* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] 2026 [Budget and Fiscal Affairs on August 10, 2026.] BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE. MY NAME IS SALLY ALCORN. I'M THE CHAIR OF THIS COMMITTEE, AND I CALL THIS COMMITTEE TO ORDER AND WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE. WE ARE JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER JOAQUIN MARTINEZ, VICE MAYOR, PRO TEM AMY PECK, COUNCIL MEMBER JOE PANZA AND STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, HUFFMAN'S, RAMIREZ'S THOMAS'S MAYOR, PRO TEM CASTEX, TATUMS, AND CARTER'S. AND MY VICE CHAIR, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER MARIO CASTILLO. STAFF IS HERE AS WELL. AND SALINAS, SORRY, I YOU WERE KIND OF OVER IN THE CARTER CHA. HE'S GONE. OH, SALINAS IS BACK THERE. OH, OKAY. . OKAY. WE ARE READY TO GO. WE ARE, WE HAVE A FULL AGENDA AND I KNOW EVERYONE'S INTERESTED IN THE OVERTIME PRESENTATION, SO WE WILL JUMP RIGHT IN AND I WILL YIELD TO THE, UM, CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, WILL JONES AND MELISSA DUBKE, FINANCE DIRECTOR. ALRIGHT. CAN WE LOWER JUST A LITTLE BIT? CAN WE LOWER DOWN JUST A LITTLE BIT, THE PODIUM? THAT'S GOOD. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. GOOD AFTERNOON, MADAM CHAIR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL AND STAFF. I AM PLEASED TO PRESENT THE QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING JUNE 30TH, 2026. AS A REMINDER, ALTHOUGH THIS IS THE FINAL REPORT FOR FY 26 ACTUALS WILL CONTINUE TO BE ACCRUED THROUGH AUGUST 31ST. THE NUMBERS WILL NOT BE FINAL UNTIL THE COMPLETION OF THE YEAREND AUDIT AND THE RELEASE OF THE FY 26 ACT FOR. SO MOVING ON TO THE GENERAL FUND, THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE PROJECTS AN ENDING FUND BALANCE OF 319.2 MILLION, OR 12.1% OF EXPENDITURES EXCLUDING DEBT SERVICE IN PEGO. THIS IS 5.7 MILLION LOWER THAN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT'S PROJECTION, PRIMARILY DUE TO A MORE CONSERVATIVE REVENUE FORECAST IN THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE. BASED ON CURRENT PROJECTIONS, THE ENDING FUND BALANCE WILL REMAIN APPROXIMATELY 121.1 MILLION ABOVE THE CITY'S POLICY TARGET OF HOLDING 7.5% OF EXPENDITURES EXCLUDING DEBT SERVICE AND PEGO. WE HAVE INCREASED OUR REVENUE PROJECTION BY 26.6 MILLION FROM LAST MONTH'S REPORT WITH THE FOLLOWING KEY CHANGES. PROPERTY TAX DECREASED 18.7 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED HEARING LOSS. SALES TAX INCREASED 17 MILLION AS COLLECTIONS CONTINUE TO EXCEED EXPECTATIONS. THAT BRINGS OUR CURRENT PROJECTION TO 30 937 MILLION. UP FROM THE 920 MILLION WE REPORTED LAST MONTH. WE ANTICIPATE RECEIVING THE JUNE SALES TAX RECEIPTS THIS WEEK, WHICH WILL BE THE FINAL SALES TAX RECEIPT FOR FY 20, FOR FY 26, AND THOSE FINAL RECEIPTS WILL INCLUDE THE IMPACT OF THE WORLD CUP STARTING IN JUNE. SO THE NUMBER REPORTED TODAY COULD BE HIGHER WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE FOR INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVENUE, IT INCREASED BY 15.4 MILLION, FOLLOWING A REASSESSMENT OF THE TS TO BETTER ALIGN WITH THE INCREASING COST OF SERVICE. AS A REMINDER, FINANCE REFLECTED THIS CHANGE A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, AND AFTER SEVERAL HEALTHY DISCUSSIONS WITH FINANCE, WE ARE IN ALIGNMENT. AND THEREFORE, REFLECTING THE CHANGE THIS MONTH FOR INDUSTRIAL ASSESSMENTS, WE INCREASED 5.4 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED TAXABLE VALUATIONS. CHARGES FOR SERVICES INCREASED 2.2 MILLION, PRIMARILY FROM STRONGER THAN EXPECTED AMBULANCE FEE COLLECTIONS. FOR MISCELLANEOUS AND OTHER REVENUE, WE INCREASED 1.4 MILLION, PRIMARILY DUE TO FIREFIGHTER DEPLOYMENT REIMBURSEMENTS. SALES OF CAPITAL ASSETS INCREASED 1.4 MILLION FROM, UH, HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED LAND AND EASEMENT SALES. OUR EXPENDITURE PROJECTION DECREASED BY 16 MILLION FROM LAST MONTH'S REPORT DUE TO YEAR END SAVINGS IN VARIOUS CATEGORIES, INCLUDING PERSONNEL, SUPPLIES AND SERVICES. SO MOVING ON TO KEY CHANGES IN THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS FOR THE AVIATION OP AVIATION OPERATING FUND, OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY 16.9 MILLION, PRIMARILY DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED TERMINAL SPACE AND GROUND RENTAL FEES. OPERATING EXPENSES DECREASED BY 2.5 MILLION DUE TO LOWER SERVICE COSTS OFFSET BY HIGHER PERSONNEL SERVICES. NONE OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY 6.9 MILLION, PRIMARILY DUE TO HIGHER INTEREST INCOME. AS A RESULT, OPERATING TRANSFERS TO THE AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT FUND INCREASED BY 26.2 MILLION FOR THE CONVENTION AND ENTERTAINMENT FACILITIES. OPERATING FUND. OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY 1 MILLION, DRIVEN BY HIGHER GARAGE GARAGE PARKING REVENUES. OPERATING EXPENSES INCREASED BY 0.7 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED ARBITRAGE EXPENSE. NON-OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED [00:05:01] BY 5.8 MILLION, PRIMARILY DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED HOT COLLECTIONS AND INTEREST INCOME OPERATING TRANSFERS INCREASE BY 3.5 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER TRANSFERS TO HOUSTON FIRST CORPORATION. FOR THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM FUND, OPERATING REVENUES DECREASED BY 25.2 MILLION DUE TO A DECREASE IN WATER AND SEWER REVENUES. OPERATING EXPENSES DECREASED BY 123.7 MILLION DUE TO LOWER SPENDING IN PERSONNEL SUPPLIES AND SERVICES. NON-OPERATING REVENUES INCREASE BY 19.8 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER LAND SALES AND INTEREST INCOME. OPERATING TRANSFERS DECREASE BY 62.6 MILLION DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED CAPITAL EQUIPMENT PURCHASES TRANSFERS TO CAPITAL PROJECTS AND TO THE STORMWATER FUND FOR THE DEDICATED DRAINAGE TREATS. RENEWAL, UH, FUND FOR AVALARA REVENUES INCREASED BY 0.3 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER INTEREST INCOME EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 65.2 MILLION, PRIMARILY DUE TO LOWER TRANSFER TO CAPITAL PROJECTS. DELAYS IN CONTRACT SPENDING AND CAPITAL VEHICLE PURCHASES FOR THE D-D-S-R-F DRAINAGE FUND REVENUES INCREASED BY 1.5 MILLION TO REFLECT HIGHER DRAINAGE REVENUE AND HIGHER INTEREST INCOME WHILE EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 39.2 MILLION DUE TO LOWER TRANSFER TO CAPITAL PROJECTS AND PERSONNEL AND OTHER SERVICE SAVINGS FOR THE D-D-S-R-F METRO REVENUES DECREASED BY 10.1 MILLION DUE TO LOWER METRO REIMBURSEMENT EXPENDITURES, DECREASED BY 9.1 MILLION DUE TO SAVINGS IN PERSONNEL AND LOWER INFRAS INFRASTRUCTURE AND MAINTENANCE SPENDING IN THE STORMWATER FUND. REVENUES DECREASED BY 19.2 MILLION DUE TO A LOWER TRANSFER FROM THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM, WHILE THE EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 25 POINT, UH, 7 MILLION DUE TO SAVINGS AND PERSONNEL, DELAYED VEHICLE PURCHASES AND LOWER DEMOLITION SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE SPENDING. SO MOVING ON TO THE COMMERCIAL PAPER AND BONDS, THE CITY'S PRACTICE HAS BEEN TO MAINTAIN NO MORE THAN 20% OF THE TOTAL OUTSTANDING DEBT FOR EACH TYPE OF DEBT AND VARIABLE RATE STRUCTURE. AND AS OF JUNE 30TH, 2026, ALL OUTSTANDING DEBT IS WITHIN THAT THRESHOLD. SO WITH THAT MADAM CHAIR, I'LL MOVE TO THE QUARTERLY INVESTMENT AND SWAT REPORTS. SO FOR THE QUARTERLY INVESTMENT REPORT, AS OF JUNE 30TH, 2026, THE CITY HAS $7.42 BILLION INVESTED IN OUR JOURNAL INVESTMENT POOL. THE CHARACTER OF THIS POOL IS THAT OF A SHORT TIME BOND FUND THAT HOLDS INVESTMENTS OF VERY HIGH CREDIT QUALITY. OUR INVESTMENT STRATEGY IS TO MATCH ASSETS AND LIABILITY LIABILITIES FOR A TIME PERIOD OF ONE YEAR IN THE FUTURE, AND TO EXERCISE DISCRETION FOR THE BALANCE OF REMAINING FUNDS. INVESTMENTS ARE 1.72 BILLION HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR, AND THIS IS PRIMARILY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE NEW BOND TRANSACTION IN AVIATION NEW BOND TRANSACTION IN THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM AND ALSO IN CONVENTION AND ENTERTAINMENT. AS OF JUNE 30TH, 2026, THE JOURNAL INVESTMENT POOL WAS YIELDING 4.008%, WHICH IS DOWN FROM THE 4.035% YIELD IN THE PRIOR QUARTER. IN ADDITION, THE GENERAL INVESTMENT POOL, WE HAVE TWO SMALL INVESTMENT POOLS THAT TOTAL ABOUT 16 MILLION, AND THOSE POOLS EXIST TO COMPLY WITH TAX REQUIREMENTS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. A DETAILED LISTING OF ALL THE SECURITIES OWNED BY THE CITY APPEAR AT THE BACK OF THE INVESTMENT REPORT. AND FOR THE QUARTERLY SWAT REPORT, THE CITY HAD A NET PAID FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30TH, 2026, FROM ITS SWAPS OF 786,000. FAIR VALUE FOR BOTH SWAPS AS OF JUNE 30TH, 2026 WAS A NEGATIVE 47 MILLION, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY A NEGATIVE 12 MILLION LESS THAN PRIOR YEARS QUARTER OF A NEGATIVE 59 MILLION. THE CITY SWAPS ARE FAIRLY COMPLEX, SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THE REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT VERNON LEWIS, OUR CITY TREASURER. AND WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU WILL. I APPRECIATE THAT. AND I'D LIKE TO WELCOME COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIE DAVIS TO THE HORSESHOE. MELISSA. GOOD AFTERNOON. THIS IS THE 12 PLUS ZERO FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING JUNE 30TH, 2026. FISCAL YEAR 26 PROJECTIONS ARE BASED ON 12 MONTHS OF ACTUAL RESULTS. HOWEVER, AS, UM, MR. JONES MENTIONED, INVOICES FOR GOODS AND SERVICES PROVIDED IN FISCAL YEAR 26 DO CONTINUE TO COME IN AND AS THOSE EXPENSES CONTINUE TO BE RECORDED AS, UH, AS ACCRUALS FOR FISCAL YEAR 26 UNTIL AUGUST 31ST. SO THE RESULTS ARE NOT QUITE FINAL UNTIL THE PUBLICATION OF THE FY 26 ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT, WHICH SHOULD BE, UH, AT THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR. SO NEXT MONTH WILL BE THE FIRST MONTH THAT WE PRESENT THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE FIRST PERIOD OF FISCAL YEAR 27. UM, SO AGAIN, THIS IS JUST TO KIND OF, KIND OF CLOSE OUT WHERE WE SEE THE PROJECTIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 26. UM, BUT JUST AS A REMINDER, AT THE TIME OF THE FY 27 ADOPTED BUDGET FORMULATION, THE BEGINNING FUND BALANCE WAS ESTIMATED TO BE ABOUT $300 MILLION. SINCE THIS 12 PLUS ZERO FINANCIAL REPORT, WE'RE [00:10:01] PROJECTING THAT BALANCE TO BE ABOUT 325 MILLION, WHICH IS AN INCREASE OF 25 MILLION. SO WE'LL GO THROUGH THE, THE PLUSES AND MINUSES FOR THE, UM, FOR THE GENERAL FUND. FOR THE GENERAL FUND, OUR REVENUE PROJECTION IS 21.1 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE ADOPTED BUDGET, AND 8.8 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH. THE VARIANCE FROM PRIOR MONTH PROJECTION IS DUE TO, UH, INCREASE OF 16.7 MILLION IN SALES TAX REVENUE DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED SALES TAX RECEIPTS. A $3 MILLION INCREASE IN INDUSTRIAL ASSESSMENTS DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED COLLECTIONS, A $2.9 MILLION INCREASE IN CHARGES FOR SERVICES DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED AMBULANCE FEES. A $2 MILLION INCREASE IN LICENSES AND PERMITS MAINLY DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED FOOD DEALER PERMITS. SPECIAL FIRE PERMITS AND BURGLAR ALARM PERMITS A $1.4 MILLION INCREASE IN SALE OF CAPITAL ASSETS DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED LAND SALES, A $1.3 MILLION INCREASE IN MISCELLANEOUS AND OTHER, PRIMARILY DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED FIREFIGHTER DEPLOYMENT REIMBURSEMENTS THAT ARE RECOGNIZED IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT'S REVENUE ACCOUNT, A 1.1 $0.0 MILLION INCREASE IN INTEREST TO REFLECT HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED INTEREST EARNINGS. AND THESE ARE OFFSET BY AN $18.7 MILLION DECREASE IN GENERAL PROPERTY TAX DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED COLLECTIONS. WE ALSO WERE REFLECTING A $1 MILLION DECREASE IN INTERGOVERNMENTAL TO REFLECT LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED TURS MUNICIPAL SERVICE FEES FROM OUR PREVIOUS PROJECTION AFTER THOSE HEALTHY DISCUSSIONS THAT, UM, MR. JONES MENTIONED. UM, SO FOR SALES TAX, UM, THE RECEIPTS FOR THE MONTH OF MAY WERE 79.6 MILLION, OR ABOUT 7% HIGHER THAN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR. TO MEET THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT'S CURRENT PROJECTION OF 937 MILLION. THE REMAINING PERIOD, UH, FOR JUNE EARNED WOULD NEED TO BE, UH, FLAT TO THE PRIOR YEAR. ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE, OUR PROJECTION IS 101 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE ADOPTED BUDGET AND $16 MILLION LOWER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH. THE VARIANCE FROM THE PRIOR MONTH PROJECTION IS DUE TO YEAR END SAVINGS AND PERSONNEL SUPPLIES AND SERVICE SERVICES ACROSS VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS CITYWIDE. SO, TOGETHER WITH THE REVENUES, WE'RE CURRENTLY PROJECTING THE ENDING FUND BALANCE TO BE 324 MILLION, WHICH IS ABOUT 25 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH, AND REPRESENTS 12.3% OF ESTIMATED EXPENDITURES, NOT INCLUDING DEBT SERVICE IN PAY ISSUE GO. SO, AS A REMINDER, WHEN WE ADOPTED THE FISCAL YEAR 26 BUDGET BACK IN JUNE OF 2025, THE PROJECTED FISCAL YEAR 26 ENDING FUND BALANCE WAS $305 MILLION, OR ABOUT 12%. SO WE'RE ENDING THE YEAR JUST ABOUT $20 MILLION HIGHER IN THE FUND BALANCE THAN WE THOUGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FISCAL YEAR. EVEN FACTORING ALL THE CHANGES TO THE REVENUES AND THE EXPENDITURES THAT WE MENTIONED, THIS FUND BALANCE IS 126.8 MILLION ABOVE THE TARGET OF HOLDING 7.5% OF EXPENDITURES, NOT INCLUDING DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO. MOVING ON TO THE ENTERPRISE SPECIAL REVENUE AND OTHER FUNDS IN THE AVIATION FUND, OPERATING REVENUES INCREASE BY 17 MILLION, PRIMARILY DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED TERMINAL SPACE RENTAL FEES. OPERATING EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 2.5 MILLION, PRIMARILY DUE TO SAVINGS AND SERVICES AND NON-OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY 6.8 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED INTEREST ON POOLED INVESTMENTS. AND AS A RESULT, THE OPERATING TRANSFERS INCREASE BY 26.2 MILLION FOR THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM. OPERATING REVENUES DECREASE BY 25 MILLION DUE TO A DECREASE IN, UH, WATER AND SEWER REVENUES. MOST OF THOSE, UH, DECREASES IN REVENUES ARE OFFSET BY NON-OPERATING REVENUES, WHICH INCREASE BY 19.8 MILLION, PRIMARILY DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED LAND SALES AND INTEREST ON POOLED INVESTMENTS. ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE, OPERATING EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY $124 MILLION DUE TO SAVINGS AND PERSONNEL SUPPLIES IN SERVICES AND OPERATING TRANSFERS DECREASED BY 62.6 MILLION DUE TO A LOWER TRANSFER TO CAPITAL PROJECTS AND DELAY IN CAPITAL AND NON-CAPITAL EQUIPMENT PURCHASES. SO THE NET RESULT FOR THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM IS A POSITIVE OF $180 MILLION, BRINGING THE FISCAL YEAR 26 FUND BALANCE UP FROM AN ESTIMATED 1.48 BILLION TO $1.67 BILLION ON THE CONVENTION ENTERTAINMENT FUND. OPERATING REVENUES INCREASE BY 991,000 DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED GARAGE AND SURFACE PARKING REVENUES. NON-OPERATING REVENUES INCREASE BY 5.8 MILLION, MAINLY DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED DELINQUENT ON HOT COLLECTIONS AND NON-OPERATING EXPENDITURES INCREASED BY ABOUT 800,000 DUE TO ARBITRAGE EXPENSE RESULTING FROM AN ADDITIONAL PAYMENT FOR BONDS. AS A RESULT, THE OPERATING TRANSFERS INCREASED BY 3.5 MILLION IN THE D-D-S-R-F AD VALOREM FUND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY $65 MILLION, [00:15:01] PRIMARILY DUE TO A LOWER TRANSFER TO CAPITAL PROJECTS D-D-S-R-F DRAINAGE CHARGE REVENUES INCREASED BY 1.5 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED INTEREST ON POOLED INVESTMENTS AND DRAINAGE REVENUES. EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 39 MILLION DUE TO A LOWER TRANSFER TO CAPITAL PROJECTS AND LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED IN FUND LEGAL IN D-D-S-R-F METRO REVENUES DECREASED BY 10 MILLION DUE TO A LOWER REIMBURSEMENT FROM METRO, BUT EXPENDITURES, UM, OFFSET THAT BY DECREASING BY 9 MILLION DUE TO SAVINGS IN PERSONNEL AND SERVICES IN THE STORMWATER FUND. EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 26 MILLION, PRIMARILY DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE CONTRACT COSTS, WHILE STILL ACHIEVING THE COMMITTED ROADSIDE DITCH PERFORMANCE MEASURES, UM, AS WELL AS PERSONNEL SAVINGS. UM, AND IN THE STORM WATER FUND, WE TALK ABOUT THE ROADSIDE DITCH PERFORMANCE MEASURES. THE GOAL, UM, IN THAT PROGRAM WAS TO DO THE 500 MILES AND THEY WERE ABLE TO COMPLETE 536 MILES. UM, EVEN WITH THE LOWER EXPENDITURE PROJECTION IN THE HEALTH BENEFITS FUND. REVENUES DECREASED BY 2 MILLION DUE TO LOWER ENROLLMENT AND NON-OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY 740,000 TO REFLECT REFUNDS FROM FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS AND HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED INTEREST ON POOLED INVESTMENTS EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 5.5 MILLION DUE TO LOWER CLAIMS AND PERSONNEL SAVINGS IN THE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY FUND. REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 9 MILLION DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED COSTS FOR LEGAL SERVICES AND INSURANCE PREMIUM COSTS IN THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION FUND. OPERATING REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES BOTH DECREASED BY 4.2 MILLION DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED CLAIMS IN THE ASSET FORFEITURE FUND. EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 2.5 MILLION DUE TO SAVINGS IN PERSONNEL AND DELAYS IN COMPUTER EQUIPMENT PURCHASES IN THE BUILDING INSPECTION FUND REVENUES DECREASED BY 5.7 MILLION DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED PERMIT AND CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES, WHILE EXPENDITURES ALSO DECREASE, UM, BY 6.8 MILLION DUE TO SAVINGS IN PERSONNEL SUPPLIES AND SERVICES. AND THE CABLE TV FUND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 2 MILLION, PRIMARILY DUE TO SAVINGS IN SERVICE AND DELAYS IN EQUIPMENT PURCHASES. AND THE CONTAINER LEASE FUND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 700,000, PRIMARILY DUE TO DELAYS IN CAPITAL AND NON-CAPITAL EQUIPMENT PURCHASES. AND THE ESSENTIAL PUBLIC HEALTH FUND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 1.3 MILLION, PRIMARILY DUE TO SAVINGS IN PERSONNEL AND SERVICES ON THE HOUSTON OPIOID ABATEMENT FUND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 1.5 MILLION TO REFLECT SAVINGS IN PERSONNEL SUPPLIES AND SERVICES AND THE MAINTENANCE RENEWAL AND REPLACEMENT FUND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 4 MILLION TO REFLECT SAVINGS IN PERSONNEL SUPPLIES AND SERVICES. AND THE PARK SPECIAL REVENUE FUND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 2 MILLION TO REFLECT SAVINGS IN PERSONNEL SUPPLIES AND SERVICES. UM, AND IN THE PARK HOUSTON SPECIAL REVENUE FUND REVENUES DECREASED BY 800,000 DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED COLLECTIONS FOR METERED PARKING AND CONTRACT PARKING. IN THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL REVENUE FUND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 1.1 MILLION DUE TO SAVINGS IN PERSONNEL SUPPLIES AND SERVICES IN THE POLICE SPECIAL SERVICES FUND REVENUES DECREASED BY 2 MILLION DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED REIMBURSEMENT FOR POLICE SERVICES, BUT EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 3.2 MILLION DUE TO SAVINGS IN PERSONNEL SUPPLIES AND SERVICES. IN THE RECYCLING REVENUE FUND, REVENUES DECREASED BY 3.8 MILLION AND EXPENDITURES INCREASED BY 1 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED PERSONNEL CHARGEBACK IN THE SPECIAL WASTE TRANSPORTATION AND INSPECTION FUND EXPENDITURES DECREASED BY 955,000 DUE TO DELAYS IN EQUIPMENT PURCHASES AND SAVINGS IN PERSONNEL AND SERVICES. UM, AND SINCE IT'S THE QUARTERLY REPORT, I'LL GIVE A BRIEF UPDATE ON THE HOUSTON ECONOMY FOR THE EMPLOYMENT. ACCORDING TO THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, THE PRELIMINARY TOTAL NON-FARM EMPLOYMENT FOR THE HOUSTON WOODLANDS SUGARLAND METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA STOOD AT ABOUT 3.5 MILLION IN MAY OF 2026, WHICH IS UP APPROXIMATELY 0.5% COMPARED TO THE PRIOR MONTH. AND WHEN COMPARED TO THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, THE NON-FARM EMPLOYMENT IS UP BY 0.9%. THE PRELIMINARY UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR THE MONTH OF MAY WAS 4.6%. IN MAY OF 2025, THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 4.2%, SO A SMALL UPTICK THERE. AND THE ENERGY SECTOR, THE AVERAGE OIL PRICE WAS $85, UH, FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE, WHICH WAS ABOUT 16% LOWER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH, UH, COMPARED TO THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR THOUGH THE PRICE WAS, UH, UP BY ABOUT 25% IN HOME SALES. THE LATEST REPORT FROM THE HOUSTON ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE SHOWS THE TOTAL SINGLE FAMILY HOME SALES WAS ABOUT 3.5% HIGHER COMPARED TO JUNE OF 2025. BUT THAT THE MEDIAN PRICE DECREASED BY ABOUT 0.3%. AND THAT CONCLUDES THE ECONOMIC REPORT. UM, I DID JUST WANNA TOUCH ON SOME GOOD NEWS THAT WE RECEIVED LAST WEEK FROM [00:20:01] MOODY'S, ONE OF OUR THREE RATING AGENCIES. UM, MOODY'S LET US KNOW THAT, UM, THEY, AFTER CAREFULLY REVIEWING THE GENERAL OBLIGATION CREDIT THAT THEY WERE, UM, UPGRADING THE CITY'S CREDIT, UM, FROM DOUBLE A THREE TO DOUBLE A TWO, SO A ONE NOTCH UPGRADE. UM, THIS IS A VERY SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE FOR THE GENERAL OBLIGATION CREDIT. UM, AS WE HAD THE PREVIOUS RATING OF THE AA THREE SINCE ABOUT 2015 WHEN MOODY'S DOWNGRADED US AT THE TIME, WE HAD THE OIL DOWNTURN, UM, AND SAW, SAW DECREASE IN SALES TAX AT THAT TIME. UM, SINCE THAT TIME, YOU KNOW, WE WENT THROUGH THE PENSION REFORM IN 2017, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT MOODY'S REALLY, UM, TOOK A STRONG FOCUS ON. UM, YOU KNOW, THEY ALSO CITE OUR REVENUE CAP AS A LIMITATION TO US, BUT THEY DID SEE, UM, OUR MOVEMENT WITH THE FISCAL YEAR 27 BUDGET AS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND A SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE FOR US. UM, SO OF COURSE WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE RATING AGENCIES EVERY TIME WE HAVE A BOND TRANSACTION. WE ALSO HAVE OUR ANNUAL, UM, UH, RATINGS PROCESS THAT WE GO THROUGH ALL, ALL OF THE RATING AGENCIES. UM, AND SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO DIALOGUE WITH THE RATING AGENCIES, NOT JUST ABOUT THE GENERAL OBLIGATION CREDIT, BUT ON OUR OTHER CREDITS AS WELL. UM, AND WE KNOW THAT, UM, THERE'S CON YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S REALLY A CONTINUAL PROCESS WITH ALL OF THE RATING AGENCIES. UM, SO, BUT WE ARE VERY EXCITED ON THE GENERAL OBLIGATION SIDE. IT'S REALLY, UM, A REFLECTION OF THE, OF THE BUDGET AND SOME OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT REALLY PUT US ON FIRMER FINANCIAL FOOTING, UM, FOR THE FUTURE. SO, UH, THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT FOR TODAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND YES, GOOD NEWS INDEED ON THE, ON THE UPGRADE. WHAT, WHEN WAS THE LAST ONE? WHEN, WHEN, HOW LONG HAVE WE BEEN AT AA? THREE? UH, SINCE 2015. SINCE 2015? MM-HMM . OKAY. AND I HEARD YOU SAY SOMETHING ON THE, UM, ON THE CUS, THE FUND BALANCE AT THE CUS WENT FROM, WE WERE AT 1.4 AND WE'RE AT 1.7, IS THAT RIGHT? SO, RIGHT, SO, UM, BECAUSE THERE WAS A SMALL, UH, DECREASE, WELL, $25 MILLION IS SMALL TO THE UTILITY I GUESS, BUT $25 MILLION DECREASE IN THE REVENUE PROJECTION FOR THE UTILITY. BUT THEY ALSO HAVE, UM, SAVINGS, RECOGNIZED SAVINGS, 123 OF ABOUT 124 MILLION. UM, AND SO THERE WAS ALSO A SAVINGS ON THE TRANSFER TO CAPITAL PROJECTS. SO IT WAS A NET POSITIVE OF ABOUT $180 MILLION. SO AT THE TIME WE DID THE, UM, AT THE TIME WE PUT OUT THE FISCAL YEAR 27 BUDGET, WE WERE PROJECTING THE FISCAL YEAR 26 FUND BALANCE FOR THE UTILITY TO BE 1.48 BILLION. SO THIS WILL BRING THAT PROJECTION TO 1.67 BILLION. OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S FOR FISCAL YEAR 26 WITH FISCAL YEAR 27. THE, THE PROJECTED FUND BALANCE IS A LITTLE BIT LOWER THAN THAT, BUT IT'S STILL $180 MILLION, YOU KNOW, BETTER THAN WE THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA BE AT THE TIME WE DID THE BUDGET. SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO REPORT ON THAT AND TRACK THAT. OKAY, GOT IT. THAT'S IMPORTANT. UM, COUNCIL MEMBER PANZA, THANK YOU CHAIR, THANK YOU BOTH FOR, FOR BEING HERE TODAY. I JUST HAD A QUICK QUESTION ON THE D-D-S-R-F FUNDS. UM, ON THAT DECREASE THERE, 65.2 MILLION, I BELIEVE, OTHER PARTICULAR PROJECTS THAT DIDN'T OCCUR, OR WHAT'S THE KIND OF MAIN REASON FOR THAT DECREASE THERE? THANKS. I DON'T HAVE ANY PARTICULAR LIST OF PROJECTS. I MEAN, I WOULD SAY THAT THE WAY THAT THE D-D-S-R-F FUNDS WORK IS THEIR PAY AS YOU GO FUNDS, EVEN THOUGH THE PROJECTS ARE CAPITAL IN NATURE AND CAN TAKE MANY YEARS TO COMPLETE A LARGE PROJECT. UM, SO IT'S REALLY MORE OF A TIMING ISSUE. AND I KNOW, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER PECK HAS HER, HAS HER KEEN EYE ON THE FUND BALANCE IN THOSE D-D-S-R-F FUNDS. SO, UM, THE FUNDING DOES OF COURSE STILL STAY WITH THE D-D-S-R-F AND WILL STAY IN THE D-D-S-R-F FUND BALANCE TO BE SPENT IN FISCAL YEAR 27. YEAH, AND I WAS JUST GONNA SAY THAT WE TYPICALLY SEE THAT AND IT'S BEEN QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR WHY WE AREN'T SPENDING THE MONEY. UM, BUT YEAH, THAT, THAT'S, UH, WHAT WE TYPICALLY SEE TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR AND THOSE FUNDS. PERFECT. THANK YOU. YEAH, KIND OF THE SAME THING ON THE CSI MEAN, WHILE IT'S GOOD TO SAVE MONEY IN THE ENTERPRISE FUND AND BUILD UP THE FUND BALANCE, IT'S ALSO LIKE, LET'S SPEND THE MONEY ON THE, ON THE NEED WATER SEWER SYSTEM. SO YOU'LL SEE IN, UM, IN ALL, AND YOU KNOW, THESE QUARTERLY REPORTS, WE GO THROUGH ALL THE FUNDS AND SO MANY, AT THE END OF THE YEAR, YOU DO SEE THE, THE DECREASE, THE PERSONNEL SAVINGS, THE THINGS THAT HAVE KIND OF LIKE SAVED TILL THE END TO, TO TRUE UP. SO, UM, THAT'S WHY YOU SEE ALL THOSE DECREASES. BUT, UM, I DON'T SEE ANYONE ELSE IN THE QUEUE. I DO KNOW WE HAD A QUESTION FROM DOUG ON THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT. DOUG, IF YOU WANNA COME UP AND ASK THAT QUESTION NOW. UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS. ACTUALLY, HAVE MORE THAN ONE [00:25:01] QUESTION, IF THAT'S OKAY. OH, SURE. MORE THAN ONE QUESTION ON THE, ON THE MOER IS GREAT. OKAY. UH, FIRST OF ALL, LAST TIME I WAS HERE, UH, ON PAGE 49 OF THE REPORT, I QUESTIONED HOW THEY COULD HAVE, UH, A MIL A BILLION DOLLARS OF REFUNDING BONDS WHEN THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY BONDS OUTSTANDING IN THE PRIOR YEAR. AND THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE GOT BACK TO ME AND THEY CHANGED THE WORDING ON THAT TO INCLUDE REFUNDING AND FIRST LIEN BONDS. SO THAT'S BEEN CORRECT. DOUG IS GONNA FOREVER SAVE US FROM OURSELVES IN THE MOER . YOU ARE, YOU HAVE MADE SO MANY IMPROVEMENTS TO THE MOER WITH YOUR, WITH YOUR COMMENTS. THANK YOU, DOUG. UH, NEXT ON PAGE 54, UH, IT'S THE, UH, FULL-TIME EQUIVALENCE AND, UH, UNDER THE FISCAL YEAR 26 ADOPTED BUDGET, THEY SHOW THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WITH 94 FULL-TIME EQUIVALENTS. AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S RIGHT AND I DON'T KNOW WHY, UH, IT'S PAGE 54, UH, THAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. WHAT'S THIS QUESTION? YEAH, THE CLASSIFIED ON THE NEXT PAGE. OH, OKAY. YEAH. 'CAUSE I WAS NOTICING POLICE WAS LOW TOO. I'M SORRY. SO IT LOOKS LIKE THE CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES FOR FIRE ARE LISTED ON PAGE 55. OKAY. SO THAT ANSWERS THAT QUESTION. UH, YEAH, BUT IT, IT WAS NOT CLEAR WHEN I FIRST LOOKED AT IT. THEN UNDER THE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY FUND, UH, IT SHOWS PERSONNEL COST OF ABOUT, UH, $11 MILLION AND THAT WOULD EQUATE ABOUT AT $150,000, UH, A PERSON THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD EQUATE TO AROUND 70 PEOPLE. AND THAT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE FOR THAT DEPARTMENT FOR WHICH PROPERTY AND CASUALTY IT'S PAGE 30 OF THE, UH, OF THE REPORT. WE CAN GET, WE CAN GET SOME, WE CAN GET YOU SOME INFORMATION ON THAT. AND, UH, THIS IS SORT OF SIMILAR TO THE D-D-S-R-F ON THE MAINTENANCE AND RENEWAL FUND. UH, THEIR TOTAL EXPENSES WERE $39 MILLION AND AT THE END OF THE YEAR THEY ENDED WITH ABOUT 18 MILLION. SO THEY HAD HALF OF IT THAT THEY DIDN'T SPEND. AND WITH ALL OF ALL OF THE THINGS THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE, UH, AROUND THE RIGHT CITY, I UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S OUR $800 MILLION OR I DON'T KNOW WHY THERE'S DEFERRED MAINTENANCE. NO, AGREED. UH, LEFT. AND WE CAN ASK SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT TOO. DOUG, PAGE 51, UH, THIS IS ON THE OTHER POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. UH, IT SHOWS THE ACTUAL DETERMINED CONTRIBUTION OF $170 MILLION AND THEN IT SHOWS THE ACTUAL EXPENSE OF $14 MILLION. IS THAT ALL THEY CONTRIBUTED TO THE 170? LESS THAN 10%? UH, IT IS, I KNOW WE HAVE A PROBLEM WITH OPED, BUT THAT'S A HUGE PROBLEM IF THAT'S THE CASE. UH, EXCEPT PAGE 51, RIGHT? YEAH. UM, DIRECTOR, CAN YOU ADDRESS THAT? I ALWAYS HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE OPEP PAGE TOO. MM-HMM . YEAH, SO FOR THE ANNUAL OPEP EXPENSE, UM, THE EXPENSE IS NOT NECESSARILY WHAT WE SPENT ON OP E, IT'S A-G-A-S-B CALCULATION PART OF A GSB 75, UH, REPORT. UM, AS FAR AS WHAT THE CITY ACTUALLY PAID IN OP E EXPENDITURES, UM, IN FISCAL YEAR 26, WE PAID ABOUT $68 MILLION. THE ACTUARY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTION IS ANOTHER ACTUARIAL CALCULATION WHERE THE ACTUARIES KIND OF CALCULATE OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE WE HAVE AN UNFUNDED OPEP LIABILITY, RIGHT? AND THAT CALCULATION IS WHAT SHOULD WE BE PUTTING BASICALLY INTO A POT EVERY YEAR OVER A CLOSE 30 YEAR PERIOD TO PAY OFF THAT LIABILITY OVER TIME. SO IF WE WERE TO PAY THE FULL 170 MILLION A YEAR, THAT'S BASICALLY WOULD BE LIKE US PUTTING INTO OUR SAVINGS, OUR PIGGY BANK FOR CLAIMS THAT ARE GONNA COME FROM RETIREES IN THE FUTURE. UM, WE'RE PAY AS YOU GO PRIMARILY RIGHT NOW IN OPEP WITH, LIKE I MENTIONED, ABOUT 68 MILLION PAID IN FISCAL YEAR 26. UH, WE DID START THAT OPEP TRUST, UM, IN FISCAL YEAR 26 IS THE FIRST YEAR WE MADE THE CONTRIBUTION OF 10 MILLION IN FISCAL YEAR 27 WERE BUDGETED TO SEND AN ADDITIONAL 12.5 MILLION TO THAT OPEP TRUST. AND THE IDEA IS THAT THAT WILL HELP US TO WORK DOWN OVER TIME OVER MANY, MANY YEARS, WORK DOWN THAT, UM, THAT LIABILITY THAT YOU SEE THE 1.7 BILLION. RIGHT. SO THAT, THAT WOULD KIND OF GO AGAINST YOUR ONE 70. YES. GOT IT. OKAY. OKAY, THAT MAKES MORE SENSE. YEAH, I'VE ASKED ABOUT THAT BEFORE TOO, DOUG, THE ACTUAL AMOUNT. AND IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL, UM, TO KNOW, WELL, I DON'T KNOW IF, IF IT'S ON THIS PAGE WHAT WE PAID 'CAUSE THAT 68 MILLION THAT WE, THAT WE PAID OUT, THAT'S NOT, IT'S HARD TO TELL WHERE THAT'S REFLECTED. YEAH. BUT THAT'S PAY AS YOU GO. [00:30:01] IT'S PAY AS YOU GO. OKAY, THANK YOU. YES. UH, AND LAST QUESTION ON PAGE 52, UNDER THE, UH, AGAIN, PENSION, UH, FOR THE MUNICIPAL PLAN, IT SHOWS THAT THE CITY PAYMENT IS 8.54% PLUS $154 MILLION. WHAT IS IT? 8.54% OF PAYROLL? AND THEN HOW DO THEY DETERMINE THE $154 MILLION? WHERE DOES THAT FIGURE COME IN? OKAY, GOT IT. GOTTA GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT. OKAY. THAT'S IT. THANK YOU. UM, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, DOUG, FOR YOUR QUESTIONS. I APPRECIATE IT AND WE WILL FOLLOW UP WITH THE ONES WE HAVEN'T ANSWERED YET. UM, COUNCIL MEMBER PANZA, IS THAT FROM EARLIER? OKAY. ALRIGHT, WE WILL MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM, WHICH IS THE UPCOMING FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS ACTIONS, SOME OF WHICH IS ON THE AGENDA FOR TOMORROW. FOR WEDNESDAY. YES. SORRY, JUST REAL QUICK ON PENSION SINCE THAT'S MY, OH YEAH, SHE KNOWS LANGUAGE, SHE KNOWS ABOUT THAT 8.54%, PROBABLY 154 MILLION. RIGHT. SO I FEEL LIKE I USED TO, WHEN WE DID THE 2017 PENSION REFORMS, THIS, UH, STATE LAW DICTATES THAT WE PAY THE NORMAL COST, UM, AS A PERCENTAGE OF PAYROLL. SO THAT'S 8.54% OF PAYROLL PLUS 154 MILLION. SO THE 154 MILLION REPRESENTS THE, UM, UNFUNDED LIABILITY OR WHAT WE CALL THE LEGACY LIABILITY. SO WHEN YOU TAKE THE 154 MILLION DIVIDED BY PENSIONABLE PAYROLL, IT COMES OUT TO ROUGHLY 30% OF PAY. SO IT'S ROUGHLY IN LINE WITH, UM, THE POLICE AND FIRE, UM, PAYMENT CONTRIBUTION. WHEN YOU CALCULATE IT AS A, IT'S REALLY KINDA LIKE A SYNTHETIC PERCENTAGE AND WHY CHILD DO IT THAT WAY INSTEAD OF JUST A PERCENTAGE. MY RECOLLECTION AT THE TIME IS THAT, UM, H MEPS PARTICULARLY WAS CONCERNED ABOUT PAYROLL VOLATILITY AND THEY WANTED TO HAVE SOME MORE CERTAINTY. PAYROLL VOLATILITY, MEANING, YOU KNOW, IF PAYROLL INCREASES BY A LOT, THEN IF YOU HAVE TO HIT A CERTAIN DOLLAR AMOUNT, THE PERCENTAGE WILL GO DOWN AND VICE VERSA. SO THE WAY THAT THE CORRIDOR MECHANISM WORKS, IT'S BASED ON A PERCENTAGE. SO THEY WANTED TO BE ABLE TO STAY WITHIN THAT CORRIDOR. UM, AND BY DOING A A DOLLAR AMOUNT, THAT REALLY KIND OF HELPED PROVIDE THAT, THAT BUFFER IF IN CASE THERE WAS PAYROLL VOLATILITY. AND THAT WAS A PARTICULAR CONCERN OF H MEPS THAT, UM, THE CITY WORKED WITH AT THE TIME. GOT IT. OKAY. THAT GOOD, DOUG, GET THAT? OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DIRECTOR. I APPRECIATE IT. OKAY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO ON THE FIRST SLIDE, GOING OVER THE AGENDA FOR THE UPCOMING FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS, UM, JUST WANTED TO PRESENT TWO DIFFERENT TRANSACTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE FINANCE WORKING GROUP. UM, WHICH AS A REMINDER IS A COLLABORATIVE GROUP BETWEEN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, UH, CITY LEGAL DEPARTMENT, UM, OUTSIDE FINANCIAL ADVISORS, OUTSIDE BOND COUNCIL, AS WELL AS ANY, UM, CITY DEPARTMENT WHO'S, UM, YOU KNOW, WHO'S IMPACTED BY THE BOND. SO IN THIS CASE IT WOULD BE THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, UM, IS PART OF THE WORKING GROUP THAT'S WORKING ON THESE TRANSACTIONS. UH, SO ON SLIDE THREE, UM, THE FIRST TRANSACTION THAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT IS THE CUS FIRST LIEN REVENUE BOND SERIES 2026 A, THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD SWIFT LOAN. UM, SO THIS LOAN, UM, WE WERE APPROVED FOR A $966 MILLION MULTI-YEAR FUNDING BY THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD. YOU MIGHT'VE HEARD US TALK ABOUT THIS IN THE PAST. UM, THIS IS GOING TO HELP US, UM, FINANCE AT A LOW INTEREST COST, UH, THE PROJECT, THE EAST WATER PLANT PROJECT. UM, THIS IS THE SECOND PIECE OF THE, OF THE LOAN. UM, THE FIRST PIECE OF THE LOAN WAS ABOUT $350 MILLION, AND THAT WAS ISSUED BACK IN 2025. AND THE SECOND ISSUANCE, UM, IS GOING TO BE 300 MILLION IN SIZE. UM, AND LIKE I MENTIONED, WE'RE ABLE TO WORK WITH TWDB TO SECURE, UM, LOW FINANCING COSTS USING THEIR AAA RATING. UM, AND ALSO WE GET A SUBSIDY FROM THE WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD, UM, TO BRING THAT COST DOWN EVEN FURTHER. SO, UM, BASED ON THE ADVANTAGEOUS RATES THAT WE CAN GET IN PARTNERING WITH THE TWDB, THE FINANCE WORKING GROUP IS RECOMMENDING AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 300 MILLION. AND AS YOU MENTIONED, CHAIR, UM, IT'S SCHEDULED FOR CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION THIS WEEK. UH, SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, IT KIND OF GIVES YOU A, A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING FOR THIS LOAN. UM, WE'RE ESTIMATING THAT THE TRUE INTEREST COSTS BE AROUND 3.89%, WHICH AGAIN, IS VERY FAVORABLE FOR US. UM, IT'S ACTUALLY ON COUNCIL FOR, UM, AUGUST, AND WE HOPE TO PRICE IN, UM, OCTOBER AND CLOSE IN NOVEMBER ON THE NEXT ITEM. THIS IS ANOTHER, UM, PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TWDV, THIS TIME FOR THE COASTAL WATER AUTHORITY. SO THE COASTAL WATER AUTHORITY APPLIED [00:35:01] FOR $320 MILLION MULTI-YEAR FINANCING FROM THE WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD TO ASSIST WITH FINANCING THE B TWO PIPELINE, WHICH PROVIDES RAW WATER TO INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS AND TO ALSO THE, ALSO TO THE EAST WATER PURIFICATION PLANT. UM, AND THIS IS, AGAIN, YOU MIGHT REMEMBER THIS BECAUSE THIS IS THE THIRD, UM, YEAR IN THE MULTI-YEAR BORROWING. UM, THE APPLICATION WAS FIRST APPROVED BACK IN 2024, AND THIS IS THE THIRD INSTALLMENT OF THE LOAN, UH, FOR ABOUT $100 MILLION, WHICH WE EXPECT TO CLOSE IN FALL, UH, THIS FALL OF 2026. UH, CONSTRUCTION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN IN 27 AND BE COMPLETED BY 2030. UM, AND SO YOU'LL SEE THIS RCA IN THE COMING WEEKS ON AGENDA AS WELL. AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. THANK YOU, LEAH, WITH COUNCIL MEMBER RAM'S OFFICE. THANKS SO MUCH. UM, AND THANK YOU AND SAMIR AND ANDREW, MOLLY FOR, FOR GETTING THOSE LOANS. UM, SO TO PAY OFF THIS LOAN AND THE COUPLE BILLION DOLLARS FOR, FOR THIS PROJECT, UM, THOSE COSTS ARE NOT ACCOUNTED FOR IN OUR CURRENT WATER RATE SCHEDULE, IS THAT RIGHT? SO THE CURRENT WATER RATES, UM, ARE IN PLACE BASED ON THE WATER RATE STUDY THAT WAS DONE IN, UH, I THINK 2021 WAS THE FIRST YEAR. UM, AND SO WHEN WE DO THE WATER RATE STUDY AND AT THE TIME, UH, WHEN THEY DID THE PREVIOUS WATER RATE STUDY, THEY CONTEMPLATE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF BORROWING CAPITAL PROJECTS, CIP PLANNING. UM, AND I HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE DETAILS OF THE RATE STUDY, BUT THAT RATE STUDY WOULD HAVE INCLUDED DEBT ISSUANCE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE ADOPTED CIP AT THAT TIME. UM, AND SO THERE IS SOME, UH, CONSIDERATION FOR THAT IN THE RATE STUDY WHEN THEY COME UP WITH THE RATES. SO MAYBE PART OF THE PROJECT WOULD'VE BEEN INCLUDED OR ACCOUNTED FOR IN THE PAST? WAIT, I HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE DETAILS. OKAY. BUT YEAH, SO WE'RE, WE'RE CURRENTLY UNDERGOING A, A NEW STUDY, RIGHT? CORRECT. UM, EXPECTED RESULTS END OF THIS YEAR, IS THAT RIGHT? PROBABLY WE'LL HAVE A DRAFT BY THE END OF THIS YEAR. RIGHT, OKAY. CALENDAR YEAR AND THEN THE VOTE IS IN APRIL OR SOMETHING. USUALLY WE WOULD BRING THE RATE STUDY TO CITY COUNCIL A COUPLE MONTHS IN ADVANCE OF WHENEVER ANY CHANGES TO THE RATE WOULD BE. SO THE LAST RATE, UH, INCREASE WAS IN APRIL OF LAST YEAR, SO RIGHT. PROBABLY TOWARDS THE BEGINNING OF THE CALENDAR YEAR. GOTCHA. MM-HMM . OKAY. AND I APPRECIATE THE, THE TIME ON THIS PARTLY BECAUSE THESE ARE SUCH HUGE PROJECTS, RIGHT? LIKE AGING, HIGH RISK INFRASTRUCTURE THAT, UM, WE NEED REVENUE TO FUND. SO THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. OKAY. SEEING NO OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE UPCOMING FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS, UM, WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM FIVE QUARTERLY UPDATE ON EY PROGRESS. I THINK WE HAVE JED, I'M GONNA INVITE, INVITE JED. YES. COMING UP TO JED GREENFIELD, OUR CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER, UM, WE DID DO A SET ASIDE THIS IN THE, IN THE 27 BUDGET. REMIND ME OF WHAT IT WAS. THE ON SAVINGS THROUGH THE TWO, 2.5 MILLION, 2.5 MILLION, JUST 8.7 MM-HMM . OKAY. SO THE FLOOR IS YOURS. YEP. SO WHAT I'LL REPORT ON IS, UH, ESSENTIALLY WHERE WE'RE AT IN THAT, THAT PROCESS. UM, WE ARE, WE'RE NOW FULLY IMPLEMENTED IN A CATEGORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, MEANING WE HAVE ALL OF OUR CATEGORY COUNCILS WORKING, IDENTIFYING THOSE OPPORTUNITIES WHERE WE CAN LOOK FOR, UH, SAVINGS OR, OR REDUCE, UM, ANY REDUNDANCIES IN CONTRACTS. AGAIN, PART OF OUR PROCESS HERE IS TO TRY TO REDUCE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CONTRACTS, UH, REQUESTS COMING INTO OUR OFFICES. THAT HELPS US TO BE, UH, CERTAINLY MORE EFFICIENT. UM, WHERE WE'RE GOING NOW FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, THE 2.5 MILLION THAT'S BASED ON OUR ESTIMATES REALLY WITHIN TWO CATEGORIES IS WHERE WE'RE GONNA FOCUS, AND THAT'S IN OUR FACILITIES, UH, CATEGORY AND ALSO IN OUR CONSTRUCTION CATEGORY. UH, THAT'S WHERE WE SEE A LOT OF THE WORK THAT WE CAN DO, WHERE WE CAN, UH, MAYBE GAIN SOME OF THOSE EFFICIENCIES WHERE WE'RE, UM, WHERE WE DON'T ALREADY HAVE GOOD PRICING THAT WE HAVE SEEN AS WE'VE LOOKED AT SOME OF THE OTHER CATEGORIES. UH, AND SO FOR INSTANCE, RIGHT NOW WE'RE, WE'RE IN A PROCESS OF LOOKING AT OUR, OUR GROUND MAINTENANCE. WE HAVE A LOT OF CONTRACTS. CAN WE GET BETTER BUYING POWER BY CONSOLIDATING THOSE WHILE HAVING ENOUGH, UH, TO MEET THE NEEDS THAT WE HAVE? SO WE ANTICIPATE THAT, UM, ABOUT 500,000 OF THAT, UH, 2.5 MILLION CAN COME FROM THAT CATEGORY. THE OTHER PART IS IN CONSTRUCTION AND, AND WHERE WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON IN CONSTRUCTION IS WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF WORK IN TERMS OF IN, IN THAT CONSTRUCTION CATEGORY. THE LONGER YOU TAKE TO PROCESS THE PROCUREMENT VERSUS ANY OTHER CATEGORY IS WHERE YOU CAN GET AN INCREASE IN PRICE. AND THAT'S BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH INFLATION WITHIN THE CAT. THE CONSTRUCTION CATEGORY, YOU LOOK JUST AT FUEL OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS AND WHAT THAT HAS DONE AND THE PRESSURE IT'S PUT ON. AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN OUR CONTRACT, UH, PRICING AS WE SHRINK THAT TIME FROM NINE PLUS MONTHS TO AROUND SIX MONTHS OR LESS. UM, AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE LOOKING TO GET TO GAIN THOSE SAVINGS. [00:40:01] WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT, AND THIS GETS A LITTLE BIT TRICKIER, UM, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT UM, HOW, HOW WE WORK WITH CURRENT LANGUAGE AND STATE LAW THAT ALLOWS US TO DO LONGER PROJECTS. SO PUT ON MORE TIME, THE MORE TIME WE CAN PUT ON A CONTRACT, THE CON THE CONTRACTORS GIVE US BETTER PRICING, UM, BUT ALSO PUT COST ESCALATION LANGUAGE INTO OUR CONTRACTS TO LIMIT THE RISK EXPOSURE THAT THEY WOULD HAVE. WHERE RIGHT NOW THEY'RE HEDGING AGAINST THAT UNKNOWN AND THEY HEDGE TO BENEFIT THEMSELVES. UH, OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW, UH, A YEAR AGO THEY WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN THAT FUEL PRICE WOULD'VE REALLY, UH, INCREASED. AND SO AS WE'VE WORKED WITH NOT ONLY BENCHMARKING AGAINST OTHER AGENCIES THAT ARE LOOKING AT THIS AND, AND FINDING WHAT THEY'VE DONE, BUT ALSO TALKING TO OUR, OUR CONTRACTORS, OUR VENDORS WITHIN THAT CATEGORY, WE'RE SEEING THAT WE CAN FIND SOME OF THOSE SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS AS WE BEGIN TO IMPLEMENT SOME OF THOSE THINGS. SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON AT LEAST THE BEGINNING PART OF, OF THE FISCAL YEAR AND REALIZING THAT TWO POINT, UH, 5 MILLION IN SAVINGS, UH, TO THE GENERAL FUND, I THINK THERE'LL BE MORE MONEY THAT WE'LL GET, UM, ON, UM, CIP PROJECTS THAT ARE THE LARGER CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AS WE DO THIS WORK ON THE CONSTRUCTION CATEGORY WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND AS WELL. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THAT. THERE, THERE'S A COUPLE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA TOMORROW. BIG, BIG SPEND ITEMS, UM, AND WEDNESDAY RATHER. UM, I KNOW THE COOPERATIVE PURCHASING THAT WE TALKED ABOUT WHEN COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER WAS HERE AND THERE WERE SOME CHANGES MADE, I THINK THERE'S A $43 MILLION. UM, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW YOU'RE WORKING WITH THOSE COOPERATIVE CONTRACTS AND GETTING MORE SMALLER PLAYERS IN THE MIX? ABSOLUTELY. SO I THINK, AGAIN, THIS IS PART OF OUR STRATEGY AS WE CONSOLIDATE TO FEWER CONTRACTS, WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS TO STILL BE A PART OF THAT PROCESS. AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAD WORKED WITH, UH, A FEW YEARS BACK WITH COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER IS WHEN WE DO A, A SUPPLY CONTRACT. SO, UM, THE ITEM THAT YOU'LL SEE BEFORE YOU IS OUR CONTRACTS WITH GRAINGER AND MSC. THESE, THESE CONTRACTS WILL, UH, THEY'RE THEY'RE INDUSTRIAL TYPE PRODUCTS THAT WE, THAT WE HAVE TO UTILIZE FOR OPERATIONS. BUT IN THE PAST WE'VE TYPICALLY DONE A WAIVER ON THOSE 'CAUSE THEY'RE A DROP SHIP ITEM. SO THERE'S NOT DIVISIBILITY OF WORK TO GIVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO. AND SO WHAT WE DID IS WE SAT DOWN AND WE SAID, WELL, CAN WE CREATE A SITUATION WHERE THERE IS A RESELLER THAT IS UTILIZING THAT PRIME CONTRACTS CONTRACT, BUT WE'RE GOING DIRECTLY TO THE RESELLER SO THAT WE AVOID ANY MARKUP WHEN IT GOES BACK THROUGH THE PRIME CONTRACT. SO THAT'S WHAT WE PUT IN PLACE WITH THESE. UM, IT TOOK US A, A COUPLE OF YEARS TO GET THEM ALL SET UP. SOME OF THEM DIDN'T HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY, BUT OUR, OUR PRIME VENDORS INVESTED IN THEIR, THEIR RESELLERS TO HELP GET THEM ON OUR MARKETPLACE SYSTEM. UM, AND SO THE LAST OF THOSE I THINK IS BEING SET UP OR WAS SET UP IN THE LAST, UH, FEW MONTHS. AND SO WE'RE STARTING TO SEE WHERE WE CAN DRIVE MORE PURCHASES THROUGH OUR MARKETPLACE SYSTEM DIRECTLY TO THOSE RESELLERS TO GIVE THEM THAT OPPORTUNITY, UM, THAT ARE THESE SMALLER BUSINESSES HERE LOCALLY. OKAY. I UNDERSTAND. AND, AND ON THE OTHER BIG TICKET ITEM, THE $393 MILLION FOR TECH, UH, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. YEP. THAT'S A LONGER, WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT EARLIER IS EXTENDING THE CONTRACTS LONGER. WAS THAT, WERE, WERE SAVINGS REALIZED BY DOING THAT? YES. SO A COUPLE THINGS. ONE, UM, WE GET EFFICIENCY ON JUST PROCESSING FROM, FROM THE STANDPOINT OF SPD, UH, AND WE GET SOME COMPLIANCE THAT'S EASIER FOR US TO TRACK ONE CONTRACT VERSUS AN ANNUAL CONTRACT, UH, THAT WE'RE MANAGING. SO WE GET SOME EFFICIENCIES THERE. THE OTHER THING THAT, THAT ALLOWS US TO DO, SO THIS GIVES US THE ABILITY TO PURCHASE OFF COOPERATIVES, BUT IT GIVES ME THE REAL TIME, UM, ABILITY TO NEGOTIATE COST AND CUT A PO IMMEDIATELY. SO WHAT WE TYPICALLY FIND IS IF WE'RE GONNA DO A LARGE SCALE SOFTWARE COST, IF I CAN AFFORD TO WAIT UNTIL THE END OF A QUARTER WHEN SALES TEAMS GET A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, SHARPEN THEIR PENCILS A LITTLE BIT MORE TO MEET THEIR GOALS, IF I CAN STEP IN IN THOSE LAST, UH, WEEK OR TWO TO WORK WITH THEM, WE CAN POSSIBLY GET REDUCTIONS ON WHAT THOSE COSTS ARE. AND SO IT GIVES ME THE FLEXIBILITY TO BE MORE NIMBLE IN MAKING THOSE NEGOTIATIONS IN REAL TIME AND THEN QUICKLY CUTTING A PO TO, TO REALIZE THOSE SAVINGS. THAT'S GREAT. UM, VICE MAYOR PRO TEMP PET, THANK YOU CHAIR. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. UM, FOR THE GROUNDS MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT CONSOLIDATING. UM, HAVE WE LOOKED AT ALL AT INSTEAD OF, UM, JUST COMBINING THE CONTRACTS FOR VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS, LOOKING AT DIFFERENT SECTORS OF THE CITY AND COMBINING THOSE, I KNOW WE'VE WORKED WITH THE COUNTY ON CERTAIN, UM, INTERLOCAL AGREEMENTS WHERE THEY'VE AGREED TO MOW CERTAIN PARKS BECAUSE THEY'RE ALREADY THERE IN THE AREA AND IT DOESN'T COST MUCH TO JUST GO DOWN THE STREET AND MOW SOMETHING ELSE. SO ARE WE LOOKING AT THAT IN DIFFERENT SECTORS OR JUST A CONSOLIDATION OF DEPARTMENTS? NO, BOTH. ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE CONTRACTS, YOU'LL SEE USUALLY SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THREE AND 5% OF OUR COSTS IS IN MOBILIZATION. SO EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WHERE IF I NEED TO GO CUT GRASS IN CLEAR LAKE AND THEN I GOTTA IMMEDIATELY [00:45:01] GO UP TO KINGWOOD, THERE'S A COST THERE. BUT IF WE CAN COUCH THAT, UM, A LITTLE BIT BETTER THAN WE CAN POTENTIALLY REALIZE THOSE MOBILIZATION COSTS. SO THAT IS DEFINITELY PART OF OUR STRATEGY. GREAT. THANK YOU. YEP. OKAY. THAT WRAPS IT UP FOR THIS AGENDA ITEM, AND WE WILL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM SIX. THANK YOU, JED. UM, OVER TIME USAGE BY H-P-D-H-F-D AND SOLID WASTE, UM, FINANCE DIRECTOR MELISSA DKI. WE'LL, UM, START, AND THEN I THINK THAT, THAT ALL, THERE ARE REPRESENTATIVES FROM EACH DEPARTMENT TO TALK ABOUT OPERATIONAL, UM, ASPECTS OF OVERTIME. UM, I WILL, UM, SAY COLLEAGUES THAT THERE WERE SOME BUDGET AMENDMENTS ABOUT, UH, OVER TIME AND REPORTING TO BFA THAT WE WILL BE INCORPORATED IN THE, IN THE 2027, ONCE WE START THE 2027 QUARTERS. UM, THERE'LL BE EVEN MORE DETAIL ABOUT, UM, UH, WHICH LINE ITEMS, YOU KNOW, THESE, THESE, THE, THE OVERAGES ARE COMING FROM. UM, WE'LL LOOK, BE LOOKING AT SOME OTHER EXPENSES WITHIN DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE OVER. UM, BUT THAT WILL START WITH THE FIRST QUARTERLY REPORT OF 2027. THIS REPORT WILL FOLLOW THE SAME FORMAT THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, UM, ON OVERTIME. SO WITH THAT, UM, DIRECTOR FLOOR IS YOURS? YES. THANK YOU. SO I THINK I'LL, UM, I'LL START OFF BY GOING OVER THE FIGURES AND THEN IF, UM, YOU KNOW, THE REPRESENTATIVES FROM POLICE, UM, I THINK I'M JOINED BY CHIEF FUS IS HERE, UH, AND CHIEF MUNOZ AND CHIEF ALKI ARE ALSO HERE. UM, AND I SEE, UH, MR. HASSAN FROM THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT. SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND START GOING OVER THE NUMBERS AND THEN IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON OPERATIONS, THEY'LL, UM, THEY'LL JOIN ME AT THE MICROPHONE, IF THAT'S OKAY. OKAY. SO FOR THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT JUST STARTING OFF, UM, THIS, UM, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. UM, THIS SLIDE IS THE FORMAT THAT Y'ALL ARE USED TO SEEING BY NOW, UM, OVER THE LAST YEAR. UM, AS YOU MENTIONED CHAIR, THIS IS GONNA BE THE LAST QUARTERLY REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 26 AND THEN FISCAL YEAR 27, UM, THE REPORT TYPE WILL, UH, LOOK A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT 'CAUSE WE HAVE TO FOCUS ON A FEW DIFFERENT AREAS IN ADDITION TO OVERTIME. UM, BUT SO FOR THE LAST REPORT OF FISCAL YEAR 26 FOR HPD THAT CLASSIFIED OVERTIME, AND AGAIN, THIS IS LOOKING AT THE GENERAL FUND, UM, I'M NOT GONNA GO OVER THE FIGURES IN 24 AND 25 'CAUSE THOSE ARE THE SAME AS, UM, THE PREVIOUS QUARTERS WE REPORTED. I'LL JUST JUST GIVE AN UPDATE ON FISCAL YEAR 26 OVERTIME. UM, AND JUST TO TOUCH A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CONVERSATION THAT WE'VE HAD AROUND THE HORSESHOE ABOUT OVERTIME BUDGETING IN PARTICULAR. UM, I KNOW THAT THERE, UM, SOMETIMES IS TALK OR, UM, SOME THOUGHT OR IDEA BEHIND LOOKING EXACTLY AT LAST YEAR'S ACTUALS AND YOU SHOULD BE BUDGETING EXACTLY AT LEAST THAT MUCH OR MORE FOR OVERTIME, WHICH I KNOW WE'VE, WE'VE HEARD, UM, SOME CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT. BUT I THINK JUST THE, THE NATURE OF OVERTIME, A LOT OF IT BEING UNPREDICTABLE AND BASED ON EVENTS, UM, AND YOU CAN SEE JUST IN THESE FIGURES, UM, FOR HPD, FOR JUST FOR EXAMPLE, AND YOU'LL SEE THE, UH, SIMILAR CONCEPT WITH FIRE LOOKING AT FISCAL YEAR 25 OVER TIME, THE ACTUALS WERE ABOUT 39 MILLION THIS YEAR. UM, WE'RE ON PACE FOR THE ACTUALS OF ABOUT 30 MILLION, SO ABOUT $9 MILLION LOWER IN FISCAL YEAR 26 THAN 25. SO THAT'S WHERE IT'S IMPORTANT NOT JUST TO LOOK AT EXACTLY WHAT DID YOU SPEND LAST YEAR, BUT THINKING ABOUT THERE'S OTHER LINE ITEMS, OTHER AREAS WHERE YOU MAY HAVE SAVINGS OR OFFSETS AND OTHER, UM, YOU KNOW, EVENTS AND NEEDS COME UP THROUGHOUT THE YEAR THAT ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT TO PREDICT. UM, BUT AGAIN, JUST ON THIS SLIDE, LIKE I MENTIONED FOR FISCAL YEAR 26, THE OVERTIME ACTUALS ARE PROJECTED TO BE ABOUT $30.9 MILLION FOR HPD, WHICH AGAIN IS ABOUT, UM, $9 MILLION LOWER THAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR, UH, WHICH WAS ABOUT 39.7 MILLION. UM, WE'RE STILL FINALIZING THE SAVINGS OFFSETS AS WE MENTIONED, FISCAL YEAR 26. WE'RE STILL HAVING OTHER INVOICES AND THINGS COME IN THAT WE NEED TO PAY. UM, SO BEFORE WE CAN KIND OF GIVE A TRUE FINAL, UM, OFFSET, UM, WE DO NEED TO GET THROUGH AUGUST. UM, I DID WANNA HIGHLIGHT THE TOTAL HEAD COUNT OF ABOUT 5,400, WHICH IS AS OF, UM, JUNE 30TH, WHICH AS YOU CAN SEE IS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE FROM THE FISCAL YEAR 25 HEAD COUNT OF ABOUT 5,200. UM, THERE THE NEXT SLIDE, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER PECK, UM, ADDRESSES SOMETHING THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UM, WHICH IS HOW MUCH, UM, OF THE OVERTIME, ALTHOUGH IT'S IN THE GENERAL FUND, IT COULD BE REIMBURSED BY OTHER, UM, FUNDERS. UM, AND SO THIS SLIDE TRIES TO BREAK THAT DOWN FOR FISCAL YEAR 24, 25 AND 26. UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT OF THE, ON THE BOTTOM ROW, THE $30.9 MILLION THAT I MENTIONED, THE ACTUALS IN OVERTIME OF THAT ABOUT 7.2 MILLION IS REIMBURSED. SO THOUGH THE EXPENDITURES IN THE GENERAL FUND, THE REVENUE IS COMING INTO THE GENERAL FUND AS WELL, STILL BOOKED WITHIN THE HPD COST CENTERS SO THAT IT CAN BE TRACKED. UM, AND HOPEFULLY THIS GIVES A BETTER REFLECTION OF WHERE OUR, [00:50:01] UM, REIMBURSEMENTS ARE COMING IN. UM, FOR POLICE. UM, THE MAJORITY OF OUR REIMBURSEMENTS DO COME FROM THE AIRPORT SYSTEM, ABOUT 5.9 MILLION, UM, AND SOME, UH, REIMBURSEMENT FROM METRO ABOUT 1.2 MILLION. SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS SHOWS YOU THE, UM, THE CLASSIFIED OVERTIME, UM, BROKEN DOWN BY MONTH, AS I MENTIONED. YOU CAN SEE THAT, UM, DEFINITELY THERE ARE, UM, UH, EVERY MONTH IS NOT THE SAME DEPENDING ON THE OPERATIONAL NEED. UM, BUT YOU CAN SEE IN GENERAL, FISCAL YEAR 26 HAS TRENDED, UM, BELOW, AS I MENTIONED, IN TOTAL $9 MILLION LESS IN FISCAL YEAR 25. AND YOU CAN SEE IN THE PIE CHART ON THE LEFT, THE BREAKDOWN OF THE OVERTIME, HOW MUCH IS RELATED TO OPERATIONS, HOLIDAYS, AIRPORT OVERTIME, SPECIAL EVENTS, COURT INVESTIGATIVE. SO THAT KIND OF GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF, UH, SOME OF THE OPERATIONAL AREAS THAT THE OVERTIME, UM, IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO. SO GOING ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THESE ARE THE NUMBER OF HOURS OF OVERTIME BROKEN DOWN BY MONTH. AND AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE A SIMILAR TREND, UM, JUST OVER THE LAST, UH, YEAR, UH, OVERALL A LOWER NUMBER OF HOURS, UM, SINCE THE PREVIOUS YEAR. ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU SEE THE, UH, THE HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE, UH, INCOMING CADETS VERSUS THE ATTRITION AT THE DEPARTMENT. UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT OVER THE PAST COUPLE YEARS, OUR, UH, NUMBER OF CADETS HAS EXCEEDED OUR, UH, ATTRIBUTED OFFICERS THAT HAVE LEFT THE DEPARTMENT. UM, AND BASED ON THE FY 27, UM, ADOPTED BUDGET, YOU SEE THE FIGURES THERE AS WELL WHERE WE AIM TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL, UM, NET ABOUT 140, UH, NEW OFFICERS FOR FISCAL YEAR 27. I WANTED TO PAUSE THERE TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS FOR HPD THAT, UM, MYSELF OR THE CHIEF COULD ADDRESS ANYONE ON HPD? SO HPD, LIKE GOOD SHAPE, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE, WE ACTUALLY CAME IN UNDER, UNDER THE PREVIOUS YEARS, UM, AMOUNTS, RIGHT? SO STILL ABOVE WHAT WE HAD BUDGETED, BUT, BUT $98 LOWER THAN PREVIOUS YEARS ACTUALS. OKAY. UM, VICE MAYOR PRO TEM PECK, THANK YOU, CHAIR. I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR PUTTING IN THE SLIDE ABOUT THE REIMBURSEMENTS THAT REALLY HELPS TO SEE WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY SPENDING AND WHAT WE'RE GETTING BACK. SO THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT. YOU'RE WELCOME. UH, LEAH WOLF FO WITH COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ'S OFFICE. THANK YOU. UM, TWO QUESTIONS. SO ONE QUESTION IS, IN THIS FISCAL YEAR OR IN FY 26 MM-HMM . WE, THERE WAS AN ADJUSTMENT RIGHT DURING APPROPRIATIONS IN FEBRUARY OR MARCH OR SOMETHING, RIGHT? TO ADD MORE CASH IN APRIL? YES. MM-HMM . SO LOOKING AT FY 27, UM, WHAT'S YOUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL THAT WE WON'T BE DOING THE SAME THING? THAT, THAT THIS OVERTIME NUMBER IS REALLY IT? SO FOR FISCAL YEAR 27 BUDGET, UH, WE TOOK A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT APPROACH, UM, BY GIVING ADDITIONAL BUDGET FOR OVERTIME, UM, THAN WE DID IN FISCAL YEAR 26. AT THE TIME OF THE ADOPTED BUDGET, WE BASICALLY DID A FIVE YEAR AVERAGE OF THE ACTUALS OF OVERTIME BUDGET AND KIND OF TOOK A MIDPOINT BETWEEN THE FIVE YEAR ACTUAL AND THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S BUDGET FOR HPD THAT TRANSLATED INTO ABOUT $7 MILLION OF ADDITIONAL BUDGET FOR OVERTIME. WHILE I DON'T NECESSARILY EXPECT THAT THEY'RE GOING TO SPEND AN ADDITIONAL 7 MILLION, MY HOPE IS THAT THAT WILL GET OUR FINAL FISCAL YEAR 27 ACTUALS CLOSER TO WHERE THE BUDGET IS SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO RELY AS MUCH ON THOSE OFFSETS. UH, HOPEFULLY MORE FULLY REFLECTING THE COST. AGAIN, LIKE I MENTIONED, A LOT OF THE OVERTIME AND LIKE YOU CAN SEE IS VERY, UM, OPERATIONAL IN NATURE OR EVENT, EVENT BASED, UM, AS WELL, YOU KNOW, REQUESTED BY THE AIRPORT SYSTEM. SO THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OUTSIDE OF THE CONTROL OF HPD, RIGHT? UM, AND SO TO ME IT'S REALLY HARD TO, FOR ME TO SAY WHERE I SEE THE NUMBERS WILL END UP, I, IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A CRYSTAL BALL, RIGHT? UM, AS THERE ARE, OBVIOUSLY THERE COULD BE WEATHER EVENTS, PROTESTS, UM, A WHOLE, A WHOLE RANGE OF ISSUES. BUT WE HOPE THAT WITH THIS FISCAL YEAR 27 BUDGET BY BUDGETING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THAT $7 MILLION MORE, LIKE I MENTIONED, THAT WILL PUT THE BUDGETED AMOUNT CLOSER TO WHERE WE THINK THE ACTUALS MAY END UP COMING. AND SO THE BUDGETED AMOUNT FOR FY 27, DOES THAT INCLUDE AT LEAST SOME OF THAT, UM, KIND OF VARIABLE PROTESTS, WEATHER, ET CETERA, OR ZERO? IT'S BASICALLY LIKE LOOKING AT WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN PREVIOUS YEARS AND TRYING TO INCREASE THE BUDGET TO GET CLOSER TO THAT AMOUNT. OKAY. ONE MORE QUESTION. DO WE HAVE TIME? SURE. OKAY. UM, THE SLIDE ABOUT, AND THIS MAY BE AN HPD QUESTION MORE, BUT, UM, THE SLIDE, IT'S PAGE SEVEN OF THE PDF, THE SLIDE THAT SHOWS CADETS AND ATTRITION. MM-HMM . I WAS CURIOUS WHY FY 27 RATE ATTRITION HAD BEEN GOING DOWN? [00:55:01] WHY FY 27 ISN'T GOING UP, IF WE KNOW. YEAH, COME ON UP. UM, HPD, HI, I AM JOEY AND TRAN, INTERIM DIRECTOR FOR HPD, UM, FINANCE OPERATIONS AND FOR THE, UH, ATTRITION THAT WE HAVE FOR, UH, 240, THAT'S ABOUT WHAT WE, UM, THAT WE, WHAT WE BUDGETED THROUGH THE YEARS, AND WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP TRACK OF THAT TO SEE, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S ANY, UH, ANY, UM, ANY, ANY VARIANCE FROM THAT. BUT FOR NOW, UH, FOR FY 27, WE, WE, WE, UH, STAYED WITH OUR AVERAGES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. IT WAS 240. THANK YOU. IT'S GOOD SEEING THOSE BLUE BARS HIGHER THAN THE, THAN THE, THE GRAY BARS FOR SURE. YES. SO JUST TO MAKE SURE I'M READING THIS RIGHT. IN, IN 26 WE BUDGETED 30.8 MILLION, WE SPENT 30.9 MILLION. YES. AND THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD . YES. I MEAN, THAT'S REALLY GOOD. AND THAT, WOULD YOU ATTRIBUTE, UM, PRETTY MUCH SOLELY ON THE INCREASE IN HEADCOUNT OR WERE THERE OTHER, DESCRIBE OTHER OPERATIONAL CHANGES THAT BROUGHT THAT THESE NUMBERS MORE IN LINE? UH, I'M GONNA BRING, UH, CHIEF UP HERE TO HELP WITH THAT AND ALL THE EFFORTS. ALL RIGHT. CHIEF, THE EFFORTS HPD HAS DONE TO, UH, DECREASE THAT AMOUNT. YEP. FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS, WHEN I FIRST GOT THE PRESENTATION, I THOUGHT I WAS READING IT WRONG. AFTERNOON EVERYBODY. SO, UH, YEAH, I WOULD KIND OF PUT IT ON A LOT OF THE STUFF THAT WE PUT IN PLACE. I KNOW CHIEF HARDEN HAS SPOKEN ABOUT IT AT THE LAST COUPLE OF QUARTERLIES THAT WE HAVE HERE. BUT WE'VE TRIED TO BE GREAT STEWARDS OF THE MONEY. UM, THROUGHOUT THIS YEAR, A LOT OF STUFF THAT WE PUT IN PLACE, THE FOUR TENS, UH, HELPED OUT WITH A LOT OF THAT WITH US. ALSO. THE FOUR TENS? YEAH. YES, MA'AM. OKAY, GREAT. UM, ALSO WE WENT THROUGH EACH DIVISION AND LOOKED AT HOW WE WERE SPENDING OVERTIME WITHIN EACH ONE OF OUR INVESTIGATIVE DIVISIONS AS WELL AS PATROL AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT EVERY DOLLAR, EVERY HOUR THAT'S SPENT. UM, IF WE NEED TO ADJUST SHIFTS, WE'VE ADJUSTED SHIFTS ALSO WITH SRG, WITH THE PROTESTS THAT WE HAVE, WE'VE ALSO ADJUSTED THOSE SHIFTS TOO. OF COURSE, THEY'RE ON FOUR TENS, BUT FOR ANYTHING THAT IS, UM, THAT WE KNOW IS COMING, WE'RE ABLE TO ADJUST FOR, FOR STUFF THAT JUST POPS UP SOMETIME. REMEMBER, ALL OUR POLICE OFFICERS ARE SRG TRAINED, SO WE DO HAVE A CALL UP PROTOCOL. WE CAN PULL OFFICERS FROM EACH STATION JUST TO GET THE NUMBERS THAT WE NEED IF SOMETHING POPS UP. AND SO THERE'S BEEN A REAL CONCERTED EFFORT TO YES. TO BRING THAT MORE IN LINE. WELL, IT, IT SHOWS AND, AND WE'RE, WE'RE GLAD FOR THAT IN ADDITION TO THE INCREASED HEADCOUNT. UM, YES MA'AM. SO BASICALLY IF YOU'RE ANTICIPATING SOMETHING, YOU CAN PULL OFFICERS THAT ARE ALREADY ON DUTY, ALREADY HAVE SCHEDULED DUTY, RATHER THAN HAVING TO DRAW UPON OVERTIME, I'D HAVE TO DO A CALL OUT PORTION AND GET SOMEONE FROM HOME TO COME IN AND ACTUALLY WORK OVERTIME WITH ALL OUR DIFFERENT CALL OUTS. SO, YES. GOT IT. WELL, GREAT WORK AND COLLEAGUES, I'D LIKE TO THINK THAT ALL OF OUR TALK ABOUT OVER TIME AND ALL THE SPOTLIGHTING OF IT HERE IN THE CHAMBER HAS, HAS YIELDED A GOOD RESULT, RESULT HERE AT HPD. SO, YES. AND, AND WE'VE BEEN LUCKY THIS YEAR. NO NATURAL DISASTERS ARE BIG WEATHER EVENTS HAVE POPPED UP SO THAT SURE. AS IT THUNDERS, LET'S LIKE NOT BE TOO, LET'S KNOCK ON WOOD. YEAH. KNOCK ON WOOD ON THAT ONE. UM, AND JUST AS OF NOTE, UH, TODAY WE HAD ORIENTATION. WE DID HAVE 81 POTENTIAL CADETS THAT WILL START MONDAY AT THE ACADEMY. SO WONDERFUL. MORE GOOD NEWS ON A FEW EXTRA. THAT'S GREAT. COUNCIL MEMBER HAN THANK YOU CHAIR. AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND, AND FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE CITY. UM, JUST A COUPLE QUICK QUESTIONS. WAS THE 30.8 MILLION BUDGET, WHAT WAS APPROVED AND VOTED ON FOR FY 26? ABOUT A YEAR AGO? NO. SO FOR FY 26, I THINK WHAT WAS INCLUDED, WHAT WAS THE ORIGINAL VOTE IN FISCAL YEAR 26 WAS ABOUT HALF THAT, IT WAS ABOUT 14 MILLION ROUGHLY. UM, ABOUT 14 MILLION. UM, AND SO WHEN WE REFERENCE BUDGET HERE, THIS IS THE CURRENT BUDGET WHICH HAPPENS AFTER THE GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS THAT, UM, THAT LEAH MENTIONED. UM, SO THAT'S WHAT BROUGHT THE BUDGET FROM 14 MILLION TO 30 MILLION. OKAY. TO GET CLOSER TO WHERE WE SAW THE PROJECTION GOING BY THE END OF THE YEAR. SURE. AND CAN, CAN WE JUST CONFIRM, 'CAUSE I'M A LITTLE NEW TO THIS, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT ADDITIONAL 14 MILLION, WHERE IS THAT? IS THAT JUST COMING FROM THE GENERAL FUND OR IS THAT COMING OUT OF ALREADY ALLOCATED TOWARDS HPD BASICALLY COMES FROM FUND BALANCE, GENERAL FUND, FUND BALANCE. MM-HMM . OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. NOW, I WOULD SAY THAT SOME OF IT IS REIMBURSED, AGAIN, BACK TO THE, UM, THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD WITH COUNCIL MEMBER PECK. UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT, A PORTION OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 14 MILLION AND THE 30 MILLION COULD BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE AIRPORT OR TO THE METRO. SO SOME OF THAT DOES GET REIMBURSED BACK. SO I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, SOME OF IT FROM GENERAL [01:00:01] FUND, FUND BALANCE, OTHERS REIMBURSED BY OTHER PARTIES. OKAY. THANK YOU. YEAH, I REALLY APPRECIATE HAVING THAT. WHAT'S REIMBURSED ON THERE? SO THANK YOU VICE MAYOR, PRO TEM, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. UH, THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND, UH, ON THE GOOD NEWS. THIS IS GOOD NEWS REGARDING THE PROCESS BY WHICH YOU ARE FILLING IN THOSE SPACES FOR OVERTIME. CAN WE ALSO, UH, CONCLUDE THAT THIS IS CONTRIBUTED TO THE, THE NEW OFFICERS THAT WE'RE BRINGING ON, UH, DUTY? YOU KNOW, WE WERE, I WAS JUST AT THE LAST, UH, GRADUATION OF THAT AND THERE'S ANOTHER GROUP COMING THROUGH. 'CAUSE THAT, WOULD THAT, DID THAT TAKE UP SOME OF THE VACANCIES OF RATHER THAN DOING OVERTIME? YES, SIR. DEFINITELY. SO EACH ONE OF OUR STATIONS, WE ARE FULLY STAFFED WITH THE ALLOCATED, UH, NUMBERS THAT WE DO HAVE FOR EACH PATROL STATION. YEAH. SO WE DO HAVE MORE OFFICERS, YOU KNOW, OR AT LEAST EACH OF THE STATIONS ARE FULLY STAFFED. AND THEN WE'RE BACK FILLING INVESTIGATIONS AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD. BUT YES, THE EXTRA MANPOWER IS MM-HMM . DEFINITELY HELPING THAT ALONG WITH THE FOUR 10. SO WE'RE OFFSETTING THE DIFFERENT TIMES. GOOD, GOOD. THAT WE'RE KEEPING SOME BODIES ON THE STREETS TO ANSWER CALLS FOR SERVICE. YEAH, I AGREE WITH CHAIR. I THINK IT'S GOOD NEWS. AND, AND ALSO, UM, WHAT WE AT TO LIKE 300 NOW, WHAT WERE WE IN TERMS OF THE ADDITION FROM WHEN WE STARTED? 'CAUSE WE ADDED A THIRD CLASS AND SO WHAT IS IT NOW THINK THREE APPROXIMATELY? YOU MEAN CLASSES OR THE, THE NUMBERS, THE NUMBER THAT WERE GRADUATED. YEAH, THE NUMBER. I THINK 3 81 WAS THE LAST, UH, COUNT WE WERE AT, RIGHT? YES SIR. 3 81 3 8 3 81. YES, SIR. THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S PHENOMENAL. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, SO THE MOVES IN ORDER THAT WHAT COUNCIL, MY COLLEAGUES AND OF COURSE THE MAYOR AND ALL PUT TOGETHER IN REGARDS TO WAS MORE ATTRACTIVE BY THE INCREASE OF SALARY TO HPD MADE A LOT MORE PEOPLE INTERESTED IN BECOMING A PART OF THE FORCE. AND I THINK THAT'S TO BE COMMENDED, UH, AND THE ADMINISTRATION FOR TAKING THAT STEP. UH, AND, AND WE COULD SEE THE RESULTS IN TERMS OF YES SIR, PAYING THE MONEY, BUT SAVE THE CITY A LOT OF MONEY IN SOME AREAS TOO. YES. IT'S A, A LOT MORE INTEREST INTEREST NOW AND YOU CAN SEE IT IN THE APPLICATIONS THAT ARE BEING PUT IN. ABSOLUTELY. JUST TO BE HERE. SO YES, IT'S ALL PAID AND APPRECIATE COUNSEL, UM, I SITTING, I SEE Y'ALL TAKE A LOT OF THE ARROWS FOR A LOT OF THE DEPARTMENTS AROUND HERE, BUT THANK YOU FOR BEING PATIENT WITH US AND ALLOWING US TIME TO, YOU KNOW, FIX AND IMPROVE AS WE MOVE FORWARD JUST FOR THE CITIZENS OF THE CITY. SO, WELL THANK, THANK CHIEF DIAZ, YOU SO STAFF ADMINISTRATION AS WELL AS, UH, OUR MAYOR. THANK YOU SO MUCH. YES, SIR. OKAY, THANK YOU. UH, WE CAN GO ON TO THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT NOW. THANK YOU, CHIEF. GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, CHIEF. OKAY. UM, SO GOING ON TO HFD, UH, CHIEF OZ. THANK YOU. UM, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, CHIEF, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MINIMUM STAFFING, THE 149 RIDING POSITIONS, JUST TO GIVE EVERYONE A REMINDER ABOUT THE, THE MINIMUM STAFFING THAT WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN. YES MA'AM. THANK YOU. UM, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AS ALWAYS. HFD RELIES ON OVERTIME TO MAINTAIN DAILY MINIMUM STAFFING LEVELS, PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR SPECIAL EVENTS, NATURAL DISASTERS, AND PERFORM ARSON COMMUNICATION INSPECTION SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE CITY. AS WE MENTIONED ON, WE DO HAVE THE MINIMUM STAFFING OF FOUR, WHICH IS A CONTRACT CONTRACT ALSO ALONG WITH THE NFPAS SAFETY REQUIREMENTS THAT WE HAVE ON THAT. UM, WE DO HAVE 849 POSITIONS. THIS IS A NUMBER OF PERSONNEL REQUIRED EACH DAY ON A DAILY BASIS TO STAFF ALL THE FIRE STATIONS. IF YOU RECALL PRIOR, WE WERE HAVING THIRTEEN, FOURTEEN, FIFTEEN APPARATUSES OUTTA SERVICE TODAY. AND THAT'S 'CAUSE WE WEREN'T GETTING THOSE SEATS FILLED. SO NOW, UM, THAT'S WHAT WE REQUIRE TO DO. SO I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT YOU'LL SEE SOME NUMBERS THAT ARE VERY POSITIVE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES. IF YOU COULD GO TO THE, THANK YOU. THE NEXT SLIDE. UM, IF YOU CAN SEE, FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF FISCAL YEAR 2026, UM, WE HAVE, WE'RE AVERAGING 820 MEMBERS PER SHIFT. AND THAT NUMBER FLUCTUATES OBVIOUSLY WITH THE TRISH, WITH THE RETIREMENTS AND, AND PEOPLE, UM, UH, LIKE I SAID, RETIRING. BUT WITH THAT, THE OBLIGATIONS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF AVAILABLE, INCLUDING NECESSARY TRAINING SUCH AS PARAMEDIC SCHOOL. UM, TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, RIGHT NOW WE'RE AT APPROXIMATELY GONNA BE, UH, THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE'RE GONNA HAVE ABOUT 400 MEDICS, RIGHT? WE HAVEN'T REACHED THAT NUMBER IN, IN OVER 10 YEARS. [01:05:01] YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT OUR HISTORY AND WHAT THIS, UH, NEW HIRING AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING HAS ALLOWED US TO BACKFILL THOSE POSITIONS TO GET THOSE POSITIONS, UH, MEDICS TRAINED ON AN AVERAGE, WE WERE PUTTING 25 MEDICS A YEAR PER SCHOOL. NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT 150 TO 200 A YEAR. UH, AND THAT'S ALL THE, THE STAFFING THAT WE'VE BEEN GETTING AND ALL THE SUPPORT. UM, SO WITH THAT, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE SLIDE FIVE MINUTES. YEAH. COULD YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE? YEAH. SO THAT GIVES THE BREAKDOWN OF, UM, WHERE THE OVERTIME IS BASED ON THE, UM, BASED ON THE CATEGORY. UM, SO PREDOMINANTLY YOU SEE IT'S, UM, DRIVEN BY THE MINIMUM STAFFING LIKE THE CHIEF MENTIONED, UM, ABOUT 86%. UM, I DON'T KNOW, CHIEF IF YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE OTHER CATEGORIES, SOME HIGHLIGHTS. YEAH. SO IF YOU MENTIONED, UM, THE TRAINING, YOU KNOW, WHICH REQUIRES, I MENTIONED THE PARAMEDICS WITH THAT ONCE THEY GRADUATE IT, WE CAN'T PUT 'EM AT THE STATION YET BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH PARAMEDIC SCHOOL ON AN AVERAGE THAT'S 14 MONTHS. AND I'M, I'M PROUD TO SAY THAT OUR MEDICS ARE, I WOULD COMPARE THE BEST IN THE WORLD. I MEAN, THEY HAVE THIS EXTENSIVE TRAINING, VERY DIFFICULT PROGRAM. UH, SPECIAL EVENTS IS A BIG ONE THAT WE GET ALONG WITH THE, UM, THE DEPLOYMENT OF NATURAL DISASTERS. AND IF YOU SEE THE BOTTOM, UM, IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT APPROXIMATELY 11.7 MILLION, UM, HAS BEEN REIMBURSED. AND IT GOES BACK TO THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND, NOT OUR FUND, JUST TO, JUST TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF THAT. BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING. UM, BUT LIKE I MENTIONED, THE TWO BIG ONES ARE GONNA BE THE SPECIAL EVENT SUPPORT. NATURAL DISASTERS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE, THAT ARE REALLY, UM, THE IMPACTS, THE HEAVY IMPACTS. AND I DON'T KNOW, UH, ALONG WITH THE SAFETY DRILL THAT WE DO HAVE, YOU GONNA SEE SOME INCREASE IN THE, UM, IN THE, UH, INSPECTIONS 'CAUSE OF THE TASK FORCE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON. SO THOSE ARE THE NUMBERS THAT YOU SEE, UH, ON THIS PAGE. MM-HMM . YEAH. SO JUST TO, JUST TO FOCUS ON AND HIGHLIGHT THE REVENUE THAT THE CHIEF MENTIONED. SO OF APPROXIMATELY THE 80 MILLION THAT IS, UM, BEING SPENT ON THE FIRE OVERTIME BUDGET, ABOUT 11.7 MILLION OF IT IS BEING REIMBURSED. SO, UH, JUST TO BREAK IT DOWN, ABOUT 3 MILLION IS BEING REIMBURSED BY THE AIRPORT SYSTEM. UM, ABOUT $2 MILLION IS GONNA BE REIMBURSED BY THE FIFA GRANT. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE ABOUT 6 MILLION THAT'S FOR THE REDEPLOYMENT. UM, AND THEN THE INSPECTION AND SOME OF THOSE OTHER REVENUES AS WELL. SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS ONE IS GONNA GIVE YOU THE THREE YEAR LOOK, UM, IN THE SAME FORMAT THAT WE SAW FOR POLICE. UM, AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR, SIMILAR TREND TO WHAT WE MENTIONED WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. LOOKING AT FISCAL YEAR 26, THE END OF THE YEAR PROJECTION, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT $79 MILLION FOR OVERTIME. AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WITH THIS, WITH THE, WITH THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD ABOUT LOOKING AT THE PRI PRIVATE PREVIOUS YEAR ACTUALS, AND SHOULDN'T YOU JUST BUDGET THAT EXACT SAME AMOUNT AGAIN, THERE'S SO MANY MOVING FACTORS. UM, AND SO THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF TIMES WE HAVE THOSE OFFSETS LIKE WE MENTIONED. SO JUST COMPARING OURSELVES TO THE LAST FISCAL YEAR, FISCAL YEAR 25, UH, THERE WAS ABOUT $87 MILLION OF OVERTIME EXPENDITURES. AND NOW YOU SEE THAT IT'S ROUGHLY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, $8 MILLION, UM, LOWER, UH, IN THIS FISCAL YEAR THAN IT WAS THE PREVIOUS YEAR. I DID ALSO WANNA HIGHLIGHT THE HEADCOUNT. UM, AS YOU CAN SEE IN FISCAL YEAR 26, UM, THE HEAD COUNT IS ALSO INCREASED ABOUT 3,900, UM, CURRENTLY AS OF JUNE COMPARED TO ABOUT 3,600 AT THE SAME TIME LAST YEAR. SO A NET INCREASE OF, UH, THAT YOU SEE THERE. UM, AND THEN YOU'LL SEE SOME MORE SLIDES, UM, FURTHER DOWN ABOUT THE NUMBER OF CADETS IN THE ATTRITION THAT THE CHIEF CAN SPEAK TO. UM, UH, JUST CONTINUING ON THE FINANCIALS ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU SEE THIS IS THE BREAKDOWN BY MONTH AND YOU CAN SEE CONSISTENTLY FISCAL YEAR 26, UM, HAS BEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, LOWER, UM, IN DOLLARS, AS I MENTIONED, A TOTAL OF ABOUT EIGHT TO $9 MILLION LOWER OVER THE ENTIRE YEAR, UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE YEAR AND ITS TOTALITY. UM, THE NEXT SLIDE GIVES THE BREAKDOWN OF THE NUMBER OF HOURS WORKED IN OVERTIME. UM, YOU CAN SEE, OBVIOUSLY WE DO HAVE EVENTS AND DISASTERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT THAT DO INCREASE OVERTIME, LIKE YOU SAW IN JANUARY OF, UM, FISCAL YEAR 25. UM, BUT GENERALLY THE FISCAL YEAR 26 NUMBER OF HOURS WORKED IS LOWER THAN THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR. YEAH, I COULD TALK ABOUT THIS SLIDE. I, I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT THE DOWNWARD TREND THAT WE HAVE. IF YOU NOTICE THERE'S A SPIKE IN JUNE, BUT THAT'S ATTRIBUTED TO THE 29,000 HOURS OF OVERTIME FOR FIFA, WHICH IS GONNA BE REIMBURSED. SO THAT'S WHY YOU SAW THAT SPIKE GO UP THERE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU CHIEF. MM-HMM . UM, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, WE GIVE A OVERVIEW OF [01:10:01] THE RESPONSE TIME IN FISCAL YEAR 25 TO 26. I KNOW, CHIEF, IF YOU WANNA HIT ON SOME HIGHLIGHTS ON SOME OF THE CHANGES. YEAH, YOU COULD SEE. SO 22 SECONDS MIGHT NOT SEEM LIKE A LOT OR 24 SECONDS, BUT IT IS AN INCREASE, UM, BECAUSE NOW THAT WE'RE WORKING AND WE ALL DO HAVE OUR APPARATUSES STAFFED, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF DEMOGRAPHICS THAT YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER ALSO IN THE GEOGRAPHY. AND WHAT DO I MEAN BY THAT? YOU KNOW, THE ROAD CONSTRUCTIONS. UH, WHAT WE'RE ALSO DOING IS, UM, THERE ARE SOME ADDRESSES THAT TEND TO USE THIS QUITE A BIT, UM, WHICH I'VE, I'VE TALKED TO, YOU KNOW, ABOUT. AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT, BUT THAT'S ALSO ONE OF THE AREAS THAT THAT IS WE'RE LOOKING AT TO START INCREASING OR DECREASING THE RESPONSE TIME TO WHAT'S ALLOWED, RIGHT? BUT FOR US, THAT'S AN IMPROVEMENT, UM, AND IT IS GOING THE RIGHT DIRECTION, BUT NOW AS WE MENTIONED, WE'RE LOOKING INTO ALL THE FACTORS THAT THAT COULD BE, UM, EITHER WORKED WITH OR WORKED ON TO ENSURE THAT THAT RESPONSE TIME IS THERE. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. THANKS. THANK YOU. AND THEN THE NEXT SLIDE GIVES THE UNIT AVAILABILITY. I DUNNO, CHIEF, IF YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE, UM, IMPROVEMENTS ON THE BROWNOUTS. OH YEAH. SO THIS IS A HUGE ONE FOR US, UM, PRIOR TO OUR ARRIVAL AND, AND I WANNA THANK, UH, MAYOR WHITMEYER, UH, FOR HELPING WITH ALL THIS. YOU KNOW, WE WERE NOT GETTING PEOPLE IN, RIGHT? AND WITH THAT SAID, A LOT OF ROUND OUTS, WHICH IS A HUGE SAFETY FACTOR, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND, AND FOR US AS WELL. SO AS YOU CAN SEE, FISCAL YEAR 25, WE HAD APPROXIMATELY 100, UH, ALMOST 1,112 BROWNOUTS OF APPARATUSES THROUGHOUT THE CITY FOR THE YEAR. THIS YEAR, UM, FISCAL YEAR 26, WE HAD 113. AND THAT NUMBER KEEPS ON GETTING LOWER AS WE SPEAK. UM, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU START SEEING THE TREND, UH, IN MAY AND JUNE, WE'RE STARTING TO GET MORE, UH, WE'RE AT FOUR NOW AND JUNE WAS ZERO. AND WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THAT IMPROVEMENT CONTINUOUSLY. BUT THAT'S ONE THING THAT WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF WITH THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU CHIEF. UM, AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS THE ONE THAT GIVES THE BREAKDOWN OF THE CADET GRADUATES AND REHIRES VERSUS THE CLASSIFIED ATTRITION. UM, AND THIS IS KIND OF SPEAKS TO THOSE ALL IN OVERALL NUMBERS THAT YOU SAW A FEW SLIDES AGO, UM, OF THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE TOTAL HEAD COUNT OF THE DEPARTMENT ON THE CLASSIFIED SIDE. SO, UM, CHIEF, COULD YOU SPEAK TO SOME OF THE SUCCESS THAT YOU'VE HAD? YEAH, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE AND THANK YOU. UM, BETWEEN 2018 FISCAL YEAR 2018 AND 24, UM, WE GRADUATED 831 CADETS. UM, BUT WE LOST 1,243 MOVED AS THE LAST TWO. NEXT, LAST NEXT TWO YEARS, 25 AND 26. UH, WE WE'RE ANTICIPATE TO GRADUATE 1060 AND WITH A ATTRITION OF 5 0 3. SO 50% GAIN FOR THAT. WE HADN'T SEEN THOSE NUMBERS IN THE LAST 15 YEARS LOOKING AT THE HISTORY THAT WE HAVE. AND AGAIN, THAT'S THANKS TO ALL THE SUPPORT THAT YOU'VE OFFERED. UM, SO WE'RE GOING AN UPWARD TREND. THE NUMBERS THAT WE WANT TO HIT ARE THERE, WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT CONTINUOUSLY. OF COURSE THEY'RE DYNAMIC DEPENDING ON THE RETIREMENT PHASE. UM, BUT WE'RE STARTING TO SEE, AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, A HUGE UPWARD TREND AND HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. MM-HMM . SO THINK, AND I THINK A LOT OF YOU SEE THE, THE LARGE NUMBER OF CADETS PROPOSED. I THINK A LOT OF THE CADETS, UM, SOME OF THE CLASSES PROPOSED FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 27 BUDGET ARE BASED ON SOME OF THOSE, UH, I CALL THEM FAST TRACK CLASSES. MM-HMM . I DUNNO, CHIEF, YOU PROBABLY HAVE A MORE TECHNICAL YES. UM, SO WHAT WE DID, WE LOOKED AT EVERYTHING UPON THE ADMINISTRATIONS AND, AND MY APPOINTMENT ALONG WITH THE COMMAND STAFF, WHAT WE COULD DO BETTER. HISTORICALLY, WE WERE HAVING FOUR FULL-TIME CLASSES AT A COST OF 10 MILLION A YEAR WITH THE AVERAGE GRADUATING, AS YOU CAN SEE, A HUNDRED EIGHTY FIVE, A HUNDRED EIGHTY SIX EXPENSIVE PROCESS. NOW, WE'RE HAPPY TO SAY, UM, THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED FAST TRACK, WHICH IF YOU HAVE A FIREFIGHTER CERTIFIED COMING IN, WE HAVE ONE CLASS. IF THEY'RE EMT CERTIFIED AND THEY JUST NEED THE FIRE CERTIFICATION, WHAT THAT DOES IS REDUCE 10 MONTHS INTO ALMOST TWO MONTHS. AND DEPENDS IF YOU'RE AN EMT, IF YOU COME IN, IT'S A FOUR MONTH SCHOOL OF EMT VERSUS 10 MONTHS. SO THAT'S A HUGE SAVINGS FOR US. ON AN AVERAGE, THEY HAD FOUR, WE'RE AVERAGING 11 CLASSES A YEAR DUE TO THAT, THAT CONCEPT. THE OTHER THING WE'RE EXTREMELY PROUD OF IS YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THE, UH, WHAT WAS REQUIRED. UM, IF THEY ALREADY HAD THEIR CERTIFICATION, EITHER ONE, YOU'RE LOOKING AT AN AVERAGE OF 26 COLLEGE HOURS. HOWEVER, WHEN THEY WERE COMING IN, THEY WERE STILL REQUIRED THE MINIMUM THAT WERE REQUIRING 15 COLLEGE HOURS. BUT WE LOOKED AT EVERYTHING. THOSE THE ONLY REASON THEY WEREN'T GETTING COLLEGE HOURS 'CAUSE IT WAS CREDITS. SO WE, WE TALKED TO THE COLLEGES AND THEY'RE LIKE, YOU'RE RIGHT, IT'S 26 COLLEGE HOURS. SO THAT WAS ONE THING THAT NOW WE'RE ABLE [01:15:01] TO ABSORB MORE. THE OTHER ONE IS THE VETERANS. UM, AS A VETERAN MYSELF, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT WE TRAIN MORE THAN 15 COLLEGE HOURS. AND WITH THAT, WITH THAT SAID, LOOKING AT THE VETERAN SKILLSET, AND WE ALSO, I'M PROUD TO SAY, UH, SKILL BRIDGE, WHICH IS A PROGRAM THAT TALKING TO GENERAL RAINEY, HE WAS ABLE, WE'RE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT WHERE THE VETERAN WHO'S, OR THE PERSON WHO'S ABOUT TO RETIRE CAN NOW TRANSITION INTO THE CIVILIAN LIFE AND WORKING WITH US. THE GOOD THING ABOUT THAT, THEY ALSO, THEY PAY FOR THE TRAINING, THEY PAY FOR THE LODGING AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT'S REQUIRED FOR THAT, THAT THAT PERSON THAT'S RETIRED FROM THE MILITARY TO COME STRAIGHT TO US. UH, FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, WE HAD TO GRADUATE WITH US. THIS LAST CLASS, UH, I MEAN JUST GREAT, GREAT CANDIDATES. ONE WAS A NAVAL RESCUE SWIMMER AND THE OTHER ONE WAS ARMY, I BELIEVE IT. SO CYBER, WHICH IS GOOD TO HAVE, BUT THAT'S A VERY GOOD PROGRAM FOR US. SO THANK YOU MELISSA FOR THAT. NO, THANK YOU CHIEF FOR HIGHLIGHTING THAT. AND THOSE CONCLUDE THE SLIDES FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. THANK YOU. ANY S QUESTIONS, CHIEF AND AND DIRECTOR? THE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS MORE GOOD NEWS ON THE OVERTIME FRONT. UM, WE DID IN 27 THE GENERAL FUND OVERTIME BUDGET FOR FIRE 52, WE INCREASED THE AMOUNT THAT WE BUDGETED. UH, I THINK IT WAS ABOUT PREVIOUSLY 43 MILLION WE BUDGETED. UM, LOOKING TO PAULA THIS YEAR, I THINK WE INCREASED THE BUDGET BY ABOUT $9 MILLION ABOVE THAT. SO WHAT'S THAT? SO THE, THE NUMBERS THAT YOU SEE ON THIS SLIDE REFLECT WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS. SO THE ADOPTED BUDGET, UM, IS LOWER THAN WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE HERE. SIMILAR TO, SIMILAR TO ON THE POLICE SIDE. GOT IT. WHEN WE GET TO GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS, WHEN WE TRIP TO WHAT THE CURRENT BUDGET IS, THESE, THESE ARE THE TRUE UP NUMBERS. CORRECT. SO THAT'S WHY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS PRESENTATION FROM A QUARTER AGO, IT LOOKS A LOT DIFFERENT. YES. OKAY. OKAY. GOOD. UM, COUNCIL MEMBER PANZA, THANK YOU SO MUCH CHIEF, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. AND DR. DEBOWSKI, UM, I GUESS JUST A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS ON THE GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS. SO THIS 82.6 MILLION FOR OVERTIME IS NOT WHAT WAS VOTED ON BY COUNCIL IN FY 26 IN JUNE OF LAST YEAR? NOT INITIALLY, YEAH. SO THE BUDGET GETS ADOPTED IN JUNE, UH, THE MONTH BEFORE THE FISCAL YEAR STARTS. GENERAL APPROPRIATION, UH, IS VOTED ON BY COUNCIL IN APRIL. MM-HMM . UH, ONCE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, ABOUT NINE MONTHS THROUGH THE YEAR, UM, TO TRUE UP THE BUDGET WITH CLOSER TO WHERE WE SEE THE, UH, ESTIMATES BEING PART OF THE GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS IS SCRUBBING OVER OTHER AREAS OF NOT JUST INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS, BUT CITYWIDE ALL THE DEPARTMENTS AND CITYWIDE ACROSS THE FUND TO SEE WHERE THERE ARE, UM, POTENTIALLY OTHER SAVINGS THAT COULD HELP WITH OFFSETTING ANY OTHER AREAS THAT MIGHT NEED AN INCREASE. SO WHAT YOU CAN SEE FROM SOME OF THE PREVIOUS YEARS ON THIS SLIDE, FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE IN FISCAL YEAR 24, THE BUDGET FOR OVERTIME WAS 45 MILLION FIRE. UH, THE FINAL ACTUALS FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS ABOUT 62 MILLION. UM, BUT THEY HAD SAVINGS OF $7.5 MILLION IN OTHER LINE ITEMS AND AREAS TO HELP OFFSET THAT. SO THAT'S WHERE THROUGH THE GENERAL APPROPRIATION PROCESS, WE LOOK AT THE FUND AS A TOTAL, UM, AND SEE WHERE WE CAN IDENTIFY OFFSETS TO HELP OFFSET WHERE YOU MAY BE, UM, YOU KNOW, TRENDING OVER IN ONE AREA, BUT YOU MAY BE TRENDING UNDER IN ANOTHER AREA. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU LEAH WITH COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ'S OFFICE. THANK YOU. UM, QUICK QUESTION, I'M LOOKING AT SLIDE 13 AND 14. SO IT'S THE ONES WITH THE TREND LINES 24 AND 25, 25 AND 26. UM, SO THE QUESTION IS ABOUT THEY DON'T ALWAYS TOTALLY MATCH UP OR GO IN THE, OH, CAN YOU HEAR ME? SORRY. YEAH, YEAH. OKAY. SO THE QUESTION IS ABOUT, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU LOOK AT FISCAL YEAR 25, THE BLUE LINE ON THE OVERTIME DOLLAR SLIDE, WHICH IS SLIDE 13 MM-HMM . FOR EXAMPLE, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S INCREASING EVERY YEAR. I MEAN EVERY MONTH FROM AUGUST THROUGH FEBRUARY, YOU SEE THAT MM-HMM . AND THEN IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH IS THE HOURS SLIDE, THE BLUE LINE KIND OF GOES DOWN AND THEN IT GOES UP AND THEN IT GOES DOWN, AND THEN IT GOES UP. SO WHY WOULD THOSE NOT TOTALLY BE TRACKING TOGETHER? LIKE FOR THE JAN FOR, UM, IF, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE SPIKE IN JANUARY, I BELIEVE THAT WAS DUE TO THE WINTER STORM ENZO, AND SO A LOT OF THOSE WOULD HAVE BEEN, UM, UM, UH, THERE COULD POTENTIALLY BE ANOTHER FUNDING SOURCE FOR THAT. I HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK, BUT NO, 'CAUSE I SEE THE NINE SEVEN. YEAH, BUT EVEN LIKE BEFORE, OTHER THAN JANUARY MM-HMM . LIKE IF YOU LOOK AT, UM, ON SLIDE 13 MM-HMM . LIKE AUGUST THROUGH DECEMBER MM-HMM. THE LINE IS MODESTLY GOING UP EVERY MONTH MM-HMM . BUT THEN IF YOU LOOK AT THE HOURS, IT, IT, UM, GOES DOWN IN NOVEMBER, GOES DOWN A LITTLE BIT IN DECEMBER. [01:20:01] SO WHY WOULDN'T, WHY WOULDN'T IT BE TRACKING? I THINK IT MIGHT MM-HMM . SO I SEE. YEAH. SO WHEN PAYROLL RUNS IT'S, IT'S LIKE A WEEK OFF UHHUH. SO IT COULD BE THAT IT'S DUE TO WHEN THE PAYROLL FALLS. UM, BUT WE CAN LOOK INTO THE DETAIL BEHIND IT AND, AND CIRCLE BACK WITH YOU JUST TO MENTION, YOU KNOW, NOW WE'VE GOTTEN SO, UH, TO THE GRANULAR LEVEL THAT WE LOOK DAY BY DAY. RIGHT. I'VE SAID BEFORE, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL, THEY'LL COMPARE IT YEAR TO YEAR AND SAY, WELL, THIS YEAR YOU HAD 125 AND YOU HAD BURROW AND THIS YEAR YOU HAD 124,000 HOURS. BUT THERE'S ALWAYS SOME EVENT THAT'S GOT THAT COMES OUT. RIGHT. AS MS. KY SAID, DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI MENTIONED A LOT OF IT'S SEASONAL TOO. UH, COULD BE EVENT DRIVEN. AND UNLIKE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE ALSO PLANNING DOING SOME OVERTIME PLANNING FOR FIFA, WHICH WAS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF WORK WITH THAT. BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE OVERALL PICTURE WITH THOSE, WE'D BE HAPPY TO SUBMIT THE VARIABLES PER DAY. 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, THANKS TO CHIEF KY AND HIS TEAM NOW WE BREAK IT DOWN PER DAY. LIKE, I, WE CAN TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED THIS DAY OR WHAT, UH, AND THERE'S A LOT OF VARIABLES FOR THE SPIKES ON THOSE. SO, UM, AND AGAIN, SEASONAL EVENT MIGHT BE A, UH, SPECIAL EVENT THAT REQUIRED EXTRA. SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE LOOK AT TOO. AND REMEMBER ALSO THE NATURAL DISASTER RESPONSES THAT WE HAVE, NOT ONLY INTERNALLY BUT EXTERNALLY. JUST RECENTLY IN BEGINNING OF JULY, AGAIN, WE HAD THE HILL COUNTRY AND WE DID SEND SOME TEAMS OUT THERE. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR AGAIN, UH, CHIEF, UH, JUST WANTED TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY. THANK YOU AS WELL AS I DID IN HPD, THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, THE NUMBERS ARE PROVEN AS TO THE, UM, THE PROGRESS BY WHICH HFD HAVE DONE. I THINK ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES AND ALL OF US GREED AND FEEL GOOD ABOUT WHAT THE OUTCOME IS, BUT TO, TO SAY IT IS MORE IMPORTANT I THINK TO SAY YOUR WORK, THE JOB THAT YOU'RE DOING AND YOUR STAFF AND AS WELL AS THE MAYOR. NOW, I, I JUST WANTED TO CIRCLE THE POINT ON 2025, THERE WERE, UH, 27 REHIRE ON PAGE 17. OH, SO THOSE SIR WERE REHIRES THOSE WERE, THOSE WERE THE REHIRES RES. WE HAD A REHIRE PROGRAM 'CAUSE WE LOST A LOT OF PEOPLE. YEAH. DURING THE LAST, SO WE ESTABLISHED A REHIRE PROGRAM WHERE YOU WERE PREVIOUS HFD, YOU COULD COME BACK. OBVIOUSLY WE HAD TO SCREEN THE PROCESS AGAIN. SO THAT'S WHY YOU SAW THAT NUMBER. YEAH. AND IT'S HARD TO TELL, BUT IT'S A DIFFERENT COLOR OF BLUE. YEAH. IT'S A DIFFERENT COLOR. YEAH. I, I WAS LOOKING AT THE BLUES AND YEAH. BUT, BUT EVEN THAT IS A VERY POSITIVE, IT IS VERY POSITIVE INPUT. AND I DO WANT TO COMMEND ON THE VETERANS PROGRAM THAT YOU ARE DOING BECAUSE THAT'S VERY, UH, GOOD AND ESSENTIAL TO, UH, THE NEW PEOPLE THAT WE'RE BRINGING ON THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. SO, UM, JUST, JUST WANT TO TAKE THE MOMENT TO THANK YOU. UH, AND YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE CERTIFIED, UH, PROGRAM TOO, THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS DOING. AND OF COURSE, UH, I JUST MADAM CHAIR WANT TO LET, UH, CHIEF KNOW, UH, AND HE KNOWS THIS. HE GENERALLY, UH, TEASE ME A LOT ABOUT IT. I AM A CERTIFIED, UH, FIREFIGHTER THROUGH THE PLANT THAT I WORKED AT IN, IN, GET OUT THERE ON A TRY. COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. MAYOR MADAM CHAIR. NO, I I, HE TRIED TO GET ME AN APPLICATION. I WON'T TAKE IT . HE APPLIED, BUT WE'RE, I THINK THIS IS A FIFTH APPEAL YOU'VE MADE, BUT WE'LL SEE WHAT WE CAN DO. . NO, I ALSO WANT TO THANK THE MEN AND WOMEN AS HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT, UM, FOR ALL THE HARD WORK THEY DO. I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. UH, MAYOR WHITMEYER CONTINUES TO SUPPORT EACH, UH, ALL OF US. BUT AGAIN, IT COULDN'T BE DONE AS HPD MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE GOT IN HERE AND WE KNEW THAT WE HAD SOME CHALLENGES, BUT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS WE, WE DO SAY, AND I DO SAY IS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WORK HARD TO MAKE THOSE IMPROVEMENTS AND WE CONTINUE TO DO THAT. UM, SO AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. REALLY APPRECIATE THE OPERATIONAL CHANGES AND, AND THINGS YOU'VE DONE TO ADDRESS THIS. AND, AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE PASS THE BUDGET IN JUNE, THERE'S A MUCH LOWER NUMBER IN THAT COLUMN. IT'S, IT'S DURING THE TRUE UP IN APRIL THAT WE KIND OF TAKE. AND THAT'S SOME OF THE THINGS WE'LL BE LOOKING AT IN THE, UH, IN THE NEXT QUARTERLY REPORTS IS WHAT, FROM WHICH, WHICH DIRECTION? WHICH FROM WHICH LINE ITEMS IS THAT ARE, IS THAT FUNDING COMING TO MAKE THAT TRUE UP? BECAUSE IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A, IT'S A LITTLE CONFUSING. 'CAUSE WHEN WE PASS THE BUDGET THAT, THAT, LIKE I SAID IN 27, THIS, THIS BUDGET'S GONNA BE BOUND TO 52 AND YOU'RE LIKE, WAIT, WAIT, WE SPENT 79 THIS YEAR. UM, WE'RE ABLE TO MAKE IT UP. UM, WE JUST WANNA BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT HOW WE'RE MAKING THAT UP. AND SOME OF IT'S OPERATIONAL AND SOME OF IT'S SAY FLAT OUT SAVINGS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE IS THAT, UM, [01:25:01] ONE OF THE THINGS WE STRIVE FOR IS, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY EFFICIENCY, BUT ALSO WHAT TO DO. HOW CAN WE GIVE BACK TO THE CITY? AND THAT'S THROUGH FEES. AND, UH, WE'RE WORKING ON THAT. AND IF YOU NOTICED THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CAME IN 26 MILLION OVER WAS PROJECTED ON THE FEES. AND AGAIN, WE'RE CONTINUOUS, CONTINUOUSLY WORKING TO SEE HOW WE COULD DO BETTER IN THE FEE. AND I WANT THANK, UH, MR. UH, DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI FOR HELPING WITH THAT. AND YOU, YOU'LL BE SEEING SOME MORE S IN FRONT OF YOU THAT UPON ARRIVING, WANTED TO SEE WHAT IS SOME AREAS, RIGHT? UH, HAZMAT ORDINANCE, UM, LIFT ASSIST, THOSE TYPE THINGS. RIGHT. NO, I'M ALL ABOUT IT. ANYTHING THAT HASN'T BEEN UPDATED IN A LONG TIME, WE NEED TO, OUR COSTS CERTAINLY GO UP. SO, UM, WE HAVE TO COVER THOSE. SURE. SO REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HARD WORK CHIEF AND THANKS FOR BEING HERE WITH US TODAY. I THINK WE WILL MOVE ON NOW TO SOLID WASTE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU CHIEF. CHIEF, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER. I LOOK AT YOUR APPLICATION. OKAY. SO, UH, GOING OVER TO SOLID WASTE. SO FOR THE FIRST SLIDE, UM, THIS IS GONNA GIVE THE BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE, UM, LAST THREE YEARS, FISCAL YEAR 24, 25, 26. UM, AGAIN, THE, THE TREND IS SIMILAR, UM, WITH THE SOLID WASTE YOU SAW, UM, FOR FISCAL YEAR 26, OUR ACTUALS AS OF JUNE 30TH WERE 5.9 MILLION ON OVERTIME. UM, AGAIN, THIS IS A LOWER AMOUNT THAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR. FISCAL YEAR 25, WE HAD ABOUT, UM, $6.7 MILLION OF OVERTIME. UM, SO YOU SEE, AGAIN, SIMILAR TREND TO THE OTHER TWO DEPARTMENTS WHERE WE'RE, UM, TRENDING BELOW, UM, THE PREVIOUS YEAR, ACTUAL EXPENDITURES. UM, GOING TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, THIS IS THE BREAKDOWN BY MONTH THAT YOU SEE ON THE DOLLARS. AGAIN, JUST GENERALLY TRENDING BELOW, UM, THE PREVIOUS YEAR. AND THEN ON THE NUMBER OF HOURS AS WELL. UM, GENERALLY TRENDING BELOW THE PREVIOUS YEAR. UM, SO I KNOW THAT OBVIOUSLY THIS IS THE LAST, UM, FISCAL YEAR THAT THE SOLID WASTE WILL BE PRESENTED AS PART OF THE GENERAL FUND SPECIFICALLY. UM, ALTHOUGH IT IS PART OF THE BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 27, STILL TO LOOK AT THOSE SOLID WASTE OVERTIME. UM, THAT'LL JUST BE, YOU KNOW, WITH A, WITH A DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCE OBVIOUSLY. UM, SO I DUNNO IF THERE ARE, UH, ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME ON THE SOLID WASTE NUMBERS ARE SMALLER, BUT WE DO HAVE DIRECTOR HASSAN HERE, IF ANYONE HAS SOME UPPER I, WELL SINCE YOU'RE HERE, COME ON UP. WE'LL ASK YOU SOME OPERATIONAL QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON, ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON AT SOLID WASTE. , GOOD EVENING. UM, WE WILL BE HEARING MORE COLLEAGUES ABOUT, UM, SOLID WASTE AND NEW KPIS IN AN UPCOMING, UM, UH, BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEETING OR SERVICE DELIVERY MEETING. I THINK THAT IS BEING WORKED OUT, BUT WE'LL BE HEARING MORE ABOUT, UM, CURRENT OPERATIONS. BUT AS TO, UM, THE GERMANE TOPIC OVER TIME, UM, DIRECTOR, IF YOU'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT, UH, WAYS THE DEPARTMENT HAS TRIED TO CURB, UM, THE USE OF OVERTIME. YES MA'AM. GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE. I THINK ONE OF OUR MAIN, UH, THINGS THAT WE, UH, THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THE PRODUCTION OF OVERTIME WAS A LOT OF OUR OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES IN EVERY AREA INSIDE THE WASTE. UH, FIRST AND FOREMOST, I WANT TO THANK ALL OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR THOSE NEW TRUCKS. I DON'T THINK EVERYBODY RECOGNIZED HOW IMPACTFUL GETTING THOSE 50 NEW TRUCKS WERE. UH, THAT GAVE, UM, HELPED US ALONG WITH DIRECTOR GLASSCOCK AND FLEET, UH, TAKE THE TIME TO ACTUALLY REPAIR OUR VEHICLES THAT WILL, NOW WE HAVE A FLEET THAT CAN MAKE THE DURATION OF THE DAY THAT WE HAD. UM, ONE OF OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES WAS, UH, OF COURSE THE, THE SCHEDULING CHANGE ALSO, UM, THE NON COLLECTION DAY ON WEDNESDAY THAT WE IMPLEMENTED WHEN WE FIRST BEGAN. UM, ALSO IN OUR HEAVY TRASH COLLECTION, UH, WITH THE, UM, ADDITION OF THE RESOURCES THAT WE GOT. UH, BY CHANGING THE SCHEDULE, WE ALSO HAVE PICKED UP ON, UH, PICKING UP HEAVY TRASH AND TREE WASTE TOGETHER, WHICH ALLOWS US SOME TIME TO DEVOTE, TO PICK UP ILLEGAL DUMPING. SO IT'S JUST BEEN OPERATIONAL OFFICIALS ACROSS THE BOARD. SO WHAT UM, WHAT ARE THE GENERAL HOURS OF YOUR, I MEAN, HOW, YOU KNOW, IT USED TO BE PRETTY LONG HOURS FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR DRIVERS. HAVE THOSE CUT DOWN SOME WITH THE NEW TRUCKS AND WHATNOT? YES, MA'AM. THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. WHEN OUR FTES ARE, UH, UH, FULLY FILLED, WE REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT WE WORK. WE'RE AVERAGING ABOUT NINE TO 10 HOURS A DAY. UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE, UH, ABOUT LIKE 40 SOMETHING VACANCIES WITH OUR DRIVERS RIGHT NOW. BUT ONCE WE WERE FULLY STAFFED, THIS IS A HIGH TURNOVER, UH, FOR SEVERAL DIFFERENT REASONS. UH, WE'RE ABLE TO GET DRIVERS HOME WITHIN [01:30:01] AN EIGHT TO NINE HOUR DAY. THAT'S GREAT. 'CAUSE WHAT WAS IT BEFORE? A FEW MONTHS AGO? 14, 15 HOURS. 14, 15. SO PROGRESS. PROGRESS, GREAT. THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD TO HEAR. AND I KNOW WE'RE GOING TO HEAR MORE AT SERVICE DELIVERY, SO LOOK FORWARD TO THAT. OKAY. OR GOVERNMENT OPERATION. I DON'T KNOW WHAT COMMITTEE IT'S COMING TO, BUT IT'S, IT'S COMING. IT'S COMING. IT'S ONE OF THEM. OKAY. WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ANY COLLEAGUES, ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ON OVERTIME OR ANYTHING TODAY IN THE BFA COMMITTEE? SEEING NONE IF, DO WE HAVE ANY, UM, I KNOW THAT, UM, DOUG HAS SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS. I THINK DOMINIC MAZO ALSO SIGNED UP AND UM, I DON'T SEE HIM HERE, BUT WE'LL HAVE DOUG SMITH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UM, DIRECTOR AND EVERYONE FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS. I HAVE A QUESTION NOT RELATED TO TO THIS, BUT IT DAWNED ON ME, UM, WILL YOU BE TAKING A LOOK, UH, PRIOR WHEN, WHEN DAVE MARTIN WAS CHAIRMAN, THEY WERE DOING THE NORTHEAST WATER PLANT, ARE YOU GONNA BE DOING ANY UPDATES ON THE EAST WATER PLANT SINCE IT'S SO MUCH MONEY? OH, OH HEAVENS YES. YES. OKAY. THERE WILL BE LOTS OF UPDATES ON THAT. I MEAN, YOU SEE THESE $300 MILLION NUMBERS YEAH. COME ACROSS. IT'S DEFINITELY WE'LL HAVE ALL EYES ON THE EAST WATER PLANT, SO YES. OKAY. YEAH, I WAS, I ASSUMED YOU WOULD, BUT IT JUST WAS SOMETHING THAT DAWNED ON ME WHEN I SAW THAT, UH, REGARDING, UH, THE, UH, OVERTIME, UH, AND REIMBURSEMENTS FOR UM, UH, BOTH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. UM, MY QUESTION IS WHEN THEY GET THOSE REIMBURSEMENTS, ARE THE PAYROLL ACCOUNT AND THE OVERTIME ACCOUNT CREDITED IN THOSE DEPARTMENTS OR WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO? UH, GOOD QUESTION. WE DID GET THE AMOUNT OF REIMBURSEMENT, BUT TO WHERE, WHAT EXACT LINE ITEM IT GOES TO WITHIN THE DEPARTMENTS. WE CAN FIND THAT OUT. HOPEFULLY IT'S A CREDIT TOWARDS, UM, THAT THAT RIGHT. TO THE DEPARTMENT, SO. RIGHT. YEAH. SO, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL FOLLOW UP ON THAT. AND THEN SOMETHING THAT ALSO APPEARED TO BE MISSING AND IT WAS ADDRESSED. THEY SAID THEY JUST WENT TO THE HILL COUNTRY LAST WEEK. I DIDN'T SEE ANY REIMBURSEMENTS AND THIS WOULD BE, I THINK PRIMARILY FIRE. YEAH, I WAS LOOKING FOR THAT TOO WHEN HE MENTIONED THE WILDFIRES. AND WILL I KNOW VICE MAYOR, PRO TEM HAS BEEN, UM, HAS BEEN ADAMANT ABOUT THAT AND MAYBE THEY WERE JUST LOOKING AT RE I THINK WHAT THAT SLIDE, UM, THAT THEY HAD FOR POLICE WAS JUST FOR OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS NOT OUTSIDE, UM, ACTIVITY. OH, OKAY. $6.3 MILLION DEPLOYMENT ACTIVITY. THIS IS ON SLIDE 11 OF HOUSTON FIRE. IT LOOKS LIKE WE ARE COUNTING $6.3 MILLION. OKAY. UM, FROM DEPLOYMENTS. ONE THING THAT I DIDN'T SEE, UH, WE, THEY SPEND A LOT OF TIME BOTH DEPARTMENTS WHEN WE HAVE A DISASTER AND WE GET REIMBURSED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. UH, AND I DIDN'T SEE ANY, UH, REIMBURSEMENTS TO THESE ACCOUNTS FOR DISASTER. AND I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT'S, IT DOES IN THE, IN THE SLIDE THEY DID IT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FOR POLICE AND FIRE. THERE WAS AN ACTUAL CHART FOR POLICE. UM, WE CAN ASK ABOUT, UM, DISASTER COVERAGE. IT LOOKS LIKE, UM, IN THE FIRE PAGE 11, THEY DO TALK ABOUT CUSTOMER FEES. A RFF, WHAT'S THAT? AIRCRAFT AIRPORT? AIRCRAFT FIREFIGHTERS AIRPORT. OKAY. AIRPORT THEN FIFA COVERAGE. RIGHT. AND OTHER DEPLOYMENTS. BUT WE CAN ASK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT DISASTER. AND DIDN'T THE POLICE GET $50 MILLION? UH, FOR FIFA? YES. YES. 60, I THINK FOR FIFA. YEAH. AND THERE'LL BE, UH, THERE'LL BE SOME QUESTIONS ON THAT AND HOW THAT WAS SPENT TOO. OKAY. BUT, UM, YEAH, GOOD POINT. OKAY. THAT'S ALL. OKAY. THANK YOU DOUG. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR INPUT. AND ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY COMMENTS? UM, OKAY THEN SEEING NONE, WE WILL, UH, OUR NEXT BFA MEETING WILL BE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1ST AT 10:00 AM AND WE STAND ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.