[00:00:01]
[CALL TO ORDER]
OF THE RICHARDSON CITY COUNCIL TO ORDER AT 6:00 PM UH, AT THIS TIME WE'LL START OFF WITH ITEM A, WHICH IS PUBLIC COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS AND VISITORS FORM.MR. MAGNER, UH, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
WE ARE NOT IN RECEIPT OF ANY CARDS IN ADVANCE OF THE 4:00 PM DEADLINE, AND THERE ARE, UH, NO SPEAKERS CURRENTLY SIGNED TO MAKE COMMENTS.
UH, IS THERE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE LOOKING TO MAKE COMMENTS? ALRIGHT, SEEING NONE, WE'LL
[B. REVIEW AND DISCUSS FISCAL YEAR 2026-2027 BUDGET FOR OPERATIONS, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS AND DEBT SERVICE]
MOVE ON TO ITEM B, WHICH IS TO REVIEW AND DISCUSS FISCAL YEAR 20 26, 20 27, BUDGET FOR OPERATIONS, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, AND DEBT SERVICE.MR. MAGNA, UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR.
I'M VERY EXCITED TO, UH, BE, UM, UH, AT THE START OF ANOTHER BUDGET WORKSHOP.
UH, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS AN IMPORTANT, UH, TIME EACH YEAR WHERE WE, UH, SET THE TONE FOR, UM, THE BUDGET THAT I'LL FILE HERE IN JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS, AS WELL AS, UH, THE FOLLOWING, UH, PUBLIC HEARINGS ALL THE WAY UP THROUGH THE ADOPTION.
UM, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO TONIGHT IS, UH, FIRST START OUT JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BUDGET PROCESS AND SOME OF OUR GOALS FOR THE WORKSHOP.
UH, TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE ATTENTIONS THAT, UH, ARE, ARE HEAVY ON OUR MIND AS WE GET INTO THIS BUDGET SEASON.
UM, I THINK IMPORTANTLY, PROVIDE YOU WITH AN UPDATE ON FY 26, UH, AND THE OUTLOOK FOR THE REMAINDER.
UH, TALK ABOUT SOME ECONOMIC, UM, INDICATORS AND TRENDS THAT WE'RE TRACKING VERY CLOSELY.
UH, MORE SO THIS YEAR THAN IN THE PAST, HAVE REALLY INFORMED, UH, SOME OF THE, UH, UM, ESTIMATES THAT WE'VE, UH, DEVELOPED FOR NEXT YEAR, UH, WHICH YOU'LL SEE ARE, ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE CONSERVATIVE THAN TRADITIONALLY.
UH, THEN WE WILL, UH, WITH THE HELP OF BOB, WE'LL GET INTO, UH, GENERAL FUND, UM, UM, REVENUE PROJECTIONS AS WELL AS EXPENDITURES.
UH, HAVE A DISCUSSION ON THE TAX RATE.
AND THEN, UM, CONCLUDE TOMORROW NIGHT AS WE PICK BACK UP, WE WILL, UH, QUICKLY RECAP, UH, DAY ONE.
UM, IF THERE ARE ANY HOMEWORK ITEMS THAT WE NEED TO COME BACK TO YOU WITH ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, WE WILL HANDLE THAT AT THE START OF THE MEETING.
AND THEN WE'LL GET INTO THE, UH, REMAINING FUNDS, UM, UH, THAT MAKE UP THE, UH, MAJORITY OF OUR BUDGET, THE WATER AND SEWER FUND, THE DRAINAGE FUND, SOLID WASTE FUND, AND THE HOTEL MOTEL FUND.
UH, WE'LL FINISH OUT TALKING ABOUT OUR CAPITAL AND DEBT PLANNING, UM, FOR FYC 27.
AND THEN AGAIN, UH, BE LOOKING FORWARD TO TAKING ANY, UH, FEEDBACK THAT YOU MIGHT WANNA PROVIDE AS WE GET INTO, UM, THE FINAL, UH, DAYS BEFORE I FILE THE BUDGET.
UH, THIS IS A, UH, A LIKE A LOT OF THINGS IN RICHARDSON, UH, YOU CAN KIND OF SET YOUR WATCH TO, UM, OUR BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
UH, WHILE WE SAY THE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IS, UH, REALLY A, A, A YEAR LONG, UM, EFFORT, UM, IT'S REALLY THIS TIME, UH, WHERE, UH, WE CULMINATE, UH, AND FINISH UP A LOT OF OUR DEEP DIVES, UH, AND START TO, UH, REALLY GET INTO, UH, DEVELOPMENT AND REFINEMENT.
BEFORE WE BEGIN, I WANNA, UH, UH, JUST, UH, REALLY OFFER MY APPRECIATION AND THANKS AS I KNOW YOU DO AS WELL TO BOB.
UM, AND CAMERON AND OUR BUDGET OFFICE, THEY'VE DONE A TREMENDOUS JOB.
BOB HAS SPENT DOZENS OF HOURS, UH, WITH DEPARTMENTS, UH, REALLY APPRECIATING THE NUANCES OF THEIR NEEDS, UM, AND, UH, HELPING TO, TO DEVELOP THE PLAN THAT WE'LL SHARE WITH YOU, YOU TONIGHT.
I ALSO WANNA THANK, UH, KENT AND TODD ON THE FINANCE SIDE, UM, HAVE, HAVE BEEN VERY INSTRUMENTAL.
AND THEN, UH, BOTH, UH, CHIEF TITTLE AND VY ARE HERE, UH, AS WELL AS OUR DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES, UH, JOSE MARINO.
AND SO ALL OF, UH, PLAYED AN INSTRUMENTAL ROLE AS, AS IS OUR, UH, LEADERSHIP TEAM.
SO, UH, THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE AND, AND FOR YOUR, UM, UH, PARTICIPATION TONIGHT.
UM, UH, SO THE GOALS AS, AS WE SEE IT, AND IF, IF THESE DON'T ALIGN WITH YOUR GOALS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AT THE START HERE SO WE CAN ADJUST ACCORDINGLY.
BUT, UM, WE'D REALLY LIKE TO LAY OUT OUR OVERALL STRATEGY FOR FY 27.
AGAIN, BUILDING ON THE DEEP DIVES FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT MAY BE TUNING IN, THAT, THAT, UM, DON'T KNOW THIS, THE COUNCIL HAS SPENT, UH, APPROXIMATELY 12 HOURS ALREADY, UM, UH, HEARING FROM, UH, VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS TO REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES THAT THE DIFFERENT OPERATIONS, UH, IN OUR CITY, UH, HAS, UH, AT THIS TIME.
AND SO, UH, THESE DEEP DIVES ARE, CREATE KIND OF A SHORTHAND, IF YOU WILL.
AND SO, UH, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THINGS, UH, THAT MAY SEEM, UH, VERY COMPLICATED OR, UH, MAYBE INCLUDE SOME VERY BIG NUMBERS.
UM, IF WE'RE GOING THROUGH 'EM QUICKLY TONIGHT, IT'S BECAUSE WE DEDICATED THOSE DOZEN HOURS OR SO OVER THE PAST MONTHS.
UH, TO THAT, WE, UH, WE'D LIKE TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK, OBVIOUSLY.
UM, AND THEN, UM, TONIGHT, UM, PRIOR TO FILING THE BUDGET, WE'RE GONNA FOCUS, AS I MENTIONED, ON, ON THE, REALLY THE FIVE BIG FUNDS OVER THE NEXT TWO NIGHTS.
UM, AND THEN WHEN I FILE THE BUDGET, UH, ON AUGUST 14TH, I'LL, I'LL INCLUDE ALL THE REMAINING FUNDS.
UM, AND WE'LL HAVE THAT DISCUSSION AS I PRESENT THE BUDGET ON THE 17TH.
UM, AND, UM, YOU SEE AUGUST 15TH, THERE IS THE OFFICIAL FILING DATE, BUT AGAIN, I'LL BE FOLLOWING THE BUDGET ON, UH, AUGUST THE 14TH.
AND SO, UH, JUST SOME OF THE, UM, UH, QUICK, UH, ATTENTIONS HERE THAT, UM, THAT WE HAVE, UM, UH, REALLY BEEN, UH, MINDFUL OF.
UH, THE FIRST ONE IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE VERY FAMILIAR TO YOU, UM, UH, INVEST IN IN OUR PEOPLE, UH, BY FAR OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE.
THIS HOPEFULLY ISN'T A SURPRISE TO YOU.
I'VE FILED THE CITY MANAGER, AND THAT'S BEEN
[00:05:01]
MY TOP PRIORITY IN EACH OF THE BUDGETS THAT I'VE FILED.AND SO, UM, NO, NO CHANGE THERE.
LIKEWISE, SAFEGUARDING OUR, OUR CORE RESPONSIBILITIES.
WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS OUR PUBLIC SAFETY, OUR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, AND THE ESSENTIAL SERVICES SAFEGUARDING, MAKING SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO DEVOTE, UM, THE RESOURCES THAT WE NEED TO, UH, BE ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY MANAGE OUR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AT THIS TIME.
BUT ALSO BEING MINDFUL OF CHANGING DYNAMICS, UH, EMERGING TRENDS THAT MAY RESULT IN ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.
UM, YOU'RE GONNA HEAR THROUGHOUT THIS BRIEFING, OR THAT I HAVE CHALLENGED, UH, AND I THINK THE ORGANIZATION HAS STEPPED UP, UH, TO LOOKING AT OUR EXISTING PRACTICES AND IDENTIFYING OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH, UH, ABOUT THREE OR FOUR SLIDES OF, UH, UH, SIGNIFICANT STAFFING CHANGES THAT I'M GONNA PROPOSE, UH, TO YOU WITH THIS BUDGET.
UM, AND, UH, A LOT OF, I THINK, NEW AND INNOVATIVE WAYS OF, OF, OF THINKING ABOUT, UH, UM, DELIVERING OUR SERVICES, UH, AND CONTINUE TO DO THAT AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL OF, UM, OF SERVICE.
UM, REALLY PROUD OF THE, THE PLANNING WORK THAT'S OCCURRED.
UM, HERE, OBVIOUSLY, WE'RE, UM, FOCUSED ON MAINTAINING OUR AAA BOND RATING, UM, AND, UH, BY, BY REALLY LOOKING AT LONG-TERM FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY AND HOW WE CAN POSITION OURSELVES, UH, TO MEET THE, UH, FUTURE NEW, UH, NEEDS, UM, THROUGH, UH, FI, UH, REALLY PR TO FINANCIAL PLANNING.
THEN FINALLY, UH, WANTING TO REALLY AVOID USING ONETIME, UM, FUNDING SOURCES TO DEAL WITH OPERATING EXPENSES.
UM, THIS IS A, A RECIPE FOR DISASTER.
WE SEE SOME CITIES HERE IN NORTH TEXAS STRUGGLING WITH THIS NOW.
AND THEN, UH, WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT BACK ON DECEMBER 15TH, WHEN I PRESENTED, UH, AS PART OF THE FOURTH QUARTER BUDGET REPORT FOR FY 25, REALLY, UM, EVALUATING, UM, ANY NEW FUNDING PROPOSALS AGAINST EXISTING PRIORITIES TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, ADEQUATE RESOURCES ARE, ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE HIGHEST NEEDS.
IF THOSE ARE NEW NEEDS, SO BE IT.
BUT IF THEY'RE EXISTING NEEDS, UH, WE NEED TO PROTECT AND AGAIN, REALLY SAFEGUARD THOSE FUNDS.
UH, I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH ALL OF THESE, UH, TACTICS, BUT, UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW EVERY, UH, TERM YOU, UH, DEVELOP A LIST OF TACTICS.
AND HERE YOU SEE, UH, AT A MINIMUM, EIGHT OF THOSE TACTICS ARE BEING ACHIEVED.
I DO WANNA FOCUS ON, UM, NUMBER TWO, PERFORMER COMPREHENSIVE COMPENSATION ANALYSIS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS IS SUSTAINED MARKET COMPETITIVE, AND WE'RE GONNA TALK A LOT ABOUT THAT TONIGHT.
UH, BUT THE NEXT ONE, UH, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT THIS YEAR, UH, COMPARED TO OTHER YEARS, CONTINUE IMPLEMENTATION OF A MULTI-YEAR SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY, UH, FOR CORE PLAN, WHICH IS OUR, UH, UH, OUR CITY, UH, SELF-INSURED, UH, INSURANCE PLAN, UH, THAT, UH, OUR, OUR FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES ARE A PART OF, UH, TO BALANCE, UH, COMPETITIVENESS, UH, WITH FINANCIAL STABILITY.
WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT TONIGHT.
UH, A BIG PART OF THE BRIEFING TONIGHT.
UM, THIS IS A NEW SLIDE THAT I WANTED TO JUST, UM, REALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE TALK ABOUT AS, AS WE TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE ATTENTIONS.
UM, YOU SEE, UM, TONIGHT YOU'LL HEAR ME TALK ON SEVERAL FRONTS, CORE PLAN STABILIZATION, OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND, UH, BUILDING AND BOLSTERING THAT TRANSITION FROM OUR GEC, UH, FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS, THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FIRE MASTER PLAN, THE GROWING, UH, GROWING OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND, CITY COUNCIL TACTICS, IMPLEMENTATION, AND THEN AGAIN, THE ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCIES AND SUCCESSION PLANNING.
UM, YOU'RE GONNA HEAR ME TALK ABOUT A TWO OR A THREE YEAR VIEW, UH, TO MANY OF THESE, UH, PRO, UH, MANY OF SOLVING MANY OF, MANY OF THESE, UM, UH, ISSUES.
THAT'S BECAUSE A MULTI-YEAR, UH, BUDGETING APPROACH IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT NOWADAYS.
UM, MANY OF THE FACTORS THAT DRIVE OUR REVENUES AND OUR EXPENDITURES ARE, ARE VERY UNCERTAIN AT THIS TIME.
AND YET MANY OF THE COMMITMENTS THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY AND THAT WE MAKE VIA THESE BUDGETS, UH, EXTEND WELL BEYOND A SIM A SINGLE FISCAL YEAR.
AND SO, UM, WHAT I WANT TO KEEP IN MIND IN THE FRAMEWORK THAT I'VE APPROACHED, UH, THE BUDGET THAT I'M GONNA PRESENT TO YOU, IS THAT WE'RE NOT PLANNING FOR AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE.
WHAT WE'RE REALLY PLANNING FOR IS MULTIPLE FUTURES.
ONE THING THAT'S NOT ON THIS LEG LIST IS THE 90TH LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT IN A SECOND.
AND HOW MANY DIFFERENT ROADS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY TAKE US DOWN.
AND SO THIS BUDGET IS A BUDGET, UM, FOR FY 27, BUT IT'S A BUDGET IN LIGHT OF THE NEXT THREE TO FIVE YEARS.
AND THE THINGS THAT WE MIGHT BE FACING, UM, OR THE THINGS THAT WE MIGHT BE CHALLENGED BY.
AND AGAIN, THE WHOLE GOAL HERE IS TO PRESERVE OUR FINANCIAL STABILITY WHILE CONTINUING TO DELIVER SERVICES.
UM, AND I BET I DO THINK THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT IS THROUGH THIS MULTI-YEAR PLAN.
SO LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT FY 26.
UM, CURRENTLY, UH, MOST OF OUR, OUR CATEGORIES ON THE REVENUE SIDE ARE MEETING THEIR EXPECTATIONS.
YOU SEE HERE, SALES TAX, UH, COMING IN, UH, AT $7 MILLION ABOVE LAST YEAR'S ACTUALS, AND ABOUT EIGHT, $8.2 MILLION ABOVE OUR BUDGET TARGET THROUGH, UH, JULY.
NOW, UH, 5.2 MILLION OF THAT, OF THOSE DOLLARS, UM, ARE FROM SIGNIFICANT STATE ADJUSTMENTS.
AND SO, I, I SAY THAT TO SAY, AND WE, WE UNDERSTAND ONE, ONE VERY LARGE, I THINK ONE, ONE ADJUSTMENT OF OVER $4 MILLION.
AND SO THESE ARE NOT REOCCURRING DOLLARS THAT WE CAN REALLY, UH, DEPEND ON.
[00:10:01]
YOU KNOW, OUR CONSERVATIVE, UH, I THINK VERY PRUDENT WAY OF APPROACHING SALES TAX FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, UH, HAS BEEN TO ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION.UM, SALES TAX OBVIOUSLY IS VERY VOLATILE.
IT'S NUANCED, UH, IT'S FICKLE IN MANY REGARDS.
UH, I, I, I THINK WE JUST HAVE TO THINK BACK JUST A COUPLE OF YEARS WHEN I WAS SITTING RIGHT HERE, PROBABLY ABOUT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR, AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT A $4.3 MILLION SHORTFALL IN SALES TAX THAT YEAR.
AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE COULD EXPLAIN THAT ANY BETTER THAN WE CAN EXPLAIN THE STATE ADJUSTMENTS, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU.
UH, THE STATE IS VERY PROTECTIVE OF THE SALES TAX DATA, UM, AND TO FULLY APPRECIATE, UM, WHAT'S OCCURRING IS A CHALLENGE.
IT'S NOT JUST A CHALLENGE FOR US, IT'S A CHALLENGE FOR ANY MUNICIPALITY IN THE CITY.
AND SO, AGAIN, VERY CONSERVATIVE APPROACH.
WE'RE BLESSED TO HAVE THESE DOLLARS.
UH, ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE, WE'RE DOING VERY WELL.
ALSO, THE DEPARTMENTS HAVE REALLY, UH, ACCEPTED THE CHALLENGE OF, UM, UH, REALLY LOOKING AT THEIR OPERATIONS IN A VERY COMPREHENSIVE WAY, UH, IN IDENTIFYING, UH, EFFICIENCIES.
UH, THAT'S ALREADY, WHILE THAT WAS A BIG TASK FOR FY 27, IT'S ALREADY STARTED PAYING DIVIDENDS HERE IN FY 26, AS WE KIND OF CONCLUDE AND LOOK TOWARDS THE LAST 60 DAYS OR SO.
SO, WITH THAT IN MIND, AS WE LOOK TOWARDS THE END OF FY 26, UM, MAINTAINING OUR, OUR 90.99 DAYS OF FUND BALANCE, UH, OUR CURRENT ESTIMATE SUGGESTS THAT BECAUSE OF THE, UH, $5.2 MILLION IN, UM, ADJUSTMENTS AS WELL AS THE REMAINING OVER PERFORMANCE, UH, OF SALES TAX, AND BECAUSE OF SOME OPERATIONAL SAVINGS, WE COULD, UM, BE LOOKING AT APPROXIMATELY $12 MILLION THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR NON-REOCCURRING PROJECTS OR INITIATIVES AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
UM, THIS IS A PLAN, UM, OBVIOUSLY I WILL, WE WILL COME BACK TO YOU IN THE NOVEMBER DECEMBER TIMEFRAME WHEN WE'RE CLOSING OUT, UH, FOURTH QUARTER FOR FY 26, AND WE WILL HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AROUND YOU, UH, AROUND THIS WITH YOU.
BUT I WANTED TO SHARE THIS CONTEXT WITH YOU BECAUSE SOME OF WHAT I'M SUGGESTING IS FY 27 IS PREDICATED, UM, ON THIS PLAN, NOT THE EXACT NUMBERS OF THE PLAN, FOR INSTANCE, A $3 MILLION TRANSFER TO CORE PLAN TO STABILIZE IT.
HOWEVER, UM, WHAT I'M PROPOSING IN TERMS OF THE CITY'S CONTRIBUTION INCREASING IN EMPLOYEE PREMIUMS, FOR INSTANCE, UH, ASSUMES THAT A TRANSFER WILL BE MADE AT THE END OF 26, IF NOT BOTH THE EMPLOYEE PREMIUMS AS WELL AS THE CITY'S CONTRIBUTION WOULD HAVE TO BE MORE SIGNIFICANT.
AND SO I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT IN LIGHT, UH, OF MANY OF OUR CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'LL BE HAVING TONIGHT THAT WE LOOK AT THIS.
SO, UH, ALSO ON THE, ON THE, ON THE LIST HERE FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, AGAIN, IN NOVEMBER WOULD BE A $3 MILLION TRANSFER TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND.
UM, THAT WOULD BE A ONE-TIME TRANSFER TO BOLSTER THAT FUND AND REALLY PROVIDE US WITH SOME ADDITIONAL TOOLS AS WE CONTINUE TO COMPETE HERE IN NORTH TEXAS.
FOR, FOR, UM, FOR, UH, INVESTMENT.
UM, UM, I KNOW IT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU, COUNSEL.
YOU'VE, UH, SUGGESTED THIS SEVERAL YEARS AGO TO CREATE AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND, UH, OR RESERVE.
UM, WE WOULD, UM, SUGGEST, UH, TRANSFERRING AT THE END OF THE YEAR, $2 MILLION TO THAT FUND.
UM, UH, TIDE TELLS ME THAT WE NEED ABOUT $600,000 ON THE DEBT SIDE, UM, UH, TO MAINTAIN OUR MINIMUM FUND BALANCE.
UM, NOW, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME CITIES ALLOW THAT TO FLUCTUATE.
OUR GOAL HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO KEEP THAT 30 DAY, UH, FUND BALANCE, UH, IN PLACE, AND TO MAINTAIN OUR FINANCIAL POLICY, UH, OF DOING THAT.
UM, I ALSO WOULD SUGGEST, UH, IN TERMS OF THE FACILITY MAINTENANCE FUND AND THE PARKS MAINTENANCE FUND, THESE HAVE NOT BEEN INCREASED IN SEVERAL YEARS.
UH, THESE ARE THE TRANSFER OUTS OF THE PROPERTY TAX DOLLARS.
YOU SAW THE PLANS THAT WERE PRESENTED TO YOU A FEW WEEKS AGO.
THESE ADDITIONAL DOLLARS, AGAIN, ONE TIME INFUSION OF AN ADDITIONAL HALF MILLION DOLLARS EACH WOULD ALLOW US, UH, TO COMPLETE ALL OF THE PLANNING WORK THAT YOU SAW IN THE BRIEFINGS FROM SEAN AND FROM WAYNE.
UM, BUT, UM, ACTUALLY, UH, INCLUDE ADDITIONAL PROJECTS, UH, AS WELL.
AND WE WOULD COME BACK TO YOU AND TALK ABOUT WHAT THOSE WOULD BE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A, A REALLY BIG PROJECT OUT THERE, THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE PROJECT, UH, ESSENTIALLY THE REVAMP OR RETHINKING, RE-IMAGINING OUR CZO, UM, BASED ON PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES AS WELL AS WHAT WE KNOW WE PAID FOR, UH, THE ENVISION RICHARDSON COMP PLAN.
UH, WE'RE ESTIMATING THAT TO BE ABOUT $800,000, BUT DEPENDING ON, UH, YOUR PRIORITIES AND YOUR, UH, DIRECTION AROUND, UM, THINGS LIKE, UH, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, PUBLIC INPUT OPPORTUNITIES, AS WELL AS A POTENTIAL, UM, UM, COMMITTEE, UM, THAT NUMBER COULD, COULD CHANGE.
AGAIN, THAT'S BASED ON WHAT WE KNOW TODAY.
UH, I THINK, UH, CHARLES AND AND TEAM ARE FINALIZING THE RFP TO GO OUT HERE IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS, AND SO WE'LL KNOW MORE, UH, BY THE TIME THE FOURTH QUARTER ROLLS AROUND.
UM, IF AT THIS POINT IN TIME YOU BLESSED THAT PLAN, IT WOULD LEAVE APPROXIMATELY $1.4 MILLION FOR, FOR OTHER CAPITAL PROJECTS.
MY MY POINT IS, UM, IN, IN, IN SHARING THIS WITH YOU, IS THAT CORE PLAN, UH, THE DEBT FUND FACILITY, MAINTENANCE PARK, MAINTENANCE FUND, THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE, UM, ALL OF THOSE ARE THINGS THAT, UM, IN MY PROPOSED BUDGET HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY THIS PLAN.
UM, MOSTLY, UM, OFFSETTING SOME COSTS, UM, ASSOCIATED WITH FUTURE
[00:15:01]
CONSIDERATIONS.AND SO, UM, JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU SOME OF THAT FOR CONTEXT ON THE WATER WASTEWATER, UH, SIDE, UH, AND FY 26, UM, WE ARE, UM, SEEING RIGHT NOW APPROXIMATELY A $4 MILLION SHORTFALL.
UM, WE ALL KNOW IT'S RAINED MORE, AND IT'S BEEN A LITTLE COOLER THAN, UH, IN PAST YEARS.
AND SO, UM, I THINK THAT HAS IMPACTED, UH, THE USE OF WATER FOR IRRIGATION.
UH, FRANKLY, IN ADDITION, I THINK PROBABLY SOME PEOPLE ARE RECALIBRATING THE WAY THAT THEY WATER BECAUSE OF THE COST OF WATER, UM, UM, NOWADAYS COMPARED TO JUST A FEW YEARS AGO.
UM, SO YOU MIGHT ASK, AND YOU SHOULD ASK, UH, IF WE HAVE A DEFICIT OF THAT MAGNITUDE AT THE END OF THIS YEAR, HOW ARE WE GONNA, HOW ARE WE GONNA ADDRESS THAT? UM, YOU KNOW, THAT, UH, WE HAVE TWO SOURCES IN THE WATER AND SEWER FUND.
WE HAVE A WATER AND SEWER SPECIAL FUND.
UM, THIS IS A, UH, RESERVE THAT'S SET ASIDE FOR A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT USES.
UM, CURRENTLY THAT FUND, UM, HAS APPROXIMATELY $7 MILLION SET ASIDE TO DEAL WITH A SHORTFALL OF THIS NATURE, IF WE NEEDED THAT.
NOW, THAT'S DIFFERENT FROM THE RATE STABILIZATION FUND, WHICH HAS 2 MILLION, UH, TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS SET ASIDE.
WE, WE REALLY PROTECT AND PRESERVE THAT FUND.
AND SO IF WE HAVE AN IN, IF WE HAVE A SHORTFALL, UM, UM, OF, UH, OF THIS MAGNITUDE OR, OR SIMILAR, WHAT WE'RE LIKELY TO BE COMING BACK TO YOU WITH AT THE END OF FY 26 WILL BE, UM, THE RECOMMENDATION TO RE TO RELEASE SOME OF THAT RESERVE AND TO, UH, KIND OF SMOOTH OUT THE REVENUE, UH, FOR, UH, FOR FFY 26.
GOOD NEWS IS SOLID WASTE AND HOTEL MOTEL FUNDS ARE PERFORMING EXACTLY BOTH FROM AN EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE SIDE, LIKE WE, UM, ANTICIPATED.
AND CHERYL PARK IS ACTUALLY SEEING, UM, UH, GREAT GROWTH ON THE REVENUE SIDE.
UH, WE ANTICIPATE PROBABLY MORE ROUNDS BEING PLAYED THIS YEAR, UH, THAT HAVE BEEN PLAYED IN 30 YEARS AT CHERYL PARK.
AND THAT'S A, A GREAT TESTIMONY, UH, TO, UH, THE, UH, OPENING OF COURSE, TOO, AND THE WORK THAT WAS DONE THERE.
YOU SEE THAT, THAT DOES HAVE SOME BENEFIT TO THE GENERAL FUND IN PAST YEARS.
IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS, WE'VE HAD TO HELP, UH, CHERYL PARK WITH SOME CAPITAL OR SOME MAINTENANCE.
UH, WE FULLY ANTICIPATE MOVING FORWARD IN FY 27 HAW PARK WILL BE ABLE TO HANDLE ALL OF ITS BUSINESS, UM, ON THESE TWO FRONTS, UM, BECAUSE OF THE ADDITIONAL REVENUE THAT, THAT WE'RE SEEING.
SO LET'S NOW TAKE JUST A, A QUICK SECOND HERE TO DO A, A QUICK LOOK, UM, AT SOME ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS.
THESE ARE THINGS THAT ARE, AGAIN, UM, HEAVY ON OUR MINDS BECAUSE OF THE, THE IMPACT THAT THEY CAN HAVE LOCALLY HERE.
AND SO GLOBALLY, OBVIOUSLY, WE CONTINUE TO BE CURIOUS ABOUT THE UNCERTAINTY, UM, THAT, UH, IS FINDS, ITS ITS PLACE IN SO MANY DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD NOW.
UM, WE SEE IT CREATING VOLATILITY AND INFLATION SUPPLY CHAINS.
CONSTRUCTION COSTS ARE A HUGE CONSIDERATION RIGHT NOW, NOT ONLY FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR, BUT FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR AS WELL.
UM, AND SO WHAT WE'VE REALLY TRIED TO DO IS BUILD A PLAN FOR YOU THAT, UH, RE THAT FOCUSES ON REINFORCING THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING FLEXIBILITY, UM, AS WELL AS ADEQUATE, UH, FINANCIAL RESERVES SO WE, THAT, THAT WE CAN RESPOND TO CHANGING SITUATIONS.
MERRIL MAR AND I HAVE TWICE IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS.
I'M NOT GONNA NAME NAMES BECAUSE THAT WOULDN'T BE A GOOD THING, BUT WE'VE BEEN VISITING WITH TWO OF OUR LARGEST EMPLOYERS, UH, BOTH, UH, IN THE HIGH-TECH, UH, MANUFACTURING, UH, REALM IN, UH, BOTH, UH, UM, UM, SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES, INFLATION, UM, ONE, ONE CONSTRUCTION COST.
UM, ALL OF THESE THINGS HEAVY ON THEIR MINDS.
UM, UH, THE AVAILABILITY OF RAW MATERIALS.
AND SO THESE ARE REAL IMPACTS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL.
OF COURSE, INTEREST RATES ARE THE NUMBER ONE DRIVER, UH, HEARING, UH, THE FED NOW, UH, CONSIDER RAISING, UH, INTEREST RATES, UH, PERHAPS TWO TIMES IN THE NEXT YEAR.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT DOES TO, UH, INVESTMENT, UH, CAPITAL INVESTMENT, UH, BUSINESS GROWTH IS ALWAYS, UH, VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, OUR LABOR MARKET TRENDS, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL SEE HERE SHORTLY, UH, VERY, UH, STRONG LABOR MARKET.
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, IT MAKES IT INCREDIBLY COMPETITIVE, UH, COMPETITIVE, AND IT MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT.
AND SO HERE WE'RE LOOKING FOR, UM, BECAUSE OF SOME OF THESE IMPACTS AND THE, THE, THEIR ABILITY TO INFLUENCE SALES TAX IN PARTICULAR, UM, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT A, A, A PRUDENT, EVEN MORE CONSERVATIVE REVENUE FORECASTING THAN WE HAVE IN THE PAST.
AND THEN AGAIN, THE STATE, UH, AT THE STATE LEVEL, UM, WE ALL KNOW, UH, THE ACTIONS THAT HAVE OCCURRED IN PAST SESSIONS THAT HAVE HAD VERY SPECIFIC, UM, UH, IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR, OUR FINANCING, MUNICIPAL FINANCING, SO MUCH DIFFERENT THAN IT WAS EVEN JUST FIVE OR SIX YEARS AGO.
UM, AND SO, UH, HERE WE'RE LOOKING TO PROACTIVELY MANAGE THE, THE, THE FISCAL RISK THAT COULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH SOME OF THESE CHANGES.
UM, AS WE LOOK AT THE NEXT TWO SLIDES AND WE PREPARE FOR THE UPCOMING BUDGET CYCLE, YOU KNOW, I THINK EVERYBODY WOULD AGREE IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THESE BROADER ECONOMIC, UM, UH, INDICATORS AND THE CONTEXT, UM, AND HOW THEY COULD AFFECT THE CITY.
UM, I'M JUST GONNA GO THROUGH THESE REAL QUICK.
WHILE INFLATION HAS MODERATED AND EVERYBODY RECOGNIZES IT HAS, UM, IT REMAINS AT APPROXIMATELY, YOU SEE, OR 3.5% CONTINUING TO INCREASE THE COST OF CONTRACTS, FUEL, UTILITIES, EQUIPMENT, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS.
I MEAN, THE LIST GOES ON AND ON, UH, INCLUDING EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION.
[00:20:01]
UH, PRICE INCREASES HAVE, HAVE SLOWED, UM, IN SOME, UH, REALMS, UH, THEY'RE STILL PUTTING A LOT OF PRESSURE ON BOTH, UH, OUR OPERATING BUDGET AND OUR CAPITAL BUDGETS.UH, INTEREST RATES ALSO REMAIN ELEVATED.
UM, YOU'LL SEE HERE, UH, SHORTLY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE SEE A, A NICE BUMP IN OUR ESTIMATE FOR INTEREST EARNINGS, BUT ON THE FLIP SIDE, WE'RE PAYING MORE.
UM, AND, UH, WHEN WE SEE THAT, UM, UM, THROUGH OUR BOND, EVEN THOUGH WE'VE GOT THE AAA BOND RATING, WE SEE THAT THROUGH INCREASES AND, AND SOME OF THE HIGHEST RATES ON, ON OUR BONDS THAT WE'VE HAD TO PAY IN PROBABLY A DECADE.
UM, THE HIGHER, HIGH, HIGHER BARRING COSTS, OF COURSE, UM, UM, CAN ALSO, UH, IMPACT THE PRIVATE SECTOR MAKING DEVELOPMENT LESS LIKELY, UM, WHICH CAN SLOW INVESTMENT.
AND AGAIN, THE, THE GROWTH, I MENTIONED THE LABOR MARKET, WE'RE GONNA TALK A LOT ABOUT THAT TONIGHT.
THAT'S A, A VERY POSITIVE THING, UH, WITH UNEMPLOYMENT JUST AT 4.2%.
BUT, UM, CONSUMER SPENDING, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, HAS, UM, HAS REALLY, UH, BEEN A, UH, CURIOSITY LATELY.
IT ALSO, UH, MEANS, UM, THAT YOU CAN SEE HERE ON THE RETAIL SALES GROWTH SIDE, UH, JUST 2%.
WE'RE VERY CURIOUS ON HOW THAT'S GOING TO IMPACT THIS INTEREST RATE.
I'M SORRY, UH, SALES, UH, TAX MOVING FORWARD.
UM, A AGAIN, REALLY, AGAIN, REALLY CREATING THE CONTEXT WE'RE HERE FOR WHY WE'RE GONNA PROPOSE THE, UM, ASSUMPTIONS AROUND SOME OF OUR REVENUE THAT WE ARE, UM, AGAIN, ON THE CONSUMER SIDE, UM, SEEING, UH, SIGNS OF MODERATION.
UM, AND I WOULD SAY THAT'S, THAT'S, UH, WE SEE THAT BUSINESS IS BUSINESS AS WELL AS, AS WELL AS ON THE RETAIL SIDE.
WITH RETAIL JUST GROWING, AGAIN, THAT 2%, UM, CONSTRUCTION COSTS, UM, ARE IMPACTING US AS AN ORGANIZATION.
UM, WITH, UH, INFLATION NOW, CONSTRUCTION INFLATION AROUND 3%.
UM, WE CONTINUE TO SEE, UM, OUR PROJECTS, UM, THE BUDGETS FOR OUR PROJECTS BE STRAINED, PARTICULARLY THOSE PROJECTS THAT, UH, MAYBE WERE EARLY, UH, LATE IN THE 21, UM, BOND PROGRAM, UM, THAT WERE PROBABLY ESTIMATED NOW ANYWHERE FROM SIX TO SEVEN YEARS AGO.
I MEAN, THINK ABOUT THE, THE CYCLE OF A PROJECT LIKE THAT.
UM, THE ONE REALLY POSITIVE, UM, I THINK NOTE IS OUR OFFICE MARKET CONTINUE TO SEE, UH, A VERY, UH, STRONG MARKET WHERE IT'S IMPROVING.
WE'VE HAD, UH, YOU KNOW, 'EM AS WELL AS I HAVE, WE HAD SOME GREAT ANNOUNCEMENTS RECENTLY.
UM, AND, UH, OVER THIS, UH, CONTINUING, REALLY, IT'S ABOUT A, ABOUT A 30 MONTH TREND.
UH, AND SO, UH, SO WE SEE COMMERCIAL PROPERTY VALUES AND LONG-TERM SALES, UH, BASE, UH, UH, REALLY, UH, GROWING.
AND WE'LL LOOK AT THAT AS WE GET INTO, UH, SOME OF THE, UM, PROPERTY, UH, TAX RATE CONSIDERATIONS LATER.
UM, I DO, I DO WANNA MENTION, AND I'LL GO THROUGH THIS QUICKLY, I DO WANNA MENTION THE STATE, UM, IMPLICATIONS.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST, UH, NOW LESS THAN SIX MONTHS FROM THE SESSION, THE 90TH SESSION KICKING OFF.
UH, THESE ARE JUST A SELECT FEW OF THE IDEAS THAT ARE BEING, UH, PROPOSED BY, UH, STATE ELECTED OFFICIALS.
UH, ONE WOULD BE TO REDUCE THE ANNUAL HOMESTEAD APPRAISAL CAP FROM 10% TO 3%.
AND SO, RECALL, RIGHT NOW, UM, YOUR, UH, YOUR, UH, APPRAISED VALUE CAN ONLY INCREASE 10%.
UM, THE PROPOSAL WOULD LIMIT THAT TO 3%.
AND SO WE CAN THINK, YOU KNOW, OF HOW MANY, HOW MUCH POTENTIAL LOSS REVENUE WOULD BE LOST IN THAT 7%, UH, YEAR OVER YEAR.
UH, THIS IS A VERY LOOSELY DEFINED, UH, PROPOSAL RIGHT NOW, BUT IT WOULD REQUIRE VOTER APPROVAL FOR ALL LOCAL PROPERTY TAX INCREASES.
AND SO, UH, NOT ONLY CREATING A BURDEN OF, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY A 150 TO $200,000 POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, EVERY YEAR THAT WE HAD TO HAVE A TAX RATE, UM, UH, INCREASE OR, OR TO PUT IT TO THE VOTERS, BUT REALLY CREATING AN INTERESTING DYNAMIC EVERY YEAR ABOUT THIS TIME WHERE WE WOULD ESSENTIALLY BE PRESENTING YOU TWO BUDGETS.
ONE WOULD ASSUME, UH, THE EXISTING TAX RATE, AND THE OTHER WOULD ASSUME A TAX RATE THAT WOULD BE, UM, PUT TO THE VOTERS IN NOVEMBER.
AND THEN YOU'VE GOT THE WHOLE IMPLICATION OF, UM, UH, TAKING THAT VOTER FEEDBACK AND THE OUTCOME OF THAT ELECTION AND THEN IMPLEMENTING IT.
SO COULD BE VERY DISRUPTIVE FOR, UH, OPERATIONS.
ANOTHER PROPOSAL IS TO LIMIT LOCAL GOVERNMENT SPENDING GROWTH TO THE LESSER OF THREE AND A HALF PERCENT, WHICH IT IS TODAY.
OUR POPULATION PLUS, UH, POPULATION GROWTH PLUS INFLATION.
UH, YOU KNOW, FOR SOME CITIES THAT ARE NORTH OF US, THAT MAY NOT BE AS SCARY FOR A CITY LIKE RICHARDSON, THAT'S PROBABLY GONNA MAYBE GROW BY ANOTHER 12 TO 15,000 RESIDENTS, UH, OVER THE NEXT DECADE OR SO.
UM, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF, UM, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF, UM, BENEFIT TO A STRATEGY LIKE THIS.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY ONE THAT'S, UM, COULD BE VERY, UH, VERY, VERY CRITICAL IS TO MOVE THE ANNUAL FI, THE ANNUAL APPRAISAL PROCESS TO A FIVE-YEAR, UH, UH, UH, PROCESS.
UM, AND SO YOU THINK ABOUT, DEPENDING ON HOW THIS WOULD BE, UM, FINALLY ARTICULATED, UH, YOU THINK ABOUT THE HIGH TECH BUSINESSES THAT WE HAVE AND SOME OF THE INVESTMENT THAT THEY, SOME OF THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT THAT THEY MAKE, THEY'RE REFRESHING EVERY THREE TO FOUR YEARS.
AND SO YOU COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE CAPITAL INVESTMENT THAT CUT WOULD BE IN THAT WOULD COME ON.
AND BECAUSE OF THE WAY IT CYCLES OUT, UM, HOW QUICKLY THE TECHNOLOGY EVOLVES AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED, MAY NEVER EVEN BE CAPTURED IN AN APPRAISAL.
UM, AND SO THAT'S A, THAT'S A, A
[00:25:01]
VERY IMPACTFUL THING.ANY ONE OF THESE, UM, ANY ONE OF THESE PROPOSALS ARE GONNA CHANGE THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAVE NEXT, UH, AUGUST, IF SEVERAL OF THEM, UH, GET THROUGH.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WILL REALLY HAVE TO STAND BY TO SEE WHAT THAT MEANS FOR HOW WE DO BUSINESS AND, AND HOW WE CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON DELIVERING OUR, OUR CORE SERVICES.
UM, WE'RE NOT ALONE IN THIS REGARD AT ALL.
UH, THIS IS JUST A SAMPLING OF HEADLINES, UM, THAT, THAT YOU'LL FIND FROM ACROSS THE STATE.
YOU KNOW, I SAID IN DECEMBER, UM, AND, AND I THINK IT'S KIND OF THE FIRST TIME I, I, I PHRASED IT LIKE THIS, BUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING NOW IS, UH, WHAT I BELIEVE IS THE, UH, CONS.
NOW, SIXTH, THIS WILL BE THE SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF A THREE AND A HALF PERCENT PROPERTY TAX.
IT'S THE COMPOUNDING EFFECT THAT THAT CAP HAS HAD YEAR AFTER YEAR.
UM, THE FIRST SEVERAL YEARS WASN'T NEARLY AS DIFFICULT TO DEAL WITH THIS ARTIFICIAL CAP THAT'S JUST, UH, BEEN PUT, PUT IN A PLACE, UH, IN THE THREE AND A HALF PERCENT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY WHEN IT WAS PUT INTO PLACE BECAUSE OF COVID, COMPLETELY NON-CON, CONTEXTUAL TO THE REALITY OF WHAT WE WERE EXPERIENCING INFLATION.
BUT THIS COMPOUNDING EFFECT IS CATCHING UP WITH ALL CITIES THROUGHOUT NORTH TEXAS.
YOU CAN, AGAIN, JUST PERUSE THESE HEADLINES.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THINGS LIKE 4TH OF JULY FIREWORK SHOWS AND FAST GROWING AUSTIN SUBURBS, YOU KNOW, BEING, NOT BEING HELD BECAUSE, UH, UH, NEEDING TO HOLD RESERVES AND, AND, UH, RESOURCES FOR PRIORITY SERVICES.
AND SO, WHILE, WHILE THIS IS A SITUATION WE'RE, WE'RE DEALING WITH, AND I BELIEVE WE'RE DEALING WITH IT VERY EFFECTIVELY, UH, IT'S NOT UNIQUE TO US AND IT'S NOT GOING TO, UH, CHANGE WITHOUT SUBSTANTIAL MOVEMENT, UM, AT THE, UH, AT THE STATE LEVEL.
LET ME NOW TURN, UM, OUR TENSION, UH, WITH, WITH THAT CONTEXT, UH, OF BOTH, UM, UM, THE ECONOMIC AS WELL AS, AS THE PO POTENTIALLY POLITICAL.
UH, LET ME TURN OUR ATTENTION TO, UM, UH, THE FY 27 GENERAL FUND, UH, AND OUR REVENUE, UM, UH, DISCUSSION.
SO, AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE HERE, 80, JUST SHY OF 84% OF OUR REVENUE THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT IS GENERATED BY REALLY PROPERTY TAX, SALES TAX, UM, AND FRANCHISE FEES.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE BREAKOUT HERE, UH, JUST OVER $190 MILLION, UH, REVENUE, UM, ESTIMATE, UH, FOR, UH, THIS COMING YEAR.
UM, AND, UH, WE'LL TALK ABOUT HOW WE GET TO THAT POINT THERE.
UH, LET'S TALK ABOUT PROPERTY TAX REVENUES FIRST.
SO YOU SEE THERE, UM, WE'RE EXPECTING ABOUT A TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS INCREASE FROM FY 26.
THAT'S ABOUT A 2.72 VALUE, UH, GROWTH FROM THE, THE FY 26 TAX ROLLS LATER.
WE'LL TALK SPECIFICALLY, UM, BY A CATEGORY WHERE WE ARE SEEING THAT GROWTH.
UM, BUT, UH, AT THIS POINT, UH, JUST KNOW IT'S ABOUT A TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLAR INCREASE, UH, PRIOR YEAR.
UH, TAXES, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, ABOUT $157,000 DECREASE.
AGAIN, THAT JUST ASSUMES A LITTLE BIT HIGHER, UM, UM, LEVEL OF, UH, DISPUTES, UH, LAWSUITS FILED IN DISTRICT COURT.
UM, I THINK THERE WAS AN ARTICLE JUST THE OTHER DAY WHERE THERE WAS A RECORD NUMBER OF PROTESTS.
MANY OF THOSE PROTESTS ARE CONTINUING ON, UH, TO, UH, AND, AND THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS.
AND SO WE'RE ACCOUNTING FOR THAT HERE.
AND THEN YOU SEE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF AN INCREASE IN TERMS OF, UH, PENALTIES AND INTEREST.
YOU'LL RECALL LAST YEAR, UM, UH, THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT, THERE WAS A, JUST A, A, UM, A, A MISCALCULATION, IF YOU WILL.
UM, AND, UM, WE CAME TO YOU, UM, WITH A, UH, REVENUE PROJECTION FOR PROPERTY TAXES THAT INCLUDED THAT $372,000, UM, UH, MISCALCULATION.
BUT WE QUICKLY, WE QUICKLY DEDUCTED THAT ON THE VERY NEXT LINE AND THAT FUND SUMMARY.
AND SO THAT'S JUST KIND OF RE RE RE REMINDING YOU OF THAT, UM, SITUATION THAT OCCURRED LAST YEAR IN TERMS OF FRANCHISE FEES WE'RE, UH, FRANCHISE FEES, EXCUSE ME, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, ABOUT AN $814,000 INCREASE, UH, ON THE ELECTRIC SIDE, A LITTLE BIT OF A DECREASE, UH, UH, ON THE, UM, TELEPHONE FRANCHISE FEE SIDE, A LITTLE BIT OF AN INCREASE.
AND THEN ON GAS, A LITTLE BIT OF AN INCREASE.
ALL OF THESE ARE BASED ON WHAT WE CALL NORMAL, UH, WELL, THE GAS AND ELECTRIC NORMAL WEATHER YEARS AND MODERATE GROWTH.
UM, WE BELIEVE THE TELEPHONE FEES, UH, FINALLY ARE KIND OF LEVELING OFF AFTER MULTIPLE YEARS OF DECLINES AS CUSTOMERS DROP THEIR LANDLINES.
AND SO IT'S FINALLY SOME STABILITY THERE.
UM, UH, ON THE CABLE FEE SIDE, UH, YOU SEE THAT, UM, UH, WE ARE LOOKING AT A LITTLE BIT OF GROWTH, UH, GROWTH OF ABOUT $77,000.
THAT WOULD BE MORE HAD WE NOT LOST, UH, LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION, THE ABILITY TO, UH, INCLUDE CERTAIN KINDS OF STREAMING SERVICES IN, UH, THE FRANCHISE FEE.
AND SO WE'RE STILL HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR THAT.
AND THEN YOU SEE ABOUT A HALF MILLION DOLLAR INCREASE IN THE WATER, SEWER, AND SOLID WASTE, UH, UH, FUNDS.
AND, UH, TOMORROW NIGHT, AS WE TALK ABOUT THOSE, WE'LL TALK ABOUT HOW, UM, THEY'RE ANTICIPATED, UM, UH, TO GROW.
AND SO WHAT YOU SEE THERE IS JUST THE PROPORTIONATE INCREASE, UH, IN THE FRANCHISE FEE FROM THOSE SALES.
UH, AGAIN, ON THE SALES TAX SIDE, UM, UM, YOU'LL SEE PROJECTED AT $59.1 MILLION, THAT'S AN INCREASE OF ABOUT FOUR $1 MILLION, UH, $4.1 MILLION OVER LAST YEAR.
IT'S BUDGETED AT $58.3 MILLION.
UM, THIS IS AN ADMITTEDLY, ADMITTEDLY CONSERVATIVE
[00:30:01]
APPROACH.UM, WE HAVE ADJUSTED OUT ALL OF THAT $5.2 MILLION IN ONE TIME AUDIT ADJUSTMENTS, AS WELL AS, UM, KIND OF WHAT WE CALL ONE TIME SPIKES, UH, INCREASES THAT ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN.
AND UNLIKE IN PAST YEARS WHERE WE'VE GONE WITH A 2% INCREASE, UH, YEAR OVER YEAR, WE'RE GOING TO RECOMMEND A 1% INCREASE, UH, YEAR OVER YEAR.
YOU KNOW, WITHOUT NAMING NAMES.
THERE ARE CITIES, UH, HERE IN NORTH TEXAS THAT HAVE, UH, BEEN TOO BULLISH AND TOO AGGRESSIVE ON THEIR SALES TAX CALCULATIONS.
UM, AND IT'S COSTING THEM AND THEIR ORGANIZATIONS, THEY'RE HAVING TO RESORT TO THINGS LIKE FURLOUGHS.
UH, AND, AND, AND, AND, AND SIMILAR STRATEGIES TO BALANCE AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
UM, I WOULD MUCH RATHER BE SITTING HERE NEXT YEAR IN AUGUST AND TALKING TO YOU ABOUT HAVING A, THE PROBLEM OF HAVING TOO MUCH SALES TAX COMPARED TO BUDGET THAN NOT HAVING ENOUGH.
AND SO, UM, WE FEEL LIKE 1%, GIVEN EVERYTHING THAT I'VE DESCRIBED ON THE, UH, INTERNATIONAL NATIONAL FRONT, AND EVEN PARTICULARLY, UH, PERHAPS THE STATE FRONT 1% IS, IS, UH, THE RIGHT NUMBER THERE AGAIN, UM, YOU SEE A LITTLE BIT, UM, OF THE BUDGET.
I MEAN, THE, UH, MIXED BEVERAGE TAX AND THE BINGOS TAX, UH, YOU KNOW, VARY INCONSEQUENTIAL COMPARED TO THE SALES TAX.
YOU SEE THE SALES TAX HERE, AGAIN, 58.3 COMPARED TO THE 54.2.
UH, SO A $4.1 MILLION, UM, INCREASE.
UM, AGAIN, IF YOU TOOK THAT $5.2 MILLION ADJUSTMENT OFF OF WHERE WE'RE ESTIMATING, UH, SALES TAX TO END, UH, HERE, UM, IT WOULD TAKE IT DOWN TO ABOUT, UH, $57.7 MILLION.
UH, AND SO YOU CAN SEE THE $58.3 MILLION IS VERY MUCH IN LINE WITH THAT.
OTHER REVENUES TO JUST MENTION HERE, UM, PROJECTED AT ABOUT $30.7 MILLION, UH, AN INCREASE IN LICENSE AND PERMITS, UM, BASED ON SOME MODERATE GROWTH ASSUMPTIONS.
BUT WHAT WE, WE, WE KNOW IS IN THE PIPE WHEN IT COMES TO CONSTRUCTION, UH, I MENTIONED THE INTEREST EARNINGS, UH, ANTICIPATING SOME INCREASES BY THE FED.
YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY, VERY EASY TO LOOK AT AND GO, GO, WELL, A MILLION DOLLARS IN INTEREST, BUT GUESS WHAT? WE'RE PAYING IT ON THE OTHER SIDE.
AND SO THAT, THOSE NUMBERS ARE NOT GOOD.
I JUST AS JUST AS SOON HAVE LOW INTEREST NUMBERS KNOWING THAT, UM, WE'RE PAYING, UM, A LOT LESS FOR THE, THE, THE, THE DOLLARS THAT WE BORROW.
UM, LOOKING AT AN INCREASE IN FINES AND FORFEITURES, UH, THAT ARE CORRESPONDING TO SOME ACTIVITY THAT WE'RE SEEING, UM, BOTH IN, UH, THE RPD FRONT, THE CODE FRONT, UH, AND, AND OTHER, UM, SEGMENTS LIKE THAT.
UM, THE, UH, PARKS AND REC, RECREATION LEISURE, UM, LOOKING TO, UH, FORECAST A DECREASE OF ABOUT $20,000.
UM, IT ACTUALLY INCLUDES, AS YOU'LL HEAR FROM BOB HERE IN JUST A SECOND, SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT INCREASES, UM, UH, ASSOCIATED WITH, UM, WITH FEE INCREASED PROPOSALS.
HOWEVER, UM, WE ARE FACTORING IN THE THREE ABOUT THE $300,000 DECREASE, UH, FROM WILDFLOWER FESTIVAL, UH, WITH THE NEW TWO DAY FORMAT, UM, AND WITH ONE LESS STAGE.
UH, AND SO THAT'S KIND OF HOW YOU, UH, NEGATE A LOT OF THE INCREASES THAT WE'RE EXPECTING FOR SOME OF THE FEES.
UM, THE G AND A, UH, IS BASED ON OUR MOST RECENT UPDATE AND, UH, IS PROPORTIONATE, UH, PER THAT STUDY.
AND THEN YOU SEE THE OTHER REVENUES THERE, UH, DECREASED ABOUT $95,000.
UM, IT INCLUDES REDUCTIONS IN REVENUES FROM, UM, AMBULANCE SERVICE AS WELL AS FROM, UH, PSD AND RSD REIMBURSEMENTS FOR SCHOOL CROSSING GUARDS, WHICH WILL NOW BE RECORDED IN THE, UH, WIRELESS, UM, 9 1 1 FUND.
I'M GONNA ASK BOB TO, UH, RUN, RUN THROUGH, UH, THE NEXT FEW SLIDES HERE.
UM, WE'RE WILLING TO, UH, GO AS DEEP IN TERMS OF DETAIL, UH, AS HE'D LIKE.
SO IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ON ONE OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS OR THE RATIONALE BEHIND THEM, UH, JUST STOP BOB AND HE'LL BE HAPPY TO KIND OF, UH, DO A DEEP DIVE.
OTHERWISE, WE'LL, WE'LL KIND OF DO A LITTLE BIT HIGHER LEVEL, UH, REVIEW OF THEM.
UH, AS DON MENTIONED, UH, EACH YEAR AS PART OF OUR BUDGET PROCESS, UH, STAFF UNDERTAKES A, UH, COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF, UH, ALL FEES THAT THE CITY CHARGES.
UH, THE BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR INCLUDES ABOUT $252,000 IN FEE CHANGES.
A LOT OF THOSE ARE, UH, EITHER MARKET BASED OR COST RECOVERY BASED, BUT THERE ARE A COUPLE, UH, THAT ARE A RESULT OF SOME, UM, LAW, UH, UH, STATE LAW CHANGES THAT, UH, WE'LL GO THROUGH OVER THE NEXT COUPLE SLIDES.
UH, AGAIN, WE'LL TALK KIND OF ON A SUMMARY, UM, LEVEL, BUT FEEL FREE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS THAT, UH, YOU HAVE.
UH, WE'RE RECOMMENDING, UH, VARIOUS, UH, PERMIT FEES, INCLUDING NEW SINGLE FAMILY AND MULTI-FAMILY, UH, PERMITS, AS WELL AS FENCE AND, UH, ROOF, UH, PERMITS.
ALL OF THESE ARE MARKET-BASED, UM, RECOVERY, UH, ESTIMATES OR, UH, UH, TARGETS, UH, HEALTH INSPECTION.
THE FIRST TH TWO THERE YOU'LL SEE ARE THE RESULT OF A, UM, LE LEGAL CHANGES THAT, UH, WE NOW MUST, UM, COMPLY WITH.
UH, WE WILL NO LONGER BE, UH, ABLE TO CHARGE MOBILE FOOD PERMITS AS WELL AS, UH, FOOD PERMITS FOR CHILDCARE FACILITIES.
UH, WE ARE IN, UH, TRYING TO MAKE, NOT MAKE UP SOME OF IT, BUT, UH, ADJUSTING FOR
[00:35:01]
SOME OF THAT WITH THE, THE FOOD ESTABLISHMENT REINSPECTION FEE, UH, BEING INCREASED FROM 1 25 TO $200 OR A, UH, INCREASE OF $75.UH, WE ARE ALSO RECOMMENDING A POOL INSPECTION INCREASE BASED ON MARKET AVERAGES, UH, ANIMAL SHELTER EACH YEAR.
UH, UNDERTAKES A, UH, COMPREHENSIVE RE REVIEW.
WE ARE RECOMMENDING SOME INCREASES TO ADOPTION AND IMPOUND, UH, UH, PERMITS OR FEES.
UH, BUT ONE KIND OF, UH, BONUS IMPACT OF THIS WOULD BE THAT THE ADDITIONAL REVENUE THAT WOULD BE GENERATED FOR THIS WOULD HELP OFFSET SOME ANNUAL OPERATING COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH A NEW SOFTWARE PACKAGE THAT WAS LAUNCHED OUT AT THE ANIMAL SHELTER DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
UH, THEY ARE STEPPING INTO THE COST RECOVERY MODEL, AND YOU'LL SEE THERE, UH, THEY HAVE, UH, FIVE VARIOUS, UM, UH, FEES THAT WE, WE WANNA INCREASE BASED ON COST RECOVERY.
UH, AND THEN THERE IN THE GREEN, THAT TOP ONE, UH, THE CIVIL ENGINEERING, UH, PLANNED REVIEW FEE, UH, BASED ON STATE LAW CHANGES, WE'RE NO LONGER ALLOWED TO CHARGE A A, A FLAT FEE FOR THAT.
UH, SO THAT WILL NOW BE DONE ON A COST OF WORK DONE, UH, CHARGED AT $70 PER HOUR.
UH, AGAIN, IT'S BASED OFF A COST RECOVERY MODEL.
UH, THE PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE INSPECTION FEES, UH, CURRENTLY ARE, UH, BASED ON A 3.5% OF THE ASSESSED VALUE.
UH, WE ARE NO LONGER ALLOWED TO CHARGE BASED ON AN ASSESSED VALUE.
UH, SO THAT TOO WILL GO TO A, UH, COST RECOVERY MODEL, UH, AND BASED OFF OF HOURLY RATES, AS WELL AS, UH, THE ACTUAL COST OF SOME OF THOSE INSPECTIONS.
AND YOU'LL SEE THOSE OVER THE NEXT, UH, TWO SLIDES IN FIRE.
UH, WE ARE RECOMMENDING, UH, CURRENTLY THE EMERGENCY INCIDENT BILLING PROGRAM, UH, CURRENTLY IS ONLY CHARGED TO NON-RESIDENT, UH, AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANIES.
WE'RE RECOMMENDING EXPANDING THAT TO ALL, UM, UH, CITIZENS RESIDENT, NON-RESIDENT.
UH, SO THE ONLY CHANGE THERE WOULD BE REMOVING THE NON-RESIDENT ONLY.
UH, THE NEXT TWO PARTS ARE ADDING SOME COST RECOVERY FACTORS TO THAT, INCLUDING TECHNICAL RESCUE, UH, USING AN AMBULANCE OR, UH, A, UM, UH, PERSONNEL, AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL RESPONSE VEHICLES THAT ARE, UH, SENT TO A SCENE.
UH, THOSE FIRST THREE ON THE THIS NEXT SLIDE ARE RELATED TO AMBULANCE BILLINGS.
UH, THEY ARE, UH, BEING INCREASED, UH, ROUGHLY, UH, $325 FOR THE, UH, A LS, UM, 525,000 FOR THE A LS TWO, AND THEN THE BASIC LIFE SUPPORT GOING UP 125,000.
UH, IT IS MARKET BASED, BUT ALSO THEY, UH, FIRE DEPARTMENT ALSO FACTORS IN WHAT INSURANCE COMPANIES WILL REIMBURSE ON THOSE.
AND, UH, MEDICARE ALLOWANCES AND THOSE KIND OF THINGS.
UM, THERE ARE SOME FIRE MARSHAL INSPECTIONS, UH, INCLUDING CON CONSTRUCTION PERMITS, UM, FROM FLAMMABLE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS.
WE WERE ALSO RECOMMENDING, UH, INCREASING, UM, AGAIN, THOSE FIRST THREE IN THE NEXT SLIDE ARE ALSO, UH, MARKET BASED, UH, FOR, UM, VARIOUS THINGS THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OFFER.
THEY'RE STARTING THERE IN THE MIDDLE.
WE ARE LOOKING AT ADDING ABOUT FOUR, UH, NEW COST RECOVERY, UM, FEES FOR SPECIAL.
UH, THE FIRST THREE ARE FOR SPECIAL EVENTS.
UH, THIS WOULD HELP COVER THE PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT THAT ARE RESPONDING OR, OR ON STANDBY FOR SPECIAL EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UH, SO FOR JUST THE STANDBY PERSONNEL, IT'S ROUGHLY $75 AN HOUR.
I'M SORRY, THAT'S, UH, THAT'S AN INCREASE.
THE, THE AMBULANCE WOULD, UH, BE ESTABLISHED AT $250, AND THEN THE, UH, ENGINES OR FIRETRUCK AT $400.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT ADDING A NEW, UH, A LIGHT LIFT ASSIST FEE.
THIS IS WHEN WE ARE PROVIDING, UM, THE ASSISTANCE TO MOVE A PERSONNEL OR A, A CITIZEN FROM A, UH, LICENSED NURSING FACILITY TO ANOTHER FACILITY.
WE'RE GONNA ESTABLISH A COST RECOVERY FEE OF ROUGHLY $750 ON THAT ONE.
UH, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AS PART OF THEIR ANNUAL REVIEW, MOST OF THEIRS ARE, UH, COST RECOVERY BASED.
UH, THERE ARE, UH, FIVE SIX, UH, RELATED TO THE AQUATICS.
UH, AS PART OF THE REFRESH AT THE HEIGHTS, UH, UM, AQUATIC CENTER, THE, A NEW, UH, PARTY SPACE WAS ADDED.
UH, WE ARE GOING TO ESTABLISH A FEE FOR USE OF THAT SPACE.
UH, THE FIRST ONE LISTED THERE IS FOR NON-RESIDENTS AT $300 DURING THE WEEKDAYS AND THREE 50 ON THE WEEKENDS.
UH, THEY'RE AN ADDITIONAL $4 PER PERSON OVER THE 30, UH, PERSON.
UM, MINIMUM THERE, OR, OR, UH, CHARGE.
THE SECOND ONE THERE WOULD BE $275 FOR RESIDENTS DURING THE WEEKDAY AND 3 25 ON THE WEEKENDS.
[00:40:01]
UH, ATHLETIC FIELD, UM, ATHLETIC CONCESSION SPLIT, UH, WE'RE GONNA ADD THAT TO THE MASTER FEE SCHEDULE.AND THEN THE, UH, NEW ATHLETIC TOURNAMENT VENDOR FEE.
CURRENTLY, WE DON'T OFFER THAT, BUT WE'RE GONNA OFFER ALLOWING OUTSIDE VENDORS IN FOR $150 GYMNASTICS FEES.
UH, WE ARE PLANNING ON INCREASING THE GYMNASTICS HOLIDAY CAMP, UH, $5 FROM $50 TO $55.
UH, THEN CURRENTLY AT OUR REC CENTERS, THERE ARE SOME OPPORTUNITIES WHERE THERE IS EMPTY SPACE OR EMPTY RENTAL SPACE AVAILABLE.
UH, CURRENTLY, UH, THOSE SPACES ARE ONLY AVAILABLE TO RESIDENTS.
WE'RE GONNA OPEN THOSE TO NON-RESIDENTS TO LOOK AT FILLING THOSE OPEN, UH, SLOTS ON THE, THE, UM, THE SCHEDULE.
AND THEN THE LAST ONE IS A CHANGE TO THE MEMORIAL, UH, PARK DEDICATION BENCHES, UH, GOING FROM $2,000 TO, UH, $2,500.
A LOT OF THIS IS, OR THAT IS A COST RECOVERY BASED ON THE COST OF THOSE BENCHES, AND WE'RE JUST TRYING TO RECOVER WHAT THE CITY IS PUTTING INTO THAT.
SO IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THE PERMIT OR FEES OR PERMITS THAT WERE ASKED? UH, WE'LL JUST START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER JUSTICE AND WORK OUR WAY DOWN.
UM, THANK YOU MR. PLY MEYER ON SLIDE 33, UM, THE EMERGENCY INCIDENT BILLING, YOU INDICATED THAT WE'RE GONNA START CHARGING A FEE TO RESIDENTS THAT HISTORICALLY WAS NON-RESIDENTS.
CAN YOU GIMME AN EXAMPLE OF, OF WHAT AN EMERGENCY INCIDENT BILLING WOULD BE? SO IF THERE IS AN ACCIDENT ON A MAIN THOROUGHFARE OR ON 75, AND WE SEND, UH, APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT THERE, THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS AND, AND THE CHIEF MIGHT BE ABLE TO EXPAND ON IT, BUT FOR HAZMAT CLEANUPS, UM, SWEEPING, THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO CHARGE THE INSURANCE COMPANIES FOR TO BE REIMBURSED FOR.
IT'S, IT'S AN EFFORT TO GET, OR IT'S AN ATTEMPT TO, TO RECOUP SOME OF THE COSTS THAT WE ARE DOING OR, OR UN UNDERTAKING BY RESPONDING TO SOME OF THESE ACCIDENTS.
SO, SO LARGELY AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT CLEANUP? YES.
UM, AND WHAT HAPPENS, UM, MR. KLE MEYER OR CHIEF, IF THE INSURANCE DOESN'T PAY? DOES IT JUST WE DO NOT, MY UNDERSTANDING IS WE DO NOT BILL THE RESIDENCE.
IT'S BASED ON WHAT THE INSURANCE COMPANIES, UH, WILL REIMBURSE US.
OR WE WOULD NOT BALANCE BILL COUNCIL MEMBER BARRIOS.
AND DO YOU MIND LOWERING THE MICROPHONE, SIR? THANK YOU, MAYOR.
UM, CHIEF, MY QUESTION WAS SIMILAR AND I WANNA ASK THAT ABOUT 33 AND THEN SLIDE 35 SIMILAR QUESTIONS.
SO I'M COMING UP 75, I'M IN A FENDER BENDER, MAYBE A CAR THAT SEES IT, CALLS 9 1 1 A TRUCK RESPONDS.
AT WHAT POINT, IF I'M THE ONE THAT, WHETHER IT'S MY FAULT OR NOT, I'M TRYING TO, THE LAST THING I'D WANT ONE IS FOR, YOU KNOW, I'M THINKING MY PERSONAL INSURANCE, YOU KNOW, GOING UP, I'M THINKING SOMEBODY ELSE CALLED AND ALL OF A SUDDEN MY INSURANCE IS GETTING A BILL.
WHAT, HELP ME UNDERSTAND THIS FURTHER.
AND I KNOW COUNCILMAN JUSTICE ASKED SOME OF THE QUESTIONS, BUT I'M STILL STRUGGLING TO WRAP MY HEAD AROUND THIS, OF WHAT THESE FEES ARE.
AND WHAT DO YOU EXPECT AS THE REVENUE GENERATION FROM THAT? LIKE, IS THIS, 'CAUSE WE'RE GETTING 30 CALLS A DAY AND IT'S A HUNDRED THOUSANDS, OR IS THIS, YOU KNOW, SMALLER, LIKE, I, I'M STRUGGLING.
AND ALONG THAT SAME VEIN ON 35, THE BOTTOM THREE HERE, OR THE BOTTOM ONE, THE LIFT ASSIST FEE, UM, I'M THINKING, YOU KNOW, THERE'RE SENIORS GOING FROM, LET'S SAY METHODIST, BACK TO THEIR SENIOR LIVING SITUATION.
THE LAST THING I WANT IS FOR A SENIOR TO BE STUCK WITH A $750 BILL.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY THINKING OF MY OWN MOTHER WHO, WHO, AS YOU KNOW, CHIEF LIVES WITH ME AND I TAKE CARE OF HER.
BUT, UM, CAN YOU KIND OF GO INTO THAT? 'CAUSE THAT DOES KIND OF RAISE THE FLAG IN MY BRAIN.
SO, TO, TO START WITH, WITH THE VEHICLE ACCIDENTS, UM, IF WE'RE CALLED TO AN INCIDENT, EITHER BY PASSERBY OR THE PERSON, WHATEVER, AND WE GET THERE AND THERE ARE FLUIDS ON THE GROUND, THEN IT'S MORE THAN A FENDER BENDER, RIGHT? SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE FLUIDS ON THE GROUND.
WE HAVE, WE'RE, WE'RE DOING THE WORK.
AND WHAT THE BILLING COMPANY WILL DO IS THEY'LL TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND SEE DOES IT MEET THE CRITERIA FOR ANY OF THIS? AND, UM, JUST GOING OUT THERE STOPPING, IS EVERYTHING OKAY? GOOD? NOPE, EVERYBODY LEAVE, WE'RE SAFE.
UH, IT WOULD BE, LIKE I SAID, IF THERE'S FLUIDS ON THE GROUND TO CLEAN UP, IF TO BE DONE, SO THIS IS SPECIFICALLY HAZMAT, THEN WE COULD CALL IT HAZMAT 'CAUSE IT'S FLUIDS, BUT IT'S HAZMAT ITSELF IS BILLED TOTALLY SEPARATE.
AND THAT'S FOR WHAT WE CONSIDER HAZARDOUS MATERIALS.
THINGS LIKE THE BAD CHEMICALS, RIGHT? GAS, OIL, GAS, RIGHT? YEAH.
UM, JUST OIL ON THE GROUND OR ANTIFREEZE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT'S THROW OIL.
SO ON IT, PICK IT UP, CLEAN IT
[00:45:01]
UP.BUT THAT'S TAKING PERSONNEL TIME.
IT'S RECOVERING WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE CHARGING, UH, WHAT WE'RE BILLING OUT THERE.
UM, AND IT'S BILLED TO THE PERSON THAT IS SHOWN TO BE.
UM, AND I GUESS, UH, IT'S NOT CHIEF TITTLE HELP ME OUT HERE.
IT'S NOT, THEY DON'T DETERMINE YEAH.
BUT THEY HAVE A PRIMARY INVESTIGATION, I GUESS, SHOWING IN, IN WHICH CONTRIBUTING FACTORS ARE LEANING TOWARDS ONE PARTY OR THE OTHER.
RIGHT? SO UNDER THE POLICE REPORT, WHATEVER VEHICLE NUMBER ONE IS, THAT'S TYPICALLY THE ONE THAT IS SHOWN TO HAVE THE EVIDENCE OF BEING THE ONE THAT CAUSED THE INCIDENT.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE THE BILL GOES IS TO THAT INSURANCE COMPANY.
AND THEN, AND I'M ASSUMING THIS IS PRETTY NORMAL PRACTICE IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS? IT IS.
AND IT'S BECOMING MORE AND MORE, UH, BECAUSE INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE THE ONES THAT PAY OFF ON THIS.
AND THEN WE DO NOT BALANCE BILL, UH, ANYONE.
WE ONLY TAKE WHAT THE INSURANCE COMPANIES PAY.
UM, AND THEN ON THE, NO, UH, ON THE LIFT ASSIST, THAT'S, THAT'S ACTUALLY, UH, A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
WE'RE NOT TRANSPORTING PEOPLE ON THIS.
IF WE TRANSPORT A PATIENT, THEN IT GOES UNDER THE, UH, ABOVE ONES FOR THE TRANSPORT FEES.
THIS IS FOR, WE ARE REGULARLY, DAILY, UH, MANY TIMES, MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY, GOING TO LICENSED CARE FACILITIES THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE PERSONNEL TO TAKE CARE OF THESE FOLKS.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE PAYING FOR.
THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE PAYING FOR YOUR, YOUR MOTHER OR YOUR FATHER TO BE IN THERE FOR.
BUT WE'RE HAVING TO GO OUT AND DO THEIR JOBS FOR 'EM.
SO THEY DON'T HAVE PEOPLE STRONG ENOUGH TO PICK UP JOHN.
SO THEY'RE CALLING US TO GO THERE WITH FOUR PERSONNEL ON A FIRE APPARATUS TO PICK HIM UP AND PUT HIM BACK IN BED.
AND SO THIS IS A FEE TO THE FACILITY, NOT TO THE PATIENT.
SO, SO IF MY MOTHER FELL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND SOMEBODY COMES OUT TO HELP LIFT HER OFF THE GROUND, AM I GETTING $750 BILL, YOU ARE NOT, THE FACILITY IS, SHE LIVES WITH ME, THEREFORE.
AT A RESIDENCE, WE, WE DO NOT CHARGE.
THIS IS ONLY FOR LICENSED CARE FACILITIES THAT HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROVIDING PERSONNEL TO TAKE CARE OF THE PATIENTS.
THANK YOU CHIEF, FOR, FOR EXPLAINING THAT THIS MAKES MORE SENSE.
I APPRECIATE, UH, DO YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE ANY REVENUE IDEA ON THIS AT THIS TIME? IF NOT, WE DON'T.
I'M JUST WONDERING ON SAME SLIDE 35, WHAT IS A SPECIAL EVENT LIKE, AND WHAT, WHAT'S THE CIRCUMSTANCE WHERE YOU HAVE A, LIKE A AMBULANCE LIKE ON STANDBY FOR A SPECIAL EVENT? I MEAN, SO THESE ARE FAIRLY RARE 'CAUSE WE PUSH THEM TO PRIVATE AMBULANCE COMPANIES, THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT IT, IT MIGHT BE ONE, ONE CASE WAS THE DART RODEO WHERE THEY DO THE, UH, THE RODEO WITH THEIR MOTORCYCLES.
THEY WOULD WANT AN AMBULANCE ON STANDBY.
SO WE WOULD NEED TO, UM, RECOVER THE, THE COST OF HAVING AN AMBULANCE, A CREW AND ALL THAT OUT THERE.
UM, OCCASIONALLY THERE'LL BE AN EVENT MAYBE THAT WE'RE ALLOWING SOME POWER TECHNICS, BUT THERE HAS TO BE FIRE PERSONNEL ON THE SCENE.
THAT WOULD BE THAT TYPE OF CASE.
MAYBE IT'S AT THE EISMAN CENTER, UM, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UHHUH,
SCHOOL DISTRICTS FOR FOOTBALL GAMES ON FRIDAY NIGHTS, ARE WE GOING TO CHARGE THE STANDBY FEE? SO WE'RE PUTTING THAT IN THERE, BUT WE HAVEN'T HAD THAT DISCUSSION WITH THEM YET.
UH, BOB, I'VE GOT, UH, JUST A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
UM, STARTING WITH ON, ON THE, UM, UH, WHERE WE HAVE COST RECOVERY VERSUS MARKET IN THE SCENARIOS WHERE WE HAVE COST RECOVERY, ARE WE STILL BALANCING THAT AGAINST THE MARKET? YEAH, THAT IS PART OF THE, THE, UH, THE OVERALL REVIEW.
NOW OBVIOUSLY, I MEAN, WE, WE DON'T WANT TO BECOME, YOU KNOW, TOP OF THE MARKET WHERE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, HARMFUL TO TO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.
UH, BUT WE ARE LOOKING MORE TOWARDS THE COST RECOVERY SIDE THAN, THAN JUST SAYING, OH, THOSE OTHER CITIES CHARGE X, SO WE'RE GONNA CHARGE X MINUS A CERTAIN PERCENT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO COST RECOVERY IS BECOMING A, A LARGER FACTOR, ESPECIALLY WITH SOME OF THE STATE LAW CHANGES THAT SAY YOU CAN'T JUST CHARGE A, A FLAT FEE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO PUT A METHODOLOGY BEHIND THAT.
AND THE OTHER THING THAT JUMPED OUT AT ME WAS THE, UH, SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN FEE.
UM, AM I READING IT RIGHT? IS THAT WHENEVER PEOPLE ARE COMING TO US WITH LIKE SPECIAL USE PERMIT SCENARIOS AND ASSUMING, SO I'D BE CURIOUS, WHAT IF WE VERIFIED THAT AGAINST, I, I THINK COST RECOVERY WAS THE THOUGHT PROCESS THERE.
BUT IS THAT, IS THAT COMPETITIVE?
[00:50:02]
IT'S, IT'S A FAIRLY LARGE JUMP THAT'S ONLY FROM 2,500 TO 5,000.YEAH, I MEAN THAT WA THAT WAS PART OF THE, THE, UH, RATIONALE WAS MARKET, UH, MARKET IS ALWAYS BROUGHT INTO THE EQUATION, BUT THIS, THIS IS A MOVE TO MORE OF A COST RECOVERY THAT WOULD KIND OF INDICATE WHERE, HOW LOW OUR FEE HAS BEEN IN THE PAST.
UM, AS FAR AS ACTUAL SPECIFIC, YOU KNOW, SPECIAL DEVELOPMENTS, CHARLES, ARE YOU ABLE TO ANSWER, RESPOND TO THAT? IT'S OKAY, WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION LATER.
YEAH, WE'LL PUT THAT ON OUR LIST TO FOLLOW UP.
MY, MY BIGGEST CONCERN ON THAT, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M BEING CLEAR, IS UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK OFTENTIMES THE 2,500 FOR SOME BUSINESSES, UM, CAN BE PROHIBITIVE TO LIKE, DO I EVEN TAKE A CHANCE TO BRING THIS TO COUNCIL ONLY TO HEAR? NO.
AND THEN THEY'VE SPENT 2,500, OBVIOUSLY WE'VE SPENT SOME MONEY TOO, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO RECOVER.
UH, BUT THAT 2,500 WAS ALREADY SOMEWHAT PROHIBITIVE, UM, UH, IN CER CERTAIN CASES.
AND SO I CAN IMAGINE DOUBLING IT WILL PROBABLY MAKE IT THAT MUCH MORE DIFFICULT FOR SOMEONE TO EVEN TRY TO DO SOMETHING.
UM, AND MAYBE THAT'S OUR GOAL.
MAYBE OUR GOAL IS THAT WE DON'T WANT THEM TO, UH, TO PUT IT OUT THERE.
OR, UM, MAYBE IT IS THAT WE'VE JUST BEEN SO DARN LOW FOR SO LONG AND WE'RE AN ABERRATION CITY-WISE.
UH, THAT, THAT ONE IS THE ONLY ONE THAT I WOULD JUST LOVE TO KIND OF AT LEAST MAKE SURE, UM, THAT I'VE GOT A HANDLE ON THAT, WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE DOING SOMETHING THAT MAYBE IS, UM, NOT FULLY THOUGHT OUT.
OH, I SEE A COUPLE OTHER QUESTIONS.
SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER BARRIOS.
UM, DON OR BOB, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS, WHICH ONE OF YOU, THIS IS QUESTION FOUR, SLIDE 19.
SINCE, SO THAT THIS RATIO BETWEEN THE VARIOUS, UH, REVENUE, IS THIS ABOUT WHAT IT IS COMPARATIVELY? I KNOW A COUPLE SLIDES LATER WE LOOKED AT THE SALES TAX REVENUE, BUT IS IT PRETTY ONLINE AS FAR AS YOU KNOW? 80, ALMOST 84% OF IT IS FROM PROPERTY TAXES.
IS THAT FAIRLY ONLINE WITHIN A COUPLE PERCENTAGE? NO.
SO, SO 80, 84% IS FROM PROPERTY TAXES, SALES TAX AND FRANCHISE FEES.
AND 11.1 FROM FRANCHISE, RIGHT? SORRY, MY APOLOGIES.
BUT IS THAT 41.7 ONLINE? WHAT PREVIOUS YEARS HAVE BEEN, OR ARE WE STARTING TO SHIFT THAT? ANY THE, THERE'S VERY LITTLE DEVIATION IN THE PROPORTION OF, UM, OF, OF THE THREE SOURCES.
THE CHANGES, IT HASN'T BEEN THAT SIGNIFICANT.
COUNCIL MEMBER CORCORAN, JUST FOR CLARITY, WHEN DISCUSSING THESE, UH, SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT AND PLAN DEVELOPMENT FEES, WE ARE ALLOWED TO WAIVE ALL OR PART OF THOSE AS PART OF INCENTIVE PACKAGES, RIGHT? YES.
SO, UM, SO THAT WAS THE GENERAL FUND REVENUE STORY I'D LIKE TO CHANGE NOW AND FOCUS ON THE EXPENDITURES.
UM, HERE, UM, NEARLY, UH, JUST OVER 68% OF ALL OF OUR GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES ARE RELATED TO PERSONNEL SERVICES.
UM, WE'LL GET INTO, UH, THAT IN A LITTLE BIT.
UM, SO WHERE DOES, WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO? UH, WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT NEARLY 15 BUSINESS LINES HERE IN THE CITY OF, OF THAT 74% GO TO REALLY, UH, JUST A HANDFUL OF, OF, UH, OPERATIONS.
YOU SEE 41.9% TO PUBLIC SAFETY, 12.5% TO GENERAL GOVERNMENT, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE MOBILITY, UH, 10.4%.
AND THEN RECREATIONAL LEISURE, 9.2%.
SO, UM, WE'LL GET INTO SOME OF THE KEY DRIVERS, UH, ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE HERE IN JUST A SECOND.
UM, I WANNA, BEFORE WE DO THAT, I WANT TO JUST REINFORCE WITH YOU, UM, WHEN WE'RE PUTTING THESE DRIVERS TOGETHER, UM, UH, OBVIOUSLY LIKE WE, LIKE WE MENTIONED, WE LOOK AT ECONOMIC FACTORS.
WHAT IS IT LIKELY, UH, THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO, UM, NOT ONLY AFFORD THIS YEAR, BUT IN THE COMING YEARS? UH, YOUR COUNCIL GOALS AND STRATEGIES ARE A BIG PART OF THAT.
YOU'LL SEE SEVERAL POTENTIAL EXPANDED PROGRAMS THAT ARE TIED SPECIFICALLY TO SOME OF YOUR TACTICS.
UM, THE DEEP DIVE FEEDBACK THAT YOU'VE PROVIDED, ALL THE, ALL THROUGH, UM, THE ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT LAST COUPLE YEARS, THIS YEAR, MORE THAN ANY YEAR, UH, THIS ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT, UH, IS, HAS PLAYED A BIG PART IN THE BUDGET STORY.
UH, YOU'LL, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT JUST HERE IN A SECOND.
UH, BOARDS AND COMMISSION, UH, FEEDBACK AND INPUT THAT WE, THAT WE RECEIVED, THE HOA NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETINGS, OUR, OUR KEY INSTITUTIONAL PARTNER, UH, UT DALLAS, THE ISDS, UM, OF COURSE OUR BUSINESS AND DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY ALL PLAY A PART IN PROVIDING US IMPORTANT FEEDBACK.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE PLANS AND SPECIAL INITIATIVES WE'VE ALREADY MENTIONED, UH, THE FIRE MASTER PLAN ONCE TONIGHT.
UH, THESE PLANS THAT YOU SPEND SO MUCH TIME ON AND THAT THE COMMUNITY PARTICIPATES IN ARE VERY, VERY MUCH
[00:55:01]
INFORMED THE BUDGETS THAT WE BRING TO YOU, UH, FOR CONSIDERATION.SO, UM, I'VE GOT FOUR, UH, FOCUS AREAS, UH, THAT I WANT TO, UH, DRILL DOWN ON.
UH, THE FIRST IS OUR PEOPLE, AGAIN, IN, IN ALL OF OUR OPINIONS, I THINK ARE MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE.
I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT THREE PARTICULAR AREAS, UH, WHEN IT RELATES TO PEOPLE.
ONE, UH, THE FIRST IS COMPENSATION.
UH, THE SECOND IS OUR HEALTHCARE PLAN CORE PLAN.
UH, AND THEN FINAL, FINALLY, UM, UH, OUR STAFFING LEVELS, UH, AND SOME, UM, UM, MOVES.
I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE TO YOU, UH, THIS IS, UH, CITYWIDE.
UH, LET'S JUST START AT REAL HIGH LEVEL CITYWIDE HERE.
UH, THIS IS OUR RECENT, UH, VACANCY HISTORY, A, A SIGN OF OUR, OUR RECRUITMENT SUCCESS.
UH, YOU CAN SEE, UH, UH, BACK IN 2022, UM, REALLY THAT YEAR IMPROVING, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, UH, FROM ABOUT AN 11% THE PRIOR YEAR, UH, SLOWLY RECOVERING FROM COVID.
24, UH, A A A PRETTY NICE, UH, CHANGE OF ALMOST, UH, JUST, JUST SHY OF THREE POINTS, BUT REALLY BACK TO, UH, JUST SHY OF 10% VACANCY, UH, EACH OF THE, UH, LAST TWO YEARS.
UM, SO WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? THAT MEANS ON, ON AVERAGE, WE'RE 90 TO 95 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES, SHORT, UH, AND, AND WE'RE, WE'RE RUNNING OUR OPERATIONS AND WE'RE, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING THAT THE COMMUNITY EXPECTS, BUT WE'RE DOING IT WITH ABOUT A HUNDRED LESS EMPLOYEES, UM, THAN, THAN WE, UM, THAN WE PLAN FOR.
UM, WE'VE BEEN VERY AGGRESSIVE, AND THIS COUNCIL AND PRIOR COUNCILS HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY SUPPORTIVE OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT I'VE BROUGHT TO YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
UM, BUT I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH THESE.
UH, MANY OF THEM CONTINUE ON HERE.
UM, BUT THE POINT BEING IS THAT THESE RATES WOULD PROBABLY BE A LOT HIGHER, UH, HAD YOU NOT BEEN SO SUPPORTIVE OF THE STRATEGIES THAT, UH, WE'VE BROUGHT TO HELP WITH RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION, UH, AS AN ORGANIZATION.
THIS, THIS PIE CHART ON THE LEFT, UM, COULD NOT BE MORE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I STARTED WITH THE CITY.
UM, BUT RIGHT NOW WE HAVE, UH, 41% OF OUR EMPLOYEES, UH, WITH LESS THAN FIVE YEARS, UH, EXPERIENCE HERE AT THE CITY.
ANOTHER, UM, AND 19% FOR A TOTAL OF, UH, 60% WITH LESS THAN 10 YEARS, UH, OF EXPERIENCE.
AND THEN IF, IF YOU LOOK AT THE OTHER END, UH, YOU'VE, UH, YOU'VE GOT, UM, ABOUT 158 OR 16 EMPLOYEES, UH, WITH, WITH 20 OR PLUS YEAR, 20 OR MORE YEARS.
UH, THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE AS WE LOOK AT NOT ONLY, UH, RECRUITMENT, UH, RETENTION IS A BIG ISSUE, UH, FOR, FOR THE CITY.
UM, NOT WITHSTANDING A LOT OF VERY POSITIVE THINGS WE'VE DONE FROM A CULTURE STANDPOINT.
AND AS I MENTIONED FROM A BENEFIT AND COMP STANDPOINT, RIGHT NOW, TODAY, UH, 58% OF MY LEADERSHIP TEAM, YOUR EXECUTIVES CAN RETIRE.
UM, AND THAT'S NOT JUST BY A DAY OR TWO.
MOST OF US, UM, ARE WELL BEYOND THE 20 YEAR, UH, RETIREMENT.
UM, AND SO THAT IS ON MY MIND, UH, CONSISTENTLY AND REGULARLY, NOT JUST RETAINING, UM, UM, THE TALENT THAT WE HAVE TODAY, BUT PREPARING THE NEXT TALENT TO STEP UP FROM A ASSISTANT DIRECTOR TO A DIRECTOR, OR FROM A DIRECTOR TO AN A CM.
YOU SEE, 28% OF OUR SALARIED EMPLOYEES, UH, CAN RETIRE.
AND ABOUT 27% OF OUR HOURLY EMPLOYEES TODAY, UH, 27 OVERALL, UH, JUST, UH, JUST ABOUT 25% OF OUR EMPLOYEES CAN RETIRE, RETIRE TODAY.
UM, AND, UH, JUST WITHIN TWO YEARS THAT THAT NUMBER JUMPS UP TO ABOUT 335 EMPLOYEES.
AND SO MANY OF THE STRATEGIES THAT I'LL SHARE WITH YOU TONIGHT, UM, ARE NOT JUST ABOUT POLICE OR FIRE OR GENERAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.
UM, IT'S REALLY WITH THE MINDSET OF, UM, HAVING AN ORDERLY WAY TO SEE THESE RETIREMENTS TAKE PLACE.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, THE YEAR OR TWO AFTER COVID WAS AN EXAMPLE.
WE HAVE HAD, UM, UNANTICIPATED RETIREMENTS HAPPEN MUCH QUICKER THAN WE, UH, THOUGHT.
AND WE SAW, WE SUFFERED AS AN ORGANIZATION BECAUSE WE LOST INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE, UM, AND WE LOST A LOT OF EXPERTISE IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
AND SO, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I REALLY WANT TO FOCUS ON, AND WE HAVE BEEN ABOUT, UM, IS, UM, UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE'S PLANS AND UNDERSTANDING HOW TO, UH, ENSURE THAT THOSE PLANS ARE EXECUTED IN A WAY THAT'S ABSOLUTELY BENEFICIAL TO THE EMPLOYEE, BUT ALSO, UM, ISN'T, UM, IT DOESN'T HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON, ON THE CITY.
LET'S, UH, FIRST START WITH COMPENSATION.
AND I WANNA START WITH PUBLIC SAFETY.
UM, THESE, THESE RANKINGS, UM, MAYBE THEY'RE, MAYBE THEY'RE SURPRISING TO YOU.
UM, THEY'RE, THEY ARE, THEY'RE SURPRISING, UH, TO ME, AND, AND, AND, AND QUITE FRANKLY, I, I THINK YOU'LL AGREE THEY'RE DISAPPOINTING.
UH, WE'VE DONE, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS, UH, ON THE PUBLIC SAFETY SIDE, 6%, 6%, 3%, FOUR AND A HALF PERCENT.
AND, BUT THESE ARE THE RANKINGS.
AND WHAT THIS REFLECTS IS IT REFLECTS AN INCREDIBLY COMPETITIVE NORTH TEXAS MARKET, AND IT REFLECTS THE FACT THAT THESE ARE INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT JOBS TO DO DAY IN AND DAY OUT, AND NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT DO 'EM.
[01:00:01]
AND, AND WOULD'VE, UH, WE'VE STUDIED THIS A LOT AND, AND REALLY SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN END UP HERE, UM, AFTER, UH, FOUR YEARS OF, OF, OF CONTINUING TO REINFORCE THE IMPORTANCE OF PEOPLE.UM, THIS CHART SHOWS YOU, UM, WHAT IS OCCURRING YEAR AFTER YEAR.
SO, TEN ONE, WE DID A 6% INCREASE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, POSITIONED US, UH, VERY WELL AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
AFTER TEN ONE, UM, WE SLIPPED DOWN TO NINE AND 11 IN RANKINGS.
AND YOU CAN SEE, UH, THAT WAS WHERE WE WERE ON SIX ONE OF 23.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE, UH, SO MANY AGENCIES, UM, UH, HAVE, UH, ONE QUEUED OFF OF WHAT, UM, THEIR, THEIR PEER AGENCIES ARE DOING HERE IN NORTH TEXAS AND, UH, BEGIN TO IMPLEMENT THAT.
BUT NOW WE SEE A TREND OF MID-YEAR ADJUSTMENTS TAKING PLACE.
UM, UH, SOME CITIES ARE DOING IT ALMOST ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
AND SO WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT WHEN, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, RPDS, UM, RECRUITERS ARE OUT RECRUITING, UM, FOR A POINT IN TIME, A SHORT POINT IN TIME, THEY'RE ABLE TO SAY THAT WE'RE NUMBER ONE, BUT FOR THE REMAINDER OF THAT YEAR WHEN WE'RE BEING COMPARED TO OTHER AGENCIES, THEY'RE REALLY COMPARING US AS NUMBER NINE OR NUMBER 10.
UH, 2024 RECALL, THAT WAS, UH, THE YEAR WHERE WE WERE ONLY ABLE TO DO 3%.
WE NEVER EVEN CRAWLED INTO THE TOP SIX THAT YEAR.
UH, THE FOLLOWING YEAR WE DID THE FOUR AND A HALF, BUT QUICKLY BACK TO NINE AND 10, MY GOAL IS FOR US TO BE, UM, MOVING, BUT MOVING IN THE GREEN AREA, NOT MOVING DOWN BELOW THAT LINE AT NUMBER SIX, WHY? IT'S BECAUSE OF, OF THIS, UH, THIS WAS, UH, THIS IS WHAT, UM, OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS THAT ARE LOOKING AROUND NORTH TEXAS ARE CONFRONTED WITH EVERY DAY.
I LITERALLY JUST CAME ACROSS MY FEET ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE ONE DAY AGO.
UM, THIS IS WHAT, THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE WHO DON'T GET TO TALK TO US, SEE, THEY SEE US AS RANKED NUMBER EIGHTH AND STARTING SALARY FOR POLICE AGENCIES, UH, IN TEXAS.
AND THIS SAYS TEXAS, BUT LOOK AT NINE OUT OF 10 OF THESE CITIES ARE IN NORTH TEXAS.
AND SO THAT'S WHO WE'RE COMPETING AGAINST.
THAT IS OUR COMPETITION DAY IN AND DAY OUT.
AND SO WHEN WE DON'T EVEN GET THE CHANCE TO TALK TO A POLICE OFFICER OR A FIREFIGHTER, AND THIS IS THE CUE THAT THEY GET, UM, WE'RE LOSING BEFORE WE EVEN GET A CHANCE TO START, I BELIEVE.
AND WHAT I'M GONNA, WHAT I'M GONNA SUGGEST TO YOU TONIGHT IS A PLAN TO FUNDAMENTALLY AND PERMANENTLY SHIFT, UM, WHERE WE STAND IN THE RANKINGS, SHIFTING OUR, SHIFTING OUR PLACE IN THE RANKINGS IS POSSIBLE SO THAT WHEN WE MAKE ADJUSTMENTS, UM, AND EVERYBODY ELSE RESPONDS, WE DON'T DROP BELOW THAT NUMBER SIX LINE.
UM, AND I THINK IF THAT'S WHAT WE ASPIRE TO, UM, I THINK THAT WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA GREATLY HELP WITH OUR BOTH RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT WHY.
SO WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT? WE LOOKED AT THE CITYWIDE NUMBERS.
LET'S LOOK AT THE POLICE NUMBERS.
WE HAVE A 20% VACANCY RIGHT NOW IN DISPATCH.
THAT NUMBER, UH, FLUCTUATES BACK AND FORTH, BUT NOTWITHSTANDING A LOT OF GOOD WORK FROM RPD, UM, IT'S A VERY, VERY DIFFICULT POSITION TO FILL.
IT'S SHIFT WORK, AND IT'S INCREDIBLY STRESSFUL, AND IT TAKES AN EXTREMELY, UH, MULTI, UH, UH, MULTIFACETED, MULTI-TALENTED PERSON TO BE ABLE TO WORK THOSE DESKS.
POLICE OFFICER, RIGHT NOW, WE'RE 10 OUT OF 10, DOWN OUT OF 136, QUITE FRANKLY, THAT'S BEEN, THAT'S PRETTY GOOD.
THAT'S ONLY ABOUT A SEVEN AND A HALF PERCENT VACANCY.
BUT LET ME TAKE, LET ME PUT IT TO YOU A DIFFERENT WAY IN THINKING ABOUT THIS.
THAT'S 20,000 SHIFT HOURS A YEAR THAT WE'RE NOT COVERING WITH, WITH, WITH PEOPLE.
THAT'S 20,000 SHIFT HOURS A YEAR.
SOMEBODY IS HAVING TO WORK OVERTIME TO FILL.
AND SO EVEN WHILE WE CAN SAY, WELL, WE'VE BEEN AS BAD AS 17 DOWN, OR WE'VE BEEN AS BAD AS 15 DOWN 10 MAY NOT SEEM THAT BAD, BUT 10 IS A 10 IS STILL A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU FACTOR IN THAT, UH, BLESS YOU.
THAT, UH, GARY, I THINK TOLD ME EARLIER TODAY, WE'VE GOT 11 OF THOSE 136 OFFICERS THAT CAN'T BE ON THE STREET BY THEMSELVES YET.
SO THEY'RE RIDING WITH SOMEONE, OR THEY MAY EVEN BE IN AN ACADEMY.
AND SO WHILE THE POSITION IS FILLED, THE HOURS ON THE STREET AREN'T FILLED.
UM, I'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH BOTH THE FOP AND THE FIRE ASSOCIATION.
UM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT OUR POLICE OFFICERS, UH, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT FIRE IN A SECOND, OUR POLICE OFFICERS ARE TIRED.
WE HAVE TO MAKE, WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO MAKE AGGRESSIVE MOVES TO FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE HOW WE'RE VIEWED IN NORTH TEXAS SO THAT WE CAN GET THIS NUMBER DOWN.
I'VE BEEN CITY MANAGER FOR FOUR, FOR FOUR AND A HALF YEARS, NOT FOR ONE DAY.
IN THOSE FOUR AND A HALF YEARS, HAVE WE BEEN FULLY STAFFED IN PD.
NOW WE'VE, WE'VE TRIED, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS, BUT WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO, TO, TO TRY TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.
THE OTHER THING, THE OTHER REASON I'LL TELL YOU IS NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE VACANCIES, UM, IT'S BECAUSE OF THE NUMBERS.
WE HAVE 40% OF OUR POLICE OFFICERS RIGHT NOW THAT HAVE FIVE YEARS OR LEFT.
THAT MEANS THEY'RE NOT VESTED YET.
THAT MEANS THERE'S NOT, THERE'S NOT SOMETHING TO REALLY KIND OF TIE THEM INTO THE CITY YET.
[01:05:01]
ARE AGENCIES ALL, AND WE WILL LOOK AT THIS IN A SECOND, THERE ARE AGENCIES ALL AROUND NORTH TEXAS HIRING RIGHT NOW.UM, WE ESTIMATED THERE MIGHT BE JUST IN COLLIN COUNTY ALONE, THERE MAY BE 300 POLICE OFFICER OPENINGS RIGHT NOW IN COLLIN COUNTY ALONE.
AND SO WE HAVE GOT TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO HOLD ONTO THESE, UM, TO THESE, THESE POLICE OFFICERS.
UM, AND THEN ON THE, ON THE, AGAIN, ON THE OPPOSITE SPECTRUM, UM, IF YOU LOOK AT BOTH IN THE, UH, POLICE OFFICER AND THE SWORN, UH, WE'VE GOT 61 SWORN POSITIONS THAT CAN RETIRE TODAY.
UH, 39 OF THOSE ARE POLICE OFFICER.
WHY IS THE SWORN MATTER? BECAUSE HIS, GENERALLY SPEAKING, IF A CAPTAIN OR A LIEUTENANT, UH, RETIRES, YOU'RE GONNA, OR A SERGEANT RETIRES, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE SOMEONE MOVE UP, AND THAT'S GONNA CREATE A VACANCY IN THE PLACE.
WE CAN'T HAVE VACANCIES, MORE POLICE OFFICERS.
AND SO RETAINING PEOPLE, RECRUITING PEOPLE, AND RETAINING PEOPLE IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
YOU LOOK AT FIRE, WE'VE GOT 40, 47, UH, 41%, 47 INDIVIDUALS.
41% OF OUR FIREFIGHTERS HAVE LESS THAN FIVE YEARS.
UM, WITH, WITH THE, UM, WITH THE DEPARTMENT, INCREDIBLY CRITICAL TO KEEP THOSE ON.
AGAIN, 19 FIREFIGHTERS CAN RETIRE, 57 SWORN, UH, FIREFIGHTER, UH, FIRE PERSONNEL, UH, CAN RETIRE SAME, SAME DYNAMIC IN TERMS OF THE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.
WHY IS THIS SO INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT? IT'S BECAUSE THERE'S NO OTHER POSITION IN THE CITY THAT WE ONBOARD FOR NINE OR 18 MONTHS, AND THAT WE SPEND $170,000 BEFORE THEY CAN GET ON THE, ON THE, ON THE, DO THEIR JOB, UH, INDIVIDUALLY OR INDEPENDENTLY.
I MEAN, WE ARE SPENDING NINE MONTHS.
WE HAVE 19 RECRUITS RIGHT NOW THAT ARE IN THE FIRE ACADEMY.
THEY'RE GONNA BE THERE FOR NINE MONTHS.
THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO COME OUT, EACH OF THEM.
AND, AND CLASSES OF, UH, UH, THREE CLASSES OF SIX WILL HAVE TO GO BECOME PARAMEDICS.
THEN THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH FIELD TRAINING.
THE AMOUNT OF TIME AND ENERGY THAT WE INVEST AND, AND DOLLARS, QUITE FRANKLY, THAT WE INVEST.
IT'S SHORTSIGHTED NOT TO, UH, BE AGGRESSIVE, UH, BY AN ADDITIONAL PERCENT OR 2%, OR MAYBE EVEN 3% TO HOLD ONTO THESE FOLKS AND, AND GET THEM COMMITTED TO, TO THE DEPARTMENT AND TO THE CITY LONG TERM.
I, I MENTIONED THE DEPARTMENTS.
THESE ARE ALL TODAY TO JUST TODAY.
I CONFIRMED THESE ARE ALL DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY, I MEAN, IN NORTH TEXAS THAT ARE CURRENTLY HIRING POLICE OFFICERS.
THESE ARE THE DEPARTMENTS OR AGENCIES ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE THAT ARE HIRING, HIRING FIREFIGHTERS.
YOU SEE, DALLAS LAKE, DALLAS FORNEY AND FRISCO ISDS.
WE FORGET THAT JUST ONE SESSION AGO.
THE LEGISLATURE MANDATED THAT YOU HAVE A MARSHAL OR A POLICE OFFICER, UH, IN EVERY SCHOOL, RIGHT? GARY? I MEAN, HOW MANY, HOW MANY, HOW MANY OFFICERS HAVE WE LOST, UM, THAT HAVE DECIDED TO RETIRE FROM RICHARDSON AND GO WORK A SECOND CAREER, UH, AT A SCHOOL? UH, ARGUABLY, YOU KNOW, A LOT SAFER JOB THAN WHAT THESE GUYS HAVE TO DO OUT IN THE FIELD EVERY DAY, AND YOU GET SUMMERS OFF.
BUT THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE COMPETING AGAINST.
IT'S THAT CONTEXT THAT I COME TO YOU AND SAY, UH, AND THE DESIRE TO FUNDAMENTALLY REALIGN WHERE WE ARE IN THE MARKET THAT I'M GONNA RECOMMEND.
I'M RECOMMENDING A 5.5% MERIT, UH, PAY ADJUSTMENT FOR ALL SWORN POLICE AND FIRE.
AND I'M RECOMMENDING THAT TAKE EFFECT ON TEN ONE.
UM, UM, I HAD CONTEMPLATED OTHER SCENARIOS, BUT I BELIEVE, UH, TO ACHIEVE WHAT WE WANNA ACHIEVE, UM, THE FIVE, 5.5% GOING INTO EFFECT ON TEN ONE, UH, IS THE BEST STRATEGY.
THE REMAINDER OF THE 96, UH, CIVILIAN POSITIONS IN PD WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR THREE AND A HALF PERCENT, UM, UH, AS LIKE, LIKEWISE, THE FIVE CIVILIAN POSITIONS IN FIRE.
UH, AND THEN FOR THOSE FOLKS THAT I JUST TALKED ABOUT, BOTH IN PD AND FIRE, UH, THOSE FIRST FIVE YEARS, THEY ALSO, UH, ARE ENTITLED AND WILL BE, UH, BASED ON MERIT FOR BOTH OF THESE, BUT, UH, ENTITLED TO THEIR STEPS.
AND SO, UH, PUTTING THE DOLLARS, UM, REALLY TO WHERE, UM, I BELIEVE THEY, THEY CAN BE MOST VALUABLE, UM, IN, IN THE SWORN RANKS.
UH, WHY DID I PICK THE 5.5? UM, IT'S BASED ON THE BEST INFORMATION THAT I HAVE TODAY.
UM, WE, UH, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, THROUGH THE NORTH TEXAS CENTRAL, UH, UH, COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS, UM, EVERY YEAR WE PARTICIPATE IN AN ANNUAL BUDGET RETREAT WHERE CITY MANAGERS FROM ALL OVER NORTH TEXAS COME AND SHARE THEIR PLANS AND THEIR THOUGHTS.
UM, THIS IS THE INFORMATION THAT WE WOULD BEGIN TO GATHER.
SO ALAN, WHO'S CURRENTLY ABOVE US, UM, ARLINGTON CARROLLTON MCKINNEY, WHO'S CURRENTLY ABOVE US, MESQUITE, ALL PLANNING ON ABOUT 3%.
SO WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO HERE WITH THE SWORN IS POSITION US TO GAIN 2.5%, UH, ON THE MAJORITY OF THE CITIES THAT WE'RE COMPETING WITH, AND THAT IN OUR 13 CITIES THAT ARE LEADING US, THIS IS WHAT WE WANNA ACHIEVE MOVING FORWARD.
WHAT YOU SEE PICTURED HERE IS THE POLICE OFFICER, FIREFIGHTER MAX PAY RANKING, UH, ASSUMING OUR 5.5%, AND ASSUMING ALL OTHER CITIES INCREASED BY 3% ON 10, ONE, WE WILL JUMP TO ONE AND TWO FOR POLICE AND FIRE RESPECTFULLY.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHEN EVERYBODY ELSE MAKES THEIR ADJUSTMENTS, INSTEAD OF FALLING BELOW THE SIX, FALLING BELOW THE GREEN AREA AND FALLING DOWN TO WHERE YOU SEE US BEING PREVIOUSLY, WE WILL ONLY FALL TO THREE AND FOUR.
UM, WE, WE CAN'T PREDICT EVERYTHING THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, BUT WE CAN, WE CAN PUT A METHODOLOGY LIKE THIS INTO PLACE THAT I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE IS GONNA POSITION US BETTER.
[01:10:01]
IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE COULD FALL TO NUMBER SIX AND NUMBER SEVEN? ABSOLUTELY.I CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT EVERYBODY ELSE IS GONNA DO.
I CAN ONLY TELL YOU, THIS IS WHERE WE STAND.
THIS IS WHAT WE BELIEVE EVERYBODY ELSE IS GONNA DO.
IF WE MAKE THIS ADJUSTMENT, THIS IS LIKELY WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE SITUATED.
I CAN TELL YOU THOUGH, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE IN A MUCH BETTER POSITION IF I'M A RECRUITER, UM, OR I'M TRYING TO, OR I'M TRYING TO CONVINCE SOMEBODY, UH, TO STAY WITH THE DEPARTMENT.
UH, THIS, THIS STORY IN GREEN IS A MUCH BETTER STORY, UH, THAN, THAN THIS, THAN THE, THAN WHAT WE'VE DONE THE PAST FEW YEARS IN TERMS OF NOT ANTICIPATING THE MARKET REACTION.
UM, SUBSEQUENT TO, UH, SUBSEQUENT TO TEN ONE, THIS IS, UM, AGAIN, A, UH, HOW DOES THAT RIPPLE THROUGH THE RANKS? YOU MIGHT ASK, THIS IS A DIFFERENT WAY OF LOOKING AT THIS.
THIS IS, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY PAY RANGES, ASSUMING THE 5.5%, BUT ALSO ASSUMING, UH, THAT EVERY OTHER CITY IN THE THE OTHER 12 CITIES ADD 3%.
AND SO THIS IS ADJUSTED FOR OUR ACTION AND THEIR REACTION.
AND YOU CAN SEE WE, WE REMAIN VERY COMPETITIVE.
UH, SERGEANT IS ALWAYS ONE OF THOSE RANKS THAT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO FIGURE OUT.
UM, I THINK GARY HAS TOLD ME SEVERAL TIMES IT'S 'CAUSE OTHER DEPARTMENTS, UM, CALL SERGEANTS DIFFERENT THING.
THIS IS DIFFICULT FOR US TO FIX BECAUSE OF INTERNAL EQUITY.
WE CAN'T, CAN'T ADJUST SERGEANT TO CORRECT THIS BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO, IT'S GONNA HAVE COMPRESSION ISSUES, UM, WITH, UM, WITH THE LIEUTENANT, AND THAT'S GONNA CREATE COMPRESSION ISSUES ALL THE WAY AND RIPPLE ALL THE WAY UP.
SO WE CAN'T SOLVE EVERYTHING, BUT THIS IS A GREAT, IN MY OPINION, THIS IS A GREAT STEP FORWARD.
UM, AND, UM, I BELIEVE IF, IF WE GO WITH THIS APPROACH, UM, UH, AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO BE HOVERING AND MOVING UP AND DOWN IN THE TOP SIX RATHER THAN SPENDING THE MAJORITY OF THE YEAR, UH, IN THE BOTTOM SIX, UH, WHICH WE HAVE THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
WITH RESPECT TO GENERAL EMPLOYEE, UH, PAY, UH, THIS IS A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE JOSE'S HERE.
JOSE'S TEAM DOES A GREAT JOB OF, UH, SURVEYING THE, THE LANDSCAPE FOR A VARIETY OF POSITIONS EVERY YEAR.
UH, THIS IS, UM, WHAT YOU SEE IN TERMS OF MINIMUM MAXIMUM.
LOOK AT THE MAXIMUM COLLAR THERE COLUMN.
THERE, YOU SEE A SEVEN, A SIX AND A HALF, A 7.2, EVEN AN 11 POINT HALF AND A 12 POINT A HALF PERCENT, UM, BELOW, UH, THE FOURTH RANK.
UM, UH, BUT THE THREE AND A HALF SOLVES A LOT.
A THREE POINT A HALF PERCENT ADJUSTMENT SOLVES A LOT OF PROBLEMS. UM, WE'LL COME BACK TO THAT IN A SECOND.
UM, THE LIVING WAGE CALCULATION, WE'RE UP TO 2331, UH, IN DALLAS COUNTY.
WE'RE CURRENTLY, UH, AT, UM, WE'RE CURRENTLY AT $21.
UM, AGAIN, THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THIS IMPACTS, UM, SO MANY OF OUR EMPLOYEES.
YOU HEAR, YOU SEE HERE, 22% OF FULL-TIME JOB TITLES, UH, HAVE A MINIMUM SALARY THAT FALLS BELOW THE 2026 LIVING WAGE.
WE ARE, WE'VE IMPROVED GREATLY IN THIS.
EVERY BUDGET I FILED, YOU'VE SUPPORTED AT LEAST A DOLLAR INCREASE FOR THE LOWEST PAID EMPLOYEES IN THIS CITY.
UM, AND THAT'S MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE.
WHEN WE STARTED THIS, WE WEREN'T ANYWHERE CLOSE TO THE LIVING WAGE, UM, IN, IN TERMS OF HOURLY, HOURLY PAY FOR OUR ENTRY LEVEL EMPLOYEES.
YOU SEE ALSO 119 PART-TIME EMPLOYEES ARE ALSO IMPACTED BY THIS.
SO MY RECOMMENDATION ON GENERAL PERSONNEL WOULD BE A THREE AND A HALF PERCENT MERIT BASE ADJUSTMENT ON, ON 10, ONE, INCREASING THE LIVING WAGE AND REALLY STRETCHING THIS YEAR A LITTLE BIT, UM, TO GO BEYOND A DOLLAR TO A DOLLAR 31, UH, ADDITIONAL DOLLAR 31 TO 22 POINT 31, HOPING THAT, UH, THE, A LITTLE BIT OF A STRETCH AND MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF A STRETCH NEXT YEAR, MAYBE NEXT YEAR CAN BE THE YEAR THAT WE ACTUALLY GET TO A LIVING WAGE.
UM, BUT THIS GETS THE STARTING SALARY, THE ANNUAL STARTING SALARY FOR ANY FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE WITH THE CITY TO $46,400.
AND AGAIN, THAT IS A TREMENDOUS, UH, IMPROVEMENT OVER, OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
UM, AND IT'S QUITE HONESTLY, WHEN YOU SEE, IT'S WHY SOLID WASTE IS NOW FULLY STAFFED, IT'S WHY CUSTODIANS ARE FULLY STAFFED.
I MEAN, BEFORE, YOU KNOW, UH, THE TROUBLE WE WERE HAVING WITH THOSE KINDS OF POSITIONS, PARKS, MAINTENANCE AND, AND SO ON, UM, THERE'S ALSO, UM, ABOUT $300,000 CITYWIDE, UM, THREE $27,000 CITYWIDE THAT HAS BEEN PROGRAMMED FOR WHAT WE'RE CALLING A CAREER LADDER.
UH, PART OF RETENTION IS HELPING THESE YOUNG PEOPLE THAT COME TO WORK FOR US, UM, UNDERSTAND THEIR FUTURE WITH THE CITY.
UM, I, I, I MENTIONED MARK NELSON IN TRANSPORTATION BEFORE, UH, HE REALLY SET THE STAGE FOR HOW WE CAN DO THIS.
I MEAN, SO HE'S GOT FOLKS NOW THAT AREN'T JUST SIGNAL TECHS OR AREN'T JUST SIGN TECHS.
WE'RE TRAINING THEM BOTH TO BE SIGNAL AND SIGN TECHS.
WE'RE SAVING MONEY ON HAVING PEOPLE ON CALL.
ONE PERSON CAN SHOW, SHOW UP TO A, TO A, TO A SITUATION AND ADDRESS MULTIPLE ISSUES.
WE WANNA DO THAT ACROSS ALL OF OUR FUNCTIONAL AREAS.
AND SO WE'VE CREATED A CAREER LADDER PROGRAM THAT WILL INCENTIVIZE, UM, OUR ENTRY LEVEL FOLKS AND OUR TECHNICIANS, UM, TO, TO, UH, CROSS TRAIN AND TO BECOME MULTIFACETED ASSETS TO THE CITY.
AND THEN THERE'S $70,000 PROGRAM FOR WHAT I WILL CALL STRATEGIC, UM, MARKET ADJUSTMENTS.
SO YOU SAW SOME OF THOSE OUTLIERS, THE TWELVES AND THE EIGHT AND
[01:15:01]
THE NINE PERCENTS.AND SO INSTEAD OF TRYING TO SOLVE FOR THAT ACROSS THE BOARD, UM, WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS WE'RE GONNA CR WE'RE GONNA SOLVE FOR THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE MARKET ISSUES WITH THREE AND A HALF PERCENT, AND THEN WE'RE STRATEGICALLY GONNA PICK THESE POSITIONS THAT NEED ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION, AND WE'RE GOING TO, WE'RE GONNA DEAL WITH THOSE AS ONE-OFFS, AND WE'RE NOT GONNA SPEND, UM, YOU KNOW, MORE RESOURCES THAN WE NEED TO, UM, UH, BY, BY BEING STRATEGIC.
AND THERE'S ALSO SOME OF THESE DOLLARS SET ASIDE FOR SOME COMPRESSION.
YOU, YOU GUYS HAVE, YOU KNOW, BY NOW, WHEN WE CHANGE THE LIVING WAGE, IT DOES CREATE A COMPRESSION ISSUE.
WE WANNA DEAL WITH THOSE AS ONE-OFFS, AND I'VE ENCOURAGED THE DEPARTMENT HEADS TO BRING THOSE TO ME.
UH, YOU KNOW, ONCE THE BUDGET IS ADOPTED, THEY, THEY KNOW THAT THEY HAVE THE ON-RAMP TO BRING THOSE TO ME.
UM, YOU CAN SEE AGAIN WITH THE 3.5%, IF YOU LOOK AT THE CHART, UM, THAT I SHOWED YOU PREVIOUSLY, A LOT OF, A LOT OF SITUATIONS ARE IMPROVED HERE.
UM, THERE ARE SOME THAT, THAT WE'LL STILL NEED EACH TO ADDRESS, AND WE HAVE THE, UM, WE HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO DO THAT.
UM, NEXT I WANNA, UH, TALK ABOUT, UH, CORE PLAN, OUR HEALTH INSURANCE.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE SELF-INSURED AND WE HAVE BEEN, UM, UM, UM, UM, FOR THE FOUR DECADES.
UM, THE FRAMEWORK OF CORE PLAN IS REALLY VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
EMPLOYEES PAY A PREMIUM, UM, AND THE CITY CONTRIBUTES A, UH, A DOLLAR AMOUNT PER MONTH PER EMPLOYEE.
UH, THAT, UH, CREATES A REVENUE POOL WHERE CLAIMS IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF CORE PLAN, UM, ARE, ARE, UH, PAID FROM.
UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CORE PLAN.
UM, UM, THE LAST TIME EMPLOYEE PREMIUMS WERE INCREASED, WE'RE BACK IN, UH, FFY 17.
UM, THAT INCREASE, UM, WAS, UM, WAS, UH, ALSO, UM, ALONG, ALONG WITH A CITY CONTRIBUTION INCREASE OF ABOUT $165 PER MONTH OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS.
AND YOU'VE HEARD ME, UM, UH, TALK ABOUT THIS EACH YEAR, UM, DAN BEFORE ME, UM, THAT WE DID NOT INCREASE EMPLOYEE PREMIUMS. IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WERE ABLE TO REALLY KIND OF MANAGE.
UH, HOWEVER, THE, UH, CITY CONTRIBUTION FROM YEAR TO YEAR DID, DID FLUCTUATE, JUST DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION.
AND WE AVERAGED OVER THAT PERIOD, ABOUT $960 PER MONTH PER EMPLOYEE, AND 25, UM, WHICH WAS A VERY TIGHT YEAR, IF YOU RECALL.
THAT WAS THE YEAR I, I JUST MENTIONED WE DID 3%, UH, COMPENSATION, FOR INSTANCE.
UM, I DID COME TO YOU WITH THE STRATEGY OF REDUCING THE CITY'S CONTRIBUTION PER MONTH PER EMPLOYEE BY $100.
THE REASON I DID THAT IS BECAUSE, AS YOU CAN SEE AT THE F END OF FY 24, WE HAD A $15 MILLION FUND BALANCE, AND IT HAD GROWN BY, UH, ABOUT, UM, UH, ABOUT ABOUT A MILLION, UH, $0.4 MILLION, $1.4 MILLION OVER THE COURSE OF JUST TWO YEARS.
UM, NOW THE BEST PRACTICE FOR A INSURANCE FUND IS TO HAVE A FUND BALANCE OF 25 TO 35% OF YOUR TOTAL EXPENDITURES.
IF YOU DID THAT MATH, UH, THAT YEAR, OUR FUND BALANCE WOULD'VE BEEN SOMEWHERE BETWEEN FIVE AND $7 MILLION.
SO WE ESSENTIALLY HAD TWICE AS MUCH FUND BALANCE AS THE MOST CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE.
THAT'S WHY I CAME TO YOU AND SAID, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S, IT MAKES SENSE TO LOWER, UH, THE CITY CONTRIBUTION.
NOW, YOU MAY SAY, WELL, UM, DID YOU, DID IT START TO FALL OFF? AND IT ACTUALLY DIDN'T BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY MADE UP AT THE END OF EACH YEAR, BOTH 24 AND 20, UH, 25 AND 26, WE ACTUALLY MADE UP FOR THE DECREASE IN THE CITY'S CONTRIBUTION PER MONTH, PER EMPLOYEE VIA TRANSFER AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
AND SO WHEN YOU SEE THESE NUMBERS ON THE NEXT SLIDE, IT IS NOT THE DECREASE, AND IT'S NOT THE A HUNDRED DOLLARS PER MONTH DECREASE THAT CAUSED, UH, THE TREND THAT I'M ABOUT TO SHOW YOU, BECAUSE AGAIN, WE MADE THE, WE MADE THE FUND WHOLE.
UM, WHAT IS THAT TREND? UM, IT'S, AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S, IT'S VERY CLEAR, UH, IN THE LAST TWO YEARS.
UM, WE ARE, UM, ON, ON PACE HERE, UH, TO, TO LOSE ESSENTIALLY $8 MILLION IN CORE PLAN.
UM, YOU CAN SEE, UH, THE TREND REALLY STARTED IN FY 22, THE FIRST KIND OF FULL YEAR AFTER COVID, YOU SEE A, A CONTINUOUS, UH, REDUCTION IN THE, UH, POSITIVE REVENUE FOR A CORE PLAN.
UH, AND THEN AN FY 25, A $4.3 MILLION LOSS, UH, SO FAR IN FY 26, UH, ESTIMATED AT ABOUT A $3.7 MILLION LOSS.
THAT HAS CREATED A, UM, THAT'S CREATED A VERY, UM, UM, UM, IMPORTANT SITUATION FOR US TO ADDRESS.
UM, THIS IS CORE PLAN'S, PROJECTED FUND BALANCE.
YOU SEE, UH, FY UH, 25, 26, UM, WHERE WE, WHERE WE, UH, CURRENTLY STAND, UH, IF WE MAKE NO CHANGES TO CORE PLAN, UM, PROJECTED FUND BALANCE, UH, FOR FY 27, THE CURRENT YEAR, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, WE'LL BE $4.3 MILLION, AND THEN JUST ONE YEAR LATER WE'LL ACTUALLY BE IN A NEGATIVE FUND BALANCE.
UH, WHY IS THAT? IT'S REALLY TWO FACTORS.
UM, IT'S, UH, ONE, IT'S MEDICAL INFLATION.
UM, YOU CAN SEE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CHART, UH, THE INFLATIONARY PRESSURES YEAR OVER YEAR, UH, THAT PPOS AND HMOS ARE EXPERIENCING.
UM, UH, OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, WE HAVE A CUMULATIVE, UH, OF AROUND 16
[01:20:01]
TO 17%.UM, AGAIN, EVEN THIS YEAR IN, IN 2026 AND 9.3% INFLATION, THAT'S ALMOST TWO AND A HALF TIMES, UH, WHAT WE'RE SEEING FOR, UH, INFLATION OR CONSTRUCTION INFLATION TO COMPARE IT, FOR INSTANCE, UH, LOOK AT YOUR, UH, YOUR, YOUR OUTPATIENT, UM, UM, UH, AND YOUR, UM, PRESCRIPTION PLANS, UH, EACH OF THE LAST TWO YEARS, ACTUALLY, EACH OF THE LAST, UH, FIVE YEARS, DOUBLE DIGIT INFLATIONARY PRESSURES, UH, SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES, UH, BEING TAKEN, UM, BY, UH, BY THE, BY THE DRUGS.
BUT THAT'S NOT EVEN THE STORY.
THE ACTUAL STORY IS THE CHART ON THE RIGHT, WHICH ARE THE LARGE CLAIMS. AND 2025, YOU'LL SEE, WE HAD JUST SHY OF $14 MILLION IN LARGE CLAIMS. UH, THE YEAR BEFORE THAT WE HAD JUST SHY OF $9.5 MILLION, UH, UH, IN, IN LARGE CLAIMS. AND SO, UM, THE 14 AND, AND, UH, SO ABOUT 23 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS OF LARGE CLAIMS IN TWO YEARS, THAT'S MORE THAN ADDING THE PRIOR FOUR YEARS UP.
SO IN TWO YEARS, WE HAD MORE LARGE CLAIMS THAN WE HAD IN THE PRIOR FOUR YEARS.
NOW, THAT'S A BYPRODUCT OF TWO THINGS.
SO EVERYTHING WE WERE DOING COST MORE AND ALMOST 20% MORE OVER THAT TIME.
UH, BUT IT'S ALSO, UH, UM, UH, SEVERAL, UM, VERY SIGNIFICANT LARGE CLAIMS. UM, YOU KNOW, THE BENEFIT OF OF, OF HAVING A, A HEALTHCARE PLAN LIKE THIS FOR OUR EMPLOYEES IS THAT WHEN THEY NEED IT, WE CAN TAKE CARE OF 'EM.
AND WE'RE, WE POSITION VERY STRONGLY TO DO THAT.
UM, YOU CAN'T PREDICT THAT, THOUGH.
YOU CAN'T PREDICT WHEN THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.
YOU CANNOT PREDICT WHEN YOU'RE GONNA HAVE, FOR INSTANCE, SIX EMPLOYEES BATTLING CANCER ALL IN THE SAME YEAR.
UM, THAT'S NOT PREDICTABLE, AND YOU DEFINITELY CAN'T CREATE A REVENUE STREAM FOR A WORSE CASE LIKE THAT, RIGHT? THAT DOESN'T, THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
AND SO THE, THE TWO DRIVERS ON CORE PLAN, AND THE REASON WHY WE FIND OURSELVES IN THE POSITION WE ARE, ARE THE INFLATIONARY PRESSURES AND THE LARGE CLAIM.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR CORE PLAN IN FY 27? WHAT IT MEANS IS TO BREAK EVEN AN IE NOT TO DRAW DOWN ANY MORE CORE PLAN, FUND BALANCE, WE WOULD HAVE TO GENERATE $4.6 MILLION YEAR OVER YEAR, $4.6 MILLION OF NEW REVENUE.
I'M HERE TO TELL YOU THAT THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE.
UM, THAT IS NOT A SCENARIO WHERE WE DO THAT, HENCE A TWO YEAR OR A THREE YEAR VIEW.
UM, WE MENTIONED THAT EARLIER.
SO, UM, HOW, HOW DO I PROPOSE WE APPROACH THIS? UM, ON THE CITY SIDE, I'M PROPOSING THAT NOT ONLY DO WE RESTORE THE A HUNDRED DOLLARS CONTRIBUTION PER MONTH PER EMPLOYEE THAT WE, UH, UH, CHANGE BACK IN FY 25, BUT THAT WE INCREASE THE PER MONTH PER EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTION BY AN ADDITIONAL $155.
THAT'LL BRING US TO $1,140 PER MONTH.
UM, THAT IS STILL, UM, UH, ABOUT A HUNDRED DOLLARS SHORT OF WHAT, UM, UH, OUR CONSULTANTS ARE TELLING US THAT WE NEED TO ACHIEVE ON A GO FORWARD BASIS TO NOT, UH, DRAW DOWN ANY ADDITIONAL CORE PLAN, FUND BALANCE.
AND SO TO BE DETERMINED, IF WE CAN ACHIEVE THAT IN, UM, FY 28, UH, ON THE EMPLOYEE SIDE, UM, I'M PROPOSING A 7.5% INCREASE TO PREMIUMS. UM, BUT I JUST COMPLETED SEVEN TOWN HALL, UH, SEVEN INTERNAL TOWN HALL MEETINGS.
AND WHAT I TOLD EMPLOYEES IS THAT'S FOR TWO TO THREE CONSECUTIVE YEARS.
SO OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT THREE YEARS, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, 20 PLUS OR MINUS 20% OF INCREASES TO EMPLOYEE PREMIUMS, UM, AS A RESULT OF, UM, OF THE SITUATION.
IN ADDITION, I TOLD EMPLOYEES THAT EVERY YEAR AFTER THAT, THEY SHOULD COUNT ON A INCREASE.
SO HOPEFULLY IT'S MUCH MORE MANAGEABLE.
HOPEFULLY IT'S MUCH MORE IN THE TWO TO 3% RANGE, FOR INSTANCE.
BUT JUST LIKE, UM, EVERY, EVERY OTHER, UM, COST INCREASES YEAR OVER YEAR.
UH, I WANT TO REALLY GET OUR EMPLOYEES IN THE MINDSET OF UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS IS GONNA BE, UH, JUST AN ANNUAL DISCUSSION.
IN ADDITION, WE'RE DOING SEVERAL OTHER ITEMS THAT I THINK WILL BE VERY BENEFICIAL TO CORE PLAN.
WE'RE GONNA DISCONTINUE GLP ONE WEIGHT LOSS DRUG COVERAGE FOR WEIGHT LOSS ONLY.
UM, UM, IF OUR EMPLOYEES NEED THIS DRUG, UH, IN CONJUNCTION WITH SOME OTHER, UH, TREATMENT, THEN THAT'LL BE, UH, THAT, THAT WILL BE PERMITTED, AND IT'LL BE WORKED OUT THROUGH, UH, THE DOCTORS AND THE, THE INSURANCE PLAN TO AUTHORIZE THAT THAT COULD SAVE US AS MUCH AS $400,000 A YEAR.
UM, JOSE AND HIS TEAM DID A GREAT JOB OF CREATING, WORKING TO GET THIS A TI PHYSICAL THERAPY.
AND SO IF WE HAVE A, A FIREFIGHTER, A POLICE OFFICER, YOU KNOW, A SOLID WASTE WORKER THAT GETS INJURED, UH, THEY HAVE TO GO HAVE A SURGERY, A PHYSICAL THERAPY.
IF THEY USE THIS PHYSICAL THERAPY, IT COSTS THE EMPLOYEE NOTHING, WHICH IS AWESOME.
UM, BUT IT ALSO, UH, COSTS CORE PLANS SIGNIFICANTLY LESS.
UH, ONE OTHER CHANGE IS WE WERE REQUIRED TO, UH, INCREASE THE DEDUCTIBLE ON THE, ON THAT HSA PLAN.
WE CALL IT THE GREEN PLAN, TO $3,500 THAT WAS MANDATED BY THE FEDS.
UM, WE'RE GONNA INCREASE EMPLOYEE LIFE INSURANCE, UM, UM, AND, UH, UP TO $200,000, UH, IT'S TWO TIMES YOUR CURRENTLY,
[01:25:01]
THE RATE IS, UH, OR CURRENTLY THE BENEFIT IS TWO TIMES YOUR SALARY UP TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE'VE BEEN DEFICIENT ON FOR SEVERAL YEARS, AND WITH SOME OF THESE OTHER CORE PLAN CHANGES, IT MAKES, MAKES SENSE TO TRY TO ACHIEVE THAT THIS YEAR.
AND THEN FINALLY, BECAUSE WE REALLY WANT TO PROVIDE OUR EMPLOYEES THE MAXIMUM, UH, FLEXIBILITY WHEN THEY'RE MANAGING THEIR HEALTHCARE IS ON PROPOSING TO CREATE A NEW PLAN, AN HMO PLAN.
SO CURRENTLY WE HAVE A PPO AND HSA THINK OF THE PPO AND HSA.
THE HMO WOULD BE RIGHT IN THE CENTER.
WHAT, UM, WE'VE LOOKED AT THIS PREVIOUSLY, BUT NEVER HAD AN OPPORTUNITY LIKE THIS.
UH, THE HMO IS A NEW PLAN THAT WAS NEGOTIATED, UH, THROUGH BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD, WHO IS OUR ADMINISTRATOR.
UM, THE THING THAT REALLY STOOD, STOOD OUT TO ME ABOUT THIS PLAN IS THAT 92% OF THE CLAIMS, UM, THAT WERE, UM, RUN THROUGH OUR PPO WOULD'VE MATCHED WITH THIS HMO.
UM, UH, BUT THE HMO BEING MORE RECENTLY NEGOTIATED IS MUCH MORE COMPETITIVE.
AND SO I COULD GO TO THE DOCTOR ON MY, ON OUR PPO, UH, AND PAY ONE RATE AND CORE PLAN WOULD'VE TO PAY ONE RATE.
UH, I COULD GO TO THAT SAME DOCTOR FOR THE SAME EXACT THING ON THE HMO, AND I COULD PAY A DIFFERENT RATE.
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, CORE PLAN COULD PAY A DIFFERENT RATE, A BETTER RATE, BECAUSE IT WAS NEGOTIATED UNDER DIFFERENT TERMS. AND SO WE'RE GONNA OFFER, UH, THIS PARTICULAR BENEFIT TO, UM, OUR CITY EMPLOYEES, AND, UH, WE'LL SEE HOW SOME OF THE MIGRATION WORKS.
BUT BASED ON MINIMAL MIGRATION IN YEAR ONE, WE, WE WILL SAVE AN ADDITIONAL $200,000 IS WHAT WE, UH, WHAT WE EXPECT.
NOW, IT IS A, IT IS A PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN PLAN THAT WON'T WORK FOR EVERYBODY.
THIS, THIS OPTION WON'T WORK FOR EVERYBODY.
THE 8% THAT CAN'T MATCH THEIR CLAIMS, IT'S NOT GONNA WORK FOR, BUT THIS IS AN OPTION.
AND IT'S PROVIDING FLEXIBILITY, UH, TO EMPLOYEES.
IF AN EMPLOYEE LOOKS AT THE, THE EXISTING PPO AND SAYS, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T WANNA PAY 20% MORE OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS, AND I CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ADDITIONAL THREE, TWO TO 3%, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE YEAR AFTER YEAR, UM, THIS IS AN OPTION.
WHY? 'CAUSE IT'S MUCH MORE COST CON, UH, COST EFFECTIVE.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE CHART ON THE RIGHT, WHAT'S REALLY APPEALING ABOUT THIS AND WHY I FEEL LIKE IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO, IS IF YOU LOOK AT, UM, THE NUMBER HERE, THIS IS OUR HIGHEST PREMIUM, 4 47, IT'S THE PPO EMPLOYEE PLUS FAMILY.
SO THAT'S OUR HIGHEST PREMIUM.
IF YOU, UM, IF YOU, IF THE HMO WORKED FOR YOU, UH, YOU COULD, UM, YOU COULD MAKE THAT TRANSITION NEXT BUDGET YEAR, OR, I MEAN, UH, UH, I'M SORRY, JANUARY 1ST.
AND YOUR NEW PREMIUM FOR EMPLOYEE PLUS FAMILY WOULD BE FOUR 19.
SO THE NEW PREMIUM WOULD BE LESS THAN THE EXISTING PPO PREMIUM.
IT'S CERTAINLY GONNA BE LESS THAN THE EXISTING PPO PREMIUM PLUS 7.5%.
AND SO THIS IS AN OPTION THAT, UH, I FEEL IS, IS PRUDENT TO OFFER, UM, TO EMPLOYEES.
AND, UM, UM, WE'RE WORKING TO HAVE THAT IMPLEMENT.
AND NOW YOU MIGHT SAY, HOW DOES THE PREMIUM INCREASE COMPARED TO, UH, THE COMPENSATION INCREASE? AND I PARTICULARLY SAY THAT REGARDING TO OUR EMPLOYEES, UM, THAT, THAT MAKE AROUND THE ENTRY LEVEL SALARY, THOSE ARE THE FOLKS THAT WE NEED TO BE MOST MINDFUL OF IN THIS CASE.
SO WHAT YOU SEE ON THE TOP HERE IS THE ANNUAL INCREASE THAT, UH, AN EMPLOYEE WILL, UM, EXPERIENCE BASED ON THEIR SITUATION.
SO LET'S TAKE, UH, THE PPO, THE RED PLAN.
IF, IF YOU'RE JUST AN EMPLOYEE ON THE PLAN, YOU'LL SEE A $60 INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR.
IF YOU ARE AN EMPLOYEE PLUS A FAMILY, YOU'LL RECEIVE A $408 INCREASE FROM PREMIUMS. THE GREEN PLAN'S 48 AND THREE 12 FOR, UH, EMPLOYEE, UH, EMPLOYEE FAMILY RESPECTFULLY.
SO LET'S LOOK AT WHAT THE SALARY INCREASE MEANS FOR SOMEBODY MAKING THE LOWEST SALARY IN THE CITY.
IF YOU, IF WE APPROVE THE DOLLAR 31, UH, INCREASE, UH, TO, UH, TO THE LOWEST SALARY, THAT WOULD BE A $2,724 INCREASE TO THAT EMPLOYEE YEAR OVER YEAR.
UM, THAT WOULD BE, UM, PRETTY MEANINGFUL BECAUSE EVEN IF THEY HAD THE HIGHEST PREMIUM INCREASE, THE RED PPO, THEY'RE STILL GONNA NET ABOUT $2,300 PER, PER YEAR BETTER THAN THEY WERE, UH, THE PRIOR YEAR.
AND AGAIN, RECALL THE DOLLAR 31 PROPORTIONATELY TO THAT SALARY IS MORE LIKE A, UH, A MORE, LIKE A 8% INCREASE THAN A THREE AND A HALF PERCENT INCREASE, WHICH EVERYBODY ELSE IS RECEIVING.
SOMEBODY MAKING ABOUT $75,000 A YEAR.
YOU SEE, THE 3.5% INCREASE WOULD BE 26, 25.
AGAIN, WORST CASE SCENARIO, THEY'RE STILL CLEARING ABOUT $2,200 MORE YEAR OVER YEAR.
MY POINT IS THIS, YOU HEAR 7.5% AND YOU HEAR THAT THAT CAN SOUND LIKE A A LOT, AND IT IS A LOT.
I DON'T WANT TO, I DON'T WANNA MINIMIZE AT ALL THE IMPACT THAT THIS COULD HAVE ON EMPLOYEES.
UM, BUT WE'RE DOING IT IN A YEAR THAT THE COMPENSATION RECOMMENDATION, AND IF THAT'S, IF THAT'S WHAT GETS ADOPTED, CAN, CAN DO A LOT TO OFFSET THAT IMPACT.
THE REALLY GOOD NEWS FOR TWO THIRDS OF OUR EMPLOYEES IS THAT IF THEY, UM, PARTICIPATE IN THE WELLNESS PROGRAM MOVING FORWARD, THEY CAN NEGATE ALMOST ALL OF THE PREMIUM INCREASE.
RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE A VERY EFFECTIVE WELLNESS PROGRAM.
IT BENEFITS THE EMPLOYEE, IT BENEFITS THE CITY.
[01:30:01]
UM, IT ALLOWS, UH, FOR, UH, THINGS TO BE CAUGHT EARLIER AND THEREFORE TREATED IN A, IN A MORE EFFECTIVE, UH, AND MORE COST EFFECTIVE WAY.TWO THIRDS OF OUR EMPLOYEES DON'T PARTICIPATE IN THIS.
IF YOU PARTICIPATE IN A WELLNESS PROGRAM, YOU, THE DISCOUNT IS ANYWHERE FROM THREE TO $420, DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU'RE PARTICIPATING IN.
TWO THIRDS OF THOSE EMPLOYEES CAN, AGAIN, CAN ALMOST NEGATE ALL THIS INCREASE.
ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS START PARTICIPATING IN THE WELLNESS PROGRAM.
AND SO OUR EMPLOYEES HAVE OPTIONS, UM, AND, UH, AND HAVE, HAVE, HAVE, UH, DIFFERENT PATHS FORWARD THAT THEY CAN, THEY CAN LOOK AT.
LET ME, UM, GET, GET THROUGH THE STAFFING LEVELS, AND THEN I'M GONNA STOP ON THIS ONE BEFORE I GET TO THE NEXT, UM, UH, KEY FOCUS AREAS, MAYOR, IF THAT'S AGREEABLE TO YOU, JUST 'CAUSE I KNOW I'M PRESENTING A LOT OF INFORMATION.
I WANT TO, I THINK AFTER PEOPLE WOULD BE A GOOD LEVEL.
UM, ANOTHER RECOMMENDATION I HAVE COMES OUT OF THIS, WHAT I'VE, I'VE GOTTEN THIS BOX HERE.
UM, WHEN I TALKED TO YOU LAST DECEMBER, I MADE SOME COMMITMENTS TO YOU.
I TOLD YOU WE WERE GONNA, WE WERE GONNA GO BACK AND WE WERE GONNA LOOK AT EVERY OPERATION.
WE WERE GONNA LOOK AT HOW WE DID EVERY EVENT.
UM, WE WERE, THERE WAS NOT GONNA BE A ROCK THAT WE DIDN'T REALLY TURN TO FIND OUT WHERE WE COULD GAIN EFFICIENCIES.
I ASKED OUR DEPARTMENT HEAD DIRECTORS TO RETHINK EVERYTHING.
UH, MY QUESTION TO THEM WAS, DO OUR CURRENT STRATEGIES, SERVICES AND INVESTMENTS STILL MAKE SENSE TODAY GIVEN OUR REALITIES AND WHAT WE'RE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE IN THE FUTURE? AND I CHALLENGED EVERY ONE OF THEM TO GO BACK AND TO RETHINK, UM, THEIR OPERATIONS.
I'M PROPOSING TONIGHT THAT WE PERMANENTLY ELIMINATE 14 FULL-TIME POSITIONS, UM, FROM THE CITY.
UM, THESE ARE ALL POSITIONS, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, FROZEN FOR ANYWHERE FROM TWO TO THREE YEARS.
UM, THEY'RE POSITIONS THAT, UM, AS WE USE THEM AS BALANCING STRATEGIES BY FREEZING THEM.
WE USED THEM AS BALANCING STRATEGIES PREVIOUSLY.
UM, THAT IT'S, IT'S NECESSITATED THAT, UH, DEPARTMENTS RETHINK THE WAY THEY'RE DOING THINGS.
UH, SOME DEPARTMENTS HAVE SOLVED, PROB SOLVED THESE RESPONSIBILITIES THROUGH TECHNOLOGY.
SOME HAVE, UH, NOT ONLY RETHOUGHT THE, THIS ROLE, BUT THEY'VE RETHOUGHT OTHER ROLES AND THEY'VE, UM, GIVEN, UH, PEOPLE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO MORE.
UM, AND, UH, SOME WE'VE SOLVED WITH CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS.
UM, AND SO THERE'S NO SPECIFIC ANSWER THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD BE, THIS IS WHY WE'RE DOING THESE.
UM, BUT ALL OF THESE POSITIONS ON THE TOP ARE POSITIONS THAT, UH, 19 POSITIONS TO THAT I'M RECOMMENDING.
WE PERMANENTLY, IDEALLY, UM, THE CUSTODIAN THAT I'M PROPOSING THAT WE ADD IS, UH, FOR THE LIBRARY, WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA SAVE DOLLARS BY ADDING THIS POSITION, BECAUSE WHEN WE MOVE BACK TO THE LIBRARY, WE'RE GOING TO ELIMINATE A CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP THAT WE HAD IN THE OLD LIBRARY.
SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE A CUSTODIAN, UH, THERE.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER THREE POSITIONS ARE POSITIONS THAT COME OUT OF THE FIRE MASTER PLAN, YEAR ONE, UH, AN OUTREACH POSITION THAT'S BEING LARGELY OFFSET BY A CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP.
WE HAVE NOW, UH, A PROJECTS AND APPLICATION SPECIALIST, WHICH IS, UM, NOT ONLY IMPORTANT, UM, UM, UM, ON THE TECHNOLOGY SIDE, IT'S PART OF A, IT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF A SUCCESSION PLAN THAT I'M WORKING WITH THE CHIEF ON.
UH, AND THEN, UH, THE EMS CAPTAINS ARE ACTUALLY, UH, NEW AUTHORIZATIONS, NEW CAPTAIN AUTHORIZATIONS THAT'LL BE BACKFILLED THE FIREFIGHTER POSITIONS, OR AS IT WORKS ITS WAY DOWN THE POSITIONS WOULD BE BACKFILLED.
AND, AND TWO OF THE NEW 19 RECRUITS WILL ACTUALLY, UM, TAKE THOSE POSITIONS.
SO, SO CHIEF, CHECK ME ON THIS.
I THINK, UM, THAT OVERALL NUMBER FROM TODAY IS NOT CHANGING.
WE'RE JUST AUTHORIZING TWO NEW CAPTAINS.
EXPLAINED IT THEN, RIGHT? TRYING TO MAKE SURE I HAVE THAT STRAIGHT IN MY HEAD.
SO WE HAVE, UH, THREE CAPTAINS POSITIONS ON DAYS.
RIGHT NOW WE'RE TRANSITIONING THOSE THREE CAPTAIN POSITIONS DOWN TO FIELD OPERATIONS TO OPERATE AS EMS, SUPERVISORS AND SAFETY OFFICERS DOWN THERE.
TWO OF THOSE POSITIONS WILL NEED THAT, WHERE THEY ARE VACATING, WE WILL NEED TO FILL WITH A BODY, AND THAT WE'RE BUDGETING RIGHT NOW AS A FIREFIGHTER POSITION, BUT IT MAY GO DOWN TO A CIVILIAN POSITION.
SO IT'S ACTUALLY TWO NEW POSITIONS.
BUT IT'S NOT CAPTAIN POSITIONS.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE BRINGING THE, THE, WHAT WE'RE CALLING EM EMS CAPTAINS ON, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE REPLACING THEM WITH EITHER A FIREFIGHTER OR A CIVILIAN.
WHY I SAY EITHER OR IS I HAVE SOME PERSONNEL, YOU KNOW, THAT IN THE LATER STAGES OF THEIR CAREER, OR MAYBE THEY HAVE SOMETHING GOING ON TO WHERE THEY WOULD WANT TO COME ON DAYS AND FILL POSITIONS OUTSIDE OF OPERATIONS.
IF THAT DOESN'T OCCUR, THEN I'LL NEED TO FILL THOSE POSITIONS.
THEY WOULD BE FILLED WITH SUBPOENAS.
HE'S ONLY TOLD ME THAT LIKE 10 TIMES
UM, BUT THAT, UM, IN THE WATER FUND, WE ARE PROPOSING
[01:35:01]
TO ELIMINATE A, UH, METER MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN.WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE WATER FUND TOMORROW NIGHT.
UM, WE, UM, WE HAVE SIGNIFICANT, UM, VACANCIES IN THE WATER FUND CONTINUE, SO WE'LL HAVE A WHOLE CONVERSATION AROUND THAT TOMORROW NIGHT.
AND THEN IN THE, UH, SOLID WASTE FUND, THIS IS, UH, AGAIN, SECOND INSTALLMENT, A TWO YEAR VIEW OF THE SOLID WASTE MASTER PLAN THAT YOU ADOPTED TWO YEARS AGO.
RECALL LAST YEAR, UM, UM, WE MADE SOME, UH, INVESTMENTS.
AND THIS IS CONTINUING ON, UH, WITH, WITH THAT, AGAIN, WE'LL COME BACK TO THAT TOMORROW NIGHT UNDER SOLID WASTE FUND AS WELL, IF THAT'S AGREEABLE.
UH, A COUPLE OF OTHER EFFICIENCIES THAT I WANNA MENTION HERE.
UM, UM, AND IN PARTICULAR, IF SOMEBODY'S LOOKING AT THE BUDGET, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND, UM, IN THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
AND SO, UM, WE HAD A, A POSITION THAT WAS VACATED, AN ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER POSITION.
UM, I, I WANTED TO REALLY, UH, KIND OF WALK THE WALK.
UH, AND SO WE REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT IT WAS THAT WE NEEDED IN THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
UM, AND, UM, SO I DECIDED TO ELIMINATE THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER POSITION TO CREATE A DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES, UH, AS WELL AS A MANAGEMENT ANALYST TO SUPPORT THAT DIRECTOR.
UM, UH, THERE ARE, UH, SEVERAL, UH, ORGANIZATIONS HERE IN NORTH TEXAS THAT ARE USING THIS POSITION VERY EFFECTIVELY.
UH, THE PRIMARY ROLE OF THIS POSITION WILL BE, UH, TO OVERSEE, UM, CITYWIDE INITIATIVES THAT ARE BOTH MULTI-DEPARTMENTAL, UH, AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY.
UM, AND, UM, AND TO REALLY BE A, UM, A, UH, UM, A PROJECT PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THOSE, UH, AS WELL AS A SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER.
AND SO, UH, EXAMPLES OF THE FORMER MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, TO OVERSEE COORDINATION OF THE CITY'S A DA TRANSITION PLAN, UH, WHICH INVOLVES PROBABLY 10 DEPARTMENTS, UH, ALL, UH, SEVERAL DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES, BUT REALLY NOBODY OWNS IT RIGHT NOW.
AND SO THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF, OF A, UH, ONGOING CITYWIDE PROJECT.
EXAMPLE OF A SPECIAL PROJECT MIGHT BE STANDING UP A-C-D-B-G PROGRAM, WHICH YOU'VE ASKED US TO DO, AND THEN HANDING THAT CDBG PROGRAM OFF TO, UH, THE APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENT.
AND SO, UM, I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS POSITION.
I'VE STUDIED THIS HARD AND WHAT OTHER CITIES HAVE DONE AND SUCCESSFULLY DONE, AND HOW IT'S ADDED VALUE.
I'VE TALKED TO, UH, SEVERAL OF MY PEERS IN THOSE CITIES.
AND SO WE, WE THINK THIS IS A VERY GOOD USE OF, OF DOLLARS.
WE ARE ELIMINATING, UM, UH, A CULTURAL ARTS COORDINATOR POSITION AND RECLASSIFYING THAT AS A MANAGEMENT ANALYST THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT KENT.
AND, UH, THE OTHER TWO ACMS, UH, THE CULTURAL ARTS COORDINATOR FUNCTION.
THOSE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES WILL BE DONE BY THIS PERSON.
UM, WE'RE JUST GONNA EXPECT MORE OUT OF 'EM.
UM, AND I THINK THAT, AGAIN, THINKING THROUGH, UH, THE ACTUAL WORKLOAD OF THE CULTURAL ARTS COORDINATOR, UM, AND, UM, AND, UH, GETTING THE RIGHT PERSON IN THIS MANAGEMENT ANALYST ROLE, WE, WE CAN EXPECT A LOT MORE, UH, THE PLACEMAKING MANAGER, UM, THAT IS AN AUTHORIZATION THAT'S BEING MOVED FROM CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
I'M GONNA COME BACK TO THAT MAIN POINT OF ALL THESE CHANGES ARE YOU'RE GONNA SEE 'EM REFLECTED IN THE BUDGET, BUT THEY'RE COST NEUTRAL.
UH, LIKEWISE, UH, UM, AMY IS, UH, TAKING, AS WE MOVE INTO THE NEW CITY HALL, UH, WE ARE REACTIVATING A CITY HALL, UM, RECEPTIONIST POSITION.
THERE WAS NO NEED TO HAVE THAT HERE FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS SINCE THE FIRE.
THAT POSITION FOR THOSE YEARS AS WE MOVE BACK IN.
AMY'S OFFICE IS GONNA BE LOCATED JUST ADJACENT TO WHERE THE CITY HALL RECEPTIONIST WILL SIT.
SO WE'RE GONNA TRANSITION RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT POSITION IN THAT ROLE TO THE CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE.
AMY WILL HAVE THAT DIRECT CONTACT WITH THAT PERSON.
SO YOU'RE GONNA SEE THAT TRANSFERRED, BUT AGAIN, COST NEUTRAL, UH, ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SIDE, UM, AGAIN, UH, REALLY TRYING TO MAXIMIZE EFFICIENCIES.
UM, I, UM, HAVE REASSIGNED, UH, THE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR BOTH THE CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU OF CVB AND PLACEMAKING, UH, TO, UH, CHRIS SHACKLET IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT RECALL, UH, EARLY ON WAY BACK WHEN, UH,
UM, THIS IS, UH, BEING DONE FOR TWO REASONS.
ONE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS FUNCTIONING VERY HIGHLY RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND THERE'S A TON OF CROSSOVER BETWEEN BUSINESS RETENTION, UM, WITH, UH, THE HOTELS.
AND JUST LIKE ANY OTHER BUSINESS, UM, THE PLACEMAKING, UH, AS YOU WELL KNOW, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS VERY INVOLVED IN, UM, UH, THE, UM, LUNAR NEW YEAR, THE CULTURE, AND THE CULTURE AND THE CORE.
UH, I THINK BY COMBINING THESE, WE CAN ACTUALLY DO MORE PLACEMAKING AROUND THE IQ, WHICH WAS ALWAYS INTENDED, UM, AND ACTIVATE THAT SPACE MORE, UH, TO FACILITATE THIS.
AND NOT ONLY THIS ALSO FREES UP THESE ROLES, BEING, HAVING TO REPORT DIRECTLY TO AN A CM, UM, TRYING TO RIGHTSIZE A REPORT TO, UM, A STRUCTURE IN OUR OFFICE.
UM, WE'VE MADE A COUPLE OF CHANGES, UH, ASSOCIATED WITH, UM, WITH, UH, THE, THE, UM, COUPLE RECLASSIFICATIONS MANAGER TO AD, UM, COORDINATOR TO MANAGER.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE PLACEMAKING, UH, POSITION, AS I MENTIONED, MOVED OVER.
UM, UM, AND THEN, UM, WE ELIMINATED A CONTRACT WITH A THIRD PARTY MARKETING, UM, UM, FIRM THAT WE WERE USING FOR, UM, UM, CBB MARKETING FUNCTIONS.
AND WE ARE GONNA PUT THAT IN WITH GREG.
[01:40:01]
THE RELATIONSHIP THAT WE'VE HAD WITH GREG ON ED, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, FROM A MARKETING STANDPOINT, HAS WORKED WONDERFULLY.IT'S FINALLY REALLY WORKED ITSELF OUT, AND I'M, I'M CONFIDENT WE CAN ACHIEVE THAT SAME LEVEL OF OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT FOR CVB USING COMMUNICATIONS.
COMMUNICATIONS, UH, THINKS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OR CVB, NO DIFFERENT THAN THEY THINK OF CHERYL PARK.
THEY'RE THERE, IT'S A CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP.
AND SO GREG HAS DONE A GREAT JOB OF MANAGING THAT.
ON THE ENGINEERING SIDE, WE'RE AT AN IMPORTANT POINT WHERE WE'RE CONCLUDING OUR, UH, UM, IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2021 BOND PROGRAM.
UM, AS WE DO THAT, WE'RE RAMPING UP TO BE AND READY TO LAUNCH HERE ON THE 2026 BOND PROGRAM.
UH, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THAT, UM, I, I, UH, WE ARE GOING TO TRANSITION FROM OUR GENERAL ENGINEERING CONSULTANT, UM, UH, APPROACH TO BOND PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION.
AND WE'RE GOING TO, UH, BEGIN TO, UH, MANAGE THAT, UM, MORE IN-HOUSE AS WELL AS WITH, UM, SOME ADDITIONAL CONSULTING, UH, BUT MORE STRATEGIC CONSULTING ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS, PROJECT BY PROJECT.
UH, THE 26 BOND PROGRAM DIFFERS FROM THE 21 IN SEVERAL WAYS.
UM, UH, THE 21 BOND PROGRAM OBVIOUSLY HAD MUCH MORE, UH, MUCH MORE, UH, SIGNIFICANT VERTICAL PROJECTS.
AND WHAT WE DO HAVE VERTICAL PROJECTS IN THE FORM OF A, UH, AUXILIARY BUILDING AND A, A FIRE STATION.
UH, THOSE ARE VERY SPECIALIZED PROJECTS AND, UH, FIRE LEADERSHIP WILL BE VERY INVOLVED IN MANAGING THOSE MUCH MORE SO THAN, UM, THAN, YOU KNOW, THAN THAN WE WERE IN MANAGING THE CITY HALL AT THE LIBRARY.
UM, ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS, UH, WE ARE CONSIDERING THREE NEW POSITIONS.
A PROGRAM MANAGER THAT WOULD MAKE THREE PROGRAM MANAGERS TO OVERSEE NINE DIFFERENT, UH, PROGRAMS OR, OR AS WE TOLD YOU, A HALF A BILLION DOLLAR AS WE SHARED WITH YOU A FEW WEEKS AGO, A HALF A BILLION DOLLAR AS, UH, PROGRAM, AS WELL AS, UH, AN ON AN ANNUAL MAINTENANCE PROGRAM, UH, A RIGHT OF WAY INSPECTOR, UM, WHO WILL NOT ONLY BE, UM, RESPONSIBLE FOR INSPECTING WORK IN, UH, UH, THIRD PARTY WORK IN RIGHT OF WAYS, BUT WILL ALSO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MONITORING SITES, UH, FOR ALL PROJECTS WITHIN THE CITY, FOR THINGS LIKE CLEANLINESS, TRAFFIC CONTROL, UPKEEP, AND OTHER, UH, NON-TECHNICAL MATTERS.
I, WHEN WE, THE MAJORITY OF COMPLAINTS THAT YOU RECEIVE VIA EMAIL THAT YOU FORWARD ON TO ME ARE NOT OUR PROJECTS
THEY'RE OFTEN CONTRACTORS THAT ARE, THAT ARE WORKING FOR UTILITIES OR OTHER FRANCHISEES.
UH, THIS IS GONNA HELP, UH, IN INTEGRATE IN A GREAT WAY TO THAT END AND, AND ENSURE THAT AS WE DRIVE BY THOSE PROJECTS, THEY'RE MAINTAINED IN A WAY, UM, THAT LIKE WE EXPECT OUR PROJECTS TO BE, AND THEN A RIGHT OF WAY MANAGER.
UH, THAT'S A SIMPLY A RECLASSIFICATION FROM AN EXISTING PROJECT ENGINEER.
UH, BUT WE NEED SOMEBODY, UM, TO START, UM, CENTRALIZING RIGHT OF WAY MANAGEMENT, UH, AND OVERSEEING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH FRANCHISE UTILITIES, UH, PARTICULARLY IN THE COORDINATION FOR PROJECTS.
SO THIS IS STILL IN THE WORKS.
UH, I WILL TELL YOU THERE'S $285,000, UM, THAT, UH, IS CURRENTLY IN, UM, UH, NON-DEPARTMENTAL, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S SET ASIDE FOR IMPLEMENTATION AROUND THIS.
YOU MIGHT ASK, WHAT IS THIS COM? HOW DOES THAT COMPARE TO USING A GEC? UM, I WILL TELL YOU THAT THIS IS APPROXIMATELY 15% OF THE COST OF USING A GEC.
SO THIS IS 15% OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN PAYING, UH, FOR EACH OF THE LAST FIVE YEARS FOR A GEC.
AND SO EVEN IF THIS TURNED OUT TO BE A FEW MORE DOLLARS, UH, WHICH I WOULD SHARE WITH YOU WHEN I, WHEN I MADE THOSE KIND OF DECISIONS ON WHICH WAY TO GO, WE ARE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCING THE COST OF IMPLEMENTING 26 BOND PROGRAM VERSUS THE 21.
MAY WE USE SOME CONSULTING? WE DEFINITELY MAY, BUT AGAIN, IT'S NOT GOING TO RISE TO THE LEVEL, UM, THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY, UM, UM, UM, UM, THE EXPENDITURES ASSOCIATED WITH USING GC.
I, I WILL SAY THIS, WE'VE HAD A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR GEC.
UM, THIS IS NOT ABOUT ANYTHING TO DO WITH PERFORMANCE OR, OR SATISFACTION.
IT'S A DIFFERENT BOND PROGRAM.
AND IN ASSESS IT, STATES'S A DIFFERENT APPROACH IN MY OPINION.
COMP HEALTHCARE, UH, ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES.
UM, BEFORE I GET INTO THE THREE OTHER, UH, KEY AREAS AND THEN TURN IT OVER, BOB TO DO ANY DEEP DIVES, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE ON ANY OF THESE TOPICS.
UH, THANK YOU MR. MAGNER FOR THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
I KNOW THIS WAS A LOT, UH, A LOT OF WORK AND A LOT OF ANALYZING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE'RE, WHAT YOU'RE GONNA DO NEXT, BUT I, AND I, AND I, I LOVE ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
A COUPLE THINGS I WANTED TO POINT OUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I WANT US TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THE BEST, UH, POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT AND, AND I CERTAINLY SUPPORT THE INCREASE IN THE DIRECTION OF WHERE THAT IS HEADED.
I THINK THAT HAS A LOT TO DO WITH THE CROSS TRAINING AND HOW TO, UH, I THINK YOU NOTED ON HERE IT SAYS LATERAL ENTRY PROGRAMS. SO I THINK THAT, THAT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE.
AND I, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE RANKED IN THE FIRST TICK, FIRST SIX.
I'D LIKE TO BE THE FIRST THREE, BUT I THINK THE FIRST SIX, WE CAN CERTAINLY TRY TO ACHIEVE THAT BY, BY LOOKING AT THIS TYPE OF, UH, INTERIM.
[01:45:01]
AND THE SECOND THING IS, AND I'VE TALKED TO YOU ABOUT THIS SEVERAL TIMES, IS SUCCESSION PLANNING.YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S VITAL AT THIS POINT.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN AROUND LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT EVERYONE I'VE MET WHEN I MOVED HERE IS ALL PRETTY MUCH CYCLING OUT.
SO TO FIND, UH, RECRUITS AND TO KEEP SUSTAINABILITY AND SUCCESSION PLANNING IS, IS VITAL.
I NOTICED THAT, YOU KNOW, AS WE, AS WE DECREASE 14 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES, UM, I CERTAINLY SUPPORT A CONTINUATION OF THE CROSS TRAINING PROGRAM.
I THINK THAT'S VITAL TO ANY ORGANIZATION, JUST BECAUSE, FIRST OF ALL, BY CROSS TRAINING, IT DOES ALLOW THOSE 14 POSITIONS TO BE PICKED UP BY OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND OR INDIVIDUALS, WHICH THERE'S, NOTHING'S NOTHING WRONG TO SAY THAT, UH, AN INDIVIDUAL CAN'T, YOU KNOW, HANDLE MORE THAN ONE RESPONSIBILITY ANYWAY, WHICH I KNOW THEY DO.
BUT I'D LIKE TO SUPPORT THAT AS WELL.
AND, UH, AS WE, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UM, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS I HAD ON, ON, UM, SLIDE 43.
I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF BULLETS, AND I KNOW WE, YOU MAY HAVE COVERED SOME OF THIS IN THE, IN THE DELIVERY, BUT, UH, IT SAYS INCREASED LONGEVITY PAY.
IS THAT JUST THE, IS THAT BASED ON THE THREE YEAR PROGRAM THAT YOU'RE DISCUSSING, UM, ABOUT THE INCREASE FOR EMPLOYEES? YEAH.
SO LONGEVITY PAY IS A, A, UH, A PAY, UH, VERY COMMON, UH, MUNICIPALITIES IN TEXAS, UH, ESSENTIALLY, UM, ONCE A YEAR, A LUMP SUM IS PAID, UH, TO AN EMPLOYEE, AND IT'S BASED ON THE NUMBER OF MONTHS OF SERVICE THAT THEY HAVE.
AND SO IN 2023, UM, THAT PAY WAS, UH, $4 A MONTH.
AND IT HAD BEEN LIKE THAT SINCE THE CITY'S, I THINK, I THINK SINCE THE CHARTER WAS ADOPTED.
AND SO THE COUNCIL AT THAT TIME OFF, UH, SUPPORTED INCREASING THAT PAY TO $8 A MONTH.
AND IMPORTANTLY, FOR RETENTION, PARTICULARLY FOR OUR MOST TENURED EMPLOYEES, UM, UH, UNCAPPED IT OR REMOVED THE CAP, IT WAS PREVIOUSLY CAPPED AT $2,500, IF I REMEMBER RIGHT.
UM, AND SO NOW, UH, IT'S EIGHT.
THE LONGEVITY PAYS $8 PER MONTH, AND IT'S, UM, IT'S, IT'S NOT CAPPED.
AND SO, UH, IT WAS REALLY A, A, A RETENTION STRATEGY.
IT'S OBVIOUSLY MOST BENEFICIAL TO THEM, TO OUR EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE THE MOST, UM, YEARS OF SERVICE WITH THE CITY.
AND SOMETHING THAT I KNOW WAS, UH, WAS REALLY APPRECIATED BY, BY EMPLOYEES AT THAT TIME.
AND, AND THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING THAT.
UM, ONE OF THE OTHER, UH, COUPLE OTHER QUESTIONS, THE RECRUIT AND REFERRAL INCENTIVES, UH, THAT YOU HAVE BULLETED HERE IS HOW ARE WE, HOW ARE WE GOING TO GENERALLY, UM, PREPARE FOR THAT FOR THE, UH, TYPE OF RECRUITMENT? YEP.
IS THAT SOMETHING JUST GONNA BE INTERNAL EXTERNAL COMBINATION OR SUCCESSIONING? SO RIGHT NOW, UM, RIGHT NOW WE'RE NOT USING THAT, UM, TOOL.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE KIND OF USE FROM TIME TO TIME.
TOMORROW NIGHT, I WILL BE TALKING TO YOU, UH, IN THE WATER DEPARTMENT ABOUT REACTIVATING THOSE TOOLS.
UM, I THINK IF I RECALL A 20% VACANCY IN THE WATER DEPARTMENT RIGHT NOW, AND IN WATER AND SEWER OPERATIONS, IT'S ACTUALLY EVEN HIGHER THAN THAT.
UM, AND, UM, BUT, UH, GARY AND I ALSO RECENTLY TALKING ABOUT POTENTIALLY, UM, UM, UM, INSTITUTING A, UM, A SIGN ON, UH, BONUS.
UH, IT'S, IT'S NOT SIGN ON BONUS, IT'S A, UH, MOVING ALLOWANCE, UH, ESSENTIALLY.
TALK ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF THAT.
SO WHAT, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS HOW CAN WE BETTER, UH, RECRUIT IN-STATE LATERALS? AND SO IF WE CAN RECRUIT IN-STATE LATERALS, WE CAN GET THEM HERE AND HAVE, HAVE THEM HIT THE GROUND RUNNING BECAUSE THEY'RE ALREADY TCO CERTIFIED.
AND SO IN DOING THAT, WE'RE LOOKING TO, UM, HAVE THEM BE ABLE TO RECRUIT SOME MOVING COSTS.
AND SO LOOKING AT JUST A $2,500, UM, UM, MOVING BONUS, IF YOU WILL, RELOCATION FEE MM-HMM
TO ASSIST THEM IN GETTING HERE.
THE, THE REFERRAL IS, UH, AN INTERESTING, UH, BENEFIT TO AN EXISTING EMPLOYEE.
IF, IF AN EMPLOYEE REFERS, UH, A, IF AN OFFICER WHO MAYBE WORKED IN A DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT SAYS TO ONE OF HIS BUDDIES FROM THERE, HEY, THIS ACTUALLY TURNED OUT TO BE A PRETTY COOL DEAL.
YOU SHOULD COME WORK HERE AND CONNECT THEM WITH THE RECRUITER.
THAT WAS A, UH, A VERSION OF A, OF AN INCENTIVE THAT WE HAD ONE TIME AS WELL.
AND SO WE TRY NOT, WE TRY TO KIND OF USE THESE STRATEGICALLY.
I THINK IF YOU JUST KIND OF LEAVE IT OUT THERE, IT GETS STALE.
AND PEOPLE KIND OF BECOME, YEAH.
THEY KIND OF TUNE, TUNE IT OUT.
AND SO WE KIND OF TURN 'EM OFF AND ON FROM TIME TO TIME.
I'M WANNA RUN OUT MY, MY LAST QUESTION, I'M GONNA RUN OUTTA TIME HERE.
UH, THE ENHANCEMENT RETIREMENT ELIGIBILITY BENEFITS, UHHUH
I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF SEE IF WE COULD ELABORATE ON THAT.
YEAH, THAT WAS, UM, THAT WAS, UH, WHEN WE WERE ABLE TO MOVE THE ELIGIBLE RETIREMENT, UH, YEARS FROM 25 TO 20.
THAT WAS VERY POPULAR AND SOMETHING THAT PD AND FIRE, UM, REALLY ADVOCATED FOR, UH, PARTICULARLY FOR FOLKS THAT, UM, UH, BUT I WOULD SAY WATER WASTE, WATER SOLID WASTE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE JOBS THAT REALLY TAKE A WEAR AND TEAR ON YOUR BODY, UM, TO HAVE AT LEAST THE OPTION.
UH, NOW NOT MANY PEOPLE TAKE IT AT 20, BUT AT LEAST IT'S AN OPTION.
[01:50:01]
THANK YOU.MAYOR, I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS, SO IF I RUN OUT TIME IN MY FIVE MINUTES, I'M GONNA ASK THAT YOU COME BACK TO ME.
UM, JOSE, I THINK THESE TWO FIRST ONES ON SLIDE 69, UM, CITY MANAGER MENTIONED THAT, UM, THE NEW HMO PROGRAM, AND I THINK IT WAS LIKE 90% OR 92% OF TIME, 92, YES.
UNDER THE NEW HMO PROGRAM, WILL 92% OF THE CLAIMS MATCHED, UM, WILL THE 92% OF THE CLAIMS AND THE PEOPLE WHO HAD THOSE CLAIMS THAT MATCHED, WILL THEY BE NOTIFIED, HEY, YOU HAVE THIS OPTION, IT MAY SAVE YOU MONEY IN THE LONG RUN, OR WHAT'S, HOW, HOW DOES THAT IMPLEMENT IT TO SHOW THEIR COST SAVINGS? ACTUALLY, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
AND DON OR CITY MANAGER WENT AND HAD SEVEN TOWN HALL MEETINGS TALKING ABOUT THIS.
MY STAFF, WHEN WE GO THROUGH OPEN ENROLLMENT, WE'RE GOING TO DESCRIBE THAT.
AND THIS EXACT STAT THAT 92% OF THOSE CLAIMS MATCHED OUR BLUE, CURRENTLY OUR BLUE TRU, UH, BLUE CHOICE, UH, NETWORK.
SO WE'LL BE THERE TRYING TO EXPLAIN THESE TYPES OF THINGS.
I'VE ALREADY TOLD A A FEW PEOPLE, 'CAUSE THIS, THIS HMO PLAN ACTUALLY EXIST TODAY UNDER BLUE CROSS.
THEY CAN CALL THE NUMBER IN THE BACK OF THEIR CARD, SAY, HEY, DOES MY DOCTOR, UM, IS IT UNDER THE BLUE ESSENTIALS PLAN? SO HOPEFULLY SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE KIND OF SPREADING THE WORD AND THAT KIND OF THING.
NEXT, UM, EARLIER IT WAS MENTIONED ABOUT, UH, RETENTION AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE OBVIOUSLY, IT'S SOMETHING WE ALWAYS LOOK, WE WANT TO KEEP TALENT, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE INVEST IN TOWN, WHEN SOMEBODY LEAVES FOR WHATEVER REASON ON THEIR OWN, UH, ARE THEY ASKED THE KIND OF REASON BEHIND LEAVING? IS THERE LIKE AN EXIT SURVEY? YES.
WE OFFER THOSE EXIT INTERVIEWS.
BUT ACTUALLY A LOT MORE PEOPLE TALK TO THE DEPARTMENTS.
REFERS US COMING TO TALK TO HR.
BUT YES, WE DO DO MAKES SENSE.
SORRY,
CHIEF TITTLE? NO, THAT'S YOUR TURN.
THIS FIRST ONE, CHIEF, I TAKE THAT BACK.
UH, DON, SLIDE 40, PUBLIC SAFETY SHOWS 41.9% IN THE PI GRA, OR I'M SORRY, IN THIS, IN THIS BREAKOUT MM-HMM
IS THIS SIMILAR QUESTION TO MY QUESTION EARLIER.
ARE THESE RATIOS AND KIND OF, ARE WE SEEING THEM SIMILAR YEAR OVER YEAR? IS THIS GROWING? AND THE REASON BEHIND THAT, AS YOU KNOW, ARE, UH, STATE LEGISLATURE KIND OF TIED OUR HANDS WHEN IT CAME TO WHAT WE CAN DO WITH BUDGETS AROUND PUBLIC SAFETY.
AND, UH, I KNOW THAT IN OTHER CITIES, I'VE HEARD THIS FROM COUNCILMEN, AND AS YOU PROBABLY WELL KNOW MUCH BETTER THAN ME, SOME OF THE CITIES ARE RUNNING INTO ISSUES WHERE, UM, THAT'S BECOMING A BIGGER AND BIGGER PART.
SO THEY'RE HAVING TO WATCH HOW THEY SPEND AND CUT JOBS.
OTHER CITIES ARE CUT POSITIONS.
ARE WE SEEING THIS GROW AT A NORMAL RATE, OR IS THIS BECOMING, YOU KNOW, SO YEAH, PROPORTIONALLY, PROPORTIONATELY, PROPORTIONALLY, IT HAS GROWN SLIGHTLY, BUT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S NOT, UM, IT'S NOT WHAT I WOULD CALL OUT OF THE ORDINARY, PARTICULARLY WHEN FOR TWO YEAR, I MEAN 2, 2, 2 BUDGETS IN A ROW, NOW WE ARE PROVIDING, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY OVER THE TWO YEARS, 4% MORE COMPENSATION TO POLICE AND FIRE THAN, THAN GENERAL EMPLOYEES.
SO, YEAH, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S GROWING THE 41.9%.
I, I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS LAST YEAR, BUT IT WASN'T SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT.
SO WITHIN A PERCENTAGE OR TWO.
UM, SLIDE, SLIDE 50 SHOWED A 7.3 VACANCY, CHIEF CHECKING MY TIME.
IS THAT PRETTY AVERAGE AS FAR AS WHAT WE HAVE YEAR AFTER YEAR? AND IS THAT AVERAGE KIND OF WITH STATE, HOW DOES THAT VACANCY COMPARE TO, I GUESS, THE LARGER MARKET? SO AS WE TALKED, UM, LONG STORY SHORT, I SHOULD SAY, UM, EACH DEPARTMENT HAS, EACH POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS ITS OWN, UM, NUMBER OF VACANCIES, OBVIOUSLY.
UH, I THINK WE ARE RELATIVELY CONSISTENT IN THE AREA WITH THE NUMBER OF VACANCIES THAT WE HAVE AS SITTING AT 10 RIGHT NOW AS IT RELATES TO SWORN PERSONNEL.
UM, LOOKING AT, UM, AT THAT NUMBER OF, OF 10, I THINK YOU, YOU REFERENCED, UH, WAS THAT A PERCENTAGE THAT YOU REFERENCED, OR, UH, 7.3%.
THE POLICE OFFICER VACANCY RATE.
I HEARD YOU SAY SEVEN, AND SO I WAS TRYING TO CATCH UP TO YOU ON THAT, BUT SORRY.
I, I THINK OUR NUMBER AND OUR PERCENTAGE RATE IS, IS VERY COMPARABLE.
UM, I, I GO BACK TO HOW COMPETITIVE WE ARE IN THE NORTH TEXAS REGION AND SPECIFICALLY IN COLLIN COUNTY.
AND I ALSO REFERENCE, UM, IF WE'LL JUST GO BACK TWO SLIDES TO 48 AND RECOGNIZING THAT, UM, JUST ON THIS SLIDE ALONE,
[01:55:01]
FOUR OF THE TOP FIVE ARE DEPARTMENTS THAT WE SHARE AN ACADEMY WITH.AND SO RECOGNIZING THAT, UM, POINT AND ALSO RECOGNIZING THAT IN TALKING TO OUR RECRUITER AND THE SERGEANT OVER RECRUITING AND, AND, UH, UM, PERSONNEL, ROUGHLY 300 VACANCIES IN THE COLLIN COUNTY, UM, AREA ALONE.
SO I, I THINK WE'RE CONSISTENT.
TALK ABOUT ATTRITION FOR JUST A MINUTE.
UM, WE HAVE HISTORICALLY RAN ABOUT A DOZEN OFFICERS PER YEAR THAT WE HAVE LOST IN 2025.
WE LOST 23 OFFICERS THROUGH ATTRITION.
AND SO A LOT OF THAT IS VERY MUCH WHAT MR. MAGNER REFERENCED IN WITH THE UPTICK IN ISDS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
AND WITH OFFICERS GETTING 20 YEARS OR 25 YEARS AND MOVING ON TO ANOTHER, UM, DEPARTMENT WHERE IT MAY NOT BE AS CHALLENGING, UH, IT, IT'S, IT'S ADVANTAGEOUS FOR THEM.
AND SO THAT LEFT US WITH THAT 23 NUMBER, WHICH WAS, UM, JUST A HUGE NUMBER FOR US TO PLAY CATCH UP WITH.
MAYOR, I HAVE TWO MORE QUESTIONS WHENEVER NO PROBLEM.
WE'LL GET YOU RIGHT AFTER THESE NEXT TWO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CORCORAN.
MY ONLY QUESTION IS AS FAR AS THE, YOU KNOW, SO AS FAR AS THE STRATEGY FOR CHANGING, I MEAN, SO YOU LOOK AT LIKE, WE'RE MOVING, WE'RE REMOVING 19 POSITIONS, OR DELETING 19 AUTHORIZATIONS, BUT WE'RE ADDING ABOUT 13 MORE.
RIGHT? AND SO, IS THE, REALLY, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THE STRATEGY ON THIS PART OF THE, THE BUDGET, THE IDEA IS REALLY TO ELIMINATE POSITIONS THAT ARE NICE TO HAVES, TO MAKE ROOM FOR POSITIONS THAT ARE MORE IMMEDIATELY RELEVANT.
IS THAT REALLY WHAT THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS? WELL, SO JUST A POINT OF CLARIFICATION.
SO WE'RE ELIMINATING 19 IN THE GENERAL FUND, AND WE'RE ADDING FIVE IN THE GENERAL FUND.
THAT'S TO THE GENERAL FUND, WHICH IS OUR MOST CHALLENGED FUND BECAUSE OF THE PROPERTY TAX ACCOUNT.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A NET DIFFERENCE OF 14 PERMANENTLY DELETED OR ELIMINATED POSITIONS.
UH, THE SOLID WASTE FUND WHERE THE OTHER FIVE ARE, UH, BEING, UH, OR FIVE POSITIONS ARE BEING ADDED.
UM, THAT'S, THAT IS A BYPRODUCT OF THE SOLID WASTE MASTER PLAN THAT WAS APPROVED A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
SO WE'RE JUST TRYING TO FOLLOW THE IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE, UH, FOR THAT, UM, THAT PLAN.
SO I SEE, I MEAN, I GET OVERALL FROM A CITY AUTHORIZED POSITION, YOU'RE RIGHT, MM-HMM
BUT IT IN THE GENERAL FUND WHERE, YOU KNOW, OUR BIGGEST FINANCIAL HURDLES ARE THAT WE DON'T CONTROL OUR OWN DESTINY BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL STATE ACTION AND PRIOR STATE ACTION.
TO YOUR POINT, WE'RE TRYING TO RELEASE ANY RESOURCES THAT ARE NOT FOR ESSENTIAL CITY SERVICES SO THAT THEY CAN BE USED FOR ESSENTIAL CITY SERVICES.
AND THESE WERE, THESE WERE THE POSITIONS IN THE GENERAL FUND.
I FELT LIKE WE, THERE, THERE WERE OTHERS THAT WE DIDN'T RIGHT.
NO, I, I THINK IT MAKES SENSE.
I MEAN, IT'S, IT WAS A NICE STRATEGY TO, TO HAVE THOSE, AND THEN IF WE DIDN'T END UP FILLING THEM, USE THE MONEY LATER ON, YOU KNOW, TO KINDA SHORE UP OTHER THINGS AS NEEDED.
BUT THAT'S A STRATEGY THAT FLEXIBILITY IS ALMOST LIKE A, A NOT A GUARANTEED.
AND WE'RE AT THE POINT, I GUESS, WHERE WE HAVE TO GET RID OF THAT FLEXIBILITY TO ACTUALLY MAKE THE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS FUNCTION.
AND, UH, I, I SEE WHERE YOU'RE GOING WITH THAT.
AND SO, AND JUST REMEMBER, LIKE, THIS IS OUR FIRST TIME SEEING IT.
SO IF THERE'S LITTLE THINGS LIKE, OH, SOLID WASTE OR MANAGEMENT, YOU KNOW, MANAGEMENT OFFICE, STUFF LIKE THAT, THAT ISN'T, I'M JUST TRYING TO, I APPRECIATE THE CLARIFICATION.
UH, NOT REALLY A QUESTION, JUST TO COMMENT.
I WANNA SAY ON THE, THE YEAR END SAVINGS, YOU STARTED OUT WITH, UM, THE, THE POTENTIAL 12 MILLION, JUST WANNA, GIVEN WHAT WE'VE JUST HEARD ABOUT CORE PLAN AND EVERYTHING, I WANNA, YOU KNOW, ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO AS MUCH AS YOU NEED TO DO THERE.
I MEAN, THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS ON THAT LIST THAT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING WE HAVE TO HAVE.
UM, SO TO THE EXTENT WE NEED TO SHIFT SOME OF THOSE YEAR END PRIORITIES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE ARE GETTING AS FAR AS WE NEED TO GET ON CORE PLAN, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS VERY IMPORTANT.
OBVIOUSLY THAT IMPACTS OUR BOTTOM LINE.
BUT IF WE NEED TO SHIFT SOME OF THAT TO CORE PLAN, I, YOU KNOW, I WOULD GIVE YOU DIRECTION TO DO THAT, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MAKING THAT WHOLE, UH, AND THAT OUR EMPLOYEES ARE COVERED, UM, SHOULD THEY NEED TO, TO ACCESS THE PLAN.
SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR CREATIVITY AND, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE HAD TO ADJUST THAT NOW A FEW YEARS AGO, AND SO I APPRECIATE YOU CONTINUING TO KEEP YOUR EYE ON MAKING SURE THAT WE MAKE IT WHOLE COUNCIL MEMBER AINE.
UH, CUSTODIAL SERVICES, UH, YOU MENTIONED THAT, UH, ADDING ONE FULL-TIME AND INSTEAD OF LIKE, UH, OUTSOURCING MM-HMM
UH, SO THAT'S GONNA IMPACT THE GENERAL FUND, BUT IT'S GONNA RELEASE SOME FUND FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE, BUT HOW THAT IMPACT US SO CONTRACTUALLY, UM, WELL, A COUPLE THINGS.
WHEN WE'VE, WE, WE STARTED TO INCORPORATE A
[02:00:01]
LITTLE BIT OF CONTRACTUAL CUSTODIAL SERVICES, UH, SEVERAL YEARS AGO.UM, WE'VE SEEN THAT THE COST OF THOSE CONTRACTUAL SERVICES INCREASE DRAMATICALLY.
AND SO THE VALUE PROPOSITION OF, YOU KNOW, HIGH HAVING, UM, UH, CONDUCTING, UM, THE CUSTODIAL SERVICES INTERNALLY VERSUS THAT CONTRACTUAL SERVICES SHIFTED OVER TIME.
THE OTHER THING, QUITE FRANKLY, IS WE WEREN'T SATISFIED WITH THE QUALITY OF THE CONTRACTUAL SERVICES, RIGHT.
AS, AS A LOT OF CONTRACTUAL SERVICES DO.
THEY STARTED OUT OKAY, MM-HMM
AND THEN THEY, UH, THEN THEY BEGAN NOT TO DO IT AS, UH, TO THE LEVEL OF QUALITY WE WANTED.
SO IT WAS REALLY KIND OF A, IT WAS REALLY KIND OF A TWO PART DECISION.
UM, BUT I THINK, I THINK WE FEEL LIKE WE CAN, WE'RE ESSENTIALLY GONNA BE COST NEUTRAL, BUT BECAUSE WE'LL CAN, WE'LL HAVE OUR EMPLOYEES DOING IT, WE CAN HOLD THEM TO A HIGHER STANDARD.
AND THE NEW LIBRARY IS GONNA BE DIFFERENT THAN THE OLD LIBRARY IN TERMS OF THE KINDS OF CUSTODIAL SERVICES.
LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, THE, THE STAIR, UH, STAIRCASE NOW THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IN THE, UM, IN THE CHILDREN'S AREA, THE CHILDREN ARE, YEAH, CHILDREN'S AREA
SO I FEEL LIKE, I FEEL LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, IF IF CONTRACTUAL SERVICES IN THE FUTURE PRESENTED A COST SAVINGS OPPORTUNITY, WE WOULD EVALUATE IT AGAIN.
BUT, UM, AT THIS POINT, FROM BOTH A QUALITY AND COST STANDPOINT, I THINK THIS IS THE RIGHT STRATEGY.
NO, THANK YOU FOR THE EXPLANATION.
AND HOW DIFFICULT WOULD BE TO FILL THOSE OTHER POSITIONS THAT YOU'RE EXPECTING FOR THE FIRE? ESPECIALLY, THERE ARE LIKE FOUR OTHER WE ARE PROPOSING OH, FOR THE, UH, FOR THE POSITIONS ON THE, THE BOTTOM LEFT.
UM, CHIEF, YOU WANT TO, DO YOU HAVE IDEAS AROUND THE RECRUITMENT FOR THOSE POSITIONS? I KNOW YOU SAID THE, AS FAR AS DIFFICULTY IN FILLING THEM.
I MEAN, WE CAN ALWAYS HAVE THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, I SEE SOMETIMES THAT YES, WE HAVE THAT POSITION OPEN, BUT IT NEVER REALLY HAPPENED FOR MANY YEARS.
SO I ANTICIPATE FILMING PRETTY QUICKLY.
I SHOULDN'T HAVE MUCH PROBLEM.
MAYOR PRO TIMM, HUTCHEN RIDER.
UM, FIRST OFF, DON, I JUST WANNA SAY I FULLY SUPPORT WHAT I'VE SEEN HERE THIS EVENING.
UM, VERY MUCH WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE OUR EMPLOYEES TAKEN CARE OF.
JUST ONE SMALL QUESTION ON THE COURT PLAN, DO WE HAVE A REINSURANCE FOR LARGE CLAIMS? YES, WE DO.
WHAT, WHAT A, YOU KNOW, THE SPECIFICS YEAH.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE TALKING? YEAH.
AT WHAT, WHAT LEVEL? 350,000, UH, THREE.
GOT A DEDUCTIBLE, UM, ON A SINGLE, UM, SINGLE CLAIM.
HAVE WE, HAVE WE LOOKED THAT RECENTLY TO SEE IF WE NEED TO BRING THAT DOWN FROM THE THREE 50? I KNOW, I KNOW SEVERAL COMPANIES THAT I'M AWARE OF HAVE, HAVE BROUGHT THAT NUMBER A LOT.
WERE KIND OF IN THAT RANGE THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, AND A LOT HAVE BROUGHT IT DOWN MM-HMM
UM, SO I'M JUST, I'M JUST CURIOUS IF WE'VE, IF WE'VE SHOPPED THAT, SO TO SPEAK.
UM, PROBABLY ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO WE SHOPPED IT.
UM, WE'VE BEEN AT THREE 50 PROBABLY SINCE AROUND 2014 ISH, 2015 ISH.
UM, WE'VE HAD SEVERAL BIDS COME IN WHERE THEY WANT US TO GO TO LIKE A 500, UH, THOUSAND DOLLARS, UH, STOP-LOSS.
WE'VE BEEN HOLDING IT, UM, ALMOST SINCE THAT TIME.
AND IS THERE ANY, FROM A MUNICIPALITY STANDPOINT, IS THERE ANY OPPORTUNITY FOR THE, WITH CORE PLAN TO DO ANYTHING, TO BE ABLE TO GO TO LIKE A TML OR ANYTHING ALONG THOSE LINES TO TRY AND, AND AGAIN, LOOK AT POTENTIALLY BETTER, BETTER PRICING BY HAVING LARGER A, A LARGER GROUP THAN JUST ONE CITY AND, AND TRY TO BRING TOGETHER MULTIPLE CITIES? YEAH.
UM, WE'VE EXPLORED THAT AS WELL.
UM, TML IS PROBABLY MORE FOR YOUR SMALLER CITIES.
UM, THIS IS BASED ON TALKING TO MY COUNTERPARTS AS WELL AS OUR CONSULTANTS.
UM, MOST OF THE SMALLER CITIES SEEM TO HAVE THE TML RISK POOL.
UM, THEY HAVE A ALL OR NONE TYPE OF, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE ON STOP-LOSS.
IF YOU, UM, IF YOU SUFFER ONE BIG LARGE CLAIM, YOU ARE ALMOST PRICED OUT OF EVERYTHING.
UM, WE'VE LOOKED AT, I WANNA SAY IT WAS TWO YEARS AGO, WE LOOKED AT IT AND IT WAS NOT FOR US.
WE WERE FIGURING THAT WE WOULD SAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE MONEY JUST BASED ON OUR HISTORY THAT WE HAD.
UM, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I CAN RECOLLECT FROM MAYBE A FEW YEARS AGO.
CHIEF, UH, GOING BACK TO THAT QUESTION ABOUT THE, UM, TURNOVER OR, OR A VACANCY, AND YOU MENTIONED, I THINK YOU WERE STARTING TO SPEAK INTO WHAT MY NEXT
[02:05:01]
QUESTION WAS GONNA BE.UH, I WAS GONNA ASK WHY LEAVING? UM, OBVIOUSLY THEY PROBABLY SPOKE TO YOU AND YOUR, YOUR SENIOR STAFF MORE THAN THEY SPOKE TO JOSE WHEN THEY WERE LEAVING.
WOULD YOU SAY, I KNOW YOU BROUGHT UP, YOU KNOW, OFFICERS THAT MAYBE HAVE BEEN THERE 20 YEARS AND WELL, YOU KNOW, AND MAYBE DON'T WANT TO DO THE, YOU KNOW, DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH ALL THE, THE NOT SO GREAT PARTS OF WHAT OFFICERS HAVE TO DEAL WITH EVERY DAY.
IT, IT'S DEFINITELY MORE THAN I WOULD WANT TO DEAL WITH.
SO I APPRECIATE WHAT, WHAT EVERYBODY DOES.
UM, BUT IS THAT KIND OF THE NUMBER ONE, OR IS IT, WOULD YOU SAY THEY'RE LEAVING TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS? UM, AND IT'S MORE OF A, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A SMALLER DEPARTMENT HAS MORE GROWTH OPPORTUNITY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, OR A GROWING DEPARTMENT, LIKE I'M ASSUMING MCKINNEY AND ALLEN ARE GROWING THEIR DEPARTMENT OF PRETTY QUICK RAPID RATE AND THEY'RE LEAVING BECAUSE THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES AND OBVIOUSLY THEY, THEY'VE BEEN HERE YEARS.
I MEAN, WHAT, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE NUMBER ONE REASON PEOPLE ARE LEAVING? YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER ONE IS PROBABLY SIMPLY THEY REACHED THAT TIME FOR RETIREMENT.
UM, THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL THOUGH, TO ANSWER THE QUESTION, UH, DIRECTLY, I THINK WHERE, WHERE YOU'RE VERY STRONG INQUIRY.
AND THAT IS, WE'VE HAD OFFICERS WHO HAVE DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB HERE FOR 25, 30 YEARS AND HAVE GONE TO THE DA'S OFFICE TO BE AN INVESTIGATOR, UM, IN COLLIN COUNTY.
WE'VE LOST TWO UNIVERSITIES, I-E-U-T-D, UH, WE'VE LOST TWO, UM, MCKINNEY ISD TO WORK RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER FROM THEIR, UH, HOME SO THAT THEY CAN GO AND WORK AS AN SRO THERE.
UM, THESE ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR THAT.
UM, THAT SECOND CAREER IN POLICING, WE HAVE LOST A HANDFUL, A VERY SMALL HANDFUL TO A COUPLE OF DEPARTMENTS BASED ON, THEY HAVE MOVED TO THE AREA, UM, TO NORTH TEXAS.
THEY PURCHASE LAND, UH, NEAR A CERTAIN DEPARTMENT.
AND NOW THAT THEY REALIZE THAT THEY'RE WORKING 12 HOUR SHIFTS, WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH POLICING IN TODAY'S TIMES, THEY HAVE REALIZED THAT, MAN, YOU ADD A, A 12 HOUR SHIFT WITH AN HOUR PLUS COMMUTE, UM, THAT'S A LONG TIME.
AND SO THEY'VE MOVED TO THOSE SMALLER DEPARTMENTS FOR THAT.
SO A LOT OF EXTERNAL FACTORS AND, UH, LIKE MOST INDUSTRIES KIND OF WORK LIFE BALANCE TYPE DECISIONS.
AND JUST A COUPLE, A COUPLE HAVE LEFT FOR, UM, A CHIEF POSITION.
AND, UM, ANOTHER ONE IS ABOUT TO LEAVE TO BE THE NUMBER TWO WHERE THAT CHIEF, UH, LEFT FAIRNESS OR, UM, WENT TO, I, I THINK MOST OF, UH, UTD SENIOR STAFF IS EX PD AT THIS POINT.
UM, MY LAST THANK YOU SO MUCH.
UM, I THINK EVERY MEMBER OF THIS COUNCIL WILL AGREE THAT PUBLIC SAFETY IS UTMOST IMPORTANCE.
UM, WHEN, YOU KNOW, I WAS LOOKING AT DON, I WAS LOOKING AT YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU WERE TALK ABOUT ONE THROUGH 12 AND WHERE OUR RANKINGS ARE.
UM, I, I DID A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH.
WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY ABOUT 750 TOWNS AND CITY POLICE DEPARTMENTS.
IF WE WERE NUMBER 12, WE WOULD BE IN THE TOP 1.8% PAYING POLICE DEPARTMENTS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
IF WE'RE NUMBER FIVE, WE'RE IN THE TOP TWO THIRDS OF 1%, WHICH IS 0.67.
UM, SO WE ARE A HIGH PAYING DEPARTMENT.
I'M NOT OPPOSED, OBVIOUSLY, WE WANT TO CONTINUE BEING A TOP DEPARTMENT IN OUR AREA.
AND, YOU KNOW, DON, YOU, YOU KNOW THE MAGIC AND YOU KNOW HOW YOU MAKE IT WORK.
MY CONCERN IS NOT THIS YEAR, BUT AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW LIKE THAT TO THREE, FOUR YEARS DOWN THE ROAD WITH THE SAME LEGISLATIVE RESTRAINTS THAT THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS, IS HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO GROW THAT? HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO RETAIN AMAZING OFFICERS AT THE QUALITY OF THE SERVICE THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE IN RICHARDSON? OUR QUICK RESPONSE RATE ARE QUICK.
YOU KNOW, WE, UH, I I TELL PEOPLE, LOOK, IF CRIME HAPPENS TO RICHARDSON, I HAVE ZERO DOUBT THAT RPD IS GONNA GET TO THE BOTTOM OF IT, I MEAN, AT A PROFESSIONAL LEVEL QUICKLY.
UM, AND I, I SAY THAT, UH, WITH FULL CONFIDENCE, BUT AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW THAT, HOW ARE WE GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, ONE POSITION, 2, 3, 4, 5 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD WITH THE CURRENT RESTRAINTS AND, UM, STILL MAINTAIN AND NOT RUN INTO SOME OF THE PROBLEMS SOME OTHER CITIES AROUND THE STATE ARE HAVING WHERE THEY'RE HAVING TO CLOSE REC CENTERS, WHERE THEY'RE HAVING TO CLOSE PARKS WHERE THEY'RE HAVING TO CANCEL ALL THEIR FESTIVALS WHERE THEY'RE HAVING TO, YOU KNOW, DO A LOT OF STUFF, LIBRARIES AND VARIOUS OTHER, OR CUT BACK ON BUYING NEWER VEHICLES OR, YOU KNOW, MAINTENANCE, UM, DEPARTMENTS BECAUSE OF THAT.
UH, SO I HOPE THAT THIS AND FUTURE COUNCILS CONTINUE TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.
AND DON, I KNOW, I'M SURE, OBVIOUSLY I'M PREACHING TO THE CHOIR, YOU KNOW THIS BETTER THAN ANYBODY INSIDE AND OUT.
[02:10:01]
BUT, UM, THAT AS WE LOOK AT THESE BUDGETS AND CONTINUE THINKING ABOUT RETAINING TOP-NOTCH TALENT AND BRINGING IN NEW TOP-NOTCH TALENT, IS HOW DO WE BALANCE THAT? I DEFINITELY DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER, UM, LOOKING AT THIS, BUT, UH, OBVIOUSLY CHIEF, I'M SURE YOU AND DON AND WHOEVER COMES AFTER, UM, WELL, WE'LL HOPEFULLY CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN THAT.'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S, TO ME, ONE OF THE BIGGER KIND OF THINGS IN THE FUTURE THAT WE'LL RUN INTO.
UM, I WANNA ALSO KIND OF, UH, VOICE SUPPORT FOR WHAT WE'VE SEEN SO FAR.
UM, MR. MAGNER, I WANNA ALSO COMMEND YOU.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE WITH THE TWO PRIOR CITY MANAGERS, UH, AND WENT THROUGH BUDGET PROCESSES WITH EACH.
I THINK THIS MAY BE, UM, ONE OF THE FIRST TIMES I'VE SEEN AS CLEARLY STATED AS YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO, UM, HOW MUCH THE COST OF TURNOVER ACTUALLY IS, UM, AND HOW INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT IT IS, UH, TO BE ABLE TO RETAIN OR TO AT LEAST SAVE EVEN ONE OR TWO, UH, FIREFIGHTERS OR POLICE OFFICERS, UH, BECAUSE OF THE, UH, SPECIAL NATURE OF WHAT IT TAKES TO BE ABLE TO GET THEM TO THE POINT WHERE THEY CAN ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SERVICE TO US.
AND SO I THINK OUR APPROACH, UM, UH, EVEN IF IT'S IN THAT TOP OF THE TOP TIER, I THINK, YOU KNOW, I, I, I'M NOT SEEING ANY OBJECTION, UH, UH, FROM ANYONE THAT, THAT THAT'S THE RIGHT MOVE AND THE RIGHT WAY TO GO.
AND THE IDEA OF KIND OF PERMANENTLY BEING IN THE GREEN, OR AT LEAST HAVE STRIVING FOR THAT, UM, I THINK IS, IS ALSO JUST, UM, WELL PUT TOGETHER.
SO REALLY, REALLY THRILLED WITH EVERYTHING, UM, THAT I'VE SEEN ON THAT FRONT.
THE ONLY QUESTION THAT I HAVE AND, AND ONE THAT I THINK I ALREADY HEARD PARTS OF THE ANSWER TO, UM, BUT CLEARLY SOME OF THE DIFFICULTY THAT WAS, UH, POINTED OUT AROUND COURT PLAN HAD TO DO WITH OBVIOUSLY THE FLUCTUATIONS OF FROM YEAR TO YEAR, UH, THE CLAIMS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
UM, THE LITTLE BIT OF RESEARCH I'VE DONE DOESN'T SHOW ME TOO MANY CITIES THAT GO FROM, UM, FUNDING THEIR OWN INSURANCE TO HANDING IT BACK OVER TO THE INSURANCE COMPANIES AND JUST DOING IT THE WAY, UH, OTHERS DO IT, UH, PRIVATE INDUSTRY OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
UM, BUT I AM CURIOUS, IS THAT SOMETHING WE'VE LOOKED AT AND, AND IN LIGHT OF EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE SEEN SO FAR, I, I ASSUME IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE, BUT I JUST, I THINK IT BEGS THE QUESTION CONSIDERING WHERE WE'RE AT WITH THE CORE PLAN.
YEAH, I GUESS I THINK YOU'RE, WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS SELF-INSURED VERSUS FULLY INSURED.
UM, FULLY INSURED, WE WOULD HAVE NO CONTROL.
UM, BECAUSE I KNOW SOME OTHER HR FOLKS THAT I'VE TALKED TO, UM, MAINLY IN THE SMALLER CITIES, UH, THAT HAVE FULLY, UH, INSURED PLANS.
AND THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO FIX IT.
AND IT'S BASICALLY THE EMPLOYEE PREMIUMS, THAT'S HOW THAT'S BEING FUNDED.
UH, THAT KIND OF, YOU CAN SEE SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, 20% INCREASES IN PREMIUMS. I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THE CITY WAS LAST YEAR, BUT IT WAS EXORBITANT AMOUNT, UM, THAT THEY WERE GONNA START CONSIDERING BEING SELF-INSURED.
UM, NOT THAT WE HAVE LOOKED AT GOING TO A FULLY INSURED PLAN, BUT I KNOW IN THE PAST I'VE ASKED ABOUT IT AND OUR CONSULTANTS ARE LIKE, YOU DO NOT WANT TO GO TO A FULLY INSURED PLAN BECAUSE OF THE LOSS OF CONTROL HERE.
LET'S GO TO THE, THE DEDUCTIBLE, THE COPAYS, CO-INSURANCE, YOU KNOW, THAT KIND OF THING.
SO THAT'S FOR THE REASON WHY WE'RE STILL SELF-INSURED.
AND, AND, AND AGAIN, EVERYTHING I'VE READ IS SAYS THAT ONCE YOU KIND OF BREAK PAST 500 EMPLOYEES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU HAVE ENOUGH CRITICAL MASS TO WHERE YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SPREAD THE, UH, THE RISK.
BUT I JUST FIGURED I'D ASK SINCE IT'S, IT'S OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING THAT'S WE'RE UNIQUELY CHALLENGED WITH IN THIS MOMENT BECAUSE OF THE CORE PLAN.
BUT, UH, BUT SOMETHING THAT OBVIOUSLY WE CAN, WE CAN MANAGE OUR WAY OUT.
UM, ALRIGHT, LET'S, LET'S MOVE ON.
UM, NEXT, UH, KEY FOCUS AREA IS PUBLIC SAFETY.
UM, AS TO, TO SOME OF THE DISCUSSION, UH, YOU SEE A CHANGE HERE, UM, YEAR OVER YEAR OF ABOUT $5.7 MILLION OR 7.7%.
UH, BIG PART OF THAT IS, UH, PD AT 42.5 MILLION, FIRE AT 36.4.
AND THEN, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AT SEVEN 70.
ONE THING WE HAVEN'T MENTIONED YET THAT I DO WANNA MENTION IS, UM, AGAIN, I THINK A VERY EFFECTIVE, UH, GOING TO BE A VERY EFFECTIVE RECRUITMENT TOOL IS THE RESTRUCTURING OF THE CERTIFICATION PAY FOR BOTH 9 1 1 DISPATCHERS AND SWORN, UH, UH, PERSONNEL AND PD POLICE OFFICERS AND, AND SWORN PERSONNEL, UM, REALLY, UH, WORKING, UM, WITH, UH, CHIEF TITTLE AND AND HIS TEAM TO, UM, I THINK, UH, RETHINK A, WHAT I WOULD CALL AN ANTIQUATED, UH, SYSTEM.
UH, AND, UH, REFORMAT THAT IN A WAY THAT RECRUITERS WILL BE ABLE TO NOT ONLY TALK ABOUT A VERY COMPETITIVE SALARY, BUT DEMONSTRATE IN A VERY EASILY UNDERSTANDABLE WAY, UM, WHAT, UM, ACHIEVING AN
[02:15:01]
ADVANCED OR MASTER CERTIFICATION AS A, UH, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER WILL MEAN.AND SO AN IMPORTANT CHANGE THERE.
UM, SOME OTHER KEY THINGS HERE, AGAIN, BOTH FOR POLICE AND FIRE, UH, FULL, UH, CONTINUED, UH, FUNDING FOR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL WELLNESS PROGRAMS. UH, UH, WE'VE HAD SOME, JUST, JUST A SIDEBAR HERE.
WE'VE HAD SOME REALLY NEAT STORIES OF, UM, POLICE OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS, UH, DISCOVERING THINGS, UH, AT A VERY EARLY STAGE THAT COULD HAVE REALLY, UH, TURNED INTO, UH, YOU KNOW, MUCH BIGGER SITUATION FOR THEM AND, AND, UH, MORE COSTLY FOR THE CITY.
AND SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT ON THAT.
UH, ON THE, ON THE WELLNESS PROGRAMS, UH, FOR PD, UH, CONTINUED SUPPORTIVE, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVES SUCH AS UNIDOS, APARTMENT MANAGERS MEETINGS, OUR FAITH-BASED CON, UH, FAITH-BASED CONFERENCE, UH, SENIOR, UH, CRIME AWARENESS AND, AND, AND OUR CHILDREN AND YOUTH PROGRAMS. UM, UH, REALLY NEAT OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, I WOULD CALL IT, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF A PILOT PROGRAM, BUT TO HAVE, UH, TO ACTIVATE A REAL-TIME CRIME CENTER, UH, USING, UH, TWO DRONES THAT, UH, WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF, UM, UM, UM, AMEND AN EXISTING CONTRACT.
SO THAT GIVES US THE ABILITY TO REALLY KIND OF TAKE A SEVERAL YEAR LOOK AT THIS.
BUT, UH, CHIEF TITTLE HAD ME OVER TO THE 9 1 1 CENTER, A COUPLE OF, I GUESS, MAYBE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, THREE WEEKS AGO.
UM, AND I, I WAS OVER THERE FOR ABOUT TWO HOURS AND I SAW, I, I WAS ABLE TO OBSERVE IN THOSE TWO HOURS, FIVE CALLS THAT CAME IN THAT WERE ABLE TO BE ADDRESSED AND, UM, RESOLVED, UH, WITHOUT A OFFICER HAVING TO BE ON SCENE.
LET ME GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF ONE, UH, A TRUCK HAD LOST A LARGE, UH, UH, A LARGE, UM, LOAD OF, UH, TREE LIMBS ON, UH, GEORGE BUSH.
UH, AND SO WE WERE, NO, WE, UH, UH, I WAS ABLE TO OBSERVE, UM, THE OFFICER CONFIRMED THAT USING THE DRONE DISPATCH IT TO NTTA AND WE DIDN'T HAVE TO SEND A POLICE OFFICER TO THE TOLLWAY TO DO THAT.
AND ALL THAT WAS DONE IN A MATTER OF ABOUT FOUR MINUTES.
UM, AND SO, UM, UM, AXON, UH, WHO YOU SEE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE AS WELL THERE, UH, AXON, UH, UH, UH, PROVIDED SOME OPTIONS FOR US AND REALLY PLEASED TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
UH, UH, MAYOR, UH, OMAR AND I WERE, UH, ABLE TO WITNESS THIS, UH, PACKAGE HERE, THE AI ERROR PACKAGE FIRSTHAND WHEN WE HAD THE DELEGATION FROM KEY LUNG IN, UH, WHERE, UM, NOW, UM, UM, LANGUAGES FROM I THINK CHIEF 80 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, UH, FROM AROUND THE WORLD, UH, OUR OFFICERS AND 9 1 1 DISPATCHERS CAN TRANSLATE ON IN REAL TIME AND BE ABLE TO PROVIDE EVEN BETTER SERVICE BOTH IN THE FIELD AND THROUGH THE, THROUGH THE INITIAL CALL AS A RESULT OF, UH, THE AI ERROR PACKAGE.
AND YOU SEE THAT BEING, UM, UM, FUNDED, UM, WITH OUR 9 1 1 COMMUNICATIONS, 9 1 1, UM, WIRELESS FUND, THE 9 1 1 FUND THERE.
UM, I THINK THERE'S A LITTLE BIT, UH, IN THE AXON CONTRACT FROM GENERAL FUND FROM THAT, BUT PROBABLY 80, 85% OF IT IS THAT ONE 15 ON THE FIRE SIDE.
UM, IN TERMS OF, UM, UM, FIRE, UH, I MENTIONED THE 19 RECRUITS, UM, IN THIS BUDGET IS ABOUT $900,000 MORE YEAR OVER YEAR FOR OVERTIME FOR FIRE.
AND LEMME EXPLAIN WHY THAT'S NECESSARY.
UM, UM, AS WE WERE RAMPING UP TO THE EVENTUALLY 14 VACANCIES, UH, THAT FIRE HAD PRIOR TO THIS CLASS, UH, BEING ACTIVATED, UM, OVERTIME WAS, UH, BEING PAID FOR WITH THE DOLLARS THAT WERE SAVED FROM THOSE 14 VACANCIES.
NOW, THIS ISN'T OVERTIME FOR 4TH OF JULY AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
THIS IS MANDATORY, UH, STATE MANDATED OVERTIME, UH, PER STATION PER SHIFT.
AND SO, UM, THESE ARE NON-NEGOTIABLE, UH, SHIFTS THAT HAVE TO BE COVERED.
AND SO THE 14 VACANCIES WE'RE, WE'RE CREATING A SAVINGS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO USE FOR THE OVERTIME.
UH, WE NO LONGER HAVE 14 VACANCIES 'CAUSE WE'VE GOT 19 RECRUITS THAT ARE IN A CLASS.
THEY'RE GONNA BE THERE FOR NINE MONTHS.
AND THEN, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THEY'LL HAVE TO GO TO PARAMEDIC SCHOOL IN THREE DIFFERENT, UH, TRANCHES.
UM, BUT WE STILL HAVE TO COVER THOSE MANDATORY, UH, SHIFTS.
AND SO THIS OVERTIME WILL HELP, UM, WITH THOSE MANDATORY SHIFTS.
WE, WE SHOULD, AND WE WILL SEE, UM, A, A REDUCTION IN THIS OVERTIME NEXT YEAR.
PROBABLY NOT THE FULL REDUCTION.
'CAUSE YOU'LL STILL HAVE A SELECT NUMBER OF THOSE RECRUITS THAT PROBABLY HAVEN'T HAD THEIR PARAMEDIC, UM, CERTIFICATIONS AT THE START OF THE YEAR.
BUT THIS IS A ONE TIME, BUT IT'S A NOTEWORTHY ONE.
I MEAN, $900,000 IS NOTEWORTHY.
UM, I'LL COME BACK TO THAT IN A LITTLE BIT.
UM, I MENTIONED THE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL WELLNESS, UM, AS WELL.
UH, THE PPP, WHICH IS A REGULAR, UM, WHICH IS A REGULAR, UM, UM, REFRESH FOR THEM.
UH, THE MOCK ALERT SYSTEM, UH, IS, UM, CHIEF, LEMME SEE IF I CAN GET THIS ONE RIGHT.
THE MOCK ALERT SYSTEM IS, UM, A, UH, IS A FIRE STATION ALERT SYSTEM, UH, THAT WILL PROVIDE ALERTS IN, UH, SEVERAL DIFFERENT FORMATS.
AND SO IT COULD BE VIA A CELL PHONE, IT COULD BE A LAPTOP OR A DESKTOP COMPUTER.
UH, WHEREVER THE FIREFIGHTERS ARE IN THE STATION, UH, THIS IS GONNA PROVIDE, UM, A VERY REAL TIME, UM, DISPATCH AND ALLOW THEM TO
[02:20:01]
MOBILIZE AND, AND, AND REALLY SHOULD HELP WITH RESPONSE TIMES, UH, OVER THE LONG HAUL.AND SO THAT'S, UH, THAT'S FOR ALL SIX, UH, STATIONS.
UM, AND, UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, THE FIRE MASTER PLAN.
WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE POSITIONS, UH, AS WELL.
UM, AS A PEAK AMBULANCE, REMEMBER WE TALKED ABOUT THAT.
UH, THE PEAK AMBULANCE WILL BEGIN SOMETIME AROUND JUNE, AND IT'S GONNA BE HOUSED AT FIRE STATION ONE, PROBABLY RUN MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAYS INITIALLY.
UH, AND THAT'LL BE STAFFED WITH OVERTIME AS WELL.
AND THAT'S PART OF THAT $900,000 OF OVERTIME.
AND THEN WE'VE GOT ONE REPLACEMENT AMBULANCE.
UM, THIS IS A TESTAMENT TO, UH, THIS COUNCIL AND PRIOR COUNCILS.
UM, UM, UM, THE COMMITMENT AND INVESTMENT IN PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, SINCE FY 22, UM, HAS GROWN BY NEARLY 40%.
UM, AND SO JUST A OUTSTANDING COMMITMENT TO PUBLIC SAFETY ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND PROJECT SIDE.
I WANTED TO START WITH THIS ONE.
THIS IS JUST A QUICK HISTORY OF OUR TRANSFERS OUT.
UH, SO WE'VE GOT STREET ALLEYS.
YOU SEE HOW THAT'S, UH, INCREASED.
UH, AND YOU SEE THE PROPOSED FOR FY 27, UH, YOU SEE PARKS MAINTENANCE AND FACILITY MAINTENANCE, UM, NOT GOING UP THE PRIOR TWO YEARS, BUT BEING PROPOSED TO GO UP ABOUT $125,000 THIS YEAR.
SO LET'S FOCUS FOR JUST A SECOND ON THE DEDUCTION IN THE STREET AND ALLEY REHAB BY, UH, $2 MILLION.
SO WHAT I'VE, UH, WHAT I'VE PRESENTED HERE TO YOU IS A MULTI-YEAR PLAN, UM, UH, TO DEMONSTRATE, UH, WHAT OUR TOTAL COMMITMENT TO STREETS AND ALLEYS ARE, UH, OR, OR WILL BE MOVING FORWARD.
AND SO WHAT YOU SEE, UH, IS FROM FY 26 TO 27, THE $2 MILLION REDUCTION, WE'RE PROPOSING THAT ONE TO FREE UP THOSE RESOURCES IN THE GENERAL FUND BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE MOST FLEXIBLE DOLLARS.
UM, BUT TO REPLACE THAT AND GROW IT BY 10% TO 200 TO 2 MILLION TO TWO TWO, UM, BY USING, UH, OUR DART GMP FUNDS, UH, RECALL, THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR THAT WE'VE GOT RECEIVED THOSE FUNDS.
UM, YOU SEE THAT THEY COME IN, UH, THIS YEAR AT ABOUT 25 98, THE 2198 PLUS THE 400,000.
SO IF YOU TAKE THE $5 MILLION, UH, THAT'S SET ASIDE IN THE BOND PROGRAM FOR, UH, THE TYPE OF WORK THAT WE ACHIEVE THROUGH THE ANNUAL MAINTENANCE PROGRAM, UH, THIS YEAR WE'LL BE MOVING FROM $7.2 MILLION TO $12.466 MILLION.
NOW, UM, I WANT TO JUST GO ON, I, I, I WOULD JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, BE TRANSPARENT HERE AND SAY I'M REALLY, UM, UH, INTERESTED TO SEE, UM, HOW MANAGING A MILLION DOLLARS OF, UH, STREET REPAIR PER MONTH IS, UH, HOW, HOW WE'RE GONNA, UM, YOU KNOW, MANAGE THAT AND, AND WHAT KIND OF SUCCESS WE'LL HAVE.
I MEAN, YOU GET A COUPLE OF, UH, COUPLE OF COLD MONTHS, A COUPLE OF, UH, YOU KNOW, WEEKS WHERE YOU CAN'T WORK BECAUSE OF SNOWSTORMS AND YOU DON'T HAVE A LOT OF, UH, WIGGLE ROOM HERE NOT TO FALL BEHIND.
AND SO WE'LL WANNA REVISIT THIS NEXT YEAR, NOT JUST THE FUNDING STRATEGY, BUT THE CAPACITY DISCUSSION.
UM, BUT AT NOW, AT THIS POINT, I THINK THAT THIS IS A, IS A PRUDENT WAY.
YOU, YOU SEE THE, THE OUT YEARS, YOU SEE HOW THE GDP, UH, SORRY, THE GMP GROWS, UM, BUT ALSO WHAT'S REMAINING GROWS, UM, UM, ALL THE WAY UP UNTIL FY 32 WHEN THE BOND PROGRAM BURNS OFF.
NOW, YOU WOULD ARGUE THAT WE LIKELY WOULD HAVE ANOTHER BOND PROGRAM, AND WE WOULD HAVE SOME STRATEGY SIMILAR PERHAPS, UH, BUT WE CAN DEAL WITH THAT.
THEN, UM, YOU MIGHT ASK AND YOU SHOULD ASK, UM, WHAT WOULD YOU DO, UM, IN YEAR SEVEN IF THE GMP BURNS OFF AND THERE'S NO SOLUTION, UH, TO THE LONGSTANDING, UH, DART FUNDING QUESTION.
AND, UM, I WOULD SAY IF THAT'S TRUE, THEN WE ARE PROBABLY GONNA HAVE, UH, LARGER PROBLEMS
BUT, UM, I THINK FOR THIS, FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE, THIS GIVES US, UH, A VERY GOOD PLAN MOVING FORWARD, UH, AS WE WORK TO RESOLVE SOME, SOME, UH, LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS THAT, UM, COULD BE EVEN MORE BENEFICIAL, UH, FROM A FUNDING STANDPOINT.
UM, I WOULD DRAW YOUR ATTENTION, UH, TO THE BOTTOM THERE ON TRAFFIC MARKING SIGNS, SIGNALS, AND STREETLIGHTS.
UH, YOU SEE THAT'S AN INCREASE, UH, OF $150,000 YEAR OVER YEAR.
THAT'S ONE OF THE FEW THINGS THAT WE ARE, UH, INCREASING.
UM, THAT'S GONNA ALLOW SOME ADDITIONAL BIKE LANES, UH, SOME OF THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN TO, UH, BE FURTHER IMPLEMENTED.
IN ADDITION, UM, UH, WE'VE, UH, UH, PRESENTED RECENTLY THE RENTER PEDESTRIAN SIGNAL PROJECT, A GREAT WIN FOR, UH, OUR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, THE, THE BIKING COMMUNITY AND THE PEDESTRIAN COMMUNITY AT UT DALLAS.
UH, AND SO ALL OF THAT, UH, THAT ONE 50 AND TWO 50 IS HOW WE'RE USING, UH, THE DARK GMP DOLLARS.
THERE AGAIN, PARKS AND FACILITIES YOU SEE INCREASED.
IT'S BEEN THREE YEARS SINCE WE'VE DONE THAT.
UM, OTHER PROJECTS, UH, THE BOND PROGRAM 2026 WILL BE ALMOST JUST SHY OF $37 MILLION FOR YEAR ONE.
UH, JUST SHY OF $16 MILLION FOR COS.
UH, AND THEN THE CAPITAL REPLACEMENT FUND, WHICH, UM, I THINK, UM, YEAR OVER YEAR IS, UH, INCREASING ABOUT $800,000 OR SO.
UH, AGAIN, BEING RIGHT SIZED FOR, FOR THIS YEAR'S PROGRAM.
AND THEN TOMORROW NIGHT, TALKING ABOUT THE DRAINAGE FUND AT $2.8 MILLION, ALL FOR, UM, A TOTAL OF, UH, UH, JUST SHY OF $14 MILLION, UM, UH, OF, UH, OF INVESTMENT HERE, UH, THIS YEAR.
[02:25:01]
AGAIN, GROWING THAT BY ABOUT $1.5 MILLION, UH, YEAR OVER YEAR.UH, THE LAST, UH, KEY FOCUS AREA HERE IS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
UM, UH, JUST A COUPLE KEY NOTES HERE.
WE MENTIONED THE, UH, REORGANIZATION, UM, AT THE BOTTOM ON THE LEFT HAND COLUMN THERE.
UM, INCREASING THE TRANSFER OUT TO 28, 26, 6 59, OVER $750,000 FROM FY 26.
UH, IF IT PLAYS OUT, RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE TO SUPPLEMENT, UH, FFY 26 CURRENT YEAR BY $3 MILLION WITH, UH, YEAR END SAVINGS OUT OF, UM, FFY 26 THAT WE DESCRIBED PREVIOUSLY.
UH, THE, UH, TIF FUNDING, UM, IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME AS PRIOR YEARS.
UM, AND, UM, JUST THOUGHT I'D, I WANTED TO SHARE THIS.
I KNOW THIS IS A PRIORITY, UH, FOR, UM, FOR THE COUNCIL.
UH, YOU LOOK AT, UM, IN JUST SEVERAL YEARS HERE, HOW, YOU KNOW, WE ARE REALLY OF CHANGING THE DYNAMIC, UH, FROM FFY 27 TO FY 23, UH, GROWING THE, UH, ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND, JUST SHY OF $1.5 MILLION.
AND THEN OF COURSE, AGAIN, REALLY BOLSTERING IT WITH THE $3 MILLION, UH, INFUSION, IF THAT TURNS OUT TO TO BE THE CASE.
UH, JUST A COUPLE OF OTHER, UH, KEY KEY, UH, NOTEWORTHY BUDGET ITEMS, UM, IN THIS BUDGET IS $480,000, AGAIN, FOR LIBRARY AND CITY HALL REOPENING.
UH, WE TALKED ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT EARLIER.
UH, WE ARE PLANNING FOR THE RETURN OF SANTA'S VILLAGE, UH, TO THE CITY HALL CAMPUS, UH, UH, INCLUDING DECORATING, UH, THE NEW CITY HALL AND THE LIBRARY, UH, AND ALSO HAVING, UH, THE PUBLIC SAFETY EXPO RETURN TO THE NEW, NEW CITY HALL CAMPUS, UH, IN THE, IN THE GREENFIELD, I THINK WE CALL IT, TO THE GREEN.
UM, SUPER EXCITED TO WELCOME BOTH DALLAS AND CALLEN, UH, COLLIN COUNTY EARLY VOTING BACK TO CITY HALL, UH, FOR THE MAY ELECTION.
UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THE WHOLE 30, UH, YEARS PRIOR TO THE FIRE, UM, EARLY VOTING WAS, WAS AT CITY HALL.
UH, AMY AND THE TEAM HAVE DESIGNED, UH, UM, THAT SPACE TO BE VERY CONDUCIVE TO HOSTING BOTH DALLAS AND COLLIN COUNTY.
SO IT'LL BE AN EARLY VOTING LOCATION.
UH, THE ONLY EARLY VOTING LOCATION THAT WE'VE GOT BUDGET AT THIS TIME, AS WELL AS AN ELECTION DAY LOCATION.
UH, AND THEN OF COURSE, ELECTION DAY VOTING LOCATIONS HANDLED UP, UH, BY, BY THE COUNTY OTHERWISE.
UM, AND THEN THERE I DID MENTION, UH, EARLIER, UH, THERE IS CONTINGENCY FUNDING, UH, TO ADDRESS POTENTIAL FUEL AND UTILITY COST ISSUES, UM, VOLATILITY.
SO WE, WE USE SOMEWHERE, SAY, PLUS OR MINUS, YOU KNOW, 300,000 GALLONS OF FUEL A YEAR.
UM, I THINK THIS IS ONE, UM, THAT WE ARE VERY, VERY UNSURE ABOUT WHAT, WHAT THE RIGHT NUMBER TO BUDGET IS.
YOU KNOW, DAY TO DAY YOU HEAR DIFFERENT THINGS, BUT IF THINGS GO REALLY OFF TRACK OVERSEAS AND WE SEE A DOLLAR OR TWO OR MORE INCREASE IN DIESEL, WHICH WE USE A LOT OF, AND, AND, AND GASOLINE, UM, WE WANT TO HAVE SOME CONTINGENCY PLAN.
AND SO, UM, UM, SAME, SAME GOES FOR UTILITY COST HERE.
AND SO, UM, WORST CASE SCENARIO IS WE DON'T USE THIS, AND IT JUST FLOWS THROUGH TO YEAR END SAVINGS, AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT HOW TO DEPLOY IT, UM, WHEN WE, WHEN WE CAN, WHEN WE WRAP UP, UM, THAT YEAR.
SOME EXPANDED PROGRAMS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
UM, UH, THE FIRST, UH, TWO ARE TACTICS.
UM, THE FIRST TACTIC, AS IT WAS DESCRIBED, WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, WORKED WITH, UH, EY, UH, WHO HAS PROPOSED A ED INCENTIVE ANALYSIS THAT WOULD INCLUDE, UH, NOT ONLY THE HOME IMPROVEMENT INCENTIVE PROGRAM, BUT TRADITIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES, UH, AS WELL, THE SCOPE WOULD INCLUDE, UH, IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE, UH, SAMPLES FROM EACH PROGRAM CALCULATION OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT, FISCAL IMPACT, ROI, UH, TREND ANALYSIS WITH, UH, CERTAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS, BENCHMARKING AGAINST OTHER MUNICIPALITIES, AND A SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS AND OPPORTUNITIES.
UH, ANTICIPATE THAT WOULD TAKE ABOUT 22 WEEKS.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE PRICE THERE.
IT'S EY, UH, PART OF, PART OF THE REASON, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ALTERNATIVE WOULD BE FOR US TO DO THIS IN HOUSE.
UM, I LIKE BOTH OF THESE TACTICS.
IF WE DO THAT, TOTALLY EYES OPEN.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK, I THINK WE WOULD PROBABLY HAVE A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF SOPHISTICATION PERHAPS THAN EY COULD BRING TO THIS EXERCISE.
AND IT MIGHT TAKE US A LITTLE BIT LONGER, BUT I STILL THINK WE COULD PROVIDE YOU WITH A REPORT THAT WOULD BE MEANINGFUL.
UM, AND THAT WOULD, UM, AND THAT WOULD HELP YOU, UM, UH, EITHER CONFIRM OR IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT AROUND, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR USE OF INCENTIVES.
UH, THE NEXT TACTIC, UM, WAS, UH, TO CONDUCT A MARKET SCAN TO IDENTIFY AND EVALUATE POTENTIAL FUNDING SOURCES.
UH, IE GRANTS, PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, UH, PHILANTHROPIC CONTRIBUTIONS, STATE AND FEDERAL GRANTS, UH, TO ANALYZE FINANCIAL, LEGAL AND OPERATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF EACH FUNDING OPTION.
UM, AND THEN TO PRIORITIZE OPTIONS AND CLEAR A ROADMAP AND CREATE A ROADMAP FOR PURSUING PAC IMPACT FUNDING STREAMS. UM, WE WORKED WITH RISE 360.
IT WAS A RICHARDSON, UH, COMPANY AND, AND CITIZEN, A RESIDENT.
UM, AND, UH, SO THEIR EFFORT WOULD INCLUDE, UM, TO IDENTIFY THOSE FEDERAL, STATE, AND REGIONAL, UM, UM, GRANTS, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, UM, PARTICULARLY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE.
[02:30:01]
WE WANTED TO START WITH INFRASTRUCTURE.UH, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE SPENDING SO MANY DOLLARS.
UH, THEY WOULD EVALUATION, THEY WOULD EVALUATE THE ALIGNMENT, UM, WITH THE CITY'S CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN, PROVIDE STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, AND PRIOR PRIORITIZED, UH, UM, STRATEGIES, UH, ON HOW TO PURSUE THE GRANTS.
AND THEN FINALLY, THEY WOULD TARGET, UM, UM, UH, IDENTIFIED FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES SPECIFIC TO FIRE RESCUE INFRASTRUCTURE, EQUIPMENT, AND POTENTIAL OPERATIONAL SUPPORT.
UM, WHAT THIS IS, IS IT COULD BE, UH, A GRANT THAT THE CHIEF'S MENTIONED TO ME SEVERAL TIMES THAT COULD HELP WITH YEARS ONE, TWO, AND THREE, UH, DIMINISHING HELP, BUT STILL HELP WITH YEARS ONE, TWO, AND THREE OF BRINGING ON, UH, THE 15 FIREFIGHTERS, UH, FOR FIRE STATION THREE NEXT YEAR.
UM, AGAIN, THAT COST IS ABOUT $90,000.
AGAIN, I THINK WE CAN DO THIS IN HOUSE.
UM, BUT AGAIN, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, THIS WOULD TAKE US A LITTLE BIT, UM, LONGER.
UM, I THINK YOU HAVE TO HAVE A REAL UNDERSTANDING OF THIS FIELD.
THIS WOULD BE ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT IF WE DID IT IN-HOUSE, I WOULD PROBABLY ASSIGN TO OUR NEW DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES.
UM, AND SO FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, UM, WE TALKED, UM, PREVIOUSLY, UH, CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILROAD HAS A DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHY AROUND, UH, RIGHT AWAY MAINTENANCE.
UM, WE, UH, WORKED WITH THEM, UM, AND, UH, ULTIMATELY, UM, THEY DID OFFER US AN OPPORTUNITY, UM, TO PARTNER WITH THEM ON THE RIGHT OF WAY MAINTENANCE.
THEY WILL PAY FOR THE FLAGMAN AND ALL SAFETY AND SECURITY RELATED, UM, EXPENSES.
AND WE WOULD PAY FOR THE MOWING.
THEY ALSO ALLOWED US TO USE, UH, OUR CONTRACTOR, WHICH SAVED US SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND SO OUR CURRENT ESTIMATE IS TO MOW THAT THREE TO FOUR TIMES A YEAR WOULD BE APPROXIMATELY $60,000.
UM, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF STATE OF THE CITY ENHANCEMENTS.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED, UH, FOR A LONG TIME, UH, TO HAVE THE SAME PRODUCTION COMPANY FOR THE STATE OF THE CITY.
GREG HAS, UH, HAD A WONDERFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE, WITH THIS COMPANY.
THEY ALSO WERE THE PRODUCTION COMPANY FOR A WILDFLOWER FESTIVAL.
UH, IT WAS A SMALL BUSINESS, AND, UH, HE HAS DECIDED TO RETIRE.
SO WE RECENTLY WENT OUT WITH A, UH, REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR SERVICES FOR BOTH THE STATE OF THE CITY AND THE, AND THE WILDFLOWER FESTIVAL.
OUR ESTIMATE AT THIS TIME IS THAT WE'RE GONNA SEE ABOUT A $10,000 INCREASE IN PRODUCTION COST FOR STATE OF THE CITY, GIVEN THAT WE HAVEN'T NEGOTIATED THAT CONTRACT IN ABOUT 12 OR YEARS OR SO.
UM, AND THEN ALSO THE CONSIDERATION, JUST A SMALL CONSIDERATION, PARDON ME, SORRY.
AROUND, UM, UH, CHANGING THE VENUE TO THE HILL HALL FOR ABOUT $5,000.
UM, UH, SOME CITY COUNCIL MEDIA TRAINING THROUGH KIE.
UH, THIS WAS A, JUST A SUGGESTION, UM, THAT WOULD BE, UH, ESSENTIALLY ABOUT A ONE DAY TRAINING, UH, FOR THE COUNCIL.
UM, SOME BACKGROUND BEST PRACTICES, AND SOME ACTUAL DRILLS IF YOU WOULD, DRILLS THAT WOULD, UH, KSE WOULD RUN YOU THROUGH.
AND THEN A US CONFERENCE OF THE MAYOR'S MEMBERSHIP FOR LIKE $12,000, REALLY AT THIS POINT, NOT NECESSARILY LOOKING, UH, FOR ANSWERS.
UH, BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY FEEDBACK YOU THAT YOU HAVE, BUT ULTIMATELY WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS TAKE THAT FEEDBACK AND THEN BUILD A PLAN, UM, UH, DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU DECIDE ON HERE, UH, DIFFERENT LEVELS, OBVIOUSLY, DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU DECIDE ON, I'LL, UH, DEVELOP A PLAN FOR FUNDING THEM, UH, AND PRESENT THAT WHEN I FILE, FILE THE BUDGET, UM, UH, AND WHEN I MAKE MY PRESENTATION ON AUGUST 17TH.
UM, AND SO, BUT I'M OPEN TO APPROACHING THAT DIFFERENTLY TOO, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'D LIKE TO DO.
UM, THAT'S, I'M GONNA TURN THIS OVER TO BOB, WHO'S GONNA DO A LITTLE BIT, UH, A DEEPER DIVE ON SOME KEY PROGRAM AREAS.
THEN I'M GONNA FINISH UP WITH THE, UH, SECTION ON THE, UH, TAX RATE, UH, DISCUSSION.
BUT, UH, ANY, ANY FEEDBACK, UH, UM, FROM PUBLIC SAFETY, INFRASTRUCTURE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, OR OTHERWISE.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, DORIAN, THANK YOU.
UM, COUPLE QUESTIONS I MIGHT HAVE A COUPLE LATER, BUT, UH, FOR NOW, UM, ON THOSE SLIDES, 91 AND 92 ON THE EXPANDED PROGRAMS FOR CONSIDERATION, UH, YOU MENTIONED THE, UH, AS FAR AS LOOKING AT GRANT WRITING AND SOME POTENTIAL INTEREST THERE, UM, FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING STREAMS TO DO THAT IN-HOUSE FOR 90,000.
I MEAN, WOULD I KNOW YOU'RE MAKING THIS RECOMMENDATION, IF YOU DO, WHAT DEPARTMENT WOULD HANDLE THAT, OR WHAT TEAM WOULD HANDLE IT? SO LET ME JUST, I, I, MAYBE I MISSED HER, BUT I JUST WANNA CLARIFY.
SO THE $90,000 WOULD BE TO, UM, TO BRING ON, UM, UH, RISE 360 FOR THE CONSULTANT.
IF WE WERE GONNA DO IT IN HOUSE, UM, I THINK IT, I THINK WE COULD DO A VERY GOOD JOB.
I JUST THINK IT'S GONNA TAKE A LITTLE BIT LONGER.
UM, OBVIOUSLY SOMEBODY DOES THIS DAY IN, DAY OUT FOR A LIVING IS GONNA BRING DAY ONE A A SET OF EXPERIENCES AND KNOWLEDGE THAT WE WOULD'VE TO DEVELOP.
UM, BUT, UM, IF WE DID IT IN HOUSE, I WOULD, I'M, I'M LIKELY GONNA ASSIGN THAT TO, UH, THE DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES.
UM, THIS IS, THIS IS A, A, UM, A MULTI, UH, DEPARTMENT, MULTI-DISCIPLINE KIND OF ASSIGNMENT MM-HMM
AND SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE IDEAL FOR SOMEBODY LIKE THAT.
BUT, UM, BUT I DO WANNA, AGAIN, I DO WANT TO JUST, UM, GAUGE EXPECTATIONS A LITTLE.
IT'S, IT'S GONNA TAKE SOME TIME FOR US TO RAMP UP TO THAT.
THAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF GOING WITH THE CONSULTANT IS YOU'D PROBABLY GET THE DELIVERABLE A LITTLE SOONER.
YOU KNOW, I THINK ALSO TOO, TO,
[02:35:01]
TO CONSIDER IF, IF THERE'S A PLAN TO MOVE IT IN-HOUSE EVENTUALLY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A LEARNING CURVE AND MAYBE THERE'S A LITTLE EXTRA TIME, BUT, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, WE COULD CONTROL THAT A LITTLE MORE AND, AND HAVE THAT IN-HOUSE.I, I, I WOULD SUPPORT THAT IF YOU FELT COMFORTABLE, YOU KNOW, PUTTING, PUTTING THAT TYPE OF PACKAGE TOGETHER.
YOU KNOW, I, I WOULD JUST SAY FOR BOTH OF THESE, UM, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, HERE WE'RE, WE'RE IN AUGUST.
UM, IF IT, IF, IF IT TOOK US TO PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, Q1 OF, OF, OF, UM, 2027 MM-HMM
TO PROBABLY ROLL OUT, YOU KNOW, A, A REPORT OR A BRIEFING TO YOU.
IF THAT'S, IF THAT TIMELINE IS AGREEABLE, THEN I'M CONFIDENT WE CAN DO A VERY GOOD JOB.
IT'S JUST GONNA TAKE MORE TIME.
UM, SECOND QUESTION ON THE US CONFERENCE MAYOR'S MEMBERSHIP, COULD YOU, UH, ELABORATE ON THAT? WHAT, WHAT IS THAT, UH, PROGRAM? SO, UM, IT'S A, IT'S A NATIONAL, UH, UH, PROGRAM.
UH, IT OFFERS A LOT OF TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES.
IT OFFERS, UM, A LOT OF, UM, UH, NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES.
UH, IT HELPS WITH, UM, THINGS LIKE, UM, UH, UM, LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL VERSUS THE STATE LEVEL.
UM, IT'S SIMILAR, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SAY, IF YOU WANNA AN ANALOGY LOCALLY HERE, MIGHT BE LIKE THE NORTH TEXAS COMMISSION MM-HMM
WOULD BE, WOULD BE KIND OF OKAY.
IT'S, IT'S JUST OUR, ONE OF OUR STANDARD BUDGETS.
UM, NEXT QUESTION I HAVE IS, UH, I LIKE THE IDEA OF BRINGING SANTA'S VILLAGE BACK TO CITY HALL.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE GREAT, ESPECIALLY WITH THE NEW, UM, ARCHITECTURAL FEATURE.
UM, THE, UH, ON THE, ON THE EARLY VOTING AND THE, UM, RETURN VOTING AT CITY HALL.
I, YOU KNOW, I CERTAINLY SUPPORT THAT A HUNDRED PERCENT.
I THINK WE, WE'VE ALWAYS HAD IT AT CITY HALL.
I, I AGREE THAT IT DOES NEED TO BE AT CITY HALL.
AND IS THAT 200 K, IS THAT JUST, JUST FOR THE SUPPORT TO HAVE IT AT CITY HALL AND IS, OR IS THAT ALSO, UH, UH, INCLUDE PUTTING IT AT SOME OF THE SCHOOL LOCATIONS FOR, UM, THAT WILL BE OUR COST THAT WE WILL PAY TO BOTH DALLAS AND COLLIN COUNTY FOR THEM, FOR, TO HAVE TO HAVE THE EARLY VOTING AT CITY HALL VOTING DAY AT CITY HALL.
BUT THEN THEY REALLY TAKE CARE OF THE REMAINDER.
THEY REALLY TAKE CARE OF THE REMAINDER OF THE LOCATIONS THAT, UH, IT, IT'S, IT'S ALL THE CONTRACT COSTS FOR COLIN IN DALLAS COUNTY.
BUT, BUT, BUT AGAIN, THEY CHOOSE THE, THE, THE, THE VOTING DAY LOCATIONS.
WE WE'RE NOT INVOLVED IN THAT.
THAT'S THE COUNTY WE'RE GONNA, OKAY.
THE PROPOSAL IS TO HOST EARLY VOTING AND, UH, UH, ELECTION DAY VOTING AT CITY HALL.
BUT THE 200,000 IS OUR ESTIMATE FOR WHAT IT WOULD COST TO DO THAT.
PLUS FOR THEM TO PICK THEIR OTHER LOCATIONS.
TO PICK THEIR LOCATIONS, WHICH ARE CURRENTLY AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND, UM, OKAY.
UH, ON THE STREET AND ALLEY RE REHABILITATION PROGRAM, SLIDE 84, YOU HAD MENTIONED THAT THE REMAINING GMP AND FY 27 WOULD GO, UM, TO STREET MARKING.
AND I THINK YOU, ON THE NEXT SLIDE WERE SAYING WHAT THAT 400,000 WOULD GO TO, BUT I THINK I MISSED IT AS I WAS SURE.
TAKING NOTES, SO, YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
SO AT THE BOTTOM LEFT CORNER, IT'S THE $150 INCREASE FOR TRAFFIC MARKING SIGNS, SIGNALS, AND STREETLIGHTS, AND THEN THE $250,000 FOR THE RENTER PEDESTRIAN, UH, SIGNALS.
UH, ON THE EXPANDED PROGRAMS, I THINK FOR THE FIRST TWO, THE COUNCIL TACTICS THAT I'M GOOD WITH YOU GOING, UM, WITH A CONSULTANT ON THAT.
I MEAN, I THINK AS WE'RE BRINGING ON SOMEONE INTO A NEW POSITION, I IMAGINE YOU ALREADY HAVE A LAUNDRY LIST OF THINGS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE FOR THAT PERSON TO DO.
UM, I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD BURDEN THEM WITH THESE TWO THINGS AS THEY'RE BRAND NEW TO THE POSITION.
SO I, I SUPPORT YOU, UM, IN THOSE TWO BUDGET ITEMS. WE'LL JUST PUBLICLY STATE THAT WHILE I THINK WE'VE COME UP WITH A REALLY, UH, CREATIVE WAY TO MANAGE THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILROAD SITUATION, I THINK IT'S ABSURD THAT WE HAVE TO PAY TO MOW THEIR PROPERTY.
UM, I WILL JUST SAY THAT I KNOW IT'S UNSIGHTLY, UM, AND THAT THEY ARE QUOTE UNQUOTE PARTNERING WITH US.
UM, BUT I THINK IT IS ABSURD, UM, THAT THAT IS THEIR COMPANY POSITION, THAT THEY WILL NOT MOVE THEIR OWN PROPERTY.
UM, WITH RESPECT TO THE LAST THREE, OTHER THAN THE NEW CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT, I'M, I'M NOT IN FAVOR OF THAT.
I THINK WE'RE, WE HAVE TO CUT STAFF TRAINING.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, AND IN A LOT OF WAYS, UH, WE CAN'T SUPPORT STAFF TO, TO DO CERTAIN TRAININGS AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.
AND SO WHILE IT'S ONLY, WHAT, $32,000, I WOULD RATHER THAT $32,000 GO TO STAFF TRAINING THAN TO COME TO THE COUNCIL FOR ANY SORT OF EXPANDED TRAINING OR MEMBERSHIPS OR, UM, SORT OF MOVING TO A BIGGER VENUE.
I THINK THAT WE DO A GREAT JOB AND, UM, UH, WITH THE STATE OF THE CITY, AND I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO EXPAND THAT, UM, TO, IF, IF IT'S JUST GONNA COST US $5,000 TO DO THAT, I'M NOT SURE THAT THAT'S WORTH THE COST.
UM, SO AGAIN, FOR THOSE LAST THREE, I WOULD, I WOULD RATHER THOSE FUNDS GO TO, TO MAKING SURE OUR STAFF GET THE TRAINING THAT THEY NEED VERSUS US COUNCIL MEMBER BARRIOS.
[02:40:01]
THE EXPANDED PROGRAMS PROGRAMS. UM, CHIEF TITTLE SLIDE 79, I JUST WANNA CLARIFY, 'CAUSE SOMEBODY DID ASK ME, AND I, I THINK I WANNA MAKE SURE I, I BELIEVE I KNOW THE ANSWER, BUT UNDER THE CONTINUED FUNDING, CITIZEN YOUTH ACADEMIES AND ALL THESE OTHERS, THERE'S NO CUTS TO ANY OF THESE PROGRAMS, CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.I PROMISED SOMEBODY I WOULD ASK THAT, SO I WANNA MAKE SURE I ASK THAT.
CHIEF VY, ON SLIDE 80, THERE WAS A, UH, THE MOCK ALERT FIRE STATION ALERTING.
IS THIS REPLACING SOMETHING? THIS, OR WHAT, WHAT SYSTEM DOES THIS REPLACE, OR WHAT PROBLEMS IS THIS? SO THE MOCK SYSTEM WAS INSTALLED, UH, LATE LAST YEAR, EARLY THIS YEAR.
UH, THAT'S THE IN-HOUSE ALERTING THAT, THAT, UH, THE NEW, UH, IN-HOUSE ALARMS, I GUESS, RIGHT? YES, SIR.
IT'S THE ALERTING SYSTEM AT THE FIRE STATION IS WHAT, UH, WHEN THE CAD SYSTEM TAKES A CALL, IT SENDS IT OVER, UH, REALLY A LOT FASTER.
IT GETS A CALL FASTER AND ALL THAT.
THESE ARE ENHANCEMENTS, UH, TO THE SYSTEM ONCE WE GOT IT UP AND RUNNING.
UH, THE TEAMS, UH, LOVE PARTS OF IT, BUT WE NEED TO EXPAND IT MORE PIECES OF IT TO, TO MORE PARTS OF THE STATION EXAMPLE AS, AS SOON AS THE CALL HITS, WE HAVE LIGHTS AROUND THE STATION, THESE LITTLE LIGHT BARS THAT LIGHT UP THE COLOR BLUE IS FOR AN AMBULANCE, REDNESS FOR THE ENGINE.
UH, WHITE FOR THE CHIEF, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, THAT KEYS 'EM IN REALLY QUICK.
HEY, I'VE GOT A CALL AND IT'S MY CALL AND I'M LEAVING.
THEY DON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE TIME.
WELL, WE ONLY INITIALLY, UH, INSTALLED A FEW OF THOSE AROUND.
WELL, UH, THE CREWS REALLY THINK IT'D BE, UH, MORE BENEFICIAL TO HAVE THOSE IN MORE LOCATIONS LIKE IN THE WORKOUT ROOM OUTSIDE IN THE BAY, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO THIS, THIS, UH, 146 IS TO ENHANCE THAT SYSTEM.
CHIEF C CLA, Y'ALL IDENTIFIED SOMETHING THAT WORKS FOR THE CREWS AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S A, IT'S A LOW LICE.
I JUST REMEMBERED HAVING THAT DISCUSSION AND PROVING THAT I WANTED MAKE SURE WE WEREN REPLACING SOMETHING WE JUST REPLACED LAST YEAR.
UM, DON, I WANNA PROVIDE SOME FEEDBACK THERE.
UM, ON, I AGREE WITH COUNCILMAN JUSTICE.
I, I'LL BE HONEST, I'M NOT, I DON'T LIKE THIS IDEA OF CUTTING THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILROAD GRASS.
I, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING SHOULD REMAIN ON THEM.
I DO NOT NECESSARILY SUPPORT THAT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I MEAN, I, I DON'T LIKE THIS IDEA, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A SMALL PIECE OF IT.
I, I DO NOT SUPPORT THAT PERSONALLY ON THE LAST THREE, UH, AGREE ON THE 10,000, UH, PRODUCTION CONTRACT.
UH, I AGREE WITH HER ON THE VENUE CHANGE.
I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO MOVE THAT.
I THINK WE'RE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU TAKE OUT, IF YOU TAKE OUT ALL THE STAFF THAT SHOWS UP, WE'RE PROBABLY AT LIKE A 30% FILL RATE IN THE, UH, IN THE SMALLER HALL.
I KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF STAFF THAT, THAT, THAT COMES TO THOSE, AND A LOT OF SPECIAL GUESTS.
UH, BUT I THINK WE'RE GOOD TO REMAIN IN THE SMALL HALL, UH, CITY COUNCIL MEDIA TRAINING.
I, I HONESTLY SEE ZERO NEED FOR THAT.
UM, THE US CONFERENCE OF MAYOR'S MEMBERSHIP.
I DO THINK, AND I KNOW YOU AND I HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS IN THE PAST ON, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE COUNCIL OVERALL WE HAVE EVERY YEAR, THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO TML, UM, IS NO SECRET.
I DID NOT FIND VALUE FOR ME IN TML AND I KNOW LAST YEAR'S BUDGET, I SUGGESTED THAT, YOU KNOW, I ASKED WHAT WAS, HOW MUCH WAS THE AVERAGE SPEND ON TML, I THINK IT WAS $3,000.
I SAID, WELL, CAN I USE THOSE $3,000 INSTEAD OF USING IT TOWARDS TML? CAN I USE IT TO ONE OF THE OTHER GROUPS, WHETHER IT WAS, UH, NLC, NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES, OR NLE O, WHICH IS THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION LATINO ELECTED OFFICIALS.
I ATTEND TWO OR THREE DIFFERENT TRAININGS, UH, PER YEAR.
ALL THAT COMES OUTTA MY PERSONAL POCKET.
OR, UH, OUT OF MY OWN PERSONAL, UM, CAMPAIGN BUDGET.
MY CITY COUNCIL CAMPAIGN BUDGET, UH, I WAS JUST IN BALTIMORE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO.
THAT WAS ALL OUTTA MY OWN PERSONAL BUDGET THAT DID NOT COME FROM CITY.
I, A SINGLE PENNY CAME FROM THE CITY.
I THINK THAT IF WE WANTED TO, AS A COUNCIL OR AS A CITY SAY, LOOK, MAYBE WE'RE GETTING THE LOW TOO BIG FOR TML, MAYBE WE WANT TO GO OUTSIDE OF THE STATE AND NETWORK WITH OTHER STATES SO WE CAN HAVE NEW IDEAS AND KEEP ON THE CUTTING EDGE.
'CAUSE WE ARE ONE OF THE BIGGER DOGS IN T, IN TML, BUT IF WE WANTED TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT, I THINK NLC, A LOT OF OUR NEIGHBORING CITIES ARE MEMBERS OF NLC.
SO IF THAT'S WHERE THE COUNCIL WERE TO GO TO, WANTED TO KIND OF GO OUTSIDE OF TML, WHICH SUGGESTS NLC, I THINK THEY BRING A BIG BANG FOR THE BUCK.
AND I'VE ATTENDED A FEW DIFFERENT THINGS.
THEY DO A LOT OF, UH, WORK WITH THE LEGISLATION ON THE HILL.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF TRAINING AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES, BUT I THINK $12,000 FOR A MAYOR MEMBERSHIP TO THE US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S HIGH.
AND I THINK WE COULD PROBABLY FIND BETTER VALUE ELSEWHERE.
[02:45:02]
MAYOR PRO TEM HUTCHEN.UM, ON THE FIRST TWO, I, I'M JUST GONNA SPEAK ON THE EXPANDED PROGRAMS ON THE FIRST TWO, DONNA, I WOULD REALLY WANNA LEAVE THAT IN YOUR HANDS IF YOU, IF YOU FELT LIKE YOU COULD DO THIS IN-HOUSE.
AND I DON'T DISAGREE WITH COUNCILWOMAN JUSTICE, SO I, I DON'T WANNA PUT IT OUT AS A DISAGREEMENT, BUT I JUST, I'D REALLY LIKE TO LEAVE THAT IN YOUR HANDS IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN PULL IT OFF IN HOUSE, AND MAYBE IT'S A LITTLE BIT SLOWER AS LONG KIND OF TO HER CONCERN.
I AGREE WITH HER CONCERN, BUT IF YOU COULD DO IT IN A WAY THAT IT DOESN'T TAX THE NEW PERSON MM-HMM
YOU KNOW, I JUST ALWAYS FEEL LIKE ANYTIME WE CAN DO SOMETHING IN HOUSE, RATHER THAN BRINGING A CONSULTANT, I THINK IT'S LONGER LASTING.
IT HAS STAYING POWER AND, AND WORKS WELL.
UM, IF YOU FEEL LIKE THAT FOR THE FIRST YEAR, YOU NEED TO GO THE DIRECTION OF BRINGING IN THE CONSULTANT AND YOU AGREE WITH THE CONCERNS THAT, THAT COUNCILWOMAN JUSTICE BROUGHT UP, THEN I WOULD, I WOULD SUPPORT THE FIRST TWO.
I, THE WHOLE MOWING THING JUST REALLY, REALLY BOTHERS ME.
I FEEL LIKE CANADIAN PACIFIC IS PUSHING SOMETHING ONTO US THAT WE DON'T OWN, SHOULD NOT OWN, SHOULD NOT CUT.
WE'VE, WE'VE HAD OTHER CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, USING, UH, PUBLIC DOLLARS ON, ON PRIVATE LAND.
I KNOW TECHNICALLY, I GUESS CANADIAN PACIFIC'S NOT PER SE, PRIVATE, MAYBE IT IS, I DON'T KNOW.
I'M NOT SURE WHERE, WHERE YOU PUT THAT IN THAT CLASSIFICATION, BUT IT REALLY, REALLY BOTHERS ME.
UM, I GUESS WE'VE GOTTA DO A NEW CON, UH, NEW PRODUCTION CONTRACT AT 10,000.
I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO CHANGE THE VENUE.
I DON'T SEE THE, THE MEDIA TRAINING.
WE HAVE PIO WE HAVE GREG AS THE PIO, WE HAVE PIO O WITH WITH FIRE.
WE HAVE PIO WITH, WITH, UH, POLICE.
THEY'RE GONNA BE THE ONES THAT ARE CALLED UPON.
YOU WOULD BE CALLED UPON LONG BEFORE ANY OF US WOULD EVER BE CALLED UPON.
UM, SO I DON'T SEE IF WE NEED TO DO THAT.
UM, I WOULD DISAGREE WITH COUNCILMAN BARRIOS.
UM, I THINK IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO, TO WORK, UH, TO TALK TO, AND TO, TO NETWORK WITH, WITH, AND GET INFORMATION FROM OUR PARTNERS LIKE ATMOS, ENCORE, A LOT OF DIFFERENT ENTITIES THAT, THAT I'VE, UH, AS I'VE GONE, IT, IT'S, YOU KNOW, I, NOT A BIG ARGUMENT BY ANY STRETCH, BUT JUST MY VIEWPOINT.
UM, SO IIII DON'T, WE'VE NEVER BEEN A MEMBER OF THE CONFERENCE OF MAYOR'S MEMBERSHIP.
I, I THINK IN A YEAR WHEN WE'RE HAVING TO CUT BACK, WHEN WE'RE HAVING TO REALLY LOOK AT EVERY PENNY, I JUST DON'T THINK WE NEED TO EXPAND ANYTHING THAT WE DON'T NEED TO EXPAND.
SO, UM, THAT'S MY FEEDBACK ON THE, THE, THE PROGRAMS FOR THE, THE EXPANDED PROGRAMS FOR CONSIDERATION.
UH, I'LL JUST, JUST EXPANDED PROGRAM SLIDE.
DAWN, UH, YOU KNOW, I AGREE WITH MAYOR PRO TIM ABOUT THE FIRST TWO BULLET POINTS, UM, THE BENEFITS OF DOING IT IN-HOUSE VERSUS OUTSIDE.
AND IF TAKING THE LONGER VIEW, DOING IT IN-HOUSE IS THE WAY TO GO, THEN YOU HAVE MY FULL SUPPORT.
HOWEVER YOU WANT TO EXECUTE THE TACTICS, I'M JUST HAPPY YOU'RE ADDRESSING THEM.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS THE, THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILROAD MOWING, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I DISAGREE WITH ALL MY COLLEAGUES SO FAR ON THIS.
I THINK THAT RESIDENTS ALREADY HAVE THE EXPECTATION THAT WE'RE GONNA MOW THE GRASS OR THAT THE GRASS WILL BE MOWED IN GENERAL, BECAUSE IT'S BEEN LIKE THAT UNTIL VERY RECENTLY.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, QUITE FRANKLY, I MEAN, I THINK, I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE HAS GOTTEN COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS.
I KNOW THAT I HAVE GOTTEN NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS, NOT MORE THAN A DOZEN, RIGHT? BUT I'VE GOTTEN A