February Bad Fiscal Affairs Committee.

I'm Sally Alcorn, Chairman of the Committee, and we have a super long, two-long agenda.

So I am going to be asking everyone to be as brief with your comments and questions as you can.

On the first few items, we will have only one round of council member questions.

I'm sorry to do that, but we don't want to go all the way into public session today.

This is a joint meeting with the chairman of the government operations committee, Fred Flickinger.

So welcome everyone.

I want to welcome my colleagues to the horseshoe.

So with that, we will have our uh our finance director, Melissa Dubowski, and Deputy Controller Will Jones.

Um the floor is yours.

All right.

Um good morning, Madam Chair, members of the committee.

Uh thank you for the opportunity to provide the quarterly financial update for the period ending December 31st, 2025.

In the general fund fund balance, we're projecting an ending fund balance of about 336 million for FY26, or roughly 13 percent of expenditures, less debt and pay as you go.

That's about 17.5 million lower than the finance estimates, mainly due to more a more conservative revenue projection.

We remain above the city's reserve target with about 145 million above the 7.5 percent of total expenditures, excluding debt service and pay go in reserve.

With that context, revenues and expenditures remain unchanged this month.

Uh so I'll I'll move to the enterprise fund, starting with aviation, uh operating expenses increased by by about 1 million, driven by FAA related consulting services supporting the grant eligible airfield projects.

That increase was offset by a 1 million reduction in the transfer to the airport improvement fund.

And the combined utility system operating expenses declined by roughly 6.9 million due to personnel savings and operating transfers were down about 15.6 million, primarily from lower than expected uh debt payments and capital transfers.

Uh for the dedicated drainage and street renewal fund, uh supported by property tax revenues increased by three million from higher interest earnings while expenditures decreased by about 5.2 million due to delays in vehicle purchases.

And for the dedicated drainage renewal drainage fund, uh the revenues increased by approximately 4 million, and again reflecting higher interest income.

And for the dedicated drainage uh metro, uh the expenditures declined by about 3.9 million due to personnel savings.

And finally, in the stormwater fund, expenditures are down by about 12 million, largely driven by personal savings, vehicle purchase delays, and lower than anticipated transfers to the building inspection fund.

For the commercial paper and bonds, the city's practice has been to maintain no more than 20 percent of the total outstanding debt for each type of debt and a variable rate structure, which is in line with rating agency's guidance of 25 percent.

From time to time, the city's enterprise credits have exceeded this threshold on an interim basis as they have undertaken large capital improvement projects or major expansions.

And with that, I'll move on to the quarterly uh investment and swap reports.

Uh so for the quarterly report, uh as of December 31st, 2025, the city has 6.5 billion dollars invested in our journal investment pool.

The character of this pool is that of a short-time bond fund that holds investments of very high credit quality.

Fisher ratings reviewed this pool and assigned the pool as highest ratings of triple A.

Our investment strategy is to match assets and liabilities for a a time period of one year into the future and to exercise discretion for the balance of remaining funds.

Investments are one point zero six billion higher than last year, and this is primarily attributable to the new bond transaction in aviation and the new bond transaction in the combined utility system.

As of December 31st, the general investment pool was yielding four percent, which is down from the 4.05% yield in the prior quarter.

In addition, the general investment pool, we have two small investment pools that total about 15 million.

Those pools exist to comply with tax requirements of the federal government.

A detailed listing of all the securities owned by the city appears at the back of the investment swap investment report.

And for the swap report, um the written swap report that appears in the MOFAR appears as a comprehensive description of our two swap positions.

The city had a net paid for the six-month ending December 31st, 2025 from its swaps of 134.95 million.

Fair value for both swaps as of December 31st 2025 was negative at 52 million, which is approximately 17 million less than prior quarter of a negative 69 million.

The city swaps are fairly complex.

If you have questions regarding this, please contact our office with Vernon Middleton Lewis.

Our city treasurer can help you understand that better.

And with that, that concludes my report.

Thanks, Will.

Directly.

Good morning.

This is the six plus six financial report for the period ending December 31st, 2025.

Fiscal year 26 projections are based on six months of actual results and six months of projections.

For the general fund, our revenue projection is 41.9 million lower than the adopted budget, but remains unchanged from the prior month.

Monitoring sales tax receipts for the month of November were $70.8 million, which is about 0.3% lower than the same period last year.

And in order to meet the current estimate of $902 million, the remaining periods would need to come in 4% below the prior year.

So we still feel we have a pretty conservative projection on sales tax, and we'll continue to monitor that.

On the expenditure side, the projection is $9.5 million higher than the adopted budget and remains unchanged from the prior month.

So together with the revenues, we're projecting the ending fund balance to be $353.5 million, which remains unchanged from the prior month at about 13.9% of estimated expenditures, not including debt service and pay as you go.

That fund balance is $162 million above the target of holding $7.5%.

Since we have a fairly long agenda today, um, I think I'll skip over the enterprise special revenue and other funds since we're in line with the controller's office numbers.

Um move on to the Houston economy since it's a quarterly report.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the preliminary total non-form employment for the Houston Woodland Sugarland metropolitan area stood at approximately $3.5 million in November of 2025, which is up approximately 0.3% compared to the prior month.

Um and compared to the prior year, employment is up about 0.5%.

The unemployment rate for the month of November is 4.5 percent, which is uh slightly um slightly above the November 24 number of 4.4 percent.

For energy, the average oil price is about $57.97 for the month of December, which is about 3.5 percent lower than the prior month's average.

For home sales, the latest report prepared for the Houston Association of Realtors for the month of December shows that total single family home sales was 2.8 percent higher compared to December of the previous year.

And for the disaster report, um you'll see the that update in your in your printed copy.

And that concludes my report for today.

Thank you very much.

I didn't mean to scare you guys.

You can ask a question if you'd like.

Okay, seeing nobody in the queue, we will move on to our next agenda item, upcoming financial transactions.

Director.

Thank you.

Okay, yeah, we'll wait a second to get the slides.

Thank you.

Um so today I'm here to present on the upcoming financial transactions on behalf of the finance working group.

So on the next slide, the agenda for today, we have two items related to the general obligation credit and two items related to the combined utility system.

These items are fairly standard, so um just be updating you on the various expiration dates that are coming online for our existing facilities that we already have.

So not creating anything new as part of these items.

On slide three, um, you see a summary of the general obligation variable rate exposures.

So this this is our commercial paper products that we have that support the general fund related departments.

So today we're gonna talk about series E1 and Series J, which are highlighted.

On the next slide, slide four, Series E1.

So um, again, just to refresh your memory, commercial paper uh is something that the city has used for uh quite a while.

Um, it's a cost-effective method of accessing um cash to as interim financing to pay for our capital improvement plan.

While we um wait for the commercial paper series lines, we draw in the commercial paper series lines until they get a certain fund balance uh balance on them, and then we fix them out into long-term fixed rate debt.

So this particular line, the series E supports our CIP program, particularly related to large equipment and vehicle purchases.

The underlying facility for the program um expires in July of 2026 of this year and is about a hundred million dollars in size.

So as we prepare for the expiration of the facility, we have reached out to the existing provider for a renewal quote.

And depending on what that quote looks like, we may uh reach out for a request for term sheet to our qualified pool later in March.

And depending on the outcome of uh what we receive, we plan to bring an item to council in summer of 2026.

So moving on to the Series J program.

Series J also supports the uh capital improvement plan.

Um this series is 125 million dollars in size and is scheduled to expire in May.

Uh so again, we are reaching out with to the existing provider for our renewal proposal.

Um and depending on what that looks like, we may request uh term sheets from our pool in February uh later this month.

And we're planning to bring in our CA to council for approval in spring.

So moving on to the combined utility system, the combined utility system has a series of commercial paper lines that support their CIP.

We also have very variable rate demand bonds or VRDBs, sometimes you hear me call them.

Um so there are liquidity facilities that underlie underlie the variable rate demand bonds.

Uh you see the two that are highlighted below are coming up for expiration in the next couple months.

So uh the first of those two, the uh series 2004 B2 is expiring in March.

Um we did issue a request for term sheet proposals from our qualified pool, and the finance working group is evaluating those proposals currently, and once they make their selection, we'll bring the item to council for approval um by the end of February.

In the last series, the 2004 B4 is set to expire in June.

Uh we are going to uh work with the existing provider on a renewal quote, and depending on that how look how that looks like, we may uh go to our pool uh to see if we can get uh more favorable terms.

Uh and we'll plan to bring that RCA to council again in spring.

And that concludes this presentation.

Thank you.

Thank you, Melissa.

I know um we breeze through these quickly, but with $15 billion in debt as a city, and all of these transactions really matter, and you're looking for more favorable terms for the city really adds up to a lot of money.

Um Councilmember Flickinger.

The combined utility system.

What is the current fund balance on that now?

The total the combined utility system, their fund balance is around 1.3 billion.

I'm sorry, one point three billion for their fund balance.

Yes.

Anyone else?

Okay.

Thank you very much.

We will keep you up here because the next item will be uh since it's as a quarterly report as promised, colleagues, we will get an update on the Ernst and Young uh progress that we're making with the Ernst and Young efficiency studies and spend analysis.

Um Melissa Dubowski is joined by Chief Procurement Officer Jed Greenfield.

And the floor is yours.

Good morning and thank you.

Uh just to go through this real quickly here, uh we provided a slide just as a reminder of the seven master categories that we're looking at when we're looking at our spend analysis and we provided them there.

Uh the next slide will show you just the key activities that we have done since our last report uh to this body, primarily kicking off our category council meetings where we're identifying uh moving from uh opportunities to actually what contracts can we look at and and renegotiate, and what opportunities do we have for rebate dollars to come in.

Next slide.

So what we do in those uh category councils on the left column there, those those four uh functions are what we're looking at.

So we're looking at contracts with overlapping scope, high reoccurring contract spend, high volume spend, and multiple contracts uh with the same vendor.

Those are all where we're finding the opportunities where we can go back and then renegotiate.

So all that is kicked off and we're in the midst of that.

Uh next slide.

So what happens in those category councils as we're looking for those opportunities?

This is our spend dashboard.

You've seen this uh a few times.

Uh we will select a category as shown here.

We're we're highlighting the fleet management equipment and public safety.

It told it tells you what our total spend is, the number of vendors and the number of contracts that we have.

If you go to the next slide, further down on the dashboard, this is where we would start to see where those opportunities exist.

Right.

So this is this is some place that we can say here's where we have multiple vendors.

Here's where we have vendors with multiple contracts.

You can see our top spend vendor here within this category has eight separate contracts, all very similar, all with differing pricing.

So these are where the opportunities are existing now where we're going back and saying, let's renegotiate, let's look at these and combined contracts into one.

What you will see in the coming months and going forward are more master service agreements, where we're taking these and saying rather than doing isolated projects, we're going to bring a master service agreement where we can realize some of the savings.

Next slide.

The last one here that I'll just mention really briefly.

So again, we have the filters on our spend dashboard that lets us dive into either broad topics or very specific.

I have highlighted here a very specific code is we have our contract for portable restrooms that are coming up for us to renegotiate.

So we looked at our contracts.

We have two contracts in the city of Houston with two different pricing structures.

The one with the lowest pricing structure is where we're going back and looking at opportunities to expand that contract.

This is an opportunity where we're going to bring to you probably in the coming weeks our first contract that's coming out of a category council where we will result in savings by moving to the one contract and giving that vendor the full scope of what the city has to offer.

So those are just some very prime examples of where we are utilizing the data to help us drive based on contracts that are expiring or just general categories that we want to filter out and look what our spend is so that we can start realizing some of those savings.

Thank you, Jed.

This is great work.

And we're all really excited to see it.

Melissa, do you want to add anything?

No, I think we'll just like we've been uh doing, we'll plan to come on a quarterly basis.

Um and like Jed mentioned, as those contracts come to council for approval, we're gonna be tracking those uh so that we can really uh see what progress we have made so far.

And this is definitely a multi-year effort.

So we're really kind of setting up the governance in the structure now, but um as we get through renegotiating these contracts, that's where you'll see the savings start to flow.

And and as long as I've been here, we've never done anything like this.

So this is really good.

Step and David, I'm looking at you.

This is great work to really look that there's eight contracts.

There's been fleet with one vendor, you know, doesn't make any sense.

Councilmember Flickinger.

Looking at the slide where you have got the multiple contracts with the same vendor.

I'm curious, Rush Truck Center.

Are the multiple contracts because it's different types of vehicles?

Or yeah, so in the past we would be very specific in what we were asking for.

We would go out for a low bid for these set of uh parts, and then we would have another set of parts that we would need, right?

So over time we would build and get these multiple contracts, which from an operational standpoint is significant in my operations because that lengthens out the time for every other contract that I am trying to put through because I have resources dedicated eight separate times.

Doesn't matter if the contract is for one part or five hundred parts or ten million dollars or a thousand dollars, my time or my team's time is the same with each one of those.

Thank you.

Councilmember Thomas.

Thank you.

Um uh director, I just want to clarify your statement about giving the one contractor the full scope.

Uh and this is if they have multiple contracts, right?

This does not limit smaller vendors from competing for similar work.

Sure.

This is really on a prime level type of basis.

Sure.

We are being very specific, especially now that we are moving to larger scope contracts.

Uh Director Horde and I are very specific in saying we need to start putting together some some very specific small business opportunities that exist outside of just our traditional goal program.

Okay, which will align with the new the master contract process that we'll start seeing at council.

Yep.

Okay, thank you.

Councilmember Kamen.

Thank you, Chair.

Uh my one of my questions was in line with that of making sure and ensuring that we are still allowing opportunities for small business.

Um at the same time, have we been looking at larger co-op opportunities specifically within fleet?

Absolutely.

Right.

So you'll remember just a few weeks ago uh you all passed our vehicle purchasing cooperative, 180 million dollars.

That's probably the single bit in terms of efficiency, that's probably the single biggest thing that has moved the needle on our side.

You all saw every almost every council agenda, there were vehicle packages.

Again, the same amount of time is taken for my team to do that.

So that is where we really start to see those efficiencies come in uh by you all giving us those tools that you did uh in that item, and you'll start seeing more of that.

And being able to participate in a larger co-op means that we can likely see prices reduced further and have more options.

Is that correct?

Because those are nationally competed prices.

And Director, I really appreciate your work, the work of the administration on this.

And just because I have you here, one of the questions I had again going back to fleet and for all of our procurement, now that we're doing these bigger items, more efficiency, more cost savings.

How are we ensuring that we are still following in line, for example, with uh the Houston Climate Action Plan and the Resiliency Plan?

How are those parameters laid out?

Sure.

So I think the same reporting can go forward.

So it's it's if you all need specific reports, we have the data that is available.

In fact, we probably have the data more available now with the dashboards that we built to provide those reports to you all uh in terms of if there are requests that we need to come in a setting like a council committee, we're always open to that so that you still have the information that is flowing.

Correct.

But it is going to still continue to fall in line with those parameters.

Correct.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Jed.

Thank you, Melissa.

Appreciate that.

Um we will move on to the next agenda item.

And before we do that, I do want to recognize that Alejandro Salinas is here, Councilmember Salinas, Councilmember Martinez, and Councilmember Willie Davis.

And staff, oh, and staff from Councilmember Harsha Jackson's office and Ed Pollard's office.

So welcome all.

And we will now move on to the quarterly update on, again, every quarter, we will look at overtime usage.

So, Director Dabowski.

Sure.

Um, and so the first department that we're going to focus on today is the Houston Police Department.

So I'll ask um Chief Harden to join me uh for this portion of the presentation.

Welcome, Chief.

Thanks for being here.

Morning.

Morning.

Okay.

Um, today we're going to talk about the classified overtime, um, focusing on the general fund, um, looking at prior years and where we are so far, fiscal year 26 year to date.

And then we're also going to talk about um some of the success the departments had with graduating cadets compared to the attrition and looking at the historicals.

So on the next slide.

Um this gives you a look at um fiscal year 24, fiscal year 25.

I won't rehash all those numbers since they are identical to what we talked about last quarter as far as historical comparisons.

Um on fiscal year 26, uh, where we are trending year to date, um, the budget number that you see of the 14.8 million dollars is based on the adopted budget.

Where we are actuals year to date is about $13.9 million.

Um generally you can see in the prior years uh where we generally trend over on overtime compared to the adopted budget.

Uh there's always in the past um been savings that we can identify in other line item areas like base pay and even other areas that are non-personnel items where we may have budgetary savings to help offset where overtime has trended over.

Um so at this point in fiscal year 26, it's a little bit too early to uh sort of make a final projection on where that's going to be.

Uh we do know that there will be some savings in other areas in HPD to help offset uh where we trend over on overtime.

Um that's something that again we'll continue to monitor.

We'll be back next quarter to talk about it again.

Um, but it is something that, of course, we we closely monitor.

And I think that um maybe the chief could talk a little bit um about where some of the overtime has been focused.

I know that um, you know, a lot of the overtime is really need-driven based on what they're seeing in the commun community and what the needs are.

Um so I don't know, Chief, if you want to talk a little bit about uh some of the areas that the overtime has been focused on.

Sure, good morning, everyone.

The overwhelming majority of our overtime goes to operations.

Second is the airport system, uh reimbursed by Haas.

And then you get into holidays.

Um if you look at the graph here, you'll see the spike in November and December, and that comes obviously because there's two holidays in November, two holidays in December.

Uh the mayor and this body were kind enough to give city employees two extra holidays this year.

So when we come next quarter and the quarter after, our holiday overtime will be higher than the years before because we have two other holidays.

And it's about half a million dollars per holiday for us to staff the city with police services.

So that's why you see the spike the spikes in November and December.

And then our investigative overtime is down, our special events overtime is down.

And to the director's point, when you look at a little bit of the delta between the years, there's always unforeseen circumstances.

For instance, the two weekends of cold weather, you know, no one can predict Mother Nature.

In the prior years we have had hurricanes.

So thank goodness we didn't have any this year.

But our overtime budget fluctuates based on the unpredictables that go on both through Mother Nature and through uh current events in the country.

So we've been very diligent with cutting down where we can.

Uh we are about 23 percent down from last year on overtime with some operational change we've made, so we're we're very proud of that and looking forward to continuing to be good stewards of the city's money.

So specifically looking at the the blue line and the orange line, you can see that so far fiscal year 26, um, the classified actual overtime has trended below as the Chief mentioned.

Um so far within the first six months, it's an overall reduction of about um six point eight million dollars compared to fiscal year twenty-five.

And then, Chief, if you could talk a little bit about the recruitment and the retention compared to attrition.

Sure.

As we've discussed many times publicly and in front of this body, manpower has been a constant challenge for the Houston Police Department for the last 20 years.

We were fortunate enough to get a phenomenal contract, one of the best in the State, one of the best in the country.

And so you can see from the slide, if you look from left 17 all the way to 25, our numbers, sometimes attrition was higher than cadets, sometimes cadets were higher than attrition, but just barely.

But if you look at FY26 to date, attrition 72, 181 ads, that's actually an equal amount of ad as we've had in the previous 17 to 20 years, which is a phenomenal step for us and our goal to try to get as much manpower as we can.

So we thank you guys again for your support in both the contract and also what we do every day.

That concludes our slides for the HPD.

Okay, great.

Thank you very much.

Councilmember Kamen.

Thank you.

Um very quickly, uh Director Dabowski, you had mentioned and Chief, I think you had alluded to this.

Um there's other savings that the department is looking at to offset.

What are some of those examples if you can share those?

So uh in the police department specifically, there are savings in um civilian, civilian-based pay, civilian overtime.

So those are things that we look at when you look at the police department's budget in totality, um, and those are just a few examples, right?

There's, as you know, a lot of line items, but um we look at the whole entire department budget, uh, whether it's classified or civilian, um, to identify any savings that can be used to offset needs.

And I'm sure we'll get into that as we get into budget season, but understanding some of those offsets and the impact that it's having on the department would be very helpful.

Uh, Chief, it's great to see you.

I know you have been very busy as is your team, and our appreciation to everyone in service.

Um you talked about the unpredictability, uh, whether it's the freezes and other weather events or the number of protests, for example, that we have had in the City of Houston.

Um I often talk about, well, some of that is predictable because it's Houston.

We are seeing increased extreme weather.

Uh we have now two years in a row had multiple freezes where we're not necessarily getting reimbursement for those.

One, what is the impact, for example, of one weekend of sanding up our uh warming centers to HPD, the additional patrols, even with hot outreach that has to occur, what are the impacts there and what are we doing moving forward in our budget to try to accurately project some of this because we don't necessarily do disaster projections when it comes to our overtime in the budget.

So on a citywide basis, and the chief can probably elaborate more on HPD, but on a citywide basis, um, generally the warming centers cost about a million dollars per day for all of the uh departments that are involved.

Um last year when we had winter storm ENZO, you're right, we that was not a federally reimbursable event.

Um so the cost for the freeze that we had in the pre previous fiscal year was absorbed within the department's existing budgets.

And so as we get closer to general appropriations in April, we look at how is the department trending, where are their savings, where are they over for every department?

This is not just for HPD, right?

It's it it includes health and uh solid waste, all of the departments.

Um based on that, um that's where we'll see if additional budget needs to be added, and that will be presented to council in April.

Okay.

So again, I think my ask is in chief if you want to add to this, we have to start projecting for the expectation of disasters.

Um because again, what we see is we have a healthy, right, or try to keep a healthy fund balance, but we're we know we're gonna be taking from that because of overtime, but if we know, we need to be saying so.

Uh and we know that we're going to have more freezes.

We know that we're going to have more floods, we have to be prepared, not just from a public safety perspective, but from a fiscal perspective.

Sure.

So what we do operationally as our cost savings come up throughout the year, we understand that there is likely to be an event at some point.

If there is not, we get toward the end of the year, great.

We have a piggy bank and we can use it for whatever we need to.

Some operational changes we've made.

So I'll take the freeze, for instance.

The more uh runway time you have for an event, the better you can plan, obviously.

So we would try to utilize as many on-duty resources as possible.

So there's a variety of ways you can handle natural disasters.

The traditional way is a full mobilization, which the entire department works.

Everybody goes on 12 hour shifts.

That's an inordinate amount of overtime.

Because if you're off that day, that's a 12 hours of overtime per officer.

If you're not off, it's four hours per day because they work at most of them work at eight or 10 hour shifts.

So this year we implemented some contingency plans for our disasters.

We have method A and Method B officers.

Method B have schedules that we can adjust any time as operationally necessary.

So we built teams of contingency plans.

So if the weather did X, then we would do Y.

And all the contingency plans were based on only spending the money if we had to, as opposed to spending the money in case we needed to, if that makes sense.

And that made quite a bit of difference, at least for this event in terms of amount of overtime or the last two weekends, I should say, did I hear you say we are getting reimbursed for some of this most recent blast or no?

No.

No reimbursement on this most recent.

Okay.

Okay.

Got it.

Okay.

Got it.

Thank you.

Councilmember Flickinger.

How much of the overtime is driven by the CDSF funds from the council members?

I have to go look at the exact number, but so that's not listed in the operational number on the slide because that's not from the general fund.

So the presentation is uh based on what we spend.

We can get it for you.

But but the HAS, that number is in here?

It is.

Okay.

I mean, I almost think it would be good to see it without that number as well, since that number is being reimbursed so we can get a little bit more.

Incredibly low.

Yeah.

Okay.

And then last uh uh Councilman Cayman's point.

Uh the protest, how much does that cost us in overtime?

It depends on the size of the protest.

What about the ones over the last year?

Can you tell me how much those have cost?

I can get you the number.

It also depends on the time of day.

So if you have a protest that only requires maybe one sergeant and six officers, and it's during the day, it's not going to cost us anything because those officers are on duty.

Okay.

Weekends, after hours, nights, sometimes we can adjust our staffing uh schedule so that we can do it not on overtime.

But if we have too much going on, whether they are instructing or they also have another protest during the day.

So it protests can run us anywhere from 100,000 a protest to zero.

Okay.

But I can pull for general awareness.

We do about 400 protests a year of variety, sizes, shapes, topics.

Um it varies per protest.

But I can pull the number for you.

Okay.

Thank you.

On the previous slide, the 14 million on the one with the all the budgeted, if you can go to that one, Katie.

Uh that that 14.8 is that the full year budget?

That's the full year.

And then the 13.8 is half the year.

The full year budget.

The full year 14.8 was the full amount budgeted for HPD overtime.

And 13.8 is where we are.

So we've almost spent all of the budget.

Okay.

Got it.

Okay.

I was making sure I was looking at it right.

Yes.

Uh, Vice Mayor Pro Tempeh.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Chief and Director, for the presentation.

I'm trying to figure out what the um overtime outside of the general fund, and I see the chart here that breaks it down.

Is that including reimbursements that we're getting not necessarily for disasters, but for other things like special events where maybe someone is paying for an officer to be there, how is that factored into this number?

Right, it could be.

So in the case of a disaster, um, typically the overtime expenditures run through the general fund.

We don't typically receive reimbursement on a disaster event that is reimbursable, like, for example, barrel or Derecho, until it could even be the following fiscal year.

Um so while we try to true up those time cards as quickly as we can, we do have to work with our Federal and State partners.

So in the event of a disaster, it could certainly be that the disaster overtime is shown in here and the reimbursement may come until the following fiscal year, for example.

But for something that's not a disaster, like um a special event or something where we're getting reimbursed.

Um and it's not necessarily going back to the general fund, it's going maybe to you know the special events or you know, some other fund.

Is that number reflected in here regardless of any um reimbursements that we may have received?

So this is um just for the general fund only.

Um there are large-scale events in here as well.

I'm is there is overtime in other special revenue funds, though, but outside of this.

There is.

So the special revenue fund is most of the stuff that we get reimbursed for.

So probably the best example of your question is the marathon.

So that overtime is not listed in the operation because it's reimbursed.

Is that your question?

Yes.

So do we have that number outside of the general fund as far as what we are actually, you know, as a department, whether it is the general fund or some other fund, what we are actually spending for overtime?

We do.

I can get it for you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Thomas.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Chief, good to see you.

Similar to Councilmember Flickinger's question about the CDSF, I'm interested in that information as well.

The when we had this meeting, when did we have this first meeting?

A quarter ago.

And Chief DS, I kind of intimated that council members give up to a million dollars of overtime funds towards the department.

And you just mentioned that this is not necessarily included in that.

And he kind of verbally offered guidance about not necessarily being interested in council offices directing dollars to our our command stations, and I do that period throughout my my budget.

Does that influence the numbers?

And is that still the guidance in terms of council offices directing dollars for overtime for targeted public safety issues in their district?

We welcome council member safety funds or district funds for safety initiatives.

We want to make sure our captains and our executive staff have control over how each dollar is spent in the sense that we can make an agreement or a goal of public safety uh initiatives, quality of life initiatives, but there are times when we are short on overtime and a captain may say, hey, I I could use these council district funds for this violent crime, and we we just want to make it clear we reserve the right to do that, to use those funds in the district for for public safety, but maybe not for individual projects.

Does that make sense?

And that's communicated.

It makes sense.

I understand what you are saying.

Yes.

And so in for from my office, we co-create that.

I essentially ask the command stations, tell me what your priorities are.

This is what I am hearing on the street.

Let's how we co-create that together.

If you need to go do what you need to go do, handle that, but also handle this.

Perfect.

Right?

That's that's my method.

But the the verbal guidance that was offered offered, you know, provided confusion for me.

So I we had paused on the funds because we were like, well, okay, is this still receptive?

Is this still, you know, when we come to the command stations to say, hey, this is what we're hearing out, super neighborhood, our civic clubs, we need some targeted attention on what is going on with the after hours.

Will there be resistance to that?

And so we the from what I'm hearing today, this is still welcomed to co-create public safety initiatives that allow for us to address our priorities while allowing our command stations to also say, hey, we have a priority too, and to use those funds.

Yes, ma'am.

Okay.

Councilmember Ramirez.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good morning to you both, and thank you for the presentations.

Chief, I've got uh a couple of questions for you.

So um slide three shows that head count as of the end of last year is up by 340 uh officers from FY25, is that correct?

It is.

Okay.

Well, congratulations on that.

Thank you.

I am curious to know uh the officers that you have added onto the force, how does that translate in terms of adding officers out on patrol uh patrolling our neighborhoods?

Statistically?

Yes.

So for the first time, and as long as I can remember, and our uh employee allocation team can remember, all of our sergeant and patrol spots in patrol are filled.

And now we are getting to the point where we can backfill some of our investigative spots, which obviously will also cut down on overtime because I'll just breezy ease of numbers.

If a division has a hundred investigators and they have been down 80, they still have the work of 100 investigators, or I should say 100 allocated spots.

And so those 80 are working overtime, significant amounts overtime to get the work done.

Now that we are getting more and more officers in the department and on the street, we can begin to backfill some of those spots and then hopefully in the near future start adding more spots to patrol as well.

Okay.

So you haven't been able to add any additional units on any given shift yet.

You have been able to fill uh openings that were already there.

Correct.

Okay.

Um I noticed the fire department presentation has some numbers on response time.

And I know the mayor has spoken that our response times are are better.

Um will you be able to provide us information on what the current response times are for the various categories of uh calls?

Sure, I can do it.

Okay.

And and can you uh give us uh a broad summary of of what those numbers look like, how they have improved?

Uh if they have?

They have improved.

So code one calls for service or immediate life safety, and they're down from just shy of seven to under six minutes.

And I can give you the, I think right now we're at up 5.89, I believe, but I'll give you the numbers for all the various codes.

Well, that's that's definitely great news.

So uh glad to hear that.

And curious to know also, when someone works overtime, are they paid according to uh what their what their current salary is?

Uh or or are they able to work uh say a different uh a different job description and paid at a different rate?

But what assignment you work for over time is irrelevant?

Your overtime raise your overtime rate is time and time.

Got it.

So it's tied back to what your normal salary is.

Yes, sir.

Yeah.

Okay.

All right.

Thank you.

On the um and and congrats, I've never seen that bar chart like that.

We are always seeing the opposite bar chart with attrition.

So great job on recruiting.

And on the on the patrol, we're all happy to hear that that's filled.

Is that mainly with new recruits, or is that people transferring people from other divisions, or how is that a combination of both?

A little bit of both.

Okay.

This move.

Okay.

Um do you know offhand in investigations what the vacancies are or how many you are trying to fill in in investigations?

I do not know the number offhand, but I can get it for you.

Okay.

Okay.

Thank you.

Um we will move along to overtime fire.

Thank you.

Ma'am, if I could take 10 seconds of your time.

So we have had Director Rhonda Smith working at the Houston Police Department for my entire time and the executive staff.

Uh and she sadly has decided to.

Do not tell me she is leaving.

Do not tell me that.

Director Smith has decided to uh retire and enjoy herself and move on to greener pastures.

And I just want to tell this body that because I know all of you have dealt with her at some point.

She is a phenomenal human being, a phenomenal CFO.

I my entire time in management at the Houston Police Department, she's been in that role.

Uh, and I'm just a knuckle-dragon cop.

And every every financial question I have, she explains to me five and six times till I get in.

So I cannot tell this body and anybody watching how much we appreciate Director Smith and all she has done for us.

As someone who looks through every line item, man, she knows the answer for every single one.

Uh Mayor Potem.

Thank you.

Uh Chair, I know that we were uh trying to keep the meeting moving, but um Chief, thank you for bringing up that Rhonda is retiring because everyone around this horseshoe has been such a fan of her work, and she definitely knows how to make sure that the um the numbers are where the numbers should be, and she knows how to explain it to us so that we can understand it clearly.

So, Rhonda, on behalf of the entire City Council and the City of Houston, thank you very much, and we wish you the very best in your retirement and enjoy those grant kids.

Thank you.

Okay, Chief Munoz.

You are in the hot seat.

Yeah.

A little bit of a pun intended.

All right.

So today on the fire department slides, again, we will go over the overtime overview, look at some of the historical figures, um, and where we are fiscal year 26 year to date, and then look at the response times and how they have improved and then the uh improvement of the unit availability as well.

Um, Chief, if you want to give a little bit of the overview on the first slide.

Yes.

Um so H of D relies on overtime to maintain the daily minimum staffing and provide support for special events and natural disasters.

And as well as performing our C and inspection services throughout the city.

Umtime costs are funded um through the general fund.

It is important to know that we have amendment staffing uh of eight hundred-nine riding positions.

This is a number uh uh is needed and is required to fill the seats on the apparatuses and the daily staffing to fire stations as well as dispatch centers and special fire operations groups such as Hazmat Wildland and so forth.

So that's where we are getting our overtime uh issues that or you might um that we're gonna be discussing today.

So what you will see next is for the second quarter of uh fiscal year 2026 H of D average 812 members assigned to each of the four shifts.

Uh obligations that reduce the number of members available include the necessary training such as paramedic school and the usage of accrued benefit times such as sick, vacation, uh guaranteed holidays, FMLA, Wortman's comp, everything that comes with that as the obligated uh time off that is that is requested.

So this slide shows our quarterly uh spending by category.

For the first half of the fiscal year uh 2026, HFD expended 40.7 of overtime.

However, it's important to note that with this number, it includes some of the on that the disasters that came up, special events, that was reimbursable, which comes out to approximately 3.7.

So if you look at that number, which is not reimbursable, it goes to the general fund, not our general fund.

That's why there's and it's important to know that that is what we're uh what we're looking at.

Case in point 1.5 was spent in supporting firefighting services uh at the Houston Airport system, and 2.2 million for natural disasters uh for deployment and uh for a driven activity number of 303.7 million.

So on the next slide, this gives you the um the historical picture of fiscal year 24, 25, and then 26 where we are year-to-date.

Uh I won't go through the 24 and 25 numbers since we did that last quarter.

But fiscal year 26 year to date, um, as the Chief mentioned, where we are so far is expended about uh 40.8 million dollars for the first two quarters of the fiscal year.

And again, um similar to in previous years, we will be looking in uh all the other areas of the budget to identify where offsets can be.

I will tell you that the fire department has had um a lot more success in previous years in terms of their recruitment, which means um it's a good problem to have, which means that we won't have as much base pay savings to offset the overtime as we have in previous years.

Um but again, that speaks to um really the improvement in the recruitment and the retention, which you can see in the head count figures on the bottom line of each of the boxes below.

So on the next slide, uh you'll see where we're trending so far, and some of the months we are below the previous year and some months above the the previous year, but so far pretty much trending on pace with fiscal year 25 when you average all the months out together.

Then on the next slide, this shows you the number of hours, and again, really like I mentioned, some months above the previous year, some months below the previous year.

Um I don't know, Chief, if there's any particular events you want to speak of.

If you look at the peak time between uh December and January, that was the freeze that we had to deal with.

Um that's why you see that peak time that that what came up the last year's where we had um you remember in the worst uh snowstorm or in 52 years, and that's why you see that increase.

Thank you.

So on the next slide, I'll let the chief speak to this.

This is where we'll get into the response times and and how they're trending.

So if you look at the response times and the variance, you know we've improved by 20 seconds, we're not might not seem like a lot, but that is a huge improvement, and that's due to the fact that the members coming in, taking those seats that originally were empty, uh, and that is allowing that faster response time.

And as well as if you look at now the variants in the second quarter, we're definitely coming down some more, right?

Uh if you look at December, you know, 13 minutes 32 seconds.

So we're looking at that.

Oh, there's that variance that is definitely helping us uh with that with that very with that variance and to get there to faster time.

So that is again attributed to the amount of less brownouts or units out of service and members coming to definitely filling those seats that are necessary.

Thank you.

And on the next slide, uh slide 14, you'll see the unit availability, which Chief mentioned fewer units out of service.

This is one of the things that it's important to capture.

I know that some people want to look at the five-year average of what was had, but if you look at the five-year average of what we're bringing compared to, you're looking at COVID, you're looking at low morale, people not coming in to work because of the low morale and the way it was structured, and again, our attrition rate was higher than people coming in.

But if you look at that, that's one of the things that is important to know that all the units are now being staffed.

So therefore you see that units that were unavailable last year when we started, you're looking at, and it's important to know that we started capturing this in July.

Historically, we didn't have this, so there was nothing to compare.

But if you look at just for the month of December, last year we were at 121 units out of service, this year was 21.

And those numbers keep on improving.

So if you look at the percentages, we've uh decreased by 91 percent, hitting 92 now.

So that's again a testament to our members with the high morale, uh Mayor Whitmeyer's support, and thank you all for your support as well.

That is now we are seeing those effects uh that are positive for us and as well as for the residents of Houston.

And the next slide, um, Chief, if you could speak to the recruitment and the retention efforts and how we are trending so far.

Yes.

So we're if you can see starting on fiscal year 20 uh 5, our attrition rate and graduation rate is higher than the attrition rate now.

So if you look and what you see in the light blue are rehires that in the program that we started in support with you all as well, and and local 341.

So if you looked at that, our total numbers were 290 additional people as compared to the 187 attrition rate.

So these, and then projected, if you look at the proposed for fiscal year 26, we're definitely going to be above that attrition rate.

And just to give you an example, right now, through December, we are at 98 percent or 98 people already attrition above the 77 percent uh people that are leaving.

So an additional 98 cadets are going to be graduating.

We have 90 coming up, and so that's what we are looking at right now as of to date.

So that was that concludes us.

So, thank you, Chief.

Um, Vice Mayor Pro Tempech.

Thank you, Chair.

Um, thank you for the presentation.

Um for the reimbursements, um, that $3 million or so, um does that include um the wildland group that we um Councilmark Human and I did that budget amendment um about um the money getting reimbursed back to the department for that group's expenditures when we get the reimbursements?

So we we don't get that.

Um it all comes from our general fund, and that once it goes out, so I have this pocket of money that allows me the 43 million to handle all the overtime, not just minimum staffing, which say which is a requirement uh that we have, so that is a good percentage, 88 percent of that.

But everything else that is unforeseen natural disasters, we do have special events, unsanctioned events, and again, we are always part you know, assisting our HPD uh counterparts in any requests they might have for that.

So that all comes at the expense of overtime, that is my overall budget that uh, but I do not get reimbursed for that.

It doesn't come back to us.

It goes into the general fund.

So uh once it is in the general fund, it's it's with the rest of the revenues in the general fund.

However, we can track it based on the general ledger account and the cost center.

Um so we can provide you an update with how much we have received back for those specific activities.

Okay, and so for that budget amendment, that money is supposed to go back to HFD.

Um is that included in just your overall um budget that you have for overtime?

When we run reports for how much revenue there is attributed with HFDs, I'm getting technical, but when you run reports in SAP, it's based on business area, which is equivalent to a department.

You can see that revenue is within the fire department's department.

I don't know if that answers your question.

Kind of.

Um the budget amendment, you know, the money is supposed to go back to that department.

So I'll I'll get with you afterwards and about it more.

But is that money the um the $3.7 million of overtime expenditures that have been reimbursed to the general fund?

Does that include the reimbursement from the wildland?

What was it about?

Excuse me.

What was the last question?

Um the $3.7 million that you said that um have been reimbursed to the general fund for HFD overtime expenditures, that includes that amount for the wildland.

Yes.

That includes well, and those numbers keep on coming, because remember, we do submit our our paperwork to the State along with all the expenses that come with that.

And um and it's important to know that when we do that, they're actually paying for the double time, I mean the overtime for both the backfill and that, but that does not, I mean, in bottom line, the credit does not come to us, but it goes to the general fund.

So it is important to know that.

Thank you.

Councilmember Flickinger.

Thank you, Chief.

Um looking at the overtime, July of 2025, that included Hurricane Barrel, didn't it?

Yes.

So that was a significant event.

Yes.

Okay.

With that, and the fact that you also have a head count that is 103 more this year than last year.

I'm sorry.

What's the light are you looking at, or is that just your name?

Uh your recruiting retention versus your let's see.

So you have got 263 that you brought on, lost 187, plus you also had 27 reentries.

So it's 103 more head count.

I would have thought with that and with Hurricane Barrel that your overtime spend would have been significantly less than what it was the previous year, yet it is running about the same.

Well, and it is important also to know that for almost seven, eight years we weren't able to send people to paramedic school.

We weren't able to get the necessary training to expand on the needs of the city as well as the department.

Case in point, we were only able to send historically 25 paramedics.

However, this time around that extra number, because every time we send a uh a firefighter to paramedic school, which is a huge need, and the paramedics had been carrying the weight for a long time, we have to one backfill that position, right?

So if I pull up firefighter out of the station to go to paramedic school, which paramedic school just alone is 10 months, and then the credentialing that we do for City of Houston is of approximately four to six months that they have to do the hands-on.

So you have a firefighter that's been taken out of the station for the need of paramedics for a year and a half.

So if you look at that, that those numbers help uh allow us to do what we couldn't do in the past.

You know, 25 paramedics, which then again, you know, we look at why, you know, the morale was low.

Well, you sir, it was very common to have a paramedic before the additional paramedics that we had have to be held over to maintain the minimum staffing to sometimes two to three days.

And so that was decreasing.

But what I am saying is people see pe things coming in.

What it is important to see it's what is being allowed for us, what we can do now.

So essentially you are catching up from problems of the kind of what we talked about in other matters with deferred maintenance.

So have a better fire department.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you for the question.

Councilmember Kamen.

Thank you.

And Chief, before I dive in, I do want to thank you, the entire department from the inspections, life safety inspections at properties like Life of Jackson, right?

Or the response to the multiple fires there, that's just one example.

The wildland division and the service they provide throughout the State of Texas and in other parts of the country.

We had 28 deployed at Kerrville doing the State's force position.

We are helping uh in many, many ways.

And to the new partnership on the drones, right?

That all the different ways that we are partnering together, I appreciate very much.

Um as I brought up um with Chief Harden, I would really like to see us starting to account for in a more precise way.

Again, every year it is different with natural disasters, but we know that they are going to happen, or extreme weather if it's not technically a disaster.

But we know we're going to have more freezes.

So being able to calculate that or prepare for that in the budget, um, I would really like to see that for our next budget cycle in a more encompassing way.

Of course, we could present the you know what what we would like to see.

Yeah.

Um the additionally, you know, I get that, you know, we're we're working on catching up, right?

Uh so when we talk about paramedic school, that is something we are paying for as a city.

We are paying for that schooling, which is important.

But with the cost of what that was going to be, did we in did we calculate what the cost of that additional overtime was going to be while they are at school?

Um, there's costs that we're not teasing out fully that we're now having to make up for.

Uh one question I had related to the budget.

Um, it's in the contract, so I recognize that.

But in terms of overtime, we are on a different shift schedule than the overwhelming majority of the rest of the State of Texas and their departments.

Were we on a different shift schedule?

Would we have the same type of overtime challenges?

That is a very difficult question, because they do have regardless of what it is, it's going to have to be 46.7 hours that people have to do.

But if there is an appetite to change that, we can definitely start, you know, reviewing ahead.

But again, I caution that there is that that the 46.7 hours still have to be met.

If we switch over, then there is still going to be, you still have your attrition rates that are going to be met that are we might not account for.

We still have everything that's necessary.

And we could sit down with you and show you the you know what we what we're looking at.

I like to sit down with you and present that to you if possible.

Yeah.

Again, I think the question is just again, I understand the contractual constraints and obligations.

It's would we have the same staffing challenges on a different shift schedule?

I would say that there would be some staffing challenges too.

I think you know we have to look at, you know, without getting without looking into what what could happen, but I would see that there would be some challenges as well.

Councilmember Ramirez.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Uh thank you, Chief, for the presentation.

I wanted to ask you about slide number 15, which is the bar chart showing um cadet graduates rehires versus classified attrition.

So for FY26 through December, uh it looks like we have added 98 uh cadet grads and rehires.

Um we were projected to add 361 over the full fiscal year.

So just looking at these two statistics, it looks like we're we're behind on that.

Is that is that accurate or behind on the goal that we have set.

Yes.

Uh huh.

Sir, when we got here, we were told it would take approximately three to four years to get 300.

And we to get 300 additional personnel.

We we have broken that record the first year.

And so when we're seeing that, it's filling up the gap that wasn't allowed.

Again, looking at the approach that we took, just to give you an idea, I'm proud of what the Academy has done, what our command staff has done.

Historically, it would take it was 2.5 million per full term class, which means 10 months, which came out to 10 million a year.

The return on your investment was at best, maybe 55 percent of cadets, which was the last number we heard was 165, who graduated 90.

That is not a good return on investment if we're trying to be financially responsible.

What you are looking at now is we have established the fast track, which eliminates what we have to do if they are fully certified EMT, EMS, uh, or firefighter or paramedic, that shrinks it down to eight weeks for us, which is two 250 to 300,000.

So that's a huge saving for the city.

So we have been able to get five classes last year, and with that rate, we're looking at the numbers increasing, like I've said before.

There was a time we might only get 60 people show up for civil service.

We got 220 average now.

We have a one-year waiting list.

So looking at those numbers, which we haven't seen in a long, long time, having people signed up trying to get into the Houston Fire Department.

So I would say that we are going in a positive way.

That we are, are we closing the gap?

We're absolutely closing the gap.

Case in point, this morning I I always stop at the staffing office, see what it is looking like.

We only had 70 people on overtime, as opposed to 120, 130 is historically.

So we are starting to see that, but we have we're trying to make up what's happened in the last seven to ten years.

And there was a time that, you know, our morale was extremely low.

And the question was, why should I go work for Houston Fire Department?

Now that question is being answered, yeah, I want to go work with the Houston Fire Department.

So those numbers is something that we're proud of because it is one of those that um that is definitely going on a positive side for us, and we're able to do more.

We're able to see more.

We're able to see the reduction in overtime.

We're starting to see that.

And again, it's, you know, in the last 18 months, yeah.

I say I would say that those numbers are what we are looking at and surpass what was originally told we could not do, which we have.

Thank you.

I'll go back in the queue.

There's no going back in the queue on these rounds.

I apologize.

But uh, if you want to submit a question in writing, I'll make sure it all it gets answered in all the BFA.

Uh there will be more opportunities at the last two items to ask more questions.

Councilmember Davis.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Chief, uh, thank you.

Congratulations, great presentation from you both.

I want to just say commend you for these numbers indicate not only morale, but motivation, but also attraction.

Uh your leadership is really proven out to be because we try to make all the graduations that you have and showing the men and women who who come back, the rehires.

I mean, look at that number, 27 rehires that came back, and I'm sure in in the year coming, that number is going to get higher and higher.

Um proposed 361 versus 263 is still, in my point of view, great uh a number because of where we were, and so I want to commend you on that and that to continue.

But you did break the number as proposed for 170 in year 26 to 187.

So that that that shows that you're going in the upward direction.

And so just want to commend you for your leadership and what you are doing, and certainly to the men and women out of.

Thank you for that.

But I think you know, the credits due to obviously Mayor Whitmire, you all for the support you give us.

More importantly, the command staff that we have, the members that we have, uh the credit goes to them.

Yes.

But thank you for that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh, that's all we have for you, Chief Munoz.

And the final overtime presentation before we go to the controller's presentation on overtime will be from Larryus Hassen, Director of Solid Waste.

So thank you, Chief.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Good morning.

And I know and colleagues, we are all very grateful for everything that everybody does in the city.

But let's limit the thank yous.

If we please could.

And I know Director Hassan will be back in the hot seat in a couple minutes.

So we will go to slide 17 just for an overview of the Solid Waste Department overtime.

Um so for the department, overtime is available from uh not only the general fund, but also two special revenue funds for the department.

Um and the department um does utilize overtime for minimum staffing, which I'll let the director um touch on.

Um good morning.

We try to utilize overtime for emergency purposes.

Uh we've been looking at it diligently to make sure we address the needs of the city.

Uh the main purpose of our overtime is to basically catch up on daily routes uh depending on the fleet availability, also the amount of staff that we have to show up on any particular day, plus the wait times at our transfer stations and also at our recycling center.

Okay.

Uh so on the next slide, I think you did cover some of this already.

Is there anything else on this slide to touch on?

Yes.

So the majority of our overtime comes on holidays.

Um have to give credit to the Solid Waste Management staff for the way that we've handled the holidays here recently between um Thanksgiving all the way until the new year.

Uh we had been behind on trash and recycling for several weeks at a time for one particular holiday, and I can honestly um say that we went off almost without a hitch over these last holidays in which uh we had collections done by either the very next day or a day and a half on trash and recycling.

So uh the five-day work week plus Saturday for ketchup, uh daily absenteeism with the FMLA call-ins 15 percent route coverage.

We service 400,000 plus homes, uh 150,000 of them daily, um, with trash and recycling and the service lines we cover uh garbage recycling, heavy trash, tree and yard ways.

So on the next slide again, uh I won't go through the numbers for 24 and 25 since we did that last quarter.

Um but fiscal year 26, where we're um trending so far.

Uh the actuals are coming in around 3.43.5 million dollars for the first two quarters.

Uh so we're pretty much on pace, I would say, with the previous two years as far as where our actuals are.

And again, we will, of course, look over the budget for any other areas where we can find savings.

Um I can tell you that's gonna be harder this year in the Solid Waste Department, and it has been historically as well.

This is not a um, and I know we talked about it last quarter, but it's not a new trend um for the Solid Waste Department to uh need additional resources to uh to support their operations.

So on slide 20, um, this gives you the monthly breakdown as far as dollars by month.

Um I don't know, uh Director, if there's anything in particular you want to um point out on on this slide.

But generally, as I mentioned, we're trending some some months are over, some months are under, but generally we're trending in the same direction as we were for the previous fiscal year.

And then again on slide 21, um, this is the number of overtime hours.

Again, like I mentioned, some months are over, some months are under, but generally trending uh towards the same bottom line for the end of the fiscal year as the previous year.

And then on the last slide, if the director uh uh wants to talk about the the new hires in the attrition.

Yes, we've um been fortunate to hire about uh 19 new drivers, which have been uh a tremendous help, and I wanted to thank council and mayor Whitmire for the new trucks that we got and also to direct the Glasscock and Fleet, we're actually getting more trucks up and available for our drivers.

Um the over the last few months is been a great, great um increase on our operation as far as being able to hire uh new drivers.

That concludes the presentation.

Okay, thank you very much.

Councilmember Thomas.

Thank you.

Hi, Director, why are you wearing black?

You think you're seeing a grim reaper?

What's going on?

Um, um I support your leadership and I want you to win, and I know the numbers discussed as director mentioned.

This is not new information for us.

Um this is just the practice and how we invest or maybe not invest in solid waste, right?

Um but two challenges that I continue to run into in my office and what I'm hearing in community.

Number one, um when we are delayed and when we have to dispatch um emergency overtime, right clearing of up for solid waste, and we we communicate the protocol of call 311, let us know where it is, and we send this up to Solid Waste.

And then if a truck arrives, they just go to that location and then pass the entire street.

Right?

So we we consistently get that type of feedback in terms of, you know, they just went to that one home reported, and then the entire street still has the delay.

That's the first thing in terms of efficiency because I have no problem with the overtime and investing as long as we're clearing our neighborhoods and we're doing what we have to do, pay the people their money to do that.

Excuse me, Councilmember, this is heavy trash.

It's I I can send you all types of stuff.

I'm gonna assume it's heavy trash.

Okay.

And so I know that there's different, but when people are calling 311 or they're calling the office, right?

It's all trash to them, right?

And the second thing is, and I know there's been we we've approved supplementary contracts to allow y'all to go out there and expand your footprint.

But with that, a request that my office consistently makes is like when y'all get those third-party contracts, how do you prioritize their effort?

And is there any notice to say we're doing routes on the west side on the north side?

So we can communicate to our neighborhoods to say, hey, hey, hey, they're coming by Thursday, pull it out, take it out your garage, bring it from the backyard.

And that's a lot of the feedback we hear is we put it on the street, their neighborhood looks a mess, they don't like it.

Um they don't we don't have a heads up to say get ready, they're coming, and we don't know, we have no time frame.

So if if there's any type of communication, your team, they're really helpful and they respond and they're communicative with us.

But those are the two things that we continue to run up against.

Yes, ma'am.

Thank you.

Um to answer your question, Councilmember, thank you.

Um the reason, and I'm gonna present I hope an answer to those questions here because from a standpoint of accountability, the first thing we have to do is look at ourselves in the mirror and see what where can we be more efficient.

Um we've tried uh a couple of different methods before I kick off this main method of what I'm gonna present later on to try to mitigate some of the problems that we had.

When we sent crews to areas, and then I found out they were like, oh, yeah, we went to that area, but we appreciate it, but you didn't get you just got this street and didn't do the the next street.

So we were having to go back, look at our internal processes, and I hope and pray that we got it right with what we got coming.

Yes, ma'am.

Thank you.

Yeah, a lot of these operational um uh items will be covered in the in the last presentation, but I appreciate the questions and I hope you noted those those three areas.

Thank you very much for the Council Member Flickinger.

Uh specifically on overtime, if we could keep it.

Yeah, yeah, I've got a question on the head count.

Yes, sir.

Um 2025, 447.

This year, 385.

So we're down 62.

Yes, sir.

I go to slide 22 and I don't see that reflected.

I assume you took a pretty big hit with the early retirement buyout.

Yes, sir.

So one one thing that we wanted to do is the uh the last thing that I want to do is hire more positions in one area and need it in others.

So with the new program approaching, we looked at how we could perform with the amount of I'm just going to go in trash and recycling.

We have been doing pretty good over the last three months and collecting trash and recycling, in which when I first uh was fortunate enough to have this great job that when I analyze it, I had projected that I was going to need more drivers than in heavy trash, and now we made operational efficiency changes there, which caused me not to hire the set amount of drivers that I initially thought to try to staff up the heavy trash deal.

Okay, so that's not what I am referring to.

What I am talking about, if you look at slide 22, it shows you are only down 10 in 2025, that you lost 55, hired 45, but yet if you look at you know, your slide 19 shows you went from 447 to 385.

There are I think we might have to give you a more detailed breakdown because on slide 22, um there's only selected job classifications in here, which I may probably need to definitely add some notes.

Um there are additional job classifications included in the numbers on slide 19.

So I think we need to give you a better breakdown.

Yeah.

Thank you for pointing that out.

Councilmember Kamen.

Thank you, Director.

Um, I wanted to thank you, and as I always do, I want to thank everyone in solid waste.

Uh when we talk about overtime, what people don't realize is these are uh frontline workers, oftentimes working six days a week, starting it.

6 a.m., ending it.

4 30 at the latest.

But sometimes I see even trucks way past them.

They're still trying to complete their routes.

Um the challenges that we see are not the due to a challenges that we see are not a reflection of the dedication of our solid waste employees.

Um we are very grateful to them.

Yes, ma'am.

So I just I want to echo and emphasize that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um it comes to heavy trash right now.

Can you just give a very quick just an update on what is happening with heavy trash and that's going to be covered in the final presentation?

I apologize.

Is that anything having to do with overtime or attrition or anything on the slides?

That no.

We're just, again, like Councilmember Thomas said, we're just getting inundated by that.

Sure.

And I know that that has a direct impact on overtime.

Absolutely.

It does affect overtime.

I guess it all affects overtime, but but the bulk of the operational information will be in the last presentation.

Okay.

That's fine.

But I do want to say thank you because they often don't publicly get the recognition that they deserve.

Thank you.

Councilmember Marius.

Thank you, Director.

Uh, I got a question for you.

Yes, sir.

So slide number 18, the last bullet point.

Uh projections for staffing backfills to cover this program average 3.5 million each fiscal year.

How did you arrive at that projection?

How did you come up with that?

I would have to.

I think we're going to have to follow up and get the details for you on it.

Okay, great.

And let me follow up as well on uh what Councilmember Flickinger asked about the head count.

So we're we're down significantly from FY25.

I imagine retirements had something to do with that.

Yes, sir.

Okay.

So um how are we coming as far as refilling some of those positions?

You feel like you are getting enough applicants?

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

I feel like we are getting enough applicants.

Um what are the challenges in filling those positions if we are getting enough applicants?

Uh we we just haven't posted the positions we just recently hired drivers uh within the last two months, and just getting a feel for where we are.

Um the the as we stated the heavy trash program just took flight uh within the last three months after we were geared toward our department was geared so much toward getting the trash and recycling picked up off the streets that the plus the canyard.

So we have the ability to hire to staff up in which we are doing actually as we speak right now to try to fill those vacancies.

Would it be possible to hire uh app qualified applicants more quickly?

Yes, yes.

Uh what would that take?

I think HR is doing a great job with getting us the applications that we need.

Uh it's just a matter of us bringing and onboarding them and getting them trained up, ready to go.

So the onboarding process is is rather lengthy.

Well yes, yes, it is.

Okay.

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And we'll see you in just a bit.

I think that's it on on solid waste and over time.

So thank you, Director Dabowski.

We will have one more presentation on overtime by uh Deputy Controller Will Jones.

If if you want to speak on any of the financial matters, I we have a few people signed up.

We'll we'll give you one minute after uh after this presentation.

I think just real quick.

Circling back to Councilmember Ramirez question.

I believe what the figure is referencing here relates to the adopted budget for overtime versus where we see the actuals trending for that fiscal year.

But let me follow up to confirm on that three foot on that three point five million.

Okay.

Great.

Welcome, Will Jones.

Good to see you.

Good to see you as well.

Um I'll keep it moving.

So we can go uh straight to slide three.

And again, this just focuses on the general fund, um, very similar to what uh uh Melissa and the team just presented.

Um so not looking at you know some of the grant funds or the the um uh special funds.

And again, we're gonna be looking at police fire and uh solid waste.

And then we're also going to take a look at the the payroll impact.

Uh next slide, please.

Um this is what I included last time, uh, like what is overtime.

Um but uh just uh really want to highlight the time actually worked, because a lot of people don't really understand that uh time worked also includes uh you know sick time and vacation time.

So if you put in for sick time vacation time throughout the week, that contributes to your whatever 40 hours a week, and if you you work overtime, then that will count even if it's sick time.

Uh so it's just worth understanding.

Next slide, please.

Okay, so I I do want to start out with what uh what we presented last year and how uh it we performed in terms of the budget.

So you see the adopted budget last year.

I'm not including the current budget from last year because I want to show um you know where we started the budget versus where the actuals came in.

And you can see uh we had a budget of 63 million, about 134.4 million was the final results.

Um and so we we ex uh the total that's a barrence of about 71.4 million more than what the the adopted budget.

And of course, the majority of that is police and fire at uh 95 percent.

Um and so if you look at the next slide, I also wanted to to uh highlight, you know, when I presented last year where that projection would be.

Uh we came in very, very close.

About 135 is where I assume we would end the year, and um the final results about 134.

So that's about within 0.4 percent.

So uh you know what we are presenting is you know, this is actual data.

Uh so we really should uh you know be aware that this is reality in terms of what we're projecting uh for the the overtime that this is reality.

Next slide, please.

Uh so this slide, this is important to me because I was wanted to highlight kind of where we are in terms of the current year overall.

All right.

And so this is taken directly from from your MOFAR.

If you look at page eight, these are all the changes that we've done this year.

When we started the the fiscal year, we were uh 76 million already in the hole.

So that was what we had to draw down from fund balance.

And then we've had changes in revenue, uh went down by 42 million, uh, expenses went up by 10 million.

Um again, this is exactly what's in the MOFAR, but it's only a projection as of December.

Uh we do know we're gonna have some other changes as it relates to sales tax potentially, but we also know uh we're gonna have some changes with overtime and we're gonna have some some other changes.

So as as we you know progress throughout the year, uh you will see this number change.

But this is important as we move into next year's budget.

Uh like I said, we were already having to cover a 76 million dollar drawdown right now.

Now it's up to 127, and that could potentially grow as we get ready to tackle next year's budget, which is already projected to be up towards 253 million.

Next slide.

And you can go to the next one.

So again, looking at solid waste, you can see this one is comparing the actual budget to the actuals that green line shows after that is where the projections kick in, but up to that point is the actual, which is the same numbers you would have seen from from finance on the actual spin.

Um and again, we are as you can see spending uh more than what's in the budget, and we are projecting uh to go about 2.9 million over on solid waste again, which is no surprise.

Uh but what I do want to highlight is on the table below, uh, because uh I I think it's important that we do look back and at how we've traditionally spent.

So if you look at the the five-year spend, we are uh on track to spend the according to how we've been spending.

Um and so it's not uh it's it's very consistent.

Um that again is goes to show that it's more of a budgeting situation with this, and it's not uh nothing is really changing in terms of the habits of how how they spend.

Next slide, please.

And again, also thought it was important to kind of show the impact on on the payroll, uh, to give you a few more data points on how it looks.

Um on average, uh those workers that do work overtime it's about 21 hours per pay cycle, which equates to about 19,000 per year.

And then of course you can see it goes up as you get to those that are in the the top 10, um that goes up uh significantly.

Um but it's just it's worth seeing how those uh those costs are where they're being spent.

And again on the next slide, it gives you a breakdown just of the top 10, and you can see you know the majority of those which you would expect from solid waste will be from senior side loaders.

Uh but again you can see that with the overtime in a lot of these cases, uh if you once you project out, is you're gonna double uh you know their salary and overtime.

And again, this is not to say point anything out as it being wrong right or wrong, it's just the data.

Right.

So I'm not this is not an accusation of any kind.

Um but it is important that you see all of the data and how it all relates to overtime.

Uh next slide, please.

And again, uh these are uh as we've talked about for many years, what's what's causing the overtime.

Uh again, you you've heard the first people in solid waste, you know, the staffing shortages, recruiting challenges, aging fleet, of course, to grow in the city, and and it so all of those things are what's causing it, and we have been trying to you know throw some money money at it, increasing uh offering bonuses.

Um we we are increasing uh the fleet uh buying new vehicles, um, but the situation has not changed at in terms of the costs going up.

Um we are spending more on contract spend.

I heard a lot of talk about heavy trash.

I think you guys have approved a couple of items of the past couple of years to bring on more consulting work to help with with that, but that has not changed where the overtime spend is going.

Next slide, please.

Uh we can go straight to the next one.

So again, same thing for now that we're looking at police.

Uh if you look at uh the monthly budget compared to the actual spin, uh it's no surprise we are spending more than what we have in the budget.

Um and for this year for police, we're expected uh projected to go over about 13.2 million or 89 percent.

Um and again, the this chart below is important because it does show you based on our five-year spin, this is in line.

So this is not uh unexpected in the sense for police.

If you look at last year, it was higher at about 39.8, but that was mainly because of barrel and some of those reimbursable costs that the general fund had to eat.

But if you look at where we're projecting uh at about 28 million for the year, uh that is in line with how they normally spend.

Next slide, please.

And again, same same thing looking at the the payroll impact.

Um the the average police officer uh during a pay cycle could get about four hours of overtime.

Um but of course you can see that goes up significantly when you look at you know where the top ten and where the top earner.

Um if you go to the next slide, um again you can see uh that in a lot of cases uh the salary is doubled in terms of what uh what the overtime pay is compared to the salary.

Uh next slide.

And again, same thing, uh the staffing shortages and recruiting challenges, and from from what I heard, it seems as if those things are improving.

Um so uh that's a good thing.

Uh but when you look at um some of the things that we have done or the city has done in terms of offering bonuses, and of course, we had you know a uh the a record uh uh agreement this term and pay salary with uh 36.5 percent over five years, 10 percent in the first year.

That was a huge, huge contract and a huge motivator to retain employees.

Um but the reality is that the and as I showed you another chart, they they are still spending according to what they have traditionally spent.

So these things will not drive down the overtime.

Next slide, please.

Uh so again, look at the fire, same situation.

Um if you look at uh the you know the the actual spend exceeding the budget for fire were projected to exceed by about 38 billion.

Um but again if you look at the chart, I know I heard the chief say that you know some people would like to compare it to the five year um and uh I am some people and as a finance person, I'm sure the finance director would have looked at the same data because it it only makes sense that you look and see how you have been spending.

Um but unlike uh unlike police and unlike solid waste, uh fire has not been spending within you know what what they normally spend.

It's a bit we saw a change last year in terms of what they spend.

Uh so it's not in line with the traditional spin.

So if you look at uh $58 million, that's on if you look at the five year, that's what they the average spend.

Last year it was at $87 million, and this year we're projecting to be about $81 million or close to $82 million.

So that's about $38 million.

So last year we had to pull $40 million from the fund balance to supplement fire overtime.

Um and so right now that's about if you uh again looking at the the five years about 40 percent above uh where the five year average is.

So that to me that is something different than what we traditionally spend.

So it is something worth looking at why, you know, the big swing.

And I I did hear the chief say some things about maybe brown house doing fewer brownouts, which may cost more overtime.

Uh but again, that to me is a situation where if you're planning on the budget and you know you're gonna do fewer brownouts, and if you know that that's going to lead to 40 million in overtime, it seems like that would have been a way to plan ahead for that.

Um I'm not saying that's what's driving it, but I'm just saying that if there's a change in how we operate, that may lead to uh more costs, and we just need to better plan for that.

Uh so we will uh pull about 38 million this year for fire.

Uh next slide, please.

Again, same thing if you look at the average firefighter, about 14 hours of overtime per pay cycle on average, which equates to about 22,000 per year.

And of course, that number jumps uh drastically when you look at the the top 10 and and the top uh average earner.

Okay, on the next slide, again you can see in some cases uh we're almost tripling the salary.

Um and even if you're looking at the you know the year-to-date pay, uh which is actual dollars out the door, uh they've already doubled salary in some cases.

And again, this is not uh not an accusation, not uh this is just what the numbers are, right?

So this is not an attack on anybody.

Um the data is the data.

Um that's funny, huh?

Let's head down to slide um the couple more.

I think we gotta hit the the main the FY26 costs are projected to exceed right.

So uh the FY26 costs will exceed by 54.2 million.

Um again, last year that was 71.

Uh so it's still somewhat in line.

So we uh as director said, uh we will wait and see if there's some offsets where the personnel savings or uh one-time savings that to help offset that cost, but right now that's what we're looking at.

And on the final slide, there's also a plan to do some audits on overtime, as you can see.

Uh the police I think we'll be done by May 26th and then March 26, and then we will start on a fire um payroll audit.

So thank you.

Thank you well for running through that fairly quickly, and we appreciate the work of the audit department.

Look forward to seeing those uh Vice Mayor Pro Tempeck.

Thank you, Chair and thank you for the presentation.

Um I'm looking at the um actual FY 2025 overtime costs um and I'm looking at the finance department's presentation.

The two numbers aren't they don't seem to match.

What am I missing between the two?

Because they probably haven't seen their presentation, I think it was available this morning, but theirs probably looks at the current current budget.

So if you're looking at the current budget, by then we've already pulled the money from the fund balance to adjust for the overtime.

So it may look a little different.

This is this is for um the actual FY2025.

The final resource.

Uh what is their number show?

Um well for all three, that they're just not not the same.

So I'm trying to figure out what's yeah, I mean I I'll I'll like I said I haven't seen theirs, I'll go for example fire um showing variance at 42.6 million on yours versus 1.8 million.

Yeah.

No, that's what I was saying.

The variance will be different because they're doing a variance from the current budget last year, right?

The current budget last year, they had already added 40 million to fire's budget.

So if I compare it to that, you would know that we added 40 million to the budget.

Okay.

And so for your numbers, um it's only you said it was only looking at the general fund.

We're not looking at any of the other special reverse.

So that's where my focus was.

Okay.

Um I keep harping on this that we're not looking at all of the other funds because you know, we're, for example, when HPD is doing overtime um for a special event and we're if you know through the special events fund and we're getting reimbursed back to that fund, you know, we're saying it's okay because we're offsetting that money by reimbursements.

But then when we go to the general fund, for example, solid waste and HFD, they're only general fund departments.

There's nothing, there's no other special revenue funds that they're getting reimbursed, but we're not taking that into account in that number too.

So I'm just trying to figure out the general picture here of what we're actually spending, what we're actually getting back in offset.

And and the reason police, because really the only other fund that police has is that police special service fund, and they separate that because they do have these other agreements where they they will be reimbursed, and so they try to keep those costs out of the general fund so that they can line up with whoever they have agreements with with to show that you gave me this money, this is what I spent it on, so I move it over here.

But yeah, we can we can show you the total cost.

Um but that that uh it won't change uh what they're spending in the general fund, but it will give you an idea of overall how much they are spending.

Yeah, and I think we need that number, whether from your department or the finance department, because you know, for example, Solid Waste, they do disaster recovery that we're getting reimbursed just back to the general fund, and it's looking like they're spending all this overtime funding that we're getting reimbursed.

HFD is doing inspections, disaster deployment, special events, natural disasters.

You know, HPD is doing a lot of things too that we're getting that money back that it's just not showing in, it's not reflecting in the number.

So we get to see all of that together.

Thank you.

Good points.

And and and I think that's really important that we see it by department so we know what's getting reimbursed.

Councilmember Flickinger.

Got a question on the overtime.

I mean, obviously we're looking at the 10 highest, and there's some pretty eye-popping numbers on there.

How does this affect the retirement and the pension?

Um as far as I know, overtime does not go towards uh pension contributions.

Okay.

So they wouldn't add to the pension at all?

Okay.

Thank you.

Councilmember Ramirez.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

And Will, thanks for the presentation.

Um I know you were here for uh the fire department overtime presentation.

Okay.

And um looking at your slide number 21, obviously the the top ten highest uh overtime earners in the fire department.

There's some figures that jump out at you.

I mean, it appears that one, two, three, four um employees were able to essentially triple and in one case quadruple their annual salary through overtime.

And um had a conversation with someone in the fire department yesterday and talked about that.

And uh it was explained to me that um the practice has been, and I was told this is stopped, but the practice has been that uh when you work overtime, you're paid at you know whatever your your level is, even if you step down, so to speak and handled handle um uh I'll say a less senior position.

For instance, uh slide seven of the fire department overtime presentation.

849 riding positions is a minimum staffing uh level they they want at any given time.

849 riding positions, right?

So you have 381 firefighters within that 849 uh goal that they shoot for.

Um, but that also includes uh 103 captains and 46 senior captains who are paid at a higher rate, and it's possible for a captain or a senior captain to uh essentially step down and fill a low what would normally be a lowered paid position but still be making overtime at at their at their regular salary and that that was responsible for these these uh what appear to be huge uh overtime earnings.

So do do you do you know whether that's part of part of the contract that was that was approved or uh well I I don't know all the details of that.

I do know that there is you know that that process.

Um but and and and any time you work overtime, you you you get a time and a half of your salary.

Um and so yeah, there may be some of that.

Uh that is probably a better question for the chief to answer.

But uh yeah, I mean, time and a half, uh and I I I don't fully understand when you step down or step up.

Uh I would think your salary you're not leaving your salary when you step down.

Um and so you're still going to get that uh that time and a half.

Okay.

Thank you.

Councilmember Kamen.

Thank you.

Uh thank you so much for the presentation.

The information will we will be looking through this.

Um I asked uh our fire chief, who is doing a great job, uh, a question I will ask you the same one.

Uh when we're talking about overtime again, we keep referring back to the the contracts, right?

We're contractually bound by certain parameters, but understanding the overtime needs and the staffing needs, uh do you have an opinion or does the office have an opinion on the impact that our shift schedule within HFD has on the cost of overtime for the City of Houston?

Yeah, I mean that there have been studies that we have done that that do show that it would save us money by by you know moving from the the four shift.

Um in reality uh I don't know, uh kind of similar to what the Chief said, but there the studies have shown that, and I know that so it it it's worth uh it's worth reviewing, especially if we are looking at uh overtime staying at 80 million uh with an you know 40 million more than what we have in the budget.

Does it make sense uh to stay keep the shift the way it is?

But yes, studies have shown that it could potentially save us money.

Thank you.

And my last question again is we're going into budget season soon.

I have continued to reiterate the need to um be more comprehensive in our approach to looking at each department's budget as it relates to severe weather, climate change, natural disasters.

Um can you talk a little bit about that or what the controller's office opinion would be on that?

Yeah, I mean, again, the reality is uh we are seeing more of those uh every year, so it's becoming not abnormal, but kind of the standard.

Uh and so especially when we look at when we look at things like overtime, uh it is becoming uh easier to predict that we will have these extreme events that you know we should be planning for.

Uh so yeah, that is definitely something we look at when we look at the budget and how we're planning for it.

There will always be things that you can't anticipate uh that will cost money that you didn't plan on spending.

Uh but the reality of uh natural disasters uh have changed, uh, and so it's it's no longer abnormal.

So we have to look at how do we adjust to something that is now the norm.

Thank you.

Thank you, colleagues.

Thank you.

Uh Deputy Director, really appreciate your presentation.

We had a few speakers signed up to uh speak about any of these financial matters.

I I'm sorry, and I know you guys have been so patient, but I'm gonna have to limit it to about one minute because we do have still two important presentations to go through.

So first, Laura Gallier.

You're gonna pass?

Okay.

Thank you.

Dominic Mazoch.

I don't see Dominic.

Maryam Nasser.

Is she online?

Yes.

Ms.

Nasser to speak on any of the financial matters we have dealt with.

She is not there.

Okay, she is not there.

Jack Belinski.

Jack is here.

Good to see you, Jack.

Jack is here.

Thank you.

I don't think the online works.

I tried it last month.

It just doesn't work.

Um I think they are on the cycle for listening, not for participating.

That may be a thing.

So as the First Lady says, here we go again.

It looks like we are about 200 to 300 million dollars short for next year.

And that's gonna continue on year to year.

And the overtime, every year you talk about we're gonna do less overtime, but it doesn't seem to work.

We just don't have enough people here working.

My question is, do the buyouts actually save us money?

Or did it cost us money?

Simply for the fact that we have lost all this knowledge, let alone we don't have the people in their places.

We still have problems with picking up trash, we still don't have enough to cover, and are we gonna still be taking money away from the other departments besides police and fire?

How much more can we pull away from libraries and health and parks and the basic services that why we live in this city, that it's better than uh not living here.

Please tell me how we're gonna fix this.

You are a lot smarter than I am.

Thank you, Jack.

We appreciate your feedback very much.

Especially that last part.

No, I'm kidding.

But thank you for your participation.

All right, colleagues, um, now we will hear about the open space ordinance.

Uh we have uh directors from three departments or uh two departments and then one from uh uh senior attorney from legal to walk us through this.

As you know, as we've been discussing, we've we're in a very budget tight, tight budget period.

And this is one of the revenue sources for for parks.

And uh you district council members know because this money from the open space ordinance, the fee in lieu of that the developers pay help find a lot of improvements in parks.

So I am very interested in opening up this ordinance to see what improvements we can make so it better serves our city and our parks.

So this will be the first of many meetings, the first of at least a few meetings on revisions to the open space ordinance.

So with that, I will pass it to Director Tran of the planning department to set up the history and how this all came to be.

Good morning, Chair Alcorn, Vice Chair Castilla, and Chair Flickinger and Council members.

Thank you for this opportunity to present an overview of the parks and private parks ordinance to this joint committee on budget and fiscal affairs and government operations.

I am Von Tran, Director of the Planning and Development Department.

Next slide.

Okay.

Today's presentation will cover three parts.

First, I'll provide a brief background and an overview of the ordinance.

Next, Director Director Parks Director Kenneth Allen will share an update on the parks and recreation dedication fund, including planned projects and example of expenditures.

Finally, Legal Section Chief Tammy Kim will summarize recent changes to the Texas local government code that affect this ordinance.

Please forward to slide four.

In 2003, the Trust for Public Land set a national standard of 25.5 acres of parked land per 1,000 residents.

Houston met this standard when counting city parks, county parks, and Lake Houston Park.

However, a task force recommended requiring future residential developments to set aside 10 acres per 1,000 residents.

The purpose of the parks and private parks ordinance is to ensure adequate parks recreation and open space as Houston continues to grow and densify.

Next slide.

In 2001, City Council adopted the Parks Master Plan, a 20-year vision where parks are needed.

In 2007, the plan was updated.

City Council passed amendments to Chapter 42 with the Parks and Private Parks Ordinance.

The ordinance created the park and recreation dedication fund.

The funds collects fees from new residential developments in lieu of land dedication.

Funds collected may be used to acquire land, build new parts, or improve existing parts.

The master plan was updated again in 2015, and most recently in 2023.

Next slide.

Originally, Houston had 17 park sectors.

This was expanded to 21 in 2010.

This map shows Houston's current 21 park sectors.

A key requirement for the dedication fund is that fees must be spent within the same sector where they are collected.

Next slide.

Developers must dedicate land, pay a fee in lieu, or use a combination within the park sector.

The land dedication formula is 10 times the number of dwelling units times 1.8 divided by 1,000.

The minimum size for land dedication is one half acre inside loop 610 and one acre outside loop 610.

Next slide.

Credited to the sector's fund.

Fee adjustment may be recommended based on land values.

The ordinance requires an annual report showing collections, expenditures, and land value changes.

Any proposed increase must go through a public hearing and approved by city council.

Next slide.

The ordinance provides full credits for private park land, low and moderate income single family lots, green belts along creek beds, and land that links to parks.

Funds collected must be obligated within three years of the development completion and used only for acquisition and improvements, not for maintenance or staff overhead.

Indirect costs are capped at 5%.

Next slide.

The park dedication must meet location requirements to ensure easy access.

Acceptance is based on size, configuration, physical characteristics, and environmental suitability.

Administration responsibilities are as such.

The planning department handles plating.

The parks department manages funds according to the master plan.

The parks director oversees compliance and appeals.

Next slide.

In summary, the parks and private parks ordinance ensures that as Houston grow, we maintain adequate parks, recreation, and open space.

The park and recreation dedication fund allows the city to acquire land and develop park facilities to meet the needs of a growing population.

This concludes the overview of the parks and private park ordinance.

I will now step aside for Director Kenneth Allen to present next.

Thank you, Director Fenn.

Pleasure to be here.

This overview of the parks and recreation dedication fund.

Moving forward to slide 13.

Since 2007, approximately 100,000 has been correct.

I'm sorry, 100 million dollars has been collected in the parks and recreation dedication fund.

The fund currently has $36 million targeted for park improvements and land acquisitions and projects.

And to date, the department has invested over $47 million from the park dedication fund and park improvements, park improvement projects, and land acquisition.

For context, you know, fiscal year 25, we collected a total of 6.7 million.

Um annually, we expect this trend to uh continue.

Slide 14.

Overall, the funding has significant significantly improved and enhanced our park system over the years since uh 07, and funding has been uh directed to support enhancement and upgrades of 199 of 383 parks.

This represents a 52 percent of all parks citywide.

Priority projects uh include renovating neighborhood and pocket parks, as well as upgrades to uh neighborhood tennis courts, playgrounds, and basketball pavilions.

Slide 15.

This slide actually highlights some of the upcoming targeted uses for the park dedication fund, including Mayor Whitmar's Let's Play Houston initiative, which will improve 25 neighborhood parks throughout Houston.

Um this collaboration with Houston Parks Board of Improvements, I think Justin Schultz is here today, has been really uh impressive in my opinion for improving neighborhood parks.

Eleven of the Less Plate Houston parks are currently in design, and construction will be underway by the end of the year as phase one.

And then many playgrounds in our system were installed in 1995, making them 30 years old past their past their useful uh life.

Addressing this need continues to be our top priority, or one of our top priorities for the department and the city.

We have 10 playgrounds outside of Les Play Houston that will be replaced using park dedication funds.

Also, these dollars to leverage, we use these dollars to leverage matching funds to secure local and state grants as well as federal grants, and to implement it actually help us implement a more comprehensive park improvements when we partner using these funds.

And to support partnership projects with tours, also Harris County management districts, and collaborative investment in parks.

We are able to partner to get more out of the use of these funds, uh, which has been extremely helpful on project citywide.

And then finally, the capital projects in terms of replacement of lightings projects, targeted use for funds to address safety and to also enhance the park user experience.

I also want to note for an example, we've partnered with the Gulfgate Redevelopment Authority to improve four city parks throughout that tourist boundary using portions of park dedication funds.

Next slide, please.

The ordinance also allows us to acquire land and public park, you know, for public park purposes as mentioned.

Since 2009, the Department has acquired 65 acres of park land, utilizing 14 million from the uh park dedication fund.

This is an average of 215,000 per acre.

Next slide, please.

Per artiness, per artists, developers have the option to dedicate parkland instead of uh paying a fee as mentioned.

A little over 55 acres has been dedicated by developers.

That's 47.8 acres for private parks and 7.3 acres as public parks.

Using the average cost per acre, this represents an 11.8 million dollar investment by developers.

Slide 18.

So the Parks of Recreation Dedication Fund has really been a lifeline for the health of our park system, along with other uh projects, of course.

But the next few slides will illustrate some of the projects we have completed.

Uh the photo of uh Windsor Park, it's a 12-acre neighborhood park in the in the acres homes community uh of District B, slide 19.

Windsor Park was uh revitalized with a with a with a beautiful entryway and a splash pad, slide 20.

Uh the new playground and exercise area, new um picnic shelters, uh slide 21.

It's this is an aerial view that shows the uh newly resurfaced tennis court and uh new walkways and connections.

B.

B.

Yeah.

Uh next slide, please.

You know.

Concerning park dedication funds, we're also uh used to support the 50-50 uh neighborhood park partnership program, uh which improved 22 city parks in partnership with the Houston Parks Board and the Corporate Committee, I mean corporate community, we we were able to expand what we were doing at those 22 parks, neighborhood parks.

Nieto Park is located in Council District H, uh, which was one of the parks that benefited from this fund.

Here you could see the uh just outdated play equipment.

Uh we replaced the playground.

Uh we have a new um spray ground, picnic shelters were renovated, also a new exercise station was added along with new picnic tables and benches.

Sorry, Director, I'm gonna have to move you on.

They're beautiful.

Show the pictures.

We got it.

We got we got to move on.

Oh, that was the end anyway.

Um thank you so much.

Uh the pictures are important because this money is important.

Um I have a question before you get started, um, Ms.

Kim, either for Director Tran or Director Allen.

Have we, other than add a few or three or four or however many um sectors, has this ordinance been touched in nearly 20 years?

Since 2007, has the fee always been $700 since 2007?

The fee has always been $700, and we touched the ordinance uh in 2000, help me.

I think 10 you added some sections.

Yes, but the fee has been $700, and that fee, according to ordinance, is based on appraised values.

And I would certainly think that appraised values have increased since 2007.

Yet we have not touched the fee.

Okay.

Just wanted to get that out there.

Um I'm gonna let some people ask a few questions before because uh because what what Ms.

Kim is going to talk about is pretty technical based on um state code.

So if we could get some general questions about the ordinance out now, um or go ahead.

Let let me let me let um Tammy Kim go ahead, because this is really important.

This is some uh change based at the State Legislature that was made.

We'll let her do this part of the part of the presentation, and then we'll go to questions.

Excuse me, before you start, uh I'll be remiss if I didn't if I did not acknowledge um planning, GSD, Houston Parks Board, uh, my team that worked day-to-day to accomplish the projects on the table.

So thank thank you all for working uh to make to make this happen.

Yes, I see you all out there.

You go in my general thank you bucket.

Okay, Ms.

Kim.

So I think it's technically still the morning.

So good morning, Council members and members of the joint committee.

I am Tammy Kim, Section Chief of Real Estate and the Legal Department.

And I'll briefly walk us through um Chapter 212 of the Texas Local Government Code as it affects the city's park dedication authority.

So the provision of 212 became effective on January 1st, 2024, and it applies to those cities with populations over 800,000, which includes Houston.

Before any city can impose a fee under this chapter, several threshold requirements must be met.

And this includes holding public hearings to designate all areas within the city as either suburban, urban, or central business district, notifying appraisal districts, calculating an average land value within each of those districts, establishing both a dwelling unit factor and density factor, and as detailed in the statute.

These steps are mandatory and failure to comply could expose the city to legal challenges or limit our ability to impose park dedication.

Next slide, please.

TIT 12 applies specifically to multifamily, hotel and motel developments.

It prohibits this requirements on purely commercial projects, but there is no prohibition against single family developments.

The bottom half of this slide addresses both land dedication and fee and loo as the statute imagines scenarios where cities can require either pure uh land dedication, just a fee and loo or a combination of both.

First, I'll go through the dedication uh requirements in the chapter.

The bottom half, the bottom right-hand side.

Uh Chapter 212 places clear statutory limits on land dedication and most notably land dedication may not exceed 10 percent of the development area.

Across the board, landowner is entitled to make an application to the city to know what the dedication requirements will be within 30 days if the city does not provide them an answer.

The municipality does not get the right to impose this land dedication anymore.

The statute also imagines options where a developer may dedicate a portion of the land and pay a reduced fee.

However, if the city accepts this option of dedication, the value of the land must be subtracted from the resulting um fee calculation.

And importantly, if that calculation results in a negative number, the statute entitles the developer to the difference.

Um this represents obviously a significant procedural change and has a direct implication for the city.

The bottom left-hand side of that slide talks about the different types of fee imagined in 212.

And the first is a fee that exceeds 2 percent of median family income.

This option, if the city were choose to implement it, requires a more complex calculation.

It is more difficult to administer, although there are carve outs for affordable housing.

The alternative fee is a low fee uh option or a minimum fee option, and this is capped at being under 2 percent of the median family income.

Based on our calculations briefly, that should be approximately 1,260 per dwelling unit.

This approach offers a more predictable and administratively straightforward um way to implement.

Regardless of the choice of fee, there's also a big change, the timing, the collection of the fee.

Currently, we collect the fee the time the application is submitted.

212 requires us to assess the fee when it's submitted, but we cannot collect it until the developer receives her CO.

So we need to understand the impact of that timing on our budgets and on our planning as we prepare with the um improvements needed with these fees.

Next slide, please.

So this uh slide just briefly touches on the pure cities who have responded or who have not.

Um covers Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio.

Right now, Dallas appears to be the only city who has implemented a form of this minimum fee on motel and hotel developers.

Um they have different formulas for multifamily um and single family.

And San Antonio does not seem to have made any change to their current ordinances.

Final slide.

So Houston must align our ordinance with the state law to maintain parity and protect its park dedication authority.

The immediate next step before council is to amend those provisions of the code to bring them into compliance with Chapter 212.

And compliance is required for the city not only to minimize litigation risk, but ultimately preserve our ability to fund and provide parkland and park facilities for its residents.

So thank you for um the time and the opportunity to present this together with planning and parks, and we hope it was informative as to being a snapshot of where we are.

With that.

Thank you, Ms.

Kim.

Very much appreciated.

Mayor Pro Tem.

Director Allen, if you look on page 17, where you talked about the total 55.5 acres dedicated.

So when the developer dedicates that land, is it like land adjacent to their their project, or it can be anywhere?

How does how does that work?

It could be anywhere in the park sector.

So it doesn't have to be adjacent to their property unless unless they are doing a private park, you know, within that within that development.

Okay.

So they just say I own this land too, so in lieu of I want to just dedicate this land to be part of the park space.

Correct.

Okay.

We of course have to accept it and make sure that is something that we want.

Right.

We're not going to just take any land that you give us.

It looks like the seven acres have been done that way.

The majority is the private parks that they do, like their development.

Vice Chair Castillo.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you all for the update.

Slide A fees in lieu, uh, the third bullet point adjustments based on appraised land value.

How often have those adjustments uh been utilized?

Not since we have created the ordinance in 2007.

So they have never been utilized.

Okay.

Thank you.

That's why I want to take a look at this ordinance.

Um Councilmember Kamen.

Thank you.

Uh thank you all to each of the departments.

Chair, thank you for leading on this important effort to update.

Um bad news, the State is once again uh targeting major cities.

I think this bill was authored by somebody that lives in not a single one of the cities that are targeted by this.

Um I guess the good news is it hasn't been updated in so long that this gives us that opportunity.

Do we see the a larger amount of investment coming in as we update this, or are we going to lose more?

So, based on the new calculation that we have to go by, are we going to lose more or are we going to gain?

That's going to be the next step.

We need to do some analysis.

Okay.

Um again, I that's my biggest concern, and I was going to ask at the beginning, the pictures look great.

I saw with some of the newer parks, shade structures.

And Director Allen, you know my big push now with climate changes.

Anything new we are putting in, we have got to make sure we have the shade, because even with the type of materials that we are using, the equipment is too hot for the kids to play on a lot of the time.

Uh can you talk really quickly about the increased costs of park equipment and just what a shade structure alone costs?

Just you know, from products and park and enhancements and improvements with everything, there's been an escalation over the last three years.

Um I don't know the specific percentage, but I know it's cost us a lot more to put in whether it's shade or whether it's playground, you name it.

Um I can get you the exact figure for the shade structures, but they are key elements to make it sure that kids are safe, especially during the summer months.

Yeah.

And I I raise that only because again, as we start to calculate the cost of new parks, I really want to encourage us as a city to be incorporating that shade almost as a required component for safety at this point, um, just like we do with drainage, just like we do with other things.

Again, that's that's more of a burden on the city, and I recognize that, which is why I'm asking the question about how this new law, statewide law, is gonna impact us financially, because it is costing us more.

Uh and it is with equipment that we need to keep our kids safe and healthy.

Yeah.

We build in some contingencies when we when we plan uh when we when we create the budget.

Um, but for the most part, you know, after after a year and a half of planning, design, and permitting, if we don't have the contingency costs has gone up.

Right.

Just with that.

Well, we appreciate all the departments working together and everything that y'all are doing.

Councilmember Flickinger.

Looking at the formula that you have got if I have got a 200 unit multifamily complex I am building.

Comes out to 3.6 acres.

How much does that cost me as a developer?

That's a good question.

One that I don't have based on acre.

If you can help me with that, I'll appreciate it.

I don't have the calculation for the acres, but if you were to pay the fee in lieu, $700 times 200 units, 140,000.

Okay.

So 140,000 or what my guess is the 140,000 is always the cheaper.

Absolutely.

This money goes to acquiring new parks and also to improving the existing parks?

Yes.

When we acquire new parks, obviously we increase your operating expenses.

Correct.

But we are not allowed to use any of this money for operating expenses, correct?

Correct.

So I assume that kind of puts you in a bind.

Correct.

Okay.

Thank you.

Councilmember Ramirez.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you all for the presentation.

Director Allen, I wanted to ask you a question about slide 13, if we could pull that up.

This says that since 2007, 100 million dollars have been collected under this ordinance, of which 47 million has been spent on improvements.

And 36 million projects committed.

When we say projects committed, what what stage are those projects?

They vary between what has been allocated and what we plan to use, use it for.

We have targeted specific parks and sectors that we can address, we can address.

Let me get to the slide.

So obligate it, it's really encumbered.

We have that actually encumbered for the improvements.

And then commit it.

It is just placed on a on a whole because we know we are going to get to that project.

We are targeting that, the funds to use for a specific project.

And how can we get those projects underway more quickly?

You know, that's a great question.

We work with GSD, we work with our partners.

Uh Houston Parks Board is a prime example of how we have addressed 25 parks in 203 or 24 within a couple of years, and now we're targeting another 25 park under the mayor's Let's Play Houston initiative.

So we are in design with those next 11 parks, uh and we will start construction at the end of the year.

So having partners to help you manage through the projects, it definitely helps us speed it speed things up.

Well, we're appreciative of the parks board certainly for their contribution.

Now, if you do the math, and I may have missed it during your presentation.

If you do the math, there is $13 million that it is not in either one of those two buckets.

What has become of that $13 million?

Yeah, that $13 million is $13, $14 million is what is what is left in the fund right now?

So it's just sitting there waiting to be able to do that.

It needs to be in the next three years, we're hoping to really eat into that, uh working with partners and identifying other park um amenities that we could focus on.

I mean, our playgrounds, like I said, is a major, a major uh target for improvement, and then our regional parks and community parks need a little bit of help too.

But we have we have to really eat into completing projects that are on the table now.

Okay, thank you for that.

And if I could ask uh Tammy a question about slide 25.

This was the one where you explained that uh uh the developer may dedicate a portion of the development, and the city might in some instances have to pay the difference at the time uh the interest is recorded.

Yes, that's correct.

So who who has control over that process?

Uh is it solely within the developer's control?

The developer has the option of opting for that if the calculation results in something obviously favorable.

The the difficulty with the state law is that it consists of the little bit.

The difficulty with the state law is that it considers uh the land value in the calculation now as updated regularly by the appraisal districts, which wasn't a factor in the past.

And so does the city have any say in how much gets uh dedicated?

Um we have to limit it to no more than being 10 percent of the land itself.

And if the developer chooses to not dedicate it at all, I don't want to dedicate all 10 percent.

I will apply some of this minimum.

It's also the minimum fee that gets applied.

I also track the minimum fee that is due.

And if the value of my land is more than the minimum fee, then I am entitled to that credit.

This statute is obviously um encouraging cities to choose the minimum fee instead of requiring land dedication.

Okay.

I'll go back in the queue.

Um I'm sorry, Councilmember Ramirez, because we have I I know I said we had more time on this one, but we'll write down these questions.

I just have uh a couple.

Um on the sectors, uh we are I wanted to ask um you, Ms.

Kim, uh we are required by state law to keep the money within the sector, or is there leeway there?

Oh, I I'd have to go back to look at that.

I don't think there was a specification about keeping it with the So money is collected in one sector could potentially go towards the I'll have to really answer that.

No.

It's got to be used within the city.

It has to be used with by state code.

I think or is that just our policy?

Well, well, y'all get back to me on that.

And and director, um, what would be your preference as far as the sectors go?

Do you do these set are these sectors these have been around for you know 20 years?

Are they right?

Do we need to move the boundaries?

Do we need to look at more uh a different a different sector model?

Um what's your opinion on the sectors?

My professional opinion, you know, in some sectors we we may have two parks, right?

In other sectors, we may have eight.

So if there's a lot of develop development in the sector with two parks, we can't use it right now in any other sector.

And then there's little development in the sector with eight parks, and we it's uneven.

So a way for us to we have to continue an analysis, but a way for us to equity from an equ equitable standpoint, uh collect money from all sectors and use them.

My opinion is that it'll be nice to do that.

That would be advantageous.

Thank you very much.

I appreciate all of you and colleagues.

I again I'm sorry this meeting was is so lengthy, but but um I appreciate it.

We want to get to the public speakers on this item.

We do have some, and I I have to limit you to one minute.

I apologize.

Um I'll go ahead and start calling Ed Pett with Friends of Columbia Tap.

Good to see you, Ed.

Talk fast.

Thank you.

Um I'll just forgo my notes since I didn't do them for one minute.

But uh to answer your last question, it's city ordinance that determined those boundaries.

And we could change that.

We could change the boundaries themselves.

We could also put in something that says we can spend 20 percent outside the boundaries like you did for the sidewalk ordinance.

The problem with the existing boundaries is that they're basically a dartboard of highways.

We use the highways to define the park's boundaries, and those highways were built on discriminatory highway development in the 1950s and 60s that went through black and brown neighborhoods tearing down houses because they were the neighborhoods of least resistance.

And now we've used those same boundaries to trap these fees in loo to only be spent in those neighborhoods that are having the most residential development.

So we basically told neighborhoods like Third Ward, the East End that you're not gentrified enough to have fees to acquire new parks.

One thing that I didn't notice in this presentation is how much has the city spent on park land acquisition, because this money isn't meant to do deferred maintenance on playgrounds and tennis courts.

The spirit of it was to expand parks.

I'm not talking about the acres of the city.

And we do we do have seen some backup on on what we've acquired so I can get that to you.

But thank you, Ed.

I know you've been talking about this for a long time with me, and I appreciate your advocacy.

Thank you.

Well next, um Beck Edwards.

Stefania Tomoskovic with SEER.

Good to see you.

Good afternoon, Council.

Um I'm here today.

My name is Stefania Tomaskovic.

I'm the director of SEER, the Coalition for Environment Equity and Resilience.

And we work to raise awareness of pollution place and public health.

And in the park space, what we want to do is ensure that the City of Houston, um the City of Houston creates a fair and just distribution of parks, screen spaces, and recreational resources for all Houstonians.

So I'm here today to express my support in raising the INLU fee because if you think about just inflation itself, a $700 fee in 2007 is at least 1,200 today.

So that that rate increase is incredibly important.

But also, as was mentioned by the previous speaker, what we'd like to see is not just an increase, but an equitable distribution of the funding, allowing for at least a 70-30 split like the sidewalk ordinance.

Thank you very much.

Appreciate your comments.

Hermani Bañas.

Boy, he was here at the very beginning, even early.

Thanks for sticking it out.

I noticed that benchmarking was used in one of the slides to compare with other cities.

I think that we ought to look at it from a zero um base um budgeting basis and try to focus in on the city not needing um uh money from philanthropic um uh agencies and the developers and come up with that number to compare it to what the twelve hundred number that we have.

And then the other thing that I think um because of all the things the other people have said, we need to have more community um um uh participation in determining this thing.

We can't just let the philanthropic and the developers uh decide where the parks go.

That's my comments.

Thank you very much.

Always good to hear from you.

Brandi Trevino with Racist Collaborative Oh, Brandy.

Oh, Randy, sorry.

Gotta wear my glasses.

And I think Beck Edwards joined.

So oh Randy, we'll have you first.

Thank you.

Um my name is Adam Trevino.

I'm director of the RACIS Collab project based out of Southeast Houston.

And I'm also here to uh support the the raised in uh fee that is charged for based off of the appraised value.

Um since not even 2007, probably 2017, 2018, my personal property taxes have gone up by at least $500 per month if in that time.

And so I think that if individuals such as myself are contributing more to um the betterment of our community then developers who are making a profit out of this can also um contribute a higher amount.

Um I agree with the collaboration with community groups is really essential to make sure that communities that are m lacking in parks or high quality parks are also helped.

Um our organization is working right now to ideally find a space in a in a local park so that we can create an edible garden.

Um and that way it's uh compounding contributions to our community as well.

Thank you very much for your advocacy advocacy.

Thank you.

Beck Edwards, I'll come back to you.

Are you online?

I'm worried about what Jack said that it doesn't really work.

We've got to check that out.

Beck.

Uh yeah, I'm online if you can.

Okay, great.

I can hear you.

Go ahead.

One minute.

Well, yeah.

So um my name is Beck Edwards, and I'm an undergraduate senior at Rice University.

Um, and I'm here to introduce um kind of this idea that's been brought up about um, you know, redistricting like these park sectors.

Um so there's actually I'm running a student project this year on on Rice campus with a team of seven Rice uh engineering students to um collaborate with SEER to kind of like build a mathematical optimization model um to generate like alternative boundaries, um just as kind of like um you know a research offering into this idea.

Um and so this this project is gonna be going on from uh February first to April 19th, and um there's a possibility of kind of like continuation over the summer or future semesters, and this is really just to kind of get into that that idea in that realm of um you know redistricting these and um kind of having a research and an optimization backed idea of um of what that would look like.

Um thank you very much, Beck, for calling in, and thanks for the work you're doing at Boris.

Next, Becky Smith with Clean Water Action, also virtual.

She's not called in.

Not yet in Dominic Mazak is not here.

Andy Escobar with SEER.

Hey y'all, um good afternoon.

My name is Andy Escobar.

Happy uh new year, happy Black History Month.

Um really want to echo the sentiments that have been shared before.

We absolutely need to raise this fee.

Um it's absurd that it hasn't been raised in 2007.

We know that Houston is trailing some of the other big cities in terms of access to parks and green spaces, and I want to see us um do better and be better.

Um, and we know that if we can put some of those funds into the reallocation uh budget and make it more equitable across the sectors, we can make a lot of changes.

So um, I know that parks are also something that we can all pretty much agree on.

Right.

No one's against the park usually.

So um really excited that we get to talk about this.

Thank you for bringing this up and um let's get to work.

Thank you very much.

I appreciate it.

Camberly Phipps Nichols.

Afternoon, Council.

Thank you very much.

Uh Kimberly Phipps Nickel.

I am a resident of Park Sector 14.

So uh thank you, um Council Kamen for being my rep.

Um, and uh I get to live next door to Levy Park, but I work in third ward, and the people that I serve do not have these kinds of amenities as access, and so again, coming in with support as as you're looking to bring our parks ordinance in line with uh LGC 212 and look at what these ordinance requirements are.

I would um encourage you to consider exempting parks spending from the revenue cap like we do for public safety, passing a charter amendment to create additional maintenance funds to ensure separation of maintenance and improvements and be very clear about the accountability required for that.

Instead of park sectors, consider creating a citywide park district so that we don't have these old um barriers to uh spending the funds and uh increasing the fee and loo.

Thank you.

Send that in to all of us.

Those were some good suggestions.

Uh we appreciate it.

All right.

I will happily relinquish my chair to Councilmember Flickinger who will uh lead us in the solid waste discussion Welcome, Director Larry and Chief of Staff Veronica Lizama.

Did I get that right?

That's correct.

Okay, terrific.

Um you want to go ahead with your presentation?

Yes, sir.

Good afternoon, Chair, committee, council members.

Uh we'll dive right into it.

Um first slide, please.

Uh the transitioning of heavy trash to a scheduled service.

So what we've um come to find out since my tenure as director of solid waste, that the um current services that we offer are not up to the standards that the citizens deserve.

And we're doing everything we can to mitigate those problems.

So one thing that we wanted to do was implement a new program of collecting heavy trash on a scheduled service.

Uh the reason why we came up with this idea was the previous system was not suitable at a citywide scale.

Crews are driving every street, whether the trash was set out or not.

Delays and backlogs impact neighborhoods, and residents ask for more predictability and accountability.

Next slide, please.

How does this work?

How residents request a heavy trash collection.

So the initial call will be a 311 uh to submit a service request.

Uh the request it comes into our department.

We will request uh it when request is reviewed, and it will be scheduled per the resident.

The resident is notified of the scheduled date.

The collection will be completed within five working days of the scheduled date provided.

Each address may request up to four collections curb side per calendar year.

Next slide, please.

The implementation of this program.

We have been um we had a kickoff at the beginning of the year, somewhat at the end of last year.

Um we were fortunate and blessed to piggyback off of uh public works uh work order system.

Uh this is the first time that Solid Waste has a work order system um in our department.

We're undergoing software testing.

Uh we're in the right in the middle of driver training as well.

We're gonna have uh this is the first time we've announced the program.

We have community outreach, and hopefully we'll get the first schedule pickup to launch on March the 2nd.

Next slide, please.

A great asset to this program in which we don't feel like we we've done a great job at promoting is our residential drop-off centers uh known as the depositories.

Um we've gone to several uh speaking engagement, HOA, city civic clubs, and one thing that we found out that a lot of our residents don't know a lot about our uh residential drop-off centers slash uh depositories.

Um we have uh six neighborhood depositories, residential drop-off centers that are located throughout the entire city, and that they are able to take residential trash at these depositories so that residents don't have to leave curb side heavy trash in front of their houses for many days and sometimes months.

Next slide, please.

Process efficiencies and route optimization.

Um we did do is uh collection of trash and recycling.

We've done uh a great job.

Uh I can't thank the men and women of solid waste management for um the the first six months that I was in office, we were plagued with the recycling and trash pickup of the cans on the road, and I can honestly say now that those problems don't exist in our department anymore.

Um, and that was due to the fact of uh the utilization of um using a work order system that was in place, which is uh route wear, um accurate tracking of service requests.

We actually balance the um the routes so each driver has the opportunity to complete their route in an efficient amount of time uh and and for for work life balance and also plan refinements using performance data.

So we implemented standard operating procedures for each driver uh to set a minimum of collecting 950 cans per day.

Um that gives them opportunity to go to strive for every single day.

Next slide, please.

The cost service today, so the Burns and McDonald's study has uh been complete.

Uh it shows the independent cost service analysis that is completed.

It evaluated service models and what uh what are the cost drivers and also uh findings under internal review once that is released.

Um you actually get to see what we sat down with them and what we discovered as far as um staffing, what vehicles we need, so on and so forth.

Next slide, please.

Recycling program update.

Um we are happy to report that our contamination has reduced from 49% to 38.7 percent.

Uh one thing is we're gonna continue to do is ongoing education and monitoring, and also um we're still having midweek wait times remain elevated at FCC due to several reasons.

It could be traffic, it could be weather, it could be due to the tipping floor being uh full from third-party vendors.

We still have a somewhat of a slight uh waiting problem with uh our recycling uh drop-off center.

Next slide, please.

The heavy trash contractor update.

Uh we were fortunate to utilize um a contractor that was brought on from Hurricane Barrel.

And um we were authorized to use two million dollars for the contractor support.

They had six trucks that are active.

We started on December 3rd with a two-week holiday pause.

Uh we've used approximately 33% of the funding as of January 28, 2026.

The contractor have collected a total of 3,255 tons of residential heavy waste.

Next slide, please.

Landfill and transfer stations.

Um the McCarty landfill has approximately nine years of remaining capacity.

Blue Ridge Landfield has 73 years of remaining capacity, Tasca Seda recycling disposed, have 16 years of remaining capacity.

Fairbanks landfill 30 years of remaining capacity.

Uh the city transfer stations, we have two open transfer stations managed by Republic Service, uh, one Republic transfer station, a few days per week, one management transfer station in the South.

Gasmer Transfer Station, the bid was canceled and funding requested in the FY27 CIP for reconsideration.

Next slide, please.

Just give you an update.

The grant funding supports a multi family recycling pilot with Council Member Cayman's office.

Additional funding opportunities under review.

Also we've been doing a lot of internal process improvements from a communication standpoint.

One thing that we wanted to do was actually have someone internally that can answer questions that need to know update information.

So we have hired um two uh individuals to be able to serve as a point of contact for solid waste that they can call a number um to get real time accurate information and data for any services that we provide.

And now we can take questions.

Okay, Councilman Martinez.

Thank you, Chair.

Uh Director, um it's great to hear uh about the on-demand uh heavy trash pickup.

Yes, sir.

Uh this is a budget amendment that I've submitted the last two years, so it's nothing new.

I think we all have been talking about it for some time.

And then as a staffer, uh we submitted it at least two or three years as a budget amendment.

So it's it really isn't anything new.

I think it's just taking that step to start uh implementing.

Yes, sir.

Um I know we had conversations about a pilot program.

Yes, sir.

Um I will be honest and just be transparent uh to the public.

I feel worried about starting something citywide.

Um I feel like you know, we we can, we should be able to do it, but at the same time, yes, sir.

Uh the concerns about um folks that you mentioned, not even not even knowing about depositories.

Um, you know, with uh the changes in when um recycle has been uh you know delayed.

Um right now folks just don't know what's happening with with uh with solid waste.

Um I say that because uh this was a budget amendment that I I put out because I didn't want to have a fiscal impact.

Um I want to talk about the the actual cost, right?

Um of what we need to be doing.

So first we definitely need to ensure that any operational changes that we can do, let's exhaust all of those options.

So on demand, let's change that habit.

Let's change it for Eastonians.

Uh but at the end of the day, the cost to uh uh maintain these transfer stations, uh we purchased several uh recycling trucks.

It still costs money to maintain those, so we purchased them, but now what how we're gonna uh fulfill the dollars to be able to uh maintain those those heavy trucks.

Uh staff, we've been hearing a lot more conversations from around uh a lot of your team members about uh pay, um the workload.

Um and so I still uh there is two other um budget items that I submitted that I would like for your department and of course administration to take a look at.

Uh the first one was the one-time fee for new residential developers.

Um we know that we've increased the number of uh customers.

Yes, sir.

Uh we've homes are popping up everywhere throughout the city of Houston.

Uh the one-time fee that I was submitting was $28, something like what you would pay for uh whenever you would turn on your your gas or water.

Um it's a small amount, but it's amount that tackles the financial part uh part of it.

And the other one is the trash fee.

Um I I'm not gonna stop harping on a trash fee.

We can continue to uh exhaust all options when it comes to the operation.

I think we need to continue to do that.

I think what you've been doing has been helpful.

Let's include that technology that we know we've had for years.

Uh let's start using it.

Um but at the end of the day, um, in order to continue to address the maintenance aspect of solid waste, in order to address the uh the pay that we need to pay our solid waste uh employees, uh we're gonna have to ultimately uh look at what every pretty much every other municipality around the city of Houston has, which is a trash fee.

That's in Pasadena, that's in Friendswood, Parrand, and that's just on the south side where I'm closest to in district guide, but on the north part of uh north part of uh Houston or northern Houston, we have this trash fee that quite frankly we're not utilizing here at the City of Houston.

And and so I commend you for wanting to do this.

We need to be all hands on deck to get this information out to constituents because I do uh there's a little bit of nervousness for me.

Um this is something that again I've been wanting to see happen for years.

Uh, but as long as we can roll that out and make sure again all hands are on deck with not just the council members but constituents uh and your team to make sure that that messaging, I saw the timeline.

Um is pretty aggressive.

I commend you.

Uh but wherever we could be helpful in making sure that folks know that this shift to on-demand heavy trash, which I'm excited about, uh actually uh becomes a win for everybody.

So thank you very much, sir.

Councilwoman Peck.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Director, for the presentation.

Um, a couple of questions for the scheduled service for heavy trash.

But just a quick question on that, the four collections per year at each address.

Does that start over again if someone sells the house and now there's new owners, or it's just four times or per residence.

Uh the the what we're having right now, the issues that we're having, the current model that we are on, we're riding uh in certain council districts where uh the placement rate is higher in some areas and not so much in other areas.

So where the placement rate is really low, we're riding streets that have no heavy trash on them, and we're spending weeks there.

And I I don't know if everyone understands that in our department is split in the different service lines.

In the heavy trash section, it's only like sixty-eight people total.

So we deploy on paper on a perfect day, we can deploy 27 crews with FMLA calls in, call-ins, vacation.

We're averaging about 20 crews in a city this size.

So if we go into an area where the placement rate is rather low, we're riding in that map, and we're neglecting areas where we could have been.

So that is one of the things that we're looking forward to.

Just getting some hardcore data.

So to answer your question, it will be per resident.

And if we have it has to be workarounds because it's a brand new implementation.

So if a residents have been sitting up, been there for 10 years, they sell their home, got new service come in, that's something that we would have to restart for that new that those new customers.

Because that's not fair that a previous resident use all of their four curbside.

Okay, thank you.

Yes, ma'am.

Um for the tracking system of um service requests, so we're not using paper maps anymore.

No, ma'am.

No, ma'am.

We are trying to get away from the paper map system uh so that we can again actually track and also with the new work order system, we're able to capture before pictures, after pictures, so that we have um secretly been working for third party contractors.

Most of the residents we pull up to probably I I would say every bit of 40 percent or commercial heavy trash that we're picking up.

I've actually witnessed, you know, individuals with a trailer dumping in front of the residents, and I stopped them.

I was like, hey, are you aware of the depositories?

Of course, they didn't know who I was, and it basically stated I'm not paying that fee to go take it to the landfill.

I was like, no, the depositories are free.

And it oh, but with the the the residential drop-off centers, and we got to promote that as a new language, but those are accessible to the public uh as well.

Thank you.

And I have a lot more questions, but in the interest of time, I'll get with you afterwards.

Thank you.

Councilwoman Kamen.

Director, this is terrific.

This is exciting news.

Um so I'm gonna say congratulations ahead of time just on us being willing to tackle, right, to sink our teeth into this issue and launch such an innovative program.

Yes, ma'am.

Um can you just for the average person, is there a distinction between heavy trash and tree and yard waste?

And how is that going to be addressed?

So the great that's a great question, Councilmember.

The great thing about the scheduling program, because each uh book waste and tree waste, we have two different crews that can address both of them.

So what we would like to do is take the tree waste to the tree waste vendor that we uh have been using instead of taking it, of course, it get mixed up to go to the landfill.

Right.

What the uh the uh opportunity when the resident gets uh appointment schedule, they let us know if it's book waste or tree waste.

So it can be distinguished.

So we can separate it.

Okay, perfect.

Um I have some follow-up questions on that.

Specifically, what do we communicate right now to residents?

I mean, even on my street, I have more yard waste and tree waste, filling up ditches.

Um, and I don't know what to tell our residents with that.

Um I know we're short on time, so I have a few other questions.

If but at the back, I'll ask my questions then if there's time, please please tell me.

But we want to get the word out because what do we do right now?

Okay.

Um thank you so much for spotlighting the pilot program.

Yes, ma'am.

The multifamily recycling pilot program, and I want to make sure it's clear this is a pilot program with grant funding, not city dollars.

Right.

And it does not in any way take away from recycling services that are currently going residential.

So it's not a diversion of any resources, both in personnel or costs.

Yes, ma'am.

Um but focusing on the timelines that you said one McCarty nine years, and it takes years to get a new landfill and hundreds of millions, I don't millions of dollars.

Um atas a CETA.

Sixteen years, we say, oh, that looks pretty good, but no, that's about my understanding the timeline to even get a new landfill.

So we have two landfills coming up on end of life as we're continuing to put more into the landfills, not diverting waste, either you know, tree and yard waste as well as recycling.

So can you talk a little bit about the con what we're facing there and how important it is for those divergence?

It's great to see with recycling um contamination rates are going down.

Yes, ma'am.

Uh but we need a lot more, because again with multifamily, everything is going to our landfill.

So if you can talk about that and what do we tell residents right now that just have piles, you know, sitting on their streets.

So the the main hub for yard waste uh along with everything else is 311 right now.

This the the second phase of after we tackle the the the heavy trash ordeal, we would be the same thing for yard waste.

We want residents to call in.

We have crews designated for each one of our service lines.

And the problem is when we first came in that we didn't have the adequate staff appropriated to each service that we render.

Um I could take the cam uh placement group, it was like four people in that whole group and no one knew that.

So for us to another reason why I'm saving the FTEs, because I need to make sure we're uh staffed appropriately for each one of those service lines.

Another part about the this first question you asked was about the educational piece of how we do clean recycling, how we divert things that can be recycled from the landfill.

So with uh implementing this work order system so that we can know what we're going to pick up, that helps us divert a lot of material from going to the landfills to preserve the life that that they have right now.

Thank you.

I I know my time is up, but again, uh this is very exciting.

Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am.

Mayor Pro Temp.

Director, can we talk about um how we're gonna communicate to Houstonians about the March 2nd start of the program?

Yes, ma'am.

That that that's a tentative date.

We are actually working, our communications team is working diligently now to launch this huge campaign over the next three weeks uh with B rolls, social media platforms, uh actually scheduling a meeting to sit down with each one of the council members to to launch this program to get your feedback.

We have a tentative date of March 2nd.

Uh we feel like we can um achieve that deadline.

But if we need to push back to make sure that the city is educated and all of the media uh gets a hold of it, we we we can.

That's just a date that we set for uh now to get it launched.

Okay.

So from now to until March the second, um, should residents still be putting out their heavy trash and their tree.

So we are still picking up on the regular pickup times ma'am.

But then starting March 2nd tentatively.

Tentatively, yes, ma'am.

Um you would have to call in to 311 to set your time for your pickup.

Yes, ma'am.

Okay.

The concern that I have is I'm I'm glad we're going to this because I think it's gonna be more efficient.

Yes, ma'am.

But for the people that I know that have abused the system for so long.

Yes, ma'am.

Um I say this all the time.

I can tell you who in the district is a carpenter, who does um plumbing, who does fence repair, because every month they have this contract and material out.

Yes, ma'am.

Um I hope that we don't see an increase in illegal dumping and that simultaneously we are promoting that people can take their stuff to the depositories.

Yes, ma'am.

But have we looked at um any partnerships with the landfills?

What I what I what I feel like we have is a barrier to taking their stuff to the landfill.

Yes, ma'am.

If I'm a if I do carpet and it's and I know that it costs me to go to the landfill, um, but I can put it in front of my house and get it taken up for free.

Have we looked at what would be the cost of just like we do at the depository if we had an a partnership with the landfill where that contractor can bring that stuff to the landfill, because I think that may be cheaper than picking up the illegal dumping across the city.

Yes, ma'am.

That's a great question, Mayor Pro Tem.

Uh one thing that we did do is we were partnered with HPD as well, uh, our enforcement team to actually issue warnings first before we issue citations, and to take your advice and partner with the landfills to see.

Uh I I have not explored that option yet, but I'm we we we will uh take that option because that would be so helpful to keep it off of media and things like that for illegal dumping because that that that's what we're facing right now is a lot of third party contractors.

So, yes, ma'am, I would take your advice and meet with those, the landfill owners.

Thank you.

Yes, ma'am.

Councilman Ramirez.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Director, for the presentation.

So this cost survey study that council approved and pay for and is now complete.

Yes, ma'am.

Yes, sir.

We haven't seen it.

Can you commit to sharing it with us as as soon as you can so that we can have the benefit of that information?

Yes, sir.

Wonderful.

Um let me talk about your slide that uh titled Heavy Trash Contractor Update.

Yes, sir.

So council has authorized two million for contractor support?

Yes, sir.

Thirty-three percent has been used as of the end of last month.

What what is the status of the the remaining funds under that contract?

Uh I can get you those exact numbers, sir.

Uh they came back at the beginning of the after the holidays.

Uh I think we're near completion.

Uh don't know the exact numbers, but I know they're near completion because we assigned them three more maps uh in the spring branch area.

So um I I can get you those numbers of where they are on the case.

I guess what I'm I guess what I'm asking is has the rest of that money been been uh allocated to particular vendors to to do some work or not, or is it just sitting in a fund somewhere?

Oh, it's been allocated.

It has.

Okay.

So that's taken care of.

It says six trucks are active.

Are these trucks that are owned by contractors or or some owned by the city?

Uh they're they're all on my contractors.

Uh the reason they could have deployed more, but because of um understanding how the funds would be spent, I requested that amount so that we can track to see what they can cover versus what we cover internally.

So it's kind of a uh uh a comparison or deal that we've done for the last three months.

So we're getting actual uh data to to show where we can get better or where they need to get better.

So uh those dollars are actually allocated.

All right.

Now, in in terms of this, uh going to the on-demand heavy trash pickup, we're going through a training period on drivers, is that right?

Yes, sir.

Uh how many uh drivers have completed the the program, the training program yet, if any?

So almost all of them, we have 60, uh about 68 to 70 something employees in that area.

Uh all of them are not uh crew leads, so about 30 of them are, and all thirty of them are going through the training right now because those will be the uh crew leads that actually take the data.

Those will be the ones using the tablets.

So all of them are going through training right now.

We expect the training to be complete by the mid of next week.

Uh all of the tablets have been deployed.

The work order system has uh we have done a couple of um pilots to see if it works.

So we suspect that by mid-week next week, they all will be fully trained.

And these are drivers?

Yes, sir.

Do we have trucks for them to drive?

Yes, sir.

All right, thank you.

Thank you.

Councilman Castillo.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you for the presentation.

Um I commend y'all for for trying to do something innovative with our heavy trash service and want to emphasize the point uh Mayor Pro Tem made on communication to the residents uh with your timeline, uh, the need for an all of the above approach, um, multiple languages, you know, water bill inserts, all the things that that will get the information out to the public, and and I absolutely want to help with District H in terms of that.

Yes, sir.

Um with route utilization, you talked about improvements there or optimization, I should say.

Are there technologies that are y'all are using to optimize the routes, or what specifically is being done in that in that area?

So the first thing that we did was most when we first came into office, a lot of the routes had uh a number that was not achievable by one single driver.

So what we did was took the software that we had internally that had not been utilized, we called the vendor in train all of us on on how we could use and optimize the routes in which we reduced the number of routes, which increased more routes, but it actually gave us an opportunity to basically shrink it to the size of our department so that it can be achievable.

So the software had been in place in the solid waste management department.

It just wasn't utilized to its full potential, and when we brought the vendors in, it actually showcased more of an asset that we actually needed, and it actually gave us an opportunity to uh be able to pick up the trash and recycling can-wise uh and in in a faster time than before.

That's that's great.

Thank you for the extra information.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Councilman Davis.

Thank you, uh, Brother Chair.

Um Brother Rector, thank you.

Congratulations to the development and the idea.

Uh just wanted to lift a few things.

Um in the position you in a time frame you in, it's a heavy live.

Yes, sir.

It's a heavy lift.

And we all understand that there are many tentacles to this process.

I'm learning as I came on some of those issues, as well as you know.

I um I rode with the uh you assisted with me as I got up in the early morning road with Brother Uh Jose, you know, and uh and really learned a lot.

But there's two sides, and I hope that all of us stand, we support solid ways, certainly the drivers, and you as the director.

But the truth of the matter is you have to look at both sides of it.

The part of the relevance as well as part of solid ways to deal with it.

So I'm grateful for the um the development of what you're doing, but also the other side of that is how the response come to all that everybody in the city has to do.

Yes, sir.

Um as you know, uh I implemented, of course, the approach of town hall meetings to inform the community because that's what most people need to be informed.

Yes, sir.

Uh if it's something new, creative or initiative.

So I I really embrace the the call on demand process as I'm learning it, but at the same time, um, we certainly want to keep um the morale and the assistance of the drivers and others, because I heard you you have to move people and considering people are sick, people on vacation, people that don't show up.

We have to take all that into consideration on a day-to-day.

Yes, sir.

So I do have a town hall meeting that's coming up on March, the I mean uh February the the the ninth.

And I look forward to that because I think those are the things that's going to get the community to be educated on what the process is going to do to better serve them because that's what it's all about.

So thank you again, my friend, and uh uh just keep up the good work, and I know it's a heavy lift, but I think we'll all get that together.

Yes, sir.

Thank you very much, sir.

Got a couple of questions.

Um first of all comment.

Uh the the idea of the on-demand, obviously the on-demand would address a lot of issues, which would be great.

I I can tell you I am very concerned about the implementation of it.

Yes, sir.

Uh I I hope that goes well.

Um trash sponsor sponsorship payments.

Uh we've got a backlog.

I've got a number of HOAs that says they haven't got paid in quite a while.

Is that your department that handles those payments?

How does that work?

Yes, sir.

Um over the past couple of months, us and finance have merged together to work through that process.

Um we we recently found out that we had uh a backlog of people that didn't get paid.

So that was just one of the challenges that I inherited uh once I got there.

So we're working diligently.

Could you email my office to contact so we can forward you the information we've gotten and you can uh address it?

Yes, sir.

I think uh Dustin emailed us this.

Okay, we've already got it.

Okay, terrific.

Thank you.

Yes, sir.

Uh the recycling center operations, you know, the uh Kingwood parking ride we used to do recycling.

Uh as of this morning, the recycling from this weekend still hadn't been picked up.

And because there was no containers brought out last week due to the weather, the volume was considerably larger.

Okay.

So not only are all the containers completely full, but there's a significant overflow as well.

So if we could get that wrapped up uh as soon as we could, that'd be great.

Also, I uh visited one of the depositories uh last week.

And uh I learned quite a bit.

I didn't realize that we did recycling at those.

Uh certainly that's something we'll get word out to the community about.

I didn't realize that we took concrete.

Um, you know, and I think these depositories, if we can utilize those as absolutely as much as possible, yes, sir.

That is the cheapest way of us getting rid of it.

That is the cheapest way of us getting rid of it.

Um maybe only thing better would be if they took it to the dump themselves.

Uh so anything we can do with that, a couple of issues I saw is that the when the cans are filled, they've got to go in and haul them off, empty them, and then come back.

Um I've had uh compactors on my facilities years ago where they would actually bring me an empty, they would hook up to the full, pull that out, put my empty back, and then go away with the full.

Uh so if we had enough cans to where we could swap, yes, sir, rather than having it to go back and forth, that'd be great.

In fact, there was one gentleman that was waiting in line there to dump his trees.

Uh the tree got full.

He had to wait uh while they took it and brought it back.

Now, fortunately, he actually did wait, and he was probably there 45 minutes to an hour.

Yes, sir.

Uh so I mean I thought it was pretty quick turnaround, but I can imagine a lot of those people would not wait.

Instead, they would drive off, and my guess is that's where a lot of our illegal illegal dumping occurs.

So whatever we can do to facilitate making it as easy as possible for those people to drop that off, uh it would really be great.

And I would also look at maybe opening up Monday as well, uh to where you open six days a week there.

I don't know about 24 hours, but certainly you need to make it as community as possible.

And I'll give you an ex real life example.

My chief of staff recently moved.

Uh he had a truckload of stuff loaded up, and he goes to take it to the depository, finds out, oh, they're not open.

Uh now again, he took care of that responsibly, but how many people would do that and would just simply dump the stuff?

So we I think we really got to do whatever we can.

Also, uh the compactor, uh I was told at West Park is is not operational.

No, sir.

Um and apparently we've got a couple others that we've got some problems with.

And they said that uh they're actually hauling away the cardboard every other day.

We are spending significantly more in hauling away that cardboard every day than what we would spend on repairing the compactors.

So whatever we can do to get that uh compactor uh taken care of.

And lastly, what can council members do to help you and to make your job easier?

I mean, obviously I I'm gonna see about putting out the word through our newsletter of of some of the things that I've learned, but is there anything else we can do to help you accomplish what you need to do?

Yes, sir.

I uh I'm I I can't I can't express enough how much I appreciate each and every one of you.

The great thing about it is I speak to each and every one of you pretty frequently on different matters, and you all have been great.

This has not been an easy ride.

The first uh I think I'm in month nine right now into my new job.

And it's we we we have we've had a lot of things thrown out of department and when and residents it's not their problem, it's ours as city employees to to rectify the situation.

Uh I think the biggest thing that I will ask is you your help and uh educating the public on this new implementation of what something we're about to do for the first time.

Um that that would be my my only ask, but again, I I can't thank each and every one of you enough for all of your your your your hard work and dedication to the city and also uh to our department.

So if I needed something else, Councilmember, you you can rest assured that I'm gonna say maybe you could even send all of our offices something every month that you'd like to see us publicize all of us want you to succeed.

Yes, sir.

I think all of us would like to talk to you a little less.

Yes, uh so but uh whatever we can do to help you, please let us know.

And uh with that, we've got uh number of public speakers.

Uh first Doug Smith.

Absolutely.

Okay.

Uh Rosanna Urban.

Sorry, email me too.

Anybody else like it for here or no?

Okay.

Is it working?

Okay.

Good afternoon, Councilmembers.

Thank you so much, um, Councilminder Flickinger for going to the depositories.

I work for the depositories um as a driver.

And I'm asking for you to um invest in solid waste and also the depositories where um we're asking that in order to be able to help our citizens that we do get new self-contained compactors at West Park, at uh Summermire, at um Sunbeam, at uh I know I'm missing one, Kirkpatrick, and also and especially North Main, and I say that because they are such avid recyclers in that area that we have two compactors for them, and they are both broken and and are not able to be fixed according to what we've been told.

And I say that because they are such avid recyclers in that area that we have two compactors for them, and they are both broken and are not able to be fixed according to what we've been told.

So in order to uh to uh alleviate illegal dumping, we're asking that you invest in um central depository, which is um in council members Martinez area, um, and also Kirkpatrick.

Um there is a uh a green space area that we can utilize for um contractors to come through so it doesn't um mess with what the citizens are trying to do as far as their dumping and they can pay um you know to have a pay service for them.

So we thank you so much.

Um if you have any questions, we'd love to talk to you all.

Thank you.

And if I could, I'd like to leave the uh aerial views of the depositories.

Okay.

Jet Velinski.

Oh my god.

Thank you, Council members.

This demands a great educational thing.

We can't do this overnight.

Number one.

Number two, we can't have a soft date.

This has to be a hard date.

You can't just say, oh, we're not ready, we'll do it a month later.

It has to be a hard date.

Number three.

Originally, director said there'd be a separate phone number to call for on demand.

We spent 20 some years teaching people to use 311.

It should go through 31.

Still, as you saw at the last meeting, those of you who came to the night session, we have some problems with our workers at Solid Waste.

They're working 12 hours, they're working six days.

The buyout didn't help that.

The fact that we don't have enough money in their budget, the fact that they're going over budget, the fact that we have to hire extra contractors.

We need to fix this.

You can't fix it without money.

And that means we need to increase revenue.

There's no way we can get through this budget without increased revenue or have a fee.

We need a fee.

Thank you.

Councilman Martinez, we appreciate your comments.

Yes, I'm sure you know.

Gabriella Hamdia.

Good afternoon, y'all.

Hope y'all are doing well.

Uh, my name is Gabriela Hamdia, and I'm the lead organizer for the reliable recycling for Houston campaign uh for environment taxes.

And I'll be reiterating the point on the solid waste fee there.

Um we want to applaud many of the efforts of Director Hawson, specifically adding new trucks, increasing efficiency with on-demand heavy trash pickup, meaning efforts to secure recycling transport station, but as y'all have heard over and over again, we really need to fix uh this fact that we have an under budgeted department.

Uh so we continue to advocate for a solid waste fee uh to improve reliability of trash and recycling pickup in our city.

Uh release we're releasing a letter to all of your offices along with petition signatures collected by both environment Texas and Hope Union Local 123, and we'll be sending that out uh respectfully as environment taxes, we'll be putting these in recycling can and making sure that we use digital copies more from that one.

Uh so we want to do our part to help educate residents and neighborhoods about our campaign.

We will gladly partner with your offices to meet with civic clubs and local leaders.

And thank you so much for your time.

Thank you.

Felix Kapoor Thanks.

Uh I have one minute.

Yes.

Okay.

Uh thank you, Council.

Um, and thank you for that presentation from Solid Waste.

I do wish they were still here, as we do have some questions.

Um wanted to see uh love all of the new improvements they're trying to make and some of the new ideas, uh, even if risky that they're trying to implement.

Um really wanting to know one, what their idea is for addressing illegal dumping.

We had someone come in to talk about that.

Uh, or we had someone just give comment on a couple of ideas, and it was loosely talked about.

Obviously, uh Councilmember Cassix Statum mentioned it in her area as well.

So wanting to know um where illegal dumping sort of stands in their purview and how to not necessarily eradicate it but minimize its impacts, and then also um it is obvious that you know the city of Houston has invested all of most of its money into fire and police, and now we're asking taxpayers to pay more dollars to support potential various just as essential services, such as uh picking up trash.

So if we are going to implement a fee, what is equity look like?

Is there's no equity in the fee?

I don't need residents in Northeast Houston or across the city to choose between going to the doctor and getting their trash picked up.

So wanna wanna ensure there's equity in any sort of fee that is proposed because it's obvious they do need more funding.

Um and I think lastly, and thank you for the extra time.

Uh we want to ensure the city is actually gonna spend any money dedicated to solid waste, actually on solid waste.

City has proven time and time again, especially under this administration that they can manipulate and maneuver where certain monies get spent.

See the DDSRF fund.

Thank you.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Malachi Key.

Yes.

Great.

Y'all hear me okay?

Yes.

Cool.

Uh my name is Malik Aiky, I'm the climate justice coordinator with Air Alliance Houston, focused mainly on plastics, mostly the plastic crisis in general.

Uh I wanted to reiterate I appreciate all of y'all's efforts, especially the director of solid waste management and attempts to address this.

Um however, I do think a lot of these attempts aren't going where they need to go, and I wanted to particularly address the uh Houston Recycling Collaboration.

Those of y'all that don't know, this is a program that's been going on for about four years.

It's a partnership between the city and several uh um local plastic manufacturers that's attempting to use advanced recycling to uh address the plastic crisis, but for the past four years it hasn't been functioning.

One of the major facilities in Pasadena, the Landell Basel facility isn't even fully converted.

And as of right now, from Air Alliance's main research, all of this plastic is going to an unpermitted open-air uh waste management facility that's regularly been cited for fire code violations.

So I would strongly encourage looking more heavily into this memorandum of understanding and the Houston Recycling Collaboration.

I have a lot more to say on this, but I've already sent emails to all of your offices.

I would just love to talk about the effectiveness of this program and how we can do better as a city.

Thank you.

Benjamin Broadway.

Benjamin.

Okay.

That concludes our idea.

I'm sorry.

Yes, hello, good afternoon.

I'm gonna get straight to the point.

Sixty to sixty-three percent of the city's annual budget goes to firemen and police.

Is this equitable?

Man, is this equitable for someone like me that I'm on a budget and I have to decide on what I'm gonna pay and what I'm gonna do?

I've been sitting in the back of this room all afternoon, okay, for the pro for a good portion of this morning, and y'all had your people come up here and speak, but y'all want to give me a minute.

But y'all really do need to think about budgeting the time and how y'all do this.

Now, for me to get my trash picked up on time, I stay in Northeast Houston.

We have piles of trash everywhere.

Y'all used to have uh uh uh the uh depositories up there by um by Barbara Jordan High School.

Y'all removed them.

The same idea that that man that the council member was just talking about about bringing one empty container and dropping a full one and taking an empty one.

They used to do that back in the 90s.

Why did y'all move it?

That's one question.

Now, my second question is what about the uh avalorum tax?

Man, are this payment gonna be like that payment?

Did you start this pot of money and are mysteriously it disappears and goes to the main budget to fund police and firemen?

Can someone answer that question?

It would certainly go into the general revenue.

So or into the solid waste budget itself.

I mean, all that would be decided.

I mean, we haven't implemented any trash fees, so we can't speak to what hasn't been done yet.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Before we adjourn, the next BFA meeting will be Tuesday, March third at ten AM.

The next government operations meeting will be Wednesday, March fourth at two PM.

If there are no other comments or questions, the meeting is adjourned.