[D8/D9 Budget Town Hall ]
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UH, GOOD EVENING EVERYBODY, AND I APPRECIATE YOU JOINING US TONIGHT FOR OUR DISTRICT EIGHT AND DISTRICT NINE, UM, BUDGET TOWN HALL.
AND WE'RE JOINED TONIGHT BY, UH, BOTH, UH, COUNCILMAN MANNY FROM DISTRICT EIGHT, AND, UM, COUNCILMAN JOHN, COURAGE FROM DISTRICT NINE.
SO LET ME, LET ME, UM, PASS IT OVER TO THOSE TWO GENTLEMEN.
WE'LL START WITH YOU, MANNY, UM, TO KIND OF INTRO AND WELCOME EVERYBODY.
AND THANK YOU TO, UH, TO THE ENTIRETY OF, UH, THE, UH, THE CITY STAFF, ALL 12,000 OF YOU WHO, UH, ARE SHOWING UP ON THIS WEBEX.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE GONNA SEE A LOT OF FOLKS HERE TONIGHT, UH, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
AND, UH, THEY'RE ALL CITY OF SAN ANTONIO NEIGHBORS, UH, WHO WORK, UM, AT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO FOR YOU.
UH, ONE OF MY FAVORITE NEIGHBORS, UH, INCLUDES COUNCILMAN COURAGE, AND I KNOW THAT HE'S, UM, JUST AS HAPPY AS I AM TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SHOWCASE OUR, UH, 2022 CITY BUDGET.
UM, AND I, I JUST WANNA MAKE A FEW COMMENTS.
I'M PROUD OF THIS BUDGET, UM, AND REALLY EXCITED BECAUSE IT REVERSES PREVIOUS BUDGET CUTS, UH, AND BRINGS OUR CITY BACK TO, UH, PRE PANDEMIC LEVELS OF SERVICE SO THAT WE CAN ADDRESS ALL OF YOUR PRIORITIES, INCLUDING INFRASTRUCTURE AND PUBLIC SAFETY.
I THINK YOU'RE ALL GONNA BE VERY HAPPY, UH, WITH THE AMOUNT OF MONEY BEING, UH, DEDICATED TO, UH, STREETS, UH, AMOUNT OF MONEY DEDICATED TO INCREASING, UH, SAFE POLICE OFFICER, UH, POSITIONS, UM, INCREASED FUNDING FOR, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH AND HOMELESSNESS, UH, PARTICULARLY ALSO, UH, AN EMPHASIS ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SOMETHING I'M REALLY PROUD OF, WHICH IS A MAJOR INVESTMENT IN MAKING OUR CITY MORE RESILIENT AND READY FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CHALLENGES THAT FACE US, LIKE SNOWSTORMS AND HEAT AND DROUGHTS AND, UH, RAINSTORMS. AND, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING ELSE.
MOTHER NATURE WANTS TO THROW OUR WAY, UH, THROW OUR WAY.
AND SO, UM, I, I'M GONNA, UH, ALSO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT, UM, ERIC, UH, WALSH AND THE REST OF CITY COUNCIL LOOK LIKE, UH, THEY'RE PRIME TO, UH, SUPPORT, UM, SOMETHING CALLED A RESILIENCY STUDY THAT IS REALLY GONNA TAKE A HARD LOOK AT OUR UTILITIES AND, UH, HELP US IDENTIFY VULNERABLE POPULATIONS SO THAT WE CAN BETTER PREPARE AND RESPOND FOR FUTURE EMERGENCIES.
AND SO, UH, THERE IS A LOT, AS YOU CAN SEE, I'M EXCITED ABOUT IT, AND I'M GONNA HAND IT OFF TO MY FRIEND AND, UM, JOHN, COURAGE.
UH, AND, UH, JOHN, I, I IMAGINE THAT YOU'RE PUMPED UP ABOUT THIS, TOO, JOHN.
THIS IS THE PART WHERE YOU UNMUTE YOUR MIC.
HOW AM I DOING? OKAY, THANK YOU.
ISN'T TECHNOLOGY WONDERFUL? ANYWAY, MANNY, I, I AGREE, UH, WITH A LOT OF THE COMMENTS, COMMENTS THAT YOU'VE HAD TO SAY ABOUT THIS BUDGET.
IT REALLY PUTS US IN A BETTER FINANCIAL POSITION THAN WE'VE BEEN IN, UH, SINCE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE, THE TERRIBLE YEAR OF, UH, COVID.
BUT I, I WANNA JUST REMIND EVERYBODY THAT WHAT WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT TODAY IS OUR PROPOSED BUDGET, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE TALKING TO THE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THAT'S WHY PEOPLE FROM DISTRICT EIGHT, DISTRICT NINE, AND, AND ANY OTHER PART OF THE CITY WHO IS LISTENING IN, SHOULD BE LISTENING VERY CAREFULLY AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE WANT TO GO WITH THIS BUDGET, WHAT WE WANT TO DO TO IMPROVE OUR COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO COME UP WITH ANY IDEAS OR SUGGESTIONS OR QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE, BECAUSE THIS IS YOUR BUDGET.
AND SO, ALTHOUGH, UH, WE'VE PUT A LOT OF HARD WORK INTO THIS, UH, YOUR CITY STAFF HAS WORKED ALL THROUGH THE MONTHS OF JULY.
AND YOUR COUNCILMEN, MY OFFICE AND AND HIS OFFICE HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT THIS CLOSELY SO THAT WE HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING AND GRASP OF HOW THIS WILL BENEFIT PEOPLE IN, IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
IT'S STILL GONNA BE UP TO YOU TO UNDERSTAND THIS, TO COME UP WITH ANY GREAT IDEAS OR ANY GOOD SUGGESTIONS THAT CAN IMPROVE THIS DOCUMENT.
AND IF YOU HAVE ANY OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES, PLEASE LET ME KNOW IN DISTRICT NINE OR LET MANNY KNOW IN DISTRICT EIGHT.
AND CERTAINLY YOU'LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LET, UH, ALL OF OUR CITY STAFF KNOW, UH, WHAT THOSE GREAT IDEAS OR WHAT THOSE IMPROVEMENTS ARE THAT CAN MAKE SURE THIS IS GONNA BE THE BEST BUDGET THAT WE CAN HAVE FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
SO, I'M PROUD TO BE A PART OF THIS, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO LISTENING, UH, TO THE PRESENTATION.
UH, YOU CAN NEVER HEAR THIS TOO MANY TIMES, UH, BECAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW EVERY TIME I DO LISTEN.
AND, UH, I HOPE YOU FIND THIS VERY INTERESTING AND INFORMATIVE.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MANNY AND, UH, LAURA, I, I GUESS I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU AND MAYBE YOU'LL PASS IT ON TO THE NEXT PERSON IN LINE.
I JUST WANNA POINT OUT, AND IN CASE PEOPLE ARE DOUBTING, PEOPLE ARE DOUBTING, YOU'RE REALLY PAYING ATTENTION TO YOUR COMMENTS AND YOUR
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IDEAS.UM, YOU KNOW, AND, UH, I'M ALREADY SEEING, YOU KNOW, ONE SUGGESTION, UH, FROM ONE OF OUR NEIGHBORS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S AN IDEA HE WANTS US TO AUTHORIZE IN THE BUDGET HIS REQUEST FOR A SLIP AND SLIDE DOWN THE MIDDLE OF STONE OAK PARKWAY, UH, SO HE CAN AVOID, UH, TRAFFIC.
AND, UH, KEEP 'EM COMING, FOLKS.
REAL QUICK, BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO ERIC, JUST A REMINDER FOR THOSE WATCHING AT HOME, IF YOU'D LIKE TO SUBMIT A QUESTION DURING TONIGHT'S BROADCAST FOR THE ESTEEMED PANEL OF CITY EXPERTS, WE HAVE HERE, YOU CAN TEXT SA SPEAKUP 22 TO 5 5 0 0 0.
YOU CAN EMAIL THOSE QUESTIONS TO SA SPEAKUP@SANANTONIO.GOV.
YOU CAN COMMENT RIGHT THERE ON THE FACEBOOK FEED IF YOU'RE WATCHING ON FACEBOOK, OR YOU CAN USE THE HASHTAG ESSAY, SPEAK UP 22 ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
UH, COUNCILMAN ELA, COUNCILMAN, COURAGE.
SO WE'VE GOT A QUICK PRESENTATION WE'LL RUN THROUGH, UM, AND I WANNA, WHILE LAURA'S BRINGING THAT UP, JUST, UH, RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE A NUMBER OF DEPARTMENTAL EXECUTIVES THAT ARE ON THE CALL TONIGHT AND AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
UM, SO LET'S JUST GO TO THE SECOND SLIDE WHEN YOU'RE READY, BERTHA.
ALL RIGHT, SO, UH, FIVE KEY MESSAGES IN OUR PROPOSED BUDGET.
UH, WE LAID THIS OUT TO THE CITY COUNCIL LAST THURSDAY.
UM, SO OUR, OUR FIVE KEY BUDGET MESSAGES ARE ONE, UM, WE ARE SEEING, UH, A LITTLE BIT FASTER FISCAL RECOVERY IN SOME OF OUR BUSINESS AREAS, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A SECOND.
BUT THERE'S STILL A LITTLE BIT OF UNCERTAINTY DEPENDING ON THE BUSINESS AREA.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THREE MAIN AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN IMPACTED FROM A FINANCIAL STANDPOINT, OUR GENERAL FUND OR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FUND IN OUR AIRPORT OPERATIONS.
SO WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
YOU KNOW, GIVEN WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW WITH THE DELTA VARIANT, WE ARE BEING CAUTIOUS IN SOME AREAS, BUT, UM, BUT CERTAINLY THE SPRING AND, UH, AND SUMMER HAVE, UH, UH, HAVE, UH, PICKED UP ACTIVITY.
OUR SECOND, UH, KEY MESSAGE IS, UH, AND COUNCIL IMPLIES MENTIONED THIS, WE ARE, UH, THE PROPOSED BUDGET IS RESTORING CUTS, UH, THAT WE DID IN 2020.
UM, IT'S ALSO, UM, PROPOSING AN INCREASE IN CIVILIAN COMPENSATION.
OUR CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES, UM, HAVE BEEN KIND OF HELD FROZEN FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS.
UM, AND WE ARE IN A POSITION WHERE WE'RE STARTING TO FILL OUR POSITIONS.
WE WERE AT A HIRING FREEZE FOR THE LAST 18 MONTHS.
UM, THERE'S ALSO NO INCREASE OR NO CHANGE TO THE, UH, CITY PROPERTY TAX RATE.
OUR THIRD AREA, UH, KEY BUDGET MESSAGE IS THAT WE ARE, UH, REALLY FOCUSING ON THOSE CRITICAL SERVICES THAT, UH, WE LEARNED, UM, AS A RESULT OF THE LAST 18 MONTHS.
AND YOU'LL SEE A NUMBER OF EXAMPLES AS WE GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION TONIGHT.
FOURTHLY, UM, HOW WE RESPOND TO CALLS FOR SERVICE, AND PRIMARILY THROUGH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UM, AND OUR COMMUNITY-WIDE CONVERSATION WE HAD IN THE SPRINGTIME, BUT MAKING CHANGES ON HOW WE RESPOND, UM, IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT AREAS.
AND THEN LASTLY, AS, UM, AS BOTH COUNCIL MEMBERS MENTIONED, OUR INVESTMENT IN, UH, BECOMING A MORE RESILIENT CITY, AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR US IN THE SHORT TERM FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR, AND WHAT DO THOSE INVESTMENTS LOOK LIKE? NEXT SLIDE.
SO, UH, WE, UH, EVERY YEAR WE DO A, UH, SPEAK UP ESSAY, SPEAK UP BUDGET SURVEY.
UM, AND, UH, THIS YEAR WE DID THAT, UH, WE HAD, UM, LITTLE OVER 12,000 RESPONSES.
UH, THE FIVE BIG AREAS THAT CAME OUT AS, UH, COMMUNITY STRATEGIC INVESTMENT PRIORITIES WERE STREETS AND SIDEWALKS, PUBLIC HEALTH, SENIOR SERVICES, PARKS AND RECREATION, AND HOUSING AFFORDABILITY PROGRAMS. WE ALSO HAD TWO TELEPHONE TOWN HALLS WITH ALMOST 500 PEOPLE PARTICIPATE.
AS YOU KNOW, THOSE OF YOU THAT KIND OF FOLLOW THIS ANNUAL PROCESS, THIS IS SOMETHING WE TRY TO CHANGE UP A BIT EVERY YEAR, UM, AND, UM, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE GETTING THAT INPUT FROM, UM, ALL SIDES OF OF TOWN.
SO, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANNA BE ABLE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, AND IT'S THE USE OF OUR FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS, SPECIFICALLY THE, UH, AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN, UH, ACT FUNDS THAT WERE, UH, APPROVED BY CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE CITY WAS AWARDED, UH, OR DESIGNATED FOR $320 MILLION.
UM, THIS MONEY HAS GOT TO BE COMMITTED BY 2024 AND SPENT BY 2026, UM, FINAL GUIDELINES FROM THE TREASURY WE EXPECT TO HAVE EITHER AT THE END OF THIS MONTH OR IN SEPTEMBER.
UM, AND PART OF THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD WITH THE COUNCIL, THE COUNCIL HAD IT, UH, LATE SPRING, EARLY SUMMER, WAS MAKING SURE
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THAT WE KEEP THIS, THESE FUNDS FOCUSED ON A COUPLE OF AREAS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GUIDELINES.ONE, THE FINANCIAL STABILITY OF THE ORGANIZATION, TWO, UH, RECOVERY, LOSS OF REVENUE THAT WE CAN, UH, POINT TO FROM AN AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENT.
UM, AND THREE, UH, ADDRESS ANY IMMEDIATE COMMUNITY NEEDS.
AND, AND PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE COUNCIL WAS THAT WE DO THIS IN A TWO STEP PROCESS.
ONE PHASE ONE, WE WOULD INCORPORATE WITHIN OUR, UH, FISCAL YEAR 22 BUDGET AND STABILIZE, UM, CURRENT SOME, UH, TWO OF OUR MAIN BUSINESS AREAS, OUR GENERAL FUND AND OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FUND, AND INCORPORATE THAT INTO THIS FISCAL YEAR BUDGET.
UM, AND PHASE TWO, WHICH IS A MUCH BROADER CONVERSATION THAT THE COUNCIL WILL, WILL, WILL LIKELY HAVE LATER ON IN THE FALL, IS HOW DO WE INVEST THIS MONEY, UM, AND, AND, AND, UH, LEVERAGE THIS MONEY FOR THOSE PRIORITIES? I'LL SHARE WITH YOU WITH THE PUBLIC THAT THEIR PROPOSED BUDGET HAS ABOUT 46 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS, UM, FROM, FROM, UM, ARPA FUNDS FEDERAL FUNDS.
THAT IS INCORPORATED WITHIN OUR GENERAL FUND OVER A TWO YEAR PERIOD, PARTLY IN 2022, AND PARTLY IN 2023.
AND AS MANY OF YOU PROBABLY KNOW, WE HAVE A FINANCIAL POLICY WHERE WE BALANCED OUR BUDGET OVER TWO YEARS.
WE'RE TAKING THE SAME APPROACH WITH OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FUND, USING THESE FEDERAL FUNDS TO KIND OF SMOOTH OUT THE REVENUE LOSSES THAT WE SAW IN 2020 ONLY.
YOU KNOW, I SUSPECT THAT THERE WILL BE A LOT OF CONVERSATION AT THE COUNCIL, UH, AND THE COMMUNITY AS WE GO THROUGH THIS CONVERSATION IN THE FALL.
UM, AND, UM, REALLY ALL WE'RE LOOKING AT IS JUST WHAT ARE THE MITIGATING ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS FROM A FINANCIAL RECOVERY STANDPOINT FOR JUST 2020 AUDITED FINANCIAL LOSSES.
SO WHAT DOES REVENUE RECOVERY LOOK LIKE? LET'S LOOK AT THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO, UM, I MENTIONED THESE ARE THREE MAIN AREAS OF OUR BUSINESS THAT WERE IMPACTED BY COVID, OUR GENERAL FUND, AND SPECIFICALLY SALES TAX.
UM, THE FISCAL YEAR 2022 BUDGET, UM, UM, IS 14% HIGHER THAN THE F Y 21 ADOPTED BUDGET, BUT AS EVERYBODY KNOWS, F Y 21 WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT YEAR.
SO HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO F Y 19? SO OUR F Y 19, IT'S 11% BETTER THAN OUR F Y 19 ACTUALS, AND THAT'S A PRETTY HEALTHY CLIP.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE LAST 10 YEARS, OUR AVERAGE ANNUAL GROWTH HAS BEEN ABOUT FOUR AND A HALF PERCENT.
WE'VE SEEN VERY STRONG SALES TAX REVENUE IN THE SPRINGTIME AND SO FAR DURING, UH, THROUGH THE SUMMER.
UM, AND WE CONTINUE TO EXPECT THAT THAT WILL, UM, WILL OCCUR INTO THE FALL OF, OF, UH, OF THIS YEAR.
UM, AND THEN MITIGATE, UM, THEREAFTER.
UM, OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX, UM, IS STILL LAGGING.
AND, UM, OUR F Y 22 REVENUE PROJECTIONS, ALTHOUGH THEY'RE HIGHER THAN OUR F Y 21 ADOPTED BUDGET, THEY'RE 24%.
THEY'RE STILL BELOW OUR F Y 19, UM, ACTUALS.
UM, AND WE'VE KNOWN THAT THE ACTIVITY, UH, AT OUR CONVENTION CENTER, AN ALAMO DOME FROM A, UH, LEISURE AND BUSINESS TRAVEL STANDPOINT, IS GONNA TAKE LONGER TO RECOVER.
UM, WE SAW AS, UH, VACCINATIONS STARTED BECOMING PLENTIFUL IN THE SPRING, THERE WAS A RUSH TO GET, UH, TO NAIL DOWN VET DATES AT OUR CONVENTION CENTER IN ALAMO DOME, WHICH IS GREAT.
UH, WE'VE ALSO SEEN SOME BUSINESS START TO PULL BACK OVER THE LAST WEEK WE CAN, OR LAST WEEK, WEEK AND A HALF, GIVEN THE, UM, INCREASE IN COVID CASES.
SO IT'S AN AREA OF OUR BUSINESS THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO CLOSELY MONITOR, UM, BUT IT WILL TAKE SOME TIME TO, TO RECOVER.
AND THEN OUR AIRPORT, ALTHOUGH OUR, UH, IF ANYBODY'S BEEN TO THE AIRPORT IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS, UM, ACTIVITY'S BEEN STRONG.
UM, IT, UH, OUR F Y 22 BUDGET IS 44% HIGHER THAN OUR, UH, F Y 21 ADOPTED BUDGET.
BUT AGAIN, COMPARING BACK TO F Y 19, UH, 2% BETTER FROM A REVENUE PERSPECTIVE.
SO THE AIRPORT IS WELL WITH ON ITS WAY TO RECOVER, UM, AND WE HAVE SEEN NO, UH, CHANGE IN THAT ACTIVITY, UM, AS, UH, CASES HAVE, UH, HAVE INCREASED.
SO OUR F Y 22 BUDGET, UH, ALL BUDGET, UH, WHICH INCLUDES OUR GENERAL FUND AND ALL OF OUR RESTRICTED FUNDS AND CAPITAL BUDGET IS $3.1 BILLION AS PROPOSED.
THE GENERAL FUND IS THE, IS THE LARGEST PORTION OF THAT AT 1.36 BILLION.
IT, UH, MAKES UP, UM, IT'S WHERE WE COLLECT OUR GENERAL REVENUE, OUR SALES TAX, OUR C P S REVENUE AND OUR PROPERTY
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TAX REVENUE.BUT IT ALSO PAYS FOR ALL OF OUR MAJOR BASIC SERVICES, POLICE, FIRE STREETS, PARKS, LIBRARY CODE, METRO HEALTH, AND, AND THOSE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES.
OUR RESTRICTED FUNDS ARE TOTALING A LITTLE OVER $1.1 BILLION.
AND THAT'S, UM, THOSE ARE OUR BUSINESS UNITS THAT UTILIZE THE REVENUE GENERATED TO PAY FOR THEIR EXPENSES.
THAT'S OUR STORM WATER FUND, OUR SOLID WASTE FUND, OUR AIRPORT FUND, OUR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES FUND.
AND THEN OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM NEXT YEAR IS PROJECTED TO BE $592 MILLION OR 24% OF OUR ENTIRE, UM, BUDGET.
SO I, I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS A SECOND AGO.
SO THIS IS OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET OF 1.36 BILLION.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE THREE MAIN REVENUE SOURCES.
OUR PROPERTY TAX REVENUE AT 31%, UH, OR $410 MILLION, OUR C P S REVENUE AT $361 MILLION AND SALES TAX AT 336 MILLION.
AND HOW WE SPEND THAT MONEY IN TERMS OF BASIC SERVICES, YOU'LL SEE THAT, UM, IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUR FINANCIAL POLICY, WHICH CALLS FOR, UM, OUR SPENDING, UM, IN PUBLIC SAFETY TO BE LESS THAN 66%.
THE PROPOSED BUDGET HAS THAT RIGHT NOW AT 63.2%.
UM, THE OTHER MAJOR CATEGORIES ARE OUR STREETS AND INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING, PUBLIC WORKS, OUR PARKS, AND THEN ALL OF OUR VARIETY OF OTHER, UM, DEPARTMENTS, UH, LIKE LIBRARY AND CODE AND METRO HEALTH, UM, ARE FUNDED OUT OF THAT.
THE REMAINING, UH, UM, 2020 5%, 23%.
SO THE COUNCIL, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO THE COUNCIL HAD A BUDGET WORK SESSION IN JUNE, AND THAT'S REALLY THE TAKEAWAY FOR, UH, ME AND THE REST OF THE STAFF TO IDENTIFY WHAT THE COUNCIL PRIORITIES ARE AS A GROUP.
UH, ONE OF THE MAJOR PRIORITIES, AND YOU SAW THIS IN THE, IN THE SURVEY, IS INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND, UM, WE, UH, ARE FULLY FUNDING, UM, OUR STREETS MAINTENANCE PROGRAM AT $110 MILLION.
IN LAST YEAR'S, UM, TWO YEAR BALANCE BUDGET.
UH, WE HAD ANTICIPATED NEEDING TO CUT, UM, THIS PROGRAM, UH, TO MAINTAIN OUR BALANCE.
UM, BUT AS WE WENT THROUGH THE YEAR AND GAVE OUR FINANCIAL QUARTERLY UPDATES TO THE COUNCIL, ONE OF THE FIRST BUCKETS THAT WE TRIED TO FILL BACK UP WAS BEING ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN THAT $110 MILLION STREET MAINTENANCE BUDGET.
WE HAVE, UH, ALMOST 4,200 CENTER LINE MILES THAT WE MAINTAIN, UM, OUR PAYMENT CONDITION INDEX.
UM, NEXT YEAR WE ARE SHOOTING FOR 76.7%, AND THAT'S INCREASED OVER THE LAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS FROM 71, 70 2%.
UH, THIS REPRESENTS, UH, ALMOST 1300 PROJECTS IN F Y 22 AND PART OF OUR FIVE YEAR I M P PROJECT.
THE SECOND CATEGORY WHERE WE'RE MAKING ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT IS THE SIDEWALKS, WHICH WAS A PRIORITY OF THE COUNCILS.
UM, THIS YEAR WE HAVE $18 MILLION FUNDED FOR NEW SIDEWALKS, UM, AND FILLING IN SIDEWALK GAPS, UM, AS WELL AS SIDEWALK REPAIR.
THE PROPOSED BUDGET INCREASES IT BY ALMOST $4 MILLION TO JUST UNDER $21 MILLION TO PUT 61 MILES OF OUR USABLE SIDEWALK, UM, NETWORKS BACK INTO SERVICE.
THE MAJORITY OF THIS, UH, WORK ARE SIDEWALK GAPS, UM, AND, UH, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING, UM, TO IDENTIFY THESE AREAS.
WE HAVE A PRIORITIZATION SCHEDULE THAT REALLY CENTERS AROUND SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS, BUS STOPS, UM, AND, AND ALLOWS US TO PRIORITIZE THAT.
WE WORK WITH THE COUNCIL OFFICES, CERTAINLY BECAUSE THEY ALSO GET FEEDBACK FROM, UH, THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS IN TERMS OF VISION ZERO.
VISION ZERO IS A PROGRAM THAT'S, THAT WE'VE HAD FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, BUT THIS IS PROBABLY THE SINGLE LARGEST INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT WE'VE MADE.
AND REALLY IT'S, UM, UH, USING DATA TO IDENTIFY THOSE INTERSECTIONS WHERE WE HAVE REPEAT PEDESTRIAN OR VEHICULAR ACCIDENTS, INJURIES OR DEATHS.
AND USING THAT DATA, WE'VE IDENTIFIED 10 INTERSECTIONS OR MIDBLOCK CROSSINGS THROUGHOUT THE CITY THAT WE'RE GONNA WORK TO, UM, UH, ADDRESS, UH, IN THE UPCOMING BUDGET.
AND THEN REALLY MONITOR THAT, SEE IF THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS, UM, MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
UM, ALL OF US KNOW THOSE INTERSECTIONS OR THOSE MAJOR BLOCKS WHERE IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THERE'S ALWAYS AN ACCIDENT OR UNFORTUNATELY, SOMEBODY GETS HIT.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA BE SPENDING, UM, $6.2 MILLION TO ADDRESS THOSE AREAS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND THEN LASTLY, UH, INVESTING ON AN UPDATE ON OUR BIKE MASTER PLAN.
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MASTER PLAN HASN'T BEEN UPDATED IN 10 YEARS.AND, UH, WE DO KNOW THAT FROM A, UH, STANDPOINT OF BIKE LANES, UM, WE HAVE A VARIETY OF BIKE LANES THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
WE'VE GOT PROTECTED LANES, WE'VE GOT UNPROTECTED LANES, WE'VE GOT, UM, LANES THAT, UM, UH, OPERATE ON, ON STREET PARKING, UM, STREETS THAT, UM, FRANKLY IS A LITTLE BIT COUNTERINTUITIVE.
SO WHAT IS OUR BIKE MASTER PLAN AND WHAT ARE THOSE GUIDELINES? AND THIS WILL BE KEY AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN OUR ANNUAL STREET MAINTENANCE PROGRAM, BUT ALSO THE BOND CONVERSATIONS THAT THE COUNCIL WILL, UH, HAVE, UM, LATER ON THIS, UH, FALL, I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT JUST A COUPLE OF, UH, DISTRICT EIGHT STREET DRAINAGE PROJECTS.
AND THEN WE'VE GOT A SLIDE ON DISTRICT NINE, BUT WE'VE GOT SCHEDULED NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, UH, DAYS OF ALL ROAD, THE FRONTAGE, UH, YEAH, DAYS OF ALL THE I 10 FRONTAGE ROAD THERE TO LOCK HILLS, SELMA, UH, PRU ROAD, UH, WACH NORTHWEST MILITARY TO FREDERICKSBURG, UH, THE UPPER LEON CREEK, UM, ORINGER, UH, LOW WATER CROSSING AND MOSS BROOK COVE, UM, PARK PROJECTS WITHIN DISTRICT EIGHT.
WE'VE GOT, UH, ADDITIONAL LAND ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT FOR OUT OF OUR BOND PROGRAM, UH, OUR FOX PARK, UM, UH, IMPROVEMENTS, UH, LEON CREEK, UH, THERE ALONG THE, THE TRAIL FROM THE RIM TO EISENHOWER PARK, UH, LEON CREEK, UH, FROM THE RIM TO RAYMOND RUSSELL PARK, AND AN EXTENSION AND MAVERICK CREEK, UH, AREA, UH, FROM BAMBURGER TO THE U T S A CAMPUS.
SO KIND OF AN INVESTMENT TO CONTINUE TO, UH, EXTEND THOSE, UM, THOSE, UM, UH, LINEAR CREEK SYSTEM TRAILS.
AND IN DISTRICT NINE, UM, THE BIDS, ROAD INTERSECTION AND SIDEWALKS, WHICH IS AN ONGOING PROJECT.
UM, UH, DISTRICT NINE MO, UH, PEDESTRIAN MOBILITY AND STREETS, UH, WHICH IS A BOND PROGRAM THAT, UH, COUNCILMAN K'S OFFICE WILL BE WORKING TO IDENTIFY THROUGH OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
UH, EVANS ROAD 2 81 DE UH, ALIZA DRIVE, UH, ALDE DRIVE AND BUR OAK DRIVE, UH, PANTHER SPRINGS CREEK, UH, RESTORATION.
AND, UH, PASO, UH, DE NORTE, UH, STREET THERE, THE SHADY OAKS AREA, UH, IN DISTRICT NINE LIBRARY AND PARK.
UH, HIGHLIGHT, UH, WE'VE GOT, UM, OUR CLAWSON STEWING RANCH PARK PROPERTY ACQUISITION, AND THEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, PROBABLY THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF THAT PARK.
AND THEN, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE REPLACING OUR, UH, AC UH, SYSTEM OUT AT BROOK HOLLOW LIBRARY SYSTEM.
UH, PROBABLY ONE OF OUR BUSIEST PARKS IN OUR BRANCH LIBRARY SYSTEM AND THAT ONE NEXT YEAR.
BUT ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'VE INCLUDED IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET IS A, UH, A DEDICATED CREW TO DO NOTHING BUT ILLEGAL DUMPING AND CLEANUP.
AND, AND RIGHT NOW HOW WE DO THIS IS WE'RE PULLING CREWS FROM STORMWATER THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE, UM, MOWING OUR DRAINAGE CHANNELS.
AND AS WE'VE GONE THROUGH A SUMMER LIKE THIS, WE'VE ALL SEEN THAT THERE'S A HIGH DEGREE OF MOWING AND STAY ON THAT SCHEDULE.
WE PULL STREETS, CREWS FROM PUBLIC WORKS, OR WE PULL SOLID WASTE CREWS.
SO WE'RE ADDING A CREW THAT IS GONNA BE DEDICATED TO, UH, FIVE DAYS A WEEK CLEANUP, WHETHER IT'S ILLEGAL DUMPING OR IT'S 3 1 1 CALLS, OR IT'S, UM, HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT WORK WITH OUR HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT, BUT A CREW THAT, THAT, UH, WILL DO NOTHING BUT THAT, YOU KNOW, THE IDEA IS THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO KEEP OUR, WE'LL BE ABLE TO KEEP OUR STORMWATER SOLID WASTE AND STORMWATER AND, UH, SOLID WASTE CREWS BACK ON THEIR SCHEDULES AND, AND NOT OFF A SCHEDULE AS THEY RESPOND TO.
THIS IS A, UM, SOMETHING THAT I SEE CONSTANTLY.
UH, I THINK IT FRUSTRATES EVERYBODY.
AND SO, UH, THROUGH OUR SOLID WASTE FUND, DEDICATING SOME RESOURCES TO DO THIS, UM, EVERY DAY, ALL DAY, UM, IS INCLUDED IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
SO LEMME TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR SOLID WASTE COLLECTION CENTERS AND, AND, UH, WE ADDED THIS SLIDE.
WE HAD A BUDGET, UH, CONVERSATION WITH DISTRICT 10 LAST NIGHT.
BUT, UM, THIS IS A GOOD REMINDER ABOUT WHERE OUR COLLECTION SITES ARE.
UM, EITHER AT WBA PARKWAY, WE HAVE OUR BRUSH ACCEPTED SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, BULKY ITEMS TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, AND HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE ACCEPTED.
UM, ON A, THE FIRST FRIDAY AND SATURDAY OF THE MONTH, WE HAVE OUR RIO CITY ROAD, WHERE BULKY ITEMS ARE ACCEPTED TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.
UM, OUR COLLIBRA ROAD SITE WHERE, UH, BULKY ITEMS ARE ACCEPTED TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.
AND OUR HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.
[00:25:01]
LOCATION, AGAIN, BULKY ITEMS ACCEPTED TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, ARE HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE ACCEPTED QUARTERLY, AND THEN BRUSH SEVEN DAYS A WEEK AT OUR NELSON ROAD LOCATION.THESE ARE HIGHLY UTILIZED, UM, LOCATIONS, AND WE WANNA CONTINUE TO, UM, ADVERTISE THEM AND MAKE SURE THE PUBLIC IS AWARE OF THAT, THAT ABILITY, OUR SOLID WASTE FEES ARE, UM, UNCHANGED IN OUR PROPOSED BUDGET.
UM, OUR 96 GALLON, UM, IS, UH, REMAINS AT 28 50 A MONTH.
AND THEN OUR MEDIUM AND SMALL, UM, KANSAS REMAINING THE SAME.
UM, I STILL, WE STILL ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO, TO, UM, DOWNSIZE IF YOU CAN, UH, DOWN TO THE SMALLER, UH, CARTS.
UM, AND, UM, MAYBE YOU'LL RUN, YOU'LL UTILIZE OUR, OUR, OUR RECYCLING PROGRAM MORE, OR OUR GREEN CAN, UH, SYSTEM MORE.
UM, ANYTHING WE CAN, UM, NOT PUT IN THE BROWN CAN, UM, IS SOMETHING WE DON'T ADD INTO OUR LANDFILLS.
SO, UH, IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO SAVE YOURSELF A COUPLE OF BUCKS ON A MONTHLY BASIS, THEN, UM, UH, DOWNSIZE AND, UH, UH, IT'S STILL AN OPPORTUNITY AND YOU CAN DOWNSIZE BY CALLING 3 1 1 AND SCHEDULING, UH, SOLID WASTE TO COME OUT AND, UH, AND GIVE YOU A SMALLER CARD.
SO ONE OF THE KEY AREAS THAT BOTH COUNCIL MEMBERS MENTIONED IT, UH, AT THE BEGINNING IS, UH, INVESTMENT IN OUR METRO HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND THE COUNCIL, UM, UH, HAD A, THE, WE HAD OUR FIRST COUNCIL BUDGET WORK SESSION THIS AFTERNOON ON BOTH THE POLICE AND THE METRO HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS ARE GONNA BECOME, ARE BECOMING A LITTLE BIT LIKE, UH, FIRE DEPARTMENTS AFTER NINE 11.
THERE'S A LOT OF FEDERAL FUNDING, UH, DEDICATED TOWARDS PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS TO, UH, REALLY BEEF UP THE PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE IN THIS COUNTRY.
AND LOCALLY, UH, WE HAD A STRATEGIC PLAN PRE COVID.
WE'VE UPDATED IT, UM, WITH THE LESSONS WE'VE LEARNED THROUGH COVID AND SHARED IT WITH THE COUNCIL IN JUNE AT THEIR BUDGET WORK SESSION.
AND REALLY WHAT IT DOES IS PUT INTO EFFECT, UH, A LOT OF THAT GRANT FUNDING WITH A LITTLE BIT OF LOCAL FUNDING, UM, AND BEEFING UP, UH, OUR INVESTMENT NEXT YEAR TO THE TUNE OF $16.3 MILLION.
NOW, THE MAJORITY OF THAT IS COMING FROM, UH, WELL, ACTUALLY ABOUT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HALF OF THAT IS COMING FROM FEDERAL FUNDS, UH, THE OTHER HALF, UH, FROM LOCAL, UH, CITY FUNDS.
UM, THE BIGGEST INCREMENT IS OUR INVESTMENT IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, UH, EXPANSION AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.
AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT IN A SECOND.
'CAUSE IT'S REALLY IN CONJUNCTION WITH OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, WE'RE PLANNING TO DO, AND IT'S AN ISSUE THAT COUNCILMAN COURAGE BROUGHT UP AT OUR JUNE COUNCIL MEETING, AND HE BROUGHT UP TODAY, IS, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, ENSURING THAT WE CAN AFFORD THIS WITH OUR LOCAL DOLLARS.
THE FEDERAL DOLLARS WON'T ALWAYS BE THERE.
UM, OUR PLAN IS TO DO THIS OVER FIVE YEARS.
IT WILL CONTINUE TO REQUIRE AN INVESTMENT IN LOCAL DOLLARS, BUT I THINK THE PLAN THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE INVESTING THOSE CONTRA THOSE GRANT DOLLARS FIRST, LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL GRANT OPPORTUNITIES AS WE GO THROUGH TIME AND INCREMENTALLY, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN AFFORD THE, UM, THE, UM, LOCAL DOLLAR INVESTMENT.
UH, IT REALLY FOCUSES ON A NUMBER OF AREAS IN OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT, BOTH ACCESS TO CARE, HEALTH JUSTICE, UH, LOOKING AT THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, OUR DIABETES PROGRAMS, UM, A WHOLE HOST OF IMPACT.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, WE'VE GOT THE, UH, FEDERAL FUNDS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED THAT CONTINUE TO RECEIVE TO HELP BEEF UP OUR, UM, EMERGENCY RESPONSE DUE TO COVID, UM, CONTACT TRACING VACCINATION FUNDS, UM, TESTING AND BEING ABLE TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THOSE FREE TO THE PUBLIC, ESPECIALLY AS WE, AS WE SEE THE, THE CURRENT SURGE AND WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS.
SO ONE OF THE LESSONS WE'VE LEARNED THROUGH THE, UH, PANDEMIC, UM, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, UH, LATE LAST YEAR AS WE WERE RESPONDING TO A HIGH NUMBER OF, UH, COVID RELATED CALLS, UM, ACTUALLY WE'RE DOING, THAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW TOO.
UM, WE WERE LOOKING TO MITIGATE, UM, AND UTILIZE TELEMEDICINE, UM, FOR 9 1 1 CALLS.
AND THE IDEA WAS WE WERE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU CALL 9 1 1 FOR MAYBE A, A MAYBE WHAT SOUNDS LIKE A MINOR, UH, A MEDICAL CALL, THE CLINICAL DISPATCHER.
WE HAVE A, ALL OF OUR PARENT, ALL OF OUR DISPATCHERS IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OR PARAMEDICS, WE'VE GOT A CLINICAL DISPATCHER THAT WOULD SEND YOU, TEXT YOU A, UH,
[00:30:01]
A LINK.YOU CLICK THE LINK AND, AND THE PARAMEDIC, UH, THERE AT OUR 9 1 1 CENTER CAN SEE WHAT THE INJURY IS.
AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS IT'S REALLY SAVED, UM, UH, ON OUR E M S CALL TIME, BUT IT'S ALSO PROVIDED A MORE IMMEDIATE LEVEL OF CARE.
UM, AND, AND MEDIA'S DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB OF HIGHLIGHTING A NUMBER OF CASES WHERE OUR PARAMEDICS ARE, UM, GIVING C P R, UH, INSTRUCTIONS, UM, UH, BEFORE THE E M SS UNITS ARRIVE.
UM, SO THE PROPOSED BUDGET IS EXPANDING THAT PROGRAM PERMANENTLY, AND WE'RE ADDING EIGHT DISPATCHERS TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT ON A 24 HOUR SEVEN DAY A WEEK BASIS.
UH, WE'RE ONE OF THE FIRST, UM, AND, AND LARGEST, UH, FIRE DEPARTMENTS IN THE COUNTRY UTILIZING THIS PROGRAM.
AND WE SEE A LOT OF BENEFITS TO, UH, PROVIDING MORE IMMEDIATE ON CARE, UH, SERVICE, UM, OH, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU NEED IT THE MOST.
SO OUR POLICE SERVICES REVIEW, AND THIS WAS PART OF THE BUDGET WORK SESSION THIS AFTERNOON, UM, REALLY LOOKING AT, UM, TO PUT INTO PLACE THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR POLICE SERVICES REVIEW, WHICH, UM, WE STARTED REALLY, AND, AND LASTED ALL LAST YEAR.
WE HAD 27 COMMUNITY MEETINGS, UH, IN THE SPRINGTIME.
WE ALSO, UM, CONTRACTED WITH THE MEADOWS FOUNDATION TO LOOK AT HOW, LOOK AT OUR MENTAL HEALTH AND FAMILY VIOLENCE CALLS AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW, UM, WE CAN, UM, UM, BETTER ADDRESS AND RESPOND TO THOSE CALLS.
ONE OF THEIR MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS WAS THAT, UH, WE LOOK AT A MULTI, UH, MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESPONSE, UM, UH, FUNCTION FOR OUR MENTAL HEALTH CALLS.
UM, AND, AND REALLY WHAT THAT MEANS IS HAVING A POLICE OFFICER, A PARAMEDIC FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND A LICENSED CLINICIAN, UH, OPERATE IN A TEAM AS A TEAM AND RESPOND TO THOSE CALLS.
AND WE'RE GONNA BE DOING THAT NEXT YEAR WITHIN OUR CENTRAL SUBSTATION AREA WHERE WE'VE GOT THE MOST NUMBER OF CALLS, MENTAL HEALTH CALLS.
NOW, ALL OF OUR POLICE OFFICERS, UM, ARE TRAINED CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM MEMBERS.
UM, THEY RECEIVED THAT TRAINING, BUT THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT EXAMPLES, UH, THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY WHERE THOSE CALLS CAN TURN ON A DIME.
UM, FRANKLY, SOMETIMES, UH, WE ARE GOING TO THE SAME ADDRESS OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
SO WHAT ARE WE DOING FROM A, UM, A, UM, A SERVICES STANDPOINT, A CASE MANAGEMENT STANDPOINT? I THINK THAT'S A CRITICAL ROLE THAT THE CLINICIAN PLAYS.
UM, THAT INVESTMENT WILL BE MADE IN OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT, UM, IN OUR VIOLENCE PREVENTION DIVISION.
UM, AND WE'LL REALLY, UM, HOPE TO, TO BETTER MITIGATE THOSE CALLS.
UM, I, I, I KNOW IT'S A CONCERN FOR, UH, CHIEF MCMANUS, UM, FOR THE CITY COUNCIL FOR MYSELF.
UM, THERE ARE, UM, OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS THAT ARE LOOKING AT THIS.
UH, DALLAS IMPLEMENTED IT SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
UM, AUSTIN, EL PASO AND SAN ANTONIO ARE REALLY WORKING OFF OF THAT SAME MODEL.
UM, AND WE'RE HOPING THAT WE CAN, UM, FROM A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE, UH, BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THIS, THAT PROBABLY THE KEY PART OF THIS IS THAT WHEN YOU CALL 9 1 1, THEY ASK YOU THREE QUESTIONS.
WHAT'S YOUR EMERGENCY POLICE FIRE, E M SS? UM, WE WANNA BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A FOURTH OPTION.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA BE USING CONTRACT DOLLARS TO BRING IN KINDA LIKE THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, UH, UM, CLINICAL DISPATCHERS THAT HAVE A BACKGROUND IN MENTAL HEALTH AND CAN BE ABLE TO, UH, DEAL WITH THE CALLER ON THE LINE AND MAKE SURE WE'RE RESPONDING WITH THE RIGHT RESOURCES.
THE OTHER THING WE HEARD IN THE POLICE SERVICES REVIEW WAS STREET LIGHTING.
UM, AND WE HEARD THAT LOUD AND CLEAR ON REALLY, UH, UM, REGARDLESS OF THE SIDE OF TOWN WE WERE, WE WERE TALKING TO.
SO THE PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDES, UH, ALMOST $6 MILLION IN NEW STREETLIGHTS, WHICH IS PROBABLY THE START SINGLE LARGEST, UM, ALLOCATION WE'VE MADE FROM AN INFRASTRUCTURE STANDPOINT IN A PROPOSED BUDGET.
UM, AND, AND REALLY, SO HOW THIS WORKS IS THAT, WHETHER IT'S A PEDESTRIAN ISSUE OR IT'S A COMMUNITY SAFETY ISSUE, BUT REALLY LOOKING AT IF A NEIGHBORHOOD OR AN AREA NEEDS ADDITIONAL STREETLIGHTS, UM, WORKING THROUGH THAT THROUGH OUR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, UM, HAVING C P SS INSTALL, AND THAT'S WHERE THIS MONEY WILL BE UTILIZED TO INSTALL THOSE STREETLIGHTS.
UM, WE ARE COMING OFF A PILOT PROGRAM WHERE WE ARE, UH, LOOKING AT IN THREE DIFFERENT AREAS OF TOWN SMART LIGHTS, SMART LIGHT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT HAS THE ABILITY TO, UM, DIMM AND HUE, UM, UH, THAT PILOT IS ENDING.
SO WE MAY BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE SOME OF THOSE LESSONS WE'RE LEARNING.
UM, IT'S ALSO GOT THE ABILITY TO, UM, UH, HAVE AIR QUALITY SENSORS OR SOUND SENSORS.
[00:35:01]
SO IT'S A REALLY GOOD OPPORTUNITY, I THINK, TO DOVETAIL OFF OF ONE OF THOSE THREE PILOT AREAS THAT WE'VE GOT GOING.WE ALSO SET ASIDE FUNDS, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE AREAS THAT THE COUNCIL TALKED ABOUT IN JUNE, IS POSSIBLY HAVING A STREETLIGHT INDEX, WHICH IS, UM, POTENTIALLY MAYBE A GUIDE, UM, THAT WE CAN UTILIZE, UM, CITYWIDE.
NOW I HAVE BEEN IN COUNCIL, I'M SORRY, NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETINGS WHERE AN INDIVIDUAL WILL SAY THEY WANT A STREETLIGHT IN FRONT OF THEIR HOUSE AND THEIR NEIGHBOR DOESN'T.
SO IT'S GONNA REQUIRE US TO BE, UH, TO WORK WITH THE COUNCIL OFFICES AND MITIGATE THAT.
THERE'S PROBABLY A BALANCE, BUT THE IDEA IS THAT, UM, A LOT OF FOLKS THROUGH OUR POLICE SERVICES REVIEW SAID THEY WANTED MORE OF AN EMPHASIS ON STREETLIGHTS.
THE OTHER PART OF THE POLICE BUDGET, AND THE COUNCIL HEARD THIS THIS AFTERNOON, IS, UM, WE ARE, THE PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDES AN INCREASE OF 12 SAFE OFFICERS.
WE HAVE 112 SAFE OFFICERS RIGHT NOW CITYWIDE.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HEARD FROM THE PUBLIC IS THAT THEY WANT MORE TIME AND MORE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH THE POLICE OFFICERS.
AND SO, UM, UM, THAT'S THE BASIS OF THE RECOMMENDATION FOR ADDITIONAL POLICE OFFICERS INTO THAT PROGRAM.
THERE'LL BE, UM, ALLOCATED THROUGHOUT ALL OF OUR SUBSTATIONS AND THREE ADDITIONAL, UH, POLICE OFFICERS TO OUR DOWNTOWN FOOT AND BIKE PATROL UNIT.
SO THE OTHER THING THE POLICE SERVICES REVIEW FOUND, AND THIS WAS THE TAKEAWAY.
WE, UH, FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT MAY HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THOSE TOWN HALL MEETINGS, WE ASKED YOU ABOUT THESE CALLS.
AND SO, UH, THE PROPOSED BUDGET ALLOCATES ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO ANIMAL CARE SERVICES SO THAT THEY CAN RESPOND IN THE EVENING.
AND, UH, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WILL NOT RE BE RESPONDING TO THESE CALLS ANYMORE.
NOW, UM, THAT DOES NOT ACCOUNT FOR THE VICIOUS CALL, OR THOSE CALLS THAT DO REQUIRE POLICE, UH, CERTAINLY WILL STILL BE, UH, THEY'LL STILL PARTNER WITH OUR ANIMAL CARE, UH, SERVICES DEPARTMENT, BUT WE'VE ADDED RESOURCES IN THE BUDGET TO, UH, RELIEVE POLICE OFFICERS FROM THESE CALLS.
THE OTHER AREA WHERE WE ARE NOT GOING TO RESPOND TO FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT STANDPOINT IS, UH, FIREWORK CALLS, UH, IN A 10 DAY PERIOD AROUND 4TH OF JULY AND, UH, NEW YEAR'S EVE.
NOW WE GET FIREWORK CALLS 12 MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR, BUT THE VAST MAJORITY OF 'EM ARE IN THOSE AREAS.
SO WE'RE ADDING SOME RESOURCES TO HAVE OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT ARSON UNIT, UH, RESPOND TO THOSE CALLS IN THOSE, IN THOSE TWO 10 DAY PERIODS.
AND THAT JUST KEEPS THE OFFICERS, UM, IN SERVICE AND BEING ABLE TO, UH, RESPOND TO MAYBE HIGHER PRIORITY CALLS.
UM, THAT IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT.
IT IS STILL AGAINST CITY CODE TO FIRE FIREWORKS, BUT, UM, UH, WE WILL HAVE OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, UM, RESPOND.
AND THEN THE LAST AREA THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS OUR LOUD MUSIC CALLS.
AND WE DO NOT, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT DOES NOT WRITE A LOT OF CITATIONS FOR, UH, LOUD MUSIC CALLS.
SOMETIMES THESE ARE HOUSE PARTIES, SOMETIMES THESE ARE COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS.
UM, THE COUNCIL HAS A TASK FORCE GOING, UH, MEETING RIGHT NOW, REVIEWING OUR NOISE ABATEMENT, UM, ORDINANCE, UH, FOR POSSIBLE AMENDMENT BY THE COUNCIL.
UM, SO THIS QUARTER, UH, THE FIRST QUARTER OF FISCAL YEAR 22, WE'RE GONNA HAVE OUR CODE OFFICERS AND WE'VE ALLOCATED ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO HAVE OUR CODE OFFICERS BEEF UP STAFFING ON OUR THURSDAY, FRIDAY, AND SATURDAY NIGHTS, AND BE THE PRIMARY RESPONDING AGENCY, AND IF THEY NEED TO CALL THE POLICE IN ORDER TO ADD, I'M SORRY, IN ORDER TO ISSUE THE CITATION.
SO WE'LL MONITOR THAT AS WE GO THROUGH THE YEAR TO GO THROUGH THE QUARTER, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UM, $32.8 MILLION IN THE FISCAL YEAR 22 BUDGET, UH, 14, A LITTLE OVER $14 MILLION OF THAT IS COMING FROM OUR LOCAL FUNDING FROM OUR GENERAL FUND.
UH, THAT'S AN INCREASE OF ABOUT FOUR AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS OVER THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
AND ONE OF THE BIG THINGS WE TOOK FROM THE COUNCIL AT THEIR BUDGET WORK SESSION IN JUNE WAS, UH, REALLY FOCUSED ON INCREASING OUR INVESTMENT IN OUR MINOR REPAIR PROGRAMS, OUR OWN, OUR OWNER OCCUPY REHAB PROGRAMS AND OUR UNDER ONE ROOF PROGRAM WITH THE NOTION THAT IF WE CAN, UM, UM, HELP FOLKS WITH THAT INVESTMENT IN THE HOME THAT THEY'RE LIVING IN, THEN THEY CAN STAY IN THAT HOME.
UM, THAT, UH, HELPS, UH, MAINTAIN OUR HOUSING, AFFORDABLE HOUSING GOALS.
UM, AND HAS BEEN RELATIVELY SUCCESSFUL THE LAST COUPLE YEARS.
YOU KNOW, FRANKLY, OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS, WE HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON OUR EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, AND WE STILL HAVE FEDERAL FUNDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
BUT THIS, UM, IS A LITTLE BIT OF A SHIFT 'CAUSE WE WANT TO GET BACK TO OUR GENERAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UH, INVESTMENT GOALS.
UM, AND, UH, WE'RE INCLUDING ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT NEXT
[00:40:01]
YEAR'S BUDGET.SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE LEARNED, UM, AS WE'RE, AS, UM, OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS, YOU KNOW, WE CAN HAVE, UH, THE GREAT, THE BEST, UH, WEBSITES AND, UM, GREAT BROCHURES, UH, AND AN EASY TO REMEMBER NUMBER, LIKE 3 1 1.
BUT WHAT WE'VE SEEN THROUGH OUR EMERGENCY HOUSING PROGRAM IS THAT SOMETIMES PEOPLE JUST NEED, UH, TO BE WALKED THROUGH THE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
SO WE ARE PROPOSING THE BUDGET, UM, UM, ADDING WHAT WE'RE CALLING NAVIGATORS, UM, IN REALLY IN THREE DIFFERENT AREAS.
AND THESE, THESE, THESE FOLKS, UM, WILL ALL WORK REALLY TOGETHER BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE FINDING IS THAT, UM, IF SOMEBODY COMES AND VISITS US ABOUT A, UM, HOUSING ASSISTANCE THAT THEY NEED OR THEY WANT TO APPLY FOR, SOMETIMES WE'RE FINDING THAT THEY MAY BE ELIGIBLE AND DON'T KNOW IT FOR UTILITY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, FOR A PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION, UH, FOR, UH, CHILDCARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. AND SO, UH, BEEFING UP, UH, OUR NAVIGATOR PROGRAM OR REALLY ESTABLISHING A NAVIGATOR PROGRAM, UM, FOR HOMELESS PREVENTION PROGRAMS, THOSE FOLKS THAT ARE REALLY POTENTIALLY ON THE, ON THE VERGE OF BECOMING, UM, HOMELESSNESS HOMELESS, UH, FINANCIAL COUNSELING FOR SENIORS, WHICH WE'VE SEEN A, A PROBABLY A, UH, UH, A SEVERE INCREASE IN THAT OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS.
AND OUR, THROUGH OUR HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT, OUR SOCIAL SERVICE, UH, PROGRAMS, AND THOSE AVAILABLE, UM, FOR THE, FOR THE PUBLIC RESILIENCY, THIS IS, UH, COUNCILMAN PLY IS PROBABLY FAVORITE SLIDE.
UM, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT HE'S BEEN A, UM, A CHAMPION OF, UM, REALLY, UM, EIGHT AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS IN THE NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET.
AND THIS IS REALLY, I THINK JUST THE BEGINNING.
UM, THE IDEA IS THAT, UH, AFTER THE FEBRUARY STORM, WE TOOK INVENTORY OF OUR CRITICAL FACILITIES, UM, AND, AND, AND REALLY THE, THE HIGHEST PRIORITY WERE OUR PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES.
NOW, SOME OF OUR FIRE STATIONS HAVE GENERATORS, BUT NOT ALL OF THEM.
AND SO, UM, WE ARE GONNA BE BEGINNING, UH, NEXT YEAR, UM, USING THE MAJORITY OF THIS MONEY TOWARDS OUT OUR POLICE SUBSTATIONS AND FIRE STATIONS WITH GENERATORS.
WE'RE ALSO UTILIZING SOME OF THIS CAPITAL MONEY TO IDENTIFY FOR RESILIENCY HUBS, UM, GEOGRAPHICALLY LOCATED THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND WHAT THESE ARE, ARE, UM, UM, ARE, ARE FACILITIES WHERE WE'LL TAKE AND MAKE THE CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT TO, UM, ENSURE THEY HAVE POWER, WHETHER IT'S IN THE, UH, WHETHER IT'S IN THE SUMMERTIME OR WINTERTIME, BUT A PLACE WHERE WE KNOW WE CAN SEND PEOPLE TO, UM, IN TIME OF AN EMERGENCY THAT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A CITY FACILITY.
UH, WE'VE HAD, UH, UM, MARIA VIA GOMEZ, UH, THE DEPUTY CITY MANAGER MYSELF, WE'VE HAD CONVERSATION WITH, WITH AT LEAST ONE AREA OF SUPERINTENDENT.
UM, BUT IT'S REALLY TAKING SOME OF THIS MONEY AND MAKING THAT INVESTMENT SO THAT, UM, WE KNOW WITH CERTAINTY TO BE ABLE TO POINT PEOPLE TO, UM, UH, A LOCATION, UH, IN TIMES OF OUR POWER OUTAGES.
THE OTHER PART OF THIS, OH, GO BACK.
THE OTHER PART OF THIS IS THAT, UM, WE, UM, AND THE COUNCILMAN MENTIONED, THE COUNCILMAN APPLIES, MENTIONED THIS AT THE BEGINNING, BUT REALLY SET ASIDE FUNDS TO LOOK AT OUR VULNERABILITIES.
AND, UM, THERE ARE, UM, AGENCIES AND CONTRACTORS THAT HELP MUNICIPALITIES DO THIS AND COMMUNITIES DO THIS, BUT REALLY, UM, UH, POKE AND PROD AND IDENTIFY WHERE WE ARE VULNERABLE.
AND, AND THAT'S AN IMPORTANT, UM, UM, UH, EXERCISE TO GO THROUGH BECAUSE THOSE VULNERABILITIES WILL HELP US IDENTIFY WHERE WE NEED TO MAKE INVESTMENTS.
A COUPLE OF THE AREAS THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THAT, THAT WE ALSO ADDRESS ARE BEEFING UP OUR COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAMS, UH, IN TIMES OF EMERGENCY AND LOOKING AT HOW, UM, WE IDENTIFY WHO OUR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS ARE THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO THOSE WILL BE, THAT'LL BE PART OF THAT EFFORT.
UM, THIS WILL, THIS WILL BE A BIG PART OF OUR WORK PLAN NEXT YEAR, AND, UH, WE'LL BE MOVING THROUGH WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF URGENCY.
YOU KNOW, UM, UM, THE CLIMATE HAS CHANGED, RIGHT? UH, WE COULD HAVE A CYBERSECURITY ATTACK NEXT WEEK, UH, THAT IMPACTS POWER.
UH, WE COULD, UH, WE COULD HAVE ANOTHER SNOWSTORM.
UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MOVING DELIBERATELY AND, AND ADDRESSING THIS, AND WE'LL BE DOING THAT NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET.
ALRIGHT, SO, AND FROM AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STANDPOINT, UM, PART OF
[00:45:01]
OUR, UH, ONE OF OUR KEY MESSAGES IS RESTORING.WE'RE WE'RE RESTORING IN OUR BUDGET NEXT YEAR, OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, OUR HOUSING INCENTIVE PROGRAMS. UM, THAT'S CRITICAL BECAUSE, UM, THAT GIVES US, UH, THE ABILITY TO LEVERAGE OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, AND REALLY THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO CONTINUE TO MAYBE ADDRESS SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS.
THE COUNCIL IS LOOKING AT A POTENTIAL AMENDMENT PROCESS THROUGH OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE PROGRAM, WHICH WILL ALLOW US TO MAYBE PIVOT.
UM, AND, AND HAVING THIS FUNDING WILL GIVE US THAT GOOD BASIS, OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX ALLOCATIONS.
UM, REALLY, I THINK THE MESSAGE HERE IS THAT IN TWO AREAS OF OUR BUSINESS, OUR CONVENTION CENTER OPERATIONS, WE HAVE KIND OF STAIR STEP.
WE HAD TO CUT BACK IN THIS FOR THE LAST YEAR, AND WE'VE GOT A, AN EXPENDITURE FORECAST, UH, IN NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET WHERE WE STAIR STEP UP THE EXPENSES TO LINE UP WITH THE ADDITIONAL EVENT DAYS AND CONVENTIONS.
NOW, AS I MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PRESENTATION, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO WATCH THIS CLOSELY AND MAYBE, UM, UH, MANAGE THOSE EXPENSES BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO GET OUTTA WHACK.
BUT, UH, WE'VE GOT THE FUNDING AVAILABLE, UH, IN NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS.
ONE OF THE OTHER AREAS THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO THE COUNCIL, UM, IN THEIR CONVERSATIONS EARLIER IN THE YEAR IS RESTORING OUR PRE PANDEMIC, UH, INVESTMENT IN ARTS, UM, AND ARTS AGENCIES.
AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT IN THE F Y 22 BUDGET.
SO LAST SLIDE BEFORE WE GO INTO, UH, INTO QUESTIONS.
UM, SO, UH, EVERY FIVE YEARS, THE CITY, UH, HAS HISTORICALLY HAD A BOND PROGRAM.
THE LAST TIME WAS AN $850 MILLION PROGRAM THAT WAS TAKEN TO THE VOTERS IN MAY OF 2017.
PART OF OUR FINANCIAL ANALYSIS THAT WE DO IS, UM, UM, WHAT IS OUR CAPACITY TO ISSUE DEBT, UM, WITH NO CHANGE IN THE PROPERTY TAX RATE, WHAT CAN WE AFFORD, UH, GIVEN THE, UM, UM, UH, VALUES GIVEN WHAT'S HAPPENING FROM A DEVELOPMENT STANDPOINT, UH, BEING MODERATELY CONSERVATIVE, UH, UH, AS WE LOOK FORWARD.
UM, AND, UH, ONE OF THIS IS AN ISSUE.
THIS IS AN AREA THAT WE'VE BEEN, UH, WORKING ON FOR THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS.
UM, IT'S BEEN, THE COUNCIL HAD ONE CONVERSATION AS A GROUP IN LATE SPRING ABOUT THE UPCOMING BOND PROGRAM.
AND, UH, THIS WAS THE HOT QUESTION ABOUT HOW MUCH CAN WE AFFORD GIVEN OUR PROPERTY TAX RATE.
UM, SO WHAT WE CAN AFFORD TO DO IS $1.2 BILLION.
UM, THE, UM, YOU KNOW, MANY OF THE DISTRICTS, UM, AND I KNOW, UH, SEVERAL OF THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS, PROBABLY ALL OF THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS HAVE ALREADY BEGUN HAVING CONVERSATIONS AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL.
WE HAVE BEEN DOING THAT ALSO AT THE CITY THROUGH PUBLIC WORKS, WHETHER IT'S A STREET SIDEWALK OR DRAINAGE PROJECT, OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT PROGRAMS. UM, AND, UM, THIS PROGRAM WILL, UH, REALLY KICK OFF IN EARNEST, UM, UH, PROBABLY IN SEPTEMBER.
UM, I, I ANTICIPATE, UH, SEVERAL COUNCIL, UH, CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS LISTS, UM, AND, UH, BEING ABLE TO NARROW THEM DOWN AS WE'VE DONE 'EM IN THE PAST.
UH, WE WILL HAVE, UH, THE STAFF IS RECOMMENDING THAT WE HAVE COMMITTEES, UH, PUBLIC COMMITTEES MADE UP OF THE COMMUNITY TO REALLY DIVE INTO A VARIETY OF PROJECTS BY PROPOSITION, WHETHER IT'S STREETS OR FACILITIES OR, OR MAYBE EVEN HOUSING, UM, AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS BACK TO THE COUNCIL BY THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
THE COUNCIL WILL REVIEW THAT EARLY IN 2022 AND, UM, AND SET THE PROGRAM.
AND, UM, THE COUNCIL WILL NEED TO MAKE A DECISION AND CALL THE ELECTION BY THE SECOND WEEK IN FEBRUARY TO BE ABLE TO TAKE IT TO THE VOTERS IN 2022.
SO THIS IS GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ANNUAL BUDGET IS EXTREMELY IMPRO IMPORTANT, UM, AND, UH, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AROUND THE ARPA DOLLARS IS GONNA BE REALLY IMPORTANT.
THIS IS THE THIRD PART OF WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IN TERMS OF OUR INVESTMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY, UH, OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
OF COURSE, WE'VE GOT BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF NEED FROM AN INFRASTRUCTURE STANDPOINT.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF HARD WORK, UH, BEFORE US, AND I KNOW THE COUNCIL WILL BE RELYING UPON THE PUBLIC TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE.
UM, AND IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, PLEASE LET YOUR COUNCIL DISTRICT KNOW, BECAUSE THEY WILL BE LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS, UH, IN THIS PROCESS.
SO ACTUALLY, I THINK THERE'S ONE MORE SLIDE, BERTHA, AND I'LL JUST WRAP IT UP.
SO, UH, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE COUNCIL STARTED THEIR BUDGET WORK SESSIONS TODAY, METRO HEALTH AND POLICE TOMORROW IS OUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND HOUSING SERVICES AND HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENTS.
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TUESDAY AND THURSDAY FOR, UH, THE NEXT MONTH, OVER A MONTH.UM, WE, THIS IS OUR SECOND, UH, PUBLIC, UH, COMMUNITY INPUT PROCESS.
SO, UH, WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR QUESTIONS AND ANY INPUT YOU HAVE ON THE PROPOSED BUDGET OR IDEAS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
WE HAVE TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED ON SEPTEMBER 8TH AND 14TH, AND THE COUNCIL IS SCHEDULED TO ADOPT THE BUDGET ON SEPTEMBER 16TH.
AND THE COUNCIL WILL WORK WITH THE COUNCIL ON ANY POTENTIAL AMENDMENTS TO THE BUDGET, UM, AND BE ABLE TO PRESENT THAT TO THE COUNCIL ON SEPTEMBER 16TH FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION.
SO WITH THAT, I WILL HAND IT BACK OVER TO LAURA, WHO WILL, I THINK FACILITATE THE Q AND A.
AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE HAVE A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS, UH, ON THE LINE.
WE'VE GOT THE LIBRARY, POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, HUMAN SERVICES, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES, UM, TRANSPORTATION PARKS, PUBLIC WORKS, AND SOLID WASTE AND LIBRARY, AND HE AND METRO HEALTH.
SO WE GOT A LOT OF FOLKS ON THE LINE.
WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS WE MIGHT GET.
AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WANT EVEN MORE BUDGET INFORMATION, YOU CAN VISIT SAN ANTONIO.GOV/BUDGET AND READ THAT ENTIRE GIANT PRINTED DOCUMENT, UM, ONLINE.
OUR FIRST QUESTION HERE CAME TO US TO OUR ESSAY SPEAKUP EMAIL, AND THAT'S ESSAY SPEAKUP@SANANTONIO.GOV.
THIS IS FROM URSULA, AND I'M GOING TO GIVE THIS QUESTION TO OUR DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO JESSICA VELINA.
UM, URSULA SAYS, WE HAVE A CONCERN ABOUT HOUSING, WHAT SHE CALLS STREET PEOPLE AND ALLOWING THEM TO CONTINUE DOING DRUGS AND USING ALCOHOL.
HOW WILL THIS HELP THEM? IT SEEMS THAT THIS IS ENABLING THEM TO CONTINUE SELF-DESTRUCTING THEIR LIVES.
I BELIEVE IN HELPING PEOPLE, BUT THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME KIND OF EXPECTATION OF THEM RECEIVING HELP IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THEIR LIVES.
JESSICA, COULD YOU ADDRESS URSULA'S CONCERN? WE'VE GOT A SOUND ISSUE FOR YOU, JESSICA, IF YOU CAN UNMUTE FOR US.
LAURA, WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE QUESTION AGAIN? LET ME TAKE A SWING AT IT THAT WAY, THAT WAY JESSICA CAN WORK ON IT.
THIS IS THE WORLD OF WEBEX FOLKS.
SO THIS QUESTION WAS BASICALLY A CONCERN ABOUT THOSE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, MAYBE STILL USING DRUGS OR ALCOHOL.
IS THERE AN EXPECTATION THAT THEY GET SOME KIND OF HELP IF WE'RE PROVIDING SERVICES TO THEM? YEAH, WELL, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND THE COUNCIL, UM, HAS, UH, HAS ACCEPTED FEDERAL FUNDING.
UM, THAT HAS REALLY HELPED BEEF UP OUR HOMELESS OUTREACH AS WELL AS, UM, UM, ESTABLISHED SOME LOW BARRIER, UM, SHELTER OPTIONS FOR HOMELESS.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, INCREASED OUR FUNDING TO, UM, OUR, OUR HOMELESS, UM, ADVOCATE, UH, STAKEHOLDER, UH, PARTNERS, AS WELL AS OUR OWN HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, PART OF THAT HAS BEEN KIND OF A JOURNEY.
UH, THE, THE, THE EXPECTATION IS THAT, UH, WE'RE MAKING RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO FOLKS.
UM, AND, AND, UM, WE'RE FINDING THAT WITH OUR OUTREACH, UH, WORKERS, UH, BOTH THE CITIES AND OUR PARTNER AGENCIES, UM, SOME FOLKS, UM, JUST AREN'T READY TO MAKE THAT DECISION.
THERE'S A BALANCE THOUGH, BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY EXPECTATION IS THAT, UM, WE'RE DEALING WITH HOMELESS AND, AND PART OF THAT IS MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE ESTABLISHING RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM, GETTING THEM TO TRUST US.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, UM, HOTEL THAT WE'VE LEASED FOR A YEAR, UM, UH, JUST OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN, UH, WENT BACK INTO OP, STARTED INTO OPERATION IN JULY, UM, AND I SUSPECT THAT THE, THOSE TYPES OF CONVERSATIONS THE COUNCIL WILL PROBABLY TALK ABOUT AT TOMORROW'S BUDGET WORK SESSION.
SO IT'S A DIFFICULT AREA THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH.
I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO BE MINDFUL OF, OF, UM, BOTH THE NEED TO GET PEOPLE OFF THE STREETS AND GET 'EM INTO SOME SORT OF ASSISTANCE, UM, BUT NOT ARRESTING THEM AWAY.
UM, AND BECAUSE, UM, UM, THERE'S A BALANCE THAT HAS TO BE STRUCK.
I DUNNO IF YOU CAN HEAR ME NOW.
UM, IF I COULD JUST, I THINK, YOU KNOW, TO ERIC'S POINT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON IS BUILDING THAT TRUST AND THAT RELATIONSHIP.
AND THAT REALLY IS THE KEY TO GETTING, UM, INDIVIDUALS TO ACCEPT HELP AND HOUSING ASSISTANCE.
SO THAT COUPLED WITH, UM, ALSO PROVIDING DIFFERENT TYPES OF OPTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS TO MOVE INTO SO THAT IT'S A GRADUAL PROCESS, INCLUDING LOW, LOW BARRIER SHELTER OPTIONS, AS ERIC MENTIONED.
THANK YOU JESSICA, AND THANK YOU ERIC.
UM, WE'VE GOTTEN A FEW QUESTIONS IN FROM VICKI AND DEIRDRE.
UM, THEY BOTH HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE
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OVERPOPULATION OF CATS IN DISTRICTS EIGHT AND NINE.SO IF WE HAVE A C S ON THE LINE ANIMAL CARE SERVICES, WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT THESE OVER CATS? UM, AS FAR AS THE OVERPOPULATION OF CATS, ONE THING THAT A C S IS COMMITTED TO IS, UH, WE DO HAVE A, WHAT WE CALL A C C P PROGRAM, A CAT COLONY PROGRAM, WHICH ENABLES RESIDENTS TO ACTUALLY TRAP THE FERAL CATS.
THEY CAN GET THE TRAP FROM A C S, BRING THE ANIMAL INTO A C S, WE WILL THEN, UH, STERILIZE THE ANIMAL AND RE-RELEASE IT INTO THE, UH, INTO THE AREA THAT IT CAME FROM.
THE REASON THAT THIS IS SO IMPORTANT IS BECAUSE IF WE DON'T RE-RELEASE THE STERILIZED ANIMALS IN THERE, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY SUFFICIENT, UH, FOOD RESOURCES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT THEN UNSTERILIZED ANIMALS, MORE UNSTERILIZED ANIMALS WILL COME BACK IN THERE AND, AND CONTINUE TO KIND OF PROPAGATE.
UH, SO WE REALLY, REALLY HAVE TO FOCUS ON NOT ONLY GETTING THOSE ANIMALS IN AND GETTING THEM STERILIZED, BUT GETTING THEM BACK INTO THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT THEY CAME FROM.
UH, SO THEY CAN, THEY CAN HELP KEEP AWAY THE POPULATION OF UNSTERILIZED ANIMALS.
UH, THERE'S ALSO THE SAN ANTONIO FERAL CAT COALITION THAT'S VERY HELPFUL WITH THIS.
THEY AID IN TRAPPING, UH, THEY ALSO TEACH SOME CLASSES ON TRAPPING AND, UH, PROVIDE SOME STERILIZATION RESOURCES AS WELL.
AND THANKS TO VICKI AND DEIRDRE FOR ASKING THOSE GREAT QUESTIONS.
UM, THE NEXT QUESTION HERE, I'M GONNA GIVE TO OUR DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, MARIA VIA GOMEZ.
THIS COMES TO US FROM FACEBOOK, FROM MARIO, AND HE SAYS, ARE THERE ANY CONTINGENCIES IN THE BUDGET TO ACCOMMODATE ANY DOWNWARD TRENDS IN REVENUE IN CASE COVID SURGES BEYOND WHAT'S EXPECTED? GREAT QUESTION, MARIO.
UH, THANK YOU MARIO FOR THAT QUESTION.
UH, THIS YEAR THE CITY APPROVED WHAT WE CALLED A HEALTH IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
UM, AND THAT PLAN WAS AS TAILORED TO ADDRESS, UM, ISSUES RELATED TO C OVID 19.
SO THE CITY HAS THAT ABILITY TO, TO RESPOND TO THE EMERGENCY WITH THOSE FUNDS THAT, THAT WERE SET ASIDE SPECIFICALLY FOR, FOR THAT RESPONSE.
UH, THAT PLAN HAS FUNDING FROM, UH, FEDERAL GRANTS THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED.
UM, SO IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE ALSO RECEIVED ADDITIONAL FUNDING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SPECIFICALLY TO ADDRESS A PANDEMIC.
SO OUR METRO HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS, UM, UH, ALREADY WORKING ON WAYS TO HELP US ADDRESS, UH, THE SEARCH THAT WE'RE SEEING TODAY AND AN ANTICIPATE AN ANTICIPATION OF WHAT WE COULD COME, COME UP, UH, NEXT.
SO I THINK AS AN ORGANIZATION, WE, WE, UM, ARE PREPARED TO BE ABLE TO TACKLE, UH, THE CHALLENGES THAT THE PANDEMIC IS, UM, GIVEN, GIVEN TO US.
OUR NEXT QUESTION CAME TO US, UM, IN OUR ESSAY SPEAKUP EMAIL, AND I SEE OUR LIBRARY DIRECTOR ON THE LINE,
SO THIS QUESTION'S GOING TO BE FOR YOU.
SHE FIRST HAS A COMMENT, UM, AS A COMPLIMENT.
SHE'S A BIG FAN OF THE OUTDOOR LIBRARY SET UP AT THE JOHN IGO LIBRARY.
IT'S QUITE BEAUTIFUL, BUT IT NEEDS A LITTLE BIT OF T L C.
SHE WANTED TO INFORM SOMEONE SINCE IT'S SUMMERTIME, AND THERE ARE SOME CRITTERS, INSECTS AND SNAKES ALL AROUND.
UM, SO CAN WE ADDRESS HER CONCERN ABOUT THE JOHN IGO LIBRARY? ABSOLUTELY.
WE ALWAYS WELCOME, UH, COMMUNITY INPUT AND USER INPUT.
AND SO I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THIS TO MY ATTENTION.
WE WILL CERTAINLY TAKE CARE OF IT IMMEDIATELY.
UH, WE WANT OUR LIBRARIES TO, UH, INSTILL PRIDE IN THE COMMUNITY AND TO BE USER FRIENDLY.
THANK YOU RAMIRO, AND THANK YOU ASHLEY FOR THAT QUESTION.
ERIC, THIS NEXT QUESTION IS FOR YOU AND IT COMES FROM BILL TO OUR ESSAY, SPEAKUP EMAIL ADDRESS.
BILL SAYS, WE CONTINUE TO HEAR THAT THERE ARE INTERNET DESERTS IN PARTS OF THE CITY WITH MANY STUDENTS STILL REMAINING AT HOME AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR AND ATTENDING CLASSES.
VIRTUALLY ONE HINDRANCE TO SCHOLASTIC SUCCESS IN SOME PARTS OF THE CITY IS LITTLE OR NO INTERNET CAPACITY.
HIS SUGGESTION IS THAT THE CITY INVESTS IN INTERNET INFRASTRUCTURE TO NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE THERE IS LITTLE OR NO SERVICE OR PERHAPS EVEN BUILD OUT PUBLIC WIFI HOTSPOTS THAT STUDENTS IN PARTICULAR CAN USE MAYBE A PARTNERSHIP WITH ONE OF THE MAJOR COMMUNICATION COMPANIES.
REGARDLESS, THIS IS A TYPE OF INFRASTRUCTURE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.
UM, AND I, UM, LET ME, LET ME UM, JUST POINT OUT THAT LAST SUMMER, UM, WHEN, WHEN WE WERE DEALING WITH THE, THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC, THE COUNCIL APPROVED A, UM, A RECOVERY RESILIENCY PLAN WITH FOUR MAIN PILLARS.
ONE OF THOSE FOUR MAIN PILLARS WAS THE DEDICATION OF LOCAL DOLLARS,
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UM, TO HELP BUILD OUT INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, IN, IN NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE SCHOOL DISTRICTS WERE TELLING US THEY HAD THE HARDEST TIME STAYING CONNECTED WITH KIDS.AND, AND TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS BUILDING MANY, UH, WIFI MESH NETWORKS OFF OF, OFF OF THE CITY'S FIBER NETWORK.
UM, OUR FIBER NETWORK CONTROLS OUR 1800 TRAFFIC SIGNALS.
UM, AND, AND, AND SO WE HAVE CONNECTED, UM, I'M, I'M LOOKING FOR MARIA, 18 OF THE 32, I THINK THE NUMBER 18 OF THE 32 NEIGHBORHOODS SO FAR.
AND, AND, AND SO NOW IT'S NOT FREE INTERNET, BUT WHAT IT'S DOING IS IT'S ALLOWING THOSE STUDENTS TO BE ABLE TO TIE INTO THEIR HOMESCHOOL NET, THEIR HOMESCHOOL DISTRICT NETWORKS.
UM, BEYOND THAT, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CONVERSATION BOTH AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL AND THE STATE LEVEL ABOUT ALLOCATING DOLLARS TO HELP DEAL WITH, UH, BROADBAND AND, AND, AND REALLY TREAT, UM, ACCESS TO THE INTERNET MORE AS A UTILITY.
UM, WE'RE TRYING TO WORK CLOSELY WITH AT AND T AND, UH, GOOGLE FIBER AND UM, UH, SPECTRUM AND COMPANIES LIKE THAT.
UM, OBVIOUSLY, UM, IT'S, IT'S, UM, IT, IT'S NOT ALWAYS AN ACCESSIBILITY ISSUE.
UM, SOMETIMES, UM, UM, THE, THE, THOSE DESERTS ARE BEING CREATED BY AFFORDABILITY.
SO, UM, WE DID, UH, WE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HAD, I, THAT I PROPOSED IN THE BUDGET WAS, YOU KNOW, ONE PERSON, ONE PERSON FROM THE ORGANIZATION TO KIND OF LEAD OUR EFFORTS, WHETHER IT'S DEALING WITH THE TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANIES OR THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UH, FROM THE CITY STANDPOINT TO HELP BE THAT POINT PERSON TO HELP BUILD OUT THAT INFRASTRUCTURE.
I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE BIG LESSONS WE'VE ALL LEARNED OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS.
UM, AND I WANNA BE RESPECTFUL OF EVERYONE'S TIME.
I KNOW THERE WERE LOTS OF QUESTIONS SUBMITTED, SO IF WE DON'T GET TO YOURS TONIGHT, REST ASSURED WE WILL GET A RESPONSE BACK TO YOU IF YOU GAVE US YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION.
UM, WE HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT SIDEWALKS AND WHAT'S INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET, UM, REGARDING SIDEWALK FUNDING.
SO I'M GONNA ASK TAMIKA TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FOR SIDEWALKS IN THIS COMING BUDGET.
I WILL SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING IN TERMS OF SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS.
AS A PART OF THE VISION ZERO PROGRAMMING, WE'RE LOOKING TO IDENTIFY THOSE LOCATIONS AS MR. WALSH SPOKE ABOUT THE LOCATIONS WHERE WE KNOW WE HAVE SIGNIFICANT BUS RIDERSHIP AND ACCESS ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH EVERYONE WHO AT SOME POINT IN YOUR JOURNEY, YOU'RE A PEDESTRIAN.
SO WE'VE IDENTIFIED THOSE LOCATIONS.
OUR PARTNERS IN PUBLIC WORKS LEAD THAT EFFORT IN THE SIDEWALK UNIVERSE.
AND WHAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON IS GETTING PEOPLE TO THEIR DESTINATION SAFELY.
SO LOOKING AT THE DRAINAGE, THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT CAN IMPEDE PEOPLE IN THEIR ATTEMPTS TO WALK ON OUR SIDEWALKS.
AND WORKING WITH THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS, WE'VE IDENTIFIED THOSE LOCATIONS WHERE THERE SIGNIFICANT AND MAJOR ACTIVITY CENTERS, SCHOOLS, LIBRARIES, SENIOR CENTERS, THOSE PLACE WHERE THE MOST VULNERABLE HAVE TO ACCESS.
SO AS A PART OF THE SAFETY INITIATIVE AND THE COUNCIL'S SUPPORT, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED THOSE LOCATIONS AND WE'RE WORKING TO PRIORITIZE THOSE LOCATIONS OVER SEVERAL CORRIDORS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
SO WE JUST LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITIES AS WE CONTINUE TO GATHER DATA ASSOCIATED WITH WHERE WE HAVE THOSE CRASHES, PEDESTRIAN INJURIES, AND WHERE THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO CONNECT PEOPLE.
AND LAURA, I MAY, I WANTED TO ADD ALSO, I THINK THAT THE QUESTION FROM THE, THE, THE CALLER IS HOW MUCH MONEY WE ARE INVESTING IN SIDEWALKS, AND THAT IS $21 MILLION IN 2022.
THAT'S $3 MILLION MORE THAN WHAT WE HAVE IN 2021.
MARIA ALWAYS SHOWS US THE MONEY.
THANK YOU,
WE KNOW THAT'S A BIG PRIORITY FOR OUR COMMUNITY, AND WE SAW THAT IN OUR ESSAY SPEAKUP SURVEY.
UM, MANY MORE QUESTIONS AND LIKE I MENTIONED, WE CAN'T GET TO ALL OF THEM TONIGHT.
WE WANNA BE RESPECTFUL OF EVERYONE'S TIME.
SO WHY DON'T I TURN IT BACK OVER TO COUNCILMAN AYAS FOR SOME CLOSING REMARKS FOR OUR DISTRICT EIGHT AND NINE RESIDENTS THIS EVENING.
UM, AGAIN, FOLKS, UH, THERE'S A LOT TO UNPACK IN, UH, IN JUST A VERY SMALL LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME, UH, THAT WE HAD TODAY.
UH, TODAY'S PRESENTATION WAS TO GIVE YOU A BROAD STROKES OVERVIEW OF EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THIS 2022 DOCUMENT.
THIS DOCUMENT IS REALLY MORE OF A ROADMAP, UH, TO SHOW YOU WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING ON THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
UM, AND IT IS A, UH, THIS PRESENTATION WAS NOT EXHAUSTIVE, RIGHT? THERE'S
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STILL A LOT IN THERE.AND IF YOU'VE GOT ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS AS TO, UH, THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU, UM, GO AHEAD AND CHECK IN WITH MY OFFICE OR WITH JOHN K'S OFFICE AND WE WILL GET YOU ANSWERS.
ADDITIONALLY, UM, I BELIEVE CITY STAFF IS ALSO AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS.
IF YOU ADD, YOU KNOW, IF YOU, UM, ASK THEM RIGHT HERE ON THIS FACEBOOK PAGE OR IF YOU JUST SEND EMAILS DIRECTLY TO US AT, UM, AT, AT THE CITY.
AND SO, UH, I DO HAVE TO SAY, UH, ERIC WALSH AND HIS TEAM, UH, DON'T FORGET THAT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE PEOPLE ON YOUR SCREEN TODAY, AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE FOLKS WHO SHOWS UP TO WORK AT THE CITY IS A SAN ANTONIAN, AND THEY'RE YOUR NEIGHBORS.
THEY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOUR STREETS ARE SAFE BECAUSE THEY'RE THEIR STREETS TOO, AND THEY SEND THEIR KIDS TO YOUR SCHOOLS.
UM, AND THEY ATTEND YOUR CHURCHES AND THEY, UM, GO TO YOUR SMALL BUSINESSES BECAUSE IT'S THEIR SMALL BUSINESSES, CHURCHES, AND SCHOOLS AS WELL.
AND SO EVERYBODY HERE ON THE SCREEN HAS SKIN IN THE GAME.
AND THANK YOU TO EVERY ONE OF YOU, SAN ANTONIANS, UH, WHO HELPED PRESENT TODAY.
UM, I SEE YOU AND I SEE THAT YOU TOOK TIME OFF, AWAY FROM YOUR FAMILIES TO BE WITH MY NEIGHBORS AND WITH JOHN'S NEIGHBORS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY GET GOOD, SOLID INFORMATION.
THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME, AND I DON'T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED.
JOHN, WHAT DO YOU THINK? OH, I AGREE.
I, I REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY, MANNY.
UH, I THINK THAT, UH, WE HAVE A LOT MORE TO DISCUSS.
I KNOW THAT THERE'S SEVERAL OTHER, UH, SPEAK UP MEETINGS PLANNED AROUND THE CITY THAT ARE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT THE BUDGET.
AND, UH, I'M GONNA BE INVITING, UH, SOME OF OUR BUDGET OFFICIALS TO COME INTO DISTRICT NINE AND VISIT WITH, UH, SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS.
AND I KNOW THAT THEY'RE, THEY'LL BE GLAD TO DO THAT.
'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY EVERYBODY CAN'T BE AT THE SAME PLACE AT THE SAME TIME.
UH, AND AS MANNY SAID, I REALLY ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO LET OUR OFFICE KNOW WHAT YOUR CONCERNS ARE AND GET ONLINE AND TAKE A LOOK AT THIS BUDGET, DOCUMENT YOURSELF OR FOLLOW ALONG WITH THE OTHER BUDGET MEETINGS.
UH, YOU'LL HEAR OTHER QUESTIONS THAT MAY ANSWER THE ONES THAT YOU HAVE.
AND, UH, WE JUST NEED TO WORK TOGETHER ON THIS AND PUT TOGETHER THE KIND OF BUDGET THAT'S GONNA MEET THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND, UH, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO FURTHER DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THIS AS A COUNCILMAN, AND I'LL RELAY THAT INFORMATION TO EVERYBODY IN MY DISTRICT.
SO THANK YOU TONIGHT FOR BEING HERE.
AND LORI, YOU'VE DONE A GOOD JOB, ERIC, YOU AND YOUR TEAM ALWAYS DO A GOOD JOB.