[Joint Committee on Budget and Fiscal Affairs (BFA) & Government Operations on February 3, 2026.]
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THE FEBRUARY BUDGET FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE.I'M SALLY ALCO, CHAIR OF THIS COMMITTEE, AND WE HAVE A SUPER LONG, TWO LONG AGENDA.
SO I AM GOING TO BE ASKING EVERYONE TO BE AS BRIEF WITH YOUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS AS YOU CAN.
ON THE FIRST FEW ITEMS, WE WILL HAVE ONLY ONE ROUND OF COUNCIL MEMBER QUESTIONS.
I'M SORRY TO DO THAT, BUT WE DON'T WANNA GO ALL THE WAY INTO PUBLIC SESSION TODAY.
WE KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST IN THE PARKS.
ITEM EIGHT AND THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS.
THIS IS A JOINT MEETING WITH THE CHAIRMAN OF THE GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE, FRED FLICKINGER.
I WANNA WELCOME MY COLLEAGUES TO THE HORSESHOE VICE CHAIR OF BFA, MARIO CASTILLO, COUNCIL MEMBER TWILA CARTER, VICE MAYOR PRO TEM AMY PECK, MAYOR PRO TEM MARTHA CASTEX.
TATUM, COUNCIL MEMBER TIFFANY THOMAS.
COUNCIL MEMBER JULIAN RAMIREZ, COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN.
AND AGAIN, CHAIR FLICKINGER OF GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS.
HE WILL BE CHAIRING THE SECTION ON SOLID WASTE.
SO WITH THAT, WE WILL HAVE OUR, UH, OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR, MELISSA DUBKE AND DEPUTY CONTROLLER WILL JONES.
ALRIGHT, UM, GOOD MORNING, MADAM CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
UH, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE THE QUARTERLY FINANCIAL UPDATE FOR THE PERIOD ENDING DECEMBER 31ST, 2025, AND THE GENERAL FUND FUND BALANCE.
WE'RE PROJECTING AN ENDING FUND BALANCE OF ABOUT 336 MILLION FOR FY 26 OR ROUGHLY 13% OF EXPENDITURES, LESS DEBT AND PAY AS YOU GO.
THAT'S ABOUT 17.5 MILLION LOWER THAN THE FINANCE ESTIMATES.
MAINLY DUE TO MORE A MORE CONSERVATIVE REVENUE PROJECTION.
WE REMAIN ABOVE THE CITY'S RESERVE TARGET WITH ABOUT 145 MILLION ABOVE THE 7.5% OF TOTAL EXPENDITURES, EXCLUDING DEBT SERVICE AND PAYGO IN RESERVE.
WITH THAT CONTEXT, REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES REMAIN UNCHANGED THIS MONTH.
UH, SO I'LL, I'LL MOVE TO THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS STARTING WITH AVIATION.
UH, OPERATING EXPENSES INCREASED BY, BY ABOUT 1 MILLION, DRIVEN BY FAA RELATED CONSULTING SERVICES SUPPORTING THE GRANT ELIGIBLE AIRFIELD PROJECTS.
THAT INCREASE WAS OFFSET BY A 1 MILLION REDUCTION IN THE TRANSFER TO THE AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT FUND.
AND THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM.
OPERATING EXPENSES DECLINED BY ROUGHLY 6.9 MILLION DUE TO PERSONNEL SAVINGS AND OPERATING TRANSFERS WERE DOWN ABOUT 15.6 MILLION, PRIMARILY FROM LOWER THAN EXPECTED, UH, DEBT PAYMENTS AND CAPITAL TRANSFERS, UH, FOR THE DEDICATED DRAINAGE AND STREET RENEWAL FUND, UH, SUPPORTED BY PROPERTY TAX REVENUES INCREASED BY 3 MILLION FROM HIGHER INTEREST EARNINGS WHILE EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY ABOUT 5.2 MILLION DUE TO DELAYS IN VEHICLE PURCHASES.
AND FOR THE DEDICATED DRAINAGE RENEWAL DRAINAGE FUND.
UH, THE REVENUES INCREASED BY APPROXIMATELY 4 MILLION AND AGAIN, REFLECTING HIGHER INTEREST INCOME AND FOR THE DEDICATED DRAINAGE, UH, METRO, UH, THE EXPENDITURES DECLINED BY ABOUT 3.9 MILLION DUE TO PERSONNEL SAVINGS.
AND FINALLY, IN THE STORMWATER FUND, EXPENDITURES ARE DOWN BY ABOUT 12 MILLION, LARGELY DRIVEN BY PERSONAL SAVINGS, VEHICLE PURCHASE DELAYS AND LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED TRANSFERS TO THE BUILDING INSPECTION FUND.
FOR THE COMMERCIAL PAPER AND BONDS, THE CITY'S PRACTICE HAS BEEN TO MAINTAIN NO MORE THAN 20% OF THE TOTAL OUTSTANDING DEBT FOR EACH TYPE OF DEBT AND A VARIABLE RATE STRUCTURE, WHICH IS IN LINE WITH RATING AGENCY'S GUIDANCE OF 25% FROM TIME TO TIME.
THE CITY'S ENTERPRISE CREDITS HAVE EXCEEDED THIS THRESHOLD ON AN INTERIM BASIS AS THEY HAVE UNDERTAKEN LARGE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS OR MAJOR EXPANSIONS.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL MOVE ON TO THE QUARTERLY, UH, INVESTMENT AND SWAT REPORTS.
UH, SO FOR THE QUARTERLY REPORT, UH, AS OF DECEMBER 31ST, 2025, THE CITY HAS $6.5 BILLION INVESTED IN OUR JOURNAL INVESTMENT POOL.
THE CHARACTER OF THIS POOL IS OUT OF A SHORT TIME BOND FUND THAT HOLDS INVESTMENTS OF VERY HIGH CREDIT QUALITY FIT RATINGS.
REVIEWED THIS POOL AND ASSIGNED THE POOL ITS HIGHEST RATINGS OF AAA.
OUR INVESTMENT STRATEGY IS TO MATCH ASSETS AND LIABILITIES FOR A A TIME PERIOD OF ONE YEAR INTO THE FUTURE AND TO EXERCISE DISCRETION FOR THE BALANCE OF REMAINING FUNDS.
INVESTMENTS ARE 1.06 BILLION HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR, AND THIS IS PRIMARILY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE NEW BOND TRANSACTION AND AVIATION AND THE NEW BOND TRANSACTION IN THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM.
AS OF DECEMBER 31ST, THE GENERAL INVESTMENT POOL WAS YIELDING 4%, WHICH IS DOWN FROM THE 4.05% YIELD IN THE PRIOR QUARTER.
IN ADDITION, THE JOURNAL INVESTMENT POOL, WE HAVE TWO SMALL INVESTMENT POOLS THAT TOTAL ABOUT 15 MILLION.
THOSE POOLS EXIST TO COMPLY WITH TAX REQUIREMENTS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
A DETAILED LISTING OF ALL THE, THE SECURITIES OWNED BY THE CITY APPEARS AT THE BACK OF THE INVESTMENT SWAP AN INVESTMENT REPORT.
AND FOR THE SWAP REPORT, UM, THE, THE WRITTEN SWAP REPORT THAT APPEARS IN THE MO FAR APPEARS AS A COMPREHENSIVE DESCRIPTION OF OUR TWO SWAP POSITIONS.
THE CITY HAD A NET PAY FOR THE SIX MONTH ENDING DECEMBER 31ST, 2025
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FROM ITS SWAPS OF 134.95 MILLION.FAIR VALUE FOR BOTH SWAPS AS OF DECEMBER 31ST, UH, 2025 WAS NEGATIVE AT 52 MILLION, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY 17 MILLION LESS THAN PRIOR QUARTER OF A NEGATIVE 69 MILLION.
THE CITY SWAPS ARE FAIRLY COMPLEX, AND IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS, PLEASE CONTACT OUR OFFICE WITH VERNON MIDDLETON LEWIS, OUR CITY TREASURER CAN HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THAT BETTER.
UM, AND WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT.
THIS IS THE SIX PLUS SIX FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING DECEMBER 31ST, 2025.
FISCAL YEAR 26 PROJECTIONS ARE BASED ON SIX MONTHS OF ACTUAL RESULTS IN SIX MONTHS OF PROJECTIONS FOR THE GENERAL FUND.
OUR REVENUE PROJECTION IS 41.9 MILLION LOWER THAN THE ADOPTED BUDGET, BUT REMAINS UNCHANGED FROM THE PRIOR MONTH.
MONITORING SALES TAX RECEIPTS FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER WERE $70.8 MILLION, WHICH IS ABOUT 0.3% LOWER THAN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.
IN ORDER TO MEET THE CURRENT ESTIMATE OF 902 MILLION, THE REMAINING PERIODS WOULD NEED TO COME IN 4% BELOW THE PRIOR YEAR.
SO WE STILL FEEL WE HAVE A PRETTY CONSERVATIVE, UM, PROJECTION ON SALES TAX AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT.
ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE, THE PROJECTION IS 9.5 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE ADOPTED BUDGET AND REMAINS UNCHANGED FROM THE PRIOR MONTH.
SO TOGETHER WITH THE REVENUES, WE'RE PROJECTING THE ENDING FUND BALANCE TO BE 353.5 MILLION, WHICH REMAINS UNCHANGED FROM THE PRIOR MONTH AT ABOUT 13.9% OF ESTIMATED EXPENDITURES, NOT INCLUDING DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO.
THAT FUND BALANCE IS 162 MILLION ABOVE THE TARGET OF HOLDING 7.5%.
UM, SINCE WE HAVE A FAIRLY LONG AGENDA TODAY, UM, I THINK I'LL SKIP OVER THE ENTERPRISE SPECIAL REVENUE AND OTHER FUNDS SINCE WE'RE IN LINE WITH THE CONTROLLER'S.
UM, AND MOVE ON TO THE HOUSTON ECONOMY SINCE IT'S A QUARTERLY REPORT.
ACCORDING TO THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, THE PRELIMINARY TOTAL NON FORMM EMPLOYMENT FOR THE HOUSTON WOODLAND SUGARLAND METROPOLITAN AREA STOOD AT APPROXIMATELY 3.5 MILLION IN NOVEMBER OF 2025, WHICH IS UP APPROXIMATELY 0.3% COMPARED TO THE PRIOR MONTH.
UM, AND COMPARED TO THE PRIOR YEAR, EMPLOYMENT IS UP ABOUT 0.5%.
THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER IS 4.5%, WHICH IS, UH, SLIGHTLY, UM, SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE NOVEMBER 24 NUMBER OF 4.4% FOR ENERGY.
THE AVERAGE OIL PRICE IS ABOUT $57 AND 97 CENTS FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER, WHICH IS ABOUT 3.5% LOWER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH'S AVERAGE FOR HOME SALES.
THE LATEST REPORT PREPARED FOR THE HOUSTON ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER SHOWS THAT TOTAL SINGLE FAMILY HOME SALES WAS 2.8% HIGHER COMPARED TO DECEMBER OF THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
AND FOR THE DISASTER REPORT, UM, YOU'LL SEE THE, THAT UPDATE IN YOUR, IN YOUR PRINTED COPY.
AND THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT FOR TODAY.
I DIDN'T MEAN TO SCARE YOU GUYS.
YOU CAN'T ASK A QUESTION IF YOU'D LIKE.
WE WILL MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM.
UPCOMING FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS DIRECTOR.
YEAH, WE'LL WAIT A SECOND TO GET THE SLIDES FOR THE SLIDES.
UM, SO TODAY I'M HERE TO PRESENT ON THE UPCOMING FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE FINANCE WORKING GROUP.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THE AGENDA FOR TODAY, WE HAVE TWO ITEMS RELATED TO THE GENERAL OBLIGATION CREDIT AND TWO ITEMS RELATED TO THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM.
AND THESE ITEMS ARE FAIRLY STANDARD.
SO, UM, JUST BE UPDATING YOU ON THE VARIOUS EXPIRATION DATES THAT ARE COMING ONLINE FOR OUR EXISTING FACILITIES THAT WE ALREADY HAVE.
UM, AS PART OF THESE ITEMS ON SLIDE THREE, UM, YOU SEE A SUMMARY OF THE GENERAL OBLIGATION VARIABLE RATE EXPOSURE.
SO THIS, THIS IS OUR COMMERCIAL PAPER PRODUCTS THAT WE HAVE THAT SUPPORT THE GENERAL FUND RELATED DEPARTMENTS.
SO TODAY WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT SERIES E ONE AND SERIES J, WHICH ARE HIGHLIGHTED ON THE NEXT SLIDE, SLIDE FOUR SERIES E ONE.
SO, UM, AGAIN, JUST TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY, COMMERCIAL PAPER, UH, IS SOMETHING THAT THE CITY HAS USED FOR, UH, QUITE A WHILE.
UM, IT'S A COST EFFECTIVE METHOD OF ACCESSING, UM, CASH TO AS INTERIM FINANCING TO PAY FOR OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
WHILE WE, UM, WAIT FOR THE COMMERCIAL PAPER SERIES LINES, WE DRAW IN THE COMMERCIAL PAPER SERIES LINES UNTIL THEY GET A CERTAIN FUND BALANCE, UH, BALANCE ON THEM, AND THEN WE FIX THEM OUT INTO LONG-TERM FIX RATE DEBT.
SO THIS PARTICULAR LINE, THE SERIES E, UM, SUPPORTS OUR CIP PROGRAM, PARTICULARLY RELATED TO LARGE EQUIPMENT AND VEHICLE PURCHASES.
THE UNDERLYING FACILITY FOR THE PROGRAM, UM, EXPIRES IN JULY OF 2026 OF THIS YEAR AND IS ABOUT A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN SIZE.
SO AS WE PREPARE FOR THE EXPIRATION
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OF THE FACILITY, UM, WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO THE EXISTING PROVIDER FOR A RENEWAL QUOTE.AND DEPENDING ON WHAT THAT QUOTE LOOKS LIKE, WE MAY, UH, REACH OUT FOR REQUEST FOR TERM SHEET TO OUR QUALIFIED POOL LATER IN MARCH.
AND DEPENDING ON THE OUTCOME OF, UH, WHAT WE RECEIVE, WE PLAN TO BRING AN ITEM TO COUNCIL IN SUMMER OF 2026.
SO MOVING ON TO THE SERIES J PROGRAM, SERIES J ALSO SUPPORTS THE, UH, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
UM, THIS SERIES IS $125 MILLION IN SIZE AND IS SCHEDULED TO EXPIRE IN MAY.
UH, SO AGAIN, WE ARE REACHING OUT WITH TO THE EXISTING PROVIDER FOR OUR RENEWAL PROPOSAL.
UM, AND DEPENDING ON WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, WE MAY REQUEST, UH, TERM SHEETS FROM OUR POOL IN FEBRUARY, UH, LATER THIS MONTH.
AND WE'RE PLANNING TO BRING IN RCA TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL IN SPRING.
SO MOVING ON TO THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM.
THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM HAS A SERIES OF COMMERCIAL PAPER LINES THAT SUPPORT THEIR CIP.
WE ALSO HAVE VARIABLE VARIABLE RATE DEMAND BONDS OR VRDB, SOMETIMES YOU HEAR ME CALL THEM.
UM, SO THERE ARE LIQUIDITY FACILITIES THAT UNDERLIE, UNDERLIE THE VARIABLE RATE DEMAND BONDS.
UH, YOU SEE THE TWO THAT ARE HIGHLIGHTED BELOW ARE COMING UP FOR EXPIRATION IN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS.
SO, UH, THE FIRST OF THOSE TWO, THE, UH, SERIES 2004 B TWO IS EXPIRING IN MARCH.
UM, WE DID ISSUE A REQUEST FOR TERM SHEET PROPOSALS FROM OUR QUALIFIED POOL, AND THE FINANCE WORKING GROUP IS EVALUATING THOSE PROPOSALS CURRENTLY.
AND ONCE THEY MAKE THEIR SELECTION, WE'LL BRING THE ITEM TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
UM, BY THE END OF FEBRUARY IN THE LAST SERIES, THE 2004 B FOUR IS SET TO EXPIRE IN JUNE.
UH, WE ARE GONNA, UH, WORK WITH THE EXISTING PROVIDER ON A RENEWAL QUOTE.
AND DEPENDING ON THAT, HOW, HOW THAT LOOKS LIKE, WE MAY, UH, GO TO OUR POOL, UH, TO SEE IF WE CAN GET, UM, MORE FAVORABLE TERMS. UH, AND WE'LL PLAN TO BRING THAT RCA TO COUNCIL AGAIN IN SPRING.
AND THAT CONCLUDES THIS PRESENTATION.
I KNOW, UM, WE BREEZED THROUGH THESE QUICKLY, BUT WITH $15 BILLION IN DEBT AS A CITY, UM, ALL OF THESE TRANSACTIONS REALLY MATTER AND YOU'RE LOOKING FOR MORE FAVORABLE TERMS FOR THE CITY.
REALLY ADDS UP TO A LOT OF MONEY.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM, WHAT IS THE CURRENT FUND BALANCE ON THAT? NOW? THE TOTAL, THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM, THEIR FUND BALANCE IS AROUND 1.3 BILLION.
THANK YOU FOR THEIR FUND BALANCE.
ANYONE ELSE? OKAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
YES, BECAUSE THE NEXT ITEM WE'LL BE, UH, SINCE IT SAYS A QUARTERLY REPORT, AS PROMISED COLLEAGUES, WE WILL GET AN UPDATE ON THE ERNST AND YOUNG, UH, PROGRESS THAT WE'RE MAKING WITH ERNST AND YOUNG EFFICIENCY STUDIES AND SPEND NO ANALYSIS.
UM, MELISSA DEBOWSKI IS JOINED BY CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFF OFFICER JED GREENFIELD.
UH, JUST TO GO THROUGH THIS REAL QUICKLY HERE, UH, WE PROVIDED A SLIDE JUST AS REM A REMINDER OF THE SEVEN MASTER CATEGORIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR SPEND ANALYSIS AND WE PROVIDED THEM THERE.
UH, THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'LL SHOW YOU JUST THE KEY ACTIVITIES THAT WE HAVE DONE SINCE OUR LAST REPORT, UH, TO THIS BODY, PRIMARILY KICKING OFF OUR CATEGORY COUNCIL MEETINGS WHERE WE'RE IDENTIFYING, UM, MOVING FROM, UH, OP OPPORTUNITIES TO ACTUALLY, WHAT CONTRACTS CAN WE LOOK AT AND, AND RENEGOTIATE, AND WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DO WE HAVE FOR REBATE DOLLARS TO COME IN.
SO WHAT WE DO IN THOSE, UH, CATEGORY COUNCILS ON THE LEFT COLUMN THERE, THOSE, THOSE FOUR UH, FUNCTIONS ARE WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT CONTRACTS WITH OVERLAPPING SCOPE, HIGH REOCCURRING CONTRACT SPEND, HIGH VOLUME SPEND, AND MULTIPLE CONTRACTS, UH, WITH THE SAME VENDOR.
THOSE ARE ALL WHERE WE'RE FINDING THE OPPORTUNITIES WHERE WE CAN GO BACK AND THEN RENEGOTIATE.
SO ALL THAT IS KICKED OFF AND WE'RE IN THE, THE MIDST OF THAT.
SO WHAT HAPPENS IN THOSE CATEGORY COUNCILS IS WE'RE LOOKING FOR THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
YOU'VE SEEN THIS, UH, A FEW TIMES.
UH, WE WILL SELECT A CATEGORY AS SHOWN HERE.
WE'RE, WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING THE FLEET MANAGEMENT EQUIPMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY.
IT TO, IT TELLS YOU WHAT OUR TOTAL SPEND IS, THE NUMBER OF VENDORS AND THE NUMBER OF CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE.
IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, FURTHER DOWN ON THE DASHBOARD, THIS IS WHERE WE WOULD START TO SEE WHERE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES EXIST, RIGHT? SO THIS IS, THIS IS SOMEPLACE THAT WE CAN SAY, HERE'S WHERE WE HAVE MULTIPLE VENDORS, HERE'S WHERE WE HAVE VENDORS WITH MULTIPLE CONTRACTS.
YOU CAN SEE OUR TOP SPEND VENDOR HERE WITHIN THIS CATEGORY HAS EIGHT SEPARATE CONTRACTS.
ALL VERY SIMILAR, ALL WITH DIFFERING PRICING.
SO THESE ARE WHERE THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE EXISTING NOW, WHERE WE'RE GOING BACK AND SAYING, LET'S RENEGOTIATE, LET'S LOOK AT THESE AND COMBINED CONTRACTS INTO ONE.
WHAT YOU WILL SEE IN THE COMING MONTHS AND
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AND GOING FORWARD ARE MORE MASTER SERVICE AGREEMENTS WHERE WE'RE TAKING THESE AND SAYING, RATHER THAN DOING ISOLATED PROJECTS, WHERE'RE GONNA BRING A MASTER SERVICE AGREEMENT WHERE WE CAN REALIZE SOME OF THE SAVINGS.THE LAST ONE HERE THAT I'LL JUST MENTION REALLY BRIEFLY.
SO AGAIN, WE HAVE THE FILTERS ON OUR SPEND DASHBOARD THAT LETS US DIVE INTO EITHER BROAD TOPICS OR VERY SPECIFIC.
I HAVE HIGHLIGHTED HERE A VERY SPECIFIC CODE AS WE HAVE OUR CONTRACT FOR PORTABLE RESTROOMS THAT ARE COMING UP, UH, FOR US TO RENEGOTIATE.
SO WE LOOKED AT OUR CONTRACTS.
WE HAVE TWO CONTRACTS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON WITH TWO DIFFERENT PRICING STRUCTURES.
UH, THE ONE WITH THE LOWEST PRICING STRUCTURE IS WHERE WE'RE GOING BACK AND LOOKING AT OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO EXPAND THAT CONTRACT.
UH, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY WHERE WE'RE GONNA BRING TO YOU PROBABLY IN THE COMING WEEKS OUR FIRST CONTRACT THAT'S COMING OUT OF A CATEGORY COUNCIL WHERE WE WILL RESULT IN SAVINGS BY MOVING TO THE ONE CONTRACT AND GIVING THAT VENDOR THE FULL SCOPE OF WHAT THE CITY HAS TO OFFER.
SO THOSE ARE JUST SOME VERY PRIME EXAMPLES OF WHERE WE'RE UTILIZING THE DATA TO HELP US DRIVE BASED ON CONTRACTS THAT ARE EXPIRING OR JUST GENERAL CATEGORIES THAT WE WANNA FILTER OUT AND LOOK WHAT OUR SPEND IS SO THAT WE CAN START REALIZING SOME OF THOSE SAVINGS.
THIS IS GREAT WORK AND WE'RE ALL REALLY EXCITED TO SEE IT.
MELISSA, DO YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING? NO, I THINK, UM, WE'LL JUST LIKE WE'VE BEEN, UH, DOING WE'LL PLAN TO COME ON A QUARTERLY BASIS, UM, AND LIKE JED MENTIONED, AS THOSE CONTRACTS COME TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL, WE'RE GONNA BE TRACKING THOSE, UH, SO THAT WE CAN REALLY, UH, SEE WHAT PROGRESS WE'VE MADE SO FAR.
AND THIS IS DEFINITELY A MULTI-YEAR EFFORT, SO SURE.
WE'RE REALLY KIND OF SETTING UP THE GOVERNANCE AND THE STRUCTURE NOW, BUT, UM, AS WE GET THROUGH RENEGOTIATING THESE CONTRACTS, THAT'S WHERE YOU'LL SEE THE SAVINGS START TO FLOW.
AND, AND AS LONG AS I'VE BEEN HERE, WE'VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS.
STEVE AND DAVID, I'M LOOKING AT YOU.
THIS IS GREAT WORK, UM, TO REALLY LOOK THAT THERE'S EIGHT CONTRACTS, THERE'S BEEN FLEET WITH ONE VENDOR, YOU KNOW, DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE.
LOOKING AT THE SLIDE WHERE YOU'VE GOT THE MULTIPLE CONTRACTS WITH THE SAME VENDOR, I'M CURIOUS RUSH TRUCK CENTER ARE THE MULTIPLE CONTRACTS BECAUSE IT'S DIFFERENT TYPES OF VEHICLES OR YEAH, SO IN THE PAST WE WOULD BE VERY SPECIFIC IN WHAT WE WERE ASKING FOR.
WE WOULD GO OUT FOR A LOW BID FOR THESE SET OF, UH, PARTS, AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE ANOTHER SET OF PARTS THAT WE WOULD NEED, RIGHT? SO OVER TIME WE WOULD BUILD AND GET THESE MULTIPLE CONTRACTS, WHICH FROM AN OPERATIONAL STANDPOINT IS SIGNIFICANT IN MY OPERATIONS BECAUSE THAT LENGTHENS OUT THE TIME FOR EVERY OTHER CONTRACT THAT I'M TRYING TO PUT THROUGH BECAUSE I HAVE RESOURCES DEDICATED EIGHT SEPARATE TIMES DOESN'T MATTER IF THE CONTRACT IS FOR ONE PART OR 500 PARTS OR $10 MILLION OR A THOUSAND DOLLARS MY TIME OR MY TEAM'S TIME IS THE SAME WITH EACH ONE OF THOSE.
UM, UH, DIRECTOR, I JUST WANNA CLARIFY YOUR STATEMENT ABOUT GIVING THE ONE CONTRACTOR THE FULL SCOPE.
UM, AND THIS IS IF THEY HAVE MULTIPLE CONTRACTS, RIGHT? THIS DOES NOT LIMIT SMALLER VENDORS FROM COMPETING FOR SIMILAR WORK.
THIS IS REALLY ON A PRIME LEVEL TYPE OF BASIS.
WE ARE BEING VERY SPECIFIC, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT WE'RE MOVING TO LARGER SCOPE CONTRACTS.
UH, DIRECTOR HORDE AND I ARE VERY SPECIFIC IN SAYING WE NEED TO START PUTTING TOGETHER SOME, SOME VERY, UH, SPECIFIC SMALL BUSINESS RIGHT.
OPPORTUNITIES THAT EXIST OUTSIDE OF JUST OUR TRADITIONAL GOAL PROGRAM.
WHICH WILL ALIGN WITH THE NEW, THE MASTER CONTRACT CORRECT PROCESS THAT WILL START SEEING THAT COUNCIL.
UH, MY, ONE OF MY QUESTIONS WAS IN LINE WITH THAT OF MAKING SURE AND ENSURING THAT WE ARE STILL ALLOWING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS.
UM, AT THE SAME TIME, HAVE WE BEEN LOOKING AT LARGER CO-OP OPPORTUNITIES SPECIFICALLY WITHIN FLEET? ABSOLUTELY.
SO YOU'LL REMEMBER JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO, UH, YOU ALL PASSED OUR VEHICLE PURCHASING COOPERATIVE, $180 MILLION.
THAT'S PROBABLY THE SINGLE IN TERMS OF EFFICIENCY, THAT'S PROBABLY THE SINGLE BIGGEST THING THAT HAS MOVED THE NEEDLE ON OUR SIDE.
YOU ALL SAW EVERY, ALMOST EVERY COUNCIL AGENDA THERE WERE VEHICLE PACKAGES.
AGAIN, THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME HAS, HAS TAKEN FROM MY TEAM TO DO THAT.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE REALLY START TO SEE THOSE EFFICIENCIES COME IN, UH, BY YOU ALL GIVING US THOSE TOOLS THAT YOU DID, UH, IN THAT ITEM, AND YOU'LL START SEEING MORE OF THAT AND BEING ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN A LARGER CO-OP MEANS THAT WE CAN LIKELY SEE PRICES REDUCED FURTHER AND HAVE MORE OPTIONS.
IS IS THAT CORRECT? BECAUSE THOSE ARE NATIONALLY COMPETED PRICES.
AND DIRECTOR, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR WORK, THE WORK OF THE ADMINISTRATION ON THIS.
AND JUST BECAUSE I HAVE YOU HERE, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD, AGAIN, GOING BACK TO FLEET, UM, AND FOR ALL OF OUR PROCUREMENT, NOW THAT WE'RE DOING THESE BIGGER ITEMS, MORE EFFICIENCY, MORE COST SAVINGS, HOW ARE WE ENSURING THAT WE'RE STILL FOLLOWING IN LINE, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH, UH, THE HOUSTON CLIMATE ACTION PLAN AND THE RESILIENCY PLAN? HOW ARE THOSE PARAMETERS LAID OUT? SURE.
SO I THINK THE SAME REPORTING CAN GO FORWARD.
SO IT'S, IT'S IF YOU ALL NEED SPECIFIC REPORTS, WE HAVE THE DATA THAT'S AVAILABLE.
IN FACT, WE PROBABLY HAVE THE DATA MORE AVAILABLE NOW WITH THE DASHBOARDS THAT WE BUILT TO PROVIDE THOSE REPORTS TO YOU ALL.
UH, IN TERMS OF IF THERE ARE REQUESTS THAT WE NEED TO COME IN A SETTING LIKE A COUNCIL COMMITTEE, WE'RE ALWAYS OPEN TO THAT SO THAT
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YOU STILL HAVE THE INFORMATION THAT'S FLOWING TERRIFIC.BUT IT IS GONNA STILL CONTINUE TO FALL IN LINE WITH THOSE PARAMETERS.
UM, WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM.
AND BEFORE WE DO THAT, I DO WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT ALEJANDRA SALINAS IS HERE, COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS, COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ, AND COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIE DAVIS AND STAFF, OH, AND STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER TARSHA JACKSON'S OFFICE AND ED POLLARD'S OFFICE.
SO WELCOME ALL AND WE WILL NOW MOVE ON TO THE QUARTERLY UPDATE ON, AGAIN, EVERY QUARTER WE WILL LOOK AT OVERTIME USAGE, SO DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI.
UM, AND SO THE FIRST DEPARTMENT THAT WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON TODAY IS THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT.
SO I'LL ASK, UM, CHIEF HARDIN TO JOIN ME, UH, FOR THIS PORTION OF THE PRESENTATION.
UM, SO TODAY WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE CLASSIFIED OVERTIME, UM, FOCUSING ON THE GENERAL FUND, UM, LOOKING AT PRIOR YEARS AND WHERE WE ARE SO FAR, FISCAL YEAR 26 YEAR TO DATE.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO GONNA TALK ABOUT, UM, SOME OF THE SUCCESS THE DEPARTMENTS HAD WITH GRADUATING CADETS COMPARED TO THE ATTRITION AND LOOKING AT THE HISTORICALS.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, THANK YOU.
UM, THIS GIVES YOU A LOOK AT, UM, FISCAL YEAR 24, FISCAL YEAR 25.
I WON'T REHASH ALL THOSE NUMBERS SINCE THEY'RE IDENTICAL TO WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT LAST QUARTER AS FAR AS HISTORICAL COMPARISONS.
UM, BUT ON FISCAL YEAR 26, UH, WHERE WE ARE TRENDING YEAR TO DATE, UM, THE BUDGET NUMBER THAT YOU SEE OF THE $14.8 MILLION, UM, IS BASED ON THE ADOPTED BUDGET.
WHERE WE ARE ACTUALS YEAR TO DATE IS ABOUT $13.9 MILLION.
UM, GENERALLY YOU CAN SEE IN THE PRIOR YEARS, UH, WHERE WE GENERALLY TREND OVER ON OVERTIME COMPARED TO THE ADOPTED BUDGET.
UH, THERE'S ALWAYS IN THE PAST, UM, BEEN SAVINGS THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY IN OTHER LINE ITEM AREAS LIKE BASE PAY AND EVEN OTHER AREAS THAT ARE NON-PERSONNEL ITEMS WHERE WE MAY HAVE BUDGETARY SAVINGS TO HELP OFFSET WHERE OVERTIME HAS TRENDED OVER.
UM, SO AT THIS POINT IN FISCAL YEAR 26, IT'S A LITTLE BIT TOO EARLY TO, UH, SORT OF MAKE A FINAL PROJECTION ON WHERE THAT'S GOING TO BE.
UH, WE DO KNOW THAT THERE WILL BE SOME SAVINGS IN OTHER AREAS IN HPD TO HELP OFFSET, UH, WHERE WE TREND OVER ON OVERTIME.
UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT AGAIN, WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR.
WE'LL BE BACK NEXT QUARTER TO TALK ABOUT IT AGAIN.
UM, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT OF COURSE WE, WE CLOSELY MONITOR.
AND I THINK THAT, UM, MAYBE THE CHIEF COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT, UM, ABOUT WHERE SOME OF THE OVERTIME HAS BEEN FOCUSED.
I KNOW THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE OVERTIME IS REALLY NEED DRIVEN, UM, BASED ON WHAT THEY'RE SEEING IN THE COMMUN COMMUNITY AND WHAT THE NEEDS ARE.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW, CHIEF IF YOU WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, SOME OF THE AREAS THAT THE OVERTIME HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON.
THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF OUR OVERTIME GOES TO OPERATIONS.
SECOND IS THE AIRPORT SYSTEM, UH, REIMBURSED BY HAAS.
AND THEN YOU GET INTO HOLIDAYS.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE GRAPH HERE, YOU'LL SEE THE SPIKE IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER.
AND THAT COMES OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE THERE'S TWO HOLIDAYS IN NOVEMBER, TWO HOLIDAYS IN DECEMBER.
UH, THE MAYOR AND THIS BODY WERE KIND ENOUGH TO GIVE CITY EMPLOYEES TWO EXTRA HOLIDAYS THIS YEAR.
SO WHEN WE COME NEXT QUARTER AND THE QUARTER AFTER OUR HOLIDAY OVERTIME WILL BE HIGHER THAN THE YEARS BEFORE BECAUSE WE HAVE TWO OTHER HOLIDAYS AND IT'S ABOUT HALF A MILLION DOLLARS PER HOLIDAY FOR US TO STAFF THE CITY, UM, WITH POLICE SERVICES.
SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THE SPIKE, THE SPIKES IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, AND THEN OUR INVESTIGATIVE OVERTIME IS DOWN.
OUR SPECIAL EVENTS OVERTIME IS DOWN.
AND TO THE DIRECTOR'S POINT, WHEN YOU LOOK AT A LITTLE BIT OF THE DELTA BETWEEN THE YEARS, THERE'S ALWAYS UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES.
FOR INSTANCE, THE TWO WEEKENDS OF COLD WEATHER, YOU KNOW, NO ONE CAN PREDICT MOTHER NATURE.
AND THE PRIOR YEARS WE'VE HAD HURRICANES, UH, THANK GOODNESS WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY THIS YEAR, BUT OUR OVERTIME BUDGET FLUCTUATES BASED ON THE UNPREDICTABLES THAT GO ON BOTH THROUGH MOTHER NATURE AND THROUGH, UH, CURRENT EVENTS IN THE COUNTRY.
SO WE'VE BEEN VERY DILIGENT WITH CUTTING DOWN WHERE WE CAN.
UH, WE ARE ABOUT 23% DOWN FROM LAST YEAR ON OVERTIME WITH SOME OPERATIONAL CHANGES WE MADE.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THAT AND LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF CITY'S MONEY.
SO SPECIFICALLY LOOKING AT THE, THE BLUE LINE AND THE ORANGE LINE, YOU CAN SEE THAT SO FAR FISCAL YEAR 26, UM, THE CLASSIFIED ACTUAL OVERTIME HAS TRENDED BELOW AS THE
[00:25:01]
CHIEF MENTIONED.UM, SO, SO FAR WITHIN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS, IT'S AN OVERALL REDUCTION OF ABOUT, UM, $6.8 MILLION COMPARED TO FISCAL YEAR 25.
AND THEN CHIEF, IF YOU COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE RECRUITMENT AND THE RETENTION COMPARED TO ATTRITION.
AS WE'VE DISCUSSED MANY TIMES PUBLICLY AND IN FRONT OF THIS BODY, MANPOWER HAS BEEN A CONSTANT CHALLENGE FOR THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS.
WE WERE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO GET A PHENOMENAL CONTRACT, ONE OF THE BEST IN THE STATE, ONE OF THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE FROM THE SLIDE, IF YOU LOOK FROM LEFT 17 ALL THE WAY TO 25, OUR NUMBERS, SOMETIMES ATTRITION WAS HIGHER THAN CADETS.
SOMETIMES CADETS WERE HIGHER THAN ATTRITION, BUT JUST BARELY.
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT FY 26 TO DATE, ATTRITION SEVENTY TWO A HUNDRED EIGHTY ONE ADS, THAT'S ACTUALLY AN EQUAL AMOUNT OF ADD AS WE'VE HAD IN THE PREVIOUS 17 TO 20 YEARS, WHICH IS A, A PHENOMENAL STEP FOR US AND OUR GOAL TO TRY TO GET AS MUCH MANPOWER AS WE CAN.
SO WE THANK YOU GUYS AGAIN FOR YOUR SUPPORT, UH, IN BOTH THE CONTRACT AND ALSO WHAT WE DO EVERY DAY.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR SLIDES FOR THE HPD.
UM, VERY QUICKLY, UH, DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI, YOU HAD MENTIONED, AND CHIEF, I THINK YOU HAD ALLUDED TO THIS, UM, THERE'S OTHER SAVINGS THAT THE DEPARTMENT IS LOOKING AT TO OFFSET.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THOSE EXAMPLES, IF YOU CAN SHARE THOSE? MM-HMM
SO, UH, IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT SPECIFICALLY, THERE ARE SAVINGS IN, UM, CIVILIAN, CIVILIAN BASE PAY, CIVILIAN OVERTIME.
SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE LOOK AT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET IN TOTALITY.
UM, AND THOSE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES, RIGHT? THERE'S, AS YOU KNOW, A LOT OF LINE ITEMS, BUT UM, WE LOOK AT THE WHOLE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT BUDGET, UH, WHETHER IT'S CLASSIFIED OR CIVILIAN, UM, TO IDENTIFY ANY SAVINGS THAT CAN BE USED TO OFFSET THE NEEDS.
AND I'M SURE WE'LL GET INTO THAT AS WE GET INTO BUDGET SEASON, BUT UNDERSTANDING SOME OF THOSE OFFSETS AND THE IMPACT THAT IT'S HAVING ON THE DEPARTMENT, UM, WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
UH, CHIEF, IT'S GREAT TO SEE YOU.
I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN VERY BUSY, AS IS YOUR TEAM AND OUR APPRECIATION TO EVERYONE IN SERVICE.
UM, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE UNPREDICTABILITY, UH, WHETHER IT'S THE FREEZES AND OTHER WEATHER EVENTS OR THE NUMBER OF PROTESTS, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WE HAVE HAD IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UM, I OFTEN TALK ABOUT, WELL, SOME OF THAT IS PREDICTABLE BECAUSE IT'S HOUSTON, WE ARE SEEING INCREASED EXTREME WEATHER.
UH, WE HAVE NOW TWO YEARS IN A ROW HAD MULTIPLE FREEZES WHERE WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY GETTING REIMBURSEMENT FOR THOSE ONE.
WHAT IS THE IMPACT, FOR EXAMPLE, OF ONE WEEKEND OF STANDING UP OUR, UH, WARMING CENTERS TO HPD, THE ADDITIONAL PATROLS EVEN WITH HOT OUTREACH THAT HAS TO OCCUR? WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS THERE AND WHAT ARE WE DOING MOVING FORWARD IN OUR BUDGET TO TRY TO ACCURATELY PROJECT SOME OF THIS? BECAUSE WE DON'T NECESSARILY DO DISASTER PROJECTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO OUR OVERTIME IN THE BUDGET.
SO ON A CITYWIDE BASIS, AND THE CHIEF CAN PROBABLY ELABORATE MORE ON HPD, BUT ON A CITYWIDE BASIS, UM, GENERALLY THE WARMING CENTERS COST ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS PER DAY FOR ALL OF THE, UH, DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE INVOLVED.
UM, LAST YEAR WHEN WE HAD WINTER STORM ENZO, YOU'RE RIGHT, WE, THAT WAS NOT A FEDERALLY REIMBURSABLE EVENT.
UM, AND SO THE COST FOR THE FREEZE THAT WE HAD IN THE PRE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR WAS ABSORBED WITHIN THE DEPARTMENTS EXISTING BUDGETS.
AND SO AS WE GET CLOSER TO GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS IN APRIL, WE LOOK AT HOW IS THE DEPARTMENT TRENDING, WHERE ARE THEIR SAVINGS, WHERE ARE THEY OVER FOR EVERY DEPARTMENT? THIS IS NOT JUST FOR HPD, RIGHT? IT'S, IT INCLUDES HEALTH AND, UM, SOLID WASTE, ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS.
UM, AND BASED ON THAT, UM, THAT'S WHERE WE WILL SEE IF ADDITIONAL BUDGET NEEDS TO BE ADDED AND THAT WILL BE PRESENTED TO COUNCIL IN APRIL.
SO AGAIN, I THINK MY ASK IS IN CHIEF, IF YOU WANNA ADD TO THIS, WE HAVE TO START PROJECTING FOR THE EXPECTATION OF DISASTERS.
UM, BECAUSE AGAIN, WHAT WE SEE IS WE HAVE A HEALTHY RIGHT OR TRY TO KEEP A HEALTHY FUND BALANCE, BUT WE'RE, WE KNOW WE'RE GONNA BE TAKING FROM THAT BECAUSE OF OVERTIME.
BUT IF WE KNOW WE NEED TO BE SAYING SO, UH, AND WE KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE MORE FREEZES, WE KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE MORE FLOODS, WE HAVE TO BE PREPARED NOT JUST FROM A PUBLIC SAFETY PERSPECTIVE, BUT FROM A FISCAL PERSPECTIVE.
SO WHAT WE DO OPERATIONALLY, AS OUR COST SAVINGS COME UP THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS LIKELY TO BE AN EVENT AT SOME POINT.
IF THERE IS NOT, WE GET TOWARD THE END OF THE YEAR, GREAT.
WE HAVE A PIGGY BANK AND WE CAN USE IT FOR WHATEVER WE NEED TO, SOME OPERATIONAL CHANGES WE MADE.
SO I'LL TAKE THE FREEZE FOR INSTANCE.
THE MORE, UH, RUNWAY TIME YOU HAVE FOR AN EVENT, THE BETTER YOU CAN PLAN, OBVIOUSLY.
SO WE WOULD TRY TO UTILIZE AS MANY ON-DUTY RESOURCES AS POSSIBLE.
SO THERE'S A VARIETY OF WAYS YOU CAN HANDLE NATURAL DISASTERS.
THE TRADITIONAL WAY IS A FULL MOBILIZATION,
[00:30:01]
WHICH THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT WORKS.EVERYBODY GOES ON 12 HOUR SHIFTS.
THAT'S AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF OVERTIME BECAUSE IF YOU'RE OFF THAT DAY, THAT'S A 12 HOURS OF OVERTIME PER OFFICER.
IF YOU'RE NOT OFF, IT'S FOUR HOURS PER DAY BECAUSE THEY WORK, MOST OF 'EM WORK EIGHT OR 10 HOURS SHIFTS.
SO THIS YEAR WE IMPLEMENTED SOME CONTINGENCY PLANS FOR OUR DISASTERS.
WE HAVE METHOD A AND METHOD B OFFICERS.
METHOD B HAVE SCHEDULES THAT WE CAN ADJUST ANYTIME AS OPERATIONALLY NECESSARY.
SO WE BUILT TEAMS OF CONTINGENCY PLANS.
SO IF THE WEATHER DID X, THEN WE WOULD DO Y.
AND ALL THE CONTINGENCY PLANS WERE BASED ON ONLY SPENDING THE MONEY IF WE HAD TO, AS OPPOSED TO SPENDING THE MONEY IN CASE WE NEEDED TO, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
AND THAT MADE QUITE A BIT OF DIFFERENCE, AT LEAST FOR THIS EVENT.
IN TERMS OF AMOUNT OF OVERTIME OR THE LAST TWO WEEKEND, I SHOULD SAY DIRECTOR, DID I HEAR YOU SAY WE ARE GETTING REIMBURSED FOR SOME OF THIS MOST RECENT BLAST OR NO, NO, NO REIMBURSEMENT ON THIS MOST RECENT.
COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, HOW MUCH OF THE OVERTIME IS DRIVEN BY THE CVSF FUNDS FROM THE COUNCIL MEMBERS? UH, I'D HAVE TO GO LOOK AT THE EXACT NUMBER, BUT THIS, SO THAT'S NOT LISTED IN THE OPERATIONAL NUMBER ON THE SLIDE BECAUSE OKAY.
IT'S NOT FROM THE GENERAL FUND.
SO THE PRESENTATION IS, UH, OKAY.
'CAUSE I'D LIKE TO SEE IT WITHOUT IT ANYWAY.
'CAUSE I MEAN FOR SURE THINK THAT'S KIND OF, WE CAN GET IT FOR YOU, BUT, BUT THE HAS, THAT NUMBER IS IN HERE.
I MEAN, I ALMOST THINK IT'D BE GOOD TO SEE IT WITHOUT THAT NUMBER AS WELL, SINCE THAT NUMBER'S BEING REIMBURSED SO WE CAN GET A LITTLE MORE, IT'S INCREDIBLY LOW.
AND THEN LAST TO, UH, COUNCILMAN CAYMAN'S POINT, UH, THE PROTEST, HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST US IN OVERTIME? IT DEPENDS ON THE SIZE OF THE PROTEST.
WHAT ABOUT THE ONES OVER THE LAST YEAR? CAN YOU TELL ME HOW MUCH THOSE HAVE COST? I CAN GET YOU THE NUMBER.
IT ALSO DEPENDS ON THE TIME OF DAY.
SO IF YOU HAVE A PROTEST, IT ONLY REQUIRES MAYBE ONE SERGEANT AND SIX OFFICERS, AND IT'S DURING THE DAY, IT'S NOT GONNA COST US ANYTHING BECAUSE THOSE OFFICERS ARE ON DUTY.
WEEKENDS, AFTER HOURS NIGHTS, SOMETIMES WE CAN ADJUST OUR STAFFING, UH, SCHEDULE SO THAT WE CAN DO IT NOT ON OVERTIME, BUT IF WE HAVE TOO MUCH GOING ON, WHETHER THEY'RE INSTRUCTING OR THEY ALSO HAVE ANOTHER PROTEST DURING THE DAY.
SO IT, IT PROTESTS CAN RUN US ANYWHERE FROM A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS OF PROTEST TO ZERO.
BUT I CAN PULL FOR GENERAL AWARENESS, WE DO ABOUT 400 PROTESTS A YEAR OF VARIETY, SIZES, SHAPES, TOPICS.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S, IT VARIES PER PROTEST, BUT I, I CAN PULL THE NUMBER FOR YOU.
ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, THE 14 MILLION ON THE ONE WITH THE, ALL THE BUDGETED, IF YOU CAN GO TO THAT ONE, KATIE, UH, THAT, THAT 14.8 IS, WAS THAT THE FULL YEAR BUDGET? THAT'S THE FULL YEAR BUDGET AND THEN THE 13.8 IS HALF THE YEAR.
THE FULL YEAR BUDGET, 14.9, THE FULL YEAR, 14.8 WAS THE FULL AMOUNT BUDGETED FOR HPD OVERTIME.
SO WE'VE ALMOST SPENT ALL OF THE BUDGET.
I WAS MAKING SURE I WAS LOOKING AT IT RIGHT.
UH, VICE MAYOR PRO TEMP PET, THANK YOU CHAIR.
THANK YOU CHIEF AND DIRECTOR FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WITH THE, UM, OVERTIME OUTSIDE OF THE GENERAL FUND, AND I SEE THE CHART HERE THAT BREAKS IT DOWN, IS THAT INCLUDING REIMBURSEMENTS THAT WE'RE GETTING, UM, NOT NECESSARILY FOR DISASTERS, BUT FOR OTHER THINGS LIKE SPECIAL EVENTS, UM, WHERE MAYBE SOMEONE'S PAYING FOR, YOU KNOW, AN OFFICER TO BE THERE.
HOW IS THAT FACTORED INTO THIS NUMBER? MM-HMM
SO IN THE CASE OF A DISASTER, UM, TYPICALLY THE, THE OVERTIME EXPENDITURES RUN THROUGH THE GENERAL FUND.
WE DON'T TYPICALLY RECEIVE REIMBURSEMENT ON A DISASTER EVENT THAT IS REIMBURSABLE, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, BARREL OR DERECHO UNTIL IT COULD EVEN BE THE FOLLOWING FISCAL YEAR.
UM, AND SO WHILE WE TRY TO TRUE UP THOSE TIMECARDS AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN, WE DO HAVE TO WORK WITH OUR FEDERAL AND STATE PARTNERS.
SO IN THE EVENT OF A DISASTER, IT COULD CERTAINLY BE THAT THE DISASTER OVERTIME IS SHOWN IN HERE AND THE REIMBURSEMENT MAY COME UNTIL THE FOLLOWING FISCAL YEAR, FOR EXAMPLE.
BUT FOR SOMETHING THAT'S NOT A DISASTER, LIKE, UM, A SPECIAL EVENT OR SOMETHING WHERE WE'RE GETTING REIMBURSED MM-HMM
UM, AND IT'S NOT NECESSARILY GOING BACK TO THE GENERAL FUND, IT'S GOING MAYBE TO, YOU KNOW, THE SPECIAL EVENTS OR, YOU KNOW, SOME OTHER FUND.
IS THAT NUMBER REFLECTED IN HERE REGARDLESS OF ANY, UM, REIMBURSEMENTS THAT WE MAY HAVE RECEIVED? SO THIS IS, UM, JUST FOR THE GENERAL FUND ONLY.
UM, THERE ARE, THERE ARE LARGE SCALE EVENTS IN HERE AS WELL.
I'M IS, THERE IS OVERTIME IN OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS THOUGH, BUT OUTSIDE OF THIS, THERE IS.
SO THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUND IS MOST OF THE STUFF THAT WE GET REIMBURSED FOR.
SO, UM, PROBABLY THE BEST EXAMPLE OF YOUR QUESTION IS THE MARATHON.
SO THAT OVERTIME IS NOT LISTED IN THE OPERATION 'CAUSE IT'S REIMBURSED.
SO DO WE HAVE THAT NUMBER OUTSIDE OF THE GENERAL FUND AS FAR AS WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, AS A DEPARTMENT, WHETHER IT'S THE GENERAL FUND
[00:35:01]
OR SOME OTHER FUND, WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY SPENDING FOR OVERTIME? WE DO.UM, SIMILAR TO COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER QUESTION ABOUT THE CDSF, I'M INTERESTED IN THAT INFORMATION AS WELL.
THE, WHEN WE HAD THIS MEETING, WHEN DID WE HAVE THIS FIRST MEETING A QUARTER AGO? AND CHIEF DIAZ, I KIND OF INTIMATED THAT COUNCIL MEMBERS GIVE UP TO A MILLION DOLLARS OF OVERTIME FUNDS, UM, TOWARDS THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND YOU JUST MENTIONED THAT THIS IS NOT NECESSARILY INCLUDED IN THAT.
UM, AND, AND HE KIND OF VERBALLY OFFERED GUIDANCE ABOUT NOT NECESSARILY BEING INTERESTED IN COUNCIL OFFICES DIRECTING DOLLARS TO OUR, OUR COMMAND STATIONS.
AND I DO THAT PERIOD THROUGHOUT MY, MY BUDGET.
DOES THAT INFLUENCE, UM, THE NUMBERS AND IS THAT STILL THE GUIDANCE IN TERMS OF COUNCIL OFFICES DIRECTING DOLLARS FOR OVERTIME FOR TARGETED PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES IN THEIR DISTRICT? WE WELCOME COUNCIL MEMBER SAFETY FUNDS OR DISTRICT FUNDS SURE.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE OUR CAPTAINS AND OUR EXECUTIVE STAFF HAVE CONTROL OVER HOW EACH DOLLAR IS SPENT IN THE SENSE THAT WE CAN MAKE AN AGREEMENT OR A GOAL OF PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, INITIATIVES, QUALITY OF LIFE INITIATIVES.
BUT THERE ARE TIMES WHEN WE ARE SHORT ON OVERTIME AND A CAPTAIN MAY SAY, HEY, I, I COULD USE THESE COUNCIL DISTRICT FUNDS FOR THIS VIOLENT CRIME, AND, AND WE, WE JUST WANNA MAKE IT CLEAR WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO DO THAT, TO USE THOSE FUNDS IN THE DISTRICT FOR, FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, BUT MAYBE NOT FOR INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? AND THAT'S COMMUNICATED.
I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
AND SO IN, FOR, FOR MY OFFICE, WE CO-CREATE THAT.
I ESSENTIALLY ASK THE COMMAND STATIONS, TELL ME WHAT YOUR PRIORITIES ARE.
THIS IS WHAT I'M HEARING ON THE STREET.
LET'S HOW WE CO-CREATE THAT TOGETHER.
IF YOU NEED TO GO DO WHAT YOU NEED TO GO DO, HANDLE THAT, BUT ALSO HANDLE THIS.
BUT THE, THE, THE VERBAL GUIDANCE THAT WAS OFFERED OFFERED, YOU KNOW, PROVIDED CONFUSION FOR ME.
SO I, WE HAD PAUSE ON THE FUNDS BECAUSE WE WERE LIKE, WELL, OKAY, IS THIS STILL RECEPTIVE? IS THIS STILL, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE COME TO THE COMMAND STATIONS TO SAY, HEY, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE HEARING, OUR SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD, OUR CIVIC CLUBS, WE NEED SOME TARGETED ATTENTION ON WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE AFTER HOURS.
WILL THERE BE RESISTANCE TO THAT? AND SO, UM, WE, THE, FROM WHAT I'M HEARING TODAY, THIS IS STILL WELCOMED TO CO-CREATE PUBLIC SAFETY INITIATIVES THAT ALLOW FOR US TO ADDRESS OUR PRIORITIES WHILE ALLOWING OUR COMMAND STATIONS TO ALSO SAY, HEY, WE HAVE A PRIORITY TOO AND TO USE THOSE FUNDS.
GOOD MORNING TO YOU BOTH AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATIONS.
CHIEF, I'VE GOT A COUPLE QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
SO, UM, SLIDE THREE SHOWS THAT HEAD COUNT AS OF THE END OF LAST YEAR IS UP BY 340, UH, OFFICERS FROM FY 25.
OKAY, WELL CONGRATULATIONS ON THAT.
UM, I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW, UH, THE, THE OFFICERS THAT YOU'VE ADDED ONTO THE FORCE, HOW DOES THAT TRANSLATE IN TERMS OF ADDING OFFICERS OUT ON PATROL, UH, PATROLLING OUR NEIGHBORHOODS STATISTICALLY? YES.
SO FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER AND OUR, UH, EMPLOYEE ALLOCATION TEAM CAN REMEMBER ALL OF OUR SERGEANT AND PATROL SPOTS IN PATROL ARE FILLED.
AND NOW WE ARE GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE WE CAN BACKFILL SOME OF OUR INVESTIGATIVE SPOTS, WHICH OBVIOUSLY WILL ALSO CUT DOWN ON OVERTIME BECAUSE I'LL JUST BREEZY EASE OF NUMBERS.
IF A DIVISION HAS A HUNDRED INVESTIGATORS AND THEY'VE BEEN DOWN 80, THEY STILL HAVE THE WORK OF A HUNDRED INVESTIGATORS, OR I SHOULD SAY A HUNDRED ALLOCATED SPOTS.
AND SO THOSE 80 ARE WORKING OVERTIME, SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF OVERTIME TO GET THE WORK DONE.
NOW THAT WE ARE GETTING MORE AND MORE OFFICERS IN THE DEPARTMENT AND ON THE STREET, WE CAN BEGIN TO BACKFILL SOME OF THOSE SPOTS AND THEN HOPEFULLY IN THE NEAR FUTURE START ADDING MORE SPOTS TO PATROL AS WELL.
SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO ADD ANY ADDITIONAL UNITS, UH, ON ANY GIVEN SHIFT YET? YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO, TO FILL, UH, OPENINGS THAT WERE ALREADY THERE? CORRECT.
UM, I NOTICED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT PRESENTATION HAS SOME NUMBERS ON RESPONSE TIME, AND I KNOW THE MAYOR HAS SPOKEN THAT OUR RESPONSE TIMES ARE, ARE BETTER.
UM, WILL YOU BE ABLE TO PROVIDE US INFORMATION ON WHAT THE CURRENT RESPONSE TIMES ARE FOR THE VARIOUS CATEGORIES OF, UH, CALLS? SURE, I CAN DO IT.
AND, AND CAN YOU GIVE US A, A BROAD SUMMARY OF, OF WHAT THOSE NUMBERS LOOK LIKE, HOW THEY'VE IMPROVED, UH, IF THEY HAVE, THEY HAVE IMPROVED? SO CODE ONE CALLS
[00:40:01]
FOR SERVICE ARE IMMEDIATE LIFE SAFETY AND THEY'RE DOWN FROM JUST SHY OF SEVEN TO UNDER SIX MINUTES.AND I CAN GIVE YOU THE, I THINK RIGHT NOW WE'RE AT TOP 5.89 I BELIEVE, BUT I'LL GIVE YOU THE NUMBERS FOR, FOR ALL THE VARIOUS CODES.
WELL THAT'S, THAT'S DEFINITELY GREAT NEWS.
AND CURIOUS TO KNOW ALSO, WHEN SOMEONE WORKS OVERTIME, ARE THEY PAID ACCORDING TO, UH, WHAT THEIR, WHAT THEIR CURRENT SALARY IS? UH, OR, OR ARE THEY ABLE TO WORK SAY A DIFFERENT, UH, A DIFFERENT JOB DESCRIPTION AND PAID AT A DIFFERENT RATE? WHAT ASSIGNMENT YOU WORK FOR OVERTIME IS IRRELEVANT.
YOUR OVERTIME RAISE YOUR OVERTIME RATE.
SO IT'S TIED BACK TO WHAT YOUR NORMAL SALARY IS? YES, SIR.
ON THE, UM, AND, AND CONGRATS.
I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT BAR CHART LIKE THAT.
WE WERE ALWAYS SEEING THE, THE OPPOSITE BAR CHART WITH ATTRITION.
SO GREAT JOB ON RECRUITING AND ON ON THE PATROL.
WE'RE ALL HAPPY TO HEAR THAT THAT'S FILLED.
IS THAT MAINLY WITH NEW RECRUITS OR IS THAT P TRANSFERRING PEOPLE FROM OTHER DIVISIONS OR HOW IS THAT A COMBINATION OF BOTH? LITTLE BIT OF BOTH.
UM, UH, DO YOU KNOW OFFHAND IN INVESTIGATIONS WHAT THE VACANCIES ARE OR HOW MANY ARE TRYING TO FILL IN IN INVESTIGATIONS? I DO NOT KNOW THE NUMBER OFFHAND, BUT I CAN GET IT FOR YOU.
UM, WE WILL MOVE ALONG TO OVERTIME FIRE.
IF I COULD TAKE 10 SECONDS OF YOUR TIME.
SO WE HAVE HAD DIRECTOR RHONDA SMITH WORKING AT THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR MY ENTIRE TIME AND THE EXECUTIVE STAFF.
UH, AND SHE SADLY HAS DECIDED TO DO NOT TELL ME SHE'S LEAVING.
OOH, TOMATO
AND I JUST WANT TO TELL THIS BODY THAT BECAUSE I KNOW ALL OF YOU HAVE DEALT WITH HER AT SOME POINT.
SHE IS A PHENOMENAL HUMAN BEING, A PHENOMENAL CFOI MY ENTIRE TIME IN MANAGEMENT AT THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT, SHE'S BEEN IN THAT ROLE.
UH, AND I'M JUST A KNUCKLE DRAGON COP.
AND EVERY, EVERY FINANCIAL QUESTION I HAVE, SHE EXPLAINS TO ME FIVE AND SIX TIMES TILL I GET IN.
SO I CANNOT TELL THIS BODY AND ANYBODY WATCHING HOW MUCH WE APPRECIATE DIRECTOR SMITH.
UH, AND ALL SHE HAS DONE FOR US AS SOMEONE WHO LOOKS THROUGH EVERY LINE ITEM, MAN, SHE KNOWS THE ANSWER FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE.
I KNOW THAT WE WERE, UH, TRYING TO KEEP THE MEETING MOVING, BUT, UM, CHIEF, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING UP THAT RHONDA IS RETIRING BECAUSE EVERYONE AROUND THIS HORSESHOE HAS BEEN SUCH A FAN OF HER WORK AND SHE DEFINITELY KNOWS HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, UM, THE NUMBERS ARE WHERE THE NUMBERS SHOULD BE AND SHE KNOWS HOW TO EXPLAIN IT TO US SO THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND IT CLEARLY.
SO RHONDA, ON BEHALF OF THE ENTIRE CITY COUNCIL AND THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND WE WISH YOU THE VERY BEST IN YOUR RETIREMENT AND ENJOY THOSE GRANDKIDS,
OKAY, CHIEF MUNOZ, YOU'RE IN THE HOT SEAT.
YEAH, A LITTLE BIT OF A PUN INTENDED.
ALL RIGHT, SO TODAY ON THE FIRE DEPARTMENT SLIDES, AGAIN, WE'LL GO OVER THE OVERTIME OVERVIEW, LOOK AT SOME OF THE HISTORICAL FIGURES, UM, AND WHERE WE ARE FISCAL YEAR 26 YEAR TO DATE, AND THEN LOOK AT THE RESPONSE TIMES AND HOW THEY'VE IMPROVED AND THEN THE, UH, IMPROVEMENT OF THE UNIT AVAILABILITY AS WELL.
UM, SO CHIEF, IF YOU WANNA GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF THE OVERVIEW ON THE FIRST SLIDE.
UM, SO HFB RELIES ON OVERTIME TO MAINTAIN THE DAILY MINIMUM STAFFING AND PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR SPECIAL EVENTS AND NATURAL DISASTERS AND AS WELL AS PERFORMING ARSON AND INSPECT INSPECTION SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UM, OVERTIME COSTS ARE FUNDED, UM, THROUGH THE GENERAL FUND.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT WE HAVE A MINIMUM STAFFING, UH, OF 849 WRITING POSITIONS.
THIS IS A NUMBER, UH, THAT IS NEEDED AND IS REQUIRED TO FILL THE SEATS ON THE APPARATUS, UH, AND THE DAILY STAFFING TO FIRE STATIONS, AS WELL AS DISPATCH CENTERS AND SPECIAL FIRE OPERATIONS GROUPS SUCH AS HAZMAT, WILD LAND AND SO FORTH.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GETTING OUR OVERTIME, UH, ISSUES THAT OR YOU MIGHT, UM, THAT WE'RE GONNA BE DISCUSSING TODAY.
SO WHAT YOU'LL SEE NEXT IS FOR THE SECOND QUARTER OF, UH, FISCAL YEAR 2026, HFD AVERAGED 812 MEMBERS ASSIGNED TO EACH OF THE FOUR SHIFTS, UH, OBLIGATIONS THAT REDUCE THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS AVAILABLE
[00:45:01]
INCLUDE THE NECESSARY TRAINING SUCH AS PARAMEDIC SCHOOL AND THE USAGE OF ACCRUED BENEFIT TIMES SUCH AS SICK VACATION, UH, GUARANTEED HOLIDAYS, FMLA, WORKMAN'S COMP, EVERYTHING THAT COMES WITH THAT AS THE OBLIGATED, UH, TIME OFF THAT IS, THAT IS REQUESTED.SO THIS SLIDE SHOWS OUR QUARTERLY, UH, SPENDING BY CATEGORY FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE FISCAL YEAR, UH, 2026 HFD EXPENDED 40.7 OF OVERTIME.
HOWEVER, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT WITH THIS NUMBER IT INCLUDES SOME OF THE, ON THAT, THE DISASTER THAT CAME UP, SPECIAL EVENTS THAT WAS REIMBURSABLE, WHICH COMES OUT TO APPROXIMATELY 3.7.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THAT NUMBER, WHICH IS NOT REIMBURSABLE, IT GOES THROUGH THE GENERAL FUND, NOT OUR GENERAL FUND.
THAT'S WHY THERE'S, IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT THAT THAT IS WHERE, WHERE, UH, WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT.
CASE IN 0.1, 0.5 WAS SPENT SUPPORTING FIREFIGHTING SERVICES, UH, AT THE HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM AND 2.2 MILLION FOR NATURAL DISASTERS, UH, FOR DEPLOYMENT AND, UH, FOR DA DRIVEN ACTIVITY NUMBER OF 300, 3.7 MILLION.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS GIVES YOU THE, UM, THE HISTORICAL PICTURE OF FISCAL YEAR 24, 25, AND THEN 26 WHERE WE ARE YEAR TO DATE.
UH, I WON'T GO THROUGH THE 24 AND 25 NUMBERS SINCE WE DID THAT LAST QUARTER, BUT FISCAL YEAR 26 YEAR TO DATE, UM, AS THE CHIEF MENTIONED, WHERE WE ARE SO FAR, UM, IS EXPENDED ABOUT, UH, $40.8 MILLION, UM, FOR THE FIRST TWO QUARTERS OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
AND AGAIN, UM, SIMILAR TO IN PREVIOUS YEARS, WE WILL BE LOOKING IN, UH, ALL THE OTHER AREAS OF THE BUDGET TO IDENTIFY WHERE OFFSETS CAN BE.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS HAD, UM, A LOT MORE SUCCESS IN PREVIOUS YEARS, UM, IN TERMS OF THEIR RECRUITMENT, WHICH MEANS, UM, IT'S A GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE, WHICH MEANS THAT WE WON'T HAVE AS MUCH BASE PAY SAVINGS TO OFFSET THE OVERTIME AS WE HAVE IN PREVIOUS YEARS.
UM, BUT AGAIN, THAT SPEAKS TO, UM, REALLY THE IMPROVEMENT IN THE RECRUITMENT AND THE RETENTION, WHICH YOU CAN SEE IN THE HEADCOUNT FIGURES, UM, ON THE BOTTOM LINE OF EACH OF THE BOXES BELOW.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, YOU'LL SEE WHERE WE'RE TRENDING SO FAR AND SOME OF THE MONTHS WE ARE BELOW THE PREVIOUS YEAR AND SOME MONTHS ABOVE THE, THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
BUT SO FAR, PRETTY MUCH TRENDING ON PACE WITH FISCAL YEAR 25 WHEN YOU AVERAGE ALL THE MONTHS OUT TOGETHER.
THEN ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS SHOWS YOU THE NUMBER OF HOURS AND AGAIN, REALLY LIKE I MENTIONED, SOME MONTHS ABOVE THE PREVIOUS YEAR, SOME MONTHS BELOW THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
UM, I DON'T KNOW, CHIEF, IF THERE'S ANY PARTICULAR EVENTS YOU WANNA SPEAK TO.
YEAH, IF I WANNA, IF YOU LOOK AT THE PEAK TIME BETWEEN, UH, DECEMBER AND JANUARY, THAT WAS THE FREEZE THAT WE HAD TO DEAL WITH.
UM, SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THAT PEAK TIME THAT, THAT WHAT CAME UP THE LAST YEAR IS WHERE WE HAD, UM, YOU REMEMBER IN THE WORST A SNOWSTORM OR IN 52 YEARS AND THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THAT INCREASE.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I'LL LET THE CHIEF SPEAK TO THIS.
THIS IS WHERE WE'LL GET INTO THE RESPONSE TIMES AND, AND HOW THEY'RE TRENDING.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE RESPONSE TIMES AND THE VARIANCE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE IMPROVED BY 20 SECONDS.
WE NOT, MIGHT NOT SEEM LIKE A LOT, BUT THAT IS A HUGE IMPROVEMENT AND THAT'S DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE MEMBERS COMING IN, TAKING THOSE SEATS THAT ORIGINALLY WERE EMPTY.
UH, AND THAT IS ALLOWING THAT FASTER RESPONSE TIME.
AND AS WELL AS IF YOU LOOK AT NOW THE VARIANCE IN THE SECOND QUARTER, WE'RE DEFINITELY COMING DOWN SOME MORE, RIGHT? IF WE LOOK AT DECEMBER, YOU KNOW, 13 AND 32 SECONDS.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT, UH, THERE'S THAT VARIANCE THAT IS DEFINITELY HELPING US, UH, WITH THAT, WITH THAT VARI, WITH THAT VARIANCE INTO GET THERE AT A FASTER TIME.
SO THAT IS AGAIN, ATTRIBUTED TO THE AMOUNT OF LESS BROWNOUTS OR UNITS OUTTA SERVICE AND MEMBERS COMING TO DEFINITELY FILLING THOSE SEATS THAT ARE NECESSARY.
AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, SLIDE 14, YOU'LL SEE THE UNIT AVAILABILITY, WHICH CHIEF MENTIONED FEWER UNITS OUTTA SERVICE.
THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO CAPTURE.
I KNOW THAT SOME PEOPLE WANNA LOOK AT THE FIVE YEAR AVERAGE OF WHAT WAS HAD, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE FIVE YEAR AVERAGE OF WHAT WE'RE BRINGING COMPARED TO, YOU'RE LOOKING AT COVID, YOU'RE LOOKING AT LOW MORALE, PEOPLE NOT COMING INTO WORK BECAUSE OF THE LOW MORALE AND THE WAY IT WAS STRUCTURED.
AND AGAIN, OUR ATTRITION RATE WAS HIGHER THAN PEOPLE COMING IN.
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THAT, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT ALL THE UNITS ARE NOW BEING STAFFED.
SO THEREFORE YOU SEE THAT UNITS THAT WERE UNAVAILABLE LAST YEAR WHEN WE STARTED, YOU'RE LOOKING AT, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT WE STARTED CAPTURING THIS IN JULY.
[00:50:01]
THIS, SO THERE WAS NOTHING TO COMPARE.BUT IF YOU LOOK AT JUST FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER LAST YEAR WE WERE 121 UNITS OUTTA SERVICE THIS YEAR WAS 21.
AND THOSE NUMBERS KEEP ON IMPROVING.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE PERCENTAGES, WE'VE, UH, DECREASED BY 91% HITTING 92 NOW.
SO THAT'S AGAIN A TESTAMENT TO OUR MEMBERS WITH THE HIGH MORALE, UH, MAYOR WHITMEYER SUPPORT AND THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT AS WELL.
THAT IS NOW WE'RE SEEING THOSE EFFECTS, UH, THAT ARE POSITIVE FOR US AND AS WELL AS FOR THE RESIDENTS OF HOUSTON.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, CHIEF IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO THE RECRUITMENT AND THE RETENTION EFFORTS AND HOW WE'RE TRENDING SO FAR.
YEAH, SO WE'RE, IF YOU CAN SEE STARTING ON FISCAL YEAR 20, UH, FIVE, OUR ATTRITION RATE AND THE GRADUATION RATE IS HIGHER THAN THE ATTRITION RATE NOW.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT YOU SEE IN THE LIGHT BLUE ARE REHIRES THAT IN THE PROGRAM THAT WE STARTED IN SUPPORT WITH YOU ALL AS WELL.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THAT, OUR TOTAL ALL NUMBERS WERE 290 ADDITIONAL PEOPLE AS COMPARED TO THE 180 7 ATTRITION RATE.
SO THESE, AND THEN PROJECTED, IF YOU LOOK AT THE PROPOSED FOR FISCAL YEAR 26, WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA BE ABOVE THAT ATTRITION RATE.
AND JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, RIGHT NOW THROUGH DECEMBER, WE'RE AT 98% OR 98 PEOPLE ALREADY ATTRITION ABOVE THE 77%, UH, PEOPLE THAT ARE LEAVING.
SO AN ADDITIONAL 98 CADETS ARE GONNA BE GRADUATING.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW AS OF TO DATE.
SO THAT WAS, THAT CONCLUDES THAT.
UM, VICE MAYOR PRO TEM PECK, THANK YOU CHAIR.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, FOR THE REIMBURSEMENTS, UM, THAT $3 MILLION OR SO, UM, DOES THAT INCLUDE, UM, THE WILDLAND GROUP THAT WE, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CAMAN AND I DID THAT BUDGET AMENDMENT, UM, ABOUT, UM, THE MONEY GETTING REIMBURSED BACK TO THE DEPARTMENT FOR THAT GROUP'S EXPENDITURES WHEN WE GET THE REIMBURSEMENTS? SO WE, WE DON'T GET THAT.
UM, IT ALL COMES FROM OUR GENERAL FUND AND THAT ONCE IT GOES OUT, SO I HAVE THIS POCKET OF MONEY THAT ALLOWS ME THE 43 MILLION TO HANDLE ALL THE OVERTIME, NOT JUST MINIMUM STAFFING, WHICH A, WHICH IS A REQUIREMENT, UH, THAT WE HAVE.
SO THAT IS A GOOD PERCENTAGE, 88% OF THAT.
BUT EVERYTHING ELSE THAT IS UNFORESEEN NATURAL DISASTERS, WE DO HAVE SPECIAL EVENTS, UNSANCTIONED EVENTS AND AGAIN, WE'RE ALWAYS PART, YOU KNOW, ASSISTING OUR HPD UH, COUNTERPARTS IN ANY REQUESTS THEY MIGHT HAVE FOR THAT.
SO THAT ALL COMES AT THE EXPENSE OF OVERTIME.
THAT IS MY OVERALL BUDGET THAT, UH, BUT I DO NOT GET REIMBURSED FOR THAT FOR, IT DOESN'T COME BACK TO US, IT GOES INTO THE GENERAL FUND.
SO, UM, ONCE IT'S IN THE GENERAL FUND, IT'S, IT'S WITH THE REST OF THE REVENUES IN THE GENERAL FUND, HOWEVER, WE CAN TRACK IT BASED ON THE GENERAL LEDGER ACCOUNT AND THE COST CENTER.
UM, SO WE CAN PROVIDE YOU AN UPDATE WITH HOW MUCH WE'VE RECEIVED BACK FOR THOSE SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES.
AND SO FOR THAT BUDGET AMENDMENT, THAT MONEY IS SUPPOSED TO GO BACK TO HFD, UM, SO IS THAT INCLUDED IN JUST YOUR OVERALL, UM, BUDGET THAT YOU HAVE FOR OVERTIME? WHEN WE RUN REPORTS FOR HOW MUCH REVENUE THERE IS ATTRIBUTED WITH HFDS, I'M GETTING TECHNICAL, BUT WHEN YOU RUN REPORTS IN SAP, IT'S BASED ON BUSINESS AREA, WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO A DEPARTMENT.
YOU CAN SEE THAT REVENUE IS WITHIN THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS DEPARTMENT.
I DUNNO IF THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION KIND OF.
UM, BUT THE BUDGET AMENDMENT, YOU KNOW, THE MONEY'S SUPPOSED TO GO BACK TO THAT DEPARTMENT.
SO I'LL, I'LL GET WITH YOU AFTERWARDS AND UM, ABOUT IT MORE.
BUT IS THAT MONEY, THE, UM, THE $3.7 MILLION OF OVERTIME EXPENDITURES THAT HAVE BEEN REIMBURSED TO THE GENERAL FUND, DOES THAT INCLUDE THE REIMBURSEMENT FROM THE WILDLAND? WHAT WAS THE WILD, EXCUSE ME, WHAT WAS THE LAST QUESTION? UM, THE $3.7 MILLION THAT YOU SAID THAT, UM, HAVE BEEN REIMBURSED TO THE GENERAL FUND, UM, FOR HFD OVERTIME EXPENDITURES THAT INCLUDES THAT AMOUNT FOR THE WILDLAND YES.
THAT INCLUDE WELL, AND THOSE NUMBERS KEEP ON COMING.
'CAUSE REMEMBER WE DO SUBMIT OUR, OUR PAPERWORK TO THE STATE, UM, ALONG WITH ALL THE EXPENSES THAT COME WITH THAT.
AND UM, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT WHEN WE DO THAT, THEY'RE ACTUALLY PAYING FOR THE DOUBLE TIME.
I MEAN THE OVERTIME FOR BOTH THE BACKFILL AND THAT, BUT THAT DOES NOT, I MEAN, AND BOTTOM LINE, THE CREDIT DOES NOT COME TO US, BUT IT GOES TO THE GENERAL FUND.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT.
UM, LOOKING AT THE OVERTIME JULY OF 2025, THAT INCLUDED HURRICANE BARREL, DIDN'T IT? YES.
SO THAT WAS A SIGNIFICANT EVENT? YES.
[00:55:01]
THE FACT THAT YOU ALSO HAVE A HEAD COUNT THAT'S 103 MORE THIS YEAR THAN LAST YEAR, WHAT'S, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT, SIR? I'M SORRY.WHAT SLIDE ARE YOU LOOKING AT? OR IS IT JUST YOUR NOTES? UH, YOUR RECRUITING RETENTION VERSUS YOUR, YOUR, UH, LET'S SEE.
THAT YOU BROUGHT ON LOST A HUNDRED, 187 PLUS YOU ALSO HAD 27 REENTERS.
I WOULD'VE THOUGHT WITH THAT AND WITH HURRICANE BARREL, THAT YOUR OVERTIME SPEND WOULD'VE BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN WHAT IT WAS THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
YET IT'S RUNNING ABOUT THE SAME.
WELL, AND IT'S IMPORTANT ALSO TO KNOW THAT FOR ALMOST SEVEN, EIGHT YEARS, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO SEND PEOPLE TO A PARAMEDIC SCHOOL.
WE WEREN'T ABLE TO GET THE NECESSARY TRAINING TO EXPAND ON THE NEEDS OF THE CITY AS WELL AS THE DEPARTMENT.
CASE IN POINT, WE WERE ONLY ABLE TO SEND HISTORICALLY 25 PARAMEDICS, HOWEVER, THIS TIME AROUND THAT EXTRA NUMBER BECAUSE EVERY TIME WE SEND A A, A FIREFIGHTER TO PARAMEDIC SCHOOL, WHICH IS A HUGE NEED, AND THE PARAMEDICS HAD BEEN CARRYING TO WEIGHT FOR A LONG TIME, WE HAVE TO ONE BACKFILL THAT POSITION.
RIGHT? SO IF I PULL A FIREFIGHTER OUTTA THE STATION TO GO TO PARAMEDIC SCHOOL, WHICH PARAMEDIC SCHOOL JUST ALONE IS 10 MONTHS.
AND THEN THE CREDENTIALING THAT WE DO FOR CITY OF HOUSTON IS APPROXIMATELY FOUR TO SIX MONTHS THAT THEY HAVE TO DO THE HANDS-ON.
SO YOU HAVE A, A FIREFIGHTER THAT'S BEEN TAKEN OUTTA THIS STATION FOR THE NEED OF PARAMEDICS FOR A YEAR AND A HALF.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THAT, THAT THOSE NUMBERS HELP, UH, ALLOW US TO DO WHAT WE COULDN'T DO IN THE PAST, YOU KNOW, 25 PARAMEDICS, WHICH THEN AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT WHY, YOU KNOW, THE MORALE IS LOW.
WELL, YOU, SIR, IT WAS VERY COMMON TO HAVE A PARAMEDIC BEFORE THE ADDITIONAL PARAMEDICS THAT WE HAD HAVE TO BE HELD OVER TO MAINTAIN THE MINIMUM STAFFING.
TWO, SOMETIMES TWO TO THREE DAYS.
BUT WHAT I'M SAYING IS PEOPLE SEE THINGS COMING IN.
WHAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO SEE, IT'S WHAT'S BEING ALLOWED FOR US, WHAT WE CAN DO NOW.
SO ESSENTIALLY, YOU WERE CATCHING UP FROM PROBLEMS HUNDRED, KIND OF WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN OTHER MATTERS WITH DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, AND WE WERE CATCHING UP WITH WHAT WE COULDN'T DO IN THE PAST.
WE HAVE A BETTER FIRE DEPARTMENT.
AND CHIEF, BEFORE I DIVE IN, I DO WANNA THANK YOU THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT FROM, UH, YOU KNOW, THE INSPECTIONS, LIFE SAFETY INSPECTIONS AT PROPERTIES LIKE LIFE OF JACKSON, RIGHT? OR THE RESPONSE TO THE MULTIPLE FIRES THERE.
THE WILDLAND DIVISION AND THE SERVICE THEY PROVIDE THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF TEXAS AND IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY.
OUR TASK FORCE IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT THEY, THEY DID, UH, DEPLOY.
WE HAD 28 DEPLOYED AT KERRVILLE DURING THE YEAH.
UH, IT, IT'S, WE ARE HELPING, UH, IN MANY, MANY WAYS AND TO THE NEW PARTNERSHIP ON THE DRONES, RIGHT? ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE ARE PARTNERING TOGETHER.
UM, AS I BROUGHT UP, UM, WITH CHIEF HARDEN, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE US STARTING TO ACCOUNT FOR, IN A MORE PRECISE WAY.
AGAIN, EVERY YEAR IT'S DIFFERENT WITH NATURAL DISASTERS, BUT WE KNOW THAT THEY'RE GONNA HAPPEN.
OR EXTREME WEATHER IF IT'S NOT TECHNICALLY A DISASTER, BUT WE KNOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE MORE FREEZES.
SO BEING ABLE TO CALCULATE THAT OR PREPARE FOR THAT IN THE BUDGET, UM, I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE THAT FOR OUR NEXT BUDGET CYCLE, UM, IN A MORE ENCOMPASSING WAY.
OF COURSE, WE COULD PRESENT THE, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE.
UM, THE ADDITIONALLY, YOU KNOW, I GET THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ON CATCHING UP, RIGHT? UH, SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PARAMEDIC SCHOOL, THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE PAYING FOR AS A CITY.
WE ARE PAYING FOR THAT SCHOOLING, WHICH IS IMPORTANT.
BUT WITH THE COST OF WHAT THAT WAS GOING TO BE, DID WE, DID WE CALCULATE WHAT THE COST OF THAT ADDITIONAL OVERTIME WAS GONNA BE WHILE THEY'RE AT SCHOOL? UM, THERE'S COSTS THAT WE'RE NOT TEASING OUT FULLY THAT WE'RE NOW HAVING TO MAKE UP FOR.
UH, ONE QUESTION I HAD RELATED TO THE BUDGET, UM, IT'S IN THE CONTRACT, SO I RECOGNIZE THAT.
BUT IN TERMS OF OVERTIME, WE ARE ON A DIFFERENT SHIFT SCHEDULE THAN THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THE REST OF THE STATE OF TEXAS IN THEIR DEPARTMENTS.
WERE WE ON A DIFFERENT SHIFT SCHEDULE? WOULD WE HAVE THE SAME TYPE OF OVERTIME CHALLENGES? THAT'S A VERY DIFFICULT QUESTION, BECAUSE THEY DO HAVE, DEPEND, REGARDLESS OF WHAT IT IS, IT'S GONNA HAVE TO BE 46.7 HOURS THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO DO.
BUT IF THERE'S AN APPETITE TO CHANGE THAT, WE CAN DEFINITELY START, YOU KNOW, REVIEWING AHEAD.
BUT AGAIN, I CAUTION THAT THERE IS, THAT, THAT THE 46.7 HOURS STILL HAVE TO BE MET.
WE SWITCH OVER, THEN THERE IS STILL GONNA BE,
[01:00:01]
YOU STILL HAVE YOUR ATTRITION RATES THAT HA ARE GONNA BE MET THAT ARE, WE MIGHT NOT ACCOUNT FOR.WE STILL HAVE EVERYTHING THAT'S NECESSARY.
AND WE COULD SIT DOWN WITH YOU AND, AND SHOW YOU THE, THE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, AT, I'D LIKE TO SIT DOWN WITH YOU AND, AND PRESENT THAT TO YOU IF POSSIBLE.
AGAIN, I THINK THE QUESTION IS JUST, YEAH, I UNDERSTAND THE, THE CONTRACTUAL CONSTRAINTS AND OBLIGATIONS.
IT'S, WOULD WE HAVE THE SAME STAFFING CHALLENGES ON A DIFFERENT SHIFT SCHEDULE? I WOULD SAY THAT THERE WOULD BE SOME STAFFING CHALLENGES TOO.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT GETTING, WITHOUT LOOKING INTO WHAT, WHAT, WHAT COULD HAPPEN.
BUT I WOULD SEE THAT THERE WOULD BE SOME CHALLENGES AS WELL.
UH, THANK YOU CHIEF FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I WANTED TO ASK YOU ABOUT SLIDE NUMBER 15, WHICH IS THE BAR CHART SHOWING, UM, CADET GRADUATES REHIRES VERSUS CLASSIFIED ATTRITION.
SO FOR FY 26 THROUGH DECEMBER, UH, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'VE ADDED 98, UH, CADET GRADS AND REHIRES.
UM, WE WERE PROJECTED TO ADD 361 OVER THE FULL FISCAL YEAR.
UM, SO JUST LOOKING AT THESE TWO STATISTICS, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE, WE'RE BEHIND ON THAT.
IS THAT, IS THAT ACCURATE OR, UM, BEHIND ON THE GOAL THAT WE'VE SET, YES.
IS THAT UHHUH?
WE, WE'VE BROKEN THAT RECORD THE FIRST YEAR.
AND SO WHEN WE'RE SEEING THAT, IT'S FILLING UP THE GAP THAT WASN'T ALLOWED.
AGAIN, LOOKING AT THE APPROACH THAT WE TOOK, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, I'M PROUD OF WHAT THE ACADEMY HAS DONE, WHAT OUR COMMAND STAFF HAS DONE.
HISTORICALLY, IT WOULD TAKE, IT WAS 2.5 MILLION PER FULL TERM CLASS, WHICH MEANS 10 MONTHS, WHICH CAME OUT TO 10 MILLION A YEAR.
THE RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT WAS AT PRESS, MAYBE 55% OF CADETS, WHICH WAS THE LAST NUMBER WE HEARD WAS 165.
THAT'S NOT A GOOD RETURN ON INVESTMENT IF WE'RE TRYING TO BE FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE.
WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT NOW IS WE'VE ESTABLISHED THE FAST TRACK, WHICH ELIMINATES WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IF THEY'RE FULLY CERTIFIED E-M-T-E-M-S, UH, OR FIREFIGHTER OR PARAMEDIC, THAT SHRINKS IT DOWN TO EIGHT WEEKS FOR US, WHICH IS 2, 250 TO 300,000.
SO THAT'S A HUGE SAVING FOR THE CITY.
SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GET FIVE CLASSES LAST YEAR, AND WITH THAT RATE, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS INCREASING.
LIKE I'VE SAID BEFORE, IT WAS A TIME WE MIGHT ONLY GET 60 PEOPLE SHOW UP FOR CIVIL SERVICE.
WE GOT 220 AVERAGE, NOW WE HAVE A ONE YEAR WAITING LIST.
SO, LOOKING AT THOSE NUMBERS, WHICH WE HAVEN'T SEEN IN A LONG, LONG TIME, HAVING PEOPLE SIGNED UP TRYING TO GET INTO THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT.
SO I WOULD SAY THAT WE ARE GOING IN A POSITIVE WAY THAT WE ARE, ARE WE CLOSING THE GAP? WE'RE ABSOLUTELY CLOSING THE GAP.
CASE IN POINT THIS MORNING, I, I ALWAYS STOP AT THE, THE STAFFING OFFICE, SEE WHAT IT'S LOOKING LIKE.
WE ONLY HAD 70 PEOPLE ON OVERTIME AS OPPOSED TO 120, 130 IS HISTORICALLY.
SO WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THAT.
BUT WE HAVE, WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE UP WHAT'S HAPPENED IN THE LAST SEVEN TO 10 YEARS.
AND THERE WAS A TIME THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR MORALE WAS EXTREMELY LOW.
AND THE QUESTION WAS, WHY SHOULD I GO WORK FOR HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT NOW THAT QUESTION'S BEING ANSWERED.
YEAH, I WANT TO GO WORK WITH THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT.
SO THOSE NUMBERS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE PROUD OF BECAUSE IT IS ONE OF THOSE THAT, UM, THAT IS DEFINITELY GOING ON A POSITIVE SIDE FOR US, AND WE'RE ABLE TO DO MORE.
WE'RE ABLE TO SEE MORE, WE'RE ABLE TO SEE THE REDUCTION IN OVERTIME.
AND AGAIN, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IN THE LAST 18 MONTHS.
YEAH, I'D SAY, I WOULD SAY THAT THOSE NUMBERS ARE WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AND SURPASS WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY TOLD WE COULD NOT DO, WHICH WE HAVE.
THERE'S NO GOING BACK IN THE QUEUE ON THESE ROUNDS, I APOLOGIZE.
BUT, UH, IF YOU WANNA SUBMIT A, A QUESTION IN WRITING, I'LL MAKE SURE ALL IT GETS ANSWERED IN ALL THE BFA.
THERE WILL BE MORE OPPORTUNITIES AT THE LAST TWO ITEMS TO ASK MORE QUESTIONS.
GREAT PRESENTATION FROM YOU BOTH.
I WANT TO JUST SAY, COMMEND YOU FOR THESE NUMBERS INDICATE NOT ONLY MORALE, BUT MOTIVATION, BUT ALSO ATTRACTION.
UH, YOUR LEADERSHIP IS REALLY PROVEN NOT TO BE.
'CAUSE WE TRY TO MAKE ALL THE GRADUATIONS THAT YOU HAVE
[01:05:01]
AND SHOWING, UM, THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO, WHO COME BACK THE REHIRES.I MEAN, LOOK AT THAT NUMBER 27 REHIRES THAT CAME BACK.
AND I'M SURE IN, IN THE NEAR COMING, THAT NUMBER'S GONNA GET HIGHER AND HIGHER.
UM, YOUR PROPOSED 360 1 VERSE 2 6 3 IS STILL IN MY POINT OF VIEW, GREAT.
UH, A NUMBER BECAUSE OF WHERE WE WERE.
AND SO I WANT TO COMMEND YOU ON THAT AND THAT TO CONTINUE.
BUT YOU DID BREAK THE NUMBER AS PROPOSED FOR ONE 70 IN YEAR 26 TO 180 7 MM-HMM
SO THAT, THAT, THAT SHOWS THAT YOU ARE GOING IN THE UPWARD DIRECTION.
AND SO JUST WANT TO COMMEND YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND WHAT YOU'RE DOING, AND CERTAINLY TO THE MEN AND WOMEN, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE CREDIT'S DUE TO OBVIOUSLY MAYOR WHITMEYER YOU ALL FOR THE SUPPORT YOU GIVE US, MORE IMPORTANTLY THE COMMAND STAFF THAT WE HAVE, THE MEMBERS THAT WE HAVE, UH, THE CREDIT GOES TO THEM.
THAT'S ALL WE HAVE FOR YOU, CHIEF MUNOZ.
AND THE FINAL OVERTIME PRESENTATION BEFORE WE GO TO THE CONTROLLER'S PRESENTATION ON OVERTIME WILL BE FROM LARRY HASSAN, DIRECTOR OF SOLID WASTE.
AND I KNOW, AND COLLEAGUES, WE ARE ALL VERY GRATEFUL FOR EVERYTHING THAT EVERYBODY DOES IN THE CITY, BUT LET'S LIMIT THE THANK YOUS.
SO, UM,
UM, SO FOR THE DEPARTMENT, OVERTIME'S AVAILABLE FROM, UH, NOT ONLY THE GENERAL FUND, BUT ALSO TWO SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS FOR THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND THE DEPARTMENT, UM, DOES UTILIZE OVERTIME FOR MINIMUM STAFFING, WHICH I'LL LET THE DIRECTOR, UM, TOUCH ON.
WE TRY TO UTILIZE OVERTIME FOR EMERGENCY PURPOSES.
UH, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT IT DILIGENTLY TO MAKE SURE WE ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THE CITY.
UH, THE MAIN PURPOSE OF OUR OVERTIME IS TO BASICALLY CATCH UP, UM, ON DAILY ROUTES, UH, DEPENDING ON THE FLEET AVAILABILITY, ALSO THE AMOUNT OF STAFF THAT WE HAVE TO SHOW UP ON ANY PARTICULAR DAY, PLUS THE WAIT TIMES AT OUR TRANSFER STATIONS AND ALSO AT OUR RECYCLING CENTER.
UH, SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I THINK YOU DID COVER SOME OF THIS ALREADY.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS SLIDE TO TOUCH ON? YES.
SO THE MAJORITY OF OUR OVERTIME COMES ON HOLIDAYS.
UM, I HAVE TO GIVE CREDIT TO THE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT STAFF FOR THE WAY THAT WE'VE HANDLED THE HOLIDAYS HERE RECENTLY.
BETWEEN, UM, THANKSGIVING ALL THE WAY UNTIL THE NEW YEAR, UH, WE HAD BEEN BEEN BEHIND ON TRASH AND RECYCLING FOR SEVERAL WEEKS AT A TIME FOR ONE PARTICULAR HOLIDAY.
AND I CAN HONESTLY, UM, SAY THAT WE WENT OFF ALMOST WITHOUT A HITCH OVER THESE LAST HOLIDAYS IN WHICH, UM, WE HAD COLLECTIONS DONE BY EITHER THE VERY NEXT DAY OR A DAY AND A HALF ON TRASH AND RECYCLING.
SO, UH, THE FIVE DAY WORK WEEK PLUS SATURDAY FOR CATCH UP, UH, DAILY ABSENTEEISM WITH THE FMLA CALLINGS 15% ROCK COVERAGE.
WE SERVICE 400,000 PLUS HOMES, UH, 150,000 OF THEM DAILY, UM, WITH TRASH AND RECYCLING AND THE SERVICE LINES RECOVER, UH, GARBAGE RECYCLING, HEAVY TRASH TREE AND YARD WASTE.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, AGAIN, I WON'T GO THROUGH THE NUMBERS FOR 24 AND 25 SINCE WE DID THAT LAST QUARTER.
UM, BUT FISCAL YEAR 26 WHERE WE'RE, UM, TRENDING SO FAR, UH, THE ACTUALS ARE COMING IN AROUND 3.4, $3.5 MILLION FOR THE FIRST TWO QUARTERS.
UH, SO WE'RE PRETTY MUCH ON PACE, I WOULD SAY WITH THE PREVIOUS TWO YEARS AS FAR AS WHERE OUR ACTUALS ARE.
AND AGAIN, WE WILL OF COURSE LOOK OVER THE BUDGET FOR ANY OTHER AREAS WHERE WE CAN FIND SAVINGS.
UM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT'S GONNA BE HARDER THIS YEAR IN THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT, AND IT HAS BEEN HISTORICALLY AS WELL.
THIS IS NOT A, UM, AND I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT IT LAST QUARTER, BUT IT'S NOT A NEW TREND, UM, FOR THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT TO, UH, NEED ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO, UH, TO SUPPORT THEIR OPERATIONS.
SO ON SLIDE 20, UM, THIS GIVES YOU THE MONTHLY BREAKDOWN AS FAR AS DOLLARS BY MONTH.
UM, I DON'T KNOW, UH, DIRECTOR IF THERE'S ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR
[01:10:01]
YOU WANT TO, UM, POINT OUT ON, ON THIS SLIDE.BUT GENERALLY, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE TRENDING.
SOME, SOME MONTHS ARE OVER, SOME MONTHS ARE UNDER, BUT GENERALLY WE'RE TRENDING IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS WE WERE FOR THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR.
AND THEN AGAIN ON SLIDE 21, UM, THIS IS THE NUMBER OF OVERTIME HOURS.
AGAIN, LIKE I MENTIONED, SOME MONTHS ARE OVER, SOME MONTHS ARE UNDER, BUT GENERALLY TRENDING, UH, TOWARDS THE SAME BOTTOM LINE FOR THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR AS THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
AND THEN ON THE LAST SLIDE, IF THE DIRECTOR, UH, UH, WANTS TO TALK ABOUT THE, THE NEW HIRES AND THE ATTRITION, YES, WE'VE, UM, BEEN FORTUNATE TO HIRE ABOUT, UH, 19 NEW DRIVERS, WHICH HAVE BEEN, UH, A TREMENDOUS HELP.
AND I WANTED TO THANK COUNCIL AND MAYOR WHITMEYER FOR THE NEW TRUCKS THAT WE GOT, AND ALSO, UM, TO DIRECT THE GLASSCOCK AND FLEET.
WE'RE ACTUALLY GETTING MORE TRUCKS UP AND AVAILABLE FOR OUR DRIVERS.
UM, SO THE, OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, IT IS BEEN A GREAT, GREAT, UM, INCREASE ON OUR OPERATION AS FAR AS BEING ABLE TO HIRE, UH, NEW DRIVERS.
THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION.
WHY YOU WEARING BLACK? YOU THINK YOU'RE SEEING A GRIM REAPER? WHAT'S GOING ON? UM, NUMBER ONE, UM, I SUPPORT YOUR LEADERSHIP AND I WANT YOU TO WIN.
AND I KNOW THE NUMBERS DISCUSSED AS DIRECTOR MENTIONED, THIS IS NOT NEW INFORMATION FOR US.
UM, THIS IS JUST THE PRACTICE AND HOW WE INVEST OR MAYBE NOT INVEST IN SOLID WASTE, RIGHT? YES, MA'AM.
UM, UM, BUT TWO CHALLENGES THAT I CONTINUE TO RUN INTO IN MY OFFICE AND WHAT I'M HEARING IN COMMUNITY NUMBER ONE, UM, UM, WHEN WE ARE DELAYED AND WHEN WE HAVE TO DISPATCH, UM, EMERGENCY OVER TIME, RIGHT? CLEARING OF UP FOR SOLID WASTE, AND WE, WE COMMUNICATE THE PROTOCOL OF CALL 3 1 1, LET US KNOW WHERE IT IS AND WE SEND THIS UP TO SOLID WAYS.
AND THEN IF A TRUCKER ARRIVES, THEY JUST GO TO THAT LOCATION AND THEN PASS THE ENTIRE STREET.
RIGHT? SO WE, WE CONSISTENTLY GET THAT TYPE OF FEEDBACK, UM, IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, THEY JUST WENT TO THAT ONE HOME REPORTED AND THEN THE ENTIRE STREET STILL HAS THE DELAY.
THAT'S THE FIRST THING IN TERMS OF EFFICIENCY, BECAUSE I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THE OVERTIME AND INVESTING, AS LONG AS WE'RE CLEARING OUR NEIGHBORHOODS AND WE'RE DOING WHAT WE HAVE TO DO, PAY THE PEOPLE THEIR MONEY TO DO THAT.
IT'S, I I CAN SEND YOU, IT'S ALL TYPES OF STUFF.
I'M, I'M GONNA ASSUME IT'S HEAVY TRASH.
AND SO I KNOW THAT THERE'S DIFFERENT, BUT WHEN PEOPLE ARE CALLING 3 1 1 OR THEY'RE CALLING THE OFFICE, THEY RIGHT.
RIGHT? AND THE SECOND THING IS, AND I KNOW THERE'S BEEN, WE, WE'VE APPROVED SUPPLEMENTED CONTRACTS TO ALLOW Y'ALL TO GO OUT THERE AND EXPAND YOUR FOOTPRINT.
BUT WITH THAT A, A REQUEST THAT MY OFFICE CONSISTENTLY MAKES THIS, LIKE WHEN Y'ALL GET THOSE THIRD PARTY CONTRACTS, HOW DO YOU PRIORITIZE THEIR EFFORT? AND IS THERE ANY NOTICE TO SAY WE'RE DOING ROUTES ON THE WEST SIDE, ON THE NORTH SIDE, SO WE CAN COMMUNICATE TO OUR NEIGHBORHOODS TO SAY, HEY, HEY, HEY, THEY'RE COMING BY THURSDAY, PULL IT OUT, TAKE IT OUT YOUR GARAGE.
AND THAT'S A LOT OF THE FEEDBACK WE HEAR IS WE PUT IT ON THE STREET, THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD LOOKS A MESS, THEY DON'T LIKE IT.
UM, AND THEY DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE A HEADS UP TO SAY, GET READY, THEY'RE COMING.
SO IF YES MA'AM, IF THERE'S ANY TYPE OF COMMUNICATION, YOUR TEAM, THEY'RE REALLY HELPFUL AND THEY RESPOND AND THEY'RE COMMUNICATIVE WITH US.
BUT THOSE ARE THE TWO THINGS THAT WE YES, MA'AM.
UM, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER, THANK YOU.
UM, THE REASON, AND I'M GONNA PRESENT, I HOPE AN ANSWER TO THOSE QUESTIONS HERE BECAUSE FROM A, FROM A STANDPOINT OF ACCOUNTABILITY, THE FIRST THING WE HAVE TO DO IS LOOK AT OURSELF IN THE MIRROR AND SEE WHAT, WHERE CAN WE BE MORE EFFICIENT.
UM, WE'VE TRIED A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT METHODS BEFORE I KICK OFF THIS MAIN METHOD OF WHAT I'M GONNA PRESENT LATER ON TO TRY TO MITIGATE SOME OF THE, THE PROBLEMS THAT WE HAD WHEN WE SENT CREWS TO AREAS.
AND THEN I FOUND OUT THEY WERE LIKE, OH YEAH, WE WENT TO THAT AREA, BUT WE APPRECIATE IT.
BUT YOU DIDN'T GET, YOU JUST GOT THIS STREET AND DIDN'T DO THE, THE NEXT STREET.
SO WE WERE HAVING TO GO BACK, LOOK AT OUR INTERNAL PROCESSES AND I HOPE AND PRAY THAT WE GOT IT RIGHT WITH WHAT WE GOT COMING.
YEAH, A LOT OF THESE OPERATIONAL, UM, YES MA'AM, UH, ITEMS WILL BE COVERED IN THE, IN THE LAST PRESENTATION, BUT I APPRECIATE THE QUESTIONS AND I HOPE YOU NOTED THOSE, THOSE THREE AREAS.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, UH, SPECIFICALLY ON OVERTIME, IF WE COULD KEEP, YEAH, YEAH.
I'VE GOT A QUESTION ON THE HEAD COUNT.
UM, 20 25, 4 47 THIS YEAR, 3 85.
[01:15:01]
YES SIR.I GO TO SLIDE 22 AND I DON'T SEE THAT REFLECTED.
NOW I ASSUME YOU TOOK A PRETTY BIG HIT WITH THE EARLY RETIREMENT BUYOUT.
SO ONE, ONE THING THAT WE WANTED TO DO IS THE, UH, THE LAST THING THAT I WANTED TO DO WAS HIRE MORE POSITIONS IN ONE AREA AND NEEDED IN OTHERS.
SO WITH THE NEW PROGRAM APPROACHING, WE LOOKED AT HOW WE COULD PERFORM WITH THE AMOUNT OF, I'M JUST GONNA GO IN TRASH AND RECYCLING.
WE'VE BEEN DOING PRETTY GOOD OVER THE LAST THREE MONTHS IN COLLECTING TRASH AND RECYCLING, IN WHICH WHEN I FIRST, UH, WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE THIS GREAT JOB THAT WHEN I ANALYZED IT, I HAD PROJECTED THAT I WAS GOING TO NEED MORE DRIVERS THAN IN HEAVY TRASH.
AND NOW WE MADE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY CHANGES THERE, WHICH CAUSED ME NOT TO HIRE THE SET AMOUNT OF DRIVERS THAT I INITIALLY THOUGHT TO TRY TO STAFF UP THE HEAVY TRASH DEAL.
THAT, THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M REFERRING TO WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
IF YOU LOOK AT SLIDE 22, IT SHOWS YOU WERE ONLY DOWN 10 IN 2025 THAT YOU LOST 55, TIRED 45.
BUT YET IF YOU LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, YOUR SLIDE 19 SHOWS YOU IN FROM 4 47 TO 3 85.
SO THERE ARE, I THINK WE MIGHT HAVE TO GIVE YOU A MORE DETAILED BREAKDOWN BECAUSE ON SLIDE 22, UM, THERE'S ONLY SELECTED JOB CLASSIFICATIONS IN HERE, WHICH I MAY PROBABLY NEED TO DEFINITELY ADD SOME NOTES.
UM, SO THERE ARE ADDITIONAL JOB CLASSIFICATIONS INCLUDED IN THE NUMBERS ON SLIDE TEAMS. OKAY, THANK YOU.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO GIVE YOU A BETTER BREAKDOWN.
THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT.
UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST, I WANTED TO THANK YOU AND AS I ALWAYS DO, I WANNA THANK EVERYONE IN SOLID WASTE.
UH, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OVERTIME, WHAT PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE IS THESE ARE, UH, FRONTLINE WORKERS OFTENTIMES WORKING SIX DAYS A WEEK.
STARTING AT SIX 6:00 AM ENDING AT FOUR 30 AT THE LATEST.
BUT SOMETIMES I SEE EVEN TRUCKS RIGHT.
WAY PAST THEM, THEY'RE STILL TRYING TO COMPLETE THEIR ROUTES.
UM, SO THE CHALLENGES THAT WE SEE ARE NOT THE, DUE TO A, THE CHALLENGES THAT WE SEE ARE NOT A REFLECTION OF THE DEDICATION YES MA'AM.
UM, AND WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL TO THEM.
SO I JUST, I WANNA ECHO AND EMPHASIZE THAT.
UM, WHEN IT COMES TO HEAVY TRASH RIGHT NOW, CAN YOU JUST GIVE A VERY QUICK, JUST AN UPDATE ON WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH HEAVY TRASH? AND THAT'S GONNA BE COVERED IN THE FINAL PRESENTATION AT LENGTH.
NO, BECAUSE THAT'S AGAIN, ANYTHING HAVING TO DO WITH OVERTIME OR ATTRITION OR ANYTHING ON THE SLIDES THAT NO, WE'RE JUST, AGAIN, LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS SAID, WE'RE JUST GETTING INUNDATED BY THAT.
AND I KNOW THAT THAT HAS A DIRECT IMPACT ON OVERTIME.
YEAH, IT DOES AFFECT OVERTIME.
I GUESS IT ALL AFFECTS OVERTIME, BUT, BUT THE BULK OF THE OPERATIONAL INFORMATION WILL BE IN THE LAST PRESENTATION.
BUT I DO WANNA SAY THANK YOU, UM, BECAUSE THEY OFTEN DON'T PUBLICLY GET THE RECOGNITION THAT THEY DESERVE.
SO SLIDE NUMBER 18, THE LAST BULLET POINT, UH, PROJECTIONS FOR STAFFING BACKFILLS TO COVER THIS PROGRAM AVERAGE THREE AND A HALF MILLION EACH FISCAL YEAR.
HOW, HOW DID YOU ARRIVE AT THAT PROJECTION? HOW'D YOU COME UP WITH THAT? I, I WOULD'VE TO, I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FOLLOW UP AND GET THE DETAILS FOR YOU ON IT.
AND LET ME FOLLOW UP AS WELL ON, UH, WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER ASKED ABOUT THE, THE HEADCOUNT.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY FROM FY 25.
I IMAGINE RETIREMENTS HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THAT.
SO, UM, HOW ARE WE COMING AS FAR AS REFILLING SOME OF THOSE POSITIONS? YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE GETTING ENOUGH APPLICANTS? YES, SIR.
I FEEL LIKE WE'RE GETTING ENOUGH APPLICANTS.
SO WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES IN FILLING THOSE POSITIONS IF YOU'RE GETTING ENOUGH APPLICANTS? UH, WE, WE JUST HAVEN'T POSTED THE POSITIONS.
WE JUST RECENTLY HIRED DRIVERS, UH, WITHIN THE LAST TWO MONTHS AND JUST GETTING A FEEL FOR WHERE WE ARE.
UM, THE, THE, AS WE STATED, THE HEAVY TRASH PROGRAM JUST TOOK FLIGHT, UH, WITHIN THE LAST THREE MONTHS AFTER WE
[01:20:01]
WERE GEARED TOWARD, OUR DEPARTMENT WAS GEARED SO MUCH TOWARD GETTING THE TRASH AND RECYCLING PICKED UP OFF THE STREETS THAT THE PLUS THE CAN YARD.SO WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO HIRE, TO STAFF UP IN WHICH WE ARE DOING ACTUALLY AS WE SPEAK RIGHT NOW TO TRY TO FILL THOSE VACANCIES.
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO HIRE, UH, APP QUALIFIED APPLICANTS MORE QUICKLY? YES.
I, I, I THINK WHAT WOULD THAT TAKE? I THINK HR IS DOING A GREAT JOB WITH GETTING US THE APPLICATIONS THAT WE NEED.
UH, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF US BRINGING AND ONBOARDING THEM AND GETTING 'EM TRAINED UP, READY TO GO.
SO, SO THE ONBOARDING PROCESS IS, IS RATHER LENGTHY? WELL, YES.
AND WE'LL SEE YOU IN JUST A BIT.
ON ON ON SOLID WASTE AND OVERTIME.
SO THANK YOU DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI.
WE WILL HAVE ONE MORE PRESENTATION ON OVERTIME BY, UH, DEPUTY CONTROLLER WILL JONES, IF, IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK ON ANY OF THE FINANCIAL MATTERS.
I, WE HAVE A FEW PEOPLE SIGNED UP.
WE'LL, WE'LL GIVE YOU ONE MINUTE AFTER, UH, AFTER THIS PRESENTATION.
I THINK JUST REAL QUICK, CIRCLING BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ'S QUESTION.
I BELIEVE WHAT THE FIGURE IS REFERENCING HERE RELATES TO THE ADOPTED BUDGET FOR OVERTIME VERSUS WHERE WE SEE THE ACTUALS TRENDING FOR THAT FISCAL YEAR.
BUT LET ME FOLLOW UP TO CONFIRM ON THAT.
UM, I'LL KEEP IT MOVING SO WE CAN GO, UH, STRAIGHT TO SLIDE THREE.
AND AGAIN, THIS JUST FOCUSES ON THE GENERAL FUND, UM, VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT, UH, UH, MELISSA AND THE TEAM JUST PRESENTED.
UM, SO NOT LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE GRANT FUNDS OR THE, THE, UM, UH, SPECIAL FUNDS.
AND AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT POLICE, FIRE IN, UH, SOLID WASTE.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO GONNA TAKE A LOOK AT THE, THE PAYROLL IMPACT.
UM, THIS IS WHAT I INCLUDED LAST TIME, UH, LIKE WHAT IS OVERTIME.
UM, BUT, UH, JUST TO REALLY WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE TIME ACTUALLY WORKED.
'CAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND THAT.
UH, TIME WORKED ALSO INCLUDES, UH, YOU KNOW, SICK TIME AND VACATION TIME.
SO IF YOU PUT IN FOR SICK TIME, VACATION TIME THROUGHOUT THE WEEK, THAT CONTRIBUTES TO YOUR, WHATEVER, 40 HOURS A WEEK.
AND IF YOU, YOU WORK OVERTIME, THEN THAT WILL COUNT EVEN IF IT'S SICK TIME.
UH, SO IT'S JUST WORTH UNDERSTANDING.
SO I DO WANNA START OUT WITH WHAT, UH, WHAT WE PRESENTED LAST YEAR AND HOW, UH, IT WE PERFORMED IN TERMS OF THE BUDGET.
SO YOU SEE THE ADOPTED BUDGET LAST YEAR.
I'M NOT INCLUDING THE CURRENT BUDGET FROM LAST YEAR 'CAUSE I WANNA SHOW, UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE STARTED THE BUDGET VERSUS WHERE THE ACTUALS CAME IN.
AND YOU CAN SEE, UH, WE HAD A BUDGET OF 63 MILLION, UH, ABOUT 134.4 MILLION WAS THE FINAL RESULTS.
UM, AND SO WE, WE, UH, A TOTAL LESS OF VARIANCE ABOUT 71.4 MILLION MORE THAN WHAT THE, THE ADOPTED BUDGET.
AND OF COURSE THE MAJORITY OF THAT IS POLICE AND FIRE AT, UH, 95%.
UM, AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE NEXT SLIDE, I ALSO WANTED TO, TO, UH, HIGHLIGHT, YOU KNOW, WHEN I PRESENTED LAST YEAR WHERE THAT PROJECTION WOULD BE.
UH, WE CAME IN VERY, VERY CLOSE.
ABOUT 1 35 IS WHERE I, I ASSUME WE WOULD END THE YEAR.
AND, UM, THE FINAL RESULTS ABOUT 1 34.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE PRESENTING IS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ACTUAL DATA.
UH, SO WE REALLY SHOULD, UH, YOU KNOW, BE AWARE THAT THIS IS REALITY IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'RE PROJECTING, UH, FOR THE, THE OVERTIME, UM, THAT THIS IS REALITY.
UH, SO THIS SLIDE, THIS IS IMPORTANT TO ME 'CAUSE I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT KIND OF WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF THE CURRENT YEAR OVERALL.
AND SO THIS IS TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM, FROM YOUR MOFA.
IF YOU LOOK AT PAGE EIGHT, THESE ARE ALL THE CHANGES THAT WE'VE DONE THIS YEAR.
WHEN WE STARTED THE, THE, THE FISCAL YEAR, WE WERE, UH, 76 MILLION ALREADY IN THE HOLE.
SO THAT WAS WHAT WE HAD TO DRAW DOWN FROM FUND BALANCE.
AND THEN WE'VE HAD CHANGES IN REVENUE, UH, WENT DOWN BY FOUR, 2 MILLION, UH, EXPENSES WENT UP BY 10 MILLION.
UM, AND AGAIN, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT'S IN THE MO FARM, BUT IT'S ONLY A PROJECTION AS OF DECEMBER.
UH, WE DO KNOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME OTHER CHANGES AS IT RELATES TO SALES TAX POTENTIALLY, BUT WE ALSO KNOW, UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME CHANGES WITH OVERTIME.
UM, AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME, SOME OTHER CHANGES.
SO AS, AS WE, YOU KNOW, PROGRESS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, UH, YOU WILL SEE THIS NUMBER CHANGE.
BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT AS WE MOVE INTO NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET.
UH, LIKE I SAID, WE WERE ALREADY HAVING TO COVER A $76 MILLION DRAW DOWN RIGHT NOW, NOW IT'S UP TO 127.
AND THAT COULD POTENTIALLY GROW AS WE GET READY TO TACKLE NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, WHICH IS ALREADY PROJECTED TO BE UP TOWARDS 253 MILLION.
AND YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT ONE.
SO AGAIN, LOOKING AT SOLID WAYS YOU CAN SEE, UM, UH, THIS ONE IS COMPARING THE ACTUAL BUDGET TO THE ACTUALS THAT
[01:25:01]
GREEN LINE SHOWS AFTER THAT IS WHERE THE PROJECTIONS KICK IN.BUT UP TO THAT POINT IS THE ACTUAL, WHICH IS THE SAME NUMBERS YOU WOULD'VE SEEN FROM, FROM FINANCE ON THE ACTUAL SPEND.
UM, AND AGAIN, WE ARE, AS YOU CAN SEE, SPENDING, UH, MORE THAN WHAT'S IN THE BUDGET.
AND WE ARE PROJECTING, UH, TO GO ABOUT 2.9 MILLION OVER ON SOLID WASTE AGAIN, WHICH IS NO SURPRISE.
UH, BUT WHAT I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT IS ON THE TABLE BELOW, UH, 'CAUSE I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DO LOOK BACK AT HOW WE'VE TRADITIONALLY SPENT.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE, THE FIVE YEAR SPEND, WE ARE ON TRACK TO SPEND ACCORDING TO HOW WE'VE BEEN SPENDING.
UM, AND SO IT'S NOT, UH, IT'S, IT'S VERY CONSISTENT.
UM, SO, UH, THAT AGAIN IS, GOES TO SHOW THAT IT'S MORE OF A BUDGETING SITUATION WITH THIS AND IT'S NOT, UM, NOTHING IS REALLY CHANGING IN TERMS OF THE HABITS OF HOW, HOW THEY SPEND.
AND AGAIN, ALSO THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO KIND OF SHOW THE IMPACT ON, ON THE PAYROLL.
UH, TO GIVE YOU A FEW, FEW MORE DATA POINTS ON, ON HOW IT LOOKS.
UM, ON AVERAGE, UH, THOSE WORKERS THAT DO WORK OVERTIME, UM, IT IT'S ABOUT 21 HOURS PER PAY CYCLE, WHICH EQUATES TO ABOUT 19,000 PER YEAR.
AND THEN OF COURSE YOU CAN SEE IT GOES UP AS YOU GET TO THOSE THAT ARE IN THE, THE TOP 10, UM, THAT GOES UP, UH, SIGNIFICANTLY.
UM, BUT IT'S JUST, IT IS WORTH SEEING HOW THOSE, UH, THOSE COSTS ARE WHERE THEY'RE BEING SPENT.
AND AGAIN, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, IT GIVES YOU A BREAKDOWN JUST OF THE TOP 10.
AND YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, THE MAJORITY OF THOSE, WHICH YOU WOULD EXPECT FROM SOLID WASTES WOULD BE FROM SENIOR SIDE LOADERS.
UH, BUT AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE THAT WITH, WITH THE OVERTIME.
AND IN A LOT OF THESE CASES, UH, IF, IF YOU, ONCE YOU PROJECT OUT, YOU'RE GONNA DOUBLE, UH, YOU KNOW, THEIR SALARY AND OVERTIME.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS NOT TO SAY POINT ANYTHING OUT AS IT BEING WRONG, RIGHT OR WRONG, IT'S JUST THE DATA, RIGHT? SO I'M NOT, THIS IS NOT AN ACCUSATION OF ANY KIND, UM, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU SEE ALL OF THE DATA AND HOW IT ALL RELATES TO OVERTIME.
AND AGAIN, UH, THESE ARE, UH, AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT FOR MANY YEARS, WHAT'S, WHAT'S CAUSING THE OVERTIME? UH, AGAIN, YOU, YOU'VE HEARD FRESH FROM SOLID WASTE, YOU KNOW, THE STAFFING SHORTAGES, RECRUITING CHALLENGES, AGING FLEET, OF COURSE THE GROWING CITY.
AND, AND, AND SO ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE WHAT'S CAUSING IT.
AND, AND WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, THROW SOME MANY MONEY AT IT, INCREASING, UH, OFFERING BONUSES.
UM, WE, WE ARE INCREASING, UH, THE FLEET, UH, BUYING NEW VEHICLES.
UM, BUT THE SITUATION HAS NOT CHANGED, UH, IN TERMS OF THE COST GOING UP.
UH, AND WE ARE SPENDING MORE ON CONTRACT SPEND.
I HEARD A LOT OF TALK ABOUT HEAVY TRASH.
I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE APPROVED A COUPLE OF ITEMS OVER THE PAST COUPLE YEARS TO BRING ON MORE CONSULTING WORK TO HELP WITH WITH THAT, BUT THAT HAS NOT CHANGED WHERE THE OVERTIME SPEND IS GOING.
UH, WE CAN GO STRAIGHT TO THE NEXT ONE.
SO AGAIN, SAME THING FOR NOW THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT POLICE.
UH, IF YOU LOOK AT, UH, THE MONTHLY BUDGET COMPARED TO THE ACTUAL SPIN, UH, IT'S NO SURPRISE WE ARE SPENDING MORE THAN WHAT WE HAVE IN THE BUDGET.
UM, AND FOR THIS YEAR, FOR POLICE, WE'RE EXPECTED, UH, PROJECTED TO GO OVER BY 13.2 MILLION OR 89%.
UM, AND AGAIN, THE, THIS CHART BELOW IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT DOES SHOW YOU BASED ON OUR FIVE YEAR SPIN, THIS IS IN LINE.
SO THIS IS NOT, UH, UNEXPECTED IN THE SENSE FOR POLICE.
IF YOU LOOK AT LAST YEAR, IT WAS HIGHER AT ABOUT 39.8, BUT THAT WAS MAINLY BECAUSE OF BARREL AND SOME OF THOSE REIMBURSABLE COSTS THAT THE GENERAL FUND HAD TO EAT.
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT WHERE WE'RE PROJECTING AT, AT ABOUT 28 MILLION FOR THE YEAR, UH, THAT IS IN LINE WITH HOW THEY NORMALLY SPEND.
LOOKING AT THE, THE PAYROLL IMPACT.
UM, THE, THE AVERAGE POLICE OFFICER, UH, DURING A PAY CYCLE COULD GET ABOUT FOUR HOURS OF OVERTIME.
UM, BUT OF COURSE YOU CAN SEE THAT GOES UP SIGNIFICANTLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE THE TOP 10 AND WE'RE THE TOP EARNER.
UM, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE, UH, THAT IN, IN A LOT OF CASES THE SALARY IS DOUBLED IN TERMS OF WHAT, UH, WHAT THE OVERTIME PAY IS COMPARED TO THE SALARY.
UH, THE STAFFING SHORTAGES AND RECRUITING CHALLENGES.
AND FROM, FROM WHAT I HEARD, IT SEEMS AS IF THOSE THINGS ARE IMPROVING.
UM, UH, SO THAT'S A GOOD THING.
UH, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT, UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE DONE OR THE CITY HAS DONE IN TERMS OF OFFERING BONUSES, AND OF COURSE WE HAD, YOU KNOW, A, A RECORD, UH, UH, AGREEMENT DETERMINED PAY SALARY WITH, UH, 36.5% OVER FIVE YEARS, 10% IN THE FIRST YEAR.
THAT WAS A HUGE, HUGE CONTRACT AND A HUGE MOTIVATOR TO RETAIN EMPLOYEES.
UM, BUT THE REALITY IS THAT THE, AND AS I SHOWED YOU ANOTHER CHART, THEY, THEY ARE STILL SPINNING ACCORDING TO WHAT THEY HAVE TRADITIONALLY SPENT.
[01:30:01]
WILL NOT DRIVE DOWN THE OVERTIME.UH, SO AGAIN, LOOKING AT FIRE, SAME SITUATION.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ACTUAL SPIN EXCEEDING THE BUDGET FOR FIRE WE'RE PROJECTED TO A SEEDED BY ABOUT 38 MILLION.
UM, BUT AGAIN, IF YOU LOOK AT THE CHART, I KNOW I HEARD THE CHIEF SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO COMPARE TO THE FIVE YEAR.
UM, AND I AM SOME PEOPLE
UM, BUT UNLIKE, UH, UNLIKE POLICE AND UNLIKE SOLID WASTE, UH, FIRE HAS NOT BEEN SPENDING WITHIN, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT THEY NORMALLY SPEND IT, IT'S A BIT, WE SAW A, A CHANGE LAST YEAR IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY SPEND.
UH, SO IT'S NOT IN LINE WITH THE TRADITIONAL SPEND.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT, UH, 58 MILLION, THAT'S ON, IF YOU LOOK AT THE FIVE YEAR, THAT'S WHAT THEY, THE AVERAGE SPEND, LAST YEAR IT WAS AT 87 MILLION.
AND THIS YEAR WE'RE PROJECTING TO BE ABOUT 81 MILLION, UM, OR CLOSE TO 82 MILLION.
SO LAST YEAR WE HAD TO PULL 40 MILLION FROM THE FUND BALANCE TO SUPPLEMENT FIRE OVER TIME.
UM, AND SO RIGHT NOW THAT'S ABOUT, IF YOU, AGAIN, LOOKING AT THE, THE FIVE YEAR, IT'S ABOUT 40% ABOVE, UH, WHERE THE FIVE YEAR AVERAGE IS.
SO THAT, TO ME, THAT IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE TRADITIONALLY SPEND.
SO IT IS SOMETHING WORTH LOOKING AT WHY, YOU KNOW, THE BIG SWING, AND I, I DID HEAR THE CHIEF SAY SOME THINGS ABOUT MAYBE BROWNOUTS DOING FEWER BROWNOUTS, WHICH MAY CAUSE MORE OVERTIME.
UH, BUT AGAIN, THAT TO ME IS A SITUATION WHERE IF YOU'RE PLANNING ON THE BUDGET AND YOU KNOW YOU'RE GONNA DO FEWER BROWNOUTS, AND IF YOU KNOW THAT THAT'S GONNA LEAD TO 40 MILLION, AND OVER TIME IT SEEMS LIKE THAT WOULD'VE BEEN A WAY TO PLAN AHEAD FOR THAT.
UM, AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT'S WHAT'S DRIVING IT, BUT I'M JUST SAYING THAT IF THERE'S A CHANGE IN HOW WE OPERATE, THAT MAY LEAD TO, UH, MORE COSTS AND WE JUST NEED TO BETTER PLAN FOR THAT.
UH, SO WE WILL, UH, PULL ABOUT 38 MILLION THIS YEAR FOR FIRE.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE AVERAGE FIREFIGHTER, ABOUT 14 HOURS OF OVERTIME PER PAY CYCLE ON AVERAGE, WHICH EQUATES TO ABOUT 22,000 PER YEAR.
AND OF COURSE THAT NUMBER JUMPS, UH, DRASTICALLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE, THE TOP 10 AND, AND THE TOP, UH, AVERAGE EARNER.
OKAY, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE IN SOME CASES, UH, WE'RE ALMOST TRIPLING THE SALARY.
UM, AND EVEN IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE, YOU KNOW, THE YEAR TO DATE PAY, WHICH IS ACTUAL DOLLARS OUT THE DOOR, UH, THEY'VE ALREADY DOUBLE SALARY IN SOME CASES.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS NOT A, NOT AN ACCUSATION, NOT A, THIS IS JUST WHAT THE NUMBERS ARE, RIGHT? SO THIS IS NOT AN ATTACK ON ANYBODY.
LET, LET'S HEAD DOWN TO SLIDE.
I THINK WE GOTTA HIT THE, THE MAIN, OKAY.
THE, THE FY 26 COSTS ARE PROJECTED TO EXCEED, RIGHT? SO, UH, THE FY 26 COSTS WILL EXCEED BY 54.2 MILLION.
UM, AGAIN, LAST YEAR THERE WAS 71.
UH, SO IT'S STILL SOMEWHAT IN LINE.
SO WE, AS DIRECTOR SAID, UH, WE WILL WAIT AND SEE IF THERE'S SOME OFFSETS WHERE THE PERSONNEL SAVINGS OR, UH, ONE TIME SAVINGS THAT TO HELP OFFSET THAT COST.
RIGHT NOW THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
AND ON THE FINAL SLIDE, THERE'S ALSO A PLAN TO DO SOME AUDITS ON OVERTIME.
AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, THE POLICE, I THINK WE'LL BE DONE BY MAY 26TH AND THEN MARCH 26TH AND THEN WE WILL START ON A, A FIRE, UM, PAYROLL AUDIT.
THANK YOU WILL FOR RUNNING THROUGH THAT FAIRLY QUICKLY AND WE APPRECIATE THE WORK OF THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT.
LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THOSE, UH, VICE MAYOR PROTON PECK.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I'M LOOKING AT THE, UM, ACTUAL FY 2025 OVERTIME COSTS.
UM, AND I'M LOOKING AT THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT'S PRESENTATION.
THE TWO NUMBERS AREN'T, DON'T SEEM TO MATCH.
WHAT AM I MISSING BETWEEN THE TWO? WELL, PROBABLY 'CAUSE THEY PROB 'CAUSE I HAVEN'T SEEN THEIR PRESENTATION, I THINK IT WAS AVAILABLE THIS MORNING, BUT THEIRS PROBABLY LOOKS AT THE CURRENT CURRENT BUDGET.
SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE CURRENT BUDGET BY THEN, WE'VE ALREADY PULLED THE MONEY FROM THE FUND BALANCE TO ADJUST FOR THE OVERTIME.
SO IT, IT MAY LOOK A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
THIS IS, THIS IS FOR, UM, THE ACTUAL FY 2025, THE FINAL RESULTS NUMBERS.
UH, WHAT DOES THEIR NUMBERS SHOW? UM, WELL FOR ALL THREE THEY'RE JUST NOT, NOT THE SAME.
SO I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YEAH, I MEAN, I, I'LL, I'LL, LIKE I SAID, I HAVEN'T SEEN THEIRS.
I'LL GO, YEAH, FOR EXAMPLE, FIRE, UM, SHOWING VARIANCE AT 42.6 MILLION ON YOURS VERSUS 1.8 MILLION.
YEAH, NO, THAT'S WHAT I WAS SAYING.
THE VARIANCE WILL BE DIFFERENT BECAUSE THEY'RE DOING A VARIANCE FROM THE CURRENT BUDGET LAST YEAR.
THE CURRENT BUDGET LAST YEAR, THEY HAD ALREADY ADDED 40 MILLION TO FIRE'S BUDGET.
SO IF I COMPARE IT TO THAT, YOU WOULDN'T KNOW THAT WE ADDED 40 MILLION TO THE BUDGET.
[01:35:01]
OKAY.UM, AND SO FOR YOUR NUMBERS, UM, IT'S ONLY, YOU SAID IT WAS ONLY LOOKING AT THE GENERAL FUND, CORRECT? WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT ANY OF THE OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE ISSUE IS.
SO THAT'S WHERE MY FOCUS WAS, IS OKAY.
UM, AND I KEEP HARPING ON THIS, THAT WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT ALL OF THE OTHER FUNDS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN HPD IS DOING OVERTIME, UM, FOR A SPECIAL EVENT AND WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THE SPECIAL EVENTS FUND MM-HMM
AND WE'RE GETTING REIMBURSED BACK TO THAT FUND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SAYING IT'S OKAY BECAUSE WE'RE OFFSETTING THAT MONEY BY REIMBURSEMENTS MM-HMM
BUT THEN WHEN WE GO TO THE GENERAL FUND, FOR EXAMPLE, SOLID WASTE AND HFD, THEY'RE ONLY GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENTS.
THERE'S NOTHING, THERE'S NO OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS THAT THEY'RE GETTING REIMBURSED.
BUT WE'RE NOT TAKING THAT INTO ACCOUNT IN THAT NUMBER TOO.
SO I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE GENERAL PICTURE HERE OF WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY SPENDING, WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY GETTING BACK IN OFFSET.
AND, AND, AND THE REASON POLICE, 'CAUSE REALLY THE ONLY OTHER FUND THAT POLICE HAS IS THAT POLICE SPECIAL SERVICE FUND.
AND THEY SEPARATE THAT BECAUSE THEY DO HAVE THESE OTHER AGREEMENTS WHERE THEY, THEY WILL BE REIMBURSED AND SO THEY TRY TO KEEP THOSE COSTS OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND SO THAT THEY CAN LINE UP WITH WHOEVER THEY HAVE AGREEMENTS WITH, WITH TO SHOW THAT YOU GAVE YOU THIS MONEY, THIS IS WHAT I SPENT IT ON, SO I MOVE IT OVER HERE.
BUT YEAH, WE CAN, WE CAN SHOW YOU THE TOTAL COST, UM, BUT THAT IT WON'T CHANGE, UH, WHAT THEY'RE SPENDING IN THE GENERAL FUND, BUT IT WILL GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF OVERALL HOW MUCH THEY ARE SPENDING.
AND I THINK WE NEED THAT NUMBER, WHETHER FROM YOUR DEPARTMENT OR THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, SOLID WASTE, THEY DO DISASTER RECOVERY THAT WE'RE GETTING REIMBURSED JUST BACK TO THE GENERAL FUND AND IT'S LOOKING LIKE THEY'RE SPENDING ALL THIS OVERTIME FUNDING THAT WE'RE GETTING REIMBURSED.
HFD IS DOING INSPECTIONS, DISASTER DEPLOYMENT, SPECIAL EVENTS, NATURAL DISASTERS, YOU KNOW, HPD IS DOING A LOT OF THINGS TOO THAT WE'RE GETTING THAT MONEY BACK THAT IT'S JUST NOT SHOWING IN, IT'S NOT REFLECTING IN THE NUMBER.
SO BE GOOD TO SEE ALL OF THAT.
AND, AND, AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE SEE IT BY DEPARTMENT, SO WE KNOW WHAT'S GETTING REIMBURSED.
COUNCIL MEMBER, FLICKINGER GOT A QUESTION ON THE OVERTIME.
I MEAN OBVIOUSLY WE'RE LOOKING AT THE 10 HIGHS AND THERE'S SOME PRETTY EYE POPPING NUMBERS ON THERE.
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT THEIR RETIREMENT AND THE PENSION? UM, AS FAR AS I KNOW, OVER TIME DOES NOT GO TOWARDS, UH, PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS.
SO THEY WOULDN'T ADD TO THE PENSION AT ALL? NO.
AND WILL, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I, I KNOW YOU WERE HERE FOR, UH, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OVERTIME PRESENTATION.
I WAS, AND UM, LOOKING AT YOUR SLIDE NUMBER 21, OBVIOUSLY THE, THE TOP 10 HIGHEST, UH, OVERTIME OR EARNERS IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT THERE, THERE'S SOME FIGURES THAT JUMP OUT AT YOU.
I MEAN, IT APPEARS THAT 1, 2, 3, 4, UM, EMPLOYEES WERE ABLE TO ESSENTIALLY TRIPLE AND IN ONE CASE, QUADRUPLE THEIR ANNUAL SALARY THROUGH OVERTIME.
AND, UM, HAD A CONVERSATION WITH SOMEONE IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT YESTERDAY AND TALKED ABOUT THAT.
AND, UH, IT WAS EXPLAINED TO ME THAT, UM, THE PRACTICE HAS BEEN, AND I WAS TOLD THIS HAS STOPPED, BUT THE PRACTICE HAS BEEN THAT, UM, WHEN YOU WORK OVERTIME, YOU'RE PAID AT, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER YOUR, YOUR LEVEL IS, EVEN IF YOU STEPPED DOWN SO TO SPEAK AND HANDLE, HANDLE, UM, UH, I'LL SAY A LESS SENIOR POSITION, FOR INSTANCE, UH, SLIDE SEVEN OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OVERTIME PRESENTATION 849 WRITING POSITIONS IS A MINIMUM STAFFING, UH, LEVEL.
THEY, THEY WANT AT ANY GIVEN TIME, 8,049 RIDING POSITIONS, RIGHT? SO YOU HAVE 381 FIREFIGHTERS WITHIN THAT 849, UH, GOAL THAT THEY SHOOT FOR.
UM, BUT THAT ALSO INCLUDES, UM, 103 CAPTAINS AND 46 SENIOR CAPTAINS WHO ARE PAID AT A HIGHER RATE.
AND IT'S POSSIBLE FOR A CAPTAIN OR A SENIOR CAPTAIN TO ESSENTIALLY STEP DOWN AND FILL A LOW, WHAT WOULD NORMALLY BE A LOWER PAID POSITION, UM, BUT STILL BE MAKING OVERTIME AT, AT THEIR, AT THEIR REGULAR SALARY.
AND THAT, THAT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR, UM, THESE, THESE, UH, WHAT APPEAR TO BE HUGE, UH, OVERTIME EARNINGS.
SO DO, DO YOU, DO YOU KNOW WHETHER THAT'S PART OF, PART OF THE CONTRACT THAT WAS, THAT WAS APPROVED OR, UH, WELL, I, I DON'T KNOW ALL THE DETAILS OF THAT.
I DO KNOW THAT THERE IS, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT PROCESS.
UM, BUT, AND, AND, AND ANYTIME YOU WORK OVERTIME, YOU, YOU, YOU GET A TIME AND A HALF OF YOUR SALARY.
UM, AND SO YEAH, THERE MAY BE SOME OF THAT, THAT, THAT'S PROBABLY A BETTER QUESTION FOR THE CHIEF TO ANSWER, BUT, UH, YEAH, I MEAN TIME AND A HALF.
UH, AND I, I, I DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU STEP DOWN OR STEP UP.
I, I WOULD THINK YOUR SALARY, YOU'RE NOT LEAVING YOUR SALARY WHEN YOU STEP DOWN.
UM, AND SO YOU'RE STILL GONNA GET THAT, UH, THAT TIME AND A HALF.
UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION, THE INFORMATION.
WE WILL, WE WILL BE LOOKING THROUGH THIS.
[01:40:01]
UH, OUR FIRE CHIEF WHO'S DOING A GREAT JOB, UH, A QUESTION, I'LL ASK YOU THE SAME ONE.UH, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OVERTIME, AGAIN, WE KEEP REFERRING BACK TO THE, THE CONTRACTS, RIGHT? WE'RE CONTRACTUALLY BOUND BY CERTAIN PARAMETERS, BUT UNDERSTANDING, UM, THE OVERTIME NEEDS AND THE STAFFING NEEDS.
UH, DO YOU HAVE AN OPINION OR DOES THE OFFICE HAVE AN OPINION ON THE IMPACT THAT OUR SHIFT SCHEDULE WITHIN HFD HAS ON THE COST OF OVERTIME FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON? YEAH, I MEAN THERE, THERE HAVE BEEN STUDIES THAT WE'VE DONE THAT, THAT DO SHOW THAT IT WOULD SAVE US MONEY BY, BY, YOU KNOW, MOVING FROM THE FOUR SHIFT.
UM, I, IN REALITY, I, I DON'T KNOW, UH, KIND OF SIMILAR TO WHAT THE CHIEF SAID, BUT THERE, THE STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT AND I KNOW THAT, UM, SO IT, IT, IT'S WORTH, UH, IT'S WORTH REVIEWING, ESPECIALLY IF WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, OVERTIME STAYING AT 80 MILLION, UH, WITHIN, YOU KNOW, 40 MILLION MORE THAN WHAT WE HAVE IN THE BUDGET.
DOES IT MAKE SENSE, UH, TO STAY, KEEP THE SHIFTS THE WAY IT IS? I DUNNO.
BUT YEAH, STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT IT COULD POTENTIALLY SAVE US MONEY.
AND MY LAST QUESTION AGAIN IS WE'RE GOING INTO BUDGET SEASON SOON.
I'VE CONTINUED TO REITERATE THE NEED TO, UM, BE MORE COMPREHENSIVE IN OUR APPROACH TO LOOKING AT EACH DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET AS IT RELATES TO SEVERE WEATHER, CLIMATE CHANGE, NATURAL DISASTERS.
UM, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT OR WHAT THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE YEAH, I MEAN THAT IS, HIS OPINION WOULD BE ON THAT.
YEAH, I MEAN, AGAIN, THE REALITY IS, UH, WE'RE SEEING MORE OF THOSE, UH, EVERY YEAR.
SO IT'S BECOMING, NOT, NOT ABNORMAL, BUT KIND OF THE, THE STANDARD.
UH, AND SO ESPECIALLY WHEN WE LOOK AT, WHEN WE LOOK AT THINGS LIKE OVER TIME, UH, IT IS BECOMING, UH, EASIER TO PREDICT THAT WE WILL HAVE THESE EXTREME EVENTS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD BE PLANNING FOR.
UH, SO YEAH, THAT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE LOOK AT WHEN WE LOOK AT THE BUDGET AND HOW WE'RE PLANNING FOR IT.
AND THERE WILL ALWAYS BE THINGS THAT YOU CAN'T ANTICIPATE, UH, THAT WILL COST MONEY THAT YOU DIDN'T PLAN ON SPENDING.
UH, BUT THE REALITY OF, UH, NATURAL DISASTERS HAVE CHANGED.
UH, AND SO IT'S, IT'S NO LONGER ABNORMAL.
SO WE HAVE TO LOOK AT HOW DO WE ADJUST TO SOMETHING THAT IS NOW THE NORM.
THANK YOU DEPUTY DIRECTOR, REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION.
WE HAD A FEW SPEAKERS SIGNED UP TO, UH, SPEAK ABOUT ANY OF THESE FINANCIAL MATTERS.
UH, I'M SORRY AND I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN SO PATIENT, BUT I'M GONNA HAVE TO LIMIT IT TO ABOUT ONE MINUTE BECAUSE WE DO HAVE STILL TWO IMPORTANT PRESENTATIONS TO GO THROUGH.
SO FIRST, LAURA GALLAGHER, YOU'RE GONNA PASS.
DOMINIC MAZO, I DON'T SEE DOMINIC MARYAM NASSER, MS. SHE YOUNG LINE? YES, MS. NASSER TO SPEAK ON ANY OF THE FINANCIAL MATTERS WE'VE DEALT WITH? NO, SHE'S NOT THERE.
I DON'T THINK THE ONLINE WORKS.
UM, I THINK THEY'RE ON THE, THE CYCLE FOR LISTENING, NOT FOR PARTICIPATING.
SO AS THE FIRST LADY SAYS, HERE WE GO AGAIN, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE ABOUT 200 TO $300 MILLION SHORT FOR NEXT YEAR, AND THAT'S GONNA CONTINUE ON YEAR TO YEAR.
AND THE OVERTIME EVERY YEAR YOU TALK ABOUT WE'RE GONNA DO LESS OVERTIME, BUT IT DOESN'T SEEM TO WORK.
WE JUST DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE HERE WORKING.
MY QUESTION IS, DO THE BUYOUTS ACTUALLY SAVE US MONEY OR DID IT COST US MONEY SIMPLY FOR THE FACT THAT WE'VE LOST ALL THIS, YOU KNOW, KNOWLEDGE, LET ALONE WE DON'T HAVE THE PEOPLE IN THEIR PLACES.
WE STILL HAVE PROBLEMS WITH PICKING UP TRASH.
WE STILL DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TO COVER.
AND ARE WE GONNA STILL BE TAKING MONEY AWAY FROM THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS BESIDES POLICE AND FIRE? HOW MUCH MORE CAN WE PULL AWAY FROM LIBRARIES AND HEALTH AND PARKS AND, AND THE, THE BASIC SERVICES THAT WHY WE LIVE IN THIS CITY THAT IT'S BETTER THAN, UH, NOT LIVING HERE.
PLEASE TELL ME HOW WE'RE GONNA FIX THIS.
YOU'RE A LOT SMARTER THAN I AM.
WE APPRECIATE YOUR FEEDBACK VERY MUCH, ESPECIALLY THAT LAST PART.
UM, BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION.
UM, NOW WE WILL HEAR ABOUT THE OPEN SPACE ORDINANCE.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, DIRECTORS FROM THREE DEPARTMENTS OR UH, TWO DEPARTMENTS, AND THEN ONE FROM, UH, A SENIOR ATTORNEY FROM LEGAL TO WALK US THROUGH THIS.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, AS WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING, WE'VE WE'RE IN A VERY BUDGET, TIGHT,
[01:45:01]
TIGHT BUDGET PERIOD, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE REVENUE SOURCES FOR, FOR PARKS.AND, UH, YOU DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS KNOW BECAUSE IT THIS MONEY FROM THE OPEN SPACE ORDINANCE, THE FEE IN LIEU OF THAT THE DEVELOPERS PAY HELP FUND A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS IN PARKS.
SO I AM VERY INTERESTED IN OPENING UP THIS ORDINANCE TO SEE WHAT IMPROVEMENTS WE CAN MAKE, UM, SO IT BETTER SERVES OUR CITY AND OUR PARKS.
SO THIS WILL BE THE FIRST OF MANY MEETINGS, THE FIRST OF AT LEAST A FEW MEETINGS ON, ON REVISIONS TO THE OPEN SPACE ORDINANCE.
SO WITH THAT, I WILL PASS IT TO DIRECTOR TRAN OF THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT TO SET UP THE HISTORY AND HOW THIS ALL CAME TO BE.
MORNING CHAIR ALCORN, VICE CHAIR CASTILLO AND CHAIR FLICKINGER AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT AN OVERVIEW OF THE PARKS AND PRIVATE PARKS ORDINANCE TO THIS JOINT COMMITTEE ON BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS.
I AM VON TRAN, DIRECTOR OF THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
TODAY'S PRESENTATION WILL COVER THREE PARTS.
FIRST, I'LL PROVIDE A BRIEF BACKGROUND AND AN OVERVIEW OF THE ORDINANCE.
NEXT, DIRECTOR, DIRECTOR, UH, PARKS DIRECTOR KENNETH ALLEN WILL SHARE AN UPDATE ON THE PARKS AND REC RECREATION DEDICATION FUND, INCLUDING PLANNED PROJECTS AND EXAMPLE OF EXPENDITURES.
FINALLY, LEGAL SECTION CHIEF TAMMY KIM, WILL SUMMARIZE RECENT CHANGES TO THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE THAT AFFECT THIS ORDINANCE.
IN 2003, THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND SET A NATIONAL STANDARD OF 25.5 ACRES OF PARK LAND PER 1000 RESIDENTS.
HOUSTON MET THE STANDARD WHEN COUNTING CITY PARKS, COUNTY PARKS, AND LAKE HOUSTON PARK.
HOWEVER, A TASK FORCE RECOMMENDED REQUIRING FUTURE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS TO SET ASIDE 10 ACRES PER 1000 RESIDENTS.
THE PURPOSE OF THE PARKS AND PRIVATE PARKS ORDINANCE IS TO ENSURE ADEQUATE PARKS, RECREATION, AND OPEN SPACE AS HOUSTON, HOUSTON CONTINUES TO GROW AND DENSIFY.
IN 2001, CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED THE PARKS MASTER PLAN A 20 YEAR VISION WHERE PARKS ARE NEEDED.
IN 2007, THE PLAN WAS UPDATED.
CITY COUNCIL PASSED AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 42 WITH THE PARKS AND PRIVATE PARKS ORDINANCE.
THE ORDINANCE CREATED THE PARK AND RECREATION DEDICATION FUND.
THE FUNDS COLLECTS FEES FROM NEW RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN LIEU OF LAND DEDICATION.
FUNDS COLLECTED MAY BE USED TO ACQUIRE LAND, BUILD NEW PARTS, OR IMPROVE EXISTING PARTS.
THE MASTER PLAN WAS UPDATED AGAIN IN 2015 AND MOST RECENTLY IN 2023.
ORIGINALLY, HOUSTON HAD 17 PARK SECTORS.
THIS WAS EXPANDED TO 21 IN 2010.
THIS MAP SHOWS HOUSTON'S CURRENT 21 PARK SECTORS.
A KEY REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEDICATION FUND IS THAT FEES MUST BE SPENT WITHIN THE SAME SECTOR WHERE THEY ARE COLLECTED.
THE ORDINANCE APPLIES TO SINGLE FAMILY AND MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENTS.
IT DOES NOT APPLY TO REPL BY GOVERNMENT ENTITIES.
DEVELOPERS MUST DEDICATE LAND PAY A FEE IN LIEU, OR USE A COMBINATION WITHIN THE PARK SECTOR.
THE LAND DEDICATION FORMULA IS 10 TIMES THE NUMBER OF DWELLING UNITS TIMES 1.8 DIVIDED BY 1000.
THE MINIMUM SIZE FOR LAND DEDICATION IS ONE HALF ACRE INSIDE LOOP SIX 10 AND ONE ACRE OUTSIDE.
THE FEE IS $700 PER DWELLING CREDITED TO THE SEC SECTOR'S.
FUND FEE ADJUSTMENT MAY BE RECOMMENDED BASED ON LAND VALUES.
THE ORDINANCE REQUIRES AN ANNUAL REPORT SHOWING COLLECTIONS, EXPENDITURES, AND LAND VALUE CHANGES.
ANY PROPOSED INCREASE MUST GO THROUGH A PUBLIC HEARING AND APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL.
THE ORDINANCE PROVIDES FULL CREDITS FOR PRIVATE
[01:50:01]
PARK LAND, LOW AND MODERATE INCOME, SINGLE FAMILY LOTS, GREEN BELT ALONG CREEK BEDS AND LAND THAT LINKS TO PARKS FUNDS COLLECTED MUST BE OBLIGATED WITHIN THREE YEARS OF THE DEVELOPMENT COMPLETION AND USED ONLY FOR ACQUISITION AND IMPROVEMENTS, NOT FOR MAINTENANCE OR STAFF OVERHEAD.INDIRECT COSTS ARE CAPPED AT 5%.
THE PARK DEDICATION MUST MEET LOCATION REQUIREMENTS TO ENSURE EASY ACCESS.
ACCEPTANCE IS BASED ON SIZE, CONFIGURATION, PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUITABILITY ADMINISTRATION RESPONSIBILITIES ARE.
AS SUCH, THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT HANDLES PLANNING.
THE PARKS DEPARTMENT MANAGES FUNDS ACCORDING TO THE MASTER PLAN.
THE PARKS DIRECTOR OVERSEES COMPLIANCE AND APPEALS.
IN SUMMARY, THE PARKS AND PRIVATE PARKS ORDINANCE ENSURES THAT AS HOUSTON GROW, WE WE MAINTAIN ADEQUATE PARKS, RECREATION, AND OPEN SPACE.
THE PARK AND RECREATION DEDICATION FUND ALLOWS THE CITY TO ACQUIRE LAND AND DEVELOP PARK FACILITIES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF A GROWING POPULATION.
THIS CONCLUDES THE OVERVIEW OF THE PARKS AND PRIVATE PARK ORDINANCE.
I WILL NOW STEP ASIDE FOR DIRECTOR KENNETH ALLEN TO PRESENT NEXT.
PLEASURE TO BE HERE AS WE DO THIS OVERVIEW OF THE, UH, PARKS AND RECREATION DEDICATION FUND.
UH, MOVING FORWARD TO SLIDE 13.
SINCE 2007, APPROXIMATELY $100,000 HAS BEEN CORRECT.
I'M SORRY, $100 MILLION HAS BEEN COLLECTED IN THE PARKS IN, UH, RECREATION DEDICATION FUND, RIGHT? THE FUND CURRENTLY HAS 36 MILLION TARGETED FOR PARK IMPROVEMENTS AND LAND ACQUISITIONS AND, AND PROJECTS.
AND TO DATE, THE DEPARTMENT HAS INVESTED OVER 47 MILLION FROM THE PARK, DEDICATION, FUND AND PARK IMPROVEMENTS, PARK IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS IN LAND ACQUISITION.
FOR CONTEXT, YOU KNOW, FISCAL YEAR 25, WE COLLECTED A TOTAL OF 6.7 MILLION.
UM, ANNUALLY WE EXPECT THIS TREND TO, UH, CONTINUE.
OVERALL, THE FUNDING HAS SIGNIFICANTLY, SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED AND ENHANCED OUR PARK SYSTEM OVER THE YEARS SINCE UH OH SEVEN.
AND FUNDING HAS BEEN, UH, DIRECTED TO SUPPORT ENHANCEMENT AND UPGRADES OF 199 OF 383 PARKS.
THIS REPRESENTS A 52% OF ALL PARKS CITYWIDE.
OUR PRIORITY PROJECTS, UH, INCLUDE RENOVATING NEIGHBORHOOD AND POCKET PARKS, AS WELL AS UPGRADES TO, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD TENNIS COURTS, PLAYGROUNDS, AND BASKETBALL PAVILIONS.
THIS SLIDE ACTUALLY HIGHLIGHTS SOME OF THE UPCOMING TARGETED USES FOR THE PARK DEDICATION FUND, INCLUDING MAYOR WHITMEYER.
LET'S PLAY HOUSTON INITIATIVE, WHICH WILL IMPROVE 25 NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS THROUGHOUT HOUSTON.
UM, THIS COLLABORATION WITH HOUSTON PARKS BOARD OF IMPROVEMENTS, I THINK JUSTIN SCHULTZ IS HERE TODAY HAS BEEN REALLY, UH, IMPRESSIVE.
IN MY OPINION FOR IMPROVING NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS.
11 OF THE LESS PLAY HOUSTON PARKS ARE CURRENTLY IN DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION WILL BE UNDERWAY BY THE END OF THE YEAR AS PHASE ONE.
AND THEN MANY PLAYGROUNDS IN OUR SYSTEM WERE INSTALLED IN 1995, MAKING THEM 30 YEARS OLD, UH, PAST THEIR PAST, THEIR USEFUL, UH, LIFE ADDRESSING THIS NEED CONTINUES TO BE OUR TOP PRIORITY OR ONE OF OUR TOP PRIORITIES FOR THE DEPARTMENT AND THE CITY.
WE HAVE 10 PLAYGROUNDS OUTSIDE OF LET'S PLAY HOUSTON.
THAT WILL BE REPLACED USING PARK DEDICATION FUNDS.
ALSO, THESE DOLLARS, UM, TO LEVERAGE.
WE USE THESE DOLLARS TO LEVERAGE MATCHING FUNDS TO SECURE LOCAL AND STATE GRANTS, AS WELL AS FEDERAL GRANTS.
AND TO IMPLEMENT IT ACTUALLY HELP US IMPLEMENT A MORE COMPREHENSIVE PARK IMPROVEMENTS WHEN WE PARTNER, UM, USING THESE FUNDS, UM, AND TO SUPPORT PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS WITH TOUR.
ALSO, HARRIS COUNTY MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS, UM, AND COLLABORATIVE, UM, INVESTMENT IN PARKS.
UM, WE'RE ABLE TO PARTNER TO GET MORE, UM, OUT OF THE USE OF THESE FUNDS, UH, WHICH HAS BEEN EXTREMELY HELPFUL ON, ON PROJECT CITYWIDE.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, THE CAPITAL PROJECTS IN TERMS OF REPLACEMENT OF LIGHTINGS
[01:55:01]
PROJECTS, UH, TARGETED USE FOR FUNDS, UH, TO ADDRESS SAFETY AND TO ALSO ENHANCE THE PARK USER EXPERIENCE.I ALSO WANT TO NOTE FOR AN EXAMPLE, UH, WE'VE PARTNERED WITH THE GUFF GATE REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, UH, TO IMPROVE FOUR CITY PARKS THROUGHOUT THAT TOURIST BOUNDARY USING PORTIONS OF PARK DEDICATION FUNDS.
THE ORDINANCE ALSO ALLOWS US TO ACQUIRE LAND AND, UH, PUBLIC PARK, YOU KNOW, FOR PUBLIC PARK PURPOSES.
AS MENTIONED SINCE 2009, THE DEPARTMENT HAS ACQUIRED 65 ACRES OF PARK LAND UTILIZING 14 MILLION FROM THE, UH, PARK DEDICATION FUND.
THIS IS AN AVERAGE OF 215,000 PER ACRE.
PER ART NURSE, PER ART DEVELOPERS HAVE THE OPTION TO, UM, DEDICATE PARK LAND INSTEAD OF, UH, PAYING A FEE.
AS MENTIONED, A LITTLE OVER 55 ACRES HAS BEEN DEDICATED BY DEVELOPERS.
THAT'S 47.8 ACRES FOR PRIVATE PARKS AND 7.3 ACRES AS PUBLIC PARKS USING THE AVERAGE COST PER ACRE.
THIS REPRESENTS AN $11.8 MILLION INVESTMENT BY DEVELOPERS SLIDE 18.
NOW, THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEDICATION FUND HAS REALLY BEEN A LIFELINE FOR THE HEALTH OF OUR PARK SYSTEM, ALONG WITH OTHER, UH, PROJECTS, OF COURSE.
BUT THE NEXT FEW SLIDES WILL ILLUSTRATE SOME OF THE PROJECTS WE'VE COMPLETED.
UH, THE PHOTO OF, UH, WINDSOR PARK.
IT'S A 12 ACRE NEIGHBORHOOD PARK, UH, IN AC IN THE ACRES HOMES COMMUNITY, UH, OF DISTRICT B SLIDE 19.
WINDSOR PARK WAS, UH, REVITALIZED WITH A, WITH A, WITH A BEAUTIFUL ENTRYWAY AND A SPLASH PAD.
SLIDE 20, UH, THE NEW PLAYGROUND AND EXERCISE AREA AND NEW, UM, PICNIC SHELTERS.
IT'S AN, IT'S, THIS IS AN AERIAL VIEW THAT SHOWS THE, UH, NEWLY RESURFACED TENNIS COURT AND, UH, NEW WALKWAYS AND CONNECTIONS.
YOU KNOW, CONCERNING PARK DEDICATION FUNDS WERE ALSO, UH, USED TO SUPPORT THE 50 50, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD PARK PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM, UH, WHICH IMPROVED 22 CITY PARKS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HOUSTON PARKS BOARD AND THE CORPORATE COMMITTEE, I MEAN, CORPORATE COMMUNITY.
WE, WE WERE ABLE TO EXPAND WHAT WE WERE DOING AT THOSE 22 PARKS, NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS.
NITO PARK IS LOCATED IN COUNCIL DISTRICT H UH, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE PARKS THAT BENEFITED FROM THIS FUND.
UH, HERE YOU CAN SEE THE, UM, JUST OUTDATED PLAY EQUIPMENT.
UH, WE REPLACED THE, THE PLAYGROUND.
UH, WE HAVE A NEW, UM, SPRAY GROUND PICNIC SHELTERS WERE RENOVATED.
ALSO, A NEW EXERCISE STATION WAS ADDED ALONG WITH NEW PICNIC TABLES AND BENCHES.
SORRY, DIRECTOR, I'M GONNA HAVE TO MOVE YOU ON.
WE GOTTA, WE GOT, WE GOTTA MOVE ON.
THEY WERE, OH, THAT WAS THE END ANYWAY.
UH, THE PICTURES ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE THIS MONEY IS IMPORTANT.
UM, I HAVE A QUESTION BEFORE YOU GET STARTED.
UM, MS. KIM, EITHER FOR DIRECTOR TRAN OR DIRECTOR ALLEN, HAVE WE, OTHER THAN ADD A FEW OR THREE OR FOUR, HOWEVER MANY, UM, SECTORS, HAS THIS ORDINANCE BEEN TOUCHED IN NEARLY 20 YEARS? SINCE 2007? HAS THE FEE ALWAYS BEEN $700? SINCE 2007? THE FEE HAS ALWAYS BEEN $700.
AND WE TOUCHED THE ORDINANCE, UH, IN 2000.
YOU ADDED SOME, YOU ADDED SECONDS.
THE FEE HAS BEEN $700 AND THAT FEE, ACCORDING TO ORDINANCE, IS BASED ON APPRAISED VALUES.
AND I WOULD CERTAINLY THINK THAT APPRAISED VALUES HAVE INCREASED SINCE 2007, YET WE HAVE NOT TOUCHED THE FEE.
JUST WANTED TO GET THAT OUT THERE.
UM, UM, I'M GONNA LET SOME PEOPLE ASK A FEW QUESTIONS BEFORE, 'CAUSE BECAUSE WHAT, WHAT MS. KIM IS GONNA TALK ABOUT IS PRETTY TECHNICAL BASED ON, UM, STATE CODE.
SO IF WE COULD GET SOME GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ORDINANCE OUT NOW.
LET, LET, LET ME, LET ME LET, UM, TAMMY KIM, GO AHEAD.
'CAUSE THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
THIS IS SOME, UH, CHANGE BASED AT THE STATE LEGISLATURE THAT WAS MADE.
WE'LL LET HER DO THIS PART OF THE, PART OF THE PRESENTATION AND THEN WE'LL GO TO QUESTIONS.
UM, I'LL BE REMISS IF I, IF I DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, PLANNING GSD HOUSTON PARKS BOARD, UM, MY TEAM THAT WORKED DAY TO DAY TO ACCOMPLISH THE PROJECTS ON THE TABLE.
SO THANK, THANK YOU ALL FOR WORKING, UH, TO MAKE, TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
YEAH, YOU GO IN MY GENERAL THANK YOU BUCKET.
[02:00:01]
IT'S TECHNICALLY STILL THE MORNINGS OF GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MEMBERS OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE.I'M TAMMY KIM, SECTION CHIEF OF REAL ESTATE AND THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT.
AND I'LL BRIEFLY WALK US THROUGH, UM, CHAPTER TWO 12 OF THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE AS IT AFFECTS THE CITY'S PARK DEDICATION AUTHORITY.
SO THE PROVISION OF TWO 12 BECAME EFFECTIVE ON JANUARY 1ST, 2024, AND IT APPLIES TO THOSE CITIES WITH POPULATIONS OVER 800,000, WHICH INCLUDES HOUSTON BEFORE ANY CITY CAN IMPOSE A FEE.
UNDER THIS CHAPTER, SEVERAL THRESHOLD REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET.
AND THIS INCLUDES HOLDING PUBLIC HEARINGS TO DESIGNATE ALL AREAS WITHIN THE CITY AS EITHER SUBURBAN, URBAN, OR CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, NOTIFYING APPRAISAL DISTRICTS CALCULATING AN AVERAGE LAND VALUE WITHIN EACH OF THOSE DISTRICTS, ESTABLISHING BOTH A DWELLING UNIT FACTOR AND DENSITY FACTOR.
AND AS DETAILED IN THE STATUTE, THESE STEPS ARE MANDATORY AND FAILURE TO COMPLY COULD EXPOSE THE CITY TO LEGAL CHALLENGES OR LIMIT OUR ABILITY TO IMPOSE PARK DEDICATION.
T 12 APPLIES SPECIFICALLY TO MULTIFAMILY HOTEL AND MOTEL DEVELOPMENTS.
IT PROHIBITS THIS REQUIREMENTS ON PURELY COMMERCIAL PROJECTS, BUT THERE'S NO PROHIBITION AGAINST SINGLE FAMILY DEVELOPMENTS.
THE BOTTOM HALF OF THIS SLIDE ADDRESSES BOTH LAND DEDICATION AND FEE IN LIEU AS THE STATUTE IMAGINED SCENARIOS WHERE CITIES CAN REQUIRE EITHER PURE, UH, LAND DEDICATION, JUST A FEE IN LIEU, OR A COMBINATION OF BOTH.
FIRST, I'LL GO THROUGH THE DEDICATION, UH, REQUIREMENTS IN THE CHAPTER.
THE BOTTOM HALF, THE BOTTOM RIGHT HAND SIDE, UH, CHAPTER TWO 12, PLACES CLEAR STATUTORY LIMITS ON LAND DEDICATION.
AND MOST NOTABLY, LAND DEDICATION MAY NOT EXCEED 10% OF THE DEVELOPMENT AREA ACROSS THE BOARD.
LANDOWNER IS ENTITLED TO MAKE AN APPLICATION TO THE CITY TO KNOW WHAT THE DEDICATION REQUIREMENTS WILL BE WITHIN 30 DAYS.
IF THE CITY DOES NOT PROVIDE THEM AN ANSWER, THE MUNICIPALITY DOES NOT GET THE RIGHT TO IMPOSE THIS LAND DEDICATION ANYMORE.
THE STATUTE ALSO IMAGINES OPTIONS WHERE A DEVELOPER MAY DEDICATE A PORTION OF THE LAND AND PAY A REDUCED FEE.
HOWEVER, IF THE CITY ACCEPTS THIS OPTION OF DEDICATION, THE VALUE OF THE LAND MUST BE SUBTRACTED FROM THE RESULTING, UM, FEE CALCULATION.
AND IMPORTANTLY, IF THAT CALCULATION RESULTS IN A NEGATIVE NUMBER, THE STATUTE ENTITLES A DEVELOPER TO THE DIFFERENCE.
UM, THIS REPRESENTS OBVIOUSLY A SIGNIFICANT PROCEDURAL CHANGE AND HAS A DIRECT IMPLICATION FOR THE CITY.
THE BOTTOM LEFT HAND SIDE OF THAT SLIDE TALKS ABOUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FEE IMAGINED IN TWO 12, AND THE FIRST IS A FEE THAT EXCEEDS 2% OF MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.
THIS OPTION, IF THE CITY WERE CHOOSE TO IMPLEMENT IT, REQUIRES A MORE COMPLEX CALCULATION.
IT IS MORE DIFFICULT TO ADMINISTER, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE CARVE OUTS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THE ALTERNATIVE FEE IS A LOW FEE, UH, OPTION, OR A MINIMUM FEE OPTION.
AND THIS IS CAPPED AT BEING UNDER 2% OF THE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.
BASED ON OUR CALCULATIONS BRIEFLY, THAT SHOULD BE APPROXIMATELY $1,260 PER DWELLING UNIT.
THIS APPROACH OFFERS A MORE PREDICTABLE AND ADMINISTRATIVELY STRAIGHTFORWARD, UM, WAY TO IMPLEMENT REGARDLESS OF THE CHOICE OF FEE.
THERE'S ALSO A BIG CHANGE, THE TIMING, THE COLLECTION OF THE FEE.
CURRENTLY WE COLLECT THE FEE, THE TIME THE APPLICATION IS SUBMITTED, TWO 12, UM, REQUIRES US TO ASSESS THE FEE WHEN IT'S SUBMITTED, BUT WE CANNOT COLLECT IT UNTIL THE DEVELOPER RECEIVES HER CO.
SO WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF THAT TIMING ON OUR BUDGETS AND ON OUR PLANNING AS WE PREPARE WITH THE, UM, IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED WITH THESE FEES.
SO THIS, UH, SLIDE JUST BRIEFLY TOUCHES ON THE, THE PITIES, UM, HAVE RESPONDED OR WHO HAVE NOT, UM, COVERS DALLAS, FORT WORTH, AUSTIN, AND SAN ANTONIO.
RIGHT NOW, DALLAS APPEARS TO BE THE ONLY CITY WHO HAS IMPLEMENTED A FORM OF THIS MINIMUM FEE ON MALT, UH, MOTEL AND HOTEL DEVELOPERS.
UM, THEY HAVE DIFFERENT FORMULAS FOR MULTI-FAMILY, UM, AND SINGLE FAMILY.
AND SAN ANTONIO DOES NOT SEEM TO HAVE, UM, MADE ANY CHANGE TO THEIR CURRENT ORDINANCES.
SO, HOUSTON MUST ALIGN OUR ORDINANCE WITH THE STATE LAW TO MAINTAIN PARITY AND PROTECT ITS PARK DEDICATION AUTHORITY.
THE IMMEDIATE NEXT STEP BEFORE COUNSEL IS TO AMEND THOSE PROVISIONS OF THE CODE TO BRING THEM INTO COMPLIANCE WITH CHAPTER TWO 12.
AND COMPLIANCE IS REQUIRED FOR THE CITY, NOT ONLY TO MINIMIZE LITIGATION RISK, BUT ULTIMATELY PRESERVE OUR ABILITY TO FUND AND PROVIDE PARKLAND AND PARK FACILITIES FOR ITS RESIDENTS.
SO THANK YOU FOR, UM, THE TIME AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT THIS TOGETHER WITH PLANNING AND PARKS, AND WE HOPE IT WAS INFORMATIVE AS TO BEING A SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE ARE WITH THAT.
UH, DIRECTOR ALLEN, IF YOU LOOK ON PAGE 17 WHERE YOU TALKED ABOUT THE TOTAL 55.5 ACRES
[02:05:01]
DEDICATED, SO WHEN THE DEVELOPER DEDICATES THAT LAND, IS IT LIKE LAND ADJACENT TO THEIR, THEIR PROJECT OR IT CAN BE ANYWHERE? HOW DOES, HOW DOES THAT WORK? IT COULD BE ANYWHERE IN THE PARK SECTOR, SO IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ADJACENT TO THEIR PROPERTY UNLESS, UNLESS THEY'RE DOING A PRIVATE PARK, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THAT, WITHIN THAT DEVELOPMENT.SO THEY JUST SAID, I OWN THIS LAND TOO.
SO I IN LIEU OF, I WANT TO JUST DEDICATE THIS LAND TO BE PART OF THE PARK SPACE? CORRECT.
WE, WE OF COURSE HAVE TO ACCEPT IT AND MAKE SURE THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WANT.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GONNA JUST TAKE ANY LAND THAT YOU GIVE US.
IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S SEVEN ACRES HAVE BEEN DONE THAT WAY.
THE MAJORITY IS THE PRIVATE PARKS THAT THEY DO LIKE THEIR, THEIR DEVELOPMENT.
UH, VICE CHAIR CASTILLO, THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR THE UPDATE.
UH, THE THIRD BULLET POINT ADJUSTMENTS BASED ON APPRAISED LAND VALUE.
HOW OFTEN HAVE THOSE ADJUSTMENTS, UH, BEEN UTILIZED? NOT SINCE WE'VE CREATED THE ORDINANCE IN 2007.
SO THEY'VE NEVER BEEN UTILIZED? NO, SIR.
THAT'S WHY I WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS ORDINANCE.
THANK YOU ALL TO EACH OF THE DEPARTMENTS CHAIR.
THANK YOU FOR LEADING ON THIS IMPORTANT EFFORT TO UPDATE, UM, BAD NEWS.
THE STATE IS ONCE AGAIN, UH, TARGETING MAJOR CITIES.
I THINK THIS BILL WAS AUTHORED BY SOMEBODY THAT LIVES IN NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THE CITIES THAT ARE TARGETED BY THIS.
UM, I GUESS THE GOOD NEWS IS IT HASN'T BEEN UPDATED AND SO LONG THAT THIS GIVES US THAT OPPORTUNITY.
DO WE SEE THE, A LARGER AMOUNT OF INVESTMENT COMING IN AS WE UPDATE THIS? OR ARE WE GONNA LOSE MORE SO BASED ON THE NEW CALCULATION THAT WE HAVE TO GO BY? ARE WE GONNA LOSE MORE OR ARE WE GONNA GAIN THAT'S, THAT'S GONNA BE THE NEXT STEP WE NEED TO DO SOME ANALYSIS.
UM, AGAIN, I, THAT'S MY BIGGEST CONCERN AND I WAS GONNA ASK AT THE BEGINNING, THE PICTURES LOOK GREAT.
I SAW WITH SOME OF THE NEWER PARKS, SHADE STRUCTURES AND DIRECTOR ALAN, YOU KNOW, MY BIG PUSH NOW, UH, WITH CLIMATE CHANGES, ANYTHING NEW WE'RE PUTTING IN, WE'VE GOTTA MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE SHADE BECAUSE EVEN WITH THE TYPE OF MATERIALS THAT WE'RE USING, THE EQUIPMENT'S TOO HOT FOR THE KIDS TO PLAY ON A LOT OF THE TIME.
UH, CAN YOU TALK REALLY QUICKLY ABOUT THE INCREASED COSTS OF PARK EQUIPMENT AND JUST WHAT A SHADE STRUCTURE ALONE COSTS? JUST, YOU KNOW, FROM PRODUCTS AND PARKING ENHANCEMENTS AND IMPROVEMENTS WITH EVERYTHING? THERE'S BEEN AN ESCALATION OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THE SPECIFIC PERCENTAGE, BUT I KNOW IT'S COST US A LOT MORE TO PUT IN, WHETHER IT'S SHADE OR WHETHER IT'S PLAYGROUND, YOU NAME IT.
UM, I CAN GET YOU THE EXACT FIGURE FOR THE SHADE STRUCTURES, BUT THEY ARE KEY ELEMENTS TO MAKING SURE THAT KIDS ARE SAFE, ESPECIALLY DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS.
AND I, I RAISED THAT ONLY 'CAUSE AGAIN, AS WE START TO CALCULATE THE COST OF NEW PARKS, I REALLY WANNA ENCOURAGE US AS A CITY TO BE INCORPORATING THAT SHADE, UM, ALMOST AS A REQUIRED COMPONENT FOR SAFETY AT THIS POINT.
UM, JUST LIKE WE DO WITH DRAINAGE, JUST LIKE WE DO WITH OTHER THINGS.
AGAIN, THAT'S, THAT'S MORE OF A BURDEN ON THE CITY AND I RECOGNIZE THAT, WHICH IS WHY I'M ASKING THE QUESTION ABOUT HOW THIS NEW LAW, STATEWIDE LAW IS GONNA IMPACT US FINANCIALLY.
UM, AND IT'S WITH EQUIPMENT THAT WE NEED TO KEEP OUR KIDS SAFE AND HEALTHY.
WE BUILD IN SOME CONTINGENCIES WHEN WE, WHEN WE PLAN, UH, AND WHEN WE, WHEN WE CREATE THE BUDGET.
UM, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, YOU KNOW, AFTER, AFTER A YEAR AND A HALF OF PLANNING, DESIGN AND PERMITTING, IF WE DON'T HAVE THE CONTINGENCY COSTS HAS GONE UP.
WELL, WE APPRECIATE ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS WORKING TOGETHER AND EVERYTHING THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING.
COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, LOOKING AT THE FORMULA THAT YOU'VE GOT, IF I'VE GOT A 200 UNIT MULTIFAMILY COMPLEX I'M BUILDING COMES OUT TO 3.6 ACRES, HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST ME AS A DEVELOPER? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
ONE THAT I DON'T HAVE, UM, BASED ON ACRE, IF YOU COULD HELP ME WITH THAT, I'LL APPRECIATE IT.
I DON'T HAVE THE CALCULATION FOR THE ACRES, BUT IF YOU WERE TO PAY THE FEE IN LIEU, $700 TIMES 200 UNITS, 140,000.
[02:10:01]
OR WHAT? MY GUESS IS THE 140,000 IS ALWAYS THE CHEAPER.IT'S CHEAPER ONE THAN THE LAND.
AND THIS MONEY GOES TO ACQUIRING NEW PARKS AND ALSO TO IMPROVING THE EXISTING PARKS.
WHEN WE ACQUIRE NEW PARKS, OBVIOUSLY WE INCREASE YOUR OPERATING EXPENSES, CORRECT.
BUT WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO USE ANY OF THIS MONEY FOR OPERATING EXPENSES.
SO I ASSUME THAT KIND OF PUTS YOU IN A BIND.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, DIRECTOR ALLEN, I WANTED TO ASK YOU A QUESTION ABOUT SLIDE 13, IF WE COULD PULL THAT UP.
THIS SAYS THAT SINCE 2007, A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS HAS BEEN COLLECTED UNDER THIS ORDINANCE, OF WHICH, UH, 47 MILLION HAS BEEN SPENT ON IMPROVEMENTS AND 36 MILLION PROJECTS COMMITTED.
WHEN WE SAY PROJECTS COMMITTED, WHAT, WHAT STAGE ARE THOSE PROJECTS? UM, THEY, THEY VARY BETWEEN WHAT'S BEEN ALLOCATED, UH, AND WHAT WE PLAN TO USE, USE IT FOR.
UM, WE'VE TARGETED, UH, SPECIFIC PARKS AND SECTORS THAT WE CAN ADDRESS, WE CAN ADDRESS.
AND THEN, UH, BETWEEN PROJECTS COMMITTED AND PROJECTS TARGETED, WE ALSO, WE ALSO HAVE THAT CALCULATION AS ONE, LET ME GET TO THE SLIDE.
WE, WE HAVE THAT ACTUALLY ENCUMBERED FOR THE IMPROVEMENTS.
AND THEN COMMITTED, IT'S JUST PLACED ON A, ON A WHOLE BECAUSE WE KNOW WE'RE GONNA GET TO THAT PROJECT.
UM, WE'RE TARGETING THAT THE FUNDS TO USE FOR A SPECIFIC PROJECT.
AND HOW CAN WE GET THOSE PROJECTS UNDERWAY MORE QUICKLY? YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
WE WORK WITH GSD, WE WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS.
UH, HOUSTON PARKS BOARD IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF HOW WE'VE ADDRESSED 25 PARKS, UM, IN 20, UH, THREE OR 24, UH, WITHIN A COUPLE OF YEARS.
AND NOW WE'RE, WE'RE TARGETING ANOTHER 25 PARK UNDER THE MAYORS LET'S PLAY HOUSTON INITIATIVE.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE IN DESIGN WITH THOSE NEXT 11 PARKS.
UM, AND WE'LL START CONSTRUCTION AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
SO HAVING PARTNERS TO HELP YOU MANAGE THROUGH THE PROJECTS, IT, IT DEFINITELY HELPS US SPEED, SPEED THINGS UP.
WELL, WE'RE APPRECIATIVE OF THE PARKS BOARD, CERTAINLY FOR, FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTION.
NOW, IF YOU DO THE MATH, AND I MAY HAVE MISSED IT DURING YOUR PRESENTATION, IF YOU DO THE MATH, THERE'S 13 MILLION THAT IT'S NOT IN EITHER ONE OF THOSE TWO BUCKETS.
WHAT, WHAT HAS BECOME OF THAT 13 MILLION? YEAH, THAT 13 MILLION IS 13, 14 MILLION IS WHAT'S, WHAT'S LEFT IN THE FUND RIGHT NOW? UH, IS IT JUST SITTING THERE? YEAH.
IT NEEDS TO BE IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS.
WE'RE HOPING TO REALLY EAT INTO THAT, UH, WORKING WITH PARTNERS AND IDENTIFYING OTHER PARK, UM, AMENITIES THAT WE COULD FOCUS ON.
I MEAN, OUR, OUR PLAYGROUNDS, LIKE I SAID, IS A MAJOR, A MAJOR, UH, TARGET FOR IMPROVEMENT.
AND THEN OUR REGIONAL PARKS AND COMMUNITY PARKS NEED A LITTLE BIT OF HELP TOO.
BUT WE HAVE, WE HAVE TO REALLY EAT INTO, YOU KNOW, COMPLETING PROJECTS THAT ARE ON THE TABLE NOW.
AND IF I COULD ASK, UH, TAMMY, A QUESTION ABOUT SLIDE 25.
THIS WAS THE ONE WHERE YOU EXPLAINED THAT, UH, UH, THE DEVELOPER MAY DEDICATE A PORTION OF THE DEVELOPMENT MM-HMM
AND THE CITY MIGHT, IN SOME INSTANCES, HAVE TO PAY THE DIFFERENCE AT THE TIME.
SO WHO, WHO HAS CONTROL OVER THAT, THAT PROCESS? UH, IS IT SOLELY WITHIN THE DEVELOPER'S CONTROL? THE DEVELOPER HAS THE OPTION OF OPTING FOR THAT IF THE CALCULATION RESULTS IN SOMETHING OBVIOUSLY FAVORABLE.
THE, THE DIFFICULTY WITH THE STATE LAW IS THAT IT CONSIDERS, SORRY, SPEAK UP JUST A LITTLE BIT.
THE DIFFICULTY WITH THE STATE LAW IS THAT IT CONSIDERS THE, THE LAND VALUE IN THE CALCULATION NOW, UM, AS UPDATED REGULARLY BY THE APPRAISAL DISTRICTS, WHICH WASN'T A FACTOR IN THE PAST MM-HMM
AND SO DOES THE CITY HAVE ANY SAY IN, IN HOW MUCH GETS, UH, DEDICATED? UM, SO WE HAVE TO LIMIT IT TO NO MORE THAN BEING 10% OF THE, THE LAND ITSELF.
AND IF THE DEVELOPER CHOOSES TO NOT DEDICATE IT ALL, ALL, I DON'T WANNA DEDICATE ALL 10%, I'LL APPLY SOME OF THIS MINIMUM.
IT'S ALSO THE MINIMUM FEE THAT GETS APPLIED.
I'LL SUBTRACT THE MINIMUM FEE THAT'S DUE, AND IF THE VALUE OF MY LAND IS MORE THAN THE MINIMUM FEE, THEN I'M ENTITLED TO THAT CREDIT.
THIS STATUTE'S OBVIOUSLY, UM, ENCOURAGING CITIES TO CHOOSE THE MINIMUM FEE IN INSTEAD OF REQUIRING LAND DEDICATION.
[02:15:01]
OKAY.UM, I'M SORRY, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ, BECAUSE WE HAVE, I, I KNOW I SAID WE HAD MORE TIME ON THIS ONE, BUT WE'LL WRITE DOWN THESE QUESTIONS.
I JUST HAVE, UH, A COUPLE, UM, ON THE SECTORS.
UH, WE ARE, I WANTED TO ASK, UM, YOU MS. KIM, WE ARE REQUIRED BY STATE LAW TO KEEP THE MONEY WITHIN THE SECTOR? OR IS THERE LEEWAY THERE? OH, I, I'D HAVE TO GO BACK TO LOOK AT THAT.
I DON'T THINK THERE WAS A SPECIFICATION ABOUT KEEPING IT WITHIN THE SECTOR.
SO MONEY'S COLLECTED IN ONE SECTOR COULD POTENTIALLY GO TOWARDS, I'LL HAVE TO REPEAT THAT.
AND DIRECTOR ALLEN? I I CAN ANSWER THAT.
NO, IT'S GOTTA BE USED WITHIN THE SECTOR.
IT HAS TO BE USED WITH BY STATE CODE? WELL, OR IS THAT JUST OUR POLICY? WELL, Y'ALL GET BACK TO ME ON THAT.
AND, AND DIRECTOR, UM, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR PREFERENCE AS FAR AS THE SECTORS GO? DO YOU DO THESE SEC, ARE THESE SECTORS, THESE HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR, YOU KNOW, 20 YEARS, ARE THEY RIGHT, DO WE NEED TO MOVE THE BOUNDARIES? DO WE NEED TO LOOK AT MORE, UH, A DIFFERENT, A DIFFERENT SECTOR MODEL? UM, WHAT'S YOUR OPINION ON THE SECTORS? MY PROFESSIONAL OPINION, YOU KNOW, IN SOME SECTORS WE MAY HAVE TWO PARKS, RIGHT? IN OTHER SECTORS WE MAY HAVE EIGHT.
SO IF THERE'S A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE SECTOR WITH TWO PARKS, WE CAN'T USE IT RIGHT NOW IN ANY OTHER SECTOR.
AND THEN THERE'S LITTLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE SECTOR WITH EIGHT PARKS AND WE, IT'S UNEVEN.
SO A WAY FOR US TO, WE HAVE TO CONTINUE ANALYSIS, BUT A WAY FOR US TO EQU FROM AN E EQUITABLE STANDPOINT, UH, COLLECT MONEY FROM ALL SECTORS AND USE THEM.
MY MY OPINION IS THAT IT'LL BE NICE TO DO THAT WOULD BE TO BE ADVANTAGEOUS.
I APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU AND COLLEAGUES.
AGAIN, I'M SORRY THIS MEETING WAS, IS SO LENGTHY, BUT, BUT, UM, I APPRECIATE IT.
WE WANNA GET TO THE PUBLIC SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM.
WE DO HAVE SOME AND I, I HAVE TO LIMIT YOU TO ONE MINUTE, I APOLOGIZE.
UM, I'LL GO AHEAD AND START CALLING ED PETIT WITH FRIENDS OF COLUMBIA TAP.
UM, I'LL JUST FOREGO MY NOTES SINCE I DIDN'T DO THEM FOR ONE MINUTE.
BUT TO ANSWER YOUR LAST QUESTION, IT'S CITY ORDINANCE THAT DETERMINED THOSE BOUNDARIES AND WE COULD CHANGE THAT.
WE COULD CHANGE THE BOUNDARIES THEMSELVES.
WE COULD ALSO PUT IN SOMETHING THAT SAYS WE CAN SPEND 20% OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARIES LIKE YOU DID FOR THE SIDEWALK ORDINANCE.
THE PROBLEM WITH THE EXISTING BOUNDARIES IS THAT THEY'RE BASICALLY A DARTBOARD OF HIGHWAYS.
WE USE THE HIGHWAYS TO DEFINE THE PARKS BOUNDARIES.
AND THOSE HIGHWAYS WERE BUILT ON DISCRIMINATORY HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT IN THE 1950S AND SIXTIES THAT WENT THROUGH BLACK AND BROWN NEIGHBORHOODS TEARING DOWN HOUSES BECAUSE THEY WERE THE NEIGHBORHOODS OF LEAST RESISTANCE.
AND NOW WE'VE USED THOSE SAME BOUNDARIES TO TRAP THESE FEES IN LIEU TO ONLY BE SPENT IN THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE HAVING THE MOST RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT.
SO WE BASICALLY TOLD NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE THIRD WARD, THE EAST END, THAT YOU'RE NOT GENTRIFIED ENOUGH TO HAVE FEES TO ACQUIRE NEW PARKS.
ONE THING THAT I DIDN'T NOTICE IN THIS PRESENTATION IS HOW MUCH HAS THE CITY SPENT ON PARK LAND ACQUISITION? BECAUSE THIS MONEY ISN'T MEANT TO DO DEFERRED MAINTENANCE ON PLAYGROUNDS AND TENNIS COURTS.
THE SPIRIT OF IT WAS TO EXPAND PARKS.
I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE ACRES THAT UNDERSTOOD.
AND WE DO, WE DO HAVE, I HAVE SEEN THE, HAS BEEN, I HAVE SEEN SOME BACKUP ON, ON WHAT WE'VE ACQUIRED.
I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR A LONG TIME WITH ME AND I APPRECIATE YOUR ADVOCACY.
WELL, NEXT, UM, BECK EDWARDS, SIA VIC WITH SEER.
MY NAME IS STEPHANIA THOMAS KOVIC.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF SR, THE COALITION FOR ENVIRONMENT EQUITY AND RESILIENCE.
AND WE WORK TO RAISE AWARENESS OF POLLUTION PLACE AND PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND IN, IN THE PARK SPACE, WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS ENSURE THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON, UM, THE CITY OF HOUSTON CREATES A FAIR AND JUST DISTRIBUTION OF PARK SCREEN SPACES AND RECREATIONAL RESOURCES FOR ALL HOUSTONIANS.
SO I'M HERE TODAY TO EXPRESS MY SUPPORT IN RAISING THE IN LIE FEE BECAUSE IF YOU THINK ABOUT JUST INFLATION ITSELF, A $700 FEE IN 2007 IS AT LEAST $1,200 TODAY.
SO THAT, THAT RATE INCREASE IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
[02:20:01]
BUT ALSO, AS WAS MENTIONED BY THE PREVIOUS SPEAKER, WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE IS NOT JUST AN INCREASE, BUT AN EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF THE FUNDING ALLOWING FOR AT LEAST A 70 30 SPLIT LIKE THE SIDEWALK ORDINANCE.HERMAN EZ, BOY, HE WAS HERE AT THE VERY BEGINNING, EVEN EARLY
I NOTICED THAT, UM, BENCHMARKING WAS USED IN ONE OF THE SLIDES TO COMPARE WITH OTHER CITIES.
I THINK THAT WE OUGHT TO LOOK AT IT FROM A ZERO, UM, UH, BASE, UM, BUDGETING BASIS, UM, AND TRY TO FOCUS IN ON THE CITY NOT NEEDING, UM, UH, MONEY FROM, UM, PHILANTHROPIC, UM, UH, AGENCIES AND THE DEVELOPERS AND COME UP WITH THAT NUMBER TO COMPARE IT TO WHAT THE 1200 NUMBER THAT WE HAVE.
AND THEN THE OTHER THING THAT I THINK, UM, BECAUSE OF ALL THE THINGS THE OTHER PEOPLE HAVE SAID, WE NEED TO HAVE MORE COMMUNITY, UM, UM, UM, PARTICIPATION IN DETERMINING THIS THING.
WE CAN'T JUST LET THE PHILANTHROPIC AND THE DEVELOPERS DECIDE WHERE THE PARKS GO.
BRANDY TINO WITH RACIST COLLABORATIVE OR RANDY? OH, BRANDY OR RANDY? OR RANDY, SORRY.
AND I THINK BECK EDWARDS JOINED, SO.
OR RANDY, WE'LL HAVE YOU FIRST.
I'M DIRECTOR OF THE RAS COLLAB PROJECT BASED OUTTA SOUTHEAST HOUSTON.
AND I'M ALSO HERE TO, UH, SUPPORT THE, THE RAISED IN, UH, FEE THAT IS CHARGED FOR BASED OFF OF THE APPRAISED VALUE.
UM, SINCE NOT EVEN 2007, PROBABLY 2017, 2018, MY PERSONAL PROPERTY TAXES HAVE GONE UP BY AT LEAST $500 PER MONTH
AND SO I THINK THAT IF INDIVIDUALS SUCH AS MYSELF ARE CONTRIBUTING MORE TO, UM, THE BETTERMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY THAN DEVELOPERS WHO ARE MAKING A PROFIT OUT OF THIS CAN ALSO, UM, CONTRIBUTE A HIGHER AMOUNT.
UM, I AGREE WITH THE COLLABORATION WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS IS REALLY ESSENTIAL TO MAKE SURE THAT COMMUNITIES THAT ARE LACKING IN PARKS OR HIGH QUALITY PARKS ARE ALSO HELPED.
UM, OUR ORGANIZATION IS WORKING RIGHT NOW TO IDEALLY FIND A SPACE IN A, IN A LOCAL PARK SO THAT WE CAN CREATE AN EDIBLE GARDEN.
UM, AND THAT WAY IT'S, UH, COMPOUNDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ADVOCACY.
ARE YOU ONLINE? I'M WORRIED ABOUT WHAT JACK SAID THAT IT DOESN'T REALLY WORK.
UH, YEAH, I'M ONLINE IF YOU CAN HEAR ME.
SO, UM, MY NAME IS BECK EDWARDS AND I'M A UNDERGRADUATE SENIOR AT RICE UNIVERSITY.
UM, AND I'M HERE TO INTRODUCE, UM, KIND OF THIS IDEA THAT'S BEEN BROUGHT UP ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, REDISTRICTING, LIKE THESE PARK SECTORS.
UM, SO THERE'S ACTUALLY, I'M RUNNING A, A STUDENT PROJECT THIS YEAR ON, ON RICE CAMPUS, UM, WITH A TEAM OF SEVEN RICE, UH, ENGINEERING STUDENTS TO, UM, COLLABORATE WITH SEER TO KIND OF LIKE BUILD A MATHEMATIC OPTIMIZATION MODEL, UM, TO GENERATE LIKE ALTERNATIVE BOUNDARIES, UM, JUST AS KIND OF LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, A, A RESEARCH OFFERING INTO THIS IDEA.
UM, AND SO THIS, THIS PROJECT IS GONNA BE GOING ON FROM, UH, FEBRUARY 1ST TO APRIL 19TH.
AND, UM, THERE'S A POSSIBILITY OF KIND OF LIKE CONTINUATION OVER THE SUMMER FUTURE SEMESTERS.
AND THIS IS REALLY JUST TO KIND OF GET INTO THAT, THAT IDEA AND THAT REALM OF, UM, YOU KNOW, REDISTRICTING THESE AND, UM, KIND OF HAVING A RESEARCH AND AN OPTIMIZATION BACKED IDEA OF, UM, OF WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
BE FOR CALLING IN AND THANKS FOR THE WORK YOU'RE DOING AT RICE NEXT BECKY SMITH WITH CLEAN WATER ACTION.
SHE'S NOT CALLED IN, NOT, AND DOMINIC MAZO IS NOT HERE.
ANDY ESCOBAR WAS SEER THIS ONE.
UM, REALLY WANT TO ECHO THE SENTIMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN SHARED BEFORE.
WE ABSOLUTELY NEED TO RAISE THIS FEE.
UM, IT'S ABSURD THAT IT HASN'T BEEN RAISED IN 2007.
WE KNOW THAT HOUSTON IS TRAILING SOME OF THE OTHER BIG CITIES IN TERMS OF ACCESS TO
[02:25:01]
PARKS AND GREEN SPACES, AND I WANT TO SEE US, UM, DO BETTER AND BE BETTER.UM, AND WE KNOW THAT IF WE CAN PUT SOME OF THOSE FUNDS INTO THE REALLOCATION, UH, BUDGET AND MAKE IT MORE EQUITABLE ACROSS THE SECTORS, WE CAN MAKE A LOT OF CHANGES.
SO, UM, I KNOW THAT PARKS ARE ALSO SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ALL PRETTY MUCH AGREE ON, RIGHT?
SO, UM, REALLY EXCITED THAT WE GET, GET TO TALK ABOUT THIS.
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS UP AND, UM, LET'S GET TO WORK.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, I APPRECIATE IT.
KIMBERLY PHIPPS NICHOLS AFTERNOON COUNCIL.
UH, KIMBERLY PHIPPS NICHOL, I AM A RESIDENT OF PARK SECTOR 14, SO, UH, THANK YOU, UM, COUNCIL CAYMAN FOR BEING MY REP.
UM, AND, UH, I GET TO LIVE NEXT DOOR TO LEVY PARK, BUT I WORK IN THIRD WARD AND THE PEOPLE THAT I SERVE DO NOT HAVE THESE KINDS OF AMENITIES AS ACCESS.
AND SO AGAIN, COMING IN WITH SUPPORT AS, AS YOU'RE LOOKING TO BRING OUR PARKS ORDINANCE IN LINE WITH, UH, LGC TWO 12 AND LOOK AT WHAT THESE ORDINANCE REQUIREMENTS ARE, I WOULD, UM, ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONSIDER EXEMPTING PARKS SPENDING FROM THE REVENUE CAP LIKE WE DO FOR PUBLIC SAFETY.
PASSING A CHARTER AMENDMENT TO CREATE ADDITIONAL MAINTENANCE FUNDS TO ENSURE SEPARATION OF MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENTS.
AND BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT THE ACCOUNTABILITY REQUIRED FOR THAT.
INSTEAD OF PARK SECTORS, CONSIDER CREATING A CITYWIDE PARK DISTRICT SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE THESE OLD, UM, BARRIERS TO, UH, SPENDING THE FUNDS AND, UH, INCREASING THE FEE IN LIEU.
THOSE WERE SOME GOOD SUGGESTIONS.
ALRIGHT, I WILL HAPPILY RELINQUISH MY CHAIR TO COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, WHO WILL LEAD US IN THE SOLID WASTE DISCUSSION.
WELCOME DIRECTOR ARIA AND CHIEF OF STAFF VERONICA LIAMA.
DID I GET THAT RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
UM, YOU WANNA GO AHEAD WITH YOUR PRESENTATION? YES, SIR.
GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR COMMITTEE, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UH, THE TRANSITIONING OF HEAVY TRASH TO A SCHEDULED SERVICE.
SO WHAT WE'VE, UM, COME TO FIND OUT SINCE MY TENURE AS DIRECTOR OF SOLID WASTE, THAT THE, UM, CURRENT SERVICES THAT WE OFFER ARE NOT UP TO THE STANDARDS THAT THE CITIZENS DESERVE.
AND WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MITIGATE THOSE PROBLEMS. SO ONE THING THAT WE WANTED TO DO WAS IMPLEMENT A NEW PROGRAM, UM, OF COLLECTING HEAVY TRASH ON A SCHEDULED SERVICE.
UH, THE REASON WHY WE CAME UP WITH THIS IDEA WAS THE PREVIOUS SYSTEM WAS NOT SUITABLE AT A CITYWIDE SCALE.
CREWS ARE DRIVING EVERY STREET, WHETHER TRASH WAS SET OUT OR NOT, DELAYS IN BACKLOGS IMPACT NEIGHBORHOODS AND RESIDENTS ASK FOR MORE PREDICTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
HOW DOES THIS WORK? HOW RESIDENTS REQUEST A HEAVY TRASH COLLECTION? SO THE INITIAL CALL WOULD BE A THREE ONE ONE, UH, TO SUBMIT A SERVICE REQUEST, UH, THE REQUEST, IT COMES INTO OUR DEPARTMENT.
WE WILL REQUEST, UH, WHEN, WHEN REQUEST IS REVIEWED, AND IT WILL BE SCHEDULED PER THE RESIDENT.
THE RESIDENT IS NOTIFIED OF THE SCHEDULED DATE.
THE COLLECTION WILL BE COMPLETED WITHIN FIVE WORKING DAYS OF THE SCHEDULED DATE.
PROVIDED EACH ADDRESS MAY REQUEST UP TO FOUR COLLECTIONS CURBSIDE PER CALENDAR YEAR.
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS PROGRAM.
WE HAVE BEEN, UM, WE HAD A KICKOFF AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, SOMEWHAT AT THE END OF LAST YEAR.
UM, WE WERE FORTUNATE AND BLESSED TO PIGGYBACK OFF OF, UH, PUBLIC WORKS, UH, WORK ORDER SYSTEM.
UH, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT SOLID WASTE HAS A WORK ORDER SYSTEM, UM, IN OUR DEPARTMENT.
WE'RE UNDERGOING SOFTWARE TESTING.
UH, WE'RE IN THE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVER TRAINING AS WELL.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE ANNOUNCED THE PROGRAM.
WE HAVE COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET THE FIRST SCHEDULED PICKUP TO LUNCH ON MARCH THE SECOND.
[02:30:01]
A GREAT ASSET TO THIS PROGRAM IN WHICH, UH, WE DON'T FEEL LIKE WE, WE'VE DONE A, A GREAT JOB AT PROMOTING IS OUR RESIDENTIAL DROP OFF CENTERS, UH, KNOWN AS THE DEPOSIT DEPOSITORIES.UM, WE'VE GONE TO SEVERAL, UH, SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT HOAS, CITY CIVIC CLUBS.
AND ONE THING THAT WE FOUND OUT THAT A LOT OF OUR RESIDENTS DON'T KNOW A LOT ABOUT OUR, UH, RESIDENTIAL DROP OFF CENTERS SLASH UH, DEPOSIT DEPOSITORIES.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, SIX NEIGHBORHOOD DEPOSITORIES RESIDENTIAL DROP-OFF CENTERS THAT ARE LOCATED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CITY.
UM, AND THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO TAKE RESIDENTIAL TRASH AT THESE DEPOSIT DEPOSITORIES SO THAT RESIDENTS DON'T HAVE TO LEAVE CURBSIDE HEAVY TRASH IN FRONT OF THEIR HOUSES FOR MANY DAYS AND SOMETIMES MONTHS.
PROCESS EFFICIENCIES AND ROUTE OPTIMIZATION.
UM, ONE THING THAT WE DID DO IS, UH, COLLECTION OF TRASH AND RECYCLING.
UH, I CAN'T THANK THE MEN AND WOMEN OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT FOR, UM, THE, THE, THE FIRST SIX MONTHS THAT I WAS IN OFFICE, WE WERE PLAGUED WITH THE RECYCLING AND TRASH PICKUP OF THE CANS ON THE ROAD.
AND I CAN HONESTLY SAY NOW THAT THOSE PROBLEMS DON'T EXIST IN OUR DEPARTMENT ANYMORE.
UM, AND THAT WAS DUE TO THE FACT OF, UH, THE UTILIZATION OF, OF USING A WORK ORDER SYSTEM THAT WAS IN PLACE, WHICH IS, UH, ROUTE WEAR, UM, ACCURATE TRACKING OF SERVICE REQUESTS.
WE ACTUALLY BALANCE THE, UM, THE ROUTES.
SO EACH DRIVER HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPLETE THEIR ROUTE IN AN EFFICIENT AMOUNT OF TIME.
UH, AND, AND FOR, FOR WORK LIFE BALANCE.
AND ALSO PLAYING REFINEMENTS USING PERFORMANCE DATA.
SO WE IMPLEMENTED STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR EACH DRIVER, UH, TO SET A MINIMUM OF COLLECTING 950 CANS PER DAY.
UM, THAT GIVES THEM OPPORTUNITY, A GOAL TO STRIVE FOR EVERY SINGLE DAY.
SO THE BURNS AND MCDONALD'S STUDY HAS, UH, BEEN COMPLETE.
UH, IT SHOWS THE INDEPENDENT COST SERVICE ANALYSIS THAT IS COMPLETED.
IT EVALUATED SERVICE MODELS AND WHAT, UH, WHAT OTHER COST DRIVERS AND ALSO, UH, FINDINGS UNDER INTERNAL REVIEW.
ONCE THAT IS RELEASED, UM, YOU ACTUALLY GET TO SEE WHAT WE SAT DOWN WITH THEM AND WHAT WE DISCOVERED AS FAR AS, UM, STAFFING, WHAT VEHICLES WE NEED, SO ON AND SO FORTH.
UM, WE ARE HAPPY TO REPORT THAT OUR CONTAMINATION HAS REDUCED FROM 49% TO 38.7%.
UH, ONE THING IS WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO IS ONGOING EDUCATION AND MONITORING.
AND ALSO, UM, WE'RE STILL HAVING MIDWEEK WAIT TIMES REMAIN ELEVATED AT FCC DUE TO SEVERAL REASONS.
IT COULD BE TRAFFIC, IT COULD BE WEATHER, IT COULD BE DUE TO THE TIPPING FLOOR BEING, UH, FULL FROM THIRD PARTY VENDORS.
WE STILL HAVE A SOMEWHAT OF A SLIGHT, UH, WAITING PROBLEM WITH, UH, OUR RECYCLING, UH, DROP OFF CENTER.
THE HEAVY TRASH CONTRACTOR UPDATE.
UH, WE WERE FORTUNATE TO UTILIZE, UM, A CONTRACTOR THAT WAS BROUGHT ON FROM, UM, HURRICANE BARREL.
AND, UM, WE WERE AUTHORIZED TO USE $2 MILLION FOR THE CONTRACTOR SUPPORT.
THEY HAD SIX TRUCKS THAT ARE ACTIVE.
WE STARTED ON DECEMBER 3RD WITH A TWO WEEK HOLIDAY PAUSE.
UH, WE'VE USED APPROXIMATELY 33% OF THE FUNDING AS OF JANUARY 28TH, 2026.
THE CONTRACTOR HAVE COLLECTED A TOTAL OF 3,255 TONS OF RESIDENTIAL HEAVY WASTE.
LANDFILL AND TRANSFER STATIONS.
UM, THE MCCARTY LANDFILL HAS APPROXIMATELY NINE YEARS OF REMAINING CAPACITY.
BLUE RIDGE LANDFILL HAS 73 YEARS OF REMAINING CAPACITY.
TA CAA RECYCLING DISPOSE HAVE 16 YEARS OF REMAINING CAPACITY, FAIRBANKS LANDFILL, 30 YEARS OF REMAINING CAPACITY.
UH, THE CITY TRANSFER STATIONS, WE HAVE TWO OPEN TRANSFER STATIONS MANAGED BY REPUBLIC SERVICE, UH, ONE REPUBLIC TRANSFER STATION A FEW DAYS PER WEEK.
ONE MANAGEMENT TRANSFER STATION IN THE SOUTH GAS MAYOR TRANSFER STATION.
THE BILL WAS COUNSEL AND FUNDING REQUESTED IN THE FY 27 CIP FOR RECONSIDERATION.
UH, THE GRANT STAFFING AND THE COMMUNICATIONS JUST GIVE YOU AN UPDATE.
THE GRANT FUNDING SUPPORTS A MULTI-FAMILY
[02:35:01]
RECYCLING ETTE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN'S OFFICE.UH, ADDITIONAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES UNDER REVIEW.
UH, WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HIRE APPROXIMATELY 28, UH, EMPLOYEES AND FY 26 WITH THREE SEPARATIONS.
WE HAVE ONGOING PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS THROUGH WEBSITE, THREE TO ONE SOCIAL MEDIA AND COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
UM, ALSO, UM, WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF INTERNAL PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS, UH, FROM A COMMUNICATION STANDPOINT.
ONE THING THAT WE WANTED TO DO WAS ACTUALLY HAVE SOMEONE INTERNALLY THAT CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO KNOW UPDATE INFORMATION.
SO WE HAVE HIRED, UM, TWO, UH, INDIVIDUALS TO BE ABLE TO SERVE AS A POINT OF CONTACT FOR SOLID WASTE THAT THEY CAN CALL A NUMBER, UM, TO GET REAL TIME ACCURATE INFORMATION AND DATA FOR ANY SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE.
AND NOW WE CAN TAKE QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU CHAIR, UH, DIRECTOR.
IT'S GREAT TO HEAR, UH, ABOUT THE ON DEMAND, UH, HEAVY TRASH PICKUP.
UH, THIS IS A BUDGET AMENDMENT THAT I'VE SUBMITTED THE LAST TWO YEARS, SO IT'S NOTHING NEW.
I THINK WE ALL HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT FOR SOME TIME, SIR.
AND THEN AS A STAFFER, UH, WE SUBMITTED AT LEAST TWO OR THREE YEARS AS A BUDGET AMENDMENT.
SO IT'S, IT REALLY ISN'T ANYTHING NEW.
I THINK IT'S JUST TAKING THAT STEP TO START, UH, IMPLEMENTING.
UM, I KNOW WE HAD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT A PILOT PROGRAM.
UM, I WILL BE HONEST AND JUST BE TRANSPARENT, UH, TO THE PUBLIC.
I FEEL WORRIED ABOUT STARTING SOMETHING CITYWIDE.
UM, I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CAN, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO IT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, YES, SIR.
UH, THE CONCERNS ABOUT, UM, FOLKS, AS YOU MENTIONED, NOT EVEN, NOT EVEN KNOWING ABOUT DEPOSITORIES, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THE CHANGES IN WIND, RECYCLE HAS BEEN DELAYED.
UM, RIGHT NOW FOLKS JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH, WITH, WITH SOLID WASTE.
UM, I SAY THAT BECAUSE THIS WAS A BUDGET AMENDMENT THAT I I PUT OUT BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANNA HAVE A FISCAL IMPACT.
UM, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE, THE ACTUAL COST, RIGHT? UM, OF WHAT WE NEED TO BE DOING.
SO FIRST, WE DEFINITELY NEED TO ENSURE THAT ANY OPERATIONAL CHANGES THAT WE CAN DO, LET EXHAUST ALL OF THOSE OPTIONS.
SO ON DEMAND, LET'S CHANGE THAT HABIT, LET'S CHANGE IT FOR HOUSTONIANS.
UH, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE COST TO, UH, UH, MAINTAIN THESE TRANSFER STATIONS, UH, WE PURCHASED SEVERAL, UH, RECYCLING TRUCKS.
IT STILL COSTS MONEY TO MAINTAIN THOSE.
SO WE PURCHASED THEM, BUT NOW WHAT, HOW WE'RE GONNA, UH, FULFILL THE DOLLARS TO BE ABLE TO, UM, MAINTAIN THOSE, THOSE HEAVY TRUCKS.
UH, STAFF, WE'VE BEEN HEARING A LOT MORE CONVERSATIONS FROM AROUND, UH, A LOT OF YOUR TEAM MEMBERS ABOUT, UH, PAY, UM, THE WORKLOAD.
UM, AND SO I STILL, UH, THERE WAS TWO OTHER, UM, BUDGET ITEMS THAT I SUBMITTED THAT I WOULD LIKE FOR YOUR DEPARTMENT AND OF COURSE ADMINISTRATION TO TAKE A LOOK AT.
UH, THE FIRST ONE WAS THE ONE-TIME FEE FOR NEW RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPERS.
UM, WE KNOW THAT WE'VE INCREASED THE NUMBER OF, OF CUSTOMERS.
UH, WE'VE, HOMES ARE POPPING UP EVERYWHERE THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UH, THE ONE-TIME FEE THAT I WAS SUBMITTING WAS $28.
SOMETHING LIKE WHAT YOU WOULD PAY FOR, UH, WHENEVER YOU WOULD TURN ON YOUR, YOUR GAS OR WATER.
UM, IT'S A SMALL AMOUNT, BUT IT'S AMOUNT THAT TACKLES THE FINANCIAL PART, UH, PART OF IT.
AND THE OTHER ONE IS THE TRASH FEE.
UM, I I'M NOT GONNA STOP HARPING ON A TRASH FEE.
WE CAN CONTINUE TO, UH, EXHAUST ALL OPTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO THE OPERATION.
I THINK WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
I THINK WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING, UM, HAS BEEN HELPFUL.
LET'S INCLUDE THAT TECHNOLOGY THAT WE KNOW WE'VE HAD FOR YEARS.
UM, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, UM, IN ORDER TO CONTINUE TO ADDRESS THE MAINTENANCE ASPECT OF SOLID WASTE, IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THE, UM, THE PAY THAT WE NEED TO PAY OUR SOLID WASTE, UH, EMPLOYEES, UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO ULTIMATELY, UH, LOOK AT WHAT EVERY, PRETTY MUCH EVERY OTHER MUNICIPALITY AROUND THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS, WHICH IS A TRASH FEE.
THAT'S IN PASADENA, THAT'S IN FRIENDSWOOD PARA LAND.
AND THAT'S JUST ON THE SOUTH SIDE WHERE I'M CLOSEST TO.
BUT ON THE NORTH PART OF, UH, NORTH PART OF, UH, HOUSTON OR NORTHERN HOUSTON, WE HAVE THIS TRASH FEE THAT QUITE FRANKLY WE'RE NOT UTILIZING, UM, HERE AT THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND, AND SO I COMMEND YOU FOR WANTING TO DO THIS.
WE NEED TO BE ALL HANDS ON DECK.
TO GET THIS INFORMATION OUT TO CONSTITUENTS BECAUSE I DO, THERE, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF NERVOUSNESS FOR ME.
UM, THIS IS SOMETHING AGAIN, I'VE BEEN WANTING TO SEE HAPPEN FOR YEARS.
UH, BUT AS LONG AS WE CAN ROLL THAT OUT AND MAKE SURE, AGAIN, ALL HANDS ARE ON DECK, NOT JUST COUNCIL MEMBERS, BUT CONSTITUENTS, UM, AND YOUR TEAM TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT MESSAGING I SAW THE TIMELINE, UM, IS PRETTY AGGRESSIVE.
UH, BUT WHEREVER WE COULD BE HELPFUL IN MAKING SURE THAT FOLKS KNOW THAT THIS SHIFT TO ON-DEMAND HEAVY TRASH, WHICH I'M EXCITED ABOUT, UH, ACTUALLY UH, BECOMES A WIN FOR EVERYBODY.
COUNCILWOMAN P THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR THE SCHEDULED SERVICE FOR HEAVY TRASH.
I'M SURE WE'LL GET MORE IN THE WEEDS OF THAT PROGRAM
[02:40:01]
AS WE GET CLOSER TO ROLLING IT OUT.BUT JUST A QUICK QUESTION ON THAT.
THE FOUR COLLECTIONS PER YEAR AT EACH ADDRESS, DOES THAT START OVER AGAIN? IF SOMEONE SELLS THE HOUSE AND NOW THERE'S NEW OWNERS OR IT'S JUST FOUR TIMES? SO IF YES MA'AM, IT'S PER, PER PER RESIDENCE.
UH, THE, THE, WHAT WE'RE HAVING RIGHT NOW, THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE HAVING, THE CURRENT MODEL THAT WE ARE ON, WE'RE RIDING, UH, IN CERTAIN COUNCIL DISTRICTS WHERE, UH, THE, THE PLACEMENT RATE IS HIGHER IN SOME AREAS AND NOT SO MUCH IN OTHER AREAS.
SO WHERE THE PLACEMENT RATE IS REALLY LOW, WE'RE RIDING STREETS THAT HAVE NO HEAVY TRASH ON THEM AND WE'RE SPENDING WEEKS THERE.
AND, AND I, I DON'T KNOW IF EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THAT IN, IN OUR DEPARTMENT IS SPLIT IN THE DIFFERENT SERVICE LINES AND THE HEAVY TRASH SECTION, IT'S ONLY LIKE 68 PEOPLE TOTAL.
SO WE DEPLOY ON PAPER, ON A PERFECT DAY, WE CAN DEPLOY 27 CREWS WITH FMLA CALLS IN CALL INS VACATION.
WE'RE AVERAGING ABOUT 20 CREWS IN A CITY THIS SIZE.
SO IF WE GO INTO AN AREA WHERE THE PLACEMENT RATE IS RATHER LOW, WE'RE RIDING IN THAT MAP AND WE'RE NEGLECTING AREAS WHERE WE COULD HAVE BEEN.
THIS PROGRAM ALLOWS US TO AT LEAST GET DATA TO SHOW THAT ONCE WE SIT DOWN, GOING OFF THE, THE WORK ORDERS, WHAT WE CAN PRODUCE, I CAN ACTUALLY GET SOME DATA ON WHAT ACTUALLY IS NEEDED TO STAFF IT APPROPRIATELY.
SO THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO, JUST GETTING SOME HARDCORE DATA.
SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, IT WILL BE PER RESIDENT AND IF WE HAVE, IT HAS TO BE WORKAROUNDS 'CAUSE IT'S A BRAND NEW IMPLEMENTATION.
SO IF A RESIDENT'S BEEN SITTING THERE, BEEN THERE FOR 10 YEARS, THEY SELL THEIR HOME, GOT NEW SERVICE COME IN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO RESTART FOR THAT NEW THAT THOSE NEW CUSTOMERS.
'CAUSE THAT'S NOT FAIR THAT A PREVIOUS RESIDENT USED ALL OF THEIR RIGHT FOR CURBSIDE.
UM, FOR THE TRACKING SYSTEM OF, UM, SERVICE REQUESTS, SO WE'RE NOT USING PAPER MAPS ANYMORE, IS THAT CORRECT? NO MA'AM.
WE ARE TRYING TO GET AWAY FROM THE PAPER MAP SYSTEM, UH, SO THAT WE CAN AGAIN ACTUALLY TRACK AND ALSO WITH THE NEW WORK ORDER SYSTEM, WE'RE ABLE TO CAPTURE BEFORE PICTURES, AFTER PICTURES, SO THAT WE HAVE, UM, SECRETLY BEEN WORKING FOR THIRD PARTY CONTRACTORS.
MOST OF THE RESIDENTS WE PULL UP TO PROBABLY, I I WOULD SAY EVERY BIT OF 40% OR COMMERCIAL HEAVY TRASH THAT WE'RE PICKING UP.
I'VE ACTUALLY WITNESSED, YOU KNOW, INDIVIDUALS WITH A TRAILER DUMPING IN FRONT OF THE RESIDENTS AND I STOPPED THEM.
I WAS LIKE, HEY, ARE YOU AWARE OF THE DEPOSITORIES? OF COURSE THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHO I WAS AND IT BASICALLY STAYED, I'M NOT PAYING THAT FEE TO GO TAKE IT TO THE LANDFILL.
I WAS LIKE, NO, THE DE DEPOSITORIES ARE FREE AND IT OH, BUT WITH THE, THE, THE, THE RESIDENTIAL DROP-OFF CENTERS AND WE GOTTA PROMOTE THAT AS A, A NEW LANGUAGE.
BUT THOSE ARE ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC, UH, AS WELL.
AND I HAVE A LOT MORE QUESTIONS, BUT IN THE INTEREST OF TIME I'LL GET WITH YOU.
UM, SO I'M GONNA SAY CONGRATULATIONS AHEAD OF TIME JUST ON US BEING WILLING TO TACKLE RIGHT.
TO SINK OUR TEETH INTO THIS ISSUE AND LAUNCH SUCH AN INNOVATIVE PROGRAM.
UM, CAN JUST FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON, IS THERE A DISTINCTION BETWEEN HEAVY TRASH AND TREE AND YARD WASTE? AND HOW IS THAT GONNA BE ADDRESSED? SO THE GREAT, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
COUNCIL MEMBER, THE GREAT THING ABOUT THE SCHEDULING PROGRAM, BECAUSE EACH, UH, BULK WASTE AND TREE WASTE, WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT CREWS THAT CAN ADDRESS BOTH OF THEM.
SO WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS TAKE THE TREE WASTE TO THE TREE WASTE VENDOR THAT WE, UH, HAVE BEEN USING.
INSTEAD OF TAKING IT, OF COURSE IT GET MIXED UP TO GO TO THE LANDFILL.
WITH THE, UH, THE, UH, OPPORTUNITY WHEN THE RESIDENT GETS, UH, APPOINTMENT SCHEDULED, THEY LET US KNOW IF IT'S BOOK WASTE OR TREE WASTE.
SO IT CAN BE DISTINGUISHED THAT WAY SO WE CAN SEPARATE IT.
UM, ALL I HAVE SOME FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS ON THAT.
SPECIFICALLY, WHAT DO WE COMMUNICATE RIGHT NOW TO RESIDENTS? I MEAN, EVEN ON MY STREET I HAVE MORE YARD WASTE AND TREE WASTE FILLING UP DITCHES.
UM, UM, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO TELL OUR RESIDENTS.
SO WITH THAT, UM, AND I, I, I KNOW WE'RE SHORT ON TIME, SO I HAVE A FEW OTHER QUESTIONS.
IF, BUT AT THE BACK I'LL ASK MY QUESTIONS THEN IF THERE'S TIME, PLEASE, PLEASE TELL ME
BUT WE WANNA GET THE WORD OUT BECAUSE YES MA'AM.
WHAT DO WE DO RIGHT NOW? OKAY.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SPOTLIGHTING THE PILOT PROGRAM.
THE MULTIFAMILY RECYCLING PILOT PROGRAM.
AND I WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S CLEAR.
THIS IS A PILOT PROGRAM WITH GRANT FUNDING, NOT CITY DOLLARS.
AND IT DOES NOT IN ANY WAY TAKE AWAY FROM RECYCLING SERVICES THAT ARE CURRENTLY GOING RESIDENTIAL.
SO IT'S NOT A DIVERSION OF ANY RESOURCES, BOTH IN PERSONNEL OR COSTS.
[02:45:01]
MA'AM.UM, BUT FOCUSING ON THE TIMELINES THAT YOU SAID WON MCCARTY NINE YEARS AND IT TAKES YEARS TO GET A NEW LANDFILL AND HUNDREDS OF MILLION, I DON'T, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
UM, A TASK ACEA 16 YEARS WE SAY, OH, THAT LOOKS PRETTY GOOD.
BUT NO, THAT'S ABOUT MY UNDERSTANDING THAT TIMELINE TO EVEN GET A NEW LANDFILL.
SO WE HAVE TWO LANDFILLS COMING UP ON END OF LIFE AS WE'RE CONTINUING TO PUT MORE INTO THE LANDFILLS, NOT DIVERTING WASTE EITHER, YOU KNOW, TREE AND YARD WASTE AS WELL AS RECYCLING.
SO CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CON WHAT WE'RE FACING THERE AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR THOSE DIVERSIONS? IT'S GREAT TO SEE WITH RECYCLING, UM, CONTAMINATION RATES ARE GOING DOWN.
'CAUSE AGAIN, WITH MULTIFAMILY, EVERYTHING'S GOING TO OUR LANDFILL.
SO IF YOU CAN TALK ABOUT THAT AND WHAT DO WE TELL RESIDENTS RIGHT NOW THAT JUST HAVE PILES, YOU KNOW, SITTING ON THEIR STREETS? SO THE, THE MAIN HUB FOR YARD WASTE, ALONG WITH EVERYTHING ELSE IS 3 1 1.
RIGHT NOW, THIS THE, THE SECOND PHASE OF AFTER WE TACKLE THE, THE, THE HEAVY TRASH ORDEAL.
WE WOULD BE THE SAME THING FOR YOU ALWAYS.
WE HAVE CREWS DESIGNATED FOR EACH ONE OF OUR SERVICE LINES.
AND THE PROBLEM IS WHEN WE FIRST CAME IN THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE ADEQUATE STAFF APPROPRIATED TO EACH SERVICE THAT WE RENDER.
UH, I COULD TAKE THE CAM UH, PLACEMENT GROUP.
IT WAS LIKE FOUR PEOPLE IN THAT WHOLE GROUP AND NO ONE KNEW THAT.
SO FOR US TO THAT, ANOTHER REASON WHY I'M SAVING THE FTES 'CAUSE I NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE STAFFED APPROPRIATELY FOR EACH ONE OF THOSE SERVICE LINES.
ANOTHER PART ABOUT THE, THE, THE FIRST QUESTION YOU ASKED WAS ABOUT THE EDUCATIONAL PIECE OF HOW WE DO CLEAN RECYCLING, HOW WE DIVERT THINGS THAT CAN BE RECYCLED FROM THE LANDFILL.
SO WITH, UH, IMPLEMENTING THIS WORK ORDER SYSTEM SO THAT WE CAN KNOW WHAT WE'RE GOING TO PICK UP, THAT HELPS US DIVERT A LOT OF MATERIAL FROM GOING TO THE LANDFILLS TO PRESERVE THE LIFE THAT, THAT, THAT THEY HAVE RIGHT NOW.
I, I KNOW MY TIME IS UP, BUT AGAIN, THIS IS VERY EXCITING.
MAYOR PROAM, DIRECTOR, CAN WE TALK ABOUT, UM, HOW WE'RE GONNA COMMUNICATE TO HOUSTONIANS ABOUT THE MARCH 2ND START OF THE PROGRAM? YES, MA'AM.
THAT, THAT, THAT'S A, A TENTATIVE DATE.
WE ARE ACTUALLY WORKING, OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM IS WORKING DILIGENTLY NOW TO LAUNCH THIS HUGE CAMPAIGN OVER THE NEXT THREE WEEKS, UH, WITH B ROLLS, SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, UH, ACTUALLY SCHEDULING A MEETING TO SIT DOWN WITH EACH ONE OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS TO, TO LAUNCH THIS PROGRAM TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK.
WE HAVE A TENTATIVE DATE OF MARCH 2ND.
UH, WE FEEL LIKE WE CAN, UM, ACHIEVE THAT DEADLINE, BUT IF WE NEED TO PUSH BACK TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY IS EDUCATED AND ALL OF THE MEDIA, UH, GETS A HOLD OF IT, WE, WE, WE CAN, THAT'S JUST A, A DATE THAT WE SET FOR, UH, NOW TO GET IT LAUNCHED.
SO FROM NOW TO UNTIL MARCH THE SECOND.
UM, SHOULD RESIDENTS STILL BE PUTTING OUT THEIR YES MA'AM.
HEAVY TRASH AND THE TREE? SO WE ARE STILL PICKING UP ON THE REGULAR YES MA'AM.
BUT THEN STARTING MARCH 2ND, TENTATIVELY.
UM, YOU WOULD HAVE TO CALL IN TO THREE ONE ONE.
TO SET YOUR TIME FOR YOUR PICKUP.
THE CONCERN THAT I HAVE IS I'M, I'M GLAD WE'RE GOING TO THIS 'CAUSE I THINK IT'S GOING, GOING TO BE MORE EFFICIENT.
BUT FOR THE PEOPLE THAT I KNOW THAT HAVE ABUSED THE SYSTEM FOR SO LONG.
UM, I SAY THIS ALL THE TIME, I CAN TELL YOU WHO IN THE DISTRICT IS A CARPENTER WHO DOES, UM, PLUMBING YES MA'AM.
WHO DOES FENCE REPAIR BECAUSE EVERY MONTH THEY HAVE THIS CONTRACTOR MATERIAL OUT.
UM, I HOPE THAT WE DON'T SEE AN INCREASE IN ILLEGAL DUMPING.
AND THAT SIMULTANEOUSLY WE ARE PROMOTING THAT PEOPLE CAN TAKE THEIR STUFF TO THE DEPOSITORIES.
BUT HAVE WE LOOKED AT, UM, ANY PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE LANDFILLS? WHAT I, WHAT I, WHAT I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE IS A BARRIER TO TAKING THEIR STUFF TO THE LANDFILL.
IF I'M A, IF I DO CARPET AND IT'S, AND I KNOW THAT IT COSTS ME TO GO TO THE LANDFILL, UM, BUT I CAN PUT IT IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE AND GET IT TAKEN UP FOR FREE.
HAVE WE LOOKED AT WHAT WOULD BE THE COST OF JUST LIKE WE DO AT THE DEPOSITORY IF WE HAD AN, A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LANDFILL RIGHT.
WHERE THAT CONTRACTOR CAN BRING THAT STUFF TO THE LANDFILL, BECAUSE I THINK THAT MAY BE CHEAPER THAN PICKING UP THE ILLEGAL DUMPING ACROSS THE CITY.
THAT, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, MAYOR PRO
[02:50:01]
TEM, UH, ONE THING THAT WE DID DO IS WE WERE PARTNERING WITH HPD AS WELL, UH, OUR ENFORCEMENT TEAM TO ACTUALLY ISSUE WARNINGS FIRST BEFORE WE ISSUE CITATIONS AND TO TAKE YOUR ADVICE AND PARTNER WITH THE LANDFILLS TO SEE, UH, I, I HAVE NOT EXPLORED THAT OPTION YET, BUT I, WE, WE WILL TAKE THAT OPTION BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE SO HELPFUL TO KEEP IT OFF OF MEDIANS AND THINGS LIKE THAT FOR ILLEGAL DUMPING BECAUSE THAT, THAT, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE FACING RIGHT NOW IS A LOT OF THIRD PARTY CONTRACTORS.SO YES MA'AM, I WOULD TAKE YOUR ADVICE AND MEET WITH THOSE THE LANDFILL OWNERS.
THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR FOR THE PRESENTATION.
SO THIS COST SURVEY STUDY THAT COUNCIL APPROVED AND PAID FOR AND IS NOW COMPLETE? YES, MA'AM.
CAN YOU COMMIT TO SHARING IT WITH US AS, AS SOON AS YOU CAN SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THE BENEFIT OF THAT INFORMATION? YES, SIR.
UM, LET ME TALK ABOUT YOUR SLIDE THAT, UH, TITLED HEAVY TRASH CONTRACTOR UPDATE.
SO COUNSEL HAS AUTHORIZED 2 MILLION FOR CONTRACTOR SUPPORT.
33% HAS BEEN USED AS OF THE END OF LAST MONTH.
WHAT, WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE, THE REMAINING FUNDS UNDER THAT, THAT CONTRACT? UH, UH, I CAN GET YOU THOSE EXACT NUMBERS, SIR.
UH, THEY CAME BACK AT THE, BE BEGINNING OF THE, AFTER THE HOLIDAYS.
UH, I THINK WE'RE NEAR COMPLETION.
UH, DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBERS, BUT I KNOW THEY'RE NEAR COMPLETION BECAUSE WE ASSIGNED THEM THREE MORE MAPS, UH, IN THE SPRING BRANCH AREA.
SO, UM, I, I CAN GET YOU THOSE NUMBERS OF WHERE THEY ARE ON.
I GUESS WHAT I'M, I GUESS WHAT I'M ASKING IS HAS THE REST OF THAT MONEY BEEN BEEN, UH, ALLOCATED TO PARTICULAR VENDORS TO, TO DO SOME WORK OR NOT? OR, OR IS IT JUST SITTING IN A FUND SOMEWHERE? OH, IT'S BEEN ALLOCATED.
IT SAYS SIX TRUCKS ARE ACTIVE.
ARE THESE TRUCKS THAT ARE OWNED BY CONTRACTORS OR, OR SOME OWNED BY THE CITY? UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALL OWNED BY CONTRACTORS.
UH, THE REASON THEY COULD HAVE DEPLOYED MORE, BUT BECAUSE OF, UM, UNDERSTANDING HOW THE FUNDS WOULD BE SPENT, I REQUESTED THAT AMOUNT SO THAT WE CAN TRACK TO SEE WHAT THEY CAN COVER VERSUS WHAT WE COVER INTERNALLY.
SO IT'S KIND OF A, A, A, A COMPARISON ORDEAL THAT WE'VE DONE FOR THE LAST THREE MONTHS.
SO WE ARE GETTING ACTUAL, UH, DATA TO, TO SHOW WHERE WE COULD GET BETTER OR WHERE THEY NEED TO GET BETTER.
SO, UH, THOSE DOLLARS ARE ACTUALLY ALLOCATED.
NOW, IN, IN TERMS OF THIS, UH, GOING TO THE ON DEMAND HEAVY TRASH PICKUP, WE'RE GOING THROUGH A TRAINING PERIOD YES, SIR.
ON DRIVERS, IS THAT RIGHT? YES, SIR.
UH, HOW MANY, UH, DRIVERS HAVE COMPLETED THE, THE PROGRAM, THE TRAINING PROGRAM YET, IF ANY? SO ALMOST ALL OF THEM.
WE HAVE 60, UM, ABOUT 68 TO 70 SOMETHING EMPLOYEES IN THAT AREA.
UH, ALL OF THEM ARE NOT, UH, CREW LEADS.
SO ABOUT 30 OF THEM ARE, AND ALL 30 OF THEM ARE GOING THROUGH THE TRAINING RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THOSE ARE BE THE, UH, CREW LEADS THAT ACTUALLY TAKE THE DATA.
THOSE WILL BE THE ONES USING THE TABLETS.
SO ALL OF THEM ARE GOING THROUGH TRAINING RIGHT NOW.
WE EXPECT THE TRAINING TO BE COMPLETE BY THE MID OF NEXT WEEK.
UH, ALL OF THE TABLETS HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED.
THE WORK ORDER SYSTEM HAS, UH, WE'VE DONE A COUPLE OF, UM, PILOTS TO SEE IF IT WORKS.
SO WE SUSPECT THAT BY MIDWEEK NEXT WEEK THEY ALL BE FULLY TRAINED.
DO WE HAVE TRUCKS FOR THEM TO DRIVE? YES, SIR.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I COMMEND Y'ALL FOR, FOR TRYING TO DO SOMETHING INNOVATIVE WITH OUR HEAVY TRASH SERVICE AND WANT TO EMPHASIZE THE POINT, UH, MAYOR PROTE MADE ON COMMUNICATION YES.
TO THE RESIDENTS, UH, WITH YOUR TIMELINE, UH, THE NEED FOR AN ALL OF THE ABOVE APPROACH, UM, MULTIPLE LANGUAGES.
YOU KNOW, WATER BUILT INSERTS, ALL THE THINGS THAT, THAT WILL GET THE INFORMATION OUT TO THE PUBLIC.
AND, AND I ABSOLUTELY WANT TO HELP WITH DISTRICT H IN TERMS OF THAT.
UM, WITH ROUTE UTILIZATION, YOU TALKED ABOUT IMPROVEMENTS THERE, OR OPTIMIZATION I SHOULD SAY.
ARE THERE TECHNOLOGIES THAT Y'ALL ARE USING TO OPTIMIZE THE ROUTES OR WHAT SPECIFICALLY IS BEING DONE IN THAT, IN THAT AREA? SO THE FIRST THING THAT WE DID WAS MOST, WHEN WE FIRST CAME IN THE OFFICE, A LOT OF THE ROUTES HAD, UH, A NUMBER THAT WAS NOT ACHIEVABLE BY ONE SINGLE DRIVER.
SO WHAT WE DID WAS, TOOK THE SOFTWARE THAT WE HAD INTERNALLY THAT HAD NOT BEEN UTILIZED.
WE CALLED THE VENDOR IN AND TRAINED ALL OF US ON, ON HOW WE COULD USE AND OPTIMIZE THE
[02:55:01]
ROUTES IN WHICH WE REDUCED THE NUMBER OF ROUTES, WHICH INCREASED MORE ROUTES.BUT IT ACTUALLY GAVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO BASICALLY SHRINK IT TO THE SIZE OF OUR DEPARTMENT SO THAT IT CAN BE ACHIEVABLE.
SO THE SOFTWARE HAD BEEN IN PLACE IN THE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT.
IT JUST WASN'T UTILIZED TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL.
AND WHEN WE BROUGHT THE VENDORS IN, IT ACTUALLY SHOWCASED MORE OF AN ASSET THAT WE ACTUALLY NEEDED.
AND IT ACTUALLY GAVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, BE ABLE TO PICK UP THE TRASH AND RECYCLING CAN WISE, UH, IN, IN, IN A FASTER TIME THAN BEFORE.
THANK YOU FOR THE EXTRA INFORMATION.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT AND THE IDEA.
UH, JUST WANTED TO LIFT A FEW THINGS.
UM, IN THE POSITION YOU IN, IN A TIMEFRAME, YOU IN, IT'S A HEAVY LIFT.
AND, AND WE ALL UNDERSTAND, UM, THAT THERE ARE MANY TENTACLES TO THIS PROCESS.
I'M LEARNING AS I CAME ON SOME OF THOSE ISSUES AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, I, UM, I RODE WITH THE, UH, YOU ASSISTED WITH ME AS I GOT UP THE EARLY MORNING ROAD, SIR, WITH BROTHER, UH, JOSE, YOU KNOW, AND, UH, AND REALLY LEARNED A LOT.
BUT THERE'S TWO SIDES, AND I HOPE THAT ALL UNDERSTAND, WE SUPPORT SOLID WASTE, CERTAINLY THE DRIVERS AND YOU AS THE, AS THE DIRECTOR.
BUT THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT BOTH SIDES OF IT.
THE PART OF THE RESIDENCE AS WELL AS PART OF SOLID WASTE.
SO I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE, UM, THE DEVELOPMENT OF WHAT YOU'RE DOING, BUT ALSO THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT IS, IS HOW THE RESPONSE COME TO ALL THAT EVERYBODY IN THE CITY HAS TO DO.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, UH, I IMPLEMENTED COURSE THE APPROACH OF TOWN HALL MEETINGS TO INFORM THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT MOST PEOPLE NEED TO BE INFORMED.
UH, IF IT'S SOMETHING NEW CREATIVE OR INITIATIVE.
SO I, I REALLY EMBRACE THE, THE CALL ON DEMAND PROCESS AS, AS I'M LEARNING IT.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, UM, WE CERTAINLY WANT TO KEEP, UM, THE MORALE AND THE SYSTEMS OF THE DRIVERS AND OTHERS.
'CAUSE I HEARD YOU, YOU HAVE TO MOVE PEOPLE AND CONSIDERING PEOPLE ARE SICK, PEOPLE ON VACATION, PEOPLE THAT DON'T SHOW UP, WE HAVE TO TAKE ALL THAT INTO CONSIDERATION ON A DAY TO DAY.
SO I DO HAVE A TOWN HALL MEETING THAT'S COMING UP YES, SIR.
ON MARCH THE, I MEAN, UH, FEBRUARY THE, THE NINTH.
'CAUSE I THINK THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT'S GOING TO GET THE COMMUNITY TO BE EDUCATED ON WHAT THE PROCESS GONNA DO TO BETTER SERVE THEM, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN MY FRIEND, AND, UH, UH, JUST KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
AND I KNOW IT'S A HEAVY LIFT, BUT I THINK WE'LL ALL GET THERE TOGETHER.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, COMMENT, THE IDEA OF THE ON DEMAND, OBVIOUSLY THE ON DEMAND WOULD ADDRESS A LOT OF ISSUES.
I, I CAN TELL YOU I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF IT.
UM, TRASH SPONSOR SPONSORSHIP PAYMENTS, UH, WE'VE GOT A BACKLOG.
I'VE GOT A NUMBER OF HOAS THAT SAYS THEY HAVEN'T GOT PAID IN QUITE A WHILE.
IS THAT YOUR DEPARTMENT THAT HANDLES THOSE PAYMENTS? HOW DOES THAT WORK? YES, SIR.
UM, OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, US AND FINANCE HAVE MERGED TOGETHER TO WORK THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
UM, WE, WE RECENTLY FOUND OUT THAT WE HAD, UH, A BACKLOG OF PEOPLE THAT DIDN'T GET PAID.
SO THAT WAS JUST ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT I INHERITED, UH, ONCE I GOT THERE.
COULD YOU EMAIL MY OFFICE THE CONTACT SO WE CAN FORWARD YOU THE INFORMATION WE'VE GOTTEN AND YOU CAN ADDRESS IT? YES, SIR.
I THANK, UH, DUSTIN EMAILED US THIS MORNING.
UH, RECYCLING CENTER OPERATIONS, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, KINGWOOD PARKING RIDE? YES, SIR.
UH, AS OF THIS MORNING, THE RECYCLING FOR THIS WEEKEND STILL HADN'T BEEN PICKED UP.
AND BECAUSE THERE WAS NO CONTAINERS BROUGHT OUT LAST WEEK DUE TO THE WEATHER, THE VOLUME WAS CONSIDERABLY LARGER.
SO NOT ONLY ARE ALL THE CONTAINERS COMPLETELY FULL, BUT THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT OVERFLOW AS WELL.
SO IF WE COULD GET THAT WRAPPED UP, UH, AS SOON AS WE COULD, THAT'D BE GREAT.
ALSO, I VISITED ONE OF THE DEPOSIT DEPOSITORIES LAST WEEK, AND, UH, I LEARNED QUITE A BIT.
I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT WE DID RECYCLING AT THOSE.
UH, CERTAINLY THAT'S SOMETHING WE'LL GET WORD OUT TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT.
I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT WE TOOK CONCRETE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK THESE DEPOSIT DEPOSITORIES, IF WE CAN UTILIZE THOSE AS ABSOLUTELY.
THAT IS THE CHEAPEST WAY OF US GETTING RID
[03:00:01]
OF IT.MAYBE ONLY THING BETTER WOULD BE IF THEY TOOK IT TO THE DUMP THEMSELVES,
SO ANYTHING WE CAN DO WITH THAT.
A COUPLE OF ISSUES I SAW IS THAT, THAT WHEN THE CANS ARE FILLED, THEY'VE GOTTA GO AND, AND HAUL 'EM OFF, EMPTY 'EM, AND THEN COME BACK.
UM, I'VE HAD, UH, COMPACTORS ON, IN MY FACILITIES YEARS AGO WHERE THEY WOULD ACTUALLY BRING ME AN EMPTY, THEY WOULD HOOK UP TO THE FULL, PULL THAT OUT, PUT MY EMPTY BACK, AND THEN GO AWAY WITH THE FULL, UH, SO IF WE HAD ENOUGH CANS TO WHERE WE COULD SWAP YES, SIR.
RATHER THAN HAVING IT TO GO BACK AND FORTH, THAT'D BE GREAT.
IN FACT, THERE WAS ONE GENTLEMAN THAT WAS WAITING IN LINE THERE TO DUMP HIS TREES.
UH, THE TREE GOT FULL, HE HAD TO WAIT, UH, WHILE THEY TOOK IT AND BROUGHT IT BACK.
NOW, FORTUNATELY, HE ACTUALLY DID WAIT, AND HE WAS PROBABLY THERE 45 MINUTES TO AN HOUR.
UH, SO I MEAN, I THOUGHT IT WAS PRETTY QUICK TURNAROUND, BUT I CAN IMAGINE A LOT OF THOSE PEOPLE WOULD NOT WAIT.
INSTEAD, THEY WOULD DRIVE OFF.
AND MY GUESS IS THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF OUR ILLEGAL DUMPING, ILLEGAL DUMPING YES, SIR.
SO WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO FACILITATE MAKING IT AS EASY AS POSSIBLE FOR THOSE PEOPLE TO DROP THAT OFF, UH, IT WOULD REALLY BE GREAT.
AND I WOULD ALSO LOOK AT MAYBE OPENING UP MONDAY AS WELL, UH, TO WHERE YOU OPEN SIX DAYS A WEEK THERE, I DON'T KNOW, ABOUT 24 HOURS, BUT CERTAINLY YOU NEED TO MAKE IT AS CONVENIENT AS POSSIBLE.
UH, HE HAD A TRUCKLOAD OF STUFF LOADED UP.
HE GOES TO TAKE IT TO THE DEPOSITORY, FINDS OUT, OH, THEY'RE NOT OPEN.
UH, NOW AGAIN, HE TOOK CARE OF THAT RESPONSIBLY, BUT HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD DO THAT AND WOULD JUST SIMPLY DUMP THE STUFF? RIGHT.
SO I THINK WE REALLY GOTTA DO WHATEVER WE CAN.
ALSO, UH, THE COMPACTOR, UH, I WAS TOLD AT WEST PARK IS, IS NOT OPERATIONAL.
UM, AND APPARENTLY WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OTHERS THAT WE'VE GOT SOME PROBLEMS WITH, AND THEY SAID THAT, UH, THEY'RE ACTUALLY HAULING AWAY THE CARDBOARD EVERY OTHER DAY.
WE ARE SPENDING SIGNIFICANTLY MORE IN HAULING AWAY THAT CARDBOARD EVERY DAY THAN WHAT WE WOULD SPEND ON REPAIRING A COMPACTOR.
SO WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO GET THAT, UH, COMPACTOR, UH, TAKEN CARE OF.
AND, AND LASTLY, WHAT CAN COUNCIL MEMBERS DO TO HELP YOU AND TO MAKE YOUR JOB EASIER? YES, SIR.
I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY I, I'M GONNA SEE ABOUT PUTTING OUT THE WORD MM-HMM
THROUGH OUR NEWSLETTER OF, OF SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE LEARNED.
BUT IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE CAN DO TO HELP YOU ACCOMPLISH WHAT YOU NEED TO DO? YES, SIR.
I, I, I, I, I CAN'T, I CAN'T EXPRESS ENOUGH HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.
THE GREAT THING ABOUT IT IS I SPEAK TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU PRETTY FREQUENTLY ON DIFFERENT MATTERS, AND YOU ALL HAVE BEEN GREAT.
IT, IT, THIS HAS NOT BEEN A EASY RIDE.
THE FIRST, I, I THINK I'M IN MONTH NINE RIGHT NOW INTO MY NEW JOB.
AND IT'S, WE, WE, WE HAVE, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF THINGS THROWN AT OUR DEPARTMENT AND, AND, AND RESIDENTS.
IT'S OURS AS CITY EMPLOYEES TO, TO RECTIFY THE SITUATION.
UH, I THINK THE BIGGEST THING THAT I WOULD ASK IS YOU, YOU'RE HELPING, UH, EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ON THIS NEW IMPLEMENTATION OF WHAT SOMETHING WE'RE ABOUT TO DO FOR THE FIRST TIME.
UM, IT, IT, THAT, THAT WOULD BE MY, MY ONLY ASK.
BUT AGAIN, I, I CAN'T THANK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU ENOUGH FOR ALL OF YOUR, YOUR, YOUR, YOUR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION TO THE CITY AND ALSO, UH, TO OUR DEPARTMENT.
SO IF I NEEDED SOMETHING ELSE, COUNCIL MEMBER, YOU, YOU CAN REST ASSURED THAT I, YOU GOT THIS.
MAYBE YOU COULD EVEN SEND ALL OF OUR OFFICES SOMETHING EVERY MONTH THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE US PUBLICIZED.
UH, THAT, THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD HELP YOU.
ALL OF US WANT YOU TO SUCCEED.
I THINK ALL OF US WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO YOU A LITTLE LESS.
SO, BUT, UH, WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO HELP YOU, PLEASE.
AND, UH, WITH THAT, WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
UH, ROSANNA URBAN EMAIL TODAY.
ANYBODY ELSE NOT BE HERE? IS IT WORKING? OKAY.
GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, COUNCILMAN FLICKINGER FOR GOING TO THE DEPOSIT DEPOSITORIES.
I WORK FOR THE DEPOSIT DEPOSITORIES, UM, AS A DRIVER.
AND I'M ASKING FOR YOU TO, UM, INVEST IN SOLID WASTE AND ALSO THE DEPOSIT DEPOSITORIES WHERE, UM, WE'RE ASKING THAT IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO HELP OUR CITIZENS, THAT WE DO GET NEW SELF-CONTAINED COMPACTORS AT WEST PARK, AT, UH, SUMMER MEYER AT, UM, SUNBEAM AT, UH, I KNOW I'M MISSING ONE.
KIRKPATRICK AND ALSO, AND ESPECIALLY NORTH MAINE.
AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE THEY ARE SUCH AVID RECYCLERS
[03:05:01]
IN THAT AREA, THAT WE HAVE TWO COMPACTORS FOR THEM AND THEY'RE BOTH BROKEN AND, AND ARE NOT ABLE TO BE FIXED ACCORDING TO WHAT WE'VE BEEN TOLD.SO, UM, IN ORDER TO, UH, TO, UH, ALLEVIATE ILLEGAL DUMPING, WE'RE ASKING THAT YOU INVEST IN, UM, CENTRAL DEPOSITORY, WHICH IS, UM, IN COUNCIL MEMBERS MARTINEZ AREA, UM, AND ALSO KIRKPATRICK.
UM, THERE IS A, UH, A GREEN SPACE AREA THAT WE CAN UTILIZE FOR, UM, CONTRACTORS TO COME THROUGH SO IT DOESN'T, UM, MESS WITH WHAT THE CITIZENS ARE TRYING TO DO AS FAR AS THEIR DUMPING AND THEY CAN PAY, UM, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE A PAY SERVICE FOR THEM.
UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, WE'D LOVE TO TALK TO Y'ALL.
AND IF I COULD, I'D LIKE TO LEAVE THE, UH, AERIAL VIEWS OF THE DEPOSITORIES.
THIS DEMANDS A GREAT EDUCATIONAL THING.
WE CAN'T DO THIS OVERNIGHT, NUMBER ONE.
NUMBER TWO, WE CAN'T HAVE A SOFT DATE.
YOU CAN'T JUST SAY, OH, WE'RE NOT READY.
NUMBER THREE, ORIGINALLY DIRECTOR SAID THERE'D BE A SEPARATE PHONE NUMBER TO CALL FOR ON DEMAND.
WE SPENT 20 SOME YEARS TEACHING PEOPLE TO USE 3 1 1.
STILL, AS YOU SAW AT THE LAST MEETING, THOSE OF YOU WHO CAME TO THE NIGHT SESSION, WE HAVE SOME PROBLEMS WITH OUR WORKERS AT SOLID WASTE.
THEY'RE WORKING 12 HOURS, THEY'RE WORKING SIX DAYS.
THE FACT THAT WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY IN THEIR BUDGET, THE FACT THAT THEY'RE GOING OVER BUDGET, THE FACT THAT WE HAVE TO HIRE EXTRA CONTRACTORS, WE NEED TO FIX THIS.
WE CAN'T FIX IT WITHOUT MONEY.
AND THAT MEANS WE NEED TO INCREASE REVENUE.
THERE'S NO WAY WE CAN GET THROUGH THIS BUDGET WITHOUT INCREASED REVENUE OR HAVE A FEE.
I'M IN THE LEAD ORGANIZER FOR THE RELIABLE RECYCLING FOR HOUSTON CAMPAIGN, UH, FOR ENVIRONMENT TAXES.
AND I'LL BE REITERATING THE POINT ON THE SOLID WASTE FEE THERE.
UH, WE WANNA APPLAUD MANY OF THE EFFORTS OF DIRECTOR HASSAN, SPECIFICALLY ADDING NEW TRUCKS, INCREASING EFFICIENCY WITH ON-DEMAND HEAVY TRASH PICKUP BEING EFFORTS TO SECURE A RECYCLING TRANSFER STATION.
BUT AS Y'ALL HAVE HEARD OVER AND OVER AGAIN, WE REALLY NEED TO FIX, UH, THIS, THE FACT THAT WE HAVE AN UNDER BUDGETED DEPARTMENT.
UH, SO WE CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR SELLING WASTE FEE, UH, TO IMPROVE RELIABILITY OF TRASH AND RECYCLING PICKUP IN OUR CITY.
WE'RE RELEASING A LETTER TO ALL OF YOUR OFFICES ALONG WITH PETITION SIGNATURES COLLECTED BY BOTH ENVIRONMENT, TEXAS AND HOPE UNION LOCAL 1, 2, 3.
AND WE'LL BE SENDING THAT OUT, UH, RESPECTFULLY AS ENVIRONMENT.
TEXAS WILL BE PUTTING THESE IN RECYCLING CAN AND MAKING SURE THAT WE USE DIGITAL COPIES MORE FROM THAT ONE.
UH, SO WE WANNA DO OUR PART TO HELP EDUCATE RESIDENTS AND NEIGHBORHOODS ABOUT OUR CAMPAIGN.
WE WILL GLADLY PARTNER WITH YOUR OFFICES TO MEET WITH CIVIC CLUBS AND LOCAL LEADERS.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
UM, AND THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION FROM SOLID WASTE.
I DO WISH THEY WERE STILL HERE.
UM, WANTED TO SEE, UH, LOVE ALL OF THE NEW IMPROVEMENTS THEY'RE TRYING TO MAKE AND SOME OF THE NEW IDEAS, UH, EVEN IF RISKY THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO IMPLEMENT.
UM, REALLY WANTING TO KNOW, ONE, WHAT THEIR IDEA IS FOR ADDRESSING A LEGAL DUMPING.
WE HAD SOMEONE COME IN TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
UH, OR WE HAD SOMEONE JUST GIVE COMMENT ON A COUPLE OF IDEAS AND IT WAS LOOSELY TALKED ABOUT.
OBVIOUSLY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KASEK TATUM MENTIONED IT IN HER AREA AS WELL.
SO WANTING TO KNOW, UM, WHERE ILLEGAL DUMPING SORT OF STANDS IN THEIR PURVIEW AND HOW TO NOT NECESSARILY ERADICATED, BUT MINIMIZE ITS IMPACTS.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, IT IS OBVIOUS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS INVESTED ALL OF MOST OF ITS MONEY INTO FIRE AND POLICE.
AND NOW WE'RE ASKING TAXPAYERS TO PAY MORE DOLLARS TO SUPPORT POTENTIAL VARIOUS JUST AS ESSENTIAL SERVICES, SUCH AS, UH, PICKING UP TRASH.
[03:10:01]
IF WE ARE GONNA IMPLEMENT A FEE, WHAT DOES EQUITY LOOK LIKE? IF THERE'S NO EQUITY IN THE FEE? I DON'T NEED RESIDENTS IN NORTHEAST HOUSTON OR ACROSS THE CITY TO CHOOSE BETWEEN GOING TO THE DOCTOR AND GETTING THEIR TRASH PICKED UP.SO WANNA, WANNA ENSURE THERE'S EQUITY IN ANY SORT OF FEE THAT IS PROPOSED.
'CAUSE IT'S OBVIOUS THEY DO NEED MORE FUNDING.
UM, AND I THINK LASTLY, AND THANK YOU FOR THE EXTRA TIME, UH, WE WANNA ENSURE THE CITY IS ACTUALLY GONNA SPEND ANY MONEY DEDICATED TO SOLID WASTE, ACTUALLY ON SOLID WASTE.
THE CITY HAS PROVEN TIME AND TIME AGAIN, ESPECIALLY UNDER THIS ADMINISTRATION, THAT THEY CAN MANIPULATE AND MANEUVER WHERE CERTAIN MONIES GET SPENT.
I ASSUME I HAVE A MINUTE AS WELL.
I'M THE CLIMATE JUSTICE COORDINATOR WITH AIR ALLIANCE HOUSTON FOCUSED MAINLY ON PLASTICS, MOSTLY THE PLASTIC CRISIS IN GENERAL.
UH, I WANTED TO REITERATE, I APPRECIATE ALL OF Y'ALL'S EFFORTS, ESPECIALLY THE DIRECTOR OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ATTEMPTS TO ADDRESS THIS.
UM, HOWEVER, I DO THINK A LOT OF THESE ATTEMPTS AREN'T GOING WHERE THEY NEED TO GO.
AND I WANTED TO PARTICULARLY ADDRESS THE, UH, HOUSTON RECYCLING COLLABORATION.
THOSE OF Y'ALL THAT DON'T KNOW, THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR ABOUT FOUR YEARS.
IT'S A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY AND SEVERAL, UH, UM, LOCAL PLASTIC MANUFACTURERS THAT'S ATTEMPTING TO USE ADVANCED RECYCLING TO, UH, ADDRESS THE PLASTIC CRISIS.
BUT FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS, IT HASN'T BEEN FUNCTIONING.
ONE OF THE MAJOR FACILITIES IN, IN PASADENA, THE DALE BUSELL FACILITY ISN'T EVEN FULLY CONVERTED.
AND AS OF RIGHT NOW, FROM AIRLINES ALLIANCE'S MAIN RESEARCH, ALL OF THIS PLASTIC IS GOING TO UNPERMITTED OPEN AIR, UH, WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY THAT'S REGULARLY BEEN CITED FOR FIRE CODE VIOLATIONS.
SO I WOULD STRONGLY ENCOURAGE LOOKING MORE HEAVILY INTO THIS MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING AND THE HOUSTON RECYCLING COLLABORATION.
I HAVE A LOT MORE TO SAY ON THIS, BUT I'VE ALREADY SENT EMAILS TO ALL OF YOUR OFFICES.
I WOULD JUST LOVE TO TALK ABOUT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS PROGRAM AND HOW WE CAN DO BETTER AS A CITY.
YEAH, I KNOW THEY'RE NOT A DA COMPLIANT.
I'M GONNA GET STRAIGHT TO THE POINT.
60 TO 63% OF THE CITY'S ANNUAL BUDGET GOES TO FIREMEN AND POLICE.
IS THIS EQUITABLE MAN? IS THIS EQUITABLE FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME THAT I'M ON A BUDGET AND I HAVE TO DECIDE ON WHAT I'M GONNA PAY AND WHAT I'M GONNA DO? I'VE BEEN SITTING IN THE BACK OF THIS ROOM ALL AFTERNOON, OKAY.
FOR THE PAR FOR A GOOD PORTION OF THIS MORNING.
AND Y'ALL HAD YOUR PEOPLE COME UP HERE AND SPEAK, BUT Y'ALL WANT TO GIVE ME A MINUTE, MAN.
Y'ALL REALLY DO NEED TO THINK ABOUT BUDGETING THE TIME AND HOW Y'ALL DO THIS.
NOW, FOR ME TO GET MY TRASH PICKED UP ON TIME, I STAY IN NORTHEAST HOUSTON.
WE HAVE PILES OF TRASH EVERYWHERE.
Y'ALL USED TO HAVE DE UH, UH, THE, UH, DEPOSIT DEPOSITORIES UP THERE BY, UM, BY BARBARA JORDAN HIGH SCHOOL.
THE SAME IDEA THAT THAT MAN, THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBER WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT, ABOUT BRINGING ONE EMPTY CONTAINER AND DROPPING A FULL ONE AND TAKING AN EMPTY ONE.
THEY USED TO DO THAT BACK IN THE NINETIES.
WHY DID Y'ALL MOVE IT? THAT'S ONE QUESTION.
NOW MY SECOND QUESTION IS, WHAT ABOUT THE, UH, AVALOR TAX MA, ARE THIS PAYMENT GONNA BE LIKE THAT PAYMENT THAT Y'ALL GONNA START THIS POT OF MONEY AND ALL MAN MYSTERIOUSLY IT DISAPPEARS AND GOES TO THE MAIN BUDGET TO FUND POLICE AND FIREMEN? CAN SOMEONE ANSWER THAT QUESTION? IT WAS CERTAINLY GO INTO THE GENERAL REVENUE, SO, OR INTO THE SOLID WASTE BUDGET ITSELF.
I MEAN, ALL THAT WOULD BE DECIDED.
I MEAN, WE HAVEN'T IMPLEMENTED ANY TRASH FEES, SO WE CAN'T SPEAK TO WHAT HASN'T BEEN DONE YET.
[03:15:01]
BEFORE WE ADJOURN, THE NEXT BFA MEETING WILL BE TUESDAY, MARCH 3RD AT 10:00 AM THE NEXT GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS MEETING WILL BE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4TH AT 2:00 PM IF THERE ARE NO OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS, THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED.