[00:00:03]
IT LOOKS LIKE, UH, OUR MEMBERS ARE HERE.
UH, AND THIS IS, UH, CITY COUNCILMAN JOHN COURAGE.
I'M THE, UH, HEAD OF THE AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE.
WELCOME TO THE COMMITTEE MEETING TODAY OF AUGUST 18TH.
UH, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS, UH, A VIDEO CONFERENCE MEETING.
UH, AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO HAVE, UH, A CALL OF THE ROLE COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
YES, IT'S AND CHAIRMAN JOHN K.
PLEASE NOTE THAT CITIZEN MEMBERS, SOTO AND CITIZEN MEMBER TREVINO, WILL NOT JOIN US TODAY, SO WE HAVE A QUORUM.
SO, UH, CITIZEN MEMBERS, UH, ARE NOT GONNA BE JOINING US, SO IT'LL BE, UH, THE THREE COUNCIL MEMBERS.
ALRIGHT, SO WE'RE GONNA BEGIN THE
[1. 20-4959 Approval of the minutes of the Audit and Accountability Committee meeting on June 16, 2020 ]
MEETING BY, UH, LOOKING AT THE, UH, MINUTES OF OUR LAST AUDIT MEETING, WHICH WAS JUNE 16TH.UH, HOPEFULLY, UH, ALL OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS RECEIVED, UH, THE PACKET IN ADVANCE.
HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE MINUTES.
UH, ARE THERE ANY CHANGES OR WOULD ANYBODY CARE TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF JUNE 16TH OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE MOVE? OKAY.
MOTION'S BEEN MADE, AND THANK YOU.
UH, NONE IN OPPOSITION SINCE THE THREE OF US ALL VOTED FOR IT.
TODAY WE HAVE, UM, MANY ITEMS TO CONSIDER.
AS I SAID, HOPEFULLY EVERYBODY RECEIVED THEIR PACKETS.
AND, UH, WE WILL BE, UH, REVIEWING THESE.
WE HAVE, UH, MANY ITEMS ON CONSENT.
WE HAVE MANY ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION.
UH, BEFORE WE GO AHEAD AND MOVE INTO THESE, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO GO
[CONSENT AGENDA ]
AHEAD AND SEE IF, UH, WE CAN APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA.UH, THERE ARE ITEMS, NUMBERS, UH, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, AND SEVEN, WHICH ARE ALL HIGH PROFILE ITEMS. AND THEN THERE ARE ITEMS EIGHT AND NINE, WHICH ARE INTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS.
HOPEFULLY ALL OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO GET THOSE AND REVIEW THOSE.
I UNDERSTAND THERE IS, UM, SOMETHING ABOUT ITEM NUMBER SIX THAT, UH, BEN WANTED TO MENTION ON THE CONSENT AGENDA.
WE'D LIKE TO PULL ITEM NUMBER SIX, WHICH I BELIEVE IS INSPECTION SERVICES FOR PUBLIC WORKS.
WE'D LIKE TO BRING THAT BACK TO FUTURE COUNCIL MEETING.
WE'VE GOT A LITTLE BIT MORE WORK TO DO ON THAT ITEM BEFORE WE BRING IT FORWARD.
ALRIGHT, SO THAT'S, UH, PART OF THE APPROVAL ON THE CONSENT AGENDA WOULD BE TO PULL ITEM NUMBER SIX FROM THE AGENDA.
DO ANY OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR ANY CONCERNS THAT WOULD LIKE TO PULL ANY OF THE OTHER ITEMS FROM ITEM TWO THROUGH NINE FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION? OKAY.
HEARING NONE, THEN I WOULD LIKE, UH, ACCEPT A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEMS TWO THROUGH NINE ON THE CONSENT AGENDA, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ITEM SIX, UH, BEING PULLED FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION.
SO, MOTION COUNCILMAN PERRY, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL.
AND, UH, SEEING THAT WE ARE UNANIMOUS IN OUR APPROVAL, THEN THE CONSENT AGENDA IS APPROVED AND THOSE ISSUES WILL BE MOVED FORWARD TO CITY COUNCIL.
UH, NOW WE HAVE ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION.
THE FIRST TWO ITEMS ARE PRES SOLICITATION ITEMS. ITEM NUMBER 10 IS, UH, EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.
AND, UH, WE'LL HEAR A PRESENTATION, UH, BY, UH, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OR LORI STEWART, OUR DIRECTOR.
I'M NOT SURE WHO'S GONNA BE HANDLING THAT MORNING, CHAIRMAN.
IT'LL BE, IT'LL BE LORI STEWART, OUR, OUR, UH, HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTOR.
[Public Comment ]
OH.WE DID HAVE SOME CITIZENS THAT HAD EXPRESSED THEY WANTED TO MAKE SOME COMMENTS.
IT, IT IS ABOUT, UH, ITEMS THAT WERE ON THE CONSENT AGENDA.
AND I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT ADDRESSING THOSE IMMEDIATELY.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO WORK OUR WAY THROUGH THIS, AND SO, UM, IF THERE ARE, UH, SOME COMMENTS ABOUT THE CONSENT AGENDA, UH, I WOULD ENTERTAIN, UH, HEARING THOSE COMMENTS, EITHER ANYTHING THAT WAS SENT TO US
[00:05:01]
OR ANYTHING, UH, THAT WOULD BE A PHONE CALL.SO, I, I, I WOULD LIKE TO ENTERTAIN, UH, EITHER OF THOSE.
I KEPT TRYING TO TELL HER THESE ARE THE VIDEOS THAT I'M SENDING.
A A LOT OF TIMES I, I WRITING DOESN'T WORK IN A CERTAIN POINT TIME FOR SOME, OKAY.
SOMEBODY'S NOT ON MUTE THAT'S TALKING ABOUT TRYING TO GET THIS TO US.
CHAIRMAN, I DO HAVE TWO COMMENTS THAT WERE SUBMITTED.
ONE BY MS. ELLEN BURKEY, AND SHE WRITES THE $6.4 MILLION PROFESSIONAL SERVICE SERVICES R F Q WAS BUNDLED ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES IMPLIES THAT THE VENDORS ARE FIRM COMPOSED OF REGISTERED ARCHITECTS.
THIS IS NOT EXPLICITLY STATED AS CRITERIA AS SOME OF ALL OF THE EVENT.
ALL OF THE VENDORS ARE NOT ACTUALLY ARCHITECTURAL FIRMS. THIS R R Q COMPARISON IS DECEPTIVE IN AS MUCH AS IT REFERS TO ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES.
CITY STAFF NEEDS TO CLARIFY VENDORS' PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY TO ENSURE THAT ARCHITECTS HARD HIT BY THE PANDEMIC ACTUALLY GET THEIR DUE.
AND THEN THE SECOND COMMENT I HAVE IS FROM A STANLEY MITCHELL.
HE WRITES, MY COMMENT IS HERE, BECAUSE THE SAS VISTA RIDGE PROJECT DID NOT MAKE YOUR AGENDA, DESPITE FIVE MAJOR COMMUNICATIONS WITH CHAIRMAN COURAGE AND PAST AND PREVIOUS A AND AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE MEMBERS, I CANNOT REVIEW THE 33 PAGES IN THOSE DOCUMENTS NOW, BUT I HAVE COMMUNICATED THEM TO CITY CLERK TINA FLOORS FOR INCLUSION IN THE PAST, ALLOWING YOU TO REVIEW THEM LATER.
I DID EMAIL THOSE OUT TO YOU YESTERDAY TO THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
HE SAYS, UH, VISTA RIDGE NORMAL.
NORMALLY $3.4 BILLION DOES NOT GET AS MUCH ATTENTION AS THE PROJECT YOU REVIEWED THIS MORNING.
ARE THE DEVELOPERS WHO PROFIT FROM FALLS WATER POLICY.
SO POLITICALLY POWERFUL THAT VISTA
I'M GONNA, UH, INTERJECT HERE.
UH, YOU DID SEND THAT PACKET TO US.
WE WILL GO AHEAD AND REVIEW THAT.
THERE, IT IS AN AGENDA ITEM, SO WE'RE NOT GONNA GO AHEAD AND CONTINUE, UH, WITH THOSE REMARKS.
DO WE HAVE ANY, UH, PHONE CALL, UH, REMARKS THAT ANYONE MADE? UM, LET ME CHECK AND SEE.
CHAIRMAN, I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE ANY, BUT LET VERIFY.
UM, I THINK WE HAVE A CALL IN FROM SOMEBODY.
UH, LET'S GO AHEAD AND HEAR THAT, PLEASE.
I KNOW THAT WE'VE HAD SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES ON, ON PHONE CALLS.
I BELIEVE STAFF IS WORKING ON THAT.
I'M SPEAKING, I'M CONTINUING THE DISCUSSION ON AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.
MS. BARKING, $6.4 MILLION FOR EIGHT ARCHITECTURAL SERVICE CONTRACTS.
SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF MONEY, ESPECIALLY WHEN ONE REALIZES THAT THIS WILL RESULT IN 10 TIMES THAT VALUE IN CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS.
I, ELLEN BURKEY MAKE THIS STATEMENT AS A REGISTERED ARCHITECT WHO IS SPECIALIZED IN PREPARATION OF CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT DOCUMENTS FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS.
THIS COMMITTEE REVIEW OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AWARDS IS INTENDED TO BE A SAFEGUARD PRIOR TO FORWARDING CITY STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS ONTO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL.
NO COMPARABLE SAFEGUARD IS IN OPERATION AS THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM BOARD OF TRUSTEES AWARDS.
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF SERVICE CONTRACTS TO ENGINEERS, CONTRACTORS, AND EVEN MANUFACTURERS.
PLEASE REFER TO YOUR DIGITAL PACKAGE, WHICH INCLUDES AMONG OTHER PUBLIC UTILITY RELATED ITEMS. DISCUSSION OF A PLAN TO REPLACE EXISTING WATER METERS, A PROJECT WHICH HAS BEEN BUDGETED BY YOUR PUBLIC UTILITY AT MORE THAN A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, AND APPEARS TO INVOLVE A SINGLE MANUFACTURER RECOMMENDED BY STAFFS WITHOUT REFERENCE TO COST OF CHANGE OUT METERS WILL BE CONSIDERED SOON BY THE BOARD OF
[00:10:11]
IS THERE ANOTHER CALLER ON THE LINE? I OKAY.
UM, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, I, I'D LIKE TO ASK, UH, YOUR FORBEARANCE FOR A MINUTE ON THIS.
I KNOW THAT WE DIDN'T HEAR HER REMARKS BEFORE WE VOTED ON THE, UH, CONSENT AGENDA.
SHE DID, UH, HAVE SOME REMARKS ON ITEM NUMBER SEVEN ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES.
UH, YOU KNOW, WITH YOUR PERMISSION, I'D JUST LIKE TO ASK BEN TO GO AHEAD AND MAYBE ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS THAT SHE BROUGHT UP, BECAUSE WE PROBABLY WOULD'VE ASKED HIM TO DO THAT BEFORE WE CONDUCTED THE VOTE.
SO, BEN, DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS BASED ON, UH, THE CONCERNS SHE HAD ABOUT, UH, I GUESS PROPER OR LICENSED ARCHITECTS SUPPLYING IN THIS PROCESS? BEN, YOU'RE MUTED.
CHAIRMAN, I, I HAVE TROY ADDRESSED THE, UH, PROCESS PART OF IT, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE RAZZY ON THE LINE THAT CAN TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE INTEND TO DO AND HOW WE USE THESE CONTRACTS.
GOOD MORNING CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
WE HAVE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, TO ADDRESS SOME OF HER CONCERNS.
THIS IS A, UM, STATUTORY PROCUREMENT AS AN R F Q.
THE R F Q IS USED FOR TYPICALLY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES LIKE YOUR ARCHITECTS AND YOUR CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT.
WE DO EXPLICITLY STATE THAT, UM, THIS IS GONNA BE FOR ARCHITECTS.
UM, IT'S IN THE ACTUAL BACKGROUND AND BASICALLY SAYS, UM, UNDER THE TEXAS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES PROCUREMENT ACT SYSTEM PERTAIN TO ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES, WHICH IS DEFINED.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE ALSO DO TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THE NUMBER OF SOLICITATIONS, AND ON THIS WE GOT QUITE A BIT, WE HAD 22 RESPON, 28 RESPONDENTS.
UM, OUR GROUP, OUR PROCUREMENT GROUP WITHIN PUBLIC WORKS REVIEWS EACH OF THOSE POTENTIAL RESPONDENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE LICENSED, UM, THROUGH THE TEXAS BOARD OF ARCHITECTURAL EXAMINERS, AND THAT AT LEAST SOME OF THE ARCHITECTS HAVE LICENSES IN IN PLACE.
SO AS PART OF OUR DUE DILIGENCE, WE MAKE SURE THAT THEY ALL ARE LICENSED AND REGISTERED ARCHITECTS.
I THINK THAT ANSWERED, UH, THE BASIC QUESTIONS SHE BROUGHT FORWARD THAT, UH, PRESUMABLY SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN LICENSED ARCHITECTS WHO, WHO, UH, CAME FORWARD IN THAT PROCESS.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT THAT WOULD PROBABLY ANSWER THE QUESTION.
BUT, UH, COUNCILWOMAN OR COUNCILMAN PERRY, WE DID VOTE ON THIS AND APPROVE IT, BUT DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT IT? OKAY.
UM, THEN I THINK WE'VE ANSWERED, UH, A LEGITIMATE QUESTION THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ASKED BEFORE WE VOTED AND I APOLOGIZE.
BUT NOW IT'S TIME TO MOVE FORWARD ON THE ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION.
UH, AND AGAIN, UH, LORI, SORRY ABOUT THE INTERRUPTION.
WOULD YOU GO AHEAD AND LEAD US THROUGH
[10. 20-4637 Employee Benefits Consultant [Ben Gorzell, Chief Financial Officer; Lori Steward, Director, Human Resources] 1]
ITEM NUMBER 10, EMPLOYEE BENEFITS CONSULTANT? YES, SIR.I THINK LAUREN WILL BE SHARING THE, UM, POWERPOINT, BUT THIS ITEM WILL BE FOR OUR, UM, BENEFITS CONSULTING SERVICES.
YOU CAN GO AHEAD TO THE NEXT SLIDE, LAUREN.
SO THIS WILL BE AN, UM, E SOLICITATION AND R F P REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.
WE ARE LOOKING FOR NATIONALLY EXPERIENCED CONSULTING FIRM WITH A PROVEN TRACK RECORD, UM, HELP WITH OUR COMPREHENSIVE BENEFITS PROGRAM, UM, BENEFITS DESIGN REVIEW, AND THIS IS, UM, HEALTHCARE, BUT ALSO OTHER EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.
THERE ARE ACTUARIAL SERVICES, COST ANALYSIS, AND ASSISTANCE WITH EVALUATING OTHER PROPOSALS.
FOR OUR BENEFIT PROGRAM, AGAIN, IT WILL BE AN R F P.
THE ESTIMATED VALUE FOR THE ENTIRE FIVE YEAR TERM IS APPROXIMATELY $2.2 MILLION.
WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT THREE, THREE YEAR INITIAL TERM WITH TWO ONE YEAR OPTIONS.
AND OUR CURRENT CONTRACT EXPIRES ON MARCH 3RD, 2021.
FOR OUR OUTREACH, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED
[00:15:01]
SOME VENDORS IN THE, UM, CITY SYSTEM, THE CENTRAL VENDOR REGISTRY.THERE ARE 13 FIRMS THAT WE WOULD BE REACHING OUT TO.
UM, THE TYPICAL ADVERTISING ON CHANNEL 21, THE COSTA BIDDING OPPORTUNITIES WEBSITE.
AND IN THE EXPRESS NEWS, OUR EVALUATION COMMITTEE WILL CONSIST OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS IN THE CITY THAT RELY ON THESE SERVICES FOR THE WORK THAT WE DO.
UM, IT'S A HIGH PROFILE PROCESS.
SO OUR, UM, E L T MEMBER BEN GO WILL BE ON THE COMMITTEE AND MYSELF, THE DIRECTOR OF HR.
WE HAVE, UH, TROY ELLIOT, THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE, AND SCOTT
WE ALSO HAVE WANDA HERD AND THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR THAT'S OVER BENEFITS.
AND OUR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS ADMINISTRATOR, JIM THOMAS.
SO THE FINANCE BUDGET AND HR ALL RELIES ON THESE SERVICES.
THE EVALUATION CRITERIA WOULD CONSIST OF, UM, EXPERIENCE, BACKGROUND QUALIFICATION, 25 POINTS, THE PROPOSED PLAN, 35 POINT PRICING, 15 POINTS.
THERE WILL BE S BETA POINTS, UH, LOCAL PREFERENCE POINTS, AND ALSO THE VETERAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESS PREFERENCE POINTS.
UM, NO
UM, WE WILL LOOK AT AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
AND THERE WAS A GOAL SETTING COMMITTEE THAT RECOMMENDED THE, UH, THE BETA POINT.
TAKING A LOOK AT OUR SCHEDULE, THE, UM, LOOKING AT THE PRE SOLICITATION, THE BRIEFING COMING UP AND WITH, WITH YOU TODAY ON THE AUDIT COMMITTEE RELEASE DATE, AUGUST THE 26TH.
PRE-SUBMIT CONFERENCE IS SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER THE FOURTH.
AND THE DEADLINE FOR QUESTIONS ON SEPTEMBER THE 10TH, THE DUE DATE BEING OCTOBER THE 12TH.
WE WILL THEN COMPLETE OUR EVALUATIONS BY NOVEMBER 13TH, NEGOTIATE A CONTRACT WITH A SELECTED VENDOR, AND BRING THIS BACK FOR YOUR REVIEW AT A POST SOLICITATION BRIEFING IN MID-DECEMBER, DECEMBER 15TH.
AND THEN LOOK TO BRING IT FOR FULL COUNSEL CONSIDERATION IN MID-JANUARY WITH OUR CONTRACT START DATE OF, UH, MARCH 4TH IN TIME FOR CONTINUATION OF SERVICES.
AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? UNMUTE, YOU'RE MUTE.
UM, AND THANK YOU LORI, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK QUESTIONS.
UH, SO THERE WERE NO FIRMS, UH, THAT QUALIFIED FOR VEDA THAT THIS WAS SENT OUT TO.
UM, THERE WILL BE VETA POINTS ON THIS ONE.
SO THE, THE NORMAL FIVE POINTS FOR THE, UH, M B E W B AND FIVE POINTS FOR S B B.
SO THERE WILL BE POINTS FOR THE BETA, JUST NO SUBCONTRACTING GOAL.
OH, BUT, SO IN SLIDE THREE, WHEN YOU LOOKED AT NUMBER OF VENDORS TO BE NOTIFIED, WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN WHEN IT SAYS VETERAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES? S B A S E T R C A ZERO, COUNCILMAN, THIS IS TROY ELLIOTT.
UM, WHAT WE DO IS WE GO THROUGH THE CENTRALIZED VENDOR REGISTRY.
UM, ALL THE, UM, ALL THE VENDORS THAT ARE INTERESTED IN OUR SOLICITATIONS, THEY GO IN, THEY REGISTER AND THEY SELECT THE, UM, THE N I G P CODES THAT, UM, THAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN.
AND WE WILL NOTIFY THEM ONCE, UM, SOMETHING IN THAT CATEGORY COMES AVAILABLE.
SO THAT 13, I DON'T HAVE THE, THE NAMES IN FRONT OF ME, BUT WE CAN MAYBE GET THOSE FAIRLY QUICKLY.
UM, ARE ALL THOSE BUSINESSES THAT ARE REGISTERED WITH THE CITY THAT ARE WILLING AND ABLE AND INTERESTED IN DOING BUSINESS FOR THIS TYPE OF ACTIVITY? THEN WE ALSO, ONE OF THE THINGS WE ALSO DO ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR OUTREACH IS AS EXTENSIVE AS POSSIBLE.
WE ALSO GO THROUGH THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND WE LOOK THROUGH THEIR DATABASE FOR ANY VETERAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING LISTED THERE, WE WILL SEND TO THEM.
AND THEN WE WORK WITH THE, THE, UM, CITY DEPARTMENT WHO OWNS SOLICITATION.
AND IF THERE ARE TARGETED VENDORS THAT THEY'RE AWARE OF THAT WORK IN THIS INDUSTRY, WE WILL ADD THOSE TO THE LIST AND MAKE SURE WE SEND THEM A COPY OR AN INVITE TO, UM, REGISTER AND PROPOSE AS WELL.
AND, AND TROY, ARE THERE NO SMALL BUSINESSES? I'M, I'M GONNA ASK YOU TO SPECULATE HERE BECAUSE WE'RE LOOKING FOR A COMPANY THAT CAN DO
[00:20:01]
ALL OF THESE PIECES OR THERE'S JUST NO SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, IN, IN THIS, IN THIS FIELD IN GENERAL.TYPICALLY, I THINK IT WAS ON THE, UM, ONE OF THE SUBSEQUENT SLIDES, BUT I THINK IN THIS CASE, A WAIVER WAS GRANTED.
UM, ONCE THE SMALL BUSINESS OFFICE WILL DO, THEY WILL GO OUT AND LOOK AT THE REGISTRY AND LOOK AT AVAILABILITY AND SEE IF THERE IS ANY AVAILABILITY.
IN THIS CASE, BECAUSE THERE WAS A WAIVER, GRANTED, I'M ASSUMING THAT THERE WAS NO AVAILABILITY IN THE SMALL BUSINESS AREA.
BY BY AVAILABILITY YOU MEAN NO ONE
THERE ARE, THERE ARE, UM, ON PROGRAM, AND I APOLOGIZE, THERE WERE 10 POINTS, UM, FOR A PRIME.
ONE WAS M W B E FIVE POINTS, AND THE OTHER WAS SS B E FIVE POINTS.
UH, SO WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS THEY GO OUT AND THEY LOOK AT THIS REGISTRY AND THEY LOOK AT IF THERE ARE ANY SMALL BUSINESSES THAT, UM, THAT CAN PROVIDE THIS SERVICE.
AND BASED ON THE NUMBER OF BUSINESSES THAT CAN PROVIDE THIS SERVICE, BE GROUP, WHICH IS MADE UP OF A GROUP OF DIRECTORS IN A SMALL BUSINESS OFFICE, AND DEPENDING ON THE SIZE, IT'LL BE CITIZENS.
THEN THEY WILL BASICALLY COME UP WITH A POINT STRUCTURE TO INCENTIVIZE SMALL BUSINESSES TO BID ON THIS.
AND IN THIS CASE, THEY DO HAVE THE 10 POINTS FOR THE PROGRAM.
I WAS LOOKING AT THE NEXT ONE.
I'M SORRY, COUNCIL, MAYBE JUST THERE'S SOME, I THINK THERE'S SOME CONFUSION MAYBE ON, ON THIS SLIDE.
THE ZERO, UH, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, TROY IS JUST FOR VETERAN OWNED BUSINESSES? THAT'S CORRECT.
YOU WOULD STILL HAVE, UH, SO BETA FIRMS THAT, THAT BASED ON, UH, AGAIN, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, LOOK, THERE'S AVAILABILITY, WHICH IS WHY WE APPLIED THE POINTS.
BUT ON THIS SLIDE, I THINK THAT SECOND BULLET IS JUST TALKING ABOUT VETERAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES, THAT THERE ARE NONE IN THE REGISTRY THAT WE SAW.
AND IF, AND IF LAUREN CAN GO TO SLIDE FOUR REAL QUICK.
THAT'S WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT ON THE POINT STRUCTURE.
YOU CAN SEE HERE IT SAYS THE BETA PROGRAM PINPOINT, UM, UM, AND IT'S DIVIDED INTO M W B E OF FIVE POINTS AND SS V E OF FIVE POINTS.
THIS IS A PIECE I WAS REFERRING TO THAT THE, THE COMMITTEE WILL ASSIGN POINTS BASED ON AVAILABILITY OF THOSE VENDORS, VENDORS THAT HAVE REGISTERED TO INCENTIVIZE THAT PARTICIPATION AT A PRIME LEVEL.
THERE'S ALSO LOCAL PREFERENCE OF TIM, AND THEN WE HAVE THE VETERAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESS OF FIVE POINTS.
I WAS CONFUSED BY THE, BY THE VETERAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESS, BUT IT'S, IT'S HERE.
AND THEN, UM, IT, IT'S A LITTLE BIT LATE IN THE GAME FOR ME TO ASK FOR THIS, BUT, UH, THE, THE INFORMATION ON THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS IS, UM, IT'S, IT'S A BROAD OVERVIEW, BUT IT'S ALSO A LOT OF MONEY.
SO I'M WONDERING IS THERE A SCOPE OF WORK OR SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAILED THAT WE CAN SEE? THERE IS A SEND OUT THE SCOPE OF WORK FROM THE R F P THAT'S PREPARED TO GO.
YEAH, I JUST FEEL A LITTLE BIT BETTER IF I SAW, SORRY, MORE WORDS,
AND I COULD JUST GO THROUGH BRIEFLY AND, AND YOU KNOW, POINT OUT THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, UM, ACTUARIAL SERVICES.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S A VERY HIGH LEVEL FINANCIAL WORK.
YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE COMPLIANCE TEAM WITH LAWYERS THAT ARE, UH, FAMILIAR WITH THE I R S REGULATIONS, SECTION 1 25 THAT ALLOWS US TO HAVE THE, THE, UM, PRE-TAX PREMIUMS AND ALL THE COMPLIANCE WITH THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT.
AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, WE ALSO HAVE A DATA WAREHOUSE IN THIS PROGRAM NOW THAT KEEPS, KEEPS ALL OF OUR OLD CLAIMS DATA.
'CAUSE WE ARE SELF, UH, SELF-FUNDED.
WE, WE PAY ALL OF OUR OWN CLAIMS. SO WE MAINTAIN OUR CLAIMS DATA FOR TREND ANALYSIS.
SO THERE IS A LOT OF PROFESSIONAL WORK THAT GOES INTO THIS CONTRACT.
AND COUNSEL LAUREN, IF YOU GO BACK ONE SLIDE, THE 2.2 MILLION IS OVER THE TERM ALSO.
SO JUST TO BE CLEAR ON THAT, OR MAYBE ONE MORE SLIDE THAT'S CORRECT.
UH, ESTIMATED VALUE, 2.2 MILLION OVER THAT ENTIRE FIVE YEAR TERM, JUST TO BE, TO CLARIFY THAT POINT.
SO WHEN YOU DIVIDE IT BY FIVE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BETWEEN FOUR AND $500,000 A YEAR.
AND SO PART OF THAT IS JUST BECAUSE THE CITY'S SO LARGE, RIGHT? AND HOW MANY EMPLOYEES YOU HAVE TO DO THAT FOR OR, RIGHT? THIS IS, OR NO? YEAH, THIS IS FOR OUR ENTIRE HEALTH PLAN.
WE RELY ON THE BENEFITS CONSULTANT TO HELP US PREPARE FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING THAT'S COMING UP WITH POLICE NEXT YEAR, DOING ALL OF THE DIFFERENT MODELING FOR THAT AND COST ANALYSIS.
SO WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, 13,000 EMPLOYEES IN THE CITY.
THIS WOULD BE FOR ALL, UH, THREE GROUPS.
CIVILIAN, POLICE, FIRE, ALSO RETIREES.
AND IT COVERS OUR HEALTHCARE, UH, PLANS, WHICH WE'VE GOT SEPARATE PLANS FOR
[00:25:01]
CIVILIAN, UH, EMPLOYEES.WE'VE GOT PLANS UNDER THE POLICE CONTRACT, AND WE'VE GOT DIFFERENT PLANS UNDER THE, THE FIRE CONTRACT SIMILAR, BUT ALL OF THAT COSTING, ALL OF THAT WORK IS, IS, UM, DONE BY THESE CONSULTANTS.
AND THEN THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER BENEFIT PROGRAMS THAT WE WORK WITH THEM ON THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AS WELL.
SO A FEW THINGS COME UP THAT WE WANNA LOOK AT.
THEY HELP US VET THOSE AS WELL.
BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY SEND YOU MORE INFORMATION ON THE SCOPE OF WORK.
AND, UH, BEN, WHEN IT COMES TO COUNCIL AIDS AND THEIR, OBVIOUSLY WE PAY FOR THEIR BENEFITS SEPARATELY FOR, FROM A DIFFERENT ACCOUNT.
BUT IN TERMS OF ADVISING US ON THE PLANS, IS THAT A SEPARATE CONTRACT WITH, WITH ANOTHER ENTITY OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT CAN ALSO BE, UH, DONE THROUGH THIS CONTRACT? SO THERE'S A SEPARATE BROKER THAT ACTUALLY GOES OUT AND PROCURES THOSE HEALTHCARE PLANS ON BEHALF OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UH, WE JUST DID THAT BACK IN MAY, UM, BUT WE DID ACTUALLY, UH, ONE OF OUR CONSULTANTS HERE TO HELP US, UH, HELP LORI AND I LOOK AT THOSE PLANS, UH, VERY QUICKLY IN MAY.
AND, UH, OFFER SOME SUGGESTIONS AS WELL.
SO GOING FORWARD, UM, THAT WOULD NOT BE PART OF IT, THAT WE WOULD CONTINUE TO USE A SEPARATE BROKER.
I THINK I'D RECOMMEND, UH, UH, JUST GIVE THEM THE STRUCTURE THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE THERE CURRENTLY.
I THINK I CONTINUE TO USE THE BROKER, BUT IF THERE ARE THINGS THAT LORI AND I NEED TO GET SOME OTHER, UH, ADVICE ON OR RESEARCH ON, WE COULD CERTAINLY REACH OUT TO THESE CONSULTANTS AS WELL TO GET SOME FEEDBACK.
IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND IT.
SO IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED.
[11. 20-3852 Occupational Health Services [Ben Gorzell, Chief Financial Officer; Lori Steward, Director, Human Resources]]
UH, A HIGH PROFILE BRIEFING ON OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICES.AND AGAIN, I THINK WE'LL HEAR FROM LORI ON THIS.
UM, SO THIS WILL AGAIN BE AN R F P, UH, FOR OUR OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICES.
AND SO THIS IS ACTUALLY A, A MEDICAL FACILITY THAT OUR EMPLOYEES AND APPLICANTS CAN GO TO FOR CERTAIN SERVICES THAT WE ARE REQUIRED OR CHOOSE TO PROVIDE BY POLICY, UM, FOR PRE-EMPLOYMENT AND ALSO DURING EMPLOYMENT FOR, UH, OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICES.
SO WE ARE LOOKING FOR, UH, QUALIFIED VENDORS.
WE LIKE TO HAVE A, A CENTRAL FACILITY IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA THAT CAN HANDLE THE BULK OF OUR BUSINESS, BUT WE ALSO LIKE TO SEE SATELLITE OFFICES THAT CAN PROVIDE SOME PRIORITY TO OUR EMPLOYEES FOR SERVICES.
AND CERTAINLY THE, THE SATELLITE OFFICES HAVE BEEN DURING, YOU KNOW, THE COVID ISSUE SO THAT EMPLOYEES ARE ABLE TO GO CLOSER TO THEIR HOME AND WE'RE NOT DOING AS MUCH CENTRALIZED.
SO HAVING THAT COMBINATION IS VERY EFFECTIVE AND WE WOULD LOOK FOR THAT.
THE SERVICES INCLUDE, UM, DRUG TESTING.
THAT'S A BIG PART OF THIS CONTRACT.
UH, WE HAVE COMMERCIAL, UH, DRIVER'S, LICENSE EMPLOYEES AND SOLID WASTE.
AND THEN PUBLIC WORKS, SOME IN PARKS AND WE'RE REQUIRED BY LAW TO PROVIDE DRUG TESTING, PRE-EMPLOYMENT, POST-ACCIDENT, AND ALSO RANDOM FOR THOSE IN EMPLOYEES.
AND SO THIS IS THE CONTRACT THAT, UM, HELPS US COMPLY WITH THAT REQUIREMENT.
WE ALSO DO, UM, PRE-EMPLOYMENT DRUG TESTING FOR OTHER CITY EMPLOYEES AND RANDOM TESTING FOR PRIMARY DRIVERS.
UM, WE ALSO USE THIS FOR ANY PRE-EMPLOYMENT PHYSICAL THAT'S REQUIRED.
WE DO A LOT OF PRE-EMPLOYMENT PHYSICALS FOR CADETS, BOTH FIRE AND POLICE, AND THEY ALSO DO THEIR PRE-EMPLOYMENT DRUG SCREENINGS.
UM, AT THIS, UH, IN THIS CONTRACT, THERE ARE ALSO, UH, VACCINATION SERVICES THAT MANY OUR EMPLOYEES IN THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND ANIMAL CARE, THERE'S SOME REQUIRED VACCINATIONS THAT THEY CAN GO TO THIS CLINIC AND RECEIVE THOSE.
SO IT'S A MEDICAL SERVICES TYPE OF A CONTRACT THAT'S DIRECTLY RELATED TO, UM, EMPLOYMENT.
UH, SOME OF THE, UH, POLICE DEPARTMENT ALSO USES IT IF THEY NEED TO DO ANY OF THEIR, UH, OR FIRE, HAZMAT, RESPIRATOR FIT, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
SO THIS WILL BE A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.
AGAIN, WE'RE LOOKING AT A THREE YEAR BASE CONTRACT WITH TWO ONE YEAR OPTIONS.
SO A TOTAL TERM OF FIVE YEARS AGAIN.
SO THE ESTIMATED VALUE OF THIS IS 3.6 MILLION.
AND AGAIN, THAT COST REALLY DOES DEPEND ON HOW MUCH UTILIZATION WE HAVE.
IF WE HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF CADET CLASSES, YOU KNOW, THE PRICE IS HIGHER.
UM, SMALLER NUMBER OF CADET CLASSES, IT COULD BE LOWER.
UH, SO THAT'S AN ESTIMATE OF WHAT THE COST WOULD BE.
THE CURRENT CONTRACT DOES EXPIRE AT THE END OF FEBRUARY.
[00:30:02]
NEXT SLIDE.SO THIS IS JUST LOOKING AT AGAIN, OUR, UM, SCOPE OF WORK THAT IS INVOLVED HERE.
A LOT OF, AND I'VE MENTIONED THIS ALREADY, BUT A LOT OF THE PRE-EMPLOYMENT DRUG SCREENING THAT'S REQUIRED BY FEDERAL LAW AND ALSO THE RANDOM POST-ACCIDENT, REASONABLE SUFFICIENT DRUG TESTING, PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS THAT ARE REQUIRED.
A LOT OF THAT WITH, UH, POLICE AND FIRE CADETS AND ANY HAZMAT RESPIRATOR FITTINGS AND THE IMMUNIZATIONS.
FOR THIS PARTICULAR, UH, SOLICITATION, WE HAVE, UH, A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT N I G P CODES THAT WE HAVE IN THE SYSTEM.
VACCINATION PROGRAM SERVICES, ALCOHOL AND DRUG TESTING SERVICES.
SO BETWEEN THOSE TWO CODES, WE HAVE 38 POTENTIAL VENDORS TO SEND OUT THE SOLICITATION TO.
UM, AGAIN, THERE WEREN'T ANY IDENTIFIED FOR THE VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS.
WE'VE IDENTIFIED A COUPLE OF ADDITIONAL VENDORS THAT WE WILL SEND OUT THROUGH OUR TARGETED OUTREACH, UH, AGAIN, ADVERTISING IN OUR TRADITIONAL WAYS.
CHANNEL 21, THE BIDDING OPPORTUNITIES WEBSITE, THE EXPRESS NEWS, OUR EVALUATION COMMITTEE.
HERE AGAIN, WE LOOK AT HAVING MEMBERS ON THE COMMITTEE THAT UTILIZE THESE SERVICES.
SO, BEN GOEL AGAIN, UM, OUR E L T MEMBER WOULD BE ON THE COMMITTEE.
UM, MYSELF AND WANDA HERD AND MY DIRECTOR THAT'S OVER THE BENEFITS.
WE'LL ALSO HAVE ADMINISTRATORS FROM OUR EMPLOYEE RELATIONS DIVISION, OUR BENEFITS DIVISION, AN ADMINISTRATOR FROM RISK MANAGEMENT, AND, AND A MANAGER FROM OUR, UM, RECRUITMENT PROCESSING AREA.
'CAUSE ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT AREAS UTILIZE THIS CONTRACT IN, UM, EITHER WITH THE RANDOMS OR FOR CAUSE TESTING THROUGH EMPLOYEE RELATIONS OR A BENEFITS OFFICE FOR THE, FOR THE, UM, VACCINATIONS FOR RISK MANAGEMENT.
ALL OF THE DRUG TESTING PROGRAMS RUN THROUGH THERE.
SO WE'LL HAVE STAFF FROM ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT AREAS ON THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE.
EXPERIENCE BACKGROUND, QUALIFICATIONS, 25 POINTS, PROPOSED PLAN 40 POINTS, PRICING, 20 POINTS.
THERE WILL BE LOCAL PREFERENCE.
AND THE VETERAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESS POINTS.
THIS IS THE, UH, SOLICITATION WHERE THE BETA PROGRAM WAS WAIVED.
DIDN'T IDENTIFY ANY VENDORS THAT COULD PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS ACTUALLY A, YOU KNOW, AN ONSITE MEDICAL TYPE CENTER THAT EMPLOYEES GO INTO FOR THESE SERVICES.
AND, UM, NOT REQUIRING AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ON THIS ONE.
SO WE ARE HERE GIVING YOU THE PRES SOLICITATION BRIEFING ON THE 18TH OF AUGUST.
PLANNING TO RELEASE ON THE 24TH OF AUGUST.
PRE-SUBMIT CONFERENCE IS SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 2ND WITH A DEADLINE FOR QUESTIONS ON SEPTEMBER THE EIGHTH AND A DUE DATE OF OCTOBER THE EIGHTH.
EVALUATION COMPLETES IN THE EARLY PART OF NOVEMBER, NEGOTIATING A CONTRACT BY THE EARLY PART OF DECEMBER, AND BACK TO YOU ALONG WITH THE OTHER ONE WE JUST TALKED ABOUT ON DECEMBER 15TH FOR OUR POST SOLICITATION BRIEFING WITH, UH, COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF MID-JANUARY FOR A CONTRACT START DATE FROM THE BEGINNING OF MARCH.
AND THIS CONCLUDES MY BRIEFING ON THIS ONE QUESTION.
UM, I HAVE A QUESTION, AND IT'S, IT'S SOMEWHAT RELATED TO THIS PARTICULAR, UM, PROPOSAL, BUT IT, IT GOES BACK TO THE LAST ONE WE SAW, AND I THINK SOME IN THE PAST.
AND THAT IS, WE HAVE CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS OR CERTAIN PROCESSES WE FOLLOW TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT THESE, UH, SOLICITATIONS.
BUT I NOTICED THAT WE DON'T SEE ANY OUTREACH TO LIKE THE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE, WHICH HAVE BUSINESSES AS MEMBERS.
AND I PRESUME THEY HAVE ALL KINDS OF BUSINESSES AS MEMBERS.
UH, DO WE KNOW IF THE CHAMBERS PUT OUT ANY KIND OF, UH, BID BOARDS WHERE THEY TRY AND LET THEIR MEMBERS KNOW ABOUT THESE, UH, WHETHER IT'S CITY, COUNTY OR WHATEVER? AND ARE WE MISSING AN OPPORTUNITY BY NOT SENDING OUT THIS INFORMATION TO THE CHAMBERS TO DISTRIBUTE TO THEIR MEMBERS, WHATEVER THE SOLICITATION COULD BE? HAVE WE LOOKED AT THIS IN THE PAST? BEN CHAIRMAN? I ACTUALLY, THIS CAME UP, UM, ACTUALLY COUNCILMAN PERRY BROUGHT THIS UP, UH, DURING ONE OF OUR LAST INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEETINGS ON A BROKER DEALER, R F Q THAT WE WERE SENDING OUT.
UH, I KNOW TROY WAS TALKING WITH THE CHAMBERS ABOUT THAT.
SO LET ME ASK HIM TO JUST COMMENT ON THAT BRIEFLY.
WE HAVE, WE HAVE IN THE PAST FOR COLLECT PROCUREMENTS GONE TO THE CHAMBERS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
WE HAVE NOT DONE THAT ON THIS ONE.
IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN CERTAINLY DO.
UM, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY BID BOARD THEY HAVE.
I DO KNOW THAT THEY HAVE COMMUNICATIONS WITH THEIR, UM,
[00:35:01]
WITH THEIR MEMBERSHIP, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY REACH OUT TO THEM AS WELL AS NOT JUST WITH ALL THE CHAMBERS.DOES IT, DOES IT CREATE ANY EXTRA CHALLENGE TO BE ABLE TO INFORM ALL OF THEM ABOUT THESE THINGS THAT COME OUT WHENEVER THEY COME OUT? UH, WE CAN CERTAINLY HAVE DISCUSSION WITH THEM.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT CREATES ANY CHALLENGES.
WE DO HAVE A FAIRLY EXTENSIVE OUTREACH AND ANY ADDITIONAL OUTREACH WOULD NOT, CERTAINLY WOULD NOT HURT.
BUT YEAH, I LIKE TO SEE US CONSIDER THAT AS, AS A NORMAL PART OF OUR PROCESS.
AND THEY CAN ALWAYS SAY, LOOK, THIS DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH OUR MEMBERS AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GONNA DO ANYTHING WITH IT.
BUT I HATE TO THINK THAT, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT BEING COMPLETELY OPEN AND INVITING ALL OF PARTICIPATION AS WE CAN.
I RECOGNIZE PEOPLE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO ENROLL THEMSELVES, TO REGISTER THEMSELVES AS A BUSINESS IF THEY WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH THE CITY.
BUT THERE'S A LOT OF BUSINESSES OUT THERE THAT JUST MAY NOT THINK THEY CAN, BUT THEY MAY HEAR ABOUT SOMETHING THAT, THAT THEY MAY FIT INTO.
SO I JUST THINK IT'S A, A GOOD WAY OF EXPANDING OUR, OUR OUTREACH ON, ON ALL OF THESE THINGS.
SO, AND THE ONE THING THAT WE CAN DO IS WORKING WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS OFFICE.
WE ARE, UM, LAST YEAR WE DEVELOPED AN ANNUAL PROCUREMENT GUIDE, WHICH ACTUALLY FORECAST FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR OF ALL THE PROCUREMENTS, HIGH PROFILE PROCUREMENTS OR ANYTHING OVER $50,000 FOR, UM, THAT WE WILL BE UNDERTAKING FOR THE YEAR.
WE CAN ALSO SHARE THAT WITH THEM TOO.
DO YOU HAVE TO THE MEMBERSHIP, UM, OUR LINKS, OUR WEBSITES, THEY KNOW WHAT'S COMING UP AS WELL.
YEAH, I LIKE THAT AS AN ALSO, BUT I WOULDN'T WANT IT TO TAKE THE PLACE OF, OF CONTACTING, UH, THE DIFFERENT CHAMBERS EVERY TIME.
UH, WE GO OUT FOR THESE SOLICITATIONS.
DO ANY OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS PRES SOLICITATION BID? YES, COUNCIL CHAIR.
UM, BUT I'M STILL NEW, SO I AM SURE ONCE I GET USED TO THIS, MAYBE I WON'T HAVE IT AS MANY QUESTIONS, BUT, UM, HOW MUCH OF THE WORK THAT THIS, UH, CONTRACTOR WILL DO IS REALLY BEFORE AN EMPLOYEE GETS HIRED, AND HOW MUCH OF IT IS AS THE EMPLOYEE IS ALREADY HIRED, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE DRUG, UH, TESTS OR THE OTHER THINGS YOU DESCRIBED, LORI? MOST OF IT SEEMS TO BE BEFOREHAND, RIGHT? I, I, I WOULD AGREE THAT THERE IS A LOT THAT IS DONE BEFOREHAND.
IT'S ALL THE PRE-EMPLOYMENT, PHYSICAL AND DRUG SCREENING, BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO DO RANDOM DRUG SCREENING THROUGHOUT THEIR CAREER AND, AND ANY POST ACCIDENT DRUG SCREENING AND FOR CAUSE AND DIFFERENT, UM, ALL THE VACCINATION PROGRAMS WOULD BE WHILE THEY'RE EMPLOYED.
SO IT'S, IT'S PROBABLY WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE ENTIRE SPAN OF AN EMPLOYEE'S CAREER, IT IT IS PROBABLY ABOUT HALF AND HALF.
I WAS JUST WONDERING HOW, UM, IF WE'RE HAVING TO PAY A PREMIUM TO HAVE A DOWNTOWN, UH, FACILITY WHEN THERE'S A LOT OF SATELLITE LOCATIONS TOO.
AND, AND THE HISTORY BEHIND THAT IS THAT, UM, WE WOULD DO PROCESSING CENTRALIZED ROOM WHERE THE NEW HIRE WOULD COME DOWN HERE, AND THEN THEY, BECAUSE THEY ALSO NEED TO GO TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR FINGERPRINTING AND THEN FOR THEIR PHYSICAL.
SO IT WAS CONVENIENT WHEN YOU HAD SOMEBODY COMING DOWN FOR THEIR PROCESSING ANYWAY.
AND WE ALSO DO, UM, WHEN WE WOULD, WHEN WE HAD SUMMER PROGRAMS AND HIRED A LOT OF TEMPORARY SUMMER HELP AND PARKS, WE WOULD DO SATURDAY, UM, MASS PROCESSING EVENTS, AND THEN THIS VENDOR WOULD BE ONE OF OF THEM THAT WOULD COME AND ACTUALLY DO THE DRUG TESTING AND THE PHYSICALS, UH, ON SITE.
SO THAT'S SOME OF THE HISTORY OF, OF HAVING THAT KEY, UM, LOCATION TO COORDINATE ALL THOSE THINGS.
UM, IT, AND I HAVE A, A SEPARATE QUESTION.
SO, UM, WHEN I SAW THE, THE NAME OF THE ITEM, I THOUGHT THIS WAS GOING TO BE, UM, A CONSULTANT THAT ADVISED US ON OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND, AND RISK OF THE EMPLOYEES.
UM, CLEARLY THAT'S, THAT'S NOT WHAT IT IS, BUT WHERE IS THAT FUNCTION HANDLED OR HOW IS THAT FUNCTION HANDLED AT THE CITY? LIKE ENSURING THAT WE'RE COMPLYING WITH OSHA DOING SAFETY CHECKS? LIKE WHO IS IT REALLY JUST DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE DEPARTMENT? WELL, WE DO HAVE A RISK MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT THAT PUTS OUT THE POLICIES AND, YOU KNOW, THEY DEFINITELY ARE, WE HAVE TO, UH, MAKE SURE WE HIT THE TARGETS ON OUR RANDOM DRUG SCREENINGS, AND THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ADMINISTER THAT PROGRAM AND, UH, PUT THE POLICIES TOGETHER.
BUT IT'S A, YOU KNOW, A TEAM EFFORT.
HR HAS A ROLE, CERTAINLY DEPARTMENTS WITH OPERATIONS HAVE A ROLE IN MAINTAINING SAFETY PROTOCOLS.
SO WE, YOU KNOW, WE ALL WORK TOGETHER ON THAT.
BUT THERE IS A DEPARTMENT THAT'S FOCUSED ON THOSE, UH, AREAS OF RISK MANAGEMENT.
[00:40:11]
UH, YEAH, IT WAS JUST A BRIEFING, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE ANY ACTION ON THIS.
UH, WE'LL JUST GO, YES, CHAIRMAN.
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, COUNCILMAN, I'LL FOLLOW UP ON, ON YOU WITH THAT.
I MEAN, IT IS, AS LORI SAID, A A KIND OF A TEAM EFFORT BETWEEN HR AND EMPLOYEE WELLNESS AND RISK MANAGEMENT.
BUT I, I'LL SET SOME TIME UP TO VISIT WITH YOU IF YOU'D LIKE.
NOW WE'LL MOVE ON TO, UH, ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION UNDER PRES SOLICITATION, HIGH PROFILE BRIEFINGS.
NO, UM, WE SHOULD BE WORKING ON ITEM NUMBER, UH, LET'S SEE, FOUR.
UH, WE'LL GO TO, UM, UH, PRES SOLICITATION, HIGH PROFILE BRIEFINGS, NUMBERS 10 AND 11, UH, NO, EXCUSE ME,
[12. 20-4664 State Legislature Representation Services [Carlos Contreras, Assistant City Manager; Jeff Coyle, Director, Government & Public Affairs]]
12.UH, AND THAT'S STATE LEGISLATURE REPRESENTATION SERVICES AND, UH, EXCUSE ME, FOR TRYING TO GET THROUGH THIS.
AND, UM, SO I THINK THIS WILL BE HANDLED BY JEFF, IS THAT CORRECT? YES, SIR.
I'VE GOT MY MIC ON, I'VE GOT MY CAMERA ON, AND NOW I'VE GOT THE RIGHT GUY TALKING.
THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN AND, UH, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
UH, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL, UH, NEW TO THE COMMITTEE, YOU'LL, YOU'LL RECALL THAT WE DID A PRES SOLICITATION ON THIS, UH, WAY BACK BEFORE COVID, UM, IN THE JANUARY FEBRUARY TIMEFRAME, UH, EARLIER THIS YEAR.
SO WE, UM, PAUSED THE PROCESS FOR A FEW MONTHS, UH, DURING THE, THE HEIGHT OF SOME OF THE COVID WORK, AND THEN, UH, RESUMED IT HERE IN JULY.
SO WE ARE NOW, UH, COMING TO YOU HAVING, UH, COMPLETED THE SELECTION EVALUATION PROCESS.
UH, SO AS, AS I BELIEVE YOU KNOW, THIS SOLICITATION IS FOR, UH, CONSULTANTS TO, UH, HELP US, UH, DURING THE STATE LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM, STATE LEGISLATIVE SESSION, WHICH BEGINS, UH, JANUARY, UH, 21, AND RUNS THROUGH, UH, JUNE.
UM, THIS, UH, WE, FOLLOWING THE SELECTION OF CONSULTANTS WILL BEGIN A THOROUGH PROCESS WITH THE I G R COMMITTEE OF DEVELOPING A LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, UH, WILL BE DONE PUBLICLY AND TRANSPARENTLY AT AT I G R, UH, COMMITTEE MEETINGS, UH, AND THEN ULTIMATELY, UH, BROUGHT TO THE FULL COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION.
SO OUR CONSULTANTS, UH, ARE TASKED WITH HELPING US ADVANCE ALL OF THE PRIORITIES IN THAT AGENDA, BOTH THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET PAST, AND THE MANY, MANY, UH, BILLS THAT WE SEEK TO DEFEAT THAT WOULD HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON OUR ORGANIZATION, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, ON OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, THIS SESSION WILL TAKE, ARGUABLY, WILL TAKE ON AN EVEN GREATER RELIANCE ON, IN ON CONSULTANTS WE DON'T KNOW FOR CERTAIN YET, BUT IT APPEARS THAT THE LEGISLATURE WILL HAVE SOME SORT OF REVISED, UM, UH, PROTOCOL, UH, THAT MAY NOT INVOLVE, UH, US, UH, BEING AT THE CAPITOL ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS, WORKING WITH LEGISLATORS.
SO IT'LL BE ALL THE MORE IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE FOLKS, UM, IN AUSTIN WITH, UH, DIRECT LINES OF COMMUNICATION TO THE 181 MEMBERS ACROSS THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE.
THIS WAS A REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS, SO IT WAS VERY MUCH HEAVY ON EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS, PARTICULARLY IN THE AREAS THAT, UH, WE KNOW WILL NEED SUPPORT.
UH, AND SIMILAR TO WHAT BEN POINTED OUT EARLIER, THAT ESTIMATED VALUE OF 1.35 MILLION IS, UH, IF, IF ALL RENEWAL OPTIONS WERE EXTENDED.
SO THIS IS A TWO YEAR CONTRACT, I MEAN, I'M SORRY, A ONE YEAR CONTRACT, UM, WITH TWO ADDITIONAL ONE YEAR OPTIONS.
AND IF ALL OF THAT WAS EXERCISED, THAT WOULD BE THE ESTIMATED VALUE.
UH, SO, UM, THE, UH, THE GOAL SETTING COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED THE, THE, UH, FULL 10 SUB BETA POINTS, 10 LOCAL PREFERENCE AND FIVE VETERAN OWNED, UH, POINTS.
UM, WHAT YOU SEE HERE ARE, UH, EIGHT FIRMS, UH, EIGHT VENDORS THAT APPLIED.
AND I'LL, I'LL, UH, AFTER THIS TALK ABOUT WHAT WE DID TO SOLICIT.
UH, BUT THERE WERE EIGHT FIRMS THAT SUBMITTED
[00:45:01]
PROPOSALS.UH, NONE MET ANY OF THESE C BETA LOCAL PREFERENCE OR VETERAN POINTS, UM, ON THE VEDA AND LOCAL.
THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY SURPRISING AS, AS MOST OF THE STATE, UH, ORIENTED, UH, LOBBY FIRMS ARE BASED IN AUSTIN.
UM, WE DID MAKE A CONSIDERABLE EFFORT, THOUGH, TO SOLICIT, UH, MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A MOMENT.
UH, BUT THESE WERE THE, UH, THE SCORES FROM THE INITIAL ROUND OF, UH, REVIEWING THE PROPOSALS, UH, OF THE EIGHT FIRMS. WE AGREED AS A GROUP, UH, TO BRING IN SIX.
UM, OUR SELECTION COMMITTEE WAS MYSELF, CARLOS CONTRERAS, UH, CHRISTINE WRIGHT FROM MY DEPARTMENT, DAVID MCCAREY, UH, AND HILARY LILY, WHO WAS, UH, AN OUTSIDE, UH, PARTICIPANT FROM THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER AUTHORITY.
SHE DOES GOVERNMENT RELATIONS FOR THAT ENTITY.
FROM THE, UM, SIX INTERVIEWS, UM, THE GROUP RANKED, UH, EFFECTIVELY ESSENTIALLY FIVE FIRMS. UH, UH, OUR, OUR, UM, INTENT IS TO, AFTER, UH, WE TALK THROUGH THIS PROCESS WITH YOU TO DISCUSS WITH THE I G R COMMITTEE ABOUT HIRING, UH, FIVE FIRMS TO ROUND OUT OUR TEAM GOING INTO THE, UH, SESSION.
AND, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE SCORING WAS, UH, WAS VERY CONSISTENT, UM, VERY TIGHT, BUT VERY CONSISTENT.
THERE WAS A CLEAR SEPARATION BETWEEN THE FIFTH AND SIXTH, UH, FIRM, UH, ONCE WE WENT THROUGH THE INTERVIEWS.
UH, AND SO, UH, GOING BACKWARDS A LITTLE BIT, WHAT, UH, WE DID ON THE FRONT END.
WE, WE SENT LETTERS TO 75 VENDORS.
UH, THAT WAS, UH, WE, WE ESSENTIALLY WENT THROUGH THE ENTIRE, UH, LIST OF LOBBY FIRMS AT THE TEXAS ETHICS COMMISSION, UH, SENT LETTERS NOTIFYING THEM OF THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO BASICALLY ANY FIRM THAT HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE TO WHAT WE NEEDED, UH, HAD.
YEAH, IF THEY HADN'T WORKED WITH CITIES, THEY'D WORKED WITH OTHER, OTHER GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES, OR THEY HAD WORKED IN THE AREAS OF WATER, OF TRANSPORTATION, OF FINANCE, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.
AS I MENTIONED, UH, MY COLLEAGUE CHRISTINE SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFIED, UH, ALL THE WOMEN OWNED AND MINORITY OWNED FIRMS THAT SHE COULD, UM, BASED ON SURNAMES AND SO FORTH, AND SEND NOTIFICATIONS TO THEM AS WELL.
AND SO OF THE 75, WE HAD, UH, EIGHT, UH, PROPOSALS, UH, AND WE ALREADY WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS FROM THERE.
UM, TROY CAN PROBABLY SPEAK BETTER TO THE NEXT TWO POINTS THERE, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THERE WERE NO, NO ISSUES IN TERMS OF, UH, PROPOSALS, MEETING THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS OR ANY, UH, ISSUES BEING IDENTIFIED, UH, THROUGH THE DUE DILIGENCE REVIEW.
AND I'LL PAUSE THERE AND GO AHEAD, TROY.
UM, REAL QUICK, UM, AND PROBABLY FOR THE, FOR THE, FOR THE NEW, NEW NEW MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, UH, KEVIN AND I, OUR DEPARTMENTS DO DUE DILIGENCE ON THE RESULTS OF THE RESPONDENTS.
UM, AND IN THAT DUE DILIGENCE, DUE DILIGENCE REALLY IS INCLUDING GONNA BE DOING EXTENSIVE, UM, SEARCHES FOR LOOKING AT THE TEXAS SECRETARY OF STATE, THE FEDERAL DEBARMENT LIST, THE NATIONAL LIST VERSUS THE TEXAS DEBAR VENDOR LIST.
WE LOOKED AT THE TEXAS COMP FLOOR PUBLIC ACCOUNT.
WE ALSO LOOK INTERNALLY TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY PAST DUE PAYMENTS ON, UH, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES PERMITS, UH, CITY PROPERTY TAX.
AND WE ALSO LOOK AT NEWS AND LITIGATION THAT MAY BE OUTSTANDING.
WE CONDUCT THAT DUE DILIGENCE MULTIPLE TIMES THROUGHOUT THE PROCUREMENT TO SEE BEFORE WE COME TO THIS COMMITTEE, IF ANYTHING HAS COME TO, HAS COME TO OUR ATTENTION DURING THAT PROCESS.
AND WE ALSO DO THAT DUE DILIGENCE ONE MORE TIME BEFORE GOING TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL AND MAKE SURE NOTHING, UH, COME UP THAT WE NEED TO BRING TO THE, UM, COUNCIL DETENTION IN DOING THESE PROCUREMENTS AND OUR OUTREACH.
WE DID NOT FIND ANYTHING, UM, UH, DURING OUR DUE DILIGENCE.
AND THEN KEVIN DOES HIS DUE DILIGENCE AS WELL.
AND I DON'T KNOW, KEVIN, IF YOU WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
THE, THE WORK THAT WE DO, WE'RE LOOKING MORE AT, AT COMPLIANCE WITH THE CITY'S, UH, ETHICS CODE AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE CODES.
SO WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS, UH, BECAUSE THESE ARE HIGH PROFILE CONTRACTS, THERE ARE RESTRICTIONS BY DEALING WITH CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS, ALSO LOOKING AT DISCLOSURE FORMS, UH, UH, CODE OF CONDUCT FORMS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE, UH, IS WHAT WE KIND OF FOCUS OUR EFFORTS ON.
AND AGAIN, WITH THIS, UH, SOLICITATION, WE HAD NO ISSUES.
I THINK WITH THAT, THAT'S THE LAST FIVE OF OUR PRESENTATIONS.
JEFF, ANYTHING ELSE? UH, NO, SIR.
SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE TOP FIVE WILL BE RECOMMENDED TO E I G R FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION, AND THEY MAY RECOMMEND ONE
[00:50:01]
OR MORE TO THE COUNCIL.THEY, UH, THEY COULD, UH, RECOMMEND ANY, ANY, UH, UH, ANY COMBINATION OF THINGS.
BUT THE TYPICAL PROCESS IS THAT ONCE THIS COMMITTEE HAS REVIEWED THE, THE PROCESS, UH, THEN WE WILL PROPOSE THE ACTUAL RECOMMENDED FIRMS AND HAVE A DISCUSSION WITH THAT COMMITTEE.
AND IF THEY APPROVE, THEN IT WOULD MOVE ON TO THE FULL COUNCIL.
SO THEN OUR ACTION, UH, AFTER ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION, WOULD BE TO APPROVE THIS TO MOVE FORWARD TO THE I G R COMMITTEE FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION.
DO ANY OF THE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROCESS OR, UH, HOW THIS IS, UH, PLAYING OUT? YES.
SO WHEN THIS GOES TO I G R, JEFF, WHAT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL THAT COMMITTEE GET TO HELP THEM MAKE THIS DECISION? WE, WE WILL, UH, BRIEFLY RUN THROUGH THE PROCESS WE WENT THROUGH AGAIN WITH THEM, BUT THEN WE WILL TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT, UH, THE RECOMMENDED FIRMS, UH, WHO THEY ARE, WHAT, WHAT THE MEMBERS OF THE TEAM ARE, WHAT PAST EXPERIENCE WE'VE HAD WITH THEM, OR THAT THEY'VE HAD WITH OTHER CITIES OR OTHER ISSUES THAT ALIGN WITH, UH, WITH OUR, UH, ANTICIPATED AGENDA.
UH, SO THEY'LL HAVE A, THEY'LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY TALK THROUGH THE SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS THEMSELVES, UH, AND, AND DECIDE THAT, BUT WE, WE PUT THAT AFTER THIS PROCESS SO THAT, THAT YOU ALL CAN REVIEW THE PROCESS AGNOSTICALLY.
AND I'D MENTIONED EARLIER,
THE, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS, UM, WELL FIRST I WANNA THANK YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR DOING THAT DILIGENT OUTREACH TO THE WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES.
I THINK THAT'S, UH, REALLY IMPORTANT TO DO.
ABOUT HOW MANY, UH, FIRMS WERE WOMEN OWNED OF THE, UH, EIGHT THAT BID? UH, ONE WAS WOMEN OWNED.
UM, SEVERAL OF THE TEAMS, UM, UH, BROUGHT, UH, MULTIPLE CONSULTANTS TOGETHER, UH, TO PROVIDE SOME DIVERSITY.
UM, AND SO WE WERE PLEASED TO SEE THAT, UM, IN FACT, UH, TWO OF THE FIRMS SPECIFICALLY ADDED, UM, YEAH, INDEPENDENT LOBBYISTS TO THEIR TEAMS, UM, TO HELP US.
WE HAD, WE HAD MADE, UM, CLEAR TO FOLKS WHEN, WHENEVER WE DISCUSSED THAT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE HAD A, A, A WELL-ROUNDED DIVERSE TEAM.
AND SO I THINK SOME OF THE RESPONDENTS RESPONDED IN THAT WAY.
BUT TO BE CANDID WITH YOU, THERE, THERE WERE NOT A TON OF, UH, WOMEN OWNED LOBBY FIRMS IN THE REGISTRY, AND NOT AS MANY, UM, MINORITY OWNED FIRMS EITHER.
UM, SO IT, IT WASN'T A LARGE SURPRISE TO US THAT WE DIDN'T GET, UH, MORE PROPOSALS THAN WE DID, BUT WE CERTAINLY MADE SURE THAT, THAT EVERYONE WAS AWARE THE OPPORTUNITY SO THEY COULD BID.
SO I, YOU KNOW, WHEN I LOOKED THROUGH THE SCORES, I SAW, UM, THERE'S SEPARATE POINTS, RIGHT, FOR SMALL, FOR VETERAN AND FOR LOCAL.
UM, BUT THERE ARE NO POINTS FOR MINORITY OR WOMEN OWNED IN THIS PARTICULAR, UM, SOLICITATION.
UM, THE VEDA WOULD INCLUDE, UH, MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED.
UM, SO IF THEY WERE WOMEN OWNED, MINORITY WOMEN OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES IN THIS AREA, THEY WOULD GET VEDA.
UM, UH, BUT THERE WERE NOT ANY, UM, AND I SHOULD SAY, UM, I'M GETTING TEXTED BY MY COLLEAGUE HERE, I THINK MAYBE ONE OF THE OTHER EIGHT, THERE MAY HAVE BEEN TWO OF THE EIGHT THAT HAD, UH, WOMEN OWNERSHIP, UH, AT LEAST PARTIAL OWNERSHIP OF THE COMPANY.
BUT, SORRY, BUT ON THE SCORE SHEET, THERE'S NO POINT FOR THAT, CORRECT? CORRECT.
UM, I, I CAN JUST CLARIFY THAT.
UM, WHEN WE LOOK FOR, TO AWARD THE BETA PREFERENCE POINTS, WHETHER THEY'RE SMALL BUSINESSES OR MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, THEY STILL HAVE TO BE LOCAL WITHIN OUR METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA.
SO I THINK JEFF MENTIONED EARLIER HOW A LOT OF THIS WORK, THESE COMPANIES TRADITIONALLY ARE NOT HEADQUARTERED HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE, THERE WAS SOME THAT WERE EITHER HAD SOME MINORITY PARTICIPATION OR EVEN WOMEN OWNERSHIP BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T HEADQUARTERED HERE, THEY WON'T RECEIVE THE PREFERENCE, BUT THAT'S NOT THE CASE FOR VETERANS.
YOU CAN BE A VETERAN ANYWHERE, BUT YOU HAVE TO BE A WOMAN IN SAN ANTONIO TO GET POINTS.
[00:55:01]
AND YOU HAVE TO BE, UM, A MINORITY IN SAN ANTONIO TO GET THE POINTS CORRECT.OUR PROGRAM IS LIMITED TO OUR, OUR M SS A BASICALLY OUR STATISTICAL AREA.
UM, AND I DO WANNA CON, UH, CORRECT MYSELF, COUNCILMAN, IT WAS TWO OF THE EIGHT FIRMS WERE, WERE WHOLLY OWNED, UH, BY WOMEN.
AND, UM, YOU SAID THERE WEREN'T THAT MANY TO BEGIN WITH IN THE REGISTRY THEN? THAT'S CORRECT.
I, I DON'T HAVE AN EXACT NUMBER, BUT, UM, BUT YES, WE WENT THROUGH SEARCHING AS MANY, I THINK WE STARTED WITH A VENDOR LIST OF ROUGHLY 45, UH, THAT WE WANTED, UH, THAT WE KNEW WE WOULD, UH, REACH OUT TO AND INVITE TO BID.
UH, AND THEN THROUGH THE, UM, THROUGH THE REVIEW OF THE, UM, REGI OF THE LOBBY REGISTRATION, WE, WE ADDED ANOTHER 25 OR 30 FIRMS TO THAT SOLICITATION.
WELL, UM, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT, UM, THE, LIKE YOU SAID, THE VENDORS FOR THIS ARE TYPICALLY GONNA BE IN AUSTIN, RIGHT? BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF, OF THE WORK, YOU'RE ACTUALLY ASKING THEM TO WORK IN AUSTIN.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW, I'M JUST WONDERING IF THAT'S WORTH THE CONSIDERATION WITH THE POINT DISTRIBUTION, BUT I MEAN, YOU HAVE YOUR POLICY, IT'S ADOPTED BY COUNCIL, BUT THAT'S REALLY UP TO THE DISCRETION OF I G R AND THE FULL COUNCIL.
THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING, UH, ALL OF THAT.
A SEPARATE QUESTION I HAVE IS, UM, SO WHEN WE HAVE STATE LOBBYISTS, WE ONLY HAVE THEM DURING LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS.
IS THAT THE WAY THIS WORKS? THAT'S CORRECT.
UH, UM, AND IT IS A GOOD QUESTION.
I SHOULD HAVE EXPLAINED THIS ON THE FRONT END.
SOME YEARS AGO, UH, BEFORE CARLOS CONTRERAS WAS IN MY POSITION, WE HAD SIX FIRMS YEAR ROUND, UH, IN SESSION AND DURING THE INTERIM, AND IT, IT WAS OVERKILL, FRANKLY.
SO WE ADJUSTED TO A MODEL WHERE, UM, WHERE WE HIRE THEM, UH, DURING THE INTERIM, UH, DURING THE SESSION, AND THEN NOT DURING THE INTERIM.
NOW, FOR A LOBBYIST, UH, UH, TO, TO ONLY HIRE THEM FOR THE FIVE AND A HALF MONTHS OF THE SESSION IS, IS DIFFICULT FOR THEM.
UH, MANY WILL NOT TAKE ON THAT KIND OF WORK BECAUSE THEY WANT SOME LEVEL OF CONSISTENCY AND, AND, UH, EXPECTED INCOME FOR THEIR BUSINESS.
UH, WE'VE ALSO FOUND THAT HAVING THE LOBBYISTS ENGAGED IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THE AGENDA IS, IS CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT ALSO, THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO HELP THE I G R COMMITTEE EVALUATE PARTICULAR ISSUES AND SO FORTH.
SO A FEW YEARS AGO, WE WENT TO A MODEL OF A JULY THROUGH JUNE CONTRACT.
SO THE JULY TO DECEMBER PERIOD IS PRE-SESSION WHERE WE'RE HEAVILY DEVELOPING THE AGENDA, MEETING WITH OUR DELEGATION, DOING ALL THE SORT OF RAMP UP ACTIVITIES BEFORE THE SESSION.
AND THEN JANUARY THROUGH JUNE COVERS THE FULL LEGISLATIVE SESSION PLUS THE THREE WEEK PERIOD AFTERWARDS THAT THE GOVERNOR HAS TO SIGN OR VETO BILLS.
SO IT'S A, A JULY TO JUNE, AND IT HAS FULLY COVERED US THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
THIS YEAR, UH, WE DELAYED THE PROCESS A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE OF COVID.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE OBVIOUSLY IN AUGUST NOW, UH, AND IF THIS, UH, IS APPROVED BY YOUR COMMITTEE AND I G R, IT WOULD LIKELY BE BEFORE COUNCIL IN EARLY SEPTEMBER.
SO WE'VE SIMPLY SHIFTED THE TIMELINE, THE 12 MONTH TIMELINE FROM A JULY TO A SEPTEMBER TO, UH, ROUGHLY AUGUST.
AND THAT'LL BE BENEFICIAL, UH, THIS YEAR BECAUSE IT IS ALMOST CERTAIN THAT THERE WILL BE A SPECIAL SESSION CALLED AFTER THE REGULAR SESSION NEXT YEAR, BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THE CENSUS DATA WILL BE COMING IN SO LATE TO LEGISLATORS, THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO DO THE REDISTRICTING DURING THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED SESSION AS THEY NORMALLY DO.
SO WE'RE EXPECTING A SPECIAL SESSION TO BE CALLED SOMETIME AFTER JUNE.
UH, WE WERE, OUR INTENT WITH THOSE CONTRACTS, UH, WAS TO LEAVE THE LAST TWO MONTHS TO BE FLOATING.
SO IF THE LEGISLATURE ADJOURNS IN JUNE AND THEN SAYS, WE'LL COME BACK IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER FOR A SPECIAL, THEN WE WOULD EXERCISE THOSE TWO MONTHS THEN, OR IF THEY CONTINUE RIGHT ON THROUGH, LIKE THE UNDERGRAD WHO GOES STRAIGHT INTO GRAD SCHOOL, WE'LL HAVE THOSE TWO MONTHS OF JULY AND AUGUST COVERED AS WELL.
SO THEY RE IT REMAINS THE SAME 12 MONTH COMMITMENT, BUT IT HAS SLID A LITTLE BIT ON THE CALENDAR WITH SOME FLEXIBILITY ON THE OF THE LAST TWO MONTHS.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? IT DOES.
SO, SO RIGHT NOW, LET'S SEE, THE, ACCORDING TO THE CURRENT WAY THAT WE DO IT, THE CONTRACT ENDED IN JULY FOR WHOEVER WE HAD, FOR WHOMEVER WE HAVE ON CONTRACT RIGHT NOW.
[01:00:01]
IT, IT ENDED IN THE PRIOR YEAR OF JULY, JUNE 3RD.SO, SO THE LAST SESSION ENDED, UH, UH, EARLY JUNE, 2019, AND THEN THE GOVERNOR HAD THREE WEEKS TO SIGNER VETO, WHICH TOOK THEM THROUGH, UH, JUNE 20 SOMETHING.
AND THEN THOSE CONTRACTS CAME TO AN END AT THE END OF JUNE.
UH, SO WE HAVE NOT, SO WE HAVE NOT DONE ANOTHER SOLICITATION UNTIL NOW IN ANTICIPATION FOR THE NEXT SESSION.
SO, UM, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU DESCRIBE THE HISTORY OF OVERKILL WITH ALL THOSE CONSULTANTS THAT YOU HAD BEFORE, I THINK THAT, UM, THAT DOES SOUND, UH, LIKE A LOT.
WHAT CONCERNS ME IS WE'VE SPENT, I GUESS, THE OVER A YEAR WITHOUT STATE REPRESENTATION.
NOW, THERE HASN'T BEEN A LEGISLATIVE SESSION, BUT THERE'S CERTAINLY BEEN A LOT OF ACTIVITY AT THE STATE LEVEL, RIGHT? THAT'S AFFECTED US.
UM, AND IT, THIS IS NOT A REGULAR THING.
IT'S, UH, BECAUSE OF, OF THE VIRUS OUTBREAK.
AND I JUST, I'D LIKE TO KNOW IF GOING FORWARD, PERHAPS WE CAN HAVE SOME TYPE OF CONTINGENCY PLAN WHERE WE CAN STILL HAVE REPRESENTATION AT THE STATE LEVEL, UM, WHEN NEEDED, EVEN IF THERE'S NOT A LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UM, I, I HAVE NO IDEA YOU'RE THE EXPERT ON THIS.
I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THAT WOULD WORK, UH, IN THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE.
UM, SO I, I'D JUST LIKE TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT.
UM, I, I, YOU BRING UP A VERY GOOD POINT.
UM, SO FOR ONE THING, THIS CONTRACT IS FOR ONE 12 MONTH TERM WITH, WITH TWO ADDITIONAL ONE YEARS.
WE COULD EXERCISE THOSE ONE YEARS IN AN INTERIM IF THERE WAS A NEED TO, AND IT WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE WITH FIVE FIRMS. WE COULD EXERCISE IT WITH ONE, UH, AND HAVE THEM CARRY US THROUGH THE INTERIM.
WE ALSO, IN YEARS PAST, HAVE DONE SMALL, UM, CONTRACTS, UH, WITH LOBBYISTS ON AN AS NEEDED BASIS.
I REMEMBER SEVERAL YEARS AGO, UM, WHEN THE, UH, TEXAS TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, TXDOT WAS TALKING ABOUT, UM, UH, TAKING, UH, DUMPING A BUNCH OF STATE HIGHWAYS ONTO LOCAL, UH, JURISDICTIONS TO HAVE TO, UM, HANDLE THE MAINTENANCE, UH, ROADS LIKE STATE ROADS LIKE BANDERA ROAD.
UH, AND WE ENGAGED, AT THE TIME, LOUISE SIGNS HAD BEEN ONE OF OUR CONSULTANTS, HE'S NOW THE GOVERNOR'S CHIEF OF STAFF, BUT WE ENGAGED HIM ON A SHORT TERM, UH, COUPLE MONTH CONTRACT.
AND SO, UM, TYPICALLY THE IDEA IS THAT HAVING GONE THROUGH THIS, UH, THOROUGH SOLICITATION AND SELECTION PROCESS, UH, IF, IF THERE IS A NEED FOR A CONSULTANT, WE CAN, WE CAN LOOK AND FIND, UH, MONEY TO BE ABLE TO DO A SHORT-TERM CONTRACT TO HELP US WITH A PARTICULAR ISSUE.
UM, I WOULDN'T COMMIT THEM TO THIS, BUT WE'VE ALSO FOUND THAT IN PAST YEARS, OUR CONSULTANTS HAVE BEEN VERY, UH, ACCESSIBLE TO US EVEN DURING THE INTERIM, UM, THAT THEY HAVE REGULARLY, UH, SENT US INFORMATION, KEPT US INFORMED.
THEY, THEY SEE THE VALUE IN THE LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP, EVEN IF WE'RE NOT FULLY ENGAGED IN THE INTERIM.
SO I DON'T, I DON'T THINK WE'LL EVER BE IN A POSITION WHERE WE HAVE TO GO UNREPRESENTED IF WE FEEL THAT WE NEEDED.
SO, SO WERE WE REPRESENTED DURING THE, DURING THIS WHOLE COVID OUTBREAK? WE, YES, WE DID.
UM, ONE, THE FIRM THAT UNDER OUR LAST SOLICITATION, THE FIRM THAT WE HAD, UH, DESIGNATED AS A, AS A LEAD FIRM, WHICH BY THE WAY, WE'RE NOT RECOMMENDING THIS TIME, WE'RE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A TEAM OF LOBBYISTS THAT WE CAN DIRECT AND QUARTERBACK.
WE FOUND THAT THE SORT OF LEAD FIRM, UH, HAD ONE FIRM FEELING LIKE THEY OWNED IT ALL AND, AND OTHERS NOT.
WELL, THEY WERE ALL GREAT, BUT THEY WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT RECOMMENDING THAT THIS TIME.
BUT THE FIRM THAT WE HAD IN OUR LEAD LAST TIME, FOCUSED ADVOCACY WHO SPECIALIZES IN REPRESENTING CITIES, UH, WE DID DO, UH, A FEW MONTH, UH, SHORT-TERM CONTRACT IN THIS PAST INTERIM TO HELP US WITH SOME OF THAT COMMUNICATION.
THEY'VE BEEN SETTING UP CALLS WITH THE COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE, WITH THE GOVERNOR'S STAFF, UH, WITH THE REOPEN, TEXAS C O O, UH, AND, AND ABLE TO MANAGE SOME OF THOSE WORK FOR US.
IT'S, IT WASN'T A FULL VALUE CONTRACT, IN OTHER WORDS, IT WAS A SMALLER AMOUNT.
UM, AND WE DIDN'T RELY ON THEM, UH, AS MUCH AS WE WOULD DURING A LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
AND, AND THOSE ARE INCIDENTALLY UM, SMALL CONTRACTS THAT DON'T, THAT DON'T RISE TO THE THRESHOLD OF, OF BRINGING TO COUNCIL.
WE JUST HAVE DONE IT FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS.
UM, BUT THIS SELECTION AT LEAST GIVES US THE ABILITY TO HAVE GONE THROUGH A PROCESS AND A THOROUGH EVALUATION SHOULD WE NEED TO TAP SOMEONE AGAIN IN THE FUTURE.
WELL, I'M GLAD TO HEAR YOU HAD SOMEBODY WORKING
I HAD, UH, INQUIRED WITH, WITH ERIC AND I, UM, MAYBE HE, HE
[01:05:01]
DIDN'T KNOW THAT AT THE TIME, OR HE, HE FORGOT.UM, WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
DO WE NEED A MOTION CHAIR? UH, YES.
THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT WILL BE MOVED FORWARD TO THE I G R, SO WE WOULD HAVE A MOTION TO MOVE THIS FORWARD TO THE I G R FOR, FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION.
THANK YOU FOR COMING TO THE RESCUE.
WELL, IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED.
COUNCILMAN PERRY, THE FLOOR'S OPEN FOR YOUR QUESTIONS.
UM, YOU KNOW, BEING ON THE IG I G R ONCE BEFORE I, I LIKE TO SAY I GOT FIRED AND THEN NOW I'M REHIRED AGAIN.
JUST LIKE THE AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
YEAH, JUST LIKE THIS COMMITTEE.
BUT, UH, ANYWAY, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVING LOOKED BACK AT MY EXPERIENCES, I, AND I KNOW WHY WE KIND OF CUT THIS BACK TO TRY TO SAVE MONEY, AND I THINK THAT'S A STRATEGIC, UM, ERROR ON OUR PART BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH THE, THE LEGISLATURE ISN'T IN SESSION, THERE'S ALWAYS COMMITTEE ACTIONS GOING ON.
THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF GOING ON, YOU KNOW? YES.
THEY ONLY MEET ONCE EVERY TWO YEARS, AND I THINK THAT'S GREAT.
I THINK LESS GOVERNMENT IS GREAT, BUT BEHIND THE SCENES, UH, THERE'S LOTS OF OTHER ACTIVITIES GOING ON.
AND TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST, IT'S KIND OF LIKE OUR CENTER.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE B SESSIONS AND THE A SESSIONS.
WE DO A LOT OF OUR BUSINESS IN THE B SESSIONS, AND A LOT OF THOSE DECISIONS ARE MADE, UH, BEFORE IT EVEN COMES TO THE ACE SESSION.
SO I, YOU KNOW, UM, I, I FOR ONE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS CONTRACT, YOU KNOW, ALL YEAR LONG.
AND I THINK THAT, UH, IN FACT I'VE MENTIONED IT AT, UH, UM, MEETING BEFORE WHERE WE NEED MORE ACCOUNTABILITY NOT ONLY FOR THE CITY HERE, BUT FOR THOSE UTILITIES THAT WE OWN, FOR EXAMPLE, C P S AND SAWS, AND THEY WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE LEGISLATURE.
WE DON'T GET THAT INFORMATION.
WE DON'T, WE DON'T COMBINE IT WITH THE CITIES.
UM, I, I THINK WE SHOULD BE MEETING, UH, AS A, AS A TEAM TO, WITH OUR LOCAL DELEGATION, UM, PRIOR TO THE, THE, UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS RIGHT BEFORE THIS SESSION GETS STARTED.
AND THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT I THINK WE'RE MISSING, UH, LEGISLATIVELY, UH, DURING THAT TIME THAT WE'RE, WE DON'T HAVE A CONTRACT WITH, WITH A CONSULTANT.
SO THAT, THAT'S MY COMMENTS ON THAT.
I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE US MOVE INTO A BACK TO AN ALL YEAR CONTRACT SO THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO THEM AND THEY HAVE ACCESS TO, TO THE REST OF THE LEGISLATURE, UM, DURING THE, DURING THE WORKING TIME.
AND AGAIN, THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF THAT GOES ON DURING WHAT WE CALL THE NON LEGISLATIVE SEASON.
SO, UM, I'D LIKE TO SEE US MOVE MORE TOWARDS THAT.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S TOO LATE FOR THIS CONTRACT OR NOT.
UM, BUT, UM, THAT'S WHAT I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE US GET BACK TO, BECAUSE I THINK WE'RE MISSING A LOT.
THE OTHER, THE, THE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS I HAVE, JEFF, IS, UH, CAN YOU GO BACK TO THE SLIDE WHERE THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE? YEAH.
THIS FINAL EVALUATION AFTER THE INTERVIEWS.
SO YOU'RE RECOMMENDING THAT AN AWARD GO OUT TO ALL OF THESE CONTRACTORS TO FIVE TO THE FIRST FIVE, YES.
MANAGEMENT WISE OF THAT CONTRACT, HOW'S THAT GONNA WORK? ARE THEY GONNA ALL GONNA WORK TOGETHER AS ONE TEAM OR IS THERE GONNA BE A, A LEADER, IF YOU WILL, THAT WILL, YOU KNOW, KIND OF DIRECT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE TEAM? YOU KNOW, THIS, I'M A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT, THAT WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA DO THIS, YOU KNOW, COMBINING ALL OF THESE RESOURCES INTO ONE.
I, I, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA, BUT TO ME THERE SHOULD REALLY BE A FOCAL POINT OR SOMEBODY THAT TAKES THAT LEAD ROLE AND IS ABLE TO KIND OF DIRECT AND, AND, UH, UH, SYNTHESIZE THIS AND, AND MAKE IT ALL COME TOGETHER AND PROVIDE THAT LEADERSHIP.
IS IS THAT WHAT WE'RE PLANNING ON THIS?
[01:10:01]
OR HOW IS THIS GONNA, UH, SURE.OUR, UM, OUR PLAN IS ESSENTIALLY FOR US AT THE STAFF LEVEL AND WITH THE DIRECTION FROM I G R, UH, TO SERVE AS THE LEAD AND, AND QUARTERBACK ALL OF THESE ACTIVITIES.
UM, I'LL SAY THAT, UH, WE HAD A, A, I THINK A WONDERFUL, UM, WHAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR? OUR, THE, OUR TEAM WORKED GREAT TOGETHER LAST SESSION.
AND THAT'S, THAT CANNOT BE SAID FOR ALL LOBBY TEAMS UP THERE.
UM, MANY OF THESE, UH, FIRMS ARE COMPETITORS IN A LOT OF ENVIRONMENTS.
UH, AND, AND WE WERE ABLE TO REALLY, UH, PUT TOGETHER A TEAM THAT REALLY WORKED GREAT FROM, FROM A MANAGEMENT STANDPOINT.
WHAT I'LL TELL YOU COUNCILMAN, AND PART OF THE REASON WE RECOMMEND FIVE IS BECAUSE THEY ALL HAVE DIFFERENT STRENGTHS, AS YOU KNOW, AND DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIPS.
UM, THERE, THERE MAY BE A BILL THAT, THERE WAS A BILL WE WERE DEALING WITH ON BUILDING MATERIALS LAST SESSION THAT WE WERE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE FIVE OR SIX CHANGES TO.
THAT DIDN'T ULTIMATELY PUT US IN A POSITION OF HAVING TO OPPOSE IT LIKE OTHER CITIES DID.
AND ONE OF OUR CONSULTANTS WAS VERY CLOSE TO THE SPONSOR OF THAT BILL, SO WE HAD THEM LEAD ON THAT.
WE HAD ANOTHER, UH, INVOLVED WITH ANOTHER ISSUE.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE ABLE TO, TO BUILD, PLAY ON THEIR STRENGTHS, UTILIZE THEM TO THE BEST THAT WE CAN, UM, AND, AND SORT OF DIVIDE AND CONQUER AS OPPOSED TO EVERYBODY ROWING, UH, THE BOAT ON EVERY ISSUE.
UM, THE OTHER THING, BACK TO YOUR POINT ABOUT YEAR ROUND, WE'RE NOT OPPOSED TO THAT BY ANY STRETCH.
IT IS, UH, A FUNDING ISSUE, UH, MORE THAN ANYTHING, UH, THIS, THIS INITIAL YEAR OF THIS WOULD, UH, TAKE US THROUGH THIS UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR.
SO WE HAVE THE FUNDING IDENTIFIED TO BE ABLE TO HIRE THESE FIRMS FOR NOW, IF WE WERE TO TRY TO EXPAND UPON OUR REPRESENTATION AND HAVE SOMEONE AT THE INTERIM, UH, AFTER NEXT SESSION, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING WE COULD ADDRESS WITH NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET.
UM, BUT IT'S A, IT'S A BALANCING ACT LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND, UM, AND SO THAT'S BEEN THE MODEL THAT WE'VE USED THE LAST, THE LAST FEW YEARS.
AND, UH, AGAIN, FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF MISSING THE BOAT DURING THOSE OFF, OFF, UH, SESSION OPPORTUNITIES ON, ON USING LOBBYISTS, YOU KNOW, FOR THAT, FOR THAT REASON.
YOU KNOW, DURING THAT, THOSE WORKING TIMES ON ALL THESE COMMITTEES AND, AND YOU KNOW, BEING A PART OF THAT AND GETTING THE FEEDBACK AND GETTING THE FEEDBACK THAT WE WANT TO THOSE COMMITTEES.
UM, I'D CERTAINLY LIKE TO, IS THERE ANY FLEXIBILITY UNDER THIS CONTRACT SO THAT, I KNOW YOU HAVE A THREE PLUS TWO OPTION YEARS, BUT IS THERE FLEXIBILITY TO EXTEND THIS TO A FULL YEAR? LIKE YOU SAID, WHEN WE GET INTO THE NEXT BUDGET CYCLE, WHICH WILL, WHICH WE CAN THEN CARRY THIS ON FOR A FULL YEAR VERSUS JUST, UM, BASICALLY DURING THAT LEGISLATIVE SESSION PLUS THE TWO MONTHS THAT YOU SAID? YEAH, I, I THINK THIS DOES GIVE US MAXIMUM FLEXIBILITY.
IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A ONE YEAR CONTRACT WITH UP TO TWO ONE YEAR EXTENSIONS.
SO IF WE STAYED WITH THE SAME MODEL, THE SORT OF ON, AGAIN, OFF AGAIN MODEL THAT WE'VE USED FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS, WE COULD POTENTIALLY EXERCISE THOSE TWO OPTIONS IN TWO SUBSEQUENT SESSION YEARS, MEANING THE NEXT TWO SESSIONS, OR WE COULD COME BACK NEXT YEAR AND EXERCISE AN OPTION FOR THE INTERIM.
SO THOSE TWO ADDITIONAL ONE YEAR OPTIONS ARE NOT FOR EACH OF THE FIRMS ARE NOT DEFINED YET.
UM, AND IF, IF YOU AS A, AND AS AN I G R COMMITTEE DECIDED YOU REALLY WANTED ONE OR MORE, UH, FIRMS TO STAY ON DURING THE INTERIM, WE, WE WOULD HAVE THE, A APPROVAL IN THIS CONTRACT TO BE ABLE TO EXERCISE THAT EXTENSION, UH, WITH YOUR DIRECTION.
UM, DOES THAT, DOES THAT ANSWER THE QUESTION? YEAH.
UM, IF, IF WE COULD GET THAT EXPLANATION TO THE I G R ALSO BECAUSE I, AGAIN, I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT.
I WOULD, UM, I WOULD CERTAINLY ENCOURAGE THAT AND BE SUPPORTIVE OF THAT.
UM, I, I, I'M STILL TRYING TO SORT OUT YOUR EXPLANATION ON HOW THESE, ALL THESE CONTRACTORS ARE GONNA WORK TOGETHER AS A TEAM WITHOUT HAVING LIKE A FOCAL POINT OR SOMEONE THAT KIND OF LEADS THIS ENTIRE EFFORT, YOU KNOW, FROM A, YOU KNOW, I, I, I, I HEAR YOU ABOUT, THEY ALL HAVE DIFFERENT STRENGTHS AND, AND THAT KIND OF THING, BUT ARE WE GONNA BE DIRECTING 'EM? OKAY, VENDOR C, YOU'RE GONNA DO THIS, VENDOR E YOU'RE GONNA DO
[01:15:01]
THIS, VENDOR A, YOU'RE GONNA DO THIS.SO I, I GUESS I SKIPPED SOME OF THE REAL PRACTICAL ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION EARLIER.
SO, UM, IF YOU RECALL DURING THE SESSION, UH, WE, WE UPDATE THE I G R COMMITTEE EVERY WEDNESDAY.
EXCUSE ME, I'M GONNA INTERVENE HERE.
I THINK WE'RE GETTING INTO DISCUSSIONS THAT THE I G R COMMITTEE WOULD REALLY BE BETTER SERVED THAN THIS COMMITTEE.
'CAUSE WE'RE JUST SAYING, DO WE WANNA MOVE THIS FORWARD RATHER THAN DISCUSSING HOW THE I G R COMMITTEE OUGHT TO HANDLE IT? I, I IF YOU, IF YOU WOULDN'T OBJECT.
AND JEFF, IF YOU DON'T MIND, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND, AND MOVE FORWARD.
'CAUSE WE DO HAVE SOME OTHER ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA.
UH, WE HAVE A MOTION AND WE HAVE A SECOND.
UH, IF THERE'S ANY OTHER CRITICAL QUESTIONS, SOMEBODY NEEDS TO ASK ABOUT THIS RIGHT NOW, UH, YOU HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY, BUT IF NOT, NOT SEEING ANY, I'D LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD FOR, UH, THE APPROVAL OF THIS.
AND SO THE MOTION IS THAT WE RECOMMEND THIS TO THE I G R FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION.
AND, UH, CHAIRMAN, CHAIRMAN, JUST ONE COMMENT.
I THINK ON THE, ON THE MOTION, JUST FROM A PROCESS STANDPOINT, I THINK, I THINK IT WOULD BE THE FORWARD TO THE COUNCIL.
UH, THE I G R CAN TAKE IT UP SUBSEQUENTLY.
IT'S KIND OF A, A POLICY DISCUSSION THERE.
BUT I THINK IN PRACTICE, THIS COMMITTEE VET VETS THE PROCESS AND THEN FORWARDS IT TO THE COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION, AND THEN THEY'LL GET A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE I G R COMMITTEE AS WELL.
IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO THAT BEING THE WORDING FOR THE MOTION FROM EITHER OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS? NO.
I, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS, THIS CONTRACT HAS THAT FLEXIBILITY IN IT TO MAKE CHANGES, UH, IF, IF THAT, IF THE I G R OR THE COUNCIL DECIDES, YES, WE WANNA DO THIS, AND THAT'S ALL, THAT'S WHERE I WAS COMING FROM ON ALL THESE QUESTIONS.
SO, UH, JEFF, YOU SAID THAT YES, WE GOT FLEXIBILITY ON THIS CONTRACT.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR.
TROY, DO YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING TO THAT OR HAVE I ANSWERED IT CORRECTLY? OKAY.
ALRIGHT, SO THEN, UH, YES, COUNCILWOMAN, YOU HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION? YE YES.
UH, THIS ACTUALLY CHANGES WHAT I THOUGHT WE WERE DOING.
I THOUGHT THIS WAS GOING TO I G R TO DETERMINE WHICH VENDORS THEY USED.
UM, AND SO SINCE COUNCILMAN PERRY HAS ASKED HIS QUESTIONS, I, I REALIZE THEY'RE APPROVING ALL FIVE.
IS THAT, SORRY, NOT EVEN I G R IS DOING IT.
FULL COUNSEL WILL BE APPROVING ALL FIVE, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
SO, SO WHAT YOU WOULD HAVE IS THIS RECOMMENDATION FOR MY DOG'S OBJECTING, UM,
UH, SO YOU'D BE SAYING WE VETTED THE PROCESS, WE DON'T SEE ANY ISSUES WITH IT.
THE, UM, THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMITTEE COULD STILL VET THE POLICY CONVERSATIONS AND YOU'D GET A RECOMMENDATION FROM I G R.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE FULL COUNCIL'S GOT THE ABILITY TO VET THAT, UH, DURING THE COUNCIL MEETING AS WELL.
SO WHEN YOU SAY THE POLICY ISSUES, YOU MEAN LIKE WHAT WE'RE GOING TO LOBBY FOR AT THE LEGISLATURE? IS THAT WHAT YOU MEAN? OH, JUST EVEN IN TERMS OF LIKE, AS THEY GO THROUGH THE FIRMS, IF THE I G R HAS A DIFFERENT TAKE ON IT, THEY CAN RECOMMEND THAT AS WELL.
UH, BUT THIS PART JUST FOCUSES ON THE PROCESS.
WE'RE JUST SAYING THE PROCESS WAS, WAS, UH, OPEN.
WE UNDERSTAND HOW THEY EVALUATED THESE FIVE AND ARE MAKING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, BUT WE'RE NOT RECOMMENDING ANY OVER THE OTHERS.
THAT'S GONNA BE UP TO THE I G R AND THE COUNCIL TO DECIDE.
BUT WHO, I'M SORRY, THE MOTION IS TO TAKE THIS TO FULL COUNSEL? YES, BUT IT WILL GO TO THE I G R FIRST.
DO WE WANNA MAKE IT WITH THE PROVISO THAT IT GOES TO THE I G R FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION FIRST? I MEAN, IT'S GOING TO GO TO I G R.
THEY'RE THE BODY THAT MANAGES THE LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS.
I, I'M JUST CONFUSED ABOUT THE PROCESS.
SO I THINK YOU'VE EXPLAINED IT, BUT MY REAL CONCERN IS THAT BEFORE WE TAKE ACTION ON CHOOSING BEFORE THE COUNCIL AS A BODY TAKES ACTION ON AWARDING THE CONTRACT, THAT WE DO HAVE SOME TRANSPARENCY AS FAR AS THE WOMEN AND MINORITY OWNED, UH, FIRM.
EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT LOCAL AS A COUNCIL MEMBER, BEFORE I AWARD THAT CONTRACT, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I WOULD WANT TO KNOW AND COUNSEL SEE THAT AS A FULL COUNSELING AT THIS POINT.
RIGHT? SO WE, WE, UH, FROM A PROCESS STANDPOINT, UM, WE DON'T IDENTIFY THE VENDORS HERE.
'CAUSE WE ASK YOU ALL TO REALLY FOCUS ON JUST THE PROCESS PART OF IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, ARE THERE ISSUES WITH
[01:20:01]
THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS? DO YOU SEE ANYTHING THAT, THAT WOULD CAUSE CONCERN? UM, OBVIOUSLY YOU RETAIN ALL THAT DISCRETION AT THE COUNCIL MEETING TO, TO LOOK AT ALL THAT INFORMATION.UM, YOU'LL SEE ALL THE EXPERIENCE, THE BACKGROUND, THE PROCESS IN TERMS OF WHY WE'RE RECOMMENDING GOOGLE RECOMMENDING.
SO YOU STILL RETAIN THAT, UM, DISCRETION TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AT THE COUNCIL MEETING.
AND SO WE'LL KNOW THAT INFORMATION THE MOMENT THIS GETS AGENDA, RIGHT? THAT IS CORRECT.
SO ONCE WE, UM, IF Y'ALL MOVE THIS FORWARD TODAY, WE'LL ACTUALLY SEND SOMETHING OUT LATER THIS WEEK THAT GIVES YOU THE VENDOR NAMES.
SO YOU'LL, YOU'LL START TO SEE ALL OF THAT INFORMATION EVEN BEFORE IT GETS POSTED FOR COUNCIL ACTION.
AND I THINK THAT QUESTION CAN ALSO BE BROUGHT UP BEFORE THE, UM, BEFORE THE I G R AND ASK THEM TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AS WELL.
THEN, UH, I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE A VOTE ON, UH, THE MOTION TO MOVE IT TO COUNCIL, UNDERSTANDING IT'LL GO THROUGH I G R CONSIDERATION.
UH, AND I'LL ASK, UH, THOSE IN FAVOR, VOTE, SAY, AYE, RAISE YOUR HAND.
LOOKS LIKE IT'S UNANIMOUS AMONG THE THREE VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT TODAY.
[13. 20-4797 AU20-029 Audit of SAPD Off-Duty Employment]
OKAY, THE NEXT ITEM IS ITEM NUMBER 13.AND THIS IS, UH, NOW WE'RE GETTING INTO SOME AUDIT REPORTS.
AND SO, UH, ITEM NUMBER 13 IS AN AUDIT OF THE SS A P D OFF-DUTY EMPLOYMENT.
KEVIN, I THINK YOU'RE ON MUTE NOW.
UH, LIKE AS YOU JUST MENTIONED, S A P, THE OFF-DUTY EMPLOYMENT, UH, DETAIL.
AND THIS IS THE GROUP, UH, PER ORDINANCE, UH, SECURITY FOR ANY OF THE CITY OWNED FACILITIES SUCH AS ALAMO DOME, UH, CONVENTION CENTER LOBBY TO THE LAC THEATER, AND SOME OTHERS.
UH, THE SECURITY IS TO BE PROVIDED BY OFF-DUTY S A P D OFFICERS.
SO THIS IS THE DETAIL THAT MANAGES THAT PROCESS.
UM, IT'S ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE.
IT'S CURRENTLY STAFFED PRIMARILY BY UNIFORMED OFFICERS.
UH, AND WE LOOKED AT THAT PROCESS AS FAR AS DETERMINING NUMBER OF SECURITY, UH, OR S O P D OFFICERS NEEDED, THE SCHEDULING, THE, THE PAYING, UH, AND ALSO BILLING, THE, UH, INVOICING, THE, UH, UH, THE HOST OF THE EVENT, REGARDLESS OF THE LOCATION THAT IT'S AT.
UH, THE PRIMARY, UH, RECOMMENDATION THAT I WANT TO DISCUSS ON THIS AUDIT IS A RECOMMENDATION THAT, THAT WE'RE MAKING THAT, UH, TO STAFF THIS, THIS DETAIL TO STAFF, THIS OFFICE WITH CIVILIAN PERSONNEL AS OPPOSED TO THE UNIFORMED OFFICERS THAT ARE IN IT NOW, OR SOME COMBINATION OF IT TO WHERE THERE WOULD BE MORE CIVILIANS THAN THERE WOULD BE, UH, UNIFORMED OFFICERS.
AGAIN, MOST OF THESE TESTS ADMINISTRATIVE IN NATURE, AND WE BELIEVE THAT THAT WOULD BE A, A BEST USE OF OUR RESOURCES.
UH, THIS DETAIL OPERATES AT A LOSS, UH, BECAUSE OF THE, UH, THE, THE PERS PRIMARILY, UH, SIGNIFICANT PERSONNEL COST.
UH, FISCAL YEAR 2019, THAT LOSS WAS $893,000.
IT WAS JUST UNDER $800,000, UH, THE YEAR BEFORE.
SO THAT IS THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WE'RE MAKING.
BUT ALSO THIS DETAIL AND THIS PROCESS IS GOVERNED BY THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT.
SO THE RECOMMENDATION THEN BECOMES THAT IN THE NEXT NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE, UH, SAN ANTONIO POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF THAT AGREEMENT, THAT THIS BE INCLUDED IN THAT, UH, LIST OF ITEMS, UH, THAT WE, THAT WE NEGOTIATE.
AGAIN, IT, I DON'T BELIEVE IT'D BE A, UH, A DECREASE IN ANY SERVICE, UH, PROVIDED BY THIS DETAIL, BUT IT WOULD BE ABLE TO BE DONE MORE EFFECTIVELY AT A LOWER COST.
SO THAT IS THE PRIMARY RECOMMENDATION, UH, THAT WE MAKE IN THIS AUDIT.
AND, UH, I KNOW THE CHIEF IS HERE ALSO TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE.
THE CHIEF MAY HAVE SOME BETTER QUESTIONS TO ANSWER THAN YOU MAY, KEVIN, BUT LET ME ASK YOU THIS.
UH, WHAT DO YOU ESTIMATE TO BE THE COST SAVINGS IF THERE WERE CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES HOLDING THESE POSITIONS? UH, I, WE DIDN'T RUN THOSE NUMBERS, UH, EXACTLY.
UH, SO I, NO, I CAN'T ANSWER THAT, UH, DIRECTLY.
UH, I, I HAVEN'T RUN THOSE NUMBERS, BUT, UH, JUST ON THE SURFACE, BECAUSE OF THE BENEFITS AND, AND THE, THE, UH, PAY STRUCTURE OF, UH, UNIFORMED OFFICERS, UH, I THINK THERE WOULD BE SOME SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION.
MARIA HAS RAISED HER HAND, SO MAYBE SHE HAS A BETTER ESTIMATE.
UM, MEMBERS OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, MARIA GOMEZ, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER.
UM, COUNCILMAN, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, UM, IN ORDER
[01:25:01]
TO HAVE SAVINGS, WE WOULD HAVE TO, UM, HAVE A REDUCTION IN, IN TOTAL COSTS TO ACHIEVE SOME SAVINGS.WHAT WE TRIED TO DO A FEW YEARS AGO IS TO ADD CIVILIANS TO THE UNIT.
SO UNFORTUNATELY, WE, UM, THE UNION FILED A GRIEVANCE AGAINST THE CITY.
WE WENT TO ARBITRATION AND WE LOST.
SO WE, UH, PUT BACK THE UNIFORM POSITIONS TO THAT UNIT.
UM, THE COST WILL BE LOWER, UH, THAN, THAN WHAT IT IS TODAY.
WE HAVE, UH, THREE CIVILIANS, UH, IN THE UNIT TODAY, AND SEVEN UNIFORM POSITIONS.
SO IF WE WERE TO, UM, DO AN ASSESSMENT OF WHAT IT WOULD TAKE ON THE CIVILIAN SIDE, UM, I MEAN, TO YOUR POINT, IT COULD BE, UH, 50% LESS IN COST TO THAT PARTICULAR FUNCTION.
HOWEVER, THOSE, UH, UNIFORM POSITIONS, WE WOULD PROBABLY RECOMMEND TO MOVE THEM TO A NEIGHBORHOOD PATROL OR OTHER, UH, OPERATIONS OF THE, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
SO IN THAT SENSE, UH, IT WOULD, WE WOULD BE ADDING COST TO, UM, TO THE BUDGET.
UH, IT JUST DEPENDS HOW WE, HOW WE ADDRESS THAT AND TO, UH, WHAT KEVIN RECOMMENDED.
UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THE POLICE UNION WHEN WE START NEGOTIATIONS NEXT YEAR TO CIVILIANIZED, UM, THOSE UNIFORM POSITIONS AND PUT THOSE OFFICERS BACK ON THE STREET.
I, I READ THE REPORT AND, UH, I DIDN'T NOTE THAT THERE WERE ANY OTHER MAJOR CONCERNS OTHER THAN THE FINANCIAL ONE.
UH, SO THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAD.
UH, ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBER HAVE A QUESTION, UH, ABOUT THIS REPORT? YES, COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL AND THEN COUNCILMAN PERRY.
UM, I JUST, UH, WANTED TO KNOW HOW MANY HOURS WERE ACTUALLY WORKED AND HOW MUCH WAS COLLECTED IN ADMINISTRATIVE FEES.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THE TOTAL NUMBER OUT, UH, UH, COUNCILWOMAN TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION IS, UM, UH, UH, WHAT WE HAVE ON THE REPORT IS THE NUMBER OF EVENTS, UH, ABOUT 462 EVENTS IN 2019, WITH 910, UM, OFFICERS PARTICIPATING.
THERE IS AN HOURLY RATE THAT IS ADMINISTERED, SO I'LL BE HAPPY TO CALCULATE THAT AND GIVE THAT TO YOU.
BUT, UH, THE OFFICER COMPENSATION FOR 2019 TO GIVE YOU AN ORDER OF MAG MAGNITUDE WAS $2.6 MILLION, UH, FROM THE OFF DUTY, UH, EMPLOYMENT ASSIGNMENTS AND, UH, COUNCIL SENSE THAT THEY'RE SUPERVISOR OR NOT.
I THINK THE CHIEF HAS A COMMENT.
YEAH, I, I, I WAS JUST GONNA ADD, UH, TO, TO MARIA'S COMMENT THAT, UH, THERE'S AN ADMINISTRATIVE FEE OF A DOLLAR 50 ADDED FOR EACH HOUR WORKED BY OFF-DUTY OFFICERS, AND THAT, UM, THAT, UH, FEE IS RETAINED BY THE CITY.
MAY I ALSO JUST, MAY I ALSO JUST CLARIFY THAT THE, THE, THE TWO COMPENSATION, UH, THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, THIS WAS NOT PAID BY THE CITY BUDGET, OR NOT A GENERAL FUND.
THIS IS MONEY THAT THE EVENT ORGANIZER, WHOEVER THAT MAY BE, UH, THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE PAYING, THEY'RE PAYING FOR THAT SECURITY, UH, PRESENCE.
SO DOES THAT MEAN THE COST TO THE CITY IS NOTHING? I'M SORRY, ANNA, I APOLOGIZE.
NO, THE COST IS, THE COST IS THE OPERATING LOSS THAT WE CARRIED BOTH YEARS, RIGHT.
I KEEP, UH, I, I KEEP, UH, GOING ON HERE, BUT, SO HOW COME WHO SAYS THE ADMINISTRATIVE FEE? WHY WOULDN'T WE JUST RAISED THE ADMINISTRATIVE FEE IF WE'RE NOT RECOVERING OUR LOSSES? I KNOW THE CLIENT'S GONNA HAVE TO TAKE THAT ON.
I CAN ALREADY HEAR, UH, COUNCILMAN PERRY SAYING THAT.
BUT YES, OBVIOUSLY WE WOULD WANNA STREAMLINE OUR COSTS, BUT OUR COSTS.
BUT IT LOOKS LIKE, WHAT KIND OF A LAWSUIT ARE WE ESTIMATING FOR, FOR NEXT YEAR? WELL, COVID ISS GONNA SHAKE ALL THAT UP ANYWAY, BUT YEAH, IT'S IN THE BUDGET, RIGHT? IT'S IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
THE EVENT SERVICES, WHAT WE'RE ESTIMATING, UM, COUNCILWOMAN, I, I, FOR 2021, WE, UM, I CAN GIVE YOU THE EXACT NUMBER.
I DON'T HAVE IT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
I'LL, I'LL GO BACK IN AND LOOK AT IT TOO.
UM, THE, THE REVENUE TO THE CITY FOR 2019, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, WAS $175,000.
SO IT'S NOT A VERY LARGE DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT, UH, THAT $1 50, UM,
I JUST, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING TO
[01:30:01]
CONSIDER GOING INTO TO NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, UNLESS WE CAN COME UP WITH ANOTHER WAY TO STREAMLINE THE, THE COST.UM, MY OTHER QUESTION IS, WHEN OFFICERS PERFORM THIS FUNCTION, ARE THEY ON OVERTIME OR IS THIS PART OF THEIR REGULAR, UM, WORK OR, OR PART OF THEIR ASSIGNED HOURS? IT, IT IS NOT PART OF THEIR ASSIGNED HOURS.
THERE'S A, UH, AN EMAIL BLAST THAT GOES OUT, UH, NOTIFYING OFFICERS THAT THERE ARE, UH, THAT THERE ARE HOURS AVAILABLE TO WORK SECURITY, UH, AT ONE OF THESE FACILITIES.
AND THEN THEY'RE PAID BY THE, UH, BY THE VENDOR IN THEIR OFF-DUTY TIME.
I, I, CAN I TURN BACK IN? I WANNA HEAR WHAT COUNCILMAN PERRY HAS TO SAY.
SO I'LL, I'LL, CAN I YIELD THE FLOOR? CANMAN? YES, YOU MAY.
COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL, YOU ASK ALL THE QUESTIONS YOU WANT, BUT, UH, I DO HAVE A FEW, FEW QUESTIONS HERE.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, UM, CAN CIVILIANS REALLY PERFORM THIS SERVICE? I MEAN, OR, BECAUSE I MEAN, THESE ARE, THESE ARE LICENSED OFFICERS.
UH, COULD, COULD CIVILIAN DO THIS SECURITY? WOULD THEY BE ARMED? UH, WOULD THEY, WOULD THEY BE ABLE TO DO THIS? SIR? UH, OUR RECOMMENDATION OF CIVILIAN FED IS IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES OF MANAGING THE FUNCTION.
IN NO WAY IS, AM I SUGGESTING CIVILIANS PERFORM THE SECURITY DETAIL? THIS IS THE ADMINISTRATIVE PIECE OF THE PROGRAM.
OKAY, THAT'S GREAT BECAUSE THAT, THAT WAS KIND OF A GRAY AREA, WHAT, WHAT I WAS, WHAT I WAS HEARING HERE.
SO IT'S JUST THE ADMINISTRATIVE DUTY.
AND WHAT WAS THE, UH, WHAT WAS THE PUSHBACK FROM THE UNION ON THAT? WHAT, WHAT, HOW DID WE, HOW DID WE LOSE ARBITRATION THAT, AND WHAT WAS THE, WHAT WAS THE, WHAT WERE THEY, UM, WHAT WERE THEY COMING AT US WITH? WHY THE, UM, MARIA, I'LL JUMP ON THAT.
IF YOU, UH, IF YOU WANT ME TO GO AHEAD, CHIEF.
SO, UH, IN THE CON IN THE UNION CONTRACT, IT SPECIFIES HOW MANY OFFICERS ARE TO BE ASSIGNED TO THE OFF-DUTY EMPLOYMENT OFFICE.
UH, WE TRY TO, UM, UM, DIFFERENTIATE FROM THAT BY ADDING CIVILIANS.
AND AS MARIA SAID, WE, UH, THE UNION FILED A GRIEVANCE AND WE LOST AN ARBITRATION.
BUT THAT DOESN'T ANSWER MY QUESTION.
I MEAN, WHY DID THEY PUSH BACK AGAINST THAT AND WHY DID WE LOSE THE ARBITRATION? SURE.
WELL, AND I'LL ANSWER FROM THE ADMINISTRATIVE PERSPECTIVE AND THE ATTORNEYS ON THE LINE AS WELL.
SO YOU CAN ADDRESS FROM A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE, THE POSITION OF THE UNION WAS THAT THE CITY DID NOT HAVE THE MANAGEMENT RIGHTS TO, UM, HAVE CIVILIANS DOING THAT FUNCTION, THAT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT, THOSE FUNCTIONS THAT WE WERE TRYING TO HAVE CIVILIANS PERFORM, UH, SHOULD BE PERFORMED BY, UM, UNIFORM EMPLOYEES UNIFORM, UH, IN, IN THE ARBITRATOR SIDED WITH, WITH THAT POSITION OF THE UNION.
AND RAY, DO YOU WANNA ADD SOMETHING ELSE TO THAT? WELL, I THINK THERE WAS, UH, THANK YOU, MARIA.
UH, I THINK THERE WAS SOME DISTINCTIONS WHERE THE CITY WAS SPECIFICALLY ALLOWED TO PERFORM ACCOUNTING, FINANCIAL AND CLERICAL TASKS.
I'LL ADD THAT A LOT OF TIMES IT'S A MATTER OF INTERPRETATION OF WHAT IS IN THE AGREEMENT WHEN BASICALLY THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT SERVES AS A CONTRACT AND WHETHER WE WERE MEETING THOSE REQUIREMENTS THAT WERE IN THE CONTRACT.
I'D LIKE TO, UH, UM, KIND OF MOVE THIS FORWARD BECAUSE NOW WE'RE STARTING TO GET INTO, UH, INTERPRETATION OF A CONTRACT AS OPPOSED TO HEARING ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR BRIEFING ON, ON THIS PARTICULAR AUDIT, WHICH HAS JUST MADE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FOR US TO CONSIDER GOING FORWARD.
UH, IS THERE A, A QUESTION MORE DIRECTED TOWARD THE AUDIT THAT EITHER OF YOU MAY HAVE? YES, COUNCILWOMAN.
HI, UH, KEVIN, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS STANDARD FOR YOU, BUT, UM, I LIKE YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT COST SAVINGS.
I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO, UH, TO HAVE, UH, A DOLLAR AMOUNT OR A RANGE, UH, IN THE, AS PART OF THE REPORT, UM, IF, IF THAT'S POSSIBLE.
AND, AND YES, MA'AM, OFTENTIMES WE DO THAT.
WE DIDN'T DO IT ON THIS ONE FOR WHATEVER REASON, BUT, UH, UNDERSTOOD.
IS THERE A WAY OF, UH, UH, MARIA, YOUR OFFICE, UH, PUTTING AN ATTACHMENT TO THIS, UPDATING WHAT THE PROJECTED SAVINGS COULD BE? IF IT WERE CHANGED AS PART OF THE REPORT OR AS AN ADDENDUM TO IT?
[01:35:01]
WE, WE CAN DO THAT.COUNCIL, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO DO THAT.
COUNCILWOMAN, WOULD THAT BE HELPFUL FOR YOU? OKAY.
COUNCILMAN, ANYTHING ELSE DIRECTLY ON THIS? YEAH, WELL, UM, UH, I UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.
I STILL HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT IT.
UM, I'M, I'M STRUGGLING WHETHER I, I SUPPORT THIS RECOMMENDATION AT THIS POINT.
UM, IT, IT, IT'S BECAUSE THERE'S, THERE'S THINGS BEYOND THIS AUDIT AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, UM, I'M SURE WILL COME UP AGAIN DURING THE, DURING THE NEGOTIATIONS THIS NEXT YEAR.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT, AND AGAIN, SO KEVIN DID WITH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, DID Y'ALL E EVEN, UM, APPROACH OLA ON THIS TO TALK TO THEM ABOUT THIS? NO, WE, WE DID NOT.
AND, AND, AND LET ME JUST CLARIFY.
OUR RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THE CHIEF OR THOSE, UH, AT THE NEGOTIATION, THEY CONSIDER INCLUDING THIS AS PART OF THE, UH, OF THE NEGOTIATIONS.
AGAIN, IF THAT IS, THAT IS MY RECOMMENDATION BASED ON THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE, IF, UH, AS, AS MANAGEMENT PREPARES FOR THE, UH, UH, NEGOTIATIONS LATER ON AND THEY DECIDE THAT THIS IS NOT ONE THEY WANT TO PURSUE, SO BE IT.
UH, THIS IS, AGAIN, WE'RE POINTING THIS OUT TO MANAGEMENT.
I BELIEVE THAT THERE IS SOME COST SAVINGS, UH, THAT CAN BE, UH, GAINED BY, UH, CONVERTING TO CIVILIAN, UH, FOR SOME OF THOSE POSITIONS.
AND, UH, THAT IT'S SOMETHING MANAGEMENT SHOULD CONSIDER, UH, YOU KNOW, TO, TO, TO SAY IF I APPROACH THE, THE, THE POLICE OFFICER'S ASSOCIATION, I MEAN, WHEN, WHEN THE CITY TRIED TO DO IT PREVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, THEY FILED A GRIEVANCE, SO I WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT THEY WOULD BE OPPOSED TO IT, BUT I DID NOT HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH THEM.
UH, WE CAN TAKE THE VOTE ON THIS IF YOU WANT, BUT I THINK THIS IS VENTURING IN INTO CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS AND TO MAKE THIS RECOMMENDATION, UH, THROUGH THE COUNCIL IS, I THINK THAT'S PREMATURE.
AND 'CAUSE WE HAVEN'T EVEN SAT DOWN AS A COUNCIL TO DISCUSS, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT OUR PRIORITIES ARE, ALL THE ISSUES THAT WE WANNA PUT ON THE TABLE.
AND I CERTAINLY DON'T LIKE TO SEND SIGNALS TO THE, UM, THE UNION PRIOR TO SITTING DOWN AT THE TABLE WITH THEM.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO AS FAR AS PUTTING OUT, AND I KNOW THERE'S A RESOLUTION OUT THERE.
I DON'T AGREE WITH THAT EITHER.
UH, AND, AND THIS IS JUST TO ME, THINGS THAT SHE'D BE BROUGHT TO THE TABLE AND DISCUSSED WITH THEM, AND THAT'S PART OF THE NEGO NEGOTIATION, AND NOT BE HAVING TO TAKE ALL THESE RECOMMENDATIONS BEFOREHAND THAT YOU HAVEN'T EVEN SAT DOWN AND STARTED TALKING WITH THEM.
SO, WITH THAT, I'M READY TO VOTE.
I, I, THIS IS MORE PART OF THE DIALOGUE.
I, I UNDERSTAND COUNCILMAN PERRY'S CON CONCERN, AND I, I, I THINK HE'S RIGHT IN THAT WE SHOULDN'T BE TRYING TO, TO NEGOTIATE.
I, I DON'T REALLY SEE THIS LIKE THAT.
I THINK THAT THE DOLLAR AMOUNT WILL INFORM US AS WE PREPARE FOR, FOR NEGOTIATING.
THAT'S REALLY WHY I'M ASKING FOR IT, BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'RE NOT GONNA GET EVERYTHING WE WANT.
YES, WE ARE UNION IF YOU'RE WATCHING THIS, WE ARE GONNA GET EVERYTHING WE WANT.
WE'RE NOT GONNA GET EVERYTHING WE WANT IN THE NEGOTIATION, RIGHT? SO I, I THINK JUST KNOWING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT IS GONNA HELP US DECIDE, HEY, IS THIS SOMETHING WE'RE REALLY GONNA PUSH FOR WHEN WE GET THERE? OR MAYBE, UH, WE, OUR TIME IS BETTER SPENT NEGOTIATING ON A DIFFERENT ANGLE.
SO I, I THINK IT INFORMS US BEFORE WE GO INTO NEGOTIATION.
I DON'T THINK IT'S A STATEMENT OF WE'RE DEFINITELY GOING TO, TO DO THIS.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S HOW I SEE IT.
SO I'M OKAY VOTING, UH, MOVING THIS FORWARD.
WELL, I'LL, I'LL JUST ADD THAT I BELIEVE, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS UNDERTAKEN BY THE AUDITOR IN HIS ANNUAL PLAN.
UH, AND I THINK HE CAME OUT WITH A, A REPORT BASED ON HIS EXAMINATION OF THE OPERATION.
UH, AND I THINK ANYTIME THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE AUDITOR OR ANYONE ELSE IN THE CITY TO, TO SEE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE MONEY, UH, IT SHOULD BE BROUGHT FORWARD.
UH, AND THEN IT'S UP TO THE COUNCIL TO ACT AFTER THAT.
SO, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO GO AHEAD THEN AND, AND CALL FOR, UH, AN ACTUAL MOTION TO APPROVE THIS, AND THEN IT WOULD BE, UH, SENT TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR THEIR ACTION.
AND SO, UH, IS THERE A MOTION OKAY.
[01:40:01]
MOTIONS MADE BY, UH, ANAS SANDOVAL.IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL GO AHEAD AND SECOND IT.
SO THE MOTION'S BEEN MADE AND SECONDED.
UH, I DON'T BELIEVE THERE'S ANY FURTHER DISCUSS.
CAN, CAN THE CHAIRMAN SECOND A MOTION ON A COMMITTEE? YES.
CHAIRMAN, I BELIEVE WE HAVE SOMEBODY HERE FROM THE CITY'S, UH, ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
I'LL CONFIRM FOR THE COMMITTEE'S PURPOSE THAT THE, UH, CHAIRMAN CAN'T SECOND A MOTION.
HE CAN ALSO VOTE FOR THE MOTION.
SO WITH MAJORITY VOTE TO THE ONE, UH, THE MOTION MOVES FORWARD TO COUNT CONSIDERATION.
[14. 20-47988 AU18-019 Audit of Aviation Police Operations]
WE HAVE ANOTHER INTERNAL AUDIT REPORT.UH, NUMBER 14, IT IS AN AUDIT OF THE AVIATION POLICE OPERATIONS.
AND AGAIN, I'LL ASK, ASK, UH, MR. BERTOL TO GO AHEAD AND, AND GIVE US HIS, UH, ANALYSIS.
UH, WE CONDUCTED, IT WAS PART OF THE APPROVED AUDIT PLAN.
UH, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND.
THE AVIATION POLICE DEPARTMENT, IT IS A STANDALONE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.
SO IT'S A, UH, AN AGENCY OUTSIDE OF, UH, OUR TYPICAL SS A P D.
IT'S STAFFED BY 53, UH, PERSONNEL, PRIMARILY, UH, LICENSED PEACE OFFICERS.
UH, AND THEY PROVIDE ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT TYPE FUNCTIONS AT THE AIRPORT, INCLUDING TRAFFIC CONTROL.
THEY ASSIST T S A, UH, AS NEEDED, AND THEN OTHER, UH, CALLS THAT THEY MAY HAVE FOR WHATEVER SERVICE MAY BE NEEDED, AND WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT PRESENCE.
SO THAT'S THE, THE PURPOSE OF IT.
UH, THE SCOPE OF OUR AUDIT WAS OVER THE ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS, WHICH INCLUDES THE TRAINING, THE VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS THAT THEY HAVE, UH, EQUIPMENT, INVENTORY, UH, OF THE, UH, AVIATION, POLICE, UH, DEPARTMENT, UH, PHYSICAL AND SYSTEM ACCESS TO VARIOUS, UH, COMPONENTS.
AND ALSO THE HANDLING OF COMPLAINTS.
UH, THIS AUDIT, WE DID HAVE A NUMBER OF ISSUES THAT WE IDENTIFIED AS PART OF THIS, UH, AUDIT.
THE FIRST ONE I DEAL WITH WAS TRAINING OF THE, UH, POLICE OFFICERS, UH, IN THAT, IN THAT DEPARTMENT, IN MANY CASES, WE FOUND THE TRAINING WAS NOT CURRENT.
IT WAS NOT DOCUMENTED CONSISTENTLY.
UH, THIS INCLUDES TRAINING IN THE AREAS OF THE CANINE OF MENTAL HEALTH, UH, BODY CAM USAGE, AND ALSO, UH, SOME LAPSES IN HANDGUN CERTIFICATIONS, UH, BY SOME OF THE OFFICERS.
UH, INVENTORY OF THE POLICE, UH, DEPARTMENT, UH, WAS NOT ACCURATELY IN, IN DOING OUR INVENTORY TESTING.
WE FIND AREAS WHERE, UH, THERE WAS INVENTORY OR ITEMS ON A LIST, BUT WE COULD NOT FIND THEM.
OTHER CASES, IT WAS THE OPPOSITE.
THERE WERE ITEMS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON AN INVENTORY LIST TO MAINTAIN IT, AND THEY WERE NOT, UH, THIS WAS ALL KINDS OF THING, OLD UNIFORMS THAT WERE JUST BEING HOUSED THAT DIDN'T NEED TO BE THEIR RADAR UNITS, UH, THAT THEY USED, THAT WERE NOT ON INVENTORY, AND THEREFORE DID NOT MAKE THE CALIBRATE THE ANNUAL CALIBRATION.
SO, AGAIN, RECOMMENDATIONS OF, OF, UM, IMPROVING THEIR INVENTORY CONTROLS, COMPLAINTS, UH, OFFICER COMPLAINTS WERE NOT ALWAYS HANDLED TIMELY AND ALSO NOT HANDLED ACCORDING FROM A TIMELINESS PERSPECTIVE, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES, UH, FOR COMPLAINTS THAT MAY BE FILED AGAINST CITIZENS, AGAINST ANY OF THE AVIATION POLICE OFFICERS.
UH, USER ACCESS CONTROLS WERE NOT, UM, SUFFICIENT.
AND THIS HAS TO DO WITH USERS HAVING ACCESS TO THE BODY CAM SYSTEM, UH, DOCUMENTED SHARE DRIVES.
AND THEN ALSO THEIR REVIEW OF PHYSICAL ACCESS IN SOME OF THE AIR, UH, AIRPORT AREAS WAS NOT DOCUMENTED.
UH, VOLUNTEERS IN POLICING, UH, WITHIN THE POLICING THEY USE, UH, VOLUNTEERS IN SOME OF THEIR PROGRAMS, UH, TO PATROL JOHNNY PARKING GARAGES, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
THE, UH, WHAT I'LL CALL THE PERSONNEL FILES FOR THESE VOLUNTEERS, UH, WERE SOMETIMES NON-EXISTENT OR NOT COMPLETE.
AND THIS IS THE APPLICATION PROCESS, BACKGROUND CHECKS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE THAT WE WOULD EXPECT TO SEE, TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE VOLUNTEERS THAT ARE OUT THERE SERVING WERE PROPERLY VETTED, UH, AND, AND ALLOWED TO, TO BE IN THOSE VOLUNTEER POSITIONS.
AND THEN ALSO, UH, THE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES WERE NOT UP TO DATE.
UH, YOU KNOW, IN OUR RECOMMENDATION, THERE WERE SOME PROCEDURES THAT, UH, THEY HAD THAT WERE, UH, UH, THEY JUST NO LONGER HAVE THAT PROCESS IN PLACE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THEY HADN'T UPDATED THEIR PROCEDURES JUST SO THAT EVERYBODY'S ON THE SAME PAGE AND OTHERS JUST HAD NOT BEEN REVIEWED IN QUITE SOME TIME.
AND AGAIN, OUR RECOMMENDATION, AT LEAST ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, THAT THESE SHOULD BE, UH, REVIEWED.
UH, ME AND MY STAFF, WE'VE HAD SEVERAL CONVERSATIONS WITH THE POLICE CHIEF AND, UH, WITH OTHERS, UH, AND THE DEPARTMENT ABOUT THIS AUDIT.
UH, I BELIEVE ALL OF THESE FINDINGS, THEY HAVE, UH, COMPLETED OR IMPLEMENTED THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS AND FIXED EVERYTHING.
WE DO HAVE THIS A FOLLOW UP AUDIT OF THIS AREA ON OUR PLAN, PROPOSED PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR.
[01:45:01]
PROBABLY DECEMBER, JANUARY IT WILL BE BACK OUT, UH, AT THE AVIATION POLICE DEPARTMENT TO FOLLOW UP ON ALL THESE ISSUES TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE IMPLEMENTED AND THAT THEY WERE RECOMMENDED, OR THAT THEY WERE IMPLEMENTED EFFECTIVELY.AND THEY'RE ACTUALLY WORKING AS, UH, AS ADVERTISED.
BUT AGAIN, WE'VE WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE POLICE CHIEF ON THIS ONE.
UH, A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT GETTING THIS, UH, THESE ISSUES ADDRESSED.
AND, UH, I'M HERE FOR ANY QUESTIONS AND AS WELL AS THE CHIEF FOR ANY QUESTIONS Y'ALL MAY HAVE.
AND, AND LET ME JUST SAY THAT I THOUGHT MANY OF, UH, THE FINDINGS IN YOUR REPORT WERE SIGNIFICANT, AND I KNOW THAT YOU'VE WORKED WITH THE CHIEF, I'VE SPOKEN WITH HIM.
I UNDERSTAND, UH, CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE HAS BEEN LOOKING AT THESE CONCERNS AS WELL.
UH, CHIEF, CAN YOU GO AHEAD AND TELL US, UH, THE PERSPECTIVE YOU HAVE ON THIS GOING FORWARD? SURE.
WELL, LET, LET ME TELL YOU THE PERSPECTIVE I HAD ON IT, UH, WHEN I, WHEN I SAW THE AUDIT REPORT, AND THAT IS THAT IT WAS A, IT WAS THE, THE AREAS WHERE, UH, KEVIN'S PEOPLE WENT IN AND, AND LOOKED AT IT WAS VERY, VERY SLOPPY.
UH, THERE ARE NO EXCUSES FOR WHAT, WHAT THEY FOUND.
UM, WE TOOK A NUMBER OF, UH, UH, A NUMBER OF CORRECTIVE ACTIONS, UH, PRIOR TO AND AFTER THE AUDIT.
UH, THERE WERE 1, 2, 3, 4, 4 INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE, UH, UH, RECEIVED CORRECTIVE ACTION AS A RESULT OF THIS AUDIT.
UM, I SPOKE WITH KEVIN ABOUT THIS ON A, ON A, ON A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT OCCASIONS.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, UM, WE ARE DOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, ARE SOUND IN ALL OF OUR AREAS, UH, THAT ARE, UM, UH, SUBJECT TO AUDIT, IS THAT WE, WE HAVE A, UH, HAVE A CAPTAIN STEVE TRUJILLO, THAT I'VE MADE A HEAD OF A, A, UH, FOR A LACK OF A BETTER TERM, A FIELD INSPECTIONS UNIT.
AND CAPTAIN TRUJILLO WILL BE GOING INTO ALL OF THESE AREAS.
HE'S MET WITH, UH, KEVIN AS WELL, TO TRY AND GET SOME INSIGHT ON, UH, HOW THIS IS DONE PROPERLY.
BUT HE'LL BE GOING INTO ALL DIFFERENT AREAS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT DOING THESE KINDS OF AUDITS, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE A SLOPPY, UH, SLOPPY OPERATION LIKE WE DID UP THERE AT THE AIRPORT.
UM, I'VE HAD CONVERSATION WITH CAPTAIN OLI WHO WAS IN CHARGE UP THERE ABOUT THIS, AND I'VE BEEN ASSURED THAT ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF IN THE FUTURE.
SO I'M CONFIDENT, UH, MR. CHAIR, THAT, UH, WE WON'T SEE AN AUDIT.
THE LIKES OF THIS, AGAIN, LET ME ASK IF, UH, SOME OF YOUR, YOUR CAUTION GOING FORWARD, UH, OVERLAPS INTO, FOR EXAMPLE, THE PARK POLICE, WHICH IS A SIMILAR TYPE OF A SITUATION.
UH, THE, THE SHORT ANSWER TO THAT IS YES, UH, THERE'LL BE NO STONE UNTURNED, UH, BY CAPTAIN TRUJILLO.
AND THE, THE WAY WE PLAN ON DOING THIS IS, UH, IT DOESN'T TAKE A LOT OF, UH, STAFFING.
UH, BUT I THINK IT'LL BE RATHER EFFECTIVE GOING FORWARD.
IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN MY CONCERN THAT, THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT OUR VULNERABILITIES ARE COVERED, VULNERABILITIES THAT WE, THAT ALWAYS COME UP IN THESE AUDITS.
UM, UH, THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE WORST AUDITS THAT WE'VE HAD IN TERMS OF, UH, ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD KEEPING AND WHATNOT.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, UH, JUST, UH, UH, TO MENTION THAT WHEN WE DISCOVERED, UH, PRIOR TO THE AUDIT COMING IN, SOME OF THESE ISSUES, WE SELF-REPORTED TO TCO ON THE TRAINING ISSUES.
UM, THEY, UH, THEY NOTED THAT, BUT THEY DID NOT, UH, UH, THEY DID NOT GIVE US ANY KIND OF DEMERIT OR, OR, UH, UH, MARK ON OUR RECORD FOR IT.
DID YOU TELL EVERYBODY WHO T COLE IS? YEAH, I'M SORRY.
THAT'S THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON, UH, LAW ENFORCEMENT.
UH, IT'S, IT'S, UH, IT HAS TO DO WITH TRAINING.
UH, DOES ANY, UH, ANY MEMBER HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE CHIEF OR KEVIN? OKAY.
COUNCILMAN FERRY, YOU KNOW, UH, CHIEF AND I, I REALLY, UH, APPRECIATE THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE DOING TO CORRECT THESE ISSUES.
BUT, UM, HOW, HOW WAS THIS DEPARTMENT OR THE AIRPORT POLICE FUNCTION? UH, AND I KNOW THEY'RE KIND OF SEPARATE, BUT THEY'RE NOT, THEY STILL WORK FOR YOU.
UM, WHERE, WHERE, WHERE DID WE, WHERE DID WE, WHERE DID WE FALL DOWN OR HOW DID WE NOT SUPPORT THEM THAT LET IT GET TO THIS POINT?
[01:50:01]
UH, COUNCILMAN, I DON'T KNOW THAT IT WAS A LACK OF SUPPORT.UH, WE HAD 1, 2, 3, 4, AS I SAID, FOUR INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE RESPONSIBLE, UH, FOR THESE AREAS.
AND I WOULD SAY THAT, THAT THE, UM, THE, THE LACK OF VERIFYING THAT THESE THINGS WERE DONE, UH, BY THE LIEUTENANT IS, IS WHAT GOT US WHERE WE ALL TO WHERE WE WERE ON THIS AUDIT.
UM, WE'VE, AS I SAID, WE'VE CORRECTED THOSE, THOSE ISSUES, AND I'M CONFIDENT THAT, UH, THE NEXT TIME KEVIN COMES IN UP THERE, THAT, UH, WE'LL COME OUT WITH A GOOD AUDIT.
I, YOU KNOW, I, I WOULD, UM, I WOULD AGREE THAT, AND I DON'T KNOW THE NAMES, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING LIKE THAT ABOUT THIS, BUT TO ME, IT WOULD SEEM LIKE, YEAH, THAT'S DEFINITELY A LACK OF, UH, LEADERSHIP AND, UM, MAKING SURE THAT THINGS ARE ACCOUNTED FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, AND TAKEN CARE OF.
WELL, I'M, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO A, A REDO OF THIS IN THE FUTURE TO SEE WHERE WE'RE AT, KEVIN.
WHEN, WHEN DO YOU SEE THAT HAPPENING IN, IN YOUR SCHEDULE? UH, RIGHT NOW WE'VE GOTTA FIFTH WITH IT FOR JANUARY TO BE BACK OUT THERE AND, AND PERFORM THE AUDIT.
WELL, I LOOK FORWARD TO THE RESULTS OF THAT.
UH, COUNCILMAN, I'LL BE BRIEF.
UH, THERE WAS ONE THING IN THERE THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT VAGUE TO ME.
YOU SAID THAT THE FORMAL COMPLAINTS WERE TAKING A LONG TIME.
BUT, UM, HOW DO, WHAT'S REALLY THE, THE TARGET FOR RESOLVING FORMAL COMPLAINTS? WHAT SORT OF TIMEFRAME WOULD HAVE BEEN ACCEPTABLE AND HOW DID THE TIMEFRAME WITH THE AIRPORT POLICE COMPARE TO, SAY, SS A P D OR PARK FORMAL COMPLAINTS COMPLAINT COUNCIL, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, WE ARE, WE ARE GOING THERE, THERE, RIGHT NOW, THERE IS NO SPECIFIED TIME LIMIT, BUT, UH, IN MY CONVERSATION WITH THE CAPTAIN, WE ARE GOING TO NARROW THAT DOWN TO, UH, WHAT IS REQUIRED IN SAP DS, WHICH WOULD BE 180 DAYS.
HEY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE, UH, UH, WELCOME.
A MOTION TO GO AHEAD AND APPROVE THIS AUDIT AND SEND IT TO COUNSEL.
IT'S MOVED FORWARD TO COUNSEL FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION.
[Items 15 & 16]
UH, ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA.UH, ITEMS NUMBER 15 AND 16, AND THESE ARE REGARDING, UH, THE AUDIT PLAN, UH, FOR THE AUDITOR.
AND SO, KEVIN, CAN YOU BRING THOSE UP TO US? YES, SIR.
UM, TWO ITEMS HERE, AND REALLY IT'S, I'LL KIND OF ADDRESS 'EM TOGETHER.
IT'S REALLY TALKING ABOUT THE STATUS OF OUR CURRENT YEAR, THE 2020 ANNUAL AUDIT PLAN, AND AS WELL AS OUR PROPOSED 2021 AUDIT PLAN.
AND, AND LIKE EVERY OTHER DEPARTMENT IN THE CITY, WE ALSO WERE IMPACTED BY, UH, THE COVID PANDEMIC, WHICH THEN HAD AN IMPACT ON OUR, UH, THE COMPLETION OR THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING ON OUR AUDIT PLAN.
UH, A COUPLE OF THINGS, UH, CONTRIBUTING.
YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID AS, AS THE, THE PANDEMIC HIT, WE DEPLOYED, UH, IN TOTAL I HAD 1.8 PEOPLE, BUT REALLY SEVEN OF MY STAFF WERE DEPLOYED TO ASSIST IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS, UH, WITH THEIR COVID RESPONSE.
AND THIS INCLUDED, UH, SOME PEOPLE DEPLOYED IT, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, AS WELL AS FINANCE, AGAIN, HELPING WITH, UH, THE ACCOUNTING PIECE OR THE, THE BACK OFFICE PIECE OF THE COVID RESPONSE, DEALING WITH INVENTORY, DEALING WITH INVOICES, DEALING WITH IDENTIFYING WHAT'S ALLOWABLE, WHAT'S NOT ALLOWABLE, JUST TO, TO SUPPLEMENT THEIR STATS.
UH, ALL THE FOUR OF THOSE ARE NOW BACK, AND I EXPECT THAT, UH, THOSE WILL BE COMING BACK TO THE DEPARTMENT, UH, SOON AS THINGS JUST STABILIZE AND, AND SOME OF IT GOES DOWN, BUT SOME OF 'EM JUST STABILIZING.
SO THAT HAD AN IMPACT ON OUR WORK.
ALSO, JUST, UH, GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS, GOING THROUGH THE AUDIT WITH EVERYBODY, ALL OF A SUDDEN BEING, WORKING FROM HOME, JUST A LOT OF STUFF GOING ON, IT SLOWED DOWN OUR AUDIT PROCESS.
SO ALL THAT TO SAY IS, UH, WE WILL NOT, UH, COMPLETE, UH, THE 2020 AUDIT PLAN AS WE NORMALLY HAVE IN PAST YEARS.
THIS WILL BE THE FIRST YEAR THAT WE DID NOT GET TO THE, THE PLANNED, UH, AUDITS IS WHAT I'VE DONE.
SOME OF THESE AUDITS ARE GONNA ROLL INTO THE 2021 AUDIT PLAN, FORMALLY, OTHERS WERE, WERE STARTING, IT'S JUST GONNA, THEY'RE GONNA GO INTO 20 FISCAL YEAR 2021 FURTHER THAN THEY NORMALLY WOULD.
AGAIN, JUST BECAUSE OF, OF, OF THE DIFFERENT, UH, ISSUES.
THERE'S OTHER AUDITS THAT WE'RE JUST POSTPONING WERE THEY WERE DELAYED AND WE'RE JUST GONNA POSTPONE THEM UNTIL A FURTHER DATE, UH, TO BE DETERMINED.
[01:55:01]
AND THOSE ARE SOME OF THE AUDITS DEALING, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT.UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE BUSY WITH OTHER THINGS RIGHT NOW.
US COMING IN, UH, WOULD MOST LIKELY PROVIDE NO VALUE TO ANYBODY.
SO WHILE THEY'RE STILL GONNA RUN, UNLESS WE'RE JUST POSTPONING THEM TILL THE TILL ONE AT A TIME, WHENEVER THAT IS, UH, WHERE IT MAKES SENSE TO BE ABLE TO BE IN THERE AND, AND, AND PERFORM THOSE AUDITS.
UM, SO THE, THE TWO DOCUMENTS THAT YOU WERE PROVIDED IN YOUR PACKET, ONE IS THE STATUS OF THE, UH, 2020 PLAN, THE CURRENT PLAN, AND WHAT THE STATUS OF EACH IN, IN EACH INDIVIDUAL ITEM IS.
AND IF IT WAS DELAYED, WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO ABOUT IT BEING POSTPONED INDEFINITELY, MOVE TO THE 2021 PLAN, UH, OR THEY'RE STILL SCHEDULED.
WE'RE STILL GONNA START SOME AUDITS THIS FISCAL YEAR.
SO THAT KIND OF EXPLAINS ABOUT OUR CURRENT PLAN.
UM, AND LET OBJECT HERE, KEVIN, IF I MAY, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY YES, SIR, WILL BE THE PERCENTAGE OF COMPLETION OF THIS CURRENT PLAN, YOU KNOW, COM COMPLETION OF THE ACTUAL AUDITS? I MEAN, I MEAN, EVEN IF IT CARRIES OVER, OUT OF THE PLANS FOR THIS YEAR, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE COMPLETION ESTIMATE'S GONNA BE? 60%, 70% OF THEM WILL BE FINISHED EVENTUALLY, EVENTUALLY, I'D SAY IN THE 80 TO 90%.
I THINK THAT I'M JUST LOOKING THROUGH THE POSTPONED INDEFINITELY, AND THEY MAY BE COMPLETED AT SOME POINT, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS GONNA STILL GET DONE OR MOVE TO THE OTHER PLANT AND THOSE THAT ARE POSTPONED THEM.
AND THERE'S JUST A GOOD REASON.
I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S, UH, YEAH, WE THOUGHT THROUGH THE PROCESS, BUT, UH, I'D SAY 80, 90% OF THE PLAN WILL AT SOME POINT BE COMPLETED JUST IT TAKING US LONGER THAN, THAN NORMAL.
AND THEN FOR THE PROPOSED 2021 PLAN, UH, AGAIN, JUST THAT PROCESS, I MET WITH ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, TO, TO GET THEIR INPUT AS WELL AS E L T MEMBERS, AS WELL AS WE HAVE A AUDIT UNIVERSAL DATABASE THAT WE LOOK AT AND CERTAIN AUDITS THAT WE REPEAT EVERY SEVERAL YEARS OR FEW YEARS JUST BECAUSE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THEM.
AND THAT COMES TOGETHER AS THE PROPOSED AUDIT PLAN, WHICH I HAVE, UH, IS IN YOUR, IS IN YOUR PACKET.
UH, THIS PLAN IS TO BE DISCUSSED TODAY.
I WILL NEED AT SOME POINT AN APPROVAL BY THE AUDIT COMMITTEE FOR THE PLAN, AND IT WILL THEN GO TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL, UH, IN THE SEPTEMBER TIMEFRAME FOR THEIR APPROVAL OF THE PLAN.
AND THEN WE GO FORTH IN AUDIT.
UH, A COUPLE OF THINGS, UH, ON THE PLAN THIS YEAR.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE PLAN THAT YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S FOUR ITEMS. UH, THE FIRST FOUR ITEMS ARE CITYWIDE, AND THEY DEAL SPECIFICALLY AUDITING, UH, PROGRAMS WITHIN THE, UH, CITY'S RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN.
I'VE BROKEN THOSE UP SIMILAR TO THE FOUR PILLARS OF THAT PLAN.
SO WE WILL BE DOING AUDIT WORK WITH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, THE HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, UH, THE SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT, AND ALSO DIGITAL INCLUSION.
UH, I WILL SAY THAT WE ARE ALREADY DOING SOME AUDIT WORK, UH, WITH HOUSE OR, YEAH, WITH THE HOUSING ASSISTANCE AS WELL AS THE SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT, BECAUSE SOME OF THOSE PIECES OF, SOME OF THOSE PROGRAMS ARE HAPPENING NOW.
AND IF WE'RE GOING TO PROVIDE ANY VALUE OR ANY ASSISTANCE, NOW'S THE TIME TO BE IN THERE.
WE ALSO HAVE AN AUDIT, UH, THAT WILL A LITTLE BIT UNUSUAL, BUT BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE ARE NOW REMOTE WORKING, UH, YOU KNOW, WELL OVER 2000 PEOPLE I BELIEVE ARE REMOTE WORKING.
WE'RE GONNA DO AN AUDIT JUST LOOKING AT THE, THE SECURITY AROUND THAT, UH, BOTH FROM A IT SECURITY, BOTH FROM A DOCUMENTATION, SECURITY, JUST ALL THE THINGS WITH SO MANY PEOPLE WORKING FROM HOME AND, AND ISSUES THAT MAY COME UP THERE JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE HAVE BEEN COVERED APPROPRIATELY, UH, BY THE, THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS.
UH, ANOTHER ONE JUST TO POINT OUT, AND IT'S NUMBER 22 ON THE PROPOSED AUDIT PLAN.
AND THAT HAS TO DO WITH, UH, AUDITS IN THE AREAS OF POLICING.
UH, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST AUDITED DEPARTMENTS THAT WE, THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY.
UH, UM, AGAIN, A LOT OF, OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS, A LOT OF THE, UH, ANCILLARY FUNCTIONS THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT DOES PERFORM, UH, WITH ALL THE, A LOT OF DISCUSSION WITH POLICING, UH, AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, THAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW WITH THE BUDGET PROCESS, ET CETERA.
I'M CERTAINLY ANTICIPATING ADDITIONAL REQUESTS FROM COUNSEL AND POSSIBLY FROM MANAGEMENT OF, OF AUDITS WITHIN THAT DEPARTMENT.
AND SO I'M JUST, I, I HAVE ALLOCATED A THOUSAND HOURS WITHIN OUR PLAN THIS NEXT YEAR, UH, JUST TO, AS, AS A PLACEHOLDER FOR THOSE TYPES OF REQUESTS THAT WE MIGHT GET, UH, AGAIN, EITHER FROM COUNCIL FOR MANAGEMENT OR WE MAY SEE SOMETHING AS AN AUDIT GROUP, UH, THAT WE MAY WANT TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT IN, IN SOME OF THESE AREAS.
UM, SO THOSE ARE KIND OF, UH, MY HABITS OF THESE TWO DOCUMENTS AND CERTAINLY, UH, INVITE ANY QUESTIONS OR, OR COMMENTS THAT THE COMMITTEE MAY HAVE ON, UH, OUR CURRENT PLAN, BUT PRIMARILY ON THE, THE PROPOSED 2021 PLAN.
I'LL OPEN THAT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS FROM, UH, ANY OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABOUT THE CURRENT, UH, ONGOING, UH, AUDITS OR, UH, PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? YES, COUNCILWOMAN, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UH, THANK YOU, KEVIN, FOR BEING SO FLEXIBLE WITH, UH, WITH YOUR AUDITS AND PUTTING YOUR RESOURCES WHERE YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY'RE MOST NEEDED.
[02:00:02]
I, I NOTICED, UM, THE, THE STUFF FOR PD, YOU AND I HAD TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CALLS FOR SERVICE, AND I'VE SPOKEN WITH MARIA ABOUT GETTING THAT TYPE OF INFORMATION TOO.SO I'M WONDERING, MARIA, WHAT'S THE PLAN FOR, UH, COLLECTING THAT INFORMATION AND, AND THE TIMELINE? UH, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE, UM, PLAN TO DO BASED ON THE PLAN THAT THE CITY MANAGER LAID OUT ON AUGUST THE SIXTH TO THE COUNCIL TO REVIEW POLICE SERVICES IS, UH, TO REVIEW POLICE, UH, CALLS FOR SERVICE.
AND WITH THE GOAL OF UNDERSTANDING, UM, THE TYPE OF CALLS, THE, THE TIME THAT IT TAKES OUR OFFICERS TO RESPOND TO THOSE CALLS, AND COMING UP POTENTIALLY WITH SOME OF THOSE THAT MAY NOT NEED TO BE IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, AND FINDING ALTERNATIVES, UH, TO RECOMMEND TO THE COUNCIL ON HOW TO ADDRESS THOSE CALLS.
THAT IS A PROCESS THAT WE HAVE LAID OUT TO TAKE, UM, UH, PLACE OVER THE NEXT SIX MONTHS TO HAVE A FINAL REPORT TO THE COUNCIL IN APRIL.
SO I, I NEED TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THE CHAIR OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE SO WE CAN KIND OF LAY OUT WHEN WE WOULD BE BRINGING THAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE.
THE REVIEW OF THOSE CALLS, WE HAVE INTERNALLY STARTED THAT PROCESS, UH, OF LOOKING AT THOSE, ALL OF THE CALLS THAT WE GET IN, IN THE, UH, IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
SO I DON'T HAVE A, A, A DEFINITE DATE WHEN WE GONNA BRING THAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, BUT OUR GOAL IS TO BRING IT TO THE FULL COUNCIL WITH RECOMMENDATIONS BY APRIL, 2021.
UM, AND, UH, MY, MY OTHER QUESTION IS, IT LOOKS LIKE, UM, THE CARESS FUNDING YOU'VE, UH, ALLOTTED, UH, TIME FOR THOSE FOUR PILLARS.
UH, WHAT'S NOT IN THERE? IS ANY OF THE, UM, THE MONEY SET ASIDE FOR THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE? UM, I GET IT.
IT'S CHANGING, UM, FROM, FROM DAY TO DAY, WEEK TO WEEK.
BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S STILL A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY AND, AND IN MY OPINION, UM, THE MOST, UH, IMPORTANT PART OF THE RESPONSE, RIGHT? IT'S ACTUALLY THE, THE PART WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP PEOPLE ALIVE AT THE MOMENT.
UH, IS THERE ANY, UH, CONSIDERATION TO EVALUATING THAT? UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CAN CERTAINLY ADD THAT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF, UH, THE, UH, THE MONEY FOR THE RESPONSE, IT'S ON A REIMBURSEMENT BASIS.
UH, AND SO PART OF THAT, PART OF MY THINKING BEHIND THIS IS, UH, WITH FEDERAL MONEY, WITH STATE MONEY COMES FEDERAL AND STATE AUDITORS.
SO THEY WILL BE LOOKING, UH, AS, AS WE SUBMIT OUR REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST AND, AND VARIOUS COMPONENTS, UH, THEY WILL BE LOOKING AT THAT AND AUDITING THAT ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, UH, THE MONEY WAS SPENT APPROPRIATELY.
UH, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER PIECE OF THAT IS BECAUSE I HAVE STAFF THAT WERE DEPLOYED, HELPING IN THOSE AREAS, UH, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY PROVIDING SOME OVERSIGHT.
AND SO THAT WHEN WE DO GET THOSE AUDITS, IT'S KIND OF, WE'VE WRITTEN UP SOME OF THE WORK AND WE'VE, WE'RE PREPARING AND MAKE SURE THE DOCUMENTATION IS IN A WAY THAT IT IS, WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR SOME OTHER AUDITORS, UH, THAT WOULD LOOK AT AND BE SUFFICIENT.
BUT IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN CERTAINLY ADD TO THE PLAN TO TAKE A MORE SPECIFIC LOOK AT THAT.
UH, BEN, I DON'T KNOW IF, IF I EXPLAINED THAT RIGHT AS FAR AS THE REIMBURSEMENT PROCESS, PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I, IF I'M OFF ON THAT.
AND COUNSEL, AND I'LL, I'LL ADD THAT OUR EXTERNAL AUDITORS HAVE BEGUN THE AUDIT PROCESS FOR OUR F Y 20 AUDIT.
THEY WILL ALSO LOOK AT THE, UM, REIMBURSEMENTS AS PART OF THAT AUDIT PROCESS.
THEY WON'T ISSUE NECESSARILY A SEPARATE OPINION OR A SEPARATE REPORT ON JUST THE CARES ACT FUNDING.
BUT GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF FUNDING THAT WE ARE GETTING, THEY WILL TEST THAT AREA HEAVILY FOR ELIGIBILITY OF EXPENSES, UH, MORE FROM A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE.
BUT THEY WILL DEFINITELY BE LOOKING AT THOSE PROGRAMS. UH, AND WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU SAY THOSE PROGRAMS, YOU MEAN, UM, UH, ANYTHING THAT WAS FUNDED OR REIMBURSED BY CARES? YES.
CITY OF THE FEDERAL, UH, ALL OF OUR FEDERAL FUNDING GETS LOOKED AT BY OUR EXTERNAL AUDITORS.
THEY WILL ISSUE OPINIONS ON, FROM A SINGLE AUDIT PERSPECTIVE, UM, TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE GRANT GUIDELINES, UH, FROM A FINANCIAL STANDPOINT AS WELL AS ELIGIBILITY OF EXPENDITURES.
BUT JUST GIVEN THE VOLUME OR THE, THE LEVEL OF FUNDING THAT WE RECEIVED IN F Y 20, UM, FROM FEDERAL GRANTS, UH, THOSE AREAS ARE GONNA BE TESTED PRETTY HEAVILY.
SO ALL THE PILLARS ARE, UH, BUT, BUT IN A, THAT'S ALREADY GONNA HAPPEN WITH THE OUTSIDE AUDITORS, BUT WE'RE STILL GOING TO HAVE OUR OWN AUDITOR, UM, DO THAT FOR THE DO AUDIT OF THE FOUR PILLARS, EVEN THOUGH THAT'S FEDERAL FUNDING.
I THINK KEVIN'S PROPOSING THAT, AND REALLY KEVIN'S AUDIT, I'LL LET KEVIN JUMP IN HERE.
I MEAN, HE'S GONNA LOOK AT IT.
UM, HE'S GONNA GET VERY DETAILED INTO THE PROCESS,
[02:05:01]
HOW WE'RE DOING THINGS, HOW WE'RE HANDLING THAT, THAT IN TERMS OF HOW WE'RE GETTING THE DOLLARS OUT THE DOOR, THE PROCEDURES, THE DOCUMENTATION, THAT KIND OF THING.IT'LL BE TESTED FROM A FINANCIAL STANDPOINT, PRIOR AUDITORS FOR ELIGIBILITY, BUT HE'S GONNA GET INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL THAN, THAN THEY'LL ON PROCESS.
AND, AND TO, TO EXPAND ON THAT A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE FOUR PILLARS, THAT WAS JUST A WAY FOR, TO ORGANIZE IT.
YOU KNOW, I COULD HAVE TAKEN SEVERAL APPROACHES TO THE ORGANIZATION OF IT, WHERE THE MONEY CAME FROM, BUT THE FOUR PILLARS MADE SENSE.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE USED TO TALKING ABOUT ALREADY.
BUT, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, WHILE SOME OF THE CARES ACT MONEY AND FEDERAL DOLLARS ARE GONNA BE USED FOR THAT, WE ALSO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF, OF OUR CITY BUDGET THAT'S, THAT'S GOING TOWARD, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND THE TRAINING PROGRAMS. AND THAT'LL BE GETTING STARTED HERE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS.
UH, SO BY LOOKING AT IT FROM THESE PILLARS PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE LOOKING BOTH AT FEDERAL FUNDING AS WELL AS, UH, CITY FUNDING, UH, THROUGHOUT THESE PROCESSES.
BUT IT'S BEEN SAID, WE WILL GET INTO THE DETAIL OF SOME OF THE OPERATIONS AND THE PRO THE PROCESSES, THE PROCEDURES, UH, AND THE DOCUMENTATION TO ENSURE THAT THE MONEY THAT WAS DISPERSED TO WHOMEVER GIVEN THE PROGRAM, UH, WAS PROPERLY SUPPORTED AND, UH, SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN IN THOSE INSTANCES.
UM, WELL, I, I'D LIKE TO, UM, TO PROPOSE THAT WE ALSO INCLUDE, UH, IN THAT EVALUATION SOME OF THE, UH, EMERGENCY HEALTH, UH, ACTIVITIES.
AND I CAN, WE CAN TALK OFF, WE DON'T NEED TO DEFINE THE EXACT SCOPE AT THIS POINT.
I THINK IT'D BE APPROPRIATE FOR YOU TO SPEAK WITH HIM ABOUT THAT AND HAVE HIM COME BACK AND LET US KNOW HOW HE'D LIKE TO INCLUDE THAT IN THERE.
UM, AND THEN, UH, I NOTICED, UM, SORRY, YOU, YOU LISTED THE CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM AS, UH, AS ONE OF THE POTENTIAL, OR SORRY, ONE OF THE PROPOSED AUDITS.
UH, HOW'S THAT GONNA WORK IF THEY'RE, THEY'RE ACTUALLY MOVING FROM ONE DIVISION TO ONE DEPARTMENT TO ANOTHER RIGHT.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WAITING TO SEE HOW THAT'S, HOW THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
BUT THE, THE, THE CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM, THEIR FUNCTION WILL, WILL PROBABLY GONNA CHANGE, BUT IT'S STILL, IT'S A CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM.
IT'S STILL GONNA CHANGE, OR IT'S STILL GONNA BE A FUNCTION THAT'S WITHIN THE CITY.
SO REGARDLESS OF WHETHER IT'S IN POLICE OR WHETHER IT MOVES OVER TO HEALTH, UH, THERE'S STILL A PROCESS THAT, THAT WE'RE, WE WANNA LOOK AT AGAIN TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THEY'RE PROVIDING THE SERVICES THAT WELL, WHATEVER THE OBJECTIVES BECOME, JUST PROVIDING THE SERVICES IN A TIMELY MANNER, UH, WITH THE RIGHT STAFFING, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
SO THE MOVEMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT, I DON'T SEE THAT AS A MAJOR IMPACT TO OUR AUDIT PLAN.
AND THEN I JUST WANTED TO CONFIRM THAT, UH, YOU PUT THE SAFE AUDIT ON THERE.
I HAD REQUESTED THAT, AND, AND ONE OF THE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS I WANTED ANSWERED WAS, HOW, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH TIME ARE SAFE OFFICERS ACTUALLY DOING SAFE WORK AS OPPOSED TO BEING PULLED ONTO DIFFERENT DUTIES? AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WAS COVERED.
IT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE IT IN THE DESCRIPTION, BUT I MEAN, THE DESCRIPTION'S REALLY BRIEF, SO I COULD YOU CONFIRM THAT, KEVIN? OKAY.
UH, MARIA, DO YOU HAVE A COMMENT, MARIA? YES.
UH, CHAIRMAN COUNCILWOMAN, JUST VERY QUICKLY, EVEN THOUGH THE CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM CIVILIAN POSITIONS ARE MOVING TO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF UNIFORM EMPLOYEES WITHIN THAT UNIT.
SO, UM, MY, MY GUESS IS THAT PERHAPS, UM, KEVIN WILL BE AUDITING THE FUNCTION AND THE, THE WORK WILL CONTINUE TO BE DONE BY CIVILIANS WHO REPORT TO METRO HEALTH, AND THEN THE UNIFORM EMPLOYEES THAT ARE WITHIN THE UNIT IN S A P D.
SO DO I NEED TO, DO WE NEED TO MAKE A MOTION OR ANYTHING? YES, WE DO.
UH, AND IT WOULD BE FOR THE COMMITTEE TO ACCEPT THIS PLAN, AND THEN, UH, IT WOULD BE MOVED TO COUNCIL FOR THEIR ACCEPTANCE.
SO WE'D HAVE TO AMEND THE PLAN RIGHT.
TO INCLUDE THE HEALTH PORTION THAT I PROPOSED IF WE WANTED, MOVE THAT FORWARD.
AND WE, HE COULD SAY THE COMMITTEE APPROVED X, BUT HE'S SUGGESTING TO THE COUNCIL THE INCLUSION OF, UH, ANOTHER ADDITION TO IT, AND THE COUNCIL CAN MOVE ON THAT.
SO, SO BASICALLY IS WHAT I'M HEARING, COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL, UH, IS WHAT I WOULD, I WILL ADD A, UH, ANOTHER ITEM IN THIS PLAN SPECIFICALLY OF THE, UH, THE RESPONSE, THE HEALTH RESPONSE THAT WE HAD TO AUDIT THAT PROCESS.
SO THAT IS NOW BECOMES MY PROPOSED PLAN WITH THAT ONE INSERTION FOR Y'ALL TO, UH, I WOULD ASK TO, TO APPROVE THAT PLAN SO THAT I CAN MOVE IT TO FULL COUNSEL.
IS THERE A SECOND FROM COUNCILMAN PERRY? SURE.
UM, AND ONE OTHER THING I'D LIKE TO, UH, KIND OF MENTION HERE, UH, KEVIN, I THINK YOU
[02:10:01]
AND I HAVE TALKED, UM, THAT OCCASIONALLY THERE MAY BE QUESTIONS THAT, UH, COUNCIL PEOPLE HAVE ASKED YOU TO, TO TAKE A LOOK AT, NOT AS AN AUDIT, BUT MAYBE AS A, UM, A JUST A LOOK AT AND, AND GIVE A LITTLE REPORT ON, UH, HOW YOU PERCEIVE SOME OF THESE THINGS.AND YOU HAVE SOME TIME THAT YOU CAN DO A COUPLE OF THOSE THINGS IF THEY COME ALONG? YES.
UH, WE, AS WE GET THOSE REQUESTS, WE WORK THEM IN, UH, AND WE GET A FEW OF THOSE EACH YEAR.
AND IF WE'RE THE RIGHT DEPARTMENT TO DO IT, WE'LL DO IT.
SOMETIMES WE MAKE REFERRALS THAT THEY MAY GO TO ANOTHER DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, WE'LL WORK WITH THE COUNCIL TO GET THEM WHAT THEY NEED.
UH, I MENTIONED THAT BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I BROUGHT UP TO THIS COMMITTEE, BUT IT WAS PRIOR TO BOTH COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL AND COUNCILMAN PERRY COMING ON THE COMMITTEE, UH, WAS SOME CONSIDERATION ABOUT SOME QUESTIONS INVOLVING, UH, THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT AND SOME MONEY THAT WAS, UH, ALLOCATED FOR BRIDGE LOAN IN THAT.
AND, UH, IT HAD BEEN BROUGHT TO THIS COMMITTEE, UH, PUBLICLY BY SOME PEOPLE WHO SPOKE TO THE COMMITTEE.
AND I, I TOLD THOSE, UH, PEOPLE, AND I ASKED THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS AT THE TIME IF THEY WOULD BE AGREEABLE FOR ME TO MEET WITH, UH, BEN GOEL AND KEVIN BARTOL AND, UH, TALK ABOUT WHAT COULD BE LOOKED AT IN THIS AREA.
AND, UH, WE DID TALK ABOUT IT.
THERE WERE A FEW THINGS THAT WERE MENTIONED THAT WE FELT WERE NOT SOMETHING THAT THE AUDIT COMMITTEE OR THAT THE AUDITOR COULD DO ANYTHING WITH.
BUT, UH, THERE WAS, UH, AN ISSUE THAT I DID ASK HIM TO TAKE A LOOK AT.
AND HE HAS PUT TOGETHER, UH, A DRAFT REPORT OF THAT.
AND I'D LIKE TO, UH, UH, AFTER WE'RE FINISHED HERE, HAVE HIM SEND THAT DRAFT REPORT TO COUNCILMAN PERRY AND COUNCILMAN AND COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL.
UH, IT'S NOTHING THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR ANY ACTION ON RIGHT NOW, BUT WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO KNOW THAT IT WAS SOMETHING THAT HAD BEEN BEGUN BY THIS COMMITTEE WITH THE COMMITTEE'S APPROVAL MAYBE EIGHT MONTHS AGO.
AND, UH, NOW WE'RE AT A POINT WHERE THAT'S BEEN DRAFTED, AND I WANNA SHARE IT WITH THE NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, AS, AS WE GO FORWARD.
UH, SO I THINK THAT CONCLUDES EVERYTHING I WANTED TO MENTION ABOUT THE AUDITING.
UH, COUNCILMAN PERRY, YOU HAVE A QUESTION? NO, NOT REALLY A QUESTION, JUST A COMMENT.
AND THAT, I THINK IT GOES TO, UH, UH, THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE.
WE'VE GOT A PLAN, BUT, UH, WE, WHEN I WAS ON THE COMMITTEE, WE MADE CHANGES TO THE PLAN DURING, DURING THE YEAR TO PICK UP ADDITIONAL THINGS AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, MOVE THINGS TO THE, TO THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, THAT KIND OF THING.
AND I, I, YOU KNOW, AND I SEE THAT HAPPENING THIS, THIS NEXT YEAR AS WELL, WHERE SOMETHING'S GONNA POP UP AND WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA ADD IT TO THE SCHEDULE AND, AND, UH, UH, KEVIN HAS BEEN VERY FLEXIBLE WITH THAT AND VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THAT.
SO JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT IN THERE AS WELL.
SO, UH, WE HAVE, UH, A MOTION AND A SECOND TO, UH, APPROVE THE, UH, BOTH ITEMS, THE ANNUAL AUDIT PLAN, STATUS REPORT THAT WE'VE GOT, AND THE PROPOSED ANNUAL AUDIT PLAN, WHICH WOULD GO TO THE COUNCIL FOR ITS APPROVAL.
SO I'LL JUST ASK, ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE.
AND THAT CONCLUDES THE, UH, BUSINESS FOR THE COMMITTEE TODAY.
I WILL ASK, ARE THERE ANY CONSIDERATIONS FROM ANYBODY FOR A FUTURE AUDIT? ITEMS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT ASK TO, UH, LOOK AT IN A FUTURE MEETING? OKAY.
HEARING NOTHING AT THIS TIME, WE WILL ALWAYS DO THAT AT THE CONCLUSION OF OUR MEETING.
OUR NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING DATE IS SEPTEMBER 15TH, AND HEARING NO OTHER BUSINESS, UH, WE ARE ADJOURNED.
THANKS TO COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR BEING HERE.