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[FY 2026 Budget Workshop: Fleet Management on May 16, 2025.]
AND WELCOME BACK.WE ARE HERE FOR THE FLEET MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET WORKSHOP.
I BELIEVE ALL THE SAME COLLEAGUES ARE AROUND THE TABLE, UH, EXCEPT WE ARE WELCOMING COUNCIL MEMBER FRED FLICKINGER FROM DISTRICT E TO THIS WORKSHOP.
AND I WANT TO WELCOME FLEET DIRECTOR GARY GLASSCOCK AND RAY CRUZ.
UM, RAYS, OF COURSE WITH THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
AND WITH THAT, I YIELD MY TIME TO YOU, DIRECTOR.
WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
AND, UH, JUST FOLLOWING UP WITH A LITTLE BIT ON RAY.
RAY DOES AN INCREDIBLE JOB FOR OUR DEPARTMENT.
AND, UH, TOGETHER WE'RE GOING TO BE PRESENTING THE DEPARTMENT'S PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026.
IN TODAY'S PRESENTATION, WE'RE GONNA PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE DEPARTMENT'S ALIGNMENT WITH CITY'S STRATEGIC PRIORITIES.
WE'LL PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF SOME OF OUR COST CUTTING INITIATIVES AND DEPARTMENT REORGANIZATION PLANS, AND WE'LL LAY OUT THE PLANNED EXPENSES AND REVENUES OF EACH OF OUR EIGHT DEPARTMENT PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
RELATIVE TO THE CITY'S FOUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, FLEET MANAGEMENT IS PRIMARILY ALIGNED WITH THE CITY'S INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY WE PROVIDE FOR THE FLEET ASSETS AND THE MOTOR FUEL USED BY ALL CITY DEPARTMENTS.
WE DO, HOWEVER, TOUCH ON EACH OF THE OTHER PRIORITIES FOR THE GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS STRATEGY, WE STRIVE TO BE AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY.
WE SERVICE ALL EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND PUBLIC HEALTH VEHICLES.
AND FOR QUALITY OF LIFE, WE SUPPORT SOLID WASTE HEALTH PARTS DEPARTMENTS, AS WELL AS THE HOUSTON FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER AND HOUSTON FIRST.
PLANS TO ELIMINATE THE GAP FOR FISCAL YEAR 26.
WE'RE PURSUING COST CUTTING INITIATIVES THAT ARE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE A SAVINGS OF $7.6 MILLION.
3.4 MILLION OF THESE SAVINGS WILL BE ACHIEVED THROUGH LABOR REDUCTIONS.
THE BALANCE WILL COME FROM CUTS IN FUEL PARTS AND OVERTIME COSTS.
AT THE TOP OF THIS SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE THAT 44 FLEET EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATED IN THE VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT PROGRAM.
18 EMPLOYEES IN NONCRITICAL POSITIONS ACCEPTED THE OFFER PRIOR TO A APRIL 20TH.
THAT NUMBER SUBSEQUENTLY INCREASED TO 23.
THE BOTTOM DT UH, PROGRAM, EXCUSE ME, THE BOTTOM TABLE DETAILS PROGRAM IMPACTS ON DEPARTMENT POSITIONS.
OUR MECHANICS AND SERVICE RIDERS HIGHLIGHTED IN THE RED FONT ARE CONSIDERED CRITICAL AND ARE ELIGIBLE FOR BACKFILL.
THE BIGGEST IMPACT TO THE DEPARTMENT OR THE DEPARTURE OF THE 22 MECHANICS.
WE HAD A MECHANIC VACANCY RATE OF 15% PRIOR TO THE PROGRAM.
SO THE MAGNITUDE OF THE SHORTAGE HAS INCREASED.
WE PLAN TO MITIGATE THE ISSUE BY SENDING MORE WORK TO VENDORS AS WE WORK TO FILL VACANCIES.
OUR DEPARTMENT RESTRUCTURING PROCESS IS UNDERWAY.
WE'RE MERGING PROGRAMS, RECLASSIFYING POSITIONS, AND INCREASING THE SPAN OF CONTROL FROM FIVE AND THREE QUARTERS TO 16.8.
THE LAYERS OF MANAGEMENT FOR OUR BUSINESS SUPPORT GROUP WILL BE FIVE WHILE OUR OPERATIONS GROUP, WHICH IS, UH, ALMOST 80% OF OUR DEPARTMENT, WILL HAVE FOUR LAYERS.
MOVING TO EXPENDITURES IN THE TOTALS ROW OF THE TABLE, YOU'LL SEE THAT A FISCAL YEAR 26 BUDGET ESTIMATE OF $109.9 MILLION IS 1.9 MILLION LESS THAN CURRENT YEAR ESTIMATE.
THIS BUDGET WILL PROVIDE FOR ALL THE LABOR, SUPPLIES, SERVICES, AND FUEL NECESSARY TO OPERATE THE CITY FLEET.
THIS TABLE PROVIDES A BUDGET, HISTORY AND PROPOSED SPENDING PLAN FOR EACH OF OUR EIGHT PROGRAMS. THE THREE PROGRAMS LISTED AT THE TOP OF THE TABLE, FLEET OPERATIONS, FUEL MANAGEMENT, AND OUTSIDE SERVICES ACCOUNT FOR 88% OF OUR TOTAL BUDGET.
HERE'S A BREAKDOWN OF OUR EXPENSES BY CATEGORY.
THE PIE GRAPH ON THE LEFT SHOWS THAT WE PLAN TO SPEND 31% OF OUR BUDGET ON LABOR, WHILE 69% WILL BE SPENT ON SERVICES AND SUPPLIES.
THE PIE GRAPH ON THE RIGHT IS A BREAKOUT OF OUR NON-PERSONNEL EXPENSES.
WE'RE ALLOCATING $28 MILLION TO FUEL $26 MILLION FOR
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PARTS AND TIRES, AND $12 MILLION FOR OUTSIDE REPAIR SERVICES.THE BALANCE OF THE NON-PERSONNEL BUDGET WILL COVER OFFICE SUPPLIES, EMPLOYEE UNIFORMS, AND OUR RESTRICTED ACCOUNTS, WHICH ARE DETAILED IN THE TABLE AT THE BOTTOM LEFT OF THE SLIDE.
MOVING TO REVENUE, OUR REVENUES COME FROM CLIENT DEPARTMENTS AND ARE ALWAYS EQUAL TO OUR EXPENSES.
FROM THIS TABLE, YOU'LL SEE THAT ONLY THE FLEET OPERATIONS, FUEL MANAGEMENT, AND FLEET SHARE PROGRAMS GENERATE REVENUE.
THE THESE THREE PROGRAMS COVER THE EXPENSES OF THE FIVE OTHER FLEET PROGRAMS LISTED IN THE TABLE.
HERE'S A BAR GRAPH DETAILING OUR REVENUE SOURCES.
GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENTS PROVIDE 75% OF OUR REVENUE, WHILE 22% COMES FROM ENTERPRISE FUNDS, PRIMARILY PUBLIC WORKS AND THE AIRPORT SYSTEM.
THE REMAINING 3% INCLUDES GRANTS AND SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS.
MOVING TO PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS, FLEET OPERATIONS INCLUDES THE MECHANICS, SERVICE RIDERS AND SUPERVISORS.
IN EACH OF OUR 24 GARAGES, WE SERVICE MORE THAN 13,300 VEHICLES IN EQUIPMENT, UNITS.
LABOR, SPARE PARTS, ALONG WITH MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES ARE THE PRIMARY EXPENSES FOR THE PROGRAM.
THE PROPOSED BUDGET IS 6% LESS THAN CURRENT YEAR.
THIS REDUCTION IS BEING ACHIEVED WITH COST CUTS FOR LABOR AND PARTS.
THE FUEL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INVENTORY AND DISTRIBUTION OF AUTOMOTIVE FUELS.
WE OPERATE 67 FUEL STATIONS AND OVERSEE THE CITY'S FUEL CARD PROGRAM.
WE ALSO SUPPLY FUEL FOR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS.
THE BIG EXPENSE ITEMS FOR FUEL MANAGEMENT ARE THE COST OF THE FUELS AND THE COST OF FUEL TRANSPORTATION.
WE USE BOTH IN-HOUSE STAFF AND CONTRACTORS FOR STATION MAINTENANCE AND FUEL DELIVERY.
THE 3.1%, UH, VARIANCE AND EXPENSES.
IT'S BASED ON DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY PROJECTIONS FOR FUEL COSTS, AND A REDUCTION IN LABOR.
THE OUTSIDE SERVICES PROGRAM OVERSEES THE PROCESSING OF CONTRACTED VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT REPAIR WORK.
THE 2.6% COST INCREASE FROM CURRENT YEAR COMES FROM MORE WORK BEING SENT TO CONTRACTORS AND HIGHER CONTRACTOR PRICES.
FOR FY 26, WE'RE LOOKING TO CONTRACT APPROXIMATELY 20% OF OUR WORK BASED ON EXPENSES.
THE EXECUTIVE OVERSIGHT UH, PROGRAM PROVIDES A STRATEGIC PLANNING PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND GOAL SETTING FOR THE DEPARTMENT.
THE PROGRAM'S BUDGET COVERS LABOR AND INTERFUND CHARGES TO FLEET MANAGEMENT BY OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS HUMAN RESOURCES.
EXPECT EXPENSES FOR FISCAL YEAR 26 ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE BY $371,000 DUE TO HIGHER INTER FUND CHARGES AND A VACANCY THAT WAS FILLED EARLIER THIS FISCAL YEAR.
OUR PARTS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM HANDLES THE PURCHASE INVENTORY AND DISTRIBUTION OF SPARE PARTS.
THE 7% BUDGET VARIANCE FROM CURRENT YEAR IS DRIVEN BY REDUCTIONS IN LABOR COSTS.
OUR BUSINESS SUPPORT PROGRAM HAS A WIDE RANGE OF RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDED OUR OVERSIGHT OF OUR DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING SYSTEM, ADMINISTRATION OF OUR SERVICE AND SUPPLY CONTRACTS, CAPITAL PLANNING AND PURCHASING, AND THE PROCESSING OF VEHICLE ONBOARDING, REGISTRATION AND DISPOSAL.
THE PROGRAM'S PRIMARY EXPENSES ARE LABOR SOFTWARE AND GPS SERVICES.
THE BUDGET FOR THE PROGRAM IS ALMOST 27% MORE THAN CURRENT YEAR DUE TO MERGERS WITH OTHER PROGRAMS AND GPS EXPENSES.
ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS WILL BE PICKED UP BY THE BUSINESS SUPPORT GROUP AS WE WORK THROUGH OUR RESTRUCTURE AND ELIMINATE OTHER DEPARTMENT PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THE HUMAN CAPITAL PROGRAM OVERSEES OUR RECRUITING AND RETENTION TECHNICAL TRAINING, QUALITY ASSURANCE, AND POLICY AND PROCEDURE ADMINISTRATION.
THE PRIMARY EXPENSES OF THE PROGRAM ARE LABOR AND CONTRACTED TRAINING.
THE 16% DECREASE IN EXPENSES COMES FROM STAFF REDUCTIONS.
OUR PLAN IS TO MERGE THIS PROGRAM WITH THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED BUSINESS SUPPORT GROUP TO ACHIEVE A COST SAVINGS.
AND THEN FINALLY, OUR FLEET SHARE PROGRAM MANAGES THE CITY MOTOR POOL.
POOL VEHICLES ARE AVAILABLE TO ALL CITY DEPARTMENTS WITH A RESERVATION SYSTEM.
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LABOR VEHICLE MAINTENANCE AND RESERVATION SOFTWARE, A DEMAND DRIVEN INCREASE, AND THE NUMBER OF POOL VEHICLES IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE 6.6% VARIANCE IN COST WITH MORE VEHICLES COMES ADDITIONAL COST FOR MAINTENANCE RESERVATION, SOFT FLOOR AND PARKING.AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION.
WE'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS.
UM, GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER QUESTIONS.
UH, AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, SOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE LOST A LOT OF MECHANICS IN THE RETIREMENT AND, UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT WE WERE GONNA COMPENSATE FOR THAT AS WE'RE GONNA SEND MORE WORK OUT YES.
TO, UM, THIRD PARTY VENDORS WHEN NECESSARY.
SO HOW DOES THAT, UH, CONTRACTING WORK? DO WE DO JOB ORDER CONTRACTS? DO WE ALREADY HAVE THEM ESTABLISHED? CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? SO WE'VE GOT, UH, ROUGHLY 51 SERVICE CONTRACTS IN PLACE.
AND, UH, THE CONTRACTS ARE REALLY DEPENDENT ON THE TYPE OF VEHICLES THAT ARE BEING SERVICED.
SO WE USE OUR OWN INTERNAL RATE AGAINST THE HOURLY RATES THAT ARE BILLED BY E EACH CONTRACTOR.
AND WE USE THAT AS A GUIDE TO DETERMINE WHAT GETS SENT OUT AND WHAT GETS PERFORMED IN-HOUSE.
IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, OUR CAPACITY FOR IN-HOUSE WORK IS BEING DIMINISHED SOMEWHAT.
SO AT LEAST ON A TEMPORARY BASIS, WE'LL BE LOOKING TO SEND MORE VEHICLES OUT.
AND THESE ARE, UH, MULTI-YEAR CONTRACTS THAT ARE TYPICALLY AWARDED AS THREE YEAR WITH TWO YEAR EXTENSIONS, UH, IN MOST CASES.
AND AGAIN, REALLY KIND OF DEPENDENT ON THE, UH, TYPE OF VEHICLE THAT, UH, THAT REQUIRES A SERVICE AS TO WHAT DEALER THE VEHICLE GETS SENT TO.
YOU MENTIONED ALSO THAT, UH, YOU'RE ABLE TO CHARGE THE ENTERPRISE FUND AIRPORT SYSTEM PUBLIC WORKS WHEN YOU WORK ON THOSE VEHICLES.
HOW, HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT TO CHARGE THEM? SO THAT'S BASED ON OUR WORK ORDER SYSTEM.
SO WE CHARGE THEM FOR THE HOURS THAT, UH, ARE CONSUMED WORKING ON THEIR SPECIFIC VEHICLES AS WELL AS THE SUPPLIES THAT ARE USED, REPLACEMENT PARTS.
AND WE ALSO CHARGE THEM FOR THE FUEL THEY CONSUME IN OPERATING THEIR VEHICLES.
AND DOES IT, IS IT COMPARABLE TO WHAT, UH, THOSE ENTERPRISE FUNDS WOULD PAY, UH, AN OUTSIDE VENDOR OR NO, TYPICALLY, TYPICALLY WE'RE LOWER, BUT AGAIN, IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE TYPE OF EQUIPMENT THAT'S BEING WORKED ON.
SO WHAT WE FIND IN GENERAL IS THE HEAVY EQUIPMENT, BULLDOZERS, UH, PAVING MACHINES, THAT SORT OF THING.
UH, THOSE PARTICULAR CONTRACTS TYPICALLY CHARGE MUCH MORE THAN SAY, A LIGHT DUTY, UH, VEHICLE CONTRACTOR.
AND SO, UH, WE'LL COMPARE OUR RATES, WHICH, UH, THIS CURRENT YEAR IS ABOUT A HUNDRED FULLY BURDENED, ABOUT $105 AN HOUR.
OUR CONTRACTOR RATES WILL RANGE ANYWHERE FROM RIGHT AROUND 80 TO $90 AN HOUR ON THE LOW END, ALL THE WAY UP TO, WE'VE GOT SOME, I BELIEVE THAT ARE AS HIGH AS $350 AN HOUR.
SO WHAT WOULD IT TAKE IN ORDER FOR YOU TO CHARGE THEM RATES THAT WOULD BE MORE COMPARABLE TO WHAT THEY PAY, UH, IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR? SO IF WE CHARGE THEM WHAT'S COMPARABLE TO WHAT'S PAID IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, THEY'D ACTUALLY BE SPENDING MORE MONEY.
SO, SO HERE'S KIND OF AN EXAMPLE.
SO OUR RATE IS LOWER THAN MOST OF OUR CONTRACTOR RATES.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'VE SEEN THE RATES INCREASING THROUGH THE YEARS.
AND, UH, AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, WE TYPICALLY GET A BETTER RATE THAN A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL WOULD GET TAKING THE SAME PIECE OF EQUIPMENT TO A DEALER.
SO WE GET, WE'VE GOT SOME LEVERAGE IN THE, UH, IN THE PURCHASING THAT, UH, THAT WE UNDERTAKE.
SO THAT GETS US A LOWER RATE FROM THE CONTRACTOR.
AND THEN, UH, MORE SPECIFIC TO YOUR QUESTION, IF WE'RE DOING IT THE WORK INTERNALLY, IT'S TYPICALLY LESS EXPENSIVE THAN SENDING IT TO A CONTRACTOR.
AND MAYBE THIS IS A QUESTION MORE FOR PROCUREMENT THAN, THAN YOU.
UH, I'VE LOOKED AT A NUMBER OF STUDIES OVER THE YEARS, UH, THAT TAKING THE TOTAL COST OF OWNING A VEHICLE, THE PURCHASE PRICE, THE MAINTENANCE, THE FUEL, THE RESIDUAL VALUE, AND CONSISTENTLY IT'S COROLLA, PRIUS, ACCORD, UH, THAT, THAT ARE THE LEAST EXPENSIVE.
YET I DON'T SEE MANY OF THOSE BEING BOUGHT, UH, WHEN WE PURCHASE VEHICLES FOR THE CITY.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT IS IN YOUR PURVIEW OR IS THAT IN PURCHASING OR AB ABSOLUTELY.
AND THERE, THERE'S A BIG REASON FOR THAT.
SO, SO OUR CAPITAL FUNDING PROGRAM HAS BEEN,
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UH, LIMITED IN, IN FUNDS AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE VEHICLES.AND SO THE DOLLARS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TYPICALLY GET DIRECTED TO OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE DEPARTMENTS AND SOLID WASTE.
SO A GOOD EXAMPLE IS THIS PAST YEAR, I BELIEVE WE HAD, UH, ROUGHLY $32 MILLION AVAILABLE FOR VEHICLE REPLACEMENTS.
AND MORE THAN 30 MILLION WENT TO POLICE CARS, FIRE TRUCKS, AND UH, AND TRASH TRUCKS.
AND SO THE LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES THAT WE DO PURCHASE ARE TYPICALLY USED BY THOSE PARTICULAR DEPARTMENTS AND ARE USUALLY APPLICATION SPECIFIC TO WHERE THEY HAVE TO BE A CERTAIN TYPE OF VEHICLE.
NOW, WHENEVER WE'RE, UH, PURCHASING ADMIN VEHICLES OR VEHICLES THAT ARE NON-EMERGENCY, UH, WE STRIVE TO PURCHASE ELECTRIC VEHICLES OR HYBRID VEHICLES.
WE'VE PURCHASED A LOT OF, UH, TOYOTAS OVER THE PAST, UH, YEAR AND A HALF.
MANY OF THOSE ARE THE HYBRID CAMRYS, HYBRID RAV FOURS, SO THAT WE CAN ACHIEVE, UH, FOR ONE A FUEL SAVINGS.
AND THEN WE ALSO LOOK AT RESIDUAL VALUE.
HOW MUCH ARE WE GOING TO GET WHEN WE DISPOSE THESE VEHICLES AFTER WE'VE OPERATED THEM 10 YEARS OR SO? SO WE LOOK AT THE COST MODELS AND UH, AND TRY TO WORK IT THE BEST WAY THAT WE CAN TO MAXIMIZE THE VALUE THAT WE RECEIVE FOR THAT CAPITAL FUNDING.
AND I OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, FOR CERTAIN NEEDS, THOSE VEHICLES CAN'T BE PURCHASED.
I, I GET THAT, BUT I THINK WE BOUGHT LARGE NUMBER OF, UH, FORD MAVERICKS RECENTLY, WHICH KIND OF SURPRISED ME.
AND TYPICALLY YOU DON'T WANNA BUY A VEHICLE THAT'S A NEW MODEL BECAUSE WHEN THEY HAVE KINKS IN IT, YOU THEY HAVEN'T HAD ANY TIME TO WORK IT OUT.
AND WE LOOKED AT THAT AND THE, THE, UH, THE THING ABOUT THE FORD MAVERICK IS IT'S BUILT ON THE FORD RANGER PLATFORM, AND THE FORD RANGER HAS BEEN AROUND FOREVER.
SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE LOOKED AT IS A FORD MAVERICK IS DELIVERED IN A HYBRID CONFIGURATION, AND, UH, I BELIEVE THAT THING GETS LIKE 50 MILES PER GALLON.
BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN EITHER ONE OF THOSE IN THE TOP VEHICLES FOR LOWEST COMPLETE COST.
WELL, IT'S A RELATIVELY NEW VEHICLE.
AND UH, UM, UM, AND AGAIN, THAT'S SOMETHING WE LOOK AT, BUT WE PICKED UP THOSE FORD MAVERICKS AT A COST OF THE INITIAL ONES $28,000.
AND SO IT'S VERY HARD TO FIND ANY NEW VEHICLE LESS THAN $35,000 THESE DAYS.
AND, UH, SO ONE THING WE LOOK AT, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, IS WE'RE VERY LIMITED IN WHAT WE CAN BUY.
AND SO WE ALSO HAVE TO LOOK AT WHERE THERE ARE VEHICLE NEEDS.
HOW CAN WE MAXIMIZE THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES THAT WE CAN GET OUT TO SATISFY THESE NEEDS.
SO PURCHASE PRICE IS A BIG CONSIDERATION IN THIS AS WELL.
YOU CAN PUT ME BACK THE, THE 13,309 VEHICLES.
AND YOU GUYS MANAGE EVERY DEPARTMENT? YES, MA'AM.
INCLUDING PUBLIC WORKS? YES, MA.
UM, KATE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN'S OFFICE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND FOR ALWAYS TAKING THE TIME TO ANSWER ALL MY AGENDA INQUIRIES.
BUILDING ON COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, UH, QUESTIONS, UM, WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT HYBRIDS, AND I UNDERSTAND A LOT OF DIFFERENT ASPECTS GO INTO WHAT VEHICLES ULTIMATELY GET CHOSEN, BUT A TARGET OF THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN IS TO CONVERT NON-EMERGENCY LIGHT DUTY MUNICIPAL FLEET TO 100% EV BY 2030.
I CAN SUBMIT THIS IN WRITING, BUT WAS HOPING TO GET AN UPDATE ON OUR PROGRESS SO FAR.
SO WE, UH, I BELIEVE AS WE SIT HERE, WE HAVE, UH, 178 BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND 772 HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
SO WE'RE NOT QUITE PROGRESSING AS QUICKLY AS WE WOULD'VE LIKED.
SO, SO RECALL THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN WAS PASSED PRIOR TO, OR RIGHT AT THE, THE, UH, INITIATION OF COVID.
AND THEN SUBSEQUENTLY WE RAN INTO ALL THE SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES AND DIDN'T GET VEHICLES FOR, FOR, FOR QUITE A WHILE.
AND THEN THE VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS KIND OF, UH, LIMITED THEIR BATTERY ELECTRIC OFFERINGS.
AND THEN WE'VE GONE THROUGH ALL THE RECALLS ON THE BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES AS WELL, WHICH HAS PRESENTED, UH, SOMEWHAT OF A ROADBLOCK.
SO WE ARE MAKING SOME PROGRESS, JUST NOT AS QUICK AS WE WOULD LIKE, UH, LIKE TO SEE IT.
AND I KNOW WE LOVE USING THE HYBRIDS AND THE FLEET SHARE, ESPECIALLY DURING THE DISASTERS.
WE DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT TRYING TO FIND GAS.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE WATCHING AS WELL.
UH, EVERYBODY KNOWS WE'VE RECENTLY EXPERIENCED, UH, A HANDFUL OF DISASTERS.
AND WHEN WE GO INTO OPERATIONS MODE, UH,
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VERY OFTEN POLICE DEPARTMENT, FIRE DEPARTMENT WILL BRING IN ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL, WHICH, WHICH REQUIRES ADDITIONAL VEHICLES.AND SO WE NEED VEHICLES THAT CAN SATISFY, UH, THOSE NEEDS.
AND WE HAVE RUN INTO SOME, SOME ISSUES WITH THE ELECTRIC VEHICLES BECAUSE OF THE CHARGING THAT'S NECESSARY TO REFUEL THEM.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE LOOKING AT AS WELL.
AND THAT'S WHY WE, WE PRETTY MUCH RESTRICT THE, THE BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES TO THE ADMIN TYPE OF VEHICLES THAT ARE, THAT ARE PURCHASED.
SO I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT, UH, POLICE CARS, UH, RIGHT NOW.
UM, I UNDERSTAND WE HAVE A CRITICAL SHORTAGE OF POLICE CARS SO THAT OUR OFFICERS HAVE TO DOUBLE UP INSTEAD OF WORKING AS SINGLE UNITS, WE COULD WORK AS SINGLE UNITS, WE'D HAVE MUCH WIDER COVERAGE, BUT I UNDERSTAND THE REASON WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH POLICE CARS IS 'CAUSE THEY AREN'T BEING MADE NATIONALLY IN GREAT NUMBERS.
UM, CAN YOU SPEAK TO THIS KIND OF ISSUE AND, AND WHAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO ABOUT IT? YES, SIR.
THAT'S, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
AN ISSUE WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH THE, UH, THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, SO, SO KIND OF TAILING ON THE, UH, SUPPLY CHAIN SHORTAGES THAT, THAT RESULTED FROM COVID, UM, VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS STARTED LIMITING ALLOCATIONS FOR PUBLIC AGENCIES.
AND SO IN OUR PARTICULAR CASE, WE WERE OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS LIMITED TO PURCHASING, I BELIEVE IT WAS 80, UH, PATROL CARS.
BUT WE MANAGED TO NEGOTIATE WITH FORD AND, UH, AND WORK TO PICK UP ALLOTMENTS THAT WERE NOT BEING USED BY OTHER MUNICIPALITIES.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET, UH, A LITTLE CLOSER TO WHERE WE WANT IT TO BE.
UM, BUT THIS, THIS IS, UH, HAS BEEN A BIG CONCERN FOR US, UH, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF THE FACT THAT, UH, CHIEF DIAZ IS INCREASING THE, UH, THE HEADCOUNT OF HIS PATROL OFFICERS.
AND SO WE'RE WORKING, UH, DESPERATELY TO, TO, UH, TO GET THOSE NUMBERS UP.
AND, AND IN FACT, WE HAD A, UH, A CRISIS THIS MORNING WHERE, UH, FORD CALLED US, UH, AND LET US KNOW THAT THEY WERE CLOSING THE ORDER PERIOD FOR THE PATROL CARS MUCH EARLIER THAN EXPECTED.
SO WE HAVE A PROCUREMENT ITEM THAT'S, UH, BEING PREPARED FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL, WHERE WE'VE PULLED AHEAD FUNDING FROM FY 26 TO TRY TO GET THE MODEL YEAR 25 PATROL CARS VERSUS WAITING TO GET MODEL YEAR 26.
THE IDEA BEHIND THAT IS THAT WE GET THE CARS, UH, AT, AT A REDUCED COST, WHICH ALLOWS US TO GET MORE CARS COMPARED TO THE 26TH MODEL, AND WE GET A MUCH SOONER, UH, DELIVERY.
AND SO FORD DROPPED THIS ON US THIS MORNING.
THE, UH, UH, AGENDA ITEM WAS SCHEDULED, UH, TWO WEEKS OUT AND AFTER THE CLOSE DATE THAT WAS GIVEN TO US.
SO, SO I WANNA, UH, UH, GIVE A BIG SHOUT OUT TO JED AND MARTA, THEIR, UH, WORKING DILIGENTLY TO GET THAT PROCUREMENT ITEM ONTO NEXT WEEK'S COUNCIL AGENDA SO THAT WE CAN MAKE THAT ORDER PERIOD AND GET THOSE, UH, PATROL UNITS, UH, ON THE WAY.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS TO, TO INCREASE THE, UH, THE SIZE OF OUR, UH, PATROL FLEET.
SO YOU MENTIONED WE'RE LIMITED TO 80, HOW MANY DO WE GO THROUGH IN A NORMAL YEAR? AND IF YOU COULD ALSO ADDRESS, WILL, WILL THE MANUFACTURERS BE PUTTING OUT MORE CARS, UH, IN, IN COMING YEARS, IF YOU KNOW? OKAY.
SO, SO THE FIRST POINT OF THAT QUESTION, WE TYPICALLY LOSE, UH, ON THE ORDER OF A HUNDRED VEHICLES A YEAR, PATROL VEHICLES, MOST OF THOSE DUE TO ACCIDENTS.
UH, WITH, WITH REGARD TO THE, UH, PRODUCTION CAPACITY OF THE MANUFACTURERS, WE HAVE SEEN THOSE ALLOTMENTS LIGHTEN UP.
AND SO THE, UH, UH, UH, NUMBERS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO, TO, TO PURCHASE ARE INCREASING.
SO THINGS ARE, THINGS ARE ACTUALLY GETTING A LITTLE BETTER FOR US.
COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, YOU SPOKE ABOUT, UH, DELIVERING FUEL YES, SIR.
CAN YOU WALK ME THROUGH THAT, HOW EXACTLY THAT WORKS? SO WE, UH, WE HAVE, UH, UH, THREE CONTRACTS, UH, UH, FUEL RELATED CONTRACTS, AND IT MAY MAY BE MORE THAN THAT NOW.
SO WE'VE GOT A CONTRACT FOR THE SUPPLY OF DIESEL AND FOR THE SUPPLY OF GASOLINE.
AND THEN WE HAVE A CONTRACT FOR TRANSPORTATION.
SO OUR TRANSPORTATION CONTRACT WILL GO TO THE RACKS OF OUR SUPPLY CONTRACTORS, PICK UP THE FUEL, AND THEN DELIVER IT TO THE DIFFERENT FUEL LOCATIONS, UH, OPERATED BY THE CITY.
WE ALSO HAVE AN IN-HOUSE TRANSPORT DRIVER THAT, UH, THAT HANDLES TRANSPORTATION AS WELL.
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OF IN-HOUSE AND OUTSOURCED, UH, UM, TRANSPORT, UH, CAPABILITIES THAT WE USE TO GET FUEL WHERE WE NEED IT.UM, THE EMPLOYEES WHO ARE ASSIGNED A VEHICLE, WHAT ARE THE RESTRICTIONS ON THOSE VEHICLES AND THE USE OF 'EM ARE, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, THEIR COMMUTE, UH, HOW FAR OUT OF THE CITY ARE THEY ALLOWED TO LIVE? AND WE STILL SUPPLY A VEHICLE.
HOW, HOW DOES THAT WORK? SO, SO JUST TO, JUST, JUST SO I'M CLEAR, ARE WE TALKING SPECIFIC TO FUEL TRANSPORT? NO, NO, NO.
IN GENERAL, SO, SO UNDER THE CURRENT POLICY AP TWO DASH TWO, THERE IS A 30 MILE RADIUS THAT, UH, UH, ANYONE THAT'S OPERATING WHAT WE TERM A TAKE HOME VEHICLE MUST LIVE WITHIN THAT 30 MILE RADIUS.
UH, IF THEY DON'T, THEN THEY HAVE TO GET, UH, SPECIAL APPROVAL FROM THEIR DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR AND THE, UH, MAYOR'S OFFICE.
DO WE HAVE ANY IDEA OF HOW MANY OF THE VEHICLES GO BEYOND THE 30 MILES FOR A COMMUTE? WE'VE GOT A FEW.
DO WE KNOW EXACT? I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S REPORTED.
UM, IT'S NOT, AND SO WE DON'T HAVE AN EXACT NUMBER OF THAT.
WE CAN QUESTION THE DEPARTMENTS TYPICALLY THAT'S HANDLED, UH, INTERNAL TO THE, UH, DEPARTMENTS IN TERMS OF THE RADIUS ITSELF.
UH, SO, SO WE CAN WORK AND, AND TAKE A LOOK TO SEE IF WE CAN GET A NUMBER FOR YOU.
DO, DO WE KNOW WHAT THE FURTHEST ONE IS? UH, WE DO NOT.
AND HOW DO WE HANDLE THAT? I MEAN, THE IRS LOOKS AS THE COMMUTE AS A PERSONAL EXPENSE.
HOW IS THAT TAKEN CARE OF? SO THERE IS A, A, UH, UM, WHAT DO WE CALL THAT? UH, PARTICULAR CHARGE THAT'S PULLED OUT.
THAT'S ASSESSED TO EACH INDIVIDUAL THAT'S OPERATING A TAKE HOME VEHICLE.
AND SO THAT, UH, THAT FIGURE IS UPDATED ANNUALLY.
IT'S BASED ON THE CAPITAL COST OF THE VEHICLE, FUEL COSTS, AND MAINTENANCE COSTS.
SO IF, IF WE'RE CAPTURING THAT, THEN OBVIOUSLY WE KNOW HOW FAR THEY'RE DRIVING THE VEHICLE, RIGHT? SO WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO CAPTURE THE INFORMATION ON, WELL, WHAT, WHAT WE GET IS A, UH, UH, ANNUALLY, UH, WE HAVE UPDATES.
AND SO THE, UH, UPDATES THAT ARE PROVIDED BY THE DRIVERS TO THEIR, TO THEIR DEPARTMENT HEADS IN THOSE UPDATES.
THERE'S A SECTION FOR, UH, WORK RELATED MILES AND NON-WORK RELATED MILES THAT ARE, THAT ARE COMPLETED BY THE, UH, BY THE EMPLOYEE.
SO IT'S ALL SELF-REPORTING? YES.
NOW, SOME OF THAT'S GOING TO CHANGE.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAD THE, UH, PROCUREMENT ITEM, I WANNA SAY A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT THE SAMSARA AND THE GPS TELEMATICS, UH, SYSTEM.
ONCE WE GET THESE TELEMATICS UNITS IN THE ENTIRE FLEET, WE'LL BE ABLE TO TELL EXACTLY WHERE EACH VEHICLE IS BEING OPERATED.
WE CAN ALSO SET UP, UH, UM, GOSH, I CAN'T THINK OF THE TERM FENCED AREAS TO WHERE IF A VEHICLE GOES OUT OF AN ALLOWED FENCED AREA, WE'LL START RECEIVING, UH, EXCEPTION REPORTS, UH, THAT SORT OF THING.
SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT'S GOING TO BE PROVIDED THROUGH THIS TELEMATICS SYSTEM THAT WILL PUT US IN A POSITION TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS, UH, WITH MUCH MORE CONFIDENCE.
I'M SEEING NO MORE QUESTIONS FROM MY COLLEAGUES, SO GREAT JOB.
THANKS FOR ALL THE GOOD WORK YOU DO.
HOW MANY, UH, YOU MIGHT HAVE COVERED THIS IN, IN RESPONSE TO A COUNCIL MEMBER, RAMIREZ, BUT HOW MANY MECHANICS DO YOU PLAN TO HIRE BACK? RIGHT NOW? I THINK IT'S, UH, WHAT IS IT, 41, 41 THAT, UH, WELL, 22 THAT TOOK THE, UH, TOOK THE, UH, UH, EARLY RETIREMENT PROGRAM.
AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT WE HAVE ANOTHER 12 VACANCIES.
SO WHAT IS THAT? UH, 34 30? YEAH.
SO THE PLAN IS TO HIRE ALL THAT NUMBER BACK? YES, MA'AM.
AND WE'RE DESPERATELY RECRUITING, IF ANYBODY KNOWS ANYBODY, UH, WE'VE GOT THE POSITION POSTED.
WE'RE LOOKING FOR THE TOP LEVEL MECHANICS.
UH, BECAUSE THEY'RE THE MOST EFFICIENT.
UM, WE JUST, UH, TESTED A ROUND OF APPLICANTS YESTERDAY AND SO WE'VE GOT OUR FINGERS CROSSED THAT WE CAN, UH, BRING SOME PEOPLE ON BECAUSE ULTIMATELY WHAT I WAS HEARING YOU SAY ARE IN-HOUSE MECHANICS ARE GONNA BE A LOT LESS EXPENSIVE.
SO THE MORE MECHANICS WE HAVE, BECAUSE OUR, OUR OVERHEAD COSTS ARE FIXED.
THE MORE MECHANICS WE HAVE, THAT'S THE MORE HOURS WE CAN WORK INTERNALLY.
AND SO THOSE OVERHEAD COSTS GET DISTRIBUTED OVER THOSE HOURS.
THE MORE HOURS WE WORK, THE LOWER OUR HOURLY RATE.
SO NOT NECESSARILY THAT THEY'RE A LOT LESS EXPENSIVE, IT'S JUST SPREADING OUT THOSE HOURS.
I, UM, REALLY, UH, FOR ALL YOU DO FOR OUR CITY AND FOR OUR FLEET, IT'S SO IMPORTANT
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AND I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME ON THE PRESENTATION.THANK YOU, RAY, FOR ALL YOU DO.
I, UM, WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS, NO ONE SIGNED UP, BUT FEEL FREE IF YOU'RE ONLINE OR OUT THERE.
I THINK THOSE ARE ALL FLEET EMPLOYEES,
AND WE WILL SEE YOU AGAIN ON MONDAY FOR, WE'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW AT OUR TOWN HALL.
OH, WE WILL SEE YOU TOMORROW, MAY 17TH AT 10:00 AM AT OUR BUDGET TOWN HALL AT THE FONDE RECREATION CENTER.
WE ARE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT AND WE'LL SEE EVERYBODY, UM, AFTER THAT ON MONDAY FOR MORE WORKSHOPS.