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I AM SALLY ALCORN, AND I AM CHAIR OF THE BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND MY VICE CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBER MARIO CASTILLO, AND I ARE HOSTING THESE TOWN HALLS.
WE HAD ONE IN-PERSON TOWN HALL AT FONDE REC CENTER ON SATURDAY, WHICH WAS GREAT.
AND THIS IS OUR ONLINE OPTION.
SO WELCOME TO ALL WHO WANNA LEARN MORE ABOUT, UH, HOW WE'RE SPENDING YOUR TAX DOLLARS AND THE CITY'S $7.5 BILLION BUDGET.
IF THERE ARE ANY ELECTED OFFICIALS ON HERE, SPEAK NOW.
YOU'RE WELCOME TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAD ANY SIGN UP.
I THINK EVERYBODY'S HEARD THIS A LOT AROUND THE HORSESHOE ALREADY,
UM, BUT I WANNA JUST START BY, UM, UH, WELCOMING, UH, STEVEN DAVID.
HE'LL BE GIVING THE PRESENTATION TONIGHT ON THE BUDGET.
HE IS WITH THE MAYOR'S ADMINISTRATION.
HE IS CHIEF STRATEGY AND OPERATIONS OFFICER FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON FOR THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, AND THIS IS HIS 86TH PRESENTATION OF THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
HE HAS BEEN TO NUMEROUS GROUPS AROUND TOWN, KNOWS, UH, THIS THING BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS.
MY CO MY COLLEAGUES AND I HAVE SPENT THE LAST WEEK AND A HALF HOLDING BUDGET WORKSHOPS, BUDGET HEARINGS FOR ALL 23 CITY DEPARTMENTS WHERE THE DIRECTOR COMES IN, LAYS OUT THEIR BUDGET.
WE DO OUTCOME-BASED BUDGET, WHICH REALLY ALIGNS OUR FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS WITH PERFORMANCE METRICS.
HOW MANY PEOPLE WORK IN A SPECIFIC DIVISION, WHAT THEIR GOALS ARE, WHAT THEIR METRICS ARE, AND THAT'S THE WAY WE ANALYZE THE BUDGET.
AND WE DID THAT FOR 23 DEPARTMENTS WITH NUMEROUS HOURS AND HOURS OF QUESTIONS.
UM, SOME WRITTEN QUESTIONS, LOTS OF OUT LOUD QUESTIONS.
ALL MY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS THAT I'VE GOTTEN SO FAR ARE ON MY WEBSITE IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN, IN SEEING SOME MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE BUDGET.
UH, BUT I KNOW WE'RE JUST HERE TO GET INTO THE MEAT OF IT.
SO I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO STEVEN.
DAVID, UM, IF MARIO CASTILLO IS IN, I KNOW HE WAS GONNA BE A COUPLE MINUTES LATE.
IF HE'S HERE, YOU'RE WELCOME TO SAY SOMETHING, MARIO.
UM, IF NOT STEVEN, WE'LL JUST GET STARTED.
UM, IF YOU WOULD LIKE SPANISH TRANSLATION, THERE IS A QR CODE BOOST LINGO IS THE PERSON, UH, THAT'S IN THE TEAMS, UH, MEETING.
YOU CAN SCAN IT AND LIVE INTERPRETATION WILL BE PROVIDED, UH, FOR THE, THE BUDGET TOWN HALL TODAY.
SO THAT'S AVAILABLE TO YOU, UH, IF YOU JUST SCAN THAT CODE.
AND, UH, I DO WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR PARTICIPATING.
UM, SALLY AND I HAVE REALLY TRIED TO FOSTER MORE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AROUND THE BUDGET, WHICH IS WHY WE STARTED HOSTING TOWN HALLS OUT, UH, IN THE CITY.
IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO HEAR FROM YOU.
UM, THIS YEAR SPECIFICALLY, THERE ARE SOME, UH, BIG CHANGES BEING PROPOSED, SO WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK ON THAT.
UH, AND SO I WANNA APPRECIATE EVERYONE WHO'S HERE TO LEARN, LISTEN, ASK THEIR QUESTIONS AND SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS.
UM, AND STEVEN, THANK YOU FOR, UH, BEING HERE TO PRESENT AS WELL.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, AND, AND SO STEVEN WILL GO THROUGH THE HIGH LEVEL, YOU KNOW, VERSION OF THE BUDGET, UM, HIGH LEVEL, YOU KNOW, THE BIG, THE BIG OVERVIEW OF THE BUDGET.
AND THEN WE WANNA RESERVE MOST OF THE TIME FOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
SO WE'LL GET TO QUESTIONS AND AN ANSWERS AFTERWARDS.
WE DO ASK THAT YOU KIND OF LIMIT COMMENTS.
YOU'RE CERTAINLY WELCOME TO MAKE A COMMENT, BUT REALLY GET RIGHT, GET TO THE QUESTION AS QUICK AS YOU CAN.
UM, WE'LL GIVE EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST A MINUTE TO GET OUT THERE, COMMENT OR QUESTION.
UM, BUT, BUT FOCUS, THE FOCUS WILL BE ON THE QUESTION.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, STEVEN, LET'S, UH, LET'S GET STARTED.
ALSO, UH, THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE STAFF THAT HAVE HELPED SUPPORT THIS.
UH, A LOT OF TIMES WE DO WORK IN THE BACKGROUND AND THIS THING RUNS SMOOTH, RUNS SMOOTHLY 'CAUSE OF THEM.
SO I'M EXCITED TO PRESENT TONIGHT'S BUDGET, UH, OR TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION AS COUNCIL MEMBER ALQUAN SAID, THIS IS MY 86TH PRESENTATION.
I CAN ABSOLUTELY GIVE THIS IN MY SLEEP.
UH, BUT WHAT I'M GONNA DO IS SHARE MY SCREEN AND I'M GONNA RUN THROUGH IT.
I'M GONNA KEEP, I'M GONNA GIVE Y'ALL A HIGH LEVEL TRUNCATED VERSION OF THIS, UH, AND THEN OPEN IT UP TO QUESTION AND ANSWERS.
WE HAVE ABOUT, I HAVE ABOUT 30 SLIDES THAT I'M PREPARED TO SHOW.
I'M ONLY GONNA SHOW Y'ALL ABOUT SEVEN OR EIGHT, UM, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT I CAN, UH, SPEND AS MUCH TIME ON THE Q AND A PORTION.
BUT AT A HIGH LEVEL, UM, WHAT THE EXPECTATION FOR THIS PRESENTATION YOU SHOULD HAVE IS, UM, GOING TO FRAME, UH, THE CONTEXT OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON SEMI ORIENT Y'ALL TO WHAT THE STRUCTURE, UH, OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS.
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OUT, UH, SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE FACE, UH, AS A CITY COMPARED TO OTHER CITIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT THE SITUATION.
UH, THE FISCAL SITUATION OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS CURRENTLY IN WHAT WE WILL NOT DO WITH THIS BUDGET, WHAT WE WILL DO WITH THIS BUDGET, AND THEN WHAT THE EXPECTATION FOR OUR REVISED BUDGET GAPS WILL BE.
UH, AND THEN I'LL STOP THE PRESENTATION AND BEGIN TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
SO, OUT OF THE GATE, UH, WHAT I WANNA BE ABLE TO WALK YOU THROUGH IS EXACTLY WHAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS AS A, UH, AT A HIGH LEVEL, LET'S SAY A 30,000 FOOT VIEW, WE ARE IN EFFECT THREE BUCKETS.
THE FIRST BUCKET, WHICH IS GONNA BE THE MIDDLE ONE ON THE SLIDE, IS THAT WE ARE ENTERPRISE FUND AIRPORTS.
SO, ENTERPRISE FUND IN OUR WORLD MEANS THAT IT IS A FEE-BASED BUSINESS, AND IT'S A LOCKBOX, MEANING WE DON'T SPEND MONEY OUTSIDE OF THE FUND.
AND, UM, SO THE FEE IS THE EVERY TIME THAT YOU PURCHASE AN AIRLINE TICKET, UH, WHATEVER CITY YOU LAND IN, THAT MUNICIPALITY GETS A PORTION OF THAT TICKET.
UH, AND SO ANYTIME SOMEBODY LANDS IN HOUSTON, THEY'RE ABLE, THEY GIVE A CUT OVER TO THE AIRPORT ENTERPRISE FUND, AND THAT'S HOW WE FUND OUR AIRPORT SYSTEM.
AS A REMINDER, WE HAVE THREE AIRPORTS.
WE HAVE BUSCH HOBBY AND ELLINGTON FIELD, BUT OUR ENTERPRISE FUND AIRPORTS IS 1400 EMPLOYEES AND A $740 MILLION BUDGET.
WE ALSO HAVE ENTERPRISE FUND PUBLIC WORKS.
NOW THAT IS A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A COMPLICATED BEAST.
IT IS SIX UNIQUE FUNDS, UM, HIGH LEVEL FUNDS THAT THEY BREAK DOWN INTO DIFFERENT COMPONENTS.
UH, BUT IN EFFECT, IT IS OUR PERMITTING CENTER, AND IT IS OUR CODE ENFORCEMENT PEOPLE, AND IT IS OUR STREETS AND DRAINAGE.
THERE'S A ABOUT SIX DIFFERENT BIG FUNCTIONS THAT WORK OUT OF THERE.
UM, 4,400 EMPLOYEES, UH, OPERATE OUT OF THAT DEPARTMENT.
AND THEN THAT IS ABOUT A THREE AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS BUDGET.
AND THEN THE GENERAL FUND, UH, WHICH IS EVERYTHING ELSE, UH, ENCOMPASSES POLICE, FIRE, LIBRARIES, PARKS, HEALTH, BUT THEN ALSO ALL OF THE INTERNAL SUPPORT STUFF THAT YOU DON'T TYPICALLY THINK ABOUT, BUT IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR RUNNING THE CITY OF HOUSTON AS A, AS AN ENTITY.
SO FINANCE AND LEGAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES AND FLEET AND GENERAL SERVICES, WHICH MAINTAINS OUR BUILDINGS.
SO ALL OF THE STUFF THAT, UH, IT TAKES TO MAKE SURE WE CAN SUPPORT THE FUNCTIONS THAT SERVE Y'ALL, UH, THAT IS WHERE THE BULK OF OUR EMPLOYEES SIT.
AND THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT, UH, THE GENERAL FUND IS WHERE OUR STRUCTURALLY IMBALANCED BUDGET ACTUALLY LIVES.
WE DO NOT HAVE A STRUCTURALLY IMBALANCED BUDGET BY, IN THE AIRPORT SYSTEM OR IN PUBLIC WORKS, UH, BY DESIGN BECAUSE IT'S A FEE BASED ENDEAVOR, MEANING THE EXPENDITURES ALMOST ALWAYS HAVE TO EXACTLY MATCH REVENUE REVENUES.
WHEREAS IN THE GENERAL FUND, WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE WHAT'S CALLED DEFICIT SPENDING.
UM, AND THIS IS A, A PROBLEM THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS FACED FOR THE PAST 30 TO 40 YEARS.
I BELIEVE THAT THE LAST TIME, THIS WAS SOMETHING IF, I DON'T KNOW IF HE'S ON, BUT I BELIEVE SOMETHING THAT COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER EDUCATED ME TO, UH, A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO, UH, THE LAST TIME THAT THERE WAS A STRUCTURALLY BALANCED BUDGET WAS UNDER LEE BROWN.
SO THE CITY OF HOUSTON SITS AT A UNIQUE DISADVANTAGE.
UH, THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF A TECHNICAL SLIDE, SO I'M GONNA SAY IT, BUT IF ANY OF Y'ALL HAVE QUESTIONS, MAKE SURE TO, TO WRITE THEM DOWN.
AND AT THE END OF THIS, I'LL HA I'M HAPPY TO GO BACK AND ANSWER THIS, BUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS A BUCKET OF REVENUE THAT, UH, IT RECEIVES AND, UH, FOR THE GENERAL FUND.
AND, UH, 52, 50 3% OF THAT BUCKET IS FILLED BY, UH, GENERAL FUND, UH, AVALOR TAXATION.
THIS IS WHAT WE WOULD CALL PROPERTY TAXES.
UH, ANYWHERE BETWEEN 25 TO 30% OF IT IS FILLED UP BY SALES TAX.
UH, AND THAT NETS US ABOUT 20 TO, THAT MEANS THE ADDITIONAL 20 TO 25% OF THE GENERAL FUND REVENUE OF ABOUT $1.5 BILLION, UH, COMES FROM FRANCHISE FEES AND OTHER PERMIT FEES, ALL THE FEES THAT YOU WOULD EXPECT TO SEE.
SO THE BULK OF OUR, UH, THE BULK OF OUR REVENUE COMES FROM PROPERTY TAXES.
WELL, IN 2004, UM, THE CITY OF HU, WELL, BEFORE I TALK ABOUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON IN 2021, THE STATE OF TEXAS IMPOSED WHAT'S CALLED SB TWO.
UH, BUT THAT IS A, UH, AN VALOREM REVENUE CAP ON ALL JURISDICTIONS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
SO THIS IS, UM, THAT COLLECT PROPERTY TAXES.
AND SO THIS IS, UH, HARRIS COUNTY'S UNDER IT.
WE HAVE OTHER AGENCIES ACROSS THE STATE.
UM, AND WHAT IT SAYS IS THAT WE CAN ONLY CONNECT, UH, COLLECT 3.5% MORE PROPERTY TAX REVENUE THAN LAST YEAR'S PROPERTY TAX REVENUE.
UM, IT'S A PRETTY SIMPLE CALCULATION.
THERE'S SOME UNIQUENESS TO IT, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, THAT IS WHAT EVERY OTHER CITY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS TO SIT UNDER.
WELL, THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS UNIQUE BECAUSE IN 2004, THE CITY OF HOUSTON RESIDENTS, UH, THIS WAS UNDER MAYOR BILL WHITE, UH, PASSED WHAT'S CALLED, WHAT WAS CALLED PROPOSITION ONE AND PROPOSITION ONE ESTABLISHED A LOCALLY IMPOSED AVALOR OR PROPERTY TAX REVENUE CAP.
AND WHAT THAT SAYS IS THAT OUR PROPERTY TAX REVENUE CAN GROW FOUR AND A HALF THE LESSER OF FOUR POINT A HALF PERCENT, OR POPULATION PLUS POPULATION GROWTH PLUS INFLATION.
UH, THE CHALLENGE WITH THIS FORMULA IS THAT IT IS RESTRICTIVE IN A WEIRD WAY.
SO WHERE INFLATION, WE CAN CALCULATE INFLATION PRETTY
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MUCH TO THE MONTH.UM, WE HAVE A ROLLING CALCULATION FOR THAT.
POPULATION GROWTH IS A VERY SPECIFIC, UH, NUMBER THAT CAN ONLY BE CALCULATED BY ONE AGENCY, AND THAT IS THE CENSUS BUREAU, AND THEY CALCULATE THAT ON A TWO YEAR LAG.
AND SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT IN CALENDAR YEAR 26, SO THIS YEAR, WE WILL SET A TAX RATE THAT IS GOING TO BE BASED ON THE POPULATION GROWTH OF CALENDAR YEAR 2024.
SO ANY PEOPLE THAT MOVED INTO THE CITY OF HOUSTON IN 2025, ANYBODY THAT MOVED INTO 2026 YEAR TO DATE WILL NOT BE ACCOUNTED FOR, EVEN THOUGH THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS STILL SERVING THEM AS RESIDENTS OF HOUSTON.
AND SO THAT CREATES WHAT WE WOULD CONSIDER COMPRESSION INSIDE OF THE GENERAL FUND.
YOU'RE EXPECTED TO DO MORE WITH OLD NUMBERS OR LESS.
AND SO WHAT THIS GRAPHIC YOU'RE LOOKING AT HERE CAN SEE IS THIS FIRST, OR THIS FIRST GREEN ARROW IS THE VERY FIRST YEAR THAT WE HAD TO LOWER OUR TAX RATE BECAUSE WE HIT OUR REVENUE CAP.
NOW, WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS, IF YOU RECALL THE STATE'S REVENUE CAP KICKED IN IN 2021, WE HIT THIS IN 2025.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS WE HIT THE CITY'S REVENUE CAP.
UM, SO WE WENT DOWN FROM 63 8 7 5 OH ON OUR, UH, TAX RATE DOWN TO 63 1 0 8 OH.
AND EVER SINCE THEN, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF 2019, WHERE THERE WAS A SLIGHT UPTICK, WE HAVE SEEN DECREASING OR FLAT TAX RATES.
AND EVERY SINGLE YEAR, ALMOST EVERY SINGLE YEAR SINCE 2015, WE HAVE HIT OUR REVENUE CAP.
AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT WE, BECAUSE WE'RE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE CAN TAKE IN, WE HAVE TO LOWER OUR TAX RATE TO ACCOUNT FOR THAT.
AND IT'S CREATED THAT COMPRESSION THAT I'M TALKING ABOUT INSIDE THE GENERAL FUND, WHERE WE ARE EXPECTED TO DO MORE SERVICES WITH LESS GENERAL FUND DOLLARS.
UM, IN 2021, YOU CAN SEE WHERE SB TWO WAS KICKED IN.
WE HAVE NEVER HIT THE STATE'S REVENUE CAP.
THE CITY'S REVENUE CAP IS MORE RESTRICTIVE.
AND SO WHEN I SAID AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SLIDE THAT WE ARE AT A DISADVANTAGE COMPARED TO OUR OTHER CITIES, THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
OUR, OUR LOCAL REVENUE CAP IS MORE RESTRICTIVE THAN THE STATE'S REVENUE CAP THAT ALL OTHER CITIES HAVE TO COMPETE UNDER.
AND SO WE ARE AT A, THAT A FISCAL DISADVANTAGE COMPARATIVELY TO THE REST OF, UH, THE STATE OF TEXAS.
SO WHAT I'LL DO, THAT'S A VERY HIGH LEVEL, IF YOU CAN RECITE THAT BACK TO ME, YOU ARE IN RAREFIED AIR.
YOU'VE GOT, YOU'RE ABOUT HALF A PERCENT OF HOUSTON CAN RECITE THAT STUFF BACK.
SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, THEN PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK THEM.
I'M HAPPY TO CLARIFY ANYTHING THERE.
WHAT I'D LIKE TO TALK TO Y'ALL ABOUT NOW IS WHAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WHAT WE HAVE DONE UNDER MAYOR WHITTIER'S ADMINISTRATION AND THIS CITY COUNCIL, UM, SINCE WE GOT INTO OFFICE ABOUT TWO AND A HALF YEARS AGO.
SO JANUARY ONE, MAYOR WHITMEYER WAS SWORN IN, SO A CITY COUNCIL.
AND, UH, THE FIRST THING THAT WE HAD TO DEAL WITH, UH, WAS, UH, WAS A, UH, THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS THAT WAS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UH, A COUPLE OF WEEKS LATER, WE HAD FOUR DAYS OF SUB 20 DEGREE TEMPERATURE.
SO WE HAD A BIG FREEZE, UH, THAT CAME THROUGH.
UH, RIGHT AFTER THAT, WE HAD OUR HIGH WATER BILL, UH, FIASCO IS THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE IT.
AND I KNOW THAT Y'ALL REMEMBER THAT WE STARTED SEEING 10,000, $15,000 WATER BILLS GOING OUT TO SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCES.
WE, UH, ALSO HAD 264,000 UNINVESTIGATED POLICE INCIDENT REPORTS.
SO THIS WAS, UH, ULTIMATELY WHAT LED TO A CHANGE IN ADMINISTRATION INSIDE HPD.
BUT THIS WAS WHERE POLICE OFFICERS WERE CLOSING, UH, CASES, UH, THAT HAD NOT BEEN INVESTIGATED BY SAYING THERE WAS A LACK OF EVIDENCE.
AND EVEN IN THE INSTANCE IN WHICH A HANDFUL, QUITE A FEW OF THEM HAD EVIDENCE, UM, THEN WE HAD, UH, FLOODING, CATASTROPHIC FLOODING IN KINGWOOD IN WHICH THE EAST AND THE WEST FORK OF THE SAN JACINTO OVERFLOWED AND CREATED EFFECTIVELY AN ISLAND OUTTA THAT COMMUNITY.
UH, THEN WE HAD THE STRAIGHT LINE WIND DIRECT SHOW, 120 MILES AN HOUR THAT CAME FROM WEST TO EAST, UH, ACROSS THE CITY.
AND THEN WE HAD HURRICANE BARREL.
AND ALL OF THAT WAS WITHIN THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF THE ADMINISTRATION.
AND, UH, I SAY THAT TO SAY WE HAD MAYOR WHITMEYER HAD A BIG PLAN COMING IN OF WHAT WE WANTED TO DO.
WE HAD TO REACT TO LITERALLY EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED.
BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT WE DID THAT TEED US UP FOR THE NEXT YEAR, WHICH WAS A VERY IMPORTANT ONE, WAS WITH CITY COUNCIL'S HELP, WE PASSED, UH, SOMETHING CALLED THE ERNST AND YOUNG ASSESSMENT OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SO THIS WAS AN EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS IN WHICH WE TOOK A LOOK AT WHERE THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS STRONG, WHERE THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS WEAK, WHAT WE SHOULD PRIORITIZE WITH REGARD TO SORT OF, UM, CHALLENGES AROUND THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT WE HAVE, THE SHAPE OF OUR ORGANIZATION, THE PERFORMANCE METRICS THAT WE MEASURE OURSELF UP AGAINST HOW WE'RE SPENDING OUR MONEY, WHAT WE'RE SPENDING OUR MONEY ON, WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE UTILIZING THE BEST CONTRACT LANGUAGE OR THE BEST PRICING IN CONTRACTS FOR THAT.
AND SO ALL OF THOSE THINGS ALLOWED US TO, SO IF YEAR ONE IS A YEAR OF LEARNING AND REACTING, YEAR TWO IS A YEAR OF IMPLEMENTATION.
SO WE COMPLETED THE ERNST AND YOUNG ASSESSMENT, AND ALL THROUGH CALENDAR YEAR 2025, WE WERE ABLE TO DO VERY IMPORTANT MEANINGFUL THINGS LIKE, UM, MERGE FUNCTIONS THAT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SEPARATED IN THE FIRST PLACE.
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THIS TENDS TO BE A VERY IMPORTANT THING TO A LOT OF, UH, CIVIC MINDED, NEIGHBORHOOD MINDED PEOPLE.UM, WE HAVE A FUNCTION CALLED RESIDENTIAL CODE ENFORCEMENT.
RESIDENTIAL CODE ENFORCEMENT IS YOUR, YOU'VE GOT NEIGHBORS ON THE STREET THAT HAVE, UH, HIGH WEEDS IN THEIR FRONT YARD.
THEY HAVE BUCKETS OF WATER THAT ARE SITTING AND MOSQUITOES ARE BREEDING IN THEM.
WELL, THERE ARE LAWS THAT, THAT ARE, AGAIN, THAT SAY THAT YOU CAN'T HAVE THAT TYPE OF STUFF.
THOSE EMPLOYEES SAT INSIDE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS INSIDE OF PUBLIC WORKS.
THERE'S AN ORGANIZATION CALLED MULTIFAMILY HABITABILITY, OR MULTIFAMILY CODE ENFORCEMENT.
AND THEY DID THE EXACT SAME WORK, BUT FOR MULTIFAMILY STRUCTURES, APARTMENT COMPLEXES.
AND SO WE BEGAN BLENDING FUNCTIONS LIKE THAT TOGETHER TO GET MORE EFFICIENCY, TO HAVE MORE PEOPLE GOING AFTER IT.
AND SO WHERE WE ONLY HAD ABOUT 50 IN INSPECTORS ON THE SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL, WE HAD ABOUT A HUNDRED INSPECTORS ON MULTIFAMILY.
AND SO BY MERGING 'EM IN CROSS TRAINING, WE'VE GOT 150 FOR ALL, FOR BOTH SETS NOW.
AND SO IT WAS A LOT OF WORK AROUND THAT TYPE OF EFFICIENCY.
AND BY DOING STUFF LIKE THAT, JUST BASIC STUFF LIKE THAT, WE WERE ABLE TO REDUCE THE COST OF GOVERNMENT ITSELF BY ABOUT $122 MILLION.
AND ADDITIONALLY, WE OFFERED A VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT PROGRAM.
UM, SO WE HAD ABOUT 3000 EMPLOYEES THAT WERE ELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND, UH, WE OFFERED AN INCENTIVE AND SAID THAT IF YOU LET US KNOW THAT YOU PLAN ON RETIRING BY THIS DATE, AND THAT DATE WAS MAY 1ST, 2025, UH, THEN WE WOULD OFFER THEM THREE MONTHS OF SALARY AND WE WOULD OFFER, UH, ACTIVE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS TO THOSE EMPLOYEES.
ABOUT A LITTLE OVER A THOUSAND.
SO ABOUT A THIRD OF THE FOLKS THAT OFFERED THAT THAT WE OFFERED THAT TO TOOK IT, UH, THE OTHER 2000 ARE STILL EMPLOYED BY THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO REDUCE COSTS BY ABOUT $100 MILLION, UH, THROUGH ALL OF THOSE RETIREMENTS.
AND SO BY DOING ALL OF THOSE THINGS AND SETTLING ALL OF THESE LAWSUITS AND, AND GETTING, WE WERE ABLE TO SORT OF MOVE THE NEEDLE ON REDUCING THE COST OF GOVERNMENT WITH HAVING VERY MINIMAL IMPACT TO SERVICE.
AND SO IF YEAR ONE WAS A YEAR OF LEARNING AND YEAR TWO WAS A YEAR OF IMPLEMENTATION, WE ARE NOW IN YEAR THREE WHERE WE HAVE TO DO SOME ACTING.
WE HAVE TO ACT ON THE FISCAL STRUCTURE OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND DO TWO BIG CHANGES THAT WE'RE GONNA MAKE.
SO WHAT I WANNA DO BEFORE I TALK TO YOU ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING IS I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE GENERAL FUND OUTLOOK.
SO AS YOU RECALL, I SAID THAT THE ONLY STRUCTURAL IMBALANCE AND THE CITY OF HOUSTON SITS INSIDE THE GENERAL FUND, AND THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
SO THE RED LINE THAT YOU'RE SEEING, UH, IS ON THE Y AXIS, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF DOLLARS IN WHICH WE SPEND MORE MONEY THAN WE TAKE IN REVENUE.
AND ON THE X AXIS IS THE FISCAL YEAR.
SO WHAT FISCAL YEAR WE WOULD BE IN, WE ARE LOOKING TO PASS FISCAL YEAR 27.
SO THAT'S GONNA BE JULY 1ST OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR, UM, IS WHEN FIFTH FISCAL YEAR 27, OUR PROJECTED BUDGET GAP IS $209 MILLION.
OUR PROJECTED BUDGET GAP FOR FY 28 IS 300 THOR 334 MILLION, THEN 381, AND THEN 446 MILLION BY FISCAL YEAR 30.
SO BY FISCAL YEAR 30, WE'RE GONNA HAVE ABOUT A HALF A BILLION DOLLAR BUDGET DEFICIT.
UH, IF WE DO NOTHING RIGHT, THIS SLIDE ENVISIONS US NOT DOING ANYTHING AT ALL.
UM, THE IMPORTANT NUMBERS HERE, UH, ARE DOWN IN THE RED AND, UH, I'LL, I'LL ORIENT YOU TO IT.
THIS IS WHAT'S CALLED OUR, OUR FUND BALANCE, A MINIMUM REQUIREMENT FUND BALANCE.
FUND BALANCE IN THE STATE'S LANGUAGE IS THE RAINY DAY FUND, WHICH I'M SURE Y'ALL HAVE HEARD OF, FUND BALANCE AND RAINY DAY FUND IN REGULAR PEOPLE.
LANGUAGE IS A SAVINGS ACCOUNT.
THIS IS THE CITY OF HOUSTON SAVINGS ACCOUNT.
AND WE HAVE A RULE AND COUNCIL AND ORDINANCE IN COUNCIL THAT SAYS WE CANNOT DIP BELOW THE 7.5%.
IF WE DO DIP BELOW THAT SEVEN POINT A HALF PERCENT, WE'RE VIOLATING AN ORDINANCE.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE ARE SHOWING THE, UH, THE CREDITORS OF THE CITY FEES AND EFFECTIVELY THE RATINGS AGENCIES THAT RATE, RATE THE DEBT OF THE CITY, JUST LIKE YOU HAVE A CREDIT SCORE AT HOME FOR YOURSELF, THE CITY OF HOUSTON ALSO HAS A CREDIT SCORE.
IF WE DIP BELOW THAT 7.5%, THEY DOWNGRADE OUR DEBT.
AND THAT MAKES IT MORE EXPENSIVE TO PURCHASE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO PURCHASE EVERY YEAR.
THINK, UH, MORE COSTLY AMBULANCES, FIRE TRUCKS, POLICE CARS, SOLID WASTE VEHICLES, PARK TRUCKS, YOU KNOW, IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PARKS THEMSELVES.
SO IN FISCAL YEAR 27, WE HAVE A PROJECTED $209 MILLION BUDGET GAP.
IF WE DO NOTHING, WE WILL DIP BELOW THE 7.5% MINIMUM REQUIREMENT.
UH, WHICH MEANS WE GET A DOWNGRADED DEBT.
COST OF GOVERNMENT GETS MORE EXPENSIVE BY FISCAL YEAR 28.
IF WE CONTINUE TO DO NOTHING, THEN WE WILL GO INTO WHAT'S CALLED NEGATIVE CASH BALANCE.
NEGATIVE CASH BALANCE IS A VERY IMPORTANT THING.
UM, THIS IS EXACTLY LIKE IT SOUNDS.
WE EFFECTIVELY RUN OUT OF MONEY TO PAY BILLS OR PAY SALARIES.
WE, WE HAVE A GAP AND A SEVERE ENOUGH GAP TO WHERE WE CAN'T MAKE THOSE PAYMENTS.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE TO BEGIN TALKING ABOUT WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE? WHAT, WHAT GOVERNMENT DO WE WANT TO HAVE? WHAT SORT OF CRISIS MODE ARE WE GOING TO BE IN? THIS IS NOT A SCENARIO THAT ANYBODY AROUND THE HORSESHOE WANTS TO BE IN.
NOBODY ON STAFF WANTS TO BE IN THIS SCENARIO.
IT'S THE REASON WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT THIS YEAR TO ACT.
UM, THIS IS THE WORST CASE SCENARIO.
ALSO COINCIDES WITH THE MOST DEPRESSING SLIDE IN THIS PRESENTATION.
I PROMISE IT DOES GET BETTER FROM HERE.
[00:20:01]
ARE WE NOT GOING TO DO THIS FISCAL YEAR? SO THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE RAISING PROPERTY TAXES.THE MAYOR, UH, MADE A COMMITMENT TO HOUSTONIANS WHEN HE WAS ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL, AND HE IS CONTINUED TO MAKE THAT COMMITMENT TO COUNCIL MEMBERS AND HOUSTONIANS AS HE'S BEEN MAYOR.
AND WHAT HE HAS SAID IS THAT RAISING PROPERTY TAXES IS GOING TO BE THE LAST THING THAT I'LL DO.
HE HAS SAID PUBLICLY MULTIPLE TIMES THAT AS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL OVER THE PAST 52 YEARS, HE'S PROBABLY VOTED MORE THAN ANYBODY ELSE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS TO RAISE TAXES.
BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT WE ARE GOING TO LEAD WITH.
WE ARE GOING TO FIND EFFICIENCIES WITHIN THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND HOW THE CITY OF HOUSTON OPERATES.
ADDITIONALLY, WE ARE NOT EXPANDING GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS. THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MORE PAINFUL THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO, TO DEAL WITH.
AND IT'S THE FACT THAT WE ALL CAME IN.
MAYOR, MAYOR WHITMEYER CAMPAIGNED ON A LOT OF BIG, BOLD IDEAS, PUTTING SIDEWALKS IN COMMUNITIES WHERE THERE HAVE NEVER BEEN SIDEWALKS BEFORE, UH, AND DIFFERENT TYPES OF IDEAS LIKE THAT.
WE, THIS IS NOT THE FISCAL YEAR IN WHICH WE CAN EXPAND GOVERNMENT PROGRAMMING LIKE THAT.
THIS WOULD BE CONSIDERED WHAT I WOULD CALL A MAINTENANCE BUDGET.
UM, AND BEING ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE CURRENT OPERATIONS OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON AS WE DO THE TWO BIG SHIFTS THAT WE'RE GONNA DO THIS FISCAL YEAR.
WE ARE NOT GONNA BE RELYING ON ONE-TIME TRANSFERS.
SO I HAVE BEEN A PART, I WAS A PART OF MAYOR PARKER'S ADMINISTRATION, I WAS ALSO A PART OF MAYOR TURNER'S ADMINISTRATION, UM, AND I WAS PART OF CLOSING BUDGET GAPS, UH, IN WHICH WE DID ONE-OFF LAND SALES.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS QUITE A BIT OF VACANT LAND IN THEIR PORTFOLIO.
UM, AND THEY, WE WOULD SELL THAT LAND TO CLOSE THOSE BUDGET GAPS.
THAT WE ARE NOT DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
WE ARE NOT ACCOUNTING FOR THAT TO BE ABLE TO CLOSE THE BUDGET GAP.
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE DEFERRING ANY INFRASTRUCTURE OBLIGATIONS.
AS Y'ALL KNOW, WE HAVE A COMMITMENT TO DO STREETS AND DRAINAGE.
WE HAVE ALSO HAVE A COMMITMENT TO DO, UM, WATER AND SEWER IMPROVEMENTS BASED ON OUR CIP AND LOOKING IN THE OUT YEARS BASED ON CRITICALITY OF ASSETS.
SO THINK LIKE OUR EAST WATER PURIFICATION PLANT THAT WAS BUILT IN THE FIFTIES AND LOOKS LIKE IT'S BUILT IN THE FIFTIES AND OPERATES LIKE IT WAS BUILT IN THE FIFTIES.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE'RE UNDER CONSENT DECREE WITH THE EPA.
SO THE CITY OF HOUSTON IN 2019 AND THEN RE RATIFIED IN 2021, STRUCK A DEAL WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND SAID, WE HAVE NOT BEEN TAKING CARE OF BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES IN THE WAY THAT WE SHOULD, SPECIFICALLY AROUND WHAT'S CALLED AN SSO OR A SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOW CITY OF HOUSTON ENGAGED IN THAT.
THAT'S ACTUALLY WHAT HAS BEEN DRIVING THE INCREASES IN YOUR WATER RATES IN YOUR BILL, UH, IN YOUR BILLS HAS BEEN THE NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT WITH THE EPA.
NONE OF THOSE THINGS ARE GOING TO BE DEFERRED BY DOING THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, UH, BY DO TAKING THE ACTIONS WE PLAN ON TAKING WITH THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
SO THEN THE QUESTION IS, WHAT ARE WE DOING? AND I'M GONNA GO THROUGH THIS KIND OF QUICK BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THE MEDIA HAS SPOKEN ABOUT IT, BUT I'M PROBABLY GONNA TAKE TWO MINUTES ON THIS AND THEN I'LL HIT THE LAST SLIDE AND WE CAN BEGIN QUESTIONS.
SO WE ARE DOING IN EFFECT TWO THINGS.
THE FIRST THING THAT WE ARE DOING, I WOULD BREAK OUT INTO ONE A AND ONE B.
ONE A IS THAT WE ARE DECLARING SOLID WASTE AND MUNICIPAL UTILITY.
THIS IS ALLOWABLE UNDER STATE LAW.
SOME CITIES ACROSS THE STATE HAVE DONE IT, SOME HAVE NOT.
UM, BUT IN EFFECT WHAT IT DOES IS IT PLUCKS THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND WHERE WE HAVE THE STRUCTURAL DEFICIT AND IT PUTS IT INSIDE OF THE UTILITY FUND.
THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'RE ALLOWED TO DO THAT WITH.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE WATER AND SEWER CAN BE DECLARED A UTILITY.
IF WE CONTROLLED ELECTRICITY, CENTER POINT CONTROLS ELECTRICITY, BUT IF WE CONTROLLED IT, WE WOULD ALSO BE ABLE TO DECLARE ELECTRICITY AS A UTILITY.
BUT IN EFFECT, ALL THIS DOES IS IT MOVES $117 MILLION OF EXPENDITURE FROM THE GENERAL FUND AND PUTS IT INSIDE THE UTILITY FUND.
ONE B IS WE ARE ESTABLISHING AN ADMINISTRATIVE FEE.
SO THIS IS GOING TO BE A $5 PER HOUSEHOLD PER MONTH FEE THAT WILL STAY FLAT FOR AT LEAST TWO YEARS.
AND WHAT THAT FEE IS GOING TO REPRESENT IS, UH, THE COST OF ADMINISTERING THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT ITSELF AS A FUNCTION INSIDE PUBLIC WORKS.
NOW IMPORTANTLY, TO DO A FEE, YOU HAVE TO DO WHAT'S CALLED A COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS.
A COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS BASICALLY SAYS IF WE WERE TO DIVIDE WHAT YOU'RE DOING INTO THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS THAT YOU SERVE, HOW MUCH WOULD IT COST? AND THAT COST IS WHAT WE WOULD ALL CONSIDER A GARBAGE FEE.
AND THAT COST IS ABOUT $25 PER HOUSEHOLD PER MONTH.
SO WE ARE COMING IN UNDER THAT.
AND PART THERE'S TWO REASONS WHY.
ONE IS THE MAYOR DOESN'T BELIEVE THAT HOUSEHOLDS COULD ABSORB THE SHOCK OF GOING FROM ZERO TO 25.
SO HE WANTS TO KEEP IT AT FIVE FOR A FEW YEARS SEPARATELY.
UH, WE DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THE DEPARTMENT IS AS EFFICIENT AS IT CAN BE.
AND SO WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING TOWARDS LOWERING THE COST OF THAT DEPARTMENT THROUGH OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES.
I HAVE A SLIDE THAT I'M HAPPY TO SHOW IF ANYBODY CARES TO SEE IT DURING THE Q AND A SESSION, BUT, UH, WE HAVE IN THE MIDDLE OF DOING THAT COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS, WE WERE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT WE HAVE MADE THE COST OF GARBAGE SERVICE CHEAPER IN THE CITY THROUGH OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES.
SO THAT'S ONE A AND ONE B PLUCKING THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT BY DECLARING IT A UTILITY AND PUTTING IT OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND INTO THE UTILITY SYSTEM ITSELF AND ESTABLISHING A $5 PER HOUSEHOLD PER MONTH, UH, ADMINISTRATIVE FEE.
[00:25:01]
WE ARE DOING IS ESTABLISHING WHAT IS CALLED A RIGHT OF WAY RENTAL FEE.SO THIS CAN BE KIND OF COMPLICATED.
SO I EXPECT A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS.
BUT BASICALLY WHAT STATE LAW SAYS IS THAT IT IS, IT IS LEGAL AND PRACTICAL FOR MUNICIPALITIES TO HOLD PUBLIC UTILITIES ACCOUNTABLE FOR OCCUPYING THE RIGHT OF WAY.
SO THE RIGHT OF WAY ARE THE SIDEWALKS THAT YOU WALK ON, THE STREETS THAT YOU DRIVE ON THAT IS CONSIDERED PROPERTY THAT IS OWNED BY THE RESIDENTS OF HOUSTON.
AND SO THAT IS REPRESENTED, IS REPRESENTED BY THE GENERAL FUND OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND SO WE ALREADY HAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF UTILITIES THAT PAY INTO THE GENERAL FUND FOR OCCUPYING THE RIGHT OF WAY.
ONE TO, UH, WALK YOU THROUGH IS ONE I JUST MENTIONED CENTERPOINT.
SO CENTERPOINT IS CONSIDERED A PRIVATELY UTIL, UH, A PRIVATE DEREGULATED UTILITY.
SO THIS IS, UH, IN EFFECT, IT'S A PUBLIC PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANY, BUT IT'S BEEN, UH, BURDENED WITH DELIVERING AND MAINTAINING A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
ONE IS ELECTRICITY SERVICE, THE OTHER IS NATURAL GAS SERVICE.
SO THEY ARE A UTILITY AND THEY ARE REQUIRED WHERE THEY HAVE THEIR TELEPHONE POLES IN ON THE GROUND ON PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY, AS WELL AS THE ROADS UNDERNEATH THE, UH, WHERE THE NATURAL GAS LINES ARE.
THEY PAY THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S GENERAL FUND EVERY YEAR ABOUT $100 MILLION TO OCCUPY THAT RIGHT OF WAY AND PROVIDE THE SERVICE THAT THEY PROVIDE SEPARATELY.
CENTERPOINT, UH, BESIDES CENTERPOINT, COMCAST AND AT AND T ARE EXAMPLES OF OTHER UTILITIES.
THEY PROVIDE TELECOM SERVICES, SO THINK INTERNET AND FIBER AND TELEPHONE LINES, AND THEY OCCUPY THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S RIGHT OF WAY AND THEY COMPENSATE THE GENERAL FUND AS WELL.
IN OTHER CITIES ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS, THE CITIES REQUIRE THEIR WATER AND SEWER UTILITIES TO COMPENSATE THE GENERAL FUND FOR OCCUPYING THE RIGHT OF WAY.
THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS THE LAST CITY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, QUITE LITERALLY, THAT HAS NOT REQUIRED ITS WATER AND SEWER UTILITY TO COMPENSATE THE GENERAL FUND FOR OCCUPYING THE RIGHT OF WAY, EVEN THOUGH IT'S ALLOWABLE UNDER STATE LAW.
SO WE ARE GOING TO BEGIN REQUIRING ONLY OUR WATER AND SEWER UTILITY TO BEGIN COMPENSATING THE GENERAL FUND FOR OCCUPYING THAT RIGHT OF WAY.
AND THE TYPICAL WAY IN WHICH MUNICIPALITIES HOLD THOSE UTILITIES ACCOUNTABLE IS THROUGH WHAT'S CALLED A PERCENTAGE OF GROSS REVENUE TRANSFER.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS TAKE ALL THE MONEY THAT THE UTILITY BRINGS IN.
SO THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S WATER AND SEWER UTILITY BRINGS IN ABOUT $2 BILLION A YEAR.
AND WE WILL TAKE A PERCENTAGE OF THAT.
THE PERCENTAGE THAT WE'RE GONNA, UH, THAT WE ARE ESTABLISHING IS A 5% GROSS REVENUE TRANSFER, AND THAT WILL EQUAL ABOUT $104 MILLION.
SO TO CATCH ALL UP AND TO REMIND YOU, CENTER POINT, CENTER POINT, I KEEP SAYING CENTER POINT SOLID WASTE AS A MUNICIPAL UTILITY WILL FREE UP ABOUT $116 MILLION INSIDE THE GENERAL FUND.
AND THEN WE WILL ESTABLISH A RIGHT OF WAY RENTAL FEE IN WHICH THE UTILITY WILL PAY THE GENERAL FUND ABOUT $104 MILLION.
SO THAT WILL BE ABOUT A $220 MILLION IMPROVEMENT INSIDE THE GENERAL FUND FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE BUDGET DEFICIT.
AND SO THOSE TWO THINGS, AGAIN, ARE STANDARD PRACTICES IN ALL MAJOR CITIES ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS AS WELL AS MOST OF THE MAJOR CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES.
UM, AND BOTH OF THEM BEGIN TO SUPPORT STRUCTURAL BALANCE.
SO IF I WAS TO DESCRIBE TO YOU THE FISCAL STABILITY OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THE STRUCTURAL BALANCE OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON AS A HOUSE THIS BUDGET YEAR, WE ARE LAYING THE FOUNDATION.
IT DOES NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM.
IT DOES NOT, UH, THIS IS NOT LIKE A MISSION ACCOMPLISHED TYPE OF BUDGET.
UH, WE STILL HAVE A TON OF WORK TO DO, BUT WHAT THIS DOES IS IT ESTABLISHES DEDICATED CONSISTENT REVENUE STREAMS THAT WE CAN PREDICT ON AND STOP HAVING AN EXISTENTIAL CONVERSATION EVERY SINGLE BUDGET YEAR.
SO WHAT DOES THIS DO TO OUR BUDGET IN THE OUT YEARS, MOST IMPORTANTLY? SO AS A, THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF AN ENHANCED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL SLIDE THAT I SHOWED YOU.
UM, THE RED LINE IS AGAIN, THE, IF WE DO NOTHING BUDGET DEFICIT.
SO AGAIN, GOING OUT TO FISCAL YEAR 30, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A HALF A BILLION DOLLAR BUDGET DEFICIT.
THE GREEN LINE IS THE READJUSTED BUDGET DEFICIT.
SO AS YOU CAN TELL, IT'S ALREADY MAKING HUGE DIFFERENCES.
SO INSTEAD OF A FOR FISCAL YEAR 27, WHICH AGAIN, WE'RE PASSING THE FISCAL YEAR 27 BUDGET IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, WE GO FROM A $209 MILLION BUDGET GAP TO A $25 MILLION BUDGET GAP IN FFY 28.
WE GO FROM A $334 MILLION BUDGET GAP TO A $92 MILLION BUDGET GAP AND FY 29, WE GO FROM 3 81 TO 1 0 1 AND FY 30, WE GO FROM HALF A BILLION DOLLARS TO $149 MILLION BUDGET GAP.
SO WE ARE FUN FUNDAMENTALLY RESETTING THE CONVERSATION FOR OURSELVES WHERE WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THESE EXISTENTIAL CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHEN WE TOOK, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE FUND BALANCE, WHICH AGAIN IS THE SAVINGS ACCOUNT OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON IN FY 27, WE WERE PROJECTING TO GO BELOW THAT 7.5%.
WE PRESERVE A HEALTHY FUND BALANCE FY 28, WHERE WE WERE EXPECTING TO GO INTO NEGATIVE CASH TERRITORY.
WE CONTINUE TO PRESERVE A HEALTHY FUND BALANCE ONLY IN FFY 29.
[00:30:01]
ABOUT TWO AND A HALF YEARS FROM NOW, ARE WE EXPECTING TO DIP BELOW THE 7.5%? AND SO WHAT THAT GIVES US, WHAT THIS BUDGET GIVES US, AGAIN, IS NOT A MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.WE DON'T GET TO JUST KICK OUR FEET UP AND, AND NOT WORRY ABOUT THE BUDGET FOR THE FOREVER WE'RE WE HAVE TO WORK HARD AND WE'RE STILL WORKING ON, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE FROM FIVE TO 10 VERY SERIOUS WAYS IN WHICH WE COULD EITHER REDUCE COSTS FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON OR INCREASE REVENUES FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UM, BUT WHAT THIS DOES BUY US IS TIME.
IT GETS US THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO, UH, HAVE A COGENT CONVERSATION WITH THE PUBLIC, WITH Y'ALL, UM, TO BE ABLE TO SAY WHAT IS A MEANINGFUL WAY IN WHICH WE CAN EITHER BRING IN NEW REVENUES OR REDUCE COSTS AND PRESERVE THE TYPE OF HOUSTON THAT YOU WANT, WHICH IS A MORE, A VERY IMPORTANT CONVERSATION THAT WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO HAVE NO MAYOR, UH, SINCE LEE BROWN HAS BEEN ABLE TO HAVE BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN CONSTANTLY UNDER THE GUN OF A DECREASING TAX RATE IN AN INCREASING BUDGET DEFICIT.
SO HAVING SAID ALL OF THAT, I'M GONNA PAUSE AND KICK IT BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN OR COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO.
AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF, IF I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE.
WE ALL, UM, IF YOU GUYS SEE THE LITTLE HAND ON YOUR TEAM'S SCREEN, IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND YOUR VIRTUAL HAND AND, UH, RUSSELL AND JORDAN WILL CALL YOU.
UM, CALL YOUR NAME AND THEN GET YOUR QUESTION OUT.
GLORIA, GO AHEAD GLORIA, IF YOU'RE TALKING, YOU'RE ON MUTE.
CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN.
THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR PROVIDING THIS PLATFORM AND THANK YOU DAVID.
IT'S COMPLEX, THE BUDGET
I DO, I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE ANIMAL WELFARE AND BARK ISSUE THAT'S HAPPENING IN THE CITY.
AND I KNOW YOU TOUCHED ON ADMINISTRATIVE FEES FOR WASTE SOLUTION AND THEN NOT, AND, AND MAYOR NOT INCREASING PROPERTY TAXES.
I JUST WONDER THOUGH, IF, IF THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO INCREASE ADMINISTRATIVE FEES FOR IMPROVING BARK OR GETTING MORE FUNDING FOR BARK OR INCREASING PROPERTY TAXES FOR BARK, WOULD THAT BE POSSIBLE? BECAUSE DEFINITELY FOR DECADES, UH, ANIMAL WELFARE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS BEEN UNDERFUNDED.
I KNOW COMPARED TO OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS LIKE DALLAS, AUSTIN, EVEN SAN ANTONIO ARE DOING A BETTER JOB OF THAT.
SO HOW ARE THEY ABLE TO DO THAT? AND IS THERE ANY POSSIBILITY THAT THERE COULD BE AN ASK? I MEAN, I THINK THE PUBLIC, IF THEY KNEW, UM, THAT THERE, THAT IF WE COULD DO AN, SOME KIND OF FEE OR INCREASE IN THE TAXES TO HELP BART, I FEEL LIKE MANY PEOPLE WOULD BE WILLING TO DO THAT, INCLUDING MYSELF.
YEAH, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
SO, SO THE ANSWER IS A LITTLE BIT, THE ANSWER IS YES, YES, AND YES, TO BE QUITE HONEST, WE'RE CONSIDERING EVERYTHING.
UM, I'M NOT SAYING THIS, THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR IN WHICH WE ARE DOING BIG FINANCIAL CHANGE AND IT'S MORE OF A STRUCTURAL CHANGE THAN ANYTHING.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS, IF YOU, YOU WERE WORKED AT THE CITY OF HOUSTON, YOU KNOW HOW COMPLICATED IT CAN GET, HOW QUICKLY IT CAN GET COMPLICATED.
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE MORE THAT YOU THROW AT IT, THE LESS FAITH THE THE PUBLIC HAS IN GOVERNMENT ITSELF.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO BALANCE OUT HERE IS, UM, THE, UH, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO CONSIDER THINGS LIKE A FEE DEDICATED FOR BARK, OR A FEE DEDICATED FOR PARKS OR A FEE DEDICATED FOR SOMETHING ELSE.
THESE TWO ITEMS ARE EFFECTIVELY FREEING UP OR CREATING HEADSPACE OF ABOUT $220 MILLION WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND.
IF WE WERE TO DO THAT EQUIVALENCY WITHIN PROPERTY TAXES, WE'D HAVE TO RAISE PROPERTY TAXES BY 10 CENTS OR 11 CENTS.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WOULD COMPEL US TO GO TO THE VOTERS SO WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO ACCOUNT FOR IT UNTIL NOVEMBER.
AND WE HAVE TO USE EXAMPLES, UM, THAT ARE AT LEAST PROXIMATE TO OUR SITUATION.
AND THE CLOSEST, UH, THE CLOSEST PROXY FOR US TO LOOK AT IS AUSTIN AND AUSTIN JUST TRIED TO DO THE EXACT SAME THING.
THEY DID NOT TAKE THE EFFORTS THAT WE HAVE TAKEN OR GONE THROUGH THE EFFORTS THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH TO, UM, CHANGE THE STRUCTURE OF THE CITY AND ADOPT MORE SOUND PRACTICES THAT ARE NORMAL
[00:35:01]
AND AND RESPECTFUL OF, OF THE LIKE NORMAL BUSINESS PROCESSES.UM, AND SO NOW THEY'RE DOING, THEY FLIPPED IT AND NOW THEY'VE ASKED US TO HELP THEM KICK OFF AN EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS.
SO THEY'RE ACTUALLY LEANING ON HOUSTON'S EXPERIENCE A LOT.
AND THEN I THINK THEY'RE PROBABLY GONNA GO BACK.
AS I SAID EARLIER, MAYOR WHITMEYER HAS INDICATED HE IS, HE'S PROBABLY VOTED FOR MORE TAX TAX INCREASES FOR THAN ANYBODY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
I THINK THE ANSWER IS THAT WE HAVE TO START WITH IMPROVING THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
LOOKING INTERNALLY, I'LL TELL YOU, WE, WE DID NOT, UH, WE ARE EXPECTING, I THINK COUNCIL RUSSELL AND COUNCIL MEMBER ON HERE, WE'RE EXPECTING, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE BEEN DILIGENT PARTNERS OF BAR COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, UH, HAS BEEN A DILIGENT PARTNER OF PART, SO IS COUNCILMAN ALCORN.
AND EVERY YEAR HE, HE PUTS IN A BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR $300,000 TO BRING IN CLEANING CREWS.
SO WE CAN HAVE, UM, OUR KENNEL ATTENDANTS CLEAN LESS AND PLAY WITH THE DOGS MORE TO MAKE 'EM MORE ADOPTABLE.
AND GLORIA, I KNOW YOU'RE WITH BARRIO DOGS AND THIS IS A BIG PASSION PROJECT FOR YOU.
UM, W WE ARE NOT, UH, THIS YEAR WE ARE IS ONE OF THE FIRST YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN AROUND IN CITY GOVERNMENT IN WHICH WE ARE NOT DOING AN ACROSS THE BOARD 10% CUT FOR EVERY SINGLE FUNCTION IN THE CITY.
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PRESERVE THOSE BUDGETS A LITTLE BIT.
AND SO THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT THE ANSWER IS NO TO YOUR YOUR QUESTION, WE'RE GONNA CONSIDER THOSE THINGS MOVING FORWARD, BUT WE'VE GOTTA BE ABLE TO, UM, I WOULD SAY CRAWL, WALK, RUN SCENARIO.
WE'RE STARTING THE CRAWL STUFF RIGHT NOW, AND I ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE THAT WE'RE GONNA, AND YOU KNOW, THE MAYOR'S SUPER PASSIONATE ABOUT, UH, ABOUT BARK AND WE'VE GOT, UM, WE'RE HAVING CONVERSATIONS NOW ABOUT WHAT A NEW BARK FACILITY WOULD LOOK LIKE.
SO THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF THINGS THAT WE'RE THINKING THROUGH.
UM, AND I APPRECIATE YOU YOU DOING THAT AS A PERSON WHO'S MARRIED TO A PET STYLIST.
AND, AND I'M HAPPY TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THIS, BUT I, IN MY FORMER LIFE, I'M A REGISTERED VET TECH.
WHEN I WAS 16, I WENT TO LONE STAR COLLEGE AND GOT THAT, AND THAT WAS MY COLLEGE JOB.
SO I, I FULLY ON BOARD WITH EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE SAYING.
THANK, SO YES, THANK YOU TO COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, THANK YOU TO COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO FOR, UH, SUPPORTING BARC AND OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT HAVE DONE IT IN THE PAST.
MY ASK TODAY IS THAT THERE'S SOME KIND OF CONSIDERATION TO, TO HELP FUND BARK A LITTLE BIT MORE.
THANK Y'ALL ALL FOR ALL YOUR WORK AND FOR THIS CONSIDERATION.
UM, TAMIKA, AND JUST AS A HEADS UP TO EVERYONE, WE WILL BE, UH, ONE MINUTE OF, OF QUESTIONS.
SO IF I JUMP IN, UM, THAT, THAT YOUR MINUTES.
HI, THANK YOU FOR GIVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
UM, WHAT WOULD IT TAKE FOR, UM, A TAX, UH, TO BE PUT FOR METRO TO BECOME FREE FAIR? UM, CONSIDERING THAT THE BOX FAIR ONLY ACCOUNTS FOR ABOUT 4.5% OF THE TOTAL BUDGET, WHAT WOULD IT TAKE FOR METRO TO BECOME A FREE FAIR FOR THE CITY? YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
AND YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I, IN MY PREVIOUS LIFE, I CAME FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
I WAS ACTUALLY, UH, I WAS, I REBUILT MULTIPLE TRANSIT AGENCIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
UM, AND SO THE, I'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK, I'VE BEEN A LOT OF PART OF THE CONVERSATION FOR A LOT OF CITIES WHO WANT TO GO TO FAIR FREE MODELS.
UM, AS, AS EXACTLY WHAT YOU JUST SAID, THE, UM, THE FAIRES BRING IN, UH, A LITTLE UNDER 5% IN ANY JURISDICTION THAT YOU GO TO FOR REVENUE.
UM, THERE HAS BEEN CONSIDERATION, I DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS THE CONSIDERATION THAT HOUSTON METRO HAS MADE.
I CAN ONLY SPEAK TO WHAT OTHER CITY, WHAT THE DIALOGUE I'VE HEARD FROM OTHER CITIES.
CITIES BELIEVE THAT, UH, THAT THE FEE ITSELF, AND THIS IS A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A PREVALENT ARGUMENT THAN I'VE, THAN I MORE OF A PREVALENT ARGUMENT ON THE WEST COAST.
UM, THAT FEES ARE A DISCOURAGER FOR PEOPLE, FOR THE HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS TO GET ON THE BUS AND JUST HANG OUT AND THEN THEY GET TRANSPORTED AROUND.
I'M NOT SAYING IT'S THE RIGHT ANSWER.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I WOULD NECESSARILY AGREE WITH OR THAT ANYBODY WOULD AGREE WITH ON, UH, IN CITY COUNCIL, BUT THAT IS HISTORICALLY THE WAY THAT THE FREE, FAIR, FREE CONVERSATIONS HAVE GONE.
AND THE, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE FOR IT SAY IT DOESN'T BRING IN A MEANINGFUL SOURCE OF REVENUE, LET'S JUST MAKE IT FREE FOR FOLKS.
AND THE PEOPLE WHO ARE OPPOSED TO IT SAY, WELL, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A BARRIER SO PEOPLE AREN'T JUST GETTING FREE RIDES AND TAKING UP A, A SEAT FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND JUST HANGING OUT BECAUSE THEY CAN.
UM, BUT THAT WOULD BE AN ACT OF METRO OF HOUSTON METRO TO DO THAT.
SO WOULD THAT CREATE AVENUE FOR, BECAUSE METRO IS TECHNICALLY LIKE A LEGAL MONOPOLY.
WOULD THAT CREATE AN AVENUE FOR ANOTHER PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OR WOULD THEY BRING MORE BUSES? NOT TYPICALLY TAMIKA.
SO, SO METRO WAS ACTUALLY CREATED BY THE VOTERS IN 1978.
YOU KNOW WHAT, I KEEP THIS TYPE OF STUFF IN MY HEAD AND I'M REALLY GRATEFUL THAT YOU'RE ASKING ME THIS RANDOM ONE.
'CAUSE I GET IT OUT NOW AND IT MAKES ME FEEL BETTER THAT IT'S OUTTA MY HEAD.
SO IN 1978, UH, VOTERS APPROVED METRO A FEW YEARS LATER, UM,
[00:40:01]
THE, UH, CITY OF HOUSTON, SO THAT WAS STATE LAW THAT ALLOWED IT TO OCCUR.UH, METRO WAS CREATED AND THEN THE VOTE, CORRESPONDING VOTE WITH IT LOCKED UP THE ONE PENNY SALES TAX, THE 1 CENT SALES TAX THAT IS METRO.
SO USUALLY WHAT YOU FIND IS THAT REGIONS ONLY HAVE ONE METRO.
I DO AGREE WITH YOU THAT YOU WOULD CONSIDER THEM A MONOPOLY, BUT THAT'S THE NORM.
THAT'S THE NORM BECAUSE THEY'RE ALMOST ALWAYS SALES TAX FUNDED.
UM, CAN EVERYBODY HEAR ME? YES, MA'AM.
UM, SO, UM, I JUST WANNA SHARE THAT, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE PUTTING FEES ON TOP OF STANDARD SERVICES THAT WE ALL DEPEND ON, SUCH AS TRASH, UM, PICKUP IS GOING TO IMPACT MOST THOSE WHO HAVE THE LEAST AMOUNT OF RESOURCES.
AND THIS DOESN'T NECESSARILY SEEM TO ME TO BE THE RIGHT WAY TO LOOK AT SOLVING A BUDGET PROBLEM.
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY THE POLICE BUDGET HAS SKYROCKETED.
I THINK MANY OF US QUESTION THAT.
UM, BUT I'D ALSO LIKE TO SAY I WAS ALSO INTERESTED IN WHAT ARE THE OTHER WAYS, UM, THAT YOU ALL ARE LOOKING TO CLOSE THE BUDGET GAP, YOU KNOW, SO FOR EXAMPLE, UM, THROUGH THE TAX ABATEMENTS THAT ARE GIVEN OUT, YOU KNOW, TO PEOPLE COMING INTO THE CITY, UH, OTHER KIND OF OPTIONS TO CLOSE THE GAP.
I'D BE INTERESTED TO KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE.
YEAH, SO A A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT I'LL, I'LL ADDRESS.
THANK YOU, SUSAN, FOR THAT QUESTION.
UH, I WOULD COUCH IT IN A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
SO ONE CI, THE CITY OF HOUSTON, QUITE LITERALLY, UH, IN THE STATE OF TEXAS IS THE ONLY JURISDICTION UN IF YOU LIVE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, OR IF YOU OWN ACREAGE IN WHICH YOU BURN YOUR TRASH, THIS IS THE ONLY TWO PLACES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS IN WHICH THERE IS NOT A GARBAGE FEE.
UM, AND I'LL TELL YOU THAT WHEN THE SAME ARGUMENT IS MADE ABOUT WATER AND SEWER, IT'S A CRITICAL SERVICE.
WHY ARE WE PAYING FOR IT? RIGHT? THERE'S A MAINTENANCE TO PROVIDE QUALITY SERVICE THAT NEEDS TO OCCUR.
UM, AND IT IS A FEE, IT IS A TYPICAL FEE SERVICE.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT YOU'RE WRONG FOR DISAGREEING WITH IT, BUT I'M TELLING YOU, I WANT YOU TO HEAR THE LOGIC AS TO WHY IT IS THERE.
A, IT IS A VERY NORMAL THING THAT MUNICIPALITIES DO.
EVERY SINGLE STATE CITY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS A GARBAGE FEE.
I MEAN, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND THEN ALL OF THE UNINCORPORATED COMMUNITIES, IF YOU LIVE IN A COMMUNITY, YOU PAY A GARBAGE FEE EXCEPT FOR HOUSTON.
ONE OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS THOUGH THAT MAYOR WHITMEYER RECOGNIZE THAT WE ALL RECOGNIZE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS RECOGNIZE IT, UM, IS THAT AS WHILE A GARBAGE FEE IS A STANDARD PRACTICE, UM, FOR RECEIVING SOLID WASTE SERVICE, UM, A GARBAGE FEE IN HOUSTON WOULD NECESSARILY BE ABOUT 25 BUCKS AND GOING FROM ZERO TO 25, THAT REALLY IS A NON-STARTER FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE.
IT'S, I MEAN, MAYBE YOU COULD WORK YOUR WAY UP TO IT, BUT THAT'S NOT THE WAY THE MAYOR WHITMEYER WANTED US TO APPROACH THIS, HENCE THE $5.
UM, I CAN, I CAN TELL YOU THAT OF THE BENCHMARKING THAT WE DID ACROSS THE CITY OF HOUSTON, AND I'M, I I WILL SHARE MY SCREEN.
YOU'RE THE FIRST PERSON THAT HAS MADE ME PULL MY SCREEN BACK UP.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANNA SHOW YOU IS A BENCHMARK ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS.
SO THESE ARE ALL OF THE CITIES IN THE STATE THAT, AND IN OUR SURROUNDING CITIES, UH, THE MAJOR CITIES IN WHICH THERE IS A GARBAGE FEE.
AND YOU'LL SEE SAN ANTONIO IS $19 TO $35.
DALLAS IS A FLAT 40, AUSTIN IS 28 TO 65, 65 BEING THE HIGHEST IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
EL PASO'S 36, PASADENA IS AS HIGHEST 34, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST IN OUR REGION.
SUGAR LAND IS, EXCUSE ME, LEAGUE CITY IS THE LOWEST OF 22 BUCKS.
25, THE CITY OF HOUSTON, IF WE WERE DOING A FULL GARBAGE FEE, 25 WOULD BE, WOULD SORT OF HIT THE MARK.
UH, I HAVE, WE ALSO BENCHMARKED EVERY SINGLE DISCOUNT THAT IS PROVIDED TO THE RESIDENTS OF THOSE MUNICIPALITIES THAT ARE, THAT HAVE A GARBAGE FEE.
AND SO THINK SENIOR EXEMPTIONS, EXEMPTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY, FOR VETERANS, UH, FOR LOW TO MODERATE INCOME HOUSEHOLDS, AND NONE OF THOSE GET ANYWHERE BELOW 10 BUCKS.
SO FIVE IS QUITE LITERALLY THE CHEAPEST IS GOING TO BE THE CHEAPEST FEE IN THE STATE.
UM, I'M NOT SAYING THAT THAT'S GONNA SATISFY YOU, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT I WANT YOU TO HEAR.
WE ARE VERY CONSCIOUS, CONSCIOUS OF THE BURDEN THAT IT'S GOING TO PUT ON HOUSEHOLDS.
IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE'VE SAID FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT TWO YEARS, WE'RE GOING TO KEEP IT SUPPRESSED AT FIVE.
AND MAYOR WHITMEYER HAS COMMITTED THAT BEFORE WE INCREASE FROM FIVE TO 10 OR FROM FIVE TO ANY NUMBER, THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A CONVERSATION WITH THE PUBLIC, A CONVERSATION
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WITH CITY COUNCIL, AND THAT TO INCREASE IT IN ANYTHING HIGHER THAN FIVE, IT MUST BE A VOTE OF CITY COUNCIL.UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE, THE SORT OF CONVERSATION AROUND, UM, SOLID WASTE.
NOW WITH REGARD TO WHAT ELSE WE'RE LOOKING AT, WE'RE LOOKING AT LITERALLY EVERYTHING.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, A WIDE RESOURCE OF, UH, PARTNERSHIPS WITH MUNICIPALITIES ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS AND ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, BUT ALSO WE'RE LOOKING INTO DIFFERENT WAYS OF DOING THINGS.
SO THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WE, THE, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT MAYBE SOME PEOPLE DON'T LIKE TO HEAR, UH, BUT WE, THERE'S AN EXERCISE CALLED MANAGED COMPETITION.
SO WE DO A FUNCTION THAT THE PRIVATE SECTOR TYPICALLY DOES.
SO THINK FINANCE, HUMAN RESOURCES, PAYROLL, ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, ACCOUNTS PAYABLE TYPE OF STUFF.
UM, ARE WE DOING IT IN A MORE COST EFFECTIVE WAY OR DO WE PROVIDE A UNIQUE SERVICE TO OURSELVES? UM, OR IS THERE SOMETHING IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR THAT COULD OCCUR, UM, THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO LOWER THE COST, UH, COST BURDEN OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SO WE'RE ACTIVELY GOING THROUGH THOSE EXERCISES.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT MODERNIZING FEES.
UH, THERE ARE SOME FEES THAT HAVEN'T BEEN TOUCHED SINCE, SINCE THE 1990S.
UM, WE'RE ALSO HAVING CONVERSATIONS AROUND WHAT WOULD, IF WE WERE TO ALLOW OURSELVES TO, UM, ALIGN OURSELVES WITH OTHER CITIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS WITH THE REV, THE, THE AVALOR PROPERTY TAX THAT THEY SIT AT, WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE IF IT IMPACTS HOUSTON? I CAN TELL YOU THAT FOR ABOUT EVERY PENNY THAT, UH, THE TAX RATE INCREASES, YOU RECEIVE ABOUT $26 MILLION.
THE CITY OF HOUSTON RECEIVES ABOUT $26 MILLION OF REVENUE.
UM, WE COULDN'T GO MUCH HIGHER THAN A PENNY OR TWO WITHOUT HITTING THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S REV CAP.
SO WE CAN'T SOLVE OUR PROBLEM BY TAXING PEOPLE.
AND THAT'S, THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT THIS, IS THAT WE ARE, WE ARE TRYING TO, TO WALK A FINE LINE OF MODERNIZING THE WAY IN WHICH THE CITY OF HOUSTON OPERATES, PROVIDE BETTER SERVICES, FEEL A SQUEEZE INSIDE OF OUR GENERAL FUND, AND RECOGNIZE THAT TAXING ISN'T THE WAY TO GET OUTTA THIS, THIS CHALLENGE.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE BELIEVE THAT FY 27 REPRESENTS.
THIS IS, UH, ACTUALLY KIM'S HUSBAND CLAYTON.
UM, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
IN PARTICULAR, UH, IN BROOK SMITH THREE, UM, WE HAVE A PROJECT THAT'S BEEN APPROVED, BUT, UH, I GUESS FEES HAVE NOT BEEN ALLOCATED.
UM, I JUST WAS WONDERING IF THERE WAS AN UPDATE ON, UH, YOU KNOW, IF THOSE FEES, FEES FOR THAT MIGHT BE AVAILABLE, UH, THIS YEAR.
UH, IN ADDITION, OUR PARTICULAR AREA, UH, ON OUR PARTICULAR STREET, UM, AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE'VE RECENTLY HAD LOW INCOME HOUSING BUILT.
WE'VE HAVE A DAYCARE IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, BUILT AT THE OTHER END.
UH, WE HAVE VERY FEW SIDEWALKS.
UH, SO I GUESS ANOTHER QUESTION WOULD BE, WOULD THERE BE ANY POSSIBILITY FOR BUDGET INTO, UH, YOU KNOW, IMPLEMENTING SIDEWALKS, UH, IN THE SAME AREA AS WELL FOR SAFETY? YEAH, SO KIM'S HUSBAND, CLAYTON, YOU ARE HITTING ON ANOTHER THING THAT JUST CASUALLY LIVES INSIDE OF MY HEAD.
SO, UH, YOU CAN EXPECT, UH, SPEED HUMPS TO TRAFFIC CALMING DEVICES IS WHAT THE ENGINEERS CALL IT, SPEED HUMPS.
UH, TO COST ABOUT $7,500, 7,500 TO 10,000 BUCKS.
UM, THE CITY OF HOUSTON CREATED A PROGRAM, UH, ACTUALLY THIS WAS REVISED UNDER A PROPOSITION A ITEM, UM, BUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS THE PROGRAM, NTMP AS YOU'RE, YOU'RE AWARE.
UM, AND WHAT IT ALLOWS FOR IS FOR COMMUNITIES TO SORT OF FAST TRACK THE APPROVAL, UM, BUT THERE IS NO FUNDING SOURCE TIED TO IT.
SO YOU HAVE ONE OF TWO OPTIONS.
THE FIRST ONE IS THAT AS A COMMUNITY YOU CAN FUNDRAISE AND PAY FOR IT YOURSELF, OR TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE WHAT'S CALLED A COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUND, CDSF.
AND I MIGHT BE MAKING A LOT OF COUNCIL MEMBER AND STAFF MAD ABOUT THIS, BUT THE CDSF IS EFFECTIVELY A $1.1 MILLION FUND THAT, UH, EACH COUNCIL, EXCUSE ME, A $1 MILLION FUND THAT EACH COUNCIL MEMBER HAS AVAILABLE TO THEM TO FLEX SPEND ON PROGRAMS LIKE THAT IN WHICH THEY'RE MERITORIOUS.
AND A LOT OF COUNCIL MEMBERS DO ALLOCATE MONEY TO TRAFFIC CALMING DEVICES OR SPEED HUMPS.
SO I, I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS, BUT YOU SHOULD START THE CONGRESS.
WE'RE WE'RE IN COUNCILMAN CASTS.
SO YOU SHOULD SPEAK WITH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO AND RUSSELL, AND THEY CAN TALK TO YOU ABOUT WHAT THE NTMP PROGRAM IS.
UM, A LOT OF TIMES YOU'LL FIND THAT THE CDSF MONEY IS, IS ALLOCATED.
UH, THERE'S ALWAYS A LONG WAITING LIST, AND THAT YOU'RE NOT THE FIRST NEIGHBORHOOD TO HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT SPEEDING.
UM, SO THAT'S WHY WE ALSO MADE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FOLKS TO FUND IT THEMSELVES.
UM, BUT AS OF RIGHT NOW, THERE IS NO CITY OF HOUSTON DEDICATED FUNDING STREAM FOR THOSE TRAFFIC CALMING DEVICES.
UM, SO THAT'S, UH, THAT'S A, A GOOD AND A BAD ANSWER, LYNN, HOW WILL
[00:50:01]
FLOOD DEDICATION COPAYS BE HANDLED? HOW WILL FLOOD MITIGATION COPAYS BE HANDLED? DID I, DID I HEAR YOU CORRECTLY? YES.UM, SO, UH, WITHOUT GETTING INTO TO SUPER SPECIFICS, UM, WE DON'T, WE'RE NOT TOUCHING DRAINAGE MONEY.
UH, THE WATER AND SEWER UTILITY ISN'T THE DRAINAGE DOLLARS.
SO DRAINAGE IS, UH, D-D-S-R-F.
SO DEDICATED DRAINAGE AND SYSTEM RELIEF FUND, THOSE ARE THREE LOCK BOXES THAT WERE ESTABLISHED BY MAYOR PARKER AND CONTINUED BY MAYOR TURNER, UH, THROUGH THE REBUILD HOUSTON PROGRAM, WHICH IS NOW, I BELIEVE THE BUILD HOUSTON FORWARD FUND.
UM, THOSE THINGS ARE LOCKED AND DRAINAGE DOLLARS CONTINUE TO STAY DRAINAGE DOLLARS.
IN FACT, WE'RE PUTTING ABOUT HALF A BILLION DOLLARS TOWARDS THAT, UM, EACH YEAR NOW.
UM, SO WE'RE NOT TOUCHING THAT MONEY.
WHAT IS GOING TO, UH, THE UTILITY RIGHT OF WAY FEE IS THE MONEY THAT IS ALLOCATED TOWARDS IMPROVEMENTS OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT DELIVER WATER AND SEWAGE.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, THE WATER PIPES, THE, THE INLETS, THE, WELL, NO, NOT THE INLETS, THE WATER PIPES, THE SEWER PIPES, THE, UM, AND THEN THE PLANTS THEMSELVES.
SO WE ARE NOT IMPACTING THOSE THINGS, UH, BY DOING THESE ACTIONS THAT WE'RE TAKING FLOOD MEDICATION IS BY USE.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE, WE'RE TOUCHING.
WE BY USER ARE TECHNICALLY OWNED BY THE HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT.
UM, AND WE PARTNER WITH THEM ON A LOT OF INLET AND OUTLET ACTIVITY.
UM, SO FOR EXAMPLE, IN DISTRICT A OVER OFF OF I 10, AND I WANNA SAY THAT IT'S, UH, LIKE I 10 AND GESNER, WE HAVE, UM, SOME DITCH CHANNELS THAT WE CONTROL THAT DUMP RIGHT OUT INTO THE BAYOU, AND WE'RE ACTUALLY CAUSING QUITE A BIT OF FLOODING.
THAT STUFF IS NOT BEING DEFUNDED AT ALL.
WE ARE CONTINUING TO PUT MONEY TOWARDS THAT, AND WE CONTINUE OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT.
UH, THANK YOU LYNN GUADALUPE, HI.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, AGAIN, ALL OF THIS INFORMATION.
IT'S SUPER HELPFUL AND APPRECIATE THE COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR MAKING THIS SPACE.
UM, GOING BACK TO THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM, I THINK I HAVE A QUESTION AROUND LIKE THE OPPORTUNITY COST OF TRANSFERRING THE FUNDS OUT OF THE UTILITY SYSTEM.
RIGHT? RIGHT NOW, PUBLIC WORKS FACES A LOT OF OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES WHEN IT COMES TO OUR WATER INFRASTRUCTURE.
SEWAGE OVERFLOWS HAVE NOT GONE DOWN.
THEY'VE ACTUALLY BEEN HOVERING BETWEEN 1200 AND 1600 ANNUALLY.
WE KNOW THE AVERAGE WATER LEAK REPAIR TAKES 41 DAYS, AND OUR SYSTEM CONTINUES TO LOSE AS MUCH WATER THAN THE ENTIRE CITY OF FORT WORTH CONSUMES IN A YEAR.
AND SO, IF THESE FUNDS ARE TRULY EXCESS, RIGHT? AND WE'RE NOT DEFERRING ANYTHING FROM THE CONSENT DECREE AND OUR OBLIGATIONS, UM, WHY ARE THEY NOT BEING REINVESTED BACK INTO THE SYSTEM? RIGHT? WE KNOW THE CITY HASN'T BEEN MEETING ITS TARGETS FOR, YOU KNOW, WATERLINE REPLACEMENTS, FOR EXAMPLE.
UM, WE THINK THAT MAYBE THE FUNDS COULD BE USED FOR WATER LEAK REPAIRS, OR ONE WATER INTEGRATED WATER MANAGEMENT OR ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, RIGHT? CONSIDERING THE HIGH WATER BILL FIASCO OF THE LAST FEW YEARS MM-HMM
UM, OR, OR PRIVATE LINE REPAIRS, WHICH AGAIN, CONTINUE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE HIGH SEWAGE OVERFLOWS IN OUR CITY.
UM, SO JUST WONDERING WHY, WHY WE'RE NOT THINKING OF INVESTING IT BACK INTO THE SYSTEM.
SO WE ARE, UH, THERE'S A, I HAVE A VERY, UM, THIS IS GONNA BE WHERE SALLY LIKE TAPS ON THE CAMERA AND, AND TRIES TO MAKE SURE THAT I DON'T GO TOO LONG ON THIS, BUT I HAVE A VERY FINANCE BROEY QUESTION FOR YOU OR ANSWER FOR YOU ABOUT THIS.
UM, SO I'M GONNA SHARE MY SCREEN.
I'M GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH TWO VERY IMPORTANT SLIDES, AND THEN I'M GONNA TALK YOU THROUGH, UM, ON THE SECOND SLIDE, SORT OF WHAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS DONE OVER TIME, WHERE WE KNOW THAT WE ARE, WHERE WE HAVE THE SPACE FOR IT.
UM, AND, AND I'LL GIVE YOU MY ANSWER, AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S GONNA SATISFY YOU, BUT I WANT YOU TO HEAR IT BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION THAT YOU ASKED.
SO, WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT, THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS TO CARE ABOUT TWO VERY IMPORTANT THINGS WHEN WE DEAL WITH BIG, LARGE DEBT FUNDED THINGS LIKE OUR OPERATIONS OF THE CITY ARE.
SO WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE, THE, UM, THE MONEY THAT WE HAVE TO PUT ASIDE FOR THE DEBT THAT WE HOLD, AND THEN WE HAVE TO HAVE MONEY ASIDE FOR OUR OPERATING.
SO IT'S CALLED, UH, UH, DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE RATIO AND OUR, UH, OPEX UH, CASH CASH RESERVES.
AND SO THE CITY OF HOUSTON, BY LAW, WE, WHEN WE ISSUE OUR DEBT, WE, THIS ISN'T LIKE, UM, JUST LIKE WHENEVER YOU GET YOUR MORTGAGE, YOU'RE SIGNING A WHOLE BUNCH OF DOCUMENTS.
WELL, THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND A PERSON.
WELL, THE CITY OF HOUSTON DOES A TON OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
WE HAVE SOMETHING CALLED THE MASTER BOND ORDINANCE, WHICH IS IN EFFECT OUR STANDING GOVERNING DOCUMENT THAT, UH, THAT BOND HOLDERS CAN LOOK AT AND KNOW IF WE'RE GONNA, IF WE ARE GOING TO BUY OR PURCHASE THE DEBT OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND GIVE THEM CASH.
THESE ARE THE RULES OF THE ROAD THAT THEY FOLLOW.
AND SO, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY HAVE
[00:55:01]
PUT IN OUR BOND COVENANTS INSIDE OF OUR, UH, MASTER BOND ORDINANCE IS THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE A DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE RATIO OF 1.25 TO ONE, 1.2 TO 1.35, OR SAID DIFFERENTLY A HUNDRED, 120 TO 135% OF OUR DEBT.WE NEED TO HAVE THAT MUCH CASH AVAILABLE.
SO FOR EVERY A HUNDRED BUCKS OF DEBT WE HAVE, WE NEED TO KEEP AT A MAXIMUM OF $135 ON HAND.
WE ARE CURRENTLY CARRYING 215%.
SO FOR EVERY $100 OF DEBT, WE'RE CARRYING $215.
SO WHAT, WHAT I, WE CALL THAT IS EXCESS LIQUIDITY.
BASICALLY, IT'S IT'S DOLLARS THAT SHOULDN'T BE ENCUMBERED FOR THAT PURPOSE, BUT THEY ARE, AND THEY'RE NOT BEING UTILIZED BETTER.
UH, THE SECOND SLIDE THAT I'M GONNA PULL UP NOW IS WHAT'S CALLED OUR REQUIRED CASH RESERVES.
SO THIS IS NOW TIED, WE'VE DEALT, DEALT WITH DEBT.
NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OPERATIONAL EXPENDITURES.
SO BY ORDINANCE, WE'RE REQUIRED TO KEEP WHAT'S, UH, 60 DAYS OF OPERATING CASH.
SO TWO MONTHS WORTH OF OPERATIONS BY CASH POLICY, WE'VE BROUGHT THAT UP TO 300 DAYS OF OPERATING RESERVE.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS IF EVERY SINGLE RATE PAYER IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON STOPPED PAYING THEIR WATER AND SEWER BILLS RIGHT NOW, WE COULD OPERATE FOR 300 MORE DAYS.
THAT'S WHAT THE, THE POLICY STIPULATES.
WE ARE NOW CARRYING 550 DAYS OF OPEX.
AND AGAIN, SO THAT MEANS WE CARRY MORE ON THE DEBT SIDE, MORE CASH THAN WE SHOULD ON THE DEBT SIDE.
WE'RE ALSO CARRYING MORE CASH THAN WE SHOULD ON THE OPERATIONS SIDE.
AND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT HERE WITH THIS LINE GRAPH IS WHAT'S CALLED THE TOTAL CUS ENDING BALANCE.
SO THIS IS A LINEAR LOOK, SO OVER TIME, AND WHAT YOU SEE IS WHERE THE, THE.IS FOR EACH FISCAL YEAR IS THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE CARRIED INSIDE OF OUR OPERATING RESERVE.
SO BETWEEN 2016 AND 2021, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE CARRIED ANYWHERE BETWEEN ABOUT 700 TO A LITTLE OVER $800 MILLION.
THERE WERE A WHOLE BUNCH OF POLICY AND ACCOUNTING DECISIONS THAT LED TO THAT SORT OF SWEET SPOT THAT THE CITY SAT AT FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
AND WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS UNDER MAYOR TURNER, THERE WAS AN UPTICK.
IT WENT FROM LIKE 21, UH, FROM 21 TO 22, IT JUMPED BY ALMOST $400 MILLION SITTING INSIDE THAT ENDING BALLOTS.
WELL, MAYOR TURNER AND HIS ADMINISTRATION CONTINUED TO DO A TON OF WORK INSIDE THE SYSTEM.
THERE WERE SOME POLICY CHANGES THAT THAT SHIFTED THE, AND EFFECTIVELY INCREASED THE AMOUNT OF MONEY, BUT ALSO THERE WAS SOME OPERATIONAL CHANGES THAT OCCURRED.
SO THIS IS WHERE THE EXPLANATION GETS A LITTLE DENSE.
SO I'D LIKE YOU TO JUST STOP ME.
UH, IF, IF YOU WANT ME TO REPEAT SOMETHING.
SO THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS, AS ALL CITIES HAVE A, A PRETTY COMPREHENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE AGE OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE LIKE CAST IRON PIPES AND PETRIFIED WOOD PIPES THAT WERE CREATED IN THE ORIGINATION OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON THAT ARE STILL AROUND.
AND IN SOME INSTANCES STILL OPERATIONAL.
THERE'S ALSO BRAND NEW SETS OF PIPES.
AND SO WE HAVE WHAT'S CALLED A DISTRIBUTION CURVE.
SO IT'S THE BIG BELL GRAPH THAT YOU, THE BELL CHART THAT YOU ALWAYS USED TO SEE ALL THE TIME IN HIGH SCHOOL FOR ME.
UM, AND SO ON THE, THE, THE EASY, THE GOOD END, IT'S ALL OF OUR BRAND NEW PIPES.
IN THE MIDDLE IS THE AVERAGE AGE, BUT ON THE TAIL, WE HAVE OUR OLDEST PIPES.
IT WAS HISTORICALLY A POLICY OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO DO ANYWHERE BETWEEN ONE TO 3% REPLACEMENT OF THE PIPES EACH YEAR.
UH, MAYOR WHITMEYER HAS BUMPED IT UP TO 3%.
SO 3% ANNUALLY WE REPLACED OUR PIPES, BUT IT WAS LARGELY DRIVEN BY POLICY TO GO AFTER THE AGE OF THE PIPE FIRST.
SO WHAT THAT MEANT IS THAT WE WERE GOING AND FINDING PERFECTLY FINE WORKING CAST IRON PIPES, AND WE WERE PAYING EXORBITANT COSTS BECAUSE ALL OF THIS IS EXORBITANT.
IT'S NOT UNIQUE TO THAT, BUT VERY EXPENSIVE COSTS TO REPLACE THOSE PIPES INSTEAD OF GOING AFTER THE LEAKY PIPES.
WHICH GOES TO YOUR POINT EARLIER ABOUT WE, WE LEAK.
SO THE NUMBER THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IS 38 BILLION GALLONS.
UM, SO WHEN WE FIRST GOT IN, WE WERE LEAKING 38 BILLION GALLONS, UH, EACH YEAR, WHICH IS WHAT FORT WORTH CONSUMES.
UM, SO AS A POLICY SHIFT, WHAT YOU SAW IN 21 TO 22 IS A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
YOU SAW AN ACCOUNTING POLICY SHIFT WHERE WE SAID, WHAT THEY SAID WAS, OUR PROJECTS DON'T LAST LIKE SIX MONTHS.
OUR PROJECTS LAST LIKE FOUR YEARS, SIX YEARS, EIGHT YEARS, AND WE WERE TYING UP CASH IN YEAR ONE FOR THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT.
SO WE HAVE OUR, THERE ARE TWO VERY DEPENDABLE THINGS IN OUR, IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THE LEAST DEPENDABLE IS SALES TAX.
THE TWO VERY DEPENDABLE REVENUE STREAMS ARE OUR PROPERTY TAXES.
BECAUSE WE KNOW WHO LIVES IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WE KNOW THAT LARGELY WE'RE GROWING AND WE CAN GENERALLY RELY ON IT AND PREDICT, WE CAN ARGUE IN THE, IN THE LIKE, SMALLER PERCENTAGES ABOUT IT, BUT GENERALLY WE ALL AGREE.
AND OUR RATE PAYERS, SO THE WATER AND SEWER CUSTOMERS, AND THOSE ARE VERY PREDICTABLE REVENUE STREAMS. AND WHEN YOU HAVE PREDICTABILITY IN YOUR REVENUE STREAM, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THINGS LIKE LOCK UP CASH AT FIRST BECAUSE YOU KNOW IT'S GONNA BE REPLENISHED IN THE OUT YEARS.
SO WHAT WAS HAPPENING WAS WE WERE SAYING THERE'S A $50 MILLION PROJECT, IT'S GONNA TAKE 10 YEARS JUST AS A AN EXAMPLE, AND WE'RE LOCKING UP $50 MILLION IN YEAR ONE.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE TYING UP THIS CASH UP AT THE FRONT AND IT CREATED THIS LIKE WEIRD ACCOUNTING BULGE WHERE WE HAD CASH, LIKE WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE, JUST SITTING IN AN ACCOUNT.
THERE'S A REASON WHY IT WAS SUPER STATIC FOR THAT MANY YEARS, AND IT'S BECAUSE THEY WERE LOCKING
[01:00:01]
UP ALL THE CASH AND THEY WERE GOING THROUGH A MULTI-YEAR PROJECT, AND THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN DOING THAT.WELL, IT'S NOT A BAD ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLE, BUT IT IS NOT AN ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLE YOU SHOULD UTILIZE WHENEVER YOU HAVE A DEDICATED REVENUE STREAM.
LIKE THE, THE RATE PAYERS, THAT'S ONE.
TWO WAS THAT THEY SHIFTED UNDER DIRECTOR CAROL HADDOCK AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER RANDY MACKEY, WHO IS NOW THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, THEY DECIDED TO GO INTO FOCUSING ON THE REPLACEMENTS, REPLACING THE PIPES THAT ARE INSIDE THAT 2% OR 3% ANNUAL REPLACEMENT MODE.
THEY FOCUSED ON MAKING THOSE, THE LEAKY PIPES THE PRIORITY.
WE STILL ARE REPLACING OLD PIPES FOR THE SAKE OF THEM BEING OLD, BUT WE'RE DOING FEWER OF IT.
WE'RE GOING AFTER, WE'RE TARGETING THE, UH, THE, WE'RE TARGETING THE PIPES THAT ARE LUCKIEST.
AND WE, THAT, WHILE THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY SOLVE, THAT CREATES LIKE DOWNSTREAM OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES THAT I'LL TALK ABOUT IN A SECOND.
AND THEN THE, THE THIRD THING THAT THEY DID FROM 21 TO 22 WAS THEY DID A WHOLE BUNCH OF TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS.
SO YOU SAW, UM, BETTER WORK ORDER SYSTEM FOR MAKING PEOPLE GO OUT INTO THE FIELD, UM, UTILIZATION OF TECHNOLOGY FOR A WHOLE BUNCH OF DIFFERENT THINGS, PERFORMANCE METRICS BEING PUT IN PLACE SO PEOPLE WERE BEING WATCHED AND HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO DO, YOU'VE GOTTA FIX X NUMBER OF PIPES PER DAY AND THAT WE'RE HOLDING YOU ACCOUNTABLE TO IT.
AND SO THROUGH ALL OF THOSE THINGS, WHAT WE SAW WAS AN ACCOUNTING, UH, ACCOUNTING POLICY CHANGE, A WHAT WE ATTACK FIRST, THE LEAKY THING.
AND BY ATTACKING THE LEAKY THINGS FIRST, WE IMPROVED THE OPERATIONS, THE OPERATIONAL EXPENDITURES.
AND BY HOLDING FOLKS MORE ACCOUNTABLE, WE EFFECTIVELY CREATED HEADROOM IN OURSELVES.
WE JUST BECAME A MORE EFFICIENT DEPARTMENT.
AND SO THERE WAS A BUILDUP OF CASH THAT ACCUMULATED IN 22, AND YOU SEE IT FLATTEN A LITTLE BIT.
AND THEN THERE WAS A LEGISLATIVE CYCLE.
AND THEN WE CAME INTO OFFICE AND WHAT YOU SAW WAS ANOTHER UPTICK.
AND THE LEGISLATIVE CYCLE THAT OCCURRED WAS THAT, UM, THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT UNDER PRESIDENT BIDEN AND REAFFIRMED UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP, UH, DECIDED THAT THEY WANTED TO HAVE A NATIONWIDE AND STATEWIDE FOCUS ON, UH, WATER INFRASTRUCTURE AND SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING STREAMS. SO BASICALLY SAYING ALL THE JURISDICTIONS THAT DO WORK, PART OF, YOU KNOW, PART OF THAT FUNDING CAME FROM, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY CALL IT, BUT IT WAS THE BIG INFRASTRUCTURE BILL THAT PRESIDENT BIDEN PASSED.
AND NOW IT'S BEING A LITTLE BIT REFINED BY, BY PRESIDENT TRUMP.
BUT IN EFFECT, WHAT THEY SAID IS WE WANT TO GIVE VERY FAVORABLE BORROWING RATES TO THESE MUNICIPALITIES AND TO THE STATES.
AND THEN THE STATE SAID THE SAME THING.
WELL, THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD WAS ALREADY THERE.
THEY CREATED A NEW DEDICATED FUNDING STREAM THAT ALLOWED FOR CITIES LIKE US, IF WE WANTED TO, TO GO AND BORROW MORE CHEAPLY THAN THE DEBT THAT WE CAN ISSUE OURSELVES.
AND SO WHAT WE ALSO DECIDED TO DO, SO REMEMBER I TALKED ABOUT HOW THE CITY OF HOUSTON LIKE TO ALLOCATE CASH FOR ITSELF ALL UPFRONT.
WE ALSO DECIDED THAT THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE WORTH ISSUING DEBT FOR.
UM, AND WATER INFRASTRUCTURE IS A GREAT EXAMPLE FOR THAT.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, WE ARE GONNA PUT ABOUT THE, THE EAST WATER PURIFICATION PLAN IS GONNA COST ABOUT $4 BILLION, 3 BILLION OF WHICH WE'RE BORROWING OR GETTING GRANTS FOR.
WE'RE GONNA PAY ABOUT A BILLION BUCKS OF IT.
SO WHAT WE DID WAS WE DIVERSIFIED OUR PROJECT FUNDING STREAMS. WE WENT AND TOOK A LOOK AT ALL THE PROJECTS THAT WE HAD IN THE PIPE, ALL THE FUTURE PROJECTS, AND WE WENT TO THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD, AND WE WENT TO A THING CALLED, THEY'RE CALLED WFI LOANS.
SO THIS IS THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE, FEDERAL WATER INFRASTRUCTURE LOANS.
AND THE BORROWING RATE FOR THOSE IS LIKE TWO, TWO TO 3%, WHERE THE BORROWING RATE FOR US IS ANYWHERE FROM FOUR TO SIX.
SO OUT OF THE GATE, WHAT WE WERE PROJECTING ON PAPER, WE WERE SAYING WE'RE EXPECTING, UH, A BILLION DOLLARS TO BE AT A 6% INTEREST RATE OR 5% INTEREST RATE.
BY SHRINKING IT DOWN TO THREE, WE'VE, WE CREATED THAT SAVINGS.
AND SO WE, BY DIVERSIFYING THOSE REVENUE STREAMS, WE ALSO FREED UP CASH WITHIN OUR THINGS.
SO YOU SEE THAT THAT BUMP UP NOW, AND NOW WE'RE CLOSER TO LIKE 1.4, $1.5 BILLION SITTING INSIDE THAT ENDING FUND BALANCE.
SO I GET YOU UP TO THE POINT OF WHERE I THINK YOU AND I CAN AGREE THAT JUST THROUGH OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND DOING DIFFERENT, LIKE DIFFERENT ACCOUNTING POLICIES, ESTABLISHMENT, WE'RE AT THE POINT NOW WHERE WE HAVE HEADSPACE.
THE QUESTION THAT I THINK YOU ASKED WAS, WHY ARE YOU CHOOSING TO DO THIS WITH THAT HEADSPACE AND NOT DRIVE MORE MONEY INTO THE SYSTEM? IS THAT FAIR? OKAY.
AND I ALSO, I THINK ALSO LOOKING AT, I, I'VE SEEN THIS CHART A BUNCH OF TIMES AND I'VE HEARD THIS ALSO FROM OTHER FOLKS AT THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.
I THINK WE'RE, I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT SOME OF THE, WE UNDERSTAND THE MASTER BOND ORDINANCE, BUT EVEN WITHIN SOME OF THE SPECIFIC FUNDS, RIGHT? THERE ARE SPECIFIC LEGAL RESTRICTIONS AND, AND CUSHIONS THAT THAT NEED TO BE HAD.
SO I THINK IT'D BE REALLY HELPFUL TO SEE KIND OF LIKE THAT BREAKDOWN IF, IF YOUR OFFICE IS ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT OR PUBLIC WORKS, THE BREAKDOWN ON THOSE SPECIFIC FUNDS WITHIN THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM AND WHAT SORT OF CUSH AND BE IT BY DAYS OR BY FINANCIAL AMOUNT THAT THEY'RE EXPECTED TO HAVE TO ADD UP TO THAT NUMBER THAT YOU'RE SAYING THAT WE HAVE.
LIKE, I THINK WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE ONE 50, IT SHOULD BE, BUT WE'RE HOVERING AT 300 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, RIGHT? BUT I THINK BY LOOKING AT IT BY
[01:05:01]
THE FUND OR BY THE OBLIGATION CAN HELP, I THINK COUNCIL UNDERSTAND LIKE REALLY HOW MUCH WIGGLE ROOM DO WE HAVE? BECAUSE EVEN WITH THE CONSENT DECREE, RIGHT, AS THE CITY HAS MADE SOME PROGRESS ON IT, LIKE WE'VE SEEN THAT BALLOON FROM $2 BILLION TO $9 BILLION OVER THE COURSE OF TWO YEARS.AND SO WE CAN EXPECT THAT AS MAINTENANCE AND AND PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, MOVES SLOWLY AS CAPACITY ALLOWS, WE CAN EXPECT THOSE COSTS TO CONTINUE TO BALLOON UP.
RIGHT? AND I THINK WHAT WHAT WE'RE REALLY WORRIED ABOUT IS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE DRAINED THE FUNDS SO MUCH THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT COMPENSATING OR NOT, WE DON'T HAVE THAT WIGGLE ROOM TO CATCH UP WITH THE INFLATION AND THE INCREASED COST OF CONSTRUCTION AND ON PROJECTS.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA COME BACK TO ANOTHER RATE STUDY AND, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA SEE OUR RATES GO WAY, WAY HIGHER, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE'VE DRAINED THE FUNDS SO MUCH UP TO THAT POINT, UH, STILL HAS TO BE MADE ON THE CONSENT DECREE.
WHAT I'LL SAY IS THAT THE, I KNOW THAT YOU'VE SEEN, I RECOGNIZE YOU'VE SEEN THIS SLIDE BEFORE.
THE NET NEW SLIDE THAT'S BEEN PRESENTED HAS BEEN PRESENTED BY THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE.
UM, THIS IS NOT NECESS, I MEAN YEAH, I'LL, WHATEVER, I'LL SAY IT.
UH, IT, I CAME FROM, I'M A FINANCE PERSON.
I WORK FOR KPMG, UH, DOING AUDIT, SPECIFICALLY AUDITING.
UM, I, I WOULD HAVE PUT WHOEVER CREATED THAT CHART AS WELL AS THE UNDERLYING, UH, DATA UNDERNEATH IT IN TIMEOUT PROFESSIONALLY.
UM, IT IS A, IT'S A, AN ANALYSIS OF A BUNCH OF ASSUMPTIONS THAT THEY HAD.
THEY NEVER ASKED THE QUESTION OF WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING ON DOING TO US, EVEN THOUGH WE GAVE THEM THE BRIEFING.
IT IS A VERY SPECIOUS DOCUMENT, UM, FOR A LOT OF DIFFERENT REASONS.
AND, AND WE DO PLAN ON, SO I HAD A, A BIG SET OF MEETINGS TODAY AFTER SEEING THAT TO BE ABLE TO WALK EVERYBODY IN THE PUBLIC THROUGH IT, HOW WE ARE NOT DOING WHAT THEY'RE SAYING WE ARE DOING.
UM, THE IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE IS THAT THE, THE CONTROLLERS ANALYSIS, UM, THE CONTROLLER'S ANALYSIS DOES NOT ASSUME TWO VERY, VERY IMPORTANT THINGS.
ONE IS OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT ITSELF, WHICH I WOULDN'T EXPECT THEM TO, TO BE QUITE HONEST.
THEY COULD ASK AND WE COULD GIVE THEM A NUMBER, BUT THAT'S A FAIR THING.
THE SECOND THING THAT IT DOES NOT DO IS IT DOES NOT EVER ASSUME GROWTH IN THE BASE.
SO THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT THING.
IF WE WERE TO NEVER PASS A RATE STUDY AGAIN, IF WE WERE TO NEVER, IF WE WERE LIKE CITY OF HOUSTON WENT 10 YEARS WITHOUT INCREASING WATER RATES, IT IS PEGGED TO INFLATION.
MEANING YOU'RE GONNA GET A 2%, 3% INCREASE IN YOUR WATER RATE ANYWAYS, WHETHER THERE'S A, A, ANY, WHETHER THERE'S AN INCREASE OR NOT.
THE CONSENT DECREE WAS THE FIRST TIME IN A VERY LONG TIME IN WHICH THERE WAS A PLANNED INCREASE.
AND THAT WAS PARTLY BECAUSE THE CONSENT DECREE, RIGHT? SO THAT THAT NECESSITATED THE 8%, 9%, 10% GROWTH THAT YOU'RE SEEING INSIDE OF THAT, UM, IN THE MIDDLE OF FULFILLING THE CONSENT DECREE AND GETTING TO THE POINT, UM, GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE WE ARE NOW, WE LOWERED THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS IN THE DEPARTMENT ITSELF.
AND SO BY DESIGN, AND THIS IS NOT A NEGATIVE THING TO THE DEPARTMENT, IN FACT IT'S A GOOD THING, I THINK, UM, IS THAT BECAUSE THERE'S LOWERED COST ON ACTUALLY DOING THE WORK, WE'VE INCREASED THE, THE CAPACITY WITHIN THAT FUND ITSELF.
UM, BECAUSE THE, WHEN THE CONSENT DECREE WAS PASSED, THEY, THEY SAID THAT IT COSTS X BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO RUN THAT DEPARTMENT EVERY YEAR.
WELL, IT COSTS A LITTLE BIT LESS.
AND WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT IN PERCENTAGES AND BILLIONS, IT BECOMES A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE KNOW THAT THAT 5% ISN'T GOING TO, UM, ISN'T GOING TO IMPACT THE, THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THE IMPACT, THE, THE FUND IN WHICH, THE WAY THAT THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE IS TRYING TO, TO DESCRIBE IT, I DO NOT DISAGREE.
I DON'T DISAGREE WITH THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE THAT THERE ABSOLUTELY NEEDS TO BE ANNUAL AND CONSISTENT LOOKS AT WHERE THAT FUND SITS.
WE ARE NOT SAYING THIS IS A PANACEA AND NOBODY HAS TO PAY ATTENTION TO AND WAVING OUR HANDS.
AND THAT'S, I THINK MAYBE THE MOST FRUSTRATING THING IS THAT THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE.
UM, WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO SAY IS THAT THERE IS A CATASTROPHIC SCENARIO SITTING INSIDE THE GENERAL FUND.
AND WE COULD ARGUE 16 DIFFERENT WAYS TO SUNDAY ABOUT HOW THE CITY OF HOUSTON GOT THERE.
BUT IT'S HERE AND WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IF, IF FOR EVERY 1000 EMPLOYEES THE COST IS ABOUT A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, WELL, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A $400 MILLION BUDGET GAP, WHICH IF YOU LOOK AT IT IN THE COST OF PEOPLE IS 4,000 PEOPLE.
THERE ARE 4,400 PEOPLE THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR LAYOFF IN THE GENERAL FUND.
SO WE ARE BY DESIGN, TALKING ABOUT CLOSING OF ALL LIBRARIES, CLOSING OF ALL PARKS.
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT IN INCREASING THE MOWING SCHEDULE OF PARKS FROM 14 DAYS TO 21 DAYS.
WE'RE SAYING WE'RE NEVER MOWING PARKS AGAIN.
AND SO IF WE HAVE HEADSPACE INSIDE OF A FUND WHERE WE'VE BEEN DECREASING THE COST OF THAT BUSINESS OVER TIME AND WE HAVE BETTER ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES IN PLACE, AND WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE MORE, UH, SPACE TO SAY THERE IS EXCESS CASH AND WE ARE CONTINUING OUR OBLIGATIONS AND WE ARE STILL WORKING ON THE CONSENT DECREE AND MEETING THE DEADLINES THAT THE CONSENT DECREE IS ESTABLISHED,
[01:10:01]
IT IS NEGLECTFUL OF US TO NOT CONSIDER THIS AS AN OPTION, ESPECIALLY UNDER THE FACT THAT IT'S ALLOWABLE UNDER STATE LAW.AND SO WE'RE GONNA STOP, WE'RE GONNA STOP RIGHT THERE.
I THINK THAT WAS A GOOD POINT.
I WOULD LOVE TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOUR OFFICE AFTER I THINK, I THINK I, I HAVE A MEETING WITH JOSH.
YEAH, GUADALUPE ABSOLUTELY CAN FOLLOW UP.
I'LL, I'LL JUMP IN TO SOMEWHERE ELSE.
UM, I ATTENDED THE PARKS BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING.
UM, SO I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S NOT MUCH OF A PROPOSED CHANGE TO THE PARKS BUDGET MM-HMM
ALTHOUGH, UM, WE FIND IT EXTREMELY NECESSARY.
BUT CAN YOU KIND OF EXPLAIN THE PLAN TO KEEP UP WITH THE PARK MAINTENANCE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS AND IF THERE ARE ANY PLANS FOR ANY EXTRA HELP TO GO TOWARDS THESE EFFORTS, SUCH AS, UM, LIKE ANY EXTRA CONTRACTORS OR ANYTHING TO HELP CARRY OUT THIS TO ENSURE THEY'RE PROPERLY MAINTAINED? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
THAT'S A WONDERFUL QUESTION, TAYLOR.
UM, SO YOU'RE RIGHT, THE PARKS BUDGET HASN'T CHANGED, WHICH IS BETTER THAN IT WAS LAST YEAR.
UH, LAST YEAR WE ACTUALLY CUT THE PARK'S BUDGET AND THERE WAS A BIG UPROAR FROM COUNCIL AS THERE RIGHTFULLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
UM, AND WE HAD A BUDGET AMENDMENT THAT PUT THE, THE MOWING CYCLE BACK INTO PLACE.
AND WE WERE PROPOSING TO GO FROM A, UH, I BELIEVE A 21 DAY MOWING CYCLE TO A 28 DAY MOWING CYCLE.
AND IT'S BEEN BROUGHT BACK DOWN.
SO WE ARE, WE HAVE EFFECTIVELY KEPT THE DEPARTMENT AT A MAINTENANCE FLAT, WHICH MEANS THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE INCREASING THE MOWING CYCLE DAYS.
BUT TO YOUR POINT, AND I THINK TO YOUR QUESTION, THAT'S NOT ENOUGH.
WHAT ELSE ARE WE DOING? SO WE ARE WORKING WITH, UM, A WHOLE BUNCH OF DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS.
SO OBVIOUSLY WE WORK WITH THE HOUSTON PARKS BOARD, UM, WHO IS DOING THE LET'S PLAY HOUSTON PROGRAM.
AND SO THEIR FOCUS IS ON DOING CAPITAL REPLENISHMENT OF NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS.
WE'RE DOING 25 NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, I BELIEVE.
UM, AND BEING ABLE TO REPLENISH THOSE, UH, FROM A MAINTENANCE AND TRASH PERSPECTIVE, WE ARE BRINGING IN, UH, NOT JUST THE PARKS FOLKS THAT ARE DOING IT, WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR COUNTY PARTNERS.
SO WE HAVE DONE MORE WORK WITH COMMISSIONERS, UH, ALL OF THE COMMISSIONERS, UM, ON, UH, HANDING OVER THE MAINTENANCE OF PARKS.
SO, UH, COMMISSIONER BRIANIS AND COMMISSIONER GARCIA HAVE REALLY PUT THE PEDAL TO THE METAL.
UM, WE'RE IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH COMMISSIONER RAMSEY.
UM, AND, UH, WE ARE ALSO GETTING HELP FROM COMM UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, ELLIS AS WELL.
UH, BUT FULL TAKEOVER OF PARKS BY THE COUNTY.
THEY HAVE THE MONEY TO BE ABLE TO DO THE MAINTENANCE.
WE HAVE THE PARKS THAT THEY WANNA MAINTAIN.
AND SO WE'RE PASSING THAT OFF.
AND WHAT THAT DOES IS WHEN I DON'T HAVE TO HAVE CREWS INSIDE OF PARKS, I CAN SHIFT THEM OVER TO OTHER PLACES AND BEGIN THAT REDUCING THAT MAINTENANCE, THAT MAINTENANCE CYCLE TIME.
ADDITIONALLY, AND I SAW A QUESTION IN THE CHAT.
WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS, UH, BRINGING ON MORE PARK RANGERS.
WE'RE TRYING TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH HPD AS WELL AS OTHER OFF-DUTY PARKS.
SO THERE'S PARK RANGERS, THERE'S OFF-DUTY POLICE OFFICERS.
COULD WE HAVE A SWAP IN, SWAP OUT TYPE OF, UH, CONVERSATION.
AND ON TOP OF THAT, AND THIS IS A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL THAN YOU ASKED FOR TAYLOR, BUT IT'S AN IMPORTANT ONE.
THERE ARE ORGANIZATIONS OUT THERE THAT ARE ABLE TO DO, UM, MAINTENANCE LIKE MOWING CYCLES AND STUFF LIKE THAT AT A VERY, VERY CHEAP RATE BECAUSE THEY ARE A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT LOOKS TO FOCUS ON IT.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S ONE CALLED CAREER RECOVERY AND RESOURCES, AND THESE ARE FOLKS WHO ARE, UH, WHO ARE IN, UH, LIKE RECOVERY FOR ADDICTION, UM, AND THEY'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE SERVICES, MOWING SERVICES, SORT OF LIKE PARK MAINTENANCE TYPE OF STUFF.
AND WE'RE DOING PILOT PROGRAMS WITH THEM TO SEE IF WE, THEY CAN BECOME A RELIABLE PARTNER TO DO THINGS LIKE OUR MEDIANS AND, AND OTHER TYPES OF THINGS.
SO WE CAN, AGAIN, FREE UP MORE RESOURCES TO PUT THEM BACK INTO THE PARKS, BUT COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOU.
WE NEED TO PUT MORE MONEY TOWARDS PARKS.
I KNOW THAT THERE'S A COUPLE OF EXISTING, UM, PARTNERSHIPS WITH HARRIS COUNTY.
UM, AS FAR AS, UM, TAKING OVER THE MANAGEMENT OF SOME OF THE PARKS, I THINK THERE WAS ABOUT SEVEN.
UM, ARE THERE ANY PLANS TO BRING ON ANY MORE THAN THE, UM, ONES THAT ARE, THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN BROUGHT ON? COULD YOU SAY THAT ONE MORE TIME BY JUST IF THERE'S, IF THERE'S GONNA BE MORE PARTNERSHIPS? I THINK THE MAYOR IS TO, TO GIVE AWAY TO, TO NOT GIVE AWAY, BUT TO, TO HAVE, UM, PART, UH, THE COUNTY TAKEOVER AS MANY AS THEY CAN HANDLE, UM, TO FREE UP OUR MAINTENANCE THINGS.
AND THERE'S OTHER THINGS GOING ON WITH PARKS, WITH THE OPEN SPACE ORDINANCE AND THE FEE, THE DEVELOPER PACE, UH, FEE IN LIEU OF, WE'RE, WE'RE, I, I HEAR YOU TAYLOR AND I'M, WE'RE, I'M REALLY ADVOCATING FOR ADDITIONAL PARK FUNDING, SO WE'LL, WE'LL BE WORKING ON THAT AND BRINGING IN RURAL RESOURCES FOR PARKS.
UH, WE HAVE NO ONE ELSE IN QUEUE FOR QUESTIONS.
DID I BORE YOU OFF THE CHAT? OKAY, GUYS, UM, THERE, I, I DID SEE IN THE CHAT, UH, AND MAYBE IT'S ALREADY BEEN ANSWERED, BUT THERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO SPEAK, OF COURSE, ANY TUESDAY, UH, DURING PUBLIC SESSION.
UH, BEFORE WE CONSIDER THE BUDGET ULTIMATELY, WHICH WILL BE JUNE 10TH, WE'LL BE DOING AMENDMENTS ON JUNE 4TH.
I HAVE A BUDGET FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEETING JUNE 2ND, UH, WHERE THE, UH, THE, YOUR 2 CENTS BUDGET SURVEY, IF THAT, ANYBODY, IF YOU HAVEN'T TAKEN THE BUDGET SURVEY, UM, PLEASE TAKE THE BUDGET SURVEY.
WE'VE GOTTEN ABOUT 800 RESPONSES AND JUST GREAT FEEDBACK THERE
[01:15:01]
ON WHAT PEOPLE'S PRIORITIES ARE AND WHERE THEY WANNA SEE THEIR MONEY GO.AND THE KINDER, I DO THIS WITH THE KINDER INSTITUTE AT RICE.
THEY'LL BE COMING TO THE BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEETING ON JUNE 2ND, UM, TO GO OVER THOSE RESULTS AS WELL AS THEIR BIG SURVEY THAT THEY'VE DONE FOR 50 YEARS.
AND THEN THERE'LL BE A HEARING JORDAN ON JUNE 4TH, THIRD, THIRD BUDGET HEARING, AND 9:00 AM AT CITY HALL ON JUNE 3RD.
AND THAT'S ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
SO THERE'S, EVERY TUESDAY BETWEEN NOW AND JUNE 10TH IS AN OPPORTUNITY.
THE HEARING ON JUNE 3RD, THE BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS MEETING ON JUNE 2ND, UM, ALL OPPORTUNITIES TO COME AND ADVOCATE, UM, FOR YOUR POSITION ON, ON THE BUDGET AND, AND TO ALSO GET ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED ON MY WEBSITE.
THERE'S A, A SPOT TO SUBMIT QUESTIONS.
WE GET THOSE SUBMITTED THROUGH OUR INTERNAL WEB, UM, TO THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS, AND THEY ARE WORKING THEIR WAY THROUGH THAT.
UM, WE WANT YOU TO BE AS, AS INFORMED AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN BE ON THE BUDGET.
AND THAT'S WHY, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TAKING SUCH CARE SO EVERYBODY REALLY UNDERSTANDS, AND WE PROVIDE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO GET PUT THEIR INPUT AND TO, TO RECEIVE ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS, BUT CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH.
UM, CITY BUDGETS ARE NOT THE SEXIEST THING.
SO THE FACT THAT ALL OF YOU SHOWED UP AT, UH, FROM SIX TO SEVEN 18 ON A, ON A, UM, ON A WHATEVER NIGHT THIS IS, I DON'T EVEN, I'VE LOST TRACK WEDNESDAY NIGHT
UM, WE'RE SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE AND INTERESTED IN THIS.
STEVEN, I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH.
THE, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'VE DONE THAT 86 TIMES.
UM, IT, LIKE HE SAID, THIS IS A BUDGET TO BUY TIME.
AND, UM, THERE WILL BE SOME SERIOUS CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT KIND OF CITY, UM, WE WANNA LIVE IN AND WHAT THAT'S GONNA TAKE TO FUND.
THERE'LL BE SOME, UM, ACTIVITY AT THE STATE LEGISLATURE, I'M SURE IN, IN, IN 27 TO, UM, YOU KNOW, ADVOCATE FOR CITIES AND, AND THE NEED FOR, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY'S GOT UNDER THIS, THIS REVENUE CAP NOW THAT THE STATE IS IMPOSED.
SO, LOTS OF WORK TO DO, BUT REALLY GRATEFUL TO HAVE YOUR INPUT.
AND THANK YOU TO JORDAN FRAZIER AND RUSSELL ETHERTON, WHO REALLY DID THE HEAVY LIFTING ON PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.
AND I SEE MY STAFF, KATIE'S ON HERE AND HELEN TOO, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT OTHER STAFF MEMBERS ARE ON, BUT THANK YOU TO ALL STAFF AS A FORMER STAFFER, I KNOW THAT'S WHERE, WHERE REALLY ALL THE WORK IS DONE.