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STUDENT'S BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE.
AND WELCOME TO THE MAY 18TH, 2026 BUDGET HEARINGS.
THIS IS OUR FIFTH DAY OF BUDGET HEARINGS, AND WE ARE STARTING OFF WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE TO BE FOLLOWED BY CITY COUNCIL, THE OFFICE OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY.
THEN WE'LL BREAK, AND THEN AT ONE 30 WE'LL HAVE A COMBINED HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS AND SOLID WASTE WORKSHOP.
AND THEN AT THREE 30 ISH WE WILL HAVE, UM, HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT.
AND I'M HAPPY TO SEE STEVEN DAVID, THE STREET CHIEF STRATEGY AND OPERATIONS OFFICER FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND WILL BRYANT WITH THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
AND STEVEN, THE FLOOR IS YOURS.
GOOD MORNING CHAIR, VICE CHAIR, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
IT'S GOOD TO SEE ALL Y'ALL AND STAFF AS WELL.
UM, WANNA BE ABLE TO, UH, BLOW THROUGH THIS AS FAST AS POSSIBLE SO I CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, AS YOU MENTIONED, TO MY RIGHT IS WILL BRYANT, WHO'S THE CHIEF OF STAFF TO MELISSA DEBOWSKI.
HE ALSO HAS THE UNCEREMONIOUS JOB OF KICKING ME VERY HARD IF I SAY SOMETHING OUT OUT OF TOUCH.
UM, SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND, UH, SKIP AHEAD TWO SLIDES.
UM, SO AS, AS WITH ALL DEPARTMENTS, UH, WE TRY AND BREAK OUT THE FUNCTIONS THAT WE HAVE INTO THE BUCKETS OF STRATEGY, UH, THAT WE HAVE SET, UH, FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UM, WE HAVE FIVE FUNCTIONS AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL, UM, IN GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS.
EXECUTIVE OVERSIGHT, TOURISM PROMOTION, DEBT SERVICE, AND INTER FRANK TRANSFERS.
QUALITY OF LIFE IS, UH, HOUSES, CABLE, TELEVISION.
AND THEN IN INFRASTRUCTURE, WE HAVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
WHAT I'LL SAY IS THAT ALL OF THIS TENDS TO BE IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER.
I THINK WE CAN MAKE AN ARGUMENT FOR ANY OF THESE THINGS BEING IN ANY OF THE BUCKETS.
UH, GOING INTO THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AT A HIGH LEVEL, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO REDUCE OUR EXPENDITURES BY 7%, UM, FROM THE, THE YEAR BEFORE.
AND, UH, WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THAT.
WHEN WE FIRST CAME IN, VERY FIRST BUDGET THAT WE PASSED, WE ACTUALLY CAME IN, UH, 10% UNDER IN EXPENDITURES, UH, THE FIRST YEAR.
AND WE HELD FLAT THE NEXT YEAR.
UM, PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO SEE A SLIGHT UPTICK, A 4% INCREASE INSIDE GENERAL FUND CABLE TELEVISION EXPENDITURES ARE BEING ADJUSTED DOWN.
I'LL GO INTO DETAIL OF THAT IN A LITTLE BIT, BUT AT A HIGH LEVEL, WE ARE MAKING, UM, HTV, UH, THEIR EXPENDITURES ALIGN WITH THEIR REVENUES.
'CAUSE AS YOU KNOW, THEY'RE TIED TO WHAT'S CALLED PEG FUNDING.
AND I'LL GET INTO THAT DETAIL IN A SECOND.
AND THEN ALSO, WE'RE SEEING A 5% DECREASE IN TOURISM PROMOTION.
UH, PLEASE NOTE THAT, UH, WHILE YOU'RE SEEING AN INCREASE IN THE GENERAL FUND, IT'S LARGELY RELATED TO HOPE INCREASES AND AN INCREASE IN INTER FUND TRANSFERS FROM, UH, THE GENERAL FUND OF TOURISM PROMOTION FOR SPECIAL EVENTS.
WE HAVE EXPENDITURES IN THE FUNDS BY THOUSANDS.
YOU CAN SEE, AGAIN, AS A STACKED, UH, HISTOGRAM, UH, THAT WE ARE, UH, TRENDING DOWNWARD WITHIN OUR EXPENDITURES, WHICH WE'RE PROUD OF.
UH, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS PERSONNEL VERSUS NON-PERSONNEL.
AS Y'ALL KNOW, WITHIN THE CITY, LARGELY ALL OF OUR COSTS ARE PEOPLE COSTS THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF OUR COSTS.
HOWEVER, WITHIN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, WE DO, UH, TEND TO SEE SOME OF THOSE COSTS SKEW A LITTLE BIT, AND IT'S BECAUSE OF WHERE CERTAIN THINGS, UH, SIT.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, WITHIN, UM, WITHIN CABLE TELEVISION, 61% OF, UH, UM, OF THE COST IS PERSONNEL GENERAL FUND 64%, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT IN, WHICH IS IN LINE WITH THE CITY.
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO TERRORISM PROMOTION, 15%, UH, IS PERSONNEL LARGELY BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE WE SEE A WHOLE BUNCH OF, UH, MONEY COMING IN, UH, THAT WE DOESN'T NECESSARILY GO TO STAFFING, BUT MORE GOES TO THINGS THAT WE DO THINGS WITH THAT MONEY.
UH, AS YOU CAN SEE, AGAIN, THE BIG DOWNTICK IS GONNA BE IN CABLE TELEVISION AT A 33% DECREASE.
WE SEE MARGINAL INCREASES, UH, WITHIN DEBT SERVICE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND EXECUTIVE OVER OVERSIGHT.
AND THEN A 5% DECREASE IN TOURISM, AVERAGING OUT TO THAT 7% DECREASE IN EXPENDITURES THAT I TALKED ABOUT.
WE GET INTO THE DETAILS OF THE PROGRAMS THEMSELVES.
UH, SO THIS IS GONNA BE, UH, WE'LL START WITH CABLE TELEVISION.
UH, AS A REMINDER, CABLE TELEVISION IS THE PRI, THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF REVENUE IS THROUGH STATE CABLE FRANCHISE FEES.
SO THIS IS, UM, CHARGES TO COMPANIES LIKE COMCAST AND AT AND T SPECIFICALLY FOR PEOPLE WHO SUBSCRIBE TO THEIR CABLE SERVICE.
AND SO THIS IS NOT NEW TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
WE'VE SEEN DECADES NOW OF, UH, THAT TRENDING DOWNWARD LARGELY BECAUSE OF STREAMING SERVICES.
THAT DOESN'T, THAT IS NOT CAPTURED WITHIN, UH, PEG FUNDING.
SO THINGS LIKE NETFLIX AND AMAZON PRIME, THOSE THINGS WILL ACTIVELY COMPETE WITH, UH, FOLKS LIKE THE NORMAL CABLE SERVICE, WHICH IS WHAT FUNDS THIS.
UM, HISTORICALLY, WHAT THE, UH, THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS DONE IS EVERY TIME PEG FUNDING GOES DOWN, GENERAL FUND CONTRIBUTION GOES UP INSIDE OF THE, UH, OF HOUSTON TELEVISION.
BUT WE'VE BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH TED AND WITH THAT TEAM TO BE ABLE TO RIGHTSIZE EXPENDITURES TO REVENUES.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE THE DECREASE, IS THAT WE ARE ALIGNING THEIR EXPENDITURES TO THEIR REVENUE ITSELF.
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BUT IN EFFECT, WE'RE ALSO RIGHT SIZING OUR CAPITAL EXPENDITURE BUDGET BUDGET FOR CAPITAL SPENDING TO ALIGN WITH THAT DECLINE IN REVENUE.ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, WE HAVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
UM, YOU COULD SEE ALL OF THE PERFORMANCE METRICS.
I'M NOT GONNA BELABOR THE POINT OF READING THEM TO YOU, UM, AS WELL AS THE BUDGET, WE SEE A MARGINAL INCREASE HERE, BUT THOSE INCREASE, UH, ARE THE, IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET FROM FY 26 IS ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY A LABLE TO HOPE CONTRACTUAL INCREASES.
SO THIS IS, UH, EVERYTHING THAT YOU SEE WITHIN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF FUNCTION, UH, BASICALLY EXECUTING THE WAY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE RUNS.
SO WE HAVE OBVIOUSLY THE EXECUTIVE STAFF, BUT WE ALSO HAVE THE AGENDA OFFICE, THE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE, ALL OF THE STUFF, ALL THE FOLKS THAT YOU'RE USED TO WORKING WITH OUT OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.
UM, WE SEE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT INCREASES.
ONE IS, UH, DRIVEN BY STATE LAWS IS HB 27 79, UH, AND WHICH YOU WILL ALSO SEE REFLECTED IN Y'ALL'S BUDGETARY INCREASE CITY COUNCILS AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN WE ARE ALSO INCREASING THE HEADCOUNT, UH, WITHIN THE AGENDA OFFICE BY ONE FTE.
AS Y'ALL ALL KNOW, MARTA CORNEJO DOES YEOMAN'S WORK IN BEING ABLE TO MAKE SURE SHE DELIVERS THE BUDGET.
UH, WE ARE ADDING AN FTE TO MAYBE MAKE HER WEEKS LESS THAN 90 HOURS.
SO THIS IS, UM, MONEY THAT COMES IN BASED ON BEDS ON HEADS.
UH, THIS BUDGET, UH, IS TYPICALLY THE REVENUE STREAM, UH, COMING IN FROM THE HOTEL.
OCCUPANCY TAX IS SET BY PROJECTIONS FROM HOUSTON FIRST.
UM, AND THEN WE BRING THOSE IN AND THEN WE DIVVY THEM UP IN THE WAYS THAT WE DO.
BUT, UH, WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS AN INCREASE FROM FY 26 ADOPTED, UH, DUE TO INCREASING STAFFING LEVELS TO SUPPORT THE ARTS, WE ARE REDUCING, UH, THE VACANCY FACTOR FOR THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF SPECIAL EVENTS WITH THE HIRING OF PREVIOUSLY VACANT POSITIONS.
AND, UH, WHAT YOU SEE IS THAT WE ARE GOING, UH, TO A TOTAL BUDGET OF $24.3 MILLION.
UH, BUT SITTING INSIDE OF THAT BUCKET IS GONNA BE ABOUT 25 FTES.
THIS IS DEBT SERVICE AND ENTER FUND TRANSFERS.
UH, ALMOST ALL OF IT, UH, GOES EXCLUSIVELY TO SUPPORT SPECIAL EVENTS.
UH, BUT THERE IS ABOUT $300,000 THAT GOES TO SUPPORT HTV.
THIS IS FROM PAST CAPEX, UH, FOR HTV.
SO NEXT SLIDE IS 27 REVENUE HIGHLIGHTS.
SO THE FIRST IS THAT THE PEG CONTRIBUTIONS, THE STATE FRANCHISE BUDGET IS GOING TO BE $250,000 LOWER THAN THE FY 27 ESTIMATE DUE TO THE DECLINE OF CABLE PEG FEES.
AGAIN, THESE ARE SUBSCRIBERS TO, UH, SET TOP BOXES FOR CABLE TV.
UM, AND THEN WITHIN TOURISM PROMOTION CONTRIBUTIONS FROM OTHER BUDGET IS 708,000 HIGHER THAN THE FY 26 ESTIMATE, PRIMARILY DUE TO THE PROJECTED INCREASE OF THE REVENUE RECEIVED FROM HOUSTON FIRST, WHICH IS BASED ON 19.3% OF THE TOTAL, UH, HOT GROSS RECEIPTS, UH, AGAIN, WHICH IS PROJECTED TO BE HIGHER.
THIS IS GOING TO BE CAPTURED LARGELY IN PART BY, UH, THE FACT THAT, UH, WE'RE SEEING THINGS LIKE FIFA AND THE WORLD CUP BLEND OUR TWO FISCAL YEARS.
SO WE'RE SEEING FY 26 IS WHEN IT STARTS.
AND ANYTIME SOMEBODY SLEEPS AND, UH, PUTS THEIR HEAD ON A BED, UH, THEN WE ARE ABLE TO CAPTURE THAT REVENUE WHEN WE BREAK OUT REVENUES BY FUND.
WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS THE GENERAL FUND STAYS FLAT AT 0% CHANGE.
TOURISM PROMOTION GOES UP BY 3%.
AGAIN, LARGELY ALLOCABLE TO, UH, HOPE MANDATED INCREASES.
BUT AGAIN, TABLE CABLE TELEVISION IS A, UH, 26% DECREASE.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE ALIGNING.
WE SEE REVENUES DECREASE AND WE ARE NOW ALIGNING OUR EXPENDITURES SO WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE GENERAL FUND RELIANCE WITH THAT FUNCTION.
FINALLY, THE, UH, THE SLIDE, UH, NOPE, A COUPLE MORE SLIDES.
UH, SO THIS IS REVENUES BY FUND.
AS WE SEE, THERE'S A DOWNWARD TICK LARGELY ATTRIBUTABLE TO DECREASES, UH, WITHIN THE, UH, CABLE TELEVISION PEG FEE, BUT THERE'S ALSO SOME SLIGHT DECREASES IN OTHER AREAS.
UH, WE HAVE REVENUES BY PROGRAM, UH, AGAIN, LOOKING AT IT, CUTTING IT A DIFFERENT WAY.
UM, SO I'M NOT GONNA BELABOR THE POINT HERE, BUT LARGELY WE'RE SEEING DECREASES IN CABLE TELEVISION.
AND THOSE CONCLUDES THE SLIDES.
UM, I TRIED TO GO THROUGH THAT AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.
EIGHT MINUTES SEEMS PRETTY QUICK.
UM, WANNA BE ABLE TO OFFER UP AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE TO ASK.
COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ, OH, HOLD ON A SECOND.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND I WANNA WELCOME ALL THE COUNCILORS MEMBER.
UH, VICE CHAIR MARIO CASTILLO, COUNCIL MEMBER TWILA CARTER STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER JOAQUIN MARTINEZ'S, OFFICE VICE MAYOR, PRO TEM AMY PECK, COUNCIL MEMBER JULIAN RAMIREZ.
COUNCIL MEMBER MARY ANN HUFFMAN, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER TARSHA JACKSON'S OFFICE AND COUNCIL MEMBER FRED FLICKINGER OFFICE NOW, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ.
THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION, UH, STEVEN AND FOR ALL YOUR WORK, UH, ON, ON THIS BUDGET.
I KNOW YOU'RE GETTING AROUND AND MAKING A LOT OF PRESENTATIONS, SO APPRECIATE THAT.
LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT, UH, SOMETHING ON SLIDE NUMBER EIGHT, WHICH IS TITLED CABLE TELEVISION.
THE LAST, UH, PERFORMANCE MEASURE THERE SAYS INCREASE SET TOPS, BOX SET, TOP BOX VIEWERSHIP, AND,
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UH, THE TARGET CONTEXT IS MEASURES HOW ENGAGED CITIZENS ARE WITH HTVS PROGRAMMING ON STREAMING PLATFORMS. UH, EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE BIT FOR ME.HOW DOES, HOW DOES THE NUMBER OF SET TOP BOX OR, OR THE INCREASE IN SET TOP SPOT BOX VIEWERSHIP AFFECT HTVS PROGRAMMING AND INTEREST IN IT? YEAH, SO THE IDEA HERE IS THAT, UH, WITH PEG, WE HAVE TO, THEY'RE CHANNEL 16, 17, AND 18 ARE ALL TECHNICALLY PART OF OUR PORTFOLIO.
WE JETTISON 17 AND 18 TO DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, 16 IS THE ONE THAT WE FOCUS ON.
BUT TO BE ABLE TO VIEW CHANNEL 16, YOU HAVE TO HAVE CABLE.
AND SO ONE OF THE, THE IMPORTANT THINGS IS BEING ABLE TO DIVERSIFY THE VIEWER STREAMS THAT COME INTO THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND AS IS WITH THE CABLE TELEVISION PEG FUNDING.
EFFECTIVELY, WHAT THAT SAYS IS FEWER PEOPLE ARE WATCHING CABLE, WHICH MEANS FEWER PEOPLE ARE WATCHING CHANNEL 16.
SO WE ARE DIVERSIFYING OUR WAY INTO THINGS LIKE YOUTUBE AS WELL AS ALL OF THE SET TOP BOX TYPE OF STUFF.
WE CAN PULL THOSE METRICS AND BRING THEM IN.
AND SO THE HIGHER VIEWER COUNT, THE BETTER IT IS TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR MESSAGE IS GETTING OUT.
AS YOU KNOW, WE CARRY, UH, HTV CARRIES THINGS LIKE COMMITTEES JUST LIKE THIS.
THEY ALSO CARRY CITY COUNCIL, BUT ALSO THEY CARRY, UH, WE, WE DO THE, A SERVICE TO THE, UH, HARRIS COUNTY WHERE WE CARRY COMMISSIONER'S COURT ON THURSDAYS.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF PROGRAMMING THAT GOES INTO IT, A BUNCH OF NATURE PROGRAMMING, THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT ARE BY DESIGN, BY LAW, OR INTENDED TO BE EDUCATIONAL ABOUT GOVERNMENT AND HOW IT WORKS.
AND SO BY DIVERSIFYING THOSE VIEWERSHIP STREAMS, UH, WE'RE ABLE TO GATHER A BIGGER AUDIENCE.
SO 600 REPRESENTS 600,000 VIEWERS THEN IS YOUR, IS YOUR TARGET, IS THAT RIGHT? I BELIEVE SO, YES.
I CAN DOUBLE CHECK THAT FOR YOU, BUT YEAH, I DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING FOR 600 VIEWERS.
LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT THE NEXT SLIDE.
SLIDE NINE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, AND SPECIFICALLY THE THIRD AND FOURTH PERFORMANCE MEASURES AT THE BOTTOM, UM, NUMBER OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRAINING AND DEPLOYMENT FORTS BOARD MEMBERS.
AND THAT IS SUPPOSED TO MEASURE INTEREST INTS DEVELOPMENT WITHIN HUMAN HOUSTON COMMUNITIES.
CAN YOU, CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT TO ME? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
THESE ARE, THESE ARE THE TYPES OF WORKSHOPS THAT WE WOULD EXPECT SOMEONE, WE, WE GET COLD CALLED, UM, AND I'LL SAY COLD CALLED NOT VIA TELEPHONE, VIA EMAIL ALL THE TIME ABOUT PEOPLE JUST SAYING, HERE'S MY RESUME, I'M INTERESTED.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE A LINK ON OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
THIS ISN'T JUST EXCLUSIVE TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, RIGHT? PEOPLE SHOW INTEREST IN TSAS AND ALL THE OTHER BOARDS THAT WE HAVE.
AND SO, UH, WHAT OUR GOAL IS, IS TO ESTABLISH A CADENCE ACROSS THE YEAR OF ONE TO TWO DIFFERENT SORT OF BIG GROUP MEETINGS WHERE YOU BRING PEOPLE IN KIND OF LIKE A COFFEE WITH A COUNCIL MEMBER.
I THINK TWI UH, COUNCILOR CARTER HAS ONE COMING UP WHERE IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO COME SIT, LEARN ABOUT THE CITY AND SEE WHAT OPPORTUNITIES THERE ARE.
UH, EXPECTATION OUTTA THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT IS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE DOING THAT SPECIFICALLY FOR TSAS.
AS YOU WELL KNOW, AND YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS, THESE ARE COMPLICATED ENTITIES IN THEIR OWN, YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE A LEVEL OF SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE, UM, TO BE ABLE TO MEANINGFULLY SERVE ON THEM.
AND IF YOU ARE, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT, YOU HAVE TO LEARN IT REALLY QUICK, UM, BECAUSE YOU'RE DOING THINGS LIKE APPROVING BUDGETS, CAPEX, OPEX, THAT TYPE OF STUFF.
AND SO, UH, EXPECTATION IS THAT WE HOST THESE MEETINGS, PROVIDE AN IN INFORMATION SESSION FOR FOLKS, AND THEN BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY PEOPLE THAT WOULD BE OBVIOUS CANDIDATES TO SIT ON TOURIST BOARDS.
AND THEN THE ONE BELOW THAT NUMBER OFT PROGRAM POLICIES DEVELOPED AND IMPLEMENTED, I SEE THAT IN FY 26 0 POLICIES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED AND IMPLEMENTED, WHEREAS THE TARGET WAS WAS FIVE.
AND THAT FOR FY 27, THE TARGET IS AGAIN FIVE.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON THERE? WHY NO, UH, POLICIES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED AND IMPLEMENTED THIS YEAR? YEAH, IT'S GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT OF ME.
UM, SO WHAT I'LL SAY IS THAT THE, UH, THE GOAL HERE WAS TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THE, UH, TERMS ANALYSIS AS CONDUCTED BY ERNST AND YOUNG, AND TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ALL OF THE WORK THAT THEY DID, UH, AND BE ABLE TO FASHION IT INTO THE NEXT SET OF FISCAL POLICIES THAT WE EXPECT TO SEE.
UM, WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THIS, BUT I'LL, I'M HAPPY TO SAY IT IN, IN FRONT OF THE MICROPHONE.
WE HAD TO GO THROUGH SORT OF A RIGOROUS ATTEMPT TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE THAT WE SAW WITHIN THE ANALYSIS THAT THE ERNST AND YOUNG FOLKS DID, AS WELL AS WITH, UM, WHAT THE AUDITORS WERE SHOWING.
AND WHAT WE FOUND WAS NOT A, UH, UM, COMPROMISING OF THE ANALYSIS DONE BY THE THIRD PARTY THAT WE HIRED, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, THERE IS A BIG GULF BETWEEN THE RAW DATA THAT IS FED BY THE ZONES AND WHAT THE AUDITORS ARE DOING.
THE AUDITS ARE SOUND AND THEY'RE GETTING A GOOD ANALYSIS, BUT THEY'RE HAVING TO GO THROUGH A LOT OF EXTRA WORK.
AND SO A LOT OF THE FINANCIAL POLICIES THAT THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE HAS BEEN ENVISIONING AND WORKING ON IS SETTING THE SAME SORT OF STANDARDS THAT WE SET FOR OURSELVES.
AS YOU RECALL, UH, WITH THE, AND I'M NOT, I PROMISE I'M NOT FILIBUSTERING HERE.
AS YOU RECALL, WITH THE SPEND ANALYSIS THAT WE DID FOR OURSELVES DURING THE ERNST AND YOUNG SESSION, UH, ERNST AND YOUNG ASSESSMENT, WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THINGS WHERE WE, IN, INSIDE OF OUR GENERAL LEDGER STRUCTURE ITSELF, WE FOUND INEFFICIENCY.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, UM, IF ANYBODY HAD GONE TO OUR OPEN FINANCE DASHBOARD, UM, TO LOOK AT HOW MUCH MONEY, UH, WE SPEND ON MANAGEMENT CONSULTING, WE LOOK FOR THE GENERAL LEDGER CODE OF MANAGEMENT CONSULTING, AND IT GOES OUT, YOU WOULD'VE FOUND THAT ALL OF THE TURS,
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UH, THE, THE TRANSFER OFTS INCREMENT WAS CATEGORIZED AS MANAGEMENT CONSULTING.SO THEY WOULD'VE GOTTEN A FALSE NUMBER.
THEY WOULD'VE SEEN HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS SPENT ON MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS, WHICH WASN'T TRUE.
AND SO S HAVE THAT EXACT SAME CHALLENGE, BUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS A LITTLE LESS OF HOW ALL TS CREATE THE, HAVE THE SAME CHALLENGE.
IT'S THAT EACH ONE DOES EACH THING DIFFERENTLY.
AND SO WHAT THE EXPECTATION THAT WE'VE PUT ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT THE MAYORS PUT ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS WE NEED TO ALIGN THEIR FISCAL POLICIES AND THEIR PROCESSES WITH WHAT WE DO AS SETTING A STANDARD AND BE ABLE TO BRING THAT FORWARD.
AND SO THAT'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT ME BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH THAT.
IT'S BEEN A LOT OF BIT ME OF US GOING THROUGH THE EXERCISE OF RATIONALIZING THE ANALYSIS AND THEN DEVELOPING THOSE POLICIES THEMSELVES.
YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE ON THE QUEUE.
SO, SO IN, IN AS FAR AS DEVELOPING STANDARDS, I MEAN, I, I'M TOTALLY ON, ON BOARD WITH THAT, UH, ESPECIALLY WITH REGARD TO TRANSPARENCY.
SOME OF THE TS HAVE REALLY GOOD TRANSPARENCY.
UH, OTHERS I THINK DO, UH, AN INADEQUATE JOB OF IT.
AND I'VE BEEN BEATING THIS DRUM FOR QUITE A WHILE AS I HAVE ABOUT, UH, THE, THE ERNST AND YOUNG STUDY THAT WE STILL HAVEN'T SEEN, ALTHOUGH IT WAS COMPLETED, UH, MONTHS AGO.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND I'VE SHARED MY FRUSTRATION WITH YOU ABOUT THAT, BUT I, I HOPE IN SHORT ORDER, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WILL HAVE SOME, SOME BETTER POLICIES THAT, THAT ALIGN ACROSS THE BOARD FOR ALL OF OUR TOURS BECAUSE, UH, A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND THEM.
AND I THINK A LOT THE, THE REASON A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND 'EM IS BECAUSE, UH, THE TRANSPARENCY IS NOT GOOD AND, AND THE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THEY FOLLOW ARE, ARE NOT THE BEST.
SO I'LL JUST LEAVE YOU WITH THAT.
AND, AND WELL, THIS MIGHT BE FOR YOU, I SUBMITTED SOME QUESTIONS IN WRITING, BUT I WAS WONDERING, AND I'M ALL ABOUT US DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN IN AUSTIN, BUT WHEN I LOOKED IT THROUGH THE, THE, THE BUDGET DATA, THE RAW DATA ON THE INTERGOVERNMENT INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS, WHERE IS THE TRAVEL BUDGET? THERE'S NOT REALLY A, I MEAN, DO THEY GET THE SET AMOUNT, I'M SURE TO GO TO AUSTIN AND HOW DOES THAT WORK? THEY, UH, SO WE ACTUALLY BOOK THEIR, UH, THEIR TRAVEL TO GENERAL GOV.
AND THE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE THEY'RE SERVING ON BEHALF OF THE DEPARTMENTS THEMSELVES.
SO IT BECOMES A CITYWIDE EXPENDITURE AS OPPOSED TO A MAYOR'S OFFICE EXPENDITURE.
I WAS LOOKING FOR THAT LINE ITEM.
AND, UM, ON THE, ON THE, UM, ARTS DEAL, I DID NOTICE A DECREASE IN NUMBER OF FROM 30 TO FIVE.
CAN YOU AND I MIGHT NEED TO ASK MICHELLE ABOUT THAT, BUT WHAT, UM, THAT, THAT'S OUR HOT MONEY THAT COMES IN, RIGHT.
AND THEN WE'RE, THE PERFORMANCE MEASURE TAKES US FROM 30, UH, ARTS AND BUSINESSES ENGAGED RECEIVING CIVIC ART PROGRAMS TO FIVE, LET ME GET THAT BACK FOR YOU.
LET ME GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT.
AND, AND I PUT THAT DOWN IN WRITING ALSO, UM, ABOUT THE, THE $2.6 MILLION IN REVENUE ON THE DIGITAL KIOSKS.
UM, I KNOW IN THE PAST WE, WE USED SOME OF THAT FOR, UM, THE HERITAGE PARK AND SAM, SAM HOUSTON PARK, AND WE USED SOME, I THINK, TO HELP WITH MOWING LAST YEAR, BUT, UM, YEAH, BUT IT GETS BOOKED IN GENERAL FUND.
IT JUST GETS BOOKED IN GENERAL FUND YEAH.
THERE'S NOT REALLY A DESIGNATED SPOT FOR IT.
IT'S TO YOU, I DO WANNA WELCOME JUSTICE WITH THE MAYOR PRO TEM CASTEX TATUM'S OFFICE, AND WE DO HAVE A PUBLIC SPEAKER, AND IT'S RAIN EATON.
UM, I'M EXCITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS, UH, IN, UH, EXPERIENCE.
I HAD TWO, BUT, UH, ONE QUESTION WITH REGARDS TO THE MAYOR'S ECONOMIC, UM, OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.
UM, I DID NOTICE IN THE PRESENTATION THAT THEY MENTIONED THEIR, UH, RESPONSIBILITY TO DEBT MANAGEMENT AS WELL AS PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES TO ECONOMIC GROWTH.
HOWEVER, I DIDN'T REALLY SEE A LOT OF, UH, LANGUAGE IN THE PRESENTATION REGARDING THEIR OVERSIGHT OVER TAX ABATEMENTS, BUT I DO REMEMBER THAT MS. JENNIFER CURLEY DID A PRESENTATION LAST YEAR ABOUT THEIR COMMITMENT TO OVERSIGHT WITH THOSE TAX ABATEMENTS, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE A LOT OF THEM ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO BE, UM, SUNSET BY AUGUST 26TH OF THIS YEAR.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO GET SOME MORE CLARIFICATION ON, IS THAT STILL A RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MAYOR'S ECONOMIC OVERSIGHT OR IS HAS THAT BEEN TRANSITIONED TO OBO OR SOMEBODY LIKE THAT? NO, THAT, THAT'S STILL A, A RESPONSIBILITY.
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AND, AND THAT'S A GOOD IDEA FOR A PERFORMANCE MEASURE ON TRACKING, UM, JOBS AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WAS, THAT WAS, UH, KIND OF PROMISED WHEN WE GAVE THE ABATEMENT.SO APPRECIATE THAT COMMENT AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT GETS PASSED ALONG.
AM I ABLE TO MAKE ONE MORE WITHIN MY SURE.
THE OTHER ONE IS THAT, ARE THERE, UM, ANY TANGIBLE PENALTIES THAT THE CITY INCURS IF, UH, THE COUNCIL CHOOSES TO DENY AN ABATEMENT THAT IS PRESENTED BY THE STATE? I KNOW THAT, UM, DUE TO CERTAIN TAX CODES, UM, UM, TAX CODE 3 1 3 ON THE STATE LEVEL, UH, THE STATE CAN PROVIDE, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHICH ABATEMENTS THE CITY SHOULD, UM, APPROVE OF.
BUT ULTIMATELY COUNSEL HAS TO VOTE ON THOSE INDIVIDUALLY.
AND SO WE DO ALWAYS TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE WE KEEP, UH, RELATIONSHIPS ALIVE, MAKING SURE WE'RE BEING GOOD, UH, PARTNERS IN KEEPING THE CITY UP TO DATE.
BUT ARE THERE ANY ACTUAL TANGIBLE PENALTIES IF COUNCIL SEES THAT A PARTNER DOES REQUEST AN ABATEMENT AND IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE FOR THEM TO, TO RECEIVE THAT AND, AND IT DOESN'T BENEFIT THE COUNCIL OR THE, THE CITY AT LARGE? RIGHT.
I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR THAT, BUT WE WILL TRACK ONE DOWN FOR YOU, BUT STEVE AND DAVID, THE SHELL ANSWER MAN IS COMING RIGHT UP.
UH, SO GENERALLY WHENEVER THERE IS A REQUIREMENT OR A REQUEST FROM THE STATE TO HAVE AN APPROVAL COME FROM CITY COUNCIL, IF THAT APPROVAL DOES NOT OCCUR, IT EFFECTIVELY ELIMINATES THEIR OPPORTUNITY TO GET THAT STATE.
SO IT IS, SO WE DON'T GET PENALIZED IN ANY WAY.
WE DON'T GET PENALIZED AT ALL.
UM, NOW WE DO HAVE TO BE SMART ABOUT SPECIFICALLY, UM, UH, T ZS.
SO THERE ARE A FINITE AMOUNT OF THOSE.
UH, THAT THE, THAT WE CAN NOMINATE AS A MUNICIPALITY.
AND SO IF WE NOMINATE ONE AND IT GETS DECLINED, UH, BY THE STATE, THEN WE'VE SORT OF LOST THAT SLOT.
SO WE HAVE TO BE PRETTY DILIGENT, BUT THERE ARE A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER THINGS THAT OCCUR WHERE THE STATE MIGHT GIVE AN ECONOMIC INCENTIVE MM-HMM
AND THE MUNICIPALITY PROVIDES A LETTER OF SUPPORT OR DENIAL MM-HMM
UM, AND THOSE DENIALS EFFECTIVELY KILL IT.
AND JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, TEZ REFERS TO, UH, TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE.
I SEE LAURA GAL, YOU'RE OUT THERE.
LAURA, DO YOU WANNA COME ON UP? GOOD MORNING.
I JUST HAVE ONE, UH, QUESTION.
IT'S A FOLLOW UP TO A QUESTION I ASKED LAST WEEK, UM, ABOUT, UM, MONITORING THE GOINGS ON IN THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE AND HOW THEY AFFECT CITY GOVERNMENT.
I GOT HERE A FEW MINUTES LATE, SO I DIDN'T HEAR THAT IN THIS PRESENTATION, BUT I WAS TOLD LAST WEEK THAT WE RELY ON THE MAYOR'S OFFICE TO DO ALL OF THAT.
AND, UM, SO I WANTED TO ASK WHERE THAT IS, UM, IN THE BUDGET AND ALSO TO ASK THAT PEOPLE LIKE ME, UM, KNOW HOW TO FIND THE INFORMATION CONTEMPORANEOUSLY WHEN THE MAYOR OR THE CITY TAKES A POSITION ONE WAY OR THE OTHER ON A PIECE OF LEGISLATION SO THAT WE CAN DECIDE AS INDIVIDUALS WHETHER WE WANT TO, UM, SUPPORT OR OPPOSE THE CITY'S POSITION ON A PARTICULAR LEGISLATION.
WE DO, UH, THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS DOES SIT WITHIN THE MAYOR'S BUDGET THERE.
AND WITH TRAVEL BEING IN, IN GOVERNMENT IN THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF THE, YOU KNOW, THEY PUT THE TRAVEL IN THE, I JUST ASKED ABOUT THAT, UM, IN GENERAL GOVERNMENT, BUT THE REST OF THEM SALARIES AND EVERYTHING, 7 67, IT LOOKS LIKE 767,000.
I THINK JORDAN HAS SENT YOU THE IGR WEBSITE, WHICH THEY DO A GOOD JOB OF REALLY KEEPING EVERYBODY ABREAST OF WHAT THEY'RE, SHE SENT YOU THAT LINK OF WHAT THEY'RE FIGHTING, WHAT THEY'RE BACKING UP, WHAT THEY'RE DOING IN AUSTIN.
UM, ANDY MATAY, WHO'S WITH THAT OFFICE, SHE KNOWS EVERYTHING BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS, AND SHE'S HERE IN HOUSTON THE WHOLE TIME KIND OF TRACKING WHAT'S GOING ON.
SHE'S JUST A GREAT CONTACT TO HAVE THAT WE CAN PUT YOU IN TOUCH WITH HER.
SHE, SHE KNOWS EVERY BILL AND REALLY KEEPS US UP TO DATE.
UM, SO THERE'S LOTS OF WAYS TO STAY PLUGGED IN, UM, WHEN SESSIONS GOING ON AND EVEN WHEN IT'S NOT DURING THE INTERIM, SO WE CAN MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL THOSE RESOURCES.
'CAUSE IT, THIS MORNING I PULLED IT UP AND ALL I SAW WAS A PDF, BUT THE WEBSITE IS UPDATED CONSTANTLY DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
OH, THOSE, YEAH, THOSE WERE PDFS FROM LAST SESSION.
BUT YES, THEY WILL BE UPDATING THOSE AS BILLS GET FILED AND ALL OF THAT.
COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN HAD A, HAD A COMMENT FOR YOU.
I THINK THAT'S A, A REALLY GREAT, GREAT QUESTION AND SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO, TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO, YOU KNOW, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE ON IT AND THAT ARE IN IT AND WATCHING ALL THE BILLS, YOU KNOW, AND AUSTIN THINGS ARE SO FLUID AND SO, YOU KNOW, I KNOW AT LEAST IN LAST SESSION, THE CITY TOOK A POSITION ON A BILL,
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UM, BUT DIDN'T NECESSARILY SEE THE UPDATES THAT WERE HAPPENING IN, IN REAL TIME IN AUSTIN.AND SO IT REALLY IS DIFFICULT EVEN FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE, THAT ARE WORKING ON IT AND TRACKING IT TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH HOW THINGS ARE CHANGING AND WHICH MEANT, MEANT THAT OUR POSITION EVENTUALLY ENDED UP CHANGING ON THAT ALSO.
SO I THINK THAT'S INCREDIBLY, UM, SMART OF YOU TO WANT TO KNOW THOSE THINGS.
UM, AND WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB.
SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT TO OUR ATTENTION.
SO WE'VE BEEN JOINED BY STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN'S OFFICE, AND NOW WE'LL HAVE ASTRID LANG.
UH, THANK Y'ALL FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO.
UM, I'M IN DISTRICT C, THIS IS MY FIRST TIME LIKE COMING TO SEE ALL OF THIS.
UH, AND MOST OF MY QUESTIONS WERE ANSWERED IN THE VERY HIGH SPEED PRESENTATION THAT I'M GONNA HAVE TO GO BACK LATER AND PLAY IN SLOW MOTION.
BUT I DO, UH, THERE WAS ONE COMMENT THAT THAT KIND OF WENT SLIDING BY, AND IT'S A QUESTION FOR YOU, UM, ABOUT SOMEONE THAT WAS WORKING 90 HOURS A WEEK.
AND I KNOW THAT'S PARTLY IN JEST, BUT PARTLY TRUE.
AND MY QUESTION IS THIS, IN AN IDEAL WORLD, WHAT WOULD MAKE THE FTE OR THE WORKLOAD MORE SUSTAINABLE FOR EVERYBODY? HOW, HOW DIFFERENT WOULD THAT BE FROM WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY GOT OR ASKING FOR FOUR? I WILL GIVE YOU THAT 20 BUCKS LATER ON FOR GIVING ME THAT QUESTION.
UH, I, I THINK THAT ALL OF US AROUND THE HORSESHOE RECOGNIZE THAT THE WORK IS DIFFICULT.
UM, THE, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, UH, IN UNIQUELY THE MAYOR IS THE STRONGEST STRONG MAYOR FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
SO HE'S BOTH THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD AND THE EXECUTIVE OF THE ORGANIZATION.
AND SO THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO GET DONE SHOULD BE NECESSARILY MEASURED, UH, BY THE OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING PERFORMANCE METRICS THAT ARE TIED TO THE JOB ITSELF.
SO YOU'LL SEE WITHIN ALL OF THOSE DIVISIONS, AND THIS IS WORK THAT THE PREVIOUS COUNCIL AND MAYOR DID, THEY PUT TOGETHER OBB FOR THE FIRST TIME.
UM, AND SO WHAT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO IS TO SAY, PREDICTABLY, THIS IS THE NUMBER OF THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO DO.
SO FOR MARTA, IT'S THE NUMBER OF AGENDA ITEMS PER YEAR THAT SHE HAS TO POST AND THE NUMBER OF, UH, THE NUMBER OF EMAILS AND PHONE CALLS THAT VERONICA HAS TO RESPOND TO.
AND YOU DIVIDE THAT INTO A REASONABLE WORK WEEK FOR SOMEONE AND THEN YOU TAKE THAT NUMBER OF FTES.
NOW, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT'S JUST NOT THE WAY THAT IT WORKS.
OUR SQUEEZE IS IN THE GENERAL FUND RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO WE ALL JUST DO ALL HANDS ON DECK, BUT UH, I DON'T HAVE A PERFECT NUMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT WE TRY AS HARD AS WE CAN TO UTILIZE DATA TO DRIVE THE CONVERSATION AROUND THE NUMBER OF FOLKS THAT ARE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
OKAY, THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
I'VE SEEN PLENTY OF BUDGET STUFF GO BY WHERE IT'S LIKE EVERYBODY KNOWS YEAR AFTER YEAR YOU NEED THREE MORE PEOPLE.
UM, AND I WANNA, UH, CLOSE THIS OUT JUST BY SAYING A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO STEVEN DAVID FOR HELPING US WITH THE BUDGET TOWN HALLS FOR THE 84 PRESENTATIONS HE'S GIVEN AROUND TOWN ON THE BUDGET ON A VERY COMPLEX BUDGET.
ALSO, WANNA SHOUT OUT VERONICA WEATHERSPOON, WHO'S IN THE AUDIENCE, WHO HAS BEEN, THIS IS WHAT YOUR THIRD MAYOR, FOURTH MAYOR, TO HANDLE SO MUCH OF THE COMMUNICATIONS THAT GOES OUT FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.
IT'S AN UNBELIEVABLE AMOUNT OF EMAILS AND OTHER PIECES OF CORRESPONDENCE THAT HE GETS.
AND, UH, SHE DOES EVERYTHING OVER THERE.
AND SHOUT OUT TO VERONICA WEATHERSPOON AND UH, YAY MAYOR'S OFFICE.
AND WITH THAT, WE WILL TAKE A SHORT BREAK AND WE'LL MOVE ON TO CITY COUNCIL.
MY FAVORITE DEPARTMENT, CITY COUNCIL.