* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:19] CHAIR OF THE BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, AND WELCOME TO THE MAY 12TH, 2026 BUDGET WORKSHOPS. THIS IS THE FIRST OF MANY, AND WE ARE EXCITED TODAY TO START WITH THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, FLEET DEPARTMENT, AND GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT. SO, COLLEAGUES, AS YOU KNOW, THESE WORKSHOPS, HOLD ON. , THERE'S AN ECHO UP HERE. TESTING, TESTING, TESTING. OKAY, WE'RE RESOLVED. THANK YOU. OKAY. SO, AS YOU KNOW, BUDGET WORKSHOPS START TODAY. THERE ARE SNACKS IN THE BACK AND FINANCE DEPARTMENT, AND EVERYBODY HERE, YOU'RE WELCOME TO 'EM TOO IF YOU WANNA COME GET 'EM AT SOME POINT. UM, WE'VE GOT WORKSHOPS FROM TODAY UNTIL THE 19TH, THIS SATURDAY MORNING, 10:00 AM AT THE FINDY REC CENTER WILL BE OUR BUDGET TOWN, OUR FIRST BUDGET TOWN HALL. I KNOW THAT'S WHAT EVERYONE WANTS TO DO ON A, ON A SATURDAY MORNING. SO HEAD ON OVER. THEN MAY 20TH, WE'LL HAVE OUR, UH, THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THE BUDGET WILL BE HERE AT 9:00 AM MAY 20TH. ALSO WILL BE THE BUDGET, UM, TOWN HALL AT 6:00 PM AND THEN THERE'S SOME FLUX IN THE DATES, WHICH I THINK WE'RE GONNA HEAR ABOUT, UM, SOON. SO WITH THAT, I WILL, AND REMINDING EVERYBODY TO PUT THEIR QUESTIONS UP ON SHAREPOINT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S EASY TO DO AND GET, AS YOU LOOK THROUGH THE BUDGETS, IF YOU EVEN BEFORE OR AFTER THE BUDGET WORKSHOP, PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS IN WRITING AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THEY ALL GET ANSWERED. I WANNA WELCOME COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN'S OFFICE, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON'S OFFICE, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER M ANN HUFFMAN'S, OFFICE COUNCIL MEMBER JULIAN RAMIREZ, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER TIFFANY THOMAS'S, OFFICE STAFF FROM MAYOR PRO TEM CASTEX TATUM'S, OFFICE STAFF FROM VICE MAYOR PRO TEM AMY PECK'S, OFFICE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ'S OFFICE COUNCIL MEMBER STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ALEJANDRA SALINAS'S OFFICE AND COUNCIL MEMBER TWILA CARTER. WELCOME TO THE HORSESHOE ALL. AND WITH THAT, WE WILL YIELD TO THE VERY HARDWORKING FINANCE DEPARTMENT. AND, UH, MELISSA, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING. UM, BEFORE I GET STARTED, I JUST WANTED TO RECOGNIZE EVERYONE, UM, ON MY TEAM IN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT THAT'S HERE, SUPPORTING ME IN THE AUDIENCE. UM, AND EVERYONE THAT IS BACK AT THE OFFICE, HARDLY WORKING, UM, SORRY, WORKING HARD. UM, , I'M SORRY, THEY ARE NOT HARDLY WORKING. HARDLY WORKING. YOU'RE OVER HERE. THEY'RE, THEY ARE HARDLY GETTING ANY REST. THEY ARE WORKING HARD. UM, AS YOU CAN TELL, I HAVE NOT HAD ENOUGH SLEEP. SO, UM, THAT'S PART OF GETTING READY FOR THESE DEPARTMENT BUDGET WORKSHOPS. UM, SO THEY PUT A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT INTO NOT JUST THE BUDGET BOOK, BUT WHAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT TODAY, WHICH IS THE, UM, FINANCE DEPARTMENT IN OUR REGULAR OPERATIONS. SO, UH, WE DO MORE THAN JUST SHOW UP ONCE A YEAR WITH THE BUDGET, RIGHT? WE COME EVERY MONTH WITH THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORTS, BUT MORE THAN THAT, UM, WE COVER ALL DIFFERENT AREAS OF FINANCE, AND SO YOU'RE GONNA HEAR ABOUT ALL OF THOSE TODAY. UM, SO ON SLIDE, WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. SLIDE THREE. I'M JUST TALKING ABOUT STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT AND HOW THE, UM, DEPARTMENT BREAKS DOWN. YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT THE MAYOR'S FOUR PRIORITIES, AND THAT'S HOW THE BUDGET BOOK IS ORGANIZED. UM, SO THE TWO MAYOR'S PRIORITIES AT THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, UM, WORKS, WORKS UNDER ARE GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE. SO YOU CAN SEE OUR DIFFERENT PROGRAMS UNDERNEATH GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS AND, UH, AND INFRASTRUCTURE IN THOSE CATEGORIES. SO WE WILL, UM, DIVE INTO EACH OF THOSE PROGRAMS TODAY. LOOKING AT THE TOTAL EXPENDITURES BY FUND FOR THE ENTIRE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, THIS BREAKS IT DOWN BY GENERAL FUND AND CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND. AND I GUESS I, I JUST WANNA TAKE A SECOND TO TALK ABOUT CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND. UM, THIS FUND IS A FUND THAT'S USED BY CENTRAL SERVICE AREA DEPARTMENTS LIKE FINANCE, HR, IT, UM, FLEET THAT IS USED BY DEPARTMENTS THAT PROVIDE SERVICES TO OUR OTHER CLIENT DEPARTMENTS. SO WE USE THE CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND SO THAT WE CAN MORE ACCURATELY KEEP TRACK OF THE WORK THAT WE DO ON BEHALF OF THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND ULTIMATELY REVOLVE THOSE COSTS BACK TO THOSE DEPARTMENTS SO THAT BASED ON EACH ONE OF THOSE CLIENT DEPARTMENTS, YOU CAN SEE WHAT [00:05:01] IS THE TRUE COST. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR, UM, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, PART OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S FINANCE OPERATIONS ARE WITHIN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT AND THE CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND. BUT THOSE COSTS GET REVOLVED BACK AND ARE REFLECTED IN THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET FOR HPD. SO YOU CAN SEE FROM THAT VIEW WHAT IS THE TRUE COST OF HPDS OPERATION, INCLUDING ALL THE SUPPORT, UH, SERVICES THAT COMES ALONG WITH IT. SO THAT'S THE REASON THAT IN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE GENERAL FUND AND CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND. SO, GOING ON TO SLIDE FIVE EXPENDITURES BY FUND, UM, AGAIN, WE'RE BREAKING OUT BETWEEN GENERAL FUND AND CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND. UM, YOU CAN SEE OUR FY 27 PROPOSED BUDGET IS, UH, AN INCREASE FROM THE FY 26 BUDGET AND ESTIMATE, UH, THAT IS DUE TO SOME, UH, INCREASED ACTIVITIES AROUND CONSOLIDATION THAT WE'RE, UM, FOCUSING ON. UM, YOU CAN SEE THE GENERAL FUND IS, UH, FAIRLY FLAT, BUT AS I MENTIONED WITH THE CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND, UM, SINCE WE'RE SERVING OTHER DEPARTMENTS AS OUR CLIENTS, THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE THAT BUDGET, UM, INCREASING. SO MOVING ON TO SLIDE SIX, THIS SLIDE BREAKS DOWN THE PERSONNEL VERSUS NON-PERSONNEL COST. UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THE GENERAL FUND, UH, IN THE CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND, AGAIN, PERSONNEL IS THE MAJORITY OF OUR COST, ABOUT 78% OF OUR COST IN THE GENERAL FUND, AND ABOUT 90% OF OUR COST IN THE CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND. UM, UNDERNEATH OUR SUPPLIES AND SERVICES LINE, THE SERVICES, UM, IS THE SECOND LARGEST, UH, SHARE OF OUR NON-PERSONNEL BREAKDOWN. AND THE MAJORITY OF THOSE COSTS ARE RELATED TO OUR FINANCIAL AUDIT CONTRACT WITH OUR OUTSIDE AUDITOR AUDIT FIRM, WHICH IS WEAVER, AS WELL AS, UM, FUNDING TO COMPENSATE THE HARRIS COUNTY TAX OFFICE FOR BILLING AND COLLECTION OF OUR PROPERTY TAXES. UM, THAT, AS YOU KNOW, WE, ONCE WE ADOPT OUR TAX RATE, WE PROVIDE OUR ADOPTED TAX RATE TO HARRIS COUNTY TAX OFFICE AND THEY SUBMIT, UH, MAIL OUT THE BILLS ON, ON OUR BEHALF. UM, SO THAT'S THE MAJORITY OF THE COST IN THE NON-PERSONNEL AREA UNDER EXPENDITURES BY PROGRAM. UM, THIS IS JUST A SUMMARY, A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT YOU SEE AS PART OF THE BIG, UM, BUDGET BOOK THAT'S ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE, UM, ON THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT'S WEBSITE. UM, SO THIS SHOWS YOU, UM, FY 25 ACTUALS FOR EACH OF OUR PROGRAMS. FY 26 BUDGET AND ESTIMATE, AND THEN THE FY 27 PROPOSED BUDGET, AND THEN THE VARIANCE FROM FY 27 PROPOSED COMPARED TO FY 26, AS WELL AS THE PERCENT CHANGE. UM, AN AREA TO NOTE, AS I MENTIONED, THAT ANYWHERE WHERE YOU SEE AN INCREASE THAT'S PREDOMINANTLY DRIVEN BY, UM, EITHER NEW CONSOLIDATION, UH, THAT'S FRESHLY REFLECTED IN FY 27 OR IN MOST CASES AS YOU SEE, THE LINE ITEM THAT'S DECREASING THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SERVICES. THAT WAS THE PROGRAM THAT A LOT OF THE, UM, EMPLOYEES THAT WERE CONSOLIDATED FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS WERE BUDGETED IN THAT PROGRAM AT THE BEGINNING OF FY 26. AND AS WE WORKED THROUGH THE YEAR, UM, TO WORK WITH THOSE INDIVIDUALS TO IDENTIFY, UM, WHAT JOB DUTIES THEY WERE DOING, WE MADE A DETERMINATION ABOUT WHICH OTHER PROGRAM, UH, THEIR JOB DUTIES MOST CLOSELY ALIGNED WITH. AND SO THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE WHERE THAT PROGRAM IS GOING DOWN. IT'S BECAUSE THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE NOW IN OTHER, UH, BUDGETED IN OTHER PROGRAMS. UM, BUT YOU SEE THE TOTAL BOTTOM LINE, UM, EXPENDITURES BY PROGRAM INCREASED BY 15% ON SLIDE EIGHT. SO TO START WITH THE FIRST PROGRAM, UM, ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL REPORTING, UM, THE, THIS FALLS UNDER THE GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS CATEGORY. AND FOR FY 27, WE HAVE BUDGETED 61 FTES. UM, THIS IS THE PROGRAM THAT COVERS ACCOUNTS PAYABLE, ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE TRUST, AND FUNDS MANAGEMENT. UM, THIS TEAM HANDLES, UM, THE ANNUAL AUDIT FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON FROM THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT SIDE, AS WELL AS DEVELOPING OUR, UH, COST ALLOCATION PLAN, UM, THAT WE USE TO DO, UM, COST ALLOCATION WITH, UH, IT'S ANOTHER WAY OF CHARGING BACK, UM, AND ALLOCATING OUR COSTS TO WHERE THEY TRULY BELONG. UM, SO, UH, NO MAJOR SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THIS PROGRAM COMPARED TO FY 26. UM, BUT YOU'LL SEE UNDER SIGNIFICANT BUDGET ITEMS BOX, MOST OF THEM WILL HIGHLIGHT ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR MUNICIPAL CONTRACTUAL INCREASES. SO THIS INCLUDES THE HOPE, UM, INCREASE AS PART OF THESE NUMBERS. SO YOU'LL SEE THAT'S THE MAIN BUDGET ITEM FOR EACH OF OUR PROGRAMS OR MOST OF OUR PROGRAMS. UM, AND THEN IN THE BOTTOM BOX, UH, WHERE YOU SEE THE PERFORMANCE METRICS, THIS, UM, HIGHLIGHTS THE DIFFERENT OUTCOME-BASED BUDGET. PERFORMANCE MEASURES ARE SOMETIMES CALLED KPIS, KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, UM, FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROGRAM. AND THEN ON THE RIGHT SIDE ON THE TOP, IT GIVES YOU THE BREAKDOWN OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET BY FUND, HOW MUCH IS IN GENERAL FUND, AND HOW MUCH IS IN CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING [00:10:01] FUND FOR FY 27. UM, SO ALL OF THE SLIDES IN OUR PRESENTATION ARE LAID OUT IN THIS SAME FORMAT, AS ARE THE OTHER SLIDES FOR ALL THE OTHER DEPARTMENT, UH, WHOSE BUDGET WORKSHOPS ARE GOING TO BE SEEING OVER THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS. UM, SO JUST TO TOUCH ON A FEW OF THE KEY INDICATORS, UM, THE COLLECTION RATE FOR EMS, YOU CAN SEE WE'RE HOLDING STEADY AT AROUND A 50%, UM, TARGET LAST YEAR. UH, WE ARE AROUND 49%. UM, COLLECTION RATE FOR VENDOR MANAGED SERVICES, SAME THING AROUND 50% COST PER INVOICE. UM, YOU DO SEE AN INCREASE HERE. UM, THIS IS MAINLY RELATED TO THE, UM, REFLECTING THE FULL BUDGETED COST FOR FY 27. YOU SEE THE FY 26 ESTIMATE CAME IN WELL BELOW THE TARGET. AND THE WAY WE CALCULATE THIS METRIC IS JUST BASED ON THE BUDGETED COST OF THE, UM, MOSTLY PERSONNEL IN THAT AREA, UH, DIVIDED BY A PROJECTION OF ROUGHLY HOW MANY INVOICES DO WE THINK WE'RE GONNA PAY, UM, IN FISCAL YEAR 27. AND THEN OF COURSE, WE SEEK TO PAY INVOICES ON TIME, AS ALWAYS, UM, WITH OUR TARGET BEING, UH, RIGHT AROUND 90%. SO ON THE NEXT CATEGORY, ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES. SO, UH, THIS, THIS PROGRAM INCLUDES THE DIRECTOR'S OFFICE AS WELL AS OUR BUSINESS OPERATIONS DIVISION. UM, AND THE BUDGET, AGAIN, THIS BUDGET FOR THIS IS SHOWN IN THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER. UM, THE MAIN HIGHLIGHT IS JUST FUNDING FOR THOSE HOPE INCREASES ON THE, THE PERFORMANCE METRICS THAT YOU SEE ON THIS ONE RELATE TO OUR TOTAL, UH, EXPENDITURES AS FAR AS OUR, UM, ADOPTED BUDGET COMPARED TO OUR ACTUAL UTILIZATION AS WELL AS REVENUE. SO YOU SEE THE TWO EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE METRICS THAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE. I THINK EVERY DEPARTMENT, UH, PRESENTS THESE SAME, UH, ONES FOR THEIR OVERALL BUDGET. ON THE NEXT SLIDE, SLIDE 10. UM, THIS PRO, THIS PROGRAM IS CALLED CAPITAL PROJECTS AND DEBT MANAGEMENT. UM, SO THIS GROUP IS PART OF THE TREASURY AND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT DIVISION. UM, AND THE, THE DIVISION HEAD IN THAT DIVISION IS ALMA TAMARILLO. SO I KNOW YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH, UM, HEARING FROM HER ON DEBT ITEMS AS WELL AS PROPERTY TAX ITEMS. UM, SO THIS GROUP ALSO HANDLES THE, UM, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN, WHICH YOU'RE GONNA BE SEEING COMING FORWARD IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS. UM, AND THAT'S THE MAIN, UM, THE MAIN FOCUS AREA FOR THIS PROGRAM, UM, IS PUTTING TOGETHER THAT CIP AND THEN AS WE GO THROUGH THE YEAR, UM, EVALUATING HRCA THAT COMES TO CITY COUNCIL AND MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S SUFFICIENT FUNDING FOR ALL OF THOSE, UM, CAPITAL RELATED ITEMS THAT COME TO CITY COUNCIL. AND YOU SEE OUR PERFORMANCE METRICS, UM, KIND OF GO ONTO TWO SLIDES. UM, SO JUST TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THOSE AND, UM, AND WE'LL, WE'LL PROBABLY TALK ABOUT IT MORE, UH, AS WE GET INTO EACH SLIDE, BUT EACH DEPARTMENT HAS GONE THROUGH, UM, UH, THE REVIEW OF THEIR PERFORMANCE MEASURES, UM, AS WE GET TO GET TO THE POINT OF PROPOSING THE FY 27 BUDGET. SO, UH, WHERE YOU SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE FIRST ONE, UM, THE FIRST PERFORMANCE MEASURE WHERE YOU SEE NA AND A NA FOR, UH, FY 25 AND FY 26, BUT YOU SEE A TARGET AMOUNT IN FY 27 THAT WOULD INDICATE THAT THIS IS A NEW PERFORMANCE MEASURE, UM, THAT'S GOING TO BE TRACKED ON A GOING FORWARD BASIS. UM, AND AS AN EXAMPLE, UM, IF YOU SEE TOWARDS THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST ON THE NEXT SLIDE 11, WHERE YOU SEE THERE WERE, UM, DATES OR MEASURES BEING TRACKED IN PREVIOUS YEARS, AND YOU SEE NA NOW THOSE PERFORMANCE MEASURES ARE GONNA BE DISCONTINUED AS PART OF ONGOING MEASURE UPDATES AND REALLY REPLACED WITH ONES THAT ARE, UM, WHAT WHAT WE BELIEVE ARE MORE MEANINGFUL FOR THE PUBLIC. SO WE'RE SORT OF IN A, A TRANSITION PERIOD WHERE YOU'RE GONNA SEE SOME NEW PERFORMANCE MEASURES, CONTINUATION OF EXISTING PERFORMANCE MEASURES AS WELL, UM, NOT JUST ON THESE SLIDES, BUT ALSO IN THE, IN THE BUDGET BOOK. SO GOING ON TO, UM, SLIDE 12, CITYWIDE PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACT MANAGEMENT. SO THIS IS AN AREA WHERE WE HAVE BEEN ACTIVELY, UM, CONSOLIDATING PROCUREMENT FUNCTION FROM AROUND THE CITY. UM, AND THAT'S GOING TO BE CONTINUING ON, UH, IN THE FUTURE AS WELL. UM, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS ARE FOLLOWING THE, UM, PROCUREMENT GUIDELINES AND STATE, STATE LAW AS IT PERTAINS TO PROCUREMENT. SO THAT'S ONE OF OUR GOALS OF THE CONSOLIDATION IS MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE COMPLYING WITH ALL THOSE REQUIREMENTS, UM, AND TRYING TO, UH, STREAMLINE AND, UM, REALLY BRING TECHNOLOGY TO SOME OF THE PROCESSES AROUND PROCUREMENT. UM, SO AGAIN, THIS ONE DOES INCLUDE THE HOPE INCREASES AS WELL AS FUNDING FOR CONTINUED TECH, CONTINUED TECHNOLOGY AUTOMATION, WHICH IS GONNA HELP US, UM, HOPEFULLY BE MORE EFFICIENT IN OUR PROCUREMENT. THIS IS THE PROGRAM THAT'S REALLY BEEN FOCUSED HEAVILY ON THE CATEGORY MANAGEMENT. SO, UM, WHEN JED, OUR CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER, GAVE THE PRESENTATION AT THE LAST MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT WITH THE DASHBOARD THAT SHOWS THE SPENDING, UM, OR EACH DEPARTMENT CAN DO A DEEP DIVE [00:15:01] INTO THEIR AREAS, THEIR CONTRACTS, THIS IS THE TEAM THAT'S SPEARHEADING THAT ENTIRE PROGRAM. SO, GOING ON TO SLIDE 14, THIS IS THE DISASTER COST RECOVERY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. UM, THE DIVISION THAT THIS REMAINS, UM, PART OF IS IN THE FINANCIAL REPORTING AND OPERATIONS DIVISION, WHICH IS LED BY, UM, ARE RASHID. UM, AND THIS TEAM IS A SMALL TEAM, BUT IT'S AN IMPORTANT TEAM BECAUSE THEY'RE THE TEAM THAT HANDLES ALL OF THE DISASTER COST RECOVERY FOR THE CITY, UM, INCLUDING, UM, LIAISING WITH FEMA, UH, LIAISING WITH TDEM AT THE STATE LEVEL TO ENSURE THAT, UM, ALL OF OUR DISASTERS THAT ARE REIMBURSABLE, THAT WE'RE MAXIMIZING THOSE REIMBURSEMENTS, THEY HANDLE THE PROJECT WORKSHEET PROCESS WITH FEMA. UM, AS WELL AS THE, UM, YOU KNOW, CLOSING OUT ALL OF THOSE PROJECT WORKSHEETS AS WE, UH, COME TO THE END OF A DISASTER PERIOD ON SLIDE 15, THIS IS THE ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR THE CITY. AND AGAIN, THIS IS ANOTHER SMALL DIVISION, BUT AN IMPORTANT DIVISION OR IMPORTANT PROGRAM, UM, THAT IS, HAS A CITYWIDE REACH. SO THIS, UH, SMALL, UH, GROUP IS, UH, AS I MENTIONED, IS VERY IMPORTANT, UM, BECAUSE THEY MANAGE THE ENERGY AND THE NATURAL GAS CONTRACTS FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WHICH IMPACTS EVERY DEPARTMENT. UM, THEY HANDLE THE, UH, AGAIN, THE ELECTRICITY CONTRACT, THE NATURAL GAS CONTRACT, AS WELL AS ANY OF THE, UM, ASSOCIATED REBATES OR, UM, ACTIVITIES, ENERGY SAVINGS ACTIVITIES, UM, AT THE CITY. THEY DO A LOT OF LIAISING WITH THE GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT IN THIS AREA. ON SLIDE 16, THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SERVICES PROGRAM. UM, SO THIS PROGRAM IS REALLY THE PROGRAM WHERE A LOT OF THE INDIVIDUALS IN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT THAT LIAISE DIRECTLY WITH THEIR CLIENT DEPARTMENTS. SO FOR EXAMPLE, UM, YOU SEE IN THE SIGNIFICANT BUDGET ITEMS, THIS AREA IS WHERE ALL THE INDIVIDUALS THAT WORK ON, UM, CITY COUNCIL'S BUDGETS, SO VENITA JONES AND HER TEAM, UM, THE FLEET MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT, UH, GSD HITS FIRE, HPD, LIBRARY, OBOE PLANNING, AND MAYOR'S OFFICE. ALL THE INDIVIDUALS THAT WORK DIRECTLY WITH THOSE DEPARTMENTS ARE IN THIS, UM, IN THIS PROGRAM CALLED FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SERVICES. UM, AS YOU CAN SEE OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, OUR NUMBER OF CLIENT DEPARTMENTS THAT WE SUPPORT HAS INCREASED, UM, AND WE OF COURSE, UM, SEEK TO ACHIEVE A PERFECT FIVE STAR RATING FROM OUR CLIENT DEPARTMENTS, UM, AS WE ASSIST THEM WITH ALL THINGS RELATED TO FINANCE. SO ON SLIDE 17, THIS IS THE FINANCIAL PLANNING AND ANALYSIS GROUP. THIS IS THE GROUP THAT'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BUDGET BOOK THAT YOU HAVE THAT WE'RE REVIEWING TODAY. UM, AS WELL AS THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORTS THAT YOU HEAR ME, UM, PRESENT AT, UH, BUDGET FISCAL AFFAIRS EVERY MONTH. SOME OF THEIR PERFORMANCE METRICS DO RELATE TO CITYWIDE EXPENDITURE, UTILIZATION AND REVENUE. SO, UH, YOU KNOW, PART OF THEIR JOB IS ACCURATELY, UM, BUDGETING AND ACCURATELY BUDGETING FOR BOTH EXPENDITURES AND REVENUES. UM, AND AS I MENTIONED, UM, IN THE FIVE YEAR FORECAST, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT, WHERE WE THOUGHT WE SAW OUR FUND BALANCE AT FISCAL YEAR 26 ADOPTED BUDGET COMPARED TO WHERE WE PROJECT TODAY, UH, WERE REALLY WITHIN $4 MILLION OF THAT TOTAL BOTTOM LINE FUND BALANCE NUMBER. UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE GOOD WORK THAT THIS TEAM DOES WITH THE, UM, ACCURATE BUDGETING AND, UM, REVENUE PROJECTIONS. SO ON THE GRANTS MANAGEMENT, UM, PROGRAM, SLIDE 19, UM, THIS AREA REALLY FOCUSES ON, UM, GRANTS MANAGEMENT FROM A FINANCIAL COMPLIANCE STANDPOINT. SO THEY DO WORK WITH ALL THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ON THE DEPARTMENT SIDE ARE APPLYING FOR GRANTS AND RECEIVING GRANTS AND SPENDING GRANTS. THIS TEAM IS VERY FOCUSED ON THE FINANCIAL REPORTING SIDE OF IT, MAKING SURE THAT ALL THE AUDITS, THE SINGLE AUDITS ARE, UM, COMPLETED AND TIMELY. AND OF COURSE, WE ALWAYS WANT ZERO FINDINGS ON ALL OF OUR AUDITS, UM, AS WELL AS MAKING SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS MANAGED ON THE SAP SIDE OF THE GRANT PROCESS. ON SLIDE 20, THE PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, THIS IS THE GROUP THAT'S HEADED BY JESSE BOUNDS. UM, THIS, THIS GROUP, AS YOU SEE, HAS BEEN VERY INVOLVED IN THE TURN THE CURVE, UM, METHOD, WHICH IS REALLY THE, THE, THE PROGRAM THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH ERNST AND YOUNG ON TO LOOK AT ALL OF THE KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS CITYWIDE. UM, SO THIS IS A NEW KPIA NEW OUTCOME-BASED BUDGET, PERFORMANCE MEASURE, UM, THAT YOU SEE FOCUSING ON TURN THE CURVE PERFORMANCE METRICS AS JESSE AND HIS TEAM, UM, WORK WITH THE DEPARTMENTS ON THAT INITIATIVE. ON SLIDE 22, THE TREASURY PROGRAM, THIS IS THE OTHER, UM, PART OF THE TREASURY AND [00:20:01] CAPITAL MANAGEMENT DIVISION. UM, THIS IS THE GROUP AND WE HAVE A LOT OF SMALL GROUPS, BUT THEY'RE ALL IMPORTANT. THIS IS ANOTHER SMALL GROUP. UM, THERE'S FOUR FTES IN THIS, UM, IN THIS PROGRAM, BUT THIS AREA IS THE TEAM OF FOUR PEOPLE THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OVER $2.5 BILLION OF REVENUE FOR THE GENERAL FUND. SO THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR CALCULATING THE TAX RATE THAT ULTIMATELY GETS ADOPTED, COLLECTING ALL OF THE PROPERTY TAX, BOOKING THAT REVENUE, BOOKING ALL THE SALES TAX AND MIXED BEVERAGE REVENUE. UM, SO ALTHOUGH THEY'RE SMALL, THEY HAVE A, A MAJOR CITYWIDE IMPACT ON THE WORK THAT THEY DO TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR REVENUES ARE, UM, ARE PROJECTED AND, UM, BOOKED, UH, TIMELY. OKAY, SO ON TO SLIDE 24, TALKING ABOUT THE REVENUE. UM, THAT LEADS US RIGHT INTO TALKING ABOUT PROPERTY TAX. AND I'LL JUST GO OVER SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS THAT I WENT OVER IN THE FIVE YEAR FORECAST. SO FOR PROPERTY TAX, THE PROPOSED BUDGET IS 1.5 BILLION, UM, WHICH IS AN INCREASE OF ABOUT 50 MILLION COMPARED TO THE FY 26 ESTIMATE, BUT IT REPRESENTS KEEPING THE TAX RATE THE SAME AT 51.92 CENTS. AND THIS INCREASE IS ONLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO WHATEVER GROWTH WE PROJECT TO SEE IN TAXABLE VALUE THAT ULTIMATELY IS SET BY THE APPRAISAL DISTRICTS. AND, UM, TO GET THE, UH, NUMBER THAT WE'RE BUDGETING, UH, WE'RE USING BASING IT ON INFORMATION THAT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT SO FAR IN OUR APRIL ESTIMATE AND MAKING A PROJECTION ABOUT WHERE WE SEE THAT VALUE GOING AS WE GET CLOSER TO RECEIPT OF THE INITIAL ROLE, UM, IN JULY AND AUGUST. JUST WANTED TO NOTE THAT THIS, UM, PROPERTY TAX BUDGET IS BELOW THE PROP ONE AND H CAP. AND SO WE CONTINUE TO PERFORM THE CALCULATIONS TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE BELOW BOTH THE, UH, STATE CAP AND THE LOCAL CAP TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING IN THE BUDGET, UM, IS ALLOWABLE ON SALES TAX. UM, THE SALES TAX, UM, BUDGET REPRESENTS A 2.4% INCREASE COMPARED TO THE CURRENT FY 26 ESTIMATES. UM, HOWEVER, WE KNOW THAT THE, UM, PROPERTY TAX SALES TAX IS, UH, CONTINUING TO PERFORM STRONG. THE LAST MONTHLY, UM, REPORT THAT WE GOT STILL SHOWS AN INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR IN THAT PERIOD. AND SO WE FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE WITH THE $920 MILLION, WHICH IS OUR CURRENT ESTIMATE. UM, AND WE IN FACT THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE MOST LIKELY PROBABLY CAN INCREASE OUR ESTIMATE SLIGHTLY AS WE MOVE TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR. UM, SO ON OUR SALES TAX PROJECTIONS, WE DO WORK CLOSELY WITH U OF H, UM, UH, THE TEAM THAT REPLACED DR. GILMER ON THEIR PROJECTIONS AND THEIR MODELING. UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE OUR INTERNAL REGRESSION MODEL, WHICH WE RUN, UM, IN ORDER TO COME UP WITH, UH, ULTIMATELY WHAT WE DECIDE TO BUDGET. SO ON SLIDE 25, THIS GIVES YOU THE BREAKDOWN OF THE REVENUE THAT THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, UM, BOOKS INTO, UM, THAT YOU SEE BOOKED INTO THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT'S BUSINESS AREA AND COST CENTERS, UM, PREDOMINANTLY DRIVEN BY PROPERTY TAX AND SALES TAX. YOU CAN SEE FOR FY 27, IT'S ABOUT $2.5 BILLION. AND THEN THE, UM, CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND REVENUE THAT YOU SEE THERE. UM, THIS IS RELATED TO, AS I MENTIONED, THE EXPENDITURES ARE IN THE CENTRAL SERVICE REVOLVING FUND. AND THIS IS US, UH, REALLY REVOLVING THOSE COSTS BACK TO THE, THE CLIENT'S APARTMENTS, UH, REVENUE BY FUND BROKEN OUT ON SLIDE 26. AGAIN, THIS, THESE NUMBERS ARE REALLY, UM, DOMINATED IN THE GENERAL FUND BY THE PROPERTY TAX AND THE SALES TAX REVENUE BY PROGRAM. UM, THIS GIVES YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL, UM, BY PROGRAM. YOU SEE ON THE BOTTOM LINE IS THE TREASURY, SO THAT'S WHERE THE PROPERTY TAX AND THE SALES TAX HITS. AND THEN IN THE OTHER, UM, IN THE OTHER AREAS, YOU CAN SEE THE, THE REVENUES BROKEN DOWN BY PROGRAM. AND THAT CONCLUDES MY SLIDES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. GREAT PRESENTATION. I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME THE MAYOR PRO TEM, MARTHA CASTEX TATUM, AND COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIE DAVIS, AND COUNCIL MEMBER JOAQUIN MARTINEZ TO THE HORSESHOE AND STAFF FROM, UH, VICE CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO'S OFFICE. UH, WOW. NOBODY IN THE QUEUE. EVERYBODY'S A THI EVERYBODY'S WORN YOU OUT. I DO HAVE A QUESTION ON ENERGY MANAGEMENT. YOU KNOW, WE HAD SOME PRESENTATIONS ON THE $640 MILLION CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE FOR ELECTRICITY. MM-HMM . CAN YOU KINDA GIVE ME A STATUS? ARE WE GONNA HAVE ENOUGH TO, TO MEET OUR, UM, MEET BEFORE WE HAVE A NEW CONTRACT, OR CAN YOU GIMME AN UPDATE ON THAT? YEAH, SO WE'RE, UH, WE'RE CLOSELY MONITORING THAT. UM, AS, AS WE TALKED ABOUT LAST YEAR WITH THE PROPOSED BUDGET IN FY 26, WE DID SEE AN INCREASE IN OUR COST ON OUR ELECTRICITY CONTRACT. UM, YOU KNOW, THE RATES ARE, ARE HIGHER IN THE MARKET, UM, THAN THEY USED TO BE. UM, AND SO AS WE LOOK AT THAT PRICING, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WHEN WE CALCULATE THE MAXIMUM CONTRACT AMOUNT THAT [00:25:01] WE MOVE FORWARD WITH AT THE TIME, OF COURSE WE, YOU KNOW, CALCULATED USING A CERTAIN ASSUMPTION ABOUT WHAT THE RATES ARE GOING TO BE. UM, SO WE DO THINK THAT, UM, WE MAY HAVE TO COME BACK TO CITY COUNCIL, UM, BEFORE THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 27, UM, TO INCREASE THE MAXIMUM CONTRACT AMOUNT, UM, BASED ON THE RATES WE SEE THEM CURRENTLY WHERE THEY ARE. OKAY. SO, WE'LL, WE'LL BE EXPECTING A, AN KIND OF AN, AN EXTENSION KIND OF INCREASE, MOST LIKELY. WE ARE LOOKING FOR A LONGER TERM. UM, WE'RE GOING THROUGH A PROCUREMENT PROCESS TO LOOK FOR A LONGER TERM CONTRACT. UM, BUT REALLY TRYING TO GET THE MOST FAVORABLE RATE THAT WE CAN GIVEN THE ENVIRONMENT THAT WE'RE IN. OKAY. MM-HMM . UM, ON PAGE SEVEN, THERE WAS A, A PERFORMANCE METRIC UNDERNEATH THE AMBULANCE THING. CONTRACT VENDOR SERVICES, 50%. LIKE WHAT IS THAT? WHO ARE THEY? I MEAN, LIKE, WE'RE ONLY GETTING 50% FROM OUR VENDORS. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT, OH, I THINK IT WAS, UM, MAYBE IT WASN'T PAGE SEVEN THAT'S RELATED TO, UH, EMS. UM, IS THAT THE ONE YOU'RE LOOKING AT? COLLECTION RATE FOR EMS SERVICES OR COLLECTION RATE FOR VENDOR MANAGE? YEAH. OKAY. YEAH, IT WAS COLLECTION RATE FOR EMS AND THEN UNDER THAT COLLECTION RATE FOR VENDOR MANAGED SERVICES MM-HMM . SO THE VENDOR MANAGED SERVICES RELATES TO DELINQUENT PARKING CITATIONS. OH, DELINQUENT FIRE ALARM. BURGLAR ALARM. OKAY. SO IT'S THE OTHER, UM, OKAY. YEAH, IT'S NOT FROM OUR VENDORS, IT'S OUR VENDORS TRYING TO, I WAS THINKING I ONLY 50% OF OUR VENDORS PAYING US. THAT'S NO, NO, NO , THAT'S BAD. NO. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER. THANK YOU, CHAIR. UM, SLIDE SEVEN, I GUESS THE, THE TOTAL SHOWING A 15% INCREASE IN EXPENSES. YES. WHAT IS THAT DRIVEN BY? YES, SO THIS IS DRIVEN BY, UM, ADDITIONAL, UM, CENTRALIZATION OF EMPLOYEES FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS BEING CONSOLIDATED WITH THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT. OKAY. SO IT'S A SHIFTING OF MORE THAN IN ADDITION TO. YES. SO WE ALSO, AS PART OF THE INCREASE IN COST THOUGH, WE DO ALSO, UM, REFLECT THE HOPE INCREASE. UM, SO THAT'S SOME OF THE 15% MM-HMM . BUT THE REMAINDER IS NEW EMPLOYEES, UM, INTO THE DEPARTMENT. SO BASED ON THE FISCAL YEAR 27 BUDGET, THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT FTES ARE ABOUT 296 FTES. AND IN FISCAL YEAR 26 IT WAS 267 FTES. SO WE'RE UP ABOUT 30. OKAY. EMPLOYEES. AND THEN, UH, SLIDE EIGHT, IT'S, IS THAT REFLECTED IN THE COST PER INVOICE? THAT'S ESSENTIALLY ABOUT A 25% INCREASE? YES. YEAR OVER YEAR? YES. SO THAT INCLUDES ADDITIONAL STAFF THAT WERE, UH, PREVIOUSLY, UM, NOT BUDGETED IN THIS PROGRAM. OKAY. MM-HMM . I THINK I HAD ONE OTHER ONE. UM, SLIDE 15, THE UTILITY REBATES, FISCAL YEAR 26, TARGET VERSUS ACTUAL OR ESTIMATE FOR THE ACTUAL MM-HMM . I MEAN, THERE WAS HUGE DISCREPANCY THERE. CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT DROVE THAT? YEAH, I'M GONNA HAVE TO FOLLOW UP WITH THE TEAM TO GET YOU MORE DETAILS ON EXACTLY WHY IT'S DECREASED. UM, I CAN SAY THAT WE ARE, UM, STILL WORKING WITH RELIANT ON, UM, SOME DIFFERENT STRATEGIES THAT THEY'VE PRESENTED TO US RELATED TO, UM, SOMETHING THEY CALL RESPONSIVE ECONOMIC DISPATCH, WHERE WE CAN BASICALLY ENROLL IN A PROGRAM TO HELP DECREASE OUR LOAD DURING HIGH DEMAND TIMES. SO, UH, WHILE IT MIGHT NOT SHOW UP LIKE A, A REBATE IN THIS LINE, THERE ARE OTHER, UM, AREAS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY EXPLORING TO TRY TO REDUCE OUR COST, BUT LET ME GET SOME FOLLOW UP. OKAY. SO MAYBE THEY SHOWED UP IN ANOTHER BUCKET, ESSENTIALLY. YEAH. LET ME FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ON THIS ONE THOUGH. OKAY. THANK YOU MA'AM. AND JUST, UM, TO, TO KIND OF CIRCLE BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN'S POINT ON THE ELECTRICITY COST, ALTHOUGH THERE'S TWO PIECES, RIGHT? THERE'S THE MAXIMUM CONTRACT AMOUNT AND THEN THERE'S A BUDGET AMOUNT. SO WHILE WE'RE GETTING, MOST LIKELY GETTING CLOSE TO THE MAXIMUM CONTRACT AMOUNT IN FISCAL YEAR 27, THE AMOUNT THAT WE NEED TO COVER OUR COSTS IN 27 IS FULLY BUDGETED IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET. SO WE'RE NOT SHORTENING THE BUDGET. OKAY. GOOD. MM-HMM . GOOD. OKAY. UM, COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ, THANK YOU CHAIR, UM, DIRECTOR, UH, ON THE CONSOLIDATING PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTS. I KNOW WE'VE RECENTLY FOUND OUT THERE HASN'T BEEN AS MUCH SAVINGS, BUT THERE ARE STILL WORK TO BE DONE. CAN YOU EXPLAIN, UM, WHEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE SOME OF THOSE SAVINGS, UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT CONSOLIDATING? SURE. UM, SO THIS IS RELATED TO THE CATEGORY MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE. SO, UM, WE ARE, WE HAVE A MUCH MORE CONSERVATIVE PROJECTION IN THE BUDGET THIS YEAR FOR THAT. UM, SO WE'RE HOPING TO REALIZE SOME MORE OF THOSE SAVINGS THIS YEAR. UM, JUST TO HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE DIFFERENT AREAS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE FOCUSING ON, UM, RELATE TO, UM, PORTABLE RESTROOM RENTALS, GROUND MAINTENANCE, JANITORIAL SECURITY, UM, THERE'S SOME IT CONTRACTS THAT WE FEEL WE CAN BRING TOGETHER, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, VEHICLE REPLACEMENT PARTS CONTRACTS. SO WE HAVE [00:30:01] DIFFERENT, UM, AREAS THAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO FOCUS IN ON NOW THAT WE HAVE ALL THAT DATA INTO THE DASHBOARD, UM, IT'S MAKING, UH, IT'S GIVING US A BETTER IDEA OF WHERE WE CAN FOCUS. I, I APPRECIATE THAT BECAUSE I THINK THAT IS DEFINITELY ONE OF THE, THE, THE AREAS THAT WE WERE DEFINITELY PUSHING WHEN WE WERE DOING THE, UH, THE ERNST YOUNG, UH, STUDY. YES. THE OTHER, THE OTHER QUESTION, UM, SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE GONNA BE 20 BELOW THE, THE, THE, UM, PROP PROPERTY TAX RATE. UM, WHAT IS, WELL, WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY EQUATE TO IT WHEN IT COMES TO THE ACTUAL TAX RATE? WHAT WOULD WE BE ABLE TO RAISE IT TO YOU? UM, USUALLY FOR EVERY PENNY OF PROPERTY TAX RATE, IT GENERATES ABOUT 26 TO $28 MILLION IN REVENUE. THIS IS, SO IT WOULD BE LESS THAN A PENNY THAN, OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. GOOD MORNING, DIRECTOR. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. I HAD A GENERAL QUESTION ABOUT WHEN YOU, UH, START TO, UH, MEET OR, OR TALK TO THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENT HEADS ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY THEY'LL HAVE TO WORK WITH IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR. MM-HMM . UM, THE PROCESS, WE HAVE WHAT WE CALL THE, UH, KICKOFF MEETING FOR THE DEPARTMENTS AND WE USUALLY KICK OFF THE BUDGET USUALLY IN JANUARY, UM, TO REALLY KIND OF GET THEM, UM, STARTED ON THINKING ABOUT, UM, WHAT THEY NEED, UM, AND THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THEY WANNA FOCUS ON. SO IT REALLY, IT'S ABOUT AS SOON AS WE COME BACK FROM WINTER BREAK, WINTER HOLIDAY MM-HMM . AND IS THERE A POINT IN THAT PROCESS WHERE THEY'RE TOLD YOU'RE GONNA HAVE X AMOUNT OF MONEY TO WORK WITH THIS FISCAL YEAR? YES. SO, UM, NOW WE'RE GETTING INTO THE, THE DETAILS, UM, OF THE, SOME OF THE SAUSAGE MAKING. SO, UM, WHAT WE DO IS WE WORK WITH EACH OF THE DEPARTMENTS TO SEE WHAT THEIR, UM, LET'S, LET'S TALK ABOUT FISCAL YEAR 26, FOR EXAMPLE. WE TRUE UP THEIR BUDGET WITH THEIR ESTIMATES, UM, IN THE GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS, WHICH HAPPENS AT THE END OF APRIL. UM, SO WE COM OR REGULARLY COMMUNICATING WITH THE DEPARTMENTS ABOUT, UM, WHAT THEIR CURRENT YEAR NEEDS ARE EXPENDITURES. UM, IF THEY'VE STARTED A NEW PROGRAM, UM, THAT REQUIRES ADDITIONAL FUNDING IN LET'S SAY FISCAL YEAR 26, WE'LL WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT PROGRAM HAS THE FUNDING TO CONTINUE ON IN FISCAL YEAR 27, FOR EXAMPLE. UM, SO IN THAT WAY IS SORT OF HOW WE GET TO A POINT WHERE WE'RE BUILDING UP WHAT THEY NEED FOR THEIR EXISTING PROGRAMS. UM, IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, WE'VE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION HOW MUCH ADDITIONAL MONEY DO THEY NEED IN THEIR BUDGET FOR CONTRACTUAL INCREASES. SO WHETHER IT'S HOPE FIRE POLICE, BASED ON THOSE EXISTING CONTRACTS, HOW MUCH ADDITIONAL FUNDING MIGHT THEY NEED FOR HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM? SO A LOT OF, WE CALL THEM ALLOWANCES, MAYBE IS KIND OF THE TECHNICAL TERM WE USE. UM, BUT WE, UH, ULTIMATELY THEN GIVE THEM A BOTTOM LINE NUMBER OF THIS IS WHAT YOUR OVERALL BUDGET FOR YOUR DEPARTMENT IS LOOKING LIKE. AND THEN IT'S UP TO THEM AND THEIR TEAM TO ALLOCATE IT. THEY COULD CHOOSE TO USE IT FOR A DIFFERENT PROGRAM OR INCREASE ONE PROGRAM OR DECREASE ANOTHER PROGRAM. UM, BUT ULTIMATELY THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, IS BETWEEN THOSE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS AND THEIR OPERATIONS AND YOU KNOW, THE ADMINISTRATION MM-HMM . AND THAT, THAT STAGE YOU JUST MENTIONED, THAT'S IN ABOUT APRIL, IS THAT RIGHT? UM, I MEAN IT'S REALLY THE WHOLE TIME BETWEEN JANUARY LEADING UP TO WHEN. GOT IT. YOU KNOW, WHEN WE PRESENT THE BUDGET. GOT IT. MM-HMM . AND, AND OBVIOUSLY THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT MEETS WITH ALL THE CITY DEPARTMENTS. UH, DO, DO YOU GUYS PLAY A ROLE WITH THE EGCS AS WELL IN THEIR BUDGETING PROCESS? YES. SO PART OF THE, UM, ITEMS THAT COME TO CITY COUNCIL FOR, UM, APPROVAL ALONG WITH THE BUDGET ARE THE BUDGETS FOR THE EGCS, WHICH INCLUDES THE, UM, HOUSTON FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER, THE HOUSTON RECOVERY CENTER, AND THEN OUR ETHAN LGC. UM, SO THEY SUBMIT BUDGETS TO US BASED ON WHAT THEIR BOARDS, UM, THINK THEY NEED TO SUSTAIN THEIR OPERATIONS AND WE BUDGET ACCORDINGLY, UH, HERE AS WELL. ALRIGHT. I'LL GO BACK IN THE QUEUE. IT'S JUST ME. ALRIGHT. UM, SO YOU, DO Y'ALL GO THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS WITH THE T? UM, THET BUDGETS ARE HANDLED BY THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GROUP. SO GWEN TILLSON AND HER TEAM, UM, THEY ARE THE ONES THAT LIAISE WITH THE TS AND THEY ULTIMATELY, YOU KNOW, ONCE THEY REVIEW THE BUDGETS AND THET BOARDS APPROVE, UM, AND I'M KIND OF SPEAKING ON HER BEHALF SO I'M GOING TO HOPEFULLY STICK TO THE HIGH LEVEL. UM, BUT ONCE THOSE BUDGETS ARE APPROVED BY THOSE TOURS BOARDS, THAT'S WHEN THEY COME TO CITY COUNCIL INDIVIDUALLY FOR APPROVAL. SO THEY'RE NOT PART OF THIS PROPOSED BUDGET, BUT YOU'LL SEE THEM ON COUNCIL AGENDA, UM, YOU KNOW, AS THEY COME FORWARD THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. AND AT WHAT POINT DO WE KNOW ROUGHLY HOW MUCH EACH TOURS WILL, WILL HAVE TO WORK WITH IN A, IN A GIVEN FISCAL YEAR MM-HMM . UM, AS FAR AS WHAT THE CITY SENDS THEM IN TAX [00:35:01] INCREMENT, WE GET A, A VIEW OF WHAT THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT THINKS THE TAXABLE VALUE IN THOSE TURS WILL BE WHEN WE GET THE CERTIFIED ROLE, WHICH IS IN AUGUST. UM, THAT AT THAT POINT WE, WE TAKE THAT INFORMATION INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN WE SET OUR TAX RATE AND THE TSS WILL THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, USE THAT AS THEY LOOK AT THEIR BUDGET FOR THE YEAR. WE DON'T END UP FINALIZING THE AMOUNT FOR THE TUR TRANSFER UNTIL, UM, REALLY APRIL. UM, BECAUSE AT THAT POINT IS WHEN WE HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF ONCE WE HAVE ALL THE HEARING LOSS AND THE REFUNDS AND ALL THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN WITH PROPERTY TAXES ALSO IMPACTS THE TURS AND ULTIMATELY HOW MUCH THEY, UM, GET AN INCREMENTAL PROPERTY TAX. MM-HMM . ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. SURE. WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS SIGN UP FOR THIS MEETING, BUT IS ANYBODY HERE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT BUDGET? UM, I WOULD LIKE TO ADD JESSE, THAT GREAT WORK ON THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES. YOU KNOW, I'M ALWAYS HIGHLY CRITICAL OF THEM WHEN I GO THROUGH THE BUDGET, BUT THEY ARE A LOT BETTER THIS YEAR. SO REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK YOU'VE DONE WITH YOUR TEAM IN EY ON, ON GETTING SOME MORE MEANINGFUL MEASURES IN PLACE. UM, DIRECTOR AND TEAM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO AND I KNOW THIS IS A REALLY BUSY TIME, BEEN A REALLY BUSY TIME AND WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK. MM-HMM . AND THANKS FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. SURE. THANK YOU. SO CAN I JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, NEXT STEPS AND TIMELINE FOR THE BUDGET? OH YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. THERE ARE SOME NEW DATES COMING, SO LISTEN CAREFULLY, COLLEAGUES. YES. SO, UM, UH, THIS YEAR, UH, WE USUALLY SEND OUT A MEMO EVERY YEAR WITH THE DATES UPCOMING OF THE BUDGET AND THE CALENDAR. UM, AND LOOKING AT IT, UM, THIS YEAR OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, NEW INFORMATION FOR EVERYONE TO TAKE IN AND WE WANNA ALLOW ADDITIONAL TIME FOR EVERYONE TO HAVE SUFFICIENT TIME TO PUBLIC COMMENT. I KNOW WE WORK WITH, UM, CHAIR ALCORN ON, UM, PUTTING A WEEK BETWEEN THE TIME WE PROPOSED THE BUDGET AND THE TIME WE START THE BUDGET WORKSHOP SO THAT EVERYONE HAS A CHANCE TO DIGEST AND, UM, GO, YOU KNOW, GO THROUGH ALL OF THE DETAILS BEFORE YOU HEAR FROM EACH OF THE DIRECTORS. UM, AND SO WE WANTED TO, UM, THINKING ABOUT THAT AND THINKING ABOUT THE TIMING, UM, ALLOW A LITTLE BIT OF ADDITIONAL TIME, UM, FOR PUBLIC INPUT AS WELL. UM, AND SO WHAT WE WERE, UH, INITIALLY PROPOSING WAS TO HAVE THE BUDGET HEARING ON MAY 20TH. NOW WE'RE PROPOSING TO, UM, UH, HAVE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON JUNE 3RD SO THAT WE'LL GIVE AN ADDITIONAL ABOUT TWO WEEKS, UM, FOR THE PUBLIC TO DIGEST AND TO HAVE SOME MORE COMMENT ON THE BUDGET. UM, WE WOULD STILL LIKE TO PROPOSE TO HAVE THE ITEM, UM, ON COUNCIL AGENDA ON JUNE 3RD, THE DAY OF THE HEARING. UM, AT THAT POINT WE'LL ASK FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS TO FORMALLY SUBMIT THEIR AMENDMENTS ON JUNE 3RD, UM, AND THEN TAG THE BUDGET AND ALL THE AMENDMENTS THE MAIN ITEM AND VOTE ON THE BUDGET ON JUNE 10TH. SO IT DOES PUSH THE ADOPTION OF THE BUDGET BACK BY A WEEK, BUT WE FEEL IT'LL GIVE SOME ADDITIONAL TIME FOR, UM, NOT JUST COUNCIL MEMBERS, BUT ALSO FOR THE PUBLIC TO, UM, YOU KNOW, GET TO HAVE INPUT ON THE PROCESS AND THE BUDGET. I THINK THAT'S GR I THINK THAT'S GREAT AND MORE TIME, UH, IS GREAT WHEN WE'RE, UM, DECIDING ON THIS BIG OF AN ITEM AND WITH A LOT OF STRUCTURAL CHANGES. SO, UM, AGAIN, COLLEAGUES, THE AMENDING AMENDMENTS, ANY AMENDMENTS YOU HAVE WILL BE DUE ON JUNE 3RD AT THAT COUNCIL MEETING ON JUNE 3RD. TAKE THE VOTE ON JUNE 10TH AND THE HEARING WILL ALSO BE JUNE 3RD. AND, UM, IN BETWEEN THOSE TWO, UH, DATES JUNE 8TH, WE'LL BE HAVING A BFA MEETING ON THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN. SO GOING REST, FINANCE TIME, FINANCE DEPARTMENT, TIME OF YEAR. YEAH. SO WE'LL BE UPDATING THE MEMO AND WE'LL CIRCULATE IT OUT TO EVERYONE SO YOU HAVE THE NEW, UM, THE DATES WITH THE ADDITIONAL TIME. OKAY. SO LOOK FOR THAT AND WE WILL ALSO GET IT OUT TO THE BBFA DISTRIBUTION LIST. AND UM, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND FOR ALL YOUR GREAT WORK. WE'LL TAKE A SHORT BREAK AND COME BACK WITH THE FLEET DEPARTMENT AND I'M NOT KIDDING, WE HAVE LOTS OF SNACKS UP HERE. IF YOU'RE THE LEAST BIT HUNGRY, COME ON UP. CAN'T LEAVE. THANK YOU. NO TAX DOLLARS WERE SPENT ON SNACKS. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.