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LET'S, LET'S GET STARTED AND WE'LL CALL ROLL COUNCIL MEMBER HERE.COUNCIL MEMBER VERAN IS HERE, VIRTUALLY.
COUNCIL MEMBER BURRO GARCIA HERE.
UH, OUR FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS, UH, TO WELCOME COUNCILMAN BRAVO TO THE, TO THE COMMITTEE.
UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A GOOD TIME HERE.
UM, YOUR, UH, SECOND IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
AND SO, UM, I HAVE A FEELING THAT COUNCILMAN ROCHA GARCIA, READ THEM TWICE.
MOVE THAT REAPPROVE, THE MINUTES FROM SEPTEMBER 27TH.
UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES, PLEASE SAY AYE.
UH, AND WE ARE OFF TO A GOOD START.
ALEX LOPEZ, THE FIRST BRIEFING WE HAVE TODAY.
UM, THE FIRST BRIEFING WE HAVE TODAY IS FROM MIKE RAMSEY, AND IT'S GONNA BE ABOUT BOTH OF OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. UM, I BELIEVE WE ALSO HAVE SOME GUESTS FROM U T S A WHO, WHO, UM, ARE IN THE ROLE OF OUR, OUR INDEPENDENT EVALUATORS FOR THE READY TO WORK PROGRAM.
AND, UM, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED WITH THAT.
HOW YOU DOING? COUNCILMAN PELEZ? GOOD TO SEE YOU, SIR.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT OUR TRAIN FOR JOBS PROGRAM, IS WHAT WE'LL START OFF WITH.
AND AS A REMINDER, UH, THIS PROGRAM WAS LAUNCHED BACK AT THE HEIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
THAT PICTURE THERE IS FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES OF THE FOOD BANK LINES AND THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE TO MAKE SURE THAT INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE HURTING THE MOST HAD THE RESOURCES THROUGH THE STIPENDS THAT WERE PROVIDED FOR INDIVIDUALS GOING THROUGH THESE TRAINING PROGRAMS IN ORDER TO KEEP FOOD ON THEIR TABLES, KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, KEEP THEIR RENT PAID.
AND, UH, THE PROGRAM OPENED FOR ENROLLMENT IN JULY OF 2020, AND WE CONTINUE IN ENROLLMENT THROUGH THE END OF DECEMBER, 2021.
AND INDIVIDUALS WERE STILL MATRICULATING THROUGH THE PROGRAM EVEN TODAY, AND THEY'LL FINISH IN 2023 WITH ONE OF OUR PARTNERS, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT LATER.
SO, OUR BUDGET TO ACTUALS BACK IN JULY OF 2020, OUR ORIGINAL GOALS WERE TO SPEND $75 MILLION.
THAT WAS THE BUDGET ORIGINALLY ALLOCATED TO THE TRAINING FOR JOBS PROGRAM OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND TO SUPPORT UP TO 10,000 INDIVIDUALS AND ENROLL 8,000 INTO TRAINING.
THE SPLITS ARE THERE, 6,000 IN SHORT TERM, 800 IN LONG TERM, 1800 ON THE JOB, AND 400 IN HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCIES, AND HAVE 6,000 INDIVIDUALS COMPLETE TRAINING, AND 50% OF THAT NUMBER 3000 SECURE JOBS WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.
THEN BACK IN JUNE OF 2021, WE UPDATED THE BUDGET, REDUCED THE 75 MILLION BY 10 MILLION, WHICH IS REALLOCATED TO THE SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS WHO ARE ALSO STRUGGLING DURING THAT TIME.
AND THE ORIGINAL GOAL WAS KEPT TO SUPPORT 10,000 INDIVIDUALS ENROLL IN TRAINING 8,062, BASED UPON THE PROJECTIONS FROM OUR PARTNERS CO, WHO WERE CONTRACTED TO DO THE WORK WITH 2,717 IN THE SHORT TERM AND 24 13 AND INTO LONG TERM, BECAUSE WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THAT MORE INDIVIDUALS WERE CHOOSING LONG TERM TRAINING OVER SHORT-TERM TRAINING 110.
AND ON-THE-JOB TRAINING IS THAT PATHWAY PROVED TO NOT BE ONE THAT PARTICIPANTS WERE EAGER TO PURSUE.
AND WE UPPED THE HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY GOAL TO 733 BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY, AS WE KNOW, ONE IN FIVE OR 20% DON'T HAVE A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA.
AND THEY WERE PUSHING INTO THE PROGRAM TO ACHIEVE THAT ENTRY LEVEL WORKFORCE MILESTONE.
SO OUR NUMBERS OF COMPLETING TRAINING SHIFTED SLIGHTLY TO 5,973 AND SECURED EMPLOYMENT DIPPED JUST A LITTLE BIT TO 29 87.
SO AS OF NOVEMBER 1ST, 2022, OUR BUDGET SHIFTED DOWN ANOTHER 10 MILLION FROM 65 MILLION TO 55 MILLION, AND THROUGH, UH, THROUGH NOVEMBER 1ST, WE EXPENSED $45 MILLION OF THAT ALLOCATED BUDGET WITH 5.16 MILLION BEING REALLOCATED TO SUPPORT THE ALAMO PROMISE SCHOLARS PROGRAM WITH ALAMO COLLEGES, 4.7 MILLION REALLOCATED TO THE GENERAL FUND, AND 10 MILLION IS UNALLOCATED AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
1.4 MILLION FOR INVOICES TO BE FINALIZED.
2.6 MILLION FOR PARTICIPANTS STILL ENROLLED THROUGH 2023.
WITH PROJECT QUEST, OUR LOAN REMAINING CONTRACTED PARTNER AND ABOUT 5.8 MILLION UNCOMMITTED, WE HAVE SUPPORTED 10,402 INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH THAT INTAKE PROCESS.
AND IF EVEN IF THEY WERE NOT ENROLLED IN TRAINING, THEY WERE PROVIDED ACCESS TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
WE'VE HAD 4,439 INDIVIDUALS ENROLLING 5,813 TRAINING PROGRAMS. A FEW INDIVIDUALS ATTENDED MULTIPLE TRAINING PROGRAMS AS THEIR TRAINING PLANS INCLUDED BOTH SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM, OR BOTH HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY AND A SHORT TERM OR LONG-TERM TRAINING.
WE HAD 42 INDIVIDUALS PARTICIPATING ON-THE-JOB TRAINING AND 796
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INDIVIDUALS PURSUING THEIR HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY.WE HAD 4,728 PEOPLE RECEIVE STIPENDS WORTH $16.6 MILLION A RESULT OF THE INVESTMENT IN THE TRAIN FOR JOBS.
SO, SO FAR COMPLETING TRAINING, 3,646 INDIVIDUALS AND 2,214 OF THOSE HAVE RECEIVED EMPLOYMENT TO DATE.
SO OUR FUNDING ALLOCATIONS, INTAKE AND ASSESSMENT AT 289,008 MILLION WENT TO CASE MANAGEMENT, 4 MILLION IN THE SHORT TERM TRAINING TUITION, 10 MILLION IN LONG TERM TRAINING TUITION, A TOTAL OF 14 PLUS $15 MILLION, 1.1 MILLION IN HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY, 16.5 MILLION.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE FUNDING WENT TOWARDS PAYING THOSE STIPENDS.
195,000 IN O J T, 2.4 MILLION IN ADMIN COSTS, 127,000 IN CON SUBCONTRACTOR COSTS, AND TWO 95,000 IN EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT.
FOR OUR PARTNER, SA WORKS FOR A TOTAL OF $44,000,110, $110,473.
SO OUR PROGRAM OUTCOMES, UM, OUR, OUR CONTRACTED GOAL FOR CASE MANAGE WE'RE AT 75% SHORT-TERM TRAINING, 88% LONG-TERM TRAINING, 97%.
WHERE WE FAILED THE SHORTEST IN ACHIEVING OUR OUTCOMES WAS IN O J T AT ONLY 30% OF OUR TARGET.
AND, UM, INDIVIDUALS WERE CHOOSING TO PURSUE TRAINING PROGRAMS AT A MUCH HIGHER RATE THAN THEY WERE CHOOSING TO GO INTO O J T.
WE DISCOVERED THROUGH THIS PROCESS, HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCIES 106% AND 180% OF OUR JOB PLACEMENT GOAL WITH 2,214 INDIVIDUALS ACHIEVING NEW JOBS THROUGH THE RESULTS OF TRAIN FOR JOBS.
SO OUR DEMOGRAPHICS, UH, BY COUNCIL DISTRICT, UM, IT WAS VERY WELL DISPERSED, UM, ESPECIALLY IN OUR DISTRICTS THAT HAVE LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC DEMOGRAPHICS AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
AS YOU CAN SEE THERE, UM, ON THIS CHART, 11% IN DISTRICT ONE, 15% IN TWO, AND, UH, THE AVERAGE IS ABOUT 10% THROUGH ALL OF THE DISTRICTS, UH, SPREAD AROUND THE CITY.
OUR DEMOGRAPHICS, SAY AT 42% OF ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE PREVIOUS IN THE HOSPITALITY OR RETAIL JOB.
62% OF THE PEOPLE WE HELPED THROUGH THIS PROGRAM WERE LIVING IN POVERTY.
7% FORMERLY INCARCERATED, 7% PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY.
AND 3% OF OUR VETERANS HERE WERE ASSISTED THROUGH THIS WORK.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE EQUITY MATRIX SCORE, THE LARGEST NUMBER OF PEOPLE PARTICIPATING HAD THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE MA MATRIX SCORE IS 17% OF THE PARTICIPANTS.
SO OUR TRAINING PROGRAMS AND INDUSTRY SELECTED BY INDIVIDUALS, UM, WE SAW A PRETTY EVEN SPLIT BETWEEN SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM TRAINING.
AND THEN AGAIN, WE, I CAN'T EMPHASIZE ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT THAT 796 PEOPLE ENROLL IN THOSE HIGH SCHOOL EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS IS FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, HEALTHCARE, BY FAR THE MEDICAL SECTOR, UM, WAS THE MOST IN DEMAND CAREER PATHWAY CHOSEN BY OUR PARTICIPANTS WAS OVER 2,280 INDIVIDUALS, OR 46% OF OUR PARTICIPANTS CHOOSING THAT PATHWAY.
21% INTO IT, 16% IN THE BUSINESS.
AND, UH, THE TRADES AND MANUFACTURING LOGISTICS.
BRINGING UP, UH, THE END OF THIS, THIS CHART WITH 6% RESPECTIVELY, SO OUR CAREER PLACEMENT WOULD TRAIN FOR JOBS.
WE HAVE 1,245 EMPLOYERS IN OUR COMMUNITY HIRE TRAINED FOR JOBS PARTICIPANTS, WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL.
2,214 INDIVIDUALS RECEIVED JOBS ARE TOP 10 EMPLOYERS.
METHODIST HEALTH WITH 106 UNIVERSITY HEALTH AT 72.
AND THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO SETTING A GREAT EXAMPLE BY HIRING 36 TRAINED FOR JOBS PARTICIPANTS, BAPTIST HEALTH AT 29 FAMILY SERVICES WITH 28 COMMUNICA AT 26 ACCENTURE FEDERAL SERVICES, 24 AMAZON WITH 22 H E B 21, AND EL RICA WITH 18.
SO OUR DEMOGRAPHICS, THOSE INDIVIDUALS WAS PLACED IN JOBS OVERWHELMINGLY, UH, 67% OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS WERE FEMALE.
UH, WE SAW THAT IN OUR NUMBERS THAT WOMEN, SPECIFICALLY HISPANIC WOMEN, UH, WERE MADE UP THE MAJORITY OF THE PARTICIPANTS WITHIN THE RED, WITHIN THE TRAIN FOR JOBS PROGRAM.
AND, UH, WE'RE EXTREMELY, UH, PLEASED TO SEE THAT THAT 25 TO 34 YEAR OLD AGE GROUP WITH 766 INDIVIDUALS RECEIVING JOBS AS A RESULT OF TRAINING FOR JOBS PROGRAM, ARE GONNA BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO IMPACT OUR LOCAL ECONOMY BY THEIR EARNING POTENTIAL BEING IMPACTED FOR MANY YEARS TO COME FOR SOME OF OUR SUCCESS STORIES.
CHASTA, UM, SERVED BY PROJECT QUEST AND RESTORE EDUCATION.
SHE NOW OWNS HER OWN BUSINESS AFTER GOING THROUGH A SHORT-TERM ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM, FUNDED THROUGH THE TRAIN FOR JOBS PROGRAM AND IS GOING TO SCHOOL PART-TIME FOR BIOLOGY.
THEN WE HAVE JUSTIN, WHO WAS SERVED BY FAMILY SERVICES, WHO'S EMPLOYED BY METHODIST AS A REGISTERED NURSE, AND WE'RE
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EXTREMELY PROUD OF, OF BOTH OF THOSE INDIVIDUAL SUCCESSES, AS WELL AS MARIA MARTINEZ, WHO WAS SERVED BY WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS ALAMO, AND IS EMPLOYED BY P N C BANK AS A CUSTOMER CONSULTANT.THOSE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES OF THE FAMILIES THAT ARE IMPACTED BY THE INVESTMENT THAT THE CITY MADE IN THIS PROGRAM.
THAT CONCLUDES MY UPDATE ON TRAIN FOR JOBS, AND I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO SHARON WITH THE URBAN EDUCATION INSTITUTE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THEIR ROLE AS A THIRD PARTY EVALUATOR FOR THE READY TO WORK PROGRAM.
I'M THE INTERIM DIRECTOR OF THE URBAN EDUCATION INSTITUTE, AND I'M HERE WITH DR.
HAN LEE, WHO'S OUR RESEARCH SPECIALIST AND PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR FOR THIS PROJECT.
AND ELENA, UH, FISHER IS NOT WITH US TODAY, BUT SHE'S OUR PROGRAM MANAGER.
UM, I'M GONNA GIVE A A QUICK INTRODUCTION TO WHO WE ARE.
LEE TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF SOME OF THE, THE DATA THAT WE'RE GONNA KIND OF BE TRACKING, AND THEN I'LL COME BACK AND GIVE JUST A BROAD OVERVIEW OF THE WORK WE'LL BE DOING OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS.
OH, I THINK I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO NOW.
UM, THIS TABLES PRESENT THE PICTURE OF POST-SECONDARY ENROLLMENTS AND DEGREE ATTAINMENT BY TYPES OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN BEXAR COUNTY.
ALAMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE REPRESENT TWO YEAR COLLEGES IN BEXAR COUNTY, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, SAN ANTONIO.
AND TEXAS A AND M IN SAN ANTONIO REPRESENT THE PUBLIC UNIVERSITY WITHIN THE COUNTY.
UT HEALTH SAN ANTONIO REPRESENTS HEALTH RELATED UNIVERSITY AND TRAINEE, SAME MARRIED INCARNATE WARD, AND OUR LADY OF LAKE UNIVERSITY REPRESENT PRIVATE OR INDEPENDENCE UNIVERSITIES.
ALL THE INFORMATION IS NOT SHOWN HERE.
UM, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF CAREER SCHOOLS THAT AWARD DIFFERENT LEVELS OF, UH, POST-SECONDARY DEGREES.
UM, ACCORDING TO THE DATA OBTAINED FROM T H E C B AND UNIVERSITY WEBSITES IN 2020 20, MORE THAN A HUNDRED THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS ENROLLED IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITY IN BEAR COUNTY.
AND ABOUT 80% OF ENROLLMENTS OCCURRED IN ALAMO COLLEGES AND PUBLIC UNIVERSITY.
ALSO, IN THE SAME YEAR, ABOUT 25,000 COLLEGE DEGREES WERE AWARDED FROM THESE INSTITUTIONS.
AND, AND OF COURSE, ALAMO AND PUBLIC UNIVERSITY CONSISTED OF A LARGER PROPORTION OF DEGREE AWARDS.
UM, READY TO WORK PROGRAM TARGETS TO HAVE 28,000 INDIVIDUALS ENROLLED IN POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS OVER SIX YEARS.
UM, THE NUMBER CAN CHANGE SLIGHTLY, BUT LIKE AROUND FOUR TO 5,000 ENROLLMENT ANNUALLY.
THIS IS CLOSE TO 10% OF ANNUAL ENROLLMENTS OF ALAMO COMMUNITY COLLEGES, OR ONE THIRD OF ANNUAL ENROLLMENTS OF PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES.
AND ACCORDING TO THE DATA SOURCES, UM, SIX YEARS, UH, GRADUATION RATES REACHED TO 45% FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND 62% FOR UNIVERSITY.
SO, UH, TO BE LITTLE OPTIMISTIC, F 80% OF PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS ATTAIN A DEGREE THAT IS EQUAL, UM, 15% OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF DEGREES AWARDED IN BEXAR COUNTY, WHICH WILL, WHICH WILL BE A SUBSTANTIAL CONTRIBUTION TO COLLEGE ACCESS AND DEGREE ATTAINMENT OF THE MOST VULNERABLE POPULATION IN SAN ANTONIO.
UM, THEN, UH, WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? ACCORDING TO CENSUS BUREAU DATA, THERE IS JUST A CONSIDERABLE INCREASE IN EARNINGS AS THE EDUCATION LEVEL INCREASES.
WE CALL THIS AS A RETURN TO HIGHER EDUCATION.
UM, AS SHOWN IN THIS TABLE FOR, UH, SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS WITH INCOME BELOW THE POVERTY THRESHOLD, THOSE WHO HAD HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA EARNED HIGHER MEDIAN EARNINGS BY 27% THAN PEOPLE WHO DID NOT FINISH THEIR HIGH SCHOOL.
WE ALSO OBSERVE 50% DIFFERENCE IN MEDIAN EARNINGS BETWEEN PEOPLE WITH SOME COLLEGE OR ASSOCIATE DEGREE AND BACHELOR'S DEGREE.
SO THIS MAY BE THE INCOME CHANGES WE MAY EXPECT FROM, UH, PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WHO COMPLETE THE TRAINING AND DEGREE PROGRAMS. SO, UM, IF A SUCH DEGREE ENHANCEMENTS THROUGH THE PROGRAM MAKES, UH, THESE PEOPLE TO BE MORE, UM, ACADEMICALLY SELF-SUFFICIENT, THIS, UM, WILL STRENGTHEN THE ECONOMY OF, OF SAN ANTONIO FOR SURE IN THE FUTURE.
UM, I'LL PASS IT OVER TO SHARON TO, UH, YEAH, EXPLAIN THE U E I ROLES IN IMPACT EVALUATION.
SO WHAT ARE WE GONNA BE DOING? SO THE SCOPE OF THE WORK WE'RE GONNA BE DOING IS INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING.
UH, ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND THAT IN EVALUATING A PROGRAM LIKE THIS, WE'RE, WE'RE EVALUATING BOTH THE PROCESS AS WELL AS OUTCOMES.
AND SO IN TERMS OF PROGRAM DESIGN AND OPERATIONS, WE HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS THAT ARE GUIDING OUR, THE SCOPE OF OUR WORK.
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WHAT ARE THE READY TO WORK OPERATIONS, UH, WHERE ARE THEY MEETING PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS, WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM READY TO WORK OPERATIONS THAT ARE MEETING OR EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS? WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM OUR READY TO WORK OPERATIONS THAT ARE PERFORMING UNDER AND SO FORTH? AND SO ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW IS COLLECTING DATA.SO WE CAN START TO LOOK AT SORT OF HOW IS THE PROGRAM OPERATING AS IT'S GETTING OFF THE GROUND.
SO THAT'S PART OF THE, THE FIRST SIX, SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR WORK THAT WE'LL BE DOING, UM, IN TERMS OF OUTCOMES STARTING AFTER YEAR ONE.
AND SUBSEQUENT TO THAT, WE'LL BE UTILIZING QUANTITATIVE METHODS TO TRYING TO ASSESS, ENGAGE THE, THE IMPACT OF READY TO WORK, UM, WHAT ARE, WHAT IS THE IMPACT ON EARNINGS, UM, FOR DIFFERENT PARTICIPANT GROUPS, UM, WHAT ARE THE EFFECT ON EARNINGS, UM, BY PROGRAM, UM, EARNINGS COMPARED TO OTHER INTERVENTION INTERVENTIONS IN THE US AND THE QUALITY OF JOB PLACEMENT.
WE'LL ALSO BE LOOKING AT SOME OF THE, THE ENROLLMENT INFORMATION AND GRAD, UH, COLLEGE ATTAINMENT AND ENROLLMENT AND GRADUATION COMPLETION RATES, AS WELL AS PART OF THAT ANALYSIS THROUGHOUT THE TIME PERIOD THAT WE'RE INVOLVED.
WE'RE GOING TO BE IN, UM, UM, DOING A LOT OF, UM, COMMUNICATING IN TERMS OF SHARING WHAT THE LESSONS WE'RE LEARNING ALONG THE WAY.
UM, FOR EXAMPLE, ONE CATEGORY OF OF WORK WE'LL BE SPENDING TIME ON IS UNDERSTANDING THE CLIENT EXPERIENCE.
WHO'S SIGNING UP, WHO ISN'T SIGNING UP, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN TERMS OF THEIR EXPERIENCE THROUGH THE PROGRAM, WHO ARE FINDING JOBS AND WHY? UM, WHAT ARE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE COMING ABOUT AS A RESULT OF PARTICIPATING AND READY TO WORK.
SO THE GOAL HERE IS TO REALLY TELL THE STORY OF THE PARTICIPANTS, UM, AS THEY PROGRESS THROUGH READY TO WORK.
UM, AND IN TERMS OF THE DELIVERABLES, UM, THIS SORT OF CAPTURES, I THINK OVERALL THE WORK THAT WE'LL BE DOING, UM, IN THE NEXT, UH, FEW YEARS.
OUR EVALUATION FRAMEWORK IS ONE OF THE FIRST PRODUCTS THAT WE'RE GONNA PRODUCE, UM, SOMETIME AROUND, UM, MID-DECEMBER.
AND THIS IS GONNA LAY OUT THE EMERGING LESSONS AND RECOMMENDED ACTIONS REGARDING READY TO WORK IMPLEMENTATION.
SO WE'LL GET A FIRST LOOK AT, UM, FROM THIS REPORT, SORT OF WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE WORKING, WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE NOT WORKING, AND SOME RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE'RE GONNA ALSO BE PRODUCING CASE STUDIES.
THESE ARE GONNA HIGHLIGHT THE CLIENT EXPERIENCES, PARTICULARLY GUIDED BY THOSE QUESTIONS ON THE LEFT.
UM, THESE ARE GONNA BE PRODUCED QUARTERLY.
AND AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA HIGHLIGHT THE STORIES OF THE CLIENT POINT OF VIEW, UM, PRIMARILY IN THESE, UM, INNOVATIONS.
UM, AND A LOOK AT SORT OF WHAT'S REALLY WORKING.
WHAT MIGHT BE SCALED UP MORE BROADLY WILL START TO EMERGE AFTER YEAR ONE, YEAR TWO.
WE'LL BE KIND OF KEEPING TRACK OF THAT AND CONVEYING WHAT WE'RE LEARNING.
WE'RE GONNA DO INTERVIEWS WITH PARTICIPANTS ACROSS ALL THREE YEARS AND COLLECT THEM ALONG THE WAY AS PART OF THIS ENDEAVOR.
AGAIN, TO UNDERSTAND THE, THE, THE, THE DEPTH AND THE RANGE OF THOSE EXPERIENCES.
WE'RE GONNA BE PROVIDING INTERNAL WRITTEN REPORTS, QUARTERLY, ANNUAL REPORTS, OF COURSE, ONCE A YEAR, ALL OF WHICH WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ALONG THE WAY OF WHAT WE'RE LEARNING.
WE'LL INCORPORATE THE QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES AS WELL AS THE QUALITATIVE ANALYSES.
AND OUR GOAL IS TO BE VERY TRANSPARENT AND OPEN AND SHARING WHAT WE'RE LEARNING ALONG THE WAY SO WE CAN HELP, UH, READY TO WORK BE A SUCCESS.
I AM SO HAPPY TO HAVE SHARON AND HON ON BOARD.
UM, AS WE BEGIN TO DIVE INTO THE NUMBERS OF THIS PROGRAM, THEY'RE GONNA HELP TO PAINT THAT PICTURE AND TELL THAT STORY OF WHAT THAT PARTICIPANT EXPERIENCES LOOK LIKE AND WHAT THE IMPACT WE'RE MAKING ON OUR COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, HAVING A THIRD PARTY EVALUATOR ALSO HELPED TO HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE.
SO YOU'RE HEARING FROM AN OUTSIDE PARTY HOW ON TRACK WE ARE TO OUR GOALS, WHAT AREAS WE NEED TO IMPROVE ON, AND IMPLEMENTING ACTIONS THAT ARE GONNA HELP TO KEEP US ON COURSE.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH SHARON AND HAN.
I GREATLY APPRECIATE YOU GUYS BEING A PART OF THIS.
SO NOW I'M GONNA TALK A LOT ABOUT THE NUMBERS WITHIN READY TO WORK, BUT AS I TALK ABOUT THESE NUMBERS, LET'S THINK ABOUT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE BEHIND THESE NUMBERS.
THERE WAS AN ARTICLE, UM, THAT CAME OUT IN SUNDAYS EXPRESS NEWS ABOUT A PARTICIPANT, DAMONE JOHNSON.
UM, AND HE TALKED ABOUT, I'VE MADE MORE MONEY IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS OF MY NEW JOB THROUGH THIS READY TO WORK INITIATIVE THAN I CAN MAKE IN A WHOLE YEAR, MAKING THOSE $8 AN HOUR JOBS I WAS WORKING BEFORE.
AND THAT'S WHAT READY TO WORK IS ALL ABOUT THE STORY OF THE CHANGED LIVES BASED UPON THE IMPACT THAT OUR PARTNERS ARE HAVING ON INDIVIDUALS ACHIEVING THE SKILLS AND EDUCATION AND CREDENTIALS THEY NEED TO THRIVE IN TODAY'S ECONOMY.
SO, SO FAR WE'VE GOT 8,101 INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE APPLIED FOR THE READY TO WORK PROGRAM.
2,450 OF THOSE ISTS HAVE BEEN INTERVIEWED TO DATE.
SOME OF THEM HAVE FALLEN OFF BETWEEN
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THAT 8,000 NUMBER AND THE 2000, UM, AS THEY HAVE DECIDED THAT, HEY, THIS PROGRAM MAY NOT BE FOR ME AND THEY'RE NOT RESPONDING TO PHONE CALLS OR EMAILS FROM OUR PARTNER AGENCIES.OTHERS ARE STILL IN THAT PROCESS, STILL WORKING THEIR WAY THROUGH OF GETTING THOSE APPOINTMENTS SET UP SO THEY CAN BE INTERVIEWED AND EVENTUALLY MAKING SURE THAT SPACE OF THOSE 609 THAT ARE CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN TRAINING PROGRAMS IN THE READY TO WORK INITIATIVE, 72 OF WHICH HAVE ALREADY SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED THEIR TRAINING.
13, HAVE ALREADY FOUND QUALITY JOBS IN OUR COMMUNITY WITH A MEDIAN STARTING SALARY OF $20 AN HOUR.
SO THINK OF INDIVIDUALS LIKE DAMONE WHO HAVE BEEN MA WORKING AT LOWER WAGE JOBS, UM, THEIR ENTIRE ADULT LIVES THAT ARE NOW HAVING AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A FAMILY SUSTAINING WAGE OF $20 AN HOUR THANKS TO THE WORK THAT OUR PARTNERS ARE PUTTING IN, INTO HELPING THEM TO BE PREPARED THROUGH READY TO WORK.
SO OUR PARTNERS HAVE ALL REPORTED THAT THEY ARE ON TRACK OR THEY WILL ACHIEVE THEIR YEAR ONE CONTRACTIONAL GOALS BY JUNE 30TH, 2022, WHICH ARE FOR US OVERALL TO HAVE 9,817 APPLICANTS INTERVIEWED, 5,758 OF THEM ENROLL IN TRAINING WITH A 70% RETENTION RATE.
AND WE'RE USING THIS YEAR AS A BASELINE TO SEE HOW MANY WE ACTUALLY PLACE IN JOBS THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE YEAR.
SO OUR BUDGET TO ACTUALS, INCLUDING THE CITY COSTS YOU SEE THERE ON GREEN ON THE LEFT, ARE BUDGET, UM, EXPENSES FOR OUR CONTRACTED PARTNERS WHO READY TO WORK.
IT'S BEEN ABOUT $1.2 MILLION EXPENSE THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2022.
AND OUR CITY, UH, EXPENSES HAVE BEEN 3.3 MILLION FROM THE INCEPTION OF THE PROGRAM.
WE'RE TALKING BACK IN FISCAL YEAR 2021.
UP UNTIL NOW, WE'VE SPENT A TOTAL OF $4.5 MILLION ON READY TO WORK TO ACHIEVE SOME OF THE OUTCOMES THAT YOU SAW ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.
WITH OVER 2000 PLUS APPLICANTS INTERVIEWED AND 600 PLUS IN TRAINING AND 13 ACHIEVING JOBS.
THE, UH, TOTAL BUDGET FROM INCEPTION THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 2023 TO GIVE YOU SOME PERSPECTIVE, IS ABOUT 58 MILLION.
SO WE'VE ONLY SPENT ABOUT 8% OF THAT TOTAL BUDGET ALLOCATED TO THE PROGRAM WE'VE ALREADY COLLECTED IN SALES TAX, $71.8 MILLION.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? BECAUSE AS THOSE NUMBERS CONTINUE TO INCREASE, OUR EXPENSES ARE GONNA INCREASE PROPORTIONATELY AND THERE WON'T BE A MISMATCH BETWEEN THE DOLLAR SPENT AND THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS SERVED, WHICH I THINK IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE AS WE EXERCISE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AS WE IMPLEMENT THIS PROGRAM.
SO OUR TRAINING PATHWAY SELECTED AS OF NOVEMBER 17TH MEDICAL HAS BEEN BY FAR AND LARGE THE LARGEST AREA WHERE INDIVIDUALS ARE PURSUING TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES WITH MEDICAL ASSISTANCE BEING THE HIGHEST SELECTED OCCUPATION IN THIS SECTOR WITH 67 PEOPLE AND 44 CHOOSING TO BE REGISTERED NURSES AND SO FORTH AND SO ON THROUGH ALL OF THE ALLIED HEALTH POSITIONS AVAILABLE IN THE MEDICAL AND BIOSCIENCES SECTORS.
UM, WE'RE SEEING SOME GREAT TRACTION HERE AS WE CONTINUE TO SHIFT OUR MARKETING EFFORTS TO PROMOTE SOME OF THESE PHENOMENAL CAREER PATHWAYS IN THE AREAS OF IT, IN THE AREAS OF MANUFACTURING, STARTING TO SEE THOSE NUMBERS INCREASE.
BUT BY FAR AND LARGE, THE BIGGEST MOST POPULAR OCCUPATION INDIVIDUALS SELECTING ARE HEAVY TRACK AND TRAILER DRIVERS.
IT'S VERY SHORT AND IT'S PHENOMENAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE HERE LOCALLY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH 88 PEOPLE PURSU PURSUING THAT TRAINING PATHWAY, UM, THUS FAR.
AND WE CAN EXPECT TO SEE THAT NUMBER CONTINUE TO GROW, TO GROW.
IT'S GROWN SO QUICKLY THAT WE'VE DECIDED TO HAVE A JOB FAIR THAT THE MAYOR IS GONNA BE HOSTING NEXT MONTH TO HELP TO CONNECT THOSE TRANSPORTATION GRADUATES TO OUR EMPLOYERS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE LOOKING TO HIRE C D L DRIVERS.
SO ALSO IN THE SKILLED TRADES AREA, WE GOT 12 ELECTRICIANS AND SIX CARPENTERS, WHICH IS GREAT 'CAUSE YOU DON'T USUALLY SEE THOSE OUTTA THE GATE WITH PEOPLE CHOOSING THOSE PATHWAYS.
BUT WE KNOW THAT WITH THE BOND AND ALL THE CONSTRUCTION WORK HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE WE NEED THOSE SKILLED TRADESMEN AVAILABLE TO GET THAT WORK DONE.
UM, WE'RE SEEING SOME, IN SOME INTEREST IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR WITH 14 INDIVIDUALS PURSUING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER, UM, DEGREES AND CERTIFICATIONS, WHICH IS VITALLY IMPORTANT.
I KNOW OUR SCHOOLS ARE HURTING FOR TEACHERS AND OTHER SUPPLEMENTARY PERSONNEL RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE GONNA DO OUR PART TO TRY TO HELP TO FILL SOME OF THAT WORKFORCE NEED.
AND THEN BOOKKEEPERS AND ACCOUNTANTS IN THE BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE SECTOR ALSO GAINING SOME TRACTION IN THESE EARLY STAGES OF THE PROGRAM.
WELL, UM, WE GOT THESE GREAT PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT ARE PLAYING IN THE COURTHOUSES AS INDIVIDUALS ARE WAITING TO GET THEIR BUSINESSES TAKEN CARE OF.
COUNCILMAN PELEZ, COUNCILMAN WILSHER GARCIA FOR RECORDING THESE FOR US AND THE MAYOR.
UM, IT'S EXTREMELY GREAT WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT THE WORD GETS OUT ABOUT THIS PHENOMENAL PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT.
SO SOME OF OUR SUCCESS STORIES WE HAVE SABRINA WHO SERVED OUR PROJECT QUEST, WHOSE PRIOR JOBS ARE MOSTLY IN RETAIL.
HER PRELIMINARY TEST SCORES INDICATED SHE WAS COLLEGE LEVEL EDUCATION READY.
SO SHE HAS A LOT OF POTENTIAL, UM, BUT JUST HAD BEEN STUCK.
SO SHE STARTED THE DENTAL ASSISTING PROGRAM, THE INCARNATE WORD SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES IN JUNE OF 22 SUCCESS.
[00:25:01]
PASSED HER DENTAL ASSISTANT STATE EXAM, AND IS EMPLOYED AT AVION DENTAL, MAKING $16 AN HOUR.THEN WE HAVE ADOLFO, WHO WAS SERVED BY THE SAN ANTONIO FOOD BANK WITHIN THE WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS ALAMO CONSORTIUM CONNECTED TO COMMUNITY PARTNERS PROVIDING FREE EYE EXAMS AND WORKER ATTIRE BEGAN ITS FIRST COMPTIA UT A TRAINING COURSE AT UT U T S A IN SEPTEMBER 22.
COMPLETED PASSES A PLUS CERTIFICATION IN OCTOBER AND SECURED AN ENTRY LEVEL IT JOB WITH PROS HOLDINGS AT $20 AN HOUR.
AND HE EXPECTS AN INCREASE IN PAY AFTER 90 DAYS.
THESE STORIES, WHAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO SEE COME OUT OF THIS PROGRAM AND IT'S THE WHY BEHIND WHY ARE WE DOING THIS WORK.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
UH, LET'S, UH, LET'S START OFF WITH, UH, COUNCILMAN VRAN, WHO IS, UH, JOINING US REMOTELY.
UH, SO THE QUESTIONS I HAVE IN TERMS OF THE TRAIN FOR JOBS PROGRAM, WHICH I KNOW WE COMPLETED, IS ON SLIDE 10 WITH THAT 60, WAS IT 67% FEMALE? DO WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION OF IF THEY WERE HEAD OF HOUSEHOLDS, DID WE GET THAT DATA FROM THAT INFORMATION? WE KNOW THEY HAD CHILDREN IN THE HOUSEHOLD AND WE CAN GIVE YOU THAT INFORMATION.
I THINK, I THINK THAT WOULD BE GOOD.
UH, JUST BECAUSE OF WHAT OUR, WE KNOW THAT, UH, WOMEN HEAD OF HOUSEHOLDS ARE LIVING BELOW THE POVERTY RATE.
I WAS PLEASED TO SEE THAT 62% WERE LIVING IN POVERTY, THAT, UH, KIND OF ENGAGED IN THESE PROGRAMS. I'M HOPING TO SEE THE SAME NUMBERS ON READY TO WORK.
SO I'M REALLY PLEASED TO SEE THAT U T S A, UM, THAT, THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE HOLDING US ACCOUNTABLE.
I THINK WE ALSO NEED TO START ASKING THE QUESTION OF OUR PARTICIPANTS IF THEIR CHILDREN ARE ENROLLED IN, UM, HEAD START OR, OR EARLY CHILDHOOD OR PRE-K FOR SA BECAUSE WE REALLY NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THEY'RE UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE IS, THERE IS CHILDCARE OVER THE OUT THERE, BUT THERE IS ALSO, UM, EARLY EDUCATION CHILDCARE THAT, THAT, THAT IS AN OPTION FOR THEM IF THEY SO CHOOSE.
SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR THIS UPDATE.
I THINK, UH, I'M, I'M EXCITED TO WHERE, WHERE WE ARE HEADED.
I THINK WE NEED TO DO, UH, KIND OF SIGN SOME BRAINSTORMING ABOUT HOW WE GET THE MESSAGE OUT ON READY TO WORK TO OUR RESIDENTS.
UM, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S GONNA BE WORD OF MOUTH.
I THINK IT'S GONNA BE GOING OUT TO THE EVENTS.
I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE, UM, GETTING TO THE SENIOR CENTERS AND HAVING THE SENIORS TELL THEIR GRANDKIDS OR THEIR CHILDREN AT HOME TO KIND OF MOTIVATE THEM TO GO.
SO THAT'S WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE.
I THINK THAT THOSE ARE MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU, MIKE.
I, I'M, I LOOK FORWARD TO MORE UPDATES IN THE FUTURE AND TO SEE HOW WE CAN GET THAT HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD, UM, INFORMATION INCORPORATED BECAUSE I REALLY WANNA SEE US MOVE THE NEEDLE ON WOMEN LIVING IN POVERTY.
THANK YOU, UM, CHAIR AND THANK YOU SO MUCH, MIKE AND, AND THE TEAM FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE.
I, I DO WANNA FOCUS IN ON THE READY TO WORK EVALUATION SCOPE BY U T S A.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE TALKED A WHOLE LOT ABOUT AT THE SUBCOMMITTEE SPECIFICALLY LEVEL, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, IMPORTANTLY TO KNOW WHO'S SIGNING UP FOR THE PROGRAM, BUT MORE IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHO'S NOT SIGNING UP FOR THE PROGRAM.
AND, UH, FOR THE BENEFIT OF MY COLLEAGUES, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I ASKED DURING OUR SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING WAS, WELL, ARE THERE, ARE THEY NOT ANSWERING THEIR PHONES BECAUSE THEY HAVE PHONES THAT THEY JUST USE TEMPORARILY? RIGHT? SO TO MY POINT WAS, HOW LONG ARE WE TAKING TO CALL THEM BACK? UM, DO THEY HAVE STABLE HOUSING WHERE WE'RE REACHING OUT, UM, BY SNAIL MAIL, RIGHT? IF WE'RE NOT, AND SO DO WE HAVE, DO THEY EVEN HAVE ACCESS TO AN EMAIL ACCOUNT OR ARE THEY JUST CREATING ONE TO SIGN UP FOR THE PROGRAM? RIGHT? AND SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN ASKING AT THE SUBCOMMITTEE LEVEL, AND I APPRECIATE THAT U T S A IS, IS HERE AND READY TO ASK THOSE QUESTIONS, RIGHT? DEFINITELY IMPORTANT.
THE OTHER, UM, QUESTION THAT I FOUND ON THERE, THE FINDING JOBS FOR WHO IS IT MOST EASY? AND SO, UM, WE HAVE FOR A LONG TIME FOCUSED ON, UH, I THINK THE LOW HANGING FRUIT.
AND SO, UM, I, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT JUST, JUST FOCUSED ON LOW HANGING FRUIT, AND I'M JUST TALKING, NOT TALKING ABOUT JUST FOR READY WORK, JUST IN GENERAL, RIGHT? IT'S EASY TO CHECK OFF THE BOX.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT ALSO IT, IT'S IMPORTANT TO, TO FIGURE OUT, UM, WHAT JOBS, UH, ARE MAYBE, I GUESS CULTURALLY INACCESSIBLE TO SOME PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY'VE NEVER BEEN EXPOSED TO THAT KIND OF CAREER, RIGHT? SO, UM,
[00:30:01]
I, I HEAR A LOT AND WE HEAR A LOT IN GENERAL, THAT IF YOU DON'T SEE SOMEONE DO SOMETHING, THEN YOU DON'T THINK ABOUT IT.AND SO A BIG PART OF IT DOES HAVE TO DO IN, IN MY OPINION AND IN OTHERS' OPINIONS WITH EXPOSURE TO CERTAIN JOB PROFESSIONS.
AND SO HOW ARE WE GETTING OUT THERE? HOW ARE WE LETTING KNOW EVEN WOMEN THAT THERE ARE SOME JOBS OUT THERE THAT HAVE TRADITIONALLY BEEN MALE DOMINATED THAT ARE INDEED AVAILABLE FOR WOMEN, RIGHT? SO SOME OF THOSE THINGS, UM, ARE, ARE ARE THINGS THAT WERE CONSIDERED THE SOFT SKILLS HAVE HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF THOSE THINGS.
SO WE CAN TRAIN SOMEONE, BUT IF THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO SHOW UP TO WORK ON TIME, SO WHAT ARE THE LITTLE THINGS THAT WE DO SO THAT THEY CAN START LEARNING ABOUT SHOWING UP TO WORK ON TIME? UM, AND I APPRECIATE THAT WE HAVE THE FOCUS ON ALIGNING WITH EMPLOYER NEEDS.
AND SO WITH THAT, I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT T P M TALENT PIPE, UH, PIPELINE MANAGEMENT.
DO WE KNOW WHAT EMPLOYERS IN SAN ANTONIO ARE FOCUSING OR, OR WHAT, WHO IS TAKING THE, THAT TYPE OF APPROACH? AND HAVE WE ALREADY PARTNERED IT UP WITH AS MANY AS POSSIBLE THAT ARE, ARE WORKING ON A T P M STRATEGY? WE ARE WORKING ON THAT.
WE'RE, OUR PARTNER SA WORKS IS LEADING THAT T P M WORK HERE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
THEY GOT COLLABORATORS GOING IN CONSTRUCTION, MANUFACTURING, AND HEALTHCARE WITH IT AND FINANCE SOON TO COME BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.
AND OUR EMPLOYERS ARE PARTICIPATING.
WE'D LIKE TO SEE MORE PARTICIPATION FROM OUR EMPLOYEES IN THOSE COLLABORATIVES.
'CAUSE THAT'S THEIR CHANCE FIRSTHAND TO TELL US WHAT THEIR MOST PRESSING NEEDS ARE SO WE CAN ADAPT THE PROGRAM TO MEET THOSE NEEDS.
SO WE, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, WE WANT TO GROW THAT EMPLOYER PARTICIPATION WITHIN THAT T P M PROCESS.
I ALSO THINK THAT THERE IS, UM, SO, SO ONE OF THE, THE DATA POINTS THAT YOU SHOWED IS FOR CHEFS, RIGHT? FOR INSTANCE.
AND SO I DIDN'T SEE, AND MAYBE I MISSED IT, UM, BUT IS THERE A COMPONENT SPECIFICALLY DEDICATED TO INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP? UH, BUT GO AHEAD.
IT IS NOT CALLED OUT AS A TARGETED OCCUPATION BECAUSE ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS NOT CONSIDERED A QUOTE UNQUOTE JOB.
HOWEVER, YOU'RE A JOB CREATOR IF YOU START YOUR OWN BUSINESS, LIKE THAT YOUNG LADY MM-HMM.
WHO FINISHED TRAINING FOR JOBS AND STARTED HER OWN COMPANY.
SO SOMETHING THAT WE ENCOURAGE THROUGH OUR, YOU KNOW, EFFORTS TO TRY TO HELP PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT ONCE I LEARN A SKILL, I CAN TAKE THAT NEXT STEP AND ADD ENTREPRENEURSHIP TO MY BELT.
AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION FOCUSES ON, ON THE MARKETING OF THE PROGRAM, RIGHT? AND SO TODAY, FOR INSTANCE, MY OFFICE IS PUSHING OUT, MIGHT HAVE ALREADY BEEN POSTED.
SO WE HAVE IT KIND OF ON A REGULAR ROTATION THAT WE'RE PUSHING THESE DIFFERENT THINGS.
UM, BUT SPECIFICALLY, DO YOU KNOW IF WE, UM, WE TARGETED OR, OR MAYBE THROUGH GEO-FENCING AT GRUPO, UH, MENT THIS PAST WEEKEND OR AT ANY OF THOSE MAJOR CONCERTS? LIKE HOW ARE WE GETTING TO THE PEOPLE THAT ARE ATTENDING MAJOR CONCERTS? I DO NOT KNOW.
I KNOW WE BROUGHT THIS UP WHEN BAD BUNNY WAS IN TOWN.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHY I ASKED
SO I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH OUR MARKETING AGENCY AND FIND OUT IF THEY DID GEO-FENCE THAT EVENT OR NOT.
HEY, BAD, BAD BUNNY WAS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY.
SO WE'LL FIND OUT IF THEY TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THIS ONE.
WELL, I'D BE REALLY DISAPPOINTED IN THEY IF THEY DIDN'T, RIGHT? YEAH.
AND SO ANOTHER THING THAT SAN ANTONIO WAS ALL ABOUT IS PARADES.
SO I'D EXPECT TO GET SOME PUSH NOTIFICATION OR SOMETHING FRIDAY.
AND OVER THE WEEKEND AS PEOPLE ARE VISITING DOWNTOWN, BECAUSE OUR LOCALS COME TO THE LIGHT UP, UH, CEREMONY OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE.
AND SO, UM, SO, SO JUST SOME OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES, UM, MANAS COMING APRIL 1ST, UH, WE HAVE PINK COMING MM-HMM.
WE ALWAYS KNOW SOMEONE WHO'S IN NEED OF A JOB OR IN NEED OF, UH, JUST SOME HELP.
AND SO, UM, I WANTED TO TO PUBLICLY STATE THAT, 'CAUSE THAT WAS STATED AT THE SUBCOMMITTEE IN TERMS OF THESE DIFFERENT EVENTS.
UM, BUT WE, WE WILL MISS THE BOAT IF WE DON'T DO THAT AS AN EXTRA MARKETING OPPORTUNITY.
IS IT, IS IT OKAY, ARE YOU TELLING MIKE YOU WANNA INCLUDE TICKET SCALPS IN THE LIST OF JOBS?
THANK YOU MIKE AND TEAM FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THE CONTINUED WORK THAT Y'ALL DO IN CONNECTING OUR FAMILIES TO THIS PROGRAM.
UM, THERE'S A, A STUDY FROM THE VERA INSTITUTE AND IT'S TITLED THE SOCIAL COST OF POLICING.
RIGHT? AND IT PRETTY MUCH CORROBORATES WHAT FOLKS HAVE BEEN ARGUING, RIGHT? THAT IF YOU'VE BEEN IMPACTED OR INCARCERATED, THAT YOUR CHANCES OF, UH, FINDING, UH, EMPLOYMENT OR CONNECTING TO EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, UM, ARE, ARE ARE DRASTIC, RIGHT? THEY FALL SHORT AND MANY FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN IMPACTED, UM, THEY ATTEMPT TO GET CONNECTED TO RESOURCES, BUT THEY FALL SHORT.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, YOU CONTINUE TO GET REJECTED.
AND THAT'S A, A SHAME THAT MANY PEOPLE WALK AROUND WITH, RIGHT? SO I'M REALLY PLEASED TO SEE THAT Y'ALL CONNECTED 7% OF FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY THE SYSTEM TO THIS PROGRAM.
AND I'M REALLY HOPEFUL IN THAT.
UM, I LEARNED THAT THERE'S NOW VIDEOS PLAYING IN OUR COURT SYSTEM, CONNECTING AND, UH, LETTING FOLKS KNOW ABOUT THIS PROGRAM.
UH, IF Y'ALL DON'T ALREADY, I WOULD ENCOURAGE POTENTIALLY
[00:35:01]
PARTNERING WITH SOME OF OUR PROBATION AND PAROLE OFFICES, UM, WHETHER IT'S TO LISTEN TO A PRESENTATION FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS OR WHILE THEY'RE WAITING TO CHECK IN WITH THEIR PO UH, OFFICER THAT THEY CAN, UH, HAVE ACCESS TO THESE RESOURCES, RIGHT? UM, BECAUSE WHAT I CONTINUALLY HEAR FROM MY CONSTITUENTS AND I IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE A DIFFICULTY GETTING CONNECTED TO EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND OR WORK OPPORTUNITIES.AND I SPEAK TO THEIR GRANDMAS AND THEIR MOMS AND, YOU KNOW, UM, THEY WANNA CONNECT THEIR KIDS TO THESE OPPORTUNITIES.
SO I I REALLY APPRECIATE AND VALUE THE STEPS THAT YOU'RE TAKING.
UH, I SEE THAT WITH THE DEMOGRAPHICS THAT DISTRICT TWO HAS 15% OF THE MOST PARTICIPANTS.
AND I ALSO NOTICED, UH, THE CHAMBERS GAVE US A FLYER AND IT SHOWS THAT, UH, DISTRICT TWO ALSO LEADS IN THE HOSPITALITY GRANTS, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
SO ARE WE ASKING THE, THE APPLICANTS, UH, HOW ARE YOU LEARNING ABOUT THE PROGRAM? AND HAVE WE ALREADY CALCULATED HOW THEY'RE LEARNING, UH, BY DISTRICT ABOUT THE PROGRAM? WE DO ASK THEM THAT QUESTION.
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT READY TO WORK? MM-HMM.
AND WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF FEEDBACK THAT IS COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS.
BUT WE DO HAVE THAT DATA, WE HAVE THOSE STATS.
'CAUSE I'M CURIOUS TO WHICH, UH, ORGANIZATIONS, UH, ARE DISPERSING THE INFORMATION, RIGHT? AND IF I HAVE MAYBE SIMILAR ORGANIZATIONS IN DISTRICT FIVE THAT WE CAN EQUIP THEM WITH THE, THE MATERIAL TO GO OUT AND DISPERSE TO OUR, OUR, OUR RESIDENTS TO GET CONNECTED TO THIS PROGRAM.
UM, ANOTHER PIECE, RIGHT? UM, WE JUST HAD THE RIBBON CUTTING AT THE, AND WE JUST PASSED A DECONSTRUCTION ORDINANCE, RIGHT? SO I'M THINKING ABOUT, UH, HAS THE DEPARTMENT HAD AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO SIT DOWN AND TALK ABOUT POTENTIALLY, UH, RECALIBRATING SOME OF THE PROGRAMMING TO FIT SOME OF THE, THE HISTORIC TRADES? YES.
WE'VE HAD CONVERSATION WITH THE OFFICE, HISTORIC PRESERVATION, AND, UM, ONE OF THEIR CONTRACTORS SPECIALIZES IN THIS WORK.
AND THEY HIRED A NUMBER OF PEOPLE OUT OF THE TRAIN FOR JOBS PROGRAM.
AND THAT ONE PHENOMENAL TRAINING PROGRAM THAT WE PARTNER WITH THEM ON.
SO WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE THAT ON OUR RADAR.
WE WANNA CONTINUE TO STEER INDIVIDUALS IN THAT DIRECTION.
'CAUSE WHAT, UH, I CONTINUALLY HEAR FROM SOME OF OUR DISTRICT FIVE SMALL BUSINESSES AND CONTRACTORS, RIGHT, IS FINDING THAT LABOR TO, UM, DO THE DEMOLITION OR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF HOMES AND BUILDINGS.
SO ENSURING THAT WE'RE, UM, GROOMING THAT, UH, THAT WORKFORCE, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
UH, THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS FOR NOW.
UM, TO ME IT'S ABSOLUTELY UN DEBATABLE THAT, UH, YOU'VE THROWN YOURSELF A HUNDRED PERCENT INTO THIS.
UH, I ALSO KNOW THAT IT'S LIKE DRINKING FROM A FIRE HYDRANT.
UH, AND I, I ADMIRE THE AMOUNT OF WORK YOU'RE DOING AND JUST YOUR, YOUR STEADFAST ABILITY TO KEEP HOLDING ON, UM, PEOPLE OF FAINT OF HEART WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, LESS CONSTITUTION THAN YOU'VE GOT WOULD'VE RUN AWAY A LONG TIME AGO.
BUT, UH, YOU, YOU'RE, YOU'RE DOING GREAT.
I DO HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT, UM, SLIDE NUMBER 13.
UM, THE GOOD DOCTOR, UH, WENT THROUGH THOSE NUMBERS.
IF WE CAN, IF WE CAN BRING THAT UP, THAT THAT'D BE HELPFUL.
UM, I, I NOTICED THAT THOSE, UH, EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT NUMBERS ARE FROM, UH, 2020, UM, THAT WAS AT THE HEIGHT OF COVID.
UM, I IMAGINE THOSE NUMBERS ARE SKEWED BECAUSE OF COVID IN SOME WAY.
UM, IS IT, HOW HARD WOULD IT BE FOR US TO GET MORE CURRENT NUMBERS SHOWING US WHAT THEY ARE TODAY? UH, 'CAUSE I THINK IT'D BE, I THINK IT'D BE BETTER FOR US TO ACT ON MORE CURRENT NUMBERS.
I MEAN, IS IT JUST A MATTER OF MAKING A PHONE CALL TO THESE SCHOOLS? UM, THAT, THAT'D BE GREAT IF WE, UH, HAVE MORE INFORMATION.
BUT THE, ACTUALLY, UH, THE INFORMATION I HAVE, LIKE USED THE DATA SOURCE IS ACTUALLY UP TO 2020.
SOME SCHOOL, THEY UPDATED THE INFORMATION 21, BUT LIKE FOR THOSE, LIKE ALL, ALL COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY OVER THERE, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF INFORMATION, I HAD TO CUT TO THE 2020.
SO, BUT MAYBE NEXT YEAR, UH, WE CAN COME BACK AND, AND UPDATE INFORMATION.
SO, SO THIS IS A, TO ME, THIS IS A SLIDE THAT'S VERY HELPFUL, NOT JUST FOR PURPOSES OF THIS CONVERSATION, BUT FOR PURPOSES OF A LOT OF OTHER POLICY CONVERSATIONS WE HAVE, UM, AT THIS COMMITTEE AND MAYBE OTHERS.
AND SO I'M WONDERING IF MIKE, YOU CAN HELP US OUT, UH, OR SOMEBODY ON THE TEAM CAN HELP US OUT WITH UPDATING THIS, IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE THIS IS JUST A MATTER OF MAKING SOME PHONE CALLS AND SAYING, CAN YOU PLEASE FILL OUT THIS FIELD? UH, EACH SCHOOL PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH, UH, HELPING US UNDERSTAND THEIR CURRENT NUMBERS.
UM, CAN, CAN, CAN I GET A COMMITMENT FROM YOU THAT, THAT WE'RE GONNA GET AN UPDATED SLIDE? ABSOLUTELY.
WE'LL, WE WILL REACH OUT AND GET THE MOST RECENT DATA.
AND THEN, UM, THE OTHER THING TOO IS I, UM, I, I REALLY CELEBRATE WHAT YOU JUST SAID.
UH, COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO, THE, UH, YOU KNOW, GETTING WITH PROBATION OFFICERS MM-HMM.
[00:40:01]
TO GO GET A JOB OR AT LEAST STAY EMPLOYED, RIGHT? UM, AND PAY SOME EXORBITANT FEES AND FINES, UM, AND PAY FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROGRAMS AND ALL SORTS OF INTERVENTION, UM, THAT THE STATE WON'T PAY FOR.YOU GOTTA PAY FOR IT AS A DEFENDANT.
UM, AND IN ORDER TO PAY FOR THAT, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A STEADY STREAM OF, OF, UH, OF INCOME.
UM, THOSE PROBATION OFFICERS AREN'T THERE JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE COMPLIANT.
THEY'RE THERE TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THEY ALSO HELP YOU.
THEY'RE LIKE SOCIAL WORKERS AND HELPING YOU, YOU KNOW, FIND A WAY TO BE COMPLIANT.
RIGHT? UH, I THINK THAT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, THOSE SENTENCES ARE, UH, HANDED OUT BY PROSECUTORS WHO ARE FASHIONING AND, AND WRITING THESE PLEA BARGAINS AND THEN ACCEPTED BY JUDGES.
IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET JOE GONZALEZ AND OUR CRIMINAL COURT JUDGES TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE DOING MM-HMM.
UM, AND TO MAYBE SEE IF THERE'S A WAY FOR THEM TO BE MINDFUL OF THE READY TO WORK PROGRAM SO THAT AS PART OF A SENTENCE, LET'S SAY THEY'LL SAY YOU HAVE 30 DAYS TO APPLY RIGHT.
AND GET WITH A PROGRAM READY TO WORK.
UM, BECAUSE I MEAN, SOMETIMES JUST HAVING THAT GUN TO YOUR HEAD AND BEING ORDERED BY A JUDGE IS WHAT'S NECESSARY FOR THEM TO GET ON THE PATH TOWARDS A, A BETTER LIFE WHERE THEY AND THEIR FAMILIES THRIVE.
AND SO, HAVE WE DONE SOMETHING LIKE THAT? AND I KNOW THAT YOU'RE DOING A MILLION THINGS, AND SO I'M JUST THROWING, I MEAN, WE'RE THROWING ONE MORE THING FOR YOU TO DO.
AND, UH, WE'RE ABSOLUTELY GONNA FOLLOW UP ON THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
THEY'RE THAT QUASI SOCIAL WORKER HELPING THAT PERSON GET REACCLIMATED.
WE NEED TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE AWARE.
AND I ALMOST FEEL LIKE COUNCIL MC CASTILLO JUST VOLUNTEERED TO BE AT THOSE MEETINGS.
SERIOUSLY
AND SO, UM, ANYWAY, I I, I, I, I THINK THERE'S A, A ROLE FOR THOSE PARTNERS TO PLAY THAT THEY DON'T KNOW THAT THEY CAN PLAY.
AND THANKS TO OUR FRIENDS FROM U T S A FOR, FOR BEING OUR, UH, KNOWN BROKERS OF TRUSTWORTHY INFORMATION AND DATA.
SO NEXT ON THE AGENDA, ALEX, NEXT ON, OH MY GOODNESS.
I THINK HE'S SO QUIET OVER HERE AND SKINNY.
IT'S HARD TO EVEN SEE HIM, UH, SOMETIMES.
UH, UH, COUNCILMAN BRAVO, PLEASE FORGIVE ME.
MY MIC IS EXTRA LOUD TODAY, I THINK.
UM, YEAH, I, UH, YOU KNOW, I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT GOING IN THE DIRECTION.
I'M TALKING ABOUT, UM, TRAINING INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE FORMERLY INCARCERATED.
AND I LOVE COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO'S IDEA AS WELL.
UM, I SIT ON THE INNER CITY TOURIST BOARD, AND WE HAD A GROUP COME TO US TO LOOK AT TRYING TO GET SOME FUNDING TO SEE THEY WANT TO EXPAND.
I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'VE HIRED ANYBODY.
I DON'T THINK SO, MIKE, YOU NEED TO MEET WITH THEM.
SO THESE GUYS ARE WILDLY SUCCESSFUL AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE BUILDING FOOD TRUCKS AND A MAJORITY OF THEIR EMPLOYEES ARE FORMERLY INCARCERATED.
AND SO, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING, BUT THEY FOUND A FORMULA TO SUCCESS.
AND, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST THE, THERE'S A CULTURE THAT THEY CREATE THERE.
WE, YOU KNOW, AND SO IF YOU'RE FORMERLY INCARCERATED, YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO FIT IN AND, AND YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, AND IT, IT JUST, WHATEVER THEY'RE DOING, IT'S REALLY WORKING.
AND WHEN I LOOK AT THAT, I WANNA SUPPORT WHAT THEY'RE DOING BECAUSE I SEE THAT AS, UM, NOT JUST JOB TRAINING, BUT I ALSO SEE THAT AS A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM.
RIGHT? BECAUSE IF YOU AREN'T OFFERING FORMERLY INCARCERATED, IF FORMERLY INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO JOBS AND THEY DON'T, YOU KNOW, THE, THEIR ONLY CHOICE IS A, A LIFE OF CRIME.
UM, SO I WOULD LOVE TO GET YOU TO MEET WITH THEM IF, IF YOU NEED ALL I CAN HELP CONNECT YOU.
UM, BUT I, I THINK THERE'S A HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR STACKED BENEFITS THERE.
UM, AND WITH COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO'S IDEA, IF MAYBE, YOU KNOW, IT'D BE A GREAT PLACE TO BE RECRUIT RECRUITING FROM OR, OR CREATE A PIPELINE OF INDIVIDUALS TO, TO, UM, BE CONNECTED TO THE, TO JOB TRAINING.
UH, I'M VERY HAPPY TO SEE THE THIRD PARTY EVALUATION.
YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN CONCERNED SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING ABOUT ARE WE OFFERING ENOUGH IN TERMS OF WRAPAROUND SERVICES.
I, I OFTEN HAVE LOOKED AT THIS PROGRAM SIMILAR TO OFFERING, UM, SOMEBODY GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL FREE COLLEGE TUITION, BUT THEN NO OTHER SUP, LIKE NOT ENOUGH OTHER SUPPORT.
I'M CONCERNED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, A SINGLE MOM WHO'S WORKING ONE JOB AND DURING THE DAY AND THEN COMES HOME AND HAS TO TAKE CARE OF LITTLE KIDS AND DOESN'T HAVE, WHEN WHEN DOES SHE HAVE TIME? IF SHE'S, SHE NEEDS TO KEEP THAT JOB IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO, UM, IN, IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO PAY RENT AND BILLS.
AND, AND SO I'M EAGER TO SEE WHAT THIS THIRD PARTY VALUATION, UM, WILL,
[00:45:01]
UH, SHOW US IN TERMS OF WHO IS NOT APPLYING AND WHY NOT.UM, I'M ALSO INTERESTED IN KNOWING IF THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES TO ADD MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES OR TO WHAT EXTENT WE HAVE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, BECAUSE, AND SOMETIMES PEOPLE HAVE JOB SKILLS, BUT THEY'RE NOT GONNA GO WORK BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT IN A GOOD SP SPACE MENT, UM, YOU KNOW, MENTALLY.
AND, UH, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT, UH, WE'RE OFFERING THAT ESPECIALLY, I MEAN, WE'VE LEARNED THROUGH THE PANDEMIC HOW MUCH THAT'S AFFECTED SO MANY PEOPLE.
SO THOSE ARE MY QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.
WE FOUND OUT THAT IN TRAIN FOR JOBS, UH, CRUISING KITCHENS HIRED FIVE INDIVIDUALS FROM THAT PROGRAM.
SO DEFINITELY GONNA TAKE YOU UP ON HAVING THAT CONVERSATION THOUGH, BECAUSE WE NEED TO CONNECT WITH THEM AND FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT SECRET SAUCE IS AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO CLOSE THAT LOOP.
AND, UH, SPOT ON, ON MENTAL HEALTH.
UM, WE ARE PART OF THE AABA AREA COMMUNITY NETWORK.
UM, AS A PART OF BEING, YOU KNOW, A A CASE MANAGEMENT ARM OF READY TO WORK, THOSE REFERRALS ARE VERY MUCH SO A PART OF OUR APPROACH.
WHEN THOSE ISSUES ARISE DURING THOSE CONVERSATIONS, THOSE REFERRALS TO THOSE COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT ARE DOING THAT WORK ARE VITALLY IMPORTANT TO US, MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE SET UP FOR SUCCESS IN THE LONG RUN.
SO ABSOLUTELY, MENTAL HEALTH'S ON THE RADAR AS WELL.
UH, ALEX, WHAT'S NEXT? I, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER GERRAN MIGHT SHE HAD HER.
SO CHAIR, I, I LOVE THE CONVERSATION, BUT WHAT I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE, UM, CHAIR AND ALEX, IS MAYBE WE CAN BRING IN, UM, OUR, OUR DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE WORKING WITH THE FORMERLY INCARCERATED RIGHT NOW, WHETHER IT'S METRO HEALTH, WHETHER IT'S, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SERVICES DEVELOPMENT, AND MAYBE GET A BRIEFING ON THEM.
SO I KNOW, AND I KNOW THIS IS PART OF BRENDA'S FIVE-YEAR PLAN THAT DEPARTMENTS ARE TALKING TOGETHER, BUT MAYBE WE GET THEM TO COME IN AND TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING SO WE MAKE SURE BEFORE WE ADD SOMETHING ELSE TO, UM, READY TO WORK IN MIKE RAMSEY'S PLACE.
WE'RE DOING THIS IN A COORDINATED EFFORT, SO I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT IN A FUTURE E W D C MEETING IF POSSIBLE.
AND I'M GETTING A, A BODY LANGUAGE FROM ALEX LOPEZ IN A THUMBS UP, TELLING US THAT THAT'S SOMETHING SHE'S GONNA WORK ON.
ALRIGHT, MIKE, I THINK YOU'RE OFF THE HOOK THIS TIME FOR REAL.
SO THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS ACTUALLY, UM, A BRIEFING ON THE CONTRACTS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS.
SO THE FUNDING FOR THESE CONTRACTS WAS ALREADY APPROVED AS PART OF THE FISCAL YEAR 23 GENERAL FUND BUDGET.
UM, BUT THE CONTRACTS ARE STILL GONNA BE CONSIDERED INDEPENDENTLY AND INDIVIDUALLY BY COUNCIL.
UM, AND THIS IS A BRIEFING ON THE SCOPE.
GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
I'M ANNA BRADSHAW, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AS ALEX MENTIONED, I'M HERE TO BRIEF YOU TODAY ON THE SCOPE OF WORK FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION PARTNER AGREEMENTS.
UH, BEFORE I GET STARTED, I DID WANNA THANK, UM, OUR PARTNERS ARE HERE TODAY, UM, AND RECOGNIZE THEM FOR ALL OF THEIR HARD WORK AND PARTNERSHIP OVER THE YEARS.
UH, REPRESENTING SAGE, WE HAVE C E O ROBERT MELVIN, ALONG WITH C O O, UH, RUSSELL LADAY FROM PROSPER WEST, C E O, RAMIRO GONZALEZ.
AND WITH SOUTHSIDE FIRST WE HAVE, UH, GABRIELA CENA, C E O, ALONG WITH BOARD MEMBER ANDY CASTILLO.
SO THESE AGREEMENTS WERE REORGANIZED INTO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN FFY 2021 WITH AN IDEA OF WORKING STRATEGICALLY TO SUPPORT OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, THEY ARE REALLY ESSENTIAL IN BRINGING ALL OF THE PIECES TOGETHER.
THEY, THEY FUNCTION AS BOOTS ON THE GROUND IN THE COMMUNITY, WORKING WITH THE SMALL BUSINESSES DIRECTLY, WHETHER IT'S PROVIDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, REFERRALS, WORKSHOPS, UH, REALLY PROVIDING THAT, THAT CONNECTIVITY TO THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE AND OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND SO MOVING FORWARD WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION WAS TO LOOK TO ALIGN THESE CONTRACTS WITH NOT ONLY THE GOALS OF THE DEPARTMENT, BUT ALSO WITH THE DESIRED OUTCOMES.
REALLY GENERATING A WAY TO REPORT ON THE VALUE THAT THESE PARTNERSHIPS BRING.
WE KNOW THAT WE RELY ON OUR BDOS, BUT HOW ARE WE DEMONSTRATING THAT VALUE AND SHOWING THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT TO OUR COMMUNITY? SO I WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT EACH.
EACH ONE REPRESENTS A DIFFERENT SERVICE AREA GEOGRAPHICALLY DISPERSED THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
SO STAGE SAGE HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE 2000, UM, CELEBRATING THEIR THEIR 20TH ANNIVERSARY A FEW YEARS AGO.
AND YOU'LL SEE THEIR ADOPTED BUDGET.
AS ALEX MENTIONED, THESE FUNDING, THIS FUNDING WAS INCLUDED IN THE 2023 BUDGET.
SO IT'S A TOTAL OF $358,000 OR JUST OVER THAT, WITH A HUNDRED THOUSAND OF IT GOING TO SUPPORT THEIR STOREFRONT GRANT PROGRAM AND A LITTLE OVER 258,000 GOING TO SUPPORT THEIR OPERATIONS AND GENERAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES.
SO SAGE SERVES AN AREA OF 22 SQUARE MILES
[00:50:01]
LOCATED ON THE EAST SIDE, MOSTLY WITHIN DISTRICTS TWO AND THREE.A FEW ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR SAGE, UM, IN 2022.
SO YOU'LL SEE ON THIS SLIDE THAT THEY AWARDED 30 GRANTS TO THEIR STOREFRONT PROGRAM.
AND YOU'LL SEE ALAMO INN AND SUITES FEATURED HERE WITH THEIR BEFORE AND AFTER.
AND SO THROUGH THE STOREFRONTS GRANTS PROGRAM, UM, IT IS A MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM OF UP TO $10,000.
IT ALLOWS FOR THESE BUSINESSES TO IMPROVE THEIR EXTERIOR FACADES, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH PAINT, UM, IMPROVEMENTS TO ENTRYWAYS LANDSCAPING, BUT REALLY PRESENTING THAT THAT FRESHENED EXTERIOR TO HOPEFULLY DRAW AN ADDITIONAL BUSINESS.
THEY'VE ALSO SORT OF, UH, SUPPORTED 45 BUSINESSES THROUGH THEIR BACK OFFICE PROGRAM.
SO THEIR BACK OFFICE PROGRAM REALLY TOOK OFF THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC WHEN WE KNEW OUR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS HAD CHALLENGES WITH MANAGING THEIR FINANCIALS.
AND SAGE HAS REALLY BEEN A LEADER IN, IN SUPPORTING THESE BUSINESSES, WORKING WITH THEM NOT ONLY THROUGH THEIR, THEIR BOOKS, BUT ALSO OTHER NEEDS THEY MAY HAVE RELATED TO SUPPLIERS OR, OR HUMAN RESOURCES GOING FORWARD.
UM, THEN UNDER GENERAL SERVICES, THEY'VE ALSO PROVIDED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO OVER 400 BUSINESSES IN 2022.
AND THEY ALSO DO A NUMBER OF ACTIVATION EVENTS IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND THESE ARE REALLY ESSENTIAL, ESPECIALLY AS WE EMBARK UPON MORE PLACEMAKING ACTIVITIES.
AND SO JUST RECENTLY WITH THEIR HALLOW EAST EVENT, THEY HAD OVER 840 RESIDENTS ATTEND THIS.
THIS IS AN ACTIVATION IN PITTMAN SULLIVAN PARK THAT, THAT HAD VENDORS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO ABOUT LEARN ABOUT RESOURCES AS WELL AS CONNECTED RESIDENTS TO C OVID 19 VACCINATIONS.
PROSPER WEST IS ACTUALLY AN ENTITY OF THE CITY CREATED IN 2006 AS THE WEST SIDE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
THEY RECENTLY REBRANDED AS PROSPER WEST.
UM, THEY HAVE THE SAME BUDGET OVERALL AS SAGE.
HOWEVER, THE A THOUSAND DOLLARS, THE ADDITIONAL A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS WE PROVIDE SUPPORTS A LOAN AND GRANT PROGRAM.
SO THEIR, THEIR LOAN AND GRANT PROGRAM IS MORE FLEXIBLE THAN, SAY, SAGE'S STOREFRONT GRANT PROGRAM.
BUT AGAIN, IT'S ABOUT PROVIDING THAT CAPITAL ASSISTANCE TO THE BUSINESSES SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE THAT ACCESS AND, AND BE ABLE TO GROW.
SO THEY SERVICE AN AREA 15 SQUARE MILES WITH A POPULATION OF OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND, PRIMARILY WITHIN DISTRICTS 1, 5, 6, AND SEVEN.
AND YOU'LL SEE THE MAP THERE ON THIS SLIDE.
IN TERMS OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM, FOR PROSPER WEST FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022, UH, THEY PROVIDED 15 GRANTS THROUGH THEIR LOAN AND GRANT PROGRAM WITH TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AGAIN, TO OVER 400 BUSINESSES IN THE AREA.
THEY ALSO RECENTLY COMPLETED AND ADOPTED A STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH WE'RE, WE'RE EXCITED TO WORK WITH THEM ON GOING FORWARD AND PARTICIPATED IN THE ASPEN IN INSTITUTE'S, UH, LATINOS IN SOCIETY COHORT PROGRAM.
AND IT WAS THROUGH THIS WORK WITH THE ASPEN INSTITUTE AND MANY LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS OF WHICH, OF WHICH I PARTICIPATED WITH THEM ON THAT COMMITTEE THAT THEY DEVELOPED THE ESAD WEST, UH, PROPOSAL AND, AND PLAN MOVING FORWARD.
AND SO THEY ARE LOOKING TO IMPLEMENT ESAD WEST ALONG WITH A NUMBER OF COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
ALSO, YOU'LL SEE HERE A SUCCESS STORY MS. LEIKA TOLINE WITH IN THE WEEDS NATURAL SKINCARE.
UM, UH, A CLIENT OF PROSPER WEST.
AND YOU CAN SEE SHE HAS RECEIVED A GRANT AND THEY, UH, CONTINUE TO WORK WITH HER AS SHE GROWS HER BUSINESS ON THE WEST SIDE.
AND LAST STEP, WE HAVE SOUTH SIDE FIRST.
SO SOUTH SIDE FIRST IS, IS STILL THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK CREATED IN 2017 AS AN OFFSHOOT OF THE SOUTH SAN ANTONIO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
HAPPY TO REPORT IN 2022, THEY ACHIEVED THEIR 5 0 1 3 STAT C THREE STATUS AS AN INDEPENDENT NONPROFIT AND HAVE NOW COMPLETELY SEPARATED FROM, UM, THE SOUTH TEXAS BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP.
THEY HAVE THE LARGEST SERVICE AREA, BASICALLY INCLUDING ANYTHING SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 90 GOING ALL THE WAY TO, TO THE COUNTY LINE.
SO A VERY LARGE AND DIVERSE AREA THAT SOUTHSIDE FIRST SERVES WITH A, A SMALL TEAM, PRIMARILY IN, UH, INCLUDED IN DISTRICTS THREE, FOUR, AND FIVE.
SO AGAIN, IN THEIR, THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, I MENTIONED THEM GAINING THEIR, THEIR 5 0 1 3 C STATUS IN APRIL OF 2022.
THEY'VE ALSO HOSTED A NUMBER OF RESOURCE FAIRS AND, AND EVENTS THERE IN THE COMMUNITY TO PROVIDE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES TO OUR SMALL BUSINESSES, UM, WHICH HAS RESULTED IN PROVIDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO 200 SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, YOU'LL SEE ONE BUSINESS HERE, UH, JESUS MARTINEZ, OWNER OF ELGA LOKO, AND ACTUALLY, UM, THE, THE SMALL BUSINESS TEAM HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT WITH, WITH THIS BROTHER AND SISTER DUO AND THEY'RE DOING AMAZING THINGS ON THE SOUTH SIDE AND HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH SOUTH SIDE FIRST GOING FORWARD.
AND ONE OF THE MAIN INITIATIVES SOUTH SIDE FIRST IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR STRATEGIC PLAN.
AGAIN, AS A RELATIVELY NEW ORGANIZATION, UH, RECOGNIZING IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE THAT STRATEGY GOING FORWARD WHEN YOU HAVE SUCH A LARGE AND DIVERSE GEOGRAPHIC AREA TO SUPPORT.
DID ALSO WANNA CALL OUT THE WORK THAT OUR B D O PARTNERS DID DURING THE COVID IMPACTS GRANTS PROGRAM, UM, ALONG WITH OUR INFORMAL PARTNERS AT, UH, MAESTRO ENTREPRENEUR CENTER, CULTURAL LINGUA, UM, AND CENTRO.
[00:55:01]
THE THREE BDOS REALLY PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN DOING OUTREACH FOR THE COVID OUTREACH GRANTS.UM, COLLECTIVELY, THEY REACHED OUT TO OVER 5,000 BUSINESSES IN A RELATIVELY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, UM, AND PROVIDED, UM, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO OVER 300 APPLICANTS AND WANNA THANK THEM FOR THIS WORK AGAIN.
UM, WE RECEIVED A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS AND, AND THEIR OUTREACH IS A REALLY CRITICAL COMPONENT OF THAT.
MOVING FORWARD WITH THE PROPOSED, UH, AGREEMENTS FOR 2023, AGAIN, SEEKING TO ALIGN WITH THE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK, WE WANTED TO IDENTIFY WHAT ARE THOSE DESIRED OUTCOMES AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHERE DO WE WANNA BE WITH THESE AGREEMENTS? AND IN AS AN UMBRELLA TO ALL OF THAT IS THESE BUSINESS, THESE ORGANIZATIONS SERVING AS TRUSTED COLLABORATORS AND SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCE PARTNERS.
AGAIN, WE HAVE A SMALL TEAM IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND RELY ON THESE PARTNERS TO, TO BE WORKING WITH US TO HELP THE SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, AND SO THE OTHER OUTCOMES DESIRABLE ON ARE REALLY HELPING US WITH REACHING, UH, THOSE HARDEST TO REACH BUSINESSES IN THE HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED AREAS.
UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THEIR, THEIR GEOGRAPHIC SERVICE AREAS, THEY ENCOMPASS MUCH OF THAT COMMUNITY HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
UM, ALSO WORKING TOWARDS, UM, ECONOMIC RESILIENCY AND, AND CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESSES, AS WELL AS THAT STRENGTH AND CONNECTION BETWEEN PEOPLE AND PLACES, THAT PLACEMAKING ELEMENT THAT WE HEAR SO MUCH OF AND IS ESSENTIAL IN OUR STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK.
SO, AS FAR AS ELEMENTS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF SERVICE IN THESE CONTRACTS, WHICH WE ARE LOOKING TO BRING TO CITY COUNCIL FOR FULL APPROVAL ON DECEMBER 15TH, UM, AGAIN, MUCH OF THAT IS GONNA CENTER ON PROVIDING SMALL BUSINESS REFERRALS.
WE, WE LIKE TO CALL THOSE THE ASSISTS THEY PROVIDE, UM, AND RECOGNIZING HOW IMPORTANT ASSISTS ARE IN THE GAME OF BASKETBALL, BUT ALSO IN THIS COMMUNITY WHERE YOU MAY NOT KNOW WHERE THE RIGHT FRONT DOOR IS, BUT THE ANSWER IS THERE'S, THERE'S NO WRONG FRONT DOOR, WHETHER YOU GO TO PROSPER WEST AND YOU REALLY NEED SERVICES FROM THE S B D C, FROM A MAESTRO ENTREPRENEUR CENTER, OR EVEN FROM THE CITY'S OWN LAUNCH SA THAT YOU, THAT OUR BUSINESS PARTNERS ARE PROVIDING THOSE REFERRALS, ALSO PROVIDING THOSE CONSULTATIVE SERVICES.
WE KNOW THERE, THERE ARE EXPERTS WITHIN OUR BDOS AND THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT THEY CAN HELP WITHIN, WITHIN THEIR, THEIR SERVICES TO PROVIDE DIRECTLY TO THE BUSINESSES WITHOUT HAVING TO PROVIDE THAT REFERRAL.
SO CONTINUING TO PROVIDE THAT, THAT COUNSELING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND ALSO HOSTING, HOSTING THE RESOURCE FAIRS, WORKSHOPS AND EVENTS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, THESE ARE AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF ESTABLISHING RACE RELATIONSHIPS.
A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER MAY WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW TO SET UP A SOCIAL MEDIA PAGE OR INFORMATION ON FINANCES AND ATTEND A WORKSHOP, BUT WE REALLY SEE THAT AS A JUMPING OFF POINT FOR CREATING A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BUSINESS.
SO IT MAY GET 'EM IN THE DOOR, BUT MAYBE THEN THEY CAN GET SIGNED UP FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE OR GET THAT REFERRAL OUT.
SO HAVING THOSE EVENTS IS A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF THESE AGREEMENTS.
UM, THERE ARE ALSO A FEW OTHER AREAS THAT SUPPORT COMPLEMENTARY PROGRAMS, INCLUDING SUPPORT FOR READY TO WORK.
UM, WE WORKED WITH THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT TEAM, MIKE AND HIS TEAM, TO IDENTIFY HOW CAN THESE PARTNERS SUPPORT THOSE EFFORTS ONGOING IN READY TO WORK.
UM, AND YOU'LL SEE HERE LISTED, UH, WHAT WE ARE ASKING OUR PARTNERS TO DO, INCLUDING, UM, COMMITTING TO HAVE FIVE BUSINESSES SIGN THE PLEDGE, AS WELL AS PARTICIPATING IN EVENTS, JOB FAIRS THAT ARE THE CITY HOSTS AND OUR PARTNERS.
UM, AGAIN, GOING BACK TO THAT CORRIDOR ACTIVATION AND CREATING THE SENSE OF PLACE, CONTINUING TO HAVE TWO EVENTS OR CONDUCT TWO PROJECTS THAT ARE PLACED BASED WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITY, WANTING TO ACTIVATE IT.
UM, AS, AS WE, WE LOOK TO EXPAND THAT SERVICE AS WELL AS CONTINUING TO MATCH 50% OF THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND CONTRIBUTION, UM, IT IS ALSO A PRIORITY FOR, FOR OUR FUNDS TO BE LEVERAGED.
AND SO WE, UH, WILL CONTINUE TO REQUIRE THAT THEY, THEY MAKE THAT MATCH.
IN TERMS OF PARTNER SPECIFIC PROGRAMS, UM, AS I MENTIONED, SAGE IS BACK OFFICE SUPPORT PROGRAM.
SO, UM, THE AGREEMENT INCLUDES THEM CONTINUING THAT AND OUR FUNDING BEING USED TO SUPPORT THAT, AS WELL AS THE STOREFRONT GRANT PROGRAM WITH THEM FUNDING A MINIMUM OF 20 STOREFRONT GRANT PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES UNDER SOUTHSIDE FIRST, UM, BECAUSE OF THE LOCATION IN PROXIMITY TO THE WORLD HERITAGE AREA, WE WORKED WITH OUR WORLD HERITAGE AREA TO IDENTIFY AN OPPORTUNITY WHERE SOUTHSIDE FIRST COULD SUPPORT THE WORK GOING ON IN THAT CORRIDOR.
AND SO THEY WILL BE WORKING WITH OUR WORLD HERITAGE OFFICE TO IDENTIFY AND RECRUIT BUSINESSES TO PARTICIPATE, UM, ON THE, UH, CITY OF, OF GASTRONOMY CALENDAR, AND JUST CREATING THAT CONNECTION BETWEEN THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES AND FORGING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS AS WELL AS COMPLETION OF THAT STRATEGIC PLAN, UM, THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER.
AND THEN FOR PROSPER WEST, IT WOULD BE TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THOSE GRANTS AND LOANS THROUGH THEIR PROGRAM.
IN TERMS OF NEW DELIVERABLES FOR 2023, UM, WE ARE ALSO REQUIRING IN OUR CONTRACT THAT THEY HAVE A PHYSICAL LOCATION ACCESSIBLE WITH ACCESSIBLE HOURS FOR BUSINESSES.
[01:00:01]
UM, I THINK COMING OUT OF THE PANDEMIC, WE WANT TO ENSURE, WHILE THINGS MAY HAVE HAD TO GO VIRTUAL NECESSARILY DURING THE PANDEMIC, THAT THAT NOW WE HAVE A PHYSICAL LOCATION AVAILABLE, AND WE ALSO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THEM MEETING THE BUSINESSES WHERE THEY ARE, BECAUSE WE KNOW OUR BUSINESS OWNERS WEAR MANY HATS.AND SO WHERE POSSIBLE, WE ALSO SUPPORT THE BDOS GOING DIRECTLY TO THEM AND SITTING DOWN, LOOKING AT THEIR FINANCES, DISCUSSING WHAT, WHAT OPTIONS THEY HAVE AVAILABLE.
UM, IN ADDITION, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING SIX 18 AND 36 MONTH POST SERVICE PROVISION SURVEYS.
UM, BECAUSE THAT, FOLLOWING UP, AGAIN, FORMING RELATIONSHIPS.
WE KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT ALWAYS A NUMBERS GAME THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, BUT REALLY FORGING THE RELATIONSHIPS.
IT MAY TAKE SEVERAL TIMES MEETING WITH THESE BDOS FOR THE BUSINESS OWNER TO HAVE THE ABILITY TO IMPLEMENT IT.
SO WE WANNA BE TRACKING THOSE LONGER TERM OUTCOMES TO SEE, YOU KNOW, OKAY, SIX MONTHS, MAYBE THEY'VE TAKEN ANOTHER LITTLE STEP, 18 MONTHS, MAYBE THEY'VE ACTUALLY BEEN ABLE TO MAKE AN INVESTMENT, AND THREE YEARS LATER, ARE WE SEEING THE BENEFITS? IS THAT BUSINESS SEEING THE BENEFIT OF THAT INVESTMENT THAT THEY'VE MADE? UM, IN ADDITION, WE'RE GOING TO REQUIRE THE, THE PREPARATION OF AN ANNUAL REPORT.
SO WE, WE TRACK OUTCOMES OR, OR OUTPUTS QUARTERLY NOW, BUT HOW ARE WE TYING THAT ALL TOGETHER AS AN ANNUAL REPORT TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT TO, TO THIS BODY, UM, AS WELL AS THE CO-PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, DEPARTMENT EVENTS AND, AND MATERIALS.
YOU, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS, WHETHER IT'S OUR LOAN INTEREST BUYDOWN PROGRAM OR, OR WORK THAT MAY, WE MAY BE UNDERTAKING AND BEING ABLE TO LEVERAGE, AGAIN, THE BDOS THEIR CONTACTS, THE RELATIONSHIPS TO, TO ASSIST IN OUR PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS.
IN TERMS OF REPORTING AND COLLABORATION, YOU'LL SEE, UM, WE ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED WITH THESE PARTNERS.
UM, WE MEET WITH THEM MONTHLY.
UM, WE HAVE THE QUARTERLY REPORT REQUIREMENTS, AS I MENTIONED, THE NEW ANNUAL REPORT, AS WELL AS OUTCOME REPORTS.
UM, AND ALSO THEY'LL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE US WITH THOSE, THOSE SUCCESS STORIES.
UM, YOU KNOW, I JUST GAVE YOU THREE EXAMPLES EARLIER OF, OF SOME SUCCESSES.
AND, AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO COMMUNICATE, NOT JUST TO REPORT TO, TO THE COUNCIL, BUT ALSO FOR, FOR THE COMMUNITY TO SEE THAT THESE SMALL BUSINESS ARE IMPACTED.
UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, SO MUCH OF THE SERVICE IS ALSO WORD OF MOUTH.
YOU LEARN ABOUT WHERE YOU CAN GO GET ASSISTANCE AND, AND BEING ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE THOSE, THOSE STORIES ARE VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, AS A FEW EXAMPLES OF THE METRICS WE'RE LOOKING TO TRACK GOING FORWARD, AGAIN, WANTING TO TRACK OUTCOMES AND NOT NECESSARILY JUST OUTPUTS.
YOU'LL SEE A FEW EXAMPLE HERE OF, OF BUSINESSES, UM, 75% OF BUSINESSES BEING ABLE TO, UH, REPORT, YOU KNOW, SATISFACTION WITH THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDED.
UH, BECAUSE IF THEY'RE, IF THEY'RE COMING FOR SERVICE, WE WANT THEM, YOU KNOW, WE WANT THEIR QUESTION TO GET ANSWERED, ESSENTIALLY.
UM, BUSINESSES, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO REMAIN OPEN AFTER THOSE INTERVIEW, UH, INTERVALS.
WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY, A LOT OF, A LARGE NUMBER OF SMALL BUSINESSES FAIL.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IF WE LOOK AT THE BUSINESSES THAT RECEIVE THESE SERVICES, ARE THEY FARING BETTER THAN THOSE BUSINESSES THAT, THAT DON'T? UM, AND THEN BUSINESSES, UM, THAT REPORT HIGHER REVENUES AS A REPORT, AS A RESULT OF THESE SERVICES.
IN TERMS OF PAYMENT SCHEDULE WITH THESE CONTRACTS, UM, WE DO DIVIDE PAYMENT INTO, UM, WELL, THIS YEAR WILL BE THREE PORTIONS.
SO WE WOULD PROVIDE A PORTION OF IT UPON EXECUTION OF THE AGREEMENT.
THE SECOND HALF UPON COMPLETION OF, OF THE SECOND QUARTER REPORT, WHICH WE ANTICIPATE IN APRIL OF 2023.
AND ONE OTHER NEW ITEM IS TYING A PORTION OF THEIR FUNDING TO, UM, THE AWARD OF THEIR MATCHING FUNDS.
SO AT WHICH POINT THE, THE AGENCY CAN SHOW US THAT THEY'VE RECEIVED THEIR MATCHING FUNDS, WE WOULD RELEASE THAT PORTION OF THE FUNDING.
AGAIN, JUST ENSURING THAT OUR FUNDS ARE BEING LEVERAGED AND THEY'RE MEETING THAT REQUIREMENT.
IN TERMS OF NEXT STEPS, AS I MENTIONED, THIS WILL BE, IS SCHEDULED TO GO TO CONSIDERATION FOR FULL COUNSEL ON DECEMBER 15TH.
UM, AND IF APPROVED, OBVIOUSLY WE WILL CONTINUE TO BEGIN IMPLEMENTING THAT SCOPE OF WORK AND DESIGNING THE OUTCOMES SURVEY.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY IS THAT, UM, WHEN WE TRIED TO IMPLEMENT AN OUTCOME SURVEY IN THIS YEAR, IS THAT IT WAS PERHAPS A LITTLE TOO COMPLEX.
AND SO WE ARE LOOKING TO WORK WITH, UM, UH, POTENTIALLY U T S A TO DESIGN A SURVEY AND REPORTING MECHANISM SO THAT WE'RE ONLY ASKING THE BUSINESSES THE QUESTIONS THAT, THAT WE NEED TO, TO BE ABLE TO DISCERN THE DATA WITHOUT GETTING OVERLY COMPLICATED.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING WE WANT TO WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS ON, AND AGAIN, POTENTIALLY U T S A TO DEVELOP THAT SURVEY GOING FORWARD.
AND THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION, ANA AND I WANNA START OFF BY THANKING THE BDOS FOR ALL OF THE WORK THAT THEY DO.
AND SO, UM, I'M A BIG FAN OF, OF YOUR WORK, AND I APPRECIATE THAT YOU ALL ARE OUT TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, EVERYBODY WHO NEEDS HELP GETS THAT HELP.
[01:05:01]
UM, I, I FEEL LIKE AS YOU ALL COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER THAT IT JUST GETS STRONGER.UM, I DO HAVE A QUESTION SPECIFICALLY IN REGARD TO SOUTH SIDE FIRST.
AND SO, UM, THAT, THAT'S THE ONE THAT TOUCHES MY AREA SPECIFICALLY.
AND THERE'S GOING TO BE A VOID WITH THE, UH, LEADERSHIP FOR THE SOUTH TEXAS BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP, WHICH WAS MOVING AWAY MORE TOWARDS REGIONAL.
THERE'S A VOID BECAUSE THE WEST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAD FOLDED INTO THE, THE, THE SOUTH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
SO I'M AFRAID THAT THERE'S A REALLY BIG GAP RIGHT NOW, UM, IN WHO IS OUT THERE TRYING TO WORK WITH THE, THE RESIDENTS, OR, I'M SORRY, THE BUSINESSES OF, FOR INSTANCE, MY DISTRICT AND THE SOUTH SIDE DISTRICT.
AND SO I JUST WANNA SEE, UM, WHAT THE PLAN IS SPECIFICALLY.
I ATTENDED A, A, A BUSINESS SESSION A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, OR MAYBE IT WAS A FEW MONTHS AGO NOW, AND IT WAS ON A FRIDAY NIGHT.
AND SO I'M, I'M WONDERING, LIKE, WHO'S, WHO'S COACHING YOU ALL, UH, WITHIN, UM, OR, OR, OR FOR EVENTS, LIKE WHEN THEY SHOULD BE PUT TOGETHER, WHO'S HOSTING THEM? WHAT TYPE OF EVENTS? HOW DO YOU PROMOTE THEM? BECAUSE I WENT TO MY FIELD OFFICE, I GO TO MY FIELD OFFICE EVERY, EVERY FRIDAY, THERE'S A BIG STACK OF FLYERS, RIGHT? THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GIVEN OUT TO BUSINESSES, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE MANPOWER STAFFING POWER AT MY OFFICE TO GET THOSE OUT.
SO WHO'S DOING THAT LEG LEGWORK FOR YOU ALL? AND I APPRECIATE THAT YOU ALL, BY THE WAY, DO HAVE AN OFFICE, UH, NOW AT THE CORNER OF 35 AND
UH, BUT HELP ME, HELP ME FEEL A LITTLE BIT BETTER ABOUT WHAT I SEE AS, UH, AN UNCERTAIN TIME FOR YOU ALL.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA, IT IS A DIFFICULT TASK BECAUSE THE MISSION IS GREAT.
LIKE, UM, ANNA BRADSHAW MENTIONED, WE HAVE THE GREATEST RESPONSIBILITY LAND-WISE WITH THE YOUNGEST ORGANIZATION AND THE SMALLEST BUDGET.
SO HOW DO WE SET, UM, THE TALKS THAT WE DO HAVE? WE LISTEN TO THE BUSINESSES THAT COME TO US, AND THEY, WE SAY, WHAT DO THEY WANT? SO AS A RESULT OF THAT, THEY SAID, WE'RE DEALING WITH, UM, INFLATION.
WE HAD A TALK ON SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT.
WE TALKED ABOUT COST CONTAINMENT.
WE, THEY WANTED TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE ECONOMY.
WE HAD THE FEDERAL RESERVE, UM, SPEAK.
HOW DO WE SCHEDULE WHEN IT'S HAPPENING? MANY TIMES IT'S A COMBINATION OF REASONS WHEN IT'S A SPACE AVAILABLE.
'CAUSE WHAT WE DO IS WE HAVE FREE RESOURCES.
SO WE NEVER CHARGE, LIKE DIFFERENT FROM THE SOUTH BUSINESS TEXAS PARTNERSHIP THAT DOES CHARGE FOR THE MAJORITY OF THEIR EVENTS.
WHEN ARE THE EXPERTS AVAILABLE TO SPEAK? SO AS A COMBINATION OF THAT, WE, UM, SCHEDULE WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SWITCH THE, OUR DISCUSSIONS, OUR PRESENTATIONS.
SOME OF THEM HAVE TAKEN PLACE ON SATURDAY, SOME OF THEM ACROSS THE EVENING.
'CAUSE WE FIND MOST BUSINESS OWNERS ARE BUSY WORKING IN THEIR BUSINESS DURING THE DAY.
AND SO WE'VE SEEN THAT WHEN WE HAVE DURING THE DAY EVENTS, THE ATTENDANCE GOES DOWN.
UM, YOU WENT TO ONE OF THEM, WHICH WAS AROUND VETERAN SMALL BUSINESSES.
SINCE THEN, WE'VE HAD ANOTHER ONE.
AND WE ARE VERY HAPPY, VERY, UM, APPRECIATIVE OF ALL OF OUR PARTNERS.
WE WORK WITH THE S B A, WE WORK WITH SEVERAL DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS OF U T SS A TO LEVERAGE THE ECOSYSTEM.
YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THE MISSION IS TOO BIG, WE REALIZED WE'RE A PART OF THE WHOLE, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANNA DO, UM, NEXT YEAR, AND, YOU KNOW, UP UNTIL JUNE, I WAS THE ONLY ONE WORKING IN SOUTH SIDE FIRST.
SO NOW WE ARE A TEAM OF THREE WITH TWO VERY, VERY SMALL PART-TIMERS.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I WANNA DO IS SCHEDULE TIME WITH EACH OF YOUR OFFICES SO I CAN TOUCH BASE SO THAT I CAN BE, UM, WE CAN ARRANGE OUR STAFF TO BE AT MORE OF YOUR EVENTS WHEN YOU'RE ALREADY DOING THINGS.
BECAUSE A LOT OF THE TIME AND ATTENTION TO PUT TOGETHER THESE EVENTS IS THE LOGISTICS OF IT.
SO IF WE CAN WORK TOGETHER, THAT'S ONE OF THE WAYS THAT I THINK WE CAN, UM, LEVERAGE, UM, WHAT HAPPENS.
BUT, UM, I AM VERY HAPPY THAT, UM, IN THE YEAR THAT I'VE BEEN WITH SOUTH SIDE FIRST, WE'VE SEEN, UM, A LOT OF OUR BUSINESSES THAT WE'VE BEEN HELPING, YOU KNOW, UM, IMPLEMENT WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT.
IT'S NOT JUST THE, THE ACQUISITION OF THE KNOWLEDGE, BUT IT'S THE APPLICATION OF IT.
UM, WITH THE ARPA, WE JUST CELEBRATED OUR FIVE YEARS.
WE HAD IT AT ONE OF THE BUSINESSES THAT, UM, APPLIED FOR ARPA.
I HOPE THAT THIS HAS ANSWERED A LITTLE BIT OF YOUR QUESTION.
THAT'S MY ONLY QUESTION, CHAIR.
THANK YOU CHAIR, UM, FOR THE, AND, UH, THANK YOU ANNA FOR THE PRESENTATION AND YOUR TEAM FOR THE CONTINUED WORK THAT YOU ALL, UH, DO IN, UH, ENSURING THAT SAN ANTONIO SMALL BUSINESSES RECEIVE THE SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED AS WELL AS, UH, THE, UH, PROSPER WEST SAGE AND SOUTH SIDE FIRST AND SOUTH SIDE FIRST IS A SMALL BUT MIGHTY TEAM, GABRIELA AND, UH, IS AT EVERY, UH, DISTRICT FIVE EVENT THAT SHE, WE INVITE HER TO.
[01:10:01]
WE JUST APPRECIATE THE TEAM.AND MY HOPE IS THAT IN PREPARATION FOR THE NEXT BUDGET, WE COULD LOOK AT INCREASING THEIR SUPPORT, UH, TO ENSURE THAT, UH, THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES NECESSARY TO, UH, SUPPORT SOUTH SIDE SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, YOU KNOW, I AM LUCKY IN THAT I HAVE SOUTH SIDE FIRST AND PROSPER WEST IN MY DISTRICT TO SUPPORT OUR DISTRICT FIVE SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT WE HEAR FROM OUR SMALL BUSINESSES IS ASSISTANCE WITH, UH, FACADE IMPROVEMENTS, RIGHT? AND I UNDERSTAND WITH ARPA, THERE ARE THOSE STOREFRONT GRANTS.
UM, SO MY ASK IS, IS THERE OPPORTUNITY FOR US LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT YEAR TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR PROSPER WEST FOR STOREFRONT GRANTS? I SEE THAT SAGE HAS ISSUED OVER 30, AND I WOULD LOVE TO GET PROSPER WEST AND DISTRICT FIVE IN THE SAME PLACE AS SAGE.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LOOK AT, UH, IMPLEMENTING? UH, THAT'S SOMETHING CERTAINLY WE COULD LOOK WITH, WITH, TO WORK WITH PROSPER WEST.
AGAIN, THEIR, THEIR LOAN AND GRANT PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBILITY GIVEN THE NEEDS OF, OF THE BUSINESSES, THE FACT THAT MANY OF THEM MAY BE RENTERS AS OPPOSED TO OWNERS OF THE PROPERTY.
'CAUSE I, I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT IS A FAIR ISSUE, RIGHT? THAT MANY OF OUR FOLKS DON'T NECESSARILY OWN THE BUILDING.
UH, BUT THERE ARE THE INSTANCES THAT THEY DO, AND I WANNA BE SURE THAT WE CAN CONNECT THEM TO THAT CAPITAL.
BUT ALSO UNDERSTANDING, AS YOU MENTIONED, THAT OUR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS WEAR MANY CAPS, RIGHT? AND SITTING DOWN TO COMPLETE THAT APPLICATION AND GATHER ALL THE DOCUMENTS IS, IS, IS WORK, RIGHT? UM, SO I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT.
AND FOR THE, THE, THE METRIC TO GAUGE, UH, FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR, UM, FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, I GUESS IN OTHER WORDS, RIGHT? WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT, WHEN WE'RE TRACKING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY EACH SMALL BUSINESS ORGANIZATION, WHAT IS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE? IS THAT, UH, CONNECTION TO A UTILITY APPLICATION? WHAT IS IT? IT'S, IT'S ANY NUMBER OF THINGS, CORRECT? IT COULD BE ANYTHING FROM HOW DO I COMPLETE A LOAN? YOU KNOW, WHO, WHO CAN GIVE ME A LOAN? AND BEING ABLE TO CONNECT THEM WITH, YOU KNOW, THE VARIOUS CAPITAL PROVIDERS SUCH AS LIFT FUND.
IT COULD BE, HOW DO I COMPLETE THIS DOCUMENT? UM, WE KNOW WE HAVE A NUMBER OF BUSINESSES WHO WANNA DO BUSINESS WITH A CITY.
HOW DO I DO A CITY PROCUREMENT? UM, ANY, ANY TYPE OF SPECIFIC ASSISTANCE TO HELPING THAT BUSINESS GROW OR, OR COMPLETE SOMETHING WITH ALL THAT WE KIND OF CATEGORIZE UNDER TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
OKAY? AND AS OF NOW, WE ARE NOT, UM, TRACKING ANY OUTCOMES, RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING TO POTENTIALLY DO WITH U T SS A.
BUT WE HAVEN'T COLLECTED ANY OF THAT YET.
SO WE, WE MADE SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO THE, THE 2022 CONTRACT TO TRY TO START TRACKING, UM, OUTCOMES.
ADMITTEDLY, I THINK IT WAS A LITTLE TOO COMPLICATED WHAT WE TRIED TO DO, WHICH IS WHY WE WANNA TAKE THE STEP BACK, WORK WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION TO SAY, HOW BEST CAN WE DO THIS WITHOUT BEING TOO BURDENSOME ON THE B D O OR THE BUSINESSES THAT WE NEED TO COLLECT THAT DATA FROM.
ONE, UH, THING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON THE OUTCOME SURVEY, RIGHT? IS ASKING THE SMALL BUSINESS, WHICH ORGANIZATIONS HAVE YOU REACHED OUT TO? UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS THAT CONVERSATION LIKE, RIGHT? LIKE A OPEN-ENDED, UH, BOX WHERE THEY CAN FILL, UM, WHO THEY REACHED OUT TO, WHAT THAT EXPERIENCE WAS LIKE, AND, UH, WHERE THEY'RE AT NOW.
UM, BECAUSE THAT'S ONE THING THAT WE RECEIVE CALLS IS I'VE CALLED A B C D, UM, HELP ME, RIGHT? AND WE CONNECT THEM TO A, B, C, D, AND THEN WE'RE BACK AT THE SAME PLACE.
SO JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE KNOW WHO THEY'RE INTERACTING WITH AND WHERE THE, THE WALL THEY RAN INTO WAS.
UM, BUT, UH, I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT ALL OF OUR ORGANIZATIONS ARE DOING.
COUNCILMAN BRAVO SAID THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, SO I'M NOT SKIPPING 'EM ON PURPOSE THIS TIME,
UH, BUT I, I, I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION, UM, FOR OUR FRIENDS AT THE BDOS AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SAGE CAN TELL US, UM, AND IT JUST OCCURRED TO ME WHILE WE WERE TALKING, SO MANY OF THESE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, MOM AND POP SHOPS, UM, THEY DON'T KNOW THEIR LEGAL RIGHTS EITHER.
I MEAN, SO, SO OFTEN WE SAY, WELL, LET'S, YOU KNOW, LET'S SET UP AN L L C.
HERE'S, HERE'S HOW TO FILL OUT YOUR FORMS. THIS IS HOW TO GET YOUR TAX ID NUMBER.
THIS IS HOW TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF BANKING.
THIS IS HOW TO DO YOUR ACCOUNTING, RIGHT? HERE'S SOME EMPLOYEE HANDBOOKS INFORMATION FOR YOU.
AND THAT'S SORT OF WHERE IT BEGINS AND IT ENDS, RIGHT? BUT OFTENTIMES THEY AREN'T AWARE, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT IN ORDER TO RENT A A BUILDING, RIGHT? OR TO RENT A STOREFRONT, THEY HAVE TO ENTER INTO SOMETHING CALLED TRIPLE NET LEASES, RIGHT? WHERE THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR CARRYING THE INSURANCE, RIGHT? AND, UH, AND THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR A WHOLE HOST OF THINGS THAT QUITE HONESTLY WOULD BE THE LANDLORD'S RESPONSIBILITY IF IT WEREN'T FOR THESE, THESE LEASES.
AND THERE'S NOTHING ONEROUS ABOUT THE LEASES, BUT WHAT I HAVE DISCOVERED IS THAT SO MANY OF THESE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
[01:15:01]
DON'T UNDERSTAND THEIR RIGHTS WHEN IT APPLIES TO INSURANCE.LET'S SAY THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO ACTIVATE THEIR INSURANCE POLICY, THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY THEY BOUGHT IT, RIGHT? UM, AND THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF THAT INSURANCE.
AND SO OFTENTIMES THEY'LL SEEK, YOU KNOW, HELP FOR DAMAGE TO THEIR FACADE OR DAMAGE TO THEIR ROOF WHEN IT OUGHT TO BE AN INSURANCE COMPANY STEPPING UP.
SO, I MEAN, MAYBE, MAYBE YOU CAN TELL US, YOU KNOW, IS THAT PART OF THE SERVICE HERE SO THAT YOU GUYS DON'T HAVE TO SPEND ARPA DOLLARS ON FIXING A BUILDING THAT OUGHT TO BE, UH, FIXED BY GEICO OR STATE FARM
I DON'T KNOW IF, UH, ROB WANTS TO SPECIFICALLY TALK ABOUT HIS BACK OFFICE PROGRAM, UM, AND SEE IF THAT PROVIDES LEGAL ASSISTANCE.
UH, GOOD OR GOOD AFTERNOON COUNSEL.
SO I THINK THAT'S A GREAT POINT, AND, AND ONE THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING HEAD ON.
WE'VE, UH, CREATED PARTNERSHIPS WITH, UH, DUB SUTHERLAND, UH, WITH, I DON'T, HE HAS A, A PARTNER WITH, THEY ARE COMING IN PROVIDING LEGAL, UH, COUNSEL AND ADVICE AND EDUCATION ON WHAT THE VARIOUS STATUSES OF, UH, BEING A SOLE PROPRIETOR VERSUS AN L L C.
AND IF YOU'RE LARGE ENOUGH, OR IF YOU'RE MOVING IN, IN A, IN A CERTAIN DIRECTION, SS VERSUS C CORP, WE HAVE, UH, ACCOUNTANTS AT THE TABLE, UM, UM, TO ASSIST WITH THAT, THAT MORE INTRICATE BACK OFFICE SUPPORT THAT IS NEEDED.
UH, WE CURRENTLY PROVIDE A, A, A VERY ROBUST SERVICE OFFERING OF, UM, BACK OFFICE, HOME, UM, HR, UH, UH, STAFFING KIND OF REQUIREMENTS.
WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION WHERE THEY'RE COMING DOWN, THEY EDUCATE THE EMPLOYERS AS TO WHAT THEIR OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS ARE UNDER THE STATE OF TEXAS.
SO IT'S A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH.
AND, AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT LEASES AND TRIPLE NET, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE ASKING OUR CLIENT BASE IS BEFORE YOU ENTER INTO ANY CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP THAT YOU COME AND VISIT WITH US, SO THAT WE CAN BRING THE TEAM OF EXPERTS TOGETHER SO THAT ONE, WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR, YOUR ULTIMATE OUTCOME AND GOALS ARE, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE, THE LEGAL REPRESENTATION OR ADVICE AT THE TABLE IN, IN, IN ADDITION TO, UH, OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH BROADWAY, JEFFERSON, UH, FROST BANK, UH, BANK OF AMERICA, GOTTA MAKE SURE ANYBODY THAT'S PROVIDED US FUNDING, RIGHT? THEY DON'T MISS A SHOUT OUT.
BUT IT, IT'S IN THAT CAPACITY THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO MEET ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE BUSINESS, UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE, AND THEN THAT'S ACTUALLY HELPING THEM SHAPE, UH, THEIR EQUITY FUNDS.
ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? I, I DID IT AGAIN.
UM, SO I MAKE A MOTION TO MOVE THIS.
I BELIEVE WE NEED A MOTION TO MOVE THIS FORWARD TO THE DECEMBER MEETING, AND WE GOT A SECOND FROM COUNCILMAN CASTILLO.
UM, I THINK THIS IS A GOOD STEP IN LOOKING AT OUR, UM, IN THE, IN THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING WITH OUR ECONOMIC, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND E D D.
UM, I DO WANT US TO BE CAREFUL THAT WHAT WE ARE NOT, THAT OUR BDOS ARE NOT MOVING INTO THE, UM, INTO THE CHAMBER TERRITORY, BECAUSE I THINK WE, WE WERE TWO YEARS, UM, OR TWO AND A HALF YEARS KIND OF ISOLATED.
AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT EVENTS AND HOSTING EVENTS, THAT, THAT FEELS VERY CHAMBER LIKE.
SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, ALL BACK ON TRACK.
AND I THINK THIS IS A GOOD FIRST STEP TO DO IT.
I WANNA THANK ROBERT AND, UH, GABRIELA FOR THEIR EFFORTS IN DISTRICT THREE, ROBERT AND I, UM, WITH SAGE AND THE SOUTHEAST SIDE ON WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO REACH OUT AND MAKE SURE THAT THE BUSINESSES THERE ARE, UM, ARE BEING TOUCHED AND UNDERSTAND THAT THEY CAN, THEY CAN GET SERVICES FROM SAGE.
UH, ONE THING I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT SPECIFICALLY IS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THESE HARD TO REACH OR, UH, UNDERSERVED BUSINESSES, THAT WE REALLY GET AN IDEA OF WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE FROM DISTRICT TO DISTRICT.
A, A SUCCESSFUL STORY FOR SOME PEOPLE IN DISTRICT THREE WOULD BE MAKING SURE THAT THEY PAY THEIR, UM, SALES TAX ON TIME, GET THEIR INCOME TAX COMPLETED, SO THAT THEY CAN APPLY FOR THAT NEXT LOAN, BECAUSE EVERYTHING THAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO DO FOR THEIR BUSINESS HAS BEEN DONE.
UH, YOU, THE SOUTH SIDE HAS A NUMBER OF SMALL BUSINESSES THAT ARE CONTRIBUTING BACK INTO THE ECONOMY, AND I APPRECIATE THAT A LOT OF FAMILY BUSINESSES TOO, WHERE, UM, I THINK A BIG LOU'S PIZZA AND HE'S GOT HIS COUSINS AND NEPHEWS WORKING THERE, UH, ALONGSIDE THEM.
SO THE ONE THING I DO WANT US TO THOUGH
[01:20:01]
LOOK FORWARD TO IS THAT WE ARE A, THAT THESE BD THAT OUR BDOS ARE ACTUALLY COMMUNICATING HOW TO BE, UM, UH, A CREATIVE EMPLOYER TOO.UH, IF THEY CAN'T GET THAT $20 THAT'S IN OUR READY TO WORK, WHAT ARE SOME, UM, OPTIONS AND FLEXIBILITY THAT THEY CAN OFFER TO THOSE THAT ARE, THAT THEY ARE EMPLOYING? AND, UM, ACTUALLY TAKING A LOOK AND GATHERING THAT INFORMATION ABOUT HOW MANY EMPLOYEES THEY DO HAVE, WHAT BENEFITS THEY DO PROVIDE, AND IN THE FUTURE, ARE WE GONNA MAKE A NEED TO MAKE IT ADJUSTMENTS TO OUR, UM, WHAT WE PROVIDE FOR OUR, UM, OUR BDOS TO HELP OUR SMALL BUSINESSES GET THERE TO BE EQUITABLE AND TO MOVE TOWARDS THAT LIVING WAGES.
I LOOK FORWARD TO MOVING THIS FORWARD.
I WOULD LIKE A, UM, I'D, I WOULD LIKE A, UM, BRIEFING BEFORE APRIL, 2023, UM, ON THE PAYMENT DISTRIBUTION SO WE CAN GET A KIND OF A INDICATION IF, IF OUR BDOS ARE MEETING THE EXPECTATIONS WITH THEIR QUARTER TWO REPORT, AND IF, IF THEY ARE NOT, WHAT, WHAT SORT OF THINGS CAN BE DONE TO, TO GET THEM BACK ON TRACK.
SO THOSE, THOSE ARE THINGS I'D LIKE TO SEE IN THE FUTURE.
UM, HERE, HERE, UH, UH, I THINK A BRIEFING LIKE THAT SOONER THAN LATER WOULD BE, UH, WOULD BE WELCOMED BY ALL OF US.
LET'S, UH, LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR THIRD TOPIC CHAIR.
DID WE GET A VOTE? OH, WE HAVE A VOTE.
UH, ALRIGHT, SO WE HAD A MOTION AND A SECOND.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF, UH, OF ADVANCING THIS, PLEASE SAY, AYE.
ALRIGHT, ALEX, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THE LAST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS, UM, CONSIDERATION OF APPLICANTS THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY INTERVIEWED FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMISSION.
AND SO JUST BY, BY WAY OF, UH, REMINDING US WHERE WE WERE THE LAST TIME WE HAD, UH, WE HAD SOME FOLKS APPLY, UM, WE HAD SOME EXCELLENT INTERVIEWS AND, UH, WE DECIDED TO DEFER THE DECISION UNTIL WE HAD THE FULL PANEL OF, UH, MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE AVAILABLE.
COUNCILWOMAN, UH, GRO, YOU WERE ABSENT.
WE WANTED YOU TO HAVE YOUR SAY ALSO.
AND SO, UM, I THINK THAT, UH, ALEX, ARE WE GONNA JUMP INTO EXEC FIRST? WE SHOULD DO THAT.
IN THAT CASE, UM, WE ARE ENTERING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AT 3:27 PM TODAY, NOVEMBER 22ND, 22.
THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO ECONOMIC WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE IS RECESSING INTO EXEC SESSION TO DELIBERATE THE AB APPOINTMENT OF SSS A C COMMISSION MEMBERS PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE 5 5 1, AND TO DISCUSS RELATED LEGAL ISSUES PURSUANT TO, UM, GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5, 5, 1 CONSULTATION WITH ATTORNEY.
ALL RIGHT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ALL OF US ARE BACK.
UM, AND THE TIME IS NOW 3:36 PM ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22ND, AND THIS COMMITTEE WILL NOW RECONVENE AN OPEN SESSION.
NO OFFICIAL ACTION WAS TAKEN DURING THE EXECUTIVE SESSION.
AND, UM, COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA, THANK YOU, CHAIR.
I MOVE THAT WE MOVE FORWARD, MS. YEN YEN AS A RECOMMENDATION FROM, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE E W D C TO BE PRESENTED TO FULL CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL AT A FUTURE A SESSION IN THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMISSION SEAT THAT IS AVAILABLE.
WE GOT A MOTION AND A SECOND FROM COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO.
UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY, AYE.
THAT WAS UN, THAT WAS UNANIMOUS.
UM, ALEX, THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF ANOTHER E W D C MEETING.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE'RE ADJOURNED.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP TODAY.