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UH, THE TIME IS 2:06 PM ON THIS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CALL OUR CITY COUNCIL V SESSION TO ORDER.
UH, MADAM CLERK, YOU READ THE ROLE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
COUNCIL MEMBER, COURAGE CHAIR.
COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY AND MAYOR BERG HERE.
[1. 20-5343 Staff presentation on initiatives, programs and policies included in FY 2021 Proposed Budget. [Erik Walsh, City Manager; Scott Huizenga, Director, Management and Budget] ]
AFTERNOON EVERYONE.WE DO HAVE, UH, ONE FOR ONE ITEM ON THE AGENDA TODAY.
UH, SO LET ME GO AHEAD AND TURN IT OVER TO THE CITY MANAGER, ERIC WALSH.
UH, THE, UH, PRESENTATION FOR THIS AFTERNOON IS, UM, REALLY, UM, FOCUSED ALL ON OUR, UH, UH, THE COUNCIL'S RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN THAT YOU APPROVED IN, UM, EARLY JUNE.
UM, AS WE'VE TALKED SEVERAL TIMES, WE GAVE YOU AN UPDATE EARLY IN AUGUST, UM, AND WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE TODAY.
IN ADDITION, UM, BRI TO BRING FORWARD TWO PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THAT PLAN.
YOU'LL RECALL ONE OF THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT EARLY ON WAS THAT, UM, WE WOULD NEED TO MONITOR OUR SPEND ON OF THE PLAN, UH, VERY CLOSELY AND MAKE ADJUSTMENTS ACCORDINGLY WITH THE GOAL OF FIRST, PRIMARILY MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE UTILIZING ALL OF THE FEDERAL FUNDING BY THE DEADLINE AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
UM, SEVERAL OF YOU ARE AWARE OF, OF TWO OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'VE GOT IN THE PRESENTATION, PARTICULARLY AS IT RELATES TO THE EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
UM, AND THE, THE SECOND ITEM THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT IS A PROPOSED CHANGE TO ACCOMMODATE, UH, SOME OF THE, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH, UM, UH, RELATED EXPENSES THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW THAT ARE PRIMARILY BEING FUNDED THROUGH THE CORONA RELIEF FUND.
UM, AND WILL UNDOUBTEDLY, UH, WE WILL CONTINUE OR WE EXPECT TO CONTINUE TO, UM, NEED TO SPEND MONEY IN TERMS OF TESTING AND CONTACT TRACING AND, AND THOSE TYPES OF ASPECTS, UM, INTO 2021.
SO WE ARE BRINGING FORWARD YOU AN ALTERNATIVE, UH, FOR YOU TO CONSIDER.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT WE'RE MAKING THESE ASSUMPTIONS, UM, IN THE UPDATE TODAY THAT, UH, UH, THAT THERE IS NO ADDITIONAL FEDERAL MONEY COMING, AND WE KNOW THAT WE'VE ALL PROBABLY SEEN THE DISCUSSION GOING ON UP IN WASHINGTON, DC.
UM, MY RECOMMENDATION IS THAT WE CONTINUE TO ASSUME WE WON'T GET THAT MONEY OR THAT IT'LL TAKE, TAKE SOME TIME TO GET HERE AND, AND MAKE ADJUSTMENTS IN OUR PLAN, UH, ACCORDINGLY, THAT WE CAN CONTROL.
UM, THE, UH, UH, BACK IN THE SUMMER, I APPOINTED, UH, MANY OF YOU KNOW, UH, ANA BRADSHAW BECAUSE SHE, UM, UH, FILLED IN FOR EMILY WHEN EMILY WAS OUT ON MATERNITY LEAVE.
UH, ANA HAS A BACKGROUND IN THE BUDGET OFFICE AND HR AND I ASKED ANA TO BE OUR ORGANIZATIONAL LEAD, UM, FOR ALL THE CITY DEPARTMENTS, UH, TO BE OUR POINT PERSON, BOTH FROM A FINANCIAL STANDPOINT, BUT A, UM, A PERFORMANCE STANDPOINT AND THE REPORTING OF HOW WE'RE DOING IN THE PILLARS.
UM, SO TODAY, ANA WILL WALK US THROUGH THAT UPDATE.
UM, ALL OF THE, UH, DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE ENGAGED IN THE RECOVERY ARE ONLINE, UH, AND AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
AND, UM, LOOK FORWARD TO THE, THE DISCUSSION.
UH, WITH THAT, I AM GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO ANA, UH, ANA BRADSHAW, NOT ANNA SANDOVAL, THAT'S
I SAW YOU LOOKING AT ME, COUNCILWOMAN.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, ION COUNCIL.
UH, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT AN UPDATE ON OUR RECOVERY RESILIENCY PLAN AND THE CITY'S ONGOING EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
THIS MORNING, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT TO THE JOINT INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE ON OUR EFFORTS RELATED TO CARES ACT MONITORING, COMPLIANCE, AND REPORTING.
SO THIS PRESENTATION IS AN EXTENSION OF OUR ONGOING MONITORING AND REPORTING EFFORTS.
TODAY, I WILL PROVIDE A BRIEF LEGISLATIVE UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR CITIES.
UH, THEN I'LL PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE STATUS OF OUR CURRENT RESPONSE AND RECOVERY EFFORTS, FOLLOWED BY A DISCUSSION OF SOME CHALLENGES WE'VE EXPERIENCED AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION TO ADDRESS THOSE CONCERNS.
AND FINALLY, I WILL CONCLUDE WITH NEXT STEPS.
BEFORE MOVING TO THE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE, I'D LIKE TO REMIND YOU OF THE TOTAL FUNDING ALLOCATED FOR THE CITY'S RESPONSE AND COMMUNITY RECOVERY EFFORTS.
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ON AUGUST 11TH, MARIA PROVIDED AN FINANCIAL UPDATE WITH TOTAL CITY RESOURCES OF 492 MILLION ALLOCATED FOR THE RESPONSE AND RECOVERY.SINCE THEN, WE HAVE RECEIVED ADDITIONAL $1.5 MILLION IN COVID 19 RELATED GRANTS, BRINGING OUR CURRENT TOTAL TO $493.5 MILLION WITH THE BULK OF THAT FUNDING GOING TO SUPPORT THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN, THE HEALTH IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, AND THE CITY'S RESPONSE.
MOVING ON TO THE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE, AS, AS ERIC MENTIONED, UH, TALKS ON ADDITIONAL CO CORONAVIRUS ECONOMIC RELIEF LEGISLATION BROKE DOWN IN AUGUST AND HAVE REMAINED STALLED.
LAWMAKERS RETURNED THE CAP, THE CAPITAL YESTERDAY, AND LEADERS FROM BOTH PARTIES SAY THEY HOPE TO RECEIVE A, A REACH, A NEW AGREEMENT ON A NEW RELEASE BILL.
ALTHOUGH THE TWO SIDES REMAIN FAR APART, AS YOU'LL SEE, UM, THEY DISAGREE ON THE AMOUNT OF FUNDING FOR UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS, HOW MUCH AID SHOULD BE PROVIDED TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND ALLOCATIONS FOR SCHOOLS, BUT BOTH HAVE SHOWN WILLINGNESS TO COMPROMISE THE HOUSE.
DEMOCRATS HAVE REPORTEDLY LOWERED THEIR DEMANDS TO 2.2 TRILLION DOWN FROM THE 3.4 TRILLION INCLUDED IN THE HEROES ACT.
UM, OVER THE WEEKEND, THE WHITE HOUSE SIGNALED THAT THE PRESIDENT WOULD BE WILLING TO SIGN A DEAL WORTH APPROXIMATELY 1.3 TO 1.5 TRILLION.
UM, AND THAT INCLUDES MORE MONEY FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, BUT DOES NOT INCLUDE ADDITIONAL STIMULUS PAYMENTS DIRECTLY TO AMERICANS.
UH, YESTERDAY SENATE REPUBLICANS MOVED TO ADVANCE, WOULD IT BE CALLED A SKINNY STIMULUS STIMULUS PACKAGE, WHICH WOULD COST ABOUT, UM, ONE, SORRY, $500 BILLION AND INCLUDES NO FUNDING FOR STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
UH, BEFORE CONGRESS AND THE WHITE COWS CAN FOCUS ON A RELEASE BILL, THEY MUST COME TO AN AGREEMENT ON FEDERAL BUDGET TO AVOID A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN.
THE FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR ENDS ON SEPTEMBER 30TH, AND WITHOUT PASSING A A BILL, UH, A 2021 BUDGET, THE GOVERNMENT WAS SHUT DOWN.
OCTOBER 1ST, A SPEAKER, PELOSI AND TREASURY SECRETARY MNUCHIN AGREED ON FRIDAY TO PURSUE, PURSUE A CLEAN BILL, UM, THAT WOULD NOT HAVE ANY CONTROVERSIAL ITEMS TO KEEP THE GOVERNMENT RUNNING.
UM, AND SO THEY'RE LOOKING TO PASS A CONTINUING RESOLUTION THAT WOULD KEEP SPENDING AT CURRENT LEVELS.
UM, AND SO PASSING THAT CONTINUING RESOLUTION IS NOW THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS FOR CONGRESS NOW THAT THEY ARE BACK IN WASHINGTON.
NOW, MOVING ON TO AN UPDATE ON OUR RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN.
IN OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, PILLAR, OUTREACH AND ENROLLMENT EFFORTS HAVE KICKED OFF ON OCTO, UM, AUGUST 31ST WITH A GOAL OF SERVING UP TO 10,000 RESIDENTS FROM TARGETED AREAS BY SEPTEMBER OF 2021.
UM, IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE PROGRAM BUDGET INCLUDES $44.1 MILLION FOR PARTICIPANT STIPENDS, WHICH CONSTITUTES THE LARGEST PORTION OF THE BUDGET.
THESE $450 WEEKLY STIPENDS ARE PROVIDED DIRECTLY TO THE PARTICIPANT IN ADDITION TO THE CHILDCARE AND WRAPAROUND SERVICES THAT ARE ALSO AVAILABLE.
IT IS FOR THAT REASON THAT THESE PROGRAMS WILL BE HEAVILY MARKETED TOWARDS RECIPIENTS OF THE EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE.
WITH OVER 250 ELIGIBLE COURSES AVAILABLE AND ADDITIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMS, THERE ARE NUMEROUS OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESIDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM OF THEIR CHOOSING IN OUR DIGITAL INCLUSION PILLAR.
UH, WE ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE CONNECTED BEYOND THE CLASSROOM INITIATIVE.
THIS INCLUDES BOTH TACTICAL AND STRATEGIC EFFORTS, UH, TO BUILD AN EQUITABLE AND LONG-TERM APPROACH TO SOLVING THE CONNECTIVITY PIECE OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDE FOR OUR STUDENTS.
THROUGH JULY AND AUGUST STAFF, WERE WORKING ON THE BACKGROUND WORK, AND BY THE END OF THIS MONTH, COMPLETION IS EXPECTED, UM, IN THE PILOT AREA.
BY THE END OF DECEMBER, IT IS EXPECTED THAT, UH, WE WILL BEGIN THE PHASE ROLLOUT OF THE REMAINING 44 NEIGHBORHOODS, WHICH WILL IMPACT AROUND 20,000 STUDENTS.
IN ADDITION TO THAT LONGER TERM EFFORT, UH, WE ARE ALSO WORKING ON SHORTER TERM SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS THE IMMEDIATE NEEDS ACROSS THE COMMUNITY.
THIS INCLUDES MIFI HOTSPOT DISTRIBUTION TO STUDENTS WITH CURRENT ACCESS CHALLENGES, WORKING WITH PARKS ON COMMUNITY HUBS PROGRAM IN OUR PARKS, AND THE ONGOING DEVELOPMENT OF THE CSA RECOVERY PORTAL.
THIS PORTAL WILL SERVE AS A ONE-STOP SHOP ONLINE FOR MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY TO ACCESS PROGRAMS AND SERVICES DURING THIS PERIOD OF GREAT NEED.
MOVING INTO THE SMALL BUSINESS PILLAR, UM, AS THEY REPORTED TO THE EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE LAST WEEK, THEY HAVE AWARDED THE FIRST TWO ROUNDS OF MICRO BUSINESS GRANTS WITH A THIRD ROUND SCHEDULED TO BE AWARDED BY THE END OF THIS MONTH.
AS OF SEPTEMBER 4TH, NEARLY $27 MILLION IN GRANTS
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HAVE BEEN AWARDED TO LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES, NONPROFITS, AND MEMBERS OF THE ARTS COMMUNITY.NEXT, I'LL SPEND A LITTLE TIME REVIEWING SOME OF THE PROGRAMS WITHIN OUR HOUSING SECURITY PILLAR.
OUR HOU OUR CASE MANAGEMENT PORTAL IS ON SCHEDULED TO COMPLETE THE FIRST PHASE WITH FULL IMPLEMENTATION BY MID 2022.
THE FINANCIAL HOUSING COUNSELING AND FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER HAS HELPED OVER 700 HOUSEHOLDS WITH HOUSING ASSISTANCE AND 883 CLIENTS WITH FINANCIAL COUNSELING AND BENEFITS.
NAVIGATION STAFF HAS PARTNERED WITH THE PRECINCT COURTS AND HELPED 220, UM, TENANTS BY RESETTING OR DISMISSING THEIR EVICTION CASES.
AND, UM, THEY'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON ANOTHER 71 CASES.
STAFF HAS ALSO REFERRED 43 TENANTS FOR THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL PROGRAM.
UH, WE HAVE ALSO SHELTERED 762 HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS IN A HOTEL WITH 271 TRANSITIONING TO MORE STABLE LONG-TERM HOUSING.
THE LARGEST PORTION OF OUR HOUSING SECURITY PILLAR IS THE EMERGING EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
AS YOU'LL RECALL, IN APRIL, YOU APPROVED $25.5 MILLION FOR THE TO FUND THE FIRST PHASE OF THE PROGRAM.
THE RECOVERY RESILIENCY PROGRAM ALLOCATED AN ADDITIONAL $26.9 MILLION THROUGH SEPTEMBER 4TH, $42.6 MILLION.
OF THAT 52.4 MILLION IN FUNDING HAS BEEN ISSUED TO THE RESIDENTS OF SAN ANTONIO WITH THE LARGEST PORTION OF 36.1 MILLION GOING TO RENT AND MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE.
THUS FAR, WE'VE HAD NEARLY 15,000 PARTICIPANTS WITH AN AVERAGE AGE OF 39.
THEIR CURRENT PERCENTAGE OF A M I IS AROUND 29%.
SO FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR, THAT WOULD MEAN $20,880 ANNUALLY.
A M I FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR IS CURRENTLY $72,000.
IN ADDITION, 85% OF RECIPIENTS ARE RENTERS.
UH, JUST A BRIEF UPDATE ON THE CDC D'S EVICTION MORATORIUM.
UH, IT IS IN EFFECT THROUGH THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR, AND IT PREVENTS EVICTION FOR NON-PAYMENT FOR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY.
TENANTS ARE REQUIRED TO MAKE THEIR BEST EFFORTS TO PROVIDE TIMELY PARTIAL PAYMENTS, AND IT DOES NOT RELIEVE THE OBLIGATION TO PAY, UH, WORKING WITH THE, UH, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.
UM, VIOLATORS CAN BE FINED ON A FEDERAL LEVEL AND OR, AND OR RECEIVE JAIL TIME FOR NON-COMPLIANCE.
LOCALLY COMPLIANCE OR VIOLATIONS SHOULD BE REPORTED TO DEVELOPMENT SERVICES CODE WITH, UH, CODE ENFORCEMENT WHO WILL, UH, INITIATE AN INVESTIGATION.
UH, LOCALLY VIOLATORS WOULD BE SUBJECT TO A OF A TO A FINE OF $1,000 PER VIOLATION.
CHANGING GEARS, I'D LIKE TO PROVIDE A QUICK UPDATE ON THE HEALTH IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
UH, TEXAS HEALTH TRACE WAS FULLY IMPLEMENTED, WHICH AUTOMATICALLY CONNECTS WITH THE STATE ELECTRONIC LAB REPORTING.
UM, WE'VE ISSUED A $4 MILLION CONTRACT WITH THE UT HEALTH SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH TO, UH, FUND, ADDITIONAL 200 CASE UP TO ADDITIONAL 200 CASE INVESTIGATORS AND 200 CONTACT TRACES.
UM, ALSO HAPPY TO REPORT THAT APPROXIMATELY 200 C OVID 19 RESPONSE STAFF, UM, HAVE SETTLED INTO THEIR, THEIR NEW DIGS IN THE ALAMO DO.
UM, IN THE AREA OF TESTING, THE STATE HAS COMMITTED TO COVERING OUR COST OF TESTING THROUGH THIS MONTH.
SO STARTING ON OCTOBER 1ST, THE BUDGET INCLUDES FUNDS TO CONDUCT UP TO, UH, 750 TESTS PER DAY AT OUR THREE FREE TESTING SITES.
SO, THROUGH OUR ONGOING MONITORING, WE'VE IDENTIFIED THREE KEY CHALLENGES TO MOVING FORWARD.
FIRST, UM, DUE TO THE CURRENT STALEMATE IN CONGRESS, THERE IS NO IMMEDIATE PLAN FOR PROVIDING ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO CITIES.
UH, SECOND, BASED ON OUR CURRENT SPENDING RATE, WE ANTICIPATE EXHAUSTING OUR EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE EARLY IN OCTOBER.
UM, AND FINALLY, WE KNOW THERE IS A NEED TO FUND THE ONGOING HEALTH RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC AFTER DECEMBER 30TH WHEN THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND EXPIRES.
SO, NEXT, I'LL REVIEW OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES.
THE FIRST RECOMMENDATION IS TO ALLOCATE AN ADDITIONAL 21.9 MILLION TO FUND HOUSING ASSISTANCE, ALONG WITH MAKING SOME MODIFICATIONS TO PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY.
THIS FUNDING WOULD COME FROM A COMBINATION OF
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GENERAL FUND AND C D B G DOLLARS IN THE F Y 2021 BUDGET.UM, REALLOCATING 10 MILLION WITHIN THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND, WHICH I'LL, I'LL DISCUSS IN DETAIL IN A MOMENT.
UM, AND REQUESTING ADDITIONAL FUNDING FROM THE SAN ANTONIO HOUSING TRUST, AS I MENTIONED.
UM, OKAY, AS I MENTIONED, IN ADDITION TO FUNDING, THE ADDITIONAL, UM, ALLOCATION STAFF IS RECOMMENDING THAT WE MODIFY ELIGIBILITY FOR EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE TO MORE CLOSELY MATCH WHO'S UTILIZING THE PROGRAM.
UM, WE RECOMMEND THE MAXIMUM A M I BE ADJUSTED TO 50% OR BELOW.
SO AGAIN, FOR THAT FAMILY OF FOUR, THAT WOULD BE $36,000.
UM, WE WOULD LIMIT IT TO ONLY RENTERS BEING ABLE TO RECEIVE ASSISTANCE, AND THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MONTHS THEY COULD RECEIVE ASSISTANCE WOULD BE ONE FULL MONTH OF UTILITY SIX ASSISTANCE WITH AN ADDITIONAL $500 IN CASH IF A SECOND MONTH IS NEEDED.
UM, IN ADDITION, PARTICIPANTS WOULD BE CONNECTED WITH THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
UM, SINCE THERE'S A STIPEND ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAMS, UH, THIS ADDITIONAL FUNDING WOULD BRING A TOTAL ALLOCATION FOR EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE SINCE APRIL TO $74.3 MILLION.
UM, IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THIS ADDITIONAL FUNDING WOULD LAST UNTIL LATE DECEMBER OR EARLY INTO 2021.
UH, THE SECOND RECOMMENDATION INCLUDES REALIGNING RESOURCES TO FUND THE ONGOING HEALTH RESPONSE INTO 2021.
UM, AS WE MONITORED THE BUDGET AND EXPENSES, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED SOME OPPORTUNITIES TO REALLOCATE FUNDING BASED ON ACTUAL EXPERIENCE.
FOR INSTANCE, DUE TO THE STATE COVERING THE COST OF TESTING, WE'VE REALIZED $13 MILLION IN SAVINGS THAT CAN BE REALLOCATED.
UH, THESE ARE C R F DOLLARS, SO THEY MUST BE EXPENDED BY DECEMBER 30TH.
UM, AT THE SAME TIME, WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, CHARGE ADDITIONAL PORTION OF FIRE PAYROLL RELATED TO THE RESPONSE TO C R F.
BY CHARGING FIRE PAYROLL TO C R F, IT CREATES CAPACITY IN OUR GENERAL FUND, WHICH CAN BE USED TO FUND THE HEALTH RESPONSE INTO 2021.
UM, SO BY CLOSELY MONITORING OUR USE OF C R S, IT CREATES THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEVERAGE ANY SAVINGS, UM, IN THAT FUNDING IN ORDER TO ADDRESS AN AREA WHERE THERE'S AN IDENTIFIED NEED.
UM, THIS IS HOW WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE $10 MILLION IN C R F TO FUND THE NEXT PHASE OF HOUSING ASSISTANCE.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE, THE REVISED BUDGET BY PROGRAM WAS THE RECOMMENDA RECOMMENDED CHANGES I'VE DISCUSSED.
UM, AS YOU'LL NOTICE, UM, THE TOTAL IS NOW UP TO, UH, 525.4 MILLION, UP FROM 493.5 MILLION.
AGAIN, THIS IS COM ACCOMPLISHED BY LEVERAGING C R F FUNDING IN ORDER TO CREATE CAPACITY IN OTHER AREAS, WHICH CAN BE ADDED TO FUND THE RESPONSE AND RECOVERY.
FINALLY, UH, MOVING INTO NEXT STEPS, THE RECOMMENDED, RECOMMENDED CHANGES WILL REQUIRE COUNCIL ACTION, AND THAT WILL BE INCLUDED ON THE SEPTEMBER 17TH AGENDA.
UM, THE NEXT FINANCIAL REPORT COVERING EXPENSES THROUGH AUGUST WILL BE TRANSMITTED TO YOU LATER THIS MONTH WITH A PLANNED B SESSION PRESENTATION IN OCTOBER.
AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO CLOSELY MONITOR, MONITOR, AND IDENTIFY FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES ALONG WITH RECOMMENDING ADDITIONAL REALIGNMENT OF, OF ADDIT OF EXISTING FUNDING.
SO, AGAIN, THERE, THERE WILL BE TWO ACTIONS THAT YOU'LL BE TAKING ON SEPTEMBER 17TH RELATED TO THIS.
UM, THE FIRST INCLUDES RATIFYING, ADDITIONAL COVID 19 RELATED GRANTS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED OVER THE SUMMER.
UM, AS YOU'LL RECALL, WE, WE TOOK, UM, GRANTS TO BE RATIFIED AS PART OF THE MID-YEAR ADJUSTMENT.
THIS IS JUST, UM, ADDITIONAL GRANTS SINCE THEN.
UM, AND THEN YOU'LL BE AMENDING APPROPRIATIONS WITHIN THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN AND HEALTH IMPLEMENTATION, UH, BASED ON THE REALIGNMENT THAT WE'VE RECOMMENDED, UH, WE WILL BE TRANSMITTING THOSE CHANGES, RECOMMENDED CHANGES TO YOU WITH LINE ITEM BUDGETS ON FRIDAY.
SO, IN SUMMARY, THE THE RECOMMENDED ADJUSTMENTS ADDRESS THE, THE OUTSTANDING AND ISSUES
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THAT WERE, WERE IDENTIFIED BY LEVERAGING EXISTING FUNDING, BY ALIGNING THE BUDGET TO MATCH EXPENSES BY ALLOCATING AN ADDITIONAL 21.9 MILLION TO FUND PHASE THREE OF THE EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, AND IDENTIFYING RESOURCES TO FUND THE ONGOING HEALTH RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC IN 2021.UH, THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I'D LIKE TO THANK THE MEMBERS OF OUR FINANCE TEAM AND DEPARTMENT, FISCAL STAFF FOR THEIR HARD WORK.
UH, THIS IS A VERY UNIQUE AND, AND FLUID SITUATION, BUT WE HAVE A VERY STRONG TEAM WHO'S HELPING TO MANAGE ALL THE BEHIND THE SCENES ACTIVITIES TO ENSURE THOSE PROVIDING THE SERVICES ON THE FRONT LINES CAN FOCUS ON HELPING THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE TEAM ARE ONLINE, AND WE ARE ALL AVAILABLE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU, MAYOR.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ANA, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, AND TO OUR CITY STAFF, UH, I KNOW THERE'S MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS ENGAGED, UH, IN THIS, UH, AND GREAT JOB, ANA, REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, UH, THE EXPLANATION ON, ON THE COMPLEXITY OF, OF OUR RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PROGRAM.
I JUST HAVE A COUPLE THINGS I WANTED TO, UM, POSE TO, UM, YOU ERIC, UM, AND MARIA, I DON'T KNOW IF LAURIE HOUSTON IS ON THE CALL AS WELL, BUT IT HAS TO DO WITH THE, UM, WITH THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.
UH, SO AS I SEE, WE, WE ARE INCREASING OUR HOUSING SECURITY HOUSING, UH, UH, EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM BY ABOUT $22 MILLION, UM, WITH THE C D C MORATORIUM IN PLACE, UH, WHICH OBVIOUSLY IS ONLY, UM, A DECLARATION, REALLY, WE HAVE TO ENFORCE IT AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.
WE HAVE THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING AT THE JP COURTS, UM, AS WELL AS, UH, NOW, UH, THE WORKFORCE RECOVERY PROGRAM, WHICH IS PROVIDING, UH, ROUGHLY $44 MILLION OF DIRECT CASH ASSISTANCE, UM, FOR FOLKS TO DO THINGS LIKE PAY, RENT AND MORTGAGE AND GROCERIES, UH, UTILITY BILLS, ET CETERA.
UM, I'M, I'LL, I'LL ADMIT, I'M A LITTLE NERVOUS ABOUT CHANGING THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, WHICH PERHAPS WOULD ELIMINATE SOME FOLKS FROM ASSISTANCE, UH, WHEN IT APPEARS THAT WE MAY, WITH ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF SUPPORT IN PLACE, UH, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY, I THINK, TO EXTEND, UH, THE ASSISTANCE FAR BEYOND WHAT WE MAY CURRENTLY BE DOING WITH, UH, RATE OF EXPENDITURE.
COULD COULD YOU SPEAK TO THAT? YEAH, MAYOR, I'LL, I'LL, UH, I'LL, I'LL RESPOND TO THAT AND MAYBE HAND IT OVER TO LORI AND BETO TO KIND OF TALK, TALK THROUGH THE, THE RATIONALE.
I MEAN, YOU, YOU'RE RIGHT, MAYOR, WE, WE, WE DON'T KNOW THE IMPACT OF THE C D C ORDER THAT WENT INTO EFFECT, UH, WENT INTO EFFECT LAST FRIDAY.
UM, WE, YOU KNOW, WE DO KNOW THAT AS, AS ANA MENTIONED IN THE PRESENTATION, WE KNOW BASED ON A M I, UH, ROUGHLY, UH, WHO WE'VE SERVED IN THOSE 14,000, WE ALSO KNOW THAT IF WE CAN, UH, CONTINUE TO AGGRESSIVELY MARKET THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM TO THE, THE, UH, THE INDIVIDUALS OR THE FAMILIES THAT ARE LOOKING FOR THE EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO, TO TIE THE TWO TOGETHER.
AND, AND THE LAST THING THAT, THAT, THAT I'LL ADD IS THAT TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT REGARDLESS OF WHAT, WHAT ENDS UP HAPPENING, WE DO NEED TO PRIORITIZE AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, UH, THAT WE'RE SPENDING, UH, THE C R F MONEY FIRST.
UM, AND, AND BECAUSE THAT, THAT'S THE MONEY THAT'S GOT A, A DEADLINE, AS GOT A, A DEADLINE ASSOCIATED WITH IT, AND IT WAS DIRECTLY ALLOCATED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO HELP PEOPLE IN THIS SITUATION.
UM, IT, IT IS A LITTLE BIT OF A, UM, UM, WE, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO BE THOUGHTFUL IN THAT WITH THIS CHANGE, UH, IF APPROVED BY COUNSEL, THAT'S A, THAT'S OVER $74 MILLION OVER THE COURSE OF SEVEN MONTHS, AND, AND THERE'S A, THERE'S A HIGH DEGREE OF NEED AND ARE WE PUTTING THE MONEY, UH, AND DIRECTED IT TOWARDS THOSE THAT ARE, THAT ARE IN MOST NEED.
UM, LORI BETO, DO YOU WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE RATIONALE BEHIND WHAT, WHAT YOU GUYS ARE RECOMMENDING? SURE.
AND AS ANA SHOWED THE A M I REQUIREMENTS, WE ARE CHANGING THOSE TO 50% OF THE AREA, IMMEDIATE INCOME ON AVERAGE.
THE MAJORITY OF THOSE 15,000 APPLICANTS, THEY'RE MAKING LESS THAN 30% OF THE AREA IMMEDIATE INCOME.
SO WE WANTED TO MAKE THAT REQUIREMENT MORE IN LINE WITH WHAT WE'RE SEEING.
UM, WE'RE ALSO SEEING MAJORITY OF RENTERS, UM, AND A LOT OF THE, UM, THE HOME OWNERSHIP, THEY HAVE, UM, A LOT MORE INCOME COMING IN.
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AND THEN WE FEEL THAT WITH A CONNECTION WITH THE EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, WITH THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND TRYING TO MAKE, MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PROVIDING THEM THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY.UM, THE ONE MONTH OF FULL ASSISTANCE PLUS THE $500 CASH ASSISTANCE IN MONTH TWO WILL HELP, UM, POTENTIALLY WEAN PEOPLE OFF, AND WE CAN GET THEM INTO THE WORKFORCE.
UM, WE BELIEVE THIS WILL LAST THROUGH DECEMBER, AND WE FEEL THERE'S ENOUGH MIX BETWEEN THE GENERAL FUND DOLLARS AND THE FEDERAL FUNDS TO HELP US ASSIST THOSE THAT WOULD NOT, UM, QUALIFY FOR FEDERAL FUNDING.
ULTIMATELY, THOUGH, MAYOR, IF THE, IF YOU AND THE REST OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, WANNA MAKE OTHER ADJUSTMENTS TO THE PROGRAMMATIC, UH, UH, ASPECTS OF IT, OR LEAVE IT LIKE IT IS, I, I THINK THE KEY IS THAT WE MONITOR THE SPEND RATE, BECAUSE THAT'S ONE THING THAT VERONICA, ROBERTO, AND AND HER DEPARTMENT ARE, ARE DOING.
AND, AND WITH THE C D C ORDER JUST GOING INTO EFFECT LAST FRIDAY, WE, WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME UNDERNEATH OUR, UNDERNEATH OUR FEET TO, TO REALLY SEE IF THERE'S AN IMPACT.
UM, IT, IT, IT'S REALLY KEY THAT WE, WE MONITOR TO SEE IF, IF OUR SPEND RATE CHANGES BASED ON THOSE CONDITIONS, IF THE COUNCIL DECIDES TO, TO MAYBE LEAVE IT LIKE IT IS FOR ANOTHER 30 DAYS OR SO.
SO ONE, I THINK WE OUGHT TO, WE HAVE TO MONITOR THE SPEND RATE, OBVIOUSLY.
WE ALSO HAVE TO MONITOR WHO'S COMING IN, UM, AND APPLYING FOR ASSISTANCE, UM, IN THE LAST FOUR MONTHS OF THE PROGRAM OR BEGAN, WHAT PROPORTION OF THAT, UH, 50 SOME ODD MILLION IN ASSISTANCE WAS REQUIRING UNRESTRICTED DOLLARS? IT WAS APPROXIMATELY 25% THAT REQUIRES THE UNRESTRICTED DOLLARS.
I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S A, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT ONE AS WELL, TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO DELIVER ASSISTANCE TO EVERYBODY WHO, WHO APPLIES FOR IT, NEEDS IT, UM, REGARDLESS OF THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES, UM, UH, IN ELIGIBILITY FOR ANY KIND OF, UH, FUNDING SOURCE.
UM, I'LL TELL YOU, I, FROM, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I THINK WE OUGHT TO, UM, LEAVE THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA ALONE AND MONITOR, UH, AS ALL THESE OTHER PROGRAMS ARE KICKING IN.
THE, THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS WE'VE SEEN A NUMBER OF FOLKS HAVE TO APPLY.
UH, IN FACT, I'M, I'M LOOKING AT THE AVERAGE, UM, MONTHS RECEIVING ASSISTANCE.
IT'S SOMEWHERE BETWEEN TWO AND THREE MONTHS.
SO FOLKS THAT ARE APPLYING FOR THE EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FUND, REGARDLESS OF A M I ARE NEEDING TWO AND, AND SOMETIMES THREE CHECKS.
UH, THE REASON FOR THAT IS OBVIOUSLY LOSS OF INCOME.
AND UNLESS WE ARE ABLE TO GET FOLKS BACK AND, AND, AND PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO GET BACK TO, UM, RECEIVING INCOME THROUGH WORK, UM, OR OTHER MEANS OF ASSISTANCE, THEY'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO RELY ON HOUSING ASSISTANCE.
SO WE'VE GOTTA FIND A TRANSITION, AND THAT'S WHY THE WORKFORCE PROGRAM IS SO IMPORTANT, AND WHY THOSE $44 MILLION OF UNRESTRICTED CASH, UH, THAT WILL ALLOW SOMEONE TO PAY FOR MORTGAGE OR RENT IS SO CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
SO, UM, I THINK WE HAVE TO ALSO, UH, DO SOME WORK TO ENSURE THAT, UM, THOSE WHO ARE APPLYING FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE OR HOUSING ASSISTANCE ARE LINKING UP WITH, UH, THE NAVIGATORS WHO CAN HELP THEM, UH, APPLY FOR THE WORKFORCE PROGRAM TO HELP REPLACE, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY THEIR, THEIR OWN INCOME IN A MEANINGFUL WAY.
ARE WE DOING THAT? UM, VITO, ARE YOU PLUGGED INTO THAT PROCESS? HI, GOOD AFTERNOON.
UM, SO I HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH BOTH ALEX LOPEZ AND, AND MELLY SO THAT OUR CLIENTS DO RECEIVE, UM, THE BUNDLE OF SERVICES FROM ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS AND OTHER SOURCES AS WELL.
AND SO, UM, OUR HEALTH NAVIGATORS GET CROSS-TRAINED, OUR CALL CENTER GETS CROSS-TRAINED, AND SO WE ARE ABLE TO CONNECT THEM TO THE WORKFORCE PROGRAM RIGHT AWAY.
AND ACTUALLY, WE ALREADY PROVIDED THOSE, UH, CLIENT LISTS TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, SO THEY CAN REACH OUT TO THEM.
WELL, UM, THERE'S BEEN A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK ON, ON THE PART OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE CITY STAFF, UH, TO COME UP WITH THIS PROGRAM, AND, AND THERE IS FLEXIBILITY BUILT IN.
I, I APPRECIATE AND, AND LIKE THE CHANGES, I, I WOULD SLOW DOWN ON THE ELIGIBILITY CHANGES AND, AND BE READY TO CALIBRATE AS NECESSARY.
[00:30:01]
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, BASED ON MY CONVERSATION WITH PEERS, UH, AROUND THE COUNTRY, I WILL STAND OUR RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PROGRAM OF HOW WE'VE UTILIZED OUR RESOURCES OF CITY, ALONG WITH THE FEDERAL ASSISTANCE THAT WE'VE RECEIVED AGAINST ANY CITY IN THE COUNTRY IN TERMS OF THE STRENGTH OF OUR HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, THE WORKFORCE PROGRAM.NOT ONLY WE HELPING PEOPLE GET BACK ON THEIR FEET, WE'RE GIVING, UH, WE'RE PROVIDING A PATH, UH, TO SUSTAINABILITY IN THAT AS WELL.
SO, UH, GREAT WORK BY EVERYBODY.
UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO THE COUNCIL CONVERSATION, IF I COULD ASK MY COLLEAGUES ALSO TO WEIGH IN ON THIS, UM, CONVERSATION ABOUT THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL, I THINK, FOR STAFF AS WELL.
UM, SO LET ME GO AHEAD NOW TO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
UM, THANK YOU MAYOR, AND THANK YOU, ANNA.
THIS WAS A, A VERY THOUGHTFUL PRESENTATION, AND, UM, THE BREAKDOWN IS GREAT TO HAVE THIS TO FOLLOW BY, SO THANK YOU.
UM, AND TO ALL OF THE STAFF THAT HAVE WORKED ON THIS WITH THE CITY, UM, GREAT JOB.
WHEN IT RELATES TO, UM, THE RENTAL PAYMENT OR NONE PAYMENTS, I KNOW IN APRIL WAS THE LAST TIME WE HAD AN UPDATE, AND AT THAT TIME IT WAS LIKE 2% OF RENT THAT HAD NOT BEEN PAID.
DO WE HAVE THE UPDATED NUMBERS ON THAT MATRIX SYSTEM? UM, I'M SORRY, AS A QUESTION, UM, HOW MANY THE APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN PAID? NO, THROUGH THE DATABASE OF THE NATIONAL NON-PAYMENT OF RENTAL HISTORY.
DO WE KNOW WHERE WE ARE NOW WITHIN THAT MATRIX SYSTEM? I DO NOT HAVE THAT INFORMATION, BUT WE'LL GET THAT TO YOU.
UM, AND THEN ALSO WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, WE KNOW THAT SEVERAL COMPANIES, UM, IN THIS RECENT WEEK SUCH AS LU'S, UH, SEAWORLD, THE MARRIOTT, HAVE LET GO OF EMPLOYEES.
HAVE WE DONE ANY FORM OF SALARY? UH, VERIFICATION ARE WHAT LEVELS OF THE SALARY POINT THEY WERE AT TO HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW MUCH ASSISTANCE, UM, WE COULD BE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT WITH THE NEW NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE KNOW THAT HAVE BEEN TERMINATED FROM THESE POSITIONS.
KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE LOOKING AT THE TRENDS THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS, AND WE'VE SEEN THAT WE'RE GETTING ANYWHERE FROM, IT WAS STARTING AT A HUNDRED A DAY, NOW WE'RE AT, AT ABOUT TWO 50 A DAY.
AND TYPICALLY THE INCREASE COINCIDES AS PROTECTIONS ARE RELEASED.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN THE CARES ACT PROTECTIONS EXPIRED, WE, WE SAW A SMALL INCREASE.
AND THEN MORE RECENTLY, WHEN THE EVICTION COURTS WERE ABLE TO START HEARING THOSE CASES, THERE WAS AN INCREASE.
SO THAT'S WHEN WE SEE THE INCREASES.
UH, ALEX LOPEZ IS ON THE LINE.
ALEX, DO YOU HAVE, DO YOU HAVE ANY OF THE STATS THAT THE COUNCILWOMAN IS TALKING ABOUT? I THINK SHE'S TALKING ABOUT THE LOCAL FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES FROM SOME OF THE PRIVATE SEC FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
DO YOU HAVE ANY OF THAT INFORMATION? WE, UM, WE GET SOME OF THAT INFORMATION FROM WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS ALAMO.
UM, WE GET THE, THE NOTICES WHEN COMPANIES ARE, UM, PLANNING TO LAY OFF OR FURLOUGH EMPLOYEES.
UM, WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION SPECIFICALLY FROM WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS.
I I THINK IT'S RELATED TO WAGES AS WELL.
YES, YES, WE CAN, WE CAN MAKE SURE WE GET THAT.
AND THEN, ALEX, CAN YOU PROVIDE A DISTRICT SPECIFIC BREAKDOWN OF THE BUSINESSES THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN FUNDED, UM, THROUGH THE, UH, GRANTS, THROUGH THE SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS? WE, WE CAN DO THAT.
COUNCIL MEMBER, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF AWARDING ALL OF THOSE GRANTS RIGHT NOW, NOTIFYING ALL THE BUSINESSES AND GETTING THE MONEY INTO THEIR ACCOUNTS.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO DO THAT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
WE CAN PROVIDE AN, AN INTERIM REPORT IF YOU'D LIKE.
UM, BUT DEFINITELY AS WE'RE MOVING ALONG, WE WILL CONTINUE TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION.
YES, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT REPORT, PLEASE.
UM, AND THEN MY QUESTION I HAVE IS IF JEFF COYLE IS ON THE LINE, UM, OR MAYBE MANNY, SOMEBODY CAN ANSWER THIS FROM THE I G R, UM, I REALLY WANTED TO FIND OUT WHAT ARE WE DOING AND WHAT STEPS HAVE WE TAKEN TO ASSIST OUR FEDERAL DELEGATES IN ADVANCING THE CONVERSATIONS OF ECONOMIC STIMULUS WITHIN, UM, UH, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT? YES, COUNCILWOMAN, I'M ON THE CALL, AND GREAT QUESTION.
WE ACTUALLY DISCUSSED THIS AT I G R, UH, TODAY.
WE HAVE BEEN KEEPING OUR DELEGATION INFORMED THE ENTIRE WAY HERE.
SO EVERY, EVERY COUNCIL MEETING THAT YOU ALL HAVE DISCUSSED, THE SPENDING OF FEDERAL CARES ACT MONEY, THE
[00:35:01]
RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN, WE'VE BEEN NOTIFYING ALL OF OUR REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS AHEAD OF TIME SO THEY CAN TUNE IN AND WATCH.AND THEN WE'VE ALSO BEEN SENDING THEM SUMMARIES AND PRESENTATIONS AND SO FORTH TO KEEP THEM UPDATED.
YOU MAY KNOW THAT ABOUT MIDSUMMER TREASURY CAME OUT WITH A SPENDING REPORT THAT SHOWED MANY CITIES, INCLUDING OURS, HADN'T SPENT MUCH OF THE MONEY YET.
AND THAT WAS BECAUSE THE REPORT WAS FOR A TIME PERIOD THAT ENDED TWO DAYS BEFORE THIS COUNCIL PASSED THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN.
SO WE, WE QUICKLY CLARIFIED THAT WITH ALL OF OUR MEMBERS.
UH, WE ALSO DRAFTED A, A LETTER THAT THE MAYOR SENT TO THE TREASURY, UH, SAY, COMMITTING THAT WE ARE SPENDING ALL THIS MONEY BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.
AND, AND HERE'S HOW WE'VE DIVIDED UP THE BUCKETS.
UH, AND FINALLY, UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES.
UH, THEY'VE SENT OUT SEVERAL SURVEYS AND REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION WHERE WE'VE SUMMARIZED OUR EXPENDITURES, WHAT OUR BUDGET PICTURE LOOKS LIKE, AND SO FORTH, TO BE ABLE TO HELP THEM ADVOCATE, UH, ON A NATIONAL LEVEL.
SO, AS I SAID TO I G R THIS MORNING, WE, IT'S BEEN A VERY AGGRESSIVE EFFORT TO MAKE SURE OUR FEDERAL PARTNERS ARE AWARE OF HOW WE'RE USING THE FEDERAL DOLLARS TO BENEFIT OUR COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU, UH, JEFF, FOR THAT INFORMATION.
UM, THE LAST QUESTION THAT I HAVE, UM, IN REFERENCE TO THE EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE, UM, UNDER THAT 21.9 MILLION IN PHASE THREE, UM, IS THAT THE FINAL PROCESS THAT WE HAVE WITHIN THIS CARES ACT BUDGET, AND THEN WE'RE GOING INTO THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET THAT IS PROPOSED, OR HOW IS THAT WORKING? COUNCILMAN, I'LL, I'LL TAKE A STAB AT THAT ONE.
UM, SO IT IS, IT IS A COMBINATION OF BOTH OF THOSE.
SO WE WOULD BE REALLOCATING FUNDING WITHIN THE 2021 PROPOSED, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAMS. WE, WE WOULD BE ADDING AN ADDITIONAL, UM, 800,000 IN GENERAL FUNDS.
WELL, WE'D BE REALLOCATING AN ADDITIONAL 800,000 IN GENERAL FUND, UM, AND THEN REALLOCATING, UH, 4.9 MILLION IN C D B G INTO THE, UM, THE EAP PROGRAM.
AND THEN IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE WOULD BE REALIGNING IN THE, UH, 10 MILLION IN CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND, AND THEN, UM, REQUESTING AN ADDITIONAL $1 MILLION FROM THE HOUSING TRUST.
SO WHEN, WHEN COMBINED WITH THE, UM, ALREADY PROPOSED, UM, RISK MITIGATION BUDGET, UM, THIS GETS US TO THE 21.9 MILLION.
AND SO AT THIS TIME, THOSE ARE ALL OF THE FUNDS THAT WE HAVE FOUND WITHIN THE CARES ACT THAT WE NEED TO USE IMMEDIATELY.
THERE'S NO ADDITIONAL FUNDING WITHIN THE CARESS ACT THAT WE COULD REALLOCATE.
I KNOW THAT WE'VE TAKEN SOME OF THE M UH, M I H PROGRAM OUT OF THE TESTING.
AND SO I WAS WONDERING, UM, WITH US NOT USING THE M I H AS MUCH ANYMORE, UM, HAVE WE LOOKED AT THE REALLOCATION OF HOW MUCH ON THE CITY SIDE WE'VE BEEN SPENDING THAT MIGHT BE ATTRIBUTED TO, UM, THE EMERGENCY HOUSING PROGRAM ROUND, JUST LIKE THIS ROUND OF REVISIONS.
UM, I THINK WE'RE COMFORTABLE WITH MOVING THE 10 MILLION IN.
HOWEVER, UM, HONESTLY, ON A WEEKLY BASIS WE'RE, WE'RE MEETING TO REVIEW THE NUMBERS, UM, WITH REPORTING TO COUNCIL ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
SO I THINK AS, AS WE GO ALONG AND, UM, WE IMPLEMENT PROGRAMS, WE MAY IDENTIFY OTHER SAVINGS THAT COULD BE POTENTIALLY REALLOCATED INTO THIS PROGRAM.
AND THEN THE LAST REQUEST THAT I HAVE, ANNA, IS IF WE CAN RECEIVE A BREAKDOWN FROM APRIL TILL, UH, TODAY, UH, WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE ACROSS THE BOARD OF HOW MUCH WE SPENT AS A CITY, HOW MUCH WE SPENT OUT OF THE CARES ACT, AND THEN HOW MUCH WE HAVE GOING WITHIN EACH AND EVERY LAST OF THOSE PILLARS, UM, SO THAT WE CAN SEE WHERE WE'VE, UH, SPENT, WHERE WE HAVE UNDERST SPENT, AND WHERE WE NEED TO SPEND MORE.
UM, THIS IS A GREAT BREAKDOWN, BUT TO SEE IT SIDE BY SIDE WOULD BE, WOULD BE BETTER.
SO, UM, THAT'S ALL I ASK AND REQUEST, MAYOR, THOSE ARE ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE, AND THANK YOU AGAIN.
AND COUNCILWOMAN WILL, UH, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE, UH, THE MONTH, THE REPORT THAT YOU'LL GET, UM, HERE IN SEPTEMBER.
UM, THE, THE, UM, OUR BOOKS, OUR FINANCIAL BOOKS CLOSE, UH, TOMORROW, UH, FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST.
UM, AND SO WE WILL UPDATE THE, I THINK THE LAST TIME WE SHOWED THIS TO YOU WAS IT, UH, WAS ON AUGUST, UM, EARLY AUGUST, UH, WHEN WE SHOWED UP THROUGH THE END OF JULY.
SO WE WILL BE TRANSMITTING TO YOU AND COUNSEL, UH, THE UPDATE, UH, THAT TAKES INTO ACCOUNT, UH, AUGUST SPENDING, UH, THIS MONTH, SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO TRACK IT.
[00:40:02]
THANK YOU, ERIC.COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREWS SULLIVAN, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
UH, WE HAD, UH, LOOKED AT EXPENDITURES SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES, LIKE TO GO BACK TO THAT, UH, IT OUTLINED THE EXPENDITURES OF SOMETHING IN THE, UH, $20 MILLION RANGE.
I THINK IT MIGHT'VE BEEN 24, 20 5 MILLION.
UH, AND I THINK THAT WE HAD ALLOCATED, UM, YOU KNOW, SIGNIFICANTLY MORE IN THE 30 MILLIONS RANGE.
SO, UH, HOW MUCH IS AVAILABLE? DID I HEAR THERE WAS A DISCUSSION ON WHAT WAS CALLED, UH, ROUND THREE.
SO IS THERE STILL 10, $11 MILLION AVAILABLE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES? ALEX, WHY DON'T YOU TAKE THAT ONE? SURE.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER THERE IS THE, WE ARE REFERRING TO THESE AS ROUNDS OF, OF ACTIVATING THE GRANTS, UM, BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO GET THE MONEY OUT THERE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
SO AS WE'RE REVIEWING GRANT APPLICATIONS AND WE SEE THAT THEY'RE ELIGIBLE AND THEY'RE SCORING VERY HIGH, WE'RE AWARDING THE FUNDS.
UM, WE'VE DONE TWO ROUNDS OF THAT ALREADY.
UM, AS WE, AS WE SEE THAT FUNDS ARE STILL AVAILABLE, AND THAT'S WHY WE REFERENCE A THIRD ROUND, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO ACTIVATE ANY REMAINING FUNDS, UM, THAT WE'RE NOT ABLE TO AWARD TO ANY OF THE, OF THE BUSINESSES THAT WE HAD REVIEWED APPLICATIONS FOR.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO ACTIVATE IN THAT WAY.
I THINK THE OTHER DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE, THE FIGURE THAT YOU REFERENCED OR THAT YOU MIGHT REMEMBER, THE 38.1 MILLION IS, UM, THERE'S OTHER STRATEGIES THAT WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PROGRAM, INCLUDING ALL THE SUPPLIES THAT WE PROVIDE TO PROVIDE PROVIDED TO SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE AN OUTREACH PROGRAM WITH, UM, SEVERAL COMMUNITY PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE GONNA BE DOING DOOR TO DOOR OUTREACH.
UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE SUPPORT FOR VIRTUAL AND PLACE-BASED HUBS.
SO THAT'S THE REST OF THE FUNDING THAT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT PILLAR.
WELL, SO WHAT IS YOUR ESTIMATE BASED ON THE AVERAGE AWARD ON, ON HOW MANY MORE SMALL BUSINESSES WE CAN ASSIST WITH WHAT'S REMAINING IN THAT FUND? SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT THE 709.
THERE MAY BE SOME ADDITIONAL AWARDS THAT WE CAN MAKE, DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF, OF WHAT THE BUSINESSES ARE ULTIMATELY ELIGIBLE FOR.
WE'RE HAVING TO CALCULATE THIS ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS BECAUSE THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS THAT NEED TO BE SUBTRACTED.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF A BUSINESS RECEIVED P P P, UM, THOSE FUNDS NEED TO BE SUBTRACTED FROM THE POTENTIAL AWARD.
SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF REVIEWING THAT.
UM, THE, THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT WE HAVE 2,700 GRANT APPLICATIONS SO FAR.
SO WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO FUND THOSE APPLICATIONS AS LONG AS THERE'S FUNDS AVAILABLE.
I'D JUST LIKE TO COUNCIL THIS, CARLOS, SO THE NUMBER YOU SEE THERE AT $22 MILLION ROUGHLY, UH, IS AN UP TO AMOUNT.
AND AS THEY GO THROUGH AND DO THAT CALCULATION THAT ALEX INDICATED THERE'S ADDITIONAL FUNDS AVAILABLE, AND SO WE'LL GO INTO A THIRD ROUND.
WE DO ANTICIPATE AT LEAST ONE MORE ROUND.
WELL, I, I WOULD HOPE THAT BY THE TIME, UH, WE MEET AGAIN TO REVIEW THIS, WE HAVE A MORE CONSISTENT BREAKDOWN OF WHERE ALL OF THE REST OF THE MONEY HAS GONE.
YOU'VE SHOWN SOME THINGS, BUT YOU'VE SAID MONEY HAS GONE TO OTHER AREAS TOO, THAT WE AREN'T SEEING UP HERE.
SO I'D SURE LIKE TO SEE THOSE, UH, DELINEATED MORE CLEARLY ALSO.
SO, UH, NEXT THING I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT WAS, UM, THE RECOMMENDATION ON LOWERING THE QUALIFICATIONS, UH, TO 50%.
UH, YOU KNOW, I, I UNDERSTAND HOW THE MAYOR MAY FEEL ABOUT THAT, UH, BUT I THINK A HUNDRED PERCENT IS TALKING ABOUT SOMEONE WHO HAS AN INCOME OF $72,000 A YEAR, OR A FAMILY INCOME OF 72,000.
AND TO ME, THOSE PEOPLE CERTAINLY MAY NEED HELP.
EVERYBODY MAY NEED HELP, BUT I THINK THAT WE REALLY SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN THE ABSOLUTE GREATEST NEED.
UH, I THINK 50% OBVIOUSLY SHOWS PEOPLE IN A GREAT NEED.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT A, A $32,000 A YEAR INCOME OR SOMETHING.
UH, ON THE OTHER HAND, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT EXCLUDING PEOPLE WHO ARE EARNING 40 OR 41 OR 42,000 'CAUSE THAT INCOME'S TOO MUCH, UH, SHOULD BE THE LINE WE DRAW.
SO I THINK WHAT IT SHOULD BE CLOSER TO 75% AND BELOW AS OPPOSED TO 50% AND BELOW AS OPPOSED TO A HUNDRED PERCENT.
I THINK WE CAN STILL HELP A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THAT BORDER.
BUT, UM, ANYWAY, HE ASKED FOR AN OPINION
[00:45:01]
ON THAT.UH, I SEE THAT WE SAID THAT WE HAD 21.9 MILLION, UH, THAT WERE ALLOCATING FOR FUNDING IN THIS THIRD PHASE.
AND, UH, I LOOKED AT THOSE NUMBERS THAT WERE POSTED AND THEY DIDN'T ADD UP.
BUT THEN I HEARD ANNA SAID WHAT WASN'T INCLUDED IN THE NUMBERS WE SAW POSTED WAS THE MONEY BEING FUNDED ALREADY IN OUR PROJECTED BUDGET FOR 2021, UH, IN, IN THE, UH, HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
SO I PRESUME THAT MAKES UP THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ADDING THOSE NUMBERS UP ON THAT ONE PARTICULAR SLIDE.
UH, IS THAT RIGHT, ANNA? UH, YES, SIR.
THAT, THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE IS THE, UM, OKAY, THAT WAS ABOUT $6 MILLION OR SOMETHING.
SO I WAS WONDERING WHERE THAT CAME FROM.
AND THE POST BUDGET INCLUDES $5.25 MILLION IN, UM, THE EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
UM, I KNOW THAT WE HAD THE SLIDE TALK ABOUT, UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, UH, BUT I SAW NOTHING ABOUT FUNDING.
IT DIDN'T MENTION, UH, ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT THE COSTS ARE, WHAT THEY'RE PROJECTED TO BE, UH, HOW MUCH HAS BEEN SPENT, HOW MUCH IS LEFT YET, EVERYTHING ELSE DOES.
SO I THINK THAT'S A SHORTCOMING THAT, UH, SHOULD BE TAKEN CARE OF.
ALSO, I UNDERSTAND THAT AT AND T HAS, HAS BEEN OFFERING, AND I THINK ARE BEING INCLUDED IN A, A PARTNERSHIP ON EXTENDING THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, GET THE DIGITAL DIVIDE OUT INTO A LOT OF THESE TARGETED AREAS THAT WE HAD BEEN LOOKING AT THAT WE WERE ASSUMING THE MAJOR RESPONSIBILITY FOR.
IF AT AND T IS BECOMING A GREATER PARTNER IN THAT EFFORT, WILL THAT NOT MAYBE LOWER SOME OF THAT COST FROM THE, UH, I THINK 29 MILLION WE ORIGINALLY PROJECTED? I'D LIKE TO SEE THOSE NUMBERS AND SEE IF SOME OF THAT MONEY CAN BE REALLOCATED, IF IT COULD BE, IF, IF WE'RE FINDING SOME OTHER PARTNERS TO HELP WITH THE COST FOR THAT.
AND COUNCILMAN, AS ANA MENTIONED, UH, WE HAVE A SOLICITATION ON THE STREETS THAT ARE DUE, THAT'S DUE THIS FRIDAY FROM THE, FROM, UH, AT AND T AND OTHERS.
SO WE'LL SEE WHAT TYPE OF PROPOSALS THEY PUT ON THE, ON THE TABLE AND, AND WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP THE COUNCIL UPDATED THROUGH THE, THROUGH, UH, THE INNOVATION COMMITTEE.
UM, AND IF THERE'S, IF THERE'S A, A, A VIABLE OPTION THROUGH THAT, THEN, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL COME BACK AND, AND, AND BRIEF THE COUNCIL ON THAT.
AND ERIC, IF I MAY, THIS IS CRAIG HOPKINS.
UH, AT AND T AND OTHERS ARE ALSO PUTTING ALTERNATE PROPOSALS ON THE TABLE IN OUR PRIVATE L T E MODEL WHERE WE CAN USE THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT THAT.
AND IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, THEY'VE CHANGED THEIR PRICING CONSIDERABLY AS WELL.
SO THAT'S STILL OPEN DISCUSSIONS.
I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING HOW THAT FINALLY RESOLVES.
COUNCIL MEMBER VINEO FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHE GARCIA.
UM, AND, UH, I THINK WHERE I LAND ON THE, YOU KNOW, WE NOTICED THE, AS FAR AS THE, UH, ELIGIBILITY REGARDING A M I I, I THINK, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS WE CAN DO IS, IS, UH, NOT EXCLUDE ANYBODY, BUT PRIORITIZE THE MOST VULNERABLE.
AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS, ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE LEARNED, I LEARNED TODAY IN, IN MY MEETING WITH, WITH THE AUDITOR, WE'RE AUDITING THE RISK MITIGATION FUND.
AND WE LEARNED THAT EARLY ON WHEN WE FIRST STARTED THIS, IT WAS TAKING UP TO 53 DAYS TO PROCESS AN APPLICATION, WE'RE DOWN TO NINE DAYS.
SO WE'VE REALLY IMPROVED THAT.
BUT WHAT WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE ALSO LEARNING IS WE'RE GETTING MORE AND MORE DATA ABOUT THE KIND OF PEOPLE THAT WE'RE HELPING.
AND, UH, AND I THINK THAT, THAT THIS IS REALLY TIED INTO HOW WE CAN, UH, YOU KNOW, TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PEOPLE THAT NEED THE HELP ARE GETTING THE HELP QUICKLY.
AND OF COURSE, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH THE, THE C D C UH, UH, MORATORIUM OR THE C D C ORDER, UH, I, I DO THINK THAT THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT MORE PEOPLE THAT ARE GONNA BE FALLING INTO THESE CATEGORIES.
UH, WE ALSO LEARNED THAT WE HAVE A BURN RATE OF ABOUT $500,000 A DAY.
UH, THERE'S LESS THAN A MILLION DOLLARS LEFT FROM OUR GENERAL FUND IN THIS FUND.
UM, AND WITH THE CURRENT FUNDING, WE ONLY HAVE SIX DAYS LEFT OF FUNDING.
UH, SO MY CALCULATION WITH THIS AD IS THAT WE HAVE ABOUT TWO AND A HALF MONTHS, 43 DAYS TO THE EXACT, UH, AND I'M USING WORK DAYS, NOT CALENDAR DAYS.
UH, AND SO THE, THE QUESTION WOULD THEN BE, UH, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE MONTH OF DECEMBER? UH, SO, SO I'M REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THAT, AND I THINK THAT THIS WOULD BEG THE QUESTION IS, ARE WE GONNA PLAN A PHASE,
[00:50:01]
PHASE FOUR, PHASE FIVE OF ALL THIS? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I DO THINK THAT THIS, THESE THINGS ARE COMING.AND, UH, THAT LEADS ME TO MY OTHER POINT ABOUT EVICTIONS.
UM, EVICTIONS ARE, ARE REALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, TOP OF MIND NOW, AND I'M REALLY GLAD TO, TO, TO SEE THAT, THAT, THAT, UH, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WE'RE ALL TALKING ABOUT.
UH, GLAD TO SEE THE RIGHT TO COUNCIL PROGRAM, UH, BEING UTILIZED THE WAY, THE WAY, UH, IT HAS BEEN.
BUT I, I'D LIKE TO, TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT THE, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY ARE WORKING TOGETHER, UH, THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR, UH, TO ENSURE THAT EACH AND EVERY, UH, EVICTION FILE DOES NOT VIOLATE THE EVICTION MORATORIUM.
UH, THIS IS, THIS IS GONNA BE CRITICAL, UH, AS YOU HEARD.
I MEAN, THE, EVEN THOUGH THIS IS A C D C ORDER, IT'S UP TO THE, TO, UH, UH, LOCAL, UH, ENTITIES TO, TO ENFORCE THAT.
AND I THINK, I THINK WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S IN PLACE.
UH, BUT THEN WHAT COMES IN JANUARY, IN JANUARY, I THINK IS, IS, IS GONNA BE, UM, ANOTHER, UH, UH, ISSUE THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND, UH, HOW WE, HOW WE ADDRESS THAT.
AND, UH, HOPEFULLY, UH, WE WILL HAVE, UH, SOME PLANS OR OTHER PHASES AS, AS I GUESS WE'RE CALLING THEM, UH, IN PLACE TO, TO HELP ADDRESS THAT.
WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, I'D POINT OUT THAT AS, AS COUNCILMAN COURAGE WAS SAYING, WE DO NEED TO SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, BECAUSE A LOT OF, A LOT OF THESE FOLKS THAT I, I BELIEVE WE'RE HELPING ARE, ARE TIED TO SMALL BUSINESSES IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, UH, SPECIFICALLY THE SERVICE INDUSTRY.
AND, UH, AND SO MY HOPE IS THAT WE CAN, WE CAN, UH, GET MORE DEMOGRA DEMOGRAPHIC, UH, INFORMATION.
AND I THINK IT'S, IT'S WORTHWHILE TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT ARE THE JOBS THAT THESE FOLKS WHO ARE REQUESTING THIS ASSISTANCE, WHAT ARE THE JOBS THAT, THAT THEY HAVE NOW, AND HOW ARE THEY TIED TO SOME SMALL BUSINESSES THAT MAY NEED OUR ASSISTANCE AS WELL? I MEAN, THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, UH, THEY'RE SMALL BUSINESSES THAT ARE ALSO FACING EVICTION.
UH, AND, UH, AND THIS IS, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT TOPIC THAT I THINK WE ALL NEED TO, TO TALK ABOUT.
UH, THERE'S, THERE'S, UH, ALSO, UH, THE ISSUE OF THE, THE A HUNDRED BILLION, UH, DOLLAR RENTAL ASSISTANCE BILL, AND WHERE DOES THAT STAND? UH, I HOPE THAT WE CAN GET SOME MORE INFORMATION, UH, AROUND THAT.
I KNOW THERE'S MANY THINGS BEING TIED UP IN DC, BUT, UH, WE NEED TO STAY ON TOP OF THIS.
UH, LASTLY, I JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, MAKE, UH, REQUEST THAT OUR AUDITOR, AS SOON AS HE HAS A ROUGH DRAFT OF, OF THE BREAKDOWN, UH, THAT, THAT HE HAS PUT TOGETHER REGARDING THE RISK MITIGATION FUND AND THE, THE KIND OF DATA THAT WE'VE PUT TOGETHER, UH, CAN, CAN HELP US TO BETTER UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, HOW THESE FUNDS ARE BEING, BEING UTILIZED, AND HOW THEY CAN, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW THEY CAN BE, UH, BETTER, UH, APPLIED AND RESOURCED, UH, TO THOSE, UH, MOST IN NEED.
UM, BUT I, I WILL ASK JUST ONE, ONE QUESTION OF, OF ERIC, UH, AGAIN, KNOWING THAT WE'RE, WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA BE ABOUT 43 DAYS BASED ON THIS DATA.
I MEAN, CAN, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO TO START PLANNING A POSSIBLE PHASE FOUR AND FIVE? WELL, COUNCILMAN, I THINK THAT'S, UH, UM, THAT, THAT, THAT'S PART OF THE, THE KEEPING OUR, OUR FINGERS ON THE FINANCIAL PULSE OF THE PROGRAM.
IT'S GOES BEYOND THE, THE, UH, THE HOUSING ASPECTS.
IT'S, IT'S MANAGING THROUGH, UH, UH, ALL FOUR OF THE PILLARS AND THE HEALTH RESPONSE.
AND AS WE START TO SEE, UM, IF THERE, IF THERE'S NO IMPACT OR CHANGE FROM THE C D C ORDER, AND THERE'S STILL A HIGH DEGREE OF NEED, UM, AND, AND REGARDLESS OF THE PROGRAMMATIC CHANGES THAT THAT MAY OCCUR, UM, IF WE START TO SEE SOME TRENDS, WE'LL COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL.
ULTIMATELY, WE MAY HAVE TO LOOK AT, AT EITHER CHANGING PROGRAMS OR LIMITING THEM, UM, UH, SHORT OF HAVING ADDITIONAL, UH, FEDERAL FUNDS AVAILABLE, UM, OR REPRIORITIZING.
AND, AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE THE DIFFICULTY BECOMES, WHICH IS WHY THESE MONTHLY REPORTS ARE IMPORTANT.
YOU KNOW, ONE THING I DIDN'T MENTION EARLIER, AND I DON'T THINK ANA DID EARLIER, UH, LORI AND VETO HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND WE MAY, WE MAY SEE THE POSSIBILITY OF ADDITIONAL CARES ACT THAT THE STATE OF TEXAS RECEIVED, UM, WHICH, WHICH MIGHT HELP BOLSTER UP, UH, ADDITIONAL HOUSING, UH, NEEDS.
WE HAVE, WE ARE PROBABLY, UM, UH, AND LAURIE VETO, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, WE'RE PROBABLY A WEEK OR 10 DAYS, UH, FROM KNOWING WHETHER OR NOT WE'LL BE ELIGIBLE BRINGING THAT ADDITIONAL STATE MONEY, WHICH, WHICH WILL CERTAINLY PUT TO GOOD USE.
[00:55:01]
WE LOOK FORWARD TO THAT INFORMATION.AND, AND, AND SO I'LL JUST SUM UP BY SAYING, UH, MAYBE WHAT WE COULD DO IS WITH THIS INFORMATION THAT WE'LL GET FROM THE AUDITOR SOON IS CREATE A DASHBOARD, UH, SO THAT THE ENTIRE COUNCIL AND, AND CITY STAFF CAN, CAN TRACK THIS, UH, REAL TIME.
AND SO, UH, THIS DASHBOARD I THINK WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL FOR ALL OF US.
WE'VE ALL BEEN ASKING, YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE WE WITH SOME OF THE FUNDING? WHO'S GETTING IT? AND, AND SO THE DASHBOARD, I BELIEVE, UH, BROKEN DOWN INTO THE DEMOGRAPHIC, DEMOGRAPHIC, UH, DATA POINTS, I THINK WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, LASTLY, I JUST POINT OUT THAT, UH, I BELIEVE THAT HOUSING AND SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, ARE, ARE INEXTRICABLY, UH, TIED TOGETHER.
AND, YOU KNOW, I WANT US TO, YOU KNOW, REALLY GET A FOCUS ON HOW ARE THEY TIED TOGETHER AND HOW CAN WE ASSIST BOTH IN HOUSING AND SMALL BUSINESSES.
COUNCIL, OR MAYOR, IF I MAY, UM, ON, ON THE DASHBOARD, UM, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH I C C ON DEVELOPING A DASHBOARD, UM, WITH BOTH FINANCIAL AND, UM, PERFORMANCE RELATED DATA.
AND WE'LL LOOK TO ROLL THAT OUT WITH, UM, THE, UH, FINANCIAL REPORT THAT WE, WE WILL BE PRESENTING LATER THIS MONTH.
AND THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO, COUNCIL MEMBER R GARCIA FOLLOWED, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER OF GONZALEZ.
UM, AND THANK YOU, ANNA, AGAIN FOR THE, THE PRESENTATION.
I'M WONDERING IF YOU ALL ARE ALSO GOING TO, UM, BE SHARING THAT I G R PRESENTATION WITH THE REST OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES.
I THINK IT, IT WAS BENEFICIAL, ESPECIALLY, UM, THE, THE SPEND, UH, RATE THAT, THAT WE HAVE IN THE QUARTERS.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS A NICE, HELPFUL BREAKDOWN.
UM, AND THEN ALSO THANK YOU FOR THE, UH, I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE DIGITAL INCLUSION.
UM, I, I MET THIS MORNING WITH THE PRINCIPAL OF ARMSTRONG ELEMENTARY.
IT'S A SOUTH SAN I S D SCHOOL, UM, UH, PRINCIPAL DE PENA.
AND, UH, SOUTH SAN IS STILL ON AN ONLINE ONLY BASIS AND THROUGH, THROUGH OCTOBER THE SEVENTH.
AND SO, UM, HE'S ACTUALLY PREPARING, UM, TO COME BACK TO THE CLASSROOM OCTOBER THE SEVENTH.
AND SO WHAT HE SAID THAT THE ENTIRE DISTRICT NEEDED IS FACE SHIELD AND SO P P E.
AND SO THIS MORNING FOR THE BENEFIT OF MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES WHO WEREN'T ON THE I G R COMMITTEE, ANNA, UM, MENTIONED BRENDA BRADSHAW MENTIONED THAT THERE WAS SOME SORT OF A GRANT THAT WE HAD APPLIED FOR, AND WE, UM, HAD RECEIVED FOR P P E.
AND I'M, I'M WONDERING IF THAT GRANT IS STILL AVAILABLE, AND IF WE COULD SHARE IT FOR THE GOOD OF EVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT MIGHT NEED, UM, SOME P P E, I'D LOVE TO SHARE IT WITH SOUTH SAND MYSELF.
UM, I, I, I KNOW THAT HE, HE MADE THAT REQUEST, UH, FOR HIS TEACHERS AND STUDENTS, AND THEN HE SAID, BUT THE WHOLE DISTRICT CAN BENEFIT.
SO I'M JUST WONDERING, UM, IF, IF, IF WE'RE SHARING, I'M SURE THAT SOMEBO SOMEONE IN THEIR I G R DEPARTMENT IS PROBABLY ON TOP OF IT, BUT ARE WE ALSO ACTIVELY SHARING INFORMATION THAT'S CRITICAL TO GETTING A LOT OF KIDS BACK TO SCHOOL? COUNCILMAN? UM, JUST TO CLARIFY, ON, ON THE P P E GRANTS WE'VE RECEIVED, THEY HAVE BEEN, UM, GENERALLY VERY SPECIFIC TO P P E FOR FIRST RESPONDERS.
UM, SO, UH, ONE OF THE GRANTS WAS MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, UM, OTHERS THROUGH, UM, FEMA, UM, AND, UM, THE JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT.
SO THE ONES WE'VE RECEIVED HAVE BEEN SPECIFIC TO FIRST RESPONDERS.
UM, BUT IF, IF I DO LEARN OF ANY OPPORTUNITIES THAT COULD APPLY TO K THROUGH 12 SCHOOL, I WILL DEFINITELY BE SURE TO PASS THOSE ALONG.
THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION.
SO I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
BUT I DO KNOW THAT SCHOOLS AND M E AND SO, UM, LIKE I SAID, WITH CELL TAN, I MEAN, THEY, THEY HAVE A WHOLE MONTH.
UM, BUT THERE'S OTHER SCHOOLS THAT HAVE ALREADY STARTED IN LEARNING CLASSROOM OR CLA IN LEARNING, UM, IN THE CLASSROOMS OR IN CLASSROOM LEARNING, SORRY, Y'ALL.
UM, SO I, UH, I, I KNOW THAT, UH, D FOUR RESIDENTS HAVE, UM, BEEN BENEFITING, UM, A LOT FROM, FROM THESE TYPE OF PROGRAMS. AND SO, UM, 19%, UH, OF THE ENTIRE, UM, BURN RATE HAS BEEN ON UTILITY, UH, ASSISTANCE FOR, UH, RESIDENTS OF DISTRICT FOUR.
SO ABOUT 3,787 AS OF LAST COUNT, UM, 1,321 OF MY RESIDENTS HAVE BENEFITED FROM THIS TYPE OF, UH, OF, OF PROGRAM.
SO I, I AM DEFINITELY IN SUPPORT OF ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO CONTINUE, UM, THE SUPPORT AS LONG AS POSSIBLE FOR FAMILIES THAT ARE IN NEED.
I'M REALLY GRATEFUL THAT YOU ALL ARE PROVIDING WORKFORCE, UM, DEVELOPMENT, UM, LITERATURE OR INFORMATION TO THESE RESIDENTS.
I THINK SOMETIMES THEY DON'T KNOW, UM, THAT, THAT IT'S THERE.
AND SO THANK YOU TO, UH, YOUR STAFF FOR DOING THAT.
I HAVE A CONCERN WITH THE AVERAGE AGE OF THE RESIDENT THAT'S RECEIVING HELP, AND IT'S 39 YEARS OF AGE.
AND SO I'M WONDERING IF THAT HAS ANYTHING TO
[01:00:01]
DO WITH ACCESS, UM, UH, TO INFORMATION AND YES, AGAIN, THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, AND I'M WONDERING IF YOU COULD HELP ME, UH, SEE IF THERE'S ALREADY BEEN SOME SORT OF AN ANALYSIS DONE ON THAT AGE GROUP AND THAT THE DEMOGRAPHIC THAT'S BENEFITING FROM THIS SPECIFICALLY, UM, AS, AS IN, IN TERMS OF AGE IS, IS WHAT I'M LOOKING AT.BUT I'D LOVE TO SEE JUST DEMOGRAPHICS IN GENERAL.
UM, AND, AND ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN HELP ME WITH THERE.
COUNCILWOMAN, UH, THIS IS VERO.
SO THE AVERAGE AGE IS ACTUALLY 39, SO IT'S, IT'S MORE MIDDLE AGE, IT'S NOT 30.
AND WE HAVE ADDITIONAL DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION, UM, THAT WE CAN MAKE AVAILABLE THAT THAT SHOWS, YOU KNOW, UM, WHERE THAT AVERAGE AGE, IT, THE AVERAGE AGE IS QUEUED DOWN BECAUSE WE ARE HELPING FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN.
AND SO IT IS THE KIDS THAT ARE SKEWING THAT DOWNWARD.
UM, IF WE WERE TO ACCOUNT ONLY FOR ADULTS, I'M SURE THE AVERAGE AGE WOULD GO UP.
UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE TO CONSIDER AS WELL.
BUT WE'LL BREAK DOWN THE DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION AS WELL.
SO THAT TOTALLY MAKES SENSE THEN.
AND SO OF COURSE, UM, HELPING FAMILIES, UH, WITH CHILDREN IS, IS IMPORTANT.
YOU ALSO HAVE IN THERE, UM, FINANCIAL COUNSELING.
WHAT, CAN YOU REMIND ME WHAT KIND OF FINANCIAL COUNSELING, UH, WE OFFER TO RESIDENTS? WHAT ASK, ASK BARROW TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION AS WELL.
UM, I THOUGHT MEL WAS, UH, ON THE CALL AS WELL, BUT, UM, WE PARTNER, UM, TO FIGURE OUT WHICH DEPARTMENT IS THE BEST ONE TO PROVIDE THE RESOURCES.
SO WHEN IT COMES TO FINANCIAL COUNSELING, ON HOUSING ASSISTANCE, WE HAVE THE HOUSING NAVIGATORS WHO OFFICE OUT OF THE RECOVERY CENTER, AND THEY DO HELP FAMILIES FIGURE OUT, UM, HOW MUCH FUNDING, UM, IF THEY HAVE INCOME, HOW MUCH INCOME IS GOING TOWARD HOUSING COSTS, WHAT PROGRAMS THERE ARE.
THEN WE MAKE THE CONNECTION WITH THE FINANCIAL COUNSELOR, UM, THAT D H SS HAS, UM, WHO ALSO HELP WITH ADDITIONAL BENEFITS NAVIGATION THAT IS NEEDED.
SO IF SOMEONE COULD QUALIFY FOR, UM, SOCIAL SECURITY SUPPLEMENTAL, IF THEY QUALIFY FOR FOOD STAMPS.
SO WE MAKE THAT THAT CONNECTION AS WELL.
IF, IF WE SEE THAT THERE'S A POTENTIAL FEDERAL BENEFIT, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT THEY'RE NOT, UM, ACCESSING, THAT THEY ARE ELIGIBLE.
AND THEN ON THE HOUSING SIDE WE ALSO LOOK AT, UM, IS THERE ANY, THEIR HOMEOWNERS, FOR EXAMPLE, ARE THEY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ALL THE EXEMPTIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR THEM AS WELL? SO THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS THAT ON THE FINANCIAL SIDE WE DO, BUT THERE IS A CONNECT WITH THE FINANCIAL COUNSELORS AT THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES AS WELL.
SO VIRO, I SEE THAT MORE AS A SOCIAL SERVICE, UM, UH, INSTEAD OF FINANCIAL COUNSELING, UNLESS YOU CAN TELL ME THAT THERE'S LONG-TERM PLANNING AND MAYBE PERSONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ALSO INCLUDED THAT, THEN, THEN I WOULD CONSIDER THAT FINANCIAL COUNSELING.
UM, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S MORE ON THE SOCIAL SERVICES CONNECTION, IS THAT RIGHT? OR DO WE DO ALSO REAL, UM, PERSONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT TRAINING? SO IT, IT IS A COMBINATION OF BOTH.
UM, THE D H S PROGRAM DOES OFFER THE MORE IN-DEPTH, UH, ONE-ON-ONE FINANCIAL COUNSELING AND MANAGING YOUR RESOURCES.
UM, BUT FIRST WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE STABILIZE FAMILIES.
SO THERE IS THAT, WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS YOU MIGHT BE ELIGIBLE, WHICH IS THE SOCIAL SERVICE FROM.
BUT, UH, THEIR SERVICES AND INCLUDING THE F I I ASSISTANCE DOES OFFER MORE OF THAT LONG-TERM FINANCIAL PICTURE.
AND THEN IF YOU CAN HELP ME UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT UNDER THE HOMELESS SHELTER, UM, WE SAID WE'VE SHELTERED 762 HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS WITH 271 TRANSI TRANSITIONING TO MORE STABLE HOUSING.
WHAT DOES MORE STABLE HOUSING MEAN? UH, SO COUNCILWOMAN, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
MORE STABLE HOUSING MEANS THEY'VE EITHER MOVED FROM THE HOTEL INTO PERMANENT HOUSING, THEY'VE, MAYBE THEY'VE SIGNED A LEASE, THEY HAVE AN APARTMENT.
UM, THEY MAY HAVE GONE TO ASSISTED LIVING OR NURSING CARE.
IF YOU RECALL, A LOT OF THE FIRST GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT WENT TO THE HOTEL WERE VERY HIGH RISK OVER THE AGE OF, UM, 60 YEARS OLD AND SOME IN, UM, YOU KNOW, VERY POOR HEALTH CONDITION.
AND THEN WE'VE ALSO BEEN ABLE TO MOVE SOME OF THEM ONTO THE HAVEN FOR HOPE CAMPUS INTO, UM, PROGRAMS, INTO THE TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM SO THAT THEY CAN BEGIN WORKING ON, UM, HOUSING NAVIGATION, ON EVEN EDUCATION AND, AND JOB SKILLS.
WELL, MEL, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
THAT WAS, UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S ABOUT A THIRD OF
[01:05:01]
THEM, RIGHT? SO WHAT, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE OTHER TWO THIRDS? THE OTHER TWO THIRDS ARE STILL EITHER, UM, AT THE HOTEL OR THEY MAY HAVE RETURNED TO, UM, MOVE IN WITH FAMILY, OR WE'VE HAD A LOT OF THE HOMELESS POPULATION MOVE IN WITH FAMILY DURING THIS TIME.FAMILIES TEND TO BE, UM, A LITTLE MORE MAYBE LENIENT OR OPEN TO, UM, TAKING FAMILY MEMBERS BACK.
UH, WE'VE ALSO HAD SOME GO BACK TO THE COURTYARD, WHICH THEY PREFER TO THE HOTEL, UM, IN SOME CASES.
SO THEY'RE, IT'S A, IT'S A MIXTURE OF, OF MOVEMENTS.
I WAS, I WAS WONDERING IF, UM, FAMILY TAKING BACK IN FOLKS ACCOUNTED FOR THAT STABILIZATION IN, IN, UM, IN HOUSING.
UH, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE, YOU'RE NOT BUILDING THAT INTO A PART OF THE EQUATION, SO IT COULD ACTUALLY BE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER, OUR SUCCESS RATE, IF YOU WILL, IN GETTING THEM SHELTER.
IT IS, IN SOME CASES, UM, CONSIDERED MORE STABLE HOUSING.
IF, IF IT LOOKS LIKE THAT'S GOING TO BE A TEMPORARY SOLUTION, UM, THAT WOULDN'T REALLY COUNT TOWARDS MOVING INTO A MORE STABLE HOUSING ENVIRONMENT.
UM, BUT IN SOME CASES THAT'S A, A TRUE DIVERSION, UM, METHOD IS, YOU KNOW, NEGOTIATING WITH FAMILY TO, TO ALLOW THE HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL TO RETURN.
AND DO WE PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR THE FAMILY MEMBERS THAT ARE NOW TAKING IN THEIR, THEIR HOMELESS FAMILY MEMBER AS WELL? ANY TYPE OF SERVICES OR, UM, TRAINING OR ANYTHING? UH, YOU KNOW, I WOULD HAVE TO, UH, MAYBE GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT.
I KNOW HAVEN FOR HOPE DOES WORK WITH FAMILIES.
UM, SO DO THE OTHER SHELTERS AS FAR AS ACTUALLY PROVIDING, UM, DEEPER SUPPORTIVE SERVICES, UH, I WOULD ASSUME SOME OF THEM ARE, BUT I, I WANNA MAKE SURE I GET THE RIGHT ANSWER FOR YOU ON THAT.
I DO KNOW THAT SOMETIMES THEY WILL EVEN, UH, PAY FOR, UH, TRANSPORTATION AIRLINE OR BUS TICKETS FOR PEOPLE TO RETURN TO FAMILY MEMBERS IN OTHER COMMUNITIES.
IF, UM, THEY KNOW THAT THERE IS A FAMILY MEMBER ON THE OTHER SIDE WILLING TO ACCEPT THEM BACK INTO THE HOME.
WE DON'T JUST PUT THEM ON BUSES OR PLANES, UH, WITHOUT THAT WORKED OUT.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROACH GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY.
SO, UM, JUST AGAIN FOR CLARITY, THE, THE AMOUNT THAT WE ARE DISCUSSING TODAY IS ALL CARES MUDDY ALL FEDERAL FUNDS.
THE THE 4.93 MILLION, THE 493 MILLION, UH, COUNCILMAN.
SO THAT FUNDING, UM, IS ALL FUNDING AND SOURCED ALL FUNDING SOURCES, WHICH INCLUDES THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND, THE $270 MILLION, UM, AND INCLUDES THE, UM, OTHER COVID 19 RELATED GRANTS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED, LIKE, UH, C D B G, UM, VARIOUS HEALTH GRANTS.
WE RECEIVE, UM, THE GENERAL FUND CONTRIBUTION TO RECOVERY RESILIENCY, UM, AND THEN, UM, OTHER, OTHER FUNDING THAT WE'VE ALLOCATED IN TO FUND THE CITY'S RESPONSE.
AND IS THAT, IS THAT THE, THE, UM, BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN HEARING A LOT OF THESE PRESENTATIONS, I'VE NEVER BEEN CLEAR ABOUT WHAT FUNDING IS, WHAT, AND I, I MEAN, I, I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ABOUT TO APPROVE OUR BUDGET, AND I STILL DON'T ENTIRELY FEEL COMFORTABLE, UM, APPROVING IT BECAUSE I DON'T SEE THE DISTINCTION OF, UH, I MEAN, IS IS THAT, IS IT IN ONE OF THESE SLIDES OR IS IT IN A PREVIOUS SLIDE THAT YOU CAN SHOW US? BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WHILE, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I, I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE MOVING SOME THINGS AROUND SO THAT LONG-TERM, UM, UH, THINGS ARE FUNDED MORE FROM THE GENERAL FUND, SO WE CAN EXPENSE THESE, BUT I, IT'S JUST, I DON'T HA I, I DON'T SEE IT CLEARLY.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN, IF I MAY, THIS IS, UM, MARIA VIA GOMEZ.
UM, WHEN I PRESENTED BACK ON AUGUST 11TH, WE PROVIDED A CHART THAT HAD THE FUNDING SOURCES BY TYPE, UM, INCLUDING CARES GENERAL FUND, ET CETERA.
LIKE ANNA MENTIONED, WE ARE GONNA BE PROVIDING TO THE COUNCIL A DETAILED BUDGET BY LINE ITEM AND BY FUNDING COURSE, UM, FRIDAY MORNING.
SO THAT WAY YOU CAN HAVE THAT INFORMATION BEFORE THE VOTE ON THE 17TH.
UM, SO WE'LL, WE'LL PROVIDE YOU WITH THAT INFORMATION.
WE, WE DON'T HAVE IT ON THIS, ON THIS PRESENTATION.
I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S JUST, UM, VERY IMPORTANT FOR CLARITY BECAUSE IT DOES, YOU KNOW, SEEM, I MEAN, AGAIN, LIKE EVEN WHEN SOME OF THESE ITEMS WERE PRESENTED TO US, YOU KNOW, SOME MONTHS AGO, THINGS LOOK DIFFERENT.
I MEAN, EVERY, I JUST FEEL LIKE EVERY WEEK, YOU KNOW, THINGS ARE CHANGING DAILY AND I KNOW THAT, UM, UH, THAT'S NOT,
[01:10:01]
UM, WE CAN'T CONTROL THAT.UH, BUT IT DOES, YOU KNOW, NOW SEEM LIKE SOME THINGS ARE MORE URGENT THAN OTHERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN I SEE THIS INFORMATION HERE ABOUT US HAVING TO TAKE OVER, UM, THE, UH, ESPECIALLY THE, UM, HEALTHCARE PORTION OR THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT PORTION OF, OF C O V I D, UM, IT GIVES ME TREMENDOUS PAUSE AS I'M SURE IT DOES FOR ALL OF YOU.
AND EVEN AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LIKE REDIRECTING FUNDS FOR THE POLICE OR REDIRECTING STREET MAINTENANCE DOLLARS, IF WE'RE NOT ADDRESSING, YOU KNOW, THE URGENT NEED OF C UM, I'M JUST AFRAID WE'RE DOING A TERRIBLE DISSERVICE, UH, TO OUR CONSTITUENTS.
AND SO, I MEAN, UH, I I, I DON'T, I DON'T SEE THAT FORTHCOMING THAT WE'RE GONNA GET ANY CLARITY ABOUT THAT.
I MEAN, IS, UM, UH, I MEAN, I THINK WE'RE RIGHT NOT TO ANTICIPATE ADDITIONAL FEDERAL DOLLARS, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW FLEXIBLE ARE, CAN WE BE WITH THE GENERAL FUND? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD REPORT TO US AGAIN, UM, IN, YOU KNOW, AT THE THREE YEAR, OR RATHER THE THREE BY NINE OR WHAT, WHAT DO YOU CALL IT, MARIA, THE THREE BY NINE, UM, RIGHT.
THAT WE NEED TO REDIRECT MORE MONEY TO THE METRO HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, LIKE ARE, ARE, ARE THEY PREPARED TO HANDLE IT? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I HAVE BEEN VERY NERVOUS ABOUT THE KIDS GOING BACK TO SCHOOL GIVEN, YOU KNOW, THE FACT THAT WE ARE STILL SORT OF IN A, UM, HIGH THREAT SCENARIO.
I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A QUESTION IN THERE.
MAYBE MARIA, YOU CAN SORT OF ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF THE FLEXIBILITY OF GENERAL FUND DOLLARS IN PARTICULAR TO DEAL WITH THE COVID, UM, CRISIS IN THE EVENT THAT WE, I MEAN, I DON'T THINK WE CAN ANTICIPATE ADDITIONAL FEDERAL DOLLARS.
SO IS THERE A DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT WE ARE ANTICIPATING PUTTING TOWARDS THAT EFFORT? UH, YES, COUNSEL, I MEAN, AND, AND LET ME SUMMARIZE IT THIS WAY.
SO WITH THE REALIGNMENT THAT ANNA PRESENTED TODAY, THIS IS GIVING US THE CAPACITY TO HAVE ABOUT $20 MILLION IN THE HEALTH IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT WE CAN USE AFTER DECEMBER 30TH.
SO THAT IS A, A COMBINATION OF GENERAL FUND DOLLARS AND GRANTS.
SO THAT'S THE FLEXIBILITY THAT WE ARE RECOMMENDING TO THE COUNCIL WITH THE ACTION THAT WE'RE PRESENTING TODAY.
UM, I'VE GOTTEN QUESTIONS, UH, SPECIFICALLY COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL ASK ME, HOW LONG WOULD IT, UM, TAKE FOR US TO SPEND THIS MONEY? SO WE ARE PROVIDING DEVELOPING MONTHLY PLAN AMOUNTS TO PROVIDE TO THE COUNCIL TO SHOW THAT, BUT IT REALLY DEPENDS ON, THE HEALTH IMPLEMENTATION PLAN COULD BE ANYWHERE BETWEEN TWO TO $4 MILLION MONTHLY THAT WE COULD BE SPENDING ON ALL THE SERVICES THAT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS PROVIDING.
SO, TO YOUR POINT, UM, AS WE PRESENT TO YOU MONTHLY, AND AS THE CITY MANAGER MENTIONED, THE NEXT REPORT IS AT THE, AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER, WE ARE GONNA BE BREAKING YOU ON HOW, HOW MUCH MONEY WE'RE SPENDING AND THE FLEXIBILITY THAT WE'RE BUILDING, UM, NOT ONLY TO GET US TO THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR, BUT ALSO BEYOND DECEMBER 30TH, 2020, UH, COUNCIL MORMAN, THAT'S THE REAL GOAL TO GIVE US AS MUCH FLEXIBILITY AND, AND IT'S HARD TO PREDICT THINGS WHEN THE, WHEN WE ASSUMED WE WERE GONNA HAVE TO PAY FOR COMMUNITY TESTING OUT OF OUR CARESS ACT, AND THE STATE CAME UN UNIN, I MEAN, WE DIDN'T ASK FOR IT.
THE STATE CAME TO US AND SAID, WE'LL PAY FOR IT.
SO THOSE THINGS WILL CONTINUE TO ADJUST, AND THAT'S THE REASON, ONE OF THE REASONS, PRIMARY REASONS WHY WE HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY AND ARE MAKING THE RECOMMENDATION.
'CAUSE THE, THE STATE ENDED UP TAKING ON SOME OF THAT EXPENSE THAT WE EXPECT IT TO
I, YOU KNOW, I I I JUST THINK SEEMS LIKE THINGS ARE EVOLVING ALL THE TIME.
AND EVEN, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST TIME WE PRESENTED THESE CARESS DOLLARS, UM, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE MY FEELING, WELL, I, I HAVE, WE ARE RECOGNIZING I THINK THE, UH, IMPORTANCE OF MORE MONEY FOR HOUSING AND, UM, AND, AND THE METRO HEALTH DEPARTMENTS WORK, UM, THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE TO KEEP UP WITH IT.
BECAUSE WHILE, I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND THAT THINGS ARE TRENDING DOWNWARD.
UM, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, EVERY DAY THERE'S MORE NEWS OF LAYOFFS.
UM, I MEAN, IN THE LAST THREE DAYS, I THINK WE'VE SEEN SOME LARGE COMPANIES, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT HAD BEEN FURLOUGHING EMPLOYEES, UM, JUST MOVING TOWARDS LAYOFFS SINCE, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS NOT AN ANTICIPATION OF A RECOVERY IN, IN THE SHORT TERM.
SO, UM, I JUST, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, AND, UH, WANT TO SORT OF,
[01:15:02]
UM, MAKE SURE THAT I, WHEN WE APPROVE THE BUDGET NEXT WEEK, THAT THERE IS A, A LOT OF CLARITY IN, IN ABOUT WHERE ALL THESE DOLLARS ARE.UH, THAT'S BEEN MY GREATEST CONCERN, UH, IS THAT I, I IT IS HARD TO DETERMINE WHERE IT'S COMING FROM AND, UM, AND ALSO, UM, IF WE ANTICIPATE THAT THEY'RE GOING TO, UM, BE REPLENISHED, I GUESS, BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, WHICH YOU SHOW HERE, THAT THEY WON'T BE, UM, BUT THEN TO BE PREPARED TO REDIRECT TO OTHER SERVICES, UM, AS, AS THOSE ARISE.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE FOR THE MOMENT.
COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER GRA.
UM, TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, UH, I GUESS WE'RE CALLING IT BURN RATE NOW.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I SUPPORT WHAT THE CITY STAFF IS PROPOSING BECAUSE I, I THINK I MADE SOME COMMENTS ABOUT THAT LAST TIME.
IF YOU HAVE A FAMILY COMING IN AT 40, 50%, UH, A M I AND THEN WE'RE, UM, PAYING OUT A HUNDRED PERCENT, THAT'S CERTAINLY GOING TO DEPLETE THAT POT OF MONEY A LOT FASTER, UH, THAN WHAT WE HAVE.
YES, IT'S GREAT TO PAY EVERYBODY WITH A HUNDRED PERCENT A M I, BUT IT HAS A BIG IMPACT ON THE BUDGET THAT WE ACTUALLY STARTED WITH AND WHERE WE'RE AT TODAY.
SO, UM, I, I SUPPORT GOING DOWN TO THE 50%, OR, YOU KNOW, ERIC, I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL LOOKED AT, UH, YOU KNOW, TAKING WHAT THEIR CURRENT A M I IS AND LIKE IF THEY'RE AT 40%, LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW, GIVE THEM 50% OR IF THEY'RE AT 30%, GIVE 'EM THE 40%, YOU KNOW, HAVING A, A SLIDING SCALE INSTEAD OF IT BEING A SET SET RATE LIKE THAT.
UM, HAVE Y'ALL, HAVE Y'ALL CONSIDERED THAT AT ALL, OR LORI? NO, WE HAVE NOT.
WE'VE BEEN FOCUSED MAINLY ON, UM, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THEY HAVE OTHER COSTS.
I MEAN, SOME MIGHT HAVE DAYCARE NOW AS A RESULT OF NOT BEING ABLE TO WORK AND THEIR CHILDREN NOT BEING ABLE TO GO TO SCHOOL.
AND SO WE'RE FOCUSING ON KEEPING THEM HOUSED, AND THE BEST WAY WAS TO PAY THEIR RENT OR MORTGAGE.
WELL, COUNSEL, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE DESCRIBING, I GUESS WHAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING IS, IS SOME SORT OF GRADIENT SCALE YES.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD EXTEND THE LIFE OF THIS PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, KEEPING MORE, UM, MORE MONEY IN THE POT TO BE AVAILABLE TO MORE PEOPLE, UM, WITHOUT SETTING IT AT A CERTAIN RATE.
UH, THAT'S JUST MY, MY SUGGESTION, BUT IF NOTHING ELSE, I SUPPORT ON GOING DOWN TO THE 50%.
BUT I REALLY THINK THAT, UM, IF Y'ALL COULD TAKE A LOOK AT THIS SCALE, GRADUATED SCALE ON THAT, I, I THINK THAT WOULD BE, UM, EVEN A, TO ME IT WOULD BE A BETTER SOLUTION THAN SET SEEING IT AT A HUNDRED OR 50 OR WHATEVER.
SO, UM, WOULD LIKE FOR Y'ALL TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AND SEE WHAT THAT WOULD DO TO THIS BUDGET ON, UH, AND I'M, I'M SURE IT WOULD, IT WOULD JUST APPLY JUST LIKE WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO.
SO I SUPPORT Y'ALL ARE TRYING TO DO ABSOLUTELY.
ON THE OTHER THING, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THIS NEW C D C RULING ABOUT, UM, NO EVICTIONS UNTIL, I GUESS THE END OF THE YEAR, DECEMBER, UM, ARE, ARE RENTAL IS OUR RENTAL COMMUNITY THAT ACTUALLY HAS RENTING OUT HOUSES OR APARTMENTS, WHATEVER, ARE THEY ELIGIBLE TO COME TO US AND REQUEST FUNDING ASSISTANCE THROUGH THAT SMALL BUSINESS, UM, CATEGORY THAT WE SET UP? I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE SMALL CATEGORY.
I'LL ASK ALEX LOPEZ TO REFER TO ANSWER COUNCILMAN THAT IS THOMAS.
UM, SHORT ANSWER IS WE, WE CONCLUDED ALL APPLICATIONS.
SO WE HAD, AS ALEX INDICATED EARLIER, HAD 2,700 APPLICATIONS.
WE'RE NOT GOING OUT FOR ADDITIONAL APPLICATIONS NOW, AND WE WERE FOCUSING ON BUSINESSES, UM, PRESUMABLY IF YOU HAD A BUSINESS THAT INCLUDED REAL ESTATE, UM, SALES.
WE, WE ALSO INDICATED THAT REAL ESTATE WAS NOT A, UM, THE, UH, TYPE OF INDUSTRY THAT WE WERE GONNA BE, UM, WAS GONNA BE ELIGIBLE.
SO, UM, BUT AT, BUT AT THIS POINT, ALL OF THE APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN CLOSED.
WELL, AND, AND THAT'S DIRECTLY TO MY POINT, AGAIN, WE HAD OVER A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF REQUIREMENTS OUT THERE, AND YET WE ONLY FUNDED A QUARTER OF THAT AT 25 TO 27 MILLION.
AND THAT'S NOT EVEN COUNTING ALL OF THESE.
AND, AND I'LL CALL 'EM BUSINESSES, YOU KNOW, OWNERS OF RENTAL PROPERTIES
[01:20:01]
THAT, WHETHER THEY'RE INDIVIDUAL HOUSES OR APARTMENTS, I MEAN, WHAT, WHAT KIND OF TRICK ARE ARE THEY IN NOW THAT THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE RECEIVING ANY, THEY COULD POTENTIALLY NOT BE RECEIVING RENT, UH, FROM THEIR OCCUPANTS, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE NOT, THEY STILL HAVE JOBS.I MEAN, THEY CAN HOLD, WITHHOLD THEIR PAYMENTS AND NOT RISK ANYTHING ON BEING EVICTED UNTIL THE END OF THIS YEAR.
WHAT KIND OF POSITION ARE THEY BEING PUT IN? AND THAT'S, I I THINK THAT'S A FALLACY OF OUR SYSTEM RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE I GUARANTEE YOU THEY'RE STILL HAVING TO MAKE LOAN PAYMENTS ON THOSE HOUSES, ON THOSE APARTMENTS AND ALL OF THAT.
THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF 'EM MAY BE DEFERRED AND WORKING WITH THEIR LOAN LOAN AGREEMENTS, BUT NOW TILL THE END OF DECEMBER, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO THAT INDUSTRY? BASICALLY WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE KILLING THAT INDUSTRY AS WELL BY COUNCIL, BY COUNCIL COUNCIL TO AND COUNCILMAN, I WANTED TO ADD THAT WE DO WORK CLOSELY WITH THE SAN ANTONIO APARTMENT ASSOCIATION, THE SAN ANTONIO BOARD OF REALTORS AND OTHER INDUSTRY ORGANIZATIONS TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE AWARE OF OUR PROGRAM.
AND OFTENTIMES A LOT OF THE LANDLORDS ARE MARKETING THIS TO THEIR TENANTS, AND WE DO HAVE A LOT OF LANDLORDS APPLYING TO THE PROGRAM FOR THEIR TENANTS.
AND SO EVEN OUR NOTICE OF TENANTS RIGHTS PROGRAM, WE ENCOURAGE THEM TO TALK, TALK, WORK TOGETHER AND SUBMIT AN APPLICATION.
UM, SO WE WANT TO HELP THE LANDLORDS GET PAID AS WELL.
AND THAT'S WHY THERE'S THIS SUCH A STRONG PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE LANDLORDS AND THE CITY.
WELL, I, I WOULD LIKE TO GET THAT FEEDBACK NOW, SINCE THE RULES HAVE CHANGED, YOU KNOW, THE GOALPOST HAS BEEN, BEEN MOVED NOW.
SO I, I THINK WE NEED TO REACH BACK OUT TO THOSE ORGANIZATIONS AND SAY, OKAY, WHAT, WHAT DO WE HAVE NOW? HERE'S WHAT WE'RE UP AGAINST AND, UH, WHAT IMPACTS IS IT GONNA DO TO THESE INDUSTRIES HERE IN TOWN? SO, UM, AND WHETHER THAT'S AN INDIVIDUAL, UH, THAT HAS AN HOME THAT THEY'VE BEEN RENTING OUT, THAT'S, THAT'S THE GROUP THAT I'M REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT HERE.
AND ARE THEY APPLYING OR HELPING THEIR RESIDENTS? AND, AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, SOME RESIDENTS ARE JUST FOREGOING THEIR BILL BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY CAN'T GET EVICTED.
AND I'VE HEARD OF THAT FROM, UH, IF, IF I MAY COUNCILMAN.
I MEAN, THAT'S, UM, IT'S NOT WHERE THE RENTERS CAN UNDER THE C D C MORATORIUM SIMPLY NOT PAY WHEN HAVE NO IMPUNITY.
THERE'S SOME REAL, UH, RE UH, REQUIREMENTS THAT, UH, ANY, UM, RENTER THAT WANTS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE MORATORIUM THAT'S ESTABLISHED, THAT ONE, THEY HAVE HAD A SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF INCOME, UH, BECAUSE OF COVID AND THAT THERE'S NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE IN TERMS OF OTHER HOUSING AVAILABLE.
UM, AND THERE IS STILL AN OBLIGATION TO PAY.
SO IT, UM, UH, IT, IT'S NOT LIKE THERE'S SOME REAL REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE C D C MORATORIUM, UH, THAT, THAT RENTERS CAN SIMPLY OPERATE WITHOUT ESTABLISHING, UH, SOME OF THE CRITERIA THAT, OR THE CRITERIA THAT THE C D C HAS ESTABLISHED.
THANK YOU ANDY, AND I APPRECIATE THAT INFORMATION, BUT I'VE, I'VE HEARD OF THAT OUT IN THE COMMUNITY THAT THIS IS HAPPENING AS WELL.
SO, UH, I'M, I'M JUST MAKING A CASE AGAIN, FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, WHICH, WHICH INCLUDES SOME OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL, THAT WE'RE ONLY FUNDING A QUARTER OF WHAT THE REQUIREMENT WAS AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
I'M OUT THERE IF WE HAD THAT, IF WE HAD THAT PROGRAM OPEN.
SO I'M STILL LOBBYING TO TRY TO GET MORE MONEY AND WHAT COUNCILMAN COURAGE WAS TALKING ABOUT, ALL THESE DIFFERENT POTS OF MONEY TO SEE ABOUT GIVING OUR, UH, PARTICULARLY THE SMALL BUSINESSES ADDITIONAL HELP OUT THERE.
SO THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO GET ACROSS.
COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, COUNCIL MEMBER GRO, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
UH, ANA, THANK, UH, BRADSHAW A VERY GOOD, UM, A VERY GOOD PRESENTATION AGAIN, AND I WILL SAY, UM, ERIC, I WAS TRYING TO GET INFORMATION FROM ANNA OUT OF ANNA THIS MORNING AT THE I G R COMMITTEE MEETING, AND SHE WOULD NOT BUDGE ON THE INFORMATION.
UH, AND SO JUST TO LET ME CIRCLE BACK WITH THE, UM, THE SMALL BUSINESS AND THE MICRO GRANTS.
I WANNA THANK, UH, LIFT FUND FOR WORKING SO DILIGENTLY.
AND OF COURSE THE E D D TEAM, ALEX LOPEZ AND EVERYONE, UH, WHO'S WORKED SO HARD THROUGH THIS.
AND YES, THERE IS NOT ENOUGH, OBVIOUSLY OUR WHOLE CONVERSATION HERE, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH MONEY AND RESOURCE TO GO AROUND TO THE GREAT NEED THAT WE HAVE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
[01:25:01]
DEPARTMENT MADE SOME CHANGES TO MAKE SURE MORE DOLLARS WENT TO THE, UH, ORGANIZATIONS OR, AND THE INDIVIDUALS, ET CETERA.SO WE MADE SOME CHANGES THERE.
WE ALSO WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS TO BE A PART OF IT.
AND I HAVE ALREADY REACHED OUT WITH CARLOS AND ALEX, AND THEY'LL BE GIVING A BREAKDOWN OF THE GRANTS AND THE MICROGRANTS TO, UM, EVERY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
SO YOU CAN SEE WHERE THEY'VE ALREADY GIVEN THAT TO US AND THE E W D C.
BUT TO GET, UM, MORE INFORMATION, UH, TO YOU, UH, THE COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, SO, YOU KNOW, AND ALSO WHAT SERVICE CATEGORY IT HAS BEEN IN YOUR AREAS.
IT HAS BEEN SERVED, BUT TO REMEMBER THAT WE'RE USING OUR EQUITY, UM, IT'S BRAIDED IN THERE.
SO WHEN WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THE FUNDING, UH, FROM THE MICRO GRANT OR THE GRANTS THAT HAVE BEEN FOR THE MICRO BUSINESSES, UM, I THINK IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
AND WE DO KNOW THAT THOSE GRANTS, THOSE DOLLARS CAN BE USED FOR PAYING, UH, RENT, UH, RENT.
IF THE SMALL BUSINESSES HAVE STOREFRONTS AND THEY NEED TO BE PAYING THEIR RENT, THEY'RE ABLE TO USE THE DOLLARS FOR THAT.
UM, SO I WANTED TO TALK QUICKLY ABOUT THE DIGITAL AND THE DIGITAL DOLLARS AND BECAUSE WE'RE GOING OUT TO THE R S P OR, UM, IT'S COMING IN, IS THAT RIGHT, CRAIG? YOU JUST SAID THAT A LITTLE, MAYBE 20 MINUTES AGO, UH, COUNCIL, WE HAD, THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT THINGS GOING ON.
UM, ONE IS THE BUILDING OF THE PRIVATE L T E NETWORK, WHICH THE CITY IS DOING USING THE CITY ASSETS IS, UH, UNDERWAY NOW.
AND THERE'S A PROOF OF CONCEPT GOING ON IN SEPTEMBER AND INTO OCTOBER TO PROVE THAT TECHNOLOGY WORKS IN THE LANIER NEIGHBORHOOD.
THAT'S ONE THING THAT'S GOING ON IN AT AND T AND SOME OF THE OTHER PROVIDERS WHO HAVE INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, PARTNERING WITH US TO HOW TO HELP US BUILD THAT.
THE SECOND THING, AS YOU MENTIONED, IS A TOTALLY SEPARATE R F P THAT WE PUT OUT, THAT WE ASKED THE TELECOMS IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE THEY ALREADY HAVE INFRASTRUCTURE, COULD THEY PUT A PROPOSAL ON THE TABLE FOR THE I S D ABOUT HOW THOSE FAMILIES COULD ACTUALLY CONNECT TO THAT INFRASTRUCTURE AT A DIFFERENT PRICE OR RATE.
SO WE'RE DOING THOSE TWO THINGS CONCURRENTLY TO SEE WHICH ONE WORKS OUT BETTER IN EACH NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, YOU'RE WELCOME FOR GOING OVER THAT, GOING OVER THAT AGAIN.
AND AS WE LOOK AND AS WE BUILD OUT, EVEN IF IT'S OURS AND THE, THE INDUSTRIES ARE HELPING US BUILD IT OUT, OR IF THEY'RE GOING TO CONNECT IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS, I DO WANT TO MAKE A CASE THAT THEY SHOULD BE, UM, WHOMEVER IT IS, IF IT'S A CHARTER, IF IT'S AT AND T, THAT THEY SHOULD BE USING THEIR OWN WORKERS AND THEIR OWN EMPLOYEES TO DO THE WORK AND NOT SUBCONTRACTING THAT OUT NECESSARILY BECAUSE WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN AND HAVE THEIR OWN WORKERS DOING, UM, THEIR HIGH QUALITY TRAINED WORK THAT THEY HAVE.
UM, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THAT IN OUR PARKS AND GETTING MORE DETAILS FROM THAT.
MY STAFF IS ALREADY REACHING OUT TO YOU ALL, UM, TO GET TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION OFF OF OFFLINE.
NOW, WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, ON THE JOB TRAINING AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, I THINK THIS IS, UH, THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US AS WE'RE CONTINUING TO LOOK AND, UM, I AGREE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ.
UH, WE NEED TO, TO BE PREPARED ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT IN, UH, THE DATA THAT'S GONNA COME OUT AFTER LABOR DAY, AS WE SEE SCHOOLS NOW STARTING IN PERSON.
BUT WE HAVE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY HERE WHEN IT COMES TO WORKFORCE TRAINING AND MAKING SURE THAT WE BUILD UP OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY WHEN IT COMES TO CASE INVESTIGATIONS OR CONTACT TRACING.
AND YOU WILL SEE IN, UH, THE EXPRESS NEWS COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL, UM, LED THE CHARGE ON AN OP-ED PIECE THAT WE WORKED TOGETHER ON MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN HIRE CONTACT TRACERS OR TRAIN UP CONTACT TRACERS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO FROM OUR OWN LOCAL WORKFORCE AND HOW WE CAN COMBINE AND MARRY THE TWO OF ENSURING OUR PUBLIC HEALTH THAT WE HAVE, UM, EVERYTHING THAT WE NEED FOR OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT OR OUR METRO HEALTH DEPARTMENT, BUT ALSO USE AND INCORPORATE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND WORKFORCE TRAINING FOR OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY BECAUSE MAYBE THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE WORKING IN TECHNICAL SCHOOLS THAT JUST NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE TRAINING IN ORDER TO BECOME THOSE, UH, CASE INVESTIGATORS OR THOSE CONTACT TRACERS.
ONE OF THE THINGS I DID HAVE ABOUT THE, UM, WHAT YOU HAD UP HERE IS THE, UM, THE CONTACT TRACING AND THE CASE INVESTIGATION CONTRACT WITH UT HEALTH.
[01:30:01]
200 CONTACT TRACERS FROM UT HEALTH, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE CONTACT TRACERS YET.THAT'S ALL JUST THROUGH THE STATE CURRENTLY.
SO CONS, AND THIS IS, UH, COLLEEN BRIDGER, THEY HAVE A CONTRACT FOR $2 MILLION THAT THEY CAN ACTIVATE AT ANY TIME TO HIRE UP TO 200 CONTACT TRACERS.
THAT IS IN ADDITION TO A CONTRACT THAT THEY HAVE ALREADY ACTIVATED FOR $2 MILLION TO HIRE UP TO 200 CASE INVESTIGATORS.
AND THEY HAVE ABOUT A HUNDRED CASE INVESTIGATORS RIGHT NOW.
SO IF THEY DO NOT, THEY DO NOT HAVE THE CONTACT TRACERS AT THIS TIME, THEY HAVE NOT HIRED THEM YET.
SO THE STATE IS DOING THE CONTACT TRACING OR WE METRO HEALTH ARE DOING THE CONTACT TRACING.
THE STATE IS DOING THE CONTACT TRACING.
I THINK WE HAVE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY HERE TO, UM, MARRY ALL OF OUR IDEAS AND TRAINING, UM, AT THIS POINT, AND WE'LL CONTINUE AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO REACH OUT TO UT HEALTH, UM, TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
UM, ONE THING I DID WANT TO, ON THE PERCENTAGES WITH THE A M I, I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THE 100%, BUT I WOULD BE OF THE OPINION OF LOOKING AT IT IN A, UM, GRADIENT SETTING, ERIC, LIKE, UH, THAT WAS MENTIONED, LOOKING AT THAT SCORING, BECAUSE I DO THINK WE NEED TO MAKE IT AVAILABLE BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.
DO HAVE A POINT OF CLARIFICATION THOUGH? WHAT ABOUT, UM, SO SOMEBODY HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO MAKE NECESSARILY BEEN ABLE TO MAKE PAYMENTS FOR THEIR, UH, RENTAL RENT FOR THEIR RENT, AND NOW THEY'VE JUST BEEN, UM, MAYBE LAID OFF, UH, COMPLETELY, MAYBE THEY WERE FURLOUGHED.
NOW THEY'VE JUST BEEN COMPLETELY LAID OFF THEM RECEIVING, UM, AN UNEMPLOYMENT CHECK THAT DOES NOT PROHIBIT THEM OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT FOR RECEIVING ASSISTANCE.
IS THAT CORRECT? THIS IS BETTER.
AND SO, UM, I THINK WE STILL HAVE TO CONTINUE TO, TO PROVIDE THE 100% AND THEN WE'LL CONTINUE TO CHECK IN AS NECESSARY.
AND I KNOW WE, AT THE, UH, PUBLIC FINANCE CORP, WE ARE PUTTING, UH, SOME DOLLARS TOWARDS THE EMERGENCY HOUSING AS WELL.
'CAUSE WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT 'CAUSE WE KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE NEEDED AS WE CONTINUE TO, TO, UM, GROW OUT OF THIS.
UM, ALSO, LORI, HAVE WE SENT ALL OF THESE DATA, THOSE, THOSE, UM, DATA POINTS THAT YOU SHARED WITH US, THE PERCENTAGE, THE AGE, ET CETERA, HAVE WE SENT THAT TO OUR, UM, NONPROFIT PARTNERS LIKE THE SA THE AREA FOUNDATION, SO THEY CAN USE THAT TO MAYBE FUNDRAISE SOME MORE? THE BIG GIVE IS COMING UP.
HOW CAN WE GET MORE PEOPLE TO FUNDRAISE, UM, FOR THAT? YES, I HAVE SHARED THAT WITH OUR, UM, PARTNERS SUCH AS AREA FOUNDATION, SUCH AS THE HOUSING TRUST, SUCH AS THE HOUSING AUTHORITY.
UM, AND I NEED TO DO AN UPDATE AS, UM, AGAIN, BUT WE HAVE SHARED THAT IN THE PAST.
RIGHT? AND IF YOU CAN ALSO SHARE AN UPDATE WITH EACH COUNCIL MEMBER, JUST A BREAKDOWN OF, UM, HOW MANY, UH, REQUESTS WE'VE GOTTEN PER COUNCIL DISTRICT FOR THE EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AS WELL.
AND I ALSO WANNA REMIND THE COUNCIL THAT WE DO HAVE A DASHBOARD THAT IS AVAILABLE ONLINE THAT IS LIVE.
AND, UM, WE'LL SEND EVERYBODY THE LINK.
BUT WHAT THAT DASHBOARD DOES IS IT PROVIDES YOU INFORMATION ON HOW MANY APPLICATIONS WE'VE RECEIVED, HOW MANY HAVE BEEN APPROVED, HOW MANY HAVE BEEN DENIED, AND THEN THE AMOUNT OF FUNDING COMMITTED.
UM, AND THEN IT BREAKS IT DOWN BY C P S SAWS, RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND CASH.
WE, IT, WHAT IT DOES NOT DO IS PROVIDE A BREAK IT DOWN BY FUNDING SOURCE OR THE ADDITIONAL DATA POINTS THAT HAVE BEEN REQUESTED.
SO WE WILL, WE WILL LOOK AT HOW WE CAN DO THAT AND WORK WITH ANA BRADSHAW, BUT WE'LL GET THAT OUT TO EVERYONE.
THANKS FOR THE REMINDER, LAURIE.
COUNCIL MEMBER GRO AND COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER PLY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, MAYOR AND ANA, UH, BRADSHAW, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK.
I LOVE GETTING THE CREDIT FOR IT.
I KNOW EVERYONE'S BEEN REFERRING TO ME ABOUT, ABOUT GETTING ALL THAT DONE.
AND ERIC, THANK YOU FOR MAKING
[01:35:01]
SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THE PRESENTATIONS, UH, IN ADVANCE.IT'S VERY HELPFUL TO MAKE THE DIALOGUE MORE, MORE PRODUCTIVE ON THE DAY OF THE MEETING.
UM, UH, I WANNA THANK YOU AND MARIA AND ANA FOR, UH, LOOKING INTO, UH, GETTING US SOME, SOME FUNDING FOR THE HEALTH RESPONSE INTO 2021.
I I WAS EXTREMELY CONCERNED THAT WE WOULD BE CAUGHT, UH, FLATFOOTED FOR NEXT YEAR.
UM, SO THANK YOU FOR LOOKING, UH, FOR LOOKING INTO THAT.
UM, I THINK COUNCILMAN GERRAN, UH, SAID IT RIGHT.
THERE'S JUST A LOT OF COMPETING PRIORITIES RIGHT NOW, AND, AND COVID HAS CREATED, UH, A TON OF CRISES.
I DO BELIEVE HOUSING IS AN ABSOLUTE PRIORITY.
THE LAST THING WE WANT IS, IS PEOPLE LOSING THEIR, THEIR HOME.
UH, BUT I ALSO UNDERSTAND THE URGENCY IN WANTING TO GET PEOPLE TO WORK, RIGHT, SO THAT THEY CAN PAY FOR, FOR THEIR RENT AND, AND PROVIDE FOR THEIR FAMILY.
UM, BUT I, I'M STILL CONCERNED ABOUT THE
SO, YOU KNOW, A FEW WEEKS AGO, UH, DR.
BRIDGER TOLD US THAT, UH, 75% OF THE METRO HEALTH WORKFORCE AT THAT TIME WAS DEPLOYED ON COVID.
AND I THINK IT WAS GOOD TO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, ALMOST ALL HANDS WERE, WERE ON DECK.
BUT I THINK WE ALSO HAVE TO BE COGNIZANT THAT WHEN ALL HANDS ARE ON DECK ON THIS ISSUE, IT MEANS MANY OTHER THINGS DON'T GET DONE.
SO, UH, THE REGULAR WORK THAT, THAT THE DEPARTMENT WAS DOING, UH, WE WEREN'T, UH, ABLE TO ACHIEVE, UH, ALL OF THOSE MILESTONES.
SO WE, IN A SENSE, WE HAVE KIND OF, UM, WHAT I WOULD CALL A HEALTH WORK BACKLOG.
SO THE THINGS THAT, THAT METRO HEALTH WOULD NORMALLY DO, AND, UH, OUR CURRENT PROPOSED BUDGET DOESN'T REALLY ADDRESS THAT, RIGHT? WE HAVE, UM, WE HAVE ADDED MONEY TO METRO HEALTH BY, BY MOVING SOME THINGS, BY GROWING THE VIOLENCE, UH, INTERVENTION PROGRAM.
BUT IN TERMS OF THE THINGS THAT DIDN'T GET DONE, UM, THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF COVID, WE REALLY HAVEN'T ADDRESSED THAT.
AND WE'RE, SO, WE DON'T SEE A GROWTH IN THOSE AREAS IN THE, IN THE COMING YEAR.
SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE'RE AWARE OF THAT.
UM, IN TERMS OF THE MONEY FOR C RESPONSE IN 2021, UM, MARIA, YOU FOUND APPROXIMATELY $19.
AND THAT WAS VERY CREATIVE ON, ON YOUR PART.
UM, UM, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHEN WE ADD UP THE NUMBERS, THE TOTAL FOR THE COVID RESPONSE ISN'T GROWING, RIGHT? WE STARTED AT 54.5, AND NOW WE'RE AT 53.5.
SO WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'VE SPREAD THE PEANUT BUTTER A LITTLE BIT THINNER INTO, INTO THE NEXT YEAR.
AND WHILE IT BUYS US TIME, I DON'T THINK IT'S BUYING US A BETTER, UH, OR A MORE ROBUST RESPONSE.
UM, I DO SHARE COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ'S CONCERN ABOUT, UH, SIMPLY JUST NOT HAVING ENOUGH MONEY IN THE EVENT THAT WE HAVE A FALLOUT FROM LABOR DAY OR FALLOUT FROM, UH, REINSTITUTING IN CLASSROOM LEARNING.
THAT'S, THAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
SO I'M, I'M STILL, UH, I STILL SHARE SOME OF, I STILL HAVE SOME OF THOSE CONCERNS.
UM, I THINK LOOKING AT THE MONTH TO MONTH WILL WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND THAT A LITTLE BIT BETTER, HOW WE'RE ADDRESSING THAT.
SO I APPRECIATE YOU WORKING ON THAT, UH, MARIA WITH THE TEAM, I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO SEEING THAT.
UM, I THINK THE SAME WAY THAT, UM, THAT YOU GUYS, THE STAFF HAS SHOWN TO BE TREMENDOUSLY CREATIVE WHEN IT COMES TO MOVING SOMEBODY AROUND TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE FOR SOME OF THESE KEY PRIORITIES.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THAT, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, SOME OF THE DISPARATE IMPACTS THAT WE'RE SEEING IN OUR DISTRICTS, UH, PARTICULARLY, UH, D FIVE AND SOME OF THE SOUTH SIDE DISTRICTS.
SO SOMETHING THAT I HAVEN'T SEEN YET IN THIS PRESENTATION OR IN THE BUDGET, UH, PROPOSAL, IS WHAT, HOW WE ARE GOING TO DIRECT RESOURCES TO ENSURE THAT IF WE HAVE A SECOND WAVE, WE DON'T SEE THAT GAPING DISPARITY IN SOME OF OUR, UH, INNER CITY, UH, INNER CITY NEIGHBORHOODS.
I THINK THE FACT THAT, AND, AND THIS IS, UM, SOMETHING THAT COUNCIL
WHAT THAT'S TELLING US IS THAT OUR RESPONSE ABSOLUTELY HAS TO BE TAILORED AND THAT WE HAVE THE POSSIBILITY OF REDUCING CASES
[01:40:01]
AND SAVING LIVES IF WE CAN TAILOR THAT RESPONSE.SO THERE HAS BEEN SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT THE DOOR-TO-DOOR WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE.
I THINK THAT'S TREMENDOUS THAT OUR WORKERS ARE OUT THERE.
UM, AND THE SURVEY THAT YOU SHARED WITH US, THE RESULTS THAT YOU SHARED WITH US, I WANT TO THANK YOU.
I REALLY WANNA DO A DEEP DIVE, UH, INTO THAT TO UNDERSTAND IT A LITTLE BETTER.
WHAT I'D ALSO LIKE TO SEE IS MAYBE THAT WE CONVENE SOME OF THE, UM, COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS THAT OPERATE IN THOSE AREAS.
UH, THEY, THEY HAVE, UM, AS I LIKE TO SAY, TENTACLES IN THAT COMMUNITY AND CAN PROBABLY, UH, HELP GIVE US SOME ADVICE ABOUT HOW TO, HOW TO, UM, HOW TO HAVE AN IMPACT THERE.
BUT ULTIMATELY, I DO WANNA SAY COUNCILWOMAN AND I REALLY SUPPORT THE IDEA OF BRINGING HOME THAT CONTACT TRACING, UH, WORK.
WE KNOW THAT S P H, THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT.
UM, WE WILL BE PUTTING PRESSURE ON THEM TO SEE WHAT, WHAT IT IS THEY NEED TO, TO, TO SAY YES, UH, TO THAT.
BECAUSE HAVING THE STATE DO IT, I THINK IT'S, IT'S, IT'S EXTREMELY CONVENIENT.
I'M REALLY GLAD THEY SET IT UP, BUT THEY MAY BE CALLING SOMEONE IN D EIGHT OR SOMEONE IN D FIVE AND NOT REALLY DIFFERENTIATING SOME OF THOSE CHALLENGES THAT, THAT, UM, THAT SIK OR POTENTIALLY SIK INDIVIDUAL, UM, IS FACING.
SO I THINK THAT REALLY TAILORED RESPONSE, UM, WILL PAY DIVIDENDS.
SO I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THE COLLABORATION WITH COUNCILMAN
AND I KNOW COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ HAD, UH, REALLY TALKED THIS OUT AT ONE OF OUR EARLIER MEETINGS, AND I, I, I THINK THAT WAS JUST FANTASTIC.
AND SHE HAS EXPERIENCE WITH THIS COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER, UH, PROGRAMS. AND I JUST, I THINK IT IS VERY EXCITING TO THINK OF THE POSSIBILITY OF TRAINING THESE COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS NOW AND HAVING THEM AVAILABLE TO OUR COMMUNITIES POST PANDEMIC, JUST DEPLOYING THEM OUT THERE AND HELPING US DO SOME OF THAT CATCH UP WORK THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO DO THIS YEAR.
ANYWAY, I DON'T HAVE ANY SOLUTIONS FOR WHERE THE MONEY'S GOING TO COME FROM FOR THAT, BUT I'M JUST PITCHING THE IDEA TO EVERYONE OUT THERE WHO'S LISTENING, HOPE YOU GUYS WILL, UH, WILL JOIN ME IN, IN COMING ALONG ON, ON THIS IDEA.
SO, UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, FOR ALL OF YOUR WORK STAFF AND, UH, THANK YOU TO MY FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR, FOR THIS GREAT DISCUSSION.
UM, ANA, THAT'S, THAT'S, UH, EXACTLY RIGHT.
IN FACT, I SEE, I SEE BRINGING THESE CONTRACT TRACERS, UH, CONTACT TRACERS ON BOARD, UM, AS YET ANOTHER WAY TO UPSKILL WORKERS ALSO, RIGHT? UM, THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE GONNA BE ABLE TO USE THOSE SKILLS AND, UM, IN OTHER WAYS.
UM, AND SO THERE'S A SILVER LINING.
UH, SO I'VE BEEN, I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO THIS CONVERSATION, AND IT'S PLAYING OUT THE WAY THAT THE CONVERSATION HAS PLAYED OUT, UH, OVER AND OVER AGAIN WHENEVER WE TALK ABOUT THIS RESILIENCY FUNDING AND THIS PLAN.
UM, AND, AND IT REMINDS ME, I'M, I'M READING A BOOK RIGHT NOW ABOUT HOW POPES ARE, ARE ELECTED BY CARDINALS AT THE VATICAN CONCLAVE.
AND, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE TAKEAWAYS FROM, FROM THIS BOOK IS THAT BEING ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN ABOUT SOMETHING KILLS, YOU KNOW, INNOVATION AND PROBLEM SOLVING.
AND, UM, AND IF THERE'S, AND IF THERE'S ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY, RIGHT? UM, AND THERE'S AN ABSENCE OF DOUBT, WELL, THEN THERE'S NO NEED FOR, YOU KNOW, UH, FAITH AND ALL THAT, RIGHT? AND SO WHEN IT COMES TO POLICY MAKERS LIKE US, IF THERE'S ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY, AND THERE'S NO DOUBT, WELL, THEN THERE'S NO NEED FOR US.
UH, I MEAN, THE CHOICES, IF, IF THEY WERE JUST ABSOLUTELY EVIDENT, I MEAN, ANY MONKEY COULD COME IN HERE AND, UM, AND JUST HIT THE YES BUTTON, UH, AND VOTE, YOU KNOW, WITH WHATEVER CERTAIN PLAN IS PUT IN FRONT OF US.
AND SO, BUT BECAUSE THAT DOESN'T EXIST, WE AS POLICYMAKERS HAVE TO WALK HAND IN HAND WITH, UH, WITH A DOUBT, RIGHT? AND, UM, WE HAVE TO RELY ON DATA, WHICH I THINK WE'VE GOT QUITE A BIT OF IT, ANNA, UH, BRADSHAW I'M REALLY IMPRESSED ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH THE PRESENTATION.
AND WE'VE ALSO GOTTA RELY ON, UM, YOU KNOW, HISTORICAL LESSONS WE'VE LEARNED.
AND, UH, WE'VE GOT TO ALSO, UH, DEPLOY THE RESOURCES THAT WE'VE GOT, NOT THE ONES THAT WE WISH WE HAD.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, WE GOTTA RELY ON OUR CONSCIENCE.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, TO BE A, A GROWNUP COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, I'M SORRY, POLICY MAKER, YOU GOTTA ALSO SHOW UP EVERY DAY UNDERSTANDING THAT YOU'RE NOT GONNA SOLVE EVERYBODY'S PROBLEM.
AND THAT, UM, EVEN WHEN YOU ARE SOLVING MULTIPLE PROBLEMS AT THE SAME TIME, THEY'RE REALLY NOT ALL GONNA BE SOLVED AT THE SAME TIME.
AND SO, UM, THERE'S GONNA BE PEOPLE WHO ARE, WHO ARE GONNA BE DISAPPOINTED THAT NOT ALL THEIR PROBLEMS GOT SOLVED TO THE SAME EXTENT THAT EVERYBODY ELSE'S DID.
[01:45:01]
I DON'T THINK ANYBODY, UH, REASONABLE CAN EXPECT US TO DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN BE GUIDED BY OUR CONSCIENCE AND, AND DO OUR BEST.AND SO, TO THAT, I, I'LL ALSO ADD THAT, YOU KNOW, OURS HAS NEVER BEEN A CHOICE, AND I DON'T, I MEAN, I, I STRUGGLE WITH IT, RIGHT? BECAUSE I KEEP HEARING THIS DEBATE AMONG MY COLLEAGUES THAT WE'VE GOTTA, WE'VE GOTTA FUND WORKFORCE, WE'VE GOTTA FUND WORKERS.
WE'VE GOTTA FUND SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND I, I'VE NEVER SEEN DAYLIGHT BETWEEN BOTH OF THOSE TWO.
UM, AND I THINK THAT, UH, WE NEED TO BE MORE CAREFUL ABOUT NOT, YOU KNOW, FRAMING THIS AS AN ARGUMENT BETWEEN TWO DISSONANT, YOU KNOW, GROUPS.
THESE ARE, THESE ARE GROUPS THAT ARE IN PERFECT HARMONY, ABSOLUTE HARMONY, UPSKILLING WORKERS BENEFITS, SMALL BUSINESS, SMALL BUSINESSES, BENEFIT WORKERS THAT NEED JOBS.
AND SO, FRAMING IT AS THIS BINARY CHOICE BETWEEN CONFLICTING INTERESTS, I THINK IT, I THINK IT RESULTS IN JUST CONFUSING PEOPLE AND PITTING GROUPS AGAINST EACH OTHER.
AND THAT'S, I, I, I THINK THAT WE'RE, THAT THAT'S NOT WHAT THIS COMMUNITY NEEDS.
SO, ERIC, I, I, I WILL TELL YOU THAT, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, AFTER OUR I G R MEETING TODAY, UM, AND I, I MEAN, I, I'D LOVE TO HEAR WHAT MY OTHER I G R COMMITTEE MEMBERS THINK, BUT I, I THINK THE TAKEAWAY WAS IS THAT GOD KNOWS, AND ONLY GOD KNOWS WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN DC BETWEEN NOW AND NOVEMBER.
UM, AND THAT, YOU KNOW, PINNING OUR HOPES ON US PULLING DOWN THIS GRANT OR THAT GRANT, OR CONVINCING, YOU KNOW, ONE COMMITTEE MEMBER TO DO THIS, AND THAT IS MAYBE NAIVE ON OUR PART, AND THEN WE'VE GOTTA FIGURE OUT A WAY TO MOVE FORWARD, UH, MAYBE EVEN OPERATING UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA GET ANYTHING, RIGHT? BECAUSE THERE IS, THERE IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO ARE CAPITALIZING AND FINDING DIVIDENDS IN SAYING, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.
RIGHT? AND TO HELL WITH ALL OF YOU.
UM, RIGHT? I MEAN, THAT, THAT ACTUALLY GETS YOU VOTES IN CERTAIN CIRCLES WHEN YOU'RE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT.
UM, AND AT THE SAME TIME, IT BEATS UP, YOU KNOW, UH, THE, UH, THE CANDIDATE WHEN YOU SAY, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA FUND ALL THESE AMAZING PROGRAMS, AND YOU'RE JUST A HEARTLESS JERK, RIGHT? AND SO THAT, THAT THEATER IS PLAYING OUT, UM, AND US FALLING FOR IT, I THINK WOULD BE, UM, NAIVE.
AND SO, I, I DON'T THINK WE ARE, I THINK THAT WE'VE GOT A VERY SMART GROUP OF PEOPLE IN DC WHO ARE ADVISING US TO, UH, TO BE VERY, VERY CRITICAL THINKERS AND SMART CONSUMERS.
UM, AND SO, UM, ANYWAY, I I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT, UH, IN THAT EFFORT, UM, I, I STILL WORRY WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE SPENDING THE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES WE NEED TO SPEND IN DC AND IN AUSTIN AS COMPARED TO OTHER CITIES WHO ARE OUT THERE COMPETING AGAINST US, RIGHT? I THINK I'LL ALWAYS WORRY ABOUT THAT, ERIC, UH, JUST BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THAT THE, THE GOVERNMENT RELATIONS CONSULTANTS THAT WE'VE GOT, UM, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THE TEST OF THEIR SUCCESS IS HOW MUCH MONEY THEY CAN BRING HOME BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, CLAYTON, YOU'RE RIGHT.
WE ARE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A DONOR CITY AND WE NEED TO NO LONGER BE A DONOR CITY.
AND, UM, TO THAT EXTENT, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT WE'VE GOT MORE GUNS POINTED AT OUR TARGET MIGHT BE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE BEST WAY.
AND I'M NOT, NOT CASTING DOUBT ON OUR PLAN AT ALL RIGHT NOW, BUT I'M WONDERING WHETHER OR NOT MORE MUSCLE, UH, UP THERE MIGHT, MIGHT HELP US.
AND SO, UM, ANYWAY, THERE, THERE, MAYOR, I'M DONE WITH MY, MY COMMENTS.
UM, THAT'S ALL, UH, THE DISCUSSION TODAY.
I, I DO WANNA JUST, UM, CLOSE, I, I APPRECIATE THE DISCUSSION, UH, PARTICULARLY WITH REGARD TO THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.
THERE'S, UH, OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF VARIABLES GOING ON, UH, IN TRYING TO FIND A MIDDLE GROUND.
I'D LIKED, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY'S THOUGHTS ON A GRADIENT, UH, SLIDING SCALE IF WE DO HAVE TO MAKE, UM, SOME SORT OF ADJUSTMENT THERE.
UH, IT DOES SEEM LIKE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US NOT TO COMPLETELY, UH, CLOSE THE DOOR ON PREVIOUSLY ELIGIBLE, UH, TENANTS AND, AND, UM, PROPERTY OWNERS.
UH, BUT DOES, UH, RECOGNIZE THE FACT THAT THESE ARE, ARE, UM, SOURCES OF REVENUE THAT, THAT ARE GOING TO DRAW DOWN AT SOME POINT, UH, IF WE'RE GONNA REACH OUR GOALS.
SO, UM, THAT'S MY ONLY ADDITIONAL THOUGHT.
ERIC, YOU WANNA CLOSE THIS OUT? UH, YES, SIR.
UM, MAYOR COUNSEL, THANKS FOR THE, THE, UH, THE CONVERSATION TODAY.
AND WE KNOW THAT THESE ARE, THERE IS, THERE IS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF UNCERTAINTY AND, AND I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE FEEDBACK 'CAUSE WE DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UM, ACHIEVING ALL OF OUR OBJECTIVES, UH, IN THE, IN THE, UH, IN THE, IN THE PROJECT.
UM, ONE, ONE OTHER THING THAT I'D LIKE TO ASK THE COUNCIL, UM, AND JUST REMIND THEM ABOUT, UH, WE HAVE RECEIVED, THE STAFF HAS RECEIVED, UH, SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR BUDGET AMENDMENTS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND I'D LIKE TO REQUEST THAT, UM, IF, IF THERE ARE, UM, IF THERE ARE ANY ADDITIONAL REQUESTS THAT, UH, IF YOU WOULD SEND THOSE TO ME BY, UH, MAYBE BY THE END OF THE WEEK, BY CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON FRIDAY, WE ARE WORKING, UH, OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AND THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND TO KIND
[01:50:01]
OF, UH, UH, PULL ALL THOSE ISSUES TOGETHER.WE ARE ALSO CURRENTLY UPDATING OUR SALES TAX REVENUE AND OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX REVENUE, UH, FOR THE SUMMER.
AND, UH, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS BE ABLE TO GET ALL THE INFORMATION AND BE ABLE TO SHARE A MEMO BACK TO THE COUNCIL, UH, THIS WEEKEND WITH A COMPLETE LIST, UH, AND WHERE WE'RE AT ON THOSE REVENUE SOURCES THAT WE'RE KIND OF CHECKING, UM, UH, ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
SO, UM, WITH THAT MAYOR, THAT'S, UH, THAT'S ALL FOR THE, FOR TODAY.
UH, WE DO HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION THAT WE'RE GOING TO, UH, CONVENE TOMORROW.
UH, SO THE EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEMS THAT WERE POSTED FOR TODAY WILL BE CARRIED OVER, UH, UNTIL TOMORROW.
THAT'S THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH, AND WILL BE HELD AT ANY TIME DURING TOMORROW'S CITY COUNCIL MEETING.
UH, AS A REMINDER, WE DO HAVE A 5:00 PM UH, CITIZENS TO BE HEARD, UH, AND THE TIME NOW IS 3:57 PM AND TODAY'S MEETING IS NOW IN RECESS.