OUR A SESSION IS ADJOURNED AT 1:03 P.M. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE RIGHT
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INTO OUR SPECIAL SESSION TODAY. AT 1:03 P.M. WE'LL CALL OUR MEETING TO ORDER. MADAME CLERK, CAN YOU READ THE ROLL?>> CLERK: MAYOR, WE HAVE QUORUM. >> MAYOR NIRENBERG: ALL RIGHT. WELCOME, EVERYONE TO OUR CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL SESSION UPDATE ON OUR SURVEYS. SO, ERIK, OVER TO YOU TO GET US STARTED.
>> WALSH: THANK YOU, MAYOR. SO EVERY YEAR, AS WE GO THROUGH OUR NORMAL PROCESSES, THE COUNCIL WORK SESSION, FORECAST, CONVERSATION, ALL OF THOSE ARE DESIGNED TO PROVIDE INPUT INTO OUR ANNUAL BUDGET PROCESS. ONE OF THOSE ASPECTS IS OUR SURVEY.
THIS YEAR'S GOAL SETTING WE TALKED ABOUT THE COMMUNITY INPUT PLAN TO UNDERSTAND OUR RESIDENTS' HIGHEST PRIORITIES FOR NEXT YEAR. IN MY COVER LETTER TO THE PUBLIC ON THE SURVEY, I ATTEMPTED TO SET AN APPROPRIATE EXPECTATION ABOUT THE BUDGET AND REFLECTING OUR FISCAL REALITIES.
THE PRIMARY BUDGET QUESTION WAS AS THE CITY TRIES THE SLOW SPENDING WHILE STILL MAINTAINING A HIGH LEVEL OF SERVICE. WE WANT TO KNOW YOUR SERVICE PRIORITIES. THIS YEAR, TO BE EFFICIENT, WE ALSO COMBINED OUR BUDGET SURVEY WITH OUR COMMUNITY SATISFACTION SURVEY. THAT'S A SURVEY WE DO EVERY TWO YEARS. AND ETC, WHO WILL BE PRESENTING TODAY DID THAT WORK FOR US. THEY ARE BOTH STATISTICALLY-VALID SURVEYS BECAUSE I THINK WE ACHIEVED VERY HIGH MARKS IN A NUMBER OF AREAS, WHICH WE'LL GO THROUGH. THERE'S NO FINISH LINE SO YOU NEVER ACTUALLY GET THERE BUT IT'S AN IMPORTANT TOOL WE LOOK AT EVERY TWO YEARS TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ON TRACK TO MEETING THE COMMUNITY'S NEEDS AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION DESIRES.
I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO ALANNA REED. SHE'S GOING TO INTRO THE ITEM AND ETC WILL GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION. THANK YOU.
>> THANKS. GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL.
MY NAME IS ALANNA REED AND I'M THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT. I'M HERE TO HELP PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THE FY2025 COMMUNITY SATISFACTION AND BUDGET PRIORITY SURVEY. THIS YEAR COMMUNICATION AND ENGAGEMENT HOSTED A SURVEY ON SA SPEAK UP.COM AND WE COLLECTED CARDS THAT ALLOWED EVERYBODY TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK . THE PRIORITY SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED BY ETC INSTITUTE AND BOTH SURVEYS WERE OFFERED IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH. THEY BEGAN IN EARLY MAY AND RAN THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE MONTH OF MAY. TODAY WE ARE GOING TO DISCUSS THE PURPOSE AND METHODOLOGY OF THE SURVEYS AND THEN JUMP RIGHT INTO THE RESULTS AND THEN PROVIDE A SUMMARY BASED ON THOSE RESULTS. SO THE PURPOSE WAS TO ASSESS THE SATISFACTION OF CITY SERVICES. UNDERSTAND RESIDENTS' HIGHEST SERVICE PRIORITIES FOR THE FY2025 BUDGET AND DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COUNCIL BASED ON THE INPUT FROM RESIDENTS. AS ERIK MENTIONED, THIS IS THE SECOND YEAR THAT A STATISTICALLY-VALID SURVEY IS BEING CONDUCTED FOR THE TRIAL BUDGET AND THIS YEAR WE COMBINED THE COMMUNITY SATISFACTION SURVEY WITH IT, WHICH HAS BEEN CONDUCTED EVERY OTHER YEAR SINCE 2008. TO TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE METHODOLOGY AND THIS YEAR'S RESULTS, I'M GOING TO TURN THE PRESENTATION OVER TO RYAN MURRAY. HE'S THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY RESEARCH FOR ETC INSTITUTE AND HE'S FILLING IN FOR CHRIS, WHO IS THE CEO, WHO YOU ARE PROBABLY USED TO SEEING. HE WAS UNABLE TO MAKE IT TODAY. THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO'S WORKED WITH ETC INSTITUTE IN THE PAST AND THEY ARE A NATIONAL SURVEY FIRM WITH A RICH HISTORY OF CONDUCTING COMMUNITY SURVEYS. IN FACT, SINCE ETC'S FOUNDING IN 1982, THEY HAVE COMPLETED RESEARCH PROJECTS FOR CLIENTS IN MORE THAN 1,000 CITIES IN ALL 50 STATES. AND RYAN HELPED US CRAFT AND DISTRIBUTE THE SURVEY THIS YEAR SO I AM SURE HE KNOWS IT VERY WELL. I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO
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RYAN. >> THANK YOU, MAYOR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL FOR HAVING US HERE TODAY. AS ALWAYS, IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY -- OR I SHOULD SAY PLEASURE TO PRESENT TO YOU ALL SO I'M GOING TO GET INTO IT HERE.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT METHODOLOGY, IT'S ALWAYS AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY AS THE CONSULTANT TO BRING YOU ALL THE FIRSTHAND KNOWLEDGE OR DATA HERE.
THIS SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED BY ETC USING THE SAME METHODOLOGY AS OUR 2023 AND OUR 2022 SURVEYS. BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE DOING IS RANDOMLY SAMPLING YOUR ENTIRE POPULATION AND WHAT THAT CONSISTS OF IS US PURCHASING A LIST OF ALL RESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES WITHIN YOUR CITY'S LIMITS. FROM THAT SELECTING A RANDOM SAMPLE OF THOSE ADDRESSES TO BE SELECTED TO RECEIVE THE SURVEY.
WE'LL MAIL THAT SURVEY WITH A POSTAGE-PAID RETURN REPLY ENVELOPE.
THAT SURVEY WAS MAILED IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH. BASED ON INITIAL RETURNS WE'LL BEGIN OUR FOLLOW-UPS THAT OCCUR ONLINE VIA SOCIAL MEDIA ADS, TEXT MESSAGES, AND E-MAILS. WE'LL ALSO MAIL POSTCARDS TO GROUPS WHO HAVEN'T RESPONDED TO THE SURVEY. NOT ONLY DID WE REACH A GOAL OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SURVEYS BUT THEY ARE A REPRESENTATION COMPARED TO THE BUREAU STATISTICS BUT ALSO GEOGRAPHY . WE SET A GOAL OF 100 COMPLETED SURVEYS FOR EACH ONE OF YOUR COUNCIL DISTRICTS. IN TOTAL WE HAD 1,083 COMPLETED SURVEYS, WHICH WAS SLIGHTLY OVER OUR GOAL OF 1067 WHICH APPLIES A MARGIN OF ERROR TO APPROXIMATELY 3%. WHAT THAT MEANS IS IF WE WERE TO CONDUCT THE SURVEY 100 TIMES, 95 OUT OF 100 TIMES WE WOULD RECEIVE THE SAME RESULTS PLUS OR MINUS THAT 3% MARGIN OF ERROR. IF A SURVEY ASKED FOR A YES, NO RESPONSE, IF IT IS 50/50 IN OUR SURVEY, IT COULD BE AS HIGH AS 53.
5 OUT OF 100 TIMES IT COULD BE OUTSIDE THAT MARGIN OF ERROR BUT THIS IS RELEVANT BECAUSE OF THE DEMOGRAPHICS AND THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT RACE/ETHNICITY WE ARE TRYING TO ALIGN IT WITH CENSUS BUREAU STATISTICS AND WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT WITH ALMOST A TENTH OF A PERCENT. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT GENDER, WE'RE TRYING TO BALANCE THE GENDER 50/50. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT AGES OF RESPONDENT, IT'S ABOUT AN EQUAL PORTION OF RESPONDENT FROM EACH ONE OF THE AGE CATEGORIES.
WE KNOW ALL WERE ADULTS. WE KNOW CHILDREN EXIST IN HOUSEHOLDS BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE BALANCING THE AGE OF RESPONDENT AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS THAT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO HAS FOCUSED HEAVILY ON IS COUNCIL DISTRICT REPRESENTATION. EACH ONE OF YOU ARE REPRESENTING YOUR COUNCIL DISTRICTS. EACH ONE OF YOUR COUNCIL DISTRICTS HAVE AT LEAST WHEN WE TALK ABOUT COMMUNITY SATISFACTION, THIS WAS THE FIRST FOUR QUESTIONS IN THE SURVEY. WE CAN'T SAY ENOUGH THIS YEAR ABOUT HOW OUTSTANDING THE PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
LAST TIME WE CONDUCTED THE SURVEY WAS IN 2022 WHERE WE RECEIVED A COMBINED SATISFACTION RATING OF 74%. THAT HAS SKYROCKETED TO 87%, WHICH IS OUR ALL-TIME HIGH FOR THE CITY. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT TOP INCREASES, WE HAD 25 AREAS THAT WERE DIRECTLY COMPARABLE TO THE 2022 RESULTS AND OF THE 25, 21 SAW IMPROVEMENTS. OF THE FOUR THAT SAW DECREASES, ONLY ONE SAW SIGNIFICANT DECREASE AND THE OTHERS WERE MINOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ABOUT ONE AND TWO PERCENTAGE POINTS. THE OVERALL QUALITY OF PUBLIC WORKS, CODE ENFORCEMENT. I LIKE THE OVERALL QUALITY OF SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE CITY. POLICE QUICKLY RESPOND, FLOOD CONTROL, AND ALL OF OUR PERCEPTION ITEMS. SO THE NEXT FOUR ITEMS AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT LIST IS GOING TO BE ON OUR NEXT SLIDE HERE.
AS YOU CAN SEE WE'RE BACK FINALLY TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS.
WHERE IN 2018 WE WERE AT THAT 75% OR 85% MARK AND IN 2022 THOSE RESULTS DROPPED.
WE SAW THAT NATIONAL TREND HAPPEN EVERYWHERE. IN 2024 YOU SEE YOUR RESULTS COME BACK. WHAT'S EVEN MORE PHENOMENAL THAN THIS IS THE SERVICE SATISFACTION. SO WE RATED A BULK OF CITY SERVICES.
WE RATED THEM AT A HIGH LEVEL. AND WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT YOUR SATISFACTION INCREASED WITH ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ITEM EXCEPT FOR ANIMAL CARE.
THAT WAS A 3% DECREASE IN SATISFACTION. IF WE LOOK AT SOLID WASTE, THE AIRPORT, PUBLIC WORKS, FIRE, EMS, CODE ENFORCEMENT, AND 311, YOU HAVE SEEN GIANT IMPROVEMENTS IN A NUMBER OF THOSE CORE SERVICES WHICH SUGGESTS THAT YOU'RE SERVING THE NEEDS OF RESIDENTS VERY WELL. ONE OF THE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES THAT ETC INSTITUTE PROVIDES CLIENTS IS THE ABILITY TO COMPARE YOUR RESULTS WITH OTHER COMMUNITIES. IN ADDITION TO OUR MASSIVE BENCHMARKING DATABASE, WE SURVEY AUSTIN, DALLAS, EL PASO, AND FORT WORTH AND HAVE COMPARISONS TO SOME OF THEIR APPLES TO APPLES QUESTIONS.
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THE DATABASE THAT YOU'LL SEE SOME COMPARISONS ON OUR NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES HERE IS AN AVERAGE OF SURVEYS THAT WE'VE CONDUCTED FOR COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE OVER 250,000 RESIDENTS. IT'S A PRETTY LARGE LIST. WE'VE GOT THAT WITH US BUT THESE ARE THE FOUR COMMUNITIES THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THAT AVERAGE THAT ARE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOW RESIDENTS FEEL IN SAN ANTONIO, WE ARE CONTEXTUALIZING AGAINST LARGE CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES. YOU ARE ALMOST DOUBLE MANY OF THE RATINGS ON THE SCREEN THERE. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR CITY GOVERNMENT, WE GIVE OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE AND PARTICIPATE AND PROVIDE TIMELY COMMUNICATION. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OVERALL SATISFACTION, YOU'RE SETTING THE BAR AND YOU CONTINUE TO SET THE BAR WHEN WE COMPARE YOU TO THE FOUR OTHER COMMUNITIES IN TEXAS THAT WE REGULARLY SURVEY. ONLY TWO AREAS WERE YOU NOT IN THE TOP. THESE ARE DIRECT COMPARISONS TO THE SIMILAR RESULTS FROM THOSE FOUR OTHER COMMUNITIES. THE QUALITY OF ANIMAL CONTROL IS WHERE WE SAW A SMALL DECREASE AND THE CONDITION OF CITY STREETS IS A HIGH PRIORITY FOR IMPROVEMENT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR INVESTMENT RATINGS. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET SURVEY DESIGN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PRIORITY INVESTMENT RATINGS. WHAT WE REALLY WANT TO ASSESS AND WHAT WE REALLY WANT TO UNDERSTAND ARE THE NEEDS AND IMPORTANCE OF VARIABLES IN THE CITY. TYPICALLY CITY SERVICES. THIS IS THE SECOND BUDGET SURVEY CONDUCTED FOR THE CITY BY ETC INSTITUTE. IT UTILIZED THAT PRIORITY INVESTMENT RATING THAT EQUALLY WEIGHS THE IMPORTANCE AND NEEDS FOR GIVING CITY SERVICES. RESIDENTS MIGHT UNDERSTAND THAT A GIVEN CITY SERVICE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY ALTHOUGH THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE A SPECIFIC NEED FOR IT. THE PRIORITY INVESTMENT RATING SCORE IS FACTORED WITH HALF NEEDS RATINGS, HALF IMPORTANCE RATINGS. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THOSE RATINGS, WE AVERAGE THOSE OR GIVE A COMPARATIVE RATING SCALE TO THEM.STREETS WAS THE ITEM THAT WAS THE NUMBER ONE MOST IMPORTANT ITEM TO RESIDENTS WHO COMPLETELY THE STATISTICALLY-VALID SURVEY AND SO EVERYTHING ELSE WAS ALIGNED WITH THAT. STREETS IS 100, EVERYTHING ELSE IS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT 100 SCORE. KIND OF LIKE A WEIGHTING CURVE.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE SA SPEAKUP RESULTS, WE HAD OVER 5,000 RESPONSES AND OVERALL THE TOP FOUR IMPORTANT CATEGORIES FROM THAT SURVEY ALIGN VERY WELL WITH THE SURVEY THAT WE CONDUCTED AS WELL. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT NEEDS, THAT'S THE SECOND PRIORITY. STREETS WAS ALSO THE NUMBER ONE NEEDED ITEM IN TERMS OF UNMET NEEDS, FOLLOWED BY SIDEWALKS AND THEN HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT CLEAN UPS AND STREET LIGHTING. THE TOP FIVE PRIORITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT OVER THE NEXT YEAR, GIVEN OUR BUDGET, WITH OUR STREETS, HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT CLEAN UPS, SERVICES TO ASSIST THE HOMELESS, SIDEWALKS, AND POLICE SERVICES.
THIS IS A VERY SIMILAR STORY TO LAST YEAR. TOWARDS THE BOTTOM WE SEE SAN ANTONIO METRO HEALTH, GARBAGE, AND LIBRARIES. TYPICALLY SERVICES THAT FALL TO THE BOTTOM ARE SERVICES FOR WHICH THE NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITY ARE AUDIO]. FOR EXAMPLE, GARBAGE AND RECYCLING SERVICES RECEIVED VERY HIGH LEVELS OF SATISFACTION ACROSS THE BOARD.
WE'RE SERVING THAT NEED VERY WELL. ITEMS TOWARDS THE TOP OF THIS LIST ARE GOING TO GIVE US THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE LIVES ON THE MOST AMOUNT OF HOUSEHOLDS IN THE COMMUNITY. WE ALSO RUN THIS ANALYSIS BY COUNCIL DISTRICT. THE TOP FIVE OR SIX PRIORITIES ARE ALMOST THE TOP FIVE OR SIX FOR EACH ONE OF THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF DEVIATIONS AS WE GET TOWARDS 5 THROUGH 10, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE GET OUT OF THAT TOP THREE. BUT THERE'S STILL A LOT OF ALIGNMENT ACROSS ALL OF THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS IN TERMS OF OUR TOP FIVE PRIORITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT RECOMMENDATIONS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT STREETS, SERVICES TO ASSIST THE HOMELESS, SIDEWALKS, AND POLICE SERVICES.
THE SECONDARY SERVICES INCLUDE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, CODE ENFORCEMENT, STREET LIGHTING, AND ANIMAL CARE SERVICES. IN SUMMARY, THE CITY PERFORMED EXTREMELY WELL. COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE SEEN DECREASES IN SATISFACTION ACROSS THE BOARD FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS NOW.
IT WAS ALMOST SURPRISING TO SEE HOW FAR AND ABOVE YOU'VE COME FROM 2022 TO 2024, CONSIDERING WE DID NOT ASSESS SATISFACTION FEATURES LAST TIME.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SERVICE SATISFACTION BY RESIDENTS, YOU'RE TRULY SETTING THE STANDARD FOR TEXAS COMMUNITIES THAT ARE LARGE IN THE STATE HERE.
AND YOU RANKED FIRST IN MOST OF THE CATEGORIES, WHICH GOES ON TO PROVE THAT NOT ONLY ARE YOU A HIGH PERFORMER WHEN WE COMPARE YOU NATIONALLY BUT WITHIN YOUR STATE YOU'RE A HIGH-PERFORMING ORGANIZATION.
WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. ANY QUESTIONS THAT I CAN'T ANSWER TODAY I WILL GET A WRITTEN RESPONSE BACK TO STAFF AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
>> WALSH: MAYOR, LET ME JUST -- SO THERE'S ALSO -- AND WE'LL MAKE SURE IT GETS E-MAILED OUT TO THE COUNCIL. WE SHARED IT WITH EMPLOYEES. THERE'S A DASHBOARD ONLINE WHERE THE DATA CAN BE VIEWED IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS, JUST LIKE LAST YEAR.
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I WANT TO REITERATE TWO POINTS. ONE, THIS IS ONE ADDITIONAL AVENUE WE USE ANNUALLY. IT'S NOT THE ONLY THING. BUT IT'S A CRITICAL PIECE OF IT. AND THEN SECONDLY, YOU KNOW, AS MUCH AS I'M SUPER PROUD OF THE RESULTS, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD NOT BE RESTING ON OUR LAURELS IN TERMS OF ALL THESE AREAS AND TO CONTINUE TO PUSH. IT'S NICE TO HEAR THAT WE RANK HIGHER IN SIMILAR SURVEYS TO OTHER TEXAS CITIES OR THE NATIONAL AVERAGE, BUT I'M NOT THE CITY MANAGER OF THOSE OTHER TEXAS CITIES OR THE OTHER CITIES IN THE COUNTRY AND Y'ALL AREN'T THE MAYOR AND THE COUNCIL FOR THEM.SO IT'S REALLY ABOUT CONTINUING THAT PROGRESS HERE LOCALLY BUT I REALLY WANT TO CONGRATULATE YOU ALL AND THE EMPLOYEES FOR THE WORK THAT WE DO.
AND WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO KEEP DOING IT TO CONTINUE TO KEEP THESE SCORES HIGH AND STAY ALIGNED WITH THE COMMUNITY. THANKS, MAYOR.
>> MAYOR NIRENBERG: THANKS, ERIK. THAT'S WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY IS THIS IS ALL GOOD NEWS THE PRIORITY AREAS THAT COUNCIL HAS ADDRESSED THROUGH THE BUDGET AND OTHER MEANS. BUT, AGAIN, OUR GOAL IS TO CONTINUE TO RAISE THE STANDARD, SO APPRECIATE THAT. MY QUESTION IS MORE TO DO WITH THE DASHBOARD. DO WE HAVE ACCESS TO OTHER CITIES BEYOND TEXAS TO DO
THAT KIND OF PEER-TO-PEER COMPARISON? >> THERE IS LIGHT BENCHMARKING THAT WE COULD PROVIDE IN THE DASHBOARD BUT WE COULD DISCUSS WITH STAFF AND SEE WHAT WE COULD ADD TO IT. CURRENTLY THERE'S PROBABLY NOT A ROBUST SET OF COMPARISONS. TYPICALLY THE REPORTING GIVES YOU THOSE TABLES BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY HAVE DISCUSSIONS WITH STAFF TO
ADD SOME OF THAT TO YOUR REPORTING. >> MAYOR NIRENBERG: THANK
YOU VERY MUCH. COUNCILMEMBER ROCHA GARCIA. >> GARCIA: THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL THE TEAM AND TO RYAN AND PERHAPS WE COULD SEND THIS INFORMATION OVER TO WALLET HUB .
BUT THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE PRESENTATION. THE SURVEY WAS OFFERED IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH AND I'M JUST WONDERING IF YOU ALL KNOW HOW MANY WERE
COMPLETED IN SPANISH. >> I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBER BUT IT WAS 12% OF THE
OVERALL SAMPLE POPULATION. >> GARCIA: OKAY. THANK YOU.
IF WE COULD FIND OUT AND GET ME THAT LATER, RYAN. >> WE'LL GET YOU THE FULL
NUMBER. >> GARCIA: I HAD RECOMMENDED WE SHARE THE SURVEY WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERSHIP ACADEMY TO SEE IF WE COULD GET THEIR INPUT ON
CATEGORIES . WERE WE ABLE TO DO THAT? >> GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCILWOMAN. YES, WE SHARED THE SURVEY WITH ANY PAST SURVEY RESPONDENTS AS WELL AS OUR GRADUATES OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERSHIP
ACADEMY. >> GARCIA: THANK YOU SO MUCH.
WHAT WAS DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS SURVEY AND ANY OF THE PAST SURVEYS? WHAT THINGS CHANGED? I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT RESULTS, I'M TALKING ABOUT
LIKE THE ACTUAL QUESTIONS, THE SURVEY INSTRUMENT. >> WE DEFINITELY TOOK ALL OF YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS FROM GOAL SETTING AND ONE OF THE BIG CHANGES THAT YOU'LL PROBABLY NOTICE IS ON PREVIOUS SURVEYS WE HAD HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS AND SERVICES TO ASSIST THE HOMELESS TOGETHER, AND THOSE WERE SEPARATED THIS YEAR.
WE ALSO TOOK YOUR RECOMMENDATION TO DEFINE SOME OF THE CATEGORIES.
FOR EXAMPLE, NUISANCE PROPERTIES. THOSE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE
THINGS THAT CHANGED. >> GARCIA: GOT IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
WITH THE TOP INCREASES SLIDE, THERE ARE SEVERAL AREAS WE SAW AN OVERALL INCREASE IN SATISFACTION BUT DO WE HAVE A BREAKDOWN BY DISTRICT? I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE WAS CERTAIN AREAS THAT HAD A DECREASE AND IT MIGHT BE IN
DIFFERENT DISTRICTS. >> THE DASHBOARD IS AN EXCELLENT TOOL FOR THAT.
WE CAN RUN THE TABULATIONS THAT YOU'LL FIND IN YOUR REPORTING AS WELL.
IT'S 125 OF OUR 1,083 SURVEYS. >> GARCIA: I APPRECIATE THAT. AND THEN WHAT IS THE OVERALL COMPARISON TO 2023?
>> THE OVERALL COMPARISON TO 2023, THERE WERE SOME SLIGHT DEVIATIONS IN THE OVERALL PRIORITY INVESTMENT RATINGS BUT STREETS, PUBLIC WORKS, PUBLIC SAFETY, AND THE HOMELESS ISSUE ALL REMAINED IN THOSE TOP FIVE, TOP 10 ITEMS. WHILE THERE WAS SOME SHUFFLING, WHICH I WOULD ASSUME IS RELATED TO SOME OF YOUR ACTION BASED ON YOUR PRIOR BUDGET PLANNING, WE SAW HOMELESSNESS MOVE OUT OF THE TOP SPOT AND SOME PUBLIC WORKS ITEMS MOVE UP. FOR THE MOST PART IT WAS A SIMILAR STORY BUT I SEE THERE'S IMPACTS ACROSS THE BOARD BY WHAT YOU HAVE DONE LAST YEAR, INCLUDING INVESTMENTS IN PUBLIC WORKS THAT ARE NOTICED AT THE HIGH LEVEL. WE'RE STILL CONCERNED ABOUT OUR STREET CONDITION BUT OVERALL YOU SEE A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS MADE IN SATISFACTION AND THEN SLIGHT DEVIATIONS IN THE PRIORITY INVESTMENT RATING THAT SHOW PROGRESS.
>> GARCIA: WERE YOUR DEVIATIONS HIGHER IN THE DECREASES? I KNOW YOU REFERENCED FOUR AND THERE WAS ONE WITH SIGNIFICANT.
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TELL ME ABOUT THAT. >> THAT WAS A SINGLE ITEM. THAT WAS CONDITION OF STREETS WAS A NEGATIVE .38 PERCENTAGE POINT DECREASE. THAT MAY BE SLIGHTLY OFF BUT IT WAS JUST BARELY 4% PERCENTAGE POINTS DIFFERENCE SO NOT A SIGNIFICANCE OF DEVIATION THERE.
>> GARCIA: AND ALSO DISTRICT BY DISTRICT COMPARISON ON HOW RESIDENTS FEEL ABOUT SAN ANTONIO. AND IN PARTICULAR IS THE ONE ABOUT CITY GOVERNMENT.
TEXAS YCM CONDUCTED A STUDY A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO AND PEOPLE ACROSS TEXAS WERE FEELING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THE RESULTS SAY SO I'D LIKE TO SEE WHERE -- HOW FAR WE ARE FROM THAT DIFFERENCE. I DON'T KNOW IF THEY HAVE A BREAKDOWN BUT I WOULD BE HAPPY TO ASK AS WELL AND MAYBE COMPARE. THE PRIORITY INVESTMENT RATINGS DON'T SEEM TO DEVIATE TOO MUCH FROM LAST YEAR SO I'M GLAD WITH THAT.
MY RESIDENTS ARE LOOKING FOR PRIORITY STILL IN STREETS, ASSISTANCE FOR THE HOMELESS, AND SIDEWALKS. SO IT'S CONSISTENT WITH OTHERS.
WE JUST CONTINUE TO KEEP GETTING CALLS ABOUT THAT. MARBACH AND 410 AREA WHICH I SHARE WITH THE COUNCILWOMAN FROM DISTRICT 6 AND ZARZAMORA AND I-35, WHICH WE KIND OF ALWAYS SEE THOSE SPOTS. AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF CHALLENGES THERE WITH THE HEAVY TRAFFIC. THE REASON THAT I ASKED ABOUT THE COMPARISON WITH TEXAS YCM IS WE DEPEND A LOT ON OUR STATE.
A LOT OF THE ISSUES WE HAVE ARE -- IT'S TXDOT RELATED. AND SO I'M JUST TRYING TO FIND WHAT THE HAPPY MEDIUM IS BECAUSE PEOPLE TEND TO CALL THE CITY.
THANK YOU FOR BEARING WITH ME ON THAT. AND DO WE HAVE A SLIDE ON PRIORITY INVESTMENT RATINGS ALSO BY DISTRICT? I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT EACH DISTRICT RATES AND PARTICULAR THEIR PRIORITIES. THE REASON THAT I'M ASKING IS BECAUSE SOME SEE MORE OF A NEED FOR CODE COMPLIANCE AND OTHERS MAYBE LIST ACS.
BUT IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY OR HAVE YOU ALL SEEN PERHAPS IN OTHER CITIES THAT WE DISTRIBUTE RESOURCES BASED ON INDIVIDUAL DISTRICT PRIORITIES INSTEAD OF OVERALL PRIORITIES. SO FOR INSTANCE, IN MY DISTRICT I WOULD NEED SOME ADDITIONAL SUPPORT IN CERTAIN AREAS THAT I KNOW COUNCILMAN COURAGE DOESN'T NEED IN HIS AREA. ONE OF THE REASONS I SAY THAT IS BECAUSE IT'S EVIDENT IN THE FACT THAT WE HAD A PILOT PROGRAM. DISTRICT 9 DIDN'T SPEND THEIR MONEY. THERE ARE SEVERAL DISTRICTS THAT DIDN'T SPEND THEIR MONEY BUT DISTRICTS 3, 4, AND 5 ARE SHORT ON MONEY. AND SO IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO USE YOUR INFORMATION AND GET DOWN AND REALLY LOOK AT PERCENTAGE
POINTS? >> SO ALL OF THAT INFORMATION IS IN THE DASHBOARD AND YOU CAN DELVE IN AS DEEP AS YOU WANT. THAT'S ON SASPEAK --
UP.COM/SA BUDGET 2025. >> GARCIA: I THINK WE SHOULD LOOK AT THAT MORE IN TERMS OF WHAT PROGRAMS ARE WORKING AND WHO USES MORE PROGRAMS.
>> WALSH: THE SHORT ANSWER IS YES. IT'S JUST A SURVEY TO IT INFORMS NOT ONLY US BUT IT CAN ALSO INFORM YOU AND THE ENTIRE COUNCIL AS YOU HAVE
THOSE POLICY-LEVEL CONVERSATIONS. >> GARCIA: WONDERFUL.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. GREAT JOB.
I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THE RESULTS. I'M PROUD OF ALL OF OUR CITY EMPLOYEES AND EVERYBODY WHO REALLY IS THE FACE OF SAN ANTONIO TO OUR NEIGHBORS.
>> MAYOR NIRENBERG: THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER ROCHA GARCIA.
COUNCILMEMBER VIAGRAN. >> VIAGRAN: THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HARD WORK. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. I'M NOT SURPRISED BY THE PRIORITIES FROM SLIDE 29 AND DISTRICT 3, OF COURSE. THAT'S OUR PRIORITIES ALSO.
AND THANK YOU FOR BREAKING DOWN FROM HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT CLEAN UPS TO SERVICES TO ASSIST THE HOMELESS. I THINK RIGHT NOW, FOR ME I REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. I'M SO PLEASED AT THE INCREASE IN THE SATISFACTION THAT WE DID SEE. I WOULD -- I WANT TO DIG DEEPER ON THOSE THAT WENT DOWN A FEW POINTS TO SEE WHY.
BECAUSE WHEN THEY SAY UNHAPPY WITH THE STREETS, IT COULD BE SPECIFIC STREETS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. I THINK NOW THE NEXT STEP, AT LEAST FOR ME MOVING FORWARD, IS TO TALK TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, GET THIS OUT TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, HAVE THEM GET SPECIFIC WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE STREETS, THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT CLEANUPS AND SIDEWALKS AND POLICE SERVICES AND GET SPECIFICS FOR THEM. SO THAT'S MY PLAN. AGAIN, LIKE ERIK SAID, THIS IS JUST A TOOL WE USE TO MOVE FORWARD AND PRIORITIZE. BUT, AGAIN, I JUST LIKE TO STATE MY PRIORITY IS MAKING SURE WE HAVE THE CITY STAFF AND THE CITY STAFF ARE
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FAIRLY COMPENSATED FOR THEIR EFFORTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE FACES THAT THEY SEE EVERY DAY OR THE SERVICES LIKE SOLID WASTE, METRO HEALTH THAT ARE DOING THE PROGRAMMING, PROJECT WORTH. AND THOSE INCLUDE OUR DELEGATE AGENCIES.THAT WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT THE CITY IS STILL FEELING THAT SATISFACTION AND FEELING HEARD. I WANT TO THANK PAULA AND HER TEAM AT 311 BECAUSE THEY'RE THE FIRST LINE OF WELCOME TO THE CITY. AND WE'RE GOING TO FIX THAT POTHOLE OR WE'RE GOING TO ADDRESS THAT ISSUE. I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED WORK. I LOOK FORWARD TO TAKING THIS INFORMATION OUT, PROBABLY NOT ALL 34 SLIDES BUT TAKING IT OUT TO MY DISTRICT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET SPECIFICS AS WE PRIORITIZE WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IN THE BUDGET.
THANK YOU. >> MAYOR NIRENBERG: THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER VIAGRAN.
COUNCILMEMBER COURAGE. >> COURAGE: THANK YOU. IN LOOKING AT THE CHART ON AGE OF RESPONDENT, I NOTICED THAT IT'S ALL 20%, 20%, 20%, 20%.
ALL FIVE AGE GROUPS. NOW WHEN YOU WENT INTO EVERY DISTRICT TO TRY AND IDENTIFY PEOPLE, DID YOU TRY AND GET 20 TO AS 21 OF THOSE AGE GROUPS TO MAINTAIN THAT PERCENTAGE?
>> THE IDEA IS TO MAKE SURE THAT SOME OF THE FACTORS WE DON'T HAVE CENSUS STATISTICS FOR. THIS PARTICULAR ITEM IS MORE OF A DISTRIBUTION GAME THAN IT IS AN ALIGNMENT TO THE CENSUS BUREAU STATISTICS SO IN EACH ONE OF THOSE DISTRICTS WE WANT TO TRY TO FILL OUT A PIE CHART JUST LIKE THAT.
I DON'T HAVE THE SPECIFICS ON ME TODAY BUT I >> COURAGE: BUT YOU WOULD
SAY IT'S PRETTY CLOSE. >> YES. >> COURAGE: THAT WAS THE
GOAL, TRY AND SPREAD IT OUT PRETTY EVENLY. >> YES.
>> COURAGE: HOW MANY TOTAL CONTACTS DID YOUR ORGANIZATION MAKE TO TRY AND
REACH THE 1083 YOU GOT? >> THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. WE SAMPLED ABOUT 5500 HOUSEHOLDS. IN TOTAL WE HAD A TOTAL NUMBER OF POTENTIALYS AT 5500. WHICH YIELDS US JUST UNDER A 20% RESPONSE RATE.
THIS WAS A QUICK ADMINISTRATION PERIOD SO WE MAILED SURVEYS AND BEGAN FOLLOW-UPS IMMEDIATELY. I KNOW THAT THE FACEBOOK AND SOCIAL MEDIA ADS RAN AT LEAST FIVE TO SEVEN DAYS AND THERE WERE TEXT MESSAGES ON THAT BUT I CAN GET THOSE
NUMBERS. >> COURAGE: WHAT ARE PARTIAL RESPONSES?
>> THERE ARE PROBABLY A FEW AND WHAT THAT TYPICALLY MEANS IS FOLKS DON'T FILL OUT EVERYTHING. THEY MIGHT SKIP A COUPLE DEMOGRAPHICS OR SKIP SOME OF THE LARGER PRIORITY INVESTMENT
IN THE DATA BASE IF POSSIBLE. >> COURAGE: OKAY.
AND YOU BELIEVE THAT THIS IS ABOUT 97% ACCURATE, YOU SAY THERE'S ABOUT A 3% FACTOR IN
THERE? >> YEAH, SO IN THESE GIVEN RESULTS, THE SLIDE WE JUST SAW WITH THE AGES, ANY GIVEN INSTANCE OF THAT PARTICULAR QUESTION BEING ASKED, 95 OUT OF 100 TIMES I SHOULD GET BETWEEN 23 AND 17%. THERE WILL BE THOSE FIVE INSTANCES IN WHICH I DON'T RECEIVE THOSE AND THAT'S CALLED A SAMPLING BIAS OR ERROR. IN THIS INSTANCE, YOU ARE CORRECT, IT'S BASICALLY A
97% SENSE OF RELIABILITY IN THESE RESULTS. >> COURAGE: CAN WE HOPE TO GET A COPY OF THIS BROKEN DOWN BY DISTRICT SO I KNOW IF I HAD -- I THINK IT SAID 119 ANSWERS TO MINE, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HOW MANY OF THEM WERE TOTAL AND PERMANENT AND ANSWERED EVERY QUESTION AND HOW MANY QUESTIONS DIDN'T GET ANSWERED.
SO THAT I KNOW WHAT OTHER QUESTIONS TO ASK IN MY FURTHER TO GAIN MORE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HOW THEY VALUE ALL OF THOSE QUESTIONS THAT WERE ANSWERED.
SO JUST HOPE TO RECEIVE THAT. THANK YOU.
>> THANK YOU. >> MAYOR NIRENBERG: THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER COURAGE.
I'M HEADED TO THE CONFERENCE OF MAYORS SO I'LL RECOMMEND THAT THEY ALL SHOW THEIR HOODS ON LINE FOR US TO SEE. ALL RIGHT. COUNCILMEMBER ALDERETE
GAVITO. >> GAVITO: THANK YOU FOR YOU ALL'S WORK ON THIS.
ALL OF OUR EFFORTS AS A CITY COUNCIL ARE LACKING IF WE DON'T INTEGRATE INPUT FROM RESIDENTS. I DID HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS FOR THE 1,083 RESPONDENTS, THAT NUMBER SEEMS LOW. AND I'M JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW IF THIS IS TRULY REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT OUR CITY WANTS?
[00:30:01]
>> THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION AND YOU ARE RIGHT. I MEAN THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND EVEN THOUGH WE'RE USING AN ADDRESS-BASED SAMPLING METHOD, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF HOUSEHOLDS IN YOUR COMMUNITY. THAT INCLUDES EACH OF THE APARTMENTS, MULTI-FAMILY DWELLINGS. SO THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE AND WE ONLY SAMPLED A SMALL PROPORTION. THE IDEA IS THAT IF YOU RANDOMLY SAMPLE EVERY HOUSEHOLD HAS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY OF BEING SELECTED SO THERE IS NO BIAS OR HAVING AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE. AS LONG AS WE MAINTAIN THE RANDOMNESS OF THE SAMPLE AND CONTINUE TO FOLLOW UP WITH THAT UNIVERSE OF GROUPS AND THEN THE DEMOGRAPHICS ALIGN WITH THE TRUE MAKEUP OF THE CITY, WE CAN SUGGEST WITH THAT MARGIN OF ERROR THAT THE RESULTS HOLD STATISTICALLY.
SOME COMMUNITIES WILL DO SLIGHTLY MORE, SOME SIGNIFICANTLY FEWER.
AUSTIN DOES A LITTLE MORE SURVEYS THAN YOU, BUT IT ONLY DROPS THE MARGIN OF ERROR ABOUT HALF A PERCENTAGE POINT. BUT I WOULD SAY INDUSTRY STANDARD WOULD SAY YOUR SAMPLE SIZE, MARGIN OF ERROR UNDER THREE, IT'S A ROBUST SAMPLE SIZE. AND SO I WOULDN'T SAY THERE COULD BE ANY MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS, THE MAJOR CONSIDERATION, COUNCILMEMBER, IS THAT SAMPLE SIZES ARE A CONSIDERATION OF COST. SO IF WE INCREASE THE SAMPLE
SIZE, THE COST GOES UP EXPONENTIALLY. >> GAVITO: IS THERE A
REASON THE SURVEY WAS ONLY OPEN FOR TWO WEEKS? >> I THINK IT WAS JUST TIMING. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAD THE RESULTS READY FOR TODAY
SO ETC DID THEIR BEST SO WE COULD ADMINISTER QUICKLY. >> GAVITO: ON SLIDE 17, I THINK THE LEVEL OF SATISFACTION HIGHLIGHTS THE GREAT WORK THAT SAN ANTONIANS HAVE FOR THE CITY. I AM WONDERING WHAT WE CAN ATTRIBUTE THE OVERALL SATISFACTION TO. LIKE WHAT WE CAN ATTRIBUTE THIS INCREASE TO.
>> I LOVE TO LOOK FOR STAFF AT THAT. I LIVE IN MISSOURI.
I CONSULT FOR COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. I HAVE A PRETTY GOOD IDEA THE WAY YOU RESPONDED TO YOUR PRIOR BUDGET SURVEY HAS A BIG FACTOR, A BIG REASON THESE NUMBERS ARE SO HIGH. THIS AT FIRST GLANCE YOU WOULD SAY THESE HAVE TO BE WRONG. EVEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT SLIDE 14, YOU MIGHT ALSO SUGGEST WITHOUT THE 2018 RESULTS WHAT HAPPENED OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
I THINK IT'S A DIRECT RELATION TO YOU ALL DURING YOUR FIRST BUDGET SURVEY EVER, RESPONDING DIRECTLY TO THE NEEDS OF RESIDENTS. THERE WAS A LOT OF ALIGNMENT ACROSS ALL TEN COUNCIL DISTRICTS. THERE STILL IS TODAY.
WE CONTINUE TO ASSESS THOSE CITY SERVICES THIS WAY. I HOPE YOU CONTINUE TO SEE SOME INCREASES. THE MAIN THING WE SHOULD SET AS AN EXPECTATION, WHEN YOU GET TO ALMOST 90, IT'S TOUGH TO GET TO 95 OR 99. AT 85.8, THAT'S AN EXTREMELY HIGH RATING. SLIDE 17, YOU SEE HOW FAR ABOVE IT IS FROM NATIONAL AVERAGES SO YOU ARE IN A REALLY GOOD SPOT. MAINTAINING IT IS THE KEY.
>> GAVITO: YOU ARE FEELING THAT HOW RESPONSIVE WE WERE, HOW RESPONSIVE COUNCIL WAS TO THE BUDGET SURVEY IS THE MEN REASON FOR THAT INCREASE --R THAT INCREASE?
>> THAT WOULD BE MY PROFESSIONAL GUESS. I THINK STAFF HAS A LOT OF
INSIGHTS THAT I DON'T HAVE. >> GAVITO: ERIK, DO YOU HAVE ANY INSIGHT ON THAT?
>> SORRY TO PUT YOU -- >> WALSH: WE GOT THE RESULTS AT THE END OF LAST WEEK, BUT I THINK IT'S LITTLE THINGS. IF YOU LOOK AT THE SLIDE WHERE IT SHOWED THE BREAKOUT BY TOP COUNCIL DISTRICT, WE SHOWED THIS AT EVERY BUDGET COMMUNITY MEETING LAST YEAR. THE HOMELESS ISSUE WAS NUMBER ONE IN EVERY COUNCIL DISTRICT EXCEPT ONE AND IT WAS NUMBER 2. AND SO BY BREAKING OUT THE EVEN CAMPMENT AND THE ASSISTED HOMELESS WHICH IS GIVING MORE GRANULAR DATA, IT WENT DOWN. SO LITTLE THINGS LIKE THAT I THINK -- I THINK WE DID A BETTER JOB OF COMMUNICATING. I THINK THE PRESENTATION WE GAVE YOU IN APRIL IN TEMPERATURES OF THE ENCAMPMENT CLEANMENT, THE PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING COUNCIL HAS BEEN DOING, ALL THOSE WRAP-AROUND AND WE'VE BEEN CLEAR ABOUT COMMUNICATING. I LOOK AT THAT AND SAY WE MADE AN IMPROVEMENT.
I THINK IT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME TO GO THROUGH AND THINK THROUGH REALLY IN ALL THE DISTINCT SERVICES TO BETTER UNDERSTAND. A LOT OF IT RELATES BACK TO THE CONSISTENT APPROACH THAT THE COUNCIL IN GENERAL HAS TAKEN IN TEMPERATURES OF PRIORITIES. -- TERMS OF PRIORITIES. THE OTHER ACTIONS YOU DO AS A BODY AND HOW GENERALLY FOLKS ARE SATISFIED, IT'S NOT -- IT'S NOT -- I'M NOT SURPRISED TO SEE THAT SOLID WASTE AND LIBRARY AND FIRE ARE SCORED HIGH.
[00:35:03]
THEY GENERALLY SCORE HIGH IN SAN ANTONIO. WE TOUCH 400,000 HOMES TWICE A WEEK AND SO THOSE LITTLE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT TO THE CONFIDENCE THAT THE PUBLICHAS IN THE CITY. >> GAVITO: THAT'S GREAT. THANK YOU.
ACTUALLY THAT'S A GREAT SAYING WAY TO MY -- SEGUE TO MY NEXT QUESTION.
THAT WE WERE SO RESPONSIVE. SO WHAT IS OR PLAN GOING FORWARD TO CONTINUE TO TACKLE THE HOMELESSNESS ISSUE? ARE WE GOING TO HAVE A
CERTAIN CADENCE OF MEETINGS. >> WALSH: WE HAVE A DASHBOARD.
IT'S ABOUT US EXECUTING. WE HAD AN ESTIMATE ON THE NUMBER OF ENCAMPMENT CLEANUPS, WE'RE GOING TO SURPASS IT. WE'RE GOING TO SET A HIGHER TARGET NEXT YEAR WHEN WE COME BACK IN AUGUST OR SEPTEMBER TO SHOW YOU ALL.
IT IS ABOUT COMMUNICATING THROUGH YOUR OFFICES BACK TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING BUT BEING RESPONSIVE TOO. AND THAT'S APPROPRIATE EXAMPLE. I THINK WE'VE MADE SOME PROGRESS BUT WE NEED TO DO
MORE AND IT'S GOING TO BE CONTINUING THAT EFFORT. >> GAVITO: SO ARE WE GOING
TO HAVE ANOTHER SESSION ABOUT HOMELESSNESS? >> WALSH: IN THE BUDGET IN
AUGUST, ABSOLUTELY. >> GAVITO: OKAY. MOVING ON, I ALSO SEE THAT STREETS AND SIDEWALKS ARE TWO OF THE HIGHEST NEEDS. THIS DOESN'T SURPRISE ME ESPECIALLY GIVEN THAT DISTRICT 7 IS ONE OF THE LARGEST SIDEWALK GAPS IN THE CITY. I'M ON BOARD WITH PRIORITIZING THESE PROJECTS.
I HAD ANOTHER QUESTION SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THAT. WHAT WAS THE SPECIFIC SURVEY QUESTION ASKED TO CONSTITUENTS ABOUT PUBLIC WORKS? BECAUSE THEY HAD THAT 24% SPIKE. DISTRICT 7 GETS A LOT OF
CALLS ABOUT PUBLIC WORKS, SO -- >> YEAH, SO THE SPECIFIC QUESTION WAS IN QUESTION 4, I BELIEVE. AND I'M PULLING IT UP NOW, AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE OVERALL QUALITY OF PUBLIC WORKS, I BELIEVE.
I'M SORRY. I'M TRYING TO SCAN HERE. YEAH, THE OVERALL QUALITY OF PUBLIC WORKS SERVICES. IT WAS JUST A SIMPLE PLEASE RATE YOUR SATISFACTION WITH
THE OVERALL QUALITY OF PUBLIC WORKS SERVICES. >> GAVITO: I'M WONDERING IF IN THE SURVEY RESIDENTS KNOW WHAT PUBLIC WORKS SERVICES ARE.
>> YEAH, YEAH, SO WE UNDERSTAND THAT SOME RESIDENTS MIGHT NOT, BUT AGAIN, THIS IS REALLY A PERCEPTION, A SNAPSHOT IN TIME.
I THINK THE SPIKE IS RELATED TO SOME ACTIONS IN THE COMMUNITY.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE FOUND OUT A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO IS COMMUNICATION AND CUSTOMER SERVICE ARE KEY FACTORS IN OVERALL SATISFACTION WITH THE ORGANIZATIONS.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE SAW WAS A HUGE INCREASE OR MAYBE NOT A HUGE INCREASE BUT A CONTINUATION OF HIGH CUSTOMER SERVICE AND COMMUNICATION RANKINGS IN TERMS OF POSITIVE RESPONSES. I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER FACTOR GOING INTO SOME OF THIS. SOME RESIDENTS MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN, BUT THERE WAS THAT
DON'T KNOW OPTION. >> GAVITO: I WONDER IF MAYBE NEXT YEAR WE'RE MORE CLEAR -- THAT THE QUESTION IS MORE CLEAR. HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH
YOUR STREETS AND SIDEWALKS. >> WE DID ASK BOTH OF THOSE QUESTIONS, SATISFACTION WITH CITY STREETS, SIDEWALKS AND THAT'S HOW WE CAME UP WITH OTHER ITEMS.
>> GAVITO: I'M GLAD TO SEE OUR RESIDENTS VALUE PUBLIC SAFETY.
I WANT TO UNDERSCORE THE NEED TO FUND OUR POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS ADEQUATELY.
THESE ARE CORE SERVICES TO THE CITY. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT RESIDENTS EXPECT. I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS I HAVE MENTIONED BEFORE IS THAT WHEN RESIDENTS CALL POLICE OR FIRE, THEY ARE EXPECTING THE BEST OF THE BEST OUT THERE QUICKLY. SO WE NEED TO PRIORITIZE THAT ACCORDINGLY.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. >> MAYOR NIRENBERG: THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER ALDERETE GAVITO. COUNCILMEMBER KAUR.
>> KAUR: THANK YOU, MAYOR. I WANTED TO BUILD OFF OF SOME OF COUNCILMEMBER ALDERETE GAVITO'S QUESTIONS. SAYING WE ONLY OPENED THE SURVEY FOR 28 DAYS IS BAD PLANNING. WE KNOW THAT 20 DAYS -- I REMEMBER TELLING STAFF LET'S TAKE BUDGET CARTS TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING AND THEY GO IT'S CLOSED.
GIVING US NOT EVEN A MONTH TO GET THROUGH ALL OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS WITH THE BUDGET CARDS I THINK WASN'T SUFFICIENT TIME. MY REQUEST FOR NEXT YEAR IS TO AT LEAST AT THE MINIMUM OPEN IT A MONTH BECAUSE NEIGHBORHOODS, EVEN THE ONES REGULARLY MEETING, MEET MONTHLY. WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO PASS IT AROUND AT THE VERY MINIMUM A MONTH SO WE HAVE A GOOD REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE.
THAT'S MY FIRST REQUEST. THE SECOND IS HER QUESTION ABOUT PUBLIC WORKS.
[00:40:03]
I WAS THINKING SOME OF THE SAME THINGS WITH THE DEPARTMENTS IN TERMS OF PERCEPTION. DO WE ASK A QUESTION LIKE WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU INTERACTED OR RECEIVED A SERVICE FROM PUBLIC WORKS? SO MY THOUGHT IS LIKE IF THE LAST TIME MY STREET OR SIDEWALK GOT DONE IS FIVE YEARS AGO, I STILL MIGHT HAVE A GOOD PERCEPTION. BUT IFTHAT QUESTION. >> QUESTION 5 IN THE SURVEY ASKS HAVE YOU USED ANY SERVICES INCLUDING 311, ANIMAL SERVICES INSPECTIONS AND ZONING, PUBLIC HEALTH, PUBLIC WORKS IS LISTED THERE.
AND THE QUESTION 4 BACK TO THE OTHER COUNCILMEMBER AND YOUR POINT AS WELL, WE ASKED IN THIS SURVEY THE CONDITION OF STREETS, SIDEWALKS, TRAFFIC SIGNAGE, SIGNAL MAINTENANCE AND TIMING AS WELL AS FLOOD CONTROL DURING STORMS AND OVERALL QUALITY OF PUBLIC SERVICES. WE'VE GOT FOUR OTHER CONTRIBUTING FACTORS.
WHILE PUBLIC WORKS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY, STREETS DID DECREASE A LITTLE SO THERE
IS SOME CONCERN THERE. >> KAUR: DO WE [INAUDIBLE] WHETHER THEY HAVE OR HAVE
NOT RECEIVED THAT SERVICE? >> WE MOST DEFINITELY CAN. >> KAUR: I'D BE INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT THE PERCEPTION DATA IS FOR -- JUST AGGREGATED WHETHER THEY RECEIVED A SERVICE IN THE LAST YEAR OR DIDN'T. THEN FOR THE OTHER CITIES COMPARISON, DO WE KNOW IF THEY ARE USING THE SAME METHODOLOGIES AND TIME LINE?
>> THEY ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE. THE METHOD DOLLARS ARE CONCRETE, A HYBRID OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS. THE TIME THE SURVEYS ARE OPEN CAN BE DIFFERENT. THE QUESTION, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ONLY GOING TO COMPARE LIKE QUESTIONS, BUT THEY MIGHT WORD OTHER QUESTIONS DIFFERENTLY THAT COULD HAVE IMPACT. THERE ALWAYS IS EXPECTED TO BE SOME VARIABILITY, BUT THE APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON IS THERE BECAUSE IT'S THE SAME METHODOLOGY, SAME
QUESTION. >> KAUR: INTERESTING. THE NEXT QUESTION IS AROUND THE RESPONDENTS. I'M CONFUSED ABOUT THE 5,000 RESPONDENTS FROM SA SPEAK UP AND THE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DATA. THIS DATA WE'RE LOOKING AT NOW IN TERMS OF NEEDS AND PRIORITIES TO GET THE LIST OF PRIORITIES, DOES THAT
INCLUDE THE 5,000 RESPONDENTS? >> NO.
THE ONLY SLIDE IN THIS PRESENTATION THAT HAS ANY SA SPEAK UP SPECIFIC DATA WOULD
BE SLIDE 26. >> KAUR: I WAS CONFUSED WHY THAT WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SLIDE SHOW. IS THAT THE ONE SPECIFIC SLIDE FOR THE --
>> REALLY WHAT I WANTED TO DO, THE SA SPEAK UP, ASKING WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT.
WHAT WE WANTED TO DO WITH THE PRIOR SLIDE WAS SHOW HOW THOSE ITEMS A FAIRLY ASSIGNED WITH THE TOP FOUR FROM THE SA SPEAK UP AND THE TOP FOUR FROM THE
STATISTICALLY VALID. >> COUNCIL, IF I COULD ASK, THE SA SPEAK UP ASKS FOR YOUR PRIORITIES. IT'S SIMILAR TO THE IMPORTANCE RATING IN THE ETC SURVEY. ETC GOES A STEP FURTHER AND ASKS HOW WELL THE NEEDS ARE MEANT. WE PLUGGED IT IN HERE TO FIND OUT THE RESPONSES WERE VERY SIMILAR TO THE IMPORTANCE RATING OF THE ETC HALF.
>> KAUR: IS THERE A WAY TO GET A DISAGGREGATED -- >> WE HAVE ALL THAT AND YES,
WE CAN POST THAT AS WELL. >> KAUR: THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE WHAT BY DISTRICT THE RESPONSES LOOK LIKE.
DID WE ASK SIMILAR QUESTIONS LIKE WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAD RECEIVED A SERVICE ON SA
SPEAK UP OR JUST BASIC NEEDS? >> NO, ALL WE ASKED ON THIS ONE WAS THE PRIORITY, TOP FOUR PRIORITIES AS WELL AS COUNCIL DISTRICT.
>> KAUR: LIKE TWO QUESTIONS. >> CORRECT.
>> KAUR: I LIKE TO BE ABLE TO SEE BOTH. I UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DATA, BUT IT'S GREAT TO SEE BOTH.
NEXT YEAR IN THE SPEAK UP SA SURVEY I WOULD LIKE TO ASK SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS SO WE COULD USE SOME OF THAT DATA AS WELL. AND THEN THE LAST QUESTION I HAD FOR DISTRICT 1 SPECIFICALLY, WHEN WE DO THE RANDOM SELECTION, DO WE VALUE DOWNTOWN HOUSEHOLDS DIFFERENTLY THAN THE NEIGHBORHOODS OR IS IT JUST
COMPREHENSIVE OF BOTH. >> THAT'S A GRAY QUESTION. THE ONLY -- GREAT QUESTION.
THE ONLY THING IN ITS OWN CATEGORY WOULD BE LIKE A COLLEGE DORMITORY OR PRISON.
MULTI-FAMILY DWELLINGS, IF YOU HAVE A UNIT WITH 100, THEY COULD BE EQUAL
SELECTION. >> KAUR: THAT'S INTERESTING.
I WOULD BE INTERESTED -- ARE YOU ABLE TO SHOW WHERE THE DATA IS COMING FROM
GENERICALLY? >> ON SLIDE 3 -- NO, I'M WRONG.
SLIDE 5 MAYBE -- 10. ON SIDE 10 YOU WILL SEE A DOT MAP.
I UNDERSTAND IT'S VERY HARD TO READ, BUT THE DOT MAP WILL SHOW YOU GENERALLY FROM
[00:45:02]
YOUR DISTRICT WHERE THOSE RESPONSES CAME FROM. BUT COUNCILMEMBER, WE SHOULDBE ABLE TO -- OUR DASHBOARD WILL SHOW YOU THIS. >> KAUR: THIS KIND OF GOES TO MY QUESTION BECAUSE YOU SEE THERE'S ONLY ONE DOT IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA THAT'S IN DISTRICT 1. THERE'S SOME MORE IN DISTRICT 5.
BUT THERE'S ONLY ONE DOT IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA FOR DISTRICT 1.
THE REASON I WAS ASKING IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TOO SEE BY PERCENTAGE SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE DOWNTOWN IS MORE DENSE, THEIR PRIORITIES IN DO YOU WANT, SEEING THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT ISSUE WAS FIVE. THERE ARE CERTAIN AREAS THAT AFFECTS MORE IN THE DISTRICT. I JUST WONDER HOW WE MIGHT THINK ABOUT THAT FOR NEXT YEAR BECAUSE OF THE DENSITY ISSUE.
OKAY. THANK YOU. THOSE WERE MY QUESTIONS.
OVERALL THE DATA SHOWS US, NUMBER ONE, STREETS AND SIDEWALKS, I THINK COUNCILMEMBER GAVITO JUST SAID THIS, THAT'S DISTRICTS 1 AND 2.
WE HAVE SOME OF THE OLDEST STREETS AND INFRASTRUCTURE AND WE NEED TO DOUBLE DOWN ON THAT IN THE BUDGET THIS YEAR. I THINK IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW MUCH MONEY WOULD IT TAKE FOR US TO GET ALL OF OUR STREETS AND SIDEWALKS WITHIN A HALF A MILE RADIUS OF ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS UP TO DATE.
I WOULD JUST BE CURIOUS WHAT THAT NUMBER WOULD BE BECAUSE I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT WE'RE MAKING SURE OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS KEPT UP TO DATE, BUT WE'RE TAKING INTO INFORMATION YOUNG PEOPLE. WE KNOW THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE CROWD SUPPORTING FUNDING FOR YOUTH AND MAKING SURE WE'RE KEEPING THAT AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE CONVERSATION AS WELL. OVERALL, I APPRECIATE THIS WORK. YOU KNOW, I THINK COUNCILMEMBER ROCHA GARCIA AND I ARE BOTH SUPER DATA NERDS. I APPRECIATE YOUR WORK AND CURIOUS TO SEE SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS AND RESULTS SHARED WITH US AS WE GO THROUGH THE
BUDGET PROCESS. THANK YOU, MAYOR. >> MAYOR NIRENBERG: THANK
YOU, COUNCILMEMBER KAUR. COUNCILMEMBER WHYTE. >> WHYTE: THANKS, MAYOR.
QUICKLY, IN THE PRESENTATION IT SAID 20 OUT OF THE 25 AREAS HAVE IMPROVED COMPARED TO 2022. WHAT, OUT OF CURIOSITY, WERE THE FIVE AREAS THAT DID?
>> THAT WAS ACTUALLY 21 OUT OF 25 AREAS INCREASED AND THE AREAS THAT DECREASED WERE OVERALL QUALITY OF ANNUAL AIR SERVICES -- ANIMAL CARE SERVICES, FIRE AND EMS QUICKLY RESPONDING TO EMERGENCIES BY 2%, OFFERING EDUCATION BY 1%, AND THE CONDITION OF STREETS BY 4%. SO THOSE WERE THE DECREASES.
>> WHYTE: ACS, A COUPLE RELATED TO FIRE, AND EMS RESPONSE TIMES, I GUESS.
>> AND THE CONDITION OF THE STREETS. >> WHYTE: AND THE CONDITION OF THE STREETS. GOT IT. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. VERY HELPFUL. I'M GOING TO BE REAL BRIEF.
WE NEED TO BE FOCUSING ON THE BASICS, RIGHT, ALONG WITH WHAT COUNCILMEMBER KAUR SAID, WE SHOULD BE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO GET MORE MONEY IN THE BUDGET FOR STREETS AND SIDEWALKS, POLICE, HOMELESSNESS ENCAMPMENT CLEANUP.
THAT IS WHAT OUR CITIZENS WANT. LAST YEAR WE INCREASED OUR BUDGETARY NUMBER FOR IMP AND CIP, I THINK WE NEED TO DO IT AGAIN.
THIS IS WHAT OUR CITIZENS WANT AND WE NEED TO PRIORITIZE THE BASICKER IS SERVICES THAT OUR -- BASIC CITY SERVICES THAT OUR CITIZENS WANT.
I CAN'T TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT THE NEED FOR SAN ANTONIO TO DO A ZERO-BASED BUDGET. WE'VE MADE THE PROPOSAL. THE CCR IS MAKING ITS WAY THROUGH THE PROCESS. I WANT TO AGAIN MAKE CLEAR WHAT A ZERO-BASED BUDGET WILL DO. A ZERO-BASED BUDGET IS NOT DESIGNED TO CUT MONEY FROM THE BUDGET. WHEN WE DO A ZERO-BASED BUDGET, WE'RE GOING TO HOLD EACH DEPARTMENT ACCOUNTABLE, THEY WILL HAVE TO PRESENT LINE NUMBER NUMBERS BASED ON THE RESULTS THEY WANT TO ACHIEVE IN THE COMING YEAR AND NOTHING MORE.
BY DOING THAT, WE'RE GOING TO FIND WASTE, DUPLICATION, OUTDATED PROGRAMS, PROGRAMS THAT DON'T WORK AND WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THAT MONEY AND THEN USE IT ON THE CITIZENS' PRIORITIES. WHAT WE'VE JUST BEEN TOLD IN THIS SURVEY OUR CITIZENS WANT US TO PRIORITIZE, IF WE DO HAVE ZERO-BASED BUDGET, WE WILL FIND ADDITIONAL DOLLARS AND PUT IT TOWARDS WHAT OUR CITIZENS ARE TELLING US THEM.
SO AGAIN, MORE MONEY IN INFRASTRUCTURE, MORE MONEY FOR PUBLIC SAFETY.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR EMS AND OUR FIRE RESPONSE TIMES ARE NOT SLIPPING. ON HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT CLEANUP IT'S HERE AGAIN. I THINK WE'VE CERTAINLY IMPROVED IN THAT AREA, BUT WE NEED TO DO MORE. SO I APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION, THE DATA I
[00:50:05]
THINK CONFIRMS WHAT ALL OF US UP HERE KNEW OR EXPECTED IT TO BE AND THAT'S GOOD AND THAT'S VALUABLE AS WE HEAD INTO THIS NEXT BUDGET SEASON, I WOULD IMPLORE THIS COUNCIL TO FOCUS ON THE BASICS, THE CITY SERVICES, THE THINGS THAT OUR CITIZENS ARE TELLING US THAT THEY WANT. THANKS.>> MAYOR NIRENBERG: THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER WHYTE. COUNCILMEMBER
MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU, MAYOR.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE WORK OF GETTING THESE SURVEY RESULTS COMPLETED AND DONE. DISTRICT 2, IT SHOWS MANY OF THE KEY PRIORITIES THAT OUR OFFICE HAS HAD OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. I HAVE ABOUT 67 ITEMS I WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THE BUDGET. TODAY I'M MOSTLY GOING TO ADDRESS THE SURVEY ITSELF AND I DO NOTICE, NO ONE HAS BROUGHT UP WHERE WE'RE GOING TO FIND SAVINGS, JUST MORE ADDITIONS SO I'LL GET ON TO THAT IN A LITTLE BIT.
FOR NEXT YEAR'S SURVEY, I WOULD LIKE US NOT TO USE DEPARTMENTS AS THE QUESTION BUT RATHER THE FUNCTION EACH DEPARTMENT SERVES. I THINK THAT COULD INFORM WHICH FUNCTIONS OF LIBRARIES ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE, WHICH FUNCTIONS OF METRO HEALTH, SAPD, ACS. FOR EXAMPLE, FOR ACS MARKETING IS IMPORTANT.
I THINK THIS YEAR THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN PARTICULARLY -- THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN PARTICULARLY USEFUL BECAUSE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT POTENTIAL SAVINGS COMING FROM DEPARTMENTS. SOMETHING THAT WOULD WILL BE INTERESTING WOULD BE THE SATISFACTION OF SERVICES EXCLUSIVELY BY INDIVIDUALS WHO UTILIZE THEM.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE ASKED WHICH SERVICE A CONSTITUENT USES, WE ONLY ASK THEIR SATISFACTION ON THOSE THEY'VE INDICATED YES, I'VE CALLED THE POLICE, YES, I'VE BEEN TO THE LIBRARY, I'VE CALLED CODE ENFORCEMENT ON A NUISANCE PROPERTY.
I'LL SPECULATE IF WE ASK EVERYONE IF THEY'VE USED A SERVICE OR NOT, IF THEY ARE ASKED ABOUT A SERVICE THEY DON'T USE, WE'RE ONLY GOING TO GET A RESPONSE BASED ON WHAT THEIR PERSPECTIVE OR PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF THAT DEPARTMENT IS, NOT THE REALITY OF ITS SERVICE. I KNOW YOU CAN FIND SOME VALUE IN THAT, BUT I WOULD PERSONALLY LIKE TO AVOID THAT FOR BUDGET PURPOSES. SLIDE 27 IS A DEMONSTRATION OF NEED BY -- I WANT TO SAY WHICH ONE WAS THAT? YEAH, DEMONSTRATION OF NEED.
THIS IS A DEMONSTRATION TO ME OF WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO SEE IMPROVEMENTS THE MOST.
THERE'S NOT VERY MANY OTHER WAYS TO INTERPRET THIS AND TO ME IT TELLS ME THAT STREETS, SIDEWALKS, HOMELESS SERVICES, ENCAMPMENT CLEANUPS AS WELL AS STREET LIGHTING ARE TOP NEEDS. AS WE GO DOWN THE LIST, WE SEE CODE ENFORCEMENT AND NUISANCE PROPERTIES, MORE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY, ACS, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, THEN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION, THEN YOUTH SERVICES, FOLLOWED BY POLICE , METRO HEALTH. WHAT I WOULD GATHER FROM THE COMPILATION OF ALL THESE ARE SERVICES LIKE STREETS, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, SERVICES FOR THE HOMELESS, FIRE AND EMS AND ACS ARE OVERALL IMPORTANT. THE AREAS WE NEED TO SEE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS ARE INFRASTRUCTURE INCLUDING OUR STREETS, SIDEWALKS, LIGHTING AND PEDESTRIAN MOBILITY. SERVICES FOR UNHOUSED POPULATION AND HOUSING AFFORDABILITY. WHILE MOST OF THESE ARE BIG NEEDS, THE COMMUNITY RECOGNIZES THAT WE ARE MAKING MASSIVE INVESTMENTS IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING, METRO HEALTH AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR SAVINGS, WE STILL HAVE SO MUCH MORE THAN WE WANT TO DO.
AND I'VE NOT BEEN SHY ABOUT MY SUPPORT FOR INCREASED FUNDING FOR A NUMBER OF DEPARTMENTS AND INITIATIVES INCLUDING ACS AND OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT.
I DO THINK WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE SERVICES IN AREAS THAT WE'RE ALREADY MAKING MASSIVE INVESTMENTS IN, BUT TO MAYBE SLOW DOWN A LITTLE BIT SOME OF THE FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS. FOR EXAMPLE, MY COLLEAGUES ARE GOING TO LOVE THIS, WE'RE GOING TO BE ADDING 260 POLICE OFFICERS OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.
WHAT IF WE ADDED THOSE OVER FIVE YEARS. IF WE ADD 50 OFFICERS PER YEAR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS, THEN 60 IN THE FIFTH YEAR, WE CAN SAVE BETWEEN 11 TO $12 MILLION OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS. WE CAN'T FIND THAT KIND OF SAVINGS IN ANY OTHER DEPARTMENT ESPECIALLY NOT WHILE MAINTAINING THE COMMITMENT TO INCREASE THE DEPARTMENT SIZE AS SAPD. THERE IS NO OTHER DEPARTMENT WE CAN DISCUSS ADDING 50 EMPLOYEES INSTEAD OF 60 AND CLOSING OUR GAP.
WE'RE NOT DOING THAT ANYWHERE ELSE. IT'S REASONABLE TO ME.
SO WHEN WE'RE ASKED WHERE DO YOU WANT TO FIND MONEY FOR INCREASED COMPENSATION FOR FIRE, FOR EXAMPLE, I WOULD LIKE TO PUT THAT ON THE TABLE AS A STARTING POINT FOR DISCUSSION ABOUT WAYS WE CAN FIND SOME SAVINGS AEN I'M INTERESTED IN HEARING FOR COLLEAGUES WHERE ELSE WE CAN FIND SAVINGS. IT SOUNDS BASED ON THIS CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO FIND SOME. THANK YOU.
>> MAYOR NIRENBERG: THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ.
[00:55:05]
COUNCILMEMBER CASTILLO. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, MAYOR.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. NO DOUBT THAT WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE SPENDING WITH DISCIPLINE. I'M HERE TOGGLING WITH THE DASHBOARD AND IT'S FASCINATING. ONE THING I WOULD LIKE TO FIND AND I'M TRYING TO IDENTIFY IT ON THE DASHBOARD, I WOULD LIKE AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE ZIP CODES THAT PARTNERED IN THE SURVEY.
WHILE THERE IS SOME CORRELATION WITH OUR SERVICE CALLS, THERE IS A SLIGHT DEVIATION. FOR EXAMPLE, SOME OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE PIECES THAT WE SEE WITH OUR CONSTITUENT SERVICES DATA DOESN'T NECESSARILY CORRELATE SO I WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND IS THERE A SPECIFIC PART OF THE DISTRICT WHERE WE RECENTLY MADE IMPROVEMENTS TO INFRASTRUCTURE SO THAT'S WHY THEY MAY NOT HAVE IDENTIFIED STREETS OR SIDEWALKS AS ONE OF THE PRIORITIES. WITH THE DISTRICT 5 SPECIFIC SURVEY RESULTS, WE DEVIATE FROM THE MAJORITY OF THE SURVEY INPUT FROM DIFFERENT COUNCIL DISTRICTS. FOR EXAMPLE, OUR TOP FIVE ARE SERVICES TO ASSIST THE HOMELESS, HOMELESS OUTREACH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, STREETS AND ANIMAL AIR -- CARE SERVICES. I THINK THERE'S A NUMBER OF PLACES WHERE THEY OVERLOP AND THAT'S WHY I WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE NOT THROWING GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD. FOR EXAMPLE, IN CONVERSATION WITH SHANNON FROM ANIMAL CARE SERVICE, THERE'S A CORRELATION BETWEEN EVICTIONS AND FOLKS SURRENDERING THEIR ANIMALS AND/OR DUMPING THEIR ANIMALS AND HOW THAT MAY IMPACT WITHIN SPECIFIC PARTS OF THE CITY. ULTIMATELY WE HEAR OFTEN AT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETINGS THE NEED FOR ENCAMPMENT CLEANUPS OR HOMELESS OUTREACH. AND WHEN WE TALK TO FOLKS THAT DO THAT OUTREACH, SOME OF THEIR CONCERNS WITH THE SWEEPS IS THAT FOLKS LOSE THEIR IDS OR IDENTIFYING INFORMATION THEY MAY HAVE TO ACCESS SERVICES. SO IF WE'VE IDENTIFIED AREAS WHERE THERE'S FREQUENT ENCAMPMENT CLEARANCE, I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE COST OF THOSE FREQUENT AREAS ARE AND HOW COULD IT POTENTIALLY BE USED TO SUPPORT A PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING UNIT. SO THAT WAY RATHER THAN JUST GOING BACK TO THE SAME VACANT LOT OVER AND OVER AGAIN, WE CAN CREATE A SPACE TO GET FOLKS INTO SOME TYPE OF SHELTER. ONE THING THAT I NOTICED IN LOOKING AT THE DIFFERENT SURVEY DEMOGRAPHICS, THE SURVEY STARTS AT AGE 18.
I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT WITH THE SAN ANTONIO YOUTH COMMISSION TO DISCUSS SOME OF THEIR BUDGET PRIORITIES AND AND A LOT OF ITEMS AND I THINK THERE'S A MISSED OPPORTUNITY BY NOT SERVING FOLKS UNDER THE AGE OF 18.
I'M THINKING ABOUT NOT JUST THE YOUTH COMMISSION BUT ALSO THE MAYOR'S FITNESS COUNCIL AND HOW THEY'VE IDENTIFIED PRIORITIES. I UNDERSTAND IT'S NOT TARGETED, IT'S A BROAD BLANKET AND THE FOLKS WHO PARTICIPATE PARTICIPATE, BUT I DO BELIEVE OPENING UP TO FOLKS MAYBE 16 TO 18 OR TO OUR YOUTH IN GENERAL I THINK CAN HELP INFORM COUNCIL ON HOW WE NEED TO BEST PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE AND WHAT OUR YOUTH WANT US TO INVEST IN THE CITY. BUT WITH THAT, I'M PLEASED TO SEE THESE SURVEY RESULTS. AS I MENTIONED, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE PUBLIC WORKS PIECES IS ONLY DIFFERENCE FROM OUR CONSTITUENT SERVICES DATA.
SO AGAIN, I THINK HAVING THAT ZIP CODE DATA WOULD HELP US UNDERSTAND MAYBE THE FOLKS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE SURVEY JUST HAD A BOND PROJECT OR SOMETHING.
BUT ULTIMATELY THIS IS A GREAT DASHBOARD AND AS THE CITY MANAGER STATED THIS IS A PIECE TO THE BROADER DISCUSSION. THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF BUTTONS SO I'M HAVING FUN WITH THAT. THOSE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS IF WE PARTICIPATE IN THIS SURVEY AGAIN IS OPENING UP TO OUR YOUTH TO GIVE THEIR INPUT AS WELL. THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS. THANK YOU.
>> MAYOR NIRENBERG: THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER CASTILLO. COUNCILMEMBER CABELLO
HAVRDA. >> HAVRDA: THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.
IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE MAKE OUR BUDGET DECISIONS BASED ON WHAT OUR CONSTITUENTS ARE TELLING US. I THINK WE VERY MUCH HEAR ON THE STREETS OF SAN ANTONIO IT'S PRETTY CONSISTENT. AND I AM REALLY THANKFUL, NUMBER ONE, THIS CITY IS ALWAYS WORKING TO IMPROVE. SLIDE 14, I THINK IT SHOWED 2018 WE WERE PRETTY HIGHLY RATED, I THINK, AND IT DIPPED IN 2022, BUT SOME STUFF HAPPENED IN THOSE YEARS. AND WE'RE BOUNCING BACK. I'M GLAD TO SEE WE'RE TRENDING UP AGAIN. ESPECIALLY PEOPLE LOVE LIKE ME LIVING IN THIS CITY AND IT'S GREAT TO SEE THAT TREND MOVING UP. ANOTHER REALLY IMPORTANT SLIDE FOR ME IS THE IMPORTANCE RATING I THINK WAS 25.
[01:00:03]
I'VE SAID THIS A COUPLE OF TIMES BEFORE, BUT WHEN I FIRST SAT IN THIS SEAT, I DON'T REMEMBER HEARING FROM A LOT OF PEOPLE ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING.SEEING THIS IS AT THE TOP OF THE LIST IS VERY CONSISTENT TO WHAT WE'RE HEARING IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT VERY PROMISING IN THAT THE CONSTITUENTS, THE PEOPLE WE REPRESENT REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR CITY.
THEY ARE NOT LIVING IN THEIR BUBBLE, THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND THEM AND DON'T GET ENOUGH CREDIT BUT THEY ARE DRIVING A LOT OF THESE POLICIES AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, OUR NUMBER ONE JOB IS PASSING A BUDGET. IF WE DO NOTHING ELSE ALL YEAR, WE HAVE TO DO THAT WELL. WE HAVE TO USE THIS DATA IN ORDER TO GET TO THAT POINT. OUR MARCHING ORDERS ARE REALLY CLEAR FROM ALL OF THIS. I THINK TO HEAR THAT THE DECREASES ARE NOT SURPRISING TERRIBLY I THINK ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING WHEN WE THINK ABOUT SPECIFICALLY FIRE, JUST THE AMOUNT OF GROWTH THAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING. AND SO INCREASING THE BUDGET FOR THOSE THINGS, AS MUCH AS PEOPLE SAY WHAT THEY LOVE IN THE BUDGET, WE HAVE TO TAKE THAT NEGATIVE SPACE AND SEE WHAT DECREASED. ACS-ON WHAT WAS THE LAST ONE? THE STREETS. THEY ALWAYS WANT TO SEE IMPROVED RESPONSE TIMES BY ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT. WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE INVESTING NO THOSE THINGS THAT ARE -- INVESTING IN THOSE THINGS SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE ARE LOOKING AT THOSE THINGS, SPECIFICALLY FIRE RESPONSE TIMES, ACS AND JUST QUICKLY, I'M SORT OF CURIOUS AND I THINK COUNCILMEMBER CASTILLO BROUGHT UP THE YOUTH. I THINK THAT'S ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT, THAT WE SHOULDN'T KIND OF CAP IT OR I GUESS NOT CAP IT, BUT WE SHOULDN'T HAVE THAT LOW CEILING WHERE WE'RE NOT INCLUDING YOUTH. DO WE STILL ASK DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION -- I THINK YOU DID GO OVER A SLIDE, RIGHT? I'M SORRY, WE CAN GO BACK TO IT QUICK, THAT DEMOGRAPHIC SLIDE. IT'S BEEN A NUMBER OF YEARS THAT I ASKED ONE OF THE QUESTIONS TO BE ABOUT PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS. DO WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION,
THAT DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN? >> YES, ABSOLUTELY. SO WE ASKED ABOUT ANY DISABILITIES. WE ALSO ON THE SA SPEAK UP SURVEY, IT'S OPEN TO ANYONE
INCLUDING YOUTH. >>. >> HAVRDA: HOW IT IS?
I THOUGHT IT SAID JUST OVER 18. >> THAT WAS FOR THE
STATISTICALLY VALID SURVEY. >> HAVRDA: SO WE'RE NOT INCLUDING THE YOUTH OPINION
IN THE -- IN THESE NUMBERS? >> YEAH, SO TYPICALLY WE WANT TO ENSURE ALL OF OUR RESPONDENTS ARE OVER 18. THERE'S SOME LEGALESE AROUND THAT.
ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS WE DID WITH YOUR PARKS FOLKS, I HAD AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY OF WORKING WITH THEM ON A SURVEY LAST YEAR. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I BELIEVE THEY DID IS THEY TOOK OUR SURVEY LINK, WHICH IS STILL OPEN AND USABLE, AND THEY SENT IT TO SOME OF THOSE YOUTH CENTERS. THEY WANTED TO HEAR DIRECTLY FROM THOSE FOLKS. I THINK STAFF HAVE IDEAS AS WELL, BUT I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO ALLOW US TO USE THAT LINK AND WE COULD REPULL THAT DATA AND PULL IT
FOR YOUNGER FOLKS. >> HAVRDA: GOING BACK TO MY COMMENT ABOUT THE SPECIAL NEEDS COMMUNITY, CAN YOU PULL UP THE DEMOGRAPHIC SLIDE?
IS THAT THERE? >> IT'S NOT IN THE SLIDES. WE ASKED ABOUT MILITARY
STATUS, INTERNET -- >> HAVRDA: I JUST LIKE TO SEE WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT GROUPS AND SOME CASES ARE MARGINALIZED, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT THEY ARE ASKING FOR. I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT DIFFERENCE.
>> THAT'S NOT A CURRENT CAPABILITY OF THE DASHBOARD. I'LL MAKE SURE TO ADD THAT
IN. >> HAVRDA: THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
THANK YOU, MAYOR. >> MAYOR NIRENBERG: THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER CABELLO HAVRDA. COUNCILMEMBER CASTILLO -- I'M SORRY, COUNCILMEMBER
ROCHA GARCIA. SORRY. >> GARCIA: THANK YOU.
I JUST HAD A FOLLOW-UP QUESTION ON THE DEMOGRAPHICS.
I NOTICE THAT THERE WAS LIKE NOBODY THAT TOOK THIS SURVEY ACCORDING TO THE DEMOGRAPHICS THAT EARNED 100K PLUS. IS THAT TRUE?
>> IS THAT THE DASHBOARD THAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT? >> GARCIA: I YOU HAD.
>> THAT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT'S JUST GOING ON THERE. WE HAD A GOOD DISTRIBUTION IN INCOME. THAT'S SIMILAR TO AGE, ONE OF THOSE AREAS WE TRY TO FOCUS ON THE MEDIAN, BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE DISTRIBUTE THOSE RESPONSES FROM EVERYONE. I KNOW WE HAD RESPONSES. ABOUT 15% OF RESPONSES OR 17% OF OUR RESPONSES CAME FROM FOLKS WITH 100,000 UP. LOOKS LIKE MAYBE I NEED TO LOOK AT THAT LINK AND SEE WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT PARTICULAR VARIABLE.
>> GARCIA: THANK YOU. THAT LOOKED A LITTLE OFF AND I DIDN'T KNOW IF THAT
[01:05:02]
AFFECTED OTHERS. AND SO THEN I ALSO -- I LOOKED THROUGH YOUR RESPONSES, LIKE THE SUMMARIES AND THEN LIKE EXACTLY WHAT PEOPLE WERE SAYING. AND I THINK -- AND IT JUST GOES BACK TO THE POINT I WAS MAKING. ONE OF THE RESIDENTS I REPRESENT SAYS FREEWAY CONGESTION, ON AND OFF RAMPS. I DON'T KNOW IF THERE IS AN ABILITY TO HAVE AN AUTOMATIC RESPONSE THAT SAYS IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO GIVE FEEDBACK ON SCHOOL DISTRICTS, BECAUSE THERE WAS A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT TALKED ABOUT SCHOOLS IN MY AREA AS WELL, OR IF YOU ARE LOOKING AT THIS, LIKE COULD WE BETTER EDUCATE THEM TO ADVOCATE TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE? BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE THEY THINK THEY ARE TELLING US OR DO WE SHARE WITH OTHER ENTITIES WHAT WE HEAR? I'M WONDERING, LIKE DO WE SHARE THAT WITH TXDOT OR THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS ORANYTHING? LIKE HOW DO WE DO THAT? >> SO IT IS POSTED FOR EVERYONE, SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE IT, YOU CERTAINLY CAN.
>> GARCIA: GOT IT. I CAN SAY HEY, FYI, HERE'S THE DASHBOARD.
SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU, MAYOR. >> MAYOR NIRENBERG: THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER ROCHA GARCIA. COUNCILMEMBER
MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU, AND JUST A QUICK POINT.
I THINK WE COULD USE SURVEYS ALSO AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO EDUCATE OUR CONSTITUENTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, I KNOW SIDEWALKS IS ONE OF THE AREAS THAT'S REALLY HIGH UP AND SOME OF US HAVE FLOATED THE IDEA OF THE CITY TAKING A MORE PROACTIVE ROLE OR MUCH GREATER ROLE IN THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SIDEWALKS, BUT CURRENTLY THEY ARE THE PROPERTY OWNER'S RESPONSIBILITY AND THAT'S A SHOCK TO ALMOST EVERY CONSTITUENT MY OFFICE EXPLAINED THAT TO. MAYBE THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A POP-UP, WHEN SOMEONE SAYS SIDEWALKS ARE MY NUMBER ONE PRIORITY, HEY, DID YOU KNOW THIS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE CITY DO XYZ THING. OR IF WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE TAKING A LARGER ROLE IN SIDEWALKS, THEN WE NEED TO DO MORE NORTHERN MARKETING ON TO PEOPLE KNOW THAT'S THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION. MAYBE WE DON'T INCLUDE IT IN A SURVEY LIKE THIS OR INCLUDE IT AS PART OF SOMETHING ELSE.
I THINK THAT'S GENERALLY THE MESSAGE. I FEEL LIKE EVERY MOVE WE MAKE WHEN WE STRESS SIDEWALKS ARE AN IMPORTANT AREA FOR US OR WE SAY, HEY, THIS SURVEY SAYS THE SIDEWALKS ARE NUMBER 1, 2 OR 3, BUT WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT, IT FURTHER CONFUSES THE SITUATION. SO I JUST WANT TO DROP THAT LITTLE BIT OF FEEDBACK THERE AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN DO SOMETHING THE NEXT SURVEY
CYCLE. THANK YOU. >> MAYOR NIRENBERG: THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? IF NOT, THANK YOU AGAIN VERY MUCH FOR THE INTENTIONS.
GOOD NEWS THERE AND SOME HEALTHY FEEDBACK. THE TIME IS 2:10 P.M. ON JUNE 20, 2024, AND OUR SPECIAL SESSION IS NOW ADJOURNED.
I'LL ASK MY COLLEAGUES IF THEY CAN STAY IN PLACE. WE ARE GOING TO SET UP OUR ZONING MEETING AND FOR THOSE FOLKS HERE FOR OUR ZONING MEETING, WE'LL BEGIN IN ABOUT FIVE MINUTES. LET US GET A MINUTE TO GET OUR BEARINGS.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.