[Houston Forensic Science Center: Board of Directors Meeting on July 10, 2026.]
[00:00:15]
I AM ELLEN COHEN, YOUR CHAIRPERSON.
MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE? YES, MADAM CHAIR.
CHAIRWOMAN COHEN, HERE BY CHAIRWOMAN BAIRD.
HERE, DIRECTOR YOU DIRECTOR ZA DIRECTOR HUFF AND DIRECTOR GUS HERE.
AND THAT CONCLUDES THE ROLL CALL, MADAM CHAIR.
WITH THAT, LET'S PROCEED TO AGENDA ITEM THREE.
FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA THANK THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE HERE FOR BEING HERE BECAUSE IT'S, UH, IT'S SUMMER AND WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE TRAVELING.
BUT THESE MEETINGS ARE IMPORTANT AND WE NEED TO COVER QUITE A BIT OF BUSINESS.
TODAY WE HAVE SEVERAL VERY IMPORTANT BUSINESS MATTERS TO DISCUSS ON THE AGENDA.
THE FIRST ONE IS OBVIOUSLY OUR, OUR BUDGET.
I WANNA PERSONALLY THANK MAYOR WHITMEYER AND COUNCIL FOR THEIR SUPPORT IN APPROVING A 7% INCREASE TO OUR BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR.
HAVING BEEN A COUNCIL MEMBER, I KNOW WHAT GOES ON IN THESE BUDGET MEETINGS, AND I CAN ASSURE YOU IT'S NO SLAM DUNK.
SO THE FACT THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE A 7% INCREASE IS REALLY TO THE CREDIT OF EVERYONE ON THE BOARD AND CERTAINLY TO PETER, UM, BECAUSE THEY KNOW THE KINDA WORK WE'RE DOING.
AND ALTHOUGH THIS INCREASE IS LESS THAN WHAT WE APPROVED IN MARCH, WE UNDERSTAND THE TOUGH CHOICES.
WE STILL HAVE SEVERAL CHALLENGES TO NAVIGATE THIS YEAR.
SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM OUR STAFF ABOUT HOW HFSC WILL TACKLE THE WORK, UH, BEFORE US.
AND LASTLY, I WANNA THANK EVERYONE WHO'S TOURING THE HPD PROPERTY ROOM TODAY.
HOW MANY PEOPLE DO WE THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE TOURING? SIX.
WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING THE PLAN TO TRANSITION MANAGEMENT OF THAT FACILITY, TWO HFSC FOR MANY YEARS, YET MOST OF US HAVE NOT SEEN IT FOR OURSELVES.
I KNOW THE TOUR WILL HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES WE WILL ENCOUNTER.
THANK YOU TO THE STAFF MEMBERS FROM HFSC AND HPD, WHO WILL LEAD THE TOUR.
AND FOR EVERYONE WHO'S WORKING TO MAKE THE TRANSITION SUCCESSFUL.
WITH THAT, I INCLUDE MY REPORT.
AT THIS TIME, WE'LL OPEN THE FLOOR FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND INVITE ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC THAT WISHES TO SPEAK TO COME TO THE PODIUM AND ADDRESS THE BOARD.
WE ASK ALL SPEAKERS TO SIGN UP IN FRONT OF THE ROOM SO WE'RE AWARE OF YOUR PRESENCE AND THAT ALL COMMENTS BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES.
YOU MAY SPEAK ON ANY MATTER CONCERNING THE BOARD AND HFSC AT THIS TIME, DO WE HAVE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE WHO HAS SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? OKAY.
SEEING NO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC IN OUR AUDIENCE TODAY, WE HAVE SIGNED UP, HAVE SIGNED UP FOR COMMENT.
I WILL CLOSE THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
NOW WE'LL CONSIDER MEETING THE MEETING MINUTES FROM THE MAY 8TH, 2026 BOARD MEETING.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS TO THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED? EVERYBODY HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THEM.
AT THIS TIME, WE'LL CONDUCT A VOICE.
MAY I HAVE A MOTION? AND SECOND TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? SO MOVED.
UM, DID YOU GET THAT MADAM SECRETARY? OKAY.
PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MICS AT THIS TIME FOR THE VOICE VOTE.
THE MOTION CARRIES AND PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
MEMBERS IN ADDITION TO, HOLD ON ONE SECOND.
STOUT'S REPORT, WE WILL ALSO PRESENT, HE WILL ALSO PRESENT THE CORPORATE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR YEAR, UH, 2027 IN AGENDA ITEM SEVEN.
WE ARE AT THE POINT IN OUR ANNUAL SCHEDULE WHERE WE CONSIDER DR.
STOUT'S PROPOSED CORPORATE PRIORITIES AND GOALS FOR THE NEW FISCAL YEAR.
AT THE CONCLUSION OF HIS PRESENTATION, WE WILL VOTE TO ACCEPT THESE
[00:05:01]
GOALS OR MODIFY THEM.IF THE BOARD DECIDES THAT ACTION IS APPROPRIATE, THE APPROVED GOALS WILL BECOME PART OF DR.
KNOWING THAT THE MEETING ALWAYS GOES, AS LONG AS I TALK AND WE'VE GOT A TOUR, I THANK YOU DR. STOUT.
YEAH, I, I'M SURE THE LAST MEETING YOU ENJOYED IT PROBABLY BEING REALLY SHORT SINCE AMY DID THIS AND PROBABLY DID IT A WHOLE LOT FASTER THAN I DO.
UM, FIRST THING I'VE GOT HERE, IF THE, UH, OH, HER ON, IT'S ON.
JUST HIT JUST ADVANCE THE SLIDE FOR ME.
WOULD YOU
I'D LIKE TO NOTE THAT DIRECTOR MEZA IS HERE.
FIRST UP, I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, DIRECTOR SILVERMAN, JED SILVERMAN'S, UH, PARTICIPATION IN OUR BOARD AND WORK ON OUR BOARD.
UM, I STARTED TO GET TO KNOW JED ACTUALLY A FAIR NUMBER OF YEARS AGO WHEN HE WAS PRESIDENT OF THE HARRIS COUNTY DEFENSE BAR AND HAVE REALLY APPRECIATED HIS PERSPECTIVE ON A LOT OF STUFF.
HE GETS THE BOX, UM, MADE OF A BOX.
BUT I REALLY APPRECIATE HAVING JED ON THE BOARD, UH, FOR THE YEARS THAT HE'S BEEN WITH US.
SO I WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO JED.
UH, SO THOSE COMPANY PRIORITIES.
NOW REMEMBER THIS YEAR WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS, THAT WE ARE IN THE PROCESS RE-ENGINEERING HOW WE DO PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS.
UM, AS HFSC HAS GROWN AND CHANGED OVER THE YEARS, WE HAVE TRIED MANY TIMES TO FIND HOW TO DO PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS AND MERIT INCREASES THAT ARE FAIR OBJECTIVE WORK TO MOVE THE ORGANIZATION FORWARD.
WE WERE REALIZING IN THE 11 YEARS WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS, WE HAVE CHANGED THE SYSTEM 13 TIMES.
AND NOW WE KINDA NEED TO TAKE A TIME OUT AND LET THE ORGANIZATION SPEND SOME REAL TIME ENGINEERING THIS.
SO THAT'S THE FIRST MAJOR FOCUS.
AND IT'S ALSO WHY I CALL THESE FOCUSES AND NOT GOALS IS BASICALLY WHAT WE'VE SAID IS WE'RE TAKING A PAUSE ON THE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AS WE'VE BEEN DOING IT IN FAVOR OF, WE'LL JUST DO A, A, A FLAT INCREASE ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION AND GIVE THE ORGANIZATION TIME TO FOCUS ON HOW DO WE DO THIS FOR REAL AND GIVE THE GROUP TIME TO DO THAT.
BUT THAT'S THE, THE FIRST OF THE FOCUSES IS MOVE THAT EVALUATION FORWARD.
UH, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW OF STARTING, UH, WHAT'S CALLED VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER.
THESE ARE LEAN SIX SIGMA TERMS. IT'S BASICALLY ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION INTERVIEW GROUPS TO GET INFORMATION FROM THE ORGANIZATION.
UH, SO THEY'LL BE WORKING THROUGH THAT.
THEN WE WILL ALSO HAVE SURVEYS THAT WE PUT OUT TO STAFF.
SO WE'VE GOT MULTIPLE TOOLS FOR THEM TO GIVE THEIR INPUT AND HELP IN DESIGNING WHAT WORKS FOR THE ORGANIZATION.
UH, OBVIOUSLY WE STILL GOT CASES WE GOTTA GET OUT THE DOOR.
SO THERE'S KIND OF HAS TO BE THE CASE.
THERE'S A FOCUS ON GET BACK TO WORK AND GET THE JOB DONE.
UM, GET THE CASES OUT THE DOOR.
WE STILL HAVE TO GET STUFF DONE IN A TIMELY FASHION.
WE STILL HAVE TO GET STUFF DONE IN A FASHION THAT IS A QUALITY RESULT.
SO THERE ARE EXPECTATIONS WITHIN EACH OF THE SECTIONS THAT FOCUS AROUND THOSE THINGS, AS WE'VE ALWAYS HAD.
THOSE ARE A FOCUS OF THE ORGANIZATION.
AND THEN THE THIRD ONE IS, AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT, UH, IT IS NOW BEING CALLED CLR.
IT IS THE STATEWIDE DISCOVERY PORTAL FOR JUST A LITTLE REMINDER OF HISTORY.
UM, WE HAD, UH, THE, THE CASE THAT'S CALLED EX PARTE COLOGNE.
IT WAS A DEATH PENALTY CAPITAL CASE OUT OF, UM, JEFFERSON COUNTY.
WE HAD AN ANALYST THAT DID THE ANALYSIS UNDER THAT WORKING FOR DPS, UH, ACTUALLY OUT OF BEAUMONT.
UM, BETWEEN WHEN THAT CASE WENT TO TRIAL AND HE WAS WORKING THERE, HE CAME TO WORK FOR HFSE.
SO THIS WASN'T OUR CASE, WASN'T OUR WORK WASN'T OUR ANYTHING, BUT THE CASE WENT UP ON APPEAL.
UM, AND IN THAT APPEAL PROCESS, UM, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THERE WAS A NOTE THAT THAT ANALYST HAD CREATED AT THE TIME THAT THEY PROCESSED THIS, THAT POINTED AT THE KEY EVIDENCE IN THE CASE HAVING BEEN POTENTIALLY COMPROMISED AND HOW IT WAS STORED.
[00:10:01]
IT WAS FOUND IN A STYROFOAM CONTAINER.AND THE NOTE SAID IT WAS IN A POOL OF FOULS SMELLING LIQUID WAS SUPPOSED TO BE STORED AT FRO FROZEN, AND IT WAS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE.
ALL OF THESE THINGS, WELL, THAT NOTE, NEVER MADE IT INTO THE ORIGINAL TRIAL.
SO THERE IS ALSO AN OVERLAY OF THIS, THAT NO ONE IN A DEATH PENALTY CAPITAL CASE REQUESTED DISCOVERY IN THAT.
AND SO THEY PROSECUTED THE ENTIRE CASE WITHOUT HAVING ALL OF THE LABORATORY NOTES.
NOW, UNFORTUNATELY, IT UNFOLDED THAT THAT ANALYST MADE SOME REALLY POOR CHOICES IN THEIR TESTIMONY IN BOTH AN AFFIDAVIT OR IN, UM, UM, DEPOSITION AND OTHER THINGS AS PART OF THE APPEALS PROCESS.
SO IT ENDED UP WITH TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION.
THERE WAS A COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS DECISION REVERSING THE ORIGINAL GUILTY VERDICT.
UM, AND THAT ANALYST HAD, UM, FINDINGS OF MISCONDUCT AND NEGLIGENCE.
HE NO LONGER PRACTICES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS AND IS NO LONGER LICENSED.
THIS HAS CREATED, OVER THE YEARS A BIG ISSUE FOR US, REMEDIATING ABOUT A THOUSAND CASES THAT HE HANDLED FOR US WHILE HE WAS THERE.
BUT STATEWIDE, IT BECAME EVIDENT THAT THERE ARE RECORDS THAT RESIDE WITHIN ALL OF THE LABORATORIES THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO NOT MAKE IT TO TRIAL.
BECAUSE, I MEAN, LET'S FACE IT, PROSECUTORS, DEFENSE ATTORNEYS, COURTS, THEY'RE ALL SLAMMED, DON'T HAVE ENOUGH RESOURCES EITHER.
IF THEY DON'T ASK FOR IT, THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE PROVIDED IT.
AND THAT KIND OF DOESN'T REALLY FIT WITH THE SPIRIT AND INTENTION OF WHAT HAS BECOME CALLED THE MICHAEL MORTON ACT OR 39 14 THAT SAYS THERE IS A POSITIVE OBLIGATION TO DISCLOSE ANYTHING IMPEACHING, MITIGATING, OR POTENTIALLY EXCULPATORY, UH, WITHOUT NECESSARILY IT BEING A DISCOVERY ORDER.
AND AS A STATEWIDE GROUP OF LABORATORIES, WE'VE REALIZED WE DON'T HAVE, THAT'S NOT WHAT'S HAPPENING.
UM, UNLESS SOMEBODY ASKS FOR DISCOVERY, THEY'RE NOT GETTING ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
SO TWO LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS AGO, THIS WAS PASSED TO CREATE A STATEWIDE DISCOVERY PORTAL THAT GIVES THAT, THAT THE PROSECUTORS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE CHARGED WITH MAKING SURE THAT THE DEFENSE OF RECORD HAS ACCESS TO IT.
BUT IT IS A MECHANISM FOR THESE RECORDS THAT ARE WITHIN LABORATORIES TO BE AVAILABLE TO ANYBODY DEALING WITH A CASE.
UM, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO AS DO ALL LABORATORIES IN THE STATE OF HOW WE PUT THESE RECORDS IN A, IN A FORM THAT THEY'RE AVAILABLE TO THIS PORTAL.
UM, SO THAT'S ALSO WHAT WE'VE GOT.
A FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROJECT UNDERWAY, UH, AKI AND HOPES TEAM IS THE ONE.
AND ACTUALLY ISHA, WHO'S OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, IS THE ONE THAT'S REALLY IN CHARGE OF IT AND DOING A FANTASTIC JOB OF, IT'S A LOT.
UM, WE GENERATE A LOT OF RECORDS.
UM, BUT THAT IS, IT WON'T BE IN THIS NEXT YEAR THAT WE ARE NECESSARILY CONNECTING TO IT, BUT IT IS IN THE PROCESS.
UM, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE FOCUSES OF THIS IS TO CONTINUE THE WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO HELP WITH THAT STATEWIDE PORTAL.
SO THOSE ARE THE FOCUSES FOR THIS YEAR.
I GUESS WE'LL DEAL WITH A VOTE AFTER I'M DONE HERE, BUT THAT'S, THOSE ARE THE FOCUSES FOR THIS.
CAN I ASK ONE QUESTION, PLEASE? YES, MA'AM.
SO THE EVIDENCE ROOM, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HAVING THAT IN A FOCUS? OH, WE CERTAINLY COULD.
I MEAN, IT'S, IT WILL ALSO BE IN THE PROCESS OF THIS.
I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT A BAD ONE TO ADD OF CONTINUING THE WORK ON THE TRANSITION OF THE PROPERTY ROOM.
SO A FEW THINGS ON LAB OPERATIONS.
YOU ALL ARE GETTING KIND OF USED TO THESE THREE, UM, BECAUSE THESE ARE THE THREE BIG BACKLOGS, KEEP IN MIND WE ALSO HAVE ONE WITH DRUG TOXICOLOGY.
THAT ONE HAS BEEN LESS OF A CONCERN, LESS OF A FOCUS.
THE BIOLOGY, UH, WE'VE MADE IMMENSE PROGRESS ON BIOLOGY REALLY GOTTEN TO A PRETTY, UH, SUSTAINABLE SITUATION THERE.
WE'LL TALK JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET STUFF.
UM, THE UPTICK THAT YOU'VE SEEN IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS IS REALLY, REMEMBER WE HAD A, UM, UH, A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT FAILED THAT'S KIND OF A CENTRAL PIECE OF EQUIPMENT.
AND THAT, I MEAN, THIS, THIS IS STILL WHERE THE EVERYTHING'S AT.
WE HAVE ONE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT GO DOWN.
THERE'S VERY LITTLE, IT'S NOT LIKE ANY OF THE LABS HAVE ANY EXCESS CAPACITY TO ABSORB MUCH OF ANYTHING.
UH, BUT REALLY BIOLOGY HAS BECOME PRETTY STABLE, WHICH IS, YOU THINK ABOUT WHERE WE WERE 10 YEARS AGO IS JUST MIRACULOUS.
UM, FIREARMS, THE SINGLE BIGGEST PAIN POINT, THE BACKLOG THAT EVERYBODY IS MOST FRUSTRATED WITH.
UH, ACTUALLY OUR NEWSLETTER THAT HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET OUT NEXT WEEK WILL BE ENTIRELY ABOUT FIREARMS BECAUSE CLEARLY WE NEED
[00:15:01]
TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE STUFF THAT GOES INTO WHY THIS IS SUCH A TANGLE.AND IT WILL CONTINUE TO BE A PAIN POINT FOR A WHILE.
UM, AND THEN SEIZES DRUGS HAS BEEN MAKING GOOD STEADY PROGRESS THERE.
THAT IS PRETTY REFLECTIVE OF, WE'VE GOT PEOPLE THAT WE'VE GOTTEN SIGNED OFF.
YOU CAN KIND OF SEE THE, THE ORANGE LINE AND THE BLUE LINE ARE BASICALLY THE DIFFERENCE OF CASES WITH AND WITHOUT, UH, THE MARIJUANA CASES BECAUSE MARIJUANA, OH, I HATE HEMP.
BUT, UH, IN WORKING WITH THE DA'S OFFICE, WE HAVE BEEN RESOLVING QUITE A FEW OF THE MARIJUANA CASES THAT ARE IN THE BACKLOG THAT JUST DON'T NEED TO BE TESTED.
SO THAT'S, THAT IS A CONSTANT WORK WITH THE DA'S OFFICE ABOUT HOW TO GET THOSE CASES OUT OF THE BACKLOG.
AND YOU CAN KINDA SEE THE, THE, THE GAP BETWEEN THE ORANGE LINE AND THE BLUE LINE IS NARROWING.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT STUFF? OKAY.
UH, INCLUDED IN HERE, SINCE WE'VE STARTED THIS, UH, WHEN ACTUALLY I WAS PRESENTING TO, UH, CITY COUNCIL A MONTH OR TWO AGO, JUST TO UPDATE YOU ON THE VARIOUS KIND OF MAJOR THINGS WE'VE GOT IN THE PIPELINE OF PRODUCTION CHANGES.
UH, THE 3D CRIME SCENE MAPPING TOOL IS LAUNCHED AND WORKING AND UNDERWAY.
UM, RAPID DNA, UH, WE SUCCESSFULLY GOT THAT SCOPE EXPANSION COMPLETED.
UH, SO WE'VE GOT ALL THE, THAT'S NOW OFFICIALLY PART OF OUR SCOPE.
UM, AND THAT IS FOR THE REFERENCE SWABS, NOT EVIDENTIARY SAMPLES.
UM, YOU'VE GOT LATER DOWN THERE DNA RAPID DNA FOR EVIDENTIARY SAMPLES THAT SITS BEHIND WORK THAT FBI IS STILL DOING AS WELL AS A STATEWIDE WORKING GROUP ON RAPID DNA.
ABOUT WHAT KINDS OF EVIDENTIARY SAMPLES WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO BE USED BY THIS.
SO THAT'LL BE OUT PROBABLY SOMEWHERE EARLY 2027 BEFORE WE SEE EVIDENTIARY SAMPLES.
BUT RIGHT NOW, REFERENCE SWABS, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE GOT IN PRODUCTION AND GOING, UH, YST, WHICH IS A MARKER ON THE MALE CHROMOSOME, THE Y CHROMOSOME.
UM, WE USED TO HAVE THIS IN OUR SCOPE YEARS AGO.
WE BACKED AWAY FROM IT BECAUSE WE JUST, WE GOT VERY, VERY FEW REQUESTS.
WELL, WITH THE ADVENT OF GENETIC GENEALOGY AND THE WORK THAT HPD HAS INCREASED ON COLD CASES, YST HAVE BECOME MUCH MORE IMPORTANT BECAUSE ON THE PROGRESSION TO BEING ABLE TO USE GENETIC GENEALOGY, UM, YST ARE ONE OF THE STEPS ALONG THE WAY.
SO WE'RE GETTING A LOT MORE REQUESTS FOR YST.
UH, WE WERE GONNA HAVE THAT, UH, SCOPE EXPANSION HERE SOONER.
IT'S AS WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT WHAT WE NEED TO DO FOR OUR ASSESSMENT STAFFING, THINGS LIKE THAT, WE DECIDED IT WAS THE BETTER PART OF VALOR TO PUSH THAT BACK.
SO IT WILL BE EARLY 2027, UM, ALONG WITH AUDIO PROCESSING THAT WE'LL PROBABLY PUT BOTH OF THOSE TOGETHER FOR THE SCOPE EXPANSION.
UM, IN BETWEEN HERE AND THERE, IT REALLY WON'T HAVE ANY IMPACT ON CASEWORK BECAUSE WE DO HAVE AN OUTSOURCE MECHANISM TO BE ABLE TO GET THOSE DONE WHILE WE'RE GETTING THIS IN PLACE.
UM, BUT WE JUST, WE MOVED THAT TO EARLY 27 WHEN WE'LL PROBABLY SEEK THAT SCOPE EXPANSION.
NOW, THE AUDIO PROCESSING, LIKE I SAY, THAT IS FOR AUDIO FILES THAT JUST SOUNDS LIKE PEOPLE WHO LIKE MUSIC, UM, AUDIO, F-I-L-E-S, UM, THAT, UH, FOR PROCESSING OF THOSE THINGS.
AGAIN, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAD IN OUR SCOPE, BUT IN STAFFING CHANGES, WE LOST ALL THE STAFF.
UH, NOW WE'VE BEEN PUTTING THAT BACK 'CAUSE WE'RE STARTING TO SEE REQUESTS ABOUT THIS FROM HPD.
UH, SO THAT WILL BE OUT THERE FOR THAT.
UM, AND THEN JUST A REMINDER THAT WE'VE GOT THE HIGH RESOLUTION TANDEM, UH, MASS SPECTROMETRY, THOSE MYTHICAL LCQ TOS THAT I THINK I HAVE MENTIONED AT EVERY BOARD MEETING FOR AT LEAST A DECADE.
UM, THERE'S ALL THE VALIDATION WORK THAT WE'VE GOT TO DO ON THAT.
SO THAT'LL BE OUT SOMEWHERE THE LATTER PART OF 2027 BEFORE WE STARTED TO SEE THOSE INSTRUMENTS COME ONLINE.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THOSE THINGS? ALL RIGHT.
UM, AS MENTIONED, THE BUDGET THAT WE SOUGHT WAS LARGER THAN WHAT THE CITY APPROVED, BUT THE CITY STILL APPROVED A 7% INCREASE, WHICH IS FANTASTIC.
UM, IT WILL MEAN A SNUGGER YEAR FOR US BECAUSE THAT'S NOT WHAT OF ALL THE PARTS THAT WE WERE PLANNING.
SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MAKE SOME CHOICES.
AND I JUST WANTED TO KINDA LAY OUT THOSE AREAS.
THERE'S, AS EVERY YEAR GOES DOWN, WE SEE SHIFTS AND CHANGES.
THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PREDICT, STUFF THAT WE CAN'T PREDICT THAT HAPPENS THROUGH THE YEAR.
WE'VE BEEN PRETTY SUCCESSFUL OVER THE YEARS OF FIGURING OUT HOW TO MAKE STUFF WORK AND WORK PRETTY OKAY.
[00:20:01]
WE, WE WILL DO, OKAY.UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MAKE A FEW CHOICES, BUT WE WILL DO OKAY THROUGH THE YEAR.
THINGS THAT WE WILL HAVE TO CONSIDER.
SO LIKE THE INCENTIVE PLAN AND OVERTIME THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, PARTICULARLY IN BIOLOGY AND SEIZE DRUGS, WE'VE ALREADY TAPPED THE BRAKES ON THAT.
WE WERE FIGURING TO PHASE THAT OUT ACROSS THE COURSE OF THIS YEAR ANYWAYS, WE'VE JUST SLOWED IT DOWN AND STOPPED IT SOONER THAN WE WERE EXPECTING.
SO THAT WILL HAVE SOME PROBABLY NOTICEABLE IMPACTS IN THE RATE AT WHICH LIKE THE SEIZE DRUGS BACKLOG IS GOING DOWN.
BUT I STILL EXPECT WE PROBABLY WILL SEE THOSE BACKLOGS CONTINUE TO GO DOWN.
BUT THAT'S SOMETHING WE JUST, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT REALLY SOMETHING WE CAN AFFORD IN THE SHAPE OF THIS BUDGET AS WE'VE GOT, UM, TRAINING BUDGETS, THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
TRAVEL IS ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT IS REAL HIGH UP THERE.
WHEN YOU ARE SNUG ON BUDGETS OF THINGS YOU'VE GOTTA CHOOSE.
WE HAVE BEEN EXTRAORDINARILY FORTUNATE OVER THE YEARS OF THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SEND TO MEETINGS.
SO THIS ISN'T JUST A NO AND WE'RE NOT DOING IT, BUT WE NEED TO BE A LITTLE MORE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT WHO WE'RE SENDING AND HOW MANY WE'RE SENDING.
UM, IT WILL HAVE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO CHOOSE OF JUST HOW FAST AND HOW MUCH WE OUTSOURCE.
AGAIN, AS WE'VE BEEN TALKING IN FORENSIC BIOLOGY, THIS WAS THE YEAR THAT WE WERE LOOKING TO START TRANSITIONING A LOT OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN OUTSOURCING TO STAFF THAT WE NOW HAVE ON BOARD.
UM, BUT WE'LL HAVE TO LOOK AT HOW AT THOSE TYPES OF THINGS, WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR CAPITAL INVESTMENTS.
GOOD NEWS IS WE'VE ALREADY PURCHASED A LOT OF THE EQUIPMENT THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE, IF WE HAVE A BIG PIECE OF EQUIPMENT GO DOWN, THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO REALLY THINK ABOUT.
'CAUSE THERE'S JUST NOT THE ROOM TO ABSORB SOMETHING BIG THAT WE'VE GOTTA DO.
WHEN YOU SAY WE HAVE A PIECE OF A BIG PIECE OF EQUIPMENT GO DOWN, DOES THAT MEAN WE CAN'T REPLACE IT? IT MIGHT BE WE, WELL, WE WOULD HAVE TO MAKE SOME REAL CHOICES ABOUT WHAT WE'D DO TO REPLACE IT.
UM, AND IT MIGHT BE BE BECAUSE IT MUST HAVE BEEN REPLACED IF IT IS THAT CRITICAL TO WHATEVER OUTCOMES IT, IT COULD BE.
AND THAT MIGHT BE THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE, IF WE'VE GOT SOMETHING LIKE THAT THAT HAPPENS ACROSS THE YEAR, WE MAY HAVE TO GO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CITY ABOUT WHAT WOULD BE A BUDGET ADJUSTMENT IN ORDER TO ACCOMMODATE THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, AGAIN, IT'S NOT IMPOSSIBLE, BUT IT'S DIFFERENT CHOICES THAT WE NEED TO MAKE, UM, HEALTH INSURANCE TO PUT THAT ON EVERYBODY'S RADAR.
'CAUSE UNLESS YOU REALLY LIVE UNDER A ROCK THESE DAYS, YOU GOTTA UNDERSTAND HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS ARE PRETTY MUCH OUTTA CONTROL FOR EVERYBODY.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE GONNA SEE.
UH, WE ARE EXPECTING TO HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS.
TY AND DAVID ARE GONNA HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR, UH, BROKERS HERE IN SEPTEMBER TO START GETTING A HANDLE ON WHAT KIND OF INCREASES WE CAN EXPECT.
I HAVE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CITY ABOUT WHAT ARE THE POSSIBILITIES TO JOIN SOME OF THE CITY'S GROUPS TO SEE IF THAT'S, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT NECESSARILY WOULD HELP CONTAIN OUR COSTS.
IT'S NOT LIKE THIS IS GOING TERRIBLY WELL FOR THEM EITHER.
UM, BUT EXPLORING ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING WE CAN TO TRY AND CONTAIN THESE COSTS.
BUT THEY COULD HAVE A REAL WILD CARD FOR US.
UM, AND WE ARE EXPECTING TO SEE SOME PRETTY, WHEN WE HAD ABOUT A 20 ODD PERCENT INCREASES LAST YEAR.
UM, YEAH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING I WORRY ABOUT.
IT COSTS ARE ANOTHER ONE I WORRY ABOUT BECAUSE, UH, AGAIN, YOU SEE ALL OF THESE ARTICLES AS WE WERE JUST TALKING BEFORE THE MEETING ABOUT AI.
THOSE DATA CENTERS ARE CONSUMING COMPONENTS THAT GO INTO ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE, EVERYTHING'S GOT A COMPUTER ATTACHED TO IT.
ALL OF THOSE HAVE CHIPS AND SCREENS AND MEMORY.
THOSE ARE THE COM THE COMPONENTS THAT ARE GETTING CONSUMED BY THESE DATA CENTERS AT EXPONENTIAL RATES.
UM, PROBABLY THE, THE, THE SINGLE EASIEST THING TO LOOK AT THAT CHARACTERIZES OUR COST SITUATION IS LIKE IF WE PUT IN OR LOOK FOR A QUOTE FOR LAPTOPS FOR STAFF, LIKE NEW STAFF COMING IN, WE USED TO BE ABLE TO GET QUOTES THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR 60 TO 90 DAYS.
IF WE GET A QUOTE THAT'S GOOD FOR TWO WEEKS, UM, THE PACE AT WHICH THESE COSTS ARE CHANGING IS ALARMING.
UM, AND IT'S GONNA MEAN WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MAKE SOME REAL CHOICES AROUND IT STUFF AND HOW WE TRY AND ATTEMPT TO CONTAIN THOSE COSTS.
BUT I MEAN, THIS IS SOMETHING, AGAIN, EVERYBODY'S STRUGGLING WITH THIS.
SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WILL, YOU KNOW, WE, WE JUST HAVE LESS LATITUDE AND WE WILL HAVE TO MAKE MORE CHOICES AROUND THESE THINGS ACROSS THIS YEAR.
ANY QUESTIONS I CAN ANSWER ON STUFF? YES, SIR.
UM, SO I MEAN, 3.9, 2.4, IT'S TO ME SOUNDS LIKE A PRETTY BIG DISCREPANCY.
DO YOU ANTICIPATE THAT WE WOULD GET ANY GRANTS THAT POTENTIALLY COULD COME IN THAT MAY COVER SOME OF THIS? UM, THERE IS SOME POTENTIAL.
BECAUSE PARTICULARLY WITH THE STATE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM, UM, AND WE'VE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS.
SO THAT WAS, UH, SENATE BILL 1620
[00:25:01]
THAT PASSED IN THIS LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION, UH, THAT SENATOR HUFFMAN WAS KIND ENOUGH TO CARRY MULTIPLE AUTHORS ON THAT BILL THAT CREATED WHAT WE NOW CALL THE FORENSIC ANALYST APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM, UM, THAT HAS THE STATE REIMBURSING FOR TRAINING OF APPRENTICES IN THE FIRST COUPLE OF YEARS.UH, I THINK THERE, I CAN'T SAY SPECIFICALLY YET HOW MANY APPRENTICES WE COULD EXPECT, BUT I THINK THERE IS, WE'VE GOT A BUNCH OF PEOPLE WE JUST HIRED.
THE THREE AREAS AS A STATE THAT WAS PLANNING ON ARE OUR BLOOD ALCOHOLS, SEIZE DRUGS, AND BIOLOGY ARE THE THREE DISCIPLIN AREAS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
UH, FOR APPRENTICES IN THIS FIRST ROUND.
WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF WORK WITH SAM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITY AND WITH UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS STANDING UP ALL OF THE MECHANISMS FOR THE UNIVERSITY SUPPORT AROUND THAT.
THAT'S MOST OF WHAT THE GROUP'S BEEN WORKING ON TO THIS POINT.
UM, I'VE BEEN TALKING WITH LABS AROUND THE STATE ABOUT WHO IS INTERESTED IN DOING WHAT WITH APPRENTICES.
UH, AS A PROGRAM WE WERE TARGETING HAVING ABOUT 18 APPRENTICES STATEWIDE.
UM, AND WE'VE KNOWN THAT TEXAS DPS AND HFSC ARE IN THE BEST POSITIONS TO THIS FIRST ROUND DEAL WITH THE VARIABILITY THAT'S LIKELY TO HAPPEN.
I MEAN, WE, THIS, THIS IS ALL NEW, UM, AND WE'RE IN THE BEST POSITION TO PROBABLY DEAL WITH THE UNKNOWN OF IT.
SO I SUSPECT WE'RE GONNA HAVE MORE OF THOSE APPRENTICES THAN WE MIGHT OTHERWISE, JUST BECAUSE WE'RE IN A BETTER POSITION.
BUT THAT COULD HELP OFFSET SOME OF THIS.
UM, OTHERWISE GRANT GRANTS AREN'T LOOKING GREAT.
THE, THE, THE QUESTION I WAS ASKED, IT'S ALONG THE SAME LINES.
UM, UH, HAVE WE, HAVE WE HAD ANY DISCUSSIONS WITH, UH, ANY OF THE, OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNERS WHO HAVE ACCESS TO FORFEITURE FUNDS FOR FORFEITURE FUND AWARDS, YOU KNOW, TO ADDRESS MAYBE SOME OF THE BACKLOGS THEY WANNA PRIORITIZE? UM, SHORT ANSWER IS YES.
THE LONGER ANSWER IS NOBODY EVER LIKES COFFIN THOSE FUNDS UP.
I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S A CONSTANT CONVERSATION OF HOW WE TRY AND SHARE THAT AND HOW WE TRY AND ADDRESS THOSE THINGS.
UM, BUT YEAH, THE, THE, THE LANDSCAPE FOR GRANTS IS NOT PARTICULARLY GOOD.
UM, I THINK, AGAIN, YOU'VE SEEN IN THE NEWS LOTS OF CHANGES IN HOW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS APPROACHED THESE THAT HAS HAD SERIOUS IMPACTS IN THE FORENSIC WORLD.
UM, THE MAIN GRANTS THAT WE DEAL WITH, YOU'VE HEARD ME MENTION CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT BACKLOG REDUCTION, WHICH IS THE FUNDING UNDER THE DEBBIE SMITH ACT WAS BADLY, BADLY DELAYED GETTING RELEASED THIS YEAR.
WE HAVE GOTTEN OUR FUNDS RELEASED ON THAT.
UM, THE OTHER MAJOR PROGRAM THAT'S AVAILABLE TO LABORATORIES IS CALLED THE POLK COVERDALE GRANTS THAT HAS BEEN BADLY, BADLY DELAYED GETTING RELEASED THIS YEAR.
UH, THEY HAVE RELEASED THE SOLICITATIONS FOR NEXT YEAR'S FUNDING CYCLE, BUT I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS LIKELY TO HAPPEN THERE.
UM, R AND D GRANTS THAT HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE HAVE, ARE JUST NOT THERE.
UM, SO YEAH, THE, THE, IT'S PRETTY, ALMOST BASICALLY EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE IS THROUGH DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, EITHER NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF JUSTICE OR BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE AND DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE IS IN BAD SHAPE.
UM, THEY, THEY HAVE HEMORRHAGED PEOPLE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BUDGET WISE? ALRIGHT, I'VE GOT ONE.
UH, THE TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION MEETING THIS QUARTER IS RIGHT AT THE END OF THE MONTH.
I JUST WANNA RECOGNIZE DIRECTOR, YOU WHO JOINED US.
I WAS GONNA GIVE YOU GRIEF IF YOU DIDN'T SHOW UP.
SO WE'VE GOT ONE DISCLOSURE THAT WE HAVE SUBMITTED FOR THIS ONE, AND I WANTED TO EXPLAIN IT A LITTLE BIT.
'CAUSE IT'S, OH, WE COULD EASILY SPEND THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON TALKING ABOUT THIS WHEN IT'S GOT A LOT OF NUANCE TO IT.
HOWEVER, I REALLY DON'T WANNA MAKE EVERYBODY'S EYES ROLL UP IN THEIR HEAD.
UM, SO THIS WAS RELATED TO A SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE BACK IN 2014.
UM, AND IT'S TOXICOLOGY DATA, AND IT IS ABOUT WHAT'S, WHAT GETS CALLED RAW DATA OR THE NATIVE DATA THAT EXISTS WITHIN THE SOFTWARE THAT RUNS THE EQUIPMENT.
UM, NOW WE HAD A DISCOVERY REQUEST FROM A LAWYER HERE IN TOWN WHO'S A REALLY GOOD LAWYER.
AND HE IS PROBABLY ABOUT THE ONLY ONE THAT WOULD EVER ASK FOR THESE DATA.
[00:30:01]
THESE DATA, AND IT HAPPENS TO BE THAT 2014 TO 2015 STRETCH WAS WHEN WE WERE TRANSITIONING FROM HPD TO HFSC.WE HAD PIECES OF EQUIPMENT THAT WERE BEING RETIRED AT THAT POINT, AND THEIR DATA FROM THEIR HARD DRIVES WAS BEING BACKED UP INTO THE HPD NETWORK.
SOME OF THOSE DATA DID NOT ACTUALLY GET BACKED UP OR TRANSITIONED OR WHATEVER.
NOW, THE GOOD NEWS IN THIS, AND WE KNOW THE GAP THAT THERE IS, IT'S FROM ABOUT APRIL, 2014 TO MAY OF 2015 OR WHERE THESE EXIST.
UM, AND IT'S ALSO THE WAY DATA WERE HANDLED IS THE ACTUAL RECORDS THAT WE WOULD'VE USED TO MAKE THE CONCLUSIONS TO DO THE ANALYSIS ARE ALL THERE.
THESE ARE THE DATA THAT EXIST WITHIN THE SOFTWARE.
AND I CAN SEE JORDAN OVER THERE GOING, I KNOW WHAT THIS IS.
UM, AND IT GETS REALLY NUANCED OF WHAT DATA EXISTS, WHERE ALL OF, WE CAN PROVIDE ALL OF THE DATA THAT WERE PART OF THE DECISION.
AND ALL OF THOSE RECORDS ARE THERE, BUT IT IS, THERE ARE DATA THAT WOULD'VE BEEN NATIVE TO THE SOFTWARE THAT WE DON'T HAVE.
I DON'T FORESEE IT BEING MATERIAL REALLY TO ANYTHING.
UM, BUT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE WERE AWARE THAT WE'VE GOT GAPS IN DATA THAT WERE INTENDED TO BE STORED.
AND THIS IS, YOU KNOW, LONG SINCE SOLVED THIS ISSUE.
UM, WE'VE GOT FAR BETTER WAYS OF BACKING THESE THINGS UP NOW.
UM, SO I DON'T, IT'S NOT AN ISSUE GOING FORWARD.
AND MOST OF THE CASES THAT ARE BACK THAT FAR ARE, UH, DUIS THAT ARE LONG SINCE GONE.
IT JUST, YOU KNOW, A CASE LIKE A FELONY SEXUAL ASSAULT THAT ACTUALLY HAS A MUCH LONGER ARC TO IT.
THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA BE IN THERE.
SO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S AWARE OF IT, AND THAT'S WHAT THE DISCLOSURE IS.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? SO, LAST THING I HAVE, I KNOW WE'VE ALREADY SENT THESE LINKS OUT TO YOU.
I REALLY WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU GO AND TAKE A LOOK AT THE, UH, VIRTUAL TOUR.
WE'VE GOT MORE, UM, WHAT HAVE WE BEEN CALLING IT? BONUS CONTENT.
UH, NATALIE AND VICKI HAVE DONE AN ASTONISHINGLY GOOD JOB OF THIS.
THE VIDEO IS, I'VE, I'VE DEALT WITH A LOT OF THESE VIDEOS OVER THE YEARS.
THEY DID A REALLY, REALLY GOOD JOB OF THIS THING.
UM, AND THEN ALL THE CONTENT THAT'S GOING WITH IT IS, IT'S WHEN THIS THING'S ALL TOGETHER HERE SHORTLY, IT'S GONNA BE REALLY COOL.
UM, SO I'D REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO RENT IT.
THE, THE VIDEO RUNS ABOUT 20 MINUTES, UM, AND IT'S REALLY, REALLY GOOD.
SO THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK THAT Y'ALL HAVE DONE ON THAT.
I JUST WANNA SAY KUDOS ON IT TOO.
AND YOU ARE A GREAT VOICEOVER
AND I LOVED USING THE EMPLOYEES ACTUALLY AT THEIR WORKBENCHES AND, AND DOING THE WORK.
SO WE'RE VERY PLEASED WITH THAT.
IT'LL BE FUN TO SEE THE, THE NEXT DEEP DIVES THAT THEY'RE DOING.
SO THEY'VE DONE THE, THE BIG ONE AND NOW THEY'LL DO INDIVIDUALS.
BUT CONGRATS REALLY REPRESENTS YOUR ORGANIZATION WELL, THANK YOU.
YOU'RE VERY PLEASED WITH IT AND HONORED THAT WE COULD MAKE SOMETHING.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR ME? ALL RIGHT, YOU'RE RESCUED FROM ME.
STU PROPOSED LIST OF ANNUAL CORPORATE PRIORITIES AND GOALS.
FIRST VOTE TO APPROVE THE ANNUAL VOTE FOR PRIORITY OPPOSED FOR FISCAL YEAR.
DO YOU HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVED.
UM, MEMBERS THIS AGREEMENT WILL ALLOW,
[00:35:33]
I THINK IT'S BEEN, ACTUALLY, I WAS JUST TALKING WITH JODY KLAN, WHO'S THE, UM, DIRECTOR UP THERE YESTERDAY.UM, AND SHE WAS VERY COMPLIMENTARY ACTUALLY OF WORKING WITH OUR STAFF ABOUT STUFF AND HOW EASY IT'S BEEN TO WORK WITH THEM.
AND SHE AND I BOTH AGREED THIS HAS BEEN A REALLY USEFUL, UM, ARRANGEMENT FOR BOTH OF US.
UH, AND I MEAN, IT IS, IT'S ESSENTIAL TO US THESE DAYS TO DO THIS.
AND IT, I CAN'T EMPHASIZE ENOUGH.
TARRANT COUNTY IS THE ONLY SOURCE OF ANY POSSIBLE OUTSOURCING.
UM, AND ACTUALLY HER FOLKS HAVE BEEN PRETTY BUSY.
UH, FORT WORTH, THEY'RE, EXCUSE ME, IN TEXAS? IN TEXAS, YEAH.
NO, ACTUALLY REALLY KIND OF IN THE COUNTRY.
UM, THERE JUST, THERE JUST ISN'T ANY PLACE TO OUTSOURCE.
UH, FORT WORTH HAS BEEN STRUGGLING.
UH, THIS IS A STRUGGLE ACROSS THE STATE.
SO WE'RE ALL REALLY APPRECIATIVE OF WHAT JODI AND HER TEAM HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS QUESTION? DO WE HAVE ANY KIND OF RECIPROCITY WITH THEM? DO, DO THEY SEND ANY, ANY OF THEIR STUFF TO US? UM, NO.
IT'S, I GUESS THE WAY TO LOOK AT IT IS TARRANT COUNTY'S NOT QUITE AS SHOOTY AS WE ARE HERE.
WHAT ARE YOU SAY AS SHOOTING AS SHOOTY?
THEY JUST DON'T HAVE THE SAME DEMAND FOR THE FIREARMS UP THERE THAT WE'VE GOT DOWN HERE.
UM, SO THEY, THEY'VE HAD SOME CAPACITY THAT THE REST OF US JUST HAVEN'T.
NO, I, I, I WAS THINKING MORE ALONG LINES.
WE, WE, WE WHERE EVERY WHERE WE HAVE THE BACKLOGS IS WHERE EVERYBODY ELSE HAS.
IF THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, WE'LL NOW HAVE A VOICE VOTE TO APPROVE THE AGREEMENT.
RENEWAL MEMBERS PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MICS AT THIS TIME.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CORPORATION AND TARRANT COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE FOR FIREARMS EVIDENCE COMPARISON SERVICES? BUDGET FOR THE SERVICE BUDGET NOT TO EXCEED A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO HAVE AN MOTION.
IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND? SHOULD IT? OKAY.
DIRECTOR RA AT THIS TIME WE'LL HAVE A VOICE VOTE.
ST, PLEASE EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE ORGANIZATION.
AND YOU'RE EXCITED AND PLEASED TO DO IT.
UM, NOW I HAVE A PRESENTATION FROM MR. LEACH, TREASURER AND CFO WHO JUMPED THE GUN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT 10 MINUTES AGO, BUT
UH, UM, 2026 YEAR END RENEW REVIEW.
PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR AND LOCATIONS AND PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2027 AMENDED.
EXCITED TO TALK ABOUT NUMBERS.
ALRIGHT, SO, WE'LL, I'LL GO OVER TWO THINGS WITH YOU.
I'LL GO OVER A REALLOCATION OF THIS LAST YEAR'S BUDGET.
IT'S THE SAME PROCESS THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH IN THE PAST.
JUST HAVE TO MOVE THINGS AROUND.
SO WE'LL GO THROUGH THAT AND THEN I'LL ALSO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DETAIL AND GET YOUR APPROVAL FOR THE NEW BUDGET THAT DR. STOUT ALREADY DISCUSSED.
UH, I I JUST, I JUST WANNA TAKE A COUPLE MINUTES HERE TO SET THE STAGE, UH, FOR OUR BUSINESS PROCESS.
AND I DON'T LIKE CALLING IT A BUSINESS PROCESS 'CAUSE NOBODY RUNNING A BUSINESS WOULD DO THIS PROCESS, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE DO.
IT'S NOT A BUSINESS, IT'S A SERVICE FOR, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE.
SO IT'S DIFFERENT, BUT TWO TO THREE MONTHS BEFORE OUR YEAR STARTS, RIGHT? WE FIND OUT HOW MUCH MONEY WE'RE GONNA HAVE FOR THE NEXT YEAR, RIGHT? WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THAT.
[00:40:01]
TYPICALLY, UM, HISTORICALLY, THERE HAVE BEEN YEARS WHERE IT'S FLAT.THANKFULLY IT'S NEVER BEEN NEGATIVE.
UM, BUT IT'S NEVER BEEN AS MUCH AS WE REQUESTED, RIGHT? IT'S CLOSE.
AND, AND THE CITY HAS BEEN VERY KIND TO US, GIVEN THE STRUGGLES THAT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH FINANCIALLY.
SO WE'RE, UH, IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS, VERY APPRECIATIVE TO HAVE WHAT WE HAVE.
AND THEN IT, BUT WHAT, WHAT'S IMPORTANT IN MY MIND IS OUR JOB IS TO EFFECTIVELY USE EVERY PENNY THAT WE ARE GIVEN TO HELP SOCIETY, RIGHT? IT, IT, I DON'T SLEEP WELL IF I, WELL, PART OF ME SLEEPS WELL BECAUSE I'VE GOT A BUNCH OF MONEY IN THE BANK AND IT MAKES MY JOB EASIER, RIGHT? BUT THERE'S ANOTHER SIDE OF ME THAT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAT SAYS WE COULD HAVE DONE MORE TO HELP PEOPLE WHO NEED TO BE EXONERATED, SHOULD BE EXONERATED OR SHOULDN'T BE WAITING TRIAL.
OR TO GET SOMEBODY OFF THE STREET WHO'S GONNA GO DO SOMETHING BAD AGAIN BECAUSE WE DIDN'T GET THE WORK DONE, RIGHT? SO WE, WE AS A BUSINESS, WE'RE TRYING TO UTILIZE EVERY PENNY.
BUT AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THAT PUTS US IN A VERY PRECARIOUS SITUATION AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
'CAUSE IF I'M SUPPOSED TO GO TO ZERO, AND THIS YEAR I GOT PRETTY CLOSE.
IF I'M SUPPOSED TO GO TO ZERO IN CASH AND I CAN'T BORROW MONEY, AND YET I'VE GOTTA WAIT A COUPLE WEEKS TO GET THE MONEY FOR THE NEXT YEAR, AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT MY BUDGET IS GONNA BE.
THOSE OF YOU WHO RUN BUSINESSES OR WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT'S JUST, THAT'S A PICKLE.
UM, BECAUSE YOU, YOU CAN'T DO ANY LONG-TERM PLANNING, RIGHT? YOU JUST HAVE TO, WHEN THE YEAR COMES, YOU JUST GOTTA SAY, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT WE GOT.
HOW ARE WE GONNA MAKE IT WORK? OKAY? SO I JUST THINK THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT TO, TO UNDERSTAND THAT'S OUR BUSINESS CYCLE.
BUT I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND IT BECAUSE THIS YEAR IT, UH, IT'S MEANINGFUL MORE SO THAN IN PAST YEARS.
AND I'LL GET INTO THAT IN A MINUTE.
OKAY? SO WITH THIS YEAR'S, UH, THIS ONE ISN'T MINE.
OKAY, SO I, I AM GOING TO KEEP PUSHING THIS BUTTON AND NOTHING'S GONNA HA OKAY, I WANT TO GO TO THE END OF THIS BECAUSE YOU SEE THOSE TWO GREEN BOXES, THAT MEANS THAT IN TOTAL, NOTHING HAS CHANGED.
SO WHAT I'M ASKING YOU TO APPROVE IS A NET ZERO, RIGHT? SO BACK OVER A YEAR AGO, YOU GUYS APPROVED THE FISCAL YEAR 26 BUDGET.
AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH WHAT WE DO, WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO OVERSPEND ANY SPECIFIC LINE ITEM.
SO I COME BACK AT THE END OF EVERY YEAR AND I MOVE THINGS AROUND, RIGHT? SO THAT, UH, WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE, THE BUDGET AMOUNT THAT YOU GUYS APPROVE, THAT'S ON THE RECORD, THE ACTUAL AMOUNT THAT'S SPENT IS EQUAL TO, OR A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN SO THAT WE'RE NOT OVERSPENT ON ANY LINE ITEMS. SO THAT'S THE EXERCISE THAT WE GO THROUGH EVERY YEAR.
NOW, IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, WE HAVEN'T SPENT THE ENTIRE AMOUNT.
MATTER OF FACT, THE LAST THREE YEARS WE WERE RIGHT AT $2 MILLION LEFT OVER, WHICH GOING BACK TO MY OTHER COMMENTS, MAKES MY JOB EASIER, BUT IT'S NOT A GOOD THING.
'CAUSE THAT'S $2 MILLION WE COULD HAVE USED TO GET MORE OF THE BACKLOG DONE.
AND, AND THERE'S DYNAMICS THAT GO INTO THAT.
UM, BUT THIS YEAR, ACTUALLY THE BANK ACCOUNT BALANCE THIS MORNING WAS $354,000.
THINKING ABOUT IT, WE'VE GOT OVER 200 EMPLOYEES AND I'M SITTING ON 200.
I'M SITTING ON 354 AND I'M NOT ALLOWED TO BORROW MONEY.
OKAY? SO THIS YEAR I FINALLY DID MY JOB.
WELL, OTHER YEARS I DIDN'T DO IT AS WELL, BUT IT WAS A LOT EASIER 'CAUSE I WAS SITTING ON $2 MILLION.
I DIDN'T HAVE TO WATCH THE BANK ACCOUNT TWICE A DAY TO SEE WHERE IT IS.
SO I SAY ALL THAT TO SAY IS IN THESE LINE ITEMS THAT YOU SEE, I USUALLY ONLY PRESENT THIS ONCE BECAUSE I'VE GOT SOME ROOM.
'CAUSE WE DIDN'T SPEND ALL THE BUDGET THIS YEAR WE SPIN IT.
SO I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO APPROVE THESE ADJUSTMENTS, BUT WHEN THE ACTUAL FINAL NUMBERS COME IN, I'LL PROBABLY HAVE TO ASK YOU TO APPROVE IT AGAIN BECAUSE IT'S SO CLOSE.
I'LL PROBABLY END UP WITH A FEW LINE ITEMS THAT NEED TO BE PLUSED AND A FEW LINE ITEMS THAT NEED TO BE MINUS, BUT IN TOTAL, AGAIN, IT'S A NET ZERO.
OKAY? SO IT'S ON THE RECORD THERE FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHERE THE PLUSES AND THE MINUSES ARE.
RIGHT? UH, DIDN'T SPEND AS MUCH OR SPENT MORE IN, UH, HR OR LESS IN OUTSOURCING TYPICALLY, BECAUSE WE HAD THE $2.6 MILLION THAT WAS GIVEN TO FBO TO GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS OF BRINGING ON MORE PEOPLE AND OUTSOURCE LESS.
I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY THE TIMING OF THAT.
[00:45:01]
THAT, THAT MOVES AND OTHER ITEMS MOVE.WE RECEIVED, UH, HEALTH INSURANCE INCREASE LAST YEAR THAT WAS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE, UH, THAN EXPECTED.
SO, YOU KNOW, HAD MORE MONEY THERE, TOOK IT AWAY FROM OTHER PLACES.
SO I CAN GO THROUGH THESE LINE BY LINE WITH YOU IF YOU WANT TO, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU WOULD WANT ME TO DO THAT, BUT I WILL.
WELL, WHY DON'T WE JUST LET EVERYBODY LOOK AT IT FOR A MINUTE.
JUST PAUSE IF THEY HAVE A QUESTION OR DO IT.
IT WILL TAKE 60 SECONDS TO, OKAY, SO DO YOU, DO YOU GUYS HAVE IT ON SCREEN? DO YOU WANT TO DO IT OR DO I NEED TO FLIP THROUGH THE, DO YOU HAVE A BOOK IN FRONT OF YOU? THEY SHOULD HAVE IT.
SO IF YOU'LL JUST LOOK THROUGH THOSE INDIVIDUAL LINE ITEMS, IF ANYONE, WE'LL JUST DO IT AS DIRECTOR COHEN HAS, UH, POINTED OUT, JUMPS OUT.
JUST ASK, I'LL TRY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.
ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS THAT I CAN TRY TO ANSWER? ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD ON THIS ITEM? WHERE DID, WHERE DID WE COME UP WITH? WHERE DID WE FIND YOUR MONEY? CAN YOU, I'M SORRY, DIRECTOR, CAN YOU MOVE FORWARD AND PUT YOUR MIC OFF? YES MA'AM.
WHERE DID WE FIND THE MONEY ON, UM, THE RENTAL, UM, EXPENSES.
SO THE INCREASE THAT WE WERE GIVEN INCLUDED THE KNOWN RENTAL COSTS THAT WE WERE GONNA DO OR WE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ENTER INTO THAT AGREEMENT.
SO THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET INCREASE FOR THE YEAR.
YEAH, THAT WAS PART OF ALL OF THE NEGOTIATIONS.
AND SINCE YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ON THE BOARD WITH SOME OF THOSE LEASES, IF, IF YOU WANT, WE CAN WALK YOU THROUGH HOW THOSE LEASES WORK BECAUSE REALLY WE'RE A SUB LESS E TO THE CITY WHO'S DIRECTLY THE, THE LEASE.
SO THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF, THERE'S A LOT OF NEGOTIATIONS, BUT THERE'S THE LEASE COSTS ARE THINGS THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY PROJECT AND GET ACCOUNT ACCOUNTED FOR IN BUDGETS.
YEAH, IT JUST, IT JUST LOOKS LIKE WE SAVED $300,000, UM, FROM THE PROJECT, FROM THE ORIGINAL.
WELL, ON THAT ONE IS THE MOVE IN DATE WAS LATER THAN WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY PROJECTED.
IT TOOK A LITTLE LONGER TO, TO GET IT READY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, I'LL NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE REALLOCATION FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2026 BUDGET.
PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MICS AT THIS TIME.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO, SO MOVED.
NOW I'LL NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE REVISED FISCAL YEAR.
WE'LL HAVE DAVID DO THE PRESENTATION.
WE'LL HAVE DAVID DO THE PRESENTATION FIRST AND THEN WE YEAH, I WAS GOING, OH, I'LL GO OVER THE FISCAL FISCAL YEAR 27.
OKAY, SO HERE'S A, A CHART YOU CAN SEE, UM, LAST YEAR'S BUDGET WAS 34, UH, MILLION 880.
UH, WE RECEIVED, UH, WELL INITIALLY WE REQUESTED, UM, AN ADDITIONAL SIX, UH, EMPLOYEES FOR PROPERTY ROOM AND THEN ANOTHER NINE EMPLOYEES FOR THE PROPERTY ROOM.
THOSE WERE GRANTED AND WE REQUESTED A $2.7 MILLION INCREASE TO OUR BUDGET.
THAT'S WHAT YOU GUYS APPROVED AND THAT'S WHAT'S ON THE RECORD RIGHT NOW TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE ALL THESE THINGS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
AND THAT WAS, UM, A 3.9 MILLION INCREASE IN TOTAL, OR 11%.
WHAT THE CITY CAME BACK WITH WAS A 2.4 MILLION OR A 7% REQUEST.
SO THAT'S A DROP OF 1.5 MILLION.
SO I DON'T REMEMBER, SOMEBODY SAID THAT SOUNDED LIKE A PRETTY BIG DROP OR SOMETHING.
IT'S, IT'S A $1.5 MILLION, UH, DECREASE FROM WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY APPROVED TO WHAT HAS BEEN APPROVED.
AGAIN, I DON'T WANT TO BE THOUGHT OF IN ANY WAY OF NOT BEING APPRECIATIVE OF WHAT WE RECEIVE.
BUT WHAT THAT DOES MEAN IS ALL THOSE THINGS THAT DR. STOUT WAS TALKING ABOUT.
EVEN IF YOU ASSUME THAT THE COSTS STAY CONSTANT YEAR OVER YEAR, WHICH THEY AREN'T, EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT PRICES ARE GOING UP ALL OVER THE PLACE ON MULTIPLE THINGS, RIGHT? SO EVEN IF EVERYTHING STAYED THE SAME AND THE FACT THAT WE ACTUALLY SPENT THE MONEY THAT WE HAD THIS YEAR, SO THERE IS NO EXCESS CASH TO START THE YEAR ON.
THERE'S A, THERE'S A 1.5, I DON'T WANT TO CALL IT A PROBLEM.
[00:50:01]
THERE'S SOME WORK FOR US TO DO, RIGHT? AND THEN ALSO THE FACT THAT WE STARTED WITH $2 MILLION, THAT MEANS THAT LAST YEAR WE SPENT $2 MILLION MORE THAN THE FUNDING BECAUSE WE STARTED OFF WITH SOME.SO WE CAN'T DO THAT THIS YEAR BECAUSE NOW WE'RE ACTUALLY AT ZERO, RIGHT? SO IT IS JUST, UM, THE, THE TRUTH OF WHERE WE ARE IS PROBABLY SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HIS OPTIMISM AND MYSTICISM
THAT THAT'S PROBABLY WHERE IT REALLY LIES.
BUT THIS IS GONNA BE A CHALLENGING YEAR.
WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE, BACK IN 19, UM, AND IN 22 IT WAS TIGHT.
BUT, UH, THIS WILL BE, THIS WILL BE A, A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO EXERCISE OUR EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKING ABILITY.
DAVID AND I BALANCE WHICH WAY WE CONSUME ROLL AIDS IN VAST QUANTITIES,
SO THAT, THAT, THAT'S A HIGH, HIGH LEVEL PICTURE OF WHERE IT IS.
YOU KNOW, THE DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS OF, CAN YOU ADVANCE IT ONE, UM, JUST POP THROUGH THOSE.
THESE ARE THINGS THAT DR. STOUT ALREADY TALKED ABOUT.
THESE ARE THE AREAS WHERE WE HAVE OPPORTUNITY, RIGHT? UM, 65% OF OUR COSTS ARE EMPLOYEE COSTS.
SO SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE THERE, EITHER, WHETHER IT BE HIRING FREEZES OR, OR JUST SOME SOMETHING'S GOTTA GO THERE FOR US TO HIT A NUMBER THIS BIG AND OTHER PLACES WITH HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS COMING IN, WHO CAN ABSORB THEM? THINGS LIKE THAT.
THAT'S ON THE BOARD TO YOUR DISCUSSION ABOUT EQUIPMENT.
IF ONE OF THESE $400,000 MACHINES GOES DOWN, WE DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY TO REPLACE IT AND WE DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY TO SIGN A NEW LEASE FOR IT.
NOW CAN WE GO AND ASK FOR IT? SURE, WE CAN, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'LL NEED TO DO.
THE MONEY ISN'T THERE TO FOR A BIG SURPRISE.
SO WE'LL JUST PRAY FOR A BORING YEAR WITH OUR EQUIPMENT, UM, OR WE'LL DEAL WITH IT IF IT HAPPENS.
CAN YOU ADVANCE IT PLEASE? SO JUST LIKE ON THE OTHER PAGE, YOU THEN HAVE ALL THE DETAILED LINE ITEMS. SO WHAT I HAVE SHOWN YOU IN THIS GRAPH THAT YOU CAN SEE IS THIS IS OUR FORECAST.
THE FIRST COLUMN, THAT'S WHERE I THINK WE'RE GONNA ACTUALLY FINISH THIS YEAR.
THIS IS THE NEW BUDGET NUMBERS BECAUSE THE BUDGET THAT YOU HAD APPROVED PREVIOUSLY IS NO LONGER VALID.
THIS IS THE NEW BUDGET BY LINE ITEM.
AND THOSE LINE ITEMS ARE THE DIFFERENCE YEAR OVER YEAR BETWEEN WHERE WE THINK WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA FINISH THIS YEAR AND THE BUDGET THAT I'M ASKING YOU TO APPROVE.
SO I WILL ASK YOU TO APPROVE THE BUDGET, BUT I'LL JUST LET YOU KNOW THAT IN PRIOR YEARS, I USUALLY JUST COME UP AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR AND AT THE END OF THE YEAR, I ASK YOU TO REALLOCATE RIGHT? THIS YEAR, PROBABLY IN THE NEXT BOARD MEETING OR THE BOARD MEETING.
AFTER THAT, I'M GONNA NEED TO COME UP TO YOU BECAUSE WE'VE GOT SOME WORK TO DO ON HOW THIS IS GONNA WORK.
AND ONCE I KNOW WHERE WE ACTUALLY FINISHED THE YEAR AND WHAT WE'RE WORKING WITH, THESE NUMBERS ARE GONNA MOVE AROUND.
THEY WON'T CHANGE IN TOTAL, BUT I'LL PROBABLY BE COMING UP TO YOU MORE THAN JUST TWICE A YEAR TO TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET BECAUSE IT'S GONNA BE A LOT TIGHTER.
AND WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU AGREE WITH STRATEGIC DECISIONS THAT WE'RE MAKING ON WHERE TO USE THE RESOURCES BECAUSE OF HOW TIGHT IT WILL BE THIS YEAR.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? MM-HMM
OKAY, SO I'LL LEAVE IT WITH YOU IF YOU WANNA LOOK OVER IT OR I, I MEAN, WELL, LET ME SEE IF THE TOTAL NUMBER WON'T CHANGE.
LET SEE IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW.
AND ON A PERSONAL NOTE, I, I'VE WORKED WITH YOU IN MANY YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS ON COUNCIL.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS, AND I KNOW THAT DIRECTOR CORRALES WOULD AGREE WITH THIS, WE WERE AT RAPE KITS IN THE TERMS OF OVER 6,000 UNTESTED RAPE KITS BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY TO TEST THE RAPE KITS.
AND IT'S GOING ON EVEN NOW AROUND THE COUNTRY.
BUT YOU AND YOUR, AND YOUR PASSION FOR MAKING SURE THAT THAT WAS ATTENDED TO, WE NOW HAVE NO BACKLOG OF RAPE, UNTESTED RAPE KITS.
AND I KNOW IF, UH, DIRECTOR CORRALS, I DUNNO IF YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING TO THAT.
NO, THAT IS, UM, THAT IS REMARKABLE AND I, I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO AND THE, THE LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT YOU TAKE FOR THE BUDGET.
AND THE CARE THAT YOU HAVE FOR THE COMMUNITY, UH, I AM AS EXCITED ABOUT IT TOO, BUT I THINK YOU GAVE THE CREDIT TO THE WRONG PERSON.
UH, IT'S THE TEAM THAT DOES IT.
BUT WHAT WE DID DO THIS YEAR IS WE SAID, HEY, WE CAN'T FINISH THE YEAR WITH $2 MILLION.
WE NEED TO SPEND THAT MONEY AND GET THIS WORK DONE.
AND AMY AND HER TEAM, THAT'S WHY THEY STARTED DOING THE SPECIAL PROGRAM AND THAT'S WHY THE NUMBERS HAVE GONE DOWN.
I WISH WE COULD CONTINUE TO DO THAT, BUT YOU KNOW, WE WILL, WE'LL DO IT WHERE WE CAN AND WE'LL JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE GET AS CLOSE TO ZERO AND PETER WILL BUY ME A BOTTLE OF ROLAIDS AND WE'LL MAKE IT WORK.
WELL, WE THINK EVERYONE WHO'S INVOLVED, PETER, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY BOTTLE.
I THINK IT'S MORE IN THE CASES THAT WE CONSUME.
[00:55:03]
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT, NOW I'LL NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE REVISED FISCAL 2027 BUDGET MEMBERS.MEMBERS, PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MICS AT THIS TIME.
OKAY, IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND.
UM, IF ONE OF THOSE CAPITAL EQUIPMENT, ONE OF THOSE MACHINES GOES OFFLINE, WE OBVIOUSLY DON'T HAVE THE BUDGET TO REPLACE IT, COULD WE? DO WE HAVE THE BUDGET TO OUTSOURCE IT TO TARRANT COUNTY? NOT REALLY.
THIS IS, THIS IS THE SNUG REALITY IS WE DON'T, THERE THERE'S, THERE'S NO LATITUDE.
UM, AND YEAH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A WORRY.
THANK YOU AGAIN, MR. JUST QUICK FOLLOW UP.
QUICK, QUICK, QUICK FOLLOW UP.
I, I THOUGHT WE HAVE THE EQUIPMENT WARRANTY OR OH, WE HAVE SERVICE CONTRACTS ON SERVICE CONTRACT, ALL THESE THINGS.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE WE DO WHAT WE CAN.
SO, SO, SO MY POINT IS FOR LAYERS THERE, THE RISK IS THERE.
EVEN IF TO HAPPEN, WE SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING TO, WE HAVE DONE WHAT WE CAN TO TRY AND MITIGATE THOSE RISKS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE TO, TO BE CLEAR, IF WE HAVE A REAL CATASTROPHIC FAILURE IN ONE OF THESE CAPITAL PIECES, IT'S GONNA HURT.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM 10 FOR JACKIE MORRELL QUALITY DIRECTOR AND IT'LL INCLUDE OVERVIEW AND UPDATES ON QUALITY.
UM, THERE IS SOME TECHNICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE CLICKER, SO WE'LL SEE IF IT WANTS TO WORK THIS ROUND.
I'M JUST GONNA BE LIKE POINTING AND JUST, NOPE, THIS ONE'S RIGHT.
WHY DO WE HAVE IT? WE'RE PROTECTED AND GUARDED FOR YOU.
SO I WILL BE TALKING ABOUT QUAL GIVING YOU SOME QUALITY UPDATES.
UH, THE FIRST ONE, I THINK DR. STARK KIND OF ALREADY COMMENTED A LITTLE BIT ON IT.
UM, I'M EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THAT EFFECTIVE JUNE 9TH WE, UH, OFFICIALLY RECEIVED OUR A NAB UH, CERTIFICATE IN THE SCOPE, UM, WHERE WE NOW HAVE RAPID DNA AS PART OF A DISCIPLINE RIGHT NOW, AS YOU REMEMBERED FROM MY PRESENTATION IN THE LAST MEETING, UM, THIS IS ONLY GOING TO BE SPECIFIC, UM, UH, FOR REFERENCE SAMPLES, RIGHT? UM, WHILE, WHILE IT'S SPECIFIC FOR REFERENCE SAMPLES, WE ARE QUIETLY IN THE BACKGROUND VALIDATING THE EVIDENCE CARTRIDGES.
SO WE ARE SET IN A BETTER PLACE THAT ONCE THE FBI APPROVES THE EVIDENCE CARTRIDGES TO BE, FOR EVIDENCE TO BE UPLOADED INTO CODIS, UM, AND THE TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE DNA WORKING GROUP, UM, PUBLISHES GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS AROUND RAPID, UM, BECAUSE WE ALREADY HAVE THE ACCREDITATION, IT SETS US AT A VERY GOOD SPOT OF BEING ABLE TO IMPLEMENT THE EVIDENCE, UM, ONCE WE VALIDATE IT INTERNALLY, UM, TO IMPLEMENT THIS IMMEDIATELY.
MY OTHER TOPIC FOR TODAY IS ON INTERNAL AUDITS.
NOW, I REALLY LOVE INTERNAL AUDITS BECAUSE IT'S A GREAT SELF-EVALUATION TOOL, UH, TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE COMPLYING TO ALL OF THE PLETHORA OF THE DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS.
NOW, IF YOU ASK MY TEAM, THEY PROBABLY WON'T HAVE THE SAME ANSWER AND LOVE FOR THIS, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT'S A LOT OF WORK.
IT'S A VERY INTENSE AND IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE THAT WE USUALLY SEEK OUT, UM, INTERNAL AUDIT VOLUNTEERS FROM STAFF MEMBERS TO BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THIS, RIGHT? AND THIS LAST YEAR WE HAD LIKE 60 HELPERS HELPING US OUT WITH INTERNAL AUDITS, AND THAT WASN'T ENOUGH.
WE ACTUALLY NEEDED MORE BECAUSE, UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF SECTIONS AND YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME SECTIONS THAT HAVE OVER 30 OR 40 PEOPLE AND WE HAVE TO DO CASE FALL REVIEWS, RIGHT? YOU CAN'T JUST DO ONE, YOU HAVE TO DO A SAMPLING FOR EACH PERSON WITHIN A TIME SCOPE.
YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT ALL OF THE REQUIREMENTS, RIGHT? AND FROM ISO IEC 17 0 2 5, YOU ALSO HAVE TO VERIFY THAT THEY'RE COMPLYING TO THE A NAB AR 31 25, WHICH IS BASICALLY FORENSIC SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FROM A NAB THAT ARE TIED TO ISO.
SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALSO COMPLYING TO THEM.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FROM THE QUALITY MANUAL ARE BEING FOLLOWED.
[01:00:01]
WE HAVE TO CHECK THAT.UM, ALL THE 40 OSAC REGISTRY STANDARDS THAT WE'VE IMPLEMENTED, UM, SINCE, SINCE FOREVER AGO, UM, THAT WE ARE STILL COMPLIANT TO THEM AS WELL AS THE SECTION SOPS.
AND WHAT, WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT IS THAT NOT ONLY YOU HAVE TO VERIFY, BUT YOU ALSO HAVE TO ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE A RECORD TO BACK THAT UP TO SAY LIKE, YES, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS WAS A WHOLE FOUR MONTH PROCESS AND UM, SO I'M GLAD WE WRAPPED THAT UP.
WE DO HAVE AN AUGUST COMING UP, UM, OUR AUDIT FOR CSCM, BUT THAT'S FOR AN INDEPENDENT ACCREDITATION PROGRAM FOR THE PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE.
AND IN OCTOBER WE'RE PROJECTING TO DO OUR SAFETY AND SECURITY, UH, INTERNAL AUDIT OF OUR FACILITIES.
BUT THAT, AGAIN, THE BULK OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT SEASON HAS CONCLUDED FOR THAT.
FOR THE RESULTS, WE HAD A TOTAL OF SEVEN NONCONFORMANCES THAT WERE, UM, THAT DOCUMENTED OR NOTED AND, UM, 14 OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT, RIGHT? SO THE WAY THAT I LIKE TO SEE NONCONFORMANCES IS I DON'T SEE THAT AS A PUNITIVE THING.
I THINK IT'S A REALLY PROACTIVE WAY TO IDENTIFY AREAS THAT WE NEED TO STRENGTHEN AND, UM, GIVES YOU AREAS TO IMPROVE AND NOT KNOW, YOU KNOW, THREE OR FOUR YEARS DOWN THE LINE THAT YOU HAD THIS NONCONFORMANCE RIGHT, OR THIS ISSUE.
SO, UH, AGAIN, BEING PROACTIVE IN NATURE, WE ALSO LOOK AT OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT THAT, UM, AND WE DOCUMENT THAT.
WE DOCUMENT THOSE IN OUR INTERNAL AUDIT REPORT BECAUSE AGAIN, OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT, OUR AREAS THAT YOU MIGHT BE CONFORMING AT ONE POINT, RIGHT? BUT IF YOU STEER A LITTLE BIT TO THE RIGHT OR THE LEFT, UM, WE CAN SEE OR FORESEE THAT THIS COULD BE A NONCONFORMANCE IN THE FUTURE.
SO IT'S A WAY FOR THE SECTIONS TO BE REALLY PREVENTIVE AND, AND ADDRESS THOSE, UM, SITUATIONS.
SO AS PART OF MY PRESENTATION, I KIND OF WANTED TO WALK YOU THROUGH SOME OF THE NONCONFORMANCES THAT WE HAD, UM, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF COMMONALITIES THAT WHILE IT MAY HAVE HAPPENED IN ONE SECTION, IT DOESN'T PRECLUDE IT FROM HAPPENING IN ANOTHER ONE.
SO THAT'S IN THEIR COMPANY MEETING.
I TRY TO MORE SO KIND OF GO OVER THE DIFFERENT THEME AND WHAT THE SECTIONS CAN DO TO KIND OF BE MORE PROACTIVE AND AWARENESS, UM, TO PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING IN THEIR SECTION.
RIGHT? THE FIRST ONE IS REAGENTS.
THE MAJORITY OF ALL THE SECTIONS, UM, USE REAGENTS, RIGHT? AND FOR EXAMPLE, IN THIS INSTANCE, WE HAD A SITUATION WHERE WE FOUND SEVERAL REAGENT BOTTLES THAT WERE CORRECTLY MADE AND WERE CORRECTLY LABELED, AS YOU CAN SEE THERE, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S THE A UY WASH.
UM, HOWEVER, THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE REQUIRED HAS OR LABELING, RIGHT? YOU CAN SEE THAT DIAMOND, UM, SAFETY HAPHAZARD, UM, IN THE LABEL.
AND THAT NEEDS TO BE FILLED OUT.
AGAIN, THIS HAS NO TECHNICAL IMPACT, RIGHT? THIS IS VERY ADMINISTRATIVE, BUT THE WHOLE INTENT BEHIND THIS IS TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE A RELIABLE AND ABOVE LS, A SAFETY LABORATORY ENVIRONMENT, RIGHT? WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT P STAFF MEMBERS WHO ARE USING THAT CHEMICAL, THEY KNOW ALL OF THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS AND HAZARDS ASSOCIATED TO IT.
SO AGAIN, NOTHING TECHNICAL, BUT WE DO STILL NOTICE AND ADDRESS THESE.
UM, WE TAKE THEM ALSO, UM, OF THERE'S THE SAME IMPORTANCE, RIGHT? ANOTHER ONE THAT WE SAW WAS AN EVIDENCE LABELING, RIGHT? AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE ALL EVIDENCE ITEMS NOT ONLY LABELED, BUT UNIQUELY IDENTIFIED, RIGHT? YOU DON'T WANNA, YOU WANNA DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN ITEM 1.1, 1.2, OR 1.3, RIGHT? AND IN THIS INSTANCE, WE HAD A SITUATION WHERE, UM, WE FOUND BULLETS THAT DID HAVE THE FORENSIC CASE NUMBER, BUT IT JUST DIDN'T HAVE THE ITEM NUMBER.
BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, ALL THE SECTIONS HANDLE VERY SMALL EVIDENCE ITEMS, RIGHT? AND IT'S REALLY HARD TO LABEL THINGS THAT ARE TINY.
LIKE YOU SEE LIKE A BULLET SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS CASE.
YOU CAN'T JUST GRAB A SHARPIE AND PUT THE GRAY, LIKE, YOU KNOW, PUT THE MARKINGS IN THE BULLET.
YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO ENGRAVE IT, RIGHT? SO THAT SORT OF LIKE INCREASES THE LIKELIHOOD OF, YOU KNOW, MISSING SOME LITTLE THINGS.
SO AGAIN, WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE RISK OF HANDLING NUMEROUS SMALL ITEMS, RIGHT? BUT WE STILL WANTED TO GIVE IMPORTANCE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE FOLLOWING OUR REQUIREMENTS.
AND, UH, LAST, UM, MY, FOR MY LAST TOPIC, I WANTED TO UPDATE YOU AND MAKE YOU AWARE THAT WE HAVE OUR UPCOMING A NAB REASSESSMENT THAT IS SCHEDULED FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 31ST THROUGH SEPTEMBER 3RD.
NOW, OUR 17 0 2 5 ACCREDITATION PROGRAM RUNS IN A FOUR YEAR CYCLE, RIGHT? SO EVERY FOURTH YEAR, WHICH IS 2026, IS OUR FOURTH YEAR.
WE NEED TO BE, UM, AUDITED ALL OF OUR SECTIONS, ALL OF QUALITY, EVERY SINGLE CORNER OF OUR FACILITIES.
EVERY LABORATORY HAS TO BE AUDITED BY A AND A B IN ORDER TO RENEW OUR ACCREDITATION PROGRAM FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEAR CYCLE.
OKAY? SO THIS ONE IS GOING TO BE VERY COMPARATIVE TO THE INTERNAL AUDIT.
HOWEVER, IT'S GONNA BE CONDUCTED BY A NAB.
WE ARE GONNA HAVE A TEAM LEADER AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF
[01:05:01]
DIFFERENT, UH, TECHNICAL ASSESSORS THAT ARE GONNA COME AND, AND AUDIT US, UM, TO ALL OF THE DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS THAT I TALKED ABOUT.UM, SO YES, WE ARE GONNA BE VERY BUSY THAT WEEK.
AND OF COURSE, JUST LIKE INTERNAL AUDITS, THEY NEED TO DO, THEY NEED TO CHECK ALL OF OUR RECORDS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE COMPLYING, THEY'RE GONNA BE DOING CASE FILE REVIEWS, UH, FOR ALL OF THE STAFF MEMBERS, EVEN THE DEPARTING ONES.
IF THEY CONDUCTED WORK WITHIN THESE LAST FOUR YEARS, THEY NEED TO REVIEW THOSE CASES.
THEY'RE ALSO GONNA BE DOING RIGHT THE DOCUMENT REVIEW TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COMPLYING AND ALL OF OUR RECORDS.
AND THEY'RE ALSO GONNA BE DOING WITNESSING, RIGHT? SO THEY ACTUALLY DIRECTLY OBSERVE THE ANALYST, CONDUCT THE WORK TO MAKE SURE THAT LIKE, YES, YOU ARE FOLLOWING YOUR SRP, UM, TO DETAIL, OR YOU'RE ABLE TO SEE SO MUCH WHEN YOU DO WITNESSING, RIGHT? YOU'RE ABLE TO, UM, NOT ONLY SEE THE IN INSTRUMENTS AND EQUIPMENTS, BUT, UM, I ACTUALLY DO LIKE A LOT OF WITNESSING BECAUSE IT, YOU CAN CROSS A LOT OF CHECK MARKS WITH JUST ONE OBSERVATION.
NOW, UM, WITH THAT SAID, UH, IT IS PRETTY INTENSE PROCESS.
SO THE QUALITY DIVISION IS WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES IN CREATING SOME VIDEOS TO HELP STAFF SET EXPECTATIONS, NOT ONLY FOR THEM, BUT ALSO WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS REMAIN AB AND THE TECHNICAL ASSESSORS AND WHAT THEY NEED TO COMPLETE TO KIND OF MENTALLY PREPARE THEM FOR THIS DAY.
UM, WE ARE GONNA BE RELEASING THE FIRST ONE IN THE SERIES NEXT WEEK.
AND, UM, I WILL WORK WITH NATALIE, UM, TO TRY TO SHARE THAT VIDEO WITH YOU GUYS SO YOU CAN ALSO PREPARE WITH US FOR THIS REASSESSMENT AND KIND OF GET THE LITTLE BEHIND THE SCENES I'LL, I'LL SAY.
SO THAT WAS ONE THAT QUALITY TEAM MADE, AND THEY DID A REALLY GOOD JOB OF IT TOO.
AND IT'S LIKE ACCREDITATION STUFF.
AND I'M INTERESTED, WE DID HAVE A SMALL CAMEO FROM DR. STOUT TOO.
ANY MORE QUESTIONS? I HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS IN THE BOARD? UM, IN YOUR, UH, EXTRA DATA THAT YOU PUT IN HERE, THE TESTIMONY DATA SHOWS SO MUCH TIME IN COURT.
AND SCOTT, YOU WERE KIND OF THINKING, WAS THERE A WAY TO REDUCE THAT, THAT MAYBE THERE WERE PLACES THAT, OR THINGS THAT COULD BE DONE TO REDUCE THE WAIT TIME WHEN PEOPLE ARE GOING TO COURT? OH, UM, NO, I'M NOT, I DON'T REMEMBER THAT.
OH, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT LOTS.
YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT IS A CONSISTENT, AND THIS, IT'S ALSO A CONSISTENT CHALLENGE EVERYWHERE.
UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I, WHEN I GET WITH CRIME LAB DIRECTORS, WE, WE ALL LAMENT THE FACT THAT COURT IS MESSY AND DIFFICULT AND NEVER REALLY TERRIBLY PREDICTABLE.
AND WE END UP WITH PEOPLE SITTING OVER THERE FOR LOTS OF TIME TO, YEAH.
AND, AND YEAH, THAT, THAT IS, I I REMEMBER NOW WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT.
THE, THE, THE PROBLEM YOU RUN INTO IS THAT THE GOOD OLD SIXTH AMENDMENT, RIGHT? TO, TO HAVE WITNESSES APPEAR IN COURT AND, AND, UH, AND YOU'RE ONLY AS GOOD AS THE, THE WILLINGNESS OF THE JUDGES TO ACCOMMODATE SCHEDULING AND, UM, AND, AND TRY TO WORK WITH, UH, THE, THE FORENSIC WITNESSES TO, TO, TO ACCOMMODATE THEIR SCHEDULES.
AND, AND SOME JUDGES JUST WANT, THEIR HIGHEST PRIORITY IS GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, MAXIMIZING THE JUROR'S TIMES AND, AND THEY'LL MAKE YOU ALL WAIT.
AND THAT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, BUT WHAT, WHAT WE CAN DO IS WE'RE, YOU KNOW, IS TALK TO, UH, UM, THE, THE, THE PEOPLE WHO REALLY KIND OF MANAGE THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, THE, THE, THE STAKEHOLDERS AND JUST SEE IF THERE ARE WAYS THAT THEY CAN APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, OUR EFFICIENCY CHALLENGES.
AND I THINK THERE WAS A, A CONVERSATION OR A, UH, AN IDEA THAT PERHAPS THERE COULD BE A SPACE ALLOCATED THAT THEY COULD BE ON THEIR COMPUTERS AND DOING SOME WORK WHILE THEY WERE WAITING.
I, I, I CAN, I'M GONNA FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
AND I THINK ABOUT BUDGET AND YEAH, SO FORTH.
BECAUSE ALSO, REMEMBER THEY JUST ADDED IN THIS LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION, SIX MORE COURTS TO HARRIS COUNTY, WHICH WERE THE FIRST SIX DISTRICT COURTS THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED IN ABOUT 30 YEARS, BUT THEY HAD TO BUILD THOSE COURTS IN THAT BUILDING.
SO THEY'VE CANNIBALIZED A LOT OF SPACE IN THE BUILDING FOR COURTS.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, I COMMEND YOU FOR THE, FOR THIS, THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS OF, OF THE ENTIRE REPORT.
WELL, BECAUSE I THINK INTERNAL AUDITS ARE SO IMPORTANT IN MY QUESTION IS, UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT YOUR INTERNAL AUDITS AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO, HOW DOES IT ALIGN WITH YOUR INTERNAL AUDIT PERFORMANCE? LIKE DOES IT VALIDATE IT? DOES YOUR INTERNAL AUDITS,
[01:10:01]
ARE YOU PICKING ALL THE RIGHT THINGS AND THEY, I DON'T THINK INTERNAL AUDITS IS ENOUGH, RIGHT? OKAY.SO I THINK, UM, WE DO HAVE OTHER INITIATIVES AND PROGRAMS, UM, TO MONITOR OUR SYSTEM FROM DIFFERENT, UM, FROM DIFFERENT SCOPES, RIGHT? UM, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE HAVE THE BLIND PROGRAM, RIGHT? AND THAT'S A GREAT, UM, WAY TO, IT'S LIKE PROFICIENCY TESTING, BUT IT'S MORE LIKE REAL TIME MONITORING BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY SEE HOW THE ANALYSTS TREAT THE EVIDENCE, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEY, THEY THINK IT'S EVIDENCE, NOT, THEY'RE NOT, THEY DON'T KNOW THAT THEY'RE BEING TESTED.
SO THAT'S A GREAT WAY TO MONITOR OUR PROCESSES.
AND UM, AND AGAIN, IF SOMETHING WAS TO HAPPEN, WE WANT IT TO HAPPEN IN THE BLINDS, RIGHT? WE DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN ON CASES.
SO WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING IN THE BLIND PROGRAM, RIGHT? UM, WE ALSO HAVE A BLIND VERIFICATION PROGRAM AS WELL FOR, FOR FIREARMS AND LAY AND PRINTS.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE A, WE HAVE, UM, A BLIND TRANSCRIPT PROGRAM WHERE WE REQUEST TRANSCRIPTS, UM, AND WE BLIND THE CREDENTIALS FOR STAFF MEMBERS AND WE BUILD A COMMITTEE TO EVALUATE THE TRANSCRIPT TO SEE LIKE, DOES THIS MAKE SENSE? WELL, THE COMMITTEE IS COMPRISED OF ONE TECH TECHNICAL PERSON, ONE QUALITY, AND ONE LAY PERSON, MEANING SOMEBODY WHO'S NOT PART OF THE TECHNICAL SECTION.
AND BASICALLY THEY EVALUATE THE TRANSCRIPT TO MAKE SURE THAT LIKE FROM A TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVE, WHAT THEY TESTIFIED ON IS ACCURATE.
UM, BUT THEN FROM THE QUALITY WE LOOK LIKE, WELL, DO YOU KNOW ALL OF THE DIFFERENT QUALITY PROCESSES OR WHATNOT WAS THOSE TESTIFIED IN ACCURATE MANNER? AND THEN THE LAYPERSON, UM, REVIEWS IT TO MAKE SURE THAT, LIKE, DOES THIS MAKE SENSE TO ME? YOU KNOW, NOT BEING PART OF THE SECTION WOULD'VE I UNDERSTOOD IT IF I WAS PART OF THE JURY.
AND IN ADDITION, UM, FOR COURT COURT PURPOSES, WE HAVE A RE WE SET OURSELVES A REQUIREMENT OF HAVING EVERY STAFF MEMBER WHO TESTIFY, WHO TESTIFIES IN COURT TO BE MONITORED AT LEAST ONCE.
BUT THERE ARE SOME SECTIONS THAT GO AND MONITOR THEIR STAFF, UM, MORE, RIGHT? AND THAT'S ALLOWED, UH, SO WE DO HAVE THAT PROGRAM BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ANOTHER OUTPUT OR A SERVICE THAT WE PROVIDE OUR STAKEHOLDERS THAT WE WANNA MONITOR AS WELL.
UM, WHAT ELSE DO WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, INTERNAL AUDITS, POSTMORTEM, AND THEN WE HAVE MANAGEMENT REVIEWS.
AND WE ALSO HAVE POSTMORTEMS, RIGHT? WHERE WE REVIEW THE RESULTS.
UM, SO FOR A SPECIFIC TIMEFRAME, UM, WE HAVE THE TECHNICAL SECTIONS AUDIT, A SAMPLING OF REPORTED CASES TO SEE WERE THERE ANY ISSUES IDENTIFIED ON IT, AND CAN WE ADDRESS THOSE, RIGHT? BECAUSE AGAIN, THOSE REPORTS HAVE ALREADY GONE OUT THE DOOR.
SO THAT'S SORT OF ALL THE DIFFERENT PERS THAT WE HAVE OR TOOLS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR TOOLBOX, UM, TO MONITOR OUR SYSTEM FROM ALL DIFFERENT.
UM, AND I WOULD IMAGINE THAT IT HELPS WHENEVER YOU HAVE THE, YOUR, YOUR SINGLE AUDIT, YOU HAVE YOUR YEAH, IT, ALL OF THESE THINGS AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO HELPS WITH THE, ALL THESE RECORDS.
LIKE WHEN WE COMPILE ALL OF THESE RECORDS, THAT IS BASICALLY WHAT WE USE TO DEMONSTRATE COMPLIANCE TO ALL OF THESE REQUIREMENTS THROUGH ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT REPORTS, RIGHT? BECAUSE IF WE DON'T DOCUMENT IT, IT NEVER HAPPENED.
SO IT'S A LOT OF A, YOU DO IT, BUT THEN YOU NEED TO GO SET THE TIME TO ACTUALLY DOCUMENT IT AND RECORD IT AND SIGN IT AND WHATNOT.
SO THERE'S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY HERE FOR ME TO POINT OUT THE WORK THAT JACKIE AND HER TEAM DO.
'CAUSE I'VE ACTUALLY WAS JUST RECENTLY ON A COUPLE OF WORKSHOPS NATIONALLY TALKING ABOUT THE LIMITATIONS OF ACCREDITATION AND FORENSICS AND TO POINT OUT FOR EVERYTHING THAT CRIME LABORATORIES DO, THE CENTRAL NATURE OF WHAT THIS EVIDENCE IS, OUR REASSESSMENT CYCLE IS ONCE EVERY FOUR YEARS WHEN I WAS IN THE MILITARY SYSTEM AND IN WORKPLACE DRUG TESTING.
SO SOMETHING THAT'S JUST GONNA GET SOMEBODY FIRED, THOSE LABORATORIES GET A REASSESSMENT FOUR TIMES A YEAR.
THE DIFFERENCE IN WHAT HAPPENS IN CRIME LABORATORIES IS KIND OF JAW DROPPING.
AND I'VE, FOR YEARS I'VE USED THE SHTICK OF, UM, RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS.
AND IN NORTH CAROLINA THIS WORKED GREAT BECAUSE IT WAS AN A, B, C KIND OF THING, AND YOU COULD STAY IN BUSINESS SERVING STUFF UNTIL YOU HAD A C.
AND SO THE WAY I WOULD FRAME IT TO PEOPLE IS, IN GENERAL, IN THIS COUNTRY, A LABORATORY, THAT CERTIFICATE ON THE WALL MEANS THE LABORATORY GOT A C.
SO IF YOU GO TO A NEW BARBECUE JOINT HERE ON ONE OF THESE NICE, LOVELY WARM JANUARY, JULY DAYS, AND YOU SEE THEY GOT A C MINUS ON THE WALL, ARE YOU GONNA TRY THE EGG SALAD? THAT'S WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT A LAB FROM THE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM.
SO WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THAT AND WHERE WE'RE AT IS WHAT HER GROUP DOES.
UH, I'M JUST, I'M JUST REALLY INTERESTED IN THE WITNESSING PROCESS IS, IS YES.
ARE ARE, ARE YOU A PASSIVE OBSERVER OR WHEN YOU'RE WATCHING A PROCESS AND YOU
[01:15:01]
SEE AN ERROR OR, OR, OR, OR SOMETHING THAT'S OUTSIDE OF THE SOP, DO YOU INTERVENE OR IS IT JUST A, DO YOU WATCH THE PROCESS AND THEN AFTER THE FACT COUNSEL THE PERSON? UM, WELL, I THINK IT'S VERY DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES, RIGHT? LIKE I CAN KIND OF SPEAK TO MYSELF WHEN I, US WHEN I GO AND DO ASSESSMENTS, RIGHT? AS A TECHNICAL ASSESSOR, UM, YES, IT'S PASSIVE, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU WANT, ACTUALLY, WE JUST HAD THIS CONVERSATION IN THE COMPANY MEETING OF THE IMPORTANCE OF SETTING EXPECTATIONS BEFORE CARRYING ON YOUR WITNESSING, RIGHT? UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SILENCE IS NOT AS AWKWARD.AND JUST LET THEM KNOW THAT LIKE, HEY, I'M GONNA BE OBSERVING YOU.
I'M GONNA BE WRITING DOWN IN MY NOTES WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
AND YES, IF YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING EGREGIOUS OR BE LIKE, HEY, I DON'T SEE THAT IN THE SOP, I THINK IT WOULD BE NATURAL FOR ME TO STOP THEM AND BE LIKE, HEY, CAN, CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY YOU'RE, WHAT YOU'RE DOING HERE? UM, AND ALSO AT THE COMPANY MEETING, I WAS JUST KIND OF LETTING THEM KNOW THAT, OR I USE THE ANALOGY 'CAUSE SOMETIMES I OVEREXPLAIN THINGS AND YOU END UP BEING LIKE A TOUR GUIDE.
UM, JUST TO BE LIKE, PLEASE DON'T FEEL THAT YOU NEED TO BE WALKING THEM AND EXPLAINING EVERY STEP YOU'RE DOING BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT THEM TO BE PIPETTING AND TALKING TO SOMEBODY AT THE MOST CRUCIAL POINT OR THE RISK POINT IN THEIR PROCESS TO NOT DO IT IN THE RIGHT WELL OR, OR THE RIGHT BALANCE OR WHATNOT.
SO IT'S MORE OF THOSE KNOWING WHAT YOU WANT, WHAT YOU CAN SAY AND DO.
AND THAT'S PART OF LIKE THE SERIES, THE PREP SERIES THAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING JUST TO PEOPLE TO SAY MAYBE WHAT MIGHT BE OBVIOUS TO ME, BUT THERE'S SO MANY NEW PEOPLE IN OUR LABORATORY, UM, THAT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND MORE OF LIKE THE EXPECTATIONS AND YOU KNOW, IT'S OKAY TO SET THEM OR WHAT IS OKAY OR NOT, OR LIKE, WE DON'T EXPECT YOU TO BE CARING OR TALKING, RIGHT.
IT'S MORE PASSIVE FLY ON THE WALL KIND OF WATCHING.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? GOOD QUESTIONS? YES.
IT WAS REALLY, REALLY A GOOD PRESENTATION.
NOW FOR THE AGENDA, ITEM 11, WHICH IS THE ADJOURNMENT.
SMILEY, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? SO MOVED.
OH, I GUESS NOBODY WANTS TO ADJOURN.
ANYONE WANNA ORDER LUNCH? IS THERE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? SO MOVED.
AND WE WILL SEE YOU ON SEPTEMBER 11TH, WHICH IS THE NEXT, UH, BOARD DATE.
WAIT, DIRECTOR, YOU AS A WAIT.
DID YOU THINK SOMETHING DIFFERENT? NO.
HAVE A GOOD REST OF YOUR SUMMER.