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[Joint Committee on Budget and Fiscal Affairs and Labor on April 10, 2025.]
GOOD MORNING EVERYONE.WELCOME TO TODAY'S JOINT MEETING OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS AND LABOR COMMITTEES.
THIS MEETING IS CALLED TO ORDER, UH, THURSDAY, APRIL 10TH AT 10:31 AM TODAY WE HAVE PRESENTATIONS FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.
UH, WELCOME TO BOTH OF YOU ON THE MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEE VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT OPTION, AND AS WELL AS A SECOND PRESENTATION FROM THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT ON TERMINATION PAY, UH, WORKING GROUP FINDINGS.
THIS CAME FROM A BUDGET AMENDMENT, UH, THAT COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN AND I BELIEVE COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER HAD WORKED ON, BUT I'LL, I'LL LET THEM EXPLAIN THAT IN A BIT.
TODAY WE ARE JOINED IN CHAMBERS, OF COURSE, BY, UH, CHAIR OF BFA, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, AND BFA VICE CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, AS WELL AS COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, FLICKINGER AND RAMIREZ.
WERE ALSO JOINED, UH, BY STAFF FROM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ'S OFFICE, THE LABOR COMMITTEE'S VICE CHAIR STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS, JACKSON, THOMAS PLUMMER, AND DAVIS.
UH, IS THERE ANYONE ONLINE? AND SEEING NONE ONLINE FOR THOSE OF US, UH, FOR THOSE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WATCHING ONLINE.
AND ON HTV, UH, THE PRESENTATION WILL BE UPLOADED ON THE COMMITTEE'S WEBSITE AS WELL.
UH, WE WILL TAKE QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS AT THE END OF EACH PRESENTATION.
AND THEN WE DO HAVE A HOST OF FOLKS IN THE AUDIENCE I WANNA RECOGNIZE TODAY, UH, BOTH FROM HOPE AND UNITE HERE, AND SEVERAL OF THEM ARE ALSO SIGNED UP TO SPEAK.
UH, WE DO, UH, A TIME LIMIT ON PUBLIC SPEAKING.
IT WILL BE TWO MINUTES PER PERSON, AND THAT WILL BE AT THE END OF BOTH PRESENTATIONS.
UH, AND I SEE WE'VE ALSO BEEN JOINED BY STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER'S OFFICE.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING WITH THAT, UH, CHAIR.
ALCORN, DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS? NO.
UH, FIRST UP ON THE VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT OPTION, UH, CHAIR RECOGNIZES DEPUTY DIRECTOR STEVEN DAVID.
ALSO WANNA RECOGNIZE WE HAVE, UH, THE MAYOR'S CHIEF OF STAFF, CHRIS NEWPORT, WITH US AS WELL.
AND WOULD YOU LIKE A CHAIR? NO, NO, I'M FINE STANDING.
I'M DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO MAYOR WHITMEYER.
I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE, UH, VOLUNTARY MUNICIPAL EMPLOYMENT, MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT PAYOUT OPTION.
UM, WHAT WE HAVE LOVINGLY STARTED TO CALL V MEPO.
UM, WHAT WE WANNA DO, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO TODAY IS, UH, WHAT YOU THROUGH, UM, A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF WHAT IT IS, WHAT IT IS NOT, UM, THE THOUGHT BEHIND THIS, UM, AS BEING PART OF A, UH, A SET OF OPTIONS.
UM, AND THEN I'D LIKE TO WALK YOU THROUGH WHERE WE ARE AT AS A STATUS UPDATE, UH, WITH REGARDS TO THE ACCEPTANCE OF, UH, THE VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT.
AND THEN I'D LIKE TO WALK YOU THROUGH, UM, SORT OF THE FINANCIAL IMPACT THAT WE ARE SEEING, OR THAT WE EXPECT TO SEE WITH THIS, UM, AND THE VARIOUS SCENARIOS THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, UH, PROJECT OUT WITH, UH, WITH THIS, UH, PARTICULAR PLAN OR OPTION.
AND THE, UH, THEN I'LL, I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
I IMAGINE Y'ALL ARE GONNA HAVE, UH, QUITE A FEW WHAT IF SCENARIOS AND, AND ASK, UH, SOME GOOD QUESTIONS.
AND THEN OBVIOUSLY WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, THANK YOU FOR JOINING.
AND, UH, CHAIR, CHAIR ALSO RECOGNIZES DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI, WHO JUST JOINED US.
AND, UH, WE'LL ALSO WALK YOU THROUGH, UM, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT THE, UH, THE AUDIENCE MAY HAVE AS WELL.
I KNOW THAT WE HAVE A REPRESENTATION OF, UH, A COUPLE OF UNIONS HERE.
UH, THE THING THAT I'D LIKE TO, TO FIRST START OUT WITH IS, UH, GIVE A REAL HEARTFELT THANKS TO BOTH THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT AND THE, UH, HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY, UH, TO MAKE THIS PLAN A REALITY, UH, AS WELL AS ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.
WE HAVE 3000 EMPLOYEES WHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS RETIREMENT OPTION, AND THEY HAVE BEEN FIELDING, UM, A TON OF QUESTIONS, A TON OF, UH, VERY PERSONAL SCENARIOS THAT PEOPLE GIVE, UM, AS I'M SURE YOU CAN IMAGINE.
ADDITIONALLY, I'D LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE THANK, UH, OUR PARTNERS WITH H MEPS.
UM, YOU CAN'T RETIRE WITHOUT H MEPS, AND THEY, UH, HAVE GONE FROM EXPECTING ABOUT 400 RETIREMENTS A YEAR TO A POTENTIAL OF 3000 WITHIN A FEW WEEKS.
UH, THEY, UH, WE'VE MET WITH THEM.
WE'VE, IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION WITH THEM TO GIVE SORT OF A, A SCOPE OF THE AMOUNT OF PHONE CALLS THEY RECEIVE.
THEY EXPECT ABOUT 40 A WEEK, THEY GOT 13,000.
SO, UH, IT'S, IT'S BEEN A AND THAT GOES TO SHOW THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ANSWERED.
UM, SO I'D LIKE TO JUST START BY SAYING THANK YOU TO ALL OF THOSE GROUPS, UH, FOR THIS REALLY
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INTEREST, REALLY IMPRESSIVE WORK THAT THEY'VE PUT INTO THIS.UH, I'D LIKE TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW HERE OF WHAT IT IS, UH, WHO'S ELIGIBLE AND WHAT'S BEING OFFERED.
SO, THE FIRST IS THAT THIS PROGRAM, FROM A TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVE, UH, IS ALLOWED BY AP THREE DASH 23, WHICH THE MAYOR SIGNED ON MARCH 13TH.
UM, IT IS A LIMITED TIME RETIREMENT INCENTIVE FOR EMPLOYEES WHO VOLUNTARILY RETIRE MAY 1ST, 2025.
AND WHAT THEY WOULD RECEIVE WITHIN, UH, THAT RETIREMENT ARE TWO THINGS BEYOND THE REGULAR RETIREMENT.
SO THIS IS JUST A NORMAL RETIREMENT, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TWO THINGS, AND THEIR ADDITIONS NOT SUBTRACTIONS FROM IT.
THE FIRST IS THAT THEY WOULD GET A LUMP SUM INCENTIVE OF 25% OF, AND THIS IS THE TECHNICAL LANGUAGE, THEIR ANNUALIZED SALARY PLUS LONGEVITY PAY.
AND THEN THEY WOULD RECEIVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO STAY ON ACTIVE EMPLOYEE BENEFIT RATES FOR FIVE YEARS.
SO, WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THIS? ANY MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES ELIGIBLE FOR NORMAL RETIREMENT IS ELIGIBLE FOR THIS.
UM, AND THERE ARE, UH, A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT YOU CAN GET TO NORMAL RETIREMENT.
THE ORGANIZATION THAT CONFIRMS NORMAL RETIREMENT IS H MEPS, WHICH IS WHY THEY ARE A CRITICAL PARTNER HERE.
UH, BUT IN EFFECT, THEY EITHER MEET THE RULE OF 75, WHICH IS AGE PLUS YEARS OF SERVICE, OR THEY ARE 62 WITH FIVE YEARS OF, OF SERVICE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND WHAT THAT MEANS, FROM A NUMBERS PERSPECTIVE, IS APPROXIMATELY 3000 EMPLOYEES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS.
UM, TO GIVE YOU SORT OF A, A SCOPE HERE, WE HAVE ABOUT 12,100, UH, CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UM, THIS REPRESENTS ABOUT 26% OF THAT NUMBER.
UH, AND THEN ADDITIONALLY, WHY IS THIS BEING OFFERED? SO, UH, WITH THE RESULTS OF THE EFFICIENCY STUDY COMBINED WITH THE STRUCTURAL IMBALANCE OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON, OF THE BUDGET, THE MAYOR WANTED TO OFFER AN INCENTIVE TO THOSE WHO HAVE EARNED THEIR RETIREMENT, RIGHT? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO'VE GIVEN DECADES OF SERVICE TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THEY'VE COMMITTED THEIR PROFESSIONAL CAREERS HERE, THEY LIVE AND BREATHE THE CITY OF HOUSTON, AND THINK ABOUT WAYS IN WHICH THEY CAN CONTINUE OR THE WAYS THAT THEY SERVE HOUSTONIANS.
AND SO WHAT WE WANTED TO DO WAS, THIS WAS A, UH, ONE OF MANY THINGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING OVER THE COURSE OF THE PAST YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF IN PLANNING FOR FY 26 IN THE BUDGET GAP.
WE'RE EXPECTING THAT WE'VE ALL TALKED ABOUT THAT Y'ALL ARE QUITE FAMILIAR WITH.
UM, THIS IS NOT THE ONLY THING THAT WE ARE DOING TO CLOSE THE BUDGET GAP.
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST THING THAT WE ARE DOING.
A LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM EMPLOYEES, UM, WHEN WE DO OUR EMPLOYEE INFORMATION SESSIONS IS, WHY IS THIS THE FIRST THING THAT YOU'RE DOING? WHY ARE YOU COMING TO US AS I'M ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE? SO FIRST, THE, THE THING THAT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE STRESSED, UM, AND I'LL STEP UP TO THE SIDE A LITTLE BIT AND SAY THAT, UH, WE'VE HAD, WE WILL HAVE OUR HOST OUR THIRD INFORMATION SESSION AVAILABLE TO EMPLOYEES NEXT WEEK.
WE'VE HAD TWO, UH, CHRIS HOSTED, THE FIRST ONE I HOSTED, THE SECOND ONE, UH, WE HAD ABOUT 650 EMPLOYEES, UH, ATTEND THESE.
THIS IS, THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO WERE EITHER ABOUT 150 PEOPLE IN PERSON, AND THEN THE REST WERE ONLINE.
WE MADE IT AVAILABLE BOTH ONLINE AS WELL AS IN PERSON.
AND WE RECEIVED A WHOLE HOST OF QUESTIONS, UH, SOME OF WHICH, YOU KNOW, IS THIS REQUIRED? THE ANSWER'S NO, IT'S VOLUNTARY.
UM, WHY IS THE FIRST THING THAT YOU'RE DOING COMING TO RETIREMENT ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES? AND THE ANSWER IS, IT'S NOT THE FIRST THING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.
WE'VE BEEN CLOSING THIS BUDGET GAP FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
UM, BUT THE, THE POINT IN THIS IS THAT WE BELIEVE THAT THEY'VE EARNED THIS.
I MEAN, WE WANT TO PROVIDE AN OP OPPORTUNITY.
UM, WHAT WE KNOW, UM, WHAT WE KNOW FY 26 IS GOING TO BE IS A FISCAL YEAR OF CHANGE.
THE EXPECTATION FOR THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS IS THAT THEY ARE GOING TO, UM, BRING A RESTRUCTURED DEPARTMENT TO US WHEN THEY SUBMIT THEIR BUDGET.
UH, THE MAYOR PUT IN A HIRING FREEZE.
UM, IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WE ARE ALSO LOOKING TO, UH, FIND WAYS.
WITH THE EFFICIENCY STUDY, WE LEARNED THAT, UH, WE HAVE 42% OF OUR PEOPLE MANAGERS, UH, MANAGE THREE OR FEWER PEOPLE.
SO THE EXPECTATION FOR DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS IS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO SUBMIT A, A RESTRUCTURED BUDGET.
AND FOR THOSE WHO ARE RETIREMENT ELIGIBLE, UM, THOSE ARE THE FOLKS WHO CAN AT ANY POINT IN TIME, UH, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, FILE THEIR RETIREMENT AND THEY HAVE EARNED IT.
UM, THERE'S GOING TO BE A TON OF CHANGE, THOUGH IN FY 26, AND WE WANTED TO CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE WHO ARE MAYBE THINKING ABOUT, UH, RETIRING.
MAYBE IT WAS SOMETHING THAT THEY PLANNED IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
MAYBE IT WAS SOMETHING THEY WERE THINKING ABOUT JANUARY ONE OF 26.
UH, THAT IF THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO TAKE A 25%, UH, INCENTIVE OF THEIR ANNUALIZED PAY PLUS LONGEVITY, THAT IF YOU'D BE WILLING TO RETIRE NOW, THEN THIS IS GONNA BE AN OPPORTUNITY.
UM, IT WILL EXPIRE, MAY 1ST, UH, EXCUSE ME, IT'LL EXPIRE, UH, APRIL 28TH, AND THEN EVERYBODY RE UH, THE RETIREMENT DATE IS MAY 1ST OFFICIALLY.
UH, BUT AGAIN, IT'S VOLUNTARY.
IF NOBODY TAKES IT, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO CLOSE THE BUDGET GAP.
UM, SO, UH, THAT IS THE, THE INTENT OF WHY THIS IS BEING OFFERED.
UM, SO WHAT I'M GONNA DO IS FLIP TO THE NEXT, UH, NEXT SLIDE.
I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT TIMELINE AND THE ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT, AND THEN I'M GONNA ASK DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI TO TALK
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ABOUT THE FINANCIAL IMPACT IN THE NEXT TWO SLIDES.UM, SO AS TIMELINE OF THIS, UM, SO WE HAVE ACHIEVED ONE OF THE BULLET POINTS IN THIS TIMELINE, UH, MARCH 14TH.
THAT IS WHEN THE OFFER LETTER WENT OUT TO EMPLOYEES, UH, AND THE CONVERSATIONS BEGAN.
SO THE OFFER LETTER WENT OUT IN TWO DIFFERENT WAYS, AND THERE'S A, A REAL DISTINCT REASON FOR THIS.
UH, BUT WE EMAILED IT TO THEM AND OUR DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS BEGAN HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM.
UM, I HAD THE CONVERSATION WITH FOLKS IN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE WHO ARE ELIGIBLE AND DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS AND OTHER FOLKS ACROSS THE CITY HAD DEPARTMENT WITH THEIR ELIGIBLE PEOPLE.
APRIL 28TH WILL BE THE LAST DAY THAT EMPLOYEES CAN SIGN UP.
UH, MAY 1ST WILL BE THE RETIREMENT DATE FOR EMPLOYEES WHO ELECT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE RETIREMENT INCENTIVE.
MAY 16TH WILL BE THEIR LAST PAYCHECK WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND WITHIN THAT PAYCHECK, THEY WILL RECEIVE THE WAY THAT OUR PAYROLL PERIODS WORK.
THEY'LL RECEIVE FOUR DAYS OF PAY, AND THE 25% INCENTIVE WITHIN THAT PAYCHECK, IT WILL BE DIRECT DEPOSITED.
AND THEN MAY 23RD WILL BE THE, IT'S THE NORMAL PROCESS FOR RECEIVING THIS.
BUT WE CALL IT DRAG UP PAY OR TERM PAY, BUT IS THE MSP PLAN, ALL ACCRUED LEAVE AND THE CSL PLAN ACCRUED LEAVE OF OVER 1040 HOURS.
WE THINK OF THIS AS LIKE PTO AND SICK TIME.
UM, AND THAT CHECK WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THEM TO EITHER COME TO THE CITY AND PICK IT UP, OR WE CAN MAIL IT TO THEM.
THEY MAKE THAT ELECTION, WHICH IS, AGAIN, NOTHING NEW.
THAT'S A NORMAL COURSE OF RETIREMENT.
ADDITIONALLY, THERE ARE SOME OPTIONS IN WHICH THEY CAN ROLL IT OVER INTO THEIR 4 57 B, BUT THOSE ARE VERY SPECIFIC, UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES FOR THEMSELVES.
SO FOR THE PURPOSES OF AN ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT, UM, THE THING THAT I WANT TO BE ABLE TO STRESS AGAIN, IS THIS IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES.
THIS IS NOT AVAILABLE TO OUR FIREFIGHTERS AND OUR POLICE OFFICERS.
UH, AND IT IS, UH, WHAT THAT NUMBER IS, IS ABOUT 3000, I THINK IT'S LIKE 3017, BUT 3000, UM, 15% OF THOSE ELIGIBLE.
AS WE THINK ABOUT RESTRUCTURING IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND, AND HAVING A VERY THIN SPAN OF CONTROL, 15% OF THOSE ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES FOR RETIREMENT ARE SUPERVISORS, 47% OF WHICH HAVE THREE OR FEWER DIRECT REPORTS, EVEN MORE SO, IT IS HIGHER THAN THE NUMBER THAT WE SAW, UM, WITHIN, UH, WITHIN THE EFFICIENCY STUDY.
AND WHAT THIS WILL ALLOW US TO DO IS WHATEVER NUMBER OF PEOPLE TAKE, UH, WHATEVER NUMBER OF FOLKS ELECT TO TAKE THIS VOLUNTARY PAYOUT, THIS WILL GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE STRATEGIC AS WE THINK ABOUT RESTRUCTURING OF OUR ORGANIZATIONS.
IF WE KNOW PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO RETIRE, BECAUSE WE ARE RE WE REACT TO RETIREMENTS.
IF EMPLOYEES ARE GRACIOUS ENOUGH TO LET US KNOW, I'M GONNA RETIRE ON THIS DATE, THEY DO.
AND THE WAY THAT IT WORKS IS THE, UH, WHEN YOU FILE YOUR RETIREMENT, USUALLY IT'S TWO WEEKS AFTER, AND THEN THAT'S IT.
THIS GIVES US A RUNWAY, RIGHT? WE ANNOUNCED THIS ON MARCH 14TH.
THAT MEANS THAT THERE'S TIME FOR THESE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS TO UNDERSTAND SUCCESSION PLANNING.
WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT AN ORGANIZATION, UM, YOU VIEW, UH, RETIREMENT ELIGIBILITY AS AN OPERATIONAL RISK.
AND THE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE WHEN THEY LEAVE, THEY LEAVE.
THERE'S A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS AND EXPERTISE AND PEOPLE WHO SAY, OH YEAH, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED 15 YEARS AGO.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THESE FOLKS REPRESENT, ARE SORT OF THE, THE MOST TENURED PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE GREATEST PERSPECTIVE OVER TIME OF WHAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS DONE HISTORICALLY.
AND SO, BY US HAVING THIS AMOUNT OF TIME, AND BY PEOPLE CONSIDERING IT AND NOTIFYING THEIR DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS AND HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THEIR COLLEAGUES, WE CAN PREPARE.
WE ARE BETTER PREPARED FOR THIS.
AND SO THIS ALLOWS US TO BE MORE STRATEGIC AND LESS REACTIVE TO RETIREMENTS THAT, THAT ARE, UH, POTENTIAL.
SO I'LL PAUSE ON THIS AND ALLOW MELISSA TO TALK ABOUT THE FINANCIAL IMPACT AS WELL AS WHERE WE'RE AT, UH, AS OF YESTERDAY.
UM, SO I JUST WANNA, UM, COMMENT ON, UM, STEVEN'S REMARKS AND ALSO ON THE NUMBERS ON HERE.
SO, TO STEVEN'S POINT ABOUT GIVING DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS, UM, AND DIVISION HEADS IN THE DEPARTMENTS, MORE TIME TO HAVE THAT CONTINGENCY PLANNING, UM, FOR THE DEPARTURE OF THOSE THAT ARE RETIREMENT ELIGIBLE AND TAKING THOSE, UM, WE DO HAVE A, UM, INFORMATION, YOU SEE A SNAPSHOT IN THE LOWER, UM, LEFT PORTION OF THIS SLIDE, UH, BROKEN DOWN BY ENTERPRISE FUND, GENERAL FUNDS, GOVERNMENTAL GRANT, SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS OF WHO HAS ACCEPTED THE OFFER SO FAR.
UH, THIS INFORMATION IS MADE AVAILABLE EVERY DAY.
THERE'S AN UPDATE SENT TO DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS WHERE THEY SEE THE INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES WITHIN THEIR DEPARTMENTS, UM, THAT HAVE ELECTED TO ACCEPT THIS OFFER.
AND SO THOSE PLANS ARE ALREADY ONGOING, UM, AND UPDATED ON A DAILY BASIS WITH THE DEPARTMENT SO THEY CAN, UM, FIGURE OUT HOW TO REASSIGN DUTIES AND, UM, YOU KNOW, COME UP WITH THE TRANSITION PLAN FOR THOSE EMPLOYEES THAT ARE ELECTING THE OFFER.
UM, SO AS OF APRIL 8TH AND THIS INFORMATION, LIKE I MENTIONED, WE, WE UPDATE IT DAILY, BUT AS OF APRIL 8TH, THERE ARE 721, UM, ACCEPTANCES OR PEOPLE THAT INDICATED THEY'RE ACCEPTING THE OFFER, UM, WHICH IS ABOUT 23.7% OF THE TOTAL, UM,
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ELIGIBLE POPULATION.UM, YOU SEE IN THE RIGHT COLUMN, THE ANNUALIZED TOTAL PAY OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS.
UM, AND IT TOTALS UP TO ABOUT $48.7 MILLION ON AN ANNUALIZED BASIS THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS, UM, CURRENTLY MAKE.
UM, SO HOW DOES THAT TRANSLATE INTO A FINANCIAL IMPACT? BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF FACTORS, RIGHT? WE TALK ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO, UM, HAVE BUDGETARY SAVINGS IN THE FUTURE YEAR, BUT WHEN YOU, UH, FACTOR IN THE TERM THE COST OF THE TERMINATION PAY, THE COST OF THE INCENTIVE, HOW DOES THAT BREAK DOWN BY FUND? SO KIND OF GIVING A HIGH LEVEL SNAPSHOT IN THE LOWER RIGHT PORTION OF THIS SLIDE, THE TERMINATION PAY THAT STEVEN MENTIONED, WHICH IS ALL OF THE COMPENSABLE, UM, LEAVE, AND IT DEPENDS ON YOUR PLAN THAT YOU'RE IN, UM, WHICH WOULD INCLUDE THE VACATION PAY, AND IT WOULD INCLUDE THE SICK LEAVE.
THE, THE REFERENCE TO THE THOUSAND 40 HOURS PERTAINS TO SICK LEAVE.
AND I THINK YOU'RE GONNA HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT IN THE NEXT PRESENTATION OF WHAT DO THESE DIFFERENT PLANS MEAN.
UM, BUT WE FACTORED IN THE TERMINATION PAY AND THEN THE 25% INCENTIVE PAY, ASSUMING ALL OF THE ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES, ALL 3000 OF THE EMPLOYEES TAKE IT.
THE INITIAL COST TO THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS WOULD BE ABOUT $38.9 MILLION.
AND THE INITIAL COST OF THE GENERAL FUND WOULD BE ABOUT $48 MILLION.
AND WE HIGHLIGHT THOSE TWO BECAUSE WE GENERALLY TALK, OBVIOUSLY ABOUT THE GENERAL FUND MOST, FOR OBVIOUS REASONS.
THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE OUR STRUCTURAL BUDGET DEFICIT.
BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S AVAILABLE TO ALL, UH, ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, WHICH CUT ACROSS ALL THESE DIFFERENT FUNDS, INCLUDING GRANT FUNDS, ENTERPRISE FUNDS, SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS.
SO WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE INITIAL COST.
HOW ARE WE GONNA REALIZE THE SAVINGS? SO ON A MONTHLY BASIS, IF ALL OF THOSE ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES TAKE THE INCENTIVE, THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS WILL SAVE ABOUT $7 MILLION A MONTH.
AND THE GENERAL FUND WOULD SAVE ABOUT $8.7 MILLION A MONTH, WHICH, UH, PUTS THE RETURN ON THE INVESTMENT AT ABOUT FIVE MONTHS TOTAL.
SO YES, THERE'LL BE AN UPFRONT COST IN FY 25, WHICH WE'RE GOING TO, UH, SHOW THAT ESTIMATED COST TO YOU.
WHEN WE COME FORWARD WITH THE GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS AT THE END OF THE MONTH, THAT'S WHERE WE TRUE UP THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 25 WITH OUR ESTIMATE.
SO IN ORDER TO MAKE THE INCENTIVE PAYMENT AND MAKE DETERMINATION PAY PAYMENT, UH, WE KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR THAT IN THE GENERAL APPROPRIATION BUDGET, TRUE UP, AND WE'LL BE BREAKING THAT DOWN BY DEPARTMENT.
WE'LL HAVE ALL THOSE DETAILS IN TIME FOR GENERAL APPROPRIATION.
IT WILL BE, UM, TO SOME EXTENT, BASED ON AN ASSUMPTION, BUT A VERY EDUCATED ASSUMPTION.
UM, WE KNOW WHO IS THE NUMBER THAT'S INDICATED, HAS ACCEPTED SO FAR, BUT WE DO HAVE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH GENERAL APPROPRIATION, UM, A FEW DAYS OR ROUGHLY RIGHT IN TIME WITH THE APRIL 28TH DATE AS MENTIONED.
UM, SO WE ARE PROBABLY GOING TO LEAVE A LITTLE BIT OF CUSHION SO WE MAKE SURE WE HAVE ENOUGH BUDGET CAPACITY.
SO WE'LL HAVE ALL THOSE DETAILS AND BREAKDOWN BY DEPARTMENT, UM, BY THE END OF THE MONTH THAT WE'LL BE SHARING WITH THIS BODY.
UM, MOVING ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
THE NUMBERS THAT I MENTIONED WERE BASED ON A 100% ACCEPTANCE RATE, WHICH WE KNOW IS NOT, IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN, RIGHT? UM, SO WE WANTED TO, UM, SHOW DIFFERENT, UH, DIFFERENT, UM, IMPACTS BASED ON THE ACCEPTANCE RATE.
SO JUST FOCUSING ON THE GENERAL FUND FIRST.
UM, RIGHT NOW WHERE WE ARE IS ABOUT A 25% ACCEPTANCE RATE, UM, AS I MENTIONED, IS 23.7%.
UM, SO FOR THOSE 20, UH, IF YOU HAVE A 25% ACCEPTANCE RATE, UM, THE TERMINATION PAY COST WOULD BE ABOUT 6.9 MILLION.
THE THREE MONTHS OF INCENTIVE WOULD COME OUT TO ABOUT 5 MILLION.
SO THE TOTAL UPFRONT COST THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO INCLUDE IN THAT GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS IS ABOUT 12 MILLION.
BUT THE ANNUAL SAVINGS ON AN ANNUALIZED BASIS COMES OUT TO ABOUT 26 MILLION.
UM, YOU CAN FOLLOW, SO ON AND SO FORTH.
BUT I DID WANNA, UM, HIGHLIGHT THE AVERAGE PER EMPLOYEE, UM, HERE BASED ON THE TERMINATION PAY, THE AVERAGE EMPLOYEE, UM, IN THIS GENERAL FUND IMPACT.
JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU THE UNIVERSE OF WHO IT IS, IT'S ABOUT A THOUSAND EMPLOYEES THAT ARE GENERAL FUND EMPLOYEES INCLUDED IN THESE FIGURES.
THE AVERAGE PER EMPLOYEE IS ABOUT, UH, $25,000 A YEAR FOR THE TERMINATION PAY.
$18,000 FOR THE INCENTIVE MAKING, THE TOTAL UPFRONT COST FOR THE AVERAGE EMPLOYEE, ABOUT 43,805.
AND THE AVERAGE ANNUAL SAVINGS FOR THAT EMPLOYEE WOULD BE ABOUT ALMOST $95,000 ANNUAL.
THE THING THAT I'D LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HIGHLIGHT ON THIS IS THAT, UH, AVERAGE PER EMPLOYEE, THAT MEANS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA BE SEEING EMPLOYEES WALK OUT WITH $43,000 CHECKS, RIGHT? THIS IS GONNA BE SPLIT UP BETWEEN TERM PAY AND THEIR INCENTIVE.
BUT WHAT EMPLOYEES ARE EXPECTING, OR WHAT EMPLOYEES CAN SEE ARE ANYWHERE BETWEEN 18 TO $26,000, UH, GOING IN JUST FOR THE INCENTIVE.
UH, $18,000 IS THE AVERAGE, AND THEN WE'VE GOT THE MEDIAN OR THE MEAN.
UM, AND THEN TERMINATION PAY IS ANOTHER $25,000.
AND THAT'LL BE THE CHECK THAT THEY PICK UP PHYSICALLY, RIGHT? SO THIS IS A VERY SIGNIFICANT
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AMOUNT OF MONEY.IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE SAY THAT WE NEEDED TO GIVE, UH, TIME, LIKE CLEARLY, UH, WE'RE TRYING TO CLOSE THE BUDGET GAP, UM, AND WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS EXPEDITIOUSLY.
UM, BUT THIS IS A BIG LIFE CHO LIFE CHANGE OR LIFE DECISION FOR THESE FOLKS.
AND THIS IS IN A LOT OF SCENARIOS, THE MOST SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY, UH, IN A SINGLE SHOT THAT A LOT OF THESE EMPLOYEES ARE GONNA HAVE.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS, UH, A THING THAT WE DID, UH, HIGHLIGHT, WE CONTINUE TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, IS THAT YOU HAVE 45 DAYS TO MAKE THIS DECISION.
DO NOT MAKE IT RIGHT NOW, IF YOU'RE NOT PREPARED TO MAKE IT RIGHT NOW, SPEAK TO YOUR LOVED ONES, SPEAK TO YOUR ADVISORS, MAKE THIS DECISION FULL AND ASK A TON OF QUESTIONS.
UM, AND THE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE THESE ARE VERY BIG NUMBERS WITH REGARDS TO PEOPLE WALKING AWAY FROM THE CITY OF HOUSTON WITH A $43,000 CHECK ON AVERAGE.
I ALSO, UH, JUST, I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH ALL THE SCENARIOS, BUT JUST HIGHLIGHTING WHAT THE A HUNDRED PERCENT ACCEPTANCE RATE WOULD LOOK LIKE.
UM, WE TALKED ABOUT WHAT THE UPFRONT COSTS WOULD BE ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.
UM, BUT JUST TO HIGHLIGHT, THE ANNUAL SAVINGS WOULD BE IN EXCESS OF A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR IN ANNUAL SAVINGS IF ALL 100% OF THE THOUSAND GENERAL FUND EMPLOYEES, UM, TOOK THE OFFER.
SO, UH, MOVING DOWN TO THE ENTERPRISE FUND IMPACT.
SO THE ENTERPRISE FUND, THIS INCLUDES THE, UM, PUBLIC WORKS, THE AIRPORT EMPLOYEES, UM, AND WE HIGHLIGHTED THESE, UH, TWO FUNDING STREAMS 'CAUSE THEY ARE THE, UM, THE LARGEST PORTION OF THE EMPLOYEES.
UM, WE CERTAINLY HAVE ALL THE DATA BEHIND THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS AND GRANT FUND EMPLOYEES THAT WE COULD PROVIDE.
UM, BUT JUST TO HIGHLIGHT FOR THIS PRESENTATION, THE ENTERPRISE FUND IMPACT, UM, IF THERE'S A 25% ACCEPTANCE RATE ABOUT A $5.6 MILLION TERMINATION PAY, $4 MILLION INCENTIVE, TOTAL UPFRONT COST OF 9.7 MILLION, AND AN ANNUALIZED SAVINGS OF ABOUT 21, UM, MILLION DOLLARS.
UM, ON THE AVERAGE PER EMPLOYEE, UH, IT'S ROUGHLY IN LINE WITH THE GENERAL FUND, ABOUT 24,800 IS THE AVERAGE TERMINATION PAY.
18,500 IS THE AVERAGE INCENTIVE.
43,000 IS THE AVERAGE TOTAL UPFRONT COST TO THE CITY PER EMPLOYEE, WHICH DOES TRANSLATE TO WHAT THE, THE CHECKS THAT THEY WOULD BE WALKING AWAY WITH, UM, AND PRODUCING AN AVERAGE ANNUAL SAVINGS PER PERSON OF ABOUT $95,000.
AND QUICK QUESTION, I, I KNOW WE'RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE, BUT JUST FOR CLARIFICATION.
SO I, I THINK WHAT I'M PUTTING TOGETHER IS WHAT, BASED ON WHAT YOU JUST SAID, DIRECTOR, THE MAJORITY OF THE EMPLOYEES THAT QUALIFY FOR THIS FOR RETIREMENT COME FROM THE ENTERPRISE FUND.
THE GENERAL FUND IS ABOUT 1000 EMPLOYEES, AND THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS IS ABOUT 897.
AND THEN THE REMAINDER OF THE 3000 IS BROKEN UP BETWEEN SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS GRANT FUNDS MM-HMM
SO THE LAST IS A SLIDE ABOUT WHERE THE LAST IS A SLIDE ABOUT WHERE EMPLOYEES CAN GO TO GET INFORMATION.
SO THE IMPORTANT THING HERE IS THAT WE'VE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION, UH, WITH THESE EMPLOYEES SINCE MARCH 14TH.
UM, THE FAQS WERE UPLOADED INTO THE HR ONE PORTAL, AS WELL AS THE PACKET THAT THEY RECEIVED INCLUDED, UH, A WHOLE HOST OF DOCUMENTS THAT THAT GAVE THEM THE ABILITY TO ANSWER THEIR OWN QUESTIONS VIA THE FAQ OR TO READ THROUGH WHAT THEY WOULD SIGN ON MAY 1ST, UM, WHENEVER THEY RETIRE FROM THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UM, IN ADDITION TO, UH, HOW MUCH THEY WOULD RECEIVE, UM, HOW MUCH THEY WOULD RECEIVE IF THEY WERE TO TAKE THIS INCENTIVE.
UH, HOWEVER, UM, WHAT WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO DO WAS CREATE AN OFFER HERE, AND WE ARE HOSTING, UH, THE FAQS, UH, BOTH IN THE PORTAL AS WELL AS AT THE WEBSITE LISTED ON THIS SLIDE.
UM, AND ADDITIONALLY, THERE ARE, UH, TO START THE PROCESS, WE HAVE ADVISED THE EMPLOYEES THAT THE FIRST THING THEY NEED TO DO IS TO SUBMIT A FORM TO, UH, H MAPPS, WHICH BEGINS THE PROCESS OF H MAPPS CONFIRMING THAT THEY ARE ELIGIBLE FOR NORMAL RETIREMENT.
UH, THERE IS, I HAVE LEARNED OVER THIS COURSE THAT IT IS NOT AS CUT AND DRY AS WE WOULD THINK IT IS.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF FACT CHECKING THAT GOES INTO IT.
YOU'VE GOTTA LOOK AT THE EMPLOYEE FILE, YOU'VE GOTTA SEE A WHOLE BUNCH OF THINGS OVER THE, THE COURSE OF THEIR, UH, CAREERS WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SO THE FIRST PROCESS IS TO CONFIRM WITH H MAPS THAT THEY, THEY'RE, UH, ELIGIBLE FOR IT.
AND THEN THAT BEGINS THE PROCESS WHERE HR CAN BEGIN RECEIVING, UH, THE NOTIFICATION AND WE CAN BEGIN PROCESSING THAT RETIREMENT.
UH, THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, RIGHT? SO THE FIRST IS YOU RETIRE FROM THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WHICH IS YOU NO LONGER WORK HERE.
THE SECOND IS YOU START TO GET YOUR PENSION CHECKS.
AVERAGE TIME IT TAKES FOR A PENSION CHECK TO COME IS 60 TO 90 DAYS, WHICH MAKES THE 25% INCENTIVE A THREE MONTH PAYCHECK EFFECTIVELY THAT MUCH MORE IMPORTANT.
NOW, THE WAY THAT THE PENSION SYSTEM WORKS IS, LET'S SAY THAT YOUR RETIREMENT DATE, UH, YOUR, YOUR RETIREMENT DATE IS JUNE 1ST.
UM, AND THEY DON'T GET YOU, UH, YOUR CHECK, UH, FOR 60 DAYS LATER.
SO LET'S SAY IT COMES IN AUGUST 1ST, IT WILL BE BACKDATED TO INCLUDE ALL OF THE MONEY THAT YOU WOULD'VE ACCRUED STARTING JUNE 1ST.
SO THIS THREE MONTH INCENTIVE IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT ALLOWS FOR A BRIDGE PEOPLE, AS PEOPLE PLAN TO DO, UH, TO TAKE THEIR RETIREMENT.
THEY DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT, UM, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO FOR FUNDS
[00:25:01]
BETWEEN RETIREMENT AND MY FIRST PENSION CHECK COMING IN.UM, SO THAT WAS A VERY IMPORTANT THING OF THE MAYOR.
AND THE MAYOR WAS VERY ADAMANT ABOUT THAT, UM, THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT WE SHOW THE DEFERENCE IN EQUITY AND RESPECT TO THE EMPLOYEES WHO ARE CHOOSING TO TAKE THIS VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT.
UH, IF, UH, WE HAVE ALSO STOOD UP TEAMS OF, OF PEOPLE.
SO AGAIN, TALKING ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN H MEPS AND, UH, THE CITY OF HOUSTON, UM, THERE IS A PHONE NUMBER, UH, THAT, UH, THERE WAS A, A LETTER THAT WENT OUT TO, UH, THE EMPLOYEES, UM, I WOULD SAY TWO WEEKS AGO, WHERE WE LISTED A PHONE NUMBER TO THOSE EMPLOYEES, UH, WHO RECEIVED THE LETTER, WHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT THAT THEY CALL.
AND IT BEGINS THE PROCESS THAT'S ACTUALLY STAFFED BY CITY OF HOUSTON EMPLOYEES, NOT H E'S EMPLOYEES.
AND THE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE HE LET H MEPS LET US KNOW IT'S MORE IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO BEGIN PROCESSING THIS PAPERWORK THAN TO ANSWER PHONE AND ASK, ASK, ANSWER BASIC QUESTIONS IF THEY'RE ANSWERING A PHONE.
SO WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO HELP THEM.
SO WE ARE ANSWERING QUESTIONS WHERE WE CAN, WE'RE GIVING THEM THE FORMS THAT THEY NEED TO HAVE.
UH, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE FOLKS YOU COULD, THEY WANNA SHOW UP IN PERSON, THEY CAN SHOW UP IN PERSON IF THEY WANNA SEND AN EMAIL, WE'VE GOT AN EMAIL BOX SET UP FOR IT.
IF THEY WANT TO TALK TO SOMEONE ON THE PHONE, THEY CAN TALK TO SOMEONE ON THE PHONE.
WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, THIS PROCESS IS AS ACCESSIBLE AND OPEN TO EVERYBODY, UH, TO EVERYBODY WHO NEEDS THOSE QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
SO, UH, WHAT YOU SEE ON THE RIGHT IS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT FORM, UH, THAT THEY NEED TO FILL OUT, THE EMPLOYEES NEED TO FILL OUT.
AND ON THE LEFT YOU CAN SEE SORT OF THE INFORMATION THAT FOLKS CAN GRAB.
HAVING SAID ALL OF THAT, UH, I THINK I'VE TALKED AT Y'ALL LONG ENOUGH.
UM, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
AND, UH, WE DO HAVE SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS IN QUEUE.
UH, BEFORE WE GET TO QUESTIONS REALLY QUICKLY, YOU SAID THERE'S A THIRD INFO SESSION NEXT WEEK.
DO YOU HAVE THE DATE AND TIME OF THAT FOR ANY NO, THAT'S GONNA GO OUT TO THE EMPLOYEES.
WE ARE DOING AN OFFSITE, WE'RE GOING ACTUALLY TO ONE OF THE AIRPORT SYSTEMS, UH, FACILITIES SO THE AIRPORT'S EMPLOYEES CAN, CAN HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO THERE.
AND LASTLY, JUST SO WE'RE TALKING FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC'S BENEFIT, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT WHAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS PROPOSING, AND AGAIN, Y'ALL HAVE PUT A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT INTO THIS, UH, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF NUMBER CRUNCHING, UH, A LOT OF TRYING TO DO WHAT'S RIGHT, BOTH FOR THE CITY AND FOR CITY EMPLOYEES.
WHAT IS THE BASELINE FOR RETIREMENT THAT WE'RE OPERATING UNDER THAT WE CAN COMPARE TO FOR THESE BENEFITS? SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT FIVE YEARS OF ACTIVE BENEFIT PAY, WHAT'S NORMALLY THE BENEFITS THAT ARE COVERED IN A RETIREMENT PACKAGE? CAN YOU ASK YOUR QUE CAN I REFRAME? THE WAY I THINK DIRECTOR ASKING ME ARE, ARE YOU TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE HEALTH INSURANCE? HEALTH INSURANCE OR, AND IT MAY BE, I SEE, UH, THE CHAIR COMING UP.
IT MAY BE A QUESTION FOR DIRECTOR CHEEKS, BUT BASICALLY I'M SAYING WHAT WOULD A TRADITIONAL MM-HMM
IN A TRADITIONAL RETIREMENT MM-HMM
WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON EMPLOYEE MM-HMM
WHAT WOULD THAT PACKAGE LOOK LIKE FOR RETIREMENT COMPARED TO WHAT'S BEING OFFERED TODAY? WHAT'S THE BASELINE THAT WE CAN COMPARE THIS TO? GOT IT.
SO ACTIVE EMPLOYEE, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ACTIVE EMPLOYEE AND I, THERE'S, EVERYONE CHOOSES THEIR PLANS DIFFERENTLY, RIGHT? BUT THE AVERAGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ACTIVE EMPLOYEE BENEFIT RATE AND A RETIRED EMPLOYEE BENEFIT RATE IS ABOUT $8,000 A YEAR.
ABOUT $8,000 A YEAR BETWEEN ACTIVE AND RETIRED EMPLOYEE BENEFIT RATES.
AND I, DIRECTOR CHEEKS, I MAY ASK YOU THE QUESTION JUST TO LAY OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE, WHAT IS TRADITIONAL RETIREMENT LOOK LIKE FOR AN EMPLOYEE COMPARED TO THIS? BUT I, AGAIN, I'M PUTTING YOU ON THE SPOT, STEVEN, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
NO, THANKS FOR LETTING ME NOT UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION AT FIRST.
UH, FIRST IN QUEUE, MADAM CHAIR, ALCORN, THANK YOU CHAIR.
UM, THE ANALYSIS OF THE, OF THE MONEY, I REALLY APPRECIATE.
HAS THERE BEEN ANY ANALYSIS ON THE HEALTH BENEFITS SIDE, OUR $436 MILLION THAT WE SPEND IN HEALTH BENEFITS? HOW WILL THIS IMPACT THAT? SURE.
SO THE HEALTH BENEFITS, THE WAY THE HEALTH BENEFITS ARE PAID FOR, IF THEY'RE PAID OUTTA THE HEALTH BENEFITS FUND, UM, ALL THE, UM, FUNDS DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE EMPLOYEES THAT ELECT HEALTH BENEFITS PAY INTO THE HEALTH BENEFITS FUND, UM, WHICH IS, UH, FUND MANAGED BY HR.
UM, BUT WE HAVE CERTAINLY DONE ANALYSIS OF, UM, WHAT WE ARE, UH, EXPECTING BASED ON, UM, A NORMAL YEAR AND HOW MUCH IS THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE COST GOING TO IMPACT THE HEALTH BENEFITS FUND.
SO WE ANTICIPATE THAT RIGHT NOW, UM, THE HEALTH BENEFITS FUND, UM, HAS ENOUGH FUND BALANCE IN THE HEALTH BENEFITS FUND TO, UH, SUSTAIN THESE ADDITIONAL BENEFITS THAT WE'RE PROVIDING.
UM, I THINK IT GOES THROUGH ABOUT FY 27 OR 28 AT THAT POINT, DEPENDING ON THE ACCEPTANCE RATE, UH, THERE MAY HAVE TO BE AN ADDITIONAL AMOUNT OF FUNDING PUT INTO THE HEALTH BENEFITS FUND TO HELP FUND THAT FIVE YEARS.
UM, BUT WE'LL HAVE OBVIOUSLY MORE INFORMATION WHEN WE KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ACCEPT THE OFFER.
AND, AND IF IT'S, IF THEY'RE, THEY GET TO MEDICARE ELIGIBILITY MM-HMM
[00:30:01]
THAT, AND THEY'LL PAY THE WHATEVER SUPPLEMENT, MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT OR WHATEVER THAT'S CORRECT.THAT RATE IS, IT'S UP TO FIVE YEARS OR MEDICARE ELIGIBILITY, THAT'S OKAY.
BUT WE'RE COVERED FINE WITH WHAT WE HAVE IN FUND BALANCE TO HANDLE, DEPENDING ON THE PARTICIPATION UP TO THE WAY WE MODEL IT UP TO FY 28, AND THEN WE MAY HAVE TO PAY MORE INTO THE HEALTH BENEFITS FUND.
AND THE, YOU SAID A THOUSAND GENERAL FUND, YOU, YOU GAVE SOME NUMBERS TO COUNCIL MEMBER KAMAN.
WHAT? W WERE THOSE THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE ACCEPTED OR THOSE ARE JUST THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE? THERE'S A THOUSAND ELIGIBLE AND ELIGIBLE, YEP.
AND THE, AND HOW MANY IN THE ENTERPRISE FUND? SO OF THE 3000 ELIGIBLE, ABOUT 1000 ARE IN THE GENERAL FUND.
AND ABOUT 897 ARE IN THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS.
AND THEN THE REMAINDER ARE IN EITHER A SPECIAL REVENUE FUND GRANT FUND INVOLVING FUND.
I WAS LIKE, THAT DOESN'T EQUAL FOR 3000, DOESN'T WHAT'S GOING ON.
COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, I'D LIKE TO PUT, UH, I'D LIKE TO EXPAND A LITTLE BIT ON YOUR QUESTION.
UH, WE TALKED ABOUT, YOU ASKED ABOUT MEDICARE ELIGIBILITY AND THE LESSER OF MEDICARE ELIGIBLE, OR FIVE YEARS THAT ALSO INCLUDES DEPENDENTS.
UM, AND SO IF SOMEONE BECOMES ELIGIBLE FOR MEDICARE NEXT YEAR AND THEY WANNA CONTINUE TO KEEP THEIR DEPENDENT ON, UH, THEY'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO.
WE, WE, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS WAS, THERE WERE AS FEW BARRIERS AS POSSIBLE WHEN DEVELOPING THIS PLAN.
AND TO THAT POINT, UM, SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED AT THESE SESSIONS WAS, UM, IF I, I HAVE CANCER, UM, IF I RETIRE AND I GET SICK, AM I EXCLUDED FROM THIS PLAN? THE ANSWER IS NO.
UM, THERE WAS A, A GENTLEMAN WHO SAID, TWO YEARS FROM NOW I'LL BE MEDICARE ELIGIBLE, BUT MY ADULT SON IS, IS SEVERELY AUTISTIC AND HAS TO LIVE WITH ME.
UM, CAN HE STAY ON? AND THE ANSWER IS YES.
WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE THIS AS, AS EASY AS POSSIBLE.
AND IT'S ALL BENEFITS, IT'S VISION, IT'S DENTAL, YES.
IT'S LIFE INSURANCE, IT'S DISABILITY, IT'S EVERYTHING THAT THEY PAY OR, OR ELECT TO.
HAVE THEY STILL HAVE THAT OPTION AT THOSE RATES TO VOLUNTARY LIFE INSURANCE? NO.
WE CAN GET YOU DETAILS ON THAT, BUT THE, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THEY WOULD STILL HAVE TO PAY INTO, BUT ALL THE OTHER, ALL THE, ALL THE OTHER, YES.
BESIDES VOLUNTARY LIFE INSURANCE.
UH, AND I APOLOGIZE, I DID NOT, I BELIEVE RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER EARLIER.
DID I THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
RETIREMENTS THAT OCCUR FOR EMPLOYEES THAT ARE IN THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS.
THE SAVINGS THAT WE GET OFF OF THAT, DOES THAT REALLY HELP US BRIDGE THE GAP IN OUR SHORTFALL FOR NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET? NO.
SO ONLY THE GENERAL FUND EMPLOYEES ARE THE ONES THAT ARE HELPING US BRIDGE THE GAP.
WELL, OBVIOUSLY FOR THE GENERAL FUND, BUT THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS ARE ALSO PART OF THE ERNST AND YOUNG STUDY, THE SPAN OF CONTROL IMPROVEMENT, UM, ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE'VE HIGHLIGHTED, UM, THROUGH THE RNS AND YOUNG STUDY AS WAYS WE COULD BE MORE EFFICIENT WITH THE TAXPAYER DOLLARS.
WE ALSO WANNA BE EFFICIENT WITH THE RATE PAYER DOLLARS AS WELL, BUT WELL, AND OBVIOUSLY THE WATER DEPARTMENT COULD USE ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO TAKE CARE OF THE ISSUES THAT THEY'RE HAVING TO TAKE CARE OF ANYWAY.
SO NOW THE URS AND YOUNG STUDY, OBVIOUSLY THEY SAID WE HAVE MORE STAFF THAN WHAT WE REALLY SHOULD HAVE THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
DID IT BREAK IT DOWN BY DEPARTMENT OR ENTERPRISE FUNDS VERSUS GENERAL FUND? UH, SO WHAT I'LL SAY IS THAT THE EFFICIENCY STUDY HIGHLIGHTED THAT, UH, IN A BENCHMARKING ANALYSIS, WE HAVE MORE EMPLOYEES PER CAPITA THAN OUR, OUR PEER CITIES THAT WE COMPARED OURSELVES TO.
AND AS A REMINDER, THOSE PEER CITIES WERE, UH, CHICAGO, DALLAS, SAN ANTONIO, PHOENIX AND LA AND PHILADELPHIA.
UM, AND SO WHAT WE DID WAS WE DID A PER CAPITA ANALYSIS.
THE CHALLENGE, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE, THE DIFFICULTIES OF DOING BENCHMARKING OF MUNICIPALITIES IS THAT NOT ALL MUNICIPALITIES STRUCTURE THEMSELVES THE SAME.
SO SOMETIMES SOLID WASTE IS IN PUBLIC WORKS.
SO EVEN IF THEY WENT TO, IT WOULDN'T BE IN APPLES TO APPLES ANYWAY.
UM, AND NOW THAT YOU MENTIONED SOLID WASTE, THAT WAS ONE OF THE OTHER QUESTIONS I HAD.
DO WE KNOW HOW MANY OF THESE EMPLOYEES CHOOSING THE RETIREMENT ARE IN SOLID WASTE? WE DO.
UH, I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT THIS IS A THING THAT WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT HERE, BUT YOU, YOU'RE PROMPTING AN EXCELLENT QUESTION IS THAT THERE ARE, UH, A NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES, UM, OR I'LL SAY JOB CLASSIFICATIONS THAT WE VIEW AS CRITICAL, RIGHT? THESE ARE THINGS THAT CANNOT GO AWAY.
THE EXPECTATION IS THAT WE ARE GOING TO DEL LIMIT THESE POSITIONS AS PEOPLE RETIRE, MEANING THEY'RE OFF THE ROLLS.
UM, WE'RE NOT GONNA BUDGET FOR THEM NEXT FISCAL YEAR, BUT THERE ARE CRITICAL POSITIONS.
THINK NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKER, THREE ONE, ONE CALL TAKER, SOLID WASTE EMPLOYEE, A TRASH, UH, PERSON WHO OPERATES THE ARM THAT COMES OUT.
THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE CRITICAL POSITIONS.
AND WITHIN OUR CALCULATIONS, AND I'M NOT GONNA TELL YOU WHAT THE NUMBER IS BECAUSE I KNOW SOME DIRECTORS ARE WATCHING THIS AND THEY ALL NEED TO JUSTIFY THEIR POSITIONS.
UH, THE THING THAT WE'RE, WE'RE EXPECTING, UH, THE, WE ARE EXPECTING A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF THOSE, UH, POSITIONS THAT, UH, WHERE WE WOULD SEE RETIREMENTS, WHERE WE WILL NEED TO BACKFILL THE POSITION.
WE STILL REALIZE A COST SAVING
[00:35:01]
WITH THAT.AND THE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE THE EMPLOYEES, THE AVERAGE, I BELIEVE THE AVERAGE TENURE OF THE EMPLOYEE, UH, WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE IS 26 YEARS.
THERE'S A LOT OF LONGEVITY PAY IN THERE.
UM, THEY ARE GOING TO GET 3% YEAR OVER YEAR, UH, 3% YEAR OVER YEAR COST OR, UM, PAY RAISES OVER TIME.
AND SO WHEN YOU HIRE A NEW EMPLOYEE, THEY DON'T COME RIGHT BACK IN AT THE SAME SALARY.
THEY DON'T HAVE THE SAME LONGEVITY PAY.
SO THERE WILL BE SAVINGS INVOLVED IN THOSE, BUT WE ARE EXPECTING TO BACKFILL A NUM A NUMBER OF THOSE POSITIONS.
AND COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, YOU, YOU BROUGHT UP AN IMPORTANT POINT.
IT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL TO SEE IF YOU ALL HAVE IT, A BREAKDOWN OF WHO IS ELIGIBLE BY DEPARTMENTS BY THE NUMBERS.
SO AS ONE DEPARTMENT, UM, AGAIN, WE HAVE THE LARGEST PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY.
UH, I'M ASSUMING THERE'S A LARGE PORTION IN THERE, BUT ARE, ARE SOME DEPARTMENTS GOING TO BE HIT HARDER, UH, FROM A RETIREMENT PERSPECTIVE THAN OTHERS AS A BREAKDOWN AS NOT REALLY.
IT'S ALL HOVERING AROUND MID TWENTIES.
UM, SO FOR ALL DEPARTMENTS, IT'S, IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE INTERESTING.
IT'S A FASCINATING THING OF SORT OF AN ARTIFACT OF THE DATA, BUT THE THING THAT I, I'LL, I'LL ALSO, UH, NO, I WON'T SAY THAT IT'S ABOUT, IT'S ABOUT MID TWENTIES, BUT WE CAN GET YOU THAT LIST.
IT, IT, AGAIN, IT'D JUST BE HELPFUL TO KNOW WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
I FULLY TRUST IF YOU SAY IT'S ABOUT EQUAL, WE WOULD JUST LIKE TO HAVE THAT, YEAH.
AND THE, THE ONE THAT POPS TOP OF, TOP OF MIND FOR THAT QUESTION IS, UM, JOB CLASSIFICATIONS, RIGHT? THE OTHER THING THAT THESE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS NEED TO KNOW IS WHO IS RETIRING? UH, BUT WHAT POSITION DO THEY FILL? RIGHT? AND I'LL TELL YOU THAT THE NUMBER ONE POSITION, UH, THAT'S ELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT IT FROM A JOB CLASSIFICATION PERSPECTIVE IS DIVISION MANAGER.
IT'S THAT PERFECT MIDDLE MANAGER THAT WE TALK ABOUT.
AND 45 OR 6% OF THOSE DIVISION MANAGERS HAVE THREE OR FEWER DIRECT REPORTS.
I MEAN, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE EFFICIENCY STUDY HIGHLIGHTED RIGHT.
I GUESS ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAVE, AND I, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ, I'M ABOUT TO DEFER TO YOU, UM, ON ONE OF THE SLIDES, YOU HAD A BREAKDOWN WHERE YOU SAID THE 47% MM-HMM
HAVE THREE OR FEWER REPORTEES BASED ON THE PERCENTAGE CALCULATION FROM THE 3000, THOUGH THAT'S ONLY 211.
NOW THAT'S A BIG NUMBER, BUT OUT OF 3000, THAT'S NOT SO MUCH.
SO I'M COMING BACK TO YOU WITH SOME, SOME QUESTIONS ON THAT.
AS HEADS UP, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ.
AND SO YOU'RE MATH MATCHED MINE, MADAM CHAIR.
SO DO WE KNOW OF THE ABOUT 211, UM, RETIREMENT ELIGIBLE SUPERVISORS WITH THREE OR FEWER, UH, DIRECT REPORTS HAVE, HAVE SIGNED UP FOR, FOR RETIREMENT? DO WE KNOW THAT FIGURE OR NOT OFF TOP? I DON'T.
UM, SO YOU WERE ABOUT A MONTH IN NOW, UH MM-HMM
FOR EMPLOYEES TO TAKE THIS DEAL IF THEY'RE ELIGIBLE.
UM, IF YOU WERE TO PLOT, YOU KNOW, DAY BY DAY, THE FOLKS WHO HAVE SIGNED UP, WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE? WOULD IT LOOK LIKE A FLAT LINE OR A CURVE OR? IT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
AND I'VE MADE, UH, TO THE SURPRISE OF I THINK NO ONE AROUND THIS HORSESHOE.
UM, SO WHAT WE WE SEE IS, UH, INITIALLY AFTER DAY ONE ANNOUNCED, IT WAS A FRIDAY THAT, UH, THE EXPECTATION WAS YOU'RE GONNA GET THE EMAIL CLOSE A BUSINESS FRIDAY.
UM, WHICH THANK YOU ELISA FOR DOING THAT.
SHE DID A LOT OF WEEKEND WORK FOR THAT.
UM, FRIDAY YOU GET THE EMAIL, BUT FRIDAY THE CONVERSATION START WITH THE, IN THE MORNING, THE CONVERSATION START WITH THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS AND THE EMPLOYEES WHO ARE ELIGIBLE.
UH, MONDAY WAS THE FIRST OFFICIAL DAY, UH, THE FULL DAY THAT PEOPLE COULD GO.
AND WE SAW A SPIKE TO ABOUT 55, 60 PEOPLE.
UH, AFTER THAT IT TRICKLED DOWN TO ABOUT 25 TO 30 PEOPLE A DAY.
UM, AND THEN WE, UH, THAT'S WHEN WE WERE BECAME ACUTELY AWARE AFTER A FEW DAYS THAT, UH, H MEP H MEPS WAS ABSOLUTELY DROWNING.
AND WE SAW DIP DOWN TO THE TEENS.
SO WE HAD A CONVERSATION WITH APES H MEPS.
THEY, UH, WENT FROM TWO PEOPLE WHO PROCESSED THIS STUFF TO SIX PEOPLE.
THEY BROUGHT TWO FORMER EMPLOYEES WHO HAD RETIRED FROM H MEPS, AND THEN THEY REPURPOSED TWO FOLKS THAT WORK IN THE OFFICE.
UH, AND THEN WE ALSO HELPED THEM STAND UP THEIR PHONE LINE.
WE HAVE A FEW PEOPLE MANAGE MANAGING THAT PHONE LINE, AND WE START TO SEE SOME OF THE, UH, MOVEMENT.
WE STARTED TO SEE MORE MOVEMENT.
AND THAT'S WHEN CHRIS HELD THE FIRST, UH, THE FIRST TOWN HALL STYLE.
UH, AND THEN WHAT WE SAW WAS ANSWERED A WHOLE BUNCH OF QUESTIONS, HEARD A WHOLE BUNCH OF CHALLENGES AND PERSONAL STORIES.
THIS IS WHERE THE PAIN POINTS ARE.
THIS IS WHERE I THINK IT COULD BE BETTER.
I'VE GOT MORE QUESTIONS THAN THIS.
THE HR TEAM AND THE FINANCE TEAM REVISED THE FAQS AND WE SAW AN IMMEDIATE UPTICK TO BACK ABOUT 55, 60 A DAY AFTER THAT FIRST.
AND THEN YOU SEE IT DIP DOWN A LITTLE BIT.
AND THEN, UH, I DIDN'T HAVE THE, THE WHIZZBANG EFFECT THAT, UH, CHRIS HAD, UH, WITH THE EMPLOYEES.
AND SO WHEN I HOSTED MINE, UH, WE SAW AN UPTICK TO ABOUT 40, 45 PER DAY.
AND IT HOVERS ANYWHERE BETWEEN 25 TO 35 A DAY NOW.
AND, AND ONLY YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION, STEVEN.
I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A DETAILED ANSWER.
[00:40:01]
UH, I'M SURE FOR THE FOLKS WHO WERE ABOUT TO RETIRE ANYWAY, THEY'RE PROBABLY ECSTATIC, YOU KNOW, AT AT THE TIMINGFOR THOSE WHO ARE ELIGIBLE BUT DON'T REALLY WANNA STOP WORKING, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE THERE'S SOME CONSTERNATION ON UPON, UPON SOME WHO, WHO FEEL THAT IF, IF THEY DON'T TAKE THIS DEAL, THEY MIGHT GET LAID OFF.
WHAT, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THEM? SO A REDUCTION IN FORCE LAYOFF, AS WE WOULD CALL IT, UH, IS AN EXCEPTIONALLY PRESCRIBED EVENT.
IT HAS TO BE APPROVED BY COUNSEL WHO IS ELIGIBLE, IS DEFINED IN IT.
UH, THE PROCESS WITH WHICH IT OCCURS IS DEFINED IN IT.
YOU CAN GO READ CHAPTER 14 RIGHT NOW AND YOU'LL SEE EXACTLY WHAT A, IF A LAYOFF WERE TO OCCUR, WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
UM, THAT IS LITERALLY THE LAST THING THAT THE MAYOR WANTS.
UM, IT'S THE THING THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING TOWARDS OF HOW DO WE ELIMINATE THAT POSSIBILITY.
UM, AND WE SAID THIS TO, TO EMPLOYEES.
I SAID IT A LITTLE BIT IN MY, UH, IN MY WAXING POETIC OPENING.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON CLOSING THIS BUDGET GAP FOR OVER A YEAR.
UM, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT, UH, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS NEW.
WE HAVE BEEN DOING A TON OF ACTIVITIES.
AND THIS ACTUALLY GOES A LITTLE BIT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER TO YOUR QUESTION EARLIER ABOUT HOW DOES ENTERPRISE FUND HELP GENERAL FUND OR, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT IMPACTFUL.
WE, WE'VE BEEN DOING SOME SMART MERGERS.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE, UH, CUSTOMER ACCOUNT SERVICES OUT OF PUBLIC WORKS, THOSE WATER BILL CALL TAKERS, THEY DO A REALLY SIMILAR JOB TO THE THREE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS.
SO WE'VE MERGED THOSE FUNCTIONS BECAUSE WHY WOULD SOMEONE HAVE TO CALL A DIFFERENT NUMBER OTHER THAN 3 1 1 TO FIGURE OUT THEIR WATER BILL? WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT, UH, DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS AND PUBLIC WORKS.
THE, UH, THERE IS RESIDENTIAL CODE ENFORCEMENT THAT SITS IN DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS AND MULTI-FAMILY CODE ENFORCEMENT THAT SITS IN PUBLIC WORKS.
WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD WE KEEP IT THAT WAY? THEY'RE ALL CODE ENFORCEMENT AND IT'S ALL WHERE PEOPLE LIVE.
SO WE'RE BLENDING THOSE THINGS.
SO THINGS LIKE THAT HAVE BEEN OCCURRING AND THOSE, AND THEY'RE NOT GONNA SOLVE.
THERE'S NO ONE THING THAT WE'VE DONE THAT IMMEDIATELY CLOSES THE BUDGET GAP, BUT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON IT.
AND THAT THE POINT, MAYBE GIVING THE LONG ANSWER TO THIS IS THAT THIS, IF 3000 PEOPLE TAKE THIS, IT DOES NOT CLOSE THE BUDGET GAP.
AND SO WE ARE NOT EXPECTING, WE'RE NOT RELYING ON THESE FOLKS.
WE THINK IT'S A GOOD INCENTIVE.
WE KNOW THAT THEY'VE EARNED IT.
UM, AND WE THINK IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO GIVE PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE CUSP OF RETIRING A PLANNED EXIT WHERE WE KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.
SO WE CAN BETTER PLAN AS WE GO TO CLOSE THAT BUDGET GAP.
AND, AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW, AND ONE, ONE QUESTION THEN I CAN PUT YOU BACK IN QUEUE.
I WANNA MAKE SURE WE GET TO OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS.
WELL, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT, I MEAN, THIS ISN'T THE ONLY, UH, METHOD YOU OR MEASURE YOU GUYS ARE, ARE LOOKING AT.
YOU HAVE OTHER MEASURE MEASURES THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, UH, TO TRY TO CLOSE THE BUDGET GAP.
AND I'LL GO BACK IN THE QUEUE.
WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT DINGING COUNCIL MEMBERS, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE GETS A CHANCE.
UM, STEVEN, REALLY QUICKLY, 'CAUSE YOU KEEP TALKING ABOUT MERGING, DOES THAT MEAN, LET'S SAY THE WATER BILL CALL TAKERS AND THREE ONE ONE, NOW THOSE WATER BILL CALL TAKERS ARE LIVING WITHIN THREE ONE ONE IN EXPANDING THEIR ROLE? OR DID WE REDUCE, YOU KNOW, STAFFING IN ONE OF THOSE? LIKE WHAT IS, CAN YOU DEFINE THE MERGE? ARE WE REDUCING THOSE INDIVIDUALS AND THEN THE NEXT ROUND OF CALL TAKERS IS TAKING ON MORE? OR DID WE KEEP THE SAME AMOUNT? WE'RE JUST EXPANDING WATER BILL FUNCTION.
UH, I'LL SAY THAT THE MERGE WASN'T A PHYSICAL ONE.
THEY WORKED IN THE SAME BUILDING ON THE SAME FLOOR AND THEY WERE SEPARATED BY A WALL.
SO THEY WERE LITERALLY NEIGHBORS.
UM, SO THE MERGER IS MORE OF LIKE AN ON PAPER TYPE OF THING.
UM, THEY ALL KNEW EACH OTHER, RIGHT? WE WERE THERE FOR THE, UH, THE MEETING WHERE THE ANNOUNCEMENT, AND, AND DON'T GET ME WRONG, OUR THREE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS ARE LIKE LIVING ENCYCLOPEDIAS.
THEY DO A TON AND THEY NEED A LOT MORE SUPPORT.
IT'S JUST AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHAT EMERGE MEANS, IT CAN MEAN DIFFERENT THINGS, RIGHT? RIGHT.
SO THE EXPECTATION THOUGH IS THAT THEY WOULD NOT, UH, THAT WE BRING, WE BLEND THEM TOGETHER.
AND YOU NORMALIZE, RIGHT? YOU'RE IN THE STORMING AND NORMING.
WE'VE GOT TWO FUNCTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN SEPARATE, LEARNING HOW TO FUNCTION TOGETHER, AND WE WANT CROSS TRAINING, RIGHT? THREE ONE, ONE CALL TAKERS DON'T INHERENTLY KNOW THE NUANCE AND DETAIL OF WATER BILLING AND WATER BILLING.
FOLKS DON'T INHERENTLY KNOW THE NUANCE OF DETAIL AND THE DETAIL OF 3 1 1 CALLS, RIGHT? THREE ONE, ONE CALL TAKERS, LIKE YOU SAID, ARE LIVING ENCYCLOPEDIAS.
IN FACT, THEY ARE SUCH LIVING ENCYCLOPEDIAS WHEN TAKING STEVEN'S HAT OFF AND PUTTING IT BACK ON.
WHEN WE BUILT THE SYSTEM IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR WORLD, UH, WE HAD TO POPULATE WHAT'S CALLED A KNOWLEDGE BASE.
AND IT TAKES LITERALLY A KNOWLEDGE BASE DESIGNED BY MICROSOFT TO CONTAIN WHAT THOSE FOLKS HAD IN THEIR HEADS.
RIGHT? IT IS HARD WORK, TO YOUR POINT.
AND, AND SO THE, THE MERGER IS NOT, WE'RE CUTTING THESE FOLKS BECAUSE WE'RE PUTTING 'EM HERE.
NOW THE MERGER IS, Y'ALL ARE DOING CALL TAKING FUNCTIONS AND WE'RE BLENDING A CALL CENTER BECAUSE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR YOU HAVE ONE CALL CENTER, YOU DON'T HAVE FIVE OR 10.
[00:45:01]
THANK YOU CHAIR.UH, MY QUESTION TOO WAS ABOUT ARE YOU CONSOLIDATING DEPARTMENTS OR ROLES? LIKE WHAT DOES THAT REALLY LOOK LIKE? AND THANK YOU JUST ANSWERED THAT.
THE OTHER IS, I MIGHT'VE MISSED THIS, BUT I'VE LOOKED BACK THROUGH THE PRESENTATION TO DATE.
DID I HEAR YOU SAY 23.7%, LIKE 23% HAVE ACCEPTED OF THE 3000? THAT'S CORRECT.
AND, AND YOU MAY HAVE SAID THIS, THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION.
I, I CAUGHT THAT, BUT I, I DIDN'T KNOW IF THAT'S A HEDGE OR NOT, SO, OKAY.
UH, WE'RE ABOUT TO START NEXT ROUND OF QUESTIONS.
SO I'M GONNA ASK A FEW OF MY OWN.
UM, GOING BACK TO THE ABOUT 211 SUPERVISORS MM-HMM
WITH THREE OR FEWER AGAIN IN THE POOL OF 3000.
UH, DOES THAT GIVE US THE, THE FIX THAT WE NEED BASED ON THE ERNST AND YOUNG STUDY? UH, OR WHAT WOULD BE NEXT? RIGHT.
WE, WE DON'T WANT, AND I APPRECIATE YOU ADDRESSING THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM, THE RISK OF LAYOFFS, UM, WHICH WE DO NOT WANT TO DO, UH, AND I WOULD NOT SUPPORT DOING, BUT IF WE DON'T GET THE NUMBER TO 3000 TO 3000 DOESN'T NECESSARILY, UH, DEAL WITH THE BUDGET SHORTFALL THAT WE HAVE.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT AFTER THIS FOR EMPLOYEES? ARE YOU ASKING ABOUT AS WE CLOSE THE BUDGET GAP? OR ARE YOU ASKING ABOUT, UH, WITH THESE SUPERVISORS, NOT JUST WITH THE SUPERVISORS, BUT WITH EMPLOYEES.
SO WE HAVE A LOT OF EMPLOYEES THAT ARE SAYING, OKAY, WE DON'T TAKE THIS AND WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE A HUNDRED PERCENT PARTICIPATION IN WHO'S ELIGIBLE.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, I THINK YOU SAID MAYBE A QUARTER.
SO WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP HERE? WELL, THE NEXT STEP IS THE REORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENTS.
IF, IF WE ARE ASKING ABOUT THE PERSPECTIVE OF AN EMPLOYEE WHO IS CURRENTLY ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE, WHO DECIDES THAT THEY DON'T WANNA TAKE THE VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT INCENTIVE OFFER, THE INCENTIVE ENDS, UH, APRIL 28TH, WHICH MEANS THEY WOULD NO LONGER BE ELIGIBLE FOR A 25% INCENTIVE NOR THE, UH, THE FIVE YEARS OF ACTIVE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.
AND THEY DECIDE, THIS IS NOT MY THING.
IN FACT, I THINK THERE'S SOME FOLKS IN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE THAT ARE GONNA SAY NO.
UM, YOU CONTINUE TO DO YOUR JOB, BUT THE EXPECTATION IS THAT WE ARE AN ORGANIZATION THAT HAS TOO MANY LAYERS AND WE ARE TOO THIN.
WE NEED TO WIDEN OUT AS AN ORGANIZATION, WE NEED MORE PEOPLE REPORTING TO SUPERVISORS THAN WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE.
AND SO THE EXPECTATION THAT EMPLOYEES SHOULD HAVE, AND IT'S NOT JUST EMPLOYEES WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE, BUT ALL EMPLOYEES ACROSS THE CITY, IS THAT FY 26 IS GOING TO BE A YEAR OF STRUCTURAL CHANGE.
WE ARE GOING TO REORGANIZE OUR DEPARTMENTS.
WE SHALL, WE MUST, RIGHT? WE ARE GOING TO REORGANIZE THESE DEPARTMENTS.
AND SO FOLKS, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE DECREASING PEOPLE'S PAY.
UH, BUT YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE THE SAME BOSS.
YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE THE SAME JOB DUTIES, YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE ADDED JOB DUTIES.
YOU MIGHT BE SITTING IN A DIFFERENT LOCATION.
IF WE NEED TO PHYSICALLY MOVE PEOPLE TO JUSTIFY THAT ORGAN, THAT REORGANIZATION, THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT EMPLOYEES SHOULD EXPECT.
AND WE'VE BEEN OPEN AND HONEST AND TALKED ABOUT THIS.
THIS IS THE LINE THAT I JUST GAVE YOU AS THE ONE THAT WE'VE BEEN GIVING TO EMPLOYEES SINCE MARCH 14TH, UM, IS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO BE AS TRANSPARENT.
TRANSPARENT AND I'LL, AND, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF A, A FRAMING IT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
WE BELIEVE THAT THE, THE FOLKS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE HAVE EARNED THE TRANSPARENCY FROM THE ADMINISTRATION, RIGHT? THEY'VE SERVED DECADES, UH, FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND THIS IS NO SECRET, THIS IS THE BID, BIGGEST BUDGET GAP THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS EVER FACED.
AND THAT'S WITHOUT THE JONES WATSON, UH, COURT RULING, RIGHT? THIS IS A $220 MILLION BUDGET GAP.
IT IS AN ENORMOUS FEAT TO WORK ON IT, IT, UH, INTO AN IMPACT.
AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY.
THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN WORKING DILIGENT.
ALL DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS AND THE MAYOR HAVE BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY TO CLOSE THIS BUDGET GAP.
IT'S NOT GONNA BE CLOSED ON THE BACKS OF THESE EMPLOYEES WHO MAY OR MAY NOT DECIDE TO, UH, TO RETIRE.
BUT THE EXPECTATION IS THAT WE ARE, WE HAVE TO DO DRASTIC CHANGES IN THE WAY THAT WE RUN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON WHAT STEVEN SAID.
I THINK THAT WE'VE BEEN VERY CLEAR ABOUT THE RESTRUCTURE AND REORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENTS EVEN BEFORE THIS INCENTIVE PROGRAM CAME OUT.
GOES BACK TO WHEN THE ERNST AND YOUNG STUDY CAME OUT.
AND EVEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE WERE GETTING THOSE INITIAL, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS AND FINDINGS FROM ERNST AND YOUNG, THERE'S BEEN CONVERSATIONS ONGOING WITH DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS AT LOOKING AT THE NUMBER OF DIRECT REPORTS PER SUPERVISOR LOOKING AT THE SPAN OF CONTROL.
AND THERE'S A LOT OF RESTRUCTURING AND REORG THAT'S ALREADY HAPPENING.
CONSOLIDATION OF INFORMAL PROCUREMENT, UM, CONSOLIDATION OF FINANCE FUNCTIONS, HR FUNCTIONS, THOSE THINGS ARE ALREADY GOING ON.
YOU'RE GONNA SEE THE NUMBERS REFLECTED IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
BUT THOSE THINGS HAVE BEEN IN THE WORK SINCE, SINCE BEFORE THE INCENTIVE PROGRAM.
UH, AND I APPRECIATE THAT IN TERMS OF WITH, AGAIN, GOING A LITTLE BIT BACK TO CONSOLIDATION, BUT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
UH, WE'RE CLOSING OUT SOME OF THE POSITIONS AS PEOPLE RETIRE, RIGHT? MM-HMM
WE'RE NOT REHIRING AND THERE'S A HIRING FREEZE OTHER THAN CRITICAL, UH,
[00:50:01]
EMPLOYEES, RIGHT? DOES THAT, I, THAT BASICALLY MEANS, BUT PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, WE'RE ASKING OTHER EMPLOYEES TO DO MORE IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.UH, I THINK WHAT WE, WHAT FOUND IS THAT THE EXPECTATION WITH THE RESTRUCTURING, UH, THE PERSPECTIVE THAT WE ARE ASKING THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS THAT WE'VE TOLD THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS TO TAKE DURING THIS RESTRUCTURE IS THAT WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE CORE FUNCTIONING OF YOUR DEPARTMENT IS.
UM, THE CITY OF HOUSTON GREW INTO THIS BUDGET CAP.
IT'S A, IT'S AN IMPORTANT WAY TO FRAME IT.
THE COST OF GOVERNMENT HAS GONE UP TO RUN OUR GOVERNMENT.
AND THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT REASONS WHY.
I MEAN, IF YOU LOOK NO FURTHER THAN, UH, THE, THE VERY IMPORTANT, BUT ALSO VERY, VERY BORING SPEND SECTION OF OUR EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS IS THAT WE HAVE NOT DONE AN AWESOME JOB OF MANAGING THE WAY IN WHICH WE DO CONTRACTS.
IT'S THE REASON WHY WE ASK Y'ALL TO APPROVE THE $4 MILLION, UH, THE $4 MILLION EXPENDITURE WITH ERNST AND YOUNG TO IMPLEMENT THE SPEND RECOMMENDATIONS, THE COST OF GOVERNMENT WENT UP.
I'M NOT NECESSARILY SOLD ON THE FACT THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DO MORE.
I THINK IN SOME INSTANCES THE ANSWER IS YES, BUT THAT'S NOT GONNA BE THE, UH, THE GUARANTEE FOR EACH OF THE EMPLOYEES HERE.
UM, BECAUSE THE RESTRUCTURING THAT THE DIRECTORS ARE GOING TO DO IS GOING TO REORIENT AND PUT PEOPLE WHERE THEY NEED THEM TO BE.
UM, THE GREEN LIGHT THAT THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS NEED IS FOR THE MAYOR TO SAY, YOU HAVE TO RESTRUCTURE.
WE NEED YOU TO RETHINK WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
WE NEED YOU TO BE MORE EFFICIENT IN WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
AND SOMETIMES, AND THIS IS SOMETHING I THINK A QUESTION THAT YOU ASKED COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, UH, SOMETIMES IT'S GONNA BE TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENT, RIGHT? CAN WE IDENTIFY
UH, CAN WE UTILIZE TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE PEOPLE'S JOBS MORE EFFICIENT? SO IN FACT, THEY MIGHT BE DOING LESS.
UM, BUT THEY'RE, I DON'T THINK THAT IT'S A, NO.
I DON'T THINK THAT WE CAN SAY THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE DOING MORE ACROSS THE BOARD.
AND LASTLY, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, YOU'RE UP, UM, THE, THERE'S THE EMPLOY EMPLOYEE SIDE, RIGHT? MM-HMM
AND WE ARE, WE'RE, WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER AND LOOKING OUT FOR CITY EMPLOYEES.
UH, THERE'S A CONCERN ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE PUBLIC SERVANTS THAT HAVE BEEN HERE FOR, LIKE YOU SAID, 2030.
I'VE MET FOLKS THAT ARE 40, 50 YEARS IN.
THERE'S SIGNIFICANT BRAIN TRUST WITH THAT AND KNOWLEDGE SPACE THAT WE ARE LOSING IN ADDITION TO PERSONNEL THAT WE ARE LOSING.
UM, IS THERE A CONCERN, OR HOW ARE WE MITIGATING SERVICE DISRUPTION FOR HOUSTONIANS DURING THIS TIME? RIGHT? AND THAT'S A PRETTY QUICK TURNAROUND.
SO ON THE LAST DAY, RIGHT, IF YOU TAKE THAT MARCH 28TH SUBMISSION, AND, EXCUSE ME, APRIL 28TH SUBMISSION, AND YOUR RETIREMENT DAY IS MAY 1ST, UH, I KNOW THAT DIRECTORS ARE HOPEFULLY PLANNING FOR SOME OF THIS, BUT HOW ARE WE MITIGATING SERVICE DISRUPTION FOR HOUSTONIANS AND THE, THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE'RE LOSING AS WELL IN THE LONG TERM? SO THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE CHOSE, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE CHOSE, UM, ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT OFFER, BECAUSE IT'S A FINITE GROUP OF PEOPLE.
THERE ARE ONLY SO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE.
UM, WHAT I'LL SAY, AND THIS IS GOING TO BE, UH, AN OPERATIONAL JUDGMENT.
WE, SOME DIRECTORS CAME TO US AND SAID, OH MY GOD, THIS IS, I'M GONNA LOSE.
I I'M AT THE RISK OF LOSING X, Y, OR Z EMPLOYEE.
AND THE ANSWER AND THE RESPONSE THAT I TOLD THEM, AND I THINK MELISSA SAID IT ONCE TO BE, AND WE HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT IT, IS YOU, YOU WERE AT RISK OF LOSING THEM ANYWAYS.
WHETHER WE OFFER THEM AN INCENTIVE OR NOT, THEY'RE RETIREMENT ELIGIBLE.
THEY COULD BE A BAD WEEK, A BAD.
I MEAN, I'VE HEARD SO MANY EMPLOYEES TALK TO, THERE WAS ONE EMPLOYEE WHO SAID, YEAH, I'M JUST A P****D OFF WEEK AWAY FROM FILING MY PAPERS AND RETIRING.
RIGHT? AND THAT'S A REAL, IT'S A REAL SCENARIO FOR PEOPLE.
AND THAT REPRESENTS AN OPERATIONAL RISK.
AND SO THE, THE RISK IS ALREADY THERE.
AND SO THIS HAS BEEN, UH, A VERY, BECAUSE WE KNOW WHO THESE 3000 FOLKS ARE, WHETHER THEY TAKE IT OR NOT, WE CAN NOW START SUCCESSION PLANNING.
AND THOSE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS HAVE BEEN DOING IT.
WE WOULD PREFER, UH, WE, THE HOPE AND WE SAW IT, UH, IS THAT A LARGER PORTION OF THE FOLKS WHO ARE GOING TO TAKE IT WOULD LET US KNOW EARLIER SO WE COULD MAKE THE BEST USE OF THOSE SIX WEEKS.
AND WE'RE, WE SAW THAT A LARGE GROUP OF THEM, UH, OF THOSE FOLKS MADE IT AVAILABLE IN WEEK ONE OR TWO, UH, MADE THEMSELVES, UH, KNOWN THAT THEY WERE EITHER CONSIDERING IT.
UM, AND THAT'S A VERY GENEROUS THING TO SAY, UM, OR THAT, HEY, I'M TAKING IT.
HERE'S THE, THE SIGNED PAPERWORK.
UM, BUT THE PLAN, THE GAME, AS YOU SAID, IS SUCCESSION PLANNING.
SO WE DON'T SEE INTERRUPTIONS.
AND SO THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS ARE ALL THINKING ABOUT, HOW CAN I PIVOT EMPLOYEES OVER HERE TO FILL THIS GAP? IN SOME INSTANCES, AND THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE, THERE ARE FOUR NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT.
UH, MR. JACKSON, WHO'S THE HEAD OF 9 1 1, UH, OVER AT HECK, HE SAID, HOW DO I BACKFILL THESE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE? AND SO HR IS WORKING WITH THEM, AND THOSE ARE POSITIONS THAT EVEN UNDER THE HIRING FREEZE, WE'RE STILL HIRING.
[00:55:01]
UM, SO TO YOUR POINT, THE, THE NAME OF THE GAME RIGHT NOW IS MAKING SURE THAT WE MITIGATE SERVICE INTERRUPTION.AND, AND THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS ARE DOING AN AMAZING JOB OF DOING THAT.
THANK YOU BOTH FOR THE INFORMATION.
UM, SO WITH RESPECT TO THE HIRING FREEZE AND THIS, UH, THIS OPTION HERE MM-HMM
SO IF WE'VE GOT FOLKS IN SOLID WASTE WHO TAKE THIS MM-HMM
EARLY RETIREMENT, ARE THOSE POSITIONS GOING TO BE FILLED? AS YOU KNOW, WE KNOW WE HAVE A, A SHORTAGE OF FOLKS IN OUR SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT AS IS.
I THINK, UH, WHAT WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO FRAME IS, WHEN YOU SAY SOLID WASTE, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A DEPARTMENT THAT LARGELY EMPLOYEES, PEOPLE WHO ARE DIRECT SERVICE DELIVERY EMPLOYEES, BUT ALSO EMPLOYEES, PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT THE PEOPLE THAT DO DIRECT SERVICE DELIVERY TO, UH, TO RESIDENTS OF HOUSTON AND GENERAL FUND.
AND, AND SO IF THE EMPLOYEE IS SOMEONE WHO SITS IN A TRUCK AND DRIVES IT EVERY DAY, THAT'S A CRITICAL POSITION.
UH, I'LL TELL YOU THAT THE, THE INTERIM DIRECTOR, LARRY HASSON, HE, UH, INDICATED TO ME THAT HE FELT THAT IN THE DIRECTOR'S OFFICE THERE WERE TOO MANY ADMINS, RIGHT? DO WE NEED TO BACKFILL THOSE POSITIONS? I THINK THAT'S UP TO THE DIRECTOR.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS A CONVERSATION WITH THE DEPARTMENTS, UM, AROUND WHAT DO WE VIEW AS CRITICAL POSITIONS FOR DIRECT SERVICE DELIVERY, AND WHAT DO WE VIEW AS NOT CRITICAL? AND SO THERE, THE THE WAY THAT I'D FRAME IT IS THAT THOSE POSITIONS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED AS CRITICAL, THOSE ARE THE AUTOMATIC YESES.
THE ONES THAT THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR FEELS LIKE IS CRITICAL, BUT IS NOT A PART OF THIS LIST.
THEY HAVE TO MAKE A, AN ARGUMENT, A CASE TO THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, TO THE ADMINISTRATION, AND TO THE MAYOR ABOUT, I NEED THIS POSITION BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME.
AND I'LL TELL YOU, WE'VE HAD SOME THAT, YOU KNOW, I'VE HAD A COUPLE OF DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS SAY THAT I, I ABSOLUTELY NEED THIS EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT.
DO YOU, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, LIKE A $220 MILLION BUDGET GAP.
CAN YOU UTILIZE TECHNOLOGY MORE EFFICIENTLY TO NEED ADMIN SUPPORT LESS? OR CAN YOU SHARE ADMIN SUPPORT AMONG MULTIPLE EXECUTIVES WITHIN YOUR OFFICE? SO WE'RE FORCING THEM TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S AN OPERATIONAL PREROGATIVE THAT THE MAYOR, THAT THE MAYOR WAS VERY ADAMANT ON OF, IF WE HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN AN ADMIN FOR A STEVE DAVID, OR A, UH, A FRONTLINE WORKER, A NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKER, A THREE ONE ONE CALL TAKER, WE'VE GOTTA CHOOSE THAT PERSON EVERY TIME BECAUSE THE CITY OF HOUSTON STILL NEEDS TO RUN.
SO THE DIRECTORS WILL IDENTIFY CRITICAL POSITIONS.
THE MAYOR'S OFFICE REVIEWS THAT.
SO LIKE A PUBLIC WORKS INSPECTOR, WOULD THAT BE A CRITICAL YES.
CAN THAT, IS THAT LIST PUBLIC? CAN WE SEE THE LIST? OH,
UM, 'CAUSE THAT, I MEAN, I DO THINK THAT THERE, INSTEAD OF JUST ASKING, RIGHT, LIKE, IS THIS ON THE LIST? IS THIS ON THE LIST? UM, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO KNOW WHAT THE ADMINISTRATION VIEWS AS CRITICAL.
UM, VERSUS WHAT IF YOU DELIVER SERVICES DIRECTLY TO, TO A RESIDENT OF HOUSTON, IT'S MOST LIKELY ON THAT CRITICAL LIST INSPECTORS CALL TAKERS, THE FOLKS WHO, UH, OR, OR IT'S A, MAYBE THEY DON'T DELIVER SERVICES DIRECTLY, BUT THEY'RE A PART OF LIKE CORE SERVICE DELIVERY.
SO LIKE THE, THE, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MANAGING THE LABORATORY THAT TESTS OUR WASTEWATER OR OUR WATER MM-HMM
RIGHT? REALLY IMPORTANT POSITION DOESN'T NECESSARILY INTERACT WITH FOLKS, BUT INTERACTS WITH THE THING THAT INTERACTS WITH FOLKS.
SO WE'VE GONE THROUGH A VERY DILIGENT LIST, AND IT WASN'T US TELLING, IT WASN'T LIKE THE MAYOR'S OFFICE SAYING, THESE ARE THE CRITICAL POSITIONS.
IT WAS HR WORKING WITH THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS AND THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS SAYING, WHAT DO I NEED TO HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT MY DEPARTMENT STILL FUNCTIONS? AND JUST TO, I, I AM MAKING A LITTLE BIT OF EYE CONTACT WITH, UH, CHRIS IN THE BACK.
I THINK WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL, UH, I THINK I'M GETTING THE NOD, CHRIS, IS, UH, A PRIVATE BRIEFING FOR A COUNCIL MEMBER THAT WOULD LIKE ONE, UH, A PRIVATE CLOSED DOOR CONVERSATION, JUST SO THAT COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT DO HAVE QUESTIONS, UH, COULD GET THOSE ANSWERS AS IT PERTAINS TO THOSE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CLASSIFICATIONS.
IF, IF IT, AGAIN, OUT OF SENSITIVITY FOR THAT NOT BEING ABLE TO BE MADE PUBLIC, IF COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, I WOULD, I WOULD SUBMIT THAT.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AS WE LOOK AT THIS IN GENERAL, THE OPPORTUNITY TO REORG, THE OPPORTUNITY TO RESTRUCTURE AND BECOME MORE EFFICIENT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS OUR PERSPECTIVE ON TECHNOLOGY BEING A PART OF THIS PROCESS MOVING FORWARD? UM, AS WE LOOK AT EFFICIENCIES, ARE THERE SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGIES WE ARE LOOKING AT OR ARE, IS THERE A PLAN TO INCORPORATE IT IN THIS OPPORTUNITY RIGHT NOW THAT WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT TO RESTRUCTURE? 'CAUSE AGAIN, WE DO HAVE A BIG DEFICIT MM-HMM
UM, IT WILL TAKE MANY THINGS TO CLOSE THAT GAP, RIGHT? IT'S NOT JUST GONNA BE ONE, BUT THERE, THERE'S A CHANCE THERE THAT WE CAN, WE CAN UTILIZE.
[01:00:01]
ABSOLUTELY.I MEAN, I, YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.
YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD WHEN WE CAME UP HERE AND PRESENTED THE EFFICIENCY STUDY WITH REGARD TO IT.
I, I THINK IT WAS COUNCIL MEMBER PLUM ACT ABOUT ASKED ABOUT, UH, AI USE CASES.
AND YOU TALKED ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AS AN APPLICATION AND HOW WE CAN, ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE ON THE TABLE.
WE DO HAVE TO UPGRADE OUR TECH, OUR TECH STACK.
I MEAN, IT'S A, IT'S A THING THAT WE DON'T, UM, THE CITY OVER TIME HAS, UH, HAS SORT OF COBBLED TOGETHER, RIGHT? IT'S, AND THIS IS THE, THE CHALLENGE OF ALL MUNICIPALITIES.
HOUSTON IS NOT UNIQUE IN THIS.
AND THE, THE CURRENT HITS DEPARTMENT HAS DONE A WONDERFUL JOB OF BEING ABLE TO UNDERSTAND, UM, WHERE WE HAVE TECHNOLOGY, WHERE WE HAVE TECHNOLOGY THAT'S NO LONGER SUPPORTED, WHERE WE HAVE TECHNOLOGY THAT, UH, IS AT RISK OR CRITICAL, AND THEY GO THROUGH AND THEY PRIORITIZE.
AND, AND, BUT IT'S, IT'S NOT EASY.
AND, AND IN ADDITION TO JUST LOOKING AT TECHNOLOGY AS LIKE A SET OF SOFTWARES OR A SET OF HARDWARES, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, A SORT OF A, A DECENTRALIZED TECHNOLOGY, RIGHT? THE ERNST AND YOUNG STUDY TALKS A LOT ABOUT THE SORT OF SHADOW GOVERNMENT OF IT ACROSS THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, AND WE'RE WELL AWARE OF THAT.
UM, AND SO THERE, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE GOING ON OF CONSOLIDATION OF IT, AS WELL AS CONSOLIDATION OF APPLICATIONS, CONSOLIDATION OF TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PURPOSES OF BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY BETTER OPPORTUNITIES FOR AUTOMATION, BETTER OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UH, REDUCING STEPS AND CREATING EFFICIENCIES IN THERE.
BUT ALSO, AND TO YOUR POINT ABOUT THE BUDGET GAP, IS TO, TO FIND WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN ELIMINATE STEPS THAT COST US MONEY TO DO THEM.
AND I, I'LL DO MY PERSONAL PLUG THERE FOR CAD, I KNOW RMS IS COMING ONLINE, BUT COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH IS ONE OF THOSE THAT I THINK, UH, AS IT COMES ONLINE, WE'LL, WE WILL REAP THE BENEFITS GREATLY OF, I WANTED TO GIVE AN EXAMPLE SPECIFIC TO THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
SO AS WE TALK ABOUT CONSOLIDATING THE AP FUNCTION, THERE'S A PROJECT IN THE CIP THAT, UH, SPEAKS TO, UM, ADDING A APPLICATION OR TECHNOLOGY FOR ELECTRONIC INVOICING THAT WILL MAKE THAT PROCESS MORE EFFICIENT.
AND THEN ANOTHER THING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU, UH, LOOKING AT THE ERNST AND YOUNG STUDY, YOU CAN SEE THE, THE VENDORS WE HAVE, THE VENDORS WE PAY, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE TOP VENDORS, UH, FOR A NUMBER OF INVOICES THAT WE PAY.
AND WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF CONTRACTS THAT WE CAN GO BACK TO THE VENDOR RENEGOTIATE THE WAY, SIMPLY THE WAY THEY INVOICE THE PAYMENTS.
WE ARE PAYING INVOICES WHERE THE COST OF THE PAYMENT THAT WE'RE REMITTING TO THE VENDOR IS LESS THAN IT COSTS US TO PROCESS THE INVOICE.
THIS MAKES NO SENSE, RIGHT? SO IT, IT'S GONNA TAKE, RENEGOTIATING THAT CONTRACT GOING BACK TO THE VENDOR, HEY, CAN YOU CHANGE THE WAY YOU INVOICES? CAN YOU INVEST US MONTHLY, QUARTERLY, SOME KIND OF, WHICH WAY WE'RE, WE'RE NOT PAYING $36 INVOICES IN ONE MONTH AT A COST OF $39 PER PAYMENT OF STAFF COST TO PAY THAT INVOICE.
SO, UM, THOSE ARE DEFINITELY THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AND THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AND I CAN PUT YOU BACK IN QUEUE.
WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, BUT UNLESS YOU WANNA WRAP UP, I'M ALL GOOD QUESTIONS.
I APPRECIATE THE CONVERSATION REGARDING, YOU KNOW, EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY AND KIND TO COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN'S POINT.
HOPEFULLY THE EMPLOYEES WILL ACTUALLY BE DOING MORE.
NOT THAT THEY'RE NECESSARILY WORKING HARDER, BUT WORKING MORE EFFICIENTLY AND, YOU KNOW, SMARTER RATHER THAN HARDER.
I, I GUESS, RIGHT? THEY WORK JUST AS HARD ON PROCESSING, UH, $300,000 INVOICES AS YOU TO PAY THE $6.
AND COMING FROM A LOGISTICS BACKGROUND, I MEAN, IT WAS ALL ABOUT DRIVING PRODUCTIVITY AND HOW YOU BECOME MORE PRODUCTIVE AND MORE EFFICIENT.
WHAT IS A NORMAL ATTRITION THAT WE LOOK THROUGH OR LOOK FOR AT THE CITY ON THE HIRING FREEZE? I MEAN, DO WE KNOW HOW MANY EMPLOYEES WE TYPICALLY LOSE A MONTH OR? UH, WE GET ABOUT 400 RETIREMENTS A YEAR.
AND THEN I, WELL, YOUR MATH IS BETTER THAN MINE.
I COULDN'T DO THAT IN MY HEAD TERMINATIONS.
I CAN GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT ONE.
AND I ASSUME THE HIRING FREEZE WILL HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS IMPACT AFTER THIS EXERCISE, BECAUSE MOST OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE GONNA BE TAKING RETIREMENT PROBABLY WILL DO AT THIS POINT WITH THE LITTLE PERKS THAT HAVE BEEN BUILT INTO IT.
UM, WE'VE TALKED QUITE A BIT ABOUT THE SUPERVISORS WITH THREE OR FEWER DIRECT REPORTS MM-HMM
AND, AND OBVIOUSLY THAT'S KIND OF MADE SOME NEWS IS THAT'S KIND OF AN EYE POPPING NUMBER.
WE GOT THERE IN LARGE PART AS A WORKAROUND TO COMPENSATE THE BETTER EMPLOYEES OR THE EMPLOYEES THAT DO A BETTER JOB MORE THAN THE EMPLOYEES THAT DON'T MM-HMM
ARE WE LOOKING TO DO ANYTHING TO ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSE? ARE WE LOOKING AT MERIT PAY AT ALL, RATHER THAN YOUR PAY IS DETERMINED BY HOW MANY MONTHS YOU
[01:05:01]
SAT IN THE SEAT? YEAH.SO I'LL TELL YOU THAT IT IS THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE ADMINISTRATION THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO GET TO A SITUATION LIKE THAT WHERE WE CAN CREATE IT.
UM, RIGHT NOW OUR FOCUS IS ON CLOSING THE BUDGET GAP.
UM, BUT THAT IS ABSOLUTELY A STATE THAT WE'D LIKE TO BE.
I MEAN, TO YOUR POINT EXACTLY RIGHT.
UM, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO GIVE COMPENSATION TO FOLKS, UM, AND WE WOULD LOSE THEM OR THEY WOULD THREATEN TO LOSE AND WE'D HAVE TO PROMOTE THEM.
UM, AND IT CREATED THAT SITUATION, TO YOUR POINT.
I'M THRILLED TO HEAR YOU'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT IT, SO I UNDERSTAND IT'S IN THE FUTURE.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF REDUCTIONS IN FEDERAL FUNDING WHERE THEY'RE JUST STOPPING PROGRAMS MM-HMM
ARE WE LOOKING TO STOP THOSE PROGRAMS AS THAT FUNDING ENDS? OR ARE WE TRYING TO FIND OUT, OR TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO BACKFILL THAT, THOSE DOLLARS? HOW ARE WE HANDLING THAT? UH, SO AS A GENERAL PERSPECTIVE, WHAT WE HAVE TO WEIGH HERE IS WHAT IS THE CRITICALITY OF THE PROGRAM THAT'S FUNDED FEDERALLY VERSUS, UM, IS IT AN OPTIONAL PROGRAM? AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, DO WE HAVE THE MONEY TO DO IT? RIGHT? LARGELY THE ANSWER IS NO, WE DON'T.
AND SO AS, AS WE LOSE FEDERAL FUNDING, UM, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A QUESTION OF AUSTERITY, REALLY.
LIKE, WE HAVE TO BALANCE WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DEFUND TO FUND THESE? AND THAT'S ALREADY HAPPENED, RIGHT? WE WERE MADE AWARE THAT, UH, I BELIEVE IT WAS TWO HEALTH DEPARTMENT GRANTS, THREE, THREE HEALTH DEPARTMENT GRANTS THAT WENT AWAY, UH, A FEW WEEKS AGO.
UM, AND SO WE, WE HAVE TO, HOW MUCH HAVE THIS CONVERSATIONS? I'LL, I'LL SAY THAT THE, THE THING THAT'S IMPORTANT, UM, IS THE ABILITY OF US TO HAVE A CONTINUED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO, AT THE VERY LEAST, UH, RECEIVE AN EARLY HEADS UP THAT THOSE THINGS ARE COMING.
AND IN A BEST CASE SCENARIO, EXPLAIN WHY THOSE IMPORTANT, THOSE FUNDS ARE IMPORTANT.
UM, AND SO THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, OUR INTERGOVERNMENTAL INTER INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS TEAMS WORK DILIGENTLY ON.
UM, WE DO GO UP TO DC WE, WE MEET WITH OUR LOCAL DELEGATION, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE MEET WITH THE WHITE HOUSE AND WE HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF, OF PROGRAMMING AND WHY THESE FEDERAL FUNDS ARE SO IMPORTANT.
UM, WE FOUND RESPONSIVENESS OUT OF, UH, OUR FEDERAL PARTNERS.
WE FOUND RESPONSIVENESS OUT OF OUR STATE PARTNERS AS WELL.
UM, BUT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION DIRECTLY, YEAH.
I MEAN, WE HAVE TO, WE WOULD LOVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE FUNDING EVERYTHING, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO CLOSE A BUDGET GAP.
THERE'S NO MORE, UH, COUNCILORS IN Q, DIRECTOR DSKY, I THINK WE HAD REQUESTED PREVIOUSLY, AND Y'ALL DID A GREAT JOB OF GETTING US WHAT YOU COULD, BUT TO COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER POINT REGARDING FEDERAL DOLLARS MM-HMM
WHAT WE, IS THERE A, UH, FACT SHEET AND FAQ AT LEAST FOR COUNSEL OF WHAT GRANTS HAVE YOU LOST? HOW MUCH, HOW MANY PERSONNEL IS THAT? WHAT'S AT RISK? MM-HMM
'CAUSE AGAIN, WE'RE ALL TRYING TO PIECE THINGS TOGETHER.
UH, AND WE'RE, WE DON'T HAVE A CLEAR PICTURE ON WHAT WE'RE FACING THAT WAY.
AND AGAIN, I THINK I BROUGHT UP STEVEN, UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF HPD GRANTS THAT WE RELY ON, RIGHT? YEAH.
WE HAVE A LOT OF PUBLIC SAFETY GRANTS HERE TOO.
UH, I'M HOPING, AND I DON'T THINK THOSE ARE AT JEOPARDY YET, BUT AGAIN, JUST A, A SUMMARY OF WHERE WE ARE WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
AND WE HAVE, UM, CERTAINLY ARE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH, UM, IT'S PARTICULARLY THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND HOUSING AS WELL THAT ARE HEAVILY GRANT FUNDED, UM, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE THE NOTIFICATION ABOUT THOSE THREE HEALTH DEPARTMENT GRANTS, BUT WE'VE ASKED THOSE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE MORE, YOU KNOW, INTIMATELY AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THOSE GRANT ACTIVITIES, UH, SORT OF PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE.
I DON'T WANNA WAIT AND FIND OUT THIS DAY FROM DC THAT THIS HAS GONE TRYING TO, THAT, AND I THINK WE GOT THE NOTICE A DAY AFTER THE GRANT HAD BEEN PULLED OR SOMETHING.
UM, BUT A LOT OF THOSE GRANT FUNDED EMPLOYEES, AND I KNOW A LOT OF 'EM ARE DOING CRITICAL WORK FOR THE CITY.
UH, SO AN UPDATE WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
I SEE NO OTHER COUNTS MEMBERS IN QUEUE.
UM, WE'RE GONNA START THE NEXT PRESENTATION.
I WANNA THANK YOU BOTH FOR THE TIME AS WELL AS THE ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR CITY EMPLOYEES, BUT ALSO WITH US AS WE LEARN ABOUT THIS PROCESS AND HOW WE MOVE FORWARD FROM HERE.
UH, DIRECTOR CHEEKS, BEFORE WE GET TO THE NEXT PRESENTATION, CAN I PUT YOU IN THE HOT SEAT FOR A SECOND ON MY PREVIOUS QUESTION ABOUT COMPARING THE BASELINE OF WHAT RETIREMENT LOOKS LIKE, UH, AS A STANDARD PRACTICE AT THE CITY COMPARED TO WHAT ADDITIONAL PERKS ARE BEING OFFERED RIGHT NOW IN THIS TIMEFRAME? THAT'S NOT A PROBLEM.
SO, UM, I WANNA SAY ACTUALLY IT IS THE ACTUAL INCENTIVE OPTION THAT IS A DIFFERENCE.
SO LET ME, LET ME JUST TALK ABOUT A RETIREE TODAY.
WHEN THEY LEAVE, UH, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THE ADMINISTRATION POSED TO HUMAN RESOURCES IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT COULD BE STOPPING INDIVIDUALS
[01:10:01]
FROM TAKING THEIR RETIREMENT? AND, AND THE BIGGEST THING FOR US IS THE COST OF THE RETIREES INSURANCE.SO THAT $8,000 GAP, THAT THAT'S, THAT'S REAL.
SO I SAY IT ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO STAY ON THE ACTIVE, UH, INSURANCE AND YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW THAT WOULD AFFECT FINANCES, BUT ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO STAY ON THE RETIREE INSURANCE.
BUT LIKE I SAID, FOR A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME, WE KNOW THAT WHEN YOU TURN 65, YOU CAN GO TO MEDICARE.
BUT WE LOOKED AT IT IN FIVE YEARS, STAYING ON THE ACTIVE, THAT WILL GET YOU A ACROSS THAT GAP, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU NEED.
SO WHEN YOU RETIRE TODAY, THE ONLY THING THAT IS DIFFERENT, ONE, YOU'RE NOT RECEIVING AN INCENTIVE OPTION.
THE 25%, THE 25%, AND TWO, YOU ARE PAYING MORE, UH, WITH THE INSURANCE.
THAT IS, THAT'S THE BIGGEST THING.
UM, AND NEXT, I BELIEVE ALSO, UH, ALONGSIDE THE DIRECTOR, WE HAVE, UH, JAN, IS IT JANET MCCOWEN THAT'S GONNA BE PRESENTING? JANET, COME ON UP.
OUR SENIOR DIVISION MANAGER FOR HR.
UM, WE'RE HAPPY TO ALSO GET YOU ALL CHAIRS.
I KNOW STEVEN PREFERRED TO STAND, BUT, OKAY.
UH, AND THIS IS ON, UH, THE MUNICIPAL PAID LEAVE COMPARISON STUDY.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, DID YOU WANNA SAY ANYTHING JUST TO REFRESH OUR RECOLLECTION ON THE BUDGET AMENDMENT? SURE.
THIS WAS SET UP DURING LAST YEAR'S BUDGET SEASON.
I REALLY CREDIT COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER WITH REALLY GETTING THIS GOING.
WE WERE NOTICING BIG NUMBERS AND THE TERMINATION PAY OF BUDGETS AS PEOPLE LEFT.
SO WE WANTED A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF, OF THIS DRAG UP PAY THAT WAS JUST REFERRED TO THE, THE, THE SICK PLUS SICK ACCRUALS AND VACATION ACCRUALS.
AND DO SOME COMPARISON WORK ACROSS OTHER GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES AS WELL AS THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
SO WE'VE HAD THREE OR FOUR GOOD MEETINGS.
A LOT OF HARD WORK WENT INTO THIS.
I CERTAINLY HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW WE STACK UP, UM, WITH OUR SICK AND VACATION PAY.
AND I JUST WANNA EMPHASIZE, THIS WAS A STUDY YES.
THAT WAS DONE FOR ALL THE MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN THE ROOM.
THIS WAS A STUDY THAT WAS DONE.
SO I, AGAIN, UM, CHAIR, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY AND, AND DEFINITELY CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR FOR, UH, FOR PHYSICAL AFFAIRS.
AND AS COUNCIL, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN STATED, WE WERE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO DO WHAT WAS A DEEP DIVE AND, AND ACTUALLY SHOW WHAT I WANNA SAY IS WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND, AND OUR EMPLOYEES.
BUT I JUST WANNA TAKE ONE OPPORTUNITY, 'CAUSE YOU SAID IT BEST COUNCIL MEMBER, IS THIS WAS A LOT OF HARD WORK.
SO JUST PLEASE ALLOW ME TO THANK, UH, JANET MCOWEN, WHO IS OVER NOT ONLY COMPENSATION, BUT HRIM.
UH, ALSO LET ME, LET ME HAVE SHERRY DAVIS STAND UP AND, UH, HER OTHER COMPENSATION TEAM.
THESE ARE THE INDIVIDUALS THAT DID ALL THE WORK.
SO I WANNA JUST GIVE THEM, UH, SOME CREDIT.
AND, AND WHAT I'M GONNA DO IS I'M GONNA BE HERE FOR QUESTIONS.
I'M GONNA TURN THIS OVER TO JANET RIGHT AWAY TO BE COGNIZANT OF THE TIME.
I WOULD REALLY QUICKLY CHAIR, LIKE TO MENTION THAT IT, THE, THE, THE TASK OR THE KIND OF WORKING GROUP THAT WORKED ON THIS WITH, WITH HR WAS COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, VICE MAYOR, PRO TEM PECK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, AND COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN, MYSELF THERE.
AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING ALL YOUR STAFF.
AND THANK YOU FOR WORKING WITH US ON IT,
UH, SO I'M GONNA GO OVER THIS STUDY THAT WE DID.
UH, A LOT OF IT WAS TO COMPARE HOW WE LOOK WITH THE OTHER ENTITIES OUT THERE.
UH, THE PARTICIPANTS IN OUR STUDY ARE THE TOP FIVE TEXAS CITIES OF AUSTIN, DALLAS, EL PASO, FORT WORTH, SAN ANTONIO, AS WELL AS THE TWO SURROUNDING COUNTIES, UH, FORT BENON HARRIS.
UH, THERE WERE ALSO 11 NATIONAL LARGE CITIES, UH, WHICH INCLUDE ATLANTA, CHICAGO, DENVER, PHILADELPHIA, AND SAN DIEGO.
ALL OF THIS DATA IS AS OF FEBRUARY, 2025.
UH, WE ALSO LOOKED AT PUBLISHED DATA TO GET SOME LOOK AT THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
AND THAT WAS LOOKING AT WORLD AT WORK AS WELL AS BLS.
AND AS REQUESTED, WE ALSO INCLUDED HFD AND HPD IN HERE AS COMPARATORS.
UH, REAL QUICK ON THE TYPE OF LEAVE PROGRAMS, UM, WE WANTED TO LOOK AT WHAT IS OFFERED OUT THERE IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR.
IT IS STILL PRIMARILY TRADITIONAL.
TRADITIONAL IS WHERE YOU HAVE BOTH THE VACATION PROGRAM AS WELL AS A SICK PROGRAM.
UH, SO THAT IS STILL PREVALENT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR, UM, IN ALL SECTORS.
LOOKING AT, THIS WAS COMING FROM THE PUBLISHED DATA.
UH, WHENEVER YOU'RE LOOKING AT WITH, WHEN IT INCLUDES THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN THERE FOR THE PTO AS WELL.
UM, VERSUS THE TRADITIONAL LEAVE PROGRAMS
[01:15:01]
FOR PERSONAL DAYS, UH, THAT IS SEPARATE FROM VACATION AND SICK LEAVE.UM, YOU EITHER USE 'EM OR YOU LOSE THEM.
AND THAT, THAT'S OUR PERSONAL LEAVE DAYS.
UH, FOR THE CIVILIANS, WE OFFER THREE DAYS OF PERSONAL LEAVE.
UH, THIS WAS RECENTLY NEGOTIATED IN THE MEETING AND CONFER AGREEMENT.
IT WAS PRIOR BASED ON SICK LEAVE USAGE.
IT IS NO LONGER BASED ON SICK LEAVE USAGE.
UH, AND THIS GOES BACK TO THE BUDGET AMENDMENT WHERE WE WERE TO LOOK AT REDUCING THE, UM, THE, THE CAP FOR, FOR THE TERM PAY WITH THE 20 HOURS.
AND, UM, IN THOSE NEGOTIATIONS, PART OF THAT CHANGE OF MAKING THIS WHERE IT WAS NO LONGER BASED ON SICK LEAVE USAGE, BUT TO MAKE IT AN AUTOMATIC, UH, IT WAS, UH, WAS PART OF THAT.
UH, HPD OFFERS 16 DAYS OF PERSONAL LEAVE.
UM, AND THAT IS ALSO REGARDLESS WHETHER IT'S SICK LEAVE OR NOT, UM, THEY HAVE A PTO PROGRAM.
AND SO THAT WAS RESOLVED BACK IN 2001.
HFD OFFERS TWO DAYS, BUT THEY DO HAVE TO EARN IT BASED ON SICK LEAVE USAGE.
IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR, IT'S ABOUT 50 50 ON WHETHER, UM, THEY OFFER PERSONAL LEAVE.
UH, BUT IT STILL AVERAGES ABOUT THREE DAYS IN EACH OF, IN, IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR.
SO ON VACATION DAYS, THE CITY OF HOUSTON, OF COURSE, IS THE FIRST BAR.
THEN THE NEXT THREE BARS ARE ALSO WITH THE OTHER PUBLIC SECTOR.
AND THEN THE FOURTH BAR IS GONNA BE OUR PRIVATE SECTOR.
SO AS YOU SEE ON THE, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE FIRST YEAR, THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S JUST A WEE BIT BEHIND ON, ON THAT.
BUT THEN IN THE FIFTH YEAR AND THE 10TH YEAR WE'RE BILL, WE'RE MORE ON PAR.
AND THEN IN THE 15TH AND THE 20TH YEARS, THEN WE'RE A LITTLE BIT AHEAD.
SO THAT IS WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR, UM, VACATION ACCRUALS.
UH, THE LAST TWO BARS IN THE BLUE, THAT'S YOUR HFD, UH, AND IN THE LAST ONE IS THE HPD.
AGAIN, THAT IS PTO, THAT'S VACATION PLUS SIX.
SO IT'S NOT REALLY JUST VACATION BY ITSELF.
UM, BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, FIRE STARTS OFF STRONG GOES ON PAR, AND THEN THEY FALL A LITTLE BIT BEHIND IN THE LATTER YEARS.
UM, HPD JUST KIND OF LOOKS GOOD.
UM, SO THE MAXIMUM ACCRUAL RIGHT NOW FOR THE, UH, CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES IS THREE 40.
UM, AS STATED WITH THE NEGOTIATIONS, WHEN WE LOOKED AT ALL THE COMPENSABLE FACTORS IN THE CONTRACT AND EVERYTHING, AND FOR THE PERSONAL LEAVE DAYS, UM, THEY REDUCED THAT FROM 360 TO THREE 40.
UM, HFD IS AT THE SEVEN 20 HPD IS AT 2,500 FOR THEIR PTO.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S THE VACATION AND THE SICK.
UH, JUST LOOKING AT SOME OTHER OF THE CITIES OUT THERE FOR COMPARISONS, AUSTIN, YOU CAN ACCRUE UP TO THE 400.
THEIR TERM PAYS OUT AT THE TWO 40 DENVER AT 3 36 HARRIS COUNTY AT TWO 80 AND FORT BEND AT 180.
UM, AS FAR AS THE PERCENTAGE OF THE ORGANIZATIONS WHO PAY OUT AT SEPARATION, UM, THE PUBLIC SECTOR, PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY PAYS OUT VACATION AT SEPARATION FOR ALL SECTORS.
IT'S AT 84% THAT WILL DO A PAYOUT FOR THE VACATION LEAVE ON SICK LEAVE FOR THE ACCRUALS.
UM, HOUSTON'S THE, THE FIRST BAR HERE THAT'S SHOWN WITH THE 65.
UM, AT FIRST GLANCE, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE FALLING A LITTLE BIT BEHIND ON THE OTHER PUBLIC SECTOR, BUT ON PAR WITH ALL SECTORS.
HOWEVER, THE PIECE THAT'S ALSO NOT ON HERE IS THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS A MATCH.
SO AT THE END OF THE YEAR, IF YOU HAVE NOT USED SICK LEAVE, THEN YOU HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR 130, WHICH THEN PUTS YOU AT THE TOP.
IF YOU ONLY USE LIKE HALF OF IT, YOU'RE ON PAR.
UH, SO I GUESS, YOU KNOW, THAT ALL DEPENDS ON THAT USAGE OF WHETHER OR NOT THAT EMPLOYEE IS COMPETITIVE ON THEIR ACCRUALS THERE.
UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT MAXIMUM ACCRUALS, THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS UNLIMITED AS WELL AS MANY OTHERS SUCH AS AUSTIN EL PASO AND FORT BEN HARRIS COUNTY, UM, HAS A MAXIMUM AT SEVEN 20.
SAN DIEGO AT 10 40, UH, IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UM, FOR THE TERM PAYOUT, IT'S FOR ANY OF THE HOURS THAT ARE OVER 10 40 HFD, IT'S FOR GREATER THAN 520 UM, HOURS.
AND IN THEIR MOST RECENT CONTRACT, THEY HAD ALSO MADE SICK LEAVE WHERE IT'S COMPENSABLE NOW IN THEIR PHASE DOWN PROGRAM, UM, FOR ALL HOURS, UM, FORT BEND HAS RETIREES ONLY RECEIVE HALF OF THEIR RULES UP TO $5,000.
[01:20:01]
6% PAYOUT, UNUSED SICK LEAVE UPON SEPARATION.UM, BUT WHY IS 10 40 IMPORTANT? SO JUST TO GO OVER THAT, 'CAUSE THAT'S A PIECE THAT EVERYBODY'S LIFE.
WHY THE 10 40? SO 1040 HOURS IS THE NUMBER OF HOURS THAT YOU NEED IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR LONG-TERM DISABILITY.
THE CITY OF HOUSTON DOES NOT OFFER SHORT-TERM DISABILITY.
AND SO THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE IN LIEU OF THAT.
UM, HENCE THAT IS ALSO WHY WE DO THE MATCH TO HELP GET THE EMPLOYEES UP TO THE 10 40.
UM, IT TAKES ABOUT 10 YEARS FOR AN EMPLOYEE WHO'S NOT TAKING ANY OF THEIR SICK LEAVE TO GET TO THAT 10 40 NUMBER.
AND SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE, UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS GRAPH HERE, 84% OF THE CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES ARE BELOW THE 10 40 NUMBER.
UM, THEY HAVE NOT REACHED IT YET.
SO ONLY 16% OF OUR EMPLOYEES ARE OVER THE 10 40 FOR HFD.
THERE'S THIS FIVE 20 AND 93% OF THEIR EMPLOYEES ARE BELOW THE FIVE 20 ON THAT ON HOLIDAYS, UH, THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS, UM, 11 OBSERVED HOLIDAYS.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THE TOP FIVE TEXAS CITIES AND THE NATIONAL.
UM, OTHER CITIES HAVE 11.8 AND THE COUNTIES HAVE 11 AS WELL.
ALL SECTORS HAVE NINE, BUT WE'LL SEE WHERE THERE COULD BE A LITTLE BIT OF OFFSET THERE WITH THE FLOATING HOLIDAYS.
BUT FIRST FOR OBSERVED HOLIDAYS, THE MOST POPULAR, THE CITY OF HOUSTON PRETTY MUCH HAS ALL OF THESE.
AND OF COURSE WE HAVE SOME THAT ARE NOT ON THIS LIST.
THE ONLY ONE THAT WE DON'T HAVE ON THE MOST POPULAR LIST WOULD BE THE PRESIDENT'S DAY, UM, FOR FLOATING HOLIDAY.
THE CITY OF HOUSTON OFFERS ONE 27% OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR OFFERS A FLOATING HOLIDAY, UM, WITH THE AVERAGE OF ONE.
UM, I FOUND THIS INTERESTING, BUT IN THE ALL SECTORS, 55% OF ALL SECTORS, UM, OFFER AN AVERAGE OF TWO FLOATING HOLIDAYS.
SO EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE A LITTLE BIT LOWER ON THE OBSERVED, THEY OFFER A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE FLOATING HOLIDAYS.
UM, PARENTAL LEAVE, UM, THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS VERY COMPETITIVE HERE WITH OUR PARENTAL LEAVE PROGRAM.
UH, PRENATAL IS UP TO 160 HOURS.
UH, WHEN WE LOOK AT TEXAS CITIES, IT'S AN AVERAGE OF 300 HOURS.
UM, THE FORT BEND COUNTY OFFERS UP TO 240 AND THE OTHER NATIONAL CITIES AVERAGE AT 270 HOURS.
SO, UM, THAT RIGHT THERE IS OUR REPORT AND WE THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF ALLOWING US TO PRESENT THIS.
ANY QUESTIONS? MORE OF A COMMENT, I THINK THAN A QUESTION.
UM, MY CONCERN IS THAT WE'RE GIVING OUT THESE LARGE CHECKS WHEN PEOPLE LEAVE THE CITY AND ARE LONGER, NO LONGER EMPLOYED BY US.
I WOULD MUCH RATHER WE PAY THEM MORE WHILE THEY'RE STILL HERE AND BE MORE COMPETITIVE WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR ON THEIR PAY THAN PAYING SOMEBODY THAT'S ALREADY OUT THE DOOR.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS THAT I THINK A LOT OF THESE EMPLOYEES DON'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT SOME OF THE SICK DAYS THEY'RE ACCRUING.
UH, ONE OF THE EMPLOYEES THAT WE HAD THAT CAME ON BOARD AFTER THIS FIRST DISCUSSION, UH, SHE HAD HER ONBOARDING CALL WITH HR AND I TOLD HER, I WANT TO KNOW IF THEY TALK ABOUT YOUR MATCHING SICK DAYS.
SO HERE SHE'S GETTING THIS BENEFIT THAT THE CITY IS PAYING FOR.
IT IS COMPLETELY UNAWARE OF IT.
SO WHAT ARE WE GETTING FOR OUR MONEY? I MEAN, AT A MINIMUM, IF WE SAY WE WANT THIS AND WE NEED THIS AND WE SHOULD HAVE THIS IN INSTEAD OF SHORT TERM DISABILITY, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THE EMPLOYEES THAT ARE COMING ON BOARD KNOW THAT WE'RE GIVING THIS TO 'EM SO THEY CAN APPRECIATE IT AND SAY, HEY, MAYBE IT'S A GREAT PLACE TO WORK.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS, I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THE COST IS IN PROVIDING THESE UP TO EIGHT BONUS SICK DAYS A YEAR VERSUS THE SHORT TERM DISABILITY.
MAYBE WE'D BE BETTER OFF IF WE DIDN'T OFFER THE BONUS EIGHT SICK DAYS AND INSTEAD HAD A SHORT TERM DISABILITY POLICY FOR THESE EMPLOYEES.
RATHER THAN TRYING TO GET THEM UP TO SIX MONTHS OF ACCRUED TIME OFF IN LIEU OF A SHORT-TERM DISABILITY POLICY, MAYBE WE SHOULD HAVE A SHORT TERM DISABILITY POLICY.
WOULD WOULD STILL GIVE 'EM WHAT WE WANT TO GIVE 'EM YET MAYBE EVEN COST US LESS MONEY.
COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, UH, LET ME SAY THAT WE, WE CAN PROVIDE YOU, WE DO
[01:25:01]
HAVE A WHITE PAPER WE DID, UM, SOMETIME BACK ACTUALLY LOOKING TO GETTING SHORT-TERM DISABILITY.SO WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION AS A COMPARISON.
AND I ALSO WANNA SAY THAT, UM, WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT OUR ONBOARDING, SO I THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT OUT.
THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE REALIZE THAT HAVE BEEN MISSED AND WE, WE ARE, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS LET THAT PERSON KNOW YOU'VE COME TO THE CITY FOR A REASON AND THIS, AND WE HAVE SOME GOOD BENEFITS FOR YOU, AND WE WANT TO DO THAT MORE ON, IN OUR ONBOARDING THAN WE ACTUALLY DO IN OUR NEW EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION.
SO WE'RE KIND OF, WE, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A MEETING ON THAT TOMORROW WHERE WE'RE FLIPPING IT.
SO I JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW THAT, I MEAN, WE DIDN'T SHINE A LIGHT ON EVERYTHING WE'RE GIVING HIM, RIGHT? YES SIR.
LET'S SAY, HEY, THIS IS WHAT WE DO FOR YOU.
AND, AND TO THAT POINT, I MEAN, UH, MARK MITCHELL WORKED FOR DAVE MARTIN'S OFFICE AND LEFT TO WORK FOR BAAB.
HE CAME BACK TO WORK FOR US AND HE WAS HERE WHEN SOME OF THESE DISCUSSIONS WERE GOING ON.
AND HE GOES, YES, WHEN I LEFT, I WAS SHOCKED AT HOW MUCH MONEY I GOT IN THAT CHECK THAT THAT PAID ME OUT FOR EVERYTHING I WAS OWED.
WHICH, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GONNA PAY OUT THE MONEY, I DON'T WANT HIM TO BE SHOCKED BY IT.
I WANT HIM TO KNOW IT'S COMING AND, AND TO APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT YES, THE CITY IS, YOU KNOW, GIVING THEM TAXPAYER DOLLARS AND IS A BENEFIT AND THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE AWARE OF IT.
AND I'VE SEEN THIS, SO I, I GOT OUT MOST OF MY QUESTIONS, BUT, BUT I, I DO WANNA BE CLEAR ABOUT THE, THE MATCHING SICK PAY.
WE, ARE WE THE ONLY CITY THAT DOES THAT? IN THE CITIES THAT YOU COMPARED? COMPARED THAT, THAT IS WHAT WE FOUND.
THAT WERE THE ONLY CITIES THAT SAYS THE MATCHING HOURS.
AND IN YOUR INDUSTRY NUMBERS, PUBLIC SECTOR AND THEN ALL OTHER SECTORS, DOES THE, ALL OTHER SECTORS INCLUDE THE, THE GOVERNMENT SECTOR, OR IS IT JUST IT DOES, BUT IT'S AS YOU, IT'S PRIMARILY PRIVATE WHENEVER YOU LOOK AT THE FINDINGS ON THERE.
BUT, UM, YEAH, IT'S, IT'S PRIMARILY PRIVATE WHO PARTICIPATES.
UM, A LOT OF THAT NUMBERS WERE FROM THE, THE WORLD AT WORK.
UM, AND IT, IT'S VERY HEAVY IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
AND AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE GOOD WORK THAT WENT INTO THIS.
I CERTAINLY HAVE A LOT BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT, WHAT WE OFFER AS A CITY.
I'M INTERESTED TO HEARING FROM THE, FROM THE PUBLIC TOO.
UH, I SEE NO MORE QUESTIONS IN QUEUE.
I AGAIN, WANNA THANK YOU ALL FOR THE, UH, METHODICAL WAY IN WHICH THIS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED.
I KNOW THIS IS, THE PRESENTATION IS A CULMINATION OF THE WORK THAT HAS GONE ON FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS.
THE WORKING GROUPS, THE MEETINGS, THE ASSESS, UH, THE ANALYSIS.
AND JUST FOR THE RECORD, I THINK, UH, PARENTAL LEAVE WAS ADDED ON, BUT THAT IS IRRELEVANT TO THIS CONVERSATION.
WE WERE JUST, WE JUST A PROMOTION OF HEY, IT'S A GREAT BENEFIT THAT WE HAVE.
ALRIGHT, NEXT, UH, WE HAVE OUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
AGAIN, THERE WILL BE TWO MINUTES PER SPEAKER.
FIRST WE HAVE DOMINIC MAZO, UH, TO BE FOLLOWED BY SONYA RICO.
IS DOMINIC HERE? I DON'T SEE DOMINIC.
SONYA RICO TO BE FOLLOWED BY JOSE.
AND SHOUT OUT TO EVERYONE, UH, IN HOPE, WHO'S BEEN VERY PATIENTLY WAITING TODAY.
MY NAME IS SONYA RICO AND I'M THE PRESIDENT FOR HOPE LOCAL 1, 2, 3.
BUT I'M ALSO A CITY OF HOUSTON EMPLOYEE WITH 19 YEARS OF SERVICE AT THE THREE ONE ONE CALL CENTER AS A CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE.
THREE, LET'S BE HONEST, NO ONE GOES INTO PUBLIC SERVICE TO GET RICH, BUT THE BENEFITS THAT ARE OFFERED ARE USUALLY WITHDRAW IN THE EMPLOYEES.
THE FACT THAT WE OFFER A PENSION VACATION AND SICK TIME GO A LONG WAY IN BRINGING IN THE WORKFORCE THAT IS NEEDED TO KEEP THE CITY RUNNING.
KEEPING OUR SICK TIME THE WAY IT IS, IS CRUCIAL TO MAKE SURE WE CAN KEEP BRINGING THE MUCH NEEDED TALENT INTO THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SICK TIME IS A MUCH NEEDED BENEFIT TO MAKE SURE WE CAN TAKE CARE OF OUR PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH.
ALSO, AS A MOTHER AND A DAUGHTER, I HAVE HAD TO USE MY SICK TIME TO CARE FOR MY YOUNG CHILDREN AND CARE FOR A PARENT WITH A TERMINAL ILLNESS WHILE I'VE BEEN HERE WITH THE CITY.
WITHIN OUR INTERNAL PROCESS, WE SURVEYED HUNDREDS OF OUR MEMBERS TO MAKE SURE WE IDENTIFIED SOLUTIONS AND PRIORITIES DURING OUR NEGOTIATIONS.
THROUGHOUT OUR NEGOTIATION PROCESS, WE HAVE SEVERAL, WE HAD SEVERAL MEETINGS AND DIFFERENT WORK SITES ACROSS WITH MANY DEPARTMENTS SO WE COULD UPDATE AND GET FEEDBACK FROM OUR MEMBERSHIP.
[01:30:01]
THOUSANDS OF OUR MEMBERS THEN VOTED TO RATIFY THE AGREEMENT THAT WE NEGOTIATED DURING OUR RECENT NEGOTIATIONS.WE AGREED TO MODEST CHANGES TO OUR VACATION THAT HELPED WITH THE OVERALL COSTS.
WE ARE ASKING THAT YOU CONTINUE TO HONOR OUR MEET AND CONFER PROCESS.
TRUST US AS WE ARE THE EMPLOYEES THAT KEEP THIS CITY RUNNING.
WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ADD THAT WE ARE STILL THE ONLY CITY IN TEXAS THAT HAS A MEET AND CONFER AGREEMENT.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE EXTREMELY PROUD OF AND WE ASK THAT YOU CONTINUE TO USE AND TRUST THE PROCESS.
AND TO ALL OF OUR HOPE EMPLOYEES.
AND AGAIN, I STRESS THERE WAS A BUDGET AMENDMENT, UM, THAT REQUIRED THE CITY TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS.
I KNOW OF NO PLANS, UH, CURRENTLY TO, UH, MOVE TOWARDS A DIFFERENT PROCESS THAN WHAT HAS BEEN LAID OUT AND NEGOTIATED, UM, THAT KEEPS TO THE INTEGRITY OF THE CONTRACT THAT WAS NEGOTIATED.
UM, AND SONYA, AS YOU YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, CARING FOR YOUR ELDERLY PARENTS, UH, IT WAS A HUGE STEP FORWARD AND I WANNA THANK Y'ALL AS IT RELATES TO PARENTAL LEAVE.
UH, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS WE DON'T HAVE IS FAMILY LEAVE AT THE CITY.
SOMEONE WHEN YOU HAVE TO TAKE OFF TIME TO CARE FOR AN AGING PARENT OR A SIBLING OR SOMEBODY OTHER THAN, UH, YOURSELF AND OR YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING, AGAIN, IT'S PART OF THE CONVERSATIONS AS WE TALK ABOUT THOSE GAPS, UH, THAT I THINK IT'D BE HELPFUL TO KNOW IF YOU'RE ABLE TO SHARE SOME OF THAT INTERNAL POLLING THAT Y'ALL HAVE DONE, THOSE SURVEYS.
IF YOU HAVE SOME OF THOSE NUMBERS.
UH, I AT LEAST WOULD LOVE TO SEE THEM SO I CAN KIND OF HEAR MORE OF THE PERSPECTIVES OF WHAT Y'ALL ARE HEARING AS WELL.
I KNOW WE ARE IN CLOSE COMMUNICATION, RIGHT? BUT HEARING, SEEING THOSE SURVEYS IS, IS VERY HELPFUL AS WELL.
AND THEN TO BE FOLLOWED BY FRANCESCA.
I'M A 22 YEAR, UH, VETERAN OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND I TOO LIKE WORKING HERE, COUNCIL MEMBER FECKING JUROR.
I THINK THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS A GREAT PLACE TO WORK.
UM, AND I'M ALSO A HELP UNION STEWARD.
NOW YOU'VE HEARD FROM OUR PRESIDENT ABOUT THE IMPACT ON OUR CITY WORKERS.
YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT HOW THE UNION, HOW WE FEEL ABOUT THIS AS A UNION.
UM, AND CONSIDERING THAT I SERVED ON THE NEGOTIATING TEAM FOR THE LAST TWO MEETING FOR AGREEMENTS, WE WOULD APPRECIATE MORE INPUT IN THIS PROCESS.
AND I FEEL LIKE WE WERE, UH, A BIT TAKEN BACK THAT WE WERE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS STUDY.
UM, UNDER THE LAST CONTRACT, THERE WAS A PORTION OF, TO STUDY PTO, WE MET WITH THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION.
WE FELT LIKE THE BENEFIT PACKAGE AT THE TIME WAS, WAS SUCCESSFUL AND WORKED.
SO WE MOVED FORWARD FROM THAT.
UM, AND WE ALSO GAVE SOMETHING UP THIS LAST NEGOTIATION.
SO THE NEXT TIME A STUDY IS DONE, WE HOPE TO BE A PART OF THAT STUDY BECAUSE WE'RE OVER.
WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING CLOSE TO 4,000 MEMBERS.
ALMOST 30% OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON ARE ARE UNION MEMBERS.
SO HAVING A SEAT AT THE TABLE WITH YOU, WE HAVE WORKED HARD TO HAVE THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MAYOR AND HIS ADMINISTRATION AND WE APPRECIATE THAT AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE THAT WITH YOU.
UM, AND WHEN YOU SAY YOU, ARE YOU REFERRING TO ALL COUNCIL, THIS ITEM WASN'T A A PARTICULAR LABOR COMMITTEE ITEM, SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE CLEAR ON THAT.
YOU KNOW, IF WE WANT TO KEEP GOOD QUALITY EMPLOYEES, THE PROFESSIONALS WHO WORK AT THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THE ENGINEERS, THE LAWYERS, SKILLED LABOR, UM, THE LABORERS, DRIVERS, ET CETERA, WE'VE GOT TO HAVE A GOOD QUALITY PACKAGE AT THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
OR WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE THE SERVICES THAT THE HOUSTONIANS NEED.
UM, AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT, UM, AND REMIND YOU THAT EVERY MORNING A CITIZEN WAKES UP IN THIS CITY, THEY TURN THAT WATER ON A CITY OF HOUSTON EMPLOYEE, HELP MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
HELP MAKE IT HAPPEN, THAT THE WASTE WATER'S TAKEN AWAY IS THERE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE GARBAGE IS PICKED UP.
WE STILL HAVE EMPLOYEES WORKING UP TO 16 HOURS A DAY IN SOLID WASTE.
UM, WHEN WE HAVE PEOPLE IN OUR, IN OUR GROUP AND MEMBERSHIP THAT ARE, UH, MAKING SURE THAT THE POLICE VEHICLES, THE FIRE VEHICLES, AMBULANCES ARE READY FOR WHEN THAT CALL OF SERVICE COMES IN, IT'S THEM, US WHO ARE MAKING THAT HAPPEN.
UM, IS MY TIME RUNNING UP? IT IS, BUT IT JUST, I Y'ALL HAVE BEEN SO PATIENT.
I KNOW YOU'RE SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF HOWEVER MANY OTHER FOLKS ARE HERE.
UH, I'LL SAY COUNCIL MEMBER THAT THIS BENEFIT OF VACATION AND SICK TIME IS EARNED.
WE EARN IT EVERY TIME WE SHOW UP TO WORK.
AND YOU KNOW, WE DON'T ALWAYS USE VACATION TO GO TO CANCUN OR A CRUISE.
SOME OF US USE IT TO VOLUNTEER.
WE, WE DO THINGS OUR CIVIC DUTY, UM, AS AN EXAMPLE, COUNCILLOR FLICKINGER, I'LL BE IN YOUR AREA.
UM, I'LL BE RUNNING A CAMP OF CUB SCOUTS AND
[01:35:01]
SCOUTS THAT FOR A WEEK THIS SUMMER, MAJORITY OF IN THE FLAMING ARROW DISTRICT, WHICH IS IN YOUR DISTRICT.UM, USING MY TIME TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AS MANY OF OUR MEMBERS DO.
UM, WHEN IT COMES TO SICK TIME, I'VE HAD TO PERSONALLY USE IT FOR SOME SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITIONS THAT I'M GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND I'M GRATEFUL THAT THOSE BENEFITS ARE THERE.
I'VE ALSO HAD TO USE IT TO TAKE CARE OF MY MOTHER WHEN SHE WAS GOING THROUGH CANCER.
UM, AND NOW THAT WE FIND THAT, AND I'M TRYING TO BE AN ADVOCATE FOR MY SON, WE, WE HAVE A SON WHO'S NEURODIVERGENT.
AND IT MAY SEEM TRIVIAL TO HAVE SOMEONE WITH A DHD IN YOUR FAMILY UNTIL IT HAPPENS TO YOU AND YOU REALIZE THE AMOUNT OF DOCTOR VISITS, THE KNOWLEDGE YOU HAVE TO LEARN TO CARE FOR YOUR CHILD AND WORK WITH THEM SO THEY'RE SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE, TAKES UP A LOT OF YOUR TIME AND THAT YOU HAVE TO USE EITHER YOUR VACATION OR YOUR SICK TIME TO DO.
UM, AND WITH SICK TIME, WE TRIED TO WORK TO GET MORE HOURS AT 2.5 PER PAYCHECK OR FIVE HOURS A MONTH.
UM, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE GONNA ASK, AND WE DON'T KNOW IF ANOTHER PANDEMIC'S GONNA COME, BUT I'LL REMIND YOU, THE LAST PANDEMIC THAT WAS HERE, MANY OF YOUR CITY EMPLOYEES WERE OUT THERE ON THE FRONT LINES WHO DO NOT DO THIS ON A NORMAL BASIS, BUT WERE ON THE FRONT LINES AND IT'S SUSCEPTIBLE TO GETTING SICK.
AND WE DIDN'T HAVE THE PROPER PPE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CITIZENS USING THE FACILITIES THEY WERE COMING INTO WERE TEMPERATURE CHECKED.
I THINK I HAD TO BRING MY OWN, I WAS GIVEN A, A SURGICAL MASK, BUT I PROVIDED MY OWN, UH, N95 MASK.
UM, SO WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HORIZON, WHAT IS ON THE HORIZON WITH A PANDEMIC, BUT I THINK IF WE'RE GONNA BE PUT IN THAT SITUATION, SICK TIME NEEDS TO BE INCREASED.
UM, I DO WANNA SAY FINALLY WE WANNA BE A PART OF ANY BUDGET ISSUE THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS WORKING ON.
WE HAVE THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH THE WHITMEYER ADMINISTRATION WANT TO CONTINUE THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH YOU.
AND IF THERE'S SOMETHING, THERE'S A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE BEHIND ME AND WE HAVE A LOT OF MEMBERS AND WE WANT TO USE THAT BECAUSE WE ALSO BELIEVE, BECAUSE WE WORK HERE THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S IMPORTANT TO ALL CITIZENS.
IT'S A FUN PLACE TO LIVE AND WORK.
AND WE ENJOY DOING THIS AND WE WANT TO HELP BE PART OF THE SOLUTION, NOT IN ANY WAY BE PART OF THE PROBLEM.
WELL, THE WITTMEYER, THE MAYOR'S ADMINISTRATION WAS INVOLVED IN THOSE, THOSE WORKING GROUP MEETINGS.
SO I, I WANNA BE CLEAR THAT, UH, IT, IT WAS IN FACT THE MAYOR'S TEAM THAT WAS ALSO IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND WE, WE, WE WOULD'VE LIKED TO HAVE BEEN PART OF THAT AS WELL.
AND I THINK, UH, AGAIN, FOR YOU HAVE A COMMITMENT FROM ME THAT WILL FOLLOW UP WITH A CONVERSATION SO THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHERE THE GAP IN COMMUNICATION WAS.
UH, AGAIN, THAT THIS IS A SOLELY A BUDGET AMENDMENT THAT CAME FORWARD THAT DIRECTED THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND THE MAYOR'S TEAM TO REVIEW THIS.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OTHER COUNCIL, BUT THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED TO RIGHT NOW.
UH, ON THE TERMINATION, VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT, UH, DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY FEEDBACK AS TO HOW THAT IS GOING AT THE MOMENT? I'LL LET OUR PRESIDENT SPEAK TO THAT.
FOR THOSE MEMBERS THAT ARE TAKING IT, THEY'RE VERY EXCITED.
UM, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF MEMBERS THAT WERE OFFERED THE PACKAGE AND THEY'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT.
THEY'RE NOT READY TO DO THE RETIREMENT.
UM, I THINK IT WAS MORE OF A WAY IT WAS PRESENTED BY SOME DIRECTORS.
IT CAUSED SOME SERIOUS CONFUSION.
UM, 'CAUSE THEY THOUGHT IT WAS A LAYOFF PACKAGE INSTEAD OF A RETIREMENT OPTIONAL PACKAGE.
BUT ONCE WE'VE CLARIFIED THAT, I THINK EVERYBODY IS OKAY WITH IT.
UM, SO I'VE BEEN OUT DOING A LOT OF SITE VISITS WITH THE MEMBERSHIP, TRYING TO GET EVERYBODY TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S VOLUNTARY, IT'S NOT A MANDATORY THING, AND THEY'RE NOT ON ANY LAYOFF NOTICE AS THEY WERE TOLD.
SO THAT'S, THAT WAS THE PROBLEM.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, EVERYBODY THAT'S GETTING, IT'S GETTING THE INFORMATION THEY NEED AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE AND TAKING YOU'RE WELCOME.
UH, NEXT WE HAVE FRANCESCA CAR, BAAL TO BE FOLLOWED BY AMOR A ACHO OR KO.
I'M SO SORRY IF I'M MISPRONOUNCING YOUR NAME.
UH, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE SOME OF OUR UNITE HERE FOLKS.
UH, WE NORMALLY DON'T GET Y'ALL, UH, IT'S FREQUENTLY SO IT'S GREAT TO HAVE YOU.
I'M AN ORGANIZER WITH UNITE HERE, LOCAL 23.
UM, BUT I STARTED OFF, UH, WITH THE UNION AS A BARISTA AT THE BUSH AIRPORT, UM, WHERE I WAS MAKING $9 AN HOUR, UM, TRYING TO SURVIVE LIVING PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK.
AND ME AND MY COWORKERS, WE CAME TOGETHER TO FORM OUR UNION BACK IN 2016.
SO NOW, ALMOST 10 YEARS LATER,
[01:40:01]
OUR UNION HAS COME A LONG WAY.UH, AND 2025 IS GONNA BE, UH, THE BIGGEST YEAR YET FOR US.
UM, NEARLY 3000 WORKERS CONTRACTS ARE EXPIRING THIS YEAR BETWEEN THE AIRPORT CONCESSION COMPANIES, THE, UH, HOTELS AND THE CONVENTION CENTER DOWNTOWN.
UM, THEIR CONTRACTS ARE EXPIRING AND WE'RE ALL COMING TOGETHER TO COMPLETELY OVERHAUL THE STANDARDS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UH, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE COST OF LIVING IS CONTINUING TO RISE, UH, EXPONENTIALLY IN THE CITY.
AND THE WORKERS THAT MAKE OUR GREAT CITY RUN ARE, UH, BEING LEFT BEHIND, RIGHT? SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE TAKING A BOLD STANCE THIS YEAR.
AND WE ARE FIGHTING FOR A $23 MINIMUM WAGE IN OUR CONTRACTS BY THE END OF OUR CONTRACTS.
UM, BETTER BENEFITS, STRONGER LANGUAGE, UH, WORKPLACE PROTECTIONS AND RESPECT AND DIGNITY IN OUR WORKPLACE.
SO TODAY YOU'RE GONNA HEAR FROM SOME HOTEL MEMBERS, UM, AIRPORT MEMBERS, AND ALSO SOME, UH, WORKERS HERE, UH, FROM THE STADIUMS, THE MAJOR STADIUMS HERE.
UM, WHO THEY THEMSELVES ARE, THEY WANNA SHARE THEIR STRUGGLE.
THEY WANT TO BE CONNECTED TO OUR FIGHT.
UH, THEY WANNA SHARE, YOU KNOW, ABOUT THEIR STRUGGLES INSIDE WORKING THESE, UM, THESE JOBS, THESE LOW WAGE JOBS.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THEIR DESIRE TO HAVE A RIGHT TO A FAIR PROCESS TO ORGANIZE THE UNION.
UM, JUST AS THE CONVENTION CENTER WORKERS AND THE MARRIOTT MARQUEE WORKERS HAD JUST A FEW YEARS AGO.
UM, WITH THE HELP OF, YOU KNOW, CITY, CITY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS LIKE YOU ARE, LIKE YOU ALL.
SO WE ASK FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND YOUR SUPPORT AS WE TAKE ON THIS HISTORIC FIGHT TO TRANSFORM THE CITY AND THOUSANDS OF WORKERS' LIVES.
UM, GUYS, I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S ON.
UH, YOU SAID MY LAST NAME CORRECTLY.
UM, UH, GOOD MORNING AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LISTEN TO ME.
UH, I'VE BEEN WORKING AT THE MARRIOTT MARQUEE HOUSTON FOR ABOUT SEVEN YEARS, ABOUT TO BE SEVEN YEARS.
UM, WHEN I FIRST STARTED I ONLY HAD ONE JOB AND THAT WAS ENOUGH TO GET ME BY.
UM, BUT AFTER COVID, EVERYTHING STARTED TO GO UP AND I HAD TO GET A SECOND JOB TO JUST SUSTAIN MYSELF.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO ONLY HAVE ONE JOB AND I FEEL LIKE YOU SHOULD ONLY NEED ONE JOB TO JUST, TO BE ABLE TO LIVE.
BUT I FEEL LIKE OUR CURRENT PAY DOESN'T MATCH UP WITH THE COST OF INFLATION.
SO, UH, WE KINDLY ASK THAT YOU CONSIDER US AND HELP US IN OUR FIGHT FOR A LIV UH, LIVABLE WAGE.
NEXT ALAN GRAHAM TO BE FOLLOWED BY BRAD PATRIARCA.
AGAIN, I'M SO SORRY IF I'M MISPRONOUNCING NAMES.
I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE, OVER AT THE STADIUM SINCE, UM, 2021, WHICH STADIUM? UM, TOYOTA, AND THEN ALSO GOT HIRED ON WITH THE ARAMARK.
SO I'M WORKING AT ALL FOUR STADIUMS NOW.
UM, WE ARE HAVING MORE ISSUES OVER AT THE TOYOTA CENTER AND ALSO OVER THERE AT THE SHOW STADIUM.
AND THE REASON WHY IS 'CAUSE THEY GOT NEW MANAGEMENT OVER THERE.
THERE'S SOME THAT'S BEEN THERE FOR PROBABLY ABOUT 10 TO 15 YEARS, MAYBE EVEN UP TO 20 YEARS.
UM, AND I'M SPEAKING ON THE BEHALF OF BARTENDERS.
I'M SPEAKING ON THE BEHALF OF, UH, EVEN THE WAREHOUSE PEOPLE, THE GARBAGE PEOPLE, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST EVERYBODY.
AND, UH, THEY'RE ALWAYS COMPLAINING ABOUT THEIR WAYS THAT THEY'RE, UH, THEIR WAGES AND ALSO PEOPLE ARE GETTING, UH, LET GO WITHOUT EVEN HAVING A FULL EXPLANATION OF WHY THEY'RE BEING LET GO.
THEY JUST, BUT WHENEVER YOU COME BACK INTO WORK, THERE'S NO REASON WHY THEY'RE, UH, WHY THEY LET 'EM GO.
THERE'S NO PROPER UH, UH, TERMINATION.
THERE'S NO WRITE-UPS, THERE'S NO NOTHING.
WE'RE HAVING ISSUES WITH THE SUPPLIES LIKE, UH, LIKE SAFE OR HAVING LIKE, CERTAIN TYPES OF BEERS OR CERTAIN TYPES OF DRINKS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO SELL TO THE FANS WHEN THEY'RE COMING IN.
UH, THERE'S ALSO, UH, WE ALSO DON'T HAVE NO INSURANCE OVER THERE AT, UH, FOR, AT ANY OF THE STADIUMS THAT WE WORK AT.
THEY'RE ALL PART-TIME AND THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE COMPLAINING.
AND, UH, A LOT OF PEOPLE COME UP TO ME 'CAUSE I'D LIKE TO SPEAK OUT.
I'D LIKE TO, TO TO HELP OUT AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.
AND THAT'S THE REASON WHY I'M HERE TODAY.
SO I KNOW LIKE THE THE PROPER STEPS THAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO TAKE WHENEVER, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GO LIKE TO YOUR MANAGEMENT AND GO TO THE NEXT PERSON, NEXT PERSON.
I WAS TOLD LAST YEAR, IN JULY BECAUSE UH, THEY HAVE A, UH, CONTRACT COMPANY OVER AT THE SHOW STADIUM.
AND, UH, THEY'RE OUTSOURCE OF COURSE.
AND I ACTUALLY WORKED FOR THE COMPANY AND THEY ARE TAKING OVER OUR JOBS.
I WAS TOLD LAST YEAR, IN JULY, THAT CONTRACT ENDED AT THE END OF THE SOCCER SEASON.
AND THEN THEY, UH, I WAS TOLD BY THE MAIN GUY WHO, UH, RUNS THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE COMPANY.
[01:45:01]
IT'S OKAY.AND I WAS TOLD THAT MY JOB IS SECURE AND MY JOB IS NOT SECURE.
AND THEY HAVE PEOPLE THAT OVER THERE BETWEEN 10 TO 15 TO 25 YEARS HAS BEEN WORKING THERE.
AND THEY'RE ASKING THE HR LIKE, UM, HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BE MAKING UP THE MONEY THAT WE'RE LOSING, LIKE OVER AT THESE, UH, THE STADIUMS AND STUFF.
SO I'M ASKING FOR, FOR I GUESS HELP BECAUSE I ALREADY WENT THROUGH THE, YOU KNOW, THE ACTUAL COMPANY.
I'M NOT GETTING NO HELP THERE.
SO NOW I'M REACHING OUT TO THE OUTSOURCE COMPANY, WHICH, YOU KNOW, HOPE Y'ALL CAN HELP US OUT, UH, OVER AT THE STADIUMS AND STUFF.
IS HE ONLINE? BENJAMIN'S NOT HERE.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LISTEN TO US TODAY.
UH, MY NAME IS MICHELLE GRAY, OF COURSE, AND I WORK AT THE BUSH AIRPORT AS A BARISTA AT STARBUCKS FOR A COMPANY CALLED OTG MANAGEMENT.
CURRENTLY AS BARISTAS WE ONLY MAKE 15, 50 AN HOUR.
THE COST OF LIVING HAS GONE UP, FOOD HAS GONE UP, GAS HAS GONE UP, EVERYTHING HAS GONE UP.
BUT OUR SALARIES, WE ARE THE CORE OF THE FOOD INDUSTRY.
WHEN ANY OF YOU TRAVEL THROUGH THE AIRPORTS OR ANY, UH, CONCESSIONS OR STADIUMS, WE ARE THE ONES THAT ARE SERVING YOU EVERY DAY WITHOUT US THERE, THERE IS NO SERVICE.
THERE IS NO FOOD AND THERE IS NO PROFIT TO THE COMPANY YET WE ARE ONLY BEING PAID PENNIES TO SERVE YOU.
TO ME, THAT IS UNFAIR AND IT'S ABSOLUTELY DISRESPECTFUL.
WE HAVE, WE ARE CURRENTLY GOING INTO NEGOTIATIONS TO FIGHT FOR MORE WAGES 'CAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD BE PAID AND COMPENSATED FOR THE WORK THAT WE PROVIDE EVERY DAY.
WE WAKE UP TO ENSURE THAT WE PROVIDE EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND PROPER FOOD SERVICE FOR THESE COMPANIES.
AND THEY DON'T RESPECT US IN OUR PAY.
BUT OUR PAY, AND LIKE I SAID, I THINK IT'S UNFAIR AND WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT WITH OUR FIGHT FOR MORE WAGES BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT ALL OF US HERE DESERVE IT AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO FIGHT UNTIL WE GET WHAT WE DESERVE.
AND I WANNA SAY THANK YOU GUYS FOR LISTENING TO US TODAY.
UH, FIRST TIME COMING TO COUNCIL.
UH, AND THANK YOU AND MAKE COMPELLING CASES.
UH, THAT WAS OUR LAST SPEAKER.
I HAD ONE QUESTION FOR ANYONE FROM UNITE HERE.
THESE ARE CONTRACTS THAT ARE INDEPENDENT OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UM, MANY OF US WANT TO SUPPORT AND THERE'S AN ASK THAT I HEAR FOR SUPPORT, BUT WHAT ARE THOSE ACTION STEPS THAT YOU'RE ASKING? SO WE HAVE A LOT OF STAFF AROUND THE HORSESHOE.
WHAT DO THEY TAKE BACK TO THEIR COUNCIL MEMBER? UH, WELL A LOT OF OUR, THE CONTRACTS THAT ARE EXPIRING ARE, ARE TIED TO THE CITY.
THE HILTON, AS YOU KNOW, IS OWNED BY THE CITY.
UM, THE MARRIOTT, THE LAND THAT IS ON IS CITY LAND, UM, AS WELL AS THE GEORGE R. BROWN AS WELL AS THE BUSH AIRPORT.
SO, UM, WE'LL DEFINITELY BE IN TOUCH ABOUT WHAT ARE THE NEXT DIRECT STEPS.
WE HAVE EVENTS COMING UP, UM, THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE, YOU KNOW, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER OFFICES BE AT.
UM, AND UM, A LOT OF THE MAJORITY OF THE CONTRACTS ARE EXPIRING THIS FALL, LIKE OCTOBER.
UM, BUT OF COURSE WE ARE DOING THE GROUNDWORK RIGHT NOW TO ORGANIZE OUR MEMBERSHIP, UM, TO BE READY FOR THOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE ACTIONS THAT WE HAVE PLANNED LATER.
THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION.
THANK YOU ALL FOR TAKING THE TIME TO BE HERE.
I KNOW IT TAKES A LOT TO COME DOWN TO CITY HALL TO TAKE TIME OFF OF WORK, UH, AND TO STAND UP FOR OTHERS THAT MAY NOT BE AS COMFORTABLE SPEAKING OUT PUBLICLY.
THANK YOU AGAIN TO ALL THE PRESENTERS, STAFF AND COUNCIL THAT ATTENDED TODAY.
I ALSO WANNA THANK IT AND HTV IN THE BACK, THEY, UH, HELP MAKE US, UH, LOOK GOOD AND KEEP THESE MEETINGS RUNNING EFFICIENTLY AND TO MY STAFF FOR ALL OF THEIR PREP WORK.
UH, AND I SEE COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS IS HERE.
UH, THE AGENDA AND PRESENTATIONS CAN BE FOUND ONLINE ON THE COMMITTEE'S WEBPAGE, AND THE RECORDING OF THE MEETING IS POSTED, EXCUSE ME, ON HTVS WEBSITE.
UH, WE WILL LIKELY NOT HAVE A MAY COMMITTEE MEETING DUE TO THE BUDGET SCHEDULE, SO MOST COUNCIL COMMITTEES SUSPEND FOR MAY SO THAT WE HAVE ALL THE BUDGET COMMITTEE HEARINGS.
WE'LL, WE'LL PROVIDE OFFICIAL NOTICE OF THAT.
THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 12:20 PM THANK YOU.