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[1. 20-4696 Staff presentation of the FY 2021 Proposed Budget focusing on, but not limited to, the following City Departments or Initiatives: [Erik Walsh, City Manager Scott Huizenga, Director, Management and Budget] A. Employee Healthcare Benefits and Compensation B. Restricted Funds]
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2020.GO AHEAD AND CALL THE CITY COUNCIL.
UH, MADAM CLERK, IF YOU CAN READ THE ROLE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
COUNCIL MEMBER PAIA IS COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE HERE.
ALRIGHT, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.
UH, WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF FUNDS TO GO OVER IN OUR BUDGET MEETING TODAY.
I WANNA REMIND EVERYONE, UH, FIRST BEFORE I HAND IT OFF TO ERIC, UH, IF YOU CAN USE YOUR RAISE HAND BUTTON, UH, TO GIVE IN THE QUEUE FOR DISCUSSION.
UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE ONE ROUND, UM, UH, SO IF YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND MAKE USE OF THAT BUTTON, THAT'D BE GREAT.
UH, CITY MANAGER ERIC WALSH, AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
WE HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF STAFF ON TODAY.
WE'LL START OFF WITH, UH, LORI STEWART, UH, REVIEWING THE, UH, EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS, UH, FOR OUR CITY EMPLOYEES.
AND THEN, UM, MARIA VILLA GOMEZ WILL COVER, UH, RESTRICTED FUNDS.
WE HAVE A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS, UH, ON THE LINE TODAY FOR, UH, POTENTIAL FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS.
SO WITH THAT, I WILL, UH, PASS ALONG
GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I'M PLEASED TO BE HERE THIS AFTERNOON TO DISCUSS EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
OKAY, BUT FIRST I'M GOING TO SHARE A LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.
THE PROPOSED BUDGET SUPPORTS THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT'S MISSION TO ATTRACT, DEVELOP, ENGAGE, AND RETAIN A DIVERSE AND SKILLED WORKFORCE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING HIGH QUALITY SERVICES TO THE RESIDENTS OF SAN ANTONIO.
THE SLIDE LIST, JUST A SAMPLING OF PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THAT SUPPORT THIS MISSION, INCLUDING COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS, TRAINING AND EDUCATION, EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION AND RECOGNITION, AND PAID LEAVE AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS.
THE NEXT SLIDE SHOWS THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 BUDGET DETAILS OF THE $174.6 MILLION HR BUDGET, THE VAST MAJORITY, 96%, IS IN THE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS FUND, WHICH CONTAINS THE BUDGET TO PAY FOR CLAIMS FOR OUR SELF-FUNDED MEDICAL PLANS IN FISCAL YEAR 2021.
THE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS FUND IS INCREASING BY LESS THAN 1% DUE TO COST SAVINGS FROM THE NEW UNIFORM FIRE PLANS.
THE REMAINDER OF HRS BUDGET IS DIVIDED BETWEEN THE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE FUND AND THE GENERAL FUND.
THE $6.7 MILLION GENERAL FUND IS $300,000 LESS THAN THIS YEAR, AND IS MOSTLY COMPRISED OF PERSONAL SERVICES, BUT IT ALSO FUNDS CITYWIDE PROGRAMS SUCH AS TUITION REIMBURSEMENT VIA BUS PASSES, AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.
I'D ALSO LIKE TO NOTE THAT WHILE THE HR BUDGET INCLUDES 74 AUTHORIZED POSITION, THERE ARE AN ADDITIONAL 38 EMPLOYEE RELATIONS POSITIONS FUNDED BY OTHER DEPARTMENTS THROUGH THE SHARED SERVICES MODEL.
THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES WILL BE A DISCUSSION OF EMPLOYEE PROGRAM CHANGES IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 PROPOSED BUDGET THAT RESULT IN SAVINGS.
FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT A $140,000 SAVINGS IN THE VIA BUS PASS PROGRAM.
THE CITY WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE ANNUAL BUS PASSES AVAILABLE FOR ALL EMPLOYEES WHO NEED THEM TO COMMUTE TO WORK.
THE SAVINGS COMES FROM HAVING SOME EMPLOYEES PURCHASE THE BUS PASS FROM THE CITY ON A TIERED SYSTEM BASED ON ANNUAL BASE PAY OR ALLOWANCES RECEIVED.
THE TIERED SYSTEM WAS CREATED USING AN EQUITY APPROACH.
EMPLOYEES WITH AN ANNUAL BASE SALARY, LESS THAN $40,000 WILL CONTINUE RECEIVING THE BUS PASS FOR FREE.
EMPLOYEES EARNING A SALARY FROM $40,000 UP TO 70,000 WILL BE ALLOWED TO PURCHASE AN ANNUAL PASS FOR HALF PRICE.
CURRENTLY, THAT WOULD BE $30 FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR, AND EMPLOYEES MAKING 70,000 ANNUALLY OR MORE CAN PURCHASE THE BUS PASS AT FULL PRICE, WHICH WOULD CURRENTLY BE $60 FOR THE FULL YEAR.
ANY EMPLOYEE RECEIVING A CAR OR TRANSPORTATION ALLOWANCE REGARDLESS OF SALARY, WILL BE ALLOWED TO PURCHASE THE PASS AT FULL PRICE.
PURCHASED INDIVIDUALLY BUS PASSES FOR A FULL YEAR CAN COST OVER $450.
SO EVEN REIMBURSING THE CITY ITS FULL COST RESULTS IN SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS TO THE EMPLOYEE.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU WILL SEE THAT ADDITIONALLY, THE PROPOSED BUDGET SUSPENDS THE VIRGIN PULSE ACTIVITY BASED REWARDS PROGRAM FOR ONE YEAR.
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TRACKING SYSTEM WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE TO EMPLOYEES SO THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE THEIR FOCUS ON WELLNESS.THIS ITEM ONLY REDUCES THE CASH REWARDS THAT RESULT FROM PARTICIPATION.
WE PLAN TO EVALUATE THIS PROGRAM NEXT YEAR IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN OVERALL REVIEW OF OUR WELLNESS PROGRAMS TO DETERMINE THE BEST PATH FORWARD FOR WELLNESS INCENTIVES IN FUTURE BUDGETS.
THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 PROPOSED BUDGET ALSO SUSPENDS OUR MANAGEMENT FELLOW PROGRAM FOR TWO YEARS AND ELIMINATES THE $70 PER MONTH CELL PHONE ALLOWANCE FOR CITY EXECUTIVES.
COMBINED, THESE PROGRAM CHANGES IN TOTAL, INCLUDING THE VIA BUS PASS CHANGE RESULT IN ALMOST $1.3 MILLION IN SAVINGS ACROSS ALL FUNDS.
THE NEXT SLIDE HIGHLIGHTS EQUITY WORK IN HUMAN RESOURCES.
IN FISCAL YEAR 2020, WE LAUNCHED OUR DEPARTMENT EQUITY ACTION TEAM TO WORK ON OUR EQUITY ASSESSMENT AND TWO YEAR EQUITY ACTION PLAN.
WHILE OUR TIMELINE HAS BEEN IMPACTED BY C OVID 19, THIS TEAM HAS KICKED OFF EQUITY 1 0 1 TRAINING ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT AND IS COMMITTED TO COMPLETING THIS CRITICAL TASK.
HR ALSO DEDICATED STAFF TIME TO EVALUATE JOB DESCRIPTIONS THIS YEAR TO REMOVE UNNECESSARY OR UNNECESSARY BARRIERS TO CITY EMPLOYMENT.
LOOKING FORWARD TO 2021, WE PLAN TO INCLUDE EQUITY AND INCLUSION CONCEPTS IN CITY TRAINING PROGRAMS SUCH AS NEW EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION PROGRAMS AND SUPERVISOR EXCELLENCE TRAINING.
WE WILL ALSO CONTINUE SUPPORTING FAIR CHANCE HIRING PRACTICES, SUCH AS PARTICIPATING IN MOCK INTERVIEW TRAINING WITH THE ADULT DETENTION CENTER.
HR STAFF ARE ALSO SUPPORTING THE NEWLY, NEWLY FORMED BLACK EMPLOYEE AFFINITY GROUP, AND WE ARE COMMITTED TO DEDICATING STAFF RESOURCES TO COLLABORATE ON EFFORTS WITH THIS GROUP.
FINALLY, WE WILL CONTINUE TO APPLY AN EQUITY APPROACH TO FUTURE EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION DECISIONS.
AN EXAMPLE OF THIS IS THE VIA BUS PASS TIERED PURCHASE PROGRAM THAT WE PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED.
OUR NEXT DISCUSSION WILL CENTER AROUND BUSINESS CHANGES NECESSITATED BY THE PANDEMIC.
EVERYONE KNOWS THAT THE C OVID 19 PANDEMIC HAS HAD A SIGNIFICANT, SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE WAY THE CITY IS CONDUCTING BUSINESS WORK IN HR IS NO DIFFERENT.
I'M GONNA KEEP, OKAY, WE'RE BACK.
UH, SO WORKING HR IS NO DIFFERENT.
OUR EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS TEAM HAS WORKED DILIGENTLY TO CONTINUE ENGAGING WITH CITY EMPLOYEES, BOTH REMOTE WORKING AND WORKING SAFELY ON SITE.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS EXAMPLES OF OUR CHECK-IN CHALLENGE FOR REMOTE WORKERS TO STAY CONNECTED AND OUR SPIRIT GALLERY FOR EMPLOYEES TO SHOW EACH OTHER HOW THEIR WORKPLACE WORKS SAFELY, WHY THEY CHOOSE PUBLIC SERVICE OR OTHER POSITIVE MESSAGES.
IN OUR WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP MENTORING PROGRAM, RATHER THAN FACE-TO-FACE MENTORING SESSIONS, PARTICIPANTS CONNECT THROUGH WEBEX, EMAILS, AND PHONE CALLS.
WE HAVE HELD VIRTUAL SOCIAL GATHERINGS AS SHOWN IN THE TOP PHOTO AND MOVED THE SPEAKER SERIES TO A VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AS SHOWN IN THE PHOTO BELOW WITH ASSOCIATE VICE CHANCELLOR CHRISTIE WYATT WITH THE ALAMO COLLEGES DISTRICT.
THE NEXT SLIDE REPRESENTS OUR WORK WITH OUR EDUCATION PARTNERS TO TRANSITION THE MAJORITY OF OUR TRAINING PROGRAMS ONLINE.
ALL NEW EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION PROGRAMS ARE NOW OFFERED ONLINE.
ADDITIONALLY, THE CITY CREATED A PARTNERSHIP WITH MICROSOFT WHO HAS OFFERED CLASSES ON THE NEW OFFICE 365 TO MORE THAN 2000 CITY EMPLOYEES.
SINCE MARCH, WORKING CLOSELY WITH ALAMO COMMUNITY COLLEGES, THE CITY HAS BEEN ABLE TO TRANSITION AND OFFER 48 CLASSES ONLINE FOR MORE THAN 500 STUDENTS SINCE APRIL.
THIS INCLUDES THE FIRST CLASS OF OUR NEW INNOVATION ACADEMY SHOWN IN THEIR CLASS GRADUATION PHOTO TO THE LEFT OF THIS SLIDE, THE INNOVATION ACADEMY IS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE ALAMO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT TO PROVIDE EMPLOYEES WITH RIGOROUS TRAINING TO IMPLEMENT INNOVATIVE IMPROVEMENTS IN THEIR DEPARTMENTS.
SUPPORTED BY THE OFFICE OF INNOVATION IN THE FIRST INNOVATION ACADEMY, 15 STUDENTS RECEIVED MORE THAN 100 HOURS OF CLASSROOM TRAINING, COVERING THREE FOCUS AREAS OF PROCESS IMPROVEMENT, STATISTICS, AND USER-CENTERED DESIGN.
IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THE CITY WILL GRADUATE TWO CLASSES OF 15 STUDENTS EACH YEAR MOVING FORWARD.
THE FINAL PHOTO IN THIS SLIDE SHOWS HOW OUR BENEFITS DIVISION HAS SHIFTED BENEFITS ENROLLMENT TO A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT.
IN THE PHOTO ON THE RIGHT, YOU SEE ALLEN PROVIDING A PRESENTATION TO A NEW CLASS OF POLICE CADETS WHO ARE SOCIALLY DISTANCED IN A CLASSROOM SETTING.
IN THIS WAY, WE ARE ABLE TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE CLASSROOM WHILE STILL PROVIDING THE IMPORTANT
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INFORMATION AND INTERACTING IN A LIVE QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION.IN THE NEXT SLIDE, I WOULD LIKE YOU TO MEET JOY WHO IS PICTURED ON THE LEFT.
JOY PARTICIPATED IN THE HIRING OUR HEROES MILITARY SPOUSE PROGRAM LAST FALL, AND IN JANUARY, 2020, SHE WAS SELECTED TO JOIN THE HR NEW HIRE PROCESSING TEAM IN A REGULAR CITY POSITION.
OUR PROCESSING TEAM HAS BEEN DOING THE MAJORITY OF NEW HIRE PROCESSING BY TELEPHONE AND WEBEX.
IN THE PAST 10 TO 15 NEW HIRES WOULD PHYSICALLY REPORT IN GROUPS TO THE HR DEPARTMENT.
NOW, PRELIMINARY PAPERWORK IS COMPLETED AND SUBMITTED REMOTELY AND HR STAFF MEET THE NEW HIRE AT THEIR WORK SITE ON THE FIRST DAY TO FINALIZE THE PROCESSING.
NOW, OF COURSE, IF THERE IS A NEW HIRE THAT NEEDS MORE ASSISTANCE WITH THE PAPERWORK PROCESSING STAFF ARE AVAILABLE TO SET UP INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS AND PROVIDE THAT ASSISTANCE.
OUR RECRUITMENT TEAM HAS ALSO WORKED TO CONTINUE PROVIDING OUTREACH TO LOW INCOME AND COMMUNITIES OF COLOR BY PARTICIPATING IN VIRTUAL JOB FAIR EVENTS SPONSORED BY ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, ALAMO, AND A DISTRICT TWO VIRTUAL JOB FAIR IN JUNE.
THE PHOTO ON THE RIGHT DEMONSTRATES OUR EMPLOYEE RELATIONS STAFF CONTINUING TO SUPPORT THE CITY WORK SITE WORKFORCE ONSITE, BUT WITH PROPER SOCIAL DISTANCING AND THE USE OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT.
IN THIS PHOTO, LIZ AND HR SPECIALIST IS MEETING WITH AN EMPLOYEE OF THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT, SIX FEET APART AND WEARING MASKS.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER, WHILE WE CURRENTLY HAVE MORE THAN 2,500 CITY EMPLOYEES WORKING REMOTELY, THE MAJORITY OF CITY STAFF CONTINUE PHYSICALLY REPORTING TO THE WORK SITE TO PROVIDE CITY SERVICES TO OUR RESIDENTS, AND HR IS THERE TO SUPPORT THESE EMPLOYEES.
IN THE NEXT SLIDE, I WILL DISCUSS THE EMPLOYEE FURLOUGHS THAT OCCURRED IN FISCAL YEAR 2020.
THE PANDEMIC CAUSED SERIOUS FINANCIAL HARDSHIPS WITHIN OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FUNDED PROGRAMS. AS A RESULT, THE CITY FURLOUGHED 266 CITY EMPLOYEES FUNDED BY THIS TAX IN APRIL.
HR STAFF DEDICATED SIGNIFICANT TIME AND EFFORT IMPLEMENTING THESE FURLOUGHS.
WE FILED FOR UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS ON BEHALF OF THESE FURLOUGHED WORKERS.
HR ALSO MAINTAINED REGULAR COMMUNICATION WITH THESE STAFF TO KEEP THEM CONNECTED TO THE ORGANIZATION.
DURING THE UNPAID FURLOUGH, ALL CITY HEALTH BENEFITS WERE MAINTAINED, AND THE CITY IS NOT REQUIRING THESE WORKERS TO REIMBURSE THE CITY FOR THE MISSED MEDICAL, DENTAL, OR VISION CONTRIBUTIONS.
BY THE BEGINNING OF FISCAL YEAR 20 21 98, FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES WILL HAVE BEEN RECALLED TO THEIR HOME DEPARTMENTS.
THOSE REMAINING ARE ALSO BACK AT WORK.
HOWEVER, THEY HAVE BEEN TEMPORARILY DEPLOYED TO ASSIGNMENTS IN 19 OTHER DEPARTMENTS AS THE HOT FUND RECOVERS.
THE PLAN IS FOR THESE EMPLOYEES TO ALSO BE RECALLED TO THEIR HOME DEPARTMENTS IN SENIORITY ORDER.
THIS WILL BE AN ONGOING EFFORT THROUGHOUT THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
NOW, RETURNING 266 FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES TO WORK TOOK SUB CREATIVITY.
THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES HIGHLIGHT NEW PROGRAMS OR RESOURCE CONVERSIONS THAT HELPED US MEET THAT GOAL.
FIRST, I WILL HIGHLIGHT A NEW INTERNAL C D L APPRENTICE PROGRAM CREATED WITHIN THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT.
WE HAVE BEEN RECRUITING EXTERNAL APPRENTICE APPLICANTS FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW, BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE CREATED AN INTERNAL APPRENTICE OPPORTUNITY FOR CURRENT CITY EMPLOYEES TO DEVELOP A SPECIFIC SKILL AND POTENTIALLY ADVANCE WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION.
10 EMPLOYEES WERE SELECTED FOR THIS FIRST INTERNAL APPRENTICE OPPORTUNITY, AND EIGHT OF THE 10 WERE FURLOUGHED AT THE TIME.
THE APPRENTICES BEGAN THE PROGRAM ON AUGUST THE EIGHTH, AND THE PROGRAM RUNS APPROXIMATELY FOUR MONTHS.
THE NEXT SLIDE DISCUSSES THE DEPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES CREATED BY CONVERTING TEMPORARY AGENCY ASSIGNMENTS TO CITY PHYSICIANS.
AT THE BEGINNING OF 2020, HR DISCUSSED TEMPORARY AGENCY CONTRACTS WITH THE AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE.
AT THIS MEETING, COUNCILMAN TREVINO EXPRESSED CONCERNED ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF MONEY BEING SPENT ON TEMPORARY AGENCY STAFFING BY CITY DEPARTMENTS.
HR HAD PREVIOUSLY WORKED WITH THE METRO HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO CONVERT MORE THAN 50 TEMPORARY AGENCY STAFF WORKING WITH THEIR LONG-TERM GRANT FUNDED PROGRAMS TO CITY POSITIONS.
SO AFTER THE AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING, HR BEGAN WORKING WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS TO EVALUATE THEIR TEMP AGENCY USE.
WHEN THE PANDEMIC HIT, THE CITY MANAGER DIRECTED DEPARTMENTS TO RELEASE ANY TEMP AGENCY EMPLOYEE THAT WAS NOT ESSENTIAL TO CITY OPERATIONS.
OVER 200 AGENCY EMPLOYEES WERE RELEASED IN APRIL.
HR WAS THEN ABLE TO FOCUS ON EVALUATING THE ESSENTIAL TEMPORARY AGENCY EMPLOYEES THAT REMAINED AS A RESULT.
THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDES THE CONVERSION OF 65 AGENCY TIP ASSIGNMENTS TO REGULAR CITY POSITIONS IN POLICE SOLID WASTE, ANIMAL CARE SERVICES, AND WORLD HERITAGE DEPARTMENTS.
MANY OF THESE POSITIONS ARE BEING USED FOR DEPLOYED FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES.
WHILE THERE CONTINUES TO BE APPROPRIATE PLACES IN THE ORGANIZATION FOR THE USE OF TEMPORARY STAFFING, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGING THE WAY CITY DEPARTMENTS UTILIZE THESE SERVICES.
AS SUCH, WE WILL BE ASKING THE CITY COUNCIL TO EXTEND THE CURRENT CONTRACTS WITH THE THREE TEMPORARY STAFFING PROVIDERS FOR ONE YEAR.
WHILE WE REDEFINED EXPECTATIONS FOR FUTURE CONTRACTS AND DEVELOP A NEW R F P.
WE PLAN TO BRING THIS EXTENSION ITEM TO COUNCIL SOMETIME THIS
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MONTH, AND WE'LL APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT.I WILL NOW TRANSITION FROM DISCUSSING HR INITIATIVES TO DISCUSSING CITYWIDE COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS.
THIS SLIDE CONTAINS A FEW FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT OUR CITY WORKFORCE.
THE PROPOSED BUDGET FUNDS 12,667, REGULAR, FULL, AND PART-TIME POSITIONS.
THE POSITION MAKE IS APPROXIMATELY ONE THIRD SWORN PUBLIC SAFETY AND TWO THIRD CIVILIAN WITHIN THE CIVILIAN RANKS.
STEP PAY PLAN EMPLOYEES ACCOUNT FOR ROUGHLY TWO THIRDS OF ALL CIVILIAN POSITIONS.
THE OTHER THIRD OF OUR CIVILIAN STAFF ARE PROFESSIONALS, MANAGERS, AND EXECUTIVES.
OUR CIVILIAN WORKFORCE IS 46% FEMALE.
WHILE THE UNIFORM WORKFORCE IS 8% FEMALE, THE OVERALL WORKFORCE IS 62% HISPANIC, 28% WHITE, AND 6% AFRICAN AMERICAN.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE FIVE GENERATIONS REPRESENTED IN OUR WORKFORCE WITH THE LARGEST GROUP BEING GENERATION X AT 44%.
BABY BOOM, REPRESENTATION IS DOWN TO 18%, WHILE MILLENNIALS MAKE UP 30%, 36% OF THE OVERALL WORKFORCE.
NEXT, I'LL TURN MY ATTENTION TO EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
GIVEN THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF C OVID 19 ON THE CITY'S FINANCES, I AM PLEASED TO REPORT THAT FOR CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES, THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 PROPOSED BUDGET DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY EMPLOYEE LAYOFFS, NOR DOES IT INCLUDE ANY EMPLOYEE PAY REDUCTIONS OR UNPAID FURLOUGH DAYS.
WE HAD SPENT TIME WORKING WITH OUR EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THESE OPTIONS OF UNPAID UH, FURLOUGH DAYS AND PAY REDUCTION SCENARIOS.
THE GROUP AGREED THAT A TOP PRIORITY WAS TO RETURN OUR FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES TO WORK, AND WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED THAT THE EMPLOYEES WERE WILLING TO MAKE COMPENSATION SACRIFICES IN ORDER TO AVOID LAYOFFS.
FORTUNATELY, THOSE SACRIFICES ARE NOT REQUIRED IN THIS BUDGET.
CIVILIAN COMPENSATION WILL REMAIN STATUS QUO IN 2021.
THERE WILL BE NO COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENTS.
PERFORMANCE PAY, OR STEP PAY PLAN INCREASES.
THE CITY'S ENTRY WAGE IS MAINTAINED AT $15 PER HOUR TURNING TO UNIFORM COMPENSATION.
IN THE NEXT SLIDE, UNIFORM EMPLOYEES WILL BE COMPENSATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.
SWORN POLICE MEMBERS WILL RECEIVE A 2% BASE PAY INCREASE IN OCTOBER AND A 3% BASE PAY INCREASE IN APRIL.
THEY WILL ALSO RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL $100 ANNUALLY IN CLOTHING ALLOWANCE.
SWORN FIRE MEMBERS WILL RECEIVE A 2% BASE PAY INCREASE AND A 1% TOTAL COMPENSATION LUMP SUM PAYMENT IN JANUARY.
EMPLOYEES OF BOTH GROUPS CONTINUE TO HAVE PERIODIC ELIGIBILITY FOR LONGEVITY PAY OR STEP PAY INCREASES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR AGREEMENT.
IN SPEAKING ABOUT EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION, I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME OF THE BEST PRACTICES THAT THE CITY FOLLOWS TO HELP SUPPORT PAY EQUITY.
FIRST, THE CITY HAS ESTABLISHED SALARY ADMINISTRATION GUIDELINES THAT PROVIDE STANDARDIZED CRITERIA FOR COMPENSATION ACTIONS.
ALL DEPARTMENTS HAVE THE SAME RULES TO FOLLOW.
WHEN CREATING JOB OFFERS, EXCEPTIONS TO THE GUIDELINES TRIGGER ADDITIONAL LEVELS OF REVIEW.
IN THIS WAY, THE CITY PROMOTES CONSISTENT COMPENSATION PRACTICES.
SECOND, THE CITY IS TRANSPARENT WITH OUR PAY INFORMATION.
TOTAL COMPENSATION REPORTS ARE PUBLICLY POSTED.
AFTER EACH FISCAL YEAR END, ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC CAN SEE WHAT OUR EMPLOYEES ARE BEING PAID.
ADDITIONALLY, WE ARE TRANSPARENT WITH OUR COMPENSATION STRUCTURE.
OUR PAY PLAN INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE CITY WEBSITE.
OUR JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND JOB APPLICATION POSTINGS ALL INCLUDE THE SALARY RANGE FOR THE POSITION.
AT THE END OF 2017, THE CITY REMOVED ALL QUESTIONS ABOUT SALARY PREFERENCE AND SALARY HISTORY.
FROM OUR EMPLOYMENT APPLICATIONS, WE EVALUATE SALARY OFFERS BASED ON A CANDIDATE'S EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE COMPARED TO OTHERS AT THAT SAME LEVEL, AND DO NOT ALLOW ANY PAST PAY INEQUITY TO BE PERPETUATED IN OUR SALARY OFFERS.
OUR SALARY ADMINISTRATION GUIDELINES REQUIRE HUMAN RESOURCES AND SOMETIMES CITY MANAGER REVIEW OF ANY SALARY ADJUSTMENT INCREASE OR EXCEPTIONAL HIRE REQUEST.
THIS IS THE ADDITIONAL LEVEL OF REVIEW I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY.
THE ANALYSIS CAN INVOLVE GOING TO INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE FILES AND RESEARCHING EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT HISTORY FOR ALL THE EMPLOYEES IN THE JOB UNDER CONSIDERATION, THIS ANALYSIS HELPS US KEEP A FAIR AND EQUITABLE COMPENSATION SYSTEM.
WE WON'T SUPPORT AN EXCEPTIONAL HIRE REQUEST IF IT CREATES PAY AND EQUITY AMONG OUR SIMILARLY QUALIFIED CURRENT STAFF.
FINALLY, THE CITY HAS CONDUCTED SEVERAL REVIEWS OF GENDER PAY, UH, EQUITY ORGANIZATION-WIDE.
THE FIRST REVIEW TOOK PLACE IN 2013 AND WAS UPDATED EARLIER THIS YEAR.
I'M GOING TO CHANGE GEARS NOW AWAY FROM PAY PRACTICES TO THOSE POLICIES AND PROGRAMS THAT HELP SUPPORT THE ADVANCEMENT AND RETENTION OF WOMEN.
THESE PROGRAMS ARE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY HELP WOMEN STAY IN THE WORKFORCE.
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OF COMPENSATION.HISTORICALLY, WOMEN HAVE BEEN THE ONES TO EXIT THE WORKFORCE IF IT BECOMES TOO DIFFICULT TO BALANCE WORK WITH FAMILY, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN.
WHEN WOMEN REENTER THE WORKFORCE, THEY FIND THEMSELVES BEHIND IN TERMS OF EXPERIENCE AND CONSEQUENTLY ALSO PAY.
OUR PROGRAMS INCLUDE FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING SO THAT THERE IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP WORKING FULL-TIME WITH THE FLEXIBILITY TO ADDRESS THOSE CRITICAL FAMILY ISSUES.
WE HAVE THAT SAME GOAL WITH PARENTAL LEAVE.
WE PROVIDE SIX WEEKS OF PAID TIME OFF FOR BONDING AND MAKING THOSE IMPORTANT DAYCARE ARRANGEMENTS.
WE WANT WOMEN TO STAY IN OUR WORKPLACE AND CONTINUE GAINING THAT CRITICAL EXPERIENCE.
WE ADDED WELLNESS AND EDUCATION LEAVE TO PROVIDE A SEPARATE LEAVE BANK JUST FOR THINGS LIKE CHILDREN'S SCHOOL EVENTS OR PREVENTIVE CARE MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS.
PARENTS SHOULD NOT NEED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN SUPPORTING THEIR CHILDREN IN SCHOOL AND KEEPING THEIR JOBS.
WE ALSO PROVIDE MOTHER'S ROOMS TO SUPPORT NEW MOTHERS IN CONTINUING BREASTFEEDING FOR THEIR INFANTS.
FINALLY, WE PROVIDE PROGRAMS THAT HELP ALL EMPLOYEES CONTINUE THEIR WORK FOR THE CITY WHILE ADVANCING THEIR EDUCATION THROUGH TUITION REIMBURSEMENT AND THE UPGRADE COLLEGE ADVISING SERVICE.
AGAIN, THESE ARE IMPORTANT PROGRAMS FOR WOMEN WHO MAY HAVE HAD THEIR EDUCATION INTERRUPTED, BUT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, A WOMAN CAN REENTER THE WORKFORCE AND RECEIVE SUPPORT TO COMPLETE HER EDUCATION.
WE ALSO PROVIDE STUDENT LOAN REIMBURSEMENT TO HELP WITH FINANCIAL STABILITY AFTER COMPLETING A DEGREE PROGRAM.
OUR WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP MENTORING PROGRAM LAUNCHED IN 2014, HAS ACCEPTED A TOTAL OF 216 WOMEN INTO THE PROGRAM WITH A GREATER THAN 90% COMPLETION RATE.
JUST OVER 70% OF THESE WOMEN ARE STILL IN THE CITY'S WORKFORCE WITH 45% OF THEM EARNING PROMOTIONS EITHER DURING OR SINCE COMPLETING THE PROGRAM.
THIS PROGRAM HAD TO QUICKLY PIVOT WHEN THE PANDEMIC HIT, BUT WE ARE ENSURING THE 32 MENTEES STILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR FROM LOCAL AND NATIONAL LEADERS AND NETWORK WITH EACH OTHER AS WELL AS PROGRAM ALUMNI.
THEY'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON THEIR GROUP PROJECT, A VIRTUAL CONFERENCE TO BE OFFERED AT THE END OF OCTOBER.
OUR FIVE VIRTUAL EVENTS SINCE MARCH HAVE HAD A TOTAL PARTICIPATION OF OVER 200 ATTENDEES.
NOW THAT WE'VE REVIEWED COMPENSATION, PAY EQUITY, LET'S TURN OUR ATTENTION TO THE NEXT SLIDE TO HEALTHCARE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021.
THERE ARE NO PROPOSED PLAN DESIGN CHANGES TO ANY CITY HEALTH PLAN, AND ALL HEALTH PLANS ARE PROPOSED TO CONTINUE.
OUR CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES WHO ARE NOT RECEIVING ANY COMPENSATION INCREASES IN FISCAL YEAR 2021 WILL BE EXTENDED A ONE YEAR 10% DECREASE TO HEALTH PLAN CONTRIBUTION RATES.
THE SAVINGS FROM THIS CHANGE DEPEND ON 10 YEAR PLAN SELECTION AND FAMILY STATUS, BUT THE SAVINGS RANGING FROM A LOW OF $2 PER MONTH TO A HIGH OF $89 PER MONTH UNIFORM HEALTHCARE WILL BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.
UNIFORM EMPLOYEES IN THE P P O PLAN WILL SEE THEIR DEPENDENT RATES INCREASE BY 10%.
THE FEDERAL RESPONSE TO THE C OVID 19 PANDEMIC HAS GIVEN US THE ABILITY TO MAKE SOME TEMPORARY ENHANCEMENTS TO CITY HEALTHCARE PLANS.
CURRENTLY, ALL TELEMEDICINE IS COVERED AT 100% THROUGH DECEMBER.
ADDITIONALLY, THE CITY IS COVERING COVID TESTING AND COVID TREATMENT AT 100%.
THIS NEXT SLIDE SHOWS THE COST OF HEALTHCARE ON A PER EMPLOYEE PER YEAR BASIS.
OVER TIME, FROM FISCAL YEAR 2017 TO OUR 2021 PROPOSED BUDGET, WE ARE SEEING LOWER THAN EXPECTED HEALTH PLAN COSTS IN FISCAL YEAR 2020.
DUE TO THE IMPACT OF THE C OVID 19 PANDEMIC, WHICH HAS DELAYED MANY ELECTIVE MEDICAL PROCEDURES, THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 COST OF HEALTHCARE INCLUDES AN EXPECTED REBOUND FROM THE SUPPRESSED HEALTHCARE COST CAUSED BY COVID.
YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE FIRE PLAN COST IS EXPECTED TO BE LOWER IN FISCAL YEAR 2021.
THIS IS THE YEAR THAT WE WILL REALIZE THE FULL IMPACT OF THE HEALTH PLAN CHANGES FROM THE ARBITRATION DECISION.
CITY COSTS ARE EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM ABOUT 8,200 CIVILIANS TO APPROXIMATELY $17,800 PER YEAR FOR THE FIRE PLANS.
IN THIS FINAL SLIDE, I WANTED TO CONCLUDE AND SHARE THAT IN SPITE OF THE FISCAL CHALLENGES CREATED BY THE COVID TO 19 PANDEMIC, I AM PROUD THAT THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 PROPOSED BUDGET CONTINUES TO FUND THE BROAD RANGE OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, HEALTH BENEFITS, PAID LEAVE PROGRAMS, AND OTHER EMPLOYEE BENEFITS THAT YOU SEE ON THIS SLIDE NEW FOR 2021, WE WILL PROUDLY RECOGNIZE JUNETEENTH AS ONE OF OUR 13 PAID HOLIDAYS.
THESE ARE THE PROGRAMS THAT HELP KEEP THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THIS BRINGS ME TO THE END OF MY PRESENTATION.
I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION THIS AFTERNOON, AND YOU WILL NOW HEAR FROM MARIA VILLA GOMEZ ON RESTRICTED FUNDS.
THANK YOU, LORI, AND GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
UH, THE BRIEF PRESENTATION THAT I'M GONNA GO OVER WITH YOU TODAY IS TO TALK ABOUT THOSE RESTRICTED FUNDS THAT YOU HAVE NOT HEARD, UH, DURING THE PRESENTATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD SINCE THE PROPOSAL OF THE BUDGET.
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THAT ARE IN CHARGE OF THE MONITORING OF THIS FUNDS AND THE OPERATIONS OF THE FUNDS ARE IN THIS WEBEX OR TO ADDRESS QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.SO LET ME JUST START WITH OUR TOTAL BUDGET AS PROPOSED BY THE CITY MANAGER IS $2.9 BILLION BILLION FOR FOR THE CITY.
UH, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE GENERAL FUND, UM, UH, IN THE PAST MEETINGS.
WE HAVE TWO MORE MEETINGS, UH, TOMORROW THAT WILL ADDRESS ANIMAL CARE SERVICES AND CODE ENFORCEMENT, UH, ON THE RESTRICTED FUNDS.
WE HAVE PRESENTED SOME OF YOU, SOME, SOME OF THE FUNDS ALREADY, AND, UH, TODAY I WILL COVER SOME OF THOSE AS WELL.
AND THEN THE CAPITAL BUDGET HAS BEEN, UH, PRESENTED TO, UH, TO THE COUNCIL, UM, BY THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND ALSO BY THE AIRPORT DEPARTMENT AND THOSE MANAGING CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS JUST TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A SUMMARY OF THE $999 MILLION IN RESTRICTED FUNDS.
WE HAVE PRESENTED ABOUT 57%, UH, OF THOSE FUNDS THROUGH THE PREVIOUS WORK SESSIONS.
UH, TODAY WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE IS ROUGHLY ABOUT 43% OR $427 MILLION OF THE 999 MILLION.
SO OUR FUNDS THAT I'M GONNA, UH, REVIEW WITH YOU TODAY ARE DIVIDED IN THREE CATEGORIES.
WE HAVE SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS AND MOST OF THESE FUNDS ARE ASSESSED AS FEES THAT ARE RECOVERED FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES, UH, WITHIN, WITHIN THE PARAMETERS THAT THEY WERE CREATED, UH, EITHER BY, UH, CITY ORDINANCE OR BY STATE LAW PRIMARILY.
AND THAT'S HOW WE USE THOSE FUNDS.
WE ALSO GONNA TALK ABOUT ENTERPRISE FUNDS THAT ARE FUNDS THAT ARE, UM, MANAGED LIKE A BUSINESS AND THE FEES THAT ARE RECOVERED ARE, ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE OPERATIONS.
AND THEN FINALLY, THE THE LAST CATEGORY WE CAN INCLUDE, UH, INTERNAL SERVICES, AND THOSE ARE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE FOCUSED ON PROVIDING SERVICES TO THE C ORGANIZATION, OUR SELF-INSURANCE, UH, FUNDS, AND ALSO THE CITY HAS A TRUST FUND.
SO THIS SIDE BEFORE YOU, UM, YOU'LL SEE OUR SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS.
THE TOTAL PROPOSED BUDGET IS $50 MILLION IN TOTAL, ROUGHLY ABOUT $13.7 MILLION LESS THAN THE ADOPTED FISCAL YEAR 2020 BUDGET.
I'M GONNA HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE FUNDS, UH, INCLUDED IN THIS CATEGORY.
LET ME START WITH A ENERGY EFFICIENCY FUND.
THIS IS ABOUT 1.4, UH, MILLION DOLLARS.
AND THIS PARTICULAR FUND PAYS FOR RETROFITS AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE DO AT OUR CITY FACILITIES.
THE REVENUES THAT COME INTO THIS FUND, THEY'RE COMING FROM SAVINGS OF, UH, PREVIOUSLY, UH, IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS AND OTHER CITY FACILITIES AS WELL, AS WELL AS, UH, GRANTS THAT, THAT THE DEPARTMENT IS ABLE TO SECURE AND C P S, UH, REBATES.
ANOTHER, UM, FUND THAT I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT IS A PARKS ENVIRONMENTAL FUND.
THIS PARTICULAR FUND IS, UH, ASSESSED THROUGH A, A FEE OF A DO A DOLLAR AND 50 CENTS A MONTH, UH, PER, UH, RESIDENT OR PER C P SS UH, ACCOUNT.
THIS IS ASSESSED IN THE C P SS BILL IN IN THE REVENUES ASSOCIATED WITH THE, WITH THE PARKS.
ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, FEE IS, UH, RESTRICTED TO BE USED FOR PARKS MOWING, SANITATION, LITTER REMOVAL, AND TREE TRIMMING OF ALL OF OUR, UH, UH, OVER 200 PARKS ACROSS THE CITY.
THE OTHER ONE I WANNA HIGHLIGHT IS OUR LINEAR GREENWAYS AND EDWARD FER.
YOU SEE THAT THERE'S A REDUCTION IN THE PROPOSED, UH, BUDGET FOR, UH, 2021, AND COUPLE OF REASONS.
ONE, THE PRIMARY REASON IS THAT THE AUTHORIZATION, UM, THAT WAS, UH, APPROVED BY THE VOTERS IN 2015.
UH, WE WILL, UH, WE'RE ANTICIPATED OR SCHEDULED TO FINISH COLLECTING THE TOTAL AMOUNT AUTHORIZED BY APRIL OF 2021.
YOU MAY RECALL THAT THOSE TWO PROPOSITIONS COMBINED AS $180 MILLION, A HUNDRED MILLION FOR THE EDWARD AQUIFER AND 80 MILLION FROM THE LINEAR BRAIN WASTES.
EVEN THOUGH THE, THE COLLECTION IS ESTIMATED TO BE, UM, REACHED BY APRIL OF 2021, THE WORK WILL CONTINUE BEYOND 2021 UNTIL 2022.
SO I'M GONNA MOVE NOW TO OUR ENTERPRISE FUNDS ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
AGAIN, THIS FUNDS ARE RUN LIKE A BUSINESS.
UH, THE FEES THAT ARE COLLECTED ARE UTILIZED FOR THE OPERATIONS OF THOSE OF THOSE, UH, FUNDS.
AND, UM, AND WHEN THE ECONOMY OR THE REVENUES CONTRACT, WE'RE ALSO CONTRACTING THOSE, UH, UH, SERVICES AS WELL THROUGH REDUCTIONS IN ADJUSTMENTS TO THE OPERATIONS.
SO YOU'LL SEE HERE OUR MARKET SQUARE FUND.
AND THIS IS, UH, PRIMARILY FUNDED THROUGH, UH, PARKING COLLECTIONS AND LEASES OF, UH, THE MARKET SQUARE, UH, UH, FACILITY, UH, AND MERCADO.
[00:30:01]
WITH THE MAINTENANCE OF THOSE FACILITIES IS HOW WE UTILIZE THOSE, THOSE REVENUES.YOU SEE AN INCREASE OF APPROPRIATIONS OF HALF A MILLION DOLLARS.
WE ARE DOING SOME CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS TO MARKET SQUARE, UH, TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS, UM, MAINTENANCE AND ENSURE THAT THE BUILDING IS, UH, IS, UH, UH, CURRENT OUR PARKING OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FUND.
UM, THIS IS ONE OF THE FUNDS THAT WAS HEAVILY IMPACTED BY COVID 19.
UM, JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME NUMBERS FOR FISCAL YEAR, UH, 2020, WE SAW REVENUE, REVENUE LOSS OF ABOUT $4 MILLION IN PARKING, UM, FEES.
UH, AND FOR NEXT YEAR WE'RE ANTICIPATING, OR FISCAL YEAR 2021, ABOUT $3 MILLION.
AS YOU, AS YOU KNOW, THAT THE, THE PARKING FUND, UM, IS, UH, FUNDED THROUGH FEES AND, UH, REVENUES THAT WE COLLECT FROM OVER 7,000 PARKING SPACES ACROSS THE CITY.
THIS INCLUDES, UH, OR NOT, I'M SORRY, IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
THIS INCLUDES OUR SURFACE LOTS, OUR ON STREET SPACES AND PARKING GARAGES.
THE REDUCTION IN APPROPRIATIONS, UH, HAS TO DO PRIMARILY WITH CAPITAL PROJECTS.
WHEN WE ADOPTED THE BUDGET IN FISCAL YEAR 2020, WE HAD ANTICIPATED AT THAT TIME TO DO AN INVESTMENT OF ABOUT SEVEN, $7.5 MILLION FOR A NEW PARKING STRUCTURE THAT DID NOT COME TO FRUITION.
AND WE ACTUALLY ENDED UP USING SOME OF THOSE DOLLARS.
UM, YOU MAY RECALL TO BE ABLE TO OFFSET, UM, SOME OF THE, UM, REVENUE LOSSES THAT WE SAW IN, IN THE GENERAL FUND BY BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE VIA ABOUT $3 MILLION, UM, THROUGH THIS PARTICULAR FUNDING SOURCE.
UH, WE HAD ALSO INCLUDED $1.3 MILLION FOR PARKING IMPROVEMENTS, UH, AT ALL OF OUR FACILITIES.
AND THE 2020 ADOPTED BUDGET THAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE 2021 BUDGET, AS WELL AS WE HAVE, UM, UH, OPERATING SAVINGS BY DOING A HIRING FREEZE AND, UH, AND SOME OTHER CHANGES WITHIN THE OPERATIONS TO STAY WITHIN THE BUDGET.
OUR SOLID WASTE, UH, FUND IS ONE OF THE LARGEST, UM, ENTERPRISE FUNDS THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY, 132 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
THE INCREASE HAS TO DO WITH IMPROVEMENTS TO ADDRESS CUSTOMER GROWTH IN THE SYSTEM, AS WELL AS THE EXPANDED, UH, SOLID WASTE APPRENTICE PROGRAM THAT LORI MENTIONED IN HER PRESENTATION.
AND WE'LL ALSO EXPANDING OUR AVAILABILITY TO THE HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE PROGRAM WITHIN SOLID WASTE.
THE LAST, UH, SECTION OF, OF THE PRESENTATION TALKS ABOUT OUR TRUST, INTERNAL SERVICES AND SELF-INSURANCE FUNDS.
THIS, THE CITY HAS ONE TRUST FUND, WHICH IS OUR CITY CEMETERY.
AND THEN WE HAVE INTERNAL SERVICES, UM, FUNDS THAT ARE, UH, TAILORED TO, TO SUPPORT THE, THE FUNCTIONS SO OF THE CITY AND THE OPERATING DEPARTMENT.
SO, FOR INSTANCE, OUR BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR, UH, MAINTAINING OUR FACILITIES AND OUR VEHICLES.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE AN EQUIPMENT OR RENEWAL, UH, FUND THAT ALLOWS US TO SAVE DOLLARS TO BE ABLE TO REPLACE, UH, HEAVY EQUIPMENT AND LIGHT DUTY EQUIPMENT, I T S D AND PURCHASING, AND ALSO OUR SELF-INSURANCE FUNDS.
SO LET ME HIGHLIGHT A FEW OF THIS.
UM, OUR EQUIPMENT AND RENEWAL FUND, WE HAVE ROUGHLY ABOUT 5,400, UH, PIECES OF EQUIPMENT INCLUDED IN THIS FUND.
SO THAT INCLUDES OUR FIRE TRUCKS, OUR POLICE VEHICLES, OUR SOLAR WASTE TRUCKS, OUR PUBLIC WORKS EQUIPMENT.
ALL THE LIGHT DUTY, UM, VEHICLES OF THE CITY IS INCLUDED IN THIS FUND.
SO THE INCREASE YOU SEE OF ABOUT $12.7 MILLION AND EXPENSES PROJECTED FOR NEXT YEAR HAS TO DO WITH THE REPLACEMENT OF ADDITIONAL VEHICLES.
SPECIFICALLY, WE'RE REPLACING 10 FIRE ENGINES THAT ARE DUE TO REPLACEMENT DUE TO THEIR AGE AND THREE LADDER TRUCKS IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UH, THAT ALONE IS ABOUT $11 MILLION.
UM, WE ARE REPLACING, IN TOTAL, THE $53 MILLION REPRESENTS 117 VEHICLES, CITY VEHICLES THAT ARE BEING REPLACED IN 2021.
OUR FACILITY SERVICES, UM, UH, FUND THAT IS MANAGED BY THE BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, AND THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR 43 BUILDINGS, UM, ACROSS THE CITY.
THE INCREASE, UH, PRIMARILY HAS TO DO WITH THE ADDITIONAL MAINTENANCE COSTS THAT WE ARE GOING TO INCUR AS A RESULT OF THE, UH, CITY TOWER, UM, AS WELL AS ALARM AND SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS CITY FACILITIES.
OUR FLEET SERVICES, UM, FUND, UH, WE MANAGE ABOUT 5,500, UM, UH, PIECES OF EQUIPMENT, AGAIN, FROM FIRE TRUCKS AND POLICE VEHICLES, PUBLIC WORKS VEHICLES, SOLID WASTE, AND, UH, AND WE HAVE A REDUCTION IN
[00:35:01]
THAT PARTICULAR, UH, FUND, PRIMARILY TO LOWER THAN THAN ANTICIPATED, UM, DIESEL PRICES IN AS WELL AS FUEL PRICES.UM, FINALLY, OUR SELF-INSURANCE, UH, FUNDS, YOU SEE AN INCREASE OF ABOUT 7.4, UH, MILLION DOLLARS.
AND THIS HAS TO DO WITH PROJECTED INCREASES IN CLAIMS COST.
SO OVERALL, OF ALL THESE FUNDS THAT ARE JUST, I BRIEFLY, UM, UM, PROVIDED YOU AN OVERVIEW WITH THE NUMBER OF POSITIONS THAT SUPPORT THIS FUNDS ON.
COMPARING THAT NUMBER OF POSITIONS TO LAST YEAR, THAT IS AN INCREASE OF 60 POSITIONS.
THE MAJORITY OF THE INCREASE HAS TO DO WITH THE CONVERSION OF TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES INTO PERMANENT EMPLOYEES 43 AND SOLAR WASTE.
UM, THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL, UH, 17, UH, BUILDING EQUIPMENT SERVICES POSITIONS ARE BEING ADDED.
UH, ABOUT 12 OF THOSE ARE FOR THE CD TOWER, AND FIVE ARE CONVERSIONS OF, UM, UH, TEMPORARY POSITIONS, UH, PERMANENT POSITIONS IN, IN THE FLEET DIVISION.
SO, UH, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO NEXT IS, UM, UM, WE HAVE RECEIVED A FEW QUESTIONS RE RELATED TO THE STRONG WATER FEE.
UH, THE STRONG WATER FEE IS SOME IS, UH, UH, ONE OF THE FUNDS THAT WE COVER WHEN PUBLIC WORKS, HAD THE PRESENTATION TO THE COUNCIL LAST YEAR, BUT I JUST WANTED TO SPEND A FEW MINUTES TO, UH, CLARIFY SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS THAT, UH, SOME OF YOU HAVE RECEIVED.
SO THE STRONG WATER FEE PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN PROTECTING THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY OF OUR COMMUNITY.
WE DO THAT THROUGH REDUCING FLOOD RISK AND MAINTAINING WATER QUALITY.
THE, THE STRONG WATER UTILITY THAT IS WITHIN OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT WAS CREATED IN 1993 WITH THE GOAL OF REDUCING, UH, POLLUTANTS THAT ENTER THE WATERWAYS.
TO GIVE YOU SOME CONTEXT, UH, THE FEDERAL, UH, CLEAN WATER ACT, UH, REQUIRES CITIES TO CLEAN RUNOFF BEFORE IT ENTERS A WATERWAYS.
UM, THE UTILITY, UH, OVERSIGHT IS DONE THROUGH A MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM, STORM SEWER SYSTEM OR AN MS FOUR PERMIT.
UH, THE, THE STORM WATER FEE THAT, THAT, UM, THAT IS COLLECTED IS, IS SHOWN IN THE SAUCE BILL.
UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT YOUR SOURCE BILL, YOU'LL SEE A, A LINE THAT SAYS FEDERAL STRONG WATER FEE.
NOW, THE FEE IS NOT FEDERALLY MANDATED.
WHAT IS MANDATED IS THE WORK THAT IS DONE WITH THE FEE THAT, THAT WE GENERATE WITH THE REVENUE THAT IS GENERATED, THAT WORK, AND THAT WORK PLAN IS FEDERALLY MANDATED, AGAIN, UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT.
THE SAUCE BILL, UH, CLEARLY NOTATES THAT THE STRONG WATER FEE, UH, THAT IS COLLECTED IN THE SAUCE BILL, AGAIN, IS COLLECTED ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
NOW, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, JUST TO, UM, GIVE YOU SOME CONTEXT ON SOME OF THE, UH, UH, FEE INCREASES THAT WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST.
UH, LET ME START BY SAYING THAT THERE'S NO FEE INCREASE IN THE PROPOSED 2021 BUDGET IN 2016, UH, OR FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2016 BUDGET, THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED A FIVE YEAR, UH, RATE PLAN, UH, TO DO FEE INCREASES IN THE STORMWATER FUND.
THIS WAS DONE AS A RESULT OF A REVIEW OF, OF, OF A METHODOLOGY ON HOW WE WERE CHARGING THE STORMWATER FEE.
WE WERE COLLECTING THE FEE BASED ON THE, ON THE SIZE OF THE PARCEL WHERE THE PROPERTY WAS LOCATED.
UH, THAT WAS NOT A BEST PRACTICE, UM, WAY OF COLLECTING THE FEE.
SO OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT WENT THROUGH A VERY INTENSE PROCESS WITH A LOT OF STAKEHOLDERS AND A LOT OF INPUT, AND CAME UP WITH A METHODOLOGY THAT IS BASED ON IN PREVIOUS, UH, UH, COVER.
SO IN PREVIOUS COVER IS TYPICALLY YOUR ASPHALT IN, IN, UH, PAVING, UH, STRUCTURES.
SO THE, THE, THE LESS, UH, IN PREVIOUS COVER THAT A CUSTOMER HAS AT THE LOWER THE FEE.
SO THIS PARTICULAR METHODOLOGY IS MUCH MORE EQUITABLE RE STRUCTURE THAN WHAT WE'RE DOING PRIOR TO, TO 2016.
SO JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME CONTEXT, UH, WHAT YOU SEE ON, ON THE SCREEN FROM 2016 TO 2020, THOSE WERE THE INCREASES YEAR OVER YEAR, DEPENDING ON THE TIER OF, OF, UH, THE RATE THAT THE CUSTOMER WAS IN.
SO IN THE NEXT SLIDE, THE WAY THAT WE USE THE REVENUES THAT WE COLLECT THROUGH THE STRONG WATER FEE IS DIVIDED IN FOUR MAIN CATEGORIES ARE FLOOD MANAGEMENT, OUR CHANNEL AND CREEK MAINTENANCE, UH, VEGETATION MANAGEMENT AND STREET SWEEPING.
SO, SO YOU'LL SEE ON, ON THE SPRING ON FLOOD MANAGEMENT, THIS TALKS ABOUT THE, THE MAINTENANCE AND MONITORING OF A LOW WATER
[00:40:01]
CROSSINGS, OUR TUNNELS UNDERGROUND PIPE, UH, TELEVISING AND, UH, CORRUGATED METAL PIPE, UH, REHAB.THERE'S ABOUT 60 MILES, UM, UH, THAT, THAT ARE TELEVISED ANNUALLY.
AND THAT IS THE, THE GOAL FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021.
IN OUR CHANNEL AND CREEK MAINTENANCE, WE HAVE CHANNEL RESTORATION, DEBRIS REMOVAL, AND NATURAL CREEK WASTE.
WE MAINTAIN BROCCOLI ABOUT 70 MILES PER YEAR.
ON OUR VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
WE DO MOWING HERBICIDE AND, UH, AND CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION MAINTENANCE AS WELL.
AND WE MAINTAIN ABOUT 24,000 ACRES PER YEAR.
AND FINALLY, OUR STREET SWEEPING, UH, WE DO ABOUT 49,000 GUTTER MILES ARE SWEPT ANNUALLY, AND THAT INCLUDES LOCAL COLLECTORS, UH, ARTERIAL STREETS IN OUR CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT.
NOW, THE, THE FUND BALANCE IN THIS PARTICULAR FUND AS PROPOSED IN THE 2021 BUDGET IS ABOUT $7 MILLION.
THE PROPOSED BUDGET, AS YOU SEE ON THIS SCREEN, IS 48.5 MILLION.
THE GOAL, UH, OF AND, AND OF THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT IS TO MAINTAIN A FUND BALANCE OF ROUGHLY ABOUT $2 MILLION.
AND THIS, UM, COULD BE USED FOR UNEXPECTED, UM, UH, STORM EVENTS THAT WE MAY HAVE IN REPAIRS, EMERGENCY REPAIRS THAT WE MAY HAVE TO DO.
SO THAT IS 2 MILLION OF THE SEVEN.
UM, THE BALANCE OF THE, OF THE $5 MILLION IS WHAT WE PLAN TO USE FOR FUTURE CAPITAL PROJECTS, AS PROBABLY ALL OF YOU KNOW, THAT, UH, UH, DRAINAGE, UH, PROJECTS ARE EXPENSIVE.
AND SO THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENTS HAS A LIST OF, UH, DRAINAGE NEEDS ACROSS THE CITY.
SO THE $5 MILLION THAT WE WERE SERVING THIS YEAR WILL BE UTILIZED NEXT YEAR WITH ADDITIONAL REVENUES THAT WE COLLECT TO BE ABLE TO DO IMPACTFUL, UH, DRAINAGE PROJECTS ACROSS THE CITY AND MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, AND LORI AND I AND THE REST OF THE TEAM WILL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
ALRIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, LORI AND MARIA FOR, UH, THE PRESENTATIONS.
UM, LET'S GET RIGHT INTO COUNCIL CONVERSATION NOW AND, AND NOTE WE HAVE A HUGE NUMBER OF STAFF AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, ANY PARTS OF THESE, UM, PRESENTATIONS.
SO WE'LL START FIRST WITH COUNCIL MEMBER GRO.
UH, MAYOR, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, MARIA AND LORI, LET ME GO AHEAD AND GET TO THE, UM, THE CHANGES WITH THE, UM, HR, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO, TO EQUITY, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT EQUITY AND ABOUT THE BUS PASSES.
UM, AND WE'LL START FROM THERE.
UH, THE BUS PASSES AND THOSE MAKING LESS THAN 40,000, UH, BASE SALARY, LESS THAN 40,000, THEY WOULD CONTINUE TO RECEIVE THE BUS PASS AT NO COST.
UM, HOW MANY EMPLOYEES IS THAT? THAT HAS A BASE SALARY OF LESS THAN 40,000 HERE IN THE CITY.
UM, WE MIGHT HAVE TO GET THAT FOR YOU UNLESS CRYSTAL HAPPENS TO HAVE IT, BUT WE CAN PROVIDE THAT IN THE FOLLOW UP.
YEAH, I MEAN, THOSE NUMBERS ARE SOMETHING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW.
EVEN THE BREAKDOWN OF HOW YOU HAVE THIS HERE, UM, THOSE, HOW MANY, HOW MANY CITY EMPLOYEES DO WE HAVE WITH THE BASE SALARY TO 40 TO 70? AND THEN IF YOU HAVE THAT, UH, EVEN IF YOU HAVE THE DEMOGRAPHIC OR THE, THE GENDER BREAKDOWN TOO, I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO, TO GET THAT, UM, AS WELL.
AND THEN WHEN YOU WERE GOING THROUGH THE, UH, THE BUS PASSES AND MAKING THESE CHANGES THAT YOU DID, TELL ME HOW THE EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE WAS A PART OF THESE CONVERSATIONS? YES.
THE EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE HAS A COMPENSATION SUBCOMMITTEE THAT MET AND REVIEWED A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS BECAUSE, UM, THERE WERE ACTUALLY UNPAID FURLOUGH DAYS BEING DISCUSSED AND ALSO AN EQUITY APPROACH TO HOW FURLOUGH DAYS WOULD HAPPEN.
SO WHEN THERE WAS TALK ABOUT TUITION REIMBURSEMENT, THE STUDENT LOAN PAYMENT, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PROGRAMS, UM, AND OPTIONS WERE DISCUSSED WITH THAT, UH, SUBCOMMITTEE.
AND SO I THINK EVERYONE WAS VERY PLEASED THAT THE FINAL PROPOSED BUDGET JUST REALLY DID NOT HAVE TO ELIMINATE VERY MANY OF THE PROGRAMS. SO I GUESS I, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS FOR, FOR YOU ERIC AND, AND OR LAURIE.
I'M LOOKING AT OUR FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES, AND I THINK YOU'VE MENTIONED IT A LITTLE BIT, UM, IN OTHER BUDGET SESSIONS, BUT I'M LOOKING ALSO AT OUR RESTRICTED FUNDS.
UM, DO YOU HAVE A THRESHOLD THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT TO SEE IF WE HIT IT BUDGET WISE THAT YOU'LL START, UH, BRINGING THOSE EMPLOYEES BACK TO THE DEPARTMENTS THAT THEY'VE BEEN FURLOUGHED FROM? IS ERIC HERE? YES.
[00:45:01]
ALL OF THE FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES ARE BACK AT WORK RIGHT NOW, BUT I, BUT I MEAN IN THEIR, IN THEIR ORIGINAL, UM, IN THEIR ORIGINAL DEPARTMENTS OR ARE THEY GONNA HAVE OPTIONS TO GO TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS IF, OR WHAT HAVE YOU? WELL, ALL, ALL OF THE FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES ARE FROM THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FUND DEPARTMENT.SO AS WE MONITOR THAT FUND THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, AND UM, UH, YOU KNOW, PRIMARILY THAT'S GONNA BE EVENT AND CONVENTION BUSINESS, IF THAT STARTS TO PICK BACK UP AND WE NEED EMPLOYEES BACK OVER THERE, THEN AS LORI MENTIONED IN THE PRESENTATION, DO, UH, BY SENIORITY, UM, ALLOW FOLKS TO GO FROM THEIR CURRENT POSITIONS BACK TO THEIR HOME DEPARTMENT.
UM, THE, THE ONLY FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO BALANCE IN THAT SENSE ARE FROM THE, THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.
AND IT REALLY DEPENDS ON HOW WE, ON HOW WE DO, UH, GOING INTO THE FALL AND NEXT SPRING.
UM, AND LORI, WHAT IS A CHECK-IN CHALLENGE? WHAT DID THEY DO THAT THAT WAS SUBMITTING THEIR PHOTOS OF THEM? HOW THEY CHECK IN EACH OTHER? YOU SEE THE ONE EXAMPLE IN THE SLIDE? YEAH, IT WAS A COUPLE OF COWORKERS WHO WERE INTERACTING ON WEBEX OVER, OVER LUNCH, I BELIEVE WAS THAT STORY.
SO OUR COMMUNICATION STAFF JUST ENGAGE THE EMPLOYEES TO, UH, DO IT AND THEN REPORT IT TO THEM AND SEND PHOTOS.
WELL, I'M GLAD YOU DID THAT BECAUSE I KNOW, UM, IT CAN FEEL VERY ISOLATING AND DISCONNECTED, UH, FROM THE TEAM THAT YOU'RE USED TO SEEING ALL THE TIME IF YOU DON'T HAVE THOSE CHECK-IN CHALLENGES.
SO I'M GLAD TO CONTINUE TO BUILD THAT TEAM OF MENTALITY IS, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
AND, UM, I AM HAPPY TO SEE THAT THE WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP PROGRAM IS STILL THRIVING, WHICH I THINK IS A PHENOMENAL PROGRAM HERE IN THE CITY AND, UH, CONTINUE TO INVEST IN THAT.
UM, I WANT TO KNOW, THANK YOU FOR THE, THE GRAPH THAT YOU PUT ABOUT THE ITEMS ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR WOMEN, BUT I DO WANNA TALK ABOUT WHAT ARE WE, UM, WHERE'S OUR PAY EQUITY, UH, UH, 'CAUSE WE HAVE THE ORGANIZATIONAL GENDER PAY REVIEWS.
I KNOW WE HAD A C C R THAT ALREADY WENT TO GOVERNANCE, AND I KNOW THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE HAVING A REPORT, SO I'D LIKE TO KNOW THE STATUS OF THE, THE WOMEN, UH, THE PAY EQUITY HAVE ANYTHING, THE CCR OR CITY YES.
OR FOR CITY EMPLOYEE? WELL, EVERYTHING, ALL OF IT.
LIKE WHERE ARE WE WITH THE C C R? AND THEN THIS INFORMATION IS, IS GOOD TO HAVE, BUT WHERE DOES IT TALK? THESE ARE OUR PAY EQUITY PRAC PRACTICES.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT COMPENSATION TRANSPARENCY, AND YOU ALSO TALKED ABOUT, YOU ALSO MADE A COMMENT THAT SAID, YOU KNOW, EXPERIENCE IS A KEY INDICATOR FOR SALARY, BUT IF WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON EXPERIENCE, UM, WOMEN ARE NEVER GONNA CATCH UP IF THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO LEAN ON.
SO, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO SEE WHAT WE'RE DOING, UM, TO HELP AND, AND GET THAT AND SEE THE ACTUAL, UH, REPORT FROM YOU ALL TOO.
UM, AND I HAVE TO SAY THIS BECAUSE IT IS OUR LAST BUDGET, AND I HAVE TO SAY THIS TO COUNCILWOMAN, UH, IS COUNCIL, I CAN'T SEE COUNCILMAN GONZALEZ.
SO COUNCILMAN GONZALEZ, BECAUSE PART OF IT IS THE MOTHER'S ROOM, THE MOTHER'S NURSING ROOM, AND COUNCILWOMAN, I REMEMBER WHEN IT, IT WAS YOUR FIRST, IT WAS YOUR FIRST ONE, YOUR BABY, AND WE'RE IN CITY HALL AND MY CHIEF OF STAFF HAD JUST HAD A BABY.
AND YOU ALL WERE LIKE, WHY DON'T WE HAVE THIS ROOM, A MOTHER'S ROOM HERE AT CITY HALL? AND, UM, THANK YOU TO CITY STAFF.
IT WAS CHERYL AT THE TIME WHO REALLY MANAGED TO BUILD OUT AN OLD ROOM FOR A MOTHER'S ROOM, BUT IT WAS JUST THOSE BASIC THINGS THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO NURTURE AND CONTINUE TO GROW.
UM, BUT I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ AND, AND MY TICO STAFF AT THE TIME WHO WERE NEW MOTHERS AND LIKE, ARE YOU SERIOUS? YOU WANTED TO SIT IN A BATHROOM STALL AND DO THIS? ARE YOU CRAZY? UH, SO I JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT QUICKLY TO THE MUNICIPAL COURT FUNDS.
UH, IT'S A, UH, MARIA, IT'S A SELF-SUSTAINING FUND.
UH, YES, COUNCILWOMAN, THIS MUNICIPAL CORE FUNDS IS OUR TECHNOLOGY FUND, UH, OUR TRUANCY, UH, UH, FUND AND, AND, UH, OUR SECURITY FUND.
SO THE SECURITY AND THE TECHNOLOGY, THOSE ARE FEES THAT ARE CHARGED ON EVERY TICKET THAT ARE PAID.
AND THEN THE TRUANCY FUND IS, UH, WE GET SOME FUNDING FROM THE STATE, UM, UH, TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THAT.
SO THOSE ARE, UH, SELF-SUSTAINING
[00:50:01]
FUNDS, UM, BECAUSE OF COVID 19 AND SOME OF THE, THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE SEEN WITH REVENUES, THE GENERAL FUND HAD TO ASSIST, UH, WITH SOME, SOME OF THOSE FUNDS THIS FISCAL YEAR, 2021.AND THE, AND THE JUDGES, ARE THEY PAID OUT OF THIS FUND AS WELL OR NO? THE JUDGES, THE GENERAL ARE PAID OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND.
AND I JUST WANT TO PUT THIS ON OUR RADAR AND I GUESS I'M LOOKING AT, UH, CHAIR PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CORD HDA.
UM, I WAS JUST OFF A, A REALLY PHENOMENAL CALL, UH, WITH POLICING, UH, REFORM AND, AND ITEMS, UH, NATIONALLY AND TALKING ABOUT THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN OUR MUNICIPAL COURTS, OUR SS A P D AND EVERYBODY LOOKING AT THE ITEMS TOGETHER.
AND I THINK IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, UM, THAT WE HAVE, AT LEAST WITHIN THE CITY WHAT WE CAN CONTROL AND WHAT WE CAN WORK ON.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE, UM, ALL OF THAT.
SO I KNOW WHEN I'M HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT MUNICIPAL COURT, SO I WOULD LIKE TO ASK, HAS THE MUNICIPAL COURT GONE THROUGH THE BUDGET OR THE BUDGET EQUITY TOOL, OR EQUITY TRAINING, I SHOULD SAY, HAVE ALL OF OUR JUDGES AND THE COURTS GONE THROUGH THAT? I SAW FRED.
IS FRED HERE? IS FRED ON THE LINE? YES.
FRED, DO YOU KNOW COUNCIL? YEAH, ACTUALLY WE'RE WORKING WITH THE, UH, EQUITY OFFICE AND IN FACT WE JUST GOT, UM, ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT SOME OF OUR STAFF HAS BEEN, UH, SELECTED TO BE TRAIN THE TRAINERS.
SO WE ARE STARTING THAT PROCESS, UH, TO, TO DEVELOP STAFF, THE TRAIN STAFF, UH, WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE TO DO THOSE TYPE OF THINGS.
UM, THE, THE JUDGES, UH, HAVEN'T BEEN EXPOSED TO THAT JUST YET.
WELL, THANK YOU, UM, FOR THAT UPDATE, FRED.
AND, UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE TO PUSH ON THAT ERIC, UH, THAT WE CAN OR CHAIR, UH, CAMIL
UM, THOSE ARE MY QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW, IF I NEED MORE CLARIFICATION IF, BUT I'M GOING TO YIELD THE, THE REST OF MY, THE FLOOR.
COUNCIL MEMBER GRO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN, AND YOU'LL BE FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER BERDA.
AND LORI, I ONLY HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.
WHEN IT COMES TO THE TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES THAT WERE, UM, TERMIN OR NOT TERMINATED, BUT LET GO OF, UH, WITHIN THOSE TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES, DID WE ASSIST THEM WITH, UH, APPLYING FOR UNEMPLOYMENT OR DO WE KNOW IF THEY WERE ABLE TO RECEIVE UNEMPLOYMENT? UM, AS FAR AS THE TEMPORARY AGENCY STAFF GO, WE DID TALK TO THE TEMPORARY AGENCIES AND THEY WERE ALL VERY, UM, YOU KNOW, HAD, UH, HIGH EXPECTATIONS THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO REASSIGN THEM TO OTHER EMPLOYEES, OTHER EMPLOYERS, I'M SORRY.
AND I KNOW THAT, I KNOW THAT WE'VE PICKED UP SOME OF THEM AGAIN BECAUSE WE'VE HAD SOME ADDITIONAL HIRING OF TEMPS THROUGH OUR, UH, COVID RECOVERY PLAN.
SO LIKE, UM, THE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SERVICES HIRED ABOUT 50 TEMPS TO WORK ON THAT HOUSING.
AND THEN THERE'S THE, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT WITH THE CONTACT TRACING, BECAUSE I KNOW I HAD TO LET A TEMP GO HERE IN MY DEPARTMENT THAT I WAS REALLY UPSET ABOUT.
BUT SHE'S WORKING OVER AT THE, UH, ALAMO DOME RIGHT NOW HELPING HEALTH.
SO THEY, TEMPORARY AGENCIES WERE ABLE TO REASSIGN THE TENTS.
AND THEN LAURA, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE, UM, FUNDING FOR THE, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE STEP PAY, UM, THAT 2% STEP INCREASE FOR ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES, THAT HAS TO BE DONE BECAUSE OF THE C B A, CORRECT? YES.
UM, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT'S GONNA BE A QUESTION THAT, THAT IS, IS COMING UP WITH OUR CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES NOT BEING ELIGIBLE FOR ANY OF THE STEP PAY, UM, WITH US HA HAVING THE HIRING FREEZE, BUT THEN IT DOESN'T GO ACROSS THE BOARD FOR ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS.
UH, SO HOW ARE WE ADDRESSING THOSE ISSUES WHEN IT COMES TO OUR CIVILIANS VERSUS OUR UNIFORM INFORMED COUNCILMAN? I, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION THE WAY YOU ASKED, UM, THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT, WE HAVE THOSE CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS TO DO THE, ACROSS THE BOARD, UM, PAY INCREASES AS WELL AS STEPS FOR THOSE EMPLOYEES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE EITHER BECAUSE THEY HAVE CERTAIN NUMBER OF YEARS IN THE POSITION OR THEY NEED EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
SO AGAIN, THAT'S AN OBLIGATION THAT WE HAVE.
UM, AS YOU MAY RECALL, AS PART OF OUR STRATEGY TO BALANCE THE BUDGET, WE ARE NOT RECOMMENDING ANY PAY INCREASES FOR CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES OR FISCAL YEAR, UH, 2021.
[00:55:01]
I, I'M SORRY, THIS IS LORI.I WOULD JUST ADD THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DID WORK WITH OUR, UM, EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE, AND I BELIEVE THE EMPLOYEES HAD A GREAT UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH AS FAR AS, UH, THE GOAL NOT TO HAVE TO LAY OFF ANY CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE WAS REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND SO THIS IS WHAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN.
SO I THINK EVERYONE WAS SUPPORTIVE, BUT THAT IS WHY WE DID RECOMMEND THE 10% REDUCTION IN THE HEALTH PLAN PREMIUMS. SO AT LEAST PROVIDE SOME RELIEF FINANCIALLY TO THE CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES.
THAT WAS, THAT'S GREAT INFORMATION AND THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW THAT THE CONVERSATION IS BEING HAD SO THAT WE KNOW HOW THEY'RE FEELING IN REGARDS TO, UM, THE CUTS THAT THEY WILL BE SEEING OR WHAT THEY WILL NOT BE SEEING AS WE GO FORWARD, UM, IN THIS, IN THIS UNCERTAIN TIME.
UM, SO MY LAST QUESTION THAT I HAVE, MARIA, IS IN THE INNER CITY INCENTIVE FUND, WHAT DOES THE, UM, DECREASE IN RELATION TO YES, COUNCILWOMAN? SO THE INNER CITY INCENTIVE FUND IS, UM, UH, PRETTY MUCH IT REPRESENTS A TRANSFER THAT THEY GET FROM THE GENERAL FUND, AND THE DECREASE IS DUE TO THE SUSPENSION OF ECONOMIC INCENTIVES, UH, AND THE INNER CITY AS OUR STRATEGY TO BALANCE A BUDGET.
THOSE ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREWS SULLIVAN, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CAB HDA, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
UM, I THINK THIS QUESTION IS FOR LORI.
WHICH, UH, CATEGORY OF EMPLOYEE HEALTHCARE BENEFITS AND COMPENSATION HAS FELT, HAS SEEN THE MOST SEVERE REDUCTION OR CHANGE, EITHER CURRENT OR RETIRED? A RED, UM, I'M SORRY, I'M NOT CLEAR ON THE QUESTION.
REDUCTION IN COMPENSATION OR? WELL, YEAH, EITHER WAY.
I MEAN, WHAT, WHICH IS IT? UM, WELL, I GUESS YOU COMPARE THE CURRENT EMPLOYEES TO RETIRED EMPLOYEES, WHICH ONE HAS SEEN, UM, THE MOST REDUCTION AND, UM, ACTUALLY IN THIS BUDGET, UM, I'M REALLY HAPPY TO BE ABLE TO SAY FOR RETIREES THAT THEY WILL BE EARNING A, UM, COLA COST OF LIVING INCREASE FOR RETIREES OF 1.6%.
UM, THEY ARE, THEY'RE, THE PRE 65 RETIREES WILL BE, UH, MAINTAINED WITH NO INCREASES TO THEIR HEALTH INSURANCE.
AND WE JUST COMPLETED THE R F P FOR THE POST 65, AND THERE ARE SOME NICE SUBSTANTIAL REDUCTIONS IN THE COST OF THE, UH, MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLAN.
SO THE RETIREES ARE VERY HAPPY.
WE, WE MEET WITH THE, UM, RETIRED EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO REGULARLY AND REVIEW THIS INFORMATION WITH 'EM, AND THEY WERE PARTICIPATED ON THE R F P AND HELPED US MAKE THAT THE DECISION ON THE, UM, POST 65 HEALTHCARE.
SO THE RETIREES ARE VERY, VERY HAPPY.
UM, AS FAR AS CIVILIAN RE, UM, EMPLOYEES, I, I THINK WE WERE EXPECTING SO MUCH WORSE.
WE WERE EXPECTING TO HAVE TO DO A SERIES OF UNPAID FURLOUGHS, WHICH COULD BE AS MUCH AS THREE TO FOUR DAYS A MONTH FOR CERTAIN LEVELS OF EMPLOYEE.
SO I THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, AND HAVING THOSE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE KIND OF RELIEVED THAT THE BUDGET CAME OUT THE WAY IT DID SO THAT THERE ARE NOT VERY SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN THIS BUDGET FOR EMPLOYEES.
THE NEXT QUESTION, I BELIEVE IS FROM MARIA ABOUT THE RESTRICTED FUNDS ACCOUNT.
THE FUND ACCOUNTS, THERE'S A LARGE VARIANCE FROM THE 2.3 MILLION IN THIS CITY'S CITY'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO SAVE THE A HUNDRED MILLION, 102 MILLION FOR IT SERVICES.
SO I'M WONDERING IF WE'RE MAXIMIZING THE BENEFIT OF A RESTRICTED FUND FOR 2 MILLION JUST AS WE ARE FOR A RESTRICTED FUND OF 102 MILLION.
IT'S MORE OF AN ACCOUNTING QUESTION.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN, JUST TO CLARIFY YOUR QUESTION, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR, OUR I T S D FUND.
UM, UH, WE, WE ARE MAXIMIZING THE RESOURCES THAT ARE COMING THROUGH THE DIFFERENT ASSESSMENTS FROM, FROM THE DEPARTMENTS INTO THE IT FUND.
UM, AND, AND GREG CAN JUMP IN TO KIND OF HELP WITH THIS, BUT IT, UM, HAS ABOUT 341 EMPLOYEES TO SUPPORT THE ENTIRE IT INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE CITY.
ALL OF OUR MAJOR SYSTEMS FROM OUR 9 1 1 SYSTEMS AND THE FIRE AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS, OUR 3 1 1 SYSTEMS, UM, ALL THE, THE, THE SYSTEMS THAT WE USE ACROSS THE CITY ARE OUR, UM, DATA SERVICES, OUR VOICE SERVICES.
UM, THEY, THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THAT INFRASTRUCTURE AS WELL AS FOR IMPLEMENTING NEW PROJECTS ACROSS THE CITY.
SO, UM, THEY, THEY RUN AN EFFICIENT, UH, UH, OPERATION AND, AND I THINK WE'RE MAXIMIZING THOSE RESOURCES WITH WITHIN OUR I P S D UM, FUND.
THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS, MAYOR.
COUNCIL MEMBER CAB, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RO GARCIA.
UH, LORI, I'VE GOT A QUESTION ON SLIDE 15.
[01:00:01]
TALKED ABOUT THE STEP PAY, LONGEVITY PAY, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.UH, HAVE, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME WE UPDATED THE STEP PAY INCREASE, UH, FOR OUR CITY STAFF? FOR CIVILIANS? YES.
UM, YES, WE'VE BEEN, UM, I MEAN, AS WE'VE BEEN INCREASING THE ENTRY WAGE TO THE $15 THAT IT IS NOW, WE'VE BEEN MAKING, UM, ADJUSTMENTS TO THE STEP PAY PLAN.
UM, ALL ALONG OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, UH, WE WERE WORKING WITH THE EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE ON, ON WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO NEXT WITH THE STEP PAY PLAN.
AND I THINK THIS NEXT YEAR, 2021, IT'LL BE KIND OF A CHALLENGE BETWEEN CONTINUING TO WORK ON WHAT'S NEXT WITH THE STEP PAY PLAN, BUT ALSO BEING CONCERNED ABOUT DO WE NEED TO DO UNPAID FURLOUGHS AND NEXT BUDGET.
SO WE'LL BE WORKING WITH THAT EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE KIND OF ON BOTH ENDS OF THAT, BUT IT'S BEEN A CONSTANT, UH, ADJUSTMENT BECAUSE OF THE ENTRY WAGE MOVING UP, WE'VE HAD TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THIS STEP PAY PLAN.
UM, WHAT IS THE, UH, THE NUMBER OF YEARS YOU NEED TO WORK TO MOVE UP EACH STEP? UH, IT'S ANNUALLY.
SO, AND HOW MANY STEPS ARE THERE IN IT? UH, IT CAN VARY, BUT THE, THE MOST IS SEVEN AT THIS POINT.
SO EVERY YEAR YOU GO UP A STEP YEAH.
SO IF YOU WORK EIGHT OR NINE YEARS, YOU'VE ALREADY REACHED THE LAST STEP, RIGHT? THAT, THAT'S CORRECT.
AND WASN'T THERE TALK ABOUT TRYING TO EXPAND THOSE STEPS? YEAH, LET, LET ME, LET ME JUMP IN, LORI, BECAUSE SURE.
C YOU'RE, YOU'RE REM YOU'RE REMEMBERING EXACTLY WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT LAST SUMMER AND, AND IN LAST YEAR'S, UH, IN THE 2020 PROPOSED BUDGET, RATHER THAN AWARDING A STEP TO THOSE, UH, EMPLOYEES IN THE FIRST SEVEN YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT, ONE OF THE THINGS I HEARD AS I AS I TOOK OVER CITY MANAGER WAS THAT WE HAD EMPLOYEES AT 12, 13, 14, 18 YEARS THAT WERE ONLY SEEING A, A COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT.
AND IN THE 2020 BUDGET WE TOOK, WE TOOK THE MONEY WE HAD HAD SET ASIDE FOR STEP AND THE MONEY WE SET, SET ASIDE FOR COST OF LIVING AND GAVE EVERYBODY ACROSS THE BOARD AN INCREASE WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT WE WERE GOING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT, WHAT, WHAT THE STEP PAY PLAN SHOULD LOOK LIKE GOING FORWARD.
AND IT, IT, FRANKLY, IT SHOULD BE ELONGATED OVER MORE THAN A SEVEN YEAR PERIOD.
UM, BUT, BUT LORI'S RIGHT? WE, WE, I'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO GET BACK TO IT.
UM, BUT IT DEPENDS ON HOW WE PROGRESS THROUGH 2021 AND OUR FINANCIAL CONDITION GOING INTO 2022.
BECAUSE IDEALLY YOU WANT THAT, THAT PROFESSIONAL, UM, UM, UH, MOVEMENT TO OCCUR OVER, OVER A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME.
COUNCILMAN, YOU'RE ON MUTE CONSTRAINTS.
UH, E EVEN IF WE CAN'T INSTITUTE IT IN 21 TO 22, IF WE'RE WORKING ON IT TO DEVELOP IT SO THAT WE HAVE, UH, A MORE LONG RANGE STEP PROGRAM, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE WORKING ON.
THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE RELATED TO THAT THOUGH, IS THE, UH, POLICE AND FIRE STEP PROGRAM EXACTLY THE SAME.
UH, COUNCILMAN, THIS IS MARIA, UH, VIE GOMEZ? UH, NO, IT'S NOT, UH, THE UNIFORM STEP PLAN IS DIFFERENT.
IT'S BASED ON THE RANK THAT THEY'RE IN, AND THE STEPS ARE ACHIEVED EITHER BY A CERTAIN NUMBER OF YEARS THAT THERE ARE, AND THE STEP, UM, COULD BE ANYWHERE BETWEEN FIVE TO 10 YEARS, UH, AND THE LEVEL OF EDUCATION THAT THEY ATTAIN.
SO IF THEY'RE ABLE TO ACHIEVE THE EDUCATION ON THAT STEP, THEY GET TO IT QUICKER.
IF THEY DON'T, THEN THEY HAVE TO WAIT A NUMBER OF YEARS ON WITHIN
AND I NOTICED THEY ALSO, WE ALSO HAVE BUILT INTO OUR CONTRACT WITH THE POLICE AND FIRE LONGEVITY PAY.
AND, UH, SO HOW DOES THAT WORK AND HOW DOES THAT LONGEVITY PAY IMPACT THEIR STEP PAY? SO, LONGEVITY PAY COUNCILMEN FOR BOTH POLICE AND FIRE, THEY HAVE THE SAME STRUCTURE.
THEY GET A 3%, UM, INCREASE EVERY FIVE YEARS.
SO, UM, THE, THE LONGEVITY PAY IS A 3% OF THEIR, OF THEIR PAY.
SO FOR INSTANCE, IF THE SALARY OF, UM, A UNIFORM POSITION, $70,000, THAT PERCENT OVER THE $70,000, ASSUMING THE PAY DIDN'T CHANGE WHEN THEY GET TO THE NEXT LONGEVITY, UM, STEP, THEN
[01:05:01]
IT'S 6% OF THE $70,000.UM, DID YOU SAY IT BECOMES 6% OF THE 70,000 IF THEY'RE IN THE NEXT STEP? YES, SIR.
YOU MEAN THEIR LONGEVITY PAY CAN GO UP TO 18% OVER AND ABOVE THE STEP THEY'RE IN? YES, SIR.
THAT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING WE NEED TO BE TALKING ABOUT TOO.
UM, UH, MARIA, SINCE YOU GOT ON WITH THAT, I HAVE A COUPLE OF OTHER QUESTIONS ON SLIDE FIVE.
UM, WHAT WERE THE ANNUAL EXPENDITURES IN SOLID WASTE LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR? UH, YES, COUNCILMAN.
SO ON SLIDE FIVE, UM, THE SOLID WASTE, UH, FUND TOTAL OF OPERATING EXPENSES, 131.4 MILLION AND 2020, COMPARED TO 132 AND A HALF IN 2021.
SO THE, UH, EXPENSES, I MEAN, THE BUDGET THOUGH SEEMS TO BE A LOT HIGHER THAN WHAT THEIR ACTUAL EXPENDITURES ARE, THEIR ACTUAL EXPENSES, COUNCILMAN, AND NOW I'LL GIVE YOU, 2019 WAS 125 MILLION.
SO YEAH, WE SAW AN INCREASE, UM, OF, UM, UM, COMPARING THE 125 AND 2019 TO THE 132, THAT'S ROUGHLY ABOUT $7 MILLION.
AND THAT IS PRIMARILY DUE TO, UM, UH, ADDITIONAL RESOURCES THAT WERE ADDED FOR CUSTOMER GROWTH.
I ASK NEWMAN SOME OF THOSE IN THAT WE DID LAST YEAR THAT ADDED TO THE, TO THE 2019 BUDGET.
DAVID, I GUESS WHAT I'M, WHAT I'M LOOKING AT IS, IS THE BUDGET HIGHER THAN THE ACTUAL COSTS? AND WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? WHERE'S IT GOING? SO, COUNCILMAN E EVERY YEAR WE, AS WE, UH, WORK ON, ON THE BUDGET, FOR EXAMPLE, WE ADD POSITIONS, PERSONAL COSTS IS GONNA GO UP.
SO COMPARING THE ACTUALS OF 2019 TO THE PROPOSED BUDGET ON 21, JUST PERSONNEL ALONE WENT UP, UH, ABOUT TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS DUE TO ADDITIONAL POSITIONS.
AND THEN WE HAVE OTHER INCREASES, UH, IN OTHER AREAS OF THE BUDGET, UM, THAT, LIKE CONTRACTUAL SERVICES FOR INSTANCE, WE HAVE, UH, UH, UH, INCREASES, UH, THOSE AS WELL.
I GUESS I COULD GIVE YOU A MORE DETAILED ACCOUNT FOR THE, YEAH.
MARIA, LET ME ASK YOU, IF YOU COULD DO AN 18, 19, 20, UH, WHAT THE, WHAT THE EXPENSES WERE AND WHAT THE, UH, INCOME WAS AND WHAT HAPPENED WITH ANY, UH, OVERAGE, I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT ON SLIDE SIX.
I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE, UM, THE VERY LARGE AMOUNTS WE'VE GOT CREDITED FOR, FOR EQUIPMENT RENEWAL AND FLEET SERVICES.
UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS BETWEEN THOSE TWO.
UH, IS IT POSSIBLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE AGE AND CONDITION AND THE FUNCTIONALITY ARE FOR ALL OF THOSE VEHICLES? DO WE HAVE TO BUY 'EM ALL NEXT YEAR? DO CAN THEY LAST ANOTHER YEAR OR TWO? CAN WE SPREAD OUT THIS A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR PURCHASE OVER TWO OR THREE YEARS? UH, SO I'D LIKE TO SEE, UH, A RECKONING OF, OF ALL THOSE VEHICLES, AND LIKE I SAID, WHAT'S THEIR AGE, WHAT'S THEIR CONDITION AS REPORTED BY THE OPERATORS, AND WHAT'S THEIR FUNCTIONALITY? AND WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL PROVIDE YOU WITH THAT COUNCILMAN.
WE HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE INVENTORY SYSTEM OF ALL THE 5,400 PIECES OF EQUIPMENT ON THE REPLACEMENT FUND, AND NOT ALL OF THEM ARE REPLACED EVERY YEAR.
THE LIVE, UH, EXPECTANCY OF THE VEHICLES.
BUT, WE'LL, WELL, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THESE ARE TARGETED, I'D LIKE TO KNOW THE INFORMATION ABOUT THOSE TARGETED ONES.
AND I WANTED TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ON THE, UH,
ALTHOUGH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EXPECTS THE CITY TO PROTECT STORM WATER RUNOFF TO SAY TO THE CUSTOMERS WHEN THEY LOOK AT THEIR SAWS, BILL, THAT THIS IS A FEDERALLY MANDATED CHARGE, I THINK IS MISLEADING.
AND I'D LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT WE CHANGE THAT FROM THE SAWS BILL.
COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY.
UH, THANK YOU MAYOR, AND THANK YOU LORI AND MARIA FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS.
AND I JUST HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.
AND FIRST, LORI, I WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU, UM, FOR REALLY BEING, UM, CAREFUL WITH OUR EMPLOYEES THAT MAKE LESS THAN $40,000 AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY STILL ACCESS, HAVE ACCESS TO BUS PASSES, AND ALSO FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION OF FOLKS WHO MAKE UNDER 70,000.
AND, AND THE ABILITY TO PURCHASE A BUS PASS FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR FOR $30, I THINK IS, UM,
[01:10:01]
GREAT.I ALSO WANNA COMMEND YOU FOR THE POLICIES AND PROGRAMS THAT YOU HAVE IN PLACE FOR WOMEN.
UM, AND I ALSO, I, I HAVE A A LITTLE BIT OF A QUESTION FOR YOU ON THAT ONE.
DO YOU WORK WITH THE OFFICE OF EQUITY SPECIFICALLY FOR ANY OF THE, UM, UH, THE STUDIES THAT YOU ALL ARE PERFORMING ON THE, UH, GENDER PAY FOR INSTANCE? OR, OR HOW DO Y'ALL WORK? HOW DO YOU ENGAGE, UM, THE OFFICE OF EQUITY? UM, WELL, I DEFINITELY WAS ENGAGING WITH THE OFFICE OF EQUITY DURING THE, PUTTING THE BUDGET PROPOSAL TOGETHER, BECAUSE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE FURLOUGH DAYS.
CERTAINLY THE VIA BUS PASS TIERED SYSTEM WAS REVIEWED WITH THE OFFICE OF EQUITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GEARING UP FOR OUR ASSESSMENT WITH THEM THIS YEAR AND OUR, UM, EQUITY ACTION PLAN.
SO, UM, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING A VERY CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM AND, AND, AND INCREASING THE USE OF THOSE PRINCIPLES IN OUR PROGRAMS. SURE.
I WAS SPECIFICALLY ASKING, UH, FOR THE GENDER PORTION OF IT.
UM, AND SO THE REASON THAT I'M ASKING THIS IS I DON'T KNOW THAT OUR OFFICE OF EQUITY, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY DO, BUT IF, DO THEY HAVE SOMEONE THAT'S DESIGNATED, MAYBE IT'S AN ERIC WALSH QUESTION, ERIC, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S SOMEONE DESIGNATED IN THE OFFICE OF EQUITY TO LOOK SPECIFICALLY AT, UM, GENDER GAP PAY, FOR INSTANCE, OR, OR JUST WOMEN'S ISSUES.
UM, CAN, CAN YOU TELL ME THAT? COUNCILWOMAN GARCIA? YES.
UM, YES, OUR, OUR STAFF IS TALENTED ENOUGH TO HELP SUPPORT THAT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING AS WE GO FROM DEPARTMENT TO DEPARTMENT WAS STARTING OUT WITH HR DEPARTMENT, AND THEY TOO WILL BE SUPPORTING THEM IN THAT RESEARCH AND THAT STUDY AS WELL, SO THAT WE CAN CAREFULLY EVALUATE WHERE WE REALLY ARE.
SO THEY ARE PART OF THAT PROCESS.
THANK AND COUNCILWOMAN, I'LL JUST, I'LL JUST ADD THAT, THAT, UM, UM, YOU, AS WE'RE BUILDING UP THAT, THAT CAPABILITY WITHIN THE OFFICE OF EQUITY, WHICH IS REALLY LOOKING AT RACIAL, UH, DISPARITIES, UM, THAT, THAT HR HAS BEEN THE PRIMARY, UH, ROLE WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION TO, UH, LOOK AT GENDER ISSUES, UM, BECAUSE OF THE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE IN THE PAST.
AND AS DAVID MENTIONED, WE ARE, UH, TRYING TO BRIDGE THAT GAP SO THAT WE'RE ALIGNED.
I MENTIONED LAST TIME THAT, UM, THERE, I, I KNOW THAT THE CITY OF BOSTON HAS AN ENTIRE OFFICE DEDICATED TO, UM, TO, UH, WOMEN, RIGHT? AND TO, TO THE STUDY OF, OF HOW TO BRING, UM, PURITY TO WOMEN ISSUES.
SO, UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE AN EXPERT, UH, ON THIS ISSUE ON THE TEAM.
AND SO I'M JUST REALLY AFRAID THAT, THAT THAT DEPARTMENT IS SO SMALL THAT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THEY'RE THE RESOURCES COUNCILWOMAN, LET ME SHARE THIS WITH YOU TOO.
WE DO HAVE WHAT WE CALL OUR INTERSECTIONAL LENS THAT ALLOWS US TO TAKE A DEEPER DIVE INTO THAT AS WELL, SO THAT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES OR WE'RE GONNA SKIP ANY PART OF THAT, BUT THAT IS A PART OF THEIR CHARGE AS WELL TO WORK WITH HR ON IT.
UM, AND ALSO, AND, AND THIS IS A, I THINK IT'S A QUESTION, UH, FOR LORI.
UM, STILL, UH, THE COVID TREATMENT WE'RE COVERING A HUNDRED PERCENT OF COVID TREATMENT.
I'M, UM, I'M HOPING THAT THAT'S, THAT'S BEYOND, UH, WHAT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST, UM, MAYBE, UM, A LIGHTER, UM, COVID, UM, I GUESS PRESENCE, OR IF YOU WILL, OR I GUESS, UH, I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, SO DO WE COVER ECMO PROCESSES? DO WE COVER VENTILATORS IF OUR, UM, LIKE DO WE COVER THE REALLY EXPENSIVE HOSPITAL BILLS? BECAUSE IT SAYS A HUNDRED PERCENT.
AND THE REASON THAT I'M ASKING THAT IS BECAUSE I'M ASSUMING THAT'S WHY ON MARIA'S DECK, ON, UH, SLIDE SIX THERE IS, IN THE SELF-INSURANCE FUND, IT'S FROM 22.6 TO $30 MILLION.
ARE WE ACCOUNTING FOR THAT? UM, IT DOES COVER THE, THE FULL COST OF THE TREATMENT.
NOW, JUST LIKE IN ANY OTHER HEALTH INSURANCE KIND OF SYSTEM, THERE'S PROBABLY PRE-AUTHORIZATIONS FOR THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF TREATMENT.
UM, I, I DID ASK, UM, THIS MORNING TO SEE WHAT WE'VE SPENT FOR COVID TREATMENT, AND WE'RE AT ABOUT $300,000 NOW.
AND HOW MUCH WE'VE SPENT IN COVID TREATMENT.
SO IT'S THE, THE, THE FULL GAMUT OF, OF TREATMENT.
SO I, AND COUNCILWOMAN, WE CURRENTLY HAVE THREE, UH, WE CURRENTLY HAVE FIVE EMPLOYEES THAT ARE IN THE HOSPITAL, THREE IN I C U, AND TWO OF THOSE IN I C U ON VENTILATORS.
BUT, BUT WE ALSO HAVE THE ADVANTAGE OF HAVING, UH, A RATHER LARGE BOOK OF BUSINESS AND BEING ABLE TO HAVE THAT, THAT COVERAGE FOR EMPLOYEES IS IMPORTANT.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY'S COVERED, EVEN THE ONES THAT HAVE EXTENDED STAYS AT THE HOSPITAL, AND I, I DIDN'T WANT THEM TO, UH, OR THEIR FAMILIES TO HAVE TO WORRY.
SO I WAS JUST DOUBLE CHECKING ON THAT.
UM, I DO WANNA SAY THANK YOU ALSO, UH, LORI, THE C D L APPRENTICE
[01:15:01]
PROGRAM.AND SO I KNOW AS WE'RE DEVELOPING THE, THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, UM, PLAN THAT WE ARE, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, UM, THIS IS MAYBE WE CAN LEARN A LITTLE SOMETHING FROM OUR OWN APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM WITHIN THE CITY FOR THE C D L, UH, UM, UH, PARTNERSHIP THAT, THAT WE HAD.
I'M NOT, I, I GUESS IT WOULD BE, UM, SOLID WASTE THAT I DON'T KNOW WHO TO, WHO I CONNECT WITH, BUT ERIC, I WOULD LOVE TO LEARN MORE.
IT, IT IS DAVID NEWMAN, SOLID WASTE DIRECTOR.
WELL, I'D LOVE TO TALK TO, UH, DAVID NEWMAN.
UM, SO MR. NEWMAN, ON ANOTHER CONVERSATION, I'D LOVE TO SET UP SOME TIME AND LEARN ALL ABOUT IT.
WE'VE HAD TREMENDOUS SUCCESS WITH IT.
AND I SAW, UH, AT LEAST ONE WOMAN, WOMAN IN THERE, SO I WAS EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
SO THANK YOU FOR PAYING ATTENTION TO THAT.
UM, ALSO ON THE, UM, IN, IN, I GUESS WE SLIDE NUMBER SIX, I HAD REFERENCED IT, ARIANA, MAD MARIA DECK, UH, COUNCILMAN COURAGE ALREADY WAS ASKING A LITTLE BIT OF MY QUESTION.
IT WAS ON THE EQUIPMENT RENTAL, UH, I'M SORRY, EQUIPMENT RENEWAL SIDE.
AND I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF MAYBE, UM, YOU CAN HELP ME UNDERSTAND IN GENERAL, UH, WHAT TYPE OF THE EQUIPMENT NEEDS TO BE, UM, REPLACED THIS YEAR AND, AND HOW YOU'RE, UM, DOING THAT AS WELL AS THE FACILITY SERVICE.
I KNOW THAT ONE WAS A LITTLE SMALLER.
IT WAS, UM, $3.5 MILLION OF A DIFFERENCE, BUT I WAS JUST, CAN YOU MAYBE TELL ME SOME OF THE MAJOR ONES THAT NEED TO, UM, BE RENEWED AS FAR AS EQUIPMENT RENEWALS GO, MARIA? UH, YES, COUNCILWOMAN.
SO, UM, WE HAVE A, AS I MENTIONED, OVER 5,400 PIECES OF EQUIPMENT ACROSS THE CITY FROM OUR POLICE CARS, OUR GARBAGE TRUCKS, OUR, UH, SOLID WASTE TRUCKS, OUR PUBLIC WORKS TRUCKS, PARKS AND RECREATION, UH, CODE ENFORCEMENT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, LIGHT DUTY AND HEAVY EQUIPMENT.
SO THIS PARTICULAR, UH, EQUIPMENT AND RENEWAL FUND, WHAT WE DO IS THAT WE SCHEDULE ALL THOSE PIECES OF EQUIPMENT TO BE RENEW WHEN THEIR LIVE EXPECTANCY IS, UH, SCHEDULED TO EXPIRE.
SO THERE'S SOME YEARS, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WE MAY BE REPLACING A MAJORITY OF LIVE DUTY EQUIPMENT, SO THE EXPENSE IS GONNA BE LESS.
UH, BUT WHEN WE ARE REPLACING, UM, FIRE DEPARTMENTS, THE LADDER TRUCKS AND THE ENGINES AND THE AMBULANCES, THOSE PIECES OF EQUIPMENT ARE MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE.
THE REASON WHY YOU SEE THAT $12.7 MILLION INCREASE IN THE PURCHASES IS BECAUSE WE'RE SCHEDULED TO REPLACE, UM, 13 BIG PIECES OF EQUIPMENT IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
THERE 10 FIRE ENGINES AND THERE ARE THREE LADDER TRUCKS.
THOSE, UM, 13 PIECES OF EQUIPMENT ALONE IS ABOUT $11 MILLION.
SO THAT IS THE REASON WHY THE INCREASE.
IT JUST DEPENDS AS WE MANAGE THE ENTIRE PROGRAM WHEN WE ARE REPLACING THOSE PIECES OF EQUIPMENT, AND, AND COUNCILWOMAN, AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, MARIA, THE, THE ENGINE, THE FIRE ENGINES ARE REPLACED EVERY, UH, 15 YEARS AND THE LADDER COM, THE LADDER TRUCKS, IT WAS EITHER 16 OR 18 YEARS.
SO WE DON'T DO IT VERY OFTEN MM-HMM.
AND WE TRY TO DO IT SO THAT IT'S SPREAD OUT.
'CAUSE WE'VE GOT 53 FIRE STATIONS, SO PROBABLY A TOTAL OF ABOUT 76, 78 7 VEHICLES.
AND, AND, UH, WE DO THAT OVER TIME.
ERIC, DID WE GET THE AUTOMATIC, UM, UM, I, I'M, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE NAME IS, BUT THE AUTOMATED C P R MACHINES, DID WE GET THEM ON EVERY FIRETRUCK ALREADY? I KNOW WE WERE SCALING UP.
DID, DOES EVERY FIRETRUCK HAVE ONE NOW YOU, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE AEDS THANK, IS IT AED? I DUNNO, IT'S THE ONE THAT DOES IT, IT, SO IT SAVES LIKE TWO FIREFIGHTERS FROM HAVING TO DO SOMETHING AT THE SAME TIME.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE 'EM ON, ON EVERY VEHICLE.
MARIA, DO YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO GET 'EM ON EVERY VEHICLE, BUT I'LL FOLLOW UP ON HOW MANY WE ALREADY DO.
SO I, I WAS WONDERING IF THAT HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS, BECAUSE I, I SAW THAT THAT COULD BE VERY BENEFICIAL AND IT OPENS UP THEM, THEM TO DO SOME OTHER THINGS.
UM, AND THEN DID YOU MENTION SOLID WASTE TRUCKS WERE INCLUDED IN HERE IN THE 5,400 PIECES OF EQUIPMENT? UH, YES.
COUNCILWOMAN, THE 5,400 PIECES OF EQUIPMENT, YES.
GARBAGE TRUCKS ARE PART OF THAT.
SO WHY WOULDN'T THAT COME FROM SOME OF THE RESTRICTED FUNDS FOR SOLID WASTE? SORRY, HANG ON.
THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
JUST VERY QUICKLY, WHEN, UM, NO DIFFERENT THAN LIKE THE, IT, UH, DEPARTMENT, WE, THE DEPARTMENTS TRANSFER FUNDS TO THIS INTERNAL SERVICES FUND.
SO YOU'RE GONNA HAVE SOLID WASTE, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, PARKING, UM, FIRE POLICE, TRANSFERRING MONEY INTO THE EQUIPMENT AND RENEWAL THE
[01:20:01]
EQUIPMENT AND RENEWAL THAT IS MANAGED BY JORGE PEREZ.UM, HE, HE WILL WITH ACCOUNT FOR ALL THAT MONEY.
AND THEN WHEN THOSE PIECES OF EQUIPMENT ARE DUE FOR REPLACEMENT, THEN WE REPLACE THEM.
BUT THE DEPARTMENTS ARE PAYING FOR, FOR THEIR OWN REPLACEMENT.
AND IF IT'S A RESTRICTED FUND OR AN ENTERPRISE FUND, LIKE SOLID WASTE, UM, THOSE ARE BEING PAID THROUGH THE FEES THAT THEY COLLECT.
AND I'M GONNA HAVE A FOLLOW UP ON THAT, BUT MAYBE OFFLINE AND I, I COULD TALK TO YOU ALL.
UM, SO I HAVE TO MEET WITH DAVID NEWMAN ANYWAY, SO MAYBE WE CAN ASK AT THE SAME TIME.
COUNCIL MEMBER GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER VINNO.
UM, THANK Y'ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I, I DO HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS HERE.
AND, UH, JUST GENERALLY, UM, I GUESS LAUREN, UM, THE FROZEN PAY FOR THIS YEAR, UM, AND MAYBE THIS IS THE RIGHT QUESTION FOR ERIC.
DID, DID WE EVER EVEN JUST REACH OUT TO THE FIRE END POLICE TO SEE IF THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO DO THAT OR DO ANYTHING FOR THIS NEXT YEAR OUT OF THEIR PAY? UH, NO, SIR.
I, I DID NOT TALK TO, UH, EITHER ONE OF THE ASSOCIATIONS ABOUT, ABOUT, UH, FOREGOING ANYTHING IN THEIR CONTRACTS.
UM, AND THEN LORI, I HAD, I HAD ASKED, UM, THAT'S BEEN QUITE SOME TIME AGO ABOUT SETTING UP A SYSTEM THAT PEOPLE COULD TAKE A PAYCHECK AND PUT IT BACK INTO THE GENERAL FUND TO SET THAT SYSTEM UP.
AND I, I NEVER HEARD ANYTHING BACK.
IF Y'ALL HAVE LOOKED AT THAT AT ALL OR MADE AN ATTEMPT TO DO THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, A COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, DONATING ONE OF THEIR CHECKS TO THE GENERAL FUND OR ANY EMPLOYEE TO INCLUDE POLICE, FIRE, YOU KNOW, ANYBODY, UH, WITHIN THE CITY HERE, HAS THAT EVER BEEN LOOKED AT? THE ONE ONE PROGRAM WE HAVE NOW THAT ANY EMPLOYEE COULD DO, OR AT LEAST ANY CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE, IT IS IN OUR, UH, IT'S AUTHORIZED IN OUR POLICIES, IS TO TAKE UP TO 40 HOURS OF AN UNPAID FURLOUGH, JUST VOLUNTARY UNPAID FURLOUGH, WHICH WOULD ACCOMPLISH THAT GOAL IF SOMEBODY WANTED TO, UH, TAKE A WEEK OFF WITHOUT PAY IN ORDER TO SAVE MONEY IN THE GENERAL FUND.
THAT WOULD ONLY APPLY TO NON-UNIFORM OR CITY, CITY STAFF.
I DON'T, YEAH, THAT DOESN'T APPLY TO
I, I WOULD STILL LIKE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, FOR, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE NOT GONNA APPROACH THE FIRE AND POLICE UNION, UM, TO AT LEAST SETTING THAT SYSTEM UP SO THAT ANYBODY COULD HELP THE CITY OUT THROUGH THE GEN WITH THE GENERAL FUND, COULD, UH, YOU KNOW, OPT IN OR OPT OUT, WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT, UH, A PAYCHECK OR EVEN A PORTION OF A PAYCHECK OR WHATEVER TO, UH, PUT BACK INTO THE GENERAL FUND, WOULD STILL LIKE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
AND I UNDERSTAND THAT ABOUT THE FURLOUGH BUSINESS, BUT THAT, I THINK THAT ONLY APPLIES TO CITY STAFF.
UM,
A LOT OF INTEREST IN SLIDE NUMBER FIVE HERE.
UM, IT EXPLAIN TO ME, MAYBE YOU DID AND I MISSED IT, UH, ABOUT THE PARKING, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A BIG SWING IN THE PARKING CITY PARKING THAT MIGHT BE JOHN JACKS.
COUNCILMAN, UH, THIS IS MARIA.
I'LL, I'LL START AND, AND JOHN CAN ADD TO, TO THE CHANGE.
SO, DECREASE IN APPROPRIATIONS OF NINE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS FROM 2020 TO 2021 HAS TO DO WITH CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION.
THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE 2020 BUDGET THAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN 2021.
SO THREE AREAS, SEVEN AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS WAS, UH, IN 2020 INCLUDED POTENTIALLY FOR A PARKING, A NEW PARKING GARAGE THAT DID NOT MATERIALIZE.
UM, BUT THAT ACCOUNTS FOR SEVEN AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS OF THE VARIANCE.
WE ALSO DID 1.3 MILLION OF PARKING IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS THE, THE PARKING SYSTEM.
THAT 1.3 IS NOT INCLUDED IN 2021.
UM, SO THOSE, THOSE TWO, UM, MAKE UP THE MAJORITY OF THE DIFFERENCE.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE SOME OPERATING SAVINGS AS, AS THIS FUND HAS BEEN IMPACTED BY COVID 19 ON THE REVENUE.
WE MADE SOME ADJUSTMENTS IN THE OPERATIONS.
UM, JOHN, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANNA ADD? UH, NO, MARIA, I THINK YOU COVERED IT ALL.
IT'S, MOST OF THAT IS IN THAT, UM, THAT 7.5 MILLION.
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AND THEN WE ALSO USE SOME OF THAT TO ASSIST THE HOUSING PROGRAM, TWO AND A HALF MILLION, UH, WHICH YOU MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, IN YOUR PRESENTATION AS WELL.AND, AND THE SEVEN AND A HALF FOR THE PARKING GARAGE, WE'RE JUST NOT GONNA DO IT.
IS THAT, THAT I'M UNDERSTANDING? THAT IS CORRECT, COUNCILMAN.
THAT IS, HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE, FROM THE, UM, PLAN OF CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION.
SO WE USE A PORTION OF, UM, OF THOSE DOLLARS EARLIER IN THE YEAR.
WE, WE DID A SWAP WITH THE GENERAL FUND, SO THE PARKING FUND PAY FOR A PORTION OF THE PAYMENT TO VIA FOR THE INCREASED RIDERSHIP THAT THEY DO ACROSS THE CITY.
AND THEN WE USE THE GENERAL FUND TO OFFSET THE HOUSING PROGRAM.
SO, UM, AND ALSO WITH THE DECREASED REVENUE AND THE PARKING FUND, OUR FUND BALANCE HAS GONE DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY COMPARED TO THE PRIOR YEAR.
UM, THE SOLID WASTE, WE WE'RE SHOWING AN INCREASE.
WHAT, WHAT IS THAT INCREASE FOR? UH, DAVID, DO YOU WANT TO COVER THAT, DAVID? I'D BE, I'D BE HAPPY TO.
UH, COUNCILMAN, WE HAVE, UH, A HANDFUL OF IMPROVEMENTS.
UH, THE BIG ONES ARE ADDING FOUR AUTOMATED SIDE LOAD TRUCKS AT A COST OF ABOUT 1.6 MILLION.
UH, WHAT LORI MENTIONED EARLIER ABOUT THE APPRENTICE PROGRAM, WE'RE ADDING TO THAT, THAT'S ABOUT 641,000.
WE'RE ALSO ADDING TO OUR HOUSEHOLD HAZARD WASTE COLLECTION PROGRAM.
BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS WE'RE GONNA OPEN UP, UH, THE LOCATION AT BIDDERS ON FRIDAYS SO THAT WE'LL BE OPEN TWO DAYS A WEEK INSTEAD OF JUST ON SATURDAYS.
UH, IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN THERE WHEN WE'RE OPEN ON SATURDAYS, THE LINE IS OUT THE DOOR AND DOWN WARS BAR PARKWAY.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'RE GOING TO, UH, ADD H H W, UM, UH, TO OUR RIGSBY ROAD, UM, DROP OFF SITE.
SO WE'RE GONNA SEE IF WE CAN GET SOME, SOME, UH, UH, TRAFFIC THERE.
UH, AND, AND THEN THOSE EXPENSES ARE OFFSET BY, UH, SOME FUEL SAVINGS.
UM, I TOO HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE EQUIPMENT RENEWALS AND, UM, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO THAT LIST OF, UH, UM, TO SEE WHAT VEHICLES, PARTICULARLY THE FIRE VEHICLES, UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THE AGE AND, AND THE MILES, THE USAGE.
AND, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M THINKING, AND I KNOW THESE ARE SPECIALIZED PIECES OF EQUIPMENT, UM, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF FOLKS THAT ARE EXTENDING THE USE OF THEIR CURRENT VEHICLES UNTIL THE FOLLOWING YEAR BECAUSE OF, UH, THE COVID, YOU KNOW, LOSING JOBS AND THAT KIND OF THING.
AND I'M JUST WONDERING, CAN WE STRETCH OUT A COUPLE OF THESE, UH, FOR ANOTHER YEAR, YOU KNOW, TO GET, GET PAST THIS, GET PAST THIS, UH, PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE, THE, UH, BUDGET PROBLEMS. I'D REALLY LIKE TO SCRUB THAT LIST AGAIN OFF, OFF THAT WHOLE 12, $12 MILLION THERE.
AND I UNDERSTAND AGAIN, ABOUT THE SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT AND THE AGES AND THE USE AND THAT KIND OF THING.
BUT, UH, WE'D REALLY LIKE FOR Y'ALL TO SCRUB THAT LIST AGAIN.
IF Y'ALL COULD, UH, SEND THAT, SEND THAT AROUND, WOULD APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, THE FACILITY SERVICES AS WELL, THE 3.5 BUMP, UM, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT'S THE CAUSE OF THAT GOING UP? UH, COUNCILMAN? UM, 1.8 MILLION OF THAT, UH, THREE AND A HALF IS DUE TO, UH, THE ADDITIONAL EXPENSES THAT WE HAVE TO INCUR FOR MAINTAINING CITY TOWER.
AND THEN THERE'S ABOUT $900,000, UM, ALSO ADDED FOR ALARM AND SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS.
JORGE, DO YOU WANNA EXPAND? WELL, I, I AND I, I UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT MOVING INTO CITY TOWER, AREN'T WE VACATING
I, I DON'T, THREE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
ARE WE JUST ADDING THAT TO OUR BUDGET? NOT, NOT TAKING CREDIT FOR WHERE WE'RE MOVING OUTTA COUNCILMAN, THIS IS JORGE PEREZ.
THE MAIN REASON FOR THAT INCREASE COUNCILMAN, IS THE RESULT OF ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL THAT WE WILL BE ADDING MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL, CUSTODIAL PERSONNEL THAT WE WILL BE ADDING AS THE FLOORS BECOME AVAILABLE.
AND THE CONSTRUCTION IS CON STARTS COMPLETION, UH, WITHIN THE NEXT CALENDAR YEAR.
THAT ALSO INCLUDES SERVICE CONTRACTS, THE COST OF SERVICE CONTRACTS TO MAINTAIN EQUIPMENT, UH, ALSO INCLUDES SUPPLIES, UH, IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN THE ENTIRE TOWER.
AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, IS EQUIPMENT THAT
[01:30:01]
WE'RE BUYING FOR OUR CUSTODIAL PERSONNEL THAT WE'RE ADDING, SUCH AS VACUUM CLEANERS AND OTHER SPECIALIZED, UH, CLEANING EQUIPMENT THAT WE WILL NEED TO MAINTAIN THAT TOWER.YEAH, JORGE, I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE, UH, THE ANALYSIS ON THAT.
I MEAN, WE HAVE EXISTING FACILITIES IF THESE PEOPLE ARE HOUSED IN THAT WE'RE MOVING TO THERE.
SO THERE SHOULD BE AN OFFSET, BUT I'M NOT HEARING ANY OFFSET, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE SAVING IN THESE OTHER PLACES AND WHAT WE NOW HAVE TO PLUG INTO CITY TOWER.
SO I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT ANALYSIS FROM Y'ALL ON, ON WHAT WE'RE SAVING FROM ALL THESE OTHER PLACES.
'CAUSE I STILL GO BACK TO THAT ORIGINAL PRESENTATION.
WE'RE GONNA SAVE $2 MILLION A YEAR BY, BY THIS DEAL WITH
TROY ELLIOT, I JUST WANTED TO JUMP IN REAL QUICK.
WE HAVE THE CITY POWER FUND AND THAT CITY POWER FUND WILL ACCOUNT FOR ALL THE REVENUES AND EXPENSES TO SUPPORT THE CITY TOWER.
AND ORGE IS, UM, ADDING THOSE 17 POSITIONS, THOSE COSTS WILL BE COVERED BY ALL THE LEASES THAT WE'RE VACATING.
AND SO THE, UM, THE COST IS BEING COVERED BY THOSE REVENUES, AND SO WE ARE STILL NET POSITIVE, UM, OVER THE COURSE OF THE PERFORMANCE.
SO YOU'RE RECALLING CORRECTLY.
WELL, I, I WANNA SEE THOSE FIGURES, UH, AND HOW Y'ALL CALCULATED THIS BECAUSE IT, IT'S NOT MAKING A LOT OF SENSE TO ME THAT WE'RE HAVING TO ADD TO OUR BUDGET BY MOVING INTO FROST TOWER, WITHDRAWING THESE OTHER EXISTING FACILITIES.
AND, UM, IT'S NOT FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR.
IT'S ONLY FOR A PORTION OF THE YEAR.
AND THAT SOUNDS PRETTY EXPENSIVE TO ME, UM, FOR A PORTION OF THE YEAR TO MOVE INTO FROST TOWER.
SO I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT ANALYSIS AS WELL.
THIS IS, THIS IS BEN G IF I CAN JUST COMMENT REAL QUICKLY, HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU AND GO THROUGH THOSE NUMBERS, BUT JUST TO CLARIFY AGAIN, THE, THE COMMITMENT ON CITY TOWER AND THE NUMBERS, YOU'RE REMEMBERING, THE $2 MILLION, THAT WAS THE TOTAL OVER 30 YEARS, OUR COMMITMENT HAS BEEN TO MAINTAIN THAT PROJECT TO BE COST NEUTRAL TO THE CITY.
AND THE LAST TIME WE RAN, THAT WAS ABOUT A YEAR AGO, AND IT WAS A $2 MILLION NUMBER, BUT THAT WAS OVER 30 YEARS.
IT'S NOT A $2 MILLION ANNUAL SAVINGS.
BUT WE'RE HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
UM, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR, FOR YOUR HARD WORK.
UM, I WANNA THANK, UH, UH, LORI, IF I COULD, UH, LET'S START WITH YOU.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, THANK YOU FOR ADDRESSING, UH, THE, UH, THE ISSUE OF OF, OF THE TEMP POSITIONS.
WHAT ONE OF THE REASONS THAT, THAT WE BROUGHT THIS UP TOO, AND, AND I'D, I'D LIKE THE REST OF MY COLLEAGUES TO, TO HEAR THIS IS THAT, UM, PLEASE CLARIFY THAT, UH, A LOT OF THE TEMP POSITIONS, UH, DO NOT GET, UH, THE SAME BENEFITS THAT, THAT A, A, UH, A PER FULL-TIME POSITION GETS WITHIN OUR CITY.
IS THAT CORRECT? UM, THAT'S CORRECT.
THE TEMPORARY AGENCIES WILL PROVIDE, UH, BASIC HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS THAT, THAT THEY'RE MANDATED TO PROVIDE UNDER THE, UH, AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, BUT IT'S NOT THE SAME, UH, LEVEL OF BENEFITS THAT THE CITY EMPLOYEES GET.
AND SO PART OF THAT TOO IS THAT A LOT OF WHAT WE END UP PAYING IS, UH, IS IS ESSENTIALLY, OR A LARGE PORTION OF THAT IS, IS ESSENTIALLY FEES.
AND, UH, AND SO, UH, IT, IT'S, UH, BECAUSE WE'RE PAYING A LOT OF THAT PORTION IN FEES, UH, IT'S ONLY A LITTLE EXTRA TO, TO GET, UH, PEOPLE, THE BEN THE SAME BENEFITS THAT, THAT ALL OUR EMPLOYEES GET.
SO THIS, THIS IS WHY I WAS ASKING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY TAKE A LOOK AT THESE 10 POSITIONS 'CAUSE UM, I FORGET WHAT THAT NUMBER WAS, BUT I KNOW IT WAS OVER $20 MILLION, I THINK, UH, OR CLOSE TO THAT AND THAT WE'RE SPENDING AND, UH, I THINK WORTH AN ANALYSIS, UM, AS, AS WE WE'RE GOING THROUGH THIS.
SO I, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE THAT YOU ARE GONNA BE, UH, TACKLING THAT AND, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE, UH, DOING THE BEST WE CAN, UH, WITH SOME OF THESE, UH, POSITIONS.
AND, AND I WANNA SPECIFICALLY TALK ABOUT NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SERVICES.
I KNOW, UH, I KNOW WE'VE ADDED SOME POSITIONS THERE, BUT I, I, I WANNA, YEAH, I THINK WE'RE ADDING MORE, AND THE, THE GOAL IS, SHOULD BE TO ADD, UH, MORE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES INSTEAD OF MORE TEMP POSITIONS THERE.
UM, WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN RUNNING THE PROGRAM, UH, RUNNING PROGRAMS OVER THERE THAT, THAT, UH, ARE, ARE VERY MUCH NEEDED.
AND, UH, I THINK, UH, BRING A LOT OF VALUE, UH, TO THE CITY.
AND, UH, I'D, I'D LIKE US TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, UH, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE
[01:35:01]
NOT EXTENDING TOO MUCH, UH, TIME, UH, THAT THESE, UH, FOLKS ARE IN A TEMP POSITION.SO, UH, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY CRITICAL.
ALSO, UH, DO WE TRACK ANY HOUSING DATA FOR OUR EMPLOYEES? UH, WHAT KIND OF HOUSING DATA COUNCILMAN? WELL, FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE PROGRAMS THAT, THAT HAVE HELPED EMPLOYEES BECOME HOMEOWNERS, UH, WHICH ARE ONLINE IN THE, IN, IN, IN THIS FISCAL OR FISCAL YEAR, UH, 21.
UH, BUT IT MIGHT BE IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW MANY EMPLOYEES RENT AND IF THEIR RENT IS CONSUMING MORE THAN 30% OF THEIR INCOME.
NO, I, I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION AT THIS TIME.
WELL, I, YOU KNOW, I, I GUESS I WOULD ASK THAT WE, WE TRACK THAT.
UM, YOU, SO, UH, THE OTHER THING IS, YOU KNOW, I KNOW, UM, ACCORDING TO THE, THIS INFORMATION IS, UM, WE'RE CONVERTING SOME TEMP POSITIONS, UH, OR YEAH, CONVERTING SOME OF THE TEMP POSITIONS IN SS A P D, UH, TO FULL-TIME, ONE OF THEM RELATED TO THE ID RECOVERY PROGRAM.
UH, WHAT ARE WE DOING, UH, HOW ARE WE DOING, UH, OR WHAT ARE WE DOING SPECIFICALLY AT D H S AND THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE, UH, TO AUGMENT THAT AND SUPPORT THAT ID RECOVERY PROGRAM? I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT A LITTLE BIT WITH D H S, AND I'M SORRY, I DON'T RECALL, UH, UNDERSTANDING HOW WE'RE, UH, ADDING, UH, UH, SOME OF THOSE POSITIONS, OR WHAT ARE WE GONNA BE DOING TO, TO HELP AUGMENT THAT? COUNCILMAN, WE CAN FOLLOW UP WITH YOU.
WE CAN FOLLOW UP WITH YOU SEPARATELY.
UM, WE'RE NOT ADDING ADDITIONAL POSITIONS TO THE PROGRAM.
UM, OUR GOAL WAS TO ENHANCE THE COORDINATION, UM, BETWEEN HUMAN SERVICES BEING THE LEAD, UM, COORDINATING WITH, UH, CITY CLERK'S OFFICE, UM, DUE TO THE SERVICES THAT THEY CAN PROVIDE AND EXPEDITE GETTING SOME OF THE DOCUMENTATION THAT IS NEEDED.
AND THEN FINALLY WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
BUT, UM, I WILL, I WILL FOLLOW UP WITH MELODY WESLEY AND, AND WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU, UM, TO SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS HOW THE PROGRAM IS GONNA WORK.
I, I DON'T HAVE THOSE DETAILS WITH ME.
YEAH, LET, LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT AGAIN.
THE GOAL, UH, IS, IS TO EXPAND THE SERVICE.
RIGHT NOW, IT'S ONLY ONE DAY A WEEK, CORRECT? YES.
COUNCILMAN, I BELIEVE IT'S ON WEDNESDAYS.
AND SO THE, THE, THE GOAL IS, IS TO EXPAND THE PROGRAM.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE UNDERSTAND DOES THE CITY CLERK NEED ANYTHING? DOES THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES NEED, NEED, NEED SOME, SOME MORE RESOURCES AS WELL, UH, BECAUSE THAT, THAT'S THE GOAL.
THAT SHOULD BE OUR GOAL IS TO EXPAND THIS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
UH, AND SPEAKING OF EXPANDING, UM, YOU KNOW, KEEP EATING THIS DRUM.
I, I KNOW, ERIC, YOU'RE WORKING ON THIS AS 3 1 1 SYSTEM.
UH, WE'VE, WE'VE GOT TO, UH, TO DO MORE, UH, TO, TO PROVIDE A MORE EQUITABLE BALANCE TO 3 1 1, UH, AS, AS WE'RE TRYING TO GET MORE, UM, UM, SUPPORT OR MORE, UH, ACCESSIBILITY, UH, TO THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY WITH REGARDS TO SOME OF OUR CITY SERVICES.
UM, AND MY LAST QUESTION IS, UH, CAN, CAN ANY OF THE RESTRICTED FUNDS BE USED TO ADD TO THE RISK MITIGATION FUND? EARLIER THIS YEAR, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO USE MONEY FROM THE PARKING FUND.
IS THAT AN OPTION IN THIS UPCOMING BUDGET? UH, COUNCILMAN? WELL, WE DID SPECIFICALLY TO PARKING, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, WE ACTUALLY ENDED UP PAYING OUT OF THE PARKING FUND A PORTION OF OUR OBLIGATION TO VIA, UH, THAT $10 MILLION, UH, BUDGETED AMOUNT THAT WE HAD IN FISCAL YEAR 2020 THAT ALLOWED TO FREE UP FUNDS IN THE GENERAL FUND, UH, TO ALLOCATE 'EM TO THE, UH, HOUSING, UH, MITIGATION OF THE RISK MITIGATION PROGRAM.
SO NOT A DIRECT LINK FROM PARKING TO HOUSING, BUT WE, WE MANAGED IT THAT WAY TO BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL.
UM, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, I, WE WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THEM.
I CANNOT THINK OF A, ANY OF THE RESTRICTIVE FUNDS THAT WE COULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
BUT WE CAN, WE CAN STUDY THAT AND, AND FOLLOW UP WITH THE COUNCIL, UH, ONCE WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT ALL THE, THE FUNDS, THE OBLIGATIONS, AND THE, UM, AND THE RESTRICTIONS.
WELL, I'LL TAKE THAT AS A SOLID MAYBE.
AND, AND THEN JUST LA I WANNA TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO, I SEE THAT DAVID NEWMAN IS ON.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, DAVID MCCAREY HAS, UH, ALWAYS BEEN GREAT WITH ME AS WELL.
I, I JUST WANNA THANK THE BOTH OF YOU FOR, UH, HELPING OUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN HEARING A LOT ABOUT THE HOMELESS OUTREACH PROGRAM, BUT, UH, PART OF, PART OF THE SUCCESS HAS BEEN, UH, THE COORDINATION, UH, UH, WITH THESE FOLKS AS WELL.
[01:40:01]
I JUST WANNA PUBLICLY THANK YOU BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN RESPONSIVE WHEN, WHEN I CALL ON YOU, AND, UH, IT'S, IT'S BEEN VERY IMPORTANT, UH, TO, TO HELP, UH, LITERALLY KEEP OUR STREETS CLEAN AND, UH, UH, UH, YOU GUYS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB.SO I JUST WANNA APPRECIATE YOU VERY MUCH.
AND JORGE, UH, ONE OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE, UH, HE IS, HE'S REALLY HELPED OUT HERE AT, UH, AT, AT OUR FACILITY HERE AT THE, WHICH I'M, WHICH I'M CURRENTLY AT FIELD OFFICE.
UH, WE, WE GO BACK AND FORTH, UM, UH, UH, SLOWLY BUT SURELY IMPROVING LITTLE THINGS HERE AND THERE ON THE FIELD OFFICE.
I JUST WANNA, UH, ALSO THANK YOU AND, AND, AND YOUR STAFF.
COUNCIL MEMBER VER SANDOVAL, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, YOU'RE STILL MUTED.
I, UM, I THINK YOU'VE, UH, MADE A LOT OF GOOD WITH, UM, WITH, YOU KNOW, THE LIMITATIONS THAT YOU HAD.
UH, OF COURSE, I AM, I'M KIND OF ONE OF THE NITPICKY COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND I THINK MY STAFF WILL TALK YOU
SO I'M GONNA FOCUS ON A, ON A FEW THINGS THAT I'M, UH, I'D LIKE SOME CLARITY ON.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, I, I DO WANNA ECHO COUNCILWOMAN, UH, VIA GRAHAM'S QUESTIONS REGARDING THE PAY PARITY, UH, STUDY.
I KNOW COVID HAS THROWN US ALL FOR A LOOP, BUT I THINK WE REVIEWED THAT AT, UM, GOVERNANCE IN NOVEMBER.
SO IT'D BE GREAT TO GET AN UPDATE, UH, ON THAT.
AND I, I WENT TO SEE THE COMPENSATION, UH, INFORMATION THAT YOU SAID IS ONLINE.
I THINK WE STILL NEED THE 2019 DATA AT THIS POINT.
UM, SO IT WOULD BE HAPPY TO SEE IT WHEN IT'S THERE.
AND I THINK A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE HAD AT GOVERNANCE THAT DAY CAN BE ANSWERED, UH, WITH THAT FILE IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, HOW IT BREAKS DOWN BY ETHNICITY AND WOMEN, UH, IN THE LEADERSHIP VERSUS OTHER, UH, POSITIONS.
UM, THAT SAID, I, UH, I DO HAVE A QUESTION.
I SEE THAT YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB OF RECRUITING WOMEN TO FILL POSITIONS, AND I, I THINK IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL IF HR WORKS TOGETHER WITH, UH, PD OR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ON RECRUITING WOMEN.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ MADE A GREAT POINT, UH, OR, OR POINTED OUT THAT A LOT OF THE DISPARITY IN PAY IS BECAUSE, UH, THE HIGHEST PAID POSITIONS ARE UNIFORM.
AND, UM, AND MOST OF THOSE ARE, ARE FILLED WITH, UH, WITH MEN.
SO IT'D BE INTERESTING TO HAVE SOMETHING, UH, COME BACK TO US, PERHAPS AT MY COMMITTEE, UH, AN APPROACH WE COULD TAKE TO RECRUIT MORE WOMEN.
UM, I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT MOST OF THE HIRING FOR PD OR RECRUITING FOR PD IS DONE BY, BY THE DEPARTMENT.
SO IS HR NOT INVOLVED AT ALL? OH, WE DO HAVE INVOLVEMENT ALONG THE WAY, PARTICULARLY WITH PROMOTIONAL EXAMINATIONS.
WE HAVE THE CONTRACTS WITH THE VENDORS THAT HANDLE THE TESTING PROCESSES, AND WE'RE ALWAYS WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH BOTH POLICE AND FIRE TO HELP WITH, UM, DIFFERENT RECRUITMENTS.
THEY PARTICIPATE WITH OUR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION COMMITTEE MAKING PRESENTATIONS REGULARLY AND GETTING FEEDBACK FROM OUR COMMITTEE ON THINGS THAT THEY CAN DO.
SO WE'RE ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, WILLING TO, TO DO WHATEVER WE CAN TO WORK MORE COOPERATIVE COOPERATIVELY WITH THEM.
BUT WE KIND OF HAVE A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY IN A LOT OF THAT WORK NOW.
UM, HOW MUCH WOULD YOU, I, I REMEMBER THERE'S A LINE ITEM IN THE POLICE BUDGET, AND I, I KNOW I'M FOLLOWING UP WITH MARIA ON THIS.
I THINK THE RECRUITMENT, UH, JUST FOR POLICE IS ON THE ORDER OF SEVERAL MILLION DOLLARS, RIGHT? IN A GIVEN YEAR, MARIA, IS THAT RIGHT? YES.
FOR ABOUT 2000 FOR A DEPARTMENT OF ABOUT 2000 EMPLOYEES, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE FOR THE REST OF THE CITY, FOR THE NON, UH, UNIFORM PERSONNEL? IF YOU, IF YOU HAD TO, UM, TAKE A GUESS OR YOU CAN GET BACK TO ME ON THAT, THAT'S FINE.
NO, I, I, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION UNTIL MEMO WILL FOLLOW UP.
UM, SO, UH, THIS IS FOR, FOR, UH, LORI, OR PERHAPS ERIC.
I THINK IN THE FIRST PRESENTATION WE GOT REGARDING THE BUDGET, YOU INDICATED THAT WE WOULD BE SAVING $14 MILLION AS A RESULT OF HOLDING VACANCIES, THE HIRING FREEZE, UH, NO PAY INCREASES, AND SOME OTHER SAVINGS, UH, WHICH LORI HIGHLIGHTED TODAY.
I'D LIKE TO GET A LIST OF, UH, WHAT THOSE VACANCIES
[01:45:01]
ARE THAT WE INTEND TO, TO HOLD, UM, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THAT WILL AFFECT, UM, THE, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME LEVEL OF SERVICE.SO, UH, WE'D JUST LIKE TO GO, UH, INTO NEXT YEAR WITH OUR EYES OPEN, EYES WIDE OPEN ABOUT WHAT SERVICES WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET IF WE HOLD THOSE, THOSE VACANCIES, UM, WE CAN DO THAT COUNCILWOMAN AND, AND JUST THE, THE OTHER THING THAT I'M GONNA GIVE THE DEPARTMENT'S LATITUDE IS THAT IF THERE'S A POSSIBILITY FOR AN INTERNAL PROMOTION TO FILL ONE OF THOSE VACANCIES, THEN THE POSITION THAT'S BEING VACATED WILL NEED TO BE HELD.
SO IT'S, IT'S, UH, WE DO NEED TO HIT OUR, WE DO NEED TO HIT OUR NUMBER, EACH DEPARTMENT NEEDS TO HIT IT, BUT I INTEND ON GIVING THE, THE DIRECTORS, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF FLEXIBILITY WITHIN THAT.
BUT WE'LL GIVE YOU WHAT IT IS RIGHT NOW, UM, SO YOU CAN SEE WHERE, WHAT, WHERE IT'S AT.
AND IT WOULD BE, UH, HELPFUL TO KNOW WHAT YOU CONSIDER ESSENTIAL.
UH, I THINK YOU'VE TOLD US THIS MANY TIMES BEFORE, BUT IF YOU COULD JUST PUT IT IN THAT SUMMARY, UM, SO WE KNOW WHICH POSITIONS AREN'T GOING TO GO, UH, GOING TO GO VACANT.
UM, JUST REAL QUICK, I, I'M ALSO GLAD TO SEE THAT THE TEMPS ARE, ARE BEING HIRED.
UM, AND YOU'RE ASKING US TO GO AHEAD AND, AND RENEW A CONTRACT FOR ONE YEAR UNTIL, UH, YOU KIND OF FIGURE OUT A BETTER PLAN.
CAN YOU TELL ME HOW MUCH IS THAT CONTRACT GOING TO BE FOR? I'M SORRY IF I MISSED IT.
WELL, IT, WE ARE TRYING TO, WE ARE WORKING WITH DEPARTMENTS AND BRINGING THOSE NUMBERS DOWN, BUT CURRENTLY THE, THE CONTRACTS ARE RUNNING, BUT THERE'S THREE AGENCIES ON CONTRACT, BUT THE TOTAL SPENDING RUNS BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, NINE, NINE AND A HALF TO 10 AND A HALF MILLION A YEAR.
BUT BY CONVERTING A NUMBER OF THOSE ASSIGNMENTS TO REGULAR CITY POSITIONS, WE WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT NUMBER COMING DOWN.
BUT AT THIS POINT, WE JUST NEED TO PUT IN SOME COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WAYS OF DOING BUSINESS WITH THOSE TEMPORARY AGENCIES AND MORE, UM, PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
SO THOSE CONTRACTS END AT THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR.
SO THERE'S NOT A LOT OF TIME TO DO THE R F P NOW, AND ALSO TRY TO CHANGE OUR, UH, THE WAY THAT WE WANNA DO BUSINESS GOING FORWARD.
SO THE ADDITIONAL YEAR WOULD HELP US ALIGN EVERYTHING, UPDATE OUR POLICIES, AND, UM, HAVE A BETTER CONTRACT AT THE END OF THE DAY.
SO, UM, SO AT THIS POINT, WHAT ARE YOU BUDGETING FOR THAT, FOR TEMPS? OH, WELL, YEAH, THE BUDGETS ARE IN INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS.
SOMETIMES IT'S IN PLACE OF A VACANCY WHILE, UM, THAT'S TAKING A LONG TIME TO RECRUIT.
AND SOMETIMES IT'S FOR A NUMBER OF TEMPS RIGHT NOW ARE BEING USED WITH THE, UH, CARESS ACT FUNDING BECAUSE IT'S, UM, COVID RECOVERY.
SO IT'S SHORT TERM, SO IT'S BUDGETED IN DIFFERENT PLACES.
UM, MARIA MAY BE ABLE TO ANSWER THAT BETTER THAN ME, BUT THERE'S NOT LIKE A, A POOL OF TEMP MONEY IN ONE PLACE.
COUNCILMAN, WE'RE PULLING THE NUMBER OUT.
AND IN TERMS OF THOSE TEMPS, UM, WHAT HAPPENS IF THEY GET SICK OR IF THEY GET COVID? THE TEMP AGENCIES, MOST OF THE TEMP AGENCIES DO HAVE SOME LEVEL OF PAID LEAVE FOR THEIR STAFF THAT HAVE BEEN WITH 'EM.
YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY HAVE DIFFERENT, UM, REQUIREMENTS AND WE DEFINITELY PLAN TO ASK ABOUT THOSE KIND OF POLICIES AND, AND LEAVE AND BENEFITS THAT THEY PROVIDE THEIR STAFF WHEN WE DO THE R F P OR PLANNING TO MAKE SURE WE LOOK AT THAT.
BUT DO WE HAVE DISCRETION TO REQUIRE THAT OF THE TEMP AGENCIES, BUT THEY OFFER PAID SICK LEAVE? I DO UNDERSTAND THAT ULTIMATELY WE WOULD BEAR THE COST OF THAT, BUT I THINK, UM, I THINK IT'S, IT'S FAIR, UM, AND DESERVED FOR SOMEONE TO HAVE PAID SICK LEAVE.
SO DO WE, DO WE HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE THAT? I'M NOT SURE WE WOULD'VE TO LOOK INTO THAT.
IT DEPENDS ON THE TYPE OF CONTRACT IT IS.
AND I ANTICIPATE THE CONTRACT WILL COME TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL IF IT'S OVER $50,000? YES, YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY BE APPROVING THAT CONTRACT.
I JUST FEEL LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT.
SO I'D, I'D LIKE TO KNOW THERE'S A, A POINT IN THE FUTURE WHEN WE CAN, UH, DISCUSS, UM, COUNCILMAN, THIS IS BEN, JUST ON THOSE CONTRACTS.
UM, THE PLAN IS TO BRING THE EXTENSION FORWARD FOR ONE YEAR, AS LORI SAID, TO GIVE US TIME TO WORK ON THAT.
SO WE WOULD BE EXTENDING BASICALLY UNDER SAME TERMS AND CONDITIONS, BUT WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU AS WE'LL GO THROUGH THE AUDIT COMMITTEE.
THIS IS A HIGH PROFILE SOLICITATION, SO WE'LL GET THAT FEEDBACK AS WE GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
AND THEN WE'LL ISSUE AN R F P, UH, FOR THE NEW CONTRACTS GOING FORWARD.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE CAN EXPLORE THE OPTION YOU JUST TALKED ABOUT.
I'D LOVE TO EXPLORE IT SOONER, BUT THANK YOU
UH, THANKS THAT THAT DOES ANSWER THE QUESTION.
AND THEN, UH, LASTLY, I KNOW THAT OUR, UM, EMPLOYEES HAD TO MAKE A LOT OF SACRIFICE FOR
[01:50:01]
GOING, UM, FOREGOING RAISES OR INCREASES, UH, AS WELL AS, UM, UH, THE HIRING FREEZES.I MEAN, THAT DOES PUT A LOT OF WORK ON THE, ON THE EXISTING EMPLOYEES.
AND, UH, MARIA, I KNOW YOU AND I HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT, UH, LEAD BUYBACK AND, UH, YOU KNOW, DID YOU CONSIDER, UH, THAT BENEFIT ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, MOVING THAT AROUND? AND I, I THINK I HAD ASKED YOU HOW MUCH DO WE SPEND ON THAT IN A, IN A GIVEN YEAR? UH, AND I KNOW IT'S REQUIRED FOR UNIFORM PERSONNEL, SO IT'D BE INTERESTING TO, TO SEE, UM, HOW MUCH WE SPEND ON THAT FOR UNIFORM PERSONNEL IN A GIVEN YEAR VERSUS CIVILIAN PERSONNEL.
IF YOU COULD, UH, PROVIDE THAT.
YES, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO, TO PROVIDE THAT IN THE FOLLOW UP MEMO.
UM, YOUR QUESTION ON TEMPS IS ABOUT $8 MILLION THAT IS IN THE BUDGET.
UM, ABOUT HALF FIVE IS PARKS AND SOLID WASTE PARKS, ABOUT 3.3 MILLION PRIMARILY FOR THEIR SUMMER PROGRAM.
AND THEN SOLID WASTE HAS ABOUT $800,000.
UH, BUT WE'LL PROVIDE THE, THE FULL DETAIL AND THE FOLLOW UP MEMO AS ALL.
UM, THAT IS EVERYONE WHO QUEUED UP TO SPEAK.
UM, LET ME JUST, UH, WRAP UP BY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER VERON, DID YOU HAVE FOLLOW UP? GO AHEAD.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO CIRCLE BACK AROUND AND MAKE IT CLEAR, UH, WELL FIRST TO GET CLARITY, ARE THERE ANY EXECUTIVE TEAM SALARY INCREASES THIS YEAR OR NEXT YEAR? NO, MA'AM.
AND, UM, ALSO, HA YOU SAID THAT YOU HAVE NOT ASKED SPOA IF THEY WOULD GO TO THEIR MEMBERS AND SEEK A REDUCTION, A REDUCTION IN THEIR 5% INCREASE THIS YEAR.
WHEN CAN YOU GO TO THEM AND ASK THEM THAT IF THEY WANNA TAKE IT TO THEIR MEMBERS? UH, I'LL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO, UM, ASK BOTH POLICE AND FIRE, UH, BASED ON, ON THE COUNCIL'S QUESTIONS TODAY.
UM, AND THEN, UM, ALSO TO, UH, ERIC AND MY COLLEAGUES, UH, WELL, MANY OF OUR, MY COLLEAGUES HAVE BEEN HAVING CONVERSATIONS WHEN IT'S COMING TO, UM, GENDER, WOMEN, UM, ISSUES AND PAY PARITY AND PHYSICIANS AND MOVEMENT AND UPWARD MOBILITY AND ECONOMIC MOBILITY FOR WOMEN.
AND SO, UM, LET ME JUST REITERATE AGAIN, IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE SOMEONE IN OUR EQUITY OFFICE WITH A FOCUS AND A LENS ON GENDER BECAUSE THIS IS NOT GOING TO STOP.
WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON IT.
AND ALTHOUGH I DO APPRECIATE THAT INTERSECTIONALITY THAT IS OCCURRING AND THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON, AND I ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE THAT STAFF IN, UH, THE EQUITY OFFICE, WE ARE GOING TO NEED SOMEONE LOOKING AT THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA GET MORE AND MORE COMING TO YOU, DAVID.
UH, SO WE JUST WANT YOU AND THE TEAM, UH, TO BE PREPARED.
COUNCIL MEMBER GRA, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
UH, THANK YOU, UH, TO FOLLOW UP ON, ON THE COUNCILWOMAN.
I DON'T, UH, SORRY IF I SEEM LIKE A COPYCAT
AND I THINK ORIGINALLY THAT'S WHAT THE DEPARTMENT WAS, AND AT SOME POINT THERE WAS A, A MODIFICATION, AND ERIC, YOU AND I HAVE HAD AN ONGOING DISCUSSION ABOUT, UH, REALLY WHAT THE, WHAT THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE FOR THOSE APPROACHES.
SO IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD PROGRAM FOR, UH, NEXT FISCAL YEAR TO DISCUSS THAT AT MY COMMITTEE, UH, I'D, I'D APPRECIATE THAT.
AND WE CAN TALK OFFLINE TO SORT OF FOCUS THE CONVERSATION A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
UM, SPEAKING OF THINGS AT COMMITTEE, UH, I'D LOVE TO GET AN UPDATE ON THE, ON THE TREE.
I THINK IT'S NOT THE TREE CANOPY, BUT IS IT THE TREE MITIGATION PROGRAM? AND, UH, I KNOW WE'VE HAD A PRESENTATION IN THE PAST.
UM, I'D ALSO LIKE TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF, OF, UM, PEOPLE WHO, OR DEVELOPERS WHO MAY BE, UH, HAVING TO PAY INTO THE SYSTEM OR HAVING TO REQUEST A VARIANCE.
UH, I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO
[01:55:01]
KNOW HOW, HOW SUCCESSFUL THE ORDINANCE IS IN TERMS OF, OF COMPLIANCE FOR THE TREE, THE TREE ORDINANCE COUNCILWOMAN.UM, AND REGARDING, UH, PARKING AND, AND DOWNTOWN AND, UH, WHETHER YOU TAKE THE BUS OR YOU DRIVE, UH, ERIC, I KNOW YOU WERE STARTING TO HAVE A DISCUSSION REGARDING HOW WERE ALL THE EMPLOYEES GOING TO BE ABLE TO PARK, UH, DOWNTOWN.
SO I, I THINK IT'S, UH, I'D LIKE TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT AS WE GET CLOSER TO, TO MOVING IN.
AND THEN THE, THE LAST QUESTION I HAVE IS, IS A REQUEST, AND THIS IS FOR, UH, MR. NEWMAN.
UH, I OFTEN GET ASKED BY SOME CONSTITUENTS WHO THINK THAT THE GRASS IS GREENER BECAUSE SOME OF THEIR NEIGHBORS HAVE ALLEY COLLECTION AND THEY HAVE STREET COLLECTION.
AND, UH, I, AT THIS POINT, I'M NOT INCLINED TO EXTEND ALLIE, ALLIE COLLECTION.
AND I, I HAVE A FEELING, AND I'D LIKE FOR YOU TO, TO HELP ME, UM, TO CHECK ME ON THIS, IS IF YOU HAD TO ESTIMATE, AND YOU WILL, BECAUSE I'M ASKING YOU TO, UH, THE COST FOR COLLECTION BY HOUSEHOLD, UH, FOR STREET COLLECTION VERSUS ALLEY COLLECTION, I, I'D REALLY LIKE TO KNOW HOW THOSE TWO COMPARE.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE NEED, UH, DIFFERENT VEHICLES FOR, UH, ALLEY COLLECTION AND ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL FOR ALI COLLECTION.
AND, UM, SINCE PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY PAYING FOR, FOR THIS SERVICE, I THINK IT WOULD BE IN THE INTEREST AND TRANSPARENCY JUST TO UNDERSTAND THAT.
AND THEN I'LL HAVE MY SPEAKING POINTS WHEN I GO OUT AND TALK TO THE, THE NEIGHBORS WHO, WHO WANT ALI COLLECTION.
ALRIGHT, WELL, UM, I, I JUST WANTED TO SAY, UH, THANK YOU TO, UH, OUR STAFF WHO'S ON THE LINE HERE, UH, FOR YOUR GREAT WORK, THE, THE PANDEMIC AND, AND THIS WHOLE YEAR HAS HIT OUR CITY FAMILY VERY HARD.
AND I KNOW ALL OF YOU'RE WORKING EXTREMELY HARD OVER TIME, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, SOME OF YOU, UH, AS WELL AS THE STAFF UNDERNEATH YOU.
UH, AND, AND PLEASE REITERATE, OUR THANKS TO THEM, YOU ALL MAKE US PROUD EVERY SINGLE DAY, UH, TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY.
AND WE KNOW, UH, THAT YOU DO IT WITHOUT FANFARE.
UH, AND WE'RE RECOGNIZING THAT THE FRUSTRATIONS AND THE COST, THE TOLL THAT IT'S TAKEN ON YOU ALL AS WELL.
SO THANK YOU TO OUR ENTIRE CITY FAMILY FOR BEARING WITH US, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS.
I ALSO WANNA SAY, UM, I HAVEN'T YET, UH, SCOTT, OUR NEW BUDGET DIRECTOR, SCOTT HUSEN GATE, UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UH, PREPARING THE POST COUNCIL MEETING MEMOS.
THEY'RE VERY HELPFUL, UH, IN ADDRESSING THE, THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE SEEKING, UH, AND, AND DOING SO IN A WAY THAT I THINK BENEFITS US ALL, EVEN IF WE DON'T HAVE THOSE QUESTIONS OURSELVES.
SO, UH, APPRECIATE, UH, THE WORK.
SCOTT, UH, WITH THAT, THAT IS OUR DISCUSSION.
UM, ERIC, ANY ANYTHING ELSE? UH, NO.
UH, TODAY'S, UH, WEBEX ACTUALLY FELT LIKE A REAL COUNCIL MEETING, LIKE, OR AN OLD COUNCIL MEETING BECAUSE WE HAD SO MANY DEPARTMENTS INVOLVED.
SO IT WAS GOOD TO SEE EVERYBODY.
UH, TIME IS 4:04 PM UH, AND OUR MEETING IS NOW ADJOURNED.