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I THINK WE HAVE, OUR QUORUM TIME IS 2:03 PM
[1. 20-5357 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. Office of the City Clerk B. Office of the City Auditor C. Municipal Court]
ON THIS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2020.GO AHEAD AND CALL OUR CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORK SESSION TO ORDER.
MADAM CLERK COUNCIL MEMBER TIA HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY AND MAYOR BERG.
HERE, MAYOR, WE HAVE A QUORUM.
WE HAVE THREE, UH, DEPARTMENTS TO GO OVER TODAY.
THE CLERK, THE AUDITOR, AND THE MUNICIPAL COURT.
SO LEMME TURN IT OVER TO, UH, CITY MANAGER ERIC WALSH.
GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
UH, YES, UH, THE, UH, WE'VE GOT THREE DEPARTMENTAL PRESENTATIONS THIS AFTERNOON.
WE'LL START OFF WITH, UH, TINA, THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE, KEVIN AND THE CITY AUDITOR'S OFFICE, AND THEN, UH, JUDGE ODO AND FRED GARCIA ON THE MUNICIPAL COURT'S BUDGET.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO TINA.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBER.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT THE OFFICE OF THE CITY COURT'S PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2021 OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGET.
THIS IS A PIE CHART OF OUR, UM, PROPOSED BUDGET.
IT'S SIX $4.4 MILLION THIS YEAR.
UH, PLEASE NOTE THE INCREASE IS DUE TO THE ELECTION BUDGET.
OUR TYPICAL BUDGET, AS YOU SEE FOR FISCAL 2020 IS $4.4 MILLION, AND WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 35 POSITIONS RIGHT NOW, FIVE OF WHICH ARE VACANT, WHICH I'LL GO OVER HERE IN A FEW MINUTES.
JOHN, I WANTED TO SHOW YOU A PHOTO OF OUR BOTTLE RECORDS AREA AND THE PASSPORT AREA.
UM, WE HAVE ADJUSTED TO, UM, THE NEED FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING.
WE HAVE MARKERS ON THE FLOOR, WHICH WE WILL, UM, PUT ADDITIONAL STICKERS ON THE FLOOR, UM, FOR SPACING.
BUT I WANTED TO SHOW YOU THE WINDOWS, HOW THEY'RE ALL, UM, SEPARATED.
WE'RE GONNA CLOSE WINDOWS, UM, TWO, FOUR, AND THEN ON THE OTHER SIDE, SIX AND EIGHT.
SO WE'LL JUST HAVE WINDOWS ONE, THREE, AND FIVE OPEN.
AND THEN ON THE OTHER SIDE AS WELL.
UM, JUST TO ENSURE WE HAVE SOCIAL DISTANCING, WE HAVE HAND SANITIZING STATIONS, UM, AROUND AND ABOUT THE FACILITY.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO, UM, REDUCE THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE ALLOWED WITHIN THE FACILITY.
WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT WE WE'RE KEEPING THE PUBLIC SAFE AS WELL AS THE EMPLOYEES SAFE AT ALL TIMES.
AND IN THE BACK YOU'LL SEE THE, UM, STAND WHERE THE MONITORS ARE AT.
WE'LL HAVE A CITY EMPLOYEE THERE.
UH, THAT'S OUR NEMO QUEUE SYSTEM, UM, THAT ANNOUNCES THE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE WAITING IN LINE AND IT ALSO PROJECTS ON THE TELEVISIONS THERE.
NEXT SLIDE, JOHN, PART OF OUR RETURN TO WORK PLAN.
THIS IS THE BOTTLE RECORDS AREA BEHIND THE SCENES.
THIS IS WHERE THEY DOWNLOAD BIRTH AND DEATH RECORDS.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT A TOTAL OF APPROXIMATELY 29,000 BIRTH RECORDS ARE REGISTERED EVERY YEAR AND ROUGHLY 16, 17,000 DEATH RECORDS ARE REGISTERED EVERY YEAR.
THIS IS WHERE THE WORK GOES ON AS WELL AS THE MAIL-IN REQUESTS, UH, FOR BIRTH AND DEATH RECORDS, AS WELL AS THE BOTTLE CHECK REQUESTS.
AND, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, THEY'RE CRAMPED IN THE SMALL AREA.
WE HAVE 10 EMPLOYEES IN THIS AREA, AND SO THERE'S NO PROTECTION FROM THE COUGHING IN THE SNEEZING AND, AND SO FORTH.
UM, SO WE DO HAVE INCLUDED IN OUR RETURN TO WORK PLAN.
UM, GO AHEAD TO THE NEXT SLIDE, JOHN.
THIS IS THE PROPOSED AREA, UM, THAT WE HAVE INCLUDED IN OUR RETURN TO WORK PLAN.
THIS ALLOWS FOR, UM, PLEXIGLASS.
THEY'LL HAVE A SMALL PONY WALL IN FRONT OF THEM.
IT WILL ALL BE C SEE-THROUGH PLEXIGLASS.
UM, WE'LL HAVE THEM ALL EVEN SPACED AND ALL HAVE 10 MATCHING WORKSTATIONS.
AND THIS IS THE GOAL OF WHERE WE WANNA GET TO, TO ENSURE THAT THE STAFF IS SAFE.
UM, WE CAN'T GO TO A 24 HOUR TYPE, UM, OPERATIONS, SO WE HAVE TO MAKE DO WITH THE SPACE, UM, THAT'S AVAILABLE FOR, TO KEEP THE EMPLOYEE SAFE.
SO THIS IS WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING FOR OUR RETURN TO WORK PLAN.
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NEXT SLIDE, JOHN.THIS IS OUR BOTTLE RECORDS REVENUE.
UM, SINCE WE, SINCE 2013 WHEN WE'VE TAKEN OVER THE MANAGEMENT, IT'S ROUGHLY AVERAGING 1.7, 1.8 MILLION.
UM, YOU WILL SEE THERE WAS A PEAK OF 1.9 MILLION, ALMOST 2,000,019.
AND THAT WAS DUE TO THE, UM, THE IDS, THE DRIVER'S LICENSE OFFICE REQUIRING THE STAR ON YOUR ID.
UM, THAT'S WHAT WE ATTRIBUTE THE SPIKE TO.
UM, THAT'S BECAUSE OUR VITAL RECORDS OFFICE HAS BEEN CLOSED.
THE FACILITY HAS BEEN CLOSED, BUT WE ARE SEEING CUSTOMERS ON A WALK-IN DRIVE UP BASIS, UM, AND BY APPOINTMENTS.
SO, UM, WE SCHEDULE THE APPOINTMENTS, THEY GIVE US THE INFORMATION THEY'RE REQUESTING.
WE ENSURE THAT THEY'RE QUALIFIED APPLICANTS, WE TAKE THE PAYMENT, THEY LEAVE AND THEY COME BACK.
WHEN THEIR ORDER IS READY, WE CONTACT THEM.
SO, UM, OUR REVENUE IS DOWN A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE'RE HOPING THAT ONCE, UM, COVID IS RELAXED AND, UM, IT'S, IT'S A BETTER WORK ENVIRONMENT AND FOR EVERYBODY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO GET OUR REVENUES BACK UP.
UM, EVERY YEAR WE'VE INCREASED OUR PASSPORT REVENUE.
WE WERE HOPING TO BREAK A MILLION DOLLARS THIS YEAR.
WE WERE VERY CLOSE LAST YEAR, BUT OF COURSE, BECAUSE OF THE UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES, UM, PASSPORTS HAS BEEN CLOSED SINCE MARCH.
UM, SO WE HOPE TO BRING OUR REVENUE BACK UP.
UM, OUR PASSPORT OFFICE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE BEST KEPT SECRET.
THE PUBLIC IS JUST STARTING TO GET TO KNOW US.
WE DO, UH, PRESS RELEASES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
UM, JUST REALLY TRYING TO GET THE WORD OUT THAT WE DO PROCESS PASSPORTS.
UM, IT'S REALLY NOT ABOUT INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL RIGHT NOW.
WE DO KNOW THAT INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL IS NOT GOING ON, BUT LAND BORDER CROSSING IS VERY IMPORTANT.
IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT INDIVIDUALS GET TO, UM, CROSS THE BORDER, UM, AND BE WITH THEIR FAMILIES IF THEY HAVE FAMILIES ON THE OTHER SIDE.
SO IT IS IMPORTANT THAT, UM, THEY DO HAVE THE ABILITY TO APPLY FOR A PASSPORT CARD.
IT IS $30 FOR THEM TO APPLY FOR A PASSPORT CARD.
AND, UM, SINCE OUR PASSPORT OFFICE HAS BEEN CLOSED IN MARCH, WE ARE AVERAGING ABOUT 70 CALLS A DAY FOR PASSPORT SERVICES FOR THE PASSPORT CARD.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE DAY, UM, COMING SOON WHERE WE CAN OPEN THE PASSPORT OFFICE BACK UP AND, UM, HELP SERVE THE CUSTOMERS.
NEXT I'M GONNA SHIFT GEARS TO OUR RECORDS MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.
UM, THERE'S A REALLY OLD ORDINANCE FROM THE NINETIES, ROUGHLY 1998 THAT, UM, IMPLEMENTED A RECORDS MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.
WE'VE NOT HAD ONE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, SO I THOUGHT NOW IS A GOOD TIME, UH, TO BRING THAT BACK.
AND THE RECORDS MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE WILL HELP US TO UPDATE OUR STANDARDS AND OUR PROCESSES AND OUR PROCEDURES THAT ARE REALLY OLD.
UM, WE HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM IT, HR, METRO HEALTH ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, PUBLIC LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, PUBLIC WORKS AND FINANCE.
AND THE WAY THESE, UM, DEPARTMENTS WERE SELECTED WAS BECAUSE THESE ARE THE DEPARTMENTS THAT STORE RECORDS WITH US THE MOST RIGHT NOW THAT ARE REALLY USED TO RECORDS MANAGEMENT.
UM, RECORDS MANAGEMENT IS A REALLY HARD TOPIC TO, UM, TO GET USED TO.
SO WE THOUGHT WE'D START WITH THE DEPARTMENTS THAT STORE WITH US THE MOST, THAT HAVE THE MOST RECORDS MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE TO HELP US IMPLEMENT UPDATED POLICIES AND PROCEDURES AND AS WELL AS OUR ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT RIGHT NOW, EMAIL, TEXT MESSAGING AND INSTANT MESSAGES IS NOT INCLUDED IN OUR CURRENT, UM, ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE, 1.34.
AND, UM, AGAIN, THESE DEPARTMENTS, UM, WILL HELP US.
AND WE DO MEET, UM, BIWEEKLY ON, UM, RECORDS MANAGEMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
I WANNA GIVE YOU A QUICK UPDATE OF OUR RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND ARCHIVAL DIVISION.
OUR WAREHOUSE IS ROUGHLY 60,000 SQUARE FOOT.
UM, WE DO STORE ON AVERAGE 65 BOXES WE BRING IN EVERY MONTH.
WE DO DESTROY ALMOST 500 BOXES PER MONTH.
THAT AVERAGES FIVE TONS OF RECORDS THAT WE ARE SHREDDING PER MONTH.
UM, THOSE NINE TONS ARE, UM, PICKED UP BY THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT AND SOLD FOR RECYCLABLE MATERIAL, SAVING THE LANDFILL OF THIS, UM, RECYCLED MATERIAL.
IT DOES NOT GO TO THE LANDFILL.
WE'RE ALSO DIGITIZING RECORDS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
WE HAVE, UM, HALF A MILLION IMAGES RIGHT NOW IN OUR DIGITAL COLLECTION.
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WE ALSO CREATE FINDING AIDS, UM, AS DIFFERENT COLLECTIONS COME IN.UM, TRUE HEART MAPS, YOU GUYS, UH, APPROVED A CONTRACT FOR US ROUGHLY TWO YEARS AGO.
UM, THERE TWO HEART MAPS ARE THE OLDEST, UM, MAPS THAT WE HAVE, UM, FROM THE LATE 18 HUNDREDS.
AND THE TRUE HEART MAPS ESTABLISHED THE SETTLEMENT OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
SO IT IS VERY MUCH, UM, REQUESTED AND UTILIZED AND WE'RE DIGITIZING THOSE AS WELL AS MAKING A FINDING AID FOR THOSE.
UM, I WANTED TO GO OVER THE GOALS FOR, UM, IMPROVEMENTS IN THE OFFICE.
WE'RE LOOKING TO CREATE SHORT VIDEOS OF RECORDS MANAGEMENT, UM, VIDEOS SIMILAR TO THE SECURITY AWARENESS VIDEOS.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU SEE THE SECURITY AWARENESS VIDEOS EVERY MONTH, BUT, UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO CREATE SIMILAR, UM, ONE TO TWO MINUTE SEGMENTS FOR RECORDS MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES FOR THE ENTIRE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO EMPLOYEES.
SO THEY KNOW THEIR OBLIGATION TO MAINTAIN RECORDS, UM, AND THEN GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF STORING THEM AND DESTROYING THEM IN ACCORDANCE WITH LOCAL STATUTES AND ORDINANCES AND SO FORTH.
UM, WE DO USE FILENET FOR OUR STORAGE OF RECORDS MANAGEMENT.
WE ARE IMPLEMENTING A NEW BARCODE SYSTEM RIGHT NOW.
THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT FOR THAT.
UM, WE ARE IN NEED OF A SPACE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
IT IS HELPING US THE BEST THAT THEY CAN TO CREATE ONE.
AND I THINK IT, UH, FOR THEIR SUPPORT.
WE CAN'T DO ANY OF THIS WITHOUT IT.
SO CRAIG AND, AND HIS TEAM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP WITH OUR IT NEEDS.
WE'RE GONNA SHIFT GEARS NOW TO ELECTIONS.
AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A NOVEMBER ELECTION WHERE WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, PROPOSITION A FOR THE PRE-K INITIATIVE.
PROPOSITION B IS THE WORKFORCE INITIATIVE.
AND THEN B WILL HAVE PROPOSITION A FOR THE V ADVANCED, UH, TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT, WHICH WILL COST APPROXIMATELY $900,000.
THERE WILL BE ANOTHER ELECTION IN MAY, 2021 FOR THE GENERAL, UH, ELECTION MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
AND THEN WE WILL MOST LIKELY HAVE A RUNOFF.
WE'VE HAD A RUNOFF EVERY YEAR SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE SINCE 2004.
I ANTICIPATE WE PROBABLY WILL HAVE ANOTHER ONE JUNE OF 2021.
WANTED TO GIVE YOU A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF CEREMONIALS.
THIS IS DENISE LUCKY'S, UM, AREA WHERE WE'RE AT AND WHERE WE HAVE BEEN.
SO, UM, PROCLAMATIONS HAVE BEEN DOWN A LITTLE BIT.
CERTIFICATES ARE ALMOST IN HALF CITATIONS, REUNIONS, RETIREMENTS AND SO FORTH.
BUT, UM, THIS IS ALL, UM, CERTIFICATES AND CEREMONIAL ITEMS THAT DENISE LUCKY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR.
AND, UM, AND THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE TO YOUR, UM, YOUR DIFFERENT, UH, COUNCIL DISTRICTS FOR YOUR CEREMONIAL ITEMS. NEXT SLIDE, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
UM, THIS, UH, SLIDE INDICATES THE ETHNICITY TOTALS, UM, BROKEN DOWN AS WELL AS HOW MANY FEMALES AND HOW MANY MALES ARE SERVING.
UM, I WANTED TO NOTE THAT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU, UH, YOU, YOU'RE AWARE THE BOARD AND COMMISSION SYSTEM DOES NOT ALLOW ME TO REMOVE, UM, CITY EMPLOYEES FROM THE COUNT THAT SERVE ON BOARD AND COMMISSIONS IN THEIR OFFICIAL CAPACITY OR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
SO MANY OF YOU SERVE ON, UM, DIFFERENT BOARDS, AND SO YOU ARE, UM, COUNTED IN THESE NUMBERS.
SO HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE A NEW, UM, SYSTEM RIGHT NOW, A REQUEST FOR A NEW SYSTEM, A R F Q, UM, A RESIDENT CONNECTION PLATFORM, UM, THAT INCLUDES THE BOARD AND COMMISSION SYSTEM, THE VOTING SYSTEM, UH, CONSTITUENT INQUIRY, AGENDA MANAGEMENT, AND, UH, UNIFIED SURVEY MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS.
SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO, UM, PROVIDE BETTER NUMBERS IN THE FUTURE THAT CAN REMOVE THE CITY EMPLOYEES AS WELL AS THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT SERVE ON THE DIFFERENT BOARDS, BECAUSE IT KIND OF SKEWS THE NUMBERS A LITTLE BIT.
BUT I WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE ETHNICITY TOTAL, JUST KEEPING IN MIND THAT YOU ALL ARE INCLUDED IN THOSE NUMBERS.
I WANNA THANK COUNCIL MEMBER TIA FOR HIS ID RECOVERY, UM, INITIATIVE.
WE'RE PARTNERING WITH, UM, D H SS WITH MELODY AND HER, UH, TEAM AS WELL AS THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY, UH, CATHOLIC CHURCH NEXT DOOR TO THE RECORDS FACILITY.
THEY HELP US, ID, UM, INDIVIDUALS THAT DO NOT HAVE IDENTIFICATION.
WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH THE CORTISOL MINISTRIES AS WELL AS CATHOLIC CHARITIES.
UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT WHEN INDIVIDUALS DON'T HAVE MONEY TO PAY,
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WE SEND THEM TO CATHOLIC CHARITIES AND THEY HELP THE BEST THAT THEY CAN.THEY CAN ALWAYS HELP, BUT WHEN THEY CAN, THEY DO, UM, HELP WITH THE FUNDING AND AS WELL AS HAVEN FOR HOPE.
UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT HOUSE BILL 1 23 WAS IMPLEMENTED IN EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER, 2019.
TO DATE, WE HAVE PROVIDED 10 FREE BIRTH CERTIFICATES FOR HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS THAT FIT THIS CATEGORY.
IT IS ONLY FOR HOMELESS YOUTH, UM, AND HOMELESS FAMILIES, BUT ONLY UP TO THE AGE OF 21.
WE'RE HOPING THAT IN THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION WE CAN EXPAND THIS HOUSE BILL OR AT AT LEAST LOBBY THE LEGISLATURE TO CONTINUE, UM, TO EXPAND THIS PROGRAM, UH, TO INCLUDE ALL HOMELESS, UM, INDIVIDUALS.
UH, THEY ALL NEED IDENTIFICATION TO OBTAIN SERVICES SUCH AS HOUSING HAVEN FOR HOPE SERVICES, UM, WORKFORCE AND SO FORTH.
UM, AND WE WILL WORK WITH G P A TO ACCOMPLISH ALL OF THOSE TASKS.
WANTED TO GO OVER OUR BUDGET EQUITY TOOL.
OUR ENTIRE OFFICE COMPLETED EQUITY TRAINING, UH, ABOUT TWO MONTHS AGO.
UM, I ALREADY WENT OVER THE HOUSE, BILL.
I'M NOT GONNA GO OVER THAT PART AGAIN.
THE BOARD COMMISSION SYSTEM, UM, ENHANCEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE, SOME OF THEM TO, UH, ACCOUNT FOR THE DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHICS, BUT, UM, HOPEFULLY THIS NEW SYSTEM WILL HELP US, UM, PROVIDE A BETTER TOOL AND BETTER REPORTING.
UM, ALSO WE'RE GOING TO COMPLETE, UM, A DEPARTMENT EQUITY ASSESSMENT.
AND, UM, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO STUDY DIFFERENT AREAS OF SERVICE, HOW WE CAN BETTER ASSIST, UM, AND HELP OUR, OUR CITIZENS.
AS MANY OF OUR DUTIES HERE AT THE CLERK'S OFFICE ARE, UH, CHARTER REQUIREMENTS, AND WE WANNA LOOK AT HOW WE CAN PROVIDE OUR SERVICE TO ALL, REGARDLESS OF THEIR, UM, FINANCIAL SITUATION OR KEEPING IN MIND THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, BUT FOR NOW, I WILL PASS IT OVER TO KEVIN BARTOLD, OUR CITY AUDITOR.
ALL RIGHT, GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, CITY COUNCIL.
AND AGAIN, I ALSO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME THIS AFTERNOON.
AND I'LL JUST GO BRIEFLY THROUGH, UH, OUR BUDGET AND SOME OF THE THINGS GOING ON IN OUR DEPARTMENT.
AND THE FIRST SLIDE HERE JUST TALKS ABOUT OUR DEPARTMENT MISSION.
AND REALLY THE TWO THINGS I WANNA FOCUS ON ARE HIGHLIGHT IN THIS SLIDE.
IT'S JUST THAT WE ARE INDEPENDENT AND OBJECTIVE.
WE HAVE A LOT OF OTHER REQUIREMENTS, BUT, YOU KNOW, I DO RECOGNIZE THAT I DO, AND MY TEAM DOES REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL.
UH, WE HAVE THAT INDEPENDENCE.
I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THAT I THAT I APPRECIATE Y'ALL SUPPORT, AND I THINK THAT DOES HELP US IN DO DOING THE WORK THAT WE PERFORM, BE IT, UH, AUDITS ON OUR PLAN VERSUS, UH, SPECIAL REQUESTS WE MAY GET FROM COUNCIL OR EVEN MANAGEMENT.
UH, BUT AGAIN, WE WE ARE COMMITTED TO REMAINING INDEPENDENT AND OBJECTIVE IN ALL THAT WE DO, UH, FOR CITY COUNCIL.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE IS JUST, UH, OR LOOKING AT OUR STAFF STRUCTURE.
AGAIN, VERY TRADITIONAL, UH, STRUCTURE WITH SOME MANAGERS AND THEN AUDITORS, UH, ASSIGNED TO EACH MANAGER.
THE NEXT SLIDE, I JUST WANNA TALK ABOUT THE, MY STAFF AND THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE STAFF.
AT LEAST 74% OF MY STAFF, UH, HAVE AT LEAST ONE AUDIT RELATED PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION.
UH, TWO OF THOSE RELATED TO ACCOUNTING OR AUDITING AND, UH, BE IT C P A C I A, A BUNCH OF OTHER INITIALS.
BUT AGAIN, THIS IS JUST REALLY, UH, PROMOTING THE CONTINUOUS LEARNING THAT WE CERTAINLY PROMOTE, THAT I PROMOTE WITHIN MY STAFF, AND JUST THAT LEVEL OF PROFESSIONALISM AND, AND COMPETENCIES THAT THEY HAVE.
ALSO, 47% OF THE STAFF HAVE A ADVANCED DEGREE, MOST OF THOSE BEING MASTER'S DEGREES WITH EITHER AN ACCOUNTING OR BUSINESS, UH, CURRICULUM OR INFORMATION SYSTEMS ON THE IT SIDE.
AGAIN, THAT JUST GIVES US THE QUALIFICATIONS, UH, TO DO, UH, WHAT WE DO WITHIN OUR AUDIT DEPARTMENT, THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES THAT WE TRACK.
AND THESE ARE THE, THE TOP FOUR, THE FOUR THAT WE ARE REPORT OUT TO COUNCIL ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
OBVIOUSLY WE TRACK A LOT MORE.
YOU KNOW, I LOOK AT OUR DEPARTMENT, UH, IT REALLY AS A PROJECT MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT.
UH, THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES JUST BRIEFLY.
THE FIRST ONE IS JUST NUMBER OF AUDIT REPORTS THAT WE ISSUE ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, UH, AND JUST AS A, AS A PRODUCTIVITY, UH, TOOL YOU'LL SEE ON THIS ONE THAT WE WON'T, WE PROBABLY WON'T HIT OUR GOAL.
AGAIN, SOMEWHAT COVID RELATED DURING THE, THE COVID UH, RESPONSE TEAM AT ANY GIVEN POINT OR TIME, UP TO EIGHT OF MY STAFF ARE REDEPLOYED TO HELP IN OTHER AREAS OF THE CITY, UH, WITH THE COVID RESPONSE, UH, WHICH WE CERTAINLY SUPPORTED.
AND I THINK AT THAT, GIVEN AT THAT TIME AND IN PLACE, THAT WAS THE BEST USE OF THOSE RESOURCES.
UH, RIGHT NOW I'M DOWN TO TWO, UH, STAFF MEMBERS THAT ARE CURRENTLY DEPLOYED, AND I EXPECT BOTH THOSE TO BE BACK ON OUR TEAM, UH, BY THE END OF THE MONTH.
AND SO WE'LL BE UP TO, TO FULL CAPACITY.
THE NEXT MEASUREMENT, JUST, UH, PERCENTAGE
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OF RECOMMENDATIONS ACCEPTED BY MANAGEMENT.AGAIN, THAT GOES, IT SHOWS OUR WORKING ABILITY, OUR ABILITY TO WORK WITH MANAGEMENT, AND THAT WE ARE MAKING REASONABLE, ATTAINABLE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, TO MANAGEMENT, TO IMPROVE THE CONTROLS, TO IMPROVE THE PROCESSES, WHATEVER THAT MIGHT BE.
A PERCENTAGE OF TIME DEVOTED DIRECT TIME PERCENTAGE, AGAIN, EFFICIENCY, UH, A MEASURE.
HOW MUCH OF OUR TIME ARE WE REALLY DOING OUR JOBS OF AUDITING VERSUS THE ADMINISTRATIVE STUFF THAT GOES ON.
AGAIN, ADMINISTRATIVE THINGS ARE THINGS LIKE VACATION TIME, TRAINING TIME, UH, JUST THAT OTHER STUFF THAT GOES ON WITHIN OUR JOBS.
AND THEN AGAIN, WE DO TRACK IN OUR GOAL THAT AT LEAST 70% OF OUR STAFF DO HAVE THOSE CERTIFICATIONS.
UH, AGAIN, JUST CONTINUOUS LEARNING AND STAFF COMPETENCY.
UH, WITHIN THAT PROCESS, OUR PROPOSED BUDGET REMAINS STEADY AS COMPARED TO LAST YEAR'S BUDGET OF $3.1 MILLION.
AGAIN, WE ARE A SERVICE ORGANIZATION.
SO 84% OF OUR BUDGET IS IN PERSONNEL RELATED, UH, EXPENSES TOTALLY EXPECTED, AND IT'S REMAINED STEADY, UH, LIKE THAT OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
UH, THE REST OF IT IS JUST THE CONTRACTUAL SERVICES BE BE THAT TRAINING, UH, ALSO SUPPORT SERVICES, BE IT, IT, AND JUST AGAIN, THE TYPICAL, UH, TYPES OF, UH, EXPENSES THAT ANY OTHER DEPARTMENT WOULD INCUR.
BUT AGAIN, WE ARE SERVICE BASED AND THEREFORE, UH, THE BIG PART OF OUR BUDGET IS, UH, PERSONNEL COST AND AGAIN, UNCHANGED, UM, FROM LAST YEAR, UH, IN THE OVERALL BUDGET TO $3.1 MILLION.
SO, UH, A VERY BRIEF PRESENTATION, BUT, UH, I CERTAINLY WILL BE AVAILABLE LATER FOR ANY QUESTIONS Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE.
SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND TURN IT OVER TO, UH, MUNICIPAL COURT.
I BELIEVE JUDGE BLA WILL BE, UH, BEGINNING THE PRESENTATION FOR MUNICIPAL COURTS.
UM, I THINK YOU MAY BE MUTED IF YOU, YOU'VE ALREADY BEGUN SPEAKING.
I HAVE TO TURN DOWN YOUR, UH, COMPUTER SPEAKER.
IS THAT BETTER NOW? YES, JUDGE BLA, THIS IS JUDGE CONNECTIONS.
I'M GONNA MUTE THE ONE, JUST LEAVE THE ONE UNMUTED AND YOU'LL BE GOOD.
I'M SORRY, WHAT DID YOU SAY? OKAY.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR, COUNCIL, CITY MANAGER AND CITY ATTORNEY ANDY SEGOVIA.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE MY FIRST BUZZ BUDGET PRE PRESENTATION.
UM, THIS IS CERTAINLY NOT HOW I IMAGINED I WOULD BE GIVING MY FIRST PRESENTATION, BUT I KNOW WE HAVE ALL HAD TO BE CREATIVE TO CONTINUE, UM, TO PROVIDE CITY SERVICES TO THE SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY.
BEFORE I GET STARTED, I WANNA THANK FRED GARCIA AND DINA ESPINOSA.
THEY WORKED LONG HOURS LAST WEEK AND OVER THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND PREPARING FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, THEY DID A GREAT JOB AND I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THEIR DEDICATION TO THE COURT.
I ALSO WANNA THANK THE BUDGET OFFICE FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE WITH THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, FRED AND I WILL BE MAKING THIS PRESENTATION TODAY, AND WE ARE BOTH AVAILABLE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, SAN ANTONIO MUNICIPAL COURT IS A COURT OF RECORD AND OPERATES AS THE JUDICIAL BRANCH OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
THE COURT HANDLES CLASS C MISDEMEANORS, WHICH ARE FINE ONLY OFFENSES ESTABLISHED BY STATE LAW AND ARISING UNDER CITY ORDINANCES.
THE COURT ALSO HAS CIVIL JURISDICTION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ENFORCING SOME CITY ORDINANCES.
PRIOR TO C OVID 19, THE COURT WOULD SEE APPROXIMATELY 900 TO 1000 CITIZENS A DAY.
THE COURTHOUSE HAS ALWAYS REPRESENTED PROCEDURAL JUSTICE FOR EVERY CITIZEN WHO ENTERED THE BUILDING.
THE GOAL OF THE STAFF AND JUDGES HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO ADMINISTER JUSTICE IN A FAIR, EFFICIENT, AND RESPECTFUL MANNER.
AND THAT HAS NOT CHANGED WITH THE PANDEMIC.
I KNOW THAT CITIZENS WERE USED TO PHYSICALLY COMING TO THE COURT TO HANDLE THEIR BUSINESS.
COVID 19 HAS FO FORCED THE COURT TO, TO CHANGE OUR APPROACH AND REIMAGINE OUR COURT SERVICES FOR THE SAFETY OF THE COURT STAFF AND THE COMMUNITY.
THE COURT HAS BEEN CLOSED TO IN-PERSON PROCEEDINGS SINCE MARCH 20TH.
EVEN THOUGH THE COURT, THE BUILDING REMAINS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC, THE COURT ITSELF IS STILL OPERATING AND ADJUDICATING CASES DAILY.
WHILE THE MAJORITY OF THE COURT STAFF IS WORKING REMOTELY, THERE IS LIMITED STAFF WHO COME IN ON A DAILY BASIS.
THE COURT HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE OFFICE
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OF COURT ADMINISTRATION IN AUSTIN AND SAN ANTONIO METRO HEALTH.THE O C A STRONGLY RECOMMENDS USING ALL REASONABLE EFFORTS TO CONDUCT PROCEEDINGS REMOTELY AND WITH LIMITED EXCEPTIONS IS NOT PERMITTING JURY PROCEEDINGS PRIOR TO DECEMBER 31ST IN MUNICIPAL COURTS.
THE COURT IS FOLLOWING THE GUIDELINES SET FORTH BY O C A, WHICH REQUIRED US TO SUBMIT A C OVID 19 OPERATING PLAN PRIOR TO REOPENING, WHICH FRED WORKED ON.
AND THE PLAN WAS SUBMITTED TO SAN ANTONIO, SAN ANTONIO METRO HEALTH FOR APPROVAL AND FILED WITH THE REGIONAL PRESIDING JUDGE AND O C A.
CAN I HAVE THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE? THERE WE GO AGAIN.
UH, SO WHEN I WAS FIRST APPOINTED AS PRESIDING JUDGE AT THE END OF JANUARY, ONE OF MY GOALS WAS TO RELY ON TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE THE THE COURT MORE ACCESSIBLE.
THE PANDEMIC FORCED US TO QUICKLY MAKE THESE CHANGES AND PROVIDE OTHER AVENUES FOR CITIZENS TO HAVE HIS OR HER DAY IN COURT.
OUR, OUR PRIORITY IS PROVIDING FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE COURT STAFF AND THE COMMUNITY, WHILE BALANCE BALANCING THE PA PUBLIC SAFETY NEEDS OF OF THE CITIZENS OF SAN ANTONIO.
WE HAVE BEEN CREATIVE IN LOOKING AT WAYS TO STILL BE ACCESSIBLE, ACCESSIBLE, AND STILL AT THE SAME TIME ACCOMMODATING THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO, TO TECHNOLOGY OR ARE NOT TECH SAVVY.
PRIOR TO COVID, THE COURT ALREADY HAD PROCEDURES IN PLACE FOR CITIZENS TO CONDUCT THEIR COURT BUSINESS BY REGULAR MAIL, EMAIL AND ATTORNEY CONNECT, WHICH IS AN, A REMOTE PLEA BARGAIN PROCESS FOR ATTORNEYS TO, UM, UH, PLEA BARGAIN THEIR CLIENT'S CASE AS EXECUTER AND ALSO WITH A JUDGE.
IN RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC, THE COURT HAS IMPLEMENTED OR IMPLEMENTED OR ENHANCED THE FOLLOWING PROCESSES, SOMETHING NEW THAT WE HAVE AS OUR CALL CENTER.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE SLIDE FROM, UM, MARCH TO AUGUST OF THIS YEAR, THE CALL CENTER HANDLED 52,000 CASES.
UM, THE CALLS ARE BEING, UM, ANSWERED BY STAFF THAT IS WORKING REMOTELY AND ALSO AT THE COURT.
AND EVERY EFFORT IS MADE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CALL ATTENDANTS ARE BILINGUAL BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A LOT OF BILINGUAL CITIZENS WHO ARE CONTACTING THE CALL CENTER.
UM, THE CA THE CALLS ARE ANSWERED MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, EIGHT TO 4:30 PM AND I THINK THAT THE CITIZENS REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE ACTUALLY SPEAKING TO A LIVE PERSON.
WE ALSO ARE USING SOME TOOLS THAT WE ALREADY HAD.
WE HAVE A COUPLE OF KIOSKS THAT WE HAVE PLACED OUT IN OUTSIDE THE FRONT OF THE COURT.
THEY, WE HAVE CITIZENS WHO ARE STILL SHOWING UP TO COURT ON A REGULAR BASIS.
AND, UM, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO ADDRESS THEIR, UM, THEIR NEEDS THAT THEY HAD WITH THE COURT.
THE KIOSKS ARE AVAILABLE MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, 8:00 AM TO 4:00 PM UM, THEY ARE CONTACTLESS KIOSKS.
WE HAVE THE BAILIFFS WHO ARE, UM, UH, STAFFING THE KIOSKS AND HELPING CITIZENS WHO APPEAR IN COURT.
AND THEY ARE ALSO USED BY SOME OF THE OTHER COURTS FOR HEARINGS, SUCH AS THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COURT D P S HEARINGS.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE INDIVIDUALS WHO, UM, ADDRESS THEIR CODE COMPLIANCE ISSUES AND JU JUVENILE MATTERS AT THE KIOSK.
UM, THE COURT ALSO HAS AN EMAIL PROCESS FOR CITIZENS TO CONTACT THE COURT.
UM, PRE COVID, WE WOULD HANDLE ABOUT A THOUSAND EMAILS A MONTH.
NOW, UH, WE HANDLE ABOUT 3,500 CASES A MONTH BY EMAIL, AND THE COURT RECENTLY CREATED ADDITIONAL EMAIL ADDRESSES FOR CITIZENS TO CONTACT TRIAL COURTS DIRECTLY ONCE THEIR CASES HAVE BEEN SET FOR HEARING, UM, OR TRIAL.
UM, WE ARE UPDATING OUR WEBSITE REGULARLY.
ONE THING THAT IS ALSO NEW IS OURS AND SNAP ENGAGE AND IT IS INSERTED TO THE COURT'S WEBSITE AND IT, AND IT ALLOWS, UM, LIVE OPERATORS TO INTERACT WITH CITIZENS IN REAL TIME.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE A QR CODE WHERE CITIZENS CAN USE THEIR SMARTPHONES TO, UM, SCAN THE CODE AND IT ACCESSES THE COURT'S WEBSITE.
WE ARE AWAITING APPROVAL ON OUR MUNICIPAL COURT APP FROM I T S D.
THE APP WILL PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION.
IT'LL BE A MEANS FOR, UM, INDIVIDUALS TO CONTACT THE COURT BY PHONE OR EMAIL, AND IT PROVIDES HELPFUL LINKS AND NAVIGATIONAL DIRECTIONS.
UM, WE ARE PROVIDING VIDEO AND AUDIO VIDEO CONFERENCING FOR, UH, INDIVIDUALS TO ADDRESS THEIR COURT BUSINESS WITH HEARINGS.
AND WE WILL BEGIN, UM, NON-JURY TRIALS LATER THIS MONTH.
WE HAVE ALSO IMPLEMENTED A ZOOM PLEA BARGAIN PROCESS FOR ATTORNEYS WHO ARE NOT ABLE TO RESOLVE THEIR MATTERS THROUGH ATTORNEY CONNECT.
AND WE ARE ADDING DOCKETS AS THE NEED, AWRI AS THE NEEDS, THE NEED ARISES, AND WE ARE ALSO LOOKING AT OTHER METHODS TO, UM, REMAIN ACCESSIBLE TO THE COMMUNITY AND OF, TO, UH, COMMUNICATE WITH CITIZENS AS WELL.
UM, CAN WE CHANGE SLIDES PLEASE? AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, CASE FILINGS ARE DOWN.
UM, THEY'RE NOT ONLY DOWN IN SAN ANTONIO, THEY ARE DOWN THROUGHOUT THE STATE.
[00:30:01]
OF THE PRESIDING JUDGES OF THE LARGER COURTS IN TEXAS.WE MEET MONTHLY TO EXCHANGE IDEAS AND TO STRATEGIZE ABOUT HOW TO RESPOND TO THE CHALLENGES PRESENTED BY C OVID 19.
UM, THEY HAVE INDICATED THAT THEIR FILINGS ARE DOWN AS WELL.
AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, THE TRAFFIC IS DOWN FROM FISCAL YEAR 19 TO FISCAL YEAR 20 BY ABOUT 25%.
NON-TRAFFIC FILINGS ARE DOWN ALMOST 20%.
PARKING IS DOWN ALMOST 7.5%, AND, UH, CIVIL FILINGS ARE DOWN ABOUT 31%.
UM, WE, UH, THE COURT DOES RECOGNIZE THE HARDSHIPS THAT PEOPLE ARE FACING IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, IN RESPONSE TO THAT, WE ARE NOT ISSUING ANY NEW WARRANTS AT THIS TIME.
AND WHENEVER POSSIBLE, THE COURT IS WORKING WITH DEFENDANTS TO CLOSE CASES SATISFACTORILY.
SO AS TO AVOID, UM, CONVICTIONS ON ILL ANYBODY'S RECORDS, CAN I HAVE THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE? THE COURT IS ALSO WORKING WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND A C S IN AN EFFORT TO RESOLVE CASES, ESPECIALLY WHERE THE MAIN ISSUE IS COMPLIANCE.
UM, IF CITIZENS ARE ABLE TO PROVE COMPLIANCE CASES ARE GETTING DISMISSED INITIALLY, UH, WHEN WE STARTED, UH, WHEN WE FIRST CLOSED THE COURT, WE WERE RESETTING CASES, UM, FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS, GIVING PEOPLE AN OPPORTUNITY HOPING THAT WE WOULD BE REOPENED AND GIVING PEOPLE AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME IN AND RESOLVE, UH, THEIR CASES WITH, SINCE WE HAVE NOT REOPENED AND IT'S BEEN, UH, LONGER THAN EXPECTED, WE ARE, UM, USING EVERY EFFORT THAT WE CAN FOR CITIZENS TO ADDRESS THEIR NEEDS AND PROVIDING, UM, UH, METHODS FOR THEM TO CONTACT THE COURT, WHETHER IT'S BY ZOOM, BY PHONE, UM, THE KIOSKS BY EMAIL, AND WE HAVE AVOIDED.
UM, YOU MIGHT SEE THE FISCAL YEAR, THE, UH, CODE COMPLIANCES ARE PENDING WA PENDING A HEARING OR DEFAULT JUDGMENT.
WE ARE NOT ISSUING ANY DEFAULT JUDGMENTS AT THIS TIME, SINCE WE ARE NOT ISSUING ANY WARRANTS.
WE ARE ALSO NOT ISSUING TAKING ANY DEFAULT JUDGMENTS AT THIS TIME.
SO THAT'S WHY THAT NUMBER LOOKS THE WAY THAT IT DOES.
UM, AND, UH, JUST AS A REMINDER, THE COURT HANDLES, UH, CLASS C DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES INVOLVING ASSAULT BY CONTACT AND THREATS.
UM, ALTHOUGH THESE CASES ARE FINE, ONLY OFFENSE, THEY CAN HAVE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES FOR INDIVIDUALS WHOSE CASES RESULT IN CONVICTIONS.
CONVICTIONS CAN AFFECT A PERSON'S RIGHT TO POSSESS A FIREARM, EMPLOYMENT AND IMMIGRATION STATUS, AND CONVICTIONS CAN BE USED TO ENHANCE ANY SUBSEQUENT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OFFENSES.
IF YOU REMEMBER, SAN ANTONIO MUNICIPAL COURT WAS THE FIRST COURT IN THE STATE TO REPORT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CONVICTIONS TO D P SS EVEN BEFORE IT BECAME A LEGAL REQUIREMENT.
AND I KNOW I PROBABLY DON'T NEED TO REMIND YOU THAT OCTOBER IS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH, AND WE, UH, HAVE A CAMPAIGN TO ENCOURAGE CITIZENS TO ADDRESS EXISTING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WARRANTS.
WE, UH, HAVE SCHEDULED DOMESTIC.
WE HAVE SCHEDULED A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WARRANT ROUNDUP, I'M, I'M SORRY, WARRANT RESOLUTION CAMPAIGN FOR THE FIRST TWO WEEKS IN OCTOBER.
THAT WILL BE OCTOBER 6TH THROUGH THE NINTH AND OCTOBER 13TH THROUGH THE, THROUGH OCTOBER 16TH.
AND, UH, WE ARE EXPECTING A, A, A GOOD RESPONSE TO THAT.
UM, PRIOR TO REOPENING, WE WILL ALSO HAVE ANOTHER, UH, WARRANT RESOLUTION CAMPAIGN TO ENCOURAGE CITIZENS WHO HAVE NOT ADDRESSED THEIR CITATIONS BEFORE.
UH, WE ISSUE START ISSUING WARRANTS AGAIN.
WE WOULD LIKE FOR THEM TO COME IN, UM, AND ADDRESS THEIR, THEIR COURT BUSINESS BEFORE WE START ISSUING WARRANTS AGAIN.
UM, THE D P S DOCKET IS A DOCKET THAT IS HEARD DAILY AND IT IS, UM, ADDRESSES, UH, INDIVIDUALS WHO, WHO, UH, ARE ACCUSED OR WHO ARE, WHO ARE HABITUAL TRAFFIC VIOLATORS, AND ALSO INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE MEDICALLY INCAPABLE OF OPERATING A MOTOR VEHICLE.
SO WE ARE HEARING THOSE CASES WEEKLY.
WE ARE HEARING THEM THROUGH ZOOM AND ALSO ON THE KIOSKS.
OUR JUVENILE CASE MANAGERS HAVE BEEN VERY BUSY, UM, NOT ONLY AT THE END OF LAST SCHOOL YEAR, BUT THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER.
THEY WERE ENGAGED IN, UM, CITYWIDE COMMUNITY SERVICE.
THEY WORKED, UH, VERY CLOSELY WITH D H S AND OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS.
THEY HAVE BEEN THE VOICE FOR THE SCHOOLS.
AT THE END OF LAST SCHOOL YEAR, THEY HELPED THE SCHOOLS CONTACT INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE NOT ENGAGED IN DIS IN DISTANCE LEARNING.
THEY, UM, THEY MADE HOUSE CALLS, THEY MADE PHONE CALLS.
THEY ARE, THEY ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN OUTREACH AND GETTING STUDENTS ENGAGED IN DISTANCE LEARNING.
AND RIGHT NOW THEY ARE WORKING 100% WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS ON REGISTERING STUDENTS.
UM, THEY, JUVENILE CASE MANAGERS ARE ALSO CONTACTING JUVENILE OFFENDERS WHO HAVE NOT, UM, COMPLETED ANY REQUIREMENTS FOR
[00:35:01]
THEIR OWN CLASS C MISDEMEANORS FOR WHICH THEY ARE ON PROBATION FOR.UH, THOSE ISSUES ARE ALSO ADDRESSED BY PHONE, UM, ZOOM AND ALSO AT THE KIOSK.
SO, UM, AND THEY ARE VERY WORKING VERY, VERY CLOSELY WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO GET OUR STUDENTS ENGAGED IN DISTANCE LEARNING.
THE MAGISTRATE, UH, COURT WAS MY BIGGEST CONCERN.
UM, WE ARE A 24 7 OPERATION AND MAGISTRATE COURT CANNOT CLOSE.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS NO REMOTE OPTION FOR MAG STAFF OR FOR JUDGES.
THE COURT, UH, CONTINUES TO PROVIDE MAGISTRATION FOR S A P D, ONSITE ARRESTS, PARK POLICE, AIRPORT POLICE, AND D P S.
UM, THE MAG COURT AND THE JUDGES, UH, DID A WONDERFUL JOB AND THEY CONTINUE TO OPERATE.
THEY HAVE CONTINUED TO OPERATE THROUGH THE PANDEMIC AND ALSO THROUGH THE RIOTS THAT WE, UM, THAT WE FACED OVER THE SUMMER THAT WE EXPERIENCED OVER THE SUMMER.
SO, EVEN THOUGH WE, UM, ARE FACED WITH A DIFFERENT WAY OF CONDUCTING COURT OPERATIONS, THE COURT CONTINUES TO PROVIDE SERVICES.
WE CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SERVICES AND WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT ALTERNATIVE METHODS FOR INDIVIDUALS TO CONTACT THE COURT.
I THINK WE HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN USING THE TOOLS THAT WE ALREADY HAD, SUCH AS THE KIOSKS.
AND, UM, I THINK OUR BIGGEST ASSET HERE AT THE COURT HAS BEEN OUR JUDGES AND OUR STAFF WHO HAVE JUST SHOWN, UM, REMARKABLE FLEXIBILITY.
UM, AND, AND IT HAS REALLY BEEN AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, FOR OUR STAFF AND OUR JUDGES TO SHINE.
THEY'VE ALL JUST DONE SUCH AN AMAZING JOB HERE AT THE COURT TO CONTINUE, UM, OFFERING COURT SERVICES TO THE PUBLIC.
AND, UM, I'M GONNA TURN OVER, UH, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO FRED SO HE CAN CONTINUE WITH THE PRESENTATION.
UH, THANK YOU JUDGE ALITO, UH, THANK YOU, UH, UH, MAYOR COUNCIL, UH, CITY MANAGER AND CITY ATTORNEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT, UH, TO YOU THE, THE FISCAL 21 BUDGET.
UM, SO AS YOU CAN SEE, OUR PROPOSED BUDGET FOR 21 IS $14 MILLION, AND THAT COMPRISES OF, UH, $11.3 MILLION, UH, FOR THE GENERAL FUND.
UH, WHAT TO BE NOTED THERE IS THAT, UH, PRO PROPOSED BUDGET IS $12.1 MILLION, OF WHICH $821,000 IS A TRANSFER TO THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS.
AND THAT SPECIFICALLY ARE THE, THE SECURITY FUND TECHNOLOGY FUND AND THE TRUANCY PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION FUND.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, THOSE FUNDS ARE, ARE MANAGED BY THE COURT AND THOSE FUNDS, UH, REVENUE COMES FROM COURT COSTS AND FEES, AND THEY'RE USED FOR THOSE SPECIFIC PURPOSES OF SECURITY TECHNOLOGY AND I TRUANCY.
ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE THE GRANT, UH, THAT WE'VE, UH, THIS IS PROBABLY OUR THIRD YEAR, UH, HAVING A GRANT.
AND FOR FISCAL YEAR, UH, 21, IT'S, UH, $0.7 MILLION.
AND THE GRANT IS USED BY THE, UH, IS FOR JUVENILE CASE MANAGERS DOING TRUANCY, UH, INTERVENTION PROGRAMS, UH, AND OUTREACH, UH, AT THE LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
IN NEXT SLIDE, I CAN TALK TO YOU BRIEFLY ABOUT, UH, OUR EQUITY TOOL.
UH, WE WE'RE EXCITED TO BE WORKING WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE Z AND HER GROUP, UH, TO DEVELOP, UH, OUR 21 GOALS, BUT ALSO THE, THEY WORKED ON THE, THE 20, UH, UH, GOALS TOO.
UH, A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT WE ACCOMPLISHED FOR THE, UH, FISCAL YEAR 2020 WAS REENGINEERING SERVICE DELIVERY, UM, INCREASED THE NUMBER OF SERVICE OPTIONS FROM FORWARD TO TO SEVEN.
AND JUDGE BLATO SPOKE ABOUT THAT, UH, BRIEFLY OF HOW, UH, BECAUSE OF COVID, WE, WE DEFINITELY SAW THE NEED TO INCREASE OUR ABILITY TO REACH INDIVIDUALS, UH, IN POPULATIONS THAT ARE VULNERABLE TO, TO, TO MEET THEM WHERE THEY'RE AT, AND, UH, UH, ALLOWING, UH, INCREASED METHODS OF COMMUNICATING WITH THE COURT, AND NOT ONLY TO TALK TO THE COURT, BUT ALSO TO RESOLVE CASES.
SO, UM, MANY COURTS THROUGHOUT TEXAS, UH, DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO ACTUALLY GET COURT RESOLUTION, AND IT'S SOMETHING JUDGE HAVE LAID ON.
THE JUDGES DID RIGHT AWAY, UH, DURING COVID, UH, BY THE USE OF SOME STANDING ORDERS TO ALLOW, UH, STAFF ON TELEPHONES TO, UH, HANDLE CASES JUST LIKE THEY WOULD IF THEY WERE IN PERSON, UM, AND KNOW JUDGE
BUT USING CHAT, UH, AND, UH, EMAILS AND, AND THOSE TYPE OF THINGS INCREASED OUR, UH, ACCESSIBILITY TO CITIZENS.
ALSO WE'RE VERY PROUD OF, LIKE JUDGE OBL TALKED ABOUT, WAS, UH, JUVENILE CASE MANAGERS, UM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH, UH,
[00:40:01]
THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES.THEY SPENT THE SUMMER HELPING THE HOMELESS, UH, COMMUNITY, UH, THOSE, UH, FOLKS THAT ARE, NEED THE SERVICES FOR, FOR DETOX SERVICES, REHAB, AND TRANSITIONAL HOUSING.
SO THEY WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN PROVIDING SOME, UH, MANPOWER TO, TO, TO GO TO THOSE AREAS WHERE THE HOMELESS POPULATIONS ARE AND TO ASSIST THEM, THOSE, THOSE AREAS.
UM, ALSO, UH, OUR STAFF AND OUR JUDGES, UH, DO A PRETTY GOOD JOB IN, IN TRYING TO ASSESS INDIVIDUAL'S ABILITY TO PAY, UM, AND LOOKING AT, UH, LANGUAGE BARRIERS, UH, GRAPH AND OTHER HARDSHIPS TO PAY THEIR CITATIONS AND ACTUALLY WORKING WITH INDIVIDUALS ON THE FRONT END.
AND THIS IS KIND OF IN COMPLIANT WITH, UH, SV 1913 THAT WAS PASSED BY, UH, THE LEGISLATURE RECENTLY.
BUT COURTS, WE, WE'VE FOR THE LONGEST TIME, UM, UH, ACCESSIBILITY TO PAY AT THE FRONT END AND NOT WAIT TO A DEFAULT.
UH, THE, THE LAW IS PROBABLY CATCHED UP, UH, ON THIS, AND IT HAS, UH, MANDATED THAT COURTS DO THAT NOW.
BUT, UH, WE, WE TRY TO ADDRESS THAT UPFRONT AND, AND THEREFORE, UH, MEET THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE NEEDS.
WE CAN IDENTIFY THOSE AND GIVE THEM OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO RESOLVE THINGS, WHETHER IT'S A PAYMENT PLAN, COMMUNITY SERVICE, OR WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE INDIGENT OR NOT.
ADDITIONALLY, WE PROVIDED, UH, UH, MULTIPLE COURT LANGUAGES, SERVICES AND, UH, SERVICES FOR OUR, OUR DEAF COMMUNITY.
UH, WE NOW, BESIDES SPANISH, WE ALL ALSO ALSO INTERPRETATION, UH, SERVICES FOR A MULTITUDE OF OTHER LANGUAGES, UH, THAT ARE USED.
UH, WE PLAN TO UTILIZE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL COURT CASE RESOLUTION OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITIES IN NEED.
AND WHAT WE MEAN BY THAT IS LOOKING AT THE, UM, EQUITY MATRIX AND, AND LOOKING AT WAYS THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY AREAS THAT NEED OUR SERVICES THAT WE CAN BRING THOSE SERVICES TO, TO THEM LOCALLY.
UM, AND IF THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO, UH, MAKE IT TO THE COURTHOUSE OR USE, UH, OTHER METHODS TO RESOLVE THEIR CASES BECAUSE OF, OF TECHNOLOGY ISSUES THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY, WAYS THAT WE CAN GO TO THEM AND, AND HELP THEM RESOLVE THOSE THINGS.
ADDITIONALLY, DEVELOP A WORKFORCE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TEAM DEDICATED TO EFFECTIVE, EFFICIENT PROCESSES WHILE CITATIONS, UM, THAT'S MORE, UH, FOCUSES ON CASELOAD MANAGEMENT.
AND TRY TO IDENTIFY A, A TEAM TO LOOK AT THE INTEGRITY, UH, IN EVERY STEP, UH, OF, UH, OF A CASE AND TO KIND OF MEASURE, UH, STAFF AND JUDGE'S PERFORMANCE, UH, TO, TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE OVERALL WELLBEING OF THE COURT.
AND, AND IN ESSENCE, WHAT THAT WOULD DO IS, IS MAKING SURE THAT, UH, WE, WE ARE OPERATING EFFICIENTLY AND, AND PRODUCTIVELY, UH, LOOKING AT REPORTS.
THEREFORE, WE CAN, WE CAN IDENTIFY AREAS THAT WE NEED TO HELP, UH, THOSE IN NEED AND ADDRESS OUR SERVICES THAT WAY.
UH, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT.
KNOW, JUDGE DELTO TALKED ABOUT, UM, UH, THE KIOSKS THAT WE USE.
AS, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, THE COURT HAS, UM, HAD THE USE OF COURT KIOSKS FOR SOME TIME NOW, SINCE 2013, UH, AND ONE OF VERY FEW CITIES, UH, THAT HAVE BEEN DOING THAT.
UH, NOW UNDERSTAND MORE AND MORE CITIES ARE JUMPING ON BOARD.
UH, BUT THAT GAVE US THE ABILITY TO GO OUT TO THE COMMUNITY.
WE'VE HAD TO INITIALLY PLACE AT H E BS, UH, THREE AROUND THE CITY.
UH, SO FOR INDIVIDUALS TAKE CARE OF COURT BUSINESS WITHOUT THE HAVING TO COME DOWNTOWN WHERE THEY ACTUALLY COULD TALK TO A JUDGE OR A CLERK TO RESOLVE THEIR CASES.
WE'RE REAL EXCITED ABOUT, UH, PARTNERING WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS.
AND WE'VE FOUND INTERESTS OTHER DEPARTMENTS LIKE NEIGHBORHOOD AND HOUSING SERVICES AND HUMAN HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENTS, UH, TO KIND OF USE THE, THE NEXT GENERATION OF, OF, UH, CORE KIOSKS THAT ALLOWS MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS TO SHARE IN THAT KIOSK EXPERIENCE.
AND THE, UH, AND THEY HAVE THAT AVAILABLE, UH, CITYWIDE.
SO THEREFORE, WE CAN MEET THE, THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY WHERE THEY'RE AT, UH, OF FOLKS THAT HAVE TROUBLE COMING DOWNTOWN.
YOU CAN'T TAKE A BUS ROUTE, CAN'T FIND THE BUS ROUTE.
UH, WE DO KNOW THAT THEY, THEY ARE IN THEIR PARTICULAR AREAS WHERE THEY'RE AT A LIBRARY AT OUR, AT A STORE, AND WE COULD BE PRESENT THERE AND PROVIDE CITIES, NOT SERVICES, NOT ONLY FOR MUNICIPAL COURT, BUT ALSO FOR THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT THAT NEED THEIR SERVICE DELIVERY.
AND SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT, UH, IMPLEMENTING THAT IN FISCAL YEAR, UH, 2021.
LASTLY, UM, PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCEMENT, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF OUR, OF OUR STAFF.
[00:45:01]
SOME OF THE, THE LOWER TIERED, UM, UH, SET, UH, EMPLOYEES THAT WE HAVE AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE, UH, PARTNER WITH HR AND TO DEVELOP, UM, TRAINING PROGRAMS, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, WHETHER THAT BE, UH, RESUME WRITING OR, OR WHATNOT TO HELP THEM, UH, MAKE SURE WE HELP THEM, UH, PROMOTE ADVANCEMENT IN THE ORGANIZATION.UM, AND ALSO LOOKING AT MAYBE ANY TYPE OF, UH, PAY DISPARITIES, UH, FOR, UH, THE, OUR WOMEN IN OUR WORKFORCE.
UH, FINALLY, WE WANT TO KIND OF, UH, GIVE KUDOS TO OURSELVES HERE BECAUSE WE CONSIDER OURSELVES AN AWARD-WINNING, UH, MISSAL COURT.
AND THIS IS THE SECOND YEAR, UM, OVERVIEW AWARD, UH, OF THE, UH, MISSAL COURT TRAFFIC SAFETY AWARD.
AND THAT'S, UH, UH, A PROGRAM THAT WE'VE WORKED YEAR ROUND ON TO PROMOTE, UH, TRAFFIC SAFETY, NOT ONLY FOR THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO FOR OUR EMPLOYEES.
AND WE FEEL THAT'S SUCH AN IMPORTANT CHARGE THAT WE HAVE AS A COURT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR, OUR RESIDENTS AND OUR VISITORS, UH, THAT WE CAN DO OUR PART TO ENSURE THE IMPORTANCE OF, OF TRAFFIC SAFETY IN EVERYTHING THEY DO.
UH, SO WE'VE, WE'VE HOSTED A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS, UM, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, AND I DEFINITELY WANNA THANK, UH, WE'VE HAD PARTNERS, OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS AS PARTNERS AND OTHER AGENCIES, WHICH IS, INCLUDES SOLID WASTE PARKS, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, SS A P D, TDOT, MOTHER AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING, UH, U-HAUL, TEXAS A AND M, THE SAN ANTONIO COUNCIL OF ALCOHOL AND DRUG AWARENESS, AND TC T C I'S VISION ZERO AND METRO HEALTH, UH, THESE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES HAVE COME, UH, JOINED US AND COMMUNICATING THAT MESSAGE OF, OF TRAFFIC SAFETY AND HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS, UH, WITH US.
SO WE HAVE A LOT OF OUTREACH, TOUCHED A NUMBER OF LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLERS, UH, UH, WHO, WHO PARTICIPATED AND HAVE, HAVE SEEN OUR PROGRAMS. UM, ADDITIONALLY THIS YEAR WHERE WE'RE A FIRST TIME AWARD WINNER, HONORABLE MENTION FOR THE 2020 IN FLORIDA TRAFFIC SAFETY AWARD.
THAT'S A NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL.
UM, AND AGAIN, IT'S, IT IS CONTRIBUTED TO OUR VARIOUS OUTREACH EFFORTS THAT WE'VE, UH, DONE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, UH, ENCOURAGING TRAFFIC SAFETY FOR OUR EMPLOYEES.
UH, AND THAT'S, UH, A VERY RARE, UH, WE'RE ONE OF ONLY TWO MUNICIPAL COURTS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS TO RECEIVE THAT AWARD.
AND SO WE'RE VERY, VERY PROUD OF THAT, UH, AWARD ALONG WITH THE, UH, MUNICIPAL TRAFFIC SAFETY AWARD.
UH, THANK YOU MAYOR AND COUNCIL, UH, FOR ALLOWING US TO PRESENT OUR FISCAL YEAR 21 BUDGET.
I WANNA THANK THE FISCAL COURT TEAM, OF COURSE, UH, VANESSA AND JUSTINA WITH THE BUDGET OFFICE, UM, FOR HELPING US WORK ON OUR, OUR BUDGET PRESENTATION.
UH, THIS CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION, AND JUDGE O OTO AND I ARE, ARE HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU, UH, FRED AND JUDGE OTO.
UM, THANK YOU ALSO TO, UH, KEVIN AND TINA FOR THE PRESENTATIONS.
UH, SO WE'LL, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND OPEN UP DISCUSSION NOW ON, ON ALL THREE OF THESE ITEMS. UH, LEMME START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO, UH, AND COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO WILL BE FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREWS SULLIVAN.
AND, UM, I'LL JUST START WITH MUNICIPAL COURT.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
UM, UH, NUMBER ONE YOU JUST MENTIONED, THE, UH, MULTI-SERVICE KIOSK CITYWIDE.
WE ARE IN FULL SUPPORT OF THAT, AND WE MENTIONED THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, IN, IN TERMS OF HOW IT WORK, IT CAN WORK WITH, WITH THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL PROGRAM.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE REQUEST THAT THAT HAS BEEN MADE FOR, UH, 10, UH, LEGAL KIOSK AT, AT KEY LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, UH, TO HELP WITH A LOT OF RISK POPULATIONS, THOSE THAT, UH, HAVE FREQUENT FOOT TRAFFIC, UH, UH, FROM, FROM, FROM SOME OF THESE AREAS SUCH AS LIBRARIES, COMMUNITY CENTERS, UH, AND HAVEN FOR HOPE.
UM, AND SO JUST WANNA MENTION, WE'RE IN SUPPORT OF THAT.
I ALSO, UH, WANT TO BRING UP THAT, UH, WE KNOW WHEN I VISITED THE COURT, UH, NOT TOO LONG AGO, AND ONE OF THE REQUESTS THAT WAS MADE BY THE PROSECUTORS THERE, UH, WAS TO, TO GET A, A DEDICATED INVESTIGATOR.
UM, SO ARE WE LOOKING INTO THAT? JUDGE OBL? I THINK YOU'RE MUTED.
[00:50:01]
TO GET BACK WITH YOU ON THAT.UM, THAT THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT THE PROSECUTORS WOULD BE UTILIZING, UM, FOR, BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S THEIR CASES, THEIR FILINGS, AND SO IF THEY NEED INVESTIGATORS, IT WOULD BE SOMETHING THROUGH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF ANDY CAN SPEAK TO THAT.
YEAH, I WAS GONNA SAY THAT THAT WOULD COME FROM OUR OFFICE, COUNCILMAN.
YEAH, WE HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT, UH, WE'VE HAD ONE OF THOSE IN THE PAST, AND WE'RE LOOKING TO SEE IF WE CAN PUT TOGETHER, UM, UH, A, A JOB DESCRIPTION AND OTHER THINGS SO THAT WE CAN COME BACK AND GIVE ERIC A RECOMMENDATION ON THAT.
WELL, I'M GONNA ASK YOU HERE TO, TO PLEASE DO THAT.
'CAUSE THERE ISN'T, BUT CURRENTLY MY UNDERSTANDING IS THERE ISN'T ONE AND, UH, IT, IT, IT, IT SEEMS THAT WE, WE COULD HAVE AT LEAST ONE INVESTIGATOR, DEDICATED INVESTIGATOR TO HELP OUT.
UH, CERTAINLY MAKE SURE THAT, UH, NONE OF THESE CASES ARE GETTING BACKLOGGED.
UM, SO THERE'S MY REQUEST AND, OKAY, UH, YOU CAN DO THAT, BUT I, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY CASES BEING BACKLOGGED, BUT WE ARE LOOKING AT AN INVESTIGATOR TO HELP OUT WITH OUR PROSECUTION DIVISION.
WELL, I, THAT WASN'T, THAT WASN'T COMMUNICATED.
SO, UH, ALSO, I, THERE WAS ALSO A, A REQUEST TO MAYBE LOOK AT THE, UH, CLASS C UH, ASSAULTS MAYBE, UH, DO, DO NOT COME RIGHT AWAY TO AN ATTORNEY.
MAYBE THERE'S, UH, EXPLORING AN, AN, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES LIKE THE CLASS C ASSAULTS.
UH, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE, THESE CAN'T BE, UH, LIFE ALTERING IMPACTS ON SOMEONE'S LIFE.
AND, UH, MAYBE A RIGHT TO COUNCIL, UH, AN EXPANSION OF THE RIGHT TO COUNCIL PROGRAM COULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, MOVING ON TO, UH, THE CITY CLERK.
UM, THANK YOU A, AGAIN FOR MENTIONING THE, UH, THE ID PROGRAM.
AND CONGRATULATIONS ONCE AGAIN ON YOUR APPOINTMENT.
UH, I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ON, ON THIS RECOVERY, UH, ID RECOVERY SERVICES ON A REGULAR BASIS AS WELL, UH, WHILE ALLOWING S A P D OFFICERS TO FOCUS MORE ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND LESS BUREAUCRATIC ISSUES, UM, WE ALL KNOW THAT ONE OF THE HARDEST BARRIERS, OR ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS IN, IN, IN KNOCKING DOWN SOME OF THESE BARRIERS, UH, THAT A HOMELESS PERSON FACES IS, IS, UH, IDENTIFICATION.
AND IT HELPS THEM FOR APPLYING FOR A JOB OR, OR SEEKING HELP, UH, BECAUSE, UH, BECAUSE IT DOES REQUIRE AN ID.
AND SO, UM, YOU AND I DISCUSSED THE PROCESS AND THAT IT USUALLY STARTS WITH GETTING A BIRTH CERTIFICATE.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M MAKING A REQUEST FOR, AT AT LEAST $30,000 TO HELP US GET THIS GOING.
UH, AS, AS, UH, AS THE CLERK MENTIONED, UM, YOU KNOW, HOUSE BILL 1 23 DOES SORT OF GIVE US A FRAMEWORK FOR HOMELESS YOUTH.
UM, I HAVE BEEN IN CONVERSATIONS, UH, IN A CONVERSATION WITH, UH, STATE REPRESENTATIVE DIEGO AL, UH, TO MAYBE SPONSOR, UH, SUCH LEGISLATION.
SO I, I HOPE MAYBE WE CAN WORK WITH HIS OFFICE, UH, TO SEE ABOUT EXPANDING THIS PRO, UH, EXPANDING HOSPITAL, 1 23, UH, TO, TO HELP THESE, UH, HOMELESS, UH, UH, PERSONS THAT, THAT, UH, UH, MAY NEED A BO UH, PAY FOR A BIRTH CERTIFICATE.
UH, WE THINK THE $30,000 WILL GET US HOPEFULLY AROUND A THOUSAND FUNDED BIRTH CERTIFICATES.
UH, AND ON TOP OF THAT, WITH THE, THE, THE 11 PROPOSED HOMELESS OUTREACH SPECIALIST, UH, THEY WOULD BE CHARGED WITH LOCATING AND WORKING, UH, TO FIND THESE, UH, 1000, UH, QUALIFIED APPLICANTS.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A FRAMEWORK THAT WE'RE BUILDING HERE THAT COULD BE VERY HELPFUL, UM, AND, UH, MAYBE WE CAN, YOU KNOW, FIND A WAY TO, TO EXPAND AND PROVIDE ANOTHER TOOL FOR THESE OUTREACH SPECIALISTS AS WELL.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I, I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT.
AND, AND THEN TINA, I, I WANT TO KIND OF MAYBE JUST GIVE YOU, UH, A MINUTE TO ALSO EXPLAIN AS, AS, UM, AS WE DISCUSS THIS, WE, YOU KNOW, YOU DO PASSPORTS AND, UH, JUST WANT TO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR RECOGNIZING, UM, LAND BORDER CROSSING, UH, HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS, ESPECIALLY IN SOUTH TEXAS, UH, FOR, FOR FOR MANY PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, BUT YOU ALSO MENTIONED THAT, THAT THERE'S, THERE'S OPPORTUNITY HERE FOR, FOR SOME OF OUR HOMELESS, UH, TO GET, UH, AN ID LIKE A PASSPORT, UH, WOULD BE, UH, A REALLY, REALLY HUGE STEP AND COULD, COULD BE, UM, A GREAT MODEL FOR, FOR MANY CITIES, UH, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, SORT OF SETS THE, THE HIGHEST MARK FOR IDENTIFICATION, UH, THAT ONE CAN HAVE.
CAN YOU WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT
[00:55:01]
ABOUT WHAT WE DISCUSSED REGARDING THE PASSPORT AND HOMELESS? SURE.YES, COUNCILMAN, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THE, UH, PASSPORT CARD CAN BE USED FOR IDENTIFICATION, AND IT'S WIDELY ACCEPTED EVERYWHERE, AND IT ALSO ALLOWS, UH, INDIVIDUALS TO TRAVEL.
UM, SO IT IS IDEAL IF AN INDIVIDUAL COULD APPLY FOR A PASSPORT.
THE ONLY BARRIER THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO ESTABLISH IS CITIZENSHIP.
WELL, THE CITIZENSHIP COULD BE ESTABLISHED WITHIN OUR OFFICE, THROUGH THEIR BIRTH CERTIFICATE IF THEY WERE BORN IN, UM, BEXAR COUNTY.
WE DO HAVE ACCESS TO THE STATE SYSTEM.
UH, WE ARE CHARGED A SMALL NOMINAL FEE OF APPROXIMATELY A DOLLAR 80 OR SO TO ACCESS THE STATE SYSTEM, UH, TO, UH, VERIFY CITIZENSHIP.
BUT THAT IS THE, UH, THE MOST IMPORTANT BARRIER IS TO ESTABLISH CITIZENSHIP.
UH, AND THEN THE NEXT BARRIER, UM, WOULD BE THE CHARGE OF $30 TO PAY FOR A PASSPORT CARD.
UM, THE GOOD THING IS THOUGH, ONCE AN INDIVIDUAL HAS A PASSPORT CARD, THEY'RE IN THE STATE SYSTEM, UM, THAT'S, UH, THE DEPARTMENT OF, OF, OF STATE SYSTEM FOR 10 YEARS.
UM, THEIR PASSPORT IS GOOD FOR 10 YEARS.
SO IF THEY, IF THEY'VE LOST IT, UM, IT CAN BE EASILY REPLACED.
AND, UM, IT, IT'S BETTER, UH, TO HAVE A PASSPORT IDENTIFICATION OVER A TEXAS IDENTIFICATION.
AGAIN, IT IS WIDELY ACCEPTED EVERYWHERE.
SO IT WOULD BE IDEAL, UM, IF AN INDIVIDUAL HAD THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO APPLY FOR A PASSPORT AND ESTABLISH THEIR CITIZENSHIP THROUGH THAT WAY.
UM, IT, IT WOULD ALSO HELP INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE, UM, NATURALIZED.
UM, NATURALIZATION CERTIFICATES, UH, ARE VERY EXPENSIVE.
I MEAN, ALMOST A THOUSAND DOLLARS.
UM, SO IF AN INDIVIDUAL WERE TO, UH, BE NATURALIZED, PROVIDE THAT DOCUMENTATION TO THE US DEPARTMENT OF STATE, THEY'RE ON RECORD, UM, AND THEN THEY CAN HAVE A, UH, A PASSPORT CARD.
UM, THE CITY'S FEE IS $35, UH, FOR A PASSPORT CARD, AND THE STATE FEE IS $30.
SO, UM, WE WOULD HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO, UM, I GUESS, WAIVE THE CITY FEE, UM, AND PAY FOR THE STATE FEE.
THERE'S NO WAY TO GET AROUND THE STATE FEE THAT HAS TO BE PAID BY PERSONAL CHECK OR MONEY ORDER.
SO, UM, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT WE DISCUSSED.
PASSPORT CARD IS VERY EXPENSIVE.
VERY, VERY USEFUL FOR INDIVIDUALS.
AND, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ON EXPANDING THE ID RECOVERY PROGRAM AND REALLY SETTING, UH, I THINK A HIGH BAR, UH, THROUGHOUT, UH, THE COUNTRY AND, AND, AND, AND WE CAN ALL SAY THAT IT REALLY STARTED RIGHT HERE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH YOU.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT.
AND KEVIN, UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK.
UH, I THINK WE HAVE A MEETING COMING UP, BUT YOU KNOW, I, I'VE REQUESTED AN AUDIT OF THE RISK MITIGATION FUND AND, AND HOPEFULLY, UH, WE'LL RECEIVE THAT VERY SOON.
IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO, UH, MEASURE, UH, SUCH AN IMPORTANT PROGRAM AND UNDERSTAND, UH, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE MONIES ARE GOING AND, AND HOW WE NEED TO, UM, INVEST OUR OWN GENERAL FUNDS INTO THOSE DOLLARS AND WHY.
SO I THINK YOUR AUDIT WILL HELP, UH, SPEAK VOLUMES INTO, UH, HELPING US UNDERSTAND, UH, HOW THOSE RESOURCES ARE BEING UTILIZED.
COUNCIL MEMBER VINNO, COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN COUNCIL, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER EZ.
UM, I JUST WANNA THANK ALL OF OUR, OUR CITY STAFF AS THEY PRESENTED TODAY.
UM, TINA, CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN, AND WHAT A WONDERFUL PRESENTATION AS THE FIRST TIME YOU DID IT AS THE APPOINTED CITY CLERK.
AND SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WORK.
THE QUESTION THAT I HAVE FOR THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE, TINA, IS AS FAR AS BEING ABLE TO REQUEST DEATH CERTIFICATES OR BIRTH CERTIFICATES, UM, ONLINE, UM, DO WE HAVE THAT PLATFORM? AND IF SO, WHAT DO THE NUMBERS LOOK LIKE? WELL, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
CURRENTLY, UM, WE DO NOT ALLOW FOR REQUESTS ONLINE, UM, DIRECTLY THROUGH OUR OFFICE.
THERE IS A, UM, THIRD PARTY COMPANY CALLED BOTTLE CHECK THAT INDIVIDUALS CAN, UM, REQUEST A BIRTH CERTIFICATE ONLINE.
THEY DO CHARGE ADDITIONAL FEES, UM, AND THEY VERIFY IDENTITY THROUGH D P S, UM, SYSTEM.
AND SO, UH, BASED OFF OF SOME OF THE INITIATIVES THAT COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO HAS REQUESTED, WE ARE LOOKING AT, UM, SEEING IF WE CAN GET THE SAME ACCESS THROUGH A, UM, INTER LOCAL AGREEMENT OR M O U OF SOME TYPE TO SEE IF WE COULD EXPAND REQUESTING BIRTH CERTIFICATES AND DEATH CERTIFICATES
[01:00:01]
ONLINE.AND THEN, UH, WE CAN ACCESS THE, THE PUBLIC SAFETY'S WEBSITE TO VERIFY IDENTITY.
UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT, UM, I JUST NEED A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO PUT THAT TOGETHER AND SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE TO PRESENT TO YOU.
BUT IT IS, UH, AN IDEA THAT IS IN THE WORKS.
AND I KNOW THAT WE'RE STILL CONTINUING TO WORK ON THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, UM, THROUGH COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL'S REQUEST.
UM, AND I WANTED TO KNOW HOW FAR HAVE WE COME WITH THAT PROCESS AND WHAT IS THAT LOOKING LIKE NOW FOR YOUR STAFF THAT HANDLES BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS? YES, THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN.
THE, UM, SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY, UH, OR THE R F P IS OUT FOR BID RIGHT NOW, UM, FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
SO WE ARE UTILIZING THE EXISTING SYSTEM THAT WAS DEVELOPED IN HEALTH BY I T S D, UM, AND LOOK TO HOPE TO REPLACE THAT.
UM, I BELIEVE IT'S GOING TO CLOSE IN MID-SEPTEMBER, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO START REVIEWING, UH, THE SOLICITATIONS LATE SEPTEMBER.
SO, UM, HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE SOMETHING ONLINE SHORTLY THEREAFTER.
I CAN GIVE YOU UPDATES ON THOSE DATES IF YOU WANT.
UM, YES SIR, OUR FEES COME BACK ON SEPTEMBER 15TH, AND WE'LL COMPLETE OUR REVIEW BY SEPTEMBER 29TH.
AND WE ARE SCHEDULING A B SESSION TO REVIEW WITH THE TEAM WITH THE COUNCIL ON NOVEMBER 4TH.
UM, AND THEN THE LAST QUESTION I HAVE FOR YOU, TINA, AT THIS TIME IS WITH THE VACANCIES OR THE ATTENDEE, UM, REQUIREMENTS FOR OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, IS THERE A WAY THAT WE AS A DISTRICT, UM, OFFICE OR THE COUNCIL PERSON FOR THE DISTRICT CAN GET A BREAKDOWN OF OUR ATTENDEES AND THEIR MEETING STATUS AND HOW MANY VACANCIES WE HAVE WITHIN OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS PER DISTRICT? YES, MA'AM.
UH, WE ARE SENDING THE VACANCY REPORT SHORTLY.
MELINDA WILL BE SENDING IT TO EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT, SO YOU SEE WHAT THE VACANCIES ARE, UH, PER DISTRICT THAT IS COMING TO YOU SHORTLY.
UM, THE NEXT QUESTION I HAVE IS FOR KEVIN.
UM, KEVIN, THE ONLY QUESTION I HAVE FOR YOU AT THIS TIME IS, ARE WE DOING AN AUDIT SPECIFIC REPORT ON JUST THE C OVID 19 CARES ACT, UM, FUNDS THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED? WE ARE ACTUALLY BREAKING THOSE, THOSE AUDITS, UH, CONSISTENT WITH THE FOUR PILLARS.
UH, SO IN OUR PROPOSED, UH, 2021 AUDIT PLAN, WHICH WILL BE IN FRONT OF CITY COUNCIL NEXT WEEK FOR APPROVAL, WE'VE BROKEN IT OUT BY, UH, THE HOUSING ASSISTANCE, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, UH, THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, AND ALSO THE SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE.
SO WE'LL BE LOOKING AT, UH, THE MONIES RECEIVED AND WITHIN THOSE, WITHIN THOSE GUIDELINES, THOSE PARAMETERS, UH, I BELIEVE THROUGH THAT WE WILL COVER, UH, THE, THOSE PROPOSALS AND THE, THE POLICIES AND, AND PROGRAMS OF CITY COUNCIL.
WE DO HAVE ANOTHER SEPARATE AUDIT THAT WE'LL BE STARTING HERE REAL SOON, SPECIFICALLY FOR THE RESPONSE OF WHAT'S HAPPENED THUS FAR, NOT RELATED TO THOSE PILLARS, BUT JUST HOW WE RESPONDED, UH, IN, IN THE MONEY THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THE, UH, UH, FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE CARESS ACT.
SO I BELIEVE THROUGH THAT PROCESS, WE WILL COVER, UH, THE MAJORITY, IF NOT ALL OF THE CARES ACT FUNDING.
I'LL ALSO SAY THAT THE EXTERNAL AUDITORS, UH, WHEN THEY DO THEIR ANNUAL AUDIT, UH, WILL ALSO BE COVERING, UH, SOME OF THAT CARES ACT MONEY BECAUSE OF THE DOLLAR AMOUNT IT QUALIFIES AS A SINGLE AUDIT.
SO THEY'LL ALSO BE TAKING A LOOK AT IT.
SO, UH, THAT CARES ACT MONEY IS GONNA BE LOOKED AT BY SEVERAL PEOPLE, UH, KEVIN THAT WILL, THAT WOULD THAT, UH, BE THE, YOU'RE NOT GONNA LOOK AT THE, WELL, LET'S TALK OFFLINE AS TO WHAT THE SCOPE OF THAT AUDIT IS, BECAUSE WE'D BE INTERESTED TO KNOW WHETHER YOU'RE GONNA COVER WHETHER IT MEETS THE FEDERAL GUIDELINES THAT WERE ISSUED TO FOR THE COVID, UH, FOR THE COVID EXPENSES.
AND, AND IT WILL NO, UH, WHENEVER ANY AUDIT WE DO, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT THE VARIOUS GUIDELINES THAT COME ALONG WITH THOSE, IN THIS CASE FUNDING, UH, TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE GUIDELINES.
UH, BUT THAT ALSO MAY BE ON THE EXTERNAL AUDITOR SIDE, SO WE NEED TO CLARIFY.
YEAH, WE CAN COORDINATE ON THAT.
UH, YOU ALREADY HIT MY NEXT QUESTION THAT I HAD.
SO, UM, AND THEN THE LAST QUESTION THAT I HAVE FOR YOU, KEVIN, AT THIS TIME, IS WITH OUR GRANT FUNDING THAT WE HAVE BEEN RECEIVING, UM, ARE WE DOING SPECIFIC AUDITS ON THOSE GRANTS SPECIFICALLY WITHIN, UM, SS A P D AND WITHIN THE C D E B G FUNDING AS WELL? UM, TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY ADDITIONAL DOLLARS THAT MAY REMAIN THAT WE CAN USE TOWARDS THE RISK MITIGATION FUND? UM, AGAIN, ON THE GRANTS, DEPENDING ON THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF THE GRANTS, SOME OF THAT WILL GO OVER INTO THE EXTERNAL AUDITORS, UH, FOR THEIR
[01:05:01]
REVIEW.IF IT HITS CERTAIN THRESHOLDS, THEY WILL BE LOOKING AT THAT.
UH, THERE'S ALSO ANOTHER GROUP WITHIN THE CITY, UH, CALLED GRANTS MONITORING ADMINISTRATION.
THEY LOOK AT SOME OF THE GRANT FUNDINGS.
UH, WE TEND TO LOOK AT OUR INTERNAL AUDITS FROM A PROCESS PERSPECTIVE VERSUS FOLLOWING THE GRANT.
IF WE'RE LOOKING AT A PROCESS THAT DOES INVOLVE GRANT MONEY, YES, WE'RE GONNA THEN LOOK AT THAT AND MAKE SURE WE'RE HITTING THE QUALIFICATIONS.
UH, BUT IT'S, WE'RE LOOKING AT IT FROM A PROCESS, UH, OR, UH, SERVICE PROVIDED PERSPECTIVE.
AND THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING US WITH THE AUDITS THAT YOU PROVIDE US WITH, UM, FOR THE DEPARTMENTS.
UM, THE LAST QUESTION I HAVE IS FOR JUDGE BUOL, AND, UM, IT'S JUST ONE QUESTION REALLY RELATING TO, UM, OUR JUVENILE COURTS AND OUR JUVENILE, UH, CASE MANAGERS, AND WANTED TO FIND OUT WITHIN THIS NEW CLIMATE THAT WE'RE IN WITH COVID AND, AND WITH THE, UH, RACIAL UPRISING, HOW ARE, UH, YOUTH ARE BEING USED TO BE AN ADVOCATE OR VOICE FOR THOSE THAT ARE GOING THROUGH, UM, THIS, THIS HARD TIME.
UM, AND WHAT ARE THEY HEARING AS FAR AS WHEN IT RELATES TO, UM, THE JUVENILE COURT SYSTEM? NOW IT'S A LITTLE BETTER.
JUDGE ODO, THIS IS JOHN AGAIN.
IF YOU TURN YOUR SPEAKERS DOWN, WE CAN HEAR YOU.
UH, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
UM, THE, THE J THE JUVENILE CASE MANAGERS, UM, HAVE BEEN PROVIDING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF OUTREACH, UH, THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER AND AT THE END OF LAST SCHOOL YEAR, UH, TO PARENTS WHOSE KIDS HAVE BEEN UNENGAGED.
UM, I HAVE NOT HEARD MUCH, UH, WHAT THEIR REACTIONS HAVE BEEN TO, UM, UH, SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE MOST RECENTLY IN THE UNITED STATES AND, AND IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
UM, I KNOW THAT EVERY EFFORT IS MADE, UH, TO, WE ARE, THE JUVENILE CASE MANAGERS ARE PROVIDING A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF OUTREACH.
UM, BUT WE, I HAVE NOT SPOKEN TO THEM SPECIFICALLY ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE ASKING ME.
I CAN ASK THEM AND GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT THOUGH.
AND THEN AS FAR AS WITH THE OUTREACH AND, AND THE PARENTING, ARE WE PROVIDING ANY, UM, RESOURCE INFORMATION TO THOSE PARENTS AS WE DO OUTREACH, SUCH AS FOR THE RISK MITIGATION OR, UM, ANY KIND OF OUTREACH TO HELP THEM WITH RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO THE PARENTS AND THE STUDENTS AT, OR CHILDREN AT THIS TIME? YES, MA'AM.
DEPENDING ON THE NEEDS, UM, THE JUVENILE CASE MANAGERS ARE PROVIDING NOT ONLY, UM, REFERRALS TO RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THOSE PARENTS AND THE STUDENTS, BUT ALSO IF THE SCHOOLS, UM, HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM.
THEY'RE ALSO PROVIDING THE INFORMATION TO THE SCHOOLS.
BUT YES, THEY ARE PROVIDING, UM, REFERRALS AND RE AND, AND INFORMATION TO PARENTS AND TO STUDENTS.
AND THEN THE LAST QUESTION THAT I HAVE FOR YOU, JUDGE G***O, IS ON THE, THE LINE OR THROUGH THE SYSTEM, WHEN ANYONE IS CALLING IN OR GOING ONTO THE WEBSITE, IS THERE INFORMATION BEING PROVIDED ON IF THEY'RE HAVING COVID RELATED SYSTEM SYMPTOMS? OR HOW DO THEY GET IN TOUCH WITH, UM, GETTING TESTING? IS THAT INFORMATION BEING MADE AVAILABLE TO SOMEONE CALLING IN? WHAT WE ARE DOING, IF ANYBODY DOES CALL IN, WE ARE ENCOURAGING THEM TO CONTACT THE CITY HOTLINE.
UM, WE ARE REFERRING, UH, THEM TO, UM, THE CITY'S WEBSITE WITH REGARD, UH, FOR ANY C OVID 19 REFERENCES OR, UM, INFORMATION.
AND WE ARE ALSO, UM, GIVING THEM THAT, THAT ONE 800, THAT, THAT HOTLINE NUMBER AS WELL.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR, UH, ALL THE WORK YOU'RE DOING AND, AND CONGRATULATIONS ON, ON FILLING THE ROLE IN THIS TIME.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN, COUNCIL MEMBER, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ.
JEFF COYLE, I THINK IS ON THE CALL, AND COUNCILMAN VINEO RAISED, UM, YOU KNOW, WATCHING LEGISLATION AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'VE GOT, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR FINGER ON THE PULSE, UH, OF WHAT'S HAPPENING, UH, WITH OUR POLICY MAKERS IN AUSTIN AND DC AND, AND I WANNA ECHO THAT, WHICH IS, UH, JEFF, CAN YOU KIND OF WEIGH IN HERE AND, AND LET US KNOW, I KNOW THE ANSWER, BUT CAN YOU SHARE WITH MY COLLEAGUES, UM, WHAT IT IS THAT WE WORKED ON TODAY WITH, UH, BEXAR COUNTY, UM, TO ADDRESS SOME OF WHAT COUNCILMAN TREVINO
[01:10:01]
LAID OUT FOR US? SURE.UH, VERY BRIEFLY, UH, AS I THINK MOST OF THE COUNCIL'S AWARE, WE NOW HAVE A JOINT I G R COMMITTEE, UM, BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, UH, TWO COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND FOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS.
AND, UM, WE, UH, MET BETWEEN THE CO-CHAIRS TODAY, COUNCILMAN PLIE AND COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ TO TALK ABOUT A NUMBER OF ITEMS THAT WE'LL DISCUSS WITH THE FULL COMMITTEE TOMORROW IN WHICH THE CITY AND COUNTY MIGHT BE ABLE TO WORK TOGETHER AND GO ARM IN ARM TO THE LEGISLATURE, UM, UH, TOGETHER, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE HAVEN'T, WE HAVEN'T HISTORICALLY DONE.
UH, AND SO HOMELESSNESS IS ONE OF THE ITEMS ON OUR LIST TO TALK ABOUT TOMORROW.
AND, UH, WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CLERK AND WE'RE AWARE OF THAT ISSUE, UH, IN REGARDS TO BIRTH CERTIFICATES.
AND I THINK IT'S PERFECTLY APPROPRIATE FOR US TO POTENTIALLY, UH, ADD THAT TO BOTH THE CITY AND COUNTY'S AGENDAS IF, UH, IF THE COMMITTEE AND ULTIMATELY THE COURT AND THE COUNCIL AGREE.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? UM, IT DOES.
SO, UM, AND, AND THE SECOND QUESTION IS, IS ABOUT AUDITS.
AND ANDY, I, I THINK, I THINK YOU'RE THE GUY THAT, UM, MIGHT HELP ME.
THE, MIGHT HELP ME WITH THIS ONE.
I, ANDY, I, I USED TO BE IN, IN YOUR SHOES, UM, AT, YOU KNOW, HANDLING ALL THE LEGAL WORK FOR, YOU KNOW, MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR ORGANIZATION WITH THOUSANDS OF EMPLOYEES, IT BEING VERTICALLY INTEGRATED AND ALL THAT.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE FREQUENTLY TALKED ABOUT WAS AUDITS.
AND I IMAGINE THAT YOU TALK ABOUT AUDITS AS WELL.
AND WHEN I CAME TO THE CITY, UM, I ALWAYS ASSUMED THAT, THAT OUR AUDIT SCHEDULE WAS GOING TO BE PROFESSIONALLY DETERMINED AS BY, OR IT WAS GONNA BE DETERMINED BY LEGAL REQUIREMENTS, RIGHT? AND, YOU KNOW, THE FEDERAL AND THE STATE GOVERNMENT OBLIGATES US TO DO, UM, CERTAIN KINDS OF AUDITS AT A CERTAIN TIME.
UM, AND, AND I ALWAYS ASSUMED THAT, UM, AUDITS, UH, THAT AROSE FROM SPECIAL REQUESTS BY COUNCIL MEMBERS WERE, WERE REALLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN, UH, RARE, UH, BECAUSE, UM, THERE PROBABLY ALREADY IS A WAY TO GET THE INFORMATION BY WAY OF A MEETING WITH YOU OR BEN OR ERIC OR MARIA, LAURIE, ET CETERA, UM, WITHOUT HAVING TO DO A FORMAL AUDIT.
AND, AND THE REASON I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WAS BECAUSE, AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, AND I DON'T THINK I AM, UH, IS BECAUSE AUDIT REPORTS ARE FORMAL LEGAL DOCUMENTS.
AND SO WHEN WE CREATE FORMAL LEGAL DOCUMENTS WHEN WE DON'T HAVE TO, UM, THAT'S, UH, UH, THAT MAKES PRETTY MUCH EVERY LAWYER I KNOW CRINGE, UH, FOR REASONS, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE, THAT ARE TOO LONG TO GET INTO HERE.
BUT, UM, I ALWAYS HOLD BACK AND, AND, UH, FROM REQUESTING AUDITS UNTIL I'VE EXHAUSTED MY ABILITY TO GET THE SAME ANSWERS FROM MORE INFORMAL MEETINGS.
AND, YOU KNOW, I DON'T MIND GETTING THE DATA IN PAPER EITHER, BUT ONCE AN AUDITOR SIGNS OFF ON THE DATA, UM, THAT MEANS SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT.
AND SO, UH, THANK YOU COUNCILMAN.
AND I DON'T WANNA STEAL KEVIN'S THUNDER.
HE CAN PROBABLY SPEAK MORE TO THE PROFESSIONAL ASSESSMENT, BUT YES, UH, IN A LARGE ORGANIZATION LIKE THIS, WHEN YOU HAVE AUDIT RESOURCES, PARTICULARLY, UH, INTERNAL AUDITOR LIKE KEVIN INDEPENDENT, UH, HE MAKES HIS SCHEDULE BASED ON PROFESSIONALLY DETERMINED RISK FACTORS.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, HE LOOKS AT ACTIVITIES OF THE CITY THAT COULD LEAD TO THE GREATEST LI RISK IN TERMS OF FINANCIAL OR LEGAL CONSEQUENCES.
AND BASED ON THAT, AGAIN, A PROFESSIONAL ASSESSMENT OF WHAT THOSE ACTIVITIES WOULD BE, THAT'S WHAT HE BASES HIS SCHEDULE ON.
NOW, THERE ARE CERTAIN ONES, AS YOU SAID, THAT ARE ALSO LEGALLY MANDATED.
UM, BUT, UH, PRIMARILY THEY'RE DETERMINED AGAIN, BY KEVIN AND HIS TEAM'S ASSESSMENT OF WHAT ARE THE RISK ACTIVITIES AND RISK, UH, AND PROGRAMS THAT PRESENT THE MOST RISK TO THE CITY.
AND, UH, YOU'RE RIGHT IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, ONE OFF SHOULD BE THAT ONE OFF.
UM, AND TO THE EXTENT WE ARE LOOKING AT, AT SOMETHING THAT PERTAINS PRIMARILY TO LEGAL COMPLIANCE, UH, WE'D WORK WITH KEVIN'S TEAM ON MAKING PERHAPS THOSE, UH, PRIVILEGE AND CONFIDENTIAL.
BUT, UH, YEAH, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL, I'LL ASK KEVIN TO ADD TO THAT, BECAUSE AGAIN, HE'S THE ONE WHO HAS, UH, THE PROFESSIONAL, UH, TRAINING AND BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE TO HELP IN DETERMINING THE SCHEDULE.
THANK YOU, UH, ANDY, AND A COUPLE OF THINGS, YOU KNOW, THOSE AUDITS THAT ARE LEGALLY REQUIRED BY, UH, STATE OR, OR FEDERAL, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, THE C R REPORT, THAT IS A LEGAL REQUIREMENT.
WELL, OBVIOUSLY WE OUTSOURCE THAT TO, TO A PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM.
THERE'S OTHER, UH, AUDITS THAT WE DO THAT ARE STATE REQUIRED SUCH AS A, AN ASSURANCE OR AN ATION
[01:15:01]
ON THE POLICE DEPARTMENT ASSET AND SEIZURE, UH, FORFEITURE FUND.THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE DO AS PART OF OUR AUDIT PLAN.
IT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT CAN GO OUTSIDE AND HIRE SOMEONE ELSE TO DO THAT FOR THEM.
AND AT THIS POINT, WE'VE CHOSEN THAT WE, WE HAVE THE EXPERTISE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
I BELIEVE WE CAN DO IT CHEAPER THAN GOING OUTSIDE.
AND SO WE PROVIDE THAT ASSURANCE.
UH, AND THERE'S A COUPLE OF PROGRAMS LIKE THAT THAT, THAT WE ADD TO OUR, OUR PLAN, UH, TO YOUR POINT ABOUT THE, UM, SPECIAL REQUEST FROM COUNCIL, NOT EVERY SPECIAL REQUEST THAT I GET, AT LEAST FROM COUNCIL RESULTS IN A FULL BLOWN AUDIT, UH, AND, AND WITH ALL THE RULES, BECAUSE I'M CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT I INCLUDE IN MY AUDIT PLAN, BECAUSE ONCE I CALL AN AUDIT, AS YOU MENTIONED, A WHOLE SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES OR A WHOLE SET OF, UH, PROCEDURES COMES INTO PLAY AS FAR AS HOW I HAVE TO DO THAT AUDIT TO STAY IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE, UH, GOVERNMENT AUDITING STANDARDS.
SO I'M CAUTIOUS ABOUT WHAT I CALL AN AUDIT.
SO OFTENTIMES THOSE COUNCIL REQUESTS ARE, UH, NOT AUDITS, IT'S JUST A REVIEW THAT WE DO, MAYBE PROVIDING INFORMATION, DATA ANALYSIS.
I AGREE IN SOME OF THOSE CASES, YOU COULD PROBABLY GET THAT SAME INFORMATION FROM, UH, OTHER CITY STAFF.
UH, BUT ALSO WE HAVE SOME, IN SOME CASES, A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO DO IT, AND SOME REALLY GREAT DATA ANALYSIS SKILLS WITHIN MY DEPARTMENT THAT WE CAN SLICE AND DICE SOME THINGS A DIFFERENT WAY TO GIVE IT A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.
UH, SO I MEAN, I GUESS I HOPE THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION OR, OR ADDRESSES YOUR CONCERN.
AND SO I, I DO WANT TO JUST CLOSE OUT MY POINT AND THEN MAYOR, I'LL BE FINISHED.
AND, AND THAT IS, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE MAY IN MISINTERPRET WHAT I'M, WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET AT HERE, AND I'M CERTAINLY NOT TRYING TO SUGGEST, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS SHOULDN'T DO, YOU KNOW, ASK FOR AUDITS INSTEAD, WE SHOULD JUST ASK FOR INFORMATION AND BE HAPPY WITH THAT.
I THINK THAT THERE'S A REASON WE HAVE THAT POWER, UM, YOU KNOW, TO ASK FOR AUDITS.
UH, ALL I'M MERGING MY COLLEAGUES TO DO IS TO BE MINDFUL OF, OF, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT ASKING FOR AN AUDIT MEANS AND WHAT IT TRIGGERS.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I'VE NEVER DISCOURAGED ANYBODY FROM ASKING FOR AN AUDIT, AND I CERTAINLY NEVER WILL.
I'M JUST ASKING FOLKS TO, TO BE MINDFUL BECAUSE IT, IT PUTS ANDY AND KEVIN IN A POSITION NONE OF US WANNA PUT THEM IN, UM, WHEN THERE'S ANOTHER WAY OF ACCOMPLISHING THE EXACT SAME THING.
AND, AND SO LEMME JUST ADD, ADD, UH, COUNCILMAN, YOU KNOW, I'VE HAD THOSE EXACT CONVERSATIONS WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE PAST WHEN THEY REQUEST SOMETHING AND IT HAS TURNED INTO, DON'T ASK THE OTHER DEPARTMENT BECAUSE THEY GOT THAT SAME INFORMATION AND IT, IT, IT DOESN'T PUT ME IN A SPOT WHERE I HAVE TO START A BIG AUDIT OR SOMETHING.
SO, LIKE YOU NOTED, GREAT, UH, HELPFUL CONVERSATION TOO.
COUNCIL MEMBER PLA, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROSO GARCIA.
UH, THANK YOU MAYOR, AND, UM, CONGRATULATIONS, TINA.
I THOUGHT YOU WERE FLAWLESS, UH, IN YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, SO I, I GUESS JUST ONE QUICK, UH, QUESTION THAT, UM, I HAVE, AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT WOULD GO TO CARLA OR PERHAPS, UM, ERIC, BUT, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WE HAD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE FACILITY OF THE FRANKLIN BUILDING, UH, AND THE NEED FOR, UM, SOME, UH, MAINTENANCE TO THAT BUILDING.
DO WE HAVE AN UPDATE ON THAT? IT'S BEEN A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE WITH ALL OF THE POTENTIAL TECHNOLOGY WE'VE GOT AVAILABLE, PERHAPS, UM, THAT MIGHT LOOK DIFFERENT.
JUDGE, I'LL TAKE THAT QUESTION.
I THINK, UM, SO COUNCILMAN, YOU'RE RIGHT.
UM, THERE, THERE, THE, I THINK THE CONSIDERATION IS, IS THAT, UM, UH, THAT IT'S A POTENTIAL 2022 BOND PROGRAM, REMEMBER, UH, UTSA'S, UM, PLANNED EXPANSION IN THAT AREA.
UM, WE WOULD POTENTIALLY HAVE TO RELOCATE THE CENTRAL SUBSTATION, MUNICIPAL COURTS AND OUR AUTOMOTIVE FACILITY.
UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE LATEST STATUS IS OF UTSA'S PHASE TWO.
REMEMBER, THEY'RE WORKING ON PHASE ONE RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM PLAZA ARMAS AND CITY HALL.
UM, BUT, BUT UNDOUBTEDLY THOSE WOULD BE A PART OF A, OF A POTENTIAL BOND PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, EVEN BEFORE COVID.
UM, AND WHEN JUDGE BULL WAS STILL HERE, THE CONVERSATION WAS THAT THE BUILDING THAT WAS NEEDED FOR MUNICIPAL COURTS, UM, WAS SMALLER THAN WHAT WE HAVE.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, GIVEN WHAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS, UM, YOU KNOW, RELOOKING THE SPACE REQUIREMENTS AND ENHANCING TECHNOLOGY.
SO I WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT, THAT WE WILL CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION AS WE, UH, YEAR TO THE 2022 BOND PROGRAM AND, AND, UH, AS A POTENTIAL PROJECT.
I KNOW THAT, THAT, UM, UH, WELL, IN FACT, I THINK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER S WAS ONE OF THE FIRST ONES WHERE WE WORKED ON THAT WHEN HE CAME, UM, UH, ON THE COUNCIL A COUPLE OF YEARS BACK.
SO I GUESS, UH, MA'AM, JUDGE BLATO, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT OF, I, I SEE THAT THINGS THAT YOU PRESENTED TODAY, AND, AND SOME OF THEM I THINK WERE IN THE WORKS.
[01:20:01]
THE ABILITY TO QUICKLY DESCRIBE WHAT YOU'RE DOING DIFFERENTLY, UM, AS A RESULT OF COVID THAN WHAT YOU WERE DOING DOING BEFORE.'CAUSE I, I THINK A LOT OF THESE THINGS WERE SORT OF IN THE WORKS, UM, JUST GIVEN THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WAS AVAILABLE AT THE TIME.
UM, I'M JUST CURIOUS TO SEE IF THERE HAS BEEN, UM, A REAL SHIFT IN THE WORK THAT YOU DO, UH, AS A RESULT OF COVID.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
ONE OF THE, THE, THE BIGGEST THING IS THAT CITIZENS WERE USED TO COMING TO THE COURT AND VISITING WITH THE COURT IN PERSON.
WE DID HAVE SOME OF THE, UM, METHODS OF CONTACTING THE COURT IN PLACE, SUCH AS THE EMAIL.
UM, YOU COULD CONTACT THE COURT BY EMAIL.
UM, WE REALLY DID NOT HAVE A CALL CENTER.
WE DID HAVE A PHONE NUMBER THAT WAS LISTED ON CITATIONS, BUT CITIZENS WOULD CALL THAT NUMBER AND IT WOULD JUST RING AND RING AND RING.
UM, WE ALSO DID HAVE THE ATTORNEY CONNECT THAT WE DID HAVE THAT IN EXISTENCE ALREADY FOR ATTORNEYS TO, TO CONTACT THE COURT AND PLEA BARGAIN THEIR, THEIR CLIENT'S CITATIONS.
UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, BUT THE NEWEST THING THAT, THAT WE DO HAVE, UM, THAT WE HAVE ENHANCED REALLY IS OUR CALL CENTER.
UM, INDIVIDUALS CAN CONTACT THE COURT AND, UM, THEY WILL SPEAK TO A LIVE PERSON IF THEY NEED TO SPEAK TO A JUDGE, THEY HAVE, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO TRANSFER THE CALL SO THAT THEY CAN SPEAK TO A JUDGE AS WELL.
UM, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE WERE NOT UTILIZING PRIOR TO COVID WERE REMOTE HEARINGS.
UM, ALL OF OUR HEARINGS AS OF JUNE 1ST, ALL OF OUR TRIALS AS OF JUNE 1ST WERE CONVERT, CONVERTED TO PRETRIAL HEARINGS.
AND INDIVIDUALS WERE, UM, SENT ZOOM INVITATIONS.
DEFENDANTS WERE SENT ZOOM INVITATIONS SO THEY CON THEY COULD CONTACT THE COURT AND VISIT WITH A PROSECUTOR AND WITH A JUDGE, AND IT'S ALL DONE REMOTELY.
SO THAT IS, IS ANOTHER METHOD THAT WE HAVE NOT UTILIZED PRIOR TO COVID.
AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DID, UM, INSTITUTE SINCE WE, SINCE THE PANDEMIC HIT SOMETHING THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO USE.
I HAVE MENTIONED TO STAFF THAT WHEN WE FINALLY DO REOPEN, UM, THE ONLY FOOT TRAFFIC THAT I WOULD LIKE COMING THROUGH MUNICIPAL COURT ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE CONTESTING THEIR VIOLATIONS AND ARE, WHO ARE REQUESTING A JURY TRIAL.
UM, THAT WILL BE A CHALLENGE FOR US WHEN WE DO REOPEN.
UM, THAT HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR US SO FAR.
OUR, OUR JURY TRIALS, BECAUSE, UM, THE OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION IS, IS RECOMMENDING THAT WE DO NOT HAVE ANY JURY TRIALS THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR.
UM, SO THAT WILL BE A CHALLENGE FOR US ONCE WE DO REOPEN.
BUT, UM, THERE, THERE ARE SOME TECHNOLOGY THAT WE DID NOT HAVE IN PLACE PRIOR TO COVID THAT WE HAVE PUT IN PLACE SINCE THEN.
ANOTHER ONE, AGAIN, IS THAT SNAP ENGAGE ON OUR, WHEN YOU OPEN UP OUR WEBSITE, THERE'S A LITTLE BOX THAT POPS UP AND SAYS, HI, GOOD AFTERNOON, MY NAME IS TABITHA, HOW MAY I HELP YOU? UM, AND IT, AND IT'S A RESPONSE IN REAL TIME.
AND I THINK, UM, BASED ON THE, UM, THE PRESENTATION HERE, SINCE WE'VE HAD THAT, UH, ENABLED, WE'VE HAD OVER 1900 SESSIONS WITH THE SNAPENGAGE.
UM, SO THERE ARE OTHER, WE, WE ARE USING OTHER METHODS THAT WERE NOT ALREADY IN PLACE PRIOR TO PRIOR COVID.
I, I THINK, UM, THAT, UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HAVE FOUND IN TALKING TO JUST DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, UM, IS THAT PEOPLE REALLY LIKE THE TELE TELECOMMUTING OR THE, THE KIND OF, UM, WEB TYPE OF ENGAGEMENT.
UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS IF IT'S A MUNICIPAL COURT ISSUE, THEY'RE NOT THAT THRILLED ABOUT HAVING TO RESPOND ANYWAY.
BUT, UM, BUT I AM, UH, FINDING THAT PEOPLE REALLY PREFER IT.
SO, UM, IF, IF YOU COULD DO A SURVEY OR SOMETHING AFTERWARDS, UH, YOU KNOW, AFTER SOME AMOUNT OF TIME, UM, I, I THINK THAT WOULD BE USEFUL INFORMATION AND PERHAPS, UM, IT WOULD HELP US IN IDENTIFYING, UH, THE PHYSICAL FACILITY THAT'S MOST APPROPRIATE, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT'S GONNA BE QUITE A BIG EXPENSE.
UM, BUT GIVEN THE FACT THAT PEOPLE ARE, ARE, ARE PREFERRING TO ENGAGE IN THAT WAY, UM, YOU MAY, UH, GET SOME FEEDBACK FOR US.
SO WE'LL JUST LOOK FORWARD TO THAT IN A FUTURE PRESENTATION OR PERHAPS IN COMMITTEE, UM, AFTER YOU HAVE ENOUGH DATA TO, TO, UH, GET, UM, GOOD RESULTS.
UM, AND, UM, THE, THE, UH, LAST QUESTION, UM, FOR THE AUDITOR.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT, UM, WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF AUDITS, UM, THAT I'VE REQUESTED, UH, THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN HEARD BY THE COUNCIL, UM, USUALLY BECAUSE OF COVID.
BUT, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I DO APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT YOU DO.
YOU HAVE A REALLY QUALIFIED STAFF, AND I, I DO THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, WHICH YOU MENTIONED, UH, KEVIN IN YOUR REMARKS THAT YOU HAVE SORT OF A NUANCED WAY OF COLLECTING DATA,
[01:25:01]
UM, THAT MAY, UH, ALLOW US TO MAKE BETTER POLICY DECISIONS.SO, UM, I HAVE APPRECIATED ALL THE INTERACTIONS THAT I'VE HAD, UH, WITH YOUR OFFICE, UH, OVER THE YEARS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DID SOME, SOME REALLY INTERESTING THINGS TOGETHER, I THINK, WHICH WAS, UM, ALL THE INFORMATION THAT LED TO P C I SCORES, WHICH EVENTUALLY LED TO, UH, OUR, UM, EQUITY BUDGET, UH, WAS ALL THINGS THAT WE WORKED INTERNALLY, UH, WITH YOUR OFFICE.
UM, AND ALSO I KNOW THAT WE'RE RENEWING OUR MASTER BIKE PLAN AND WE HAVE THE BIKE AUDIT, UM, REGARDING BIKE LANES THAT WE NEVER DID, UH, GET PRESENTED.
UM, SO, UH, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE, UM, AND, UH, JUST LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, UH, TO, TO FUTURE WORK.
COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER GRA.
UM, AND THANK YOU TO, UM, JUDGE O AND KEVIN AND TINA, AND I'LL START OFF WITH TINA.
I JUST HAVE ONE QUICK QUESTION.
UM, THE ID RECOVERY, IS THAT THE SAME AS PARISH ID? UM, NOT FAMILIAR WITH PARISH ID.
CAN YOU, UM, ELABORATE A LITTLE BIT? SURE, YEAH.
AND SO, AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO TALK TO YOU OFFLINE SO THAT WAY I CAN GET TO MY OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT SURE.
I KNOW THAT MY CHURCH IS PARTICIPATING WITH THE ARCHDIOCESE ON A PARISH ID, AND I NOTICED THAT YOU HAD, UM, IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY, I BELIEVE, PARTICIPATING WITH YOU, SO I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS THE SAME THING OR IF MAYBE WE COULD LEVERAGE, UM, AND REALLY EXPAND THAT.
SO, BUT I'LL GET OFFLINE WITH YOU, UM, TINA, AND, AND, UH, AND GIVE YOU SOME DETAILS.
BECAUSE WE'RE PROBABLY TRYING TO ALL ACCOMPLISH THE SAME THING.
SO THAT'D BE GREAT IF WE CAN CONNECT.
AND SO, AND I DID ASK, UM, THE PERSON WHO'S LEADING MY EFFORT AT MY CHURCH, I ASKED, UH, WHEN ERIC SENT THE PRESENTATION FOR REVIEW THE OTHER NIGHT.
AND SO HE WASN'T FAMILIAR WITH THE CITY'S ID, BUT I THOUGHT MAYBE HE JUST WASN'T FAMILIAR.
UM, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT TO LEVERAGE THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH, WITH SOME OF THE OTHER CHURCHES.
I, I HAVE NO OTHER PRESENTA QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
AND THEN KEVIN, UM, CAN YOU, YOU DIDN'T SHARE THIS, BUT I KNOW WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING DURING THE, UM, COVID, UM, YOU KNOW, TIMES.
UM, CAN YOU SHARE AGAIN MAYBE WHERE YOUR FOLKS HAVE BEEN REDEPLOYED AND REPURPOSED AND WHERE THEY HAVE BEEN SERVING IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS? UH, YES, MA'AM.
UH, AT, AT, AT ANY, LIKE I SAID EARLIER, WE'VE HAD EIGHT DIFFERENT PEOPLE DEPLOYED.
MOST OF THE DEPLOYMENT WAS, UH, SEVEN OF THE STAFF, UH, ONE OF THOSE BEING, UH, WITHIN PUBLIC SAFETY WITHIN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, HELPING, UH, WITHIN JUST DEVELOPING POLICIES, PROCEDURES, UH, DEALING WITH, UH, INVENTORY, UH, AND, AND TRACKING OF VARIOUS COVID, UH, RELATED, UH, EXPENSES AND STUFF.
UH, ADDITIONAL STAFF WERE WITHIN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, UH, HELPING A LITTLE BIT IN THE PAYROLL AREA, BUT ALSO A LOT OF THE PURCHASING AND EXPENSE MONITORING AND TRACKING, REALLY TRYING TO, UH, HELP IN THAT ASSESSMENT OF WHETHER A LOT OF THESE EXPENSES QUALIFY, UH, AS COVID EXPENSES FOR THE CARES ACT FUNDING AND OTHER FUNDING SOURCES, UH, ALONG THOSE LINES.
AND JUST TRACKING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE GETTING REIMBURSEMENT OR THAT WE ARE ACCOUNTING THOSE TOWARD THE COVID.
UH, ALSO A COUPLE OF STAFF, UH, WORKING AT THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE ON SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT WERE GOING ON, UH, IN, IN, IN THAT OFFICE, AGAIN, ALL RELATED TO THE COVID, UH, RESPONSE.
AGAIN, ALL OF IT PRIMARILY RELATED TO ACCOUNTING TYPE, BE IT EXPENSE TRACKING, UH, EXPENSE ASSESSMENT FOR QUALIFICATIONS, UH, AS WELL AS INVENTORY, UH, TRACKING AND MANAGEMENT.
I JUST, UM, I THINK THAT THE, THE WORK THAT, UH, YOUR TEAM MEMBERS ARE DOING HAS, HAS BEEN REALLY GOOD, UM, AND HAS BEEN A, A REALLY ADDED LEVEL OF SUPPORT TO SOME OF OUR SUPPORT TO SOME OF OUR OTHER AREAS.
SO I JUST WANTED TO, UM, MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL GOT CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE REPEATED IT.
SO THANK YOU, KEVIN, THAT THAT WAS MY ONLY COMMENT FOR YOU.
AND THEN JUDGE ODO, I KNOW YOU HAD REACHED OUT AND, AND I DIDN'T AT THE TIME HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, BUT I WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
UM, I, I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS AND IT, THEY, THEY MAINLY CONCERN AROUND, UH, TRUANCY.
AND SO I HAVE A FAMILY IN MY DISTRICT, AND, AND I, I, I LOVE THIS FAMILY VERY MUCH.
UH, IT'S A GRANDMOTHER, UM, WIDOW, A RECENT WIDOW WHO IS RAISING HER FOUR YOUNG BOYS, UH, GRANDCHILDREN.
AND, UM, Y YOU KNOW, UM, THERE, THERE'S SOME TRUANCY ISSUES, AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO CONNECT WITH YOU OFFLINE LATER ABOUT THIS.
BUT IT REMINDED ME BECAUSE, UM, SHE WAS ASKING IF THERE WAS SOME ADDITIONAL COUNSELING AVAILABLE FOR, FOR HER YOUNGEST, UM, GRANDSON.
[01:30:01]
AND SO, AND IT REMINDED ME, UM, THAT I THOUGHT THAT I SAW THAT THERE WAS A JOINT ESSAY, BEXAR COUNTY COMMITTEE ON TRUANCY, UM, THAT WAS IN PLACE IN 2014 ISH.AND SO I WAS ABLE TO REVIEW SOME OF THE MINUTES AND, UM, I'M WONDERING WHERE THAT COMMISSION OR THAT JOINT COMMISSION STANDS, IF IT'S STILL IN PLACE, BECAUSE I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO FIND ANY NEW OR UPDATED MINUTES.
AND I, I'M JUST WONDERING, MAYBE WE'RE LOOKING IN, IN THE WRONG PLACE, BUT I WAS REALLY INTERESTED BECAUSE BACK THEN, UM, DR.
WOODS, UH, HAD MENTIONED THAT THE MORE RESOURCES, AND I'M QUOTING FROM THE MINUTES QUOTE, UH, THE MORE RESOURCES WERE ENLISTED TO ADDRESS TRUANCY, THAT THERE WOULD BE A DECREASE IN FILINGS.
AND SO HE HAD RECOMMENDED AT THE TIME THAT THE NUMBER OF FILINGS PER FAMILY WHERE INTERVENTION TOOK PLACE, BE USED AS A METRIC TO DEFINE THE PROGRAM SUCCESS.
AND I'M WONDERING WHAT THAT, UH, SUCCESS MEASURE IS SO FAR, IF YOU ALL HAVE, UM, HAD ANY PRESENTATIONS.
AND IF SO, IF I COULD HAVE ACCESS TO THAT.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN, I, I CAN LOOK INTO THAT INFORMATION AND GET IT FOR YOU.
AS FAR AS THE, UM, THE COMMITTEE BETWEEN THE COUNTY AND THE CITY, UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THEY HAVE NOT MET IN SOME TIME, UM, I, AND WITH C OVID 19 AND, AND PRIORITIES ARE PLACED ELSEWHERE.
UM, I, I DON'T THINK THAT THEY ARE PLANNING ON MEETING ANYTIME SOON.
UH, ONCE, UH, I CAN GET WITH VICTOR VINTON, WHO IS OUR JUVENILE CASE MANAGER, AND TALK TO HIM AND SEE IF, IF MAYBE HE WOULD BE INTERESTED IN, IN CONTACTING ALL THE INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE ENGAGED IN THAT COMMITTEE AND SEE IF THEY WOULD BE, UM, WILLING TO, TO, UH, MEET AGAIN.
BECAUSE I THINK THAT THAT IS AN IMPORTANT, AN IMPORTANT COMMITTEE ESPECIALLY, UM, WITH, UH, DISTANCE LEARNING AND SOME STUDENTS NOT BEING ENGAGED WITH, WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
DAD, I'D, I'D LOVE TO, UM, LISTEN A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, TO MR. VENTON PRESENT ON THAT.
SO PLEASE, UM, COUNT ME, UH, AS A SUPPORTER OF WHATEVER THE COMMITTEE WORK IS DOING.
UM, THERE'S ALSO A TRUANCY INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION PROGRAM THAT I BELIEVE CONCLUDED THERE'S A GRANT FOR IT THAT CONCLUDED AUGUST THE 31ST OF THIS YEAR.
I'M WONDERING WHEN WE'RE GONNA GET THAT INFORMATION, UM, PRESENTED TO US RESULTS ABOUT THE, THE GRANT AND THE PROGRAM IN GENERAL.
OUR UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE HAVE BEEN APPROVED FOR THE NEW GRANT FOR THE NEW YEAR.
UM, WE'RE WAITING FOR WRITTEN CONFIRMATION, UM, AND THAT'S WHAT WE ARE WAITING FOR.
BUT WE ALREADY, WE STILL HAVE OUR STAFF IN PLACE, AND WE'RE JUST WAITING FOR THE CONFIRMATION, UH, WELL ACTUALLY FOR THE FUNDS, UH, TO HIT SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE THE WORK OF THE GRANT FUNDED JUVENILE CASE MANAGERS.
AND WHEN IS THERE GONNA BE A REPORT ON WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN DONE, A REPORT ON WHAT'S BEEN DONE WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS? UHHUH
SAME PERSON, AND WHAT KIND OF REPORT HE CAN GET FOR US.
UM, SO THAT I CAN GIVE THAT TO YOU.
I DON'T THINK THAT THERE'S ACTUALLY ANY TRUE NUMBERS.
I KNOW THAT, THAT THE JUVENILE CASE MANAGERS HAVE BEEN WORKING AGGRESSIVELY WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT SO THAT THE SCHOOLS WILL ACTUALLY TAKE OVER, UM, TRUANCY, UH, INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION.
AND SO IT'S NOT FALLING SO MUCH ON THE COURTS, BUT, UM, BUT WHAT WE CAN, WE CAN LOOK AT GETTING YOU SOME NUMBERS.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, WANTED TO TALK TO YOU, UM, ABOUT, SO THE, THE
AND SO I KNOW THAT, UM, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC OR OR WHEN THE SKATES PARKS WERE CLOSED DOWN, I, I, YOU KNOW, CALLED ERIC AND HOMER AND SEVERAL PEOPLE BECAUSE I WAS WORRIED.
UM, HOWEVER, RECENTLY I'VE NOTICED THAT THERE'S BEEN AN INCREASED LEVEL OF CITATIONS.
UM, AND SO IT LOOKS LIKE, FROM WHAT WE CAN COUNT, THERE'S ABOUT 21, UM, SKATERS WHO HAVE BEEN CITED AT PEA SAW PARK, AND I'M, I'M WORRIED ON, ON A COUPLE OF FRIENDS.
SO ONE OF ONE I KNOW, UM, THEY SHOULDN'T BE CONGREGATED TOGETHER SO FULLY REALIZE THAT WE HAVE TO FIGURE SOMETHING ELSE OUT.
BUT 21 CITATIONS AT $500 IN A COMMUNITY LIKE THE ONE THAT I REPRESENT THAT CAN BARELY AFFORD A LOT OF OTHER VERY IMPORTANT NEEDS, IT'S STARTING TO WORRY ME.
AND I KNOW THAT, UM, WE HAVEN'T, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THIS HASN'T GONE AND THEN IT COULD BE EVENTUALLY ADJUSTED OR DISMISSED, UM, IF THERE'S AN IN INABILITY TO PAY.
BUT I'M WONDERING WHAT THE AGE GROUP FOR THESE, UM, THESE SKATERS THAT HAVE BEEN CITED IS, AND HOW IT COULD AFFECT THEM LATER ON, UM, IN, IN, JUST, JUST IN GENERAL.
SO, UM, IF MAYBE WE CAN ALSO SET UP SOMETHING, UH, YOU CAN TALK TO ME IN GENERAL RIGHT NOW, BUT IF WE CAN SET UP SOMETHING OFFLINE, I DON'T WANT
[01:35:01]
THEM ON THE STREETS.UM, I, I'VE SEEN THEM SKATING UP THE HILL, AND IT'S ENTIRELY DANGEROUS IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO THEM.
SO, UM, BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT WE HAVE TO TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAD TO SHUT DOWN THE SKATE PARKS THAT I'M JUST REALLY WORRIED IN GENERAL ABOUT, UM, WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT.
SO IF MAYBE WE CAN HAVE AN OFFLINE CONVERSATION AND, AND YOU CAN GIVE ME SOME FOLLOW UP INFORMATION ON, ON, ON WHAT WOULD HAPPEN, THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL.
I DID SEE AN EMAIL THAT CAME IN EARLIER, AND WE ARE WORKING TO GET THAT INFORMATION FOR YOU AS WELL.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROTO GARCIA, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER VI GRAND, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY.
UM, JUDGE OBL, I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU.
ONE OF THE, A COMMENT I MADE TO FRED DURING ONE OF OUR PRESENTATIONS, I THINK IT WAS LAST WEEK, WAS I WANTED TO MAKE SURE, I'M GLAD TO SEE WHAT THE DEPARTMENT IS GOING THROUGH EQUITY WISE.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IF OUR JUDGES CAN GO THROUGH THE, UM, IMPLICIT BIAS TRAINING AND EQUITY TRAINING THEMSELVES.
IF WE CAN HAVE OUR JUDGES GO THROUGH THAT, OUR MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGES, I THINK IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT WE PUT THAT APART OF ANY STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE THAT WE CAN WITH OUR, OUR JUDGES.
UM, SO THAT'S JUST ONE STATEMENT I'D LIKE TO MAKE.
AND THEN, UH, TINA, I WANTED TO JUST GET CLARIFICATION.
THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THE, THE, UM, THE BREAKDOWN OF DEMOGRAPHICS, ET CETERA, WHEN IT COMES TO OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT AND CONTINUALLY WANTING TO GET AN UPDATE ON THAT OF HOW THINGS ARE GOING.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UM, IF WE CAN MAKE IT PRETTY EXPLICIT AND CLEAR ON YOUR, UH, SITE, ON YOUR WEBPAGE, JUST A PROCESS THAT IS CLEAR WHEN WE HAVE A BOARD AND COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS, AND THAT CAN BE, UH, AND THE PROCESS.
WHAT, WHAT ARE WE AS COUNCIL MEMBERS OR AS THE PUBLIC, UH, SUPPOSED TO EXPECT, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO OUR APPOINTMENT PROCESS AND JUST THE PROCESS IT GOES THROUGH, WHETHER IT'S SA, WHETHER IT'S C P S ENERGY, WHETHER IT'S ANY AT LARGE APPOINTMENTS, LIKE THE PLANNING COMMISSION, UM, JUST LET'S HAVE VERY TRANSPARENT OF THIS IS WHEN IT WENT OUT.
THIS IS WHEN THE CITY CLERK ANNOUNCED IT, THIS IS WHEN IT WENT OUT, THIS IS WHO IT WENT OUT TWO, UM, AND THIS IS WHEN, UH, APPLICATIONS CLOSED, ET CETERA.
I THINK THAT IS GONNA BE, THAT'S GONNA GO A LONG WAY IF WE CAN HAVE THAT, UH, MOVING FORWARD.
UM, SO THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS.
WE'LL MAKE SURE WE GET THAT OUR WEBSITE DOES NEED UPDATING, AND SO THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT.
WE'LL CERTAINLY WILL GET THAT DONE FOR YOU.
AS FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
UH, THANK Y'ALL ALL VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS.
I DO HAVE A FEW, FEW LITTLE QUESTIONS HERE.
UM, TINA ON THE, UH, CITY CLERK, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M LOOKING AT THE DATA ON YOUR SLIDES AND IT SHOWS, YOU KNOW, SOME SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN THE, UH, PEOPLE THAT YOU SERVICE OVER THERE.
WHAT, I MEAN, UH, I'M STILL SEEING AN INCREASE IN YOUR OVERALL BUDGET, BUT A DECREASE IN WORKLOAD.
CAN YOU GIVE ME A HIGH LEVEL AS TO WHY, WHY THAT'S HAPPENING? SURE.
COUNCILMAN, ONE OF THE BIG REASONS FOR THE REVENUE DROP IS BECAUSE OF COVID.
SO, UM, PASSPORTS IS CLOSED, UM, AS YOU KNOW.
SO THAT'S THE REVENUE DROP THERE.
AND BOTTLE RECORDS WHERE THEY WERE TYPICALLY SEEN ABOUT, UH, A HUNDRED, I'M SORRY, ABOUT 500, UM, PROCESSING ON 500 BIRTH CERTIFICATES AND PE CERTIFICATES PER DAY HAS DROPPED TO ABOUT 200.
AND THEN, UM, THE ELECTION, UM, BUDGET HAS ADDED ROUGHLY 900,000 TO OUR BUDGET.
SO THAT IS AN, UM, INCREASE IN THE BUDGET, BUT WE'RE NOT ADDING, UM, TO ANY OTHER LINE ITEMS OR, OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
WE'VE NOT ASKED FOR ANY OTHER IMPROVEMENTS.
WE'RE TRYING TO DO THE BEST THAT WE CAN WITH WHAT WE HAVE, BUT THE INCREASES DUE TO THE, UH, ELECTIONS BUDGET MAINLY.
THE ELECTIONS IS, UH, 900,000, UH, OF AN ELECTION.
SO ALMOST ON THE PIE CHART IT SAYS 2 MILLION, BUT THEN ON THE INDIVIDUAL SPREADSHEET IT SAYS 1.8.
WHAT'S THERE? UH, IT'S, IT'S 1.8 COUNCILMAN, I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT.
UM, 900 FOR THE, UM, PROPOSITIONS
[01:40:01]
AND THEN 900 FOR THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL ELECTION.SO 1.8 IS PROPOSED FOR THE ELECTION BUDGET.
UM, SO AN OVERALL INCREASE OF A MILLION DOLLARS ON THE TOTAL BUDGET? YES.
YEAH, IF YOU DON'T MIND, I, I'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOU OFFLINE ABOUT THAT.
UM, KEVIN, I REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR YOU SINCE, UH, I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK ON THE AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY MEETING, UH, COMMITTEE COUPLE OF TIMES.
SO I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH YOUR PROCESS AND HOW YOU BUILD YOUR, UH, CASELOAD AND, YOU KNOW, HOW WE MANAGE IT DURING THE YEAR ALSO.
SO YEAH, GOOD JOB ON PUTTING THAT TOGETHER.
UM, JUDGE, I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU, AND IT'S KIND OF IN LINE WITH WHAT I WAS TALKING WITH TINA ABOUT LOOKING AT THE OVERALL DATA AND STATISTICS ON WHAT'S HAPPENED OVER, YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR.
UM, AND YOU HAVE A, A LITTLE BIT OF A DECREASE IN YOUR OVERALL BUDGET, BUT LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF YOUR CASELOAD AND A LOT OF WHAT YOU'RE PROCESSING OVER THERE, THERE'S HUGE DROPS IN, IN THE CASELOAD, SO I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, OKAY, SHOULDN'T THAT HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE DIRECT CORRELATION IN, IN YOUR ACTUAL BUDGETING? UH, YOU MEAN OUR ACTUAL BUDGETING FOR, UM, WITH REGARDS TO WHAT IS COMING IN? YES.
UM, WELL, I IS, I THINK FRED COULD PROBABLY ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
IS HE STILL AVAILABLE? FRED, ARE YOU STILL ON? YES, COUNCILMAN.
UM, I, I, I WILL SAY THAT, UM, AS JUDGE LITTLE INDICATED BEFORE THAT, UH, COVID HAS SAW A BIG DECREASE IN, IN CASE FOLLOWS ACROSS THE STATE, UH, INCLUDING SAN ANTONIO.
UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, UH, OUR STAFF, UH, MANY OF OUR STAFF, UH, GOING FROM IN-PERSON, UH, WENT REMOTE AND HAVE DONE THE WORK, UH, REMOTELY TO STILL, UH, SERVICE OUR CONSTITUENTS, UH, TO MAKE CASES, TO MOVE CASES.
AND SO A LOT OF WORK INITIALLY WAS DONE DURING THE CLOSURE, UH, TO GO BACK, UH, AND TO LOOK AT OLD FILES, OLD, OLD RECORDS, AND DOING LIKE A, A PURGING OR CLEAN OF RECORDS IN A SENSE.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF FOLKS WHO, UH, SINCE ARE DECEASED AND, AND IDENTIFYING THOSE CASES, CLOSING THOSE CASES, UH, A LOT OF WORK EFFORT WENT TO TO THAT.
UH, WE HAVE SEEN THE LAST, UH, TWO MONTHS, UH, A SLOW INCREASE OF CASE FALLING.
SO, UH, THE CASE FALLS ARE STARTING TO GO BACK UP, ESPECIALLY ON TRAFFIC, UH, AND, AND THE CIVIL, CIVIL VIOLATION.
SO, UM, AGAIN, MOST OF OUR STAFF IS, IS REMOTE, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO, UH, PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE AND MAKING SURE THAT, UM, WE HAVE THE ADEQUATE STAFFING TO, TO CONTINUE TO DO, UH, SERVICING OUR, OUR RESIDENTS AND, UH, CONSTITUENTS, UM, AND, AND, AND MEETING THEIR NEEDS, WHETHER THAT'S EITHER BY, UH, A ZOOM CONFERENCE OR AN IN-PERSON CONFERENCE OR AT HOME ANSWERING EMAILS.
UH, WE ARE MOVING A, UH, UH, UH, QUITE A LARGE NUMBER OF CASES, UH, AND DISPOSE OF CASES THAT WAY, UH, AND OF COURSE, ANSWERING THEIR QUESTIONS, ADDRESSING THEIR NEEDS.
UH, YEAH, IT JUST LOOKS A LITTLE SKEWED.
WE HAVE A REAL DROP IN THE NUMBER OF CASES, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO, AND TO ME IT IS NOT CORRELATING INTO ANY SAVINGS IN THE BUDGET.
I MEAN, I'M ASSUMING THAT ALL YOUR PEOPLE ARE STILL BUSY OR ARE THEY DOING OTHER THINGS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, HELPING OUT IN OTHER AREAS THAT AREN'T DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE CASELOADS.
SO ALL, ALL OUR, OUR STAFF IS, IS FOCUSED ON, ON CASE WORK.
IN OTHER WORDS, UH, WE, WE'VE, UH, OTHER THAN THE JUVENILE CASE MANAGERS ARE OVER THE SUMMERTIME WHEN SCHOOLS WEREN'T IN SESSION, UH, THEY ASSISTED THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES.
UH, THE REST OF THE COURT STAFF IS DOING COURT WORK, UH, AND THEY MAYBE NOT IN THE SAME CAPACITY LIKE WE HAD TO THE DAY LIST.
UH, THE, THE COURTROOMS AREN'T OPERATIONAL RIGHT NOW, BUT YET THEY'RE PROVIDING SERVICES TO THE PUBLIC OF THE OUTSIDE OF OUR BUILDING, ASSISTING THEM AND MAKING SURE THAT, UH, THOSE WHO NEED HELP, UH, WITH THE KIOSK UNDERSTAND HOW IT WORKS AND GIVING 'EM GENERAL INFORMATION.
UH, BUT, BUT AGAIN, I THINK WE'RE GONNA SEE AN UPTICK, UH, THROUGH THE NEXT FEW MONTHS OF, OF CASE FILINGS.
SO IT'S, IT'S NOT, I DON'T THINK VERY PRUDENT TO, UH, ADJUST STAFFING.
AND THEN AT THE SAME TIME, WHEN, WHEN, WHEN A CASE FALLING GOES BACK TO NORMAL, THEN WE HAVE TO INCREASE STAFFING ALL OVER AGAIN.
SO, UM, AGAIN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING A LOT OF, UH, WITH TIME AVAILABILITY, DOING A LOT OF, UH, LOOKING
[01:45:01]
AT HISTORICAL CASES AND MAKING SURE THAT THAT DATA IS CORRECT AND INPUTTING INFORMATION, UH, AND CLEANING A BUNCH OF RECORDS UP TOO.SO, UH, THEY'RE ALL, ALL VERY MUCH, UH, WORKING VERY HARD AND DILIGENTLY IN THEIR, IN THEIR DAILY WORK ASSIGNMENTS.
FRED, IF, IF YOU DON'T MIND, IF Y'ALL COULD GET BACK WITH ME ALSO, I GOT FEW OTHER QUESTIONS I'M NOT GONNA BORE EVERY ABSOLUTELY, ABSOLUTELY.
I HAVE A FEW OTHER LITTLE QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
UH, I FEEL LIKE EVERYBODY DID A VERY GOOD JOB PREPARING ALL OF THESE REPORTS, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.
UH, IT IS A LOT TO LOOK AT, AND SO I, I'M SURE I'M GONNA SPEND A LITTLE MORE TIME TAKING A LOOK AT THESE, AND IF I COME UP WITH ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, I'LL BRING 'EM FORWARD, BUT, UH, I THINK A LOT OF MY FELLOW COUNCIL PEOPLE HAVE BROUGHT UP SOME OF THE QUESTIONS I, I HAD HAD AS WELL.
SO I JUST THINK IT'S A GOOD JOB BY STAFF AND, UH, IF I SEE ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL QUESTIONS, UH, I'LL COME BACK AND TALK TO THE, UH, PEOPLE WHO MADE THE PRESENTATIONS, UH, A LITTLE BIT LATER ON.
UM, WELL, I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE THINGS AND, AND THANK OUR, OUR CLERK, OUR AUDITOR, UH, AND OUR PRESIDING JUDGE AND FRED FOR, UM, THE PRESENTATION.
UM, TINA, YOU KNOW, OVER THE, OVER THE YEARS WE'VE BEEN TALKING A LOT ABOUT, UM, ACCESS TO RECORDS AND TRANSPARENCY, ACCESS TO PARTICIPATION.
I THINK THAT'S REALLY THE, THE THEME I'M CONTINUING TO PICK UP ON.
UM, WE'VE MADE SOME MINOR MODIFICATIONS AND CHANGES OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, UH, BUT THERE'S A REAL OPPORTUNITY, UM, AND I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE ALREADY HEADING IN THIS DIRECTION WITH SOME OF THE IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE, UM, DURING THE PANDEMIC, UH, TO ENSURE THAT VOTES, UM, THERE, IT'S JUST GOTTA BE MORE, IT'S GOTTA BE MORE USER FRIENDLY, UH, FOR THE AVERAGE MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC TO FIND OUT HOW THEIR REPRESENTATIVES DEVOTED ON PARTICULAR ITEMS TO FIND OUT CURRENT AGENDAS, FUTURE AGENDAS, UM, TO SEARCH FOR MINUTES OF PAST MEETINGS, UM, AND EVEN TO, TO TIMELY GET TO VIDEOS OF THE, OF THE, UM, OF THE COUNCIL MEETINGS AND, AND SESSIONS THAT ARE, ARE REALLY WELL PUT TOGETHER AT THIS POINT.
I, I THINK OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE, AT LEAST FOR ME, I WAS JUST LOOKING FOR, UH, A CONTRACT FOR INSTANCE, UH, THAT WAS, UH, THAT WAS SIGNED BACK IN 2017, AND I HAD TO GO THROUGH MULTIPLE WEBSITES TO FIND OUT WHICH ORDINANCE NUMBER IT WAS AND THEN GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL WEBSITE TO INPUT THAT.
AND IT'S JUST VERY INCONSISTENT.
UH, SO I THINK THERE'S A, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY NOW, UM, TO JUST FROM A USER PERSPECTIVE, FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE CONSOLIDATE SOME OF THAT INFORMATION AND MAKE IT EASIER TO FIND, UH, FOR CONSTITUENTS.
AND, AND I THINK YOU'D FIND, UM, UH, VOCAL SUPPORT, UH, ON THE COUNCIL FOR THAT.
THE OTHER THING IS, UM, ON, UM, WITH REGARD TO CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN OUR MEETINGS, COVID HAS REALLY CHALLENGED US, BUT I THINK IT'S OFFERED SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR INNOVATION.
UH, WE NOW HAVE THE ABILITY FOR PEOPLE TO PHONE IN COMMENTS DURING, UH, PUBLIC HEARINGS, FOR INSTANCE, EVEN AS WE GO BACK TO IN-PERSON MEETINGS.
HAVING THINGS LIKE THAT AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE, I THINK IS SOMETHING THAT WE, WE SHOULD, UH, CONSIDER AND KEEP AS PART OF OUR PUBLIC HEARING PROCESS.
THE OTHER THING IS, UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN AS WE GET OUT OF THE WOODS WITH REGARD TO THE HEALTH CRISIS, THERE ARE GOING TO BE, UH, REASONS FOR PEOPLE TO NOT WANT TO COME IN PERSON, EITHER BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANNA SPEND THE MONEY TO COME DOWNTOWN, THEY CAN'T PARK, UH, OR FOR INSTANCE, THEY ARE IMMUNE COMPROMISED AND, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL MONTHS LATER THEY, THEY WANT TO CONTINUE TO PARTICIPATE, BUT CAN'T DO SO IN PERSON.
WE OUGHT TO HAVE CONSIDER HAVING, UM, AN AV HOOKUP SOMEWHERE THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO APPEAR AS WE HAVE DONE, UH, REMOTELY, UH, TO MAKE COMMENT LIVE, UH, DURING COUNCIL, UH, PUBLIC HEARINGS, UH, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LOOK INTO.
WE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT IN PAST YEARS, BUT IT'S NEVER BEEN TANGIBLE FOR US UNTIL, UNTIL THIS YEAR.
SO IF WE CAN LOOK IN INTO MAKING SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPEN, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
UM, I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
UM, YOU KNOW, ALL, ALL THREE OF THE DEPARTMENTS ARE DOING EXCELLENT WORK.
UH, SOMETHING THAT COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA SAID RESONATED WITH ME, THOUGH I HAVE SEEN THAT WE HAVE HAD TARGETED ENFORCEMENT DOWN AT SALL WITH, UM, THE, UH, USE OF SKATE PARKS EVEN WHEN THEY'RE CLOSED.
THIS SEEMS TO ME TO BE A, A, AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY FOR, UM, UH, A RESTORATIVE TYPE OF FRAMEWORK RATHER
[01:50:01]
THAN, UH, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY PENALIZING THESE FOLKS, UM, IN, IN A WAY THAT I THINK WOULD BE UNREASONABLE.UH, NOT TO MENTION THEY'RE, THEY'RE LIKELY ALL MINORS, AND, AND THAT'S NOT THE GOAL OF OUR ENFORCEMENT TO GIVE PEOPLE RECORDS OF, UM, OF, UM, YOU KNOW, VIOLATION.
IT'S REALLY TO KEEP THEM SAFE AND HEALTHY.
SO IF THERE'S A, IF THERE'S A WAY THAT WE CAN, UH, NAVIGATE THIS, UH, TO, UM, AND FIGURE OUT A WAY THAT WE CAN PROVIDE SOME RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITY, EVEN AS WE, UH, ARE NOT YET QUITE OPEN, THAT WOULD BE, IN MY MIND, PREFERABLE TO, TO SEEING, YOU KNOW, THESE, UH, HIGHER FINES AND, AND PERMANENT, UM, VIOLATIONS BEING PUT ON THEIR, ON THEIR RECORDS.
SO, UM, THAT'S REALLY ALL THE COMMENTS I HAVE.
EXCELLENT JOB, UH, TO OUR, OUR STAFF.
UH, YOU MAKE US ALL VERY PROUD.
AND, UM, WITH THAT, I THINK THERE IS NOTHING ELSE ON THE AGENDA.
ALRIGHT, UH, WELL, TIME IS 3:54 PM AND OUR BUDGET WORK SESSION IS NOW ADJOURNED.