* 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: Houston Fire Department on May 19, 2025.] [00:00:17] OH, HOPE THAT'S GOOD NEWS. I'M EXCITED TO HEAR FROM THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND WE ARE JOINED BY THE FIRE CHIEF TOM MUNOZ AND ALSO RACHEL MCHENRY. YEAH. ROCHELLE. RACHEL. ROCHELLE. ROCHELLE. ROCHELLE. WELL, WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE BOTH OF YOU. THANKS FOR ALL. AND I SEE THE EXECUTIVE TEAM, THANKS TO EVERYBODY AT HFD FOR KEEPING US ALL SAFE. AND, UH, WITH THAT, THE FLOOR IS YOURS, DIRECTOR CHIEF. CHIEF DIRECTOR . THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER. AND THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR THE CONTINUED SUPPORT. ALSO, WANT TO TAKE THE TIME TO THANK OUR COMMAND STAFF AND THE BACK WHO, AND OBVIOUSLY ROCHELLE MCHENRY HAS BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY TO HAVE THIS PRESENTATION READY. SO, THANK YOU. UH, WE'LL START OFF WITH THE, UM, OBVIOUSLY SLIDES ONE, TWO, AND THREE ARE GONNA BE THE COVER, THE TABLE OF CONTENTS AND THE STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT THAT WE HAVE. THAT'S GONNA BE ON SLIDE THREE. PLEASE, IF YOU MAY. A SLIDE. THIS SLIDE SHOWS OUR BUDGET ALIGNMENT WITH THE MAYOR'S PRIORITIES. THE MAJORITY OF OUR BUDGET IS, IS 87% IS DIRECT, IS DEDICATED TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY, 10% TO GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS, AND 3% TO QUALITY OF LIFE. A FEW KEY INITIATIVES INCLUDES RECRUITING AND RETAINING QUALIFIED FIREFIGHTERS, DELIVERING SAFETY PROGRAMS TO THE PUBLIC THAT EFFECTIVELY REDUCES IDENTIFIED COMMUNITY RISKS AND PROMOTES A SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS AND EQUIPPING FIRST RESPONDERS WITH SKILLS TO BETTER ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH SITUATIONS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. PLANS TO ELIMINATE THE GAP. THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE AMOUNT OF REDUCTION TO HFDS, UH, BUDGET FOR OUR CONTRIBUTION TO ELIMINATING THE GAP. ONE OF OUR SIX PROGRAMS WAS AFFECTED THE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES PROGRAM WITH A REDUCTION OF 253,000. THIS REDUCTION REDUCES THE OVERTIME AVAILABLE FOR THE HFD SPECIAL EVENTS THAT WE CONTINUOUSLY WORK ON. MOVING FORWARD, WE'LL NEED A STRATEGICALLY DEPLOY RESOURCES IN A MANNER THAT REDUCES OVERTIME EXPENDITURES WHILE STILL SUPPORTING EVENTS. ADDITIONALLY, WHEN SUITABLE, WE ARE REQUESTING AND RECEIVING REIMBURSEMENT FROM EVENT ORGANIZERS, WHICH HELPS TO OFFSET THE OVERTIME COSTS. FOR FISCAL YEAR 25. WE ARE EXPECTING TO RECEIVE APPROXIMATELY 375,000 IN REIMBURSEMENT REVENUE. SOME OF THE EVENTS, UH, THAT WE SUPPORTED INCLUDES THE FREEDOM OVER TEXAS LOCAL CONCERTS AND SPORTING EVENTS, WINGS OVER HOUSTON AND HOUSTON MARATHON, AS WELL AS THE LIGHTS AND THE HEIGHTS. BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO, TO KNOW THAT WE'RE ALSO GONNA BE SUPPORTING THE, UH, WORLD CUP. NOW WE ARE WORKING WITH OBVIOUSLY FIFA HOUSTON FIRST TO START GETTING THAT REIMBURSEMENT PIECE, OR AT LEAST THE MONIES THAT WILL HELP SUPPORT THAT EVENT. THAT CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW IS STANDING AT 39 DAYS, WHICH WILL NOT ONLY INCLUDE THE TOURNAMENTS, BUT FAN FEST EVERYTHING THAT'S GONNA BE GOING THROUGHOUT THE CITY. SO THAT OVER TIME, AS WE'RE WORKING ON NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THE VOLUNTARY MUNICIPAL RETIREMENT PAYOUT OPTION HFD HAD 36 CIVILIANS ELIGIBLE FOR THE VOLUNTARY MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT PAYOUT OPTION. OF THAT 36 OR 22% OF THE, OF EIGHT OF THE ELIGIBLE MEMBERS TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE PROGRAM. THERE WAS ONE CRITICAL BACK, UH, BACKFILL IN OUR PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS OFFICE, RESULTING IN A NET ATTRITION OF SEVEN ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES SEPARATING FROM THE CITY WITH A REDUCTION VALUE OF 750,000. AREAS OF THE DEPARTMENT AFFECTED BY THE PROGRAM INCLUDE HFD WAREHOUSE, THE LOGISTICS AND EMERGENCY OPERATIONS DIVISIONS, AND HFD PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE. OUR PLANS TO SERVE OUR PLANS TO PRESER, UH, SERVICE DELIVERY INCLUDE ABSORPTION AND DUTIES BY REMAINING STAFF. ONE OF THE AREAS MOST AFFECTED, AS I MENTIONED, WAS A HFD WAREHOUSE. THIS IS THE, THE DIVISION RESPONSIBLE FOR SUPPLYING ALL FIRE STATIONS AND AMBULANCES WITH NEEDED EQUIPMENT AND CONSUMABLES. THERE ARE CONCERNS THAT THE ADDITIONAL WORKLOAD ON REMAINING EMPLOYEES MAY RESULT IN DELAYS IN DELIVERING SUPPLIES IN A TIMELY MANNER, DELAYS IN GEARED DISTRIBUTION, INVENTORY, INACCURACIES, [00:05:01] AND POSSIBLY HIGHER CIVILIAN O CIVILIAN OVERTIME COSTS FOR THIS AREA. SLIDE SIX, PLEASE. PROPOSED DEPARTMENT RESTRUCTURE. OUR DEPARTMENT RESTRUCTURE IS UNDERWAY. ON APRIL 30TH, HOUSTON FIRE HAD 99 CIVILIANS SUPPORTING 373,721 CLASSIFIED MEMBERS. AND 160 CADETS NET CIVILIAN HEADCOUNT IS 91. AFTER THE VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT PROGRAM, EVEN WITH A SMALL NUMBER OF PERSONNEL WHO ARE EXPECTING TO ACHIEVE EFFECTIVENESS WITH OUR SPAN OF CONTROL, WHO ARE INCREASING NUMBER OF DIRECT REPORTS FOR EACH SUPERVISOR FLATTENING OUT OUR SPAN OF CONTROL AS A DIRECT RESULT IN THE, OF THE, THIS, OF THIS DECREASE IN THE PERCENTAGE OF MANAGERS AND SUPERVISORS WITH LESS THAN FOUR DIRECT REPORTS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. FIRES FULLY FUNDED BY GENERAL FUNDS DOLLARS. THE CHANGE FROM THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR 25 BUDGET TO THE FISCAL YEAR 26 PROPOSED BUDGET IS A DECREASE OF 31.5 MILLION OR 5%. THE DECREASE IN THE OVERALL SPENDING LEVELS IS DUE TO EXPECTED PERSONNEL SAVINGS AND CLASSIFIED OVERTIME SPENDING, WHICH OFFSETS INCREASES IN CLASSIFIED BASE PAY, INCREASES IN RESTRICTED ACCOUNTS, AND CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE ETHAN HEALTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. EXPENDITURES BY FUND GRAPH. THIS SLIDE IS, IS, IS A GRAPH DEPICTING ARE CHANGES IN ANNUAL EXPENDITURES. THE 105 MILLION INCREASE FROM FISCAL YEAR 24 TO THE FISCAL YEAR 25 CURRENT BUDGET IS LARGELY DUE TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT, WHICH INCLUDED A 10% ACROSS THE BOARD, PAY RAISE INCREASES IN SPECIAL AND OTHER PAYS AND EXPENDED RETIREMENT OPTIONS. WE'RE ALREADY SEEING THE RETURN ON THE INVESTMENT IN THE DEPARTMENT IN A FORM OF INCREASING NUMBER OF APPLICANTS FOR OUR CADET CLASSES AND LOWER ATTRITION RATES FOR NEW HIRES. ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE HAD TWO REHIRE CLASSES THIS FISCAL YEAR WITH A THIRD PLANNED NEXT MONTH WITH A PROJECTED RETURN OF 35 FORMER FIREFIGHTERS THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT. AGAIN, THAT WAS PART OF THE SUPPORT AND WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE UNION TO RESTRUCTURE SOME OF THESE AREAS. FORMER MEMBERS ARE RETURNING TO THE DEPARTMENT AND ARE EXCITED TO BE PART OF THE ORGANIZATION ONCE AGAIN. AS MENTIONED, THE DECREASE IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR 25 BUDGET TO THE FISCAL YEAR 26 PROPOSED IS LARGELY A DECREASE IN EXPECTED OVERTIME EXPENDITURES OFFSET AGAINST INCREASES IN CLASSIFIED PAY RESTRICTED ACCOUNTS, AND THE CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE ETHAN HEALTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT C-CORP CORPORATION. WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED SEVERAL INITIATIVES TO INCREASE CADET RETENTION HAVE BEEN SEEN AN IMPROVEMENT IN OUR CADET CLASSES, ATTRITION RATES. THE FISCAL YEAR 24 ATTRITION AVERAGE WAS ALMOST 45% FOR THE CADET PROGRAM FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE'RE ANTICIPATING AN ATTRITION RATE OF 34% OF OUR CADET CLASSES. AND FOR CLASSES GRADUATING IN FISCAL YEAR 26, AN AVERAGE OF 12% ATTRITION RATE LOCATED IN THE APPENDIX IS A SCHEDULE THAT COMPARES THE GRADUATING NUMBER OF CADETS WITH OUR CLASSIFIED ATTRITION FROM FISCAL YEAR 22 TO 24, THE DEPARTMENT EXPECTED A NET LOSS OF FIVE IN CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL FOR FISCAL, FISCAL YEAR 25. WE'RE ANTICIPATING A NET INCREASE OF 175 CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL FOR AND FOR FISCAL YEAR 26, A NET ESTIMATED NET INCREASE OF 200 IN CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL. THIS MUCH NEEDED INFUSIONS IN OUR CLASSIFIED HEADCOUNT SHOULD REDUCE OUR RELIANCE ON STAFFING, ON STAFFING, AND ON OVERTIME. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. PERSONNEL VERSUS NON-PERSONNEL. THIS SLIDE SHOWS A BREAKDOWN BY THE PERCENTAGES OF OUR PERSONNEL VERSUS NON PERSONNEL EXPENDITURES. AND THEN FURTHER BREAKS DOWN THE NON PERSONNEL EXPENDITURES INTO SUPPLIES, SERVICES, AND RESTRICTED ACCOUNTS OF HFDS $659 MILLION FISCAL YEAR 26. PROPOSED BUDGET, 88% OR 57.6 MILLION IS COMMITTED TO PERSONNEL EXPENDITURES WITH 98% OF THE PERSONNEL BUDGET DEDICATED TO [00:10:01] CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL AND 2% TO CIVILIAN PERSONNEL EXPENDITURES. THE REMAINING OF OUR OTHER 12% OR 81.4 MILLION OF OUR BUDGET IS COMPRISED OF SUPPLIES, SERVICES, AND RESTRICTED ACCOUNTS. RESTRICTED ACCOUNT SPENDING IS 50.2 MILLION OR 7% OF OUR TOTAL BUDGET. SPENDING ON SUPPLIES IS 2% OR 10.1 MILLION AND SPENDING ON SERVICES IS 3% OR 21 MILLION OF OUR TOTAL BUDGET. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. EXPENDITURES BY PROGRAM FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026 HFD HAS SIX PROGRAMS IN AN OUTCOME BASE BUDGETING STRUCTURE. THESE PROGRAMS ARE EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND RESCUE, COMMUNITY, FIRE PREVENTION AND RISK REDUCTION, FIREFIGHTER HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE SERVICES, ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES AND DEBT SERVICES AND INTERFUND TRANSFER. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THAT BE, OH, I'M SORRY. OUR ADMINISTRATIVE PROGRAM IS INCREASING BY APPROXIMATELY 684 MILLION OR 1%. THIS PROGRAM, EXCUSE ME, 684,000 OR 1%. THIS PROGRAM CONTAINS ALL INNER FUND CHARGEBACK ACCOUNTS FOR FINANCE, FLEET, HR, AND HITS, AS WELL AS THE SALARIES AND FRENCH BENEFITS FOR CLASSIFIED AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL, AND INVOLVED ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES TO INCLUDE GRANTS MANAGEMENT, CONTRACTS, MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT IN OUR ACCREDITATION TEAM. THE 684,000 IS A NET, A NET OF RESTRICTED ACCOUNT INCREASES OF 2.6 MILLION CLASSIFIED BASE IN FRINGE BENEFITS INCREASES OF 207,000 OFFSETS BY DECREASES OF 697,000 AND COLLECTION SERVICES, A DECREASE OF 551,000 IN CLASSIFIED OVERTIME AND 976,000 DECREASE IN OTHER OTHER INTER FUNDS SERVICES. ANYTHING OF US ROLL IN OUR COMMUNITY PREVENTION, UH, FIRE AND RISK PROGRAM REDUCTION PROGRAM. AND THE OVERALL INCREASE, UH, DECREASE IS APPROXIMATELY 1.1 MILLION OR 3%, UH, 3%. THE LARGEST DECREASE IN IN THIS PROGRAM IS ANTICIPATED SAVINGS OF 1.4 MILLION AND CLASSIFIED, UH, OVERTIME OFFSETS AGAINST INCREASES IN CIVILIAN AND CLASSIFIED, UH, AND BASE PAY AND RELATED, UH, FRENCH BENEFITS. THE GUESS THE EXECUTIVE SERVICE PROGRAM IS DECREASING BY 545,000 OR 7%. THIS, UH, PROGRAM INCLUDES SALARIES AND FRINGE BENEFITS OF ALL H OF THE EXECUTIVE STAFF PERSONNEL IN THE, IN THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS OFFICE AND PUBLIC INFORMATION. THE DECREASE IN THIS PROGRAM IS ATTRIBUTED TO A DECREASE IN CLASSIFIED OVERTIME OF 262,000 IN SAVINGS EXPENDITURES FROM THE VOLUNTARY MUNICIPAL RETIREMENT PROGRAM FOR CIVILIAN BASE AND TERMINATION PAY NOT EXPECTED, AND FISCAL YEAR 26 FOR FIREFIGHTER HEALTH AND SAFETY. THE MAJORITY OF THE TOTAL DECREASE IS RELATED TO CIVILIAN OVERTIME SAVINGS UNDER THE VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT PROGRAM FOR FISCAL YEAR 25 EXPENDITURES NOT EXPECTED IN FISCAL YEAR 26 AND EXPENDITURES UNDER THE DEBT SERVICES AND TRANSFER FUNDS ARE EXPECTED DIRECTLY TO RELATED TO CONTINUED FUNDING AND SUPPORT FOR THE ETHAN PROGRAM. SO THE NEXT SLIDES, UM, WILL BE COVERING, UM, 11 THROUGH 19 HP DFDS PERFORMANCE MEASURES. SLIDES 11 AND 12 WILL BE COVERING EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND RESCUE PROGRAMS, WHICH ALIGNS WITH THE MAYOR'S PUBLIC SAFETY PRIORITY. THERE ARE 10 PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR THIS PROGRAM, AND MOST, MOSTLY DEALING WITH OUR TURNOUT TIMES, RESPONSE TIMES AND INCIDENT COUNTS. WE'RE EXPECTING TO HIT MORE THAN 300,000 EMS INCIDENTS THIS YEAR. HOWEVER, LOOKING AT CLOSER NUMBERS, WE'RE LOOKING AT MORE AT 400,000 AND NOT, LET'S NOT FORGET OUR, UM, OUR WORLD CUP THAT'S COMING UP, SO THAT'S GONNA BE 11 AND 12. SOME OF THE, WHAT YOU DO SEE IS THE PERFORMANCE NAMES, ALONG WITH THE TARGET CONTEXT THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, WORKING CLOSELY IN COLLABORATION WITH ALL OUR TEAM MEMBERS TO LOOK AT THOSE TARGETS AND WORK DILIGENTLY TO IMPROVE THOSE OR INCREASE THOSE. WE LOOK AT, UH, SLIDE 12 WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT GIVES YOU THE NUMBER OF, UM, TOTAL RUNS, INCIDENTS, FIRE, AND EMS. SO THAT'S JUST SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS THAT WE'VE TARGETED THERE. [00:15:01] SO MOVING ON TO SLIDE 13, 14, AND 15. THE COMMUNITY FIRE PREVENTION AND RISK REDUCTION PROGRAM HAS SEVEN PERFORMANCE MEASURES. KEY FOCUSES OF THIS PROGRAM ARE PUBLIC EDUCATION, FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY ENFORCEMENT AND COMPLIANCE AND QUALITY INVESTIGATIONS TO DETERMINE THE ORIGINS AND CAUSES OF FIRE IF NEEDED, THE APPREHENSION OF PERSONS RESPONSIBLE WHEN A, WHEN A CRIME HAS OCCURRED. SO IF YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES THAT WE HAVE, THESE ALSO FALL UNDER THE, UM, FIRE INVESTIGATION, PUBLIC EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH, WHICH IS SO IMPORTANT TO US NOW. WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT JUVENILE FIRE STOP, UH, STOPPERS THAT WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT AND WORKING WITH OTHER COMMUNITY CENTERS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF CHIEF LON. WE'RE WORKING, UM, TO IDENTIFY SOME OF THOSE AREAS THAT WE WANNA ALSO MEET WITH YOU ALL, UH, ONCE WE START TO, UH, SEE WHAT AREAS WE COULD TARGET TO HELP WITH THE JUVENILE FIRE STOPPERS PROGRAM. SOME OF THE AREAS THAT WE LOOK AT IS OBVIOUSLY THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES ON 13, WHICH IS THE INSPECTIONS AND ARSON CLEARANCE RATES AND JUVENILE STOPPERS REFERRALS. 14. UM, ALSO HIT SOME OF THE PUBLIC EDUCATION SESSIONS THAT WE HAVE AND SOME OTHER COMMUNITY OUTREACHES THAT WE CAN, THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE WORKING ON AND CONTINUE TO WORK ON. UH, AND THROUGH THE HELP OF SOCIAL MEDIA, THAT'S REALLY HELPING ALONG WITH BRENT TAYLOR AND HIS COMMUNI AS NOW AS THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATION, WE'RE ABLE TO TARGET MORE GROUPS. 15 IS JUST THE OVERFLOW OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT CAMPAIGNS THAT WE HAVE, ALONG WITH THE NUMBER OF SMOKE ALARMS I STALLED. NOW WE ARE WORKING WITH OTHER, UH, AGENCIES, UH, WITH DIRECTOR ANGEL POE WITH, UM, LOOKING AT THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND ALSO WORKING WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY TO INCREASE THIS, UH, THIS, THIS PROCESS OF GETTING SMOKE ALARMS FOR PEOPLE AND THOSE ELDERLY AND THOSE THAT ARE IN NEED. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SLIDE 16. THE FIREFIGHTER HEALTH AND SAFETY PROGRAM PROVIDES OVERALL WE WELLNESS FOR AND FITNESS FOR OUR MEMBERS. THE HFD TEAM OF TWO STAFF PSYCHOLOGISTS FALL INTO THIS PROGRAM AND ARE EXPECTED TO MEET WITH OVER 300 FIREFIGHTERS. THIS FISCAL YEAR ALSO INCLUDED OUR MEASURES, UH, FOR THE UPKEEP AND MAINTENANCE OF EQUIPMENT USED BY THE FIREFIGHTERS SUCH AS LADDERS AND FIRE HOSE. PART OF THIS PROGRAM, TOO, IS JUST SO THAT MENTAL HEALTH IS SO IMPORTANT TO US AS WE'RE WORKING, WE'RE REBUILDING, UM, THE CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS MANAGEMENT TEAM THAT HAD BEEN DORMANT FOR A WHILE. SO WE WERE WORKING WITH STAFF PSYCHOLOGISTS. WE'VE ALSO BEEN IN COLLABORATION AND TALKING TO CHIEF NO IDEAS AND UTILIZE SOME OF THE, THE SYSTEMS, THE PEER SUPPORT SYSTEM THAT THEY HAVE THAT WE'RE MODELING TO ENSURE THAT OUR MEMBERS HAVE THAT MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT THAT'S SO IMPORTANT TO US AND TO THEM DURING TIMES OF CRISIS. NEXT PAGE, PLEASE. PAGE 17, PAGE OF THE EXECUTIVE SERVICES PROG, UH, PROGRAM ALLIANCE WITH THE MAYOR'S PUBLIC SAFETY PRIORITY. PERFORMANCE MEASURES UNDER THIS PROGRAM INCLUDE THE NUMBER OF CADETS THAT START TRAINING AND OUR ANNUAL CLASSIFIED ATTRITION. WE NORMALLY LOSE ABOUT 170 CLASSIFIED MEMBERS EACH YEAR IN THE, AND IN THE PAST YEARS, NUMBER OF NEW HIRES HAVE NOT KEPT UP WITH THE PACE OF ATTRITION. AS MENTIONED, WE'RE ON TRACK THIS FISCAL YEAR AND NEXT FISCAL YEAR TO REVERSE THE TREND IN OUR AND INCREASE OUR DEPARTMENT HEAD COUNT. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. WHICH IS 18. THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROGRAM INCLUDES THE COST FOR ALL CENTRALIZED DEPARTMENT FUNCTIONS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT AS FAR AS THE CLASSIFIED AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT THAT'S MUCH NEEDED. NEXT SLIDE, H OF D DEBT SERVICES AND INTER FUND TRANSFERS INCLUDES CONTINUING FUNDING FOR THE ETHAN HEALTH PROGRAM. SLIDE 20 HFD REVENUE HIGHLIGHTS. AMBULANCE FEES ARE APPROXIMATELY NINE 59% OF THE FISCAL 26 REVENUE BUDGET. PASSAGE OF SENATE BILL 24 76 AT THE STATE LEVEL HAS FAVORABLY IMPACTED OUR REVENUE COLLECTIONS. AS PART OF THE, UH, PREPARATION FOR THE JANUARY 1ST, 2024, GO LIVE OF SENATE BILL 24 76. TEXAS-BASED EMS PROVIDERS SUBMITTED THEIR FEE SCHEDULE TO THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE PORTAL. WITHOUT A FEE SCHEDULE, COMMERCIAL INSURANCE COMPANIES WILL PAY THE LESSER OF THE CHARGE FEES OF 325% OF MEDICAL ALLOWABLE RATES. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. REVENUE BY FUND. THIS SLIDE IS A GRAPH DEPICTING OUR CHANGES [00:20:01] IN ANNUAL REVENUES. THE DECREASE FROM THE FISCAL YEAR 24 ACTUAL TO THE FISCAL YEAR 25 ESTIMATE WERE DIRECTLY RELATED TO DECREASES IN THE AMOUNT RECEIVED FOR THE AMBULANCE SUPPLEMENT SUPPLEMENTAL PAYMENT PROGRAM AGAINST INCREASES IN AMBULANCE FEES, REVENUES, THE LARGEST DRIVERS IN THE CHANGE IN THE FISCAL YEAR 25 ESTIMATE TO THE FISCAL YEAR 26. PROPOSED BUDGET IS A $13.3 MILLION DECREASE IN THE AMOUNT EXPECTED FOR AMBULANCE REVENUE BASED ON THE POTENTIAL EX EXPIRATION OF SENATE BILL 24 76. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SLIDE 22 SHOWS, UH, REVENUE BY PROGRAM. OVERALL, WE'RE SHOWING A, AN EXPECTED DECREASE IN REVENUES BY APPROXIMATELY 12.8 MILLION OR 10%. AS MENTIONED, THE LARGEST REVENUE DECREASE IS 13.3 MILLION RELATED TO EXPIRATION OF SENATE BILL 24 76. THAT WILL HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE AMOUNT COLLECTED FROM COMMERCIAL INSURANCE OFFSET AGAINST INCREASES IN THE AMOUNT BILL D HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEMS FOR AIRPORT FIREFIGHTING SERVICES. NEXT SLIDE. THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. I'M NOW OPEN FOR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU CHIEF VICE MAYOR PRO TEMP PECK. THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU CHIEF, AND THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO AND TO THE COMMAND STAFF AND ALL THE FIREFIGHTERS. MM-HMM . UM, SO CHIEF, WE'VE HAD MANY CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE AFTER HOURS CLUBS AND THE LATE NIGHT CLUBS AND YOU KNOW, HOW WE'RE WORKING ON THAT. UM, AS YOU HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT THAT ISSUE, UM, WITH FORMING TASK FORCES AND REARRANGING THE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE TO HAVE MORE SUPPORT THERE, IS THERE ANYTHING FINANCIALLY IN THIS NEXT FISCAL YEAR BUDGET THAT WE NEED TO BE AWARE OF WHEN IT COMES TO WORKING ON THOSE ITEMS? WELL, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, AS MENTIONED BEFORE, WORKING WITH CHIEF DIAZ AND HIS TEAMS AND OUR TEAMS AND OUR INSPECTIONS INSPECTORS, THAT'S ALSO GONNA BE AN INCREASE IN, OBVIOUSLY IN OVERTIME. NOW, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME OF THE AREAS THAT WE'D LIKE TO INCREASE IS OBVIOUSLY THE NUMBER OF INSPECTORS TO ELIMINATE THAT PROCESS. AS WE MENTIONED, YOU AND I HAVE TALKED TO COUNCIL MEMBER ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF TASK FORCE, WHICH WE ALREADY DO. NOW, LOOKING AT THAT, THAT OPPORTUNITY, AS, AS CHIEF DIAZ HAS MENTIONED AND WE'VE WORKED TOGETHER ON IT, WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, THE PEAK DAYS OF THE WEEK, WHICH ARE GONNA BE YOUR FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS, RIGHT? POSSIBLY THURSDAYS. NOW, THE REASON THERE IS ALSO ANOTHER CONCERN FOR THAT IS BECAUSE, AGAIN, THE SAFETY OF OF RESIDENTS AND THOSE AROUND IN THOSE AREAS AND THE COMFORT, AND AGAIN, I KEEP ON GOING TO WORLD CUP, WHAT'S TO BE EXPECTED. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CONCERNS ON THAT. UH, CHIEF, UH, CHIEF SPAN AND, AND CHIEF GALVAN NOW HAVE BEEN WORKING ON WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE. BUT YEAH, FOR US WOULD BE THE NUMBER OF OVERTIMES THAT WE'RE WORKING AT TO SEE WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE AND WORKING, OBVIOUSLY TO UTILIZE OTHER RESOURCES AND OTHER MEMBERS TO ELIMINATE SOME OF THAT OVERTIME IF POSSIBLE. THANK YOU. TALKING ABOUT OVERTIME, CHIEF, I WANTED TO ASK YOU ON, IN LOOKING AT THE DATA, IT LOOKS LIKE AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE. THERE'S A BIG DECREASE IN BUDGETED OVERTIME FROM $78.5 MILLION AS THE FY 25 ESTIMATE TO 39.2 MILLION AS OUR PROPOSED. WHAT, WHAT SLIDE ARE YOU LOOKING AT COUNCIL? IT'S, IT'S NOT REALLY ON A SLIDE. IT'S IN THE DATA. IT'S JUST A DECREASE. YOU CAN PROBABLY ADDRESS IT, ROCHELLE, UM, A DECREASE IN THE, IN THE AMOUNT OF BUDGETED OVERTIME. UH, BUT, AND THEN THERE'S A, A SLIGHT, A MUCH SMALLER DE A $2 MILLION DECREASE IN PREVENTION. BUT THE MAIN, THE BULK OF IT'S THE BULK OF IT IN EMERGENCY RESPONSE. SO, AS CHIEF MENTIONED, WE ARE PLANNING ON INCREASING HEAD COUNT. UM, THIS FISCAL YEAR. WE ARE DEFINITELY EXPECTING, UM, MORE CONDENSED THAN ATTRITION. UM, NEXT FISCAL YEAR, UM, INCREASE IN HEAD COUNT OF ABOUT 200. SO WE DID FEEL CONFIDENT IN DECREASING THE AMOUNT OF OVERTIME THAT WE WOULD NEED. UM, FOR MINIMUM, MINIMUM STAFFING. OKAY. SO THAT'S, THAT'S WITH THE, WITH THE ADDITIONAL COUNCIL MEMBER THAT'S HEAD COUNTS. 'CAUSE THAT'S ALMOST A $40 MILLION. WELL, AND THE OTHER THING TOO, COUNCIL MEMBER THAT AS WE MENTIONED, RIGHT, SO THERE'S A LOT OF FACTORS THAT GO INTO IT AND WHY WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS ONE. WE'RE UTILIZING THE DATA THAT WE'RE GETTING THE DASHBOARDS OF THAT, THAT'S USING THE TECHNOLOGY THAT'S THERE, THAT ALLOWS US TO TARGET SOME AREAS AND WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE. TWO, YOU KNOW, WE NOW HAVE A COMMAND STAFF THAT IS WORKING CLOSELY MONITORING MONTHLY OF WHAT THAT'S GONNA BE, WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE. THREE, AS ROCHELLE JUST MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL MEMBERS. WE, BY WITHIN A YEAR, WE'RE ANTICIPATING APPROXIMATELY 650 EXTRA EDITIONS TO THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT. AND [00:25:01] AGAIN, THAT'S IN COLLABORATION, THANKS TO YOUR SUPPORT, THE MAYOR'S SUPPORT WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE UNION. HOW DO WE INCREASE THAT OUR MEMBERS? SO PEOPLE ARE COMING BACK. THERE REALLY ARE. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT. THAT IS DEFINITELY GONNA BE HELPING A LOT. THE OTHER THING TOO IS WE'RE STARTING TO SEE, OBVIOUSLY AS PEOPLE NOW THE MORALE'S INCREASING. WE'RE SEEING PEOPLE COMING TO WORK AND NOT UTILIZING THAT SICK TIME OR WHATEVER TIME THEY MIGHT HAVE. AND TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, HISTORICALLY, THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK PRIOR TO THE ADMINISTRATION GETTING ON BOARD, WE WERE AVERAGING APPROXIMATELY 11 TO 12 UNITS OUT OF SERVICE. WEEKENDS WERE A LOT HIGHER. NOW IT'S COMMON FOR US TO HAVE ZERO THROUGHOUT THE WEEK ON WEEKENDS. NOW, YOU KNOW, LIKE EVERY WEEKEND YOU, YOU DO HAVE GRADUATION WEEKEND, YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, THOSE SPECIAL WEEKENDS AND OBVIOUSLY THE SUMMER MONTHS. BUT WE FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THE QUALITY THAT WE'RE SENDING OUT, THE NUMBER THAT WE'RE DOING NOW WITH THE INPUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, UH, HAVE, UM, EXECUTIVE CHIEF, YOU KNOW, LOU ELLEN ALONG WITH, YOU KNOW, THE REST OF THE COMMAND STAFF LOOKING AT THE DATABASES, DASHBOARDS, YOU KNOW, HOW WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT. BUT I, AGAIN, NEXT IN JUNE AND I INVITE YOU ALL, WILL BE THE LARGEST GRADUATING HIV CLASS IN OUR HISTORY, APPROXIMATELY 120. THAT'S, THAT'S ALL GREAT NEWS. AND, AND, AND WE LIKE TO SEE THIS, THE OVERTIME COST GOING DOWN. AND, BUT THAT IS A SIGNIFICANT BUDGET ITEM IN THIS, IN THIS BUDGET THAT THERE'S ABOUT A $40 MILLION INCREASE, I MEAN, DECREASE OVERTIME. AND IT'S GREAT NEWS THAT WE'RE HAVING A LOT MORE FIREFIGHTERS COME IN TO, TO FILL THE GAP. SO WE DON'T NEED SO MUCH OVERTIME. COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN, THANK YOU CHAIR. UH, CHIEF, MY APPRECIATION TO ALL OF THE MEN AND WOMEN, UH, IN THE FOURTH IN THE FORCE. UH, I, YOU KNOW, THE IMPROVEMENT IN HEALTH SCREENINGS AND HEALTH BENEFITS, EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE BRINGING TO THE DEPARTMENT, UM, I APPRECIATE, AND I KNOW MEMBERS APPRECIATE, IN ADDITION TO THE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FIRE STATIONS, UM, I'VE BEEN ASKING EVERY DEPARTMENT THIS, DO YOU HAVE A ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF WHAT YOUR DEPARTMENT RELIES ON IN TERMS OF FEDERAL, UH, GRANTS AND FUNDING? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE LOOKED AND, YOU KNOW, WE SAW, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE THE, THE, UM, FIREFIGHTERS GRANT ASSISTANCE GRANT THAT WE'RE WORKING ON. UH, AND FROM MY ESTIMATE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN TOLD THAT WE'RE NOT REALLY GONNA SEE THAT MUCH OF AN IMPACT. HOWEVER, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT SOME OTHER GRANTS, THE UOC GRANTS, UH, A F AND G, WHICH ASSISTANCE FIRE MIGHT BE MIGHT BE GONE. RIGHT? SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE, THERE'S A BIG AREAS THAT WE, THAT WE REALLY CONCENTRATE ON WITH THAT. SO I DON'T KNOW IF ROCHELLE HAS ANY MORE TO THAT, BUT RIGHT NOW WE DON'T HAVE, YEAH, IT'D BE HELPFUL TO HAVE AN ESTIMATE OF HOW MUCH IN TERMS OF DOLLARS. UM, AND THEN AGAIN, IF WE AREN'T ABLE TO GET THOSE DOLLARS, ARE WE ACCOUNTING FOR THAT? DO WE LOSE THOSE PROGRAMS? WHAT HAPPENS? UM, ADDITIONALLY, LOOK AS FIRST RESPONDERS, AGAIN, A QUESTION I'M ASKING DEPARTMENTS, UM, DURING A DISASTER, THERE ARE ADDITIONAL EXPENDITURES AND COSTS AND SOME OF THOSE ARE REIMBURSED. UH, BUT I WOULD LIKE AN ESTIMATE OF HOW MUCH IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, AGAIN, WE'LL SUBMIT THAT WE HAVE SPENT WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT IN RESPONDING TO DISASTERS THAT'S ABOVE AND BEYOND AND HOW MUCH HAS BEEN REIMBURSABLE. AGAIN, NOW WE'RE SEEING THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS NOT NECESSARILY DECLARING THINGS OF FEDERALLY DECLARED NATIONAL DISASTER, WHICH MEANS WE DON'T QUALIFY FOR REIMBURSEMENT. SO MY QUESTION IS HOW ARE WE, HAVE WE ACCOUNTED FOR ANY OF THAT COST AND BAKED THAT INTO THIS FISCAL YEAR'S BUDGET? SHOULD WE NOT BE REIMBURSED BECAUSE THOSE STORMS ARE COMING, THOSE, UH, WINTER STORMS ARE COMING, IS THAT ACCOUNTED FOR THIS YEAR? AND THAT'S ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE LOOKED AT, YOU KNOW, SO OBVIOUSLY WHAT MODEL TO USE, RIGHT? UM, WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT THE IMPACT'S GONNA BE. CASE IN POINT, ONE OF THE GOOD GAUGES WOULD BE WHAT HAPPENED WITH THIS LAST FREEZE AND JUST IN THE OVERTIME ALONE, WE WERE LOOKING AT APPROXIMATELY 3.8 MILLION. RIGHT? BUT THAT WASN'T REIMBURSABLE. WAS NOT REIMBURSABLE, IT WAS NOT, WAS NOT REIMBURSABLE. AND YOU'RE RIGHT, WE ARE LOOKING AT WHAT THE NEW FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEM'S GONNA LOOK LIKE. OBVIOUSLY THERE'S STILL A LOT OF FACTORS THAT WE HAVE TO IDENTIFY WITH THAT, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF ROCHELLE HAS SOME MORE SHE COULD ADD TO THAT ROCHELLE. SO, UM, THERE'S THE PUBLIC PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT. UM, WE DO OBVIOUSLY RESPOND WHEN NATURAL DISASTERS, EMERGENCIES, ET CETERA. UM, WE DO NOT HOWEVER, BUDGET FOR THOSE. UM, WE BUILD OUR BUDGET BASED ON OUR HEAD COUNT MINIMUM STAFFING. UM, AND THEN IN THE EVENT OF A NATURAL DISASTER OR, UM, AN EMERGENCY OUTSIDE OF OUR USUAL BUDGETING PROCESS, WE WILL CALCULATE ALL OF THOSE COSTS, SEE WHAT THOSE EXPENDITURES ARE. UM, IF THEY ARE NOT REIMBURSABLE, THEN WE JUST CLOSELY MONITOR OUR OVERTIME SPENDING THROUGHOUT THE REST OF [00:30:01] THE YEAR TO SEE IF WE CAN RECOUP ANY OF THAT. SO THAT'S ONE OF MY BIGGEST CONCERNS RIGHT NOW IS AGAIN, THAT NUMBER'S GROWING AND WE'RE NOT AS A CITY ACCOUNTING FOR THAT. AGAIN, THAT'S NOT A REFLECTION SPECIFICALLY OF THIS DEPARTMENT. UM, Y'ALL HAVE TO RESPOND, RIGHT. AND WE NEED YOU TO RESPOND, BUT IF WE'RE NOT INCLUDING THAT AMOUNT, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO PROJECT AS ACCURATELY AS POSSIBLE. DOES ANY OF THAT FUNDING G KNOW, COME OUTTA THE BUDGET STABILIZATION FUND? SO FIRE WAS PROJECTED TO BE OVER BUDGET THIS YEAR. UM, AND I'M NOT SURE WHERE THE ADDITIONAL SOURCE OF FUNDING CAME FROM, BUT, UM, THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT WAS ABLE TO COVER THE OVERAGE. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT WAS OVER? UM, I BELIEVE IT WAS A LITTLE OVER 50 MILLION. OVER 50 MILLION. MOSTLY OVER TIME. MM-HMM . OKAY. UH, BACK IN QUEUE PLEASE. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. AND THANK YOU CHIEF FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. APPRECIATE YOUR WHOLE DEPARTMENT AND EVERYTHING THEY DO TO KEEP US ALL SAFE. SO THANK YOU ALL. I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT, UM, BUDGET ITEM LISTED IN THE PRESENTATION. FIVE PEAK TIME AMBULANCES. DOES THAT MEAN THAT WE WE HOPE TO PURCHASE FIVE AMBULANCES IN THE NEXT YEAR? NO, SIR. WHAT THAT MEANS IS WE DO HAVE OUR HIGH TIMES RIGHT. ESPECIALLY IN THE EVENINGS. SO WHAT, WHAT WE DO TO ABSORB, TO ENSURE, FIRST OF ALL, THAT WE HAVE THE COVERAGE NEEDED FOR THE INCREASED NUMBER OF RUNS TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THE, THE COMMUNITY WITH THOSE EXTRA AMBULANCES. AND I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED THAT BECAUSE, UM, WE DID HAVE THE FACET REPORT, WHICH IS A REPORT THAT GAVE THE ANALYSIS OF THE NEEDS OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT BACK IN 2017. AND ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, THERE, THAT REPORT SAID THAT WE PROBABLY NEEDED 40 PEAK TIME AMBULANCES, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT. BUT THOSE, SIR ARE U UNITS THAT WE'RE, UH, WE HAVE TO FILL IN AN EVENINGS TO INCREASE THAT NUMBER OF, OF, OF TRANSPORT UNITS THAT IS NEEDED DURING THOSE PEAK TIMES, PER SE. AND UM, ARE YOU ASKING TO PURCHASE AMBULANCES THIS YEAR? YES SIR. WE ALWAYS ARE. OKAY. AND WHAT, WHAT DOES EACH ONE OF 'EM, ONE OF 'EM COST? WELL, I DO HAVE SHE FOOT BEHIND ME, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT APPROXIMATELY 450,000 FROM AVERAGE ON THAT. IS THAT CORRECT CHIEF? THEY'RE RIGHT AT THREE 45,000. ALRIGHT. WE EXPECT PRICE ESCALATION. OKAY. BECAUSE OF THE TARIFFS THAT WE'RE SEEING. AND THAT WOULD BE PART OF THE CAPITAL BUDGET? YES. CORRECT. MM-HMM . AND, AND ALSO, AND I'VE GOT SOME NUMBERS THAT I'VE ASKED IN THE PAST ABOUT IT'S NOT, NOT JUST THE AMBULANCE THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, IT'S ALSO THE STAFFING OF THE AMBULANCE. SURE. STAFFING YEAH. AND EQUIPMENT AND ALL THAT. CORRECT. SO, SO, UM, WE HEARD FROM FLEET MANAGEMENT, UH, SHORTAGE OF POLICE CARS BEING MADE IN, IN, UH, IN THE US. UH, IS THERE SHORTAGE OF, UH, FIRE TRUCKS AND, UH, AMBULANCES AS WELL? OR NOT? WELL, TALKING TO CHIEF FRITZ, YOU KNOW, ON THE AVERAGE WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT A TWO YEAR RETURN ONCE WE PLACE THE, UM, WE'D MAKE THE PURCHASE. SO IT IS SLOWING DOWN. UM, IT HAS BEEN A FRUSTRATING PROCESS AND I THINK NOW CHIEF THROUGH HIS DILIGENT WORK AND, AND WORKING WITH THESE INDIVIDUALS HERE LOOK LIKE THE UNIT WE CAN GET WITHIN 18 MONTHS, A TRANSPORT UNIT, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN. IT'S APPROXIMATELY TWO TO 2.5 YEARS TO GET A PUMPER OR A, A HEAVY, UH, OR A LADDER TRUCK. THAT'S A LONG TIME. IT IS A LONG TIME. YEAH. OKAY. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. GOOD TO SEE YOU CHIEF. GOOD TO SEE, SIR. GREAT JOB PRESENTATION FROM BOTH OF YOU. LET ME COMMEND THE EFFORTS AND THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE UNDER THE ADMINISTRATION AND TURN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AROUND. AND WE REALLY COUNT ON YOU GUYS FOR A LOT. UM, TO, YOU KNOW, I USED TO HEAR SO MANY PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT VERSUS THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. AND MOSTLY, UM, TO BE HONEST, MOST OF THE SIRENS I HEAR, UH, MOST OF THE, THE PEOPLE I GENERALLY SEE RUNNING IS FIRE TRUCKS AND, AND, AND EMS TRUCKS. SO LET ME COMMEND THAT AND TO, AND TO SEE THE TURNAROUND IN, IN FIREFIGHTERS COMING BACK FOR THOSE WHO ATTEND THE GRADUATIONS. IT'S, IT'S VERY IMPRESSIVE TO SEE THAT. AND I, I MUST COMMEND YOU AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND ALL FOR DOING THAT. UM, ALONG WITH MY COLLEAGUES, I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT THE EQUIPMENT. 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THE COST OF EQUIPMENT. WE KNOW STUFF IS ALWAYS GOING UP. SO WHAT WOULD BE EVEN AT THE NUMBER DOLLARS? 'CAUSE I'D HAD THAT, I, THAT QUESTION, I ASKED THAT QUESTION BEFORE ABOUT HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE TO GET A PUMP BACK OR FIRE TRUCK. MM-HMM . YOU KNOW, HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE TO BUY ONE? IT TAKE SEVERAL YEARS IF SOMEONE SAID 16 MONTHS TO TWO YEARS [00:35:01] FOR JUST TO GET ONE ORDER. SO IN THE, IN THE SCOPE OF THINGS, CAN YOU PROVIDE FOR ME, I DON'T KNOW FOR OTHERS, CAN YOU PROVIDE FOR ME, I LIKE TO KNOW ON PAPER WHAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WOULD NEED IN TERMS OF EMS TRUCKS AS WELL AS FIRE, UH, ENGINE, THOSE TRUCKS IN THAT PERIOD OF TIME. BECAUSE WE TALKING ABOUT REPAIRS TOO, TO THE ONES WE HAVE, I THINK THAT'S A KEY THING TO SERVICING. YES, SIR. WE'LL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO PROVIDE, I KNOW THAT WE DO HAVE, UM, CHIEF FRITZ HAS GOT ALL THAT DATA THAT COULD TELL YOU WHAT THE NEEDS ARE, WHAT THE, WHAT WE HAVE AND, AND WHAT THE REQUEST WILL BE. RIGHT. TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR, OUR DEPARTMENT IS, IS, YOU KNOW, FULLY OPERATIONAL. OKAY. GOOD. THANK YOU. LAST QUESTION. WHAT DOES THE COST, WHAT'S THE AVERAGE COST OF WHEN ONE CALLS THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EMS TRUCK COMES OUT? AND IS THAT BASED UPON THE DISTANCE WHERE THEY GO AND OR WHAT THEY DO ON THE, ON THE EMS FOR THAT PATIENT? IS THAT, IS THAT YES SIR. IT'S BASED ON DISTANCE THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, IF, YOU KNOW, I CALL IT THE DOMINO EFFECT. JUST LIKE I, WHEN I TESTIFIED IN THE SENATE, ONE UNIT IS OUT, THAT MEANS OUR FIRST IN TERRITORY, THEN THAT MEANS THAT THE NEXT STATION HAS TO TRAVEL JUST THAT MUCH MORE FURTHER DISTANCE TO HAVE THAT COVERAGE THAT WE, THAT WE NEED SO BAD. RIGHT. SO, YOU KNOW, AND OF COURSE WE HAVE OUR PEAK TIMES OF ONE THAT MIGHT OCCUR. SURE. BUT IT'S ALL, ALL THESE FACTORS INCLUDED WITH, YOU KNOW, SINCE, UM, EACH DISTRICT HAS A NUMBER OF STATIONS THAT COVER THEIR AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY. SO ONCE THAT'S OUT, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE THOSE FACTORS THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, THIS WEEK ALONE WE'VE HAD TWO MAJOR FIRES, WHICH ARE TWO 11, WHICH SUCKS SINCE ALL THAT RESOURCES AROUND THAT AREA. SO THEN THAT'S GONNA HAVE AN INCREASE IN TIME TO THOSE OUTSIDE UNITS THAT AREN'T AT THAT FIRE. YEAH. SO I, I MEAN I'VE HAD, AND I'LL GET BACK IN THE QUEUE, I'VE HAD SOME, SOME, SOME EMAILS FROM CONSTITUENTS ABOUT THE CAUSE AND THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT TYPE OF THING. AND I THINK SOME PEOPLE DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS ABOUT WHERE THAT GOES. AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE AS COUNCIL GOING TO HAVE TO GET OUT THERE. YES, SIR. THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO EXPLAIN TO THEM THE MAGNITUDE OF WHAT HAPPENS DUE TO THE LACK OF OVER THE YEARS THAT WE'VE HAD A LACK OF THAT. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. I'LL, I'LL LOOK FOR THAT. THANK YOU, SIR. APPRECIATE YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN CHIEF, UH, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT REVENUE GENERATION, ONE OF, I THINK ALL THE DIVISIONS WITHIN HFD ARE CRITICAL. UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK WE ARE DOING INNOVATIVELY IN THIS CITY IS THE WILDLAND DIVISION. MM-HMM . UM, ONE, WE ARE RESPONDING NOT ONLY IN HOUSTON AS WE SEE INCREASING DROUGHT AND WILDFIRES THAT WILL IMPACT OUR REGION, BUT WE ALSO GO EVERYWHERE ELSE TO HELP AND TO TRAIN AND TO RESPOND, WHICH IS A GREAT, UM, IT'S JUST THE RIGHT THING TO DO. MM-HMM . WE ALSO GET, UH, DOLLARS BROUGHT BACK IN FOR REIMBURSEMENT WHEN WILDLAND RESPONDS. IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. UH, DO WE HAVE AN ESTIMATE? I CAN CHECK THE BUDGET, BUT ABOUT HOW MUCH DOES WILDLAND BRING IN? I THINK THE LAST NUMBER WE SAW WAS 345,000. NOW OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, THEY RESPONDED TO SEVERAL FIRES THIS YEAR IN A LONGER DISTANCE. AND GETTING THAT PROCESS I MENTIONED EARLIER IS NOW WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY TO SEE WHAT THOSE NUMBERS ARE TO ENSURE THAT WE DO HAVE THE PROPER INFORMATION TO ENSURE THAT THE PROPER BILLING IS DONE AND THE PROPER REIMBURSEMENT. SO THERE'S A LOT OF FACETS THAT COME IN. IF IT'S OUTTA STATE, IT'S GONNA TAKE LONGER FOR THAT REIMBURSEMENT. IF IT'S IN STATE, MY UNDERSTANDING, IT'S 90 DAYS TO GET THAT REIMBURSEMENT, WHICH INCLUDES OBVIOUSLY THE COST FOR OVERTIME, LIKE THE BACKFILL, UH, FUEL, EVERYTHING THAT'S NEEDED TO SUPPORT THOSE AREAS THAT NEED OUR LAW LINE EXPERTISE. RIGHT. AND THAT INCLUDES RESPONDING IN TEXAS FOR OUR NEIGHBORS. UM, CORRECT. THOSE DOLLARS THAT ARE BROUGHT BACK IN FOR REIMBURSEMENT, DOES THAT GO BACK TO THE DEPARTMENT? UH, IT GOES BACK TO THE GENERAL FUND FROM MY UNDERSTANDING. OKAY. UM, AND ONE OF THE THINGS I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER PECK AND I, UM, ARE LOOKING AT IS HOW WE, IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE CONTRIBUTING BACK TO THE GENERAL FUND 'CAUSE WE NEED THAT MONEY, BUT ALSO MAKING SURE THAT THE DEPARTMENT IS MADE WHOLE. UM, SO THAT WILDLAND CAN CONTINUE TO DO THE INCREDIBLE WORK. AND I WANNA THANK THE DEPARTMENT, EVEN THE CONTROL BURNS MM-HMM . THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING THE PAST FEW YEARS. UH, WE WEREN'T DOING THAT BEFORE AND THAT'S PREVENTING LARGER DISASTERS THAT COULD IMPACT NEIGHBORHOODS. AGREE. SO THAT'S JUST ONE SPOTLIGHT ON ONE DIVISION DOING GREAT WORK. THERE ARE OTHERS, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LIFTING UP THAT WORK BECAUSE WE'RE ACTUALLY BRINGING REVENUE BACK IN. YEAH. UH, AND DOING THE RIGHT THING AT THE SAME TIME. AMAZING. YEAH. THEY'RE DOING AN AMAZING JOB. GREAT. THANK YOU. UM, THERE, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THE HECTOR BILL AT THE STATE LEGISLATURE. UM, DO [00:40:01] WE, I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET AN ANSWER ON THIS, SO I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL CAN HELP ME. UH, IN THE CONTRACT AGREEMENT THERE'S AN ACCELERATOR CLAUSE THAT IF WE BRING IN ADDITIONAL REVENUE TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON, UH, OUR FIREFIGHTERS WHO DESERVE, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY THE BACK PAY, BUT THE PAY RAISES AND EVERYTHING ELSE, UH, DO WE KNOW IF THAT BILL, IF IT'S PASSED, ACTIVATES THAT ACCELERATOR? RIGHT NOW? IT HAS NOT. AND I WAS ACTUALLY JUST TALKING TO, UH, UH, PRESIDENT LANGTON, MARTY LANGTON, UH, YESTERDAY, AS A MATTER OF FACT THIS MORNING AS WELL, WHAT THE STATUS IS. SO IT'S STILL BEING LOOKED AT VERY CAREFULLY AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S SOME DISCUSSIONS STILL GOING ON. SO WE DON'T KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THAT ACTIVATES IT BASED ON THE LANGUAGE YES. OF THE CONTACT. I DON'T KNOW YET. NO. OKAY. UH, BACK IN QUEUE, PLEASE. OKAY. UM, I, I KNOW SOME OF US HAVE ASKED ABOUT NEEDS, UH, FOR THE DEPARTMENT, THE WISHLIST, WHICH WE ALWAYS SUBMIT. HEY, WHAT ARE YOUR WISHLIST NEEDS? WE HAVE IN OUR OFFICE FUNDED RIGHT. UH, HELPED FUND, UH, RESCUE HIGH WATER RESCUE VEHICLES OR PLUMBING IN SOME OF THE STATIONS. RIGHT. THE LIST GOES ON. UM, WE'VE HELPED, WE WORKED CLOSELY A FEW YEARS AGO TO GET AN ADDITIONAL HAZMAT UNIT SO THAT THERE'S TWO, BUT ARE THERE OTHER NEEDS THAT AREN'T BEING MET RIGHT NOW IN ADDITION TO AMBULANCE EQUIPMENT? AND DO YOU HAVE A LIST OF THAT? WELL, YOU KNOW, WE'VE LOOKED AT THE, UM, SOME ADDITIONAL CLASSIFIED STAFF AND WHY DO I SAY THAT? ORDINANCE POSITIONS. RIGHT. ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THAT WE, THAT WE'RE REALLY CHANGING NOW IS THE SAFETY OF OUR, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT OUR MEMBERS HAVE THE, THE BEST PO POSSIBLE SAFETY, WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON, ONE OF OUR VISIONS IS, IS, AND WE'RE CONTINUOUSLY WORKING ON THAT, IS QUOTE UNQUOTE A SAFETY BOIL. THAT'S JUST THAT COMMITTED SAFETY OFFICER AND A DISTRICT CHIEF TO ENSURE THAT THEY RESPOND TO THOSE MAJOR FIRES IN-HOUSE FIRES, WHICH WILL THEN ALLOW US TO INCREASE SAFETY. PART OF THAT PROGRAM IS GOING TO BE, UH, OBVIOUSLY THEM BEING TRAINED, THEIR ICT, WHICH IS THE DRIVER GONNA BE UTILIZING A SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT THAT WE HAVE. UM, WE, WE HAVE A, A NEW TRACKING SYSTEM, UH, THAT IS, UM, THE FIRST IN THE COUNTRY. AND THANKS TO THE HARD WORK OF OUR, OF OUR, SOME OF OUR MEMBERS, UM, BUT THAT HAS TO BE TRAINED RIGHT ON IT. IT'S A, IT'S A, UH, WORLD CLASS LEADING PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THEY'VE ALL WORKED ON. SO THOSE ARE THE FUNDINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA NEED TO INCREASE THAT SAFETY CAPACITY FOR THAT, WHICH WILL THEN INCREASE OBVIOUSLY THE SUPPORT THAT'S NEEDED. PERSONNEL, UM, ADDITIONAL CIVILIAN STAFF OBVIOUSLY WOULD BE A BIG HELP FOR US. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE OUR AUTOMATED, UH, VEHICLE LOCATOR TO DISPATCH MOBILE UNITS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TRACKING THEM SAFELY. AND TO HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH WOULD THAT COST ON PAPER? IT'D BE KIND OF HARD COUNCIL MEMBER, BUT THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON. AND I DUNNO IF ROCHELLE MIGHT HAVE, WE CAN GET THOSE COSTS. YOU. YES MA'AM. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, IN TERM, CAN I, OKAY. UM, IN TERMS OF EFFICIENCIES WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT, RIGHT? WE'RE TALKING A LOT ABOUT LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY AND THINGS LIKE THAT. ARE THERE OTHER STRUCTURAL EFFICIENCIES? FOR EXAMPLE, SHIFT SCHEDULES? UM, ARE WE ON THE SAME SHIFT SCHEDULE AS OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS? WELL, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT, BUT I THINK LOOKING AT THE SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE HAS WORKED AND THE MODEL OF FOUR SHIFTS STILL CONTINUES TO WORK FOR US. THE EFFICIENCY THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE DATABASES. THE DASHBOARDS, LOOKING AT WHAT DISTRICT HAS THE NEEDS, YOU KNOW, WHAT DISTRICT NEEDS MORE PERSONNEL. SO ONCE THAT THE CLASS GRADUATING COULD BE DIRECTED TO THAT DISTRICT. SO WE LOOK AT THAT. BUT RIGHT NOW THE EFFICIENCIES ARE JUST THAT, THAT WE'RE MONITORING CLOSELY. NUMBER OF PEOPLE COME, ATTRITION, WE'RE LOOKING AT RETENTION IS ONE OF THE MAYOR'S PRIORITIES IS IT'S A RETENTION PIECE. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT. DOES, DOES FOUR SHIFTS REQUIRE ADDITIONAL STAFFING CAPACITY? WELL, YEAH, WE HAVE FOUR SHIFTS. YEAH, WE DO. I MEAN THAT WHAT WE, YOU MEAN AS FAR AS THE MINIMUM STAFFING IS? I MEAN IT'S THE FOUR SHIFTS THAT REQUIRED THAT WE DO HAVE. SO YES, WE NEED ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL TO MEET THOSE FOUR SHIFTS AS OPPOSED TO THREE SHIFT. OKAY. THE, UM, A FEW YEARS AGO THERE WAS A CONVERSATION, SOMETIMES YOU DON'T NEED ALL APPARATUS TO RESPOND TO SPECIFIC SCENARIOS. MM-HMM . UM, HAVE WE REASSESSED THAT TO SEE, HEY, ARE WE SENDING TOO MANY 'CAUSE THERE'S A COST EACH TIME WE SEND AN ENGINE. RIGHT. OR ANOTHER, OR MULTIPLE VEHICLES TO RESPOND TO, LET'S SAY A, A MEDICAL SITUATION THAT MAY NOT REQUIRE THAT FULL APPARATUS HAS NOT BEEN LOOKED AT THAT THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER. 'CAUSE I KNOW THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING WITH THE EMERGENCY OPS AND ALONG WITH OUR COMMUNICATIONS CHIEFS ON WHAT THAT MODEL WOULD LOOK LIKE, RIGHT? WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW MANY UNITS WE SHOULD SEND. IS IT SOMETHING AS, AS AS SIMPLE AS HAVING THOSE PEOPLE TRAINED TO TURN SOME UNITS AROUND TO GET THEM BACK IN SERVICE? UH, AND THEN AGAIN, LOOKING AT SOME OTHER FACTORS LIKE IS THERE A WAY TO EVEN, UM, HAVE A SMALLER VEHICLE, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT COULD HANDLE THAT? [00:45:01] YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN TALKING TO CHIEF FRITZ ON AND, AND CHIEF LOU ELLEN ON, YOU KNOW, THE SIZE OF VEHICLE MIGHT MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE FOR US. UH, LESS COST, MORE EFFICIENT, AND THE OBJECTIVES BEING MET. SO WE'RE CONTINUOUSLY LOOKING AT THOSE AREAS THAT WE COULD SEE WHERE CAN WE DO THE SAME OBJECTIVE WITH THE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY. OKAY. UM, I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE KIND OF PROGRESS ON THAT OR WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF THE ASSESSMENT OF THE COST SAVINGS MM-HMM . UH, WITH THOSE TYPES OF RESPONSE EFFICIENCIES. UH, TWO FINAL QUESTIONS. UH, I SAW IN THE BACKUP, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU TALK ABOUT THE DIVERSITY OF, OF THE, UH, DEPARTMENT, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO RECRUIT MORE WOMEN? SO THAT'S, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. SO, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THAT WE HAVE NOW, WE'VE ESTABLISHED A CLASSIFIED RECRUITING TEAM WITH WOMEN IN, WITH, WITH WOMEN IN THE CLASSIFIED RECRUITING TEAM. TWO. SO IF YOU LOOK AT HISTORICALLY, YOU KNOW, WE COULD SAY WE CAN, IF YOU LOOK AT THE, THE COST MODEL, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, ONE CLASS ALONE AND A FULL MONTH, A NINE MONTH CLASS IS APPROXIMATELY 2.5 MILLION AS OPPOSED TO THE FAST TRACK CERTIFIED CLASS, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY 400,000. RIGHT. BY ALL APPEARANCES, MAN, IT'S A GREAT MODEL. BUT TO GET THAT, THE, THE DIVERSITY PIECE THAT WE WANT, WE ATTRACT MORE THROUGH THE FULL PROGRAM. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON, ON LOOKING AT THAT, HAVING OUR WOMEN, WE'RE WORKING WITH BRENT TAYLOR TO DO JUST THAT VIDEO THAT TARGETS THAT GROUP AND, AND YOU KNOW, COUNCIL MEMBER, YOU KNOW, SINCE I'VE BEEN IN, THAT'S BEEN THE CULTURE. HOW DO WE GET MORE? BUT IT'S, IT'S A WHOLE CONCEPT OF THE SAFETY, THE CULTURE CHANGE, EVERYTHING ELSE THAT MAKES IT, WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH OUR MILITARY COUNTERPARTS ON PEOPLE THAT ARE RETIRING AND COMING OVER TO US. WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THAT PROGRAM WHERE THEY GET THOSE AND WE'RE ABLE TO TARGET AND UTILIZE THOSE TALENTS TO COME INTO THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT. TERRIFIC. AND YOU'RE DOING GREAT. I KNOW BRENT DOES GREAT. EVERYONE'S DOING WHAT THEY CAN. UM, AND YOU TALKED ABOUT THE COST OF CADET CLASSES. UH, I'D BE INTERESTED TO SEE HOW MANY WERE LOSE. HPD HAS A SIMILAR CHALLENGE AND HOPEFULLY THE INCREASED PAY HELPS, BUT WE EXPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON THE FRONT END, THE COST OF TRAINING, AND THEN WE'RE POTENTIALLY LOSING THEM TO OTHER AREAS. WHAT ARE WE DOING, UH, TO MITIGATE THAT? ARE WE ABLE TO RECOUP SOME OF THOSE COSTS VIA CONTRACT IF, LET'S SAY A NEW A GRADUATED CADET GOES SOMEWHERE ELSE? HOW DO WE ACCOUNT FOR THAT? WELL, THE FIRST THING THAT WE'RE DOING IS, SO AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, OUR POOL WAS A LOT SMALLER BEFORE WE APPROXIMATELY HAD 60 PEOPLE SIGNING UP FOR A CIVIL SERVICE TEST. MAYBE 40 WOULD SHOW UP. AND THEN IT WAS, LET'S TRY IT AND SEE IT, RIGHT? IF WE LIKE IT, WHICH IS AN EXPENSIVE PROCESS. IF YOU LOOK AT THE, THE ATTRITION RATE WAS 45% THAT RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT. THE CITY'S INVESTMENT IN H OF THESE INVESTMENT WASN'T THERE. SO WHAT WE'RE SEEING NOW, COUNCIL MEMBERS, WE HAVE AN AVERAGE OF 220 SIGNING UP FOR CIVIL SERVICE. WE HAVE A MORE AGGRESSIVE RECRUITING TEAM, UH, THAT HAS BEEN SUPPORTED BY CHIEF, OBVIOUSLY YOU ALL BUT CHIEF WEST AND CHIEF EK WHO ARE OUT THERE JUST MONITORING CLOSELY. SO THAT HELPS THE TALENT POOL THAT WE GET, RIGHT. WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT OTHER AREAS. SO WE LOOK AT THE CUTOFF SCORE OF A CIVIL SERVICE EXAM, BE A LITTLE HIGHER. SO THAT OBVIOUSLY SHOWS WHEN WE'RE, WHEN WE HAVE THAT VALUED CADET RIGHT. WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT INCREASING, YOU KNOW, IF WE LOOK AT AN ATTRITION RATE PER CLASS OF SAY WE LOSE 10, BUT WE'RE ADDING 10, SO WE EVEN OUT. AND SO WE COULD LOOK AT THAT, BUT THOSE ARE UTILIZING THE FOUR. WE, WE HAVE BUDGETED FOUR FULL-TIME CLASSES AND FIVE FAST TRACK CLASSES. SO THOSE, THOSE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE'RE CONTINUOUSLY WORKING ON WITH THAT. GREAT. THANK YOU. I'LL SAVE MY CAD COMMENTS FOR LATER. . THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. I, I APPRECIATE IT. UH, CHIEF, I JUST WANT TO MAKE ONE LAST STATEMENT IF I MAY. NUMBER ONE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UH, YOUR CONTINUANCE, YOU KNOW, TO ATTEND OUR TOWN HALLS, INFORM THE COMMUNITY ABOUT A LOT OF INFORMATION AND THE, AND THE DEPARTMENT FOR ALL OF YOU GUYS COMING OUT, IT REALLY HELPFUL TO PEOPLE IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO TALK AND TOUCH AND YES SIR. INTERACT WITH THE, WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. ALSO, THE LAST THING IS, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED LAST YEAR WITH THE OFFICE OF, UH, OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AS WELL AS WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. UH, WE, WE'VE NOW OFFICIALLY FORMED OUR MINISTERS ADVISORY BOARD TO THE MAYOR. WE HAD A BIG, BIG KICKOFF LAST THURSDAY. WE WILL BE MEETING EVERY MONTH. AND SO WE, LOOKING FORWARD, BECAUSE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW AND PUTTING TOGETHER THE, YOU [00:50:01] KNOW, HURRICANE AND OTHER DISASTER FORMULAS TOGETHER ALL OVER THE CITY, THAT WILL ASSIST THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AS WELL IN TERMS OF RESPONSE AND AREAS OF WHERE WE HELP WITH PEOPLE. 'CAUSE CHURCHES ARE VITAL AND THEY CAN ALSO HELP THAT SAVE THE CITY A LOT OF MONEY. SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO YOU, UH, BEING THEIR CHIEF. YOU, YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT HELP AND WE WANT TO DO THAT. YES, SIR. COUNCIL MEMBER, I, I BELIEVE I SIGNED AN INTEREST CARD FOR THAT TOO, BUT , I KNOW YOU TO CALL. YOU DID, BUT NO, UM, AS, AS, AS OBVIOUSLY THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE IN THE MAYOR SUPPORT THAT COMMUNITY IS SUCH, IS SUCH AN IMPORTANCE TO US. RIGHT. THE COMPASSION THAT GOES ON. YES. AND IT IS THROUGH THE CHURCHES AND OTHER, THE MAJOR STAKEHOLDERS AND ALL STAKEHOLDERS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE CONTINUOUSLY NOW, AS I MENTIONED, CHIEF GOVAN TAKING OVER PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND WE'LL BE ENSURING THAT WE HAVE THAT PRESENCE THERE FOR YOU. GOOD. BUT WORKING IN, IN CONJUNCTION WITH YOU TO, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SUCCESSFUL THROUGHOUT THE CITY FORCE MULTIPLIERS, AS I LIKE TO SAY. EXACTLY. EXACTLY. THANK YOU CHIEF. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER. YES. CHIEF, YOU MENTIONED, UH, WORKING WITH THE MILITARY AND UH, I'M SPEAKING WITH KRICK ON SATURDAY AND HE MENTIONED A PROGRAM WHERE THE GOVERNMENT WOULD ACTUALLY PAY FOR MILITARY PEOPLE THAT WERE SOON TO EXIT TO ACTUALLY GO THROUGH THE TRAINING. YES, SIR. UM, SKYBRIDGE THEN THEY WENT BACK AND EXITED THE MIL MILITARY, IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. THAT IS CORRECT. CHIEF HICKS HEADING UP THAT, THAT PROGRAM, UH, I BELIEVE IT'S SKYBRIDGE THAT, YOU KNOW, ONCE THEY'RE COMING OUT, THEY HAVE THAT RETIREMENT PROCESS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO KINDA STREAMLINED THEM IN THERE. AND, AND THE BEAUTIFUL PART ABOUT THAT IS IF THERE'S ANY TRAINING INVOLVED THAT MIGHT REQUIRE 'EM TO GET A CERTIFICATION OR WHATEVER, THEY PUT 'EM THROUGH THAT PROGRAM TO GET THEIR THEIR EMT CERTIFICATION, FIREFIGHTING CERTIFICATION, AND THEY PAY FOR THAT. RIGHT. AND THEN THEY'RE ABLE TO TRANSFER INTO OUR HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT. SO THAT'S BEEN A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING, UM, UTILIZING ALL THE ASSETS THAT WE CAN START RECRUITING PEOPLE THAT, THAT SOUNDED LIKE AN ABSOLUTE HOME RUN. SO WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO SUPPORT THAT. YEAH, THAT'S ALL CHIEF AK I'M GIVING CREDIT WITH CREDIT AS DUE. GREAT. UH, I WANTED TO ASK ONE MORE QUESTION ABOUT AMBULANCE FEES. UH, ROCHELLE, I NOTICED ABOUT A $13 MILLION DECREASE IN, UH, ANNUAL AMBULANCE FEES COLLECTED. I DON'T KNOW, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT A STATE LAW. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S, WHAT, CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE FURTHER? SURE. SO, UM, SENATE BILL, AS CHIEF MENTIONED IN HIS PRESENTATION, SENATE BILL 2 4 7 6, UM, WAS PASSED A FEW YEARS AGO AND IT IS A, UH, CONSUMER PROTECTION BILL, BUT IT ALSO HAD THE EFFECT OF, UM, HAVING COMMERCIAL INSURANCE CARRIERS PAY OUR STATED RATE. SO WE SUBMITTED OUR, UM, TRANSPORT FEE RATES, UM, TO TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, THAT IS THE RENT THAT THEY, THEY WILL PAY FROM NOW ON. UM, THAT SENATE BILL WILL EXPIRE, I BELIEVE IN SEPTEMBER OF THIS YEAR. UM, THERE IS A SUCCESSOR BILL RIGHT NOW, UM, BEING CONSIDERED AT THE TEXAS, IF THE TEXAS SENATE AND THE TEXAS HOUSE, AND HOPEFULLY IF WE GET THE SUCCESSOR BILL IN PLACE, WE WILL KEEP THE REVENUE IF NOT, SO THAT $13 MILLION DECREASE IS ONLY IF WE DON'T GET THAT BILL. IF WE DO NOT GET THE BILL. GOT IT. YES, CORRECT. FOLLOWING ON THAT, AND THAT WOULD BE SENATE BILL NINE 16 COUNCIL MEMBER. ALL RIGHT. WE'LL BE MAKING THE CALLS. YEAH, WE'LL BE MAKING THE CALLS. THAT'S, THAT'S $13 MILLION COLLEAGUE, SO I THINK IT'S WORTH A PHONE CALL. UH, OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I'M SEEING NO MORE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, COLLEAGUE QUESTIONS, SO GREAT JOB. HAPPY TO SEE YOU. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR WORK YOU DO. JUST FIRE DEPARTMENT'S. AWESOME. AND REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP. YES. DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS EITHER ONLINE OR IN THE CHAMBER? I DON'T THINK ANYONE SIGNED UP. ALL RIGHT. SEEING NONE, UH, WE WILL CLOSE THIS OUT TOMORROW. COLLEAGUES, WE START AT 9:00 AM WITH THE CONTROLLER TRENDS REPORT AND AS WELL AS HIS DEPARTMENTAL BUDGET FOR THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE. AT 10:00 AM WE'LL HEAR FROM HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARIES, AND AT 11, WE'LL FINISH IT UP WITH HPD. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR, THANK Y'ALL FOR YOUR CONTINU SUPPORT STAM AT TODAY. * 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.