[Houston Forensic Science Center: Board of Directors Meeting on March 13, 2026.]
[00:00:24]
AND SO I'D LIKE TO BEGIN, UM, MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE? YES, MADAM CHAIR.AND THAT CONCLUDES THE ROLL CALL.
WE DO HAVE A QUORUM SO WE CAN PROCEED.
WITH THAT, LET'S PROCEED TO, UH, AGENDA ITEM THREE.
FIRST I'D LIKE TO GIVE AN UPDATE REGARDING OUR BOARD COMPOSITION.
AS SOME OF YOU KNOW, DIRECTOR PHILIP HIL, UM, HILDER HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO JOIN US FOR QUITE SOME TIME DUE TO EXTENUATING HEALTH CIRCUMSTANCES.
AS A RESULT, HE RECENTLY MADE THE DECISION TO STEP DOWN FROM THE BOARD DIRECTOR.
HILDER WAS A FAITHFUL MEMBER OF THIS BOARD FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
HE IS A RESPECTED DEFENSE ATTORNEY IN FEDERAL COURT, AND HE BROUGHT A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE TO OUR DISCUSSIONS.
WE'LL MISS HIM, AND WE ARE WISHING HIM THE VERY BEST, AND I BELIEVE WE SENT HIM SOMETHING.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD, TO FULFILL THE REMAINDER OF DIRECTOR HILLIARD'S TERM.
LAST WEEK, MAYOR WHITMEYER AND CITY COUNCIL APPOINTED A NEW HFSC BOARD MEMBER DIRECTOR SCOTT DURPHY.
AM I PRONOUNCING YOUR LAST NAME CORRECTLY? YES.
MR. DURPHY IS AN EXPERIENCED ATTORNEY WHO HAS DEDICATED HIS CAREER TO PUBLIC SERVICE.
HE RETIRED FROM THE HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IN 2021.
AFTER MORE THAN 30 YEARS, PROBATION WAS OVER.
WAS IT
THAT'S, HE SERVED AS THEIR GENERAL COUNSEL FOR MANY YEARS AND ACROSS SEVERAL ADMINISTRATIONS.
HE'S OFTEN BEEN CALLED ON TO PROVIDE TRAINING ON ETHICS AND GOVERNMENT LAW ISSUES IN INCLUDING LEADING THE ANNUAL TRAININGS FOR THE STATE BAR GOVERNMENT LAW SECTION, AND TEST TEXAS DISTRICT AND COUNTY ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION.
IN HIS RETIREMENT, MR. DURPHY HAS CONTINUED TO PRACTICE LAW AT HIS OWN FIRM, AND WE ARE SO PLEASED THAT HE HAS AGREED TO JOIN OUR BOARD.
DIRECTOR DUR, WELCOME TO THE BOARD.
AND DO WANT TO SAY A FEW REMARKS? THANK YOU FOR THOSE REALLY KIND WORDS.
THAT'S, UH, THAT WAS REALLY WONDERFUL.
I AM ABSOLUTELY THRILLED TO BE, UM, UH, HAVE TO HAVE BEEN ASKED TO, UH, PARTICIPATE ON THIS BOARD.
UM, UH, I HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF INTERACTING WITH, UH, UH, DR. STOUT AND HIS STAFF AND, UH, AS WELL AS OTHER, UH, UH, FORENSIC, UH, ENTITIES IN THE COUNTY.
UM, IN MY PRIOR LIFE AS THE GENERAL COUNSEL FOR DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, UM, I WAS ESSENTIALLY A PROBLEM SOLVER AS PROBLEMS AROSE, UH, INCLUDING PROBLEMS IN FORENSIC LABS.
AND THE ONE THING, UH, THAT I CAME AWAY FROM, FROM THOSE EXPERIENCES WAS AN APPRECIATION FOR, UH, THE INDEPENDENCE OF FORENSIC ANALYSIS AND THE FORENSIC LABS THAT WE HAVE THAT, UH, THAT THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IS WELL SERVED BY, UH, A, A WELL-FUNDED AND COMPETENT AND INDEPENDENT, UH, FORENSIC LAB.
AND, UH, IT'S REALLY MY HONOR, UH, TO BE HERE TODAY TO CONTINUE THAT EFFORT TO, UM, UH, WORK TOWARDS, UH, AN EVEN MORE INDEPENDENT, EVEN MORE WELL-FUNDED AND, UH, EVEN MORE COMPETENT, UM, UH, HOUSTON FORENSIC, UH, SCIENCE CENTER.
AND SO, UH, WHATEVER I CAN DO TO HELP, I'M HERE TO HELP.
WE'RE HONORED TO HAVE YOU JOIN US AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO A VERY GOOD YEAR.
NEXT, I'D LIKE TO THANK DIRECTOR YU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO TOUR HFSC AND THE VEB IN FEBRUARY WITH HIS GUESTS FROM THE TAIWAN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION BUREAU.
I TRUST AND HOPE THAT EVERYTHING WENT WELL, AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO DO THAT.
FOR OUR OTHER BOARD MEMBERS, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THE POSSIBILITY OF TOURING HSCS NEWLY CONSTRUCTED BASEMENT FOR EVIDENCE STORAGE.
[00:05:02]
MRS. VEI WILL BE IN TOUCH TO COORDINATE A DATE AND TIME FOR US TO SEE THE WONDERFUL PROGRESS HFSC IS MAKING.AND BEFORE I GO ON TO MY NEXT POINT, UH, DIRECTOR YU, DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS, UH, ABOUT YOUR TOUR? UH, I THINK THE VEHICLE PROCESSING IS A VERY CRITICAL, UH, POINT, UH, TO, TO DISCOVER AND COLLECT EVIDENCE.
AND I'M VERY HAPPY THAT HOUSTON FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER HAS A WONDERFUL SPACE, UH, TO SUPPORT THAT EFFORT.
LASTLY, I AM UPDATING THE BOARD ON A CONTRACT AMENDMENT THAT WAS EXECUTED AFTER OUR JANUARY MEETING AS AN EMERGENCY ITEM.
IF YOU RECALL, A FEW YEARS AGO, THE BOARD AGREED TO ALLOW THE CHAIR TO APPROVE AMENDMENTS OF THIS NATURE IN BETWEEN BOARD MEETINGS WHEN TIME SENSITIVE MATTERS ARISE.
RECENTLY, HFSC NEEDED TO AMEND OUR CURRENT OUTSOURCING CONTRACT WITH SIGNATURE SCIENCE TO ALLOCATE ADDITIONAL FUNDING AND ENSURE CASES WERE NOT DELAYED IN THE FORENSIC BIOLOGY SECTION.
THIS BOARD APPROVED THE ORIGINAL CONTRACT AT THE NOVEMBER, 2024 BOARD MEETING IN THE AMOUNT OF 2,000,500 THOU, UH, 50,000 AND AN ADDITIONAL 550,000 WAS ADDED TO THE CONTRACT FROM OUR BUDGET FOR A TOTAL CONTRACT VALUE OF 2.6 MILLION.
NO ACTION IS NEEDED FROM THE BOARD AT THIS TIME AS THE AMENDMENT WAS EXECUTED ON FEBRUARY 26TH, 2026 WITH MY APPROVAL.
OF NOTE, THIS AGREEMENT IS NOT THE SAME AGREEMENT THAT WILL BE CONSIDERED IN AGENDA ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, ALTHOUGH IT IS RELATED, I THINK, FIRST COUSINS OR SO.
TWICE REMOVED DR. STOUT AND DR. CASTILLO WILL EXPLAIN FURTHER WHEN WE GET TO THAT ITEM.
AND WITH THAT, I CONCLUDE MY REPORT.
NOW WE'LL PROCEED TO AGENDA ITEM FOUR.
AT THIS TIME, WE'LL OPEN THE FLOOR FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND INVITE ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC THAT WISHES TO SPEAK TO COME TO THE PODIUM, ADDRESS THE BOARD, AND WE WILL ASK ALL SPEAKERS TO SIGN IN THE FRONT OF THE ROOM SO WE ARE AWARE OF YOUR PRESENCE AND THAT ALL COMMENTS BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES.
YOU MAY SPEAK ON ANY MATTER CONCERNING THE BOARD AND HFSC AT THIS TIME, DO WE HAVE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE WHO HAS SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? IT DOES NOT APPEAR.
SEEING NO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC IN OUR AUDIENCE TODAY, WE'VE SIGNED UP, WHO SIGNED UP FOR COMMENT.
I WILL CLOSE THE PUBLIC COMMENT.
NOW WE'LL CONSIDER MEETING MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY 9TH, 2026 BOARD MEETING.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS TO THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED? HEARING NONE.
WE PROPOSE THE MINUTES BE ADOPTED.
NOW I'M GOING TO PROCEED TO, UH, AGENDA ITEM SIX, REPORT FROM DR. PETER STOUT AND INCLUDING AN OVERVIEW OF OPERATIONS AND TECHNICAL UPDATES, DR. STOUT.
ALRIGHT, UM, COUPLE OF THINGS TO COVER.
ONE, UH, WE SHIPPED OFF TO PHILIP.
PHILIP WAS FOND OF TELLING ME HE WAS ENAMORED WITH THE BOXES, SO I MADE SURE THAT PHILIP GOT A BOX.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS HAS BECOME KIND OF THE, THE, THE TRADITION, I'M HAPPY TO MAKE THESE FOR YOU ALL.
I'M HAPPY TO MAKE 'EM FOR STAFF.
UM, KEEPS ME OUTTA MY WIFE'S HAIR.
UH, THAT'S PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF IT IS I STAY OUT OF HER WAY
UM, BUT YEAH, WE SHIPPED THIS STUFF TO PHILIP.
I REALLY APPRECIATE PHILIP'S SERVICE ON THE BOARD OVER THE YEARS.
HE WAS A FANTASTIC BOARD MEMBER AND I WAS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF, KIND OF SORRY THAT IT ENDED THE WAY IT DID, BUT I WISH HIM ALL THE BEST IN A SPEEDY RECOVERY.
UM, OKAY, SO I WAS THINKING ABOUT HOW TO GO AT, UM, THE DISCUSSION TODAY BECAUSE TODAY IS OUR FY 27 BUDGET.
THAT'S PRETTY MUCH WHAT WE GOT TODAY.
AND REALLY, IT'S A PRETTY SIMPLE STORY, UH, FOR WHAT WE'RE AT IN THE BUDGET.
[00:10:01]
I WAS JUST GONNA TALK ABOUT THE, THE HIGH LEVEL PART OF IT.DAVID'S GOT SOME OF THE DETAILS WITHIN THAT BUDGET WHEN HE TALKS ABOUT THE BUDGET.
BUT, UM, REALLY AT ROOT, THE BUDGET IS JUST TO KEEP STUFF ON THE PATH THAT WE'RE ON.
'CAUSE WE'RE ON A PRETTY GOOD PATH.
AND I, IT WAS, IT WAS OCCURRING TO ME THAT THE LAST ABOUT THREE YEARS, HAVING BEEN AT THIS FOR A WHILE, HAVE JUST FELT EASIER.
I'M STILL, I LOOK BACK AT THE FIRST FEW YEARS OF HFSC AND I'M FRANKLY AMAZED I SURVIVED IT.
UM, BUT THE LAST FEW YEARS HAVE JUST FELT EASIER AND IT MADE ME GO, WELL, WHAT, WHAT, WHY IS THAT? C CLEARLY WE HAVE MADE ENORMOUS PROGRESS ON ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE DONE AND REDESIGNED AND REPLACED AND IMPROVED.
AND ALL OF THAT IS PART OF IT.
BUT I THINK SOME OF IT GOES DIRECTLY TO THE BUDGET.
UM, BUT JUST SO WE'RE, WE'RE CLEAR WHERE WE'RE AT, THE, THE BIG BACKLOGS, BIOLOGY'S PRETTY MUCH GONE.
AND WITHIN THIS NEXT BUDGET CYCLE, THERE IS A VERY REAL POSSIBILITY OF BIOLOGY BEING SUSTAINABLY MANAGED.
KEEP IN MIND WHEN I STARTED AT HFSC AND WITHIN THE TIME THAT AMY'S BEEN WITH US AND AMY WAS KEY IN GETTING FROM THE MORE THAN 10,000 BACKLOG SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS TO, WE'VE GOT FOUR THAT ARE OVERNIGHT DAYS RIGHT NOW.
THAT IS AN ASTONISHING MIRACLE AND IT HAS TAKEN A DECADE TO GET THERE.
AND I THINK WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH THE NEXT BUDGET, WE COULD BE THERE SUSTAINABLY MANAGED, BUT IT HAS TAKEN A HERCULEAN EFFORT TO GET THERE.
YOU CAN SEE THE GOOD TREND DOWN.
WE EXPECT THAT TREND TO CONTINUE.
WE'VE GOT PEOPLE GETTING SIGNED OFF, THEY'RE MAKING GOOD PROGRESS ON STUFF.
FIREARMS IS STILL GOING THE WRONG WAY.
AND I WILL SAY IN THIS NEXT BUDGET, FIREARMS IS STILL GOING TO BE A PROBLEM.
FIREARMS IS GOING TO BE A PROBLEM FOR SEVERAL YEARS YET, BUT WITHIN THIS NEXT BUDGET, I THINK WE COULD SEE THAT TREND LINE PEAK AND MAYBE EVEN BE STARTED DOWN WITH WHAT WE'VE GOT PLANNED.
BUT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FIREARMS NOW FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS OF THE DIFFICULTY OF THIS.
AND IT IS STILL YET YEARS FROM GETTING SOLVED.
SO WITH THE 2027 BUDGET, THIS, THIS IS THE SIMPLE BUDGET, THE SIMPLE END OF IT.
AND, AND IT WAS OCCURRING TO ME.
ONE EXAMPLE I RECENTLY HAD HERE WAS REALLY EXEMPLIFIED TO ME PART OF WHAT WE ARE STRUGGLING WITH BACK IN 2021.
I STUCK A PRESSURE, UH, REGULATOR ON THE HOUSE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, MUNICIPAL SYSTEMS LIKE TO OVER PRESSURE THE SYSTEM 'CAUSE IT KEEPS 'EM FROM PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT THEIR, UH, PRESSURE IN THE SHOWER.
BUT IT DAMAGES YOUR HOT WATER HEATER.
I BOUGHT IT FOR $172 AND 43 CENTS IN 2021.
THAT SAME ITEM WHEN I CHECKED IT JUST A FEW DAYS AGO, IS NOW NEARLY $500.
PRICE INCREASES ARE VERY REAL ON JUST FUNDAMENTAL THINGS, COMMODITY ITEMS THAT GO INTO EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING.
AND WE ARE SEEING THOSE PRICE INCREASES IN EVERYTHING FROM LABOR COSTS TO REAGENT COSTS TO INSTRUMENTS.
AND I DIDN'T GET THE, UH, SPELLING UM, THING THERE, BUT MAYBE IT'S MORE OF A FREUDIAN SLIP THAN A SPELLING ERROR IN THAT
I TALKED ABOUT IT THIS WAY, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN A YEAR AGO.
UM, WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT LA THIS THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, THAT WHAT I TRY TO GIVE EVERYBODY OF, OF AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT NATIONAL FIGURES POINT OUT OF A POTENTIAL SUSTAINABLE COST PER REQUEST.
SO BIG AVERAGE ONE NUMBER TO LOOK AT.
OBVIOUSLY VARIOUS DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES COST DIFFERENT THINGS.
NOT EVERYTHING IS AS EXPENSIVE.
SOME THINGS ARE LESS EXPENSIVE.
AND I'LL ALSO KEEP IN MIND THIS ISN'T ABOUT 2020 ISH DOLLARS BECAUSE THAT REALLY IS THE CURRENT NATIONAL NUMBERS.
AND I HAVE, UH, POINTED AT THIS REPORT LOTS OF TIMES.
Y'ALL ARE PROBABLY FAMILIAR WITH THIS ONE.
THIS IS THE BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS SURVEY OF PUBLICLY FUNDED CRIME LABORATORIES.
THEY DO THIS EVERY FIVE YEARS.
UH, THEY SOLICITED THE DATA FOR IT IN 2025.
WE PROBABLY WILL NOT SEE THOSE DATA PUBLISHED UNTIL, MY BET IS NEXT YEAR.
THEY USUALLY RUN ABOUT TWO YEARS BEHIND GETTING THE DATA PUBLISHED.
SO THE 2020 NUMBERS ARE THE CURRENT NUMBERS.
THIS IS THE REPORT THAT I CITE REGULARLY ABOUT THE 423 PUBLICLY FUNDED CRIME LABS THAT THERE ARE IN THE US AND THAT THERE ARE ABOUT 15,000 PEOPLE IN TOTAL THAT WORK BETWEEN THOSE LABS.
[00:15:01]
ARE THE KINDS OF DATA THAT COME OUT OF THIS.UM, IT IS A REALLY USEFUL REPORT I FIND BECAUSE IT IS ABOUT THE ONLY CROSS-SECTIONAL VIEW OF CRIME LABORATORIES IN THIS COUNTRY THAT GIVES YOU THINGS LIKE THE TOTAL WORK THAT'S REQUESTED OF ALL OF THOSE LABORATORIES AND THE TOTAL BUDGETS IN ALL OF THOSE PUBLICLY FUNDED CRIME LABORATORIES.
AND ALSO AN ABSOLUTE NUMBER OF THE TOTAL BACKLOGS WITHIN THOSE LABORATORIES.
THERE REALLY ISN'T ANYTHING ELSE OUT THERE THAT GIVES YOU A CROSS-SECTIONAL VIEW OF FORENSIC LABORATORIES IN THE COUNTRY.
AND SO I USE TABLE FOUR LOTS BECAUSE IN IT, THEY HAVE THE NUMBER OF BACKLOGGED REQUESTS ACROSS THE LAST THREE CYCLES OF THE SURVEY.
AND YOU CAN SEE IN IT FOR 2020, PRETTY MUCH ALL OF THE BACKLOGS IN THE COUNTRY HAVE GONE UP AS A SYSTEM.
THE FORENSIC LABORATORIES IN THE COUNTRY ARE LOSING GROUND.
IT IS IN EFFECT A FAILING SYSTEM.
UM, I POINT OFTEN IN THAT TO THE FIREARMS REQUEST BACKLOG THAT HAS NEARLY DOUBLED IN THAT LAST CYCLE TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND FIREARMS REQUESTS.
WE'VE TALKED LOTS ABOUT HOW MANY LABOR HOURS GO INTO A FIREARMS REQUEST.
MY ESTIMATE OUT OF THAT A HUNDRED THOUSAND, UH, REQUEST BACKLOG, THAT IS ABOUT 10 MILLION LABOR HOURS THAT'S BEHIND THAT.
THEN I GO ON TO TABLE NINE IN THERE, WHICH GIVES ALL THE BUDGETS AND GIVES YOU A BIG AVERAGE PER REQUEST ON A NATIONAL BASIS.
THAT LABORATORIES IN THIS COUNTRY AS OF 2020 HAD A GRAND TOTAL OF ABOUT 620 BUCKS PER REQUEST TO DO EVERYTHING, RECEIVE IT, ACCESSION IT, TEST IT, TESTIFY ABOUT IT, ANSWER QUESTIONS, RETEST IT, RETEST IT, AND RETEST IT AGAIN.
THAT $2 BILLION SPREAD BETWEEN ALL OF THOSE LABORATORIES COMES OUT TO ABOUT THAT.
NO, IT'S NOWHERE CLOSE TO ENOUGH.
BUT WHAT MAYBE IS THIS SET OF DATA CALLED PROJECT FORESIGHT? PAUL SPEAKER HAS BEEN, UM, THE ECONOMI.
HE'S, HE'S BASICALLY THE ONLY ECONOMIST IN THE COUNTRY THAT WORKS ON FORENSIC STUFF.
HE'S AT, WELL HE'S, I THINK HE'S BASICALLY, HE'S JUST RETIRED.
UH, THEY'VE BEEN KIND OF TRANSITIONING THIS PROJECT, BUT I'VE KNOWN PAUL FOR A LOT OF YEARS.
WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THIS.
THERE ARE 200 LABS PLUS, UH, WITH ABOUT 24 INTERNATIONAL LABORATORIES THAT CONTRIBUTE DATA TO THIS.
AND IT'S IMPERFECT LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE.
UM, IT IS A SYNTHESIS OF A LOT OF DIFFERENT DATA.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE TALKED WITH PAUL A LOT OVER THE YEARS IS THESE ARE DATA.
THIS ISN'T WHAT IT COSTS TO DO SOMETHING.
THIS IS A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT THE SYSTEM IS AS FUNDED BECAUSE WE ARE GIVING THE NUMBERS OF WHERE WE'RE AT IN TERMS OF REQUESTS AND THE DOLLARS AND ALL OF THAT THING.
SO THIS IS WHAT IT BASICALLY COSTS FOR THE SYSTEM TO FAIL, IS THE DATA THAT ARE COMING OUTTA PROJECT FORESIGHT.
UM, AND WE ALL, ALL THE LABORATORIES, WE ALL KINDA ROLL OUR EYES AT THE VARIOUS IMPERFECT FITS FOR THE DATA.
HFSC IN PARTICULAR BECAUSE WE HAVE, UM, COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PHYSICAL PLANT THAT A LA LABORATORIES DON'T HAVE WITHIN THEIR BUDGETS.
WE ALSO HAVE HR AND FINANCE COSTS BECAUSE WE ARE BASICALLY A COMPLETE ORGANIZATION, WHEREAS MOST PUBLIC LABORATORIES SIT WHERE THOSE HR AND FINANCE FUNCTIONS WOULD BE OUT IN SOMETHING THAT'S NOT REFLECTED IN THEIR BUDGET.
SO JUST KEEP IN MIND, THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENCES THERE.
THERE ARE ALSO DIFFERENCES IN THE DEFINITIONS OF REQUESTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT FROM THE CENSUS OF PUBLICLY FUNDED CRIME LABS.
SO I'M USING THESE TWO PIECES OF DATA AGAINST EACH OTHER TO GET A, A KIND OF BIGGER PICTURE OF THINGS.
BUT KEEP IN MIND THERE ARE IMPERFECTIONS IN HOW THINGS FIT TOGETHER.
BUT IT IS REALLY USEFUL BECAUSE IT GIVES YOU A DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDING PER REQUEST AND IT GIVES THAT AS 25TH PERCENTILE, 75TH PERCENTILES, UM, AND A 50TH PERCENTILE.
AND IT BREAKS THOSE OUT BY DISCIPLINE IN PARTICULAR SERVICE TYPES, WHICH IS REALLY HELPFUL.
TRYING TO GET THIS IDEA OF WHAT A COST PER REQUEST IS.
UM, IT IS AN ATTEMPT AT A FULLY LOADED COST, BUT LIKE I SAY, FOR A LOT OF LABORATORIES, THEY'RE NOT ACTUALLY REFLECTING ALL OF THEIR COSTS IN THAT.
AND IT'S GOT A HUGE PILE OF DATA.
IT THIS RUNS 120 PAGES PLUS OF A BUNCH OF TABLES.
SO THE WAY I'VE TAKEN TO LOOKING AT THIS IS, OKAY, IF I USE THE 75TH PERCENTILE OF ESTIMATES OF WHAT ARE THE FUNDING ASSOCIATED WITH REQUESTS, THAT IS PROBABLY STILL LIGHT OF WHAT'S REALLY NEEDED TO DO THIS WORK.
BUT IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S A REASONABLE GUESS AT IT.
IT'S NO LABORATORY HAS 75TH PERCENTILE FUNDING FOR EVERYTHING.
SO IF I JUST LOOK DOWN THAT 75TH PERCENTILE COLUMN AND USE THAT, THAT'S MAYBE A BETTER GUESS OF SOMETHING CLOSER TO
[00:20:01]
WHAT IT SHOULD COST PER REQUEST.AND IF I TAKE THAT AND I USE THE DATA FROM THE PUBLICLY FUNDED CRIME LABORATORIES OF THE BACKLOG NUMBERS, YOU CAN GET BASICALLY AN ESTIMATE OF THE COST OF THE CURRENT BACKLOG IN 2020, WHICH WOULD BE MORE THAN A BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF BACKLOG, WHICH IS MORE THAN 50% OF THE ENTIRE NATIONAL BUDGET FOR CRIME LABORATORIES IS BACKLOGGED.
AND IF YOU DIVIDE THROUGH IN THAT TO GET A WEIGHTED AVERAGE COST PER REQUEST, IT'S ABOUT $1,400 PER REQUEST.
SO IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, LABS THAT HAVE 620 BUCKS ARE BASICALLY NEVER GONNA BE ABLE TO GET AHEAD OF A BILLION DOLLAR BACKLOG.
OKAY, SO NOW IF WE LOOK AT WHAT THE NATIONAL COST OF THE REQUESTED WORK IS IN 2020, AGAIN, USE THAT 75TH PERCENTILE ESTIMATE, USE THE NUMBERS OF WHAT WAS REQUESTED FROM THE CENSUS OF PUBLICLY FUNDED CRIME LABS.
DO A LITTLE ARITHMETIC THAT COMES OUT TO NEARLY A $5 BILLION DEMAND THAT'S BEING REQUESTED.
OF THOSE 400 LABS, THAT'S MORE THAN TWICE WHAT THE ACTUAL FUNDING WAS THAT WAS AVAILABLE TO THE LABORATORIES.
AND AGAIN, IT COMES OUT TO ABOUT $1,400 PER REQUEST.
SO I MEAN IT, IT ALL KINDA LINES UP THERE THAT LABS IN THIS COUNTRY ARE AT LEAST HALF OF WHAT IS NECESSARY TO DO THIS WORK.
AT LEAST HALF START TO SEE WHY EVERYTHING'S BACKLOADED IT.
IT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD REALLY.
SO WHAT ABOUT HFSE SPECIFICALLY? BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT THE CENSUS OF PUBLICLY FUNDED CRIME LABORATORIES AND BACK IN THAT TABLE FOUR, ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT'S IN THERE IS WHAT'S CALLED DATABASING, DNA.
NOW I MENTIONED THAT SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THE DATABASING, THAT IS THE, WHEN YOU RUN THE, THE ORAL BUCCAL SWABS FOR DNA, SO LEGALLY OWED DNA FROM AN ARRESTEE OFFENDER, THEY'RE VERY CLEAN SAMPLES.
THEY'RE HIGH CONCENTRATION DNA AND THE TESTING OF THOSE IS TYPICALLY DONE BY ONE LABORATORY IN THE STATE.
TEXAS DPS LABORATORY THAT'S IN AUSTIN DOES ALL OF THE DATABASING FOR THE ENTIRE STATE OF TEXAS.
IT'S HIGHLY, HIGHLY AUTOMATED AND IT IS PROBABLY THE LEAST COST WORK OF ANYTHING IN THE LIST BECAUSE IT'S SO AUTOMATED.
IT'S BEEN A HUGE AMOUNT OF, UM, FEDERAL DOLLARS THAT HAVE GONE INTO ESTABLISHING ALL THAT AUTOMATION.
IT'S GREAT, BUT IT'S NOT REALLY WHAT A CASEWORK LABORATORY DOES.
SO H-F-S-C-I WOULD SAY IS MORE OF AN EXAMPLE OF A CASE WORK LABORATORY.
SO THE MIXTURE OF CASES IS GONNA LEAN TOWARDS MORE EXPENSIVE WORK FIREARMS, VERY EXPENSIVE WORK, DNA CASE WORK, POST-CONVICTION KINDA WORK, VERY EXPENSIVE WORK CRIME SCENE, VERY EXPENSIVE WORK, MULTIMEDIA, VERY EXPENSIVE WORK.
SO OUR MIXTURE IS PROBABLY MORE REPRESENTATIVE OF A CASEWORK LAB.
SO IF WE DO THIS SAME EXERCISE OF TAKE HSCS REQUESTS, MULTIPLY BY THAT 75 PERCENTILE NUMBER OUT OF THE CENSUS OF PUBLICLY FUNDED CRIME LABS, OUR WEIGHTED AVERAGE, I WOULD SAY THAT WOULD BE A SUSTAINABLE GUESS IS ABOUT $2,200 PER REQUEST.
SO REALLY LABORATORIES IN THIS COUNTRY, CASEWORK LABORATORIES ARE PROBABLY HAVE AT BEST A QUARTER WHAT THEY ACTUALLY NEED TO DO THE WORK ANY QUARTER OF THE MONEY, A QUARTER OF THE MONEY.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? IS THAT ALL LOGIC MAKES SENSE TO YOU? SO OURS, OUR WORK, YOU KNOW, WE MAY BE EVEN BE A LITTLE BIT ON THE HIGHER SIDE COMPARED TO SOME LABS.
WE HAVE LESS DRUG CASES, DRUG SEIZED DRUGS, THE UM, ANALYSIS OF THE SOLID DOSAGE MATERIALS.
IT'S RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE WORK.
UM, WE LEAN TOWARDS FIREARMS AND BIOLOGY IN OUR, OUR CASELOAD, WHICH ARE EXPENSIVE DISCIPLINES.
SO IN 2026 THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE WILL COMPLETE SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 22,000 REQUESTS AND WE WILL SPEND THIS YEAR ROUGHLY $37 MILLION.
AND DAVID WILL TALK ABOUT THAT.
OUR BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR WAS 35 MILLION.
WE HAD CASH FROM LAST YEAR AND ABOUT $2 MILLION.
AND WE ARE SPENDING AT A RATE THAT WE WILL SPEND ABOUT $37 MILLION A YEAR THIS YEAR.
SO WE ARE GOING TO SPEND ROUGHLY $1,600 PER REQUEST, WHICH IS ACTUALLY ON THE NATIONAL BASIS WE'RE DOING DARN GOOD.
WE ARE STILL SHY OF THAT $2,200 MARK THAT I WOULD ARGUE IS SUSTAINABLE.
BUT WHEN I STOP AND THINK ABOUT WHY IS THIS A LITTLE BIT EASIER, THAT RIGHT THERE IS WHY IT'S A LITTLE EASIER.
IT'S TAKEN US A DECADE TO GET TO THIS POINT OF A RELATIVE FUNDING PER REQUEST.
[00:25:01]
THAT'S STARTING TO BE ABOUT REASONABLE.IT'S STILL WHY IT'S STUPID HARD BUT IT'S WHY IT FEELS EASIER.
'CAUSE WE'RE AT ABOUT $1,600 REQUEST AND IN THAT SPENDING HAS BEEN GOING FROM 10,000 BACKLOG DNA REQUESTS TO FOUR THAT ARE OVER 90 DAYS IN THAT SPENDING HAS BEEN THE ENTIRETY OF OUR BLIND QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM.
IN THAT SPENDING HAS BEEN THE ENTIRETY OF ALL OF THE DATA TRANSPARENCY STUFF THAT WE DO.
ALL OF THE QUALITY MEASURES, ALL OF THE IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN WITHIN THAT 1600.
SO YOU START GETTING TO ABOUT THIS POINT, YOU CAN DO SOME PRETTY REMARKABLE THINGS.
WE STILL HAVE MORE TO DO AND WE STILL CLEARLY HAVE BACKLOGS THAT WE'RE WRESTLING WITH BECAUSE 1600 STILL IS NOT SUSTAINABLE.
UM, WE MAKE IT WORK AT 1600 BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE AMY AND JACKIE AND DAVID AND THE 200 OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE REMARKABLY DEDICATED TO THIS AND PUT UP WITH INSANELY DIFFICULT TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
SO REALLY FROM THE BIG TOP END OF THINGS, IT'S A PRETTY SIMPLE EXPLANATION OF THE FY 27 BUDGET.
THE FY 27 BUDGET KEEPS US AT ROUGHLY $1,600 A REQUEST AND ASSUMES WE WILL DO ABOUT 22,000 REQUESTS.
WE KNOW THE CITY IS FACING BIG BUDGET SHORTFALLS, ALL OF THESE THINGS.
YES THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT IF WE COULD FIND MORE MONEY, WE SHOULD PROBABLY BE DOING.
BUT IF WE CAN AT LEAST STAY AT ABOUT 1600, WE CAN STAY ON THE COURSE THAT WE'RE ON.
NOW THERE'S SOME CAVEATS EVEN WITHIN THAT.
WE ARE SEEING HPD IS COMING UNDER IMMENSE PRESSURE TO DEAL LOOK AT AND THINK ABOUT HOW THEY'RE HANDLING COLD CASES.
WE'VE SEEN A PRETTY SHARP INCREASE IN REQUESTS ASSOCIATED WITH COLD CASE STUFF BECAUSE IN ORDER TO DO THE GENETIC GENEALOGY TESTING, THAT KINDA STUFF, THERE'S A BUNCH OF TESTING THAT WE NEED TO DO ALONG THE WAY.
IT'S TERRIFIC, I APPLAUD THEM, THEY SHOULD DO THIS.
BUT IT MEANS MORE TESTING FOR US.
SO WE ARE ANTICIPATING THAT WE'RE GONNA SEE AN INCREASE IN BIOLOGY REQUESTS FOR PROBABLY THE MOST EXPENSIVE END OF DNA, WHICH IS COLD CASE KIND OF TESTING.
IT INVOLVES MULTIPLE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TESTING.
JACKIE I THINK IS GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT.
WE'RE DOING SCOPE EXPANSIONS IN PART TO ADDRESS THIS OF PUTTING Y SDRS BACK INTO OUR TESTING MIX.
THOSE KINDS OF THINGS WITHIN THE FY 27 BUDGET.
WE HAVE PLANS ON HOW WE WOULD MANAGE THIS.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE'RE EXPANDING CAPACITY, I'M NOT SAYING THAT IT'S GONNA BE EASY.
I'M SAYING WE DON'T KNOW YET JUST HOW BIG THIS DEMAND IS GONNA BE.
SO I CAN'T REASONABLY SAY, OH YEAH, WE NEED TO BUY AND DO AND INVEST IN THIS, THIS, THIS AND THIS.
WE NEED TO SEE AND WATCH HOW THIS EVOLVES.
BUT WITH WE HAVE THE BUDGET THAT WE'RE TALKING FOR 2027, WE CAN MANAGE IT WITH HPD.
UM, THIS FY 27 BUDGET ALSO CONTEMPLATES WITHIN IT.
THE CONTINUATION OF THE PLAN THAT WE'VE GOT ABOUT THE TRANSITION OF PROPERTY HIRING THE PEOPLE, SHIFTING THE STUFF, ALL OF THAT'S IN THERE.
UM, SO BASICALLY THE BUDGET LETS US STAY ON THE PATH THAT WE'RE AT, BUT IT IS KIND OF A DE MINIMUS BUDGET.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHERE WE'RE AT? EXCELLENT.
I HAVE A, JUST A PERSONAL QUESTION 'CAUSE I WAS SO INVOLVED IN IT AND OF COURSE SONIA IS, UH, WITH THE WOMEN'S CENTER.
I AM I CORRECT? AND YOU'VE SAID IT TWICE NOW, BUT MAYBE I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE IT.
UM, HOW MANY BACKLOG RAPE KITS DO WE HAVE IF, BECAUSE THERE WILL ALWAYS BE COMPLICATED CASES.
BUT EVEN ACCEPTING THAT ANYTHING OVER 90 DAYS IS A BACKLOG.
WE HAVE FOUR AND THERE WERE THOUSANDS.
SONYA MAY REMEMBER LIKE 4,000 OR MORE.
I MEAN IT'S SO HARD FOR ME TO CONCEPTUALIZE THAT THERE ARE FOUR AND WE KNOW THAT UNFORTUNATELY RAPES CONTINUE AND UH, I'M JUST, I'M JUST SO PLEASED WITH, I THINK OUTTA THAT QUESTION THOUGH, AMY, 'CAUSE AMY'S BEEN AN ENORMOUS KEY IN THAT BOTH FOR HFSC AND STATEWIDE.
[00:30:01]
AT LEAST GET TO TAKE A BOW FOR IT AND MAYBE HELP EXPLAIN WHAT'S HAPPENING THERE.I'M AMY CASTILLO, THE CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER.
WHEN IN 2014 IS WHEN WE DID OUR BIG PROJECT TO JUST CLEAR ALL OF THE UNTESTED SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS, UNREQUESTED, UNTESTED, AND THEN WHAT WAS IN THE LAB? IT WAS 10,000.
UM, SINCE THEN WE CLEARED THOSE.
BUT WE HAVE STILL STRUGGLED, UM, IN THE SENSE THAT ONCE THAT PROJECT WAS OVER, I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S EASY TO MAKE RASH DECISIONS ON, OH WE'RE NOT GONNA OUTSOURCE OR WE'RE NOT GONNA DO THIS.
SO I FEEL LIKE SINCE THAT TIME WE HAVE BEEN ON A ROLLERCOASTER.
UM, AND WE HAVE BEEN BACK UP TO OVER A THOUSAND, UM, THAT WERE BACKLOGGED.
SO WE ARE VERY EXCITED THAT THIS IS WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW.
THERE'S ABOUT A HUNDRED SOMETHING OVER 30 DAYS.
UM, BUT THE FOUR OVER 90 DAYS, WHICH IS THE STATE MANDATED LEGISLATION.
AND WE ARE EXCITED TOO 'CAUSE WE'VE STARTED TO GET FEEDBACK FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS THAT THEY'RE SEEING THE DIFFERENCE.
AND THAT MEANS THE WORLD TO US.
'CAUSE WE DO KNOW WITH THE SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES, IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE, UM, WHETHER YOUR RESULTS COME IN IN A COUPLE MONTHS VERSUS YOU'RE WAITING A YEAR FOR THEM.
WE'RE, WE'RE ALSO VERY EXCITED.
AND I WANNA SAY AND THANK YOU TO YOUR STAFF.
'CAUSE COURTNEY, COURTNEY HEAD HAS WORKED WITH ME SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE.
UM, SHE IS EQUALLY AS PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS.
SHE TAKES ON A LOT OF EXTRA WORK AROUND SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES AND SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS, THE COLD CASES.
UM, SHE'S JUST INCREDIBLY DEDICATED AND HAS BEEN THROUGH A LOT, UM, AND WORKED THROUGH A LOT TO GET TO THIS POINT ALONG WITH HER STAFF.
SO REALLY THAT SECTION DESERVES THE CREDIT FOR STICKING WITH THIS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS SO FAR? JORDAN? JUST A QUICK ONE.
SO, UH, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REQUEST AND CASES? OH YEAH.
UM, MOST LABORATORIES IN THE COUNTRY VIEW THEIR WORKLOAD ON A REQUEST BASIS, A CASE, WHICH IS HOW A LOT OF THE REST OF THE SYSTEM LOOKS AT IT, PROBABLY HAS MULTIPLE REQUESTS ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
SO FOR INSTANCE, A HOMICIDE CASE AS THE DA'S OFFICE OR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WOULD RECOGNIZE IT FOR US, PROBABLY HAS A COUPLE OF DNA REQUESTS, A FIREARMS REQUEST, MAYBE LATENT PRINT REQUEST.
IT MAY HAVE A HALF A DOZEN OR SO REQUESTS IN THAT.
UM, SO, AND, AND WHAT GETS REALLY MESSY ABOUT IT IS CASE REQUEST SAMPLE.
THEY, THEY GET USED INTERCHANGEABLY AND IT GETS MESSY.
AND THEN DIFFERENT PLACES HAVE DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS ABOUT STUFF.
UH, SO YOU WILL HEAR US AS THE LABORATORY LARGELY REFER TO THINGS AS A REQUEST, BUT KEEP IN MIND THAT THE REST OF THE SYSTEM DOESN'T NECESSARILY THINK OF THINGS AS REQUESTS.
UM, ANOTHER THING THAT GETS REALLY MESSY INSIDE OF THAT IS WE TALK ABOUT ITEMS. SOMETIMES A REQUEST WILL OFTEN HAVE MULTIPLE ITEMS. SO EVEN WITHIN THE LABORATORY, A K OR A REQUEST MAY ACTUALLY INVOLVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT TESTING, MULTIPLE SAMPLES, MULTIPLE ITEMS WITHIN A REQUEST.
AND IT'S PART OF, WE HAVE STRUGGLED WITH THIS FOR YEARS HOW TO TRY AND EXPLAIN THIS IN AN UNDERSTANDABLE FASHION BECAUSE NOT EVERY REQUEST IS THE SAME.
UM, YOU CAN SEE EVEN LIKE IN FIREARMS, A REQUEST THAT HAS ONE CASING TO EXAMINE IS NOTHING CLOSE TO, I THINK THE BIGGEST CASE WE HAD, I LOVE THE NAME THEY GAVE IT, THEY CALLED IT TRASHCAN MONKEY MAN HAD A THOUSAND CASES THAT WERE CASINGS THAT WERE SUBMITTED A THOUSAND CASINGS.
IF WE WERE TO ACTUALLY DO ALL THE COMPARISONS IN THAT, THAT'S YEARS OF EXAMINER TIME.
SO, BUT IT'S, IT'S ONE REQUEST.
SO IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO MAKE THESE THINGS EQUATE.
THIS, THIS MAY BE SOMETHING THAT WILL GET RESOLVED DURING THE ORIENTATION PROCESS FOR ME.
I'M BRAND NEW TO THE, TO THE, UH, TO THE BOARD.
BUT I AM INTERESTED IN HOW AND AT WHICH STAGES OF THE, OF THE BUDGET PROCESS AND REALLY THE MANAGEMENT PROCESS, YOU, UH, EXERCISE YOUR TRIAGE DISCRETION.
HOW DO YOU DECIDE
UM, AMY AND I ARE LOOKING AT EACH OTHER BECAUSE THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING, AMY, WHY, WHY DON'T YOU START JUST EVEN FROM THE FRONT OF WHAT WE DO BASICALLY ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
SO EACH ONE OF OUR SECTIONS, ESPECIALLY THAT DEAL MORE WITH VIOLENT CRIME, HAVE A CASE ACCEPTANCE POLICY.
AND THAT IS OUR FRONTLINE, I WOULD SAY DEFENSE AGAINST GIANT REQUESTS COMING IN.
[00:35:01]
IN SOME SITUATIONS A GIANT REQUEST.UM, BUT WHAT WE HAVE FOUND IS IT'S MUCH MORE EFFICIENT IF WE SAY DNA IS AN EXAMPLE ON A HOMICIDE.
WE, WE TAKE 10 SAMPLES TO BEGIN WITH.
AND SO WHAT WE DO IS WE HAVE A CASE MANAGEMENT, A STAFF MEMBER WHO WORKS WITH THE HPD INVESTIGATOR TO SAY, WHICH 10 DO YOU THINK ARE THE BEST? AND WE'LL, UM, ADDRESS CO CELL ELIGIBILITY, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
SO THAT WE'RE, WE ARE HELPING THEM, UM, AS FAR AS FROM A SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE, PICK POSSIBLY THE 10 BEST OPTIONS.
IF WE DON'T GET ANYTHING, WE'LL WRITE IT.
BUT WHAT WE FIND IS WRITING TWO REQUESTS WITH 10 EACH IS MORE EFFICIENT THAN WRITING ONE WITH 20.
BECAUSE THOSE CASES, I MEAN WE HAVE CASE FILES, THIS BIG
SO EVERY ONE OF OUR SECTIONS HAS, UM, A POLICY AROUND THAT.
AND THEN YOU HAVE SITUATIONS LIKE THE FIREARMS ONE WITH THE DUMPSTER CASINGS.
THAT'S ALSO JUST A, I MEAN, DAILY BACK AND FORTH OF WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT, WHAT'S MOST URGENT, WHAT CAN WE WORK AND THEN COME BACK IF WE NEED TO.
SO WE HA DEFINITELY HAVE THE MENTALITY OF, WE MIGHT HOPEFULLY NOT HAVE TO WORK A THOUSAND, BUT LET'S DO IT IN CHUNKS SO THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN OUR EFFICIENCY AND IF YOU FIND WHAT YOU NEED AND THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO WORK ALL OF THEM THAT'S BEST BETTER FOR THE WHOLE SYSTEM EFFICIENCY WISE.
SO I WOULD SAY WEEKLY TO DAILY, UM, WE'RE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS ABOUT THE REQUESTS.
AND I'D ADD KIND OF THE MORE STRATEGIC VERSION OF THAT.
WHAT THE QUESTION YOU ASK AND I CHUCKLE ABOUT IT BECAUSE THAT IS ONE OF THOSE QUESTIONS THAT IS A HUGE FRONT OF MIND QUESTION FOR LABORATORIES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, WHAT GETS TESTED AND IN WHAT ORDER DO WE DO IT? UM, YOU KNOW, HOW HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU DECIDE WHICH AWFUL, HORRIBLE VIOLENT CRIME GOES FIRST AND WHICH ONE WAITS? UM, AND THE BEST WE HAVE GOTTEN TO, AND IT HAS TAKEN YEARS TO GET THERE, IS THE ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN WORKING WITH THE INVESTIGATORS UP FRONT AND THE PROSECUTORS ON THE OTHER SIDE.
HA WE CAN'T SEE WHICH CASE MIGHT BE IMPORTANT FOR WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.
YOU HAVE TO HELP US WITH THAT.
YOU ALSO HAVE TO BE ABLE TO COME TO THE TABLE WITH A WILLINGNESS TO NEGOTIATE.
'CAUSE WE CAN'T GIVE OVER ALL OF OUR CAPACITY TO COURT PRIORITIES BECAUSE THERE MAY BE A PUBLIC IER, PUBLIC SAFETY EMERGENCY THAT WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS.
AND IT IS A DELICATE, DELICATE BALANCE THAT WE'VE GOTTA HAVE EVERYBODY AT THE TABLE TO TALK ABOUT.
THE, TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT THOUGH, THE, THE, THE OTHER INTERESTING THAT IS, THAT ANSWERS THAT PART FOR, OR THE OTHER INTERESTING THING FOR ME IS THAT, IS THAT YOUR STAFF ARE NOT FUNGIBLE.
THEY DON'T MOVE FROM NOPE, FROM FIREARMS TO DNA OR FROM DNA TO TOXICOLOGY OR WHATEVER.
AND SO AT A CERTAIN POINT YOU JUST, WHEN DO YOU DECIDE THIS IS THE YEAR WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON RAPE KITS AND WE'RE GOING TO STAFF UP FOR THAT AND GET IT DONE? IS THAT, IS THAT THIS TIME OF YEAR? PRETTY MUCH, YEAH.
AND WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO ADD POSITIONS WHERE WE NEED.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, LAST YEAR IN OUR BUDGET, UM, THE CITY GAVE US BUDGET TO HIRE BY FIREARMS EXAMINERS.
'CAUSE THAT'S WHERE WE'RE HURTING AT THE MOMENT.
UM, THE CHALLENGE FOR US IS IT TAKES TWO YEARS TO TRAIN THOSE PEOPLE.
SO WE GOT THE POSITIONS LAST YEAR.
WE'RE STILL YEARS AWAY FROM HAVING THEM ON THE BENCH WHEN WE DON'T GET THE BUDGET WE NEED.
WHAT WE TEND TO DO IS MORE WITH VACANCIES AND NOT STAFF.
SO WE'VE HAD A COUPLE EXAMPLES, UM, ONE IN LATENT PRINTS AND ONE IN DIGITAL MULTIMEDIA WHERE THEY HAD CLEARED THEIR BACKLOGS AND THEY HAD A COUPLE VACANCIES THAT THEY JUST WEREN'T A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE THEY NEEDED.
UM, WE GIVE IT A MINUTE TO MAKE SURE THEY REALLY DON'T NEED THEM AND THEN WE WILL MOVE THEM.
SO SOME OF THE POSITIONS WE HAVE IN FIREARMS, UM, BEYOND THE FIVE THAT WE HAD FILLED ACTUALLY CAME FROM OTHER, OTHER DIVISIONS.
BUT WE HOLD ONTO IT AS WHEN WE HAVE THE VACANCY OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE IT REALLY ISN'T PRACTICAL.
LIKE YOU SAID, THERE'S VERY FEW PEOPLE THAT EVEN IF WE DID DECIDE, WE'RE GONNA TAKE YOU OUT OF THIS DIVISION, THAT COULD WITHIN ANY REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME BECOME A PRODUCTIVE ANALYST IN ANOTHER DIVISION.
THOSE ARE REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS.
AND IT, IT GOES TO A REALITY THAT CAN BE VERY DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE THAT THINK ABOUT THINGS IN TERMS OF QUARTERS.
THAT WHAT WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW IS THE RESULT OF DECISIONS MADE TWO YEARS AGO.
AND WHAT WE'RE DECIDING RIGHT NOW WILL DETERMINE WHERE WE'RE AT ABOUT TWO YEARS FROM NOW.
AND IT IS VERY, VERY DIFFICULT FOR US TO ALTER THE COURSE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IT'S ALL ABOUT
[00:40:01]
THE PEOPLE.AND THE PEOPLE TAKE A LONG TIME TO GET IN PLACE.
AND IF WE DON'T SPEND THE TIME GETTING THE PEOPLE IN PLACE APPROPRIATELY, BAD THINGS HAPPEN.
YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'VE GOT A QUESTION.
IT'S MORE OF A, MORE OF A COMMENT AND JUST WANTED TO EXPAND A LITTLE BIT.
AND ABOUT AMY CASTILLO WHEN WE WORKED ON THAT BACKLOG, UH, RAPE KIT TASK FORCE, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED AS A RESULT OF THAT WAS THAT AMY, UM, ENSURED THAT AS A TEAM, BECAUSE IT WAS A, IT WAS A COORDINATED EFFORT AND THERE WAS A WHOLE LOT OF ENTITIES INVOLVED IN THAT, THAT AMY KEPT THAT TEAM TOGETHER AND SHE KEPT THAT TEAM TOGETHER UP UNTIL, UH, SENATE A BILL 4 76 AND THE 87TH LEGISLATURE THAT CREATED OR ACTUALLY MANDATED THAT HARRIS COUNTY HAD A SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE TEAM.
AND SO SINCE 2021, WE HAVE BEEN TOGETHER STILL ADDRESSING ALL OF THIS ISSUE, BUT AS A COORDINATED, UH, COMMUNITY AND REALLY CENTERING THE, UH, CENTERING SURVIVORS IN ALL OF THAT.
SO I JUST WANNA LIFT THAT UP BECAUSE I THINK THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT AND THAT THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE AROUND SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND RAPE KITS AND ALL OF THAT IS A BROADER ISSUE THAT TAKES A COORDINATED EFFORT.
AND SO THIS SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE TEAM HAS BEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN OPERATING SINCE 2021 AND IT'S BEEN, UH, I THINK IT'S BEEN GOING GREAT.
WE ARE ABOUT TO FINISH OUR SECOND BI, UH, BIANNUAL REPORT.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE HOW, UH, THIS LAB HAS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT, THAT BACKLOG.
SO JUST TO BE EXTRA CLEAR HERE, AND I HAVE FORWARD ALONG THIS INFORMATION TO THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AS WELL.
I FULLY APPRECIATE THE CITY HAS DIFFICULT CHOICES THAT THEY HAVE TO MAKE ABOUT BUDGET.
I I CAN'T, I DON'T ENVY ANY OF THEM TRYING TO MAKE THESE CHOICES.
THE BEST WE CAN DO IS JUST MAKE IT CLEAR WHAT CHOICES ARE GONNA MEAN WHAT.
SO IF WE ARE IN THE POSITION, AND I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING IN ALL THE CONVERSATIONS I'VE HAD WITH THE CITY, I, IT'S THEM.
I'M NOT LOOKING AT THIS, THAT THIS IS WHERE WE'RE HEADED.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CLEAR.
IF WE CAN'T GET TO THE BUDGET THAT WE'RE PROPOSING HERE FOR 2027, IT GETS KIND OF GRIM AND IT GETS KIND OF GRIM BECAUSE OF THESE VERY LONG TIMELINES TO DEAL WITH THINGS.
AND I CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH THAT YES, WE NEED INCREMENTAL INCREASES IN BUDGET.
AND WE'VE TALKED LOTS OF TIMES ABOUT MY JOKING THAT YOU COULD BACK A TRUCKLOAD OF MONEY OVER ME AND I CAN ONLY USE SO MUCH OF IT BECAUSE WE CAN ONLY ADD SO MANY STAFF AT A TIME.
IT BECOMES IMPERATIVE, THE CONSISTENCY IN THE FUNDING.
AND I KNOW THIS IS A DIFFICULT THING WITH GOVERNMENTS, THE CARE FROM ONE INTO THE OTHER, THAT STUFF JUST KILLS US BECAUSE OF THESE VERY LONG ARCS ON STAFF AND THESE VERY LONG ARCS IN HIRING AND HOW FAR OUT WE HAVE TO LOOK.
SO IF WE'RE COMING IN BELOW WHAT WE'RE POSING BACKLOGS ARE GOING TO GO UP JUST PLAIN AND SIMPLE.
IT'S GOING TO ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFFECT SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS.
IT'S GONNA ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFFECT DNA FIREARMS IS PROBABLY GONNA ACCELERATE.
WE, I KIND OF, I PUT TOXICOLOGY ON THERE.
WE HAVE A BACKLOG IN TOXICOLOGY THAT HAS NOT REALLY BEEN AN ISSUE.
NOBODY'S REALLY WORRIED ABOUT IT AT THE MOMENT, BUT SOONER OR LATER IT'S GONNA BITE AS WELL.
UM, WE, WE JUST FLATLY ARE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THE INITIATIVES THAT HP D'S GOT BECAUSE THAT'S GOING STRAIGHT INTO BIOLOGY WHERE WE JUST WON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY.
UM, WE HAVE TALKED PLENTY OF TIMES ABOUT THIS.
DAVID WILL TALK AGAIN ABOUT IT.
LABOR IS OUR SINGLE LARGEST COMPONENT OF THE BUDGET.
THERE REALLY ISN'T ANY OTHER SINGLE MATERIAL THING THAT WE CAN TWIST AND ADJUST TO ADAPT TO A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT IN BUDGET.
IT'S PEOPLE, WE EITHER DON'T HIRE THEM OR WE JUST DON'T HAVE THEM.
AND IF WE DON'T HAVE THE LABOR, EVERYTHING STOPS.
AND IF WE DON'T HAVE THE LABOR, EVEN WORSE, THE PIPELINE OF GETTING PEOPLE THERE TO ADDRESS WHAT WE CAN SEE AS FUTURE NEEDS STOPS.
AND BECAUSE THAT STOPS, IT JUST MEANS WHENEVER WE GET BACK TO ABOUT THIS 1600 OR ABOVE, MARK ADD FIVE YEARS ONTO IT BEFORE WE START MAKING PROGRESS.
SO I MEAN, OUTSOURCING COSTS ARE KIND OF THE OTHER BIG THING.
WE STOP OUTSOURCING THAT AFFECTS SAKS, THAT AFFECTS TOXICOLOGY, THAT AFFECTS FIREARMS. THOSE ARE THE, THOSE ARE THE KNOBS THAT WE HAVE TO TURN AND THEY ARE PRETTY DEVASTATING KNOBS TO HAVE TO TURN.
SO I, I, LIKE I SAY, I DON'T ENVY THE CITY.
I CAN'T BE ANGRY WITH THEM ABOUT CHOICES THAT THEY HAVE TO MAKE.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT IS CLEAR
[00:45:03]
UNDER THE BUDGET THAT WE'RE PROPOSING BACKLOGS WILL INCREASE.AND TO GET THOSE BACKLOGS BACK TO WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW IS PROBABLY A DECADE'S DECADE DELAY.
QUESTIONS? YEAH, I HAVE A GENERAL QUESTION.
SO, SO, UH, I DON'T KNOW HOW CITY COUNCIL WORKS OR THE BUDGETARY PROCESS WORKS.
DO YOU GO IN FRONT OF CITY COUNCIL AND PRESENT TO ASK? IT'S, IT'S BEEN DIFFERENT VARIOUS YEARS.
THIS ADMINISTRATION, IT HAS LARGELY BEEN CONVERSATIONS WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AND STAFF AND CITY FINANCE.
UM, AND IT'S NOT, I I, WE HAVE CITY COUNCIL IS UNIFORMLY SUPPORTIVE OF US OF THAT'S NOT REALLY BEEN AN ISSUE THERE.
IT HAS BEEN MORE JUST THE SHEER VERY REASONABLE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT FITS AND HOW WE MANAGE THINGS IN THE CITY'S.
I REALLY DON'T, I REALLY DON'T ENVY THE CITY'S FINANCE PEOPLE.
IT'S, IT'S REALLY BEEN MORE DISCUSSIONS THERE.
SO YOU PRESENT THINGS LIKE THIS TO THEM.
YEAH, I WAS JUST THINKING ONE THING THAT MIGHT BE EFFECTIVE IS TO, I MEAN, ON THE SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS, I THINK IT WENT FROM 2024 TO NOW OR SOMETHING.
WELL, PART OF WHAT WE, YOU KNOW, THIS THIS GRAPH THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE BACK, WE, WE, WE USED THAT 'CAUSE THE, ON PARTICULARLY THE BIOLOGY ONE, THE, THE, THE HIGHEST POINT THERE WAS THE POINT AT WHICH TWO YEARS AGO WE HAD THE CONVERSATION WITH CITY FINANCE AND THE CITY AND THEY SAID, ALL RIGHT, HERE'S THE ADDITIONAL $2 MILLION IN THE BUDGET TO START THIS BASICALLY FIVE-YEAR PLAN OF HOW WE DEAL WITH BIOLOGY AND REALLY STRIKING DIFFERENCE IN BIOLOGY.
I MEAN, THAT DROP IS BECAUSE OF A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR BIOLOGY.
REGULARLY AND OFTEN AND LOUDLY
UM, PETER, I THINK IT'D BE USEFUL, UH, FOR THE BOARD TO HAVE A LITTLE ONE PAGER SURE.
THAT WE ALL, WHEN WE BUMP INTO PEOPLE AND WE GET ASKED QUESTIONS, ESPECIALLY ON THE SEXUAL, SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS.
YEAH, THAT'S SUCH A GREAT MESSAGE.
THE FIREARMS IS ALSO A GREAT MESSAGE.
UM, BUT IT WOULD BE USEFUL CERTAINLY TO ME.
WOULD THAT BE HELPFUL THAT YEP.
WE WILL GET SOMETHING TOGETHER FOR Y'ALL AND, AND SIMPLE TERMS. YEP.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS I CAN ANSWER FOR Y'ALL? GOOD QUESTIONS.
ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS NOW? OKAY, THEN WE'LL PROCEED TO AGENDA ITEM SEVEN MEMBERS.
YOU RECEIVED A SUMMARY SHEET AND CONTRACTUAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE CONTRACT WITH THE NATIONAL MEDICAL SERVICES, DR. STOUT AND DR. CASTILLO.
DO YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO ADD TO THAT? THIS ONE'S ALL PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
NMS IS THE LABORATORY IN THE COUNTRY THAT EVERYBODY OUTSOURCES TO.
NOT LIKE, THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF OPTIONS.
UM, WE'VE WORKED WITH THEM FOR YEARS.
THEY'VE BEEN A REALLY GOOD PARTNER.
AND THIS IS JUST ABOUT TRY HOW WE TRY AND MANAGE THE BACKLOG IN TOXICOLOGY.
ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD OR COMMENTS? OH, SORRY.
NO, I'M JUST GETTING READY FOR THE QUESTION.
UH, IF THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, WE'LL NOW HAVE A VOICE VOTE TO APPROVE THE CONTRACT BETWEEN NMS LABS AND THE CORPORATION FOR FORENSIC OUTSOURCING SERVICES IN THE TOXICOLOGY SECTION AND RELATED SERVICES.
TOTAL BUDGET NOT TO EXCEED 400,000 AND TO AUTHORIZE DR. STOUT TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT ON THE BOARD'S BEHALF.
MEMBERS, PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MICS AT THIS TIME TO HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE AS PRESENTED.
HELLO? DO I HAVE A MOTION TO SO MOVED.
ALRIGHT, WELL AT THIS TIME I'LL HAVE A VOICE VOTE.
S PLEASE EXECUTE THE CONTRACT ON BEHALF OF THE ORGANIZATION.
[00:50:01]
UM, PROCEED NOW TO AGENDA ITEM EIGHT MEMBERS.YOU RECEIVED A SUMMARY SHEET AND CONTRACTUAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE AGREEMENT WITH SIGNATURE SCIENCE, DR. STOUT AND DR. CASTILLO.
DO YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO ADD ON THIS ITEM? I THINK SO.
JUST FOR CONTEXT, UM, THE $2 MILLION PROJECT THAT PETER WAS TALKING ABOUT IS A BALANCE OF STAFFING AND OUTSOURCING.
SO WHILE WE TRAIN PEOPLE IN BIOLOGY, WE'RE OUTSOURCING CASES TO HELP US MAINTAIN OUR TURNAROUND TIMES.
WE'VE FULLY OBLIGATED THE CITY PORTION OF THAT BUDGET.
AND SO WHAT THIS CONTRACT IS, IS US MOVING ON TO USING THE FEDERAL FUNDS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO CONTINUE THAT OUTSOURCING THROUGH THE FISCAL YEAR AND UNTIL WE GET THE NEW CITY BUDGET.
DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THE BOARD? OKAY.
IF THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, WE'LL NOW HAVE A VOICE VOTE TO APPROVE THE CONTRACT BETWEEN SIGNATURE SCIENCE LLC AND THE CORPORATION FOR DNA OUTSOURCING SERVICES TO BE FUNDED BY THE, TO BE FUNDED BY THE YEAR.
SORRY TO BE FUNDED BY THE YEAR 24.
THAT'S, THAT'S THE GRANT YEAR THAT IS TALKING ABOUT THERE.
AND WHAT ABOUT THE BJA? THAT'S THE NAME.
THAT'S THE NAME OF THE, THE, THE GRANT.
SO BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE IS BJA.
UNDER BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE.
CALLED THE CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT BACKLOG REDUCTION GRANT.
AND IT IS YEAR 24 OF THAT FUNDING.
UM, TOTAL BUDGET NOT TO EXCEED $760,367 TO AUTHORIZE DR. STOUT TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT ON THE BOARD'S BEHALF.
MEMBERS, PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MICS AT THIS TIME.
DO YOU HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE AS PRESENTED? SO MOVED.
AT THIS TIME WE'LL HAVE A VICE VOTE.
PLEASE EXECUTE THE CONTRACT ON BEHALF OF THE ORGANIZATION.
SO WE'LL GIVE YOU THE NAVY VERSION THIS TIME.
UM, WE'RE GONNA PROCEED NOW TO AGENDA ITEM NINE MEMBERS.
IF YOU RECALL, DURING THE NOVEMBER, 2024 BOARD MEETING, MR. LEACH PRESENTED THE ANNUAL FINANCIAL AUDIT FOR THE YEAR 2024.
AT THAT TIME, HE INFORMED US THAT THE AUDIT PURSUANT TO THE SINGLE AUDIT ACT WAS OUTSTANDING.
AS WE WERE STILL WAITING FOR THE UPDATED FEDERAL GUIDANCE.
TODAY, MR. LEACH BRINGS US, BRINGS TO US THAT INFORMATION FOR OUR REVIEW.
PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT NEED A VOTE ON THIS ITEM.
MR. LEACH, PLEASE PROCEED WITH YOUR PRESENTATION.
UH, IT'S JUST AS SIMPLE AS THIS.
THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE INFORMATION NECESSARY FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO COMPLETE THE AUDIT ON THE GRANTS THAT WE RECEIVED.
THEY GOT THE INFORMATION SINCE THEN THE AUDIT WAS COMPLETED AND WE PASSED A HUNDRED PERCENT.
SO FOR BOTH AUDITS, UH, THEY'RE BOTH CLEAN AUDITS, WHICH IN MY WORLD IS AS GOOD AS YOU CAN GET.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OF MR. LEACH? LET'S PROCEED TO AGENDA ITEM 10, MR. LEACH.
OKAY, SO DR. STOUT JUST GAVE YOU, UM, THE WHAT AND THE WHY, RIGHT? I'M GONNA GIVE YOU THE HOW.
SO, A A LOT OF THIS, HOPEFULLY YOU HAD TIME TO LOOK AT THE PRESENTATION ALREADY THAT I'M GONNA GO OVER.
IT MAKES IT EASIER AND QUICKER AND WE'RE ABLE TO LISTEN TO IT.
UH, SO HOPEFULLY YOU WERE ABLE TO DO THAT.
A LOT OF THIS WILL BE REPETITIVE, BUT I NEED TO GET IT ON THE RECORD RIGHT OFFICIALLY, SO THAT, UH, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE CITY LOOKS AT IT, THEY, THEY SEE WHERE THE NUMBERS ARE COMING FROM.
SO I'LL, I WILL BE GOING OVER THE BUDGET AND, UH, I WILL DO THIS.
I'LL GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND.
THE HISTORY OF THE COMPANY, UH, ESPECIALLY FOR YOU, THOSE THAT HAVE ONLY BEEN THROUGH THIS ONCE OR ARE NEW TO IT, UH, WE'LL TALK ABOUT WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
UH, WHEN WE, WHEN I TALK ABOUT THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, IT HAS ACTUAL DATA FOR SEVEN MONTHS, AND THEN I AM FORECASTING THE REST OF THE YEAR ON WHERE WE WILL FINISH.
AND THEN THE BUDGET OBVIOUSLY IS TALKING ABOUT THE FUTURE.
NOW, I WILL SHOW YOU, YOU'LL SAY, WHY, WHY DO I KEEP SEEING THE SAME NUMBERS OVER AND OVER AGAIN? UH, I, I AM A FIRM BELIEVER HAVING
[00:55:01]
FIVE KIDS, UM, THAT THEY DON'T ALL LEARN THE SAME WAY.SO SOME OF THEM GET IT THROUGH ORAL, SOME OF THEM GET IT THROUGH CHARTS, SOME OF THEM, RIGHT? THERE'S JUST DIFFERENT WAYS TO SEE THE SAME MESSAGE.
JUST TRYING TO COVER THE BASES AND MAKE SURE THAT THE INFORMATION IS PRESENTED CLEARLY IN A WAY THAT, UM, EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS IT.
OKAY? UH, SO THE, THE FIRST SLIDE, THIS, THIS JUST SHOWS YOU THE HISTORY OF OUR REVENUE IN TOTAL, MOST OF OUR REVENUE O OVER 90% OF OUR REVENUE COMES FROM THE CITY, BUT WE DO GET PRETTY GOOD CHUNKS, UM, FROM GRANTS.
AND THEN OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, BACK IN 24 AND 25, WE GOT A, A PRETTY GOOD PIECE FROM COVID OR ARPA MONEY.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE INCREASES THERE IN 24 AND 25.
THOSE WERE BOTH BECAUSE OF INCREASES IN GRANT AND INCREASES IN ARPA.
MONEY HAS GONE BACK TO HISTORICAL, UM, LEVELS, BUT THE CITY HAS PICKED UP THE GAP FOR US TO KEEP US, UH, WHERE DR. STOUT WAS TALKING ABOUT, UH, WHERE WE ARE NOW.
WE ARE DESIGNED TO RUN OUTTA MONEY EVERY YEAR.
SO AS REVENUE GOES UP, EXPENSES GO UP, OKAY? WE, WE'RE NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF PATTING A BANK ACCOUNT OR TRYING TO SAVE MONEY OR INVEST.
WE'RE WE'RE GEARED TOWARDS LET'S GET THE WORK OUT THE DOOR.
IF WE HAVE MONEY, WE'RE WORKING ON THE WORK.
OKAY? SO THAT, THAT WILL ALSO, UH, BE IMPORTANT IN SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU LOOK AT IN THE FUTURE.
PERSONNEL COSTS GO UP, UM, AS WE HAVE MORE MONEY, UH, SERVICES GO UP.
ALSO, A LOT OF THAT IS OUTSOURCING.
THAT'S MOST OF WHAT SERVICES IS.
UH, YOU'LL NOTICE IN THE CAPITAL IN 25 THAT WENT UP, THAT HAS TO DO WITH US TAKING ON ADDITIONAL SPACE FOR THE PROPERTY ROOM.
SO THAT'S WHAT THOSE BARS REPRESENT.
IF AT ANY POINT YOU WANT TO ASK A QUESTION, JUST INTERRUPT ME OR YOU CAN SAVE IT TO THE END.
UM, HOWEVER YOU GUYS WANT TO ROLL THIS GIVES YOU, UH, THESE TWO PIE CHARTS.
GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF WHERE WE SPEND OUR MONEY.
OVER 60% OF OUR MONEY IS SPENT ON PEOPLE COST.
STOUT'S, UH, COMMENTS IF THINGS CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY, THE ONLY PLA THE ONLY TRIGGER I HAVE TO PULL FINANCIALLY IS PEOPLE.
THAT, THAT JUST, THAT'S LIKE A TORPEDO TO THE SHIP THAT THAT'S JUST REALLY HARD TO RECOVER FROM.
UH, SO OVER 60% OF OUR COST HISTORICALLY AND CURRENTLY, I'LL, I'LL SHOW YOU, UH, HOW 27 LOOKS.
AND THEN SERVICES IS THE NEXT BIGGEST PIECE OF IT.
THE BIGGEST PARTS OF THAT ARE OUTSOURCING.
IT COSTS, UH, COST TO MAINTAIN THE BUILDING CALLED CAM, COMMON AREA MAINTENANCE.
AND THEN IT COSTS US A FAIR AMOUNT OF MONEY TO SERVICE ALL THE EQUIPMENT.
THAT THAT'S WHAT MOST OF THE MONEY WHERE WE GOES, WHERE IT GOES.
A GOOD THING ABOUT THAT IS THIS IS OUR BUSINESS IS NOT GONNA CHANGE.
WHAT HAS BEEN WILL BE, UM, THAT THAT'S JUST THE WAY WE, WE RUN.
OKAY, LET ME, SO THE OTHER PICTURE I SHOWED YOU WAS TOTAL REVENUE.
THIS CHART SHOWS YOU JUST THE MONEY THAT COMES FROM THE CITY.
SO THE, THIS GOES ALL THE WAY BACK TO 15.
THE BLUE BAR IS HOW MUCH MONEY HAVE WE RECEIVED FROM THE CITY? THE ORANGE OR THE SMALLER IS THE DIFFERENCE YEAR OVER YEAR.
AND THEN THAT GRAY LINE THAT GOES UP AND DOWN, THAT'S THE PERCENTAGE INCREASE.
YOU'LL NOTICE SOME YEARS WE'VE BEEN HELD FLAT, OTHER YEARS IT GOES UP THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
THE NUMBER THAT YOU, YOU'LL WANNA REMEMBER, THE BIGGEST HIGH LEVEL WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, A $3.9 MILLION INCREASE REQUEST, THAT'S 11%.
SO IF I'M THE CITY, I'M SAYING HOW MUCH MORE DO THEY WANT? THE ANSWER TO THAT IS 3.9.
OKAY? WE'LL DIG INTO THE DETAILS, BUT THAT, THAT'S THE HIGH END OF IT.
OKAY? TO ME, UM, THE MOST IMPORTANT SLIDE AND THE MOST IMPORTANT ACCOUNT THAT I CHECK EVERY DAY IS CASH.
WE ARE DESIGNED TO SPEND EVERY PENNY THAT WE RECEIVE TO WORK THE WORK, RIGHT? SO IT DOES, I I DON'T WANT TO END THE YEAR WITH 5 MILLION IN CASH, RIGHT? I CANNOT END THE YEAR WITH ZERO BECAUSE I'M NOT LEGALLY ALLOWED TO BORROW MONEY.
SO WE TRY TO GET AS CLOSE TO ZERO EVERY YEAR AS IS POSSIBLE.
THAT'S TRICKY, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE TRY TO DO.
DAVID'S STOMACH LINING SUFFERS EVERY YEAR ON THIS, AS DOES MINE.
'CAUSE IT'S A ROLLERCOASTER AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
YEAH, I I MEAN GRANTED THE LAST TWO YEARS WERE EASIER BECAUSE WE ENDED WITH 2 MILLION, BUT THEN I KIND OF FEEL GUILTY WAS WHAT MORE WORK COULD WE HAVE DONE IF, IF WE HAD PULLED LEVERS BETTER.
BUT AGAIN, IF MOST OF THAT IS PEOPLE COST, YOU CAN'T JUST GO TO THE STREET CORNER AND GRAB FIVE PEOPLE AND SAY, HEY, COME WORK FOR ME.
[01:00:01]
IT IS JUST NOT THE WAY IT WORKS.UM, IT, IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO FIND PEOPLE AND THEN EVEN LONGER TO TRAIN THEM.
UH, BUT, UH, SO THIS, IN, IN ADDITION TO THAT, JUST THE TIMING OF THE MECHANICS OF IT, I HAVE TO HOLD ON TO ABOUT $750,000 BECAUSE BY THE TIME WE GET THE MONEY FOR THE BUDGET, IT TAKES AT LEAST TWO WEEKS FOR THE CITY TO PUT IT IN MY ACCOUNT.
SO I REALLY HAVE TO HOLD ON TO AROUND A MILLION DOLLARS IF I WANT TO SLEEP AT NIGHT, UM, TO MAKE SURE I CAN FUND THE PAYROLL UNTIL THE CASH HITS THE BANK.
SO ANYTHING LESS THAN A MILLION, WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF IN ON BREAKEVEN LAND.
OKAY? SO THAT, THAT'S THE WAY IT WORKS.
YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THIS YEAR I'M FORECASTING BEING AROUND 600,000.
NOW I HAVE SOME LEVERAGE TO PULL 'CAUSE THERE'S NO WAY I'M DOING THAT.
I, I JUST, I CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN.
UM, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN MAKE THE FIRST PAYROLL IN JULY, BUT WE ARE, WE ARE DANCING AROUND IN THE AREA WHERE WE WANNA BE, RIGHT? USING THE RESOURCES GIVEN, GO AHEAD, DR. STOUT.
I MEAN THIS IS, WE, WE, WE JOKE ABOUT THE ROLL AIDS CONSUMPTION, BUT THERE, THERE IS A VERY REAL THING HERE, AND I'VE TALKED WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE ABOUT THIS, THAT AS WE ARE GOING THIS YEAR, WE ARE GOING TO BE AT FUMES ON THE END OF THE YEAR.
AND IT IS CRITICAL TO US WHEN WE GET FUNDS IN JULY BECAUSE TWO PAYROLLS IN JULY AND IF WE SPEND AS WE ARE SPENDING, AND THIS IS, THIS IS PART OF YOU ASK ABOUT HOW WE WALK THROUGH THIS DETERMINATION OF WHAT WE'RE DOING.
THIS IS ONE OF THE PARTS OF THE CALCULUS WE HAVE HAD.
I THINK THE LATEST WE HAVE GOTTEN FUNDS RELEASED TO US HAS BEEN DOWN INTO AUGUST.
UM, SO IT'S A REAL CONSIDERATION TO US OF WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN JULY THIS YEAR.
AND I'M, I'M LOOKING OVER HERE AT JESSICA TO TALK WITH THE CITY, UM, WHEN FUNDS GET RELEASED BECAUSE WE HAVE NEVER HAD FUNDS RELEASED EARLY ENOUGH IN JULY TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THOSE FUNDS PRESENT FOR THE FIRST PAYROLL.
AND WE'RE GONNA NEED IT IN FAIRNESS TO THE CITY THAT YEAR WAS BECAUSE WE FINISHED WITH A LOT OF CASH AND I WAS TELLING THEM, DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT.
UM, AND THERE HAD BEEN OTHER TIMES WHEN I WAS NERVOUS AND, AND THEY MADE IT HAPPEN AND THEY HAD SIDESTEP SOME PROCESSES, RIGHT? 'CAUSE IT TAKES TIME JUST TO RELEASE A BUNCH OF MONEY.
BUT THAT, THAT'S THE WORLD WE LIVE IN, AND THAT'S OKAY.
UM, JUST GETTING, GETTING CLOSE THIS YEAR TO THE BEST THAT I CAN ESTIMATE RIGHT NOW.
OKAY? SO THAT'S OUR CASH BALANCE, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THERE.
OKAY? SO LET, LET'S START GETTING INTO SOME OF THE DETAILS A LITTLE BIT.
THE, THE WAY YOU READ THIS IS, IF YOU'LL LOOK AT WHERE IT SAYS THE FIRST, WELL, ACTUALLY THE SECOND COLUMN.
THE FIRST COLUMN ARE DESCRIPTIONS.
AND THIS IS JUST LOOKING AT REVENUE, UH, IN THE FIRST COLUMN, WHAT SAYS FY, THAT STANDS FOR FISCAL YEAR 26.
THAT'S THE YEAR WE'RE IN FCST IS THE FORECAST.
SO FISCAL YEAR 26 FORECAST, WE WILL RECEIVE, AND THIS INCLUDES THE 960 ADDITIONAL THAT WAS JUST APPROVED BY THE CITY.
WE'LL RECEIVE 34,000,880 FROM THE CITY.
THAT IS MADE UP OF THE NEXT THREE NUMBERS.
OKAY? SO THE, THE NUMBER THAT'S IMPORTANT IS THE NUMBER THAT'S IN BLUE.
BUT JUST TO READ THE CHART, THE NEXT THREE NUMBERS EQUAL THE TOP NUMBER.
SO THE NUMBER WE GET FROM THE CITY.
SO LET'S, LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS YEAR, WHAT I CALL THE BASE PLUS THE MINIMUM THAT WE NEED.
SO, IN OTHER WORDS, DR. STOUT SAID WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO DO THE SAME THING NEXT YEAR THAT WE'RE DOING THIS YEAR.
OKAY? TO DO THAT, WE NEED AN EXTRA $2.7 MILLION.
UM, THAT IS, BUT THAT'S THAT 37 5 80.
OKAY? SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE MINIMUM.
IF YOU, IF YOU WANT US TO DO WHAT WE DID THIS YEAR, THAT'S MY BEST ESTIMATE.
AND I DON'T PLAY GAMES WITH THE NUMBERS.
I DON'T HAVE PADDING IN THAT NUMBER.
THAT IS MY BEST ESTIMATE OF WHAT WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO KEEP RUNNING THE WAY WE'RE RUNNING, OKAY? NOT TO PUT ON WA WAGE FREEZE, OR HIRING FREEZE OR STOP OUTSOURCING, ALL THOSE BAD THINGS THAT WE PAY FOR YEARS TO COME, OKAY? NOT TO DO ALL THAT BAD STUFF.
OKAY? WITH ADDITION TO THAT, THERE, THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT WE'RE WANTING TO DO WITH THE PROPERTY ROOM.
THAT'S THAT NEXT COLUMN THAT GETS US THE 38, 8 15 TO DO THOSE THINGS.
THE NEXT TWO COLUMNS JUST SHOWS YOU THE DIFFERENCE.
YOU KNOW, I NEED IT 2.7 TO STAY EVEN, I NEED 39, 35 TO DO EVEN IN THE PROPERTY ROOM, RIGHT? THAT'S AN 11% INCREASE.
OKAY? SO, HIGHER LEVEL, WE'LL, WE'LL DIG INTO, OKAY, I'M NOT JUST GONNA GIVE YOU GUYS MONEY, RIGHT? I'M NOT JUST GONNA APPROVE MONEY.
YOU GOTTA TELL ME WHAT, WHAT MAKES THAT UP.
SO IF WE DO THAT, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE CHART, WE STAY BASICALLY THE SAME.
WE'RE STILL 63% PEOPLE COST, WE'RE 22% SERVICES.
THE, THE BUSINESS MODEL HASN'T CHANGED.
[01:05:01]
OKAY? SO NOW THESE ARE WHAT I CALL WATERFALL CHARTS.UM, AND THESE ARE THE BEST WAY THAT I FOUND TO SAY HOW DID I GET FROM A TO B? OKAY? SO FOR THE BUDGET, YOU'LL SEE THAT RIGHT NOW WE ARE AT 34 8 80, JUST FROM THE CITY.
I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT GRANTS AND, AND OTHER THINGS JUST FROM THE CITY MONEY.
OKAY? WE'RE AT 34 8 80 THAT THEY'RE GONNA GIVE US THIS YEAR THAT THEY'VE APPROVED.
HOW DO I GET TO THE LAST BAR OF THE 38? EIGHT 15, YOU GET THERE BY THE 2.7 MILLION IS OVER THERE TO THE RIGHT, THAT'S A REQUEST.
AND THIS MONEY THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR PROPERTY ROOM IS REALLY BROKEN UP INTO TWO DIFFERENT PROJECTS.
ONE IS TO BRING ON SIX PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE AS PART-TIME TO THAT ARE DOING THE TRANSFER AND ALL THE WORK TO CONVERT OVER TO BRING THEM ON FULL-TIME.
AND THEN TO BRING ON WAREHOUSING EMPLOYEES, WHICH ARE CURRENTLY SITTING IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IN HPDS BUDGET, MOVE THEM OVER TO US.
THAT'S COST NEUTRAL TO THE CITY.
IT'S JUST MOVING THE MONEY FROM THEIR BUDGET TO OUR BUDGET, BUT TO GET IT INTO OUR BUDGET.
THIS IS ANOTHER LOOK AT THE SAME INFORMATION.
SO FOR THAT SHORTFALL, THE FIRST ONE IS, WHERE WILL YOU SPEND THAT MONEY? 1,000,003 73 WILL BE SPENT ON SALARIES.
THAT'S SPECIFICALLY TO TRAIN THOSE FIVE PEOPLE IN FIREARMS THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO.
AND THEN CAPITAL, UM, YOU SAY, WOW, THAT'S A BIG INCREASE.
WELL, WE'VE TAKEN ON A LOT OF ADDITIONAL SPACE FOR THE PROPERTY ROOM.
AND IN OUR BASE LEASE THERE, THERE ARE JUMPS, RIGHT? YOU HAVE A 30 YEAR LEASE THAT THEY DON'T GIVE YOU THE SAME PRICE EVERY YEAR THERE'S INCREASES.
UH, SO THAT'S WHAT MAKES UP THE 2.7 FOR THE NINE PROPERTY ROOM PEOPLE.
AND THEN THE SIX EMPLOYEES THAT GETS YOU, THAT'S WHAT MAKES UP THE INCREASE IN THE BUDGET.
OKAY? UH, LET'S LOOK AT EMPLOYEE COST.
HISTORICALLY, AGAIN, THIS IS AROUND 60% OF OUR SPEND.
THAT'S YOUR EMPLOYEE COST JUST GIVES YOU A TREND LINE OF OUR EMPLOYEE COST.
THIS YEAR IT'S GONNA GO UP BY 2.2 MILLION OR 9%.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE REQUESTING IN THIS BUDGET.
AGAIN, WE'RE BRINGING ON 15 PEOPLE FROM THE PROPERTY ROOM.
OKAY? DID I HAVE A QUESTION ON PROPERTY? YEP.
DID WE GET, WAS IT CALLED PBJ MONEY? AM I SAYING THAT PROPERLY? IT WAS A PROPERTY ROOM, THE MONEY THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO YES.
RECEIVED FUNDING TO PAY FOR THE LEASE.
UM, SO THEY HAVE PAID FOR THAT.
SO EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE, WELL, NOT EVERYTHING, 90 PLUS PERCENT OF WHAT WE'VE DONE WITH THE PROPERTY ROOM HAS BEEN FUNDED.
WE ARE BEING VERY CAREFUL ABOUT NOT SAYING WE'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING WITHOUT MONEY TO BE ABLE TO DO IT.
SO YEAH, THESE, THESE PEOPLE, UH, WE'VE GOT THE SIX PEOPLE THAT ARE WHAT WE CALL THE TRANSITION TEAM.
SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE THE GROUP THAT ARE WORKING ON MOVING EVIDENCE BETWEEN FACILITIES, UM, LAYING THE GROUND WORK FOR STUFF.
WE WERE ABLE TO BRING THEM ON AS BASICALLY PART-TIME CONTRACT EMPLOYEES.
AND IN THIS BUDGET IS THE FUNDING TO MAKE THEM PERMANENT, FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES SO THAT THAT FUNCTION REMAINS THERE.
AND THEN WE HAVE HAD THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AND HPD ON THE NINE EMPLOYEES.
AND THIS GETS COMPLICATED AROUND WHAT WAS THE CITY'S BUYOUT PLAN, UH, WITH THE RETIREMENTS.
UM, AND BASICALLY REPLACING THOSE POSITIONS AND THEN HIRING THOSE POSITIONS OVER IN HFSC INSTEAD OF A HPD.
AND THAT GROUP BECOMES AN AUDIT FUNCTION AND WAREHOUSING FUNCTION AS PART OF THIS TRANSITION.
BUT THE CITY GAVE US THE MONEY THAT WE, WE, WE HAVE BEEN FUNDED ALONG THE WAY OF THE STAGES THAT WE'RE MAKING.
THIS IS THE FUNDING IN NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET TO CONTINUE ON WHAT WE'VE GOT, WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED.
SO JUST AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.
SO, UH, WE BROUGHT THEM ON PART-TIME THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE HAD THE CASH TO BE ABLE TO DO IT.
WE DID NOT RECEIVE FUNDING TO DO THAT, BUT WE HAD MORE OPEN POSITIONS THAN WE ANTICIPATED.
SO WE TOOK THAT MONEY AND APPLIED IT TO A NEED.
AGAIN, WE'RE NOT TRYING TO SAVE MONEY, RIGHT? WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO SPEND THE MONEY WISELY EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY TO GET THE JOB DONE.
BUT NEXT YEAR FOR US TO DO IT NEXT YEAR AND BRING THEM ON AS FULL-TIME, FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES, WE NEED BUDGETED MONEY TO DO THAT.
THE NEXT CHART JUST SHOWS YOU A TREND LINE OF HEAD COUNT.
OBVIOUSLY HEAD COUNT DRIVES COST.
THE REASON THERE ARE FOUR LINES THERE, THE TOP LINE'S MOST IMPORTANT, THAT'S TOTAL EMPLOYEES.
[01:10:01]
THE NEXT LINE ARE HFFC EMPLOYEES.THE RED LINE, WHICH IS NOW ZERO, OUR FORMER HPD OR CITY EMPLOYEES.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY LEFT, SO NO, NO MORE NEED TO TALK ABOUT FUND 2213.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW.
IT'S, YEAH, BUT IT'LL BE BACK
IT MAY BE BACK, IT WILL PROBABLY BE BACK.
AND THEN THE GRAY LINE IS THE, UM, LEVEL OF OPEN POSITIONS.
JUST ONE POINT TO GET ON THE RECORD IN CASE I MISS THIS, I CAN SAY THAT I, I SAID I AM AN IN THIS BUDGET FOR THIS TO WORK.
THAT IS AT A 7.5%, UM, OPEN POSITION HISTORICALLY, THAT'S WHERE WE'VE RUN.
WE WANT TO BE AT 0%, RIGHT? BUT IF WE EVER GET TO 0%, UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIND MONEY SOMEWHERE TO GET TO 0%.
SO AGAIN, TRYING TO WALK THE BALANCE OF WHAT DO I REALLY NEED? I'M NOT TRYING TO SAVE MONEY, BUT YOU CAN'T JUST HIRE SOMEBODY AND THEN NEXT YEAR SAY, WELL, I JUST HAD EXTRA MONEY LAST YEAR.
'CAUSE I DIDN'T GET THE POSITION.
UH, CAN I JUST ASK A, UH, HISTORY QUESTION? WHAT, WHAT HAPPENED IN FISCAL YEAR 23 WHEN THERE WAS A, IT LOOKS LIKE THERE WAS A PERSONNEL CUT.
WAS THAT A, UH, FROM A TOP, FROM THE, FROM THE CITY CUTTING BUDGET? OR WAS THAT JUST A, UH, ATTRITION THING OR WHAT THAT WOULD BE? SO IN 23, FROM 25 TO 19, THAT WAS JUST ATTRITION.
THAT, THAT YEAH, WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY, WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY CUTS.
WE, WE HAD A PERIOD LIKE EVERYBODY DID COVID AND THEN A LITTLE AFTER COVID OUR TURNOVER WENT UP.
UH, WE'RE, WE'RE BACK MORE WHERE WE WOULD EXPECT OUR VOLUNTARY TURNOVER RATE TO BE, WHICH IS KIND OF SIX TO BETWEEN SIX AND 10%.
UM, WHICH IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS IS GREAT FOR US.
THAT'S STILL PRETTY PAINFUL BECAUSE OF THIS IMMENSE INVESTMENT THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE IN TRAINING.
OKAY? SO EMPLOYEE COST A WATERFALL CHART FOR THAT.
UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S PAY INCREASES.
WE AVERAGE ABOUT 3.5%, UH, IN, IN THE CURRENT YEAR ON PAY INCREASES.
THOSE PROPERTY ROOM EMPLOYEES, THAT'S THE NUMBER, THE MILLION ONE 90 TWOS FOR THAT.
UH, WE TOOK IT ON THE CHIN FOR HEALTH INSURANCE COMING UP NEXT YEAR.
UH, WE'VE BEEN SKATING THAT BULLET FOR A WHILE, BUT IT FINALLY CAUGHT US.
IT'S OVER 20% INCREASE THIS YEAR.
AND WE DO A LOT OF WORK TRYING TO MITIGATE THAT.
BUT IT, IT CAUGHT UP TO US THIS YEAR.
LET ME JUST EXPLAIN THIS ONE TIME.
BUT, UM, WITH GRANTS, THE WAY GRANTS WORK IS WE RECEIVE ABOUT 1.6 MILLION A YEAR IN GRANTS.
SOME YEARS, WELL, WE HAVEN'T BEEN LESS, THANKFULLY IN A WHILE, ABOUT 1.6 MILLION.
SO I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THAT MONEY'S GONNA BE SPENT.
SO WHEN I BUDGET IT, I SAY, YOU'RE GONNA GET A GOOD GUY FOR 1,000,006 DOWN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE INCOME STATEMENT, WHICH YOU'LL SEE ON THE LAST PAGE.
IT HAS A BAD GUY FOR 1,000,006, RIGHT? IT'S A WASH.
OKAY? BUT DURING THE YEAR WHEN WE ACTUALLY SPEND THE MONEY, WE SPEND IT ON PEOPLE, WE SPEND IT ON OUTSOURCING, WE SPEND IT ON SOME OTHER THINGS.
I ACTUALLY PUT THOSE NUMBERS INTO WHERE THEY HAPPEN.
SO IF I'M GOING TO DO A COMPARISON FROM THIS YEAR TO LAST YEAR, THE MONEY THAT'S IN WHERE IT WAS ACTUALLY SPENT THIS YEAR, SINCE IT'S IN A DIFFERENT PLACE NEXT YEAR, I HAVE TO TAKE IT BACK OUT.
THAT, THAT, SO EVERY TIME YOU SEE GRANT, YOU'LL SEE A NEGATIVE NUMBER ON THESE WATERFALL CHARTS.
'CAUSE I'M TRYING TO SAY, HOW DID I GET FROM THIS YEAR TO NEXT YEAR? IT'S JUST, I WON'T BORE YOU WITH THAT AGAIN.
BUT YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND IT IF, IF I DIDN'T EXPLAIN IT, I WOULDN'T THINK.
SO THAT IS FOR OUR BIGGEST PIECE SERVICES, WHICH IS A LITTLE OVER 20%.
UH, YOU'VE GOT THE FORECAST FOR THIS YEAR.
UH, YOU'VE GOT A NEGATIVE FOR GRANTS, ACTUAL GRANT SPENDING, PROPERTY ROOM, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT IN THERE.
THE FIREARMS TRAINING THAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT YEAR.
UM, THAT 42,000 NEGATIVE IS JUST BECAUSE IT WAS FUND 2213.
BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY CITY EMPLOYEES THIS YEAR.
THAT GETS YOU TO THE NEW NUMBER FOR FISCAL YEAR 27.
AND ALL THESE NUMBERS TICK AND TIE TO THE BIGGER PICTURE.
THIS IS JUST TO THE DETAILS, REALLY SUPPLIES, IT'S A WASH.
I, I NOW, SO WE'RE FIGURING OUT A WAY THROUGH EFFICIENCIES TO EAT THE INFLATION AND THE INFLATION IS HITTING US.
THANKFULLY, IT'S NOT THAT BIG OF A NUMBER, BUT IN THIS BUDGET I'M SAYING WE'LL SPEND THE SAME, RIGHT? WE'RE, WE'RE JUST GONNA FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE IT WORK.
AGAIN, I I DON'T JUST COME IN AND SAY, HEY, INFLATION'S 5%, GIVE US AN EXTRA 5%.
OKAY? SO THESE NUMBERS ASSUME THAT WE'RE GONNA FIND A WAY THROUGH EFFICIENCY TO EAT THE COST INCREASES,
[01:15:01]
OKAY? UH, CAPITAL, WE DO NOT HAVE ANY NEW CAPITAL PLANNED FOR THIS YEAR.UH, WHAT THESE, THIS CAPITAL SPENDING IS ARE THESE ARE LEASE CONTRACTS FOR EQUIPMENT AND BUILDINGS THAT WE ARE, AND IT SYSTEMS THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED TO.
THOSE ARE THE PAYMENTS THAT WILL BE MADE.
UM, IT'S CATEGORIZED FROM A CA AN ACCOUNTING STANDPOINT.
NOW AS CAPITAL, IT USED TO BE A LEASE.
THEY CHANGED THE RULES, IT GOES INTO CAPITAL NOW AND THEN WE HAVE NON-CAPITAL.
'CAUSE I CAN ALREADY HEAR THAT QUESTION OF REALLY YOU DON'T HAVE ANY CAPITAL EQUIPMENT THAT YOU NEED TO GET THIS HERE? YEAH, WE PROBABLY DO.
UM, THIS IS ALWAYS AN ISSUE OF WHEN WE REPLACE INSTRUMENTS, BUT THIS IS, AGAIN, ONE OF THOSE SPOTS UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE CITY'S BUDGET CHALLENGES ARE.
WE'RE TAKING THE POSITION THAT WE CAN, WE CAN WAIT.
THERE'S A, THERE'S A RISK, BUT WE CAN, WE CAN WAIT ON SOME OF THIS STUFF FOR A YEAR.
BUT YES, THERE ARE CAPITAL NEEDS THAT WE HAVE.
AND JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, WE HAD TO, WELL, WE'VE PROBABLY SPENT A HUNDRED THOUSAND, A COUPLE ITEMS BROKE, COULDN'T BE FIXED, AND IT HAD TO BE REPLACED.
AND THE FACT THAT WE HAVE HIGHER OPEN POSITIONS THAN WE EXPECTED, WE TAKE THAT MONEY AND, AND SPEND IT THERE.
RIGHT? WE JUST FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT WORK.
WE HAVE NOT BEEN IN A SITUATION WHERE, UM, ONE OF THE MACHINES BREAKS DOWN AND I NEED 500,000, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE WOULD ASK FOR A SPECIAL THING IF WE SHUT DOWN THE BIO LAB BECAUSE A MACHINE BROKE, BUT THANKFULLY WE HAVEN'T BEEN IN THAT POSITION.
AND THEN NON-CAPITAL REALLY ARE CAPITAL ITEMS. BUT IF IT'S UNDER $5,000, WE DON'T CAPITALIZE IT.
ANOTHER ACCOUNTING THING, THE 2 53 IS HOW MUCH WE SPENT THIS YEAR.
I'M ASSUMING WE'LL NEED AND SPEND THE SAME AMOUNT NEXT YEAR WITH 200 PLUS EMPLOYEES.
OKAY? NOW, UH, YOU'RE GONNA SAY, PLEASE DON'T GO OVER ALL THESE NUMBERS.
I DON'T WANT TO GO OVER ALL THESE NUMBERS,
OKAY? SO THIS IS JUST THE DETAIL TO GET THE BUDGET ON THE RECORD.
THE NEXT FOUR PAGES ARE LINE ITEM DETAIL OF WHAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO APPROVE.
THIS FIRST PAGE IS A HIGHER LEVEL LOOK AT OUR INCOME STATEMENT.
THE THIRD, SO YOU SEE FISCAL YEAR, UH, 26 FORECAST.
YOU SEE, UM, THE BASE NEED THE NEXT ONE OVER, WHICH IS THE 2.7 PLUS THE PROPERTY ROOM.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO APPROVE.
WHEN I WENT ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE BEGINNING, I SAID 3.9 MILLION, 11%.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO APPROVE.
AND THEN THE PAGES, SO THAT'S A SUMMARY OF OUR INCOME STATEMENT.
WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT THERE WITH THE DELTA, THE CHANGES AND THE PERCENTAGE INCREASE, THE FOLLOWING PAGES IS THE ACTUAL P AND L PRO INCOME STATEMENT PROFIT LOSS.
OKAY? AND IT JUST HAS THAT MIDDLE COLUMN, THE FY 27 BUDGET, WHICH IS WHAT I'M ASKING YOU TO APPROVE ON BEHALF OF, UM, ALL THE EMPLOYEES IN THE WORK THAT WE DO.
AND I, THAT'S THERE TO BE ON THE RECORD.
BUT THE NEXT PAGES ARE THE INCOME STATEMENT OF HFFC WITH THE BUDGETED LINE ITEMS OF WHICH I'VE ALREADY EXPLAINED ALL THE CHANGES, RIGHT? THIS, THIS IS THE DETAIL.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THE BUDGET? OKAY, THEN I WOULD ASK FOR A VOTE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
I MEAN, SOMETIMES WITH ALL OF THIS, IT TAKES A WHILE TO ABSORB IT, YOU KNOW, AND THEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT QUITE WELL, WE'RE GONNA VOTE, BUT AT THE NEXT MEETING, IF YOU EVEN HAVE A QUESTION THAT YOU WANNA ASK, THAT'S OKAY TOO.
SO, UM, SINCE THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, WE'LL NOW HAVE A VOICE VOTE TO APPROVE THE FISCAL YEAR 2027 BUDGET BOARD MEMBERS, PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MICS AT THIS TIME.
DO I HAVE ANY MOTION TO APPROVE THE FFY 2027 BUDGET AS PRESENTED? SO MOVE.
THANK YOU ALL ALL, ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY YET.
THANK YOU BOARD MEMBERS, WE PASS THE RAISE, VOTE FOR THE BUDGET.
YOU ARE A ROCKSTAR WITH ALL OF THIS.
YOU, YOU TAKE SOMETHING SO COMPLEX AND BRING IT DOWN TO A LEVEL.
EVEN I CAN UNDERSTAND
[01:20:01]
SO I, NOT A HIGH BAR.BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, FOR YOUR WORK AND HOW YOU TRY AND MOVE THE MONEY AROUND CREATIVELY AND BE ABLE TO GET THE WORK DONE.
DON'T USE THE WORD CREATIVELY
MY HUS, MY LATE HUSBAND WAS A CPA AND I NEVER UNDERSTOOD IT AS WELL AS I UNDERSTAND IT WHEN YOU REPORT IT.
UM, ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GOING TO PROCEED TO AGENDA ITEM 11, A REPORT FROM JACQUELINE MORRELL QUALITY DIRECTOR, INCLUDING AN OVERVIEW OF THE UPDATES ON QUALITY AND TESTIMONY METRICS IS ALL YOURS? HELLO? GOOD MORNING.
SO AS MENTIONED TODAY, I'M GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT SOME QUALITY UPDATES, UM, DURING THE MONTH OF JANUARY, THE QUALITY DIVISION COMPLETED OUR MANAGEMENT REVIEW REPORT.
NOW, THE BEST ANALOGY THAT I CAN USE TO KIND, UM, DESCRIBE WHAT IS A MANAGEMENT REVIEW WOULD BE, DO THE, DOING THE COMPARISON OF, LET'S COMPARE THIS AS YOUR YEARLY PREVENTIVE, UM, CHECKUP, DOCTOR CHECKUP.
AND, UM, SO JUST AS, UM, SO WHAT, WHAT WE DO FOR THE QUALITY DIVISION, WE KIND OF TAKE A STEP BACK FROM OUR DAY TO DAY BASIS, AND WE LOOK AT INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FACTORS TO KIND OF RUN A DIAGNOSTIC OF OUR LABORATORY, RIGHT? SO WHENEVER YOU GO TO THE DOCTOR, NOT ONLY DO THEY DO BLOOD WORK, BUT THEY ALSO INCLUDE OTHER BIOMETRICS LIKE HEIGHT AND, AND WEIGHT.
THEY ALSO HAVE A VERY EXTENSIVE LIST OF QUESTIONS, RIGHT? TO SEE WHAT IS DIFFERENT IN YOUR LIFESTYLE, MAYBE DIET OR WHATNOT, IN ORDER TO ASSESS YOUR OVERALL HEALTH, THE HEALTHINESS OF YOUR SYSTEM, RIGHT? SO FOR THE LABORATORY PURPOSES, UM, WE HAVE THESE QUESTIONS WHERE WE WANT TO SEE ARE OUR PROCESSES STILL PERFORMING THE WAY WE INTEND THEM TO DO, RIGHT? ARE THEY STILL, UM, SATISFACTORY TOWARDS STAKEHOLDERS? WE ALSO LOOK TO OUR PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES AND METHODOLOGIES TO SEE ARE THESE STILL FIT FOR PURPOSE? AND WE ALSO LOOK TO TRY TO, WE ALSO LOOK AND MAKE SURE THAT GAPS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED OR BETTER SET LIKE SYMPTOMS, ARE THEY, ARE WE TREATING THESE PROACTIVELY, UM, BEFORE THEY BECOME SYSTEMIC AND THEY BECOME MORE SERIOUS? NOW, THIS REPORT IS PRETTY EXTENSIVE.
SO RATHER THAN ME BEING HERE TWO HOURS PRESENTING, I DID ACQUIRE, I, I DID, UM, PICK SEVERAL ITEMS TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT WHAT THE BOARD, BUT I WILL WORK WITH NATALIE AFTER THE MEETING TO TRY, UM, TO SEND YOU THE MANAGEMENT REVIEW REPORT IN CASE, UM, YOU WANNA REVIEW IT WITH A CUP OF COFFEE NOW.
SO FOR 2025, WE COMPLETED A TOTAL OF 10 AUDITS.
NOW ALL OF THESE AUDITS INCORPORATED ALL OF OUR TECHNICAL SECTIONS, OUR SAFETY AND OUR EVIDENCE UNIT, AS WELL AS AS OUR SAFETY AND, UM, SAFETY AND SECURITY OF OUR LABORATORY.
NOW, THE INTENT OF THESE AUDITS IS TO ENSURE THAT NOT ONLY ARE WE COMPLYING TO OUR INTERNAL PROCEDURES, BUT THAT WE'RE ALSO MEETING THE EXTERNAL ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS.
AND, UH, THAT'S WHY WE, AND IT'S ALSO AN ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENT FOR US TO COMPLETE THIS IN A YEARLY BASIS.
IN ADDITION, WE COMPLETED, WE SUBMITTED 362 BLIND CASES.
JUST AS A QUICK REMINDER, THE QUALITY DIVISION FOR THE BLIND QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM, WE CREATE AND INSERT SAMPLES THAT LOOK LIKE REAL EVIDENCE.
AND BECAUSE THIS SAMPLES ARE INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM REAL EVIDENCE, THE ANALYSTS DON'T, UM, TREAT THESE LIKE REAL CASEWORK, RIGHT? SO WE ARE ABLE TO USE THIS PROGRAM AS A REAL TIME PERFORMANCE MONITOR RADAR.
BASICALLY, WE'RE ABLE TO SEE AND MAKE SURE THAT OUR PROCESSES ARE STILL WORKING AS WELL AS THE PERFORMANCE AND COMPETENCE OF OUR STAFF OR, OR FORENSIC PRACTITIONERS.
WE ALSO, IN, FOR 2025, WE IMPLEMENTED SEVEN OSAC STANDARDS.
NOW, OSAC STANDARDS ARE NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED SCIENTIFIC REQUIREMENTS ACROSS A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT FORENSIC DISCIPLINES.
NOW, WHILE WE ARE ACCREDITED, ACCREDITATION PROVIDES A GREAT STRUCTURE OR FRAMEWORK FOR US TO NOT ONLY FOR QUALITY SYSTEM, QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, BUT ALSO PROVIDES A GREAT STRUCTURE FOR THE TECHNICAL SECTIONS.
HOWEVER, THE ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT TECHNICALLY SPECIFIC, AND THAT'S WHERE THESE OSAC STANDARDS ARE VERY HELPFUL AND RESOURCEFUL, RIGHT? BECAUSE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE STANDARDS BASICALLY ENSURES AND PROMOTES A STANDARDIZATION OF THE FORENSIC DISCIPLINES NATIONAL AT A NATIONAL LEVEL.
IN ADDITION, WE COMPLETED NINE RISK ASSESSMENTS AND COMPLETED 16 PREVENTIVE AND PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS, UM, INITIATIVES.
NOW, THESE ARE VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE RATHER WORK ON RISKS AND ANY DISCREPANCIES OR CONCERNS THAT WE MIGHT SEE IN, IN, IN OUR PROCESSES, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE MAKE THOSE CHANGES BEFORE THESE, UM, BECOME A PROBLEM, RIGHT?
[01:25:01]
SO WE, WE HAVE A PRETTY BIG, UM, PROMOTION OF, OF THESE TYPE OF, UM, TOOLS.AND LASTLY, I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THAT WE HAD 194 NON-CONFORMANCES REPORTED TO THE QUALITY DIVISION.
AND WHILE THESE NUMBER MAY APPEAR HIGH, THERE'S ACTUALLY A REALLY GOOD POSITIVE HEALTHY QUALITY CULTURE INDICATOR, RIGHT? BECAUSE THIS MEANS THAT OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE ABLE TO PROACTIVELY RECOGNIZE DEVIATIONS AND NON-CONFORMANCES AND REPORT THESE OUT NO MATTER, UM, HOW LOW THE RISKS ARE, RIGHT? AND REPORTING THESE ARE VALUABLE BECAUSE WE'RE ABLE TO INVESTIGATE THIS WITH SECTION MANAGEMENT SO WE'RE ABLE TO ADDRESS THEM EARLY ON, UM, AND MAKE CORRECTIONS AND IMPLEMENT CORRECTIVE ACTION MEASURES, AND TO ENSURE THAT THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN.
NOW, AS I MENTIONED, I WILL WORK WITH NATALIE AGAIN.
THESE WERE SOME, SOME HIGH LEVEL POINTS THAT I WANTED TO BRING THE BOARD, UH, TO KIND OF MAYBE HOPEFULLY MAKE YOU, UH, READ THIS AND KIND OF SEE ALL WHAT HAPPENED IN 2025, WHICH WAS A VERY BUSY YEAR.
NOW, MOVING ON TO MY LAST TOPIC, UH, I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT OUR INTERNAL AUDITS.
WE ARE ABOUT TO START THIS SEASON, UM, IN TWO WEEKS, IN FACT.
AND THE PURPOSE, AS I MENTIONED, UM, INTERNAL AUDITS ARE A GREAT COMPLIANCE TOOL THAT WE USE ON A YEARLY BASIS.
AND, UH, WE AUDIT ALL TECHNICAL SECTIONS.
AS YOU SEE, THERE ARE SOME SECTIONS THAT TRANSCEND OR OVERLAPPED, UM, WITHIN MONTHS, LIKE FIREARMS, OR THERE MIGHT BE OTHERS.
AND THE WHOLE BASIS OF THIS IS THAT RATHER THAN MAKING THIS A VERY RAPID, UM, INTERNAL AUDIT, WE TRY TO SPACE THESE OUT.
SO ALLOW TIME FOR US TO COMPLETE THIS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A VERY THOROUGH SAMPLING OF ALL OF THE PROCESSES AND ALL OF THE ANALYSTS AND THE WORK PRODUCT, UM, THAT THEY'RE DOING IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PREPARED AND THAT WE ARE COMPLIANT WITH WHAT WE SAY WE DO.
IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS? I HAVE A QUESTION.
WHEN, WHEN, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE 16 PREVENT MM-HMM
GIVE US AN IDEA OF WHAT YOU SAW THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
OKAY, LET ME, PUTTING ME ON THE SPOT AND 48 PAGES.
ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE AT ONES, AND I CAN'T RECALL RIGHT NOW IF IT WAS CONDUCTED IN 2024 AND 2025, THIS IS ONE OF THE EXAMPLES OF FOR THE FORENSIC TOXICOLOGY SECTION.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY DID, AND MAYBE DR.
STOCK CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT, UH, WE HAD A BD TUBE, UH, PROVIDER MANUFACTURER OF BLOOD TUBES, UH, THAT OUR TOXICOLOGY SECTION USED, AND THEY ISSUED A RECALL AT A NATIONAL LEVEL.
AND WHILE IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT IT DIDN'T AFFECT OUR BLOOD TUBES, THE FORENSIC TOXICOLOGY DID, STILL DID AN INTERNAL, UM, VERIFICATION STUDY TO SHOW THAT IT DID LIKE THIS RECALL DID NOT AFFECT THE BLOOD TUBES THAT THEY DID.
SO IT'S ONE OF THOSE, IT'S JUST, IT'S A PREVENTIVE WAY TO SHOW THAT SOMETHING DIDN'T HAVE AN EFFECT, OR IF THEY DID, YOU KIND OF WANNA KNOW THE FACTS.
THAT'S ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE ONES THAT I CAN THINK OF.
UM, I'M JUST, YEAH, THAT ONE'S A PRETTY GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE KIND OF THINGS BECAUSE YOU, YOU REMEMBER THE BD.
SO, SO WE, WE STILL ARE ENJOYING BDS PERFORMANCE THERE.
UM, NATIONALLY, THERE HAVE BEEN SHORTAGES OF THE GRAY TOP TUBES, UH, MANUFACTURED BY BECTON DICKINSON.
UM, WE HAVE ALL BEEN WORKING AT WHAT ELSE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TUBES ARE THERE, THERE'S ONE OTHER MANUFACTURER TOXICOLOGY HAS EVALUATED IF THAT TUBE COULD WORK FOR US, BUT THEY, THE, THE BIGGEST THING WAS THEY TOOK IT UPON THEMSELVES TO GO LOOK AT, OKAY, HOW WELL DO OTHER KINDS OF TUBES OTHER THAN GRAY TOPS WORK MM-HMM
UM, WE GOT A PUBLICATION OUT OF THAT.
I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S ALL PART OF A PREVENTIVE ACTION LIKE THAT.
AND THEN, AND ALSO STUFF THAT HAS TO FIT INSIDE OF THE MONEY THAT WE HAVE.
WE'RE ABLE TO IDENTIFY AREAS OF LIKE, OKAY, MAYBE THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF DISCREPANCIES OR MAYBE THERE'S A LITTLE CLARIFICATION THAT WE NEED TO DO IN THE TRAINING PROGRAM.
SO WE MAKE REVISIONS AND WE DO A PREVENTATIVE, UM, WE, WE DO PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS OR PREVENTATIVE ACTIONS TO TRY TO MAKE THE TRAINING PROGRAM MORE ROBUST OR MORE UNDERSTANDABLE.
BUT OVERALL IN THE END, THE WORK PRODUCT IS GREAT BECAUSE THEN IT'LL MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS ON THE SAME PAGE AND UNDERSTAND WHILE THEY'RE BEING TRAINED.
SO IT KIND OF OVERLAPS FROM ALL AREAS, UM, BIG NATIONAL ONES OR SMALLER ONES.
[01:30:04]
UH, OKAY.JUST QUICK QUESTION ABOUT THE SACS.
AND THERE, IS THAT A SEVEN, UH, IMPLEMENTED WITHIN 2025? CORRECT.
SO WHAT ARE THE DISCIPLINES IN THOSE SEVEN? SO THAT WOULD BE A COMBINATION OF FORENSIC BIOLOGY.
I BELIEVE THERE WAS TOXICOLOGY FOR THIS ONE FOR THIS YEAR, FORENSIC OLOGY AND LADEN PRINTS, IF I'M NOT REMEMBERING MISREMEMBERING, BUT THESE OSAC STANDARDS STATE GATE, UH, THEY GET PUBLISHED AROUND EVERY MONTH, RIGHT? SO ONE OF, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO IS EVERY SINGLE MONTH, UM, MY, THE QUALITY MANAGER FOR THE QUALITY DIVISION, SHE MEETS WITH THE QUALITY SPECIALIST, THE REST OF MY TEAM, AND THE APPROPRIATE MANAGEMENT TO KIND OF GO OVER THE STANDARDS.
UM, SO THEY ARE AWARE OF WHAT IS UP IN THE PIPELINE.
AND FROM THAT POINT FORWARD, WE WORK WITH THE SECTIONS TO CREATE A CHECKLIST OR A GAP ASSESSMENT WHERE WE KIND OF DO A COMPARISON OF LIKE, WHAT DOES THE REQUIREMENT IN THAT OSAC STANDARD STATE, AND ARE WE COMPLIANT TO IT OR DO WE THINK WE ARE, OR WHAT REVISIONS IF WE'RE NOT, WE NEED TO DO TO THAT PROCEDURE? OR DO WE NEED TO DO ADDITIONAL VALIDATIONS IN ORDER TO BE COMPLIANCE? RIGHT? AND FROM THERE, AFTER THAT GAP ASSESSMENT IS COMPLETED, WE WORK WITH THE SECTIONS AND, UM, CARRYING THAT TO THE FINAL.
SO IT ALSO, IT'S VERY DEPENDENT TO THE NUMBER OF STANDARDS THAT ARE BEING PUBLISHED, BUT ALSO WITH THE WORK CAPACITY OF THE SECTIONS, AS YOU SAW, SOME SECTIONS HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE WORKING THROUGH OTHER PRIORITIES AS WELL.
MAYBE JUST A LITTLE REMINDER OF, SOME OF YOU MAY NOT EITHER REMEMBER OR IT'S GOTTEN AWAY.
OSAC IS THE ORGANIZATION OF SCIENTIFIC AREA COMMITTEES.
UM, SO YOU GO BACK TO THE 2009 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, UH, REPORT THAT WAS VERY CRITICAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IT POINTED OUT WAS, OKAY, THERE ARE ACCREDITATIONS AND ALL OF THE LABORATORIES IN THE COUNTRY ARE ACCREDITED TO EITHER ISO 1 7 0 2 5 AS A STANDARD, OR THERE'S SOME THAT HAVE 1 7 0 2 OH AS A STANDARD.
BOTH OF THOSE STANDARDS ARE NOT FORENSIC STANDARDS.
1 7 0 2 5 IS ACTUALLY A MEASUREMENT AND CALIBRATION STANDARD.
AND O2 O IS AN INSPECTION STANDARD, BUT THEY'RE NOT FORENSIC STANDARDS.
AND THE, THE JOKE IN THE ISO WORLD IS ISO IS A FANTASTIC WAY OF SAYING, YOU DO WHAT YOU SAY AND YOU SAY WHAT YOU DO, BUT NOWHERE IN THERE DOES IT SAY YOU DO IT, RIGHT,
SO THERE HAS BEEN A LONGSTANDING WEAKNESS IN THE ENTIRE SYSTEM OF THOSE STANDARDS THAT ARE TAILORED TO FORENSIC PRACTICES AND BEST PRACTICES.
YEARS AGO, THERE USED TO BE WHAT WERE CALLED THE SWIGS TWIGS AND WIGS, SCIENTIFIC WORKING GROUPS, THE TECHNICAL WORKING GROUPS, AND THE INTERDISCIPLINARY WORKING GROUPS THAT WERE ALL UNDER THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE.
THEY HAD ABSOLUTELY NO BINDING ABILITY TO SAY ANYTHING OTHER THAN, YEAH, THIS IS KIND OF A GOOD IDEA.
AND IF YOU FEEL LIKE IT, YOU SHOULD DO IT.
AND IN ABOUT, LET'S SEE, THIS WAS ABOUT EIGHT YEARS AGO.
UM, IT BECAME EVIDENT THAT WE REALLY NEEDED TO DO SOMETHING ELSE.
SO NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE IN COMBINATION WITH THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGIES STOOD UP WHAT WAS CALLED THE ORGANIZATION OF SCIENTIFIC AREA COMMITTEES AS A FRAMEWORK TO CREATE CONSENSUS-BASED STANDARDS AND THEN PUBLISH THOSE STANDARDS UNDER A STANDARD SETTING BODY, UM, THAT BECOME A STANDARD THAT A LABORATORY CAN ADOPT.
NOW, THE CHALLENGE THAT WE'VE HAD IN THE LAST FEW YEARS IS THERE STILL IS NO MECHANISM TO ACTUALLY REQUIRE A LABORATORY TO ADOPT THESE STANDARDS.
YES, I SAID THAT THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT TO ADOPT THESE STANDARDS.
AND ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO, THIS BOARD MADE A MOTION, HAD DID A RESOLUTION THAT WE WILL SELF ADOPT THESE STANDARDS AS THEY COME, UH, AVAILABLE.
SO WE HAVE GONE IN AND WE ARE ONE OF, UM, UH, THERE'S ACTUALLY A FAIR NUMBER OF LABS AROUND THIS COUNTRY NOW THAT SELF ADOPT.
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT NIST'S WEBSITE ABOUT ADOPTION OF OSAC STANDARDS, TEXAS IS WAY AHEAD OF THE REST OF THE COUNTRY, UH, BECAUSE OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE HERE TO ADOPT THESE STANDARDS.
AS, I MEAN, WE, HUN OSAC IS A GROUP OF ABOUT SIX OR 700 PROFESSIONALS IN ALL THE FORENSIC DISCIPLINES.
THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF THOUSANDS OF HOURS HAVE GONE INTO CREATING THESE STANDARDS.
WE SHOULD PROBABLY ADOPT THEM.
AND TO KIND OF FURTHER THE, YOUR QUESTION, UM, WHILE WE MAY HAVE ONLY BEEN FOCUSING ON THE ONES THAT, UM, THE STANDARDS THAT GOT PUBLISHED DURING THIS YEAR, WE
[01:35:01]
HAVE IMPLEMENTED THESE STANDARDS SINCE FIVE YEARS AGO.AND ALL IN ALL TECHNICAL DISCIPLINES FOR HERE AT AT FFC.
UH, YEAH, I, I, AGAIN, I'M, I'M NEW TO THE BOARD.
UM, CAN YOU GIVE A SOME CLARITY ON WHAT A NON-CONFORMANCE IS WHEN YOU YES.
UM, SO OUR, WE HAVE, UM, OUR NON-CONFORMANCE SYSTEM IS BASICALLY ANY SITUATION WHERE IT'S NOT, UM, IT'S A DEVIATION OR UNAPPROVED DEVIATION OF ONE OF OUR PROCEDURES OR PROCESSES.
SO LET'S SAY YOUR SOP STATES THAT YOU NEED TO, UM, PIPETTE 16 MICROLITERS IN ORDER, UM, FOR THIS PROCEDURE OR FOR THIS ASSAY TO, TO OCCUR, RIGHT? UM, SO AN EXAMPLE OF THIS WOULD BE MAYBE YOU PIPETTE 20 OR WHATNOT, THOSE TYPE OF SITUATIONS.
WE, WE WOULD, WE ASK THE ANALYST TO REPORT THESE TYPE OF SITUATIONS.
SO WE HAVE DOCUMENTATION TO SHOW NOT ONLY THE RISK THAT THIS HAD FROM A TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVE, BUT ALSO AS A MEANS FOR US TO CORRECT IT OR SEE THAT MAYBE WE'RE SEEING FROM THE LAB WIDE FOR THAT SECTION WE'RE SEEING SOME DISCREPANCIES, OR THIS IS THE THIRD TIME IT'S HAPPENED, LET'S SAY IN SIX MONTHS, RIGHT? SO WE'RE ABLE TO SEE LIKE, OKAY, THIS IS SOMETHING TO SET SYSTEMIC AND VERY PROCESS BASED.
SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE OUR, ARE THE ANALYST REALLY CLEAR ON WHAT THAT PROCEDURE IS OR THAT PROCESS.
SO IT'S, UM, IT'S A GOOD TOOL FOR US TO KIND OF BE ABLE TO CORRECT AND REMEDIATE THINGS THAT HAPPEN.
AND THERE'S JUST A PLETHORA OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO WHEN THERE, WHEN, UM, AS I MENTIONED, WE LOOK AT THE RISK AS WELL.
THERE ARE CERTAIN INSTANCES THAT MAY BE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER RISK TO OUR PROCESSES, AND WHEN IT DOES, I DO HAVE TO DISCLOSE THOSE TO OUR, OUR, OUR ACCREDITING BODIES.
BUT I ALSO BRING THIS UP TO THE BOARD SO YOU'RE AWARE OF THESE, 'CAUSE THESE DO RISE TO LITTLE HIGHER, MORE SERIOUS, UM, LEVEL, BUT IT'S JUST THE UNAPPROVED DEVIATION OF, OF OUR PROCESSES OR PROCEDURES.
UM, THERE ARE INSTANCES FOR NON-CONFORMANCES.
THERE HAVE BEEN SITUATIONS THAT HAVE HAD AN IMPACT TO OUR OUTPUTS OR TO OUR PROCESSES, BUT IT'S OUT OUTSIDE OF OUR CONTROL.
BUT WE STILL DOCUMENT THROUGH THOSE, UM, NON AS NONCONFORMANCES AS A MEANS FOR US TO SHOW WHAT ACTIONS WE TOOK TO CORRECT AND REMEDIATE TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AND FROM THAT SYSTEM, UM, ISSUE THAT'S OUTSIDE OF OUR CONTROL, WHAT WE ARE DOING IN ORDER TO PROTECT OUR OUTPUTS, RIGHT.
UM, ONE OF THE ONES, THE MOST RECENT ONE WAS ACTUALLY THROUGH OUR BLIND PROGRAM.
WE WERE ABLE TO CONFIRM AND IDENTIFY THAT ONE OF THE REAGENTS AT THE FORENSIC BIOLOGY SECTION THAT THEY USED, THAT, UM, THERE WAS SOME MANUFACTURING DEFECTS.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO CONFIRM AND PROVE THAT.
SO FOR THAT INSTANCE, WHILE IT WAS NOT OUR REAGENT, IT WAS A REAGENT THAT WE USED FOR OUR SERVICES.
SO WE DISCLOSED THIS NOT ONLY TO OUR ACCREDITING BODIES, BUT ALSO TO OUR, YOU KNOW, STAKEHOLDERS LIKE HPD, HARRIS COUNTY AND FORT BEND DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
AND WE STARTED WORKING AND IMPLEMENTING INTERNAL MEASURES, UH, TO SHOW HOW WE ARE PREVENTING THIS DEFECT IF IT HAPPENS OR NOT, HOW WE'RE PROTECTING OUR, OUR PROCESSES IN PLACE.
SO THAT'S JUST SOME SORT OF EXAMPLES.
NO, I, I, I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THAT.
AND WHAT I'M SEEING FROM THIS IS THAT, I GUESS SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE NOT FULLY APPRECIATED IS THAT THIS IS ALSO THE PRODUCT, I GUESS, OF A, OF A CULTURE OF PROFESSIONALISM IN YOUR, IN YOUR LAB.
UM, THAT, THAT THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE BEING TRANSPARENT ABOUT THESE THINGS AS THEY HAPPEN.
ANY QUESTIONS? OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THANK YOU AS ALWAYS AN EXCELLENT REPORT.
DO I? WELL, WE'RE MOVING ON TO AGENDA ITEM 12, WHICH IS A CALL FOR A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
AND OUR NEXT MEETING IS MAY 8TH.