[Houston Forensic Science Center: Board of Directors Meeting on March 14, 2025.]
[00:00:20]
UM, WE'D LIKE TO START WITH A ROLL CALL.MADAME SECRETARY, WOULD YOU PLEASE DO THE ROLL CALL? YES, MADAM VICE CHAIR.
CHAIRWOMAN COHEN, VICE CHAIR BAIRD.
DIRECTOR SILVERMAN PRESENT, DIRECTOR CORRALES.
UH, PRESENT DIRECTOR, YOU, UH, HERE, DIRECTOR ZA, DIRECTOR HUFF HERE, AND DIRECTOR GU HERE.
AND I BELIEVE THAT CONCLUDES THE ROLL CALL.
UM, LET'S PROCEED TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH IS THE VICE-CHAIRS REPORT.
I'M, UH, TAKING THE PLACE OF ELLEN COONE TODAY, WHO UNFORTUNATELY WAS ABLE, UNABLE TO ATTEND.
SO I GET TO DO THE HONORS OF, UH, DOING A LITTLE REPORT AND IS KIND OF BRIEF, BUT IT'S REALLY AWESOME BECAUSE I GET TO CELEBRATE DR. PETER STOUT, UH OH,
AND, UM, IT IS HIS 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY AT HOUSTON FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER.
UH, HE JOINED IN FEBRUARY OF 2015 AS CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, AND THEN MOVED INTO THE ROLE OF CEO.
UM, HE HAS BEEN SUCH A VISIONARY LEADER, AS YOU KNOW, THAT THERE WERE SOME ROUGH SPOTS, UH, YEARS AGO.
AND PETER HAS REALLY LED AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OVER THOSE ROUGH SPOTS.
AND WE ARE NOW ONE OF THE PREMIER, UH, FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTERS IN THE COUNTRY AND EVEN HAVE A REPUTATION GLOBALLY.
UM, ONE OF THE, THE THINGS I REALLY LIKE ABOUT PETER ARE YOUR BOLD AND INNOVATIVE IDEAS.
YOU'RE ALWAYS PUSHING THE, THE ENVELOPE.
AND I DON'T KNOW, ARE WE EVER ON THE BLEEDING END? EITHER THAT OR IT'S JUST CALLED LIKE BREAK STUFF.
UM, BUT ONE OF THE, THE BREAKTHROUGHS I THINK THAT REALLY IS IMPORTANT TO MENTION IS THE BLIND TESTING PROGRAM.
WE HAVE, UH, OTHER FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTERS THAT COME HERE TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING, AND WE'RE FORTUNATE TO HAVE JACKIE MORALE AS OUR LEADER IN THAT AREA.
BUT IT REALLY IS SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE SO PROUD OF.
AND I KNOW THAT YOU'VE WORKED HARD ON IT TO TRY AND KEEP EVERYTHING AS ABOVE BOARD AND STRAIGHTFORWARD AS POSSIBLE, AND IT'S GOING TO HAVE A LASTING IMPACT.
AND WE'RE SO GRATEFUL FOR THAT.
AND, UM, WE JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW HOW MUCH WE APPRECIATE YOU AND CONGRATULATE YOU, AND REALLY ON BEHALF OF ALL THE CITIZENS OF HOUSTON, WE'RE FORTUNATE TO HAVE YOU IN THIS ROLE.
SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I GOT HERE EARLY, BY THE WAY, REAL EARLY BECAUSE I BROUGHT A LITTLE GIFT THINKING THAT I COULD HIDE IT BEFORE HE CAME IN.
SO I, I CAME IN WITH THIS BAG AND IT WAS KIND OF HARD TO CONCEAL THAT, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING WAS GOING ON.
SO TA A LITTLE CARD, OOH, CHOCOLATE.
AND IT'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF CHOCOLATE
SO NOW YOU'LL HAVE SOMETHING TO, UH, DISTRACT PEOPLE WITH IN THE EVENT THAT YOU NEED TO DO THAT.
JUST WHAT EVERYBODY NEEDS ME HOPPED UP ON SUGAR AND CAFFEINE.
SO THAT WILL BE YOUR LITTLE CENTERPIECE FOR TODAY.
BUT ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD, WE THANK YOU VERY MUCH, THIS LITTLE CARD, AND THANK YOU, BOY, THAT IS ONE OF THE MOST FUN THINGS I'VE EVER GOTTEN TO DO.
UH, NOW IT'S TIME FOR, UH, UH, THE PUBLIC COMMENT.
AT THIS TIME, WE'LL OPEN THE FLOOR FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
INVITE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT WISH TO SPEAK TO COME TO THE PODIUM AND ADDRESS THE BOARD.
WE ASK ALL SPEAKERS TO SIGN IN AT THE FRONT OF THE ROOM SO WE'RE AWARE OF YOUR PRESENCE AND THAT ALL COMMENTS BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES.
WE HAVE A TIMER OVER HERE, AND NATALIE WILL GET YOU IF YOU GO OVER THREE MINUTES.
UM, YOU MAY SPEAK ON ANY MATTER CONCERNING THE BOARD AND HFSC.
AND AT THIS TIME, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY THAT WOULD WISH TO COME FORWARD AND SPEAK? OKAY.
HEARING NONE, UH, WE, UM, HAVE NOBODY THAT SIGNED UP AND DIDN'T, AND NO ONE TO STEP FORWARD.
SO IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY SPEAKERS, WE'LL MOVE FORWARD, UH, TO THE NEXT SECTION.
AND THE PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, PERIOD WILL CLOSE AT THIS TIME.
[00:05:01]
TO THE, UH, APPROVAL OF THE BOARD MINUTES.WE'LL CONSIDER THE BOARD MINUTES FROM JANUARY 10TH, 2025, UH, MEETING.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS TO THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED? HEARING NONE? UM, WE'D LIKE TO, UH, UH, CONDUCT A VOICE VOTE.
MAY I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE THE MOTION? THANK YOU.
WE HAVE, UM, THE MOTION BY, UH, JED SILVERMAN AND FROM, UM, DIRECTOR CORRALES MOVED AND SECONDED.
ANY DISCUSSION, PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MICS AT THIS TIME FOR THE VOICE VOTE.
MOTION CARRIES, UH, UNANIMOUSLY.
NOW WE'LL MOVE TO THE PRESIDENT'S CEO'S REPORT.
DR, WE'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU, PLEASE.
WELL, THIS IS VERY KIND AND OH, YEAH, I'M NOT SURE ANYBODY ELSE IS GETTING ANY OF THIS CHOCOLATE.
SO
I, THIS 10 YEARS UNQUESTIONABLY HARDEST THING I'VE EVER TRIED TO DO PROFESSIONALLY, BUT ALSO THIS HAS TO BE THE MOST GRATIFYING THING I'VE EVER TRIED TO, TRIED TO DO.
I REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S SUPPORT, APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
UM, I THINK MOST OF YOU KNOW, MY, MY BACKGROUND AND MY UNFORTUNATELY VIOLENT CHILDHOOD AND UPBRINGING, UM, SO TO BE A PERSON WHO HAS LIVED ON THE POINTY END OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND ITS CONSEQUENCES TO BE ALLOWED, THE POSSIBILITY TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS REALLY, REALLY GRATIFYING.
WHAT, WHAT AN AMAZING JOURNEY I, FOR ANYBODY THAT DOESN'T KNOW, THEY SHOULD GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO DR. STOUT AND HOW YOU COME OUT ON THE OTHER SIDE.
AND WE GREW UP IN, OR I WORKED IN THE JEFFERSON COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, WHICH WAS HIS NEIGHBORHOOD AS A KID IN DENVER.
SO BIGGEST PART FOR TODAY IS THE BUDGET.
UM, IN OUR FOUNDATION DOCUMENTS, WE ARE, ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE THE CITY A BUDGET BY MARCH.
SO THAT IS THE MAIN THING THAT WE ARE, UH, CONSIDERING TODAY.
I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A LITTLE SUMMARY OF STUFF AND SOME OF THE WHY BEHIND THINGS.
DAVID WILL BE ON TO TALK ABOUT THE, THE, THE HOW'S AND THE DETAILS.
AND HE PROVIDED YOU A REALLY DETAILED BUDGET PRESENTATION EARLIER.
SO HOPEFULLY THAT ANSWERED MOST OF YOUR QUESTIONS, OR AT LEAST GAVE YOU THE INFORMATION TO BE ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS.
UM, HE'LL BE ONLINE DOING THAT.
UH, SO IF, IF YOU'VE GOT QUESTIONS, DON'T HESITATE IT JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE NAVIGATING SO THAT DAVID CAN ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.
BUT I WILL START IN THIS, AND I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TRYING TO MOVE AWAY FROM THE WORD BACKLOG, BUT I ALSO GET THAT 30 DAY BACKLOG THING IS GOING TO BE THERE.
IT HAS BECOME AN INGRAINED PART OF FORENSIC CULTURE.
BUT JUST LOOKING AT THAT FROM LAST YEAR, IF YOU LOOK AT THE FAR LEFT PRESENTATION, THE GRAPH THERE, THE ONE ABOUT FORENSIC BIOLOGY, YOU CAN SEE, REMEMBER LAST BUDGET, WE, UM, PUT IN QUITE A BIT OF MONEY, $2 MILLION TOWARDS FORENSIC BIOLOGY TO STRETCH OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS OF HOW WE BALANCE OUTSOURCING AND ADDING PERSONNEL AND FORENSIC BIOLOGY AND
IT'S ALWAYS KIND OF NICE TO SEE IN GRAPHS, A REALLY SHARP INFLECTION POINT OF WHEN THE MONEY SHOWED UP AND WHEN IT STARTS SEEING IMPROVEMENT.
BUT BASICALLY RIGHT THERE, WHERE THE GRAPH STARTS GOING DOWN IS WHERE THAT MONEY KICKED IN.
THEY'RE MAKING REALLY GOOD PROGRESS ON STUFF.
UH, WE STILL HAVE A WAYS TO GO, BUT IF THE PLAN IS WORKING THANKS TO AMY AND HER TEAM IN FORENSIC BIOLOGY, UM, BUT IT'S, IT'S GETTING THERE.
I THINK ALSO ONE TO POINT OUT THERE IS WE HAVE HAD, HMM, AT LEAST A YEAR, PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT MORE.
WE, WE HAVE NOT HAD ANY SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS OVER THE STATE MANDATED 90 DAYS.
UM, SO YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BEEN CURRENT ON SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS FOR QUITE SOME TIME NOW, WHICH IS
YOU GOTTA POINT OUT, I MEAN, YOU THINK ABOUT WHERE WE WERE AT 10 YEARS AGO, UH, AND EVEN SLIGHTLY BEFORE THAT.
I MEAN, THAT IS A PRETTY HISTORIC SHIFT THERE.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT SEIZE DRUGS, WHICH IS OUR SINGLE LARGEST BACKLOG, UM, THEY HAVE MADE SOME PROGRESS THERE THAT HAS BEEN IN PART WITH A LOT OF WORK WITH THE DA'S OFFICE ABOUT HOW WE BETTER MAKE THE REQUESTS BETTER, UNDERSTAND THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE THERE.
UM, WE HAVE ACTUALLY, THEY'RE SITTING IN THE BACK RIGHT NOW, SO I GET TO EMBARRASS THEM A LITTLE BIT.
[00:10:01]
ACTUALLY, COULD YOU COME UP HERE AND INTRODUCE THEM PLEASE? SO WE'VE GOT OUR THREE TRAINEES WHO ARE GETTING CLOSE TO GETTING SIGNED OFF.UM, IF YOU WOULD PLEASE JAMES, INTRODUCE HIM.
I'M MANAGER OF THE SEAS DRUG SECTION AT HFSC.
AND JOINING ME TODAY ARE THREE OF OUR ANALYST TRAINEES.
UM, THERE ARE THREE NEWEST ADDITIONS TO THIS SECTION.
WE HAVE TWO TRAINEES CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF BEING AUTHORIZED TO PERFORM CASE WORK.
SO WE EXPECT THEM TO, AS WE SAY, COME ON THE BENCH, UM, VERY SHORTLY.
AND JOINING ME TODAY IS ASHLEY, NADINE AND NICOLE, UM, TWO SAM HOUSTON GRADS AND ONE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON DOWNTOWN GRAD.
SO WELL REPRESENTED HERE FOR SAM HOUSTON, DR.
AND SO WE'RE EXPECTING THAT THEY'LL BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THEIR TRAINING WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR.
I KNOW DR. STOUT HAS TALKED ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANT TIMELINE FOR ALL OF OUR DISCIPLINES TO COMPLETE TRAINING OF NEW ANALYSTS.
UM, BUT THESE THREE, UM, TRAINEES HAVE BEEN WITH US, UH, FOR A YEAR NOW.
THEY ARE COMPLETING ALL THE PRELIMINARY WORK.
THEY'VE RECEIVED THEIR LICENSE, UM, FROM TFSC TO BE DRUG ANALYSTS IN THE STATE.
AND SO NOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD TO THE LAST PORTION, GETTING THEM IN THE LAB, TRAINED ON ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES SO THAT THEY CAN BEGIN WORKING ON THAT BACKLOG.
AND I KNOW YOU CAN YELL AT ME LATER FOR MAKING YOU COME UP AND DO THAT IMPROMPTU, BUT IT IS, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THE BUDGET.
WE REALLY DON'T ADD MONEY THIS YEAR IN SEAS DRUGS BECAUSE WE KNOW THEY'RE COMING ONLINE AND AT THE WORK THAT WE ARE DOING RIGHT NOW, WE EXPECT TO SEE IMPROVEMENTS CHANGES OVER THIS COMING YEAR BECAUSE OF THAT.
I WILL PUT ONE BIG ASTERISK ON THAT, THAT, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT IT AT THE END.
SB THREE AND WHAT THE LEGISLATURE DOES WITH HEMP, THC MARIJUANA PRODUCTS COULD HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.
I REALLY CAN'T PREDICT WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
SO THE LAST GRAPH THERE IS FIREARMS. AND I WILL SAY FIREARMS IS PROBABLY THE PAIN POINT FOR THE SYSTEM.
UM, MOST OF WHAT THE COURTS CURRENTLY ARE TRYING TO TRY OR VIOLENT CRIME AGAINST PERSON AND HOW PEOPLE GET HOLES POKED IN THEM IS USUALLY WITH A GUN.
SO FIREARMS IS A CENTRAL PIECE OF EVIDENCE THAT THE SYSTEM NEEDS.
AND FIREARMS IS ALSO PROBABLY THE SINGLE BIGGEST PAIN POINT IN LABORATORIES ACROSS THE ENTIRE COUNTRY.
WE ARE AT THE SAME PLACE THAT I TALK WITH LABS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
UM, EVERYBODY IS STRUGGLING TO KEEP UP WITH SIMPLY COURT PRIORITIES, WHICH HOMICIDE WITH A GUN GOES FIRST, WHO IS WHOSE CASE IS COMING UP NEXT, AND CAN WE EVEN MEET THAT POINT.
SO REALLY THE FACT THAT FIREARMS HAS STAYED BASICALLY EVEN ACROSS THIS LAST YEAR IS PRETTY REMARKABLE AND HAS BEEN THE RESULT OF AN AWFUL LOT OF WORK OF OUR FOLKS WITH THE DA'S OFFICE AND WITH HPD TRYING TO BALANCE THE WORK AS BEST WE CAN.
KNOWING THAT WE'VE GOT FIVE AN, WE'VE GOT FIVE NEW EXAMINERS IN TRAINING, THEY ARE PROBABLY AT LEAST A YEAR OUT.
UM, THIS IS A VERY LONG TRAINING ARC AND IT IS GOING TO BE A PAIN POINT FOR QUITE SOME TIME YET.
SO WITH THAT, I'D ALSO PUT IN, I TOSSED IN THERE.
SO THESE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALL OF THOSE DATA THAT ARE AT THE BACK OF THE REPORT.
UM, I PULLED THE ONE FOR FIREARMS EXAMINATIONS UP JUST TO HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF THINGS ON IT.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE FAR RIGHT SIDE, THE GREEN NUMBERS, THE 25 AND THE 34, REMEMBER WE'VE TALKED ABOUT HOW LONG IT TAKES FOR A FIREARMS EXAM.
IT'S PROBABLY SOMEWHERE BETWEEN ABOUT 70 LABOR HOURS TO MAYBE UPWARDS OF 300 LABOR HOURS FOR ANA, TYPICAL CASE.
SO WE EXPECT AN EFFICIENTLY HANDLED FIREARMS EXAM TO TAKE ABOUT 20 TO 30 DAYS.
WHEN WE'VE GOT AN ANALYST AVAILABLE TO DO IT, IT'S MOVING THROUGH AS WE EXPECT.
WE JUST SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH EXAMINERS.
NOBODY IN THE COUNTRY HAS ENOUGH EXAMINERS TO KEEP UP WITH THE DEMAND THAT'S COMING IN THE DOOR.
IT, IT JUST, THERE'S NOT MUCH OF ANY WAY AROUND THAT.
AND I OFTEN GET ASKED, YOU KNOW, CANIS OR OTHER EQUIPMENT HELP.
HOWEVER, NOBODY HAS THE CAPACITY TO DEAL WITH THE VALIDATION IMPLEMENTATION AND GETTING THAT STUFF INTO OPERATION.
WE HAVE THOSE 3D SCOPES AND THAT IS GOING TO BE A VALIDATION EFFORT ACROSS THE NEXT YEAR TO STACK ON TOP OF SIMPLY TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THE CASEWORK.
SO THAT MEANS, AND THIS IS, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND, 'CAUSE I, I FULLY APPRECIATE AND UNDERSTAND
[00:15:01]
THE CITY'S CHALLENGES WITH BUDGET.THE BEST WE CAN DO IS HELP PROVIDE THE CITY THE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THE RISKS ARE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO MANAGE.
AND THEN ALL OF US TRY AND MAKE THE BEST CHOICES WE CAN ABOUT WHAT RISKS WE'RE GONNA TRY AND ADDRESS THIS YEAR, AND WHAT RISKS WE THINK WE CAN AT LEAST BITE OUR TIME FOR ANOTHER YEAR.
BUT IN THAT LIST OF RISKS, KIND OF IN THIS OR ORDER, AND THIS IS BEYOND JUST SIMPLY TREADING WATER AND TRYING NOT TO DROWN FIREARMS CLEARLY TOPS THAT LIST.
I THINK, UH, NEXT IN THERE IS PROBABLY SOME VERSION OF PLANNING FOR TOXICOLOGY.
I, I EXPECT WITH THIS NEW DISTRICT ATTORNEY WHO IS VERY FAMILIAR WITH VEHICULAR CRIMES AND DRIVING UNDER THE, UH, INFLUENCE OF DRUGS AND ALCOHOL, WE SHOULD HAVE A MIND FOR, IT'S, IT'S, IT IS REASONABLE TO EXPECT A CHANGE IN THE MIXTURE OF WHAT THAT KIND OF WORK LOOKS LIKE FOR US.
TOXICOLOGY RIGHT NOW CAN KEEP UP, BUT IF THE NUMBER OF CASES COMING IN CHANGES WE'RE RAPIDLY GOING TO LOSE GROUND.
AND IF THE COMPLEXITY OF THE WORK CHANGES WE'RE RAPIDLY GONNA LOSE GROUND.
AND WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ALSO ABOUT THE KIND OF NATIONAL DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFT THAT THE YOUNGER THE DRIVER IS, THE LESS LIKELY THEY ARE TO BE DRUNK.
AND THE MORE LIKELY THEY ARE TO BE DRUGGED, THE MORE LIKELY THEY ARE TO BE MULTIPLY DRUGGED, WHICH IS MORE COMPLICATED TESTING, MORE COMPLICATED INTERDICTION, MORE COMPLICATED PROSECUTION AND DEFENSE.
EVERYTHING ABOUT THOSE CASES IS MORE COMPLICATED.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE KIND OF NEED TO HAVE AN EYE TOWARDS NOT GETTING OURSELVES IN A HOLE IN TOXICOLOGY I GET.
AND YES, WE NEED TO FOCUS AS MANY RESOURCES AS WE CAN ON THE EXAMINER AND ANALYST AT THE BENCH.
HOWEVER, WE ALSO HAVE SUPPORT SERVICES TO KEEP THOSE ANALYSTS AND EXAMINERS AT THE BENCH THAT WE CAN'T LOSE SIGHT OF.
SO REMEMBER FOR US, R AND D IS THE GROUP THAT MANAGES OUR LABORATORY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, WHICH IS OUR CORE SYSTEM.
THEY ARE THE ONES THAT ARE AT THE TIP OF THE SPEAR FOR THE NEW RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AT HPD, WHICH WILL HAVE PROFOUND IMPACTS ACROSS THE SYSTEM.
LEGAL, WHO DO A FANTASTIC JOB, THANK YOU, YASMINE, OF ALL THINGS BUSINESS.
BUT ALSO OUR LEGAL SECTION IS INTRICATELY INVOLVED WITH OUR WORK PRODUCT.
THEY ARE OFTEN DEALING WITH RUNNING INTERFERENCE FOR OUR ANALYSTS AT THE COURT.
UH, AND THAT'S NOT SLOWING DOWN ANYTIME SOON.
LEGAL IS ALSO THE, BASICALLY THE BIG HINGE FOR DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT, WHICH WITH THE STATE DISCOVERY PORTAL PROBABLY, IF NOT COMING ONLINE THIS NEXT YEAR, CERTAINLY MAKING A LOT OF PROGRESS THIS NEXT YEAR.
THAT'S GONNA MEAN A LOT OF DEMANDS FOR LEGAL.
UM, CLIENT SERVICES, SAME THING.
A LOT OF THAT DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT, A LOT OF ANY, ANY KIND OF INCREASE IN THE EVIDENCE HANDLING IS GONNA COME THROUGH CLIENT SERVICES.
IT, WE HAVE SOME IT SECURITY RISKS BECAUSE WE HAVE AGING EQUIPMENT THAT WE NEED TO REPLACE.
WE TOOK A PASS ON THAT LAST YEAR MAKING ME NERVOUS 'CAUSE WE'VE GOT SWITCHES AND ROUTERS THAT WE NEED TO REPLACE.
UM, FACILITIES IN HR WITH THE SHIFT OF PROPERTY AND PROBABLY TAKING ON ANOTHER FACILITY SOMEWHERE IN THE NEXT YEAR OR TWO.
OUR FACILITIES COMPLICATION EXPANSE, WE WERE ALREADY EXPANDING THE FOOTPRINT IN 500.
MARIO, UH, DOES A FANTASTIC JOB.
EVERYONE LOVES MARIO, BUT THERE IS ONLY ONE MARIO TO TAKE CARE OF ALL OF OUR FACILITY THINGS.
UM, AND THEN HR, CLEARLY WE ARE GOING TO BE HAVING A LOT OF CHANGES IN STAFFING OVER THE NEXT YEAR.
I MENTIONED THE IT SECURITY THINGS AND THEN WE HAVE TALKED FOR, LET'S SEE, HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN HERE? 10 YEARS.
SO WE HAVE TALKED FOR AT LEAST 11 YEARS ABOUT THE FACT THAT CSU IS JUST NOT EVEN KIND OF, SORT OF CLOSELY, POSSIBLY REMOTELY SCALED TO MEET THE CHALLENGE THAT WE'VE GOT.
WE'VE GOT, UH, I WAS JUST ACTUALLY WATCHING A PRESENTATION THAT CORINA WAS DOING FOR, UM, THE, UH, AMERICAN SOCIETY CRIME LAB DIRECTORS ON THE MATTERPORT STUFF THAT WAS IN THE NEWSLETTER.
AND THAT LAST YEAR WE RESPONDED TO 371 SCENES AND ANOTHER 500 VEHICLES ON TOP OF THAT WITH 33 PEOPLE.
AND THAT'S JUST THE HOMICIDES, THE CHILD DEATHS, THE AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS THAT AREN'T GONNA BE AN AGGRAVATED ASSAULT MUCH LONGER 'CAUSE THE PERSON'S GONNA DIE.
AND OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS, WE RESPONDED TO 36 OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS.
I MEAN THESE, THE, THE SCALE AT WHICH THAT GROUP IS RESPONDING TO FOR EVEN WHAT THEY CAN IS DISPROPORTIONATE.
AND WE DO NOT MAKE AS MUCH AS WE SHOULD.
SO THAT'S WHAT'S BUILT INTO THE BUDGET IS TRYING TO MOD, IS TRYING TO MANAGE THOSE RISKS.
SO WE PUT TOGETHER THE BUDGET WITH FOUR OPTIONS.
THE ONE THAT YOU WILL CONSIDER TODAY IS OPTION FOUR.
[00:20:01]
UNDERSTAND LIKE PAST YEARS AS WE DISCUSS, ONCE WE SEND THIS TO THE CITY, THERE'S A VERY REAL CONVERSATION WITH THE CITY ABOUT WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.I FULLY APPRECIATE, FULLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE CITY HAS SOME VERY REAL FINANCIAL THINGS THAT THEY HAVE TO THINK THROUGH AND THEY'VE GOT DECISIONS TO MAKE THAT INVOLVE MORE THAN JUST US.
I DON'T ENVY THEM ANY OF THOSE CHOICES.
BUT THOSE FOUR OPTIONS GO FROM THE DIMINISH DE MINIMUS.
IF WE'RE BELOW THAT NUMBER, BAD STUFF HAPPENS, PLEASE DON'T GO THERE.
BUT THAT IS ABOUT A 9% INCREASE IN 2.7 MILLION.
UM, IF WE ARE BELOW THAT, LIKE I SAY, BAD STUFF'S GONNA START HAPPENING BELOW THAT.
BUT THIS IS BASICALLY TO MEET THOSE ESSENTIAL SERVICES, KEEP US TREADING WATER AND MEET NEW, NEW LEASE OBLIGATIONS.
THE NEXT STEP FROM THAT IS MEET THOSE MINIMUM NEEDS AND ADD MORE EXAMINERS IN FIREARMS. SO THAT IS ABOUT A 10% INCREASE AND 3.2 MILLION.
SO WITH THAT, UM, WE WILL BE ABLE TO START ADDRESSING THINGS IN FIREARMS. KEEP IN MIND, OKAY, WE ADD THREE NEW EXAMINERS, BUT THEY'RE TWO YEARS OUT FROM REALLY BEING IN PRODUCTION.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S NOT GOING TO NECESSARILY MAKE THAT MUCH IMPACT THIS NEXT YEAR.
IT'S SETS US UP TO NOT LOSE GROUND EXPONENTIALLY AFTER THAT.
NEXT LAYER UP FROM THAT IS ALL OF THOSE IT SECURITY NEEDS.
THE SUPPORT SERVICE NEEDS, THE STUFF TO HELP KEEP OUR EXAMINERS ON THE BENCH, PLUS THE MINIMUM STUFF PLUS MORE IN FIREARMS. AND THAT IS ABOUT A 15% INCREASE OR 4.7 MILLION.
AND THEN THE LAST OPTION IS ALL OF THE ABOVE PLUS AN EXPANSION IN CSU.
IS IT ENOUGH OF AN EXPANSION IN CSU? NO, KEEP IN MIND, AND I'VE SAID THIS FOR YEARS, OUR CSU PROBABLY NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF ABOUT A 150.
UM, INVESTIGATORS WE'RE AT 33.
THERE IS NO EARTHLY POSSIBLE WAY TO GO FROM 33 TO 150 IN A YEAR.
THERE IS NO EARTHLY POSSIBLE WAY TO GO FROM 33 TO 150 IN PROBABLY FIVE TO EIGHT YEARS.
IT'S GONNA TAKE A SLOW YEAR OVER YEAR INCREMENT INCREASE TO GET THERE.
AND SO JUST TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE, 'CAUSE LIKE I SAY, WHAT WE CAN DO IS EXPLAIN THE RISKS AND THEN HARD DECISIONS HAVE TO GET MADE.
IF WE DON'T HAVE AT LEAST THE MINIMUM FUNDING, BAD STUFF HAPPENS.
BACKLOGS WILL EXPAND DRAMATICALLY.
WE PROBABLY WILL RUN OUT OF CASH BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.
IF WE DON'T FUND, AT LEAST AT THE FIREARMS LEVEL FIREARMS BACKLOG.
WE'VE DONE WHAT WE CAN TO TRY AND KEEP IT FLAT.
IF WE DON'T START ADDING PEOPLE AND START ADDING RESOURCES THERE, FIREARM BACKLOG IS GOING TO GO UP AND GOING TO GO UP A LOT.
AND THAT PROBABLY IS GONNA MEAN BECAUSE OF THE PRESSURE AROUND THAT, WE ARE GONNA HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE BALANCE RESOURCES ELSEWHERE IN ORDER TO NOT HAVE US GET TOO BEAT UP OVER FIREARMS. IF WE DON'T FUND, AT LEAST AT THE THIRD LEVEL OPTION, WE CONTINUE TO HAVE IT SECURITY RISKS BECAUSE WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO REPLACE THE EQUIPMENT THAT WE NEED TO.
UM, WE'RE GONNA WEAR HOLES IN ALL OF OUR SUPPORT SERVICES 'CAUSE THAT DEMAND'S STILL GONNA BE THERE AND IT'S GONNA BE ROUGH ON 'EM.
AND THEN IF WE DON'T FUND CSU, I MEAN WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO
CORINA AND HER TEAM, I'M AMAZED AT HOW THEY GET UP EVERY MORNING AND COME IN TO STEP OVER YET ANOTHER BODY, BUT IT'S TAKEN A TOLL ON THEM.
IT STARTING TO TRY AND GET SOME RELIEF IN THERE.
UH, WOULD, WOULD BE VERY WELCOME.
SO THOSE ARE KIND OF THE, THE, THAT'S KIND OF THE LIST OF RISKS.
ANY QUESTIONS? SO LIKE I SAY, DAVID WILL COVER SOME OF THE DETAILS OF THE BUDGET, BUT I JUST, I'M, I'M LAYING OUT THE, THE, THE WHYS.
SO THE, UM, YOU'RE BUILDING UP 1, 2, 3, 4.
SO THOSE ARE YOUR PRIORITIES THEN? CORRECT.
SO ON TO A COUPLE OTHER THINGS JUST SO TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE AWARE ON THE NEXT TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION MEETING TFSC MEETING, WE, WE WILL HAVE TWO SELF DISCLOSURES.
UH, THE FIRST ONE, I I, I'M NOT TERRIBLY WORRIED ABOUT EITHER ONE OF THESE, BUT YOU KNOW, THE, THESE ARE, WE DIS WE SELF DISCLOSE BASICALLY AT ANY POINT WHERE THERE IS
[00:25:01]
OBVIOUSLY NEGLIGENCE, MISCONDUCT OR ANYTHING THAT EVEN SMELLS REMOTELY CLOSE TO THAT.BUT ANYTHING THAT AFFECTS THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCLUSION ON A REPORT IS OUR THRESHOLD WHERE WE START THINKING ABOUT, WE'RE GONNA DISCLOSE, SELF-DISCLOSE TO TFSC.
UM, SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE BEEN, I THINK A FEW OF YOU WERE AROUND THE LAST TIME WE DID THIS, BUT YEAH, WE UPLOADED A BLIND, UH, QC PROFILE.
ACTUALLY I THINK WE UPLOADED TWO BLIND QC PROFILES TO CODIS AGAIN.
WE'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT.
UH, WE THOUGHT WE HAD ALL OF THE SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE TO NOT DO IT THE LAST TIME WE DID THIS, BUT WE DID IT AGAIN.
AND JACKIE'S ALREADY BEEN WORKING WITH THE GROUP ABOUT HOW WE IMPROVE THOSE SAFEGUARDS.
UM, I WILL OF COURSE TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SUGGEST TO THE FBI IF THEY WERE TO WORK WITH US MORE ON THIS AND ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT BLIND TESTING THROUGH CODIS AS WE SHOULD AS A NATION.
THIS WOULDN'T BE AN ISSUE, BUT I HAVEN'T WON THAT ARGUMENT YET.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT ONE? ALRIGHT, THEN THE SECOND ONE IS A CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR TRAINEE, UM, WASN'T GOING THE GREATEST IN HIS TRAINING, BUT THERE AT THE END, THE ISSUE THAT REALLY WAS THE END OF EVERYTHING.
HE GOT AWAY FROM CLEAR INSTRUCTION TO HAVE SUPERVISED OVERSIGHT AND DIRECT SUPERVISED.
I MEAN, WHEN WE, WHEN WE SAY DIRECT SUPERVISED OVERSIGHT IN CRIME SCENE, THAT MEANS ARMS LENGTH.
SO HE GOT AWAY DOWN TO THE BASEMENT, PROCESSED A MAGAZINE IN A CASE FOR LATENTS WITHOUT HIS TRAINER THERE.
SO, UH, YEAH, WE, WE TERMINATED HIS EMPLOYMENT A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO AND WE WILL DISCLOSE THAT TO TFSC.
UH, THERE'S ONE CASE THAT CLEARLY WAS AFFECTED.
I THINK HE WAS PRESENT ON THE SCENE AT 44 OTHER CASES.
WE'VE GOT LISTS OF THOSE THAT WE'LL PROVIDE TO THE DA'S OFFICE.
UH, WE DON'T HAVE ANY, THERE'S NO REAL QUESTION ABOUT THOSE SCENES BECAUSE HE WAS CLEARLY SUPERVISED AT THOSE SCENES AND HE WAS NOT THE PRIMARY ON ANY OF THOSE SCENES.
BUT IN AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION, WE'LL PROVIDE THOSE TO THE DA'S OFFICE.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE? SO DO WE KNOW WHY THIS TRAINEE MOVE FORWARD TO DO THAT? IS SELF-MOTIVATED OR IS THIS NOT CLEAR IN THE POLICY? UN UNFORTUNATE DECISION.
YEAH, LIKE I, LIKE I SAY, HE'S, HE IS NO LONGER WITH US.
WE, WE SEPARATED THE EMPLOYMENT 'CAUSE IT WAS, IT WAS A PERSONAL CHOICE THAT IT CLEARLY WAS INSTRUCTED.
ALRIGHT, SO NO, NO ISSUE WITH THE POLICIES? NO, THERE, THERE, THERE REALLY IS NOT A POLICY ISSUE HERE.
I MENTIONED ABOUT THIS RIGHT UP FRONT AND I THINK I MENTIONED SOME ABOUT THIS LAST TIME.
RMS IS RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
RMS IS HP D'S ENTERPRISE SYSTEM.
IT, IT BASICALLY MANAGES EVERYTHING FOR THEM.
IT IS A HUGE CORE SYSTEM IN A HUGE CORE AGENCY.
THIS WILL HAVE PROFOUND IMPACTS ON THE ENTIRE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN, IN HARRIS COUNTY.
THIS IS A MAJOR SYSTEM CHANGE.
AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE MAJOR SYSTEM CHANGES LIKE THIS ARE ALWAYS CHALLENGING.
THEY'RE ALWAYS DIFFICULT, THEY'RE ALWAYS PRONE TO DELAYS AND PROBLEMS. IT'S JUST THE NATURE OF IT.
SO, UM, A COUPLE OF THINGS JUST TO UNDERSTAND WITH THIS.
VERS TERM IS ALSO THE PARENT COMPANY OF OUR LIMBS JUSTICE TRACKS.
SO ULTIMATELY I THINK THIS IS, THIS IS A GOOD CHOICE.
VERS TERM IS ALSO ONE OF THE MAJOR PROVIDERS OF RMS SYSTEMS WORLDWIDE.
RM UH, VERS TERM IS USED BY I THINK MOST OF THE MAJOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN TEXAS.
SO THIS, UM, IS, IS REALLY, WILL ULTIMATELY BE A GOOD THING FOR HPD.
IT'S GONNA BE ROUGH AND PAINFUL GETTING THERE, BUT AT THE OTHER END OF IT, IT IS GONNA BE A GOOD THING.
UM, IT WAS SUPPOSED TO LAUNCH APRIL 2ND.
WE DON'T KNOW THE NEW GO LIVE DATE.
UM, THAT'S STILL BEING DETERMINED.
IT WILL HAVE IMPACTS FOR US TWO SPECIFIC AREAS THAT WE'RE WORKING AT RIGHT NOW AND ARE FOR LAUNCH.
KIND OF THE CRITICAL PATHWAY THINGS FOR US IN HPD.
AND THAT IS HOW IT IMPACTS OUR REQUEST MECHANISM TO REQUEST FOR WORK.
THAT WILL, THAT WILL MEAN, AND WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING THOSE CHANGES, CHANGES TO OUR REQUEST PORTAL TO ACCOMMODATE THIS.
IT ALSO WILL CHANGE ABOUT HOW EVIDENCE TRANSFERS WORK BECAUSE THIS RMS SYSTEM
[00:30:01]
CHANGE WILL REPLACE THE LEGACY EMS SYSTEM EVIDENCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM THAT HPD CURRENTLY USES.SO THERE WILL BE CHANGES TO HOW, HOW EVIDENCE MOVES BETWEEN US.
UM, AND THIS IS REALLY, YOU CAN KIND OF THINK OF IT AND I PUT IT THERE TO TRY AND EXPLAIN THE FUNDAMENTAL THING THAT REALLY IMPACTS THIS.
IT'S NOT BETTER, IT'S NOT WORSE.
IT'S JUST PHILOSOPHICALLY DIFFERENT HOW CE TERM NUMBERS ITEMS. AND IT IS A, A VERY DIFFERENT ITEM NUMBERING STRUCTURE THAN HOW THE CURRENT SYSTEM DOES IT.
AND SO THAT MEANS CHANGES IN OUR REQUESTS BECAUSE OUR REQUESTS ARE BY ITEM AND OBVIOUSLY EVIDENCE TRANSFERS ARE BY ITEM.
SO THAT CHANGE HAS A LOT OF IMPACTS.
I THINK THAT CHANGE WILL, WE, WE WILL SEE OVER TIME.
I THINK THERE WILL BE OTHER IMPACTS TO, UH, OTHER PARTS OF THE SYSTEM.
AND I HAVE THERE, THIS ALSO REFLECT, REFLECTS HOW WE WILL REPORT ULTIMATELY BECAUSE WE REPORT ITEM NUMBERS ON OUR REPORTS.
NOW THAT'S NOT AN URGENT THING TO CHANGE RIGHT NOW.
AND ACTUALLY I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY IN THIS TO THINK THROUGH WHAT DOES ITEM NUMBERING LOOK LIKE, NEED TO BE, WORKS BEST FOR THE REST OF THE SYSTEM ON OUR REPORTS.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, IT ACTUALLY IS A GOOD THING TO NOT JUST MAKE AN IMMEDIATE CHANGE TO THAT, BUT LET IT, LET'S SEE HOW THIS WORKS.
LET'S SEE WHAT THE REST OF THE SYSTEM REALLY NEEDS US TO PUT ON THOSE REPORTS AND IT WILL WORK.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT RMS CHANGES THERE? OKAY, LAST UP.
I JUST WANTED TO COVER A FEW EVOLVING ISSUES THAT ARE OUT THERE.
UM, JUST IN CASE ANYBODY'S LIVING UNDER A ROCK.
THE 89TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE SESSION IS UNDERWAY.
UH, IT'S BEEN A BIG BILL FILING YEAR.
UM, I THINK EVEN SEASONED LEGISLATORS HAVE BEEN A LITTLE SHOCKED AT JUST HOW MANY BILLS HAVE BEEN FILED.
UH, A COUPLE OF BILLS IN PARTICULAR TO KEEP IN MIND, I MENTIONED THIS RIGHT UP FRONT.
SB THREE, UM, CHARLES PERRY, SENATOR PERRY IS THE ONE WHO'S CARRYING THIS ONE.
UH, IT IS ONE OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR'S PRIORITY BILLS.
IT'S, IT'S KINDA SHORTHAND IS BANS.
UH, IT HAS REPORTED FAVORABLY OUT OF COMMITTEE.
IT WENT THROUGH SENATE CRIMINAL JUSTICE, UH, REPORTED OUT UNANIMOUSLY FAVORABLE.
UH, I THINK THERE WAS SOME EXPECTATION OF A FLOOR VOTE ON IT THIS WEEK.
UH, EVERYONE IS EXPECTING IT TO PASS THE SENATE.
THE REAL DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS HERE WILL HAPPEN OVER IN THE HOUSE.
UM, AND HONESTLY, I CANNOT PREDICT NECESSARILY WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN AS THIS BILL STANDS RIGHT NOW.
IN SOME WAYS IT MAKES LIFE EASIER FOR FORENSIC LABORATORIES BECAUSE IT WOULD MOVE US BACK TO A STRICTLY QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS FOR ANY CANNABINOID PRESENT IN A PRODUCT.
UH, WE STILL WOULD BE DOING THE SAME TESTING ON PLANT MATERIAL, BUT THAT'S THE OVER UNDER 1%.
WE'VE KIND OF GOTTEN USED TO THAT.
IT AT LEAST WOULD ALSO PUT US IN A POSITION TO BE ABLE TO DISCUSS REALLY WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO IN TERMS OF PERSONNEL EQUIPMENT TO DO PLANT MATERIAL AT A SCALE THE SYSTEM NEEDS US TO DO.
AND IT GIVES US AT LEAST A CLEAR PATH ON HOW WE WOULD ANALYZE ALL OF THE THINGS OTHER THAN PLANT.
AND THAT IS A WILD, ALMOST INFINITE MIXTURE OF POTENTIAL PRODUCTS.
UM, I I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN THE HOUSE.
THE HOUSE IS, THE PREVAILING LOGIC IS THE HOUSE IS FAR LESS WILLING TO BAN THC OUTRIGHT THE WAY SB THREE DOES.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL COME OUT OF IT.
EVEN IF SB THREE WERE TO PASS AS IT IS, WERE TO BECOME LAW, IT'S STILL A QUESTION MARK TO ME OF REALLY THE IMPACT TO US ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS.
IT MAY BE EASIER TO ANALYZE, BUT IF THAT ALSO RESULTS IN MORE CASES COMING TO US, THAT COULD BE A PRODUCTION CHALLENGE THAT WE WILL NEED TO ADDRESS.
I I DON'T KNOW IF, IF WE KEEP THE SAME NUMBER OF CASES COMING IN AND THE ANALYSIS IS EASIER, LIFE GETS EASIER, EASIER ANALYSIS AND A WHOLE BUNCH MORE CASES IS A, IS GONNA BE A CHALLENGE.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT SB THREE? T-H-C-I-I, I WON'T EVEN GO THERE TRYING TO EXPLAIN ALL OF THIS STUFF IN IT.
'CAUSE UH, SIX YEARS INTO THIS AND HE'S MY BUDDY.
UM, SB 1620 ACTUALLY IS KIND OF
[00:35:01]
REALLY EXCITING NEWS.UH, WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL TO SENATOR HUFFMAN WHO'S THE ONE WHO'S FILED THIS AND IS CHAMPIONING THIS ONE.
IT'S KIND OF GOT THE WORKING TITLE OF THE TEXAS FORENSIC ANALYST APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.
UM, I THINK I MAY HAVE MENTIONED THIS CONCEPTUALLY.
THE IDEA IS WE KNOW IT TAKES TWO YEARS BASICALLY TO TRAIN MOST ANY ANALYST.
SO WHAT IF THERE IS, CAN THINK OF ITS STRUCTURED A BIT LIKE A FORGIVABLE LOAN, A MECHANISM THAT THE STATE CAN FUND THE WAGES AND BENEFITS OF A NEW STUDENT WHO IS WORKING IN A PRACTITIONER LABORATORY FOR THOSE FIRST COUPLE OF YEARS IN TRAINING.
AND THEN IF THEY STAY IN ONE OF THE TEXAS PUBLIC LABORATORIES FOR FIVE YEARS PAST THAT, FORGIVE THE LOAN.
IT DOESN'T COVER ALL OF OUR TRAINING EXPENSES, BUT IT SURE WOULD HELP AND PROVIDES A CLEAR INCENTIVE PATHWAY FOR THESE ANALYSTS TO STAY IN THE LABORATORIES AND PROBABLY STAY IN THE LABORATORIES LONG ENOUGH.
IF WE HAVE HOLD OF SOMEBODY FOR SEVEN YEARS, THEY'RE PROBABLY GONNA STAY 10.
AND THAT IS SOMEBODY THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY GONNA BE ABLE TO WORK OUT FOR US.
AND THIS IS GETTING PRECARIOUSLY CLOSE TO POSSIBLY HAPPENING.
IT WOULD BE MANAGED THROUGH OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION.
TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION WOULD BE THE ONE THAT MANAGES IT.
THERE WOULD BE WORK WITH THE THREE MAJOR, UM, FEE PACK ACCREDITED PROGRAMS IN THE STATE.
SAM HOUSTON, UNT AND THE UNDERGRAD PROGRAM THAT'S AT A AND M.
UM, SO IT'S THIS BEST I CAN CERTAINLY IS THE FIRST OF THIS OF ITS KIND HERE IN THE US.
I'M UNAWARE OF ANYTHING LIKE THIS ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.
UM, THERE'S BEEN A FAIR BIT OF ATTENTION ON IT EVEN NATIONALLY, OF SEEING IF THIS REALLY WORKS.
I'VE PROBABLY GOT ABOUT 50 ODD BILLS THAT I'M TRACKING AT THE MOMENT.
THERE'S VARIOUS THINGS THAT MAY HAVE SOME IMPACTS FOR EVIDENCE MANAGEMENT, BUT NOTHING THAT REALLY RISES TO THE LEVEL OF POTENTIAL IMPACT FOR LABS IS THESE TWO.
ANY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS KINDA LEGISLATIVELY BEFORE I HIT THE LAST ONE? ALRIGHT, SO THE LAST ONE ON HERE, JUST TO MAKE YOU AWARE, KAGEN, I KNOW THAT'S NOT HOW YOU MIGHT THINK TO PRONOUNCE THAT WORD, BUT THAT'S HOW IT'S PRONOUNCED, IS KAGEN IS A MANUFACTURER OF, UM, THE KITS THAT WE USE IN DNA, IN PARTICULAR, THE KIT THAT WE USE TO DO WHAT'S CALLED EXTRACTION OF DNA, UM, ABOUT OCTOBER.
UH, THEY SENT OUT A MEMO TO SOME OF THEIR CLIENTS ABOUT A POTENTIAL MANUFACTURING CHALLENGE.
AND WE HAVE SEEN IN SOME OF THE STUFF WORKING WITH OUR OUTSOURCE LABORATORIES, THE POTENTIAL, UH, SITUATION OF LOW RECOVERY IN SOME OF THE EXTRACTIONS.
UM, AS OF, LET'S SEE, YESTERDAY, UH, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATION WITH BOTH OUR OUTSOURCE LABORATORY AND WITH QIAGEN.
THEY ACTUALLY ARE BEING QUITE RESPONSIVE.
UM, THEY'VE GOT THEIR GLOBAL RESEARCH GROUP LOOKING AT THE ISSUE.
I AM OPTIMISTIC THAT WE WILL SEE SOME MORE INFORMATION FROM QIAGEN EARLY NEXT WEEK ABOUT BASICALLY THE EXTENT OF KITS THAT MIGHT BE AFFECTED BY THIS.
PART OF HOW WE NOTICED THIS WAS THE BLIND QC PROGRAM.
UM, WE HAD BLINDS THAT WE KNEW HAD DNA IN THEM THAT WE WERE SEEING LOW RECOVERY IN.
SO IT WAS, IT WAS PART OF WHAT GAVE US THE ALERT TO BE LOOKING AT THIS.
UM, AT THE MOMENT, IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BECAUSE THERE IS POTENTIAL THAT THIS COULD BE A FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT ISSUE FOR LABORATORIES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
THESE ARE VERY WIDELY USED REAGENTS.
I I THINK IT'S LOOKING LIKE THIS MAY BE A PRETTY CONTAINED SITUATION, UM, OF KNOWN KITS THAT ARE AFFECTED AND, UH, A MANAGEABLE SITUATION.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU WERE AWARE OF THIS EVOLVING THING.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? I THOUGHT THE, THE DNA SIDE, THEY SHOULD HAVE THEIR OWN KIND OF QUALITY CONTROL PROCEDURE BEFORE THEY USE IT.
THEY, WHY THIS COULD HAPPEN IS JUST, WELL THEY DO.
AND ACTUALLY KAIGEN IS, IS PRETTY WELL KNOWN FOR THEIR QUALITY SYSTEMS. UM, AND KAIGEN IS A BIG COMPANY.
THEY DO ALL KINDS OF CLINICAL, YOU KNOW, OMICS WORK AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
SO, YOU KNOW, THEIR, THEIR QUALITY ASSURANCE IS EXTENSIVE.
A LOT OF GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE KINDA STUFF.
'CAUSE A LOT OF THEIR THINGS ARE FDA CLEARED.
UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN WITH ALL OF THAT SAME AS US, THINGS HAPPEN.
THIS, THIS IS A VERY SUBTLE THING AND IT HITS, I THINK YOU NEED TO ALSO BE CLEAR IN THIS THAT IT HITS THINGS THAT ARE, ARE, ARE NEGATIVE.
WE HAVE, THERE'S NOTHING IN THIS TO GIVE ANY SUGGESTION THAT A PROFILE THAT'S PRODUCED, THERE'S ANY QUESTION WITH THAT.
BUT THIS IS COMING IN SAMPLES THAT WE WOULD KIND OF EXPECT.
[00:40:01]
IT IS PERFECTLY LOGICAL TO NOT RECOVER ANY DNA.SO IT'S A REALLY SUBTLE THING THAT'S NOT EASY TO SPOT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.
I THINK I'VE ENDED QUICKLY ENOUGH THAT WE DON'T GO ALL DAY SINCE CLEARLY THE LENGTH OF THE MEETING IS DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO HOW LONG I TALK
UH, ANY FINAL QUESTIONS FOR DR. STOUT? OKAY.
UM, BEFORE WE, UH, MOVE FORWARD, I'D LIKE TO TAKE JUST A MOMENT TO INTRODUCE A NEW FACE RIGHT HERE.
AND THIS IS, UH, YASMINE BEAL.
DID I SAY THAT PROPERLY? BELLEL BA BEAL.
UM, WHO WAS OUR ASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL AND WOULD YOU JUST LIKE TO SAY HI? HELLO EVERYONE.
I AM, UH, PLAYING AQUILA TODAY.
UM, UH, THERE, YOU KNOW, SHE'S JUST WANTED ME TO BE FAMILIAR WITH HOW TO PREPARE FOR BOARD MEETINGS AND ADVISE IN BOARD MEETINGS.
AND SO, UM, HERE I AM AND THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AND NIKLAS OUT IN THE AUDIENCE SOMEWHERE.
UM, NEXT WE'LL MOVE TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.
MEMBERS WERE CONSIDERING A GRANT FUNDED CONTRACT TO PURCHASE NEW EQUIPMENT IN THE SEIZED DRUG SECTION.
THE DRAFT AGREEMENT HAS BEEN FINALIZED AND REVIEWED BY STAFF.
HOWEVER, DUE TO THE CONTRACT AMOUNT, THE BOARD MUST APPROVE THIS EXPENDITURE.
DR. CASTILLO, OUR COO WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THIS PER THIS PURCHASE.
DR. CASTILLO, THE FLOOR IS YOURS.
UM, DR. AMY CASTILLO, THE CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER.
SO LAST YEAR WE WERE AWARDED A COMPETITIVE, UM, GRANT THAT JAMES AND PRECIOUS WROTE TOGETHER FOR THIS INSTRUMENT.
SO WE WERE VERY EXCITED TO GET IT.
SINCE THEN, WE'VE CONDUCTED A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS IN ORDER TO SELECT THE VENDOR FOR THIS INSTRUMENT THAT WAS WRAPPED UP RIGHT AROUND THE END OF 2024.
THE VENDOR THAT WAS CHOSEN WAS SCIEX, UM, AND THE INSTRUMENT WE'RE BUYING IS ABBREVIATED AS AN L-C-Q-T-O.
UM, THE REASON THIS IS GONNA BE REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE SECTION IS IT ACTUALLY DOES ALLOW FOR MORE ANALYSIS OF THE COMPLEX DRUGS THAT THEY'RE GETTING IN AND IT ALSO IS GONNA ALLOW FOR MORE EFFICIENCY BECAUSE IT'S GONNA ULTIMATELY REPLACE A MUCH MORE MANUAL PROCESS THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW.
SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO ANALYZE MULTIPLE SAMPLES AT ONE TIME AS OPPOSED TO ALL INDIVIDUALLY WITH A PRETTY SLOW, UM, TESTING PROCESS.
SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO GET IT HERE.
IT WILL TAKE SOME TIME TO VALIDATE.
UM, THE SECTION IS WORKING ON THAT.
THE GRANT COVERED THE INSTRUMENT AND ALSO SUPPLIES FOR VALIDATION.
SO THE SECTION ITSELF WILL BE DOING THE VALIDATION.
UM, DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT, IS TRAINING COVERED? UM, TRAINING IS GONNA HAPPEN ALSO WITHIN THE SECTION.
THE GOOD NEWS IS TOXICOLOGY AND SEIZES DRUGS ARE, ARE GOOD PARTNERS.
UM, AND WE DO HAVE TOXICOLOGISTS WHO ARE MORE FAMILIAR WITH THIS, UM, INSTRUMENTATION.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA BE PARTNERING TOGETHER TO HELP TRAIN SEIZE DRUGS AND HAVE THAT SUPPORT FROM SOME OF OUR TOXICOLOGISTS WHO ARE MORE FAMILIAR.
'CAUSE THIS IS A NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR SEIZE DRUGS.
UM, UNLIKE IN TALKS, RIGHT? WE WE'RE A LITTLE MORE BEHIND ON GETTING ONE IN TOX AND WE ARE EXCITED.
WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO WORK THROUGH RIGHT NOW IS ACTUALLY LEASING ONE IN TOXICOLOGY.
SO THEY WOULD BE BRINGING 'EM ONLINE TOGETHER.
UM, AND WE DID, WHEN WE DID THE RFP, WE INCLUDED A TOXICOLOGIST ON THE PANEL SO THAT WE COULD MAKE SURE THAT WE COULD BE IN ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE TWO SECTIONS ON THE INSTRUMENT.
SO IN TAX YOU GOT SAME KIND OF SYSTEM SOFTWARE, HARDWARE, THE SAME, WE'RE WORKING ON IT.
WE'RE, OUR PLAN IS TO BUY, TO LEASE THE SAME INSTRUMENT.
SO THEY WOULD BE WORKING ON THE SAME, THE SAME PLATFORM, THE SAME UM, SOFTWARE.
YU, THAT, THAT IN THE
NO ONE FOR RAISING YOUR HAND
SO WE'RE ASKING FOR YOU TO PLEASE APPROVE THAT CONTRACT SO WE CAN, UM, GET THAT INSTRUMENT HERE.
ANY FINAL QUESTIONS BEFORE WE DO OUR VOTE? OKAY.
SINCE THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, WE'LL HAVE A VOICE VOTE TO APPROVE THE CONTRACT WITH S IEX AND THE CORPORATION FOR LC DASH QTOF SYSTEM FOR C DRUGS TESTING AND RELATED SERVICES.
UH, WOULD YOU PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MICS AT THIS TIME? DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? AND A SECOND MOTION? THANK YOU.
[00:45:01]
THANK YOU FOR THE SECOND.UM, MAY I, UH, PLEASE GET ALL THOSE IN FAVOR TO SAY AYE.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, DR.
STEP PLEASE EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT.
OKAY, WE'LL GO NOW TO, UH, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER EIGHT AND, UH, DAVID LEACH IS GOING TO OUR TREASURER AND CFO IS GOING TO PROVIDE, UH, THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2026 BUDGET.
UH, I'M SURE EVERYBODY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THAT.
AND DAVID, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING THE VOICEOVER ON THAT.
IT IS SO WONDERFUL TO HAVE YOUR EXPLANATION ON THAT.
AND I THINK IT HELPS ALL OF US HAVE A, A GREATER UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE NUMBERS ARE AND, UH, CHARTS AND GRAPHS AND SPREADSHEETS NOW MAKE A LOT MORE SENSE.
SO, UH, DAVID IS PRESENTING REMOTELY AND I'LL GIVE THE FLOOR TO YOU.
EVERYBODY CAN HEAR ME OKAY? WE GOT YOU.
UH, THE HARDEST PART RIGHT NOW IS THIS, OR AT LEAST I HOPE THIS IS THE HARDEST PART.
UH, ALRIGHT, WE SEE YOUR SCREEN.
THAT ISN'T WHAT I WAS EXPECTING 'CAUSE I DON'T SEE THE PRESENTATION.
I THINK YOU JUST, YOU JUST SHARED THE POWERPOINT IS WHAT YOU SHARED.
SO YOU CAN, YOU CAN CLICK THROUGH KIND OF, THERE'S, THERE SHOULD BE A, YOU CAN ADVANCE IT YOURSELF.
IT JUST IS SHOWING JUST THE POWERPOINT TO US.
SO RIGHT NOW YOU SEE HISTORY, CURRENT AND FUTURE.
SO, UH, THERE A LOT OF INFORMATION IN THIS SLIDE AND, UH, DR. STOUT AND, UH, DR. CASTILLO, THANK YOU FOR, UH, PRESENTING THE, THE REAL MEANINGFUL INFORMATION BEHIND THIS.
WHAT I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU ARE THE NUMBERS THAT SUPPORT EVERYTHING THAT HAS BEEN TALKED ABOUT, ABOUT, UH, HOW CAN WE ACCOMPLISH THOSE THINGS THAT ARE SO IMPORTANT TO US AND THE CITIZENS OF HOUSTON.
SO I'LL SHOW YOU A LITTLE BIT OF THE HISTORY JUST TO GET US ON THE SAME PAGE, UH, WHERE WE ARE CURRENTLY.
AND THEN THE, UH, MAJORITY OF THE TIME'S GOING TO BE SPENT ON THE FUTURE, WHICH IS THE FISCAL YEAR 26 BUDGET, WHICH IS A VOTING ITEM THAT WE WILL ASK YOU TO APPROVE.
UH, I KNOW THAT YOU'VE WATCHED THIS AND YOU'VE HEARD THIS, SO IT'S A REPEAT.
SO I'M TRYING TO BALANCE, UH, GETTING ENOUGH INFORMATION ON THE PUBLIC RECORD SO OTHERS WHO WANT TO SEE THIS AND UNDERSTAND WHY ARE YOU ASKING FOR THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY? HOW CAN YOU, YOU KNOW, JUSTIFY THAT? WHERE DO YOUR NUMBERS COME FROM VERSUS, UH, NOT MAKING YOU GUYS LISTEN TO THE SAME THING TWICE.
SO HOPEFULLY I'LL STRIKE THE RIGHT BALANCE WITH THIS.
SO WITH THAT, AT THE, ANYTIME YOU HAVE A QUESTION, UH, KIND OF FUNNEL IT THROUGH DR. STOUT SINCE I CAN'T, UH, SEE WHAT'S GOING ON THERE.
AND, UH, HE'LL INTERRUPT ME AND I'LL JUST PAUSE FOR A FEW SECONDS AFTER EACH SLIDE.
UM, SO THAT, UH, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRY TO MAKE THE QUESTIONS SEAMLESS.
OKAY, SO HERE THIS IS JUST A HISTORY OF THE TOTAL REVENUE.
YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE REVENUE, PROBABLY 90% OF THE REVENUE THAT WE GET COMES FROM THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UM, SO THAT'S THE BIGGEST PIECE.
BUT WE ALSO, UM, HISTORICALLY THE LAST, UH, FOUR YEARS HAVE GOTTEN SOME MONEY FROM ARPA AND WE ALWAYS GET SOME MONEY FROM GRANTS.
BUT THIS JUST SHOWS YOU HOW WE HAVE RECEIVED MONEY SINCE 2018 UP TO THE CURRENT YEAR.
THIS ISN'T THE BUDGET, THIS IS JUST THE CURRENT YEAR.
AND SINCE WE'RE DESIGNED TO SPEND A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE MONEY THAT WE RECEIVE EACH YEAR AS WE RECEIVE MORE MONEY, OBVIOUSLY THE EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH THE CURRENT YEAR AND THOSE MONIES, UH, THAT THE REVENUE THAT WE RECEIVE WILL GO UP.
YOU SEE A LITTLE BIT OF A DECLINE THIS YEAR.
AND THAT'S JUST BECAUSE THERE WAS A DECREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE RECEIVED FROM COVID SLASH ARPA, UH, FROM LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR.
AND I'LL GO INTO MORE DETAIL, BUT I'M JUST TRYING TO SET A BASELINE OF WHERE WE ARE WITH THOSE NUMBERS.
THE NEXT SLIDE SHOWS YOU WHERE WE SPEND OUR MONEY.
THIS SHOWS YOU FISCAL YEAR 24, WHICH IS THE LAST FULL YEAR OF INFORMATION THAT I HAVE.
FISCAL YEAR 25 IS SEVEN YEARS OF ACTUAL DATA, AND THEN FIVE MONTHS OF MY BEST ESTIMATE OF WHERE WE'LL FINISH THE YEAR.
[00:50:01]
IN THESE HAVE CHANGED.THE MAJORITY OF OUR COSTS ARE PAYROLL COSTS, A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN 60% OF OUR COST THAN THE NEXT BIGGEST ITEM ARE SERVICES.
THAT'S WHERE WE DO OUR OUTSOURCING AND OTHER THINGS.
AND THEN YOU HAVE SMALLER PIECES THAT MAKE UP THE DIFFERENCE.
UH, FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT REALLY PAY ATTENTION TO THE NUMBERS, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF AN INCREASE IN INTEREST EXPENSE AND CAPITAL.
THAT'S NOT A BUSINESS CHANGE, THAT'S JUST A CHANGE BECAUSE, UH, THERE WERE CHANGES IN THE WAY WE HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR LEASES.
IT'S NOT A CASHFLOW CHANGE, BUT THAT'S WHY THOSE NUMBERS CHANGED A LITTLE BIT.
OKAY, SO NOW LOOKING AT THE, THE HISTORICAL NUMBERS STILL THAT SHOWS THE MONEY.
SO THIS ISN'T TOTAL REVENUE, THIS IS JUST THE REVENUE THAT WE GET FROM THE CITY.
HISTORICALLY, THE BLUE BARS ARE HOW MUCH MONEY THE CITY HAS, UH, GIVEN TO FUND US.
THE ORANGE BARS ARE THE INCREASE.
THERE'S BEEN YEARS WHERE WE WERE FLAT YEAR OVER YEAR, SO THERE'S NO NO ORANGE BAR.
AND THEN THE LINE SHOWS THE PERCENTAGE INCREASE.
SO JUST TO LOOK AT THAT, IF YOU GO OUT TO 2025, WHICH IS OUR CURRENT YEAR FROM THE CITY, WE'RE GETTING ABOUT 32 MILLION.
AND THEN WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR YOU TO APPROVE IS 38 MILLION, WHICH IS A 5.9 MILLION INCREASE, OR 18%.
SO THAT'S THE WAY YOU LOOK AND LOOK AT THAT CHART AND READ THAT CHART.
I'LL JUST PAUSE REAL QUICKLY AND ASK DR. STOUT.
WE DOING OKAY? ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR? NONE.
DIRECTOR SILVERMAN, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? NO.
NOW, UH, THIS IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, UM, FROM MOST BUSINESSES, UH, BUT PROBABLY THE MOST, OR AT LEAST IN MY OPINION, THE MOST IMPORTANT SINCE WE ARE DESIGNED TO SPEND A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE ANNUAL BUDGET.
IN A PERFECT WORLD, WE WOULD RUN OUTTA CASH AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
EVERYTHING THE CITY GIVES US, YOU KNOW, IF THEY GIVE US 35 MILLION, WE SPEND 35 MILLION WORKING ON PROCESSING, UH, THE WORK THAT COMES IN THE DOOR, IT DOESN'T WORK OUT THAT WAY, BUT WE TRY TO GET AS CLOSE TO ZERO AS POSSIBLE AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
UM, BUT WITH EMPLOYEES BEING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, 60% OF OUR COSTS, YOU'RE NEVER FULLY STAFFED, BUT YOU BUDGET TO BE FULLY STAFFED.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S JUST SOME MOVEMENT IN THE ACTUAL CASH BALANCE THAT WE HAVE AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT IS THAT WHEN YOU GO OUT TO THE RIGHT, IF YOU LOOK AT FISCAL YEAR 24 THERE, WE FINISHED THE YEAR WITH $2.7 MILLION THIS YEAR IN FISCAL YEAR 25 ON FORECASTING THAT WE'RE GOING TO FINISH THE YEAR WITH RIGHT AROUND 900,000.
THAT MEANS THAT WE ARE SPENDING $1.8 MILLION MORE THAN WE RECEIVED IN FUNDING.
SO WHEN DR. STOUT WAS TALKING ABOUT KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON, IF YOU JUST FOLLOW THAT LOGIC, IF EVERYTHING STAYED EXACTLY THE SAME IN FISCAL YEAR 26, RIGHT? WE'VE ALREADY GOT A PROBLEM BECAUSE IN FISCAL YEAR 25 WE'RE SPENDING MORE THAN WE RECEIVED BECAUSE WE STARTED OFF WITH SOMETHING.
SO RIGHT THERE YOU HAVE ABOUT A $1 MILLION PROBLEM IF NOTHING ELSE CHANGES.
NOW WE DON'T LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE NOTHING ELSE CHANGES, BUT I'M JUST TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE INTUITIVELY YOU WOULD THINK, WELL HEY, IF I GIVE THEM THE EXACT SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY NEXT YEAR AS I DID THIS YEAR, THEY CAN KEEP DOING THE SAME THING.
THAT'S NOT THE CASE BECAUSE WE'RE BURNING THROUGH THE CASH BALANCE THAT WE HAD STARTED THE YEAR OFF WITH.
SO THAT'S JUST SPENT A LITTLE BIT OF EXTRA TIME ON THAT ONE BECAUSE IT'S SUCH AN IMPORTANT CONCEPT FOR OTHERS WHO MIGHT BE VIEWING THIS TO UNDERSTAND AS TO WHY WE'RE ASKING FOR THE NUMBERS THAT WE'RE REQUESTING.
OKAY, SO HERE'S SOME MORE DETAIL.
I'LL GO OVER THIS ONE PRETTY QUICKLY, BUT JUST MAKE SOME COMMENTS ON IT SO OTHERS WHO LOOK AT IT CAN UNDERSTAND IT.
HERE ARE THE FOUR DIFFERENT OPTIONS THAT DR. STOUT TALKED ABOUT.
IT SHOWS YOU OUR FISCAL YEAR 25 WHERE WE ARE, THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE RECEIVE.
THE TOP LINE IS THE BLUE LINE.
THAT'S THE MONEY THAT WE RECEIVE FROM THE CITY.
IF WE DO OPTION ONE, IT SHOWS HOW MUCH WE'D BE ASKING FOR, WHICH IS JUST TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, SO TO SPEAK, OR TO KEEP THINGS GOING.
UH, THE WAY THAT THEY'RE GOING NOW IS PROBABLY A BETTER EXPLANATION.
AND THEN OPTION TWO IS IF YOU ADD FIREARMS AND THEN THE SUPPORT SERVICES AND THE OTHER THINGS.
AND OPTION FOUR IS ACTUALLY WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ASKING YOU TO APPROVE.
YOU CAN SEE THE INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE'RE REQUESTING FOR EACH OF
[00:55:01]
THOSE OPTIONS AND THE CORRESPONDING PERCENTAGE INCREASED THAT GOES WITH THAT.SO HERE'S SOME OF THE DETAIL FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO DIG INTO THE NUMBERS A LITTLE MORE DEEPLY.
AND WHAT I'LL GO INTO FOR THE REST OF THE PRESENTATION IS THE JUSTIFICATION OF THESE HIGHER LEVEL NUMBERS THAT WE'RE REQUESTING FROM THE BOARD.
HERE'S WHAT WE WILL LOOK LIKE FOR FISCAL YEAR 26.
NOTHING FUNDAMENTALLY HAS CHANGED.
THE PERCENTAGES OF WHERE WE'RE SPENDING THE MONEY ARE PRETTY MUCH STATIC AND THAT'S WHAT THE BOARD SHOULD EXPECT TO SEE GOING FORWARD, UNLESS THERE'S A FUNDAMENTAL BUSINESS SHIFT IN, UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING.
BUT THIS IS, THIS IS THE WAY WE LOOK.
WE HAVE LOOKED FOR A WHILE AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK INTO THE FUTURE.
OKAY? THESE ARE CALLED WATERFALL FALL CHARTS.
AND UH, I USE THESE BECAUSE IT HELPS, UH, IT'S THE BEST WAY THAT I'VE FOUND TO HELP UNDERSTAND HOW DO I GET FROM POINT A TO POINT B, POINT A BEING OUR CURRENT YEAR, UH, BUT OUR CURRENT YEAR BUDGET OR OUR FORECAST.
AND THEN HOW DO I GET FROM THERE TO WHAT'S BEING REQUESTED FOR APPROVAL FOR THE BUDGET IN FISCAL YEAR 26.
SO THE FIRST LINE IS THERE IS ARPA MONEY IN THE TWO, UH, OF ABOUT $1.4 MILLION THAT WE RECEIVED THIS YEAR THAT WE WILL NOT RECEIVE NEXT YEAR.
NEXT YOU SEE THE INCREMENTAL INCREASE FOR TAKING ON THE PROPERTY ROOM.
AND THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, WE RECEIVED ONE TIME MONEY FOR THE MOVE.
WE ALSO HAD IN THERE THREE MONTHS WORTH OF RENTAL EXPENSE IN FISCAL YEAR 26.
WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO FUND THE NEW LEASE SPACE FOR A FULL YEAR.
SO THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE IN THE TWO.
AND THERE WILL BE A SLIDE AT THE END THAT SHOWS MORE DETAIL ON THAT.
AND THEN YOU SEE THE $2.4 MILLION.
DID WE LOSE YOU DAVID? UH, OH, FROZEN.
WELL GUESS BEFORE I START PLUGGING ON AND IN HIS PLACE, LET'S SEE IF WE CAN GET HIM BACK, BUT, UH, LET'S SEE.
I BET LET'S GIVE HIM A SECOND TO SEE IF HE'LL LOG BACK IN.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS THAT I CAN MAYBE ANSWER WHILE WE'RE SITTING AT THIS POINT? SO REMIND ME, WHAT'S THE 2.4 MILLION? THAT'S THE SHORTFALL.
THAT'S WHAT WE, YEAH, SO LIKE DAVID'S EXPLAINING, WE, WE ALWAYS HAVE THIS CASH.
IT, IT'S, IT'S A CASH FLOW, RIGHT? CASH FLOW THING.
UM, AND WE, WE ALSO HAVE ADDITIONAL LEASE COSTS THAT WE'RE SO, SO THE, THE MINIMUM HAS BOTH THE, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL COSTS THAT WE ARE OBLIGED TO IN LEASES AND COVERING WHAT COULD BE A CASH FALL, CASH SHORTFALL BECAUSE CASH.
OKAY, BECAUSE THAT WAS BEFORE THAT WAS ABOUT A THOU A MILLION DOLLARS, RIGHT? AND SO NOW YOU'VE ADDED IN THE OTHER, OKAY, I UNDERSTAND.
NOW YOU BACK DAVID, CAN YOU HEAR US? UH, UH YEAH, I CAN HEAR YOU.
CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME? YEP, WE CAN HEAR YOU.
CAN YOU SEE MY SCREEN? UH, NOT YET.
UH, AND I JUST ANSWERED ONE QUESTION FROM VICKI ABOUT THE, BASICALLY THE, THE CASH SHORTFALL WHILE YOU WERE ON.
UH, LET ME GET BACK OVER TO THE SLIDE.
[01:00:01]
SCREEN NOW? YEP, WE CAN SEE IT NOW.OKAY, LET ME, YOU'RE BACK TO WHERE WE WERE.
YEAH, THE WATERFALL CHART IS WHAT YOU WERE ON.
OKAY, SO I WALKED YOU THROUGH HOW WE GET FROM POINT A TO POINT B.
NOW, LET ME SHOW YOU THE DETAIL OF THOSE, UM, PROJECTS OR, OR DEPARTMENT EXPENSES THAT, UH, DR. STOUT SAID WE NEEDED.
SO HERE YOU HAVE LISTED OUT RIGHT EACH OF THE AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT LISTED IN THE PRIORITY ORDER.
IN OUR OPINION, YOU CAN SEE THE HEADCOUNT, THE INCREASES THAT WE NEED IN SUPPORT THE WAGES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, UH, SERVICES.
SO JUST FOR EXAMPLE, SINCE FIREARMS IS AT THE TOP OF THE LIST, YOU ADD THREE ANALYSTS SERVICES.
MOST OF THAT ARE TRAINING COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
THEY HAVE SOME IT EQUIPMENT, NO CAPITAL FOR A TOTAL INCREASE OF 492,000.
ANOTHER ONE THAT WAS TALKED ABOUT, IF YOU GO DOWN TO TOXICOLOGY, AN INCREASE OF TWO PEOPLE, 138,000 SOME SERVICES, YOU SEE CAPITAL IN THERE OF A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
THAT'S THE MACHINE THAT WE WOULD BE LEASING THAT WAS DISCUSSED.
SO IN THERE YOU SEE THE DETAIL OF WHAT MAKES UP EACH AREA WHERE WE'RE SAYING WE NEED TO, UM, ADD TO WHAT WE ARE CURRENTLY DOING TO, UH, MITIGATE THE RISK THAT, UH, DR. STOUT HAS TALKED ABOUT.
OKAY, OUR BIGGEST PORTION OF THE BUDGET IS PEOPLE COST.
SO HERE'S UH, A TREND OF HOW MUCH MONEY WE SPEND ON OUR EMPLOYEES, UH, AND HOW MUCH IS INCLUDED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 26 BUDGET.
NOT A WHOLE LOT OF NEW INFORMATION THERE, JUST INFORMATION OR REVIEW.
HERE ARE THE HEADCOUNT NUMBERS.
THERE'S AN INCREASE, UH, FROM 226 TO 255.
SO ON THAT PREVIOUS CHART WHERE IT DETAILED OUT, UM, ALL THE INCREASES THAT WE WERE REQUESTING, THAT'S A 29 PERSON HEAD COUNT.
UH, ALMOST HALF OF THOSE WOULD BE AN INCREASE, INCREASE OF CSIS.
SO WE WOULD BE UP AROUND 255 EMPLOYEES IN THIS BUDGET.
A WATERFALL CHART THAT SHOWS HOW DO I GET FROM WHERE WE ARE NOW TO WHERE, UH, WE NEED TO BE IN THE BUDGET.
AND, UH, I I, I REALLY DON'T LIKE DOING THIS, BUT I'M AFRAID I'M GONNA LOSE THE CONNECTION AGAIN AND I DON'T WANNA DO THAT.
BUT YOU UM, I SHOWED YOU ON THE PREVIOUS, UH, WATERFALL CHART HOW YOU WALK THROUGH THAT AND HOW YOU READ THAT CHART.
SO THE INFORMATION'S HERE, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S TO BE READ THE SAME WAY.
THOSE NUMBERS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL INCREASES BY DEPARTMENT TIE BACK TO THE OTHER CHART WHERE IT SHOWED YOU, IT JUST SHOWED KIND OF SUPPORTS THE FACT OF HOW DO WE GET FROM WHERE WE ARE NOW TO WHAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO APPROVE FOR PEOPLE COST.
AND I'LL GO THROUGH THE SAME TYPE OF CHART FOR SERVICES, WHICH IS NEXT, WHICH IS ABOUT 25%.
SO WE HAVE CERTAIN SERVICES THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE BECAUSE OF, UM, ARPA MONEY.
NEXT YEAR YOU HAVE, UM, INCREASES, UH, OR A DECREASE BECAUSE THIS YEAR IN SERVICES, WE TOOK SOME OF THE MONEY THAT WE HAD IN THE BUDGET AND WE APPLIED THAT TO OUTSOURCE, TO WORK THROUGH THE BACKLOG.
SO THOSE WERE ONE TIME EXPENSES.
AND THEN YOU HAVE THE OTHER INCREMENTAL CHANGES THAT WERE SHOWN ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE OF INCREASES.
THAT GETS US TO THE AMOUNT BEING REQUESTED FOR THE BUDGET IN SUPPLIES.
THERE'S NOTHING TO SHOW BECAUSE I'M ASSUMING NEXT YEAR WILL BE THE SAME AS THIS YEAR.
BUT PUT THE WATER FLOW, OH, WATERFALL CHART IN THERE.
UM, OF THE 18% INCREASE, HOW MUCH OF THAT IS OUR GRANTS THAT YOU WILL GO OUT AND GET YOURSELVES? SO NONE OF, OF THE INCREASE THAT WE'RE REQUESTING, ALL THAT ENTIRE INCREASE IS AMOUNT THAT WE'RE REQUESTING FROM THE CITY, UH, SINCE GRANTS ARE REIMBURSED.
SO IF WE WERE TO GET $10 MILLION IN GRANTS, THAT MEANS THAT OUR EXPENSES WOULD GO UP BY $10 MILLION.
SO NONE OF THE 18% IS GRANT RELATED.
UH, I ASSUME FOR THE BUDGET THAT THE AMOUNT THAT WE RECEIVE IN GRANTS IS $1.6 MILLION AND THEN THERE'S A $1.6 MILLION
[01:05:02]
EXPENSE LINE ITEM.UH, THE LAST COUPLE YEARS WE'VE BEEN CLOSER TO 2 MILLION.
BEFORE ARPA, ARPA WAS ANOTHER MILLION ON TOP OF THAT.
BUT UH, THE 18% DOES NOT INCLUDE ANYTHING OTHER THAN MONEY WHERE WE WILL BE REQUESTING FROM THE CITY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY, DAVID.
WELL, I'M SORRY, SECOND TO LAST SLIDE.
THAT KIND OF SHOWS THE DETAIL BECAUSE OF THE ACCOUNTING RULE CHANGE.
UM, AND REALLY SINCE CASH IS REALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO US, UH, DON'T WANNA RUN OUTTA CASH 'CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A, A DEBT OR A BORROWING FACILITY.
THE TOP THREE ITEMS ARE COMMITMENTS, LEASE COMMITMENTS THAT WE'RE ALREADY ENTERED INTO.
THE BOTTOM TWO WOULD BE, UM, FOR OUR NEW ITEMS, UH, IN THE BUDGET THAT ARE CATEGORIZED AS CAPITAL OR NON-CAPITAL.
THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CAPITAL AND NON-CAPITAL IS, UH, IF IT'S LESS THAN $5,000, WE CALL IT NON-CAPITAL.
SO THINK IF YOU BUY A COMPUTER, IT COSTS $2,000, IT'S GONNA LAST MORE THAN A YEAR, THEREFORE IT SHOULD BE CAPITALIZED.
BUT IT'S REALLY DI MINIMIS, UH, $2,000.
SO THAT SHOWS WHERE WE WOULD BE SPENDING MONEY THAT TALKS MACHINE THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WOULD BE PART OF IT.
YOU'VE GOT VEHICLES FOR CSU AND OTHER THINGS INCLUDED IN THAT.
AND JUST, UH, THE IT EQUIPMENT THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED ARE ALL INCLUDED IN THE CAPITAL EXPENDITURES IN THE BUDGET.
THE LAST, UH, SLIDE WITH THAT I'M GONNA MUCH COMMENT ON IS THE YEAR OVER YEAR CHANGE IN THE PROPERTY ROOM.
YOU GUYS REMEMBER THAT LAST YEAR WE WERE APPROVED TO TAKE OVER, UM, RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PROPERTY ROOM.
SO WE RECEIVED A BUDGET FOR THAT OF ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS, WHICH INCLUDE ONE TIME EXPENSES, UH, TO MAKE THE MOVE HAPPEN.
AND THEN THREE MONTHS OF RENT.
UH, THIS YEAR, THE, THE FULL COST OF THE RENT, UM, ADDING A MANAGER, UH, THE COMMONARY MAINTENANCE CHARGES, UH, PARKING, EVERYTHING INCLUDED IN THE LEASE OF THE BUILDING IS 1,000,568.
UH, YOU SUBTRACT FROM THAT THE AMOUNT THAT WE RECEIVED AS A ONE-TIME EXPENSE LAST YEAR.
THE NET INCREASE, UH, TO HANDLE THE PROPERTY ROOM IS $515,000.
OKAY? SO THAT'S REALLY THE STORY.
BUT THE REST OF THESE SLIDES ARE, ARE TO DOCUMENT, UH, THE APPROVAL PROCESS OF WHAT WE ARE REQUESTING.
SO BEFORE I GO INTO THAT AND ASK YOU GUYS TO VOTE, LET ME JUST PAUSE A SECOND AND MAKE SURE THAT THERE AREN'T ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THAT NUMBER OR WHY ARE WE WANTING TO DO WHAT WE'RE DOING? SO I'LL JUST PAUSE.
DOES, UM, THE MAYOR'S FREEZE ON NEW HIRING AFFECT THE LAB AT ALL IN THE BUDGET? SO I'VE HAD, UH, REGULAR CONVERSATIONS WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, UM, AND YOU REMEMBER WHEN THEY MADE THAT ANNOUNCEMENT THEY EXCLUDED PUBLIC SAFETY.
ANYTHING ELSE, DR. STOUT? THERE NOT LOOKING LIKE IT.
SO, SO HERE'S A LOT OF DETAIL AND THIS IS MAINLY FOR THE RECORD TO, YOU KNOW, GET IT, UH, DOCUMENTED.
HERE IS THE DETAIL YEAR OVER YEAR ANALYSIS WITH ALL FOUR OPTIONS IN THERE.
UH, I'M JUST PUTTING THIS OUT THERE FOR THE RECORD.
UH, IT SHOWS IT BY REVENUE AND BY MAJOR EXPENSE LINE ITEM.
UH, THE NEXT SLIDE IS JUST WHAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO APPROVE.
THIS IS OPTION FOUR, EVERYTHING THAT DR. STOUT TALKED ABOUT AND ALL THOSE DIFFERENT LIGHT ITEMS THAT I JUST SPENT A FEW MINUTES TALKING ABOUT.
AND IT IS BY INDIVIDUAL LINE ITEM ON OUR PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENT, BECAUSE THIS IS ACTUALLY WHAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO APPROVE AND WHICH WE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR.
ALL THE NUMBERS ARE THE DETAILED NUMBERS WHICH ROLL UP INTO THE NUMBERS THAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT.
WITH THAT, I AM READY FOR THE VOTING ITEM TO ASK, UH, YOUR GUYS' APPROVAL FOR
[01:10:01]
HFCS FISCAL YEAR 26 BUDGET.THANK YOU DAVID, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UH, JUST ONE MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR BOARD MEMBERS TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS.
DR. STOUT, ANYTHING YOU WANT TO, TO ADD? NO, I THINK HOPEFULLY EVERYBODY, JUST A QUICK QUESTION.
UH, SO I THINK THERE'S A BUDGET FOR REQUESTING 14 A CRIME SCENE IN SKATERS, I GUESS COR CORRECT.
DO WE BE SO WE WE'RE DO YOU HAVE A PLAN THAT YOU CAN GET 14 PEOPLE IN A YEAR? YEAH, WE, WHAT WE WOULD, WHAT WE'VE DISCUSSED DOING IS BASICALLY TWO ACADEMIES.
UM, PROBABLY HIRE 'EM IN TWO, TWO GROUPS, UM, TO DO THAT TRAINING ALL AT ONCE WITH THOSE THANK YOU.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF, THAT'S THE UPPER END OF WHAT WE CAN ABSORB AT THE MOMENT.
BOARD MEMBERS, WOULD YOU PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MICS AT THIS TIME? DO I HAVE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL? OF THE RESOLUTION? MOTION? THANK YOU.
UH, DIRECTOR SILVERMAN FOR THAT.
UM, OKAY, SO ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR DOING A GREAT PRESENTATION, DAVID.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND SIGN OFF, DAVID.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO, UH, AGENDA ITEM NOW AND, UH, HEAR FROM MS. JACKIE MORRELL, OUR QUALITY DIRECTOR WITH, UH, UPDATES 2024 MANAGEMENT REVIEW AND THE, UH, 2025 INTERNAL AUDIT SEASON AND DISCLOSURES.
SO I THINK THIS IS A, A GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW WE HAVE THIS UNIQUE PROGRAM.
AND JACKIE, YOU DO A WONDERFUL JOB OF PRESENTING ON THESE EFFORTS AND, UH, IT REALLY DEMONSTRATES TO THE COUNTRY THE, THE STRIDES THAT YOU'VE MADE IN YOUR DEPARTMENT.
NO, IT'S, UM, I HAVE AN AMAZING TEAM, SO I'M REALLY LUCKY ABOUT THAT.
AND, UM, UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF DR. STOUT.
SO MY FIRST UPDATE, UM, COINCIDES WITH, SORRY, CAN'T SEE THE SLIDES.
UH, WE HAD, UH, THE PLEASURE OF HOSTING THE QUALITY DIVISION FROM THE COLORADO BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION.
THEY CAME TO VISIT US LAST MONTH WITH THE INTENT OF GETTING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BLIND QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM TO KNOW MORE OF THE OPERATIONS AND, UM, THOSE SMALL DETAILS THAT WE KEEP HIDDEN, RIGHT? UM, THEY'RE, THEY WANT TO IMPLEMENT A SIMILAR PROGRAM TO THEIRS BECAUSE I THINK DR.
STAT HAS SPOKEN TO THIS IN THE PAST, BUT THEY HAVE RECENTLY, THEY HAVE A RECENT HIGH PROFILE CASE WHERE ONE OF THEIR FORMER DNA ANALYSTS WAS, HAS SEVERAL CRIMINAL CHARGES FILED AGAINST THEM, UH, DUE TO YEARS OF DNA, UM, DATA MANIPULATION.
SO THEY'RE TRYING TO IMPLEMENT A SIMILAR PROGRAM TO US JUST TO HAVE ANOTHER MONITORING TOOL AND THEIR ARSENAL OF TRYING TO DETECT THINGS IN TIME, WHICH IS ONE, THE INTENTIONS OF THE BLIND QUALITY PROGRAM, RIGHT? TO SHOW THE RELIABILITY OF OUR PROCESSES, BUT ALSO TO CATCH THINGS AND TRY TO REMEDIATE THESE IN A TIMELY BASIS.
UM, YEAH, I JUST TO, I DON'T KNOW IF I MENTIONED THIS, 'CAUSE I DON'T THINK IT WAS, IT HAPPENED SINCE THE LAST BOARD MEETING.
UM, MISSY WOODS IS THE ANALYST WHO'S I MEAN'S BEEN IN THE NEWS A LOT.
UM, SHE WAS ARRESTED ABOUT A MONTH AGO, UH, CHARGED WITH 102 FELONIES, 102.
UH, IT, IT TO ME, AND JUST YOU, WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LOT INTERNALLY OF THE WORK THAT OUR FOLKS DO IS REALLY RISKY FOR THEM PERSONALLY.
AND TRYING TO HELP EVERYBODY UNDERSTAND MANY OF THESE SYSTEMS AREN'T THERE TO NECESSARILY CATCH THEM OUT DOING SOMETHING, BUT TO HELP REINFORCE AND BE ABLE TO PROTECT THE SYSTEM AND PROTECT THEM.
UM, 'CAUSE THIS WORK REALLY, AND I'VE SAID IT A LOT, TAKES A TOLL ON PEOPLE.
UH, WHAT MISSY WOODS DID IS REALLY UNFORTUNATE.
IT'S GONNA TAKE YEARS, IF NOT DECADES, FOR COLORADO TO REPAIR.
WHAT HAPPENED THERE? STATE OF COLORADO HAS ALREADY OBLIGATED, I THINK SOMETHING NORTH OF $15 MILLION JUST IN INITIAL REMEDIATIONS ON THIS.
THE COSTS OF WHAT THESE THINGS DO IS ENORMOUS WHEN IT GOES SIDEWAYS.
SO ONE OF THE KEY, UM, TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS VISIT IS THAT WE ARE PLANNING TO COLLABORATE IN NEARBY FUTURE ONCE THEY IMPLEMENT THEIR PROGRAM, UM, WHERE WE PLAN TO DO SOME DATA AND EVIDENCE SHARING.
SO AGAIN, WITH THE, WITH THE INTENT, WITH THE INTENT OF STILL
[01:15:01]
CHECKING OUR SYSTEMS AND THE RELIABILITY OF THEM, AS MENTIONED, MY OTHER TOPIC IS OUR MANAGEMENT REVIEW.WE JUST FINALIZED THAT REPORT LAST MONTH AS WELL.
AND, UH, IT'S, UH, BASICALLY AN EVALUATION OF OUR PROCESSES, UH, IN ORDER TO DETERMINE HOW ARE WE PERFORMING AND ARE OUR OBJECTIVES AND PROCESSES STILL ALIGNED, RIGHT? WITH ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS.
AND THE BEST EXAMPLE THAT I CAN COME UP WITH IS THAT THIS IS ANALOGOUS TO YOUR, UH, REQUIRED YEARLY PHYSICAL CHECKUP, RIGHT? SO JUST LIKE THE DOCTOR CHECKS YOUR VITALS AND ASKS YOU DIFFERENT, UM, LIFESTYLE OR DIETARY PREFERENCES, RIGHT, IN ORDER FOR THEM TO DO THEIR FULL ASSESSMENT, WHILE THE MANAGEMENT REVIEW IS SORT OF LIKE SYNONYMOUS TO WHAT, WHAT WE DO, UM, FOR THAT.
BUT RATHER THAN US CHECKING OUR BLOOD PRESSURE OR OTHER VITALS, WE LOOK AT OTHER INPUTS SUCH AS INTERNAL AUDIT AND ASSESSMENT FINDINGS.
WE LOOK AT NONCONFORMANCES SURVEYS AND COMPLAINTS.
UM, WE LOOK AT EXTERNAL ISSUES OR COURT RULINGS AND WHATNOT AND HOW IMPACTS THEY HAD AND WHAT DO WE DO INSIDE TO REMEDIATE THEM.
WE LOOK AT ALSO, UH, TO PREVENTIVE ACTIONS, THE RISK ASSESSMENTS COMPLETED.
AND ALSO WE HAVE A SECTION IN THESE REPORTS WHERE WE DEPICT ALSO WHAT HAPPENED IN THESE CHANGES FOR EACH OF OUR TECHNICAL SECTIONS AS WELL AS CSCM.
AND WHILE IT'S AN ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENT, WE FOUND THAT OVERALL THE HEALTH OF OUR SYSTEM IS STILL HEALTHY AND WE'RE STILL ALIGNED WITH OUR PROCESSES.
UM, ANOTHER OUTPUT FROM THIS OUTSIDE OF THE REPORT IS THAT WE ARE ABLE, UM, TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO CONTINUE IMPROVING.
AND, UM, ANOTHER KEY COMPONENT IS THAT WE FOCUS ON THIS ON A YEARLY BASIS.
SO IT'S FROM JANUARY TO DECEMBER OF 2024.
I'M GONNA WORK WITH, UH, NATALIE TO TRY TO GET THAT REPORT, UH, TO YOU AND A COPY OF THAT.
AND THEN IN ADDITION, AS ALL OF OUR OTHER QUALITY RECORDS, THIS IS ALSO POSTED IN OUR E-DISCOVERY SITE AS WELL FOR EVERYBODY TO, TO READ THIS REPORT.
UM, ALTHOUGH THIS DATA WAS ALSO EXTRACTED FROM THE MANAGEMENT REVIEW REPORT, I KIND OF WANTED TO SHOW, I KNOW THAT DR. STOUT TALKED ABOUT THE TWO DISCLOSURES, AND I AM GOING TO TALK ABOUT THEM AS WELL AS MY LAST TOPIC FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
BUT I WANTED TO WALK YOU THROUGH, WE HAVE A NON-CONFORMING, UH, WORKFLOW THROUGH IDEAGEN OR QUAL, OUR QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, WHERE WE ASK STAFF OR EVEN SECTION MANAGEMENT THAT WHENEVER THEY, UH, ARE AWARE OF NON-CONFORMING WORK, MEANING THE UNAPPROVED DEVIATION FROM ANY PROCEDURES, POLICIES, OR WORKFLOWS, FOR THEM TO REPORT THESE THROUGH THIS NOTIFICATION, UH, THROUGH THIS NOTIFICATION WORKFLOW SYSTEM, WHERE WE WILL, IN OUR END INVESTIGATE IN COLLABORATION WITH SECTION MANAGEMENT AND THE PEOPLE INVOLVED TO DETERMINE WHAT RISK OR IMPACT THESE NONCONFORMANCE HAS HAD IN OUR PROCESSES, IN OUR, IN OUR DIFFERENCES SYSTEMS. SO AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE NO PROBLEM IN GETTING NOTIFICATIONS.
LAST YEAR WE HAD 184 NOTIFICATIONS, BUT UPON FURTHER REVIEW AND INVESTIGATION, WE FOUND 139 OF THOSE WERE, UH, THE IMPACTS WERE MINIMAL, RIGHT? BUT AGAIN, ALIGNED WITH OBJECTIVE OF BEING TRANSPARENT.
WE STILL DOCUMENT THIS AND SHOW THE, THE REASONS WHY IT WAS AN IMPACT.
SO THIS IS AVAILABLE IN THE CASE RECORD OR IN THE CASES INVOLVED.
SO IT'S AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW BY THE ANALYST, OR LET'S SAY WE'RE NOT HERE IN 10 YEARS.
SOMEBODY ELSE FROM THE NEXT QUALITY DIVISION ERA CAN COME AND KIND OF KNOW WHAT HAPPENED 10 YEARS FROM NOW.
BUT HOWEVER, WE DID HAVE 39 INCIDENTS AND SIX CORRECTIVE ACTION REPORTS WHERE THEY DID RISE A LITTLE HIGHER IN RISK WHERE WE WANTED TO DO ADDITIONAL PROCEDURAL OR CORRECTIVE ACTIONS IN ORDER TO REDUCE THE RISK OF RECURRENCE.
UM, FROM THAT SIX CORRECTIVE ACTIONS THAT WE HANDLED, ONE RESULTED IN A DISCLOSURE.
I ALSO PROVIDED THIS DATA OF HOW THIS IS BROKEN DOWN BY THE SECTION FOR THESE THREE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, UM, OF NONCONFORMANCES THAT WE HAVE ON MY NEXT TOPIC, INTERNAL AUDITS.
UH, THEY ARE QUICKLY APPROACHING.
WE START THE FIRST INTERNAL AUDIT, UH, THE WEEK OF THE 24TH OF MARCH WITH MULTIMEDIA.
NOW I TALKED ABOUT THE MANAGEMENT REVIEW AND I KIND OF SEE THE MANAGEMENT REVIEWS IN MORE OF A MACROSCOPIC LENS.
I LIKE TO SORT OF SEE THE INTERNAL AUDIT AS OUR MICROSCOPE, RIGHT? BECAUSE NOT ONLY ARE WE ENSURING AND LOOKING AT ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS AND OSAC STANDARDS AND CONVEYING BACK TO OUR PROCESS AND PROCEDURES TO SHOW AND SEE THAT WE'RE STILL COMPLYING TO THEM, UM, MICROSCOPICALLY WE GO INTO EVERY SINGLE PROCESS, RIGHT? WE LOOK AT CHAIN OF CUSTODYS THAT ALL OF THE TRANSFERS ARE CORRECT.
WE LOOKED AT ALL PERFORMANCE VERIFICATIONS, QUALITY CONTROL RECORDS, CALIBRATION CERTIFICATES.
[01:20:01]
UH, WE RE-LOOK AT ANY TRAINING OR VALIDATION BINDER THAT WAS APPROVED DURING THAT TIMEFRAME.WE DO DIRECT OBSERVATION TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROCEDURES ARE BEING FOLLOWED VISUALLY.
WE ALSO INTERVIEW STAFF TO ENSURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THEIR PROCESSES AND POLICIES.
UM, IT'S A VERY, IT'S, IT'S A VERY DAUNTING TASK.
SO WE ARE VERY, VERY GRATEFUL FROM THE STAFF MEMBERS WHO VOLUNTEER THEIR TIME TO HELP US CARRY THESE OUT.
UM, SO I WILL KEEP THE BOARD, UM, UPDATED AS THESE, AS THESE, UM, AUDITS FINALIZE OF ANY FINDINGS THAT WE, THAT WE FIND.
AND WE WILL BE, WE WILL WRAP THIS UP IN MAY FOR THE ISO 17 0 2 5 PROGRAM, WHICH WILL PUT US IN A GOOD POSITION TO HAVE THIS READY FOR OUR DESK SURVEILLANCE THAT'S COMING IN JULY OF THIS YEAR.
FOR MY LAST TOPIC, I, I'M GONNA PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL FOR THIS DISCLOSURES.
AS DR. STOUT MENTIONED, UM, WE HAD THE ACCIDENT ACCIDENTAL UPLOAD OF TWO BLIND QUALITY CONTROL SAMPLES, AGAIN, INTO CODIS.
AND, UM, NOW WE, ALTHOUGH NO INVESTIGATIONS WERE IMPACTED, WE STILL TOOK THIS VERY SERIOUSLY BECAUSE AS DR. SCOTT MENTIONED, WE DON'T WANT THOSE PROFILES OUT THERE IN CODIS 'CAUSE THEY HAVE SEVERAL SET OF REGULATIONS AND RULES AS TO WHAT CONSTITUTES THE PROFILE TO BE UPLOADED.
AND, UM, BUT WE ARE ALREADY WORKING WITH THE BIOLOGY SECTION AND IMPLEMENTING ADDITIONAL SAFEGUARDS TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN.
AND WE ARE NO LONGER USING THOSE PROFILES AS WELL TOO.
SO, UH, FOR OUR NEXT DISCLOSURE, I, UM, WE HAD A CSI TRAINEE THAT CONDUCTED CASEWORK UNSUPERVISED WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION, ALTHOUGH, UM, THEY, BECAUSE THEY WERE A TRAINEE, THEY NEEDED TO HAVE, THEY NEEDED TO BE UNDER DIRECT SUPERVISION.
AND, UM, WHILE THE TRAINS NO LONGER EMPLOYED BY HFSC, WE STILL WENT AHEAD AND DISCLOSED AS TO THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR THEM TO KNOW, I KIND OF WANTED TO ADDRESS THE QUESTION EARLIER.
UH, PER ACCREDITATION, IT'S A REQUIREMENT FOR STAFF MEMBERS REGARDLESS OF THEIR BACKGROUND OR, UH, THE NUMBER OF YEARS OF EXPERIENCE FOR THEM TO COMPLETE A COMPETENCY TEST, UM, BEFORE THEY'RE AUTHORIZED TO CONDUCT CASE WORK.
AND, UM, AT THIS POINT IN THIS TRAINEE WAS UNDER THE SUPERVISED CASEWORK.
THEY WERE NOT AUTHORIZED YET TO CONDUCT THIS WORK INDEPENDENTLY.
AND, UM, AND THAT'S, IT'S ONE OF THOSE MEASURES IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE PERSON WAS AUTHORIZED, NOT ONLY DO THEY UNDERSTAND THE TECHNICAL COMPONENTS, BUT THEY ALSO UNDERSTAND YOUR ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE OF THINGS AS WELL.
SO ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE I FINALIZE MY PRESENTATION WHEN WE GET THAT MANAGEMENT REPORT OUT TO EVERYBODY WHERE YOU COULD GET IT ON THE SITE? I REALLY WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO READ IT.
I MEAN, JACKIE AND HER STAFF DID A FANTASTIC JOB OF IT.
YEAH, IT'S LONG, BUT IT HAS AN AWFUL LOT OF STUFF IN THERE TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE FUNCTIONING OF THE ORGANIZATION AT KIND OF A LOT OF DIFFERENT LEVELS.
UM, EVERYTHING FROM HR TO QUALITY SYSTEMS, I MEAN, THEY, THEY DID A REALLY MARVELOUS JOB OF IT.
AND IF YOU, IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND HFSC, GO READ THAT REPORT.
IT'S A GOOD SNAPSHOT OF EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED IN 2024
I'LL WORK WITH NATALIE IN GETTING THAT COPY OF THE REPORT FOR YOU GUYS.
UM, PETER, JUST A QUICK, UH, IS, UH, QUESTION ON RISK.
UH, IN THE PAST YOU'VE MENTIONED TO ME WHAT OUR POTENTIAL RISK IS MM-HMM
AND THE, THE NUMBER IS SO STAGGERING.
AND I WONDER IF YOU COULD JUST DO A QUICK OVERVIEW ON WHAT THAT MEANS.
WELL, EVEN IF YOU, IF YOU THINK LIKE, UM, AND, AND I'VE USED THE EXAMPLE OF GEORGE RODRIGUEZ AS AN INDIVIDUAL CASE THAT ULTIMATELY RESULTED IN A SETTLEMENT AGAINST THE CITY AT $9 MILLION WE'RE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 20 AND 30,000 REQUESTS A YEAR.
SO JUST A STRAIGHT LINE CALCULATION OF THAT RISK PUTS US IN THE HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF RISK EVERY YEAR.
AND I TALK ABOUT THIS IN A VARIETY OF CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT I, ANNIE DUGAN, WHO WAS THE ANALYST IN MASSACHUSETTS THAT FABRICATED 60,000 DRUG RESULTS RESULTING IN THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS VACATING 25,000 DRUG CASES AFTER THEY HAD SPENT NORTH OF I THINK $25 MILLION TRYING TO REMEDIATE THAT ONE ANALYST IN ONE LABORATORY.
THESE ISSUES COST TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS EASILY WHEN THINGS GO SIDEWAYS.
AND, AND I SAY THIS OF ONE OF THE BIG CRITICISMS AND CONCERNS AROUND BLIND TESTING IS COST.
HOW YOU MITIGATE THAT RISK IS CONTROL SYSTEMS. AND I THINK THE OTHER PIECE
[01:25:01]
IS THE HUMAN PIECE.MR. RODRIGUEZ WAS INNOCENT, COMPLETELY FOUND INNOCENT, AND YOU LOOK AT THE MONEY, BUT YOU LOOK AT HIS LIFE ALL THOSE YEARS HE SPENT IN PRISON.
THERE WAS SOMETHING HE DIDN'T DO.
UM, ALRIGHT, LET'S, UH, MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 10.
UH, THIS IS EXECUTIVE SESSION.
AT THIS TIME THE HFSC BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL GO INTO A CLOSED MEETING, ALSO KNOWN AS AN EXECUTIVE SESSION, AS PERMITTED BY THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT.
THE CLOSED MEETING WILL NOT BE ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC AND WE WILL ASK OUR STAFF TO STEP OUTSIDE, PLEASE FOR THE TIME BEING EXCEPT FOR DR. STOUT, MS. BILAL, AND MS. MANZ.
UM, I DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT THIS MEETING WILL, UH, RUN TOO LONG, BUT THE BOARD DOES NOT HAVE A SET TIME TO RECONVENE THIS OPEN MEETING TODAY.
WE'LL RETURN TO BUSINESS AS SOON AS WE HAVE CONCLUDED, UH, THE OPEN MEETING.
SO IF I COULD ASK EVERYONE TO DEPART UNLESS I SAID YOUR NAME.
WE'RE GOING TO RECONVENE, UM, THE HFC BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING.
AND FOR THE RECORD, WE STILL HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT.
AND NOW WE'LL MOVE TO OUR FINAL AGENDA.
SO MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN, PLEASE? MOTION.
AND ONE QUICK THING I'D LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU TO ANDREW FOR HANDLING OUR TECH FOR US.