE SAME PERIOD IN THE PRIOR YEAR.
UM, SO AS THE CONTROLLER MENTIONED, UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE STATE COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE.
THEY DID RETURN THE AUDIT FINDING, UM, MONEY TO US IN THE MONTHLY REMITTANCE THAT WE JUST GOT, UM, LAST WEEK IN MARCH.
AND WE ARE GOING TO BE, UM, ENTERING INTO THAT REPAYMENT PLAN AS A CONTROLLER MENTIONED TO COVER THE SAME PERIOD THAT THE AUDIT FINDING OCCURRED.
UM, AND AGAIN, THAT'S AT A 0% INTEREST THAT WE WERE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE WITH THEM.
UM, SO BECAUSE THE RECEIPTS FOR THE, THE MONTH EARNED IN DECEMBER WERE STILL, YOU KNOW, ABOUT 7.6% HIGHER THAN YEAR OVER YEAR.
AND IN FEBRUARY, UM, NOT ACCOUNTING FOR THE RETURNED, UM, AUDIT FINDING MONEY, UM, OUR RECEIPTS WERE ABOUT 0.14% INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR.
SO RELATIVELY FLAT YEAR OVER YEAR.
UM, WE DON'T SEE AT THIS POINT IN TIME, UM, A REASON TO MAKE A CHANGE TO THE PROJECTION FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR, BUT WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT.
AND OF COURSE, WE'RE GONNA TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN WE DO OUR PROJECTIONS FOR SALES TAX IN FUTURE YEARS, KNOWING THAT THIS SINGLE REMITTER, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, REMITTANCES THAT WE WERE GETTING FOR THE PAST COUPLE YEARS INCLUDE THIS THAT WE'LL NO LONGER, UM, BE RECEIVING DUE TO THE AUDIT FINDING.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR SALES TAX ON THAT FRONT.
SO MOVING ON TO EXPENDITURES, OUR EXPENDITURE PROJECTION IS 1.2 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE ADOPTED BUDGET AND 5.1 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH.
THE VARIANCE FROM THE PRIOR MONTH PROJECTION IS DUE TO A $3.5 MILLION INCREASE IN SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT, UM, SPENDING FOR HEAVY TRASH PICKUP SERVICES.
UM, AND THAT ITEM WAS REFLECTED IN A RCA, THE COUNCIL PASSED BACK IN FEBRUARY.
UH, WE'RE ALSO INCREASING BY 1.6 MILLION TO GENERAL GOVERNMENT TO REFLECT FUNDING TRANSFER FOR THE PROCEEDS OF THE NORTHEASTERN HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT FUNDS THAT I MENTIONED THAT WILL GO TOWARDS THE PARKS DEPARTMENT MAIN MAINTENANCE, RENEWAL AND REPLACEMENT FUND FOR PARKS AND TRAILS PROJECTS.
SO ALL OF THAT TOGETHER, WE'RE CURRENTLY PROJECTING THE ENDING FUND BALANCE OF 363 MILLION, WHICH IS ABOUT 3.5 MILLION LOWER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH.
AND 14.3% OF ESTIMATED EXPENDITURES, LESS DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO, THAT BRINGS THE FUND BALANCE TO 173 MILLION ABOVE THE TARGET OF HOLDING 7.5% OF EXPENDITURES, EXCLUDING DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO.
UM, AS THE CONTROLLER MENTIONED, THE MAIN VARIANCE FROM, UM, OUR PROJECTIONS AND THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE PROJECTIONS PERTAIN TO THE, UH, DEDICATED DRAINAGE STREET RENEWAL FUND TRANSFER.
UM, THE, AS THE MAYOR HAD MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, DISCUSSIONS ARE STILL ONGOING WITH THE PLAINTIFFS.
SO, UM, THERE THE INCREASE TRANSFER IS NOT PROJECTED
[00:10:01]
IN THIS MONTH'S.PROJECTIONS FOR US WILL CONTINUE TO UPDATE THE COMMITTEE AS THOSE DISCUSSIONS PROGRESS.
SO MOVING OFF OF THE GENERAL FUND ON THE ENTERPRISE SPECIAL REVENUE FUND AND OTHER FUNDS, UM, THE ONLY CHANGE IS TO THE MAINTENANCE RENEWAL AND REPLACEMENT FUND.
AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, UH, REVENUES COMING IN FROM THE GENERAL FUND INCREASE BY 1.6 MILLION, UM, FOR THOSE PARKS PROJECTS.
OF COURSE, THE BIG STORY HERE IS THE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS AND, AND YOU SAID, UH, NEGOTIATIONS ARE ONGOING WITH THE PLAINTIFFS.
OBVIOUSLY WE'RE NOT PAYING IT RIGHT NOW.
UM, DO YOU ANTICIPATE THAT THERE'LL BE SOME RESOLUTION BEFORE WE START THE BUDGET PROCESS? THAT'S OUR GOAL, YES.
UM, AND CONTROLLER, YOU'RE JUST GOING OFF OF, YOU KNOW, JUST EXPLAIN WHY YOU'RE INCLUDING, INCLUDING THAT.
WE'RE GOING OFF OF STATUS QUO, RIGHT? RIGHT.
SO RIGHT NOW THE SUPREME COURT'S RULING IS YOU MUST DO THIS RIGHT.
AND THAT REMAINS THE CASE UNTIL OTHERWISE, UM, US BEING NOTIFIED.
AND SO FAR WE HAVE NOT BEEN NOTIFIED OF ANY SORT OF AGREEMENT THAT WOULD RELIEVE US OF THAT OBLIGATION, AND SO WE HAVE TO REPORT THE FACTS.
AND, AND I ASK ABOUT AT THIS, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT LIKE WHEN WE PASS THE BUDGET, BUT AS WE AROUND THIS TABLE PREPARE AMENDMENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE MY HOPE THAT THERE WOULD BE SOME RESOLUTION WE WOULD KNOW, UM, WHETHER, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO PUT MORE MONEY OVER INTO INFRASTRUCTURE ABSOLUTELY.
AT WHAT POINT? OKAY, THAT'S OUR POINT.
UM, AND ON THE, THE AUDIT FINDING, UM, ARE JUST OUTTA CURIOSITY, ARE, ARE THE, THE JURISDICTIONS THAT DIDN'T GET THE MONEY, ARE THEY GETTING INTEREST FROM THE, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT.
I MEAN, I'D A REALLY GOOD, I BE A DAMN MAN IN MY INTEREST IF SOME OTHER CITY HAD ALL OUR SALES TAX MONEY, BUT THANKS FOR WORKING THAT OUT.
UM, ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS FROM MY COLLEAGUES? OKAY.
SEEING NONE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND WE'LL, THANK YOU.
ALRIGHT, THE NEXT ITEM IS THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR JENNIFER PIERCE FROM THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE TO DISCUSS THE FY 24 ENTERPRISE RISK ASSESSMENT AND FY 25 AUDIT PLAN AND PEER REVIEW.
WELCOME, IF SHE WANTS TO, DO YOU WANNA STAND OR SIT OR I'LL STAND.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? WE CAN NOW.
GOOD MORNING, MADAM CHAIR, BFA COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND STAFF.
I WANNA TAKE A MOMENT TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ABOUT MYSELF.
AS I'M NEW TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON, I HAVE, I HAVE OVER 20 PLUS YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE AUDIT FUNCTION AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTING, TRANSPORTATION, ENERGY, AND CONTRACT COMPLIANCE INDUSTRIES.
IN MY PRIOR EXPERIENCE, I HAVE BEEN TASKED WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE OVERSIGHT OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT DEPARTMENT, INCLUDING ASSISTING WITH DEPARTMENT PROCESS IMPROVEMENT, ANNUAL RISK-BASED AUDIT PLANS, FRAUD, ENTERPRISE RISK PROGRAMS, INTERNAL CONTROLS AND MANAGING CONTRACT AND EMPLOYEE STAFF.
OVER THE COURSE OF MY CAREER, I HAVE SERVED ON THE COMPLIANCE COMMITTEE WITH PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY OF EVALUATING AND INVESTIGATING SUSPECTED INSTANCES OF FRAUD.
MY COMPREHENSIVE AUDIT PLAN HAS SURVIVED BANKRUPTCY AND TURNOVER AT THE BOARD AND EXECUTIVE LEVEL AND A CORPORATE BUYOUT.
IN ADDITION, I HAVE WAS TASKED WITH AUDITING $5.4 BILLION IN ACQUISITION TRANSACTIONS, RESULTING IN AN AVERAGE 10% RECOVERY.
LASTLY, AND THIS IS BY FAR MY FAVORITE CREDENTIAL, I LED A PROJECT TO REDESIGN AND OPTIMIZE PROCESSES ACROSS THE COMPANY, FINANCIAL, OPERATIONAL, AND TECHNOLOGICALLY AFTER THE COMPANY DOUBLED IN SIZE DUE TO A SINGULAR TRANSACTION.
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE THE HARDWORKING AUDIT DIVISION.
IF I COULD HAVE THEM TO PLEASE STAND, THAT WORKS DILIGENTLY FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
THESE EIGHT PROFESSIONALS ARE TASKED WITH FINDING FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE FOR THE FOURTH LARGEST CITY IN THE NATION.
I'M JOINING YOU TODAY TO PRESENT THE AUDIT DIVISION UPDATE, WHICH INCLUDES THE ENTERPRISE RISK ASSESSMENT AND THE FISCAL YEAR 2025 AUDIT PLAN.
THE ANNUAL ENTERPRISE RISK ASSESSMENT, OR ERA PROCESS SUPPORTS OUR EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY AND MANAGE RISK PROACTIVELY.
IT IS A KEY INPUT INTO THE ANNUAL AUDIT PLAN.
IN THE NEXT SECTION, THE E THE ERA PROCESS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024, IT'S MADE UP OF SIX COMPONENTS, WHICH FOR THIS YEAR INCLUDES THE SCOPED ENTERPRISE ASSESSMENT ANALYSIS PERFORMED BY EY UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE MAYOR.
THERE ARE TWO PRIMARY CATEGORIES THAT WE FOCUS ON, DEPARTMENT RISK PROFILES AND TOP RISK AREAS.
WE PERFORM A DETAILED RE RISK EVALUATION OF THREE TO SIX DEPARTMENTS ON A ROTATIONAL
[00:15:01]
BASIS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024, WE REVIEWED THE ADMINISTRATION AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT, A RA, THE CITY CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, THE HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM, HAS, THE HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, H-P-A-R-D AND HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT.THE, THE ERA ALSO RESULTS THE ERA RESULTS POINT TO FIVE KEY RISK AREAS IN WHICH WE FOCUS THE AUDIT PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025.
WE'VE IDENTIFIED 146, UH, HISTORICAL PROCESSES ACROSS THE CITY OF HOUSTON, OF WHICH WE, WE BELIEVE 18 OF THEM CROSS FUNCTIONS, DEPARTMENTS AND DIVISIONS.
THESE AREAS, THESE FIVE KEY RISK AREAS THAT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED ARE AREAS WHERE POTENTIAL EFFICIENCIES, REDUNDANCIES, AND SYNERGIES ARE LIKELY TO EXIST.
THEY ARE FLEET MANAGEMENT, GRANT MANAGEMENT, PROJECT, PROJECT, CONTRACT MANAGEMENT, PAYROLL, AND PUBLIC SAFETY.
AS A REMINDER IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE EIGHT.
SORRY, WE JUST, THE SLIDES WEREN'T UP AT THE BEGINNING, BUT JUST GUIDE US ALONG AND I'LL JUST STOP YOU REAL QUICK JUST TO SAY WE'RE SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE.
WELCOME, WELCOME AND CONTROLLER.
THIS IS A BIG GET FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
YOUR CREDENTIALS SOUND FABULOUS, AND WE'RE REALLY HAPPY TO HAVE YOU HERE.
AS A REMINDER, IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE EIGHT OF THE CITY CHARTER, THE CITY CONTROLLER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CONDUCTING AUDITS IN ACCORDANCE WITH PROFESSIONALLY RECOGNIZED AUDITING STANDARDS.
THE SCOPE OF WORK FOR THE AUDIT DIVISION IS FURTHER DEFINED IN THE AUDIT DIVISION CHARTER.
THE AUDIT DIVISION CHARTER DICTATES THAT WE ARE TO PERFORM THE AUDIT FUNCTION FOR THE OFFICE OF THE CITY CONTROLLER.
THIS INCLUDES PROVISION OF INDEPENDENT OBJECTIVE ASSURANCE AND CONSULTING SERVICES DESIGNED TO ADD VALUE AND IMPROVE THE CITY'S OPERATIONS.
THE PROJECTS WE PERFORM USE A SYSTEMATIC DISCIPLINED APPROACH TO EVALUATE AND IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GOVERNANCE, RISK MANAGEMENT, AND CONTROL PROCESSES THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
ALL AUDIT PROGRAMS, WORK PAPERS AND REPORTS ARE PREPARED IN A GUIDANCE IN, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE US GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITIES, OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT AUDITING STANDARDS, ALSO KNOWN AS THE YELLOW BOOK, THE INSTITUTE OF INTERNAL AUDITORS GLOBAL INTERNAL AUDIT, STANDING, ALSO KNOWN AS THE RED BOOK, AND RELEVANT STANDARDS ISSUED BY THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS.
THERE ARE FIVE STEPS TO OUR INDEPENDENT AUDIT PLANS.
THE FIRST ONE IS WHERE WE DEFINE THE AUDIT.
THIS IS WHERE WE SCOPE THE AUDIT INTO TANGIBLE PIECES.
YOU'LL FIND INSTANCES IN THE CURRENT PROPOSAL IN WHICH OUR DUE DILIGENCE HAS DETERMINED THAT WE SHOULD TAKE ONE AUDIT, SPLIT IT INTO THREE.
AN EXAMPLE OF THAT WOULD BE LOOKING AT CIVILIZED OVERTIME.
AS WE BEGAN TO DEFINE THE AUDIT, WE DETERMINED THAT WE SHOULD, LOOKING AT OVERTIME CITYWIDE.
AS WE BEGAN TO DEFINE THE AUDIT, WE DETERMINED WE SHOULD LOOK AT CIVILIZED OVERTIME, HOUSTON PUB POLICE DEPARTMENT, OVERTIME AND HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT OVERTIME, THREE SEPARATE AUDITS.
THE SECOND STEP IS THE PLANNING PHASE.
DURING THE PLANNING PHASE, WE GAIN A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE CURRENT PROCESSES, SYSTEMS, AND CONTROLS IN PLACE AT THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
WE ALSO RESEARCH OTHER GOVERNMENT ENTITIES TO FIND BEST PRACTICES.
FIELD WORK IS THE THIRD STEP, AND THAT IS WHERE WE TEST.
THAT IS WHAT WE'RE MOST KNOWN FOR.
THAT IS THE PART EVERYBODY HATES, BUT THAT IS WHERE THE MEAT OF THE PROGRAM LIES.
FOUR IS THE REPORTING PHASE, AND BY FAR, THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PHASE FOR, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, THIS IS THE CULMINATION OF OUR FINDINGS AND THE AUDITEES RESPONSES.
THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF ANY AUDIT REPORT I WILL PRESENT TO YOU IS MANAGEMENT'S REMEDIATION PLANS.
THE FIFTH AND FINAL STEP, WHICH OCCURS A COUPLE OF YEARS AFTER, WE'VE GIVEN MANAGEMENT TIME TO ACT, TO ACT ON THE REMEDIATION PLAN.
PER OUR AUDITING STANDARDS, WE ARE REQUIRED TO FOLLOW UP AND TEST TO ENSURE THAT MANAGEMENT REMEDIATION PLAN HAS BEEN COMPLETED.
THERE ARE 37 ENGAGEMENTS ON OUR CURRENT AUDIT PLAN.
THIS PLAN IS DESIGNED TO SET THE DIRECTION OF AUDIT ACTIVITIES FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
THIS PLAN IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO MITIGATE RISK, ELIMINATE FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE, AND HOLD MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTABLE.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THE NUMBER OF AUDIT PROJECTS THAT MY DIVISION CAN COMPLETE IS BASED ON OUR RESOURCES, EMPLOYEE HEADCOUNT, USE OF EXPERT SPECIALISTS, LENGTH OF TIME OF EACH PROJECT, ET CETERA.
I'M GONNA HAVE YOU SKIP TO SLIDE 14 AND 15
[00:20:01]
WHERE I CAN TALK YOU THROUGH A COUPLE OF MY FAVORITES THAT WE ARE PROPOSING.SKIPPING TO SLIDE 14 AND 15, THESE AUDITS ARE RELATED TO CONTRACT COMPLIANCE.
YOU GUYS HAVE HEARD A LOT ABOUT CONTRACT COMPLIANCE FROM THE EFFICIENCY STUDY.
THE OVERARCHING PROGRAM WILL AUDIT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE VENDOR AND THE CITY ACROSS DEPARTMENTS AND DIVISIONS.
AS YOU CAN TELL, AS WE HAVE PUT THIS PROGRAM TOGETHER, WE ARE GOING RIGHT INTO DEFINING THE SCOPE AS WE DEFINE THE SCOPE AS IT RELATES TO THE OVERALL PROJECT.
WE NOTED THAT THE FRA, THE FISCAL YEAR 2024 ERA IDENTIFIED A SIGNIFICANT EVENT EVENT IN WHICH CITY OF COUNCIL APPROVED EMERGENCY SPENDING.
THIS SPECIFIC AUDIT, WHICH IS SLIDE 1516, THIS SPECIFIC AUDIT WILL FOCUS ON THE $48 MILLION FUNDED THAT WAS SPLIT AMONGST 11 CONTRACTORS.
THE CONTRACT COMPLIANCE PROGRAM AND THE WATER LEAK SPENDING AUDITS WILL ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH CONTRACTED RATES AND EXPECTED TIMELINES.
THE TEXAS PROMPT PAYMENT IS AN EXAMPLE OF A COMPLIANCE AUDIT WHERE WE ARE ASSESSING THE PROCESSES, THE PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES, BUT ANTICIPATE OUR SUBSTANTIVE TESTING WILL RESULT IN COST RECOVERY AND FUTURE COST SAVINGS.
THE ERA FISCAL YEAR 2024 ERA IDENTIFIED THE CITY OF HOUSTON CONTRACT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
AS A SIGNIFICANT INFORMATION SYSTEM THAT HAS INDIVIDUALLY IMPACTED THE FLOW OF DATA AND RELATED PROCESSES, THE BEST PRACTICE OF PERFORMING A POST-IMPLEMENTATION AUDIT WILL EVALUATE THE SUCCESS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION.
S-A-P-E-R-P IS SUCH A COMPREHENSIVE SOFTWARE SYSTEM THAT BRAGS OF STREAMLINING PROCESS AND IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY.
THIS PERFORMANCE AUDIT WILL EVALUATE IF THE SAP FOOTPRINT IS THE RIGHT FIT FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
ADDITIONALLY, WE WILL PERFORM A FINANCIAL AUDIT OF THE OVERALL SPEND RELATED TO MAINTAINING SAP TO IDENTIFY FUTURE COST SAVINGS.
THIS WILL INCLUDE RELATED ADDITIONAL PAYROLL INFRASTRUCTURE AND SAP RELATED TECHNOLOGIES, TECHNOLOGY CONTRACTS TO MAINTAIN THAT FOOTPRINT.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE SEVEN ENGAGEMENTS IN PROGRESS FROM THE PRIOR FISCAL YEAR.
THESE ARE ONGOING ENGAGEMENTS THAT WE BEGAN IN FISCAL YEAR 2024, AND WE PLAN TO COMPLETE THIS YEAR.
THERE ARE 10 ANNUAL ENGAGEMENTS THAT WHICH INCLUDE THAT WE PLAN TO, THAT WE WILL ACCOMPLISH EVERY YEAR.
THIS INCLUDES AN OVERALL ETHICS ASSESSMENT, MONITORING THE HOTLINE FOR FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE REPORTS, QUALITY CONTROL REVIEWS, WHICH ARE REQUIRED BY THE STANDARDS TO BE GIVEN WITH EACH AUDIT PRIOR TO ISSUING THE REPORT AND A FULL RISK ASSESSMENT.
THEY ALSO ADD THE MOST VALUE TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THE ENTERPRISE RISK ASSESSMENT.
I THINK YOU GUYS ARE ALL VERY FAMILIAR WITH THAT.
YOU HAVE A REPORT ON THAT THIS YEAR.
WE ARE ALSO LOOKING TO ENHANCE THAT ASSESSMENT BY PERFORMING A SPECIFIC IT RISK ASSESSMENT, WHICH WILL HELP US ALIGN OUR EVALUATION OF ENTERPRISE RISKS FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON WITH THE RISK THAT HITS IS FOCUSED ON, WE'RE ALIGNING SO THAT WE'RE ALL MOVING IN THE SAME DIRECTION.
LASTLY, A RISK ASSESSMENT OF FOR OPEN AUDIT FINDINGS OR FOLLOW UPS ANNUAL, UM, ANNUALLY ENTAIL ANNUALLY.
WE WILL WORK WITH DEPARTMENT AND DIVISION LEADERSHIP TO ASSESS THE VALIDITY OF EACH OPEN AUDIT FINDING AND PERFORM A RISK ANALYSIS ON EACH RECOMMENDATION.
OPEN FINDINGS FROM AUDIT REPORTS OLDER THAN FIVE YEARS WITH HIGH RISK FACTORS WILL BE INCLUDED AS PART OF OUR ONGOING ANNUAL PLAN.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE CITY, THAT THE MAYOR'S EFFICIENCY STUDY WILL LIKELY ALSO IMPACT OUR AUDIT PLAN AS THEY IMPLEMENT NEW SYSTEMS AND PROCEDURES AND PROCESSES.
WE WILL BE FOLLOWING BEHIND TO MAKE SURE TO HOLD MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTABLE FOR THAT.
THE LAST THING I WILL LEAVE YOU WITH IS THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S CONTROLLER'S OFFICE AUTO DIVISION ENDURED A PEER REVIEW FOR OF OUR ENGAGEMENTS PERFORMED JANUARY 1ST, 2021 THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST THROUGH 23.
WE, THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THE FOURTH LARGEST CITY IN THE NATION WITH EIGHT STAFF PASSED WITH NO EXCEPTIONS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND I OPEN IT UP TO ANY QUESTIONS.
I WANNA MAKE SURE AND WELCOME COUNCIL MEMBER FRED FLICKINGER, COUNCIL MEMBER MARY NAN HUFFMAN JOINED US EARLIER, AND MY VICE CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBER MARIO CASTILLO, STAFF AND STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER EVAN SHAVA.
UM, I HAVE A QUESTION FROM COUNCIL VICE MAYOR PECK.
I'M SO HAPPY THAT YOU'RE HERE TOO.
UM, CHAIR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT AND THE, THE
[00:25:01]
WHOLE AUDIT DIVISION IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES.UM, AND YOU KIND OF MY QUESTION, YOU KIND OF TOUCHED ON IT AT THE VERY END ABOUT HOW IT'S GOING TO WORK WITH THE EFFICIENCY STUDY.
CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE? AS YOU KNOW, WILL THERE BE, UM, LIKE A, A DEADLINE FOR SOME OF THE DEPARTMENTS TO SORT OF COMPLY WITH THE EFFICIENCY STUDY THAT THEN YOU'LL LOOK AT AFTERWARDS? OR HOW IS THAT GOING TO WORK? SO ESSENTIALLY, I WANNA REMIND THE COMMITTEE ONE MORE TIME THAT THE AUDIT DIVISION IS INDEPENDENT AND OBJECTIVE, RIGHT? SO WE ARE THE ONLY ONES THAT DEFINE THE SCOPE OF OUR WORK.
WE TAKE INPUT FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE WITHIN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WHICH WILL SPECIFICALLY INCLUDES THE EFFICIENCY STUDY.
OUR ENY IS PERFORMING SERVICES.
THEY'RE NOT AUDITING, RIGHT? AND THEY ARE GOING TO COME UP AT THE MAYOR'S DIRECTION.
WHAT THE PLAN OF IMPLEMENTATION, DEPENDING ON WHAT THAT PLAN LOOKS LIKE, WE WILL FOLLOW BEHIND.
SO IF WE'RE IMPLEMENTING SYSTEMS, TYPICALLY WE WANT TO BE THERE TO AUDIT THE SYSTEM LIFE DESIGN CYCLE WITHIN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THE SYSTEM IS IMPLEMENTED PROPERLY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE OBJECTIVES, RIGHT? BUT IF WE'RE IMPLEMENTING A LONGER TERM PROCESS, SO THINK ABOUT HOW WE ARE DOING ONE, THE ONE STOP PERMITTING THAT TOOK A A YEAR OR SO, YOU WANNA GIVE IT A TI YOU WANNA GIVE IT SOME TIME TO BE IMPLEMENTED, AND THAT WOULD LIKELY BE INCLUDED ON THE FUTURE FISCAL YEAR AUDIT REPORT.
THERE WILL ALSO BE CURRENT IMPACTS TO OUR CURRENT PROGRAM BASED ON WHAT THEY FIND.
AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA LEVERAGE EVERYTHING, RIGHT? WE'RE GONNA LEVERAGE CONSTITUENTS, WE'RE GONNA LEVERAGE YOU GUYS, WE'RE LEVERAGING THE MAYOR AND WE'RE LEVERAGING DEPARTMENT AND DIVISION HEADS, RIGHT? SO THERE WILL BE SOME INSTANCES IN WHICH THEY HAVE IMPLEMENTED THINGS CURRENTLY OR IN THE FUTURE THAT WILL IMPACT HOW WE AUDIT OR HOW WE SCOPE.
THERE IS A, THERE IS A POTENTIAL WHERE WE HAVE AN AUDIT WHERE IT MIGHT OVERLAP AND WE MAY SCOPE OUT THAT SLIVER WE MAY DETERMINE BECAUSE DUPLICATION OF EFFORT, RIGHT? UM, BUT ULTIMATELY THE, THE, THE THING, THE, THE DIFFERENCE IS, AND HOW WE PLAN TO HANDLE IT IS NO DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER INPUT INTO OUR AUDIT PLAN.
AND, AND ALL OF THIS IS SO IMPORTANT AND I WANNA COMMIT TO YOU THAT AS, AS THESE AUDITS ARE COMPLETED, THEY WILL BE HEARD AT THIS COMMITTEE.
AS SOON AS THERE ARE COMPLETED, THE REPORTS.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER.
CAN YOU LAY OUT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE ERNST AND YOUNG STUDY AND THESE AUDITS? SO THE ERNST AND YOUNG STUDY IS NOT AN AUDIT, AS THEY'VE STATED.
IT IS, UH, THEY ARE PROVIDING CONSULTING SERVICES.
IN ADDITION, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE IS, IS DR IS DRIVING AND LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON, RIGHT? SO THEY ARE TAKING THAT AGENDA AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE FINDING WAYS TO IMPLEMENT THAT AGENDA, WHICH IS GREAT.
THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT THEM TO DO.
OUR AUDIT IS A VALIDATION, IT'S INDEPENDENT AND IT'S OBJECTIVE, BUT IT IS A VALIDATION OF WHAT THE, WHAT PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES THEY WILL PUT IN PLACE.
SO WE WILL COME IN AFTER THE FACT, WE WILL BE LOOKING IN ARREARS TO ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE THAT THE MANAGEMENT, HOLDING MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTABLE THAT THEY HAVE DONE EVERYTHING THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO.
UM, ON YOUR SLIDE, TEXAS PROMPT PAYMENTS TALKS ABOUT THE CITY TAKING A DISCOUNT FOR PAYMENT WITHIN 10 DAYS AND WITHIN 20 DAYS.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE INVOICES WERE TAKING THAT DISCOUNT ON? I DO NOT.
AND THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING WE WOULD FIND OUT IN THE AUDIT.
WOULD Y'ALL BE ABLE TO GET BACK TO US? YES.
IF WE COULD GO TO THE, THE, WE WENT KIND OF QUICKLY THROUGH ALL OF THE, THE PROJECTS ON THE PLAN.
IF YOU COULD GO TO THOSE SLIDES.
I THINK IT WAS LIKE 12, 13, YEAH.
UH, I JUST WANT EVERYBODY TO GET A CHANCE TO LOOK AT NO, KEEP, YEAH.
GO TO THE NEXT PAGE AND YEAH, I JUST WANT EVERYBODY TO BE ABLE TO SEE, I THINK THESE ARE GREAT.
WILL YOU BE ABLE TO GET TO ALL OF THESE IN 2025? SO THAT IS A QUESTION OF RESOURCES, RIGHT? WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, IN MY WORLD, IN OUR WORLD, THERE'S WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AND THE RISKS THAT NEED TO BE MITIGATED.
AND THEN THERE'S THE QUESTION OF RESOURCES IN THE FOREMOST.
WE KNOW WE'RE NOT PAYING YOU ENOUGH OR ANYBODY ELSE CONTROLLER.
NO, THAT'S ACTUALLY NOT EXACTLY WHERE I WAS GOING.
NO, NO, NO, WE, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT.
WE DO KNOW THAT AND WE ARE, BUT, BUT RESOURCES CAN LOOK DIFFERENT BASED ON DIFFERENT PROJECTS.
AND SO AS WE LOOK INTO THE SCOPING AND IDENTIFY THE ORDER OF THINGS, THERE ARE FIRMS OUT THERE THAT DO SOME OF THESE AUDITS AS THEIR BREAD AND BUTTER, RIGHT? MM-HMM
SO THEY'RE GONNA BE COST EFFECTIVE TO, TO BRING INTO THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
WE ALSO HAVE HIRED THREE ADDITIONAL, UM, EMPLOYEES TO HELP WITH THIS PROJECT, ALL OF WHOM ARE INDIVIDUALLY BRINGING THEIR OWN SKILLSET TO, TO ACCOMPLISH THIS.
BUT ULTIMATELY, IT JUST TAKES SUPPORT OF EVERYONE THAT
[00:30:01]
WORKS FOR THE CITY, CITY OF HOUSTON, RIGHT? SO MY AUDIT PROGRAM CAN ONLY BE AS SUCCESSFUL AS MY AUDITEE IS WILLING TO MAKE IT, WHICH MEANS THINGS LIKE WHEN WE GIVE YOU AN AUDIT NOTICE, LET'S GET IT DONE, RIGHT? WE DON'T WANNA DELAY, DELAYS COST MONEY IN EVERYBODY'S LIFE, BUT THE QUESTION OF RESOURCES IS GONNA ALWAYS BE COME UP.I CAN TELL YOU THAT OTHER CITY GOVERNMENTS THAT ARE SIGNIFICANTLY SMALLER HAVE 20 TO 30 AUDITORS ON THEIR STAFF.
SO THEY'RE PRODUCING QUALITY REAL-TIME REPORTS, FOLLOW UP, REAL-TIME REPORTS.
AND, AND, AND FOR A CITY THIS SIZE, OUR STAFF IS JUST SMALLER.
IT'S NOT LOST ON ME THAT SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TO SACRIFICE IN ORDER FOR MY DEPARTMENT TO MY DIVISION TO GROW.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, OUR GOAL IS TO PROVIDE, IS TO PROVIDE MITIGATE RISK AND FIND WASTE FRAUD AND ABUSE.
AND THERE'S A SMALL COST TO THAT.
UH, AND I GUESS MINE IS MORE INTO THIS ENGAGEMENT.
HOW ARE Y'ALL GONNA PRIORITIZE THESE 37 AUDITS WITHIN THE NEXT THREE MONTHS? UM, BUT ALSO, UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT IT'S, WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS DIFFERENT FROM THE E THE ERNS AND YOUNG, UM, AUDIT OR EFFICIENCY STUDY.
UM, ARE Y'ALL UTILIZING THEM AT ANY POINT TO MAKE SURE THAT Y'ALL, Y'ALL NOT DUPLICATING SERVICES OR DUPLICATING SOME OF THE WORK THAT THEY'VE ALREADY DONE? SO I JUST WANNA REMIND COUNSEL THAT THEY ARE NOT PERFORMING AUDITS.
SO THERE ARE STANDARDS THAT WE ARE HELD TO THAT THEY ARE NOT BEING HELD TO.
SO THEY'RE TWO DIFFERENT SERVICES.
YES, WE ARE TO THE EXTENT WE ARE GIVEN THE INFORMATION, THE DETAILED INFORMATION, NOT JUST THE PER THE, THE PRESENTATIONS, BUT THE WORK PAPERS, WE WILL DEFINITELY UTILIZE THAT TO ADJUST OUR AUDIT PLAN.
HAVE Y'ALL UTILIZED THEM? UH, WE HAVE NOT SEEN THEIR WORK PAPERS.
ALL WE'VE SEEN ARE THE PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE SOME EVIDENCE OF US MAKING THAT ADJUSTMENT AS YOU LOOK IN THE CONTRACT COMPLIANCE PROGRAM.
SO ORIGINALLY WHEN WE WERE DOING OUR RISK ASSESSMENT, THAT ENTAILED A LOT MORE THAN WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SLIDE.
BASICALLY, WE KNOW THAT EY IS HYPER-FOCUSED ON SPEND ANALYSIS.
AND SO AS A RESULT, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE TIME TO, TO FIX WHAT THEY WANNA FIX.
AND, AND THE MAYOR HAS TIME TO IMPLEMENT HIS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
AND SO WHEN, AS WE DEFINE THE SCOPE OF EACH AUDIT, THAT'S WHERE THAT WILL HEAVILY PLAN.
UM, THERE WAS A FIRST QUESTION AS FAR AS, AS FAR AS PRIORITIZING, UH, WHERE ARE WE GONNA GET OUR BIGGEST BANK, UH, BANK FOR THE BOOK, RIGHT? SO WE ALREADY HAVE A SYSTEM IN PLACE TO PRIORITIZE AUDITS.
MO ALL OF THESE AUDITS HAVE BEEN RISK RANKED BASED ON, UM, AVAILABILITY OF THE STAFF.
FOR EXAMPLE, YOU DON'T WANNA HIT THE SAME DEPARTMENT MULTIPLE TIMES BECAUSE THEN TIMELINE BECOMES A FACTOR.
UM, BUT ALSO BASED ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT ELEMENT THAT THEY'RE, THAT THEY'RE TOUCHING ON.
ADDITIONALLY, THERE ARE PROJECTS THAT WE CAN KICK OFF WITH THE USE OF CONSULTING SERVICES, WHICH WE HAVE IDENTIFIED SEVERAL FIRMS THAT DO THESE FOR A LIVING.
SO YOU COULD POTENTIALLY SEE A LOT OF AUDITS GET STARTED AT THE SAME TIME BEFORE WE EVEN TAP INTO THE GREAT TALENT AT THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
THE OTHER THING IS, IS MAKING SURE, UM, IS THAT WE HAVE LOOKED AT WHERE IS THE CITY GOING? AND THAT IS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I'VE GOTTEN FROM THE EFFICIENCY.
THE EFFICIENCY STUDY IS WHERE'S THE MAYOR TAKING THIS CITY? AND SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE LOCKED UP WITH THAT.
AND SO THAT ALSO HAS PRIORITIZED WHERE WE, WHERE WE ARE.
THE LAST THING WE LOOK AT IS EFFICIENCY OF RESOURCES.
SOME OF THESE AUDITS ARE A THOUSAND HOUR AUDITS, RIGHT? SOME OF THESE ARE RESEARCH PROJECTS.
AND SO MAINTAINING THAT BALANCE OF PROVIDING VALUE, BUT ALSO GETTING THE THOUSAND HOUR PROJECT DONE.
GREAT PRESENTATION AND GREAT ANSWERING OF ALL THOSE QUESTIONS AND WELCOME.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MORE FROM YOU AS THESE AUDITS TAKE PLACE.
WE WILL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM FOUR, BARK LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION SLASH NONPROFIT UPDATE.
AND I AM GOING TO YIELD A SECOND TO, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ.
UM, THIS, THIS, UH, THIS TOPIC IS TECHNICALLY COME ON UP.
JARED MES THE DIRECTOR OF BARK, UM, JOIN, AND COREY SOTOMEYER IS JOINING AS WELL.
UM, AND, UH, I, THIS TECHNICALLY FALLS UNDER THE PURVIEW OF THE SERVICE DELIVERY COMMITTEE.
SO I WANT TO GIVE A MINUTE TO, UM, MY COLLEAGUE, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ, THE VICE CHAIR OF THAT COMMITTEE.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER TARSHA JACKSON IS CHAIR OF THE SERVICE DELIVERY COMMITTEE.
SHE'S UNABLE TO BE HERE TODAY.
UM, AND SHE HAD ASKED ME AS VICE VICE CHAIR OF THAT COMMITTEE TO STAND IN FOR HER.
UH, BUT MADAM CHAIR, YOU'RE DOING A WONDERFUL JOB.
AND SO WHY DON'T YOU JUST CONTINUE AND CONDUCTING THE MEETING? WELL, WE ALL KNOW PARK IS DEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART, SO I'M HAPPY TO CONTINUE ON.
I KNOW THERE ARE SEVERAL SPEAKERS THAT HAVE SIGNED UP.
UM, BUT IF YOU'RE HERE AND YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, THERE'S A, A SHEET UP AT THE FRONT TABLE, PLEASE DO SO, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO HEAR FROM YOU.
[00:35:01]
THE BARC PRESENTATION.THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF, UH, WE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TODAY.
YOU ALL GAVE US, UH, A REQUEST FOR THE BARK TEAM TO EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF AN LGC FOR THE SHELTER TO HELP RAISE MONEY FOR THE FUTURE OF BARK.
AND WE'D LIKE TO PRESENT OUR FINDINGS FOR YOU ALL TODAY.
BARK'S MISSION, WHAT OUTCOMES ARE WE TRYING TO ACHIEVE? WE HAVE, WE HAVE TWO MISSIONS, ACTUALLY, PUBLIC SAFETY AND LIVE RELEASE.
WE NEED TO RESPOND TO A GREATER PERCENTAGE OF CALLS FOR SERVICE AND PROVIDE FEWER ANIMAL ATTACKS ON PEOPLE.
OUR LIVE RELEASE IS SECONDARY.
MORE ADOPTIONS, OUTREACH, MORE FOSTERS, RESCUES AND TRANSPORTS.
I THINK WE ALL KNOW HERE TODAY, THE, THE RECENT EVENTS THAT HAVE HAPPENED, UH, WITHIN THE SPAN OF A MONTH, WE HAD A FEMALE THAT WAS ATTACKED AND KILLED BY A PACK OF DOGS.
UM, SHORTLY AFTER THAT IN DISTRICT B, WE HAD FIVE PEOPLE THAT WERE MALT SEVERELY, AND TWO OF THEM WERE IN ICU.
ONE IS STILL THERE TODAY, AND IT'S NOT LOOKING GOOD FOR HER.
UM, OUR ISSUE IS HOLDING SPACE FOR ADOPTABLE ANIMALS INCREASES LIVE RELEASE, BUT IT LIMITS OUR ABILITY TO REMOVE DANGEROUS ANIMALS FROM THE COMMUNITY.
UNITY, EUTHANIZING, DANGEROUS, SICK, OR BEHAVIORALLY CHALLENGED ANIMALS IMPROVES PUBLIC SAFETY AND ALLEVIATE SHELTER CAPACITY, BUT DECREASES LIVE RELEASE.
SO WE, WE HAVE A HUMAN CASUALTIES VERSUS ANIMAL CASUALTIES SITUATION GOING ON.
HOW DO WE DO BETTER TO ACHIEVE OUR DESIRED OUTCOMES? UH, WE NEED MORE ANIMAL ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
ALL OF YOU, UH, YOUR STAFF MEMBERS CALL BAR CONSISTENTLY ON A DAILY BASIS.
WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO PROACTIVELY PATROL THE NEIGHBORHOODS.
OUR CURRENT ENFORCEMENT CAPACITY IS STRICTLY REACTIVE.
WE DON'T HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE PROACTIVE AND GO OUT THERE PATROL AREAS BECAUSE THE CALLS ARE COMING IN AT SUCH A RATE WHERE WE RESPOND BASED ON THE SEVERITY OF THE SITUATION.
AND THE SEVERITY OF THE SITUATION STARTS WITH BITES.
UH, LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE, ANIMAL CRUELTY, ANIMALS THAT HAVE BEEN RAN OVER ON THE FREEWAY THAT ARE STILL ALIVE.
UM, AND, AND THIS HAPPENS ALL DAY LONG.
WE NEED TO INCREASE OUR SERVICE CALL RESPONSE.
OUR CURRENT CAPACITY IS TO RESPOND TO 58% OF ALL CALLS.
WE RESPOND TO 99% OF OUR PRIORITY ONE AND TWO CALLS.
UM, BUT WE HAVE INSUFFICIENT RESOURCES TO RESPOND TO PRIORITY THREE AND FOUR CALLS.
HIRING MORE ADDITIONAL ANIMAL ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS MEANS HIRING ADDITIONAL KENNEL STAFF VETERINARIANS AND SUPPORT STAFF, AND HIRE EXPENDITURES FOR ADDITIONAL VEHICLES, UNIFORMS, SUPPLIES.
JARED, REMIND US WHAT ONE AND TWO ARE.
SO PRIORITY ONE CALLS ARE ACTIVE DOG BITES, LIKE YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN BITTEN BY A DOG.
UM, PRIORITY TWO CALLS ARE, HEY, I'M, I HAD TO CLIMB A TREE AND I HAVE A PACK OF DOGS UNDERNEATH ME TRYING TO GET ME, OR, I'M ON TOP OF MY CAR.
UM, WE ALSO PRIORITIZE PRIORITY TWO CALLS FOR ANIMALS THAT ARE ON SCHOOL GROUNDS.
WE ALL KNOW THAT'S A DANGEROUS SITUATION.
YOU GET CHILDREN OUT THERE PLAYING ON THE PLAYGROUND, THERE'S A DOG RUNNING LOOSE.
UM, MAYBE SOMEBODY AGITATES THE DOG OR THEY'RE RUNNING AROUND BEING KIDS AND IT TRIGGERS THE DOG'S PREY DRIVE AND THE CALLS.
YOU CAN'T GET TO SOME EXAMPLES.
UH, SAY SOMEBODY CALLS AND SAYS, HEY, I HAVE A STRAY DOG RUNNING DOWN, UH, THE ROAD.
HE'S CONSISTENTLY COMING OUT HERE.
UM, ON A DAILY BASIS, WE NOTE IT, WE, WE 3 1 1 TAKES THE CALL, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT IS CLOSED OUT AS UNABLE TO RESPOND.
AND WE KEEP THAT DATA IN ORDER TO PROVIDE EVERYBODY WITH, UM, SO WE CAN GIVE HIM A SITUATIONAL UPDATE AS TO AS TO HOW THINGS ARE GOING.
UM, WE NOTICE THAT IN THE LAST THREE OR FOUR YEARS, OUR PRIORITY ONES HAVE WENT UP 11% AND OUR PRIORITY TWOS HAVE WENT UP 40%, WHICH MEANS THAT THERE ARE MORE DANGEROUS SITUATIONS HAPPENING WITHIN THE CITY.
AND OUR CALL VOLUME AS A WHOLE IS CLIMBING.
[00:40:03]
HOW DO WE BETTER ACHIEVE OUR DESIRED OUTCOMES? WE NEED TO INCREASE THE SHELTER CAPACITY.UH, BARK IS AT A CONSTANT STATE OF BEING FULL INCREASED CAPACITY FOR CARE.
WE HAVE A $47 MILLION BOND TO BUILD A NEW SHELTER, WHICH IS IN THE WORKS RIGHT NOW, UM, FOR 150 NEW KENNELS, NEW OFFICE SPACE.
I DON'T KNOW, HAS EVERYBODY HERE BEEN OUT TO BARK? UM, THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS PRETTY DILAPIDATED, RIGHT? UM, I THINK WE SPEND MORE MONEY REPAIRING THINGS THAN WE DO.
UH, WE, WE COULD HAVE BOUGHT A NEW BUILDING BY NOW.
WE NEED TO INCREASE ADOPTIONS, FOSTERS AND RESCUES.
THANKFULLY, WE HAVE AN MOU WITH, UH, HOUSTON PETS ALIVE AS OF LAST YEAR.
AND WE DID, WE DID 1000 MORE ADOPTIONS LAST YEAR THAN PREVIOUS YEARS.
AND THAT'S NOT JUST WITH THE HELP OF HPA.
WE HAVE FRIENDS OF BARK, UH, WHO'S A LONGTIME SUPPORTER OF, OF BARK, AND THEY HELP OUT TREMENDOUSLY.
DO WE FORM A LGC OR REACTIVATE THE BARK FOUNDATION? WE ALREADY HAVE A A 5 0 1 ORGANIZATION THAT IS THERE AND READY.
SO THE BOTTOM LINE, ACHIEVING DESIRED PUBLIC SAFETY AND LIVE RELEASE OUTCOMES REQUIRES MORE FUNDING.
IF WE CAN SUCCESSFULLY FUNDRAISE FOR LIVE RELEASE INITIATIVES, WHICH IS FOSTER RESCUE TRANSPORT, IT FREES UP EXISTING FUNDING FOR PUBLIC SAFETY INITIATIVES.
I, I DON'T THINK THIS SLIDE IS FOREIGN TO ANYBODY SITTING HERE TODAY.
UM, SINCE WE CONDUCTED THIS STUDY, WE FOUND THAT THE GAP HAS WIDENED EVEN FURTHER.
CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WAS AT 21 MILLION.
THEY'RE NOW OPERATING WITH $28 MILLION WITH A PLAN FOR FY 26 TO JUMP TO 32 MILLION.
DALLAS WAS OPERATING WITH SEVEN 17 MILLION AND THEY'RE JUMPING UP TO 21 MILLION, ALSO WITH A PLAN TO INCREASE TO $30 MILLION.
UH, SO OUR, OUR PER CAPITA BUDGET IS SHRINKING TREMENDOUSLY.
UH, THE CITY IS GROWING AT AN EXPONENTIAL RATE ALSO.
SO HOW DOES MARK GET MORE FUNDING? DO WE CUT COSTS? THAT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR US TO DO WITH GROWING INTAKE AND RISING COSTS FOR MEDICINE AND FOOD INCREASE REVENUES OFFER RETAIL SERVICES.
MAYBE WE CAN DO SOME GROOMING OR, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT WILL HELP GENERATE SOME INCOME.
UM, WE ALREADY OFFER WELLNESS SERVICES FOR THE PUBLIC.
IT'S A REALLY EXCELLENT PROGRAM.
THE PROBLEM IS, IS STAFFING IT.
SO IF WE HAD A LITTLE MORE STAFF, LITTLE MORE VET TECHS, WE JUST HIRED A NEW VET.
UM, HE STARTED MARCH THE FOURTH.
UH, THAT POSITION'S BEEN VACANT FOR EIGHT YEARS.
UH, I'M SO PROUD THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED.
HOW MANY VETS DO YOU HAVE? WE HAVE FOUR NOW.
SO FUNDRAISING, RAISING MONEY FOR NON-ENFORCEMENT SERVICES SUCH AS ADOPTIONS, RESCUE, FOSTER, TRANSPORT, FREEZE UP RESOURCES FOR PUBLIC SAFETY ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS.
SO, A RA CONDUCTED A FEASIBILITY STUDY TO EVALUATE WAYS TO REDUCE COST OR INCREASE FUNDRAISING FOR THE SHELTER.
NOW YOU ALL GAVE US $150,000 TO DO A, A STUDY.
THERE AREN'T VERY MANY ORGANIZATIONS THAT I'M AWARE OF THAT HAVE THE ABILITY OR THE KNOWLEDGE TO PERFORM A STUDY SUCH AS THIS.
HOWEVER, WE CONSULTED WITH PERVEZ CAPTAIN.
HE'S A RETIRED STRATEGY CONSULTANT AND ERNST AND YOUNG PARTNER.
HE'S A PHD FROM RICE UNIVERSITY IN ECONOMICS, AND HE HAS 15 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN ANIMAL WELFARE.
SO PERVEZ WAS A, UM, FORMER BOARD MEMBER FOR THE HOUSTON PET SET ORGANIZATION AMONG ALSO AMONG OTHER ANIMAL WELFARE ORGS.
WE REVIEWED OTHER MUNICIPAL ANIMAL SHELTERS AND LOCAL NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL COST SAVINGS, UH, AND REVENUE MODELS.
CONSIDERING THE PAST EFFORTS TO, UH, RAISE FUNDING AND ANALYZED ANIMAL SHELTER EXPENSES, OUTCOMES, AND REVENUE
[00:45:01]
STREAMS, ONE MODEL HAS EMERGED AS THE MOST CONSISTENTLY SUCCESSFUL, UH, WHICH IS A PUBLIC NONPROFIT PARTNERSHIP.AND, AND I'D LIKE TO POINT TO RPM AS AN EXAMPLE OF A PUBLIC NONPROFIT PARTNERSHIP.
UM, THEY TAKE BETWEEN SIX AND 8,000 ANIMALS FROM US ANNUALLY.
UH, WITHOUT THEIR SERVICES BARK WOULD BE IN SOME REAL TROUBLE.
SO THE NONPROFIT SPECTRUM COMMITMENT TO TRANSFER A PERCENTAGE OF ANIMALS TO FULL MANAGEMENT OF ALL NON-ENFORCEMENT SHELTER ACTIVITIES IS A CONSIDERATION FUNDING OPTION ONE, THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION, LGC MODEL.
IT REQUIRES A DEDICATED REVENUE STREAM, SEVEN TO 12 BOARD MEMBERS AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR STAFF FOR ANIMAL HANDLING, OUTREACH, CUSTOMER SERVICE, ET CETERA, STAFF FOR DAILY, DAILY BUSINESS FUNCTIONS.
ACCOUNTING, LEGAL, TOTAL ESTIMATED COST TO RUN THE LGC, WHICH WOULD BE ABOUT $7 MILLION OUT OF OUR NEW FACILITY.
THE NUMBER OF ANIMAL SHELTER LGC IN THE UNITED STATES THAT WE FOUND IS ZERO.
I THINK LGC ARE BEST SUITED FOR ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE DE DEDICATED REVENUE STREAMS OFF THE BAT.
LIKE THE ZOO, THEY CHARGE ADMISSIONS.
UM, THAT'S AN AUTOMATIC REVENUE STREAM FOR THEM.
UM, BARK IN FACT PAYS PEOPLE TO TAKE ANIMALS FROM US.
MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES WOULD BE MOVED TO THE LGC TO STAFF, ANIMAL CARE AND CUSTOMER SERVICE FUNCTIONS.
WE FOUND SOME EXAMPLES OF PUBLIC NONPROFIT PARTNERSHIPS THAT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL.
UH, MARICOPA COUNTY AND PHOENIX, UH, LOS ANGELES, GALVESTON, SAN ANTONIO, AUSTIN, AND DENVER.
THE SERVICES RANGE FROM A RE A RELIEF VALVE FUNCTION TO FULL MANAGEMENT OF NON-ENFORCEMENT SHELTER RESPONSIBILITIES.
SO I'M GONNA POINT BACK TO RPM AS A RELIEF VALVE FOR BARK EXPERIENCE.
FUNDRAISERS BECOME A PARTNER, ANIMAL DEFENSE LEAGUE.
BEST FRIENDS HUMAN, UH, HUMANE SOCIETY, SPCA, AUSTIN PETS ALIVE HOUSTON PETS ALIVE.
THEY WOULD TAKE ON ONLY NON-ENFORCEMENT ASPECTS OF THE ANIMAL SHELTER IN PHASES AND CONTRACT IT THROUGH A COMPETITIVE RFP PROCESS.
AN LGC SHOULD HAVE SEED MONEY, INITIAL FUNDING TRANSFERS TO BEGIN OPERATIONS, DEDICATED REVENUE STREAM TO MAINTAIN VIABILITY.
HOUSTON FIRST HOUSTON ZOO, ETHAN FUNDRAISING CAPABILITIES, UH, BARK BARK.
LGC WOULD NEED SEED MONEY, WHICH WOULD BE TRANSFERRED OUT OF BARK'S ALREADY INSUFFICIENT BUDGET.
THERE'S NO DE DEDICATED REVENUE STREAM.
FUNDRAISING IS POSSIBLE, BUT THE LGC IS NOT A KNOWN ENTITY.
OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS, ALL OF THE ANIMAL NON, ALL OF THE ANIMAL WELFARE NONPROFITS IN HOUSTON COMBINED HAVE ONLY RAISED $90 MILLION.
HOUSTON FOUNDATIONS DO NOT FUND ANIMAL WELFARE NONPROFITS.
UM, $90 MILLION IS A LOT OF MONEY OVER 15 YEARS, AND WE'RE STILL BATTLING THIS PROBLEM.
SO WE WOULD TRANSFER BARK EMPLOYEES TO THE LGC JUST TO, ALL IT DOES IS MOVE PEOPLE AROUND AND RESULTS IN FEWER RESOURCES FOR BOTH ENTITIES.
IT DOES NOT SOLVE THE RESOURCE ISSUE FOR BARK.
THE LGC IS A NEW ENTITY THAT WOULD COMPETE WITH EXISTING SUCCESSFUL ANIMAL WELFARE NONPROFITS.
AND I WANT TO TOUCH ON THAT A LITTLE BIT.
I HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH LOCAL NONPROFITS AND THEIR CONCERN IS THAT THE CITY IS GONNA CREATE AN ENTITY THAT IS GONNA COMPETE FOR THEIR RESOURCES.
UM, THAT, AND, AND THEY'RE DESPERATE.
THEY NEED THESE, THESE, THIS FUNDING.
UM, AND WE RELY ON THEM AS PARTNERS.
LIKE THE HOUSTON SPCA TAKES IN ABOUT 20,000 ANIMALS.
I, I CAN'T IMAGINE IF THEY STOPPED DOING THAT, WE WE'D BE IN A LOT OF TROUBLE.
THE LGC IS ONLY VIABLE IN THE NEAR TERM IF FUNDED AND STAFFED FROM BARK'S EXISTING RESOURCES, WHICH DIMINISHES THE PUBLIC SAFETY OUTCOMES.
WE WANT TO IMPROVE LIVE RELEASE, BUT IT NEVER MUST BE AT THE EXPENSE OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
WHILE NO EXAMPLES OF ANIMAL SHELTER LGC WERE FOUND, SEVERAL EXAMPLES OF PUBLIC NONPROFIT PARTNERSHIPS EXIST WITH VARYING LEVELS OF SUCCESS.
[00:50:01]
UM, THERE WOULD BE NO NEED TO TRANSFER CITY EMPLOYEES.THE NONPROFIT CONTRACTOR PROVIDES A TURNKEY OPERATION, LESS RISK.
IT'S MUCH EASIER TO ROLL BACK AND UNWIND LEGAL AGREEMENTS IF THE PARTNER DOES NOT MEET GOALS.
MORE COLLABORATIVE, IT SUPPORTS THE EXISTING ECOSYSTEM OF ANIMAL WELFARE NONPROFITS.
RATHER THAN INTRODUCING A NEW COMPETITOR IN AN ALREADY CROWDED MARKETPLACE, THERE'S ROOM TO GROW.
IF A NONPROFIT IS EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL AND GAINS DEDICATED FOUNDATION DOLLARS OR A SUSTAINABLE REVENUE STREAM, WE COULD DO AN LGC.
SO BARK PROPOSES THAT WE BEGIN TO BUILD THE NEW FACILITY TO ADD CAPACITY.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE DESPERATELY NEED.
UM, CONSTRUCTION COSTS ARE ONLY GOING UP AS WE SPEAK.
UM, WE, WE DO NEED TO GET A MOVE ON THIS.
IT NEEDS TO BE LOCATED AT BARK ECONOMIES OF SCALE.
AND HAVING BARK EMPLOYEES AT BOTH FACILITIES IS IMPERATIVE.
WE NEED TO DO A PHASED APPROACH TO PARTNERSHIP PHASE ONE.
WE DO NOT PURSUE THE LGC INITIALLY.
WE ISSUE AN RFP FOR AN EXPERIENCED NONPROFIT ANIMAL WELFARE PARTNER, OR FOR, UH, AN OUTREACH RETAIL CENTER.
IF SUCCESSFUL, WE COULD TRANS TRANSITION THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION IN PHASE TWO, REINVIGORATE THE BARK FOUNDATION, APPOINT NEW BOARD MEMBERS AND UPDATE BYLAWS TO ENCOURAGE MORE PARTICIPATION AND CREATE STRONGER MEMBERSHIP, UH, REQUIREMENTS.
I KNOW ALL OF YOU HAVE SUBMITTED NAMES FOR BOARD MEMBERS FOR THE LGC.
I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT THOSE NAMES POTENTIALLY BE TRANSFERRED OVER TO THE HOUSTON BARK FOUNDATION.
UH, WE HAVE AN APPENDICES AND I'M WILLING TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU GUYS HAVE.
UNFORTUNATELY, OUR, UH, CONSULTANT COULDN'T BE HERE WITH US TODAY, BUT HE HAS MADE KNOWN THAT WE CAN MEET ONE-ON-ONE WITH ALL OF YOU AT ANY TIME AND GO OVER THIS IN MORE DETAIL.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU MENTIONED THE BOND TO BUILD THE NEW SHELTER, AND I FEEL LIKE WE'RE ALWAYS GETTING QUESTIONS FROM CONSTITUENTS ABOUT THAT.
IS THERE ANY WAY YOU COULD GIVE US KIND OF A TIMELINE OR JUST AN UPDATE OF WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROGRESS ON THAT? I THINK IN THE BEGINNING THERE WERE QUITE A BIT OF ARGUMENTS ABOUT WHERE THIS, THIS SHELTER NEEDED TO BE LOCATED.
UM, BARK IS IN A LESS DESIRABLE PLACE RIGHT NOW.
UM, I, I BELIEVE OUR, OUR FORMER MAYOR WANTED IT TO GO SOMEWHERE THAT WAS A LITTLE MORE AFFLUENT AND NICE, WHICH MAKES SENSE, RIGHT? BUT FROM A LOGISTICAL STANDPOINT, THE INITIAL THOUGHT WAS, IS THAT THEY WERE GONNA BLOW UP OUR DOME BUILDING AND PLACE THIS, THIS NEW BUILDING ON TOP OF WHERE WE'RE AT.
I RAISED MY HAND AND SAID, LOOK GUYS, UM, THE CITY'S GROWING.
DON'T BUILD THE SAME BUILDING AND GIVE US THE SAME AMOUNT OF SPACE.
UM, WE WAITED FOR THE NEW MAYOR TO COME IN AND HE ASKED US TO PUT A PAUSE ON IT WHILE HE WAS ABLE TO THINK ABOUT IT.
UM, AND I DO BELIEVE NOW THAT HE IS IN AGREEMENT THAT IT SHOULD GO AT BARK.
UH, FROM A LOGISTICAL STANDPOINT, FROM US MOVING ANIMALS OVER, WE'D HAVE TO BUY A, A BUS AND HIRE MORE TRANSPORT PEOPLE TO TRANSPORT ANIMALS OUT OF OUR EXISTING PLACE OVER TO A NEW LOCATION.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE READY TO START ON THIS NOW.
I MEAN, THAT'S THE PLAN IS TO GET IT GOING.
I, I THINK IT WOULD BE ABOUT ONE AND A HALF YEARS TO TWO YEARS.
AND IF YOU DON'T MIND, LET ME TURN AND ASK NIKKI, BECAUSE SHE JUST HAD COMMUNICATION WITH GSD.
SO THEY ARE WORKING WITH PURCHASING NOW TO REINSTATE EVERYTHING THAT WE WENT THROUGH.
WE WENT THROUGH ALL THE PROCESS.
UM, BUT IT ALL GOT PUT ON PAUSE.
BUT WE, WE ARE WORKING TO GET THIS GOING NOW.
HAS THE DESIGN BEEN DONE? THE DESIGN IS DONE.
AND YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HEAR STORIES IN THE PUBLIC ABOUT PEOPLE BEING MAULED AND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE IN THE ICU IN THEIR LIFE, UM, YOU KNOW, LIVES THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN, I THINK IT IS A REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT REMINDER THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANIMALS.
[00:55:01]
I AM AN ANIMAL LOVER, I HAVE LOTS OF, LOTS, LOTS OF PETS IN MY HOUSE.UM, BUT IT IS HEARTBREAKING TO HEAR THESE STORIES.
SO THE PUBLIC SAFETY ASPECT SHOULD FOR SURE BE NUMBER ONE.
THAT'S, UH, WE RECENTLY MADE A MOVE TO REDUCE OUR 48 HOUR HOLD, AND IT WASN'T TAKEN LIGHTLY.
UM, BUT LAST YEAR, I, I MADE IT OUR MISSION THAT WE WERE GONNA TAKE IN MORE ANIMALS, DO MORE ENFORCEMENT.
WE BROUGHT IN 2000 MORE ANIMALS THAN WE HAVE IN SIX YEARS.
WE DO IT BECAUSE WE'RE PROTECTING THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY OF OUR RESIDENTS.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN LACKING ON FOR YEARS AND GOING FORWARD, THAT THAT IS BAR'S PRIORITY IS PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY.
VERY DEEP AND SINCERE CONCERNS ABOUT THE PUBLIC SAFETY OF HOUSTON AND THE ANIMALS.
BUT I LIKE THE, I ONE THING I DIDN'T HEAR IN YOUR PRESENTATION, WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND HOW WE CONTROL MANY OF THESE ANIMALS THAT ARE LOOSE? BECAUSE AS YOU GOING TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR HOUSING BENEATH ANIMALS, BUT WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO AS A CITY? AND I HEARD YOU SPEAK OF DALLAS AND SAN ANTONIO AND AUSTIN AND OTHERS IN TERMS OF BUDGET DOLLARS.
SO WHAT, WHAT DO WE DO TO, TO TRY TO CONTROL MANY OF THESE ANIMALS THAT ARE STRAYS IN OUR CITY? SIR, I'M GONNA BE HONEST WITH YOU.
THE ONLY WAY TO DO IT IS A LARGE INJECTION OF FUNDING.
UH, WE NEED MORE ANIMAL ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
NOT ONLY DO WE NEED MORE ANIMAL ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, WE NEED A BIGGER OUTREACH TEAM.
A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH, THEY JUST DON'T KNOW.
WE NEED PEOPLE GOING DOOR TO DOOR THROUGH NEIGHBORHOODS, TALKING TO PEOPLE ABOUT CONTROLLING THEIR PETS.
SPAYING AND NEUTERING, VACCINATING MICROCHIPPING.
THE CITY ORDINANCE REQUIRES PEOPLE TO MICROCHIP THEIR ANIMALS.
AND IF EVERYBODY FOLLOWED THE LAW, WE, WE WOULDN'T HAVE PETS AT BARK, PERIOD.
WE WOULD PICK THAT ANIMAL UP, SCAN IT.
OH, THIS BELONGS TO JOE BROWN.
LET ME DRIVE OVER THERE AND TALK TO JOE.
AND, UH, BUT, BUT WE NEED MORE EDUCATION OUT IN THE FIELD.
SO IF YOU GO TO ANIMALS THAT ARE BEING ADOPTED MM-HMM
THAT LARGE, THAT'S A LARGE NUMBER THERE OF ANIMALS ARE CAUGHT.
DO, DO THEY CHIP THE ANIMALS BEFORE THEY GIVE THESE ANIMALS TO, TO OWNERS? ABSOLUTELY.
SO THEN THE PROBLEM WOULD BE IS PEOPLE WHO PURCHASE ANIMALS MM-HMM
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT RESPONSIBILITY LIES WITH THEM.
BUT THEN YOU'RE SAYING THE PROBLEM IS THAT THAT'S NOT HAPPENING.
WITH A LOT OF ANIMALS, YOU'RE PICKING UP.
SO THERE'S AN ABUNDANCE OF STRAY ANIMALS, AND YOU'RE SAYING THAT MORE FUNDING WILL ALLOW YOU TO HAVE MORE ENFORCERS MM-HMM
ON THE STREET TO CONTROL THIS.
YOU SEE, THE, THE PROBLEM IS IT'S BEEN NEGLECTED FOR SO LONG.
PEOPLE ARE DUMPING THEIR PETS EVERYWHERE.
AND THOSE PETS ARE BEING SHOT, ABUSED, REPRODUCING, AND ATTACKING PEOPLE.
THEY BECOME FERAL AND NOW THEY BELONG TO NOBODY.
THOSE ARE THE ANIMALS THAT WE NEED TO GET AHOLD OF BECAUSE I, I, I CAN'T BLAME ALL PET OWNERS FOR BACKYARD BREEDING WHEN WE HAVE FERAL DOGS THAT ARE ALSO BREEDING.
WE NEED TO GET CONTROL OF BOTH SITUATIONS.
THANK YOU VICE, VICE CHAIR CASTILLO.
AND THANK YOU JARED FOR THE PRESENTATION, UM, AND ALL THE INFORMATION.
SO ON YOUR SLIDE ABOUT INCREASED REVENUES, YOU HAVE A FEW BULLET POINTS THERE.
HAVE Y'ALL CONSIDERED, UM, OR ARE LOOKING AT ANY INCREASES IN THE FEES THAT YOU CHARGE FOR YOUR SERV, THE SERVICES YOU ALREADY OFFER? UH, TH THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CONSIDERATION CONCERNING FEES, UM, ADOPTION FEES, RETURN TO OWNER FEES, UM, THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT THE PROBLEM IS BARK SPENDS MORE TIME REDUCING OR WAIVING FEES BECAUSE THE ANIMALS THAT WE'RE PICKING UP COME FROM LOW INCOME AREAS ANYWAY.
AND YOU HAVE AN OWNER THAT SHOWS UP, WE'VE PICKED THEIR DOG UP BECAUSE HE WAS RUNNING OUT, TEARING UP THE NEIGHBOR'S TRASH
[01:00:01]
OR WHAT HAVE YOU.HE WASN'T HOME WHEN WE WERE THERE.
THE ORDINANCE REQUIRES THAT THE DOG SPAYED OR NEUTERED BEFORE IT'S RETURNED HAS TO HAVE A MICROCHIP IN REGISTRATION.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF SERVICES AND, AND THEY HAVE $1 IN THEIR POCKET.
I CAN TELL 'EM, NO, WE'RE GONNA KEEP YOUR DOG FOR THE ALLOTTED TIME, OR I CAN WAIVE THE FEE AND YOU CAN GET YOUR DOG BACK, WHICH IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
UM, SO I DON'T THINK INCREASING FEES IS GOING TO DO ANYTHING FOR THE CITY WHEN IT COMES TO THESE ISSUES.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE'VE LOOKED AT FUNDRAISING EFFORTS TO OFFSET THE LOSS OF THOSE COSTS.
SO SPECIFICALLY FUNDRAISING TO HAVE A POOL GRANT SPECIFICALLY ALLOWING US TO HAVE A POOL TO PULL FROM WHEN WE DO REDUCE THOSE FEES.
AND THAT'S ACTUALLY MY NEXT QUESTION ON FUNDRAISING.
WHAT, WHAT'S THE CURRENT STATUS OF YOUR FUNDRAISING EFFORTS? HOW MUCH ARE Y'ALL RAISING A YEAR? SO THIS YEAR, UM, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, PETCO LOVE GAVE US A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN GRANT MONEY.
UM, AND THAT WAS SOME UNRELENTING DOOR KNOCKING ON THEIR PART.
YOU KNOW, PLEASE PARTNER WITH US.
UM, LONE STAR ANIMAL WELFARE LEAGUE, SPEAKING ON WHAT COREY JUST MENTIONED, UH, GAVE US $4,000 TO HELP OFFSET FEES FOR RETURN TO OWNER.
UM, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBER FOR YOU RIGHT NOW, BUT I WILL GET IT TO YOU BY THIS AFTERNOON.
UM, ON THE ANIMAL CONTROL SIDE, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, YOU KNOW, IF SOMEONE'S HABITUALLY NOT FOLLOWING RULES THERE, DOGS ARE ALWAYS ROAMING.
YOU KNOW, IS THERE A FINE THAT CAN BE ASSESSED ON OWNERS WHO ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE WITH THEIR PETS AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR Y'ALL TO HAVE SOME REVENUE COME IN THAT WAY? SO IT, IT'S A CLASSY MISDEMEANOR.
UH, JUST LIKE, UH, ANY CITATION THAT A POLICE OFFICER OR DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS OFFICER WOULD, WOULD ISSUE.
THE PROBLEM IS, WHAT I'M FINDING IS A LOT OF THESE FOLKS AREN'T SHOWING UP FOR COURT AND THEY TURNED INTO A WARRANT.
AND I, I BELIEVE HPD HAS A STACK OF WARRANTS ABOUT A MILE LONG, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE TRYING TO GO AFTER THE VIOLENT OFFENDERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, SO YOU DON'T REALLY SEE THOSE FEES GETTING PAID.
UM, NOT ONLY THAT, WE ARE SO SHORT STAFFED.
I, I ACTUALLY HATE WRITING CITATIONS BECAUSE WE ARE SO SHORT STAFFED.
WHEN THEY DO WRITE CITATIONS, THEY HAVE TO GO TO COURT AND THEY SIT THERE FOR TWO HOURS FOR NO SHOWS.
AND MEANWHILE CALLS ARE STACKING UP.
PEOPLE ARE GETTING BIT, HPD OFFICERS ARE CALLING, HEY, I NEED YOU OVER HERE.
THERE'S DOGS EVERYWHERE TRYING TO ATTACK PEOPLE.
SO I I I GET WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
AND WE USED TO WRITE A LOT OF CITATIONS, BUT I, I THINK WE'RE MORE EFFECTIVE BY JUST ADDRESSING THE ISSUES AND THE CALLS THAT WE'RE GETTING RIGHT NOW.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, IN FACT, UH, MY OFFICE VISITED THE PARK LAST WEEK AND, UH, REALLY THOUGHT THE PEOPLE THERE WERE CARING TOWARDS THE ANIMALS AND REALLY LOVED THE ANIMALS, AND WERE TRYING TO DO THE BEST THEY COULD IN A VERY CHALLENGING SITUATION.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS YOU TALKED ABOUT WITH THE DIFFERENT TYPE OF ENTITIES AS FAR AS RAISING MONEY AND THAT TYPE OF THING, AND ALSO THE, THE DISCUSSION YOU HAD, COUNCILMAN DAVIS, I, I THINK, REALLY POINTS TO THE FACT THAT WE'VE GOT TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC TO TRY AND SOLVE THIS 'CAUSE THAT IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM.
UH, THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE DUMPING ANIMALS.
I THINK, ESPECIALLY POST COVID.
YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WERE AT HOME FROM WORK, THEY GOT A PET, NOW THEY GOTTA GO BACK TO WORK.
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE PET'S A PROBLEM.
UH, AND I GET NUMEROUS CALLS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, DOGS BEING DUMPED, JUST LEFT HERE.
SO I, I THINK UNLESS YOU REALLY ENGAGE THE PUBLIC, YOU'RE GONNA BE KIND OF CHASING YOUR TAIL FOR THE WHOLE THING.
UH, THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS NEVER BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS IN A MEANINGFUL WAY AT BARK, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING HAPPEN, UH, WITH THE RIGHT FUNDING.
UM, WE NEED TO DO ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
AND I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH YOUR AREA BECAUSE THE PEOPLE OVER IN PORTER ARE DUMPING ANIMALS IN KINGWOOD NONSTOP.
COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, THANK
[01:05:01]
YOU CHAIR, UM, FOR YOUR SLIDE 13, WHICH TALKS ABOUT, UM, THIS PHASED APPROACH, PHASE ONE, NONPROFIT, PHASE TWO, POTENTIAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION.UM, YOU ALSO MENTIONED THAT GOING INTO AN LGC, THERE WOULDN'T BE A REVENUE SOURCE, UH, OR A DEDICATED REVENUE SOURCE.
UM, THE CITY'S YEARLY ALLOCATION TO BARK MM-HMM
WOULD THAT NOT BE CONSIDERED A REVENUE SOURCE? A DEDICATED REVENUE SOURCE? THE PROBLEM IS, I NEED EVERY BOOT ON THE GROUND AT BARK.
IF WE GO START AN LGC IMMEDIATELY AND EXPECT THEM TO GO RUN A RETAIL OUTPOST, I'M LOSING 30 OR 40 PEOPLE.
UM, THERE ARE NO EMPTY CAGES AT BARK JUST BECAUSE THEY GO AND START A, A RETAIL CENTER AND WE TAKE 30 OR 40 OR 50 DOGS AND PUT 'EM OVER AT THE RETAIL CENTER FOR ADOPTIONS.
WHEN I HAVE AN EMPTY CAGE, I FILL IT.
HOW DOES THE LGC CHANGE WHAT YOU'RE DOING? BECAUSE IF WE CREATE THE LGC AND BARK OPERATES UNDER THE LGC AND IT GETS THE FUNDING FROM THE CITY MM-HMM
WHY DOES THAT TRIGGER A NEW OPERATION, A A RETAIL CENTER? WHY CAN'T Y'ALL DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE DOING TODAY, BUT UNDER AN LGC MODEL? THAT, THAT'S A COMPLICATED QUESTION.
UM, I, I DON'T THINK WE NEED THE LGC AT BARK AS WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
NOW, WHEN WE GET THIS NEW BUILDING UP, WE'RE GOING TO NEED EITHER AN LGC OR A NONPROFIT, UH, ORGANIZATION TO RUN THAT EXTRA SPACE AS THE ADOPTION OUTLET FOSTERS, UM, RESCUES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT I BELIEVE WE WANT TO GET STARTED RIGHT NOW.
AND I THINK THE WAY TO GET STARTED RIGHT NOW IS TO DO AN OFFSITE, UH, LOCATION.
AND THAT'S GONNA REQUIRE MANPOWER AND BARK DOES NOT HAVE THE MANPOWER TO LIKE SAVE THE LGC ABSORBS 50 PEOPLE.
AND THEY'RE, AND THEY'RE DOING THE OFFSITE.
UM, I, I NEED THOSE PEOPLE AT BART TAKING CARE OF THE ANIMALS THAT ARE THERE.
I, I JUST DON'T SEE THAT AS A NECESSITY WITH THE LGC BEING CREATED THAT ALL OF A SUDDEN SOME OF YOUR MONEY GOES HERE AND SOME OF YOUR PEOPLE GO HERE TO DO A CERTAIN THING AS OPPOSED TO BARK DOING EXACTLY WHAT IT DOES TODAY, JUST UNDER AN LGC MODEL.
SO I, I, I DON'T REALLY SEE THE BENEFIT, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA BE TAKING CARE OF THE SAME ANIMALS AND DOING THE SAME DUTIES.
UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE TAKING CARE OF ALL THE ANIMALS THAT THE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ARE BRINGING IN, AND PEOPLE ARE, ARE TURNING OVER THE, OVER THE COUNTER.
UM, AND I, I'D LIKE TO SEE IT DONE IN A, A DIFFERENT LOCATION.
YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE BENEFIT IS THE STRUCTURE'S DIFFERENT.
YOU'VE GOT A BOARD, YOU'VE GOT A STRUCTURED, YOU KNOW, LEADERSHIP, YOU HAVE SOME FUNDING FROM THE CITY, YOU HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO GROW IN A WAY THAT HASN'T BEEN HAPPENING CURRENTLY MM-HMM
UM, AND TAKE IN MORE PRIVATE MONEY, TAKE IN MONEY THAT WE NEED, THAT THE CITY ISN'T GIVING BARK MM-HMM
UM, AND WE SAW THE CHART HERE IN THE SLIDES.
AND SO FOR ME, HEARING THE REASONS WHY WE SHOULDN'T DO AN LGC, I'M STRUGGLING WITH IT BECAUSE I DON'T LIKE, WELL, NO ONE ELSE DOES IT THIS WAY, SO WE SHOULDN'T, BECAUSE WE'RE OUR OWN CITY.
WE'RE UNIQUE, WE HAVE OUR OWN ISSUES.
AND IF THIS WORKS FOR US, LET, LET'S TRY IT.
UM, AND WE DO HAVE A DEDICATED REVENUE SOURCE.
ALL THESE OTHER EGCS, THE ZOO GETS MONEY FROM THE CITY PARKS BOARD, GETS MONEY FROM THE CITY, UH, SAME WITH BARK, BARK WOULD GET MONEY FROM THE CITY.
AND, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO SECTION OFF SOME ACTIVITIES JUST FOR THE LGC.
I THINK YOU COULD DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE DOING TODAY AND JUST DO IT UNDER AN LGC MODEL.
I THINK TOO, THERE'S A BIG FEAR OF TRANSFERRING CITY EMPLOYEES OVER TO AN LGC THAT MAY OR MAY NOT WORK.
SO SAY WE, WE, WE TRANSFER THEM OVER TO AN LGC NOW, THEY'RE NO LONGER CITY EMPLOYEES.
[01:10:01]
RAISE THE MONEY THAT WE THOUGHT THAT THEY COULD.WE, I'VE LOST ALL THESE EMPLOYEES, UM, WHICH IS WHY I, I THINK STARTING OFF SMALL WITH A PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP WILL GO MUCH SMOOTHER, MUCH BETTER.
AND THEN WE CAN GRADUATE INTO THAT ONCE WE SEE WHAT THE FUNDRAISING WILL ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE AND WHAT, WHAT THEY'RE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH.
I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS.
I, I'D LOVE TO TALK WITH YOU MORE ABOUT IT.
I MEAN, IT, IT'S, IT'S A LOT MORE NUANCED THAN, THAN THAT.
DEEDEE WITH THE MAYOR PRO TEMS OFFICE.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, MAYOR PRO TEM, UH, REGRETS THAT SHE'S NOT ABLE TO BE HERE DUE TO SCHEDULING CONFLICT, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANKS TO BARK FOR YOUR RESPONSES.
UM, ESPECIALLY, UM, FROM OUR OFFICES, UH, FROM OUR OFFICE.
THANK YOU FOR BEING RESPONSIVE.
AND, UM, I KNOW THAT MAYOR PRO TEM HAS FUNDED WITH HER COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUND SOME TARGETED RE UH, REINFORCEMENT TO BE, FOR BARK TO BE PROACTIVE IN SAFETY ADDRESSING PUBLIC SAFETY.
AND AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO.
THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU ALL LAST YEAR, WE WOULD'VE NOT HAD A CLEANING CONTRACT.
AND, UH, THAT, THAT WAS SUPER IMPORTANT FOR US.
AND I, I APPRECIATE YOU ALL, ALL OF YOU, MARY, WITH COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON'S OFFICE, UM, WAS THE $150,000 THAT WAS AUTHORIZED LAST YEAR, WAS THAT ACTUALLY SPENT TO HIRE A CONSULTING GROUP TO LOOK INTO THE FORMATION OF THE LGC? IT WAS NOT SPENT, NO, WE DID NOT SPEND IT.
SO WHY, WHY WAS, WHY WASN'T, WHY DIDN'T THAT HAPPEN? WELL, FOR ONE, FINDING A, A CONSULTING GROUP THAT HAS EXPERIENCE AND DOING SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS SLIM TO NONE.
WE DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T HAVE ANYBODY, BUT WE HAD PERVE CAPTAIN, WHO IS A, UH, PRETTY SMART FELLOW.
UM, AND AGAIN, WE, WE WOULD LOVE TO COME OUT AND MEET WITH YOU AND EXPLAIN MORE IF YOU'D LIKE.
UM, A COUPLE COMMENTS, I THINK TO, UM, WHAT THE VICE CHAIR WAS TALKING ABOUT.
YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN SITTING UP HERE A LONG TIME, AND THERE'S BEEN PROBLEMS WITH BARK FOR A LONG TIME.
UH, WE HAVE UNDERFUNDED BARK FOR A LONG TIME.
WE KIND OF HELD THIS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION IDEA OUT THERE AS SOMETHING THAT WAS GOING TO CHANGE.
WE WERE GONNA DO SOMETHING PROACTIVE TO CHANGE THINGS.
AND, AND I'VE TALKED WITH YOU AT LENGTH ABOUT THE, THE CONSIDERATIONS INVOLVED, UM, TO NOT GO THAT DIRECTION AT THIS POINT, BUT THE PUBLIC, MY COLLEAGUES AND I, WE WANNA SEE SOME POSITIVE MOVEMENT.
WE WANNA SEE SOMETHING CHANGE.
TOTALLY GET, I'VE BEEN THROWING THAT SLIDE UP TO EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD I CAN GO TO ON THE, ON THE RESOURCES PAGE AT SOME POINT.
IF WE'RE NOT PUTTING THE RESOURCES THERE, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO HAVE PROBLEMS AT BARK.
ON SLIDE SEVEN, YOU SAY THAT YOU'RE GOING TO, I, I DON'T WANNA WAIT TWO YEARS FOR THE NEW SHELTER TO BE BUILT, THAT WE GET A NONPROFIT OVER THERE TO HELP US OUT WITH ALL THIS STUFF.
WHAT CAN WE DO RIGHT NOW, THIS OUTREACH RETAIL THAT YOU SAY, WE'RE GOING TO SHOVE SOME, PUT SOME ANIMALS THERE.
IS THAT SOMETHING, CAN WE GET AN NRFP ON THE STREETS RIGHT NOW? GET A NONPROFIT TO START RUNNING THAT.
DO WE HAVE THE FUNDING FOR THAT? WE'D, WE'D LOVE TO.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE AN RFP ALREADY STARTED.
UH, NIKKI HAS THANKFULLY BEEN PROACTIVE, AND WE WILL BE READY TO GO OUT AND SEE WHAT THE COST WILL BE.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA DO RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE GOING TO FARM THAT OUTREACH AND ADOPTION AND HAVE SOME DIFFERENT RETAIL LOCATION BEFORE WE, BEFORE OUR NEW SHELTER'S BUILT.
ALL, ALL IN THE PROCESS OF LOADING THE BARK FOUNDATION WITH, UH, THE RECOMMENDED FOLKS THAT YOU GUYS GAVE US.
UM, AGAIN, IT, IT'S THERE, IT'S READY TO GO.
WE DON'T HAVE TO JUMP ROPE OR, OKAY.
AND DID I HEAR YOU JUST SAY THAT NOT A SINGLE HOUSTON BASED FOUNDATION PROVIDES FUNDING FOR ANIMAL WELFARE ACTIVITIES? THAT'S CORRECT.
I'VE NEVER HEARD THAT BEFORE, BUT I'LL TAKE YOUR WORD FOR IT.
WE ARE GONNA MOVE TO PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
WE'RE GONNA START WITH THE ONES THAT ARE HERE IN THE CHAMBER.
UM, I BELIEVE THE CITY SHOULD PURSUE A LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION FOR BARK, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S MORE
[01:15:01]
LIKELY, MOST LIKELY TO BE TO SUCCESSFULLY FURTHER BARK'S PRIMARY MISSION OF PUBLIC SAFETY.AND BECAUSE IT'S A WAY TO BRING MUCH NEEDED CHANGE AND INNOVATION, UM, AND INCREASE FUNDING TO COMPENSATE FOR HOUSTON'S SHAMEFULLY SMALL BUDGET FOR BARK.
UM, A GENTLEMAN WHO WAS HERE EARLIER WHO LEFT, UM, ONE OF HIS QUESTIONS, I THINK, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE, UM, PROPOSALS LIKE ADDING MORE KENNELS.
WE NEED MONEY FOR MORE KENNELS.
WE NEED TO HIRE MORE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
IT'S, NOBODY WANTS TO DONATE TO A SINKING SHIP.
AND I THINK INNOVATION THROUGH THE LGC, I THINK IT OFFERS, UM, SOME REAL INCREASED FUNDRAISING POTENTIAL POSSIBILITY OF COLLABORATING WITH NONPROFITS.
IT OFFERS OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY AND EFFICIENCY.
UM, IT CAN INTRODUCE INNOVATIVE COMMUNITY PROGRAMS. PEOPLE, I THINK, WANT SOMETHING FRESH, A FRESH START WITH BARK.
IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE AT A PRECIPICE.
DO WE WAIT? YOU KNOW, DO WE TAKE A SMALL STEP? AND THEN TWO YEARS FROM NOW, THINGS ARE EVEN MORE DIRE.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE FIGHTING THIS BATTLE ALL OVER AGAIN.
UM, I THINK AN LGC REALLY DOES OFFER INCREASED FUNDRAISING POTENTIAL.
AND THE ZOO INITIALLY FACED SKEPTICISM WHEN IT PROPOSED DOING THE LGC.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HEARING NOW.
IT DOESN'T MEAN IT CAN'T WORK.
UM, I THINK AN LGC COULD BE WIN-WIN FOR BARK.
AND FOR THE NONPROFITS WHO CURRENTLY, YOU KNOW, THEIR, THEIR EFFORTS ARE FRAGMENTED, THEY'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS THE SITUATION IN HOUSTON, THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING SOME OF THE SAME WORK OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
IT'S NOT ADDING UP TO ANYTHING.
IF WE GO WITH AN LGC FOR BARK, WE COULD REALLY BRING ALL THOSE GROUPS TOGETHER AND ENJOY THE BENEFIT, LIKE LEVERAGE THEIR EFFORTS.
UM, WE COULD HAVE INCREASED FLEXIBILITY AND EFFICIENCY IN HIRING RESOURCE ALLOCATION, STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING, PRIVATE SECTOR STYLE MANAGEMENT.
FREEDOM FROM BUREAUCRATIC CITY PROCESSES COULD LEAD TO BETTER OUTCOMES IN ADOPTIONS, RESCUES, AND ENFORCEMENT.
UM, AND LGC COULD POTENTIALLY HELP BARK BETTER FULFILL ITS PUBLIC SAFETY MISSION BY ALLOCATING MORE FUNDING TO ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND PROACTIVE PATROLS WITH INCREASED RESOURCES AND AUTONOMY.
PEOPLE DON'T WANNA DONATE MONEY TO BUILD KENNELS AND HIRE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
PEOPLE WANNA DONATE SOMETHING, DONATE MONEY TO SOMETHING THAT THEY THINK IS WORKING, INNOVATING, AND ADDRESSING THE REAL PROBLEM, WHICH IS THE OVERPOPULATION.
THESE DOGS ARE NOT APPEARING OUT OF THIN AIR.
PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES, DON'T KNOW WHERE TO TAKE THEIR ANIMALS, DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO DO IT.
IF WE CAN DO SOMETHING INNOVATIVE, LIKE OUTREACH TO APARTMENT COMPLEXES, UM, MOBILEPAY NEUTER, COMMUNITY EDUCATION, SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING, MULTILINGUAL OUTREACH, TRAP NEUTER, RELEASE INITIATIVES, PET RETENTION SUPPORT, THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT THE LGC COULD DO THAT WOULD ADDRESS THE PROBLEM, WHICH IS THE DOGS BEING BORN IN THE FIRST PLACE.
IF THE DOGS AREN'T BORN, THEY'RE NOT GONNA GO ON TO BITE ANYBODY.
WE'RE NEVER GONNA HAVE ENOUGH KENNELS OR ENOUGH SPACE IF WE JUST KEEP THROWING MONEY AT ENFORCEMENT IN KENNELS.
COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THESE.
MA'AM, MA'AM, THANK YOU, CHAIR.
UM, THANK YOU FOR COMING, UH, FORWARD TO, TO SPEAK ON THIS AND, AND CERTAINLY I, I WOULD SAY, UM, WITH RESPECT TO THE DIRECTOR'S, UH, COMMENTS AND PRESENTATION, I UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM, BUT I ALSO CLEARLY UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM.
AND, AND OFTEN IN, IN, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU, THE DIRECTOR SPOKE OF THE NONPROFITS WHO THINK THAT THE MONEY WILL COME, YOU KNOW, IT'S GONNA BE A, IT'S GONNA BE A BATTLE TO SEE WHO GETS FUNDING OR WHATEVER.
OFTEN WE SEE THIS IN THE NONPROFIT WORLD THAT INSTEAD OF COLLABORATING, WE COMPETE.
AND I THINK WHAT REALLY JUST MY OWN KIND OF LITTLE BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF IT IS WHAT REALLY NEEDS TO HAPPEN IS, IS WE NEED TO GET ALL OF OUR, OUR NONPROFITS TOGETHER AND HAVE A REAL SIT DOWN AND SAY, OKAY, WE'RE ALL DOING GOOD WORK, BUT TOGETHER WE CAN DO GOOD WORK.
WELL, RIGHT? AND THAT'S, THAT'S HOW THAT WORKS.
AND SO I THINK THERE'S, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, THAT SOME FOLKS MAY WANT TO FUND NEW KENNELS AND MORE OUTREACH AND, BUT SOME FOLKS MAY WANNA FUND, YOU KNOW, SPAY AND NEUTER MOBILE.
YOU KNOW, LIKE, THERE'S SO MANY PIECES OF THIS PUZZLE.
AND I THINK REALLY, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THE LGC IS CERTAINLY THE AVENUE TO TAKE, BUT I ALSO RECOGNIZE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE DEPARTMENT'S, UH, HESITATION ON THAT.
BUT, OH, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT THE ZOO.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE.
AND YES, THEY, IT WAS A ROUGH START.
BUT WHEN YOU REALLY GET PEOPLE TOGETHER AND COLLABORATE ON A FOCUSED MISSION, I BELIEVE WE, WE COULD DO, UH, A GREAT JOB.
SO I, I APPRECIATE YOUR THOUGHTS AND, AND TEND TO AGREE WITH YOU.
[01:20:01]
FOR THE HOMELESS WHEN IT YOU WORK AS A SYSTEM.UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO ALSO WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS YOU.
I JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
AND, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
I, I AGREE WITH, UH, A LOT OF WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY.
I THINK YOU MADE A VERY, YOU KNOW, STRONG CASE FOR WHY THIS WAS A ITEM WE, UH, WANTED TO LOOK AT FURTHER.
NEXT, WE'RE WE'LL HEAR FROM PATTY HICKLE.
THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE.
I, UH, STARTED FOSTERING FOR BARK WHEN MY DOG THAT I HAD FOREVER HAD PASSED AWAY FOR 13 YEARS.
AND SO I STARTED FOSTERING FOR BARK, AND I, UM, RESCUED TWO OR THREE DOGS.
AND THEN I RESCUED MARK AND MINDY WHO WERE ON THE KILL LIST, WHICH I TOTALLY URGE YOU TO BRING BACK BECAUSE THERE IS SO MANY PEOPLE THAT WATCH THAT KILL LIST, AND THEY GO GET ANIMALS THAT YOU KNOW ARE PERFECTLY GOOD.
MARK AND MINDY WERE LIKE SIX MONTHS, SIX WEEKS OLD.
THEY WEREN'T GONNA GO OUT AND DO ANYTHING TO THE PUBLIC.
YOU LOOK AT HOW MANY DOGS THAT THEY EUTHANIZED THAT ARE PUPPIES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT ARE NO RISK TO THE PUBLIC.
WHEN THEY WERE ON THE EUTHANIZATION LIST, THEY WERE MARKED AS HAVING DERMATITIS.
MARK AND MINDY DID NOT HAVE DERMATITIS, NOT ONE BIT ON THEM.
WHEN I GOT THEM HOME, MINDY WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET ADOPTED OUT, MORK.
IT ENDED UP SIX MONTHS LATER, I RECEIVE A EMAIL FROM BARK STATING THAT, YOU KNOW, I'VE HAD HIM HAD MARK FOR SIX MONTHS, AND THAT THIS WAS ON JANUARY OR DECEMBER 1ST THAT I RECEIVED THE EMAIL.
AND IT ENDED UP THAT THEY SAID, WE HAVE TO HEAR FROM YOU BY THE 12, SEVEN, OR, UM, YOU MAY FINALIZE THE ADOPTION UNDER YOUR NAME, OR AS YOUR FOSTER HAS BEEN IN THE CARE OF EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME.
UM, BARB WOULD NO LONGER COVER ANY MEDICAL CONDITIONS.
IT'S A STANDARD EMAIL THAT THEY SEND OUT.
AND IT SAYS, IF YOU DO NOTHING, WE'LL JUST TRANSFER HIM OVER TO YOU FOR ADOPTION.
SO THEN MY RESPONSE BACK ON, LET'S SEE, DECEMBER 1ST WAS, YES, OF COURSE, I WOULD LOVE TO ADOPT MOR.
PLEASE PROCEED WITH THE ADOPTION.
MINUTES LATER, I GET BACK AN EMAIL THAT SAYS, PLEASE COMPLETE THE ADOPTION BY COMING INTO BARK DURING ADOPTION HOURS.
IF THIS ANIMAL IS NOT ADOPTED OR PROOF IS NOT PROVIDED REGARDING THE PET, BARK WILL CONSIDER YOU IN BREACH OF CONTRACT.
THAT'S THE THANKS YOU GET FOR BEING A FOSTER AT BARK.
AND WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION, THEIR, THEIR EXCUSE FOR THIS WAS THAT, OH, IT WAS A NEW EMPLOYEE.
WHEN YOU'RE TALKING, A BREACH OF CON CONTRACT DOES NOT APPEAR TO ME TO BE A, A NEW EMPLOYEE THAT WOULD KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT A BREACH OF CONTRACT.
I'M SORRY, BUT SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE.
I WOULD NOT GIVE BART ANOTHER DON, NUMBER ONE.
WE'VE GOT, WE HAVE LOTS OF SPEAKERS, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
NUMBER ONE, PLEASE LET ME FINISH.
I WOULD, LOOK, I'VE SOLD REAL ESTATE FOR YEARS.
I WOULD LOOK AT A NEW LOCATION.
YOU HAVE THAT ASTRODOME RIGHT OVER THERE SITTING VACANT.
I MEAN, HOW MANY PROPERTIES DOES HOUSTON CURRENTLY HAVE THAT AREN'T BEING USED? THANK YOU, MA'AM.
BUT WE HAVE A LONG LIST OF SPEAKERS, SO I, I HAVE TO MOVE ON.
SO WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO GO TO THE PUBLIC AND, AND DO THIS INSTEAD OF HERE? BECAUSE THERE'S ANOTHER PLACE I, YOU GUYS NEED TO HELP ME.
AKIN THE BASKETBALL PLAYER THAT WAS FROM HERE, THAT WAS A SUPERSTAR DURING THE EIGHTIES, AKIN HA WAN.
HE HAS A PIECE OF PROPERTY THAT'S SITTING OVER ACROSS FROM NASA PARKWAY THAT IS JUST A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF PROPERTY.
YOU CANNOT, MA'AM, I APOLOGIZE, BUT WE REALLY NEED TO MOVE ON.
WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO REPLACE A SINKING SHIP PUTTING BOARD ON IT DOESN'T HELP.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
[01:25:01]
YOUR NAME AGAIN WHEN YOU GET UP HERE.'CAUSE I KNOW YOU, I REALLY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING PLANNED TO TELL YOU, BUT I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS ISSUE.
I HAVE A BACKGROUND IN VETERINARY SCIENCES.
I HAVE A MASTER'S IN VETERINARY PHARMACOLOGY FROM A AND M.
SO I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS ISSUE A WHILE.
AND I CAN TELL YOU, HOUSTON, WE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF OURSELVES, REALLY, WE'RE THE FOURTH LARGEST CITY, AND WE OPERATE A SHELTER OF THE 1950S AND 1960S.
CURRENT SHELTER MEDICINE HAS GONE LONG SURPASSED WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
AND I CAN GIVE YOU FOR MANY, FOR INSTANCES.
SARAH PANO, WHO I THINK Y'ALL KNOW.
UM, AND ONE THING WE'RE NOT DOING AND NOT PROVIDING THE PUBLIC IS INFORMATION, NOT INFORMATION ONE-TO-ONE, BUT ON THE TV, WE'VE GOT TO HIT THE TV.
YOU CANNOT SPAY OR NEUTER YOUR WAY OUT OF THIS.
YOU CANNOT KILL ENOUGH ANIMALS TO GET OUT OF THIS.
THERE IS A APPROXIMATELY A MILLION ANIMALS ON THE STREETS OF HOUSTON TODAY.
YOU CANNOT SPAY AND NU TO YOUR WAY OUT OF THIS.
YOU JUST CAN'T BIOLOGICALLY A CAT ONE.
IF YOU TAKE 1200 FEMALE CATS LEFT INTACT OR NOT SPAYED, YOU'RE GOING TO END UP WITH 41,000 KITTENS AT THE END OF ONE YEAR, JUST BASED ON NORMAL BIOLOGY OF THE CAT.
SO TELL ME, HOW ARE YOU GONNA SPAY A NEW YEAR WAY OUT OF THIS? HOW ARE YOU GONNA KILL ENOUGH ANIMALS TO MAKE AN IMPACT? YOU HAVE GOT TO CHANGE THE MINDSET OF THE SHELTER.
UH, SHELTER MEDICINE IS LONG SURPASSED WHERE BARK IS TODAY.
IT USED TO BE A, A PLACE TO HOUSE ANIMALS.
AND, UH, EITHER THE OWNER PICKS 'EM UP OR THEY'RE PUT TO SLEEP, NOT SO TODAY, NOT SO TODAY.
AND I URGE Y'ALL TO, NUMBER ONE, I DON'T KNOW WHY RFPS WENT OUT TO BUILD A 60,000 SQUARE FOOT SHELTER, BECAUSE LET ME TELL YOU, RFPS IN DALLAS WENT OUT TO BUILD 120,000 FOOT SHELTER, WHICH IS TWICE, ALMOST TWICE AS BIG AS THE ONE THAT THE RFP IN HOUSTON WENT OUT FOR.
NUMBER TWO, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH MR. MES.
WE NEED MORE PEOPLE WE KNOW NEED MORE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT.
UNFORTUNATELY, BARK WITH THEIR EUTHANASIA POLICY THAT'S CURRENTLY INSTITUTED DOES NOT EVEN GIVE RESCUES THE CHANCE TO STEP IN AND GET THESE ANIMALS.
UH, IT'S A 20 TO 24 TO 48 HOUR EUTHANASIA HOLE PERIOD WITHOUT THE KILL LIST.
THESE RESCUES THAT HAVE BEEN SO HELPFUL, THEY DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO GET, GET IN THERE AND RESCUE THESE ANIMALS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
AND, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TODAY.
I'M MARISA DOHERTY FROM THE NORTH SHEPHERD DISTRICT HERE TO SPEAK ON THE BARK LGC NONPROFIT UPDATE.
OBVIOUSLY, UH, WE ALL KNOW THE PROBLEM.
HOUSTON HAS MORE LOOSE ANIMALS THAN EVER, AND THIS IS A PROVEN RISK TO PUBLIC SAFETY.
I WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO COUNCIL MEMBER ALCO AND COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, AND TO THE DIRECTOR OF BARK, JARED MES, FOR YOUR WORK TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION FOR HOUSTONIANS.
IT HAS NOT GONE UNNOTICED, AND WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES.
I UNDERSTAND THERE'S UNCERTAINTY ABOUT IF AN LGC OR A NONPROFIT PARTNERSHIP IS THE BEST OPTION AVAILABLE TO BARK, THAT IT MAY BE NECESSARY TO PIVOT THE CURRENT PLAN IN SOME WAY.
UH, I WOULD LIKE TO INTERNALIZE FOR ALL OF US, UH, THAT THIS WOULD BE A PIVOT, NOT A HARD STOP.
THE GOAL REMAINS THE SAME TO REDUCE RISKS TO PUBLIC SAFETY AND TO HAVE FEWER LOOSE ANIMALS ON OUR STREETS.
EVEN IF THE ROAD TO GET THERE MUST BE ADJUSTED ALONG THE WAY.
I WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT HOUSTONIANS NEED THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING RIGHT NOW TO CHART A PATH FOR HOUSTON'S FUTURE.
THE COMMUNITIES THAT NEED YOUR HELP THE MOST, LIKE THE ONE I LIVE IN, ARE FACING REAL CHALLENGES.
DOGS ARE DUMPED ALMOST DAILY, MOST OF WHICH ARE UNALTERED
[01:30:01]
AND NOT MICROCHIPPED, AND THEY ROAM LOOSE IN OUR COMMUNITY.IT'S A CLEAR EXAMPLE OF WHY WE URGENTLY NEED OUTREACH, EDUCATION AND ENFORCEMENT, AND THE WORK ALL OF YOU ARE DOING WILL FACILITATE THAT.
THIS CRISIS WILL ONLY GET WORSE THE LONGER WE AVOID DEALING WITH IT.
SO THIS IS THE TIME TO DO THE WORK.
PLEASE DON'T LET SETBACKS DISCOURAGE YOU FROM WORKING TO FIND A SOLUTION.
THERE IS AN ARMY OF QUALIFIED, EXPERIENCED ANIMAL RESCUERS AMONG YOUR CONSTITUENTS WHO ARE READY AND WILLING TO WORK, LEND A VOICE AND ORGANIZE FOR YOU ON THIS ISSUE.
JUST TELL US WHAT TO DO AND WE'LL DO IT, BUT WE HAVE TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER.
NEXT, VIRTUALLY LESLIE BURROW.
OH MY GOSH, WE'RE BACK TO THE OLD STAR.
OKAY, WE'LL, WE'LL TRY AGAIN IN A MINUTE.
I APOLOGIZE IF THERE'S SOME KIND OF HELLO? ME.
WE HEAR SOMEBODY JUST STATE YOUR NAME, PLEASE.
CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME GREAT? YES, YOU'RE ON.
UM, YES, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME AND LETTING ME SPEAK.
UM, I AM, I'VE HEARD SOME MOTHERS.
I'M, I'M ALSO A FOSTER MOM, UM, FOR, I'VE BEEN WITH RPM.
UM, I ACTUALLY HAVE TWO DOGS THAT I PULLED FROM THE YOUTH LIST THAT, UM, HAVE BECOME MINE, UM, FROM BARK, UM, THAT WERE LY PUT DOWN THAT DAY.
UM, SO THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A VERY PERSONAL, UM, MATTER TO ME WHAT'S GOING ON, UM, OVER THERE AT THE HOUSTON SHELTER.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE NEED MORE, MORE SUPPORT, UH, MORE FUNDING FOR THE SHELTER.
UH, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT, THAT, THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING DOING THIS WHOLE REVAMP, UM, OF THE SHELTER.
I'M, I'M THRILLED TO HEAR THAT.
UH, I HOPE THAT, THAT THAT DOES COME TO FRUITION.
UM, BUT I THINK MAINLY WHAT I WANTED TO SAY TODAY, UM, JUST AS A EXTREMELY, UH, CONCERNED CITIZEN IS THAT, THAT THIS, THE KILLINGS OF THESE DOGS, YOU KNOW, HA, IT'S JUST, IT'S GOT TO, I MEAN, IT'S GOT TO STOP.
UM, I I I, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S RALLYING, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE, LIKE EVERYBODY'S TALKING THE COMMUNITY FOR, FOR HELP, BUT I MEAN, IT IS, IT IS JUST OUTRAGEOUS.
I FOLLOW THAT LIST, THE EMERGENCY LIST EVERY DAY, AND IT'S JUST HORRIFIC.
I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S, AS A CITY, WE HAVE GOT TO DO BETTER.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM ANGELINA RAMIREZ.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO SHERRY GEORGE OR SHERRY GEORGE.
UH, I HAVE A NONPROFIT RESCUE, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TODAY ON BEHALF OF THE NONPROFIT ANIMAL RESCUES AND NETWORKERS THAT SERVE HOUSTON CONSTITUENTS AND BARK.
AND I HAVE A DEEP APPRECIATION FOR THE ISSUES BARK IS FACING.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, AS A RESCUER, WE'RE ALL TREATING THE SYMPTOM, THE POPULATION PROBLEM, NOT THE SOURCE.
UM, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, LOW COST SPAY NEUTER.
NOT REALLY WHY I SIGNED UP TO TALK TODAY.
WHAT I WANTED TO ADDRESS TODAY WAS THE CHANGES THAT WERE RECENTLY IMPLEMENTED BY BARK, WHERE THE EUTHANASIA LIST ARE NO LONGER PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.
AND THE LENGTH OF TIME HAS BEEN DECREASED TO 24 HOURS RESCUER, THE NETWORKERS VOLUNTEER MANY HOURS DAY AND NIGHT TRYING TO HELP WITH THE OVERPOPULATION PROBLEM THAT PLAGUES HOUSTON PARK.
WE AREN'T ALWAYS SUCCESSFUL, BUT WE DO OUR BEST TO TRY TO GET THE DOGS OUT OF THERE AND GET THEM OFF OF THE EUTHANASIA LIST TO FIND A NEW START.
IT WAS ALREADY A DAUNTING TASK.
BEFORE THE MARCH 1ST CHANGES, WE WOULD NETWORK DOGS FROM THE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE EUTHANASIA LIST, SCREENING FOSTERS AND ADOPTERS.
AND IF ALL THE PIECES CAME TOGETHER, WE'D GET THE DOGS TAGGED, MOVE TO A FOSTER VETTED AND MOVE TO A NEW FAMILY, USUALLY IN A DIFFERENT TOWN AND STATE ALTOGETHER.
SO THE POPULATION PROBLEM DIMINISHES.
ALL THIS HAD TO BE COMPLETED IN 48 HOURS FROM THE TIME THAT THE EUTHANASIA LIST WAS PUBLICLY PUBLISHED.
AND IN SOME CASES, OUR WORK INCREASED THE FOOT TRAFFIC THAT WALKED INTO
[01:35:01]
BARTON ADOPTION CENTER AND, AND PICKED UP AN AT-RISK DOG.AND KEEP IN MIND THAT MOST OF THE VOLUNTEERS HAVE CAREERS OUTSIDE OF THIS PASSION AT WORK.
UM, BUT WE ALL DO IT JUST TO HELP TO SAVE THE LIVES OF THE ANIMALS THERE.
UM, THE LATEST CHANGES AT BARK BY MAKING EUTHANASIA LISTS NO LONGER PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.
UM, AND NOW THE RESCUES THAT DO STILL RECEIVE IT ONLY HAVE 24 HOURS TO DO THEIR WORK.
THIS CHOKES DOWN THE VOLUNTEER RESOURCES THAT ARE HELPING TO GET DOGS OUT OF THERE.
AND IT ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES THE TIME THAT OUR VOLUNTEERS HAVE FOR SCREENING FOR APPROPRIATE FAMILIES THAT MATCH TO DOGS.
SO, I'M, I'M HERE JUST TO SIMPLY ASK THAT BART, CONSIDER REVERSING THESE LATEST POLICY CHANGES.
I MEAN, AT A MINIMUM, MAKE THE LIST PUBLIC AGAIN, SO THAT ALL OF US NETWORK AS INCLUDED, CAN GET ACCESS TO IT SO WE CAN TRY TO GET SOME OF THESE DOGS PLACED INTO VIABLE HOMES.
UM, AND AS A SIDE NOTE, THAT THAT, JUST A THOUGHT THAT CAME TO MIND AS YOU ALL ARE CONSIDERING SOLUTIONS FOR THIS POPULATION PROBLEM.
WE HAVE GREAT SUCCESS WITH FINDING HOMES FOR THESE DOGS NORTH.
UM, SO OPENING A STOREFRONT IN HOUSTON, I'M NOT SURE THAT THAT'S GOING TO RELIEVE YOU OF MUCH PRESSURE.
YOU ALREADY HAVE A POPULATION PROBLEM THERE.
THE PEOPLE LOOKING FOR DOGS IS MUCH, THANK YOU, MA'AM.
MUCH LOWER THAN THOSE IN THE NORTHERN STATES.
THANK YOU, MS. GEORGE, FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
NEXT, WE'LL HEAR FROM DEBORAH JOHNSON.
OH, CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? YES, GO AHEAD.
I, I HAD LIVED IN HOUSTON FOR 20 YEARS.
I, I DO UNDERSTAND THE ANIMAL ISSUE IN HOUSTON, AND I KNOW IT'S VERY UNUSUAL, BUT THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY IS DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER, AND EXPECTING A DIFFERENT RESULT.
IN THE LAST 40 YEARS, HOUSTON BARK HAS NOT DONE ANYTHING DIFFERENT.
AND YOU CAN KEEP KILLING THE DOGS AND CATS, AND THEY'LL KEEP COMING BACK.
AND YOU CAN KEEP KILLING THE DOGS AND CATS, AND THEY'LL KEEP COMING BACK.
A HUMANE PROGRAM HAS GOT TO BE PUT IN PLACE.
YOU CAN'T KILL YOUR WAY OUT OF A CRISIS.
THE CITY OF BARK SAYS THERE'S A CRISIS WITH ANIMALS.
YOU HAVE TO TREAT IT LIKE THAT.
THE CITY HAS PUT MONEY INTO THIS ISSUE.
THE CITY OF HOUSTON SPENDS MORE MONEY ON THE TRASH THAN IT DOES HELPING LIVING, BREATHING CREATURES.
EDUCATION HAS TO BE IN ALL NEIGHBORHOODS.
IT COULD BE DONE WITH FLYERS, EMAILS, AND VOLUNTEERS HOLDING MONTHLY MEETINGS REGARDING THE IMPORTANCE OF SPAY NEUTER AND NOT LETTING YOUR PETS ROAM.
UM, I'M SURE YOU COULD GET VOLUNTEERS TO COME TO, YOU KNOW, TO DO THAT.
IT WOULDN'T EVEN COST THE CITY ANYTHING.
WITH FLYERS, EMAILS OF VOLUNTEERS IN THE HOLDING MEETINGS, MASSIVE SPAY NEUTER, NOT ONLY FOR PEOPLE'S PETS, BUT FOR STRAYS AS WELL.
UM, AND OF COURSE, LOW COST SPAY NEUTER.
UM, NOT JUST HOLDING CLINICS LIKE ONCE A MONTH OR EVERY SIX MONTHS, BUT EVERY WEEK, MASSIVE ADOPTION EVENTS, SATELLITE SHELTERS.
SO ANIMALS ARE SEEN ALL OVER HOUSTON.
THAT SHELTER IS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.
WHEN I LIVED THERE, PEOPLE IN HOUSTON WHO LIVED THEIR ALL THEIR LIFE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHERE THAT SHELTER WAS.
UM, MORE OUTTA STATE ADOPTIONS AND, AND PARTNERS AND THE CITY, UM, AS I SAID, NEEDS TO COME UP WITH WITH MONEY FOR THIS.
ALSO WANTED TO JUST SAY VERY QUICKLY, PLEASE PUT AT LEAST A 72, HOLD BACK ON.
TO HAVE A 24 HOUR HOLD IS JUST INHUMANE.
AS THE PREVIOUS LADY SAID, RESCUES DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME.
PEOPLE THAT LOSE THEIR DOGS DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO RECLAIM THEIR PETS.
IF A 24 HOUR HOLD IS COMPLETELY INHUMANE, AND I JUST, I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH.
I DUNNO IF I HAVE TIME TO SAY THIS AS WELL.
[01:40:01]
IS, UM, THE STORIES THAT ARE COMING OUT OF BARK ARE ABSOLUTELY HEARTBREAKING.THINGS LIKE THEY SPAY NEUTER PETS, AND THEN THEY KILL THEM A COUPLE DAYS OR A WEEK LATER.
PEOPLE THAT ARE, UM, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE PEOPLE ARE FOSTERING ANIMALS.
AND YOU, YOU'LL HEAR THAT THEY'VE BEEN PULLED.
UM, THE STORIES THAT WE ARE HEARING ALL OVER THE COUNTRY ABOUT BARK.
MA'AM, I'M, I'M GONNA HAVE TO CUT YOU OFF, RIGHT, RIGHT THEN.
BUT I DO HAVE A, A, A BRIEF RESPONSE FROM THE BARK DIRECTOR ON THE HOLD ISSUE.
HOW ARE YOU DOING, MA'AM? ACTUALLY, THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WE DO HAVE A 48 HOUR HOLD FOR ANIMALS WITHOUT MICROCHIPS OR IDENTIFIERS.
THERE IS A MANDATORY SIX DAY HOLD FOR ANIMALS THAT HAVE MICROCHIPS OR, UM, A COLLAR WITH A TAG.
THE 24 HOUR ISSUE, THAT'S NOT A HOLD.
THE 24 HOUR IS A 24 HOUR NOTICE TO RESCUES THAT THESE ANIMALS MAY BE MOVING TO EUTHANASIA.
SOME OF THESE ANIMALS HAVE BEEN IN OUR FACILITY 10 AND 15 DAYS ALREADY, THAT THAT'S WHAT WE MOVED.
UM, BECAUSE WE ARE INTAKING SO MANY ANIMALS, WE CAN'T JUDGE ON A DAILY BASIS.
FOR EXAMPLE, YESTERDAY WE TOOK IN 102 DOGS.
UM, YOU KNOW, SO SOMETIMES WE TO A JUDGE, THANK YOU.
THAT, THAT CLEARS IT, THAT CLEARS THAT MATTER UP.
UM, NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM KIMBERLY GARCIA.
STAR SIX STAR SIX HIT STAR SIX.
OKAY, WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO ALINA SIKEN.
OH, WE HEARD FROM HER ALREADY.
I'M SORRY IF THIS IS A PROBLEM ON OUR END.
I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE SPEAKERS THAT ARE TRYING TO, TO GET ON.
I, I REALLY APOLOGIZE IF YOU SIGNED UP TO SPEAK AND WERE UNABLE TO SPEAK IF YOU, OKAY.
PLEASE EMAIL, UM, YOUR COMMENTS.
I WILL MAKE SURE ALL OF THE MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE, WHICH IS EVERYBODY, EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER, WILL GET YOUR COMMENTS.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PLEASE PUT THEM IN AN EMAIL TO AT LARGE5@HOUSTONTX.GOV GOV.
AND WE WILL, I WILL MAKE SURE THOSE COMMENTS ARE SENT TO THE COMMITTEE.
THANK YOU, DIRECTOR AND COREY FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
EVERYONE AT BARC, UH, WE ARE GOING TO KEEP ADVOCATING FOR YOU.
AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE GOOD AND IMPORTANT WORK YOU DO FOR OUR CITY.
NEXT AND FINALLY, AND I APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S PATIENT, WE PATIENCE, WE WILL HEAR AN UPDATE ON ACTIONS THAT ARE RELATED TO THE CITYWIDE EFFICIENCY STUDY.
WE WILL HAVE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO MAYOR WHITMEYER, STEVEN DAVID, AND FINANCE DIRECTOR MELISSA DEBOWSKI.
WE'RE GONNA GET THE SCREEN UP IN A SECOND.
HE'S REMOTE, BUT JED'S REMOTE.
GOOD MORNING CHAIR, VICE CHAIR.
HOW ARE Y'ALL DOING? COUNCIL MEMBERS, STAFF.
UM, WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO HERE IS WE ARE GOING TO, UH, WALK YOU THROUGH A DECK THAT WE'VE PUT TOGETHER THAT'S GONNA BE MORE OF A DETAILED LOOK INTO THE SPEND ANALYSIS.
I PROMISE YOU IT WILL BE BOTH RIVETING AND BORING AT THE SAME TIME.
UH, ONE THING THAT I, I'D LIKE TO DO, UM, I, I AM, UH, LIKE TO GO BACK A LITTLE BIT TO THE CONVERSATION WITH, UH, THE CONTROLLER'S NEW EMPLOYEE.
I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT WORKING WITH HER.
HER CREDENTIALS CLEARLY OPEN, OPENED THE DOOR FOR HER.
SHE IS EXCEPTIONALLY, UH, WELL TENURED IN THE WORLD OF AUDIT.
UH, A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I WANTED TO, UH, TO ADDRESS IS THAT, UH,
[01:45:02]
I'M EXCITED ABOUT THEIR FFY 20 OR FFY 25 PLAN, UH, CONTAINING 37, UH, POTENTIAL AUDITS.ONE THING THAT I HEARD, UH, FROM HER THAT I WANTED TO MAKE A CLARIFICATION ON, UH, IS THAT SHE NEEDS MORE RESOURCES, UH, TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT IN OUR JARGON, THAT ALWAYS MEANS BUDGET DOLLARS.
UH, THE ONE THING THAT I DO WANT TO CLARIFY IS THAT THE, UH, THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE IS CURRENTLY SITTING ON ABOUT $918,000 OF VACANCIES.
UM, SO IT'S NOT A RESOURCE ISSUE, IT'S A HIRING ISSUE FOR THEM, UM, AND FINDING THE RIGHT EMPLOYEE.
SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT WAS CLARIFIED.
UM, SO THE, THE THING THAT I WANNA BE ABLE TO DO, UH, IS FRAME, REMIND Y'ALL THE FRAMING AROUND THIS PARTICULAR STUDY ITSELF.
SO, UH, OCTOBER OF 2023, UH, CHRIS NEWPORT, MYSELF AND THE MAYOR, BEGAN DRAFTING WHAT A SCOPE COULD LOOK LIKE IF WE WERE TO HIRE A THIRD PARTY FIRM TO COME IN AND HELP US GET A GOOD OPERATIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON FI, FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND, UH, WE CAME IN, WE FINALIZED THE SCOPE, BROUGHT IT TO COUNCIL.
Y'ALL APPROVED IT IN MAY, UH, OF 24.
AND, UH, THEN THESE WEIRD THINGS CALLED A DICHO AND A HURRICANE CAME THROUGH, POSTPONED THE START OF THE PROJECT.
AND THEN IN AUGUST, WE GOT STARTED IN EARNEST, COMPLETED IT IN ABOUT, UH, 10 WEEKS.
AND SINCE THEN, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO DO, UH, THE GOOD, THE GOOD BOYS AND GIRLS EXERCISE OF PROSELYTIZING IT ACROSS MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS.
CHRIS AND I WENT UP TO THE DOGE COMMITTEE AT THE STATE HOUSE.
WE SPOKE WITH THE, UH, THE CURRENT, UH, PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION, AS WELL AS A BUNCH OF CABINET SECRETARIES ABOUT THIS AS WELL, ABOUT HOW HOUSTON'S LEADING THE WAY, UM, IN EXERCISES LIKE THIS.
UM, I WON'T GO OVER AND REHASH, UH, WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE MAYOR'S REPORT, BUT THE IMPORTANT THING TO, UH, TO HIGHLIGHT HERE IS THAT WE THINK THAT THE QUICKEST OPPORTUNITY FOR WIN IS THROUGH THE SPEND ANALYSIS ITSELF.
THE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS HAD A VERY LONG HISTORY OF NOT, UH, TIGHTLY AND CENTRALLY MANAGING, UH, THE CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE AND THE SPEND, UH, THAT WE UTILIZE.
AND SO, OUR ABILITY, WE BELIEVE THAT OUR SINGLE QUICKEST ABILITY TO PULL ONE LEVER AND BEGIN SAVING MONEY IS THROUGH A COMPREHENSIVE SPEND IMPLEMENTATION, UM, WHICH MELISSA WILL WALK US THROUGH AS WELL AS SORT OF THE FINDINGS.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, WE THINK THAT THE, THE LEVEL OF EFFORT, AND WE'LL BE BRINGING THIS BACK TO YOU AND MELISSA WILL GO OVER IT AT THE VERY END OF THE SLIDES, UM, IS THAT, UH, THE NEXT THING WE'LL BRING TO YOU IS, UH, RECOMMENDATION FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL, UH, FOR ANOTHER ENGAGEMENT WITH ERNST AND YOUNG, UH, TO HELP US ACTUALLY DO THE SPEND IMPLEMENTATION.
WE KNOW FOR A FACT THAT WE HAVE SKILLS WITHIN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, WITHIN THE PROCUREMENT DIVISION OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, AND ACROSS THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO DO THIS WORK ON OUR OWN.
WHAT WE DON'T HAVE IS ENOUGH PEOPLE AND TIME, SO WE NEED TO BRING IN A THIRD PARTY TO HELP US DO THIS WORK, BECAUSE IT MUST BE DONE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
SO, HAVING SAID THAT, I'LL KICK IT OVER TO MELISSA.
YES, I CAN STILL SAY GOOD MORNING.
UM, SO GOING ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO SOME OF THESE SLIDES WILL LOOK FAMILIAR TO YOU.
THEY WERE, UH, PART OF THE MAYOR'S REPORT AND ALSO PART OF THE, UM, FULL REPORT FROM THE ERNST AND YOUNG STUDY, WHICH IS AVAILABLE ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE.
UM, BUT JUST TOUCHING ON THE SPEND ANALYSIS, THIS IS ONE OF THE FOUR WORK STREAMS, UH, THAT ERNST AND YOUNG WORKED ON.
UM, IN THIS WORK STREAM, THEY ANALYZED HISTORICAL SPENDING DATA COVERING THREE FISCAL YEARS FROM FISCAL YEAR 22 TO 24, AND LOOKED AT, UM, DIFFERENT TRENDS TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL AREAS FOR COST SAVINGS.
THEY CATEGORIZED ALL THE SPENDING BY WHETHER IT WAS SPENDING ON A CONTRACT, WHETHER IT WAS SPENDING NOT ASSOCIATED WITH A CONTRACT, WHICH WE CALL NON-CONTRACT SPEND, AND ALSO LOOKING AT PCARD PURCHASES.
SO THROUGH THEIR ANALYSIS, THEY IDENTIFIED AREAS WHERE THE COST CAN BE, UH, REDUCED, AND YOU'LL SEE A HOST OF RECOMMENDATIONS THROUGHOUT THE SLIDES.
UM, SO PART OF THE APPROACH WAS TO IDENTIFY AND COLLECT THE DATA, WHICH OF COURSE CAME FROM SAP, WHICH IS OUR SYSTEM OF RECORD.
UH, THEY WENT THROUGH A PROCESS TO CLEANSE THE DATA.
SO A LOT OF DATA CATEGOR, DATA CATEGORIZATION WAS NEEDED IN ORDER TO GROUP THE DATA INTO CATEGORIES AND SUBCATEGORIES.
AS YOU'LL SEE THROUGH THE, THROUGH THE NEXT SLIDES, THEY PERFORMED DATA ANALYSIS WHERE THEY LOOKED AT, UM, VENDOR SPECIFIC DATA, WHICH DEPARTMENTS IT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH, WHICH CATEGORY AND WHICH FISCAL YEAR.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THEY IDENTIFIED OPPORTUNITIES.
SO GOING ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE, UM, THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE SPEND ANALYSIS WHERE, UH, THEY FOUND SEVEN DIFFERENT HIGH LEVEL OBSERVATIONS AND SEVERAL OPPORTUNITIES WITH THOSE.
I'M NOT GONNA GO OVER EACH OF THEM, BUT I'LL TOUCH ON JUST A FEW.
UM, LOOKING AT THE FIRST ONE, CONTRACTING EFFICIENCY.
UH, BASED ON THE DATA, UH, WE NOW KNOW THAT THERE ARE VENDORS ACROSS SEVERAL CATEGORIES THAT HAVE NUMEROUS CONTRACTS WITH THE CITY.
UM, SO WE KNOW THAT THAT RESULTS IN ADDITIONAL TIME AND RESOURCES, NOT
[01:50:01]
JUST ON THE, UM, STRATEGIC, UH, SPD DIVISION INSIDE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, BUT ALSO ON THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT.UM, YOU COUNCIL, UM, YOU KNOW, COMING BACK TO CITY COUNCIL, GETTING EACH OF THESE CONTRACTS APPROVED, UM, IT DOES TAKE A LOT OF ADMINISTRATIVE TIME TO MAINTAIN SEVERAL DIFFERENT CONTRACTS WITH THE SAME VENDOR.
SO THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY THERE TO, UM, ACROSS THE ENTERPRISE, BRING CONTRACTS WHERE THERE MAY BE MULTIPLE CONTRACTS IN PLACE INTO, UH, ONE OR FEWER CONTRACTS IF APPROPRIATE.
UM, WE KNOW WE NEED TO FOCUS ON OUR NON-CONTRACT SPEND, UH, THAT WE HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF LEVERAGING, UH, BETTER PRICING IF WE CAN BRING ALL OF OUR SPENDING ONTO A CONTRACT.
UM, TOUCHING ON ITEM NUMBER FOUR, UM, EMERGENCY PURCHASE ORDERS.
WE KNOW THAT EMERGENCIES ARE GOING TO COME UP, RIGHT? SO WHAT WE CAN DO IS BETTER PREPARE OURSELVES FOR THOSE EMERGENCIES.
SO THERE ARE, UM, PROJECTS THAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE THROUGHOUT THE CITY, UM, EVEN BEFORE, UM, THE ERNST AND YOUNG STUDY, WHERE WE CAN PRE-POSITION CONTRACTS THAT WE CAN ISSUE TASK ORDERS OR WORK ORDERS AGAINST WHEN AN EMERGENCY DOES HAPPEN.
SO THIS WAY WE CAN GO THROUGH A, UM, UH, A FULL PROCUREMENT PROCESS, INCLUDING ONE THAT'S FEDERALLY COMPLIANT.
UM, SO ESPECIALLY IN THE CASE OF A DISASTER, WE CAN HAVE CONTRACTS IN PLACE WHERE WE CAN HAVE, UM, BETTER FUNDING, BETTER TERMS AND CONDITIONS, BETTER PRICING FOR THE CITY.
UM, AND THIS, THROUGH THIS ERNST AND YOUNG STUDY, IT'S HELPING US TO KIND OF GATHER ALL THAT INFORMATION IN ONE PLACE WHERE WE KNOW TO FOCUS OUR ENERGY.
AN EXAMPLE OF THAT, UH, THAT I THINK IS, IS RELEVANT AND AT LEAST FRESH ENOUGH IN MEMORY, IS DURING HURRICANE BARREL.
UM, SO WE OBVIOUSLY EXPERIENCED, UH, CITYWIDE POWER OUTAGES WASN'T JUST THE RESIDENTS WHO EXPERIENCED THAT.
WE HAD CRITICAL ASSETS THAT WERE RUNNING ON GENERATOR POWER, WHICH INCLUDES OUR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAD TO DO, UH, WAS PURCHASE CHLORINE.
WE WERE NOT EXPECTING TO PURCHASE CHLORINE.
WE, WE TREAT, UH, WE TREAT OUR WASTE THROUGH A BACTERIA PROCESS.
UM, BUT, UH, BECAUSE WE HAD FACILITIES THAT WERE NOT FULLY POWERED, WE HAD TO WORRY ABOUT, UM, MOVING THE SLUDGE THROUGH.
AND SO WE HAD TO GO AND PURCHASE AN EXORBITANT AMOUNT, UNEXPECTED AMOUNT OF CHLORINE.
UH, JED AND MELISSA HAD ALREADY PRE-NEGOTIATED THAT CONTRACT IN PLACE, SO WE GOT FAVORABLE TERMS AND CONDITIONS THE SAME THAT WE WOULD GET IN THROUGH ANY NORMAL PURCHASE.
MOVE TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE WANT TO TRY AND DO.
UH, WE RAN OUTTA ICE, UM, AND WE NEEDED PEOPLE TO HAVE EYESIGHT DELIVERED ICE TO A LOT OF Y'ALL'S, UH, COUNCIL DISTRICTS, UM, DURING THAT EVENT.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE RECOGNIZED WAS THAT, UM, WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH.
UH, THERE WERE STRUGGLES AT THE STATE LEVEL, UH, FROM A LOGISTICS PURPOSE, AND ALSO EVERYBODY NEEDED ICE.
WE WEREN'T EXPECTING TO HAVE FIVE AND A HALF, 6 MILLION PEOPLE WITHOUT POWER.
AND, UH, WHAT WE REALIZED WAS THAT IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, IN THE STATE OF LOUISIANA, THERE WAS NO ICE.
AND SO WE HAD TO DO AN UNEXPECTED $150,000 PURCHASE OF ICE FROM KENTUCKY THAT GAVE US 22 PALLETS OF ICE THAT WE WERE ABLE TO DELIVER.
THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS WE DID NOT HAVE A PRE-NEGOTIATED CONTRACT IN PLACE, AND SO WE GOT RETAIL PRICING.
SO THOSE ARE EXAMPLES OF WHERE WE CAN DO BETTER.
UM, JUST TO TOUCH ON ONE LAST POINT ON THIS SLIDE UNDER ITEM NUMBER FIVE, DEPARTMENT CATEGORY, UH, STRATEGY COORDINATION.
SO THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR.
THE, THE BUZZWORD WE LIKE TO CALL IT, OR PHRASE, I GUESS, IS CATEGORY MANAGEMENT.
UM, SO WE'LL TALK IN MORE DETAIL LATER ON IN THE PRESENTATION ABOUT CATEGORY MANAGEMENT AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTING THAT.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS, UM, GIVES YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE EIGHT DIFFERENT CATEGORIES THAT THE DATA WAS GROUPED INTO.
SO THE TOP CATEGORY IS FACILITIES IN CONSTRUCTION.
UM, AND JUST TO TALK ABOUT THIS, SPENDING THE FIGURES ON THIS SLIDE ARE ALL FOR FISCAL YEAR 24.
UM, IT IS DEFINITELY WORTH NOTING.
THIS DOES NOT JUST INCLUDE THE OPERATING BUDGET.
THIS INCLUDES, UM, EXPENDITURES AND PROJECTS THAT ARE IN THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
SO THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE THE FACILITIES IN CONSTRUCTION BEING THE TOP CATEGORY.
UM, AND THE DOLLARS BROKEN DOWN HERE BECAUSE IT'S NOT THE OPERATING BUDGET AND DOES INCLUDE CAPITAL PROJECTS.
YOU SEE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE DATA FOR FISCAL YEAR 22, 23, 24, THEY OF COURSE WILL FLUCTUATE.
UM, BUT JUST TO GO OVER THE TOP CATEGORY, SO FACILITIES IN CONSTRUCTION IS THE LARGEST CATEGORY.
UM, 80% OF THE SPEND IS WITH THIS IS, UH, ONE KIND OF RECURRING THEME THAT YOU'LL SEE THROUGHOUT THE CATEGORIES IS THAT THE MAJORITY OF OUR SPEND IS WITH A SMALL FRACTION OF OUR VENDORS.
UM, SO THIS DOES PRESENT AN OPPORTUNITY THAT WE CAN, UM, WORK WITH THOSE TOP VENDORS TO LEVERAGE BETTER TERMS, BUT ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY TO DIVERSIFY OUR, UH, PORTFOLIO VENDORS THAT WE DO WORK WITH.
UM, SO GOING ON DOWN THE LIST, INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES IS OUR SECOND LARGEST CATEGORY.
AND AGAIN, YOU'LL SEE THE SAME, UH, THEME THROUGHOUT ALL THE CATEGORIES WHERE THE MAJORITY OF THE SPEND IS WITH, UH, MINE, UH, SMALL SHARE OF VENDORS, UM, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CATEGORY IS THE NEXT, AND THEN LOGISTICS AND
[01:55:01]
AUTOMOTIVE AND TRANSPORT, UM, INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT, OPERATIONS, LIFESTYLE AND HUMAN SERVICES AND MEDICAL.AND THEN THERE IS ANOTHER, UH, MISCELLANEOUS CATEGORY, BUT IT'S A DEMIN AMOUNT.
UM, SO THEN IN EACH OF THE FOLLOWING SLIDES, WE'LL HAVE TWO SLIDES PER CATEGORY WHERE WE GO OVER, UM, YOU'LL GET TO SEE KIND OF A BREAKDOWN OF THE DASHBOARD THAT CATEGORIZES THE SPENDING.
UM, BREAKS IT DOWN BY SUBCATEGORY, SHOWS VENDORS, UM, AND THE TOP DEPARTMENTS FOR EACH OF THESE CATEGORIES.
CAN YOU GO INTO THE NEXT SLIDE, JEN? SO, UH, AGAIN, THIS IS THE LARGEST CATEGORY OF FACILITIES IN CONSTRUCTION.
UH, THE $4.4 BILLION NUMBER THAT YOU SEE, SEE IN THE UPPER LEFT CORNER, UH, REPRESENTS A THREE YEAR NUMBER FROM FISCAL YEAR 22 TO FISCAL YEAR 24.
UM, BELOW THAT BOX, JUST TO ORIENT YOU TO THE FORMAT OF THESE SLIDES, BELOW THAT BOX, YOU SEE A BREAKDOWN OF HOW MUCH OF THAT SPENDING IS CONTRACT SPENDING VERSUS NON-CONTRACT SPENDING, AND HOW MUCH SPENDING IS ON A P CARD.
UM, GOING ACROSS THE TOP, YOU'LL SEE THE BREAKDOWN BY FISCAL YEAR AND HOW YOU GET TO THE TOTAL OF THE $4 BILLION OF SPEND.
UM, IT GIVES YOU THE DETAIL OF THE NUMBER OF VENDORS, THE NUMBER OF CONTRACTS, AND THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT HIT THIS CATEGORY OF SPEND, AS WELL AS THE NUMBER OF PURCHASE ORDERS AGAINST, UM, AGAINST THE SPENDING RELATED IN THIS CATEGORY.
SO DROPPING DOWN TO THE BOTTOM SECTION, UM, ON THE LEFT SIDE, YOU'LL SEE THE SUBCATEGORY SPENDING.
UM, AND THIS WILL GIVE YOU, UH, FURTHER DETAIL IN, IN THIS CATEGORY.
AND THEN AN EXAMPLE OF SOME OF THE COMMON GOODS AND SERVICES PURCHASE.
SO YOU CAN KIND OF GET AN IDEA FOR WHAT WE'RE SPENDING THE MAJORITY OF OUR MONEY ON.
MOVING ACROSS THE BOTTOM SIDE, UH, IN THE MIDDLE, YOU'LL SEE THE TOP 10 VENDORS BY SPEND.
AND THIS IS, UM, UH, A SNAPSHOT FROM A DASHBOARD THAT, UM, JED IS GOING TO GIVE US A DEMO OF ONCE WE GET THROUGH THIS SECTION.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO SLICE AND DICE THIS DATA.
UM, SO IN THE TOP 10 VENDORS BY SPEND, YOU SEE IN HERE, UNITED AIRLINES BEING THE TOP ONE.
SO AGAIN, THIS IS, THESE ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE CAPITAL PROJECTS, PRIMARILY INCLUDED IN THIS CATEGORY.
UM, MOVING OVER TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BOTTOM, YOU'LL SEE THE TOP 10 DEPARTMENTS BY SPEND.
AND THIS IS WHERE YOU'LL SEE A LARGE CONCENTRATION BETWEEN PUBLIC WORKS AIRPORT AND GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT, WHICH DOES THE, UM, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT, UH, PROJECTS FOR MOST OF THE DEPARTMENTS AT THE CITY.
THE ONLY THING THAT I WANT TO ADD, AND THIS IS GONNA BE, UH, A PERSPECTIVE THAT THE MAYOR HAS, IS THAT WE ARE, WE ARE MOVING OURSELVES INTO A DES SILOED DATA DRIVEN ORGANIZATION.
I, I THINK THAT WE, WE ESTABLISHED REALLY EARLY ON IN THE, UH, THIS EXERCISE IS THAT THERE'S, THERE'S A TON OF DATA.
CITY HOUSTON PRODUCES A TON OF DATA, AND THEY'VE DONE A GOOD AMOUNT OF WORK IN CENTRALIZING THAT DATA AND MAKING IT AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE.
THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO SHORTAGE OF INFORMATION.
UM, WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT A LOT OF THAT DATA WAS SILOED OFF INTO DEPARTMENTS THEMSELVES.
AND SO THE EXPECTATION THE MAYOR HAS SET IS THAT AS WE DESI, WE'RE ALSO GONNA MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON DATA AND THE EXPECTATION FOR DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS.
AND THIS HAS BEEN MADE CLEAR, IT WAS MADE CLEAR LAST TUESDAY WHEN WE HAD AN ALL DIRECTOR MEETING.
AND WE CONSISTENTLY, UH, AND, AND MELISSA AND HER TEAM ALSO WORK CONSISTENTLY WITH THE DIRECTORS, IS THAT BEFORE YOU COME AND TELL US THAT YOU WANT A, THE CONVERSATION WILL NO LONGER BE, I WANT TO, UH, PUT OUT A, UM, I WANNA PUT OUT A BID, OR I WANT TO GO UNDER CONTRACT WITH THIS VENDOR FOR THIS SERVICE.
THE CONVERSATION IS GOING TO BE, WHAT SERVICE DO YOU NEED? AND LET'S SEE IF WE HAVE EXISTING CONTRACTS IN PLACE AND SEE IF THE SCALE, THE SCALE IS THERE.
UM, AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES THAT WE SAW WHEN WE CAME INTO, UH, WHEN WE CAME INTO OFFICE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HEARD PRETTY CONSISTENTLY FROM DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS IS THAT THE PROCUREMENT CYCLE IS TOO LONG.
AND, AND TO JED'S CREDIT, JED TALKED ABOUT THAT.
AND HIS PROCUREMENT CYCLE AT THE TIME WAS BETWEEN 280 TO 300 DAYS, WHICH IS A LONG TIME FOR ANYBODY.
AND I THINK THE EXAMPLE THAT WE GAVE, UH, DURING THE MAYOR'S REPORT WAS WHERE, IN A WORLD WHERE A POLICE CHIEF OR A FIRE CHIEF ARE LOOKING TO PURCHASE TASERS OR HOSES, THEY CAN'T WAIT 30 DAYS OR 300 DAYS, LET ALONE 30.
AND SO THEY WERE OFF, THEY WERE EMPOWERED TO GO OFF AND GET THEIR OWN CONTRACT OR GO OFF AND DO THEIR OWN ONE-OFF PROCUREMENT THAT DIDN'T CAPITALIZE ON THE ECONOMIES OF SCALE OR THE NEGOTIATED TERMS AND SERVICES THAT WE WOULD GET FROM A BENEFIT OR THAT WE BENEFIT FROM, FROM A CONTRACTING PURPOSE FOR A CONTRACTING PURPOSE.
SO THE, UH, SINCE THEN, JED HAS DONE AN AMAZING JOB OF DECREASING THAT PROCUREMENT CYCLE TIME.
AND WHAT THIS WILL DO IS THIS WILL ALLOW US TO BEGIN TO HAVE THAT MORE CENTRALIZED CONVERSATION OF WHERE DO WE WANT TO PURCHASE THINGS FROM AND IS IT THE BEST FOR US? UM, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS DASHBOARD, I THINK ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BOXES WITHIN THIS DASHBOARD IS IN THE TOP LEFT UNDERNEATH THE BIG NUMBERS, WE SEE CONTRACT, NON-CONTRACT.
AND PCARD NON-CONTRACT IS WHERE WE'RE GOING AFTER FIRST, WE'RE GOING AFTER ALL OF IT.
'CAUSE THERE ARE A TON OF CONTRACTS AND THERE ARE A LOT OF, UH, OVERLAPPING CONTRACTS THAT PROVIDE SERVICES.
NON-CONTRACT SPEND IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS THAT WE HAVE HERE.
[02:00:05]
OKAY, ON THE NEXT SLIDE.SO AGAIN, FOR EACH OF THE CATEGORIES, YOU'LL SEE A SLIDE THAT IS IN THE SAME FORMAT THAT, UH, GOES OVER THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, THE OPPORTUNITIES, THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EACH OF THE CATEGORIES.
AND AGAIN, YOU'LL SEE QUITE A FEW OF THE SAME RECOMMENDATIONS AS A THEME THROUGHOUT THE, THROUGHOUT THE SLIDES.
UM, SO AS STEVEN MENTIONED, FOCUSING ON THE NON-CONTRACT SPEND, THAT'S THE NUMBER ONE BULLET POINT ON THIS SLIDE SO THAT WE CAN, UM, MORE EFFICIENTLY AND BRING THOSE SERVICES IN AND LEVERAGE THE, UM, PRICING THAT WE CAN GET.
UM, AGAIN, I ALREADY TALKED ABOUT MULTIPLE CONTRACTS WITH THE SAME VENDOR.
UM, SO THIS IS HAPPENING NOT NECESSARILY EVEN IN A SINGLE DEPARTMENT.
IT COULD BE, I CAN, UM, GIVE AN EXAMPLE WHERE, UM, PARKS, UM, PUBLIC WORKS AND THE AIRPORT MAYBE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT CONTRACTS WITH THE SAME VENDOR FOR SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME SERVICES.
UM, LEVERAGING BETTER LEVERAGING THAT AND BRINGING THOSE TOGETHER.
UM, ARE WE GONNA NEED NEW SYSTEMS? ARE WE GONNA NEED NEW LIKE TECHNOLOGY AND STUFF TO DO ALL THIS? I MEAN, SO THAT'S PART OF, UM, WHAT ERNST AND YOUNG HAS DONE FOR US IS BUILDING THIS DASHBOARD.
PART OF THE NEXT STEPS IS TRANSITIONING THAT DASHBOARD OVER TO CITY STAFF SO THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN IT, RUN IT.
UM, THEY'RE GOING TO TRAIN US AND TRAIN THE TRAINER ON HOW TO CLEANSE THE DATA, HOW TO WORK WITH THE STAFF, I THINK, IN MY OPINION, ON THE FRONT END BEFORE DATA GETS INTO THE SYSTEM SO IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE, UH, CLEANSED AS MUCH.
UM, AND THEN I ALSO WANNA TALK ABOUT THE ARIBA SYSTEM, WHICH WE HAVE RECENTLY IMPLEMENTED.
THAT GIVES US A LOT OF VISIBILITY INTO, UM, CONTRACTS SPECIFICALLY THAT ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME AND MONEY WITHIN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS.
SO WE DO HAVE A LOT OF, UM, VISIBILITY AND TOOLS IN PLACE AND THINGS COMING IN THE FUTURE AS WELL.
SO, UM, GOING ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, AGAIN, THIS IS THE SAME FORMAT YOU'VE SEEN FOR THE INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.
UM, I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH EACH SLIDE, EACH LINE, BUT THE INFORMATION, NO, I APPRECIATE THE WAY YOU'RE DOING IT NOW.
WE CAN, WHEN WE READ THIS, WE, WE KIND OF HAVE A, A FEEL FOR WHAT IT MEANS, RIGHT? YEAH.
AND THIS IS THE TYPE OF INFORMATION THAT WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO USE, LOOK AT AND DRILL DOWN INTO.
I THINK IT'LL BE A LITTLE BIT MORE EXCITING WHEN WE GET TO THE, TO THE DEMO.
UM, SO THIS IS OUR SECOND HIGHEST CATEGORY, ABOUT 1.1 BILLION IN SPEND OVER A THREE YEAR PERIOD.
AGAIN, LOOKING AT THE CONTRACT, NON-CONTRACT AND PCARD SPEND, UM, FOR THESE AREAS.
UM, I'LL GO ON TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES SLIDE.
UM, IF YOU WANNA GO TWO SLIDES FORWARD, JED, UM, THIS IS A BILLION DOLLARS OF SPEND OVER THE THREE YEAR PERIOD, UM, WITH A, UM, THERE'S A FAIRLY HIGH PERCENTAGE HERE OF NON-CONTRACT SPEND.
SO I THINK THIS REPRESENTS AN AREA WHERE WE CAN, UM, FOCUS ON BRINGING THAT NON-CONTRACT SPEND, UM, IN A LITTLE BIT TIGHTER COMPARED TO THE OTHER CATEGORIES.
SO I'LL MOVE ON TO SLIDE 11, THE LOGISTICS AND AUTOMOTIVE TRANSPORTATION.
STEVEN'S GONNA STOP ME IF I MISS ANY MAJOR POINTS.
UM, BUT THIS ONE YOU'LL SEE A CONCENTRATION WITH THE PUBLIC WORKS, UM, FIRE DEPARTMENT AND AIRPORT DEPARTMENT, UM, PARTICULARLY RELATED AROUND MAINTENANCE OF VEHICLES, UM, AS WELL, UM, AS REPAIRS IN THIS CATEGORY.
UM, GOING ONTO SLIDE 13, THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.
UM, AS YOU WOULD EXPECT, THIS IS, UH, PREDOMINANTLY CONCENTRATED WITH THE HITS DEPARTMENT.
UM, YOU SEE, THIS IS WHERE OUR, UH, COST FOR OUR DATA HOSTING, NETWORKING, UM, COMPUTERS AND ACCESSORIES AND HARDWARE IS, IS IN THIS CATEGORY.
UM, MOVING ON TWO SLIDES DOWN TO MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS, THERE'S ABOUT $448 MILLION OF SPEND OVER THE THREE YEAR PERIOD, UM, PREDOMINANTLY RELATED TO THE, UM, AIRPORT PARKING SERVICES AT THE AIRPORTS APARTMENT.
UM, BUT YOU SEE MORE, UM, DETAIL FOR OTHER, UM, ITEMS IN THAT CATEGORY.
GOING TWO SLIDES FORWARD TO THE LIFESTYLE AND HUMAN SERVICES CATEGORY.
UM, THIS IS PREDOMINANTLY, UM, RELATED TO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
SO AGAIN, THIS IS ALL FUNDING SOURCES, SO NOT JUST GENERAL FUND, NOT JUST ENTERPRISE FUNDS.
UM, IT COULD INCLUDE GRANT FUNDING AS WELL, UM, IS INCLUDED IN THIS DATA GOING TWO MORE SLIDES FORWARD ON THE MEDICAL CATEGORY.
SO WE'RE GETTING, UH, I THINK THIS IS THE LAST OFFICIAL CATEGORY.
UM, YOU SEE THE BREAKDOWN HERE, AGAIN WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT BEING THE, UH, PRIMARY OWNER OF THIS SPENDING IN THIS CATEGORY.
SO I THINK NOW, JED, IF WE COULD GO TO THE DEMO OF, WE'RE ALL VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE DEMO, JED
[02:05:03]
SO THE DEMO IS WHERE WE GET TO, UH, SLICE AND DICE THE DIFFERENT, UM, CATEGORIES AND THE DATA IN THE CATEGORIES THAT WE'VE JUST REVIEWED IN THE, IN THE SLIDES.AND AGAIN, THIS IS GOING TO BE PART OF THE ONGOING WORK THAT WE HAVE, UM, WITH ERNST AND YOUNG TO TRANSITION THE DASHBOARD OVER TO, UM, THE CITY STAFF SO THAT WE CAN, UM, SLICE AND DICE AND, UM, FIGURE OUT WHERE TO FOCUS MOST OF OUR ENERGY.
ALRIGHT, CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME OKAY? YES.
ALRIGHT, SO HERE IS IS THE, THIS IS THE LIVE DASHBOARD.
SO I'LL, I'LL SHOW THROUGH A, A COUPLE OF THINGS HERE, UM, AND THEN, UH, TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
BUT THIS GIVES US THE, I, I'M IN THE CATEGORY HERE.
SO HERE I CAN SELECT ON ONE OF THE EIGHT CATEGORIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
I CAN LOOK AT CONTRACT STATUS HERE.
SO IF I'M WANTING TO LOOK AT CONTRACT SPEND, NON-CONTRACT SPEND, OR PCARD SPEND, I CAN FILTER IT HERE.
I CAN FILTER IT BY FISCAL YEAR.
I CAN FILTER IT BY DEPARTMENT, BY DOCUMENT TYPE.
THAT'S THE PURCHASING DOCUMENT TYPE, WHETHER IT'S A, UH, PURCHASE ORDER, AN EPO, UH, I CAN GO GRANULAR DOWN TO THE NIGP CODE, THAT IS A INDUSTRY CODE ON THE TYPE OF SERVICE COMMODITY OR GOOD, OR I CAN SEARCH BY VENDOR.
SO THAT GIVES ME ALL THE, UM, TOOLS THAT I NEED TO TRY TO DRILL DOWN AND FIND SPECIFIC.
BUT ALSO I CAN TAKE ALL THOSE OFF AS IT IS NOW TO KINDA LOOK AT SOME SUMMARY INFORMATION THAT I'LL SHOW HERE.
SO AS YOU GO FURTHER DOWN, NOW I CAN GET TO SOME SUBCATEGORIES WITHIN THAT CATEGORY OVER ON THE RIGHT, AND IT WILL ALSO TELL ME THE TYPE, UM, SPEND BY CATEGORY HERE ON THE LEFT.
SO THEN I CAN IDENTIFY ANY OF THOSE.
I CAN DRILL DOWN, I CAN LOOK AT THE VENDORS JUST BELOW THAT.
AND IF I HAVE QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THESE PODY, SUNCO, DRC, I CAN DRILL DOWN INTO EACH OF THOSE CATEGORIES OR THOSE, THOSE CONTRACTS TO GET INFORMATION.
SO IF I'M LOOKING AT NON-CONTRACT SPEND AND I WANNA SEE WHERE THAT'S HAPPENING, I CAN FILTER IT HERE AND I CAN DRILL DOWN AND FIND THOSE VENDORS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT SO THAT WE CAN PUT TOGETHER A PLAN THAT SAYS, THESE ARE THE VENDORS, THESE ARE THE TYPES OF CONTRACTS THAT WE NEED TO GO OUT AND PUT TOGETHER AN OVERARCHING MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT WITH REDUCED SPEND IN A NEGOTIATED CONTRACT.
THEN TO START, START TO TALK ABOUT MY VENDOR SPEND CUMULATIVE BY PERCENTAGE.
SO AGAIN, I CAN JUST SEE HOW THAT'S DEMONSTRATED WHERE WE'RE SPENDING OUR DOLLARS.
SO ONE THAT TELLS ME I CAN GO TO THESE VENDORS THAT WE HAVE A HIGH VOLUME OF SPEND TO LOOK FOR ADDITIONAL DISCOUNTS, OR IF WE CAN'T GET THOSE, WE CAN NEGOTIATE ADDITIONAL CONTRACTS TO GET, SPEND FURTHER DOWN THAT, UM, UH, WITH, WITH ADDITIONAL VENDORS AND, AND SHRINK THAT TAIL.
SO IF I NEED TO KNOW WHO I NEED TO LOOK AT, WHO I NEED TO WORK WITH, YOU KNOW, IN A CATEGORY LIKE THIS, OBVIOUSLY PUBLIC WORKS, UH, FLEET MANAGEMENT, FLEET MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT ARE DEPARTMENTS THAT WE WOULD BRING IN AND TALK TO AND COLLABORATE WITH.
THIS REALLY IDENTIFIES, AND I CAN DRILL DOWN INTO EACH OF THOSE DEPARTMENTS TO SEE WHAT KIND OF SPEND WITHIN THIS CATEGORY THEY'RE DOING.
AND THEN I CAN GO FURTHER DOWN INTO THE, THE PURCHASE DOCUMENT TYPE, RIGHT? SO THIS IS WHERE I CAN REALLY START TO SEE, OKAY, WHERE ARE THE, WHERE ARE THE PURCHASE ORDERS? ARE THE EMERGENCY PURCHASE ORDERS HAPPENING? WHAT KIND OF, UM, CATEGORIES IS THAT HAPPENING IN? AND, AND AS MELISSA TALKED ABOUT, WHERE CAN I PUT PRE-POSITION CONTRACTS TOGETHER OR WHERE CAN I PUT IN ON-CALL CONTRACTS THAT DEPARTMENTS CAN UTILIZE TO REDUCE THAT EMERGENCY SPEND? WHERE WE'RE GETTING, WHERE WE'RE PAYING, ESSENTIALLY WHATEVER THE VENDOR IS OFFERING US AT THE MOMENT.
AND THEN THE ONE TIME PURCHASE ORDER, THIS IS HELPFUL FOR ME TO LOOK AT AND SAY, IF, IF I'M PURCHASING VEHICLES, THOSE ARE CLASSIFIED RIGHT NOW TODAY, AS WE DO IT IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, AS ONE TIME PURCHASES, MEANING WE, WE, AND WE TYPICALLY GO TO A COOPERATIVE.
WE LOOK AT THE VEHICLES THAT WE NEED, WE CUT A PO, WE TAKE IT TO COUNCIL, AND WE GET THOSE VEHICLES IN, IN A, IN A NEW CATEGORY APPROACH MANAGEMENT, UM, APPLICATION.
WE WOULD LOOK AT THIS AND SAY, HERE ARE THE VENDORS WITHIN THIS CATEGORY OF VEHICLE PURCHASES THAT ARE CURRENTLY TODAY BY ONE TIME.
SO LET'S DEALERSHIP X THAT SELLS US OUR SEDANS.
WE COULD GO TO THOSE COOPERATIVE CONTRACTS, WE CAN MEET WITH THOSE WHO WE HAVE HIGH VOLUME WITH, AND WE CAN BEGIN TO NEGOTIATE SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE NOT DONE IN THE PAST WHERE WE HAVE SAID, LET'S PUT MULTI-YEAR CONTRACTS TOGETHER AND DRIVE DOWN THE COST EVEN FURTHER BY UNIT.
AND SO WHEN I LOOK AT THOSE ONE-TIME PURCHASING COSTS, THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA HELP ME TO GET TO SAVINGS, IS TO REDUCE THE
[02:10:01]
NUMBER OF ONE-OFFS BY PUTTING THEM IN MULTI-YEAR, THAT ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES THE RESOURCES THAT I'LL NEED IN THE VOLUME OF PROCUREMENTS THAT WE'RE DOING.SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT, UH, THE VOLUME THAT WE DO IN SPD COMPARED TO BENCHMARKED, UM, THROUGH THIS STUDY, WE ARE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN THE VOLUME THAT WE DO.
AND, AND THE RESULT OF THAT MEANS WE BECOME MORE TRANSACTIONAL THAN STRATEGIC, WHERE THIS BRINGS US BACK TO BEING MORE STRATEGIC, WHERE WE CAN LOOK AT ALL OF THAT SPEND IN THOSE CATEGORIES AND WE CAN PUT THEM IN THOSE MULTI-YEAR NEGOTIATED CONTRACTS.
AND THEN, AS I MENTIONED, YOU CAN GO FURTHER DOWN INTO NIGP CODES, IF I WANNA LOOK AT SPECIFIC GRANULAR, UH, ITEMS, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, BAGS AND LINERS, PHARMACEUTICALS.
UM, SO THOSE FILTERS WILL THEN CHANGE.
UH, I MEAN, AS YOU CHANGE THOSE FILTERS, YOU'LL GET DIFFERENT DATA THAT HELP ME TO DRIVE WHAT I NEED TO LOOK AT.
SO I'LL HAVE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO GO WITHIN EACH CATEGORY, GO WITHIN EACH CONTRACT TYPE AND FILTER DOWN AND FIND THAT INFORMATION SO THAT I CAN WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE DEPARTMENTS AND WHAT THEY REALLY NEED SO THAT WE CAN, UM, PRODUCE SAVINGS AND MORE EFFICIENCIES.
ANY QUESTION? I FEEL LIKE I'M IN A BUSINESS SCHOOL CLASS LEARNING ABOUT HOW TO DO PROCUREMENT, RIGHT?
SO EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY CONTRACT AND NON-CONTRACT SPEND IS IN THERE.
HOW MANY THINGS OF, YOU KNOW, CLEANER WE BUY? THAT'S IT.
AND WHAT I'LL TELL YOU IS THAT ONE OF THE, THE LABORS, I THOUGHT THAT WAS STILL THE WORK TO BE DONE.
NO, THE WORK TO BE DONE IS TO, IS THE RENEGOTIATION OF THESE CONTRACTS IS TO, TO ACTUALLY RENEGOTIATE.
SO, SO AT THE VERY BOTTOM WHERE JED HIGHLIGHTED NIGP CODES, SO THAT IS THE EXCEPTIONALLY SPECIFIC FEDERAL DESIGNATION OF A CODE THAT THEY PROVIDE SERVICES.
SO I THINK THE ONE THAT WE SAW WERE BAGS AND LINERS.
IT GETS THAT SPECIFIC, THAT IS A-N-I-G-P CODE.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO, UH, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF EY IS WE'RE GOING TO GO AND PULL ALL OF THE CONTRACTS THAT HIT INDIVIDUAL NIGP CODES.
WE'RE GOING TO GROUP THEM ALL EFFECTIVELY, SIT THEM DOWN AND RENEGOTIATE AND SAY, YOU CHARGE US $10 FOR THIS AND $15 AND $10 AND $9 AND $8.
AND WE'RE GOING TO SAY, GIVE US YOUR BEST AND FINAL OFFER.
WE'RE GONNA RENEGOTIATE IT AND MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WHOEVER'S GONNA GET THAT CONTRACT HAS THE ECONOMIES OF SCALE.
SO IT'S ONE THING TO PROVIDE BAGS AND LINERS FOR, YOU KNOW, THE DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS.
IT'S ANOTHER THING TO PROVIDE IT FOR 22 DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SO IF YOU CAN DO THAT, THEN WE WANNA SCALE YOU UP INTO A MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT.
AND THE MORE YEARS THAT YOU PUT, THE MORE WILLING THEY ARE TO GO DOWN ON COST BECAUSE IT'S JUST PRICE CERTAINTY FOR THEM MOVING FORWARD.
UM, AND SO WE'RE GONNA DO THAT FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL THING THAT WE CONTRACT FOR, WHICH IS WHY I'D SAY THAT WE HAVE, CLEARLY WE HAVE THE SKILLS AND ON STAFF TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT TYPE OF STUFF.
WHAT WE DON'T HAVE IS ENOUGH PEOPLE AND ENOUGH TIME.
AND SO WHAT THEY'RE GONNA HELP US DO IS BRUTE FORCE THIS ENTIRE THING.
IT IS EXCEPTIONALLY DETAILED AND VERY COMP NOT HARD, BUT, UH, IT, IT'S EXCEPTIONALLY DETAILED AND IT TAKES THE TIME.
AND JUST FOR A CLARIFICATION, THIS IS THE SPEND DASHBOARD.
WE HAVE A VERSION OF THIS ON THE OTHER SIDE, NOT RELATED TO THIS OBVIOUSLY, UH, BUT, UM, FOR FORENSIC ACCOUNTING.
AND SO THE FORENSIC ACCOUNTING DASHBOARD, INSTEAD OF LOOKING FOR AREAS WHERE WE'RE SPENDING MONEY, IT LOOKS FOR, UH, ALL OF THESE TYPES OF TRANSACTIONS THAT SORT OF RAISE A RED FLAG OF, AH, THIS COULD BE A LITTLE SHADY, WE'RE GONNA GO INVESTIGATE IT.
AND SO JED HAS VIEWPOINTS INTO BOTH OF THESE DASHBOARDS.
UM, THE DEPARTMENTS ARE ALL GOING TO HAVE ACCESS TO THIS.
NOT EVERYBODY HAS ACCESS TO THE FORENSIC ACCOUNTING DASHBOARD, BUT THIS TYPE OF TOOL IS THE EXACT SAME THING WE'RE DOING TO BOTH MANAGE OUR SPEND AS WELL AS HOLD ALL OF OUR SPEND ACCOUNTABLE TO MAKING SURE WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING ILLICIT OR ILLEGAL.
I CERTAINLY HAVE A MUCH BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.
WHAT, WHAT, UM, I KNOW YOU'RE GONNA COME BACK TO US WITH A CONTRACT FOR EY.
WHEN IS THAT COMING? HOW LONG IS THIS WHOLE THING GONNA TAKE? WHEN DO WE START SEEING SAVINGS? SURE.
UM, JED, IF YOU COULD GO BACK TO THE SLIDE DECK.
SO IT'S A FEW SLIDES ON, BUT WE'RE PLANNING, PLANNING TO BRING THE CONTRACT BY THE END OF THIS MONTH, UM, MARCH, 2025.
AND IT'S GOING TO DO A COUPLE OF THINGS.
UM, THE PIECE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS THE CONTINUED SUPPORT, MONITORING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CATEGORY MANAGEMENT.
SO THE COST ESTIMATE ON THAT ONE IS ABOUT $4 MILLION, UM, TO, TO GET THIS MOVING.
AND AS WE TALKED ABOUT WHEN THE INITIAL REPORT WAS ROLLED OUT, IT'S GOING TO MORE THAN PAY FOR ITSELF, RIGHT? SO THAT'S THE COST TO IMPLEMENT, UM, BASED ON EY, WHAT THEY SEE WHEN OTHER, UM, JURISDICTIONS HAVE IMPLEMENTED THIS, THEY SEE ANYWHERE BETWEEN FIVE TO 15% OF SAVINGS BY DOING THE CATEGORY MANAGEMENT.
UM, SO WE ANTICIPATE THAT IT WILL, UH, PAY FOR ITSELF BY THE TIME IT'S IMPLEMENTED.
AND JUST FOR THE PURPOSES OF BEING ABLE TO
[02:15:01]
DESCRIBE THE WAY IN WHICH WE RECEIVED THIS ESTIMATE, SO WE NEGOTIATED WITH, UH, ERNST AND YOUNG THROUGH A PRE-NEGOTIATED CONTRACT, THINK LIKE DIR OMNIA, THESE CO-OPS THAT WE DO.SO, UM, WE ACTUALLY CONTRACTED WITH THEM THROUGH A CO-OP.
AND WHAT WE HAVE ASKED THEM TO DO IS ESTIMATE THE NUMBER OF HOURS THAT THEY BELIEVE IT WOULD TAKE TO DO A SPEND AN HOUR OR A SPEND IMPLEMENTATION LIKE WHAT WE'RE ASKING 'EM TO DO.
AND THEY THINK IT'S GONNA BE ANYWHERE BETWEEN 12 TO 15,000 HOURS OF WORK.
AND WHAT WE'VE ASKED THEM TO DO IS FRONT LOAD THE WORK, UH, EARLY ON TO BE ABLE TO PRICE OUT THE COST SAVINGS AS RAPIDLY AS POSSIBLE.
SO TO YOUR POINT, IT'S ONE THING TO GO GET THE SAVINGS, IT'S ANOTHER THING.
DO I UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH SAVINGS IS ON THE PLATE? WE'VE GIVEN YOU ALL WIDE RANGES OF FIVE TO 15%.
WE WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO NARROW IT DOWN BECAUSE MELISSA AND HER TEAM HAVE TO BE ABLE TO BAKE IN WHAT WE CAN EXPECT TO SEE THROUGH REALIZED SAVINGS IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
DON'T FORGET, WE CAN BUDGET IF WE EXPECT SAVINGS SEVEN MONTHS WITHIN OUR NEXT FISCAL YEAR, WE CAN BUDGET FOR THAT AS WE PASS THE BUDGET, BUT WE JUST NEED TO BE CERTAIN OF THAT FUNDING AND WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN CREATE AN ARTICULATED AND RATIONALIZED PATH TO THAT SAVINGS WITHIN THE FISCAL YEAR.
SO WE'LL HAVE AN IDEA AT BUDGET TIME AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
YEAH, AS QUICKLY THAT, THAT'LL BE THE FIRST THING THEY DO.
THAT'S EXACTLY THE FIRST THING THAT THEY'RE GONNA DO.
THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF THAT'S GONNA GO INTO IT.
THEY'RE GONNA CREATE A PROCESS FOR SPEND MANAGEMENT IN ITSELF WHERE WE CREATE, UM, LITTLE COMMITTEES OF FOLKS WHO ARE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE.
SO THINK LIKE A PERSON WHO'S REALLY GOOD AT PURCHASING, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY EQUIPMENT.
THEY'RE GONNA SIT ON THIS AND ANY TIME A PUBLIC SAFETY CONTRACT COMES UP, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT GET CONSULTED FOR IT.
SO THERE'S GONNA BE A WHOLE PROCESS THAT'S VERY STANDARD IN CORPORATE AMERICA FOR SPEND MANAGEMENT IN ITSELF AND CATEGORY MANAGEMENT.
BUT WHAT WE WANT THEM TO DO UPFRONT IS TO BE ABLE TO PRICE IT OUT AND 12 TO 15,000 HOURS.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE THERE, ARE WE LOOKING AT A YEAR ENGAGEMENT OR 12 MONTHS? 12 MONTHS.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM MY COLLEAGUES OR DO YOU, UH, A YEAR, A YEAR ENGAGEMENT? YEAH.
UM, JED, COULD YOU FLIP TO THE SLIDE WITH THE, THE YELLOW ARROWS AND THE, THE BREAKDOWN BY MONTH SLIDE 25? YEAH.
SO, UM, THIS GIVES THE OVERVIEW OF THE 12 MONTH PERIOD AND WHAT, UM, WHICH DIFFERENT WORK STREAMS AND DELIVERABLES ARE GONNA BE HAPPENING IN THAT 12 MONTH PERIOD.
UM, IF I COULD, I KNOW WE'RE, WE'RE RUNNING LONG ON TIME, BUT IF I COULD GO BACK A FEW SLIDES, I JUST WANNA GO OVER SOME OTHER NEXT STEPS THAT ARE RELATED WITH IMPLEMENTING CATEGORY MANAGEMENT.
UM, SO PART OF WHAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE IS CONSOLIDATE THE INFORMAL PROCUREMENT ACROSS THE CITY TO SPD, WHICH SHOULD BE COMPLETE BY, UH, THE BEGINNING OF NEXT MONTH.
UM, AND IN THAT, THAT WILL ALLOW US TO BETTER CONTROL THE CITYWIDE MONITORING OF THE SMALL PURCHASES AND THE NON-CONTRACT SPENDING IN ADDITION TO OBVIOUSLY OUR DASHBOARD AND, UM, TECHNOLOGY TOOLS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE LEVERAGING.
UM, WE'VE ALSO, UM, WE'RE LOOKING TO INCREASE TRANSPARENCY THROUGH SMALL PROCUREMENT SOLICITATIONS WITH OUR EBI PORTAL.
UM, WE'VE BEEN PROACTIVELY WORKING WITH DEPARTMENTS AND KEY AREAS WHERE EPOS ARE THE MOST PREVALENT, WHICH AGAIN, WE HAVE MORE INSIGHT INTO.
UM, IT'S KIND OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE THOUGHT PROCESS OF YOU, YOU CAN'T, UM, ATTACK A PROBLEM UNLESS YOU CAN SEE THE PROBLEM THAT YOU HAVE.
SO, UM, A LOT OF THESE, UM, THE DASHBOARDS, THE SLICING AND DICING THAT EY HAS ALLOWED US TO DO WILL ALLOW US TO FOCUS OUR ENERGY ON WHERE WE COULD GET THE MOST IMPACT.
UM, WE DO WANNA WORK WITH PRE-POSITIONING, PRE-POSITIONING, AND DOING ON-CALL CONTRACTS AS WE, AS WE'VE MENTIONED.
UM, THE NEXT PHASE OF CONSOLIDATION, NOW THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO FINALIZE THE INFORMAL PROCUREMENT CONSOLIDATION IS GOING TO BE CONSOLIDATING THE PUBLIC WORKS CONSTRUCTION PROCUREMENT TO BRING THAT UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF THE FINANCE AND THE SPD, UM, DIVISION WITHIN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
AND THAT'S EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
UM, WE'VE ALSO REVISED THE PCARD POLICY THAT WAS DONE LAST DECEMBER, UM, TO, UH, SOME HIGHLIGHTS THERE.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME THINGS THAT MAYBE DON'T HAPPEN SO FREQUENTLY, BUT OBVIOUSLY NEED TO BE ADDRESSED IN THE POLICY.
UM, YOU CAN'T USE A PCARD TO PAY ON ZELLE OR PAYPAL, WHICH KIND OF HIDES WHAT YOU'RE SPENDING THE MONEY ON.
UM, SO THAT'S IN THE POLICY NOW AS WELL AS, UM, UH, SOME OTHER UPDATES AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN THROUGH THE REORGANIZATION OF SPD, UM, IN ADDITION WITH THESE CONSOLIDATIONS IS TO IDENTIFY SPECIFIC DEDICATED CATEGORY MANAGERS FOR EACH OF THE CATEGORY, UM, CATEGORIES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED BY ERNST AND YOUNG.
UM, THAT WILL, UH, ALLOW US TO FOCUS OUR ENERGY BY CATEGORY AND BETTER SUPPORT THOSE CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, I DID WANNA SHARE ANOTHER, UM, DASHBOARD, UM, NOT RELATED TO ERNST AND YOUNG, BUT DEFINITELY RELATED TO PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACT MONITORING.
UM, SO THIS INFORMATION COMES FROM OUR ARIBA CONTRACT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, WHICH WAS ROLLED OUT, UM, RELATIVELY RECENTLY.
I WANNA FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION ON THE THREE GRAPHICS ON THE RIGHT SIDE.
UM, THIS GIVES US THE TOTAL ACTIVE NUMBER OF CONTRACTS ALWAYS, OR CONTRACTS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SO WE HAVE ABOUT 2300 ACTIVE CONTRACTS OF THOSE.
THIS DASHBOARD IS GONNA GIVE US A SNAPSHOT OF WHICH
[02:20:01]
ONES ARE EXPIRING WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR SO THAT WE CAN FOCUS OUR ENERGY ON EITHER RENEWING OR REPLACING THOSE CONTRACTS FOR THOSE SERVICES AS OPPOSED TO COMING TO COUNCIL WITH EMERGENCY ITEMS CONSTANTLY.SO YOU CAN SEE BASED ON THIS, WE CAN MONITOR THAT THERE'S 900 CONTRACTS EXPIRING WITHIN THE YEAR, AND THEN THE BOTTOM, UH, GRAPHIC TELLS YOU, UH, WHICH CONTRACTS HAVE A REMAINING VALUE OF LESS THAN 25%.
SO THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER INDICATION, OR MAYBE WE'RE NOT RUNNING OUT ON TIME, BUT WE COULD BE RUNNING OUT ON MONEY.
UM, SO THIS WAY WE CAN DRILL DOWN AND WORK WITH THOSE INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS, UH, TO, UM, REFRESH AND RENEW THESE AS NEEDED.
UM, JUST ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, WE HAVE ALSO, UM, DONE SOME THINGS TO BRING IN SOME MORE REVENUE FOR THE CITY, INCLUDING, UM, BRINGING IN REVENUE FOR CONTRACT REBATES.
UH, WE'RE DOING THE LEVERAGING OF THE COOPERATIVE CONTRACTING, WHICH WE'RE, UM, IDENTIFYING REBATES FROM, UH, THOSE, UH, CO-OPS AS WELL.
AND THEN THERE'S SOMETHING CALLED A LEAD AGENCY OPPORTUNITY WITH CO-OPS WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE GO OUT TO THESE CO-OPS, UH, DAR OMNIA, AND WE USE THAT CONTRACT, WELL, THESE CO-OPS WILL, UM, ACTUALLY PAY AN ENTITY LIKE THE CITY OF HOUSTON FOR BEING THE LEAD AGENCY ON THOSE CONTRACTS.
SO IF WE PUT OUT AN RFP, WE NEGOTIATE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, WE NEGOTIATE THE CONTRACT, AND THEN THAT CONTRACT BECOMES THE CONTRACT ON A CO-OP THAT CO-OP WILL WILL PAY US.
UM, SO, SO FAR WE HAVE, UM, EIGHT OF THOSE IN PROCESS WITH TWO ADDITIONAL THAT WE'RE WORKING ON, AND WE'RE ESTIMATING THAT WE'LL BRING IN ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS OF REVENUE.
SO WE'VE NEVER DONE THAT BEFORE, NEVER DONE THAT BEFORE.
UM, AND I KNOW, UM, THE AMAZON CONTRACT, UH, JUST RECENTLY CAME TO COUNCIL OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, SO WE'RE ABLE TO, UM, UM, BRING IN MORE DISCOUNTS, FREE SHIPPING, NO ANNUAL FEE, AND YOU CAN SEE WE CAN DO REBATE LAYERING OR WE GET REBATE FROM OUR P CARD AMAZON REBATE, AND THEN THE, THE CO-OP REBATE, UM, AS WELL.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE ALREADY STARTED ON, AND I KNOW WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE NEXT STEPS WITH THE EY TEAM.
UM, BUT ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, IT JUST GOES INTO MORE DETAIL ON THAT.
THE, THE ONE THING THAT I WANNA HIGHLIGHT FOR Y'ALL, AND THIS IS JUST AN UPCOMING ACTIVITY THAT Y'ALL CAN EXPECT.
SO, UH, WITHIN THIS MONTH WE'LL BE BRINGING BACK, UH, TWO THINGS.
ONE IS THE CONTINUED SUPPORT AND MONITORING, WHICH WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT FOR $4 MILLION, WHICH WAS GONNA COME.
UH, IT'S GONNA EY DOING THE SPEND IMPLEMENTATION.
WE ARE ALSO GOING TO AMEND THE ORIGINAL AWARD, UH, AWARD.
UM, AND THAT'S GOING TO BE FOR TWO THINGS.
ONE IS FOR, UH, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS FOR $290,000.
THEY'RE BRINGING IN EY TO HELP DO SORT OF, UH, SOME QUICK SHOT STUFF, UH, THAT THEY NEED AS WELL.
UM, THAT'S, UH, PART OF THE, WHAT WE FOUND DURING THIS ANALYSIS.
ADDITIONALLY, THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE UTILIZED, UH, ERNST AND YOUNG TO ACTUALLY DO THE ENTERPRISE, UH, RISK ASSESSMENT THAT WAS JUST PRESENTED TODAY.
THEY DID THAT OVER, UH, THE CHANGE OF THE YEAR FROM CALENDAR 24 TO CALENDAR 25.
UH, SO THAT IS DONE, THE DELIVERABLE HAS BEEN COMPLETED, AND, UH, THAT'S GOING TO BE THE $98,000 A LABLE TO THE, UH, CONTROLLER'S OFFICE.
GOING ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THAT IS JUST THE YELLOW, UH, YELLOW ARROWS WITH THE NEXT STEPS FOR THE, FOR THE 12 MONTH PERIOD FOR ERNST AND YOUNG, LIKE WE, LIKE WE JUST MENTIONED.
AND, AND THE ONLY THING I'LL ADD TO THAT IS YOU'LL SEE IT'S BROKEN OUT, STRATEGIC SOURCING, CATEGORY MANAGEMENT, PROCUREMENT PERFORMANCE, AND SPEND ANALYTICS.
THE POINT HERE IS THAT WE ARE WALKING AND CHEWING GUM AT THE SAME TIME.
WHILE SPEND IS IMPORTANT, WE ARE ALSO EXPECTING A REORGANIZATION OF ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS.
WE ARE DOING A REVAMP OF ALL PERFORMANCE METRICS.
SO WE ARE DOING ALL OF THESE THINGS ALL AT ONCE, THE PRIORITY AND WHERE WE THINK WE NEED THE BIGGEST LIFT ASSIST FROM ERDS AND YOUNG IS SPEND, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE DOING THAT NOW.
ANY QUESTIONS? COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN.
UM, YOU MENTIONED, UM, WE TALKED ABOUT THE SPIT ANALYSIS THAT, UM, ARTS AND YOUNG IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO.
WHAT ABOUT THE ASSESSMENT OF THE S THAT HAVE MM-HMM
THAT'S ALREADY GONE THROUGH? WHERE, WHAT'S THE TIMELINE ON THAT LOOK? SO I'M EXPECTING TO BE REVIEWING, I'M EXPECTING TO REVIEW THE DRAFT FINAL, UH, NEXT WEEK.
UM, WHAT I CAN TELL YOU SOME SORT OF HIGHLIGHTS, OR HIGHLIGHTS JUST FOR FUN IS, UH, WE, UH, TWO THINGS.
ONE IS THAT WE ARE GOING TO EXPECT, AND WE'VE CONVEYED THIS TO ALL OF OUR HERS, THAT WHERE YOU SAW THOSE CATEGORY MANAGEMENT CATEGORIES, UM, THET WILL BE ADOPTING OUR LEVEL OF GL CODING.
UM, THE REASON WHY THAT'S IMPORTANT IS BECAUSE IT ALLOWS FOR COMPARATIVE ANALYTICS.
AND THAT LEADS TO THE POINT, THIS IS SORT OF THE HIGH LEVEL, IS THAT THERE ARE 1200 VENDORS WHO CONTRACT WITH T ACROSS THE CITY OF HOUSTON, ALL THE 28 T 300 OF THEM ALREADY HAVE CONTRACTS WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON, UH, WHICH AGAIN, IS AN ECONOMIES OF SCALE RENEGOTIATION THAT WE'D WANT TO TALK ABOUT.
[02:25:01]
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN.AND, UM, LOOKING AT MY DISJOINTED NOTES, I HAD SOMETHING ELSE.
UM, I CAN'T FIND WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR.
SO JUST, UH, TO RECAP, IF THERE'S ONE THING THAT YOU WANT THE PUBLIC TO TAKE AWAY FROM ALL OF THIS, WHAT IS THE TAKEAWAY IN YOUR WORDS? I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING HERE IS THAT THIS IS THE FIRST AND LARGEST EFFORT OF ANY MAJOR MUNICIPALITY ACROSS THE US TO COMPREHENSIVELY AND METHODICALLY LOOK AT THE WAY IN WHICH THEY CONDUCT PERFORMANCE, SPEND ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENTS AND FORENSIC ACCOUNTING, AND COME AWAY WITH A SET OF FINDINGS THAT WE ARE RELEASING PUBLICLY.
THAT'S THE THING THAT I THINK ALL OF Y'ALL ARE KEENLY AWARE OF, RIGHT? WE DON'T ALWAYS RELEASE THESE REPORTS WHEN IT MAKES US LOOK BAD.
UM, BUT WE'RE VIEWING THIS AND WE CHOOSE TO CONTINUE TO VIEW THIS AS, UM, IMMENSE AMOUNTS OF OPPORTUNITY.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE FOUND, WE DID, UH, WITH THIS ANALYSIS, WE DID ROUGHLY 12,000 SURVEYS OF MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, UH, THAT INCLUDES CLASSIFIED AND NON-CLASSIFIED.
AND OVERWHELMINGLY WHAT WE HEARD FROM THEM WAS, UH, DOUG GUYS, WE KNOW THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR A WHILE.
AND SO THIS HAS BEEN A, A COMMON REOCCURRING THEME THAT STAFF KNEW ABOUT THAT JUST NEVER MATRICULATED UP.
AND SO, UM, I'LL TELL YOU, I'LL SPEAK FROM MY, MY PRIVATE SIDE EXPERIENCE COMING FROM KPMG AND THEN ACCENTURE, UH, IS THAT THE, UH, WE USUALLY AND ROUTINELY FIND THAT FRONTLINE STAFF KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THE PROBLEMS ARE AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE SOLVED.
THE CHALLENGE IS THAT THEIR ANECDOTE IS, IT'S DIFFICULT TO BACK THAT UP WITH DATA, AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IUY DID.
I DON'T THINK ANYBODY IS, UM, I DON'T THINK THAT ANYBODY IS, UH, MISINFORMED ON THE FACT THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST CLEAR DATA-DRIVEN EXERCISES I THINK I'VE EVER SEEN.
UM, AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE OUTCOME OF IT, BUT I THINK THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO FRAME IT THAT WAY.
BUT I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE SINGLE BIGGEST OPPORTUNITIES THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS GONNA HAVE REGARDLESS OF A BUDGET GAP.
I MEAN, WE'RE DOING THIS BECAUSE WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO CLOSE A $340 MILLION BUDGET GAP.
BUT IF WE TAKE THAT AWAY, THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS EVER DONE.
I FEEL LIKE WE'RE IN A NEW ERA OF SOPHISTICATION AS FAR AS PROCUREMENT AND, AND CONTRACT LOOKING AT.
WE DO HAVE SOME PUBLIC SPEAKERS ON THIS ISSUE, OUR ONE AND ONLY DOUG SMITH UP FIRST.
MR. SMITH, THANK YOU SMITH FOR WAITING SO LONG.
THANK YOU TO ALL MY COLLEAGUES FOR HANGING OUT AND STAFF.
THIS IS SUPER EXCITING AND IMPORTANT AND HOPEFULLY WILL LEAD TO BIG SAVINGS THAT WE CAN MAYBE GIVE BARK A LITTLE MORE MONEY ONE DAY.
THIS IS KIND OF LIKE THE, UH, OPEN, OPEN PROCUREMENT, UH, SIMILAR TO THE OPEN CHECKBOOK THAT WAS IMPLEMENTED NOT TOO LONG AGO, UH, RELATED TO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED TODAY.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, I GUESS ON THE SALES TAX, THE, WHAT, $26 MILLION.
UH, BASICALLY WHAT HAPPENED WAS OUR SALES TAX REVENUE HAS BEEN OVER REPORTED FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS.
SO IT'D BE INTERESTING TO JUST LOOK AT THE, WHAT WE REPORTED VERSUS WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN, UH, REPORT ON THAT.
SECONDLY, REGARDING TO BARK, UH, A LOT OF BAD THINGS WERE SAID ABOUT BARK TODAY AND HOW BAD THAT OPERATION IS, BUT IF THE NUMBERS CAN BE TRUSTED, IF YOU LOOK AT THE, UH, RESCUE RATE, THE AMOUNT OF DOGS THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO GET ADOPTED COMPARED TO THE OTHER CITIES, UH, THEY'RE, I THINK THEY SAID 81% AND IT'S THE THIRD HIGHEST OF ALL OF THE CITIES THAT WERE IN THAT LIST.
AND THE PER CAPITA INCOME OR, UH, UH, CHARGE TO FOR THE CITY WAS THE LOWEST OF ANY CITIES.
SO THEY'VE DONE A GREAT JOB IN THAT REGARD, AND THAT WAS NOT MENTIONED AT ALL IN THE MEETING.
AND FINALLY, THE REAL REASON I CAME TODAY WAS REGARDING SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT.
I RAISED THE QUESTION LAST WEEK ABOUT REVENUE, UH, RECYCLING REVENUE.
UH, AND IN ONE OF THE REPORTS, UH, THE DETAILED REPORTS, IT SHOWED REVENUE OF, UH, CURRENT REVENUES FOR THE, UH, PROJECTION OF $190 MILLION.
AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, I THINK THERE IS A REAL QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER RECYCLING NEEDS TO BE CONTINUED.
UH, WE HAVE DROP-OFF CENTERS WHERE PEOPLE, IF THEY WANT TO DO RECYCLING, CAN DO IT, BUT WE HAVE A REAL PROBLEM IN SOLID WASTE, UH, GETTING ANYTHING ELSE DONE ON TIME.
AND I THINK IT REALLY NEEDS TO BE TAKEN A LOOK AT TO SEE WHAT ARE WE GETTING VERSUS WHAT IS IT COSTING.
[02:30:01]
UH, REGARDING, UH, WE HAVE A BIMONTHLY, UH, PICKUP OF HEAVY TRASH.AND, UH, THE CITY HAS A POLICY THAT, UH, THEY WOULD PICK UP, I THINK EIGHT CUBIC YARDS OF TRASH, AND THEY ARE NOT PAYING ANY ATTENTION TO THAT AT ALL.
UH, YOU CAN CUT DOWN AN 80 FOOT TREE AND PILE IT ON YOUR FRONT YARD AND THEY'LL PICK IT UP.
SO I THINK YOU NEED TO BE LOOKING AT THAT AND ENFORCING THE RULE, OR, UH, YOU'RE JUST GONNA CONTINUE TO HAVE PROBLEMS IN THAT REGARD.
ALICE, ARE YOU ONLINE? FELIX KAPOOR.
HI, CAN YOU HEAR ME? OH, WAIT, THERE'S THAT.
UM, HI EVERYONE, MY NAME IS ALICE.
I'M HERE TODAY SPEAKING, UM, ONCE AGAIN AS A REPRESENTATIVE AND MEMBER OF THE NORTHEAST ACTION COLLECTIVE.
UM, MY COMMENTS TODAY ARE REGARDING THE AD VALOREM DRAINAGE TRANSFER, AS WELL AS THE HIRING FREEZE THAT WAS IMPLEMENTED LAST MONDAY.
UM, AS THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE HAS SAID, THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT HAS ISSUED A FINAL RULING, UH, WHICH THE CITY HAS APPEALED TWICE AND HAS ALREADY DELAYED BY ONE YEAR.
UM, YET AS WE ENTERED THE BUDGET PROCESS, THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND CITY COUNSELORS HAVE TOLD US THAT THEY'VE BEEN LEFT IN THE DARK AS TO THE STATUS OF THE RULING AND THE NEGOTIATIONS.
THEY LACK UNCERTAINTY ABOUT WHEN THIS TRANSFER WILL HAPPEN, AND TO WHAT EXTENT THE CITY WILL COMPLY WITH THE RULING.
AND I'M AT A LOSS AS TO WHY THE ADMINISTRATION CONTINUES TO DEFY THE LAW, UH, AFTER SEVERAL UNSUCCESSFUL, UH, APPEALS AND NEGOTIATION ATTEMPTS.
UM, SO MY QUESTION IS WHY, UH, TO WHAT END IS THE CITY STILL NEGOTIATING WITH THE PLAINTIFFS AND WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF THESE NEGOTIATIONS? IS IT ABOUT THE TIMING OF TRANSFER OR THE AMOUNT OF TRANSFER? UM, FURTHERMORE, I WANTED TO ADDRESS THE HIRING FREEZE THAT WAS IMPLEMENTED LAST MONDAY, UH, WHICH WILL MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR PUBLIC WORKS TO ACTUALLY SPEND, UH, SPEND DOWN THE MONEY, UM, THAT IS TRANSFERRED IF THE TRANSFER DOES HAPPEN.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, THE HIRING FREEZE DOES EXEMPT POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS, BUT IT DOES NOT EXEMPT PUBLIC WORKS.
UM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER AL ALCO, YOU JUST SPOKE ABOUT, UH, THE GOAL OF THIS EY STUDY AS, UH, PROVIDING A LEVEL OF PRECISION AND SOPHISTICATION FOR HOW THE CITY IS, UM, ATTEMPTING TO CUT DOWN COSTS.
UM, IN MY OPINION, A BLANKET HIRING FREEZE IS AN EXTREMELY BLUNT TOOL TO USE.
UH, IT HAS ALREADY PREVENTED COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM, UM, SPENDING DOWN THEIR BUDGET FROM THIS YEAR, AND ALSO MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR PUBLIC WORKS TO, UH, EFFECTIVELY PLAN THEIR BUDGET AND, UM, AND, UH, EXPAND STAFF FOR NEXT YEAR, ESPECIALLY IF THIS TRANSFER DOES HAPPEN.
UM, SO, UH, MY QUESTION FOR THE EY, UH, TEAM HERE IS, UM, HOW THIS HIRING FREEZE IS IN LINE WITH THE PRINCIPLES AND THE VISION OF, UH, THIS EFFICIENCY STUDY OVER.
NOTED THE QUESTION, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS.
COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, GOOD TO SEE YOU AS WELL, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF.
UM, I GUESS, UH, ON ALICE'S COMMENT, IF THE EY TEAM IS STILL HERE, WHICH I DON'T KNOW IF THEY ARE, WOULD THEY BE ABLE TO ANSWER IT RIGHT NOW? UH, THERE'S NO ONE FROM EY HERE TODAY THAT I KNOW OF, BUT WE WILL GET AN ANSWER.
WE HAVE, WE HAVE THAT, THAT QUESTION.
AND WE'LL WORK WITH, UM, THE DEPUTY, UH, DIRECTOR TO, TO GET THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO GET AN ANSWER.
UM, JUST WANTED TO COMMENT ON THE AVALOR TAX DIVERSION.
UM, THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAVE SPOKEN TWICE.
WE NEED OUR DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE.
IT UPGRADED VIA THE AVALOR TAX TO HELP IN MITIGATING THE DAMAGES CAUSED BY SEVERE FLOODING.
NOW THAT THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT HAS RULED TO SEIZE THE DIVERSION OF THE AVALOR TAX, UM, TRANSFERRING THE FULL 11.80 CENTS, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY 100 MILLION IS NOW MANDATORY.
RIGHT NOW, DEPARTMENTS AND PERSONNEL WITHIN THE CITY NEED TO KNOW WHEN AND HOW MUCH MONEY WILL BE COMING IN ORDER TO APPROPRIATELY PLAN FOR THE BUDGET.
THE CITY CANNOT TRANSFER ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO PUBLIC WORKS WITHOUT, UH, LIFTING THE HIRING FREEZE IMPOSED BY THE ADMINISTRATION, WHICH DOESN'T REALLY COMPUTE OR CONNECT.
UM, NOT LIFTING THE HIRING FREEZE FOR PUBLIC WORKS OR ANY OTHER DEPARTMENT FOR THAT MATTER, COULD LEAD TO INCREASED DELAYS, LOSS OF ADDITIONAL STAFF, UM, OR
[02:35:01]
LOSS OF CURRENT STAFF.AND HAVING STAGNANT FUNDS DELAYING THE FULL TRANSFER WILL JUST EXACERBATE THIS ISSUE.
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, KEEP HOUSTONIANS WAITING FOR REALLY CRITICAL, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES.
AND I, I DO BELIEVE THE DIRECTOR TOLD US TODAY, UM, AS WE ARE PREPARING THE BUDGET, WE WILL GET A BETTER IDEA ABOUT THAT TRANSFER OF FUNDS FOR AD VALOR.
SO I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS.
I AGREE WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING, WHAT'S GOING TO PUBLIC WORKS, AND, AND ON THE, THE STAFFING SIDE WILL GET YOU AN ANSWER.
I DO THINK THAT THERE'LL BE A, A CONSIDERABLE CONTRACTING TOO, UM, WITH ADDITIONAL FUNDS.
DO YOU SEE ALLEGRA? NO, DON'T SEE HER ON OR ASHLEY LAMBERT? NO.
THIS WAS A LONG MEETING, I APOLOGIZE.
UM, BUT I THINK WE GOT A LOT OF GREAT WORK DONE TODAY.
AND OUR NEXT, UH, REGULARLY SCHEDULED BFA MEETING WILL BE TUESDAY, APRIL 1ST AT 10:00 AM NO FOOLING APRIL 1ST,