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>> MAYOR JONES: GOOD AFTERNOON, THE TIME IS NOW 2:02 P.M. ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8TH, 2026. AND THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO B SESSION IS NOW CALLED TO ORDER. MADAM CLERK, PLEASE CALL
>> MAYOR JONES: GREAT. THANK YOU. THIS MEETING WILL HAVE AN UPDATE ON THE COSA CONNECT PROJECT TO UPGRADE THE CITY'S FINANCIAL AND PROCUREMENT SYSTEMS. ERIK, OVER TO YOU.
>> WALSH: THANK YOU, MAYOR. GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. SO AN EXCITING ONE THIS AFTERNOON, BUT A VERY
IMPORTANT ITEM -- >> MAYOR JONES: WAS THAT FACETIOUS?
[LAUGHTER] >> WALSH: SO WE WANT TO GIVE YOU ALL AN UPDATE ON THE NEXT PHASE OF OUR COSA CONNECT PROGRAM, WHICH IS KIND OF OUR LONG-TERM EFFORT TO MODERNIZE OUR FINANCIAL AND PROCUREMENT SYSTEMS. WE'VE ALREADY GONE THROUGH TWO PHASES, AND I KNOW WE WERE IN THIS ROOM A COUPLE WEEKS AG GO AND CPS WAS TALKING ABOUT A SIMILAR PROJECT.
WE HAVE RELIED ON SAP AS AN ORGANIZATION SINCE 2004, AND THAT SUPPORT ENDS IN 2027, SO OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS WE HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTING ADJUSTMENTS AND NEW SYSTEMS AND UPGRADES. AND THE FIRST TWO PHASES HAVE GONE REMARKABLY WELL. THE FINAL PHASE THAT SAP AREBA WILL IMPLEMENT WILL IMPROVE FINANCIAL OPERATIONS, SOME OF THE THINGS TO INCLUDE THINGS THAT YOU ALL TOUCH AS COUNCILMEMBERS.
THIS IS A POSTSOLICITATION BRIEFING AND TROY AND CRAIG WILL WALK US THROUGH THE CRITICALITY OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEMS, HOW WE ARE TAKING THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ALIGN WITH BEST PRACTICES AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOME OF THE TOOLS THAT WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO UTILIZE IN THE PAST BASED ON THE PREVIOUS SAP IMPLEMENTATION.
OUR BUDGET SYSTEM IS GOING THROUGH AN UPDATE RIGHT NOW AS WELL, AND THAT WILL BE UTILIZED FOR THE FIRST TIME NOT THIS COMING YEAR, BUT THE FOLLOWING YEAR, SO IT WILL BE IN LINE FOR THE 2027 BUDGET.
AND WE HAVE ALREADY SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTED OUR HUMAN RESOURCE ASPECT OF THIS SYSTEM, WHICH WAS NOT VERY ROBUST UNDER OUR 2004 SYSTEM.
SO IT GIVES US A LOT OF ABILITY TO MANAGE AND COMMUNICATE THROUGH -- ACROSS ALL DEPARTMENTS THROUGH OUR EMPLOYEES. SO TROY -- OR CRAIG'S
GOING TO KICK US OFF. >> ALL RIGHT. GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. CRAIG HOPKINS, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER AND I'VE GOT THE FIRST HALF OF THE OPERATION AND TROY WILL GET US THROUGH THE SECOND HALF. I JUST WANT TO TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO LEVEL-SET US ON THE PROGRAM AND WHAT WE'RE ACCOMPLISHING HERE WITH THE PROGRAM.
ERIK HAS ALREADY LAID SOSOUTHSOME OF THAT OUT FOR YOU BUT SOME OF YOU MAY NOT HAVE BEEN HERE WHEN WE STARTED THIS, BECAUSE IT STARTED A LONG, LONG TIME AGO ACTUALLY. BUT FIRST THING IS, ERIK ALREADY SAID, WE'VE BEEN USING THE SAP SYSTEM SINCE 2004, IT'S BEEN A STEADY HORSE FOR US, A SYSTEM OF RECORD FOR ALMOST TWO DECADES, AND AT THE -- BASICALLY WE ARE AT AN END OF LIFE ON THE CURRENT SYSTEM THAT GOES IN 2027. SO THE TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING THE LAST ALMOST TWO YEARS, I'LL SHOW YOU -- THREE YEARS. I'LL SHOW YOU A SLIDE HERE IN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE OVERALL TIMELINE FOR THIS PROGRAM, BUT THE WHOLE INTENT OF THIS HAS BEEN ABLE TO MODERNIZE OUR ERP SYSTEM AS WE MOVE FORWARD. THIS IS NOT JUST A TECHNOLOGY UPGRADE. I WANT TO KEEP SAYING THAT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT TECHNOLOGY UPGRADE GOING ON INSIDE OF THIS, BUT THIS IS TRULY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO DO
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A BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION. THIS IS A BUSINESS-LED REINVENTION OF OUR CORE OPERATIONS. SO I.T. IS INTEGRAL IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS, BUT ALL OF OUR BUSINESS PARTNERS THAT I'LL SHOW YOU HERE IN A LITTLE BIT ARE ACTUALLY WORKING THROUGH ELIMINATING MANUAL AND FRAGMENTED PROCESSES. EVERY TIME WE GO FLEW ANY OF THESE UPGRADES WE'RE STARTING WITH DESIGN SESSIONS THAT COME BACK TO OUR CORE PROCESSES INSIDE OF OUR SHARED SERVICES, ENABLING REALTIME DATA-DRIVEN DECISION-MAKING. SO NOW WE DON'T HAVE DATA IN SPREADSHEETS ANYMORE, WE HAVE DATA IN CENTRALIZED R REPOSITORIES SO WE CAN ACTUALLY START TO USE THIS FOR REAL DATA-DRIVEN DECISION-MAKING. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I LEARNED WHEN I JOINED THE CITY NINE YEARS AGO AND I SAT IN BEN GORZELL'S OFFICE, HE TOLD ME TO FIX SAP I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANT AT THE TIME. AND WHEN I WENT OUT AND ASKED A BUNCH OF PEOPLE WHAT WE NEEDED TO FIX, THEY SAID, OH, MY GOD, IT'S THE WORST LOOKING SYSTEM WE'VE EVER SEEN. I STILL FEEL I'M IN THE MAIN FRAME FROM THE 1990S. I TRIED TO USE IT MYSELF AND IT WAS INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT. FOR THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN USING IT FOR 20 YEARS, GIVE THEM TONS OF CREDIT FOR FIGURING OUT HOW TO DO THIS. WHAT WE'VE BEEN PROMISING IS AN INTUITIVE USER-FRIENDLY SYSTEM GOING FORWARD. AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE NEED TO STRENGTHEN OUR COMPLIANCE, OUR TRANSPARENCY AND OUR FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP, THIS ALLOWS US TO BRING ALL OF THAT INFORMATION TOGETHER AS WE GO FORWARD. I WANT TO REINFORCE THAT, AS YOU LOOK AT THESE COMPONENTS OF OUR PLAM, YOU'LL SEE THE COSA CONNECT HR, WHICH IS WHAT HAS GONE LIVE IN 2025, AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING THROUGH THESE CORE COMPONENTS, AND THEN BUDGET, WHICH PARTIALLY WENT LIVE IN 2025, AND FULLY GOES LIVE WHEN WE BRING EVERYTHING TOGETHER ON THE FINANCE SIDE, YOU SEE THESE VERY SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS, BUT YOU ALSO SEE OVER THERE ON THE RIGHT, YOU SEE WHAT WE CALL OUR CORE PROCESSES.SO WE'RE NOT BUILDING FOR FINANCE OMB, HR, WE'RE BUILDING FOR CORE PRO ARE SESS LIKE SORES TO PAY, ORDER TO CASH, HIRE TO RETIRE, ACQUIRE TO RETIRE, WHICH IS THE ASSET COMPONENT, BUDGET TO REPORT, AND THEN THE INTEGRAL I.T. SYSTEMS BELOW. SO IT'S A VERY BUSINESS-LED WORKFLOW-LED PROCESS AS WE'VE DONE THIS.
THIS IS THE TIMELINE, AND IF I COULD REWRITE THIS TIMELINE, I'D PUT A LITTLE BOX IN THE UPPER LEFT-HAND CORNER WHICH WAS ABOUT 18 MONTHS OF PREPLANNING WORK BEFORE WE EVEN KICKED OFF THE SUCCESS FACTORS IMPLEMENTATION. THAT WAS A SIGNIFICANT WORK BY THE TEAM TO GO BACK OUT INTO THE OPERATIONS AND FIGURE OUT WHERE THE PAIN POINTS WERE. AND I'LL JUST GIVE YOU -- MONTHS OF PREPLANNING WITH SAP DIRECTLY AS THEY CAME IN, WORKED ACROSS 14 CROSSFUNCTIONAL DISCOVERY SESSIONS, FOUND 278 PAIN POINTS, 311 CAPABILITY IMPROVEMENTS, AND 187 DIVINE VALUE DRIVERS BEFORE WE EVEN TALKED ABOUT TECHNOLOGY. THOSE WERE ALL BUSINESS THINGS THAT WE DETERMINED WE NEEDED TO FIX. AND THEN WE LAID OUT THIS PROGRAM -- AUDIO] -- PHASES AS WE WENT FORWARD, SUCCESS FACTORS IS THE SAP SOFTWARE FOR HR, SHERP PA IS THE SOFTWARE THAT WE BROUGHT IN TO SUPPORT OMB IN THE BUDGETING PROCESS, AND WHAT WE HERE HERE TO TALK ABOUT TODAY IS THE S/4HANA AND ARIBA COMPONENT AS WE GO FORWARD, TROY WILL TAKE YOU THROUGH IN DETAIL. AND OVERALL WE HAVE OUR GARTNER PARTNERS HELPING US WITH QUALITY ASSURANCE IN THE PROGRAM. THIS HAS BEEN A FIVE-YEAR JOURNEY. YOU CAN SEE THE LAST THREE YEARS UP HERE, AND WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY DONE UNTIL THE END OF FY '27 AS WE GO FORWARD.
I KNEW YOU WOULD ASK ME ABOUT AI, SO I JUST PUT IN A SLIDE.
SO IN EVERY PLATFORM WE OWN AND ARE BUYING, EVERY VENDOR HAS CLAIMED THEY HAVE AI CAPABILITIES. WE'RE GOING TO CALL THEM GENERATIVE AI CAPABILITIES. WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO THROUGH THAT, THEY'RE NOT TRUE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, THEY'RE MUCH MORE ASSISTANT TO THE USER. THERE'S TWO WAYS I WANT TO TALK ABOUT AI AND SAP, JUST SO WE'RE REALLY, REALLY CLEAR. ONE IS, THESE ARE THE BUILT-IN AI CAPABILITIES THAT COME WITH THE SOFTWARE, INSIDE OF SUCCESS FACTORS, INSIDE OF S/4 AND ARIBA, THERE ARE -- IF YOU USE GEMINI OR ANY OF THESE OTHER TOOLS TODAY, THINK OF THE WINDOW PANE THAT POPS UP IN THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE WHEN YOU'RE WORKING IN YOUR E-MAIL OR SOMETHING ELSE, THAT'S THE EMBEDDED CAPABILITIES. SO YOU CAN USE IT TO BE AN ASSISTANT. CLEARLY, WE'RE GOING TO HELP IT FOR SOURCING AND BUYING FOR THE STAFF TO BUILD SOLICITATIONS. WE KNOW THAT WE CAN BUILD OFF TEMPLATES, WE DON'T HAVE TO BUILD EVERYTHING ONE AT A TIME.
ASSISTANCE CAN HELP US DO THAT. THAT IS BUILT INTO THE ARIBA PLATFORM. DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS, WHEN YOU CAN START USING
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NATURAL LANGUAGE QUERY TO DO YOUR ANALYTICS, YOU DON'T HAVE TO CALL I.T.TO BUILD YOU COMPLEX REPORTS. IT'S ONLY AS GOOD AS THE DATA THAT WE HAVE, AS YOU WORK THROUGH THAT, SO WE HAVE TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN OUR DATA MAPPING AND OUR DATA CLEANUP AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS. BUT TO BE ABLE TO USE THAT FOR VISUALIZATION IS VERY IMPORTANT. IT'S ALSO AI-READY IN THE SENSE THAT WE CAN USE THIS AS PROCESS GOVERNANCE TO HELP THE STAFF WORK MORE EFFICIENTLY, PROVIDING JOB AIDS, AUTOMATION WHERE POSSIBLE, PROCESS FLOWS. SO NOW WE'RE NOT WORKING OFF ONE-OFF DOCUMENTS, WE'RE WORKING OFF BEST PRACTICES BUILT INTO THE SYSTEM.
AND IT ALSO INTEGRATES WITH OUR NATIVE SYSTEM. SO WE'RE A COPILOT IN MICROSOFT COPILOT SHOP, THERE'S INTEGRATION WITH THOSE AS WELL.
THE LAST LINE ITEM THAT I WANT TO BE CLEAR ABOUT IS ADDITIONAL AI CAPABILITIES THAT SAP BRINGS TO THE TABLE, AND THEY CALL IT JEWEL.
YOU'LL SEE THAT OUT THERE IN SAP. THINK OF THAT AS NOT EMBEDDED IN YOUR TOOL, BUT AN ASSISTANT ON TOP OF YOUR TOOL.
SO NOW YOU CAN USE THIS VIRTUAL ASSISTANT TO DO A VARIETY OF OTHER THINGS.
WE ARE NOT IMPLEMENTING THAT IN THE FIRST IMPLEMENTATION.
AND I'M GOING TO TELL YOU WHY SPECIFICALLY. IT'S REALLY EXPENSIVE, AND WE HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT HOW IT'S METERED. AND WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS WITH A LOT OF AI TOOLS AS WE GO FORWARD.
IT'S USAGE BASED, SO WHEN YOU OPEN IT AND USE IT, YOU START PAYING THE DATA CENTER CHARGES ON DIFFERENT THINGS. WE NEED TO EXPERIMENT WITH THIS, WE NEED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CAPABILITY, WE NEED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PRICING MODEL, THIS CONCEPT OF CREDITS IS BUILT INTO EVERY ONE OF THESE ADDITIONAL TOOLS, AND SO WE'RE GOING TO USE THAT IN ONE OF OUR IMPLEMENTATIONS INTERNALLY, LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT, AND LATER IN THE PROGRAM COME BACK AND DECIDE WHETHER THIS IS WORTHWHILE TO ADD ON TO THESE CAPE T CAPABILITIES AS WE HAVE.
EVERYTHING ELSE IS BUILT INTO THE TOOLS AND WE PLAN ON TAKING ADVANTAGE OF. ALL RIGHT. IT DOES COST SOME MONEY.
THIS IS A $71.9 MILLION PROGRAM OVER WHAT I SHOWED YOU IS OVER ABOUT A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD. ALL THE THINGS, THE TOP LINE ITEM IS WHAT WE'RE HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT TODAY. WE HAVE GONE THROUGH A SOLICITATION PROCESS FOR THE ARIBA S/4 SYSTEM INTEGRATOR, THAT'S BUDGETED ABOUT $14 MILLION. TROY'S GOING TO TAKE YOU THROUGH THAT. EVERYTHING ELSE ON THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN APPROVED IN PREVIOUS IMPLEMENTATIONS. YOU CAN SEE THERE, SAP SERVICES, WHAT WE PAY THEM DIRECTLY, OUR GARTNE RERK PARTNER WHICH IS OUR VERIFICATION/VALIDATION, OUR SUCCESS FACTORS, BUDGET DEVELOPER WHICH IS UNO FOR THE O AND B PHASE AND $22 MILLION OF SOFTWARE LICENSES THAT WE PAY FOR SAP AS WE GO FORWARD. 15MILLION IN CONTRACTORS AND STAFF, AND WE HAVE A 2.7 MILLION PROGRAM CONTINUESY THAT WE'RE CARING AT THIS TIME. SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO HAND IT TO TROY TO TAKE
IT THROUGH THE SOLICITATION. >> ELLIOTT: THANK YOU, CRAIG. GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
WE KIND OF JOKED IN THE BEGINNING ABOUT THIS BEING AN EXCITING TOPIC.
WELL, MY GOAL IS TO KEEP THIS AS BORING AS POSSIBLE.
AND I THINK IT'S PROBABLY CRAIG'S GOAL AS WELL. THERE'S A GOOD REASON FOR THAT. IF IT DOES BECOME EXCITING, IT'S BECAUSE SOMETHING HAS GONE WRONG IN OUR IMPLEMENTATION. WHEN WE STARTED OUT THIS PROCESS, AS CRAIG MENTIONED THERE WAS A LOT OF PREWORK DONE.
WE USED ALL THAT PREWORK TO BED INTO OUR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.
THE ACTUAL RELEASED ON 8/29, AND IN THAT REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR A PARTNER WITH THE EXPERIENCE WHO HAS DONE THIS ON THE BREADTH AND SCALE OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, HAS FOCUS ON FINANCE AND THE PROCUREMENT, AND HAS MITIGATED THOSE RISKS AND REALLY LOOKED AT THOSE CHALLENGES AND BRINGS THAT EXPERIENCE WITH THEM. SO WENT THROUGH THAT, STARTED RECEIVING RESPONSES ON OCTOBER 28TH. WE HAD AN EVALUATION PANEL COMPRISED OF ALL THE BUSINESS OWNERS AND THE BUSINESS SPONSORS, INCLUDING MYSELF, CRAIG, WE ALSO HAD JUSTINA TATE, OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, RENEE FRIEDA, DIRECTOR OF AR, MELANIE KEETON, ANGELICA MATA, KEVIN GOOD WIN, WE HAD A ROBUST TEAM. I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT THIS TEAM, A LOT OF THE PEOPLE ON THIS TEAM, WE'VE DONE THIS BEFORE.
WE UNDERSTAND KIND OF WHAT IT TAKES TO PUT THESE THINGS IN PLACE AND WHAT TO LOOK FOR. CRAIG TALKED ABOUT PHASE THREE, I'D LIKE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH ABOUT WHAT IS THE SCOPE. YOU KNOW, CRAIG TALKED ABOUT THE SIX WORKSTREAMS. I'D LIKE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT EACH OF THOSE WORKSTREAMS INDIVIDUALLY AND WHAT THEY DO.
THE FIRST ONE IS SOURCE TO PAY. THAT IS REALLY LOOKING AT OUR PROCUREMENT PROCESS FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE, MEANING FROM WHEN WE ISSUE A BID OR AN RFP, ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE EVALUATION PROCESS,
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THROUGH THE AWARDING A CONTRACT, AND EVEN ALL THE WAY THROUGH PAYING THE ACTUAL VENDOR ON THE BACK END. SO LOOKING AT THAT.AND THERE'S A LOT OF PIECES TO THAT, AND THAT WOULD BE FOCUSED ON THE ARIBA PROCESS OR THE ARIBA SYSTEM THAT WE WILL BE IMPLEMENTING.
THE NEXT AREA IS REALLY FOCUSED ON THE FINANCE AND TOUCH ON THE HR, THE SECOND ONE IS ORDER TO CASH, THIS IS OUR REVENUE COLLECTIONS.
THIS IS THE PIECE THAT HAS ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS EMBEDDED INTO IT, IT TRACKS ALL OF OUR INVOICES GOING OUT TO OUR CUSTOMERS FOR OUR GOODS AND OUR SERVICES. ALSO WE CAN RUN REPORTS IN AGING AND REALLY MANAGE OUR CUSTOMER RECEIVABLES, WHICH TRANSLATES INTO OUR FINANCIAL REPORTS AS WELL. THEN WE HAVE THE HIRE TO RETIRE, THIS INTEGRATES VERY HEAVILY WITH THE HR FUNCTIONS THAT CRAIG TALKED ABOUT THROUGH SUCCESS FACTORS THAT REALLY LAID DOWN -- MANAGEMENT, ALL THE WAY THROUGH HIRING EMPLOYEE, THROUGH PAYING AN EMPLOYEE, THROUGH WHEN THEY RETIRE OR LEAVE THE SERVICE OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. THEN WE HAVE THE ACQUIRE TO RETIRE, THIS IS HOW WE MANAGE OUR CAPITAL ASSETS. WHEN WE BUY AN ASSET, WHEN WE BUILD AN ASSET, WHAT'S THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE ASSET, HOW DO WE MAINTAIN THAT ASSET AND KEEP THOSE RECORDS AND WHEN DOES IT NEED THAT PROPER PLANT MAINTENANCE. ALL THE WAY THROUGH WHEN WE DISPOSE OF IT. AND LASTLY, LOOKING AT HOW DO WE REPORT.
WE'RE COLLECTING A LOT OF DATA IN THESE SYSTEMS. ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WE HAVE TODAY IS GETTING THAT DATA OUT AND PUTTING IT ININ A PRESENTABLE FORMAT THAT'S UNDERSTANDABLE. AND SOME SOMETIMES SOME OF THE DATA WE CAN'T ACCESS TO -- WE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO IT, SO REALLY LOOKING AT THAT FINANCIAL REPORTING IN TERMS OF OUR GRANTS, OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS, ALL OF OUR OPERATING FUND, AND THEN I KNOW THIS COUNCIL LIKES TO TALK ABOUT KPIS, LOOKING AT KPIS AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE PERFORMING. NOT ONLY HOW ARE WE PERFORMING HERE, BUT LOOKING AT PRIOR TO THE SYSTEM HOW WE'RE PERFORMING AND WHAT EFFICIENCIES HAVE WE GAINED -- THE MANAGING THE I.T. IS THE SECURITY AROUND THE SYSTEM, OUR ROLE-BASED SECURITY, DATA GOMPS, ARCHIVING AND ANALYTICS OF OUR DATA ITSELF.
NEXT STORY I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT, BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY, WE TALKED ABOUT -- WE'VE HAD TWO CONFERENCES WITH EWDC, ONE SURROUNDING THE MAYOR'S TASK WITH COLLABORATING WITH DIVERSE BUSINESS STAKEHOLDERS AND REVIEWING THE CITY PROCUREMENT PROCESSES TO ENSURE ACCESS TO A FULL TALENT POOL.
THIS WAS THE CHARGE THAT THE MAYOR GAVE THAT COMMITTEE, WE'VE BEEN TO THAT COMMITTEE TWICE TALKING TO THEM, AND WE THINK THIS IS ACTUALLY AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY, ONE, TO DUST OFF SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE GOTTEN FROM OUR VENDORS, LOOKING AT THAT FEEDBACK FROM OUR PROCESS, AND ALSO LOOK AT SEE HOW IT CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO THE CONFIGURATION AND THE DESIGN OF THE SYSTEM. SO WE THINK IT'S JUST AN OPTIMAL OPPORTUNITY AND A TIME TO DO THAT, AND GO BACK AND VISIT WITH THOSE STAKEHOLDERS, RECONFIRM SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE HEARD THAT INCORPORATE THOSE WHERE WE CAN BASED ON WHERE WE CAN ALIGN TO THE INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICES AND CONFIGURE THAT TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT THESE BEST PRACTICES.
AND THIS WILL LARGELY ALIGN WITH THE WORKSTREAM I TALKED ABOUT ON PROCURE TO PAY. CIRCLING BACK TO THE EVALUATION, SO WE RECEIVED FOUR RESPONSES. ONE FROM IBM, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION, ERNST & YOUNG, E & Y, A SEN SURE, AND THEN FIRE CAT STUDIOS. THIS IS THE INITIAL EVALUATION THAT THE TEAM PERFORMED BASED ON THE WRITTEN PROPOSALS THAT WERE PROVIDED BY THE FOUR RESPONDENTS. WE LOOKED AT IN TERMS OF THEIR EXPERIENCE, BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS AND THE PROPOSED PLAN.
YOU CAN SEE THE POINT STRUCTURES FOR A TOTAL OF 60.
15 POINTS SBEDA, 10 FROM A PRIME FUNCTION, LOCAL PREFERENCE OF 10, AND THEN VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES, FIVE. YOU CAN SEE WHERE THEY RATED WITH EXPERIENCE, BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS WITH IBM AND ACCENTURE RISING TO THE TOP. IN TERMS OF PRICE, BOTH IBM AND E & Y HAD THE BEST PRICING UNDER THE WRITTEN PROPOSALS, AND ALSO LOOKING AT THE LOCAL PREFERENCE PROGRAM WHERE YOU HAD E & Y, ERNTSZ AND YOUNG GETTING FIVE POINTS AND ACCENTURE DUE TO HAVING A SIGNIFICANT LOCAL BUSINESS PRESENCE, AND FIRECAT STUDIO RECEIVED 10 ON SBEDA TO BEING A SMALL PRIME. BASED ON THIS, WE SELECTED THE -- BASED ON THE WRITTEN PROPOSALS AND THE EVALUATION, WE SELECTED THREE OF THESE FIRMS TO ACTUALLY TAKE TO INTERVIEWS. THE OTHER THING I'LL MENTION IS THAT THERE WERE ALSO TWO ADDITIONAL RESPONDENTS, THEY WERE
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DEEMED NONRESPONSIVE FOR NOT MEETING THE EIGHTH% SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE SUBCONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS. SO WHEN WE ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH THE EVALUATION AS I MENTIONED, WE INVITED ALL THREE OF THEM TO DO INTERVIEWS, SPENT THE FULL DAY WITH THESE FIRMS. AFTER REFINING OUR SCORES, IBM ROSE TO THE TOP OF 66.96 POINTS VERSUS 52.25, AND 39.74. AND WE LOOK AT THE FIRMS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT STOOD OUT ABOUT IBM WAS ON THEIR EXPERIENCE, BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS, SOME OF THE LARGE IMPLEMENTATIONS AND COMPLEX IMPLEMENTATIONS THAT THEY HAD PERFORMED, BUT ALSO THE DEPTH OF EXPERIENCE THAT THE INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE HAD WITH, IN SOME CASES, 10, MAJORITY OF THEM, 25 PLUS YEARS EXPERIENCE IN IMPLEMENTING SAP.IN TERMS OF PRICE, THEY WERE, AS I MANYEN SHUNNED, AT 14.96, COMPARABLE TO E & Y, AND YOU'LL SEE THE PRICING HERE IN A SECOND.
THAT HAS BEEN SLIGHTLY MODIFIED DUE TO NEGOTIATIONS.
BASED ON THE INTERVIEWS, BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE, BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS AND THE PROPOSED PLAN, WE'RE RECOMMENDING TO YOU TO MOVE FORWARD WITH IBM. IN TERMS OF THE CONTRACT, THE CONTRACT IS FULLY NEGOTIATED, MAYBE A COUPLE MINOR TWEAKS THAT WE STILL HAVE TO MAKE.
SO VENDOR -- I MEAN, IBM PARTNERED WITH SYSTEMA TECHNOLOGIES.
SYSTEMA IS A SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE, THEY ARE LOCALLY HEADQUARTERED HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. THEY WILL BE PERFORMING THE MAJORITY OF THE TRAINING AND THE -- ASSISTING WITH THE TESTING.
AND I'LL TALK -- YOU'LL KIND OF SEE THOSE ON THE PHASES AND WHERE THOSE FIT IN ON THE NEXT COUPLE SLIDES. THEN THE OTHER ONE THEY PARTNERED WITH IS EPIUSC AMERICA, THEY ARE ONE OF THE WELL-KNOWN PAYROLL EXPERTS WHEN IT COMES TO SAP. SO THOSE TWO SUBCONTRACTORS WERE WHO THEY PARTNERED WITH IN TERMS OF THIS CONTRACT.
LOOKING AT THIS AS A TWO-YEAR TERM WITH OPTIONAL ONE-YEAR RENEWALS, HOPEFULLY WE DON'T NEED THE OPTIONAL ONE-YEAR RENEWALS, WE HAVE A GOAL LIVE, YOU'LL SEE THAT ON THE NEXT COUPLE SLIDES, GOING LIVE WITH MOST OF THIS ON OCTOBER 2027. LOOKING AT THE CONTRACT VALUE, CRAIG MENTIONED THE 14.1 OUT OF THE TOTAL CONTRACT BUDGET.
SO WE NEGOTIATED A FIXED FEE, OR BASE FEE OF $11.3 MILLION.
AS WE GO THROUGH THIS, THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS WE WILL DECIDE WHETHER WE NEED OR WE DON'T NEED, AND WE'LL GET THAT CLARITY AS WE GO THROUGH THE METHODOLOGY OF EXPLORING AND DESIGNING AND IN THE EVENT THAT WE NEED THOSE, WE'RE ASKING FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION FOR THESE OPTIONAL FEES OF $1.7 MILLION AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT HERE IN A SECOND BELOW.
WE ALSO KNOW THAT WHEN WE GO THROUGH THESE CONTRACTS, THERE WILL BE CHALLENGES, THERE WILL BE THINGS THAT WE MISSED. AND SO WE'RE PROPOSING A 10% CONTINGENCY FOR A TOTAL OF $14.1 MILLION. THE OPTIONAL FEES, YOU CAN SEE BELOW BREAKING OUT THAT $1.5 MILLION, WE HAVE WHAT'S CALLED FIORI DEVELOPMENT. IN THIS NEW SAP VERSION, THE WAY WE INTERACT WITH THE SYSTEM IS DIFFERENT, TODAY IT'S BASED ON TRANSACTION CODES.
TODAY THIS HAS A BETTER USER EXPERIENCE IN TERMS OF YOUR MOBILE DEVICE OR YOUR DESKTOP. AND WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY IF WE NEED ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCES THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY DO THIS THROUGH THIS, AND THIS GIVES US A BUCKET OF HOURS TO DO THAT.
CRAIG MENTIONED ALL THE WORK THAT WE HAD ACCOMPLISHED IN FRONT IN MOVING INTO THIS, ONE OF THOSE ITEMS WAS IDENTIFYING ALL THE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS THAT TOUCH SAP, ALL THE INTERFACES.
IN THE EVENT THAT WE DID NOT CAPTURE ALL THOSE INTERFACES, WE WANTED AN OPTION TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK, IF WE MISSED ONE INTERFACE, TO BE ABLE TO CONFIGURE AND THE NEW SYSTEM WORKS WITH THOSE SYSTEMS WE MAY HAVE MISSED. SPECIALIZED HYPERCARE HOURS AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THIS MORE ON THE NEXT SLIDE, BUT THE BASE TIMELINE, BASE CONTRACT IS GOING TO HAVE THREE MONTHS OF HYPERCARE EMBEDDED IN THE CONTRACT. WHAT HYPERCARE IS, ONCE WE GO LIVE, WE DON'T WANT THE CONSULTANTS RUNNING OFF AND DISAPPEARING, WE ARE PROBABLY GOING TO NEED SOME HELP AND SOME ASSISTANCE IN STABILIZING THE SYSTEM ONCE WE GO LIVE, RUNNING PAYROLLS, ONING PROCUREMENTS. WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO REACH OUT AND TOUCH ONE OF THOSE CONSULTANTS AND SAY, HEY, WE NEED YOUR HELP, STILL. SO POSTGO LIVE WE HAVE THREE MONTH OF HYPERCARE. IN ADDITION TO THAT THREE MONTHS, WE KNOW THAT THE SYSTEM CONTINUES ON AND THERE ARE OTHER ACTIVITIES IN THE FUTURE THAT WE HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED YET. WE MAY HAVE NOT YET CLOSED THE YEAR FOR PAYROLL, 1099S, W-2S, CLOSING OUT THE FISCAL YEAR. SO THIS BUCKET OF HOURS GIVES US SOME FLEXIBILITY TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK AND SAY, HEY, WE STILL NEED SOME ASSISTANCE, BUT THAT MAY BE -- THAT MAY BE 12 MONTHS DOWN THE ROAD.
AFTER THE BASE HYPERCARE HAS EXPIRED. SECURITY ROLE MANAGEMENT,
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LOOKING AT HOW SECURITY'S CONFIGURED IN THE SYSTEM, GIVES US SOME FLEXIBILITY THERE INTO ROLE MANAGEMENT. THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE, AND I THINK COUNCILWOMAN VIAGRAN HAS SEEN IT COMING TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE ON OCCASION AS FAR AS IN THE INTERNAL AUDITS, WHEN WE MAY STILL HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE ACTIVE IN THE M ISES, THAT MAY HAVE -- SYSTEMS THAT MAY HAVE LEFT THE CITY. THIS WILL BE PUT IN PLACE AND HOPEFULLY WITH THIS PROCESS, WE'LL ELIMINATE SOME OF THOSE CHALLENGES. AND THEN THE TARGET OPERATING MODEL, THIS IS A LESSON LEARNED THAT I HAD SPECIFICALLY FROM IMPLEMENTING THE FIRST SYSTEM IN 2004. SO, YES, I DO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE SAYING OUR SYSTEM IS ANTIQUATED WHEN I'M THE ONE THAT ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTED IT IN 2004. BUT THIS REALLY ALLOWS US, ONCE WE IMPLEMENT THE SYSTEM, WE KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO OPERATE DIFFERENTLY, THAT WE MAY NEED A DIFFERENT NUMBER OF PEOPLE RUNNING ACCOUNTS PAYABLE OR WHERE A CERTAIN FUNCTION RESIDES IN THE ORGANIZATION MAY NEED TO SIT SOMEPLACE ELSE, SO THIS WILL ACTUALLY ALLOW US TO ACTUALLY LOOK AT AND GIVE US A ROADMAP TO ONCE WE IMPLEMENT THE SYSTEM, HOW DO THE PEOPLE FUNCTION AND SUPPORT THAT SYSTEM. SO IN TOTAL, THESE OPTIONAL FEES OF $1.5 MILLION. THERE'S SOME OTHER THINGS THAT WE ARE KEEPING OUR EYES ON AS FAR AS FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS.WE KNOW THERE'S AN END OF LIFE FOR THE CURRENT WHAT WE CALL TRIP.
IT MANAGES OUR TRAVEL. LOOKING AT THE SAP CONCUR MODULE IN THE FUTURE MAYBE AS A REPLACEMENT, ALSO LOOKING AT BUSINESS ROLE MANAGEMENT, DATA ARCHIVAL AND RETENTION AND THEN THERE'S SOME ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONALITY THAT ALLOWS US TO MANAGE MULTIPLE COMPANIES WITHIN SAP.
THOSE ARE THINGS WHEN WE GO THROUGH THE DESIGN WE'LL SEE IF THERE ARE FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE, AS WELL AS OTHER THINGS THAT MAY COME UP THAT WE'RE NOT AWARE OF. SO IN TERMS OF THE COSA CONNECT PROGRAM TIMELINE SPECIFIC TO PHASE THREE, CRAIG TALKED ABOUT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS SINCE 2023. I'D LIKE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE METHODOLOGY THAT WE'RE PUTTING IN PLACE.
SO THERE IS ASAP SAP ACIS A SAN AA -- IN AUDIO] -- LAYERS IT ON TOP OF THAT TO MAKE SURE THAT'S SUCCESSFUL, BUT ALL THESE PHASES BILL ON TOP OF EACH OTHER. SO ONCE -- IF Y'ALL ARE AMENABLE TO THE CONTRACT WITH IBM, ONCE THEY'RE ON BOARD, WE'LL START THE DISCOVER PHASE WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT KIND OF THE NORMING OF THE TEAM, THE PROJECT INITIATION, OUR FORMAL KICKOFFS, ONBOARD, ORIENTING THE PROJECT TEAM, MOVING ONTO THE PREPARE PHASE WHICH IS OUR DETAILED PLANNING AND SCHEDULE DEVELOPMENT. EXPLORE PHASE IS WHERE WE REALLY START GET DOWN INTO THE DESIGN AND THE TECHNICAL AND FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATIONS AND GETTING THE ADDITIONAL STAKEHOLDER INPUT, AND THEN WE TAKE ALL THAT INFORMATION AND WE START BUILDING ON THE SYSTEM AND CONFIGURING THE SYSTEM. ONCE THE SYSTEM IS BUILT, THEN WE START MOVING INTO THE REALIZE AND TEST PHASE, WHICH IS TESTING, UNIT TESTING, END USER TESTING OR INTEGRATION TESTING.
ACCEPTING THE SYSTEM IN CERTAIN PLACES, THEN WE ALSO TRAIN THE USERS HOW TO USE IT. SO VERY IMPORTANT THAT THESE THINGS DON'T GET OUT OF SYNC, BECAUSE ONCE YOU START TRAINING, IF YOU'RE STILL DESIGNING A SYSTEM, IT'S A RECIPE FOR DISASTER, SO THIS WOULD BE VERY RIGOROUS PROCESS MOVING THROUGH THIS. THEN ULTIMATELY DEPLOY AND GO LIVE, AND THEN THE HYPERCARE HOURS -- OR THE HYPERCARE THREE MONTHS AFTER AS I MENTIONED TO YOU. AND, ABOVE, YOU CAN SEE KIND OF THE TIMELINE FOR EACH S/4, WHICH IS FINANCE, AND THEN ARIBA, WHICH IS PROCUREMENT, THEN THE PERSPECTIVE GO LIVES FOR EACH OF THOSE. OUR GOAL IS A CUTOVER COINCIDING WITH OUR FISCAL YEAR, SO WE WOULD DEPLOY AND GO LIVE AND CUT OVER TO THE NEW SYSTEM OCTOBER 1ST OF 2027.
WITH THAT, MAYOR, COUNCIL, LOOKING FOR YOUR SUPPORT TODAY AND BRING THIS CONTRACT FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION ON APRIL 30TH WITH IBM FOR BOTH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SAP ARIBA WHICH IS OUR PROCUREMENT, AND THEN SAP S/4 HANA FOR OUR FINANCIALS. CRAIG AND I ARE AVAILABLE
TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. >> WALSH: MAYOR, JUST A COUPLE OF POINTS, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL, YOU KNOW, THE -- TROY MENTIONED THE EXPERIENCE LEVEL OF THIS.
FORTUNATELY, OR UNFORTUNATELY, A NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE STILL HERE WERE PART OF THAT TRANSITION FROM MAIN FRAME TO SAP IN 2004.
TROY USED TO HAVE BROWN HAIR, IT TURNED GRAY IN 2003, SO PART OF THIS IS MAKING SURE THAT YOU KNOW, THESE TRANSITIONS CAN BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. MAYOR, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE PLACES LIKE THE PENTAGON, BUT THEY'RE VERY DIFFICULT. AND SO MANAGING THE
[00:30:02]
PROJECT AND HAVING PROJECT GOVERNANCE IS KEY.SECONDLY, AS PART OF OUR -- PART OF MY MONTHLY DEPARTMENT HEAD EXECUTIVE MEETING, WHETHER WE HAVE A LONG AGENDA OR NOT, WE'RE UPDATING THE EXECUTIVES ON THESE ASPECTS, BECAUSE IT DIRECTLY AFFECTS THEM.
AND I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. WE HAVE WHAT WE CALL SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION, WHETHER THEY ARE IN DEBBIE'S OFFICE OR THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT OR BUDGET OR PUBLIC WORKS, THE INDIVIDUALS AND EMPLOYEES THAT ARE OPERATING THOSE SYSTEMS NOW AND WILL BE OPERATING THEM IN THE FUTURE, THOSE INDIVIDUALS GET TAPPED TO DO DOUBLE DUTY, TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE'RE CONSTRUCTING IS USABLE AT THE END OF THE DAY. AND IT IS A -- WE KEEP IT IN FRONT OF -- I KEEP IT IN FRONT OF THE DEPARTMENT HEADS BECAUSE IT HAS TO BE A PRIORITY GIVEN EVERYTHING THAT WE ALL DO AND EVERYTHING THAT EMPLOYEES DO, THIS HAS TO BE A PRIORITY. AND FRANKLY, THAT -- WE LEARNED THAT THROUGH EXPERIENCE, SO WE HAVE A LOT OF FOLKS IN THIS ORGANIZATION THAT ARE ENGAGED ON THOSE PHASES THAT BOTH CRAIG AND TROY TALKED ABOUT.
I WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE AWARE OF THAT. THANKS.
>> MAYOR JONES: THANKS, ERIK. DURING THE PREREAD, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT, I MEAN, THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AS CRAIG RIGHTLY PUT IT, THIS ISN'T JUST ABOUT SOME I.T. THING, RIGHT? THIS IS REALLY ABOUT TRANSFORMING HOW YOU DO BUSINESS AND THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE PART OF THAT, THE CULTURE PIECE OF IT, CAN FRANKLY, BE THE MOST CHALLENGING. SO I APPRECIATE THE -- BOTH THE PRESENTATION BY CRAIG AS WELL AS BY TROY. THANKS, TROY.
AGAIN, LISTENING THROUGH IT, THE MOST IMPORTANT PART FOR ME WAS, AGAIN, HELPING, AS ERIK JUST KIND OF FOOT STOMPED HERE, WHILE IT'S A BIG CHUNK OF MONEY, 476K, IT COULD BE ENOUGH, OR IT COULD BE WILDLY INSUFFICIENT FOR HOW WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THE FUTURE -- HOW WORKERS THAT MAY BE DISPLACED OR MAY NEED TO BE UPSKILLED AND REPOSITIONED COULD BE. SO THAT PART OF THE CONTRACT, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, THAT'S EXACT -- THAT'S THE TARGET -- AUDIO] -- TARGET OPERATING MODEL, THAT'S ALL FOR KIND OF WHAT THE
WORKFORCE FOOTPRINT LOOKS LIKE; IS THAT RIGHT? >> ELLIOTT: THE PROJECT WILL INCO ENCOMPASS A WHOLE CHANGE MANAGEMENT TEAM, AND WE HAVE A CHANGE MANAGEMENT TEAM. FOCUSING ON MANAGING THE CHANGE, HOW ONE PERSON MOVES INTO THE SYSTEM. THIS PIECE IS SPECIFICALLY AN ORGANIZATIONAL ALIGNMENT. SO -- AND RENEE WILL KILL ME IF SHE HEARS ME SAY THAT, DOES PAYROLL FIT IN FINANCE OR DOES IT FIT IN HR, IT'S THINGS OF THAT NATURE, AND DO WE HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE WITH THE
RIGHT SKILLS IN THOSE AREAS TO DO THAT. >> MAYOR JONES: SO, AGAIN, BECAUSE THAT'S ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS HERE, THAT WILL BE JUST DECIDING KIND OF WHERE IT GOES, BUT NOW OVERSEEING THE EXECUTION OF THAT, IS THAT ALSO IBM, OR IS THAT FALLING TO THE SPECIFIC DEPARTMENT HEADS? LIKE WHO'S ACTUALLY DOING THE THING ONCE IT'S BEEN
DETERMINED WHAT THE PLAN IS? >> RUNNING THE SYSTEM
OR -- >> MAYOR JONES: TARGET OPERATING MODEL, THAT'S LIKE, HEY, THIS IS HOW WE'RE GOING TO DO THE THING.
WHO NOW IS GOING TO MONITOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF IT SO IT IS OPERATING AS INTENDED? YEP.
>> ELLIOTT: I'LL TALK THROUGH THE ACTUAL IMPLEMENTATION.
WE WILL HAVE A FULL BLOWN EXECUTIVE STEERING COMMITTEE THAT WILL BE SPONSORED BY CRAIG AND MYSELF AND AN ENTIRE TEAM.
ALL ASPECTS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION WILL RUN THROUGH US AND WE'LL BE MONITORING THAT. POSTIMPLEMENTATION -- WORKING WITH IBM, BUT IBM WILL BE THE INDIVIDUAL THAT WILL BE GUIDING THAT $476,000, IF WE SELECT IT, TO ACTUALLY ORGANIZE AND RECOMMEND HOW WE'RE
ORGANIZED POST-GO LIVE. >> WALSH: MAYOR, I THINK MAYBE TO GET A LITTLE MORE GRANULAR TO YOUR QUESTION, REALLY THE FOLKS THAT I'M GOING TO LOOK AT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TRACKING AND MONITORING THAT ARE GOING TO BE HR AND THE BUDGET OFFICE, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEY WILL BE -- AND THOSE TWO ARE KEY BECAUSE EVEN IF THERE ARE POTENTIAL IMPACTS TO THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT DO X, WE ALWAYS KNOW, AND YOU ARE ALL VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE FACT THAT AS THE CITY CONTINUES TO GROW AND WE NEED ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, MAYBE IT'S RETOOLING, AND SO THE PEOPLE THAT WE RELIED ON TO DO THAT NOW, HR AND THE BUDGET OFFICE TO MANAGE AND TRACK, AND THEN WHERE, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE HAVE A NEED FOR ADDITIONAL POSITIONS OVER HERE, THE HR AND THE BUDGET FOLKS ARE THE ONES THAT SEE IT ACROSS THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION AND CAN HIT THOSE LINKAGES, AND SO THEY'LL BE REALLY KEY TO THAT IMPLEMENTATION AND TRACKING.
>> COMMITTEE AS WELL AND THE TEAM, SO... >> ONE CLARIFICATION.
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THE CONSULTANTS WILL BE -- IBM CONSULTANTS WILL DEPART AT THE END OF HYPERCARE. SO WE'RE NOT RELYING ON CONSULTANTS AFTER IMPLEMENTATION TO TAKE US THROUGH THAT. THAT IS OURS TO DO.AND -- WHERE'S JOE? JOE, WAVE. JOE ACTUALLY IS FROM THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT TEAM THAT WE PUT IN PLACE SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS PROGRAM, SO HE'LL CARRY THAT THROUGH AS A PROCESS, AND THEN
WE'LL FAULT WITH -- OWN THAT OURSELVES. >> MAYOR JONES: THAT'S HELPFUL. THANK YOU. AND I KNOW WE HAD A SUCCESSFUL AUDIT RECENTLY, BUT THIS IS -- THIS, AS YOU MENTIONED, CRAIG AND TROY, MAKES IT EASIER FOR US TO EVEN FURTHER AUDIT OURSELVES, RIGHT, IN A TIMELY FASHION? GREAT.
THE OTHER PIECE, WHAT I ALWAYS THINK ABOUT NEW PROGRAMS LIKE THIS AND FRANKLY HOW OLD THE OTHER SYSTEM IS, IS THE CYBERSECURITY PIECE.
SO CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE SAVINGS THAT WE HOPE TO REALIZE AS A RESULT OF MOVING TO THIS, NOT ONLY THE SAVINGS, BUT ALSO
THE -- HOW MUCH MORE SECURE THIS MAKES US. >> I'M TRYING TO TRAIN TROY UP TO TALK TO THAT QUESTION, BUT HE RAN AWAY FROM THE PODIUM ON THAT.
A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THIS IS NOT CYBERSECURITY AS IN HOW DO YOU GET INTO OUR ENVIRONMENT, BUT THIS IS ANOTHER CLOUD APPLICATION.
I WANT TO BE CLEAR ABOUT THAT, SO WE'RE MOVING SAP FROM OUR INTERNAL SERVERS UP INTO THE CLOUD LIKE WE'RE DOING WITH MOST PROGRAMS. SO THAT LAST BOX THAT TROY SHOWED YOU AROUND MANAGEMENT I.T. HAS A LOT DO WITH DATA, SECURITY PERMISSIONS, AND THERE'S BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL. SO SAP BRINGS ITS OWN TOOLS THAT WE CAN USE TO SUPPORT THAT SPECIFICALLY, AND THAT WORKS UNDER OUR CYBERSECURITY SHELL AND OUR DATA --
>> MAYOR JONES: THANK YOU. MORE FOR TROY, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE LIKE TO CALL OURSELVES CYBER CITY USA, CYBERSECURITY CITY USA, ALL THE THINGS, AND SO I WAS SURPRISED THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE MORE LOCAL ENTITIES FAIR BETTER IN COMPETITION. SO I'D WELCOME UNDERSTANDING EVEN JUST THROUGH THIS PROCESS HOW WE CAN BETTER HELP OURSELVES DO THAT. AND I -- THE IBM WORKING WITH SISTEMA, WHICH IS LOCAL, AS YOU MENTIONED, BUT IS EPI-USE, ARE THEY LOCAL?
>> NO, MA'AM, THEY'RE NOT. >> MAYOR JONES: AND SO AS WE'RE THINKING ABOUT, AGAIN, DEVELOPING OUR OWN POOL OF TALENT IN THESE AREAS SO THAT FIVE, 20 YEARS FROM NOW, WE'RE NOT KIND OF IN THE SAME SITUATION, WHAT ARE SOME LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT HOW WE COULD BETTER, FRANKLY, INCLUDE THAT IN THE CONTRACT SO WE'RE GROWING OUR TALENT POOL.
>> ELLIOTT: I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS WE NEED TO DO, AND I THINK PART OF IT IS GOING THROUGH THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, GETTING STAKEHOLDER INPUT, AND ALSO PARTNERING WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS OFFICE THROUGH KIND OF VENDOR ENGAGEMENT IS TRYING TO DEVELOP THOSE COMPANIES.
LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, WE TALK ABOUT FIRECAT HERE, SMALL, LOCAL COMPANY, LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO PARTNER IN PROJECTS LIKE THIS.
SISTEMA, THEY DID PARTNER WITH THREE OF THE FIRMS HERE AND FIRECAT CARVED OUT ON THEIR OWN. I DON'T HAVE AN EXACT ANSWER OTHER THAN GOING THROUGH THAT ENGAGEMENT LOOKING HOW WE TRAIN AND MAKE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM. REUN, RIGHT NOW WE USE OUR SBEDA PROGRAM THROUGH THE SUBCONTRACTING AND THE PRIME POINTS. SOMETIMES IT'S JUST DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO COMPETE. AND UNTIL WE GIVE THEM THOSE OPPORTUNITIES, IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFICULT TO -- FOR THEM TO BE COMPETITIVE.
>> MAYOR JONES: YEAH. I MEAN, I COULDN'T AGREE MORE IN TERMS OF GIVING FOLKS OPPORTUNITIES. I THINK IT'S BEYOND JUST TALKING ABOUT IT, THOUGH. I'D LIKE TO SEE ON PAPER WHAT GIVING SOMEBODY AN OPPORTUNITY MIGHT LOOK LIKE. SO COUNCILWOMAN VIAGRAN, THROUGH THE ECONOMIC WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, I'D LIKE TO SEE -- ON PAPER, WHAT GIVING SOMEBODY AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMPETE HERE MIGHT LOOK LIKE, AND LET'S GIVE OURSELVES, YOU KNOW, A FIVE-YEAR TIMELINE. BY THIS YEAR WE'D LIKE TO SEE X PMENT OF EXPERTISE LOCALLY. WE'VE GOT GREAT COMPANIES, I'M SURE THE CHAMBERS WOULD WELCOME HELPING US, SUPPLY SA I THINK WOULD ALSO HELP US DO THAT. SO OTHER THAN THE SENTENCE OF "LET'S GIVE THEM OPPORTUNITIES," LET'S PUT THAT ON PAPER. THANKS IN ADVANCE, COUNCILWOMAN VIAGRAN. AND JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY, JUST BECAUSE WE HAD THE DISCUSSION ON IT, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT ALSO BETTER UNDERSTANDING WHERE WE MIGHT HAVE SOME OUTSTANDING BALANCES IN THE COMMUNITY. WOULD SOMETHING LIKE THIS BETTER HELP -- I WOULD IMAGINE SO -- BETTER HELP US -- AND JUST LOOKING AT SLIDE 5 HERE, REVENUE COLLECTIONS, RIGHT? SO IDEALLY NOW, IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHO OWES MONEY TO THE GENERAL FUND? WHO OWES MONEY TO X, WHO OWES MONEY TO Y. I WOULD IMAGINE THAT'S NOW EASIER AS A RESULT OF
IMPLEMENTING THIS, RIGHT? >> ELLIOTT: WITH SOME
[00:40:01]
CLARITY, KEVIN BACK HERE IS ALWAYS GOING TO KICK ME, WHAT I'D ALWAYS WANTED TO DO IS HAVE A COMMON CUSTOMER, I WANT VISIBILITY ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION ABOUT WHAT ONE FIRM OWES THE CITY. VERY DIFFICULT TO DO.WE HAVE MULTIPLE CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS FOR DSD VERSUS OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY.
SO THE GOAL HERE WOULD BE TO INCREASE THAT TRANSPARENCY SO WE KNOW WHAT PRODUCT OF SERVICES ONE CUSTOMER'S RECEIVING FROM THE COMPANY, AND THAT WILL GIVE US THAT ADDITIONAL TRANSPARENCY THAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR.
>> MAYOR JONES: GREAT. APPRECIATE THAT. THANKS, TROY.
COUNCILWOMAN KAUR? >> KAUR: THANKS, MAYOR. THANKS FOR THIS PRESENTATION. JUST A FEW QUICK QUESTIONS.
SCORES THAT ARE MUCH HIGHER THAN WHAT WE KIND OF SAW IN THESE ONES.
WAS THERE A REASON WHY THIS SCORING WAS JUST MORE RIGOROUS OR I GUESS LIKE, YOU KNOW, IN GENERAL, FOLKS WEREN'T GETTING UP TO THE POINTS
THAT WE EXPECTED THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF POINTS? >> ELLIOTT: I THINK A LOT OF THE -- WHEN YOU LOOK AT SCORING, THERE'S A LOT OF POINTS THAT WERE EMBEDDED IN SBEDA, LOCAL AND VETERAN. IBM, OTHERS, THEY DO NOT RECEIVE THOSE POINTS JUST BECAUSE THOSE PREFERENCE PROGRAMS ARE NOT APPLICABLE. WE DID LOOK AS A TEAM IN DEPTH AT THE EBQ AND PROPOSED PLAN. I DON'T THINK THE 52 OUT OF 60 FOR IBM, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY A GOOD TO EXCELLENCE SCORE. THE OTHER TWO, PROBABLY ARE, AFTER WE DID THE INTERVIEWS, THEY DID DECREASE A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE THERE WAS SOME CLARITY THAT WE GOT IN THEIR PROPOSALS IN TERMS OF THEIR EXPERIENCE. AND MORE SPECIFICALLY ON THE PROPOSED PLAN AS WELL. SO I THINK THESE SCORES REFLECT BOTH THE WRITTEN PROPOSALS AND THE INTERVIEWS THAT WERE EVALUATED BY THE TEAM.
>> KAUR: AND WHY DID -- WHO WAS THE SUBTHAT -- FOR THE LOCAL PREFERENCE
PROGRAM FOR E & Y AND ACCENTURE? >> ELLIOTT: SISTEMA.
>> KAUR: WHICH IS WHY THEY GOT THE LOCAL PREFERENCE POINTS TOIZ E & Y AND ACCENTURE GOT THE POINTS THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT PREFERENCE COMPONENT TO THAT, AND IF YOU HAVE 20% OR MORE OF YOUR WORKFORCE IN SAN ANTONIO OR 100 EMPLOYEES OR MORE, YOU GET FIVE POINTS OF THE
10. >> KAUR: GOT IT. >> ELLIOTT: THE SISTEMA PIECE FOR SOME OF THEM WOULD HAVE BEEN A REQUIREMENT FOR THE 8 PERCENT SUBCONTRACTING, WHICH IS A PASS/FAIL, AND THAT DOESN'T TRANSLATE
INTO THE SCORES HERE. >> KAUR: AND CAN YOU HELP ME EXPLAIN JUST A LITTLE BIT OF THE DIFFERENCE, LIKE WHY DID IBM'S PROPOSED PLAN SUPERCEDE
THE OTHER TWO SO SIGNIFICANTLY? >> ELLIOTT: IBM ACTUALLY DID A GREAT JOB ON THEIR PROPOSED PLAN, IT WAS VERY DETAILED AND WELL LAID OUT. EVEN THEY BROUGHT US -- THEY BROUGHT US DIFFERENT EXAMPLES AND OPTIONS IN TERMS OF HOW WE CAN ACTUALLY DEPLOY THE S/4 HANA AND ARIBA. THEY GAVE US OPTIONS IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD DO A MIDYEAR AND HERE'S THE PROS AND CONS OF DOING A MIDYEAR VERSUS AN END OF THE YEAR CUTOVER. THEY LOOKED AT OUR PROCUREMENT PIECE, AND WHERE THE OTHER COMPANIES HAD ONE -- I GUESS I'LL CALL IT ONE BIG BANG GO LIVE FOR ARIBA, THEY BASICALLY SPLIT IT INTO TWO WHERE WE CAN HAVE MORE OF THE TECHNICAL PIECES, THE FINANCIAL PIECES, VERSUS THE SUPPLY OR INFORMATION PIECE ON THE GO LIVES.
THAT WAS ACTUALLY ON THE SCHEDULE, YOU CAN SEE IT UNDER ARIBA HERE.
SO I THINK THEIR PROPOSED PLAN WAS MORE ROBUST, GAVE US MORE OPTIONS, IT WAS MORE DETAILED. THEN ON THE EXPERIENCE SIDE, THEIR TEAM JUST HAD A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF EXPERIENCE IN TERMS OF YEARS.
>> KAUR: OKAY. AND JUST IN TERMS OF, LIKE, WHAT THE SYSTEMS CAN DO FOR SAP RIGHT NOW, FOR EXAMPLE, OUR SAP DOES NOT TALK TO -- LIKE IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT -- I DON'T KNOW WHICH EXACTLY SYSTEM DOES THIS, BUT IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT YOUR EMPLOYEE PROFILE AND YOU'VE TAKEN LEAVE OFF, THE LEAVE OFF DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY GO AND GET DEDUCTED FROM YOUR ACCOUNT. IS IT GOING TO ADDRESS LIKE BASIC, LIKE THINGS
LIKE THIS, OR JUST FRONT-FACING. >> ELLIOTT: I GUESS I'D LIKE TO -- WHEN YOU TAKE A LEAVE, IT SHOULD AUTOMATICALLY FLOW
THROUGH INTO THE PAYROLL -- >> KAUR: IT ONLY DOES IF
IT GETS APPROVED. >> ELLIOTT: YEAH, IF IT GETS APPROVED.
>> KAUR: YEAH. >> KAUR: AND IT ONLY GETS APPROVED FROM FINANCE, WHICH GOES BACK TO THE INITIAL QUESTION, FINANCE HAS TO APPROVE IT, SUBMIT IT TO THE FINANCE DIRECTOR, THEN IT GETS IT AND THEN AFTERWARDS IT
GETS REMOVED. >> ELLIOTT: I MAY HAVE TO SIT DOWN AND TALK TO YOU
IN DEPTH ABOUT IT. >> WALSH: ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT LIKE EMPLOYEES?
>> KAUR: UH-HUH. ANYWAYS, THAT'S ONE THING.
>> KAUR: THAT'S NOT HOW LEAVE WORKS BUT MAYBE TROY CAN FOLLOW UP WITH YOU. MAYBE THERE'S A -- OKAY.
THE NEXT QUESTION I HAD FOR EXAMPLE WHEN YOU'RE USING EXCELLA TO MAKE A
[00:45:04]
PAYMENT FOR A PERMIT, WOULD THIS BE CONNECTED WITH THAT AS WELL?>> ELLIOTT: THERE ARE INTERFACES IN PLACE TODAY AND WE WOULD MAINTAIN THOSE INTERFACES AND LOOK AT IMPROVING OR ENHANCING THEM IF WE CAN.
>> KAUR: ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS IF CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN ALL OF THE DIFFERENT PLATFORMS THAT WEAR OO USING.
AND SO I'M JUST WONDERING IF THOSE LIKE -- EACH INDIVIDUAL INTERFACE IS
GOING TO BASICALLY STAY THE SAME WAY IT IS. >> ELLIOTT: WELL, WHEN WE ACTUALLY IMPRI IMPLEMENT SAP, THE WHOLE FINANCIAL STRUCTURE WILL CHANGE IN TERMS OF THE CHARTER OF ACCOUNTS, THE FINANCIAL B BACKBONE, THEY WILL HAVE TO BE MODIFIED TO KEEP THE TWO SYSTEMS IN SYNC, AND WE'LL WORK WITH IBM AND I.T. TO KEEP THOSE IN SYNC, THEN THERE'S ALSO THOSE ADDITIONAL BUCKET OF HOURS FOR INTERFACES WE MAY HAVE MISSED.
>> KAUR: GOT IT. >> ELLIOTT: INTERFACES WILL CONTINUE BUT WILL NEED TO BE MODIFIED. SOME ARE FLAT TABLES BEING SHARED BETWEEN
SYSTEMS. >> KAUR: SO IT'S ALL BACK-END WORK, IT'S LESS OF THE USER EXPERIENCE THAT'S GOING TO BE SHIFTING FOR EXTERNAL
FOLKS? >> THAT THERE'S A DESIGN PROCESS ON THE FRONT OF THIS, SO MELANIE AND HER TEAM ARE REALLY LEADING THAT, AND SO BEFORE WE JUST START SAYING TECHNICAL UPGRADE, HERE'S THE NEW CHART OF ACCOUNTS, HERE'S THE NEW SYSTEM, HOW DO WE BUILD THE INTERFACE, WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS DESIGN OF THAT AS WELL. SO WE'LL PICK UP THOSE EITHER PROCESS CHANGES, WHETHER THEY'RE FOR EXTERNAL OR FOR INTERNAL, IN THAT DESIGN PHASE, AND THAT WILL GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO RESET OUR INTERFACES.
>> KAUR: AND THAT'S IN THE IT'S DISCOVER LIKE Q2, Q3?
ARE YOU GOING TO ANY EXTERNAL -- >> FOR THE SUPPLIERS
SPECIFICALLY? >> ELLIOTT: DEFINITELY. THAT'S WHAT WE MENTIONED ON THAT ONE SLIDE WITH THEM, EWDC AND THE CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD WITH THEM, WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR SUPPLIERS, WE KNOW WHAT SOME OF THEIR PAIN POINTS ARE, BUT THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DUST THAT OFF, SPEAK DIRECTLY WITH THEM, LOOK AT HOW WE MODIFY OUR PROCESSES, BUT ALSO IF THERE ARE SYSTEM CONSIDERATIONS, WE CAN DO THAT AS WELL.
>> KAUR: OKAY. GREAT. ALL RIGHT.
THOSE ARE ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THANK YOU, MAYOR. COUNCILWOMAN ALDARETE GAVITO.
>> GAVITO: THANK YOU, CRAIG AND TROY FOR THE PRESENTATION.
WE KNOW THAT OBVIOUSLY AN OLDER SYSTEM CAN REDUCE PRODUCTIVITY WHICH THEN DRIVES UP COST, SO I'M REALLY GLAD AND THANKFUL THAT Y'ALL ARE -- ALL THE WORK DONE ABOUT THIS PROJECT. JUST A FEW QUICK QUESTIONS. WHAT IS THE EXPECTED LIFESPAN OF THESE UPGRADES? I KNOW IT'S TRICKY BECAUSE THIS STUFF ALWAYS
NEEDS TO -- >> YEAH. SO I DON'T KNOW, DO YOU HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL? THE STANDARD IS 10 TO 15 YEARS.
BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MOVING SO FAST RIGHT NOW, WE DON'T KNOW HOW THAT
WORKS. >> GAVITO: THERE IS, SURE.
YEAH. BUT IN GENERAL. >> IN GENERAL.
>> GAVITO: PERFECT. WHAT SUPPORT WILL WE AND CITY EMPLOYEES HAVE
DURING THE TRANSITION AND THE DEPLOYMENT PROCESS? >> ELLIOTT: THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, AND AS CRAIG MENTIONED, WE HAVE JOE BEHIND US ON THE OCM TEAM, THEY WILL PARTNER WITH THE IBM TEAM ON OUR ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT. THEY ARE GOING TO ASSIST AN EMPLOYEE ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE PROCESS, IN TERMS OF EMPLOYEES WILL BE INVOLVED IN THE TESTING, THEY WILL BE INVOLVED IN TRAINING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE PREPARED, AND THE TEAM BACK HERE WILL MAKE SURE THAT EMPLOYEE HAS THE TOOLS AND THE RESOURCES THEY NEED TO BE PREPARED TO OPERATE THE SYSTEM
ONCE WE GO LIVE. >> GAVITO: OKAY. YEAH.
I MEAN, BECAUSE I KNOW -- OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW CRAIG AND I HAVE WORKED TOGETHER IN THE PAST, SOMETIMES THESE BIG SYSTEM UPGRADES, YOU KNOW, THEY PROMISE THE SUN, MOON AND STARS BUT WHEN RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD, THEY'RE OFTEN REALLY HARD TO CONTACT. SO --
>> THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE TOGETHER. >> GAVITO: YES.
HOWEVER WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT THEY WILL BE ON HAND AND BE SUPPORTIVE AND NOT
JUST IN THE SALES PITCH. >> ELLIOTT: A COUPLE THINGS TO HELP WITH THAT PROCESS, AND, AGAIN, I TALKED ABOUT -- I THINK WE'VE ALL DONE THIS BEFORE AND WE KIND OF HAVE THE BATTLE SCARS TO SHOW IT.
>> GAVITO: SURE. >> ELLIOTT: AND THE GRAY HAIR, AS ERIK MENTIONED.
BUT IN PREPARATION FOR THIS, WE HAVE A -- IN THE BUDGET PROCESS, WE PUT IN PLACE A TRAINING TEAM, SO THE TRAINING TEAM HAS BEEN GETTING PEOPLE PREPARED NOW. THEY ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO BE WORKING WITH THE SAP TEAM EMBEDDED IN THAT TRAINING TEAM -- IN THAT SAP TEAM TO CONTINUE THAT TRAINING DURING IMPLEMENTATION AND THEN POST-GO LIVE AS WELL.
>> GAVITO: AWESOME. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR WORK ON THIS.
>> MAYOR JONES: SO CRAIG, YOU SAID THAT'S WHY YOU'RE HERE, RIGHT? SO ALL OF THIS IMPLEMENTATION IS GOING TO DICTATE WHEN YOU
ACTUALLY RETIRE, RIGHT? >> MAYOR, I HAVE A GREAT TEAM.
>> WE'RE GOING TO HOLD HIS LAST CHECK, MAYOR. >> MAYOR JONES: GOING TO
BE CAUGHT UP IN THE SYSTEM, THAT'S RIGHT. >> I MIGHT BE THE SYSTEM
DEFICIENCY. >> AND I HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF INFLUENCE ON THAT
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LAST CHECK SO I CAN ACTUALLY MAKE SURE IT GETS HELD UP.COUNCILWOMAN VIAGRAN? >> VIAGRAN: THANK YOU, TROY.
I TOLD COUNCILMAN MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ HE DIDN'T HAVE TO SAY ANYTHING BECAUSE YOU BROUGHT UP THE SAP AND THE THING THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT AUDIT IS MAKING SURE PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY OUT OF THE SYSTEM AND NOT USING THE SYSTEM. WE KNOW THAT THEY'RE GONE, IT'S JUST WE HAVEN'T DEACTIVATED THEM. SO I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP. AND IN TERMS OF MAYOR'S REQUEST IN TERMS OF LOCALLY, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE WORK -- AND THAT'S PART OF OUR SECOND STAGE BUSINESS IS HOW WE GET TO -- GET SOME OF THOSE GROUPS UPGRADED AS WE TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THESE SYSTEMS, BUT AS YOU BOTH ACKNOWLEDGE, THIS IS MOVING QUITE FAST, AND WE DON'T -- I'LL JUST SAY IT, WE DON'T WANT TO DO WHAT THE COUNTY DID, SO I'M GLAD TO HEAR WE'RE GOING TO HAVE PEOPLE HELPING WITH THIS TRANSITION.
THE OTHER THING I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SPEAKING TO, OF COURSE YOU ABOUT AND I'VE ALREADY SPOKE TO SOME OTHERS IN THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND I THINK ERIK, I'VE MENTIONED TO YOU, IS OUR POLICY REGARDING AI. AND WHEN PEOPLE SAY, WE HAVE THIS AI CAPABILITY, IS IT THAT OR IS IT JUST THE ASSISTANCE? AND KNOWING WHAT THE RIGHT QUESTIONS ARE TO ASK AND WHAT IS THE CITY'S POLICY AND SPECIFICALLY THE CITY MANAGER IN HIS OFFICE, BECAUSE IT'S REALLY GOING TO BE THEIR DEPARTMENTS THAT USE IT AND DEPARTMENT HOW WE GO BY AND WE SET JUST GENERAL GROUND RULES AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO USE AI, HOW IT'S GOING TO HELP WITH THAT EFFICIENCY. BECAUSE THE ONE THING IS -- WHAT I DON'T LIKE TO HEAR, AND AS WE GO INTO THE BUDGET SESSION, IS MORE WORK ON OUR CITY EMPLOYEES BUT NOT THE COMPENSATION THAT THEY NEED FOR DOING THIS DOUBLE WORK. SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE IF WE -- IF WE CAN SOME WAY -- AND I DON'T THINK IT CAN BE FINANCIALLY, BUT AS WE GO THROUGH THIS TRANSITION, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE THOSE CITY EMPLOYEES THAT CATCH IT A LITTLE FASTER THAN OTHERS.
AND AS THEY HELP OTHERS IN -- WITHIN THEIR DEPARTMENTS, KIND OF IN THAT TRANSITION THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR EFFORTS IN THIS PROCESS.
BECAUSE I THINK ONCE WE DO THAT AND WE SEE HOW PEOPLE ARE WORKING, WE'RE REALLY GOING TO SEE THIS TRANSITION. SO I APPRECIATE IT.
I KNOW WE'VE BEEN TALKING -- IT FEELS LIKE A DECADE THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS, AND I KNOW -- I FEEL LIKE THE POLICE WERE THE LAST TO ADOPT -- I FEEL LIKE I WORKED ON IF OLD SYSTEM WHEN I WAS WITH THE CITY DEPARTMENT, SO I FEEL LIKE POLICE WAS LAST TO ADOPT THIS.
SO IF WE CAN ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE REALLY WORKING TO HELP WITH -- MAKING SURE ALL THEIR EMPLOYEES WITHIN THEIR DEPARTMENT ARE WORKING ON THIS, I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT.
BUT THANK YOU FOR THE WORK AND THE EFFORT. I THINK IBM IS A GOOD CHOICE. WE KNOW THAT THEIR TECHNOLOGY IS GOING TO MOVE WITH WHAT IS TRENDING ON A GLOBAL SCALE.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFORTS AND I LOOK FORWARD TO TALKING WITH YOU GUYS MORE ON THIS AND JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE INCLUDE SOMETHING THAT ACKNOWLEDGES THOSE EMPLOYEES THAT ARE KIND OF MENTORING OR HELPING THE OTHERS ALONG IN THIS PROCESS. THANK YOU.
>> MAYOR JONES: IN CASE IT HELPS ANYONE ELSE, ERIK, WHEN ARE WE DUE FOR THAT AI UPDATE? I KNOW WE'RE DOING IT WITH SOME FREQUENCY.
>> WALSH: YOU KNOW, MAYOR, I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT THAT.
I DON'T HAVE THE CALENDAR IN FRONT OF ME. IT'S EITHER IN --
BEGINNING OF JUNE. FIRST B SESSION IN JUNE. >> MAYOR JONES: THANK
YOU. COUNCILMAN WHYTE? >> WHYTE: THANKS, MAYOR.
WELL, I'M GLAD WE'RE SORT OF MODERNIZING OUR CITY'S INFRASTRUCTURE.
IT'S -- I GUESS TIME TO DO SO, AND SO WE'RE GIVING OUR EMPLOYEES, I GUESS, SOME TOOLS TO DO THE JOB MORE EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY, WHICH ULTIMATELY IS GOING TO LEAD TO SERVING OUR RESIDENTS BETTER.
AND SO I APPRECIATE THAT AND THANK EVERYBODY THAT'S WORKED ON THAT.
JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. HOW SPECIFICALLY WILL EMPLOYEES ACROSS DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS EXPERIENCE THE UPGRADE IN DAY-TO-DAY WORK? AND WHAT KIND OF EFFICIENCIES WILL THEY --
WILL THEY BENEFIT FROM? >> ELLIOTT: I THINK ONE, JUST LOOKING AT HOW THEY INTERACT WITH THE SYSTEM IS GOING TO CHANGE. I MEAN, AS I MENTIONED, IT'S A TRANSACTION-BASED SYSTEM RIGHT NOW. IT'S GOING TO BE WHAT WE CALL THE FIORI APPS, IT'S GOING TO BE MORE MODERN TO WHAT YOU SEE TODAY, THEY'RE GOING TO BE WORKING WITH KIND OF COMMON LANGUAGE VERSUS IT'S GOING TO BE A TRANSACTION THEY HAVE TO ENTER TO GET A SPECIFIC RESULT. YOU HAVE THE MODERNIZATION OF THAT.
YOU ALSO HAVE -- I GUESS, WHAT ELSE CAN I SAY? >> TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH. IN MY CHANGE TEAM HAS REALLY TAUGHT ME THIS AS
[00:55:03]
WE'VE GONE THROUGH THIS, SO MULTIPLE AUDIENCES, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE YOUR CORE POWER USERS, FOLKS IN FINANCE WHO DO THE PROCESS EVERY SINGLE DAY, AND THEY'RE GOING TO WORK THROUGH. SO THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE ACCESS TO NEW DATA, THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE INTUITIVE SCREENS, NEW DESIGN FLOWS, IT'S GOING TO BE VERY DIFFERENT TO THAT.AND TO COUNCILWOMAN VIAGRAN'S POINT, IT'S GOING TO BE A BIG RETRAINING HERE, COMING OFF AN OLD, ARCHAIC SYSTEM TO A NEW AND A NEW DESIGN PROCESS, SO WE HAVE TO DO THAT. BUT THEN ALSO THE OVERALL MANAGERS OUT IN THE DEPARTMENTS, RIGHT? SO THEY MAY BE APPROVING TIME SHEETS, PAYROLL, THEY MAY BE PUTTING IN PROCUREMENT REQUESTS OR SIGNING OFF PURCHASE ORDERS, SO THEY'RE GOING TO BE MORE THE END USER, SO THEY'RE A DIFFERENT AUDIENCE THAT WE'RE GOING TO TRAIN TO.
THEY'RE NOT IN IT EVERY DAY, BUT THEY'RE IN IT FOR SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS IN THE FRONT-END OF THE PROCESS OF SOME SENSE. AND THEN THERE ARE GOING TO BE MORE YOUR CASUAL USERS WHO MIGHT BE AN EMPLOYEE WHO HAS TO ENTER THEIR TIME OR DO SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES, AND THERE'S ALSO, NOW THAT WE HAVE THE HR SUCCESS FACTORS AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE ARIBA AND THE S/4, THEY START TO BLUR TOGETHER. SO IF YOU GO OUT TODAY ON THE ONE COSA WEBSITE INTERNALLY, YOU'LL SEE THREE WORK ZONES, YOU'LL SEE AN HR WORK ZONE, A FINANCE WORK ZONE AND A TECHNOLOGY WORK ZONE.
THAT WILL CHANGE OVER TIME HOW IT'S SETTED UP BUT THAT'S WHERE THOSE EVERY DAY USERS WILL INTERACT IN THAT, THEY'LL START TO SEE SIMPLE FORMS OR WORKFLOWS THAT THEY'VE NEVER HAD. I HOPE WE NEVER SET IN A SPREADSHEET OR E-MAIL EVER AGAIN BECAUSE IT'S CONTAINED IN THE SYSTEM AS PART OF THAT INTEGRATED VIEW AS WE GO FORWARD.
I HOPE THAT HELPS. HELPS. >> WHYTE: SSO IT SHOULD ALLOW THEIR JOBS TO BE DONE MORE EASILY, TO FREE UP TIME TO DO OTHER --
>> ELLIOTT: I THINK JUST SIMPLY HAVING ACCESS TO DATA WILL HELP BECAUSE
TODAY WE HAVE SOME CHALLENGES TO THAT. >> WHYTE: SO PHASES ONE AND 2 WENT LIVE LAST YEAR. HOW STABLE ARE THOSE? AND ANY RESULTS LEARNED FROM THE IMPLEMENTATION THERE THAT CAN HELP US
BETTER IMPLEMENT PHASE THREE? >> ELLIOTT: PHASE ONE'S LIVE, PHASE 2'S IN PROGRESS. IT IS STABLE AND IT'S OPERATING. AS FAR AS LESSONS LEARNED, YOU WANT TO TALK TO IT BECAUSE YOU WERE MORE INVOLVED THAN I WAS.
>> THE AUDIENCE BEHIND ME CAN PROBABLY GIVE YOU ALL THE REAL ANSWERS THERE.
THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE FIRST IMPLEMENTATION, BENEFITS HAD TO GO A LITTLE BIT LATE BECAUSE IT WAS A PACKAGE ON A PACKAGE, SO WE'VE LEARNED BETTER INTEGRATIONS. AS WE TALK ABOUT INTERFACES, WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF INTERFACES GOING FORWARD, THE MORE WE CAN DO UP FRONT DESIGNING PROCESSES, GETTING AGREED UPON HOW THE NEW PROCESS WILL WORK AND HOW THE SYSTEMS WILL INTEGRATE TOGETHER, THE BETTER.
NOW, THERE'S NOTHING AGAINST HOW WE DID IT THE FIRST TIME, IT WAS JUST THE TECHNOLOGY OF USING A NEW BENEFITS PACKAGE WITH THE HR PACKAGE, BUT WE ONLY HAD SO MUCH TIME TO IMPLEMENT, WE HAD TO MAKE SOME DECISIONS, SO I THINK THAT'S A BIG ONE. THINK GOVERNANCE IS A GOOD LESSON LEARNED AS WELL. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE CHANGES IN A BIG PROGRAM LIKE THIS. WE DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY WITH THIS IMPLEMENTATION TO IMPLEMENT IN PHASES BECAUSE YOU CHANGE YOUR CHART OF ACCOUNTS ONCE AND THEN EVERYTHING HAS TO FLOW. SO THE VENDOR HAD EVEN SAID, WHAT IF WE WENT EARLY OR LATE, THE ANSWER IS YOU CAN'T DO EITHER.
WE HAVE TO ALIGN EVERYTHING UP TOGETHER. SO FOR US IT'S GOING TO BE MUCH MORE ABOUT GOVERNANCE AND MANAGING THE CHANGES THAT COME.
SO WE'RE DRIVEN BY TIME, NOT NECESSARILY BY SCOPE -- A TIME BOX, IN
THAT SENSE. I HOPE THAT HELPS. >> WHYTE: YEAH.
GOT IT. THANKS, MAYOR. COUNCILMEMBER CASTILLO?
>> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, MAYOR, THANK YOU, CRAIG AND TROY FOR THE PRESENTATION AND DR. KAUR ASKED MANY GOOD QUESTIONS I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THE EXCELLA PIECE AS WELL. I ALWAYS EMPHASIZE, THERE'S SO MUCH DATA WITH THE VALUE THAT'S ENTERED THERE -- SO MUCH VALUE WITH THE DATA THAT'S ENTERED THERE. IT COULD HELP STREAMLINE RESPONSES TO CONSTITUENTS AND ALSO DELEGATE SOME OF THE LOAD, RIGHT? SO AWCHES OUR CONCITIES WENT SERVICES TEAM IS REACHING OUT TO ANIMAL CARE SERVICES TO ACCESS INFORMATION THAT IF WE HAD ACCESS TO EXCELLA WE COULD EASILY RELAY TO RESIDENTS AND REMOVE SOME OF THAT WORKLOAD FROM SOME OF OUR CITY EMPLOYEES. WITH THIS BEING PRESENTED, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND, SO WHILE DISCUSSION WAS GOING, RIGHT, I WENT TO THE CITY CLERK'S WEBSITE, WENT TO [INDISCERNIBLE] FINANCE AND THE LINK'S NOT WORKING, RIGHT? AND OFTENTIMES WE HEAR IN TERMS OF, LIKE, THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPARENCY. WHEN IT COMES TO CAMPAIGN FINANCE, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND HOW THIS COULD POTENTIALLY HELP WITH THE DASHBOARD OR THE WEBSITE IN TERMS OF LIKE THE CAMPAIGN FINANCE
COMPONENT OF WHAT THIS -- AD A SCOPE? >> I'M GOING TO HAVE TO NOODLE ON THAT, MA'AM. IT'S NOT DIRECTLY RELATED IN THAT SENSE, AND SO A LINK ON A WEBSITE COULD BE A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT THINGS, SO I NEED TO GO
BACK AND CHECK ON THAT. >> CASTILLO: NOT NECESSARILY HIEJTING THE LINK NOT WORKING BUT IN TERMS OF UPLOADING INFORMATION AND POOLING
[01:00:03]
INFORMATION, RIGHT? I THINK FOR MANY OF US, WE KNOW HOW TO PULL THE REPORTS NOW, BUT WHAT I OFTEN HEAR FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC IS PULLING THE REPORTS AND IDENTIFYING THE INFORMATION THAT'SUPLOADED TO THE FINANCE DASHBOARD. >> OKAY.
>> CASTILLO: WE COULD HAVE AN OFFLINE CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT
IF NECESSARY. >> ELLIOTT: A LOT OF TIMES CAMPAIGN FINANCE OR ANYTHING THAT'S PART OF THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, AS WE GO THROUGH THE DESIGN PHASE WE CAN LOOK AT THOSE DIFFERENT PIECES AND LOOK AT IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY IN THE SYSTEM TO ACTUALLY RECORD THAT DATA AND THEN HOW WE WOULD ACTUALLY REPORT THAT DATA AND GIVE VISIBILITY TO IT.
SO WE'LL TAKE THAT AS A TAKEAWAY. >> CASTILLO: OKAY.
THAT'S HELPFUL. AND WITH SLIDE 4, IN SIMPLE TERMS, CAN YOU
WALK ME THROUGH WHAT YOU PRESENTED ON SLIDE 4? >> HOPKINS: SUCCESS FACTORS, UPPER LEFT-HAND CORNER WAS OUR FIRST PHASE IMPLEMENTATION.
ACCENTURE WAS HIRED TO BRING IN AND IMPLEMENT SUCCESS FACTORS, AND THE BENEFITS FOCUS COMPONENT. WE IMPLEMENTED THAT EARLY IN 2025. THE SHERPA IS THE OMB BUDGET.
WE IMPLEMENTED A FIRST PHASE OF THAT AS TROY TALKED TO YOU ABOUT BUT IT DOESN'T FULLY GET IMPLEMENTED -- INTEGRATOR HELPING US DO AS AS WELL. THE THIRD ROW IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOW, IT IS THE IBM SYSTEM INTEGRATOR IMPLEMENTING THE S/4 HANA AND ARIBA PACKAGES. THAT PROJECT IS NOW KICKED OFF A AFTER TODAY, AND THEN IT COMES TOGETHER.
THE LAST ROW IS GARTNER WHAT WE CALL OVERSIGHT AND QUALITY ASSURANCE, THEY ARE PART OF OUR GOVERNANCE PROCESS, HELP US WITH QUALITY CONTROL, CONTRACTING AND THEY PROVIDE OVERSIGHT ACROSS THE WHOLE PROGRAM.
SO THE INTHENT HERE IS TO -- INTENT HERE IS TO SHOW MULTIPLE STREAMS IN THE PROGRAM COMING TOGETHER THAT CULMINATE AT THE END OF FY '27.
>> CASTILLO: I'M LOOKING AT THE RFP AND THE SCORING MATRIX, THIS IS SOMETHING I'M HOPEFUL WE CAN EVALUATE WITHIN EWDC IS IN TERMS OF WHAT SOME OF THESE FOLKS THAT APPLIED FOR THE RFP, RIGHT, I'M GLAD SOME IN PARTICULAR DIDN'T GET SELECTED BECAUSE OF LABOR PRACTICES, RIGHT, AND I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND IN TERMS OF WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THEIR WORKFORCE IS CONTRACTED LABOR, AND I THINK WE SHOULD ALSO EVALUATE BASED OFF OF THAT, RIGHT? BECAUSE I'M THINKING ABOUT AN ARTICLE THAT CAME OUT IN 2025 WITH EY, THEY HIRED A WHOLE BUNCH OF SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS THROUGH CONTRACTED LABOR AND THEN LET THEM GO.
SO, AGAIN, RIGHT, THESE ARE RESIDENTS WE'RE THEN HAVING TO CONNECT TO RENTAL ASSISTANCE, UTILITY ASSISTANCE, SO ON AND SO FORTH, SO I THINK AS WE EVALUATE THE RFP PROCESS, I HOPE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT MY COLLEAGUES CAN CONSIDER IN TERMS OF WHAT PERCENTAGE OF CONTRACTED LABOR FOLKS HAVE WHEN THEY'RE APPLYING. THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS. THANK YOU. COUNCILMEMBER GALVAN?
>> GALVAN: THANK YOU, MAYOR, THANK YOU, TROY. WELL, THANK YOU BOTH FOR THE PRESENTATION TODAY. VERY EXCITED TO SEE THESE KIND OF UPGRADES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE. I WON'T SAY HOW OLD I WAS WHEN THIS WAS FIRST IMPLEMENTED, SO I'LL LEAVE THAT ALONE, BUT I'M VERY EXCITED TO SEE WAYS WE CAN IMPROVE OUR INTERNAL BACK-END SYSTEMS. THINK EVERYBODY MENTIONED REALLY HELPFUL IN FRAMING THIS A BIT MORE FOR MYSELF -- I DON'T KNOW WHAT SLIDE IT WAS, MAYBE SLIDE 5, I DON'T KNOW, IT WAS -- YEAH, IT WAS SLIDE 5, TALKING A BIT ABOUT KPIS.
I KNOW WE KIND OF TOUCHED AND THERE, BUT I WANT TO KIND OF KNOW, WHEN WE SEE THAT TO THE MAYOR'S POINT A BIT MORE ON PAPER, WHAT IS THE EXPERIENCE GOING TO BE FOR PUBLIC WORKS PROCURE DIFFERENT MATERIALS FOR PACK DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM OR FOR OUR STREET DESIGN OR WHATEVER IT MAY BE, OR PUBLIC WORK PROJECT OVERALL. DO WE HAVE THOSE LAID OUT ALREADY OR ARE THOSE GOING TO BE DURING THE DISCOVERY PHASE.
>> ELLIOTT: THOSE WILL BE MORE DURING THE DISCOVER AND DESIGN PHASE.
>> GALVAN: THAT WOULD BE GREAT AS WE GO FORWARD AS TO HOW THIS WILL IMPACT THE DIRECT SERVICE WE'RE PROVIDING HERE. SO IT'S NOT ONLY A COST SAVING ON OUR END AND HOPEFULLY THE KIND OF WORK BUT ALSO THE END-USER EXPERIENCE OR RESIDENTS SEEING THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PROCURE EQUIPMENT FASTER AND THEREFORE BE ABLE TO DELIVER THE SERVICES THAT WE'RE PROVIDING OR DELIVER THE PROJECT UPON WHATEVER PARK OR STREET OR ET CETERA. JUST WANTED TO KIND OF KNOW A BIT ABOUT THAT.
FOR THE STAKEHOLDER GROUP, DO WE HAVE A LIST OF WHAT THAT WILL LOOK
LIKE ALREADY. >> ELLIOTT: WE DON'T HAVE A LIST OF -- WE'VE BEEN TALKING INTERNALLY. I DON'T HAVE A LIST COMPLETED.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE WORKING WITH SUPPLY SA, THE CHAMBERS, A LOT OF THE SMALL BUSINESS GROUPS THAT WE HISTORICALLY HAVE IN WORKING THROUGH
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. >> GALVAN: GREAT. >> ELLIOTT: SO WE'RE LOOKING AT MULTIPLE CHANNELS FROM BEING IN-PERSON TO SURVEYS THROUGH WEBEX OR TEAMS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO CAST A BROAD NET AND USE
MULTIPLE CHANNELS. >> GALVAN: GREAT. THE SMALL BUSINESS ONE IN PARTICULAR, AND, OF COURSE, I THINK WE'VE HAD THIS CONVERSATION A LOT, THE EMPLOYEE FEEDBACK AS WELL, ANY OF THE FOLKS THAT ADMINISTER APPLICATIONS THAT GET ADMINISTERED THROUGH DHS, UNDERSTAND THE BACK END
[01:05:03]
FOR THAT A BIT MORE AND HOW THIS COULD BE IMPACTED AND HOPEFULLY, OF COURSE, IMPROVED AS WELL AS ANYONE WHO GOES THROUGH THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS -- OF COURSE, I KNOW GO THROUGH FINANCE, BUT ANYONE WHO HAS TO ADMINISTER THAT THROUGH THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, WHETHER PARKS, PUBLIC WORKS, OR WHOEVER HAS THOSE CAPITAL NEEDS.THE ONLY OTHER THING I WAS GOING TO ASK WAS FOR THE OVERALL COSTS FOR THIS, DO WE KNOW WHERE THAT'S COMING FROM? IS THAT WITHIN ITSD OR
FINANCES? >> ELLIOTT: IT'S PART OF OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM.
>> GALVAN: OKAY. GOT IT. >> ELLIOTT: SO AS PART OF -- WE ARE ALLOWED TO CAPITALIZE THE COST OF ASSOCIATED THROUGH
PUTTING SOFTWARE IN PLACE. >> GALVAN: THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU, MAYOR. COUNCILMEMBER MEZA GONZALEZ.
THANKSGIVING. >> GONZALEZ: THANK YOU, MAYOR.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. I THINK ANYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING THAT STRENGTHEN OUR INTERNAL SYSTEM TO PROVIDE BETTER EXPERIENCE FOR RESIDENTS OR SMALL BUSINESSES OR EMPLOYEES IS KEY, SO I APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK GOING INTO THIS. JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ON THE SLIDE 5 ON THE ORDER TO CASH, HOW DOES THAT IMPACT RESIDENTS' EXPERIENCE? DO WE HAVE AN IDEA OF THAT YET, OR IS THAT MORE
ON THE INTERNAL SIDE? THE ORDER TO CASH? >> ELLIOTT: AS FAR AS HOW
IT IMPACTS WHO. >> GONZALEZ: THE RESIDENTS?
IS THIS FOR RESIDENTS TO -- >> ELLIOTT: ORDER TO
CASH. >> GONZALEZ: THE REVENUE COLLECTIONS.
>> ELLIOTT: IT CAN BE RESIDENTS OR BUSINESSES. WHOEVER CONSUMES OUR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, THESE WILL BE PEOPLE WE ARE INVOICING OR
COLLECTING CASH FROM, SO IT CAN BE EITHER/OR. >> GONZALEZ: OKAY.
AND THEN ON THE SLIDE 12, THE OPTIONAL FEES, CAN YOU -- I GUESS WHAT MAKES
THEM OPTIONAL OR -- >> ELLIOTT: WE REALLY DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE ACTUALLY -- THERE ARE OPTIONS IN THE CONTRACT AS WE START GOING THROUGH WORKING WITH IBM, WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THESE.
I THINK THESE ARE JUST CONTRACT ADDITIONAL CONTINGENCIES SO TO SPEAK, SO WE KNOW IN THE EVENT THAT WE NEED ADDITIONAL APP DEVELOPMENT, WE HAVE A BUCKET OF HOURS. IN THE EVENT WE MISS A SYSTEM INTERFACE, WE CAN GO TO THAT. WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT OUR ORGANIZATION MAY LOOK LIKE IN THE END, AND SO WE HAVE THE TARGET OPERATING MODEL. SO AS WE GO THROUGH, WE START BUILDING THE SYSTEM AND WE GET SOME MORE CLARITY, THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT THROUGH OUR EXECUTIVE STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING, WORKING WITH GARTNER, THAT THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO KIND OF TRIGGER AND USE.
SO THEY'RE JUST OPTIONAL CONTRACT ITEMS THAT WE COULD ACTUALLY LEVERAGE.
>> HOPKINS: I THINK WHAT THAT SUPPORTS IS THE METHODOLOGY OF DOING THE EXPLORE PHASE FIRST AS DO WE HAVE TO HAVE EVERYTHING PERFECTLY FIGURED OUT, SIGN A FIXED CONTRACT AND THEN HAVE LOTS OF CHANGE ORDERS.
SO THIS GIVES US THE FLEXIBILITY -- >> GONZALEZ: THANK YOU.
THOSE ARE ALL MY -- GO AHEAD. >> ELLIOTT: IF WE DON'T
NEED THEM, THEN IT GOES BACK TO THE CIP. >> GONZALEZ: AWESOME.
THANK YOU. THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS.
COUNCILMAN MUNGIA? >> MUNGIA: THANK YOU, MAYOR.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. I'LL MAKE IT >> I WANT TO KEEP IT
UNEVENTFUL ALL THE WAY THROUGH OCTOBER 1, 2027. >> MUNGIA: A VERY IMPORTANT CONTRACT AND I HAVE SEEN SOME STAFF OVERTURN AND SEEN THEIR E-MAILS BE THERE AND PREVALENT. PEOPLE DEPARTING THE SYSTEM, THAT NEEDS TO BE A LITTLE BIT TIGHTER. VERY IMPORTANT.
ALSO, I'LL TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ASK, HAVE Y'ALL EVER HEARD OR SPOKEN
TO TOLEMI? >> I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THEM, NO.
>> MUNGIA: I MET WITH THEM YESTERDAY AND THEY'RE A DATA COMPANY AND THEY WORK CONTRACT WITH A COUPLE OTHER CITIES. AND THEN THEIR DEMONSTRATION, IT REALLY WAS A DREAM COME TRUE BECAUSE IT WAS A PLATFORM WHERE IT HAD ALL THIS DATA YOU COULD PUT ON THERE. UTILITIES, ACCELA, SAPD.
ALL THE DIFFERENT INTERFACES WE HAVE WITH THE CITY GOES IN ON THE BACK END AND ON THE FRONT END IT'S A 100% SEAMLESS PLATFORM YOU CAN TOGGLE BETWEEN.
WHEN WE TRY TO LOOK AT SEPARATING OUT DATA POINTS AND TRYING TO GET TO CERTAIN THINGS AND THEY ALSO INCLUDE INFORMATION LIKE THE BCAD WOULD HAVE.
I KNOW THAT DSD HAS MET WITH THEM AND THAT'S SOMETHING THEY ARE INTERESTED IN FOR THE COSA STRATEGIC PLAN. I THINK AS YOU HAVE HEARD IN DIFFERENT COMMITTEES AND THINGS THAT WE ARE ALL TRYING TO GET TO A LEVEL OF DATA AND RUN REPORTS JUST ON THAT PLATFORM WITHOUT HAVING TO GO TO STAFF TO ONE DATA POINTS, I THINK THAT COULD BE REALLY, REALLY HELPFUL TO US. I THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD
OPPORTUNITY TO BRING THAT UP. >> I'LL GLADLY TAKE THE CONTACT AND I WOULD BE HAPPY TO TALK WITH THEM. I WILL TELL YOU THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF COMPANIES OUT THERE RIGHT NOW MAKING VERY SIMILAR CLAIMS ABOUT WHAT THEY CAN DO WITH DATA. WE'RE JUST GOING TO HAVE TO BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT OUR
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GOALS ARE AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE. HAPPY TO TALK WITH THEM.>> MUNGIA: ABSOLUTELY. I THINK THEY'RE WORKING WITH FORT WORTH RIGHT NOW, NEW YORK CITY, AND SOME OTHER PLACES. I GOT TO DO THE DEMONSTRATION. BUT I'M HAPPY TO TALK TO THEM.
WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE, ALL THESE DATA POINTS AND HOW DO WE GET TO A LARGE PLATFORM THAT WE CAN GET WITH, ESPECIALLY WITH THE UTILITIES AND DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. I'M HAPPY TO MAKE THE
CONNECTION. >> CAN I MAKE ONE WORD OF WARNING? IT'S ONLY AS GOOD AS OUR DATA. IT'S ONLY AS GOOD AS OUR DATA. WE HAVE SEEN A COUPLE OF DATA AGGREGATORS GO LIVE HERE IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS AND THEY'RE USING OUR PUBLIC DATA, WHICH IS WHY IT'S OUT THERE. IT LOOKS WEIRD AND IT'S BECAUSE OUR DATA WASN'T CORRECT. IT'S ONLY AS GOOD AS OUR DATA.
WE'RE GOING TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS TALKING ABOUT AI BUT
WHAT WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT IS DATA. >> MUNGIA: ABSOLUTELY.
THAT GOES A LONG WAY TOO IN 311 WHEN CASES ARE CLOSED OUT AND MAYBE IT WAS DONE INCORRECTLY. AND THEN WE GET A REPORT SAYING IT'S ALL TIMELY.
THAT'S A MISSED DATA POINT. BUT REALLY GOOD TO SEE THIS AND HOPE TO SEE IT CONTINUE
ON. THANK YOU. >> MAYOR JONES: CRAIG, TO THAT POINT THOUGH, VERY HELPFUL THE ONE-PAGER YOU GAVE ME BEFORE I WENT TO KAOHSIUNG AND YOU TALKED ABOUT THE UNIFIED DIGITAL EXPERIENCE.
WHICH SOUNDS LIKE WHAT COUNCILMAN MUNGIA IS TALKING ABOUT.
CAN YOU -- IF IT'S DIFFERENT, IF YOU COULD EXPLAIN THAT BUT MY
UNDERSTANDING IT'S SOMETHING YOU'RE ALREADY WORKING ON. >> MAYBE TWO THINGS SIDE BY SIDE, JUST SO WE'RE CLEAR. A VARIETY OF DASHBOARDS ARE COMING OUT THAT BASICALLY COLLECT DATA, AGGREGATE IT, VISUALIZE IT, AND THEN WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT AS A CITY OURSELF AND THEN YOU BRING IN OTHER DATA. WHAT THE MAYOR IS TALKING ABOUT IS WE ARE PROTOTYPING A UNIFIED ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE COULD USE AI AGENTS TO HAVE RESIDENT INTERACTIONS. A RESIDENT COULD INTERACT WITH AN AGENT AND IT HITS THE DATA. THEY CAN DO THAT ON THEIR OWN AND WHERE THE DATA IS NOT AVAILABLE, IT GOES TO A NORMAL CHANNEL. BUT WHERE WE HAVE GOOD DATA ACROSS THE AGENCIES, A RESIDENT SHOULDN'T HAVE TO KNOW WHERE TO GO TO THE CITY OR CPS OR WHEREVER. THEY CAN GO TO AN AGENT AND THEY'RE ABLE TO GET AN ANSWER. MAYBE WE DON'T WANT THEM TO ACTUALLY PAY A BILL AT SOME POINT, WE NEED TO FIGURE THAT OUT. BUT AT LEAST THE FRONT END INTERACTION GOES FORWARD. WE ARE LOOKING AT THE INTERACTION, THE DASHBOARD, AND THE REPORTING. HOPE THAT HELPS. .
>> MAYOR JONES: IT LOOKS LIKE THAT'S OUR FINAL SPEAKER.
HAS EVERYONE SIGNED UP WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS ISSUE? ONE FINAL QUESTION. ON THE AI PIECE, IT TALKS ABOUT INNOVATION PLATFORM.
TO LEARN HOW AI COSTS ARE METERED AND ASSESSED. ESSENTIALLY IT IS SAYING HOW MUCH TIME AND MONEY DID WE SOLVE AS A RESULT OF UTILIZING THAT PROGRAM?
>> THIS WOULD BE JEWEL ON SAPD. YOU WILL SEE THAT IN A LOT OF THEIR ADVERTISEMENTS. YES, IF I HAVE ACCESS TO IT AND I USE IT TEN TIMES A DAY, HOW MUCH DID THE CITY JUST PAY FOR THAT? WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT WITH ONE OF OUR DEVELOPMENT TEAMS SO WE CAN SUDDENLY SAY DO WE WANT TO LET 14,000 EMPLOYEES
HAVE ACCESS TO THAT. >> MAYOR JONES: SUPER HELPFUL.
I THINK IT'S ALWAYS HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE FARE AGAINST OTHER CITIES THAT ARE SIMILARLY EMPLOYING THIS. AND SO IF THERE'S AN AI CREDIT THAT WE OR THE EMPLOYEES, OUR EMPLOYEES -- CITY EMPLOYEES -- ARE REPEATEDLY NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF, WE WOULD WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHY THAT IS.
SO HELP US -- I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A MATTER OF TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW OR FINDING IT. BUT IDEALLY YOU WOULD LOOK AT IT AND SAY OUT OF 100 POINTS, WHY ARE WE ONLY GETTING 70? TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS
VERY EXPENSIVE INVESTMENT. >> ON THE INVERSE OF THAT, MA'AM, CO-PILOT IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT. WE COULD SPEND $300 A YEAR FOR EVERY EMPLOYEE BUT YOU ALREADY HAVE ACCESS TO IT IN YOUR MS OFFICE AND THEN THE ANSWER IS WHO IS USING IT
ANYWAY? WE'RE WATCHING THAT AS WELL. >> MAYOR JONES: IT'S LIKE WHO IS USING THAT GYM MEMBERSHIP THAT EVERYONE'S PAYING FOR.
THANK YOU, AGAIN. THE TWO THINGS -- IT'S RELATED TO THIS, CRAIG, BUT IF YOU WOULD -- AND ERIK -- ONE, THE DIGITAL TWIN. IT'S IN THIS SAME REALM OF
[01:15:07]
SMART CITY STUFF. ONE, THE DIGITAL TWIN, THE STATUS OF WHERE THAT IS.I KNOW THAT'S NOT ALSO AN INSIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT AND WE CAN GO FASTER IF WE PUT MORE DOLLARS TOWARD IT. THAT'S ANOTHER ONE WHERE YOU'VE GOT TO INVEST TO SAVE MONEY DOWN THE LINE BUT WE MAKE SMARTER DECISIONS AS A RESULT OF THAT.
I'LL LEAVE IT TO YOU TO DISCUSS WITH ERIK IF THAT IS A PAPER UPDATE OR MORE OF A DISCUSSION HERE. THE DIGITAL INVESTMENT, THE DIGITAL TWIN, AND THE DIGITAL UNIFIED EXPERIENCE . OKAY. CLERK, DO WE HAVE FOLKS SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AT THIS POINT? WE HAVE THREE INDIVIDUALS SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. OKAY.
GREAT. ALL RIGHT. UNLESS YOU HAVE SOMETHING
ELSE, ERIK -- >> OF ITEMS IN EXEC. THE TIME IS NOW 3:17 P.M. ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2026.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WILL NOW MEET IN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO CONSULT WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 551.071 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE AND TO DELIBERATE OR DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING ITEMS: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 551.087. THE PURCHASE, EXCHANGE, LEASE OR VALUE OF REAL PROPERTY PURSUANT TO SECTION 551.072.
AND LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO LITIGATION INVOLVING THE CITY EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ALL PURSUANT TO SECTION 551.071.
>> MAYOR JONES: THE TIME IS NOW 4:19 P.M. ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2026, AND THE SAN ANTONIO CITY COUNCIL WILL NOW RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION.
NO OFFICIAL ACTION WAS TAKEN IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. THE TIME IS NOW 4:19 AND THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.