* 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.
          [00:00:04]
          NOVEMBER 
          [Budget and Fiscal Affairs on November 2, 2026. ]
2ND, 2026 BUDGET FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE. 
          I'M SALLY ALCORN, CHAIR OF THIS COMMITTEE. 
          AND WE HAVE A PACKED AGENDA, SO WE'RE GONNA GET RIGHT TO IT. 
          WE'RE GOING TO START... 
          WELL, I, I NEVER ASK MY VICE CHAIR IF HE HAS WELCOMING REMARKS, SO LET THIS BE A FIRST. 
          ANY WELCOMING REMARKS? I DO APPRECIATE THAT, BUT GIVEN OUR PACKED AGENDA, I THINK WE SHOULD JUST DIVE RIGHT IN. 
           IT'S ON THE AGENDA AND I'M LIKE, "POOR MARIO." I NEVER EVEN ASKED HIM. 
          OKAY. 
          ONTO THE, ONTO THE, UM, QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT. 
          I'D LIKE TO WELCOME MY COLLEAGUES IN ATTENDANCE, VICE CHAIR MARIO CASTILLO, COUNCIL MEMBER JOAQUIN MARTINEZ, COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIE DAVIS, COUNCIL MEMBER JULIAN RAMIREZ, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER VICE MAYOR PRO TEM AMY PECK'S OFFICE, COUN- COUNCIL FROM MAYOR PRO TEM MARTHA KASTEX-TATUM'S OFFICE FROM COUNCILMEMBER MARIAN HUFFMAN'S OFFICE, TARSHA JACKSON'S OFFICE, JOE PANZARELLA'S OFFICE. 
          SO WELCOME ALL, AND I WELCOME WILL JONES AND MELISSA DUBOWSKI TO THE PODIUM. 
          AND YOU, YOU GUYS HAVE A WORKING MONITOR OUT THERE. 
          COLLEAGUES, I'M SORRY, THE, THE MONITORS UP HERE ARE NOT WORKING, BUT WE'RE GONNA PUSH FORWARD. 
          UH, JORDAN DID SEND OUT ALL THE PRESENTATIONS, UH, VIA EMAIL THIS MORNING. 
          THEY SHOULD BE UP ON OUR WEBSITE SHORTLY, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, FOLLOW ALONG BEST. 
          USUALLY THE, THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT DOESN'T HAVE A, DOESN'T HAVE SLIDES ANYWAY, SO YOU'RE IN GOOD SHAPE. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          OH, SURE. 
          ALSO, WELCOME TO STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ALEJANDRO SALINAS. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, GOOD MORNING, MADAM CHAIR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL AND STAFF. 
          I AM PLEASED TO PRESENT THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2026. 
          IN THE GENERAL FUND, THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE IS PROJECTING AN ENDING FUND BALANCE OF 306 MILLION OR 11.7% OF EXPENDITURES LESS DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO FOR FY27. 
          THIS IS 45.5 MILLION LOWER THAN THE PROJECTION OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT. 
          THE DIFFERENCE IS DUE TO A LOWER REVENUE PROJECTION THAN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT. 
          BASED ON OUR CURRENT PROJECTIONS, THE FUND BALANCE WILL BE APPROXIMATELY 109.5 MILLION ABOVE THE CITY'S TARGET OF HOLDING 7.5% OF EXPENDITURES, EXCLUDING DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO. 
          THE FY27 BEGINNING FUND BALANCE IS 59.4 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE FY26 ENDING FUND BALANCE REPORTED IN THE JUNE 30, UH, 2026 MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT. 
          THE INCREASE IS DUE TO YEAR-END ADJUSTMENTS TO REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES THAT WILL NOT BE FINAL UNTIL THE FY 2026 ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT IS PUBLISHED. 
          THERE ARE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO OUR REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE PROJECTIONS FROM LAST MONTH'S REPORT. 
          I WILL NOTE ON THE REVENUE, UH, WE WILL BE ADJUSTING OUR PROPERTY TAX NEXT MONTH. 
          UM, AS IT STANDS, WE'RE CURRENTLY ABOUT 37 MILLION LOWER THAN THE FINANCE PROJECTION, UM, AND MOST LIKELY THAT WILL BE LOWERED AGAIN NEXT MONTH. 
          FOR THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS, WE'RE PROJECTING NO CHANGES FROM THE ADOPTED BUDGET, UM, FOR AVIATION, COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM AND CNE AND STORMWATER FUNDS THIS MONTH. 
          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 IN A VARIABLE RATE STRUCTURE. 
          AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2026, ALL OUTSTANDING DEBT IS WITHIN THAT THRESHOLD. 
          SO WITH THAT, MADAM CHAIR, I'LL MOVE ON TO THE QUARTERLY INVESTMENT. 
          FOR THE QUARTERLY INVESTMENT REPORT, AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2026, THE CITY HAD $7.12 BILLION INVESTED IN OUR GENERAL INVESTMENT POOL. 
          THE CHARACTER OF THIS POOL IS THAT, THAT OF A SHORT-TIME BOND FUND THAT HOLDS INVESTMENTS OF VERY HIGH CREDIT QUALITY. 
          FITCH RATINGS REVIEWED THIS POOL AND ASSIGNED THE POOL AS HIGHEST RATING OF AAA. 
          OUR INVESTMENT STRATEGY IS TO MATCH ASSETS AND LIABILITIES FOR A TIME PERIOD OF ONE YEAR INTO THE FUTURE AND TO EXERCISE DISCRETION FOR THE BALANCE OF REMAINING FUNDS. 
          INVESTMENTS ARE 818 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE LAST YEAR, AND THIS IS PRIMARILY ATTRIBUTABLE TO COMMERCIAL PAPER ISSUANCE AND TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD LOAN AND THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM AND NEW BOND TRANSACTION AND THE, UH, COMMISSION ENTERTAINMENT. 
          AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2026, THE JOURNAL INVESTMENT POOL WAS YIELDING 4.085%, WHICH IS UP FROM THE 4.008% YIELD IN THE PRIOR QUARTER. 
          IN ADDITION, THE JOURNAL INVESTMENT POOL, WE HAVE TWO SMALL INVESTMENT POOLS THAT TOTAL ABOUT 16 MILLION. 
          THOSE POOLS EXIST TO COMPLY WITH TAX REQUIREMENTS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 
          A DETAILED LISTINGS OF ALL IS, UH, ALL OF THE SECURITIES OWNED BY THE CITY APPEAR IN THE BACK OF THE INVESTMENT REPORT. 
          AND ALONG WITH OUR INVESTMENT REPORT, WE HAVE INCLUDED, UM, THE SWAT REPORT. 
          THE WRITTEN SWAT REPORT THAT APPEARS IN THE MOFAR OFFERS A COMPREHENSIVE DESCRIPTION OF OUR TWO SWAT POSITIONS. 
          THE CITY HAD A NET RECEIPT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2026 FROM ITS 
          [00:05:01]
SWAPS OF 552,000. 
          FAIR VALUE FROM BOTH SWAPS AS OF SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2026 WAS NEGATIVE 32 MILLION, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY NEGATIVE 50 MILLION LESS THAN PRIOR QUARTER. 
          THE CITY SWAPS ARE FAIRLY COMPLEX, AND IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS REGARDING THE REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT, UH, VERNON LEWIS, OUR CITY TREASURER. 
          SO THANK YOU, AND THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT. 
          THANK YOU, MR. JONES, AND THANKS TO, UM, VERNON LEWIS AND EVERYBODY WORKS ON, WHO WORKS IN INVESTMENTS. 
          UM, Y'ALL DO A GREAT JOB. 
          UM, DIRECTOR. 
          WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING TO GET IT, UM, THE VOLUME INCREASE, BUT SPEAK AS LOUDLY AS YOU CAN BECAUSE THEY'LL WORK, THEY'RE WORKING IN THE BACK ON THAT. 
          WE'RE NOT PROJECTING ANY FORECAST CHANGES IN THE ENTERPRISE SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS FROM THE PRIOR MONTH. 
          UM, SINCE IT'S THE QUARTERLY REPORT, WE'LL TOUCH A LITTLE BIT ON HOUSTON'S ECONOMY. 
          FOR THE EMPLOYMENT, ACCORDING TO THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, THE PRELIMINARY TOTAL NON-FARM EMPLOYMENT IN THE HOUSTON, PASADENA, WOODLANDS METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA STOOD AT 3.495 MILLION IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST, WHICH IS UP APPROXIMATELY 0.03% OR RELATIVELY FA - FLAT COMPARED TO THE PRIOR MONTH. 
          WHEN COMPARED TO THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, THAT EMPLOYMENT IS UP ABOUT 1.2%. 
          THE PRELIMINARY UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST WAS 5%, WHICH IS THE SAME RATE THAT WAS RECORDED IN AUGUST OF 2025. 
          IN THE ENERGY SECTOR, THE AVERAGE OIL PRICE WAS $97 FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, WHICH WAS 16% HIGHER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH AVERAGE. 
          COMPARED TO THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, THAT PRICE HAS INCREASED BY ABOUT 52%. 
          FOR HOME SALES, THE LATEST REPORT PREPARED BY THE HOUSTON ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER SHOWS THE TOTAL SINGLE-FAMILY HOME SALES OF 7,000 WAS ABOUT 5.7% LOWER COMPARED TO SEPTEMBER OF THE PREVIOUS YEAR. 
          THE MEDIAN PRICE ALSO DECREASED BY 0.3%. 
          AND THAT CONCLUDES THE FINANCIAL REPORT. 
          I DID WANNA TOUCH A LITTLE BIT ON THE, UM, THE OVERTIME, UH, THAT'S RELATED NOT TO THE PRESENTATION THAT'S LATER ON, UH, ON THE AGENDA, UM, BUT RELATED TO THE, UM, BUDGET AMENDMENT THAT WAS PASSED, UM, BY COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, SUGGESTED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. 
          UM, THAT, UM, BUDGET AMENDMENT MENTIONED THAT WE WOULD BE REPORTING ON, UM, OVERTIME ON NOT JUST, UM, OVERTIME OVERAGES, BUT WHERE WE'RE TRENDING ABOVE BUDGET IN SOME OF THE OTHER BUDGET CATEGORIES AS WELL, UM, INCLUDING, UH, CATEGORIES LIKE FOOD, UM, MISCELLANEOUS OFFICE SUPPLIES, AND TRAVEL AND TRAVEL NON-TRAINING. 
          UM, SO WE PREPARED A MEMO THAT WE'RE GONNA DISTRIBUTE, UM, UH, TO YOU ALL, AND I, I THINK WE ALREADY HAD COPIES, UM, COPIES OF THIS LETTER, UM, DISTRIBUTED TO YOU WHERE YOU CAN SEE IN THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS IN EACH OF THOSE LINE ITEMS WHERE SOME OF THE DEPARTMENTS AND FUNDS ARE TRENDING OVER IN THOSE FOOD, UM, FOOD, TRAVEL, AND MISCELLANEOUS OFFICE SUPPLIES CATEGORIES. 
          IN THOSE AREAS, THERE IS ENOUGH PROJECTED SAVINGS ELSEWHERE IN THOSE DEPARTMENTS AND FUNDS TO OFFSET THOSE AREAS WHERE THEY'RE TRENDING OVER ON THOSE OTHER CATEGORIES, UM, AND THAT'S SETTING OVERTIME ASIDE. 
          WE'RE GONNA HAVE A WHOLE, YOU KNOW, PRESENTATION AND CONVERSATION ABOUT OVERTIME, BUT JUST IN THOSE OTHER CATEGORIES, I DID WANNA POINT THAT OUT, THAT NONE OF THE OVERAGES ARE ENOUGH TO, UM, 
          [00:10:01]
TAKE OUR PROJECTIONS OVER BUDGET FOR THOSE DEPARTMENTS AND FUNDS IN THEIR TOTALITY. 
          DID Y'ALL LOOK AT OVERAGES OR DID DIRECTORS LOOK AT OVERAGES IN OTHER CATEGORIES THAT MIGHT BE, UM, SIGNIFICANT? B... 
          I KNOW THOSE WERE THE BUDGET AMENDMENT CATEGORIES THAT WERE M- MENTIONED, BUT IF THERE WAS SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT IN ANOTHER CATEGORY - SO... 
          WOULD THAT APPEAR ON THIS REPORT? IT WOULDN'T REPEAR - APPEAR ON THIS REPORT, BUT IT IS PART OF OUR MONTHLY PROCESS, UM, AND I KNOW THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE GOES THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS AS WELL. 
          WE LOOK AT NOT JUST THE GLS FROM THE BUDGET AMENDMENT, BUT WE LOOK AT EVERY GL AND THE DEPARTMENT AND THE FUND IN ITS TOTALITY, UM, AND WE DON'T SEE ANY AREAS AT THIS POINT IN TIME IN ANY DEPARTMENTS WHERE THEY'RE TRENDING OVER BUDGET AT THE BOTTOM LINE LEVEL. 
          GOT IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. 
          THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU BOTH FOR THE PRESENTATIONS. 
          AND DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI, I WANNA ASK YOU A COUPLE QUESTIONS. 
          I KNOW IT'S NOT YOUR REPORT, BUT THE, UH, CONTROLLER'S FINANCIAL REPORT HAS THE PROVI - UH, CAVEAT IN IT REGARDING THE RIGHT OF WAY FEE THAT SAYS, UH, IF THE RIGHT OF WAY FEE IS NOT IMPLEMENTED OR THE ANTICIPATED REVENUE'S NOT REALIZED, THE FUND BALANCE WOULD BE REDUCED. 
          IS THERE A CHANCE THAT THE RIGHT OF WAY FEE WILL NOT BE IMPLEMENTED AS SUGGESTED BY THE CONTROLLER'S REPORT? NO. 
          NO. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, THANK YOU FOR THE ADDITIONAL REPORTING ON VARIOUS CATEGORIES OF OVERTIME. 
          I WANTED TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE, UH, VARIANCE FROM THE ADOPTED BUDGET, UM, RELATED TO THE BUDGET AMENDMENTS THAT YOU POINTED OUT, UH, REGARDING CRISIS CALL DIVERSION CENTER AND CRISIS INTERVENTION RESPONSE TEAMS. SO THESE, UM, UH, THESE REVOLVE AROUND JUST BUDGET TRANSFERS. 
          IS, IS THAT RIGHT? YES. 
          AND, UH, DO THESE TRANSFERS AFFECT THE FINAL NUMBERS, UH, ON THE BUDGET THAT WE ADOPTED? RELATED TO THE CERT PROGRAM, NO. 
          OKAY. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO IT'S JUST FOR OPERATIONAL PURPOSES, AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING THE ILA FINALIZED, BUT IT'S JUST MOVING IT FROM, UM, IN THE BUDGET, WE HAD IT IN ONE DEPARTMENT AND MOVING IT TO THE OTHER DEPARTMENT SO THAT IT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED. 
          GREAT. 
          GOT IT. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO THE $63 MILLION LOWER AD VALOREM WILL APPEAR IN THE NEXT MONTH'S - YES. 
          MOVER. 
          IS THIS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE SEEN THE MEDIAN HOME PRICE GO DOWN? GENERALLY IN THE QUARTERLY REPORT - HAS IT BEEN TRENDING DOWN FOR A WHILE? NO, NO. 
          I MEAN, IT'S FIRST TIME RECENTLY. 
          RECENTLY. 
          NO. 
          WELL, SURE, BUT LIKE IN RECENT, I DON'T REMEMBER IN A QUARTERLY REPORT RECENTLY THAT THAT HAS TRENDED DOWN OR THAT KIND OF CAUGHT MY ATTENTION. 
          RIGHT. 
          NOT RECENTLY. 
          MM-HMM. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          YOU WANNA TALK? COUNCIL MEMBER FLEGINGER HAS ENTERED THE - YEAH. 
          I, I DO HAVE A QUESTION A- ABOUT, UH, THE ADDITIONAL REPORT YOU GAVE US ON THE OFFICE SUPPLIES. 
          YES. 
          UH, THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS, THE VARIANCE, I GUESS THAT'S JUST THROUGH SEPTEMBER? IT'S A PROJECTION - FOR THE YEAR?... 
          TO THE END OF THE WHOLE FISCAL YEAR, RIGHT? OKAY. 
          MM-HMM. 
          THAT CHANGES IT SIGNIFICANTLY. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          SEEING NO ONE ELSE IN THE QUEUE, WE WILL MOVE ON TO UPCOMING FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS BY DIRECTOR DUBOWSKI. 
          AGAIN, COLLEAGUES, MY APOLOGIES. 
          THESE MONITORS IN FRONT OF US ARE NOT WORKING, SO, UH, THESE HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED VIA EMAIL, BUT YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO FOLLOW ALONG WITH HER WORDS ON THE UPCOMING FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY, SO GOOD MORNING. 
          I'M HERE TODAY TO PRESENT ON THE UPCOMING FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE FINANCE WORKING GROUP. 
          UM, SO BEFORE WE GET TO THE AGENDA, UM, I DID JUST WANNA TOUCH ON, UM, ITEMS THAT ARE ON COUNCIL AGENDA, UM, ON WEDNESDAY TO BE VOTED ON RELATED TO THE CUS SERIES 2026 BOND TRANSACTION. 
          I PRESENTED ON THAT IN OUR LAST, UM, UPCOMING FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS PRESENTATION IN THE LAST MONTH'S BFA. 
          UM, SO THOSE THREE ITEMS THAT ARE ON AGENDA, AND I'M TRYING TO REMIND MYSELF EXACTLY WHAT NUMBERS THEY ARE, BUT, UM, THE, ONE OF THEM IS TO AMEND THE MASTER BOND ORDINANCE RELATED TO WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT LAST MONTH, UM, TO PUT THOSE GUARDRAILS IN PLACE AND A CAP ON THE MAXIMUM FOR THE RIGHT OF WAY TRANSFER, LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, AND THEN TO CLARIFY, UM, HOW THE FLOW OF FUNDS WILL WORK WITH THE GENERAL PURPOSE FUND. 
          UM, AND THEN THERE'S TWO ADDITIONAL ITEMS THAT ARE THE ORDINANCES AUTHORIZING US TO ISSUE THE BONDS FOR THE SERIES 2026 B, AND THEN THE SERIES 2026 C AND D. 
          UM, SO REMEMBER THE SERIES B IS THE ONE THAT'S GOING TO BE DOING, UM, REFUNDING OF EXISTING DEBT THAT'S OUTSTANDING. 
          AND THEN THE, UM, SERIES 2026 C AND D, THAT'S RELATED TO US, UM, REFUNDING THE UNDERLYING VARIABLE RATE DEBT, UM, THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SWAPS THAT, UM, DEPUTY CONTROLLER JONES MENTIONED. 
          SO THOSE ARE ON AGENDA ON WEDNESDAY. 
          UM, 
          [00:15:01]
I KNOW, LIKE I SAID, WE PRESENTED LAST MONTH, UM, BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THOSE ITEMS, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO TALK TO YOU, UM, BEFORE WEDNESDAY'S MEETING. 
          OKAY, SO MOVING ON TO THE AGENDA FOR THIS MONTH, UM, ALSO RELATED TO THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM, UM, AS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, WE HAVE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES TO SECURE FAVORABLE FINANCING THROUGH SOME OF OUR, UM, PARTNERS AT THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL. 
          SO THE FIRST ITEM WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT TODAY IS, UM, A TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD OPPORTUNITY TO BORROW FUNDING THROUGH THE STATE REVOLVING FUND, UM, WHICH IS CALLED THE SRF. 
          AND THEN THE SECOND ITEM FOR THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM IS SOMETHING WE'VE ALSO BEEN TALKING ABOUT, UH, WHICH IS A, UM, SOMETHING WE CAN DO WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR THE... 
          RELATED TO THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE AND INNOVATION ACT, AND WE CALL IT A WIFIA LOAN. 
          AND THEN, UH, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM CREDIT AND THEIR, UM, THEIR NEED FOR THE COMMERCIAL PAPER EXPANSION, AND ALSO THE CONVENTION ENTERTAINMENT, UM, FACILITIES RELATED TO A NOTE PURCHASE FACILITY. 
          SO FOR THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM, UM, THE FIRST ITEM, UM, AND I'M ON SLIDE THREE IF YOU'RE FOLLOWING ALONG WITH THE EMAIL ATTACHMENT, UM - DIRECTOR, HOLD ON JUST A SECOND. 
          RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU WOULD LIKE A PRINTED COPY, UM, IF YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR LAPTOP WITH YOU. 
          UM, WE'RE GONNA RUN SOME COPIES OF THIS IN THE PARKS PRESENTATION. 
          Y- YOU GOT IT, EVERYBODY? NOBODY NEEDS A PRINTED... 
          OH, PRINTED IT OUT. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          GREAT FOR OUR SAVINGS. 
           THAT MAKES ME VERY HAPPY. 
          WE DON'T WANNA WASTE MONEY ON PAPER. 
           GO STOP HAULING. 
          OKAY, CARRY ON. 
          YES. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU FOR BEING IN THE 21ST CENTURY, COLLEAGUES. 
          YES. 
          SO, SO ON SLIDE THREE, UM, THIS, UH, CUSTWDB SRF LOAN APPLICATION, UM, THIS LOAN, UH, LOAN APPLICATION, THE PROCEEDS ARE GOING TO GO TOWARDS FINANCING THE NORTH BELT WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT IMPROVEMENTS AND EXPANSION PROJECTS. 
          UM, THIS PROJECT INCREASES OUR ABILITY TO TREAT WASTEWATER AND ALSO MODERNIZE THE AGING EQUIPMENT THAT WE HAVE AT THAT FACILITY. 
          UM, THE... 
          AS I MENTIONED, THESE ARE VERY FAVORABLE TERMS IN WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE STATE LEVEL WHERE WE CAN SECURE AN INTEREST RATE, UM, REDUCTION OF UP TO 35% COMPARED TO OUR BENCH- BENCHMARK, UH, INDEXED, UH, INTEREST RATE. 
          THE NEXT STEPS IS THAT, UM, WE'LL BE COMING TO, UM, TO SUBMIT THE APPLICATION TO THE TWDB. 
          THE AMOUNT WILL NOT... 
          BE NOT TO EXCEED $76 MILLION, AND THAT RESOLUTION WILL BE BROUGHT TO CITY COUNCIL, UH, THIS MONTH. 
          AND WE'RE EXPECTED TO CLONE, CLOSE ON THE LOAN IN FALL OF NEXT YEAR. 
          SO ON SLIDE FOUR, WE'RE GONNA GO ON TO THE WIFIA APPLICATION. 
          UM, SO THIS IS A, UH, A PROGRAM AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL THAT A LOT OF OTHER, UM, WATER UTILITIES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY HAVE USED FOR MANY, MANY YEARS. 
          UM, BUT IT IS A WAY OF SECURING SOME, UM, FAVORABLE, UH, FINANCING THAT HAS FAVORABLE TERMS, UM, AS OPPOSED TO JUST A TRADITIONAL BOND ISSUANCE. 
          SO WE'RE GOING TO BE APPLYING FOR THE WIFIA, UM, PROGRAM, UH, TO HELP FINANCE THE EAST WATER PURIFICATION PLANT. 
          AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I KNOW WHENEVER, UM, UH, SAMIR AND, UM, DIRECTOR MAKAI HAVE PRESENTED IN THE PAST ON THE EAST PLANT, UM, UPDATES THEY'VE MENTIONED, UH, THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE, UM, LOOKING FOR WFIA FUNDING TO HELP FINANCE THE PROJECT. 
          UM, SO THE IDEA, UH, OF COURSE, OF THE PROJECT AND, UM, UH, I KNOW PUBLIC WORKS DID PRESENT ON THE PROJECT ITSELF, UM, SO WOULD HAVE TO DEFER TO THEM ON DETAILED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE, THE PROJECT. 
          UM, BUT JUST AT A HIGH LEVEL, UM, THE PROJECT IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL TREATMENT CAPACITY AT THE EAST PLANT, UM, SO THAT WE CAN MEET THE WATER NEEDS FOR THE CITY, UM, AND OUR CUSTOMERS. 
          UH, THE NEW FACILITIES AT THAT LOCATION WILL BE CAPABLE OF TREATING UP TO 360, UH, MGD OR A MILLION GALLONS PER DAY, AND THE NEW FACILITIES WILL BE BUILT WITHIN THE OVERALL PROPERTY, UM, THAT ALREADY EXISTS ON THAT SITE. 
          UM, THE NEXT STEPS FOR THE WIFIA APPLICATION ARE THAT WE WILL PLAN TO SUBMIT THE LOAN APPLICATION TO THE EPA, UM, FOR ABOUT APPROXIMATELY $2.4 BILLION. 
          AND REMEMBER, THAT PROJECT IN ITS T- TOTALITY IS ABOUT FOUR BILLION. 
          AND THE WFIA LOAN PROCESS WILL REQUIRE BOTH THE EPA AND THE CITY TO EXECUTE A LOAN, UM, AND CREDIT AGREEMENT, AND THAT AGREEMENT WILL GOVERN THE BORROWING PARAMETERS AND REPAYMENT TERMS. SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT EARLY IN THE PROCESS. 
          WE HAVEN'T FINALIZED THOSE EXACT TERMS YET, UM, SO THAT'S WHY I'VE LEFT IT HIGH LEVEL ON THIS SLIDE. 
          SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING WITH THE EPA GOING FORWARD. 
          AND THEN ONCE THAT AGREEMENT IS FINALIZED WITH THOSE TERMS, IT WILL COME TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL, UM, MOST LIKELY SOMETIME IN CALENDAR YEAR OF 27. 
          SO MOVING OFF OF THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM ONTO THE HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM, UM, WE'RE GOING TO BE, UH, LOOKING TO EXPAND THE COMMERCIAL PAPER PROGRAM FOR THE AIRPORT. 
          UM, IN THE PAST, AND CURRENTLY WE USE COMMERCIAL PAPER TO PROVIDE A, UM, UH, BASICALLY AN INTERIM FINANCING TOOL UNTIL WE ISSUE LONG-TERM FIXED RATE BONDS. 
          UM, 
          [00:20:01]
AND SO AT THIS POINT, THE AIRPORT ANTICIPATES THAT THEIR APPROPRIATIONS AND THEIR SPENDING, UH, WHICH IS, UH, YOU KNOW, FOLLOWS THE ADOPTED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, UM, THAT THEIR SPENDING AND APPROPRIATIONS WILL BE INCREASING AS THEY IMPLEMENT THEIR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN. 
          AND SO TO IMPLEMENT THE PROJECTS TIMELY, UH, WE SEE THAT THEY NEED TO INCREASE THEIR COMMERCIAL PAPER CAPACITY. 
          SO ON SLIDE SEVEN, UM, BACK IN SEPTEMBER, WE ISSUED A REQUEST FOR TERM SHEETS TO OUR, UM, POOL OF QUALIFIED BANKS THAT CAN PROVIDE US LIQUIDITY. 
          UM, WE SOUGHT PROPOSALS SEEKING UP TO ABOUT $200 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL CAPACITY. 
          AFTER EVALUATING THE PROPOSALS, UM, WE DETERMINED THAT WE ONLY NEEDED TO GO FROM A $350 MILLION SIZE UP TO A $425 MILLION SIZE, UM, WHICH WILL PROVIDE A NICE BALANCE OF GIVING US THE AMOUNT OF LIQUIDITY THAT WE NEED, UM, WHILE STILL, YOU KNOW, SAVING ON COSTS BY NOT HAVING MORE THAN WE NEED IN THAT CREDIT FACILITY PROGRAM. 
          SO THE IDEA IS TO, UM, REPLACE OUR EXISTING $350 MILLION FACILITY WITH A $425 MILLION FACILITY, SO THAT'LL GIVE US AN ADDITIONAL 75 MILLION OF LIQUIDITY TO HELP IMPLEMENT THE CIP. 
          AND THE IDEA WILL BE TO BRING THE RCA TO CITY COUNCIL, UM, EITHER IN DECEMBER OR JANUARY COMING UP. 
          SO MOVING ON TO THE LAST CREDIT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT TODAY, THIS IS THE CONVENTION ENTERTAINMENT CREDIT. 
          UM, THIS RELATES TO HOUSTON FIRST. 
          UM, AS YOU MAY REMEMBER, AS PART OF THE 2026 TRANSACTION THAT WAS EXECUTED IN SPRING OF THIS YEAR, UM, WHEN WE MODERNIZED THE MASTER BOND ORDINANCE FOR CONVENTION ENTERTAINMENT FACILITY, ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, PART OF THAT, THAT, UM, BOND TRANSACTION WAS TO CLO - PAY OFF AND CLOSE OUT THE EXISTING NOTE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAD FOR CNE. 
          UM, WE KNEW THAT THAT WAS, UM, SOMETHING THAT WE NEEDED TO DO IN THE SHORT TERM TO MODERNIZE THE DIFFERENT AND CREATE THE DIFFERENT LIEN LEVELS ON THAT CREDIT. 
          HOWEVER, WE KNOW THAT IT'S PRUDENT TO HAVE, UM, LIQUIDITY FACILITIES IN PLACE SHOULD AN EMERGENCY OR ANYTHING UNFORESEEN COME UP. 
          SO THOSE LIQUIDITY FACILITIES THAT WE ACTUALLY PAID OFF AND CLOSED OUT WERE SOMETHING THAT WE SET UP, UH, SHORTLY FOLLOWING HURRICANE HARVEY. 
          AND SO WE FEEL IT'S IMPORTANT TO, NOW THAT THE MASTER BOND ORDINANCE IS UPDATED AND IN PLACE, UM, OPEN A NEW LIQUIDITY FACILITY SO THAT, UM, HOUSTON FIRST WILL HAVE SOMETHING AVAILABLE ON THE SHORT-TERM FINANCING BASIS, UM, SHOULD THEY NEED ANY, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR EMERGENCY NEEDS, SHOULD ANYTHING COME UP. 
          THE NEW FACILITY WILL BE BOTH FOR APPROPRIATION AND DRAWING PURPOSES, SIMILAR TO THE OLD FACILITY THAT WE HAD. 
          ON SLIDE NINE FOR THE NEXT STEPS, UM, BACK IN SEPTEMBER, WE ISSUED A REQUEST FOR TERM SHEET, UM, TO SEEK PROPOSALS FROM OUR QUALIFIED POOL OF BANKS AGAIN, UM, FOR UP TO $175 MILLION OF CAPACITY. 
          UM, THE FINANCE WORKING GROUP EVALUATED THE PROPOSALS AND MADE A SELECTION. 
          AND SO WE WILL BE MOVING FORWARD, UM, WITH BRINGING THAT ITEM TO COUNCIL AGAIN, EITHER IN LATE DECEMBER OR EARLY JANUARY. 
          AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. 
          THANK YOU, DIRECTOR. 
          AND SO COLLEAGUES, YOU, YOU NOTICED ON THIS WEEK'S AGENDA, WE WILL BE COVERING THE MASTER BOND ORDINANCE ITEMS 15 THROUGH 17 AND 18'S THE, THE REFINANCING OF THE TERMINAL B BONDS. 
          BUT - UH-HUH. 
          UM, DIRECTOR, ON THE CAP, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU SAID IT'S ALWAYS GENERALLY HIGHER. 
          WE'RE TAKING 5% OF, OF, UH, WATER BILL REVENUES. 
          WHAT, WHAT DID WE END UP ON WITH THE CAP? I KNOW LAST MONTH WHEN WE TALKED, WE SAID WE WERE SOMEWHERE IN THE RANGE OF NINE TO 10%. 
          WE LANDED RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE AT 9.5%. 
          9.5%. 
          SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING AS THE CAP IN THE MASTER BOND ORDINANCE. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. 
          THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU, MADAM DIRECTOR, FOR YOUR, UM, PRESENTATION. 
          AND I GUESS, UH, MAYBE MY QUESTION WOULD BE REFERENCE TO, ON PAGE THREE, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE MUNICIPAL MARKET DATA, UH, RATE. 
          YES. 
          AND THEN OF COURSE, WITH A 35% REDUCTION. 
          MM-HMM. 
          SO WHAT, WHAT IS THAT RATE? IS THAT WHAT... 
          SO THE RATE CHANGES, UM, IT GETS RESET, AND THE RATE THAT, UM, THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR LONG-TERM, UM, BOND BORROWING, THE INTEREST RATE THAT WE PAY ON THOSE BONDS IS SET BASED ON WHATEVER THIS DAILY, UH, WE'LL CALL IT MMD, MUNICIPAL MARKET DATA INTEREST RATE IS. 
          YEAH. 
          UM, SO USUALLY WHEN WE PRICE BONDS, IT'S BASED ON THAT, UM, INTEREST RATE THAT WE SEE ON THE DAY WE DO A PRICING, PLUS A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE MORE THAN THAT. 
          AND SO BY UTILIZING THE TWDB - YEAH. 
          WE'RE ACTUALLY ABLE TO GET BELOW THAT INTEREST RATE. 
          SO WE WON'T KNOW THE FINAL NUMBERS UNTIL THE DAY THAT WE LOCK IN THE INTEREST RATE, BUT JUST KIND OF AS A BENCHMARK IDEA - OKAY. 
          GENERALLY OUR INTEREST RATE WE PAY IS ABOVE THE MMD, SO WE'RE GONNA GET SOMETHING BELOW THE MMD FOR THIS PARTICULAR $76 MILLION. 
          GOT IT. 
          AND THAT, AND THAT WOULD BE FOR... 
          [00:25:01]
THAT'S THE ONE YEAR. 
          IS THAT THE, THE ONE YEAR THAT THEY'RE GOING TO ACCEPT THAT - THIS... 
          BELOW THE 35%?... 
          THIS IS RELATED TO THE, UM, THE BORROWING THAT WE GET BY PARTNERING WITH OUR STATE PARTNERS AT THE TWDB. 
          YES. 
          AND SO, UM, THIS LOAN WILL BE TO HELP FINANCE THE CAPITAL PROJECTS. 
          AND, UM, IN TERMS OF THE LENGTH OF TIME, USUALLY WE FINANCE THESE LOANS OVER A 30-YEAR PERIOD. 
          RIGHT, YEAH. 
          SO IT WILL LOCK IN THAT INTEREST RATE, YOU KNOW, BELOW THAT MARKET RATE FOR A 30-YEAR PERIOD, WHICH IS VERY ADVANTAGEOUS. 
          SO REALLY SPEAKS TO US NEEDING TO CONTINUE TO COLLABORATE WITH OUR STATE PARTNERS. 
          RIGHT. 
          GOOD, GOOD. 
          'CAUSE IT WAS JUST STATED THE LOAN COMMITMENT WAS FROM TW, UH, DB - YES. 
          IS FOR A ONE-YEAR PERIOD. 
          SO I GUESS IT, IT JUST - YES. 
          DOES IT? YES, I THINK THAT'S WHAT'S REFERENCING IS THAT WE NEED TO, UM, YOU KNOW, FINALIZE THE TERMS OF THE LOAN AND GET THE TRANSACTION CLOSED WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR. 
          OKAY. 
          SOUNDS GOOD. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. 
          THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU, DIRECTOR. 
          QUESTION ABOUT THE AIRPORT COMMERCIAL PAPER EXPANSION. 
          CAN YOU TELL US HOW TD BANK WAS SELECTED? YES. 
          SO WE HAVE A, UM, WE HAVE, UH, OUR FINANCE WORKING GROUP THAT MEETS ON A BIWEEKLY BASIS. 
          SO THE SELECTION COMMITTEE IS COMPRISED OF, UM, THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE. 
          UM, IN THIS CASE, UH, IT WOULD BE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM, OUR OUTSIDE FINANCIAL ADVISORS, AND THEN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT. 
          SO THIS GROUP MEETS ON A BIWEEKLY BASIS, AND WE, UH, THAT TEAM, UH, INCLUDING OUR OUTSIDE FINANCIAL ADVISORS ARE REALLY A BIG HELP WITH THIS PROCESS. 
          BUT WE PUT TOGETHER A REQUEST FOR, UM, REQUEST FOR TERM SHEETS. 
          WE HAVE A PRE-ESTABLISHED POOL OF BANKS THAT ARE QUALIFIED, UM, WHICH WE... 
          I THINK THAT WAS AN RFQ PROCESS TO ESTABLISH THAT POOL. 
          UM, AND THEN WHENEVER WE HAVE A NEED FOR COMMERCIAL PAPER OR ANY INTERIM FINANCING FACILITIES, WE PUT OUT A REQUEST FOR TERM SHEETS TO THAT POOL, AND ALL THE INTERESTED BANKS IN THAT POOL... 
          AND I, I CAN GET YOU A LIST OF ALL THE BANKS THAT ARE IN THAT POOL. 
          UM, BUT ANYONE THAT'S IN THAT POOL CAN, THAT'S INTERESTED CAN SUBMIT A RESPONSE TO THAT REQUEST FOR TERM SHEET. 
          AND THEN THE FINANCE WORKING GROUP, LIKE I MENTIONED, THAT TEAM OF FINANCE CONTROLLER, UM, IN THIS CASE, THE AIRPORT, CITY LEGAL, OUTSIDE FINANCIAL ADVISORS WOULD EVALUATE ALL THOSE PROPOSALS THAT WE RECEIVE AND DO A SCORING BASED ON RESPONSIVENESS TO THE PROPOSAL, MAKING SURE THAT THEY CAN PROVIDE US WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR. 
          UM, AND OF COURSE, PRICE IS A BIG FACTOR. 
          YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH ARE WE GONNA HAVE TO PAY TO HAVE THESE FACILITIES IN PLACE? AND SO THAT GROUP WILL MAKE A RECOMMENDATION BASED ON EVALUATING THOSE PROPOSALS. 
          THEY HAVE A MATRIX WHERE THEY DO SCORING, UM, AND THEN WE, YOU KNOW, BRING THAT, ULTIMATELY BRING THAT RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL. 
          OKAY. 
          I JUST KNOW TD BANK HAS HAD SOME LEGAL TROUBLE, HAD TO PAY MORE THAN THREE BILLION IN FINES TO THE US GOVERNMENT AND TO FINCEN, UH, REGARDING SOME, AN INADEQUATE ANTI-MONTY - MONEY LAUNDERING PROGRAM. 
          IS THAT CONSIDERED AT ALL WHEN, UH, Y'ALL ARE MAKING YOUR DECISIONS? LIKE I SAID, THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT IS PART OF THAT, UM, PART OF THAT EVALUATION COMMITTEE. 
          UM, I'M NOT PERSONALLY PART OF THE COMMITTEE, SO I HAVE TO, TO GO BACK TO, TO THEM AND LEGAL AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY LOOK CLOSELY AT THAT TO MAKE SURE IT WOULDN'T IMPACT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO. 
          OKAY. 
          LAST, LAST QUESTION. 
          UH, TD BANK, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, IS A CANADIAN COMPANY, AND THERE'S BEEN SOME TENSION RECENTLY BETWEEN OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND, UH, THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT. 
          IS THERE ANY CHANCE THAT COULD AFFECT, UM, TD BANK'S ABILITY TO, UH, FULFILL WHAT THEY'VE AGREED TO DO OR WILL AGREE TO DO? NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF. 
          I KNOW UNDER STATE LAW, UH, AND OUR OWN LOCAL LAWS, WE HAVE A LOT OF, UM, LANGUAGE ABOUT CERTAIN COUNTRIES THAT WE CAN'T DO BUSINESS WITH, UM, BASED ON STATE LAW AND OUR OWN LOCAL, UH, ORDINANCES AS WELL. 
          UM, CANADA'S NOT ONE OF THOSE, UM, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN CIRCLE BACK WITH LEGAL ON AS WELL. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, DIRECTOR. 
          I APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATIONS, AND WE WILL MOVE ALONG NOW TO... 
          ARE WE GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS? THE... 
          YES, THE - POLICE AND FIRE. 
          OH, OKAY. 
          THAT'S... 
          OKAY, WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER FIVE, THE QUARTERLY UPDATES ON PROJECTED DEPARTMENTAL OVERAGES RELATED TO OVERTIME. 
          YOU'VE D - YOU'VE ADDRESSED THE OTHER CATEGORIES WITH THE MEMO COLLEAGUES. 
          AND I DO WANNA WELCOME STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER TIFFANY THOMAS AND COUNCILMEMBER TWILA CARTER. 
          [00:30:01]
YOU HAVE A MEMO DEALING WITH THE OTHER ITEMS, BUT I SEE WE HA - WE DID HAVE CHIEF HARDIN. 
          YEAH, I SEE CHIEF HARDIN HERE AND I THINK WE HAD CHIEF MUNOZ AND, UH, PROBABLY PUBLIC WORKS TO TALK ABOUT OVERAGES IN THE THREE THAT WE'VE REALLY BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO, POLICE, FIRE, AND SOLID WASTE. 
          SO, WELL - SOLID WASTE IS NOT IN THERE. 
          YEAH. 
          SO JUST TO TOUCH ON THE SOLID WASTE, UM, CHAIR. 
          SO THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT, WELL, SOLID WASTE DIVISION, SORRY, IS PART OF THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT NOW. 
          UM, AT THE TIME OF THE BUDGET, THEY DID BUDGET ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR OVERTIME. 
          SO BASED ON THE CURRENT PROJECTIONS, THEY'RE NOT PROJECTED TO GO OVER ON OVERTIME FOR SOLID WASTE. 
          OKAY, GOOD NEWS. 
          SO JUST POLICE AND FIRE NOW. 
          SO CHIEF HARDIN WILL LET YOU TAKE IT. 
          YES. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, SO GOING TO THE FIRST SLIDE THAT HAS THE THREE-YEAR SNAPSHOT. 
          MAYBE THAT'S THE SECOND SLIDE. 
          WITH THE THREE-YEAR SNAPSHOT AND ACTUALS, UM, WE DID WANT TO INCORPORATE SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER PANZARELLA MENTIONED IN OUR LAST QUARTERLY UPDATE RELATED TO, UM, SOME OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WHAT WE CALL THE CURRENT BUDGET VERSUS THE ADOPTED BUDGET. 
          UM, SO LOOKING AT THE THREE DIFFERENT BOXES, WE'RE GONNA TOUCH ON FISCAL YEAR 25, 26, AND 27. 
          UM, SO LOOKING BACK ON FISCAL YEAR 25, THE, THE BUDGET NUMBER YOU SEE, THE $33 MILLION, THIS IS REFLECTIVE OF WHAT THE FINAL BUDGET FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR OVERTIME WAS IN THE GENERAL FUND IN FISCAL YEAR 25. 
          AND THAT FINAL BUDGET IS SOMETHING THAT IS ARRIVED AT AT THE TIME OF GENERAL APPROPRIATION. 
          SO YOU REMEMBER THE PROCESS THAT WE GO THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WE MONITOR THE PRO - THE PROJECTIONS, UM, AND WE UPDATE OUR, UM, OUR PROJECTIONS IN THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT, BUT WE DON'T ACTUALLY TRUE UP THE BUDGET UNTIL THE END OF APRIL, TOWARDS THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR. 
          SO WHAT YOU SEE REFLECTED HERE FOR FISCAL YEAR 25 AND 26 ON THE BUDGET LINES IS THAT FINAL BUDGET AS OF THE GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS. 
          LOOKING IN THE FIRST BOX FOR FISCAL YEAR 25, IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE LITTLE, THE FOOTNOTE WITH THE ASTERISK WHERE IT SAYS ADOPTED BUDGET, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I, I BELIEVE IT WAS COUNCILMEMBER CAN - PANZARELLA, UM, WANTED TO SEE WHAT, WHAT DID WE THINK THE ADOPTED BUDGET OR WHAT WAS THE BUDGET AT THE TIME WE ADOPTED THE BUDGET? BECAUSE I THINK ONCE YOU GET PAST THAT GENERAL APPROPRIATION, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ADOPTED BUDGET IS NO LONGER THE BUDGET. 
          NO, I APPRECIATE YOUR HAVING THAT ON THERE. 
          YES. 
          UM, SO NOW YOU SEE THAT FOR FISCAL YEAR 25 AND 26. 
          IN FISCAL YEAR 27, SINCE WE HAVEN'T DONE GENERAL APPROPRIATION YET, YOU CAN SEE THAT THAT FIGURE IS THE SAME, UM, BECAUSE THE CURRENT BUDGET IS THE ADOPTED BUDGET. 
          UM, AND YOU CAN ALSO SEE THIS IS REFLECTIVE OF WHERE WE MADE AN EFFORT IN THE FISCAL YEAR 27 BUDGET TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF GENERAL FUND BUDGET THAT WE HAD BUDGETED FOR OVERTIME AT THE TIME OF THE ADOPTED BUDGET, HOPEFULLY IN ORDER TO MORE ACCURATE, ACCURATELY REFLECT WHERE WE THINK WE'RE GOING TO END UP AT THE END OF THE YEAR. 
          UNDERSTANDING THAT PARTICULARLY FOR HPD OVERTIME, AND CHIEF HARDING CAN, CAN SPEAK TO IT MUCH BETTER THAN I CAN, UM, OVERTIME IS NOT ALWAYS PREDICTABLE. 
          WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE EVENTS, UM, BOTH WEATHER EVENTS AND EVENTS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, THAT NECESSITATES OVERTIME. 
          AND SO IT'S NOT AS EASY TO PREDICT, BUT WHAT WE DID FOR PURPOSES OF FY27 IS WE DID A FIVE-YEAR LOOK BACK AT WHAT OUR HISTORICAL ACTUALS IN GENERAL FUND OVERTIME HAVE BEEN AND DID AN AVERAGE OF THOSE FIVE YEARS AND CAME TO A MIDPOINT BETWEEN WHAT DID WE BUDGET IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR AND WHERE IS THAT FIVE-YEAR ACTUAL? SO WE MIGHT NOT BE ALL THE WAY RIGHT TO WHERE THE, THE FINAL OVERTIME NUMBER IS, BUT OUR GOAL IS TO GET THAT BUDGET A LOT, A LOT CLOSER TO WHERE WE THINK IT'S GONNA END UP. 
          SO LOOKING AT FISCAL YEAR 27, UM, AGAIN, THE BUDGET IS 21 MILLION, WHICH AS YOU CAN SEE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, ABOUT $7 MILLION MORE THAN THE ADOPTED BUDGET WAS IN FISCAL YEAR 26 TO, AGAIN, MORE, TRY TO MORE ACCURATELY REFLECT WHERE WE THINK IT'S GONNA END UP. 
          UM, THROUGH THE FIRST QUARTER, THE ACTUAL OVERTIME IN THE GENERAL FUND IS 6.7 MILLION. 
          UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, UH, STILL THREE QUARTERS LEFT OF THE FISCAL YEAR. 
          UM, THE SAVINGS OFFSET, AS WE MENTIONED, IS TBD. 
          HPD RIGHT NOW DOES HAVE SAVINGS IN, UM, CIVILIAN VACANT POSITIONS, UM, AND, UM, OTHER AREAS IN THEIR LINE ITEM BUDGET. 
          SO AT THIS POINT IN TIME THROUGH ONLY THE FIRST QUARTER, IT'S REALLY TOO EARLY TO PROJECT EXACTLY HOW MUCH IN SAVINGS OFFSET WE'RE GONNA HAVE IN SOME OF THOSE OTHER AREAS. 
          UM, BUT WE DO SEE THAT FOR HPD, THEY'RE, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE PRETTY, PRETTY CLOSE TO RUNNING ON BUDGET WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TOTAL BOTTOM LINE FOR THE DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, AND EVEN, UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN JUST LOOKING AT THE OVERTIME AMOUNT, AGAIN, W - SINCE WE'RE STARTING OFF WITH A HIGHER BUDGET, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING GOOD FOR HPD. 
          SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS WHERE YOU'LL SEE THE BREAKDOWN, WHICH, UM, I THINK THIS WAS A REQUEST OF COUNCIL MEMBER PECK, I, I BELIEVE, WAS TO SHOW MORE DETAILS ON THE REIMBURSED AMOUNTS, UM, FOR THE, UH, BOTH POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT. 
          [00:35:01]
SO YOU'LL SEE A SIMILAR SLIDE FOR FIRE. 
          UM, THIS SLIDE LAYS OUT FOR THE GENERAL FUND OVERTIME HOW MUCH IS ACTUALLY REIMBURSED FROM OTHER, UH, O- OTHER FUNDING SOURCES. 
          SO YOU SEE THE AIRPORT IS OBVIOUSLY A BIG, UM, UH, REIMBURSER OF THE OVERTIME. 
          OF COURSE, THAT'S OVERTIME THAT'S WORKED AT THE AIRPORT AND ON BEHALF OF THE AIRPORT, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT, UM, UM, RUNNING AFOUL OF THE FAA IN ANY WAY. 
          UM, AND THEN YOU ALSO SEE METRO, UM, DOES REIMBURSE FOR, UM, OVERTIME AS WELL. 
          SO IF WE JUST WANNA ZOOM IN ON FISCAL YEAR 27 TOWARDS THE BOTTOM OF THE REPORT, UM, BASED ON THE ADOPTED BUDGET OF 21 MILLION FOR OVERTIME IN THE GENERAL FUND, IT'S ANTICIPATED THAT ABOUT 6.9 MILLION OF THAT OR ABOUT 32% OF THAT WILL BE REIMBURSED BY, UM, BY THE AIRPORT AND METRO. 
          SO GOING ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, THIS GIVES THE, UM, THE CLASSIFIED OVERTIME BROKEN DOWN BY PERIOD. 
          SO YOU CAN SEE FOR FISCAL YEAR 27, UM, THERE WAS A, A SLIGHT UPTICK IN JULY, BUT THEN AGAIN IN AUGUST, YOU SAW WE WERE A LITTLE BIT BELOW THE PREVIOUS YEAR. 
          UM, AGAIN, THIS IS REALLY OPERATIONALLY BASED, UM, AND SO IS NOT GOING TO BE EXACTLY EVEN EVERY PERIOD OF THE FISCAL YEAR, AND WE WOULDN'T ANTICIPATE THAT TO BE THE CASE. 
          ON THE FOLLOWING SLIDE, YOU SEE THESE ARE BASED ON THE, UM, NUMBER OF HOURS WORKED, AND AGAIN, IT FOLLOWS THE SIMILAR TREND TO THE, UM, TO THE PREVIOUS SLIDE WITH THE SPEND. 
          AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE, IF I COULD ASK THE CHIEF TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, UM, THE CADETS AND THE ATTRITION. 
          UH, GOOD MORNING, COUNCIL MEMBERS, CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU FOR HAVING US TODAY. 
          UH, WE CONTINUE TO SEE LARGER CLASSES THAN HISTORICALLY THE NORM HAS BEEN, WHICH IS FANTASTIC NEWS FOR US. 
          I THINK LAST TIME I PRESENTED TO YOU FOLKS, WE TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF A NEW CONTRACT, THE IMPORTANCE OF EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO AS A DEPARTMENT, UH, WITH Y'ALL'S SUPPORT. 
          AND OUR ATTRITION IS WELL UNDER OUR CADET ADD. 
          SO AS A REMINDER, OBVIOUSLY IT'S A FIRST QUARTER REPORT, SO IT GOES THROUGH THE END OF SEPTEMBER, BUT CURRENTLY WE HAVE ABOUT 218 CADETS SPLIT BETWEEN THREE CLASSES IN THE ACADEMY RIGHT NOW. 
          AND OUR PROJECTION, SO LAST YEAR WE, WE ADDED 158 CLASSIFIED, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CADETS AND, AND, UH, ATTRITION. 
          AND THIS YEAR, THE PROJECTION IS, IS EXPECTED TO BE CLOSE TO THE SAME. 
          SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO ADD OFFICERS, WHICH THEN IN TURN, OBVIOUSLY, WOULD CUT DOWN ON OVERTIME SPENDING AND BE ABLE, UM, TO ADD SOME MANPOWER AT SOME PLACES THAT ARE DESPERATELY NEEDED. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND THAT, THAT CONC- CONCLUDES THE SLIDES FOR HPD. 
          THANK YOU, DIRECTOR AND CHIEF. 
          UH, WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE OPERATIONAL CHANGES THAT HPD HAS DONE TO BRING OVERTIME DOWN, AND IT'S GREAT TO SEE THAT GRAY BAR LOWER THAN THE BLUE BAR. 
          UH, WE HAVEN'T SEEN THAT IN A, UM, A LOT IN YEARS PAST. 
          SO THAT'S GREAT TO SEE. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR GOOD WORK ON THAT. 
          AND ALSO REALLY APPRECIATE THE, THE REIMBURSEMENT. 
          SO, SO EVEN THOUGH THERE'S A OVERAGE, A LOT OF THAT IS REIMBURSED FROM METRO AND THE AIRPORT. 
          SO THAT'S GOOD NEWS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. 
          UH, THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. 
          UH, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          UH, CHIEF HARDIN, UM, UH, JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW, BECAUSE I, I NOTICED THAT THE DEPARTMENT'S HAD A LOT OF SUCCESS, UM, ATTRACTING MORE CADETS INTO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, WHICH INCREASES OUR NUMBER OF POLICE OFFICERS THAT WE CAN PUT OUT ON THE STREETS. 
          HAS THE DEPARTMENT CHANGED ITS, ITS, UM, UM, UM, QUALIFICATION STANDARD AT ALL? HAVE WE DONE ANYTHING DIFFERENT OTHER THAN, UM, THE INCREASES IN, IN SALARY THAT HAVE COME AS PART OF THE, UH, THE NEW CONTRACT OR THE CONTRACT WE RECENTLY PASSED? NO, SIR. 
          WE HAVE NOT CHANGED OUR QUALIFICATION STANDARDS FOR APPLICATION IN SOME TIME. 
          WE'VE NOT LOWERED OUR STANDARD A- AT ALL. 
          NO, SIR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCILMEMBER FLICKINGER. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          UM, LOOKING AT THE OVERTIME MONTH OVER MONTH COMPARISON TO THE PREVIOUS YEAR, I MEAN, WE'VE ADDED QUITE A FEW OFFICERS OVER THE LAST YEAR, HAVEN'T WE? I MEAN, I THINK WE'RE UP TO, WHAT, 5,500? YES. 
          YEAH, WHAT IS THE TOTAL COUNT OF OFFICERS? TODAY, IT'S A LITTLE OVER 5,500. 
          AT THE END OF THIS REPORT, I THINK IT WAS 54 OR 38. 
          WE GRADUATED CLASS AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS MONTH, WHICH IS THIS QUARTER, BUT - AND MY QUESTION IS, I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT WITH THE INCREASED NUMBER OF OFFICERS THAT WE WOULD SEE BIGGER DECREASES COMPARED TO THE SAME MONTHS LAST YEAR. 
          SO ARE YOU LOOKING AT THE DOLLARS OR HOURS OR BOTH? UM, I BELIEVE THIS IS DOLLARS, YES. 
          OKAY. 
          SO IF YOU'LL SEE IN JULY HOW IT'S HIGHER, THE WORLD CUP CAUSED THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          SO EVEN THOUGH WE WERE REIMBURSED FOR WORLD CUP OPERATIONS, UH, THE ISSUE WE HAD WAS ON THE 4TH OF JULY, A CITY HOLIDAY, 250TH CELEBRATION. 
          WE HAD A WORLD CUP GAME. 
          WE HAD A NUMBER OF COMMUNITY EVENTS. 
          THE - SO, SO THE YEAR OVER YEAR COMPARISONS 
          [00:40:01]
ARE NOT APPLES TO APPLES BECAUSE YOU HAD THE WORLD CUP ON THERE THAT ADDED OBVIOUSLY TO-THAT IS CORRECT. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THEN IF YOU SEE AUGUST, HOW WE DIPPED, THAT'S AN OPERATIONAL CHANGE. 
          THE... 
          AND ALSO, IF YOU LOOK AT, UM, THE, UH, THE PIE CHART ON HOLIDAYS, HOLIDAYS PAY IS A LITTLE HIGHER THIS YEAR THAN IT HAS BEEN IN THE PAST BECAUSE OF THAT JULY 4TH HOLIDAY. 
          SO DURING WORLD CUP, WE DID NOT ALLOW OUR OFFICERS TO TAKE VACATION BECAUSE WE NEEDED ACCESS TO ALL OF OUR OFFICERS FOR THE VARIETY OF EVENTS AND THE WHAT IFS THAT MAY COME UP. 
          SO WE SPENT MORE ON THAT HOLIDAY TO HAVE OFFICERS IN RESERVE - OKAY. 
          FOR OPERATIONS AND THINGS THAT MAY COME UP FOR WORLD CUP. 
          OKAY. 
          WE WERE VERY BLESSED TO NOT NEED THEM ALL, BUT, UM, THAT'S WHAT THE, THE CHANGE IN, OR THE INCREASE IN OVERTIME WAS. 
          OKAY, PERFECT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YOU'RE WELCOME. 
          AND, UH, WITH COUNCIL MEMBER PANZARELLA'S OFFICE. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU, CHIEF, UH, AND DIRECTOR FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. 
          UM, JUST REVIEWING JUST, UH, I RE - KNOW WE'VE SPOKEN ABOUT THIS B - IN THE PAST. 
          SO SIMILARLY ON THE FY 2026 PATTERNS, JANUARY, IF I RECALL, THAT WAS THE WEATHER EVENT, THAT WAS THE STORM. 
          AND THEN WAS JUNE, THAT UPTICK, WAS THAT IN PREPARATION FOR FIFA AND, LIKE, DURING FIFA EVENTS, THOSE WERE THOSE TWO SPIKES, UH, LOOKING AT THE, UM, DOLLARS IN FY 2026, BUT ALSO THE HOURS, I GUESS, TOO. 
          FIFA. 
          YEAH, I THINK JUNE WAS FIFA, AND I THINK JANUARY WAS A FREEZE, IF I REMEMBER CORRECT. 
          YOU ARE CORRECT ON JANUARY, AND JUNE WAS PARTIALLY FIFA. 
          UM, I'D HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK. 
          I THINK THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN SOME SPECIAL EVENTS AND PUBLIC ASSEMBLY STUFF IN THERE AS WELL. 
          BUT, UH, EITHER... 
          I CAN GET YOU THE NUMBERS - OKAY. 
          IN PARTICULAR ON WHAT THE SPIKE WAS. 
          SO, IN THEORY, YOU KNOW, IT SHOULD BE RELATIVELY... 
          IF WE... 
          KNOCK ON WOOD, BARRING A FREEZE AND OBVIOUSLY FIFA FOR JUNE, THOSE NUMBERS SHOULD KIND OF GO BACK DOWN TO WHAT WE'RE SEEING AROUND NOVEMBER, DECEMBER. 
          ARE THERE OTHER SPIKES THAT Y'ALL HAVE NORMALLY SEEN AROUND THAT, LIKE, WOULD POTENTIALLY BE AROUND THOSE TIMES OF YEAR? IS IT USUALLY CONSISTENT AS LONG AS THERE'S NOT A WEATHER EVENT? NO, THAT'S THE CHALLENGE IN BA - IN BALANCING A POLICE DEPARTMENT BUDGET IS, IS THE OVERTIME IS ALMOST OUT OF OUR CONTROL, DEPENDING ON WHAT HAPPENS BOTH HERE, NATIONWIDE, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE COULD BE AN EVENT THAT, THAT CAUSES PUBLIC ASSEMBLIES THAT REQUIRE MORE OVERTIME. 
          WE COULD HAVE A WEATHER EVENT THAT, YOU KNOW, IN ORDER TO BE REIMBURSED BY THE STATE OR BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT - UH-HUH. 
          FOR A WEATHER EVENT, YOU HAVE TO HIT CERTAIN BENCHMARKS, AND THERE'S OFTENTIMES WHERE UNFORTUNATELY WE HAVE A WEATHER EVENT THAT FALLS JUST SHORT OF THE BENCHMARK, SO WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE, THE OVERTIME NEEDED TO SECURE THE CITY AND THE FACILITIES DURING THAT TIME. 
          I WISH IT WAS MORE PREDICTABLE THAN IT IS, AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE TO STAY ON TOP OF IT AND KIND OF PLAY THE - UH-HUH. 
          LOOK AT COST SAVINGS EVERY SINGLE MONTH AND EVERY QUARTER AND, AND WHAT WE CAN MAKE ADJUSTMENTS FOR. 
          GREAT. 
          UH, AND LASTLY, YOU KIND OF TOUCHED ON THIS. 
          SO FOR EVENTS, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF, LIKE, PRIVATE LOCAL EVENTS THAT USUALLY, YOU KNOW, IF A NEIGHBORHOOD WANTS TO HOST A STREET CLOSURE, THEY MAY PAY FOR THE OFFICERS THAT ARE THERE. 
          SO WHEN THE CITY, WHEN THIS IS COMING OUT OF THE HPD BUDGET, IS THAT SPECIFICALLY, LIKE, CITY SANCTIONED EVENTS, LIKE FREEDOM OVER TEXAS, LIKE OUR THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE, OR DOES THAT EVER INCLUDE OTHER, YOU KNOW, EXTERNAL EVENTS THAT ARE HOSTED BY OTHER AGENCIES? NO, MA'AM. 
          IT'LL ONLY BE CITY SPONSORED PERMITTED EVENTS WHEN IT, WHEN YOU SEE THAT SPECIAL EVENT LINE. 
          OKAY. 
          AWESOME. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          THANKS AGAIN, CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, CHIEF. 
          THANK YOU, DIRECTOR. 
          WE'LL NOW BRING UP, UH, FIRE CHIEF TOM MUNOZ. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU ALL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY, SO, UH, IF WE WANNA GO TO SLIDE NINE ON HFD. 
          UM, THIS IS THE THREE-YEAR SNAPSHOT. 
          SO AGAIN, UM, SIMILAR TO, UM, HPD, WE ADDED THAT NOTE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE FIRST TWO BOXES SHOWING WHAT THE ADOPTED OVERTIME BUDGET WAS. 
          UM, AS YOU CAN SEE FOR FISCAL YEAR 26, OUR ADOPTED OVERTIME BUDGET, UM, WAS $43.5 MILLION. 
          SO COMING OVER TO THE FY27 BOX, YOU SEE THE TOP LINE, THE BUDGET OF 52.6 MILLION. 
          THIS IS THE EFFORT THAT WE MADE TO, UH, INCLUDE ADDITIONAL BUDGET, UM, AT THE TIME OF THE ADOPTED BUDGET FOR OVERTIME. 
          SO USING THAT SAME, SIMILAR METHODOLOGY, UM, THAT I TALKED ABOUT WITH HPD, KIND OF LOOKING AT PRIOR YEAR ACTUALS AND TRYING TO GET THAT ADOPTED BUDGET NUMBER CLOSER TO WHERE WE'VE SEEN PRIOR YEAR ACTUALS. 
          SO IT'S AN INCREASE OF ABOUT $9 MILLION FOR BUDGET PURPOSES. 
          UM, NOT, NOT THAT WE NECESSARILY EXPECT THERE TO BE AN INCREASE OF $9 MILLION IN THE AMOUNT THAT WAS SPENT COMPARED TO THE PRIOR YEAR, BUT JUST A WAY TO GET, UH, HOPEFULLY A MORE CLOSER REFLECTION OF WHERE WE SEE THE FINAL NUMBERS, UM, ENDING UP COMING. 
          UM, AND SO, UM, TOUCHING ON THE, UM, CLASSIFIED HEADCOUNT, WHICH IS ALSO ON THIS SLIDE, I DID WANNA POINT OUT, UM, THAT LOOKING AT FISCAL YEAR 25, THE CLASSIFIED HEADCOUNT WAS ABOUT 3,600. 
          AS OF THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER OF FISCAL YEAR 27, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT 3,900 RIGHT NOW, 
          [00:45:01]
UM, WHICH THE CHIEF, UM, WHEN WE GET TO THE, TO THE CADET SLIDE CAN PROBABLY SPEAK TO SOME OF THE SUCCESSES THAT WE'VE HAD, UM, ON GROWING THAT, GROWING THAT FORCE. 
          UM, ON SLIDE 10, I DON'T KNOW, CHIEF, IF YOU - OH, YEAH, THE SLIDE OVERTIME. 
          YEAH, SORRY. 
          THAT WOULD BE SLIDE FOUR ON YOUR... 
          IF WE HAVE THAT. 
          I'M, I HAVE A DIFFERENT SLIDE DECK, BUT YEAH, THAT'LL BE HIV OVERTIME. 
          UH, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU, UH, FOR ALL THE SUPPORT, UH, MAYOR WHITMEYER AND YOURSELVES, YOU KNOW, THE SUCCESS THAT WE'VE HAD IS DEFINITELY ATTRIBUTED TO ALL THIS, UH, THE SUPPORT THAT YOU'VE GIVEN US, AND, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          BUT I ALSO LIKE TO THANK THE MEMBERS OF THE HFD FAMILY AND FIREFIGHTERS WHO CONTINUOUSLY ARE OUT THERE EVERY DAY, DESPITE, UM, EVERYTHING ELSE. 
          THEY HAVE BEEN DOING AN AMAZING JOB. 
          BUT GOING BACK TO THE SLIDE, UM, SO THIS IS THE... 
          BASICALLY, HFD, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY, UM, REQUIRES, UH, THE MINIMUM STAFFING OF FOUR. 
          SO THE OVERTIME IS ATTRIBUTED TO THAT. 
          UH, WE LOOK AT, UM, THE SUPPORT FOR THE SPECIAL EVENTS AND NATURAL DISASTERS AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT. 
          UM, AND THE OTHER THING THAT WE ALSO LOOK AT IS WE ALSO FOLLOW THE NFPA STANDARDS WHEN WE START SETTING UP THE FORMAT FOR THE OVERTIME. 
          UM, BUT IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT THE MINIMUM STAFFING, WHICH IS A CONTRACT REQUIREMENT ALONG WITH, OBVIOUSLY, NFPA REQUIRE, UH, SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS IS FOUR. 
          SO ANYTIME THERE'S SOMEONE OFF, WE HAVE TO GO AND FILL THAT SPOT. 
          BUT WE'VE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL WITH THIS NOW THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE LATER ON IN THE SLIDE DECKS, BUT THIS IS A REQUIREMENT THAT WE HAVE. 
          SO THOSE 849 POSITIONS GO EVERYWHERE FROM DEPUTY CHIEFS ALL THE WAY TO COMMUNICATION CAPTAINS. 
          SO WE LOOK AT WHAT MAKES UP HFD, AND IT'S ARSON, INSPECTION, OPERATIONS, SPECIAL, SPECIAL OPS, EVEN THE COMMUNICATION CAPTAINS. 
          SO ALL OF THAT IS THE COMPONENTS, OUR COMPONENTS OF HFD AND WHAT IT MAKES UP. 
          SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE LOOK AT WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE OVERTIME OVERALL PICTURE. 
          OH, THIS ONE. 
          SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, FOR THE FIRST QUARTER, UM, HFD, UM, AVERAGED, FOR FISCAL YEAR 27, 844 MEMBERS THAT WERE ASSIGNED TO EACH OF OUR FOUR SHIFTS. 
          THE PRI - UH, FISCAL YEAR 26, WE WERE AT 817 MEMBERS PER SHIFT. 
          SO WE'RE SEEING A, A GOOD, UH, INCREASE PER SHIFT THAT'LL ALLOW US TO START REDUCING THAT OVERTIME. 
          UH, BUT THE OBLIGATIONS TO REDUCE THE NUMBERS THAT ARE ASSIGNED ARE, UM, ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO LOOK AT, RIGHT? WE, WE GET THE NUMBERS IN, BUT WHAT'S SOME OF THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE, WE HAVE TO CONSIDER IS THAT FOR THAT TO HAPPEN, WE ALSO HAVE TO INCREASE WHAT HADN'T BEEN DONE IN THE PAST. 
          THE BIG ONE IS PARAMEDICS. 
          UM, PREVIOUSLY THAT WE WERE AVERAGING 25 PARAMEDICS PER, PER YEAR. 
          NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT 200 PARAMEDICS. 
          AND WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT? BECAUSE FIRST, THE MORALE WAS TAKING A HIT WITH PARAMEDICS. 
          I MEAN, IT WAS VERY COMMON PRIOR TO THIS ADMINISTRATION, MAYOR WHITMEYER, IS THAT YOU'D HAVE PARAMEDICS HOLDING OVER TWO OR THREE SHIFTS, TWO OR THREE DAYS. 
          AND THAT WAS A BURNOUT, RIGHT? MORALE. 
          NOT TO MENTION A SAFETY FACTOR. 
          OUR PARAMEDICS ARE, I WOULD DEFINITELY SAY THE BEST IN THE WORLD, BUT HAVING THAT FATIGUE. 
          SO NOW, THANKS TO THE INCREASE OF NUMBERS, WE'RE ABLE TO DEFINITELY TAKE CARE OF WHAT HADN'T BEEN TAKEN CARE OF, BUILDING THAT FOUNDATION AGAIN. 
          SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS. 
          AND OF COURSE, YOU GOT YOUR SCHEDULED TIME OFF THAT PEOPLE HAVE. 
          AND THEN ALONG WITH THAT, UM, WE LOOK AT THE SCHEDULED TIME OFF, BUT DO WE ALSO HAVE TO LOOK AT THE OBLIGATIONS, THE CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS THAT, THAT ADD TO THAT OVERTIME, YOU KNOW, THE GUARANTEED HOLIDAYS, UM, THE VACATION, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, FMLA, WORKMAN'S COMP, ALL THAT ADDS UP. 
          AND REMEMBER, WHAT, WHAT DOES... 
          WE HAVE TO... 
          IF THAT PERSON'S OFF, WE HAVE TO FILL THAT BACK SPOT WITH OVERTIME. 
          BUT THAT'S, THAT'S DEFINITELY INCREASING FOR US NOW. 
          SO, UM, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS SIMILAR TO THE FORMAT YOU SAW FOR HPD. 
          UM, SO THIS WILL SHOW YOU, UM, OF THE OVERTIME, UM, THAT'S HITTING THE GENERAL FUND, HOW MUCH OF IT IS REIMBURSED, UM, BACK. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEARS, FISCAL YEAR 25 AND 26, AND THEN OUR, UM, BUDGET AND, UM, ACTUALS YEAR TO DATE FOR FISCAL YEAR 27. 
          UM, SO YOU CAN SEE JUST, JUST TO FOCUS ON FISCAL YEAR 27, OF THE 52.6 MILLION THAT WE HAVE BUDGETED, UM, IN THE GENERAL FUND FOR OVERTIME, ABOUT, UM, 47 MILLION OF THAT WILL COME FROM GENERAL FUND REVENUE SOURCES, 
          [00:50:01]
AND ABOUT 5.2, 5.3 MILLION WILL, UM, BE REIMBURSED BY, UM, OUR PARTNERS. 
          AND AGAIN, THIS IS BASED ON THE BUDGET. 
          OBVIOUSLY, WEATHER EVENTS CAN HAPPEN, THINGS CAN CHANGE, PARTICULARLY AROUND, UM, SOME OF, FOR EXAMPLE, DEPLOYMENTS OR WHERE THE DEPARTMENT PARTNERS WITH, UM, OTHER JURISDICTIONS. 
          SO THAT, THAT COULD CHANGE WHAT THE BOTTOM LINE NUMBERS END UP BEING. 
          UM, AND YOU CAN, YOU CAN EVEN SEE THAT LOOKING AT THE PREVIOUS YEARS, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE BUDGET... 
          JUST LOOKING AT DEPLOYMENT AS AN EXAMPLE, IN FISCAL YEAR 25, THE BUDGET WAS 145,000. 
          ACTUALLY, WHAT ENDED UP HAPPENING IS WE ENDED UP GETTING 622,000 IN REIMBURSEMENT. 
          SO IT IS VERY DEPENDENT ON, UM, YOU KNOW, THE NEEDS OF THE DEPARTMENT. 
          I DON'T KNOW, CHIEF, IF YOU WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT. 
          YEAH. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS, YOU KNOW, UM, WE'RE VERY BLESSED THAT WE HAVE THE THIRD LARGEST DEPARTMENT IN THE COUNTRY, AND OBVIOUSLY THE LARGEST IN THE STATE. 
          BUT WHEN WE HAVE THOSE NATURAL DISASTERS, EXAMPLE, KERRVILLE, THEN WE STARTED OFF THIS YEAR WITH WILDLAND, AND, YOU KNOW, FOR US, IT IS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE SPECIALIZED TEAMS THAT GO, AND TO SUPPORT THE STATE. 
          AND WITH THAT SAID, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT AS, AS DIRECTOR DUBOWSKI JUST MENTIONED, EVERYTHING'S REIMBURSED, INCLUDING THE TRAVEL, THE NON-TRAVEL THAT YOU SEE, IT'S REIMBURSED TO US. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER THAT WHILE WE'RE DOING THE GOODWILL, THAT ALSO IS GETTING REIMBURSED BY THE STATE FOR US, SO... 
          WHICH GOES INTO THE GENERAL FUND, SO THAT'S SOMETHING TO REMEMBER, BUT THANK YOU FOR THAT SUPPORT ON THAT, AND I WANNA THANK THE SPECIAL OPS TEAMS AS WELL. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, SO ON SLIDE 13, THIS WILL GIVE YOU THE BREAKDOWN, UM, BY PERIOD. 
          UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT ON SLIDE 13, ON THE DOLLARS WORKED, UM, WE DID HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A TIMING, UM, YOU SEE A TIMING DIFFERENCE HERE, UM, IN THE JULY AND THE AUGUST, UM, THAT IS GOING TO BE RELATED TO FIFA, UH, WHERE THERE WAS SOME OVERTIME, UH, WORKED FOR, UM, BY THE, BY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IN JULY THAT WAS ATTRIBUTED TO, UH, TO FIFA, AND WE WERE NOT ABLE TO GET THE ADJUSTMENT, UM, DONE IN TIME BEFORE THE JULY PERIOD CLOSED, AND THE ADJUSTMENT WAS MADE IN AUGUST. 
          SO THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE, YOU KNOW, JUST LOOKING AT THOSE TWO PERIODS, WHEN YOU AVERAGE THEM OUT, IT REALLY NORMALIZES IT, UM, WHICH YOU CAN SEE IN GREATER DETAIL ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH IS GONNA GIVE THE NUMBER OF HOURS WORKED, UM, SO THAT ON THIS SLIDE, YOU GET A MORE ACCURATE PICTURE OF, IN FACT, HOW WERE THE HOURS WORKED IN THOSE PERIODS. 
          UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, JULY AND AUGUST ARE... 
          THE TREND IS IN LINE, UM, IN TERMS OF COMPARING TO THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR, BUT THE NUMBER OF HOURS WORKED IS STILL, IS SIGNIFICANTLY, UM, BELOW THE, THE PREVIOUS YEAR, CHIEF, IF YOU WANNA TOUCH ON THAT. 
          YEAH, AND SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT. 
          WITH THE ADDED NUMBERS, WE'RE ABLE TO SEE THAT, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, WE'RE GETTING NEW RECRUITS, UM, THAT ARE ABLE TO HIT THE STREETS. 
          SO WE'VE HAD A 17%, YOU KNOW, DECREASE IN OVERTIME DURING THAT SAME TIMEFRAME AS LAST YEAR. 
          SO THAT'S ONE THING THAT WE - THAT'S GOOD. 
          WE LIKE SEEING THAT, THAT BAR DOWN THERE. 
          I LIKE SEEING IT TOO. 
          UH, WE LIKE SEEING IT AS WELL. 
          DO YOU WANNA TAKE THE NEXT ONE, CHIEF? YEAH, THE RESPONSE TIMES, IF YOU LOOK, UH, WE'RE STILL IN WITH THE AVERAGE THAT WE HAD SET AND THE, AND THE, AND THE, UH, THE GOALS THAT WE HAD SET FOR THAT. 
          YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THAT WE LOOK, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE RESPONSE TIMES, THERE'S A VARIANCE OF, YOU KNOW, POINT, UH, 08. 
          BUT WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE MORE CALLS COMING IN. 
          YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE DEFINITELY HAVING THAT BIG NUMBER, UH, OF CALLS. 
          YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ANTICIPATED, OBVIOUSLY, ON THE AVERAGE WE'LL MAKE 300,000 CALLS A YEAR, BUT WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW? AND THEN AGAIN, WE LOOK AT THE TRENDS, YOU KNOW, DURING FIFA, THERE WAS SOME ADDITIONAL PEOPLE COMING IN, OBVIOUSLY, BUT EVERY DAY, EVERY DAY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE BUSY AND, AND THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE LOOK AT. 
          CONTINUOUSLY, WE WANT TO DEFINITELY MEET THOSE TARGETS, BUT WE ARE ACCORDING TO THE, THE, THE OBJECTIVES THAT WE HAD MET, SO WE'RE WITHIN THE AVERAGE OF WHAT WE, UH, WE WERE PREDICTING OURSELVES TO DO. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MM-HMM. 
          GREAT. 
          UM, ON, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE HAVE THE UNIT AVAILABILITY. 
          YEAH. 
          YEAH, THIS IS ONE, UH... 
          YES, THANK YOU, DIRECTOR, THAT WE'RE VERY PROUD OF. 
          UM, SO PRIOR, YOU COULD SEE THE NUMBERS, FISCAL YEAR 2025, 1,112 UNITS WERE OUT OF SERVICE. 
          WHAT THAT MEANS IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE CALL THE BROWNOUTS. 
          SO ON AN AVERAGE, WE WERE AVERAGING ABOUT 13 TO 15 UNITS OUT OF, OUT OF SERVICE DUE TO NOT ENOUGH STAFFING. 
          AND, UM, SO IT WAS DEFINITELY A FACTOR OF DANGER TO NOT ONLY OUR MEMBERS, BUT TO THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          UH, SO THAT WOULD MEAN THAT A DISTRICT WAS EITHER WITHOUT A FIRETRUCK OR A STATION WITHOUT A FIRETRUCK OR A, UH, A LADDER TRUCK OR EVEN SOMETIMES A, 
          [00:55:01]
A MEDIC UNIT OR, OR TRANSPORT UNIT. 
          BUT IF YOU CAN SEE NOW, UM, WE WENT FROM THAT TO 113 UNITS OUT OF SERVICE LAST YEAR, AND NOW THIS FISCAL QUARTER, WE'RE DOWN TO ONE. 
          SO WE'VE SEEN A HUGE, HUGE IM- IMPROVEMENT, BUT AGAIN, THAT'S ATTRIBUTED TO THE MEMBERS. 
          THAT'S, THAT'S AMAZING. 
          THAT'S GREAT WORK. 
          THAT IS AMAZING FOR US. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT. 
          MM-HMM. 
          AND THEN ON THE LAST SLIDE, THIS GIVES A OVERVIEW OF THE, UM, THE CADETS VERSUS THE ATTRITION, AND I THINK, AGAIN, SPEAKS TO THE, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL THE SUCCESS THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO HAVE SINCE THE NEW CONTRACT IN TERMS OF BRINGING IN THE NUMBER OF CADETS, THE RETENTION, AND THEN THE ATTRITION, WHICH ULTIMATELY HAS INCREASED THE HEADCOUNT FOR THE DEPARTMENT. 
          YES. 
          AND THAT'S ONE THING, TOO. 
          IT'S ALSO, AS, AS DIRECTOR DABOWSKI MENTIONED, THE CONTRACT, BUT ANOTHER BIG FACTOR HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, MAYOR WHITMEYER'S SUPPORT AND THE FACT THAT YOU ALL SUPPORT US IMMENSELY. 
          THAT HAS INCREASED MORALE. 
          AND IF YOU SEE THE NUMBERS, UM, THEY TOLD US IT WOULD TAKE BETWEEN FIVE TO SIX YEARS TO EVEN JUST COME IN A POSITIVE ATTRITION. 
          YOU CAN SEE THAT WE STARTED BREAKING THOSE NUMBERS RIGHT AWAY. 
          IN FISCAL YEAR 25, YOU KNOW, WE, UM, WE HAD A, UM, A HUGE INCREASE AT 102, UH, ATTRITION POSITIVE. 
          THEN WE'RE, UH, LOOKING AT 163 THE FOLLOWING YEAR. 
          BUT THEN THIS YEAR, WE'RE ANTICIPATING 242. 
          SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF, OF POSITIVES THAT WE HAVE OF PEOPLE COMING IN, WHICH IS NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT A 505. 
          NOW, THAT NUMBER'S VERY DYNAMIC BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL RETIRE, YOU KNOW, AND, UH, OR, BUT WE CAN'T PREDICT OR MIGHT BE OFF MEDICAL SEPARATION OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE. 
          BUT WE'VE BEATEN THE NUMBERS, YOU KNOW, BEING THE FACT THAT WE WERE TOLD IT WOULD TAKE FIVE TO SIX YEARS. 
          SO WE TURNED IT AROUND, WHICH IS NOW YOU'RE STARTING TO SEE THAT DECREASE IN OVERTIME AND AN INCREASE IN MORALE. 
          SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE VERY PROUD OF. 
          PAY AND THEY WILL COME. 
           UH, YEAH. 
          YES, MA'AM. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          UM, ANY, ANY QUESTIONS, COLLEAGUES? COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ? THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. 
          UH, CHIEF, CONGRATULATIONS ON THE IMPROVEMENTS. 
          NO, THANK YOU. 
          THE DRASTIC REDUCTION IN THE BROWNOUTS AND, UH, LOWERING OF OVERTIME COSTS. 
          THAT'S, UH, WONDERFUL TO SEE. 
          I GOT A QUESTION FOR YOU. 
          ON THE MINIMUM STAFFING THAT, UM, NFPA RECOMMENDS, IT'S, UH, FOR, FOR OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT'S 849. 
          YES. 
          DOES THAT INCLUDE, UM, EMS SERVICES? SO THAT'S PART OF THE OPERATION, SIR, COUNCIL MEMBER. 
          IT'S PART OF OPERATION TWO, WHICH THAT DOES INCLUDE EMS FOR THE OPERATION SIDE. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, AS YOU KNOW, OPERATIONS, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY MAKES UP ABOUT 95% OF THE BUDGET. 
          UH, BUT YES, THAT DOES INCLUDE OPERA - UH, EMS TRANSPORT UNITS. 
          OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          AND THE NFPA STANDARDS, UM, THAT... 
          IS THAT REQUIRED BY STATE LAW OR IS THAT MERELY SOMETHING WE'VE CHOSEN? IT'S CON- CONTRACTUAL, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT IT'S ALSO, UH, THE RE - THE RECOMMENDATION IS INCREASES SAFETY. 
          YOU KNOW, HAVING ONE LAST PERSON ON A FIRE OR LADDER TRUCK, UM, DEFINITELY MAKES IT A CHALLENGE. 
          AND WE DID SEE THAT, UM, THAT WE SAW WHAT CAN OCCUR. 
          YOU KNOW, CAPTAIN YANKEE, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, WHEN HE DID PASS THAT, THAT FOURTH PERSON WOULD'VE MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE. 
          BUT THAT IS A CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION AS PER CONTRACT. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MM-HMM. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU, CHIEF. 
          GREAT, GREAT OUTSTANDING JOB IN NUMBERS. 
          JUST HAD A QUESTION I WANTED TO ASK OVERALL. 
          WE KNOW THAT THE WORK THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DOES IN RELATION TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT - UH-HUH. 
          IN REGARDS TO PERSONNEL AND WORKING OVERTIME, DOES THE CRIME VERSUS HIGHWAY, UM, FATALITIES, AND IS THAT AFFECTING... 
          IS THAT NUMBER GOING UP? DO YOU SEE A, A NUMBER, A LARGE NUMBER, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND THEY'RE BEING UTILIZED IN TRAFFIC SITUATION? 'CAUSE WE'VE HAD A LOT OF - OH. 
          OF EXPRESSWAY INCIDENTS, UM, WHICH GENERALLY CALLS OUT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EMS IN TERMS OF CRASH. 
          SO IS THERE A BUMP, I GUESS MY QUESTION? WE DO. 
          YOU KNOW, WE STARTED PAYING ATTENTION TO THAT, SIR, UPON, UH, THIS, WITH THIS ADMINISTRATION. 
          SO THE ANSWER IS YES, RIGHT? AND WE HAVE TO PROTECT, OBVIOUSLY, NOT ONLY THE, THE TRAFFIC SCENE - UH-HUH. 
          BUT, YOU KNOW, ALSO, YOU KNOW, THE POLICE OFFICERS DOING THEIR INVESTIGATION. 
          TIME AND TIME AGAIN, YOU DO SEE, OR QUOTE UNQUOTE, THE LADDER TRUCK OR THE PUMPER, THE FIRETRUCK ARE USED AS A BLOCKING MECHANISM - UH-HUH. 
          TO PREVENT THEM FROM GETTING HIT. 
          AND IF YOU SAW WHAT HAPPENED, YOU KNOW, IN, IN KINGWOOD, OR EVEN THEN - EXACTLY. 
          THAT DOES CAUSE A PROBLEM. 
          BUT THE ANSWER IS YES, AND THE MORE ACCIDENTS, OBVIOUSLY, WE, WE'RE THERE TO BACK UP OUR BROTHERS IN BLUE, BROTHERS AND SISTER IN BLUE. 
          YEAH. 
          SO WE ARE SEEING THAT, BUT THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, THE MORE WE SEE OF ANY, EVERY... 
          THERE'S AN IMPACT TO US AS YOU KNOW, 
          [01:00:01]
UM, SO IT'S SEMI-CORRELATED, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE MORE ACCIDENTS THEY'RE DOING, WE'RE DOING AS WELL. 
          SURE. 
          SO THAT, THAT'S A BIG ONE, BUT YES. 
          YES, I, I WOULD, I WOULD THINK SO. 
          I WOULD THINK SO. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          UH, CHIEF, UH, NO, ALSO WANNA JUST SAY THANK YOU FOR, UH, TRENDING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. 
          MM-HMM. 
          BUT I WANTED TO GET SOME CLARIFICATION FOR THE, UH, FOUR PERSON ON VEHICLE. 
          THAT ALSO INCLUDES AMBULANCE AS WELL? WELL, THE AMBULANCES, SIR, WE'RE ALWAYS GONNA HAVE THOSE TWO, RIGHT? IT'S ALWAYS GONNA BE THE, THE EO AND, AND EITHER THE EM, THE EMT OR THE PARAMEDICS. 
          SO YES, THAT'S GONNA BE IT. 
          NOW, WHEN THEY ARE DOING THEIR ROTATIONS, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY HAS TO QUOTE UNQUOTE GET BROKEN IN AND DO THEIR SIGN OFFS. 
          WE'RE RIDING THREE. 
          BUT THE, THE, THE AMBULANCE IS ALWAYS GONNA HAVE TWO AS A REQUIREMENT. 
          ONE'S THE DRIVER AND ONE'S ACTUALLY THE, THE, THE EMS SUPPORT DOING THE WORK BEHIND. 
          OKAY, BECAUSE, AND THAT'S ALSO MY, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA START REALLY TACKLING THE, THE OVERTIME, RIGHT? THE MINIMAL STAFFING, IT'S 86% IS BECAUSE OF THAT. 
          UM, KNOWING THAT MOST CALLS ARE FOR EMS - UH-HUH. 
          HOW DO WE START SHIFTING INTO, YOU KNOW, GETTING MORE AMBULANCES, GETTING THE PUMPERS AND LADDERS OUT OF THAT KIND OF WORK? UH, BECAUSE WE DEFINITELY WILL HAVE TO HAVE FOUR ON THOSE TYPES OF VEHICLES, UH, COMPARED TO THE AMBULANCE. 
          SO, UH, I, YOU KNOW, AS YOU'RE DOING THIS GREAT WORK, CHIEF, I REALLY WANNA SEE HOW WE CAN SHIFT THAT WORK INTO GETTING MORE AMBULANCES TO LESSEN THAT TYPE OF, UH, FOUR PERSON MINIMUM STAFFING. 
          YES. 
          AND SO I, I, WE, WE LOOK AT THAT AND CAN, RIGHT NOW AS WE SPEAK, WE'RE LOOKING, DR. 
          SCHULTZ HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, AMAZING. 
          UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX, RIGHT? DO WE BRING BACK SQUADS WHICH WILL TEAR DOWN, WHICH WILL DECREASE THE, THE OPPORTUNITIES TO SEND OUT A FIRE TRUCK OR A PUMPER AND THOSE FOUR PEOPLE, RIGHT? SO THERE'S THIS, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE HOTSPOTS IN, IN THE AREA OF THE CITY. 
          SO WE'RE THINKING OF NEW WAYS HOW TO DO THAT, UM, AND UTILIZE, YOU KNOW, EITHER THE SQUADS TO HELP WITH THAT. 
          SO THERE'S, YOU KNOW, AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE GOT 700 SQUARE MILES TO COVER AND, UM, A LOT OF COVERAGE AND AN INCREASE OF POPULATION, BUT WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO FIND WAYS, YOU KNOW, THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. 
          BUT THAT'S, I AGREE WITH YOU. 
          SO WE'RE TRYING TO SEE EFFICIENCY AS MAYOR WHITMEYER DEFINITELY IS, IS DEFINITELY, UH, WE'RE FOLLOWING THAT FORMAT OF EFFICIENCY, BUSINESS MODELS, WHAT WORKS BEST, SO. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT, CHIEF. 
          NO, THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER FLECKINGER. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          UM, DOES THE, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT LOOKED AT GETTING DIFFERENT TYPES OF VEHICLES TO SERVE AS THOSE BLOCKERS. 
          I, I, I DROVE BY, I BELIEVE IT WAS AN ALIEF STATION, UH, JUST SOUTH OF THE BELTWAY BY THE AIRPORT THAT HAD A, A VEHICLE. 
          IT WASN'T A REGULAR FIRE TRUCK - IT WAS A SCORPION. 
          AND IT HAD ON THE BACK OF IT, UH, THAT KIND OF LIKE YOU SEE ON THE ROAD CONSTRUCTION ON THE FREEWAYS WHERE IT FOLDS DOWN AND IT'S NOT BARRELS, BUT SOMETHING TO ABSORB THE IMPACT. 
          I'M NOT SURE WHAT IT'S CALLED. 
          HAVE THEY LOOKED AT - YEAH, WE, WE CALL IT A SCORPION. 
          OKAY. 
          SO IT IS, IT IS DESIGNED FOR THAT, RIGHT? UM, AND OBVIOUSLY WE TRY TO, WE'VE BEEN TALKING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ARE SOME OTHER OPPORTUNITIES, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE CASE IN POINT, THE LADDER TRUCK THAT GOT HIT, AND THANK YOU FOR, YOU KNOW, ALWAYS BEING THERE FOR US WITH THAT ACCIDENT, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, APPROXIMATELY ALMOST TWO MILLION DOLLARS FOR A LADDER TRUCK. 
          NOT TO MENTION THE WORKMAN'S COMP THAT'S ATTRIBUTED TO THAT ACCIDENT, RIGHT? SO WHEN YOU HAD FOUR PEOPLE, THAT KIND OF INCREASES - YOU HAVE A COUPLE IN THE HOSPITAL, IF I RECALL CORRECTLY. 
          YEAH. 
          AND, AND SO WITH THAT, WE'RE LOOKING AT OTHER WAYS OF WHAT WE CAN USE AS A SAFER VEHICLE. 
          AND UNFORTUNATELY, EVEN WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THOSE, THOSE DRUNK DRIVERS THAT WILL HIT THAT, WHICH IS PROBABLY THE NUMBER ONE CONTRIBUTOR TO, TO THE ACCIDENTS. 
          BUT YES, WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT, SIR, AND SEE, YOU KNOW, BUT ALONG WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALSO THE LOGISTICS PIECE, RIGHT? SURE. 
          GETTING THAT, YOU KNOW, THE DRIVER FOR THAT AND THE, YOU KNOW, SO, BUT THAT'S DEFINITELY ONE GOAL THAT WE HAVE. 
          I MEAN, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE IF I COULD USE A VEHICLE LIKE THAT, WHICH, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE COST OF THAT IS, BUT I CAN'T IMAGINE IT BEING ANYWHERE NEAR WHAT A LADDER TRUCK OR - NO. 
          YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT SOME EXPENSIVE TRUCKS THAT, THAT THEY'VE GOT EQUIPMENT ON THERE. 
          YEAH. 
          AND I GOTTA SAY THAT WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH TXDOT AND PD TO HPD TO FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S A SAFER WAY BECAUSE, UH, YOU KNOW, IT, IT IS, UH, NERVING TO BE STANDING OUT IN THE, UH, YOU KNOW, ON THE TOLL ROAD OR FREEWAYS AND STREETS AND, UM, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF NEAR MISSES, WHICH IS A RED FLAG FOR US. 
          SURE. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          AND YOU TALKED ABOUT SQUAD. 
          MM-HMM. 
          FOR, FOR MY BENEFIT, WHAT IS THAT? WELL, IT'S A SUBURBAN AND WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE MEDIC SQUAD THERE. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          I DIDN'T KNOW. 
          YEAH. 
          NOT A SQUAD CAR, SIR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          BUT IT'S... 
          THANK YOU, CHIEF. 
          AND THANK YOU, DIRECTOR. 
          THAT CONCLUDES OUR QUESTIONS ON THIS MATTER. 
          REALLY APPRECIATE THE UPDATES ON, ON OVERTIME. 
          AND I KNOW, THANK YOU TO THE PARKS PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE TO SPEAK. 
          WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE. 
          UM, THIS MEETING ENDED UP BEING A, A LONGER ONE THAN, UH, WELL, IT USUALLY IS LONG. 
          SO, UH, AND BEFORE WE BRING UP THE PARKS ITEM, I 
          [01:05:01]
DID WANT TO INVITE JACK VALINSKY WHO SIGNED UP ON BUDGET MATTERS, ANYTHING HAVING TO DO WITH THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT OR THE OVERTIME CATEGORIES. 
          THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. 
          I HEARD AN INTERVIEW ON KUHF ABOUT A MONTH AGO THAT WHEN THEY WERE DESIGNING THE CITY LOGO AND THE CITY FLAG, THAT THEY PUT A TRAIN IN THE LOGO. 
          THAT WAS FOUR YEARS BEFORE A TRAIN EVER GOT HERE TO HOUSTON. 
          THAT WAS THE FORWARD THINKING THEY HAD BACK THEN. 
          YOU KNOW, THE CITY HAS FORWARD THINKING WITH THE ASTRODOME AND THE SHIP CANAL, BUT WE DON'T HEAR WITH THE BUDGET. 
          EVERY YEAR, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRING IN A LITTLE BIT MORE MONEY BY INCREASING THE TAX RATE, AND WE DON'T. 
          I WISH WE DIDN'T HAVE TO, BUT WE HAVE TO. 
          AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, WE'RE ACTUALLY COSTING THE CITY MORE MONEY. 
          THE BUILDINGS ARE, ARE IN TERRIBLE SHAPE. 
          AND THE LONGER WE WAIT, THE WORSE IT GETS. 
          A YEAR AGO, WE WERE TOLD WE HAVE $750 MILLION IN DEFERRED MAINTENANCE. 
          AND IF WE WAIT FIVE YEARS, IT'S A BILLION AND FIVE. 
          SO HOW ARE WE SERVING THE PEOPLE? WE'VE GOT TO DO A BETTER JOB IN THIS. 
          UH, THE FACT THAT WE'RE ALREADY SEEING THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, NOW $88 MILLION, UH, UH, DEFICIT, THE, THE, THE CHRONICLE, I THINK, SPELLED IT OUT REALLY QUICKLY. 
          YET AT THE HORSESHOE HERE, WHEN THAT SUBJECT WAS BROUGHT UP, YOU ALL AGREED WITH THE MAYOR. 
          YOU KNOW, THIS IS A LEGISLATIVE BODY. 
          YOU CAN OVERRIDE THE MAYOR. 
          AND, AND I KNOW IT'S NOT NICE TO BE BRINGING UP TAXES WITH THE COUNTY DOING IT, BUT THEY HAD TO DO IT. 
          THEY HAD TO DO IT TO PAY POLICE, UH, PAY FOR THEIR POLICING EFFORTS BECAUSE WE RAISED IT. 
          I'M NOT SAYING WE DIDN'T HAVE TO DO IT, BUT WE HAD TO DO IT. 
          WE DID IT. 
          BUT WE HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. 
          WE, WE, YOU KNOW, PUT THIS ALSO ON A, UM, UH, UH, PAYING FOR POLICE AND FIRE WAS ALSO PUT ON A BOND. 
          THAT HAS TO BE PAID OFF. 
          WHEN ARE WE GONNA FINALLY LOOK AT THIS BUDGET IN HOLISTIC EFFORT, JUST LIKE WE LOOK AT OUR OWN HOME BUDGETS? WE HAVE TO SOMETIMES SACRIFICE ON THINGS. 
          WE NEED TO DO THIS IN THE CITY, THAT WE'RE NOT EVERY YEAR LOOKING AT THE FACT THAT WE'RE OVERSPENDING AND WE'RE NOT INCREASING REVENUE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH, JACK. 
          I AGREE. 
          WE ARE GONNA HAVE TO LOOK AT THE REVENUE SIDE OF THIS EQUATION AND WE WILL BRING UP - WELL, WE KEEP SAYING THAT. 
          WELL,  AND I KEEP TALKING TO THE POWERS THAT BE ABOUT IT. 
          AND WITH THESE EXPENSIVE PUBLIC SAFETY CONTRACTS, EVERYBODY CAN SEE THE, THE GOOD THAT'S COME OF THAT, THE LACK OF BROWNOUTS, THE ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL, THE ATTRITION BE UN - BEING UNDER THE, THE PEOPLE COMING IN. 
          AND THAT'S ALL GOOD, BUT IT'S CROWDING OUT OTHER SERVICES LIKE PARKS. 
          AND THAT'S THE NEXT, UH, THE NEXT CONVERSATION WE'RE ABOUT TO HAVE. 
          THE TIMING OF THIS YEAR'S TAX RATE, I THINK YOU HEARD AROUND THE HORSESHOE, IT WAS DIFFICULT WITH THE AFFORDABILITY. 
          EVERYBODY TALKING ABOUT AFFORDABILITY, EVERYBODY TALKING ABOUT THE COUNTY TAX RAISE AND FOLLOWING UP ON THAT. 
          SO THAT WAS THE DECISION OF THIS BODY, BUT I DON'T DISAGREE. 
          WE CANNOT KEEP WITH YOU. 
          WE CANNOT KEEP GOING ON LIKE WE ARE. 
          WE WILL HAVE TO, UM, INCREASE REVENUES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND WITH THAT, I WILL BRING UP KENNETH ALLEN TO TALK. 
          THIS IS THE THIRD TIME W - THAT THE OPEN SPACE ORDINANCE HAS COME TO COMMITTEE. 
          WE ARE HAVING A THOROUGH BETTING OF THIS 20-YEAR-OLD ORDINANCE IN, IN COMMITTEE HERE. 
          AND I, COLLEAGUES, UM, JORDAN EMAILED ALL OF YOU THE IN-DEPTH REPORT. 
          UM, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE OPEN SPACE ORDINANCE EARLIER AND DID THE 30% THAT CAN GO ANYWHERE, THE LONGER TIME PERIOD, THE, THE MORE MONEY FOR DESIGN, WHEN THAT WAS ALL DISCUSSED, WE SAID WE WOULD COME BACK WITH AN INCREASE TO THE FEE. 
          AND MANY OF YOU EXPRESSED CONCERNS THAT WE REALLY WANNA KNOW WHERE THE MONEY, SINCE IT'S BEEN COLLECTED, HAS GONE. 
          SO THE PARKS, IN MY OPINION, HAS DONE, DEPARTMENT HAS DONE A GREAT JOB OF REALLY PUTTING THAT INFORMATION TOGETHER. 
          AND THERE'S ABOUT A 20-PAGE MEMO THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE FROM JORDAN THIS MORNING THAT REALLY OUTLINES THAT IN GREAT DETAIL. 
          AND I THINK WHAT WE'RE GONNA GET HERE IS A, IS KIND OF A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THAT. 
          SO WITH THAT, UM, DIRECTOR ALLEN, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. 
          CHAIR, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE THIS MORNING. 
          UM, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU ALL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO JUST SUMMARIZE THE ANNUAL REPORT FOR CHAPTER 42, THE PARKS AND PRIVATE PARKS ORDINANCE, ALONG WITH THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEDICATION FUND THAT BENEFITS OUR ENTIRE SYSTEM. 
          UM, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. 
          YOU KNOW, OUR PARK HAS MANY NEEDS SINCE TWO - 2007. 
          WE HADN'T REALLY REPORTED. 
          SO IT TOOK A LOT OF WORK TO GET THIS INFORMATION TOGETHER. 
          AND I WANNA THANK THE TEAM BEHIND ME FOR JUST KNOCKING DOORS DOWN, 
          [01:10:01]
GOING INTO FILES AND GETTING WHAT'S NEEDED. 
          TINA ORTIZ, MARTHA ESCALANTE, AND BRENDA FROM OUR COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU ALL FOR BADGERING STAFF TO GET THE INFORMATION THAT I'M PRESENTING TODAY. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, GOING TO OUR MISSION AND OUR VISION, YOU KNOW, IT CONTINUES TO ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF LIFE THROUGH WELL-MAINTAINED PARKS AND EQUITABLE RECREATION ACCESS FOR RESIDENTS CITYWIDE. 
          THIS ANNUAL REPORT REFLECTS THE MAYOR'S PRIORITIES, MAYOR JOHN WHITMEYER'S PRIORITIES IN TERMS OF QUALI- QUALITY OF LIFE AND HOW WE IMPACT THE, THE GENERAL PUBLIC THROUGH, THROUGH PARKS. 
          THE ANNUAL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS RECENT CHAPTER 42 AMENDMENTS APPROVED BY ORDINANCE 20260623, WHICH INCLUDE NEW TERRITORY TYPES TO INCLUDE SUBURBAN, URBAN, CENTRAL BUS - CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT. 
          IT REAFFIRMS A LOW FEE OF $700, WHICH WE'LL ADDRESS A LITTLE BIT LATER IN THIS PRESENTATION. 
          FOR A MULTI-FAMILY, WE ADOPTED A FEE ONLY, WHICH IS NOW COLLECTED AT CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY. 
          UM, WE ESTABLISH AN APPEAL PROCESS. 
          30% OF THE FEES MAY NOW BE USED CITYWIDE, AND WE HAVE A FIVE-YEAR OBLIGATION OF FIVE YEARS TO OBLIGATE THE FUNDS INSTEAD OF, UH, THREE. 
          WE'RE NOW ABLE TO, TO APPLY 10%, UH, TO COVER PROJECT SOFT COSTS AS OPPOSED TO FIVE. 
          SO THE AMENDMENT WILL BE VERY USEFUL IN THE EXECUTION OF USING THESE FUNDS AND BUILDING AND REBUILDING OUR PARK SYSTEM. 
          YOU WILL FIND THE TAXABLE LAND VALUE ANALYSIS IN THE REPORT AS WELL. 
          AND WE HAVE WITH US ALSO DIRECTOR TRAN FROM THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT. 
          SHE'S HERE TO, UH, SUPPORT ANY RELATED QUESTIONS FOLLOWING MY PRESENTATION. 
          AND THANK YOU, DIRECTOR TRAN, FOR BEING HERE. 
          THE REPORT PROVIDES INFORMATION RELATED TO OUR ANNUAL REVENUE COLLECTION SINCE INCEPTION OF THE FEE IN 2007, AS WELL AS ANNUAL EXPENDITURES THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 2026. 
          SO IN SUMMARY, TOTAL REVENUE CO- COLLECTED SINCE 2007, AGAIN, IS 104.3 MILLION. 
          TOTAL SPENT OUT OF THIS FUND IS 44.5 MILLION, AND THE REMAINING FUND BALANCE IS 59.9 MILLION. 
          THE NEXT SLIDE SHOWS THE FUND, THE FUNDS UTILIZED BY PARK SECTOR, WHICH SEPARATES OUT OF THE 59 MILLION FUND BALANCE INTO OBLIGATED AND NON-OBLIGATED COLUMNS. 
          IT SHOWS WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY 42.5 MILLION OBLIGATED FOR PRO - FOR, FOR PROJECTS AND THE BALANCE OF 17.4 MILLION IN UNOBLIGATED FUNDS REMAINING. 
          DO NOT BE FOOLED. 
          $17 MILLION COULD COVER JUST ONE PROJECT, UM, IN THIS CITY IF WE'RE TOTALLY REVIL - REVITALIZING A PARK. 
          BUT TO ADDRESS THE $17 MILLION BALANCE, THE DEPARTMENT IS PREPARING A FIVE-YEAR FORECAST TO UTILIZE THESE UNALLOCATED FUNDS WITH THE INTENT TO DIRECT 30% TO CRITICAL NEEDS AND UNIDENTI, IN UNFUNDED SECTORS FOR PRIORITIES SUCH AS PUBLIC SAFETY, PLAYGROUNDS, LIGHTING, CAPITAL REPLACEMENT, AND POCKET AND NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS. 
          YOU KNOW, WITH 380 PARKS ACROSS 21 PARK SECTORS, SOME OF THE KEY MATRIX AND IMPACTS FROM THE FUND INCLUDE 114 PLAYGROUND UPDATES, 26 TENNIS COURT IMPROVEMENTS, AND NINE PAVILION RENOVATIONS, JUST TO NAME A FEW. 
          IT'S MORE DETAIL IN THE, UM, IN THE DETAIL REPORT. 
          THE FUND IS ALSO SUPPORTING THE LARGEST NEIGHBORHOOD PARK INVESTMENT IN THE CITY'S HISTORY. 
          WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT LEVERAGING PUBLIC FUNDING TO ATTRACT PRIVATE INVESTMENT THROUGH MAYOR JOHN WHITMEYER'S LET'S PLAY HOUSTON INITIATIVE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HOUSTON PARK, PARKS BOARD AND OTHER, AND OTHERS, WE WILL REVITALIZE 25 NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS ACROSS ALL COUNCIL DISTRICTS BY 2028 RAPID WARP SPEED. 
          UH, THROUGH THE FUND, THE CITY HAS ENDED... 
          WELL, WE, NOT ENDED, I'M SORRY. 
          WE'VE ADDED 114 ACRES OF PARK LAND. 
          64 OF THESE ACRES ARE ACQUIRED BY THE CITY THROUGH A $14 MILLION INVESTMENT. 
          THE PARK DEDICATION FUND BY DEVELOPERS HAVE, HAS ADDED ACTUALLY 50 ACRES FOR BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, UH, PARKS. 
          SO IN SUMMARY, THE 104 MILLION COLLECTED BY THE FUND, IT HAS BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO IMPROVE 52% OF PARKS TO DATE, 380 PARKS WITHIN THOSE 
          [01:15:01]
SECTORS. 
          190 PARK PROJECTS WERE, UH, TARGETED THROUGH 2028... 
          I'M SORRY, 290. 
          I'M SKIPPING AROUND. 
          EXCUSE ME. 
          SO THE, UH, PARKS AND PRIVATE PARKS ORDINANCE CONTINUES TO BE AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF INVESTMENT, UH, FOR OUR CITIES AND OUR PARK SYSTEM, ADDING 114 ACRES IN PARKS LAND AND SUPPORTING OUR PARK DEVELOPMENT, FACILITY DEVELOPMENT, AND CRITICAL PARK INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          IN CONCLUSION, THE FEE IN LIEU FRAMEWORK CONTINUES TO ADVANCE OUR MISSION BY REVITALIZING COMMUNITY SPACES THAT STRENGTHEN CIVIC PRIDE, UH, EXPAND ACCESS TO HEALTH AND WELLNESS OPPORTUNITIES, AND ENHANCE OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE FOR RESIDENTS. 
          ON OCTOBER THE 29TH, THE PLANNING COMMISSION SUPPORTED OUR RECOMMENDATION TO ADJUST THE FEE IN LIEU FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE INCEPTION AGAIN IN 2007. 
          AND WE ESTABLISHED A PUBLIC HEARING DATE, THANK GOODNESS, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT, UH, A LITTLE BIT FURTHER ON IN THE PRESENTATION. 
          SO THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, WE PROPOSE INCREASING THE FEE IN LIEU OF FROM $700 TO $900 PER DWELLING UNIT. 
          THIS IS JUST A MODEST, UM, ADJUSTMENT AND IT'S WELL BELOW WHAT'S ALLOWED, ALLOWABLE UNDER, UM, STATE LAW. 
          FURTHER, IT WILL HELP ENSURE THAT THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEDICATION FUND KEEPS PACE WITH INCREASES AND APPRAISED LAND VALUES AND GROWING COMMUNITY NEEDS. 
          THE HEARING DATE, DRUM ROW, IS SET FOR NOVEMBER THE 12TH PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THIS TIME. 
          THAT'S JUST A QUICK OVERVIEW OF A MORE DETAILED REPORT THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR HAND. 
          I'M ABLE TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE AT THIS TIME. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DIRECTOR AND COLLEAGUES. 
          THE MAXIMUM THAT WE COULD GO TO IS, UM, SE- SET BY STATE LAW AND THAT'S $1,296. 
          IF YOU DID APPRAISED VALUES, YOU KNOW, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE ORDINANCE SETS UP THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO LOOK AT THE FEE EACH YEAR AND LOOK AT APPRAISED VALUES, THAT WOULD BE AT LIKE 1,400. 
          WE, WE COULDN'T GO THAT HIGH. 
          WE COULD ONLY GO TO 12.96. 
          CPI, JUST LOOKING AT INFLATION, WE COULD HAVE GONE TO $1,113 PER UNIT. 
          THIS APPROACH, UH, BY THE ADMINISTRATION IS TAKING A MORE GRADUAL. 
          WE WILL BE BACK EACH YEAR. 
          THEY'RE GOING TO BE FOLLOWING THE ORDINANCE. 
          THEY'LL BE COMING TO PLANNING COMMISSION WITH THE APPRAISED VALUES EACH YEAR. 
          UM, I FULLY EXPECT THIS TO INCREASE UNTIL WE GET TO THE MAXIMUM. 
          UM, BUT RIGHT NOW, AGAIN, LOOKING AT AFFORDABILITY, LOOKING AT A, A MORE GRADUAL APPROACH, THE ADMINISTRATION'S AGREED TO $900, WHICH I CERTAINLY SUPPORT. 
          UM, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ, WHO CHAIRS THE QUALITY OF LIFE COMMITTEE, AND I BOTH SPOKE AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION. 
          THERE WAS UNANIMOUS CONSENT TO PUT THIS DOWN FOR, THIS INCREASE DOWN FOR A PUBLIC HEARING AND MANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS SPEAKING IN FAVOR OF THE INCREASE. 
          SO WITH THAT, I'LL GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER QUESTIONS. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          AND FIRST WANTED TO CONGRATULATE YOU FOR THIS WORK. 
          I KNOW WE'RE NOT DONE, BUT JUST TO GET TO THIS, UH, THIS BASE, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE YOU, UH, DIRECTOR ALSO, UH, LEANING INTO THIS. 
          I KNOW WE'VE, WE'VE SPOKEN ABOUT, UM, JUST HOW WE CAN GET EQUITY ON GREASE BASIS ACROSS THE, THE CITY AND SPECIFICALLY IN DISTRICT IOWA. 
          WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, OVER 60, I THINK MAYBE MORE THAN THAT PARKS, UM, FROM POCKET PARKS TO REGIONAL PARKS LIKE MASON PARK. 
          AND SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS, UH, AGAIN, JUST WANNA SAY, UH, THANK YOU FOR THIS LIFT. 
          UM, ALSO LOOK FORWARD TO THAT GRADUAL INCREASE, UM, AS WE IDENTIFY AS, UH, AS HAD BEEN MENTIONED BEFORE, RIGHT? WE, WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THE REVENUE COMES FROM. 
          AND SO THIS IS A, A GOOD STEP FORWARD. 
          ALSO, UM, LIKE TO SEE HOW WE CAN LOOK AT OUR, UM, OUR FEES THAT HAVEN'T BEEN UPDATED SINCE THE '90S AS WELL. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS COST MONEY. 
          IT, FOR ME, AS I'VE MENTIONED TO YOU, UH, DIRECTOR, MOWING, DELITTERING, AND MAINTAINING THE PARKS IS A PRIORITY ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE BECAUSE WHEN YOU HAVE THAT, THEN THE PROGRAMMING COMES, THE FAMILIES COME, AND THEN WE CAN AVOID ALL THE OTHER, UH, CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE IN OUR GREEN SPACES. 
          SO AGAIN, JUST WANTED TO JUST, UH, PUBLICLY, UH, THANK YOU, UH, CHAIR ALCORN AND, AND, UH, UM, DIRECTOR AND THEN ALL THE PARTNERS THAT ARE HERE AS WELL. 
          UH, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE THOUGH. 
          YES. 
          NO, I AGREE. 
          AND WE WILL BE, AND THE DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN LOOKING AT THE PARK USER FEES, MANY OF WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN RAISED IN DECADES. 
          AND I THINK THAT IT WAS AN ESTIMATED ABOUT $4 MILLION THAT PERHAPS COULD BE ADDED TO THE O&M FOR PARKS, UM, BY RAISING THOSE FEES. 
          AND AGAIN, I THINK THE, THE ADMINISTRATION, UM, I WON'T SPEAK FOR THEM, BUT A MORE GRADUAL APPROACH. 
          YEAH. 
          I DON'T THINK WE'LL DO THAT ALL AT ONCE, BUT I'M DEFINITELY WITH YOU ON WANTING TO RAISE MANY OF THOSE FEES. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. 
          THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. 
          AND LET ME ADD MY VOICE OF GRATITUDE TO OUR CHAIR AND TO YOU, DIRECTOR ALLEN, AND EVERYBODY INVOLVED 
          [01:20:01]
IN, UM, THIS EFFORT. 
          AS I MENTIONED, UH, BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION LAST WEEK, I SUPPORT, UH, THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE ORDINANCE. 
          WE NEED TO BE, UH, DOING MORE FOR OUR PARKS AS A CITY. 
          WE RELY HEAVILY ON PHILANTHROPY AND PHILANTHROPY HAS BEEN WONDERFUL IN, IN SUPPORTING, UH, PARKS AND, AND OTHER, UM, ASPECTS OF OUR CITY. 
          UH, BUT I, I WANT TO, AGAIN, URGE THAT WE LOOK CREATIVELY AT ADDING MORE PARKS INTO OUR TURS BOUNDARIES - UH-HUH. 
          SO THAT WE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE FUNDS AS WELL. 
          I MENTIONED IT BEFORE. 
          THE CITY SPENT MORE THAN 30 MILLION DOLLARS ON LEVY PARK, ONE PARK, UM, USING TAX REVENUE, UH, WHILE MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS HAVE GONE BEGGING AND ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF SUPPORT. 
          AND WE JUST ADDED A PARK TO, UH, TURS BOUNDARIES IN DISTRICT I. 
          AND SO I THINK WE CAN DO THAT IN OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY AS WELL. 
          AND I'D ENCOURAGE YOU AND OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAM TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          CERTAINLY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          IT'S A GOOD POINT. 
          AND I THINK WITH THE COUNTY, UM, ENTERING SOME OF THESE TURS'S NOW, WITH THAT WILL BRING ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR PARKS AS WELL IN CERTAIN TURSS. 
          UM, BRAD WITH COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN'S OFFICE. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          UH, AND THANK YOU, DIRECTOR. 
          I'M LOOKING AT, UM, THE APPENDIX HERE, UM, AND I THINK IT'S PAGE 13, THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEDICATION FUND. 
          DO YOU HAVE, UM, A LIST OF THE ALLOCATION BY DISTRICT OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL COULD GET TO US? WE DO. 
          OKAY. 
          WE, WE HAVE A LIST. 
          YEAH. 
          UH, IF YOU COULD SEND THAT OVER TO OUR OFFICE, THAT WAY WE COULD TAKE A LOOK AT IT, WE WOULD APPRECIATE IT. 
          THANK YOU MUCH. 
          SURE. 
          ANNA WITH COUNCIL MEMBER PANZARELLA'S OFFICE. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          UM, YEAH, PRELIMINARY CONGRATS. 
          THIS IS REALLY GREAT. 
          UH, COUNCIL MEMBER PANZARELLA HAS BEEN VERY VOCAL ON WE NEED TO INVEST IN OUR PARKS MORE, AND I THINK DISTRICT C IS HOME TO A LOT THAT Y'ALL HAVE DONE A LOT OF GREAT WORK ON, BUT WE CAN ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, USE MORE GREEN SPACE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          UM, MY QUESTION, ONE TECHNICAL QUESTION, THE 18 ACQUIRED LISTED ON PAGE 10, IS THAT SINCE THE FEE CAME INTO EFFECT IN 2008 OR - EXCUSE ME. 
          UH, THE CITY ACQUIRED PARK LAND, 64 ACRES, 14 MILLION? IS THAT SINCE WE STARTED THIS FUND? YEAH, THAT'S SINCE 2007, SINCE WE STARTED THE FUND. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          UM, HOW DOES THAT WORK, THE ACQUIREMENT? ARE, DO Y'ALL LOOK FOR, YOU KNOW, LAND THAT'S AVAILABLE NEAR A PARK? I'VE ACTUALLY RANDOMLY, WE'VE HAD A COUPLE RESIDENTS REACH OUT THIS WEEK ASKING US TO - YEAH. 
          BUY PROPERTY IN THE HEIGHTS, WHICH I KNOW IS PROBABLY NOT GONNA HAPPEN, BUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT'S THE PROCESS FOR ACQUIRING NEW GREEN SPACE? SO WHEN THE DEVELOPER, UM, SET AT THE TABLE WITH THEIR PLANS, THEY EITHER PAY THE FEE OR WE'VE ALLOWED THEM TO DEDI- DEDICATE LAND. 
          UM, DON'T ALWAYS LIKE THE LAND OPTION BECAUSE TYPICALLY WITH DEVELOPMENT, UM, YOU GET THE WORST LAND THAT'S ON THE PROPERTY, UH, AND THEN YOU WANNA ESTABLISH A PARK FROM THAT. 
          BUT, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M JUST SAYING TRADITIONALLY FROM THAT SENSE, UM, THE 114 ACRES THAT WE, THAT WE, THAT WE DO HAVE, UH, ONCE THE, ONCE THE DEVELOPER, UH, TELL US THEY WANNA DO THE LAND INSTEAD OF THE FEE, UM, WE JUST SIT DOWN AND, AND MAP IT OUT, SEE IF IT'LL WORK FOR US. 
          BUT WITH THE AMENDMENTS, WE'RE NOT TAKING THE LAND, WE'D RATHER HAVE THE FEE - GREAT. 
          WITH THE ADJUSTMENTS. 
          GREAT. 
          AND THEN, UM, JUST SOME TECHNICAL QUESTIONS. 
          SO NOVEMBER 12TH PLANNING COMMISSION, THEN WILL IT COME TO CITY COUNCIL FOR A HEARING FROM THEN? DO WE HAVE A ROUGH TIMEFRAME FOR WHEN WE WOULD HOPE FOR THAT TO COME TO COUNCIL? SO WE HAVE TO HAVE THE HEARING, AND THEN AFTER THE HEARING, COUNCIL, WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE THIS ALL WRAPPED UP BY THE FIRST OF THE YEAR. 
          GREAT. 
          UM, AND THEN WHEN WILL IT GO INTO EFFECT? WILL IT BE PRETTY MUCH IMMEDIATE FROM THERE? UM, I'M HOPING JANUARY 1ST. 
          1ST OF THE YEAR. 
          PERFECT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          VICE CHAIR CASTILLO. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          AND THIS IS VERY, UM, GREAT TO SEE THE INVESTMENT THAT CAN COME INTO OUR PARKS WITH LOOKING AT THIS, NOT JUST NOW, BUT ALSO AT A, AT A CONSISTENT BASIS INTO THE FUTURE. 
          WHEN WE, UM, TALK ABOUT PARKS THAT HA - NOW HAVE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COUNTY, SO LIKE MOODY PARK, ARE WE STILL SPENDING, UH, CITY MONEY OR, OR THIS PARK SECTOR MONEY INTO PARKS WHERE WE HAVE THOSE TYPES OF ARRANGEMENTS? YES. 
          ONE OF THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR FUND IS WE CAN LEVERAGE THE FUNDS AND CREATE MORE IMPACT. 
          UM, ONE EXAMPLE, NOT ONLY AT MOODY AND, AND KEITH WISE WITH COMMISSIONER GARCIA, BUT WITH PARKS BOARD, UM, THE, 
          [01:25:01]
THE PRIVATE MONEY THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S RAISED, THE PHILANTHROPIC DOLLAR ALONG WITH THE TAX DOLLAR AND THIS FUND, UM, THAT WE'RE USING, PARK DEDICATION FUNDS, YOU PUT ALL THAT TOGETHER AND YOU HAVE A TRANSFORMATIVE, UM, RENOVATION INSTEAD OF A LITTLE BIT HERE AND A LITTLE BIT THERE. 
          UM, SO YES, BETWEEN THE COUNTY, THE TOURISTS, THE, UH, NONPROFITS, THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HELP US, UM, IT GIVE US A LOT BET - A LOT BIGGER IMPACT WHEN WE, WHEN WE COMBINE AND, AND WE, UH, WORK TOGETHER, SO TO SPEAK. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND EXCUSE ME, YOU GUYS, A LITTLE BIT OF HAY FEE. 
           THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DIRECTOR. 
          REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR WORK ON THIS. 
          ALSO, DIRECTOR TRAN, YOUR WORK ON THIS. 
          MARLENE GAFRICH, MANY PEOPLE HAD THEIR HANDS IN THIS. 
          UH, REALLY APPRECIATE THE REPORT IS REALLY GOOD, UH, AND CERTAINLY URGE ALL OF YOU TO DIVE INTO THE REPORT. 
          OKAY. 
          THE VERY PATIENT PUBLIC, PUBLIC SPEAKERS ARE NOW GOING TO COME. 
          WE'LL START WITH STEFANIA TOM- TOMOSKOVICH FROM SEER. 
          I DON'T S- SEE HER. 
          I DON'T SEE HER, BUT SHE SPOKE AT PLANNING COMMISSION. 
          WE'LL MO- MOVE ON TO BETH MARTH FROM ENVIRONMENTAL TEXAS. 
          I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED THERE. 
          IT'S MY FAULT. 
          MARTIN, SORRY. 
          TYPO. 
          THAT WAS ME. 
          COME ON UP, BETH. 
          HI, GOOD. 
          HOW ARE YOU? IS THIS ON? I HEAR MYSELF. 
          HI. 
          UM, HOW MUCH TIME DO I HAVE? GREAT. 
          UM, GOOD MORNING, COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          MY NAME IS BETH MARTIN, CITY HALL ADVOCATE FOR ENVIRONMENT TEXAS. 
          WE'RE A POLICY AND ACTION GROUP WITH ONE MISSION TO PROTECT THE NATURAL WORLD. 
          WE'VE BEEN OUTSPOKEN AND EFFECTIVE ADVOCATES FOR INCREASING RESOURCES DEDICATED TO STATE PARK EXPANSIONS, AND WE TAKE THAT SAME STANCE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S POLICY CHANGES REGARDING UPDATES TO THE OPEN SPACE ORDINANCE. 
          HOUSTON PARKS ARE VITAL REF- REFUGES FOR NATURE IN, IN AN INCREASINGLY DEVELOPED LANDSCAPE. 
          THEY PROTECT FORESTS, WETLANDS, AND PRAIRIES, PROVIDING HABITAT FOR BIRDS, POLLINATORS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE WHILE GIVING HOUSTONIANS OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPERIENCE THE NATURAL WORLD. 
          PROTECTING AND EXPANDING THESE SPACES IS ESSENTIAL TO ENSURING THE NAT - THAT NATURE HAS A PLACE IN HOUSTON'S FUTURE. 
          PARKS IMPROVE OUR QUALITY OF LIFE AND HELP CREATE A MORE LIVABLE CLIMATE, ACTING AS CRITICAL MICROCLIMA- MICROCLIMATIC COOL ZONES BY REDUCING THE HEAT IN OUR CITY AND ABSORBING STORMWATER. 
          YET HOUSTON IS FALLING BEHIND OTHER CITIES. 
          IN THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LANDS 2026 PARK SCORE RANKINGS, HOUSTON PLACED 69TH AMONG THE NATION'S HUNDRED LARGEST CITIES, COMPARED WITH DALLAS AT 38TH, AUSTIN AT 47TH, AND SAN ANTONIO AT 61ST. 
          CHRONIC UNDERINVESTMENT LEAVES NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS WITH DETERIORATING FACILITIES AND LIMITS THE CITY'S ABILITY TO ACQUIRE AND CARE FOR GREEN SPACE. 
          HOUSTON NEEDS BOTH MORE PROTECTED LAND AND RELIABLE FUNDING TO STEWARD THE PARKS IT ALREADY HAS. 
          WE SUPPORT DIRECTOR ALLEN'S RECOMMENDATION AND COUNCIL'S ACTION TO ALLOW 30% OF REVENUE DEDICATED FROM RESIDENTIAL BUILDERS TO BE SPENT ANYWHERE ACROSS THE CITY. 
          THIS PUSH TOWARD GREATER EQUITY AND ACCESS IS TO BE APPLAUDED AND IS ALREADY HELPING FUND PARKS THANKS TO QUICK COUNCIL ACTION TO DISTRIBUTE THESE FUNDS. 
          I'M HERE TODAY, TODAY BECAUSE WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE ANOTHER IMPORTANT INVESTMENT IN OUR CITY'S PARK SYSTEM. 
          THE DEVELOPER FEES HAVE REMAINED $700 PER DWELLING SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 2007, DESPITE THE ORDINANCE CALLING FOR AN ANNUAL REVIEW. 
          ENVIRONMENT TEXAS AND OUR ALLIES SUPPORT A STRONGER FEE TO HELP HOUSTON'S PARK SYSTEM KEEP PACE WITH DEVELOPMENT, AND AN INCREASE OF 1,100 WOULD BE FRACTIONAL COMPARED TO THE BENEFIT OF INCREASED PARK SPACE FOR HOUSTONIANS. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          APPRECIATE YOUR BEING HERE. 
          NEXT WE HAVE PHOEBE TUDOR VIRTUALLY. 
          HELLO. 
          I CAN HEAR YOU. 
          HI THERE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I JUST APPRECIATE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK IN FAVOR, UH, OF THIS, OF THIS PLAN AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET MORE MONEY INTO PARKS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. 
          UH, I WAS A MEMBER OF THE PARKS BOARD FOR EIGHT YEARS AND I HAVE BEEN A MEMBER OF THE HERMAN PARK CONSERVANCY FOR 20 YEARS. 
          I'M A DEDICATED PARK SUPPORTER AND WE NEED THIS ADDITIONAL, UH, HELP AND INCOME FROM THE CITY. 
          UH, I APPLAUD THIS PLAN AND I HOPE THAT WE DO CONTINUE TO DISCUSS THIS EACH YEAR, UH, AND TAKE, UH, INCREASES AS APPROPRIATE THROUGHOUT THE NEXT YEARS. 
          OUR PARKS ARE, PARKS ARE NOT A PERK. 
          PARKS ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF, UH, A BEAUTIFUL CITY, AND I'M HIGHLY IN FAVOR OF THIS PROJECT. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH, PHOEBE. 
          [01:30:01]
APPRECIATE YOUR WEIGHING IN. 
          NEXT, WE'LL HEAR FROM BRIDGET MURRAY. 
          I DON'T SEE BRIDGET HERE. 
          KARINA BLEST. 
          DON'T SEE HER. 
          SHE SPOKE AT PLANNING COMMISSION AS WELL. 
          WE'LL GO TO JUSTIN SCHULTZ, WHO IS HERE. 
          BEEN SITTING FOR A LONG TIME. 
          I FEEL LIKE AN OLD MAN. 
          UM, THANK Y'ALL, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF FOR HAVING THIS REALLY IMPORTANT MEETING. 
          I'M JUSTIN SCHULTZ. 
          I'M THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE HOUSTON PARKS BOARD. 
          WE HELP THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THE COUNTY, AND OTHER PARTNERS TO EXPAND ACCESS TO QUALITY PARKS AND GREEN SPACE THROUGHOUT THIS CITY. 
          ONE OF THE LARGEST INITIATIVES WE'VE DONE OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS IS WORKING WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON, RIGHT NOW WITH MAYOR JOHN WHITMEYER, WITH MY PARTNER NEXT TO ME, KENNETH ALLEN IN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, TO IMPROVE NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS. 
          PART OF THE CITY'S CONTRIBUTION TO THAT HAS BEEN THROUGH THE OPEN SPACE DEDICATION FEE. 
          AND IN FACT, OVER THE LAST FIVE OR SIX YEARS, ABOUT $20 MILLION HAS COME FROM OPEN SPACE DEDICATION FEE TO EITHER THE LET'S PLAY HOUSTON NEIGHBORHOOD PARK RENOVATION PROGRAM OR THE FIFTY FIFTY PARK RENOVATION PROGRAM UNDER THE LAST ADMINISTRATION. 
          WHAT'S REALLY INCREDIBLE IS WHAT WE'VE ABLE, WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO LEVERAGE THAT TO DO. 
          WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BRING OVER 50 MILLION IN PRIVATE AND PHILANTHROPIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO ADD TO THAT $20 MILLION IN CITY MONEY TO REALLY MAKE HUGE TRANSFORMATIONAL INVESTMENTS TO THE CITY. 
          WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT PARKS THROUGH AN INCREASE IN THIS FEE NOW AND HOPEFULLY AGAIN NEXT YEAR AND IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS. 
          I MENTIONED THIS AT PLANNING COMMISSION. 
          THE PARKS DEPARTMENT HAS $64 PER CAPITA TO SPEND ON PARKS IN HOUSTON. 
          DALLAS HAS MORE THAN DOUBLE THAT, AND THE NATIONAL AVERAGE IS ALMOST TRIPLE THAT. 
          DO WE WANT TO BE ONLY A THIRD AS GOOD AS AVERAGE CITIES IN THE COUNTRY? AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, DO WE WANNA BE ONLY HALF AS GOOD AS THE CITY OF DALLAS? IF THERE'S ONE THING THAT CAN MOTIVATE US, IT'S TO BEAT DALLAS. 
          SO PLEASE, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I'M SO HAPPY Y'ALL ARE SUPPORTING THIS AND I LOOK FORWARD TO COMING BACK TO YOU ON THE FUTURE TO SUPPORT THIS EVEN MORE. 
          AND COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THIS. 
          FOR YEARS, IT'S WORKING. 
          UH, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ, THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          EVERYONE, LET'S JUST KEEP GOING. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH, JUSTIN, AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO FOR HOUSTON PARKS. 
          NEXT, WE HAVE ADRIAN MOCHENBERG. 
          GOOD MORNING, MADAM CHAIR AND CITY COUNCIL AND STAFF. 
          MY NAME IS ADRIAN MOSCHENBERG AND I AM HERE TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF AN INCREASE TO THE DEVELOPER IN LIEU FEES FOR THE PARKLAND DEDICATION FUND. 
          WE ALL KNOW OUR PARKS DESPERATELY NEED MORE FUNDING, AND AS OTHER SPEAKERS HAVE SAID, WE'RE UNDERFUNDED COMPARED TO OTHER MAJOR TEXAS CITIES. 
          I'M HERE TO SPEAK SPECIFICALLY ON WHY I BELIEVE DEVELOPERS SHOULD HELP CLOSE THAT GAP. 
          I LIVE IN THE OAK FOREST AND GARDEN OAKS AREA. 
          IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD OVER THE PAST DECADE, WE HAVE SEEN RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS, OF NEW RESIDENCES, ESPECIALLY IN THE BLOCKS SURROUNDING OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CITY PARKS. 
          AND MANY MORE MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENTS ARE SLATED FOR CONSTRUCTION SOON. 
          MOST OF THESE NEW DEVELOPMENTS HAVE VERY SMALL PARK - POCKET YARDS OR ONLY PATIOS OR BALCONIES, AND THE DEVELOPERS HAVE REALLY PACKED STRUCTURES IN, LEAVING ALMOST NO GREEN SPACE FOR RESIDENTS TO ENJOY. 
          MANY OF OUR NEW NEIGHBORS ARE YOUNG PROFESSIONALS WITH DOGS OR FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN WHO ARE DRAWN TO OUR AREA BY OUR GREAT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. 
          FOR THESE RESIDENTS, NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS SERVE AS THEIR BACKYARDS. 
          AND DEVELOPERS ARE CAPITALIZING ON THIS. 
          IN FACT, SOME OF THE NEW GATED COMMUNITIES IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, AND COMPLEXES HAVE NAMES SUCH AS PARK VIEW, AND THEY'RE MARKETED AS BEING CLOSE TO NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS. 
          AND IF YOU LOOK THEM UP ON HAR, THEY ALL HAVE PICTURES OF OUR CITY PARKS ON THEIR REAL ESTATE LISTINGS. 
          THE DEVELOPERS KNOW THAT BUYERS ARE ATTRACTED BY OUR PARKS AND THEY ARE PROFITING OFF OF THIS. 
          IT'S ONLY FAIR FOR THEM TO CONTRIBUTE MORE TO THE PARKS THAT THEY'RE PROFITING ON. 
          SO I ASK THAT AFTER ALMOST 20 YEARS OF NO FEE INCREASE, THAT THE FEE BE RAISED SO THAT THE LAST REMAINING GREEN SPACE IN OUR AREA CAN BE PRESERVED AND WELL MAINTAINED BECAUSE EVERY HOUSTONIAN DESERVES ACCESS TO OPEN GREEN SPACE CLOSE TO HOME. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ADRIAN, THAT WAS GREAT. 
          [01:35:01]
I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. 
          PARK VIEW, PARK, YOU'RE RIGHT. 
          EVERY NEW DEVELOPMENT'S GOT TO PARK IN. 
          I'D BE REALLY CHECK IT, CHECK IT OUT ON HAR. 
          AND THAT'S THE, THE, THAT'S WHAT I'M SEEING IN MY AREA, AND I ASSUME THAT THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN PARKS - SURE. 
          IN NEIGHBORHOODS ALL ACROSS THE CITY. 
          I LOVE IT. 
          JUST WANTED TO COME TELL YOU WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MY NECK OF THE WOODS. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN PARKER. 
          ANYONE ELSE WANNA SPEAK OUT ON THE OPEN SPACE ORDINANCE CHANGE? OKAY. 
          SEEING NONE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PATIENCE. 
          THANK YOU, DIRECTOR AND PARK H. 
          PARK STAFF, MARLENE, VON TRAN, EVERYONE WHO WORKED ON THIS. 
          UM, WE'RE ALMOST THERE. 
          WE'RE ALMOST THERE. 
          SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO MY COLLEAGUES. 
          ALL RIGHT, WE WILL MOVE AHEAD TO OUR NEXT PRESENTATION, AGENDA ITEM SEVEN, P-CARD EXPENDITURE TRENDS AND INSIGHTS. 
          WE WILL BE HEARING AGAIN FROM, UM, DEPUTY CONTROLLER WILL JONES. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          BACK AGAIN, UM, TO TALK ABOUT P-CARDS. 
          IS THAT... 
          OKAY. 
          WE, EVERYONE HAS THE SLIDES. 
          OKAY. 
          BUT I MEAN, WE HAVE THE, EVERYBODY HAS IT, UM, ONLINE. 
          THAT'S FINE. 
          I'LL JUST SAY THAT. 
          BUT WE'RE HAVING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES TODAY. 
          I'LL JUST REFERENCE THE SLIDE NUMBERS AS I GO TOO. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO, UM, LOOKING AT SLIDE TWO, UM, THE REVIEW, UM, THIS REVIEW WILL FOCUS ON THE ASPECTS OF THE CITY'S P-CARD PROGRAM. 
          WHY ARE WE LOOKING AT P-CARDS? UM, JUST BY NATURE, IT'S A HIGH RISK, UH, AREA. 
          UM, WE SPEND ON AVERAGE ABOUT 24.4 MILLION, UH, ON P-CARDS. 
          UM, AND SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE, UH, YOU KNOW, CLOSELY MONITOR THIS, BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT IT, UM, AND LOOK AT IT OFTEN. 
          AND SO THIS PRESENTATION WILL FOCUS ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT A P-CARD IS, UM, KEY ASPECTS OF THE CITY'S P-CARD POLICY, UH, A LOOK AT SOME OF THE FINANCIAL TRENDS OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS AND SOME OBSERVATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES. 
          UM, WHAT THIS PRESENTATION DOES NOT DO, IT'S NOT A DEEP DIVE ON, YOU KNOW, REVIEWING SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION. 
          UM, THAT WILL COME MORE SO WITH AN AUDIT. 
          SO LOOKING AT SLIDE THREE, UH, SO WHAT IS A P-CARD? I KNOW ALL OF YOU KNOW WHAT A P-CARD IS, BUT WE ALSO KEEP IN MIND, UM, CITIZENS, UM, AND TRYING TO MAKE THIS INFORMATION AS BASIC AS POSSIBLE SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE IN THE CITY. 
          UH, SO A P-CARD IS ESSENTIALLY A CITY-ISSUED CREDIT CARD THAT ALLOWS AUTHORIZED EMPLOYEES TO BUY, UH, GOODS AND SERVICES. 
          UM, EACH PEACH, EACH, UH, CARD IS ASSIGNED TO A SPECIFIC EMPLOYEE AND MAY ONLY BE USED BY THAT INDIVIDUAL. 
          AND THIS PROGRAM IS GOVERNED BY AP5-6. 
          UM, AND SO, AND THAT AP WAS RECENTLY UPDATED BACK IN APRIL. 
          AND ALSO BEFORE I, UH, YOU KNOW, BEFORE I CAME TO YOU TODAY, I ALSO TALKED TO, UH, JED, OUR CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFF- OFFICER WHO IS OUT THERE TODAY. 
          AND SO I WANTED TO SHARE WITH HIM KIND OF SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I SAW. 
          AND SO I'LL REFERENCE SOME OF OUR CONVERSATION AS WELL THROUGHOUT THIS PRESENTATION. 
          UH, SO ON SLIDE FOUR, THE CITY P - UH, POLICY GOVERNS P-CARD USE AND OVERSIGHT. 
          SO THIS IS JUST A PYRAMID THAT KIND OF SHOWS THE FLOW OF, UH, THE P-CARD HOLDER UP TO THE CPO. 
          SO LOOK AT THE VERY BOTTOM, OF COURSE YOU HAVE THE CARD HOLDER, UM, AND WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT YOU ALSO HAVE THE APPROVING MANAGER. 
          AND THEN YOU HAVE THAT P-CARD COORDINATOR. 
          UH, SO EVERY DEPARTMENT HAS A, A P-CARD COORDINATOR THAT KIND OF MANAGES IT FOR THE DEPARTMENT. 
          SO IN, IN MY CONVERSATION WITH JED, WE ARE LOOKING AT CONSOLIDATING THAT OPERATION INTO PROCUREMENT TO HAVE BETTER OVERSIGHT ON, ON THAT PROGRAM. 
          AND THEN YOU LOOK AT THE VERY TOP OF THE, THE, UH, PYRAMID. 
          OF COURSE, WE HAVE THE PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR WHO HAS OVERSIGHT OVER THE, THE CARD ISSUANCE, COORDINATES TRAINING, UH, REVIEWS COMPLIANCE, UH, AND IS THE PRIMARY CONTACT ON THE BANK. 
          AND AT THE, AT THE VERY, VERY TOP, OF COURSE, WE HAVE OUR CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER, JED, UH, WHO PROVIDES FINAL SIGN OFF, AUTHORIZES POLICY CHANGES, AND OF COURSE, OVERALL ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE PROGRAM. 
          SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, SLIDE FIVE, UH, THE P-CARD SPENDING LIMIT. 
          SO THE MAXIMUM PER SINGLE TRANSACTION IS 3,000, UH, AND THE MAXIMUM PER MONTH PER CARD HOLDER IS, UH, 10,000. 
          AND OF COURSE, YOU SEE AT THE BOTTOM, SPLITTING A PURCHASE INTO SMALLER REPEATED TRANSACTIONS TO GET AROUND THAT SPENDING LIMIT IS NOT ALLOWED. 
          UM, AND IF SOMEONE DOES THIS OR APPROVES IT, THE CITY CAN TAKE AWAY THEIR P-CARD, AND OF COURSE THERE'LL BE, UH, ACTIONS TO FOLLOW AS A RESULT OF THAT. 
          UM, SLIDE SIX. 
          SO WHAT, UH, THE CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER OR DESIGNEE MAY AUTHORIZE PURCHASES THAT EXCEED, UH, THE SINGLE OR MONTHLY LIMITS. 
          AND THESE ARE, PER THE POLICY, THE REASONS WHY WE WOULD EXCEED THAT LIMIT, EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, UH, INCLEMENT WEATHER, DISASTERS, AND OTHER HEALTH AND SAFETY CONDITIONS. 
          AND OF COURSE, ALL, UH, ALL APPROVED PURCHASES MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH CITY POLICY AND PROCEDURES, UH, FOR EMERGENCIES, 
          [01:40:01]
AND IF REQUIRED, SUBMITTED TO THE COUNCIL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. 
          SO LOOKING AT SLIDE SEVEN, UH, SO WHAT PURCHASES ARE ALLOWED ON A P-CARD? UM, SO PURCHASING CARDS MAY BE USED FOR GOODS OR SERVICES CONDUCTING OFFICIAL CITY BUSINESS. 
          UM, AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT, UH, THERE ARE SOME SPECIAL CATEGORIES, UH, SUCH AS FURNITURE, UH, FURNITURE MUST BE, UH, MUST FOLLOW AP7-4, AND OF COURSE FOOD. 
          UH, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A FOOD PROFILE, UM, ON YOUR CARD IN ORDER TO, TO PURCHASE FOOD AND THEN TRAVEL. 
          AND THEN OF COURSE TRAVEL, YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW, UH, BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH AP2-5. 
          SO NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO, UH, PURCHASES THAT ARE PROHIBITED FROM A P-CARD, OF COURSE, CASH ADVANCES, PERSONNEL EXPENDITURES, VEHICLES, ROLLING STOCK, UH, PAYMENT APPLICATIONS, NO VENMO, PAYPAL, UM, AND THEN PERSONAL MEMBERSHIPS OR PER - OR, OR, UH, PROFILES. 
          UM, AND THEN HERE ARE SOME, SOME LIMITED EXCEPTIONS, UH, WITH THE NEW, UH, UPDATE TO THE POLICY. 
          GIFT, GIFT CARDS ARE ALLOWED. 
          UM, AND FROM OUR CONVERSATION WITH JED, THAT'S PRIMARILY IN THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT BECAUSE CERTAIN GRANTS REQUIRE THE CITY TO ISSUE GIFT CARDS. 
          AND SO, UH, SO THERE ARE VERY LIMITED USES OF, OF GIFT CARDS, BUT PRIMARILY IN THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT TOLLS, UM, YOU MUST BE IN A CITY-OWNED VEHICLE, UH, NOT YOUR PERSONAL VEHICLE. 
          UH, AMAZON, UH, AMAZON HAS TO BE WITH THE CITY, UH, AMAZON ACCOUNT. 
          YOU CAN'T USE A P-CARD ON YOUR PERSONAL AMAZON OR HAVE PACKAGES DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME. 
          UM, THEN OF COURSE TECHNOLOGY, ALL THE TECHNOLOGY PURCHASES HAVE TO FLOW THROUGH, UM, OUR HITS DEPARTMENT. 
          OKAY, SLIDE NINE. 
          SO BACK IN FEBRUARY WHEN THE EY STUDY WAS RELEASED, THEY DID TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF, UH, THE P-CARDS AS PART OF THE OVERALL PROCUREMENT, UH, OVERVIEW. 
          AND THEN SOME OF THE AREAS OF CONCERNS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED, UH, POTENTIAL TRANSACTION SPLITTING, WHICH WE'LL TALK ABOUT, UH, LARGE ROUND DOLLARS, PROHIBITED VENDORS, UM, AND IN THEIR, UH, IN THEIR PRESENTATION, THEY NOTED AMAZON, WHICH AT ONE POINT WAS A PROHIBITED VENDOR, BUT THEY ARE NOW A CITY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A CONTRACT WITH THEM AND IT IS PROHIB - UH, ALLOWED. 
          UH, THIRD PARTY PLATFORMS, UH, WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, PAYPAL AND VENMO, UH, THAT WAS NOTED AND IT'S ALSO, WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT LATER, UH, INCOMPLETE PURCHASE DESCRIPTIONS AND MONITORING AND OVERSIGHT. 
          UM, AND SO IT, UH, I KNOW WITH JED AND HIS TEAM, THEY'VE SINCE, LIKE I STATED, UPDATED THE AP, UH, BACK IN APRIL, WHICH ALSO STRENGTHENS THE PROCUREMENTS OVERSIGHT IN THIS PROGRAM. 
          SO NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO NOW TAKING A LOOK AT SOME OF THE NUMBERS. 
          SO OVER THE FIVE YEARS, UH, STARTING IN 22, WE SPENT ABOUT 122 MILLION CITYWIDE. 
          AND AS I MENTIONED AT THE TOP OF THIS PRESENTATION, UH, THE ANNUAL AVERAGE IS ABOUT 24.4 MILLION. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE THERE FROM 22 TO 26, UM, THE, THE SPEND, AND YOU CAN SEE IN 26, WE WERE ACTUALLY DOWN IN OUR P-CARD SPENDING. 
          UM, AND THEN LOOKING AT THE FUNDS, YOU KNOW, SO FOUR FUNDS ACCOUNT FOR 83% OF OUR P-CARD SPENDING, UH, WITH GENERAL FUND BEING THE TOP AT ABOUT 8.9 MILLION FOLLOWED BY, YOU KNOW, WATER AND SEWER, FLEET, AIRPORT, AND THEN THE REMAINING FUNDS MAKE UP ABOUT 4.1 MILLION OR 17%. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          AND LOOKING AT THAT SAME DATA, BUT LOOKING AT IT BY DEPARTMENT, SO YOU CAN SEE, UM, THE TOP DEPARTMENTS BEING PUBLIC WORKS, FLEET, FIRE, AIRPORT, PARKS, POLICE, AND HEALTH, AND THEN THE REMAINING 18 OR SO DEPARTMENTS, UH, MAKE UP ABOUT 15%, BUT THE, THOSE TOP DEPARTMENTS REPRESENT ABOUT 53% OF THE OVERALL SPENDING. 
          AND THEN KIND OF, UH, SPOTLIGHTING GENERAL FUND, UH, 8.9 MILLION. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE IN THE GENERAL FUND, THE TOP DEPARTMENTS WOULD BE FIRE, POLICE, AND PARKS. 
          AND SO 72% OF GENERAL FUND SPENDING COMES FROM THOSE THREE DEPARTMENTS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO ALSO LOOKING AT IT BY THE GENERAL LEDGER CATEGORY WITH VEHICLE, UH, REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE SUPPLIES BEING AT THE TOP. 
          UM, SO THE, THESE 10 GL CATEGORIES ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT 67% OF, OF THE P CARD SPEND. 
          THE REMAINING 117 OR SO CATEGORIES ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT 33%, AGAIN, WITH VEHICLE REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE SUPPLIES AND CLOTHING, UH, BEING THE TOP. 
          SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT, UH, THE CLOTHING CATEGORY, BECAUSE THAT'S ONE WHERE WE SAW A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OVER THE FIVE-YEAR PERIOD. 
          UM, SO SPENDING INCREASED 61% IN FY25 AND ANOTHER 19% IN FY26. 
          UH, 75% OR ABOUT 2.7 MILLION OF THIS IS, UH, CONCENTRATED IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND 78% 
          [01:45:01]
OR ABOUT 2.8 MILLION OF THAT COST IS ASSOCIATED WITH A SINGLE, SINGLE VENDOR. 
          AND SO THIS IS ONE OF THE, THE AREAS THAT POPPED OUT TO ME. 
          SO IN MY CONVERSATION WITH JED, SO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN FIRE DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE THEIR CLOTHING VOUCHER PROGRAM AND THEY'RE USING THE P-CARD, UH, TO PURCHASE FROM THAT CONTRACT. 
          UM, AND SO IDEALLY YOU WOULD NOT USE A P-CARD TO PURCHASE, AND WE'RE TALKING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AT A TIME. 
          AND SO, AND BASED ON MY CONVERSATION WITH JED, WHICH HE AGREES THAT WE'RE NO LONGER, UM, GONNA BE DOING THAT. 
          SO EFFECTIVE THIS YEAR, GOING FORWARD, WE HAVE MOVED FIRE BACK TO, UH, DOING A PURCHASE ORDER AGAINST THAT CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE SO WE HAVE BETTER OVERSIGHT. 
          UM, BUT LIKE I SAID, FOR THAT TIME PERIOD, THIS IS ONE OF THE AREAS THAT JUMPED OUT. 
          AND SO, UH, WE ARE NO LONGER CONTINUING THAT PRACTICE. 
          OKAY, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'RE GONNA LOOK AT THE TOP FIVE, UH, CARD HOLDERS. 
          AGAIN, YOU'LL SEE AT THE TOP, IT WILL BE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, JUST FOR THE REASON THAT I JUST SAID, UH, BECAUSE OF THO - THAT, THOSE CLOTHING PURCHASES. 
          UM, SO I EXPECT THAT NUMBER TO GO DOWN, UM, THE NEXT TIME WE LOOK AT THIS. 
          AND THEN WE HAVE FLEET, UM, THEN YOU HAVE PARKS, POLICE, AND THEN AGAIN, FLEET WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TOP FIVE. 
          AND IF YOU LOOK AT KIND OF THE NUMBER OF TRANSACTIONS AND THE AVERAGE SPEND PER TRANSACTION, AGAIN, OF COURSE, YOU CAN SEE WITH, UH, IN, IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT THAT THOSE 24 TRANSACTIONS WHILE ARE SMALL, THEY'RE HUGE DOLLAR AMOUNTS. 
          AND THEN YOU SEE SOME OF THE OTHERS, LIKE IN FLEET, WHERE THEY HAVE TO DO A LOT OF PARTS PURCHASE. 
          UH, SO YOU'LL SEE A HIGH QUANTITY, UM, BUT YOU'LL SEE THE AVERAGE SPEND IS RELATIVELY SMALL. 
          UM, SO THAT'S JUST A LOOK AT KIND OF THE TOP. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE A BIG DROP OFF FROM WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE TOP, YOU KNOW, PUT 12.2% IN FIRE. 
          UM, AND YOU CAN SEE A BIG DROP OFF ONCE YOU, UH, GET TO THE OTHER, UH, CARD HOLDERS. 
          UM, BUT AGAIN, WE, WE MADE ADJUSTMENTS THERE, SO WE SHOULD SEE A CHANGE. 
          ON THE NEXT SLIDE, LOOKING AT THE SPEND ANALYSIS OF, UH, WANTED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE TRANSACTIONS THAT WERE ABOVE THE THRESHOLD. 
          AND OF COURSE, IN, IF, IN ORDER TO GO ABOVE THAT SINGLE TRANSACTION, $3,000 THRESHOLD, YOU WOULD HAVE TO RECEIVE APPROVAL FROM THE PROCUREMENT TEAM. 
          UM, JUST WANTED TO SHOW, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR 26, WE SAW ABOUT 155 OF THOSE TRANSACTIONS, UM, AND 81 OF THOSE TRANSACTIONS ARE IN THESE FIVE CATEGORIES THAT I'M SHOWING BELOW, CLOTHING, INVENTORY SALES, FOOD SUPPLIES, UM, GENERAL, UH, LABORATORY SUPPLIES, AND TRAVEL NON-TRAINING. 
          AND THEN AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE, UM, THE NUMBER OF OCCURRENCES OVER THOSE SINGLE TRANSA - OVER THE, THE 3,000 THRESHOLD. 
          UM, SO AGAIN, ABOUT 81 IN THESE TOP FIVE. 
          SO AGAIN, UH, CLOTHING, UH, UH, AS A RESULT OF WHAT WE MENTIONED EARLIER IS KIND OF AT THE TOP OF THAT LIST. 
          SO WE SHOULD SEE, UH, SOME CHANGES THERE. 
          AND THE INVENTORY SALES, THAT'S, THAT'S MAINLY IN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT WHERE THEY HAVE TO, WHERE THEY BUY, UM, YOU KNOW, INVENTORY FOR THEIR SHOPS IN, IN, ON, ON THE GOLF COURSE AND THAT THEY RESELL. 
          UM, AND SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE INVENTORY SALES THERE, UM, AND OF COURSE FOOD SUPPLIES. 
          UH, BUT YEAH, SO THOSE ARE WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT EXCEEDING THAT $3,000, UH, LIMIT. 
          ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE LOOK AT, UM, AGAIN, BECAUSE REMEMBER WE HAVE TWO THRESHOLDS. 
          YOU GOT THE SINGLE $3,000, AND THEN YOU HAVE THE MONTHLY 10,000, SO NO CARD HOLDER CAN SPEND MORE THAN 10,000 A MONTH WITHOUT APPROVAL. 
          SO AGAIN, WE SAW ABOUT 83 OCCURRENCES OF THOSE, UH, WITH ABOUT 49 UNIQUE CARDHOLDERS. 
          AND WE SAY UNIQUE BECAUSE, UH, ONE PERSON CAN EXCEED IT MULTIPLE TIMES. 
          SO WE'RE ONLY COUNTING THAT, THAT ONE TIME THAT THEY EXCEED. 
          AND THEN YOU CAN SEE BY DEPARTMENT, UM, THE TOP OCCURRENCES OF THAT WILL BE IN THE FLEET, UH, POLICE, UH, FIRE, PARKS, AND GENERAL SERVICES. 
          AND THEN AGAIN, THOSE TOP OCCURRENCES BY CATEGORY, WHICH OF COURSE YOU SEE FLEET UP TOP, UH, FOR VEHICLE REPAIRS AND THEN CLOTHING, UM, AND THEN INVENTORY SALES, TRAVEL TRAINING RELATED. 
          SO AGAIN, THAT'S THE $10,000 THRESHOLD. 
          UH, SO ONTO KEY OBSERVATIONS AND SOME THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE NOTICED. 
          UM, AND ALSO, SO THE FIRST ONE, POTENTIAL, UH, SPLIT TRANSACTIONS. 
          THIS IS ALSO WHAT EY CALLED OUT. 
          UM, AND JUST SO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT IS, UH, IF YOU LOOK AT A, A TRANSACTION, UH, YOU LOOK FOR TRANSACTION ON THE SAME DAY, SAME VENDOR, SAME PERSON, MULTIPLE TRANSACTIONS, UM, THAT WOULD EXCEED THE $3,000 LIMIT, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT SPLITTING IS, SO THAT'S WHERE YOU WOULD LOOK. 
          UM, SO THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THAT WOULD LOOK WHERE YOU SEE ON THIS EXAMPLE, JUNE 4TH, SAME DATE, SAME MERCHANT, TWO DIFFERENT TRANSACTIONS, UM, AND IT EXCEEDS, UH, THE $3,000 LIMIT BY ABOUT 1900. 
          AND SO AGAIN, IN MY CONVERSATION WITH JED AROUND THESE, 
          [01:50:01]
THE MAJORITY OF THOSE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE SPLIT, IF IT'S ON A CONTRACT, IT'S NOT CONSIDERED SPLITTING. 
          UM, AND THEN ALSO WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, TRAVEL, YOU'RE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE AP, UH, 2-5, I BELIEVE IT IS. 
          AND, AND SO THAT'S ALSO NOT CONSIDERED SPLITTING. 
          AND SO WHAT YOU'RE LEFT WITH, UH, IS PROBABLY A SMALLER POOL, BUT THAT IS AN AREA THAT YOU WOULD ALWAYS LOOK. 
          AND I KNOW JED AND HIS TEAM, THEY REVIEW THAT MONTHLY TO ENSURE THAT ANY SPLITTING OR ANYTHING THAT LOOKS LIKE SPLITTING, THAT WE'RE ON TOP OF IT. 
          OKAY, ANOTHER OBSERVATION ON THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          UH, THIRD PARTY PAYMENT PLATFORMS. AGAIN, UM, PAYPAL, VENMO, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS ARE PROHIBITED. 
          UM, IN THE ANALYSIS, WE DID SEE, UH, SOME EXAMPLES THAT APPEAR TO BE PAYPAL, AND IT'S THE SAME THING THAT EY POINTED OUT. 
          UH, SO YOU CAN SEE FROM THOSE EXAMPLES WHERE YOU SEE PAYPAL, UH, IN THE N - IN THE MERCHANT NAME. 
          UH, AND AGAIN, BASED ON MY DISCUSSION WITH JED, HE'S AWARE OF IT, SOMETHING THEY'RE WORKING ON. 
          THERE ARE SOME VENDORS WHERE, FOR SOME REASON, WITH THEIR PAYMENT SYSTEM, IT DOES SHOW UP THAT WAY, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO CLOSELY MONITOR. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, SO HERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, INCONSISTENT CLASSIFICATION OF PURCHASES. 
          UM, SO AGAIN, IT'S JUST LOOKING AT WHAT WE'RE BUYING, NOT MATCHING WHERE THE EXPENSE IS BEING CHARGED. 
          SO IF YOU LOOK AT THAT FIRST EXAMPLE, WE'RE LOOKING AT HOTEL COSTS, BUT IT'S BEING CHARGED TO MISCELLANEOUS OTHER SERVICES OR, UM, LOOKING AT, UH, AGAIN, A HOTEL COST BEING CHARGED TO BANKING SERVICES OR, UH, FURNITURE COSTS BEING BOOKED TO MISCELLANEOUS OFFICE SUPPLIES. 
          UM, SO WE SAW QUITE A BIT OF THAT. 
          AND AGAIN, WITH MY DISCUSSION, UH, WITH JED, UH, PART OF THE ISSUE IS WHEN YOU HAVE THE, THE P-CARD COORDINATORS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENTS MAY NOT HAVE AS MUCH KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE SYSTEM AND HOW TO CODE THINGS PROPERLY WHEN IT'S NOT, UH, CODED AUTOMATICALLY WHERE IT SHOULD GO. 
          AND A PART OF THAT WILL BE ADDRESSED WITH THE CONSOLIDATING OF THE, UM, P-CARD COORDINATORS WITHIN, UM, THE PROCUREMENT TEAM. 
          SO WE SHOULD SEE, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF ADJUSTMENTS TO THAT AS WELL. 
          SO KIND OF KEY TAKEAWAYS, UM, THERE ALWAYS REMAIN OPPORTUNITIES, ESPECIALLY WITH, UH, THE P-CARD PROGRAM, LIKE I SAID, IT'S, IT'S INHERENTLY A HIGH RISK AREA. 
          UM, SPENDING PATTERNS, TRANSACTION ABOVE STANDARD LIMITS, UH, RECURRING CONCERNS. 
          AGAIN, UH, AS EY MENTIONED, AND AS, AS I ALSO SAW, POTENTIAL PAYMENT SPLITTINGS, BUT AGAIN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE TEAM MONITORS MONTHLY, UM, AND DATA QUALITY, UH, AGAIN, HAVING POTENTIAL INCONSISTENCIES AND GENERAL LEDGER CODING, YOU KNOW, HIGHLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE. 
          UM, AND SO THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, FOR ALL OF THAT INFORMATION. 
          THERE WAS A LOT TO, TO SIFT THROUGH THERE. 
          WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO COUNCIL MEMBER QUESTIONS AND COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER IS UP FIRST. 
          UH, THE GIFT CARDS. 
          YEAH. 
          IS THAT LIMITED TO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT? I DON'T BELIEVE IT'S LIMITED TO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, BUT THEY ARE THE - PREDOMINANT. 
          PREDOMINANT ONES. 
          OKAY. 
          I, I COULD SEE THAT AS BEING A POSSIBLE ISSUE. 
          YEAH. 
          WELL, LIKE I SAID, IT, THAT WAS MY, AND, UH, UH, I'M GONNA TRY AND, AND REPEAT WHAT, WHAT JED TOLD ME, BUT THAT WAS, UH, THAT WAS A MODIFICATION IN THE, UM, THE, THE REVISION TO THE POLICY IN APRIL BECAUSE BASED ON THE GRANTS, A LOT OF THE GRANTS THAT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT ISSUE, IT REQUIRES YOU TO ISSUE A P CARD, I MEAN, A, A GIFT CARD. 
          AND, AND I, I GOT THAT. 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          YEAH. 
          AND, AND IT JUST SEEMS LIKE A POTENTIAL HOLE. 
          UH, SO A- ANYWAY. 
          UM, THE CLOTHING VOUCHER PROGRAM FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT. 
          CAN YOU WALK ME THROUGH HOW THAT WORKS? WELL, I'LL DO THE BEST I CAN. 
          OKAY. 
          SO I KNOW PART, PART OF THE CONTRACT, I - THEY'RE ALLOWED, I FORGET THE NUMBER, 700 OR SOMETHING DOLLARS, A VOUCHER THAT'S ISSUED AND PER FIREFIGHTER, I BELIEVE. 
          AND THAT WE HAVE A CONTRACT, I WANNA SAY WITH GAUL'S WHERE WE BUY THE EQUIPMENT. 
          UM, AND SO I MAY NOT BE EXPLAINING IT THE BEST, BUT THAT, THAT, WE HAVE THAT CONTRACT AND THEY HAVE THAT VOUCHER. 
          SO THE CITY WILL ISSUES THAT AND THEN WE PURCHASE THOSE CLOTHING, UH, YOU KNOW, ON THEIR BEHALF. 
          SO ESSENTIALLY EACH FIREFIGHTER GETS $700 FOR THE UNIFORMS A YEAR? WELL, YEAH, FOR, FOR DIFFERENT CLOTHING AND GEAR. 
          YEAH. 
          YEAH. 
          I MEAN - YEAH. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND WE DO NOT HAVE ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS IN QUEUE. 
          I, I DO WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR, YOUR PRESENTATION, ALL THE FINDINGS. 
          GOOD TO KNOW THAT SEEING THE CLOTHING FROM HFD SHOW UP ON SO MANY DIFFERENT CATEGORIES THAT THAT'S NOW GONNA GO THROUGH A, A PURCHASE ORDER PROCESS. 
          UH, THAT'S GOOD, GOOD THINGS COMING FROM THE WORK. 
          SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          OH, ACTUALLY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ HAS A QUESTION. 
          [01:55:01]
THANK YOU, VICE CHAIR. 
          AND, UH, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, JUST WANTED TO SAY APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK Y'ALL ARE DOING, UM, TO CATCH SOME OF THESE, UM, UH, KIND OF S- STANDOFFISH, UH, ITEMS AND JUST GOING THROUGH THE PRESENTATION. 
          IT'S, IT'S, FOR ME, IT'S LIKE, WHAT ARE WE DOING NEXT AFTER WE CATCH SOME OF THOSE, UH, UM, PURCHASES THAT SHOULDN'T BE DONE? AND SO, UH, JUST, UH, APPRECIATE THE WORK Y'ALL ARE DOING, JED, UH, AND YOUR TEAM, AND JUST HOPEFULLY YOU CAN, UH, PR - BE ABLE TO PROVIDE OTHER, W - OTHER WAYS WHERE WE CAN PREVENT THOSE TYPES OF, UH, PURCHASES. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, THE AUDIT DIVISION UPDATE WITH DEPUTY DIRECTOR JENNIFER PIERCE. 
          COME ON UP AND YOU CAN BEGIN AS SOON AS YOU'RE READY. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          WE'RE ALMOST THERE. 
          EVERYONE'S ALMOST THERE. 
          UH, THANK YOU, CHAIR AND OR MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY. 
          I'M GONNA COVER THREE, UH, THINGS. 
          FIRST, WHERE OUR AUDIT WORK STANDS. 
          SECOND, WHAT OUR REVIEW OF OPEN AUDIT FINDINGS AND TWO FOLLOW-UPS SHOWED. 
          AND THEN THIRD, IN MOST OF MY TIME TODAY, THE RESULTS OF OUR AUDIT OF THE CITY'S HIRING PROCESS. 
          UM, THIS IS... 
          OKAY. 
          UH, FOR FOUR FISCAL YEAR 2026 ENGAGEMENTS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED SINCE THE LAST TIME I PRESENTED TO YOU IN SEPTEMBER. 
          SIX MORE ARE IN REPORTING OR FIELD WORK, AND MOST ARE DUE TO BE RELEASED BY JANUARY. 
          AS OF TODAY, OUR FISCAL YEAR 2027 PLAN INCLUDES AUDITS OF THE WATER UTILITY, SAP SEGREGATION OF DUTIES, GRANT MANAGEMENT, AND HUD GRANT COMPLIANCE, PLUS SIX FOLLOW-UP AUDITS. 
          IN REGARDS TO THE OPEN FINDINGS, UH, SLIDE FIVE. 
          SAY NEXT SLIDE. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          GOT IT. 
          WE'LL ADVANCE THEM. 
          YEAH. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          LET'S CATCH UP. 
          SLI - NEXT SLIDE. 
          NEXT ONE. 
          THERE WE GO. 
           TECHNOLOGY. 
          WHEN IT FAILS YOU, IT FAILS YOU. 
          WE REVIEWED ALL 211 OPEN AUDIT FINDINGS IN OUR DATABASE AND SORTED THEM BY STATUS. 
          148 OF THEM, UM, 70% ARE READY FOR FOLLOW-UP AUDIT. 
          DEPARTMENTS REPORT THAT THEY HAVE ADDRESSED THESE FINDINGS, AND OUR JOB IS NOW TO VERIFY THAT INFORMATION. 
          ANOTHER 29 ARE IN FOLLOW-UP NOW, MEANING WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING THEM, AND 34 ARE STILL BEING REMEDIATED. 
          THAT BACKLOG IS WHY THE FISCAL YEAR 2027 PLAN NOW INCLUDES SIX FOLLOW-UP AUDITS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          OUR FOLLOW-UP AUDIT OF THE HOUSTON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES WAS ISSUED OCTOBER 30TH. 
          IT REVIEWED 20 OPEN FINDINGS FROM THREE EARLIER AUDITS, SAP SECURITY FROM 2012, AND CLOUD GOVERNANCE AND IT PROCESSES FROM 2018. 
          NINE ARE FULLY IMPLEMENTED AND NOW CLOSED, INCLUDING OFFSITE STORAGE OF SYSTEM BACKUPS AND INVENTORY OF CLOUD SERVICES AND REVIEW OF CLOUD PROVIDERS SECURITY. 
          11 REMAIN OPEN, FIVE PARTIALLY IMPLEMENTED, AND SIX STILL IN PROGRESS. 
          THE OPEN ITEMS THAT CONCERN US MOST ARE THE OLDEST. 
          FIVE OF THE SIX SAP SECURITY FINDINGS FROM 2012 REMAIN OPEN. 
          THEY COVER CONTROLS OVER POWERFUL, QUOTE, FIREFIGHTER AND SUPER USER IDS, LOCKING HIGH RISK TRANSACTION CODES AND LOGGING CHANGES TO PRODUCTION TABLES AND SYSTEM PARAMETERS. 
          THESE CONTROLS, THESE CONTROL WHO CAN MAKE HIGH IMPACT CHANGES IN THE CITY'S FINANCIAL SYSTEM, AND THEY HAVE BEEN OPEN SINCE 2012. 
          THAT IS ONE REASON SAP SEGREGATION OF DUTIES IS ON OUR FISCAL YEAR 2027 PLAN. 
          OTHER OPEN ITEMS INCLUDE ROUTINE TESTING THAT BACKUPS CAN ACTUALLY BE RESTORED, A RESPONSIBILITY CHART FOR CLOUD GOVERNANCE THAT HITS IS TARGETED FOR DECEMBER 31ST OF THIS YEAR, VENDOR RISK ASSESSMENTS AND MONTHLY REVIEW OF MOBILE SERVICE CHARGES, DEVICE CHARGES. 
          WE SAW A PA- PATTERN ACROSS SEVERAL ITEMS. HITS PROVIDED POLICIES BUT NOT DATED RECORDS SHOWING THE REVIEWS AND TESTS WERE ACTUALLY PERFORMED. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          OUR GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT FOLLOW-UP AUDIT, UM, REPORT WAS ALSO ISSUED ON OCTOBER 30TH. 
          IT COVERED FIVE OPEN FINDINGS, ONE FROM THE 2020 AUDIT OF LIBRARY CASH HANDLING AND FOUR FROM THE 2023 BUILDING SECURITY AUDIT. 
          TWO ARE NOW CLOSED. 
          SECURITY CAMERAS AT THE LIBRARY LOCATIONS WERE RE - WE REVIEWED ARE INSTALLED AND WORKING. 
          SEPARATED EMPLOYEES ARE ALSO NOW REMOVED FROM THE CITY'S BADGING SYSTEM. 
          WHEN WE COMPARED HR'S LIST OF SEPARATED EMPLOYEES TO ACTIVE BADGES, WE ACTUALLY FOUND, WE FOUND NO EXCEPTIONS. 
          THAT IS THE KIND OF CONTROL THAT WE WILL LATER TALK ABOUT AND WANT TO SEE IN HR'S HIRING SYSTEM AS WELL. 
          THREE FINDINGS REMAIN OPEN AND ALL THREE INVOLVE OVERSIGHT OF BUILDING SECURITY. 
          TWO OF THE 20 CONTRACT- CONTRACT SECURITY OFFICERS WE SAMPLED DID NOT HAVE THE 16 HOURS OF ANNUAL TRAINING THEIR CONTRACT REQUIRED. 
          REQUIRES. 
          [02:00:01]
THREE OF THE 15 DAILY ACTIVITY LOGS WE SELECTED WERE NOT PROVIDED, SO WE COULD NOT PROVIDE THAT REQUIRED ROUNDS WERE MADE. 
          AND ONE EXTERIOR DOOR IDENTIFIED IN THE ORIGINAL AUDIT STILL HAD SECURITY DEFICIENCIES WITH ITS MONITORING INCONSISTENTLY DOCUMENTED. 
          UM, NEXT SLIDE. 
          ONE MORE. 
          THAT BRINGS ME TO OUR MAIN REPORT, WHICH YOU ALL RECEIVED SO KINDLY VERY EARLY THIS MORNING. 
          UH, WE AUDITED THE HIRING PROX - PROCESS FOR APPROXIMATELY 12,000 NON-UNIFORMED EMPLOYEES FROM FISCAL YEAR 2023 THROUGH THE CURRENT, THROUGH THIRD QUARTER OF FISCAL YEAR 2026, Q3 OF THIS YEAR. 
          WE ASKED FOUR QUESTIONS. 
          DID HIRING FOLLOW THE RULES? DID THE KEY CONTROLS WORK? HOW TIMELY IS HIRING COMPARED WITH PEER CITIES? AND ARE THE RECOR- RECORDS THERE TO SUPPORT EACH DECISION? THE BOTTOM LINE, THE CITY HAS MADE HIRING FASTER, BUT IT CANNOT CONSISTENTLY SHOW THAT ITS HIRING DECISIONS WERE PROPERLY AUTHORIZED, FAIRLY EVALUATED, OR SUPPORTED BY REQUIRED SCREENINGS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          I'LL START WITH THE TIMELINESS BECAUSE THERE'S REAL PROGRESS HERE. 
          AVERAGE TIME TO FILL, TO FILL A POSITION PEAKED AT 114 BUSINESS DAYS IN FISCAL YEAR 2024. 
          THROUGH THE THIRD QUARTER OF FISCAL YEAR 2026, IT WAS 42 DAYS. 
          THAT IS 72 DAYS FASTER AND WITHIN HR'S 42 DAYS SELF-IMPOSED TARGET. 
          I'D ADD TWO CAUTIONS, AS YOU GUYS KNOW I'M GOING TO DO. 
          THE LONGEST STAGES, SCHEDULING INTERVIEWS AND RETURNING SELECTIONS ARE CONTROLLED BY HIRING DEPARTMENTS, NOT HR. 
          AND THE IMPROVEMENT CAME DURING THE HIRING FREEZE THAT REDUCED HIRING VOLUME BY ABOUT 45%. 
          SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE NOT YET SEEN WHETHER THIS TREND OF TIMELINESS WILL HOLD AS FOR, PER NORMAL VO- VOLUME. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          HERE'S A DETAIL OF WHERE THE TIME GOES. 
          OVER THE AUDIT PERIOD, CANDIDATES WAITED ON AVERAGE OF 22 BUSINESS DAYS AFTER REFERRAL FOR AN INTERVIEW. 
          THE REFERRAL COMES FROM HR TO THE HIRING MANAGER THAT SAYS THESE CANDIDATES ARE AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW. 
          IN THE MOST RECENT PERIOD, THAT DROPPED TO SIX. 
          FROM INTERVIEW TO HIRE AUTHORIZATION, WHICH COVERS THE DEPARTMENT'S SELECTION PROCESS AND THEN HR'S OFFER AND APPROVAL, TIME FELL FROM 49 DAYS TO 25. 
          INTERVIEW TO OFFER TIME ALONE RANGED FROM 12 TO 58 DAYS DEPENDING ON THE DEPARTMENT. 
          THIS IS WHY ACCOUNTABILITY FOR TIMELINESS HAS TO EXTEND BEYOND HR. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          NOW TO THE FINDINGS. 
          WE HAVE THREE, BUT THEY'RE BIG. 
          TWO ARE RATED HIGH RISK BECAUSE OF THE, BECAUSE OF HOW LARGE THEY ARE. 
          THE FIRST ONE, THE SINGLE HAS NO SINGLE CITYWIDE HIRING PROCEDURE. 
          REQUIREMENTS ARE SPREAD ACROSS ABOUT 20 ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES, EXECUTIVE ORDERS AND POLICIES. 
          NONE OF THEM DEFINES WHAT DOCUMENTS EACH STEP REQUIRES, WHO OWNS THEM AND WHERE THEY ARE MAINTAINED. 
          THE SECOND FINDING, DOCUMENTATION SUPPORTING KEY HIRING CONTROLS IS INCOMPLETE OR NOT RETAINED. 
          EIGHT OF THE 17 CONTROLS WE TESTED HAD EXCEPTION RATES OF 75% OR HIGHER. 
          THIRD, RATED MEDIUM RISK. 
          ACCESS TO THE APPLICANT TRACKING SYSTEM IS NOT ADEQUATE, ADEQUATELY CONTROLLED. 
          72 SEPARATED EMPLOYEES STILL HAD ACTIVE ACCESS TO THE ONLINE HIRING CENTER AND 72 USERS COULD BOTH INITIATE AND APPROVE THE HIRING ACTION. 
          WE BROUGHT THIS DOWN FROM HIGH SIMPLY BECAUSE WE HAVE A THING CALLED SINGLE SIGN-ON, WHICH BASICALLY MEANS THAT YOUR, YOUR GOVERNMENT, YOUR CITY OF HOUSTON USER ID IS CONTROLLED AT A VERY TOP LEVEL AND WHEN HITS CUTS THAT OFF, IT DOES RESTRICT YOU FROM THE, FROM ACCESS TO THE SYSTEM. 
          IT'S STILL A BAD PRACTICE THOUGH. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          LET ME PUT SOME NUMBERS TO THE SECOND FINDING RELATED TO DOCUMENTATION SUPPORTING KEY HIRING. 
          FOR 83% OF HIRES TESTED, THE CITY COULD NOT PRODUCE THE APPROVED AUTHORIZATION TO FILL THE POSITION. 
          FOR 97%, THERE WAS NO APPROVED SCORING PLAN, SO THE CITY CANNOT SHOW CANDIDATES WERE EVALUATED AGAINST CRITERIA SET IN ADVANCE. 
          77% OF POSTING WAIVER HIRES LACKED AN APPROVED POSTING WAIVER WITH JUSTIFICATION. 
          MORE THAN HALF HAD NO EVIDENCE THAT MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS WERE CHECKED AND 47% HAD NO BACKGROUND CHECK DOCUMENTATION. 
          THESE RECORDS ARE HOW THE CITY SHOWS A HI - THE, SHOWS A HIRE WAS FAIR AND LAWFUL. 
          WITHOUT THEM, THE CITY CANNOT DEFEND ITS HIRING PRA- PRACTICES IF CHALLENGED. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          ONE AREA IN PARTICULAR DESERVES SPECIFIC ATTENTION. 
          HIRES MADE WITHOUT COMPETITIVE POSTING THROUGH POSTING WAIVERS. 
          ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY 3-5 REQUIRES A WAIVER PACKAGE WITH THE DIRECTOR'S JUSTIFICATION, THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR'S JUSTIFICATION, THE MAYOR'S WRITTEN APPROVAL BEFORE 
          [02:05:01]
ANY OFFER, AND AN OFFER EXTENDED ONLY BY HR'S EXECUTIVE RECRUITER. 
          THIS POLICY IS INTENDED TO APPLY TO EXECUTIVE HIRING ONLY. 
          HOWEVER, OF THE 906 POSTING WAIVERS, WE IDENTIFIED 752 OR 83% WERE FOR NON-EXECUTIVES. 
          WE SAMPLED 60 OF THE 906 AND FOUND THAT FOR NON-EXECUTIVE HIRES, 90% LACKED AN APPROVED WAIVER WITH JUSTIFICATION. 
          FILLING NON-EXECUTIVE POSITIONS WITHOUT A COMPETITIVE HIRING PROCESS CAN IMPACT EMPLOYEE MORALE, PUBLIC TRUST, AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          WHY THIS HAPPENS TO MATTER FOR THE FIX, BECAUSE NOT ALL OF IT'S WITHIN HR'S CONTROL. 
          THE MISSING CITYWIDE PROCEDURE IS HR'S TO FIX. 
          THE SECOND IS, THE SYSTEM IS THE SECOND CAUSE. 
          NEOGOV CANNOT REQUIRE DOCUMENTS BEFORE A HIRE MOVES FORWARD AND IT DOES NOT REQUIRE WHEN EACH STEP HAPPEN. 
          IT DOES NOT REQUIRE DOCUMENTS WHEN EACH STEP HAPPENS. 
          INTERVIEW DATES WERE MISSING FOR 60% OF THE RECORDS WE REVIEWED. 
          OF NOTE, HR REQUESTED FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2027 CAPITAL FUNDING TO REPLACE NEOGOV, AND THAT REQUEST WAS NOT FUNDED. 
          THE THIRD COST IS HANDOFFS. 
          HIRING AUTHORIZATION REQUIRES THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, FINANCE AND HR AND SELECTION DEPENDS ON HIRING MANAGERS. 
          A CITYWIDE PROCEDURE ALONE WILL NOT CLOSE THESE GAPS WITHOUT MATCHING ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE DEPARTMENTS THAT CONTROL THESE STEPS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          THE GOOD NEWS. 
          HR AGREED WITH ALL THREE FINDINGS AND COMMITTED TO CORRECTIVE ACTIONS BY JUNE OF 2027 UNDER THE DIRECTION OF DR. 
          CRYSTAL BESIX, THE CHIEF TRANSFORMATION OFFICER WITHIN HR. 
          THE COMMITMENTS INCLUDE A HEAVY LIFT, CONSOLIDATING ABOUT 20 DIRECTOR, DIRECTIVES INTO ONE HIRING ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE, A HIRING PACKAGE CHECKLIST WITH MULTI-LAYER APPROVAL, INCLUDING THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE, QUALITY AND COMPLIANCE REVIEWS, AND A NEW BACKGROUND CHECK VENDOR, WHICH ACTUALLY THEY, UH, BROUGHT IN IN AUGUST. 
          AND FOR SYSTEM ACCESS, A NEW NEOGOV ADMINISTRATOR, A RESET OF PERMISSIONS, SAME DAY REMOVAL OF SEPARATED EMPLOYEES, AND QUARTERLY ACCESS REVIEWS. 
          SEE THE TREND WITH THE QUARTERLY ACCESS REVIEWS. 
          THE AUDIT DIVISION WILL VERIFY IMPLEMENTATION THROUGH FOLLOW-UP AUDIT WORK. 
          WE APPRECIATE HR'S COOPERATION THROUGHOUT THIS AUDIT. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          TO SUM UP, HIRING IS FASTER AND THAT DESERVES CREDIT, BUT SPEED HAS OUTPACED THE CONTROLS AND RECORDS THAT MAKING HIRING DECISIONS DEFENSIBLE. 
          ACROSS TODAY'S REPORTS, THE COMMON THREAD IS CONTROL OVER WHO CAN ACCESS SYSTEMS AND BUILDINGS. 
          CLOSING THESE GAPS IS THE JOB OF HR, HITS, GENERAL SERVICES AND EVERY DEPARTMENT THAT RELIES ON THEM. 
          THANK YOU AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. 
          FOR THE, THE SINGLE SIGN-ON THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, CAN YOU GO INTO MORE DETAIL THERE? SO, UM, SINGLE SIGN-ON IS, IS, UM, VERY COMMON PRACTICE ACROSS ALL INDUSTRIES, ALL COMPANIES. 
          IT ESSENTIALLY MEANS THAT I HAVE A USER ID PASSWORD THAT'S GIVEN TO ME, JENNIFER.PIERCE@HOUSTONTEXAS.GOV, RIGHT? AND I HAVE A PASSWORD. 
          AND THEN WHAT IT DOES IS THEY, THEY UMBRELLA THE APPLICATIONS UNDERNEATH THAT GLOBAL USER ID PASSWORD. 
          AND SO EVERY TIME I SIGN INTO NEOGOV, SAP, OTHER APPLICATIONS, IT IS VALID, THERE'S A VALIDATION THAT HAPPENS AT THE APPLICATION LEVEL AND THEN IT HAPPENS AT THE HIGHER GLOBAL ACCOUNT LEVEL. 
          WHEN I'M, IF I WERE TERMINATED, UH, HITS IS GOING TO IMMEDIATELY CUT OFF THE GLOBAL ACCOUNT, THE BIGGER ACCOUNT. 
          AND SO THAT PREVENTS, UM, THAT PREVENTS, UH, USERS FROM ACTUALLY ACCESSING ANY APPLICATION UNDERNEATH IT. 
          HOWEVER, THE CON - THE BEST PRACTICE ACROSS ALL APPLICATIONS IS YOU WANNA KEEP THESE SMALLER APPLICATIONS CLEAN. 
          IT HELPS WITH WHEN YOU HAVE AN UPGRADE, IT HELPS WITH UNDERSTANDING WHO HAS ACCESS TO WHAT. 
          IT HELPS WITH SECURITY. 
          IF YOU'RE CHANGING SECURITY, I'D RATHER BE LOOKING AT THREE USERS THAT WORK HERE THAN 20, THAN 72 THAT DON'T, THINGS LIKE THAT. 
          AND SO THE RISK TO THE CITY RELATED TO THAT PARTICULAR IS MITIGATED BY AN OVERARCHING HITS CONTROL PROCESS, NOT BY HR. 
          GOT IT. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          UH, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ HAS A QUESTION. 
          UH, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          CAN YOU TELL US WHAT PERIOD OF TIME YOU LOOKED AT IN THIS AUDIT? SO WE LOOKED AT FISCAL YEAR 23 THROUGH Q3 OF FISCAL YEAR 26. 
          SO OUR SAMPLE TESTING ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH QUI - Q2 OF FISCAL YEAR 26, AND THEN WE EXTENDED ALL OF THE DATA ANALYTICS THROUGH Q3 OF FISCAL YEAR 26. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          SO PART OF THIS OCCURRED IN THE PRIOR ADMINISTRATION. 
          I'M LOOKING AT SLIDE 15, IT REFERENCES AP3-5. 
          WHAT IS THAT? SO THAT IS 
          [02:10:01]
THE, THAT'S THE ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY THAT COVERS POSTING WAIVERS, WHICH IS, UM, AS PER THAT DIRECTIVE SHOULD BE RELATED TO EXECUTIVE HIRES. 
          WITH THE, THE EXECUTIVE HIRE WOULD BE CONSIDERED A SPECIALTY HIRE. 
          I AM AN EXECUTIVE HIRE. 
          YOUR DIRECTORS ARE EXECUTIVE HIRES. 
          UM, YOU, YOU'RE BRINGING SOMETHING TO THIS TABLE THAT IS BEYOND A NORMAL COURSE, UM, UH, BEYOND JUST A REGULAR EMPLOYEE, IF YOU WILL. 
          YOU'RE ALSO SUBJECT TO AT-WILL PRACTICES. 
          SO YOU'RE NOT NECESSARILY COVERED BY THE, UM, I WANNA SAY THE CBA, BUT YOU'RE NOT COVERED BY THE HOPE AGREEMENT. 
          AND DO YOU KNOW WHEN AP3-5 WAS ADOPTED? I DO NOT. 
          DURING THE AUDIT PERIOD FOR SURE THOUGH. 
          IT WAS ADOPTED DURING THE AUDIT PERIOD? UH, PRIOR. 
          I'M SORRY. 
          I BELIEVE IT'S PRIOR. 
          PRIOR. 
          PRIOR TO THE AUDIT PERIOD. 
          PRIOR. 
          SO, SO AT LEAST AP3-5 WAS ADOPTED UNDER A PRIOR ADMINISTRATION, NOT, NOT THIS ONE. 
          IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH. 
          UH, HONESTLY, I DON'T KEEP UP WITH WHO'S IN THE ADMINISTRATION. 
          THE PROCESS IS THE SAME. 
          MM-HMM. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MM-HMM. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SEEING NO FURTHER QUESTIONS, WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE AND FOR YOUR TIME TODAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          BEFORE WE ADJOURN, THE NEXT MEETING OF THE BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE WILL BE TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1ST AT 10:00. 
          WE HAVE NO PUBLIC SPEAKERS. 
          IS THERE ANYONE ELSE THAT WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE COMMITTEE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? NO? OKAY. 
          THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 1:13 PM. 
          THANK YOU ALL.
* 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.