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ALL RIGHT. IT IS 1:01 P.M. ON JUNE 23RD, 2026.
AND THIS SPECIAL CALLED MEETING ON THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE IS CALLED TO ORDER.
WE HAVE A PRETTY MEATY AGENDA TODAY, COLLEAGUES.
SO I'M GOING TO JUMP RIGHT INTO THE MINUTES AND GET THAT OVER WITH.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVED. AND ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
AYE. SECOND SET OF MINUTES IS FROM MAY 26TH, 2026 FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING.
MOVE TO APPROVE ANYBODY? SO MOVED. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE.
AYE. AND THE THIRD IS THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM JUNE 12TH.
SPECIAL CALLED MEETING ON FINANCE. DO I HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVED.
SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ALL RIGHT.
THAT THAT CARRIES. SO WE WILL START OFF THIS MEETING WITH THE BRIEFING ITEM A WANT TO INVITE THE OFFICE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE DOWN HERE TO GIVE US AN OVERVIEW OF THEIR BUDGET AND ALL THE GOOD STUFF THAT THEY'RE DOING IN THEIR DEPARTMENT.
AND WE'RE GOING TO RELEASE THOSE DEPARTMENTS. SO WE'LL DO IT AFTER THIS BRIEFING.
TAKE IT AWAY. GOOD AFTERNOON, HONORABLE CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE THE PLAN OF ATTACK FOR TODAY.
WE'RE GOING TO PROVIDE SOME QUICK BACKGROUND. THE FEDERAL AND STATE MANDATES THAT GOVERN THE CITY'S USE OF DATA, THE SCOPE OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES, OUR WORK AND OUR IMPACT, AS WELL AS OUR CITY WIDE INITIATIVES.
SO ON SLIDE THREE, YOU CAN SEE THAT DBI WAS FOUNDED BY A COUNCIL VOTE IN OCTOBER OF 2020, AND OUR OBJECTIVE WAS TO CREATE A DISTINCT BUSINESS UNIT, AND, WHOSE MISSION WAS TO PUT THE CITY'S DATA TO USE FOR THEIR RESIDENTS THROUGH IMPROVED OPERATIONS.
SO OUR TEAM SUPPORTS 2,500 LICENSED DATA USERS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, AND WE HAVE 600 MILLION PLUS VIEWS ACROSS THREE OF OUR PLATFORMS. ON THE NEXT SLIDE YOU CAN SEE WHY BREAK OUT DBI FROM ITS.
DBI FOCUSES ON STATISTICAL MODELING, ADVANCED ANALYTICS, DATA GOVERNANCE, OPERATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. AND THE GOAL IS TO USE DATA AND AI TO DRIVE SMARTER OPERATIONS AND DEPARTMENT OUTCOMES.
ON SLIDE FIVE, JUST A MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT THE GROWING IMPACT OF DATA IN THE WORLD.
YOU'VE HEARD THAT EXPRESSION DATA IS THE NEW OIL.
WE'RE IN THE SITUATION NOW WHERE IT'S THE NEW OIL, THE PIPELINE, THE REFINERY, AND THE GAS STATION.
RECENTLY IN THE NEWS, A POPULAR SHOE COMPANY HAS SAID THAT THEY'RE NOW A DATA AND AI COMPANY.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE THE DATA IS FREQUENTLY THE MOST VALUABLE THING THAT ANY ORGANIZATION HAS.
COVID TAUGHT US THAT THE INTERNET WAS A PUBLIC UTILITY.
IT'S DATA THAT IS RUNNING THROUGH THOSE FEEDS.
ON SLIDE SIX, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE DO A LOT OF WORK.
A LOT OF OUR WORK IS OPERATIONAL SYSTEMS MAPPING, SPATIAL ANALYSIS, AND AUTOMATION.
OUR PUBLIC FACING DASHBOARDS ARE THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.
SO MUCH OF OUR WORK IS UNSEEN, AND THAT'S BECAUSE IT NEEDS TO BE.
BUT OPERATIONAL INTELLIGENCE IS THE HEART AND THE MAJORITY OF WHAT WE DO.
WE PROVIDE THAT CORE OPERATIONAL INTELLIGENCE BEHIND CITY OPERATIONS.
AND WE WORK CLOSELY WITH OUR PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERS.
AND OUR TEAM MEMBERS HAVE THOSE SAME CLEARANCES AND BACKGROUND CHECKS.
THIS WORK IS NOT OPTIONAL. FEDERAL AND STATE LAW REQUIRES DALLAS TO MAINTAIN DATA COMPLIANCE, WHETHER IT'S IN THE TEXAS DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY ACT, OUR TEXAS RESPONSIBLE AI ACT, OUR FEDERAL EVIDENCE ACT, NEXT GEN 911, OR OUR FOIA AND OPEN GOVERNMENT REQUIREMENTS.
OUR TEAM WORKS TO MEET THOSE MANDATES. ON SLIDE NINE, YOU CAN SEE THE THREE PRIMARY PROGRAMS THAT OUR TEAM IS BROKEN UP INTO FROM A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE. THE FIRST IS OUR INTELLIGENCE, AI AND ADVANCED ANALYTICS SYSTEMS.
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THE SECOND IS THE DATA ENGINEERING AND SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION.AND THE THIRD IS OUR ENTERPRISE GIS TEAM. I HAVE BEEN ASKED TO BE BRIEF, AND I KNOW THAT YOU ALL CAN READ, SO I WILL LEAVE YOU TO THOSE BOXES AND HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE YOU CAN SEE IN RED AT THE BOTTOM THE RISKS.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS THAT WE RUN AS WELL AS WHAT ARE THE FEDERAL MANDATES THAT EACH OF THOSE BUDGET PROGRAMS FULFILL? ON SLIDE 11, ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DRIVE EFFICIENCIES IS DATA STREAMLINING.
AND I KNOW THAT A LOT OF US HAVE A FAVORITE TV SHOWS.
AND MAGICALLY ALL THE PERFECT INFORMATION APPEARS THAT YOU NEED.
THAT'S NOT ACTUALLY HOW IT IS IN REAL LIFE, RIGHT? THAT IS TV FICTION. AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO IS DBI HELPS CONNECT HUNDREDS OF DISCONNECTED SOFTWARE SYSTEMS, AND THIS HELPS REPLACE SLOWER MANUAL ERROR PRONE DATA REPORTING WITH INSTANTANEOUS CONNECTION.
AND SO MUCH OF WHAT MATTERS IS THE TIMING OF WHEN YOU'RE RECEIVING INFORMATION.
SO JUST BY OUR TEAM EXISTING, WE SAVE THE CITY ABOUT 11 MILLION ANNUALLY.
AND THIS REPRESENTS AVOIDED EXTERNAL EXPENDITURES.
WE RUN A MONTE CARLO SIMULATION EVERY YEAR, RUNNING THIS TENS OF THOUSANDS OF TIMES TO FIGURE OUT WHAT DOES IT COST TO DO A PROJECT IN DBI VERSUS WHAT DOES IT COST TO HAVE A VENDOR DO THAT PROJECT? AND ON SLIDE 13 THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'VE DONE A LOT OF THESE PROJECTS EXTERNALLY, LARGELY BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DO THEM.
AND WE'VE SPENT ABOUT 15 MILLION ON 19 DATA VENDOR DELIVERED DATA PROJECTS.
AND SO THAT AVERAGE IS ABOUT 800K A PIECE. SO WHAT WE KNOW IS THAT VENDOR PROJECTS ARE ABOUT EIGHT TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE THAN DOING THEM INTERNALLY, AND THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE VENDOR IS THE APPROPRIATE SOLUTION, WHEN YOU NEED A THIRD PARTY, WHEN THERE'S A CAPACITY THAT WE DON'T HAVE. BUT IN GENERAL, WORKING INTERNALLY, WE'RE FASTER, WE'RE UP TO SPEED. THERE'S NO RFP, AND WE ALREADY KNOW THE DATA AND THE SYSTEMS. ON SLIDE 14, YOU CAN SEE THAT IN LAST YEAR'S BUDGET, WE WERE ABLE TO CUT SEVEN POSITIONS IN TWO DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS BECAUSE WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE ON THE WORK AND AUTOMATE THAT WORK. ON SLIDE 15 YOU CAN SEE THAT WE DO AN ROI ASSESSMENT ON EVERY PROJECT THAT WE CONDUCT, AND OUR WORK SAVES ABOUT 14,000 STAFF HOURS A YEAR.
ON SLIDE 16 YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'RE SAVING 30,000 INVESTIGATION HOURS.
SO EVERY YEAR, THE OPEN DATA PORTAL DELIVERS APPROXIMATELY 10 MILLION OPEN RECORDS REQUESTS.
IF WE WERE TO HAVE TO DO THAT WITH STAFF THE WAY WE USED TO.
WE WOULD NEED 225 MORE STAFF AND IT WOULD COST US APPROXIMATELY $25 MILLION.
SO JUST EXISTING, THERE ARE INCREDIBLE EFFICIENCIES ACHIEVED.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE AND WE CAN TALK. LET'S JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE WORK AND THE IMPACT.
AND I'M JUST GOING TO TOUCH ON A FEW EXAMPLES, BUT A FEW OF THESE ARE REALLY WORTH THE TIME.
AND IN JANUARY, SHE HOSTED AN EVENT IN THE FLAG ROOM, AND WE WERE ABLE TO MEET WITH DPD, AS WELL AS MANY OF YOU WHO WERE PRESENT AND TALK ABOUT THE WORK THAT HAD BEEN DONE BY THE CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN UNIT.
SO MY TEAM WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH SERGEANT HOLMES AND HIS TEAM TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO MINE THEIR OWN DATA TO MOVE THE HIGHEST RISK KIDS TO THE TOP OF THEIR LIST. AND WE HAD PHENOMENAL SUCCESS. SO WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT INITIALLY THEY WOULD HAVE ABOUT 100 CHILDREN ON THIS HIGH RISK MISSING JUVENILES LIST EVERY MONTH, AND WE SAW A REDUCTION OF OVER 50% FROM 100 DOWN TO 50 EVERY MONTH.
AND SINCE THE ADVENT OF THIS TOOL IN 2024, THEY WERE ABLE TO RECOVER 117 HIGH RISK JUVENILES.
AND THEN WE PUT THIS TOOL INTO PLACE TO HELP THEM.
AND THESE ARE THE SORTS OF LIFE SAVING DATA PROJECTS THAT OUR TEAM IS ALL ABOUT.
AND IT'S WORK THAT IS NOT ON A PUBLIC FACING DASHBOARD.
AND I'M IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, I'M JUST GOING TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW MORE.
ON SLIDE 19, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE IS AN OVERDOSE RESPONSE TEXT MINING PROJECT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW WITH DFR IS TAKING AN AI LANGUAGE PROCESSING TOOL AND DOING A TEXT MINING ANALYSIS OF THOSE OVERDOSES TO SEE WHO HAS A HISTORY OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND NEEDS CONTACT WITH A COMMUNITY HEALTH PARTNER TO TRY TO PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING IN THE FUTURE, OR TO PREVENT A LOSS OF LIFE. ON SLIDE 20, TO JUST HIGHLIGHT ANOTHER DFR PROJECT QUICKLY, FLEET MANAGEMENT.
IF THERE ARE EVER OUT OF SERVICE FIRE TRUCKS AND THEY NEED THOSE TO BE IN RESPONDING TO FIRES,
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THEY GET NEAR REAL TIME NOTIFICATIONS, TEXT MESSAGES TO THEIR PHONES.IF TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE DOING TRAINING AND SOMEBODY GOES OUT OF SERVICE, THEY GET THAT NOTIFICATION.
SO IT USED TO TAKE TWO WEEKS IS TAKING A DAY.
SO WE'RE HOPING TO ACCELERATE THE CITY'S RECOVERY OF HALF $1 MILLION AND EVEN GROW THAT NUMBER.
THE BLOOMBERG CENTER AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY CALLS THIS THE MOST SOPHISTICATED DATA ANALYTICS SHOP IN THE COUNTRY AND THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THIS TEAM DESERVE THAT INCREDIBLE HONOR. ON SLIDE 23, I WANTED TO TRANSITION NOW TO TALKING ABOUT THE CITY'S AI INITIATIVES.
AND TODAY, WE'RE GOING TO PROVIDE A FEW UPDATES AND A FEW EARLY SUCCESSES.
SO ON SLIDE 24, IN THE BUDGET BOOK LAST YEAR, WE SET AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PERFORMANCE MEASURE.
IF IT'S NOT WORKING, WE DON'T NEED TO DO IT RIGHT.
WE CAN TURN THAT OFF. AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE THE PRIORITIES.
AND THESE HAVE BEEN SOME OF OUR GUIDING LIGHTS IN TERMS OF WHAT TYPES OF PROJECTS WE ARE LOOKING AT.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES.
AND THESE HAVE REMAINED CONSISTENT OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
WE WANT TO BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE CHOOSING.
WE DON'T JUST WANT TO DO ANYTHING THAT COMES UP.
WE WANT TO LEAN HEAVILY INTO TRADITIONAL AI. THERE ARE A LOT OF REASONS FOR THAT RISK MITIGATION COST, LESS STRAIN ON THE ENVIRONMENT, ETC.. AND ALSO HAVING THAT MOMENT OF HUMAN ACCOUNTABILITY.
IF THERE IS A MOMENT WHERE AN ENFORCEMENT ACTION IS BEING TAKEN OR AN IMPORTANT DECISION ABOUT DOLLARS OR SERVICE DELIVERY IS HAPPENING, WE WANT THERE TO BE A HUMAN IN THE LOOP MAKING THAT FINAL DECISION.
SLIDE 27 HIGHLIGHTS GOVERNANCE EFFORTS, AND GOVERNANCE IS CRITICAL IN THIS PROCESS, WHICH IS WHY ITS AND DBI IN PARTNERSHIP HAVE ESTABLISHED WHAT WE'RE CALLING OUR ONE FRONT DOOR. ON SLIDE 28, YOU CAN SEE OUR ONE FRONT DOOR.
SO WHEN A DEPARTMENT WANTS TO DEPLOY AN AI SOLUTION, IT COMES TO ITS AND DBI.
AND THE FIRST QUESTION WE ASK IS, SHOULD WE DO THIS? IS THERE ROI? IS IT VIABLE? AND THE NEXT QUESTION IS, CAN WE DO THIS? CAN WE BUILD IT? SHOULD WE HAVE A VENDOR BUILD IT? AND THE IDEA IS IF A PROJECT DOESN'T WORK, WE DON'T KEEP GOING.
WE TURN THAT OFF. AND IF IT DOES WORK, WE DETERMINE WHERE ELSE CAN WE USE THIS TYPE OF TOOL TO GET THIS KIND OF EFFICIENCY AND SAVE MONEY AND SAVE LIVES? ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE 29. YOU CAN SEE A FEW OF OUR EARLY SUCCESSES.
WE'VE HAD SUCCESS WITH OUR CLEAR VIEW FACIAL RECOGNITION.
AND THEN OUR THIRD EYE ON BOARD CAMERAS AND SANITATION HAVE FLAGGED OVER 400 COACHABLE EVENTS EACH MONTH, WHICH HELP IMPROVE SAFETY ON THOSE ROUTES. ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE SOME OF OUR UPCOMING INITIATIVES, MEANING THEY HAVEN'T COMPLETED THIS FIRST 12 MONTHS.
AND YOU CAN SEE THIS FIRST BOX IS SOME OF OUR TRADITIONAL AI PROJECTS.
COPILOT BEYOND SORT OF THE STANDARD PACKAGE, THERE'S AN EXPANDED PACKAGE AS WELL.
THE FIREFLY PROGRAM AND AS WELL AS OUR DFR OPIOID TEXT MINING PROGRAM.
AND THEN WE HAVE A CATEGORY FOR AGENTIC AI AND COMPUTER VISION.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'VE GOT A 311 PROJECT IN THERE, A CHAT BOT THAT HELPS PEOPLE THAT ARE TRYING TO INTERACT WITH THE CITY, REFLECTING THAT SERVICE EXPERIENCE. AND OUR DEAR DALLAS ZONING TOOL, WHICH IS INTENDED TO HELP SLOG THROUGH ALL OF THE ORDINANCE AND CODE TO CREATE FASTER ANSWERS TO THOSE PLANNING QUESTIONS. OUR COMPUTER VISION AI IS FOCUSED ON OUR DRONE PROGRAM AS WELL AS THE BODY WORN CAMERAS.
AND SO I KNOW THAT THAT WAS QUICK. I HOPE I MADE YOUR TIME CHAIR WEST, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION, AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK THAT YOU HAVE.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, DOCTOR ANDERCHECK. I'LL START TO MY RIGHT WITH COUNCILWOMAN WILLIS.
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WELL, I THINK WHAT WE'VE SEEN HERE IS SUCH A SEA CHANGE FROM YOUR EARLY YEARS WHERE IT WAS, WHAT DO YOU ALL DO AGAIN? AND NOT REALLY RECOGNIZING THAT THE CITY HAS MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF DATA AND THERE'S OTHER DATA THAT CAN BE MINED AND HOW WE PULL THAT TOGETHER AND USE IT.AND SO IT'S NOT AS MUCH OF A QUESTION AS IT IS THAT WE CONVENED A MEETING THIS MORNING WITH THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ADVISORY COUNCIL, SHARED YOUR STORIES THAT YOU'VE JUST SHARED HERE ABOUT HOW HUMAN TRAFFICKING, HOW LAW ENFORCEMENT DPD IS USING OR YOU'RE WORKING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT TO PUT INFORMATION TOGETHER AND INTO THEIR HANDS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE TOOK LAW ENFORCEMENT NONPROFITS AND WE LOOKED AT OUR DASHBOARD, WHAT CAN BE DONE EXTERNALLY? AND WE HEARD THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S A POWERFUL GRANT TOOL TO MINE, WHICH HELPS THE CITY.
IT TAKES THE DOLLARS OFF OF THE CITY OF DALLAS AND OUR TAXPAYERS, BUT STILL ADDRESSES A CRITICAL COMMUNITY ISSUE, BUT LETS OUR NONPROFITS PURSUE THOSE GRANTS AND WHAT THE CITY CAN DO, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A ROLE, IS GIVING THEM THE DATA THAT THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
EVERYBODY GAVE YOU A LOT OF GREAT IDEAS, AND YOU TURN YOUR TEAM LOOSE ON IT.
AND THAT I HOPE THAT YOU'LL BE COMING BACK WITH STORIES AROUND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTERVENTION IN A YEAR OR LESS THAT, THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO ON TRAFFICKING, BUT JUST APPRECIATING THE FACT THAT YOU'VE CALLED OUT SO MANY DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, I MEAN, CLOSING GAPS ON PERMITTING, WORKING WITH DFR AND IT'S JUST, IT'S SO INCREDIBLY VALUABLE.
SO MOSTLY I'M JUST SAYING THANK YOU. YOUR TEAM IS SO PASSIONATE AND THAT THIS IS AN AMAZING TOOL FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS AND, AND CLEARLY BY THAT LAST SLIDE YOU HAVE, I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE LEADING THE WAY.
SO KUDOS TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM AND THE RECOGNITION YOU'VE RECEIVED BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY, I MEAN, IT'S REALLY INTERVENING AND CHANGING LIVES. SO THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MAYOR PRO TEM RESENDEZ.
I THINK YOU DID A GREAT JOB WITH THE PRESENTATION PROVIDING INFORMATION AND MAKING THE CASE FOR THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORK THAT THE OFFICE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE DOES. WHICH I JUST SO HAPPEN TO AGREE WITH IN TERMS OF THE VALUE THAT, THAT THE OFFICE BRINGS TO THE CITY EVEN BEFORE THIS PRESENTATION.
AND THEN THE ECONOMIC CASE IN TERMS OF OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY, I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR ANY, ANY AND EVERY DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY TO BE FOCUSED ON.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE WORK THAT YOU ALL DO. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN. MORENO. NO, I'LL START OVER HERE.
AND YOU REALIZE HOW MANY FAMILIES WERE IMPACTED BY THAT.
IT'S JUST. I MEAN, I'M JUST SO GRATEFUL. I MEAN, I HATE THAT WE HAVE TO FOCUS ON SOMETHING LIKE THIS, BUT WE DO HAVE TO FOCUS ON THIS. THIS IS THESE ARE THE RESIDENTS OF OUR CITY WHO ARE MOST VULNERABLE.
AND THAT WE HAVE FOUND A WAY TO IDENTIFY THEM AND THEN PROVIDE FOR THEIR RECOVERY.
IT'S AMAZING. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT WORK AND FOR ALL OF THE OTHER WORK.
LET ME PUT MY GLASSES ON. SO I SAY THIS RIGHT.
AND DECISION MAKING THAT HAS TO DO WITH BUDGETING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
THOSE TWO PIECES HAVE BEEN MOVED OUT OF THE AI SPACE.
SO THANK YOU CHAIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM? COUNCIL MEMBER GRACEY? AGAIN DATA.
DATA. BRITA. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM DOES.
YOU KNOW, BEING A DATA GEEK MYSELF, I'M CONSTANTLY WANTING TO GO AND DO SOME STUFF MYSELF.
AND MY TEAM REMINDS ME THAT, OH, DATA ANALYTICS CAN DO IT FOR YOU.
SO AND YOU HAVE, AND YOU CONTINUE TO DO SO. I DO APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK YOU'RE DOING.
AND I DO APPRECIATE THE CONVERSATION LIKE CHAIR STEWART SAID ABOUT JUST FOCUSING ON THE AI.
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I KNOW THERE'S A COUPLE OF CONFERENCES I'M LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF HOW GOVERNMENTS ARE USING AI MORE AND MORE TO MAKE THINGS MORE EFFICIENT. SO IT FEELS LIKE WE'RE AHEAD OF THAT SCHEDULE OR AHEAD OF THE CURVE ON THAT.SO THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, AND I CONTINUE TO LOOK FORWARD TO ALL THE WORK THAT COMES OUT OF THEIR OFFICE. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER. I'LL JUST I'LL END IT BY SAYING I ECHO WHAT EVERYONE ELSE HAS SAID AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS.
COLLEAGUES, WE DO THESE BRIEFINGS SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THE DEPARTMENTS DO AND LET THEM TALK ABOUT THEIR GOOD WORK, BECAUSE WHENEVER WE GET TO THE BUDGET PROCESS, IT'S ALWAYS LIKE THE HUNGER GAMES, WHERE SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO CUT BUDGETS AND THE CITY MANAGER. I THINK IT WAS LAST TERM, STARTED SENDING THEM ALL TO ALL THE COMMITTEES SO THAT WE COULD GET AN OVERVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENTS, AND I WILL. I WAS ONE OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO FILED AN AMENDMENT PREVIOUSLY CUTTING THE BUDGET OR ATTEMPTING TO CUT THE BUDGET OF DATA ANALYTICS.
OVER TIME, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIS EVEN MENTIONED IT.
IT WAS A. YOU KNOW, WE THE TIDES HAVE TURNED REALLY IN SEEING THE WORK THAT YOUR DEPARTMENT HAS DONE, SAVING LIVES, SAVING US MONEY IN OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY BY BUILDING EFFICIENCIES.
AND YOU'RE DOING THE UNPOPULAR WORK OF SAYING WE CAN REPLACE THESE FULL TIME POSITIONS WITH AI.
AND IN SOME CASES NOT REPLACING, BUT ACTUALLY JUST MAKING US MORE EFFICIENT.
AND ALL OF THAT IS VERY MUCH NEEDED HERE. BEING THE BAD GUY WHEN YOU HAVE TO BE, BUT ALSO BEING THE EFFICIENCY CHAMPION, WHICH YOU ARE. SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND YOU.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. WELL, THANK YOU. AND WE WILL INVITE STAFF TO COME ON UP ON BRIEFING B.
COLLEAGUES WHILE WE'RE SWITCHING OUT STAFF AND GETTING THE POWERPOINT UP AS PROMISED.
LET'S GO THROUGH THE MEMOS REAL QUICK AND DECIDE IF ANY OF THESE FOLKS CAN BE RELEASED.
I'LL JUST TELL YOU ITEMS D AND E, I'M GOING TO HAVE QUESTIONS ON.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING ON ITEM F THAT THEY WANT TO? I MEAN, THE AUDITOR'S GOING TO BE HERE ANYWAY, BUT. ITEM F I HAVE IS THE AUDITOR SEARCH, IS THAT NOT RIGHT? ITEM F IS THE AUDITOR SEARCH. EVERYBODY GOOD WITH THE AUDITOR SEARCH? IT'S ALL IN THE MEMO. OKAY. WE DON'T NEED TO DO THAT ONE.
ITEMS G AND H I'M PULLING TO TALK ABOUT, SO DON'T WORRY ABOUT THAT.
ITEM I IS THE ARPA RECOVERY MONTHLY STATUS, ANYBODY WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT? OKAY. GOT WE GOT ONE TAKER. ITEM J IS CDBG. I WANT TO HAVE QUESTIONS ON THAT.
ITEM K IS THE TECHNOLOGY ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT.
OKAY, K IS RELEASED. ITEM L IS PROCUREMENT MONTHLY REPORT BUDDY.
OKAY. WE'RE GOING TO WE'RE GOING TO HOLD ON TO ITEM L.
ITEM M IS THE QUARTERLY INVESTMENT REPORT FOR SECOND QUARTER FROM COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE.
ANYBODY? OKAY, WE'LL RELEASE ITEM M AND THEN N AND O.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO ITEM B.
TAKE IT AWAY. ALL RIGHT. GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIRMAN AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I'M JUANITA ORTIZ, DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF PROCUREMENT SERVICES.
AND JOINING ME TODAY IS KIM FRANKLIN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND PURCHASING AGENT.
AT OUR PREVIOUS BRIEFING, WE WALKED THROUGH THE.
EXCUSE ME, COULD YOU PULL THE MIC UP JUST A LITTLE BIT CLOSER? WE, AT THE PREVIOUS BRIEFING, WE WALKED THROUGH THE CITY'S CURRENT LIVING WAGE POLICY AND HOW WE ADMINISTER IT.
AND WE ALSO PROVIDED YOU SOME POLICY OPTIONS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
WE RECEIVED THE FEEDBACK FROM THAT MEETING ABOUT FINDING A BALANCE BETWEEN SUPPORTING FAIR WAGES, BUT ALSO RECOGNIZING THE FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL IMPACTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE RISING COSTS IN THE LIVING WAGE.
AT OUR PREVIOUS BRIEFING, THE STAFF PROVIDED AN OVERVIEW OF THE LIVING WAGE.
WE GAVE YOU SOME CONSIDERATIONS, INCLUDING MAINTAINING, MODIFYING, REPLACING OR RESCINDING THE POLICY, AND DURING THAT DISCUSSION, IT WAS GENERALLY EXPRESSED SUPPORT FOR PRESERVING FAIR WAGES FOR WORKERS AND EXPLORING TARGETED MODIFICATIONS, WHICH WILL PRESENT TO YOU TODAY. NEXT SLIDE. WELL NEXT SLIDE.
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THE CITY'S WAGE FLOOR IS BASED ON THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY'S LIVING WAGE CALCULATOR.THIS POLICY APPLIES TO PROCURED, COMPETITIVELY PROCURED GENERAL SERVICE CONTRACTS.
CONTRACTORS AND FIRST TIER SUBCONTRACTORS ARE REQUIRED TO PAY AT LEAST THE LIVING WAGE ESTABLISHED AT THE TIME OF THE SOLICITATION, AND THEN THAT RATE STAYS WITH THE CONTRACT DURING THE DURATION OF THE TERM.
NEXT SLIDE. THE LIVING WAGE POLICY IS NOT A BLANKET REQUIREMENT FOR ALL CITY CONTRACTS, AND IT APPLIES TO SPECIFIC GROUPS OF COMPETITIVELY PROCURED GENERAL SERVICE CONTRACTS.
AND GENERALLY THE POLICY APPLIES TO CONTRACTS OVER $100,000.
EXCUSE ME. SO THIS IS THE SAME POWERPOINT SLIDE.
JUST THE YEAH THE RECAP SO WE CAN YEAH. LET'S GO QUICKLY THROUGH THAT.
OKAY. IT'S PRETTY FRESH IN OUR MINDS SINCE LAST TIME.
OKAY. YEAH, IT'S ONLY BEEN A COUPLE OF WEEKS.
SO THEN WE'LL GO TO SLIDE NINE. THAT'S THE FIRST NEW SLIDE THAT YOU'LL SEE.
FIRST OF ALL WAS THAT YOU WANTED CLEAR SUPPORT FOR PRESERVING THE FAIR WAGES FOR WORKERS PERFORMING SERVICES UNDER THE CONTRACTS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE ALSO OR YOU ALSO EXPRESSED INTEREST IN INCORPORATING LABOR MARKET CONSIDERATIONS SO THAT WE CAN ALIGN OUR WAGE REQUIREMENTS WITH ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND MARKET REALITIES. THOSE THEMES HELPED SHAPE TODAY'S RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH ARE INTENDED TO BALANCE THE CORE PURPOSE OF THE POLICY AND ALSO SUBSTANTIAL LONG TERM SUSTAINABILITY. AT THIS TIME, I'LL TURN THE PRESENTATION OVER TO KIMBERLY AND SHE'LL GO OVER THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND AMENDMENTS THAT WE ARE PROPOSING TO YOU TODAY.
OKAY. THANKS, JUANITA. NEXT SLIDE. OUR FIRST RECOMMENDATION STAFF RECOMMENDS INCREASING THE CONTRACT THRESHOLD FROM $100,000 TO $300,000. THE PURPOSE IS TO FOCUS REQUIREMENTS ON THE LARGER CONTRACTS WHERE THE LABOR COSTS HAVE THE GREATER OVERALL IMPACT. THIS CHANGE WOULD REDUCE COMPLIANCE BURDENS ON THE SMALLER CONTRACTS.
IT ALSO ENCOURAGES GREATER PARTICIPATION FROM SMALL AND LOCAL BUSINESSES.
NEXT SLIDE. SO HERE WE ANALYZE THE CITY'S CURRENT LIVING WAGE CONTRACT PORTFOLIO.
APPROXIMATELY 88% OF THE CURRENT CONTRACTS EXCEED $300,000.
THIS PROPOSAL PRIMARILY AFFECTS THE SMALLER CONTRACTS.
NEXT SLIDE. OKAY, SO NOW WE'LL MOVE TO OUR SECOND RECOMMENDATION.
IT FOCUSES ON REFINING THE SERVICES THAT ARE COVERED.
SO TODAY THE POLICY BROADLY APPLIES TO MOST COMPETITIVELY SOLICITED GENERAL SERVICE CONTRACTS.
SO STAFF DOES RECOMMEND FOCUSING THE POLICY ON THE LABOR INTENSIVE SERVICES.
SO CONTRACTS WHERE LABOR IS ONLY INCIDENTAL TO DELIVERY WOULD BE EXCLUDED.
SO THE DEFINITION ENCOMPASSES MANY DIFFERENT SERVICE TYPES.
SOME SERVICES CLEARLY RELY ON DIRECT LABOR WHILE OTHERS DO NOT.
SO EXAMPLES SUCH AS PRINTING SERVICES TESTING, PILOT TRAINING.
THEY MAY HAVE DIFFERENT COST STRUCTURES THAN A JANITORIAL OR A SECURITY GUARD SERVICE CONTRACT.
THIS BROAD DEFINITION IS ONE REASON WHY STAFF BELIEVE ADDITIONAL CLARIFICATION IS WARRANTED.
NEXT SLIDE. SO THE CURRENT POLICY APPLIES UNIFORMLY REGARDLESS OF THE LABOR CONTENT.
HOWEVER, NOT ALL CONTRACTS HAVE THE SAME LABOR PROFILE.
OTHERS INVOLVE SOFTWARE INSURANCE, SUBSCRIPTION MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS.
NEXT SLIDE. THIS SLIDE IT OUTLINES THE PROPOSED COVERED AND EXCLUDED CATEGORIES.
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SO STARTING WITH THE COVERED CATEGORIES, WE WOULD INCLUDE ALL OF THE LABOR INTENSIVE SERVICES SUCH AS YOU KNOW, I PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED THE JANITORIAL SECURITY SERVICES, BUILDING AND FACILITY, FACILITY MAINTENANCE, TRANSPORTATION, TEMPORARY STAFFING WOULD BE INCLUDED.NEXT SLIDE. THIS IS OUR THIRD RECOMMENDATION.
SO THIS RECOMMENDATION WOULD ALSO ALLOW FUTURE CONSIDERATION OF METHODOLOGY ADJUSTMENTS AND POTENTIAL CAPS, PROVIDING FLEXIBILITY AS ECONOMIC CONDITIONS CHANGE.
THIS RECOMMENDATION RESPONDS DIRECTLY TO THE COMMITTEE FEEDBACK REGARDING THE AFFORDABILITY, WAGE COMPRESSION AND BUDGET PREDICTABILITY. SO RATHER THAN RELYING EXCLUSIVELY ON ONE METHODOLOGY, THIS APPROACH ALLOWS THE CITY TO CONSIDER BOTH WORKER NEEDS AND LABOR MARKET CONDITIONS WHEN ESTABLISHING THE WAGE REQUIREMENTS.
NEXT SLIDE. OKAY. SO THERE ARE TWO COMMON APPROACHES TO ESTABLISH WAGE STANDARDS.
LIVING WAGE CALCULATIONS ARE BASED PRIMARILY ON THE COST OF LIVING.
ON THE COST OF LIVING, AND APPLY A SINGLE WAGE RATE ACROSS ALL OCCUPATIONS.
WHILE THIS IS STRAIGHTFORWARD, IT'S TRANSPARENT.
IT DOES NOT ACCOUNT FOR LABOR. LABOR MARKET DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OCCUPATIONS.
SO THE SECOND APPROACH WOULD BE A PREVAILING OR A MARKET WAGE METHODOLOGY.
SO THE PREVAILING WAGE METHODOLOGY RECOGNIZES THE DIFFERENCE IN THE SKILL LEVELS.
SO AS A RESULT THE WAGES CAN VARY SIGNIFICANTLY ACROSS THE OCCUPATION.
THE PREVAILING WAGE REFLECTS THE LABOR MARKET REALITIES.
NEXT SLIDE. THERE WE GO. SO THIS CHART IT COMPARES THE MARKET WAGE DATA TO THE CURRENT LIVING WAGE BENCHMARK. SO THE MARKET WAGE INFORMATION IS DERIVED FROM THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS DATA FOR DALLAS FORT WORTH AND ARLINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA. SO THIS DATA REPRESENTS WAGES PAID ACROSS ALL SECTORS.
IT INCLUDES PUBLIC, PRIVATE AND NONPROFIT EMPLOYERS.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS COMPARISON IS NOT TO SUGGEST THAT ONE METHODOLOGY IS BETTER OR SUPERIOR TO THE OTHER, BUT IT IS TO DEMONSTRATE THAT WAGES VARY SIGNIFICANTLY BY THE OCCUPATION.
WHEN ESTABLISHING THE WAGE REQUIREMENTS. NEXT SLIDE.
SO FIRST IT IMPROVES BUDGET STABILITY BY CREATING GREATER PREDICTABILITY FOR FUTURE CONTRACT COSTS.
SECOND, IT ALIGNS THE WAGE REQUIREMENTS MORE CLOSELY WITH ACTUAL LABOR MARKET CONDITIONS.
THEN THIRD, IT RECOGNIZES THE LABOR MARKET MAY DIFFER BY OCCUPATION AND SKILL LEVEL.
AND THEN, FOR EXAMPLE, AS I'VE MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, A JANITORIAL POSITION, A SECURITY OFFICER AND OTHER SPECIALIZED, AND WILL DIFFER FROM OTHER SPECIALIZED TRADE WORKERS.
SO THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE IS TO BALANCE THE WORKER HER PROTECTIONS, LABOR MARKET REALITIES,
[00:35:02]
AND THEN OF COURSE, US BEING RESPONSIBLE STEWARDS OF TAXPAYER RESOURCES.NEXT SLIDE. SO RECOMMENDATION NUMBER FOUR IS STAFF RECOMMENDS ESTABLISHING A STANDARD CONTRACT TERM OF THREE YEARS WITH TWO ONE YEAR RENEWAL OPTIONS. CURRENTLY CONTRACT TERMS VARY SIGNIFICANTLY.
STANDARDIZING THE TERMS CAN CREATE PREDICTABILITY.
AND THIS WILL HELP WITH THE OPPORTUNITIES TO REASSESS THE WAGE REQUIREMENTS.
IT ALSO IMPROVES PROCUREMENT PLANNING AND BUDGET FORECASTING.
RENEWAL PERIODS PROVIDE THE FLEXIBILITY TO RESPOND TO THE CHANGING MARKET CONDITIONS.
NEXT SLIDE. AND OUR FINAL RECOMMENDATION ESTABLISHES A FORMAL REVIEW CYCLE.
SO STAFF RECOMMENDS CITY COUNCIL REVIEW THE POLICY EVERY THREE YEARS.
A RECURRING REVIEW ENSURES THAT THE POLICY REMAINS EFFECTIVE AND RELEVANT.
THIS STRUCTURED REVIEW PROCESS PROMOTES ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY.
NEXT SLIDE. SO THIS TABLE IT SUMMARIZES ALL FIVE OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES.
THE CONTRACT THRESHOLD WOULD INCREASE FROM $100,000 TO 300,000.
COVERAGE WOULD BE REFINED TO FOCUS ON THE LABOR INTENSIVE SERVICES.
AND THEN ALSO IT HAS THE PROPOSED WAGE METHODOLOGY WOULD BE THE LESSER OF THE MIT LIVING WAGE OR THE 50TH PERCENTILE MARKET WAGE FOR THE APPLICABLE OCCUPATION. ALSO, I HAVE LISTED HERE THE STANDARD CONTRACT TERMS OF THE THREE YEARS WITH TWO ONE YEAR RENEWAL OPTIONS AND THE FORMAL CITY COUNCIL REVIEW THAT WOULD OCCUR EVERY THREE YEARS.
NEXT SLIDE. SO STAFF BELIEVES THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ACHIEVE SEVERAL IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES.
THEY PRESERVE THE CITY'S COMMITMENT TO FAIR WAGES.
IT FOCUSES RESOURCES WHERE THE LABOR COSTS ARE MOST SIGNIFICANT.
IT ALSO THESE RECOMMENDATIONS IMPROVE AFFORDABILITY AND BUDGET PREDICTABILITY, ALSO REDUCES BARRIERS FOR SMALL AND LOCAL BUSINESSES ON THOSE SMALLER CONTRACTS AND MAINTAIN TRANSPARENT OBJECTIVE AND DEFENSIBILITY WITH THE METHODOLOGY.
SO EXISTING CONTRACTS CANNOT BE MODIFIED RETROACTIVELY.
THAT INCLUDES THE CURRENT LIVING WAGE FOR SOME TIME AFTER THE ADOPTION OF A NEW POLICY.
NEXT SLIDE. OKAY. SO NOW WE WILL GO OVER THE NEXT STEPS.
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO RESOLUTION 152141 WOULD BE BROUGHT FORWARD TO CITY COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION IN AUGUST AND THEN, IF APPROVED, THE CHANGES WOULD BE INCORPORATED INTO FUTURE SOLICITATIONS.
NEXT SLIDE. OKAY. THAT CONCLUDES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
GREAT JOB. LET'S GO BACK TO SLIDE 23 AND COLLEAGUES.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE THE EASIEST TO DO HERE.
GOING THROUGH THESE FIVE RECOMMENDATIONS, ONE AT A TIME, JUST TO SEE WHERE EVERYBODY'S AT ON IT.
AND FRAMING OUR QUESTIONS FROM THIS WOULD PROBABLY BE THE MOST EASY, SIMPLE WAY TO DO IT.
SO I WILL START OFF IF ANYBODY WANTS TO KICK IT OFF.
VICE CHAIR. OKAY. THE FIRST THING I HAD A QUESTION ON, LET ME JUST MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND IT.
SO THE EXISTING POLICY IS ANY CONTRACT THAT'S OVER 100,000 LIVING WAGE APPLIES TO.
[00:40:02]
RIGHT. OKAY. SO ANYTHING UNDER 300,000 AND UNDER, THEY, THEY CAN STILL THEY CAN LIKE IT'S STILL WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE WAGES OF THOSE WORKERS? OH, IT JUST MEANS THAT THE LIVING WAGE POLICY OR WHATEVER POLICY WE ADOPT, IT WOULD NOT BE APPLICABLE. OKAY. WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF US RAISING IT UP TO 300,000? DOES THAT SIMPLIFY STAFF WORK OR WHAT DOES THAT DO? ESSENTIALLY, YES. BUT HOWEVER IT WOULD ALLOW THE SMALLER BUSINESSES WHERE THAT'S AN ISSUE WITH THEM COMMITTING TO THAT.THE THE CURRENT LIVING WAGE BECAUSE WE HAVE RUN INTO THAT BEFORE.
SO I THINK THAT'S MORE OF WHAT IT IS. SO ALTHOUGH ALTHOUGH THEY PASS ON THAT COST TO THE CITY.
OKAY. OKAY. I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT REFINING THE POLICY COVERAGE.
I THINK YOU'RE PRETTY CLEAR, AT LEAST TO ME, ON THE WAGE METHODOLOGY CONTRACT TERM.
BUT SINCE IT IS A PARTICULARLY TOUGH TIME DURING OUR BUDGET PROCESS, I, YEAH, MY COLLEAGUES ARE RECOMMENDING TWO I WAS EVEN GOING TO SAY ONE, BUT I THINK FOR NOW. TWO IT WOULD BE GOOD. FOR, FOR ME ON THAT ONE.
AND THEN IN THE FUTURE, YOU KNOW, CAN EXTEND IT OUT WHEN THINGS STABILIZE A LITTLE BIT.
SO I WILL. WOULD YOU LIKE TO START COUNCIL MEMBER.
GRACEY. THANK YOU. YEAH. AND THANK YOU FOR THAT.
SO WE COULD BE LOOKING AT WITH THE BUDGET. SO WE HAVE THESE FIVE CHOICES.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, AM I TO DO WE NEED TO PICK ONE OF THESE OR A COMBINATION? BECAUSE WHEN I LOOK AT ALL OF THESE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BENEFITS TO PUTTING ALL OF THEM TOGETHER.
SO THAT WOULD BE MY FIRST IS THE CONTRACT TERM WHEN I THINK I LIKE THAT IDEA, BECAUSE IT DOES GIVE SOME STABILITY AND SOME MORE PREDICTABILITY FROM A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE. BUT FOR THE REST OF THESE LIKE INCREASED CONTRACT THRESHOLD.
I HAD, YOU KNOW, FROM 100 TO 100 EQUALS 88% FROM THERE.
WHAT? AND I THINK THE PIECE THAT'S MISSING FOR ME THAT I'M STRUGGLING WITH IS I THOUGHT WE WERE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION TO REALLY GET TOWARDS SOME SORT OF SAVINGS FOR THE CITY AS WELL, BECAUSE IT'S COSTING THE VENDORS, THE VENDORS ARE CHARGING US AND ALL OF THESE THINGS.
SO WHAT'S MISSING FOR ME IS IF WE WERE TO GO, WHAT DOES THAT 88% OR THE 22% OR 19 12%, WHAT IS THAT? WHAT IS THAT EQUATE TO IN SAVINGS FOR THE CITY? WHAT DOES REFINE THE POLICY COVERAGE FROM GENERAL LABOR SERVICES, WHICH I THINK IS A GOOD IDEA AS WELL.
WHAT WOULD BE THE SAVINGS TO, TO ALL OF THESE OPTIONS SO THAT I COULD MAKE A DECISION? I THINK THAT'S THE PART I'M STRUGGLING WITH BECAUSE ALL OF THEM SEEM LIKE REALLY GOOD IDEAS. AND, AND HONESTLY, THEY ALL DO. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I'M STRUGGLING WITH THE IDEA OF US EVEN HAVING TO DO THIS AT ALL.
I GET WHY. BUT I ALSO UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF THAT.
SO I'M GOING TO START FIRST WITH TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE.
ARE YOU ASKING US TO PICK ONE OF THESE OR A COMBINATION? NO. THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE'RE MAKING.
SO IT WOULD BE DOING ALL OF THIS. SO LAST TIME WE TALKED ABOUT REPLACE AND WE HEARD THAT YOU WANTED TO KEEP THE LIVING WAGE BUT MAKE SOME TARGETED MODIFICATIONS. SO THESE ARE THE MODIFICATIONS THAT WE'RE PROPOSING.
SO IT WOULD BE A COMBINATION OF ALL OF THESE.
GOT IT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO I'M GOOD THERE. I'LL COME BACK TO THE GENERAL LABOR PIECE.
SO ON THE MARKET BASED WAGE ADJUSTMENT. SO THEN 100 TO 300, 88%, THEN THE GENERAL LABOR, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF CONTRACTS WOULD THAT THEN IMPACT FOR LIKE, OR IS IT? I GUESS I'M TRYING TO GET TO WHERE WE'RE NOW WITH OPTION NUMBER ONE.
WE'RE AT 88% OF THE CONTRACTS THAT WOULD BE IMPACTED IF WE MOVE AND APPLY THE GENERAL LABOR SERVICES, THAT EQUATES TO ON SLIDE 15, 126 CONTRACTS. WHAT DOES THAT BRING IT TO?
[00:45:05]
AND THEN IF WE ADD THE MARKET BASED, I GUESS I'M STRUGGLING WITH HOW YOU APPLY ALL OF THESE AT THE SAME TIME.AND THEN WHAT WOULD BE THE IMPACT? OKAY, SO WE CAN PROVIDE YOU WITH SOME INFORMATION ON THAT, LIKE IN A MEMO SO THAT WHEN WE COME BACK IN AUGUST, WE CAN HAVE A FINAL KIND OF POLICY FRAMEWORK, BUT IT'S REALLY NOT. THERE'S REALLY NOT AN EASY WAY FOR US TO GIVE YOU A SPECIFIC COST SAVINGS FOR THIS, BECAUSE LIKE KIM MENTIONED, IT'LL STILL CONTINUE TO APPLY TO THE EXISTING CONTRACTS.
IT'LL STILL BE, YOU KNOW, 2205 OR 2306, DEPENDING ON WHEN THE CONTRACTS WENT OUT TO BID.
SO THOSE ARE THERE. IT'S REALLY MORE LIKE COST AVOIDANCE.
MORE LIKE A PROJECTED SAVINGS IN THE FUTURE. I STILL, BECAUSE I, IT SEEMED LIKE WHEN WE WORKED ON THIS, I REMEMBER TRYING TO DO SOME MATH TO GET TO WHAT IT WOULD ACTUALLY COST THE CITY IF WE DID IT RIGHT.
AND I REMEMBER US GOING THROUGH THAT AND I WENT THROUGH EACH ONE OF THEM. REMEMBER WE, ME AND YOU, ACTUALLY, WE WENT THROUGH EACH ONE OF THOSE AND, AND WE WERE SAYING, OKAY, BASED ON THIS, WE HAVE THIS MANY CONTRACTS THAT OVER THIS AMOUNT AND BASED ON THIS NUMBER OF CONTRACTS, IT'S GOING TO COST THE CITY X AMOUNT OF DOLLARS IN ORDER IF WE DO THIS POLICY, THIS WAGE FLOOR INCREASE.
AND I'M GOING TO STOP RIGHT THERE JUST SO I CAN GET AN UNDERSTANDING.
NOW, ON THE FLIP SIDE OF THAT IS, YOU KNOW, FOR THOSE PEOPLE THAT WOULD BE IMPACTED BY THIS.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE THAT WOULD BE IMPACTED BY THIS.
AND IT'S, IT'S MORE AND MORE WE'RE TALKING WITH OUR AVIATION INDUSTRY AND ALL OF THESE FOLKS.
THESE ARE THE EVERYDAY FOLKS THAT WOULD BE IMPACTED BY THIS.
SO THE OTHER PART OF ME IS IT'S ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE TO HAVE THESE NUMBERS SO THAT WE CAN SEE WHAT THOSE SAVINGS ARE GOING TO BE, BECAUSE IF WE'RE MAKING THIS DECISION, THAT'S GOING TO IMPACT QUALITY OF LIFE FOR PEOPLE, WE AT LEAST NEED TO KNOW WHAT THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT IS.
AND IS IT EVEN WORTH IT? SO I'LL STOP THERE. THANK YOU CHAIRMAN.
I WILL GO ON TO NOTE, VICE CHAIR. I'M OKAY. I'M JUST GOING TO PICK UP WHERE COUNCILMEMBER, CHAIR GRACEY LEFT OFF. I DON'T KNOW HOW WE CAN MAKE THIS DECISION UNTIL WE KNOW WHAT THE SAVINGS IS.
AND I KNOW IT'S PROJECTIONS, BUT WE NEED THOSE PROJECTIONS.
THIS IS SIGNIFICANT TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING THE WAGES, RIGHT? SO WE'RE ASKING THEM TO MAKE A SACRIFICE. IT HAS TO BE JUSTIFIED.
IT HAS TO BE A MEANINGFUL SAVINGS IN OUR GENERAL FUND TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
AND WE'RE WE SHOULDN'T MAKE ALL THESE CHANGES AND, AND AND THEN HAVE JUST A DE MINIMIS, A VERY SMALL IMPROVEMENT TO THE GENERAL FUND. SO TO JUSTIFY IT, WE GOT TO KNOW WHAT THE SAVINGS IS.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S GOING TO DATA ANALYTICS OR WHO YOU GO TO, BUT THERE'S GOT TO BE SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE IN THIS BUILDING WHO CAN LOOK AT THESE NUMBERS AND DO A PROJECTION AND CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT OUR SAVINGS IS.
SO I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU GET WITH CHAIR GRACEY HERE, AND PERHAPS HE CAN ASSIST YOU WITH THAT, BUT WE'VE GOT TO HAVE THAT NUMBER. THANK YOU.
COUNCILWOMAN WILLIS. THANK YOU. SO, I MEAN, THIS CERTAINLY SPEAKS TO GROWING OUR TAX BASE AND IMPROVING ECONOMIC MOBILITY, BECAUSE BOTH OF THOSE THINGS WILL HELP US NOT NECESSARILY HAVE TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION BECAUSE OF A DIRE PURPOSE, BUT RATHER A MARKETPLACE PURPOSE. SO IN LOOKING AT RECOMMENDATION, I'M JUST GOING TO GO THROUGH.
IT LOOKS LIKE YOU WANT DIRECTION. I'M ALL FOR THE CONTRACTS AND INCREASING THAT THRESHOLD.
I DO BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A WAY THAT WE CAN HELP SUPPORT OUR SMALLER BUSINESSES BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO PENALIZE THEM, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO LOOK OUT FOR EMPLOYEES TO A DEGREE.
WHILE IT MAY NOT BE SOMETHING, I MEAN, MAYBE THERE'S A WAY WE COULD REACH IN AND CONTROL THAT, BUT THE WAGES THAT WERE LAID OUT REALLY SHOWED HOW SOME EMPLOYERS ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF A PARTICULAR WORKFORCE.
AND SO WHEN I LOOK AT THIS, I WONDER IF THERE'S A WAY TO HAVE A FLOOR JUST SO IT'S LIKE, WE'RE GOING TO GIVE YOU THE ABILITY TO GROW YOUR SMALL BUSINESS, BUT NOT BE AN ABUSIVE EMPLOYER IN TERMS OF A WAGE.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S SOME OTHER, YOU KNOW, THE MIT LIVING WAGE.
IT'S IT'S A BIG NUMBER, I THINK, FOR A SMALL EMPLOYER, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW,
[00:50:04]
NOT JUST SKATING AROUND THAT MINIMUM WAGE LEVEL IS JUST NOT RIGHT EITHER.SO I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU TACKLE THAT, BUT I WOULD JUST ASK YOU TO GIVE MORE THOUGHT TO THAT.
ON NUMBER THREE, ESTABLISHING WAGE METHODOLOGY, WE HAVE TO BE AGILE IN THE MARKETPLACE.
ON 4, THE STANDARD CONTRACT TERM, I THINK I ASKED THIS QUESTION BEFORE, AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE WERE STARTING TO GET AT THIS, BUT BY HAVING THE LESSER TERM SO THAT WE DON'T LOCK IN A WAGE THAT IN FIVE YEARS TIME MAY BECOME ABUSIVE LOOKING, BUT WE PAY A PRICE BECAUSE WE'RE NOT ABLE TO LOCK INTO A LONGER TERM.
DO WE HAVE ANY SENSE OF THAT? AND I KNOW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT CONTRACTS ACROSS VARIOUS CATEGORIES, BUT I MEAN, ARE WE TAKING A 20% HIT OR CAN WE WORK WITH OUR VENDORS ON THIS? JUST SOME QUICK THOUGHTS ON THAT. I DON'T. DO WE HAVE ANY SENSE OF WHAT KIND OF IMPACT THAT WOULD MAKE? DID YOU WANT TO KNOW? I THINK WE'LL HAVE TO COME BACK WITH YOU ON THAT ONE JUST BECAUSE THERE'S THE IMPLICATIONS WITH OUR CONTRACT TERMS AND WHAT WE CAN AND CAN'T MODIFY.
AND SO WE'D HAVE TO COME BACK WITH AN ANSWER ON THAT QUESTION.
BUT THEN DOES THAT HAVE TO COME BACK FOR A COUNCIL APPROVAL? I MEAN, I DON'T WANT TO GUM UP THE MACHINERY, BUT IT'S JUST SO WE COULD GET THE BENEFIT OF THE LONGER TERM, BUT ALSO NOT LOCK SOME PEOPLE INTO A WAGE THAT IS REALLY DATED FIVE YEARS DOWN THE LINE.
YEAH. I AGREE WITH MY COLLEAGUES. I LIKE THE TWO YEAR REVIEW IDEA.
AND THEN ON UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT TO OUR BUDGET.
AND THAT'S JUST NOT THAT'S NOT SMART FOR THE TAXPAYER.
SO I'M MORE IN THE MIDDLE ON THAT ONE. OKAY. I HOPE THAT HELPS.
BUT LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'VE ALREADY AWARDED THE CONTRACT AND WE'RE KIND OF LOCKED IN UNLESS WE GO BACK OUT, YOU KNOW, FOR THAT SERVICE SOONER RATHER THAN FULL TERM OF THE AGREEMENT, THEN WE DON'T REALIZE THE COST, BUT WE CAN PROVIDE YOU WITH KIND OF SOME OF THOSE ESTIMATES OF WHAT THE COST WOULD HAVE BEEN.
WOULD WE HAVE HAD A 50TH PERCENTILE VERSUS MIT? WE CAN DO THAT. ANYBODY ON THIS SIDE REALLY QUICKLY? THANK YOU MR. CHAIR, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE WORK AS WELL.
I DO AGREE WITH THE TWO YEAR POLICY REVIEW PERIOD.
OVERALL, I BELIEVE THE RECOMMENDATIONS STRIKE A REASONABLE BALANCE BETWEEN ENSURING FAIR WAGES AND RESPECT FOR WORKERS, WHILE ALSO RECOGNIZING THE PRACTICAL REALITIES FACED BY CONTRACTORS AND THE CITY.
AND SO FOR THOSE REASONS, I SUPPORT THE RECOMMENDATIONS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER.
THANK YOU CHAIR. AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
PAGE 19 WAS REALLY HELPFUL FOR ME JUST SO THAT WE CAN LOOK AT SOME COMPARISONS.
AND I DO AGREE, CREATING A FLOOR WOULD PROBABLY BE A GOOD IDEA.
THAT WAY WE'RE NOT GOING BELOW THAT. ARE WE FOLLOWING ANY NATIONAL OR STATE BILLS ON MINIMUM WAGE? AND HOW WOULD THOSE BILLS AFFECT ANYTHING THAT WE WOULD IMPLEMENT AND PUTTING IN PLACE, WOULD THOSE CONTRACTORS HAVE TO ABIDE BY NEW BILLS IF THEY WERE TO BE PASSED? AND HOW WOULD THAT AFFECT CONTRACTS THAT ARE ALREADY APPROVED? I DON'T KNOW IF MAYBE FROM THE ATTORNEY SIDE, IF THERE'S A RESPONSE TO THAT, IF IF A BILL WERE TO PASS, HOW WOULD THAT AFFECT EXISTING CONTRACTS? IF A BILL PASSED TO INCREASE THE MINIMUM WAGE PER SE.
I'M GOING TO TAKE A STAB, IF I MAY. SO WE'RE NOT SPECIFICALLY FOLLOWING ANY LEGISLATION, AS YOU MENTIONED, BUT WITH IT BEING SEVEN AND A QUARTER AN HOUR NOW, IT WOULD HAVE TO GO HAVE PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE BEFORE IT WOULD IMPACT US. AND SINCE IT'S A MINIMUM AND WHAT WE'RE REQUIRING THE CONTRACTORS TO PAY IS MORE THAN THE MINIMUM, I DON'T THINK THERE WOULD BE AN IMPACT. IT WOULD ONLY BE AN IMPACT IF THE NEW FEDERAL WAS HIGHER THAN OURS, WHICH DOESN'T SEEM LIKELY. OKAY. THANK YOU. SO YES ON RECOMMENDATION ONE, INCREASING IT TO GET MORE FLEXIBILITY TO SMALL
[00:55:09]
BUSINESS OWNERS OFFER THAT. AND REALLY, I MEAN, AGAIN, I THINK IT IS STRIKING A BALANCE.ULTIMATELY WHAT WE WANT IS WE WANT PEOPLE TO BE PAID FAIR WAGES.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE AREN'T THEN THAN HAVING TO COME BACK TO THE CITY OR TO THE COUNTY OR THE STATE TO BE SUPPLEMENTED IN ANOTHER WAY, RIGHT? I MEAN, THE WHOLE GOAL IS TO GIVE PEOPLE A LIVING WAGE.
AND SO TRYING TO STRIKE THAT BALANCE WHILE WE'RE STILL STRUGGLING WITH A BUDGET YOU KNOW, I GUESS WE'RE, WE'RE, IT'S IN A HARD PLACE. AND SO I THINK WE HAVE TO TRY TO MAKE THE BEST OF IT.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU CHAIR. THANK YOU. ANY FOLLOW UP COMMENTS? WHAT I KIND OF JOTTED DOWN FROM MY COLLEAGUES IS THE MAIN CONCERN IS MOVING FORWARD ON THE WADE METHOD WAGE METHODOLOGY WHEN WE DON'T HAVE THE IMPACT ON THE BUDGET, IS THAT.
EVERYBODY I'M GETTING HEAD NODS. WHEREAS I DIDN'T HEAR ANY OBJECTIONS REALLY TO THE OTHER FOUR ITEMS EXCEPT FOR THE LAST ONE REVIEWING EVERY TWO YEARS VERSUS THREE YEARS, SO THAT IF YOU CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT AT THIS POINT, AS I DON'T THINK WE NEED A VOTE ON THAT BECAUSE WE'RE NOT DOING THE WHOLE POLICY TODAY. SO JUST COME BACK TO US, I GUESS, IN AUGUST BEFORE IT GOES TO COUNCIL, AND WE MAY BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU A FULL RECOMMENDATION IF YOU'VE GOT THE BUDGET IMPACTS AT THAT TIME. MAKE SENSE? COOL. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, NEXT BRIEFING.
THIS ONE IS I BELIEVE IT'S OUR IG. AM I RIGHT? YES, INSPECTOR. GENERAL BUDGET OVERVIEW. I'M A LITTLE SCARED BY THE SIZE OF THIS SLIDE DECK BARON.
SO WE'RE GOING TO KEEP IT ABOUT TEN MINUTES, RIGHT? I UNDERSTAND, AND I UNDERSTAND THE DECK IS THERE FOR YOUR INFORMATION IN CASE YOU DON'T HAVE WHAT YOU NEED.
OUR LEAD PROSECUTORS PASSING IT OUT. I AM BARON ELIASON, INTERIM INSPECTOR GENERAL.
OUR JOB IN THE OFFICE IS TO PROTECT AND DEFEND THE CITY AGAINST FRAUD, WASTE, ABUSE AND ETHICS COMPLAINTS, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. AND SO WHAT I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT TODAY AND I'LL BE SUB TEN.
I MAY EVEN BE FIVE. IT JUST DEPENDS ON HOW MANY QUESTIONS YOU ASK.
BUT I'LL GIVE YOU A HINT OF WHERE I'M COMING FROM.
THIS LAST WEEKEND THE WORLD'S EYES WERE ON FIFA WATCHING THOSE GAMES.
I WAS OUT AT LAKE RAY HUBBARD ON A SAILBOAT, THE NATIONALS FOR FLYING SCOT.
I'M TRYING TO SEE IF MAYBE THEY'LL PUT ME ON THEIR WEBSITE HERE. WAS HERE IN DALLAS.
AND ONE THING ABOUT RACING A BOAT FAST IS THIS LITTLE THINGS MATTER.
YOU CAN BE A GOOD BOAT AND FINISH IN THE BACK OF THE PACK.
THAT WOULD BE ME. OR YOU CAN BE AN EXCELLENT BOAT AND MAKE THESE LITTLE TWEAKS AN INCH HERE, AN INCH THERE, AND THE BOAT COMES ALIVE. AND THAT'S WHAT MY PRESENTATION IS ABOUT HERE.
EXCEPT FOR OUR RACE IS DIFFERENT. OUR RACE IS FRAUD, WASTE, ABUSE AND ETHICS COMPLAINTS.
BUT THERE ARE SOME TWEAKS AS YOUR INTERIM THESE PAST 8 OR 9 OR 10 MONTHS, HOWEVER LONG IT'S BEEN, THAT I RECOGNIZED WE NEED TO MAKE. AND WE CAN'T WAIT UNTIL AUGUST BECAUSE YOU ARE.
IT'S VERY SIMPLE. WE NEED TO STRUCTURE UP, WE NEED TO TICK UP AND WE NEED TO TRAIN UP.
WE'LL START WITH THE CONTEXT, WHICH IS THE SLIDE I'M MOST PROUD OF IS THIS ONE RIGHT HERE.
AND THIS IS WHAT I WANT MORE OF. AND I WANT IT TO BE BETTER AND I WANT IT TO BE FASTER.
AND THAT'S WHERE THESE LITTLE TWEAKS ARE GOING TO TAKE US.
SINCE JANUARY IN THROUGH THE WORK OF OUR OFFICE AND THE LEAD PROSECUTOR THAT JUST PASSED OUT THOSE PAPERS AND EXCUSE ME, LEAD INVESTIGATOR AND OUR LEAD PROSECUTOR, WE HAVE STOPPED AND YOU MAY HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO MISREPRESENT THIS NUMBER.
SO, BUT THE NUMBER IS $1,547,826. THAT WE HAVE STOPPED OR RECOGNIZED OR DRAWN THE CITY'S ATTENTION TO. NOW WE CAN'T COLLECT THAT.
SOME OF IT IS COLLECTIBLE, BUT THE OFFICE IS DOING REAL WORK AND WE WANT TO DO IT AGAIN.
BETTER, FASTER. WE WANT MORE OF THAT. OUR ENTIRE BUDGET.
THAT'S ALMOST OUR ENTIRE BUDGET. SO WHAT I'M ASKING FOR IN THESE LITTLE TWEAKS IS AN ENHANCEMENT IN ROUGH WATERS, I GET IT, BUT $114,000 IS GOING TO GET EVERYTHING I'M ABOUT TO DESCRIBE.
LET'S START WITH STAFF. IT'S BUDGET NEUTRAL. WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM WITH OUR STAFF.
THERE'S NOT A SINGLE PERSON THAT DOESN'T DO A GREAT JOB.
HOWEVER, WE ARE OVERSTAFFED IN ADMINISTRATION.
[01:00:05]
AND SO THAT'S A PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING. AND ONE OF THE REASONS YOUR PRESENTATION IS SO LONG IS THAT ALL THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS I MAY BE RAISING RIGHT NOW ARE AT THE BACK. AND THIS PAGE RIGHT HERE TELLS YOU WHERE TO GO TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.BUT THE BASICS IS WE RECLASSIFY THREE POSITIONS.
WE GAIN AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF HORSE POWER. THAT'S ONE ADMIN THAT'S MORE SPECIALIZED TO WHAT WE DO.
THAT'S A DATA ANALYST. THAT'S ANOTHER INVESTIGATOR.
THE SECOND AREA, THE SECOND TWEAK THAT IS GOING TO MAKE US A FASTER BOAT IS IN OUR TECHNOLOGY.
AND I'M SORT OF A TECHNOLOGY GEEK. AND REALLY, A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS LOOKING FOR TO HELP THE OFFICE A YEAR AGO, WE DON'T NEED ANYMORE. AND YET WE STILL NEED A BOOST IN TECHNOLOGY BECAUSE WE HAVE NONE.
WE ARE DOING THIS WITH LEGAL PADS AND PENCILS AND EYEBALLS.
IT'S CALLED CLEAR. IT'S LIKE 7 OR $8,000. PROCUREMENT'S BEEN APPROVED ON THAT.
SO I'M WORKING WITH JEFF STOVALL RIGHT NOW ON A WAY TO USE COPILOT IN A CONFIDENTIAL, SECURE WAY TO TAKE CARE OF WHAT THE $27,000 DEAL IN HERE TALKS ABOUT, WHICH IS CALLED NEXUS.
SO REALLY, I EVEN THINK WHAT I'M ASKING FOR WILL GO DOWN BY $27,000.
THEY'RE SAYING WE ARE WEAK IN THIS AREA AND WE ARE.
BUT LIKE I SAID, FOR ABOUT $47,000 NOW, NOT 67.
SO THAT IS ON THE GREEN TAB SOLUTION TO TECH UP.
WHEN YOU COMPARE US TO OTHER JURISDICTIONS THAT HAVE AN OIG, BASICALLY, WE'VE GOT ABOUT $250 DOLLARS PER OPERATIONAL PERSON VERSUS AT THE LOW END, 2,000 EVERYWHERE ELSE.
THAT WILL MEAN CERTIFIED FRAUD EXAMINERS STATUS FOR TWO OF US.
THAT WILL MEAN AIG CERTIFICATION FOR ALL OF OUR INVESTIGATORS AND ALL THE TRAINING THEY NEED.
THAT'S ABOUT AN $18,000 ENHANCEMENT. SO THAT REALLY IS THE PRESENTATION.
AND I HOPE WE'RE STILL UNDER 8 TO 10 MINUTES.
AND I CAN TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU NEED. BUT WE WANT TO BUILD UP.
WE WANT TO STRUCTURE UP BUDGET NEUTRAL. THERE'S ONE THING I FORGOT AND I'LL BRING IT BACK UP.
WE WANT TO TECH UP AND WE WANT TO TRAIN UP AND ALL THAT CAN BE DONE FOR LESS THAN 100,000.
THE ONE ADDITIONAL THING THAT I WANT TO DO. AND SO BUT IT'S INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET FIGURE, THE ENHANCEMENT FIGURE, 700,000, IS TO SUBCONTRACT OUT FOR SOME MEDIA SUPPORT.
WE'VE STARTED A LINKEDIN PAGE. WE'VE STARTED A FACEBOOK PAGE.
WE HAVE A WEBSITE THAT NEEDS PROFESSIONAL WORK, NOT JUST THE BEST THAT I CAN DO.
WE NEED CRISIS SOMEBODY WITH CRISIS COMMUNICATION EXPERIENCE.
I FOUND THAT PERSON I'VE PAID THEM THROUGH AN ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION FOR A MONTH.
BUT FOR $30,000, I GET THAT FOR A YEAR, WHICH MEANS TWO POSTS, LINKEDIN, FACEBOOK, THAT THAT'S THE GIST OF THAT I FORGOT TO MENTION, BUT ALL THAT'S SUB 100. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
GOOD JOB. YEAH. COUNCILWOMAN OR COUNCILWOMAN WILLIS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I APPRECIATE THE WAY YOU LAID THIS OUT FOR THE BUILD UP PROGRAM.
AND I THINK IT'S AMAZING THAT WITH THIS OFFICE STILL BEING IN, IN A SENSE, IN SET UP MODE, THAT EVEN THOUGH ALL OF THESE FUNDS AREN'T NECESSARILY COLLECTIBLE, THEY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED.
AND WHO KNOWS HOW ULTIMATELY THEY COULD BE COLLECTED OR AT LEAST STOP SOMETHING THAT'S GOING ON.
AND I AGREE WITH YOU. THAT SLIDE IS GREAT ABOUT THE SUNLIGHT EFFECT WHEN OVERSIGHT CHANGES BEHAVIOR.
PHASE ONE IS YOU DOING CATCH UP ON THE BACKLOG OF CASES AND GETTING THE RISING CASES, WHICH YOU POINT OUT ON SLIDE 22, AND THEN ULTIMATELY BLUNTING THAT BEHAVIOR BECAUSE PEOPLE KNOW THEY'RE GOING TO GET CAUGHT.
[01:05:03]
SO I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S VERY, THAT'S VERY POWERFUL.WHEN I LOOK AT PAGE TEN AND THE TRAINING THE COMPARABLE CITIES HAVE.
I MEAN, THAT'S REALLY SOBERING. WITH SEEING $250 AGAINST EVEN JUST THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, EVEN $2,000, AND SOME OTHER CITIES, BECAUSE MAKING INVESTIGATORS AND OTHERS ON YOUR TEAM MORE EFFECTIVE, I THINK IT ALL BENEFITS THE TAXPAYER. SO I WOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF THIS.
I THINK PEOPLE ARE WAKING UP TO AND DISCOVERING THE EXISTENCE OF THIS OFFICE.
AND SO THE FACT THAT THEY KNOW THEY'VE GOT A PLACE TO COME TO, TO CRAFT SOMETHING STRONGER IS, IS QUITE MEANINGFUL. SO ANYWAY, I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ON THIS, BUT I JUST FOR THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY, I THINK THE RETURN THAT WE WOULD SEE WOULD BE EXPONENTIALLY HIGHER.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GOOD ON THIS SIDE. I'LL START WITH MY VICE CHAIR.
I'LL JUST ECHO COUNCILMEMBER WILLIS'S THOUGHTS.
TO SPEND MONEY ON TRAINING AND TECHNOLOGY. AND YOU'RE ASKING FOR ONLY 100,000.
MAYBE A LITTLE MORE. I KNOW YOU WERE. WE WERE SUBTRACTING 20,000 AT SOME POINT.
SO THE INVESTMENT IS HUGE. AND I'M SURE THE WHAT WE WILL REAP FROM THAT WILL BE AMAZING.
THANKS. CHAIRMAN GRACEY, THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION AS WELL.
I JUST WANT TO GET SOME CLARITY. YOU MENTIONED IT AND I WAS TRYING TO FIND IT ON THE SLIDE.
YOU SAID IT WAS 250 VERSUS 2,000. WHAT WAS THAT? SO WHEN THE IT WAS WEAVER THAT DID THE AUDIT.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THEY LOOKED AT WAS THE INVESTMENT IN EDUCATING THE OPERATIONAL STAFF, THE INVESTIGATORS, THOSE TYPES. AND THEY THEY COMPARED THAT TO FIVE PEER CITIES.
AND THEY NEVER TOLD US. THEY JUST LABELED THEM B, C, D, E.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHO THEY WERE. BUT WHEN THEY DID THAT AND THEY DID THE MATH, JUST DIVIDING OPERATIONAL INTO THE MONEY, WE WERE AT ABOUT $250 PER OPERATIONAL PERSON.
THE RANGE FOR THE OTHER CITIES, THE NEXT LOWEST CITY WAS 2,000.
AND IT WENT UP TO, I THINK, 3,500 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
THERE IS A CHART. IF YOU LOOK AT THE TRAIN UP CHART ON THE EXTRA DETAILS, I THINK START ON PAGE 15 AND IT'S GOING TO BE BURIED IN THERE. BUT THERE IS A CHART WHERE I BREAK DOWN A BUDGET FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION, WHERE IF WE ADD $18,324, WE WILL GET ALL THE CERTIFICATIONS THAT WE WANT TO SEE AND ALL THE TRAINING. THE PROBLEM WITH CERTIFICATIONS IS ONCE YOU GET THE CERTIFICATION, YOU OWE 40 HOURS EVERY TWO YEARS, BUT WITH THAT BUMP THAT GETS US TO $2,000 IN OPERATIONAL, STAFF MEMBER WILL BE ABLE TO COVER ALL THOSE THINGS ON A ROTATIONAL BASIS EVERY TWO YEARS. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN WHAT, IN A PERFECT WORLD, AND NOT TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BECAUSE THIS OFFICE IS JUST ESTABLISHED OR WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS IS KIND OF RAMP UP TIME FOR AN OIG OFFICE THAT WAS NEWLY ESTABLISHED TO REALLY BE FUNCTIONING IN YOUR INDUSTRY WHAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED KIND OF THE BEST OF THE CLASS.
SO AGAIN, I'M ASKING THAT TO SAY YOU'RE NOT ASKING FOR A WHOLE LOT.
DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M TRYING TO ASK? SORT OF. I THINK.
AND I'LL TAKE A SHOT AT IT, AND THEN WE'LL SEE IF I'M IN THE BALLPARK.
WE'RE IN AN INTERESTING RAMP UP SITUATION BECAUSE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE OFFICE.
OF COURSE, WE STARTED UNDER THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AS A DIVISION, AND THAT WAS A VERY, VERY DIFFERENT SITUATION THAN THE INDEPENDENCE THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW.
AND WHAT THAT MEANS TO ME IS WE HAD ABOUT A THREE YEAR HEAD START, BECAUSE I WAS HERE FROM THE BEGINNING, AND THERE WERE THERE WAS JUST A LOT OF THINGS THAT NEEDED TO BE DEVELOPED THAT WHEN ESSENTIALLY I STARTED IN THE INTERIM POSITION, WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE INDEPENDENT PHASE OF THE OFFICE.
A LOT OF THAT WORK WAS DONE. AND SO IN A SENSE, WE'RE EIGHT, EIGHT MONTHS IN RAMPED UP.
BUT IN ANOTHER SENSE, WE, WE HAD THAT HEAD START.
[01:10:06]
WE'VE TRANSITIONED OUT OF THAT. WE'RE ALL EXCITED ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING AND WE'RE CRANKING.AND SO IT'S HARD TO GIVE YOU A RAMP UP BECAUSE IT'S JUST SO DIFFERENT.
AND IT WAS, AND I, AND I DIDN'T EXPECT A NUMBER PER SE.
I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS, CONSIDERING THE WORK THAT YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH SO FAR IN TERMS OF SAVINGS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR IS MINIMAL IN THE OVERALL THING.
AND THEN CONSIDERING HOW LONG THIS OFFICE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED, WHAT YOU'RE ASKING IS MINIMAL COMPARED TO WHERE SOME OTHER OFFICES ARE AND WHERE YOU COULD BE AND WHERE YOU'RE GOING. SO THAT'S THE ONLY POINT I'M MAKING. SO THANK YOU.
IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'LL SAY ONE OTHER THING. THERE WAS SOME CONCERN WHEN THE OFFICE FIRST STARTED ABOUT HOW MANY INVESTIGATORS WE HAD, AND WE HAD NO DATA TO BACK THAT UP. WE HAVE DATA NOW, AND BY ADDING THE EXTRA INVESTIGATOR, WE'RE HITTING RIGHT ON WHERE WE NEED TO BE. AND THE DATA ESSENTIALLY IS, IS THAT A HUMAN BEING, YOU KNOW, INVESTIGATOR ACROSS THE BOARD NATIONALLY AND IN OUR OFFICE CAN HANDLE ABOUT SEVEN CASES AT A TIME, TEN SHORT TERM. WE'RE RUNNING TEN RIGHT NOW, AND WE HAVE A STACK OF CASES IN RESERVE THAT WE CAN'T GET TO.
SO THE ABILITY TO BRING THAT SIXTH INVESTIGATOR IN, WHICH IS IT WAS WHERE WE ORIGINALLY STARTED.
AND IT IS TRUE. YOU WERE RIGHT. WE DIDN'T HAVE THE WORK BACK THEN, BUT NOW WE DO.
THAT WILL GO A LONG WAY TO GETTING US BACK INTO A WORKLOAD THAT YOU CAN DO LONG TERM.
AND SO THAT MEANS THEY'RE NOT WORKING ON OTHER GOOD PROJECTS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I WANT TO MOVE ON, COLLEAGUES.
WE'RE DOING DECENT ON TIME HERE ON THE BRIEFING MEMOS.
ITEM D. I JUST HAD PULLED THIS ONE TO, WANTED TO COMMEND THE CITY AUDITOR'S OFFICE FOR PROPOSING.
LOOKS LIKE A VERY LIKE A BUDGET REDUCTION, ACTUALLY.
IS THAT CORRECT? WOW. OKAY. THANK YOU. WANT TO JUST VERY BRIEF OVERVIEW OF HOW YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE THE ECONOMICS WORK WITH A BUDGET REDUCTION IN THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE. INTERIM CITY AUDITOR. SO THE BUDGET REDUCTION IS TO ALIGN WITH THE REQUIREMENTS THAT THE CITY ASKED OF ALL THE DEPARTMENTS TO TRY TO MEET AN 8% BUDGET. SO WE DIDN'T QUITE MEET IT.
WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THE OFFICE, WE MAYBE DO A LITTLE LESS ON THE AUDIT WORK.
QUESTIONS? ANYONE. GO AHEAD. THANKS, ON PAGE NINE, IT HAS YOUR ACTUAL AT 14 AUDITS, DO YOU EXPECT TO HIT YOUR TARGET BY THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR? OUR CURRENT YEAR, FISCAL YEAR.
WE'RE ON TARGET FOR NEXT YEAR. THAT MAY BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT GIVEN ON WHERE WE STAND, WHERE WE'RE GOING BECAUSE YOU'RE SAYING THIS REDUCTION COULD AFFECT THAT.
SO THIS REDUCTION IS FOR NEXT YEAR, WHICH WILL AFFECT NEXT YEAR'S TARGET 20 REPORTS.
RIGHT NOW WE ARE ON TARGET TO MEET THE 20 THAT WE HAVE SCHEDULED TO DO.
AND SO WE'RE ON TRACK FOR THAT. OKAY, I KNOW YOU'VE ANSWERED THE CALL ON BUDGET REDUCTION, BUT AGAIN, THIS IS AN AREA WHERE I WOULD SAY THESE AUDITS REVEAL MUCH LIKE WITH THE OIG, THE OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL, HOW IT REALLY HELPS US BE MORE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE.
SO I'M CONCERNED WITH EVEN TAKING THAT DOWN AT ALL.
SO YOU'RE SAYING THAT THE 14 AUDITS THAT YOU FINISHED THROUGH MAY 4TH, YOU'RE STILL GOING TO FINISH THOSE OTHER SIX BY THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR? RIGHT, SO WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THE BUDGET REDUCTION IS THE QUALITY OF THE REPORTS THAT YOU MAY BE GETTING WILL BE A LITTLE LESS HEAVY, HEAVY HITTING, IF YOU WILL. THEY'LL BE MORE FOCUSED ON COMPLIANCE TYPE OF AUDITS, THOSE WE CAN GET OUT TO MEET THE AUDIT REQUIREMENTS.
SO IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S, WE'LL DO THE BEST THAT WE CAN TO MAINTAIN OUR QUALITY AND OUR QUALITY.
BUT IT'S ALSO CURSORY. I MEAN, IT'S, YOU KNOW, I DON'T I DON'T LIKE THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AND TALK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT IF YOU HAD JUST DONE WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, JUST YEAH, WE CAN GET IT DONE FOR A COMPLIANCE STANDPOINT.
[01:15:02]
FORTH. AND I JUST DON'T THINK THIS IS AN AREA WHERE WE SHORTCUT.THANK YOU. WOULD YOU, MAYBE AS A, LIKE IF YOU, THIS IS YOUR BUDGET PROPOSAL.
THIS IS MY RECOMMENDED BUDGET, BUT I AM HAPPY TO TAKE BACK THE 281 AND HIRE ANOTHER EXPERIENCED ASSOCIATE AND GET BACK THE CODE SOURCING CONTRACT AS WELL. I WOULD JUST MAYBE SUBMIT THAT SO THAT WE HAVE THAT TOPIC TO TALK ABOUT WAS THE BUDGET GETS CLOSER.
OKAY. THANK YOU. WE'LL DO WE'LL UPDATE IT. THANK YOU.
CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG. IT'S TRUE. THERE IS.
WE MAY HAVE TO AMEND THAT SO THAT WE CAN SUBJECT PUT IN A NEW BUDGET REQUIREMENT.
RIGHT. SO THE CITY AUDITOR'S OFFICE IS THE ONLY APPOINTED OFFICE THAT REPORTS TO COUNCIL THAT HAS THIS PROVISION IN THE CHARTER WHERE IT GOES TO COUNCIL AS A SEPARATE ITEM. THAT'S WHAT WAS PREPARED. SO WHAT YOU'LL SEE ON YOUR AGENDA TOMORROW WILL LOOK LIKE WHAT SHE'S PRESENTED TODAY.
SO IT'S FOR, AND IT'S UP FOR APPROVAL TOMORROW.
IT IS SIR. SO I GUESS IF WE DO NEED TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS YOU CAN DO IT MID-YEAR.
YOU KNOW IF THERE'S MID-YEAR ADJUSTMENTS. ADJUSTMENTS CAN BE MADE IN AUGUST WHEN YOU'RE DOING THE REGULAR BUDGET AND THE AMENDMENTS, ETC.. BUT I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO WALK AWAY THINKING YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE ACTION TOMORROW.
THAT'S A PRETTY THAT'S PRETTY MUCH APPRECIATED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GREAT. ALRIGHTY, CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE BUDGET. ITEM E. AND I WANT TO.
SO WE GOT WE GOT THE CREW HERE. AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY MATERIALS.
ARE WE GOING TO SEE SOME MATERIALS AND A BREAKDOWN? BERT, WHAT'S THE PLAN? WE ACTUALLY JUST DID THE BRIEFING MEMO.
WE CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS. I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE A PRESENTATION WITH US.
RIGHT. I'M JUST SAYING BEFORE AUGUST SO WE CAN.
SO GENERALLY I'M SEEING THAT YOU YOU'RE GOING TO BE EXPERIENCING AN INCREASE ACROSS.
IT LOOKS LIKE AT LEAST BY 3%, BUT POSSIBLY MORE.
CAN YOU JUST TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT? CERTAINLY.
THE TO GO. WELL, FIRST LET ME DO A PLUG FOR THE OFFICE VERY QUICKLY.
I KNOW YOU WANT TO GET THIS DONE IN TEN MINUTES, BUT WE ARE A FULL SERVICE LAW FIRM FOR THE CITY.
WE OFFER LITIGATION SERVICES. WE HANDLE ALL THE LAWSUITS, WHETHER IT'S FOR CONSTITUTIONAL OR GENERAL CLAIMS. EMPLOYMENT. TORTS. PERSONAL INJURY. LAWSUITS INVOLVING OUR ORDINANCES.
CONSTITUTIONAL CLAIMS. AND WE ALSO HANDLED THE VAST MAJORITY OF ALL OUR APPEALS IN-HOUSE.
ON THE GENERAL COUNSEL SIDE, WE. THUS FAR THIS YEAR, WE'VE HANDLED ABOUT ALMOST JUST SHY OF A THOUSAND ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND LEGAL OPINIONS, CONTRACTS, AGREEMENTS, AND AAS, OVER 2000.
AND WE HAVE COLLECTED OVER $9 MILLION FOR THE CITY THUS FAR IN THIS FISCAL YEAR.
AND TO MAKE CUTS TO THERE'S A FUN NUMBER, BUT IT'S THE INTER-DEPARTMENTAL COST THAT WE SHARE THROUGHOUT THE CITY FOR, FOR DIFFERENT SERVICES. THE INCREASE THOUGH IS FROM SACRED CODES WHICH JACKS UP WITH THE BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES, THEY JUST IMPOSE THOSE FEES ON US AND THEY CHANGE EVERY YEAR.
AND ALSO THE 3% MERITS THAT ARE ANTICIPATED, WHICH ALSO CAME FROM THE BUDGET OFFICE.
OKAY. COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS? WE'LL START OVER HERE TO MY RIGHT.
ALL RIGHT, SO TELL ME ABOUT HOW THE IT SUPERVISOR ELIMINATING THAT.
WILL THAT AFFECT PRODUCTIVITY IN ANY WAY? HOW ARE YOU GOING TO MANAGE THAT? WHY DID YOU PROPOSE THAT? FORTUNATELY, WE ARE WE AT THIS TIME WE HAVE THREE OTHER VERY, VERY COMPETENT IT FOLK.
WE NEED THE IT FOLK FOR OUR OFFICE BECAUSE WE ARE A SORT OF A SELF-CONTAINED CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
WE USE THEM FOR EXHIBITS AND GETTING READY FOR TRIAL.
THEY GET A LOT OF USE, BUT I THINK WE CAN GET BY ON THREE.
WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION INTERNALLY. I HAVE POWERS AS OUR MANAGING ATTORNEY, AND WILLIAM HERNDON IS OUR OFFICE MANAGER, AND WE HAD QUITE A BIT OF TALK ABOUT. AND WE THINK WE CAN MANAGE.
OKAY. AND THEN THE OTHER REDUCTION WAS IN CONTRACTS.
SO WAS THIS REDUCTION BASED ON HISTORICAL FIGURES? I MEAN, I, I KNOW WE'VE HAD TO GO OUTSIDE FOR A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PURPOSES.
[01:20:07]
THE CUT WAS NOT FOR CONTRACTS FOR OUTSIDE COUNSEL.IS THAT JUST THE CATEGORY YOU'RE SAYING. CORRECT.
THAT'S THE CATEGORY. BUT IT'S FOR INTERDEPARTMENTAL SERVICES THAT WE GET CHARGED FOR.
OKAY. SO IT WAS BASED ON HISTORICAL. THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION. ANYBODY ELSE? I DO WANT TO FOLLOW THAT THE CONTRACTING SIDE AND I KNOW IT'S ON.
WHEN WE HAVE OUR DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, CASES OR WHATEVER THE SITUATION IS, WE WILL GO OUT, YOUR OFFICE WILL GO OUT AND SOMETIMES GET OUTSIDE COUNSEL TO SUPPORT US.
HOW DO WE MANAGE THOSE TYPE OF CONTRACTS IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'RE SPENDING ON AN ANNUAL BASIS? AND IS THAT REALLY I KNOW, AGAIN, IT'S CASE BY CASE AND SUBJECT BY SUBJECT, BUT IS THERE ANY COMPETITIVENESS DONE THROUGH THAT PROCESS TO POTENTIALLY REDUCE COSTS AS IT RELATES TO THE CASES AND THINGS FOR OUTSIDE COUNSEL? RATES ARE RATES, I SUPPOSE, BUT IS YOU KNOW. SO WE USE THE RISK FUNDS FOR THOSE FOR THE LITIGATION MATTERS.
AND WHEN WE RETAIN OUTSIDE COUNSEL, WE YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THEY'RE EXPENSIVE.
I KNOW, AND WE TRY TO REDUCE COST. WE ASK FOR GOVERNMENT RATES.
A LOT OF FIRMS DO OFFER THAT. AND SO, AND SOMETIMES FIRMS WANT TO WORK WITH US BECAUSE THEY, THEY WANT THE EXPOSURE, AND SO THEY'RE WILLING TO REDUCE THEIR RATES A LITTLE BIT MORE. BUT WE DO ASK AROUND AND TRY TO REALLY GET THE BEST RATE FOR THE OUTSIDE COUNSEL SERVICES THAT WE RETAIN. OKAY. AND WE ALSO DO A LOT OF THE WORK.
WE ASSIST THE OUTSIDE COUNSEL AS MUCH AS WE CAN TO, TO DO SOME COST SAVINGS THERE.
ONE THING WORTH NOTING IS THE AVERAGE OF OUR HOURLY RATE, INCLUDING BENEFITS, IS ABOUT $79.67 COMPARED TO THE AVERAGE RATE IN 2023 FOR NORTH TEXAS, THE AVERAGE RATE WAS ABOUT $308 FOR PRIVATE FIRMS, SO.
FAIR ENOUGH. THANK YOU. MAYOR. DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM.
THANK YOU, CHAIR WEST. HOW MUCH IS THE LAWSUIT THAT OUR COLLEAGUES ARE IS COSTING THE CITY? IT'S COSTING US. I LOVE THE I THINK THE QUESTION IS VERY INTERESTING.
I JUST I QUESTION WHETHER IT'S GERMANE TO THIS PARTICULAR TOPIC.
I THINK YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE LAWSUIT THAT TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE FILED.
ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY NOT GERMANE.
I WOULD ASSUME, FOR THIS CONVERSATION. I MEAN, I THINK FOR THE OVERALL BUDGET CONVERSATION, IT'S VERY MUCH GERMANE, NOT FOR CITY ATTORNEY'S BUDGET.
OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY, AND I GUESS MY QUESTION NOW CAN BE ANSWERED LATER BECAUSE I DIDN'T GIVE YOU GUYS ANY KIND OF HEADS UP FOR THIS, BUT I'M CURIOUS TO SEE HOW YOU'RE INCORPORATING TECHNOLOGY, AI, AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
WE'RE WORKING WITH OFFICE OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE DATA ANALYTICS TO BECOME MORE EFFICIENT, TO PUSH CONTRACT REVIEW OUT FASTER AND LIKE OUR REAL ESTATE DEALS AND SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT WE HEAR YOU GUYS GET BLAMED FOR EVERYTHING THAT'S, THAT'S SLOW IN THE CITY. AND I KNOW IT'S NOT ALWAYS YOU GUYS, BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO BE AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE? SO I WILL SAY IT IS RARELY US. AND THEN I WILL SAY THAT YOU KNOW, THE PROBLEM WITH USING AI RIGHT NOW IN THE LEGAL FIELD IS THERE'S BEEN SO MANY SORT OF, WELL, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, SORT OF LITIGATION CATASTROPHES WITH HALLUCINATIONS BY THE AI, EVEN WE'VE TRIED SOME OF THE SORT OF BIG-NAME LEGAL ONES.
AND WE'RE NOT FULLY CONFIDENT IN EVERYTHING YET. BUT WE ARE LOOKING INTO EVERYTHING WE HAVE BEEN USING OUR IT FOLKS HAVE HELPED US WITH OUR, OUR IN-HOUSE CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SO THAT WE CAN GET A BETTER IDEA OF HOW TO ALLOCATE OUR RESOURCES.
WHAT ARE WE ACTUALLY SPENDING TIME ON? WHAT IS OUR ACTUAL TURNAROUND TIME? AND TO THE EARLIER POINT, WHEN DID WE ACTUALLY GET THE ITEM THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY BEING BLAMED ON? THAT BEING SAID, WE ARE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT ALL THE TECHNOLOGY WE CAN USE TO IN ANY WAY STREAMLINE OUR PROCESS, BUT WE ARE A LITTLE WARY STILL OF THE AI. THANK YOU.
SO WE'RE MOVING ON. SO THAT'S ITEM G. SO MOVING ON TO ITEM H.
THAT WAS BUDGET ACCOUNTABILITY. I HAD A COUPLE QUESTIONS ON THAT.
THAT WAS MY PULL. IF I CAN GET SOMEBODY UP HERE UNLESS JACK'S GOING TO TAKE IT.
[01:25:02]
WE GOT THE A TEAM COMING DOWN. ALL RIGHT. SO FIRST QUESTION IS JEANETTE ON PAGE 17. LOOKS LIKE APRIL TRENDED UPWARDS ON ACTUAL SALES TAX COLLECTIONS.VERY CURIOUS TO SEE WHAT WE CAME OUT WITH FOR MAY.
WE'RE STILL TRENDING BELOW BUDGET. SO WE HAVE REVISED OUR FORECAST.
IF YOU RECALL, THE FISCAL YEAR 26 BUDGET FOR SALES TAX WAS 474.3 MILLION.
AND NOW WE'RE FORECASTING THAT WE'RE GOING TO END THE YEAR AT 464.9 MILLION.
LAST MONTH SHOWED A NEGATIVE, BUT THAT WAS BECAUSE IT WAS COMPARING IT TO.
YEAH. BUT IF YOU LOOK AT YEAR TO DATE TRENDS WE'RE STILL PRETTY YOU KNOW, TRENDING SLOW GROWTH. SO WE'RE GROWING, WE'RE JUST NOT GROWING AS FAST AS WE PROJECTED FROM A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE.
IF YOU LOOK AT HISTORICAL GROWTH LIKE THE 3- OR 5-YEAR AVERAGE, IT'S ABOUT 3%.
WE'RE HOVERING JUST BELOW THAT 3% MARK. ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. LAST QUESTION IS ON SLIDE 21 OR PAGE 21.
I NOTICED THERE WAS A MASSIVE SPIKE IN MARCH OF COMMERCIAL BUILDING PERMITS.
WAS THAT ONE PARTICULAR PROJECT OR WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? AND IT'S JUST A GREAT INDICATOR OF OUR POTENTIAL PROPERTY TAXES THAT ARE, THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES.
IT IS A GOOD NEWS STORY. MARCH HAD OR APRIL HAD THREE LARGE PROJECTS WHEN MARCH HAD ONE.
SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THE SPIKE. FOR THE LAST LIKE YEAR AND A HALF.
I MEAN, THERE IT'S AN INSANELY HIGHER PERMIT VALUATION.
SO THOSE ARE A COUPLE CATALYTIC PROJECTS. THAT'S CORRECT.
ALL RIGHT. DO WE KNOW WHAT THEY ARE. WE CAN FIND OUT.
OH WELL OKAY. JUST THOUGHT YOU GUYS MIGHT KNOW OFFHAND BECAUSE WE WANT TO SEE MORE OF THOSE, WHATEVER THAT IS. COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS ON ITEM? WHAT IS THIS? H. NO. ALL RIGHT, WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM I.
THAT'S THE ARPA CORONAVIRUS VIRUS RECOVERY FUNDS.
I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIS HAD A QUESTION ON THAT.
YES, THANK YOU. SO I NOTICED, I MEAN, THERE ARE SOME OF THESE THAT I'M SEEING A BALANCE.
I'M SPEAKING SPECIFICALLY TO MINE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I KNOW MORE ABOUT THAT.
MY UNDERSTANDING WAS THEY'D ALL BEEN DEPLOYED.
SO NOW I'M SEEING BALANCES ON EVICTION ASSISTANCE OR RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
AND JUST SOME OF THESE OTHERS. SO IS THERE A REASON WHY? I MEAN, IF THEY'RE THERE, THEY, THEY, WE CAN STILL DEPLOY THESE FUNDS.
SO IT COULD BE A DELAY IN TERMS OF WHEN THE ACTUAL EXPENSE WAS ENCUMBERED.
AND THEN WHEN WE RECEIVED INVOICES FOR PAYMENT.
BUT WE CAN FOLLOW UP SPECIFICALLY REGARDING YOUR PROJECTS.
I MEAN, I WAS TOLD TWO YEARS AGO THIS RAN OUT.
SO AND SO I'D BE CURIOUS ACROSS THESE OTHER CATEGORIES, WHAT MIGHT ALSO BE LINGERING BECAUSE THE PUBLIC LOOKS AT IT AND THINKS, OH, THIS MONEY'S JUST SITTING THERE AND IT MAY NOT BE.
OR IF IT IS, YOU KNOW, WE CAN GET IT OUT THE DOOR BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A CONTRACT TO DO THAT WORK.
WE WILL MOST DEFINITELY FOLLOW UP REGARDING YOUR PROJECT.
OKAY. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. COLLEAGUES, MOVING ON.
ITEM J IS THE CDBG SPENDING REPORT. AND FOR THAT ONE, I JUST WANTED TO ASK STAFF, HOW ARE WE DOING GENERALLY YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANT TO SEND MONEY BACK TO HUD.
ARE WE DOING OKAY? IS THERE ANY SECTIONS WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT? I'M NOT TRYING TO GET YOU TO THROW ANYBODY UNDER THE BUS, BUT WE NEED TO.
WE NEED TO START TALKING TO PEOPLE LIKE THIS IS THE TIME.
[01:30:01]
SO WE ARE WORKING VERY HARD WITH OUR INFRASTRUCTURE DEPARTMENTS TO HELP US GET ACROSS THE FINISH LINE.AND SO WE ARE OPTIMISTIC THAT WE WILL MEET THE SPENDING DEADLINE.
WE MAY FALL MAYBE LESS THAN $2 MILLION SHORT.
IS THERE A WAY WE CAN ENSURE WE KEEP THOSE $2 MILLION BY REALLOCATING THEM TO OTHER.
THAT IS WHAT WE ARE DOING, WORKING WITH OUR INFRASTRUCTURE DEPARTMENTS TO SEE IF THERE'S SHOVEL READY PROJECTS THAT WE CAN PUSH THROUGH IN THE LAST REMAINING 30 TO 45 DAYS. AND THAT WOULD BE AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, RIGHT BEFORE.
THAT WOULD BE BY JULY 31ST. JULY WHAT? 31ST? JULY 31ST.
OKAY. COLLEAGUES. NO. THANK YOU.
ALL RIGHT, COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIS ON ITEM L, THAT'S THE MONTHLY PROCUREMENT ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT.
AND WHEN I SEE THINGS LIKE DOESN'T HAVE AN ITEM NUMBER, BUT PAGE FOUR YOU KNOW, A COOPERATIVE JOB ORDER CONTRACT TO PERFORM MAINTENANCE, REPAIR, ALTERATION, RENOVATION, REMEDIATION, MINOR CONSTRUCTION AT THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT, BASIC TRAINING ACADEMY.
I KNOW WE HAVE THE SHINING NEW LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING CENTER ON THE HORIZON.
AND WE KNOW WHAT THE CONDITION OF THAT 30 YEAR OLD COMPLEX IS LIKE.
BUT THE IDEA OF PUTTING THIS MONEY INTO WORK TWO, THREE, FOUR MONTHS SOONER THAN IT MIGHT BE IF IT HAD TO GO THROUGH ALL OF OUR ITERATIONS, WHEN WE KNOW WE WANT THIS WORK TO BE DONE. AND THEN FOLLOWING RIGHT BEHIND IT IS THE LOMBARDY FIRE STATION AND BEING ABLE TO PREPARE THAT.
I MEAN, THAT IS A COMMUNITY THAT DESPERATELY NEEDS THIS WORK.
AND SO I'M JUST HIGHLIGHTING THE FACT THAT THIS ACTION ALLOWED US TO GET MONEY INTO THE MARKETPLACE FASTER, TO WORK FOR PEOPLE FASTER, AND THAT THIS IS ALSO A REPORT WHERE IT GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW AND INTERVENE OR ASK QUESTIONS.
BUT I LIKED IT BEFORE AND I STILL LIKE IT NOW.
THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE? ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON.
THANK YOU. TEXAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE MEMBERSHIP UPDATE.
WANTED TO. I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS, COLLEAGUES, BUT I WANTED TO KNOW IF WE NEEDED TO DO AN ACTION ITEM OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT TO SUPPORT THIS. SO TOMORROW ON YOUR AGENDA IS THE FISCAL YEAR 26 MID-YEAR BUDGET ORDINANCE THAT YOU LOOKED AT LAST MONTH, AND THAT IS FOR APPROVAL TOMORROW AT CITY COUNCIL.
AND ON THAT, IT'S OUR RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU USE SOME UNSPENT FUNDS WITHIN NON-DEPARTMENTAL.
AND I'M LOOKING FOR JEANETTE TO COME OUT AND POTENTIALLY HELP ME.
BUT YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE SOMEONE WILL NEED TO MAKE A MOTION FOR THAT TOMORROW AT COUNCIL IF THAT IS STILL THE DIRECTION FROM THE COMMITTEE WHICH I VOTED AND IT WAS. SO WE JUST NEED TO HELP YOU.
I'M ASSUMING, CHAIR, WITH THE MOTION FOR TOMORROW TO ADDRESS TML.
I WE SO WE HAVE ALREADY VOTED TO SUPPORT. YOU DID VOTE.
SO WE'RE GOOD. THIS IS JUST AN FYI FOR TOMORROW.
AND SO THE FOLLOW UP WAS FOR ME TO HELP YOU GET IT ACROSS THE FINISH LINE AT COUNCIL.
OKAY. WITH THE WITH WRITING A MOTION FOR YOU.
LOVELY. ALL RIGHT. QUESTIONS NOT MOVING ON. THANK YOU.
LAST ITEM BEFORE WE GO TO EXECUTIVE SESSION IS ITEM.
OH AND THIS IS OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES FOR JUNE FROM THE JUNE 12TH COMMITTEE ON FINANCE MEETING.
SO COLLEAGUES THE MEMO IS PRETTY CLEAR ON THIS.
WE MOVED VOTED TO MOVE FORWARD MOST OF THE ITEMS. AND THEN WE DECIDED TO HOLD BACK AND SEEK FURTHER CLARITY ON TWO ITEMS PENDING INPUT.
AND IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, THAT WAS ITEMS EIGHT AND TEN.
IS THAT RIGHT, DIRECTOR? CORRECT. ERIC DOMINGUEZ, DIRECTOR OF OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS.
OKAY. I MEAN, I'VE BEEN CONTACTED BY A COUPLE STAKEHOLDERS ON EIGHT AND TEN.
DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY COMMENTS ABOUT THIS? YEAH. VICE CHAIR. I THINK YOU ALL ASKED ME TO SPEAK WITH CHRIS, AND HE HAS DEFINITELY COME OUT AGAINST EXPANDING THE HOT TAX TO COVER INFRASTRUCTURE. THAT IS NEAR TOURIST OR VISITOR SITES.
I THINK IT'S HE'S REPRESENTING BOTH TEXANS FOR THE ARTS AND THE TEXAS HOTEL LODGING ASSOCIATION.
[01:35:01]
SO I THINK IT'S JUST THE FEAR THAT WE'RE DILUTING THE DOLLARS.AND HE WANTS THEM TO STAY WHERE THEY ARE CURRENTLY ALLOCATED.
SLIPPERY SLOPE KIND OF THING WHERE YOU OPEN IT.
YEAH. NO SLIPPERY SLOPES. HOPEFULLY. OKAY. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY COMMENTS? LET'S JUST STICK WITH EIGHT FOR NOW. ANY COMMENTS ON NUMBER EIGHT RELATED TO THAT? YEAH. COUNCILWOMAN WILLIS. THANK YOU. I UNDERSTAND THAT.
AND YOU KNOW, I THINK WE KNEW WHAT THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION WOULD BE.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE NEED I THINK WE HAVE $7 BILLION IN STREETS NEEDS.
AND SO WHILE NOT EVERY STREET IN THE CITY IS SERVING DRIVING TOURISM.
ET CETERA. I JUST WOULD WONDER ABOUT LOOKING AT DRAWING A WIDER CIRCLE AROUND SOME OF THESE AREAS AND GIVING THIS CONSIDERATION. AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S A CONCERN ABOUT A SLIPPERY SLOPE, BUT WE ALSO HAVE NEEDS, AND WE CAN'T HAVE A CITY CRUMBLE AROUND OUR GREAT ARTS ATTRACTIONS.
SO I'M NOT SURE HOW THAT WOULD BE WORKED. AND I REALIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE SAUSAGE IS MADE IN AUSTIN, THIS COULD GO THROUGH MANY ITERATIONS, BUT I AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TIGHT THAT CIRCLE IS RIGHT NOW, WHAT THE IMMEDIATE AREA WOULD BE, BUT I DO THINK IT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD GIVE SOME CONSIDERATION TO.
AND THAT'S A DEMAND OF CITY INFRASTRUCTURE. SO I'M JUST SHARING WITH YOU WHERE I AM ON THIS.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU. OKAY. ANYBODY ELSE ON NUMBER EIGHT FOR THIS ITEM? I THINK WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT IF WE WE COULD AT LEAST JUST MONITOR IT PERHAPS AND NOT SUPPORT IT.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? I THINK THEY'RE GOING TO BE TWO CATEGORIES.
AND DIRECTOR MAYBE YOU CAN REMIND ME WHAT THOSE TWO.
WE'VE HAD FOUR CATEGORIES AND APPARENTLY SEVEN CATEGORIES IN THE PAST IN TERMS OF WHAT ALL OF THESE WOULD BE, BUT I BELIEVE THE CHAIR WANTS TO, TO APPROACH IT THIS TIME WITH TWO CATEGORIES.
IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. WHICH IS MONITOR SUPPORT OR AND OR OPPOSE.
SO THE TWO CATEGORIES COULD BE MONITOR AND CERTAINLY SUPPORT OR MONITOR AND NOT SUPPORT EITHER WAY.
RIGHT. YEAH. COULD YOU HAVE A YES. NO I WAS JUST GOING.
THANK YOU CHAIR. I WAS JUST GOING TO LEAN ON THE NOT SUPPORTING AND REALLY OPPOSING THE ITEM.
BUT I THINK WE STILL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU MORE DIRECTION.
BUT THAT'S WHAT IF I WERE TO TAKE A VOTE TODAY, I WOULD VOTE TO OPPOSE THE THE ITEM.
THEN I WILL THROW MY SUPPORT TO OPPOSE THE ITEM.
OKAY, COOL. THANK YOU. SO, COUNCIL MEMBER RESENDEZ.
DO YOU HAVE A FEELING ON THIS EITHER WAY? MAYOR PRO TEM SORRY.
OKAY. AND SO WE HAVE A SUPPORT FROM COUNCILWOMAN WILLIS WITH MODIFICATIONS WITH MODIFICATIONS.
I AM A I'M WITH COUNCIL MEMBER MORENO ON THIS.
I'M A, I'M A NO, I'M A NO. OKAY. I'M A NO. OKAY.
OPPOSED? OKAY. I THINK IT'S PRETTY CLEAR. THEN WE'LL I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO VOTE ON THIS.
SO WE DO NEED WE DO NEED TO TAKE A VOTE ON THIS ONE.
SO COLLEAGUES, CAN I GET A MOTION TO NOT SUPPORT ITEM NUMBER EIGHT FROM THIS AGENDA? I MAKE A MOTION TO NOT SUPPORT AND REMOVE FROM THIS LIST, BUT NOT SUPPORT ITEM NUMBER EIGHT FOR THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.
SECOND. OKAY. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. OH, YEAH.
COMMENTS. GO AHEAD. WELL, I JUST WORRY ABOUT TAKING IT OFF.
DON'T WE WANT TO MONITOR IT IN CASE BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS A STATEWIDE.
AND OBVIOUSLY THIS IS THE STATE LOOKING AT THIS.
WOULD WE WANT TO MONITOR IT. MONITORING GIVES YOU THAT BROAD PERSPECTIVE.
WE DON'T WANT TO LOSE TRACK OF IT IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY. WE WANT TO ADJUST.
YOU MIGHT WANT TO OPPOSE IT TO ADD THAT IN. OH BECAUSE I SAY TAKE IT OFF.
SO OPPOSE IT BUT MONITOR IT. YES. I MAKE A MOTION.
I'D LIKE TO AMEND MY MOTION TO OPPOSE IT, BUT MONITOR IT.
YOU GO WITH THAT. YEAH, I SECOND THAT. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT. THAT MOTION CARRIES. I DID SEEK CLARITY AT LEAST FROM THE FROM ONE OF THE ADVOCATES WHO HAD BEEN REACHING OUT TO ME ON, ON CARD ROOMS AND THEY ARE NOT TAKING A POSITION ON IT.
[01:40:02]
SO I GUESS I WOULD ALSO ASK THE CITY ATTORNEY IF THEY HAVE A PREFERENCE ON.IF WE ADD THIS AS AN AGENDA ITEM FOR THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION TO SEEK CLARITY ON CARD ROOMS. THIS IS STEVE FRIEDLAND FOR THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
YEAH. IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL ON THAT ITEM, YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN DO IT.
AND THAT WOULD BE THE APPROPRIATE PLACE TO HAVE.
YOU CAN DISCUSS IT HERE. BUT TO TAKE ANY SUBSTANTIVE ACTION, I'D HAVE TO GO TO THE COUNCIL.
SURE. I MEAN, I THINK IT'S KIND OF A I DON'T THINK ANY HARM THERE'S ANY HARM IN GETTING THE STATE TO CLARIFY THE LAWS REGARDING POKER ROOMS. CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, COLLEAGUES, BUT I, I CAN'T THINK OF AN ARGUMENT AGAINST IT.
SO ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY? GO AHEAD. YEAH.
IS THIS A PICK UP FROM THE LAST SESSION? I MEAN, ARE WE ASKING SOMETHING SIMILAR.
CORRECT. COUNCIL MEMBER YES. IT MIGHT SAVE US FROM SOME LAWSUITS.
SO. OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. SO THE MOTION WOULD BE IF SOMEONE WANTS TO MAKE IT VOTE TO SUPPORT THIS LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY AND TO MONITOR IT. SOMEBODY SO MOVED.
SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE, AYE AYE. THAT MOTION CARRIES.
WE'RE ABOUT TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION ON ITEM U.
BUT I ALSO WANT TO ADD ITEM G TO THAT AS WELL.
SO DO I NEED TO READ BOTH? I JUST NEED TO ADJUST THE EXECUTIVE SESSION NOTES TO ALSO SAY ITEM G.
STEVE FREELAND WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. CHAIRMAN WEST. THAT'S CORRECT. YEAH. YOU CAN YOU CAN DO THAT. OKAY, GREAT. AND COLLEAGUES, BUT BEFORE I, I READ THAT LANGUAGE, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE UPCOMING AGENDA ITEMS P THROUGH T NOT IT. OKAY, GREAT. OKAY. COLLEAGUES, IT IS 2:43 P.M.
ONE OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT ON THE FOLLOWING MATTERS DESCRIBED ON TODAY'S AGENDA.
AGENDA ITEMS U AND G. ONE DAY. TWO. DAY. THREE DAY.
YOU CAN HAVE IT THIS DAY, BUT THAT MEANS YOU'VE GOT TO POST SOMETHING BEFORE TODAY IS OVER.
OKAY. SO IF YOU POST SOMETHING TOMORROW, THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING HAS COMPLETED ITS CLOSED SESSION UNDER SECTIONS 551.071 AND 551.076, ONE OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT, AND AT 3:40 P.M.
ON JUNE 23RD, 2026, WE HAVE RETURNED OPEN SESSION.
AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, COLLEAGUES, THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.