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EVERYONE.[Budget and Fiscal Affairs on April 1, 2025.]
TO THE APRIL 1ST, 2025 APRIL FOOLS EDITION OF, UH, BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS MEETING.WE WILL NOT HAVE ANY FOOLS TODAY.
I CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER AND WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE.
WE HAVE MAYOR PRO TEM MARTHA CASTEX, TATUM VICE MAYOR, PRO TEM AMY PECK, COUNCIL MEMBER TWILA CARTER, COUNCIL MEMBER JULIAN RAMIREZ AND STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER TARSHA JACKSON'S OFFICE.
COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN'S OFFICE COUNCIL MEMBER TIFFANY THOMAS'S, OFFICE COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER'S OFFICE COUNCIL MEMBER EVAN SHABAZZ'S, OFFICE AND COUNCIL MEMBER MARIO CASTILLO'S OFFICE.
THERE'S A SIGN IN SHEET AT THE FRONT.
IF YOU ARE A PUBLIC SPEAKER AND WOULD LIKE TO MAKE COMMENTS AND DIDN'T CALL IN, YOU'RE WELCOME TO SIGN UP ON THE SHEET IN THE FRONT AND WE WILL START RIGHT IN WITH THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT WITH CONTROLLER CHRIS HOLLINS AND FINANCE DIRECTOR MELISSA DUB.
WE GET A LITTLE HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT HERE.
GOOD MORNING, MADAM CHAIR, HONORABLE MEMBER STAFF.
I AM HERE TODAY TO PRESENT YOU WITH A MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE MONTH ENDED FEBRUARY 28TH, 2025.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF NUMBERS IN HERE, SO GET READY.
UH, THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE PROJECTING AN ENDING FUND BALANCE OF $228 MILLION OR 8.8% OF EXPENDITURES, LESS DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025.
THIS IS $121.2 MILLION LOWER THAN THE PROJECTION OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
THE DIFFERENCE, UH, AS WAS SIMILAR LAST MONTH, IS DUE TO A LOWER REVENUE AND HIGHER EXPENDITURE PROJECTION THAN THAT OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
UH, AS WE POINTED OUT PREVIOUSLY, THE MOST NOTABLE DIFFERENCE IS THAT OUR NUMBERS ACCOUNT FOR THE A HUNDRED $0.3 MILLION THAT THE CITY IS REQUIRED TO PUT TOWARDS DRAINAGE PROJECTS FROM THE GENERAL FUND THIS FISCAL YEAR.
UH, WHILE FINANCES NUMBERS, UH, DON'T HAVE THAT FIGURE INCLUDED.
BASED ON OUR CURRENT PROJECTIONS, THE FUND BALANCE WILL BE APPROXIMATELY $33.4 MILLION ABOVE THE CITY'S TARGET OF HOLDING 7.5% OF TOTAL EXPENDITURES, EXCLUDING DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO IN RESERVE.
WE'VE INCREASED OUR REVENUE PROJECTION BY $46.8 MILLION FROM THE JANUARY, 2025 REPORT, AND WE'VE INCREASED OUR EXPENDITURE PROJECTION BY $63.9 MILLION FROM THE JANUARY, 2025 REPORT.
THAT RESULTS IN A NET INCREASE OF $17.1 MILLION IN DEFICIT SPENDING FROM LAST MONTH.
THE INCREASE IN REVENUE PROJECTIONS REFLECTS THE FOLLOWING, AN INCREASE OF $32.3 MILLION IN THE SALE OF CAPITAL ASSETS DUE TO TAX DOT, UH, TEXT DOTS CONDEMNATION OF THE HPD SOUTH CENTRAL SUBSTATION, AN INCREASE OF $18 MILLION IN CHARGES FOR SERVICES DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED AMBULANCE FEES, AN INCREASE OF $3.7 MILLION AND TRANSFERRED FROM THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM DRIVEN BY THE 3 1 1 SERVICE CONSOLIDATION WITH PUBLIC WORKS AND ADDITIONAL TRANSFER, UH, FROM THE PARK HOUSTON FUND.
AN INCREASE OF $1.5 MILLION IN LICENSES AND PERMITS DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED SPECIAL FIRE PERMITS, LIQUOR LICENSES AND LIMOUSINE PERMITS AN INCREASE OF $0.6 MILLION IN OTHER FRANCHISE FEES DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED PAID SOLID WASTE HAULER FRANCHISE FEES, A DECREASE OF $9.1 MILLION IN INTER-GOVERNMENTAL DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED TURS MUNICIPAL SERVICE FEES, UH, ONTO EXPENDITURES.
THE INCREASE IN EXPENDITURE PROJECTIONS REFLECTS THE FOLLOWING, AN INCREASE OF $54.6 MILLION IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DRIVEN BY HIGHER THAN EXPECTED OVERTIME.
SPECIAL PAYS, PHASE DOWN BILLING AND COLLECTIONS AND WINTER STORM END ZONE RELATED COSTS AN INCREASE OF $20.4 MILLION IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT DUE TO HIGHER THAN EXPECTED OVERTIME COSTS.
AND THE ADDITION OF A SIXTH CADET CLASS, AN INCREASE OF $0.6 MILLION ACROSS VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS TO REFLECT FLEET CHARGEBACK OVERAGES, A DECREASE OF $0.8 MILLION ACROSS VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS TO REFLECT IT.
CHARGEBACK SAVINGS, A DECREASE OF $2.8 MILLION ACROSS VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS TO REFLECT INTER FUND INSURANCE CHARGEBACK SAVINGS, A DECREASE OF $5 MILLION IN VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS DUE
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TO HEALTH BENEFIT SAVINGS FROM LOWER ENROLLMENT, AN INCREASE OF $0.5 MILLION PRIMARILY RELATED TO OTHER CHARGEBACK ACCOUNT ADJUSTMENTS ACROSS VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS.A DECREASE OF $0.8 MILLION IN THE HOUSTON EMERGENCY CENTER.
FOLLOWING THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WITH PUBLIC WORKS, UH, WITH THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, A DECREASE OF $3 MILLION IN GENERAL GOVERNMENT REFLECTING THE TRANSFER TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR A SIX CADET CLASS AND THE MCKINNEY OFFICE RENTAL REDUCTION FOLLOWING THE 3 1 1 CONSOLIDATION.
MOVING ON TO ENTERPRISE FUNDS.
IN AVIATION OPERATING REVENUES DECREASED BY $14.9 MILLION, MAINLY DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED SIGNATORY LANDING FEES.
OPERATING EXPENSES DECREASED BY $11.4 MILLION DUE TO LOWER INSURANCE PREMIUMS, LOWER ELECTRICITY AND NATURAL GAS USAGE AND LOWER SPENDING ON BUILDING MAINTENANCE SERVICES AND COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT PARTIALLY OFFSET BY PERSONNEL OVERAGES.
NON-OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY $17.2 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED INTEREST ON POOLED INVESTMENTS.
TOTAL TRANSFERS INCREASED BY $13.7 MILLION DUE TO $21.7 MILLION INCREASE IN THE TRANSFER FROM THE REVENUE FUND TO THE AIRPORT.
A $10 MILLION TO THE RENEWAL AND REPLACEMENT FUND OFFSET BY DECREASE OF $18 MILLION IN THE DEBT SERVICE TRANSFER.
IN COMBINED UTILITIES, OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY $53.3 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED WATER AND SEWER SALES.
OPERATING EXPENSES INCREASED BY $1 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER CONSTRUCTION SITE WORK SERVICES OFFSET BY A DECREASE IN OTHER EQUIPMENT SERVICES DUE TO CONTRACT IMPLEMENTATION DELAYS.
OPERATING TRANSFERS DECREASED BY $17.8 MILLION DUE TO CAPITAL EQUIPMENT PURCHASE.
DELAYS OFFSET BY A TRANSFER TO THE GENERAL FUND FOR THE 3 1 1 CONSOLIDATION IN CONVENTION AND ENTERTAINMENT.
NON-OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY $1.9 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED COLLECTIONS OF HOT TAXES, UH, AND REVENUES.
AS A RESULT, OPERATING TRANSFERS INCREASED BY $1.8 MILLION IN THE STORMWATER FUND.
EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY $2.3 MILLION DUE TO SAVINGS AND PERSONNEL AND DELAYS IN VEHICLE PURCHASES OFFSET BY HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE SERVICE COSTS.
OPERATING TRANSFERS OUT INCREASED BY $2.6 MILLION DUE TO DEDICATED DRAINAGE AND STREET RENEWAL FUNDS.
PENSION OBLIGATION BONDS BEING PAID OUT OF THE STORMWATER FUND IN THE DEDICATED DRAINAGE AND STREET RENEWAL FUND AT VALOREM REVENUES INCREASED BY $8.5 MILLION DUE TO TRANSFER FROM GENERAL FUND FOR STREET AND DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.
AND HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED INTEREST ON POOLED INVESTMENTS EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY $7.4 MILLION DUE TO DELAYS IN VEHICLE PURCHASES AND D-D-S-R-F DRAINAGE REVENUES INCREASED BY $1.4 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED INTEREST ON POOLED INVESTMENTS AND D-D-S-R-F METRO EXPENDITURES INCREASED BY $1.2 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED ELECTRICITY COSTS OFFSET BY A DECREASE IN TRANSFERS FOR DEBT SERVICE AS A RESULT OF PENSION OBLIGATION BONDS BEING PAID OUT OF THE STORMWATER FUND FOR OUR COMMERCIAL PAPER AND BONDS.
THE CITY'S PRACTICE HAS BEEN TO MAINTAIN NO MORE THAN 20% OF THE TOTAL OUTSTANDING DEBT OF EACH TYPE OF DEBT IN A VARIABLE RATE STRUCTURE.
AS OF FEBRUARY 28TH, 2025, THE RATIO OF UNHEDGED VARIABLE RATE DEBT FOR EACH TYPE OF OUTSTANDING DEBT RELA REMAINED, UH, BELOW THAT THRESHOLD.
UH, MADAM CHAIR, UH, AS YOU KNOW, UH, YESTERDAY ROUNDED OUT WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH.
UH, LAST WEEK OUR OFFICE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF HOSTING A ROUND TABLE THAT CELEBRATED WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH, BRINGING TOGETHER AN EXTRAORDINARY GROUP OF BUSINESS AND CIVIC LEADERS FROM ACROSS HOUSTON.
THE CONVERSATION WHICH WAS ENTITLED, FUNDING THE FUTURE, ADVANCING ECONOMIC MOBILITY, FOCUSED ON HOW WE CAN CREATE GREATER OPPORTUNITY AND ACCESS FOR ALL HOUSTONIANS.
THE WOMEN WHO JOINED US ARE DRIVING REAL CHANGE, NOT ONLY TRANSFORMING THEIR FIELDS, BUT ALSO LIFTING OTHERS AS THEY LEAD BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS AND BUILDING A MORE INCLUSIVE FUTURE.
OUR DISCUSSION EMPHASIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY HOOD, PARDON ME, EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION OFFERING MULTIPLE PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS AND MAKING SURE THAT CRITICAL RESOURCES REACH PEOPLE, BOTH WOMEN AND MEN, BOTH GIRLS AND BOYS, WHERE THEY ARE AND WHEN THEY NEED THEM.
TODAY, OVER A BILLION DOLLARS IN ECONOMIC MOBILITY INITIATIVES ALREADY EXIST ACROSS HOUSTON BY DOING MORE TO CONNECT THESE RESOURCES WITH THE PEOPLE THEY'RE MEANT TO SERVE, WE HAVE A REAL CHANCE TO UPLIFT OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
AND SO AGAIN, WE WERE TRULY HONORED TO HOST THE ROUND TABLE AND WE BELIEVE THAT THE WORK OF INCREASING ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY IS SOMETHING THAT WE MUST ALL CHAMPION TOGETHER.
UH, FINALLY, MADAM CHAIR, IN MY REMARKS, I NOTED AN INCREASE IN EXPENDITURE PROJECTIONS FOR OVERTIME IN BOTH POLICE AND FIRE.
UH, SHORTLY YOU WILL HEAR FROM WILL JONES, OUR DEPUTY CITY
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CONTROLLER FOR FINANCIAL REPORTING, AND HE WILL WALK YOU THROUGH OUR ANALYSIS THAT, UH, PARDON ME, HE WILL WALK YOU THROUGH THE ANALYSIS THAT HIS TEAM HAS COMPLETED AROUND BOTH UNIFORM AND CIVILIAN OVERTIME.THANK YOU CONTROLLER HOLLANDS, I APPRECIATE YOUR RECOGNITION OF ALL THE WOMEN.
THERE'S CERTAINLY A LOT OF US AROUND COUNCIL AND ALSO, UM, YEAH, OUR EYES ALL POPPED AT THOSE OVERTIME NUMBERS, SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO THAT PRESENTATION.
I DO WANNA WELCOME COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIE DAVIS, COUNCIL MEMBER FRED FLICKINGER, COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN AND STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ED POLLARD'S OFFICE.
UM, THIS IS THE EIGHT PLUS FOUR FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING APRIL 28TH, 2025.
FISCAL YEAR 25 PROJECTIONS ARE BASED ON EIGHT MONTHS OF ACTUAL RESULTS AND FOUR MONTHS OF PROJECTIONS.
UM, AS THE CONTROLLER, UH, STARTED OFF WITH, THERE ARE QUITE A FEW, UM, CHANGES AND A LOT OF NUMBERS IN THIS REPORT.
UM, THIS IS THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT THAT, UM, IMMEDIATELY PROCEEDS THE GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS, WHICH WILL BE BRINGING TO COUNSEL AT THE END OF THIS MONTH.
UH, AND SO WE DO TRY TO TRUE UP OUR ESTIMATES AS CLOSE TO THE ACTUALS AS POSSIBLE AS PART OF THIS REPORT, WHICH IS WHY YOU SEE SO MANY CHANGES.
SO STARTING WITH THE GENERAL FUND ON THE REVENUE SIDE, OUR PROJECTION IS 40.7 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE ADOPTED BUDGET AND 50.1 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH.
THE VARIANCE FROM THE PRIOR MONTH PROJECTION IS DUE TO $32.3 MILLION INCREASE IN SALE OF CAPITAL ASSETS DUE TO TDOT'S CONDEMNATION OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL POLICE STATION.
WE'RE REFLECTING A $19.9 MILLION INCREASE IN CHARGES FOR SERVICES, PRIMARILY DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED AMBULANCE FEES.
A $3.7 MILLION INCREASE IN TRANSFERS FROM OTHER FUNDS DUE TO FUNDING BEING TRANSFERRED FROM THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM.
AS A RESULT OF THE CONSOLIDATION OF ARAS 3 1 1 WITH THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS CUSTOMER ACCOUNT SERVICES WE'RE ALSO SHOWING AN INCREASE IN ANTICIPATED TRANSFER FROM THE PARK HOUSTON FUND.
$1.8 MILLION INCREASE IN LICENSES AND PERMITS ARE DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED SPECIAL FIRE PERMITS, LIQUOR LICENSES AND LIMOUSINE PERMITS.
OTHER FRANCHISE IS INCREASING BY 678,000 DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED SOLID WASTE HAUL FRANCHISE FEES.
MISCELLANEOUS AND OTHER IS INCREASING BY 488,000, PRIMARILY DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED FIREFLIGHT FIREFIGHTER DEPLOYMENT REIMBURSEMENTS.
OTHER FINES AND FORFEITS IS INCREASING BY 462,000 DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED RECEIPTS FOR FALSE ALARMS. INDUSTRIAL ASSESSMENTS IS INCREASING BY 374,000 DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED TAXABLE VALUATION.
OFFSETTING IS A DECREASE IN INTERGOVERNMENTAL BY 9.1 MILLION DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED TERRORIST MUNICIPAL SERVICE FEES.
WE'RE ALSO SHOWING A DECREASE IN ELECTRIC F FRANCHISE FEES OF 264,000 DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED MISCELLANEOUS, UH, FEES IN THAT CATEGORY FOR SALES TAX PERFORMANCE.
UH, WE'RE NOT CHANGING OUR PROJECTION FOR SALES TAX THIS MONTH, BUT FOR THE PERIOD EARNED IN JANUARY RECEIPTS WERE 94.4 MILLION, WHICH IS $26.8 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.
UH, THIS REFLECTS, THIS IS, UM, AN UPDATE I'M PROVIDING, UM, BASED ON OUR, UH, DISCUSSION LAST MONTH, UH, WHERE WE HAD THE SALES TAX AUDIT FINDING FROM THE STATE WHERE THEY, UH, YOU KNOW, TOOK THE 26 MILLION OUT OF OUR, UH, MONTHLY REMITTANCE THAT MONTH.
THEY PUT IT BACK THIS MONTH AND THEN WE'LL ENTER INTO THE PAYMENT PLAN.
SO THAT'S WHY THE RECEIPTS LOOK SO MUCH HIGHER.
UM, BUT AGAIN, WE'RE NOT CHANGING OUR PROJECTION AT THIS POINT.
AND IN ORDER TO MEET OUR CURRENT ESTIMATE OF 893 MILLION, THE REMAINING PERIODS NEED TO COME IN 1.5% BELOW THE PRIOR YEAR.
SO WE STILL FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH OUR ESTIMATE WHERE WE ARE MOVING OVER TO THE GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES.
THE EXPENDITURE PROJECTION IS 65 POINT MILLION HIGHER THAN THE ADOPTED BUDGET AND 63.8 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH.
THE VARIANCE FROM THE PRIOR MONTH PROJECTION IS PRIMARILY DUE TO, UH, INCREASE OF 54.6 MILLION TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO REFLECT HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED, UM, OVERTIME, PHASE DOWN SPECIAL PAY AND WINTER STORM ENZO COSTS.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE TO SHOW AN INCREASE TO THE BILLING AND COLLECTION FEE RELATED TO THE HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED AMBULANCE FEE.
REVENUES THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WE'RE SHOWING A 20 POINT $20.4 MILLION INCREASE TO REFLECT CLASSIFIED OVERTIME AND AS WELL AS FUNDING BEING TRANSFERRED, UH, FROM THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT FOR THE SIX CADET CLASS.
IN, IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE ADOPTED BUDGET AND OTHER VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS, UH, WE'RE SHOWING A $624,000 INCREASE IN INNER FUND FLEET CHARGEBACK FOR HEALTH BENEFIT SAVINGS.
WE'RE SHOWING A $5 MILLION DECREASE IN
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VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED ENROLLMENT.WE'RE ALSO SHOWING A $3 MILLION DECREASE IN GENERAL GOVERNMENT, UH, DUE TO THE REALIGNMENT OF THE FUNDING.
UH, MOVING FROM GENERAL GOVERNMENT TO HPD FOR THE SIX CADET CLASS, WE'RE ALSO SHOWING A SAVINGS, UH, DUE TO THE, UM, MCKINNEY RENTAL REDUCTION RESULTING FROM THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE A RA THREE ONE, WE'RE SHOWING A $2.8 MILLION DECREASE IN VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS TO REFLECT INTERFUND INSURANCE CHARGEBACK SAVINGS.
THAT'S IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE NEW INSURANCE POLICY, UM, THAT WE JUST BROUGHT TO COUNCIL.
WE'RE ALSO SHOWING A $775,000 DECREASE IN VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS TO REFLECT IT CHARGEBACK SAVINGS AND A $770,000 DECREASE IN THE HOUSTON EMERGENCY CENTER COST TO REFLECT THE CONSOLIDATION OF OEM INTO HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
ALL OF THOSE EXPENDITURE CHANGES TOGETHER, UM, TOGETHER WITH THE REVENUE CHANGES THAT WE'RE REFLECTING RESULT IN A FUND BALANCE OF 349.2 MILLION, WHICH IS 13.8 MILLION LOWER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH, AND REPRESENTS 13.5% OF ESTIMATED EXPENDITURES, LESS DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO.
THAT FUND BALANCE IS 154 MILLION ABOVE THE TARGET OF HOLDING 7.5% OF EXPENDITURES, LESS DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO.
SO MOVING OFF OF THE GENERAL FUND AND GOING TO THE ENTERPRISE SPECIAL REVENUE AND OTHER FUNDS FOR THE AVIATION OPERATING FUND, OPERATING REVENUES DECREASE BY 14.9 MILLION, MAINLY DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED LANDING FEES AND OPERATING EXPENSES DECREASE BY 11.4 MILLION DUE TO LOWER INSURANCE PREMIUMS, LOWER ENERGY AND NATURAL GAS USAGE, AS WELL AS LOWER SPENDING ON BUILDING MAINTENANCE SERVICES AND COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT, WHICH IS OFFSET BY OVERAGE AND PERSONNEL.
NON-OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY 17.2 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED INTEREST ON POOLED INVESTMENTS.
AND AS A RESULT, THE OPERATING TRANSFERS INCREASED BY 13.7 MILLION.
MOVING TO CONVENTION AND ENTERTAINMENT.
THE NON-OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY 1.9 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED COLLECTIONS OF DELINQUENT HOT TAX.
AND AS A RESULT, THE OPERATING TRANSFERS INCREASED AS WELL.
MOVING TO THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM, OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY 53.3 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED WATER AND SEWER SALES AND OPERATING EXPENDITURES INCREASED BY 1 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER CONSTRUCTION SITE WORK SERVICES OFFSET BY A DECREASE IN OTHER EQUIPMENT SERVICES.
OPERATING TRANSFERS DECREASE BY 17.8 MILLION DUE TO CAPITAL EQUIPMENT PURCHASE DELAY, WHICH IS OFFSET BY A TRANSFER TO GENERAL FUND FOR THE CONSOLIDATION OF 3 1 1.
AS WE MENTIONED, MOVING TO THE DEDICATED DRAINAGE AND STREET RENEWAL FUND AT VALOREM TAX REVENUES INCREASED BY 8.5 MILLION DUE TO TRANSFER FROM GENERAL FUND FOR STREET AND DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS AND, UH, HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED INTEREST ON POOLED INVESTMENTS AND THE 8.5 MILLION.
THE MAJORITY OF THAT, UH, COMES FROM THE BUDGET AMENDMENT.
THE, UH, $8 MILLION THAT WAS ADDED AT THE TIME OF THE, OF THE BUDGET ADOPTION LAST YEAR ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE, EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 7.4 MILLION DUE TO DELAYS IN VEHICLE PURCHASES.
MOVING ON TO THE DEDICATED DRAINAGE AND STREET RENEWAL FUND, DRAINAGE CHARGE FUND REVENUES INCREASED BY 1.4 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED INTEREST ON POOLED INVESTMENTS IN THE DEDICATED DRAINAGE AND STREET RENEWAL FUND.
METRO EXPENDITURES INCREASED BY 1.2 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED ELECTRICITY COSTS OFFSET BY A DECREASE IN TRANSFERS FOR THE STORM WATER FUND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 2.3 MILLION DUE TO SAVINGS IN PERSONNEL AND DELAYS IN VEHICLE PURCHASES OFFSET BY HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE SERVICES AND OPERATING TRANSFERS OUT INCREASED BY 2.6 MILLION FOR THE HEALTH BENEFITS FUND.
REVENUES DECREASED BY 10.2 MILLION DUE TO LOWER ENROLLMENT AND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 16.1 MILLION DUE TO LOWER CLAIMS FOR THE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY FUND.
REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES BOTH DECREASED BY 10.5 MILLION DUE TO LOWER INSURANCE PREMIUMS FOR THE ASSET FORFEITURE FUND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY SIX POINT SORRY, 2.6 MILLION DUE TO SAVINGS IN OVERTIME AND DELAYS IN COMPUTER EQUIPMENT PURCHASES FOR THE BUILDING INSPECTION FUND.
REVENUES INCREASED BY 1.2 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED PERMIT ACTIVITIES AND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 4.5 MILLION DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED SPENDING AND IMPLEMENTATION DELAYS ON COMPUTER AND INFORMATION CONTRACTS, ENGINEERING SERVICES AND MANAGEMENT CONSULTING SERVICES FOR THE CABLE TV FUND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 638,000 DUE TO SAVINGS AND SERVICES AND DELAYS IN EQUIPMENT PURCHASE.
AND FOR THE HOUSTON OPIOID ABATEMENT FUND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 1.9 MILLION DUE TO SAVINGS AND PERSONNEL
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SUPPLIES AND SERVICES FOR THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT.SPECIAL REVENUE FUND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 786,000 PRIMARILY DUE TO IMPLEMENTATION.
DELAYS IN MANAGEMENT CONSULTING SERVICES FOR THE DISASTER REPORT AS WE INCLUDE IN THE PRINTED REPORT, UM, THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE.
AS OF FEBRUARY 28TH, WE HAVE PAID 93.1 MILLION IN INVOICES RELATED TO DEBRIS REMOVAL, AND WE'VE ALSO RECEIVED 99.7 MILLION IN FUNDING, WHICH INCLUDES $77 MILLION FROM FEMA AND $22.7 MILLION IN STATE REIMBURSEMENT.
SO, UH, WE'RE ON TRACK WITH OUR DISASTER COLLECTIONS AND OUR INVOICE PAYMENT.
SO, UH, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF COLLABORATION BOTH WITH THE STATE AND WITH OUR, UM, PARTNERS AT THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE IN GETTING INVOICES PAID TIMELY.
UM, SO I WANTED TO TO ACKNOWLEDGE ALL OF THE STAKEHOLDERS IN THAT.
THANK YOU, DIRECTOR, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN.
UM, A FEW QUICK QUESTIONS, UH, ON DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI ON YOUR REPORT.
UM, THE INCREASE THE IN, UH, PRIMARILY DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED FIREFIGHTER DEPLOYMENT REIMBURSEMENTS IS THAT FROM DISTRICT 14 WILDLAND DIVISION, UH, GOING AROUND THE STATE AND IN, IN THE COUNTRY, UH, TO HELP OTHER JURISDICTIONS IN COMBATING WILDFIRES.
AND WE ACTUALLY GET A REIMBURSEMENT ABOVE WHAT WE, OUR EXPENDITURES ARE.
IS THAT CORRECT? I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S ABOVE WHAT OUR EXPENDITURES ARE, BUT IT'S TO COVER OUR EXPENDITURES.
I I BELIEVE IT'S 30% ABOVE THAT THAT WE GET BACK OR SOME FORM OF CALCULATION, BUT I BELIEVE WE ACTUALLY GET A NET GAIN, UH, FROM THOSE SERVICES.
BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE REFERRING TO IS THOSE DEPLOYMENTS? YES.
UM, ACCORDING TO BOTH YOU CONTROLLER AND DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI, JUST TO BE CLEAR, UM, WE HAVE A LARGER AMOUNT OF PROJECTED EXPENDITURES THAN THE LARGER, UM, INCREASE IN, IN REVENUE THAT YOU HAVE NOTED HERE.
SO WE HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI, OUR EXPENDITURE PROJECTION IS 65.1 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE 40.7 MILLION HIGHER IN REVENUE COMING IN.
SO WE STILL HAVE MORE OF AN ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE THAN INCREASE IN REVENUE.
IS THAT CORRECT FOR THIS MONTH? YES.
UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT ALL THE CHANGES WE MADE SINCE THE ADOPTED BUDGET, AT THE TIME OF THE ADOPTED BUDGET, OUR FUND BALANCE WAS PROJECTED TO BE AROUND 10.9%, AND NOW, UH, THAT PROJECTION HAS INCREASED TO 13.5% BASED ON THE MOST RECENT REPORT.
ANY, ANY COMMENT ON THAT? YEAH, SAME.
SO, UM, AND OUR NUMBERS, OUR REVENUE WENT UP $46.8 MILLION SINCE LAST MONTH.
EXPENDITURES WENT UP $63.9 MILLION SINCE LAST MONTH.
AND SO THAT'S A NET INCREASE IN TERMS OF DEFICIT DEFICIT SPENDING OF 17.1 MILLION.
UH, LASTLY, DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI, UH, WHEN IT RELATES TO DISASTER COLLECTIONS, I JUST WANTED TO VERIFY, YOU SAID, UH, ARE THOSE PROJECTIONS WHAT WE'RE NOW BRINGING IN, IS THAT IN LINE WITH WHAT WE HAD EXPECTED TO BRING IN? IS IT LESS, IS IT MORE? ARE WE, DID WE HIT A BULLSEYE SO FAR? YEAH, SO FAR IT'S IN LINE WITH WHAT WE EXPECTED.
SO THE STATE'S COVERING OUR LOCAL SHARE OF THE DEBRIS REMOVAL COST.
UH, I I CAN ASK THIS TOMORROW.
I DON'T EXPECT Y'ALL TO HAVE AN ANSWER ON THIS.
UM, BUT THROUGH NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES, UM, WE'VE BEEN RECEIVING A LOT OF INFORMATION BACK THAT, UM, CURRENTLY THE TAX EXEMPTION FROM MUNICIPAL BONDS IS AT RISK AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
UH, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN TAX EXEMPT SINCE I BELIEVE 1913 AND IS NOW BEING CONSIDERED, UH, FOR REMOVAL, SO TO SPEAK.
I WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND THE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS.
IF AS A CITY WE ARE LOSING TAX EXEMPTION ON OUR MUNICIPAL BONDS, THAT IS ONE OF THE MAJOR WAYS WE FUND WHAT WE NEED TO FUND, UH, HERE IN HOUSTON.
AND I'M, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE FISCAL IMPLICATIONS AND WHAT WE ARE DOING AS A CITY TO HOPEFULLY ADVOCATE, UH, TO MAINTAIN THOSE TAX EXEMPTIONS.
YEAH, SO JUST THE SHORT VERSION OF AN EXPLANATION AS TO WHY THAT TAX EXEMPTION IS IMPORTANT.
UM, BECAUSE THE INVESTOR DOESN'T HAVE TO PAY TAXES ON THEIR RETURN, THEY WILL ACCEPT A LOWER RETURN ON THAT INVESTMENT.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THE CITY IS ABLE TO BORROW AT A CHEAPER RATE THAN WE WOULD OTHERWISE GET BECAUSE THE INVESTOR'S GETTING A DEAL FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, BASICALLY.
SO THAT GOES AWAY THAN YOU'RE LOOKING AT A SIGNIFICANT
[00:25:01]
INCREASE TO OUR COST OF BORROWING, WHICH, UM, DEBT SERVICE IS ALREADY A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF WHAT WE SPEND MONEY ON AT THE GENERAL FUND AND SO FORTH.UM, BUT WE COULD, I WON'T PROMISE TOMORROW, BUT WE COULD GET YOU, GET YOU AN ANALYSIS OF WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE IF THAT EXEMPTION WERE TO GO AWAY.
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR AND THANK BOTH OF YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS.
BOTH OF YOU MENTIONED THAT, UH, THERE'S A DECREASE OF $9.1 MILLION IN INTERGOVERNMENTAL DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED TURS MUNICIPAL SERVICE FEES DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI, COULD YOU SPEAK TO WHY, UM, IT'S LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED? SURE.
UM, IT'S PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY THE, UM, UPTOWN TOURS, THEIR MUNICIPAL SERVICE CHARGE, UH, THAT THEY ARE ALLOCATED BASED ON THE FORMULA THAT THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE CALCULATES, UM, IS HIGHER THAN UPTOWN IS ABLE TO TRANSFER, UM, BASED ON THEIR PROJECTIONS.
SO, UM, WE CAN GET YOU SOME MORE DETAILS ON IT, BUT THAT'S ABOUT HALF OF THE 9.1 MILLION IS DUE TO THE UPTOWN.
AND CAN YOU SUMMARIZE WHY THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO TRANSFER THAT AMOUNT AT THIS POINT? UM, I THINK IT'S BASED ON THEIR, UM, TAXABLE VALUE GROWTH AND THEIR, UM, INCREMENT AMOUNT THAT THEY RECEIVE, UH, ENTERS REVENUE COMPARED TO THEIR, UM, OPERATING EXPENDITURES.
SO THEIR, UH, TAXABLE VALUE GROWTH FOR THEIR INCREMENTAL, UH, PORTION OF THEIR, OR OF THEIR VALUATION HAS NOT MET THEIR PREVIOUS PROJECTIONS FROM YEARS AGO.
AND ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE FORMULA THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HAS COME UP WITH? I AM, BUT I, I THINK I SHOULD.
IF YOU COULD PROVIDE, UH, INFORMATION ABOUT THAT, CIRCLE BACK THEM ON THE, TO US LATER, THAT'D BE GREAT.
UM, WHEN DISCUSSING THE FIREFIGHTER OVERTIME, YOU'LL SPEAK ABOUT PHASE DOWN, WHAT EXACTLY IS PHASE DOWN? SURE.
UM, SO PHASE DOWN, UM, PHASE DOWN IS A PROGRAM BY WHICH WHEN A FIREFIGHTER IS ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE, UM, AND THEY HAVE AN ACCRUED AMOUNT OF LEAVE, UM, THEY CAN STAY ON PAYROLL AS AN ACTIVE FIREFIGHTER, KEEP THE ACTIVE INSURANCE AND USE THEIR LEAVE TIME.
UM, STILL REMAINING ACTIVE BUT NOT WORKING.
SO ESSENTIALLY THEY'RE BURNING THE TIME THEY'VE ACCRUED? YES.
UH, YOU'D ALSO MENTIONED, UH, TIMELY PAYMENT DISCOUNTS.
DO WE KNOW WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE INVOICES WERE ACTUALLY GETTING THE TIMELY PAYMENT DISCOUNT? I DON'T, WHILE SHE'S LOOKING, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S IN OUR 2025 AUDIT PLAN, SO I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWERS FOR YOU RIGHT NOW.
UH, BUT IT'S AN AUDIT THAT'S GONNA LAUNCH SOON FROM THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE.
WHAT WE'LL BE LOOKING INTO THAT INFORMATION.
IT'S A DISCOUNT IN THE EXPENDITURE PROJECTION THAT I MENTIONED.
I IF, IF YOU WANT, IF YOU CAN JUST EMAIL MY OFFICE, THAT'D BE FINE.
I'LL HAVE TO FOLLOW UP YOU OFF LINE.
UH, DIRECTOR, JUST A CURIOUS, UH, ON THE, UH, HEALTHCARE BENEFITS FUND, THE $10 MILLION, UM, DECREASE DUE TO LOWER ENROLLMENT.
WHAT, WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THAT TO THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT, UH, DECREASE OVER THE, FROM THE PROJECTED? SURE.
I THINK WE HAVE, UM, PRETTY CONSERVATIVE PROJECTIONS WHEN WE DO THE BUDGET.
UM, AND SO IT COULD BE EITHER, UM, PARTICIPANTS THAT, UM, ENROLL IN A DIFFERENT PLAN THAN WE HAD PROJECTED OR, UH, CHOOSE TO GO WITH, UM, SHOULD THEY HAVE COVERAGE THROUGH THEIR SPOUSE.
UM, SO WE DO MAKE A CONSERVATIVE PROJECTION AND THE 10 MILLION IS ACROSS ALL FUNDS, INCLUDING AIRPORT PUBLIC WORK.
SO THAT'S A, A CITYWIDE NUMBER.
COUNCIL MEMBER, CAYMAN COUNCIL MEMBER, FLICKER AND I WERE JUST HUDDLING REALLY QUICKLY, NONE OF THESE PROJECTIONS INCLUDE THE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, UM, PRICE TAG POTENTIAL OF THE DRAINAGE LITIGATION.
IS THAT CORRECT? OR THIS DOES INCLUDE THE CONTROLLER'S.
OFFICE PROJECTIONS DO INCLUDE THAT, BUT, BUT, BUT YOURS DIRECTOR DO NOT.
THE ONLY PIECE OF THAT THAT WOULD INCLUDE IS THE $8 MILLION THAT WE, UM, ADDED TO THE ADOPTED BUDGET ON TOP OF THE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE PROPOSED THE BUDGET BASED ON THE 11.80 CENT EQUIVALENT, AND THEN WE ADDED THAT 8 MILLION, I BELIEVE WAS DUE TO BUDGET AMENDMENT AT
[00:30:01]
THE TIME OF THE ADOPTION.SO THAT'S THE ONLY PIECE ON TOP OF THE 11.80 CENT EQUIVALENT THAT WE'RE REFLECTING HERE.
AND I'M ASSUMING, I KNOW LEGAL'S NOT HERE, UM, BUT WE STILL DO NOT HAVE AN UPDATE ON WHERE THINGS STAND WITH A POTENTIAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON THAT, SO WE'RE STILL ASSUMING A HUNDRED MILLION AT THE MOMENT.
IS THAT CORRECT? SO WE HAVEN'T REFLECTED IT IN OUR NUMBERS YET.
UM, AS WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THOSE CONVERSATIONS, UM, MY EXPECTATION IS THAT WE WILL BE REFLECTING THAT AND, UH, PROPOSING WHAT TO DO WITH THAT AT THE TIME.
WE, AT THE TIME WE'RE BEFORE, BEFORE WE PROPOSE THE BUDGET, WHICH IS IN EARLY MAY.
I KNOW WE'RE GONNA TALK A LOT MORE ABOUT OVERTIME COMING UP, BUT, BUT THERE'S DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, THESE NUMBERS ARE BIG $54.6 MILLION INCREASE OVERTIME, PHASE DOWN, SPECIAL PAYS, WINTER STORM ENZO BILLING COLLECTION FEE.
COULD I GET A BREAKDOWN OF, OF WHAT'S THE BIGGEST BULK OF THAT? OR DO YOU KNOW? YEAH, THE BIGGEST, THE BIGGEST BULK IS DUE TO OVERTIME.
UM, OUT OF THE 54 MILLION CLASSIFIED OVERTIME IS 40.6 MILLION.
SO, UM, I THINK YOU'LL SEE IN THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE PRESENTATION, UM, LAST YEAR AND EVERY YEAR.
I MEAN, YOU'LL SEE IT IN THE PRESENTATION OR YOU MAYBE ALREADY HAVE, UM, THAT OVERTIME ACTUALS DO EXCEED OVERTIME BUDGET.
GENERALLY, WE HAVE MORE BASE PAY SAVINGS TO COVER THE COST OF THE INCREASE OVERTIME.
UM, BUT AS WE'RE RECRUITING MORE, RETAINING MORE, UM, YOU DON'T SEE AS MUCH BASE PAY SAVINGS AND THIS YEAR AS YOU HAD IN PRIOR YEARS TO HELP OFFSET THE COST OF THE OVERTIME.
UM, SO, BUT THAT'S THE BULK OF THE, OF THE FILES.
SO WHEN WE'RE BUDGETING, WE JUST CONSISTENTLY YEAR AFTER YEAR UNDER BUDGET OVERTIME.
I THINK YOU'LL SEE THAT IN THE CONTROLLER'S PRESENTATION.
I THINK THAT ALL THAT, MOST OF THAT'S OVERTIME, BUT IF YOU COULD JUST BREAK THAT OUT IN THE, THE, WHAT THE SIXTH CADET CLASS IS COSTING MM-HMM
THE SIXTH CADET CLASS IS 2.7 MILLION, AND THE OVERTIME FOR HPD IS 17.7 MILLION.
AND I NOTICE IN THE GENERAL FUND SUMMARY, THE AMOUNT COLLECTED IS, IS GREATER THAN THE AMOUNT THAT WE, THE AMOUNT THAT WE HAVE YEAR TO DATE ESTIMATE IS MORE THAN WHAT YOU'RE PROJECTING.
AND I BELIEVE THAT'S BECAUSE OF THET PAYMENTS HAVEN'T COME OUT.
SO IN THE FEBRUARY AND MARCH REPORT, UH, YOU'LL SEE THIS CONSISTENTLY EVERY YEAR THAT THE PROPERTY TAX YEAR TO DATE PROJECTION EXCEEDS THE, UM, EXCEEDS THE ESTIMATE.
AND LIKE YOU MENTIONED, THAT'S DUE TO THE TIMING.
SO WE HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED THE BULK OF OUR PROPERTY TAX COLLECTIONS, BUT WE HAVE NOT YET TRANSFERRED OUT THE FUNDING TO THE TURS.
UH, SO WE'LL REFLECT THAT IN THE APRIL REPORT.
AND ABOUT WHY THE, WHAT IS THE, OUR ANNUAL TURS, THE PROJECTION FOR THE TURS TRANSFER THIS YEAR IS AROUND 224 MILLION.
AND ON THE, ON THE TR THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE 3 1 1 MM-HMM
UM, I UNDERSTAND WE'RE SAVING MONEY IN THE, IN THE GENERAL FUND THERE, BUT I, BUT I, I ALSO UNDERSTAND THERE'S A LOT OF CALLS TO 3 1 1 THAT ARE NOT CUS RELATED.
UM, THERE'S TRASH OR, YOU KNOW, LIBRARY OR PARKS OR THINGS THAT AREN'T RELATED TO THE CUS.
SO WHAT'S THE JUSTIFICATION FOR USING ALL THOSE, FOR PAYING EVERYBODY OUT OF THE CUS? UM, SO LOOKING ACROSS THE CITY THAT, WITH THE ERNST AND YOUNG, UM, REPORT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING FOR EFFICIENCIES AND CONSOLIDATING THE, THE COST CENTER.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT AFTER THE CONSOLIDATION, ONE THING WE COULD LOOK AT IS WHAT KIND OF EFFICIENCIES IS THE CUS GETTING, UM, BY HAVING, UH, MORE CONSOLIDATED SPACE.
SO DOES EVERY, WILL EVERY CALLER BE ABLE TO DO WATER BILLS OR IS, IS THERE STILL JUST A SECTION OF THE I THINK THAT TO MY KNOWLEDGE OR EVERY CALL RECEIVER, EVERY, NOT CALLER RIGHT.
TO MY KNOWLEDGE, EVERYONE IS BEING CROSS-TRAINED SO THAT THEY CAN COVER ALL OF THE, UM, CALLS OF ALL TYPES.
AND ESSENTIALLY THE DIFFERENCE IN THE LEFTOVER FUND BALANCE IS, IS THE, IS THE LAWSUIT MONEY THAT, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, ONE'S A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS MORE THAN THE OTHER.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR MY COLLEAGUES? THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE REPORT, AND WE'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW, EXCEPT FOR CONTROLLER.
STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ABBA.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE VERY DETAILED REPORTS.
AS I READ THROUGH THE OVERTIME TRENDS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH WE HAVE CONSISTENTLY OVER, UM, EXPENDED OUR BUDGET PLANNING.
WHY IS IT THAT WE DID NOT PLAN FOR THAT OVERAGE THIS YEAR? SO WHAT I CAN SAY
[00:35:01]
TO THAT IS THAT TYPICALLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE BUDGET, I THINK YOU'RE GONNA HEAR MORE FROM THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE WHEN THEY GET INTO THEIR PRESENTATION.BUT TYPICALLY WHEN WE BUDGET FOR OVERTIME, WE KNOW THAT, UM, THERE'S A, THERE'S BUDGET FOR BASE PAY AND THERE'S BUDGET FOR OVERTIME.
TYPICALLY, WHEN YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO MAYBE FILL OUT ALL OF YOUR POSITIONS OR YOU HAVE ATTRITION OR VACANCIES, YOU END UP SPENDING MORE ON OVERTIME.
YOU'LL HAVE SAVINGS ON YOUR BASE PAY THAT WILL HELP OFFSET SOMETIMES MORE THAN OFFSETS THE COST OF THE OVERTIME.
UM, SO THAT IS, UH, TRADITIONALLY HOW WE'VE BUDGETED.
YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE THAT REFLECTED IN THE NUMBERS.
UM, THIS YEAR IN PARTICULAR, WE DON'T HAVE AS MUCH SAVINGS IN BASE PAY TO OFFSET THE COST OF OVERTIME.
UM, FOR THE EXAMPLE IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, WE DO HAVE SOME SAVINGS TO OFFSET THE COST OF OVERTIME, BUT NOT SUFFICIENT LOOKING AT SALARY WASTE.
COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, KIND OF FOLLOWING UP ON THAT QUESTION.
WE DON'T HAVE AS MUCH SAVINGS IN THE WAGES BUCKET VERSUS THE OVERTIME BUCKET.
I ASSUME THAT'S 'CAUSE WE'VE HIRED MORE PERSONNEL.
SHOULDN'T THAT HAVE MEANT THAT OVERTIME DECREASED? WE HAVE IN, AND I, I THINK IT DEPENDS ON THE DEPARTMENT, BUT WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN, UM, CALL VOLUME.
LIKE IN PARTICULAR IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, THEY HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN CALL VOLUME.
SO I THINK THERE'S A, UM, OKAY.
SO DEMAND FOR SERVICES INCREASE.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR QUESTIONS ON THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT.
WE WILL MOVE AHEAD TO AGENDA ITEM THREE, OVERTIME ANALYZING TRENDS AND COST IMPACT.
DEPUTY CONTROLLER WILL JONES TO, TO MAKE THE PRESENTATION, AND WE ARE JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WA MARTINEZ.
SO Y'ALL HAVE THE QUEUED UP? YEAH, I APOLOGIZE THERE.
UM, I DON'T LIKE PAPER, BUT THE TV'S NOT WORKING.
SO IF YOU DIDN'T BRING YOUR LAPTOP, YOU HAVE A, YOU HAVE A HARD COPY.
THERE'S A QR CODE AT THE FRONT FOR THE REALLY TECH SAVVY MM-HMM
WELL, GOOD MORNING, UH, MADAM CHAIR, TO THE REST OF COUNCIL STAFF, MY NAME IS WILL JONES, DEPUTY CITY CONTROLLER.
UH, BEFORE I JUMP INTO THE PRESENTATION, JUST KIND OF WANT TO EMPHASIZE A LOT OF DISCUSSION WE'VE ALREADY HAD AROUND THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT THAT THE CONTROLLER AND DIRECTOR DKI DISCUSSED.
UH, OUR EXPENDITURES THIS MONTH WERE PROJECTED TO BE UP 63 MILLION.
UM, THE MAJORITY OF THOSE COSTS ARE IN OVERTIME, 41 MILLION FOR FIRE.
UH, I THINK ABOUT 18, 17.7 MILLION FOR POLICE.
UM, SO REALLY THAT'S WHY I'M HERE TODAY JUST TO KIND OF WALK THROUGH SOME OF THE TRENDS AND THE ANALYSIS ON OVERTIME.
UH, SO IF YOU GO TO THE, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST SLIDE FOLLOWING THE CONTENTS.
UH, SO THE ANALYSIS ONLY FOCUS ON GENERAL FUND.
UM, AND SO, SO WE, WE DIDN'T REALLY LOOK AT THE, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER FUNDS.
SO BECAUSE OF THE DEFICIT, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE KIND OF ZOOMING IN ON.
UM, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT CIVILIAN, UM, AND CLASSIFY FOR THE CIVILIAN.
WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON SOLID WASTE AND WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT CLASSIFIED, UH, POLICE AND FIRE AND SOME OF THE KEY AREAS OF ANALYSIS, UH, EXAMINING HISTORICAL TRENDS, IDENTIFYING KEY DRIVERS, AND UNDERSTANDING THE PAYROLL IMPACT.
SO IF YOU GO TO SLIDE FOUR, UM, LOOKING AT WHERE WE ARE WITH THE OPERATING BUDGET, UM, LOOKING AT A 330 MILLION POTENTIAL, UH, STRUCTURAL DEFICIT.
SO IF YOU LOOK WHERE WE WERE IN 25 AND HOW WE ADDRESSED THE BUDGET, UM, ABOUT 192 MILLION OF, OF THAT WAS FROM FUND BALANCE DRAW DOWN.
UH, WE HAD AN ADDITIONAL 10 MILLION OR SO FROM REVENUE LOSS.
AND THEN THERE WERE SOME RECURRING, UM, UH, INITIATIVES WITH DEPARTMENT REDUCTIONS.
BUT WHEN YOU CARRY OVER THE NON-RECURRING, UH, WE WOULD START WITH ABOUT 203 MILLION ALREADY, KIND OF IN THE HOLE.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, WHEN WE ADD THE A HUNDRED MILLION AND SOME OF THE OTHER ADJUSTMENTS THROUGH, UH, YOU KNOW, THE AGREEMENTS WE HAVE COMING FORWARD, WE, THAT'S HOW WE GET TO A POTENTIAL $330 MILLION SHORTFALL.
UH, KEEP IN MIND WE ARE IN THE BUDGET CYCLE NOW, AND AS WE GET BETTER INFORMATION AS IT RELATES TO SALES TAX AND, UM, SOME OF THE PAY AGREEMENTS, I KNOW POLICE IS ONGOING NOW, SO WE MAY NOT KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THAT WILL BE.
UM, BUT THAT 330 MILLION WILL BE ADJUSTED AS WE GET MORE INFORMATION,
[00:40:01]
UH, AS IT RELATES TO REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES.BUT THIS, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AS OF NOW.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, SLIDE FIVE, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT OVERALL OVERTIME REPRESENTS ABOUT 65 MILLION OF THE 25 FY 25 GENERAL FUND BUDGET.
UM, TOTAL PERSONNEL COSTS REPRESENTS ABOUT 1.8 BILLION, UH, WITH THE MAJORITY OF THAT BEING IN CLASSIFIED WITH THREE-FOURTHS OF THE PERSONNEL BUDGET.
AND CIVILIAN REPRESENTS ABOUT ONE FOUR.
SO OVERTIME REPRESENTS ABOUT A 4% OF THE PERSONNEL BUDGET.
SO IT, IT'S A SIGNIFICANT DRIVER WITHIN THE PERSONNEL BUDGET.
SO LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, WHAT IS OVERTIME? IT MAY SEEM LIKE AN OBVIOUS ANSWER.
YOU KNOW, YOU WORK MORE HOURS THAN YOU HAD SCHEDULED FOR THAT WEEK.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, FOR CIVILIAN AND, AND POLICE, UH, AND THIS BEFORE I SAY THAT IT'S DRIVEN BY OUR, OUR CHARTER, SO IT KIND OF DESCRIBES WHAT OVERTIME IS.
SO CIVILIAN POLICE, THEY WORK 40 HOURS, UH, WEEKS.
UM, FIRE ON AVERAGE IS ABOUT 46.7.
UM, SO TIME ACTUALLY WORKED AS IT IS DEFINED IN OUR CHARTER.
UM, INCLUDES, UH, YOU KNOW, ON DUTY HOLIDAYS, AUTHORIZED SICK LEAVE, VACATION LEAVE, AND OTHER LEAVE TYPES, WHICH MAY VARY, YOU KNOW, FROM THE DIFFERENT GROUPS.
SO YOU CAN LOOK AT THE DETAILS AT THE LINKS THERE.
BUT I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ACTUAL TIME WORKED MEANS AS IT RELATES TO THE CITY.
'CAUSE SOME PEOPLE MAY THINK THAT IS JUST THE, THE DAYS THAT YOU SHOW UP TO WORK, NO, THAT DOES INCLUDE NO VACATION OR SICK.
SO THAT IS PART OF THE, THE, UM, THE FORMULA TO HOW YOU REACH YOUR 40 HOURS OR YOUR 46.7 HOURS BEFORE OVERTIME IS CALCULATED.
SO I THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND BEFORE WE HAVE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE OVERTIME.
OKAY, SO NOW LET'S MOVE ON, STARTING WITH SOLID WASTE.
UM, SO WHY AM I ONLY FOCUSING ON SOLID WASTE IN THE CIVILIAN? WELL, THEY MAKE UP 65% OF THE CIVILIAN OVER TIME.
UM, SO ABOUT 4 MILLION OF THE 6.2 MILLION BUDGET.
SO THAT IS WHY, UH, WE'RE ONLY REALLY FOCUSING ON SOLID WASTE.
UM, THE OTHER SEVEN DEPARTMENTS THAT MAKE UP OVERTIME, THE POLICE CIVILIAN BEING THE LARGEST, THE OTHERS, YOU KNOW, SOME SMALL OVERTIME AMOUNTS OVERALL, BUT SOLID WASTE IS THE PRIMARY DRIVER OF CIVILIAN OVERTIME IN THE GENERAL FUND.
AGAIN, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT PUBLIC WORKS, WHO HAS A SIGNIFICANT, YOU KNOW, AMOUNT OF CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES AND, AND OVERTIME WE'RE ONLY LOOKING AT THE GENERAL FUND.
SO SOLID WASTE OVERTIME HAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED ITS BUDGET, EXCEEDED ITS BUDGET, I'M SORRY, UH, FOR SEVEN OF THE LAST 10 YEARS.
SO I, I, I'VE HEARD SOME OF THE QUESTIONS AROUND THE TABLE, SO LET'S FOCUS A LITTLE BIT ON THAT.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE WERE SPENDING IN 2016 AT ABOUT 3.3 MILLION, NOW WE'RE SPENDING ABOUT 7.1 MILLION.
IT'S ABOUT 120% HIGHER THAN WHAT WE WERE SPENDING THEN.
UM, THE FY 25 PROJECTION IS, UH, PROJECTED TO EXCEED THE BUDGET BY ABOUT SEVEN POINT BY ABOUT 3.1 MILLION AT 7.1.
UM, AND SO SOME OF THE DISCUSSION, LIKE, LIKE I SAID, LIKE I'VE HEARD AROUND THE TABLE AND DIRECTOR ABAKI TOUCHED ON IT.
SO IN THE PAST, YES, VACANCY SAVINGS, UH, WAS USED TO HELP COVER SOME OF THOSE OVERTIME COSTS.
UH, YOU KNOW, NOT WHERE WE ARE NOW.
OVERTIME, I MEAN, UH, VACANCY SAVINGS, IT WILL NOT BE ENOUGH TO HELP OFFSET, UH, SOME OF THOSE OVERTIME COSTS.
UM, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, AND IF YOU LOOK, ESPECIALLY STARTING AT 23, THAT WE'VE BEEN PRETTY CONSISTENT, YOU KNOW, AT THE 7.1, UH, FOR SOLID WASTE.
SO LET'S GO TO THE NEXT PAGE AND TAKE A LOOK AT, UH, SOME OF THE, THE MONTHLY BUDGET.
SO IN FY 25, WHAT IS THE TREND FOR THE MONTH? UM, SO YOU CAN SEE WE ARE, UH, SPENDING MORE THAN THE BUDGET, UH, FOR EVERY MONTH IN, IN THIS FISCAL YEAR SO FAR.
UM, AND IN FACT, THE YEAR TO DATE SPEND HAD ALREADY EXCEEDED THE BUDGET BY JANUARY.
UM, AND THEN IF YOU LOOK AT IT, YOU'LL SEE, UM, SOME, SOME PEAKS IN THERE.
SO YOU SEE IN JULY, UH, THERE'S A PEAK AND THEN YOU ALSO SEE IN FEBRUARY.
SO OF COURSE WE HAD THE DIRETO IN JULY, AND IN FEBRUARY WE HAD THE, THE IMPACT FROM, UH, ENZO, THE, THE, THE WINTER STORM.
UM, BUT EVEN IF YOU EXCLUDE THOSE ITEMS, SO IF I TAKE OUT, IF I ASSUME THAT, YOU KNOW, JULY CAME IN AT BUDGET, AND IF I ASSUME FEBRUARY THE COST CAME IN AT BUDGET, WE WOULD STILL EXCEED THE BUDGET BY TWO POINT OR ABOUT 2 MILLION.
UM, SO WHILE THOSE ITEMS ARE DEFINITELY, UH, YOU KNOW, ADDING TO THE, THE IMPACT FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR, IT'S NOT WHAT'S DRIVING, UH, THE, THE ISSUE THAT WE'RE SEEING.
UM, SO JUST KIND OF WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT.
[00:45:01]
11.SO LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT, UH, UH, THE OVERTIME, UH, BASED ON THE PAYROLL.
SO THE AVERAGE HOUR WASTE OVERTIME WORKER HAS ALREADY RECEIVED ABOUT 13,000, UM, IN OVERTIME PAY.
UH, SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THE ACTUAL CHECK DATES FROM, UH, UH, JULY THROUGH, UH, MARCH 21ST.
SO LOOKING AT THE CUMULATIVE PAY, UH, SO AS OF THAT TIME, THE AVERAGE IS ABOUT 13.
UM, AND I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SLIDE, UH, THAT THE HEAD COUNT WE'RE LOOKING AT, WE'RE ONLY LOOKING AT THOSE EMPLOYEES THAT DURING THAT TIMEFRAME RECEIVED OVERTIME.
SO WE'RE NOT COMPARING IT TO THE ENTIRE, UH, HEAD COUNT OF THE, THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND AGAIN, IS AS OF THE, THE, UH, MARCH 21ST, UH, CHECK DATE.
AND ALSO JUST TO NOTE, PAYROLL IS SOMETIMES SOMEWHAT COMPLICATED.
SO, UH, THAT YOU HAVE ACCRUALS AND ADJUSTMENTS.
SO SOME OF THESE ESTIMATES CAN CHANGE, UH, BASED ON WHATEVER ACCRUAL OR ADJUSTMENTS THAT MAY COME.
UM, SO THAT'S LOOKING AT THE TABLE AND ON LOOK AT THE TABLE ON THE LEFT, YOU CAN SEE, UH, THE, THE PRIMARY DRIVERS IN SOLID WASTE, UH, OF THE OVERTIME, WHICH SHOULD NOT BE A SURPRISE, OR THE, THE SENIOR SIDE LOADER OPERATORS AND THE REFUSE TRUCK DRIVERS.
THOSE ARE THE MOST CRITICAL POSITIONS IN SOLID WASTE, AND THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN THE HARDEST TO FILL.
UM, SO IT'S NO SURPRISE THAT THAT'S WHERE THE, THE OVERTIME IS THE HIGHEST BASED ON THOSE CLASSIFICATIONS.
AND SO LOOKING AT THE TABLES TO THE RIGHT, UH, IT JUST KINDA SHOWS YOU, UH, AT THE AVERAGE BASED ON A PAY CYCLE, YOU KNOW, A TWO WEEK PAY PERIOD.
UH, SO YOU CAN SEE THE AVERAGE EMPLOYEE DURING A TWO WEEK PAY PERIOD, UH, HAS ABOUT 22 HOURS OF OVERTIME.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE AVERAGE TOP 10 AND THE, THE TOP EARNERS, IT'S ABOUT 61, UH, ON AVERAGE HOURS, UH, PER PAY CYCLE.
AND AGAIN, UH, UH, A WORK WEEK IS 40 HOURS, A PAY CYCLE IS 80 HOURS.
SO WE'RE TALKING THAT, YOU KNOW, 48 FOR THE AVERAGE TOP 10, UH, 61 FOR THE TOP.
UM, AND THEN THE TABLE BELOW IT, AGAIN, WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT JUST THE PAY CYCLE JUST TO SEE ON AVERAGE, WHAT IS THE AVERAGE PAYOUT DURING A PAY CYCLE.
UH, THE AVERAGE EMPLOYEE ABOUT 820, UM, AND YOU KNOW, THE TOP EARNER ABOUT 2004, 412.
SO IF YOU WERE TO JUST ZOOM IN ON THE, THE TOP 10, UH, EARNERS OF OVERTIME DURING THIS TIMEFRAME, UH, YOU CAN SEE, UH, THEY ENTER, EARN AN ADDITIONAL 90%, UH, IN INCOME.
UH, AND ESSENTIALLY THIS IS COMPARING WHAT IS THE ANNUAL SALARY VERSUS WHAT IS THE PROJECTED, UH, UH, INCOME FROM OVERTIME.
SO AGAIN, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE ANNUALIZED AMOUNT, WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT HAVE YOU RECEIVED TO DATE AS OF 19 PAY PERIODS, AND THEN TAKING THAT AVERAGE AND ASSUMING THAT FOR ALL 26 PAY PERIODS, UH, AGAIN, IT'S A PROJECTION, UH, BUT THE YEAR TO DATE, UH, YOU KNOW, OT PAID AS A 3 21 IS, IS ACTUAL, SO YOU CAN GET A GOOD IDEA.
DID YOU AVERAGE THAT AMOUNT AND ANNUALIZE IT? THAT'S HOW YOU GET TO THAT NUMBER.
LIKE I SAID, YOU, YOU'RE LOOKING AT AN ADDITIONAL 90%, UH, IN INCOME OVER THE SALARY.
OKAY, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, SLIDE 13.
SO ACTIONS TAKEN TO ADDRESS SOLID WASTE OVER TIME.
AND THEN, AND IT HASN'T REALLY HAD THE DESIRED IMPACT AS YOU CAN SEE, OR, SO I WOULDN'T BE SITTING HERE TODAY GIVING YOU THIS PRESENTATION, AND I'VE HEARD SOME OF THE QUESTIONS.
SO, UM, HERE'S WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S DRIVING IT, AND HERE'S WHAT, UH, THE CITY HAS DONE TO TRY TO COMBAT IT.
SO STAFFING SHORTAGES IS NO SURPRISE.
YOU'VE HEARD IT ABOUT SOLID WASTE AND CHALLENGES RECRUITING.
UM, AND SO WHAT, WHAT HAS THE CITY DONE TO TRY TO BRING IN MORE PEOPLE? UH, WE'VE DONE UP TO A 6%, UH, YOU KNOW, PAY ADJUSTMENTS THAT HAPPENED BACK IN 23.
UH, WE, WE STARTED OFFERING A SIGN ON BONUS BACK IN 22, AND THEY STILL OFFER THAT TODAY.
UM, ONE OF THE BIG ISSUES WITH SOLID WASTE HAS BEEN THE AGE OF THE FLEET.
UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, EQUIPMENT BREAKING DOWN THE MAINTENANCE COST TO MAINTAIN OUR AGING FLEET HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PROBLEM.
UH, SO LAST YEAR IN THE CIP, WE WERE ABLE TO ADD 80 NEW VEHICLES TO TRY AND ADDRESS THAT ISSUE.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR SOLID WASTE, UH, THE CITY OF HOUSTON BEING THE FOURTH LARGEST CITY, BUT BEING SO EXPANSIVE COMPARED TO MOST CITIES, IT COVERS A LOT OF SQUARE MILES.
SO FOR A GROWING CITY, UM, THAT PRESENTS A CHALLENGE FOR SOLID WASTE.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ITEMS LIKE EXPANDING NEIGHBORHOOD DEPOSITORY HOURS, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A BENEFIT TO THE CITIZENS, BUT IT IS A COST TO THE CITY AS IT RELATES TO OVERTIME.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, AND ALSO LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, THE EXPANDED CITY, WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO TRY AND COMBAT THAT? YOU KNOW, WE'VE, UH, WE'VE STARTED UTILIZING MORE CONTRACT SERVICES.
[00:50:01]
WAS 3.5 MILLION, NOT THAT LONG AGO THAT COUNCIL APPROVED FOR HEAVY TRASH PICKUP.UM, AND WE'VE BEEN DOING THAT FOR SEVERAL YEARS, UM, TO TRY AND SUPPLEMENT, YOU KNOW, SOLID WASTE STAFF TO, TO HELP ADDRESS THESE ISSUES.
UH, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE, THE CURRENT STATUS, AGAIN, I WOULDN'T BE HERE IF WE HAVEN'T, YOU KNOW, FULLY ADDRESSED THE ISSUE.
SO THE, THE OVERTIME CONTINUES TO GROW, RIGHT, UM, SPENDING, BUT NOW WE HAVE SPENDING ON CONTRACT.
SO WE, WE HAVE OVERTIME GOING OVER, AND NOW WE ARE ALSO SPENDING TO SUPPLEMENT THE STAFF.
UM, BUT THE OVERTIME IS STILL ON A, UH, YOU KNOW, TRAJECTORY TO GO OVER.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, THERE IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT, YOU KNOW, 3 1 1 CALLS, THE MAJORITY OF THAT WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH SOLID WASTES, PROBABLY OUTSIDE OF WATER LEAKS.
I, I WOULD PRETTY SURE THAT SOLID WASTE TRASH PICKUP WOULD BE NEXT IN LINE
UM, SO THAT'S A LOOK AT SOLID WASTE.
UH, SO IF WE GO NOW AND LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT POLICE.
SO ON SLIDE 15, POLICE OVERTIME HAS, HAS EXCEEDED BUDGET FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS, UH, WITH THE GAP REACHING RECORD HIGHS, UH, SINCE FFY 2024.
SO AGAIN, LET'S LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE, WHAT WE WERE SPENDING BACK IN 2016 TO ABOUT 14.2 MILLION VERSUS TODAY WE'RE SPENDING ABOUT 39.8 IN ACTUAL SPEND, 180% HIGHER THAN WHAT WE WERE SPENDING.
UM, SO THE FY 25 PROJECTION OF 39.8 MILLION IS, IS EXPECTED TO SURPASS THE CURRENT BUDGET, 26.1 MILLION.
YOU SEE, I THINK TODAY WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, UH, INCREASING THE PROJECTION BY ABOUT 17 MILLION.
UH, THIS, AGAIN, THIS PROJECTION IS MORE OF A STRAIGHT LINE AVERAGE SPEND.
WHAT ARE WE SPENDING? SO IT'S ABOUT 26.1 MILLION.
AND SO, UH, ONE THING TO HIGHLIGHT FOR FY 25, SO THAT 39.8 MILLION DOES NOT INCLUDE THE POTENTIAL OVER TIME THAT THE GENERAL FUND MAY HAVE TO CARRY BECAUSE OF, UH, BARREL, UM, IF WE DON'T RECEIVE ENOUGH OF THE FEDERAL FUNDINGS TO COVER THE OVERTIME COSTS, THE GENERAL FUND WILL HAVE TO ABSORB THOSE COSTS SO THAT 39.8 MILLION WOULD GROW BY ANOTHER, UH, 12 MILLION.
UH, SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE CLOSELY WATCHING.
AND AGAIN, UH, AS YOU LOOK OVER TIME, UH, TRADITIONALLY POLICE HAS BEEN ABLE TO MANAGE THEIR OVERTIME THROUGH THEIR VACANCY SAVINGS.
UM, AND JUST A, A LITTLE BIT OF BUDGET HISTORY, 'CAUSE I'VE HEARD SOME OF THE QUESTIONS, UH, WHICH YOU WON'T SEE ON HERE AROUND I, I THINK 2009 OR SO, POLICE ACTUALLY CARRIED AN OVERTIME BUDGET OF ABOUT 27 MILLION, RIGHT? AND SO THAT IF, IF, IF THEY HAD A BUDGET OF 27 MILLION, IT WOULD BE MOSTLY IN LINE WITH WHERE THEIR SPENDING WAS.
BUT, UH, TO KNOW THE HISTORY IS IMPORTANT, THAT SINCE 2009, 2010, WE HAVE BEEN CUTTING, UH, BUDGETS, RIGHT? AND SO POLICE DURING THAT TIME, UH, OVER TIME WAS ONE OF THOSE ITEMS THAT THEY DID CUT.
AND SO THE BUDGET, SO ONE OF THE QUESTIONS ARE WHY ARE, WHY ARE THEY NOT BUDGETING AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY'RE SPENDING? UH, WELL, BECAUSE WE HAVE HAD TO CUT BUDGETS SINCE REALLY 2009, AND WHAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH THE VACANCY SAVINGS, UH, TO COVER THE COST, IT REALLY WOULD NOT HAVE MADE SENSE TO ADD MORE MONEY TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WHEN THEY CAN COVER IT WITH THEIR VACANCY SAVINGS.
UM, AND SO THAT'S HOW, WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, YOU MAY SAY, WELL, WHY IS THE BUDGET NOT ALIGNED? WELL, BECAUSE, UH, AS DIRECTOR BAI WAS MENTIONING, YEAH, THEY HAD VACANCY SAVINGS, AND THAT'S HOW THEY WERE ABLE TO MANAGE IT, BUT THE BUDGET WAS NOT ADDED TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UM, UH, BELIEVE ME, EVERY YEAR THEY, THEY WERE COMING TO THE TABLE, WE NEED MORE OVERTIME.
WE NEED MORE OVERTIME, WE NEED MORE OVERTIME.
AND ONCE WE GOT TO A BILLION DOLLAR BUDGET, YOU ALSO HAVE TO LOOK AT, OKAY, IF THE VACANCIES ARE THERE, USE THAT TO OFFSET.
UM, AND THEN, BUT AT SOME POINT, WHICH THE POINT THAT WE'RE AT NOW, YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE THE VACANCY SAVINGS IF IT, IF THERE'S NOT A VACANCY SAVINGS, THERE'S NOT VACANCY, YOU CAN'T AFFORD THE OVERTIME, RIGHT? BUT AGAIN, IN THEORY, AS YOU FILL MORE POSITIONS, YOU EXPECT OVERTIME TO TREND DOWN.
AND SO THAT'S WHY WE HAVE TO REALLY FIGURE OUT WHAT'S DRIVING IT.
UM, SO YEAH, I WANTED TO GIVE YOU THAT LITTLE HISTORY BECAUSE LIKE I SAID, POLICE USED TO HAVE A BUDGET OF, YOU KNOW, 27 MILLION, CLOSE TO CLOSE TO 30 MILLION.
UM, BUT LIKE I SAID, BUDGET CUTS.
WE'VE BEEN CUTTING, CUTTING BUDGET SINCE 2009.
NO, THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL, WILL, THANK YOU.
OKAY, SO NOW LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, SLIDE 16 AND LOOK AT THE, THE MONTHLY SPEND.
SO AGAIN, FOR POLICE, UM, AT WHICH IT'S NOT A SURPRISE EVERY MONTH, THEY ARE FAR EXCEEDING WHAT THEY HAVE IN THEIR BUDGET FOR OVERTIME.
UM, SO ESSENTIALLY, YEAR TO DATE SPEND BY NOVEMBER, THEY HAD ALREADY EXCEEDED, UH, WHAT THEY HAD IN THE BUDGET.
UM, AND AGAIN, SINCE I'M NOT INCLUDING THE, UH, THE, THE DERECHO COST IN THERE, BUT I AM INCLUDING, UH, YOU CAN SEE IN FEBRUARY THAT BIG SPIKE, AND THAT'S DUE TO ENZO.
[00:55:01]
NOT A FEDERALLY, UH, DECLARED DISASTER.SO THERE WE HAVE TO COVER THAT COST.
UM, SO, BUT AGAIN, IF I WERE TO, YOU KNOW, UH, TAKE OUT THAT THE IMPACT OF ENZO AND ASSUME POLICE ACTUALLY MET COST AT THEIR BUDGET, UM, WE WOULD STILL BE LOOKING AT $19 MILLION OVER THE BUDGET.
SO AGAIN, THE ISSUE IS NOT, YOU KNOW, THIS ONE, YOU KNOW, FEDERAL DISASTER.
SO LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND KIND OF TAKE A LOOK AT THE PAYROLL.
UH, SAME SLIDE YOU SAW WITH HIGHWAY.
SO ON THE LEFT, LOOKING AT THE TABLE AGAIN, UH, LOOKING AT CUMULATIVE, UH, PAY FROM BEGINNING OF JANUARY OR JULY, SORRY, THROUGH MARCH 31ST, UM, YOU CAN SEE ON AVERAGE, UH, ABOUT 8,000 IN OVERTIME PAY DURING THAT TIMEFRAME.
UM, AND AGAIN, YOU LOOK AT, UH, WHO, WHO ARE THE PRIMARY, WHAT CLASSIFICATIONS ARE RECEIVING THE OVERTIME.
UH, AGAIN, NOT, NOT THAT MUCH OF A SURPRISE.
SENIOR POLICE OFFICERS, POLICE OFFICERS, POLICE OFFICERS AND POLICE SERGEANTS, UM, YOU KNOW, ARE THE, THE PRIMARY, UH, CLASSIFICATIONS THAT, UH, RECEIVE THE OVERTIME.
UM, AND AGAIN, IN JUST THE HIGHLIGHTS THAT IF YOU SEE THERE, YOU SEE SOME EXECUTIVE STAFF RECEIVING OVERTIME, WHICH MAY SURPRISE YOU, BUT THEY ARE ALLOWED TO GET OVERTIME DURING A DISASTER AT STRAIGHT TIME.
SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THE EXECUTIVES ON THIS LIST.
UM, SO AGAIN, LET'S LOOK ON THE RIGHT, UH, AND ON THE RIGHT WE'RE LOOKING AT JUST A, A TWO WEEK PAY CYCLE.
UH, AGAIN, REMEMBER, POLICE IS ON A 40 HOUR WEEK, 80 HOUR PAY CYCLE.
UH, SO THE AVERAGE EMPLOYEE LOOKING AT 16 HOURS, UH, COMPARED TO, UH, 66 FOR THE TOP, UH, SAME WITH PAY ABOUT A THOUSAND, UM, AVERAGE EMPLOYEE, UM, COMPARED TO ABOUT, UH, 5,393 FOR THE TOP, UH, THAT IS PER PAY CYCLE.
OKAY, SO, UH, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THE, THE TOP 10 EARNERS.
SO LOOKING AT THIS, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT AN ADDITIONAL 120% IN, IN INCOME.
UH, SO AGAIN, WHEN YOU COMPARE WHAT IS THE ANNUAL SALARY TO WHAT IS THE PROJECTED, UH, SALARY THAT YOU WOULD GET AN OVERTIME, UM, THAT'S AN ADDITIONAL 120%.
UM, AND AGAIN, UH, JUST TO REITERATE THE CALCULATION AS YOU'RE LOOKING AT WHAT WAS PAID TO DATE THROUGH 3 21, SO YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, AVERAGE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S AN AVERAGE FOR 19 PAY PERIODS, AND, YOU KNOW, TO CARRY THAT TIMES 12, YOU CAN GET THE, THE ANNUALIZED AMOUNT.
OKAY, SO LET'S GO TO SLIDE 19.
AND SO AGAIN, SO WHAT ACTIONS HAVE WE TAKEN? UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S CAUSING IT? WHAT HAVE WE DONE? SO, UH, SAME STORY, ESSENTIALLY, UH, STAFFING SHORTAGES, UM, CHALLENGES RECRUITING.
UM, AND SO WHAT HAVE WE DONE? UH, WE'VE OFFERED 10,000.
UM, THERE WAS A LIMITED SIGN ON INITIATIVE FOR CADETS THAT, AGAIN, THAT WAS USING ARPA DOLLARS BACK IN, UH, 2023.
UH, BUT, UH, THE MAYOR ANNOUNCED THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WOULD BE DOING A 10,000 INCREASE IN CADET SALARY AND THE ONE TIME 5,000 INITIATIVE FOR COMPLETING THE ACADEMY, UM, TCO CERTIFICATION FOR FY 25.
UM, AND WE DID PROJECT THAT EARLIER ON, IN, IN THE FISCAL YEAR.
SO THOSE COSTS ARE COMING OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, INCREASE, UH, INCREASE THE, THE CADET CLASS, EXPANDING HOW MANY CADETS WE HAVE IN THE CLASS AND ADDING, UH, MORE CADET CLASSES.
I, UH, THEY JUST REPORTED CONTROLLER AND DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI.
WE'RE ADDING A SIX CLASS, UH, THIS YEAR.
SO THOSE ARE ALL ACTIONS THAT, THAT HAS BEEN TAKEN TO TRY AND MITIGATE, UH, THE OVERTIME CR COSTS.
AND OF COURSE, WE, WE HAVE INCREASE IN VIOLENT CRIMES, UM, AND THEN DISASTER COSTS THAT WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE.
WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT ENZO, WE HAVE TO COVER THAT COST.
UM, AND WHATEVER, UH, PERCENTAGE OF, UH, THE DERECHO, UH, AND BARREL COST THAT'S NOT COVERED, UH, THE GENERAL FUND WILL HAVE TO COVER THAT COST.
UM, SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE CAUSES AND WHAT WE'VE DONE AND WHAT IS OUR CURRENT SITUATION, WELL OVER TIME IS STILL, UH, REACHING ALL TIME HIGHS, UM, UH, FOR THE, FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND IT'S NOT REALLY SHOWING, UH, A SIGN OF SLOWING DOWN AT THIS MOMENT.
OKAY, SO LET'S MOVE ON TO FIRE.
UM, SO ON SLIDE 21, SO FIRE OVER TIME, YOU KNOW, FOR THE MOST PART, IT, IT, IT REMAINED IN LINE, UM, UNTIL YOU GOT GET TO THE LAST, UH, TWO YEARS.
THEN YOU CAN SEE, UH, IT, IT KIND OF JUMPED, UH, TO REACHING RECORD, RECORD HIGHS.
UM, AND WHEN YOU COMPARE, AGAIN, SAME COMPARISON, IF I LOOK AT WHAT WE WERE SPENDING IN FY 16 AT ABOUT 22.4 MILLION,
[01:00:02]
UH, AND, AND COMPARE THAT TO OUR PROJECTED 88 MILLION FOR THE, YOU KNOW, NOW THAT'S ABOUT 290% HIGHER, UH, ACTUAL COST.SO THE FY 25 PROJECTION, UH, AGAIN, LOOKING AT ABOUT 88 MILLION.
UM, SO THAT'S EXPECTED TO SURPASS THE CURRENT BUDGET BY ABOUT 42.7 MILLION.
UM, AND SAME STORY, BUT IN THE PAST, VACANCY SAVINGS WAS, UH, HOW WE, UH, ADDRESSED THAT OVERTIME ISSUE.
UH, BUT AGAIN, AS WAS JUST REPORTED, NOT ONLY DO WE NOT HAVE VACANCY SAVINGS, WE'RE ALSO PROJECTING TO GO OVER IN SOME OF THE SPECIAL PAYS.
WE'RE ALSO PROJECTING TO GO OVER IN THE PHASE DOWN, UH, IN PHASE DOWN.
AND SO THERE, THERE'S NO BUFFER, UH, AVAILABLE IN THE BUDGET TO COVER THOSE COSTS, WHICH IS WHY IT, YOU KNOW, THEY ADJUSTED THE PROJECTION THIS MONTH AND IT'S GONNA BE PULLING FROM THE FUND BALANCE.
OKAY, SO LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO, YOU KNOW, SAME, SAME SLIDE AS THE OTHER TWO LOOKING AT, OKAY, HOW, HOW DOES THE MONTHLY BUDGET TO ACTUAL COMPARISON LOOK? UM, AND YOU CAN SEE AGAIN, UH, PRETTY MUCH EVERY YEAR, I MEAN, EVERY MONTH WE ARE EXCEEDING, UH, THE BUDGET BUDGETED AMOUNT, AND WE HAVE THE SAME, UH, YOU KNOW, TWO PEAKS IN JULY WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DERECHO AND WHATEVER BARREL COSTS.
UM, AND THEN IN FEBRUARY WITH THE, THE WINTER STORM, AGAIN, THE WINTER STORM COST IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR REIMBURSEMENT.
IF I, UH, DON'T ACCOUNT FOR THOSE, UH, DISASTER COSTS, WE WILL STILL BE OVER BY 28 MILLION.
UH, SO, UH, THE ISSUE, UM, IS NOT THE DISASTER COST.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE ADDING TO IT, BUT THERE IS A BIGGER ISSUE.
UM, SO LET'S LOOK AT THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO THE AVERAGE FIRE OVERTIME WORKER HAS ALREADY RECEIVED OVER 17,000 IN OVERTIME PAY.
AGAIN, WE'RE LOOKING AT PAY FROM JULY THROUGH MARCH, UH, 21ST.
UH, SO THAT'S AN AVERAGE OF ABOUT 17, UH, 17,000.
UH, AND AGAIN, WE'RE ONLY LOOKING AT EMPLOYEES THAT RECEIVED OVERTIME, NOT THE ENTIRE, UH, DEPARTMENT.
AND SO LET'S LOOK ON THE RIGHT SIDE AT THE AVERAGE PAY CYCLE, AGAIN, TWO WEEK PAY CYCLE, UH, FOR FIRE, A TWO WEEK, UH, UH, UH, A WORK WEEK IS 46.
UH, WHAT IS IT? 46.7, UH, COMPARED TO 40 HOURS.
UH, AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE AVERAGE HOURS, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT 29 FOR AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE.
UH, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TOP 10, THAT'S ABOUT 130 HOURS.
UH, AND THEN, UH, THOSE AT THE VERY TOP, YOU'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT 147 HOURS.
UH, AGAIN, THIS IS BASED ON A 93.4, UM, HOUR CYCLE.
AND SO THEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE AVERAGE, PAY THE CHART RIGHT BELOW IT, UH, WHAT IS PAID ON AVERAGE EACH PAY CYCLE, UH, YOU LOOK AT ABOUT 1500 FOR THE AVERAGE EMPLOYEE ALL THE WAY UP TO, UH, ABOUT 10,000 PER PAY CYCLE FOR THE HIGHER EARNER.
UM, SO LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND TAKE A DEEPER DIVE ON THE, THE TOP 10 EARNERS.
UH, LOOKING AT AN ADDITIONAL ABOUT 230%, UM, IN INCOME.
UM, SO AGAIN, THAT'S LOOKING AT, UH, YOU KNOW, THOSE, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S BEEN PAID TO DATE.
IF YOU LOOK AT THROUGH 3 21, UH, THAT'S WHAT'S ACTUALLY PAID TO DATE.
SO AGAIN, AVERAGING THAT FOR THE YEAR, THAT'S HOW WE GET TO WHAT THE ANNUALIZED COST, UH, COULD BE.
UM, AND COMPARING THAT TO WHAT THE BASE SALARY IS, AND THAT'S HOW YOU GET TO AN ADDITIONAL 231%, UM, INCOME THERE.
WHAT, WHAT'S CAUSING IT? WHAT HAVE WE DONE AND WHERE ARE WE? SO, UH, AGAIN, SAME STORY.
UH, STAFFING CHALLENGES, UH, CHALLENGES RECRUITING.
UH, SO WHAT MITIGATING ACTIONS, UH, YOU KNOW, START 22, THERE WAS 6% PAY RAISES GIVEN 22, 23, 24.
UH, AGAIN, UH, WE, WE ALL 5,000 LIMITED SIGN ON INITIATIVES, AGAIN, USING ARPA DOLLARS.
SO ONCE THOSE ARPA DOLLARS ARE GONE, UH, THAT FUNDING WOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE.
UM, OF COURSE WE HAVE THE 650 MILLION IN BACK PAY, UH, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE HISTORIC SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, HAPPENED THIS FISCAL YEAR, AND THEN OF COURSE, 10% PAY RAISES, UH, STARTING IN FY 25 WITH RAISES POTENTIALLY UP TO 6%, UH, FOR THE FOUR YEARS FOLLOWING.
UM, AND AGAIN, I DO WANT TO CLARIFY WHEN IT COMES TO OVERTIME THAT BACK PAY IS EXCLUDED FROM THOSE CALCULATIONS, SO ON THE SLIDE YOU SAW BEFORE, ALL OF THAT IS JUST BASED ON PAY,
[01:05:01]
NOT THE, THE BACK PAY.SO THAT SIX 50 IS NOT A PART OF THE CALCULATION.
UH, SO THESE ARE, THESE ARE SOME OF THE ACTIONS THAT THAT'S TAKEN.
UM, AND OF COURSE, UH, JUST AGAIN, DISASTER COSTS.
UH, WINTER STORM ENZO IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR REIMBURSEMENT.
SO NOTHING WE CAN REALLY DO ABOUT THAT OTHER THAN ABSORB THE COST.
UH, AND SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR WHERE WE ARE TODAY? WELL, OVERTIME CONTINUES TO EXCEED THE BUDGET, UH, SHOWS NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN, AND IS, YOU KNOW, REACHING AN ALL TIME HIGH AT 88 MILLION, UM, THAT THAT IS AN ALL TIME HIGH COMPARED TO WHERE THERE'S A BUDGET 40 MILLION, AND AS I SHOWED WHERE WE WERE 10 YEARS AGO AT 22 MILLION.
SO WE'RE STILL, UH, IT'S NOT SLOWING DOWN.
SO LET'S GO TO SLIDE 27 AND KIND OF WRAP IT UP IN TERMS OF THE SUMMARY.
SO WE ARE, AGAIN, AS I START, STARTED OUT TALKING ABOUT FACING AT $330 MILLION, UH, BUDGET SHORTFALL.
UM, SO THAT'S WHY IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO KIND OF ZOOM IN ON THESE TYPES OF, YOU KNOW, SPENDING AND, AND PUT A MAGNIFYING GLASS ON IT.
UM, WHEN YOU COMBINE OVERTIME FOR SOLID WASTE, POLICE AND FIRE, UH, WE COULD POTENTIALLY SEEK THE BUDGET BY ABOUT 72 MILLION.
LIKE I SAID, A BIG CHUNK OF THAT WAS ALREADY CAPTURED TODAY.
I WANNA SAY ABOUT 59 MILLION WE'VE ALREADY CAPTURED IN OUR, THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT TODAY, MONTHLY OVERTIME SPENDING FOR FY 25, OF COURSE, AS YOU SAW, IS, UH, IS OUTPACING THE MONTHLY BUDGET AND EVERY MONTH, I THINK, FOR EVERY CLASSIFICATION.
SO IT REMAINS UNCERTAIN, UH, WHETHER SALARY SAVINGS, IF ANY.
ACTUALLY, I DON'T THINK IT'S UNCERTAIN.
SALARY SAVINGS CANNOT HELP US.
UM, SO, UH, THAT REALLY ONLY LEAVES, UH, THE FUND BALANCE, UH, AS AN OPTION.
AND AS WE KNOW, WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT THE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS.
HOW ARE WE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT? WELL, YOU KNOW, FUND BALANCE IS, IS STARTING TO DWINDLE.
UM, AND SO IF YOU GO TO, UH, SLIDE 28, UH, SO WHAT, WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO HERE IN THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE? THE AUDIT DIVISION PLANS TO COMPLETE AN AUDIT ENGAGEMENT THAT WILL PROVIDE FURTHER INSIGHT ON OVERTIME.
UH, YOU ALL HEARD FROM, UH, JENNIFER PIERCE WHO'S LEADING THAT, UH, AUDIT DIVISION A FEW WEEKS AGO.
UM, AND SO THIS IS ONE OF THOSE ITEMS THAT IS ON THE AUDIT PLAN.
UM, AND IT'S ALSO IDENTIFIED IN THE ERA AS ONE OF THOSE HIGH RISK ITEMS, UH, BEING PAYROLL.
UH, SO THAT IS CERTAINLY IN THE PLAN TO, YOU KNOW, DIVE DEEPER AND TRY AND FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH, WITH THE OVERTIME.
UM, SO, UH, THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT.
UH, HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THE FORECAST IS, UH, FRIGHTENING, RIGHT? AND I, I DO WANT TO MAKE, ASK A FEW QUESTIONS TO MAKE A FEW POINTS.
I GET NERVOUS WHEN WE START TALKING ABOUT, UM, SOLID WASTE EMPLOYEES AND OVERTIME, BECAUSE THESE ARE INDIVIDUALS, IF YOU LOOK AT THEIR ANNUAL SALARY, THEY'RE SOME OF THE LOWEST PAID IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, AND THEY'RE WORKING SIX DAYS A WEEK, NOT FIVE DAYS A WEEK.
THEY'RE WORKING AT 5:00 AM 6:00 AM THEY ARE THERE WHEN WE'RE GETTING HOME AT 7, 8, 9 AT NIGHT.
SO I, I RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF TALKING ABOUT SOLID WASTE AS AN EXPENDITURE, AND THAT WE ARE EXPENDING OVER TIME BECAUSE WE MUST ADDRESS THAT FROM THE EQUIPMENT FAILURES TO THE PERSONNEL SHORTAGES.
AND SOME OF THOSE CHALLENGES HISTORICALLY.
AND YOU KNOW, THIS OF COURSE, UM, WHEN WE TRAIN UP SOMEBODY, WHEN WE GET THEIR, THEIR, WHEN WE HELP GET THEM THEIR COMMERCIAL LICENSE, METRO GOES AND CAN PAY THEM MORE OR THE COUNTY CAN PAY THEM MORE, OR A PRIVATE CONTRACTOR CAN PAY THEM MORE.
SO WE HAVE A RETENTION ISSUE WHEN IT COMES TO SOLID WASTE.
BUT FOR EXAMPLE, I WAS LOOKING AT SOME OF THESE NUMBERS, THEY'RE ONLY MAKING 44 TO 55,000 THEY DOLLARS, UH, THEY'RE OVERTIME, YES, IS 17,000, BUT IT IS NOT TOTALING MORE THAN THEIR ACTUAL SALARY WHEN YOU GO TO FIRE.
THEY'RE MAKING MORE IN OVERTIME THAN THEY ARE ON THEIR SALARIES, IT LOOKS LIKE THIS YEAR.
UH, SO I JUST, I CAUTION US TO BE AWARE AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOLID WASTE, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK WE CAN LUMP EVERY DEPARTMENT TOGETHER.
WE HAVE TO TAKE EACH NEED INDIVIDUALLY, BUT OUR SOLID WASTE EMPLOYEES ARE UNDER VERY, VERY STRENUOUS CIRCUMSTANCES.
SO AGAIN, I, I RESPECT THIS CONVERSATION, IT'S IMPORTANT, BUT I DO WANNA CAVEAT THAT, UM, AS WELL, WHEN IT COMES TO THE INCENTIVE PAY, WHETHER IT'S SOLID WASTE, POLICE OR FIRE, WE ARE DOING INCENTIVE PAY AT THE OUTSET, WHETHER IT'S IN, UH, FOR CADET SIGN
[01:10:01]
UP OR ONCE THEY GRADUATE, OR FOR SOLID WASTE, THERE'S A 5,000 I BELIEVE AS WELL.WHAT IS KEEPING, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS AT THE HORSESHOE, IS THERE ANYTHING KEEPING THOSE EMPLOYEES AFTER THAT INCENTIVE PAY? UM, I WANNA SAY AT LEAST FOR SOLID WASTE, AND I MAY BE WRONG AND HAVE TO CHECK WITH HR, I THOUGHT THERE WAS LIKE SOME TYPE OF TIME GAP WHERE YOU HAVE TO STAY ON FOR THREE YEARS MAYBE.
UM, BUT I WOULD NEED TO CONFIRM THAT WITH HR.
I THOUGHT WE PUT SOME, SO THERE MAY BE A CHECK FOR SOLID WASTE.
IT DOES THE SAME APPLY THOUGH FOR, YOU KNOW, POLICE OR FIRE.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK INTO.
SO THAT WOULD BE A QUESTION WHEN WE GO TO POLICE, UM, THAT THESE NUMBERS COULD GO UP GIVEN WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS, IS THAT CORRECT? SO THIS IS BASED ON THE CURRENT CONTRACT IN THOSE PROJECTIONS? CORRECT.
SO WE COULD SEE HIGHER NUMBERS, CORRECT.
WHEN DO WE EXPECT THE PHASE DOWN THAT COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER WAS ASKING ABOUT? WHEN DO WE EXPECT THAT TO BE COMPLETE? DO WE, DO WE KNOW, LIKE DO WE HAVE AN ESTIMATE OF WHEN YOU SAY WHEN THE PHASE DOWN PROCESS WOULD MAYBE WRAP UP? SO SOME OF THESE COSTS ARE RELATED TO THE PHASE DOWN, RIGHT? IN, IN THE, WELL LET ME, LEMME TRY AND ANSWER IT THIS WAY AND SEE, BECAUSE IT'S, UH, I, I GUESS IT'S AN OPTION FOR, UH, I DON'T THINK THERE'S A SET TIME RIGHT FOR THEM TO ENTER PHASE DOWN.
IT WOULD BE AN ONGOING THING BASED ON WHEN THEY CHOOSE TO, UH, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT PROGRAM.
SO AS LONG AS IT'S THERE AT ANY POINT IN TIME, THEY CAN CHOOSE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT OPTION.
SO IT'S, IT'S AN UNCERTAIN BE IT MAKES IT EVEN HARDER TO KIND OF CALCULATE.
'CAUSE NOW ESPECIALLY WITH IT BEING NEW AND TRYING TO PREDICT PEOPLE'S BEHAVIOR ON, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY WOULD CHOOSE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, KNOWING, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE PAY INCREASES COULD BE.
IT, IT'S HARD TO DETERMINE WITHOUT ENOUGH.
THIS IS REALLY THE FIRST YEAR, AND SO WE NEED TO SEE A LITTLE MORE DATA TO BE ABLE TO SAY WHAT WE ARE SEEING AS A TREND.
THE ONE OF MY CONCERNS, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS, UH, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE OF US IN OUR SECOND TERMS, WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LOT.
WE HAVE A LEGALLY REQUIRED AMOUNT THAT WE HAVE TO SET ASIDE FOR DISASTER RECOVERY, BUT WE ARE SEEING EVERY SINGLE YEAR THAT IS JUST NOT ENOUGH AND WE ARE NOT, UH, ACCURATELY PROJECTING HOW MUCH WE WILL NEED IN THE BANK TO MEET THE NEEDS AS IT RELATES TO EXTREME WEATHER AND DISASTER RECOVERY.
UH, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO TAKE A VERY HARD LOOK AT, AGAIN, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
UM, WE MAY NOT GET FEDERAL REIMBURSEMENT AND THEN SOME OF THOSE HITS WILL COME OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND.
SO WE ARE NOT SUCCESSFULLY PROJECTING THE WAY THAT WE NEED TO AND WE NEED TO BE SETTING MUCH MORE ASIDE AS IT RELATES TO THAT.
LASTLY, UH, HAVE Y'ALL BEEN LOOKING AT THE POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS I ASKED EARLIER, UH, WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL IN THIS PARTICULAR, THE IMPACT ON OVERTIME, UH, IS WE ARE LOSING, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, FEDERAL GRANTS THAT ARE, UH, DIRECTLY TIED TO EMPLOYMENT FULL-TIME AND TEMP OTHER DEPARTMENTS AS WELL.
ARE WE STARTING TO LOOK AT WHAT THE POTENTIAL OVERTIME IMPLICATIONS ARE IF WE HAVE TO HAVE ADDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT CUTS BASED ON THE FEDERAL, UH, DOLLARS THAT WE ARE LOSING? YEAH, I MEAN, THAT IS SOMETHING WE WOULD HAVE TO, TO ANALYZE, UM, TO SEE, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THOSE SERVICES, UH, THAT THOSE EMPLOYEES WERE PROVIDING ARE ESSENTIAL SERVICES AND HAVE TO CONTINUE THAT MOST LIKELY WOULD MEAN AN INCREASE IN OVERTIME OR HAVING TO ADD FTES SOMEPLACE ELSE TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE THOSE SERVICES.
SO WE'LL HAVE TO, UH, WE'LL HAVE TO MONITOR AND SEE.
UH, BUT YEAH, THAT'S SOMETHING WE WOULD NEED TO, TO KIND OF TAKE A LOOK AT.
UH, AGAIN, JUST, JUST FLAGGING AS WE'RE IN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT OVERTIME, THERE ARE, THERE ARE ADDITIONAL UNKNOWNS, UH, THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY FACING AND NEED TO FIND A WAY SOMEHOW TO PROJECT FOR AND ACCOUNT FOR.
WELCOME VICE MAYOR, PROP TEM PECK.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
IT'S HELPFUL TO TO SEE ALL OF THAT INFORMATION ALL IN ONE PLACE.
UM, AS YOU, UM, ARE LOOKING AT DIFFERENT AUDITS AND DIFFERENT STUDIES, HAVE YOU SEEN ANY INFORMATION AT ALL FOR THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT SHOWING THAT PERHAPS IT'S CHEAPER JUST TO CONTRACT OUT A WHOLE DIVISION OF THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT? FOR EXAMPLE, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, SPENDING ALL OF THOSE, UM, CONTRACTING SERVICES TO SUPPLEMENT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR PLUS OVERTIME FOR THE SALT WASTE EMPLOYEES.
WOULD IT BE CHEAPER JUST TO TAKE LIKE YARD WASTE FOR EXAMPLE, AND JUST CONTRACT THAT OUT FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR TO SAVE MONEY ON THE
[01:15:01]
COST OF THE CONTRACT AND OVERTIME? I KNOW THERE'S BEEN, UH, DISCUSSIONS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS ON YES.OUTSOURCING, UH, OVER TIME AND, UH, IS IT CHEAPER TO DO THAT? AND I, I, I CAN'T RECALL OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD WHAT THOSE, WHAT THAT ANALYSIS SHOWED.
'CAUSE I, I THINK IN SOME CASES IT, IT MAY BE CHEAPER, UH, BUT THEN YOU GOTTA ALSO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU WOULD BE GIVING UP AND, AND BY PRIVATIZING IT.
UM, AND I, I, I BELIEVE THE STUDY THAT'S GOING ON NOW IS JUST FOR THE GARBAGE FEE.
I'M NOT SURE IF THEY'RE LOOKING AT, IS IT ALSO CHEAPER TO, UH, OUTSOURCE.
BUT LIKE YOU SAY, WE, THEY, THEY'VE ALREADY OUTS THEY ARE OUTSOURCING SOME OF THAT, UH, JUST BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH STAFF TO DO IT.
UM, BUT IT WOULD REQUIRE PROBABLY, UH, A NEW TAKE, A NEW LOOK TO SEE WHAT WITH COST, WHERE THEY ARE NOW.
BECAUSE WHEN I THINK WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THAT, INFLATION WAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT, AND SO YOU WOULD HAVE TO REALLY DO A ALL NEW, A NEW STUDY TO SEE IS IT WORTH, UH, OUTSOURCING VERSUS KEEPING IT IN HOUSE.
AND I CERTAINLY HOPE THAT STUDY IS LOOKING AT MORE THAN JUST THE GARBAGE FEE BECAUSE I'M PRETTY SURE THAT'S WHAT WE SAID,
SO THAT MAY BE THE CASE
UM, AND THIS IS MORE OF A COMMENT FOR THE ADMINISTRATION AND THAT WE SHOULD REALLY START ADVERTISING WHAT OUR SOLID WASTE EMPLOYEES COULD MAKE UP TO IN A CERTAIN YEAR BECAUSE WE ARE HAVING SO MUCH TROUBLE JUST GETTING PEOPLE TO COME TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON WHEN OTHER ENTITIES ARE PAYING SO MUCH MORE.
IF WE ARE START ADVERTISING, HEY, THIS IS A SALARY, BUT YOU CAN MAKE UP TO, YOU KNOW, X DOLLARS WITH OVERTIME, I THINK THAT MIGHT INCENTIVIZE PEOPLE TO COME WORK AT THE CITY A LITTLE BIT MORE.
UM, AND THEN WHEN IT COMES TO POLICE OVERTIME, UM, DOES THAT INCLUDE ANY OF THE COUNCIL OF DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS THAT, UM, DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE PAYING FOR OVERTIME AS WELL? OR IS THAT JUST SEPARATE FROM THAT? UM, I, I THINK IT WOULD BE IN INCLUDED BECAUSE I, I I BELIEVE THOSE, UH, IF, IF, IF, IF THOSE FUNDS ARE TRANSFERRED TO THE GENERAL FUND, UH, WHERE POLICE COULD UTILIZE IT, SO IT, IT MOST LIKELY IS INCLUDED.
UM, BUT I'M NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE, SO I WOULDN'T, I'LL FOLLOW UP JUST TO, JUST TO SEE.
THANK YOU MAYOR PROTIME, CASTEX ITEM.
MY COMMENTS, UM, WERE DEFINITELY ALONG THE DISPARITY BETWEEN THE OVERTIME IN SOLID WASTE AND THE OVERTIME IN POLICE AND FIRE.
I DID WANT TO ALSO, UM, AMPLIFY THAT THE, THE SALARIES FOR SOLID WASTE ARE MUCH LOWER.
AND THEN I WANTED TO SEE IF YOU CAN JUST KIND OF WALK ME THROUGH ON THOSE HIGHEST EARNERS ON PAGE 24.
I WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND.
UM, SO AGAIN, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, WHAT'S BEEN PAID TO DATE THROUGH THROUGH 19 PAY PERIODS.
UH, SO FROM JULY 12TH, I THINK BEING THE FIRST PAYCHECK THROUGH, UH, MARCH 21ST.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT OT PAID AS OF 3 21, THAT IS ACTUALLY WHAT HAS BEEN PAID.
UM, SO WHAT I'M LOOKING AT IS IF I AVERAGE THAT, YOU KNOW, DIVIDING THAT BY THE 19 PAY PERIODS AND ASSUME WE PAY THAT FOR 12 PERIODS, THAT IS HOW YOU GET TO THE ANNUALIZED AMOUNT FOR ONE SENIOR CAPTAIN, LIKE FOR ONE THAT, THAT'S ONE CAPTAIN, ONE FIREFIGHTER, THAT THAT'S CORRECT.
THAT'S THE, ON THE AVERAGE, THAT THAT'S ONE INDIVIDUAL.
SO ARE WE NO LONGER, UM, CONSIDERING THE PFM REPORT AS VALID INFORMATION, UM, ON OUR FIREFIGHTER NUMBERS? UM, I, I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE ADMINISTRATION, BUT I BELIEVE THE EY REPORT IS THE, THE REPORT THAT WE ARE FOLLOWING, UM, TO CARRY US THROUGH THE FUTURE.
SO NO, WE CAN JUST
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR AND THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
I JUST HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS AND I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT FIREFIGHTER OVER TIME.
SO YOU, UM, OPINE THAT ONE OF THE CAUSES FOR, UH, THE HIGH FIRE OVER TIME IS CHALLENGES IN RECRUITING.
CORRECT? MY UNDERSTANDING, THIS HAS BEEN A PRETTY GOOD YEAR FOR RECRUITING RELATIVE TO PAST YEARS, UH, BECAUSE OF THE SETTLEMENT FROM LAST YEAR.
SO HOW DO YOU RECONCILE THE INCREASED NUMBERS OF FIREFIGHTERS WE HAVE WITH, UH, YOUR SUGGESTION THAT, UH, OVERTIME IS DUE TO
[01:20:01]
RECRUITING CHALLENGES? UM, SO THE, THE RECRUITING, UH, SO IF WE LOOK AT IT THIS YEAR, SO THE, THE CBA JUST WENT INTO PLACE THIS FISCAL YEAR.UH, WE MADE, AND I HAVEN'T SEEN THE NUMBERS ON, UH, THE, THE CADET CLASSES SINCE, UH, THE CBA WENT INTO EFFECT.
UM, BUT IT WOULD BE TOO EARLY TO SAY BECAUSE WE FILLED MORE CADETS ALL IT, IT WOULD NOT BE A, A QUICK TURNAROUND TO SEE THAT IMPACTED IN OVERTIME BECAUSE YOU GOTTA REMEMBER THEY DID GET A 10% PAY RAISE SO THAT THAT RATE THAT YOU WOULD GET FOR OVERTIME IS ALREADY HIGHER.
SO YOU REALLY HAVE TO GET TO FILL UP THE STAFFING BEFORE YOU START TO SEE, UH, OR BEFORE YOU SHOULD SEE, UH, THE OVERTIME START TO GO DOWN AS OUR, UH, YOU KNOW, STAFFING GOES UP.
AND SO THESE OVERTIME NUMBERS THAT YOU'RE USING HERE, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT FIRE FIREFIGHTER OVERTIME PAY IS THIS, IS THIS BASICALLY THE EIGHT PLUS FOUR, SO THE FIRST EIGHT MONTHS OF THE FISCAL YEAR? CORRECT.
UM, SO LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT A BULLET POINT ON SLIDE 15 WHICH DEALS WITH POLICE OVER TIME.
SO BULLET 0.3 ON SLIDE 15, UM, HIGHLIGHTED LANGUAGE THERE.
FY 2025 MAY PRESENT GREATER CHALLENGES DUE TO THE RISE IN VIOLENT CRIME.
WHAT, UH, STATISTICS ARE YOU RELYING ON TO A SUGGESTED VIOLENT CRIME HAS ARISEN? I AM, I AM GOING BY BASED ON SINCE THE PANDEMIC OVERALL VIOLENT CRIME IS HIGHER THAN WHAT IT WAS PRE PANDEMIC, I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER.
UM, SO I'M NOT TRYING TO, UH, YOU KNOW, SAY VIOLENT CRIME NOW IS THE HIGHEST IT'S EVER BEEN.
I'M TALKING IN GENERAL SINCE, UH, SINCE THE PANDEMIC WE HAVE SEEN A RISE IN VIOLENT CRIMES AND I WANT TO SAY EVEN THIS MONTH OR THIS FISCAL YEAR, UH, THE ADMINISTRATION HAS PUT MORE MONEY TOWARDS OVERTIME TO COMBAT CRIME.
SO EVERY, AT LEAST FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WE'VE BEEN ADDING A LITTLE MORE, UH, MONEY TOWARDS OVERTIME FOR CERTAIN INITIATIVES TO ADDRESS CRIME.
SO IT'S, I'M NOT TRYING TO SAY THIS IS THE, YOU KNOW OKAY.
THE, THE ONLY, YOU KNOW, JUST, UH, I'M LOOKING AT THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS MORNING, AND SO IN, IN THE FEW MINUTES THAT I'VE HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THIS SLIDE, I DID LOOK AT THE NUMBERS FOR THIS YEAR MM-HMM
AND AT LEAST FOR THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, VIOLENT CRIME WAS DOWN 14%.
UH, I HAD A QUESTION, YOU KIND OF ALLUDED TO IT EARLIER.
IF WE LOOKED AT THE NUMBER OF HOURS OF OVERTIME BECAUSE WE HAVE INCREASED FIREFIGHTER PAY, WE'VE ALSO INCREASED WITH THE MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES CONTRACT AS WELL.
SO WE LOOKED AT THE NUMBER OF HOURS TO SEE WHAT THAT TREND IS.
YEAH, I MEAN THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE ON, UH, YOU KNOW, EACH OF THOSE, I SHOW THE THE HOURS ARE INCLUDED AND THEN YOU LOOK AT BY THE PAY CYCLE, YOU CAN SEE THE HOURS.
ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS, AND MAYOR PROAM SPOKE ABOUT THIS WITH THE PREVIOUS STUDY THAT WAS DONE, I THINK ONE OF THE SUGGESTIONS ON THAT WAS GOING TO A THREE SHIFT ROTATION FOR THE FIREFIGHTERS RATHER THAN A FOUR SHIFT.
HAVE WE EVER LOOKED AT THE PAY FOR HOUSTON FIREFIGHTERS COMPARED TO THE OTHER MIN MUNICIPALITIES ON A PER SHIFT BASIS? YEAH.
UM, THERE'S BEEN SEVERAL YEAH.
WOULD YOU HAVE THAT INFORMATION? I, I WOULDN'T HAVE THAT.
WE MAY HAVE TO REACH OUT TO, UH, DIRECTOR CHEEKS, UH, BECAUSE I BELIEVE THEY DID THAT PRIOR TO THE ACTUAL CONTRACT NEGOTIATION.
WE, WE HAVE TO, PER OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES, WE HAVE TO DO A STUDY EVERY TWO YEARS FOR ALL OF THE CLASSIFICATION.
SO THEY WOULD HAVE WHATEVER THE LATEST IS.
YOU'D GO BACK, UM, SEVERAL YEARS.
I CAN'T REMEMBER THE YEAR WHEN THAT WAS REALLY BEING DEBATED AND THE FORMER FIRE CHIEF DID HAVE PRESENTATIONS ON THAT.
WE CAN, WE CAN FIND THOSE TOO.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU START LOOKING AT WHAT THAT OVERTIME PAY IS AND ALL OF YOUR STATED CAUSES HAVE STAFFING SHORTAGES FOR THE MOST PART IN CHALLENGING AND RECRUITING.
AND THEN WE GET TO THE MITIGATING, UH, ACTIONS.
UM, IT'S BASICALLY THROWING MORE MONEY AT IT.
UM, I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO IN KIND OF GOING TOWARDS, UH, WHAT MY COLLEAGUE WAS MENTIONING, RIGHT? WHAT IS THE OPERATIONAL ASPECT OF IT THAT COULD ACTUALLY SEE SOME SAVINGS, UM, ON, ON SOLID WAYS.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, CHANGING THE, THE HEAVY TRASH PICKUP SCHEDULE, RIGHT? THAT COULD HELP US ALLEVIATE SOME OF THOSE STRESSES ON THE FIREFIGHTER SIDE.
I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT EMS CALLS OUR ALMOST 80%, RIGHT? AND SO SHIFTING PROGRAMMING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STAFFING ON EMS SIDE MORE SO.
UM, AND I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE OF, OF THAT LIKE DRILL DOWN MORE INTO WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
[01:25:01]
ON, ON THE POLICE SIDE, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S HOT, HOT SPOTS THROUGHOUT THE, THE CITY AND HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN REDISTRICT MAYBE LIKE SOUTHEAST COMMAND TO BE MORE FOCUSED WEST OF MACCA, UH, WEST OF MACAU, EAST OF 2 88, TO REALLY START LOOKING AT AGAIN, HOW WE'RE RUNNING THE DEPARTMENTS.WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AND OVER WHEN IT COMES TO TRASH, WHEN IT COMES TO FIRE POLICE, EVERY DEPARTMENT.
AND, UH, WHEN WE SPEAK TO RIGHT SIZING DEPARTMENTS, I THINK THAT'S THE OPERATIONAL ASPECT OF IT, WHICH AGAIN, WHICH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, UH, IS SPEAKING TO.
WE REALLY CAN'T JUST CONTINUE TO THROW MORE MONEY AT IT.
WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW THESE DEPARTMENTS ARE RUNNING, HOW THEY COULD BE MORE EFFICIENT, AND THEN SHIFT OVER TO THAT ASPECT.
UH, SO THAT, YOU KNOW, 300 MILLION, 300,000 ON, UH, PAY AND OVERTIME THAT'S, IT'S A LOT OF MONEY.
SO I APPRECIATE THIS REPORT, BUT I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO DRILL DOWN MORE ON MITIGATING THE ACT, MITIGATING ACTIONS, UH, ON THE OPERATIONAL SIDE, NOT JUST, AGAIN, THROWING MONEY AT IT.
THE MATHEMATICIANS ON THIS SIDE OF THE ROOM ARE TRYING TO, TO DO THE MATH ON SLIDE 24.
ON SLIDE 24, THE SENIOR CAPTAIN, HOW MANY SENIOR CAPTAINS CAN, CAN YOU CLARIFY HOW MANY SENIOR CAPTAINS IS IN THAT EQUATION OR IN THAT EQUATION? NO, THAT'S ONE PERSON.
BUT THERE'S ONLY 168 HOURS IN A WORK WEEK, CORRECT? CORRECT.
SO IF YOU, SO, SO HAVE Y'ALL DONE THE MATH OVER HERE? SO IF YOU LOOK AT, UH, WELL WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF, I'M SPEAKING FOR THE MAJORITY, RIGHT, BUT OH, OH, ON THIS SIDE.
SO 27, 2007 99 FOR 19 PAY PERIODS EQUALS 147 HOURS A WEEK.
Y'ALL FOLLOWING THIS? MM-HMM
SO, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE, I'M SPEAKING FOR US AND WE'RE A LITTLE CONFUSED.
RIGHT? WELL, SO LET ME, LET ME TRY AND ADD SOME CONTEXT, UH, TO, TO FIRE.
SO, YOU KNOW, WITH THE CBA, UH, THERE WAS, UH, THEY, THERE WAS APPROVAL AND I HOPE I DON'T, YOU KNOW, MISQUOTE IT, BUT THERE'S LIKE A DOUBLE TIME PAY AND THEN THERE'S PREMIUM PAY IN THERE.
SO I DON'T WANT TO SAY THAT IS NECESSARILY ALL HOURS WORKED, BUT THERE MAY BE SOME OTHER, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE THAT WAS A NEW THING WITH THE CBA, RIGHT? SO THAT, THAT WOULD, YOU WOULD HAVE TO DRILL DOWN TO SEE DOUBLE TIME PAY VERSUS HOLIDAY PREMIUM PAY.
AND SO IT COULD BE SOME OF THAT, BUT THESE ARE THE HOURS AS THEY WERE IN THE SYSTEM.
BUT THERE MAY BE SOME OTHER NUANCES TO IT.
WELL, WELL, I THINK THANK YOU BECAUSE I THINK PROBABLY CLARIFICATION MIGHT BE GOOD FOR ALL OF US.
OR, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT'S, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THAT NUMBER OF HOURS AND THERE'S ONLY THIS MANY HOURS IN THE WEEK, IT'S A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE OVER HERE GOING, MAN, I BETTER, YOU KNOW, CHOOSE A DIFFERENT OCCUPATION HERE,
UH, THANK YOU WILL FOR THE PRESENTATION.
TWO ITEMS I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS.
FIRST OF ALL, ACCORDING TO THE REPORT, UH, YOUR PRESENTATION, THIS YOUR, YOU'VE DONE, IS THIS SOMETHING THAT'S DONE BEFORE COUNCIL AND MAYOR ANNUALLY? HAS THIS BEEN WHAT YOU'VE PUT TOGETHER HERE? HAS THIS BEEN DONE ANNUALLY? I WOULDN'T SAY IT WAS DONE ANNUALLY.
UM, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY AS PART OF THE, THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT, YOU WOULD HEAR CHANGES IN OVER TIME.
UH, BUT I WOULDN'T SAY THIS, UH, SPECIFIC REPORT IS DONE ANNUALLY.
SO YOU TOOK THE, THE POSITION TO PRESENT IT NOW TO GIVE US MORE CLARITY ON WHERE WE ARE? YEAH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO, TO UNDERSTAND THE OVERTIME SPEND, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE GIVE A REPORT THAT WE'RE INCREASING OUR SPEND BY 60, 63 MILLION OR WHATEVER THEY PRES WAS PRESENTED IN THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT TO DO A DEEPER DIVE ON THAT.
WELL ALSO NOW IN THE POLICE OVER TIME, UH, AS I WAS GOING THROUGH THE NUMBERS, IT'S, IT'S BEEN EXCEEDING FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS.
CORRECT? THIS BUDGET HAS BEEN GOING UP OVER TIME.
SO COUNTING BACK, IF WE COUNT BACK OVER TIME OF ADMINISTRATIONS AND COUNCILS AND ALL.
SO THIS BEEN GOING ON FOR OVER 10 YEARS, RIGHT? CORRECT.
THAT THAT'S, YEAH, THAT'S WHY I EXPLAINED MM-HMM
WHEN I, WHEN I STARTED ON POLICE THAT IN 2009 POLICE ACTUALLY HAD A BUDGET OF 27 MILLION THAT RIGHT, RIGHT.
BUT, AND, AND BECAUSE OF BUDGET REDUCTIONS, THEY, THEY DID REDUCE THEIR OVERTIME, BUT THEY WERE ABLE TO USE THEIR VACANCY SAVINGS TO COVER THE OVERTIME
[01:30:01]
COST.SO, SO THIS IS NOTHING NEW TO THE PEOPLE THAT WERE HERE THAT IT, IT, IT WAS, IT WAS WHAT WAS HAPPENING.
THEN IN THE FIRE SIDE, THE REPORT THAT YOU GAVE IS OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS FROM THE OVERTIME ON THE, THE, THE ON THE FIRE, IF I'M CORRECTLY, UH, LOOKING AT THIS OVER THE YEARS BECAUSE ALL OF THEM, I, ALL OF THEM, I LOOK AT THE PAST 10 YEARS.
ALL OF THEM FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS.
BUT POLICE AND FIRE THE LAST TWO YEARS HAVE, UH, JUMPED, UH, BY A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT.
SO IT'S BEEN, UH, YOU KNOW, A TREND OF SLOWLY GOING UP AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN A HUGE SPIKE.
SO IT, THE LAST TWO YEARS IS, HAS BEEN A SHIFT IN SURE.
PATTERN AND THE SAME THING WITH SOLID WASTE.
HAVE THEY'VE BEEN CONSISTENT THE PAST THREE YEARS IN SPENDING ABOUT 7.1 MILLION.
BUT FOR SEVEN OF THE LAST 10 AS IT IS STATED HERE.
UM, JUST TO CLARIFY, WHILE THERE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN OVERTIME INCREASES, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING NOW, YOU'RE KIND OF SOUNDING THE ALARM BECAUSE USUALLY YOU CAN SUPPLEMENT WITH THOSE VACANCIES.
SO FROM A BUDGETING, IT'S NOT PRETTY, I'M NOT SAYING THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO DO IT, BUT WE HAVE HAD THAT OPTION OF SUPPLEMENTING AND RE USING THOSE VACANCIES TO SUPPLEMENT THE OVERTIME COSTS.
WE ARE OUT OF THAT OPTION AS OF THIS YEAR, WHICH IS SOMETHING NEW.
AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAD A NEW, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, NOT THE ONLY FACTOR, BUT THE NEW FIREFIGHTER CONTRACT, WHICH HAS WHERE WE SAW THAT EXCEPTIONAL JUMP IN COSTS FOR OVERTIME.
UH, AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, RAMIREZ AND I WERE JUST HUDDLING BECAUSE, UH, JUST FOR THE RECORD, YOU DON'T HAVE THIS AT YOUR DISPOSAL WHEN YOU'RE CITING INCREASES IN VIOLENT CRIME.
UH, THE, IT, I KNOW OUR CHAIR OF PUBLIC SAFETY SAFETY IN FEBRUARY HAD A GREAT PRESENTATION ON, UH, CRIME TRENDS AND VIOLENT CRIME HAS INCREASED THIS PAST YEAR.
SO WE DON'T HAVE THE DATE YET, STARTING IN 25, BUT FROM 23 TO THE END OF 24, COMPARING 2023 TO 2024, VIOLENT CRIME HAS INCREASED IN THE CITY ACCORDING TO HPDS DATA.
SOME OF THOSE CATEGORIES WITHIN VIOLENT CRIME HAVE DECREASED, BUT FOR EXAMPLE, RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT HAS INCREASED AND THE OVERALL PERCENTAGE OF VIOLENT CRIME HAS INCREASED.
AND, AND, AND I'LL TAKE YOUR WORD.
AND I, AGAIN, I WANT TO CLARIFY, I AM PRESENTING A 10 YEAR LOOK BACK.
AND SO I'M LOOKING WHERE WE ARE TODAY, UH, ACROSS ALL THOSE YEARS.
AND VIOLENT CRIME IS HIGHER THAN WHAT IT WAS, UH, THE PANDEMIC.
AND SO IT'S, IT'S IN NO WAY TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, CALL ANYTHING OUT OR, OR MAKE A STATEMENT.
SO, UH, DON'T TRY AND FIND A, UM, OH, YOU KNOW, I'M TRYING TO HIGHLIGHT A PARTICULAR, UH, THING FOR, OR, OR CALL OUT ANYONE.
I'M LOOKING AT A 10 YEAR, RIGHT.
AND OVER THAT 10 YEARS, UH, VIOLENT CRIME HAS INCREASED AND WE ALL SAW WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE PANDEMIC AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IT, I, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S UP OR DOWN.
I WILL TAKE, LIKE I SAID, YOUR WORD ON, ON, ON THAT.
UM, BUT THAT, THAT'S WHAT IT IS.
IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT A A GOTCHA OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
IT'S A 10 YEAR LOOK BACK AND WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL, YOU KNOW, THE IMPACTS OVER THOSE YEARS.
AND WILL, UH, ONE FINAL TOPIC HERE.
SO, SO WE RECENTLY HEARD ABOUT, UH, THE AUDIT PLAN AND DURING THAT PRESENTATION WE HEARD THE WORD AUDIT.
AND NOW AS I LOOK AT YOUR SLIDE 28, I SEE THE WORD AUDIT OR THE TERM AUDIT ENGAGEMENTS, AUDIT ENGAGEMENT, AND AUDIT ENGAGEMENTS.
ARE THOSE, ARE THOSE THREE TERMS THE SAME THING OR ARE THEY DIFFERENT? OH, I DON'T KNOW IF I'M QUALIFIED TO ANSWER THAT.
QUE I, I, I'M NOT SURE THE DIFFERENCE.
UH, YOU KNOW, JENNIFER, UH, JENNIFER PIERCE, OUR AUDIT, UH, THAT LEADS OUR AUDIT DIVISION WOULD BE THE, THE BE BEST ONE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
I'M NOT SURE IF SHE ADDRESSED THAT THE LAST TIME.
I, I'M, I DON'T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.
SO I'M NOT THE ONE TO ANSWER THAT.
BUT WE CAN, I CAN GET YOU, JENNIFER DID THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE.
IF YOU COULD ASK HER TO ILLUMINATE ALL OF US ON WHAT THOSE THREE TERMS MEAN AND YOU KNOW, HOW THEY'RE DIFFERENT OR HOW THEY'RE SIMILAR.
THANK YOU STEVEN WITH COUNCIL MEMBER EVAN SHABAZ OFFICE.
AND THANK YOU FOR THIS VERY DETAILED REPORT.
[01:35:01]
ARE THERE CURRENTLY ANY PLANS FOR OVERTIME? SHOULD WE HAVE ANOTHER STORM INCIDENT? ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, THE GULF COAST IS PLANNED AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT MANY OF OUR SENIOR OFFICERS ESPECIALLY WOULD HAVE PREMIUM DOUBLE OVERTIME PAYMENTS.ARE THERE PLANS IN PLACE FOR OVERTIME IN CASE OF A STORM? WELL, I THINK THAT GOES BACK TO WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, BRINGING UP ON ARE WE BUDGETING ENOUGH FOR DISASTERS? THE REALITY IS WHETHER WE HAVE A PLAN OR NOT, THE OVERTIME COSTS WILL BE THERE.
UM, SO, UM, WHETHER OR NOT IT'S ENOUGH, UM, I THINK IT'S CLEAR WE DON'T, WE DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH.
UM, AND SO WE REALLY RELY ON THAT FEDERAL REIMBURSEMENT TO HELP US COVER THOSE COSTS.
TYPICALLY AT 75% WHEN WE WOULD BE LEFT WITH THE 25% TO COVER THE COST, BUT THE COST WILL BE THERE REGARDLESS OR, UH, SO WE, WE HAVE TO BE READY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO ADDRESS IT.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR, OUR QUESTIONS.
UH, THIS IS VERY HELPFUL INFORMATION.
THERE'S NOBODY THAT CAN LOOK AT THIS PRESENTATION AND NOT THINK WE BETTER CHANGE THE WAY WE'RE DOING THINGS.
SO I APPRECIATE VERY ILLUMINATING.
UH, WE WILL GO TO PUBLIC SPEAKERS FIRST.
WE WILL HEAR FROM DOMINIC MAZO, YOU.
I DID TAKE THE 96 TO THE RED LINE AND WALKED OVER HERE.
SO HELPING IN THAT DEPARTMENT AS PER USUAL.
NO, UM, I THINK SOME THINGS I THINK TOO, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT POLICE.
I THINK ONE THING WE HAVE TO REALIZE IS JUST BECAUSE A COP IS ON DUTY DOESN'T MEAN HE'S OUT ON THE STREET.
YOU KNOW, THAT HE'S ARRESTING PEOPLE OR HER, OR ARRESTING PEOPLE, ARRAIGNING PEOPLE, THEY HAVE TO SHOW UP IN COURT.
AND SO THEY'RE NOT ON THE STREET 24 7.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE WE HAVE TO REALIZE WHEN THEY'RE ON, WHEN THEY'RE ON DUTY.
UH, WOODBROOK, THE AREA AROUND WOODBROOK MALL IS AN ISLAND AND IT'S CONNECTED TO THE REST OF THE CITY BY, UH, THE BNSF RAILWAY, WHICH RUNS A PARALLEL OR CLOSE TO, UH, STATE HIGHWAY 2 49.
HAS ANYBODY THAT FOUGHT A MAYBE RE UH, AND USE THIS AS A TEST, GIVE THAT TO, UH, CONTRACT THAT OUT TO THE CONSTABLE, THE SHERIFF, THE VARIOUS EMS AND FIRE AGENCIES AND BRING THOSE RESOURCES BACK, THE CITY RESOURCES BACK INTO THE CITY WITH THE PROVISION THAT THEY HAVE THE SAME TYPE LEVEL OF SERVICE AS IF THE CITY ITSELF WAS DOING.
I THINK THAT MIGHT BE, THAT MIGHT BE SOME, AND MAYBE UP TO, UH, KING, KING, KING ENGLAND, WHICH IS NORTH OF, OF BLE.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE WE NEED TO LOOK AT.
UH, AGAIN, I THINK WE HAVE TO ALSO LOOK AT THINGS LIKE WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE WESTHEIMER CORRIDOR WHERE THE RENEW HOUSTON, THE DRAINAGE FUND AND METRO NEXT ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO FIX A PROBLEM.
I THINK, UH, WE ALSO HAVE TO LOOK, I THINK TWO AT, UH, YOU KNOW, LOOK OUT THREE AIRPORTS.
THEY ARE PORTS AND THE COUNTY IS GIVING SOME BENEFIT FROM THE THREE AIRPORTS.
AND I THINK WE NEED TO START TALKING TO THE, TO THE COUNTY AND THE PORT DISTRICT THAT THEY, THEY START GIVING MONEY FROM THE, FROM THE PORT FUNDS TO MODEL TO DO THE AIRPORTS.
'CAUSE IN PORTLAND, OREGON, THEIR AIRPORTS IS UNDER THEIR PORT AUTHORITY AND NOT THE CITY AND AL AND TWO, UM, AND COUNCILMAN COUNCILWOMAN, YOU ARE VERY GOOD ON FRIDAYS TO MAKE YOUR SALLY ON FRIDAYS TO MAKE YOUR PEOPLE, UH, DOUBLE UP.
OR IF THEY'RE GONNA BORROW A CITY VEHICLE, TUNE A VEHICLE, OR THEY'RE TRIP TAKING MULTIPLE THINGS.
I THINK THAT MAYBE YOU NEED TO START SEEING HOW MUCH MONEY YOU ARE SAVING THE CITY BY DOING THAT AND MAKE THAT A CITY POLICY.
ALSO TOO, AND I MAKE THIS SUGGESTION BEFORE, UH, MAYBE FOR SOMEBODY GOING SOMEWHERE, METRO MIGHT BE THE, THE CHEAPEST WAY TO GO AND HAVE POOLED CUE CARDS.
IN OTHER WORDS, SOMEBODY GOES TO YOUR OFFICE, I GOTTA GO TO HGAC, THEY GET A CUE CARD, THEY GET ON THE RAIL, THEY GET ON THE 25 AND GOES TO HGAC.
I THINK THERE'S, I MEAN, WE GOTTA LOOK AT THIS.
YES, I AGREE THERE IS, WE DO, UM, BUY CUE CARDS FOR PEOPLE TO TRAVEL ON METRO.
BUT MAYBE IT COULD BE MORE AND WE CAN SAVE
[01:40:01]
ANOTHER WAY.UH, BOTH BENJAMIN BROADWAY AND FELIX KAPO SIGNED UP TO SPEAK VIRTUALLY, BUT WE DON'T SEE THEM.
BUT IF YOU'RE THERE, PLEASE CHIME IN EITHER BENJAMIN BROADWAY OR FELIX KAPO.
SO NOW NEXT WE WILL HEAR FROM DOUG SMITH.
REGARDING THE, UH, MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT, UH, THERE IS AN ARTICLE OR AN ITEM $18 MILLION INCREASE IN REVENUE AND CHARGES FOR SERVICES DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED AMBULANCE FEES.
I'D BE VERY CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT KIND OF COLLECTION RATE THEY HAVE ON THESE AMBULANCE FEES.
UH, IF YOU COULD FIND THAT OUT.
WE WILL GET THAT ANSWER FOR YOU.
UH, IF, IF THEY'RE SHOWING $18 MILLION, SOMEBODY'S ON THE PHONE OVER THERE GETTING 18 MILLION MORE DOLLARS.
THIS IS THE FIRST I HEARD ABOUT THAT.
WILL WE ANTICIPATE HAVING TO WAIT LONGER FOR, UH, CALLS? UH, WHEN WE CALL 3 1 1, HOPEFULLY NOT.
WE'RE BASICALLY MERGING ALL THE, THE, UH, WATER BILL, UTILITY SERVICE, CUSTOMER SERVICE WITH THREE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS AND THEY'RE ALL GONNA BE CROSS-TRAINED, SO HOPEFULLY IT'S MORE.
AND, UH, ANOTHER ITEM, UH, REGARDING THE D-D-S-R-F.
UH, THEY TALKED ABOUT A MILLION AND A HALF DUE TO HIGHER THAN AN ANTICIPATED INTEREST, UH, ON POOLED INVESTMENTS.
UH, I'VE MENTIONED THIS BEFORE, UH, IT REALLY BOUGHT.
THAT MEANS THEY'VE GOT MONEY THEY HAVEN'T SPENT AND WE HAVE SUCH A HUGE FLOODING PROBLEM PROBLEM IN THIS CITY.
UH, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THEY CAN'T, WHY THEY DON'T HAVE A WHOLE LIST OF SHOVEL-READY PROJECTS, UH, THAT THEY CAN DO TO USE THAT MONEY.
AND IF THEY CAN'T USE THIS MONEY THEY'RE GETTING NOW, HOW ARE THEY GONNA USE THE EXTRA A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS THAT THEY'RE GONNA GET FROM THE SETTLEMENT? IT'S A BIG PROBLEM, I THINK.
UH, AND LET'S GO FINALLY TO SOLID WASTE.
I WAS, UH, REALLY PLEASED TO LEARN THAT THE CITY HAD AN INTERACTIVE WEBSITE WHERE YOU COULD SEE WHERE WHEN YOUR SOLID WASTE, HEAVY TRASH AND TREES IS GONNA BE PICKED UP.
AND I'M INTERESTED IN THAT BECAUSE I PUT SIGNS OUT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD SAYING, HEY, IT'S TREES NEXT THURSDAY OR IT'S A SOLID WASTE.
SO I WENT ON THE WEBSITE AND IT SAID, UH, LET ME JUST READ THE, UH, CORRECT WORDING ROUTE SCHEDULED.
IT SAID, WE'VE GOT YOUR ROUTE SCHEDULED, BUT WE DON'T KNOW IT'S GONNA BE ANYWHERE BETWEEN FOUR DAYS AND THREE WEEKS FROM NOW.
WELL, THAT DOES NO GOOD, UH, TO, UH, TRY TO SET SIGNS OUT.
UH, SO SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THAT.
AND FINALLY, UH, YOU TALK ABOUT OVERTIME FOR SOLID WASTE AND, UH, WHAT CAN BE DONE.
UH, I MENTIONED THIS LAST MONTH, I THINK PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS SHOULD VERY SERIOUSLY LOOK AT ELIMINATING, UH, RECYCLING PICKUP BECAUSE IT'S COSTING US MONEY, IT'S COSTING US TIME.
AND THAT WOULD BE A LONG GO, A LONG WAYS TOWARD, UH, ALLE ALLEVIATING THE, UH, OVERTIME IN THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT.
'CAUSE BASICALLY YOU'RE RUNNING THE CITY TWICE WITH DIFFERENT PICKUPS.
UH, VICE MAYOR, PROP TEMP PECK.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
UM, APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS TO YOUR POINT ABOUT THE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS.
EVERY CIP THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE MONEY ALREADY IN THE FUND THAT IS NOT BEING SPENT EVERY FISCAL YEAR.
WE HAVE SHOVEL READY PROJECTS IN DISTRICT A THAT ARE READY TO GO.
SOME OF THEM ARE EVEN FUNDED AND THEY KEEP GETTING PUSHED BACK.
SO I AM, UM, VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, HOW WE ARE GOING TO SPEND IT AND HOW WE MAKE SURE THAT WE ACTUALLY DO SPEND THAT MONEY.
WHICH IS NOT SOMETHING I NORMALLY SAY, LET'S GO SPEND A TON OF MONEY, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO FLOODING MITIGATION, WE HAVE TO SPEND MONEY TO ACTUALLY DO THESE PROJECTS.
AND SO, UM, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE SHUFFLE SHOVEL READY PROJECTS, WE HAVE TO GET THOSE MOVING.
SO I COMPLETELY AGREE, UM, THAT WE NEED TO TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT THAT.
YOU'RE SINGING THE VICE MAYOR PRO TEM SONG ON THAT ONE.
COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN AND MINE.
WHEN IT COMES TO DRAINAGE AND UH, LIKE YOU SAID DOUG, WE HAVE LISTS READY TO GO.
SHOVEL READY PROJECTS THAT ARE DESPERATE, UH, BECAUSE WE KNOW THESE WILL PROTECT HOMES AND BUSINESSES, OUR ECONOMY, BUT REALLY OUR RESIDENTS.
UM, DOUG, JUST ONE THING I WANTED TO POINT OUT, UH, RELATED TO RECYCLING.
UH, ONE, YOU KNOW, I'LL ALWAYS ADVOCATE FOR RECYCLING, BUT THERE'S ALSO A FINANCIAL COST.
WHEN WE DON'T RECYCLE, WHEN WE ARE PUTTING SO MUCH INTO OUR LANDFILLS, THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF OUR LANDFILLS IS SHRINKING.
THAT MEANS WE HAVE AN ADDED COST OF CREATING A NEW LANDFILL FARTHER OUT.
[01:45:01]
THAT MEANS EVEN THE WEAR AND TEAR ON OUR TRUCKS GOING OUT TO THAT FARTHER DISTANCE, LET ALONE THE COST OF THAT ACTUAL NEW LANDFILL.SO THERE ARE OTHER COSTS ASSOCIATED WHEN WE'RE NOT RESPONSIBLY DIVERTING WASTE.
NOW THE MARKET FOR RECYCLABLES, THAT'S ABSOLUTELY SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT AND HOW WE, UM, MAKE RECYCLING, UH, YOU'LL, I DON'T THINK YOU'LL EVER MAKE IT MORE PROFITABLE.
YOU'RE NOT GOING TO PROFIT FROM IT, BUT MORE PROFITABLE IN HOW WE DO IT.
UH, SO I THINK ALL OF THAT IS FAIR GAME.
BUT I DO WANNA FLAG FOR YOU, THERE IS THE COST OF PUTTING TOO MUCH WASTE INTO OUR LANDFILLS RATHER THAN DOING THIS RESPONSIBLY.
I'D LIKE TO RESPOND TO THAT BECAUSE UH, THERE IS NO MARKET FOR A LOT OF THE RECYCLABLES AND IT ENDS UP IN THE LANDFILL ANYWAY.
AND SECONDLY, I DON'T KNOW WHO DECIDED THAT THE RECYCLING OFFICE WOULD BE WHERE IT IS.
IT COULDN'T BE FARTHER OUT FROM THE CITY.
UH, AND THAT IS CERTAINLY A WEAR AND TEAR IN THE TRUNK.
IT'S RIDICULOUS TO, UH, HAVE CITED THAT AT THAT LOCATION.
AND AGAIN, I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW WE RECYCLE BETTER.
AND WE DO HAVE BENJAMIN BROADWAY NOW ONLINE.
I DO WANNA REMIND ANY OF MY COLLEAGUES WHO HAVE TO GO THAT, UM, WE WILL BE HAVING A JOINT LABOR COMMITTEE AND BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE ON APRIL 10TH.
APRIL 10TH AT 10:30 AM WE'LL BE GOING OVER THE WORK WE'VE DONE ON THE TERMINATION PAY WORKING GROUP THAT WAS A BUDGET AMENDMENT FROM LAST CYCLE, AS WELL AS AN UPDATE ON THE VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT, UM, OPTION THAT PEOPLE ARE TAKING TO GET THE THREE MONTHS PAY.
ALRIGHT, MR. BROADWAY, GO AHEAD.
ALRIGHT, FELIX KAPO, ARE YOU ON? PLEASE GO AHEAD.
WE SEE YOUR HAND RAISED, WE KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE IN CYBER LAND.
THE UH, K COUNCIL MEMBER KIM, UM, OR COUNCIL MEMBER ALCO, THANKS FOR TAKING OUR CALL.
I THINK THERE WERE SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH.
SO I'M GONNA PASS IT OVER TO BEN BROADWAY.
UM, NOW I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT, UM, ABOUT THE HIRING FREEZE OF PUBLIC WORKS BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY THINGS THAT WE CAN DO AS A CITY TO SAVE ON A LOT OF THESE FINANCES IF WE JUST HIRE FROM WITHIN THE CITY BECAUSE IT IS JUST, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE THE MAN, IT'S JUST SO MANY THINGS THAT WE COULD WORK ON WITH PUBLIC WORKS BECAUSE ALL THESE DISTRICTS, LIKE FROM PREVIOUS YEARS BEFORE WE ORDERED 12 EXCAVATORS, WE ONLY RECEIVED SIX.
AND I THINK THAT THEY FROZE THE FUNDS TO WHERE WE COULDN'T GET THE OTHER SIX DONE.
BUT WE, HERE WE ARE FACING A BARREL OF ANOTHER HURRICANE SEASON.
SO IF THE CITY'S NOT READY, WE'RE JUST GONNA BE THROWING AND FLUSHING MORE MONEY DOWN THE TOILET THEN WHAT WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO, LIKE, NOW, I APPRECIATE ALL OF THE, THE, UM, THE STATS AND UH, THE THINGS THAT WERE SAID TODAY.
IT EDUCATED ME ON A LOT OF THINGS AND I'D LIKE TO CONGRATULATE, UH, COUNT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KAMAN.
'CAUSE SHE HAD A LOT OF, UH, MY THOUGHTS OUT OF THE PARK AND SO DID, UM, MR. WILLIE DAVIS.
BUT IT IS JUST SOME THINGS THAT MATT, IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME.
I'M GONNA HAVE TO GET WITH CHRIS HOLLANDS AND STAFF AND GO OVER SOME MORE NUMBERS BECAUSE IT IS JUST, IF WE'RE NOT READY FOR THIS COMING SEASON, THIS COMING HURRICANE SEASON, WE'RE GONNA LOSE MORE FIREMEN.
WE'RE GONNA LOSE MORE POLICEMEN, WE'RE GONNA LOSE MORE EMS VEHICLES IF WE'RE NOT BETTER PREPARED.
AND NOW IS THE TIME FOR US TO PREPARE FOR THAT.
I WOULD RATHER PREPARE THAN PREVENT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S JUST MY WAY OF THINKING.
BUT I DO LIKE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I'M HEARING AND IT'S SCARY SOME OF THE NUMBERS, BUT WE CAN WORK PAST IT.
AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY FOR RIGHT NOW.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENGAGEMENT, MR. BROADWAY.
[01:50:02]
UH, YES, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN.I DID HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR THE PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU TO ALL THE PRESENTERS AND THANK YOU TO, UH, COUNCIL FOR BEING REALLY ENGAGED AND ASKING REALLY GREAT QUESTIONS.
UM, ONE, PARTICULARLY ON THE STATISTICS OF, UH, VIOLENT CRIME.
WE DID SEE ON ONE OF THE PRESENTATIONS, UM, I THINK FOR THE POLICE OFFICER, UH, OVERTIME PAY THAT VIOLENT CRIME, UH, WAS ONE OF THE FACTORS FOR OVERTIME PAY.
BUT I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ HAD THROWN OUT A STATISTIC THAT THE VIOLENT CRIME WAS ACTUALLY DOWN 16%.
UM, SO I'M WONDERING HOW THOSE TWO CONNECT AND IF THAT QUESTION COULD BE ANSWERED NOW OR WHO I WOULD FOLLOW UP WITH.
UM, AND THEN I DO HAVE AN ADDITIONAL QUESTION AFTER THAT.
YEAH, I I THINK WE GOT A LITTLE SIDETRACKED ON THAT QUESTION.
WE'LL, WE'LL PROVIDE YOU WITH THE LATEST CHART THAT WE GET FROM HPD AND I, I BELIEVE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, UM, PRESENTATION DEALT WITH THAT.
SO YOU CAN LOOK AT THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE WEBSITE TO SEE THE POLICE STATISTICS ON, ON CRIME VIOLENT AND NONVIOLENT CRIME.
YOUR NEXT QUESTION, I GUESS, YEAH, MY QUESTION WAS PARTICULARLY HOW THAT RELATES TO OVERTIME AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, IF THEY'RE USING THAT AS A, AS A WAY TO INCREASE THEIR PAY OR TO SUCK UP MORE FUNDS FROM THE BUDGET, THEN, THEN YEAH, WE NEED TO FIND SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
'CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE VIOLENT CRIME IS DOWN.
SO I GUESS, I GUESS I CAN MAYBE TOUCH BASE WITH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ IS ALSO ON, UM, SORT OF CONNECTING THE DOTS THERE.
THE SECOND, UM, THE SECOND QUESTION I HAD WAS, AND I, AND I MISSED THE BEGINNING PART OF THE MEETING, WAS, IS THERE AN UPDATE ON THE VALONE TRANSFER THAT WAS PRESENTED FROM, UM, FROM BOTH UH, FINANCE DEPARTMENTS, BOTH THE CONTROLLERS AND I GUESS THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, UM, WHAT THE PROJECTED DATE OF THE TRANSFER WOULD BE OR IF THERE'S ANY UPDATE ON NEGOTIATION? THE CONTROLLERS PROJECTIONS INCLUDE, UM, THE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS THAT WE, THAT WE NEED TO PUT TOWARDS INFRASTRUCTURE OF VALOREM.
THE DEPARTMENT, UH, THE FINANCE DIRECTORS PROJECTIONS DO NOT INCLUDE IT, BUT SHE DID SAY, UH, PRIOR TO THE RELEASE OF THE FY 26 BUDGET, THERE WILL BE MORE INFORMATION ON THE NEGOTIATIONS AND WHAT WE WILL BE, UM, REQUIRED TO PAY OVER THE NEXT, UH, FISCAL YEAR.
WE DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION NOW.
AND THEN I GUESS, UM, ONE, ONE LAST QUESTION ON THAT IS, UM, ASSUMING THE FULL TRANSFER HAPPENS WITHIN THIS BUDGET CYCLE OR YOU KNOW, LET'S, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING IN NEGOTIATIONS, WHICH THERE DOES, THIS IS ALSO A CALL FOR TRANSPARENCY ON THOSE NEGOTIATIONS.
AS THE PEOPLE OF HOUSTON DID VOTE FOR THIS, UM, FOR THIS TAX AND ARE PAYING FOR THIS TAX, UH, WHAT UM, WOULD THIS NEED TO BE PRESENTED AS AN ORDINANCE BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE IN ORDER FOR LIKE THE POOL TRANSFER TO HAPPEN? OR LIKE WHAT IS SORT OF LIKE THE POLICY PROCEDURE? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I'M NOT SURE IF IT WOULD HAVE TO COME AS AN ORDINANCE.
I THINK THAT IT WILL BE PART OF THE BUDGET ORDINANCE AND THAT'S WHAT WILL BE APPROVING WHATEVER, UH, NEGOTIATED AMOUNT.
IT WILL BE PART OF THE 26TH BUDGET THAT I, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW FOR SURE I CAN RUN IT BY LEGAL, BUT THAT TO, I'M ASSUMING THAT TO BE THE, THE BUDGET IS CONSIDERED AN ORDINANCE SO IT WOULD BE ROLLED INTO THE BUDGET ORDINANCE.
COULD I FOLLOW UP WITH YOUR OFFICE COUNCIL MEMBER ALCO? SURE.
WE CAN FOLLOW UP, WE CAN FOLLOW UP WITH LEGAL ON THAT.
BUT LIKE THE MOST NEGOTIATIONS OF THIS SORT, WE DON'T, THEY'RE NOT REALLY PUBLIC SO.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION.
WE'LL SEE YOU ON APRIL 10TH AT 10:30 AM THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED.