* 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] , WE ALWAYS ALSO HAVE RAY CRUZ AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF HERE, OR, WELL, I'LL, I'LL GO AHEAD. UH, CHAIR, IF YOU DON'T MIND. THIS IS LISA JEFFERSON. SHE'S OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, AND, UH, SHE'S WORKED DILIGENTLY AND PUTTING TOGETHER NOT ONLY OUR REORGANIZATION, BUT OR DRAFT, UH, UH, BUDGET PROPOSAL. OKAY. LISA JEFFERSON, WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU IF YOU, IF YOU'D BE MORE COMFORTABLE. IF YOU WANT UP AT, UM, THE CITY ATTORNEY'S SPOT, FEEL FREE TO SIT, SIT UP THERE WITH THE, YOU'LL HAVE YOUR OWN MIC. YOU'RE GOOD. YOU'RE GOOD RIGHT THERE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY. WELL, WE APPRECIATE ALL THE GOOD WORK YOU DO KEEPING OUR 13,000 PLUS VEHICLES IN WORKING ORDER, AND, UM, SO WE'LL LET YOU WITH THAT. GO AHEAD. FLOOR IS YOURS. ALRIGHT, WELL, GOOD MORNING AGAIN, UH, TOGETHER, OUR GROUP HERE WILL BE PRESENTING THE DEPARTMENT'S PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. IN TODAY'S PRESENTATION, WE'LL PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE DEPARTMENT'S ALIGNMENT WITH CITY STRATEGIC PRIORITIES. WE'LL GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF OUR COST CUTTING INITIATIVES AND WE'LL LAY OUT OUR PLANNED EXPENSES AND REVENUES FOR EACH OF OUR DEPARTMENT PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. RELATIVE TO THE CITY'S FOUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, FLEET MANAGEMENT IS PRIMARILY ALIGNED WITH THE CITY'S INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY WE PROVIDE FOR THE FLEET ASSETS AND THE MOTOR FUEL USED BY ALL CITY DEPARTMENTS. WE DO, HOWEVER, TOUCH ON EACH OF THE OTHER PRIORITIES FOR THE GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS STRATEGY, WE STRIVE TO BE AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY. WE SERVICE ALL EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND PUBLIC HEALTH VEHICLES. AND FOR QUALITY OF LIFE, WE SUPPORT THE SOLID WASTE HEALTH AND PARKS DEPARTMENTS, AS WELL AS THE HOUSTON FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER AND HOUSTON FIRST. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. PLANS TO ELIMINATE THE GAP. SO, FOR FISCAL YEAR 27, WE'RE ELIMINATING 26 POSITIONS AND CUTTING SUPPLY EXPENSES FOR A SAVINGS OF $2.4 MILLION. ALMOST ALL THESE POSITIONS ARE VACANT. 22 RESIDE WITHIN OUR FLEET OPERATIONS PROGRAM. WHILE THE BALANCE, INCLUDING TWO EXECUTIVE LEVEL POSITIONS ARE WITHIN OUR SUPPORT GROUP, MOST OF THE VACANCIES TO BE CUT ARE ADVANCED LEVEL MECHANICS. WE DESPERATELY NEED THESE POSITIONS, WE JUST CAN'T FILL THEM, AND IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO FUND POSITIONS WE CAN'T FILL. WE ARE KEEPING 10 ADVANCED LEVEL VACANCIES IN THE BUDGET. IF WE'RE LUCKY ENOUGH TO FILL THESE 10 VACANCIES WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL POSITIONS AND FUND THEM WITHIN THE EXISTING BUDGET USING DOLLARS EARMARKED FOR CONTRACTED SERVICES. ADDITIONAL COST CUTTING INITIATIVES INCLUDE HOLDING OVERTIME EXPENSES FLAT DESPITE THE SCHEDULED WAGE INCREASE. WE'VE COMPLETED OUR DEPARTMENT REORGANIZATION WITH 62 PERSONNEL ACTIONS THAT INCLUDED THE ELIMINATION OF 18 ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPERVISORY POSITIONS. THESE CUTS ARE IN ADDITION TO THOSE THAT ARE SHOWN ON THE SLIDE. WITH REGARD TO CONTRACTING, WE'VE GOT A RATIO OF 80 VEHICLES PER MECHANIC IF WE'RE ABLE TO FILL EVERY MECHANIC POSITION WHEN COMPARED TO INDUSTRY STANDARDS OF 37 SEDANS PER MECHANIC, OR 20 POLICE CARS PER MECHANIC. AND THEN WE GET DOWN TO FIVE TO 10 FIRE TRUCKS, UH, TRASH TRUCKS PER MECHANIC. IT'S OBVIOUSLY THAT WE'RE DESPERATELY SHORT OF PEOPLE AND, UH, AND THAT WE NEED TO BE STRATEGIC IN HOW WE CONTRACT OUR, UH, OUR WORK. OUR FULLY BURDENED INTERNAL RATE WILL BE APPROXIMATELY $110 AN HOUR. OUR CONTRACT SERVICE AGREEMENTS HAVE HOURLY RATES THAT RANGE FROM $45 AN HOUR FOR MOWER REPAIR TO $700 AN HOUR FOR SPECIALIZED CRANE REPAIR. WE'RE GONNA FOCUS OUR IN-HOUSE LABOR ON WORK THAT IS MORE COSTLY TO OUTSOURCE AND WE'LL SEND WORK OUT THAT CAN BE PERFORMED BY CONTRACTORS AT A LOWER COST. WE'RE ALSO LOOKING TO REDUCE OUR GENERAL FUND EXPENSES BY CONTRACTING MORE ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENT WORK. WE PLAN ON CONTRACTING TOTAL OPERATION OF ALL AIRPORT GARAGES AND SEVERAL OF THE PUBLIC WORKS GARAGES. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO REALLOCATE MECHANICS FROM ENTERPRISE GARAGES TO GENERAL FUND GARAGES, REDUCING THE NEED TO OUTSOURCE [00:05:01] HIGH COST GENERAL FUND WORK. ANOTHER COST CUTTING INITIATIVE IS TRAINING. WE LOST A GREAT DEAL OF EXPERIENCE THIS PAST YEAR THROUGH RETIREMENTS. OUR GOAL IS TO EXPEDITE THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR ENTRY AND JUNIOR LEVEL MECHANICS. AND FINALLY, WE PLAN TO TRANSITION TO PAPERLESS GARAGES BY ISSUING TABLET PCS TO OUR MECHANICS. THE TABLETS WILL BE USED TO PROCESS WORK ORDERS. THEY'LL PROVIDE MECHANICS WITH INSTANT ACCESS TO REPAIR AND DIAGNOSTIC INFORMATION, AND THEY'LL BE CAPABLE OF TRANSLATING INFORMATION FOR OUR NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING EMPLOYEES. NEXT SLIDE. MOVING TO EXPENDITURES. ALL OUR OPERATING EXPENSES ARE FUNDED BY THE FLEET MANAGEMENT REVOLVING FUND. IN THE TOTAL ROW OF THE TABLE, YOU'LL SEE A FISCAL YEAR 27 BUDGET REQUEST OF $113.7 MILLION, WHICH IS 2.8% MORE THAN CURRENT YEAR. THIS BUDGET IS EXPECTED TO PROVIDE FOR ALL LABOR, SUPPLIES, SERVICES, AND FUEL NECESSARY TO OPERATE AND MAINTAIN THE CITY FLEET. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THIS TABLE PROVIDES A BUDGET, HISTORY AND PROPOSED SPENDING PLAN FOR OUR DEPARTMENT PROGRAMS. WORTH NOTING IS THAT WE'VE REDUCED THE NUMBER OF PROGRAMS FROM EIGHT TO TWO. THIS CHANGE IN PROGRAM COUNT WAS PROMPTED BY OUR DEPARTMENT REORGANIZATION AND DISCUSSIONS WITH EY. WE JUST NO LONGER HAD THE STAFF TO KEEP EIGHT PROGRAMS, AND I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THE, UH, PROGRAMS AND THEIR EXPENSES LATER IN THE PRESENTATION. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. HERE'S A BREAKDOWN OF OUR EXPENSES BY CATEGORY. THE PIE GRAPH ON THE LEFT SHOWS THAT 31% OF OUR BUDGET WILL COVER LABOR COSTS WHILE 69% WILL BE SPENT ON SERVICES AND SUPPLIES. THE PIE GRAPH ON THE RIGHT IS A BREAKOUT OF OUR NON-PERSONNEL EXPENSES. WE'RE ALLOCATING $28.6 MILLION TO FUEL, $22 MILLION FOR PARTS AND TIRES, AND 14 MILLION FOR OUTSIDE REPAIR SERVICES. THE BALANCE OF THE NON-PERSONNEL BUDGET WILL COVER OFFICE SUPPLIES, SOFTWARE EMPLOYEE UNIFORMS IN OUR RESTRICTED ACCOUNTS, WHICH ARE DETAILED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. MOVING TO REVENUE, OUR REVENUES COME FROM CLIENT DEPARTMENTS AND ARE ALWAYS EQUAL TO OUR EXPENSES. FROM THIS TABLE, YOU'LL SEE THAT ONLY OUR FLEET OPERATIONS PROGRAM GENERATES REVENUE EXPENSES OF THE BUSINESS SUPPORT PROGRAM ARE BILLED TO CLIENT DEPARTMENTS AS OVERHEAD THROUGH FLEET OPERATIONS. SO OUR OVERHEAD IS INCLUDED IN OUR HOURLY RATE THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. HERE'S A BAR GRAPH DETAILING OUR REVENUE SOURCES. GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENTS PROVIDE 76% OF OUR REVENUE WHILE 22% COMES FROM ENTERPRISE FUNDS, PRIMARILY THE PUBLIC WORKS AND SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENTS. THE REMAINING 2% COMES FROM GRANTS AND SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS. NOW, THESE PERCENTAGES ARE OBVIOUSLY GONNA CHANGE AS SOLID WASTE TRANSITIONS OVER TO PUBLIC WORKS. UH, THE NEW NUMBERS WE'RE LOOKING AT, ONCE THAT CHANGE IS COMPLETE, UH, WILL BE 48% FROM ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENTS AND 50% FROM GENERAL FUND, AND OF COURSE WE'LL MAINTAIN THAT 2% FROM GRANTS AND SPECIAL FUNDS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. MOVING TO PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS, THE FLEET OPERATIONS PROGRAM IS A COMPOSITE OF ALL OUR OPERATING FUNCTIONS INCLUDED OUR OUR 24 GARAGES, OUR FUEL AND PARTS MANAGEMENT GROUPS, AND OUR OUTSIDE SERVICES AND FLEET SHARE FUNCTIONS. OUR FUEL MANAGEMENT GROUP IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INVENTORY AND DISTRIBUTION OF AUTOMOTIVE FUELS. THE GROUP ALSO MAINTAINS A REFUELING INFRASTRUCTURE OF OUR 67 FUEL STATIONS. OUR PARTS MANAGEMENT STAFF HANDLES THE PURCHASE INVENTORY AND DISTRIBUTION OF SPARE PARTS. OUTSIDE SERVICES OVERSEES THE PROCESSING OF CONTRACTED VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT, UH, REPAIR WORK, AND THE FLEET SHARE GROUP MANAGES CITY MOTOR POOL AND VEHICLE GPS SYSTEMS. LABOR, FUEL, SPARE PARTS AND CONTRACTED SERVICES ARE THE PRIMARY EXPENSES FOR THE FLEET OPERATIONS PROGRAM. THE PROGRAM'S PROPOSED BUDGET IS 3.4% MORE THAN CURRENT YEAR, AND THIS INCREASE IS PRIMARILY THE RESULT OF INFLATIONARY PRESSURE ON THE COST OF SPARE PARTS, FUEL AND TIRES, AS WELL AS A $2 MILLION INCREASE IN THE COST OF CONTRACTED SERVICES. WE'RE SEEING COST INCREASES FOR REPLACEMENT PARTS THAT HAVE BEEN ATTRIBUTED BY SUPPLIERS [00:10:01] TO THE RECENT CHANGES IN TARIFFS. AND OF COURSE, EVERYONE IS AWARE OF THE RECENT SPIKE IN, UH, FUEL PRICES. OUR DIRECT LABOR COSTS WILL BE LESS THAN LAST YEAR BECAUSE OF POSITION ELIMINATIONS, BUT WE DO HAVE AN ALMOST $1 MILLION INCREASE IN THE COST OF FRINGE BENEFITS. THE ADDITIONAL $2 MILLION IN CONTRACTED SERVICES COMES FROM MORE CONTRACTED WORK AND HIGHER CONTRACTED PRICES. OUR CONTRACTORS ARE SEEING THE SAME ISSUES. WE ARE SAME CHALLENGES IN FINDING SKILLED MECHANICS. WE RECENTLY, UH, SURVEYED SEVERAL OF OUR HEAVY EQUIPMENT HEAVY TRUCK CONTRACTORS AND FOUND THAT THEY ARE NOW PAYING THEIR TECHNICIANS ANYWHERE FROM 45 TO $55 AN HOUR. AND IN SOME CASES, THEY'RE ALSO EARNING, UH, PROFIT SHARING. AND SO, UH, AS WE MENTIONED, IT'S BECOMING MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT TO FIND TECHNICIANS, AND WE'RE SEEING THAT FROM OUR CONTRACTORS IN RISING RATES FOR CONTRACTED SERVICES. UH, TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE KPIS, UH, OUR KPIS ARE A WORK IN PROGRESS. WE'RE WORKING WITH THE ADMINISTRATION AND EY THIS IS WHAT WE'VE PRESENTED TO THEM, UH, AS A DRAFT, AND WE'RE GONNA WORK THROUGH THAT UNDER THE TURNING THE CURVE PROCESS, AND I'LL RUN THROUGH THIS, UH, UH, QUICKLY, IF, IF, UH, IF YOU WILL. UH, VEHICLE AVAILABILITY. THIS IS A PRETTY TYPICAL KPI FOR ALL FLEET OPERATIONS AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THERE. IF WE ARE ABLE TO KEEP 93% OF OUR CRITICAL VEHICLES AVAILABLE, THEN OUR SUPPORT DEPARTMENTS WILL HAVE PLENTY OF VEHICLES TO RUN THEIR OPERATION, PLUS SOME SPARES LEFT OVER FOR ANY TYPE OF EMERGENCIES. THAT SORT OF THING. WE'VE BEEN, UH, PRETTY GOOD IN IN IN MEETING THIS KPI, WE DID EXPERIENCE SOME ISSUES EARLIER IN THE FISCAL YEAR WHEN THE SERVICE LEVEL CHANGED ALMOST OVERNIGHT AT SOLID WASTE. AND, UH, BUT WE'VE MANAGED TO CATCH UP SINCE THEN, ESPECIALLY WITH THE ARRIVAL OF THE NEW TRUCKS. AND REGULARLY NOW WE'RE SEEING 20 TO 30 OF THE RESIDENTIAL TRASH TRUCKS LEFT OVER IN THE YARDS, UH, AFTER THE PULLOUT. WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE, ALSO A STANDARD, UH, FLEET, KPI, UM, WE'RE LOOKING TO, UH, FOR AN ON-TIME PERFORMANCE OF 90%. UH, WE DROPPED A LITTLE BIT THIS PAST YEAR AND, AND THERE'S SOME, SOME GOOD REASONS FOR THAT. ONE IS THAT, UH, IF YOU'LL RECALL AT LAST BUDGET YEAR'S PRESENTATION, WE SAID WE WERE GOING TO OUTSOURCE A LOT OF OUR LIGHT DUTY PM WORK TO THE VALVOLINE OIL CHANGE STATIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. WE KICKED THAT OFF AND OF COURSE, THERE WERE SOME GROWING PAINS AS WE, UH, UH, UH, EDUCATED THE CLIENT DEPARTMENTS ON THE PROCESS OF HAVING THEIR EMPLOYEES DRIVE TO THESE LOCATIONS AND, UH, AND HAVING THEIR VEHICLE SERVICED. WE SEEM TO HAVE THE PROCESS DOWN NOW. WE'VE, UH, UH, DOING MUCH BETTER. IN FACT, I THINK ABOUT, UH, ROUGHLY ABOUT 500 PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE INSPECTIONS ARE OCCURRING AT VALVE LEAN ON A MONTHLY BASIS. AND, UH, WE'RE HAPPY TO SAY THAT, UH, WE'RE ON PACE TO PERFORM A THOUSAND MORE PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS THIS YEAR AS COMPARED TO LAST YEAR. OUR TIMING'S A LITTLE OFF, BUT WE FEEL THAT EVERYTHING WILL FALL IN PLACE THIS NEXT BUDGET YEAR. UM, TECHNICIAN BILLABLE HOURS. WELL, AS I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, WE'RE SHORT STAFFED, SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR PEOPLE ARE AS PRODUCTIVE AS POSSIBLE. SO IN THIS PARTICULAR KPI, WE'RE TAKING A 2080 ANNUAL HOUR PER EMPLOYEE. WE'RE REDUCING THAT BY VACATION, BY HOLIDAYS, AND COMING UP WITH A, UH, NUMBER FOR AVAILABLE WORK HOURS. AND WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS WE WANT 83% OF TOTAL HOURS TO BE BILLED TO A CLIENT DEPARTMENT. THAT WAY WE KNOW OUR FOLKS ARE BEING PRODUCTIVE AND, UH, WE'RE GETTING, UH, EVERY BANG WE CAN OUT OF THE, UH, OUT OF THE PERSONNEL THAT WE'VE GOT. NOW, INDUSTRY STANDARD IS 70%, BUT, UH, AGAIN, THIS IS A NEW KPI, WE'RE SHOOTING HIGH AND, UH, AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA SEE HOW WE FALL OUT, BUT WE FEEL PRETTY COMFORTABLE THAT WE'LL MEET THE INDUSTRY STANDARD AND, UH, AND DO A LITTLE BETTER. UM, FUEL STATION AVAILABILITY, UNSCHEDULED INTERRUPTIONS. AGAIN, WE TAKE CARE OF THE FUEL STATIONS FOR THE ENTIRE CITY, 67 OF THEM. UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR CLIENT DEPARTMENTS HAVE THE FUEL WHEN THEY NEED IT. UH, WE'VE DONE PRETTY WELL WITH THAT. OCCASIONALLY WE'LL GET INTERRUPTIONS WHEN WE LOSE POWER TO A STATION. AND WE DO SEEM TO HAVE A CONTINUOUS PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE DRIVING OFF WITH THE HOSES STILL, UH, UH, ATTACHED TO THE CAR. SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS WE DEAL WITH. UM, PARTS MANAGEMENT, UH, OUR INVENTORY ACCURACY, OF COURSE, WE WANNA MAINTAIN GOOD CONTROL OF OUR SPARE [00:15:01] PARTS INVENTORY, AND WE DO REGULAR CYCLE COUNTS TO ENSURE THAT, UH, THAT WE'RE DOING JUST THAT. AND WE'RE PURSUING A, UH, UH, ACCURACY LEVEL OF 95%, AND WE'VE BEEN PRETTY GOOD, UH, THROUGH THE YEARS. FLEET SHARE RESERVATION HOURS, WE'VE GOT A TARGET OF 75,000 HOURS, UM, AND FLEET SHARE. UH, WHAT WE TRY TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THAT IS, IS, UH, WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH CAPITAL DOLLARS TO GO AROUND FOR EVERY DEPARTMENT FOR VEHICLE REPLACEMENTS. SO THOSE DOLLARS TYPICALLY GET ASSIGNED TO, UH, CRITICAL NEEDS, WHICH INCLUDE, UH, POLICE DEPARTMENT, FIRE DEPARTMENT, SOLID WASTE, SO VERY LITTLE IF ANY, IS LEFT OVER FOR ADMIN VEHICLES FOR, FOR, UH, UM, VEHICLES USED IN NON-ESSENTIAL SERVICES. SO WE TRY TO GEAR THE DEPARTMENTS OPERATING THOSE TYPES OF VEHICLES OVER TO FLEET SHARE BECAUSE WHAT WE SEE IN A LOT OF CASES IS AN ADMIN CAR WILL GO IN AND IT DOESN'T GET THE USE THAT A CRITICAL VEHICLE GETS. 6,000 MILES IS, IS TYPICAL. AND, UH, SO WE'LL HAVE A CAR THAT SITS FOR 10, 15 YEARS THAT REALLY NEVER ACHIEVES THE REPLACEMENT THRESHOLD. AND, UH, IT CONSEQUENTLY GETS A LOT OF WEATHERING. SO WITH FLEET SHARE, WE COULD BE MORE EFFICIENT, UH, BY ALLOWING MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS TO USE THE SAME VEHICLE. NOW, WE ALSO USE FLEET SHARE FOR EMERGENCY CASES. AND AS AN EXAMPLE, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT RECENTLY, UH, UH, UH, DESPERATELY NEEDED ADDITIONAL VEHICLES FOR THEIR FIRE INSPECTORS. AND SO WE PULLED FOUR VEHICLES OUT OF FLEET SHARE AND, UH, AND HANDED THOSE OVER TO THEM FOR, UH, FOR THEIR USE. SO WE'LL DO THAT AS WELL, BECAUSE OCCASIONALLY PROGRAMS DEVELOP MIDYEAR THAT WE'RE NOT PLANNED FOR, UH, AT THE BEGINNING, AND WE TRY TO PROVIDE FOR THOSE PARTICULAR DEPARTMENTS THROUGH FLEET SHARE WHERE WE CAN. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. OUR FLEET BUSINESS SUPPORT PROGRAM IS A COMPOSITE OF, UH, OUR NON-OPERATING FUNCTIONS, INCLUDING THE DEPARTMENT'S EXECUTIVE OFFICE, AND THAT'S BASICALLY LISA AND I AND OUR ASSET, UH, MANAGEMENT FUNCTION. THE, UH, EXECUTIVE OFFICE PROVIDES THE, UH, STRATEGIC PLANNING, PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND GOAL SETTING FOR THE DEPARTMENT. THE OFFICE ALSO OVERSEES EMPLOYEE ADMINISTRATION, CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION TRAINING, AND QUALITY CONTROL FOR THE DEPARTMENT. THE ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP HANDLES VEHICLE ONBOARDING AND DISPOSALS, AS WELL AS VEHICLE TITLING AND REGISTRATION. THE GROUP ALSO OVERSEES THE ADMINISTRATION OF OUR MAINTENANCE SOFTWARE SYSTEM AND PROVIDES FOR DATA COLLECTION ANALYSIS AND PERFORMANCE REPORTING. THE PROGRAM'S EIGHT AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS BUDGET COVERS LABOR SOFTWARE COSTS, AND THE $5.2 MILLION IN INTERFUND CHARGES TO FLEET MANAGEMENT BY OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS. EXPENSES FOR FISCAL YEAR 27 ARE DECREASING BY 4.1% BECAUSE OF POSITION ELIMINATIONS. OUR NON-OPERATING PERSONNEL ARE NOW ONLY 3.8% OF OUR TOTAL WORKFORCE. UM, WE WILL BE OPERATING WITH A, UH, A RATIO OF 28 OPERATIONAL EMPLOYEES TO EVERY ONE SUPPORT, UH, EMPLOYEE. OKAY. MOVING TO KPIS, UH, AGAIN, THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS, BUT, UH, WE'VE ADDED QUITE A FEW NEW KPIS HERE. ONE OF 'EM IS OUR CLIENT DEPARTMENT SATISFACTION RATING. WE COMMUNICATE WITH OUR CLIENT DEPARTMENTS DAILY, AND IN SOME CASES, UH, HOURLY, UH, MAKING SURE THAT THEY HAVE WHAT THEY NEED TO PERFORM THEIR JOBS, AND THEY KEEP US ADVISED OF ANY CHANGES, UH, ANYTHING WE NEED TO ACCOMMODATE, UH, BUT WE WANNA MAKE IT A LITTLE MORE FORMAL AND ACTUALLY PROVIDE THEIR EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT WITH A SURVEY. UM, OUR HOPE IS THAT, UH, IF WE CAN, CAN REALLY DEFINE THEIR NEEDS, THEN WE CAN BE A LITTLE MORE STRATEGIC IN, IN SATISFYING THEM. AND AGAIN, UH, TRY TO GET THE BEST VALUE OUT OF EVERY DOLLAR THAT WE'RE SPENDING. OUR, UH, EMPLOYEE TRAINING, THIS IS A, THIS IS A BIG THING FOR US. AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE HAVING A VERY DIFFICULT TIME, UH, FINDING ADVANCED LEVEL MECHANICS. WE LOST QUITE A FEW THIS PAST YEAR, AND SO IT'S, UH, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE A CAREER PATH FOR ENTRY LEVEL INDIVIDUALS, JUNIOR LEVEL MECHANICS THAT WILL GET THEM UP TO THE ADVANCED LEVEL, UM, AS, AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. UM, THIS, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT, UH, THAT WE REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY CHOICE ON. IT'S IMPERATIVE SO THAT WE CAN SUSTAIN CITY OPERATIONS, UM, CONTRACTS, CONTRACTS WE NEED [00:20:01] ON TIME. IT SOUNDS A LITTLE MUNDANE, UH, WHEN YOU FIRST TAKE A LOOK AT IT, AND OF COURSE, WE WON A HUNDRED PERCENT THERE, BUT, UH, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE CONTRACTING OUT A LOT MORE WORK. SO IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT THESE CONTRACTS REMAIN CURRENT AND IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT, UH, THESE CONTRACTS REMAIN FOCUSED ON THE TYPE OF EQUIPMENT THAT WE HAVE. UM, SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT WE'VE MADE, UH, HERE RECENTLY, UM, TRADITIONALLY THE CITY HAS USED, AND, AND I'LL GIVE AN EXAMPLE, WE OPERATE FORD POLICE CARS. SO THE CITY WOULD HAVE A CONTRACT WITH ONE FORD DEALER AND THEN SEND ALL THE POLICE CARS TO THAT ONE FORD DEALER. WELL, THAT DOESN'T WORK ANYMORE BECAUSE WE'VE, WE'VE, WE'VE GOT TOO MUCH WORK AND THAT FORD DEALER CANNOT KEEP UP. AND VEHICLES WOULD, UH, UH, CONSEQUENTLY SIT THERE TOO LONG, UH, WAITING FOR SERVICE. SO WE HAVE MULTIPLE CONTRACTS FOR EACH TYPE OF SERVICE SO THAT WE CAN ENSURE THE CONTRACTOR IS ABLE TO TURN AROUND THOSE VEHICLES AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE SO THAT WE CAN GET THEM BACK INTO SERVICE. UH, HERE, MOST RECENTLY, WE JUST AWARDED A LIGHT DUTY COLLISION REPAIR, AND I THINK WE USED FIVE DIFFERENT, FOUR DIFFERENT CONTRACTORS. AND ONE THING THIS IS ALSO DOING IS GIVING US AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, SEND WORK OUT TO SMALL BUSINESSES. YOU KNOW, TRADITIONALLY WE'VE GONE AFTER THE BIG DEALERS AND, UH, AND WE THINK THERE'S SOME OPPORTUNITY TO GET SMALL BUSINESSES INVOLVED IN SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE NEED TO SEND OUT. UM, WHEN IT COMES TO CAPITAL PROJECTS, THIS IS ANOTHER ONE THAT LOOKS MUNDANE ON PAPER, BUT, UH, CAPITAL PROJECTS REALLY IMPACT OUR OPERATION AND OUR EXPENSES. SO OUR GOAL IS TO ENSURE THAT ALL THE ROLLING STOCK OR FLEET APPROVED PROJECTS WITHIN THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN ARE, UH, UH, CONTRACTED WITHIN THE BUDGET YEAR. AND, AND I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF, OF, OF WHAT THAT DOES FOR US. SO EVERYBODY'S FAMILIAR WITH THE, UH, WITH THE RECENT ARRIVAL OF THE, UH, TRASH TRUCKS. AND, UH, WE'VE TAKEN A LOOK AT IT AND OVERNIGHT OUR EXPENSES, MAINTENANCE EXPENSES WENT DOWN 250 TO $300,000, RIGHT? SO, UH, WHEN WE'RE MAINTAINING EQUIPMENT THAT SHOULD HAVE GONE OUT OF THE FLEET A LONG TIME AGO, THERE'S AN EXPENSE TO THAT. AND, UH, AND CAPITAL DOLLARS HELPS US TO ADDRESS THOSE SITUATIONS. SO THAT'S WHY IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT AS SOON AS THAT MONEY'S AWARDED AND IS AVAILABLE, WE START ISSUING POS FOR THE DELIVERY OF THESE VEHICLES. AND THEN FINALLY, UH, SAFETY, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH, UH, OUR, UH, UH, COLLEAGUES IN HUMAN RESOURCES IN THEIR SAFETY DIVISION. UH, WE HAVE A SAFETY OFFICER ASSIGNED TO OUR DEPARTMENT. SHE REGULARLY VISITS OUR GARAGES, MAKES ASSESSMENTS OF HOW WE'RE DOING IN TERMS OF CLEANLINESS, ACCIDENT PREVENTION, UH, HAZARDOUS COMMUNICATION, HOW WELL WE'RE RESPONDING UP TO, UH, SAFETY ISSUES. AND SHE PROVIDES A GRADE FOR US. SO WE'RE FORMALIZING THIS AND, UH, MAKING IT A PRIORITY FOR ALL OF OUR SHOP MANAGERS. WE WANT TO PUT, UH, SAFETY FIRST, MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S GOT SAFETY IN MIND AS THEY PROCESS THROUGH THEIR WORKDAY. NEXT SLIDE. AND, UH, CHAIR, IF I MIGHT, BEFORE WE OPEN IT UP, I WANTED TO AGAIN, UH, UH, OFFER A HUGE THANKS TO RAY AND LISA AS WELL AS THE REST OF OUR STAFF. YOU KNOW, WE WENT THROUGH OUR REORGANIZATION AND WE PUT THIS, UH, BUDGET TOGETHER. A LOT OF RESEARCH, A LOT OF ANALYSIS, AND, UH, AND A LOT OF REALLY DIFFICULT DECISIONS THAT HAD REAL IMPACTS ON EMPLOYEE LIVES. AND, UH, UH, I'M THANKFUL FOR OUR TEAM THAT STUCK WITH US. UM, WE'VE, THIS BUDGET THAT WE'VE PREPARED IS, WE THINK IS EXTREMELY LEAN, BUT WE FEEL CONFIDENT THAT IT'LL ALLOW US TO TAKE CARE OF OUR, UH, OBLIGATIONS AND, AND FUNCTIONS. SO WITH THAT, I'LL OPEN IT UP TO QUESTIONS. WELL, I APPRECIATE THAT, AND I APPRECIATE YOU, EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE IN DESPERATE NEED, UM, ELIMINATING SOME OF THOSE, UM, THOSE POSITIONS. I HOPE YOU CAN FIND THOSE 10. AND, UM, JUST CONGRATULATIONS ON DOING A GREAT JOB WITH THIS BUDGET. I'LL GO FIRST TO COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ. THANK YOU CHAIR, UH, DIRECTOR. UM, IT SEEMS LIKE YOU'RE EXTREMELY LEAN BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE SOME OF THE RESOURCES THAT WE NEED. UM, SO OUT OF THOSE 26 OR I GUESS 23 VACANT POSITIONS, HOW MANY ARE THOSE ARE, ARE THEY ALL MECHANICS? I BELIEVE IT'S, UH, 2020 POSITIONS ARE MECHANICS. OKAY. UM, AND WHAT'S AVERAGE PAY RIGHT NOW FOR CITY OF HOUSTON MECHANIC? SO OUR, OUR TOP RATE FOR WHAT WE CONSIDER OUR ADVANCE LEVEL WILL BE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF $35 AN HOUR, UH, THIS, THIS UPCOMING BUDGET YEAR. [00:25:02] ANY, AND I KNOW THIS IS KIND OF OUTSIDE OF, UH, YOUR, YOUR REALM A BIT, BUT ANY CONVERSATIONS ABOUT A PROGRAM THAT, YOU KNOW, SPECIALIZES IN CITY OF HOUSTON, MECHANICS WITH, YOU KNOW, FOLKS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY? SO, SO WE'VE ACTUALLY, SO, SO TWO YEARS AGO, RIGHT NOW, WE'RE JUST EXPERIENCING TROUBLE HIRING ADVANCED LEVEL. OKAY. TWO YEARS AGO, WE WERE EXPERIENCING TROUBLE HIRING EVERY LEVEL. SO WE WORKED WITH, UH, HUMAN RESOURCES AND, UH, WE STARTED NETWORKING. SO, UH, WE WENT OUT TO, UH, HISD, ALE, UH, HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND SOME OF THE EMPLOYMENT, UH, VETERANS, UH, EMPLOYMENT CENTERS. AND, UH, AND STARTED NETWORKING, LETTING THEM KNOW, HEY, WE'RE HERE. UH, YOU CAN COME IN AT, AT AN ENTRY LEVEL AND WE WILL GET YOU UP TO THE, THE ADVANCED LEVEL WITH THE TRAINING PROGRAM AND THROUGH EXPERIENCE, UH, UH, THAT WE HAVE. AND SO THAT'S ACTUALLY WORKED OUT PRETTY WELL FOR US. AND, UH, AND PEOPLE ARE SEEING THAT NOW. WE DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM ANYMORE FILLING THE ENTRY AND JUNIOR LEVEL. IT'S JUST THE ADVANCED LEVEL. AND AGAIN, IT REALLY ISN'T FOCUSED JUST ON THE CITY. THIS IS A NATIONWIDE PROBLEM. THERE WAS, UH, UH, THE PRESIDENT OF FORD JUST RECENTLY MADE A STATEMENT SAYING THAT, THAT NATIONWIDE, THEY'RE SHORT 5,000 MECHANICS, AND THESE JOBS PAY 120 TO $160,000 A YEAR. WOW. AND SO, UH, IT, IT, IT ISN'T A MATTER OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON JUST FALLING BEHIND. RIGHT. IT'S JUST A NATURAL, UH, UH, NATIONAL SITUATION. AND WE'RE WORKING HARD TO, TO TRY TO, UH, ATTRACT AND BUILD WHAT WE CAN. MAKES SENSE. AND THEN MY LAST ONE, UM, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT, IF WE WERE TO HAVE AN FTE RIGHT? A MECHANIC THAT AT THE CITY OF HOUSTON COMPARED TO THE CONTRACTING OUT, WHAT, WHERE WOULD WE SAVE MORE MONEY CONTRACTING OUT OR WE ALWAYS SAVE IN, IN-HOUSE. GOTCHA. AND, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, AND AND I HAD THIS DISCUSSION WITH THE ADMINISTRATION. SO WE'VE CUT POSITIONS AND NO DOUBT, AND WE DON'T WANT TO CUT POSITIONS, BUT WE DID WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT WE'RE HAVING A DIFFICULT TIME FILLING THEM. BUT WE'RE GONNA KEEP TRYING. SO LET'S SAY WE FILL THESE 10 VACANCIES THAT, THAT WE'RE CARRYING INTO THE NEXT BUDGET YEAR, WE'RE NOT GONNA STOP THERE. WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO RECRUIT AS WE GET. IF WE CAN GET MORE PEOPLE IN, WE'LL TAKE DOLLARS FROM THE CONTRACTING SIDE AND BRING THEM OVER TO LABOR SO THAT WE CAN STAY WITHIN OUR BUDGET AND ACTUALLY REDUCE, UH, EXPENSES. MAKES SENSE. UM, WELL, I GUESS ON, ON OUR, ON OUR END, WHATEVER WE COULD DO TO HELP WITH, YOU KNOW, THAT RECRUITMENT RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE HAVE AS WELL. UH, PLEASE LEAN INTO US BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, THE, AS WE PURCHASING NEW VEHICLES, WE'RE STILL GONNA HAVE TO MAINTAIN 'EM. AND SO, UH, IF NOT, WE'LL FIND OURSELF WITH 10 TO 15-YEAR-OLD VEHICLES, IT SOLID WASTE WHERE WE'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DOING. RIGHT. RIGHT. SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. AND AGAIN, IT'S LEAN, BUT IT'S NOT BECAUSE IT'S NOT BY CHOICE, REALLY. RIGHT. THERE'S A LACK OF RESOURCES OR AT LEAST STAFF THAT Y'ALL NEED. SO, RIGHT. AND AGAIN, AND, AND, AND I WANNA SAY THAT, THAT WE FEEL CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN TAKE CARE OF OUR OBLIGATIONS WITH THIS BUDGET. IT'S JUST A DIFFERENT WAY OF DOING IT. AND, AND IF WE CAN FIND ADDITIONAL PEOPLE, WE'LL BE ABLE TO LOWER OUR COSTS. COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU, DIRECTOR FOR THE PRESENTATION. JUST A COUPLE TOPICS I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT. ONE WAS, YOU CITED TIMELY RENEWAL OF CONTRACTS TO PRECLUDE INTERRUPTION OF SERVICE AND SUPPLIES, UH, LOOKING TO MAKE SOME IMPROVEMENTS THERE. AND THAT'S A NEW KPI. UM, DOES THIS INVOLVE THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT GETTING CONTRACTS APPROVED, OR IS THAT, UH, UH, SOMETHING THAT IS HANDLED WITHIN YOUR DEPARTMENT? SO, SO WE'LL PUT THE, UH, THE, THE, UH, CONTRACT SPECIFICATIONS TOGETHER. WE WILL, UH, WE'LL SOLICIT QUOTES AND, UH, BUT WE DO WORK WITH THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT, OF COURSE, THE, UH, THE, UH, CONTRACT TERMS THAT WE'RE USING ARE ABOVE BOARD WITH, UH, WITH RESPECT TO CITY STANDARDS. AND THEN WE'LL ALSO WORK THROUGH SPD TO, UH, TO FORMALIZE AND, AND GET THE CONTRACTS TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL. SO DOES EVERY CONTRACT HAVE TO BE REVIEWED BY LEGAL? I BELIEVE THEY ARE. AND, AND DO YOU, DO YOU GUYS TRACK HOW LONG THAT TAKES FOR THAT APPROVAL TO OCCUR BY LEGAL? SO, SO WE'VE GOT A, A A REALLY GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH LEGAL AND, UH, AND, AND MARTIN BOOZA. AND, UH, SO WE HAVE NOT HAD ANY DIFFICULTIES WITH THAT PROCESS. IN FACT, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE LOOKING TO CONTRACT THE TOTAL OPERATION OF GARAGES AT THE AIRPORT AND, AND, UH, SUMMIT PUBLIC WORKS. AND WE'VE ALREADY MET, UH, SEVERAL TIMES WITH LEGAL JUST ON THE FRONT END TO, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, [00:30:01] UH, WE'RE, WE'RE PURSUING THIS AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE. GREAT. GLAD, GLAD TO HEAR THAT. UH, SO DIRECTOR, LET ME ASK YOU, LAST NOVEMBER IN THIS COMMITTEE, WE HEARD A PRESENTATION FROM THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE ABOUT AN AUDIT OF THE FUEL CARD PROGRAM FOR FISCAL YEARS 22 THROUGH 24. AND, UM, THEY OUTLINED, UH, 11 FINDINGS, THREE THEY RATED AS CRITICAL. CAN YOU ADDRESS, UH, WHAT PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE TO ADDRESS THESE, THEIR FINDINGS? SO I THINK, AND, AND I'M, I'M GOING OFF OF MEMORY HERE, UH, BUT I BELIEVE MOST OF THOSE FINDINGS WERE CLOSED OUT BEFORE THEY, THEY ISSUED THEIR REPORT. UM, I WILL SAY WITH, UH, WE HAVE, WE RECENTLY REACHED AN AGREEMENT WITH US BANK AND OUR SAMSARA, UH, GPS SYSTEMS THAT, UH, AND LEGAL AND HITS, THEY WERE ALSO INVOLVED AS, AS WELL. AND SO, UH, WE'RE KICKING OFF THE ABILITY TO NOW, UH, LOCATE A VEHICLE AT THE, UH, WHERE IT'S BEING FUELED. SO, IN OTHER WORDS, IF SOMEBODY'S USING A FUEL CARD, UH, AT ANY GIVEN LOCATION, WE'LL BE ABLE TO VERIFY THAT VEHICLE THROUGH GPS AND, UH, THAT WAY IF THERE'S ANY, ANY ISSUES THERE, THEN UH, THEN WE CAN RESPOND TO THEM. OKAY. WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE THEY HAD THAT CAPABILITY DURING THOSE FISCAL YEARS. 'CAUSE THEY WERE ABLE TO REPORT THAT 65% OF THE FUEL CARD TRANSACTIONS OCCURRED WITHIN THREE MILES OF A CITY OWNED A FUEL ISLAND. BUT LET ME ASK YOU, CAN YOU, CAN YOU TELL US WHICH FINDINGS, IF ANY, REMAIN OUTSTANDING? UM, WELL, WELL, ONE THING, AND JUST GOING BACK, THE, THE, THEIR ASSESSMENT OF THE THREE MILES WAS BASED ON THE INVOICE. SO THEY DIDN'T ACTUALLY PUT IT, PUT IT TOGETHER, IT WAS JUST WHERE THE INVOICE, UH, CAME FROM. BUT, UH, I THINK WE MAY HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK BECAUSE I DON'T REMEMBER EACH FINDING IN DETAIL. BUT, UH, BUT AS I RECALL, MOST OF THEM WERE CLOSED OUT BEFORE, UH, BEFORE THE REPORT WAS ISSUED. SO IN CASES, UH, THERE WAS ONE I KNOW ABOUT TRAINING. UH, I BELIEVE WE'VE GOT ONLINE TRAINING NOW FOR FUEL CARD, UH, UH, COORDINATORS. ANNUAL TRAINING. YEAH, ANNUAL TRAINING. AND SO, SO THAT'S CLOSED OUT. UH, I'M SORRY, I JUST CAN'T REMEMBER EACH OF THE, UH, EACH OF THE FINDINGS IN DETAIL. BUT, UH, BUT I DO KNOW THAT, UH, WE, WE WORKED DILIGENTLY ON ADDRESSING THOSE. ALRIGHT. UH, THANK YOU. I'LL GO BACK IN THE QUEUE. COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER. THANK YOU. AND I, I'LL FOLLOW UP ON JULIAN'S COMMENTS. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I FOUND VERY DISCONCERTING ABOUT THE FUEL CARD PROGRAM IS THAT THERE WAS SHARING OF THE FUEL CARDS THAT MULTIPLE PEOPLE WOULD BE USING THE SAME FUEL CARD. IS THAT PRACTICE STILL IN PLACE? YES. WE TOOK A HARD LOOK AT THAT AND, UH, AND WE CONTACTED US BANK AND, AND SURVEYED HOW, UH, OTHER CUSTOMERS INCLUDING THE STATE WERE OPERATING. AND SO, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS IN PARTICULAR, IF WE WERE TO ISSUE FUEL CARDS TO, TO EACH EMPLOYEE WITHIN THE DEPARTMENTS THAT, UH, THAT ARE USING FUEL CARDS CURRENTLY, WE WOULD ISSUE BE ISSU, I THINK IT WAS 15,300 FUEL CARTS. UH, CURRENTLY WE HAVE A THOUSAND IN THE FIELD, AND SO THERE WOULD BE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF WORK ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASING THAT NUMBER, MONTHLY RECONCILIATIONS, AND THEN JUST THE, UH, JUST THE MERE TURNOVER WITHIN THOSE DEPARTMENTS. UH, WHEN WE LOOKED, WE, THOSE PARTICULAR DEPARTMENTS, WE WERE SEEING, UH, 26 PEOPLE LEAVING SERVICE ON A WEEKLY BASIS. SO ALL THOSE CHANGES WOULD HAVE TO GO IN. WE, WE WOULD, WOULD CONSTITUTE A, UH, A A A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT WORKLOAD. SO, UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW, AGAIN, IS, UH, WORKING WITH SAMSARA AND, UH, US BANK. UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, US BANK HAS TOLD US THAT, UH, THAT THEY'RE DEVELOPING, AND THAT MAY BE, UH, AVAILABLE SOON, IS THAT, UH, OUR EMPLOYEES WOULD BE ABLE TO SWIPE THEIR IDS AT THE, UH, FUELING LOCATION. SO AT THAT POINT, WE WOULD NOT ONLY VERIFY THE VEHICLE AT THE PARTICULAR LOCATION, BUT WE WOULD ALSO HAVE THE EMPLOYEE'S ID SWIPE AT THE LOCATION AS WELL. SO WE'D HAVE AUTOMATED REPORTING OF VEHICLE, AUTOMATED REPORTING OF EMPLOYEE, AND, UH, AND WE FEEL THAT WOULD BE, UH, SIGNIFICANT TO, TO ADDRESS WHAT WAS VIEWED AS A, UH, UH, A, A RISK. NOW, [00:35:01] NOW I DO ALSO WANNA MENTION THAT, UH, UM, WHEN AUDIT LOOKED AT THAT, UH, IT WAS, IT WAS A TWO YEAR INVESTIGATION, VERY DETAILED INVESTIGATION, AND, UH, AND THEY DID NOT FIND ONE INCIDENT OF, OF FRAUD. HOW, HOW COULD YOU, I MEAN, I'VE MANAGED FUEL CARD PROGRAMS IN THE PAST AND THE REPORT I WOULD GET, YOU KNOW, ONE CARD WAS ASSIGNED TO ONE DRIVER AND HE HAD TO PUT IN THE MILEAGE EVERY TIME HE FUELED UP, THE BILL USED TO ACTUALLY ALREADY CALCULATE THE MILES PER GALLON. I MEAN, THE WAY YOU'RE DOING IT NOW, I I'M SURE THEY DIDN'T FIND ANY FRAUD. 'CAUSE YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO, YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION. WELL, WE DO CALCULATE THE MILES, UH, PER GALLON. OKAY. BUT, BUT YOU DON'T KNOW, IT'S, IT'S NOT TIED TO A VEHICLE. IT'S NOT TIED TO A DRIVER. THERE'S, THERE'S NO WAY TO GO BACK AND CALCULATE WHO GOT WHAT THE, THE CARDS ARE TIED TO VEHICLES. OKAY. SO THAT CARD, IT CAN ONLY BE USED FOR THAT ONE VEHICLE. 'CAUSE THAT WAS NOT A DISCUSSION WE HAD WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE. THAT'S THES ASSIGNED. OKAY. AND GO BACK IN THE QUEUE. COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. GARY, UH, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND, AND THE WORK OF YOUR TEAM. YOU ALL HAVE REALLY SEEM TO HAVE, UM, A GREAT CHALLENGE, BUT YOU'VE FIGURED OUT WAYS IN ORDER TO DO IT. I HAD A COUPLE OF, UH, THINGS I WANTED TO ADDRESS WAS THAT YOU ARE NOW, IF I UNDERSTAND IT, 26 POSITIONS. 26 THAT NEED TO BE FILLED. SO, SO, SO WE CUT 26, YOU CUT YEAH. POSITIONS, MOST OF WHICH WERE VACANCIES. RIGHT. RIGHT. BUT I, BUT WE STILL HAVE, WE STILL HAVE EXISTING VACANCIES THAT WE'RE GOING TO CARRY INTO THE BUDGET. OKAY. SO C HOW LONG HAVE THOSE VACANCIES BEEN NEEDED OVER THE YEARS? IS IT BEEN SO, SO SOME OF THEM HAD BEEN VACANT ALMOST, UH, TWO YEARS. OKAY. I, I THOUGHT I HEARD THAT ABOUT PRIOR TO. YES, SIR. RIGHT. OKAY. AND THEN ALSO, UM, IN THE, NOW, IF YOU HAD TO FILL THOSE VACANCIES TO BRING YOU UP WHERE YOU WOULD BE COMFORTABLE, SPEAKING OF MECHANICS AND THAT, WHAT WOULD YOU NEED? WELL, WE COULD, UH, UM, WE LOOKED AT, AT, AT ROSTERS FOR THE LAST, WHAT WAS IT? SEVEN YEARS. SO WE WENT BACK TO 2019 AND WHAT WE SAW IS, IS THAT WE'VE, WE'VE REDUCED OUR MECHANIC STAFF BY 63 POSITIONS. OKAY. RIGHT. AND, AND AGAIN, THAT THAT WASN'T DONE TO SIMPLY CUT BUDGET THAT WAS DONE BECAUSE WE JUST COULDN'T FILL THOSE POSITIONS. I THAT'S THAT HURT. YOU'RE RIGHT. RIGHT. YOU COULDN'T FILL THEM RIGHT NOW. AND THAT'S DUE TO COMPETITIVE. UM, YOU KNOW, UH, JOBS OFFERS WHAT WE PAY, UH, 'CAUSE I UNDERSTAND WE, YOU, THE COST OF SALARY WILL BE $35. 35 TO 40 OF WHAT? WHAT'S THE, SO, SO, SO OUR ADVANCE RATE IS, IS ABOUT $35 AN HOUR GOING INTO NEXT YEAR. AND, AND, AND I DO WANT TO TELL THE COMMITTEE THAT, THAT WE DID SURVEY OTHER PUBLIC AGENCIES THROUGHOUT THE STATE AND UH, AND WHAT WE FOUND WAS, UH, ONLY TWO AGENCIES THAT PAID MORE THAN WE DID. UH, OR WE DO, I SHOULD SAY. YEAH. LOCALLY IT WAS METRO. METRO PAYS, I BELIEVE. SURE. IT'S $2 MORE AN HOUR. SURE, SURE. THEY STILL STRUGGLE WITH VACANCIES. YEAH. AND, UH, THE OTHER AGENCY WAS THE CITY OF AUSTIN. AND, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S PAYING ABOUT, IF I, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, ABOUT $5 AN HOUR MORE YEAH. THAN WHAT WE'RE PAYING DO, LOOKING AT OUR NUMBER HIGH LEVEL OF, OF, OF THINGS WE HAVE TO COVER IN TERMS, UH, ONE LAST THING, AND I'LL BE FINISHED. THE LOSS DURING RETIREMENT, WHAT, WHAT DID YOU LOSE DURING THE RETIREMENT WINDOW? SO WE LOST, UH, I BELIEVE IT WAS 43 POSITIONS. YEAH. TOTAL. AND, UH, I WANT TO SAY HOW MANY, HOW MANY MECHANICS DO YOU RECALL? UH, 27 I BELIEVE IT WAS. AND, UH, AND, AND I DO WANNA SAY A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE WERE TALKING ABOUT RETIRING ANYWAY. A LOT OF THESE FOLKS WERE 30, 40 YEAR, UH, EMPLOYEES THAT WERE NEARING THE, THE, UH, THE END OF THEIR TERM YEAH. WITH THE CITY. BUT THE, UH, THE RETIREMENT INCENTIVE DID JUST THAT, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE IT, IT INCENTIVIZED THEM. SURE. SO, UH, SO THEY, BUT WE KNEW THEY WOULD, THEY WOULD BE LEAVING SOON. UH, YEAH. REGARDLESS. YEAH. AND IT'S A TALL TASK. IT'S A TALL TASK WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO STAY WITHIN A BUDGET AND FULFILL THE PLACES OF NECESSITIES. IT'S, IT'S ROUGH, UH, IN DOING THAT, LOOKING FOR NEW RECRUITS AND, AND THEN AT THE SAME TIME HAVING RETIREMENT. SO IT, IT'S A TASK. GREAT JOB. THANK YOU. I THANK YOU FOR, FOR WHAT YOU DO. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIRMAN OUT. COUNCILMAN RAMIREZ. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. AND JUST TO FOLLOW UP ON, ON THIS, UH, AUDIT DIRECTOR, UM, THE OTHER TWO CRITICAL FINDINGS WERE 29% OF CITY VEHICLES [00:40:01] WITH ACTIVE FUEL CARDS WERE ACTUALLY INACTIVE OR LISTED AS SOLD IN THE CITY'S ASSET REGISTRY. AND THEN ANOTHER TROUBLING ONE 91% OF THE FUEL CARD STATEMENTS DURING THE AUDIT PERIOD. AND WE'RE TALKING THREE YEARS, LACKED EVIDENCE OF PROPER REVIEW. SO JUST TO ADDRESS THAT LAST CRITICAL FINDING, WHAT STEPS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE TRANSACTIONS ARE, ARE UNDERGOING PROPER REVIEW? WELL NOW, LET ME SEE. UH, WE'RE WE MONITOR, WE GOT WITH ALL THE FUEL COORDINATORS, THEY'RE PROCESSING THEIR AND FUEL COORDINATORS. I'M TALKING, EACH DEPARTMENT HAS THEIR OWN FUEL CARD COORDINATOR. THEY TAKE THE, UH, INVOICES, VERIFY THAT, UH, IT THEIR EMPLOYEES AND THEIR TRUCKS OR, UH, OUR VEHICLES WERE USED FOR THAT. THEN THEY SEND THEM OVER AND, UH, YEAH, THEY SEND OVER A, UM, THEY KIND OF DO LIKE THE CARD RECONCILIATION THAT WE DO FOR OUR CITY OF HOUSTON P CARDS. SO THEY HAVE TO RECONCILE AT THE DEPARTMENT LEVEL, REVIEW THE INVOICES, THE TRANSACTION DATES, WHERE THEY FUELED ALL OF THAT WITH THE STATEMENT, SEND OVER A CHECKLIST TO THE FLEET DEPARTMENT SAYING, HEY, WE REVIEWED EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING LOOKS GOOD. THEY HAVE A MONTHLY CHECK CHECKLIST JUST LIKE WE DO FOR P CARDS. SIGN OFF ON IT, SEND THAT OVER TO OUR FUEL DEPARTMENT COORDINATOR SO THAT WE CAN THEN VERIFY THAT THEY HAVE SUBMITTED THOSE MONTHLY CHECKLISTS, UM, EACH MONTH. THEN OBVIOUSLY WE FOLLOW UP WITH 'EM IF THEY HAVEN'T DONE SO. AND DO SOME SPOT AUDITS AS WELL TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE DOING THAT. IS THAT A NEW PROCESS? YES. OKAY. YEAH. SO IT WOULD BE HELPFUL, I THINK, IF, IF YOU ALL COULD REPORT TO COUNCIL THE, THE STATUS OF THESE 11 AUDIT FINDINGS. 'CAUSE I THINK THIS IS KIND OF A BIG DEAL. UM, THE BUDGET FOR THAT'S PROPOSED, UH, WILL, WILL, UH, SPEND, YOU KNOW, $28.6 MILLION ON, ON FUEL. SO THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT COST TO THE CITY AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE, UH, TO COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER POINT, THERE'S NO FRAUD. AND THAT, UH, WE'RE USING THESE RESOURCES WISELY. SO IF WE COULD HEAR BACK FROM YOU GUYS ON THAT, THAT'D BE GREAT. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER. THANK YOU. YOU SAID ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES Y'ALL GOT AT THE STATIONS IS PEOPLE DRIVING OFF OF THE HOSES MM-HMM . IS THERE ANY DISCIPLINARY ACTION TAKEN WITH THOSE EMPLOYEES? WE'RE NOT SURE BECAUSE THAT'S TYPICALLY HANDLED BY THE INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS. AND SO WE'LL REPORT THE SITUATION THEN IT'S UP TO THE DEPARTMENTS TO RESPOND, UH, WITH THEIR, UH, INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES. ARE YOU ABLE TO MAKE A DETERMINATION AS TO WHO THE EMPLOYEE IS THAT DROVE OFF WITH IT? UH, IN SOME CASES WE HAVE CAMERAS AT THE, UH, AT THE STATIONS AND OTHERS WE DON'T. SHOULDN'T THE FUEL CARD BE ABLE TO TELL YOU THAT? NO, BECAUSE THE FUEL CARDS ARE NOT USED AT OUR CITY STATIONS. OKAY. AND SO THIS IS THE CITY STATIONS WE HAVE THE ISSUES WITH? YES, SIR. OKAY. SO HOW DO WE TRACK THE INFORMATION ON THE VEHICLES THAT THE CITY STATIONS? SO, UH, ANYBODY REFUELING THE VEHICLE WILL PULL THE CAR UP, YOU'LL ENTER THE, UH, CAR NUMBER, THE EMPLOYEE ID, AND A PIN. IT'S THE LAST FOUR OF THEIR SOCIAL, LAST FOUR OF THE EMPLOYEE SOCIAL. AND UH, AND ALL THAT INFORMATION WILL BE UH OH AND THE MILEAGE AS WELL. RIGHT. ALL THAT WILL BE RECORDED INTO THE FUEL SYSTEM. OKAY. UM, YOU TALKED ABOUT HAVING DIFFICULTY HIRING MECHANICS. MM-HMM . I ASSUME PAY IS THE ISSUE. UH, IT'S REALLY MORE AVAILABILITY. SO THERE NOT ENOUGH MECHANICS TO GO AROUND TO MEET THE NEEDS. OKAY. SO THIS IS JUST ESSENTIALLY A SHORTAGE OF MECHANICS THROUGHOUT THE MARKET. EXACTLY. OKAY. SEVERE. THANK YOU. I THINK YOU MENTIONED IN YOUR PRESENTATION WHAT THE HOURLY RATE CONTRACT IS TO CONTRACT OUT THE WORK. SO IT'S GONNA RANGE, UH, AT THE LOW END, IT'S $47 AN HOUR FOR MOWS LANDSCAPE, UH, EQUIPMENT REPAIR AT THE HIGH END, $700 AN HOUR FOR SPECIALTY CRANE REPAIR AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN. RIGHT. I GUESS, AND DID YOU SAY YOU WERE GOING TO BE HAVING MORE OF THE CONTRACT WORK GO TO THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS AND THEN YOU'RE GONNA TAKE IN MORE, UH, MORE OF THEIR, THE PERSONNEL THAT YOU HAD SERVICING THE ENTERPRISE FUND CARS TO TO THE, TO OUR GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENTS? YES MA'AM. SO, SO RIGHT NOW WE'VE GOT A GARAGE AT EACH OF THE THREE AIRPORTS. WE ALSO HAVE, I BELIEVE IT'S SEVEN PUBLIC WORKS GARAGES ON. SO OUR PLAN IS, AND WE'VE BEEN NEGOTIATING WITH, WITH, WITH SEVERAL VENDORS, OUR PLAN IS TO STAFF EACH OF THE THREE AIRPORT GARAGES WITH CONTRACTORS. SO WE PULL OUR ENTIRE STAFF OUT [00:45:01] OF THOSE GARAGES. OKAY. AND THE CONTRACTOR WILL OPERATE THEM. WE TAKE THAT STAFF AND ONE OF THE BIG AREAS WHERE WE'RE SHORT IS FIRE AND UH, UH, OF COURSE POLICE CAN ALSO USE SOME HELP. SO, AND PARKS. SO WE'LL TAKE THAT STAFF, REDEPLOY THEM, UH, INTO GENERAL FUND GARAGES AND UH, HOPEFULLY DISPLACE SOME OF THE GENERAL FUND WORK THAT'S BEING SENT OUT FOR RATES THAT ARE HIGHER THAN OUR INTERNAL RATE. AND THE, AND THE AIRPORT WILL BE ABLE TO ABSORB THAT ADDITIONAL COST. YES. YEAH. I'VE, I'VE HAD A CONVERSATION WITH THE, WITH THE DIRECTOR. RIGHT, RIGHT. AND PUBLIC WORK STILL DOES THEIR OWN FLEET? NO, WE DO, YOU'RE HANDLING ALL THE PUBLIC WORKS FLEET AND ALL THE SOLID WASTE FLEET. RIGHT. OKAY. THAT, THAT CHANGE WAS WHEN, UH, BEFORE MY TIME. SO THAT WAS 2011. WE HAD SOLID WASTE 2014 WITH HW. OKAY. OKAY. OKAY. GREAT. ALRIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM MY COLLEAGUES? COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. UH, BACK TO THAT CONTRACT. I'M GLAD TO CHAIR ASK THAT QUESTION CONCERNING IT WAS, IT WAS, DID YOU UNDERSTAND, UNDERSTOOD. YOU SAY THAT WAS A $2 MILLION INCREASE OF CONTRACTS WORK? YES, SIR. SO A, A $2 BILLION INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF, UH, CONTRACTED WORK THAT WE'RE SENDING OUT. GOT IT. AND ALSO YOU TALKED ABOUT THE DEALERS, UM, THAT WERE MOST OF THE CARS OF FORD OR WITH HPD CARS AND YOU TRY TO STAY WITH THE FORD DEALERS, BUT THE FACT IS THE WORK WAS TOO, UH, THEY, THEY CAN'T ALWAYS KEEP UP. THEY COULDN'T KEEP UP WITH IT. SO YOU HAD TO GO TO OTHER DEALERS IN ORDER TO MEET THAT REQUIREMENT. YES, SIR. WHICH MEANT THE INCREASE OF DOLLARS, I'M SURE BY CONTRACTORS. 'CAUSE EVERYBODY WAS NOT CHARGING THE SAME WELL ACT ACTUALLY WE'VE SEEN, WE'VE SEEN JUST THE OPPOSITE. IT'S BEEN KIND OF INTERESTING. SO, SO IN IN CONTRACTS WHERE WE HAVE MULTIPLE VENDORS YEAH. UH, THEY START COMPETING WITH EACH OTHER. RIGHT. SO, SO THEY ALL WANT WORK IF THEY CAN HANDLE IT AND WE DECIDE WHO GETS, WHO GETS WHAT WORK. RIGHT. SO IF WE HAVE A PARTICULAR JOB THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, WE CALL EACH OF THE CONTRACTORS, SEE WHAT THEIR SCHEDULING LOOKS, UH, LIKE, AND THEN, UH, RECEIVE ESTIMATES AND THEN WE LOOK FOR THE, OF COURSE, THE BEST ESTIMATE AND THEN, UH, GET THE VEHICLE TO THAT LOCATION. OKAY. VERY GOOD. OKAY. THANK YOU. SO SINCE THE SOLID WASTE VEHICLES WILL NOW BE IN THE ENTERPRISE FUND, WILL THAT, WILL YOU ALSO CONTRACT OUT THAT WORK AT THOSE GARAGES? OR WILL YOU KEEP UM, NOT, NOT JUST YET. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT WE LOOK AT, WHAT MAKES THE AIRPORT RELATIVELY EASY IS THEY DON'T HAVE A COMPLEX FLEET. AND A LOT OF THEIR VEHICLES ARE LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES. RIGHT. UH, THEY DO HAVE THEIR SHARE OF SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT, BUT, BUT NOT IN GREAT NUMBERS. WHEN YOU GET TO PUBLIC WORKS, THE, THE RANGE IS ALMOST INFINITE, YOU KNOW, SO YOU GUYS WILL KEEP DOING THOSE FOR NOW AND, AND THOSE, THE, UH, VEHICLES THAT COST $700 AN HOUR TO OUTSOURCE SURE. BELONG TO PUBLIC WORKS. OKAY. RIGHT. SO, SO WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT. I THINK A GOOD MIX OF CONTRACT AND INTERNAL TO, UH, TO, AND AND BEING STRATEGIC ABOUT IT WILL, WILL KEEP COST IN CHECK. OKAY. GREAT. UNDERSTOOD. UM, WE AGAIN DID NOT HAVE ANYONE SIGN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, BUT IF ANYONE'S IN THE AUDIENCE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK AND ANY OTHER COLLEAGUES HAVE QUESTIONS, I THINK WE ARE GOOD TO GO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTA. OH, HERE WE DO HAVE SOMEONE, A PUBLIC SPEAKER, SO IF Y'ALL COULD JUST STEP ASIDE AND LET THE SPEAKER COME UP. JUST PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES. HELLO, MY NAME'S IS ISAIAH MCSWAIN. UM, I THINK THIS IS MORE SO FOR FLEET MANAGEMENT, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE MAY BE A SYSTEMS ISSUE IN, WELL, HOUSTON SPECIFICALLY, UM, THANK YOU. HOUSTON SPECIFICALLY HAS A BEVY OF DEVELOPERS THAT COULD FIX THAT ISSUE FROM THE UNIFIED DASHBOARDS TO ACTUALLY A OVERVIEW OF TRANSACTIONS. AND THEN ALSO, UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY MAY HAVE A TRAINING PROBLEM. SO IF YOU HAVE A, A FLOW OF ENTRY LEVEL AND NO ADVANCE, WHY NOT TRAIN UP AND DENSE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF PUSH THE FLOW OF ENTRY LEVEL COMMENT OVER. YEAH, I THINK THEY DID DO TALK ABOUT HAVING THAT PROGRAM WHERE THEY WENT TO U OF H AND GOT PEOPLE TRAINED UP. I THINK IT'S JUST A LACK OF, OF ENOUGH OF 'EM THAT ARE TO TRY TRAIN TO THE LEVEL THAT THEY SHOULD BE. AND WOULD YOU PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AGAIN? UH, ISAIAH MCSWAIN. ISAIAH MCSWAIN. MM-HMM . OKAY. GREAT. WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. ANYONE ELSE? OKAY. FLEET DEPARTMENT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOU DO FOR ALL OF OUR 13,000 PLUS VEHICLES. WE APPRECIATE IT. AND WE WILL TAKE A SHORT BREAK AND WE WILL CONCLUDE TODAY'S WORKSHOP WITH THE GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT. * 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.