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SO, WELCOME TO INTERIM DIRECTOR LARRY HASSAN AND VERONICA LAMA.WE ARE SO HAPPY TO HAVE BOTH OF YOU.
I'VE BEEN REVIEWING YOUR PRESENTATION AND YOU'VE GOT SOME VERY IMPRESSIVE TARGETS ON THERE.
SO EXCITED TO HEAR ABOUT, ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE IN STORE IN FY 26.
SO WITH THAT, THE FLOOR IS YOURS.
UM, AND WE HAVE BEEN JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER TIFFANY THOMAS, ONLINE SIX BUDGET.
I'LL PROVIDE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT'S PROPOSED BUDGET, HIGHLINE KEY INITIATIVES THAT ALIGN WITH THE CITY PRIORITIES.
ON THIS SLIDE, YOU WILL SEE THE LEADERSHIP TEAM THAT IS ASSISTING ME IN INSTRUCTION OF THE DEPARTMENT, THE EXPERTISE AND LEADERSHIP OVERSEEING THE KEY FUNCTION AREAS IN THE, IN THE, IN THE DEPARTMENT, AND TO REINFORCE THE DEPARTMENT'S COMMITMENT TO SERVICE AND OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY.
TABLE COMP, TABLE OF CONTENTS.
UM, I WILL BE PROVIDING OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT EXPENDITURES, KEY PROGRAMS, AND REVENUES.
UM, WE'RE GONNA START WITH GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS AS A RESTRUCTURED ADMINISTRATIVE OPERATIONS FOR BETTER EFFICIENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY, AND IMPROVE INTERNAL WORKFLOWS AND ADDRESS CRITICAL GAPS AND SUPPORT SERVICES.
QUALITY OF LIFE ARE OUR CORE SERVICES, GARBAGE RECYCLING, YARD WASTE, AND HEAVY TRASH, OR ESSENTIAL TO A CLEANER AND HEALTHIER HOUSTON.
WE'RE GONNA BE FOCUSED ON RESTORING ON-TIME COLLECTION ACROSS ALL SERVICE STREAMS. WE'RE GONNA BE ACTIVELY ADDRESSING ILLEGAL DUMPING CITYWIDE.
WE'RE GONNA EXPAND THE EXCESS CONVENIENCE AND NEIGHBORHOOD DROP OFF SITES, ALSO SUPPORTING COMMUNITY INITIATIVES THROUGH CONTAINER LEASING AND SPONSORSHIP PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THE VOLUNTARY MUNICIPAL RETIREMENT PAY PAYOUT OPTION.
UM, THE IMPACT OF EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT PAY RESULTED IN 31% OF ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES.
WE WERE ABLE TO REDUCE 2.2 $0.4 MILLION FROM OUR BUDGET, PLUS SIX MORE EMPLOYEES THAT DECIDED AT THE LAST MOMENT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT OPTION.
THIS MEANS, UH, SAVINGS WILL INCREASE, UH, BEYOND 2.4 MILLION, AND THE DEPARTMENT IS PRIORITIZING CONTINUING OF A SERVICE THROUGH CROSS TRAINING, RECRUITMENT AND RESOURCE REALLOCATION.
PROPOSED APARTMENT RESTRUCTURE.
UH, CURRENTLY THE AVERAGE SPAN OF CONTROL IS SIX DIRECT REPORTS.
OUR PROPOSAL BEGAN TO CHANGE AT EIGHT.
UH, WE ALWAYS, WE ALREADY HAVE.
THOSE IMPLEMENTATIONS HAVE ALREADY STARTED.
ALSO, UH, A PLAN TO STREAMLINE OPERATIONS THAT WILL IMPROVE WORKFLOW, SERVICE, DELIVERY, AND OR, AND EFFICIENCIES.
EXPENDITURES BY FUND, UH, EXPENDITURES FROM FY 25 TO 26 WERE CHANGED BY 9% REDUCTION ACROSS ALL THREE FUNDS.
THE GENERAL FUND WILL REDUCE BY 5% THE RECYCLING REVENUE BY 14%, AND CONTAINER LEASE FUND BY 18%.
UH, THIS IS JUST A VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF WHAT WE SHOWED IN A PREVIOUS SLIDE.
IN THIS SLIDE, YOU WILL SEE THE BREAKDOWN FROM PERSONAL TO NON-PERSONAL, UH, IN A GENERAL FUND, 43 MILLION OF PERSONAL COVERS OPERATION 40%, 43% OF THE OVERALL BUDGET, AND THE RECYCLING REVENUE FUND.
295,000 PERSONNEL COVERS RECYCLING PROGRAM.
THAT'S 8% OF THE OVERALL BUDGET.
THE CONTAINER LEASE, 876,000 OF PERSONNEL COVERS 22% OF THE OVERALL BUDGET.
THIS SLIDE PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF EXPENDITURE BY PROGRAM, WHICH WE WILL DECREASE BY 5%.
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, UH, THE FINANCE TEAM FOR SOLID WASTE WILL ENSURE REVENUES
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AND EXPENDITURES ARE CLOSELY MONITORED TO STAY WITHIN A BUDGET OR MAKE NECESSARY ADJUSTMENT, BUDGET CONTROLS WILL BE IMPLEMENTED TO ENSURE THAT THIS HAPPENS.THE CONTAINER LEASE FUND IS MANAGED BY, WITH APPROXIMATELY $4 MILLION TO DELIVER REPAIR CONTAINER REPLACEMENTS OR NEW CONTAINERS ACROSS THE CITY.
UH, GIVEN SEVERAL EMPLOYEES HAVE RETIRED IN THIS GROUP, WE WILL BE STAFFING UP TO ENSURE A QUICKER TURNAROUND ON THE REQUEST.
CURBSIDE RECYCLING COLLECTION, UH, CURBSIDE RECYCLING IS APPROXIMATELY $10 MILLION OF THE ANNUAL OPERATIONS.
BUDGET FOR LABOR AND SUPPLIES ON TIME COLLECTION IS ROUGHLY 50% DUE TO PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT SHORTAGE.
MY PLAN IS TO INCREASE THE TARGET TO 100% BY IMPROVING LOGISTICS OF FIELD OPERATIONS, WHICH I'M SURE YOU'RE GONNA HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT.
UM, FROM TIME TO TIME, OUR VEHICLES EXPERIENCE MECHANICAL FAILURES IN THE FIELD, OCCASIONALLY RE RESULTING IN SPILLS ON PUBLIC STREETS.
WE'RE FOCUSED ON IMPROVING OUR RESPONSE TIME TO MINIMIZE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.
OUR, OUR GOAL IS TO, UH, RESPOND TO ALL THOSE CALLS IN 45 MINUTES.
I'M GONNA PAUSE FOR JUST ONE MOMENT.
WE HAVE SOME SPECIAL VISITORS IN THE CHAMBER.
I'LL LET, I'LL YIELD TO MY VICE CHAIR.
JUST A BRIEF MOMENT OF, UH, POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE.
I DO WANNA RECOGNIZE WE HAVE SOME VISITORS THAT ARE HERE FROM THE VICTORY FUNDS, UH, SIGNATURE TRAINING PROGRAM FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN RUNNING FOR OFFICE ONE DAY.
SO THEY'VE JOINED US, THEY'RE HERE IN THE FRONT ROW, AND, UH, THEY'RE JUST OBSERVING HOW WE GO THROUGH, UH, ONE OF OUR DEPARTMENTAL BUDGETS.
SO MAYBE SOME SOMETHING Y'ALL HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN THE FUTURE, BUT IT'S, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE.
CONGRATULATIONS ON WANTING TO RUN FOR OFFICE ONE DAY.
YOU TOO CAN BE SITTING HERE LISTENING TO THE SOLID WASTE BUDGET.
HEAVY TRASH COLLECTION HEAVY TRASH IS APPROXIMATELY $24 MILLION OF THE ANNUAL OPERATIONS BUDGET FOR LABOR AND SUPPLIES, OR OUR ON TIME COLLECTION IS ROUGHLY OPERATING AT 75%.
MY PLAN IS TO INCREASE THE TARGET TO 90% BY IMPROVING THE LOGISTICS OF FIELD OPERATIONS.
ILLEGAL DUMPING, UM, ILLEGAL DUMPING COMPLAINTS ARE ROUGHLY AROUND 5,500 PER YEAR.
RESPONSE TIME IS ROUGHLY 21 DAYS.
CURRENTLY, MY GOAL IS TO IMPROVE THAT TO A 10 DAY RESPONSE TIME.
RESIDENTIAL DROPOFF COLLECTION.
UM, WE HAVE DROPOFF CENTERS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
DROPOFF CENTERS APPRO APPROXIMATELY $12 MILLION OF THE ANNUAL OPERATIONS BUDGET FOR LABOR AND SUPPLIES.
UH, MY PLAN IS TO DECREASE THE WAIT TIMES FROM 30 MINUTES TO 15 MINUTES.
RESIDENTIAL WASTE COLLECTION, RESIDENTIAL GARBAGE COLLECTION IS APPROXIMATELY $27 MILLION OF THE ANNUAL OPERATIONS.
BUDGET FOR LABOR AND SUPPLIES ON TIME COLLECTION IS ROUGHLY OPERATING AT 90%.
MY PLAN IS TO INCREASE THE TARGET BY TO 100% BY IMPROVING THE LOGISTICS OF FIELD OPERATIONS.
SPONSORSHIPS, UH, THE SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM PROVIDES QUALIFYING HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS THE OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO OBTAIN THE SUBSIDY GIVEN THE, GIVEN THAT THEY HAVE ACCESS TO CITY SURFACES.
WE HAVE 156 IN THIS PROGRAM, NOT EXPECTED TO GO UP TO 180 HOAS AND FY 26.
YARD WASTE COLLECTION, YARD WASTE COLLECTION IS APPROXIMATELY $11 MILLION OF THE ANNUAL OPERATIONS.
BUDGET FOR LABOR SUPPLIES ON TIME COLLECTION IS ROUGHLY OPERATING AT ABOUT 26%.
MY PLAN IS TO INCREASE THE TARGET TO 75% OVER THE FY 26 FISCAL YEAR BY IMPROVING LOGISTICS OF FIELD OPERATIONS.
DEBT SERVICE AND INTER FUND TRANSFERS.
CURRENTLY, THE SOLID WASTE FINANCE TEAM REVIEWS AND MONITORS OUTSTANDING DEBT AND INTER FUND TRANSFERS, WHICH IS ROUGHLY $3.8 MILLION A YEAR.
REVENUES BY FUND, UH, REVENUES FROM FY 25 TO FY 26 WILL CHANGE BY 9% ACROSS ALL THREE FUNDS.
GENERAL FUND WILL INCREASE BY 5%.
RECYCLING REVENUE FUND WILL INCREASE BY 2% CONTAINER LEASE FUND BY 14%.
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REVENUES BY FUND.THIS GRAPH ILLUSTRATES WHAT THE TABLE BEFORE REFLECTING AN INCREASE IN REVENUE FROM 15.8 MILLION TO 17.3 MILLION, MOSTLY DUE TO CPI PROJECTING INCREASES DUMPSTER PERMITS, TIRE PERMITS, AND EXTRA CONTAINERS.
REVENUE BY PROGRAM, UH, REVENUES AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES PROJECTED TO INCREASE BY $2 MILLION DUE TO DUMPSTER TIRE PERMITS, EXTRA GARBAGE CONTAINERS, CODE ENFORCEMENT INSPECTION, CITATIONS, NON-RESIDENTIAL GARBAGE AND BUSINESS RECYCLING, UH, SMALL BUSINESSES VACANT.
THIS GRAPH ILLUSTRATES WHAT THE TABLE BEFORE IN PREVIOUS SLIDES ARE SHOWING AN INCREASE IN REVENUE FROM 15.3 MILLION TO 17.3 MILLION FY 26.
FIRST WE WILL YIELD TO, UH, VICE MAYOR PRO TEM, AMY PECK.
THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR FOR THE PRESENTATION.
SO, UM, HOW MUCH ARE WE PLANNING ON PAYING CONTRACTORS IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR? AND ARE WE LOOKING AT PRE-POSITIONING CONTRACTORS IN TIMES OF YEAR WHERE WE KNOW WE ALWAYS GET BEHIND, LIKE HOLIDAYS AND THOSE TIMES OF THE YEAR? YES, MA'AM.
THAT'S, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
WE, WE DON'T HAVE THE ACTUAL NUMBER RIGHT NOW.
OUR FINANCE TEAM IS JUST WORKING OUT THE LOGISTICS ON HOW WE'RE GONNA PROGRAM MOVING FORWARD.
UH, WE DO, WE DO HAVE KEY AREAS THAT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED AS JUST LIKE YOU STATED AS FAR AS HOLIDAYS.
OF COURSE, IT'S HURRICANE SEASON, THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WE'RE SETTING, MEETING WITH OUR FINANCE TEAM TO SET ASIDE FUNDS TO SEE WHAT CONTRACTORS ARE AVAILABLE AND HOW MUCH THAT WE NEED.
WE ACTUALLY MET WITH, UH, FINANCE THIS MORNING BEFORE WE GOT OVER HERE.
SO, YES, THAT, THOSE ARE IN TALKS.
UM, FOR THE CONTAINER LEASE FUND, UM, SO THE EIGHT EMPLOYEES, THE FTES IN THAT FUND OR THE F EIGHT EMPLOYEES, UM, THAT SUPPORT THAT FUND, ARE THEY BEING PAID OUT OF THAT SPECIAL REVENUE FUND COUNCIL MEMBER? YES, THEY ARE.
AND THAT HAD A EXPERIENCED A LOT OF, UH, SHORTAGE DUE TO THE RETIREES, UM, THIS EARLY THIS YEAR.
SO, UH, SO THAT IS ONE WE'LL BE STAFFING UP.
AND WE ARE INCREASING THE AMOUNT COLLECTED, BUT DECREASING EXPENDITURES, IS THAT CORRECT? I'M SORRY, CAN YOU REPEAT THAT? WE'RE, UM, INCREASING THE AMOUNT COLLECTED FROM INTO THAT ACCOUNT, BUT WE'RE REDUCING THE EXPENDITURES, SO IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE NOT MAYBE BUYING AS MANY OF THE CONTAINERS AS PREVIOUSLY.
CARTS AND, UH, PERSONNEL HAS TO BE THE ONLY THING.
THOSE ARE THE ONLY TWO THINGS BEING PAID OUTTA THE BUDGET.
SO ARE WE LOOKING AT MAYBE REDUCING THE AMOUNT THAT WE'RE COLLECTING FROM PEOPLE EACH MONTH FOR THAT THEN IF WE'RE DON'T NEED AS MUCH? AND THAT'S AN EVALUATION THAT WE DO WITH FINANCE DEPARTMENT EVERY YEAR.
SO I BELIEVE THAT'LL BE, YOU KNOW, HERE FORTHCOMING.
IF WE'RE NOT GONNA NEED AS MUCH, WE CAN'T COLLECT AS MUCH.
SO THAT WOULD BE A FACTOR THAT WOULD, UH, THEY, I BELIEVE ANNUALLY THEY APPROVE THE CITYWIDE FEES, SO THAT'LL BE SOMETHING THAT WILL BE EVALUATED.
SO THIS IS PART OF THAT, THE CITYWIDE FEE, RIGHT? MM-HMM
UM, WHEN IT COMES TO TECHNOLOGY, UM, WE'VE PAID FOR, UM, ROUTING SERVICES, AND I KNOW THAT A LOT OF AREAS ARE STILL DOING PAPER MAPS, UM, AS RECENTLY AS THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS.
I MEAN, WE'VE SEEN, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE STILL PUTTING, UM, ROUTES ON MY PAPER.
SO, BUT WE CONTINUE TO SPEND MONEY ON THIS TECHNOLOGY.
ARE WE MOVING TOWARDS, YOU KNOW, GETTING AWAY FROM THESE PAPER MAPS? YES, MA'AM.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A A GREAT QUESTION.
UH, WE IMPLEMENTED STARTING ON MONDAY, ACTUALLY THE 19TH THAT WE, WE WILL GO PAPERLESS, IF YOU WILL.
WE'RE GONNA GO WITH ALL THE NEW INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES THAT WE HAVE IN HOUSE THAT WAS ALREADY PURCHASED IN THE PREVIOUS YEARS.
THEY WERE JUST NOT USED AT ALL.
WE HAD HALF OF THE, HALF OF THE QUADRANTS USED IT, AND THE OTHER HALF WERE USING PAPER, JUST LIKE YOU WERE STATING.
SO NOW WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THAT, WE GO FULLY PAPERLESS AND USED THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE HAVE PAID FOR.
AND TR JUST ONE MORE QUESTION ON THAT SAME LINE.
ARE WE USING THAT TECHNOLOGY TO FEED INTO H TICKS, COLLECTS APP IN ANY WAY OR ANOTHER APP THAT WE MAY BE LOOKING AT TO ACTUALLY TELL PEOPLE WHEN THEIR TRASH IS REALLY GOING TO BE COLLECTED? YES, MA'AM.
WE ACTUALLY, UH, WE HAVE OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, SHE WAS SAYING THAT I BROUGHT OVER TO HEAD THAT IN, IN, IN, IN PREVIOUS YEARS.
WE'RE, WE ARE IN TALKS RIGHT NOW OF IMPLEMENTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WORKS MOVING FORWARD.
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WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR STEPPING INTO THIS ROLE.I KNOW YOU JUST RECENTLY TOOK IT ON AND I'VE BEEN WANTING TO SIT DOWN WITH YOU, BUT I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT YOU KIND OF WRAPPING YOURSELF, UH, WRAPPING YOUR ARMS AROUND.
UM, BUT I, I, I DO WANT TO JUST GENERALLY SAY THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE, THE MOST, UH, CALLS THAT WE GET IN OUR OFFICE.
SO TAKING ON THIS, THIS TASK IS, IT IS HUGE.
AND SO I WANT TO SAY PUBLICLY THANK YOU FOR THAT, UH, TAKING ON THAT CHALLENGE.
UM, AND BEFORE GOING INTO THE LOGISTICS AND OPERATIONAL CHANGES, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN SHARE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT, BUT BEFORE THAT, UM, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN VERY PUBLIC ABOUT A HEAVY TRASH FEE.
UM, I, I UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, UH, THE ADMINISTRATION IS WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE REDUCE COSTS AND, UH, ADDRESS OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES INITIALLY, AND I'M ALL FOR THAT.
UH, BUT I THINK AS THE ONE OF THE LARGEST CITIES WITHOUT A TRASH FEE, I THINK IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S TELLING, RIGHT? THAT, THAT WE NEED TO BE STEPPING UP OUR, OUR, UM, OUR CONVERSATION WITH COMMUNITY ULTIMATELY TO LET THEM KNOW THAT IN ORDER FOR THEM TO HAVE, UM, REAL SERVICES WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, TRASH, UH, OR SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT, THAT WE NEED TO HAVE THOSE REAL CONVERSATIONS AS WELL.
UM, I, LAST YEAR I SUBMITTED A, A, AN AMENDMENT FOR A DEVELOPER FREE FOR A NEW DEVELOPMENT.
UH, I THINK WE HAD, UH, OVER THE LAST THREE OR FOUR YEARS, UH, SOMEWHERE AROUND 34,000 NEW ONLINE, UH, UM, HOMES FOR PICKUP.
UM, HAVE Y'ALL HAD, UH, I KNOW I SUBMITTED IT LAST YEAR, BUT HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED INTO WHAT THAT WOULD BE BASICALLY CHARGING THAT, UH, WHENEVER YOU, YOU, UH, MOVE INTO YOUR HOME, YOU HAVE THAT NEW FEE FOR ELECTRICITY AND SO ON, IT'D BE SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THAT WHERE, UH, THAT, UH, DEVELOPER AND OR THE PROPERTY OWNER WOULD, YOU KNOW, BE CHARGED THAT $22 OF, OF THE CONTAINER FEE, UH, ROUGHLY.
UH, HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED INTO THAT A BIT MORE, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, I'D LOVE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION MORE, MORE WITH YOU, YOU KNOW, PRIOR TO PASSING THIS BUDGET, UH, AT LEAST TO SEE WHAT WE CAN, WHAT CONVERSATION WE CAN HAVE, UH, IN THE COMING YEARS TO SEE MORE REVENUE.
I, I WOULD LOVE, WE, I, I HAVE NOT LOOKED IN INTO THAT SO FAR, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO SIT DOWN AND TALK TO YOU AND GET SOME INSIGHT ON, ON THEIR PROGRAM.
UM, AND THEN I SAW IN ONE OF THE SLIDES, UH, THE ON ON DEMAND HEAVY TRASH PILOT.
THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE THAT I'VE, I'VE SHARED, UM, HISTORICALLY, EVEN AS A STAFFER, WHEN I WAS WORKING FOR MY PREDECESSOR, UM, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY WANTED TO SEE WHAT ON DEMAND.
UM, WE KNOW THAT NOT EVERYONE'S PUTTING OUT, UH, BULK WAYS AND TREE WASTES EVERY MONTH.
UM, AND SO I KNOW THAT THERE IS A PILOT PROGRAM IN DISTRICT K, UM, HAVE Y'ALL GOT ANY RESULTS FROM THAT? AND, AND WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? AND AGAIN, IT MIGHT GO INTO THE LOGISTICS AND FIELD OPERATIONS.
UM, LOVE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT AS WELL IN INCLUDING, YOU KNOW, HOW YOU'RE CHANGING THE, THE QUADRANT FROM FOUR TO TWO.
UM, IT'S, THIS IS AGAIN, PROBABLY THE, THE MOST CALLS WE GET IN OUR OFFICE.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS, THIS IS THE TIME TO TALK ABOUT IT A BIT MORE, OR IF YOU CAN AT LEAST SHARE SOME MORE INFORMATION.
I THINK, THINK WHEN MOST OF THE ANSWERS ARE IMPROVE LOGISTICS AND FIELD OPERATIONS, LET'S TALK ABOUT IT
UH, SO ONE THING THAT WE, WE STARTED OUT DOING WAS FINDING THE RIGHT SIZE TO, UH, TO, TO STAFF TO EQUAL A SERVICE, UH, A, A SERVICE THAT, THAT THE CITIZENS DESERVE HERE.
UH, WE FOUND OUT THAT BY HAVING FOUR QUADRANTS, THEY WERE STRUCK, CONSTRUCTED MANY YEARS AGO WHEN THERE WERE MANY MORE FIELD EMPLOYEES THAT WERE IN THE QUADRANTS.
WELL, DIFFERENT QUADRANTS HAVE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF POSITIONS, WHICH MEANS DIFFERENT LEVELS OF EQUIPMENT THAT CAN BE DISPERSED.
YOU KNOW, WE WENT FROM REAR LOADERS TO AUTOMATION.
WELL, WE HAVE CERTAIN DRIVERS THAT CAN DRIVE AUTOMATION TRUCKS AND CERTAIN DRIVERS THAT CAN DRIVE REAR LOADERS.
JUST SAY, FOR INSTANCE, YOU HAVE A QUADRANT WITH 50 PEOPLE ON A PERFECT DAY, 50 PEOPLE SHOW UP TO WORK.
WELL, WE DON'T HAVE TOO MANY PERFECT DAYS WHERE EVERYBODY SHOWS UP TO WORK.
WELL, WE WERE FINDING THAT THE QUADRANTS WERE HAVING TRUCKS THAT COULDN'T BE DEPLOYED BECAUSE WE SIMPLY DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE TO DEPLOY BECAUSE OF VACATION SICK DAYS, WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE.
BY COMBINING QUADRANTS, YOU ALLOW YOURSELF TO PUT MORE PEOPLE IN SEATS OF TRUCKS TO DEPLOY, TO FINISH ROUTES IN A FASTER TIME.
WE WERE WORKING A LOT OF OVERTIME, BUT THE CONSOLIDATIONS OF THE QUADRANTS, WE LOOKED TO REDUCE THE OVERTIME BUDGET, UM, AND ENSURE THAT WE HAVE COMPLETION OF ROUTES TIMELY SO THAT EVERYONE CAN GO HOME AFTER THEY DO THEIR 8, 8, 8 HOURS OF WORK.
ALSO USING INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY, UM, ROUTE WHERE ACTUALLY GIVES US EVERY TOOL THAT WE NEED.
WE JUST, WE'RE NOT CAPITALIZING ON WHAT WE, WE WE COULD DO WITH THAT.
UH, AND ALSO WITH THE HEAVY TRASH, WE'RE CENTRALIZING HEAVY TRASH.
SO I'M BIG ON GOING ON DEMAND TO SHRINK THE ROUTE SYSTEM, AND SO WE CAN BE MORE WORK ORDER DRIVEN.
I APPRECIATE YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF OVERTIME.
I DID NOTICE THAT THE OVERTIME BUDGET FOR BOTH COLLECTIONS IN THE NORTHEAST AND THE SOUTH, UH, I GUESS WE'RE CALLING 'EM HALVES NOW.
UH, AND IT HAS GONE DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND I, I'VE ASKED, I'LL ASK SOME QUESTIONS IN WRITING, BUT IF YOU COULD ADDRESS THAT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, IT'S BECAUSE OF, OF YES, MA'AM.
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ALL HANDS ON DECK, ALL EQUIPMENT USED.YOU'RE GONNA DECREASE THAT OVERTIME SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND WE CHANGED, UH, WORK SCHEDULES.
UH, PREVIOUSLY THEY WERE ON FOUR 10 HOUR SHIFTS WITH WEDNESDAY BEING AN OFF DAY, AND IT WAS USED FOR OVERTIME AND SATURDAYS AS WELL.
NOW WE'RE ON A FIVE DAY WORK SCHEDULE OF EIGHT HOURS.
AND THEN ON OCCASIONS, UNTIL WE GET THE ROUTES, UH, UPDATED, THE ROUTES HAVE NOT BEEN UPDATED.
UH, A LOT OF ROUTES HAVE OVER 1500 HOMES.
THAT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO DO WITHIN A EIGHT, THE R 10 HOUR WORKDAY.
NOW, UH, MR. SINGH IS, UH, LEADING THAT TEAM ON GETTING A, A NUMBER, AND WE'RE DOING BENCHMARKING TO FIND A NUMBER SUITABLE FOR A CITY THIS SIZE, SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT EVERY EMPLOYEE HAS A, A ACHIEVABLE AND ATTAINABLE, UH, ROUTE TO COMPLETE ON A DAILY BASIS.
I SEE IN THE NORTHEAST IT'S GOING FROM 2.9 MILLION TO 1.7 MILLION.
IN THE SOUTH IT'S GOING FROM 3.6 MILLION TO 2.1 MILLION.
ARE, ARE YOU FINISHED, COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ.
THANK YOU TO THE ENTIRE TEAM, VERONICA.
UM, Y'ALL DO SO MUCH WITH SO LITTLE, UH, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT I SAY ARE OUR FRONTLINE WORKERS.
UH, SOLID WASTE IS, BILL WAS ACTUALLY REMINDING ME IN A NATURAL DISASTER ACTIVATION, Y'ALL ARE, I THINK IT'S CALLED CLASS A.
YOU'RE THE FIRST RESPONSE IN A DISASTER, UH, MANY TIMES OVER ABOUT HOW MANY, UM, WORKING HOURS AND DAYS IS THE AVERAGE SOLID WASTE EMPLOYEE, UM, THAT IS DOING TRASH SOLID WASTE PICKUP, WORKING RIGHT NOW, UH, CURRENTLY ABOUT 10 TO 12 HOURS A DAY, AND ABOUT SIX DAYS A WEEK.
AND I SAY THAT AS A THANK YOU.
'CAUSE I, I THINK OFTENTIMES THEY'RE NOT THANKED ENOUGH BEYOND CITY HALL, UH, FOR EVERYTHING THAT THEY DO TO PROVIDE SERVICE.
SO THE DELAYS, THE CHALLENGES THAT THE CITY FACES WITH THIS, UM, WITH SOLID WASTE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW HARD OUR EMPLOYEES ARE WORKING.
AND THEY ARE DOING EVERYTHING THAT THEY CAN.
UM, I ALSO WANNA THANK Y'ALL FOR THE INCREDIBLE PARTNERSHIPS, UH, WITH OUR OFFICE.
UH, ONE QUESTION THAT OFTEN ISN'T BROUGHT UP, BUT OUR LANDFILLS, UH, THERE'S A LIFE EXPECTANCY ON OUR LANDFILLS, UH, ABOUT WHAT IS THAT LIFE EXPECTANCY? ARE WE COMING UP ON THAT? YES.
I THINK WE, THE LAST REPORT THAT WE GOT, YEAH.
NO, I, I THINK WE HAVE ABOUT FOUR THAT WE'RE USING.
SO THEY ALL HAVE A DIFFERENT LIFE EXPECTANCY.
I THINK THE LEAST AMOUNT I SAW WAS 10.
SO 10 ALL THE WAY UP TO 20 YEARS.
SO, AND THE MORE WE'RE NOT SEVEN AT MCCARTY AND THE NORM MORE, WE'RE NOT DIVERTING THAT.
AND WE'RE, THAT COULD BE, UH, SPED UP A BIT POTENTIALLY.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO CREATE A NEW LANDFILL? I DON'T HAVE THOSE NUMBERS CURRENTLY, BUT I, I WILL FIND OUT.
WELL, WE'LL SUBMIT THAT QUESTION.
AND I'D ALSO LIKE TO KNOW, WE, WE USED TO KNOW, WE USED TO ASK THIS QUESTION, HOW LONG IT TAKES TO PROCURE AND CREATE A NEW LANDFILL.
UH, BECAUSE THAT I BELIEVE IS OVER A DECADE.
SO WE'RE RUNNING UP ON THE LIFE IF WE'RE NOT DIVERTING MORE WASTE.
WE'RE NOT RECYCLING MORE IF WE'RE NOT DEALING WITH THAT ISSUE.
IT'S GOING TO BE A PRETTY HEFTY PRICE TAX.
COMING UP SOONER THAN WE EXPECT.
UH, TO THAT POINT, I WANNA THANK Y'ALL FOR THE PILOT PROGRAM THAT WE'VE LAUNCHED FOR MULTIFAMILY RECYCLING.
IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, MULTIFAMILY APARTMENT COMPLEXES ARE NOT REQUIRED TO RECYCLE.
THAT IS NOT A SERVICE THE CITY PROVIDES.
THEY HAVE APARTMENTS, HAVE THEIR OWN PRIVATE RECYCLING, BUT ALL THAT WASTE IS GOING WHERE? LANDFILL TO OUR LANDFILLS.
UH, SO AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THE WORK ON THAT AND THE GRANTS THAT HAVE BEEN SECURED, UH, REGARDING, UH, SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGY WE'VE RECEIVED SOME REQUESTS FROM RESIDENTS WHO HAVE REACHED OUT TO OUR OFFICE.
SO WE'RE RELAYING THIS, UM, TO REQUEST A YARD WASTE TRACKER THAT IS SIMILAR TO THE HEAVY JUNK WASTE TRACTOR, UH, TRACKER.
UH, CAN THE DEPARTMENT CONSIDER THAT AS SOMETHING? AND THEN ALSO, UH, I HAVE A LIST OF SOME OTHER EFFICIENCIES THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO US AS SUGGESTIONS THAT WE'LL SUBMIT.
UM, BUT IN TERMS OF PERSONNEL, WE HAVE THE 27, I BELIEVE, THAT ARE THE VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT.
UH, HOW MANY OF THOSE ARE, UH, QUALIFIED TO BE REHIRES? UH, OR IS THAT IN A COMPLETE ELIMINATION OF THOSE 27 SPOTS WE HAD NINE THAT WERE FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES THAT WE HAVE TO FILL.
AND THROUGH, WITH EACH OF THESE, UH, ON THE SLIDES YOU LISTED, HOW MANY PERSONNEL, FOR EXAMPLE, WE
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ONLY HAVE 102, UH, FTES SLATED FOR RESIDENTIAL WASTE COLLECTION.AND DO WE, ARE WE PLANNING TO YES, MA'AM.
WHAT ARE WE PLANNING TO ADD THERE? THAT, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
WE, WE LOOKED AT OUR, OUR ENTIRE TEAM OVERALL.
UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF VACANCIES THAT WERE UPPER AND MID-LEVEL MANAGEMENT POSITIONS THAT UNDERMINE ADMINISTRATION.
I DON'T FEEL THAT IS NECESSARY.
UH, SO WE'RE GONNA TAKE THOSE, THOSE POSITIONS AND CONVERT THOSE TO FRONTLINE EMPLOYEE POSITIONS SO THAT WE CAN FIELD AND PUT MORE EMPLOYEES, UH, MORE FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES ON THE STREET.
IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO KNOW WHAT WE'RE PLANNING OR EXPECTING TO HOPEFULLY FILL OR ADD FOR EACH OF THESE KIND OF DIVISIONS, WHETHER IT'S CURBSIDE, RECYCLING, HEAVY TRASH, UM, WHAT WE CAN EXPECT TO BE ADDING TO THAT.
UM, OR FROM THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE HAVE ACTUALLY CUT.
SO A COMPARISON OF, FOR EXAMPLE, IF ENVIRONMENTAL WEIGHT AND MAINTENANCE, WE HAVE A FY 25 FTE COUNT OF 11.5.
IS THAT LESS, IS THAT MORE MOVING FORWARD? JUST A COMPARISON WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR FOR THE PRESENTATION ON SLIDE 20, THE YARD WASTE COLLECTION SLIDE.
THE FY 26 TARGET FOR ON TIME COLLECTION IS 75% PREVIOUS YEARS, IT'S BEEN AROUND 26.
SO WHAT, WHAT'S GONNA CHANGE IN THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR THAT WILL HIT THE 75% ON TIME COLLECTION GOAL? YES, SIR.
AGAIN, THAT WAS A LOGISTICS MOVE THAT WE'RE GONNA MAKE.
WE'RE GONNA TRY TWO DIFFERENT PILOT PROGRAMS. UH, WE'RE GONNA SEE ONCE WE, WE HAVE 'EM SET UP, UH, ON NORTH AND SOUTH THE WAY THEY IS NOW, AND WE'RE GONNA USE THE ROUTING SOFTWARE THAT WE HAVE NOT BEEN TAKING ADVANTAGE OF TO MORE EFFICIENTLY, MORE EFFICIENTLY GET TO THE, THE ROUTES, UH, MORE ACCURATELY.
UH, WE'RE GONNA CHECK, DO A TABLE ON THAT.
IF IT DOESN'T WORK, WE'RE GONNA GO SWITCH OVER TO DEMAND, WHICH IS MORE SERVICE REQUEST DRIVEN, SO THAT NOW WE CAN GET DIRECTLY TO THE CALLS INSTEAD OF THE, THE, THE MAPS AS A WHOLE.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN A WORK ORDER SYSTEM THAT WE CAN SEE THE CALL, FIND THAT ADDRESS, THEN WE CAN GO AND ATTACK IT.
BUT IT'S JUST ABOUT CONSOLIDATING TO GET THE CREWS TO GET OUT TO BE MORE EFFICIENT AND MORE TIMELY.
ONE, ONE THING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO GET A LOT OF CALLS ABOUT SOLID WASTE IN DISTRICT H.
UM, THE THEME THAT WE SEEM TO HEAR IS AROUND COMMUNICATION.
UM, WHETHER IT'S WHEN A MISSED TRASH OR RECYCLING YES, SIR, WILL GET PICKED UP, OR, UM, SOME OF THE COMMUNICATIONS THAT'S COME OUT FROM THE DEPARTMENT, THIS WAS PRIOR TO YOU, BUT AROUND HEAVY TRASH AND YES SIR.
CAUSING SOME CONFUSION AROUND IF THAT'S GONNA BE CONTINUING OR SUSPENDED.
WHAT MOVING FORWARD ARE Y'ALL PLANNING TO DO AROUND THAT TO, UM, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE BETTER SERVICE AND, AND GIVE CUSTOMERS THE MORE ACCURATE ESTIMATION AROUND WHEN SOMETHING THAT IS MISSED WILL GET PICKED UP.
OR IF THESE NEW PILOTS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ARE GONNA GET ROLLED OUT.
'CAUSE WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF YARD WASTE THAT IS THERE, BUT WON'T GET PICKED UP WHILE THE ROUTES ARE BEING SERVICED.
AND SO THEN IT'S LIKE, WELL, ARE WE STILL DOING THE YARD WASTE? THE BAGS WERE THERE, THEY WERE LEFT.
HOW IS THAT GONNA WORK MOVING FORWARD? YES, SIR.
UH, DURING THIS TIME, I ALSO IMPLEMENTED A QUALITY MANAGEMENT TEAM THAT WOULD CONSIST OF, UH, A ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR THAT WOULD LEAD A TEAM OF CUSTOMER SERVICE REPS AND ALSO, UH, OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF THAT WILL NOT ONLY DO, UH, FOLLOW UP CALLS, BUT THEY WILL ENSURE THAT WHATEVER SERVICE REQUEST THAT COMES IN IS ACCURATELY CHECKED THEIR SERVICE.
AND A FOLLOW UP CALL WILL BE MADE TO THE CITIZEN FOR ACCURACY.
BECAUSE ONE THING THAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO IS, IS, UH, GIVE A FALSE NARRATIVE AND COMMUNICATION IS KEY.
IF WE'RE NOT COMING, PEOPLE JUST WANNA KNOW WHEN ARE WE COMING, GOING SILENT IS THE WORST THING THAT WE COULD DO.
AND IT'S BEEN A PRACTICE OF THE PAST.
BUT MOVING FORWARD, WE'RE GONNA DEFINITELY ENSURE THAT WE DO, UH, FOLLOW UP CALLS AND EXEMPLIFY EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE.
WE'LL COME BACK, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ.
THANK YOU, DIRECTOR AND CHIEF, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION TEST JOB THERE IN SOLID WASTE.
AND SO I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT, THAT YOU ALL DO OVER THERE.
[00:30:01]
PURCHASE OF A NUMBER OF TRUCKS.ARE THEY SCHEDULED TO GO ONLINE SOON? HOPEFULLY.
WE'RE, WE'RE WAITING, UH, TO GET WORD ON WHEN WE'RE GONNA RECEIVE THEM.
IT USUALLY TAKES ABOUT EIGHT MONTHS TO PROCURE AND FOR THE VEHICLES TO COME IN.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE, WHEN WE GET THEM, WILL WE HAVE ENOUGH DRIVERS TO MAN THEM.
WE WILL SEE ONCE THEY GET HERE, ONCE I DO THE CONSOLIDATION, BECAUSE WE HAVE CERTAIN DRIVERS AND CERTAIN CLASSIFICATIONS, UH, TO SEE WHAT TYPE OF DRIVERS THEY ARE, IF THEY'RE REAR LOADERS OR AUTOMATION, WE WILL SEE.
I'M, I'M NOT QUITE SURE IF WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH EMPLOYEES AS OF TODAY.
LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT SOME OF THE FIGURES ON SLIDE 10.
THIS IS EXPENDITURE BY PROGRAM, AND I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE, UH, CHANGES FROM, UH, FY 25 TO THIS COMING YEAR.
AND I KNOW YOU TOUCHED ON SOME OF THIS, UH, BRIEFLY ALREADY.
SO, UM, CURBSIDE RECYCLING COLLECTIONS EXPENDITURES SLATED TO INCREASE BY 56%.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT? WHAT, UH, WHAT'S INVOLVED IN THAT CHANGE? SORRY, LOOKING FOR IT? 56%.
UM, WE'LL HAVE TO, WE'LL HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, YOU KNOW, INCREASES, UH, FOR, FOR ANY TYPE OF CURBSIDE, UH, COULD BE RELATED TO OUR FCC CONTRACT, WHICH IS OUR MRF, WHERE WE TAKE ALL OF THE CURBSIDE MATERIAL.
AND SO I'M GONNA SAY THAT'S WHAT IT'S, UM, UH, DUE TO, BUT I CAN DEFINITELY GET YOU AN ANSWER ON THAT.
UH, EXACTLY WHAT, UH, IS BEHIND THE, THE 56% INCREASE.
AND, UM, RESIDENTIAL WASTE COLLECTION EXPENDITURE SLATED TO INCREASE BY 54%.
CAN YOU, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT ONE? AND SO, MAJORITY OF THE COSTS IN THE RESIDENTIAL WASTE IS PERSONNEL.
SO, UH, LET ME FIND OUT WHAT'S BEHIND THE PERSONNEL INCREASE.
A LOT OF THE RESIDENTIAL, UH, WASTE COLLECTIONS, UH, LABOR INCREASE WOULD, WOULD, UM, WOULD BE EITHER, UH, WE'RE SHIFTING, WE COULD BE SHIFTING, IN OTHER WORDS, FROM WASTE, UH, YARD WASTE, HEAVY TRASH, OR ANY OF THE OTHER THREE SERVICE LINES INTO THIS FUND.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, WE DO WANNA TRUE UP.
AND SO, UM, BECAUSE THERE IS SOME SHARING OF, OF PERSONNEL ACROSS SERVICE LINES MM-HMM
SO I'LL, I CAN GET YOU AN EXACT ON THAT, ON WHAT CONSTITUTES, 'CAUSE THAT MAJORITY OF THE COST WOULD BE PERSONNEL.
UH, LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING, UM, THAT AND, UH, CURBSIDE RECYCLING AS WELL.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT? SO, SPONSORSHIPS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE.
UM, THESE ARE HOAS THAT HAVE REACHED OUT TO THE DEPARTMENT REQUESTING THE SUBSIDY, THE SIX PER, THE $6 SUBSIDY PER, PER HOME.
UH, SO AS WE GET THOSE REQUESTS, UH, THE DEPARTMENT IS PROJECTING AN AN INCREASE.
UH, WE CAN GET YOU WHAT, HOW MANY OF THOSE ARE, I KNOW OFF THE BAT WE'VE GOT, UM, I THINK ON THE SLIDE THAT TALKS ABOUT THAT PROGRAM, THERE'S ALREADY 180 THAT WE ARE EXPECTING TO BRING ONLINE AS OF JULY ONE, BUT WE DO ACTUALLY HAVE AN INCREASE RIGHT.
FROM, UH, EVEN FROM THE JULY ONE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, UH, HOAS CAN APPLY FOR THIS SUBSIDY.
SO AN ADDITIONAL SPONSORSHIP, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, MEANS THAT THAT IS A, AN ASSOCIATION THAT IS CHOSEN TO GO PRIVATE AND NOT CITY.
THEY'RE ELIGIBLE FOR CI CITY SERVICES.
DOES THAT THEN RESULT IN A, A, A DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS THAT WE HAVE TO SERVICE? I'M GONNA SAY THAT IT, IT USUALLY DOES NOT REFLECT A DECREASE IN OUR SERVICES.
USUALLY THEY'RE NOT ON THE PROGRAM AND THEY'RE ASKING TO BE ON THE PROGRAM.
IN OTHER WORDS, THEY GO FROM ZERO SUBSIDY TO AN ADDITIONAL SUBSIDY.
'CAUSE THEY MAY FIND OUT ABOUT THE PROGRAM OR THEY MAY JUST INQUIRE.
UM, BUT THAT IS, UH, IN, WE CALCULATE IT AS A SAVINGS BECAUSE $6 COMPARED TO WHAT IT COSTS TO ACTUALLY COLLECT AT THE CURB RIGHT NOW, THERE'S NO COMPARISON REALLY.
BUT IF, IF THEY'RE ALREADY GETTING SERVICED BY A PRIVATE CONTRACTOR, NOW WE'RE HAVING TO PAY THEM.
UH, BUT ANYWAY, LET ME, UH, CAN YOU GET US THE BREAKDOWN ON, UM, HOW MANY OF THOSE SPONSORSHIPS ARE, UH, ASSOCIATIONS THAT HAVE JUST BECOME AWARE OF THE PROGRAM? MM-HMM
OR, UH, ASSOCIATIONS THAT ARE SORT OF CHECKING OUT AND NO LONGER USING CITY SERVICES.
UM, SO, UH, YARD, THE YARD WASTE SLIDE, AND I DON'T, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT NUMBER IT IS, UH, MENTIONED BOTH, UM, WEEKLY A COLLECTION AND BIWEEKLY COLLECTION.
CAN YOU TELL US WHERE, WHERE WE ARE ON THAT? IS IT WEEKLY OR BIWEEKLY OR WHAT, WHAT ARE WE SHOOTING FOR THERE? CURRENTLY IT'S ON A BIWEEKLY, UM, CURRENTLY BI-WEEKLY.
THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT FOR YOU NOW.
[00:35:01]
ON SLIDE 16, JUST TO CLARIFY, UH, FOR ILLEGAL DUMPING, YOU HAVE 16.4 FTES AND YOU'RE, UH, LOOKING AT REALLY CUTTING THE, THE NUMBER OF DAYS TO RESOLVE THE CASES IN HALF, BETTER THAN HALF.AND THEN ILLEGAL DUMPING, YOU'RE DOUBLING THE INVESTIGATED CASES.
HOW CAN YOU EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? BECAUSE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON'S GONNA BE REALLY HAPPY TO, TO SEE THAT, BUT YEAH, I NOTICED THAT TOO.
IT'S A BIG JUMP IN A HUGE NUMBER OF CASES THAT YOU'RE GOING FROM 9,000 TO 19,000, UM, CASES INVESTIGATED.
AND CUTTING THE DAYS, UH, YOU KNOW, THE TIME IN HALF.
THAT'S WHY POINT THAT OUT TO COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON.
SO WE HAVE, UM, WE, WE HAD ABOUT FOUR CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
SO THIS, THIS NUMBER DID COME FROM OUR CODE ENFORCEMENT TEAM AND WE WILL DEFINITELY, UH, COME BACK AND GET YOU GUYS GONNA HOLD THEM TO IT
BUT THEY HAVE INCREASED, UH, FROM WHAT WE HAD BEFORE, UM, YOU KNOW, IN ADDITION, UH, INVESTIGATIONS AND CITATIONS.
UM, ALL A PART OF THAT, THAT NUMBER.
UM, SO LET ME MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT MIXING THE INVESTIGATIONS WITH THE CITATIONS, UM, OR IF IT'S ADDED, OR IN OTHER WORDS, IF IT'S, YEAH.
'CAUSE YOU GOTTA COME BACK NEXT YEAR WITH THE 19,000
'CAUSE MY MOUTH IS FULL OF SNACKS.
STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS'S OFFICE.
THANK, UM, DO YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE ANY UPDATE ON THE CONTRACTS FOR DEBRIS PICKUP FROM HURRICANE BARREL? I'M SORRY, I CAN'T HEAR YOU.
DO YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE ANY UPDATES ON THE CONTRACTS FOR DEBRIS PICKUP FROM HURRICANE BARREL? OH, I HAVE.
UM, WE, I HAD A MEETING THIS MORNING, UH, TO DISCUSS THE CONTRACTS FOR HURRICANE BEAR.
SO I, I WILL, I'LL GET BACK WITH YOU WITH AN UPDATE ON THE CONTRACTS AND WITH THE REDUCTION IN STAFF WITH HURRICANE SEASON APPROACHING.
DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS ON YOUR PLAN FOR, UH, DEBRIS PICKUP AND RAPID RESPONSE? YES, MA'AM.
UH, WORKING WITH PUBLIC WORKS FOR THE LAST 11 YEARS, WE'RE ALWAYS, UH, STAFFED AND PREPARED FOR HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS.
WE ACTUALLY HAD OUR FIRST HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS MEETING TWO WEEKS AGO, SO WE'RE STARTING TO MEET EVERY MONDAY NOW AND RAMPING UP WITH THE, UH, AMOUNT OF STAFF THAT WE'RE GONNA NEED, STAGING AREAS AND CONTRACTORS THAT WE NEED, DON'T STANDBY FOR, FOR, FOR ANY EMERGENCY PURPOSES.
SO WE'RE ACTUALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS RIGHT NOW.
AND, UM, GOING BACK TO THE REDUCTION IN QUADRANTS, THE CONSOLIDATION OF YES MA'AM.
QUADRANTS, WHEN CAN RESIDENTS ANTICIPATE TO SEE CHANGES? OH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
I HOPE IT IS AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT, BUT I ASK THE RESIDENTS AND CITIZENS TO BE PATIENT WITH ME.
UH, I GOT US ON A SIX MONTH PLAN RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IT IS GONNA BE SOME BUGS AND KINKS ALONG THE WAY BECAUSE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THE CITY HAS EVER DONE THIS.
SO THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT'S THE CITY HAS NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
UH, I'M PRETTY CONFIDENT IN THE LOGISTICS AND HOW WE OPERATE THAT WE STILL, WE SHOULD SEE AN IMPACT WITHIN THE FIRST FIVE TO SIX MONTHS.
COLLEAGUES, I LEARNED THAT WE OWED THE SUCCESS OF THE POTHOLE LOGISTICS PROBLEM TO THIS GENTLEMAN RIGHT HERE.
I HAVE CONFIDENCE COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN.
UH, DO WE RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDING OR GRANTS FOR ANY PROGRAMS OR EMPLOYEE FUNDING? CAN YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION? YEAH.
DO WE RECEIVE ANY FEDERAL DOLLARS OR GRANTS FOR OPERATIONS PROGRAMS OR TO FUND EMPLOYEES IN THAT DEPARTMENT? NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE.
WE THAT ONLY, THE ONLY ONE RIGHT NOW THAT WE HAVE IS THE MULTI-FAMILY RECYCLING.
AND THAT, BUT THAT'S GRANT, CORRECT? CORRECT.
WE HAVE THAT NONE OF IT IS FOR EMPLOYEES, UM, OR, OR, YOU KNOW, OPERATIONS.
UM, HOWEVER WE DO, UH, SEEK, DO, LET ME ASK IT THIS WAY.
DO WE SEEK REIMBURSEMENT THOUGH FOR COSTS? AGAIN, WE TALKED ABOUT SOLID WASTE BEING FRONTLINE AND NATURAL DISASTERS IN THE HEAVY UPFRONT EXPENDITURE THAT IS INCURRED WHEN WE ARE RESPONDING TO DISASTERS, INCLUDING DEBRIS REMOVAL, THINGS OF THAT NATURE, BUT ALSO THE USE OF OUR TRUCKS FOR OTHER NEEDS.
DO WE SEEK REIMBURSEMENT FOR THAT? WE DO.
AND I KNOW BARRELLS BEING, UM, YOU KNOW, THE DISASTER TEAM THAT'S WITHIN FINANCE, I KNOW THEY'VE TOOK, UM, ALL OF OUR TIME SHEETS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, ALL THE LABOR THAT WENT INTO THOSE HURRICANES WAS SUBMITTED.
AND I KNOW THEY'RE REQUESTING REIMBURSEMENT.
AND SO THEY'RE CURRENTLY REQUESTING REIMBURSEMENT FOR THOSE, YOU KNOW, FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTERS.
HOWEVER, WE ARE SEEING A PATTERN WHERE, UH, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS NOT NECESSARILY RECOGNIZING OR DECLARING CERTAIN DISASTERS AS FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTERS ANYMORE.
AND THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY REIMBURSING FOR THOSE COSTS THAT ARE EXPENDED.
HAVE WE, IN THIS BUDGET ACCOUNTED
[00:40:01]
FOR THE POTENTIAL OF THOSE DISASTERS? THE COSTS THAT WE INCUR DURING THOSE DISASTERS AND THE POTENTIAL LACK OF AVAILABLE FUNDING FOR REIMBURSEMENT IS THAT, AND I, AND I WILL SAY COUNCIL MEMBER, WE DON'T HAVE IT IN THIS PARTICULAR BUDGET.IT IS A CONVERSATION THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE, UH, WITH THE DISASTER TEAM WITHIN FINANCE.
SO WE HAVE, UH, CONFIRMED BASED ON THE PAST THREE, UH, STORMS THAT WE'VE HAD, IS, UM, BASICALLY WE NEED ADDITIONAL FUNDING DURING THOSE TIME PERIODS.
SO THAT IS A PRETTY CONSISTENT CONVERSATION WITH THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
ABOUT HOW MUCH LAST YEAR OR HOW MUCH ARE WE SEEKING REIMBURSEMENT FOR, FOR THE DISASTERS WE EXPERIENCED LAST YEAR? I COULDN'T TELL YOU AN EXACT NUMBER, UM, BECAUSE IT IS HANDLED BY THE, THE DISASTER TEAM.
BUT, UM, I MEAN, IT DID INCLUDE NOT JUST LABOR, BUT OF COURSE, UM, THE CONTRACTOR, UH, YOU KNOW, COLLECTION THAT WAS, THAT WERE ALL WORKING WITH OUR FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES AT THAT TIME.
SO WE'LL SUBMIT A QUESTION, BUT IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO KNOW HOW MUCH WE RECEIVED REIMBURSEMENT.
HONESTLY, FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, BECAUSE WE'VE HAD MULTIPLE FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTERS, WE'RE ONLY GOING TO SEE MORE IN AN INCREASE OF THOSE.
BUT, UH, IF, BUT WHAT I HEAR YOU SAYING IS WE HAVE NOT ACCOUNTED FOR THAT UPFRONT COST POTENTIAL GIVEN IF WE ARE NOT REIMBURSED, UH, IN THIS FISCAL YEAR.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
AND, UH, HOW MUCH IS BUDGETED FOR EMERGENCY OR DISASTER RESPONSE BY THE DEPARTMENT? IT'S NOT BUDGETED WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENTAL.
UH, WE DO GO, UH, AND I CAN'T REMEMBER THE NAME OF THE FUND RIGHT NOW.
IT USED TO BE CALLED THE RAINY DAY FUND.
WE DO GO TO THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT AND REQUEST FUNDING FROM THEM.
SO THE, THE FUND THAT WE USUALLY SET ASIDE, THE 25 MILLION THAT'S REQUIRED.
HOWEVER, WE'RE NOT FULLY FUNDING THAT THIS YEAR.
UH, SO THAT CONTINUES TO BE A BIG CONCERN OF MINE.
UH, LASTLY, ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES TO INCREASE REVENUE AS IT RELATES TO RECYCLING? I KNOW SOMETIMES WE'RE, UH, IN THE RECYCLING MARKET, WE'RE RELIANT UPON WHAT THE MARKET ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE, BUT ARE THERE THINGS WE CAN OR ARE DOING TO IMPROVE, FOR EXAMPLE, RECYCLING RATES, UM, HIGHER PERCENTAGES OF NOT CONTAMINATED MATERIALS? ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN OUR RECYCLING PROGRAM TO GENERATE ADDITIONAL REVENUES? AT THIS POINT IN TIME? A LOT OF THAT IS PROGRAM BASED.
UH, WE DO HAVE A NEW PERSON REALLY MANAGING OUR RECYCLING TEAM AS FAR AS PROGRAMMING.
UH, BUT A LOT OF IT IS HANDLED, UH, IN OTHER WORDS, WE COLLECT, WE DELIVER A LOT OF THE SALE OF RECYCLABLE MATERIALS HANDLED BY OUR FCC CONTRACTOR.
UM, I'LL SAY ONE WAY IN WHICH WE DO PLAN TO IMPROVE, NOT JUST SERVICES, UH, NOT JUST COLLECTIONS, UM, BUT WHERE WE DO, UH, FEEL LIKE WE'LL SEE AN INCREASE IS, UH, WE ARE HOPING TO GET THIS TRANSFER STATION IN THE WEST SIDE OF THE TOWN, UM, OPEN HOPEFULLY WITHIN THE FISCAL YEAR.
AND WE DO THINK THAT THAT'LL HELP PROMOTE, UM, SOME OF THE RECYCLING THAT, THAT WE MAY NOT BE SEEING DUE TO SOME DELAYS.
WELL, AGAIN, MY APPRECIATION TO THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT FOR EVERYTHING THAT Y'ALL DO ON WHAT IS A SHOESTRING BUDGET.
UM, DIRECTOR, ARE THERE ANY PLANS TO EXPAND OR CREATE ANY NEW NEIGHBORHOOD DEPOSIT DEPOSITORIES THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS AN OPTION THAT WE'RE EXPLORING CURRENTLY? UH, LAND SPACE, OF COURSE.
WHATEVER WE CAN DO THAT IT CAN HELP THE COMMUNITY.
WE'RE DEFINITELY OPENING AND LOOKING INTO IT.
UM, ON THE MAINTENANCE EMPLOYEES, ARE THOSE CLASSIFIED AS CRITICAL EMPLOYEES THAT ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE HIRING FREEZE? UH, I WOULD'VE TO CHECK WITH HR, I AM NOT SURE.
UH, I WOULD, I WOULD SAY THEY'RE NOT.
AND THEN, UH, FINALLY, ARE Y'ALL, IS THE DEPARTMENT AT ALL UTILIZING, UM, AI TECHNOLOGY FOR ROUTE OPTIMIZATION OR YES, SIR.
WASTE GENERATION PATTERNS, BIN FILL LEVELS, ANYTHING LIKE THAT? YES, SIR.
EE EVERY, EVERY WAY IMAGINABLE.
WE WE'RE LOOKING AT EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN, HOW WE CAN IMPROVE EFFICIENCY.
WE WE'RE LOOKING AT AI, WE'RE LOOKING AT EVERY SOFTWARE THAT WE CAN GATHER TO MAKE OUR OPERATION RUN MORE EFFICIENCY.
OH, SO FOR THIS UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR, WHAT DOES THAT, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? WHAT TOOLS ARE Y'ALL GONNA BE USING? OR, OR WHAT IS THE GOAL I SHOULD SAY? YES, SIR.
UH, ACTUALLY WHEN, WHEN I CAME INTO THE JOB SIX WEEKS AGO THAT, UM, I, I NOTICED THAT WE HAD THE, THE SOFTWARE AND TOOLS TO, UH, ROUTE EFFICIENTLY.
WE HAD SAMSARA, UH, WE HAD, UH, SEVERAL TOOLS THAT WE COULD HAVE USED TO BE MORE EFFICIENT.
IT WAS JUST NOT IMPLEMENTED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT.
WE HAD SOME AREAS THAT WERE USING AND SOME THAT WERE NOT.
SO THE NUMBERS KEPT GETTING MISCONSTRUED ON HOW, HOW
[00:45:01]
EFFICIENT CAN WE CAN BE.SO BY THE IMPLEMENTATION GOING THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT, WE'LL GET A BETTER HOLD ON WHAT WE CAN PERFORM AND HOW, HOW, HOW EFFICIENT WE CAN BE.
STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKING SHIP'S OFFICE.
THANK YOU, DIRECTOR FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT SPONSORSHIP.
SO LOOKING AT WHERE WE WERE AT PREVIOUSLY, I, I GUESS FY 23, 1 56, UM, AND THE TARGET FOR, UH, FY 25 WAS 180 AND ARREST MAYBE 180 AND LOOKING AT 180 TO STAY STEADY FOR NEXT YEAR.
UM, HOW MANY SPONSORSHIPS HAVE, UH, ORS HAVE DROPPED OUT OF THAT PROGRAM? I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY DROP IN THE PROGRAM.
IF ANYTHING, SOME OF THOSE HOAS MAY ADD ANOTHER SECTION TO THE, THEIR INCREASING HOMES.
UM, THERE IS AN ANNUAL RENEWAL PROCESS.
I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY DROP IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
OF COURSE, I HAVEN'T BEEN OVER THE FINANCE GROUP IN AND UNTIL JUST A COUPLE MONTHS AGO.
SO, UM, BUT USUALLY IT'S THE OPPOSITE.
THEY'RE ADDING HOMES, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THEY DO ANOTHER BUILD OUT OF A SECTION.
SO, AND, AND THE REASON WHY I ASK THAT IS BECAUSE AS, UH, COST INCREASE FOR EVERYONE, YOU KNOW, MANY OF THESE HOAS ARE SEEING THEIR PRIVATE COLLECTORS GO UP ON WHAT THEY'RE CHARGING THE HOAS.
AND SO THEY'RE HAVING TO PAY, UH, INCREASING AMOUNTS.
AND WE'RE STARTING TO HEAR FROM A NUMBER OF THEM HOW MANY THAT THEY'RE STARTING TO CON, UH, SERIOUSLY CONSIDER, UH, GOING TO CITY SERVICES.
UH, WHICH, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE IN KINGWOOD, UH, ALMOST ALL, BUT, UM, I THINK THREE HOAS IN KINGWOOD ARE ALL ON, UM, TRUST SPONSORSHIPS.
SO IT'D BE IN A, A TREMENDOUS, UM, UM, ADDITIONAL, UH, CAPACITY ISSUES FOR, FOR SALT WASTE SERVICES.
AND, AND MUCH OF THAT REASONING IS BEHIND THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, SINCE THIS PROGRAM WAS CREATED, THAT ALLOTMENT, THE $6 PER HOUSEHOLD HASN'T BEEN INCREASED, UH, ONCE, UH, EVEN JUST, YOU KNOW, A MATTER OF A, A DOLLAR OR TWO, UM, TO ANYTHING TO KEEP THESE, UM, YOU KNOW, NEIGHBORHOODS STILL PART OF THE PROGRAM.
RATHER THAN CREATING THAT ADDITIONAL BURDEN ON YOU GUYS, UH, WHERE CAPACITY IS ALREADY AN ISSUE.
UM, AND, AND TO THAT EFFECT, DO Y'ALL KNOW HOW MUCH IT'S COSTING, UH, TODAY TO SERVICE PER HOUSEHOLD FOR SALT WASTE TO SERVICE? I, GO AHEAD.
UH, I, I DO NOT, BUT WE WILL DEFINITELY TAKE A LOOK INTO IT.
'CAUSE THAT IS SOME NUMBERS THAT WE NEED TO, TO FIND OUT.
ALRIGHT, COLLEAGUES, UM, THAT CONCLUDES THE, THE QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I DO WANNA THANK YOU VERY MUCH WITH SIX WEEKS UNDER YOUR BELT.
THIS WAS AN IMPRESSIVE PRESENTATION.
UH, I, I DID, LIKE I SAID, REALLY LIKE DIGGING INTO THE DETAILS OF IT LOOKS LIKE, UM, SOME COSTS GOING DOWN, TARGET'S GOING UP.
UH, SO, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL, UM, WE'RE EAGERLY ANTICIPATING THESE IMPROVEMENTS AND I WANNA THANK YOU PERSONALLY BECAUSE HE IS WILLING TO WORK ON SOME NEIGHBORHOOD DROP OFFS AND PRIVATE INDUSTRY ON SOME COMPOSTING DROP.
SPEAKING OF DIVERTING FROM THE LANDFILL, WE DO HAVE A FEW PUBLIC SPEAKERS WHO HAVE JOINED US TODAY.
SO IF YOU GUYS WILL STEP ASIDE, I'LL CALL THEM UP FIRST.
OH, AND COLLEAGUES, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIE DAVIS SURPRISED US WITH CHICK-FIL-A IN THE BACK FOR ANYONE WHO IS HUNGRY.
AND COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ OFFERED TO BUY IT.
I FEEL BAD, BUT THEN I OFFERING, SO HE'S GONNA BRING SOMETHING ON BUDGET AMENDMENT DAY.
COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO AS WELL.
UM, I, I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD BE IN THE LEGISLATURE IF I'M ON FOR, AGAINST A BILL.
JUST, UH, UH, HERE ON THE BUDGET, UH, I WORK ON BEHALF OF ENVIRONMENT TEXAS.
AND, UH, WHEN MAYOR WHITMEYER WAS INAUGURATED, UH, OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UH, LUKE METZGER WROTE A, UH, UH, AN OP-ED I KNOW THAT'S BEEN CIRCULATED, UH, TO, TO MEMBERS' OFFICES A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT TIMES ON INITIATIVES THAT WE HAVE.
ONE OF THE KEY POINTS THAT LUKE BRINGS UP IN THAT OP-ED IS THAT THE NATIONAL AVERAGE FOR, UH, UH, DIVERSION RATE OF RECYCLABLE MATERIALS IS 34.7%.
THE GOAL FOR FY 26 THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY STEEL IS 18 NOW.
MY MOM WAS A SPECIAL ED TEACHER IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
SO THEY HAD A SAYING THAT SO MANY THAT HAD BEEN ASKED TO DO SO MUCH FOR SO LONG WITH SO LITTLE NOW FELT ENTITLED TO DO ANYTHING WITH ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
IT IS UNFAIR FOR US TO ASK OUR SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT TO BE ABLE TO
[00:50:01]
RAISE THAT NUMBER WITHOUT GIVING THEM THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED TO DO IT.SO, UH, ENVIRONMENT TEXAS HAS BEEN A STRONG SUPPORTER AS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ HAS REPEATEDLY, UH, BROUGHT UP ON BEING ABLE TO GET THEM THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED THAT EVERY OTHER MAJOR CITY IN TEXAS HAS, UH, WITH A, WITH A SOLID WASTE FEE.
UM, I JUST THINK THAT IT, IT MAKES SENSE IF WE'RE GONNA EXPECT A SERVICE AND WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE.
IF WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT OUR GOALS AND OUR CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, UH, WE'VE GOTTA BE ABLE TO PUT OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTH IS ON IT, AND N NOT GIVING OUR SOLID WASTE, UH, TEAM THE TOOLS THAT THEY NEED TO ACCOMPLISH THIS.
THE BIGGER PART, AND LUKE BRINGS IT UP, IT'S ONE THING FOR ENVIRONMENT TEXAS TO SAY YOU NEED TO RECYCLE.
BUT I THINK THE QUESTIONS WITH REGARDS TO LANDFILLS WERE PARTICULARLY CONCERNING BECAUSE IF WE ARE NOT DIVERTING THAT MATERIAL, IT IS GOING IN THE LANDFILL.
AND THAT IS A TICKING TIME BOMB.
IF WE RUN OUTTA SPACE IN THAT, THAT IS GOING TO BE AN EXCEPTIONAL COST TO NOT ONLY JUST CITY GOVERNMENT, BUT OVERALL EFFICIENCY FOR OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
IT, IT REALLY HAS A LOT OF CONSEQUENCES.
SO, UM, I JUST WANTED TO, UH, UH, BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT POINT.
UH, I APPRECIATE THE, UH, NEW DIRECTOR, UH, AND MY FRIENDS IN SOLID WASTE.
I DO NOT WANNA LEAVE WITHOUT COMPLIMENTING, UH, OUR SOLID WASTE TASK FORCE THAT EVERYTHING THAT, THAT THE EMPLOYEES DO.
I, I, I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER CA AND BROUGHT IT UP WHEN FEMA COMES IN, WHEN WE'VE HAD A FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTER CATEGORY, A FUNDING IS ON DEBRIS REMOVAL.
IT IS THE FIRST THING THAT OUR NATIONAL GOVERNMENT SAYS WHEN YOU HAVE AN EMERGENCY THAT WE NEED TO TAKE CARE OF.
UM, HAVING SEVEN FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTERS IN THE EIGHT YEARS UNDER MAYOR TURNER, WE KNOW HOW IMPORTANT OUR SOLID WASTE FRIENDS ARE AND HOW MANY MORE MILES THOSE VEHICLES HAVE.
COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ, TO YOUR POINT ON ORDERING MORE VEHICLES BETWEEN HARVEY, YURI ALONE, HOW MANY MORE MILES DID WE PUT ON OUR SOLID WASTE VEHICLES THAT WE WEREN'T ANTICIPATING, UH, GIVEN THE, UH, SIZE AND SCALE OF THOSE DISASTERS WITH IT? SO, UH, JUST WANTED TO, UH, POINT THAT OUT TO MEMBERS.
IT'S SLIDE 13 WHERE WE LOOK AT THAT PERCENTAGE OF RECYCLABLE WASTE DIVERTED, UH, CURRENT, I THINK IT WAS AT 19, UH, DOWN NOW, UH, TO 15 WITH IT.
SO REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO LOOK AT SOLUTIONS AROUND THAT.
YES, VERY THANK YOU VERY MUCH, BILL, FOR YOUR ADVOCACY.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS YOU.
YOU SAID, AND I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING ENVIRONMENT TEXAS DOES.
I APPRECIATE YOU LAYING OUT SOME OF, SOME OF THE BIGGER ISSUES THAT WE AS A CITY NEED TO GRAPPLE WITH THAT DO HAVE AN IMPACT ON OUR, ON OUR BOTTOM LINE, ALTHOUGH WE DON'T TRADITIONALLY THINK OF IT THAT WAY.
YOU SAID WE HOPE TO, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL WILL TAKE UP SOLUTIONS TO INCREASE THAT NUMBER.
I'M ASKING Y'ALL, WHAT ARE SOME OF THOSE SOLUTIONS THAT YOU RECOMMEND? UM, IN THAT SAME OP-ED, LUKE, LUKE LISTED OUT, UH, SOLID WASTE FEE OPTIONS THAT HAVE COME FROM SEVERAL DIFFERENT CITIES IN TEXAS.
UH, ONE OF THE EXAMPLES HE USES IS THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, UH, HAS, UH, A SOLID WASTE FEE THAT VARIES ON THE AMOUNT OF THE SIZE OF THE CONTAINER.
SO THEY HAVE ONE THAT'S LIKE 96 GALLONS, ONE THAT'S 60 SOMETHING, AND THEN YOU CHARGE A DIFFERENT FEE WITH IT.
UM, I, I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS, UH, THAT, THAT ARE OUT THERE.
IT, IT IS INTERESTING TO TALK WITH MY COLLEAGUES, YOU KNOW, AS A DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UH, SOLID WASTE PROGRAMS WITHIN MUNICIPALITIES, WE ARE THE ONLY ONES THAT DON'T HAVE HAVE THAT EXTRA REVENUE.
THERE'S, THERE'S A MYRIAD OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO BE ABLE TO TRY AND ADDRESS IT.
UH, BUT ALL OF THEM INVOLVE MONEY.
AND RIGHT NOW THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS BEEN PROVIDING THE SERVICE WITHOUT CHARGING A FEE THAT IS TRULY UNIQUE AMONG CITIES IN TEXAS.
SO, UM, WHETHER THAT'S, UH, A SAN ANTONIO SIZE BASED PROGRAM OR, UM, UH, OTHER CITIES, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HAPPY TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION.
UH, OUR GOAL ON THE SUSTAINABILITY SIDE IS TO INCREASE THAT RECYCLING MATERIALS DIVERSION.
I THINK THAT'S A VERY GOOD POLICY FOR THE CITY IN A NUMBER OF AREAS.
UM, AND I WOULD BE REMISS TO SAY WE SHOULD NOT ALSO INCLUDE COMPOSTING.
'CAUSE I WANNA BE ON THE GOOD SIDE OF COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN ON THAT AND LOOKING AT HOW THOSE COMPOSTING PROGRAMS CAN REDUCE EMISSIONS AT OUR LANDFILL.
UH, AND, AND HAPPY TO PROVIDE SOME MORE INFORMATION THAT OUR GROUP HAS RESEARCHED ON THAT.
SO, UH, IT, IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
AND AGAIN, I WANNA MAKE SURE I THANK THE FOLKS AT SOLID WASTE FOR ALL THE WORK THEY DO.
THOSE FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES ARE REALLY EXCEPTIONAL FOLKS.
I ALWAYS TRY AND WAVE TO 'EM EVERY TIME I SEE 'EM IN OUR NARROW STREETS AND FIRST WARD ON BEING ABLE TO NAVIGATE AROUND.
NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM JACK VALINSKY HOUSTON, WE GOT A PROBLEM, AND YOU'VE KNOWN THIS FOR YEARS AND YEARS.
WE HAVE TO HAVE A FEE, AND I WOULD SAY IT'S $50 PER HOUSEHOLD PER MONTH IS WHAT IT COSTS TO PICK UP TRASH.
I'M NOT AN EXPERT ON IT, BUT I KNOW WE USED TO HAVE PRIVATE SERVICE
[00:55:01]
BEFORE THE CITY TOOK IT OVER.AND THAT WAS WITHOUT RECYCLING, WE LOOKED INTO ACTUALLY DOING RECYCLING WITH A PRIVATE VENDOR, IT WOULD'VE COST MORE.
ONE OF THE THINGS YOU DIDN'T TALK ABOUT IS THE FACT THAT SOLID WASTE, NOT 3 1 1 SOLID WASTE ROUTINELY CLOSES OUT 3 1 1 REQUEST BEFORE ANYTHING IS EVEN DONE.
AND IN FACT, WE WERE TOLD WHEN I WAS WORKING FOR THE CITY, NOT EVEN TO PUT IT INTO 3 1 1 AT TIMES BECAUSE IT WAS JUST NOT ADDRESSED.
YOU KNOW, AND I DON'T WANNA FAULT ANY OF THE DRIVERS AND PERHAPS THIS WAS A BRAND NEW DRIVER OR DIDN'T KNOW THE ROUTER WHAT, BUT I WAS BEHIND ONE GOING BACK INTO MY DRIVEWAY AS THEY MISSED A CAN GOT OUT, MOVED IT, MISSED THE NEXT CAN GOT OUT AND MOVED IT.
I THINK THIS WAS JUST AN ISOLATED INCIDENT.
AND AS IN MANY NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE THE CANS CAN'T BE THREE FEET APART, THEY HAVE TO BE CLOSE BECAUSE THERE JUST ISN'T ROOM.
BUT WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB.
WE CAN'T KEEP PUTTING THIS OFF.
WE CAN'T KEEP KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD.
AND JUST AS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT OUR, OUR FACILITIES HERE THAT IF WE DON'T DO NOW SOMETHING PROBLEM WITH $750 MILLION IN FIVE YEARS, IT'S GONNA BE $1.5 BILLION.
YOU ARE THE LEADERS OF THIS CITY, PLEASE.
WE'VE GOT TO START FUNDING OTHER THAN POLICE AND FIRE IN OUR SERVICES TO THE CITY.
NEXT, WE'LL HEAR FROM DOUG SMITH.
I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THE, UH, ERNST AND YOUNG STUDY LOOKED AT RECYCLING OR NOT AND WHAT THE ECONOMICS WERE OF THAT PROGRAM, UH, BECAUSE I HAVE NOT REVIEWED THE REPORT, BUT I DEFINITELY THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT RECYCLING AND WE NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT'S COSTING US.
BECAUSE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE BUDGET PAGE, UH, PAGE 80 OF SECTION FOUR, UH, IT SHOWS, UH, FULL-TIME EQUIVALENCE OF THREE PEOPLE.
WELL, THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE DRIVERS FOR THE RECYCLING TRUCKS.
IT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE EQUIPMENT.
WELL, AND THE OTHER THING TOO, IN THE, UH, MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT LAST MONTH, IT SHOWED REVENUE FROM THE RECYCLING PROGRAM WAS $197,000, $197,000 YEAR TO DATE.
AND I TALKED TO SOMEBODY ABOUT THAT AND I THINK THAT'S THE TRUE REVENUE, UH, THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM OUR RECYCLING PROGRAM.
AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, WE NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING ON.
UH, I WOULD SAY PROBABLY, UH, IF YOU ALLOCATED FULLY BURDEN THE RECYCLING PROGRAM WITH THE DRIVERS, THE TRUCKS, THE GAS AND EVERYTHING ELSE, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A PROGRAM THAT'S COSTING US $10 MILLION AT LEAST.
AND THAT DOES NOT SHOW IN THESE BUDGETS.
AND I THINK THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT, UH, BEFORE YOU MAKE ANY DECISIONS.
COUPLE OF THINGS THAT THEY TALKED ABOUT TODAY IN THIS MEETING THAT I WAS REALLY GLAD TO HEAR.
AND HE SAID THAT THEY WERE THINKING ABOUT POSSIBLY DOING AN ON DEMAND COLLECTION FOR THAT.
AND I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD THERE ARE PROBABLY MAYBE 5% OF THE HOUSES THAT HAVE YARD WASTE.
AND IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE TO HAVE THE TRUCKS DRIVE ALL OVER THE CITY FOR 5% OF THE YARD WASTE THAT WAS THERE.
AND UH, SECONDLY, THEY TALKED ABOUT A TRANSFER STATION, UH, ON THE WEST SIDE FOR RECYCLING.
UH, THAT WAS REALLY GREAT NEWS, UH, TO HEAR BECAUSE AS YOU ALL KNOW, THE CURRENT RECYCLING STATION IS ROUGHLY HALFWAY TO BEAUMONT
SO THOSE ARE TWO GOOD THINGS, BUT I THINK YOU NEED TO SEE HOW MUCH THIS PROGRAM IS REALLY COSTING YOU.
AND I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT THE RELATIONSHIP IS WITH THE RECYCLER, UH, THAT RUNS THE PROGRAM.
UH, ARE WE COMMITTED TO ANYTHING WITH THEM? UH, DO WE HAVE A LONG-TERM CONTRACT? DO WE HAVE ANY, UH, MEASUREMENTS OF WHAT WE EXPECT THEM TO DO, WHAT THEY EXPECT US TO DO? AND I HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THAT, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT.
AND THOSE ARE THE COMMENTS THAT I HAVE ON RECYCLING.
I THINK A LOT OF WORK HAS TO BE DONE BEFORE IT'S FINALIZED.
I DID PULL UP THE, THE REVENUES IN RECYCLING AND, AND THEY'RE PROJECTING ABOUT $105,000 AND THE SALE OF RECYCLABLE MATERIALS.
THERE'S SOMETHING THAT I'VE ASKED ABOUT IN WRITING CALLED MISCELLANEOUS REVENUE THAT THEY EXPECT
[01:00:01]
AT $830,000.UM, THE GENERAL FUND TRANSFERS IN ABOUT 3.8 MILLION.
INTO THE REV, UH, RECYCLING REVENUE FUND.
BUT THERE'S, AND THEN THERE'S SOME OTHER CATEGORIES AS WELL.
BUT, WE'LL, UM, I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS AND REALLY, REALLY NICE TO SEE YOU.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE DOUG DURING THE BUDGET SEASON AND HOPE TO SEE YOU THIS AFTERNOON.
UH, YEAH, I THINK I SHOULD BE HERE.
UM, COLLEAGUES, THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND GREAT QUESTIONS TODAY.
AND WE'LL SEE YOU BACK HERE AT ONE 30, OR UNLESS YOU WANNA STAY AND THERE'S LUNCH IN THE BACK.