* 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.
           
          [00:00:03]
GOOD MORNING EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO 
          [ Budget and Fiscal Affairs on July 29, 2025.]
THE JULY 29TH, 2025 BUDGET FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE. 
          I'M COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN, AND I AM JOINED BY MY COLLEAGUE, MAYOR PRO TEM MARTHA CASTEX. 
          TATUM VICE MAYOR PROTI. 
          AMY PECK, COUNCIL MEMBER JOAQUIN MARTINEZ. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER AMY PECK. 
          COUNCIL. 
          I MEAN COUNCIL. 
          OH MY GOSH. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER JULIAN RAMIREZ. 
          AND STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER MARIO CASTILLO. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER ED POLLARD. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER TASHA JACKSON, COUNCIL MEMBER NANA MARY N HUFFMAN'S OFFICE. 
          SO WELCOME ALL. 
          WE'LL GET STARTED WITH DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI AND WILL JONES DEPUTY CONTROLLER FOR THE MONTHLY, OR IT'S THE QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT AND SWAP INVESTMENT REPORT. 
          AND SWAP REPORT. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER AND COUNCIL MEMBER TWILA CARTER IS, CARTER IS ONLINE AND STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER LETITIA PLUMMER IS ALSO ONLINE. 
          SO WELCOME ALL. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          OKAY, THERE WE GO. 
          GOOD MORNING, MADAM CHAIR COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UM, IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE TODAY TO PRESENT YOU WITH THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING JUNE 30TH, 2025. 
          I'LL ALSO BE PRESENTING OUR QUARTERLY INVESTMENT REPORT. 
          UH, SO TO START OFF IN THE GENERAL FUND, UM, THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE IS PROJECTING AN ENDING FUND BALANCE OF 413.4 MILLION OR 16% OF EXPENDITURES SLASH DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO. 
          SO THIS IS 8.3 MILLION LOWER THAN THE FINANCE PROJECTION. 
          UH, LAST MONTH WE WERE CLOSER TO 40 MILLION, SO WE'VE DEFINITELY, UM, COME MORE ALIGNED WITH OUR PROJECTIONS. 
          THE DIFFERENCE IS DUE TO A LOWER REVENUE PROJECTION THAN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT. 
          BASED ON OUR CURRENT PROJECTIONS, THE FUND BALANCE WILL BE APPROXIMATELY 219.3 MILLION ABOVE THE CITY'S TARGET OF HOLDING 7.5% OF TOTAL EXPENDITURES, EXCLUDING DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO. 
          WE HAVE INCREASED OUR REVENUE PROJECTION BY 41 MILLION FROM LAST MONTH'S REPORT. 
          UM, AND HERE ARE THE KEY CHANGES IN PROPERTY TAX. 
          IT INCREASED BY 17.5 MILLION DUE, UH, TO ACCOUNT FOR THE FY 2021 AND 22 CLAWBACK OF THE, UH, PROPERTY TAX INCREMENT FROM TS 24, UM, AND THEN TRANSFER FROM OTHER FUNDS INCREASED BY 7.8 MILLION, UH, DUE TO RECOVERY OR PRIOR, OR PRIOR YEAR THREE, UH, THREE 80 REIMBURSEMENTS FROM TURS 24. 
          IF YOU RECALL, A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, UH, FINANCE ALREADY REFLECTED THIS PROJECTION AND TOTAL US ABOUT 25.8, WHICH MAKES UP THE MAJORITY OF OUR, UH, 40 41 MILLION, UH, THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE. 
          UH, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS ON TURS 24, AND SO NOW WE'RE READY TO REFLECT THAT PROJECTION. 
          UH, CHARGES FOR SERVICES INCREASED BY 4.6 MILLION, PRIMARILY DUE TO STRONGER THAN EXPECTED AMBULANCE FEES. 
          INDUSTRIAL ASSESSMENTS INCREASED BY 3.3 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED TAXABLE VALUATIONS. 
          UH, INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVENUES INCREASED BY 1.8 MILLION BASED ON HIGHER REIMBURSEMENTS FROM METRO FOR TRAFFIC, UH, ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES. 
          UH, ELECTRIC FRANCHISE FEES INCREASED BY 1.4 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER RECEIPTS. 
          DIRECT ENTER FUND INCREASED BY 1.4 MILLION, DRIVEN BY HIGHER CHARGEBACK FOR FIRE AIRPORT RELATED SERVICES. 
          UH, MISCELLANEOUS OTHER REVENUES INCREASED BY 0.9 MILLION, PRIMARILY DUE TO, UH, FIREFIGHTER DEPLOYMENT REIMBURSEMENTS LICENSE AND PERMITS INCREASED BY 0.9 MILLION, MAINLY DUE TO HIGHER COLLECTIONS FROM BURGLAR ALARM FOOD DEALER PERMITS AND ADMINISTRATIVE FEES. 
          SALES OF CAPITAL ASSETS INCREASED BY 0.6 MILLION FROM PROCEEDS RELATED TO LAND AND EASEMENT SALES. 
          SO MOVING ON TO THE EXPENDITURES, OUR PROJECTIONS DECREASED BY 2.4 MILLION FROM LAST MONTH DUE TO YEAR END SAVINGS AND PERSONNEL SUPPLIES AND SERVICES. 
          SO ACROSS ALL THE, THE DIFFERENT GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENTS, SOME UP, SOME DOWN, UH, BUT, UH, OVERALL 2.4 MILLION IN SAVINGS. 
          UH, MOVING ON TO THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS, STARTING WITH AVIATION OPERATING REVENUES DECREASED BY 16.1 MILLION DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED COLLECTIONS FOR TERMINAL SPACE RENTAL AND SIGNATORY LANDING FEES. 
          OPERATING EXPENSES DECREASED BY 7.5 MILLION DUE TO LOWER PERSONNEL AND SERVICE COSTS, AS WELL AS DELAYS IN NON-CAPITAL EQUIPMENT PURCHASES. 
          NON-OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY 2.5 MILLION FROM HIGHER INTEREST INCOME AND LAND SALES. 
          OPERATING TRANSFERS TO THE AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT FUND DECREASED BY 6.1 MILLION. 
          LOOKING AT THE CONVENTION ENTERTAINMENT FACILITIES FUND, OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY 1 MILLION, DRIVEN BY HIGHER GARAGE, UH, GARAGE PARKING REVENUES, AND FOR CUS OPERATING REVENUES DECREASED BY 61 MILLION DUE TO DECREASE IN WATER AND SEWER SALES. 
          OPERATING EXPENSES DECREASED BY 160.1 MILLION DUE TO LOWER SPENDING IN PERSONNEL SUPPLIES AND SERVICES. 
          NONOPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY 3.2 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER INTEREST 
          [00:05:01]
INCOME AND OPERATING TRANSFERS DECREASED BY 59.2 MILLION DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED TRANSFER TO CAPITAL PROJECTS AND DELAYS IN BOTH CAPITAL AND NON-CAPITAL EQUIPMENT PURCHASES. 
          IN REGARDS TO THE DEDICATED DRAINAGE TREAT RENEWAL FUND, THE AVALOR TAX EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 50.2 MILLION DUE TO LOWER TRANSFER TO CAPITAL PROJECTS AND VEHICLE PURCHASE DELAYS FOR THE D-D-S-R-F DRAINAGE CHARGE REVENUES INCREASED BY 5.5 MILLION TO REFLECT HIGHER DRAINAGE REVENUES AND HIGHER INTEREST INCOME AND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 55.9 MILLION DUE TO LOWER TRANSFER TO CAPITAL PROJECTS AND INTER FUND LEGAL SERVICES FOR D-D-S-R-F METRO, UH, REVENUES DECREASED BY 0.7 MILLION DUE TO LOWER INTER FUND CHARGEBACKS EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 6.1 MILLION DUE TO SAVINGS IN PERSONNEL, UH, DELAYED VEHICLE PURCHASES AND LOWER, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE SPENDING. 
          AND FINALLY, ON THE, UH, STORM MAR FUND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 8 MILLION DUE TO SAVINGS AND PERSONNEL, DELAYED VEHICLE PURCHASES AND LOWER INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE. 
          NOW, TAKING A QUICK LOOK FOR THE COMMERCIAL PAPER, PAPER AND BONDS, THE CITY'S PRACTICE HAS BEEN TO MAINTAIN NO MORE THAN 20% OF A TOTAL OUTSTANDING DEBT FOR EACH TYPE OF DEBT IN A VARIABLE RATE STRUCTURE, WHICH IS IN LINE WITH THE RATING AGENCY'S GUIDANCE OF 25% FROM TIME TO TIME. 
          UH, THE CITY'S ENTERPRISE CREDITS HAVE EXCEEDED THIS THRESHOLD ON AN INTERIM BASIS AS THEY HAVE UNDERTAKEN LARGE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS ON MAJOR EXPANSIONS. 
          SO MOVING ON TO THE QUARTERLY INVESTMENT REPORT. 
          AS OF JUNE 30TH, 2025, THE CITY HAD $5.7 BILLION INVESTED IN OUR GENERAL INVESTMENT POOL. 
          THIS CHARACTER OF THIS POOL IS THAT OF A SHORT TERM BOND FUND THAT HOLDS INVESTMENTS OF VERY HIGH CREDIT QUALITY, WHICH RATINGS REVIEWED THIS POOL AND ASSIGNED THIS POOL AS HIGHEST RATING OF AAA. 
          OUR INVESTMENT STRATEGY IS TO MATCH ASSETS AND LIABILITIES FOR A TIME PERIOD OF ONE YEAR INTO THE FUTURE TO AND TO EXERCISE DISCRETION FOR THE BALANCE OF REMAINING FUNDS. 
          INVESTMENTS ARE 39 MILLION LOWER THAN LAST YEAR, AND THIS IS PRIMARILY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE HIGHER EXPENDITURE IN AVIATION. 
          UH, AS OF JUNE 30TH, 2025, THE JOURNAL INVESTMENT POOL WAS YIELDING 4.081%, WHICH IS UP FROM THE 3.927% YIELD IN THE PRIOR QUARTER. 
          IN ADDITION TO THE JOURNAL INVESTMENT POOL, WE HAVE TWO SMALL INVESTMENT POOLS THAT TOTAL ABOUT 16 MILLION. 
          THOSE POOLS EXIST TO COMPLY WITH TAX REQUIREMENTS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 
          A DETAILED LISTING OF THE SECURITIES OWNED BY THE CITY UP HERE AT THE BACK OF THE INVESTMENT, UH, REPORT. 
          AND TAKING A LOOK AT OUR SWAT REPORT REPORT ALONG WITH OUR INVESTMENT REPORT, WE HAVE INCLUDED IN THE MO FAR THE QUARTERLY SWAT REPORT AS IS REQUIRED BY THE CITY'S SWAP POLICY. 
          THE WRITTEN SWAP REPORT THAT APPEARS IN THE MOFI OFFERS A COMPREHENSIVE DESCRIPTION OF THE TWO SWAP POSITIONS. 
          THE CITY HAD A NET PAID, UH, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30TH, 2025, UH, FROM ITS SWAPS OF 6 MILLION. 
          FAIR VALUE FOR SWAPS AS OF JUNE 30TH, 2025 WAS A NEGATIVE 75 MILLION, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY 2 MILLION MORE THAN A PRIOR QUARTER OF NEGATIVE SEVEN, UH, 73 MILLION. 
          AND FINALLY, UM, AGAIN, A THANK YOU TO THE DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI AND, UH, THE CITY T OF VERNON LEWIS AND THE WORKING FINANCE GROUP. 
          UH, LAST WEEK, THE CITY OF HOUSTON SUCCESSFULLY PRE-MARKET AND PRICED APPROXIMATELY 724, UH, MILLION AIRPORT SYSTEM SUBORDINATE LIEN REVENUE BOND SERIES TWO, UH, 2025 AB, UH, TO PRESERVE THE ABILITY TO REDEEM THESE BONDS IN THE FUTURE. 
          BOTH SERIES WERE SOLD WITH AN OPTION TO CALL THE BONDS AT ANY TIME. 
          SO AGAIN, GOOD JOB TO DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI AND THE FINANCE WORKING GROUP AND OUR TREASURER, UH, VERNON LEWIS. 
          UM, AND BEFORE I CLOSE OUT, JUST, UH, JUST TO NOTE, THIS IS OUR, THE LAST REPORT FOR, UH, FISCAL YEAR 25. 
          JUST TO NOTE THAT THESE NUMBERS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE UNTIL WE FINALIZE THE CITY'S, UH, COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT, UH, WHICH AROUND NOVEMBER OR SO. 
          SO EVEN THOUGH WE'VE CLOSED, UH, THIS CHAPTER, WE'RE STILL PROCESSING INVOICES AND PAYMENTS. 
          SO YOU WILL NOTICE THE ACTUALS CHANGE AS WE GET INTO NEXT FISCAL YEAR, BUT IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, THE MATTER OF ACCOUNTING AND WHEN WE CAN RECOGNIZE THESE REVENUES AND EXPENSES. 
          SO YOU WILL NOTICE THIS NUMBER CHANGE. 
          I KNOW WE COVERED A LOT, BUT IT'S STILL, UH, MOVING, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          THANK YOU, MR. JONES. 
          I DO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE WE'VE BEEN JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIE DAVIS AND COUNCIL MEMBER ANNE HUFFMAN, ONLINE DIRECTOR. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          THIS IS THE 12 PLUS ZERO FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING JUNE 30TH, 2025. 
          FISCAL YEAR 25 PROJECTIONS ARE BASED ON 12 MONTH, 12 MONTHS OF ACTUAL RESULTS. 
          UM, AS DEPUTY CONTROLLER JONES MENTIONED, UM, GOODS AND SERVICES, UM, PROVIDED IN FISCAL YEAR 25, UM, RECEIVED, UH, INVOICES FOR THOSE. 
          UM, THOSE ITEMS DO CONTINUE TO COME IN AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO PROCESS THOSE, UH, AS WE RECORD THEM, 
          [00:10:01]
UM, UNTIL THE END OF AUGUST. 
          AND THOSE RESULTS WILL BE FINAL ONLY UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THE FY 25 ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT. 
          SO STARTING WITH NEXT MONTH, WE'LL BEGIN PRESENTING THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 26, UH, WHICH BEGAN, UH, AT THE BEGINNING OF JULY. 
          AND AT THE TIME THAT THE ADOPTED BUDGET FOR FY 26 WAS, UM, PUT INTO PLACE, THE BEGINNING FUND BALANCE WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 381 MILLION AT THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 25, COMING INTO FISCAL YEAR 26. 
          UM, BASED ON THE NUMBERS REFLECTED IN THIS REPORT, WE'RE CURRENTLY PROJECTING THAT ENDING FUND BALANCE FROM 25 GOING INTO 26, UM, WILL BE 422 MILLION, WHICH IS AN INCREASE OF 41 MILLION. 
          SO ON THE GENERAL FUND, THE REVENUE SIDE, OUR PROJECTION IS 107 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE ADOPTED BUDGET, AND 10.6 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH. 
          THE VARIANCE FROM THE PRIOR MONTH PROJECTION IS PRIMARILY DUE TO, UM, A CHANGE IN, UH, ONE OF THE LINE ITEM CATEGORIES RELATED TO THE TS 24 TRANSFER, UH, WHERE WE ARE MOVING $17.5 MILLION INCREASE IN GENERAL PROPERTY TAX WITH A CORRESPONDING DECREASE IN TRANSFER FROM OTHER FUND DUE TO A PORTION OF THE TS 24 TRANSFER, UH, WHICH WE PREVIOUSLY REFLECTED IN A DIFFERENT CATEGORY. 
          UM, AS THE DEPUTY CONTROLLER MENTIONED, WE'VE BEEN, UM, WORKING TOGETHER OVER THE LAST COUPLE MONTHS ON THAT, UM, ON THAT, UM, ITEM AND, UH, ARE REFLECTING, UM, SIMILAR TO WHAT THEY'RE REFLECTING IN THEIR PROJECTION NOW. 
          SO MOVING ON TO THE NEXT CATEGORY. 
          THERE'S A $3.5 MILLION INCREASE IN CHARGES FOR SERVICES, PRIMARILY DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED AMBULANCE FEES. 
          A $1.8 MILLION INCREASE IN, IN OUR GOVERNMENTAL DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED REIMBURSEMENT FROM METRO FOR TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT, $1.4 MILLION INCREASE IN DIRECT INTER FUND SERVICES DUE TO HIGHER CHARGEBACK FROM AIRPORT, UM, FOR THE FIRE SERVICES PROVIDED AT THE AIRPORT. 
          1.1 MILLION INCREASE IN INTEREST TO REFLECT HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED EARNINGS IN THE POOL. 
          $882,000 INCREASE IN INDUSTRIAL ASSESSMENTS DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED COLLECTIONS. 
          $580,000 INCREASE IN LICENSES AND PERMITS, MAINLY DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED FOOD DEALER FEES, SPECIAL FIRE PERMITS, AND A $578,000 INCREASE IN SALE OF CAPITAL ASSETS DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED EASEMENT SALES WE'RE ALSO REFLECTING A 364,000 INCREASE IN OTHER FRANCHISE DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED SOLID WASTE HOLLER FRANCHISE FEES. 
          SO TOUCHING ON SALES TAX, UM, THE, THE MOST RECENT MONTH THAT WE RECEIVED WAS FOR THE RECEIPTS FOR THE MONTH OF MAY, WHICH WERE 74.3 MILLION, OR ABOUT 5.73% HIGHER THAN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR. 
          UM, SO THE CURRENT ESTIMATE OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT IS SITTING AT 907.7 MILLION. 
          SO ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE, UM, THE EXPENDITURE PROJECTION IS 58.8 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE ADOPTED BUDGET, AND ABOUT 2.4 MILLION LOWER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH, UM, DUE TO, UH, YEAR END SAVINGS AND PERSONNEL, UH, IN VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS. 
          SO TOGETHER WITH THE REVENUE CHANGES, THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT IS PROJECTING THE ENDING FUND BALANCE TO BE 422 MILLION, WHICH IS ABOUT 13 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH, AND IS 16.3% OF EX UH, ESTIMATED EXPENDITURES, NOT INCLUDING DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO. 
          THAT FUND BALANCE IS ABOUT $228 MILLION ABOVE THE TARGET OF HOLDING 7.5% OF EXPENDITURES, NOT INCLUDING DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO, UH, FOR THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS. 
          UM, THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, UM, DEPUTY CONTROLLER WENT OVER THE PROJECTIONS FOR THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS THAT AGREES WITH OUR PROJECTIONS. 
          SO I'LL JUMP STRAIGHT TO THE ECONOMIC UPDATE. 
          SORRY, IT WAS A LOT HE WENT OVER. 
          UM, SO FOR THE HOUSTON ECONOMY, FOR THE EMPLOYMENT, ACCORDING TO THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, THE PRELIMINARY TOTAL NON-FARM EMPLOYMENT FOR THE MSA, UH, STOOD AT 3.4 MILLION AS OF MAY OF 25, WHICH IS UP APPROXIMATELY 0.1% COMPARED TO THE PRIOR MONTH. 
          AND COMPARING TO THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, THE NON-FARM EMPLOYMENT IS UP ABOUT 0.5%. 
          FOR THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR THE MONTH OF MAY WAS 4.2% COMPARED TO THE PRIOR MONTH AT 3.9% IN THE ENERGY CATEGORY. 
          THE AVERAGE OIL PRICE, UM, WAS ABOUT $68 A BARREL FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE, WHICH WAS ABOUT 9.7% HIGHER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH AVERAGE OF $62. 
          UH, COMPARING WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, THE PRICE DID DECREASE BY 14.5 MILLION IN THE HOME SALES CATEGORY. 
          THE LATEST REPORT PREPARED BY THE HOUSTON ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS SHOWS THAT THE TOTAL SINGLE FAMILY HOME SALES, UH, WAS ABOUT 12.5% HIGHER COMPARED TO JUNE OF 24, AND THE MEDIAN PRICE INCREASED BY ABOUT 0.2%, UH, WITH THE AVERAGE PRICE, UM, INCREASING BY 4.4%. 
          [00:15:02]
UM, AND, UH, JUST TO KIND OF TIE TOGETHER HOW THESE ECONOMIC INDICATORS, UM, TIED TO OUR PROJECTIONS, UM, THE, THE REVENUE STREAM THAT IS MOST, UH, CLOSELY TIED TO THESE ECONOMIC PROJECTIONS AND OF COURSE IS THE MOST VOLATILE, IS OUR SALES TAX, UM, PROJECTION. 
          SO AS I MENTIONED, FOR FISCAL YEAR 25, OUR SALES TAX PROJECTION IS AROUND 907 MILLION. 
          FOR FY 26, AT THE TIME WE BUDGETED, WE BUDGETED 902 MILLION. 
          SO THAT NOW REPRESENTS WITH THE, THE HIGHER SALES TAX THAT WE'RE SEEING IN FISCAL YEAR 25 COMPARED TO OUR PREVIOUS PROJECTIONS, WE FEEL THAT OUR SALES TAX ESTIMATE IS STILL CONSERVATIVE. 
          IT'S ACTUALLY, UM, NOW IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT AN INCREASE ANYMORE, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY A DECREASE 0.06% BASED ON WHERE WE CURRENTLY SEE FY 25 AND WHAT WE HAVE BUDGETED FOR FY 26. 
          SO AS WE GO INTO THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORTS THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 26, WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT FOR THE DISASTER REPORT. 
          THERE IS NO CHANGE FROM THE PRIOR MONTH, UM, BUT IT IS INCLUDED IN THE PRINTED REPORT. 
          UM, WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH FEMA AND TEEM TO CLOSE OUT OUR PROJECT WORKSHEETS RELATED TO, UM, BARREL AND DERECHO, AND, UH, WE'LL PROVIDE UPDATES ON THAT AS AS THEY COME. 
          THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU BOTH. 
          UH, ON THE DEDICATED DRAINAGE AND STREET RENEWAL FUND, UM, AS WE CLOSED OUT, IT SEEMED TO BE A BIG NUMBER LESS TRANSFERRED TO CAPITAL PROJECTS. 
          CAN YOU KIND OF EXPLAIN THAT? 'CAUSE I MEAN, I THOUGHT THROUGH THE, THE LAWSUIT AND EVERYTHING, WE WERE ACTUALLY PUTTING MORE INTO THAT TRANSFER, BUT THIS IS, I KNOW, NOT FOR THE LAST YEAR THOUGH, THAT THAT STARTS IN 26. 
          THAT STARTS THIS YEAR, RIGHT? CORRECT. 
          SO, BUT JUST WHAT, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE REASONS FOR US TO NOT BE TRANSFERRING THAT WHAT WE THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA BE TRANSFERRING? SO, YOU'RE RIGHT. 
          SO THE JONES SETTLEMENT STARTS WITH FISCAL YEAR 26, RIGHT, WHERE WE'RE PUTTING AN ADDITIONAL $16 MILLION, UM, TO D-D-S-R-F, UM, BASED ON THE SETTLEMENT. 
          SO, UH, THE PROJECTIONS THAT YOU SEE IN HERE ARE, UM, JUST BASED ON THE PROJECT ACTIVITY. 
          UM, SO IT'S JUST KIND OF THE TIMING OF WHEN PAYMENT ARE DUE ON PROJECTS. 
          IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE HOLDING MONEY BACK OR ANYTHING THAT GOES TO PROJECTS. 
          IT'S ALL COMMITTED, IT'S JUST RIGHT, AND IT JUST WASN'T SPENT RIGHT. 
          AND IT WILL STAY IN, YOU SEE IN THE PROJECTION, IT WILL STAY IN THE D-D-S-R-F AND THE FUND BALANCE FOR THE D-D-S-R-F FUND. 
          UM, AS THOSE CAPITAL PROJECTS PROGRESS, IT'LL BE USED TO PAY THOSE, THOSE PROJECTS IN THE COMING YEARS, WHICH IS ONE OF THE THINGS WE'LL BE DISCUSSING IN AN UPCOMING MEETING. 
          VICE MAYOR, PRO TAM, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I JUST HAD A GENERAL QUESTION. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          UH, AND THANK YOU ALL. 
          I, I HAD A GENERAL QUESTION AS WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE FALL, UM, DIRECTOR, I KNOW YOU AND I HAVE TALKED, UH, AS I HAVE WITH THE CHAIR, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE AS IT RELATES TO OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES, WHAT THE TIMELINE IS FOR THAT, BECAUSE THERE'S OTHER THINGS PERTAINING TO THE BUDGET, INCLUDING PROPOSED BUDGET AMENDMENTS THAT WE SAID WE WOULD ADDRESS AT THAT TIME. 
          YEAH, WE'VE GOT THAT SCHEDULED ONE MEETING IN AUGUST TO DEAL WITH A LOT OF THE CIP ITEMS, AND THEN THE SEPTEMBER MEETING, WE'LL DEAL WITH THOSE OTHER, UM, FINANCIAL POLICIES, UH, AMENDMENTS. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THAT'S COMING. 
          SO WE'RE ON, WE ARE IN OF SEPTEMBER COMING UP. 
          YES, YES. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          AND, AND, UM, THERE, I NOTICED A COUPLE BUDGET RELATED ITEMS ON THE AGENDA TOMORROW. 
          THE ACTUARIAL, UH, CONTRACT EXTENSION. 
          IF YOU, I LOOKED AT, YOU KNOW, PAGE 53 OF THE MOER, WHICH, WHICH DEALS WITH THE, THE LIABILITY, UM, 1.4 BILLION IN, UH, LIABILITY IN THE MUNICIPAL PLAN, 374 MILLION IN THE, IN THE POLICE PLAN. 
          AND WE'RE ACTUALLY AHEAD IN THE FIREFIGHTER PLAN. 
          SO JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE AGENDA ITEM, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND. 
          UM, AND WHAT, WHAT THAT, WHAT, WHAT THE ACTUARIAL CONTRACTOR WILL BE DOING. 
          SURE. 
          UM, SO THE ITEM THAT'S ON AGENDA TOMORROW ADDS A, UM, ADDITIONAL TIME TO OUR CONTRACT FOR OUR PENSION ACTUARY. 
          SO PER STATE LAW, WE, UH, RETAIN THE CITY RETAINS THEIR OWN ACTUARY TO DO THE PENSION ACTUARIAL ANALYSIS. 
          AND THIS IS THE SAME, UM, ACTUARIAL COMPANY, UH, THAT, AND ACTUALLY THE SAME ACTUARY THAT HELPED US WITH ALL THE PROJECTIONS DURING THE 2017 PENSION REFORMS. UM, AND SO THEIR CONTRACT, UM, WE STILL HAVE MONEY LEFT ON THE CONTRACT, BUT NEED TO EXTEND THE TIME ON IT. 
          SO IT'S AN ANNUAL SERVICE THAT, UH, WE NEED THIS DAY IN AND DAY OUT, UM, TO RUN ACTUARIAL ANALYSIS. 
          UM, AT THE TIME WE DO THE ANNUAL RISK SHARING VALUATION STUDIES IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE STATUTE. 
          SO THEY PERFORM THAT WORK. 
          UH, THEY ALSO PERFORM ANY ANALYSIS, UM, LIKE WE TALKED A COUPLE MONTHS AGO DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION FOR ANY BILLS THAT COME UP. 
          UM, THEY'LL PRODUCE THOSE ANALYSES. 
          AND, UM, UM, THAT'S PART OF THE SCOPE OF THE, THE CONTRACT THAT THE TIME IS BEING PROPOSED FOR EXTENSION. 
          OKAY. 
          AND ALSO ITEM 34, I WAS EXCITED TO SEE THE OPEP TRUST IS HAPPENING, GUYS. 
          UM, AND EVEN MORE THAN $10 MILLION, IT'S LIKE 15 MILLION A YEAR FOR FIVE YEARS, RIGHT? OR 75 MILLION 
          [00:20:01]
OVER FIVE YEARS. 
          75 MILLION OVER FIVE YEARS, RIGHT? SO THE, THE PLAN SCHEDULE, UM, DISBURSEMENT, UH, TO THE TRUST, UH, WHICH THIS IS THE, THE COMPANY THAT'S GOING TO INVEST OUR FUNDS AND, AND INVEST THEM AND GROW THROUGH INTEREST EARNINGS, UM, THE PLAN SCHEDULE IS TO SEND 10 MILLION IN FISCAL YEAR 26, 12 AND A HALF MILLION IN 27, 15,000,017 AND A HALF MILLION IN 20 MILLION OVER THE FIVE FIVE. 
          SO IT IS 75 TO 10 MILLION FOR NEXT YEAR. 
          OKAY. 
          YES. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          THAT IS GREAT NEWS. 
          ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE MOER OR INVESTMENT REPORT? GOOD JOB, VERNON AND EVERYBODY HANDLING THE INVESTMENTS FOR THE CITY, AND GOOD JOB ON THE, UM, THE BOND DEAL LAST WEEK. 
          UM, APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S HARD WORK ON THAT AND ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE MOER? OKAY, GOOD. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND, UM, I GUESS AT THIS TIME, MELISSA, YOU CAN HEAD INTO THE KIND OF ANALYSIS OF, OR, YOU KNOW, THE UPDATE ON WHAT ERNST AND YOUNG IS DOING ON THE, ON THE DIFFERENT CONTRACTS. 
          WE'VE GOT THE TURS SITUATIONS STILL OUTSTANDING. 
          WE HAVE THE, UH, AND THEN THE ONGOING WORK, UM, THAT THEY'RE DOING ON PERFORMANCE MEASURES, GOVERNANCE, AND THEN THE CONTRACT MANAGEMENT SPEND. 
          YES, AND I DON'T HAVE A PRESENTATION TODAY. 
          I JUST HAVE SOME, UM, SPEAKING POINTS, UM, AS KIND OF A CLOSEOUT TO THIS FISCAL YEAR AS THIS IS OUR LAST QUARTERLY REPORT. 
          UM, AND THEN WE'LL BE DOING SOME, UM, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL PRESENTATION WITH MATERIALS, UM, IN EVERY QUARTERLY REPORT STARTING FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 26TH, WHICH THE FIRST ONE WILL BE IN SEPTEMBER. 
          UM, SO FOR TODAY, I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE ANY UPDATES ON THE TS PORTION OF WHAT ERNST AND YOUNG IS WORKING ON. 
          THAT'S STILL IN PROGRESS. 
          UM, BUT I DID WANNA SPEAK TO, UM, TWO DIFFERENT AREAS OUT OF THE FOUR ORIGINAL WORK STREAMS THAT ERNST AND YOUNG, UM, TARGETED AND WORKED ON FOR US. 
          UM, TWO OF THEM ARE, UM, KIND OF, THERE'S MOST ACTIVITY IN TWO CATEGORIES. 
          ONE BEING THE CATEGORY MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE, AND THE SECOND BEING THE PERFORMANCE INITIATIVE. 
          UM, SO, UM, BACK IN MARCH OF 25, UM, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED AN ADDITIONAL PHASE OF THE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE ERNST AND YOUNG TEAM TO AID WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CATEGORY MANAGEMENT. 
          AND THIS IS THE ITEM THAT, UM, WE BUDGETED TO ACHIEVE $17 MILLION OF SAVINGS IN THE GENERAL FUND IN FISCAL YEAR 26 AS WE IMPLEMENT THIS INITIATIVE. 
          UM, SO THIS IS THE ONE WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT ALL OF OUR CONTRACTS, UM, PARTICULARLY WHERE WE HAVE, UM, DIFFERENT CONTRACTS FOR SIMILAR SERVICES OR DIFFERENT CONTRACTS WITH THE SAME VENDOR, UM, WITH SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT SCOPES OF WORK THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND BRINGING THOSE CONTRACTS TOGETHER THROUGH RENEGOTIATION TO NEGOTIATE COST SAVINGS. 
          UM, SO SOME OF THE INITIAL EARLY WORK STEPS THAT ERNST AND YOUNG IS HELPING, UM, AND THIS IS REALLY BEING LED BY OUR STRATEGIC PROCUREMENT DIVISION, SPD AND JED AND HIS SHOP IN THE SPD DIVISION OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, SO THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE, UH, WORKING ON THIS DAY IN AND DAY OUT. 
          UH, SO ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS IS TO BASICALLY FINALIZE THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES THAT ARE GONNA BE FOCUSED ON FOR CATEGORY MANAGEMENT. 
          SO THEY'VE NOW FINALIZED THOSE EIGHT CATEGORIES. 
          THEY'VE LOOKED ACROSS ALL THE NIGP CODES AND, UM, DONE A MAPPING TO MAP EACH OF THE CODES TO A CATEGORY. 
          AND, UM, I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT THE CATEGORIES WHEN ERNST AND YOUNG DID THEIR INITIAL REPORT. 
          UM, BUT JUST TO REFRESH EVERYONE'S MEMORY, THE CATEGORIES ARE GONNA BE FOCUSING ON PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES, CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, FLEET MANAGEMENT, AND EQUIPMENT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, PUBLIC WORKS, WHICH INCLUDES INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FACILITIES AND MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS. 
          AND THEN THE LAST CATEGORY IS PUBLIC SAFETY AND HUMAN SERVICES. 
          UM, SO BASED ON THOSE EIGHT CATEGORIES, ERNST AND YOUNG HAS HELPED US TO REFRESH THE SPENDING ANALYSIS DASHBOARD THAT I THINK YOU ALL GOT TO SEE WHEN WE DID A DEMO OF IT, UM, BASED ON THOSE EIGHT CATEGORIES AND THE ASSOCIATED CODES. 
          AND THEN THE ERNST AND YOUNG TEAM, UM, HAS BEEN GIVEN, UH, READ ONLY ACCESS TO SAP, WHICH IS OUR SYSTEM OF RECORD TO DOWNLOAD, UM, ALL OF THE CONTRACTS IN THE SYSTEM SO THAT THEY CAN SEE THE PRICING AND THE SCOPES OF WORK FOR ALL THOSE CONTRACTS THAT ARE BEING TARGETED. 
          UH, THEY'RE BEGINNING WITH THE FACILITIES AND MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS CATEGORY AS WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT THIS CATEGORY IS ONE WITH, UM, SOME OF THE MOST SAVINGS OPPORTUNITY OF ALL THE CATEGORIES THAT WE HAVE. 
          UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF A UPDATE ON WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR ON THAT CATEGORY. 
          FOR, UM, NEXT STEPS IN THE OUTLOOK FOR THE COMING MONTHS, UM, WE'RE GOING TO BE, UM, WORKING WITH THE YARNS AND YOUNG TEAM TO REVIEW ALL THOSE CONTRACTS THAT THEY'RE PULLING DOWN OUT OF SAP TO FIND THE DUPLICATION AND REDUNDANCY IN THE CONTRACTS AND LOOK WHERE, UM, WE COULD, YOU KNOW, TARGET TO FIGURE OUT WHICH CA UM, CONTRACTS WE WANNA TARGET TO RENEGOTIATE TO GET THOSE COST SAVINGS. 
          UH, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE IN THE COMING QUARTERS, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE ADOPTING A STANDARDIZED REPORT, UM, SO THAT YOU CAN EASILY SEE ON ONE PAGE, UM, THE, WE'RE GONNA BE QUANTIFYING THE SAVINGS, 
          [00:25:01]
THE COST ESTIMATES, AND THEN SHOWING KIND OF THE PRIORITIES AS WE WORK TO ACHIEVE TO GET TO THAT GOAL OF NO LESS THAN $17 MILLION FOR SAVINGS FOR GENERAL FUND IN THIS FISCAL YEAR. 
          AND THEN WE'RE GONNA USE THAT SAME TEMPLATE FORMAT TO PRESENT ON A QUARTERLY BASIS. 
          AND THAT IS WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE CATEGORY MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE. 
          THE OTHER WORK STREAM THAT ERNST AND YOUNG IS HELPING US WITH IS LOOKING AT THE PERFORMANCE WORK STREAM, WHICH PERTAINS TO THE OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING PERFORMANCE MEASURES, UM, ERNS AND YOUNG CALLS, THEM KPIS, KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS. 
          UM, SO BASICALLY ERNST AND YOUNG IS HELPING US IN WORK WITH ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS. 
          SO FAR THEY'VE HOSTED 11 DIFFERENT KPI TRAINING WORKSHOPS WITH DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, AND THEY'RE ACTIVELY WORKING WITH THOSE DIRECTORS TO REFINE, UH, AND FINALIZE ANY RECOMMENDED CHANGES TO THOSE INDICATORS OR PERFORMANCE MEASURES AS WE CALL THEM. 
          UM, SO BETWEEN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORKSHOP WITH THE REMAINING DEPARTMENTS, UM, TO IMPLEMENT THAT AS WE WANTED TO TARGET OUR, UM, OUR CONSULTING DOLLARS TO SOME OF THE LARGER DEPARTMENTS WITH SOME OF THE MORE COMPLICATED INDICATORS. 
          UM, BEGINNING IN AUGUST, MID-AUGUST, ERNSTEIN YOUNG WILL THEN FACILITATE 12, WHAT THEY CALL TURN THE CURVE WORKSHOPS. 
          AND THOSE WORKSHOPS ARE INTENDED TO SIT DOWN WITH EACH OF THE DEPARTMENTS AND IMPROVE UPON SEVERAL OF THEIR CRITICAL KPIS, WHERE WE CAN KIND OF LOOK AT, REALLY TAKE A DEEP DIVE INTO A SMALL HANDFUL OF SOME OF THE MOST CRITICAL KPIS AT THE CITY, UM, AND PARTICULARLY TARGETING ONES WHERE MAYBE THEY AREN'T MEETING THE TARGET AND SEE WHAT CAN BE DONE, WHAT CAN BE CHANGED IN THE PROCESS TO, TO COME DOWN AND MEET THE TARGET. 
          UM, SO THAT WORK ON THAT PERFORMANCE WORK STREAM IS ON TRACK AND ON SCHEDULE. 
          AND, UM, JESSE BOUNDS AND HIS TEAM IS, IS ALSO, UH, WORKING ON THIS, UH, WITH US TO LIAISE WITH ERNST AND YOUNG. 
          AND OF COURSE, UM, UM, WE'LL BE BRINGING, UM, UPDATES ON THE, THE, UH, ANY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO THE KPIS THAT ARE MADE, UM, PART OF THE QUARTERLY UPDATES THAT WE MAKE TO THE COMMITTEE GOING FORWARD. 
          I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, IN THE NEXT, UM, QUARTERLY UPDATE, UH, KIND OF DO A DEMO ON THE OPEN FINANCE PORTAL THAT WE HAVE. 
          SO, UM, YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND IT, UM, IF YOU JUST GOOGLE, UM, OPEN FINANCE HOUSTON, UH, YOU'LL FIND OUR, OUR OPEN DATA OPEN FINANCE PAGE. 
          AND RIGHT THERE IS A VISUALIZATION FOR THE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AT THE CITY THAT WE, UM, THE SAME ONES THAT YOU SEE IN THE BUDGET BOOK, UM, THE OUTCOME BASED BUDGET PERFORMANCE MEASURES. 
          UH, WE DO, WE HAVE DONE, UM, AND HAVE ON OUR WEBSITE CURRENTLY THE QUARTERLY UPDATES OF WHAT THE TARGET IS AND AT EACH QUARTER, UH, WHERE EACH DEPARTMENT IS WITH MEETING THEIR TARGETS AND SO ON THAT WEBPAGE IS WHERE WE'LL BE, UM, UPDATING AND MAKING ANY CHANGES, UH, RECOMMENDED THROUGH THIS, UM, THROUGH THE WORK STREAM THAT'S GOING ON WITH RNS AND YOUNG. 
          UH, SO THAT REALLY CONCLUDES THE UPDATE ON THOSE TWO WORK STREAMS FOR NOW, AND THANK YOU. 
          THAT'S GREAT. 
          UM, GREAT TO HEAR AND, AND BE ALSO GOOD, UH, TO SEE THE DASHBOARD WITH, WITH THE ONES THAT ARE IN THE ADOPTED BUDGET, BUT ALSO IT'D BE NICE TO SEE SOME OF THE EXAMPLES OF, OF WHAT, UH, TARGET, WHAT INDICATORS WILL BE CHANGING. 
          YOU KNOW, LIKE IF JESSE OR SOMEBODY COULD COME SAY, OKAY, WE LAST YEAR WE SAID THIS WAS THE TARGET, THAT PRINT MEASURE. 
          NEXT YEAR IT'S GONNA BE THIS, SOME EXAMPLES OF WHAT THEY'RE DOING THROUGH THESE WORKSHOPS TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES. 
          SURE. 
          AND SO BASICALLY ON, ON THE CONTRACTS, WE'VE GOT JUST PEOPLE GOING THROUGH EVERYTHING RIGHT NOW, FIGURING OUT WHAT WE'RE PAYING FOR, WHAT WIDGET, AND IF WE HAVE ANY DUPLICATIONS, AND THEN THERE'S GONNA BE, ONCE THAT'S DONE, WE'RE GONNA FIGURE OUT WHAT WE HAVE TO RENEGOTIATE OR COMBINE OR WHATEVER RIGHT. 
          TO COME UP WITH THAT SAVINGS. 
          YES. 
          AND NOW THOSE RENEGOTIATIONS HAPPEN, WE'LL HAVE TO COME BACK TO, YOU KNOW, BRING THOSE CONTRACTS BACK TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL. 
          RIGHT. 
          UM, IF THERE'S CHANGES TO ANY OF THE TERMS OR THE SCOPE. 
          UM, SO AS YOU SEE THAT PROCESS GOING FORWARD, THERE WILL BE COUNCIL ACTION OKAY. 
          TO IMPLEMENT IT. 
          AND, AND AS YOU PRESENT THESE QUARTERLY REPORTS, THERE'LL BE KIND OF A RUNNING TOTAL ON WHAT THE SAVINGS ARE. 
          OKAY. 
          YES. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, MAYOR PRO TEMP. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THAT LAST CATEGORY WAS? I WAS WRITING THEM DOWN. 
          WHAT WAS THE CATEGORY NUMBER EIGHT? PUBLIC SAFETY AND HUMAN SERVICES. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION IS, UH, A MONTH OR TWO, WELL, PROBABLY TWO MONTHS AGO, WE WERE TRYING TO INCREASE THE PAY FOR ONE OF OUR TEMP, UH, MEMBERS OF OUR HOT TEAM AND THE SOLID WASTE CONTRACT FOR THE TEMP AGENCY. 
          WE WERE TOLD THAT THERE WAS NO MORE SPACE IN THE ACTUAL CONTRACT, HOWEVER, THESE, UM, DOLLARS WERE COMING FROM COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS. 
          SO AS WE ARE HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE CONTRACTS, CAN WE JUST NOTE THAT WE NEED A LITTLE FLEXIBILITY, ESPECIALLY WHEN THOSE DOLLARS COME FROM COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS, BECAUSE 
          [00:30:01]
WHAT HAPPENED WAS WE WERE WAITING AND WAITING AND WAITING TO GET AN INCREASE FOR A PERSON ON OUR HOT TEAM. 
          AND I THINK HE KIND OF FELT LIKE WE WERE STRINGING HIM ALONG. 
          UH, AND UNFORTUNATELY HE QUIT. 
          UM, BUT I'D LIKE FOR US TO, WHEN WE ARE LOOKING AT THE TEMP AGENCY CONTRACT, UM, HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY, ESPECIALLY WHEN THOSE DOLLARS COME FROM CDSF. 
          OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          I DO WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT FRED FLICKINGER HAS JOINED US ONLINE, AND I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE UPDATE ON THE, ON THE ERNST AND YOUNG. 
          WE LOOK FORWARD TO. 
          SO THE SEPTEMBER ONE WILL BE, SO ACTUALLY NEXT IN ABOUT A MONTH, WE'LL HAVE THE, WE'LL HAVE THE A, A BIGGER UPDATE ON WHAT ERNST AND YOUNG WILL IS DOING, AND WE'LL BE TRACKING THAT UNTIL THE END OF THE CONTRACT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND YOU'RE UP AGAIN FOR UPCOMING FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS. 
          YES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO TODAY I'M GONNA PRESENT THE UPCOMING FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE FINANCE WORKING GROUP. 
          UM, SO DEPUTY CONTROLLER JONES GAVE A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPDATE ON THE AIRPORT TRANSACTION WE PRICED, UM, LAST WEEK. 
          UM, JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT MORE COLOR ON IT, UM, I JUST WANTED TO, AGAIN, THANK THE TEAM AS HE DID THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE AND THEIR TEAM, UM, THE AIRPORT AND THEIR TEAM, OUR, UM, OUTSIDE CONSULTANTS, OUR FINANCIAL ADVISORS, UM, OUTSIDE COUNSEL, UM, AND OF COURSE MY TEAM AND THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT. 
          SO IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY A GROUP EFFORT TO BRING THESE BOND TRANSACTIONS FORWARD, AND IT'S REALLY HOW WE DO THE FINANCING AND END UP, YOU KNOW, PAYING THE BILLS ON A LOT OF THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT YOU SEE THROUGHOUT THE CITY. 
          UM, SO WE DID ONE OF THE KEY THINGS, UM, WITH THAT TRANSACTION WAS ENGAGING THE RATING AGENCY. 
          SO I KNOW I MENTIONED A COUPLE WEEKS AGO ON THE GENERAL OBLIGATION, THE MOODY'S AFFIRMING OUR RATING. 
          UM, AS WE GO THROUGH EACH BOND TRANSACTION, WE MEET WITH ALL THE RATING AGENCIES THAT ARE RATING THAT TRANSACTION. 
          AND SO PART OF THAT, UM, FOR THE AIRPORT TRANSACTION IS THE AIRPORT ACTUALLY, UM, HOSTED A TOUR OF THEIR, UM, FACILITIES OUT AT THE AIRPORT TO, UH, TWO OF THE MAJOR RATING AGENCIES TO S AND P RATING AGENCY AND TO CRAWL RATING AGENCY. 
          AND I'M SORRY, THIS ISN'T ON MY SLIDES, THIS IS JUST AT MY SPEAKING NOTES. 
          UM, SO THEY DID, UM, GIVE A WALKTHROUGH OF THE AIRPORT FACILITIES TO THE RATING AGENCIES AND REALLY TOLD THE STORY OF THE TRANSFORMATION THAT'S HAPPENING OUT THERE. 
          UM, AND, UM, THE RATING AGENCIES AGREED, ONE OF THE RATING AGENCIES, UM, DID MOVE OUR OUTLOOK ON OUR RATING FOR THE AIRPORT FROM STABLE TO A POSITIVE OUTLOOK, UH, REALLY RECOGNIZING THE GROWTH AND THE, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT THAT'S GOING TO HELP PRODUCE FOR THE AREA. 
          UM, SO FOCUSING ON THE FINANCING, WE ENDED UP WITH AN ALL IN, UM, TRUE INTEREST COST FOR THE TRANSACTION OF 5.16%. 
          UM, THE AIRPORT TRANSACTION WAS A, UM, ONE OF THE LARGER, UM, BOND SALES, UH, OFFERED IN THE MARKET LAST WEEK. 
          UM, BASED ON THE, UH, ORDERS THAT WE BROUGHT IN FROM ALL THE INVESTORS, UM, WE, UM, SOLD ABOUT $700 MILLION IN BONDS, AND WE WERE ABLE TO, UM, KIND OF RENEGOTIATE DOWN OUR INTEREST RATE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF ORDERS THAT WE BROUGHT IN. 
          UM, AND BASED ON THAT REDUCTION IN INTEREST RATE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE INITIALLY, UM, TARGETING OUR INTEREST RATE FOR THE OVERALL FOR THE TRANSACTION AT ABOUT 5.39% AND BROUGHT IT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO 5.16%. 
          SO DEFINITELY A GROUP EFFORT, UM, WITH THE TEAM THERE TO, TO BRING THAT COST OF BORROWING DOWN, UM, WHICH WILL, YOU KNOW, IN TURN FREE UP FUNDING TO DO ADDITIONAL, UM, IMPROVEMENTS. 
          SO THAT WAS A, IT WAS A GREAT, UM, RESULT FOR THAT TRANSACTION. 
          SO, UM, MOVING ON TO SOME OF OUR UPCOMING TRANSACTIONS NOW, UM, WE'LL GO TO THE AGENDA ON THE GENERAL OBLIGATION, UM, CREDIT. 
          WE HAVE TWO TRANSACTIONS UPCOMING, ONE ON THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT BOND SERIES 2025. 
          UM, THE SECOND ITEM FOR TAX AND REVENUE ANTICIPATION NOTES, WHICH WE CALL THE TRANS FOR THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM. 
          THREE DIFFERENT ITEMS, UM, ALL RELATED TO, UH, LOANS THAT WERE, UM, SEEKING FROM THE STATE. 
          AND THEN ON THE AIRPORT SYSTEM, UM, SOME ITEMS RELATED TO THE, UM, SPECIAL FACILITY REVENUE BONDS. 
          SO FOR THE FIRST ITEM, FOR THE, UM, FOR THE GENERAL OBLIGATION PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT BONDS, THIS IS OUR STANDARD, UM, ALMOST ANNUAL TRANSACTION THAT WE DO FOR THE GENERAL OBLIGATION CREDIT. 
          SO THESE ARE THE BONDS THAT SUPPORT OUR CIP PROJECTS FOR GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENTS, LIKE FIRE, POLICE, PARKS, SOLID WASTE HEALTH LIBRARIES, ET CETERA. 
          UM, AND SO WHAT WE DO IS WE USE COMMERCIAL PAPER TO, UM, ACT AS INTERIM, UM, FINANCING AS WE PAY INVOICES ON THOSE PROJECTS. 
          AND THEN WE LATER FIX OUT THE OUTSTANDING BALANCE ON COMMERCIAL PAPER INTO LONG-TERM FIXED RATE BONDS. 
          SO, UM, BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF COMMERCIAL PAPER WE HAVE OUTSTANDING RIGHT NOW, WE ANTICIPATE THAT THE SIZE OF THE TRANSACTION WILL BE SOMEWHERE FROM 150 TO $200 MILLION. 
          SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU SEE THE BREAKDOWN OF HOW MUCH IS FOR CAPITAL 
          [00:35:01]
PROJECTS VERSUS CAPITAL EQUIPMENT. 
          UM, YOU SEE THE MAJORITY OF IT IS SPENT ON, UH, LARGER CAPITAL PROJECTS ON SIDE FIVE. 
          AS FAR AS NEXT STEPS, UH, WE'LL ALSO BE, UH, LOOKING FOR POSSIBILITIES TO REFINANCE, UM, DEBT THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE OUTSTANDING TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY OPPORTUNITY FOR SAVINGS. 
          AT THIS POINT, WE DON'T SEE ANY GOOD CANDIDATES FOR, UH, SAVINGS OPPORTUNITIES, BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR AND WE EXPECT TO BRING IN RCA TO COUNCIL NEXT MONTH ON THIS ITEM. 
          SO ON THIS SLIDE, YOU SEE OUR STANDARD FORMAT. 
          THERE'S USUALLY, IF WE HAVE A REFUNDING CANDIDATE, YOU'LL SEE, SEE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THOSE FIELDS FILLED IN THAT ARE NOT APPLICABLE AT THIS POINT, SINCE WE'RE NOT, UM, WE DON'T SEE ANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR REFUNDING. 
          UM, BUT AGAIN, LIKE I MENTIONED, UM, ANYWHERE BETWEEN 150 TO 200 MILLION FOR THIS TRANSACTION, AND WE ESTIMATE THAT THE ALL IN TRUE INTEREST COSTS WOULD BE ABOUT 4.75%, ASSUMING A 20 YEAR, UM, AMORTIZATION STRUCTURE. 
          AND WE'RE, UH, ANTICIPATING TO BRING IT TO COUNCIL, LIKE I MENTIONED, NEXT MONTH AND PRICING SOMETIME IN, UH, PROBABLY SEPTEMBER AND CLOSING PROBABLY SOMETIME IN OCTOBER OF THIS FALL. 
          ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THE TAX OR REVENUE ANTICIPATION NOTES, THIS IS THE ANNUAL BORROWING THAT WE DO WHERE WE ALIGN OUR, UM, OUR PROPERTY TAXES. 
          THE MAJORITY OF OUR GENERAL FUND REVENUE COMES IN IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, WHEREAS OUR EXPENDITURES ARE RELATIVELY EVEN THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. 
          SO WE DO, UH, DIP PRETTY LOW IN, UM, CASH BALANCE AS WE GET CLOSER TO, UH, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER TIMEFRAME BEFORE THAT PROPERTY TAX COMES IN. 
          SO THIS BORROWING IS A SHORT-TERM BORROWING THAT WE BORROW FUNDING AND PAY IT BACK DURING THE SAME FISCAL YEAR TO BRIDGE THAT CASHFLOW GAP. 
          UM, SO IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE ON, UH, SLIDE EIGHT, NEXT STEPS, UH, WE ARE WORKING ON THE SIZING FOR THAT TRANSACTION, KIND OF HONING IN ON THE NUMBERS BASED ON THE ADOPTED BUDGET. 
          UH, WE DO ANTICIPATE TO BRING AN RCA TO COUNCIL, UH, TO AUTHORIZE US TO CONDUCT THE SALE IN AUGUST. 
          AND YOU MIGHT REMEMBER THAT THIS IS A COMPETITIVE PROCESS THAT WE DO UP ON THE CONTROLLER'S FLOOR, UH, WHERE WE KIND OF HAVE A, YOU COULD THINK OF IT LIKE AN EBAY STYLE BID TO GET THE LOWEST, UM, INTEREST RATE THAT WE CAN FOR THE CITY. 
          UH, AND ONCE WE HAVE THOSE RESULTS, UM, WE BRING THEM DOWN TO THIS BODY TO ACCEPT THE WINNING BIDS, AND WE'RE PLANNING TO, UH, HAVE THAT, UM, PRICING IN OCTOBER. 
          SO MOVING ON TO THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM, UH, THE FIRST ITEM IS THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD SWIFT LOAN PROGRAM. 
          UM, THIS LOAN IS PLANNED TO HELP, UH, WITH THE FINANCING FOR THE EAST WATER PURIFICATION PLANT. 
          UH, THE CITY DID APPLY, UH, TO THE TWDB FOR LOANS OF 966 MILLION TO BE ISSUED OVER A MULTI-YEAR PERIOD. 
          UM, AND THE REASON THAT WE GO TO THE TWDB TO SEEK THESE LOANS FROM THEM IS THAT WE DO GET TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TW DB'S AAA RATING, UH, WHICH WILL BRING DOWN OUR, UH, FINANCING COSTS FOR THE, UH, FOR THE UTILITY SYSTEM. 
          AND TWDB ALSO OFFERS A SUBSIDY, UH, UP TO A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE DEPENDING ON THE PROGRAM. 
          UH, SO FOR THE NEXT STEPS, THE FINANCE WORKING GROUP IS GONNA RECOMMEND, UM, THAT WE ISSUE THESE BONDS, UH, GOING THROUGH THE TWDB IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 350 MILLION AS PART OF THAT 966 MILLION, LIKE I MENTIONED, THEY'LL BE ISSUED OVER A MULTI-YEAR PERIOD. 
          SO THAT ITEM WILL BE COMING TO CITY COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION IN AUGUST. 
          AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU SEE A SNAPSHOT THAT KIND OF GIVES, LAYS OUT THE TIMING, THE NEXT STEPS, AND WHAT WE ESTIMATE THE TRUE INTEREST COST TO BE AT THIS POINT AROUND 4.75% BASED ON THE CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS. 
          SO ON SLIDE 11, UM, THIS IS ANOTHER TWDB LOAN. 
          UM, THIS ONE IS FOR THE COASTAL WATER AUTHORITY. 
          UH, THE COASTAL WATER AUTHORITY APPLIED FOR A 320 $20 MILLION, UH, LOAN TO BE FINANCED OVER MULTIPLE YEARS. 
          UM, AND THESE, UH, LOAN, THIS LOAN WILL BE USED TO FINANCE THE, UH, COASTAL WATER AUTHORITY PROJECT B TWO PIPELINE. 
          AND THE B TWO PIPELINE IS, UH, INSTRUMENTAL PART OF THE EAST WATER PURIFICATION PLANT. 
          IT PROVIDES THE RAW WATER, UH, TO THAT PLANT. 
          AND SO, UM, AND SO THIS IS A CRITICAL, UH, PROJECT FOR THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM. 
          SO ON THE NEXT STEPS ON SLIDE 12, THAT APPLICATION WAS APPROVED BY THE TWDB BACK IN 2024, AND THIS IS GONNA BE THE SECOND YEAR OF THE MULTI-YEAR ISSUANCE FOR THAT, UM, THAT LOAN THAT WAS APPROVED. 
          THE SECOND INSTALLMENT IS $50 MILLION AND IS EXPECTED TO CLOSE IN FALL. 
          UM, AND AGAIN, THIS IS, UM, THIS IS, THIS IS MULTI-YEAR, SO YOU WILL SEE, UM, CONSTRUCTION ONGOING FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND SOME ADDITIONAL, UM, COUNCIL ACTIONS NEEDED TO, UM, TO COMPLETE THESE FINANCINGS. 
          SO FOR THE NEXT ITEM ON SLIDE 13, UM, THIS IS THE LAST OF THE THREE, UM, COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM ITEMS. THIS IS A-T-W-D-B CLEAN WATER, UH, LOAN. 
          SO THIS LOAN IS ANTICIPATED TO HELP FINANCE 
          [00:40:01]
LIFT STATION RENEWAL AND REHABILITATION AND FORCE MAIN RENEWAL AND REHABILITATION PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. 
          AND THE CITY IS APPLYING TO THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD FOR TWO LOANS AT $44 MILLION EACH, UH, WITH THE ANTICIPATION TO ISSUE THEM IN THE SPRING OF 2026. 
          AND, UH, SIMILAR TO THE OTHER PROGRAMS, UM, THE REASON THAT THE CITY WANTS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO BRING DOWN, UH, THE COST OF BORROWING, UH, USING THAT AAA RATING THAT THE TWDB HAS. 
          AND THE FINANCE WORKING GROUP, UM, HAS EVALUATED THIS AND RECOMMENDS, UM, APPROVING THE APPLICATIONS, UH, FOR THESE, UM, FINANCINGS, UM, TO BE ISSUED. 
          AND OF COURSE, UM, FURTHER ACT FURTHER COUNSEL ACTION, UM, IS NEEDED, AND YOU'LL SEE ITEMS COMING TO THIS, UM, BODY FOR APPROVAL. 
          SO ON SLIDE 14, THIS GIVES YOU A SNAPSHOT OF THOSE ITEMS. AND AT THIS POINT, UH, WE THINK THAT THE TRUE INTEREST COST OF THIS LOAN WILL BE AROUND 4.22% WITH, UM, ACTIONS COMING IN JANUARY AND, UM, THROUGHOUT NEXT SPRING. 
          SO, MOVING ON TO THE AIRPORT CREDIT, WELL, ACTUALLY NOT THE AIRPORT CREDIT, I'M SORRY, THIS IS AIRPORT RELATED, BUT SEPARATE FROM THE, UM, SEPARATE FROM THE GENERAL AIRPORT REVENUE BONDS. 
          SO THIS IS RELATED ONLY TO THE UNITED SPECIAL FACILITY REVENUE BONDS WITH UNITED AIRLINES. 
          UM, SO WE DO HAVE, UM, UH, SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR REFUNDING WITH THESE, UM, SPECIAL FACILITY BONDS THAT ARE CURRENTLY OUTSTANDING. 
          YOU SEE ON YOUR SLIDE, UM, THESE ARE ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN OUTSTANDING SINCE 20 11, 20 14, AND 2015. 
          UM, WERE BASED ON THE INTEREST RATE THAT EXISTED AT THE TIME, UH, IN THE CURRENT INTEREST RATE ENVIRONMENT. 
          WE DO ANTICIPATE THAT, UH, WE COULD REFUND SOME OF THESE BONDS, UM, FOR SAVINGS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, THIS SLIDE GIVES YOU THE SNAPSHOT OF THE ANTICIPATED SAVINGS. 
          SO THIS IS KIND OF WHAT THIS, THIS SLIDE LOOKS LIKE. 
          WHEN THE TEMPLATE WENT FULLY POPULATED, UM, BASED ON THE REFUNDING CANDIDATES, ABOUT 425 MILLION OF CURRENTLY OUTSTANDING DEBT BEING REFUNDED. 
          UM, AS YOU SEE, THE DEBT BEING REFUNDED IS, UH, STILL PRETTY SHORT LIED. 
          THERE'S ABOUT FIVE YEARS, UM, REMAINING AS FAR AS THE AVERAGE LIFE. 
          AND THEN, UM, YOU CAN SEE THE NEXT ROW DOWN WHERE YOU SEE A CHANGE OF 0.041 YEARS. 
          THIS JUST BASICALLY SHOWS THAT WE'RE NOT EXTENDING OR SHORTENING THE LIFE OF THE DEAD. 
          IT'S REALLY KIND OF, UM, YOU KNOW, REFUNDING THOSE MATURITIES. 
          BUT PUTTING BACK IN THE SAME YEARS, WE ESTIMATE THAT THE SAVINGS WILL BE ABOUT $14.7 MILLION, ACHIEVING ABOUT A 3.4% SAVINGS, ASSUMING AN INTEREST COST OF 4.8%. 
          AND WE PLAN TO, UM, BRING THIS TRANSACTION FORWARD, UH, IN THE FALL. 
          AND THEN, UH, RELATED TO THIS AT THE SAME TIME. 
          UM, AND AS YOU ALL MAY REMEMBER, COUNCIL APPROVED AN INDUCEMENT RESOLUTION FOR SOME ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS OUT AT THE AIRPORT RELATED TO UNITED SPECIAL FACILITIES. 
          UM, SO THIS, UM, THESE ITEMS, UM, THE COUNCIL APPROVED AN INDUCEMENT RESOLUTION, UH, TO HELP WITH THE FINANCING FOR A NEW CATERING OPERATIONS FACILITY, WHICH HAS A, UM, ESTIMATED COST OF ABOUT 220 MILLION AND GROUND SUP GROUND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT, UM, FACILITY ABOUT 180 MILLION FOR A TOTAL OF 400 MILLION. 
          AND THESE ARE FACILITIES OUT AT THE AIRPORT, UM, THAT UNITED WILL USE TO FACILITATE THEIR GROUND OPERATIONS AT THE AIRPORT. 
          AND AGAIN, THESE ARE SPECIAL FAC PLAN TO BE FINANCED WITH SPECIAL FACILITIES REVENUE BONDS, SO THEY'RE NOT SUPPORTED BY GENERAL AIRPORT REVENUES OR ANY OTHER CITY REVENUES, BUT RATHER THROUGH UNITED LEASE PAYMENTS. 
          UM, AND SO THE PLAN IS, UH, NEXT SLIDE. 
          AND SO THE PLAN IS THAT, UH, WE'LL BE ISSUING THESE SPECIAL FACILITY REVENUE BONDS, UM, IN THE FALL. 
          AND, UM, THE IDEA IS TO KIND OF TIE THAT TRANSACTION TOGETHER WITH THE REFUNDING SO IT'S AS EFFICIENT IN, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKING ONE TRANSACTION TO THE, UM, TO THE MARKET IN THE FALL. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UH, THIS KINDA GIVES YOU AN UPDATE ON, UH, WHAT WE THINK THE INTEREST COSTS WILL BE, UM, ANTICIPATED TO BE AROUND 6% FOR THAT TRANSACTION. 
          AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. 
          THERE WAS A LOT IN THERE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THE DEBT TEAM IS VERY BUSY. 
          Y'ALL ARE SAVING US MONEY AND GETTING GOOD INTEREST RATES. 
          TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD LOANS. 
          I MEAN, THOSE ARE, WE, WE GET A LOW INTEREST LOANS, BUT WE ALSO ISSUE BONDS. 
          EXPLAIN HOW THAT'S ALL TIED TOGETHER. 
          WE APPLY TO THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD FOR THE FUNDS. 
          WE ALWAYS GET THOSE FUNDS, I FEEL LIKE DO, RIGHT? I FEEL LIKE WE ALWAYS GET 'EM. 
          WE, WE DEFINITELY HAVE A ROBUST PORTFOLIO OF TW DB LOANS THAT WE APPLY FOR, THAT WE GET APPROVED FOR. 
          UM, IT'S ONLY CERTAIN PROJECTS THOUGH THAT QUALIFY FOR THEIR LOAN. 
          SO THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM, OF COURSE, USES, UM, USES AND APPLIES FOR THOSE LOANS AS MUCH AS WE CAN TO TRY TO BRING DOWN THAT COST OF BORROWING. 
          THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM ALSO SUPPLEMENTS THAT WITH FINANCING 
          [00:45:01]
WHERE WE GO OUT TO THE MARKET ON OUR OWN, BASED ON THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEMS RATING. 
          AND SO IT'S REALLY A PORTFOLIO OF, UM, DIFFERENT LOANS AND, AND BOND FINANCINGS THAT WE USE TO TRY TO ACHIEVE THE LOWEST COST OF SAVINGS THAT WE CAN. 
          BUT IT IS, IT IS DEFINITELY A BIG, UM, A BIG SAVER TO BE ABLE TO PARTNER WITH THE STATE TO USE THAT, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEIR, UH, OF THEIR CREDIT RATING. 
          PLUS THEY PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL SUBSIDY ON TOP OF THAT TO HELP BRING DOWN THE COST OF BORROWING. 
          RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WELL, THANK YOU, DIRECTOR. 
          GREAT PRESENTATION. 
          UM, I KNOW ONE OF THESE ITEMS, I THINK IS ON THE AGENDA TOMORROW. 
          UM, ONE OF THE LIFT STATION. 
          THE LIFT STATION ONE. 
          YEAH. 
          BUT THAT WASN'T MM-HMM . 
          YEAH. 
          SO ALL THESE PROJECTS REALLY, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT THE FINANCING IN THIS MEETING, REALLY, THEY'RE THE, TO IMPLEMENT THE CIP PROJECTS THAT YOU SEE COMING TO COUNCIL THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ANY QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT. 
          GREAT JOB. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU ALL. 
          WE DO HAVE A COUPLE PUBLIC SPEAKERS AND ANYBODY WHO'S HERE AS HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK, WE'LL START WITH, UH, DOUG SMITH. 
          GREAT TO SEE YOU, DOUG. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, FIRST OF ALL, UH, I'VE SAID IT BEFORE, AND SOME OF YOU ARE AS CONCERNED AS I AM. 
          I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE HAD A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF PROJECTS OUT OF THE DRAINAGE FUNDS THAT WERE NOT COMPLETED. 
          UH, BY THE END OF THE YEAR. 
          WE HAVE SUCH HUGE PROBLEMS IN THAT AREA. 
          THERE SHOULD BE NO MONEY LEFT WHATSOEVER. 
          THAT'S MY FIRST COMMENT ON THIS REPORT. 
          UM, SECONDLY, UH, IN LOOKING AT, UH, WHAT MELISSA JUST PRESENTED, UH, THE, UH, TEXAS WATER BOARD, THERE'S A COMMENT IN THE REPORT THAT FOR EACH FUNDING CYCLE, UH, THEY CHARGE A SUBSIDY OF 30%. 
          THAT SEEMS, I'M NOT SURE HOW THAT SUBSIDY IS CALCULATED, BUT IF IT'S OFF THE INTEREST RATE, IT SEEMS LIKE THE INTEREST RATE THAT WE WOULD GET DIRECTLY VERSUS THEIR AAA RATE IS A LOT LESS THAN 30%. 
          AND I'D LIKE TO HAVE THAT EXPLAINED. 
          UH, AND THEN ON THE UNITED BONDS, UH, IT SHOWS AN ESTIMATED PERCENTAGE SAVINGS AT 3.4%. 
          MY, MY FEELING IS THAT'S PROBABLY PRESENT VALUE SAVINGS. 
          I THINK THE CITY HAS A, A THRESHOLD. 
          I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE CITY'S THRESHOLD IS ON PRESENT VALUE SAVINGS, BUT MY QUESTION WOULD BE, UNITED REQUESTED THAT THESE BONDS RE BE REFUNDED DOES THE SAME THRESHOLD AS FAR AS ESTIMATED PERCENTAGE SAVINGS APPLY TO THAT PARTICULAR DEAL. 
          AND FINALLY, JUST A CON, UH, CONFUSION, YOU KEEP, OR THERE'S A LOT OF WORK BEING DONE ON THE EAST WATER TREATMENT PLANT. 
          IS THERE ALSO A NORTHEAST WATER TREATMENT PLANT? EITHER TWO WATER TREATMENT PLANTS? OKAY, THAT EXPLAINS IT. 
          BECAUSE I WAS IN MEETINGS FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS WHERE TONS OF MONEY WAS SPENT ON THE NORTHEAST PLANT AND I COULDN'T FIGURE, AND I THOUGHT, WHY ARE WE STILL SPENDING ALL OF THIS MONEY? AND IT'S BECAUSE IT'S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PLANT. 
          AND I THINK THAT THAT IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY. 
          THANKS, DOUG. 
          THOSE ARE ALL GOOD QUESTIONS THAT WE'LL GET ASKED. 
          UM, VICE MAYOR PRO TEMP. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE TODAY. 
          UM, JUST TO YOUR FIRST COMMENT ABOUT THE MONEY NOT BEING SPENT, UM, ON CAP PROJECTS OR NEXT, UM, BFA COMMITTEE MEETING, UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A, A DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY IS ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, JUST BEING HELD FOR PROJECTS OR, YOU KNOW, NOT ACTUALLY BEING SPENT. 
          SO I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MORE ABOUT THAT, UM, AT THE NEXT MID EVENING. 
          I LOOK FORWARD, I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT AS WELL. 
          YEAH. 
          YEAH. 
          AND THAT, THAT'S WHY I ASKED ABOUT THAT TOO, THAT THAT 50 MILLION YEAH. 
          AND THOSE DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS, THAT BEING, OH, AND CAN I JUST ASK ONE MORE QUESTION? IT IT'S NOT IN IT'S RELATION TO, I, I SENT YOU A QUESTION THIS MORNING, $70 MILLION FOR A CONSULTANT, UH, ON, UH, PENSION INFORMATION IS, AND I THOUGHT THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY FOR A CONSULTANT. 
          IS THAT FUNDING FOR THE VARIOUS PROGRAMS? DID I UNDERSTAND THAT IN THE DISCUSSION, UH, EARLIER TODAY? OH, THAT WAS THE, THAT WAS THE OPEG TRUST SITUATION. 
          THAT IS ACTUALLY OUR INVESTMENT GOING INTO A POT. 
          IT'S NOT TO PAY THE CONSULTANT. 
          IT'S, THAT'S CONFUSING THAT IN THE FIRST YEAR. 
          YEAH. 
          YEAH. 
          I THINK SHE SAID 10000001ST YEAR AND 12 MILLION NEXT YEAR. 
          BUT THAT'S ACTUALLY OUR INVESTMENT THAT'S GONNA GROW. 
          THE CONSULTANT I'M SURE IS GETTING HOW MUCH IS THE CONSULTANT GETTING IN THAT, IN THAT, BUT THEY'RE NOT GETTING 75 MILLION. 
          GOOD. 
          YOU CAN IGNORE THAT QUESTION. 
          I ASSURE YOU THAT, THAT THAT'S OUR MONEY THAT WE'RE INVESTING. 
          SO WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, WE GO AS A PAY ON A PAY AS YOU GO FOR, FOR OUR RETIREE HEALTH BENEFITS. 
          THIS'LL ALLOW US TO SAVE IT. 
          SO, 
          [00:50:01]
OKAY. 
          THANK YOU, DOUG. 
          ALWAYS GREAT QUESTIONS AND WE WILL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU WITH THE ANSWERS. 
          NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM DOMINIC MAZO. 
          OKAY. 
          DOMINIC MAZA, I AM IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS. 
          OKAY. 
          FIRST THING OFF THE BAT, UH, 96 RED LINE. 
          I WALKED OVER HERE FROM THAT, FROM PARKER AND AIRLINE. 
          I MEAN, NOR, NOR, I MEAN PARKER AND NORTHLINE TO HERE. 
          I WAS ABLE TO DO IT IN 40 MINUTES. 
          THAT'S NOT BAD. 
          RUSH HOUR. 
          OKAY. 
          ONE THING I AM CONCERNED ABOUT WITH THIS BUDGET THIS YEAR IS THE WORLD CUP THAT IS AN OUTLIER. 
          WE DO NOT NORMALLY HAVE, AND I EXPLAINED THIS TO METRO, YOU KNOW, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF, I MEAN, THIS IS KINDA LIKE, UM, SEVEN SUPER BOWLS IN A SIX WEEK PERIOD. 
          AND I THINK NOW THIS PARTICULAR COUNCIL WAS GIVEN THIS FROM A, FROM A PREVIOUS, UH, COUNCIL AND PREVIOUS MAYOR. 
          BUT I THINK FROM HERE ON OUT, WHEN WE HAVE SOMETHING THIS BIG GOING TO BE, UH, MAKE A BID ON, I REALLY THINK THAT ALL THE FINANCIALS SHOULD BE GIVEN TO THE, TO THE COUNCIL, THE COUNCIL DISCUSSION, AND EVEN HAVE AN ELECTION OF THE PEOPLE. 
          I MEAN, THIS IS, THIS, IS THIS GONNA AFFECT NOT JUST GUESTS, THIS IS GOING TO AFFECT PEOPLE GOING TO WORK. 
          THIS IS GONNA AFFECT METRO, YOU KNOW, AND I, I, I JUST THINK SOMETHING THIS BIG NEEDS TO GO OUT TO THE VOTERS AND THEN AS THE VOTERS APPROVE IT, WE, YOU KNOW, THE CITY CAN GO AND SAY, HEY, THE, THE CITIZENS WANT THIS. 
          REMEMBER THE PEOPLE ARE THE CITY. 
          AND TWO, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A IAH. 
          LET'S JUST THINK ABOUT SOMETHING HERE ACROSS THE STREET. 
          WE HAVE THE PARKING LOT FOR THE, UM, NEXT TO THE FREEWAY FOR THE, THE SPAGHETTI. 
          GO FOR THE ANNEX. 
          MY QUESTION IS, HAS CITY COUNCIL LOOKED AT THE POSSIBILITY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE PARKING LOTS, SAY IT ACROSS THE STREET. 
          WE HAVE HUGE PARKING LOTS AT IAH AND SO ON AND SO FORTH. 
          WE HAVE PARKING LOTS THAT SAY THE MULTI SERVICE CENTER AND THEN THE POLICE ANNEX ON WEST MONTGOMERY AND ACRE HOME. 
          HAS THERE BEEN ANY THOUGHT OF WORKING TO HAVE SOLAR PANELS PLACED OVER THESE FACILITIES? MAYBE NOT THE CITY DO 'EM, MAYBE WE CAN SELL, UH, AIR RIGHTS, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, HERE. 
          AND MY THING IS WITH THAT, NUMBER ONE, WE WE'RE MAKING MONEY OFF OF THAT. 
          NUMBER TWO, IT'S GREEN. 
          WE'RE MAKING GREEN BY BEING GREEN. 
          AND TO SOME OF OUR BUILDINGS, SAY AT IAHI KNOW WE HAVE, I'M JUST USING THAT AS AN EXAMPLE. 
          UH, SAY TERMINAL B, THE TERMINAL B REBUILT. 
          WAS THERE ANY THOUGHT OF PUTTING SOLAR PANELS ON THE TOP OF TERMINAL B? NOW, GRANTED YOU HAVE I, YOU KNOW, FAA AND FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. 
          WE HAVE TO WATCH THAT. 
          BUT IF YOU HAVE SOLAR PANELS ON TOP OF A BUILDING, NOT ONLY ARE YOU MAKING ELECTRICITY, BUT THE POWER THAT'S GOING INTO THAT SOLAR PANEL IS NOT GOING INTO THE BUILDING. 
          SO IT'S GONNA COST YOU LESS AIR CONDITION. 
          THE, THE BUILDING. 
          NOW I DO KNOW METRO IS WORKING ON SOME PROJECTS TO PUT SOLAR PANELS ON SOME OF THEIR FACILITIES. 
          AND MAYBE THIS IS SOMETHING, UH, THAT COULD BE A COLLABORATION BETWEEN METRO AND CITY COUNCIL. 
          HOW CAN WE MAKE, AND TWO, THE SOLAR PANELS HAVE TO BE NICE LOOKING. 
          I MEAN, THEY CAN'T BE LOOKING LIKE A BREAKFAST SAYS, BUT I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING WE NEED TO LOOK AT TO BE GREEN. 
          WE CAN SAVE GREEN BY BEING GREEN. 
          WITH THAT, I THINK MY BELL BELONG. 
          SEND IT BACK TO YOU. 
          THANKS. 
          THANKS DOMINIC. 
          YEAH, I WENT, UM, A COUPLE YEARS AGO I WENT TO AN OPENING OF A SOLAR PANEL, YOU KNOW, GARAGE, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT DID THE PARKING LOT. 
          IT WAS A PRIVATE COMPANY AND BASICALLY ALL THE SOLAR ENERGY PRODUCED WAS GONNA POWER THAT BUILDING. 
          I MEAN, THAT, THAT WAS IT. 
          THEY DIDN'T NEED ANYTHING ELSE THAT, THAT FROM. 
          SO THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. 
          AND WE CAN CERTAINLY ASK IF THERE ARE ANY PLANS TO USE SOME OF OUR EXISTING AND I THINK SURFACE LOTS COVER ANY OF OUR EXISTING SURFACE. 
          LOTS WITH, WITH POWER, I THINK TOO, THEY'RE MAKING SOLAR PANELS THAT LOOK LIKE, UH, SHINGLES. 
          MM-HMM . 
          SO IT DID LOOK BAD. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. 
          UM, THAT'S A GREAT, THAT'S A GREAT IDEA BECAUSE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, VETERANS ADMINISTRATION HOSPITAL, THE BECKY PUT UP SOLAR PANELS. 
          OF COURSE, FOR THOSE OF US WHO VETERANS GO THERE OFTEN, THEY PUT 'EM UP AND IT'S REALLY WORKED EXCELLENT. 
          'CAUSE IT'S A HUGE, HUGE PARKING FACILITY OVER THERE. 
          SO I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA. 
          I THINK IT SHOULD BE SOMETHING THE CITY SHOULD LOOK AT AND CONSIDER, UH, SOME OF THESE PARKING LOTS TO HAVE SOLAR PANELS THAT WILL, UH, CERTAINLY RESTORE MORE ENERGY. 
          I, I, I WAS VERY, I QUESTIONED THAT WHEN THE VA DID IT, 'CAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS WHEN I FOUND OUT, BUT IT REALLY, REALLY, REALLY DID, UH, IMPROVE BECAUSE THE HOSPITAL IS OPEN 24 HOURS A DAY. 
          SO 
          [00:55:01]
I THINK WE COULD GET A LOT OF SAVINGS ON ELECTRO BY DOING THAT. 
          NOW A BUILDING LIKE THIS WOULD BE VERY HARD TO DO BECAUSE THIS IS OLD BUILDING. 
          I THINK WE GOTTA KEEP ARCHITECTURAL INTEGRITY, LETS SAY NEW BUILDING LIKE, UH, TERMINAL B, WHY NOT COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN? THANK YOU. 
          AND COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. 
          I COULDN'T AGREE MORE, DOMINIC. 
          I ACTUALLY RAISED THIS AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BACKUP POWER GENERATION AT SOME OF OUR FACILITIES. 
          SO MANY MAJOR CITIES ARE RETROFITTING NOT JUST CARPORTS TO ADD ADDITIONAL SHADE, BUT ON ROOFS. 
          UM, AND THE ADDED BENEFIT ISN'T JUST STABLE AND RELIABLE POWER AND BACKUP GENERATION WITH BATTERY POWER TO THOSE FACILITIES, THE COST SAVINGS. 
          SO, UH, IN OHIO, UH, WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT, GUESS HOW MUCH THEY'RE SAVING A MONTH AT THEIR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT? $30,000. 
          AND THEY'RE GENERATING SO MUCH POWER BACK, THEY'RE ABLE TO SELL THE ADDITIONAL POWER AND THEN INVEST THOSE DOLLARS IN OTHER FACILITIES BECAUSE EVERY CITY IS FACING THE BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS, RIGHT? UM, THE RELIABILITY OF THE SOLAR IS BEING PROVEN. 
          WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE LIFESPAN OF SOLAR, THE BIGGEST COST IS THE, THE METAL, THE ACTUAL PLATFORMS. AND ONCE THOSE ARE IN, THEY'RE IN. 
          IF YOU NEED TO, WITH THE LIFESPAN OF SOLAR, REPLACE SOLAR, THAT PART'S NOT AS EXPENSIVE. 
          THE INVESTMENT WE'RE SEEING IN OTHER CITIES IS PAYING OFF. 
          SO RATHER THAN HAVING TO KEEP PUTTING MONEY IN AND IN, AND AGAIN, WE NEED BACKUP POWER GENERATION. 
          NOW, I DON'T DISAGREE WITH THAT AND NATURAL GAS IS A RELIABLE SOURCE, BUT WHEN WE'RE LOOKING LONG TERM, IT'S A HUGE FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY THAT'S RESILIENT. 
          AND WHETHER IT'S MICROGRID. 
          SO GIVING ENERGY BACK TO THAT SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD OR AGAIN SELLING IT OFF SO THE CITY CAN BRING IN THAT MONEY, IT'S A WIN-WIN FOR EVERYONE. 
          I'M THINKING JUST WHAT GRB REBUILD, WHY DON'T WE PUT THAT PART IN GRP REBUILD? WE, WE'VE BEEN ASKING, AND AGAIN, THE MORE FOLKS YOU CAN GET TO TALK ABOUT IT. 
          'CAUSE AGAIN, AS WE'RE BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE, WE HAVE TO BE INCORPORATING THE THINGS WE KNOW THAT WORK. 
          THANK YOU MR. MAZO, AS ALWAYS. 
          ALRIGHT, COLLEAGUES. 
          THE NEXT BFA MEETING WILL BE TUESDAY, AUGUST 26TH AT 2:00 PM AND THERE WE WILL BE REVIEWING THE BUDGET AMENDMENTS RELATED TO THE CIP AND THEN SEPTEMBER 2ND AT 10:00 AM WE'LL BE REVIEWING THE BUDGET, UM, FINANCIAL POLICIES, OPERATING BUDGET RELATED BUDGET AMENDMENTS AND FINANCIAL POLICIES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WE STAND ADJOURNED.
* 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.