* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] OKAY. GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. I'M JOHN COURAGE. I'M THE, THE CHAIR NOW OF THE AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE. SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THIS BEFORE. I APPRECIATE THE MAYOR ASKING ME TO COME BACK IN ON THIS TODAY. WE'RE GONNA BE, UH, MEETING FOR OUR TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6TH MEETING OF THE AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE. UH, ALSO WITH US TODAY IS ANOTHER NEW MEMBER, COUNCILMAN MARIO BRAVO. AND, UM, WE HAVE ONE MEMBER WHO WON'T BE PRESENT WITH US TODAY. UH, COUNCILMAN ELIAS. SO, AT THIS POINT IN TIME, LET'S GO AHEAD AND, UH, WELL, LET'S DO A ROLL CALL. COUNCIL MEMBER BRAVO HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER PLI, CITIZEN MEMBER TREVINO, PRESENT CHAIR. COURAGE PRESENT CHAIR. WE HAVE A QUORUM. OKAY. THANK YOU. [Approval of Minutes  ] UH, FIRST THING WE'RE GONNA DO IS, UH, APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 21ST, AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE MEETING. AND, UH, I'LL ASK, UH, MEMBER, UH, TREVINO, IF YOU'LL GO AHEAD AND RECOMMEND THAT I MAKE THE MOTION TO APPROVE. OKAY. SECOND. ALRIGHT. MOTION'S BEEN MADE AND SECONDED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES. SEPTEMBER 21ST. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. NONE OPPOSED. THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED. DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZENS SIGNED UP TO BE HEARD TODAY? WE DO NOT HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT. OKAY. NO PUBLIC COMMENT. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD. UH, [CONSENT AGENDA  ] WE HAVE OUR AGENDA BROKEN DOWN INTO SEVERAL SECTIONS. UH, WE HAVE A CONSENT AGENDA. UH, I HOPE ALL OF THE, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE ISSUES THAT WERE MOVED FORWARD FOR THIS MEETING. I ASKED THE STAFF TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY GOT A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THEM BEFORE THE MEETING BEGAN, SO THAT IF YOU HAD ANY QUESTIONS, YOU COULD EITHER ASK BEN OR KEVIN. UH, AND SO I HOPE THE CONSENT AGENDA, UH, MEETS YOUR EXPECTATIONS. HOWEVER, IF THERE ARE ANY ITEMS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA AND THOSE ITEMS ARE TWO THROUGH EIGHT THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION, NOW IS THE TIME TO MENTION THAT. OKAY. HEARING NONE, I'D ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED. THAT'S ITEMS TWO THROUGH EIGHT. I MOVE. OKAY. SECOND. OKAY. IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? HEARING NONE. OKAY. THE CONSENT AGENDA IS APPROVED. WE HAVE, UH, ABOUT EIGHT ITEMS, MAYBE NINE ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION. UH, AND THERE'S BEEN A REQUEST THAT WE MOVE ONE OF THE ITEMS, WHICH IS A FINAL INTERNAL AUDIT REPORT, UH, TO EARLY IN OUR PRESENTATION AS SOME OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED, UH, WILL NEED TO LEAVE EARLY. UH, BEN, WOULD YOU GO AHEAD AND INTRODUCE THAT? SO, GOOD MORNING CHAIRMAN AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS. YES, WE WOULD LIKE TO TAKE ITEM 17, UH, UP FIRST THIS MORNING. SO I APPRECIATE, UH, YOU ALLOWING US TO DO THAT. UH, KEVIN BARTOL, OUR CITY AUDITOR, WILL BE MAKING THE PRESENTATION ON THAT ITEM THIS MORNING. OKAY. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS WITH THAT? OKAY, KEVIN. OKAY. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. COURAGE. UH, THIS IS THE PRESENTATION ON THE AUDIT THAT WE PERFORMED WITH THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, UH, DEPARTMENT, SPECIFICALLY THE TRAIN FOR JOBS SA PROGRAM, WHICH WAS THE FIRST PROGRAM, UH, THAT WE DID. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE AUDIT WAS TO REALLY DETERMINE THE COMPLIANCE, UH, OF THE PROGRAM WITH, UH, ESTABLISHED RULES AND AND GUIDANCE FROM CITY COUNCIL, AND THAT THE MONITORING OF THE PROGRAM IS ALSO, UH, ADEQUATE AND THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES ARE SUPPORTED. THE OVERALL CONCLUSION, YOU CAN SEE ON THE SLIDE, THE PROGRAM IS OPERATING EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY. THE POSITIVE RESULTS WERE IN THE AREAS OF THE PROGRAM. EXPENDITURES WERE REASONABLE SENSITIVE PARTICIPATION PARTICIPANT INFORMATION IS PROTECTED, UH, FROM A USER ACCESS AND JUST A DATA SECURITY PERSPECTIVE. AND THEN GREAT JOB OF DOING SURVEYS AND GETTING FEEDBACK FROM PARTICIPANTS AND VENDORS. AND THEN USING THOSE SURVEYS AND THAT INFORMATION TO BETTER THE PROGRAM AND, AND THE PROCESSES. THERE WERE SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT THAT WE'VE NOTED. UH, PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND SPECIFICALLY SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION, VERIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY OF PARTICIPANTS, AND ALSO SOME INSURANCE, UH, REQUIREMENTS THAT WERE NOT BEING MET. TO GO OVER THOSE A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFICALLY FOR THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES, OBVIOUSLY, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, I MEAN, THEY'RE MANAGING MULTIPLE VENDORS IN THIS PROCESS, AND THEY EACH HAVE PERFORMANCE METRICS THAT THEY NEED TO BE REPORTING ON IN CERTAIN METRICS TO MEET. UH, WE FOUND THAT IN SOME INSTANCES THERE WAS A LACK OF SUPPORT FOR THOSE METRICS, MEANING THE VENDOR WOULD PROVIDE METRICS AND JUST SUMMARIES OF THE NUMBERS, BUT NOT ALWAYS GETTING AND, AND ASKING FOR THE DETAILS BEHIND THOSE JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE ACCURATE. UH, SO A RECOMMENDATION THERE TO REQUEST THAT INFORMATION FROM THE VENDORS, UH, ON A SAMPLE BASIS AT LEAST, UH, UNTIL THEY'RE COMFORTABLE WITH THE VENDORS AND THAT, AND THAT INFORMATION PRESENTING. ALSO, PARTICIPANT ELIGIBILITY, WE DID [00:05:01] NOTE THAT THERE WAS, UH, ABOUT 44, I BELIEVE PARTICIPANTS THAT WERE APPROVED FOR THE PROGRAM THAT WERE INELIGIBLE, SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THEY WERE OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS. OF THOSE SIX OF THEM DID PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM. UH, THAT ISSUE OF, UH, VERIFYING ELIGIBILITY HAS BEEN CORRECTED. AND THOSE, FOR THOSE SIX PARTICIPANTS, WE WERE REIMBURSED. THE CITY WAS REIMBURSED BY THE VENDORS, UH, FOR THE EXPENSES OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM, EITHER THROUGH A DIRECT PAYMENT OR CREDIT ON FUTURE, UH, FUTURE, UH, PAYMENTS. AND THEN ALSO WE NOTED THAT THE INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR SOME VENDORS WERE NOT IN LINE WITH THOSE REQUIRED BY THE CONTRACT. UH, AND SO THAT WAS ANO ANOTHER ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUE THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO FIX AND MOVE ON WITH. UM, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT DID, UH, ACCEPT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEY HAVE DEVELOPED A, A POSITIVE ACTION PLAN. AND IN THIS CASE, ALL OF THE, UH, ITEMS THAT WE'VE RECOMMENDED, THEIR ACTION PLANS, THEY'RE REPORTING BACK THAT THEY HAVE BEEN COMPLETED. WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF GOING BACK TO VERIFY, UH, THAT THEY IN FACT HAVE BEEN COMPLETED AND IMPLEMENTED EFFECTIVELY. SO THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. UH, MIKE RAMSEY IS HERE ALSO FROM WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME OR HIM THAT WE'RE HAVING PROBLEMS AS FAR AS, AS BRINGING PEOPLE IN, UH, OR NOT ACCOUNTING OR WAS THERE ONE OR TWO IN PARTICULAR? THE, THE, IF YOU'RE REFERENCING THE, UH, THE PERFORMANCE METRICS, THERE WERE TWO VENDORS THAT WHICH WE NOTED WE NEEDED BETTER SUPPORT. THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT THE RESULTS THAT THEY WERE PRESENTING WERE INACCURATE. UH, IT'S JUST WE NEED FROM AN AUDIT, FROM A, UH, COMPLIANCE SPECIFIC, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THOSE NUMBERS ARE ACCURATE AND THEY'RE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION FOR THEM. UH, SO AGAIN, IT, I'M NOT SAYING THAT THEY WERE NOT ACCURATE, IT'S, WE NEED TO HAVE BETTER SUPPORT TO MAKE A DECISION EITHER WAY ON THAT PROCESS. OKAY. MIKE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME UP AND, AND KIND OF GIVE US YOUR VIEW ON HOW THIS HAS BEEN RESOLVED? ABSOLUTELY, YES, SIR. UM, WE HAVE WORKED WITH OUR PARTNERS TO ENSURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE WHEN DEALING WITH PUBLIC DOLLARS AND MAKING SURE THAT BACKUP DOCUMENTATION IS THERE. OUR COMPLIANCE AND CONTRACTS TEAM LED BY LORI ZAMORA HAS BEEN DILIGENT IN WORKING WITH THEM TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE EXAMPLES SHOULD LOOK LIKE. AND IN OUR QUARTERLY REPORTS AND MONTHLY SAMPLING, WE'RE REQUESTING THOSE ON A SAMPLE BASIS SO THAT WE CAN ENSURE THAT THEY'RE IN COMPLIANCE. OKAY. UM, WAS, WAS THE, UM, WERE SOME OF THE WORKERS WHO WERE INVOLVED IN THIS, DID THEY RECEIVE THE, UH, STIPEND ALSO AND IS THAT BEING RECOVERED AS WELL? THAT IS CORRECT. FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE SERVED OUTSIDE OF THE CITY LIMITS, WE HAVE COLLECTED ALL EXPENSES THAT WERE EXPENSED ON THOSE PARTICIPANTS. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM EITHER COMMITTEE MEMBER? NO. NO. OKAY. THAT'S ALL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER. ALL RIGHT. AND SO, UH, AT THIS TIME, UH, I THINK WE'RE JUST GONNA GO AHEAD AND ACCEPT, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ACCEPT THAT FINAL AUDIT AS IT'S BEEN PRESENTED. SO COULD I HAVE A MOTION FOR THAT? THAT'S NUMBER 17. I'LL MOVE. OKAY. MOVED AND SECONDED. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? HEARING NONE. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, THAT'S ITEM 17. NOW WE'RE GONNA GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL SCHEDULE FOR, UH, OUR BRIEFINGS AND CONSIDERATION. THE [ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION  ] FIRST ONE IS ITEM FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION NUMBER NINE, WHICH IS A BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON COUNCIL CONSIDERATION REQUEST BY COUNCIL MEMBER MELISSA COVEA HDA REGARDING A RESPONSIBLE BIDDER ORDINANCE. UH, AND IS THE COUNCILWOMAN HERE TODAY OR ANYONE FROM HER STAFF? DO WE KNOW THAT SHE DID RECEIVE, SHE'S OUT OF TOWN, SIR. OKAY. BUT SHE WAS SENT A COPY OF THIS AND KNEW THAT IT WOULD BE ON THE AGENDA. UH, CHAIR. THAT'S CORRECT. WE DID COMMUNICATE WITH HER OFFICE TO LET HER KNOW THAT WE WOULD BE PRESENTING THIS ITEM TODAY TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE. OKAY. SO RAZZI, YOU GONNA BE PRESENTING IT? YES, SIR. OKAY. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING CHAIR AND MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE. I'M REZI HUSSEI, DIRECTOR, CITY ENGINEER FOR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT IN EARLY 2021, COUNCILWOMAN HAAR ISSUE A COUNCIL CONSIDERATION REQUEST, OR COMMONLY KNOWN C C R FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THE CITY ORDINANCE FOR LOW BID CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. TO NOT HIRE THAT THE CONTRACTOR PERFORMS POORLY, IS NOT ABLE TO COMPLETE CONTRACT IN TIMELY MANNER AND IT DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THE ANY OTHER LAW FOR CRITERIA AT C'S DISPOSAL. CHAPTER 2 52 OF STATE CODE ALLOWS THE CITY TO ESTABLISH REQUIREMENT NOT TO ENTER INTO CONTRACT WITH THE PERSON INDEBTED TO THE CITY. PUBLIC WORKS FINANCE DEPARTMENT AND CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE HAS WORKED TOGETHER TO CREATE AN [00:10:01] ORDINANCE AND REFINE OUR PROCESS TO ESTABLISH CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING A RESPONSIBLE WEATHER THAT PROVIDES THE BEST VALUE FOR THE CITY. THE CAREER TI INCLUDE AWARDING THE CONTRACTS FOR OR ENTERING INTO AGREEMENT WITH THE CONTRACTOR, NOT INDEBTED TO THE CITY, NOT INVOLVED ON ANY ACTIVE FEDERAL RISK CLAIM OR LITIGATION AGAINST THE CITY. DOES NOT FAIL TO DISCLOSE VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL LAW HAS NOT PREVIOUSLY CONTRACT TERMINATED AND WITH A HISTORY OF PERFORMING CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION, QUALITY, AND TIMELY WORK IN ORDER TO BE FAIR, SCORE IS GOING TO BE BY THE CITY TEAM ABOUT THE CONTRACTOR AND ALSO CONTRACTOR WILL DOWN THE SCORECARD ON CITY STAFF. AND OUR CONSULTING EVALUATION CRITERIA WILL BE TAILORED TO MEET THE SCALE OF THE PROJECT AND TYPE AND DURATION OF THE PROJECT. AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A PROJECT AS LONG AS TWO YEARS AND SOMETIME WE HAVE PROJECT AS SHORT AS FEW MONTHS. EVALUATION, AS I MENTIONED, WILL BE DONE BY PROJECT TEAM AND ALSO CONTRACTOR EVALUATION SCORECARD. AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH PROJECT, WE WILL SIT DOWN WITH THE CONTRACTOR AND DEVELOP, DEPEND ON THE TYPE OF THE PROJECT. WE INCLUDE BRAND NEW PROJECT, WE DO RENOVATION PROJECT, LARGE PROJECT AND SMALL PROJECT. CONTRACT REQUIREMENT IS GOING TO BE 20% OF THE SCORE BOND AND INSURANCE. DID CONTRACTOR PROVIDE US A BOND AND INSURANCE ON TIMELY MANNER SUBCONTRACTOR UTILIZATION, DID THEY PROVIDE US THOSE INFORMATION? WE NEED TO HAVE BASELINE CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE. VERY IMPORTANT. WE WANNA MAKE SURE PROJECTS START ON TIME AND FINISHES ON TIME. COMPLIANCE WITH GENERAL CONDITION, TIMELY SUBMISSION OF CHANGE OF SUBCONTRACTOR. IT IS NOT UNUSUAL FOR PRIME CONTRACTOR TO CHANGE THEIR SUBCONTRACTOR, BUT WE WANTED THEM TO SHORTLY AFTER THEY ARE CHANGING THOSE TO LET US TO KNOW. PREVAILING WAGE REQUIREMENT COMPLIANCE. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY PAY THE REQUIRE PAYMENT. OBTAINING UTILITY REQUIRE PERMIT IF APPLICABLE. FIELD OFFICE REQUIREMENT. ON LARGE PROJECT, WE REQUIRE CONTRACT TO PROVIDE FIELD OFFICE. THE REASON IS THAT WE DON'T WANT A CONTRACTOR'S STAFF LUNCHTIME USING PEOPLE'S FRONT YARD, SITTING UNDER THE TREE AND ENJOYING THEIR LUNCH. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THERE IS A FIELD OFFICE THEY CAN USE AND ALSO FROM PAST EXPERIENCE. SOMETIME WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE FIELD OFFICE, POSSIBLE TO USE SOME WATER FROM THE SOME OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD FROM THE FAUCET. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY HAVE OFFICE AND THEY STAY IN THE OFFICE AND USE THE OFFICE. SO RELOCATION REQUIREMENT ON LARGE PROJECT. WHEN THEY ARE REMOVING SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS ABOVE SOIL, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE INFORM WHERE THOSE SOIL IS GOING TO BE. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY DON'T DO LEGAL DUMPING SCHEDULE. 20% TIME TIMELY SUBMISSION OF THE ACCURATE MONTHLY SCHEDULE. ADEQUATE RESOURCE TO MEET THE PROJECT SCHEDULE. WE WANNA MAKE SURE ON LARGE PROJECT THEY HAVE TO HAVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF RESOURCE TO FINISH THOSE PROJECT. FEW MANPOWER IS NOT GOING TO FINISH THOSE PROJECT. COUNCILMAN COURAGES HAS EXPERIENCE IN HIS HIS DISTRICT COMPLETE CRITICAL PATH. WE DON'T WANT TO CONTRACT TO JUST START ALL OVER THE PROJECT. WE WANT HIM TO START AS SCHEDULED. FINISH THE PROJECT. PROMPT AND PROFF PER NOTIFICATION OF DELAY IS NOT UNUSUAL. PROJECT FALL BEHIND. WE WANNA THEM, WE WANNA LEARN FROM THEM. WE CAN INFORM THE COMMUNITY AND COUNCIL'S OFFICE BUDGET, 10% TIMELY PROCESSING OF THE PAYMENT. IF THEY DON'T SEND US TIMELY PAYMENT, MORE LIKELY THEY DON'T PAY THEIR SUB AND WE GET COMPLAINT FROM SUB. WE WANTED THEM TO SEND US THE PAYMENT, WE PAY THEM AND THEY CAN PAY THEIR SUB TIMELY PAYMENT. SUBCONTRACT. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY PAY THEIR SUB EXPEDITE NEGOTIATION AND APPROVAL OF ADDITIONAL WORK. AGAIN, IT'S NOT UNUSUAL ON THE PROJECT. WE NEED SOME ADDITIONAL WORK. WE WANTED THEM TO WORK WITH US. EXPEDITE THESE ADDITIONAL WORK QUALITY 20%. VERY IMPORTANT. MAINTAIN CLEAN AND S SAFE WORK SITE APPROPRIATE IMPLEMENTATION AND MAINTAINING OF TRAFFIC CONTROL. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THOSE BARRICADE WHERE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE PROPER INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE OF ACCESS TO IMPACTED BUSINESS. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. WE WANT EVERYBODY TO HAVE A PROPER ACCESS DURING CONSTRUCTION. CONSTRUCTION IS INCONVENIENCE, BUT EVERYBODY HAS TO HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR PROPERTY OR THEIR BUSINESSES. [00:15:01] MEETING SPECIFICATION, REQUIREMENT AND STANDARD, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY MEET THE PROJECT REQUIREMENT. MANAGEMENT OF SUBCONTRACTOR, THIS IS VERY COMMONLY SUBCONTRACT. PRIME CONTRACTOR DOES NOT MANAGE THEIR SUB. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY MANAGE THEIR SUBCONTRACTORS RESPONSIVENESS. ANOTHER TONY POINT, APPROPRIATE AND TIMELY RESOLUTION. THE CITY PROJECT TEAM AND PUBLIC CONCERN. WHEN THERE IS ISSUE, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY RESPONSE TIMELY, TIMELY. NEGOTI NOTIFICATION TO STATE TEAM ISSUE REGARDING MAY AFFECT PROJECT SCHEDULE, ADEQUATE PREPARATION FOR IN CLIMATE WEATHER. WHEN THERE IS A WIND OR RAIN IS COMING, WE WANNA MAKE SURE CONTRACTOR IN ADVANCE PREPARED THOSE ESPECIALLY FOR THE LONG WEEKEND OR HOLIDAYS. TIMELY RESPONSE FOR PROJECT RELATED ISSUE. PROJECT CLOSEOUT. WHEN WE ARE FINISHING PROJECT COMPLETE THE PUNCH LIST, WE PROVIDE THEM 30 DAYS TO DO THE PUNCH LIST. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY DO THE PUNCH LIST IN 30 DAYS. TIMELY SUBMISSION OF THE REQUIRED PROJECT DOCUMENT COMPLETION OF THE PAYMENT SUBCONTRACT. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY PAY SUBCONTRACTOR AND SUPPLIERS SUBMISSION OF ACCURATE DOCUMENT. FOR RETAINAGE RELEASE WE HOLD DURING CONSTRUCTION, WE HOLD 5% OF THEIR EVERY MONTH. THEIR WHAT THEY DO, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT END OF THE PROJECT, THEY PROVIDE ACCURATE DOCUMENTATION. WE CAN RELEASE THOSE. THEN HE CAN PAY HIS SUB ALSO. THIS IS GOING TO BE CITY STAFF AND A CONSULTING SCORECARD DONE BY CONTRACTOR. CITY STAFF WILL DO ONE FOR CONTRACTOR. CONTRACT WILL DO ONE FOR US. HOW GOOD WE DID DURING THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT RESPONSIVENESS. 40 POINT TIMELY CONTRACT AWARD ISSUE OF THE NOTES TO PROCEED AFTER WE BID THE PROJECT, WE RECEIVED A BID. DID WE MOVE FAST ENOUGH TO AWARD THE CONTRACT? 'CAUSE CONTRACT IS WAITING ON THAT CONTRACT. TIMELY RESOLUTION OF THE PROJECT RELATED ISSUE. IF THERE IS A ISSUE, WE HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION. DID WE MAKE TIMELY DECISION, TIMELY PROCESS OF CHANGE ORDERS, TIMELY RESPONSE TO REQUEST THE INFORMATION. ANYTIME THERE IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION, WE NEED TO TIMELY RESPONSE, ISSUE RESOLUTION AND PAYMENTS. 20% PROPER ESCALATION OF ISSUE TO CITY MANAGEMENT FOR DECISION MAKING. ASSIST THIS CONTRACTOR TO RESOLVING ANY UTILITY ISSUE. MANY TIME WE HAVE ISSUE DURING CONSTRUCTION WITH OTHER UTILITY AT AND T SAW, C P S AND OTHER. DID WE ASSIST THEM TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE? TIMELY PROCESS OF THE PAYMENT? DID WE PAY THEM UNTIMELY AVERAGE TODAY, IF EVERYBODY'S PROVIDE US ACCURATE DOCUMENT, WE PAID IN 11 DAYS AVERAGE. OUR REQUIREMENTS 30 DAYS, BUT AVERAGE WE PAY THEM 11 DAYS. THIS TIMELY RELEASES OF RETAINAGE, WE HOLD, AS I MENTIONED, 5% OF EVERY PAYMENT. DID WE RELEASE TIMELY AS LONG AS THE CONTRACTOR PROVIDE US ACCURATE INFORMATION. CONSULTING EVALUATION, 40% QUALITY OF THE CONSTRUCTION PLAN AND CONTRACT DOCUMENT. DID WE HAVE A GOOD DOCUMENT FOR THE CONTRACTOR TO BUILD FROM TIMELY RESOLUTION OF THE PROJECT RELATED ISSUE? DID CON CONSULTING PROVIDE THEM WHATEVER INFORMATION THEY NEED TO PROVIDE TIMELY PROCESSING OF THE CHANGE ORDER? TIMELY RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR INFORMATION, TIMELY TIMELINE, ONGOING COORDINATION WITH FINANCE AND CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. SPRING OF THIS YEAR WE PROVIDE INFORMATION AND WE GOT SIGNIFICANT FEEDBACK FROM AGCS LAST, LAST MONTH WE BRIEFED THE SDA COMMITTEE. TODAY WE ARE BRIEFING AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE EARLY NEXT YEAR, JANUARY, LATE JANUARY, EARLY FEBRUARY, WE WILL TAKE IN THIS ITEM FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL. THAT'S CHAIRMAN IS IN MY PRESENTATION. I WILL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTION. I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS NOW. IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE PUTTING TOGETHER A, A PROGRAM THAT EVALUATES OR, OR LISTS THE EXPECTATIONS FOR BIDDERS, BUT ALSO IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GONNA BE EVALUATING OURSELVES WORKING WITH THESE CONTRACTS AND THESE BIDDERS. IS THAT RIGHT? CORRECT. IT IS TWO WAY STREET AND OUR CONSULTING, BECAUSE THEY DESIGNED THE PLAN, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE CON CONTRACT IS NOT GETTING PUNISHED BECAUSE OUR CONSULTING HAD PREPARED PER PLAN. NOW, SOMETHING I RECALL IN LOOKING AT, UH, PRESENTATIONS WE'VE HAD AT THIS COMMITTEE IN THE PAST IS THAT, UH, WE LOOK AT OTHER FACTORS THAT WEREN'T MENTIONED HERE, [00:20:01] FOR EXAMPLE, UH, ARE AWARDING PEOPLE WHO HAVE, UH, SUB BETA POINTS OR VETERANS POINTS OR THINGS OF THAT NATURE. I DIDN'T SEE ANY, ANY REFERRAL TO THOSE THAT WE CURRENTLY DO. UH, YOU KNOW, AND WE LOOK AT IT EXPERIENCE. AND AGAIN, I'M NOT SURE THAT I SAW THAT MENTIONED AS AS A FACTOR. SO IS THIS GOING TO BE SEPARATE FROM THE THE THE USUAL WAY THAT WE EVALUATE A CONTRACT COMING TO US? YES. LET'S SAY GOOD NUMBER OF OUR PROJECT. LET'S JUST SAY FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE A 20.4 AVIDA. IF THEY DON'T MEET THE REQUIREMENT AND IF THEY DON'T GET WAIVER, THEN THEY DON'T REALLY MAKE, WE DON'T EVEN BRING THAT CONTRACT TO COUNCIL. COUNCIL DOESN'T PROVE THAT. SO THIS WOULD KIND OF OVERLAY THE USUAL WAY WE EVALUATE, UH, CONTRACTS FOR LET'S SAY STREETS OR BUILDINGS OR THINGS OF THAT NATURE. IF I MAY. SURE. I IT WASN'T CLEAR FROM THE PRESENTATION. THIS APPLIES ONLY TO LOW BID CONTRACTS. OH, OKAY. THAT'S, I THINK THAT ADDRESSES SOME OF THE QUESTIONS. THERE WE GO. ALL RIGHT. NOW I UNDERSTAND BETTER. SO IT'S ONLY FOR LOW BID CONTRACTS. LOW BID. CORRECT. OKAY. UM, DO LOW BID, LOW BID CONTRACTS EVER? UH, REVOLVE AROUND BUILDINGS OR THINGS LIKE THAT THAT WE WANNA HAVE BUILT FOR THE CITY? WE USUALLY, WE USED TO DO BUILDING, WE END UP HAVING NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE. WE DO NOT DO BY BIT BY JUST PRACTICE. WE DO NOT DO BUILDING OR SINCE THE PROJECT LIKE DOWNTOWN LOBBY BIT ANYMORE. WE DID MANY YEARS AGO. OKAY, SO THIS WOULD ONLY BE FOR THE LOW BIDS, CORRECT. FORWARD. OKAY. UH, ONE OF THE PROBLEMS THAT I'VE, I'VE EXPERIENCED, AND I'LL USE MY EXPERIENCE AS AN EXAMPLE. UH, WE'VE HAD CONTRACTORS WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO DO THINGS. IT COULD BE STREETS, SIDEWALKS, OTHER SMALL BASIC PROJECTS. AND, AND THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO LET THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON THE STREET KNOW, HEY, OUR WORK IS GONNA START NEXT WEEK OR TWO WEEKS FROM NOW, OR THINGS LIKE THAT. OR IF THERE'S SOME KIND OF EXTRAORDINARY DELAY, THEY NEED TO LET PEOPLE, AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT A LOT OF THE CONTRACTORS AND POSSIBLY THEIR SUBCONTRACTORS DON'T REALLY GET OUT AND INFORM THE COMMUNITY IN ADVANCE. SOMETIMES IT'S TWO DAYS IN ADVANCE, HEY, WE'RE GONNA START ON YOUR STREET THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW OR SOMETHING. WHAT IS GOING TO BE AN EXPECTED CRITERIA FOR ANY OF THESE SMALL BIDDERS TO NOTIFY THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THEIR ACTIONS WHEN IT'S GONNA START? UH, OR ANY ABRUPT CHANGES THAT NEED TO TAKE PLACE. UH, I THINK PARALLEL TO THIS ONE COUNCILMAN ALSO, WE ARE WORKING REALLY TO IMPROVE OUR COMMUNICATION PLAN. OUR INTENTION IS TO GO TO COMMUNITY OR PERHAPS AT MINIMUM HOUR, TWO WEEKS BEFORE CERTAIN THING IS GOING TO START. WE WERE THINKING TO DO, WE HAVE DONE IN THE PAST ONE MONTH IN ADVANCE, BUT PEOPLE END UP FORGETTING ONE MONTH. YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT. TWO WEEKS IN ADVANCE AND THEN FEW DAYS BEFORE IS GOING TO HAPPEN. WE WANNA INFORM THEM. AND ALSO WHEN WE HAVE A MEETING, USUALLY HERE WE COME MEETING, WE REALLY WANNA ASK PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY ON THE LARGE BUSINESSES, MORE THAN REALLY RESIDENTIAL, WHO FROM YOUR ORGANIZATION SHOULD WE COMMUNICATE? BECAUSE MANY TIME WHEN WE HAVE THOSE DOOR HAND HANGER, THE FIRST ONE COMES THE DOOR, WE GIVE IT TO THAT INDIVIDUAL. MAYBE HE OR SHE'S NOT THE RIGHT PERSON. WHO SHOULD WE COMMUNICATE WITH? HOW SHOULD WE COMMUNICATE WITH? BECAUSE COMMONLY WE RELY ON WEEKLY EMAIL. AND WE THINK SINCE WE SENT THE EMAIL, WE REALLY COMMUNICATE. WE REALLY DIDN'T COMMUNICATE. WE SENT THE EMAIL BUT THEY DIDN'T REALLY GET OUR MESSAGE. WE WANTED THEM TO TELL HOW THEY LIKE TO BE ASKED, COMMUNICATING WITH THEM, TEXTING, PHONE CALL IN PERSON OR EMAIL AND HOW OFTEN SHOULD WE COMMUNICATE WEEKLY, MONTHLY, AND SO ON. WE WANT TO GET BACK FROM THEM. AND ALSO WE REALLY WANNA PROVIDE THEM INFORMATION WHO THEY SHOULD COMMUNICATE FROM US. IF SOMETHING CHANGE IN THEIR BUSINESSES, THEY REALLY NEED TO TELL US THE NEEDS CHANGE OR WHAT WE ARE DOING FOR THEM IS NOT WORKING. WE NEED TO LEARN FROM THEM. MM-HMM. , WHAT ARE THE CHARACTER OF THE TYPICAL LOW BID TYPE OF PROJECTS? UH, WE'D BE WORKING WITH PEOPLE TO DO, IS IT STREETS AND SIDEWALKS OR WHAT ELSE? MOST OF THE TIME. STREET AND SIDEWALK. WE DO A LOT. YOU KNOW, SS AND P STREET MAINTENANCE PROGRAM, ALL OF THEM IS DONE ON ATE THROUGHOUT THE CITY. EVERY COUNCIL OF DISTRICT, THE AREA WE DO NOT DO ATE ON, MOSTLY ON FACILITY BECAUSE WE REALLY DON'T WANT, LIKE WE ARE BUILDING LIBRARY, FIRE STATION, POLICE SERVICE STATION. AND THE AREA HAS A LOT STAKEHOLDER, A LOT BUSINESSES, FOR EXAMPLE, DOWNTOWN PROJECT IS GOOD EXAMPLE. WE DO EITHER COMPETITIVE SEAL PROPOSAL, PRICE IS A SMALL FACTOR. QUALITY OF THE WAR. CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS PLAN, HOW HE'S GOING TO DO IT IS MORE BIG FACTOR MOST OF THE TIME PRICE ON THOSE, ROUGHLY 20% [00:25:01] OR SO. AND ALSO THE AREA, WE HAVE A LOT OF UTILITY, UNDERGROUND UTILITY. WE MAKE SURE WE DON'T DO LO BIT BECAUSE ESPECIALLY ALL PART OF TOWN, NEITHER UTILITY AGENCY KNOWS WHERE THEY'RE UTILITY LOCATED AND HOW DEEP THEY ARE. MM-HMM. , UH, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF STREET WORK RIGHT AROUND CITY HALL HERE. HAS THAT BEEN LOW BID OR NOT? THE ONE IS WE HAVE DONE IN AROUND THE DOWNTOWN. ALL OF THEM IS COMPETITIVE SEAL PROPOSAL. NONE OF THEM IS LOW BID. YES. OKAY. UM, ONE OF THE PROBLEMS, AND, AND I GUESS IT'S, IT'S NOT A LOW BID SITUATION, BUT I, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO THINK ABOUT. MAYBE NOT TAKE ANY DECISIVE ACTION ON TODAY, BUT IT'S, IT'S THE EFFECT ON BUSINESSES THAT THE WORK, UH, HAS, FOR EXAMPLE, SIDEWALKS AND STREET WORK. AND WE KNOW WE'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT SMALL BUSINESSES HAVING THEIR BUSINESSES HURT. I GUESS THIS DOESN'T ADDRESS THAT AT ALL. ALTHOUGH IF A IF IT'S A LOW BID CONTRACT DOING A STREET OR A SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF BUSINESSES, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO CREATE SUCH A NEGATIVE IMPACT THAT IT'S REALLY GONNA HURT THEIR BUSINESSES? CAN THAT BE PART OF LOOKING AT THIS PROCESS? I, I THINK THIS PROCESS IS SOME DEGREE ADDRESS THAT ONE. LIKE AS WE SAID, IT'S SUPPOSED TO PROVIDE ACCESS FOR ALL THE BUSINESSES. SITE HAS TO BE VERY CLEAN AND ORGANIZED FROM THAT ANGLE. YES. BUT AGAIN, COUNCILMAN CONSTRUCTION IS INCONVENIENCE UNFORTUNATELY. AND WE ARE IMPROVING COMMUNICATION WITH THEM TO HOW, HOW EARLY THEY KNOW ABOUT, ABOUT THE EFFECT OF THE CONSTRUCTION. UH, COUNCILMAN, UM, NEXT WEEK THE E W D C COMMITTEE IS GONNA HEAR PRESENTATION ON THE CONSTRUCTION MITIGATION PROGRAM THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVED IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET. UH, I SAT DOWN WITH THE TEAM YESTERDAY. UH, PUBLIC WORKS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT. UM, WE'LL BE ROLLING THAT OUT, UM, IMMEDIATELY. UM, AND, AND THOSE COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT AREN'T ON ECONOMIC OR COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, WE'LL GET INDIVIDUAL BRIEFINGS. UH, THE STAFF HAVE PUT TOGETHER GOOD BEST PRACTICES ANALYSIS OF WHAT'S WORKED AND WHAT HASN'T IN OTHER CITIES. AND UH, THAT'LL BE ROLLING OUT TO THE COUNCIL NEXT WEEK. THANKS ERIC. MM-HMM. . UH, AND SO WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS SOMETIME IN, IN THE SPRING, UH, WOULD WE SAY THAT THIS COMMITTEE THEN WOULD NOT SEE ANYONE WHO, UH, FALLS INTO THE SITUATION WHERE THEY'RE NOT, UH, A RELIABLE BIDDER? WE PROBABLY WILL NOT BRING THAT ON THE COMMITTEE, BUT WE WILL BRING THAT ONE TO STATE COUNCIL. A SESSION, UH, CHAIR. LEMME JUST CLARIFY ON THIS COMMITTEE, ALL THE, UH, WE DO NOT LOOK AT LOW BID CONTRACTS AS PART OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE. SO WHAT OZZY'S TALKING ABOUT THE ORDINANCE WOULD APPLY TO LOW BID CONTRACTS. SO THOSE WOULDN'T COME FORWARD HERE. OKAY. UH, HAS THE COUNCILWOMAN HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THIS SINCE SHE PROPOSED IT? RA AND I HAVE A BRIEFER NUMBER. ALRIGHT. I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS. I'LL LEAVE IT UP TO EITHER OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS. OKAY. COUNCILWOMAN, UH, MEMBER TREVINO. SO IS THE, UM, THE SCORECARD A REQUIREMENT FROM THE CONTRACTORS TO COMPLETE? IT IS NOT REQUIRED BUT IS ENCOURAGE THEM TO DO IT? YES. OKAY. BUT WE WILL DO ON CONTRACTOR AND MY FEELING, IF WE ARE DOING ON CONTRACT, MORE LIKELY THEY WILL DO ONE ON US. OKAY. AND THEN THOSE THAT DID NOT. SO IF WE DO LOW BID, JUST SO THAT I UNDERSTAND FOR CLARIFICATION, IF THERE'S OTHERS THAT ARE BIDDING ON THIS PROJECT, RIGHT? AND WE, WE GO WITH THE LOW BID, ARE WE DOING GIVING THE SCORECARD FOR JUST A FEW OF THE ITEMS TO THE OTHERS WHO WERE NOT AWARDED THE PROJECT? YOU KNOW, LIKE IF WE DID, IF WE RESPONDED TIMELY, THE R F PS THE PROCESS AT THE BEGINNING, WE DO ON THE LOBBY BID. OKAY. THE FIRST ONE, WHO IS THE LOBBY BIDER AND IF IT DOESN'T MEET THIS REQUIREMENT AND WE HAVE TO GO SECOND LOBBY BID, WE DO ON THE SECOND LOBBY BID ALSO. OKAY. THANK YOU. COMMITTEE MEMBER. IF I MAY CLARIFY AGAIN FURTHER IT, THE, THE, THIS PROCESS IS SO THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY BIDDERS THAT ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE BIDDERS SO THAT WHEN WE HAVE A LOW BID CONTRACT, IF THEY APPEAR AS A LOW BID, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO SOMEBODY ELSE. BUT MY GUESS IS WE WOULDN'T EVEN SEE THEM COMING FORWARD 'CAUSE WE WOULDN'T RIGHT? YEAH. WE WOULDN'T LET THEM BE ELIGIBLE TO, CORRECT. CORRECT. SO BASED ON THE FEEDBACK OF THE SCORECARDS FROM THE STAFF AND MAYBE FROM THEM, IF THEY FILLED IT OUT, THEN WE WOULD NOT EVEN HAVE THEM ON OUR LIST FOR THEM TO BID IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING REQUIREMENT FOR THEY WON'T BE ON THE LIST. CORRECT, RAY. RIGHT. AND, AND, AND YOU KNOW, JUST TO FURTHER CLARIFY, THERE'S GONNA BE A TIMING, UH, A TIME WHERE WE NEED TO HAVE HISTORY ON THE CONTRACTOR. SO THEY MAY GET AN INITIAL, AN INITIAL CONTRACT AND DUE TO THE SCORECARD, YOU KNOW, HAVING DONE BUSINESS WITH THIS, THIS, UM, CONTRACTOR AND POOR PERFORMANCE DOCUMENTED, THE NEXT TIME AROUND WHEN THEY SUBMIT THAT BID IS WHEN WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT THAT SCORECARD AND SAY, THIS IS NOT A RESPONSIBLE BIDDER AND THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO THROW OUT THE BID AT THAT POINT. SO IT'S A BIT OF A TIMING ISSUE. WE NEED TO, WE [00:30:01] NEED TO DEVELOP SOME HISTORY WITH CONTRACTORS EVEN THOUGH WE DO HAVE SOME HISTORY NOW DOCUMENTED ON THIS SCORECARD SYSTEM BEFORE TAKING ACTION. SO SHERIFF, I COULD JUST ADD MAYBE WHAT RAY SAID. SORRY. WHEN WE GET THE BRAND NEW CONTRACTOR WORKING FOR US FOR FIRST TIME, THERE IS NO SCORECARD FROM US. WE REQUIRE THEM TO PRO PROVIDE US REFERENCES. WE CHECK THEIR REFERENCES. SO CHAIR, JUST FROM A PROCESS STANDPOINT, I THINK, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WHEN WE GO OUT WITH A LOW BID, ANYONE CAN SUBMIT A BID AT THAT POINT. AND SO IN THIS CASE, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE SCORECARD AND AS ANDY SAID, IF THAT LOW BIDDER IS DEEMED TO BE NOT RESPONSIBLE UNDER OUR ORDINANCE, WE WOULD BYPASS THAT LOW BID AND GO TO THE NEXT LOW BID. WE WOULD, I THINK DISCLOSE THAT TO YOU AS PART OF THE BRIEFING PACKAGE THAT WOULD GO TO COUNCIL. SO YOU WOULDN'T SEE THAT BIDDER. BUT WE WOULD NOTE IN THERE THAT, THAT THE LOW BID WAS DEEMED NON-RESPONSIVE UNDER THE ORDINANCE. AND THEN WE ARE RECOMMENDING THE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE SECOND LOWEST BID. AND UH, WHAT ABOUT, UH, SUBCONTRACTORS WHO'VE HAD, UH, NOT VERY GOOD EXPERIENCES WITH US. COULD THAT CAUSE UH, A BID TO BE REJECTED? BECAUSE THE SUBCONTRACTOR THEY HAVE IN THERE, UH, IS ON OUR YEAH, WE, WHEN WE ARE SCORING THE PRIME, WE SCORE THEIR SUB ALSO, ONE OF THE ITEM WAS SAYING THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR SUB. MM-HMM. SUB DOESN'T HAVE CONTRACT WITH US, BUT IF THE PRIME DOESN'T MANAGE A SUB IS GOING TO GO AGAINST THE PRIMES SCORE. OKAY. COUNCILMAN, UH, BRAVO. THANK YOU. RAZZI. WILL, WILL A CONTRACTOR GET REALTIME FEEDBACK AS WELL? SO IF IT'S THIS IS THEIR FIRST TIME TO, TO DO, UH, PERFORM A CONTRACT FOR THE CITY, WOULD YOUR STAFF THEN SAY, HEY LOOK, YOU'RE NOT MEETING, YOU'RE NOT MEASURING UP ON THIS AND THIS IS GONNA BE, IF YOU DON'T GET THIS RIGHT ON THIS PROJECT, YOU'RE GONNA GET POOR SCORES ON THIS SCORECARD AND THEN YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE CONTRACTS. GOOD POINT, COUNCILMAN. OUR INTENTION IS NOT REALLY TO, AT THE END OF THE PROJECTS IT COME OVER, THEY SAY, I CUT YOU. WE ARE GOING TO SIT DOWN AND WITH THE CONTRACTOR WHEN WE ARE GOING TO RECOMMEND CONSULT, HOW OFTEN SHOULD WE SIT DOWN TOGETHER TO DISCUSS? MORE LIKELY WE'LL BE AT LEAST EVERY FEW MONTHS WE WILL DISCUSSING WITH THEM AND WE WANNA REALLY FEEDBACK FROM THEM. I'M SURE WE CAN IMPROVE OUR PROCESS ALSO, WE WANTED THEM TO TELL US HOW WE CAN IMPROVE OUR PROCESS. GOT IT. AND THEN, UM, LET'S SAY THAT YOU'RE, I'VE GOT A CONTRACT WITH THE CITY AND I DON'T THINK YOUR STAFF IS DOING A GOOD JOB OF WORKING WITH ME. WELL, I MIGHT BE HESITANT TO GIVE YOU POOR SCORES BECAUSE THEN YOU ALL MIGHT BE MAD AND I MIGHT AND I MIGHT NOT PICK ME IN A FUTURE CONTRACT. AND SO HOW DO WE HANDLE THAT? YOU SHOULDN'T BE HESITANT. COUNCILMAN . . OKAY. UM, I'M ALSO WONDERING ABOUT, I MEAN, DO, DO WE WANT TO GIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS THE ABILITY TO, TO GIVE A SCORECARD IF THE PROJECT WAS IN THEIR DISTRICT? OR DO WE WANNA LET LOCAL BUSINESSES BE ABLE TO FILL OUT A SCORECARD ABOUT WAS WAS THIS CONTRACTOR RESPONSIVE TO OUR REQUESTS? UM, BECAUSE I CAN THINK OF A LOT OF BUSINESS OWNERS ALONG BROADWAY OR NORTH ST. MARY'S THAT WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO FILL OUT A SCORECARD. RIGHT NOW, , OUR INTENTION IS COUNCILMAN THIS TO BE HANDLED IN THE STAFF LEVEL. BUT I I TELL YOU, WE HEAR FROM COUNCIL OFFICE, I HAVE HEARD, HEARD PLENTY FROM COUNCILMAN CO ABOUT THE PROJECT WE HAVE IN IS THIS WEEK. I I I WILL DOWN ON HIS BEHALF ON THIS SCORECARD. I DON'T KNOW HE NEEDS THIS DO THIS SCORECARD. . YEAH. AND SO MY LAST QUESTION IS WHY ARE WE LIMITING THIS TO LOW BID CONTRACTS? ON THE OTHER ONE IS PRICES. WE DO PEPSI PROPOSALS ARE PRICES REALLY NOT VERY SMALL FACTOR. WE GO WITH THE QUALITY. I'M NOT SURE THERE'S A NEED TO CARRY FOR OTHER THAN LOW BID BECAUSE PRICE IS LOW. BID IS NOT THE FACTOR. OKAY. THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU CHAIR. OKAY, THANK YOU RAZZI. I THINK WE'VE GOTTEN, UH, ANSWERS TO OUR QUESTIONS. NOW. OUR NEXT STEP WOULD BE AS A COMMITTEE TO, UH, VOTE TO SUBMIT THIS TO COUNCIL FOR THEIR APPROVAL. IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT. CHAIR. OKAY. SO, UH, IF THE COMMITTEE'S SO INCLINED, I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR THIS COMMITTEE TO UH, PASS THIS ON TO CITY COUNCIL FOR THEIR APPROVAL AND THEIR ACTION. DO I HAVE A MOTION? A MOTION TO SEND THIS TO FULL TO FULL COUNCIL? OKAY. SECOND. OKAY, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO SEND THIS TO FULL CITY COUNCIL FOR COUNCIL DELIBERATION OR APPROVAL. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. NONE OPPOSED. MOTION IS PASSED. THANK YOU. OKAY, [Pre-Solicitation High Profile Briefings  ] THE NEXT ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA ARE SOME PRES SOLICITATION HIGH PROFILE CONTRACTS. WE'VE GOT TWO OF THEM. UH, ONE IS [00:35:01] A BRIEFING ON THE RELEASE OF A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE SEALED PROPOSALS, SOLICITING FOR ONE CONTRACT TO PROVIDE THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT WITH CONSTRUCTION SERVICES FOR THE HEMISPHERE CIVIC PARK. AND THE OTHER IS, UH, A SOLICITATION FOR UP TO SEVEN CONTRACTS TO PROVIDE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT WITH ON-CALL CIVIL ENGINEERING SERVICES. SO AGAIN, I I BELIEVE I'LL TURN THIS BACK OVER TO, UH, BEN OR WHO DO YOU HAVE PRESENTING THIS, UH, CHAIR RAZZI HU'S SAYING HE'S GONNA BE PRESENTING, UH, BOTH ITEMS 10 AND 11 THIS MORNING. OKAY, THANK YOU CHAIR. A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE SEAL PROPOSAL OR COMMONLY KNOWN C S P FOR CONSTRUCTION OF PARK IMPROVEMENT RELATED TO HEMISPHERE CIVIC PARK PHASE TWO A 2022 GEO BOND PROGRAM PROJECT LOCATED IN 210 SOUTH ALAMO ADJACENT TO HENRY B. GONZALES CONVENTION CENTER PARK IMPROVEMENT ARE TO BE INCLUDE ZICA ENTRANCE PLAZA WATER FEATURE LANDSCAPING AND ADJOINING PER PERMANENT DEBT AS CONTINUATION OF THE CIVIC PART. PHASE ONE CONSTRUCTION, WHICH IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND ONGOING SOLICITATION TYPE IS A C S P. THE IS THE ESTIMATED VALUE OF 15.8 MILLION PROPOSED TERM. THE PROJECT WILL BE DONE IN MARCH, 2025 AND IS A NEW CONTRACT. OKAY, SO THAT'S ITEM NUMBER 10. UM, WE, WE, WE HAVE MORE TO GO COUNCIL. YEAH, I WAS, YEAH, I WAS HOPING TO SEE MORE. THANKS. AND N I G CODE FOR THIS ONE IS GOING TO BE MARBLE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND SEWER, STORMWATER, CONCRETE, ELECTRICAL, PLUMBING, LANDSCAPING. AND ON A CENTRAL VENDOR REGISTRY WE HAVE 1095. THE ADVERTISEMENT IS GOING TO BE DONE ON CIV CAT T V S A CHANNEL 21 SSA BIDDING OPPORTUNITY WEBSITE. THE HEARTBEATS AND TEXAS ELECTRONIC STATE BUSINESS DAILY EVALUATION COMMITTEE IS GOING TO BE LAURIE HISTONE, MYSELF, RE SINI, JEFF KAL, TONY SAGE, MELISSA CHEME AND STEVE DU. EVALUATION CRITERIA IS GOING TO BE EXPERIENCE, BACKGROUND, QUALIFICATION OF THE RESPONDENT, KEY PERSONNEL AND KEY SUBCONTRACTOR 30 POINTS UNDERSTANDING OF PROJECT PROPOSED MANAGEMENT, 25 POINT EXPERIENCE WITH SAN ANTONIO REGION AND PAST PERFORMANCE 20 POINT EVEN COUNCILMAN THIS IS NOT LOW BIT BUT PAST EXPERIENCE GOING TO COUNT 20 POINT PRICE IS 15 POINT. AS YOU REALIZE THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LOBIT AND COMPETITIVE PROPOSAL PRICE IS 15 POINT ONLY S P E PROGRAM, FIVE POINT AND M W B E AND OTHER 0.5 POINT ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT AUDIT FINANCIAL STATEMENT IS NOT REQUIRED. LOCAL PERFORMANCE PROGRAM ALSO NOT REQUIRED. VETERAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESS PERFORMANCE PROGRAM NOT APPLICABLE AND SUBCONTRACTOR GOLD IS A 16 POINT FOR M W B SUBCONTRACTOR AND 2% FOR A A B E SUBCONTRACTOR GOAL SETTING WAS DONE IS MICHAEL SINDEN ATTENDED GOLD SETTING IAN BENE VISTA, LUIS MALTO AND ANGELICA MOTA. A P I APPLIED FOR 10 POINT FOR SABI, A S P E PRIME CONTRACTOR PROGRAM FIVE POINT M W E PRIME CONTRACTOR PROGRAM, ANOTHER FIVE POINT SDA SUBCONTRACTOR REQUIREMENT 16.4 M W B AND 2% FOR A A B E SUBCONTRACTOR. SELF PERFORMED BY PRIME CONTRACTOR WILL BE ACCOUNT AGAINST FOR THE SUBCONTRACTOR GOLD. A P I ARE SUPPORTED BY FOLLOWING ANALYSIS ON A CONTRACT BY CONTRACT BASE OPPORTUNITY FOR SM B SS M W B E WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE WORK PERCENTAGE OF SS M W B AVAILABLE IN CONTRACT VENDOR REGISTRY AND UTILIZATION OF SS M W B E ON HISTORIC PROJECT SIMILAR TO THIS NATURE ATION TIME [00:40:01] SET IS A GOAL SETTING WAS DONE. OCTOBER 3RD, PRES SOLICITATION IS TODAY. RELEASE OF THE DOCUMENT WILL BE DECEMBER 14, PRE-SUBMIT OUR CONFERENCE JANUARY 12TH DEADLINE FOR QUESTION REGARDING THE PROJECT IS JANUARY 17 DUE FOR DUE DATE FOR SUBMITTAL FEBRUARY 6TH. EVALUATION COMPLETED MARCH 10, CONTRACT NEGOTIATION MARCH 28TH POSTS SOLICITATION WILL BE DONE APRIL 26TH. CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION MAY 23RD AND CONTRACT START MAY 23RD. ALSO INDA MY PRESENTATION. I AM HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTION YOU MAY HAVE. THANK YOU RAZZY. I HAVE A QUESTION OR TWO. UM, FIRST OF ALL, UH, I, I REMEMBER MY PREDECESSOR ON THIS COMMITTEE WOULD TALK A LOT ABOUT ADVANCING ADDITIONAL TIME FOR THESE PROCESSES TO TAKE PLACE. IS THAT STILL INCLUDED? HAVE WE EXPANDED THAT PERIOD OF TIME TO MORE LIKE SIX WEEKS OR LONGER IN ORDER FOR PEOPLE TO BE RESPONSIVE FOR THESE BIDS? YES SIR. ON THE HIGH PROFILE WE TRADITIONALLY WOULD DO 30 DAYS THAT'D BE OUT ON THE STREETS AND WE'VE EXTENDED THAT TO 45 DAYS. OKAY, GOOD. AND I, I THOUGHT I SAW THAT IN THERE BUT I WANTED TO BE SURE. UH, ANOTHER QUESTION I HAD WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT GIVING UH, S BETA POINTS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, YOU SAID UH, A FACTOR IS 16%, UH, FOR SMALL BUSINESS WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES AND YOU SAID AND 2% FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN OWNED BUSINESSES. AND YOU SAID THAT CAME FROM A, AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW MANY OF THOSE BUSINESSES WERE AVAILABLE THAT DID THAT KIND OF WORK, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. AND IN ADDITION PROJECTS SIMILAR THIS, RIGHT? WHAT PERCENTAGE WE WERE ABLE TO USE. CORRECT. RIGHT. AND SO AM I RIGHT IN ASSUMING THAT IF SOMEBODY HAD UH, 16% OF THE SUBCONTRACTORS BEING MINORITY OWNED, THEY'D PROBABLY GET ALL 20 POINTS OR 19 OF THEM OR SOMETHING. I GOT THAT. GOOD AFTERNOON. MICHAEL SENDMAN ADMINISTRATOR. 10 POINTS I SHOULD SAY. YEAH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. SO THE POINTS IN SUBCONTRACTING ARE DIFFERENT. THE SUBCONTRACTING GOALS ARE A SIMPLE REQUIREMENT. YOU MEET THEM OR YOU DON'T IT. THAT'S NOT WHAT AWARDS THE VENDOR POINTS. THE POINTS ARE GIVEN BASED ON THE PRIME THEMSELVES BEING A CERTIFIED BUSINESS. OKAY. SO I GUESS WHAT WE'RE SAYING, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIND 16% SUBCONTRACTORS, UH, IN THE MINORITY BUSINESS AREA. AND IF THEY DON'T, IF THEY ONLY COME UP WITH FIVE OR 10%, THEY SIMPLY DON'T GET THOSE POINTS AT ALL. CORRECT. 'CAUSE THE SUBCONTRACTING IS NOT TIED TO THOSE POINTS. OKAY, THANK YOU. UH, THOSE ARE THE ONLY QUESTIONS I HAVE EITHER COMMITTEE MEMBER. OKAY. SO AT THIS POINT IN TIME, UH, THIS WAS JUST A BRIEFING FOR US AND THE UH, PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT WILL MOVE FORWARD WITH PUTTING THAT BID OUT THERE. OKAY, NEXT ONE IS NUMBER 11. THIS IS BRIEFING COUNCILMAN FOR UM, THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT SEEKING PROFESSIONAL SERVICE TO INCLUDE ENGINEERING, DESIGN AND PREPARATION OF THE DESIGN DOCUMENT FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT OR COMMONLY WE SAY I M P AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN. IF YOU REMEMBER, WE GOT SOME FUNDING FROM ARPA AND BOND REHABIL REHABILITATION PROJECT. WE HAD IF STREET PART OF THE BOND PROGRAM, WE ARE PLANNING TO USE THESE SERVICES ALSO. WE'LL INCLUDE PRELIMINARY DOCUMENT, COST ESTIMATE PLAN, DESIGN AND REPORT AS DIRECTED. SOLICITATION TYPE IS A REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION. ESTIMATED VALUE FOR ONE YEAR WILL BE 4.5 MILLION FOR TWO YEARS WILL BE 9.1 MILLION. IT'LL BE ONE YEAR AND WITH ADDITIONAL ONE YEAR AND IS A NEW CONTRACT. SOLICITATION OVERVIEW IS WILL BE N I G P CODES WILL BE CIVIL ENGINEERING INSPECTION SERVICES, CONSTRUCTION TYPE EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING CONSULTING. CENTRAL VENDOR REGISTRY HAS 194. THE ADVERTISEMENT WILL BE DONE CSCAT KAT VS. A CHANNEL 21 SSA BIDDING WEBSITE. THE HEARTBEAT TEXAS US ELECTRONIC STATE BUSINESS DAILY EVALUATION COMMITTEE CONSISTS OF RALPH SANCHEZ FROM CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE. ANTHONY LIO, LCM DU JULIO GOMAN AND CARMEN RIVERAS AND EDWARD SALINAS. EVALUATION CRITERIA IS GOING TO BE BACKGROUND [00:45:01] QUALIFICATION OF THE RESPONDENTS KEY PERSONNEL AND SUBCONTRACTOR FOR PO UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROJECT AND PROPOSED MANAGEMENT PLAN. 25 POINTS EXPERIENCE WITH SAN ANTONIO REGION AND PAST PERFORMANCE 35 POINTS ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT, AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENT IS NOT REQUIRE LOCAL PREFERENCE PROGRAM IS NOT APPLICABLE. VETERAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES PREFERENCE PROGRAM ALSO NOT APPLICABLE. SBIA SUBCONTRACTOR REQUIREMENT IS 21% FOR M W B E GOAL SETTING COMMITTEE CONSISTS THAT MICHAEL SINDEN, IAN BENEVISTA, ANTHONY CHOCO W AND AND ANGELICA MOTOR A P I APPLIED FOR A SDA SUBCONTRACTOR REQUIREMENT 21% WHICH M M W B E SUBCONTRACTOR SELF PERFORMANCE BY PRIME RESPONDENT WILL COUNT TOWARD THE SUBCONTRACTOR GOALS. AP APIS ARE SUPPORTED BY THE FOLLOWING ANALYSIS FOR THE CONTRACT BY CONTRACT BASE OPPORTUNITIES FOR S M W B E WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE WORK PERCENTAGE OF S M W B E AVAILABLE IN CENTRAL VENDOR REGISTRY. UTILIZATION OF S M B W B E HISTORIC PROJECT SIMILAR TO THIS. THE TIMELINE WILL BE GOAL SETTING WILL BE DONE OCTO, IT HAS BEEN DONE IN OCTOBER 14. PRETATION, WHICH IS TODAY. RELEASE WILL BE DONE ON DECEMBER 12TH NEXT WEEK. PRETATION CONFERENCE IN JANUARY 10. DEADLINE FOR QUESTION ON JANUARY 13TH. DUE DATE FEBRUARY 2ND. POST SOLICITATION WILL BE EVALUATION WILL BE COMPLETED MARCH 3RD, CONTRACT NEGOTIATION ALSO IN MARCH AND POSTAL STATION BRIEFING MARCH 22ND, COUNCIL APPROVAL IN APRIL 13. AND OF COURSE CONTRACT IS START ON APRIL 24TH, 2023. THAT'S IN THE MY PRESENTATION AND I'M AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTION YOU MAY HAVE. THANKS AGAIN, ROSSI. SO I PRESUME WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TRYING TO FIND OTHER, UH, ENGINEERS WHO, THAT WE CAN CALL ON FOR PROJECTS THAT WE WANT TO HAVE DONE. LIKE IF WE'RE DOING WORK IN A PARK OR SIDEWALK OR STREET OR EVEN A BUILDING, IS THAT RIGHT? THIS IS MAINLY FOR ROADWAY PROJECT, ROADWAY FOR BUILDING. WE DO SEPARATE BY ITSELF. WE HAVE, AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE I M P FUNDING, WE HAVE FEDERAL FUNDING AND IF YOU RECALL WE HAD THE 10, A LITTLE OVER 10 MILLION THROUGH THE 2022 BOND FOR F STREET. WE WANTED, WE ARE PLANNING TO HIRE CONSULTING TO DESIGN THOSE PROJECT FOR US NOT TO BUILD IT. THEY'RE DESIGNING FOR US. AFTER THE DESIGN IS DONE, THEN WE ADVERTISE FOR CONSTRUCTION. AND SO THE ENGINEER WOULD LOOK AT THE DESIGN AND FIGURE OUT THE ENGINEERING PART OF WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. CORRECT. AND WOULD GIVE THAT TO THE CONTRACTOR WHO ACTUALLY DOES THE WORK? CORRECT. OKAY. NOW, UH, THIS COULD BE AN INDIVIDUAL OR IT COULD BE A COMPANY, IS THAT RIGHT? AN ENGINEERING FIRM? MOST OF THE TIME THEY'RE COMPANY OF A TEAM. THEY ARE AT LEAST FEW FIRM TEAMS UP TOGETHER. THEY GO AFTER THIS PROJECT. OKAY. AND THEN USUALLY NOT INDIVIDUAL, NOT ONE MAN FIRM. OKAY. BUT THEY NEED TO HAVE 21% MINORITY, UH, WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN THEIR FIRM OR OUTSIDE IN THEIR GROUP. IN THEIR TEAM. IN THEIR TEAM. CORRECT. OKAY. SO YOU COULD HAVE A FIRM THAT DOESN'T HAVE THAT, BUT IF THEY BRING IN A SUBCONTRACTOR TO WORK WITH THEM TO MATCH THAT 21%, THAT'S FINE. MOST OF THE TIME THAT'S THE WAY IT IS. OKAY. PRIME BRING SOMEBODY MAYBE FEW OF THEM. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ONLY ONE. IT CAN BE TWO OF THEM CUMULATIVE TO BE 21% OR HIGHER. OKAY. THANK YOU. THOSE ARE ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE. ANY OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBER HAVE A QUESTION CHAIR? I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT ONE THING THAT, THAT, UH, IS IN THE CAPTION. SO, UH, IN THIS CASE WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR UP TO SEVEN FIRMS YES. TO DO THIS WORK. SO, UM, SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WE'D GOTTEN FROM THE COMMITTEE PREVIOUSLY WAS THAT WE INCLUDE SOME INDICATION TO POTENTIAL RESPONDENTS OF LIKE HOW MANY FIRMS WE MIGHT BE LOOKING TO DO SO THAT THEY COULD JUDGE THEN WHETHER THEY WANTED TO SUBMIT OR NOT. SO IN THIS CASE, BASED ON THE WORK THAT WE SEE AND THE AMOUNT OF FUNDING WE HAVE AVAILABLE, WE'RE LOOKING FOR UP TO SEVEN CONTRACTS, BUT WE MIGHT DECIDE LESS. THAT'S CORRECT. ONCE WE GET THE PROPOSALS IN AND THE TEAM HAS A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THAT AND SCORE THOSE, DEPENDING UPON WHAT THE SCORING LOOKS LIKE, THEN WE'LL MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION BASED ON THAT. BUT THIS IS MEANT TO GIVE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, POTENTIAL RESPONDENTS AN IDEA OF WHAT WE MAY [00:50:01] BE LOOKING FOR. HOW MANY DO WE USUALLY HAVE, UH, BID? UH, WHEN THIS COMES UP? ALMOST EVERY YEAR. A DOZEN, TWO DOZEN. WHEN WE ISSUE FOR OUR 2022 BOND, WE GOT 73, BUT WE ARE NOT GOING TO GET 73 FOR THIS ONE. I ANTICIPATE WE GET MAYBE A DOZEN OR SO. OKAY. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS, COUNCILMAN? OKAY. NO QUESTIONS ON THIS. AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A BRIEFING AND THEN IT'LL BE RELEASED FOR SOLICITATION. THANK YOU, ZY. [Post-Solicitation High Profile Briefings  ] OKAY, NEXT WE HAVE A POSTS SOLICITATION HIGH PROFILE BRIEFING. THIS MEANS THAT IT'S ALREADY GONE THROUGH THE COMMITTEE PREVIOUSLY AND NOW WE'RE HEARING THE RESULTS OF THE BIDS THAT WERE PUT IN. AND THIS IS REGARDING TWO CONTRACTS, UH, TO PROVIDE FINANCE DEPARTMENT WITH DEPOSITORY BANKING AND LOCKBOX SERVICES. UH, GOOD MORNING CHAIR MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE. MY NAME'S TROY ELLIOTT. I'M THE DEPUTY CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AND AS THE CHAIR MENTIONED THIS MORNING, I'LL BE PRE SENDING A POST SOLICITATION BRIEFING FOR DEPOSITORY BANKING AND LOCKBOX LOCKBOX SERVICES. WHEN WE ISSUED THIS R F P, WE ISSUED IT WITH THE TWO OPTIONS. UM, THE FIRST BEING DEPOSITORY BANKING AND THE OTHER BEING LOCKBOX LOCKBOX SERVICES IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE THE NUMBER OF RESPONSES THAT WE MAY RECEIVE. THE DEPOSITORY BANKING SERVICES IS MUCH LIKE THE WAY YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS OPERATE TODAY. IT'S, UM, HOLDS, HOLDS FUNDS. WE PROCESS OUR DISBURSEMENTS IN THE, IN THE FORM OF CHECKS, WIRES AND ACHS. THEY ALSO COLLECT OUR DEPOSITS AND, UM, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECES OF THE DEPOSITORY BANKING IS THE TECHNOLOGY THEY UTILIZE AND HOW WE INTERACT WITH THEM AND OTHER FINANCIAL SERVICES AS WELL. THE OTHER PIECE IS THE LOCKBOX. UM, IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE LOCKBOX, ALL IT IS REALLY IS A PO BOX. WHENEVER A, UM, WE INVOICE FOR CITY SERVICES, UM, YOU'LL GET AN INVOICE ON THAT INVOICE, IT'LL BE A BARCODE. UM, THEY SUBMIT THAT INVOICE WITH THEIR REMITTANCE OR PAYMENT TO THE CITY. IT'S COLLECTED IT. THE COMPANY THAT ACTUALLY MONITORS A LOCKBOX ACTUALLY TAKES ALL THOSE DEPOSITS. THEY CREATE A FILE FOR US AND WE DEPOSIT INTO OUR ACCOUNT. ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES IS IT BECOMES MORE QUICK, IT'S QUICKER TO GET THAT DEPOSIT INTO OUR, UM, OUR ACCOUNT. UM, ALSO ELIMINATES A LOT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES FOR US RECEIVING THOSE CHECKS AND HAVE TO DEPOSIT THEM MANUALLY. THIS WAS AN R F P. UM, THE ESTIMATED VALUE OF THIS IS ABOUT $305,000 A YEAR. UM, JUST TO PUT THAT IN CONTEXT, THE LOCKBOX SERVICES ARE ABOUT 30,000 OF THAT ON A PER YEAR BASIS. A TOTAL OF $1.5 MILLION. THIS FEE IS REALLY CONTINGENT UPON HOW MUCH MONEY WE HAVE IN THE ACCOUNT OVER HOLDING THAT ACCOUNT. AND THEY WILL OFFSET THAT FOR EARNINGS ON THAT MONEY TO REDUCE THAT FEE AND POTENTIALLY TO ZERO. THE TERM IS THREE YEARS. UM, WITH TWO, UM, TWO ONE YEAR OP, ONE TWO YEAR OPTION. UH, BY STATE STATUTE WE ARE REQUIRED EVERY FIVE YEARS TO ACTUALLY BID OUT DEPOSITORY SERVICES. THEN WE'RE AT THE END OF THIS TERM AND BE MAKING A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNSEL. UM, AS FAR AS WHO WE'RE RECOMMENDING. UH, SPEAKING OF THAT, ON THE NEXT SLIDE WE HAD ACTUALLY WE HAD FOUR RESPONSES. UH, ONE WAS DEEMED NON-RESPONSIVE AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT ON THE DEPOSITORY BANKING SERVICES. OUTTA THOSE THREE, WE ARE RECOMMENDING VENDOR A AT A SCORE OF 77 POINT 19, OF WHICH, UM, 10 OF THOSE POINTS WERE FOR THE LOCAL, UH, NO VETERAN. THE SECOND RANKED FIRM, UM, HAD 69 POINT 17 AND FIVE POINTS AS FAR AS LOCAL AND THEN VENDOR C OF 50 POINT 39 POINTS WITH NO LOCAL OR VETERANS POINTS TO BE INCLUDED. WE DID DO THIS IN ONE EVALUATION MEETING, UM, AND WE DID INTERVIEWS ON ALL THESE ITEMS AS WELL. THERE WAS NO S BETA BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF AVAILABILITY, AND SO EDDO IS WIDE FOR THE, UH, WAY FOR THE SOLICITATION. AS I MENTIONED, WE HAD TWO OPTIONS. THE SECOND ONE WAS FOR LOCKBOX SERVICES. ON THIS ONE WE DID GET TWO RESPONDENTS AS WELL. ONE WAS DEEMED NON-RESPONSIVE AND LEFT US WITH THE SOLE RESPONSIVE BIDDER. WHEN WE HAVE A SOLE BIDDER THAT'S REMAINING, THE COMMITTEE GETS TOGETHER AND WE EVALUATE THEIR EXPERIENCE AND BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS. AND BY CONSENSUS, UH, COMMITTEE AGREED TO MOVE THIS ONE FORWARD AS WELL. UM, AS FAR AS OUR DUE DILIGENCE, KEVIN AND MY TEAM LOOK AT THE, UM, LOOK AT THE RESPONDENT, THE TOP RANK RESPONDENT FOR POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. AND WE DID NOT FIND ANY MATERIAL FINDINGS AS A RESULT OF OUR DUE DILIGENCE. WE NOTIFIED APPROXIMATELY 48 VENDORS, UM, OF THIS UPCOMING SOLICITATION. OF THOSE, WE HAD FIVE VENDORS PRESENT AT THE PRE-SUBMIT SUBMITTAL CONFERENCE. AS I MENTIONED, UM, WE HAD FOUR, UH, RESPONSES FOR THE DEPOSITORY AND TWO FOR LOCKBOX ON BOTH OF THOSE. ONE RESPONDENT WAS DEEMED NON-RESPONSIVE FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH STATE STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS. WHEN I TALK ABOUT THAT FAILURE TO, UM, TO COMPLY WITH THE STATE STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS, I'M REFERRING TO SENATE BILL, SENATE BILL 19. WHAT SENATE BILL 19 DOES, IT'S [00:55:01] A REQUIREMENT THAT PROHIBITS US AS A MUNICIPALITY, UM, FROM ENTERING INTO CONTRACTS THAT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST FIREARM AND AMMUNITION INDUSTRIES. THIS FIRM THAT WAS DEEMED NON-RESPONSIVE IN THIS PROPOSAL SAID THAT THEY COULD NOT, UM, NOT COMPLY WITH THAT REQUIREMENT. AND SO WE DEEM THEM NON-RESPONSIVE. THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND WE WILL ALSO BE ASKING FOR YOUR APPROVAL TO MOVE THIS FORWARD TO THE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ON DECEMBER 15TH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU TROY. UH, I WANT TO BRING UP THAT LAST POINT YOU MADE ABOUT THE BUSINESS THAT WAS NON-RESPONSIVE. DID THEY ACTUALLY SUBMIT A BID? DID WE EVALUATE IT AND DETERMINE, UH, ITS VALUE COMPARED TO THE OTHERS? WE, UM, WHILE WE WERE WORKING THROUGH IT, WE DID DISTRIBUTE TO THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE WHILE WE WERE WORKING WITH THE FIRM TO SEE IF THEY WERE COMPLIANT OR NOT. UM, AS WE'RE HAVING DISCUSSIONS WITH THEM, THEY INDICATED THEY COULD NOT BE COMPLIANT AND GIVE THE REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS. SO WE DID NOT EVALUATE IT. WE DID NOT LOOK AT PRICING AND, UM, REMOVED THAT FROM THE EVALUATION TEAM SCORING. UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S REALLY A BAD SITUATION BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT COULD SAVE THIS CITY MONEY AND SAVE MANY OTHER CITIES IN THE STATE MONEY. I THINK IT WAS A SHORTSIGHTED DECISION BY THE STATE. HOWEVER, WE HAVE TO ABIDE BY THOSE SHORTSIGHTED DECISIONS SOMETIMES. UM, I DID WANNA ASK ABOUT CHAIR BEFORE YOU LEAVE THAT POINT. I JUST WANNA CLARIFY THAT WE DON'T, UM, WE DON'T ALSO, WE DON'T MAKE THE ASSESSMENT ON WHETHER THEY'RE COMPLIANT WITH THAT SENATE BILL. IT'S ACTUALLY DONE BY THE STATE. SO WHEN TROY MENTIONED WE'RE WORKING WITH THE VENDOR, THE VENDOR IN THAT CASE IS WORKING WITH THE STATE. IS IT THE COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE OR THE AGS OFFICE? SO THE ATTORNEY JOURNAL'S OFFICE. AND SO IF THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO GET THAT CERTIFICATION FROM THE STATE, THEN THEY CAN'T, THEY CAN'T MAKE THAT CERTIFICATION TO US. I WANNA BE CLEAR THAT AS STAFF WE'RE NOT MAKING THAT EVALUATION OR JUDGMENT ABOUT THEIR POLICIES. I UNDERSTAND. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, NOW WE HAVE ONE RECOMMENDATION FOR THE LOCKBOX AND ANOTHER RECOMMENDATION FOR THE FULL BANKING, SO TO SPEAK, SERVICES. IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH. UH, CAN, CAN A BANK DO BOTH OR ARE THEY SEPARATE TYPES OF THEY CAN DO BOTH. AND IN THIS CASE, THE SAME FIRM IS BEING RECOMMENDED FOR BOTH. OKAY. UM, AND DO YOU HAVE TO BE A BANK TO DO A LOCKBOX OPERATION? I DON'T BELIEVE SO. I THINK COMMONLY THOUGH, AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS IT IS, UM, IT WORKED AS PART OF THEIR SERVICES AND A BANK AND DEPOSITORY. SO, UM, I HAVEN'T SEEN IT ANY OTHER WAY. OKAY. BUT, UM, PROBABLY COULD DO IT SEPARATELY. I NOTICED THAT THE, UH, DIFFERENCE OF LOCAL POINTS WOULD NOT MAKE MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO TOP BIDDERS. IN OTHER WORDS, WE GAVE 10 POINTS FOR ONE AND FIVE FOR ANOTHER, BUT EVEN IF WE ELIMINATED THAT OR GAVE 'EM BOTH 10 POINTS, IT STILL WOULDN'T CLOSE THE GAP VERY, UH, MUCH BETWEEN THE TWO TOP BIDDERS. SO, UH, PERSONALLY I THINK YOU MADE A GOOD PRESENTATION AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT VENDOR A, UH, IS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE RIGHT DECISION TO RECOMMEND. HOW DOES THIS PROCEED FORWARD AFTER THE, THE COMMITTEE MAKES ITS FINAL DETERMINATION? UM, AFTER TODAY, UM, WE'LL BE ASKING FOR Y'ALL'S, UH, MOTION TO MOVE IT FORWARD TO THE FULL COUNSEL AND WE'LL BE PRESENTING ON THE CONSENT AGENDA ON DECEMBER 15TH FOR THE FULL COUNSEL'S APPROVAL. OKAY. I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS TO EITHER COUNCILS MEMBER ON THAT SAME PAGE. JUST FOR CLARIFICATION ON THE PRICING. SO VENDOR A, THEY GOT A 6.03 AND THEN VENDOR B GOT 20 POINTS. SO THAT MEANS VENDOR B IN THIS INSTANCE WAS LOWER. RIGHT. AND SO THE HIGHEST IN COST WOULD BE VENDOR A. THAT THAT IS CORRECT. UM, VENDOR B GOT THE FULL SUITE OF POINTS BECAUSE THEY WERE THE LOWEST AND THEN WE PRORATE THAT BETWEEN THE NEXT RANKS. SO, UH, VENDOR A IS THE HIGHEST COST. THANK YOU. NOW THE NEXT THING WOULD BE YOU WOULD SIT DOWN, NEGOTIATE A FINAL CONTRACT ON THIS, RIGHT? WE HAVE NEGOTIATED A CONTRACT WITH THEM. UM, IT'S ACTUALLY BEING FINALIZED TODAY AND HOPEFULLY IT'LL BE ATTACHED TO THE AGENDA BY THE END OF TODAY. WILL THAT FINAL COST BE MAYBE A LITTLE LESS THAN WHAT WE LOOKED WHEN WE LOOKED AT THOSE POINTS? UM, I THINK THE PRICE IS ACTUALLY THE SAME. OKAY. UM, IT'S BASICALLY THE WAY THE PRICING WORKS IS THAT THEY HAVE A, BASICALLY IT'S A FEE THAT THEY PRESENT PER TRANSACTION. UM, THEY HAVE WHAT THEY CALL COMPENSATING BALANCES AS WELL. SO DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF CASH THAT WE HAVE IN THE BANK, THEY PROVIDE US WITH A, A EARNINGS CREDIT OR A COMPENSATING BALANCE AND THERE'S 25 BASIS POINTS ABOVE THAT. AND THEN THAT WILL OFFSET OUR FEE. SO LIKELY AT THE END OF THE YEAR THERE WILL NOT BE ANY OUT-OF-POCKET CASH. 'CAUSE WE MANAGE THAT ON A DAILY BASIS TO MAKE SURE WE CAN COVER [01:00:01] THAT FEE AND THAT COST. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, COUNCILMAN, WHEN I LOOK AT THE, THE SCORING MATRIX MATRIX, IT LOOKS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BIG GAPS, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO EXPERIENCE, BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS WITH THE OTH TO THE OTHERS, BUT THEN ALSO BIG GAPS IN, IN PRICE. AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S JUST THE WAY WE SCORE, BUT SIX POINTS OUTTA 20 POINTS DOESN'T SEEM VERY COMPETITIVE ABOUT PRICE WISE. AND I'M JUST WONDERING IF WE NEED TO GET MORE VENDORS TO BE COMPETING FOR THIS OR FIND A WAY. I, I'M WHY DO YOU THINK IF WE REACHED OUT TO 48 VENDORS, WE ONLY HAD THREE THAT SUBMITTED QUALIFYING BIDS? I'M NOT SURE I CAN ANSWER THE QUESTION. I MEAN, WE HAVE NOT TALKED TO THE OTHER VENDORS THAT WERE PART OF THAT, UM, 48 THAT WE NOTIFIED. UM, OUR ACCOUNT IS SUBSTANTIAL. UM, SO I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY A VERY FEW OF THE BIG BANKS AROUND THAT CAN ACTUALLY ACCOMMODATE THIS. YEAH. UM, I KNOW I'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH SOME OF THE REGIONAL BANKS, UM, AND OUR ACCOUNT'S JUST TOO SMALL, TOO LARGE FOR THEM TO HANDLE WELL, I MEAN, WHEN I LOOK AT CATEGORY A EXPERIENCE, BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS, IT, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE WAS REALLY ONLY ONE VENDOR THAT WAS REALLY QUALIFIED THAT BID ON THIS. AND THEN THEIR PRICE DOESN'T LOOK GREAT COMPARED TO THE OTHERS WITHOUT, YOU KNOW, KNOWING WHAT THE OTHERS WERE JUST LOOKING AT THE SCORING MATRIX. SO THAT, THAT'S COST FOR CONCERN ON MY END. COUNCILMAN, I'LL JUST ADD A COUPLE OF THINGS. ONE, UM, I WOULD SAY THE, THE FEE PER TRANSACTION IS, UM, PROBABLY IN LINE OR SLIGHTLY LESS THAN WHAT WE'RE PAYING TODAY IN TERMS OF, OF OUR CURRENT BANKING ARRANGEMENT. THE OTHER THING I'LL NOTE IS A COUPLE OF THE OTHER VENDORS, I MEAN, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE BIG ACCOUNTS. SO SOMETIMES THEY'RE, THEY'RE PITCHING WAIVING FEES FOR SOME PERIOD OF TIME IN ORDER TO TRY TO GET THE ACCOUNT. SO THAT'S PART OF WHAT IS BUILT INTO THAT SCORING AS WELL ON PRICE. OKAY. SO SOMETIMES IT ISN'T THE, THE P PER TRANSACTION THAT I WOULD SAY IS OUTSIDE THE MARKET, BUT IN THEIR PROPOSALS AS A, I'LL CALL IT AN INCENTIVE TO, TO, TO TRY TO MOVE BUSINESS OR TO, TO DO THAT, THEY'LL WAIVE FEES FOR SOME PERIOD OF TIME THAT IS FACTORED INTO THAT AS WELL. WELL, OKAY. THANK YOU. THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS. COULD WE ASK THAT YOU DO AN EVALUATION, A SURVEY OF THOSE, UH, BANKS THAT, UH, ARE IN, UH, IN THE RANGE OF BANKS THAT COULD DO THIS AND TRY AND FIND OUT WHY THEY DIDN'T DECIDE TO BID? UH, YOU KNOW, IS THERE SOMETHING WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT IN THE FUTURE AND HOW LONG IS THIS RELATIONSHIP GONNA BE FOR, FOR FIVE YEARS? OKAY. YEAH, I'D, I'D, I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT MAYBE YOU COME BACK AND TELL US COMMITTEE WHAT YOU FOUND AFTER YOU DO THAT? SURE. WE CAN DO THAT. OKAY. OKAY. I THINK THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS WE HAVE. SO NOW IT'S UP TO US TO RECOMMEND THIS, GO TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION. SO I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO DO THAT. OKAY. SECOND. OKAY. IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED TO MOVE THIS TO CITY COUNCIL FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. OKAY. ANY OPPOSED? HEARING NONE. OKAY. WE'VE MOVED FORWARD AND CONSIDERED ALL OF THE, UH, PRE AND POST SOLICITATION, UH, ISSUES THAT WE HAD. WE'RE GOING [Final Internal Audit Report  ] TO GO NOW TO, UH, FOUR REMAINING, UH, FINANCIAL AUDITS. PLUS WE WILL HAVE A BRIEFING ON OUR, UH, EXTERNAL FINANCIAL AUDIT. SO, KEVIN, THIS IS ALL IN YOUR HANDS NOW? YES, SIR. THE FIRST ONE THAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT IS A FOLLOW UP AUDIT THAT WE DID OF THE VENDOR MASTER FILE. AND THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND. THE, THE VENDOR MASTER FILE WITHIN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, THIS IS A KEY FILE THAT'S BASICALLY ALL OF OUR VENDORS, WHICH ALSO INCLUDES, YOU KNOW, THOSE CONTRACTORS, THOSE THAT WE WORK WITH, ALSO EMPLOYEES. IT'S, IT'S A BIG AND SIGNIFICANT PIECE OF OUR ACCOUNTS PAYABLE PROCESS. SO IT'S SOMETHING WE DON'T GENERALLY AUDIT FILES PER SE, BUT THIS IS SIGNIFICANT. IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DO LOOK OUT ON AN EVERY TWO TO THREE YEAR BASIS. SO THIS WAS A FOLLOW-UP. WE DID AN ORIGINAL AUDIT BACK AND ISSUED THAT IN 2020. WE'VE DONE A FOLLOW-UP WITH THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE OF FOLLOW-UP AUDITS IS TO DETERMINE IF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE MADE IN PAST AUDIT HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENTED, UH, AS EXPECTED, ACCORDING TO THE ACTION PLAN THAT THEY DEVELOPED. IN THE ORIGINAL AUDIT, WE IDENTIFIED A COUPLE OF ISSUES. ONE WAS USER ACCESS, UH, TO CRITICAL TRANSACTIONS WAS EXCESSIVE. THE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THAT WERE IN PLACE DID NOT REFLECT THEIR CURRENT PRACTICES. AND ALSO THE DATA ANALYSIS WAS NOT PERFORMED OF THE VENDOR MASTER FILE, VENDOR MASTER FILE ITSELF TO MAKE SURE THAT THE DATA FIELDS WERE COMPLETE, THEY WERE ACCURATE, AND THE DUPLICATES WERE ELIMINATED WITHIN THAT PROCESS. UH, THE FOLLOW-UP RESULTS, UH, WE FOUND THAT THE USER ACCESS WAS CORRECTED. USER ACCESS IS APPROPRIATE, UH, FOR THE, FOR THE USERS OF THIS FILE, PRIMARILY [01:05:01] FINANCE, UH, EMPLOYEES. HOWEVER, WE DID NOTE THAT THE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES REMAINED INCOMPLETE AND WERE NOT REFLECTIVE OF CURRENT PRACTICES AND INCLUSIVE OF EVERYTHING THAT WAS WORKED ON. UH, WITHIN THE ACCOUNTS PAYABLE PROCESS, ALSO WITH THE DATA ANALYSIS OF THE VENDOR, UH, MASTER FILE, WE MADE A RECOMMENDATION THAT, UH, THAT IT BE REVIEWED ON A REGULAR BASIS. THERE WERE SPECIFIC ITEMS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED IN THAT FIRST AUDIT THAT WE BROUGHT TO THEIR ATTENTION, AND THOSE WERE CORRECTED. HOWEVER, A REGULAR ANALYSIS HAS, AS THEY HAD, UH, STATED IN THEIR ACTION PLAN, WAS NOT BEING PERFORMED. SO WE'VE MADE RECOMMENDATIONS, AGAIN, FOR THE, THESE ITEMS TO BE ADDRESSED. UH, FINANCE MANAGEMENT HAS AGREED WITH THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS. THEIR TIMELINE TO GET THIS ALL IN PLACE IS MARCH OF 2023. SO WITHIN THE NEXT QUARTER, UH, THEY SHOULD HAVE IT PLAY, UH, IN PLACE AND CORRECT IT, AND WE WILL GO BACK IN AND, UH, REVIEWED AND ENSURE THAT THAT HAS HAPPENED. SO THAT IS MY PART OF THE PRESENTATION, AND TROY IS HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR PROVIDE HIS INSIGHTS. LET ME ASK YOU BEFORE YOU WALK AWAY, UH, WERE YOU GIVEN THE SAME ASSURANCES IN 2020 THAT THESE THINGS WERE GONNA BE TAKEN CARE OF, BUT THEY WEREN'T? YES, SIR. THEIR MANAGEMENT, UH, RESPONSES INDICATED THAT THEY WOULD, UH, ADDRESS THE ISSUES. SO TWO YEARS AGO, THEY SAID THEY'D ADDRESS 'EM AND THEY DIDN'T REALLY ADDRESS 'EM COMPLETELY, AND NOW THEY'RE SAYING THEY WILL ADDRESS 'EM AGAIN. SO I'D LIKE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT WHY THEY WEREN'T ADDRESSED COMPLETELY THE FIRST TIME. THANK YOU, KEVIN. YOU KNOW, AS ALL AS, WE APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT KEVIN AND HIS TEAM DID. WE DID MEET WITH THEM ON THE FIRST AUDIT. UM, THE FIRST AUDIT WAS PUBLISHED IN MARCH OF 2020. UM, UNFORTUNATELY MARCH OF 2020 SET OFF, UM, SOME UNEXPECTED THINGS THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT WE AS A TEAM WOULD HAVE TO DEAL WITH. UM, THIS TEAM WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE EAP PROGRAM, UM, FOR HOUSING AND UTILITY ASSISTANCE. UM, AND JUST TO KIND OF PUT THAT IN PERSPECTIVE ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, THIS TEAM PROCESSES ABOUT 7,000 NEW VENDORS. WHEN THE EAP PROGRAM WAS PUT IN PLACE, THAT INCREASED IN ADDITIONAL 30,000 VENDORS. SO THAT WAS ALL FUNNELING THROUGH THIS TEAM. UM, AND SO THAT TEAM WAS REDIRECTED TO THAT PROGRAM, WAS FOCUSED ON THAT. SO UNFORTUNATELY, WE GOT A LITTLE SIDETRACKED AND WE DID NOT HAVE THE, THE CAPACITY TO FOCUS. UM, NOW SINCE WE HAVE THE, THE PANDEMIC BEHIND US, WE STILL HAVE SOME OF THOSE EAP UM, NEW VENDORS COMING ONLINE, BUT WE'VE DONE SEVERAL THINGS TO REALLY KIND OF STRENGTHEN THAT. WE BROUGHT, UM, VERONICA CARILLO OVER THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WHO'S FOCUSING ON THIS AND HAS BEEN DRIVING THIS, UM, TO COMPLETION. THE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE DRAFTED, AND THOSE WILL BE IMPLEMENTED BY BY MARCH. AND WE ALSO HAVE PROCESS AND PROCEDURES IN PLACE THAT WE'VE WORKED AND WE IDENTIFIED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS NO MISSING, UM, MASTER DATA. THIS IS, AS KEVIN MENTIONED, THIS IS A FOUNDATIONAL PIECE TO OUR VENDOR MASTER, UM, MAINTENANCE. UM, THERE'S ONE THING THAT WE ALSO ASK KEVIN AND HIS TEAM TO LOOK AT WHEN IT CAME TO, UM, MAINTAINING THE CONFIDENTIALITY OR PRIVACY OF THE DATA, WHICH HE LOOKED AT. AND HE ALSO IDENTIFIED AREAS, AND WE'VE WORKED WITH CRAIG AND I T S D AND HIS TEAM TO COME UP WITH THE PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S CONFIDENTIAL. AND THEN THE LAST THING I'LL MENTION IS WE ARE ALSO LOOKING AT, UM, HIRING A THIRD PARTY TO COME IN ON THE FRONT END TO VALIDATE THESE VENDORS, UM, TO GIVE US SOME MORE COMFORT THAT THEY ARE ALL THE INFORMATION IS COMPLETE AND THAT THEY ARE VALID VENDORS WITH VALID BANK ACCOUNTS. SO THAT'S KIND OF WHY WE, WE EXPERIENCED THE DELAY. OKAY. ANY OTHER, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE A QUESTION? OKAY. YES. CAN YOU, CAN YOU EXPLAIN MORE ABOUT WHAT THE MASTER FILE IS? THE MASTER FILE, AS I MENTIONED, RULE IS THE FOUNDATION FOR EVERY PAYMENT WE MAKE. SO WHEN, UM, WE AWARD A CONTRACT, A NEW CONTRACT, LIKE, UM, LIKE THE DEPOSITORY TODAY, WE HAVE TO, IN ORDER TO, IF WE WERE GONNA WRITE THEM A CHECK, WE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE THEM AS A VENDOR IN OUR SYSTEM. SO BEFORE WE WRITE A CHECK, IT GOES OUT AND IN THAT VENDOR MASTER FILE, IT'S GONNA BE ALL THE I R S INFORMATION ATTACHED TO THEM, THEIR TAX IDS, THEIR LOCATION, WHERE DOES THE CHECK GO, WHO IS THEIR CONTACT INFORMATION. UM, SO ALL THAT THERE BASICALLY DRIVES THAT CHECK AND WHERE IT GOES. AND SO THAT PIECE IS VERY IMPORTANT ONE, THAT IT'S, IT'S ACCURATE, BUT ALSO IT'S VALID SO THAT, UM, THAT CHECK DOESN'T GO TO SOME THIRD PARTY. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. SO, CHAIR, I'LL JUST ADD THAT THAT'S A KEY PIECE OF OUR FRAUD PREVENTION ACTIVITIES. I MEAN, THERE IS THE, THIS IS THE BASIS FOR THE PAYMENT FILE AS, AS TROY SAID, BUT LAYERED ON TOP OF THAT, ALL THOSE PROCESSES, PROCEDURES, AND THINGS WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS ALSO ABOUT FRAUD, PREVENT PREVENTION. UH, I WANNA THANK ACTUALLY TROY AND THE TEAM. I THINK THEY DID A GOOD JOB. I MEAN, WE DON'T LIKE TO BE CHAIR IN A POSITION WHERE WE'RE COMING BACK ON A FOLLOW UP AUDIT TWO YEARS, AND WE'VE STILL GOT SOME REMAINING ISSUES. BUT WE HAD [01:10:01] TO REDEPLOY THOSE EFFORTS, AS TROY SAID, TO REALLY SUPPORT THE EAP PROGRAM, WHICH WAS DONE IN RESPONSE TO, TO ALL THE IMPACTS OF COVID. UM, THEY DID GET THE USER ACCESS FIXED. UM, SOME OF THE OTHER ISSUES WERE ADDRESSED IMMEDIATELY. WE JUST DIDN'T GET THE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES DOCUMENTED, AS WELL AS OUR REGULAR ANALYSIS OF THE FILE. THINGS THAT WE'LL PUT IN PLACE AS WE MAKE THIS TRANSITION TO THE NEW BANKING ARRANGEMENT WE TALKED ABOUT, WE'RE GONNA RE-LOOK AT EVERYTHING AGAIN. SO IT'S POSSIBLE THAT OUR PROCEDURES MAY CHANGE A LITTLE BIT. THE WORLD AROUND US CONTINUES TO EVOLVE, AND SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF EITHER TECHNOLOGY OR PROCEDURAL THINGS WE CAN DO TO MAKE SURE WE'RE PROTECTING, UM, HOW WE MAKE PAYMENTS TO VENDORS. UM, I HOPE THAT KEVIN WILL KIND OF KEEP THIS ONE ON HIS AUDIT SCHEDULE AS WELL. I THINK THIS IS ONE THAT, THAT WE OUGHT TO BE TAKING A LOOK AT PRETTY OFTEN. SO I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. SURE. AND I THINK ALL OF US UNDERSTAND HOW SERIOUS, UH, THE CITY HAD TO ADJUST, UH, TO THE PANDEMIC. THERE WERE PEOPLE FROM ALL KINDS OF DEPARTMENTS THAT GOT SHIFTED AROUND TO MEET THE MORE IMMEDIATE NEEDS THAT WE HAD FROM THE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY. SO I UNDERSTAND THAT AS WELL. OKAY. SO, UM, WE JUST ACCEPT THE REPORT AS IT'S BEEN PRESENTED, SO, CORRECT. ALRIGHT. UH, SO, UM, A MOTION TO ACCEPT THAT REPORT, UH, NUMBER 13, TO ACCEPT THAT. OKAY. SECOND MADE, UH, MOTION MADE AND, AND SECONDED. ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. OKAY. ITEM THIRTEEN'S BEEN ACCEPTED. ITEM 14. YES, SIR. ITEM 14 IS AN AUDIT THAT WE PERFORMED AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SERVICES DIVISION, THE MINOR REPAIR PROGRAM. UH, THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS AUDIT WAS TO DETERMINE IF THE MINOR REPAIR PROGRAM IS MANAGED EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY. AND AGAIN, IN COMPLIANCE WITH ESTABLISHED GUIDELINES, BOTH IF THERE'S ANY, UH, REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS OF A PROGRAM SUCH AS THIS, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY THE COUNCIL, UH, DIRECTION AND STAFF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ON IT. OUR OVERALL CONCLUSION OF THIS PROGRAM WAS THAT IT WAS OPERATING EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY. THERE WERE POSITIVE RESULTS, UH, IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS IS ON THE SLIDE THERE, THE MONITORING TO ENSURE THE COMPLIANCE WITH THE GUIDELINES THAT THAT WAS IN. THEY WERE DOING A GOOD JOB THERE REVIEWING TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH HUD REGULATIONS. AGAIN, MUCH OF THE FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM IS FROM HUD, AND THEREFORE, WITH THAT COMES A, A SERIES OF REGULATIONS THAT WE LOOKED AT AND THEY WERE IN COMPLIANCE AND ALSO THE FINANCIAL CONTROLS WHEN PAYMENTS ARE MADE, UH, FOR EXPENSE REVIEW, RECONCILIATION, MANAGER APPROVALS, THAT WAS ALL IN PLACE AND, AND, UH, FUNCTIONING WELL. THERE WERE SOME OPPORTUNITIES, UH, FOR IMPROVEMENT, SPECIFICALLY OVERSIGHT OF THE PROJECT, UH, MANAGEMENT AND PROJECT MILESTONES. UH, WE FOUND A LACK OF INSPECTIONS AND PARTICIPANT SURVEYS, UH, DURING AND AFTER, UH, THE PROJECTS WERE COMPLETED. AND ALSO THE TRACKING OF THE METRICS FOR THE APPLICATION PROCESS. WHEN PEOPLE ARE APPLYING FOR THE PROGRAM, UH, THEY WEREN'T REALLY TRACKED AND, AND MONITORED. AND ALSO COMMUNICATION WITH THE, UH, WITH THE APPLICANTS, THOSE RESIDENTS WHO APPLIED. LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFICS ON THOSE PROJECT MANAGEMENT. AGAIN, WE DIDN'T FIND, WHAT WE DETERMINED IS SUFFICIENT DOCUMENTATION WITHIN THE FILES THAT THEY WERE MANAGING AND REALLY ENGAGED IN THE PROJECT AS IT WAS HAPPENING. AND WHEN CONSTRAINTS WOULD COME UP THAT WOULD CAUSE DELAYS, THAT THAT REALLY WASN'T BEING MONITORED AND DOCUMENTED. UH, THE INSPECTIONS, AGAIN, WHILE THEIR INSPECTIONS OF CODE COMPLIANCE, WHENEVER THERE'S PROJECTS THAT REQUIRE THOSE TYPES OF INSPECTIONS, THERE WAS NO INSPECTION, FINAL INSPECTION BY N H UH, SD STAFF, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE QUALITY WAS, THAT THE WORK WAS OF THE QUALITY AS EXPECTED. AND ALSO JUST FOLLOW UP WITH PARTICIPANTS TO GET THEIR FEEDBACK AND INPUT OF THE PROJECT. AND AGAIN, ON THE APPLICATIONS, THEY WERE NOT MONITORING REALLY THE NUMBERS OF APPLICATIONS, UH, AND REALLY COMMUNICATING, UH, TO THE PARTICIPANTS. ONE THING THAT WE FOUND WHEN WE, WE DID REACH OUT TO PARTICIPANTS WITHIN THE PROGRAM TO ASK THEM HOW THEY LIKED THE PROGRAM, WHAT HAPPENED. AND THEY WERE VERY HAPPY, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE WORK THAT HAD BEEN DONE. BUT THE THING THAT CAME UP A FEW TIMES WAS THAT IN THE APPLICATION PROCESS, THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHERE THEY WERE. IT WAS, YOU KNOW, THEY HAD APPLIED A YEAR AGO AND JUST WAITING ON, ON WORD AND JUST NOT KNOWING. SO I THINK THERE'S SOME IMPROVEMENTS THAT CAN BE MADE, UH, WITHIN THAT PROCESS. UH, AGAIN, UH, MANAGEMENT HAS AGREED WITH OUR RECOMMENDATION, DEVELOPED ACTION PLANS. THEY'RE ANTICIPATING THAT THESE ACTION PLANS WILL BE IN PLACE BY THE END OF THIS MONTH. SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON. AND ALSO SOMETHING, A DISCUSSION WE DID HAVE WITH THEM. THERE'S MULTIPLE PROGRAMS FOR HOUSING REHABIL REHABILITATION. WE HAVE MINOR REPAIR, MAJOR REPAIR UNDER ONE ROOF, SOME LEAD ABATEMENT PROCESSES. AND WE JUST WORKED WITH THEM TO ENSURE THAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE HAVE ARE, ARE ALSO INCLUDED IN THOSE OTHER PROGRAMS. UH, WE DO HAVE ON OUR 2023 AUDIT PLAN, UH, ANOTHER AUDIT IN THE SUMMER OF 2023 TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT ALL THOSE PROGRAMS AS A TOTAL TO ENSURE THAT BOTH THESE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED AS WELL AS, UH, THE OTHER PROGRAMS ARE FUNCTIONING EFFECTIVELY ALSO. SO THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION AND MANAGEMENT IS AVAILABLE. THANK YOU. KEVIN, LET ME ASK YOU ONE THING, AND THIS IS AN OPINION, NOT A FACT, BUT, UH, COULD, BECAUSE OF THE, THE LACK [01:15:01] OF THE TOTAL OVERSIGHT THAT THAT WASN'T COVERED, UH, COULD THERE HAVE BEEN A FINANCIAL IMPACT TO THE CITY OPINION? YES, UNLIKELY. UH, BECAUSE WE DID LOOK AT THE FINANCIAL PIECE OF THE PROGRAM AND THE, UM, THOSE EXPENSES WERE REASONABLE. THEY WERE PER THE CONTRACTS WITH OUR, UH, THIRD PARTY VENDOR THAT PROVIDES THE WORK. SO I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THERE'S A, UH, A NEGATIVE FINANCIAL IMPACT WITHIN THIS PROGRAM AND OPINION. OKAY, GOOD. I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM N H SS D, UH, TO GET THEIR RESPONSE TO YES. HELLO. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN AUDIT COMMITTEE. UH, WE, UH, APPRECIATE ALSO THE WORK OF THE AUDIT TEAM. THEY DID A VERY THOROUGH REVIEW. THEY LOOKED AT ALL OF OUR PRACTICES. WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH MERCED AS WELL. I THINK WHAT, UH, WAS ENLIGHTENING TO, TO OUR TEAM IS, UH, MERCED HAS BEEN DOING MINOR REPAIR AS WELL AS MAJOR REPAIR FOR DECADES. AND THEY'VE HAD AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY, A SUBCONTRACT WITH THE CITY TO HELP US DELIVER ON THE NUMEROUS NUMBER OF HOMES THAT WE HAVE TO REHAB. SO I THINK WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THIS AUDIT, AND AGAIN, APPRECIATE THE AUDIT TEAM BRINGING IT TO OUR ATTENTION, IS WE HAVE A LOT OF FAITH AND TRUST IN MERCED BECAUSE OF THEIR LONG HISTORY OF WORKING WITH HOMEOWNERS. THEY'RE A NONPROFIT, THIS IS WHAT THEY DO. IT'S NOT DONE FOR PRIVATE GAIN. IT'S DONE TO TRULY, YOU KNOW, WITH THE MISSION OF THEIR WORK. UM, AND WE JUST, UH, WILL WORK VERY CONSCIOUSLY TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THE VERBAL CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'RE HAVING WITH OUR TEAM ARE BETTER DOCUMENTED, ALL IN THE INTEREST OF MAKING SURE THAT THESE HOMES ARE REHABBED. UM, WHAT WHAT KEVIN'S TEAM FOUND WAS SOME OF THE HOMES HAD CHALLENGES IN GETTING TO FULL CONSTRUCTION, AND YOU SAW THAT IN THE, THE TIME THAT IT TOOK TO PROCESS THE APPLICATION TO COMPLETE THE HOMES. UM, THAT HAPPENS IN OUR WORK AS WELL. AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE TO STAY IN CONTACT WITH, UH, WITH MERCED OUR PARTNER AND DOCUMENT WHAT THEIR CHALLENGES ARE. UM, NOT SO THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST LIKE, OKAY, YOU DIDN'T DO THE HOME, YOU KNOW, BAD SCORE FOR YOU. BUT HOW CAN WE HELP THEM, UH, FACILITATE THOSE CHALLENGES JUST LIKE WE DO WITH OUR CITY STAFF WHO ENCOUNTER THIS. AND I THINK THAT ONE THING THAT WE ARE DOING ON OUR SIDE THAT WE'LL MAKE SURE, UH, WE WORK WITH MERCED MORE CLOSELY ON IS, UH, PARTNERING WITH DEVELOPMENT SERVICES. AS, AS KEVIN'S TEAM MENTIONED, THE CODE INSPECTOR, THE, THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TEAM OUT OF D S D WILL HELP AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS. AND THEY'LL DO THE INSPECTIONS AND THEY'LL MONITOR THE QUALITY OF THE WORK. UM, BUT HOW CAN WE WORK WITH OUR PARTNER MERCED TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE UTILIZING THAT RESOURCE AND THEY'RE, UM, HELPING HOMEOWNERS JUST LIKE OUR CITY TEAM IS AS WELL. AND, AND THEY ARE, WE JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE DOCUMENTING THAT. WELL, I'M, I'M ENCOURAGED TO HEAR WHAT YOU SAID, UH, AS A REMINDER THAT IF WE ENTERTAIN ANY KIND OF IMPROVEMENT, UH, THAT IMPROVEMENT NEEDS TO GO THROUGH D S D, IT NEEDS TO GET PERMITTED, IT NEEDS TO BE INSPECTED BY CITY INSPECTORS, CODE COMPLIANCE AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. BUT I THINK IT DOESN'T RELIEVE YOUR DEPARTMENT FROM ITS RESPONSIBILITY TO GO OUT AND CHECK THEMSELVES AND MAKE SURE IT'S BEING DONE TO THE EXPECTATIONS OF EVERYBODY INVOLVED. AND AND I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS YOU'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THAT IS COVERED, UH, WITH THE IMPROVEMENTS YOU'RE GONNA BE MAKING. YES, ABSOLUTELY. AND WE'VE ALREADY IMPLEMENTED A SHAREPOINT SITE SO WE CAN BETTER SHELL FINDING, 'CAUSE THAT WAS SOMETHING, THE AUDIT, UM, WE ARE, THEY DO HAVE A LOT OF SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS, SO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE SECURELY SHARED WITH OUR DATA GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE IN MIND. AND THAT, UH, WE ALREADY HAVE SET UP A PROJECT TRACKER WITH MERC'S INPUT SO WE CAN BETTER MONITOR ALL THE HOMES AND WHERE THEIR HOMES ARE IN PROGRESS. AND AGAIN, EARLIER IDENTIFY HOMES THAT HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, PENDING INSPECTION FOR TOO LONG. OUR TEAM CAN KIND OF HELP FACILITATE THAT. UH, AS AN, AS AN ASIDE, I WANT TO ASK YOU, UH, THE EXPECTATION IS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING MORE REHAB THIS YEAR. UH, WILL THERE BE A NEED TO EXPAND THE PEOPLE OFFERING THAT SERVICE? UH, BECAUSE WE ARE GONNA BE DOING MORE? YES, WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE SOME, SOME LOFTY GOALS AHEAD OF US. WE HAD OVER 3,500 HOUSEHOLDS THAT SUBMITTED APPLICATIONS FOR ALL OF OUR REHAB PROGRAMS. AND WE HAVE ENOUGH SLOTS FOR ABOUT 700. SO THAT JUST SPEAKS TO THE NEED IN THE COMMUNITY AND THE DEMAND FOR OUR SERVICES. UH, WE ARE STAFFING UP MORE THIS YEAR WITH THE ADDITION OF THE HOUSING BOND THAT DOES HELP US REACH MORE HOMEOWNERS. SO THAT'LL HELP US STAFF UP. BUT SOMETHING WE'VE ALREADY STARTED DOING AS WELL IS PARTNERING, UM, WITH MORE NON-PROFITS. MERCED HAS, UM, OUR LARGEST CONTRACT 'CAUSE THEY WENT THROUGH A COMPETITIVE PROCESS, BUT WE KNOW THAT THERE'S OTHER NONPROFITS WHO WORK IN THE HOME REHAB SPACE. SO WE'RE DOING, UM, MINI AGREEMENTS, YOU KNOW, 25,000, 30,000, SEE CAN THEY HELP US WITH FIVE HOMES, KIND OF WORKING TOWARDS BUILDING THEIR CAPACITY. AND IF THAT'S SUCCESSFUL, WE CAN USE THAT PILOT INITIATIVE TO DO MAYBE ANOTHER ROUND OF LARGER AGREEMENTS, MORE PARTNERS. UM, BECAUSE WE CAN'T MEET THESE METRICS ALL ON OUR OWN, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE QUALITY IS THERE ACROSS [01:20:01] THE BOARD. OKAY, THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS FROM OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS? OKAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. SO I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ACCEPT, UH, THIS AUDIT AS PRESENTED. SECOND. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. OKAY. NUMBER 14, ACCEPTED. NUMBER 15. ITEM NUMBER 15. IT'S AN AUDIT THAT WE PERFORMED ON THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT, SPECIFICALLY THE ARSON BUREAU. UH, THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS AUDIT WAS, UH, DETERMINE IF THEIR OPERATIONS ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, BE THEY STATE REQUIREMENTS OR INTERNAL PROCEDURES AND POLICIES, AND ALSO LOOKING AT THEIR CASE MANAGEMENT, UH, PROCESS FOR EFFECTIVENESS AND TIMELINESS. UH, OVERALL CONCLUSION, AGAIN, PROGRAM IS OPERATING EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY, VERY POSITIVE RESULTS WITHIN THE CASELOAD MANAGEMENT. ALSO, EQUIPMENT, INVENTORY OF THEIR SUPPLIES WAS MANAGED AND TRACKED, AND THE CLAY, THE CASE CLOSURE RATES, UH, AND THEIR METRICS WERE ACCURATELY, UH, CALCULATED AND, AND PRESENTED. WE DID FIND SOME AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT, SPECIFICALLY WITH THE EVIDENCE, INVENTORY, USER ACCESS, UH, SOME SECURITY WITHIN THE EVIDENCE ROOM, AND ALSO THE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THAT WERE STILL IN DRAFT FORM. THE SPECIFICS THERE AGAIN, UH, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE ARSON BUREAU. THE ARSON INVESTIGATORS, THERE ARE BOTH LICENSED POLICE OFFICERS AS WELL AS FIREFIGHTERS. SO THAT GIVES 'EM THE JURISDICTION THAT THEY NEED TO PERFORM THEIR, UH, THEIR JOBS, INCLUDING COLLECTION OF EVIDENCE, UH, IN THEIR INVESTIGATION. SO THEY HAVE AN EVIDENCE, INVENTORY, AND PROCESS. AND WE FOUND THAT THE RECORDS OF THAT EVIDENCE, UH, WERE NOT ACCURATE IN THAT THEY DID NOT MATCH. WE FOUND ITEMS ON THE INVENTORY LOG THAT WERE NOT IN THE STORAGE ROOM AND VICE VERSA. SO THERE'S A NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT, UH, WITHIN THAT AREA. ALSO, USER ACCESS ON THE FOLLOWING QUEUE SYSTEM, WHICH IS THEIR INVENTORY TOOL, IS, UM, UH, CHAIR, EXCUSE ME. I THINK WE NEED TO PAUSE FOR A MINUTE. I BELIEVE WE'VE LOST OUR QUORUM. CORRECT. CHAIRMAN. SO WE, WE CAN CALL A RECESS UNTIL WE HAVE THE QUORUM BACK. YOU'LL RECESS FOR FIVE MINUTES. WE ARE BACK IN SESSION. NO PROBLEM. OKAY. UH, IF YOU'LL GO AHEAD AND, AND REITERATE YOUR, YOUR COMMENTS ON THIS AND START. OKAY. SO AGAIN, AON BUREAU, THE OBJECTIVE TO LOOK AT THE EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY OF THE ARSON BUREAU OPERATIONS FROM A PROCESS PERSPECTIVE, ALSO AS WELL AS CASE MANAGEMENT. AGAIN, THE ISSUE WHERE WE DID FIND SOME, SOME OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE, HAD TO DO WITH EVIDENCE INVENTORY. AND SPECIFICALLY WE FOUND THAT, UH, THE EVIDENCE SYSTEM, THE DOCUMENTATION DID NOT MATCH EXACTLY WHAT WAS IN THE STORAGE ROOM AND VICE VERSA. WE FOUND ITEMS IN THE STORAGE ROOM THAT, UH, SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISPOSED OF QUITE FRANKLY, BUT, UH, THEY HAD NOT BEEN IN, UH, WERE NOT ON THE INVENTORY, UH, SYSTEM. WE ALSO NOTED THAT THE, UH, USER ACCESS TO THE FOLLOW-ON QUEUE SYSTEM, WHICH IS THEIR INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, WAS EXCESSIVE, UH, FROM A SECURITY PERSPECTIVE, THE SECURITY CAM WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT THEY HAVE A SECURITY CAMERA, UH, ON THE EVIDENCE ROOM JUST AS ADDITIONAL SURVEILLANCE. IT'S A BEST PRACTICE. AND ONE THING ABOUT THAT, WE DID NOTICE WHENEVER THE PUBLIC SAFETY HEADQUARTERS WAS BUILT, AND THAT'S WHERE THE STORE ROOM IS, UH, IT WAS WIRED FOR A SECURITY CAMERA. SO IT'S JUST A MATTER OF ADDING THE SECURITY CAMERA. SO, UH, THAT'S ACTUALLY AN EASY FIX, JUST GETTING THE EQUIPMENT. AND THEN POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE STILL IN DRAFT FORM, UH, AND NOT, DID NOT ENCOMPASS ALL OF, UH, THE BUREAU'S ACTIVITIES. AND SO WE'VE MADE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, TO, TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES OF WHICH MANAGEMENT HAS ACCEPTED SOME OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE MADE. AND AGAIN, LET ME DIFFERENTIATE THESE RECOMMENDATIONS. THESE ARE ONES, THE OTHERS, THERE WAS A CONTROL WEAKNESS WHEN WE DID OUR TESTING. THESE ARE SOME RECOMME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'RE MAKING JUST TO IMPROVE THE PROCESS AND MAYBE OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS OF THAT DEPARTMENT. UH, THE FIRST ONE IS DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS. AGAIN, WE WERE NOT AWARE OF ANY COMPLAINTS AGAINST ANY OF THE ARSON INVESTIGATORS. HOWEVER, WE ALSO KNOW THAT THERE'S NOT A PROCESS. AGAIN, THESE ARE KIND OF BOTH POLICE OFFICERS, LICENSED POLICE OFFICERS, AS WELL AS FIREFIGHTERS. AND THEY'RE KIND OF IN BETWEEN THE TWO DEPARTMENTS, UH, FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE. AND SO WE JUST, UH, RECOMMEND THAT THEY DO DEVELOP A FORMAL, UH, COMPLAINT PROCESS IF, UH, THERE ARE COMPLAINTS LODGED AGAINST THE, UH, THE INVESTIGATORS, JUST SO THAT THERE'S A PROCESS ALREADY ESTABLISHED, UH, BEFORE ANYTHING MIGHT HAPPEN. ALSO ON THE PERFORMANCE, UH, MEASURES THE, UH, WHILE WE DETERMINED THAT THEIR METRICS WERE ACCURATE, WE ALSO NOTED THAT THEIR CALCULATION METHODOLOGY IS NOT THE SAME AS THE STATE, UH, D P S AND THE F B I. THERE'S THE METHODOLOGY OF THE CALCULATION. UH, SO IT'S A RECOMMENDATION JUST TO LET'S GET THOSE IN SYNC. IT MAKES 'EM MORE COMPARABLE. AND ACTUALLY THE DEPARTMENT'S, UH, CALCULATION, I DUNNO IF I'D CALL IT MORE CONSERVATIVE, BUT IT WAS, UH, IT, IT, IT HURT THEM IN, IN THE COMPARISON RATINGS, BASICALLY IN, IN THE CALCULATION ME METRIC. AND ALSO PERFORMANCE METRICS. ALL THEY REALLY CALCULATED IS CASE CLOSURE RATE. THOSE GUYS DO A WHOLE LOT OF STUFF AND IT WOULD BE BETTER TO TRACK SOME OF THE OTHER STUFF THAT THEY DO JUST, UH, FOR INTERNAL PURPOSES [01:25:01] AND ALSO TO PRESENT AS APPLICABLE AND, AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING. SO AGAIN, UH, MANAGEMENT HAS AGREED WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, DEVELOPED AN ACTION PLAN, ARE WORKING ON IMPLEMENTING THOSE. AND THEY'RE ANTICIPATED COMPLETION FOR ALL OF 'EM. SOME ALREADY COMPLETED, BUT BY MARCH OF 2023, THEY WILL BE IN PLACE. AND AGAIN, WE WILL COME BACK AND REVIEW TO ENSURE THAT THEY WERE EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENTED. AND THE CHIEF IS RIGHT BEHIND ME WITH THE WHOLE TEAM. WE ARE IN VERY GOOD HANDS AND, UH, HE CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. I KNOW I NEED TO REMEMBER TO STAY UP HERE BEFORE YOU WALK AWAY, I WANTED TO ASK YOU, UM, WHAT TYPE OF EVIDENCE WAS NOT FOUND TO BE IN THE EVIDENCE ROOM THAT WAS LOGGED IN SOMEWHERE? UM, DO YOU HAVE SOME EXAMPLES OF SOME OF THE EVIDENCE YOU COULDN'T FIND? I'LL ANSWER WHEN I GET UP THERE. THE CHIEF WILL ANSWER THAT QUESTION. HE'S GOT MORE SPECIFICS ON, ON THEIR RECONCILIATION AND WHAT THEY FOUND. OKAY. CHIEF, COME ON UP. GOOD AFTERNOON. UH, MR. CHAIR MEMBERS OF, UH, AUDIT COMMITTEE. UH, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO THANK, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO THANK, UM, THE AUDIT TEAM, KEVIN AND HIS FOLKS. IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE'VE HAD AN AUDIT, BUT ANYTIME WE GET 'EM, IT'S GONNA IMPROVE WHAT WE DO. AND I WANNA THANK MY TEAM THAT'S BEHIND ME FOR THEIR SUPPORT. SO, UM, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, THE ONLY EVIDENCE THAT, UM, THAT WE FOUND WAS AN ISSUE WAS OLD EVIDENCE. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE THAT PERTAINED TO ANY ACTIVE CASES. THIS WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT WAS JUST OLD. UH, AND SO THIS DID GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO REDO OUR, OUR MAKE A ARSON MANUAL, WHICH WE HAD NEVER DONE. AND SO WE'VE COMPLETED EVERYTHING POSSIBLE THAT WE COULD DO RIGHT NOW, AND THE ONLY THING THAT WE'RE WAITING ON IS F. AND SO, UM, AND THAT RECOMMENDATION WAS, UM, AGAIN, TO, UM, LOOK AT OUR REPORTING. AND SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE WORKING WITH SS A P D TO, UM, UTILIZE, UM, UNIFIED CRIME REPORTING RIGHT NOW. BUT, UM, WE'RE GONNA GO TO A SYSTEM CALLED MARK 34. SO MARK 34 IS GONNA BE WORKING WITH CONJUNCTION WITH F B I AND PD. SO WE, UH, PLAN TO HAVE THAT DONE PROBABLY BY FEBRUARY. SO AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK THE TEAM, UH, FOR EVERYTHING THEY'VE DONE TO MAKE THIS POSSIBLE. SO THANK YOU. I GUESS. THANKS CHIEF. AND I, I JUST KIND OF WANT TO CLARIFY, UH, EVIDENCE SEEMS TO BE CRITICAL. OBVIOUSLY, IF THERE'S A PENDING CASE THAT EVIDENCE NEEDS TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR, IT NEEDS ABSOLUTELY NEEDS TO BE THERE WHEN NECESSARY. OBVIOUSLY, IF A CASE HAS BEEN CLOSED, IF IT'S YEARS OLD, THE STUFF SHOULD BE GOTTEN RID OF. YES, SIR. AND SO THAT'S PRIMARILY THE SITUATION THAT WE'RE FINDING IN THAT EVIDENCE ROOM. THERE'S OLD EVIDENCE THAT ISN'T NEEDED ANYMORE, THAT HASN'T BEEN DISPOSED OF PROPERLY, BUT THERE WEREN'T ANY PROBLEMS WITH EVIDENCE THAT SHOULD BE THERE, THAT'S MISSING FOR PENDING CASES. NO, SIR. THERE'S NOTHING THAT WAS THERE FOR ANY PENDING CASES. SO EVERYTHING THAT WE, UH, IDENTIFIED WAS OLD. OKAY. AND, UH, DO YOU THINK THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO KEEP, UH, THE KIND OF, UH, RECORD KEEPING THAT'S GONNA BE MORE IN LINE WITH THE F B I AND THE STATES? UH, ABSOLUTELY. RECORDS FOR THAT, ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. WELL THEN I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS. UH, ANY OF THE COUNT COMMITTEE MEMBERS? NO. OKAY. CHIEF, THANKS, SIR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SEE ME AGAIN. OKAY. SO, UM, A MOTION TO ACCEPT THIS COURT, COUNCILMAN, JUST HIS, HIS STATEMENTS ABOUT THE EVIDENCE AS THAT WAS GOING ON. MY STAFF BACK HERE. YEAH, THEY'RE NODDING POSITIVE THAT THAT IS, IS ACCURATE AND CORRECT ON EVIDENCE. GOOD. I WOULD'VE HATED TO THANK THEM. SHAKING THEIR HEADS NOW. NO, THEY'RE THE HEADS. WERE NODDING IN THE RIGHT WAY, SO WE'RE GOOD. OKAY. SO A MOTION BE IN ORDER. OKAY. SECOND. OKAY. MOTION MADE, UH, AND SECONDED TO ACCEPT, UH, THE AUDIT, UH, NUMBER 15 ON, UM, S A F D SOME BUREAU. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? HEARING NONE. AUDIT'S BEEN ACCEPTED. LAST, UH, AUDIT, OTHER THAN THE OVERALL, UH, EXTERNAL FINANCIAL AUDIT, WE'LL HEAR IN A MINUTE. UH, ITEM NUMBER 16. YES, SIR. AND ITEM 16 WAS ANOTHER FOLLOW-UP AUDIT, SPECIFICALLY OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS, THEIR PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT, MAINLY BUNKER GEAR, UH, THE, THE MASK, AIR TANKS, SUCH, UH, THAT TYPE OF STUFF. WE DID THE ORIGINAL AUDIT. UH, AND IN THAT ORIGINAL AUDIT, WE DETERMINED, UH, THAT THERE WERE SOME ISSUES THAT THE P P E, THE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT WAS NOT TRACKED AS REQUIRED. UH, THE REPAIR OF THE OLDER EQUIPMENT, UH, WAS NOT APPROPRIATELY MANAGED. WHEN EQUIPMENT GETS SO OLD, IT'S, YOU MAKE A A DECISION, DO YOU WANNA REPAIR IT OR IT'S GONNA GET REPLACED AFTER FIVE YEARS, THERE'S AN EXPIRATION DATE ON THIS EQUIPMENT. SO, UH, WE FOUND THAT THAT WAS NOT APPROPRIATE AND MANAGED. AND ALSO THE FITTING OF THE MASK AND CYLINDER INSPECTIONS IS SOMETHING THAT'S REQUIRED TO BE DONE ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE, UH, SUFFICIENT AND, AND FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. THAT WAS THE ORIGINAL AUDIT IN THIS, UH, FOLLOW UP AUDIT, WE DID FIND THAT THE TRACKING OF THE [01:30:01] BUNKER GEAR IS ACCURATE, UH, AND ALL IN LINE, THE REPAIRS TO THE GEAR IS EFFECTIVELY MANAGED AND INVOICES ARE ACCURATE. SO IF IT'S NEAR ITS LIFE EXPECTANCY, UH, THAT WE WERE NOT SPENDING THE MONEY ON REPAIRING IT, IF IT WAS GONNA COST US MORE, UH, UH, TO JUST, UH, REPLACE IT KNOWING THAT THAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN. SO THOSE TWO AREAS WERE, UH, TAKEN CARE OF ON THE AREA OF THE INSPECTIONS FOR BOTH THE MASK FITTING AS WELL AS THE TANKS. WE FOUND THAT THE MASK FITTING WAS NOT ALWAYS COMPLETED IN A TIMELY MANNER. UH, AND ALSO ON THE CYLINDERS, UH, THEY WERE, AGAIN, THERE'S A, OR AN INSPECTION REQUIRED ONCE EVERY YEAR, THEN A HYDROSTATIC TEST EVERY FIVE YEARS, AGAIN, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE STILL FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. AND WITH THE CYLINDERS, IT WAS AN INVENTORY ISSUE THAT THEY WERE NOT TRACKED IN THE INVENTORY OR ALL THE NEEDED INFORMATION WAS NOT IN THE INVENTORY SYSTEM TO KNOW WHEN THE INSPECTIONS, UH, NEEDED TO BE ADDRESSED. SO AGAIN, THOSE TWO AREAS STILL HAVE SOME AREA FOR IMPROVEMENT. AND AGAIN, MANAGEMENT HAS, UH, AGREED WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS, HAS, HAS AN ACTION PLAN. AND THIS SHOULD BE COMPLETED, UH, BY THE END OF NEXT MONTH. AND THE CHIEF IS HERE FOR ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. CHIEF, I KNOW YOU'RE ALWAYS CONCERNED ABOUT THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF EVERYBODY WHO WORKS IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. UH, AND THE TWO ISSUES ON, ON THE BUNKER GEAR AND THE MASKS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. UM, HOW DID THEY, HOW DID THEY KIND OF SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS SOMETIMES? UM, AGAIN, WE'RE A BIG DEPARTMENT AND, AND WHEN I, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SAFETY, IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT WE DO AS FAR AS A ROUND TRIP TICKET. SO AGAIN, WE THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. I THINK YOU MIGHT'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL WHEN WE WENT TO TWO SETS OF EQUIPMENT TURNOUT GEAR. SO A LOT OF THE OLDER EQUIPMENT WAS NOT EITHER BEING TESTED OR REPLACED. UH, WHAT WE DO GO THROUGH AND, AND AGAIN, THANK KEVIN AND HIS TEAM, BUT WHAT WE DO GO THROUGH ANNUALLY IS THE TEXAS COMMISSION OF FIRE PROTECTION ANNUAL INSPECTION. SO THEY COME OUT AND THEY GO TO EVERY FIRE STATION, THEY CHECK ALL OF OUR EQUIPMENT, PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT, AIR PACKS, ALL OF THOSE THINGS. AND THAT WAS COMPLETED IN OCTOBER. SO, UM, AGAIN, FOR OUR EMPLOYEE ROSTER WAS EXCELLENT SOPS, EXCELLENT INJURY REPORTING, EXCELLENT TRAINING RECORDS, EXCELLENT RF EQUIPMENT. EXCELLENT. UM, THEY LOOKED AT, UM, 367, UM, PIECES OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. AND, UM, WITH THAT BEING SAID, UH, ONLY UH, 2% ISSUES WERE FOUND ON OUR SCBAS. AND IT WAS A 92% WITH 98% WITH NO VIOLATIONS. SO WE DO TAKE THAT VERY SERIOUSLY. SO THE ISSUE AS FAR AS TRACKING OUR BOTTLES, AND WE HAVE ABOUT 1500 BOTTLES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, ERIC, ERIC MCGOWAN'S, OUR SUPPLY SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGER. SO WE HAVE ABOUT 1500 BOTTLES. SO WHAT WE WERE DOING WAS JUST PUTTING THAT ON A EXCEL SHEET. SO WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING IS USING SOFTWARE CALLED OPERATIVE IQ. WE'RE GONNA HAVE THAT IN FEBRUARY, WHICH IS GONNA USE A BARCODE, WHICH ALLOW US JUST TO SCAN THAT. SO AGAIN, WE AGREE WITH THAT, AND THE ONLY THING THAT WE HAVE TO DO IS TAKE CARE OF THAT. BUT AGAIN, WHEN THE COMMISSION OF THE FIRE PROTECTION COMES OUT, THEY LOOK AT EVERYTHING THAT WE DO. SO IT JUST DOVETAILED INTO THE END OF THIS AUDIT. OKAY. THANK YOU, CHIEF. ANY QUESTIONS FROM OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS? OKAY, HEARING NONE. THANK YOU. SO CAN WE GET, UH, MOTION TO ACCEPT THE AUDIT? NUMBER 16? OBJECTION TO ACCEPT. SECOND. OKAY. IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED TO ACCEPT AUDIT, UH, NUMBER 16 AND SS A F D PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? HEARING NONE. OKAY. WE'VE COMPLETED ALL OF THE FINANCIAL INTERNAL AUDITS. WE NOW HAVE [Staff Briefing  ] A STAFF BRIEFING ON OUR EXTERNAL, UH, 2022 AUDIT. UH, BEN, WILL YOU BE PRESENTING THAT, UH, CHAIR TODAY? WE'LL HAVE MELANIE KEATON, OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN FINANCE, WHO'S GONNA INTRODUCE THE ITEM, AND THEN SHE'LL BRING UP OUR EXTERNAL AUDITORS TO DO THAT REQUIRED COMMUNICATION. OKAY. THANK YOU, MELANIE. SO, LET'S SEE. LOOKS LIKE, OKAY, THERE WE, ALRIGHT, SO, GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIRMAN, COUNCIL, UH, SORRY, COMMITTEE MEMBERS. UH, MELANIE KEATON, ASSISTANT FINANCE DIRECTOR. UM, BEFORE I INTRODUCE MY COSS SPEAKER, UH, FOR THIS BRIEFING, UH, AND THIS IS THE BRIEFING OF REQUIRED COMMUNICATIONS THAT ARE, UM, REQUIRED BY AUDIT RULES FOR THE EXTERNAL AUDITORS. I WANTED TO GIVE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY AND CONTEXT IN REGARDS TO THE TWO DIFFERENT TYPE OF AUDITS. NOW, OBVIOUSLY, AS YOU'VE HEARD OVER THE LAST, UH, PROBABLY HOUR OR SO WITH KEVIN IS HE HAS, UH, SEVERAL INTERNAL AUDITS THAT ARE MORE PROGRAM [01:35:01] SPECIFIC, UM, CONTRACTUAL FISCAL COMPLIANCE, UH, AND THEY ARE REQUIRED UNDER THE CITY CHARTER AND OBVIOUSLY REPORTS TO YOU GUYS. AND BASICALLY THE CREATION OF THAT AUDIT PLAN, THE EXTERNAL AUDIT IS DONE BY AN INDEPENDENT EXTERNAL AUDITOR WHO COMES IN AND REALLY CHECKS FOR THE, THE COMPLETENESS OF THE CITY'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE FREE FROM MATERIAL MISSTATEMENT AND THAT THEY COMPLY WITH ESTABLISHED CONCEPTS, PRINCIPLES AND ACCOUNTING STANDARDS. THIS IS REQUIRED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE CITY CHARTERS AND BY STATE STATUTE. SO THEY DO THIS EVERY YEAR, AND WE COME TWICE A YEAR TO THIS COMMITTEE ONCE AT THE BEGINNING, BEFORE THEY START THEIR FIELD WORK. AND THEN AT THE END, ONCE THEY'VE COMPLETED THE AUDIT, THEY COME UP, THEY COME BACK WITH THE RESULTS OF THE AUDIT. NOW, THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR OF A NEW CONTRACT, UH, THE FISCAL 2021. WE COMPLETED OUR LAST FIVE YEAR TRANCHE WITH OUR PREVIOUS AUDITORS. AND, UH, WE WENT AND DID AN R F P EARLIER THIS YEAR. WE ENDED UP SELECTING, UH, WE HAD A COMPETITIVE PROCESS AND WE SELECTED THE SAME VENDORS, WHICH WAS B K D. THEY'VE SINCE MERGED WITH ANOTHER COMPANY TO BECOME FOR VIZ. UM, ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF OUR POLICY IS IF WE SELECT A NEW VENDOR, OR SORRY, THE SAME VENDOR, WE REQUIRE THE AUDIT PARTNER TO BE, UH, SWITCHED OUT SO THAT WE HAVE A FRESH SET OF EYES. SO MY COSS SPEAKER WILL BE THE, THE NEW ENGAGEMENT PARTNER, WHICH I WILL INTRODUCE SHORTLY. THIS IS JUST A QUICK LOOK AT THE NEW FIVE-YEAR TERM, UH, THE, WITH THE PRICE FOR THE CONTRACT. AND THIS COVERS NOT JUST LOOKING AT THE CITY'S ANNUAL FINANCIAL, UH, STATEMENTS, BUT ALSO THE SINGLE AUDITS FOR BOTH FEDERAL GRANTS AND STATE, UH, GRANTS AS WELL. AND THIS AUDIT IS REQUIRED AND USED BY STAKEHOLDERS, BOTH INVESTORS, UH, FOR BONDS, ISSUANCES, RATING AGENCIES, AS WELL AS THE FEDERAL AND STATE GRANTING AGENCIES TO DETERMINE IF THEY WILL CONTINUE TO GIVE US GRANT FUNDING. THERE IS A LOT OF WORK THAT COMES, GOES INTO THE DOCUMENTS OF THE CITY'S, UM, ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE, ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT AND OTHER REPORTS THAT WE DO. AND THAT IS PRIMARILY LED BY VICTORIA RADER, WHO IS OVER TO MY RIGHT. SHE'S A CITY'S CONTROLLER. SHE IS OUR POINT PERSON. AND WHILE I DO NOT HAVE THE BINDER FOR SUSTAINABILITY PURPOSES, IT'S ABOUT 500 PAGES IS THE ISSUED REPORT EVERY YEAR. AND IT'S ONLINE, AVAILABLE FOR THE PUBLIC AND, AND ANYONE TO VIEW. UM, SO INCLUDED IN THAT IS VICKI'S GROUP, WHICH IS THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, WILL GO AND INTERPRET ANY NEW G A SS B STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS. UM, WHICH THIS YEAR WE HAVE A HUGE ONE, WHICH THEY'RE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING. THEY WILL ALSO PREPARE AND CONSOLIDATE THOSE ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, WHICH IS WRANGLE IN OUR $3 BILLION GRANTS, CAPITAL AND OPERATING FUNDS, $3 BILLION OF EXPENSES. THEY WILL PUT THAT INTO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS WITH DISCLOSURE NOTES THAT ARE REQUIRED BY REGULATORY AGENCIES. ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE HAVE, UH, AS PART OF OUR CONSOLIDATED REPORT IS WRANGLING 27 DIFFERENT COMPONENT UNITS AND THEIR FINANCIALS. SO WE HAVE TO GET ALL OF THE FINANCIALS FOR ALL OF OUR COMPONENT UNITS AND ADD IT INTO OUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS WELL. WE TYPICALLY GET THOSE AROUND JANUARY OF EVERY YEAR. AND SO ALL OF THAT REALLY LEADS US TO ISSUING OUR REPORT AROUND MARCH TIMEFRAME. SO THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE OTHER REPORTS AND SCHEDULES THAT THE, UH, CITY DEPARTMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING TOGETHER, AND THAT THE AUDITORS WILL THEN COME IN AND OPINE ON THAT REASONABLENESS. SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND ACTUALLY ASK MY COSS SPEAKER TO COME UP. AMANDA EVES, WHO IS THE PARTNER WITH FOR VZ TO GO OVER THE REQUIRED COMMUNICATIONS. I THINK THIS IS GOOD OVER THANK YOU, MELANIE. UM, AND THANK YOU CHAIRMAN AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS. WE TRULY APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH THE CITY. UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE WORKING WITH THE CITY. UM, I'M, YOU KNOW, AS MELANIE MENTIONED, NEW TO THE TEAM, THE NEW AUDIT PARTNER. UM, AND SO I'M EXCITED TO BE HERE WITH YOU TODAY. I DO ALSO HAVE ERICA BROWN WITH ME. SHE IS A SENIOR MANAGER WITH VUS. UM, IT'S MANAGING THE ENGAGEMENT AND THEN I'LL TALK ABOUT THIS A, UH, IN A FEW MINUTES. BUT WE ALSO HAVE CHARLES MARSHALL, ROBERT WILLIAMS, AND SELENA JONES THAT ARE WITH OUR TEAMING PARTNERS THAT ARE ALSO CRITICAL, A CRITICAL PART OF THE FOUR OF US AUDIT TEAM. SO I WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE CITY'S AUDIT. UM, SO WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR, AS MELANIE MENTIONED, AUDITING YOUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THAT VERY LARGE, UM, ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT. UM, WE ARE ALS ALSO AUDITING THE CITY'S COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL AND STATE AWARD PROGRAM, UH, GRANT REQUIREMENTS. AND ERIC ERICA'S GONNA TOUCH A LITTLE BIT ON THOSE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE AUDITING THIS YEAR IN A FEW MINUTES. UM, WE CONDUCT OUR AUDIT IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT AUDITING STANDARDS, UM, AUDITING STANDARDS ACCEPTED IN THE US ALSO UNIFORM GUIDANCE THAT RELATES TO YOUR FEDERAL PROGRAMS, [01:40:01] UM, TEXAS GRANT MANAGEMENT STANDARDS THAT RELATES TO YOUR STATE, UH, GRANT PROGRAMS. AND OVERALL, UM, I DO WANNA POINT OUT THAT WE ARE NOT TESTING EVERY TRANSACTION WITHIN THE CITY. UM, OUR AUDIT IS DESIGNED IN ACCORDANCE WITH STANDARDS TO OBTAIN REASONABLE ASSURANCE ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS THAT THEY'RE MATERIALLY STATED PROPERLY IN ACCORDANCE WITH, UM, GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES AND, AND ALSO THAT YOU HAVE MATERIALLY COMPLIED WITH YOUR GRANT COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS. SO, UM, WE DO HAVE TWO, UH, FOUR TEAMING PARTNERS ON OUR TEAM THIS YEAR THAT YOU'LL SEE PRESENTED ON THE SLIDE. UM, BRITTS AND ASSOCIATES, ROBERT J. WILLIAMS, C P A, SHRIVER, CARMONA, AND ARMSTRONG VAUGHN AND ASSOCIATES. AND AGAIN, THEY, UM, THESE, THESE, UH, INDIVIDUALS AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THEIR TEAM HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH US FROM PLANNING AND THEY'LL BE, YOU KNOW, ON THE TEAM THROUGH, IN THROUGH THE END AGAIN, INTEGRAL, INTEGRAL PARTS OF THE AUDIT. SO THE DELIVERABLES, UM, THAT WE WILL BE, UH, REPORTING ON AT THE END OF THE AUDIT. SO AGAIN, YOUR ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT. AND I DO WANNA, UM, ALSO LIKE TO ITERATE THAT WHERE THESE ARE AUDIT DELIVERABLES. WE, AGAIN, ARE NOT PREPARING THE FINANCIAL REPORT. YOUR TEAM IS PREPARING THAT AND WE ARE EXPRESSING AN OPINION ON IT. UM, ALSO THE STATE AND THE FEDERAL SINGLE AUDIT REPORTS. AND THEN THE PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGE REPORT, UM, AN AGREED UPON PROCEDURES REPORT OVER T C E Q, UH, REQUIREMENTS, AND THEN ALSO A SEPARATE AUDIT OF THE MUNICIPAL AIDS CORPORATION FINANCIAL STATEMENT. UM, THIS IS A TIMELINE. SO YOU CAN SEE THAT WE KICKED OFF THE AUDIT IN JULY, UM, AND BEGAN WITH OUR INITIAL MEETINGS, OUR RISK ASSESSMENT, YOU KNOW, STAFF INTERVIEWS, PLANNING, UM, ALSO INTERIM TESTING, A LOT OF THAT IN THE SINGLE AUDIT AREA, BOTH FEDERAL AND STATE. UM, AND WE ARE HERE IN DECEMBER NOW MEETING WITH THE AUDIT COMMITTEE TO, YOU KNOW, PRESENT OUR AUDIT PLAN TO YOU. UM, WE ARE IN, IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER, WE'RE REALLY GOING, YOU KNOW, FULL FORCE INTO FINAL YEAR END FIELD WORK, UM, WITH A GOAL TO BE ISSUING OUR REPORTS IN FEBRUARY AND THEN COMING BACK TO YOU IN MARCH TO PRESENT THE AUDIT RESULTS. SO WE TALKED ABOUT REASONABLE ASSURANCE, UM, EARLIER. SO MATERIAL, WE JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A DEFINITION OF MATERIALITY. UM, BECAUSE WE ARE NOT AUDITING EVERY TRANSACTION. WE DO SET SCOPES AND THRESHOLDS OF WHAT'S MATERIAL IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. AND WE DO THIS INTERNALLY, YOU KNOW, IN LOOKING AT YOUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, BUT ALSO THROUGHOUT PLANNING AS WE'RE HAVING, YOU KNOW, OUR INTERVIEWS AND DISCUSSIONS WITH MANAGEMENT AND, AND THE COMMITTEE TODAY. UM, SO WE SET SCOPES AND THRESHOLDS OR MATERIALITY FOR THE VARIOUS FUNDS AND COMPONENTS IN THE CITY. AND SO, UH, THOSE MAY BE BASED ON EITHER TOTAL ASSETS, TOTAL REVENUES OR EXPENDITURES DEPENDING ON THE FUND. AND THEN WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR MAJOR PROGRAMS, YOUR FEDERAL AND YOUR SINGLE AUDIT, UH, PROGRAMS, WE BASE THOSE ON TOTAL EXPENDITURES. AND SO ANY FINANCIAL STATEMENT LINE ITEMS, UM, THAT ARE ABOVE THOSE THRESHOLDS ARE GONNA BE SUBJECT TO AUDIT. BUT THEN WE ALSO GO BACK AND LOOK, AND YOU CAN SEE IN THE LAST SECTION HERE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME AREAS THAT MAY NOT BE, UM, OVER THOSE THRESHOLDS, BUT THERE MAY BE, UH, THERE THE QUALITATIVE RISK IS A LITTLE BIT HIGHER, SUCH AS RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS, YOU KNOW, BOND COVERAGE, CERTAINLY FRAUD RISK OR UNUSUAL TRANSACTIONS. SO THERE WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY SOME THINGS THAT WE WOULD LOOK AT THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT LOWER FROM A DOLLAR VALUE, BUT JUST KIND OF A RISKIER AREA. AND THEN THESE ARE JUST ACCOUNTING AND AUDIT MATTERS THAT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DISCUSSED WITH YOU, UM, AND GET ANY, ANY THOUGHTS THAT YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, AT THE END OF, UM, THE PRESENTATION, ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD WANNA SHARE WITH US. BUT, BUT THESE AREAS WE FEEL LIKE ARE RELEVANT TO OUR AUDIT AND TO YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS WELL AS THE AUDIT COMMITTEE. SO THE FIRST ONE IS THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING AND THAT GRANT COMPLIANCE. AND I JUST WANNA STRESS THAT THAT'S THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONTROLS AND ALSO THE IMPLEMENTATION. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THE CONTROLS YOU HAVE IN PLACE, BUT THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THOSE IN ACTION, KIND OF WALKING THROUGH THOSE CONTROLS AND IN SOME PLACES EVEN TESTING THEM TO SEE THAT THOSE CONTROLS ARE OPERATING AS YOU HAVE DESIGNED. UM, WE'VE ALSO PROVIDED YOU WITH SOME UPCOMING APP ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS THAT ARE IN THE APPENDIX. UM, JUST FOR YOU TO BE AWARE OF THE DIFFERENT STANDARDS THAT THE CITY WILL BE IMPLEMENTING THIS YEAR. AND ALSO IN THE UPCOMING YEARS. THERE'S ALWAYS KIND OF A LAUNDRY LIST COMING OUT FROM SS B IN THAT REGARD. UM, YOUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS DO, DO INCLUDE SIGNIFICANT ESTIMATES AS MOST FINANCIAL STATEMENTS DO. UM, THE MORE SIGNIFICANCE WE'VE LISTED HERE ARE ALLOWANCE FOR DOUBTFUL ACCOUNTS, UM, OF COURSE YOUR [01:45:01] PENSION AND OTHER POST BENEFIT, UH, POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFIT LIABILITIES, AND THEN THE DEPRECIABLE LIVES OF YOUR CAPITAL ASSETS. AND THEN, AND THEN CERTAINLY, UM, TESTING YOUR MAJOR PROGRAMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH UNIFORM GUIDANCE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS REQUIREMENTS, UM, IS A CRITICAL AUDIT AREA, UM, AND A CRITICAL AREA FOR THIS COMMITTEE TO HAVE OVERSIGHT ABOUT. UM, AND SO MELANIE MENTIONED ALL THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS THAT THE CITY HAS. SO THIS SLIDE, WE'RE NOT AUDITING ALL OF THE COMPONENT UNITS. SO THIS SLIDE, UM, SHOWS ON THE FIRST LINE THAT YOU HAVE THREE FIDUCIARY FUNDS, 15 BLENDED COMPONENT UNITS, AND NINE DISCREETLY PRESENTED COMPONENT UNITS. AND SO THE BOTTOM LINE THERE SHOWS THE NUMBER OF THOSE COMP COMPONENT UNITS THAT ARE AUDITED BY OTHER FIRMS OUTSIDE OF FOUR US. AND SO WE'RE NOT AUDITING THOSE ONES ON THE BOTTOM LINE. UM, THERE IS A MORE DETAILED LISTING OF THOSE IN THE APPENDIX, BUT WE DO GET REPORTS FROM THOSE AUDITORS. WE, UM, GET CONFIRMATIONS FROM THEM. WE LOOK AT PEER REVIEW FILES AND DO CERTAIN REQUIRED PROCEDURES JUST OVER THOSE REPORTS AS IT RELATES TO THE CITY'S FINANCIAL STATEMENT AUDIT. AND THEN SI SIGNIFICANT RISK AREAS THAT WE'VE HAD IDENTIFIED IN PLANNING, UM, AND, AND OUR AUDIT APPROACH IN THOSE AREAS. SO REVENUE RECOGNITION AND, UH, PARTICULARLY THE RISK OF FRAUD RELATED TO REVENUE ACCOUNTS IS A, IS A CRITICAL AUDIT AREA. AND SO YOU CAN SEE OUR AUDIT APPROACH THERE, UM, INCLUDES A COMBINATION OF ANALYTICAL REVIEW CONFIRMATIONS WITH THIRD PARTIES, UM, DETAILED TRANSACTION TESTING, SOME CONTROL TESTING, UM, CUTOFF PROCEDURES. SO REALLY A VARIETY OF AREAS IN IN THAT AREA, DEPENDING ON THE SPECIFIC REVENUE, UH, REVENUE STREAM. AND THEN MANAGEMENT OVERRIDE OF CONTROLS IS ALWAYS A CRITICAL AREA. SO WE LOOK AT REVIEW JOURNAL ENTRIES TO SEE THAT THOSE ARE APPROVED AND PROPERLY SUPPORTED, UM, LOOKING AT THOSE ESTIMATES, UM, FOR ANY MANAGEMENT BIAS AND THEN ALSO CERTAINLY LOOKING AT ANY UNUSUAL TRANSACTIONS, UM, FOR BUSINESS PURPOSE. AND THEN LASTLY, PROGRAM COMPLIANCE, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, TESTING THOSE CONTROLS FOR YOUR FEDERAL AND STATE PROGRAMS. AND WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO ERICA TO LET HER TALK ABOUT OUR MAJOR PROGRAMS AND KIND OF WRAP UP OUR DISCUSSION. THANKS AMANDA. SURE. PEOPLE HAVE TO PUSH THIS DOWN. UM, OKAY, SO WE ARE CURRENTLY TESTING SEVEN MAJOR PROGRAMS. UM, PLUS WE THOUGHT, OH, THAT'S FINE. I'M . UM, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE Y'ALL COULD HEAR ME, ALTHOUGH I HAVE KIND OF A LOUD VOICE ANYWAY. BUT, UM, SO WE'RE CURRENTLY TESTING SEVEN MAJOR PROGRAMS AND THEY'RE LISTED THERE. I'M NOT GONNA READ THOSE OFF, BUT, UM, WE WERE POSSIBLY GONNA TEST ONE MORE, BUT I THINK WE'RE NOT GOING TO BASED ON A CONVERSATION THIS MORNING. BUT, UM, Y'ALL DO HAVE SOME FEMA MONEY, SO THERE COULD POSSIBLY BE ON THE LIST AS WELL. UM, I JUST DID WANNA NOTE THAT THE E R A, THE EMERGENCY RESISTANCE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AS WELL AS THE FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS, WE TESTED THOSE LAST YEAR AS WELL. THOSE ARE BOTH CONSIDERED HIGH RISK AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE TO TEST 'EM AGAIN THIS YEAR. UM, AND THEN ALSO THE, UM, ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT STATE, TRIBAL, LOCAL AND TERRITORIAL. THAT'S A NEW GRANT FOR THE CITY, UM, THAT WE'RE TESTING THIS YEAR. AND ALSO THE EMERGENCY FOOD AND SHELTER PROGRAM. UM, BOTH OF THOSE KIND OF RELATE TO THE MIGRANT CENTER AND THE, IT'S KIND OF WHAT'S GOING ON OVER THERE. UM, SO WE'RE TESTING THOSE AS WELL. AND THEN WE, FOR STATE, WE'RE ACTUALLY TESTING THREE PROGRAMS. UM, SINCE WE PUT THESE SLIDES TOGETHER, THE STATE CONFISCATED PROPERTY, UM, FELL OFF FROM OUR LIST BASED ON THE ACTUAL COST, UH, FINAL, UM, VERSUS KIND OF THE PROTECTION THAT WE GOT. UM, SO WE ARE TESTING C C D S AS USUAL, UM, JUST BECAUSE OF THE SIZE OF THAT PROGRAM. AND THEN WE'RE TESTING TWO OTHER PROGRAMS AS WELL, UM, WHICH HAVE BEEN TESTED IN THE PAST. THOSE JUST KIND OF CAME INTO THE THREE YEAR ROTATION AS TO WHY THOSE ARE ON THE LIST. UM, AND THEN AS PART OF OUR AUDIT PROCEDURES, WE HAVE TO CONSIDER WHERE AND HOW THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS COULD BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO ERROR OR FRAUD. UM, AND SO WE DO THAT THROUGH OUR ENGAGEMENT TEAM BRAINSTORMING. WE ALSO TALK TO MANAGEMENT AND OTHERS, UM, AND ASK THEM KIND OF A LIST OF QUESTIONS OF WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON AT THE CITY, ARE THEY AWARE OF ANYTHING AMANDA MENTIONED ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES. SO WE DO, UM, SPECIAL PROCEDURES ON THOSE. WE ALSO LOOK AT ANY SIGNIFICANT UNUSUAL TRANSACTIONS, IF THERE ARE ANY, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE ARE FOLLOWING, YOU KNOW, PROCUREMENT OR, OR WHATEVER THEY SHOULD BE FOLLOWING. AND THEN WE DO KIND OF ADD A PREDICTABILITY TO EACH TO THE AUDIT EACH YEAR, UM, TO KEEP, YOU KNOW, MELANIE AND VIC AND VICKI'S [01:50:01] TEAM ON THEIR TOES. UM, . AND THEN, UM, SO AS PART OF THAT, UM, CONSIDERATION, WE ALSO LIKE TO ASK THE COMMITTEE, UM, AND SO KIND OF OPEN IT UP TO Y'ALL IF Y'ALL ARE AWARE OF ANY FRAUD, UM, SUSPECTED FRAUD, UM, ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS LIST? SO NON-COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS OR REGS, ANY TYPE OF INTERNAL CONTROL DEFICIENCIES, CONCERNS, UM, MAYBE RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS THAT COULD BE, UM, YOU KNOW, IF A COUNCIL MEMBER'S WIFE HAS A COMPANY THAT YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING WITH, UM, SIGNIFICANT OR UNUSUAL TRANSACTIONS AND ALSO KIND OF IT THINGS. SO, UM, IS ANYBODY AWARE OF ANYTHING THAT WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF? NO, YOU HEARD SOME OF OUR AUDITS EARLIER, SO I DID . YES. OKAY. UM, OKAY. WELL WITH THAT, THAT IS OUR LAST SLIDE THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA PRESENT. UM, THERE ARE SOME APPENDIX SLIDES, WHICH I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH, BUT AS AMANDA MENTIONED, THOSE LIST OUT SOME NEW STANDARDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OR HAVE COME OUT FOR THE CITY THAT THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO IMPLEMENT, PARTICULARLY GSS B 87 THIS YEAR AS THE HUGE STANDARD THAT THEY'RE HAVING TO DO. UM, THAT ALSO LISTS THE COMPONENT UNITS AS AMANDA MENTIONED, IF YOU WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THE, MADE UP THOSE NUMBERS ON THAT SLIDE. UM, AND THEN ALSO THERE'S SOME NEW GUIDANCE AS IT RELATES TO STATE SINGLE AUDITS. SO THERE'S A SLIDE ON THAT. UM, AND YEAH, SO IF THERE AREN'T ANY QUESTIONS OR IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, THAT'S ALL WE HAD. THANK YOU. I'M GONNA ASK, UH, JUDY, IF SHE HAS ANY QUESTIONS. SHE'S, SHE'S ENDED THIS STUFF ONE NIGHT. . UM, THANK YOU. I DO HAVE ONE. SO WILL YOU BE LOOKING AT THE FINDINGS FROM LAST YEAR? I MEAN, SINCE YOU WERE THE PREVIOUS AUDITOR, OF COURSE YOU ALWAYS HAVE ACCESS TO THE REPORT, BUT ANYTHING THAT CONCERNS YOU FROM THOSE FINDINGS? SO YES, OUR, OUR NORMAL AUDIT PROCEDURES ARE TO FOLLOW UP ON ANY, UM, SINGLE AUDIT FINDINGS AS WELL AS FINANCIAL STATEMENT AUDIT FINDINGS. UM, THERE WERE NONE, SO WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO FOLLOW UP ON. UM, HOORAY TO THEIR TEAM. UM, SO YEAH, SO WE NORMALLY WOULD, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY FINDINGS LAST YEAR. GREAT. THANK YOU. YEAH. COUNCILMAN, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? WHEN I THINK OF AUDITS, I THINK OF, UM, IN LAYMAN'S TERMS LOOKING TO SEE IF ANYBODY'S STEALING INVENTORY, LOOKING TO SEE IF, UM, ANYBODY'S EMBEZZLING MONEY LOOKING TO SEE IF, IF RECEIPTS ARE BEING PROPERLY TURNED IN AND, AND UH, FILED SAVED, UM, SEEING IF THE MATH IS RIGHT ON EVERYTHING. HOW, WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU SAY IN LAYMAN'S TERMS AN AUDIT IS? UM, YEAH, SO A LOT OF OUR AUDIT BECAUSE, UM, THE CITY ACTUALLY FOLLOWS GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS, UM, AND BECAUSE OF THE SINGLE AUDIT IS ALSO COMPLIANCE. SO KIND OF LOOKING AT WHAT IS THE RULE AND ARE THEY FOLLOWING THE RULE. SO I WOULD SAY THAT'S PROBABLY 50% OF OUR AUDIT IS, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THEY'RE FOLLOWING THE RULES. UM, WE DON'T ACTUALLY DO A LOT OF MATH AS AUDITORS. I KNOW THAT'S LIKE A, IT'S A MISCONCEPTION, UM, , BUT, UM, THINGS TO EXCEL THESE DAYS. NORMALLY EVERYTHING FOOTS SO , BUT OKAY. BUT WE DO SO, AND, AND JUST TALKING ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT. YEAH, WE DON'T, UH, YEAH, MY KIDS THINK ALL I DO IS MATH, BUT , YEAH. UM, WE DO, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF OUR PROCEDURES, WHEN WE GET REPORTS FROM MANAGEMENT, WE DO CLERICAL TESTING, WE DO, YOU KNOW, PROCEDURES TO SEE THAT THINGS FOOT AND CALCULATE. UM, WE'RE NOT DOING A FORENSIC AUDIT, SO WE'RE ACTUALLY NOT, WHICH IS A SPECIFIC TYPE OF AUDIT. SO WE'RE NOT COMING IN LOOKING FOR FRAUD, BUT WE'RE REQUIRED BY STANDARDS AS WE GO THROUGH THE AUDIT, UM, TO KIND OF HAVE OUR FLAG UP OR, OR YOU KNOW, IF ANYTHING TO TALK ABOUT WHERE, WHERE, WHAT, WHAT COULD BE A RED FLAG. UM, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, HAVING THOSE AUDIT INTERVIEWS AND, AND LOOKING AT EVIDENCE TO, TO BE AWARE OF THAT. UM, BUT WE'RE NOT LIKE SEARCHING FOR FRAUD, BUT IF WE, IF WE, YOU KNOW, SEE A PARTICULAR AREA THAT LOOKS, LIKE I SAID AT RISK FOR FRAUD, WE'RE GONNA DO MORE WORK IN THAT. AND CERTAINLY IF IT WERE TO, WE WERE TO FIND SOMETHING, WE WOULD, YOU KNOW, BRING IT TO MANAGEMENT'S ATTENTION. OKAY. YEAH. I WOULD EVEN ADD THAT. IT'S BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK THEY LOOK AT EVERYTHING AND THEY DON'T, IT'S JUST A SAMPLE SIZE. SURE. SO IF THEY CATCH SOMETHING BASED ON THAT SAMPLE SIZE, THEN THEY'LL LOOK AT A FEW MORE TRANSACTIONS. AND ALSO ASK MANAGEMENT, JUST SO YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY, WELL, WHY DIDN'T THEY CATCH IT? BECAUSE THEY DON'T ALWAYS LOOK AT EVERY SINGLE TRANSACTION. THERE'S TOO MANY TO LOOK AT. YEAH. FRAUD'S ALSO REALLY HARD TO CATCH. UM, IT'S NORMALLY CAUGHT THROUGH WHISTLEBLOWERS. UM, SO YEAH, NOT AUDITS. I THINK ON THE LIST WE'RE LIKE NUMBER 10 OR SOMETHING OF HOW FRAUD IS CAUGHT. BUT, UM, ANOTHER THING TO THE FRAUD [01:55:01] POINT THOUGH, UM, WE DO THAT WE DIDN'T ACTUALLY TALK ABOUT IN OUR PRESENTATION, UM, WE ACTUALLY CONTRACT WITH, UH, GRADIENT SOLUTIONS. THEY'RE A FIRM OUT OF DALLAS, UM, TO DO, UM, COMPUTER DATA ACQUISITION ANALYSIS FOR THE CITY EVERY YEAR. AND SO WHAT THEY DO, UM, IS THEY OBTAIN THE VENDOR MASTER FILE, THE HR FILE, PURCHASING DATA, MAYBE ONE MORE SET. THEY COMBINE IT IN THEIR SOFTWARE AND RUN A BUNCH OF ANALYSIS ON IT AND POP OUT A LOT OF REPORTS THAT WE LOOK AT FOR FRAUD. BUT WE ALSO GIVE TO THE CITY AND THEY LOOK AT THE REPORTS AS WELL. UM, SO ONE OF THE REPORTS IS, UM, YOU KNOW, POS THAT WERE ISSUED AFTER THE INVOICE DATE, OR, UM, CITY OR EMPLOYEES THAT WERE PAID, YOU KNOW, GREATER THAN LIKE 60 DAYS AFTER THEIR TERMINATION DATE. UM, SO WE DO LOOK AT SOME OF THAT DATA. UM, BUT TO JUDY'S POINT, IT'S ALL SAMPLES. SO, UM, THERE MIGHT BE FRAUD IN THE DATA, BUT WE WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT EVERY SINGLE THING THAT POPS OUT ON THE REPORT. GOT IT. OKAY. AND I, I SEE THAT WE'RE PAYING ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. CAN YOU SHOW US LIKE WHERE YOU SHA SAVED US A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR OR MORE IN YOUR FINDINGS? , THAT'S A MELANIE QUESTION. , I MEAN, IT MIGHT BE ONE YEAR YOU SAVE US 50 MILLION, RIGHT? IF YOU FIND SOMETHING REALLY BAD, BUT, SO COUNCILMAN, MAYBE I'LL, I'LL, I'M GONNA ADD JUST A LITTLE BIT IN HERE. SO THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT PROCESS FOR US, SO, SURE. UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN I WAS BACK IN FINANCE, EVERYBODY THOUGHT I DID MATH TOO, AND IT'S REALLY NOT ALLOWED OF MATH. MY KIDS THINK THE SAME THING. IT'S LIKE, OH, YOU DO MATH ALL DAY LONG. IT'S REALLY THIS ENTIRE BODY OF, UH, ACCOUNTING STANDARDS THAT REALLY DRIVE HOW WE, UM, RECORD FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS FOR THE CITY. SO WHAT WE DO, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE GENERAL FUND IS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE DO IN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES OR THE AIRPORT. UM, SO WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS THEY'RE COMING IN BASED ON ALL THESE AUDITING PROCEDURES AND ALL THIS ANALYSIS. AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS WE PREPARE, THEY'RE SAYING ARE THOSE FAIRLY REPRESENTED? THAT'S A BIG THING FOR US BECAUSE THEN ONE, WE WANT TO KNOW THAT WE'RE ACCURATELY ACCOUNTING FOR TAXPAYER DOLLARS OR USER FEES OR WHATEVER WE'RE DOING, AND THAT IT'S AS FAIRLY STATED. BUT THEN WE'RE TURNING AROUND AND TAKING THOSE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. WE'RE GOING OUT INTO THE BOND MARKET, FOR EXAMPLE, AND WE'RE ISSUING BONDS. EVERY ONE OF THOSE ENTITIES THAT'S LOOKING TO BUY OUR BONDS IS ASSESSING OUR CREDIT WORTHINESS. THE CREDIT RATING AGENCIES DO THAT, BUT THOSE INSTITUTIONAL BUYERS LOOK AT THAT AS WELL TO LOOK AT US IN COMPARISON TO OTHERS AND MAKE A DECISION ABOUT WHETHER THEY WANNA BUY OUR BONDS. THE MORE PEOPLE THAT WANNA BUY OUR BONDS, THE BETTER THAT IS. 'CAUSE THAT LOWERS OUR COST OF BORROWING THE BIG, THE OTHER BIG THING IS, UM, AND I CAN'T REMEMBER THE NUMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT WE GET A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FEDERAL ASSISTANCE AND SOME STATE ASSISTANCE AS WELL AS THEY GO THROUGH AND DO THAT AUDIT. THEY'RE TESTING ALL THAT COMPLIANCE. UM, FORTUNATELY, UNFORTUNATELY, A LOT OF THOSE GRANTS HAVE THEIR OWN RULES IN TERMS OF WHAT WE HAVE TO FOLLOW AND COMPLY WITH. THEY'RE TESTING THAT AS WELL. AND SO WHEN THEY'RE DONE, ALL OF THAT GETS SUBMITTED UP TO A FEDERAL REPOSITORY WHERE THOSE GRANTOR AGENCIES CAN LOOK AT THAT. THE BETTER JOB WE DO OF MANAGING, UM, THE COMPLIANCE ON THOSE GRANTS, THE MORE LIKELIHOOD IS WE CAN CONTINUE TO GET THEM IN THE FUTURE. IF WE'RE, IF WE'RE DOING A REALLY POOR JOB THAT MAY RAISE RED FLAGS AND THEN BECOME, PUT SOME OF THAT RISK, SOME OF THAT FUNDING AT RISK. SO FROM A, FROM A KIND OF BIG PICTURE PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ARE FAIRLY PRESENTED ACROSS THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION. AND THEN THAT WE ARE REALLY, UM, UM, DOING COMPLIANCE ON THOSE FEDERAL AND STATE GRANTS. SO THAT'S REALLY THE GOAL OF THIS AUDIT. KEVIN'S AUDITS, WHICH REALLY LOOK AT THE PROGRAMMATIC SIDE, ALL OF THOSE ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM AS WELL. SO AS THEY ASSESS AREAS AND THEY'RE SEEING THOSE FINDINGS, THEY CAN DECIDE HOW MUCH THEY WANT TO TEST IN A SPECIFIC AREA. UM, THEY TALK TO ALL THE SENIOR MANAGEMENT AS WELL. AND THEN, UM, SEVERAL OF THE SENIOR MANAGEMENT, MYSELF, TROY, MELANIE, VICKY, WE GET TO SIGN SOMETHING AT THE END CALLED THE MANAGEMENT REPRESENTATION LETTER THAT BASICALLY SAYS, HAS A WHOLE, I DON'T KNOW, WHAT ARE WE UP TO, LIKE 30 PAGES NOW, , IT'S GETTING LONGER AND LONGER, BUT IT ESSENTIALLY TALKS ABOUT ALL THESE, TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE, THESE REPRESENTATIONS THAT WE'VE MADE TO THEM. SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET, UM, A SOLID BASIS FOR THOSE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS WE'RE ISSUING. THANK YOU, MAN. THAT'S HELPFUL. SO THEN MY QUESTION FOR, I GUESS FOR KEVIN, FOR BEN, UM, WOULD BE WHO IS AUDITING OUR PROCUREMENT PRAC PRACTICES? SO, OR OUR, OR OUR CONTRACTING, UM, PRACTICES, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE AS A COUNCIL APPROVE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS, IF NOT OVER A BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR ON CONSENT. COUNCIL MEMBERS AREN'T LOOKING AT THAT. UM, WE'RE NOT GETTING PRESENTATIONS ON THOSE. THERE'S A LOT OF TRUST THERE. AND SO WHO, WHO IS AUDITING [02:00:01] THAT TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE ARE, THAT, THAT, THAT ARE, THAT WE'RE USING BEST PRACTICES WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, ALL THE SMALLER CONTRACTS, UH, ALL OF THE PROCUREMENTS THAT WE DO. AND GENERALLY THAT FALLS UNDER OUR DOMAIN WITHIN INTERNAL AUDIT. THEY'LL LOOK AT IT AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL FROM THE EXPENSE SIDE GENERALLY. BUT FOR EXAMPLE, ON PROCUREMENT, RIGHT NOW WE'RE DOING AN AUDIT OF THE PREFERENCE PROGRAMS, BE IT LOCAL PREFERENCE, VETERAN OWNED PREFERENCE, UH, THE SOLE SOURCE AGREEMENTS. SO WE'RE AUDITING, UH, IN COMPONENTS. WE ALSO HAVE A ROLE, INTERNAL AUDIT HAS A ROLE WITHIN THE HIGH PROFILE CONTRACT, UH, PERSPECTIVE. SO WE'RE INVOLVED IN THAT. UH, AND THEN WE HAVE DONE, UH, BROADER PROCUREMENT AUDITS OVER THE PAST, GENERALLY BY DEPARTMENT, FOR EXAMPLE, PUBLIC WORKS. UH, WHEN WE DO A PUBLIC WORKS PROJECT AUDIT, WE'RE LOOKING IN BEGINNING AT THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS. MM-HMM. , UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, THE RFPS WERE CORRECT, SCORING WAS DONE CORRECTLY, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. BUT IF WE'RE DOING MAYBE A BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR IN BUSINESS THROUGH THAT, I FEEL LIKE WE NEED AN OUTSIDE ORGANIZATION THAT LOOKS AT THAT. I MEAN, FOUR OF US. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU ALL EVER DO? DO YOU LOOK AT BEST PRACTICES AND PROCUREMENTS COUNTS WITH I'LL ADD THAT, THAT WE CAN FOR A NICE FEE. NO, I'M JUST KIDDING. UM, WE DO, I MEAN, ONE THING THAT, UM, BEN MENTIONED THE FEDERAL MONEY. SO Y'ALL HAVE ABOUT $450 MILLION I THINK THIS YEAR IN FEDERAL EXPENDITURES. UM, SO PART OF THAT THERE IS A FEDERAL COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENT, A PROCUREMENT COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENT. SO FOR ALL THE ONES THAT WE'RE TESTING, WE DO TEST THE PROCUREMENTS ON THOSE. UM, IT'S NOT LIKE THE WHOLE POPULATION, BUT IT IS AT LEAST LIKE SOME OF THE, UM, ALL OF YOUR BIG, MOST OF YOUR BIG CONSTRUCTION STUFF IS PROBABLY COMING THROUGH LIKE TDOT OR SOMEBODY. SO I MEAN, IT PROBABLY IS ENDING UP IN THAT POOL. UM, IF YOU THINK ABOUT THAT, UM, THAT WOULD BE, IF IT, IF IT IS A SPECIFIC PROGRAM THAT WE'RE TESTING THIS YEAR, AND SO WE WOULD BE TESTING IT FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE FEDERAL AND, AND CITY, UH, PROCUREMENT REQUIREMENTS. SO COUNCILMAN THE, THE, THE, THE WAY I KINDA LOOK AT IT IS, UM, KEVIN CAN DO PROGRAM SPECIFICS OF VUS WHEN THEY'RE PULLING, WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT SAMPLING, WHEN THEY PULL THOSE EXPENDITURES, EVEN ON THE FINANCIAL SIDE, THEY'RE LOOKING AT IT FROM ORIGINATION TO OUT THE DOOR. SORRY. UM, SO ESSENTIALLY THEY'RE LOOKING AT COMPLIANCE WITH OUR RULES. SO IF IT'S A LARGE EXPENDITURE, OVER 50,000, YOU KNOW, DID WE GO THROUGH OUR PROCESS? DID WE GO TO COUNCIL? DID IT GET APPROVED BY ORDINANCE? UH, AND THEN FOLLOWING THAT, THAT THROUGH, UM, THE OTHER THING I'LL MENTION, YOU MENTIONED THE CONSENT AGENDA. A VA, A LARGE MAJORITY OF WHAT YOU SEE THERE FROM A PROCUREMENT STANDPOINT IS LOW BID. SO ALL WE'RE DOING AT THAT POINT IS FROM A PROCUREMENT STANDPOINT, IS PUTTING OUT SPECS FOLLOWING THE STATUTORY PROCESS AND THEN SAYING WHO'S THE LOWEST BIDDER AND THEN PUTTING THAT ON THE AGENDA. THOSE ARE, UM, THOSE I THINK ARE GONNA BE A LITTLE MORE ROUTINE, I WOULD SAY. I MEAN, THEY'RE BIG DOLLARS SOMETIMES 'CAUSE THEY'RE LARGE STREET PROJECTS, BUT IT'S GONNA BE SPECS, DID THEY MEET THE SPECS? AND THEN WHO'S THE LOWEST BIDDER? SO YOU GOT KIND OF A COMBINATION DEPENDING UPON WHAT IT IS, UM, IN TERMS OF HOW IT GETS LOOKED AT OR WHERE IT GETS REVIEWED. OKAY. THANK YOU. THOSE ARE MY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. AND I JUST ENCOURAGE YOU TO MAYBE MEET WITH THEM A LITTLE BIT MORE TO GET A LITTLE MORE IN DEPTH INFORMATION. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS? OKAY, THIS WAS JUST A BRIEFING. WE DIDN'T NEED TO TAKE ANY ACTION. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. GOOD LUCK. DON'T GET LOST IN THE NUMBERS. . THANK YOU. AND THEN I THINK THAT CONCLUDES OUR MEETING. SO, UH, COUNCILMAN, THERE'S ONE MORE ITEM THAT UH, AND I, I THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA BE ON THE AGENDA. UH, MEETING DATES, FUTURE MEETING DATES. THAT'S RIGHT. UH, IN THE PAST WE HAVE GENERALLY THE AUDIT COMMITTEE WOULD MEET ON THE FOURTH WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH AND JUST NEED SOME GUIDANCE OR, I DUNNO IF Y'ALL HAVE LOOKED AT THAT YET, BUT JUST TO SEE IF WE WANT TO MAINTAIN THAT FOURTH WEDNESDAY. THINGS HAVE BEEN A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT RECENTLY, BUT IF, YOU KNOW, AFTER THE FIRST YEAR GOING BACK TO THAT FOURTH WEDNESDAY OR THERE'S ANOTHER MEETING DATE, THAT WOULD BE, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS AS HAVE ALL THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, SINCE WE DON'T HAVE, UH, MANNY HERE TODAY, LOOK AT THEIR SCHEDULE AND CONCUR THAT THAT WOULD BE THE TIME TO CONTINUE. IF WE FIND WE'VE GOT ANOTHER COMMITTEE, UH, CONFLICT GOING FORWARD, THEN WE MAY HAVE TO FIND AN ALTERNATIVE. YEAH. SO CHAIR, UM, YOU'D, YOU'D REQUESTED THAT WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE TIME. I THINK YOU HAVE A CONFLICT SOMETIMES ON THE FOURTH WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH. YEAH. SO I THINK WE, I THOUGHT WAS MAYBE MOVING IT EARLIER TO A 10 O'CLOCK INSTEAD OF A TWO O'CLOCK. YES, WE WILL RECONFIRM, BUT I THINK WE HAVE CANVASSED EVERYBODY ON THE COMMITTEE AND I BELIEVE 10 O'CLOCK ON THE FOURTH WEDNESDAY DOES WORK. SO WE'LL LIKELY BE MOVING THAT TO THAT INSTEAD OF BEING IN THE AFTERNOON. WE'LL BE DOING IT IN THE MORNING, BUT I'LL RE I'LL RECOM, I'LL RECONFIRM THAT. THE FOURTH WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH AT 10:00 AM YEAH, WE DON'T HAVE B SESSION THAT DAY. WE DON'T HAVE COUNCIL THAT WEEK USUALLY. [02:05:01] WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE STAFF RECONNECT WITH ALL YOUR OFFICES JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WORKS. AND IF NOT, WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE COMMITTEE NEXT TIME. OKAY. YEAH. THANK YOU SIR. TENTATIVELY WE'LL SAY THAT'LL BE THE NEXT ONE. ALRIGHT. EXCEPT WE WON'T DO ANOTHER ONE THIS MONTH. THAT IS CORRECT. OKAY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT THEN WE ARE ADJOURNED. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU EVERYBODY. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.