* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [FY 2026 Budget Workshop: HR on May 19, 2025.] [00:00:17] WE ARE GOING TO START THIS AFTERNOON WITH HUMAN RESOURCES, AND THEN WE'LL BE FOLLOWED UP WITH A ADMINISTRATION AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS, AND THEN FIRE AT THREE 30. UM, WE'RE ALSO JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MARY NAN HUFFMAN, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER TARSHA JACKSON AND STAFF FROM THE MAYOR, PRO TEM MARTHA CASTEX TATUM'S OFFICE, AND COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIE DAVIS IS HERE WITH US IN THE HORSESHOE, TOO. SO TO KEEP US ON TRACK, WE'LL GET STARTED RIGHT AWAY. AND I WELCOME OUR HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR, JANE CHEEKS AND CARLA COLEMAN, UM, JOINING US HERE TODAY. WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE BOTH OF YOU WALK US THROUGH WHAT I KNOW HAS BEEN A, A BIG, BIG YEAR FOR HR, UH, WITH A LOT OF, UM, ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES. SO WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK ON EVERYTHING AND, AND GIVING SUCH DIGNITY AND SUCH A NICE RETIREMENT, EARLY RETIREMENT TO SO MANY PEOPLE THAT IT, THE WAY IT WAS HANDLED WAS, WAS REALLY A GREAT THING. AND, UM, WE APPRECIATE ALL YOUR SENSITIVITY AND, AND ALL YOUR, THE WAY THAT YOU REALLY MADE, UH, THE CITY EMPLOYEES FEEL THAT IT WAS SUCH A JOB. WELL DONE, AND WELL, WELL DESERVED, AND THE BIG PARTY AND EVERYTHING WAS GREAT. AND, UM, ALSO WANNA WELCOME VICE MAYOR PRO TEM AMY PET TO THE HORSESHOE. AND WITH THAT, UM, DIRECTOR, THE, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR, VICE CHAIR AND, AND COUNCIL MEMBERS. I AM SINCERELY GRATEFUL TO PRESENT THE FY 26 BUDGET FOR THE HR DEPARTMENT. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. UH, IT WOULD BE REMISS OF ME AND I, AND I THANK YOU SO MUCH, COUNCIL, UH, MEMBER, UH, WITHOUT ME ACTUALLY INTRODUCING MY PHENOMENAL EXECUTIVE STAFF, THEY HAVE HELPED ME TO ACCOMPLISH SO VERY MUCH THIS FISCAL YEAR, AND THERE'S SO MUCH MORE TO COME IN THE OTHER FISCAL YEAR. SO LET ME, UH, HAVE THEM ALL STAND THE, UH, MY, MY CHIEF OF MY CHIEF OF STAFF, AND ALL MY THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. THANK YOU. I ALSO WILL BE PARTNERING TODAY WITH MY CFO CARLA COLEMAN ON THIS PRESENTATION. I HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE HER TEAM. WITHOUT THEM, THIS PRESENTATION WOULD'VE NOT BEEN POSSIBLE. SO HR FAM, WILL YOU ALL STAND UP AND BE RECOGNIZED, PLEASE. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH, SO MUCH. NEXT SLIDE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. WE WILL FOLLOW THE TABLE OF CONTENTS AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE SLIDE. NEXT SLIDE. AND I DO APOLOGIZE FOR MY HOARSENESS. IT'S SOMETHING GOING AROUND. UM, THE HR PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FY 16 INCLUDES SEVEN PROGRAMS, UH, FOR OUR STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT. SIX OF THEM, UH, SIX OF, I'M SORRY, SEVEN OF OUR PROGRAMS TOTALING FIVE, 5 MILLION, $35 ALIGNED WITH THAT, WITH THOSE THINGS THAT ARE DEALING WITH GOVERNMENT. ALSO, OUR SUMMER JOBS PROGRAM IS ALIGNED WITH INFRASTRUCTURE AT 1.4 MILLION. UH, AS WE GO THROUGH OUR SLIDES, MY CFO IS GOING TO TALK MORE ABOUT OUR STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT AND OUR HR PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE. COUNCIL, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT, IF I COULD JUST TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO ACTUALLY TALK ABOUT THE KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR. SINCE WE RECEIVE THE EY STUDY, IT HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING HERE IN HUMAN RESOURCES. IT IS TRULY OUR INTENT IN HR TO TURN THE CURVE ON ENHANCING PROGRAMS, MEASURES THAT ARE TANGIBLE WITH, WITH TANGIBLE OUTCOMES AND KPIS, CONCENTRATING MORE ON THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX WITH RESPECT TO HOW WE'RE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD. IN ADDITION, WE WANNA EMPHASIZE EVEN MORE THAT COLLABORATION WITH DEPARTMENTS. IT IS GOING TO BE IMPERATIVE FOR THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT TO HAVE ALL THE BOOTS ON THE GROUND AFTER THE HIRING FREEZE. WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE HOPE MCA, WE ALSO ARE GONNA BE MORE COMPETITIVE, SO WE'RE GONNA BE ATTRACTING MORE QUALITY CANDIDATES. IN ADDITION, THE COMPENSATION TEAM WILL BE WORKING ON ENHANCING CLASSIFICATIONS THAT WILL BE PROVIDING CAREER GROWTH, NOT ONLY FOR OUR NEW EMPLOYEES, BUT FOR OUR CURRENT [00:05:01] WORKFORCE. PRIOR TO THE HIRING FREEZE, YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW THAT WE STARTED A 45 DAY PILOT IN HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS. THIS WAS A PHENOMENAL SUCCESS. AND AS WE CONTINUE INTO FY 26, WE'RE GOING TO BEGIN WITH OUR OTHER DEPARTMENTS. NOW, ONE THING THAT I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT IS LEARNING FOR FY 26. OUR OFFICE OF TALENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS GOING TO PAY AN INSTRUMENTAL PART IN LEARNING. THIS YEAR. WE ARE GOING TO BE WORKING ON UPSKILLING OUR TOTAL WORKFORCE. WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT CENTRALIZING A CENTRALIZED HUB THAT WILL BE TEACHING ALL MANAGERS AND SUPERVISORS TO BECOME THE LEADERS THAT WE WANT THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO HAVE. THIS WILL CREATE CITYWIDE STANDARDS. WE ALSO HAVE STARTED TRAINING ALL OF THE DIRECTORS, MANAGERS, AND SUPERVISORS WITH RESPECT TO THE HOPE MCA. SO THIS IS THE KIND OF FRAMEWORK THAT WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT AS WE GO FORWARD TO STANDARDIZE OUR SUPERVISORY AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING. ALSO, ONE OF THE, A PHENOMENAL THING THAT JUST OCCURRED WAS THAT WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED OUR GED PROGRAM. WE NOW HAVE AN INTRODUCTORY CLASS, UH, THAT HAS 18 PARTICIPANTS. THEY ACTUALLY ARE FROM MOSTLY THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND SOLID WASTE. WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SO THAT THEY CAN ATTAIN THEIR GEDS AND ALSO HAVE CAREER GROWTH WITH THIS CERTIFICATION. THIS IS A PHENOMENAL MOVE, AND, AND LIKE I SAID, I GET CHILLS TALKING ABOUT IT. IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE REALLY WANTED TO DO FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW. ALSO, WITH RESPECT TO OUR, WE'RE REVAMPING OUR ONBOARDING, OUR NEW EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION, OUR SUPERVISORY ORIENTATION, AND OUR LEADERSHIP COHORTS. WE WILL BE PROVIDING ALL OF THE EMPLOYEES A ROADMAP TO BE ABLE TO NAVIGATE A SUCCESSFUL JOURNEY DURING THEIR TENURE WITH THE DE, WITH THE, UH, THE CITY. AND THEN ALSO, THIS IS GOING TO SET THE FRAMEWORK FOR NEW EMPLOYEES COMING IN, UNDERSTANDING WHY IT'S SO PHENOMENAL TO WORK HERE AT THE CITY OF HOUSTON. EXCUSE ME. AS YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW, UH, I HAVE SOMEWHAT BEEN EVICTED FROM THE EBK CENTER. AND SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE WORKING DILIGENTLY WITH THE GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT TO FIND A NEW LOCATION. THIS WILL BE INSTRUMENTAL AS WE REBRAND ALL OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE DISCUSSED WITH RESPECT TO LEARNING, UH, UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF DR. CRYSTAL BEEKS. LASTLY, WE ARE STREAMLINING OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES. ACTUALLY, FOR YEARS, THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT HAS MEASURED, UH, 19 HAS HAD 19 MEASUREMENTS. THIS PROPOSED BUDGET WILL HAVE SEVEN MEASUREMENTS, ALL OUTCOME BASED, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP TO DEVELOP OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES WITH FINANCE AND EY. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. AS WE CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES, WE WILL MEASURE HIRING FROM BOTH THE DEPARTMENT AND HR. IN HIRING STAGES, WE WILL MEASURE EMPLOYEES RETENTION OF THE RETENTION OF THE EMPLOYEES INSTEAD OF THE TURNOVER AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT. WE WILL CONTINUE WITH, INVOLVE AND EVOLVE OUR, OUR EMPLOYEE SURVEY AND ASSESSMENT. AND IN LATE JUNE, WE ALSO WILL BE SENDING OUT A NEEDS ASSESSMENT SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON NEEDS WITH RESPECT TO LEARNING FOR RISK MANAGEMENT. WE WILL BE MEASURING INJURY RATES, OUR HEALTH BENEFITS, WE'LL MEASURE PREVENTATIVE CARE. I'M ALSO EXCITED ABOUT THE FACT THAT OUR HEALTH BENEFITS AND HEALTH BENEFITS, WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO START JANUARY, 2026 ON A CALENDAR YEAR. THIS IS GONNA BE VERY BENEFICIAL FOR OUR RETIREES WHO HAVE TO KEEP UP WITH TWO DIFFERENT OPEN ENROLLMENTS. NOW WE'LL COINCIDE WITH MEDICARE JANUARY THROUGH DECEMBER. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. COUNCIL MEMBERS, WHEN WE MET WITH THE ADMINISTRATION IN NOVEMBER, HR STARTED TO HOLISTICALLY LOOK AT WHAT WE WERE DOING HERE IN HR. WHAT COULD WE DO WITHOUT, WHAT COULD WE DO BETTER AND WHAT COULD WE RESTRUCTURE? AS WE DID THAT, AND WE GOT TO LOOKING AT THIS GAP IN CLIENTS, IN OUR CLIENT SERVICES PROGRAM, WE ELIMINATED [00:10:01] SIX POSITIONS IN THE CONTINGENT WORKFORCE SERVICES, WHICH IS PROGRAM BASED. NOT TO AUGMENT HIRING, WE REDUCED BY 2.3 MILLION. OUR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS PROGRAM REDUCED THREE LONG VACANCIES. AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT DOES NOT HAVE A VACANCY FACTOR. I HAVE ALL THE PEOPLE THAT I NEED, I NEED ALL OF MY POSITIONS AND EACH ONE OF THE POSITIONS HERE IN HUMAN RESOURCES. IT HAS A PURPOSE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THE VOLUNTEER AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT PAYOUT, UH, IS, IS A, IT'S A VERY SELF-EXPLANATORY SLIDE, BUT AS, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, AS YOU MENTIONED, IT WOULD BE REMISS OF ME IF I DID NOT DO A SHOUT OUT TO MY CHIEF OF STAFF, ELISA FRANKLIN BROCKS, AND THE TEAM THAT SHE PUT TOGETHER THAT MADE ALL OF THIS POSSIBLE WORKING ALONG WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE FINANCE HITS. IT WAS JUST REALLY A PHENOMENAL THING. SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE LIKE YOU, THAT I JUST GIVE THEM THAT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. SO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT HAD 85, EXCUSE ME, ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS. UM, 23 PEOPLE PARTICIPATED FOR WE, 27%. WE ACTUALLY, UH, ONLY HAD 21 PARTICIPANTS THAT TOOK IT BECAUSE I HAD TWO CRITICAL VACANCIES. AND DURING MY REORGANIZATION WITH THE ADMINISTRATION, I REQUESTED TO KEEP THESE TWO CRITICAL VACANCIES. ONE, WHICH WAS THE CITYWIDE A DA COORDINATOR. THAT WAS A VERY IMPORTANT POSITION. THAT POSITION WORKS ALONG WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF DISABILITY. IT ALSO WORKS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY. SO WE REALLY NEEDED TO, UH, RETAIN THE A DA COORDINATOR. AND THEN OUR NEXT POSITION WAS THE HR MANAGER FOR BENEFITS. WITHOUT THAT POSITION, I WOULD ONLY HAVE AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN THE BENEFITS SECTION, AND WE STILL NEEDED THAT HR MANAGERS, SO THEY, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO GOVERN ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES IN AND BENEFITS. LET ME BE CLEAR THAT ALL 23 POSITIONS THAT WE HAD THAT WERE A PART OF THE MAYOR'S INCENTIVE WERE VERY IMPORTANT. THEY WERE VERY IMPORTANT POSITIONS. AND EVEN THOUGH IN NOVEMBER WE HAD PREPARED TO START LOOKING AT OUR ORGANIZATION, I DON'T THINK ANY OF US WERE PREPARED TO LOSE AN ADDITIONAL 21 POSITIONS. SO, PLEASE KNOW THAT WE HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO LOOK AT OUR ORGANIZATION AND DISTRIBUTE THE WORK MORE EFFICIENTLY THROUGHOUT THE HR OPERATIONS DIVISION AND THE RISK MANAGEMENT DIVISION. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. IT WAS NOT SURPRISING TO HUMAN RESOURCES WHEN ENY ASSESSED THE SPAN OF CONTROL FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON. AND DECEMBER OF 2024, DECEMBER 25TH, TO BE EXACT HR OPERATIONS, CONSOLIDATION MADE ITS 15TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY. THIS SHARED SERVICES MODEL WORKS, BUT WE CONTINUE TO STREAMLINE OUR MODEL TO INTEGRATE NEW FUNCTIONS EFFECTIVELY AND REWORK OUR DEPARTMENT SLASH CLUSTERS CREATED BETTER EFFICIENCIES. AS YOU ARE AWARE, WE HAVE COMPLETED THE CONSOLIDATION FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY. THIS IS, THIS MEANS THAT ALL OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS NOW GOVERNED UNDER THE HOUSTON. I MEAN, THE HR DEPARTMENT AND THE LAST THREE FTES FROM LIBRARY AND PARKS HAVE JOINED OUR TEAM. WE ALSO HAVE CONSOLIDATED THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENTS EMPLOYEE SERVICES DIVISION, WHICH WILL REPORT UNDER HR OPERATIONS, SIMILARLY TO HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND HAS. IN ADDITION, WE HAVE CONSOLIDATED THE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT FUNCTION OF THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. WE ARE ALSO CONSOLIDATING THE TRAINING FUNCTION OF GSD UNDER A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING. SO WITH ALL OF THAT BEING SAID, AS I LOOK AT THE RESTRUCTURE OF OUR DEPARTMENT AS OF JANUARY, 2025, OUR SPAN OF CONTROL WAS AT 5.1. AND WITH OUR DIRECT, LESS THAN FOUR DIRECT REPORTS AT 31% IN OUR LAYERS OF MANAGEMENT AT EIGHT, OUR CURRENT STATE AFTER THE REORGANIZATION THAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE, HAS OUR AVERAGE SPAN OF CONTROL AT 6.3, OUR MANAGERS WITH LESS THAN FOUR DIRECT REPORTS AT 19%, AND OUR LAYERS OF MANAGEMENT AT SIX. NOW, [00:15:01] WE'RE NOT GONNA BE TOO AGGRESSIVE AS WE GO INTO FY 26, BUT WE PLAN ON AT LEAST GETTING TO 7.2 WITH OUR AVERAGE SPAN OF CONTROL. WE'RE GONNA HAVE BE RIGHT AT 7% WITH LESS THAN FOUR DIRECT REPORTS, AND WE'RE GOING TO KEEP OUR LAYERS OF MANAGEMENT AT 6%. SO I SINCERELY APPRECIATE YOU COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR ALLOWING ME TO GIVE YOU THESE KEY HIGHLIGHTS. I'M GONNA TURN MY PRESENTATION OVER TO MY CFO CALLER COLEMAN, WHO WILL GO THROUGH MORE FINANCIAL SLIDES. THANK YOU, DIRECTOR CHEEKS, AND GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS. UM, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. IN THIS SLIDE, YOU SEE THAT HR BUDGETS, UH, HAS FIVE OPERATING FUNDS. WE HAVE A GENERAL FUND. WE HAVE TWO, UH, CENTRAL, UH, CHARGEBACK FUNDS, WHICH IS THE CENTRAL REVOLVING FUND AND THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION FUND. AND WE ALSO HAVE TWO INTERNAL SERVICES FUND, WHICH IS THE HEALTH BENEFIT FUND AND THE LONG-TERM DISABILITY FUND. NOW, WHAT YOU WILL FIND THROUGHOUT THIS BUDGET PRESENTATION IS OUR STRATEGIC APPROACH TO BALANCING ESSENTIAL INCREASES THAT WE SEE IN PERSONNEL BECAUSE OF THE HOPE CONTRACT, ALONG WITH, UH, INCREASES IN SERVICES, MOSTLY BECAUSE THEIR CONTRACTUAL REQUIREMENTS WITH EFFICIENCY DRIVEN SAVINGS. SO OUR BUDGET REFLECTS OUR FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, ALLOCATING RESOURCES TO OUR CORE VALUES AND OUR CORE MISSION WHILE REDUCING INEFFICIENCIES. SO WHAT YOU WILL FIND IS THAT OUR BUDGET FOCUSES ON SUPPORTING IMPROVEMENT OF HR SERVICE DELIVERY, UH, WORKFORCE TRAINING, AND UPSKILLING AND OPERATIONAL INTEGRATION. SO WITH THAT SAID, WE ARE PROPOSING A BUDGET OF 536.5 MILLION OR 1.1%, UM, FOR IN COMPARISON TO THE 25 BUDGET. SO WHAT THIS INCREASE FUNDS, IT'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT, THAT IT FUNDS ACTUALLY, UH, CONSOLIDATION EXPENSES OF 3.6 MILLION. UM, WE HAVE $1.3 MILLION IN, UM, LEASE RELOCATION EXPENSES AND CITYWIDE TRAINING INITIATIVES. WE ALSO FUND 6.8 MILLION FOR CLAIM AND PREMIUM EXPENSES FOR THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION AND THE HEALTH BENEFIT. WE ALSO HAVE A 1.9 MILLION INCREASE IN PERSONNEL THAT WAS OFFSET BY THE RETIREMENT OPTION SAVINGS OF 2.5. THAT'S THE, UM, TOTAL SAVINGS FOR HR IN. BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE A 2.4 MILLION REDUCTION IN THE CONTINGENT WORKFORCE PROGRAM AS DIRECTOR CHIEF, UH, STATED, THAT IS ALSO CONTRIBUTING TO THE CITYWIDE SAVINGS TARGET. AND, UM, AND IN FOLLOWING WITH WHAT, WHAT MY DIRECTOR WAS SAYING ABOUT LOOKING AT OUR EFFICIENCIES AND RESTRUCTURING, IT NOT ONLY HAPPENED IN THE PERSONNEL SIDE ON THE FUNCTION SIDE, IT HAPPENED IN THE PROCESS SIDE. AND WITH THAT, WE HAVE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES THAT MOUNTED TO 2.8 MILLION IN REDUCTIONS. WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT, UM, WE LOOKED AT EVERY LINE ITEM IN OUR BUDGET WITH A COST SAVING IN MIND, BUT OUTSIDE OF THE BOX AND HOW WE CAN DO MORE WITH WHAT WE HAVE. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WE ELIMINATED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE HR THE USE OF TEMPORARY PERSONNEL IN OUR DEPARTMENT. SO FOR FY 26, OUR TEAM IS GONNA STEP UP AND, YOU KNOW, AND DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO WITHOUT THOSE. WE ALSO HAD, UM, INCLUDED A TPA INCREASE, UH, FOR WORKERS' COMPENSATION CONTRACT. UM, WE WERE GOING TO, IT'S GONNA EXPIRE. WE WERE GOING OUT FOR RFP. SO INSTEAD OF DOING THAT, WE PARTNER WITH SPD. WE LOOKED AT SOLUTION, AND SO WE EXTENDED THAT CONTRACT. SO THAT INCREASE THAT WE HAD ESTIMATED IS OUT OF OUR BUDGET. WE ALSO ENCOURAGE OUR TEAM TO LOOK AT TRAINING DIFFERENTLY AND LOOK AT VIRTUAL TRAINING, YOU KNOW, FIRST TIME. SO WE DECREASE THAT TRAVEL LINE, SO YOU WON'T BE SEEING THAT. AND, UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE'RE DOING UPGRADES TO OUR OPERATIONS. WE'RE ADDING AN EMPLOYEE RELATIONS AND GRIEVANCE AND ARBITRATION PLATFORM TO EXPEDITE AND STREAMLINE THAT PROCESS IN THE CIVIL SERVICE AND EMPLOYEE RELATION, UM, AREA. WE ARE ALSO FUNDING ORGANIZATIONAL CHART SOFTWARE LICENSE FOR THE CITY TO AID THE DEPARTMENTS WHERE THE REORG. AND, UM, WE ADDED FUNDING FOR JOB BOARD SUBSCRIPTIONS TO HELP WITH RECRUITING, UH, INITIATIVES. AND THEN OF COURSE, CONTRACTUAL INCREASES, LIKE THE NEO GOV PLATFORM HAS A CONTRACTUAL INCREASE FOR 26. UM, BUT WE INCLUDED THOSE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE WERE ABLE TO REDUCE OUR BUDGET BY 2.8 MILLION. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO WHAT THIS GRAPH SHOWS YOU IS THE SAME VIEW OF THE FUNDS, BUT WHAT WE SEE, WHAT STANDS [00:20:01] OUT THE MOST IS THAT HEALTH BENEFIT IS 82% OF HRS TOTAL BUDGET. AND THEN IT FOLLOWS BY THE CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND OF 10% OF THE TOTAL BUDGET AND WORKERS' COMPENSATION, 8% OF THE TOTAL BUDGET. NOW, WHAT YOU DON'T SEE IS THE GENERAL FUND AND, UH, LONG-TERM DISABILITY, BECAUSE THEY'RE LESS THAN 1% OF HRS TOTAL BUDGET. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. AS WE ANALYZE THE COST BREAKDOWN ACROSS THE HR FUNDS, AND IN THIS SLIDE, WE CAN SEE A CLEAR DISTINCTION BETWEEN PERSONNEL AND NON-PERSONNEL EXPENDITURES. WHEN WE LOOK AT HR AS A WHOLE, ONLY 8% OF OUR BUDGET IS DEDICATED TO PERSONNEL OR 4.3 MILLIONS. AND THE REMAINING IS THE 92% OF OUR BUDGET IS OTHER EXPENSES. WHEN WE LOOK AT THE GENERAL FUND BY ITSELF, WE SEE THAT THE PERSONNEL COSTS MAKE UP 99% OF THE BUDGET. IT IS FOCUSED ON SALARY, MAINLY IN STAFFING. THE SUMMER JOBS PROGRAM, WHEN WE LOOK AT, EXCUSE ME, THE CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND, THIS FUND SHOWS A LITTLE BIT MORE BALANCED DISTRIBUTION BETWEEN PERSONNEL AT 51% OF THE TOTAL SPENDING. BUT THIS FUND HOUSES THREE PROGRAMS, THE CENTRAL SERVICES, UH, THE HR CLIENT SERVICE PROGRAM, THE TALENT AND ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, AND THE CONTINGENT WORKFORCE PROGRAM. THEN THE NEXT ONE IS WORKERS' COMPENSATION FUND. WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS ONE, ONLY 18% OF THE OF THE FUND IS SPENT IN PERSONNEL EXPENSES, INDICATED THAT THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF THE RESOURCES IN THIS FUND IS FOR CLAIM RELATED EXPENSES. THEN THE HEALTH BENEFIT FUND, WE SEE THAT THE PERSONNEL IS VERY MINIMAL, 1% ALSO HIGHLIGHTING THAT THE REFU, THE RESOURCES ARE DIRECTED TOWARDS CLAIM AND BENEFIT PLANS MANAGEMENT. AND LASTLY, THE LONG-TERM DISABILITY FUND HAS NO PERSONNEL. A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE FUND IS ALLOCATED TO CLAIMS ACTUARY EXPENSES, AND ADMINISTRATIVE FEES FOR THE THIRD PARTY, UM, ADMINISTRATION. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. NOW, THIS SLIDE FLIPS OVER THE PROGRAM, THE TOTAL BUDGET BY PROGRAM. SO WE HAVE SEVEN PROGRAMS IN THE FIVE FUNDS. AND, UM, I WILL COVER THE DETAILS THAT YOU SEE IN THIS SLIDE ON THE FUTURE SLIDES PER PROGRAM. AND THEN WE WILL, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT IS INCREASING OR CHANGING INSTEAD OF FOCUSING JUST ON THIS SLIDE. UM, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT ONE. SO, THE SUMMER JOBS PROGRAM, UH, THIS IS THE PROGRAM THAT TAKES OUR YOUNG POPULATION BETWEEN THE 16 AND 24, BRINGS THEM INTO THE CITY AND EX, AND, YOU KNOW, OFFERS THEM TRAINING ON THE JOB SKILL SET, MENTORSHIP, RIGHT? SO THE BUDGET DID NOT CHANGE IS THE SAME AS IT WAS LAST YEAR, BUT WE HAD TO CHANGE THE FUNDING STRUCTURE. SO OUR TOTAL BUDGET DOESN'T CHANGE, BUT WE HAD TO INCREASE THE BASE PAY TO ATTRACT A LITTLE BIT MORE CANDIDATES FROM 13 TO 14. SO WHAT THAT DID IS THAT THAT REDUCED THE NUMBER OF INTERNS THAT WE CAN BRING INTO THE CITY. SO WE HAD 382, NOW WE'RE GOING TO 362. UM, THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES THAT YOU SEE HERE ARE BEING RETIRED, AND AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE YEAR AND WORK WITH FINANCE AND EY WILL, YOU KNOW, DEVELOP OUTCOME BASED, UM, PERFORMANCE FOR THIS, FOR THIS PROGRAM. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. ALRIGHT, THE HR CLIENT SERVICES PROGRAM. SO WE'VE TALKED ABOUT CONSOLIDATION, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU KNOW, THAT THE CONSOLIDATION DOES IS STREAMLINES HR PRACTICES ACROSS ALL THE CITY DEPARTMENTS, RIGHT? SO THIS PROGRAM ENSURES CONSISTENCY, IMPROVES EFFICIENCY AT EVERY STAGE OF THE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE FROM ONBOARDING TO OFFBOARDING. SO THE PROGRAM IS FUNDED IN THE CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND, AND IT MAKES UP 50 PER 54% OF THIS BUDGET. IT FUNDS 187 POSITIONS INCLUDING 17 FROM THE CONSOLIDATION WITH HPD. SO THIS 1.4 MILLION INCREASE OR 5.1%, UH, INCREASE FUNDS. A FEW THINGS. IT FUNDS THE CONSOLIDATION WITH, UM, HPD, WE CONSOLIDATED THE HUMAN RESOURCES FUNCTIONS OF 1.9 MILLION. WE ALSO HAVE THE, UM, THE EMPLOYEE RELATIONS AND GRIEVOUS ARBITRATION PLATFORM FOR EMPLOYEE RELATIONS AND THE CIVIL SERVICE AND EEO DIVISION. THAT'S ABOUT 400,000, UM, CONJUNCTION WITH CONTRACTUAL INCREASES WITH THE NEO GOV PLATFORM. [00:25:01] THIS PROGRAM ALSO HAS A 1.4 MILLION INCREASE IN PERSONNEL DUE TO THE HOPE CONTRACT MANDATES, BUT ALSO IT HAS THE REMOVAL OF THE VACANCY FACTOR. AND, UM, BUT IT WAS INCREASED BY TWO THINGS. WE HAVE A 94,000 REDUCTION FOR PERSONNEL EXPENSES THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THE CITYWIDE SAVINGS TARGET AND THE RETIREMENT OPTION SAVINGS OF 1 MILLION FOR NINE POSITIONS. UM, SO THAT WILL, THAT BROUGHT THE, THE PERSONNEL COST DOWN. BUT AS I WAS SAYING EARLIER ABOUT OUR OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES, WE ALSO REDUCED THIS PROGRAM BY 1.3 MILLION BECAUSE WE ELIMINATED NON-ESSENTIAL COSTS, OPTIMIZING THE SPENDING. SO WE WERE ABLE TO LOOK AT THINGS A LITTLE BIT OUTSIDE THE BOX AND, YOU KNOW, WAIT TO SEE IF WE COULD DO IT ANOTHER YEAR OR DO IT IN HOUSE. SO THAT EQUATED TO A 1.3 MILLION DECREASE. AND IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES, WE ARE RETIRING TWO PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND CREATING FOUR NEW ONES CENTERED AROUND HIRING EMPLOYEE RETENTION AND THE IMPACT OF CLASSIFICATION CHANGES, UM, THAT MOST LIKELY ARE GONNA HAPPEN IN 26. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. CONTINGENT WORKFORCE PROGRAM. SO ALSO HOUSED IN THE CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND. THIS PROGRAM IS USED FOR TEMPORARY STAFFING, BUT IS INTENDED TO BE FOR SPECIAL PROJECTS, SHORT-LIVED DISASTER EVENTS, OR FOR THOSE SPECIALIZED POSITIONS THAT ARE SHORT TERM BASIS, BUT HIGHLY, YOU KNOW, SKILLFUL, UH, IT REPRESENTS 35% OF THE CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND, AND IT BUDGETS FOR TWO FTES. NOW, THIS PROGRAM ALSO PARTICIPATED IN THE CITYWIDE SAVINGS TARGET, AND IT WAS REDUCED COMPARED TO 25 BY 2.3 MILLION. IT, THE, THE BUDGET, MAINLY WHAT WE HAVE IN HERE IS 17.6 MILLION OF CONTRACTUAL DOLLARS, UM, ALLOCATED TO THE DEPARTMENTS FOR TEMPORARY PERSONNEL. OUR TOP FOUR DEPARTMENTS RECEIVING THIS ALLOCATION IS THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT. THEY RECEIVE 61% OF THAT 17 MILLION SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENTS RECEIVED 18%. THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT RECEIVES 10%, AND THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS AT 6%. THE REMAINING 5% IS, YOU KNOW, UM, SHARED WITH WITH ALL THE OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS WITH THIS, UH, PROGRAM TOO. WE'RE RETIRING WHAT YOU SEE IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES ON THE SLIDE UNTIL WE WORK WITH, UM, FINANCE AND EY FOR AN OUTCOME-BASED, UM, MEASURE. UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THE TALENT AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. THIS PROGRAM SUPPORTS LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT, AND WORKFORCE UPSKILLING. THEY'RE GOING TO DELIVER CITYWIDE LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT SOLUTIONS. UM, THEY'RE ALSO FUNDED FROM THE CENTRAL EVOLVING FUND. THEY HAVE, UH, 29 POSITIONS. NINE OUT OF THIS 29 ARE RELATED TO THE HPW CONSOLIDATION OF THE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT FUNCTIONS. NOW, THIS FUND INCREASED, THIS PROGRAM INCREASED BY 64.5 PER, UH, PERCENT OR 2.2 MILLION. THE INCREASE, UH, FUNDS THE CONSOLIDATION EXPENSES OF FULL COURSE OF 1.4 MILLION, UM, 800,000 RELATED TO LEASE EXPENSES, AND, UH, CITYWIDE TARGETED MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION TRAINING TO UPSCALE OUR WORKFORCE. IT ALSO HAS, UH, 400,000 OF PERSONNEL INCREASES THAT WERE OFFSET, BUT THEIR RETIREMENT OPTION SAVINGS OF 200,000 FOR TWO POSITIONS. AND ALSO IN THIS PROGRAM, WE REALIZE OPERATIONAL SAVINGS RESULTING IN TRIMMING NON-CRITICAL, UM, EXPENSES. WE ARE RETIRING ALMOST ALL PERFORMANCE AND CONCENTRATING IN ONE AROUND THE EMPLOYEE SUPERVISOR AND MANAGEMENT ENGAGEMENT. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, THE RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IS DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A SAFE WORK ENVIRONMENT BY ELIMINATING WORKPLACE HAZARD, MINIMIZING THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF WORKPLACE INJURIES, AND FOR ADVOCATING TO FOUR, OUR INJURING, UH, INJURED EMPLOYEES. THE 26 PROPOSED BUDGET IS ALMOST FLAT. YOU KNOW, IT'S ONLY A 5,000 INCREASE AND IT FUNDS 62 POSITIONS, INCLUDING THREE FROM CONSOLIDATING THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS LIBRARY. UH, THE SAFETY FUNCTIONS AND LIKE, UH, DIRECTOR CHEEKS MENTIONS, ONCE WE HAVE DONE THIS IN OUR BUDGET, THE RISK MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ARE COMPLETELY CONSOLIDATED CITYWIDE. NOW, THE SLIGHT INCREASE OF $5,000 IN [00:30:01] THIS FUND IS MOSTLY DUE BECAUSE OF THE RETIREMENT OPTION. UH, THAT PROVIDED A SAVINGS OF 1.3 MILLION FOR 10 POSITIONS. SO THAT SAVINGS OFFSET A FEW OF OPERATIONAL INCREASES. WE HAVE A 1.2 MILLION INCREASE IN CLAIM EXPERIENCE, AND WE ALSO HAVE ABOUT 800,000, UM, IN TRAINING FACILITY EXPENSES AND PERSONNEL INCREASES. WE DO HAVE SAFETY PROFESSIONALS THAT ACTUALLY PERFORM TRAINING IN THIS, UM, SAFETY RELATED TRAINING IN THESE FACILITIES. BUT WE ALSO EXPERIENCE A, UH, OPERATIONAL, UH, EFFICIENCIES, REDUCTIONS ABOUT 700,000 AS WE FO FOCUS MORE ON ESSENTIAL SPENDING. NOW, THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES HERE TOO. WE'RE RETIRING EVERYTHING AND WE ARE RE-ENTERING THIS PROGRAM AROUND RE-INJURY RATE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THIS PROGRAM PROMOTES HEALTH AND WELLBEING INITIATIVES TO SUPPORT THE PHYSICAL, UH, AND MENTAL HEALTH OF ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES AND RETIREES WHILE MANAGING THE CITY'S COMPETITIVE HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN. AND THIS PROGRAM IS THE ONE WHERE WE HAVE THE MEDICAL AND PHARMACY PLAN AND ALL THE SUPPLEMENTAL PLANS LIKE VISION, DENTAL, YOU KNOW, RE YEAH, DEPENDENT CARE AND ALL THE OTHER ONES. MEDICARE, UM, ADVANTAGE PLANS TOO, FOR THE RETIREES. IT HAS, IT FUNDS 45 POSITIONS AND IT, IT INCREASED BY 5.2 MILLION. THE INCREASE IS MOSTLY DUE TO, UM, SOME OF THE PLANS INCREASING. WE HAVE A 2.7 INCREASE IN THE SUPPLEMENTAL BECAUSE WE HAVE A NEW VISION, A CONTRACT, AND WE HAVE A NEW DENTAL RATES BECAUSE WE EXTENDED THE, THE CONTRACT, THE LIFE INSURANCE ALSO INCREASE AS YOU INCREASE YOUR BASE SALARY, LIFE INSURANCE INCREASED AS WELL. SO THERE'S A, A SMALL PORTION OF THAT TOO. AND, UM, WE HAVE A 2.2 MILLION INCREASE IN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE BECAUSE WE HAVE ALSO PLANNED INCREASE, UH, RATES. BUT THERE'S ALSO OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES OF 400,000 THAT BROUGHT THAT, UM, THOSE INCREASES DOWN TO, UM, IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE CITYWIDE EFFORTS TO REDUCE SPENDING. NOW IN THIS, IN THIS PROGRAM, THE SUBSCRIBER RATES CONTINUE TO REMAIN FLAT, AND IT'S BEEN DOING SO FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS IN A ROW, RIGHT? SO IT'S BEEN POSSIBLE TO DO THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE SHARED THE COST OF THE INCREASES WITH THE FUND BALANCE AND THE CITY DEPARTMENTS. THE CITY DEPARTMENTS RATES INCREASE THIS YEAR IS 1.9. LAST YEAR WAS 3%. THIS YEAR IS 1.9. 'CAUSE WE WERE ABLE TO, TO MITIGATE THAT. NOW THE CONTRIBUTION SPLIT STILL REMAINS THE SAME, 80 20 80 FOR THE CITY AND 20 FOR THE EMPLOYEES. UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO THE LONG-TERM DISABILITY, UM, HAS A MINIMAL INCREASE TO MOSTLY ON THE CLAIM EXPERIENCE. UM, AND THE ENTIRE BUDGET IS DEDICATED TO CLAIMS ACTUARY EXPENSES. AND THEN THE THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATIVE FEES. UM, NOTHING REALLY HAS CHANGED HERE. WE BUDGETED FOR 95 CLAIMANTS, AND THE AVERAGE HAS BEEN ANYWHERE BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, 90 TO 90 TO 99. THIS 26 WE'RE BUDGETING AT 95. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. NOW THE NEXT THREE SLIDES, I BELIEVE ARE REVENUE. SO THEY ALL GOING TO HAVE THE SAME SENTIMENT IN TERMS OF VARIANCE EXPLANATION, EVEN THOUGH THE VIEW HERE IS, UM, AGAINST THE, THE COMPARISON IS AGAINST THE 25 ESTIMATE, THE BUDGET, THE 26 BUDGET, UM, VARIANCES OR, UM, FUNDING IS STILL GOING TO BE THE SAME. WHAT WE SEE IN THIS SLIDE IS THE REVENUE VIEW OF OUR PROGRAMS AND THE REVENUES THAT WE SEE IN HR CLIENT SERVICES, CONTINGENT WORKFORCE SERVICES AND TALENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS ALONG WITH THE RISK MANAGEMENT ARE EXPENSES THAT ARE RECOVER CHARGE BY CHARGING BACK TO THE CITY DEPARTMENTS. SO THIS IS BASICALLY LIKE A DOLLAR PER DOLLAR CHARGE. UM, AND THESE PROGRAMS ARE HOUSED EITHER IN THE CENTRAL EVOLVING FUND OR THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION FUND, WHICH ARE CHARGEBACK FUNDS, RIGHT? THEN THE REVENUES THAT WE SEE IN THE HEALTH BENEFIT FUND ARE BASED ON COLLECTION OF PREMIUMS FROM THE EMPLOYEES, THE RE RETIREES AND THE CITY DEPARTMENTS. AND THE REVENUE IN THE LONG-TERM DISABILITY FUND IS BASED ON A FLAT FEE, WHICH IS $6 AND 80 CENTS PER MONTH CHARGED TO, UH, THE CITY DEPARTMENTS PER HEADCOUNT. AND THIS IS, UM, NOT EMPLOYEE FUNDED, BUT CITY FUNDED. SO I MENTIONED THAT BECAUSE HR REALLY IS NOT A, A, UM, REVENUE GENERATING DEPARTMENT. SO OUR EXPENSES [00:35:01] DRIVE OUR REVENUE. UM, SO IF OUR EXPENSES ARE DOWN, WHICH IN 25 WE ARE LOWER THAN OUR CURRENT BUDGET BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF SAVINGS INITIATIVES, UH, FOR 25. SO OUR 26 ARE GOING TO BE HIGHER. UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO WITH THAT SAID, THE 3.7% INCREASE THAT WE SEE HERE FROM COMPARING THE 26 BUDGET TO THE 25 ESTIMATE, IT'S REALLY BECAUSE THE 26 INCLUDES EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE MENTIONED BEFORE. ON THE EXPENSES SIDE, WE HAVE CONSOLIDATION EXPENSES, WE HAVE, UM, MOVING EXPENSES. WE PUT, UM, FUNDS FOR ANTICIPATION OF THE CLAIMS MATURITY, YOU KNOW, NEW CLAIMS FROM BOTH THE HEALTH BENEFIT AND THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION. THE ONLY DIFFERENT THAT IS THAT WE SEE HERE FROM, FROM THE EXPENSE SIDE IS THAT WE HAVE, UM, WE HAVE A DEDICATED UNIT IN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT TO THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION. SO WE RECOVER THEIR EXPENSES THROUGH OUR CHARGE BACK. AND SO THAT'S WHY IT'S A LITTLE BIT HIGHER WHEN WE LOOK AT THE EXPENSES CHART. AND THEN ALSO TOO, WE HAVE INTEREST INCOME INCLUDED IN THIS REVENUE. UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AND THIS SLIDE THE SAME IS THE EXPENSES. WE SEE THAT HEALTH BENEFIT IS THE BIGGEST PORTION OF OUR BUDGET IS ALSO 82%, FOLLOWED BY, UH, UM, CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND AT 10% AND WORKERS' COMPENSATION AT 8%. AND, UM, NEXT SLIDE. AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION. AND, UH, WE'RE READY FOR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. GREAT JOB COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN, THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, TO THE ENTIRE HR TEAM, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO OFTENTIMES, RIGHT? YOU'RE WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES, BUT ALL OF OUR OPERATIONS TO THE POINT ABOUT WHAT IN TERMS OF PERSONNEL, OUR BUDGET CONSISTS OF IT'S PERSONNEL. AND YOU TOUCH ALL OF THAT. UH, YOU'VE MADE TO CHAIR, TO YOUR POINT, UM, NOT JUST WITH VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT, WHICH WAS A HUGE, HUGE OVERHAUL, UH, AND A VERY QUICK TURNAROUND. BUT I THINK HR ONE AND ALL OF THE THINGS THAT Y'ALL HAVE BEEN ROLLING OUT ARE GOING VERY WELL. UM, REALLY QUICKLY, DO Y'ALL HAVE A NUMBER? WE'VE ASKED FINANCE THIS, BUT SINCE YOU MANAGE PERSONNEL, UM, HOW MANY PERSONNEL IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON ARE FUNDED THROUGH FEDERAL FUNDING GRANTS OR OTHER TYPES OF GRANTS? WOULD YOU HAVE THAT, THAT TYPE OF NUMBER OF AVAILABLE? IF WE SUBMITTED THAT QUESTION? UH, WE DON'T HAVE THAT NUMBER. SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO, UH, PARTNER WITH THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT TO GET. NO PROBLEM. YES, MA'AM. UM, ON, UH, SLIDE SIX WITH THE KEY PERFORMANCE METRICS, UH, AGAIN, THESE METRICS ARE VERY HELPFUL METRICS RIGHT, TO INCLUDE. DO WE HAVE A WAY THOUGH OF GOING BACK AND LOOKING AT WHAT THE FY 25 NUMBERS WERE, FOR EXAMPLE, RETENTION RATE? UH, I'M ASSUMING WE COULD PUT THAT TOGETHER FOR FY 25 SO WE CAN SEE WHAT THE COMPARISON WOULD BE. YES. COUNCIL MEMBER, WE CAN DO THAT FOR RETENTION. OKAY. YES, WE CAN. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO FOR ANY METRIC, WE'LL SUBMIT THAT QUESTION, BUT IT'D BE HELPFUL JUST SO WE HAVE SOMETHING TO COMPARE IT TO AS TO WHAT WE'RE SHOOTING FOR MOVING FORWARD. OKAY, NO PROBLEM, COUNSEL. UM, AND THEN ON SLIDE 14, YOU MAY HAVE SAID THIS, I APOLOGIZE. THE SUMMER JOBS PROGRAM THAT'S HIGHER HOUSTON YOUTH JUST, YEAH, IT'S, WELL, IT'S, IT'S ACTUALLY THE SUMMER, IT'S, IT ACTUALLY WAS TWO DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. I ALWAYS, OKAY, SO WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? SO, SO ACTUALLY THE, THE SUMMER HIRES ARE, HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WITHIN THE HR BUDGET. OKAY. SO THAT'S WHY I ALWAYS KIND OF JUST MAKE THAT DISTINCTION. SO SUMMER HIRES ARE ACTUALLY, THEY HAVE BEEN FOR OVER A DECADE IN THE CITY'S BUDGET. THE HIGHER HOUSTON YOUTH PROGRAM WAS A PROGRAM THAT JUST WAS CREATED TO PARTNER WITH OTHER, UH, ENTITIES OUT IN THE COMMUNITIES. AND IT WAS, UH, CREATED THROUGH THE, THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION. SO, SO OURS IS, WE JUST KIND OF COMBINED DURING THAT ADMINISTRATION. BUT, BUT THE, OUR SUMMER HIRES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE. OKAY. SO THERE IS A DISTINCTION. WE'LL SUBMIT THAT IN WRITING JUST SO I CAN GET MORE CLARITY FOR TIME'S SAKE. AND THEN HOW MUCH, I GUESS, DID HIGHER HOUSTON YOUTH COST MORE MONEY THAT HIGHER? NO, MA'AM. IT DID, IT DID NOT. BECAUSE IT WAS, IT WAS JUST BEING ADDED TO OUR SUMMER HIRE, SO THERE WAS NO ADDITIONAL COST. WAIT. OKAY. SO I JUST WOULD LIKE AN EXPLANATION, THE DISTINCTION SINCE WE'RE ELIMINATING OKAY. SOMETHING THAT DIDN'T POTENTIALLY COST US MONEY. UM, THEN ON, UH, LASTLY [00:40:01] WE'VE HEARD, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT BENEFITS, LOOK WITH VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT, THERE ARE VACANCIES THAT ARE GOING TO NEED TO BE FILLED. YES. AND RECRUITMENT BECOMES AN INCREASING CHALLENGE, UH, WHEN, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T MEET THE PAY THAT OTHER, YOU KNOW, IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR THEY ARE PAYING. CORRECT. SO WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TOOLS WE ARE USING FOR RECRUITMENT AND HOW DO YOU SEE US BEING SUCCESSFUL IN THAT? WELL, FIRST OF ALL, COUNCIL MEMBER, I WANNA SAY THAT THE INITIATION OF THE NEW HOPES IN MCA WAS REALLY BENEFICIAL TO US IN ACTUALLY RAISING THE BAR, EXCUSE MY VOICE, IN ACTUALLY RAISING THE BAR AND MAKING US MORE COMPETITIVE, UH, WITH, UH, A LOT OF THE OTHER GOVERNMENT ENTITIES. AND IN SOME INSTANCES, THE PRIVATE SECTOR. WE ALSO USE OUR BENEFITS. WE ALSO TALK ABOUT, AND WE HAVE EXCELLENT BENEFITS, WE ALSO TALK ABOUT OUR PRENATAL PARENTAL AND INFANT WELLNESS LEAVE, WHICH IS, IS BY FAR WITHIN ANY GOVERNMENT ENTITY. IT ACTUALLY IS TOP TIER. WHEN WE LOOK AT ALL THE OTHER GOVERNMENT ENTITIES THAT ACTUALLY ALLOW FOR THIS TYPE OF LEAVE MOST OF THE TIME AND IS JUST FOR, UH, THE PARENT. WE ADDED A LOT OF DIFFERENT FEATURES. AND, AND COUNCIL MEMBER, I, YOU KNOW, I WANNA SAY, 'CAUSE I I, IS THAT ONE THING THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ASKED OF US CONSISTENTLY WITH RESPECT TO WHAT WE CALL PPPI IS THAT, YOU KNOW, IS THIS COSTING THE CITY MORE MONEY AND COUNCIL MEMBER, THIS, THIS IS BUDGETED. IT HASN'T COSTED US ANY MORE MONEY. AND IT HAS TRULY SHOWN TO BE A BENEFIT, ESPECIALLY TO THE UPTICK OF ACTUALLY HAVING, UH, PREGNANCIES WITHIN THE CITY. AND, AND WE ARE ABLE TO GIVE YOU NUMBERS ON THAT. THAT WOULD BE TERRIFIC. YEAH, I THINK AGAIN, IT, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE RECRUITING YOUNGER. YES MA'AM, WE ARE. SO THAT BENEFITS' BEING USED MORE. HAS THERE BEEN ANY CHALLENGES WITH, UH, NOT HAVING SUFFICIENT EMPLOYEES SINCE PAID PARENTAL LEAVE IS IN PLACE? NO, MA'AM. IN ANY DEPARTMENT, MA'AM. IN ANY, NO MA'AM. THERE, THERE HAS NOT. THERE HAS NOT BEEN. THE, THE IT, WE HAVE, UH, DONE SEVERAL STUDIES ON THE TIME. UH, INDIVIDUALS STILL ARE TAKING THEIR REGULAR NORMAL VACATION TIME. THEY ARE TAKING THEIR TIME. UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND NOW I'M JUST REFERENCING HPD OR, OR HHFD. THEY TAKE THEIR NORMAL TIME TO, WHEN THEY'RE GOING OUT FOR EXAMS, THEY TAKE THEIR NORMAL VACATION. SO STATISTICALLY NO. NO, MA'AM. THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANY INCREASE. THANK YOU. AND KUDOS TO ALL OF YOU ON THE, UM, BENEFITS PACKAGES YOU'VE PUT TOGETHER IN ALL OF THE DIFFERENT INNOVATIVE WAYS WE'RE, WE'RE LEADING THE WAY IN HOUSTON. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT. COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR. YES SIR. UM, FOR ALL YOUR WORK. AND I'LL SECOND WHAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN SAID ABOUT ALL THE WORK THAT WAS NECESSARY WITH THE VOLUNTARY RETIREMENTS AND THE BENEFITS PACKAGES. I APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU. YES. SO, UM, I'VE GOT A COUPLE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SLIDE PRESENTATION. SO YOU HAVE A COUPLE SLIDES WHERE YOU TALK ABOUT EXPENDITURES, RIGHT? SO SLIDE 10, EXPENDITURE BY FUND AND THEN SLIDE 13, EXPENDITURE BY PROGRAM. AND WHEN YOU'RE COMPARING CHANGES IN THESE TWO SLIDES, EXPENDITURE SLIDES, YOU COMPARE, UM, FY 25 CURRENT BUDGET VERSUS FY 26 PROPOSED BUDGET. SO IF WE LOOK AT THE SECOND LINE IN ON PAGE 10, CENTRAL REVOLVING SERVICES FUND, THE 20 FY 25 BUDGET IS, UH, 50 AND A HALF MILLION. UH, PROPOSED BUDGET IS 51.1 MILLION. SO PERCENT CHANGE OF 1.2%. YES SIR. UM, WHY ON THIS SLIDE DO WE LOOK AT, DO WE COMPARE FY 25 CURRENT INSTEAD OF FY 25 ESTIMATE VERSUS FY 26 PROPOSED BUDGET? OH SEC. SO WE WE'RE FOLLOWING THE TEMPLATE THAT WE WERE GIVING BY FINANCE. SO THE EXPENDITURE THAT YOU SEE IN SLIDES SEND THE VARIANCE IS THE SAME AS THE VARIANCE IN SLIDE 13. NOW, THE REVENUE IS THE DIFFERENCE THAT THEY'RE COMPARING IT TO THE ESTIMATE. AND I'M, YES, GO AHEAD. IF I MIGHT INTERRUPT A SECOND. THIS HAS BEEN KIND OF AN ONGOING ISSUE WITH THE DIFFERENT, UM, DIFFERENT COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE BROUGHT THIS UP TO ME AND WE'VE KIND OF LOOKED INTO IT. DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS HAVE DONE IT DIFFERENTLY. I LIKE IT. AND I THINK WHAT THE TEMPLATE HAD, I LIKE IT ESTIMATE KIND OF WHERE WE'RE ENDING UP THIS YEAR, WHERE WE'RE ESTIMATED TO BE ENDED UP THIS YEAR AS OPPOSED TO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING FOR NEXT YEAR. I UNDERSTAND THERE WAS DIFFERING INTERPRETATIONS OF, OF THE TEMPLATE, BUT I'M GONNA CLEAR THAT UP NEXT YEAR EVERYBODY'S GONNA OPERATE OFF THE SAME PAGE. BUT BECAUSE YOU CAN, YOU CAN TELL A DIFFERENCE. SOMETIMES THEY'RE VERY SIMILAR, THOSE TWO COLUMNS, BUT SOMETIMES THEY'RE OFF. SO IT'S A LITTLE MISLEADING. RIGHT. NO, THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT. OKAY. 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, THE, WHAT I TAKE AWAY FROM THIS IS THAT IT, UM, UH, YOU GET A LOWER NUMBER FOR EXPENDITURES [00:45:01] WHEN YOU LOOK AT FY 25 CURRENT VERSUS 26 PROPOSED. YES, SIR. WHEN, YOU KNOW, LIKE FOR INSTANCE, CENTRAL REVOLVING SERVICES FUND, WE ONLY SPENT WHAT, 40, WE'RE ONLY GONNA SPEND 46 MILLION THIS YEAR. YES, SIR. UH, ES UH, WE THOUGHT WE WOULD, OR WE, WE BUDGETED 50 AND A HALF MILLION, YOU KNOW, AND SO NEXT YEAR WE'RE INCREASING THAT INSTEAD OF COMING DOWN BASED ON, UH, THE FACT THAT WE SPENT LESS, UH, IN REALITY THIS YEAR. AND THEN, AS YOU POINTED OUT, CHAIR, UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE, UH, REVENUE SLIDES, UH, WHICH ARE 21 AND 22, YOU KNOW, WE'RE COMPARING THE ESTIMATE VERSUS FY 26 PROPOSED AND THAT INFLATES THE CHANGE IN REVENUE. WE THINK WE'RE GONNA GET MORE REVENUE IN FY 26, UH, INSTEAD OF COMPARING IT TO FY 25 CURRENT BUDGET. SO ANYWAY, I JUST MAKE A NOTE OF THAT AND, AND THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION. THANK YOU, UH, MADAM CHAIR. YEAH. AND WHEN, WHEN I, WHEN I ASK QUESTIONS, I USUALLY, I ALWAYS USE THE, THE FY 25 ESTIMATE VERSUS THE FY 26 PROPOSAL. SO LET ME ASK YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, SLIDE SIX. AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN TOUCHED ON THIS AS WELL. SO IF WE LOOK AT THAT FIRST CATEGORY, UM, DEPARTMENT TIME AND HIRING STAGES, AND LET ME JUST FINISH THIS UP AND LET YOU ANSWER AND THEN WE'LL MOVE SOMEONE ELSE. SO FY 26, TARGET IS 80%. AND CAN YOU, CAN YOU TELL US WHAT, WHAT THAT MEANS? 80% OF WHAT? SO WHEN WE ARE LOOKING AT HIRING STAGES, WE'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT EXACTLY WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE DEPARTMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE WORKFLOW. SO WHAT WE'RE SAYING WITH RESPECT TO THAT 80% IS THAT WE WILL GET 80% OF THOSE TOTAL EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE BEEN, UM, REFERRED TO THAT DEPARTMENT, INTERVIEWED AND SELECTED. AND WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT TIME PERIOD THAT IT TOOK IN THAT DEPARTMENT TO GET THOSE EMPLOYEES THROUGH. WHAT IS, I'M SORRY, WHAT IS THE, WHAT IS THE NUMBER OF DAYS THAT WE'RE AIMING FOR? BECAUSE I ASSUME THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE AIMING FOR 80% OF X NUMBER OF DAYS, 15 DAYS. 15 DAYS, YES SIR. 15 DAYS. ALRIGHT, I'LL GO BACK IN THE QUEUE. THANK YOU. YES, SIR. AND ALONG THOSE LINES, WHILE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ON THE HIRING SIDE, I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU DID. YOU TOOK OWNERSHIP OF, UH, OF WHAT ON THE CLIENT SERVICES DEPARTMENTS. YOU CAN PUT THOSE, THOSE SLIDES UP. THE, THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES, YOU JUST BROKE IT DOWN. 'CAUSE REMEMBER WE, YOU CAUGHT A LOT OF FLACK FOR THE 180 DAYS IT TOOK TO GET PEOPLE HIRED. YES, MA'AM. AND NOW I SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS YOU'RE TAKING THE, THE, YOU'RE SAYING, OKAY, HR IS RESPONSIBILITY. WE'RE GONNA KEEP UNDER THIS, THIS, BUT MY QUESTION WOULD BE HOW ARE YOU GONNA WORK WITH THE CLIENT DEPARTMENTS TO BRING DOWN THEIR TIME? I MEAN, YOU'RE STILL HR, YOU'RE STILL KIND OF OVER THAT PROCESS. SO WHERE THERE'LL BE A LOT OF COMMUNICATION WITH THE HIRING DIVISION DEPARTMENTS ON, YOU KNOW, COME ON, IT'S TIME TO GET YOUR DEAL IN E EXACTLY. OKAY. AND WE HAVE GOTTEN THE SUPPORT FROM THE ADMINISTRATION COUNCIL MEMBER TO ACTUALLY NOW, UH, ACTUALLY SAY, HEY, WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU THREE WEEKS TO ACTUALLY GO THROUGH THE WHOLE PROCESS AND WE'RE GONNA SHEPHERD THAT PROCESS. UH, OUR CLIENT RELATIONS MANAGER AND OUR TALENT ACQUISITION INDIVIDUALS WILL NOW BE INTRICATELY INVOLVED IN MOVING THIS FORWARD. SO WE NOW HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATION TO HAVE THIS. SO WE'LL BE SHORTER TIME PERIOD. YES. SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE YOU'RE NOT JUST TRACKING YOUR PART AND FORGETTING ABOUT IT. YOU'RE, YOU'RE GONNA BE PUSHING THE CLIENT. WE'RE GONNA BE PUSHING THE CLIENT APART. OKAY. UM, AND I, I'M SORRY, I FORGOT TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOU EARLIER. COUNCIL MEMBER T TWILA CARTER HAS BEEN HERE SINCE THE BEGINNING AND IT'S, YOU'RE IN THE QUEUE. THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, JUST A QUESTION ON THE, UH, INTERNS, DO YOU HAVE A BREAKDOWN OF DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHO'S GOT, WHO'S GOT WHO? WE, WE DO FOR LAST YEAR? WE HAVEN'T, SORRY. WE DO FOR LAST YEAR. I CAN PROVIDE THAT. AND THIS YEAR WE, IT STARTS, I WANNA SAY JUNE 2ND. JUNE 9TH, WE START THE NEW SUMMER SESSION. BUT I CAN DEFINITELY PROVIDE YOU THE NUMBERS FOR LAST YEAR. THANK YOU. I'D BE CURIOUS TO SEE THAT. AND THE OTHER IS, I HAD A QUESTION OR MAYBE CLARIFICATION ON SLIDE 19 ON THE BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION. FIRST. I THINK IT'S WONDERFUL YOU ALL PUT OUT SO MANY PROGRAMS ON WELLNESS PROMOTING, YOU KNOW, THAT DISCOUNT AND THAT, AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UM, I ALWAYS SAY GO ONLINE AND DO IT, YOU KNOW, BUT WE REALLY NEED TO ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGE, UH, EMPLOYEES AND STAFF TO, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT BECAUSE IT DOES MATTER TO THE BOTTOM LINE. YES, MA'AM. ON YOUR TARGET. UM, YOU KNOW, I, I SEE THE PERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYEES WHO TOOK PREVENTATIVE CARE, BUT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WHY IS IT THAT THAT TARGET IS NOT A, IS IN A, ON THE, THE, THE NEXT FOUR MEASURES [00:50:01] ON, ON SLIDE 19, YOU KNOW, AND FOR A SPOUSAL NUMBER OF WELLNESS EVENTS, LIKE YOU HAD A THOUSAND ESTIMATED. SO THE, THE, THE FIRST ONE IS OUR NEW OUTCOME BASE ONE BECAUSE OF THE TEMPLATE THAT FINANCE REQUESTED. SO THE VERY FIRST ONE THAT HAS THE THREE NAS IS, IS ACTUALLY OUR NEW OUTCOME BASED ONE. THE OTHER ONES WERE OUR PREVIOUS ONES AND HOW WE MEASURE. SO YOU'RE FLIPPING IT? YES, MA'AM. OKAY. I'M SORRY. I'M SURE YOU SAID THAT. YES, NO PROBLEM. NO PROBLEM. OTHER ONES WE'RE MORE INPUT BASED AND OUTPUT BASED RATHER THAN MEASURING WHAT WE'RE DOING LIKE WITH THE WELLNESS ACTIVITIES. WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THAT? YOU KNOW, THE HEALTH BENEFIT, UM, CLASSES THAT THE TEAM TAKES OVER TO THE DEPARTMENTS. WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THAT? THAT'S WHAT WE'RE CAPTURING HERE BY EVERYBODY GOING TO THE DOCTOR AND, AND GETTING THEIR PREVENTIVE CARE DONE. WHAT DOES THAT IMPACT? MM-HMM . THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO. GREAT JOB. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER. AND I THINK ON THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES, WHAT WE'VE BEEN TOLD BY FINANCES EVERY QUARTER THAT DASHBOARD WILL BE UPDATED AND THEN AS THEY AS WORKING WITH THE EY, THEY'RE GONNA BE ROLLING OUT THESE NEW PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND COMING TO THE BFA COMMITTEE. SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THE, THEIR NEWLY IMPROVED PERFORMANCE MEASURES. UH, VICE CHAIR CASTILLO, THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR. UH, I ALSO WANT TO GIVE KUDOS TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR ALL THE HARD WORK THAT WENT INTO THE VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT PROGRAM. YES, SIR. ON YOUR PRESENTATION, UM, AS Y'ALL ARE WORKING TO BE MORE EFFICIENT IN, IN YOUR PROCESSES, WHAT ROLE, UH, IS TECHNOLOGY PLAYING AT ALL IN THIS? UH, COULD BE AI, COULD BE, NOT AI, BUT HOW IS THAT WORKING OUT FOR Y'ALL? A ACTUALLY, UM, WITH RESPECT TO, TO AI, IT'S BECOMING REALLY BIG, ESPECIALLY, UH, IN HIRING. ALL RIGHT. BECAUSE, UM, I LOOK, ACTUALLY LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH HITS BECAUSE WE REALLY NEED TO PUT PARAMETERS AROUND WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING HERE WITHIN THE CITY. AS FAR AS AI RIGHT NOW. I'LL JUST GIVE YOU A A BRIEF EXAMPLE BECAUSE, UM, INDIVIDUALS, UH, HAVE TO DO INTERVIEWS. OKAY. SOME OF OUR INTERVIEWS ARE DONE, DONE THROUGH WHAT'S CALLED SPARK HIRE. AND THOSE PARTICULAR INTERVIEWS, UH, CAN BE INFLUENCED, UH, VERY MUCH BY AI BECAUSE WE COULD HAVE SOMEONE THAT COULD DO REALLY, REALLY WELL IN THAT INTERVIEW, BUT WHEN THEY ACTUALLY COME IN, THEY MIGHT NOT DO AS WELL. SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE, WHEREAS I AM A, I AM FOR AI, I BELIEVE USING IT AS, ESPECIALLY WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, WRITING TECHNIQUES AND THOSE TYPE THINGS, I THINK IT IS WONDERFUL. BUT I THINK THAT WHEN YOU COME INTO THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE SOME TYPE OF PARAMETERS AS WE LOOK AT AI AND AS WE LOOK AT THE STAGES IN WHICH WE'RE GONNA BE USING IT WITH THE HITS DEPARTMENT AND, AND WHAT TOOLS THAT WE'RE GONNA BRING ACTUALLY FOR OUR EMPLOYEES TO BE ABLE TO USE. BUT IT'S GONNA BE PHENOMENAL. IT'S, IT'S WHAT THE FUTURE IS, IS HOLDING AND OUR EMPLOYEES SHOULD REALLY ENJOY IT IN THE DEPARTMENTS. IT SHOULD MOVE US FORWARD. SO Y'ALL ARE STILL EVALUATING WHAT TOOLS YOU WANT TO INCORPORATE? YES. YOU HAVEN'T USED ANY YET? NO, NO, SIR. WE HAVE NOT USED IT. OKAY. NO, THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, SIR. COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN. THANK YOU. HOW ARE YOU DOING? COUNCIL MEMBER? HARD WORK. YES. OKAY. SO YOU'VE MENTIONED, UH, WORKING WITH AN A DA COORDINATOR, BUT HOW DOES THE HR DEPARTMENT WORK WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF DISABILITIES TO HELP EMPLOY DISABLED INDIVIDUALS? OR DO Y'ALL THAT? THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. COUNCIL MEMBER IN, IN ACTUALITY, UH, I WANT TO, UH, BE VERY TRANSPARENT. UM, SINCE, UM, DIRECTOR PONSE HAS BEEN, UM, THE, THE DIRECTOR, WE ACTUALLY HAVE COLLABORATED MORE THAN WE EVER HAVE WITH RESPECT TO LOOKING AT PROGRAMS TO BRING IN MORE EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE DISABILITIES. THIS HAS BEEN A GAP WITHIN HUMAN RESOURCES AND, UH, DIRECT EY AND MYSELF HAVE MADE A COMMITMENT FOR THIS YEAR TO DO BETTER IN LOOKING AT TALKING WITH THESE AGENCIES, BRINGING INDIVIDUALS IN, LETTING DEPARTMENTS SEE WHAT WE'RE MISSING OUT WITHIN THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY. SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE DEFINITELY LOOKING FORWARD TO. PARTNERING WITH THE A DA COORDINATOR IS A, IT IS A DIFFERENT PORTION OF IT BECAUSE IT, IT JUST GOVERNS THE, THE ISSUES THAT ARE OCCURRING HERE IN THE CITY WITH US GIVING ACCOMMODATIONS TO OUR CURRENT EMPLOYEES. BUT AS FAR AS US BEING ABLE TO GO OUT AND HIRE EMPLOYEES, WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO DOING THAT AND TAKING IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL, WORKING WITH DIRECTOR EY 'CAUSE IT'S, IT IS A GAP THAT WE'VE HAD. WELL, GREAT. I LOVE, I LOVE THAT. AND, UM, DO WE KNOW HOW MANY DISABLED EMPLOYEES WE HAVE WORKING RIGHT NOW FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON? [00:55:02] NO, WE DO NOT HAVE THAT EXACT NUMBER, BUT WE CAN FIND THAT OUT. OKAY. AND THEN, UM, IS THE CITY, OR DOES THE CITY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF FINANCIAL INCENTIVES FOR DIFFERENT COMPANIES, YOU KNOW, THAT THE STATE OFFERS TO EMPLOY DISABLED INDIVIDUALS. AND RIGHT NOW, IS THE CITY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ANY OF THOSE, UH, PROGRAMS OR TAX INCENTIVES? UH, NOT AS MUCH AS WE SHOULD. I DO BELIEVE BETWEEN THE, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF DISABILITIES THAT THEY HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS. BUT DIRECTOR PER SE HAS, HAS INTRODUCED THEM TO OUR TALENT ACQUISITION TEAM AND WE NOW ARE MADE AWARE OF THOSE AND WE DEFINITELY WILL BE APPLYING FOR THOSE THIS YEAR. OKAY, GREAT. YES MA'AM. AND I'M SUPER INTERESTED IN, YOU KNOW, SPECIFICALLY THIS ISSUE. AND SO I'D LOVE TO WORK WITH YOU AND DIRECTOR PONSE AS WELL. YES, MA'AM. YES MA'AM. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT, MA'AM. YEAH. COUNCIL MEMBER EVAN SHABAZZ ONLINE. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. AND CERTAINLY THANK YOU DIRECTOR. UH, YOUR DEPARTMENT HELPS THE SHIP TO EFFECTIVELY SELL WITH TRAINED AND QUALIFIED PERSONNEL. UM, MY QUESTION IS NOT ACTUALLY A BUDGET QUESTION, UH, BUT I DID HEAR YOU MENTION SOMETHING ABOUT A GED PROGRAM. I'M ALWAYS LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONNEL TO BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD, UH, IN THEIR EDUCATIONAL PURSUITS. AND SO DOES THAT MEAN THAT MEMBERS OF, SAY FOR INSTANCE, THE HOT TEAM, WHICH ARE NOT CITY PERSONNEL, BUT ARE CONTRACT PERSONNEL TO CLEAN UP, YOU KNOW, IN OUR DISTRICTS, ARE THEY ALLOW THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GED PROGRAMS AS WELL? WELL, NOT THIS PARTICULAR PROGRAM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, BUT WHAT I WILL TELL YOU IS THAT WE HAVE CREATED A PARTNERSHIP WITH HARRIS COUNTY, UM, AND IT IS A VERY STRONG PARTNERSHIP. THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ASSISTED US IN GETTING THIS GED PROGRAM TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON. AND WE WILL BE HAPPY TO SIT DOWN WITH YOU TO, UM, TO GIVE YOU MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THOSE ACTUAL INDIVIDUALS CAN JOIN THE DGED PROGRAM. THAT WOULD BE GREAT. YES, MA'AM. 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE ARE STUCK. YES, MA'AM. AND, AND THEY HAVE NOT GOTTEN A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA AND THEY CERTAINLY WANNA PURSUE OTHER SKILLS AND EDUCATION AND THEY'VE BEEN PRECLUDED FROM DOING THAT. SO I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE THAT CONVERSATION AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. NO, NO PROBLEM. AND WE, WE COMMIT TO MAKING SURE THAT WE GET THAT INFORMATION TO YOU. THAT IS, LIKE I SAID, THAT IS ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING THINGS THAT I BELIEVE THAT WE'VE STARTED HEARING THE CITY, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE WE'VE HAD SO MANY EMPLOYEES THAT JUST NEED THAT TO GO TO THEIR NEXT LEVEL. THANK YOU. I AM SUPREMELY EXCITED ABOUT THAT AS WELL. BEING A RETIRED NO SUCH THING EDUCATOR. THANK YOU. YES, MA'AM. , COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER ONLINE. YEAH. I HAD A QUESTION ALSO ABOUT THE GED PROGRAM. I THOUGHT THE CITY REQUIRED A GED OR HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA IN ORDER TO BE HIRED. IS THAT NOT CORRECT? NOT FOR ALL POSITIONS. A COUNCIL MEMBER. OKAY. YEAH. AND ACTUALLY I THINK IT'S A GOOD THING BECAUSE I, I KNOW IN PREVIOUS LIFE WE USED TO GIVE APTITUDE TEST FOR PEOPLE THAT DIDN'T HAVE A, A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA OR A GED. AND AS LONG AS THEY HAD THE SKILLS TO DO THE JOB, WE COULD HIRE 'EM. SO I DO THINK THAT'S A GOOD THING. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, SIR. YES. WE, WE HAVE A FEW, AND THEN ONCE THEY ATTAIN THIS, THEN THEY'LL BE ABLE TO APPLY FOR THOSE POSITIONS THAT ACTUALLY REQUIRE THE GED. OKAY. THANK YOU. YES, SIR. I'LL SUBMIT MOST OF MY QUESTIONS IN, IN WRITING, BUT A COUPLE THINGS. WHAT IS, WHAT IS ACTIVE HEALTH AWARD ACCOUNT? WHAT, WHAT IS THAT? I NOTICED WE KIND OF WENT FROM HALF MILLION TO A MILLION DOLLARS IN OUR HEALTH BENEFITS ACCOUNT. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? THE WHAT ACCOUNT NUMBER IS IT? IT'S, IT'S CALLED ACTIVE HEALTH AWARD ACCOUNT. YEAH. SO THERE'S SEVERAL OF THOSE WITHOUT KNOWING THE ACCOUNT NUMBERS. 'CAUSE THE WAY THAT WE MAP OUR HEALTH BENEFIT, THE WAY THAT WE MAP OUR HEALTH BENEFIT IN THE GO, IT'S A COMBINATION OF SEVERAL ACCOUNTS THAT WE PULLED TOGETHER. SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT ONE ACCOUNT PER SE DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN OKAY. I JUST DIDN'T, I JUST DIDN'T RECOGNIZE THAT AWARD PART. YES. SO, BUT WE HAVE SEVERAL OF THE HRA HAS, UH, THE HEALTHY AWARDS ACCOUNT ALSO. OKAY. COULD BE, COULD BE THAT, BUT OKAY. YOU CAN ANSWER THAT ONLINE. RIGHT. AND I, I DID NOTE, AND I THINK YOU COVERED IT IN THE PRESENTATION, BUT I DID NOTICE THAT THE, THE, UM, RETIREE PREMIUM, UH, OUR EXPENDER, THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN OUR RETIREE RETIREE PREMIUM EXPENDITURES FROM 30 MILLION TO 33 MILLION. YEAH. SO THEIR MEDICARE ADVANTAGE, UM, UM, PLANS, THEY DID INCREASE ABOUT ALMOST ABOUT 50%. OKAY. SO THAT WAS THE INCREASE THERE. AND THEN THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN HEALTH BENEFITS CONTRIBUTIONS, [01:00:01] ACTIVE EMPLOYEE CITY INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS, REVENUES FROM 2 54 TO TWO 60. SO THERE WAS A, AND THAT COULD BE, SO THAT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, A, THAT ACCOUNT WITH OTHER ACCOUNTS MAKE UP THE CIGNA MEDICAL. OKAY. RIGHT. YES. AND SO, AND THERE IS AN INCREASE IN THERE, SO THERE'S AN INCREASE IN WHAT WE'RE CONTRIBUTING. RIGHT? YES. SO OUR ENROLLMENT STAYING RELATIVELY FLAT, BUT THERE IS AN INCREASE IN CLAIMS TOO. YEAH. OKAY. GOT IT. SO THERE'S A 1.9% INCREASE ON THE CITY DEPARTMENT SIDE. RIGHT. RIGHT. AND I APPRECIATE YOU'RE GOING THROUGH THE CONTINGENT WORKFORCE DEPARTMENTS. I'LL, I'LL GET THAT BREAKDOWN TOO. ALRIGHT, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. YES, SIR. AND, UM, DIRECTOR CHEEKS, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THE, THE BIG BUDGET BOOK. I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS OUT OF THAT BOOK IF YOU DON'T MIND. AND IF WE CAN START ON PAGE 62 OF YOUR SECTION, WHICH IS SECTION ROMAN RULE SIX. WE DO NOT HAVE THE BUDGET BOOK THAT YOU HAVE. YEAH. WE ONLY GET THE WE HAVE OUR BUDGET THOUGH. YOU HAVE? YEAH. YOU HAVE YOURS? YEAH. OKAY. COULD YOU TELL ME WHAT LINE ITEM? WELL, OKAY, IT'S, UH, CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND. OKAY. AND THE FUND NUMBER IS 1002. BUSINESS AREA NUMBER IS 8,000. ALL RIGHT. THAT HELPS YOU FIND IT. OKAY. OKAY. SO, UM, LOOKING AT, UH, PERSONNEL SERVICES AND, UM, FTES FY 2024, WE WERE AT 180 3 0.1 AND PROPOSED IN THE FY 2026 BUDGET, UH, ASKING FOR 218 FTES, WHICH IS AN INCREASE OF 35 FTES. UM, AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS WE'LL HAVE FEWER EMPLOYEES IN THE CITY, BUT THIS PROPOSAL IS TO, IS TO, WILL BE 35 OVER WHAT WE WERE IN 2024. WHY DO WE NEED, UH, MORE FTES IN THIS CATEGORY? OH, SO CARLOS'S PROBABLY GONNA AUGMENT THIS, BUT COUNCIL MEMBER, THIS WAS ACTUALLY DUE TO MY, MY CONSOLIDATIONS. SO I CONSOLIDATED WITH, UM, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS WITH ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. I HAVE THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT'S EMPLOYEE SERVICES. UM, AND I ALSO HAVE, UM, THE INDIVIDUALS, NO, UH, THE PUBLIC WORKS LEARNING. YEAH. THE PUBLIC WORKS LEARNING AND THE OFFICE OF TALENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. MM-HMM . SO THOSE ARE THE, THOSE ARE THE INCREASES. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT. YES, SIR. UH, AND IF WE COULD MOVE A COUPLE PAGES FORWARD TO HEALTH BENEFITS FUND. OKAY. AND, UH, ON THIS ONE WE ALSO SEE AN INCREASE OF FTES FROM 2024, FROM ABOUT 40 TO ABOUT 45. DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH CONSOLIDATION AS WELL, OR IS THERE SOME OTHER REASON FOR THAT? NO, UH, ON THIS ONE WE, WE DID A, UM, A SHIFT OF POSITIONS, HOW YOU SEE SOME INCREASING IN SOME OTHER FUNDS. YOU, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THIS ONE INCREASE, THIS ONE HAS IS RELATED TO STAFFING, THE WELLNESS, THE, THE WELLNESS CENTER MM-HMM . SO WE INCLUDED THE, THE FTES HERE. BUT AS WE REDUCED HERE, UH, SEE WE INCREASED HERE, WE REDUCED IN OTHER FUND AREAS. SO WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR POSITIONS, WE LOOK AT OUR POSITION HOLISTICALLY, LIKE DIRECTOR CHEEKS WAS MENTIONING EARLIER, WITH, WITH A PURPOSE. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT. OF COURSE. UM, AND I'LL ASK YOU SIMILAR QUESTION REGARDING BUSINESS AREA HUMAN RESOURCES, UH, NUMBER 8,000. IF I COULD JUST ASK THE QUESTION, GET AN ANSWER, THEN I'LL GO BACK IN THE QUEUE. UM, FTES HAVE INCREASED 15 HERE, UH, JUST FROM THE LAST FISCAL YEAR. DO YOU SEE THAT? SO WHAT, UH, WHAT ROOM AND NUMBER IS THAT? OKAY, SO IT'S, UM, BUSINESS AREA HUMAN RESOURCES. MM-HMM . BUSINESS AREA 8,000 HR CLIENT SERVICES. HR CLIENT SERVICES. OH, THE PROGRAM. OKAY. HOLD ON. YEAH, IT'S IN THE BACK. SO WITH THE CLIENT SERVICES PROGRAM, WE HAVE DONE, UH, THIS IS WHERE WE HOUSE THE CONSOLIDATION FOR HPD, BUT WE ALSO ELIMINATED THE VACANCY FACTOR. SO THIS YEAR WE'RE PURPOSEFUL THAT EACH POSITION IN HR HAS A PURPOSE AND ALL OF THEM ARE NEEDED. SO THERE'S NO NEED TO, YOU KNOW, HOVER VACANCIES THAT WE, WE WE'RE NOT GONNA HIRE OR THAT DON'T HAVE A PURPOSE. MM-HMM . OKAY. I'LL GO BACK IN THE QUEUE. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU. LAST AREA I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT IS TALENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. OKAY. AND, UM, DESCRIPTION IS STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, AND THEN GOAL [01:05:01] BECOME A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED LEARNING CENTER FOR DIVERSE EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE. UM, UM, IN 2024, THE EXPENDITURES HERE WERE ABOUT 2 MILLION, AND THEY'VE INCREASED, UH, ALMOST FIVE AND A HALF MILLION FOR THE PROPOSED 2026 BUDGET. CAN YOU, CAN YOU TELL US WHAT THIS IS ABOUT AND WHY THAT INCREASE IS NEEDED? YEAH. UH, WITH RESPECT TO THAT. UM, BECAUSE OF THE EXPANSION OF THE I 45, UH, THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS NOW TAKEN OVER OR WILL TAKE OVER OUR CURRENT LOCATION AT THE EB CAPE CENTER. SO WE ARE NOW IN THE PROCESS OF LOOKING FOR A NEW LOCATION AND THAT IS THE FUNDING IT THAT WENT UP TO FUND US TO FIND A NEW LOCATION TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE, UH, OUR SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON EMPLOYEES. OKAY, GREAT. UH, AND CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THAT PROGRAM DOES? WHAT, WHAT SERVICES IT PROVIDES? YEAH, SO, SO THIS, THIS PROGRAM, THE INCREASES HAVE THREE MAJOR COMPONENTS LIKE THE RECTOR CHEEKS WAS SAYING THE LEASE AND THE MOVING EXPENSES, RIGHT? IT ALSO HAS THE CITYWIDE TRAINING FOR UPSKILL. SO THIS NEW, UH, INITIATIVE THAT WE'RE CREATING AND STANDARDIZING OR LEARNING FOR ALL THE DEPARTMENTS. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS HAVE NOTICED YOUR EMAILS THAT SAYS POWER BI, POWER UP. THOSE TYPE OF, UH, CITYWIDE LEARNINGS IS, IS CREATED OUT OF THIS TEAM LED BY DR. BEEK. SO THAT HAS A COST. SO WE INCLUDED ABOUT 400 TO 500,000 IN THAT TOO. AND THEN THE CONSOLIDATION EXPENSES. SO WE HAVE 10 FTES, NINE FTES, SORRY. 'CAUSE ONE ACTUALLY PARTICIPATED IN THE RETIREMENT OPTION. MM-HMM NINE FTES FOR HPW. AND AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH CONSOLIDATION, ONE OF THE OTHER ONES THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO CONSOLIDATE IS THE GSD TRAINING FUNCTIONS. SO WHAT THIS GROUP DOES IS THE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT ALSO TO MOTIVATE OUR EMPLOYEES AND OUR SUPERVISORS. SO THIS YEAR WE'RE GONNA TARGET SUPERVISOR AND MANAGEMENT TRAINING THAT WILL TRANSLATE AN EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT. THIS IS THE GROUP THAT DOES THAT. THANK YOU. COURT. THANK YOU. OKAY. I SEE NO MORE QUESTIONS FROM COLLEAGUES AND I WANNA ASK THE PUBLIC, WELL NO ONE SIGNED UP, BUT IF THERE'S ANYBODY HERE IN THE CHAMBER OR ONLINE THAT WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS US NOW IS YOUR TIME DIRECTOR. AND MS. COLEMAN, I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SERVICE AND YOUR ATTENTION TO DETAIL ON THIS BUDGET AND LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING MORE QUESTIONS ANSWERED THROUGH SHAREPOINT. AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR VERY WELL THOUGHT OUT PRESENTATION. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU CHAIR. AND THANK YOU ALSO VICE CHAIR, THANKS TO THE TEAM TOO. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU CHAIR. THANK YOU. VICE CHAIR. SO ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS? NOPE. ALRIGHT. WE DON'T SEE ANYBODY. SO WE WILL TAKE A QUICK BREAK AND THEN WE WILL GET STARTED WITH ADMINISTRATION AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS, UM, IN A FEW MINUTES. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.