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BUDGET WORKSHOP AND VERY HAPPY TO BE JOINED BY ARTURO MICHELLE AND MARIBEL TORRES, MARY DEL TORRES, MARIBEL MARIBEL, MARIBEL TORRES.LEGAL BUDGET MANAGER, PROCEED.
MIKE, PLEASE HAVE BEEN EXTRAORDINARY AS HAVE, UH, RANDY AND NISIA IN TERMS OF PULLING EVERYTHING TOGETHER.
UH, I THINK WE CAN GO TO PAGE THREE AFTER THE COVER SHEET AND THE TABLE OF CONTENTS, WHICH GETS INTO THE STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT TO ALIGN WITH THE MAYOR'S PRIORITIES.
AND, UH, THERE ARE THREE CATEGORIES.
ONE, GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS, TWO PUBLIC SAFETY, AND THREE, QUALITY OF LIFE.
THAT WORKS, UH, IN PART BECAUSE, UM, THAT'S GENERALLY WHAT WHAT WE ADDRESS.
AND IT ALSO INVOLVES A LITIGATION WHICH CAN HAVE, UH, A GREATER COST, A GREATER NUMBER OF PERSONNEL.
UM, AND THEY ALSO HANDLE SOME OF PUBLIC SAFETY IN TERMS OF WHAT, UM, OF WHAT, UH, LABOR DOES, IN TERMS OF WHAT, UM, GENERAL LIT DOES AND CERTAINLY TORTS AND CIVIL RIGHTS.
WE HAVE THE, UM, MUNICIPAL PROSECUTION, UH, THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES THAT DOES THE CHAPTER 1 25 AND THE OIG OFFICE, WHICH DEALS WITH, WITH VIOLATIONS OF LAW.
UM, SO THAT ABOUT 80% IS GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS.
UH, THE REMAINING, UH, 20, UH, 20%, THREE FOURTHS IS PUBLIC SAFETY, AND THE BALANCE IS IN REAL ESTATE, WHICH IS AN IMPORTANT PART.
BUT, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE FAIRLY THIN IN THAT IN TERMS OF, UM, COST, IF WE GO TO THE NEXT PAGE, NUMBER FOUR, THIS SHOWS OUR EXPENDITURES BY PROGRAM.
AND, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE NUMBERS FOR THE MOST PART, IF YOU LOOK AT THE LAST, UM, COLUMN, OUR, OUR FAIRLY STATIC, EXCEPT THERE ARE A COUPLE BIGGER, UM, CHANGES, DECREASES IN THERE.
AND ESSENTIALLY THAT HAS TO DO WITH CUTTING, UH, OUR SUPPLIES, YOU KNOW, OUR NON-PERSONNEL COSTS IN TERMS OF WHAT WE DO.
AND THE, THE, THE PUSHUP IN THE NUMBERS IS DUE TO THE HOPE INCREASES.
IF WE GO TO PAGE FIVE, UH, WE'LL SEE THE REVENUE, UH, BY, BY PROGRAM.
AND IF YOU LOOK AGAIN AT THE PERCENTAGE CHANGE AT THE END, THE BIGGER NUMBERS ARE DUE TO SOME, UH, RETIREMENTS THAT WE'VE HAD IN SOME OF OUR MORE SENIOR PEOPLE.
UM, WE'VE LOST QUITE A FEW PEOPLE.
WE ARE FROM ONE 90 TO ABOUT 1 65, AND YOU'LL SEE LATER THE NUMBERS ON THE VOLUNTARY INCENTIVE, BUT THAT'S NOT REALLY THE, THE ENTIRE STORY OR EVEN THE BULK OF IT.
YOU KNOW, A LOT OF IT HAS TO DO WITH, UM, THE GAP BETWEEN THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND, AND, AND, AND THE PUBLIC SECTOR.
UH, WE HAVE, WE HAVE LAGGED WITH REGARD TO OTHER, UH, LARGE, UM, PUBLIC, UH, LAWYER, UH, ENTITIES HERE.
SO WE'RE, WE, WE'VE GOT THAT GAP.
UH, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE STRUGGLE WITH, THAT WE HAVE TO FIND, UH, YOU KNOW, BETTER WAYS TO DEAL WITH THAT.
PART OF WHAT WE'LL DO IS WE HAVE INCREASED RECRUITING.
NIJA HAS TAKEN A LEAD ROLE IN GOING TO THE LAW SCHOOLS, MEETING WITH THE DEANS.
UM, I THINK THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR LAWYERS BEGINNING IT ALL.
THEY GET TO DO THE TYPE OF WORK THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DO IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
AND IF WE CAN CAPTURE MORE OF THEM AND KEEP 'EM FOR SOME PERIOD OF TIME, UH, WE'LL DO THAT.
SO WE LOSE LAWYERS, UM, WHO GO TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR, SOME TO BETTER PAYING JOBS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR, AND THEN WE LOSE SOME BECAUSE WE HAVE LAWYERS WHO ARE IN A LOAN PROGRAM FROM LAW SCHOOL WHERE AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME, 10 YEARS, UH, THEIR LOAN IS FORGIVEN AND THEN THEY MOVE ON TO THE, THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
UM, IF YOU GO TO SLIDE NUMBER SIX, THOSE ARE OUR ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, AND IT'S, UH, IT'S A STRUGGLE TO CONTAIN OUR COSTS BECAUSE THE NATURE OF, UH, THE TECHNOLOGY, THE NATURE OF LAW WITH AI, WITH E-DISCOVERY, THOSE CONTINUE TO RISE.
BUT THAT'S BEEN AN AREA WHERE AT LEAST IN THIS YEAR, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO REALIZE SOME COST SAVINGS.
AND, AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT, IF YOU LOOK AT THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES DOWN THERE, LARGELY, IT'S A FUNCTION OF KEEPING UP WITH THE NUMBERS.
YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER OF E-DISCOVERY MATTERS THAT ARE HANDLED, SUBPOENAS ASSIGNED, UH, TORTS AND CIVIL RIGHTS CASES AND TORTS IS, WE ALWAYS STRUGGLE TO KEEP UP WITH TORTS BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF, UM, SLIP AND FALLS, AUTO
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ACCIDENTS, YOU KNOW, AMONG OUR EMPLOYEES.AND THAT NUMBER CONTINUES TO GROW OVER TIME.
UM, AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE SIGNIFICANT BUDGET ITEMS, THE MIDDLE COLUMN THERE IN THE TOP ROW, THAT'S KIND OF A TREND YOU'LL SEE THROUGHOUT HERE.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE INCREASES DUE TO PENSION HEALTH BENEFITS, UM, CONTRACTUAL PAY INCREASES, AND OUR REDUCTIONS COME FROM SUPPLIES, AND THEN THE LOSS OF EMPLOYEES THAT WE'VE HAD, UH, OVER THE, WELL, FRANKLY, ALMOST REALLY SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, UH, IN NUMBER SEVEN, WE HAVE CLAIMS AND, UH, SUBROGATION.
UH, THEY HAVE A TREMENDOUS VOLUME OF THE INITIAL CLAIMS, AND MANY OF THOSE, IF THEY'RE NOT ADDRESSED THERE, GO ONTO OUR TORTS AND CIVIL RIGHTS IN TERMS OF WHAT WE DO.
SO, UM, AGAIN, IF YOU LOOK AT THE, THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES, A LOT OF THIS IS JUST REALLY PROCESSING NUMBERS.
UH, ALTHOUGH WE LOOK TO SEE HOW MANY WE CAN RESOLVE WITHOUT THE CLAIM PROCEEDING, HOW MANY WE CAN, UH, RESOLVE WITHOUT PLAIN PAIN DAMAGES, AND THEN LIMITING, UH, UH, THE DAMAGES.
AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ALSO, UM, PERSONNEL INTENSIVE BECAUSE PEOPLE, UH, NO ONE LIKES IMMUNITY.
I, I THINK I CAN SAY THAT, UH, WITH CONFIDENCE, AND PEOPLE LIKE RANDY ZAMORA WHO HAD THAT GROUP DO A TREMENDOUS JOB OF BEING ABLE TO TALK TO THE PUBLIC, EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT, WHAT POSITION THE CITY'S IN, BUT THAT TAKES TIME, UH, CONTRACTS.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT, UM, WHAT WE HAVE THERE, AGAIN, IT'S SIMILAR IN TERMS OF WHERE THE, UM, COST INCREASES AND WHERE WE'VE TRIED TO REDUCE THE NUMBERS.
UH, AGAIN, THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES DOWN THERE IS PRIMARILY A NUMBERS GAME, THE NUMBER OF THINGS WE HANDLE.
WE ARE WORKING ON OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES, THOUGH, BECAUSE I THINK THAT WE NEED TO FIND A, A BETTER WAY TO GIVE YOU ALL AN IDEA OF HOW WELL WE'RE DOING, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANNA DO WITH CONTRACTS IS, UH, DIVIDED BETWEEN ROUTINE AND PRIORITY ITEMS. AND THEN WITH THE ROUTINE ITEMS, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH EY, UM, THEY'RE GOING TO TALK TO US ABOUT AI, UH, FUNCTIONS.
WE NEED BETTER CAL CALENDARING SYSTEMS SYSTEMS IN, IN WHICH, UH, OTHER DEPARTMENTS OR COUNCIL CAN LOOK TO SEE WHERE THINGS ARE SO THEY CAN SEE HOW THINGS ARE PROGRESSING.
IF THEY THINK THERE'S A LAG, THEY CAN CONTACT SOMEONE.
THE MORE EYES ON A, ON A PROCESS, I THINK IS GOING TO GIVE US A BETTER IMPROVEMENT AT THE END OF THE DAY.
AND THEN, UH, ON THOSE PRIORITY ITEMS, YOU KNOW, OUR BIGGER CONTRACTS, I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE MORE INVOLVEMENT WITH THE DEPARTMENTS AT THE BEGINNING.
UH, THAT CAN INVOLVE THINGS LIKE SECONDING EMPLOYEES INTO THE DEPARTMENT, SO THEY'RE WORKING FROM THE BEGINNING.
THEY CAN SPOT ISSUES THAT, UH, IF LEFT TO THE END MAY DELAY A PROJECT DOWN THE LINE, THEY'LL GET A BETTER SENSE OF WHAT THE PRIORITIES ARE, AND WE CAN PROBABLY DO BETTER IN, IN MASSAGING THE LANGUAGE IN CONTRACTS TO ADDRESS THE SPECIFIC NEEDS.
UH, MOVING ON TO SLIDE NINE, WE HAVE, UH, GENERAL COUNSEL.
AND AGAIN, THE TOP ROW IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU'VE BEEN SEEING.
UH, YOU ALL ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH WHAT THEY DO.
UM, THERE, I THINK WHERE WE CAN IMPROVE OUR PERFORMANCE IS IN TRAINING MUCH OF WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO AS DEADLINES.
YOU'VE GOTTA GET AN ORDINANCE OUT PER DEPARTMENT, OR THE ADMINISTRATION, OR WHAT COUNCIL REQUESTS, YOU'VE GOTTA RESPOND TO TPIA TIMELY.
BUT I THINK A, A LOT OF THE ISSUES THAT ARISE NEED TO COME FROM TRAINING WITH THE DEPARTMENTS, YOU KNOW, WITH THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT OFFICERS, WITH OTHER THINGS SO THAT THEY HAVE A BETTER SENSE OF HOW TO WORK THROUGH THINGS AND GET A BETTER TRAINING.
AND THAT'S GONNA BE A STRUGGLE FOR US BECAUSE THEY, THE, YOU KNOW, THEY STRUGGLE TO KEEP UP WITH THE VOLUME.
BUT I THINK WE'LL SEE BENEFITS IF WE CAN HAVE MORE ENHANCED TRAINING AND TARGETED TRAINING WHERE WE SEE ISSUES THAT ARISE IN TERMS OF LIKE TPIA OR SOME OF OUR OPINIONS THAT WE DO, UH, ARISE FROM ISSUES THAT ARE COMING.
AND THERE CAN BE ADDITIONAL TRAINING TO SORT OF AVOID THE, THE BARRIERS OR THE, UH, OR THE DELAYS THAT YOU SOMETIMES SEE IN A ORDINANCE PROCESS, OR JUST IN TERMS OF WHAT OUR CHARTER MEANS, WHAT OUR ORDINANCE MEANS, AND HOW IT CAN WORK BETTER.
UH, GENERAL LITIGATION IS, UH, AGAIN, IF YOU LOOK AT THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES, WE'RE TRYING TO TRACK THE NUMBER, THE LARGE NUMBER OF ITEMS THAT WE HAVE IN THE TOP ROW IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU'VE BEEN SEEING HERE.
I, I THINK ONE THING I WANT TO DO IN GENERAL LITIGATION, AND ALSO IN, IN OIG, AT LEAST IN THE MORE SIGNIFICANT CASES, IS DO A CASE ASSESSMENT.
YOU KNOW, BECAUSE HOW WELL YOU DO
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IN LEGAL MATTERS IS A FUNCTION OF, OF THE FACTS AND YOUR ADVOCACY.AND, YOU KNOW, WE CAN CHANGE THE FACTS, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT IT EARLY ON AND DO AN ASSESSMENT AND PROJECT HOW IT SHOULD GO, THEN WE HAVE A BETTER MEASURE OF HOW WELL WE'RE DOING.
AND THAT'S ALSO GONNA HELP US RESOLVE CASES AT AN EARLIER STAGE, AND THEN PUT THE RESOURCES, UH, IN CASES THAT WE, WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO PREVAIL ON TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THAT AND ENGAGE OUTSIDE COUNSEL, UM, WHICH IS A COST, BUT IF YOU CAN DO IT ON A SPOT BASIS TO PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL SET OF EYES THAT CAN HELP, I THINK, REDUCE OUR COSTS IN THE LONG RUN AND HELP OUR, UH, SUCCESS RATE IN LITIGATION, LABOR, EMPLOYMENT, AND CIVIL SERVICE.
UH, AGAIN, WE'RE TRACKING WHAT WE DO.
THE TOP ROWS SIMILAR TO WHAT, TO WHAT WE'VE SEEN.
WE HAVE, WE HAVE FEW, UM, LAWSUITS.
UM, MOST OF IT IS ADMINISTRATIVE WORK, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT BEFORE THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION.
UH, CLEARLY IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS HAVE BEEN VERY IMPORTANT.
UH, SO HERE I THINK WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS SORT OF DIFFUSE THE KNOWLEDGE PEOPLE HAVE SO THAT THEY'RE ALL BETTER TRAINED AND PEOPLE CAN STEP IN IF, IF THEY, IF SOMEONE IS TIED UP ON SOMETHING ELSE.
BUT I THINK THEY'VE DONE A TREMENDOUS JOB IN TERMS OF, UM, NEGOTIATING WHAT APPEARS TO BE THREE OF OUR, OUR MAJOR CONTRACTS IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS.
WHAT, UH, I WANT TO POINT OUT THERE IS THE VERY LAST, UH, ROW THERE, THERE'S, WE HAVE A VERY SOPHISTICATED DEFENSE BAR HERE IN HOUSTON, AND THEY INCREASINGLY HAVE BEGUN MAKING A DISCOVERY REQUESTS THAT WE HAVE TO, THAT WE CONTEST THAT GO BEFORE THE JUDGE, AND IT CAUSES A DELAY IN OUR PROSECUTION, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S THE SOUND ORDINANCE, WHETHER IT'S ANIMAL CRUELTY OR SO ON.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE ISSUES WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, THAT WE'RE USING PROPER JUDGMENT AND TRYING TO PROVIDE WHAT IS NEEDED.
AT THE SAME TIME, TRYING TO EDUCATE THE COURTS ABOUT WHAT THE PROPER SCOPE OF, OF DISCOVERY SHOULD BE IN A MATTER, BECAUSE I KNOW THERE'S A HIGH LEVEL OF FRUSTRATION AMONG, UH, OUR CITIZENRY WHEN THEY HAVE AN ORDINANCE THAT THEY THINK CAN HELP THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE, AND IT CAN'T GET TO TRIAL RIGHT AWAY.
BUT THIS IS A BIG ISSUE IN TERMS OF WHAT HAS BEEN SLOWING THINGS DOWN.
IT'S, IT'S A RELATIVELY RECENT PHENOMENON IN THE LAST FEW YEARS.
NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES, UM, WE ARE, WE'RE A LITTLE SHORT STAFFED THERE RIGHT NOW THAT EXPLAIN SOME OF THE COST SAVINGS THAT WE HAVE THERE.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS A, A LARGE NUMBERS GAME.
YOU KNOW, THE, UM, DANGEROUS BUILDINGS ARE SUBJECT TO A SCHEDULE THAT WE HAVE TO FOLLOW.
DEED RESTRICTIONS ARE, AT LEAST WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION, WE HAVE A CERTAIN TIMING WITH THAT.
AND THEN WE GET CITIZEN COMPLAINTS ABOUT DEED RESTRICTIONS, THAT WE TRY TO BE AS AGGRESSIVE AS POSSIBLE IN, IN TRYING TO GET IT RESOLVED, UH, IN TERMS OF WHAT WE HAPPEN, UH, WHAT HAPPENS.
BUT NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES AND A, IT'S AN AREA THAT INVOLVES SOME UNIQUE SKILLS.
YOU'VE GOT SOME, YOU'VE GOT A TRANSACTIONAL, UH, BACKGROUND TO THAT.
YOU ALSO HAVE A LITIGATION BACKGROUND.
THEY DO THE CHAPTER 1 25, THEY DO THE NUISANCE CASES.
AND SO IT'S, THEY ARE NEVER, UH, FULLY UP TO, UH, FULLY STAFFED IN MY OPINION.
BUT THAT IS AN AREA IN WHICH, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE MAY, I MAY WANT TO DO IS TRY TO FIND MORE INTERSECTION, UH, INVOLVEMENT AMONG LAWYERS.
YOU, I HAVE LOOKED AT VARIOUS OTHER LARGE LEGAL DEPARTMENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY AND HOW THEY'RE STRUCTURED.
I THINK THAT THERE, THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY, LIKE US ARE, THEY COMBINE 'EM IN TRANSACTIONAL AND LITIGATION, BUT THEY'RE STILL THE SAME NUMBER OF LAYERS IN BETWEEN THERE.
AND SO I THINK THE WAY YOU BECOME MORE EFFICIENT IS REALLY IN TERMS OF, OF HOW YOU OPERATE, YOU KNOW, SOME CROSS TRAINING SO THAT THEY, SO DIFFERENT SECTIONS CAN HELP EACH OTHER OUT.
UH, LOOK AT YOUR MEASURES SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT'S SLOWING THINGS DOWN.
YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE CONTRACT AREA, IN OUR BIG CONTRACTS, WE, WE SHOULD, OUR LITIGATORS SHOULD BE WORKING WITH OUR CON, UH, WITH OUR CONTRACT LAWYERS TO SEE IN OUR LITIGATION IN CONSTRUCTION, FOR EXAMPLE, WHETHER IT'S PUBLIC WORKS OR WHETHER IT'S AIRPORT, WHERE ARE THE ISSUES THAT ARE COMING UP IN LITIGATION AND HOW STRONG OR WHERE DO WE NEED IMPROVEMENT IN OUR CONTRACT LANGUAGE SO WE CAN AT LEAST TRY TO MINIMIZE THOSE ISSUES IN THE FUTURE.
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AGAIN, IT'S FOLLOWING THE SAME TREND IN TERMS OF THE COST AND REDUCTION.UH, WHAT I HAVE ASKED, UM, ROBIN CURTIS TO DO ON OUR, UH, ON OUR MORE SIGNIFICANT INVESTIGATIONS IS, LET'S COME UP WITH, WITH A GAME PLAN.
LET'S FIND OUT BASED ON THE COMPLAINT, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT IN TERMS OF A VIOLATION OF LAW? AND THAT CAN CHANGE AS MORE FACTS DEVELOP, AND, BUT ASSESS HOW MANY WITNESSES DO YOU THINK WILL NEED TO BE INTERVIEWED? HOW DOCUMENT INTENSIVE IS IT? WHAT IS THE TIMELINE TO MAKE A DETERMINATION SO THAT WE AT, WE HAVE SOME MEASUREMENT THAT WE'RE HOLDING US TO IN TERMS OF PROCESSING THESE, THESE INVESTIGATIONS SO THAT WE CAN MOVE ON.
OR IF WE REACH A POINT WHERE WE CAN DO NO MORE BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE SUBPOENA POWER, WE CAN AT LEAST CLOSE IT AT THAT JUNCTURE, SUBJECT TO PERHAPS BEING REOPENED WITH NEW INFORMATION.
UH, REAL ESTATE IS AN AREA WHERE WE, WE'VE LOST, UH, A FEW PEOPLE LATELY.
THEY DO QUITE A BIT, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S HOUSING, WHETHER IT'S A TAX INCREMENT, REINVESTMENT ZONES, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, AND THERE THEY, THEY JUST STRUGGLE TO KEEP UP WITH WHAT THEY HAVE.
WE HAVE VERY TALENTED LAWYERS WHO'VE DONE A, A VERY GOOD JOB.
WE'RE A LITTLE SHORT STAFFED NOW, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT WAYS TO SUPPLEMENT WHAT THEY DO.
UM, PERHAPS SOME ASSISTANCE FROM OUTSIDE COUNSEL, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS SOME ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER UNITS, OTHER, OTHER SECTIONS OF LEGAL THAT HAVE AT LEAST SOME KNOWLEDGE OF THE ISSUES AT PLAY.
BUT OUR, UH, I REALLY HAVE TO HAND IT TO OUR REAL ESTATE SECTION.
THEY'VE DONE REALLY A TREMENDOUS JOB IN KEEPING UP WITH THE VOLUME, UH, TORTS AND CIVIL RIGHTS.
THIS, AGAIN, IT'S FOLLOWING THE SAME TREND.
AND HERE I THINK THE CHALLENGE IS ASSESSING THE CASES THAT PROBABLY SHOULD BE SETTLED AND SETTLED AT AN EARLY STAGE, AND THOSE WHERE YOU'RE NOT REALLY, UM, WHERE THE VALUE BEING SOUGHT EXCEEDS, UH, WHAT IT'S WORTH.
AND FACTORING INTO THAT, YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE COST OF LITIGATING IT, BECAUSE IF WE GET TIED UP IN TOO MANY CASES, THEN WE'RE NOT MOVING THESE ALONG.
BUT WE'VE HAD SUCCESS IN CHALLENGING THE PLEADINGS EARLY ON, UH, PUTTING THE PLAINTIFFS TO THEIR PROOF SO THAT IF IT IS A CASE THAT WE NEED TO SETTLE, WE KNOW WHAT, WHAT IS GOING ON.
YOU KNOW, MANY TIMES THESE CASES ARE MORE OF A, OF A, OF A FACTORY, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE SAME PETITION, IT'S A FOREIGN PETITION THAT COMES OUT.
SO THE ABILITY TO PUT THEM TO THEIR PROOF EARLY ON AND DETERMINE WHETHER HOW STRONG IT IS.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT, UM, THE ISSUE OF HAVING TO CONTEST MEDICAL DAMAGES.
WE HAVE TO HAVE, WE USE A SERVICE TO PROVIDE THOSE FOR US SO THAT WE CAN O OTHERWISE WE, WE HAVE AN INABILITY TO CONTEST.
I KNOW THERE'S LEGISLATION THAT'S MOVING THROUGH THAT MAY MAKE IT EASIER FOR US.
BUT, UH, TORTS DOES A TREMENDOUS VOLUME, UH, IN TERMS OF WORK.
AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS CASES ARE A SMALLER NUMBER, BUT THERE'S SIGNIFICANT CASES BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT CAPPED.
YOU KNOW, THERE ARE EXCESSIVE FORCE CASES, SEARCH AND SEIZURE CASES, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
UM, IF YOU GO TO PAGE 24, YOU LOOK AT OUR EXPENDITURE BY FUND THERE.
AND SO WE HAVE THE, THE GENERAL FUND PROPERTY AND CASUALTY IS A LARGE ONE THAT'S FROM WHICH WE PAY OUR CLAIMS. AND THEN, UH, A SMALLER AMOUNT IS THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION FUND.
AND THOSE NUMBERS HAVE NOT CHANGED A WHOLE LOT IN TERMS OF OUR ESTIMATE FOR THE COMING FISCAL YEAR.
UH, IN, ON PAGE 25, WE, WE HAVE THE PERSONNEL VERSUS NON-PERSONNEL.
WE'RE A VERY LABOR INTENSIVE GROUP, UH, IN TERMS OF WHAT WE DO.
AND ONE OF THE HOPES WITH AI OR CALENDARING IS TO TRY TO REDUCE THE, THE TIME, UH, OUR LAWYERS SPENT ON NON-ESSENTIAL THINGS SO THEY CAN FOCUS ON THE MORE, ON, ON THE BIGGER ISSUES.
UM, THE NEXT PAGE 26 IS WHERE OUR REDUCTIONS ARE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, LOOKING AT THAT, IT'S ROUGHLY THE MIDDLE, UM, COLUMN.
IT'S A PERSONNEL COST WHERE WE'VE HAD THE SAVINGS, AND I THINK I MENTIONED BEFORE THAT WE, WE'VE GONE TO FROM ONE 90 TO ABOUT 165 IN OUR, UM, UH, IN OUR DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THE, THAT'S THE GENERAL FUND.
THE NEXT PAGE TRACKS THE, UM, UH, TRACKS THE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY.
AND THAT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE BALANCED BECAUSE THERE ARE, THERE ARE COSTS THAT WE PAY THERE, UM, THAT ARE NON-PERSONNEL.
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UH, SLIDE 28, WE HAVE THE, UM, THE VOLUNTARY INCENTIVE PLAN.WE HAD, UH, THE, THE, THE ROLE YOU SEE AT THE TOP, UH, ARE THE LAWYERS.
I, WE THINK WE HAD 10 PEOPLE, UH, ALTOGETHER WHO, UH, TOOK THE PACKAGE, INCLUDING STAFF.
AND IN ADDITION TO THIS, WE HAVE, THAT'S 10 EMPLOYEES WHO'VE LEFT BECAUSE OF THIS PROGRAM.
WE'VE HAD 15 EMPLOYEES WHO'VE LEFT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR FOR THE REASONS I HAD MENTIONED BEFORE.
THEY GO TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR, THEY GO TO BETTER PAYING PUBLIC JOBS OR THEY'VE, OR, OR, OR THEY'VE RETIRED INDEPENDENT OF THIS PROGRAM.
UM, THE NEXT SLIDE, 29 IS OUR DEPARTMENT STRUCTURE.
UH, AS YOU, YOU CAN SEE THE AVERAGE SPAN OF CONTROL, IN OTHER WORDS, THE NUMBER OF SUPERVISORS TO PEOPLE BELOW THEM IS 15.
SO WE, WE HAVE NO REPORTS OF FEW OR LESS, AND WE JUST, WE HAVE THREE LAYERS OF MANAGEMENT.
WE HAVE THE SECTION CHIEFS, WE HAVE
SO I, THAT'S WHY I THINK IN TERMS OF HOW WE OPERATE, IT'S LESS A STRUCTURAL CHANGE AND MORE OF AN OPERATIONAL CHANGE IN TERMS FOR US TO, TO ACHIEVE EFFICIENCY.
AND THEN ON A, ON PAGE 30, WE HAVE OUR REVENUE BY FUND.
AND, UH, THE GENERAL FUND IS MAINLY THE RECAPTURE OF SALARIES OF PERSONNEL FOR, AND THEY, FOR A SPECIFIC DEPART THAT ARE DEDICATED TO SPECIFIC DEPARTMENT, FOR EXAMPLE, PUBLIC WORKS PAYS FOR SOME OF OUR LAWYERS, UH, DIRECTLY, AND THEY, AND THEY WORK EXCLUSIVELY ON PUBLIC WORKS MATTERS, AND THEN PROPERTY AND CASUALTY REVENUES MATCH EXPENDITURES IN THE FUND.
AND THAT NARRATIVE EXPLANATION IS WHAT THE NEXT SLIDE IS, WHICH IS 31.
AND THAT BRINGS ME TO THE END.
UM, SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES DIVISION, UM, WE HEAR FROM POLICE OFFICERS ALL THE TIME DOING CHAPTER 1 25 AND ANOTHER NUISANCE CASES WHERE, YOU KNOW, JUST THE LENGTH OF TIME THAT IT TAKES IS, IS LONG.
UM, AND THEY OFTENTIMES WANT TO GO TO THE COUNTY OR, YOU KNOW, TO MM-HMM
LOOK AT, UM, LEGAL SERVICES THERE.
AND NOTHING AGAINST ANY OF THE LAWYERS WORKING IN THIS DIVISION.
EVERYONE IS GREAT, AND THEY DO AMAZING WORK.
IT'S JUST, OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE.
SO ARE WE LOOKING AT ALL, UM, INTO POSSIBLY WORKING WITH THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND SOME OF THESE CASES TO MOVE THEM ALONG? YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK THAT ONE OF THE OPERATIONAL CHANGES IS WE HAVE TO LOOK AT, UM, THE CLIENTS MORE, ASK THEM MORE ABOUT HOW WE'RE DOING.
SO WHETHER IT'S THE OFFICERS, YOU KNOW, WHAT BARRIERS DO THEY SEE? SO WHAT CAN WE DO INTERNALLY TO ELIMINATE THAT? CAN WE PARTNER WITH OTHER, UM, UH, PROSECUTORIAL OR, UH, LAW ENFORCEMENT AREAS AS I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE, UH, THE BIG AREAS THAT WE NEED TO BE MORE OUTWARD LOOKING IN THE DEPARTMENT AND MAKE THAT CONTACT AND FIND OUT, UH, BECAUSE I'M NOT SURE THAT IF, IF WE SURVEYED THE DEPARTMENT RIGHT NOW, WE'D HAVE A, AS GOOD A HANDLE AS WE COULD ON WHAT PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE DEPARTMENT ARE SEEING.
IN SOME CASES, THEY MIGHT HAVE A MISPERCEPTION.
IN OTHER CASES, THEY MAY BE EXACTLY ON POINT.
I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE WERE JOINED AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS COMMITTEE MEETING BY COUNCIL MEMBER TIFFANY THOMAS, AND COUNCIL MEMBER M ANN HOFFMAN IS ALSO WATCHING ONLINE COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ.
THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, AND THANK YOU.
UH, I'M GONNA ADDRESS YOU AS ARTURO.
UM, JUST, UH, CURIOUS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SOME, UM, EFFICIENCY TYPE ISSUES.
AND CAN YOU, CAN YOU TELL ME, DO YOU GUYS USE, UH, PARALEGALS IN, IN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT? YES, WE DO.
HOW, HOW MANY, UH, ATTORNEYS DO YOU HAVE AND HOW MANY, UH, PARALEGALS DO YOU HAVE? LET ME SEE.
ROUGHLY, I TH I THINK OUR LAWYERS ARE PROBABLY AT ABOUT 95 OR 90.
WE HAVE MAYBE 12, 15 PARALEGALS.
DO, DO YOU THINK THERE'S A WAY THAT, UM, SOME OF THESE TASKS THAT THE LAWYERS WHO ARE OVERWORKED OR ASKED TO PERFORM MIGHT BE, UH, SHIFTED OVER TO THE PARALEGALS TO HANDLE? UH, YES.
I THINK THE PART OF IT IS WE NEED TO PUSH DOWN WHATEVER WE CAN.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE HAD SOME SORT OF BET THE BANK CASES, IF YOU WILL, RECENTLY, AND WE'VE, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO TAKE WHAT WE CAN AND PUT IT AT A LOWER LEVEL.
AND I, I WAS OFF A LITTLE BIT, WE HAVE 102 ATTORNEYS AND 37 PARALEGALS, BUT I THINK ONE OF THE REVIEWS THAT, UH, WERE UNDERTAKING AND THAT WITH THE ASSISTANCE
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OF EY WHO CAN TELL US WHAT'S GOING ON ELSEWHERE IN THE LEGAL FIELD, IS TO FIND OUT WHAT OUR STAFF PEOPLE ARE DOING, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE BEING USED AT THE, AT THE MOST OPTIMAL LEVEL.I THINK THE MORE WE CAN, UH, WE CAN PUT ON STAFF PEOPLE, I THINK THAT'LL ENHANCE THEIR, THEIR WORK EXPERIENCE FOR STARTERS AND FREE UP OUR LAWYERS TO WORK ON SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU FRANKLY NEED A, A, UM, UH, A LAW DEGREE TO DO.
ALTHOUGH, AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW, THERE'S SOME PARALEGALS THAT YOU'D RATHER HAVE AS LAWYERS.
UM, AND WHAT ABOUT, UH, OUTSIDE COUNSEL COST? I MAY HAVE MISSED IT, BUT IS THERE, IS THERE A PART IN THIS PRESENTATION WHERE THAT CAN BE FOUND? I DON'T THINK WE HAD IT IN HERE DIRECTLY, BUT LET ME, LET ME GET THAT FOR YOU.
UM, IS IT INCLUDED WITHIN THE CATEGORIES? IS IT IN THE APPENDIX YOUR PRESENTATION IS BROKEN INTO? YEAH, IT'S AT 5,031,000.
AND, UM, I NOTICED ON SLIDE 11 THERE WAS A, UH, BIG JUMP IN, UH, FISCAL YEAR 25 NUMBER OF APPELLATE BRIEFS PREPARED AND FILED.
WHAT WAS, UM, WHAT WAS THE REASON FOR THAT? OKAY, UH, WHICH, UM, ROW ARE YOU LOOKING AT? COUNCIL MEMBER? SO LOOKING AT THE TOP ROW NUMBER OF APPELLATE BRIEFS PREPARED AND FILED MM-HMM
UM, THE TARGET FOR FY 25 WAS 40.
AND THE ESTIMATE, UM, OR ACTUAL, I GUESS.
YEAH, I, I, I THINK THAT'S MAINLY A FUNCTION OF WHERE, UM, WHERE WE ARE IN THE SORT OF A APPELLATE CYCLE IN TERMS OF WHAT WE SEE, WHERE OUR CASES ARE COMING UP RIGHT NOW.
BUT, UH, IF THERE'S ANYTHING TO ADD THAT I'LL, I'LL SEND A, UM, A BRIEF EMAIL TO COUNSEL.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
ARTURO, YOU MENTIONED, UH, UTILIZE MY, THERE WE GO.
HOW DOES LEGAL CURRENTLY UTILIZE AI? UH, WE JUST HAVE A COUPLE EXPERIMENTAL, UM, THAT HAS BEEN OFFERED TO US.
UM, ERNST AND YOUNG SAID THEY'RE GOING TO GIVE US SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ON MORE SPECIFICALLY TO DO IT, BUT I THINK WE'RE, YOU CAN REALLY UTILIZE AI IS IN THE, IN THE FORM WORK, YOU KNOW, TO OBJECT TO A SUBPOENA OR A, A LETTER TO RESPOND TO A CLAIM.
AND IT'S STILL GONNA REQUIRE REVIEW, BUT AT LEAST THE INITIAL DRAFT.
AND ONCE YOU BEGIN USING AI AND THEY LEARN WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, I THINK WE CAN HAVE, UM, BIG SAVINGS.
WHEN I TALK TO MY COLLEAGUES IN PRIVATE PRACTICE, THEY TALK ABOUT HOW A LETTER THAT MAY HAVE TAKEN THEM FROM BEGINNING TO, TO END TO EDIT AND CORRECT, IT WOULD TAKE LIKE A HALF HOUR IS NOW TAKING LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES.
AND IS THAT, IS THAT USING MICROSOFT CO-PILOT OR ARE Y'ALL USING SOMETHING ELSE? UH, WE'RE PEOPLE HAVE USED MICROSOFT, UH, UH, COPILOT, BUT IT, IT APPEARS THAT THERE ARE, THERE ARE PRODUCTS OUT THERE THAT ARE MORE SUITED TO THE TYPE OF WORK WE DO HERE THAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING TO, TO SEE IF WE CAN, BECAUSE I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE BIG EFFICIENCIES IN THAT AREA.
I MEAN, THAT'S ONE OF THE AREAS WHERE WE CAN REALLY FREE UP OUR PERSONNEL AND REDUCE COSTS.
SO WHAT ARE THE, THE TIMELINES OR THE GOALS AROUND UTILIZING IT MORE IN, IN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT? I THINK WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO IS WE'D LIKE TO, BEFORE THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR, HAVE A GOOD HANDLE ON THE TOOLS WE'LL USE AND THE COSTS AND SEE IF WE CAN INCORPORATE THAT INTO WHAT WE'RE DOING.
AND THEN IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF NEXT YEAR, HAVE THE, HAVE EACH DEPARTMENT SET GOALS ON HOW THEY'LL DO IT, AND THEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW, HOW THEY'RE GONNA TRACK IT TO SEE HOW EFFICIENT WE ARE.
JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, UM, SO ON, AND YOU, I MAY HAVE MISSED THIS, A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION, BUT ON SLIDE 19, UM, ON THE OIG MM-HMM
THERE'S STILL IN THE PROCESS OF FIGURING OUT
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HOW DO WE WANT TO USE THIS? IS IT GOING SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO CONTINUE IN THE MANNER IT HAS AND WE JUST DON'T HAVE A, WHAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED A, A REALISTIC OR USABLE TARGET.AND THEN ONE OTHER REGARDING NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES, UM, YOUR REDUCTION OF THE 1.5 FTE, AND AGAIN, MAY HAVE MISSED IT, BUT, UM, IT SEEMS LIKE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES IS PRETTY INTEGRAL PART OF THE DAY TO DAY MM-HMM
AND ARE THOSE, IS THAT 1.52, ONE AND A HALF POSITIONS YOU LOOK TO REFILL AND TO ADD MORE HEAD COUNT THERE? BECAUSE I, I THINK CERTAINLY, UM, WE ARE LACKING ON THAT SIDE OF LIFE.
YEAH, I, WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING TO FILL THAT.
UM, AND ALONG WITH OTHER THINGS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SKILL SET I HAD MENTIONED BEFORE IS A COMBINATION OF BOTH TRANSACTIONAL LITIGATION, SO TO THE EXTENT WE CAN SUPPLEMENT IT WITH OTHER PEOPLE, BUT, UH, YEAH, WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN, IN MY OPINION, SHORT STAFFED IN NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE PRIORITY AREAS TO FILL.
COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, IS THERE A ROLE THAT LEGAL PLAYS WITH, UH, TAX SALES ON PROPERTIES THAT, UH, THEY HAVEN'T PAID THEIR PROPERTY TAXES? UH, NOT DIRECTLY.
THAT'S, UH, THAT'S HANDLED BY, UH, THE LINEBARGER LAW FIRM IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU DO, OF WHAT HAPPENS IN TERMS OF SELLING THOSE.
AND THEN ALSO THE, THE ONES THAT GO INTO THE, UM, UH, THE, THE, UM, WHERE THE PROPERTIES ARE STRUCK OFF AND THEN USED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
BUT IT'S NOT, THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT DOESN'T DIRECTLY, UH, OPERATE THAT.
STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN'S OFFICE.
UH, GOOD MORNING LEGAL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
THE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN SPOKE TO ME EARLIER AND SHE WAS REALLY INSISTENT THAT I RECOGNIZE, UH, EACH OF Y'ALL, UH, FOR EVERYTHING THAT LEGAL DOES IN DISTRICT C, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF LEGAL INQUIRIES RANGING FROM DEED RESTRICTIONS TO BAD ACTOR BARS AND NIGHTCLUBS TO CAR TAKEOVERS, CHAPTER 1 25, LOTS GOING ON.
UM, AND NOT ONLY THAT, BUT WE, UH, WANTED TO RECOGNIZE LEGAL FOR THE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS OF THE CITY.
CONTRACT REVIEW, MOUS, DISTRICT SERVICE FUND REVIEWS, THE LIST GOES ON.
SO CITY ATTORNEY, MICHELLE, MARIBEL, UH, NERIA, RANDY, I SEE Y'ALL, UH, OUT THERE.
UM, DAMON, CAROLYN MARTIN, JUST THE WHOLE TEAM.
UM, SO, AND THANK YOU AGAIN, CITY ATTORNEY MICHELLE FOR, UH, WORKING WITH COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN TO SECURE THAT LEGAL COUNSEL POSITION FOR COUNCIL.
UH, I KNOW THAT'S BEEN, UH, REALLY GREAT SO FAR.
UM, SO JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UM, THIS MAY HAVE BEEN KIND OF ALLUDED TO IN THE PRESENTATION, IN THE EXERCISE THE DEPARTMENTS DID FOR RESTRUCTURING AND KIND OF REDUCING COSTS IN THE EXERCISE, DO Y'ALL KNOW WHAT PERCENTAGE THE BUDGET REDUCTION THAT LEGAL HAD AND THEN WHAT ACTUALLY ENDED UP BEING PRESENTED? LIKE WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE TWO? 2%, 7% WAS THE REDUCTION? YEAH, SO IT'S HERE I, WE MET THE REQUIRED REDUCTION OF 7%, 10%, 10%, I'M SORRY, AND, UM, 10%
YEAH, IT'S, IT, IT WAS DIVIDED BETWEEN TWO FUNDS, 7% FOR THE GENERAL, 10% FOR THE, UH, PROPERTY AND CASUALTY FUND.
AND IT, UM, A LOT OF THAT WAS ACHIEVED FROM BY, UH, ATTRITION.
UM, AND YOU MENTIONED THE VACATED POSITIONS THROUGH EITHER VOLUNTARY OR OTHER TYPES OF RETIREMENT.
UM, WAS 15 THE TOTAL FOR, UM, LIKE THAT'S CORRECT.
15 TOTAL, UH, 10, UH, AS A RESULT OF THE PROGRAM.
UM, HOW MANY OF THOSE POSITIONS HAVE BEEN LEFT UNFILLED OR ARE BEING CUT? UH, WELL, RIGHT NOW THEY'RE ALL CUT, BUT WE NEED TO FILL, UH, PROBABLY 10 OF THOSE.
SO Y'ALL ARE SEEKING TO FILL THOSE 10 MM-HMM
UM, PIVOTING A BIT, DOES THE DEPARTMENT RELY ON ANY TYPE OF FEDERAL FUNDING? UH, AND IF SO, IS THERE A RISK OF LOSING THAT OR HAS THE DEPARTMENT ALREADY LOST ANY OF THAT FUNDING? UH, NOT DIRECTLY, BUT YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S SOME COSTS THAT, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON THE GRANTS IT CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO, TO LEGAL, BUT NOT DIRECTLY.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ MENTIONED THIS OF HOW MUCH SPENDING ON OUTSIDE COUNSEL, I THINK IT WAS AROUND 5 MILLION THAT Y'ALL SHARED MM-HMM
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UM, HOW MUCH OF THOSE OUTSIDE FIRMS HAVE EITHER, UM, HOW MUCH OF THEY SAVED THE CITY IN TERMS OF DEFENSE OR WHAT THE CITY COULD HAVE BEEN LIABLE FOR? UH, UH, THAT'S HARD TO QUANTIFY.
I MEAN, WE'VE HAD A, A, A COUPLE LARGE VICTORIES, UM, INCLUDING ONE IN WHICH WE'RE WAITING FOR THE COURT TO UNSEAL IT AND RELEASE IT.
BUT, UH, I, I THINK PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, THE, THE BETTER MEASURE IS THE ONE I DESCRIBED BEFORE IS IF WE LOOK AT CASES AND HOW, HOW WELL SHOULD WE DO? AND THEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT IT IS, MUCH OF WHAT WE DO WITH OUTSIDE COUNSEL, EITHER WE JUST DO NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DO IT.
IN OTHER WORDS, EVERYTHING ELSE WOULD, WOULD GO BY THE WAYSIDE OR THEY HAVE A PARTICULAR EXPERTISE, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE, UM, IN THE WASTEWATER CONSENT DECREE, FOR EXAMPLE.
I WANNA WELCOME COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIE DAVIS HAS JOINED US.
AND ON THE QUESTION OF OUTSIDE COUNSEL IS OTHER DEPARTMENTS DON'T DIRECTLY HIRE OUTSIDE COUNSEL, OR DO THEY DO, DOES EVERYTHING, EVERY OUTSIDE COUNSEL THAT'S HIRED, UM, THROUGHOUT THE CITY, IS IT, DOES IT ALL COME THROUGH THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT? BUT I, I FEEL LIKE THERE'S OTHER, LIKE WHEN I JUST GO ACROSS THE BOARD, LEGAL SERVICES, IT'S A MUCH HIGHER NUMBER MM-HMM
THERE, THERE ARE OTHER DEPARTMENTS, I MEAN, WE ULTIMATELY HAVE THE FINAL SAY, BUT WE WANT TO WORK WITH THE DEPARTMENTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, UH, PUBLIC WORKS, UH, HAS AN AFFINITY FOR BAKER WALING, YOU KNOW, IN THE, UH, CONSENT DECREE CASE.
THE AIRPORT HAS AN AFFINITY FOR CERTAIN AND THE FUNDS TO PAY FOR THAT OUTSIDE COUNSELOR COMING OUT OF THEIR CORRECT FUNDS.
IT'S NOT THE 5 MILLION IS FOR, THAT'S IN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT.
IT'S JUST WHAT YOU'RE DIRECTLY HIRING.
THAT NUMBER IS ACTUALLY MUCH LARGER.
FOLLOWING UP, I BELIEVE ON COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER, SOME OF HER QUESTIONS, UM, REGARDING NEIGHBORHOOD TYPE ISSUES, AND I'M GONNA LUMP THEM IN WITH CHAPTER 1 25 MM-HMM
UM, DO, ARE THE LAWYERS THAT YOU HAVE THAT HANDLE THESE KINDS OF CASES DOING OTHER TYPES OF WORK AS WELL, ARE THEY DEVOTED STRICTLY TO NEIGHBORHOOD NUISANCE TYPES ISSUES? THEY'RE DEVOTED TO STRICTLY TO THAT.
SO THE MAIN ACTIVITIES OF THAT SECTION ARE DEED RESTRICTION REVIEW THAT CAN LEAD TO LITIGATION CHAPTER 1 25 AND DANGEROUS BUILDINGS.
AND, UM, HOW MUCH DOES WHAT BALLPARK FIGURE FOR, UH, AN ATTORNEY TO HANDLE NUISANCE CASES OR CHAPTER 1 25 CASES? UH, YOU KNOW, OUR STARTING SALARIES ARE ABOUT 90,000.
I THINK YOU PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH BENEFITS IN THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU GET INTO 150,000 PLUS.
UM, WE HAVE, WE HAVE A COMBINATION THERE OF LAWYERS WHO COME OVER FROM, UH, OTHER SECTORS LIKE THE DA'S OFFICE AND THEN LAWYERS WHO START OUT, WHO ARE INTRIGUED BY THE ABILITY TO DO BOTH TRANSACTIONAL LITIGATION.
AND DO YOU EVER USE, UH, EITHER PART-TIME OR CONTRACT EMPLOYEES TO HANDLE THESE KINDS OF CASES? CAN YOU DO THAT? WE WE CAN DO THAT.
I'M, UH, WE'VE USED THEM IN OTHER SECTIONS.
I'M NOT SURE THAT WE'VE DONE IT IN NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES.
UM, LET ME SHIFT TO CONTRACTS.
SO ONE, ONE OF THE COMPLAINTS WE HEAR FROM STAKEHOLDERS IN THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS IS HOW LONG IT TAKES FOR CONTRACTS TO BE REVIEWED MM-HMM
AND, UM, I'M SURE YOU'VE HEARD SOME OF THOSE AS WELL.
SO WHAT, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO TRY TO SPEED THAT PROCESS UP? UH, I THINK TWO THINGS.
I THINK ONE, AN EMPHASIS ON FORUM CONTRACTS FOR WHAT WE DO.
UH, AND IT WOULD BE, IF WE CAN GET THE DEPARTMENTS TO AGREE ON THAT, THAT WOULD SPEED THINGS UP.
THE OTHER ISSUE IS WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT BEFORE IS TO GET MORE, WE NEED MORE INVOLVEMENT AT THE FRONT END, UH, OF A, OF A CONTRACT PROCESS BECAUSE THE MORE YOU DO IT, WE CAN DETERMINE WHAT'S GONNA NEED AT THE END, THE COMPLAINT.
AND OF COURSE IT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU'RE HEARING FROM, BUT THE COMPLAINT I HEAR FROM MY CONTRACT LAWYERS IS I GET THIS AT THE END AND THERE ARE THINGS SUCH AS INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS, BONDING REQUIREMENTS THAT I COULD HAVE WORKED ON EARLIER.
SO I THINK THE KEY IS TO, TO PUT LEGAL WITH THE DEPARTMENTS AT A MUCH EARLIER STAGE AND REALLY AT THE PLANNING STAGE WOULD BE IDEAL.
UM, AND I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT UP INSURANCE.
UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS LIKE FOR INSTANCE, UM, UH, TXDOT ONLY REQUIRES VENDORS TO PROVIDE PROOF OF INSURANCE ONCE A YEAR.
AND YET ON IN OUR PROCESS, WE REQUIRE IT TO BE DONE EVERY, EVERY TIME.
UM, ARE WE MOVING TOWARDS A SYSTEM WHERE WE ONLY NEED TO SEE IT, UH, ONE ONE
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TIME PER YEAR? UH, I'D HAVE TO GET WITH JED ON THAT, BUT LET ME MAKE A NOTE OF THAT BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WITH, WITH FINANCE AND WITH PROCUREMENT IS, YOU KNOW, WHERE DO YOU GUYS SEE THE DELAYS, YOU KNOW, IN, IN TERMS OF WHAT'S HAPPENING? I KNOW THAT JED HAS AN EMPHASIS ON MOVING THINGS QUICKER.I KNOW JIM CIAK, RANDY MACKAY HAVE THAT THING.
THAT'S WHERE I THINK OUR LAWYERS TALKING TO THEIR, THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY DO THE NUTS AND BOLTS AND FIND OUT WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG.
AND THEN WE CAN SEE, BECAUSE WE CAN EACH BRING DIFFERENT THINGS TO BEAR ON THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY MAY WANT SOMETHING WHERE WE CAN SAY, WELL, WE HAVE FAMILIARITY WITH, UH, ANOTHER ENTITY THAT DOES IT THIS WAY.
IS THAT ACCEPTABLE TO YOU? YOU KNOW, REALLY FIND OUT WHY THEY HAVE THE REQUIREMENT IN THE FIRST PLACE.
IT COULD BE AN ANACHRONISM FROM BEFORE.
I'M ONLY IN THE QUEUE TO GIVE COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ MY EXTRA TIME.
'CAUSE I KNOW HE HAS A WHOLE LIST OF QUESTIONS, SO I WAS GIVING HIM A COURTESY.
ARE YOU GOOD? I'M, I'M ALMOST DONE.
SO YOU MENTIONED DISCOVERY REQUESTS IN MUNICIPAL COURT.
ARE, ARE, ARE LAWYERS USING A DISCOVERY PORTAL THE WAY THEY DO AT THE COUNTY SO THAT MATERIAL CAN BE PROVIDED, UH, SEAMLESSLY, UH, AND ATTORNEYS CAN ACCESS IT, YOU KNOW, AT THEIR CONVENIENCE? DO WE, DO WE USE A DISCOVERY PORTAL? WE, WE DO HAVE A DISCOVERY PORTAL.
UM, BUT I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT IS WE NEED TO LOOK AT DO WE HAVE THE MORE OPTIMAL ONE? AND THAT'S WHERE I THINK IT'S, IT'S U USEFUL TO REACH OUT TO OTHER ENTITIES AND FIND OUT HOW THEY DO THINGS.
I THINK THE, IF I'VE GOT A THEME HERE IS WE NEED TO BE MORE OUTWARD LOOKING.
ON THE CLAIMS AND SUBROGATIONS AND YOU, YOU SAID THEY'RE, THEY'RE GOING UP STEADILY.
I NOTICED THAT IT WAS LIKE FROM 900 TO 1300.
WHAT'S THE DEAL? YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S JUST THE, UM, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO, WHO CONTINUE TO MOVE TO HOUSTON.
YOU KNOW, THE, THE BIGGER, THERE ARE MORE, WE HAVE MORE VEHICLES, THERE ARE MORE CAR WRECKS, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE, UH, UH, BRING CLAIMS. YOU KNOW, I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO, UM, SPECULATE AS TO WHETHER PEOPLE ARE MORE LITIGIOUS OR NOT.
I MEAN, PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS OF THAT, BUT I THINK IT JUST CONTINUES TO GROW AND THAT'S WHY I THINK THAT IS AN AREA WHERE REALLY WE HAVE TO DO A VERY, A, A GOOD BUT QUICK ASSESSMENT SO WE KNOW WHETHER IT'S A CASE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN RESOLVE, WE CAN GET OUTTA THE WAY EARLY ON BECAUSE UM, WE HAVE A FINITE NUMBER OF LAWYERS WHO CAN HANDLE THESE.
I WANNA WELCOME COUNCIL MEMBER KAMAN TO THE CHAMBER PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
ANYONE ELSE ONLINE OR IN THE CHAMBER THAT WOULD LIKE TO ASK QUESTIONS OR MAKE A COMMENT? SEEING NONE, THIS WORKSHOP IS ADJOURNED AND WE WILL TAKE A QUICK FIVE MINUTE BREAK BEFORE GENERAL SERVICES.