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AFTERNOON SESSION OF OUR BUDGET WORKSHOPS, AND WE WILL START OFF WITH PUBLIC WORKS AND SOLID WASTE AND ONE COMBINED SITUATION.
I SEE DIRECTOR RANDY MACKAY AND SAMIR SOLANKI, AND ALSO I SEE DIRECTOR HASSAN IN THE AUDIENCE.
SO WE WILL GET STARTED WITH THIS, THIS PRESENTATION, AND THEN WE WILL END THE DAY WITH THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UM, I WANNA RECOGNIZE MY COLLEAGUES WHO ARE HERE.
VICE CHAIR MARIO CASTILLO, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CAROLYN EVAN SHABAZZ, COUNCIL MEMBER TWILA CARTER, COUNCIL MEMBER ALEJANDRO SALINAS.
COUNCIL MEMBER JOAQUIN MARTINEZ, STAFF FROM COUNCIL VICE MAYOR PROAM, MARTHA CASTEX TATUM, COUNCIL MEMBER JULIAN RAMIREZ.
COUNCIL MEMBER MARY NAN HUFFMAN, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN'S, OFFICE AND COUNCIL MEMBER FRED FLICKINGER.
SO WELCOME TO ALL AND THE FLOOR JURORS DIRECTOR.
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR, COUNCIL MEMBERS, IT'S, UH, IT IS VERY EXCITING TO BE HERE TODAY WITH ALL OF YOU TO TALK ABOUT THIS VERY IMPORTANT PIVOTAL BUDGET.
BEFORE WE JUMP IN, I DO JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, SEATED HERE IN CHAMBERS WITH US, MANY MEMBERS OF OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM AND OUR FINANCE TEAM WHO HELPED MAKE THIS POSSIBLE AND PUT THIS BUDGET TOGETHER.
UM, WE COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT THEM.
WE'RE SO GRATEFUL FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS AND WE'RE, WE'RE GLAD THEY CAN JOIN US HERE.
UM, AS WE START HERE ON THIS FIRST SLIDE, JUST AS JUST A LITTLE BRIEF OVERVIEW RIGHT NOW OF OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM, WE OFTEN CALL THIS THE C-SUITE.
UM, THIS CONSISTS REALLY OF ALL OF THE OPERATIONAL SERVICE LINE HEADS, AND IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WE GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON WHAT EACH OF THOSE DO.
UH, CHRIS BUTLER, OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, RESPONSIBLE FOR UTILITY BILLING, CODE ENFORCEMENT AND COMPLIANCE, WHICH WE OFTENTIMES REFER TO AS THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER, AND THEN TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE OPERATIONS.
UH, CITY ENGINEER OJ MC FOY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE, REHAB, ENGINEERING STANDARDS AND REVIEW, WHICH IS A PORTION OF THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER, AS WELL AS, UH, ENGINEERING FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE AND DESIGN DEVELOPMENT.
DREW MOLLY IS THE CITY'S CHIEF WATER OFFICER.
EVERYTHING IN DRINKING WATER, WASTEWATER, REGULATORY COMPLIANCE AND UTILITY DEVELOPMENT FALLS WITHIN HIS PURVIEW.
UM, SEATED NEXT TO ME HERE, SAMIR SLANKY, OUR CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.
ALL ALL THINGS MONEY THROUGH PUBLIC WORKS RUNS THROUGH SAMIR.
UM, MY CHIEF OF STAFF, REINA VARGHESE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE PORTION OF THE DEPARTMENT, WHICH INCLUDES COMMUNICATIONS.
IT INCLUDES CITY COUNCIL, LIAISON OFFICE, OUR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES DIVISION, UH, EVERYTHING WITHIN, UH, HR OPERATIONS RELATIVE TO THE DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS POLICY MANAGEMENT AND LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS.
KEVIN BERRY IS OUR CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER.
UH, EVERYTHING TECHNOLOGY INCLUDING, UH, NOT JUST INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, BUT OPERATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, VERY WELL DIRECTOR BRIAN MASON, WHO'S THE CITY'S DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
HE ALSO SERVES A DEPUTY DIRECTOR IN PUBLIC WORKS, BUT HIS RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
HE'S ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR VAST PORTFOLIO OF FACILITIES ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT, OF WHICH THERE ARE MORE THAN 400.
AND HE'S ALSO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HOUSTON TRANS STAR, WHICH IS PART OF OUR COLLABORATION WITH HARRIS COUNTY TDOT AND METRO.
AND FINALLY, WE'RE SO GLAD TO WELCOME, UH, LARRY S HASSAN AS THE CITY'S CHIEF SOLID WASTE OFFICER.
AND YOU KNOW VERY WELL WHAT HE'S RESPONSIBLE FOR, RECYCLING HEAVY TRASH, REGULAR TRASH, AND MANY, MANY COMPLAINTS WHICH HE HANDLES SO WELL.
IF YOU RECALL LAST YEAR WE HAD JUST, UH, WHEN WE MADE THIS BUDGET PRESENTATION, WE HAD JUST GONE TO THE FIRST PHASE OF OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES AND REORGANIZATION WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT IN FY 2026.
UM, WE HAD A FOCUS ON REDUCING BOTH THE NUMBER OF MANAGERS WITH THREE OR FEWER DIRECT REPORTS, AS WELL AS SHRINKING THE MANAGEMENT LAYERS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT.
UH, AT THE TIME, THE DEPARTMENT SPANNED MORE THAN 13 MANAGEMENT LAYERS DEEP, AND WE HAD A INITIATIVE TO SHRINK THAT BY NEARLY HALF TO GET IT DOWN TO SEVEN.
BUT WE ALSO WERE VERY FOCUSED ON ENSURING THAT WE HAD LARGER TEAMS WITH MANAGERS WITH MORE RESPONSIBILITY SO THAT WE COULD ACCOMPLISH MANY THINGS.
UH, LAST YEAR, WE WERE ABLE TO REDUCE SIGNIFICANTLY THE NUMBER OF MANAGERS WITH THREE OR FEWER DIRECT REPORTS.
YOU'LL REMEMBER IN THE ERNST AND YOUNG ASSESSMENT, UH, THE CITY HAD ROUGHLY 40%, BUT IN, IN PUBLIC WORKS, THAT NUMBER WAS CLOSER TO 60%.
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SHRANK THAT LAST YEAR DOWN TO ABOUT 40%.AND THIS YEAR, I'M PROUD TO SAY THAT WE'VE SHRUNK THAT AGAIN.
AND NOW ONLY ABOUT 18% OF OUR MANAGERS OR SUPERVISORS HAVE THREE OR FEWER DIRECT REPORTS.
WE KNOW THAT NUMBER WILL NEVER BE ZERO, AND THAT'S INTENTIONAL.
SOME OF THOSE TEAMS ARE HIGHLY SPECIALIZED AND IT MAKES SENSE TO BE SMALLER, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE VERY DELIBERATE IN HOW THAT LOOKS.
WE CONTINUE TO HAVE AN OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENT AS WE DO THAT.
YOU'LL NOTICE ON THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE, ACTUALLY, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MANAGERS INCREASED LA FROM LAST YEAR AT 679 TO 841 THIS YEAR.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, WE HAVE MORE OPERATIONAL TEAMS OUT THERE, BUT ALL OF THOSE TEAMS NOW SIGNIFICANTLY HAVE MORE PEOPLE UNDER THEM IN DIRECT REPORTS, SO THAT INSTEAD OF AN ORGANIZATION THAT LOOKS REALLY TALL, IT LOOKS REALLY, REALLY WIDE.
AND THAT HELPS US, UM, CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD.
HIGHLIGHTING A FEW ADDITIONAL, UH, IMPORTANT THINGS THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE TO NOTE, UH, IS OUR 30 DAY PERMIT PILOT, OF WHICH MANY OF YOU'RE AWARE, WE STARTED A PILOT PROGRAM WITHIN THE PERMITTING CENTER TO, UM, PRODUCE RESIDENTIAL PERMITS WITHIN 30 DAYS.
IT'S BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL THAT'S NOW BECOME A PERMANENT PRACTICE.
WE WERE VERY DEDICATED ON TACKLING THE BACKLOG OF WATER MAIN LEAKS.
UM, THE MAYOR'S BEEN VERY PUBLIC IN DOCUMENTING HOW AT ONE POINT WE HAD MORE THAN 1900 ACTIVE WATER MAIN BREAKS AT A TIME.
TODAY WE'RE CLOSER TO A HUNDRED.
THAT NUMBER OF COURSE FLUCTUATES ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS.
THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS IN SUCH A CONDITION THAT IT'S NOT UNCOMMON TO GET 60 OR 70 BREAKS A DAY.
SO WE COULD START THIS MORNING AT A HUNDRED AND BE AT 200 TOMORROW, BUT THE IMPORTANT THING IS ACTUALLY THAT NUMBER CONTINUES TO TREND DOWN BECAUSE WE HAVE CREWS BETWEEN OUR INTERNAL STAFF AS WELL AS EXTERNAL CONTRACTORS WHO TACKLE IT WITH SUCH ALACRITY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO MOVE THAT NUMBER IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, I WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WORKFORCE REPLENISHMENT.
UM, UNDER THE VOLUNTARY MUNICIPAL RETIREMENT PROGRAM, UH, THAT WAS IN INITIATED LAST YEAR, PUBLIC WORKS, UH, HAD ABOUT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN FOUR AND 500 EMPLOYEES TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OFFER AND RETIRE.
IT ACTUALLY MEANT THAT AS A WORKFORCE ALTOGETHER, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF, OF, UH, ACTIVE EMPLOYEES IN THE DEPARTMENT WAS THE LOWEST THAT IT HAD BEEN IN MANY, MANY YEARS.
UM, THAT WASN'T NECESSARILY A BAD THING THOUGH.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WHEN I BECAME DIRECTOR IDENTIFIED REALLY QUICKLY AS A PAIN POINT WAS THAT OF OUR 4,000 EMPLOYEES, NEARLY IN A QUARTER OF THEM, JUST A QUARTER A THOUSAND OF THEM WERE ADMINISTRATIVE, UH, EMPLOYEES FOR AN OPERATIONAL DEPARTMENT, THAT'S A BIG IMBALANCE FOR US.
WE REALLY NEEDED MORE FOLKS WHO WERE FOCUSED ON THE OPERATIONAL SIDE OF THE HOUSE AND ABLE TO TACKLE BIG CHALLENGES.
THE VERMER PPO THAT WAS INITIATED PROVIDED US OPPORTUNITY TO INITIATE SOME OF THOSE STREAMLINING, UH, EFFICIENCIES AND MOVE US IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS, UH, WE'VE HIRED 455 PEOPLE INTO THE DEPARTMENT.
NOW TACKLING THOSE EFFICIENCIES, WE'VE GOT ANOTHER 500 ON TAP.
SO IN TERMS OF OUR WORKFORCE, WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FROM BEING AT A LOW POINT AND IN TOTAL OVERALL HEAD COUNT TO MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION WITH THE TOTAL OVERALL HEAD COUNT, BUT THE RIGHT OVERALL HEAD COUNT IN THE RIGHT PLACE.
AND SO LET'S LOOK AT, UH, THE 2027 PERFORMANCE MEASURES, IF YOU'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AS YOU'RE AWARE, THE MAYORS HAS FOUR PRIMARY, UH, ALIGNMENTS IN WHICH ALL DEPARTMENTS ARE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE ALIGNED WITH PUBLIC WORKS ALIGNS WITH THREE OF THOSE FOUR.
THE FOURTH ONE BEING PUBLIC SAFETY, WHICH IS NOT ONE OF THE ALIGNMENTS THAT WE ARE FOCUSED ON.
HOWEVER, WE ARE FOCUSED ON INFRASTRUCTURE GOVERNMENT WORK THAT WORKS AND QUALITY OF LIFE.
AND SO I'M GONNA BRIEFLY GO OVER WHAT OUR PRIMARY KPIS ARE IN EACH OF THESE CATEGORIES.
I WILL NOTE THESE ARE NOT THE ONLY KPIS THAT WE MEASURE IN THESE CATEGORIES, BUT THEY'RE THE ONES THAT WE'LL HIGHLIGHT TODAY.
THEY'RE ONES THAT HELP DRIVE OUR BUSINESS.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, UNDER, UH, THE INFRASTRUCTURE KPIS IS AN ANNUAL REPLACEMENT OF 3% OF OUR NEARLY 7,200 MILES OF WATER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION LINES.
WE KNOW THAT OF THOSE WATER MAIN BREAKS THAT WE HAVE THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UH, A STUDY ONCE GAVE US SOME GOOD DATA THAT ABOUT 6% OF OUR WATER LINES WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR NEARLY TWO THIRDS OF THOSE BREAKS.
NOW, IT'S NOT SIX CONTIGUOUS PERCENT, RIGHT? SO IT'S ALL OVER THE PLACE, WHICH, WHICH GIVES YOU SOME DIFFICULTIES IN TACKLING SUCH A CHALLENGE.
IF YOU COULD JUST SAY, HERE'S THE 6% OF PIPE IN THIS SEGMENT TO REPLACE, AND YOU COULD FIX YOUR PROBLEM, THAT WOULD BE AN EASY LIFT.
BUT INSTEAD IT'S, YOU KNOW, FRACTIONS OF PERCENTAGES OF, OF PIPE IN DIFFERENT SPOTS.
BUT, UH, IT'S ALSO TOLD US THAT WE NEEDED TO MAKE SURE WE WERE FOCUSED ON REPLACING PIPE AT A REGULAR INTERVAL.
MATURE UTILITIES REPLACE THEIR PIPE AT AN AVERAGE OF TWO TO 3% PER YEAR IN THE CITY'S HISTORY.
IT'S ONLY EVER BEEN DONE ONCE AT 3%, AND THAT WAS IN THE 1980S.
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TO DO TO CATCH UP AND FOCUS ON, AND WE KNEW THAT EVEN WHEN WE INTRODUCED THIS KPI LAST YEAR THAT WE WOULD NOT ATTAIN IT THIS LAST YEAR.UM, THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF ENGINEERING AND PLANNING THAT GOES INTO PLACE BEFORE YOU CAN START TALKING ABOUT WHOLESALE PIPE REPLACEMENT.
SO YOU'LL SEE ACTUALLY WHEN WE TALK ABOUT WHERE WE'RE AT, WE'VE STAYED FAIRLY FLAT, BUT WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT.
ADDITIONALLY, A THOUSAND LANE MILES OF ROADS REHABILITATED ANNUALLY.
THE PREVIOUS PRACTICE OF THE CITY FOR MANY, MANY YEARS WAS TO JUST PICK A NUMBER OF SEGMENTS OF ROADWAY AND EITHER, UM, COMPLETELY REPLACE THEM OR JUST, UH, ASPHALT OVER THEM.
WE'VE DEVELOPED A MORE COMPREHENSIVE REHABILITATION PROGRAM THAT LOOKS AT THE CONDITION OF THOSE ROADS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN BOTH GET MORE USEFUL LIFE OUT OF ONES THAT ARE ALREADY THERE, AS WELL AS IMPROVE THE DRIVING SURFACES AND CONDITIONS.
TO THAT END, IT ALLOWS US TO PUSH TOWARDS FOCUSING ON BIGGER CHUNKS OF OUR MASSIVE STREET NETWORK, WHICH IS OVER 16,000 LANE MILES OF ROADWAY.
YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE DI TREE ESTABLISHMENT PROGRAM.
THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT TWO YEARS AGO WE INTRODUCED THAT SHRANK THE TIMELINE FOR DITCH REESTABLISHMENT BY HALF.
PREVIOUSLY IT WAS A 10 YEAR PROGRAM, IT'S NOW A FIVE YEAR PROGRAM WHERE THE LABORING ORE IN DOING, UH, DITCH, UM, EVALUATION HAS TAKEN PLACE.
AND NOW WE'RE FOCUSED ON THE REHABILITATION AND REESTABLISHMENT OF OPEN DITCHES THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
500 MILES IS OUR ANNUAL TARGET.
UNDER THAT FIVE YEAR PROGRAM, 450 OF THOSE MILES ARE FOCUSED ON THE NORTHEAST PORTION OF THE TOWN, UH, BECAUSE MORE THAN 80% OF THE DITCHES ARE IN THAT PORTION OF THE TOWN.
AND THEN 50 MILES OF THE REMAINING 500 OR THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE CITY.
THIS YEAR WE'VE INTRODUCED A NEW KPI, WHICH IS TO STRIPE 6 MILLION LINEAR FEET OR TO STRIFE, UH, EXISTING PAVEMENT MARKINGS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UH, A CONSTANT FRUSTRATION ON THE PART OF MANY HOUSTONIANS IS THE FACT THAT I MIGHT BE ABLE TO DRIVE ON THE STREET, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE I'M SUPPOSED TO DRIVE IN VARIOUS CONDITIONS.
WE KNOW WE'VE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO THERE, UM, BUT WE ARE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
LAST YEAR WE PURCHASED TWO ADDITIONAL STRIPING MACHINES TO HELP US WITH THAT.
WE ALSO BROUGHT A NUMBER OF CONTRACTS TO THIS COUNCIL FOR WHICH WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND ALLOWING ADDITIONAL CONTRACTOR SUPPORT TO DO IT.
UH, AND NEXT OF COURSE IS OUR WATER METER UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH OF COURSE HAS BEEN A BIG PAIN POINT FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
WE LAUNCHED A NEW PILOT LAST YEAR TO FOCUS AND TACKLE 25,000 METERS WITH NEW SMART METERS.
SO IT'S NOT JUST THE SAME OLD INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE GROUND, BUT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT NOW MOVES INTO THE MODERN ERA TECHNOLOGICALLY AS WELL AS PROVIDING CUSTOMERS WITH INFORMATION THAT IS HELPFUL TO THEM IN MANAGING THEIR OWN ACCOUNT.
UNDER THE MAYOR'S PRIORITY OF GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS, THE PERMITTING CENTERS TARGET IS TO MAINTAIN A AND REVIEW AT LEAST 80% OF CONSTRUCTION PLANS WITHIN SEVEN BUSINESS DAYS.
AGAIN, LIKE REPLACING OUR, UH, MILES OF PIPE THROUGHOUT THE CITY, THIS IS A BIG LIFT FOR US AND THERE'S A LOT OF CATCHING UP TO BE DONE, BUT WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION IS FOCUSED ON AWARDING NOTICE TO PROCEEDS WITHIN 30 DAYS.
THAT'S A COMMITMENT THAT I MADE EARLY ON WHEN I CAME IN.
WE RECOGNIZE THAT THE LONGER IT TAKES FOR US TO GET AN NTP OUT THE MORE IT COSTS FOR US TO COMPLETE PROJECTS.
AND IT DOESN'T JUST COST US, IT ALSO COSTS OUR VALUABLE PARTNERS IN THE, IN THE ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING COMMUNITY.
WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO COMPLETE AT LEAST 90% OF OUR PROJECTS WITHIN THAT APPROVED WORK AUTHORIZATION TIMEFRAME FOR THOSE SAME PURPOSES.
WE HAVE A A, A TARGET OF COMPLETING 90% OF FLOODPLAIN INSPECTIONS WITHIN SEVEN DAYS.
AND, UH, IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT, MY EXPECTATION IS THAT THE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS TO ALL 3 1 1 CASES WITHIN A WEEK.
SOME OF THOSE ARE MORE DIFFICULT THAN OTHERS.
UH, WE'RE REALLY GOOD AT, FOR INSTANCE, POTHOLES OF WHICH WE RESPOND TO 99.7% OF THEM WITHIN THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY.
BUT OTHERS THAT ARE USUALLY FOCUSED ON CODE ENFORCEMENT IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS SOMETIMES ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPLICATED.
ON THE UTILITY BILLING SIDE OF THE HOUSE, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RESOLVING 99% OF OUR CUSTOMER REQUESTS FOR RELIEF WITHIN 30 DAYS.
SOME OF THESE REQUESTS ARE VERY CHALLENGING.
THERE'S DATA THAT, UH, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND AND WE NEED TO HAVE BETTER ACCESS TO.
THAT'S WHY KEVIN BARRY AND HIS TEAM AND UH, TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN SO INVALUABLE TO US IN HELPING IMPROVE BUSINESS PROCESSES AND EFFICIENCIES.
BUT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN CUSTOMERS CONTACT US FOR RELIEF, WE CAN GET THEM A RELIEF AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
AND RIGHT ALONG WITH THAT, YOU'LL HAVE FEWER OF THOSE COMPLAINTS IF YOU'RE REALLY ACCURATE ON YOUR WATER BILLS.
AND SO 99% ACCURACY ON MONTHLY WATER BILLS OF WHICH THERE ARE NEARLY 500,000 EACH MONTH IS WHAT WILL HELP DRIVE US FORWARD.
I'LL MOVE THROUGH SOME OF THESE PRETTY QUICKLY.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RESOLVING WATER LEAKS WITHIN SEVEN DAYS.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOWS ARE RESOLVED.
95% OF THEM WITHIN 48 HOURS OF INITIATION.
UH, 10% OF OUR WASTEWATER ALLIANCE BEING ASSESSED ANNUALLY AS PART OF OUR CONSENT DECREE REQUIREMENTS.
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WE FEEL IT'S IMPORTANT TO CONT TO KEEP THAT, UH, TRANSPARENT IN THE FOREFRONT.WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT TRAFFIC SIGNAL MALFUNCTIONS ARE RE, ARE RESPONDED TO WITHIN SIX HOURS.
90% OF THOSE IS OUR TARGET THERE.
AND THEN WITH SOLID WASTE, A FEW KPIS THAT WE WILL WORK ON REFINING AND GETTING A BIT MORE SPECIFIC ON.
BUT INITIALLY WE'LL TALK ABOUT TONS OF TREE AND YARD WASTE COLLECTED, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CONTAINERS THAT ARE REPLACED, UH, OR REPAIRED.
AND IN THE NEXT SLIDE, TOTAL TONS OF HEAVY TRASH THAT ARE COLLECTED.
NUMBER OF CURBSIDE RECYCLING STOPS COMPLETED AND DROP-OFFS BY COUNT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M GOING TO COMMIT TO YOU NOW, AND IT ACTUALLY SAYS IT ON A SLIDE LATER ON, SO YOU GOT IT IN WRITING TOO, UM, BUT WE'RE GONNA COME BACK TO COUNCIL WITHIN THE NEXT 60 DAYS WITH SOME REFINED KPIS THAT ARE MUCH MORE SPECIFIC.
THESE INITIAL ONES THAT WE LOOK AT ARE VERY MUCH, UH, OUTPUT BASED RATHER THAN OUTCOME BASED.
WE WANT TO BE VERY SPECIFIC ON OUTCOME BASED ONES THAT HELP IMPROVE THINGS LIKE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR INDIVIDUALS AND PROVIDE US WITH A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN HOW WE RESPOND.
AND NOW I'LL TAKE A BREAK AND TURN IT OVER TO SAMIR AS HE DISCUSSES SOME OF THE FINANCIAL METRICS BEHIND THE BUDGET.
GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS AND REPRESENTATIVES.
UH, WE'RE GONNA MOVE TO THE FUND PART OF THE BUDGET PRESENTATION, WHICH TALKS ABOUT THE DOLLARS.
UH, WE'RE GONNA COVER HBW FROM AN OUTCOME-BASED, UH, BUDGETING PERSPECTIVE, AS RANDY HAD MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, THAT LOOKS AT THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND ALIGNS THE FUNDING WITH THE OUTCOMES.
WE DO HAVE A LOT OF MATERIAL TO COVER IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, SO I'M GONNA BE MINDFUL OF SOME OF OUR TIME CONSTRAINTS.
SO LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
THIS IS AN OVERVIEW OF THE STRATEGIC GUIDANCE ALIGNMENT THAT RANDY HAD JUST UH, COVERED A LITTLE BIT AND THAT LOOKS AT THE VARIOUS DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THAT ARE THE PRIORITIES FOR THE CITY.
AND YOU'LL NOTICE THAT A MAJORITY OF IT IS DEALS WITH INFRASTRUCTURE AND THAT MAKES SENSE BECAUSE WE ARE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
THIS GIVES AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE EXPENDITURES LOOK LIKE FROM A PROGRAM PRESCRIP, UH, PERSPECTIVE, ALL THE WAY FROM ADMIN SERVICES, DEBT SERVICE ENGINEERING, CONSTRUCTION, PERMITTING, CENTER TRANSFER, SO ON AND SO FORTH.
WE'RE GONNA GO A BIT MORE INTO DETAIL INTO THE NEXT SLIDES AS WE MOVE OUT INTO THE THE FUND SECTION A LITTLE BIT.
THE FIRST ONE IS THE ADMINISTRATION AND THE SUPPORT, UM, SERVICES FOR HPW.
THIS IS REALLY OUR INTERNAL ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS ESSENTIAL TO RUNNING THE DEPARTMENT SUCH AS IT OUR FINANCE GROUP, OUR REAL ESTATE SERVICES, AND OUR FACILITIES MANAGEMENT.
UH, PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS INCLUDES ALSO THE PURCHASE AND THE BUILD OUT OF 1600 SMITH BUILDING, WHICH MOST OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH, AS WELL AS THE PROPOSED RIDE OF WAFI FOR FISCAL 27.
LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
HOUSTON WATER, WHICH IS THE BIGGEST ASPECT OF HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
UH, THIS PROGRAM FUNDS THE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS OF DRINKING WATER WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE.
LAST YEAR, THE SYSTEM ITSELF DISTRIBUTED OVER 188 BILLION GALLONS OF DRINKING WATER AND TREATED 82.4 BILLION GALLONS OF WASTEWATER.
WASTEWATER OPERATIONS IS PRETTY MASSIVE.
IT HAS 38, UH, WATER WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS, 365 LIFT STATIONS AND TWO WET WEATHER FACILITIES.
DRINKING WATER OPERATIONS HAS THREE SURFACE WATER PLANTS.
WHICH ONE OF THEM YOU'RE MOSTLY FAMILIAR WITH THE EAST WATER PURIFICATION PLANT.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE 54 GROUNDWATER PLANTS AND 100 AND UH, 130 GROUNDWATER WELLS.
THE FISCAL 27 BUDGET INCLUDES FUNDING FOR OPERATIONAL NEEDS AS WELL AS FUNDING FOR ADDITIONAL CAPITAL EQUIPMENT.
THE UTILITY BILLING PROGRAM FUNDS ALL METERING AND CUSTOMER SERVICE OPERATIONS RELATED TO WATER BILLS.
AS RANDY HAD MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, THIS PROGRAM CURRENTLY HANDLES BILLING AND COLLECTIONS FOR ABOUT 488,000, UH, UH, CONNECTIONS OR CUSTOMERS, WASTEWATER, WATER AND WASTEWATER ACCOUNTS, I SHOULD SAY.
SO, UH, UH, IF YOU COULD JUST SLOW IT DOWN JUST A LITTLE BIT.
ALRIGHT, SO UTILITY BILLING AGAIN COVERS BILLING COLLECTION FOR ABOUT 488,000 WA WATER AND WASTEWATER CO CONNECTIONS.
AS RANDY HAD MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, THE WATER BILL IMPROVEMENT PLAN WAS IMPLEMENTED LAST YEAR AND THAT INCLUDED ABOUT 126,000 ACCOUNTS.
MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
ON THE TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE SIDE, WHICH AGAIN FOCUSES ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE SIDE OF IT, UM, IT FUNDS THE BUILT HOUSTON PROGRAM, WHICH WE'RE VERY FAMILIAR WITH, AND THE MAINTENANCE OF THE CITY'S TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE.
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WE'RE CONTINUING TO FUND THE DITCH ESTABLISHMENT PROGRAM THAT WAS INITIATED BACK IN TWO, UH, FISCAL 2024 AND THE FY 27 BUDGET INCLUDES ADDITIONAL $25 MILLION IN CONTRACTING CAPACITY FOR THAT PROGRAM AS WELL.ALL RIGHT, NEXT SLIDE ON THE ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION SIDE.
UM, THIS FUNDS THE PROJECT FOR DELIVERY OF CIP PROJECTS AND THESE ARE SOME PRETTY BIG NUMBERS HERE.
THE TOTAL CIP FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS IS THE PROBABLY THE LARGEST THAT WE'VE EVER HAD BEFORE.
AND FOR HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT $10.8 BILLION.
AND TO GIVE YOU A COMPARISON, SAN ANTONIO, THEIR, UH, FIVE YEAR CP IS ROUGHLY GET ALL JUST ON THE WATER SIDE IS 3.2 BILLION.
SO ON THE STREET AND DRAINED SIDE IS TWO POINT ABOUT 7 BILLION, AND THEN 8 BILLION FOR WATER AND SEWER, WHICH IS PRETTY MASSIVE.
THIS PROGRAM CONSISTS OF OF HPC AND THE RELATED OPERATION.
UM, HBW HAS INTEGRATED SEVERAL FUNCTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS, WHICH WERE ABSORBED IN, UH, FISCAL YEAR 26, WHICH INCLUDES DANGEROUS BUILDINGS, NEIGHBORHOOD NUISANCES AND INVESTIGATIONS, SIGN ADMINISTRATION AND BANDED SIGNS.
THESE FUNCTIONS CONSISTS OF ABOUT 72 FTES AND WILL HAVE AN 8.8 MILLION IMPACT ON THE BUDGET.
TRANS STAR IS PROBABLY THE SMALLEST GROUP.
UM, THIS FOCUSES ON THE SMALL, UH, ASPECT OF PUBLIC SAFETY PROGRAM.
UM, IT FUNDS THE MAINTENANCE AND UPKEEP OF THE HOUSTON TRANS STAR CENTER THAT PROVIDES COORDINATED INNOVATIVE TRANSPORTATION AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SERVICES TO THE REGION.
THIS IS AGAIN, UM, AS RANDY HAD MENTIONED, A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN THE CITY, HARRIS COUNTY METRO, AND THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
THEN WE MOVE ON TO THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
UH, THIS PROGRAM FUNDS MOPD, WHICH SERVES AS THE PRIMARY ADVOCATE AND RIGHTS, UH, FOR THE NEEDS AND RIGHTS OF RESIDENTS AND VISITORS WITH DISABILITIES.
AND THEN FINALLY, OUR NEW FAMILY MEMBERS, A SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT.
UM, IT DELIVERS THE CORE COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL SERVICES THAT KEEP HOUSTON CLEAN AND SAFE.
THESE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO THE HPW COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM FUND.
ALL RIGHT, AND THIS IS THE BIGGER ASPECT AND WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE SIDE OF THINGS, THIS PROGRAM INCLUDES THE PAYMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE RELATED DEBT TRANSFERS TO CIP TO FUND PROJECTS AND INCLUDES INTERFUND TRANSFERS.
AND I ALSO WANNA POINT OUT THAT THE D-D-S-R-F FUNDS ARE NOT ISSUING ANY NEW DEBT, IT'S JUST PAYING OFF OLD INFRASTRUCTURE RELATED DEBT FROM PRIOR YEARS.
DEBT SERVICE AND INNER FUND TRANSFERS.
OKAY, LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE, UH, REVENUES BY PROGRAM.
HERE'S A QUICK OVERVIEW SUMMARY BY PROGRAM.
UH, NOTE THAT SOME OF THE NUMBERS SHOWN HERE, UM, EXCUSE ME, THE REVENUES SHOWN HERE ARE TRANSFERS TO AND FROM BETWEEN DIFFERENT FRONTS, SO SORT OF AN INTERNAL TRANSFER.
ALL RIGHT, MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
OKAY, THIS IS A VERY HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY OVERVIEW.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE, UH, DOLLARS SHOWN HERE ARE MILLIONS BECAUSE THE NUMBERS ARE JUST SO MASSIVE.
UM, HBW OBVIOUSLY CONSISTS OF SEVERAL DIFFERENT FUNDS THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU MAY BE MORE FAMILIAR WITH LOOKING AT FROM A FUNDING PERSPECTIVE.
I'M NOT GONNA CALL OUT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THE NUMBERS, UH, RIGHT HERE BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA COVER EACH OF THESE FUNDS A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DETAIL AS WE PROGRESS ON WITH THE NEXT SLIDES.
UH, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THESE VARIANCES ARE FROM THE FY 26 CURRENT BUDGET.
THIS IS A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW TO GIVE YOU SORT OF A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT THE EXPENDITURES BY FUND LOOK LIKE.
UM, OF COURSE THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM OR THE WHAT WATER AND UTILITY COMPRISES A BULK OF THIS AND TO SHOW YOU HOW IT'S GROWN OVER THE, UH, UH, PAST SEVERAL YEARS FROM FY 26 AND WHAT WE'RE GONNA END UP AS THE ESTIMATE TO THE FY 27 PROPOSED AT ALMOST $3.8 BILLION TOTAL FOR HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS OVERALL.
AND THIS GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT THE REVENUES LOOK LIKE FOR THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT AS WELL.
WE'RE ESTIMATED ROUGHLY ABOUT $3.5 BILLION IN REVENUE FOR THE FISCAL 27 PROPOSED BUDGET.
AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT MORE IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.
NEXT SLIDE, GENERAL FUND SIDE OF THINGS.
[00:25:01]
SMALL PORTION OF GENERAL FUND WITHIN HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS THAT CONSISTS OF OUR REAL ESTATE GROUP AND THEY'RE REALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR REAL ESTATE LAND DISPOSITION, WHICH IS A NET REVENUE GENERATING FUNCTION WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND.WE ROUGHLY HAVE ABOUT EIGHT OR NINE FTES WITHIN THIS ORGANIZATION AND THEY DO A FAIRLY GOOD JOB OF RAISING REVENUES BY, UH, DISPOSING OF UNWANTED, UH, REAL ESTATE, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND USUALLY THEY GENERATE ROUGHLY ANYWHERE FROM 2.5 TO UPWARDS OF $7 MILLION IN REVENUE ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
SO THE EXPENDITURES IS ROUGHLY ABOUT $1 MILLION FOR FISCAL 27.
AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE YOU'LL SEE THE REVENUES PORTION IN FY 25.
THEY DID GENERATE ABOUT $7.6 MILLION IN REVENUE AND WE'RE ESTIMATING THAT THEY WILL DELIVER ABOUT ALMOST $3 MILLION IN REVENUE FOR 26.
AND WE'RE KEEPING THE PROPOSED REVENUE GENERATION AT 2.5 MILLION AS WE MOVE INTO FISCAL 27
THIS IS A REALLY A REVOLVING SORT OF FUND.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THE WAY THIS WORKS IS ONCE IT INCURS ANY EXPENDITURES, IT'LL CHARGE BACK TO THE VARIOUS, UH, DIFFERENT FUNDS WITHIN PUBLIC WORKS.
AND THAT'S HOW IT RAISES AS REVENUE.
THAT'S WHY YOU'LL SEE THAT THE REVENUES ARE EXACTLY THE SAME AS EXPENDITURES.
AND THIS PROJECT COST RECOVERY FUND SUPPORTS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.
INCLUDED IN HERE ARE PERSONNEL AND OTHER OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE COSTS.
UH, THE REVENUES AND EXPENSES ARE DECREASING, UH, BY ABOUT $3.5 MILLION.
IT'S MAINLY DUE TO 42 FTES THAT WERE MOVED TO FUND 8,300 TO BETTER ALIGN COSTS FOR POSITIONS NOT PRIOR, PRIMARILY WORKING ON CIP PROJECTS.
WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO THE BUILDING INSPECTION FUND, WHICH IS ALSO KNOWN AS THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THE REVENUES FOR UH, HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER ARE INCREASING FROM 118 MILLION TO ONE 19, PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY HIGHER CONSTRUCTION PERMIT REVENUES BY MILLION DOLLARS.
AND PLAN REVENUE FEES OFFSET BY REDUCED TRANSFERS FROM SPECIAL REVENUE.
UM, EXPENDITURES ARE INCREASING FROM 123 MILLION TO 124.8, ROUGHLY ABOUT 2 MILLION, MAINLY DUE TO INCREASE IN PERSONNEL COSTS, MISCELLANEOUS SUPPORT SERVICE COSTS, AND H-P-W-C-U-S ALLOCATION AND NON-CAPITAL COMPUTER EQUIPMENT COSTS.
JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT THE EXPENDITURES ARE HIGHER THAN REVENUES, WHICH MEANS THAT THIS FUND IS UTILIZING FUND BALANCE TO MEET ITS EXPENDITURES.
ALRIGHT, MOVING ON TO THE TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE OPERATIONS, WHICH CONTAINS VARIOUS DIFFERENT FUNDS SUCH AS 23 0 2, 23 10, 23 11 AND 2312.
AND THE FUNDS 23 10 11 12 ARE WHAT COMPRISE THE BUILD HOUSTON FORWARD PROGRAM, WHEREAS 2302 IS THE STORM WATER FUND.
SO WE FOCUS IN ON THE REVENUES.
THE STORM WATER FUND 23 2 IS MAINLY FUNDED BY THE COMBINED UTILITY, UH, SYSTEM.
REVENUE IN THE FISCAL 27 BUDGET IS DECREASING.
UH, UH, NOW WE'LL GO TO THE EXPENDITURE SO YOU GET A WHOLE PICTURE OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO PRESENT HERE.
UH, FIRST THERE WAS A ONE TIME $20 MILLION, UM, UM, ALLOCATION THAT WAS MADE IN THE PRIOR BUDGET, WHICH SHOWS HERE AS A DECREASE.
SECOND IS THE $16 MILLION TRANSFER FROM THE D-D-S-R-F FUND.
INSTEAD, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS FUND 2310S BUDGET WILL TRANSFER TO THE CIP PORTION.
COULD YOU PLEASE SLOW DOWN? I'M SORRY.
SO STORM WATER FUND 2302 IS MAINLY FUNDED BY THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM, WHICH, YOU KNOW, AS HOUSTON WATER.
AND I WILL MENTION THAT IT SHOWS A DECREASE OF THAT $41 MILLION AND IT'S DUE TO THREE PRIMARY THINGS.
THE FIRST ONE WAS THE 20 MILLION DECREASE THAT REFLECTED A ONE-TIME COUNCIL BUDGET AMENDMENT THAT WAS PASSED IN FY 26 FOR THE DITCH ESTABLISHMENT PROGRAM.
AND WE'LL COVER THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE, UH, ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE TOO.
SECONDLY, THE $16 MILLION TRANSFER FROM THE D-D-S-R-F 2310 IS REMOVED.
INSTEAD, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS FUND 2310S BUDGET FOR THE CIP TRANSFER.
UH, TO SUPPORT THE SAME DIS ESTABLISHMENT PROGRAM IS DIRECTLY GOING TO GO TO THE CIP FUND, WHICH IS 40 42.
SO IT'S DECREASING FROM THIS SIDE, BUT WE'RE ACTUALLY MOVING IT INTO THE CIP FUND.
AND THIRD TRANSFERS FROM CUS DECREASED BY 5.9 MILLION DUE TO LOWER OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE NEEDS IN FISCAL 27.
UH, DRAINAGE CHARGE FUND REVENUES IN 2310 ARE DECREASING BY 850,000 DUE TO E-BILLING CREDIT OF 650,000 AND DECREASING DRAINAGE CHARGE PENALTY
[00:30:01]
BY $200,000.AND WE POINT THAT OUT BECAUSE NOW AS WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE EXPENDITURES, WE, WE WANT TO HIGHLIGHT BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE ON THE REVENUE THAT WE'RE GONNA SPEND LESS ON THOSE PROGRAMS. WE'RE NOT, WE'RE ACTUALLY SPENDING SIGNIFICANTLY MORE.
SO I, I DON'T WANT, I KNOW IT'S REALLY CONFUSING WHEN YOU START TO MOVE MONEY FROM ONE FUND TO THE OTHER, BUT PART OF THE REASON WE'RE DOING IT IS TO ACTUALLY MAKE THIS MORE CLEAR AND TRANSPARENT AND FUTURE YEARS, FOR INSTANCE, THAT 16 MILLION THAT WE'RE NOT TRANSFERRING FROM D-D-S-R-F TO STORMWATER, THAT'S REALLY PART OF OUR SETTLEMENT WITH BOB JONES NOW AND WATSON TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP THOSE ACCOUNTS REALLY CLEAR.
SO THIS IS SETTING US UP REALLY FOR A BETTER PICTURE IN THE FUTURE.
YEAH, SO WHEN WE MOVE ON TO THE EXPENDITURE SLIDE, YOU WILL NOTICE, JUST TO HIGHLIGHT REALLY QUICK, THAT THAT'S A PRETTY BIG NUMBER WE'RE IN INCREASING OUR EXPENDITURES IN THE DDSR FUNDS GROUP BY $91 MILLION ALMOST, WHICH IS A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT, THIS IS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST INCREASE THAT WE'VE EVER HAD, UH, IN THESE FUNDS, UM, IN THE HISTORY OF IT.
SO STORMWATER FUND AGAIN, UH, WE WOULD BREAK IT DOWN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER IS INCREASING BY 900,000, MAINLY DUE TO, UM, AN $11.7 MILLION INCREASE IN FUNDING NEEDED FOR THE DEMOLITION OF DANGER DANGEROUS BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS AND $8 MILLION INCREASE IN PERSONNEL, A $2.8 MILLION INCREASE IN TRANSFERS TO 2301 TO SUPPORT DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOOD RELATED COSTS AND IS OFFSET BY THAT 20.5 DECREASE RELATED TO THAT ONETIME DITCH ESTABLISHMENT BUDGET AMENDMENT THAT WAS PASSED IN FISCAL OF 26.
THE FUNDS GROUP ITSELF, LIKE I HAD MENTIONED, IS INCREASING BY $90.1 MILLION OVERALL AND THAT'S DRIVEN PRIMARILY BY THE 119 MILLION HIGHER TRANSFERS TO CIP TO FUND STREET AND DRAINAGE REHAB PROJECTS, INCLUDING THE 16 MILLION FOR DITCH ESTABLISHMENT, 4.2 MILLION INCREASE FOR OTHER OM COSTS AND 2.4 MILLION INCREASE IN TRANSFERRING TO GENERAL FUND TO SUPPORT TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS, WHICH IS OFFSET BY 36 MILLION DECREASE IN TRANSFER TO STORMWATER.
AGAIN, THAT GOES BACK JUST TO THE REALLOCATION OF THE FUNDING INTO THE CIP VERSUS UH, GOING TO THE STORMWATER FUND AS WELL.
IT IS A COLLECTIVE EFFORT, WHICH THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS A RESPONSIBILITY OF 24% OF THIS BUDGET AS A VERY SLIGHT INCREASE, UH, IN THE REVENUES BECAUSE OF A HIGHER CONTRIBUTION OF METRO AND HARRIS COUNTY EXPENDITURES ARE SLIGHTLY INCREASING FOR TRANS, OUR FACILITY MAINTENANCE.
AND WE MOVE ON TO THE LARGEST ASPECT OF HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, WHICH IS THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM, UH, WHICH IS THE LARGEST FUND GROUP ON THE REVENUE SIDE, 8,300 IS BUDGETED TO INCREASE, MAINLY DUE TO A TRANSFER IN OF SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS ABOUT $29.7 MILLION, WHICH INCLUDES THE NEW SOLID WASTE FEE THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, THE $5, WHICH WILL GENERATE ROUGHLY BY 24 MILLION REVENUES.
UM, FUND 83 0 1 IS BUDGETED TO DECREASE BY 5.3 MILLION, MAINLY DUE TO LOWER ANTICIPATED DEBT SERVICE IN FISCAL 27.
UM, AND WE LOOK AT FUND 83 0 5 IS DECREASING DUE TO 600,000 LOWER CONTRIBUTIONS NEEDED FROM WATER, WATER AUTHORITIES SPECIFICALLY FOR THE LOOSE BAYOU DEBT SERVICE.
LET'S FOCUS ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE.
SO ON THE 8,300 SIDE, AGAIN IT IS INCREASING BY ALMOST $200 MILLION, MAINLY DUE TO INTEGRATING, UH, SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT.
ALSO SOME HIGHER O AND M COSTS, INCLUDING ADDITIONAL MAINTENANCE AND CONTRACTUAL PRICE INCREASES, WHICH I, UH, ROUGHLY ABOUT $57 MILLION.
WE DID HAVE HIGHER PERSONAL COSTS AS WELL BECAUSE OF THE HOPE AGREEMENT, WHICH IS ABOUT $16 MILLION.
AND WE ALSO HAVE SOME HIGHER RESTRICTED ACCOUNT COSTS OF ABOUT 13 MILLION AND SOME HIGHER DEBT SERVICE COSTS OF ABOUT $8.7 MILLION.
AND THAT WAS OFFSET BY LOWER, UH, A LOWER TRANSFER THAT GOES INTO FUND 83 0 1 OF ABOUT $15.3 MILLION.
UM, I'M GONNA JUMP DOWN TO FUND 83 0 5.
IT IS BUDGETED TO INCREASE BY $62.7 MILLION DUE TO THE NEW RIGHT OF WAY FEE THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'VE BEEN, UH, CONTEMPLATING.
THIS IS ROUGHLY ABOUT $104 MILLION.
THEN THE PLANNED PURCHASE AND BUILD OUT OF 1600 SMITH, WHICH IS ABOUT 83 MILLION.
AND ALSO THE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DEBT THAT'S TAKEN ON BY HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, WHICH IS $17 MILLION AND THEN HIGHER 3 1 1 COSTS OF 2 MILLION AND THEN $1 MILLION BUDGETED FOR CITY OF HOUSTON SPECIAL EVENTS.
THIS IS OFFSET BY DESIGN AND BY PLAN LOWERING
[00:35:01]
THE PAY AS YOU GO OF 145 MILLION, UH, FROM THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM FUND 83 0 5.THIS GIVES YOU SORT OF AN OVERVIEW AND IF YOU NOTICE ON THE NET OPERATING FUNDS, YOU WILL NOTICE THE NEGATIVE OF $220 MILLION.
UM, THE, THE REASON THAT IS IT'S BY DESIGN AND IT'S BY PLAN AS A DIRECTOR.
I PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED THE UTILITY OPERATED ON, UH, RESERVES, WHICH IS SIGN SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN WHAT WE HAVE OUR TO BE 300 DAYS.
WE'RE CURRENTLY $20.8 MILLION THAT YOU SEE REALLY EQUALS TO ABOUT 91 DAYS OF CASH ON HAND.
SO WE ARE STILL WELL WITHIN KEEPING WITH WHAT WE HAVE AS OUR INTERNAL CASH POLICY AS WELL.
MOVING ON TO SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT, WHICH IS NEW FOR ALL OF US.
AND SO ON THE HIGHLIGHT SIDE, UM, SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IS AGAIN INTEGRATING WITH HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
UM, AS MANY OF YOU'RE FAMILIAR, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING A NEW SOLID WASTE ADMINISTRATION FEE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE WATER AND WASTEWATER SEWER BILLS, WHICH IS GOING TO BE $5 PER MONTH PER RESIDENTIAL ACCOUNT.
THAT WILL RAISE ROUGHLY ABOUT 24 TO $25 MILLION FOR FISCAL 27.
ALRIGHT, LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND THIS LOOKS A LITTLE BIT WONKY BECAUSE AGAIN, IT'S A NEW DEPARTMENT THAT'S BEEN INTEGRATED WITH THE PUBLIC WORKS.
SO YOU'LL SEE THAT THE ADMINISTRATIVE FEE ACCOUNTS FOR ONLY $24 MILLION WORTH OF REVENUES.
UM, WE'RE PROPOSING A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS ON THE CONTAINER LEASE FEE, WHICH IS 5 MILLION.
OTHER OPERATING REVENUE IS ABOUT 3.4 MILLION.
DUMPSTER PERMITS WILL GENERATE ABOUT 2 MILLION AND THE NON-OPERATING REVENUE WILL BE ABOUT 261,000.
AND OF COURSE THE ANY TRANSFERS FROM THIS GENERAL FUND WILL BE ZEROED OUT FOR FISCAL 2027.
THE NEXT SLIDE AND THE TOTAL EXPENDITURES FOR SOLID WASTE IS AT ABOUT 134 MILLION.
AND LIKE WE HAD MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, UH OH, THAT ALSO INCLUDES A PORTION OF IT, WHICH IS A 16 AND A HALF MILLION DEBT SERVICE, WHICH WILL BE FUNDED OUT OF THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM AS WELL.
UM, THAT'S THE OVERALL PRESENTATION ON THE BUDGET.
A LOT OF INFORMATION TO COVER.
I APPRECIATE YOUR WORK ON THIS.
I'LL GO FIRST TO COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS.
IS IT SAFE TO SAY THAT ALL OF THIS IS PENDING THE VOTE? OF COURSE.
'CAUSE Y'ALL SOUND REAL CONFIDENT ABOUT SOME THINGS, SO I DIDN'T KNOW.
UM, I'M ALWAYS CONFIDENT COUNCIL MEMBER.
SO, OKAY, SO IF WE GO BACK, SO, SO THE RESTRUCTURING OF SOLID WASTE AND THE NEW ORG CHART THAT IS ALREADY IN THAT IS DONE SEPARATE OF COUNCIL ACTION? CORRECT.
SO, SO IF THE COUNCIL, LET ME, LET ME, LET ME, LET ME PAUSE THERE.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT ARE IN FLIGHT, BUT THE RESTRUCTURING OF SOLID WASTE IS PART OF THE BUDGET PACKAGE ORDINANCE THAT'S COMING TO COUNCIL.
IF COUNCIL WERE TO NOT VOTE ON THAT BUDGET, THIS THE BUDGET THAT'S PROPOSED HERE, THEN THOSE ACTIONS WOULD NOT TAKE PLACE.
LEMME START FROM SCRATCH PERHAPS.
ON PAGE ON YOUR HIGHLIGHT PAGE, DEPARTMENTAL HIGHLIGHTS.
I DON'T, IT DOESN'T HAVE A NUMBER.
SO BOX NUMBER FOUR, THIS IS MY UNDERSTANDING 'CAUSE I'VE HEARD THESE NUMBERS IN THE PAST, UM, THAT WE AVERAGE ABOUT A HUNDRED WATER LEAKS FROM THIS DATA POINT.
FROM WHICH FISCAL YEAR ARE YOU QUOTING THIS FROM? 'CAUSE I UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, IN THE SUMMERTIME, YOU KNOW, 23, 22, WE, WE WERE, WE WERE SLAMMED.
I THINK I HAD 500 JUST ON THE WEST SIDE ITSELF.
SO IS THIS LIKE AS OF TODAY OR THIS IS IN CONTRAST TO LAST FISCAL YEAR? THIS IS, THIS IS REALLY ILLUSTRATIVE OF BASICALLY THE LAST 15 MONTHS.
SO ABOUT 15 MONTHS AGO WE WERE SITTING AT 1900.
UH, TODAY I WILL SAY WE'RE ABOVE 100, BUT THAT'S, AS I MENTIONED, ANY GIVEN DAY WE EXPERIENCE BETWEEN 60 TO 80.
AND SO TOMORROW I EXPECT US TO BE BACK CLOSER TO A HUNDRED.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I'M TRACKING WITH THAT.
SO BASED ON THE KPIS, UM, THERE'S NO COMPARISON OF WHERE YOU RATE YOURSELF TODAY.
SO THOSE ARE YOUR STATED GOALS, RIGHT? YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE REPAIR 90% OF THE TRAFFIC SIGNALS WITHIN SIX HOURS, WHICH IS GREAT.
UM, AND SO WHERE ARE WE AT TODAY? SINCE THESE ARE ALREADY ESTABLISHED KPIS? CORRECT.
SO MANY OF THE KPIS THAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE, FOR INSTANCE, THAT'S A NEW KPI FOR US, IT'S NOT ONE THAT WE HAVE TRACKED HISTORICALLY.
UH, I'LL TELL YOU RIGHT NOW WE'RE ABOVE 90% AS WE'VE BEEN GOING FOR THE LAST
[00:40:01]
FEW MONTHS.UM, BUT WE ARE NOT ALWAYS ABOVE 90% AT ANY GIVEN POINT.
SO WE FELT THIS WAS A GOOD TARGET BASELINE TO BEGIN AT EVERY YEAR.
I'VE CHALLENGED OUR TEAM TO MAKE SURE AS WE LOOK AT THESE KPIS THAT WE CONTINUE TO PUSH OURSELVES FORWARD, RIGHT? SO IF WE HIT 90% THIS YEAR, UH, NEXT YEAR IT SHOULD BE ABOVE 90% PERCENT.
I NEED TO CALL THE EXTERMINATOR, PUT THAT IN THE BUDGET.
I DIDN'T SEE THE BUDGET WENT UP FOR PEST CONTROL.
AND THEN SO, UH, PUBLIC WORKSHOP WILL CONTINUE TO COME BACK TO PRESENT THESE KPIS AND OUR STATUS METRICS OF WHERE WE'RE AT.
SO I KNOW THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT THE OPEN DITCH AND I'M GLAD THAT, UM, THERE'S SOME, YOU KNOW, MORE FOCUS AROUND THAT.
I, I WANT TO BACKTRACK AN ITEM WE PASSED LAST WEEK FOR THE WORK ORDERS FOR THE OPEN DITCH, UM, CON, THAT'S THE SAME ITEM CORRECT? TO ALLOW CORRECT.
THE 450, IT, IT'S, IT'S A GROUP OF CONTRACTS THAT SUPPORT IT, BUT CORRECT, SURE.
SO YOU SAID 450 WILL BE PREDOMINANTLY IT'S LIKE DISTRICTS B, CI THINK I AND D HAVE THE MOST OPEN DITCHES, CORRECT? RIGHT.
SO FOR THE REMAINING YOU SAID 50 MILES? YEAH, SO 500 MILES ALTOGETHER, 450 OF IT'S TARGETED IN THE NORTHEAST, WHICH WHICH IS 80% OF THE DITCHES ALL TOGETHER.
AND THEN THE, 'CAUSE WE PUT IT IN THE NEWSLETTER, SO I'M ASKING JUST TO BE CLEAR FOR, UM, RESIDENTS TO FLAG THAT THEY WRITE THAT, UM, WE NEED THEIR EYES AND EARS TO THEN IDENTIFY, THEY'LL DO THE SAME 3 1 1.
WE WILL ROUTE THAT UP, Y'ALL WILL INVESTIGATE AND THEN SEE IF IT MATCHES FOR THAT.
THEN A WORK ORDER WILL THEN BE ISSUED OUT TO REPAIR A HUNDRED PERCENT.
AND ON TOP OF THAT, COUNCILMAN, I'LL TELL YOU, WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, AND WE'RE TESTING THIS RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT INTERACTIVE MAPS ON OPERATIONAL THINGS THAT WE DO WITHIN PUBLIC WORKS.
ONE OF THOSE INCLUDES DIRE ESTABLISHMENT THAT WILL ALLOW PEOPLE TO LOOK AT SPECIFIC AREAS IN THE CITY, SEE WHEN WAS IT ASSESSED LAST, WHEN WAS IT WORKED ON LAST, AND WHEN DO WE EXPECT TO BE THERE NEXT.
THE SAME GOES FOR MOWING, THE SAME GOES FOR EVEN WATERLINE REPAIRS.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GIVE A LOT OF INFORMATION OUT TO THE PUBLIC ON WHERE WE'VE BEEN AND WHAT WE'RE DOING.
MADAM CHAIR, I JUST HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION.
MAY I, SINCE WE HAVE SOME TIME.
THIS IS MY LAST ONE AND THEN I'LL GET BACK IN THE QUEUE.
PAGE 45, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE CUS ONE.
UM, THE INVESTMENT IN THE CIP, THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM IN THE CITY'S HISTORY IS TO BE NOTED AND TALKED ABOUT.
UM, BUT ABSORBING DAWN NOW POSSIBLY ABSORBING SOLID WASTE, WE HAVE OUR CONSENT DECREE.
AT WHAT POINT WILL CUS NOT BE ABLE TO ABSORB, UM, ALL THESE DEPARTMENTS? MY CONCERN IS ONCE THE, THE, THE, THE, THE WEB, WE ARE WEAVING IN TERMS OF OUR FINANCIAL OBLIGATION TO ACE CUS.
AND AS YOU KNOW, THE COMBINED UTILITY SYS SYSTEM HAS ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THAT FORBIDDEN.
THAT'S THE APPLE WE DON'T BITE FROM.
AND SO WE ARE TAKING SOME CHUNKS OF THIS APPLE.
AND SO FOR ME, WALK ME THROUGH THE COMFORT LEVEL.
UM, Y'ALL HAVE ABSORBING THESE DEPARTMENTS, THE COST AND THEN WHAT HOUSTONIANS CAN EXPECT TO COVER.
AND ARE WE GONNA BE ABLE TO MEET THE INFRASTRUCTURE DEMAND AND OUR LIABILITY, THE ABSORPTION? YEAH, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR QUESTION VERY MUCH.
I'M GONNA DO MY BEST TO HIT EACH OF THOSE POINTS.
IF I FORGET, YOU CAN REMIND ME.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, I'LL JUST SAY THIS, WE'RE VERY COMFORTABLE.
UH, AS SAMIR NOTED HERE, THE $220 MILLION DELTA WE'RE EXPERIENCING NOW REALLY REPRESENTS 96 DAYS OPERATING CASH ON HAND.
UM, THE MODELS THAT WE SEE AND HOW, UH, ENGINEERING AND PROJECT ACTIVITIES HAVE GONE THROUGH THE CUS OVER THE YEARS SHOWS THAT ACTUALLY THAT NUMBER CONTINUES TO GROW ON A REGULAR BASIS, WHETHER IT'S DUE TO INTEREST OR ANYTHING ELSE.
WE ALSO DON'T NEED TO HAVE 550 DAYS OF OPERATING CASH ON HAND PERIOD.
UM, OUR INTERNAL POLICY IS 300.
THAT'S SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THE CITY'S INTERNAL POLICY OF 60 DAYS.
NOW, I THINK 60 DAYS IS TOO LOW FOR A CRITICAL OPERATIONAL DEPARTMENT, BUT 300 DAYS MAY ITSELF STILL BE A LITTLE BIT TOO HIGH OF JUST STOCKING CASH AWAY ON HAND REGARDLESS OF THE MOVES THAT ARE BEING MADE HERE.
WE HAVE DONE THAT IN A WAY, ONE WHERE WE ARE ENSURING THAT IT DOES NOT DELAY OR STOP ANY PLANNED INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS OR EVEN CONTEMPLATED ONES THAT NEED TO TAKE PLACE.
FOR INSTANCE, THIS WILL HAVE NO IMPACT ON OUR ABILITY TO COMPLETE THE EAST WATER PLANT, WHICH IS A, WHICH IS A TREMENDOUS INVESTMENT.
IT HAS NO IMPACT ON OUR ABILITY TO COMPLETE CONSENT DECREE OBLIGATIONS OF WHICH WE HAVE, BUT IT ALSO GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY AT THE SAME TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PRIORITIZING THE THINGS
[00:45:01]
THAT MAKE THE MOST SENSE.THE CONSENT DECREES A REALLY INTERESTING DISCUSSION BECAUSE WHEN THE CONSENT DECREE WAS ADOPTED, UM, EFFECTIVELY THE LARGEST PART OF IT WAS WE PICKED UP OUR WA WASTEWATER CIP AND WE JUST DROPPED IT IN THERE.
AND SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH SOLVING SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOWS, WHICH IS WHY WE HAVE A CONSENT DECREE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT MAYBE THOSE AREN'T GOOD PROJECTS, BUT IT IS TO SAY MAYBE THEY AREN'T THE RIGHT PROJECTS FOR THE CITY RIGHT NOW.
WHEN WE HAVE OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS THAT WE NEED TO CONTEMPLATE, AND IF WE WANT TO BE SENSITIVE TO OUR ABILITY TO, UM, MANAGE COSTS FOR CUSTOMERS, WHICH IS I THINK WHAT YOU'RE REALLY GETTING AT COUNCIL MEMBER, THEN WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE PRIORITIZING THOSE PROJECTS AT THE RIGHT TIME AND WITHIN THE RIGHT SCOPE AND WITH, UH, MAKING SURE THAT THE REGULATORY BODIES THAT ARE OVER, UH, SEEING THIS, THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, THAT THEY'RE IN ALIGNMENT WITH, WHAT REALLY MAKES THE MOST SENSE FOR HOUSTON AND WHICH PROJECTS WE'RE TAKING CARE OF.
REGARDLESS OF EVEN ALL OF THAT, WE FEEL VERY CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN DELIVER ON ALL OF OUR OBLIGATIONS MOVING FORWARD.
AND WE'VE BEEN SURED AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE RATE STUDY CURRENTLY UNDERWAY RIGHT NOW, THAT THAT IS NOT AT THE DETRIMENT OF OUR SINGLE FAMILY CUSTOMERS.
NOW LEMME TALK ABOUT THAT FOR JUST A SECOND IF I CAN TOO.
THE RATE STUDY THAT'S, THAT'S UNDERWAY WITH RAF TELUS RIGHT NOW, WE RECOGNIZE AS WE LOOK ACROSS OUR BROAD CUSTOMER BASE THAT THERE ARE SOME THAT FRANKLY PAY MORE THAN OTHERS PAY AND THAT SOMETIMES IS NOT WITH RESPECT TO THEIR ACTUAL WATER USAGE.
AND I'M TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT OUR COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS.
A LOT OF THEM GET REALLY, REALLY GOOD DEALS, UM, MUCH MORE FAVORABLE THAN OUR SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTS OR MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTS.
WE, UH, HAVE A VERY DELIBERATE ATTACK STRATEGY ON MAKING SURE THAT WE RIGHTSIZE THE WAY OUR RATES ARE STRUCTURED AND THAT, UH, ON TOP OF THAT, INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE THE HIGHEST USERS BEAR A GREATER PROPORTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE COSTS FOR THE SYSTEM.
THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY RATE STUDIES TAKE SO LONG, OF COURSE, IS BECAUSE YOU'VE GOTTA TAKE A LOT OF THOSE FACTORS INTO ACCOUNT.
BUT SECOND OF ALL, OUR NEXT STRATEGY IS TO NOT WAIT FIVE YEARS FOR THE NEXT RATE STUDY AS WELL.
UM, WE'RE GONNA DO SOMETHING RIGHT NOW THAT'S GONNA GIVE US A LOT OF REALLY GOOD DATA SO THAT WHEN WE COME BACK PROBABLY IN CLOSER TO THREE YEARS FOR THE NEXT RATE STUDY, WE WILL KNOW EXACTLY WHERE WE STAND AND HOW THIS IS GONNA WORK AND WHAT ADDITIONAL ADJUSTMENTS NEED TO BE BE MADE.
I WILL SAY THE MAYOR HAS, UH, MADE IT VERY CLEAR TO US, AND I THINK HE'S MADE IT CLEAR TO THE PUBLIC THAT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE TWEAKING IN THE WAYS THAT IMPACT US IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
WE DON'T WANT TO GO BACKWARDS.
WE'RE SUPER SENSITIVE TO THE RISING COSTS OF WATER.
I'M GLAD TO SAY HOUSTON'S NOT THE HIGHEST IN THE STATE, BUT WE'RE NOT THE LOWEST AND WE'RE ABOVE THE MIDDLE.
AND TO CONTINUE TO BE THE COMPETITIVE CITY THAT WE WANT TO BE, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T INFLATE THAT INTO A SPOT WHERE WE DON'T WANT TO BE.
SO I'M GONNA GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO YOUR FIRST QUESTION IS HOW COMFORTABLE.
I'M VERY COMFORTABLE, I THINK THAT WE CAN DO WHAT'S BEING PROPOSED HERE AND I THINK THAT WE CAN BE VERY DELIBERATE ABOUT ANY FUTURE PROPOSALS AS THEY COME FORWARD AND MAKE SURE THAT AS WE CONTEMPLATE THOSE MOVES, WE DO IT WITH BOTH, UM, CARE AND TRANSPARENCY AND COUNCIL MEMBER.
I MAY JUST ADD ONTO THAT REALLY QUICK.
YOU KNOW, ON AN OPERATIONAL SIDE WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF IT, BUT SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT AS WELL, FOR EXAMPLE, WE MENTIONED TO THE COUNCIL BEFORE IS THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD FINANCING.
I DON'T THINK MOST PEOPLE REALIZE HOW SIGNIFICANT THAT IS FOR CITY OF HOUSTON.
TO BE ABLE TO SECURE $966 MILLION IN FINANCING HAS A, A TREMENDOUS IMPACT ON THE BOTTOM LINE IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH WE ACTUALLY PAY OUT.
TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, THAT IS THE SUB, THEY SUBSIDIZE OUR INTEREST RATES WHERE WE PAY A LOWER THAN MARKET INTEREST RATE.
THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE WILL SAVE IS ABOUT $210 MILLION OVER THOSE 30 YEARS.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT SO MANY DIFFERENT EFFICIENCIES WITHIN OURSELVES, EVEN ON THE FINANCING STRUCTURES.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE WIA PROGRAM, WE WERE ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS, UH, REQUIRED ON A FEDERAL, UH, SIDE OF GETTING INTO SORT, UH, FEDERAL FUNDING IS THE BABA REQUIREMENT, WHICH IS BUILD AMERICA, BUY AMERICA.
AND THAT COULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY EXPENSIVE.
WE WERE SUCCESSFUL WITH THE WONDERFUL TEAM THAT WE HAVE WORKING WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, GETTING A BOB WAIVER THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO REALIZE SAVINGS ON THE TOTAL PROJECT PERSPECTIVE UP TO 10%, ANYWHERE FROM THREE TO $400 MILLION.
SO WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL THESE DIFFERENT NUMBERS AND YOU KNOW, THE, THE STRAIN THAT POTENTIALLY COULD BE PUT ON A COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM, WE'RE LOOKING AT EVERY OTHER ASPECT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MITIGATE, THAT MITIGATING THE RISK OF PUTTING TOO MUCH STRAIN ON THE SYSTEM.
SO WE'RE VERY COMFORTABLE WITH THE BUDGET THAT WE'RE PRESENTING, YOU KNOW, OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.
UM, UM, UH, WITH ALL THE ADDITIONAL COSTS THAT WE'RE TAKING ON, I WAS HAPPY TO LET THAT GO ON BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S ON ALL OF OUR MINDS IS HOW THIS ULTIMATELY AFFECTS THE, THE CUS RESERVES
[00:50:01]
AND HOW IT WILL AFFECT WATER RATES.SO REALLY APPRECIATE THE LENGTHY DISCUSSION AND I'M SURE THERE'LL BE SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ON IT.
I'LL GO NEXT TO VICE CHAIR CASTILLO AND, AND REMINDING THE PUBLIC, THERE'S A SIGNUP SHEET IF YOU, IF YOU WANNA TALK.
THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU BOTH FOR THE, THE PRESENTATION.
SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAD FOR CLARIFICATION, UM, FOR DRE ESTABLISHMENT, YOU MENTIONED A COUPLE OF THINGS.
SO AT WHAT, UH, WHEN YOU, YOU TAKE IN THE ADDITIONAL DOLLARS THAT YOU MENTIONED, WHAT'S THE FINAL AMOUNT WE WILL BE FUNDING IT IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET? SO ULTIMATELY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE REALIZED THIS YEAR IN DE TREE ESTABLISHMENT IS WE'RE ABLE TO CONTROL THAT COST AND WE'VE GOT A REALLY GOOD IDEA OF WHAT IT IS.
UM, WE HAVE OVER BUDGETED, IN FACT IN THE PAST FOR THAT, WHICH IS ALLOWING US TO SHIFT MUCH OF THAT FUNDING OVER TO OTHER DRAINAGE NEEDS SUCH AS LOCAL DRAINAGE PROGRAM.
SO THIS YEAR FOR INSTANCE, YOU KNOW, LOCAL DRAINAGE PROGRAM HAS TYPICALLY BEEN FUNDED AT ABOUT 16 MILLION IS THE BASELINE PER YEAR.
AND THEN THERE'S USUALLY A PRETTY BIG AMENDMENT THAT COMES FORWARD AND WE ADOPT IT AND WE MOVE FORWARD.
THIS YEAR WE SAID WE'RE JUST GONNA GO STRAIGHT UP, WE'LL START AT 40 MILLION AND THERE'S STILL A $9 MILLION CARRYOVER, WHICH MEANS 50 MILLION IN THE LOCAL DRAINAGE PROGRAM.
THE LARGEST WE'VE EVER INVESTED IN THAT BEFORE IS GOING TO PUT MORE PROJECTS IN THE GROUND IN COUNCIL DISTRICTS ACROSS THE CITY.
AT THE SAME TIME, WE'RE ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY TAKE CARE OF THE DITCH TREE ESTABLISHMENT PROGRAM WITH THE FUNDS THAT ARE THERE, WHICH IS ABOUT A $25 MILLION PROGRAM.
SO 25 MILLION AND THEN 90 FOR LDP LOCAL DRAINAGE, IT'S 40 FOR LDP PLUS THE CARRYOVER.
AND THEN ON THE CONTAINER LEASE FEE, YOU MENTIONED IT WHEN YOU WERE TALKING, UH, THE BREAKDOWNS.
WHAT'S GONNA, IS THERE, IS THERE A CHANGE COMING WITH THAT? NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF ON THE CONTAINER LEASE FEE.
SO THE CONTAINER LEASE FEE, THE MEN, THE, WHAT SAMIR MENTIONED WAS THAT THE FUND ITSELF, IT'S ESTABLISHED RIGHT NOW IN THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET IS ITS OWN SEPARATE FUND THAT IS COLLAPSED INTO THE CUS.
IT'S JUST A, IT, IT'S, IT'S A PART OF THE REVENUE GENERATION FOR SOLID WASTE.
BUT THE FEE WILL REMAIN AND YES, IT'LL JUST BE PUT INTO THE COMBIN UTILITY SYSTEM.
UM, ON YOUR WORKFORCE REPLENISHMENT, UH, ENCOURAGING TO SEE THAT YOU'VE ECLIPSED SORT OF THE VOLUNTARY RE RETIREMENT NUMBERS, WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE PUBLIC WORKS WITH, UM, REPLENISHING THE WORKFORCE? SO, UH, WE'VE GOT ABOUT 900 VACANCIES RIGHT NOW.
WE HAVE 500 OF THOSE THAT WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING THROUGH AND WORKING TOWARDS.
UM, IF WE'RE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE PACE WE MAINTAINED LAST YEAR, THAT'S VERY ENCOURAGING.
IF WE BRING ANOTHER 500 IN THIS NEXT YEAR, WHICH IN ALL HONESTY, IT'S PROBABLY ABOUT OUR CAPACITY TO ADD PEOPLE, RIGHT? YOU'VE GOTTA TRAIN THEM AND YOU'VE GOTTA GET EQUIPMENT AND ALL SORTS OF OTHER THINGS.
SO WE'RE ON THE RIGHT PACE SO THAT IN PROBABLY THE NEXT TWO FISCAL YEARS WE SHOULD BE AT WHERE WE NEED TO BE, WHICH IS THE TOP END OF OUR FTES.
PROBABLY ABOUT 4,500 ALTOGETHER IN THE DEPARTMENT.
COUNCIL VICE, MAYOR PRO, TE PECK, THANK YOU CHAIR.
UM, FOR THE, UM, CHANGE OVER TO THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM, IS THAT GOING TO INCLUDE ALL OF THE, UM, TECHNOLOGY AND EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE SPENT FOR SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT? SO FOR EXAMPLE, RUBICON NOW WASTE TECH FOR ROUTING, ALL OF THAT IS GOING TO BE PAID FOR BY THE CUS.
UM, AND WITH THAT SYSTEM, ARE WE USING IT NOW? I KNOW THAT IN THE PAST WE SPENT ALMOST $4 MILLION ON IT AND IT WASN'T BEING USED IN THE DEPARTMENT.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION FOR DIRECTOR HASSAN.
I DON'T KNOW, GIVE ME A THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN.
UM, AND WITH THAT PROGRAM, UM, AND I CAN GET WITH DIRECTOR HASSAN MAYBE AFTERWARDS, BUT, UM, I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW IF THERE ARE GOING TO BE CHANGES WITH THE ROUTING.
UM, IN DISTRICT A, YOU KNOW, OUR HEAVY TRASH IS PRIMARILY FOURTH WEEK PICKUP AND THERE ARE A WHOLE HOST OF ISSUES BECAUSE OF THAT.
SO I'M HOPEFUL THAT WITH ALL OF THESE IMPROVEMENTS AND CHANGES THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THE WHOLE ROUTING SYSTEM FOR THE ENTIRE CITY.
YEAH, AND IF I CAN, LET ME FEED YOUR OPTIMISM.
UH, I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW EXCITED I'VE BEEN SINCE I'VE COME TO THE CITY TO TACKLE AN OPERATIONAL CHALLENGE LIKE WE HAVE WITH SOLID WASTE.
UM, OUR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES TEAM HAS SPENT THE LAST FEW MONTHS WITH THE SOLID WASTE TEAM REALLY DIGGING IN AND UNDERSTANDING THE OPERATIONS, THE PROCESSES, THE PRIORITIES, IDENTIFYING THE GAPS.
UM, WE'VE GOT SUCH A WONDERFUL LIST OF THINGS TO TACKLE RIGHT AWAY.
UH, I COULDN'T BE MORE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE IMPROVEMENT TO SERVICE WE'RE GONNA SEE ACROSS THE CITY.
EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE, I'LL TELL YOU THAT MUCH RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE'RE NOT SAYING NO TO ANY IDEA OR ANY POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY.
UM, NOW WE'RE GONNA VET IT OUT OBVIOUSLY.
SO IT'S NOT, WE'RE GONNA GONNA JUST ADOPT EVERYTHING, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT EVERYTHING AND THAT'S VERY INTENTIONAL.
[00:55:01]
YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT HOW THERE'S FIVE TRANSFER STATIONS, BUT ONLY TWO OPERATE.WELL, IF WE ADD ONE MORE, THAT'S GONNA HELP.
IF WE ADD ALL FIVE, THAT'S GONNA HELP.
THAT ALSO HELPS ON THE REVENUE SIDE.
SO THIS COMES BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS'S QUESTION ABOUT AFFORDABILITY AND THE CU S'S ABILITY TO MAINTAIN THIS.
I MEAN, I'LL TELL YOU, WE'VE MODELED THIS OUT WHERE EVENTUALLY WE GET TO $25 PER HOUSEHOLD PER MONTH, WHICH COVERS IT.
BUT IF WE DO THIS RIGHT, IF WE DO THIS RIGHT, WE MAY NOT NEED TO GET ABOVE $5 BECAUSE SOLID WASTE IS A REVENUE GENERATING MACHINE.
NOW, I CAN'T DO THAT IN THE GENERAL FUND.
IT'S TOO HARD TO DO IT IN THE GENERAL FUND FOR WHAT IT NEEDS TO DO.
BUT THOSE TRANSFER STATIONS, LET'S SAY WE HAD 10 INSTEAD OF FIVE, WHICH BY THE WAY, COMING INTO THE CUS, WE HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITIES THERE.
YOU NOW HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTNER WITH OTHER FOLKS ALL ACROSS THE REGION WHERE THEY'RE PAYING US TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR STUFF AND GET IT OUT OF THERE.
THAT'S HOW YOU KEEP THINGS MORE AFFORDABLE.
THAT'S HOW YOU DRIVE THE COST OF STUFF DOWN.
AND I'LL TELL YOU THIS MUCH TOO, THE BURNSON MCDONALD STUDY, WHICH WAS GREAT FOR US BECAUSE IT GAVE US SOME INSIGHTS.
IT ASSUMED THAT THE DEPARTMENT AS IT OPERATES TODAY IS EFFICIENT.
BUT WE ALL KNOW THAT THAT IS NOT THE CASE.
SO IF WE INTRODUCE EFFICIENCY NATURALLY, THAT HELPS US KNOW THAT WE'LL DRIVE COSTS DOWN AS WELL.
THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS.
ROUTING IS JUST THE TIP OF THE SPEAR.
AND IF YOU COULD PUT ME BACK IN THE QUEUE.
AND THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR ANSWERING ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT MY STAFF SENT ALONG.
THE ANSWERS WERE VERY HELPFUL.
UM, I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON A FEW OF THOSE QUESTIONS THAT WE HAD, AND YOU SPOKE ABOUT THIS BRIEFLY.
SO I WANNA START FIRST WITH $145 MILLION REDUCTION IN THE CIP PAY AS YOU GO FUND.
UM, THE RESPONSE TO THAT QUESTION SAID THAT THERE WILL NOT BE ANY CUT IN PROJECTS BECAUSE INSTEAD THERE IS GOING TO BE AN ISSUANCE OF DEBT.
SO ARE YOU PLANNING TO ISSUE $145 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL DEBT TO COVER THAT GAP? AND IF SO, IS THAT 145 MILLION ALREADY REFLECTED IN THE BUDGET? AND IF NOT, WHY NOT? SO WHAT WE PLAN ON FUNDING THE CIP, WE LOOK AT TWO ASPECTS OF IT.
I, YOU, YOU MENTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE ASPECT IS, UM, FINANCING IT OVER A 30 YEAR PERIOD, AND THEN A SMALL PORTION OF IS USUALLY FINANCE WITH UTILIZING CASH.
SO TO ANSWER YOUR FIRST QUESTION, NO, WE'RE NOT DECREASING ANY PROJECTS.
WE'RE JUST GONNA BE UTILIZING MAYBE A LITTLE BIT MORE DEBT.
NOW IT'S, WE, WE TAKE A VERY CONSERVATIVE APPROACH, ESPECIALLY FROM A BUDGETING PERSPECTIVE.
UM, WE, RIGHT NOW WE'RE ASSUMING THAT WE'RE GOING TO DECREASE SOME OF THE PAYGO FUNDING, BUT AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE FISCAL YEAR, THERE MIGHT BE SOME ADDITIONAL SAVINGS THAT COME UP THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WHERE WE'RE ABLE TO HAVE ENOUGH AMOUNT OF FUNDING THAT WE CAN USE, INCREASE OUR PAY GOAL AMOUNT, UH, UH, THROUGHOUT AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE YEAR, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
SO AT THE VERY BEGINNING, WE STARTED WITH A CONSERVATIVE APPROACH THINKING, OKAY, WE'RE GONNA MAYBE USE MOST OF IT ON DEBT, BUT AS WE MOVE FORWARD INTO THE YEAR, WE REALIZE SOME SAVINGS THROUGH PERSONNEL OR WHATEVER IT MAY BE, AND WE CAN REALLOCATE THAT FUNDING TO FUND THE PAYGO ASPECT OF IT.
SO IF I UNDERSTAND YOUR ANSWER, ASSUMING THERE'S NOT SOME SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE COST OF THE PROJECTS, THERE'S A, AN ADDITIONAL $145 MILLION THAT WE MAY BE SEEKING AN ADDITIONAL DEBT.
AND MY QUESTION IS, IS THAT DEBT CURRENTLY REFLECTED IN THE BUDGET OR NOT? IS THAT YES, YES.
SO THERE'S A LINE ITEM RIGHT NOW IN THE BUDGET FOR $145 MILLION OF ADDITIONAL DEBT FOR WATER AND SEWER MAINTENANCE PROJECTS.
YOU WILL SEE IT AS PART OF THE DEBT SERVICE PAYMENTS THAT YOU SAW ON THE O AND M BUDGET PRESENTATION THAT IT'S BUILT INTO THAT PART OF THE OVERALL DEBT.
IT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT HOW THAT, SO THE WAY THAT WORKS IS IT, IT'S, UM, THE, OKAY, THAT NUMBER IS BUILT INTO THE OVERALL, WHAT THAT DEBT SERVICE PAYMENT IS GONNA BE.
THAT PAYGO POTENTIALLY COULD HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, TO PAY FOR LET'S JUST A, A, A FULL PROJECT, FOR EXAMPLE.
HOWEVER, INSTEAD OF DOING THAT, WE'RE GONNA SPREAD THIS OUT OVER 30 MILLION, UM, EXCUSE ME, EXCUSE ME, OVER 30 YEARS.
SO THAT PORTION OF IT IS GOING TO BE JUST THOSE, THE PAYMENT ASPECT OF IT OVER 30 YEARS, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
WE'RE ONLY INCLUDING WHAT THE PAYMENT IS GOING TO BE FOR FISCAL YEAR 27.
SO IF WE DELIVERED $145 MILLION PROJECT IN FISCAL 27, THAT IS GONNA GET, THE PAYMENTS ARE GONNA GET STRETCHED OUT OVER 30 YEARS.
WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IN THE DEBT SERVICE IS THE PAYMENT FOR THAT ONE FISCAL YEAR.
HOW MUCH DO YOU ANTICIPATE FOR THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR FOR THE $145 MILLION? I'D HAVE TO, UH, DO SOME CALCULATION TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THE EXACT NUMBER FOR, I MEAN, OUR ANNUAL DEBT PAYMENTS ARE ROUGHLY ABOUT $600 MILLION FOR THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM.
I WOULD SAY MAYBE ANOTHER FIVE TO 10 MILLION ROUGHLY, JUST OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD FOR THIS ADDITIONAL AMOUNT IN PAYMENTS? CORRECT.
PER DEBT PAYMENTS FOR THE UTILITY? YES.
FOR THE, FOR THE CHANGE IN THE PAY AS YOU GO FUND? CORRECT.
UM, TURNING TO ILLEGAL DUMPING,
[01:00:01]
AND AGAIN, APPRECIATE YOU ALL ANSWERING SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WE POSED.UM, STARTING WITH, AS I UNDERSTAND LAST YEAR WE SPENT $17.8 MILLION IN RESPONSE TO THE LAWSUIT THAT WAS FILED AGAINST US, AND NONE OF THAT FUNDING WILL CONTINUE THIS YEAR.
UM, WHAT WAS THAT MONEY USED FOR AND WHAT PROJECTS, IF ANY, WILL BE GOING AWAY AS A RESULT OF THAT LOSS OF FUNDING? I WILL GET BACK TO YOU ON THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION.
I'M, I'M NOT AWARE OF HOW THEY PREVIOUSLY RAN THAT PART OF THE OPERATION AND HOW THAT PART OF THEIR BUDGET WORKED, BUT WE'LL BE HAPPY TO GET THOSE ANSWERS TO YOU.
CAN YOU, UM, TELL ME HOW MUCH CURRENTLY WE SPECIFICALLY INTEND TO ALLOCATE TOWARDS, UH, EDUCATION AROUND ILLEGAL DUMPING AROUND EDUCATION ITSELF? I DON'T HAVE A NUMBER FOR YOU.
I WILL SAY THAT OUR EFFORTS IN ILLEGAL DUMPING, UH, NEED TO BE MORE COMPREHENSIVE THAN JUST ONE INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENT.
AND THERE'S A NUMBER OF WAYS THAT WE NEED TO WORK ACROSS THE CITY TO DEVELOP THE APPROPRIATE STRATEGY ON EDUCATING PEOPLE ON WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT AND WHERE TO GO, UH, WHEN THEY SPOT THOSE TORTS OF PROBLEMS. UM, AGAIN, AS WE DIG INTO THIS DEPARTMENT AND AS WE DIG INTO THE OPERATION AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE THINGS, THOSE ARE ITEMS THAT ARE ON THE TABLE FOR US TO FLESH OUT FULLY.
THE SCREEN UP HERE, YOU GUYS HAVE TO PUSH YOURSELF BACK IN BECAUSE IT'S, THEY HAD A POWER OUTAGE AND NOW IT'S OUTTA WHACK.
UH, FIRST I JUST WANTED TO DEFINITELY, UH, GIVE KUDOS TO THE INCREASE OF NUMBER OF PROJECTS ACROSS THE CITY.
UM, IT'S INTERESTING, RIGHT? UH, EVERYBODY WANTS, YOU KNOW, WHETHER NEW PAVEMENT CONDITIONS, YOU, WASTEWATER LINES, UH, WATER LINES, AND THAT CREATES CONSTRUCTION PAIN AND IT IS REAL.
AND, UH, WE'VE BEEN GETTING A LOT OF CAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF MOVEMENT.
UM, MY HOPE IS THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO STAY ON TASK, MAKE SURE THAT THOSE CONTRACTORS, AND OF COURSE THE PROJECT, UH, MANAGERS CAN STAY ON TASK TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN GET OUT OF THE WAY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
BUT I, WITH THAT, I DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT AS WE INCREASE THE LDP AND DITCH MAINTENANCE FOR CONSTITUENTS IN GENERAL, UM, THERE'S ALWAYS A FORMULA ON HOW SOME OF THESE RISES TO THE TOP.
OF COURSE, THERE'S DATA DRIVEN, BUT, UH, JUST WANT TO ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO CONTINUE TO REPORT TO 3 1 1.
UH, WE DON'T KNOW WHERE EVERY POTHOLES AT.
WE DON'T KNOW WHERE EVERY DITCH THAT NEEDS TO BE MAINTAINED IS AT, UH, ACCURATELY.
AND SO THE MORE THAT CONSTITUENTS CAN CONTINUE TO REPORT, THEN LIKELY WE WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE DATA THAT SHOWS THAT THERE'S A SPECIFIC AREA.
UH, DISTRICT EYE DOES HAVE SEVERAL OPEN DITCH, UH, NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WE STAY FOCUSED ON, AND WE REALLY TRY TO WORK THROUGH THE SWAP PROJECT AS WELL TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE SEEING BETTER DRAINAGE IN DISTRICT EYE.
UM, WHAT I REALLY WANTED TO, UH, SPEAK TO, AND SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ALREADY KINDA SPOKEN TO IT AS WELL, IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT CHANGE, UH, IT OF COURSE IT BEING DIFFICULT.
UH, I WILL SAY THAT, UM, SINCE TAKING OFFICE, UH, I'VE SUBMITTED A BUDGET AMENDMENT, WHICH WAS FOR A TRASH FEE.
I WILL HAPPILY NOT SUBMIT A TRASH FEE BUDGET AMENDMENT THIS YEAR BECAUSE THERE IS A PATHWAY NOW TO ULTIMATELY SEE IF THERE IS ONE NEEDED.
UM, I KNOW THIS IS ALWAYS A DIFFICULT CONVERSATION FOR FOLKS TO HAVE WITH COMMUNITY, UH, BUT UNFOR, UNFORTUNATELY, FORTUNATELY, LIKE IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT AND WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT.
MY FIRST YEAR, I REMEMBER, UH, SPEAKING TO THE SOLID WASTE DIRECTOR AT THAT TIME, ASKED HIM WHEN SHOULD WE HAVE HAD A TRASH FEE? AND HE'S RESPONSIBLE IS WHEN WE STARTED DOING HEAVY TRASH PICKUP, WHICH SOME OF Y'ALL MIGHT REMEMBER WHEN IT WAS, MIGHT NOT, BUT IT'S BEEN A WHILE.
UM, THE OTHER ONE THAT I WON'T DO, BECAUSE I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE START LOOKING THROUGH THIS OPERATIONAL, UH, IMPROVEMENTS, IS THE ON DEMAND HEAVY TRASH PICKUP.
THAT WAS ANOTHER BUDGET AMENDMENT THAT I WANTED US, YOU KNOW, THAT I HAD INTRODUCED.
BECAUSE AGAIN, I THINK WHAT WE ARE DOING IN SOLID WASTE COULD HAVE BEEN IMPROVED.
WE COMB EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD EVERY MONTH FOR HEAVY TRASH, WHETHER IT'S BULK WASTE, TREE WASTE, UH, 20 PLUS PERCENT IS ACTUALLY UTILIZING THE SERVICE.
AND SO, UM, MY HOPE IS THAT AS SOLID WASTE IS NOW WITHIN THE PUBLIC WORKS, UH, DEPARTMENT, UM, AND UTILIZING THE RESOURCES THAT Y'ALL HAVE ON THE TECHNOLOGY SIDE, UH, THAT WE DO BECOME BETTER, UH, EFFICIENT.
UH, AND REALLY AGAIN, THIS SPECIFIC DEPARTMENT AUTO WASTE WAS A PRIORITY FOR ME WHEN I DECIDED TO RUN FOR OFFICE.
IT'S THE ONE THAT TOUCHES EVERYBODY AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK.
UM, AND QUITE FRANKLY, WE WERE DOING A REALLY BAD JOB.
UM, NOT TO SAY THAT THE, THE EMPLOYEES WERE DOING A BAD JOB, IT'S JUST AS THE CITY HAS GROWN, UH, WE, WE WERE NOT KEEPING UP WITH THE EXPECTATIONS THAT WE WERE SETTING.
UH, BUT IT DOES LEAD ME TO ONE BUDGET AMENDMENT THAT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I, I DO BRING BACK AGAIN, IS THE, UH, NEW RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT ONE TIME FEE, UH, FOR BEING ABLE TO RECEIVE THE, THE REFUSE CAN, WHICH IS ABOUT $28.
UM, THAT ONE IN PARTICULAR, AND I'VE SHARED THIS, UM, AND I'LL BE BACK IN THE QUEUE AFTER THIS, UH, BUT, AND I'VE SHARED THIS WITH, UM, WITH SEVERAL CONSTITUENTS, IS, UH, OVER THE LAST THREE TO FOUR YEARS, WE'VE INCREASED THE NUMBER OF, UH, SOLID WASTE CUSTOMERS ABOUT, I THINK IT WAS 45,000 NEW CUSTOMERS.
UH, THOSE NEW CUSTOMERS WEREN'T PAYING INTO A TRASH FEE LIKE OUR NEIGHBORING SMALLER MUNICIPALITIES, BUT THEN THAT'S 45,000 NEW HOMES THAT WE'RE GOING TO, UH, AND DROPPING OFF A
[01:05:01]
CAN.AND ACTUALLY, QUITE FRANKLY, TWO CANS, THE GREEN CAN AND THE BLACK CAN.
AND SO WE REALLY NEED TO FIGURE OUT WAYS WHERE WE CONTINUE TO BRING IN THIS REVENUE TO, UH, MY COLLEAGUE, UH, COUNCILLOR THOMAS POINT, RIGHT? WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE START LOOKING AT NOT INCREASING, YOU KNOW, AND PUTTING IT ON THE BACKS OF FOLKS.
BUT THE REALITY IS THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT.
AND HOW MUCH DOES IT HAVE TO COST? I'M THANKFUL ABOUT THE TRANSFER STATIONS BEING A CONVERSATION WHERE THEY CAN ACTUALLY BRING IN REVENUE AND MIGHT NOT EVEN HAVE A, A, A REAL TRASH FEE THAT FOLKS ARE TALKING ABOUT, BUT IT'S NOT OFF THE TABLE.
I STILL WANT TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS AS WE START LOOKING AT HOW WE IMPROVE OPERATIONS FOR SOLID WASTE.
MOVING TO COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN, THANK YOU.
THANK YOU TO PUBLIC WORKS FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK, YOUR RESPONSIVENESS.
WE, WE APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE TO DO.
I KNOW WE'VE MADE GREAT STRIDES IN, UM, LEAK REDUCTION.
AND LOOKING AT SLIDE FIVE, IT WAS ABOUT 1900 LEAKS PER DAY TO DOWN TO A HUNDRED.
AND I KNOW BACK IN 2024, I THINK THE NUMBER WAS ROUGHLY, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OF THOSE WATER LEAKS, WE HAD LOST ABOUT 34 BILLION GALLONS OF WATER BACK THEN.
AND IF YOU KNOW, OR IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE EXACT, BUT DECREASING THOSE LEAKS FROM THE 1900 TO 100, WHAT DOES THAT EQUATE TO IN GALLONS OF WATER THAT WERE, HAVE BEEN SAVED? HOW TECHNICAL OF AN ANSWER DO YOU WANT? 'CAUSE IF IT'S REALLY TECHNICAL, WE'LL HAVE THE TEAM GET A GOOD ANSWER TO YOU.
AND, AND OUR BIGGEST AND OUR BEST INDICATOR OF WHERE IT HELPS US IS AS WE EVALUATE PRESSURE ACROSS THE WATER SYSTEM EACH DAY WHEN WE WERE AT 1900 LEAKS, WE WERE PUMPING OUT NORTH OF 550 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY EVERY SINGLE DAY.
AND NOT ONLY WOULD GET WORSE IN THE SUMMER, TODAY WE'RE HOVERING AROUND 450 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY.
THAT, THAT'S A BIG, BIG DIFFERENCE.
AND IF YOU, I'M SURE MOST OF YOU REMEMBER THE CALLS THAT YOU WOULD GET INTO YOUR OFFICES ABOUT LOW WATER PRESSURE.
WE GET VERY LITTLE OF THAT NOW THAT WE CAN'T, UH, IDENTIFY AS A RESULT OF A SPECIFIC PROBLEM IN A NEIGHBORHOOD.
THERE'S A BREAK OVER HERE, RIGHT? AND WE GET OUT THERE AND WE FIX IT AND, AND THINGS ARE FIXED.
BUT WE WERE HAVING PRESSURE PROBLEMS ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY WHEN IT WAS AT ITS HEIGHT.
CLEARLY WE KNOW THAT A LOT OF EXTRA WATER WAS GOING OUT.
THE WAY THAT THEY EVALUATE HOW MUCH WATER LOSS WE HAVE, WHICH IS THE TERM THAT THEY USE, IS REALLY INTERESTING.
UM, THERE'S A SPECIFIC FORMULA THAT TCEQ SETS OUT, AND THAT'S HOW THEY EVALUATE IT.
FOR OUR PURPOSES, I'LL SAY I'VE NEVER BEEN SATISFIED THAT WE'RE ABLE TO ACCOUNT FOR EVERYTHING THE RIGHT WAY THOUGH, FOR INSTANCE, IT DOESN'T TELL US HOW MUCH IS GOING WHEN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS TO PUT OUT A FIRE.
IT DOESN'T TELL US HOW MUCH IS MISSING WHEN A CONTRACTOR HOOKS UP TO A HYDRANT IN STEALS WATER.
MOST PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT, UH, CONTRACTORS, IF THEY HOOK UP TO A HYDRANT, THERE BETTER BE A METER ON THAT.
THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO PAY FOR THAT.
BUT, UH, I HAD A COUNCIL MEMBER, VERY RECENT, I THINK IT WAS COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO SHOWED ME A PICTURE.
HE SAYS, IS THIS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN? AND I SAID, NOPE.
'CAUSE THERE'S NO METER THERE.
AND IT'S DIFFICULT FOR US THEN TO ACCOUNT FOR THAT.
UH, TWO YEARS AGO, OUR ESTIMATE WAS THE PARTNERSHIP PUBLISHED THIS NUMBER, ABOUT 32 BILLION GALLONS OF UNACCOUNTED FOR WATER.
THAT'S MORE THAN FORT WORTH USES IN A YEAR.
WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT WE'RE LOSING, IN OTHER WORDS, DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES, WE'RE LOSING A LOT LESS THAN THAT.
BUT IT IS HARD, I THINK, TO COME UP WITH THE RIGHT NUMBER.
UM, FOLLOWING UP ON WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT, YOU KNOW, CONTRACTORS COMING IN AND AFFECTING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE OR USING OUR RESOURCES, UM, YOU KNOW, SAY FOR EXAMPLE, AT AND T COMES INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND, AND LAYS FIBER IN THE STREET, AND WHILE THEY'RE LAYING FIBER, THEY HIT A WATER LINE, AND NOW THAT HAS TO BE REPAIRED ALONG WITH THE STREET.
HOW GOOD ARE WE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, RECOUPING THOSE COSTS FROM AT AND T AND THESE OTHER, UM, PEOPLE THAT ARE AFFECTING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND THEN THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS TO COME BACK IN AND FIX.
IN SHORT, WE'RE NOT VERY GOOD AT IT.
UM, NOW WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH PROCUREMENT ACTUALLY TO LOOK AT SPECIFIC VENDORS WHO ARE REALLY GOOD AT THAT.
AND, UM, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY, I BELIEVE COMING UP HERE IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS THAT SP D'S BEEN WORKING THROUGH, THAT'S GONNA HELP US SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE SUBROGATION GAME.
UM, AND I MEAN, SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND I THINK THAT'S JUST A, IT'S JUST A NATURAL ASPECT OF HOW MANY ASSETS CAN YOU DEDICATE TO GOING AND CHASING ALL THIS DOWN INTERNALLY.
THAT'S NOT SOMETHING WE'RE EVER GONNA BE REALLY GOOD AT BECAUSE OUR RESOURCES ARE LIMITED.
THERE'S EXPERTS OUT THERE THAT CAN DO IT.
SO YOUR POINT IS SO WELL TAKEN.
WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR A LITTLE WHILE BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST WATER LINES.
IT'S EVERY TIME THERE'S A CAR ACCIDENT AND SOMEONE TAKES OUT A TRAFFIC POLE, RIGHT? I MEAN, OUR COST TO GET NEW, UM, POLES AND MA ARMS AND THE, THE DELAY TIME IT TAKES AND THE ACTUAL EXPENSE OF IN PUTTING UP THERE, SOMETIMES IT'S THREE, $400,000
[01:10:01]
REPAIR.WELL, MAYBE SOMEONE WHO'S GOT SOME INSURANCE AND WAS INVOLVED THAT ACCIDENT CAN HELP US OUT ON THAT.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE JUST NOT REALLY BEEN SUPER GOOD AT AS A CITY AT DOING.
THANK YOU DIRECTOR AND SAMIR FOR THE THOROUGH PRESENTATION.
UM, I WANNA TAKE IT IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.
SO LAST YEAR YOU ABSORB DEPARTMENT AND NEIGHBORHOODS INCLUDING CODE ENFORCEMENT, RIGHT? THINGS LIKE, UM, DANGEROUS BUILDINGS, WHICH I UNDERSTAND, UH, WERE TAKEN OUTTA THE STORMWATER FUND FOR THOSE DILAPIDATED BUILDINGS THAT ARE ADJACENT TO, UH, DITCHES AND SUCH.
WE DID LOTS JUNK MOTOR VEHICLES, UNLAWFULLY PLACED SIGNS, UH, IN FY 2025.
DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS HAD 44 AND A HALF FTES DOING THAT.
UM, I DON'T SEE A CORRESPONDING PAGE IN THE BIG BUDGET BOOK, UH, DETAILING CODE ENFORCEMENT UNDER PUBLIC WORKS.
CAN, CAN YOU TELL ME WHERE I CAN FIND THAT? I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S IN THE BIG BUDGET BOOK, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY GET YOU A BREAKDOWN OF WHERE EVERYONE SITS ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT.
IN TERMS OF CODE ENFORCEMENT, WE'VE GOT ROUGHLY A HUNDRED INSPECTORS AT THIS POINT.
UM, WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR ABOUT 70 MORE.
UM, SO IN TERMS OF THE VACANCIES WE HAVE AVAILABLE, WE'RE LOOKING TOWARDS THAT.
WE ARE NOW FUNDING MORE FOLKS IN THAT DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS PART OF CODE ENFORCEMENT THAN PREVIOUSLY.
YOU NOTED THE 40, WE'RE CLOSER TO 78 OF THOSE RIGHT NOW, I BELIEVE.
SO THAT CONTINUES TO TREND IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, BUT IT IS A BIG PART OF OUR RESOURCE CONSIDERATIONS.
AND THE 44 AND A HALF, UM, DO, DO YOU, YOU MENTIONED YOU'VE GOT A HUNDRED NOW APPROXIMATELY, THEY, THEY DO MORE THAN JUST THOSE TYPES OF VIOLATIONS I I MENTIONED EARLIER, IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH.
A BIG PART OF OUR CONSOLIDATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS INTO, UH, THE PERMITTING CENTER WAS ACTUALLY TO IMPROVE THAT EFFICIENCY.
WHEREAS PREVIOUSLY IN PUBLIC WORK, WE WERE ONLY FOCUSED ON COMMERCIAL ENFORCEMENT AND DON WASN'T, UH, FOCUSED ON RESIDENTIAL ENFORCEMENT.
YOU KNOW, WE'D HAVE PEOPLE PASSING EACH OTHER IN THE STREET TO DO THE SAME THING BECAUSE WE HAVE NO ZONING IN OUR CITY.
YOU'LL HAVE COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL IN THE SAME SPOT.
CROSS TRAINING, IMPROVING THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE FOLKS TO NOW TACKLE MULTIPLE THINGS IN THE SAME BLOCK ALLOWS US TO GET MORE DONE.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK ON DEVELOPING WORKFORCE IN THAT MANNER.
AND, AND JUST TO REITERATE, YOU KNOW, WE CONTINUE TO GET A LOT OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
I KNOW ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, GET THEM.
SO ANY IMPROVEMENT, UH, WOULD BE, WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED.
AND I KNOW RECENTLY, UM, PROHIBITED YARD PARKING FOR INSTANCE, LANDED ON YOUR PLATE AS WELL.
UM, HOW'S THAT GOING? I, I THINK IT'S GOING WELL.
ONE OF THE THINGS INTERESTING ABOUT PRINT OF YARD PARKING IS THERE'S VERY FEW ACTUAL PYP SPOTS ACROSS THE CITY.
AND SO SOMETIMES THAT CONVERSATION GETS, UM, EXTENDED BEYOND ITS ACTUAL BOUNDARIES.
YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A SPECIFIC ZONE THAT'S DE DESIGNATED AS PYP.
UM, OUR ABILITY TO TRIAGE THAT AND THEN TO ENGAGE WITH HPD IF THERE'S A DANGEROUS CIRCUMSTANCE, I THINK HAS GONE VERY WELL AND, AND THE NUMBERS ARE TRENDING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT, UH, WATER BILLS, WHICH YOU'RE NOW GOING TO INCLUDE.
IF THIS PROPOSAL PASSES, OF COURSE.
UM, A $5 ADMINISTRATIVE FEE TO HELP FUND SOLID WASTE.
I'LL ASK THIS QUESTION AND THEN GO BACK IN THE QUEUE.
UH, YOU MENTIONED EARLIER IN REGARDS TO EARLIER IN REGARDS TO SLIDE NUMBER 10, ABOUT 500 ACCOUNTS REQUEST BILL RELIEF, UH, ON THEIR WATER BILL ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
NOW ANY, UH, IDEA HOW THAT NUMBER MAY BE AFFECTED WHEN THIS $5 ADMINISTRATIVE FEE GOES INTO EFFECT? UM, I, I'M SORRY, I DON'T REMEMBER SAYING THAT WE HAD ABOUT 500 ON AN AVERAGE THAT, THAT DO THAT THAT NUMBER VARIES ON WHO'S REQUESTING RELIEF IN ANY GIVEN MONTH.
I WILL SAY THAT PROGRAMS WE'VE INTRODUCED HAVE ALLOWED, UM, YOU KNOW, 75% OF INDIVIDUALS WHO REQUEST ASSISTANCE TO RECEIVE ASSISTANCE ON THEIR FIRST CALL, EITHER VIRTUALLY OR ON THE PHONE.
I DON'T ANTICIPATE THIS ADDITIONAL $5 FEE IMPACTING OUR OPERATIONAL ABILITY TO RESOLVE CUSTOMER CONCERNS THOUGH.
ALRIGHT, I'LL GO BACK IN THE QUEUE.
COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, THANK YOU CHAIR LIFESPAN OF A PIPE.
I KNOW IT PROBABLY VARIES BY TYPE OF PIPE AND ALL THAT, BUT WHAT IS THE AVERAGE LIFESPAN SPAN OF THE PIPE? YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT WHAT WE'RE PUTTING IN THE GROUND TODAY, WE WANT IT TO LAST 50 PLUS YEARS.
UM, NOW WE'VE GOT PIPES THAT ARE MUCH OLDER THAN THAT IN THE CITY.
WE DO HAVE PIPES THAT ARE OVER A HUNDRED YEARS OLD.
WE'VE GOT CAST IRON PIPES IN FRIEDMAN'S TOWN THAT WE KNOW FOR A FACT ARE OVER A HUNDRED YEARS OLD.
THAT'S WHY WE'VE HAD AN EXTENDED ENGAGEMENT OVER THERE TO REPLACE THEM.
UM, BUT YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE DOING THINGS THAT ALLOW YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE TO LAST A REALLY
[01:15:01]
LONG TIME.AND WE HOPE THAT THAT'S 50 PLUS YEARS.
UM, YOU SAID 6% OF THE PIPES ARE CAUSING THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE PROBLEMS. ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, WE DID A STUDY THAT SHOWED ROUGHLY TWO THIRDS OF OUR LEAKS WERE OCCURRING IN 6% OF THE SYSTEM.
UM, IS THERE ANY COMMONALITY BETWEEN THOSE? I KNOW YOU SAID THEY WERE SPREAD ACROSS THE CITY.
IS IT TYPE OF PIPE, TYPE OF SOIL? ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE NOTICED IN SPECIFIC WAS THAT ASBESTOS CONCRETE PIPES WERE ESPECIALLY PRONE TO FAILURE RIGHT NOW.
THE OTHER THING THAT WE NOTICED IS ALSO THE DEPTH OF THOSE PIPES.
SO AS WE WENT THROUGH EXTREME DROUGHT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, WE'RE STILL ACTUALLY PAYING FOR THE DROUGHT FROM TWO AND THREE YEARS AGO.
UM, WE USED TO BURY PIPE MUCH SHALLOWER THAN WE DO NOW.
UM, IT WASN'T UNCOMMON FOR YOU TO FIND IN ONE OF THOSE BREAKS.
IT ACTUALLY YOU'RE MAYBE ONLY 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 FEET BELOW INSTEAD OF 10, 12, 14.
SO THERE'S ARE SOME COMMONALITIES THAT YOU SEE ACROSS THERE.
BUT THE REALITY IS, IN A SYSTEM AS BIG AS OUR 7,200 MILES OF DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE PROBLEMS ALL OVER THE PLACE.
DO WE KNOW WHERE THE ASBESTOS PIPE IS OR DO WE FIND OUT AFTER WE FIND LEAK? WE DO, WE DO GENERALLY KNOW WHERE IT IS.
I WILL SAY THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE TEAM HAS DONE A ADMIRABLE JOB OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS IS IMPROVING OUR GIS DATABASE TO UNDERSTAND THE QUALITY, THE MATERIAL, THE, UH, LIFESPAN, UM, ISSUES THAT WE'VE HAD PREVIOUSLY.
STUFF THAT FRANKLY WE HAD NOT TRACKED VERY WELL IN YEARS PRIOR.
AND I ASSUME THEY'RE MOVING UP ON THE PRIORITY LISTS, THE AREAS THAT HAVE OF COURSE, YES.
UM, YOU TALKED ABOUT STRIPING AND WE'VE GOT INTERNAL AND CONTRACT, OUTSIDE CONTRACT WE USE.
WHAT'S MORE COST EFFECTIVE? IT DEPENDS, UM, IN MANY INSTANCES, CONTRACTOR IS MORE COST EFFECTIVE BECAUSE THEIR EQUIPMENT OPERATES AT A BETTER RATE THAN OURS DOES.
UM, FOR, UH, FOR SOME REASON WE'VE HAD A LOT OF EQUIPMENT PROBLEMS WITH INTERNAL CITY EQUIPMENT.
NOW WE'VE BEEN BUYING NEW AND DIFFERENT EQUIPMENT TO THAT END.
IN FACT, WE DIDN'T WANNA KEEP BUYING THE SAME STUFF THAT SEEMED TO BREAK DOWN A LOT.
BUT ALSO THE TYPES OF MATERIALS THAT YOU PUT DOWN AND WHEN THEY ARE APPLIED, UM, MATTER.
WE'VE HAD PILOTS THIS YEAR ACTUALLY WE STARTED USING ROBOTIC ARMS TO DO SOME OF OUR STRIPING AND PAINTING, WHICH IS MORE SAFE FOR OUR OWN INTERNAL EMPLOYEES.
IT ACTUALLY ALSO MEANS THAT WE DON'T NEED TO HAVE AS MANY EMPLOYEES ON A PARTICULAR SITE TO DO THAT STRIPING.
SO IT REALLY DEPENDS ON WHERE, WHEN AND HOW.
BUT WE HAVE A PRETTY HEALTHY MIX, UM, ON WHO WE'RE USING AT THIS POINT.
KIEWIT, THEY'RE DOING OUR EAST WATER PLANT.
I SAW WHERE THEY ARE EXITING THE BALTIMORE KEY BRIDGE 'CAUSE OF COST CONCERNS.
DOES THAT RAISE ANY RED FLAGS? WE HAD SOME VERY DETAILED AND POINTED CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM ABOUT THAT SPECIFICALLY.
UM, IT GAVE US ENOUGH COMFORT.
I DON'T WANNA GET INTO THEIR BUSINESS PUBLICLY, UH, 'CAUSE IT'S REALLY THEIR STORY TO TELL, BUT I'LL SAY OUR CONCERNS WERE, WERE RESOLVED THERE.
THE MEDIA NARRATIVE BEING THAT THEY WERE ALMOST BEING KICKED OUT IS REALLY NOT ACCURATE.
IT WAS A MATTER OF THIS IS WHAT WAS ASKED TO BE DELIVERED AND THE CITY OF BALTIMORE NO LONGER LIKED THE TIMEFRAME AND PRICE IT WOULD COST.
YEAH, MY UNDERSTANDING IT WAS A COST.
AND IN FACT, I WAS OUT AT A CONFERENCE WHERE THERE WAS A NUMBER OF PEOPLE OUT THERE AND, AND YEAH.
AND THEY'RE KIND OF CURIOUS AS TO HOW IT ENDS UP WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE AS WELL.
SO IF I CAN GO BACK IN THE QUEUE, COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS, UH, TURNING BACK TO ILLEGAL DUMPING, AND AGAIN, APPRECIATE YOU ALL ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS.
UM, CAN YOU WALK ME THROUGH SORT OF WHAT EXACTLY WE'VE ALLOCATED TOWARDS, IF NOT EDUCATION ENFORCEMENT? UM, PROVIDING ADDITIONAL ACCESS SPECIFICALLY TOWARDS ILLEGAL DUMPING IN THIS CURRENT BUDGET? UH, WHAT WE'VE ALLOCATED IN THIS BUDGET IS THE OPERATIONAL NEEDS OF THE DEPARTMENT TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO ALL TRASH CONCERNS.
AND SO WE HAVE ROLLED THAT INTO THOSE OPERATIONAL GROUPS.
WE HAVEN'T BROKEN THAT OUT SPECIFICALLY.
THERE'S NOT AN ILLEGAL DUMPING GROUP, SO LET ME PUT IT THAT WAY.
SO THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T SEE A, A LINE ITEM FOR ILLEGAL DUMPING ON THERE.
BUT THE COMBINATION OF SOLID WASTE INTO PUBLIC WORKS ALSO ALLOWS US TO STRETCH THE EFFICIENCIES THAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO INITIATE FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS WHERE THEY OFTENTIMES WOULD REQUIRE ASSISTANCE FROM PUBLIC WORKS IN TERMS OF HEAVY EQUIPMENT FROM TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE OPERATIONS, FOR INSTANCE, TO COME AND CLEAN A DITCH OUT WITH A GREAT ALL SO ON AND SO FORTH.
I THINK THAT WE WILL LEARN A LOT OVER THIS COMING YEAR.
AGAIN, I'M CONFIDENT THAT WE'RE ABLE TO MEET THE OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES RIGHT NOW.
I'M CONFIDENT THAT WE WILL DO A BETTER JOB THAN WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST.
BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO LEARN A LOT AS WE GO THROUGH THIS TO HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT THE TRUE COSTS AND WHAT SOME OF THOSE PATHWAYS, UH, ARE GONNA BE.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, THIS IS GONNA GIVE US A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO ENSURE THAT WE RECOGNIZE, ESPECIALLY IN THE CITY LIMITS, THAT WE'RE NOT ALONE HERE.
RIGHT? OUR COUNTY PARTNERS ARE HERE WITH US.
THAT CAN PLAY A TREMENDOUS ROLE.
[01:20:01]
LAW ENFORCEMENT TO CATCH BAD ACTORS, SO ON AND SO FORTH.UM, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT THE DEPARTMENT ITSELF IS NOT REALLY EQUIPPED TO DO AND IT'S GONNA REQUIRE US TO TEAM UP WITH OTHERS.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND.
LAST YEAR THERE WAS ABOUT 1.2 MILLION SPECIFICALLY ALLOCATED TOWARDS ILLEGAL DUMPING.
THIS YEAR THERE IS NO BUDGET ITEM SPECIFICALLY ALLOCATED TOWARDS ILLEGAL DUMPING ENFORCEMENT OR EDUCATION.
DO I HAVE THAT RIGHT? THAT'S RIGHT.
IT'S ACTUALLY WRAPPED UP INTO OUR OPERATIONAL COSTS OVERALL.
AND YOU, IT'S NOT A DECREASE IN THAT COST, BUT YOU CAN'T GIVE ME SORT OF ANY SPECIFICS OF WE'RE GONNA ALLOCATE X DOLLARS TOWARDS ENFORCEMENT, WE'RE GONNA ALLOCATE X DOLLARS TOWARDS EDUCATION OR CAMERAS OR SIGNAGE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
YEAH, MANY OF THOSE THINGS ARE NOT ACTUALLY ITEMS THAT WE TAKE CARE OF IN, IN, IN TERMS OF THAT.
CAMERAS, FOR INSTANCE, IS TYPICALLY HANDLED BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.
SO, UM, WE HAVE TAKEN THE PERSONNEL COSTS AND THE TIME THAT IT TAKES TO RE, TO REMOVE ILLEGAL DUMPING.
AND THAT'S WHAT OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS IN THAT CHALLENGE.
AS I UNDERSTAND, THE BUDGET HAS FOUR INSPECTORS, UH, FOR RESPONDING TO THREE ONE CALLS RELA RELATED TO WASTE.
THREE OF THOSE ARE CURRENTLY UNFILLED BECAUSE OF VACANCIES.
IS THE PLAN TO MAINTAIN FOUR IN THE UPCOMING YEAR AND WHAT'S THE PLAN TO, UM, FILL THE THREE VACANCIES? WE INTEND TO ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT OUR PERSONNEL MATCHES WHAT THE NEED IS GOING TO BE.
CERTAINLY IF IT'S TAKEN FOUR FOR THEM IN THE PAST TO RESPOND TO THAT, AND THREE ARE VACANT, WE NEED TO FILL THOSE THREE VACANCIES.
BUT WE HAVE AN AGGRESSIVE, UM, HIRING PLAN IN PLACE THAT WE WORK WITH HUMAN RESOURCES TO ACCOMPLISH TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT ALL OF THE NECESSARY RESOURCES.
IN ADDITION, BEING PART OF THE DEPARTMENT MEANS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO NOW SHARE EXISTING RESOURCES THAT ALSO EXIST AS WELL.
WE ALREADY HAVE A LOT OF CUSTOMER SERVICE REPS WHO RESPOND TO 3 1 1 COMPLAINTS, AND SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO UTILIZE THOSE IN THE MEANTIME.
UM, SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IMPLEMENTING A GARBAGE FEE IN THIS BUDGET, AND RIGHT NOW IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM FOR PRIVATE TRASH PICKUP, THAT'S NOT GOING AWAY.
IS THAT CORRECT? WE DO NOT, UH, HAVE ANY PLANS TO TAKE THAT AWAY.
AND SO THE SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM RIGHT NOW PROVIDES HOUSEHOLDS $6 PER MONTH PER HOUSEHOLD FOR THE PRIVATE, PRIVATE TRASH PICKUP, RIGHT? CORRECT.
DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE LAST TIME THAT NUMBER WAS INCREASED? I DO NOT.
BUT I MEAN, I DON'T BELIEVE THERE WAS.
SO $6 SOUNDS LIKE IT'S SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME.
I, AND HOW MANY HOUSEHOLDS HAVE PRIVATE TRASH PICKUP IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, DO YOU KNOW? UH, I ASKED THAT AT 50,000.
AND, UM, AND SO RIGHT NOW IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO GET OFF PRIVATE TRASH PICKUP AND GO BACK TO CITY SERVICES, UM, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE CITY DOESN'T HAVE TO TAKE THOSE HOUSEHOLDS BACK.
IS THAT RIGHT? YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION, BUT, UH, IT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, TO THINK IN THE FUTURE, 'CAUSE JUST LIKE YOU SAID, NOTHING'S OFF THE TABLE.
IF FOR SOME REASON, YOU KNOW, THE SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM GOES AWAY, UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT, THEN AT SOME POINT WE PROBABLY NEED TO HALT THE, THE SIGN UP TO BE ON, YOU KNOW, THE SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM.
AND THEN ALSO THE CITY, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO BE WILLING TO ALSO TAKE ALL THOSE CUSTOMERS BACK ON, YOU KNOW, IF SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPENS.
UM, SO I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT THE CONTAINERS BEING REPLACED OR REPAIRED, UM, WHENEVER THEY'RE DAMAGED, DO WE KNOW WHAT THE NUMBER ONE REASON IS? I KNOW WE HAD, YOU KNOW, 30 TO 40,000 NEW HOMES COME IN, SO THOSE, YOU KNOW, EACH REQUIRED CANS.
BUT WHEN PEOPLE ARE CALLING IN FOR REPLACEMENT, IS IT BECAUSE THEY WERE STOLEN? IS IT BECAUSE THEY WERE DAMAGED? DO WE HAVE ANY IDEA? I'M SURE WE DO HAVE SOME DATA ON THAT.
DO YOU KNOW IT'S A THEFT, SOUNDS LIKE.
AND, UM, BUT I'M SURE WE CAN GET YOU A MORE DETAILED BREAKDOWN ON THOSE CASE TYPES.
I WILL SAY THIS INTERESTING THING IS WE'VE, UM, EXPLORED THE COMPLAINTS INTO SOLID WASTE.
THERE'S SOMETHING LIKE 38 DIFFERENT 3 1 1 CASE TYPES THAT ARE OUT THERE.
UM, IT, IT WAS STAGGERING WHEN I FIRST SAW THAT.
AND THERE'S SO MUCH OVERLAP IN SOME OF THOSE DESCRIPTIONS THAT IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY, WELL, WHAT IS THE REAL ISSUE THERE? AND SO WE'RE WORKING WITH A RA TO IMPROVE THE INTAKE SYSTEM THERE SO THAT WE CAN BETTER TRIAGE AND RESPOND TO THOSE CASES.
AND I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, UM, BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, THE WAY RECORDS WERE KEPT OR SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE FLOODS AND THINGS LIKE THAT AND RECORDS WERE TAKEN AWAY THAT WE DON'T HAVE A CLEAR MAP OF ALL OF THE WATER LINES IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
ARE WE REQUIRING, YOU KNOW, CONTRACTORS LIKE
[01:25:01]
SAY AT AND T COMES OUT AND THEY HAVE AN IDEA THAT A WATER LINE, YOU KNOW, IS APPROXIMATELY THIS, YOU KNOW, FAR AWAY FROM THE CURB AND THIS FAR DOWN, AND THEN THEY GET IN THERE AND REALIZE, OH MAN, IT'S ACTUALLY A LOT CLOSER THAN WE THOUGHT.DO WE HAVE ANYTHING REQUIRING CONTRACTORS TO UPDATE THE CITY OF HOUSTON WHEN THEY ENCOUNTER WATERLINES AND THINGS LIKE THAT? UH, GENERALLY WE WORK WITH THEM ON THOSE THINGS BECAUSE USUALLY WHEN THEY DISCOVER THAT THERE'S A, THERE'S A CALL THAT'S MADE, UM, IN ORDER TO TRIAGE THAT WE, UM, ARE BEING AGGRESSIVE INTERNALLY, HOWEVER, TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE THINGS ARE UPDATED.
AND WE'RE ALSO EXPLORING WHAT ARE OUR RESPONSIBILITIES BEYOND THAT.
UM, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT PERHAPS JOINING THE 8 1 1 SYSTEM FOR INSTANCE.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT PART OF 8 1 1 AND THE REASON FOR THAT HAS A LOT TO DO WITH COST.
UM, AND THE COST HAS GOT TO DO WITH THE SIZE OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
IF WE WERE TO HAVE TO GO OUT AND RESPOND TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE, IT COULD START TO BECOME PRETTY COSTLY FOR THE DEPARTMENT.
BUT MAYBE THERE'S A MIDDLE GROUND THAT WE FIND THAT ALSO HELPS US ALONG THE WAY TO IMPROVE IT.
BUT WE'VE MADE SUCH A TREMENDOUS IMPROVEMENT IN OUR MAPPING, UM, IN OUR, UH, ASSET MANAGEMENT HERE, THAT WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
AND EVEN BETTER AS WE GET AGGRESSIVE WITH REPLACING PIPE, YOU KNOW, UPWARDS OF 3% A YEAR.
UM, AND WE'RE FOCUSED ON OLDER BROKEN PIPES, OUR INFORMATION IS GONNA NATURALLY GET BETTER AS WELL.
DIRECTOR, LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT WATER RATES.
EARLIER IT WAS SAID THAT, UH, YOU'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT THE WATER RATES THAT RESIDENTS PAY VERSUS WHAT COMMERCIAL, UH, ENTITIES PAY TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE'RE BEING FAIR TO HOUSTON RESIDENTS.
UM, OBVIOUSLY OUR WATER RATES ARE GOING, GOING UP.
I GOT A NOTICE IN THE MAIL RECENTLY.
MY WATER RATES ARE GOING UP LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE'S.
UM, WONDERING, 'CAUSE YOU AND I HAVE SPOKEN BEFORE ABOUT THE RATES THAT NON HOUSTON RESIDENTS PAY.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS WE PROVIDE WATER TO MORE NON HOUSTON RESIDENTS THAN RESIDENTS.
AND I'VE ALWAYS WONDERED, WELL, WHAT RATES ARE THEY PAYING? ARE THEIR RATES GOING UP AS WELL AS OUR RATES GO UP? THAT'S A, THAT'S A BIG PART OF THE PURPOSE OF OUR RATE STUDY.
MANY OF THOSE CUSTOMERS ARE CONTRACTUAL IN NATURE, SO THEY PAY CONTRACT RATES THAT HAVE BEEN NEGOTIATED AT CERTAIN TIMES.
HOWEVER, MOST OF THOSE CONTRACTS ALSO INCLUDE A MECHANISM THAT AS WE GO THROUGH A RATE STUDY, IT ALLOWS US TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO WHAT THOSE RATES ARE.
UM, NOW THERE'S NOT A ONE SIZE FITS ALL.
SOME OF THEM ARE REALLY, REALLY GOOD DEALS, PARTICULARLY WITH THE INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS.
THERE'S A FEW OF 'EM THAT, UM, I MEAN IT'S ALMOST LIKE IT'S FREE.
UM, WE'VE GOTTA
BUT YOU'RE RIGHT, WE, WE SERVE, I MEAN THERE'S TWO 2.3 MILLION HOUSTONIANS HERE, BUT OVERALL WE THINK WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR NEARLY 7 MILLION, UH, PEOPLE IN THE REGION WHO GET THEIR WATER IN ONE SHAPE, FORM, OR FASHION FROM THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
THIS RATE STUDY IS WHAT ALLOWS US TO START THE PROCESS OF EVALUATING HOW DO WE MAKE THE RIGHT TYPES OF ADJUSTMENTS, UM, IN A WAY THAT'S FAIR TO BOTH OF US.
SOME OF THEM, UM, IT'S PAST DUE AND, AND THOSE CONTRACTS, BY THE WAY, MANY OF 'EM ARE VERY LONG TERM.
WE'RE TALKING 30 AND 40 YEAR CONTRACTS.
SO WE HAVE SOME FROM WAY BACK WHEN THAT WE'RE STILL DEALING WITH AND THEY'VE HAD RATE ADJUSTMENTS OVER TIME WHEN RATE STUDIES HAVE TAKEN PLACE.
BUT WE STILL HAVE SOME THAT MAYBE HAVE BEEN SIGNED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS THAT NOW HAVE A LONG, UM, FINISH POINT LATER ON.
SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SETTING OURSELVES UP FOR SUCCESS LATER ON.
WELL TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU, WITH YOU ON THAT.
AND I KNOW WE'VE BEEN HAVING THIS CONVERSATION FOR A WHILE.
CAN, CAN YOU, CAN YOU SHARE WITH US WHAT KIND OF PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE TO REEVALUATING THOSE, THOSE RATES AND THOSE LONG-TERM CONTRACTS? SO WE, WE ENGAGE WITH REF TELLIS AS OUR OUTSIDE FIRM THAT IS CONDUCTING THE RATE STUDY RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE EXPECT THE DRAFT, THE FIRST DRAFTS OF THAT RATE STUDY TO COME PROBABLY IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF THIS YEAR AS WE REFINE IT.
AND THEN COUNCIL WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW AND APPROVE ANY POTENTIAL CHANGES THAT ARE PROPOSED, WE ANTICIPATE AT THE BEGINNING OF NEXT YEAR.
LET ME DIRECT YOU TO SLIDE 24, WHICH DEALT WITH, UM, SOLID WASTE OPERATIONS, WHICH ARE NOW ON YOUR PLATE AS WELL.
UM, THERE'S SOME PERFORMANCE MEASURES ON THE BOTTOM OF THAT PAGE.
THERE ARE TARGETS LISTED FOR FY 27, BUT THERE ARE NO TARGETS FOR, UH, YEARS PRIOR TO THAT.
UH, UM, I MIGHT UNDERSTAND THAT IN PRIOR YEARS THERE WERE NO KPIS IN SOLID WASTE, OR AT LEAST NOT THESE, I WOULDN'T SAY THERE WERE NO KPIS, BUT THESE ARE NEW KPIS PROPOSED FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR.
UM, AND AS I INDICATED IN 60 DAYS, WE ANTICIPATE COMING BACK TO AN APPROPRIATE COUNCIL COMMITTEE TO PRESENT, UH, REFINED AND UPDATED KPIS THAT ARE FOCUSED ON OUTCOME-BASED MEASURES RATHER THAN OUTPUT.
THESE ONES, UM, FROM MY OPINION, ARE VERY OUTPUT BASED IN A LOT OF INSTANCES.
[01:30:01]
WE CAN CONTROL.UM, FOR INSTANCE, WE USED TO TALK ABOUT THIS WITH THE PERMITTING CENTER, RIGHT? WHY ARE WE MEASURING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PLANS REVIEWED? WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER WHO'S SUBMITTING PLANS.
I'D RATHER KNOW HOW MANY PLANS ARE REVIEWED WITHIN 3, 5, 7 DAYS, ET CETERA.
WE'LL MAKE THE SAME AND SIMILAR REFINEMENTS FOR SOLID WASTE AND LIKE THAT SAME PERCENTAGE ON TIME COLLECTION.
THAT'S WHAT I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN.
THAT'S, THAT'S MUCH MORE APPROPRIATE.
UM, AM I, UH, I'LL GO BACK IN THE QUEUE.
UM, KIND OF CONTINUING ON FROM WHAT, UH, COUNCILMAN JULIAN WAS SPEAKING ABOUT, UM, KPIS.
HOW ARE WE DOING ON THE, THE KPIS IN TERMS OF DEVELOPMENT OF KPIS PERFORMANCE? I MEAN, YOU'VE GOT ANNUAL REPLACEMENT OF 3%, 7,199 MILES OF TRANSMISSION, OR ARE THOSE NEW? THEY'RE NOT NEW.
UH, ALL OF THEM, SOME OF THEM ARE NEW.
FOR INSTANCE, OUR 6 MILLION, UH, LINEAR FEED OF PAVEMENT MARKINGS, THAT'S, THAT'S A NEW ONE THIS YEAR.
WE'VE NOT TRACKED THAT PREVIOUSLY, BUT PIPE REPLACEMENT, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR WE DID 0.3%.
REMEMBER I SAID THE TARGET'S 3% AND WE KNEW GOING INTO LAST YEAR WHEN WE SET IT AT 3% THAT IT WAS GONNA BE REALLY DIFFICULT IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO GET TO THAT JUST BECAUSE OF THE CAPITAL PROGRAM NECESSARY TO DO IT ENGINEERING AND SO FORTH.
THIS YEAR WE'RE STILL AT 0.3%.
WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK WE WILL BE LAUNCHING AN RFQ FOR A PROGRAM MANAGEMENT CAPACITY TO EFFECTIVELY TAKE ON THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THIS WATERLINE REPLACEMENT PROGRAM THAT WE BELIEVE IS GOING TO TREMENDOUSLY ACCELERATE THE REPLACEMENT CYCLE.
WE THOUGHT THAT WE COULD DO THIS IN-HOUSE.
UM, WE'RE NOT MOVING AS FAST AS I WOULD LIKE.
AND SO WE PARTNERED WITH SPD TO PUT AN RFQ ON THE STREET AND IT'S COMING HERE VERY QUICKLY TO MOVE THIS ALONG BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A LOT MORE TIME TO WASTE.
UM, REVIEWING 80% OF CONSTRUCTION PLANS, WAS THAT LAST YEAR'S? THAT WAS LAST YEAR'S AND WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? WE'RE STILL FAR SHORT OF 80%.
I THINK, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, WE'RE CLOSER AT LIKE 55%.
UM, SO AS WE TALK ABOUT IMPROVEMENTS TO THE STAFF AND THE ORGANIZATION AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
BUT I WANNA NOT JUST CREEP ALONG, RIGHT.
I WANNA MOVE, YOU KNOW, AT WARP SPEED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
25% IMPROVEMENT IS, IS GREAT PROGRESS, BUT I EXPECT THIS TO BE AT 80% THIS YEAR.
THAT IS AN EXPECTATION OF OUR STAFF.
UH, 90% OF FLOODPLAIN INSPECTIONS WE DO REALLY WELL THERE.
UH, WE'VE HAD STAFFING CHALLENGES IN THE PERMITTING CENTER THERE AS WE'VE INCREASED STAFFING, THAT NUMBER WILL CONTINUE TO GO UP AS WELL.
BUT THAT'S A NEW KPI FOR THIS YEAR.
THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS.
UM, GOING BACK TO ILLEGAL DUMPING, UH, I UNDERSTAND FROM YOUR TEAM THAT PUBLIC WORKS HAS DECIDED TO NO LONGER PUBLICLY REPORT KPIS RELATED TO ILLEGAL DUMPING CASES INVESTIGATED, RESOLVED IN AVERAGE DAYS TO RESOLVE.
GIVEN WHAT IMPORTANT METRICS THOSE ARE, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHY WE NO LONGER WANNA MAKE THOSE REPORTS PUBLIC AND IF INSTEAD WE CAN MAKE A COMMITMENT TODAY TO CONTINUE TO MAKE THEM PUBLIC? YEAH, I WOULD, I WOULD SAY, UH, IF THAT WAS WHAT WAS COMMUNICATED, THAT IS AN ERROR.
UM, BECAUSE THAT IS NOT THE WAY, AND I THINK EVERYONE KNOWS THAT IS NOT THE WAY.
UM, I ALLOW OUR DEPARTMENT TO RUN.
WE MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE AS TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE AND SO WE WILL CONTINUE.
IN FACT, THAT'S THE POINT OF, I MENTIONED OF THE NEW MAPS THAT WE WANT TO HAVE COME OUT THAT ARE INTERACTIVE FOR THE COMMUNITY.
I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHEN WE MOWED THEIR LASTS.
UM, AND I DON'T WANT TO TRY AND HIDE BEHIND EXCUSES.
NOW WE HAVE EXCUSES, AND BY THE WAY, I DON'T THINK EXCUSES ARE ACCEPTABLE.
WE DO HAVE EXCUSES, RIGHT? OUR TECHNOLOGY ISN'T PARTICULARLY GOOD.
WE HAVEN'T KEPT VERY GOOD RECORDS.
WE'RE TRYING TO CATCH UP ON A LOT OF THINGS, BUT THAT'S ALL THEY ARE IS EXCUSES.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO IMPROVE THAT.
SO IF THAT WAS INFORMATION YOU RECEIVED, I'M A, I'M SORRY FOR THAT.
AND SO THEN WILL YOU MAKE NEW KPI PROJECTIONS FOR THOSE FIGURES? BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET? THEY HAD BEEN INCLUDED IN PRIOR YEAR'S BUDGET, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR, UM, ILLEGAL DUMPING INVESTIGATIONS RESOLVED.
WE ACTUALLY DROPPED FROM 64% DOWN TO 42% LAST YEAR.
AND SO I WOULD HOPE WE SET A KPI WHERE WE TRY TO NOT ONLY STOP GOING DOWN, BUT ACTUALLY INCREASE WHAT WE DID TWO YEARS AGO.
CAN CAN YOU COMMIT TO, TO GIVING US, GIVING SPECIFIC KPI NUMBERS FOR THAT? WE WILL.
WE, I'LL ASK THE TEAM TO GO BACK DO AND GET THOSE NUMBERS REFRESHED.
UM, TURNING TO THE ISSUE OF INSPECTORS, WE NOTED THAT THANK AND THANK YOU FOR WRITING INFORMATION.
THERE'S OVER 95 INSPECTOR POSITIONS THAT REMAIN VACANT.
ARE THOSE ENCOMPASSED IN THE 500 THAT YOU HOPE TO FILL THIS YEAR? YES.
[01:35:01]
THE ACS IN THE SOLID WASTE TRUCKS, UM, WE WERE REALLY GLAD TO HEAR THAT THERE'S A COMMITMENT TO FIX ALL CURRENT SOLID WASTE TRUCKS THAT DO NOT HAVE AC I CAN'T IMAGINE COLLECTING TRASH IN A HUNDRED DEGREE WEATHER.SO I'M REALLY GRATEFUL TO HEAR THAT.
UM, CAN YOU TALK US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE PLAN FOR THAT, WHEN THOSE TRUCKS WILL BE TAKEN OFF A FLEET AND WHAT THE PLAN IS TO MAINTAIN RELIABLE SERVICES FOR CONSUMERS? GIVEN I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TRUCKS THIS IS GOING TO IMPACT.
COUNCIL MEMBER, I, I, UH, JOINED WITH YOU IN BOTH THE, UH, SURPRISE AND SHOCK OF THOSE TYPES OF CONDITIONS.
SADLY, IT'S EMBLEMATIC OF A LOT OF THE CONDITIONS THAT THE FOLKS IN SALT WASTE MANAGEMENT HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH FOR A LONG TIME.
IT'S NOT JUST THE VEHICLES, IT'S THE FACILITIES FOR INSTANCE.
UM, THERE'S A HUGE INVESTMENT THAT HAS TO BE MADE THERE.
YOU KNOW, WE BOUGHT 50 NEW TRUCKS LAST YEAR, THE LARGEST NUMBER OF TRUCKS THE CITY'S EVER BOUGHT IN ITS HISTORY.
BUT WE KNOW IT DOESN'T GO FAR ENOUGH.
'CAUSE THAT ONLY REPRESENTED ABOUT A QUARTER OF THE FLEET AND IT DIDN'T ACTUALLY REPLACE ANYTHING.
IT JUST ALLOWED US TO CYCLE THROUGH SOME THINGS.
UH, CAPITAL EQUIPMENT IS A HUGE FOCUS FOR THIS BUDGET IN SOLID WASTE FOR US THIS YEAR.
WHEN I TALK ABOUT IMPROVING EFFICIENCY, PART OF WHAT I'M ALSO TALKING ABOUT IS MAKING SURE WE HAVE THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT.
UM, THERE ARE AREAS OF TOWN THAT THE VEHICLES WE HAVE RIGHT NOW JUST ARE NOT BEST SUITED FOR, AND WE NEED TO EVALUATE WHAT THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE THAT IS.
WHEN WE TALK A LITTLE ABOUT, AND COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ BROUGHT THIS UP ABOUT HEAVY TRASH FOR INSTANCE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF COMMUNITIES THAT PICK UP HEAVY TRASH EVERY SINGLE WEEK.
BUT THEIR EQUIPMENT AND THEIR OPERATION LOOKS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM THE WAY THE CITY OF HOUSTON DOES IT.
SO WE'RE GOING BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD AND SAYING, WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN DELIVER THE SAME SORTS OF RELIABLE SERVICES EVERYONE ELSE HAS? AND WE TALK ABOUT THE SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM, RIGHT? AND, AND WE'VE HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT, WELL, DO WE THINK A BUNCH OF PEOPLE WILL JUMP OFF FOR A $5 TRASH FEE? HECK NO.
BECAUSE THEY'RE GETTING ON TIME TRASH TODAY AND THEY DON'T HAVE THOSE KINDS OF COMPLAINTS, RIGHT? THEY'VE, THEY'VE ALREADY PAID THEIR FEE AND THEY'VE GOT WHAT'S GOING ON THERE.
THEY'RE NOT GONNA LEAVE SOMETHING GOOD FOR SOMETHING BAD.
NOW THAT QUESTION WILL CHANGE, I PROMISE YOU IN A LITTLE WHILE WHEN WE FIX OUR OPERATION AND WE START TO PERFORM AT THE SAME LEVEL AS EVERYBODY ELSE, BUT WE'RE NOT THERE YET, SO WE'RE GONNA FIX IT.
DO DO YOU HAVE A TIMELINE OR I DON'T, OR AN ESTIMATE OF HOW MANY TRUCKS THIS IS GONNA TAKE OFF? WE, WITH COMMISS COMMISSION, WE WORK WITH, WE'VE GOTTA WORK WITH FLEET MANAGEMENT.
ULTIMATELY THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR VEHICLE REPAIRS.
BUT, BUT I HAVE ALREADY BEGUN CONVERSATIONS WITH PROCUREMENT, WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AND OTHERS ABOUT WAYS THAT WE CAN AGGRESSIVELY IMPROVE THAT TIMETABLE AND GET IT GOING BECAUSE AS WE GET HOTTER OUTSIDE, WE DON'T WANT OUR FOLKS SUFFERING IN THEIR VEHICLES.
DIRECTOR MENTIONED THE CONTAINER LEASE FEE.
DO WE KNOW WHAT THAT'S GONNA BE? HOW MUCH? UH, THE CONTAINER LEASE FEE IS THE SAME AS WHAT IT'S BEEN SO FAR, WHICH IS REMINDING, I THINK IT'S LIKE A DOLLAR 67 PER MONTH.
UM, AND RELATED TO THAT, UH, OR SOLID WASTE ANYWAY, UH, RECYCLING CONTAMINATION RATES, SO THEY'RE PRETTY HIGH ACCORDING TO THE, THE VENDOR FCC 42% RECENTLY.
UM, WHAT, WHAT IS BEING DONE TO GET THAT, THAT CONTAMINATION RATE REDUCED? I THINK THAT'S PART OF OUR OVERALL HOLISTIC PLANET REFINING OPERATIONS.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT PROBABLY NEED TO TAKE PLACE FOR US TO TACKLE THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE.
I'D ALSO SAY ONE OF THE THINGS TO TACKLE IS FIGURING OUT WHERE ELSE WE CAN ALSO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MORE EFFECTIVE IN COLLECTION AND HOW WE DO IT.
THIS REALLY GOES EVEN I THINK TO COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS'S QUESTION ABOUT, UH, PUBLIC EDUCATION, RIGHT? WE NEED TO PARTNER WITH OTHERS ABOUT ENSURING THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO AND HOW YOU DO IT AND WHY YOU DO IT THAT WAY SO THAT WE CAN GET BETTER.
FRANKLY, NO DIFFERENT THAN THE FOG PROGRAM.
WE CALL IT FAT SOILS AND GREASE.
THE FOG PROGRAM WE HAVE IN THE WASTEWATER UTILITY, WE PARTNER WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, FOR INSTANCE, TO DO PUBLIC EDUCATION ON THAT ASPECT OF IT BECAUSE FAT SOILS AND GREASES IS THE NUMBER ONE, UH, SIGN OF BLOCKAGES IN OUR WASTEWATER PIPES.
SO WE NEED TO DO A LOT IN TERMS OF NOT JUST WHAT WE WILL DO, BUT HOW WE ENGAGE WITH OTHERS TO HELP US IN THE SAME MISSION.
WELL I APPRECIATE YOU TAKING A LOOK AT THAT BECAUSE WHATEVER'S BEING DONE RIGHT NOW, IT'S, IT'S CLEARLY NOT WORKING.
AND MY ADVICE TO FCC WAS YOU GUYS TAKE OWNERSHIP OF IT, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT AFFECTS YOUR BOTTOM LINE AND, UH, HOPEFULLY SOME ARRANGEMENT WILL BE WORKED OUT THERE TO WHERE, UH, THAT CONTAMINATION RATE CAN BE BROUGHT DOWN.
UM, LAST THING I'LL ASK IS IN REGARDS TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE FEE, $5 A MONTH, WHICH IS LATER GONNA TURN INTO APPARENTLY THE GARBAGE FEE.
UM, DO YOU KNOW IF WHEN WE VOTE ON THIS BUDGET, WE'RE ONLY GONNA BE ASKED TO, TO APPROVE A $5 A MONTH ADMINISTRATIVE FEE? OR IS THE LANGUAGE GOING TO ALSO ASK US TO APPROVE A $25 A MONTH
[01:40:01]
FEE IN THREE OR FOUR YEARS? MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE PACKAGE WILL BE A $5 FEE AND ANY FUTURE INCREASE OF THAT FEE WILL REQUIRE SPECIFIC COUNCIL ACTION.I WANT TO GO TO SLIDE 24, SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT, ONE OF THE KPIS, TONS OF TREE AND YARD WASTE COLLECTED.
DOES THAT INCLUDE THE LAWN CLIPPING YARD WASTE? UM, I KNOW THAT'S, THEY SAY NO.
UM, THAT'S BEEN A SOURCE OF FRUSTRATION, YOU KNOW, APART FROM THE BULK TREE WASTE, THE BULK HEAVY TRASH IS THE ACTUAL LAWN CLIPPINGS LEAVES.
UM, IS THERE ANY INDICATION THAT THAT WILL CHANGE IN THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR? LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, EVERYTHING'S ON THE TABLE FOR US RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DIVE IN PRETTY DEEP SO FAR ON HOW OPERATIONS ARE GOING, BUT THERE'S STILL A LONG WAYS TO GO ON THAT.
A LOT OF WHAT WE'VE DONE HAS BEEN INTERNAL.
WE DO ANTICIPATE AN ENGAGING WITH SOME EXTERNAL EXPERTS AS WELL TO HELP US EVALUATE THOSE OPERATIONS AND SEE WHERE IT CAN TAKE US.
UM, JUST, UH, AS WE'RE LOOKING AT THESE, UH, KPIS ON THE REPLACE AND REPAIR, UM, I, I ANTICIPATE, I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF HOW MANY REFUSE CANS WE HAVE NOW, CORRECT? UH, YEAH, WE KNOW HOW MANY, RIGHT? UM, AND I, AND WHAT I'D LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, IS KIND OF AS THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS HAPPEN, UH, IT'D BE GREAT TO KNOW WHAT IS THAT NUMBER THAT WE NEED TO BE PURCHASING SO THAT WAY WE DON'T OVER PURCHASE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT THESE DOLLARS ARE GOING BACK INTO, TO THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE HAD.
UM, AND, AND THEN THE, JUST THE LAST THING, UM, THE ON AVERAGE SOLID WASTE WAS ABOUT A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, UH, FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS.
NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT $134 MILLION.
I AN ALSO ANTICIPATE THAT THAT $24 MILLION WOULD HELP WITH A LOT OF THE OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE HAD.
UM, YOU SAID THREE MONTHS, Y'ALL COME BACK OR SIX MONTHS, I CAN'T REMEMBER.
MY MONTHS MEMBERS IN TWO MONTHS WILL MONTHS WILL COME BACK ON KPIS.
UM, IT'D BE GREAT TO HAVE WHAT THAT EXTRA, ADDITIONAL, YOU KNOW, $24 MILLION.
AND QUITE FRANKLY, IF I'M MISTAKEN, I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD, WE WERE ALWAYS TELLING FOLKS, AT LEAST I WAS OUT IN COMMUNITIES AND CIVIC CLUBS, THAT IN ORDER TO RIGHT SIZE THAT DEPARTMENT, YOU REALLY HAD TO FULLY FUND IT.
UM, AND WE'RE STILL BEHIND BECAUSE THERE'S THINGS THAT YOU MENTIONED.
WE'VE PURCHASED 50, UH, TRUCKS, BUT IT DOESN'T TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE MAINTENANCE OF THOSE TRUCKS.
SO, UH, IN TWO MONTHS, I, I'M EXCITED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THOSE, THOSE, UH, OPERATIONAL CHANGES ARE, WHAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, SUPPORT THAT WILL COME AS WELL.
AND SO JUST KIND OF TEEING IT UP, I'M READY TO GO.
AND COUNCIL MEMBER, YOUR POINT IS SO WELL TAKEN.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THIS BUDGET IS, IS TRIED TO DO IS WE, WE HAVE LOOKED AT THE PAST AT WHAT'S BEEN FUNDED.
FIRST OF ALL, UM, THROWING MONEY AT THE PROBLEM ISN'T GONNA SOLVE THE PROBLEM BECAUSE WE'VE DONE THAT FOR YEARS.
WE'VE JUST THROWN MONEY AT THE PROBLEM.
HOWEVER, WE ALSO HAVEN'T PROPERLY BUDGETED DEPARTMENT TO START WITH IN THE FIRST PLACE EITHER.
AND A LOT OF THE CORRECTION YOU SEE HERE AND GOING UP TO 134 MILLION IS LOOKING AT IN THE PAST, THIS IS REALLY WHAT OUR TREND HAS BEEN.
AND THERE'S NO REASON TO THINK ON DAY ONE THAT TREND'S GOING TO STOP.
BUT WE HOPE BY THE END OF THE YEAR THAT WE'RE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND WE START TO GET A BETTER IDEA OF THAT TRUE COST.
I ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE SALT OF WASTE EMPLOYEES AS WELL.
UM, THEY'RE WORKING IN SOME CONDITIONS RIGHT NOW, OF COURSE, THAT WE ALL KNOW, UH, THAT DEFINITELY NEED TO BE IMPROVED.
AND SO AS WE'RE LOOKING AT, AND I SAY THIS EVEN ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WORKING FAMILIES, YOU KNOW, AT THE, AT THE HOTELS AND GRB, IF, IF THERE'S MORE FUNDING COMING IN AND UNDERSTANDING PERSONNEL IS USUALLY THE HIGHEST COST IN EVERY DEPARTMENT, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THOSE SOLID WASTE EMPLOYEES ARE ALSO SEEING SOME OF THE BENEFIT OF NOW HAVING THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, INCREASE IN FUNDING, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT CONTINUES TO, UH, BRING PEOPLE TO SOLID WASTE, BUT ALSO KEEP FOLKS IN SOLID WASTE AS WELL.
AND, AND YOU'LL SEE FACILITIES, UM, EQUIPMENT, THE ESSENTIALS OF YOUR JOB IS GOING TO TREMENDOUSLY IMPROVE IN PUBLIC WORKS.
COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS, JUST A FEW MORE QUESTIONS.
UM, TALKING ABOUT THE WATER RATE, AND I, I KNOW THAT IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE SORT OF SUGGESTING THERE MAY BE AN INCREASE DOWN THE ROAD, BUT DO YOU ANTICIPATE THAT ONE WILL BE NECESSARY IN FIVE YEARS, IF NOT SOONER, TO SUPPORT THE RIGHT OF WAY TRANSFER THE WAY WE'VE LOOKED AT IT SO FAR? NO, IN SHORT, BUT, UM, THAT'S THE PURPOSE OF GOING THROUGH A RATE STUDY.
CAN YOU ELABORATE ON WHY YOU DON'T BELIEVE THERE'LL BE AN INCREASE? WE THINK THAT THE WAY THAT THE FUND BALANCE HAS TRADITIONALLY WORKED FOR US AND AT THE RATE IT GROWS AND THE WAY WE DELIVER PROJECTS, THAT, UM, FRANKLY A CHANGE IN OUR POLICY, THE INTERNAL POLICY OF HOW MUCH CASH ON HAND WE
[01:45:01]
KEEP ALLOWS US TO USE WHATEVER THOSE PROCEEDS WOULD BE TOWARDS THE RIGHT OF WAY FEE.SO DO YOU ANTICIPATE, AS I UNDERSTAND THE, THE INTERNAL POLICY IS 300 DAYS, IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
DO YOU BELIEVE WE CAN MAINTAIN A 300 DAY POLICY FOR FIVE YEARS UNDER THE CURRENT RATE, OR WILL THAT NECESSITATE AN INCREASED RATE? WELL, WE'RE AT FIVE 50 NOW AND IT'S ONLY GROWN.
WE'VE BEEN ABOVE 300 DAYS FOR A VERY, VERY LONG TIME.
UM, HAVING SAID THAT, WE ALSO KNOW THAT WE HAVE REALLY BIG CAPITAL PROJECTS MOVING FORWARD AT, YOU KNOW, THE INVESTMENT.
THE CIP INVESTMENT ALONE IS GOING TO ACCELERATE SOME OF THOSE DOLLARS AS WELL.
MY, MY BEST ANSWER TO YOU AT THIS POINT IS WE FEEL CONFIDENT IN THE MODEL THAT WE HAVE THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE RIGHT OF WAY FEE WITH NO IMPACT TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
SO YOU, JUST TO MAKE, SORRY, TO BE DENSE, TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND, YOU BELIEVE WE'LL BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN AT LEAST A 300 DAY CASH ON HAND POLICY WITHOUT INCREASING THE WATER RATE FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? I, I WILL, I WILL SAY ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE DOING IS LOOKING AT WHAT OUR CASH RETENTION POLICY IS.
300 MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT NUMBER.
REMEMBER THE CITY'S NUMBER IS 60 DAYS.
WE BELIEVE IT NEEDS TO BE GREATER THAN 60 DAYS.
THAT'S PART OF OUR EVALUATIVE PROCESS, BUT WE BELIEVE THAT WHATEVER NUMBER WE ARRIVE AT IS GONNA BE SUFFICIENT FOR US TO MAINTAIN THAT OPERATION.
DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IF SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 60 AND 300? I DON'T AT THIS TIME.
UM, THE MAYOR MENTIONED, UH, IN AN INTERVIEW LAST WEEK THAT THERE WERE ISSUES WITHHOLDING OUR RECYCLING VENDOR ACCOUNTABLE.
AND THAT WAS LEADING TO SOME OF THE ISSUES RELATED TO THE HIGH, UM, RATE OF, OF MATERIALS THAT WE SEND THEM THAT AREN'T IN FACT RECYCLABLE.
AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE NOT RECEIVING INCOME, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE A GROSS, WE HAVE AN AGREEMENT BY WHICH WE SHOULD BE RECEIVING INCOME FROM THE THE CONTRACT.
WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC ISSUES THAT WE'RE FACING WITH HOLDING FCC ACCOUNTABLE? I'M NOT, I'M NOT SURE I KNOW TO WHAT THE MAYOR WAS SPEAKING, SO I DON'T THINK I'M IN A POSITION TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION FOR YOU.
ARE YOU AWARE OF ANY ACCOUNTABILITY ISSUES WE'RE HAVING WITH FCCI? I KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO WORK CLOSELY WITH ALL OF OUR CONTRACTS.
EVERYONE WHO HOLDS A CONTRACT EVERYWHERE, THERE IS A LEVEL OF ACCOUNTABILITY THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE SPECIFIC ISSUES MAY BE WITH FCC, BUT I'LL SAY, UM, EVERYONE AGREES ON BOTH SIDES.
THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
THE CITY CAN DO BETTER ON HOW WE ENFORCE THOSE CONTRACTS.
SOMETIMES THE, THE VENDOR CAN DO BETTER ON HOW WE ENFORCE THAT, BUT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE VERY CLEAR WITH WHAT THOSE EXPECTATIONS ARE GOING INTO IT, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT LEADS US TO THE BEST SUCCESS.
AND IF I MAY ASK, DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY MEETING OUR OBLIGATIONS UNDER THAT CONTRACT? I, I DON'T KNOW.
STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN'S OFFICE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, DIRECTOR FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
WE'RE GONNA BE SUBMITTING SOME MORE QUESTIONS, UH, IN THE PORTAL, BUT JUST VERY BRIEFLY, UM, DOES THE FY 27 BUDGET INCLUDE ANY DISASTER PREPAREDNESS CONTINGENCIES? SHOULD THE CITY NOT BE REIMBURSED FOLLOWING A WEATHER DISASTER, NOT ONLY WITH PUBLIC WORKS, BUT ALSO WITH THE RESTRUCTURING OF SOLID WASTE WITH STORM DEBRIS, AS WE'VE SEEN IN PRIOR YEARS? IS THERE ANYTHING IN THE BUDGET RELATED TO THAT YOU WANNA GO? KIND OF GOES BACK TO, UH, WE HAD DISCUSSED THIS PREVIOUSLY ON THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM THAT REALLY IS THAT POLICY THAT WE HAVE INTERNAL, UH, TO RESPOND TO WEATHER RELATED EMERGENCIES.
UM, AND ON THE OTHER SERVICE LINES WITHIN HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, UM, IT, IT, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY A FUND THAT'S SET APART FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY SOMETIMES IT JUST DEPENDS ON WE HAVE TO REALLOCATE FUNDING FROM ONE ASPECT OR ONE AREA TO THE OTHER, DEPENDING ON IF THE DISASTER DOES, UH, FOLLOW US.
AND ON SLIDE 23, UM, FOR THE MAYOR'S OFFICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, I JUST NOTICED IN FY 26, THE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES WAS SIX IN LAST YEAR'S PRESENTATION, BUT THIS YEAR AT ZERO, WAS THERE A RESTRUCTURING THAT TOOK PLACE OR HAVE THEY BEEN MOVED TO A DIFFERENT DIVISION? YEAH, SO, UM, A PORTION OF MOPD IS NOW FUNDED OUTSIDE.
AND SO THE DEPARTMENT'S RESPONSIBILITY ON PERSONNEL FUNDING HAS SHIFTED.
WE HIGHLIGHT IT HERE BECAUSE, UM, REALLY THE BIGGEST OPERATIONAL PART OF MOPD IS THE PAR PROGRAM.
OF SIDEWALKS, WHICH WE COMPLETE FOR THEM AS THOSE APPLICATIONS ARE APPROVED.
SO IS THERE LIKE PUBLIC WORK STAFF THAT OVERSEE THE PAR PROGRAM THAT ARE IN LIKE A DIFFERENT DIVISION, NOT TECHNICALLY UNDER THIS DESIGNATION? OR ARE THEY STILL LIKE WITH MOPD UNDER METRO? THE DELIVERY ASPECT IS WITHIN PUBLIC WORKS.
THOSE ARE REALLY IN OUR ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION.
CHAIR STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON'S OFFICE.
UM, I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING ABOUT, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD INSPECTIONS UNDER PERMITTING.
SO WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT EFFORTS ARE HAPPENING THERE? WHAT ARE THE TARGETS? WHAT ARE YOUR KPIS FOR THAT? SO WE DO HAVE A NUMBER OF KPIS, WHICH IS FOUND IN, IN THE BACKUP MATERIAL, THE APPENDIX.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE RESPOND TO ALL 3 1 1 REQUESTS,
[01:50:01]
A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THEM WITHIN SEVEN DAYS.THAT'S A BIGGEST PART OF OUR ENFORCEMENT MECHANISM RIGHT NOW.
IN MOST INSTANCES, ACROSS MOST PROGRAMS WE'RE ALREADY REALLY GOOD AT THAT.
BUT SOME OF THOSE, WHICH ARE ONES WHERE WE'RE STILL TRYING TO GET MORE INSPECTORS INTO, WE'RE CLOSER TO 10, 15 DAYS OR SO.
THOSE ARE OUR BIGGEST OPPORTUNITIES RIGHT NOW, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET EYES ON PROBLEMS AS SOON AS THEY'RE REPORTED RATHER THAN LETTING THEM LINGER.
BECAUSE SOMETIMES THAT DOESN'T GIVE US THE BEST DATA EITHER.
ALSO, ONCE YOU DO RESPOND, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S AN ESCALATION.
I ALSO WANTED TO SEE SOMETHING ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WITH, YOU KNOW, WITH, UH, THE YELLOW TAGS, CITATIONS, WHAT ARE THE RESULTS? 'CAUSE I'VE HEARD THAT A LOT OF CITATIONS ARE GETTING DISMISSED.
UM, SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE AN IMPROVEMENT ON THAT.
LIKE, HOW CAN WE, IF, UH, WHATEVER PERCENTAGE WAS DISMISSED THIS YEAR, CAN WE IMPROVE ON IT THE NEXT YEAR? LIKE TO SHOW THAT WE'RE LEARNING ON HOW TO DO THAT.
I, AND I THINK, I THINK THERE'S GOOD DATA THAT WE'D BE HAPPY TO GET.
UH, AS FAR AS THE ACTUAL PROCESS, YOU KNOW, OUR PART IN THE PROCESS REALLY ENDS AT THE CITATION AND THEN AT A COURT APPEARANCE, RIGHT.
UM, WHEN OUR INSPECTOR HAS TO TESTIFY, IT MOVES FORWARD WHAT THE PROSECUTOR OR THE JUDGE DECIDES TO THE CITATION IS COMPLETELY OUT OF OUR HANDS, BUT WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO COMPILE THE DATA AND, AND, AND SHOW YOU KIND OF WHERE IT'S GONE SO FAR.
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SEE SOMETHING ABOUT ILLEGAL DUMPING IN THE KPIS.
EITHER, UM, FEWER ILLEGAL DUMPING THAT WE'RE RESPONDING TO, OR WHERE, WHAT, WHERE IS ILLEGAL DUMPING ORIGINATING FROM? LIKE, I HAVE MY, MY THEORIES, BUT SURE.
THAT IT'S CONSTRUCTION, THAT IT'S LANDSCAPERS.
IF WE COULD TRACK WHERE ILLEGAL DUMPING COMES FROM, THEN WE CAN SOLVE IT.
WE CAN CERTAINLY WORK ON THAT DATA.
UM, IN THIS, IN THIS PAST YEAR, YOU SAID THAT, UM, FOR, UM, DITCH REESTABLISHMENT THAT YOU DIDN'T SPEND YOUR FULLY, UH, BUDGETED AMOUNT BECAUSE YOU HAD, UH, SPENT LESS.
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHERE YOU FOUND THOSE SAVINGS, UM, AND THAT YOU DID HIT THE TARGET? YEAH.
YOU KNOW, WHAT'S WHAT, THIS IS WHAT'S REALLY INTERESTING ABOUT REESTABLISHMENT.
WE'VE HAD THE QUESTION FROM A NUMBER OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE COMMUNITY AND SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UH, TELL US ABOUT THE SPECIFIC DRE ESTABLISHMENT PROJECTS.
THERE IS, UH, AN UNDERSTANDING ON HOW THE TERM IS.
REESTABLISHMENT ITSELF IS THE PROJECT.
NOW, THERE ARE WORK ORDERS THAT ARE ISSUED BASED OFF OF INSPECTIONS THAT MOVE FORWARD.
AND EVEN THE INSPECTIONS THEMSELVES ARE CERTAIN WORK ORDERS.
BUT OUR, OUR TARGET, THE PROJECT ITSELF IS 500 MILES EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
WE WILL, AGAIN, EXCEED THAT THIS YEAR.
OUR SLIDES HERE SAID WE'D HAD 500, BUT WE KNOW RIGHT NOW, BASED ON WHERE WE'RE GOING, WE WILL EXCEED IT AGAIN THIS YEAR AS WE HAVE IN YEARS PAST.
AND WE KEEP MOVING FORWARD ON THAT.
OUR EFFECTIVENESS HAS BEEN, UM, WHEN THE PROGRAM STARTED TWO YEARS AGO, WE DIDN'T KNOW REALLY WHAT IT WOULD COST.
AND SO THE DEPARTMENT KIND OF CAME UP WITH A NUMBER.
WE THOUGHT THIS IS WHAT IT WOULD BE.
THERE WAS A HUGE INVESTMENT IN CAPITAL EQUIPMENT TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
THAT PART OF IT IS NOW PASSED.
AND AS WE HAVE IMPROVED ON THE RATE AND SPEED OF THOSE CONTRACTS, THE COST HAS GONE DOWN.
WE HAVE A GOOD IDEA OF THE TRUE COST, WHICH IS WHAT'S REFLECTED IN THIS BUDGET.
NOW, THAT MEANS THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO HOLD FUNDS BASICALLY HOSTAGE FOR THAT PORT OF THE PROGRAM.
WE CAN REALLOCATE 'EM TO OTHER PLACES LIKE LDP, WHERE WE KNOW WE NEED TO, UH, PERFORM ADDITIONAL PROJECTS THEMSELVES SEPARATELY.
WE HAVE COME TO THE END OF THE COUNCIL QUESTIONS.
I WILL SPARE YOU MY 30 QUESTIONS.
YOU ALREADY ANSWERED A BUNCH OF MY SOLID WASTE QUESTIONS.
SO, UM, AND I PUBLISHED THOSE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
ANYBODY WHO CARES TO BE BORED TO TEARS TO READ THROUGH THEM.
UM, BUT REALLY CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR SITTING HERE FOR TWO HOURS.
UM, GETTING EVERYONE'S QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC.
UM, THIS IS, THIS IS A BIG, I DIDN'T WANNA CUT THIS SHORT IN ANY WAY BECAUSE THIS IS THE BIGGEST THING HAPPENING IN THIS BUDGET.
UM, WHAT WE'RE DOING IN WATER, SEWER, SEWER OPERATING WITH THE RIGHT, RIGHT OF WAY TRANSFER, WHICH WITH THE SUBSIDIZING THE SOLID WASTE, UM, DEPARTMENT'S OPERATIONS WITH RESERVES, WITH THE NEW ADMINISTRATIVE FEE.
SO THIS IS, THIS IS REALLY THE STORY OF THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
SO WANNA MAKE SURE WE, WE HAVE AMPLE TIME TO GET PEOPLE'S QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
I'LL ALSO REMIND THE PUBLIC OR ANYBODY WATCHING, YOU CAN EI HAVE A QUESTION FORM ON MY WEB, ON THE, ON MY WEBSITE.
YOU CAN FILL OUT, ASK QUESTIONS.
WE'LL GET THEM ANSWERED BY THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, THANK YOU AGAIN, RANDY SAMIR, DIRECTOR HASSAN, VERY, VERY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SERVICE.
AND, UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO ALL THE THINGS AHEAD.
CALL OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS DOUG SMITH.
[01:55:04]
GOOD AFTERNOON.COUPLE THINGS TO START OUT WITH.
UH, I HEARD A DISCUSSION ABOUT A BIG CHANGE HAPPENING IN PAY GO, AND I DIDN'T CATCH WHAT THAT WAS, BUT IT KIND OF PUT UP A RED FLAG TO ME, AND I'D LIKE TO HAVE AN EXPLANATION OF WHAT THAT IS.
I THINK, I THINK HE WAS REFERRING TO, UH, CUS PROJECTS, WATER SEWER PROJECTS.
UM, HOW MUCH IS GONNA BE DEBT SUPPORTED AND HOW MUCH IS PEGO? IT WAS NOT, EVERY TIME I HEAR PEGO, I THINK OF THE DRAINAGE.
AND STREET RENEWAL WE'RE, THAT'S ALL PEGO.
D-D-S-R-F IS WHAT I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT.
UH, IN THEIR, UH, CAPITAL PRO, EXCUSE ME, THEIR SHORT TERM GOALS UNDER CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND, THEY TALK ABOUT EXECUTING THE CURRENT NORTHEAST WATER PLANT PROJECT, AND THEY SAY NOTHING IN THEIR GOALS ABOUT WHAT IS A HUGE PROJECT, AND THAT'S THE EAST WATER TREATMENT PLANT.
AND I WOULD THINK THAT THAT WOULD CERTAINLY BE HIGH IN THEIR PRIORITY OF THINGS THEY WANT TO ADDRESS.
AND SECONDLY, UNDER THE BUILDING INSPECTION FUND, UH, THEY SAY LAUNCH THE METROPOLITAN MULTI-SERVICE CENTER EXPANSION PLAN.
MY QUESTION TO THAT IS, WHY ISN'T THAT DONE UNDER GSD? WHY ARE THEY RESPONSIBLE? I, I ASKED SOME WRITTEN QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT.
SO WHEN THEY ANSWER THAT QUESTION, I'LL, I'LL GET IT TO YOU.
AND NOW, UH, IN JUST LOOKING AT THE BUDGET AND UNDERSTANDING ALL OF THE TRANSFERS, IT SEEMS LIKE THEY'RE GONNA ROUGHLY TRANSFER A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE RIGHT OF WAY.
UH, $117 MILLION FOR, UH, SOLID WASTE.
AND THEN A COMPLETELY NEW PROJECT, 87 MILLION, EXCUSE ME, $87 MILLION FOR, UH, THE, UH, PROJECT, UH, ON SMITH 1600 SMITH STREET.
SO THAT'S OVER $300 MILLION THAT'S GONNA COME OUT OF THIS FUND.
AND I'M WONDERING WHERE THAT MONEY IS GONNA COME FROM, BECAUSE I HAD REQUESTED AFTER A-A-B-F-A MEETING, UH, THAT, UH, THEY HAVE THIS SURPLUS, AND WHERE IS THAT MONEY ALLOCATED? AND THEY CAME BACK TO ME AND THEY SAID IT'S ALL ALLOCATED TO VARIOUS PROJECTS.
UH, CERTAINLY PROJECTS LIKE, UH, CUS RESERVES FOR OPERATIONAL, $500 MILLION, $300 MILLION FOR FUND EIGHT OH, OR 8 83 0 5.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THOSE FUNDS ARE, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THEIR CASH RESERVES BASED ON WHAT THEY SENT BACK TO ME, ARE ALL RESERVES.
SO WHERE ARE THEY GONNA COME UP WITH $300 MILLION TO FUND THESE NEW INITIATIVES THAT THEY'RE DOING? UH, SECONDLY OR THIRDLY, I GUESS, UH, AND AGAIN, I HAVE TO WORK FROM THE BUDGET, NOT THE, THE REPORTS YOU GOT FROM THEM.
UH, THEY SAY UNDER THE D-D-S-R-F AVALOR TAX, IT INCLUDES $215 MILLION TRANSFER FROM THE GENERAL FUND FOR THE JONES WATSON SETTLEMENT.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE CURRENT BUDGET COMPARED TO WHAT THE PROPOSED BUDGET IS, THAT ONLY INCREASES $30 MILLION.
SO I DON'T UNDERSTAND IF THEY TRANSFERRED $215 MILLION, WHY THAT HASN'T GONE UP MUCH, MUCH MORE THAN IT DID.
WE CAN ASK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THAT.
AND LASTLY, UH, UNDER THE 3D D-S-R-F-D-D-S-R-F FUNDS, OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, 25 THROUGH 27, THEY HAVE COLLECTED THE REVENUES ARE $1,610 MILLION, AND THE EXPENSES ARE $590 MILLION.
SO THEY HAVE SPENT A BILLION DOLLARS LESS THAN THEY'VE COLLECTED.
AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WHEN THERE'S SO MUCH THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE.
GOING BACK TO THE RESERVES AND THE D-D-S-R-F ACCOUNTS.
WE'LL, TO THE EXTENT WE CAN, WE'LL GET THOSE ANSWERS.
WE'LL, WE, JORDAN'S WRITTEN 'EM DOWN.
WE'LL GET 'EM, GET THOSE ANSWERS TO YOU.
THANK YOU, CHAIR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
BILL KELLY, ON BEHALF OF ENVIRONMENT TEXAS, AS AN ORGANIZATION THAT HAS BEEN ADVOCATING FOR A SOLID WASTE FEE, WE ARE VERY ENCOURAGED TO SEE THE ADMINISTRATIVE FEE IN THE MAYOR'S PROPOSED BUDGET.
MOVING SOLID WASTE UNDER PUBLIC WORKS AND FUNDED UNDER THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE MORE RESOURCES IN THIS BADLY UNDER-RESOURCED DEPARTMENT.
NOW, TO BE CLEAR, THE SOLID WASTE WORKERS ARE SOME OF THE HARDEST WORKING EMPLOYEES THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS, AS NOTED BY THE CONTROLLER'S REPORT, THE AVERAGE SOLID WASTE WORKER IS WORKING 22 HOURS OF OVERTIME PER PAYCHECK.
THAT MEANS AN ADDITIONAL A WEEK'S WORTH OF WORK PER MONTH COSTING THE CITY MONEY AND POTENTIALLY BURNING OUT EMPLOYEES.
WE ARE PROUD TO COORDINATE OUR EFFORTS WITH OUR, UH, HOPE UNION BROTHERS AND SISTERS, AND WANNA MAKE SURE THAT BOTH APPRECIATE AND ADVOCATE ON OUR SHARED MISSION.
AND THE FY 2026 BUDGET SOLID WASTE WAS CUT BY OVER $5 MILLION.
[02:00:01]
CHARGED TO PROVIDE ONCE A WEEK TRASH PICKUP, BIWEEKLY RECYCLING PICKUP, PROVIDE HEAVY TRASH AND YARD WASTE PICKUP, AND OPERATE VARIOUS NEIGHBORHOOD DROP-OFF CENTERS UNDER THE FY 26 BUDGET.THAT WAS UNREALISTIC, NOT SUSTAINABLE, AND APPLIED INCREASING PRESSURE ON THE GENERAL FUND.
I DON'T NEED TO TELL YOU BECAUSE THREE OUT OF EVERY TOP 4 3 11 CLAUSE, UH, 3 1 1 CALLS, UH, OVER THE PAST YEAR, HAD TO DO WITH SOLID WASTE FUNCTIONS.
AND I'M SURE YOUR OFFICES RECEIVED THE CALLS AS WELL AS YOU REVIEW THE BURNS AND MCDONALD REPORT, WHICH WAS FINALLY RELEASED ON THE SAME DAY AS THIS BUDGET, YOU CAN SEE HOW UNDERFUNDED OUR SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT HAS BECOME.
AND THAT REPORT, IT CONTEMPLATES THE TOTAL COST OF PROVIDING SERVICES TO $27 AND 28 CENTS PER HOUSEHOLD.
THIS COMPARES WITH FORT WORTH AT $25 AND 75 CENTS, SAN ANTONIO AT $33 AND 75 CENTS.
A MUCH MORE REALISTIC, UH, RANGE WITH OUR PEER CITIES.
WE BELIEVE THIS IS REALISTIC AND A VAST IMPROVEMENT FROM THE FY 2026 BUDGET.
HOWEVER, JUST RE SECURING RESOURCES IS NOT ENOUGH.
LISTED IN THE REPORT IS THE COST OF SERVICES BREAKDOWN FOR A RESIDENTIAL SOLID WASTE FEE FOR PEER EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.
WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT EARLIER.
IT IS LISTED AT 0.04, LITERALLY ON THE PIE CHART ON PAGE THREE.
AT ROUNDS TO ZERO, GIVEN LAST YEAR'S FISCAL YEAR RECYCLING RATE OF 16%, WHICH IS MUCH LESS THAN A NATIONAL AVERAGE OF 34.7%.
COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER'S RESILIENCE AND COMMITTEE MEETING WITH FCC SHOWED THE POTENTIAL FOR INVESTMENTS THAT CAN REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN REDUCING OUR 42% CONTAMINATION RATE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ TALKED ABOUT.
UH, 'CAUSE WE ADDRESSED SOME OF THESE IN THE PREVIOUS CONVERSATION.
WE SHOULD NOT BE ASKING HOUSTONIANS TO NOW PAY AN ADMINISTRATIVE FEE FOR SERVICES THEY DO NOT WANT, AND THAT US COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVEN'T VOTED FOR UNDER THE LAST ADMINISTRATION.
AND YES, I BEAR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS WAS AN MOU.
AN MOU WAS SIGNED WITH EXXON AND LINE DEL BASSEL TO SEGREGATE PLASTICS FOR THEIR CHEMICAL RECYCLING PROGRAM.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AT THE EPA UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAVE ADDED URGENCY TO THIS ISSUE UNDER THE CURRENT INTERPRETATION OF THE CLEAN AIR ACT.
CHEMICAL RECYCLING FACILITIES ARE TREATED LIKE INCINERATOR AND MUST HAVE STRICT LIMITS ON TOXIC EMISSIONS.
THE EPA IS PROPOSING TO REGULATE THEM NOW AS, AS A MANUFACTURING PROCESS, WHICH COULD WEAKEN THESE PROTECTIONS OR EVEN CREATE A REGULATORY GAP WHERE THESE FACILITIES FACE FEWER ENFORCEABLE STANDARDS.
WE, WE WE'RE ASKING ABOUT THE STATUS OF THE, THAT WHOLE MOU.
SO REALLY APPRECIATE YOU KEEP BRINGING THAT UP AND WE ARE GONNA KEEP ASKING.
I APPRECIATE, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBERS.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
UM, CERTAINLY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER TOM THOMAS BROUGHT UP THE CONCERN ABOUT PUBLIC WORKS BEING JUST TOO BIG AND TO HAVE TOO MUCH RESPONSIBILITY, ESPECIALLY BRINGING COAST CODE ENFORCEMENT LAST YEAR.
HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE A GOOD THING, NOT A BAD THING, BUT I HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH SINCE, EVER SINCE THE RAINBOW CROSSING HAS BEEN DISAPPEARED BY THIS MAYOR THAT WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO REESTABLISH THE PRIDE COMMITTEE, LOWER WESTHEIMER BANNER DISTRICT.
WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS SINCE OCTOBER.
AND THE FIRST HARD PART WAS TO EVEN FIND THE PERSON IN PUBLIC WORKS WHO DEALS WITH IT.
I KEPT GETTING SENT TO THE SIGNED ADMINISTRATION PEOPLE, I'M NOT ANYBODY'S FAULT, CERTAINLY WANT TO THANK DISTRICT C FOR HELPING US IN EVERY PART OF THIS PROCESS.
BUT EVERY TIME WE SUBMITTED STUFF, WE WERE TOLD WE NEEDED SOMETHING ELSE.
AND THEN THERE WAS JUST TIME SPANS AND TIME SPANS.
SUPPOSEDLY, THIS IS NOW AT THE DIRECTOR'S DESK AND WE'RE WAITING FOR IT.
BUT THEN WE FOUND OUT ANOTHER THING IS THAT WE NEED IT TO NOW HAVE THE CITY PRODUCE THE BANNERS.
IN OTHER WORDS, WE THINK THIS IS GONNA PROBABLY BE CENSORSHIP, THAT WE WON'T BE ABLE TO PUT THE RAINBOW COLORS UP THERE ON A BANNER DISTRICT THAT WE'VE HAD.
UH, THIS WAS THE PRIDE COMMITTEE'S THING THAT WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2003.
UNDERSTANDABLY, PAPERWORK DISAPPEARS FROM THOSE, THOSE ERAS.
I WAS PART OF PRIDE WHEN THIS THING WAS ESTABLISHED, BUT THIS IS A CONCERN.
THIS IS A SMALL THING, A SMALL THING IN THE BIG CITY, BUT IT IS A CONCERN THAT PUBLIC WORKS JUST MAY BE TOO BIG.
A SECOND ISSUE IS I CAME HOME ON SATURDAY AND PICKED UP THE MAIL, AND HERE'S MY WATER BILL.
IT'S A SMALL TOWNHOUSE ASSOCIATION.
UM, AND FOR SOME REASON WE GOT A $7,000 CREDIT.
AND I WANT, I DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO HELP ME WITH THIS.
I WANNA GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO GET THIS FIXED THE NORMAL WAY EVERYBODY ELSE DOES.
UH, BUT I HOPE THIS ISN'T SOMETHING ELSE THAT A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE ARE SEEING.
CERTAINLY WE CAN USE THAT PART OF THE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN OUR LITTLE TREASURY, BUT WE, THIS IS NOT RIGHT.
I DON'T KNOW WHY WE GOT THE $7,000
[02:05:01]
CREDIT.UM, SO CERTAINLY THE NEW WATER METERS HAVE HELPED OUT A LOT.
I KNOW THE PROGRESS WAS HARD FOR A LONG TIME.
SOLID WASTE IS IN MUCH BETTER SHAPE THAN IT WAS IN THE PAST.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THINGS GETTING MUCH BETTER.
IN FACT, THERE WAS AN ARTICLE IN THE CHRONICLE THE OTHER DAY FOR SOMETHING THAT WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE COUNTY.
THEY SHOWED A PICTURE OF OUR, I SAY OUR GARBAGE TRUCKS.
IT WASN'T, IT WASN'T OUR FAULT.
SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR ALL THIS.
UM, I THINK CODE ENFORCEMENT'S GOTTEN BETTER.
CERTAINLY THERE WASN'T A BUDGET UNDER DON TO DO IT THE CORRECT WAY.
UM, AND WE LOOK FORWARD FOR THINGS GETTING BETTER.
NEXT IS LAURA GALLAGHER TO BE FOLLOWED BY RAIN EATON.
UM, LAURA GALLIER, DISTRICT CI WOULD LIKE TO GET BETTER ANSWERS TO COUNCIL MEMBER SALINA'S QUESTIONS ABOUT, UH, ILLEGAL DUMP DUMPING AND THE KPIS AROUND THAT.
UM, I ALSO WANTED TO SAY THAT WHEN I WAS, UH, LOOKING THROUGH THE CHECKBOOK AS PART OF MY HOMEWORK FOR THE BUDGET, I SAW WHERE HPW HAD PAID, UH, $265,000 TO FLOCK, WHICH I THINK OF AS SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS.
AND THE DIRECTOR SAID THAT THERE WERE NO CAMERAS.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO GET CLARIFICATION ON WHETHER OR NOT THERE ARE SECURITY CAMERAS IN HPW.
AND I ALSO JUST WANNA SAY IN GENERAL THAT Y'ALL KNOW, EXCUSE ME, I WASN'T EXPECTING TO SPEAK.
I DIDN'T REMEMBER I'D SIGNED UP.
UM, Y'ALL KNOW THAT I'VE BEEN TO ALMOST EVERY BUDGET WORKSHOP THAT YOU'VE HAD.
AND, UM, THIS ONE SEEMED TO BE, HAVE THE MOST VAGUE COMMENTS.
UM, NOTHING TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO.
EVERYTHING WAS A PROMISE OF JUST WAIT.
I PROMISE YOU IT'S GONNA BE BETTER.
AND THAT'S REALLY NOT ACCEPTABLE.
UM, FOR SOMETHING THIS BIG, THE BIGGEST THING IN THE WHOLE BUDGET IS THAT THE PEOPLE NEEDED CLARITY.
WE NEED GOOD COMMUNICATION AROUND THIS.
AND WE DIDN'T GET IT FROM THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, FIRST I WANT TO KIND OF START OFF WITH A COMMENT, UM, BASICALLY STATING, UM, MY OWN PREFERENCE AND CONCERN WITH JUST DOING A FLAT, UH, ADMINISTRATIVE FEE IN GENERAL, BECAUSE THERE ARE RESIDENTS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON WHO ARE ON THE RAZOR'S EDGE, AND THEY HAVE, THEY HAVE HOME OWNERSHIP, BUT THEY ARE ON THE RAZOR'S EDGE WHEN IT COMES TO DEALING WITH ADDITIONAL FEES.
AND WITH THE CONSTANT UPTICK OF WATER FEES ON TOP OF THE RIGHT OF WAY FEE ON TOP OF THIS, IT DOESN'T FEEL EQUITABLE TO JUST DO A FLAT TRASH FEE.
RATHER THAN, UM, TAKING THE INITIATIVE OF DOING A AMENDMENT TO DO A 1 CENT TAX RAISE ON THE PROPERTY TAXES THAT WOULD GENERATE AT LEAST 28 MILLION VERSUS THE 25 MILLION THAT THE $5 FEE WOULD GENERATE.
UM, AND I WOULD STRONGLY ENCOURAGE AND ADMONISH ANY COUNCIL MEMBER TO CONSIDER MAKING THAT AN, UM, AT LEAST AN AMENDMENT FOR THIS UPCOMING BUDGET, JUST SO IT COULD BE A LITTLE BIT MORE FEASIBLE FOR RESIDENTS, UH, MOVING FORWARD.
UM, AND I DO NOT WRITE POLICY, BUT I'M HAPPY TO BE A THOUGHT PARTNER ON THAT ONE.
UM, I WILL ALSO ECHO THE SENTIMENTS OF MS UH, GALLAGHER.
THE, THE FACT THAT THE PRESENTATION WAS GIVEN IN SUCH A WAY THAT SOLID WASTE WAS ALREADY INCORPORATED INTO HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, YET THERE WASN'T A LOT OF DATA FROM PREVIOUS YEARS OF WHAT SOLID WASTE WAS ABLE TO DO WITH, UH, TR UH, TREE REMOVAL, TONS OF TRASH PICKUP, THINGS OF THAT NATURE THAT DIDN'T GIVE A LOT OF CONFIDENCE IN TERMS OF LIKE HOW THEY ARE GUIDING THEIR METRICS, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THAT THERE IS DATA ON HAND THAT SOLID WASTE HAS BEEN ABLE TO PRODUCE YEAR AFTER YEAR FOR BUDGET.
SO IF THERE'S ANY WAY THAT, I MEAN, I KNOW IT'S IN THE 19TH HOUR, BUT IF THERE'S ANY WAY THAT THERE CAN BE LIKE A READJUSTMENT IN, IN, IN THE BIG BUDGET BOOK OR THE, THE, THE BUDGET THAT'S ONLINE, IF YOU GO TO SOLID WASTE, YOU WILL SEE THE KPIS THROUGH THIS YEAR.
SO YOU CAN TELL HOW THEY'RE DOING UP TO NOW.
I THINK THE IDEA WAS TO KIND OF REWORK AND REWORK THOSE KPIS AND,
[02:10:01]
AND INFORMATION IN THE 20 IN THE FY 27.BUT IF YOU WANNA LOOK AT THAT.
FY 26, 25 STUFF, THAT'S ALL THERE IN SOLID WASTE.
WELL THEN I WON'T HARP ON THAT PORTION.
UM, I DID HAVE A QUESTION REGARDING, UM, UH, ACCOUNTING FOR, 'CAUSE I KNOW THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM WITH, UH, SOLID WASTE AND HOW THEIR TRUCKS TEND TO BREAK DOWN BECAUSE OF OVERUSE OR HOW OLD THEY'VE BEEN, UM, KEPT IN THE SYSTEM.
WERE THERE ANY, UM, CONSIDERATIONS PUT TOWARDS WHAT DOES THAT TRANSITION SYSTEM LOOK LIKE FOR, UH, ACCOUNTING FOR EITHER REPAIRED OR JUST COMPLETELY NEW TRUCKS BEING BROUGHT INTO THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORK SYSTEM? YEAH, AND, AND A LOT OF THIS IS HANDLED BY THE FLEET DEPARTMENT.
WE HAD THAT WHERE, UH, WE DID YOU IT, WE CAN SUBMIT ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS TO FLEETS SPECIFIC TO SOLID WASTE.
AND I WILL TELL YOU, A LOT OF THIS IS HANDLED IN THE CAPITAL BUDGET, UM, THE BUYING OF WHICH IS WHAT WE TAKE UP RIGHT AFTER THE OPERATING BUDGET.
IT, IT, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S APPROPRIATE TO ASK NOW BECAUSE IT'S IT'S ALL THE SAME.
IT'S ALL THE SAME MONEY, BUT YES.
'CAUSE I HONESTLY DIDN'T KNOW, UM, I DID HAVE, IS IT OKAY IF I ASK ONE MORE QUESTION? ONE MORE? GO FOR IT.
UM, SO WITH THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM, UM, WHICH THE TRASH FEE WOULD GO TOWARDS, HAS THE, IT HAS THE FLEXIBILITY TO ALLOCATE FUNDS TO VARIOUS AREAS OF NEED, WATER INFRASTRUCTURE AND SEWAGE.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO HOW THE MONIES ARE ALLOCATED IN THAT, UH, SYSTEM AND HOW, UM, DOLLARS ARE PRIORITIZED FOR, LET'S JUST SAY A PROJECT FOR STORM WATER, THINGS OF THAT NATURE? THE FIRST PART OF YOUR QUESTION WAS HOW, LIKE, HOW ARE THOSE, BECAUSE FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM, WITH ALL OF THOSE FEES ALLOCATED IN THAT BUDGET, IT'S KIND OF LIKE AN, UM, A BUDGET THAT CAN BE SPENT TOWARDS EACH OF THOSE AREAS WITHOUT LIKE SPECIFIC PERCENTAGES ASSIGNED TO EACH OF THOSE AREAS.
I THINK SAMIR HAS SPECIFIC, I MEAN, THERE'S BUCKETS WITH, THERE'S TDO, THERE'S TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE OPERATIONS, THERE'S THE WATER WASTEWATER PROJECTS.
THERE'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALL VERY, VERY PRESCRIBED.
UM, IT, AND SO I CAN, I'M, I'M SURE WE CAN GET YOU SOME MORE DETAIL ON, ON HOW THAT MONEY'S ALLOCATED, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
ALWAYS GREAT TO SEE YOU NEXT, FELIX.
COUNCIL, UM, MARY WITH COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON'S OFFICE.
UM, JUST REALLY QUICK, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, INSTEAD OF DOING THE PROPERTY TAX, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ONLY, WE'RE ONLY $20 MILLION UNDER THE CAP, FIRST OF ALL, AND SECOND, BY REMOVING IT FROM THE GENERAL BUDGET, RIGHT.
WE'RE CUTTING THE DEFICIT BY HALF.
SO THAT HELPS ALSO BECAUSE, SO THAT WAY WE DON'T HAVE TO LIKE LAY OFF A BUNCH OF PEOPLE AND, YOU KNOW, SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE, THAT'S ONE REASON WHY THE MAYOR DID IT THIS WAY, AS FROM MY UNDERSTANDING.
I MEAN, WE RELIEVE $117 MILLION FROM THE GENERAL FUND BY PLACING SOLID WASTE INTO THE UTILITY.
THE, THE EXTRA, THE $5 FEE WILL BRING IN ABOUT $24 MILLION.
BUT, SO THERE'S TWO, TWO SIDES.
BUT YOU, YOU, IF YOU RAISE THE PENNY TAX OR YOU RAISE THIS UP TO THE CAP, YOU DO GET THE $20 MILLION, WHICH WOULD COVER THE, THE AMOUNT THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, GETTING IN THE FEE.
BUT IT WOULDN'T RELIEVE, I MEAN, BUT THE, THE ACTION OF PUTTING THE, UH, SOLID WASTE INTO THE UTILITY WOULD, IS THE ONE THAT GIVES US THE MOST RELIEF WITH THE $117 MILLION.
I, I THINK I GET MOST OF THAT, BUT THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION.
FELIX CAPOR TO BE FOLLOWED BY ALICE LI.
SOLID WASTE IN PUBLIC WORKS FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
UM, ONE QUICK QUESTION I HAD WAS REGARDING THE BUILD HOUSTON FORWARD ORDINANCE IN TERMS OF THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT'S ALLOCATED TO DEBT.
UM, SO ACCORDING TO THE ORDINANCE, 150 MILLION OF THE AVALOR IS SUPPOSED TO GO TO DEBT SERVICE EVERY YEAR.
UM, I THINK IN 24 IT WAS UPDATED THAT THE ANNUAL PA IN FISCAL YEAR 24, THE ANNUAL PAYMENT ON THE WEBSITE WAS UPDATED TO ABOUT A HUNDRED, OR IN THE BUDGET WAS UPDATED TO ABOUT 135 MILLION.
UM, SO IT WENT DOWN AND THEN I THINK IN FY 25, IT WAS AT 73 MILLION.
LAST YEAR IT WAS AT 151, AND THIS YEAR IT'S GONNA BE AT 227 MILLION, UM, TOWARDS THE DEBT PAYMENT.
SO I'M ASKING, I WOULD LOVE AN ANSWER NOW IF POSSIBLE, LIKE WHY THE SIGNIFICANT JUMP OF ABOUT 70 MILLION TOWARDS THE DEBT PAYMENT, UH, FROM THE D-D-S-R-F? THAT DEBT, DEBT PAYMENT HAS ALWAYS VARIED DEPENDING ON WHAT DEBT SERVICES IN THE, IN THE DRAINAGE AND STREET IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
[02:15:01]
ABOUT A BILLION AND A HALF IN DEBT SINCE REBUILD HOUSTON STARTED.SO MY QUESTION IS IT'S NEVER GONNA BE A STRAIGHT, STRAIGHT NUMBER, BUT IT'S NEVER, IT'S NEVER HAD THAT TAKE OF AN INCREASE BEFORE.
AND IT MUST JUST BEEN THE WAY THE DEBT WAS STRUCTURED AND OUR DEBT SERVICE PAYMENT FOR, FOR THIS PARTICULAR, FOR FY 27 WAS JUST HIGHER.
COULD WE GET A ANSWER TO THAT? YEAH, I, WE CAN GET, WE COULD GET A BREAKDOWN OF THE DEBT SERVICE.
SECOND, UH, SECOND QUESTION IS, UM, FOR SOLID WASTE AND PUBLIC WORKS, LIKE WAS THERE EVER ANY CONSIDERATION TOWARDS PUTTING THIS FEE THAT WE'RE CHARGING EVERY RESIDENT A FLAT FEE TOWARDS THE SAFETY OF THE SOLID WASTE WORKERS, WHICH THEY'VE ORGANIZED IN THIS VERY COUNCIL ROOM TO ADVOCATE FOR AS WELL AS THEIR SALARIES? WE CAN GET YOU A SPECIFIC ANSWER, BUT IT'S GOING TO GO TOWARDS THE GENERAL OPERATIONS OF SOLID WASTE, WHICH INCLUDES THE WELLBEING AND, AND SALARIES AND EVERYTHING OF ALL OF OUR SOLID WASTE WORKERS.
SO SOME OF THAT $5 IS ACTUALLY GONNA GO DIRECTLY TOWARDS THEIR, THEIR SOME OF THAT 24 MILLION COST.
WHAT ALSO, WHAT ALSO THE ADMINISTRATIVE FEE ALLOWS US TO DO IS TO BORROW, I MEAN THAT'S A, THAT'S A KNOWN, THAT'S A SET SET OF FUNDING THAT WE'RE GONNA GET IN.
NOT, NOT JUST BARRING THAT, THAT $5 THAT'S GONNA ACCUMULATE TO 24 MILLION GOING TOWARDS, TOWARDS THE OPERATIONS OF SOLID WASTE GOING CORRECT.
RANDY OAK AND SAMARI GOING, IT'S GONNA BE GOING TOWARDS, WHICH INCLUDES DR, WHICH IS MAINLY PERSONNEL OKAY.
AND EQUIPMENT AND ALL OF THAT.
UM, A FEW OTHER QUESTIONS I HAD WERE, UM, I GUESS PUBLIC WORK SAYS THERE WAS 900 VACANCIES CURRENTLY, UM, WITH THE FULL TRANSFER OF THE D-D-S-R-F, UH, LOOMING IN THE NEXT, UH, I GUESS NEXT YEAR OR THE YEAR AFTER, I'M FORGETTING.
UM, WHAT ARE WAYS THAT WE COULD EXPEDITE, UH, HIRING IN PUBLIC WORKS SO THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO HANDLE THAT EXTRA INFLUX OF, UH, OF MONEY COMING FROM THE TRANSFER? UH, I THINK WHAT I HEARD, UH, RANDY SAY WAS THERE THE, OUR CAPACITY IS TO HIRE ABOUT 500 THIS YEAR AND BEYOND THAT, WE, WE DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO ADD MORE.
'CAUSE IT'S MORE THAN JUST GETTING THE PEOPLE, UM, ONBOARDED IT'S TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT AND OTHER THINGS, WHICH WILL JUST TAKE ADDITIONAL TIME.
UM, THAT'S ALL I HAVE YOU AND THE REST I'VE SUBMITTED, UH, THROUGH YOUR WEBSITE.
WE'LL MAKE SURE THOSE GET ANSWERED.
THE FIRST ONE IS REGARDING THE, UH, MINIMUM RESERVE IN THE CUS.
SO THE ARGUMENT THAT DIRECTOR MACHI HAS MADE IS THAT THIS MINIMUM RESERVE REQUIREMENT RIGHT NOW IS ACTUALLY EXCESSIVE BEYOND WHAT IS ACTUALLY NEEDED.
UM, THE CONTROLLER HAS BEEN TELLING A VERY DIFFERENT STORY.
UM, BROADLY, THERE'S ONLY $24 MILLION OF NEW ACTUAL, NEW REVENUE IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
UM, THAT'S GOING INTO THE CUS AND $200 MILLION IS BEING TAKEN OUT OF WHAT WAS FORMALLY BEING SPENT ON WATER INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING.
UM, THAT MEANS THAT IN THIS ONE YEAR ALONE, THAT'S GOING TO TAKE THE CITY BELOW THE MINIMUM RESERVE OF 1.36.
AND IN JUST FIVE YEARS, UM, THE MINIMUM THE RESERVE WILL BE DOWN TO 0.5 BILLION.
SO EVEN BEYOND THIS YEAR, SAY WE WERE TO CHANGE THE MINIMUM, UM, RESERVE REQUIREMENT, UM, STRUCTURALLY THIS IS IN BALANCE.
AND WHAT IS THE PLAN TO ACTUALLY REPLENISH THAT RESERVE? UM, FROM AN OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE, IT SEEMS LIKE THE ONLY TWO OPTIONS WOULD BE INEVITABLY TO EITHER INCREASE WATER RATES AND INCREASE THE REVENUE GOING IN OR ACTUALLY CUTTING WATER INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING.
THERE IS A REALLY LONG ANSWER THAT STEVEN DAVID GAVE AT THE BUDGET TOWN HALL ON SATURDAY TO YOUR QUESTION.
UM, WE CAN GET YOU A SOLID ANSWER, BUT ON THE, ON THE SOLID WAYSIDE, UH, WHATEVER THAT WE, THAT ENDS UP GOING UP AND THERE WILL BE, UH, IN MY OPINION, AN INCREASE OF SOME SORT.
I MEAN, THERE WILL BE EFFICIENCIES GAINED AND WE, BUT WE'LL HAVE TO, THAT'S GONNA BE TAKEN AWAY FROM THE RESERVES AT SOME POINT.
THE RESERVES ARE FLOATING THAT ARE SUBSIDIZING THAT SOLID WASTE.
NOW, BECAUSE WE'RE ONLY CHARGING A $5 FEE IN THE FUTURE AS THAT, AS, AS THE FEE GOES UP, THAT RELIANCE ON THE RESERVES IS GOING TO DECREASE ON THE RIGHT OF WAY SIDE THAT IS COMING EVERY YEAR.
BUT AS WE GROW IN EFFICIENCIES, ADJUST RATES BASED ON OTHER THINGS, UH, THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF CALCULATIONS THAT GO INTO THAT.
UH, BUT WE'RE ALL CONCERNED THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH MONEY IN THE CUS RESERVES.
WE DON'T, NONE OF US WANNA SEE THOSE RESERVES GO DOWN TO NOTHING.
YOU HEARD THE DIRECTOR SAY HE'S VERY COMFORTABLE WITH THIS, THESE STRUCTURAL CHANGES.
I WILL, I WILL SEND YOU THE, THE LINK TO WHERE STEVE AND DAVID ADDRESSES THIS 'CAUSE IT'S ABOUT A 30 MINUTE ANSWER THAT HE GAVE, UM, IN, IN THE, IN
[02:20:01]
THE BUDGET TOWN HALL.AND WE CAN SEND YOU THE LINK THAT WAS RECORDED AND WE CAN SEND YOU THE LINK.
HE GOES INTO A LOT MORE DETAIL THAN I JUST DID.
YEAH, I WOULD JUST RESERVE, UH, THANK YOU.
AND I WOULD JUST URGE CITY COUNSELORS TO, UM, TRY YOUR BEST TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THAT BEFORE COMMITTING TO A STRUCTURALLY I BALANCED BUDGET WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE IMPLICATIONS IN THE LONG TERM.
UM, THE SECOND QUESTION THAT I HAD WAS RELATED TO, UH, STAFFING.
UM, SO IN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT'S PRESENTATION LAST WEEK, UM, WE SAW THAT THIS YEAR'S BUDGET REFLECTS 530 LESS FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT CIVILIAN WORKERS COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.
THAT'S A 14 REDUCTION, 14% REDUCTION IN THE CIVILIAN WORKFORCE.
WHEN WE TAKE A STEP BACK AND LOOK AT THE LONGER TREND OVERALL SINCE 2018, THERE'S BEEN A 26% REDUCTION IN THE CITY'S CIVILIAN WORKFORCE.
I THINK THIS IS A HUGE PART OF WHAT HAS BEEN REFLECTED, UNFORTUNATELY IN A DECLINE IN SERVICES AND ALSO A DECLINE IN WORKING CONDITIONS BY CITY WORKERS WHO HAVE BEEN, UM, VERY URGENTLY DESCRIBING THEIR CONDITIONS OF BEING FORCED TO WORK OVERTIME, UM, AND BEING EXTREMELY UNDERSTAFFED.
UM, SO CONNECTING THIS TO SOLID WASTE AND PUBLIC WORKS, UM, I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT WHAT THE, UH, WHAT PUBLIC WORKS' PLAN IS TO ADDRESS, UM, PROBLEMS WITH RETENTION.
SO IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT HIRING.
BUT OKAY, WE WE'RE OVER TIME HERE.
SO LET ME GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER.
JUST HAD A QUICK QUESTION FOR YOU CHAIR.
DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE LAST YEAR WAS THAT WE HAD A STRUCTURALLY BALANCED BUDGET? WE'VE NEVER HAD A STRUCTURALLY BALANCED BUDGET
BUT, AND THERE'S A LOT OF REASONS FOR THAT TOO.
UH, HAVING TO DO WITH LONG-TERM OBLIGATIONS, LONG-TERM LIKE PENSION AND OTHER POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.
EVERY CITY ACROSS THE COUNTRY DOES NOT, HASN'T NOT STRUCTURED ACROSS THE COUNTRY, HAS A SIMILAR SITUATION.
I MEAN, I'M NOT SAYING THAT'S GOOD, I'M JUST SAYING IT'S NEVER BEEN COMPLETELY A STRUCTURALLY BALANCED BUDGET.
UM, AND I WILL KEEP THIS FAST PACE.
UM, I DID JUST WANNA POINT OUT THE CHRONIC UNDERSTAFFING PROBLEM, AND I'M NOT SEEING THE URGENCY AND PRIORITIZATION REFLECTED IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
UM, AND I DID ALSO WANT TO SAY THAT SOLID WASTE WORKERS UNFORTUNATELY HAVE HEARD DIRECTLY THAT THIS FEE IS NOT GOING TO TRANSLATE INTO A RACE.
UM, AND THAT IS VERY CONCERNING.
UM, FINALLY, I DID WANNA BRING UP, UM, THE, THE DIRECTOR HAS CLAIMED THAT THE TREE ESTABLISHMENT IS GOING TO BE OPERATE WITH $20 MILLION LESS THAN THE YEARLY FUNDING THEY'VE BEEN GETTING EVERY YEAR SO FAR SINCE IT'S, UM, SINCE IT'S CREATION.
AND, UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF CONCERNS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THAT'S ACTUALLY TRUE.
UM, THEY ARE MEETING, UM, THEIR COMMITMENTS, BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW ALMOST A 50% REDUCTION IN FUNDING IS GOING TO NOT IMPACT THEIR DELIVERABLES.
ALSO, WE HAVE TAKEN THE LIBERTY TO ACTUALLY GO OUT IN NORTHEAST HOUSTON AND LOOK AT SOME OF THESE DITCHES THAT HAVE BEEN FLAGGED AS GREEN MEANING IN GOOD CONDITION WITHIN THE DITCH TREE ESTABLISHMENT DASHBOARD.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE'RE SEEING THESE DITCHES THAT ARE MARKED GREEN ARE, UM, HAVE ROCKED OR COLLAPSED CULVERTS.
THEY'VE ALMOST BEEN FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH WATER, UM, AF OVER TWO WEEKS AFTER THE LAST RAINSTORM.
I'VE REALLY GOTTA MOVE ON TO THE NEXT PERSON, BUT THANK YOU.
I KNOW YOU'VE, THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH THEE ESTABLISHMENT PROGRAM AND THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE WITH $20 MILLION LESS IN FUNDING.
I WAS HERE LAST WEEK AT THE TUESDAY, UH, SESSION AND YOU SUGGESTED, UH, THIS WAS GONNA BE THE DISCUSSION TODAY.
SO I WANTED TO COME BACK AND SINCE, UM, OUR FOLKS HAD TO LEAVE BECAUSE THEY HAD A JOB TO DO, UM, I WANTED TO SHARE, UH, AT LEAST A SUMMARY OF, OF WHAT I, UH, MENTIONED.
AND I DID SEND A COPY OF MY COMMENTS TO ALL OF YOUR OFFICES.
UH, FIRST, UH, I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN VOLUNTEER GROUPS, COMMUNITY GROUPS, PROFESSIONAL GROUPS, AND YOU ALWAYS GET INTO IT BECAUSE YOU WANT TO DO STRATEGIC STUFF AND YOU GET SPEND ALL YOUR TIME DOING OPERATIONS BECAUSE THAT HAS TO BE DONE.
WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY, I THINK NOW WHILE WE'RE RETHINKING OUR SOLID WASTE TO TAKE A CLEAN SHEET OF PAPER AND LOOK AT A SYSTEM FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS CENTURY.
WE'RE A QUARTER OF THE WAY THROUGH THIS CENTURY, AND WE'RE PROBABLY ADDING ON, ADDING ON A LOT OF TECHNIQUES FROM THE PRIOR CENTURY.
UH, SO LET'S THINK ABOUT WHAT IT COULD BE AND IDEALLY WE WILL GET THE SAME OR BETTER SERVICE FOR, UH, LESS EXPENSE.
UH, ONE THING WOULD BE PAY AS YOU THROW.
I IMAGINE THAT OUR LANDFILL CHARGES ARE VOLUME BASE
[02:25:01]
AND I KNOW A LOT OF PLACES, INCLUDING WHEN I DROVE BY RIVER OAKS THE OTHER DAY, USED, UH, SOME OF THE, UH, 24 AND 36 GALLON SIDE LOAD, UH, BINS.UH, I WANT TO KEEP THE, THE 90 GALLON GREEN ONES BECAUSE BETWEEN MY NEWSPAPER HAVE IT IN MY WIFE'S, UH, MAIL ORDER, HAVE IT.
WE SEEM TO FILL IT UP EVERY OTHER WEEK.
SO, UM, DO, DO PLAN FOR THOSE SORT OF THINGS.
AND EVENTUALLY, UH, IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE COULD ELECTRIFY OUR TRUCK FLEET.
UH, WE TALKED ABOUT MAINTENANCE A LITTLE BIT EARLIER.
IF YOU WANTED TO TEAR UP A DIESEL ENGINE GOING 50 FEET, STOPPING IDLING, GOING ANOTHER 50 FEET IS A GOOD WAY TO DO IT.
AND A FEW YEARS AGO WE DID HAVE AN ANTI IDLING ORDINANCE OF WHICH I THINK WAS DIRECTED MORE TOWARDS THE SHIP CHANNEL, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THE CITY IS PROBABLY VIOLATING IT EVERY DAY OF THE WORK WEEK.
SO, UM, I KNOW, UH, THE WAY WE BUDGET, IT'S HARD TO UPGRADE THE FLEETS, UH, TO MAYBE A MORE DESIRABLE OBJECTIVE, BUT PLEASE STRATEGICALLY KEEP THAT IN MIND, UH, IF YOU WOULD.
AND, UH, LASTLY, I'M A GEOLOGIST.
WE'VE GOT MORE GEOS HERE IN HOUSTON THAN ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, SO I'LL GIVE YOU SOME FREAKING SELFIE.
WHEN YOU PUT IN THOSE WATER AND SEWER LINES IN THE SAND BED, PUT IN SOME GYPSUM OR OTHER CALCIUM SOURCE AS WELL BECAUSE OUR SWELLING AND SHRINKING CLAYS, UH, THE CALCIUM WILL FIX.
SO THE WATER DOES NOT GO ON AND OFF OF THE CLAY LAYERS.
AND MAYBE, UH, THAT 3% REPLACEMENT RATE, UH, AT THE END OF 30 OR 35 YEARS, WE'LL HAVE IT DOWN TO A 2% REPLACEMENT RATE.
SO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR ATTENTION AND, UH, AGAIN, I SENT MY REMARKS LAST WEEK TO YOUR OFFICES.
I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR BEING HERE.
UH, NEXT GUADALUPE FERNANDEZ TO BE FOLLOWED BY USMAN MA MAUD.
UH, FOR THE RECORD, GUADALUPE FERNANDEZ WITH BAYOU CITY WATERKEEPER AND RESIDENT OF DISTRICT, I, UM, WE WERE ACTUALLY AT THE STATE SENATE WATER COMMITTEE HEARING LAST WEEK WHERE RIGHT OF WAY UTILITY TRANSFERS WERE DISCUSSED.
IT'S GONNA BE A VERY SPICY LEDGE SESSION THIS YEAR OR NEXT YEAR.
UM, BUT BAYOU CITY WATERKEEPER IS CONCERNED ABOUT THESE MANURE THAT RESTRAINING THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM AT A TIME WHEN THE CITY STILL FACES A CRITICAL WATER INFRASTRUCTURE CRISIS.
WE LOSE ENOUGH WATER PER YEAR TO SUPPLY THE CITY OF FORT WORTH.
AND AS WE PRESENTED AT COUNCIL TWO WEEKS AGO ON THE CONSENT DECREE, UH, WE RAISED QUESTIONS AROUND THE CITY'S PROGRESS IN MEETING ITS OBLIGATIONS.
UM, ALTHOUGH SMALLER MAINTENANCE PROJECTS HAVE SHOWN PROGRESS, WE HAVE YET TO SEE A MEANINGFUL REDUCTION IN SEWAGE OVERFLOWS.
WE'RE CONCERNED PRIMARILY BECAUSE THE CITY MAY NOT BE MOVING QUICKLY ENOUGH ON THE LARGER PROJECTS AT OUR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS AND LIFT STATIONS.
ACCORDING TO PUBLIC WORKS OWN FULL YEAR TRACKING, ANNUAL SEWAGE OVERFLOWS HAVE RISEN FROM 1200 IN 2022 TO ALMOST 1600 LAST YEAR.
AS WE MENTIONED, IF PUBLIC WORKS CAN PROVE THAT THEY'RE MAKING SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS ON THE CONSENT DECREE AND THAT THESE FUNDS ARE TRULY EXCESS, THEN WE BELIEVE THE CITY CAN DO MORE THAN THE BARE MINIMUM OF THE CONSENT DECREE TO REDUCE SEWAGE OVERFLOWS AND IMPROVE OUR WATER INFRASTRUCTURE.
THIS MONEY COULD INSTEAD BE ENLISTED IN THE SYSTEM FOR PROACTIVE REPAIRS.
FUND A ONE WATER APPROACH FOR INTEGRATED WATER MANAGEMENT, WHICH WOULD ACTUALLY HELP PUBLIC WORKS MANAGE WATER MORE EFFICIENTLY, OR FUND ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS TO RELIEVE OUR LOWEST INCOME AND MOST VULNERABLE RESIDENTS FROM HIGH WATER BILLS OR EVEN PRIVATE SEWER LATERAL REPAIRS.
WE'RE ALSO CONCERNED ABOUT THE STRICT LEGAL AND POLICY REQUIREMENTS, INCLUDING OPERATING RESERVES, PROJECT APPROPRIATIONS, CAPITAL ROLLOVERS, AND REGULATORY COMPLIANCE EXPENSES.
THE ACTUAL UNCOMMITTED SURPLUS OR RESERVES APPEARS TO BE 141 MILLION FROM MY BACK OF THE NAPKIN CALCULATIONS.
IF THE CITY PLANS TO EXTRACT 220 MILLION FOR SOLID WASTE AND RIGHT OF WAY, HOW WILL THE UTILITY COVER THE REMAINING BALANCE WITHOUT STRUCTURALLY OVERDRAWING ITS REQUIRED SAFETY CUSHION TO GIVE THE PUBLIC TRUE PEACE OF MIND.
HOW CAN THE CITY PROVE TO RATE PAYERS THAT OUR WATER BILL MONEY IS PROTECTING OUR WATER SYSTEMS FIRST AND FOREMOST? UM, WE ALSO ASK THAT PUBLIC WORKS PROVIDE THIS COMMITTEE AND THE PUBLIC A COMPLETE ITEMIZED BREAKDOWN OF THE CURRENT CUS CASH BALANCE THAT EXPLICITLY ISOLATES REQUIRED RESERVES FROM ACTUAL UNCOMMITTED DISCRETIONARY FUNDS BEFORE COUNCIL IS ASKED TO VOTE ON THIS BUDGET.
FURTHERMORE, THE CLAIM THAT MOVING SOLID WASTE INTO PUBLIC WORKS WILL CREATE EFFICIENCY,
[02:30:01]
IS HIGHLY SUSPECT.PUBLIC WORKS IS ALREADY STRUGGLING WITH THE MAINTENANCE BACKLOG OF 41 DAY AVERAGE WEIGHT FOR WATER LEAK REPAIRS.
SO WE DON'T THINK THAT WOULD MAKE, UH, PROJECTING WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE FOR OUR SOLID WASTE SERVICES.
UM, THERE'S A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS I HAVE AROUND THESE EFFICIENCIES THAT I'M HAPPY TO SUBMIT IN WRITING FOLLOWING TODAY'S PRESENTATION.
AND, AND WE'VE ASKED ABOUT THE, THE REPORT THAT YOU'VE DONE ABOUT THE INCREASE IN SSOS AND, AND I DO, UH, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT MANY OF THOSE ARE, THE MAJORITY OF THOSE ARE IN PRIVATE LATERALS AND THAT THE CITY'S SSOS HAVE ACTUALLY GONE DOWN.
WELL, WE'LL GET, WE'LL GET SOME CLARIFICATIONS, BUT THAT WAS, UM, WHEN WE INITIALLY ASKED ABOUT THAT, THAT WAS, UH, ONE OF THE RESPONSES THAT I REMEMBER.
SO, UM, SOME OF THIS IS DUE TO PRIVATE LATERALS, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL GET YOU SOME MORE INFORMATION ON THAT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING.
USMAN MAHMUD, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, COUNSEL AND HPW, UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, JUST REFERRING TO PAGE 46, UM, AND I MAY HAVE MISSED THIS AS PART OF THE PRESENTATION, BUT IT SHOWS THE EXPENDITURE INCREASE OF ABOUT 260 MILLION, WHICH IS LIKELY COMING FROM THE, UH, UH, THE SOLID WASTE AND THE RIGHT OF WAY TRANSFERS, UM, WHICH WOULD LIKELY BE SUBSIDIZED BY THE, UH, CUS FUND BALANCE.
UM, BUT LET'S SAY THAT NONE OF THESE, UH, CHANGES HAPPEN.
SO IF THE SOLID WASTE FEE REMAINS THE SAME, THE RIGHT OF WAY, TRANSFERS DON'T INCREASE.
AND IF WE ASSUME THAT THE FUND BALANCE DOESN'T GROW, UM, THE $1.3 BILLION FUND BALANCE IS AT A 550 DAY RESERVE, BUT TO BE AT A 300 DAY RESERVE, IT WOULD BE, UH, A A LITTLE OVER 709 MILLION.
UM, AND IT'S, IF WE HAVE THESE, UH, $220 MILLION, UH, COSTS THAT NEED TO BE SUBSIDIZED EACH YEAR, THAT GIVES THE CUS ONLY A LITTLE OVER 3.2 YEARS BEFORE THE FUND BALANCE HITS THAT, UH, CRITICAL THRESHOLD.
SO YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO EITHER INCREASE THE ADMIN FEES OR THE OTHER, UH, UH, RIGHT AWAY TRANSFERS.
UH, OTHERWISE THERE NEEDS TO BE CLARITY ON, ON, YOU KNOW, THE GROWTH OF THE FUND BALANCE ITSELF.
UM, SO I WOULD, YOU KNOW, LOVE TO GET FROM PUBLIC WORKS, UH, JUST SORT OF LIKE THIS IMPACT FORECAST OF IF WE KEEP THE RIGHT OF WAY TRANSFERS AND THE $5 FEE FLAT, THEN, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THAT, UH, TRAJECTORY, UH, FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
AND THEN WHAT IS THE TRAJECTORY OF THE INCREASES OF THE INCREMENTAL $5, UM, THAT WAS ORIGINALLY PROPOSED, BUT NOW IT'S, UH, BEING A LITTLE BACKTRACKED BY ASSUMING THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO INCREASE IT ALL THE WAY.
YOU KNOW, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER THAT SOLID WASTE OPERATIONS COULD BE INCREASING EACH YEAR.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, WHILE WE SEE THE DEFICIT NOW, UM, I I CAN, I CAN IMAGINE THE, THE OPERATING COST WOULD BE GOING UP.
THAT MEANS THE SUBSIDIZATION HAPPENING BY THE CU S FUND BALANCE IS ALSO GOING TO KEEP INCREASING.
SO IT'D BE REALLY HELPFUL TO SEE SOME DATA ASSESSMENT AND THAT IMPACT FORECAST OF, YOU KNOW, HOW THE FUND BALANCE IS BEING DRAWN OUT OVER TIME.
AND SAMIR AND RANDY, I THINK THAT'S A FAIR POINT THAT WE'D ALL LIKE TO SEE, UM, IF THAT, IF THAT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SOME PROJECTIONS OUT ON THE RESERVES THEMSELVES YEAH.
UNDER SOME DIFFERENT SCENARIOS.
ANY OTHER SPEAKERS ON PUBLIC WORKS OR SOLID WASTE OPERATIONS? REALLY, REALLY GRATEFUL TO ALL OF THE PUBLIC WHO CAME TO SPEAK TO OUR, OUR PUBLIC WORKS AND SOLID WASTE EMPLOYEES AND LEADERSHIP WHO ARE HERE.
UH, THIS WAS, YOU KNOW, TWO AND A HALF HOURS AND, AND IT WAS, UH, I'M SO SORRY, FIRE DEPARTMENT.
YOU GUYS USED TO BE ON THE HOT SEAT, BUT NOW IT'S, NOW IT'S PUBLIC WORKS AND SOLID WASTE.
SO, UM, APPRE, I'M SORRY FOR THE DELAY IN THE NEXT WORKSHOP, BUT REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S ATTENTION.
AND, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ATTENDING.
WE'LL TAKE A SHORT BREAK AND THEN WE'LL GET STARTED WITH FIRE.