Aug 20, 2024 Commissioners Court

GO AHEAD AND THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME THE TIME FOR COMMISSIONERS COURT.

I WANTED TO THANK EACH OF YOU.

I'VE BEEN UP HERE MANY TIMES OVER THE PAST YEARS.

I APPRECIATE THE EXTRA EFFORT THIS COURT HAS MADE IN LOOKING OVER COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT, INCLUDING THE CONSTABLE, LAW ENFORCEMENT, THE DA INVESTIGATORS, FIRE MARSHALS. THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO CARRY A PEACE OFFICER COMMISSION.

I KNOW IT TAKES UP A LOT OF YOUR TIME.

I WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR PAST SUPPORT, INCLUDING THE EQUIPMENT WE HAVE, FIRST RATE EQUIPMENT, RADIO SYSTEMS, COMPUTER SYSTEMS ARE CATCHING UP AND I WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR THAT. AT THE SAME TIME, WE STILL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF AN IMPASSE WITH BUDGET, AND THAT'S WHY WE BRING OUR CONCERNS TO COMMISSIONERS COURT, BECAUSE WE RARELY GET FEEDBACK FROM BUDGET AFTER WE MEET WITH THEM, WE WILL OFFER FACTS AND INFORMATION.

WE DON'T GET THAT RESPONSE BACK FROM THEM IN DETAIL.

THEY JUST BASICALLY SAY, HEY, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE BUDGET AS PLANNED, SO WE'LL BE PRESENTING TO YOU.

ONE OF THOSE AREAS WAS SUPERVISORY PAY.

THE SUPERVISORS ARE THE ONES WHO MAKE SURE THAT DE-ESCALATION, USE OF FORCE, ALL ACTIONS THAT OFFICERS THAT ARE COMMISSIONED DO THAT ARE REVIEWED TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE WITHIN THE LAW AND POLICY.

THEY ALSO IN OUR OFFICE ARE THE ONES WHO DO THE TRAINING.

ALL OF OUR SUPERVISORS ARE LICENSED INSTRUCTORS, AND THEY ARE THE ONES THAT ARE ACTUALLY TEACHING THE PEOPLE THAT THEY SUPERVISE, AND WE NEED TO SUPPORT THEM WITH THAT PAY.

THEY ARE RUNNING LINE DUTIES AS WELL AS RUNNING SUPERVISORY.

SO WE WOULD REQUEST THAT TO BE CONSIDERED FURTHER AND WE'LL PRESENT FURTHER INFORMATION TO THAT.

WE ARE IN SUPPORT OF EACH CONSTABLE'S OFFICE HAVING A SIMILAR STRUCTURE, AS WELL AS THE DA INVESTIGATORS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR AN ADJUSTMENT.

THEY WERE KIND OF LEFT OUT OF THE ORIGINAL PLAN.

I THINK THEY'RE BEING CAUGHT UP NOW, BUT MAINLY TO THANK YOU AGAIN.

WE'RE HERE TO SERVE THE COMMUNITIES WE ALL REPRESENT, EACH OF OUR PRECINCTS INDIVIDUALLY.

WE ARE THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS IN THE PRECINCTS ALONG WITH YOU.

YOU KNOW WHAT OUR NEEDS ARE, AND WE RELY ON YOU ALL TO GET US THOSE RESOURCES.

[00:25:03]

AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

AND THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO COME UP JUDGE.

THANK YOU CONSTABLE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPONSE THIS MORNING TO OBVIOUSLY A SITUATION THAT COULD HAVE BEEN REALLY TRAGIC.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ALL RIGHT. GOT A LAST MINUTE ADD ON.

SO MR [INAUDIBLE] HOLD ON.

I UNDERSTAND THAT MR. JACK FINGER. YOU WANT TO SPEAK ON 4C, YOU'VE ALSO SIGNED UP FOR ANOTHER ISSUE, BUT I'M ASKING THAT ANY MATTERS FROM THE AGENDA ITEMS 4 A, B AND C, THE CITIZENS TO BE HEARD BE CALLED NOW.

SO YOU HAVE YOUR THREE MINUTES IN REGARDS TO 4C.

JUDGE SAKAI OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSIONERS COURT.

FOR THE RECORD, MY NAME IS JACK M FINGER.

THE TOPIC I WISH TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION TODAY IS, OF COURSE, ABOUT OUR ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT.

YOU HAVE BIG PROBLEMS WITH THE ADMINISTRATOR, JACKIE CALLANEN.

MR. FINGER YOU SIGNED UP FOR 4C.

THAT'S NOT THE ELECTION. YES, I ALSO SIGNED UP FOR ITEM NUMBER.

I'M GOING TO ASK YOU. I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU ANOTHER SET OF TIME TO SPEAK.

BUT YOU'RE GOING TO. I'LL ASK THAT YOU COME AT AGENDA ITEM 8.

THAT'S FINE. SO IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK ON ELECTION ADMINISTRATOR, I WILL ASK YOU TO SIT DOWN.

THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER MOODY, 4C IS IN REGARDS TO THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE VF DEPARTMENT ON THE WHAT WE CALL THE SILVER LINE, THE RAPID TRANSIT LINE.

SO ALL RIGHT, I'VE GOT IT.

ALL RIGHT. PEOPLE ARE COMING IN.

GOOD. WE'RE GETTING CITIZEN PARTICIPATION.

4C JOEY PAVLIK.

GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING.

JESSICA AND COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.

MY NAME IS JOEY PAVLIK, NATIVE SAN ANTONIAN TRANSIT USER, BIKE COMMUTER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ACTIVATE S.A..

WE ARE LOCAL ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION AND TRANSIT ADVOCACY NONPROFIT WHOSE MISSION IS TO ACTIVATE A CONNECTED, EQUITABLE, RESILIENT AND SAFE COMMUNITY FOR ALL THROUGH TRANSPORTATION ADVOCACY, CONSENSUS BUILDING, AND EDUCATION.

I'M HERE TODAY TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF BEXAR COUNTY, ALLOCATING MORE THAN $100 MILLION TO SUPPORT VIA'S RAPID SILVER LINE.

AS SOMEONE WHO GREW UP ON THE EAST SIDE OF SAN ANTONIO, YOU CAN IMAGINE THE EXCITEMENT I EXPERIENCED WHEN I LEARNED THAT I COULD ONE DAY BOARD A TRAIN NEAR MY HOME, NEAR MY OWN NEIGHBORHOOD, TO GET TO WHERE I WANTED TO GO.

WHILE THOSE LIGHT RAIL DREAMS NEVER CAME TO FRUITION IN 2000, I STILL DREAM ABOUT RAIL GOOD RAIL COMING TO OUR CITY ONE DAY.

I'M EXCITED FOR THE CHILDREN ON THE EAST AND WEST SIDES OF SAN ANTONIO WHO ARE DREAMING UP THE DAY WHEN THEY CAN BOARD THESE COOL, FUTURISTIC BUSSES TO GO RAPIDLY TO SCHOOL, VISIT A MUSEUM, OR MAYBE CATCH A MISSIONS GAME DOWNTOWN.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, I'M EXCITED THAT THESE CHILDREN'S PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS CAN COMFORTABLY SEND THEIR CHILDREN OUT TO CATCH THE RAPID SILVER LINE, KNOWING THAT THESE BUSSES WILL TYPICALLY ARRIVE EVERY TEN MINUTES.

AS MR. ARNDT HAS MENTIONED BEFORE, OUR COMMUNITY WILL BE RECEIVING HIGH QUALITY AND HIGH FREQUENCY TRANSIT WITHOUT A PRICE TAG THAT WILL COST TWO TIMES AS MUCH AS OFTEN RAIL WOULD. WE ALL KNOW THE FUNDAMENTAL ROLE THAT TRANSIT PLAYS IN HELPING PEOPLE GET TO PLACES THEY NEED TO GO AND WANT TO GO, WHETHER IT IS A SCHOOL, WORK, DOCTOR'S OFFICE, GROCERY STORE, OR TO SEE FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

FOR SOME IT IS THEIR LIFELINE AS THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY OTHER CHOICE.

AND FOR OTHERS LIKE MYSELF, WE ARE CHOICE RIDERS WHO MAY RIDE IT FOR MANY REASONS.

BUT FOR ME, RIDING A BUS IS LIKE HAVING MY OWN CHAUFFEUR.

I CAN RELAX AND NOT HAVE TO PUT UP WITH STRESSFUL DRIVING CONDITIONS, AND MY WIFE AND I WERE ABLE TO PUT OFF BUYING A SECOND CAR UNTIL WE HAD TO WHEN WE RECENTLY HAD A BABY.

I WISH THAT WAS DIFFERENT, BUT MAYBE SAN ANTONIO WILL GET EVEN BETTER IN THE FUTURE.

PAIRED WITH THE WORK STUDY ANTONIO IS DOING WITH THE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT POLICY FRAMEWORK, WE CAN CREATE A MORE VIBRANT, LIVABLE PLACES WHERE RESIDENTS CAN LIVE, WORK AND PLAY IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO TRANSIT STATIONS AND TRANSPORTATION HUBS.

THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MORE SUSTAINABLE AND INCLUSIVE LAND USE PLAN THAT ALSO ADDRESSES THE IMPERATIVE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND ANTI-DISPLACEMENT PROTECTIONS FOR LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES. WE CAN ENSURE THAT THE PEOPLE WHO NEED HIGH QUALITY TRANSIT THE MOST WILL NOT BE ADVERSELY IMPACTED BY SUCH POLICIES.

BY INVESTING IN THE RAPID RAPID SILVER LINE, WE ARE ALSO ADDRESSING SUSTAINABILITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH AIMS OF REDUCING RELIANCE ON PRIVATE AUTOMOBILES, ENHANCING WALKABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY, IMPROVING AIR QUALITY, STIMULATING ECONOMIC GROWTH AND IMPROVING OVERALL TRAFFIC SAFETY, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR MOST VULNERABLE ROAD USERS, PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS.

AS SOME OF THESE SAME CORRIDORS ARE IDENTIFIED AS SEVERE PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLIST INJURY AREAS BY THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.

THIS IS MORE THAN JUST AN INVESTMENT INTO A TRANSPORTATION OPTION.

BY INVESTING IN HIGH QUALITY, HIGH FREQUENCY TRANSIT, YOU'RE COMMITTING TO A SAFER, MORE EQUITABLE, INCLUSIVE AND VIBRANT SAN ANTONIO AND BEXAR COUNTY.

THANK YOU TO VIA'S LEADERSHIP AND THE MANY OUTSTANDING STAFFERS WHO ARE MAKING THE VIA ARC GREEN AND SILVER LINES HAPPEN.

AND THANK YOU, COMMISSIONERS COURTS, FOR INVESTING IN THE VIA SILVER LINE.

[00:30:02]

WE ASK YOU TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING AND INVESTING IN HIGH QUALITY, HIGH FREQUENCY TRANSIT ACROSS OUR CITY AND COUNTY, AND HIGH QUALITY ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE AND PROGRAMS IN OUR COMMUNITY.

ALL RIGHT. I THINK WE CAN GET BACK TO MR. URESTI ON AGENDA ITEM 4A.

MR. URESTI YOUR PRESENTATION, PLEASE.

YEAH.

WE'LL GET TO IT COURT STAFF, ATTORNEYS AND AUDITORS.

SO MY NAME IS ALBERT URESTI.

I'M THE BEXAR COUNTY TAX ASSESSOR COLLECTOR.

AND WITH ME I HAVE OUR STAFF.

WE HAVE OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR, JEFFREY ACEVEDO, OUR CHIEF DEPUTY, LISA ANDERSON, AND OUR ASSISTANT TAX DIRECTOR, VANESSA BOUCHON.

SO OUR MISSION AT THE TAX OFFICE AND HAS BEEN FOR OVER 12 YEARS, IS WORKING TO HELP KEEP FAMILIES IN THEIR HOMES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON HELPING OUR SENIOR CITIZENS ARE DISABLED, OUR VETERANS AND ULTIMATELY OUR CHILDREN.

SO THIS YEAR, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE DO EVERY YEAR IS TO PRESENT YOU ALL WITH DIFFERENT TAX RATE OPTIONS FOR YOU ALL TO REVIEW.

I KNOW THE AGENDA.

YOU HAVE TO ADOPT 29.99 CENTS PER $100.

SO LOOKING AT LAST YEAR'S TAX RATE, WHICH WAS THE SAME $0.2999 CENTS, IF YOU ADOPT THAT SAME TAX RATE, YOU WOULD GET AN INCREASE IN TAX REVENUE OVER LAST YEAR BY $10,052,000.

THE BREAKDOWN ON THE GENERAL FUND WOULD BE AN INCREASE OF 8 MILLION.

AND OF COURSE, AN INCREASE ON THE ROAD AND FLOOD OF 1.4 MILLION.

SO AGAIN, YOU'D BE GENERATING AN EXTRA $10,052,000 IF YOU ADOPT LAST YEAR'S TAX RATE.

NOW, THE 2024 NO NEW REVENUE TAX RATE.

AND THAT'S THE WAS FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE EFFECTIVE TAX RATE.

SO THAT'S SUPPOSED TO DO IS IF YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, $10 MILLION OF OF VALUE AND YOU HAVE $1,000 IN TAXES, A TAX RATE.

SO YOU HAVE TO BALANCE THEM.

YOU'RE TRYING TO GENERATE THE SAME AMOUNT OF TAXES AS LAST YEAR.

SO YOUR TAX RATE WOULD, IN THEORY, BE THE SAME AS, AS WOULD BE THAT WOULD ALLOW YOU TO GENERATE THE SAME AMOUNT OF TAXES AS LAST YEAR. SO THE GENERAL THE TAX RATE FOR THIS YEAR IS $0.3002.

AND THAT WOULD GENERATE AN ADDITIONAL $10.5 MILLION IN TAX REVENUE.

AGAIN, THE BREAKDOWN IN THE GENERAL FUND IS $0.27, WHICH WOULD GENERATE $9 MILLION.

AND THE BREAKDOWN ON THE ROAD AND FLOOD FUND WOULD BE $1.5 MILLION INCREASE.

OKAY, GOING ON TO THE VOTER APPROVAL TAX RATE.

THE 2024 AND THAT'S UNADJUSTED FOR THE UNUSED INCREMENT RATE.

SO WHAT THIS WOULD DO THIS WOULD BE A TAX RATE OF 0.3173.

AND WOULD GENERATE AN OVERALL INCREASE OF 45 MILLION.

NOW THE BREAKDOWN ON THIS ONE IS THE GENERAL FUND IS 57 MILLION.

BUT THERE IS A DECREASE IN ROAD AND FLOOD FUND BECAUSE THE NUMBERS HAVE BEEN RECALCULATED FROM LAST YEAR OF 12 MILLION.

BUT OVERALL YOUR RATE IS STILL $45 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL FUNDS.

AGAIN, THIS IS WITH THE APPROVAL TAX RATE OF 3.5% INCREASE.

NOW IF YOU LOOK AT THE VOTER APPROVAL TAX RATE ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THE ADJUSTED FOR UNUSED INCREMENT RATE.

WHAT THIS DOES EVERY YEAR YOU CAN GO UP 3.5%, BUT YOU CAN BANK YOUR MONEY.

AND THE COUNTY HAS DONE A GOOD JOB OF BANKING THEIR MONEY.

THEY USUALLY DON'T GO.

I DON'T THINK WE HAVE GONE UP TO 3.5% IN A WHILE.

RIGHT, DAVID? SO WE DON'T NORMALLY GO UP TO 3.5%.

SO IT HAPPENS THAT YOU CAN BANK THOSE EXTRA PENNIES FOR UP TO THREE YEARS.

SO WHAT WE HAVE BANK RIGHT NOW IS 3.34 CENTS OF MONEY.

SO IF YOU WANTED TO GO WITH THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE, EVEN THOUGH IT'S 3.5%, YOU CAN ADD THOSE PENNIES.

THAT WOULD GIVE YOU A TAX RATE OF 35.07 CENTS PER $100 OF VALUE, AND WOULD INCREASE THE TAX REVENUE OVER LAST YEAR TO 114 MILLION.

THE BREAKDOWN WOULD BE 122 MILLION IN THE GENERAL FUND.

THE INCREASE, AND IT WOULD HAVE A DECREASE IN THE ROAD AND FLOOD FUND OF 8.2 MILLION.

SO GOING TO THE NEXT SLIDE, KIND OF TO GO THROUGH EVERYTHING AND KIND OF PUT EVERYTHING IN PERSPECTIVE.

SO IF YOU ADOPT THE TAX RATE OF 29.9 CENTS THIS LAST YEAR, I'M SORRY, LET ME BACK UP.

[00:35:06]

SO WHEN WE ADOPTED 29.99 CENTS IN THE 2003 VALUES, THAT GENERATED 607 MILLION.

YOU'RE REALLY GENERATING AN EXTRA 40 TO $45 MILLION.

SO THIS IS THE CALCULATIONS.

BUT BECAUSE OF NEW CONSTRUCTION OMITTED PROPERTIES, REMOVAL OF EXEMPTIONS.

THIS NUMBER IS WHAT WE CALCULATE.

BUT AGAIN, YOU HAVE A 40 TO $50 MILLION ADDITIONAL REVENUE IN THERE.

IF YOU ADOPT THE TAX RATE, THE 2023 RATE, USING THIS YEAR'S VALUES, AGAIN, YOU'RE GOING TO GENERATE AN ADDITIONAL $10 MILLION.

IF YOU ADOPT THE 2024 UNADJUSTED NO NEW REVENUE TAX RATE OF 30.0258 CENTS.

YOU'RE GOING TO GENERATE AN ADDITIONAL $10.5 MILLION IF YOU ADOPT THE 2024 TOTAL ADJUSTED NO NEW REVENUE RATE OF 30.8535 CENTS.

YOU'RE GOING TO GENERATE AN ADDITIONAL $634,000 PLUS THE DE MINIMIS TAX RATE, WHICH ONLY SMALL COUNTIES USE.

BUT WE PUT IT IN HERE BECAUSE IT'S PART OF THE CALCULATIONS.

AND THEN FINALLY, THE 2024 VOTER APPROVAL RATE, ADJUSTED FOR THE UNUSED UNUSED INCREMENT RATE OF 3.34 CENTS, WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, THAT'S GOING TO GENERATE $722 MILLION OVERALL AND AN INCREASE OF 114 MILLION.

SO FINALLY, ON THE LAST SLIDE, AGAIN, IT JUST GIVES YOU A BREAKDOWN USING AGAIN, THE 29.9 9 CENTS THAT GENERATED 607 MILLION IF YOU ADOPT IT AGAIN, YOU'RE GOING TO GENERATE 618 MILLION, AN EXTRA $10 MILLION.

THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE, 10.5 MILLION.

AND I WANT TO MENTION ONE THING.

IF YOU DO ADOPT 29.99 CENTS, YOU'RE ACTUALLY BELOW THE EFFECTIVE TAX RATE.

AND THAT'S THAT'S A GOOD THING BECAUSE AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE EFFECTIVE TAX RATE AS PROPERTY VALUES GO UP, IN THEORY, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO LOWER YOUR TAX RATE TO KEEP THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY COMING DOWN.

SO YOU'RE ACTUALLY BELOW THAT RATE.

IF YOU DO ADOPT 29.9 CENTS, THE GOING DOWN TO THE SECOND TO THE LAST COLUMN.

AGAIN, THE VOTER APPROVAL TAX RATE 3.5%, UNADJUSTED FOR THAT EXTRA 3.3 CENTS, GENERATE AN EXTRA $45 MILLION. AND THEN THE FINAL ROW IS THE VOTER APPROVAL TAX RATE ADJUSTED FOR THAT 3.3 CENTS, THAT GIVES YOU $114 MILLION OF ADDITIONAL REVENUE.

AND I'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

COMMISSIONER MOODY. WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.

JUST A COUPLE THINGS.

AND WE DID CHAT YESTERDAY.

I'M STILL TRYING TO WRAP MY HEAD AROUND THE NO NEW REVENUE TAX RATE CALCULATION THAT HAS STILL ANOTHER 10 MILLION GENERATED IN TAX REVENUE, EVEN THOUGH IT'S IDENTIFIED AS THE NO NEW REVENUE TAX RATE.

BUT I APPRECIATE YOUR TEAM GIVING ME THIS.

I TRUST THE CALCULATIONS ARE CORRECT.

I AM PLEASED THAT THAT THE WE ARE BELOW THAT NO NEW REVENUE TAX RATE ALTHOUGH WE ARE YOU KNOW, PER YOUR CALCULATIONS, GENERATING ANOTHER 10 MILLION IN TAX REVENUE AT OUR CURRENT TAX RATE.

YOU KNOW, WE'LL OBVIOUSLY LOOK INTO THIS FURTHER OVER THE COMING WEEKS.

BUT SOMETHING YOU MENTIONED YESTERDAY THAT I JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT FOR THE COURT TODAY WHEN IT COMES TO THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION, WHICH THIS COURT HAD PROVED GOING TO A 20% HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION, HOW MANY HOMEOWNERS DO YOU ESTIMATE STILL HAVE NOT TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THAT HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION? WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THAT I CAN TELL YOU REALLY BREAKS MY HEART BECAUSE HAVING BEEN DOING THIS FOR 12 YEARS, YOU KNOW, OUR MISSION AGAIN IS TO HELP KEEP FAMILIES IN THEIR HOMES.

WE'RE VERY DEDICATED TO TRYING.

ONE OF THE BIG TOOLS WE USE TO KEEP FAMILIES IN THEIR HOMES IS TO MAKE SURE THEY HAVE THEIR HOMESTEAD EXEMPTIONS, 65 AND OVER, AND WE'VE EVEN BLOCKED WALKED AREAS TO FIND PEOPLE THAT WE KNEW WERE ENTITLED TO THE EXEMPTIONS.

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY 90,000 FAMILIES THAT COULD FIT THAT, THAT THE CRITERIA TO HAVE A HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION THAT DON'T.

AND THE WAY WE DO THAT IS IF YOU HAVE AN ADDRESS OF 222 EAST HOUSTON OF YOUR RESIDENCE AND YOUR MAILING ADDRESS IS

[00:40:03]

222 EAST HOUSTON, THERE'S A VERY GOOD CHANCE THAT YOU COULD HAVE A HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION, EVEN IF WE CUT IT IN HALF FROM 90,000 TO 45,000.

THAT'S A LOT OF FAMILIES THAT ARE OVERPAYING AND ESPECIALLY OUR SENIOR CITIZENS BECAUSE, I MEAN, WHEN YOU TURN 65, THERE ARE SOME GOOD THINGS ABOUT TURNING 65.

NOT A LOT OF THEM, BUT THERE'S SOME GOOD THINGS AND THAT'S OKAY.

I'M SORRY, SORRY, JUDGE. [LAUGHTER] BUT ON THAT ONE.

BUT SOME OF THE GOOD THINGS ARE YOU GET BIGGER EXEMPTIONS.

YEAH. SO ANYWAY THAT I HOPE THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION.

NO IT DOES.

AND I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT IT BECAUSE I THINK IT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ASSUME THAT THAT WHEN WE MAKE THOSE ACTIONS EVERYONE'S TAKING ADVANTAGE OF IT AND WE'RE SEEING THE RELIEF THAT WE WANTED TO GENERATE.

BUT OBVIOUSLY THE PART OF THAT IS COMMUNICATION AND MAKING SURE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY THEY QUALIFY FOR, WHAT THEY COULD SEEK IN TERMS OF HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION, A SENIOR FREEZE OR A DISABILITY EXEMPTION.

SO I THINK IT'S INCUMBENT UPON ALL OF US TO CONTINUE TO MESSAGE THAT FOR YOUR OFFICE, TO CONTINUE TO MESSAGE THAT, AND UNTIL EVERYONE'S AWARE THAT THAT THEY HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY, BECAUSE, I MEAN, WE COULD BE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS A YEAR IN TAXES THAT THAT FOLKS ARE FORGOING AND OVERPAYING BECAUSE THEY JUST DON'T KNOW.

SO I'M GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT AS I GO FORWARD AND TALK TO MY CONSTITUENTS.

AND I JUST ENCOURAGE YOUR OFFICE AND EVERYONE ELSE TO DO THE SAME.

THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ? COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES.

COMMISSIONER CALVERT. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. TRUSTEE. ALL RIGHT.

I UNDERSTAND IT'S BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION.

MR. FINGER, YOU DID WANT TO TALK ABOUT BUDGET ITEM OR BUDGET? AGENDA ITEM 4C, WHICH IS A VIA SILVER LINE ISSUE.

I'LL BRING YOU BACK AND THEN I'LL LET YOU TALK ABOUT THE ADMINISTRATOR LATER.

HOW ABOUT THAT? IS THAT A DEAL, MR. FINGER? GEORGE, LET ME EXPLAIN SOMETHING TO YOU, OF COURSE.

IT'S 10:30 TIME CERTAIN.

I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK AFTER I'VE HEARD A STAFF PRESENTATION.

RIGHT. NO. MR. FINGER, YOU'RE GIVING YOUR THREE MINUTES.

PROCEED. I'M SORRY.

YOU GOT YOUR THREE MINUTES AND IT'S RUNNING.

IT HAS TO BE RIGHT NOW.

YES, SIR. OKAY, HAVE IT YOUR WAY, JUDGE.

GOOD MORNING. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT 15 20 MINUTES IS A LONG TIME.

YOU MAY FORGET WHAT A CITIZEN HAS SAID.

OH, I WON'T FORGET, MR. FINGER. I'LL ASSURE YOU THAT.

OKAY. VIA'S GREEN LINE AND SILVER LINE.

WHAT YOU ARE ASKING THE FEDS FOR A LOT OF MONEY FOR? IT'S A MASSIVE LAND GRAB.

IT'S A MASSIVE POWER GRAB, SIR.

AND FOR WHAT'S THE BENEFIT ON ALL THIS? IT SAYS HERE IN THE EXPRESS-NEWS, JUST A MERE 26 STOPS ALONG SAN PEDRO WHEN YOU HAVE DOZENS, DOZENS UPON DOZENS OF THEM RIGHT NOW WITH THE REGULAR VIA LINE AND ABOUT WHAT WAS IT, 17 ON THE EAST AND WEST ROUTE, COMMERCE AND SO FORTH.

EAST SIDE.

NOW, I'M SORRY, THIS DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE OR BUT THEN WHY SHOULD IT? YOU'RE GOING TO SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, WE AS CITIZENS, WE GET TIRED OF THESE LAND GRABS, POWER GRABS, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT.

DO YOU REALIZE THAT YOU WILL HAVE THE POWER TO PLACE ITS ZONING POLICIES ON A QUARTER MILE ON EACH SIDE OF THE STREET ON ALL OUR MAJOR ARTERIES SAN PEDRO, COMMERCE, FREDERICKSBURG, ROOSEVELT, LOOP 410, EVERYWHERE.

A QUARTER MILE ON EACH SIDE.

THAT'S A HALF A MILE.

THAT'S SEVERAL FOOTBALL FIELDS.

DOES THIS MEAN ANYTHING TO ANYBODY? THEY WILL IMPOSE THEIR POLICIES, THEIR PROGRAMS ON ON THIS STUFF? NO. AND LIKE I SAY, THE BENEFIT YOU YOU SAY THIS IS GOING TO HELP THE CITIZENS IN GETTING FROM A TO B, IT DOESN'T.

YOU SAY MR. CALVERT. YOU SAY WE NEED TO GET PEOPLE AWAY FROM THE CAR CULTURE.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND, SIR, THE CAR CULTURE WAS AN IMPROVEMENT.

AN IMPROVEMENT OVER THE MASS TRANSIT WE GET A CHANCE TO BE FLEXIBLE WHEREVER WE WANT TO GO, WHEN WE WANT TO GO.

NOW NOT WHEN THE BUS DETERMINES IT.

PLEASE, YOU REALLY NEED TO SAY NO TO THIS.

YEAH, I KNOW IT MEANS IT REFUSING FEDERAL DOLLARS, BUT PLEASE DO IT.

DO NOT TAKE THIS MONEY.

DO NOT GO AHEAD WITH THIS THING.

IT'S A MAJOR BOONDOGGLE.

FOR REAL.

[00:45:02]

JUDGE SAKAI, THE TIME HAS EXPIRED.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. ALL RIGHT.

WE'LL PROCEED TO TIME CERTAIN 4B PRESENTATION.

[4.b. 9:30 a.m.: Presentation regarding Bexar County's FY 2024-25 Proposed Tax Rate and Operating and Capital Budget, and discussion and appropriate action on placement of the proposed tax rate of $0.299999 on the agenda for the Commissioners Court meeting on September 10, 2024 meeting as an action item.]

REGARD BEXAR COUNTY'S FY 2024-25 PROPOSED TAX RATE.

OPERATING CAPITAL BUDGET DISCUSSION.

APPROPRIATE ACTION ON PLACEMENT OF THE PROPOSED TAX RATE OF 29.9999 ON THE AGENDA FOR THE COMMISSIONERS COURT MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 10TH, 2024.

MEETING AS AN ACTION ITEM, I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND JUST OPEN, MAKE A FEW WORDS, AND THEN, MR. SMITH, YOU MAY PROCEED.

TODAY WE'RE GOING TO TAKE UP THE PROPOSED.

AND SO THIS IS A START OF A DISCUSSION.

THE PROPOSED INVESTMENTS IN THE DRAFT BUDGET ARE A GOOD STARTING POINT AND A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK AND REFINE OUR FINAL BUDGET BY MEETING WITH DEPARTMENT HEADS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS, HEARING FROM THE PUBLIC AND KEY STAKEHOLDERS.

THAT'S HAPPENED TODAY, THIS MORNING, AND WILL CONTINUE TO HAPPEN, AND WORKING WITH THE BUDGET OFFICE AND COMMISSIONERS TO ARRIVE IN A CONSENSUS.

I ALSO WANT TO PUT ON RECORD THAT I HAVE HOSTED FOUR, WELL, I'VE ALREADY DONE TWO BUDGET HEARINGS AND PRECINCTS THREE AND TWO, AND THIS WEEK I WILL HAVE BUDGET HEARINGS IN PRECINCTS FOUR AND ONE.

AND SO I WANT TO APPLAUD THE COMMISSIONERS WHO HAVE PARTICIPATED AND JOIN ME IN THESE TOWN HALL MEETINGS TO HEAR THE PUBLIC TO TAKE THE INPUT AS WE COME TO A FINAL BUDGET FOR THE NEXT BUDGET YEAR.

SO TODAY IS A START.

WELL, AND IT IS IT'S AN ONGOING THING.

SO I WANT THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE CONSTANTLY TAKING INPUT OF WHAT THE PRIORITIES ARE AND WHAT PROJECTS WE SHOULD LOOK AT, WHAT TYPE OF DEBT WE SHOULD INCUR AND WHAT WE SHOULD NOT INCUR.

SO THE CHALLENGE BEFORE US TODAY IS TO EQUIP THE DEPARTMENTS AND THE EMPLOYEES WITH THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO BEST SERVE THE PUBLIC, AND TO BALANCE ALL THOSE NEEDS IN A FISCALLY SOUND MANNER.

MR. DAVID SMITH, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.

THANK YOU, JUDGE AND COMMISSIONERS.

YOU'RE RIGHT. THIS IS AN ONGOING PROCESS THAT FOR THE STAFF AND BUDGETS, ACTUALLY STARTED RIGHT AFTER CHRISTMAS WHEN WE GOT OUR FIRST QUARTER ESTIMATES AND THEY BEGAN TO DEVELOP THEIR FULL YEAR ESTIMATES, THEN KICKED OFF THE BUDGET IN THE SPRING, RECEIVED INPUT FROM OFFICES AND DEPARTMENTS UP UNTIL AS LATE AS THIS WEEKEND, SO I DO APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT WE GET FROM COMMISSIONERS COURT.

BUT IT'S I MAY BE STANDING AT THE PODIUM, BUT IT'S THEIR HARD WORK THAT GETS US TO THIS POINT AND WILL GET US TO THE FINAL FINISH LINE.

SO THANK YOU.

CAN I HAVE THE POWERPOINT? THANK YOU. SO JUMPING RIGHT IN.

BASED ON THE NUMBERS, OUR NET TAXABLE BASE HAS GROWN AND IS NOW $240 BILLION.

I CAN REMEMBER A TIME WHEN IT WAS JUST OVER 100 BILLION.

SO WE ARE A RAPIDLY GROWING COMMUNITY.

IT'S AN INCREASE OF 4.5% COMPARED TO LAST YEAR'S VALUES.

I WILL SAY THE RATE OF INCREASE, AS WE'VE DISCUSSED BEFORE, HAS BEEN DROPPING FROM YEAR TO YEAR.

FOUR YEARS AGO, I THINK IT WAS 13%.

THE YEAR AFTER THAT, IT WAS NINE, THEN 7.5 AND NOW 4.5.

SO THAT'S A TREND WE WILL BE WATCHING CLOSELY.

NEW CONSTRUCTION IS 6.1 BILLION OF THAT.

AND COMMISSIONER MOODY, WHEN YOU ASK WHY THE NO NEW REVENUE TAX RATE GENERATES MORE REVENUE.

IT'S BECAUSE OF PROPERTIES THAT WERE NOT ON THE BOOKS LAST YEAR AND HAVE SINCE BEEN ADDED TO THE ROLL.

THAT'S WHERE THAT NEW REVENUE COMES FROM UNDER THE NEW REVENUE TAX RATE.

OF THAT 6.1 BILLION, 4.5 BILLION IS RESIDENTIAL.

1.2 BILLION IS COMMERCIAL AND OTHER IS 440 MILLION.

AND REGARDING PROTEST, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME CHANGES IN BOTH THE BOARD STRUCTURE AS WELL AS LEADERSHIP AT THE BEXAR COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT, AND WE ARE WATCHING CLOSELY TO SEE WHAT THOSE CHANGES MIGHT MAKE, MIGHT HAVE MEANT WHAT IT MEANT WAS, ALTHOUGH THE NUMBER OF PROTESTS WAS LOWER THAN PREVIOUS YEARS THE AMOUNT LOST WAS MUCH HIGHER.

WE HAD WE LOST $7.3 BILLION IN TAXABLE VALUE DUE TO PROTEST, COMPARED TO ONLY 4.9 BILLION LAST YEAR.

I WON'T GO OVER THESE TAX RATES IN GREAT DETAIL EXCEPT TO POINT A COUPLE OF THINGS OUT.

NUMBER ONE, ONE DECISION THAT THE COURT WILL NEED TO GIVE US DIRECTION ON TODAY, I BELIEVE, IS WE HAVE TO ADVERTISE TO THE

[00:50:06]

CITIZENS THE TAX RATE THAT THE COURT WISHES TO CONSIDER IN THIS PROCESS.

I AM RECOMMENDING MAINTAINING OUR CURRENT TAX RATE OF 29.9 CENTS.

HOWEVER, SHOULD THE COURT WISH TO ENTERTAIN THE INCREASING THE COUNTY'S TAX RATE YOU'LL NEED TO GIVE US DIRECTION ABOUT WHAT THAT MAXIMUM WOULD LOOK LIKE SO THAT WE CAN ADVERTISE THAT TAX RATE.

YOU STILL HAVE THE FREEDOM EVEN AFTER YOU ADVERTISE THAT TAX RATE TO SET IT LOWER, BUT YOU CANNOT GO ANY HIGHER THAN THE TAX RATE THAT IS ADVERTISED.

THAT BEING SAID, I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT IF THE COURT DOES ADOPT THE CURRENT TAX RATE THIS YEAR IN SEPTEMBER OF 29.999 CENTS, IT WILL MARK THE 30TH BUDGET AND YEAR IN A ROW THAT COMMISSIONERS COURT HAS NEVER INCREASED THE PROPERTY TAX RATE.

AND I'LL STACK THAT RECORD UP AGAINST ANY OTHER TAXING LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOR 30 YEARS.

BACK IN 1994, THE TAX COUNTY TAX RATE WAS 38.8 CENTS.

IT IS NOW DOWN TO 29.99 CENTS.

AND AS WAS PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED, ACCORDING TO THE CALCULATIONS, AS MANDATED BY STATE LAW, IF YOU ADOPT 29.99 CENTS AGAIN, YOU ARE TECHNICALLY CUTTING TAXES.

IT'S SUCH A SMALL CUT, NO ONE'S GOING TO NOTICE.

I'LL JUST BE HONEST. BUT YOU ARE LEGALLY ALLOWED TO SAY WE CUT TAXES BECAUSE IT IS LOWER THAN THE NO NEW REVENUE TAX RATE.

AS I MENTIONED, I'M PROPOSING MAINTAINING THE CURRENT TAX RATE.

HERE ARE THE FIVE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THAT OVERALL 29.99 CENTS.

AND FINALLY, HERE'S A GRAPH YOU SEE EVERY YEAR THAT SHOWS YOUR HISTORY OF NEVER INCREASING AND REDUCING THE TAX RATE OVER 30 YEARS.

AS CALCULATED BY THE BUDGET OFFICE.

IF, BY REDUCING THE TAX RATE OVER THOSE 30 YEARS FROM 38.8 CENTS, BY ADOPTING A SENIOR CITIZEN TAX FREEZE AS WELL AS A 20% HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION, HAD YOU NOT DONE ANY OF THOSE THINGS, YOUR REVENUE WOULD HAVE BEEN $243 MILLION MORE THIS YEAR.

SO YOU ARE SAVING TAXPAYERS THIS BUDGET $243 MILLION.

BY ALL THOSE INITIATIVES THIS AND PRIOR COURTS HAVE UNDERTAKEN.

CUMULATIVELY SINCE 1994.

THAT'S OVER $2.5 BILLION WORTH OF FORGONE TAX REVENUE THAT TAXPAYERS GOT TO KEEP IN THEIR POCKET BECAUSE OF THE ACTIONS OF THIS COURT.

WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID.

OKAY, THERE WE GO.

THIS IS THE OVERALL BUDGET SUMMARY BY EXPENDITURE CATEGORIES.

AS YOU CAN SEE, THE BULK OF YOUR EXPENDITURES ARE IN OPERATING EXPENDITURES.

BUT WE ALSO CARRY A LARGE CAPITAL PROJECTS BUDGET.

AND WE ALSO HAVE A LARGE CARRY FORWARD OF CURRENTLY FUNDED CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT WILL NOT BE FINISHED BEFORE THIS BUDGET IS OVER.

OVERALL, LAST YEAR'S ADOPTED BUDGET WAS RIGHT AT $3 BILLION.

THIS YEAR'S RECOMMENDED BUDGET IT IS 2.8, WHICH IS A REDUCTION OF ABOUT $200 MILLION BUDGET TO BUDGET.

I CAN ATTRIBUTE A LOT OF THAT TO YOU ACTUALLY SPENDING YOUR ARPA FUNDING.

SO WE SHOWED YOU THIS CHART BACK IN THE SPRING AS WE STARTED THIS PROCESS.

THE BLUE LINE IS OUR AVAILABLE FUNDS.

THE RED LINE IS THE FUNDS THAT ARE REQUIRED.

IF YOU DO NOT, WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT THE COURT UTILIZE THE $18 MILLION IN ARPA REVENUE REPLACEMENT FUNDING THAT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A WAY TO SUPPLEMENT, GENERAL FUND OR OFFSET GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES.

BUT IF YOU DO NOT DO THAT AND DO NOT IDENTIFY APPROXIMATELY $25 MILLION IN RECURRING EXPENDITURES OR RECURRING REVENUES OVER THE NEXT FEW

[00:55:04]

YEARS, THIS IS WHAT WE FORECAST THE RESULT WOULD LOOK LIKE STARTING IN 2028.

WHAT COMMISSIONER MOODY HAS REFERRED TO AS THE ARPA CLIFF STARTS TO BITE, AND WE WOULD HAVE TO DO SOMETHING OR ELSE WE WOULD BE BELOW OUR REQUIRED FUND BALANCE.

ACCORDINGLY, WHAT I AM RECOMMENDING IN THIS BUDGET IS THAT WE UTILIZE THOSE 18.8 MILLION TO OFFSET WHAT WOULD OTHERWISE BEEN GENERAL OPERATING EXPENDITURES.

ONE IS 14.9 MILLION IN PROGRAM CHANGES, AND FOR THE MOST PART, PROGRAM CHANGES MEAN NEW POSITIONS AND THEN ALSO TO SUPPLEMENT INCREASED COST OF HEALTH INSURANCE SO THAT THE EMPLOYEES DON'T HAVE TO BEAR THAT BURDEN.

SO THIS IS THAT SAME GRAPH REVISED USING THE 18 MILLION, WHICH IS, AFTER ALL, ONLY ONE TIME MONEY.

IT'S NOT RECURRING.

SO USING THAT IT DOES SLIGHTLY CHANGE THE TRAJECTORY, BUT YOU ARE STILL FACING A PROBLEM.

SO FINALLY, WE WILL STILL HAVE WORK TO DO.

EVEN IF YOU ADOPT THE BUDGET I'VE RECOMMENDED TO IDENTIFY RECURRING SAVINGS OR RECURRING REVENUE IN THE UPCOMING YEARS.

IF WE DO THAT, THEN I BELIEVE WE'LL BE BACK INTO BALANCE DURING THE FORECAST PERIOD.

SO WITH THAT, I WOULD PROPOSE ALLOWING TANYA TO WALK YOU THROUGH THE SPECIFICS OF WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING, PARTICULARLY WITH THE GENERAL FUND AND PROGRAM CHANGES. SO BEFORE TANYA COMES UP, JUDGE, I'D LIKE TO JUST POINT OUT SOMETHING.

SO I THINK SOMETIMES DAVID SMITH JUST GETS A BAD RAP.

I'M NOT SURE WHY.

SOMETIMES THEY DON'T LISTEN TO WHEN YOU TALK.

SO I WANT TO EMPHASIZE SLIDE SIX ADOPTING THE RECOMMENDED TAX RATE ALONG WITH THE SENIOR CITIZENS TAX FREEZE AND HOMESTEAD EXEMPTIONS, WHICH ARE THINGS WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.

WE SAVED TAXPAYERS $243 MILLION.

LIKE, THAT'S A HUGE DEAL.

SO I HOPE WHEN YOU SEE DAVID AND THE COUNTY MANAGER'S STAFF AND TINA AND TANYA AND HER STAFF, THAT YOU GUYS REALLY RECOGNIZE THAT YOU KNOW, WE APPROVE THINGS AND WE DO THE VOTES, BUT IT'S REALLY THE STAFF WHO MAKE THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND CRUNCH THE NUMBERS.

AND SO THANK YOU FOR WORKING HARD TO BE A GOOD STEWARD OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS.

THANK YOU. THEY WERE HERE LATE LAST NIGHT.

ONE OF THEM EVEN JOKED HE WAS THINKING ABOUT SLEEPING IN HIS CAR, BUT HE DIDN'T, THANKFULLY.

SO ANY FURTHER COMMENT? WAIT FOR THE COMMENTS FOR NOW.

COMMISSIONER MOODY, GO AHEAD.

I JUST HAD A COUPLE QUESTIONS.

AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THERE'LL BE OTHER QUESTIONS, I'M SURE, FROM THE PROGRAM CHANGES.

BUT DAVID, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE ARPA FUNDS, THE 18 MILLION IS THAT ALL OF THE REMAINING ARPA FUNDS WERE ROLLING INTO REVENUE REPLACEMENT, OR A PORTION? ITS ALL THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED SO FAR.

BUT AS WE GO THROUGH THE YEAR, WE'LL FIND MORE PROJECTS WHERE WE BELIEVE THOSE FUNDS CANNOT BE SPENT BY THE DEADLINE, AND THE COURT WILL HAVE DECISIONS THAT IT'LL HAVE TO MAKE ABOUT THOSE THOSE REVENUES WHEN THEY COME.

AND TO USE THOSE DOLLARS FOR REVENUE REPLACEMENT WE HAVE TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR? I BELIEVE THAT'S CORRECT. CALENDAR YEAR 24.

OKAY. AND THEN WHEN LOOKING AT THE GRAPH ON THE LONG RANGE FINANCIAL FORECAST, CAN YOU JUST REMIND US THE ASSUMPTIONS ON ARPA PROGRAMING? I BELIEVE THERE WAS SOME DETERMINATION AROUND WHICH PROGRAMS WERE WERE TRANSITIONAL OR, YOU KNOW WERE NO LONGER GOING TO BE FUNDED, BUT NEED TO UNDERSTAND THOSE ASSUMPTIONS.

AS WE START TO THINK ABOUT WHAT 25 MILLION WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CUT ULTIMATELY IN ORDER TO GET INTO BALANCE.

SO I DON'T KNOW THE TOTAL OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.

AS I'VE MENTIONED BEFORE, THERE ARE WE DO ASSUME SOME.

YOU WILL WANT TO CONTINUE TO FUND SOME OF THE PROGRAMS. I'LL JUST GIVE YOU ONE, FOR INSTANCE, THE SMART PROGRAM.

BUT WHICH PROGRAM? SMART. SMART.

WE ASSUME THAT YOU'LL WANT TO CONTINUE TO FUND THAT.

HOWEVER, OBVIOUSLY THE FINAL DECISION IS YOURS.

I REALLY DON'T WANT TO PUBLICLY GO THROUGH THE WHOLE LIST.

AND AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO CREATE AN EXPECTATION THAT A PROGRAM WILL BE CONTINUED.

BUT WE HAVE MADE CERTAIN ASSUMPTIONS AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TO GO OVER THEM WITH EACH OF YOUR OFFICES ONE ON ONE.

JUST SO YOU KNOW, I GUESS.

AND I DIDN'T WANT TO GET INTO INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMS TODAY, OBVIOUSLY, BUT I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER THE ASSUMPTIONS ASSUME, YOU KNOW, 50% OF THOSE PROJECTS WERE

[01:00:04]

CONTINUING, OR 90% OF THOSE PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS WE'RE CONTINUING.

A LARGE NUMBER OF YEAR PROJECTS WERE ONE TIME EXPENDITURES OR CAPITAL ANYWAY, SO OBVIOUSLY WE'RE NOT ASSUMING THAT THOSE CONTINUE TO BE FUNDED OPERATIONALLY.

YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW MANY MILLION IN THE ARPA? ABOUT 25, 25 TO 30 MILLION THAT IT GETS EXPONENTIALLY GETS BIGGER BECAUSE WE'LL HAVE LIKE A PARTIAL YEAR, AND THEN IT JUMPS UP TO A FULL ANNUAL COST.

OKAY. JUST TRYING TO ULTIMATELY UNDERSTAND AND WE'LL HAVE FURTHER DISCUSSIONS.

BUT AS WE THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO REDUCE IN TERMS OF SPENDING, WHICH, WHICH PROGRAMS ARE ACTUALLY GETTING US TOWARDS THAT 25 MILLION VERSUS NOT, YOU KNOW, WE JUST NEED TO UNDERSTAND KIND OF THE BASELINE IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE GO FROM HERE.

I UNDERSTAND.

THANK YOU JUDGE.

MR. CALVERT. MAY I PICK UP ON COMMISSIONER MOODY'S POINT AND KIND OF MAKE A MEMORY.

THIS IS GOING TO BE PROBABLY HALF CORRECT.

BUT IN TERMS OF I AGREE WITH YOU, THE SMART PROGRAM WOULD BE ONE THAT I THINK IS THE FUTURE OF POLICING, AND I WOULD THINK THE COURT WOULD WANT TO KEEP THAT GOING.

BUT I KNOW THAT IN THE OVERSIGHT CAPACITY FOR ARPA, WE INCREASED STAFFING EITHER IN INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OR COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND MAYBE LATERALED IT.

I DON'T REALLY KNOW.

MAYBE IN THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE FOR THE ADDITIONAL POSITIONS TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE.

SO THAT WAS AROUND, IF MY MEMORY SERVES ME CORRECTLY, 3 TO 6 MILLION.

DOES THAT SOUND? YEAH. TANYA, YOU'RE SHAKING YOUR HEAD.

OKAY, SO I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK.

MENTAL HEALTH WOULD BE ANOTHER ONE IN TERMS OF THE COUNSELING FOR THE SCHOOLS.

THAT WOULD BE A ONE TIME EXPENSE, NOT A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT EXPENDITURE, BUT NOT NECESSARILY EXPECTED OF THE COUNTY TO CARRY ON, ALBEIT A VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.

AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE PEOPLE ACTUALLY COMING TO US REQUESTING THAT I THINK THE COURT HAS TO BEEF UP MAYBE THE LOBBYING EFFORTS AT THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL TO TRY AND, YOU KNOW, GET TO THOSE ENTITIES THAT HAVE MORE MONEY FOR THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.

AND, FRANKLY, IN THE STATE'S CASE, ABDICATED THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO MENTAL HEALTH AND CUT MENTAL HEALTH FOR DECADES.

THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INITIATIVE WOULD BE ANOTHER POTENTIAL AREA THAT HAD ARPA FUNDING FOR A VARIETY OF NONPROFITS AND OTHER STAFFING OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, AND I THINK AS WELL, THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER ONE.

THERE RAISES THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER ONE, ALBEIT I GUESS IT'S ONBOARDED WITH THE GENERAL FUND GOING FORWARD.

AM I BASICALLY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF MOST OF THE EXPENDITURES THAT WOULD.

WELL, MAYBE IT'S NOT EVEN MOST.

IT MIGHT BE HALF OF THE EXPENDITURES THAT ARE FUNDED FROM ARPA FUNDING THAT WE HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK AT HOW WE DEAL WITH THOSE.

WITHOUT MENTIONING THOSE, I WOULD SAY THOSE CATEGORIES THAT THOSE INDIVIDUAL INITIATIVES WERE FUNDED UNDER ARE PROBABLY MOST WOULD BE MY GUESS. SO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WRIT LARGE.

YOU FUNDED A LOT OF THINGS BOTH ONE TIME AND RECURRING THAT WE'LL HAVE TO LOOK AT ALL OF THEM.

THAT'S IT. ANYTHING ELSE? ALL RIGHT, TANYA.

CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION.

GOOD MORNING, JUDGE AND COMMISSIONERS.

TANYA GAITAN BUDGET AND FINANCE DIRECTOR.

I'LL CONTINUE ON THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM CHANGES THAT WE ARE PROPOSING IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

IN FISCAL YEAR 24-25 WE'RE RECOMMENDING ADDING A NET NUMBER OF 160.5 POSITIONS ACROSS THE COUNTY, AT A COST OF $14.9 MILLION. THE MAJORITY OF THESE NEW POSITIONS ARE IN THE GENERAL FUND.

THIS AMOUNT INCLUDES POSITIONS AND CONTINGENCIES TO INCLUDE THE SHERIFF'S UNIFORM POSITIONS AT 1.8, AND I'LL GO INTO DETAIL IN FUTURE SLIDES TO DISCUSS THAT.

STAFF FOR NEW COURTS, STAFF FOR THE NEW BUILDINGS ON ON THAT ARE UPCOMING FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, AND THE YOUTH DIVERSION PROGRAM FOR THE JP'S.

THE NEXT FEW TABLES HERE LISTED EACH OFFICE AND DEPARTMENT AND THEIR RECOMMENDED PROGRAM CHANGES WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND.

THIS IS LISTED BY COST OF EACH OF THE PROGRAM CHANGES.

A FEW OF THE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS INCLUDE THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, WHICH I'LL GO INTO DETAIL.

THAT'S ABOUT $3.5 MILLION.

THE JUVENILE OFFICE IS TO REGRADE ALL OF THEIR DETENTION AND PROBATION OFFICERS AT $2.4 MILLION.

THE DA'S OFFICE TO ALLOCATE ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO SUPPORT THE COURTS AND THEIR INTAKE PROCESS AT $1.7 MILLION, AND THE TAX ASSESSOR FOR THEIR NEW SATELLITE OFFICE AT PRECINCT FOUR AT $1.4 MILLION, AND FOR FACILITIES DEPARTMENT TO STAFF THE NEW BUILDINGS AT $1.3 MILLION.

THIS SLIDE CONTINUES ON THE LIST OF OFFICES AND DEPARTMENTS WHO ALSO RECEIVED PROGRAM CHANGES IN THE GENERAL FUND, FOR TOTAL COST OF 14.1 MILLION.

AND THEN THIS NEXT SLIDE SHOWS THE LIST OF OTHER FUNDS PROGRAM CHANGES THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF THE GENERAL FUND.

ONE OF THE MORE SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS IN PROGRAM CHANGES THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING IS FOR THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND THE AMOUNT OF $3.5 MILLION.

[01:05:02]

WE'RE RECOMMENDING 14 NEW POSITIONS TO CREATE THE SHERIFF'S TOP OFFENDER PROGRAM IN THE AMOUNT OF $1.4 MILLION.

THIS INCLUDES 12 LE OFFICERS, ONE SERGEANT AND ONE CRIME ANALYST.

THIS UNIT WILL BE IN RESPONSE TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY ACTION PLAN, AND THIS UNIT WILL TARGET HIGH RISK VIOLENT OFFENDERS AND WITH THAT, HAVE ACTIVE WARRANTS.

THEY WILL BE WORKING ALONG WITH THEIR EXISTING UNIT CALLED THE FUGITIVE APPREHENSION UNIT, WHERE CURRENTLY WHICH CURRENTLY HAS 12 DEPUTY POSITIONS.

ALSO INCLUDED IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET IS THE ADDITION OF 22 UNIFORMED OFFICERS, TO BE FUNDED IN CONTINGENCIES IN THE AMOUNT OF $1.8 MILLION.

THE FIRST ALLOCATION IS FOR THE SMART TEAM TO EXTEND THEM TO A 24 OVER SEVEN COVERAGE.

THIS IS DEPENDENT ON STAFF'S ABILITY TO FILL THEIR VACANCIES IN ORDER FOR THAT PROGRAM TO BE AT 24 OVER SEVEN.

THE SECOND ALLOCATION IS FOR HOSPITAL TRANSPORT AT THE JAIL CURRENTLY BCSOS HAS A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF HOSPITALIZATIONS OF INMATES AT VARIOUS HOSPITALS, AND THIS REQUIRES THEM PULLING RESOURCES FROM THEIR EXISTING UNITS.

THESE ARE CONTINGENT UPON FILLING THEIR VACANCIES NEXT YEAR.

THE THIRD ALLOCATION IS TO FUND 12 DEPUTY OFFICERS AND TWO SERGEANTS FOR PATROL.

THIS IS CONTINGENT UPON FINALIZING THE ASSIGNMENTS OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT STAFF, AS WELL AS THE PLAN FROM THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE ON HOW MANY DISTRICTS ARE GOING TO CREATE.

MAY I ASK YOU OVER ON THE SHERIFF'S? DOES THIS REPRESENT ABOUT TWO LESS EMPLOYEES THAN THE SHERIFF WAS REQUESTING? BECAUSE I THINK HE WAS REQUESTING 24.

AND THIS IS 22? THAT'S CORRECT.

YES, IT'S HALF OF THAT. THANK YOU. CONTINUING ON WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT INVESTMENTS, WE'RE GOING TO DISCUSS THE CONSTABLES.

EACH CONSTABLE IS RECOMMENDED TO RECEIVE TWO ADDITIONAL DEPUTY CONSTABLES, ONE FOR TRAFFIC AND ONE FOR WEIGHT ENFORCEMENT.

THE TOTAL COST OF THIS FOR ALL FOUR OFFICES IS $1.4 MILLION.

ADDITIONALLY, THE CONSTABLES WERE RECOMMENDED TO CREATE LEAD DEPUTY CONSTABLES, ALLOWING TWO FOR EACH PRECINCT, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THREE TO BE PROMOTED INTO THESE POSITIONS.

AS WE'RE DELETING EXISTING DEPUTY CONSTABLES, PRECINCT THREE HAS A THIRD ONE TO PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR THE COMAL ISD, AND WE'LL BE ASKING TO LOOK AT THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT TO REFUND THOSE COSTS FOR THAT THIRD POSITION.

THE TOTAL COST OF THAT IS $129,000.

NOW, I'LL BE MOVING ON TO THE INVESTMENTS IN THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM, THE COUNTY COURTS AND CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURTS.

WE WILL BE REQUESTING OUR NEW ADDITIONAL COURTS AT THE 89TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE.

THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE NATIONAL CENTER OF STATE COURTS.

THE ESTIMATED COST FOR THESE COURTS TO STAFF THEM IS $6 MILLION ANNUALLY, WHICH WILL BEGIN IN FISCAL YEAR 2026.

WE ARE FUNDING ONE MONTH AS TYPICALLY WHEN THEY DO CREATE NEW COURTS.

IT'S TYPICALLY ACTIVE ON SEPTEMBER 1ST.

SO WE DO HAVE A MONTH OF THOSE COSTS IN THE FISCAL YEAR 25 BUDGET.

OF COURSE, THESE COURTS WILL NEED TO BE APPROVED BY THE STATE LEGISLATURE.

THE NEXT ALLOCATION, FUNDED IN CONTINGENCIES, IS FOR THE JUSTICE OF THE PEACE OFFICES.

TANYA. YES, SIR. I THINK THE LAST BULLET ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE WAS WORTH NOTING.

OH YES, SIR.

ALSO, WANT TO THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT.

ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT WILL COME ACROSS WITH THE NEW COURTS IS SPACE.

SO WE WORKED WITH FACILITIES DEPARTMENT AND THEIR ESTIMATED COST FOR CAPITAL TO FUND THOSE TWO COURTROOMS, IS ABOUT $22 MILLION.

SO WE'LL HAVE TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN CREATING THE COURTS AS WELL.

GOING ON TO THE JUSTICE OF THE PEACE WE ARE RECOMMENDING TO FUND A CONTINGENCY AMOUNT OF $258,000 IN REFERENCE OR RESPONSE TO THE HOUSE BILL 3186, THIS BILL STATES THAT THE COUNTY SHOULD IMPLEMENT A YOUTH DIVERSION PROGRAM FOR JUVENILES.

THE PROGRAM WILL FOCUS ON DIVERTING JUVENILES WHO TOUCH BASE WITH THE JP'S OFFICES, AND WE'RE ASKING THAT THE OFFICES PROVIDE US A PLAN ON HOW THE JUVENILES WOULD BE INCLUDED IN THIS PROGRAM AND WHAT RESOURCES WE WOULD BE PROVIDING THEM.

SO ONCE WE RECEIVE THAT PLAN FROM THE OFFICES, WE WILL CONSIDER REALLOCATING THAT MONEY.

FOR OUTSIDE AGENCIES THE PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDES $1.4 MILLION IN THE COUNTY'S ANNUAL CONTRIBUTIONS, $1 MILLION IN PROGRAMMATIC FUNDING, AND A CONTINUATION OF NEW FUNDING FOR EACH COMMISSIONER AND THE JUDGE'S OFFICE.

STAFF RECOMMENDS TO OPEN UP THESE A NOTICE OF FUNDING AVAILABILITY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FISCAL YEAR TO ALLOW THESE AGENCIES TO APPLY FOR THAT PROGRAMMATIC FUNDING. WE ALSO HAVE RECEIVED A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF CAPITAL REQUESTS FOR OUTSIDE AGENCIES, AND I'LL DISCUSS THAT IN THE FUTURE SLIDES.

SO THIS $1 MILLION JUST NORTH OF $1 MILLION IS THE LIST OF THE CONTINUATION OF THE ANNUAL CONTRIBUTIONS FOR THESE OUTSIDE AGENCIES.

THIS IS THE AMOUNT THAT IS BEING PROPOSED IN THE GENERAL FUND, AND THE NEXT SLIDE OF $425,000 IS FUNDED IN THE VENUE FUND.

[01:10:08]

AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE HAVE RECEIVED UNSOLICITED REQUESTS FROM OUTSIDE AGENCIES THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED THROUGH THE NOFA PROCESS IN THE AMOUNT OF $1.7 MILLION.

AND AS I MENTIONED, WE ALSO RECEIVED REQUESTS IN THE AMOUNT OF $52 MILLION THAT WOULD FALL INTO THE CAPITAL FUND.

THESE AGENCIES ARE NOT CURRENTLY RECOMMENDED IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT GOES THROUGH THE PROCESS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR FOR TO BE CONSIDERED.

NEXT, I'LL DISCUSS EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION.

COMMISSIONERS COURT HAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THE EMPLOYEES INVESTED IN EMPLOYEES COMPENSATION OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, INCLUDING TWO 5% ADJUSTMENTS IN FISCAL YEAR 2022. A MARKET TABLE STUDY IN FISCAL YEAR 2023, AND A COMPRESSION ADJUSTMENT IN FISCAL YEAR 2024.

OVER TIME, EMPLOYEES RECEIVED AN AVERAGE OF 15.8% SALARY INCREASES IN THE LAST FEW YEARS.

THIS YEAR, WE'RE RECOMMENDING A 3% COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT.

WE'RE ALSO CONTINUING THE FUNDING OF HALF A MILLION FOR TUITION REIMBURSEMENT, AND WE'RE NOT RECOMMENDING ANY INCREASES TO HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS OR OUT OF POCKET COSTS FOR EMPLOYEES. ALSO, WE ARE PROPOSING COUNTY WIDE ANY EMPLOYEES WHO WORK ON THE SECOND AND THIRD SHIFT TO RECEIVE A SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL IN THE AMOUNT OF $4,200.

ALSO INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET IS A 5% SALARY ADJUSTMENT FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS IN THE AMOUNT OF $162,000.

THIS WILL BE THE SECOND YEAR OF THE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION TO INCREASE ELECTED OFFICIAL SALARIES COUNTYWIDE.

AS PART OF THE BUDGET WE'RE ALSO RECOMMENDING $42 MILLION IN CAPITAL PROJECTS, AND IT'S SIMILAR TO LAST YEAR.

WE CATEGORIZED THESE BETWEEN SAFETY, ASSET PRESERVATION AND SERVICE EXPANSION.

THE NEXT FEW SLIDES PROVIDE THE DETAILS OF THOSE PROJECTS.

THE FIRST TABLE SHOWS THE SAFETY.

SOME OF THESE PROJECTS INCLUDE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE JAIL, SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS AND FIRE SAFETY EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENTS.

THE NEXT GROUP INCLUDES PROJECTS FOR ASSET PRESERVATION.

SOME OF THE SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS INCLUDE PROJECTS FOR BCIT TO MAINTAIN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND EQUIPMENT FOR OUR NETWORK, PC REPLACEMENTS, WHICH IS AN ANNUAL COST, AUDIO VISUAL UPGRADES, WHICH FACILITIES WILL MANAGE, AND THEN RADIO REPLACEMENTS FOR OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IS TO REPLACE ALL THE RADIO EQUIPMENT THAT HAPPENS EACH, EVERY SO OFTEN. THE NEXT GROUP IS THE SERVICE EXPANSION.

SOME OF THE SIGNIFICANT COSTS HERE ARE ANNUAL REPLACEMENT VEHICLES FOR COUNTY VEHICLES.

A GRANT INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT FOR JCB MANUFACTURING FOR $5 MILLION, AND VARIOUS RENOVATIONS TO EXISTING BUILDINGS.

WE'RE ALSO RECOMMENDING $45 MILLION IN ROAD PROJECTS.

THIS INCLUDES PROJECTS, EXISTING FUNDING FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR EXISTING PROJECTS, AS WELL AS TWO NEW PROJECTS.

THIS ALSO INCLUDES PROGRAMS FOR A NEW PROJECT FOR FAILED STREETS AND STREET REHABILITATION THAT PUBLIC WORKS WILL BE IMPLEMENTING TO IMPROVE THE GRADES OF THE COUNTY ROADS. WE'RE ALSO RECOMMENDING $6.8 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR TWO EXISTING FLOOD PROJECTS, IN THE AMOUNT OF $6.8 MILLION.

THE NEXT SCHEDULED COURT WILL BE ON SEPTEMBER 9TH TO PRESENT THE CHANGE ORDER.

HOWEVER, WE DO HAVE SOME TENTATIVE WORK SCHEDULE SCHEDULES AVAILABLE ON AUGUST 27TH, AUGUST 29TH AND SEPTEMBER 4TH.

WE WILL BE PRESENTING THE ADOPTED BUDGET ON SEPTEMBER 10TH TO INCLUDE THE ADOPTION OF THE TAX RATE, AS WELL AS ANY CHANGES THAT YOU HAVE RECOMMENDED FOR OUR PROPOSED BUDGET TODAY.

THIS SLIDE PROVIDES THE REQUIRED MOTION TO ALLOW STAFF TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PROPOSED TAX RATE, AND THIS MOTION WILL ALLOW US TO POST A PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE PUBLIC IN THE SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS AND LA PRENSA AND ALLOW THE CITIZENS TO ATTEND THE PUBLIC HEARING ON SEPTEMBER 10TH.

THAT'S THE END OF MY PRESENTATION.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.

THANK YOU, JUDGE.

FEELS LIKE WE'RE GETTING ATTACKED BY CICADAS HERE.

I KNOW, AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT HEARS THAT? I BROUGHT THEM. [LAUGHTER] I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S OMINOUS FOR THE BUDGET OR NOT, BUT TANYA, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.

A COUPLE QUICK QUESTIONS AND LET ME JOIN MY COLLEAGUE, COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES IN THANKING YOU AND YOUR STAFF.

I KNOW, AS DAVID MENTIONED, THE WORK BEGAN MONTHS AGO AND YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN SHARPENING THE PENCIL, SO TO SPEAK, AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE BEST WAY TO PRESENT A PROPOSED BUDGET THAT IS YOU KNOW, I GUESS CONSIDERATE OF THE GROWTH OF THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO THE FACT THAT WE WANT TO BE VERY AWARE OF THE FACT THAT WE ARE STEWARDS OF PUBLIC DOLLARS.

[01:15:04]

SO WE APPRECIATE THAT.

I HAD A QUESTION.

I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS FOR YOU OR DAVID, JUST AS A REMINDER, I GUESS.

BACK TO SLIDE SEVEN ON THE VENUE RESERVE THAT THAT LINE ITEM IS ABOUT 150 MILLION.

AND REMIND ME IF YOU CAN, THAT IS RESERVED FROM THE VENUE TAX DOLLARS.

AND THAT IS DOLLARS THAT WE CANNOT SPEND ON SPECIFIC PROJECTS WITHOUT VOTER APPROVAL.

AGAIN, IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. OUR USE IS LIMITED TO POTENTIALLY PAYING DOWN SOME OF THOSE BONDS TO EXPAND CAPACITY.

YES BUT THAT'S PRETTY MUCH IT.

IS THAT RIGHT? PRETTY MUCH.

OKAY. I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE A NICE PIGGY BANK, BUT WE CAN'T TOUCH IT.

WE GOT TO GET VOTER APPROVAL.

OKAY. MY OTHER QUESTION IS TO CHIME IN ON, I GUESS, THE FORECAST.

YOU KNOW, I AGREE WITH MY COLLEAGUES.

I THINK WE HAVE TO BE VERY, VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT HOW WE PLAN OUT THE NEXT FEW YEARS, HOW WE UTILIZE THOSE RESERVE OR THE ARPA DOLLARS THAT ARE THERE.

BECAUSE WHETHER IT'S 2027 OR 2028, 29, THERE'S GOING TO HAVE TO BE SOME TOUGH DECISIONS MADE PARTICULARLY WITH RESPECT TO CONTINUING PROGRAMS THAT WE INITIATED OR WE INVESTED IN SIGNIFICANTLY DURING THE ARPA DOLLARS THAT ARE GOING TO POTENTIALLY END IN THOSE YEARS. I AGREE WITH COMMISSIONER CALVERT.

I THINK WE'VE HAD SOME OF THESE DISCUSSIONS, PARTICULARLY RELATED TO HOW WE APPROACH OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES, BOTH IN AUSTIN AND IN WASHINGTON, THAT THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE WITH POTENTIAL GRANT FUNDING.

AND I THINK THOSE BECOME INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT IN LIGHT OF THE FACT THAT PROGRAMMATICALLY, WE'RE LOOKING AT WHETHER IT'S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR MENTAL HEALTH IMPACTFUL PROGRAMS THAT WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO CONTINUE WITHOUT SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTING OUR GENERAL FUND.

SO I THINK THOSE ARE POINT'S WELL TAKEN.

COMMISSIONER. COMMISSIONER? YES. GO AHEAD DAVID. IF I COULD JUST ADD, I WANT TO JUST REMIND EVERYONE THAT THIS COURT HAS SAID REPEATEDLY, IN PUBLIC AND IN PERSON, THAT THOSE RECEIVING ARPA DOLLARS SHOULD USE THIS TIME TO LOOK FOR ALTERNATIVE FUNDING SOURCES, BECAUSE THEY ARE ONE TIME MONEY AND THEY GO AWAY. AND THE COURT HAS SAID THAT REPEATEDLY THE DEADLINE IS APPROACHING.

SO JUST FAIR WARNING, SO TO SPEAK.

NO, YOU'RE RIGHT. I RECALL THAT CAUTIONARY TALE A NUMBER OF TIMES PUBLICLY TO A LOT OF THOSE PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS.

TANYA, WITH RESPECT TO THE PROGRAM CHANGES TO THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, I GUESS ITEM 14.

I'M SORRY, PAGE 14.

THE 22 POSITIONS THAT YOU'RE RECOMMENDING, THOSE ARE ALL ON THE LAW ENFORCEMENT SIDE, IS THAT RIGHT? OR ARE THERE SOME THAT ARE DETENTION.

THE 22 THAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO IN CONTINGENCIES? FIVE OF THOSE ARE DETENTION OFFICERS.

OKAY. YEAH. OKAY.

AND I KNOW WE GOT SOME INFORMATION RECENTLY FROM THE SHERIFF ON KIND OF THE BACKFILL OF POSITIONS, THE STRAIGHT TO THE STREET PROGRAM THAT WE ADOPTED LAST YEAR. IT SOUNDS LIKE HE'S ABLE TO FILL THOSE A LOT MORE RAPIDLY.

AND SO THAT'S A GOOD SIGN.

CERTAINLY. BUT I THINK HIS REQUEST IN TOTAL WAS 24.

IS THAT RIGHT? WHAT WAS THE BREAKDOWN ON HIS REQUEST? LAW ENFORCEMENT TO DETENTION.

DO YOU RECALL. THE MAJORITY OF HIS REQUESTS WERE.

I THINK HE ASKED FOR TEN DETENTION OFFICERS FOR HOSPITAL TRANSPORT.

AND THEN 24 AND SOME SERGEANTS TO INCLUDE IN PATROL HIS STOP PROGRAM.

I THINK OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, THOSE ARE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ONES.

WHAT WAS THE THE LAST ONE WAS THE STOP PROGRAM WE'RE PROPOSING.

OKAY. AND THEN LET'S SEE.

LET ME LOOK AT.

THE I GUESS ON THE CONSTABLE'S I KNOW THAT OBVIOUSLY WE NEED TO TRY AND BE FAIR BY PRECINCT.

BUT YOU'RE RECOMMENDING TWO.

WAS THE TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT ONE THAT THEY EMPHASIZED THERE WAS A NEED WHEN THEY MADE THE REQUEST? SO IT VARIED BETWEEN THE OFFICES.

SOME OF THE OFFICERS DEPENDED OR RELAYED THAT THEY REALLY NEEDED IT FOR CIVIL PROCESSES.

BUT WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE WORKLOAD, IT WASN'T INCREASING COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS.

AND IT WAS SO IT WAS A MIX BETWEEN THE OFFICES.

SOME HAD VERY SPECIFIC NEEDS.

SOME WANTED TRAFFIC LIKE MOTORCYCLE A UNIT.

SOME JUST WANTED ALL CIVIL.

SOME HAD VARIOUS WORKLOADS LIKE AG PAPERS, PROTECTIVE ORDERS, THE PARKS, THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO IT VARIED ACROSS THE OFFICES.

[01:20:02]

WE HAD A DISCUSSION, I GUESS, A FEW WEEKS AGO WHEN THE CONSTABLES CAME AND ASKED FOR SOME WEIGHT ENFORCEMENT POSITIONS.

I NOTICED YOU'RE RECOMMENDING, I GUESS, ONE POSITION PER PRECINCT FOR THAT, BUT IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT NOT ALL OF THEM HAVE THE EQUIPMENT NECESSARY FOR WEIGHT ENFORCEMENT.

YOU'RE NOT RECOMMENDING ANYTHING RELATED TO THAT IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, ARE YOU? NO. WE ARE. WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO FUND VEHICLES FOR THEM.

OKAY. ADDITIONAL VEHICLES I THINK PRECINCT FOUR HAD REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT.

SO WE'RE GOING TO REPLACE THAT.

AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO PROVIDE THE EQUIPMENT THAT THEY NEED FOR EACH OF THE NEW DEPUTIES.

CAN YOU NOT NOW, BUT CAN YOU DELINEATE I THINK ON SLIDE 21, YOU HAVE A TOTAL OF LIKE 1.3 MILLION FOR SALARY, BENEFITS, SUPPLIES, EQUIPMENT.

I ASSUME YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE EQUIPMENT IS IN THAT SUM OF 1.3 MILLION.

CORRECT. CAN YOU JUST GET US WHAT THAT IS? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. JUST SEPARATED WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE.

AND THEN ON SLIDE 23, THERE'S MENTION ABOUT THE REQUEST FOR NEW COURTS THAT THAT IS, I GUESS, BEING SIGNALED FOR THIS NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION.

TELL ME A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.

I GUESS IT'S COUNTY COURTS AND CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURTS.

THAT'S BEEN A FORMAL REQUEST, OR WE'VE BEEN NOTIFIED THAT THAT IS GOING TO BE A PRIORITY FOR THE COURTS, THAT TO ASK FOR LEGISLATION TO CREATE NEW COURTS, IS IT BROKEN DOWN TO COUNTY COURT TO CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURTS? RIGHT. WHAT'S THE BREAKDOWN? SO WE RECEIVED A MEMO A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, PROBABLY RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BUDGET PROCESS.

IF I RECALL CORRECTLY, THE COUNTY COURTS WERE ASKING FOR ONE CIVIL COURT AND ONE CRIMINAL COURT, AND THE CRIMINAL COURTS ARE ASKING FOR TWO ADDITIONAL FELONY COURTS.

OKAY. AND HAVE YOU OR ANYBODY ELSE DONE AN ANALYSIS YET ON THE NEED FOR, IN TERMS OF CASELOAD.

THE NEED. QUITE YET? YEAH.

SO DURING THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, WE'LL PROBABLY GET A HEAD START ON IT.

OF COURSE, NOW THAT WE KNOW THAT THE REQUEST IS COMING.

BUT DURING THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS WE'LL PROVIDE OUR FISCAL ANALYSIS FOR THE NEW COURTS.

OKAY. BECAUSE I KNOW THAT AS A BODY, THE COURT WILL HAVE A DISCUSSION JUDGE AT SOME POINT ABOUT LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES.

YOU KNOW, I'VE NOT SEEN THAT INFORMATION YET IN ORDER TO COME TO A CONCLUSION THAT THAT IS IN FACT A LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY OF MINE.

AND SO THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE, I THINK, IN ADVANCE OF THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION, WHICH I THINK, YOU KNOW, I THINK MELISSA BRINGS US LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES IN OCTOBER, I THINK, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN.

SO IF YOU CAN HELP WITH THAT.

SLIDE 24 ON THE YOUTH DIVERSION PROGRAM.

I KNOW THAT THIS WAS ESSENTIALLY AN UNFUNDED MANDATE TO ADOPT A YOUTH DIVERSION PLAN FOR THE JP COURTS.

I'M TRYING TO RECALL SEVERAL YEARS AGO THERE WAS A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE MUNICIPAL COURT, CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, TAKING PARTICULARLY SOME OF THE TRUANCY CASES.

SO HOW IS THIS WORKING WITH THAT? I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO ADDRESS THAT, TANYA OR DAVID.

YEAH. SO THESE ARE SORRY.

THESE ARE CRIMINAL MATTERS.

CLASS C MISDEMEANOR.

SO THESE ARE ABOVE THE TRUANCY CASES THAT WOULD.

TRUANCY STILL GOES TO MUNICIPAL COURT.

OKAY. BUT SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WE HAVE ARE HOW MANY CASES IS THAT AND WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO DO AS A DIVERSION PROGRAM? IT WILL IT BE DIFFERENT PRECINCT TO PRECINCT.

SO THAT'S WHY IT'S IN CONTINGENCIES AT THE MOMENT, SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A MORE SOLID UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE GAME PLAN IS.

OKAY. GOT IT.

OKAY. AND THEN I GUESS THE LAST QUESTION FOR NOW AT LEAST WE'VE GOT A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT REQUESTS THAT YOU HAVE HERE, AND THERE'S PROBABLY MORE FOR OUTSIDE AGENCY CAPITAL REQUESTS.

AND I THINK PART OF THIS IS ALL OF US ADJUSTING TO THE PRE ARPA NORM, WHICH WAS WE DIDN'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF CAPITAL DOLLARS THE LAST FEW YEARS.

WE'VE HAD AN ABUNDANCE BECAUSE OF ARPA.

BUT I THINK WE'RE GETTING STILL A LOT OF THOSE REQUESTS.

REQUEST UNDER THE CONSIDERATION THAT WE STILL HAVE DOLLARS AVAILABLE.

YOU HAVE ON SLIDE 29 ABOUT $52 MILLION IN CAPITAL REQUESTS.

ARE THOSE JUST KIND OF FYI? THESE HAVE COME IN.

YOU ALL ARE GOING TO GET ASKED ABOUT IT.

YOU DON'T HAVE A RECOMMENDATION NECESSARILY ON HOW WE ADDRESS THESE, PARTICULARLY IN LIGHT OF THE CONVERSATION WE'VE HAD LATELY ABOUT SLOWING DOWN OUR CAPITAL SPENDING PROGRAM. DAVID, CAN YOU COMMENT ON THAT? NO, THIS IS JUST TO DO TWO THINGS TO LET YOU KNOW WE HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED OF THESE REQUESTS.

THEY ARE NOT FUNDED IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

[01:25:05]

WE'LL NEED POLICY LEVEL DIRECTION FROM THE COURT HOW YOU WANT TO PROCEED WITH THIS.

BUT TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, BECAUSE CAPITAL IS TYPICALLY DEBT FUNDED, ULTIMATELY IT'S CHALLENGING TO DO SOME OF THESE REQUESTS, EVEN IF YOU WANT TO, BECAUSE THE USE OF DEBT COUNTY DEBT FUNDS IS COMPLICATED, REQUIRES AN OWNERSHIP STAKE IN WHATEVER IT IS THAT'S BEING FUNDED AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS.

IT HAS TO BE A VALID PUBLIC PURPOSE.

THINGS LIKE THAT.

BUT REALLY, THIS IS JUST PUTTING EVERYONE ON NOTICE.

THEY'RE OUT THERE.

YOU'LL PROBABLY HEAR OR PROBABLY HAVE ALREADY HEARD FROM SOME OF THESE AGENCIES ALREADY.

SO IT'S JUST FOR YOUR INFORMATION AND WE'LL AWAIT DIRECTION.

OKAY. WELL, I GUESS I HAVE TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THOSE.

I KNOW SOME OF THEM WERE SIGNIFICANT DOLLAR AMOUNTS THAT WERE BEING PROPOSED OVER A COUPLE OF YEARS.

AND I KNOW THAT'S KIND OF HARD TO FORECAST, PARTICULARLY IN LIGHT OF WHAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT.

YOU KNOW, I GUESS MY I SAID THAT WAS MY LAST, BUT I DO HAVE A COMMENT ABOUT THE EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION.

I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A RECOMMENDATION LAST YEAR WITH RESPECT TO OUR SALARIES, AND IT WAS A 5% FOR THIS YEAR. JUST SPEAKING FOR MYSELF, YOU KNOW, I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE.

IF WE'RE GETTING AN INCREASE, THAT IS MORE THAN WHAT OUR EMPLOYEES ARE GETTING.

AND SO YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DISCUSS.

YOUR RECOMMENDATION.

STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION IS 3% COLA FOR ALL EMPLOYEES.

YOU KNOW, I JUST DON'T THINK IT'S RIGHT AND FAIR THAT ELECTEDS GET MORE THAN WHAT THE RANK AND FILE GETS.

SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT.

COMMISSIONER? YES. JUST TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY YOUR.

THAT'S FINE. THAT'S UP TO YOU.

BUT THE REASON THE COMMITTEE CHOSE 2, 5% AND 5% WAS BECAUSE YOU GAVE THE EMPLOYEES 10% IN A SINGLE FISCAL YEAR.

YEAH. SO WITHOUT GETTING ANY ADJUSTMENT TO YOUR OWN SALARY.

SO I GET THAT AND I GET IT.

IT'S LOOKING BACK.

MAYBE IT SEEMS FAIR, BUT ON ITS FACE, YEAR OVER YEAR.

I DON'T FEEL THAT IT LOOKS APPROPRIATE.

I THINK THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT FOR NOW.

TANYA, I KNOW THAT MY COLLEAGUES CERTAINLY HAVE SOME QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.

WE DO NEED A MOTION, THOUGH, TO ADOPT SOME OF THIS.

AT LEAST THE TAX RATE. IS THAT RIGHT? SO IF I CAN JUST LAY THAT ON THE TABLE, JUDGE THE I'D MAKE A MOTION FIRST TO PLACE THE PROPOSED TAX RATE OF 0.299999 TO FUND THE FISCAL YEAR 24-25 PROPOSED OPERATING CAPITAL BUDGET ON THE AGENDA FOR THE COMMISSIONERS COURT MEETING TO BE HELD ON SEPTEMBER 10TH, 2024, AS AN ACTION ITEM.

SECOND. MOTION BY COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.

SECOND BY COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES.

COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.

I HAVE QUESTIONS FOR TANYA, BUT YEAH, LET'S GO AHEAD AND PASS THAT.

JUST TO, I GUESS, COMPLETE THE LOOP HERE.

JUDGE THERE'S TWO THERE'S TWO OTHER ACTION ITEMS. AND SO THE SECOND MOTION WOULD BE TO APPROVE THE PUBLISHING NOTICES OF PUBLIC HEARING ON THE 2024 TAX YEAR, PROPOSED TAX RATE AT FISCAL YEAR 2024-25, PROPOSED OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGET IN THE SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS AND LA PRENSA.

SECOND. THAT'S A MOTION.

COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ, DO YOU CONSIDER A SEPARATE MOTION? SO YOU WANT ONE BIG MOTION? I MEAN, I THINK STATUTORILY THEY GET THEY HAVE TO BE SEPARATE MOTIONS.

WOULD THAT BE SEPARATE.

THEY'RE LISTED THAT WAY.

SO IT'S PROBABLY CLEANER TO DO IT A B C.

ALL RIGHT. SECOND MOTION BY COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.

SECOND. I MEAN MOTION BY COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.

SECOND BY COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES.

CONTINUE COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.

LASTLY, JUDGE, I WOULD MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE HOLDING PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE PROPOSED TAX RATE AND PROPOSED BUDGET ON SEPTEMBER 10TH, 2024.

MOTION BY COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.

SECOND BY COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES.

ON THE THIRD SEPARATE MOTION.

COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.

I THINK WE SHOULD VOTE ON THEM, BECAUSE I NEED I NEED CLARITY.

THEN I HAVE QUESTIONS FOR TANYA.

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? NO AFTER.

I GO TO THIS SIDE. COMMISSIONER CALVERT.

I JUST NEED CLARITY ON THE THE MOTION SPECIFICS OF THREE AGAIN, I COULDN'T HEAR.

YES. SORRY, COMMISSIONER.

IT IS ACTUALLY THE LANGUAGE THAT'S ON THE LAST PAGE OF THE PRESENTATION THAT STAFF PROVIDED TO US THIS MORNING.

PAGE 40.

PUT THEM UP. CAN YOU PLACE THE POWERPOINT LAST PAGE?

[01:30:03]

THANK YOU. THERE IT IS. THERE YOU GO.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF PAGES HERE.

SO JUST TO CLARIFY, IT WAS THE MOTION SETTING THE TAX RATE, KEEPING IT THE SAME 0.2999 CENTS PER HUNDRED.

THEN THE NOTICE TO PUBLISH AND SETTING THE PUBLIC HEARINGS.

WELL, THE THE ISSUE OF THE HEARINGS, I WOULD ASK THE COURT TO MAKE AN ADJUSTMENT TO THE HEARINGS ON THE 27TH AND 29TH FOR THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES.

WE HAVE OUR CONTINUING EDUCATION.

WE COULD DO MONDAY THE 26TH AND FRIDAY THE 30TH.

YEAH, I THINK THAT'S NOT THE SUBSTANCE OF THE MOTION.

THOSE ARE THE WORK SESSIONS FOR THE COURT, RIGHT? I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOUR THIRD.

YEAH, I DIDN'T ADDRESS.

BUT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE OTHER GENERAL HEARING.

YEAH I'M JUST TALKING WHAT'S REQUIRED BY LAW.

UNDERSTOOD. ON THE 10TH OF SEPTEMBER.

ALL RIGHT. COMMISSIONER MOODY.

AND JUST IN FOLLOW UP TO THAT, I KNOW THERE ARE SOME CONFLICTS ON THAT FOLLOWING WEEK IN TERMS OF THOSE WORK SESSIONS, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN WORK AROUND COMMISSIONERS SCHEDULES TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN HEAR ALL OF THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT WANT TO BE HEARD.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME STILL BE ABLE TO WORK WITH THOSE CALENDARS.

WELL, I'LL START AT THE END.

I JUST WANT TO FOLLOW UP TO COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.

WHEN IT COMES TO AND I KNOW THIS IS A SEPARATE AGENDA ITEM ON INDIVIDUAL, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE PAY FOR ELECTEDS, I I SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT MATCHING COLA RATHER THAN THE SECOND YEAR RAISE THAT WAS RECOMMENDED LAST YEAR.

I THINK THAT THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE AND OUT OF A SENSE OF UNITY AND FAIRNESS WITH OUR RANK AND FILE AND EMPLOYEES IN BEXAR COUNTY. THAT MAKES SENSE TO ME.

AND I WOULD SUPPORT THAT WOULD NOT BE WILLING TO SUPPORT A 5% PAY RAISE AT THIS TIME.

A FEW THINGS I WANTED TO TOUCH ON.

FIRST OF ALL, I WONDER, YOU KNOW, I COULD ASK THESE INDIVIDUAL QUESTIONS, BUT IT MAY BE BETTER TO JUST GET THIS AS AS A FOLLOW UP.

I'M WONDERING FROM LIKE YEAR OVER YEAR COMPARISON, RIGHT? WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE 23-24 BUDGET VERSUS THE 24-25 BUDGET, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF ADDITIONAL HEADCOUNT RECOMMENDED? TOTAL CAPITAL PROJECTS RECOMMENDED.

ALL THOSE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES THAT WE KIND OF HAVE THE TOTALS FOR THIS YEAR.

BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE PROBABLY HELPFUL TO SEE THAT VERSUS LAST YEAR.

AND SEE WHERE THE DIFFERENCES ARE.

THAT MAY GIVE US A PLACE TO START TOO WITH SOME OF OUR QUESTIONS AS WE GO FORWARD.

WOULD THAT BE POSSIBLE? ABSOLUTELY. OKAY.

I ASSUME IN LIGHT OF SOME OF OUR RECENT CONVERSATIONS AROUND DEBT, THAT THE CAPITAL RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS BUDGET ARE REDUCED VERSUS THE CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT WE HAD IN LAST YEAR'S BUDGET? THAT'S CORRECT. RIGHT. OKAY.

I WANTED TO COME BACK AND MAINLY FOCUS SOME QUESTIONS HERE ON THE PERSONNEL, THE NET, NEW POSITIONS AND THE RECLASSIFICATIONS.

AND I KNOW I'M JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE I'M 100% CLEAR WHAT WAS THE TOTAL BCSO REQUEST THEN PER CATEGORY DETENTION PATROL.

VERSUS THE NET NEW POSITIONS.

I'M ALSO JUST TRYING TO BE CLEAR, BECAUSE ON ONE PAGE I SAW 22 POSITIONS.

BUT ON PAGE SLIDE 15 I SEE 26 NET NEW POSITIONS.

SO I'M TRYING TO JUST BE CLEAR ON EXACTLY WHAT WAS ASKED FOR AND EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING IN THIS BUDGET.

SO OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, SOME OF THE SIGNIFICANT REQUESTS WERE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT.

A LOT OF THEIR REQUESTS WERE RECLASSIFICATIONS FOR POSITIONS.

I KNOW THAT THEY DID ASK FOR 24 PATROL OFFICERS.

I BELIEVE THERE WERE SIX SERGEANTS.

I THINK THEY ASKED FOR TEN DETENTION OFFICERS.

SO I WOULD HAVE TO GET YOU THE FINAL NUMBER BECAUSE IT'S A PRETTY LENGTHY LIST, LIKE NUMBER OF POSITIONS, LIKE THE TYPES OF POSITIONS, BUT THOSE HIGH LEVEL, THOSE ARE THE MAJOR REQUESTS THAT THEY HAD.

OKAY. AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE CUMULATIVE TOTAL OF THEIR ASK WAS? IT WAS LIKE TENS OF MILLIONS, I THINK.

WHAT WAS THE TOTAL REQUEST FOR SHERIFF'S OFFICE, NOT DOLLARS.

[01:35:03]

70. OH, NUMBER OF POSITIONS 73.

73. OKAY, THAT'S PRETTY HIGH.

YES. I'LL SAY THAT, BUT I DO THINK, YOU KNOW, FROM A YOU KNOW, I HAVE ONE DATA POINT RIGHT NOW ON THIS AND LOOKING AT THE CITY AND I'VE SHARED THIS WITH, SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES, BUT I KNOW THE CITY ADDED 100 POLICE OFFICERS LAST YEAR.

AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THEY WERE GOING TO RECOMMEND IN THIS BUDGET, 65, YOU KNOW, TWO THIRDS OF THE NUMBER FROM LAST YEAR.

WE'VE KIND OF BEEN IN A SIMILAR VEIN, TRYING TO PLAY CATCH UP AND MAKE SURE WE FUND LAW ENFORCEMENT AND HAVE THE BOOTS ON THE GROUND THAT WE NEED.

SO WE ADDED 50 LAST YEAR.

THAT WOULD PUT US AT, YOU KNOW, ADDING 32, 34, SOMETHING LIKE THAT THIS YEAR.

SO I KNOW BASED ON THIS PROPOSAL, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE A LITTLE SHORT OF THAT KIND OF TWO THIRDS NUMBER.

AGAIN, THAT'S ONE DATA POINT.

BUT I WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THAT AND JUST DIVE A LITTLE DEEPER INTO WHAT THE SPECIFIC REQUESTS WERE.

AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, ASK FOR PRIORITIES FROM THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, BETWEEN THOSE DETENTION, BETWEEN THOSE PATROL.

WHAT ARE THE NEEDS TODAY? YOU KNOW, KNOWING THAT WE CAN'T PROVIDE 75 NEW DEPUTIES, BUT WHERE ARE THOSE PRIORITIES? AND THEN FIGURE OUT IF THERE'S A, IF THERE'S A BALANCE OR A SHIFT HERE THAT WE CAN MAKE.

THE JUVENILE OFFICE.

CAN YOU HELP ME WITH THIS? THE RECLASSIFICATION OF 504.

YES. SO THEY HAVE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF JUVENILE PROBATION OFFICERS AND JUVENILE DETENTION OFFICERS IN TWO SEPARATE OFFICES.

SO THIS RUNS THE JUVENILE INSTITUTIONS, AND THEY HAVE TWO LOCATIONS FOR THOSE JUVENILE OFFICES.

THIS WILL BE THE SECOND, I BELIEVE, THE SECOND TIME THAT THEY'RE REGRADING THEIR POSITIONS.

THEIR VACANCY RATE IS LIKE CLOSE TO 50% RIGHT NOW.

SO THEY'RE TRYING TO GET HIGHER PAY TO GET THOSE POSITIONS FILLED.

SO IT IS A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF OFFICERS.

SO THEY'RE UPGRADING EVERYONE TO INCREASE PAY ACROSS THE BOARD IN ORDER TO TRY TO FILL THOSE VACANCIES.

CORRECT. OKAY.

MOVING ON JUST WITH THE DA'S OFFICE AND NOT GETTING INTO THE RECLASSIFICATIONS.

I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT, BUT THE NEW POSITIONS VERSUS VACANCIES AND I KNOW I ASKED LAST COURT ABOUT SPECIFICALLY KIND OF HAVING A DISCUSSION.

I ASSUME THE DA WILL BE COMING IN FOR A WORK SESSION AND SHARING SOME OF THAT WITH US.

BUT THE NINE NEW POSITIONS, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THERE'S A LOT OF VACANCIES.

SO HELP ME WITH THAT.

I KNOW WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION PREVIOUSLY WITH SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES.

BUT CAN YOU PROVIDE SOME BACKGROUND ON THAT? SO MAJORITY OF THE REQUESTS FROM THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, THEY WERE LOOKING FOR HIGHER LEVEL PROSECUTORS LIKE FIRST AND SECOND CHAIRS.

SO THEY NEEDED A LITTLE BIT MORE EXPERTISE.

NOW WE DID MEET WITH THEM AND THEY DISCUSSED ABOUT HOW THEY HAD HIGH TURNOVER FOR THEIR FIRST CHAIRS, BUT I BELIEVE THE MAJORITY OF THEIR VACANCIES ARE IN THE FIRST LEVEL, WHICH THEY'RE MISDEMEANOR PROSECUTORS.

THEY DIDN'T ASK OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD FOR MISDEMEANOR PROSECUTORS.

THESE ARE LIKE FIRST CHAIR SECOND CHAIR POSITIONS.

THEN THE NEW POSITION.

THE NEW POSITIONS. CORRECT.

OKAY. WELL, I'LL LOOK FORWARD TO LOOKING INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.

I DID WANT TO TOUCH ON THE NEXT TWO AS WELL.

THE TAX ASSESSOR, COLLECTORS AND NEW POSITIONS AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT.

CAN YOU PROVIDE US A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON THAT, TALKING ABOUT 34 NEW EMPLOYEES.

SO FOR TAX ASSESSOR, THIS IS TO FUND THEIR NEW LOCATION.

THE SATELLITE OFFICE ON ROCKET LANE WILL INCLUDE THEIR TITLE REGISTRATION PROCESSORS, AND WE TRIED TO MIMIC THE OTHER SUBSTATIONS THAT HAD SIMILAR WORKLOAD COMING THROUGH.

SO THAT'S MAJORITY OF THE ASK, AND IT INCLUDES TAX OPERATIONS SUPERVISORS, TITLE REGISTRATION PROCESSORS, ABOUT 14 TO 15 OF THEM.

LEVEL ONE, LEVEL TWOS.

FOR FACILITIES MANAGEMENT A LOT OF THOSE SOME OF THOSE ARE FOR NEW BUILDINGS.

THEY INCLUDE LIKE CUSTODIANS, ELECTRONIC TECHNICIANS, THINGS TO HELP MANAGE MAINTAINING THE BUILDING.

BUT THEY'RE ALSO ASKING TO INCREASE THEIR LIFE AND SAFETY STAFF AS WELL.

SO THEY HAVE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF EQUIPMENT THAT THEY HAVE TO AUDIT COUNTYWIDE.

SO I THINK THERE'S A PRETTY GOOD NUMBER OF LIFE AND SAFETY POSITIONS THAT THEY HAVEN'T HAVE NOT BEEN ADDED IN A COUPLE OF YEARS THAT WE'RE ADDING TO THEIR OFFICE OR THEIR DEPARTMENT, RATHER. OKAY.

THOSE JUST SEEM PRETTY SIGNIFICANT.

THE ON THE TAX ASSESSOR COLLECTOR SIDE IS THAT GOING TO THOUGH NET OUT WITH ANY OTHER LOCATIONS REDUCTION EMPLOYEES OR IT'S PURELY ADDITIVE.

PURELY ADDED.

[01:40:02]

OKAY, YEAH, THERE'S NO TRANSITION OF OTHER EMPLOYEES LIKE REALLOCATING FROM DOWNTOWN TO THE NEW LOCATION.

IT'S JUST ADDING NEW EMPLOYEES, AND I DON'T WANT TO GO TOO DEEP ON THIS.

WE COULD OBVIOUSLY TALK ABOUT IT MORE IN DEPTH OFFLINE, BUT JUST THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, AS WE ADD ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS, THAT MEANS, YOU KNOW, FEWER PEOPLE ARE GOING TO GO TO THE EXISTING LOCATIONS.

SO HOW DO WE THINK ABOUT THAT IN TERMS OF CONTINUING TO BUILD CAPACITY, PROVIDING MORE FLEXIBLE SERVICES FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS, FOR CITIZENS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME NOT OVERBUILDING.

RIGHT. JUST A COUPLE MORE ITEMS HERE.

THE DISTRICT COURTS.

I KNOW COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ MENTIONED THIS AS WELL.

SO IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE WAS GOING TO BE A RECOMMENDATION WAS TO GO TO THE STATE LEGISLATURE, BUT WE DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW IF AND WHEN ALL OF THOSE COURTS WOULD MATERIALIZE.

SO HOW ARE WE THINKING ABOUT THAT FROM A BUDGET STANDPOINT? OR DO WE HAVE HIGH CONFIDENCE AT THIS POINT THAT ALL THOSE COURTS, BECAUSE THAT'S ANOTHER 40 NEW POSITIONS? YES. SO THOSE NUMBER OF POSITIONS ARE ACROSS ALL THE COUNTIES.

SO THE STATUTORILY WE'RE REQUIRED TO FUND COURT REPORTERS, BAILIFFS, CLERKS FOR EACH OF THE COURTS, DEPENDING ON IF IT'S COUNTY OR IT'S THE DISTRICT COURTS.

SO TYPICALLY THE LAST TIME WE ADDED NEW COURTS IS, I WANT TO SAY, LIKE WHEN I FIRST STARTED, IT WAS LIKE 15 YEARS AGO.

AND TYPICALLY WHEN THEY ACTIVATE NEW COURTS ON SEPTEMBER 1ST.

SO WE'RE MAKING THAT ASSUMPTION THAT THE LEGISLATURE WILL DO THE SAME THING.

SO THAT'S WHY WE JUST PLACE ONE MONTH OF FUNDING.

BUT 2026 WILL BE THE YEAR THAT THE COURTS WILL BE FULLY STAFFED.

YEAH. AND OBVIOUSLY I THINK THAT'S THE MORE SCARY THING IS IF ALL FOUR OF THOSE COURTS, THOSE 40 NEW POSITIONS WOULD BE 6 MILLION, I THINK. IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.

COME NEXT YEAR, IT WOULD BE A HUGE INCREASE IN PERSONNEL BUDGET.

I GUESS WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT.

BUT WE GOT TO BE PREPARED.

FOR THE CONSTABLE POSITIONS.

I KNOW THAT I'VE SAT DOWN WITH BUDGET WITH OUR CONSTABLE.

I'VE HEARD FROM OTHER CONSTABLES AROUND THEIR NEEDS AS WELL.

YOU KNOW, I THINK THEY ASKED FOR TWO WARRANT OFFICERS AND TWO TRAFFIC OFFICERS.

I BELIEVE THEY GOT ONE TRAFFIC OFFICER OUT OF THAT.

IS THAT CORRECT? AND A WEIGHT ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.

OKAY. SO THAT'S STILL SOMETHING I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE CAN FIND A WAY TO GET ANOTHER 1 OR 2 CONSTABLES IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS KNOWING, AGAIN, AS WE HEARD THIS MORNING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE WORK THAT THEY DO AS PART OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AND BEING FIRST RESPONDERS REALLY OUT THERE CLOSE TO THE COMMUNITY IN MANY REGARDS.

LAST PERSONNEL QUESTION I SAW BIBLIO TECH IS ASKING FOR FIVE NET NEW POSITIONS.

CAN YOU GIVE ME BACKGROUND ON THAT? I KNOW WE'VE HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CITY AROUND THE CITY'S LIBRARY SYSTEM AND WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH BIBLIO TECH AND KIND OF OUR STRATEGY GOING FORWARD.

THIS SEEMS LIKE A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN BIBLIO TECH GOING FORWARD.

CAN YOU SPEAK TO IT? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. SO THE BIBLIO TECH IS PLANNING TO OPEN UP A NEW LOCATION, THE LERMA BIBLIO TECH.

AND THOSE ARE THE POSITIONS THAT WE PLACED IN CONTINGENCIES AND INCLUDED THEIR OPERATIONAL COSTS FOR THAT, THAT LOCATION.

SO IT'S A NEW LOCATION FOR BIBLIO TECH.

OKAY. WHICH LOCATION IS THAT? I BELIEVE IT'S IN PRECINCT TWO.

IT'S THERE'S A CAPITAL PROJECT FOR THAT NEW BUILDING.

IT'S CALLED LERMA'S.

LERMA'S. OKAY.

YEP. OKAY.

YEP. I THINK IT'S JUST GOOD, YOU KNOW, FOR ALL OF US TO NOTE, AS WE AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, AS WE TRY TO EXPAND AND PROVIDE MORE FLEXIBLE SERVICES AND ADDITIONAL, YOU KNOW, FOOTPRINT AROUND THE COUNTY.

JUST THINKING ABOUT WHAT THAT DOES IN TERMS OF HEADCOUNT AS WE CONTINUE TO, YOU KNOW, IF WE STAND UP A NEW LOCATION, WE HAVE TO STAFF THAT LOCATION.

AND THAT'S GOING TO BE A LONG TIME COST THAT WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT THAT IS.

BUT CONNECTING THOSE TWO AS WE THINK ABOUT IT IN THE BUDGET PROCESS, I THINK IS IS HEALTHY AND IMPORTANT.

I DO THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, I'LL HAVE SOME LIKE TO LOOK INTO THE OUTSIDE AGENCY FUNDS A LITTLE BIT MORE AND I'LL HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH MY STAFF AND THEN WITH COUNTY STAFF.

BUT AT THIS POINT, IF YOU COULD JUST PROVIDE THAT COMPARISON YEAR OVER YEAR FOR THOSE CATEGORIES, I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL AS WE KIND OF GET INTO THESE WORKING SESSIONS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS BUDGET LOOKS LIKE BESIDES THE TOP LINE NUMBER, I KNOW THE TOP LINE NUMBER WAS PROVIDED, BUT ACROSS THESE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.

[01:45:01]

HOW THIS LOOKS DIFFERENT COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.

CAN WE GO TO 16, PLEASE? YOU HAVE THE POWERPOINT UP, PLEASE.

HI, TANYA. HI.

WHAT'S ON? WELL, WE DON'T HAVE TO NECESSARILY GO TO UNLESS YOU HAVE IT.

WHAT'S THIS POSITION FOR? THE JUSTICE OF THE PEACE AND PRECINCT ONE.

WHAT'S THIS NEW POSITION FOR? SO THAT'S THE TRUANCY.

I'M SORRY. THE TRUANCY, THE YOUTH DIVERSION PROGRAM.

SO WE'RE. THAT'S THE STATE.

WE'RE ASSUMING A POSITION, A CLERK TYPE POSITION FOR THAT.

BUT IT'S AN ALLOCATION FOR EACH PRECINCT.

THANK YOU. ONCE WE GET THEIR PLAN.

AND THEN I HAVE A QUESTION ON PAGE 26.

ON PAGE 26.

THE OUTSIDE AGENCY FUNDING.

TOBIN CENTER FOR THE ARTS GENERATIONNEXT IS THAT 66,000 IS THAT THE SAME AMOUNT THAT WAS IN THIS CURRENT YEAR? NO IT'S NOT.

THOMAS CAN SPEAK TO THAT.

COMMISSIONER. THIS IS OUR INTERNAL ARTS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM.

WE ARE INCREASING THAT OR RECOMMENDING AN INCREASE THAT AMOUNT TO GET TO $15 PER HOUR FOR EACH OF THOSE INTERNS.

I BELIEVE THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR IS AROUND $38,000, SO IT'S ONLY TO INCREASE IT.

SO. SO IT'S NOT TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF INTERNS? NO, MA'AM. IT'S JUST TO GET THEM TO 15%.

CORRECT. OKAY.

ANYTHING ELSE ON HERE? AN INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR'S.

OR DIFFERENT FROM LAST YEAR.

ANYTHING NEW? NO, I THINK WE KEPT IT PRETTY CONSISTENT.

I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY OTHER SIGNIFICANT INCREASE.

SO THESE ARE THE NORMAL RECURRING AGENCIES.

AND UNLESS THEY ASK FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT, WE KEPT THEM FLAT.

OKAY. BUT IF SOMETHING IS ASKED FOR DIFFERENTLY, YOU'LL LET US KNOW THEN? YES, ABSOLUTELY. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU. AND PAGE 31.

PAGE 31.

THE STANDARDIZATION, STANDARDIZING THE AMOUNT OF SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL PAY AT $4,200 ANNUALLY FOR EMPLOYEES WHO CONSISTENTLY WORK THE SECOND AND THIRD SHIFTS. SO WHEN I WAS REVIEWING THIS WITH DAVID SMITH, I WAS LIKE, DUH, WHAT A GOOD IDEA THAT PEOPLE LIKE OUR MAINTENANCE WORKERS WHO ARE HERE OVERNIGHT IN OUR OFFICES AND IN THE JAILS, ETC., GET EXTRA PAY.

AND I SAID, WHOSE IDEA WAS THAT? AND HE SAID, TINA SMITH.

SO I THOUGHT I'D JUST ACKNOWLEDGE YOU PUBLICLY.

THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT.

SO YEAH.

SO THAT'S IT. OH, AND JUST TO MAKE SURE SO WHEN I WAS WORKING WITH COUNTY STAFF TO START THE PROGRAM FOR THE MENTAL HEALTH IN THE SCHOOLS I WAS VERY CLEAR.

SO I HOPE THE STAFF ARE HERE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE CONSISTENTLY TALKING TO THE SCHOOLS.

I WAS VERY CLEAR WHEN I WORKED WITH THEM, AND WHEN I SPOKE TO SCHOOLS DIRECTLY TO MAKE TO HELP THEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE FUNDING THAT I WAS ADVOCATING FOR $20 MILLION COUNTYWIDE FOR MORE THERAPISTS AND SOCIAL WORKERS IN SCHOOLS WAS TO SERVE AS SEED FUNDING IN THESE NEXT FEW YEARS.

THE POINT OF THAT WAS FOR THEM TO BUILD TO DO RESEARCH, GET STATS AND CHILDREN'S SUCCESS STORIES, STUDENT SUCCESS STORIES, SO THAT THEY CAN USE THAT TO APPLY FOR FUNDING.

SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE DOCTOR ANDREA, JUST MAKE SURE YOUR STAFF UNDER THAT, MAKE SURE THEY'RE TAKING CARE OF THAT AND WORKING WITH THE SCHOOLS TO DO THAT.

COMMISSIONER CALVERT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

IN TERMS OF THE CONSTABLE, I THINK WE CALLED IT.

WHAT IS IT? LEADERSHIP OR OVERSIGHT? LEAD PAY. IS THAT LIKE A CAPTAIN THAT WOULD GET THAT? OR IS IT A LOT OF DISCRETION TO EACH.

YEAH. IT'S A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF SUPERVISION FOR THE CONSTABLE.

SO IT WILL BE THE CONSTABLE, DEPUTY CHIEF AND THE LEADS.

AND IT'S A SPAN OF CONTROL IS HOW THEY DECIDED THE AMOUNT FOR EACH ONE, WHICH IS SIMILAR TO SHERIFF.

WHEN YOU SAY THE LEADS.

SO IT'S MORE THAN ONE BECAUSE I THOUGHT I ONLY SAW ONE.

IT'S TWO LEADS FOR EACH PRECINCT.

WE'RE ADDING LEADING POSITIONS SO PEOPLE CAN GET PROMOTED.

GOT IT. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

WAS THAT WHAT THEY REQUESTED, OR IS IT ONE SHORT? NO, SIR. I THINK THEY REQUESTED SPECIFIC, LIKE SERGEANT CAPTAINS.

THAT'S A DIFFERENCE IN THAT REQUEST.

I CAN'T THINK OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD HOW MANY THEY WERE.

OKAY. I'M SORRY, COMMISSIONER, ARE YOU SAYING SEVERAL.

SEVERAL MORE THAT THEY REQUESTED.

OKAY. THE THOUGHT BEHIND THAT WAS JUST PROMOTIONAL PAY FOR LONGEVITY AND ALSO SUPERVISORY NEEDS WITHIN THE CONSTABLE'S OFFICES.

CORRECT? YES. IT'S FOR SUPERVISORY SPAN OF CONTROL FOR THE OFFICERS.

OKAY. IN TERMS OF THE MILLION DOLLARS EARMARKED FOR OUTSIDE AGENCIES, WE'VE GOT ABOUT 2 MILLION IN OUTSIDE AGENCIES ON SLIDE 26 AND I THINK 28.

[01:50:05]

SO IS THAT THE MILLION DOLLARS FOR OUTSIDE AGENCIES OR.

YES. SO THERE'S DIFFERENT BUCKETS OF MONEY.

SO THE FIRST ONE IS THE MILLION DOLLARS FOR OUR RECURRING OUTSIDE AGENCIES.

AND THEN THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL ONE.

WHICH IS UNEARMARKED.

IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING UNEARMARKED.

THEY'RE ALLOCATED FOR SPECIFIC AGENCIES.

THEN THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL NOT EARMARKED.

TANYA. LET ME TAKE A STAB AT THIS.

SO SLIDE 26.

OKAY. THESE AGENCIES ARE IN THE BUDGET.

OKAY. THEN WE'RE ALSO RECOMMENDING AN ADDITIONAL $1 MILLION THAT OTHER AGENCIES CAN APPLY FOR.

THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT. OKAY.

SO THEN THE 1.7 MILLION IS A REQUEST ON PAGE 28.

CORRECT. UNFUNDED AT THIS TIME? CORRECT. OKAY.

LET'S SEE.

ON THE CAPITAL REQUEST, I DIDN'T SEE THE ADVANCED MANUFACTURING CENTER OR THE URBAN FARM.

DO YOU HAVE AN AMOUNT ON AT LEAST THE URBAN FARM COSTS? I DON'T I HAVE NOT.

FOR THE INDOOR CLASSROOM SPACE. YEAH. I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE THAT ONE.

I'M NOT SURE IF I CAN GET WITH THE COUNTY MANAGER STAFF TO SEE IF WE RECEIVED THAT REQUEST.

IT'S URBAN FARM. AND THE OTHER ONE WAS WHICH ONE? THE MANUFACTURING TRAINING CENTER.

I ALREADY KNOW THE COSTS ON THAT.

OKAY. IT'S GONE UP A LITTLE BIT, BUT.

OKAY. IN TERMS OF THE TAX ASSESSOR POSITIONS IN THE BUDGET, ALL 17 ARE EARMARKED. IT'S EARMARKED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE SATELLITE OFFICE, AND THEN THREE ARE FOR THE DOWNTOWN OFFICE.

THOSE THE POSITIONS THAT WERE AUTHORIZED ARE FOR THE ROCKET LANE LOCATION.

OKAY. BECAUSE I THINK THE TAX ASSESSOR MIGHT HAVE BEEN UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT HE MIGHT HAVE TO DIVIDE THOSE AMONGST THE OTHER PRECINCTS, BUT WOULDN'T THOSE OTHER PRECINCT OFFICES ALREADY BE FILLED WITH STAFFING? YES, THEY'RE ALREADY FILLED WITH THE STAFFING.

OKAY. SO SO, SO IN THE BUDGET, THIS IS COMMENSURATE WITH THE OTHER SATELLITE OFFICES THAT WE HAVE IN ONE THREE AND, WELL, MAYBE NOT QUITE TWO BECAUSE IT'S SMALLER.

THAT'S CORRECT. SO SO THEY ALL HAVE ABOUT 17.

YEAH. 15 TO 17 POSITIONS.

OKAY. GOT IT. SO IT'S JUST EQUAL TO WHAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST.

OKAY. THE ONLY OTHER THING I WOULD SAY IS THERE'S A LOT OF FEDERAL MONEY ON THE TABLE THAT GRANTS. WE JUST DON'T I DON'T WE DO, YOU KNOW, WE DO WHAT? WHAT WE CAN. BUT I STILL THINK WE NEED A MORE ROBUST GRANT FUNDING FOR GETTING MORE OF THE FEDERAL AND STATE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE OUT THERE, JUST HELPING A LOT OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS AND OUR COUNTY BUDGET WITH SOME OF THAT, IT WOULD PROBABLY MERIT BEEFING UP.

I ACTUALLY THINK THAT MIGHT BE BEST IN THE STAFFING PLAN FOR THE COMMISSIONERS OFFICES, BECAUSE THE COMMISSIONERS OFTEN HAVE A VERY GOOD KNOWLEDGE OF A WHOLE PANOPLY OF ISSUES AS OPPOSED TO JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, GRANT FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE OR SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT OR WHAT HAVE YOU.

IT'S A MORE OVERARCHING.

SO LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE COMMISSIONER'S BUDGET.

FOR A SECOND. I DIDN'T QUITE SEE THAT.

BUT IN TERMS OF ADDITIONAL STAFFING, WEREN'T THERE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE SATELLITE OFFICES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, OR IS THAT NOT IN THE BUDGET? I DON'T RECALL THE SATELLITE OFFICE.

ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT FOR ROCKET LANE? NO. WELL, YES, IN PART, BUT I WAS I THOUGHT, TOLD THAT THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION AMONGST THE COMMISSIONERS ABOUT THE NEED TO KIND OF ADD AN ADDITIONAL FIELD REPRESENTATIVES, BECAUSE WE HAVE THE PRECINCT ONE, THREE, TWO.

WELL, WE HAVE ALL THE PRECINCTS THAT HAVE IT.

SO I'M AWARE THAT YOU'RE HAVING THOSE DISCUSSIONS, BUT I'M NOT AWARE OF THE OUTCOME.

SO IT'S NOT CURRENTLY FUNDED, BUT WE'LL ADDRESS THAT WHENEVER YOU THE COURT GIVES US THE DIRECTION TO DO IT.

YEAH. FROM MY PERSPECTIVE WE WOULD NEED ADDITIONAL STAFF BECAUSE WE'RE ALL BASED DOWNTOWN.

WE COULD SPLIT SOME OF IT, BUT I THINK THERE'S GOING TO BE A HIGH DEMAND FOR RESPONSE UP IN OUR SATELLITE OFFICES BECAUSE IT'S 1604 CORRIDOR IS, YOU KNOW, VERY HEAVILY TRAFFICKED CORRIDOR. SO I THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE REALLY INUNDATED WITH THE PERSONNEL THERE.

SO. COMMISSIONER.

COMMISSIONER CALVERT ANYTHING ELSE? JUDGE. THANK YOU. I'M GOOD.

COMMISSIONER MOODY. JUST A FOLLOW UP ON A COUPLE POINTS THAT WERE MADE THERE.

AND I KNOW IT'S COMPLICATED IN TERMS OF THE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE PRECINCT THREE OFFICE AND POTENTIALLY HAVING A SATELLITE OFFICE AS WELL.

BUT JUST WONDERING, WERE YOU REFERRING TO THE NACOGDOCHES? IS THAT THE TAX ASSESSOR'S OFFICE THAT YOU REFERENCED IN PRECINCT THREE OR A DIFFERENT ONE?

[01:55:06]

WELL, I DIDN'T KNOW. I DIDN'T I DON'T THINK WELL, OH, NO, I WAS REFERENCING YOUR OFFICE AT WURZBACH AND BITTERS AND 281.

DO YOU HAVE PERSONNEL THERE? OH, I KNOW YOU HAVE NACOGDOCHES, BUT.

YEAH. SO THAT OFFICE THAT YOU'RE TALKING, THE ONE YOU'RE REFERRING TO IS WHERE THE JP'S AND CONSTABLE'S ARE LOCATED.

AND THERE'S A NACOGDOCHES OFFICE FOR THE TAX OFFICE.

YEAH. YEAH. SO THERE ARE TWO SEPARATE LOCATIONS IN THAT PRECINCT.

THERE ARE TWO ALL DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS.

AND TO BE HONEST, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE STAFFING IS AT THE NACOGDOCHES OFFICE.

I THOUGHT BECAUSE I SAW THAT AS MORE OF A PRECINCT THREE AND FOUR KIND OF LOCATION.

IT'S BASICALLY ON THE YOU KNOW, IN BETWEEN OUR PRECINCTS THAT SOME OF THAT STAFFING WOULD GO TO THE PRECINCT FOUR OFFICE, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO FIGURE OUT IF THERE WAS A PRECINCT THREE OFFICE, EITHER AT WURZBACH OR SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE FUTURE WITHIN PRECINCT THREE.

BUT SO WE DID HAVE THAT DISCUSSION.

THE TAX ASSESSOR CLARIFIED THAT HE'S KEEPING THAT LOCATION AT NACOGDOCHES, THEREFORE WANTED ADDITIONAL FUNDING AT ROCKET LANE.

OKAY. I APPRECIATE THE CLARIFICATION.

I WOULD ALSO JUST LIKE TO PIGGYBACK ON COMMISSIONER CALVERT.

WHEN IT COMES TO THE STAFF BUDGET.

I DO THINK THAT THAT I HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE COURT CAN AGREE ON AN INCREASE THERE.

WE'RE TAKING ON MORE AND MORE.

THE PRECINCTS ARE GROWING.

WE'RE TRYING TO PROVIDE THE BEST CONSTITUENT SERVICES THAT WE CAN PROVIDE.

AND SO I THINK THERE IS A NEED THERE.

I'M OPEN TO RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COURT, BUT, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST THE ABILITY TO BE ABLE TO HIRE ONE ADDITIONAL STAFF MEMBER.

AND I KNOW EVERYONE'S PROBABLY AT A DIFFERENT LEVEL.

AND SOMETIMES THERE'S ADDITIONAL FUNDS IN THE STAFF BUDGET, BUT THEY DON'T NECESSARILY MEET THE DEMAND IN ORDER TO ACTUALLY HIRE ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL. AND SO I THINK THAT HOPEFULLY WE CAN COME TO SOMETHING THAT IS REASONABLE, THAT WE CAN MAKE SOME ADDITIONS IN THIS BUDGET ON THE STAFF SIDE.

ALL RIGHT.

MY TURN.

LET ME, LET ME. I'M GOING TO CALL FOR THE VOTE.

ALL RIGHT, I'M CALLING FOR THE VOTE.

BUT LET ME JUST MAKE THESE FINAL COMMENTS AS COUNTY JUDGE.

I PERHAPS APPEAR TO BE LOW KEY AND NOT ASKING ANY QUESTIONS OR MAKING ANY COMMENTS, BUT WHAT I WANT TO PUT ON RECORD IS THAT, AND I'M ALSO TALKING TO STAFF AND HAVING THE PUBLIC UNDERSTAND THIS PROCESS, AND YOU'RE STARTING TO SEE A DISCUSSION.

WE MAY NOT ALL HAVE AGREEMENT AT THIS TIME, BUT WE ARE TRYING TO REACH CONSENSUS.

AND THAT'S WHAT GOOD GOVERNMENT, I BELIEVE IS ALL ABOUT.

I WANT TO PUT ON RECORD THAT PERHAPS, ALTHOUGH I HAVEN'T ASKED MANY QUESTIONS OR MAKING MANY COMMENTS, ALTHOUGH I'M MAKING COMMENT NOW, I WANT TO PUT ON RECORD THAT MY STAFF IS TOTALLY ENGAGED IN THE BUDGET PROCESS AND THAT THEY HAVE RESPONSIBILITIES, AND WE'VE DELEGATED. I HAVE DELEGATED THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES TO STAFF TO REVIEW THE BUDGET, AND THEY ARE HAVING DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE BUDGET STAFF AND THE DEPARTMENT HEADS TO FULLY EVALUATE THE NEEDS OF OUR COUNTY.

I THINK EACH COMMISSIONER HAS, IN A CERTAIN WAY, THROUGH QUESTION OR COMMENT, INDICATED THEIR PREFERENCE OR PRIORITIES FOR WHAT THEY WANT HOW THEY WANT TO SPEND THE TAXPAYER DOLLARS.

BUT TODAY IS A START AND WE WILL CONTINUE.

AND I WILL BE VERY INVOLVED IN REGARDS TO THE BUDGET, SPECIFICALLY IN REGARDS TO THE DISCUSSIONS OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE BUDGET OFFICE, THE QUESTIONS AND COMMENT MADE BY THE COMMISSIONERS AND THE INPUT OF THE CITIZENS TO BE HEARD.

I THINK ALL NEED TO BE GIVE DIGNITY AND RESPECT AS TO THE OPINIONS.

ALTHOUGH WE MAY NOT AGREE.

IN REGARDS TO WHAT I WANT TO SEE MOVING FORWARD IN THIS DISCUSSION IS AND I'VE ALREADY HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH THE BUDGET OFFICE. I'VE ALREADY HAD STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS.

IS THE INVESTMENT WE PUT INTO THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS.

AND I THINK I'VE MADE THAT CLEAR.

AND I MAY ARTICULATE IT IN THIS BUDGET PROCESS AS WE MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.

OBVIOUSLY, TODAY WE'VE HAD SOME ROBUST DISCUSSIONS IN REGARDS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL, PUBLIC SAFETY.

WE'VE HEARD FROM THE VARIOUS ELECTED OFFICIALS.

AND PUBLIC SAFETY IS SOMETHING THAT IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.

AND I MADE IT PART OF ME RUNNING FOR COUNTY JUDGE.

[02:00:01]

ALSO WE'VE HAD SOME DISCUSSION OF THE SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS IN OUR DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND COURT SYSTEM, WHICH IS BASICALLY ALL PART AND PARCEL OF PUBLIC SAFETY.

SO I WANT TO PUT ON RECORD THAT LAST FALL, I WAS ABLE TO PUT A PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE OF ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS IN REGARDS TO THE ISSUES AT THAT TIME THAT WAS PLAYING ON THE MEDIA, WHICH WAS VIOLENT REPEAT OFFENDERS GETTING INTO SHOOTING INCIDENCES WITH THE LAW ENFORCEMENT, WITH OBVIOUSLY SOME TRAGIC CIRCUMSTANCE.

AND SO AT THAT TIME, THERE WAS A LOT OF FINGER POINTING, AND I TOOK THE LEADERSHIP, ALONG WITH MAYOR RON NIRENBERG, TO BRING EVERYBODY TOGETHER AND BROUGHT EVERYBODY IN FROM THE ARRESTING OFFICERS, LAW ENFORCEMENT TO THE BOOKING PROCESS, THE MAGISTRATE TO THE REFERRAL PROCESS, AS TO HOW THE DIVERSION GOES TO THE COURT SYSTEM, OF HOW CASES GET SET, HOW CASES MOVE, POST ADJUDICATION, WHETHER THEY MOVE FORWARD THROUGH PROBATION, PAROLE OR SENTENCED TO JAIL OR PRISON.

AND SO I WANT BUDGET COUNTY STAFF TO ALSO LOOK AT THE 37 RECOMMENDATIONS.

I THOUGHT THERE WERE 37 ACTION PLANS.

I DO BELIEVE SOME OF THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS DO INCLUDE THAT, AND I THANK THE BUDGET OFFICE FOR DOING IT.

BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS WAS A ROBUST DISCUSSION AND AGAIN, IN THAT DISCUSSION WAS NOT ALWAYS AGREEMENT, ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATED TO CITY COUNTY GOVERNMENT.

AND SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, THE COUNTY, LIVE UP TO OUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND OUR OBLIGATIONS AND OUR RECOMMENDATIONS OF HOW WE WANTED TO IMPROVE PUBLIC SAFETY FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTY AND PARTNERING IN WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.

ALSO, TOO, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE STAY ON TRACK WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

I THINK PART OF THE EARLIER BUDGET PRESENTATION SHOWS THAT WITH THAT COMMITMENT COMES GROWTH, AND I REALIZE THERE PERHAPS COULD BE A ROBUST DISCUSSION OF WHY DO WE HAVE GROWTH.

IF WE DON'T GROW, IF WE DON'T CHANGE I SUBMIT THAT WE DIE IN THE SENSE OF THE FACT THAT WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF A GROWING COMMUNITY, AND THAT WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE A ROBUST ECONOMY, THAT WE ARE GROWING, THAT WE ARE ATTRACTING INDUSTRIES.

PEOPLE WANT TO COME TO THIS COUNTY INDUSTRIES WANT TO COME TO THIS COUNTY BUT THAT MEANS WE HAVE TO MEET THE INFRASTRUCTURE.

WE HAVE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THOSE INDUSTRIES THAT WANT TO COME.

WE GOT TO MEET ALL THOSE NEW RESIDENTS AND CITIZENS THAT ARE NOW MOVING IN AND MOVING IN, ESPECIALLY ON THE SOUTHWEST SECTOR SOUTHERN SECTOR AND SOUTHEAST SECTOR, PRIMARILY PRECINCT ONE AND PRECINCT FOUR.

AND I THINK THOSE COMMISSIONERS WOULD AGREE THAT THE NEEDS OF THEIR PRECINCTS ARE EVER INCREASING IN REGARDS TO INFRASTRUCTURE, NOT TO IGNORE PRECINCT TWO OR PRECINCT THREE, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR NEEDS ARE ALSO BEING MET, TOO.

AND THAT'S THE REASON WHY I WANT THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S SO DIFFICULT TO GET THIS BUDGET FINALLY LOCKED DOWN.

WE'RE JUST GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE THE TOUGH DECISIONS.

WE'RE GOING TO ASSESS THE PRIORITIES.

I WANT A ROBUST DISCUSSION, AND THEN WE'RE JUST GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE A VOTE.

AND THAT'S THE WAY AMERICAN DEMOCRACY WORKS.

AND I'M PROUD OF WHAT WE'VE DONE HERE IN COMMISSIONERS COURT, AS YOU'VE SEEN TODAY, WE DO IT CIVILLY.

WE DO IT WITH COURTESY.

WE DO IT WITH RESPECT.

SO AT THIS TIME, I ALSO WANT TO TAKE IN, AND I APPRECIATE THE COUNTY MANAGER AND HIS STAFF IN MAKING THOSE CAUTIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MANAGING DEBT.

BUT I GOT TO TELL YOU, WE CAN'T HAVE A BLACK LINE, NO DEBT.

WE WILL HAVE TO MAKE CAPITAL PROJECT IMPROVEMENTS, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE PROJECTS THAT FALL WITHIN PUBLIC SAFETY, PUBLIC HEALTH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE.

AND SO WE'RE ALL GOING TO BALANCE IT OUT.

WE WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE ROBUST DISCUSSION IN THE WORK SESSIONS AND FUTURE COMMISSIONERS COURT MEETINGS, AND THEN WE'LL COME TO A VOTE SOMETIME IN SEPTEMBER.

WITH THAT, I'M CALLING THE VOTE WE'RE GOING TO TAKE.

I BELIEVE WE'VE GOT THREE SEPARATE MOTIONS.

SO FOR THE RECORD, I BELIEVE ALL THREE MOTIONS WERE MADE BY COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ, SECOND BY MR. CLAY-FLORES FIRST ONE PLACE THE PROPOSED TAX RATE OF 29.9999 TO FUND THE FY 2024-25 PROPOSED OPERATING CAPITAL BUDGET ON THE AGENDA FOR THE COMMISSIONERS COURT MEETING TO BE HELD ON SEPTEMBER 10TH, 2024 AS AN ACTION ITEM.

IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.

I CALL THE NEXT MOTION APPROVE POLICY NOTICES ON A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE 2024 TAX YEAR.

PROPOSED TAX RATE IN THE FY 24-25 PROPOSED OPERATING CAPITAL BUDGET IN THE SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS AND LA PRENSA.

[02:05:09]

ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.

I CALL THE NEXT MOTION APPROVE HOLDING PUBLIC HEARINGS ON A PROPOSED TAX RATE AND PROPOSED BUDGET ON SEPTEMBER 10TH, 2024.

ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.

I BELIEVE THAT CONCLUDES ITEMS 4A 4B.

WE NOW WILL GO TO 4C.

[4.c. 10:30 a.m.: Discussion and appropriate action regarding adoption of a Resolution approving the Seventh Amendment to the Local Share Interlocal Cooperative Agreement between the Advanced Transportation District ("ATD") and Bexar County authorizing the transfer of up to $100,000,000 in sales tax revenue collected in the boundaries of the ATD and held by the County in a trust account to be used to satisfy the federal grant funding local match requirement for construction of the VIA Rapid Silver Line and $2,000,000 as a credit toward patron fares for up to the first year of operations, subject to approval by the ATD Board.]

ALL RIGHT. DISCUSSION.

APPROPRIATE ACTION REGARDING ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE SEVENTH AMENDMENT TO THE LOCAL SHARE INTERLOCAL COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT ATD AND BEXAR COUNTY, AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF UP TO $100 MILLION IN SALES TAX REVENUE COLLECTED IN THE BOUNDARIES OF THE ATD AND HELD BY THE COUNTY IN A TRUST ACCOUNT TO BE USED TO SATISFY THE FEDERAL GRANT FUNDING.

LOCAL MATCH REQUIREMENT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE VIA RAPID SILVER LINE, AND $2 MILLION AS A CREDIT TOWARD PATRON FARES FOR UP TO THE FIRST YEAR OF OPERATION, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE ATD BOARD.

MR. SMITH.

I'LL JUST KICK IT OFF.

I WANT TO FIRST START BY THANKING JEFF ARNDT AND HIS TEAM, BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS AGREEMENT FOR A WHILE.

THIS IS WITH THE APPROVAL, HOPEFULLY, OF COMMISSIONERS COURT AS WELL AS THE ATD BOARD FOR THE SEVENTH AMENDMENT.

THIS WILL PROVIDE TWO IMPORTANT IMPROVEMENTS FOR YOUR CITIZENS AND OUR CITIZENS.

NUMBER ONE, IT DRAWS OUR 102 MILLION, WHICH STARTS THIS YEAR, WERE END OF SEPTEMBER UNDER THIS AGREEMENT, WE WILL TRANSFER 80 MILLION THAT WE HAVE COLLECTED OVER THE YEARS AND SURPLUS ATD FUNDS IMMEDIATELY TO VIA.

AND THEN FROM THERE ON OUT, EVERY YEAR, WE WILL PAY OUR EXISTING DEBT SERVICE FIRST, AND THE SURPLUS WILL GO TO VIA UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THAT TOTALS 102 MILLION, WHICH I BELIEVE BASED ON OUR INTERNAL PROJECTIONS, COULD BE AS EARLY AS NEXT SEPTEMBER. SO IF ONCE THAT HAPPENS, THE COUNTY CAN THEN UTILIZE THAT SURPLUS ANNUALLY AS A LOCAL MATCH TO DRAW DOWN TXDOT OR FEDERAL FUNDING FOR BADLY NEEDED ROAD PROJECTS, AND COMMISSIONER CALVERT AND COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES, AND TO THE PUBLIC, AS YOU KNOW, EVERY MONTH ON ONE OF YOUR COURT AGENDAS, YOU'RE APPROVING DOZENS OF NEW SUBDIVISIONS.

THOSE WILL REQUIRE THE ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE TO MAKE IT FEASIBLE TO GET THERE, BUILD AND LIVE.

THIS GIVES US A RELIABLE, LONG TERM FUNDING SOURCE FOR PARTNERING WITH THE STATE OR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

AND TRUST ME, ARNDT AND HIS TEAM, THEY'VE GOT A LIST AND IT'S LONG.

SO AS SOON AS WE HAVE ACCESS TO IT, WE'LL GO TO THE ATD BOARD.

ONCE WE HAVE THOSE PARTNERSHIPS READY AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO MOVE SOME PROJECTS FOR YOU.

BUT I WANTED JEFF AND HIS TEAM TO TALK A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE THEY'RE THE EXPERTS ON THE SILVER LINE.

AND BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO HIM, I'LL JUST SAY, IN TALKING TO JUDGE SAKAI, I THINK THE JUDGE CAN SPEAK FOR HIMSELF. BUT I THINK YOU SEE THIS ALMOST LIKE A PUBLIC HEALTH INVESTMENT, NOT JUST A TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENT.

JUST ACCESS TO JOBS AND OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE WHO DEPEND ON RAPID TRANSIT MATTER.

BUT WITH THAT.

MS. CABANILLA, GOOD MORNING.

GOOD MORNING.

GOOD MORNING, JUDGE SAKAI.

OUR COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING US HERE TODAY.

YOU KNOW, FOR US AT VIA ON BEHALF OF OUR CHAIR, FERNANDO REYES TRUSTEE, AKEEM BROWN AND THE REMAINDER OF OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES, THIS WE ARE VERY EXCITED.

I CAN'T SAY HOW EXCITED WE ARE THIS YEAR AND LAST YEAR TO HAVE SOME HISTORIC MOVEMENT WITH THE FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION, FTA ADMINISTRATION, OUR CITY, AND ESPECIALLY OUR COUNTY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.

IT IS WITHOUT YOUR LEADERSHIP THAT WE ARE HERE NOW.

JUDGE SAKAI WE STARTED TALKING JUST UNDER A YEAR AGO ABOUT THESE OPPORTUNITIES, AND HERE WE ARE TODAY, AND WE'VE MET WITH EACH OF YOU ALL AND WANT TO EXTEND OUR DEEPEST APPRECIATION FOR THE CONTINUED CONVERSATION AND THE OPPORTUNITIES TO HEAR YOUR VOICES AS TO WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE.

[02:10:06]

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, BEXAR COUNTY STAFF, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR WORKING WITH US THROUGHOUT THESE NEGOTIATIONS.

I KNOW OUR LEGAL TEAMS HAVE BEEN GOING BACK AND FORTH FOR SEVERAL MONTHS ABOUT HOW WE WANT TO ROLL THIS OUT.

AND SO AT THIS POINT, WE'RE VERY EXCITED.

AND I'D BE REMISS NOT TO EXTEND YOU KNOW, A BIG THANK YOU TO JEFF AND HIS LEADERSHIP TEAM.

AS YOU HEARD ON FRIDAY, JEFF IS ALREADY ANNOUNCED HIS RETIREMENT AND IS IT'S A LOSS FOR US AT VIA.

AND WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR HIS LEADERSHIP AND BRINGING US FORWARD TO THIS OPPORTUNITY NOW.

SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO JEFF.

GOOD MORNING, MR. ARNDT.

GOOD MORNING, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME HERE.

AND I HOPE THAT WHEN I RETIRE, I DISCOVER SOME OF THOSE BENEFITS OF BEING OVER 65.

I HAVE NOT FOUND THEM YET.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

TODAY I'M GOING TO SPEAK A BIT ABOUT THE VIA RAPID SILVER LINE, WHICH IS THE SECOND RAPID TRANSIT LINE AS PART OF THE KEEP SAN ANTONIO MOVING PLAN THAT WAS APPROVED BY VOTERS IN 2020.

SO I'LL TALK A BIT ABOUT WHAT KEEPS SAN ANTONIO MOVING IS HOW IT BENEFITS THE COMMUNITY, HOW WE WILL DELIVER THAT PROMISE, AND ABOUT UPCOMING COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS.

AND FOR THE UPCOMING COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS, I'M GOING TO HAVE COMMUNITY RELATIONS COME UP AND TALK ABOUT THAT.

THAT'S OUR BAILIWICK.

SO THERE WERE THREE PILLARS TO THE KEEP SAN ANTONIO MOVING PLAN THAT WE'VE PRESENTED TO VOTERS FOR A VOTE IN NOVEMBER 2020, AND IT WAS FOR A REALLOCATION OF A SALES TAX EFFECTIVE 2026.

WHAT I WOULD NOTE IS THAT WE'VE MADE TREMENDOUS PROGRESS ON IMPLEMENTING THAT PLAN, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVEN'T STARTED RECEIVING THE FUNDS, WHICH IS RATHER UNUSUAL.

MANY TIMES THE FUNDS ARE ROLLING AND THE PLAN IS NOT EVEN REALIZED YET, BUT WE'RE AHEAD OF THAT.

THE WAY WE DID THAT IS WE TOOK THE COVID RELIEF FUNDS AND USED THEM IN ADVANCE SO THAT WE COULD GET THROUGH THAT WORK.

THERE WERE THREE PIECES TO THIS PLAN A BETTER BUS SYSTEM, WHICH IS LOOKING AT MAKING SURE THAT INSTEAD OF PEOPLE WAITING AN HOUR FOR A BUS, NO ONE WAITS MORE THAN A HALF HOUR AND HOPEFULLY LESS INTO THE FUTURE.

EXPANDING VIA LINK SERVICE WHICH IS OUR VERSION OF LIKE UBER OR LYFT IN LIMITED AREAS.

WE JUST CELEBRATED OUR ONE MILLIONTH PASSENGER TRIP ON VIA LINK, AND WE ARE INTRODUCING THE NEW VIA LINK SYSTEM IN DOWNTOWN ON SEPTEMBER 2ND, AND THEN THE ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT NETWORK, WHICH WILL BE THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THIS DISCUSSION.

ALL OF THIS DESIGNED TO INCREASE FREQUENCY OF SERVICE, FREQUENCY OF SERVICE DRIVES RIDERSHIP AND TO IMPROVE ACCESS SO THAT PEOPLE CAN GET TO JOBS AND THEY CAN GET TO DIALYSIS AND GET LIFE SAVING TREATMENT.

OKAY. TALKED A BIT ABOUT THAT ELECTION.

AND THIS IS THE VOTING MAP, IF YOU WILL.

SO ANY ZONE THAT IS IN YELLOW VOTED AT LEAST 50% 51% IN FAVOR OF THE REALLOCATION OF THE SALES TAX TO VIA AND THE RED WERE LESS THAN 50%. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, ALMOST ALL OF THAT MAP IS YELLOW IN VARYING INTENSITIES AND ONLY A FEW SMALL AREAS ARE IN RED.

IT WAS A VERY GLOBALLY RECOGNIZED AND APPRECIATED PROJECT, AND ART WAS SPECIFICALLY DEFINED IN THAT ELECTION. THE SILVER LINE, THE SECOND LINE IN THE PROJECT WILL BE, WHICH IS COMMONLY CALLED THE EAST WEST LINE.

WE CURRENTLY TODAY HAVE THE FTA AND THREE OTHER OVERSIGHT ENTITIES MEETING WITH OUR STAFF.

SO OUR PROJECT MANAGER CALLED I NEVER GOT HER NAME WRONG IS [INAUDIBLE] WITH THE FTA AND THOSE FOUR OVERSIGHT COMMITTEES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE TECHNICALLY AND ORGANIZATIONALLY PREPARED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PROJECTS.

THE GREEN LINE IN THIS CASE, WE CAN'T REFER TO IT AS A GREEN AND THE SILVER THEY BECAUSE THEY SAY NORTH, SOUTH AND EAST WEST IS HOW THEY STARTED.

SO THEY'RE PRETTY STANDARD.

BUT WE NOW CALL THIS THE VIA RAPID SILVER LINE IT EXTENDS ON THE WEST SIDE.

THE IMPROVEMENT ZONE EXTENDS FROM GENERAL MCMULLEN.

AND THEN IT GOES ACROSS TOWN AND ENDS UP IN HOUSTON STREET.

AND AGAIN THE IMPROVEMENTS AND AT FROST BANK CENTER.

HOWEVER, THE SERVICE AND ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF BUS RAPID TRANSIT IS THAT WE CAN EXTEND THE BUSSES BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF THOSE SPECIFIC IMPROVEMENTS, AND SO WE CAN EXTEND OR WE PLAN TO EXTEND TO CADILLAC TRANSIT CENTER.

AND AS WE BUILD THE EAST SIDE TRANSIT CENTER, WE WILL EXTEND THERE SO WE CAN EXTEND THE BENEFITS OF THE PROJECT OVERALL OUTSIDE OF THE ZONE.

AND AGAIN, THAT'S A BENEFIT OF BUS RAPID TRANSIT THAT YOU CANNOT DO WITH RAIL.

WHEN THE RAIL ENDS, THE RAIL ENDS.

WITHIN THE SILVER LINE AREA AND THIS IS A COMPARISON OF PROJECTED POPULATION AND JOB GROWTH IN BEXAR COUNTY AND IN THE CORRIDOR.

BEXAR COUNTY EXPECTS A 44% INCREASE IN POPULATION BETWEEN 2020 AND 45.

THIS CORRIDOR WILL ACTUALLY EXCEED THAT WITH A 51% INCREASE.

SO GREATER GROWTH IN POPULATION AND JOBS.

[02:15:03]

IT DOESN'T QUITE MEET THAT AVERAGE 56% IN THE COUNTY SILVER LINE, 33% STILL HEALTHY GROWTH.

AND WHAT WE'RE DESIGNING AS A SYSTEM THAT CAN MEET TODAY'S NEEDS AND TOMORROW'S NEEDS.

THE BENEFITS OF BUS RAPID TRANSIT.

IT SAVES TIME.

IT SAVES TIME BECAUSE IT RUNS RAPIDLY.

IT RUNS EVERY TEN MINUTES.

TEN MINUTES IS THE SWEET SPOT.

TEN MINUTES MEANS YOU DON'T LOOK AT A SCHEDULE.

WHEN WE PUT TEN MINUTE SERVICE ON ROUTES BACK IN PRE-COVID, WE SAW 22 AND 25% INCREASES IN RIDERSHIP WITHIN TWO MONTHS.

SO FREQUENCY MATTERS.

IT SIMPLIFIES THE TRIPS, MAKES IT FAR MORE UNDERSTANDABLE, AND IT IMPROVES THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE BY MAKING THE TRIP FASTER THROUGH THE DEDICATION OF LANES, THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEMS THAT HELP THE BUSSES GET THROUGH.

THE ART VEHICLES GET THROUGH AND THROUGH OFF BOARD FARE COLLECTION.

SO YOU ARE NOT WAITING IN LINE TO PAY YOUR FARE.

SO WE PLAN TEN MINUTE SERVICE ON WEEKDAYS.

WE PLAN TO OPEN WITH 15 MINUTE SERVICE ON WEEKENDS.

EITHER OF THOSE CAN BE ENHANCED.

WE HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT WITH THE FTA THIS MORNING.

WE'LL HAVE THE BUS FRIENDLY TRAFFIC SIGNALS THAT WILL EITHER EXTEND GREENS OR BRING THEM UP FASTER.

WITHIN CERTAIN LIMITS.

WE'LL HAVE BUS PRIORITY TRAFFIC LANES THROUGH THE MAJORITY OF THE SEGMENT.

WE'LL HAVE LEVEL BOARDINGS, WHICH MEANS WHEELCHAIRS WILL BE ABLE TO SIMPLY ROLL ON BOARD.

WE'LL HAVE SECUREMENT DEVICES SO THOSE WHEELCHAIRS CAN SECURE THEMSELVES.

THAT, AGAIN, WILL SPEED UP THE TIME.

AND AS I SAID, WE'LL PREPAY FOR FASTER BOARDING TIME WHEN THAT VEHICLE PULLS UP TO A CENTER STATION, FOR EXAMPLE, THREE DOORS WILL OPEN.

YOU JUST GET ON THREE DOORS CLOSE AND IT PULLS AWAY KIND OF THE IMAGE OF A RAIL MORE THAN OF A BUS.

THESE ARE ADDITIONAL BENEFITS BECAUSE THE BENEFITS OF THESE PROJECTS ACCRUE TO MORE THAN THE TRANSIT RIDERS.

WE ARE MAKING PHYSICAL IMPROVEMENTS TO INTERSECTIONS TO IMPROVE OVERALL TRAFFIC FLOW.

BECAUSE WE ARE PART OF OVERALL TRAFFIC FLOW, WE ARE IMPROVING SIDEWALKS, FOR EXAMPLE, WHICH WILL BENEFIT NOT ONLY THE PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING TO THE STOPS, FOR EXAMPLE, BUT OTHER PEDESTRIAN NEEDS WILL IMPROVE TRAFFIC SAFETY.

THAT'S BEEN VERY WELL DOCUMENTED, ESPECIALLY WITH CENTER RUNNING LINES, WILL SUPPORT JOB AND BUSINESS GROWTH AND MAKE BETTER CONNECTIONS.

THIS VIA THE TIMELINE FOR OUR TWO LINES AS YOU SEE THE RAPID GREEN LINE, WE ARE CURRENTLY APPROACHING THE FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT.

AND THAT IS WHEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SAYS, HERE'S THE MONEY THAT WE SAID WE WOULD GIVE YOU IF YOU COULD JUMP THROUGH OUR HOOPS.

NOW WE ARE JUMPING THROUGH HOOPS FASTER.

THEY ACCELERATED US.

AND THEN TWO MONTHS AGO, THEY DOUBLE ACCELERATED US, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE MEETING WITH THE FTA TODAY AND NOT IN LATE SEPTEMBER.

BUT WE ARE MEETING EVERY DEADLINE AND THEY ARE WORKING WITH US.

THE FTA WITH THE SILVER LINE SAID, WE THINK YOU SHOULD ASK FOR MORE MONEY BECAUSE YOUR PROJECT IS GOOD ENOUGH TO MAKE THE GRADE WITHOUT EXTRA POINTS FOR THE LOWER MATCH. SO WE INCREASED OUR MATCH AND THEN THE RAPID SILVER LINE COMES RIGHT BEHIND.

SO THE GREEN LINE WILL GO INTO CONSTRUCTION SOMETIME EARLY NEXT YEAR.

THE SILVER LINE IS CURRENTLY IN THE NEPA PROCESS, AND IN THE EARLY PLANNING PROCESS, WE'LL BE TALKING BRIEFLY ABOUT COMMUNITY MEETINGS BECAUSE AS OF TODAY, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU SAID WHERE ARE THE STATIONS? THE STATIONS ARE NOT YET SITED, WE'LL HAVE SOME PROPOSED LOCATIONS WE'LL TAKE TO THE PUBLIC, BUT WE'LL SEEK PUBLIC INPUT ON THOSE.

GREEN LINE SERVICE WOULD BE PROJECTED TO BEGIN IN LATE 27 OR EARLY 28, AND THE SILVER LINE FOLLOWING ABOUT TWO YEARS LATER.

TOM MARKS WILL KIND OF BRIEFLY GO THROUGH THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS.

IT'LL ONLY BE A MINUTE.

SO WE'RE AGAIN, WE'RE BECAUSE OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE FTA FOR OUR ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS.

IN SEPTEMBER ON THE 11TH, 12TH AND 14TH, WE'RE GOING TO BE HOLDING A SERIES OF COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS OR PUBLIC MEETINGS IN ORDER TO INVITE THE PUBLIC.

MANY OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED INVITATIONS IN THE MAIL.

WE MAILED OUT OVER 25,000 INVITATIONS YOU KNOW, THE EAST SIDE EVENT, IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE OUTREACH TO THE EAST SIDE, IS GOING TO BE AT THE BARBARA JORDAN CENTER ON THE 11TH.

THE WEST SIDE EVENT WILL BE ON THE 12TH AT THE MEXICAN AMERICAN UNITY COUNCIL.

AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO DO IF ANYONE CAN'T MAKE EITHER ONE OF THOSE TWO EVENINGS WE'RE MEETING IN THE MIDDLE RIGHT IN FRONT OF CENTRAL STATION AT THE GRAND ON THE 14TH THAT MORNING IN ORDER TO HELP THAT.

SO WHERE WE'D LIKE TO TRIPLE OUR ATTENDANCE FROM OUR JANUARY PUBLIC MEETINGS.

AND THEN IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS, ANYBODY WHO WASN'T ABLE TO ATTEND, WE'RE GOING TO IMMEDIATELY GO TO A BILINGUAL CANVASING TEAM OF ALL OF THOSE 25,000 RESIDENTIAL HOUSES AFTERWARDS, IN ORDER TO SEEK INPUT FROM THAT AS WELL TOO.

AND SO THIS IS JUST THESE ARE GOING TO BE THE TOPICS THAT WE'LL COVER IS JUST THE GENERAL OVERVIEW.

OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW SEEKING FEEDBACK.

BUT THE MAIN ISSUE IS WE'RE PROPOSING STATION LOCATIONS ALONG THE CORRIDOR.

AND THEN WE'LL BE DISCUSSING THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LANE CONFIGURATIONS FROM CENTER SIDE RUNNING AND MIXED TRAFFIC.

[02:20:02]

AND SO THIS IS YOU KNOW AGAIN JUST SOME OF THE STATIONS.

AND THERE YOU GO.

AND I'M OPEN FOR QUESTIONS.

QUESTIONS. YEAH.

COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.

THANK YOU JUDGE. THANK YOU, JUDGE.

JEFF THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND YOUR LEADERSHIP.

WE'RE GOING TO CERTAINLY MISS YOU, BUT I KNOW THAT THIS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED AND THE DETAILS HAVE BEEN TALKED ABOUT FOR MONTHS, IF NOT YEARS. I KNOW I'VE BEEN AS WELL AS THE JUDGE WITH YOU IN THE ROOM WITH DOT IN WASHINGTON ADVOCATING FOR DOLLARS.

I KNOW OUR STAFF, PARTICULARLY DAVID SMITH, HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN MAKING SURE THAT IT IS SOMETHING THAT MAKES SENSE FROM A FISCAL STANDPOINT, FROM THE COUNTY. OBVIOUSLY, WE CAN MAKE ARGUMENTS ABOUT THE NEED FOR AN ADVANCED MOBILITY IN SAN ANTONIO.

AND THIS, I THINK, PUTS US IN A BETTER STEAD THERE.

BUT YOU MENTIONED AND THE JUDGE HAS TALKED ABOUT THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH, PARTICULARLY THROUGH THE HEART OF OUR COMMUNITY, RIGHT WEST TO EAST, EAST TO WEST.

FOLKS WHO NEED TO GET TO AND FROM WORK OR SCHOOL.

CERTAINLY NEED BETTER OPPORTUNITIES AND OPTIONS.

SO WE APPRECIATE YOUR WORK ON THIS.

I GUESS I WANTED TO JUST CLARIFY WITH DAVID BECAUSE THE MONEY THAT IN THE FUTURE WILL COME THROUGH CONSISTENT, RELIABLE DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT WILL BE FIGURED OUT LATER, BUT THOSE WILL BE DOLLARS THAT WE CAN USE, AS YOU MENTIONED, TO LEVERAGE FEDERAL PUBLIC WORKS INFRASTRUCTURE.

IS THAT RIGHT IN THE.

FEDERAL OR STATE? FEDERAL OR STATE? OKAY. WELL, THOSE COME THROUGH THE RMA OR IS THAT IT'S GOING TO COME DIRECTLY TO THE COUNTY.

IT WILL STILL REQUIRE APPROVAL BY THE ATD BOARD.

THAT APPROVAL WON'T BE NECESSARILY OPINING ON WHETHER THEY LIKE THE PROJECT OR NOT.

IT'LL BE SIMPLY TO CERTIFY THAT THE PROJECT IS INDEED ATD ELIGIBLE, AND IT WILL COME THROUGH THIS COURT.

OKAY. AND THOSE ARE POTENTIALLY TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR.

I KNOW WE CAN'T GIVE AN EXACT NUMBER NOW, BUT SIGNIFICANT DOLLARS ANNUALLY.

IN A COMMUNITY IN A COUNTY THAT IS GROWING BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS.

I MEAN, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT AND THE NEED FOR CAPITAL.

SO I THINK IT MAKES SENSE TO OUR CONSTITUENTS TO SAY, LOOK, WE CAN MAKE THIS INVESTMENT KNOWING FULL WELL THAT THE RETURN ON THE INVESTMENT IS NOT ONLY GOING TO BE ALONG THE CORRIDOR, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE COUNTYWIDE WITH RESPECT TO SOME OF THESE TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS DOWN THE ROAD.

SO AGAIN, I'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS WITH YOU, JEFF, AND YOUR TEAM.

THANK THE BOARD, LAURA, AND EVERYBODY ELSE FOR BEING HERE.

AKEEM. THANK YOU.

JOHN GARY.

LOOK, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE MAY NOT SEE THE DIVIDENDS FOR A FEW YEARS BECAUSE IT IS GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME.

BUT THE REALITY IS IT IS AN INVESTMENT IN LEVERAGING FEDERAL DOLLARS.

AND THE FACT THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, PARTICULARLY PRESIDENT BIDEN IN HIS BUDGET, HAS COMMITTED TO THIS PROJECT.

I THINK SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE COLLABORATION OF OUR LOCAL ENTITIES, THE CITY, THE COUNTY VIA BUT ALSO TOO ABOUT THE PROSPECTS OF THE GROWTH OF OUR COMMUNITY AND THOSE FROM OUTSIDE OUR COMMUNITY BELIEVING IN THE RESILIENCY OF OUR COMMUNITY AND HOW THE POTENTIAL OF OUR COMMUNITY IS UNFOLDING.

SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.

I ALSO DO WANT TO POINT OUT THE OTHER REASON THAT IT'S SIGNIFICANT TO THE COUNTY IS THE CONNECTIVITY TO COUNTY ASSETS OVER IN COMMISSIONER CALVERT'S PRECINCT, THE FREEMAN AND THE FROST BANK CENTER, AND HOW THAT'S GOING TO HELP CONNECT THE REST OF THAT AREA TO THE DOWNTOWN AND THE URBAN CORE.

SO I WOULD MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS TODAY JUDGE.

MOTION BY COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.

SECOND. SECOND BY COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES.

ANY FURTHER COMMENT? I HAVE COMMENTS, COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

SO GROWING UP HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, EXTREMELY POOR, WE RODE THE BUS BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE A CAR WHEN WE HAD MONEY TO RIDE THE BUS. OTHERWISE WE WALKED.

AND SO IT'S GOOD TO SEE THIS COMING SO THAT EVERYONE DOESN'T HAVE TO WASTE THE ENTIRE DAY GOING TO DOWNTOWN TO GET TRANSFERS TO GET ELSEWHERE.

SO HOPEFULLY THIS WILL HELP TO ALLEVIATE SOME OF THAT.

AND AS WE'VE MET, YOU GUYS KNOW, I HAVE TO CONTINUE TO SAY THAT WE NEED FURTHER SERVICE AND ROUTES IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF PRECINCT ONE. SO THAT IS SOMETHING I MEAN, I'M HAPPY TO SUPPORT THIS AND SECOND, THIS TODAY, BUT JUST AS YOU GUYS WERE ABLE TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN AND MAKE THIS WORK, I HOPE THAT

[02:25:01]

YOU ALL CONTINUE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN SO THAT WE CAN HAVE MORE ROUTES FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS IN UNINCORPORATED AREAS, SPECIFICALLY PRECINCT ONE.

SO I SEE AKEEM'S HERE.

HE'S ONE OF OUR COUNTY EMPLOYEES, NOT COUNTY EMPLOYEES, COUNTY APPOINTEES ON THE VIA BOARD.

AND I UNDERSTAND YOU HAD A LITTLE TO DO WHEN GETTING THIS FEDERAL FUNDING.

SO I'M GOING TO CHARGE YOU WITH GETTING MORE FUNDING SO THAT WE CAN EXTEND THE SERVICE AREA OUT.

I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE BONNIE PROSPER, WHO IS HERE ALSO VIA EMPLOYEE, AND TOM MARKS.

WHERE IS HE? GOOD TO HAVE YOU BACK.

SPEAKING AT COMMISSIONERS COURT.

SO SO, SO THANK YOU FOR THE WORK.

AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SERVING OUR CONSTITUENTS BETTER, NOT JUST WITH THIS, BUT IN THE FUTURE.

THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER, I HAVE TO SAY THAT THE MVP ON OUR SIDE IS BONNIE PROSSER ELDER IN THIS PROCESS AND OVER HERE, NO DOUBT THE COUNTY MANAGER, DAVID. DAVID, THANKS FOR HANGING WITH US.

AND AS I SAID, COMMISSIONER, THE MINUTE I LEAVE THIS ROOM, I WILL BE HOPEFULLY CELEBRATORY FOR TEN MINUTES AND I'LL BE BACK TO THINKING ABOUT HOW WE CAN EXPAND SERVICE AND MAKE IT BETTER. GREAT.

THANK YOU. WELL THANK YOU JUDGE.

AND OBVIOUSLY WE ALL REPRESENT FOUR DIFFERENT PRECINCTS WITH DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES, DIFFERENT INTERESTS.

AND, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO MAKE SURE I SHARE MY CONSTITUENTS THOUGHTS AND CONCERNS, AT LEAST THE ONES THAT I'VE HEARD.

AND SOME OF THAT'S COMING FROM UNINCORPORATED BEXAR COUNTY, JUST, YOU KNOW, FOR THE GRAPH THAT YOU PUT UP WITH THE VOTING APPROVAL THAT WAS FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.

CORRECT? THE PICTURE GRAPH OF THE VOTING, THAT IS THE ENTIRETY OF THE VIA SERVICE AREA.

SO BUT MY UNDERSTANDING WAS ON THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO ELECTION.

IT IS ONLY COLLECTED IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.

BUT IT CAN BE.

YES. THAT'S RIGHT, THAT'S RIGHT, IT IS.

YOU'RE RIGHT, YOU'RE CORRECT.

CORRECT. THE ELECTION WAS ONLY IN THE CITY BECAUSE IT'S ONLY COLLECTED THERE.

IT CAN BE USED, ANYWHERE WITHIN THE VIA SERVICE AREA.

I UNDERSTAND. JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THOUGH THAT OBVIOUSLY WE KNOW THAT THERE'S 400, 500,000 UNINCORPORATED BEXAR COUNTY RESIDENTS OUT THERE WHO WEREN'T DIDN'T HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO VOTE ON THAT.

AND I'M GOING TO JUST GIVE VOICE TO SOME OF THEIR THOUGHTS.

FIRST OF ALL THOUGH, LET ME START WITH THIS.

I AM GLAD THAT THIS AMENDMENT WILL OPEN UP AND SOLVE THIS LONG STANDING PROBLEM WITH ATD FUNDS.

I THINK THAT'S LONG OVERDUE.

I'M GLAD WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ACCESS, AND WE HAVE AN AGREEMENT ON THAT GOING FORWARD.

SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO UTILIZE THOSE FUNDS FOR TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS IN THE FUTURE.

I THINK THAT'S A GOOD THING.

I'M ALSO GLAD THAT THIS ISN'T GENERAL FUND REVENUE.

IT'S COMING FROM THOSE FUNDS, BUT IT IS TAX DOLLARS.

AND SO I WANT TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT.

I ALSO, YOU KNOW, WANT TO BE CLEAR UP FRONT THAT, YOU KNOW, AS WE DISCUSSED THE OTHER DAY, YOU KNOW, THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN TERMS OF HAVING ACCESS TO ADDITIONAL FEDERAL DOLLARS, THERE'S A COST SHARE MATCHING THERE THAT IT'S GOOD TO SEE THOSE DOLLARS COME TO BEXAR COUNTY.

HOWEVER, I WOULD STILL LIKE TO SEE THOSE DOLLARS COME TO BEXAR COUNTY, POTENTIALLY FIX OUR ROADS DOWNTOWN.

AND SOME OF THESE PROJECTS THAT HAVE GONE ON FOR FAR TOO LONG.

LAST POINT I'D JUST LIKE TO MAKE AND JUST REITERATING THE THE POINT THAT YOU MADE THIS IS MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE THAN LIGHT RAIL.

HOWEVER, IT STILL IS VERY EXPENSIVE.

I KNOW THE NUMBERS PROPOSED HERE, BUT ULTIMATELY, I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF BETWEEN THE GREEN LINE AND THE SILVER LINE, ULTIMATELY, THESE THESE TWO RAPID TRANSIT LINES COST UPWARDS OF $1 BILLION BY THE TIME IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE.

IT'S JUST IT'S JUST MY THOUGHT.

I KNOW WE'VE HAD A LOT OF ESTIMATES THAT HAVE COME IN LOW EARLY AND CONTINUE TO GROW OVER TIME.

RIGHT. I WANT TO POINT TO KIND OF THE CAPACITY, THOUGH, THAT VIA HAS TODAY.

AND I KNOW I RECEIVED A BRIEF, YOU KNOW, ON PRECINCT THREE SPECIFICALLY.

THERE'S CLOSE TO A THOUSAND TOTAL STOPS FOR BUS LINES AND PRECINCT THREE.

SO 24 ROUTES.

I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TOTAL BUSSES DO WE HAVE AT VIA.? DO WE HAVE BALLPARK? ROUGHLY 500 BUSSES.

WE FEEL WE MAY HAVE A FEW EXTRA BUSSES, BUT ROUGHLY 500 THAT WE FILLED BETWEEN 350 AND 400 EVERY DAY.

[02:30:01]

YEAH. AND THEN WE ALSO I NEED TO ADD TO THAT THAT'S BUSSES.

AND WE HAVE ANOTHER FLEET OF COMBINED ABOUT 300 METRO OR VIA TRANS VEHICLES.

AND THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER FLEET OF THE FLEETS THAT COVER THE VIA LINK SERVICES IN THE FIVE ZONES WE HAVE, WHICH PROBABLY COMES TO ABOUT ANOTHER 50 OR SO.

SO THAT'S THE TOTAL VEHICLES.

THOSE ARE THE LINKS THAT WE HAVE.

LINK VEHICLES.

THE VEHICLES THAT SERVICE LINK VIA LINK HAS.

I'M GOING TO ESTIMATE 50 VEHICLES AMONG THE ZONES.

OKAY. WELL POINT OF BRINGING THAT UP.

AND WE DON'T HAVE TO GET INTO ALL THE DETAILS ACROSS THE ENTIRE COUNTY.

BUT THERE'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF CAPACITY THAT HAS BUILT UP OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF DECADES.

IS THAT FAIR TO SAY? THAT WE HAVE BUILT UP? CAPACITY? CAPACITY WITH RESPECT TO CAPACITY ON OUR BUS LINES? THERE IS CAPACITY ON OUR BUS LINES, PRIMARILY BECAUSE WHEN YOU RUN ONCE AN HOUR, IT'S DIFFICULT TO GENERATE THE DEMAND.

WHEN YOU RUN EVERY TEN MINUTES, THE DEMAND DEFINITELY WILL BE THERE.

AND AS I SAID, WE RAN EVERY TEN MINUTES ON ROUTES BACK PRE-COVID AND WE SAW THAT CAPACITY USED UP AT A RATE OF 22 TO 25%.

BUT YES, WE DO HAVE SEATS ON BUSSES THAT WE RUN ONCE AN HOUR.

WE HAVE A CHOICE WHEN WE RUN A BUS ONCE AN HOUR.

IT'S TO CONTINUE TO RUN THAT AND GIVE PEOPLE ACCESS OR TO JUST TAKE IT AWAY.

BECAUSE WHEN YOU GET BEYOND ONCE AN HOUR, IT'S REALLY NOT A VERY GOOD SERVICE.

SO YES, WE DO HAVE A SPECIAL AND HOURLY ROUTES.

WE HAVE SEATS BECAUSE THE SERVICE IS HOURLY.

YEAH. NO I UNDERSTAND THAT.

AND THAT MAKES SENSE.

BUT I GUESS THE, POINT I'M TRYING TO MAKE IS THAT THERE IS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF CAPACITY.

UTILIZATION IS LOW.

WHAT I'M HEARING FROM YOU, THOUGH, AGAIN, IS FREQUENCY MATTERS.

SO OBVIOUSLY THE INVESTMENT HERE IS MAKING THE ARGUMENT THAT WITH ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT WE'LL INCREASE UTILIZATION.

THE FLIP SIDE OF THAT COIN IS, WELL, WE HAVE CAPACITY.

WHY DON'T WE WORK ON INCREASING UTILIZATION BEFORE WE MAKE ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS.

RIGHT. SO THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT SIDES OF THAT.

I'M JUST SHARING MY THOUGHTS WHEN IT COMES TO THAT.

BUT IF THERE IS UNCERTAINTY AROUND THAT IT WOULD ALSO LEAD ME TO THE POSITION I'VE TAKEN.

AND I'VE STATED SEVERAL TIMES IS, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY YOU PRESENTED THAT GRAPH WITH THE OVERLAP OF THE GREEN LINE AND THE SILVER LINE.

I WOULD SUGGEST, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GOING TO DO ONE, THEN TEST THIS TEST THE PREMISE, TEST THE ASSUMPTIONS AROUND THE INCREASED UTILIZATION WITH INCREASED FREQUENCY.

BUILD OUT THE GREEN LINE, SEE WHAT THE RESULTS ARE BEFORE INVESTING AGAIN IN THE SILVER LINE SIMULTANEOUSLY.

SO THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER WAY TO GO ABOUT ADDRESSING THIS RATHER THAN INVESTING IN BOTH LINES SIMULTANEOUSLY.

I DON'T KNOW ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT.

WELL, THE MAIN CONCERN I WOULD HAVE WOULD THERE'S TWOFOLD.

NUMBER ONE IS THESE ROUTES THAT WE'RE PUTTING IN IT'S NOT LIKE THEY ARE VIRGIN TERRITORY.

IF YOU LOOK ON SAN PEDRO, WE'RE ALREADY CARRYING THOUSANDS OF PASSENGERS.

IF WE LOOK ON THE EAST, WE'RE ALREADY CARRYING THOUSANDS OF PASSENGERS.

WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS IMPROVE THE SERVICE FOR THEM AND MAKE IT ATTRACTIVE FOR ADDITIONAL.

THAT'S WHY WE ARE WE DON'T FEEL WE NEED TO TEST IT.

WE HAVE TESTED INCREASING FREQUENCY.

WE TESTED THAT IN 17, 18 AND 19 RIGHT PRIOR TO COVID.

AND I SAID, AS I SAID, WE'VE SEEN DOUBLE DIGIT INCREASES.

SO WE KNOW THAT IT DOES IT IN OUR FIELD ON OUR BUSSES.

WE KNOW THAT. SO WE FEEL THAT BOTH OF THESE LINES ARE VERY WELL WARRANTED.

AND IF THEY WEREN'T, THEY WOULDN'T MEET THE THRESHOLDS FOR FOR THE INVESTMENT BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

THEY ARE THEY'RE CONSTANTLY LOOKING.

THEIR QUESTION TO US TODAY IS, DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH BUSSES ON THESE LINES FOR THE CAPACITY YOU MIGHT NEED? THEY'RE LOOKING AT THAT AS OPPOSED TO YOU HAVE A LOT OF OTHER CAPACITY.

THE SECOND THING I WOULD SAY IS THE BETTER BUS PLAN, THE PART WE'RE NOT HERE TALKING ABOUT TODAY THAT IS ORIENTED AT TRYING TO RECONFIGURE THE SYSTEM.

TAKE, SERVICE AND FOCUS IT INTO THESE 30 MINUTE AREAS AND OFF AND 30 MINUTE FREQUENCIES AND OFTEN REPLACE THAT WITH VIA LINK SERVICE.

AND WE'VE ALREADY DEMONSTRATED THAT.

SO WE FEEL WE'RE IN GOOD POSITION.

THE THIRD THING IS THE FEDERAL FUNDING IS AVAILABLE TODAY.

WE HAVE NO IDEA. WE WOULD HAVE TO WAIT TO PROVE OUT THIS THEORY.

WE WOULD HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE 2030S WHEN THE GREEN LINE IS OPEN AND OPERATING, BEFORE WE COULD EVEN START ON THE SILVER LINE, WHICH WOULD PUT THAT IMPROVEMENT INTO PROBABLY THE MID 30S OR LATE 30S.

THAT'S A LONG TIME AWAY FOR A CORRIDOR THAT ALREADY HAS SUCCESSFULLY GENERATED RIDERSHIP, AND THAT TRAVELS IN THE FEDERAL PERSPECTIVE, TRAVELS ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH AREAS OF PERSISTENT POVERTY.

[02:35:02]

EVERY SQUARE INCH THAT THAT ROUTE OPERATES OUTSIDE OF THE DOWNTOWN IS AN AREA OF PERSISTENT POVERTY.

SO WE FEEL IT'S A VIABLE PROJECT NOW THE MONEY IS THERE NOW THE PEOPLE THAT COULD BENEFIT ARE THERE NOW.

THE PEOPLE THAT COULD BENEFIT THAT AREN'T ON THE LINE ARE THERE NOW.

NOW IS THE TIME. NOW IS THE TIME TO DO IT.

OKAY, I'LL JUST MAKE TWO FINAL POINTS THOUGH AND I KNOW WE TALKED ALSO ABOUT YOU KNOW, EVERY CITY IS DIFFERENT AND HAS, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT TRANSIT NEEDS, DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT, DIFFERENT DISTRIBUTIONS.

SO I WOULD JUST HIGHLIGHT AGAIN, I THINK THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND BEXAR COUNTY BEING GEOGRAPHICALLY DISPERSED OVER A HUGE AREA MAKES IT CHALLENGING FOR TRANSIT.

I'M SURE YOU'RE WELL AWARE, AND YOUR TEAM IS WELL AWARE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT COME WITH THAT, WHICH SPEAKS TO THE USE OF LINK AND OTHER TOOLS.

AND THE OTHER THING IS THE HEAT, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE TALKED ABOUT FREQUENCY AND GETTING FROM 30 MINUTES, 20 MINUTES TO 10 MINUTES, BUT SHOOT, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE A BUS EVERY MINUTE TO KEEP ME FROM SWEATING AT THE BUS STOP IN AUGUST IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.

SO IT'S A CHALLENGE, RIGHT? HAVING TO WORK AROUND THAT JUST BECAUSE THE HEAT AND, YOU KNOW, THE THE LACK OF DESIRE FOR FOLKS TO SIT OUT THERE AND WAIT FOR A BUS, REGARDLESS OF FREQUENCY, OBVIOUSLY IT WILL MAKE IT EASIER TO DEAL WITH TEN MINUTES INSTEAD OF 30 MINUTES, BUT I THINK IT'S STILL GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE.

YOU KNOW, FOR THE REASONS I MENTIONED AND BASED ON, YOU KNOW, THE FEEDBACK I'VE RECEIVED, I CAN'T SUPPORT THIS INVESTMENT TODAY, BUT I WANT TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT YOU HEARD MY THOUGHTS AND ALSO THE THOUGHTS OF A LOT OF UNINCORPORATED BEXAR COUNTY CITIZENS OUT THERE WHEN IT COMES TO EXPANDING INVESTMENT IN THESE TOOLS.

I DO WANT TO SHARE WITH THE COURT THAT THE MILLION DOLLARS OR BILLION DOLLARS OR WHATEVER, THIS PROJECT IS A JUST UNDER $300 MILLION PROJECT OF WHICH YOU WOULD BE PROVIDING, OR WE WOULD JOINTLY ACTUALLY BE PROVIDING THROUGH THE ATD FUNDS, $100 MILLION THAT IS THE EXTENT OF YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THAT LANE, OTHER THAN I HOPE THAT YOU'LL PROMOTE IT.

AND THERE'S AND AT THE JUDGE'S BEHEST, ACTUALLY THERE'S ABOUT $2 MILLION IN THERE SO THAT WE CAN OFFER GRATIS FARES TO THE RIDERS.

YOU'RE PREPAYING FARES FOR THE RIDERS FOR THE FIRST YEAR, SO WE CAN GET OUT THERE AND BUILD THAT RIDERSHIP.

TO GET TO $1 MILLION, YOU'D HAVE TO BE INCLUDING OPERATING COSTS FOR 20, 30 YEARS.

AND OF COURSE, YES, EVENTUALLY ANYTHING IS GOING TO COME TO THAT.

BUT THIS PROJECT IS AT THREE.

IT HAS TO STAY BELOW 400, BUT IT'S AT 300 LESS THAN 300.

THE OTHER ONE IS ABOUT 450.

THAT'S 750. THE FEDS ARE PICKING 55% OF THAT UP.

SO AS FAR AS THE LOCAL FUNDING IS ONLY 45% OF THAT NUMBER.

AND THOSE NUMBERS ARE PRETTY FIRM.

IN FACT, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WON'T CHANGE THOSE NUMBERS.

AND WE'VE NOT CHANGED THOSE NUMBERS THROUGH ONE, TWO, THREE, ALMOST FOUR YEARS OF WORK ON THE NORTH LINE.

WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ADD EXPENSES SO THAT THE FED SAID THEY WOULD REIMBURSE US FOR.

I'M ALL FOR THAT. RIGHT.

BUT OUR COST ESTIMATES HAVE BEEN PRETTY SOLID AND SPECIFICALLY OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS.

THAT'S WHY WE HAVE FOUR AGENCIES TODAY LOOKING OVER THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE MADE ON EVERY ASPECT OF THE GREEN LINE.

AND THEY WILL LIKEWISE DO THAT ON THE SILVER LINE.

SO JUST TO CLARIFY, YOU'RE SAYING ANY OVERAGE IN IN CONSTRUCTION COSTS WILL BE PICKED UP BY THE FEDS? NO, THE OVERAGES WOULD BE OUR RESPONSIBILITY, WHICH IS WHY WE ARE VERY SERIOUS ABOUT MAKING SURE ALL THOSE ESTIMATES ARE CORRECT.

BUT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS VERY SERIOUS.

THEY DON'T WANT TO GIVE ANYBODY MONEY FOR A PROJECT THAT THEY CAN'T FINISH.

THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DO THAT.

AND SO WE HAD TO PROVE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THAT OVER A 40 YEAR SPAN OF TIME, THAT WE CAN FINANCE THE BUILDING AND THE OPERATION OF OUR SYSTEM FOR 40 YEARS AND STAY SOLVENT. BUT WE WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL FIX THE AMOUNT THEY INVEST, BUT BEFORE THEY FIX THE AMOUNT THEY INVEST, THEY'VE GONE THROUGH OUR PROJECT AND SCRUBBED OUR COSTS SO THAT THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT THEIR COST AND OUR COST ARE VERY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COST, AS CLOSE AS ONE CAN BE.

I'LL SAY THAT. AND TOTALLY TRUST YOUR PROCESSES.

BUT OBVIOUSLY, SITTING ON THE MPO, I'VE SEEN DOZENS AND DOZENS OF PROJECTS SEE INCREASES IN CONSTRUCTION COSTS OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE'LL SEE WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS.

BUT IT'S HARD TO HAVE A STRONG COMMITMENT TO A CONSTRUCTION NUMBER NOW OVER A PROJECT THAT'S GOING TO LAST 4 TO 6 YEARS.

COMMISSIONER CALVERT. WELL, LET ME JEFF, LET ME PUT ON RECORD ONE OF THE, I THINK FIRST BIG INITIATIVES WHEN I TOOK THE COUNTY JUDGE A YEAR AGO WAS THIS INITIATIVE OF THE SILVER LINE THAT YOU BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION.

[02:40:04]

AND WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK, AND THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN VIA AND THE COUNTY IN ORDER TO MAKE THE BEST DEAL FOR THE TAXPAYERS OF THIS COUNTY.

CORRECT. TOTALLY CORRECT.

SO I ALSO WANT TO PUT ON THE RECORD SOME OF THE HISTORY, SO THAT THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS WHY THIS PROJECT IS SO WORTHY AND WHY I SUPPORT THIS PROJECT.

I BELIEVE, AND CORRECT ME IF I MISSTATE I WASN'T ON THE COURT BACK IN, I THINK, 2005, WHEN BEXAR COUNTY PARTNERED WITH THE ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT, WHAT WE CALL THE ATD, WHICH IS A LEGAL ENTITY THAT HOLDS THESE FUNDS FOR THESE TYPE OF PROJECTS AND REALLY TRIES TO MATCH UP LOCAL MATCHING FUNDS FOR STATE AND FEDERAL PROJECTS.

AND AS I RECALL, THIS ATD ENTITY WAS APPROVED BY, I BELIEVE IT WAS THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO ELECTION A FEW YEARS AGO THAT APPROVED THE ONE A CENT SALES TAX THAT HAS BEEN COLLECTED, AND THE BULK OF THE MONEY THAT WE ARE COMMITTING IS CURRENTLY IN THAT FUND AND IS CONTINUING TO COLLECT ON THAT SALES TAX.

CORRECT. THAT'S IN FACT, ALL THE MONEY IS FROM THAT FUND.

SO THIS ISN'T SOMETHING WE JUST CREATED.

THE VOTERS HAVE WEIGHED IN IN THE PAST AND THE USE OF THESE MONIES.

CORRECT. CORRECT.

SO TODAY WE'RE POSED TO APPROVE A DEAL WHICH WILL RESULT IN A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN A PUBLIC TRANSIT, DRAWING DOWN AN ESTIMATED $148 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS, WHILE ALSO SECURING FUNDS FOR THE COUNTY'S FUTURE ROADWAY NEEDS, WHICH WE NEED.

AND IN HAVING CONVERSATIONS JEFF, WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS I PARTICIPATED IN THE SADC, I THINK.

BOARD MEMBER CABANILLA WAS THERE.

I THINK BOARD MEMBER REYES WAS THERE.

I KNOW SOME ALL YOUR STAFF WAS THERE.

THERE WAS A COMMITMENT OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ESPECIALLY.

THEY WERE EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES AND THEY WERE IMPRESSED BY THE COLLABORATION OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY THE COUNTY AND OUR LOCAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY, THE VIA.

AND IT WAS, AS I RECALL, CONVERSATIONS THAT THEY WERE COMMITTED, ONE TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON THIS FUNDING THAT THEY'VE COMMITTED TO, BUT ALSO TO SEE WHAT FUTURE PROJECTS WE CAN COME UP WITH THAT WILL INCLUDE A MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN AND TO LOOK AT THE VARIOUS WAYS THAT WE CAN UPGRADE OUR TRANSPORTATION NEEDS IN OUR COUNTY.

IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.

SO I HEAR, COMMISSIONER MOODY, THAT WE GOT TO MAKE SURE THAT ALTHOUGH THIS IS FOR A PARTICULAR AREA.

THE SILVER LINE, WHICH I BELIEVE HAS GREAT MERIT, WILL ALSO CONTINUE TO LOOK AT PROJECTS THAT WILL MEET THE NEEDS OF THE ENTIRE COUNTY.

IS THAT ALSO CORRECT? THAT IS ALSO CORRECT.

SO THE VIA THROUGH THE AGREEMENT WITH BEXAR COUNTY WILL OBVIOUSLY MEET THE NEEDS OF THE LOCAL FUNDING AND WE WILL BE MOVING FORWARD.

AND SO FOR THE RECORD, TODAY WE'RE DOING THE SILVER LINE, WHICH IS THE EAST WEST, THE NEXT, AND THE GREEN LINE IS THE NORTH SOUTH THAT'S ALREADY BEEN RESOLVED WITH THEIR FUNDING NEEDS.

CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.

SO THIS IS GOING TO CONNECT RESIDENTS ON THE EAST SIDE AND WEST SIDE IN OUR DOWNTOWN TO PROVIDE MORE RELIABLE AND DEPENDABLE TRANSIT OPTIONS TO HELP OUR RESIDENTS.

I SUGGEST, JEFF, AND THAT'S OUR CONVERSATIONS.

AND I THINK, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ, YOU HAVE RAISED THE ISSUES OF ACCESS TO EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT, TRAINING AND HEALTH CARE, AND WE CAN ENJOY OUR COMMUNITY'S ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICTS AND ROBUST CULTURAL OFFERINGS, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE STIPULATIONS THAT WE HAD TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS LINE CONNECTED TO THE FROST BANK CENTER AND INTO THE EAST SIDE, IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT. THAT'S SPECIFICALLY CALLED OUT, IN FACT.

SO THE BEAUTY OF THIS PROPOSAL, MR. ARNDT, IS THAT IT WAS NEGOTIATED NOT TO PUT A FINANCIAL BURDEN ON THE HOMEOWNER TAXPAYERS.

CORRECT? CORRECT.

AND WE WANTED TO SECURE COMMITMENTS TO BENEFIT BOTH USERS OF PUBLIC TRANSIT AND THOSE WHO DRIVE ON THE COMMUNITY'S ROADS.

SO WE'RE GOING TO DRAW ON THESE FUNDS FROM THE ATD REVENUE, WHICH IS DEDICATED TO TRANSPORTATION USES ONLY AND MEANS NO DEBT AND NO GENERAL FUND IMPACT.

IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.

SO WHEN VIA MADE THE REQUEST FOR LOCAL MATCH THAT WE ARE CONSIDERING TODAY, THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE RECORD WAS COULD WE SUBSIDIZE FARE AT LEAST FOR THE FIRST YEAR TO MAKE AND GIVE KIND OF A IT WAS A RECOGNITION OF THE RIDERSHIP AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD ACCESS TO

[02:45:02]

EVERYBODY TO MAKE SURE THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL THOSE THAT WANTED TO UTILIZE THIS DISTRICT.

AND WE DIDN'T WANT ANY IMPEDIMENT IN ORDER TO, UNFORTUNATELY, HAVE PEOPLE WHO DON'T WANT TO RIDE THE VIA BUS BECAUSE THEY JUST DON'T HAVE THE ACCESS TO THAT. WASN'T THAT ONE OF THE STIPULATIONS I MADE? ABSOLUTELY IT WAS.

AND WE APPRECIATE THAT.

AND ALSO TOO YOU FOLLOWED THROUGH TO MAKE SURE THE CONNECTION TO THE COUNTY OWNED FROST BANK CENTER, AND WE HAVE A STREAMLINED PROCESS FOR THE COUNTY TO ACCESS ATD FUNDS FOR COUNTY ROADWAY NEEDS.

THAT'S PRETTY MUCH THE SUM TOTAL OF WHAT THE COUNTY WAS ASKING FOR IN ORDER TO GET OUR FULL PARTICIPATION, AND IN EXCHANGE FOR $102 MILLION OF FUNDING FOR THE SILVER LINE, VIA HAS CONTRACTUALLY AGREED TO HELP STREAMLINE BEXAR COUNTY'S ACCESS OF THOSE ATD NEEDS FOR FUTURE COUNTY ROADS, AND BENEFITING DRIVERS AS MUCH AS THOSE WHO USE THE PUBLIC TRANSIT.

SO THAT I WANT PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND TO THE DRIVERS OUT THERE THAT THAT DON'T WANT TO USE VIA OR WHATEVER.

I WANT TO BE CLEAR, THERE'S A SILVER LINING HERE FOR THOSE THAT DON'T USE PUBLIC TRANSIT, BECAUSE WE HOPEFULLY ARE REMOVING CARS SO THAT WE LESSEN CONGESTION FROM A MULTIMODAL PERSPECTIVE.

IS THAT A CORRECT STATEMENT? THAT IS CORRECT. AS LONG AS WELL AS MAKING IMPROVEMENTS TO INTERSECTIONS AND SIDEWALKS.

CORRECT. SO WITH THE APPROVAL OF THIS AMENDMENT BY CONTRACT, THAT ATD BOARD WILL BE REQUIRED TO APPROVE COUNTY PROPOSED ATD PROJECT SO LONG AS THEY'RE ELIGIBLE UNDER STATE LAW AND DO NOT NEGATIVELY IMPACT CURRENT VIA INFRASTRUCTURE.

CORRECT, CORRECT.

AND DAVID, I'LL BRING YOU IN.

THAT OPENS UP THE FINANCING OF SOME CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT WOULD REQUIRE US TO INCUR DEBT.

IS THAT A CORRECT STATEMENT? YES. YOU MAY STILL HAVE TO INCUR DEBT FOR FUTURE PROJECTS, BECAUSE THE PROJECTED SURPLUS IN THE EARLY YEARS IS BETWEEN 10 AND 15 MILLION A YEAR.

BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO COVER ALL OF IT.

BUT IT TAKES AT LEAST TEN, $15 MILLION ON AN ANNUAL BASIS THAT WE WILL IF WE DECIDE TO FUND ROAD PROJECTS THAT WE WILL HAVE TO DO. WE HAVE ANOTHER BUCKET IN ORDER TO FUND THESE PROJECTS.

IS THAT A CORRECT STATEMENT? IT IS. SO BY THE TIME VIA RECEIVES THE FULL 102 MILLION, THE COUNTY WILL HAVE A ROBUST INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE DEVELOPED TO FUND MAJOR ARTERIAL AND ROAD PROJECTS THAT COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDING PARTNERSHIPS.

WHEN THE COUNTY SEEKS THIS, I'M SURE VIA WILL BE THERE IN PARTNERSHIP, CORRECT, MR. ARNDT? CERTAINLY.

ALL RIGHT. IN SPIRIT AND BY CONTRACT.

AND I'LL TAKE THAT ON THE RECORD.

SO I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE LEADERSHIP OF VIA.

THE VIA BOARD AND OUR BEXAR COUNTY LEADERS WHO HAVE HELPED MAKE THIS DEAL A REALITY.

I JUST WANT TO ALERT THE COURT THAT WE'RE GOING WHERE I BELIEVE VIA, WE'D LIKE TO DO A MEDIA EVENT AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE COMMISSIONERS COURT.

SO AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN INTO OUR INDIVIDUAL.

BUT I THINK WE'RE GOING TO GET THERE SOONER THAN LATER.

SO I HOPE TO HAVE A JOINT CONFERENCE AND I'LL INVITE THE VIA LEADERSHIP.

I'LL INVITE THE COMMISSIONERS COURT TO PARTICIPATE IN A JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE.

SO WITH THAT, I CALL THE VOTE.

ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON A MOTION? QUICK COMMENT. QUICK COMMENT.

I WAS ACKNOWLEDGING VIA STAFF AND I CAN'T OVERLOOK MY CONSTITUENT.

ELOY IS HERE, SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK AND ALL YOUR MANY EMAILS.

AND TALKING ABOUT MY CONSTITUENTS, I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY THAT TODAY WE'RE SUPPORTING FUNDING FOR THE EAST WEST.

BUT THE NORTH SOUTH ONE WAS ALREADY APPROVED.

AND THAT'S ACTUALLY GOING TO BE BUILT BEFORE THIS ONE.

CORRECT. THAT IS FULLY FUNDED.

AND AS I SAID, WE ARE MOVING TOWARD A FULLY FUNDED GRANT AGREEMENT WITH THE FTA BY THE END OF THE YEAR.

AND SO THE NORTH SOUTH WILL BE BUILT, COMPLETED BEFORE THIS ONE.

IT WILL BE. YES. GREAT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL RIGHT.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.

AYE. ANY OPPOSED? [INAUDIBLE] ANY ABSTENTIONS.

CARRY ON, MR. ARNDT. THANK YOU. HOPEFULLY GET TO THAT PRESS CONFERENCE.

ALL RIGHT. OKAY.

LET'S MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER FIVE.

REQUEST OF COMMISSIONERS COURT TO IDENTIFY ITEMS FROM CONSENT AGENDA FOR ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION AND APPROVE REMAINING CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS. COMMISSIONER CALVERT. DO YOU HAVE ANY MATTERS TO PULL? I'M SORRY. ELIZABETH WAS HAVING A HARD TIME HEARING, SO CAN WE JUST CLARIFY THE LAST VOTE? SHE COULDN'T HEAR THE MIC.

[02:50:01]

ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. THEN I'M GOING.

THEN, FOR PURPOSES OF CLARITY, I'LL ASK FOR A ROLL CALL VOTE ON THE PRIOR MOTION.

ON ITEM 4 C, WHICH WE HAVE JUST DISCUSSED, WHICH INVOLVES THE SILVER LINE OF VIA.

NO. COMMISSIONER CALVERT.

WHAT IS YOUR VOTE? YES.

COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.

AYE. COMMISSIONER MOODY.

ABSTAIN. JUDGE SAKAI VOTES TO SUPPORT.

MOTION CARRIES 3,1,1 FOR THE RECORD.

ALL RIGHT.

[5. Request of Commissioners Court to identify items from the Consent Agenda for additional discussion and to approve remaining Consent Agenda items.]

COMMISSIONER CALVERT, DO YOU HAVE ANY ITEMS TO PULL OFF CONSENT? COMMISSIONER MOODY.

I'D LIKE TO PULL ITEM 10.

10. OKAY.

WHAT ELSE? COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.

AND WHAT WERE THE OTHER TWO? 52 AND 53.

48. 48.

52 AND 53.

OKAY. HOLD ON. 48.

52. 53.

ALL RIGHT. JUDGE SAKAI HAS NONE TO PULL.

ALL RIGHT. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE REMAINING CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS, EXCEPT THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN PULLED.

[CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS]

MOVE. MOTION BY COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.

SECOND. SECOND BY COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES.

ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.

ALL RIGHT. LET'S TAKE UP.

CAN WE REQUEST TO PULL 52 AND 53 FIRST, PLEASE.

WHAT NOW? I REQUEST THAT WE DO 52 AND 53 FIRST, PLEASE.

ALL RIGHT. ANY OBJECTIONS? SHE HAS ASKED THAT WE DO 52 AND 53 FIRST.

AND SO I WILL TAKE UP ITEM 52.

[52. Approval and execution of a Professional Services Agreement with Marc A. Rodriguez, to provide legislative advocacy services at the state level, for a period beginning September 1, 2024, and ending December 31, 2025, in an amount not to exceed $96,000. ]

APPROVAL EXECUTION PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH MARK A.

RODRIGUEZ TO PROVIDE LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY SERVICES AT THE STATE LEVEL FOR A PERIOD BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 1, 2024 AND ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2025, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $96,000.

AND LET'S TAKE UP ONE AT A TIME.

COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES. YEAH.

THANK YOU JUDGE. I JUST WANTED TO JUST PULL THIS FOR EVEN THOUGH THESE ARE FOR OUR STATE LOBBYISTS.

YOU KNOW, SINCE I'VE GOTTEN HERE, I'VE QUESTIONED LOBBYISTS MORE.

SO THE NUMBER THAT WE HAVE AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.

SO WITH THESE ADDED AMOUNTS, I UNDERSTAND THE CONTRACT'S INCREASED FROM LAST YEAR.

SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND QUARTERLY UPDATES.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER, FOR THE RECORD.

THOMAS GUEVARA, OFFICE OF THE COUNTY MANAGER.

ONE OF THE PROVISIONS IN THE AGREEMENTS THAT WE WILL HAVE WITH BOTH.

I'M SORRY. CAN YOU HEAR ME? SEE IF I GET A LITTLE CLOSER.

WE WILL HAVE PROVISIONS IN BOTH OF THE AGREEMENTS FOR BOTH CONSULTANTS TO COME BACK WITHIN 90 DAYS AFTER WORKING WITH YOUR OFFICES TO ESTABLISH PERFORMANCE METRICS FOR EACH OF THE CONSULTANTS.

SO THAT IS PART OF OUR AGREEMENT.

OKAY GREAT. YES, MA'AM. OKAY. AND I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE OTHER OFFICES, BUT I FOR MY OFFICE, I ALSO APPRECIATE QUARTERLY UPDATES.

YES, MA'AM. WE CAN COORDINATE THAT PROPERLY.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. MOVE FOR APPROVAL.

SECOND. MOTION BY COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES.

SECOND BY COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.

ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? I'LL JUST SAY, THOMAS I ALSO WANT MY STAFF TO HAVE INPUT IN REGARDS TO THE CONTRACT AND REALLY THE METRICS.

YES, SIR. I NEED FEEDBACK.

I NEED FEEDBACK IN THESE LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS, AND I NEED FEEDBACK AS TO WHAT BILLS ARE HOT AND HAVE DIRECT IMPACT ON THE COUNTY BUDGET.

SO I WANT THAT SPECIFICALLY IN ANY CONTRACT WITH ANY LOBBYIST.

YES, SIR. ALL RIGHT.

ONE THING I DO WANT TO ADD THOUGH JUST BECAUSE THERE WAS A POINT OF DISCUSSION DURING THE BUDGET PROCESS IN BOTH CONTRACTS, YOU KNOW, WE ARE ASKING THOSE CONSULTANTS TO HELP US WITH GRANT OPPORTUNITIES AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES.

SO I DO WANT TO MAKE THAT CLEAR AND ON THE RECORD THAT THAT IS PART OF THAT.

SO IT SUPPORTS A LOT OF THE DISCUSSION Y'ALL WERE HAVING EARLIER IN THE BUDGET.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER MOODY.

JUST I'D LIKE TO FOLLOW UP.

I APPRECIATE COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES BRINGING UP THE PERFORMANCE METRICS.

I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO BE INCLUDED IN THAT AND UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE ADVOCATING ON AND THE RESULTS THAT WE'RE SEEING.

MY UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT THE RETAINER AMOUNT PER MONTH HAD GONE DOWN IN THESE CONTRACTS, THIS BEING OVER 16 MONTHS.

IS THAT NOT THE CASE? I'M SORRY, COMMISSIONER, I CAN'T HEAR.

I CAN, SO I THINK IT WENT DOWN FROM WHAT THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL WAS.

OKAY. YEAH. FROM PREVIOUS CONTRACT.

IT'S GONE DOWN. NO. FROM WHAT IT WAS ORIGINALLY PROPOSED ON THIS CONTRACT.

THE COMMISSIONER MENTIONED. CORRECT.

HOW DO THEY COMPARE TO THE PREVIOUS CONTRACT? SO FOR MARK RODRIGUEZ, THE PREVIOUS CONTRACT WAS AT $4,000 PER MONTH.

[02:55:03]

IT INCREASES TO $6,000 PER MONTH.

AND FOR.

WELL, WE'RE NOT ON THAT ONE YET, BUT 52.

RIGHT. CORRECT.

SORRY. OKAY.

ALL RIGHT. I DON'T UNDERSTAND.

ARE WE TALKING ABOUT BOTH THESE OR ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THE.

52. OKAY.

ABOUT MARK RODRIGUEZ.

OKAY. MY POSITION WHEN IT COMES TO TAXPAYER FUNDED LOBBYING, I'VE BEEN OPPOSED TO IT.

I'M JUST GOING TO BE CONSISTENT IN THIS REGARD, BUT I THINK IF WE ARE GOING FORWARD AS A COURT ON IT, THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ENSURING THAT WE'RE GETTING THE RESULTS THAT WE EXPECT WITH THAT CONTRACT.

I THINK THAT'S JUST GOOD BUSINESS.

THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.

JUST REAL BRIEF. THOMAS, I KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO INCLUDE ALL OF THE OFFICES ON THE PERFORMANCE PIECE.

JUST KNOW THAT THAT IS PRETTY COMPLEX, RIGHT? THERE'S NOT REALLY, YOU KNOW, HAVING SERVED IN THE LEGISLATURE, THERE'S NOT REALLY A WATERMARK NECESSARILY THAT SAYS, OH, THIS PERSON DID EXCELLENT.

A LOT OF TIMES, IN FACT, 90% OF THE TIMES IT'S PLAYING DEFENSE.

AND THAT'S HARD TO MEASURE AS WELL.

SO IF YOU CAN JUST CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR OFFICE ON THAT AND WE'LL GIVE YOU FEEDBACK ON, I THINK WHAT'S APPROPRIATE.

YES, SIR. THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. ANY FURTHER COMMENT ON ITEM 52? A CALL FOR A VOTE.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.

ITEM 53 APPROVAL EXTENDED EXECUTION OF A PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH RODRIGUEZ INDUSTRIES AND OPERATIONS, INC., DBA R-4 STRATEGIES TO PROVIDE LEGISLATIVE

[53. Approval and execution of a Professional Services Agreement with Rodriguez Industries & Operations, Inc. dba R4 Strategies, to provide legislative advocacy services at the state level, for a period beginning September 1, 2024, and ending December 31, 2025, in an amount not to exceed $64,000. ]

ADVOCACY SERVICES AT THE STATE LEVEL FOR A PERIOD BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 1, 2024, ENDING SEPTEMBER 31, 2025, AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $64,000. IS THERE A MOTION? MOVE FOR APPROVAL? I JUST HAD THE SAME QUESTIONS ON THAT.

SO QUARTERLY REPORT.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MOTION BY COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES.

SECOND BY COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ.

ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? COMMISSIONER MOODY? JUST THE SAME QUESTION.

CAN YOU CONFIRM THE CHANGE IN THE CONTRACTS? COMMISSIONER, THE CURRENT AGREEMENT WITH MR. RODRIGUEZ IS $1750 PER MONTH.

THIS INCREASES TO $4000 PER MONTH.

BUT I WOULD LIKE TO NOTE THAT THE CONTRACT IS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM THE PREVIOUS CONTRACT.

AND PRIMARILY WE WILL BE WORKING WITH MR. RODRIGUEZ TO FOCUS ON SOME OF OUR REGIONAL APPROACHES IN SOUTH TEXAS.

SO THAT IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT.

AND AND WARRANTS THE PROPOSAL.

THANK YOU.

MR. RODRIGUEZ. MR. RODRIGUEZ, I'LL ALLOW YOU TO APPROACH THE COURT.

REALLY QUICKLY. YES, JUDGE.

THANK YOU. IS THAT JUST IN REFERENCE TO A PERFORMANCE STANDARD? I THINK, FROM THE PREVIOUS CONTRACT, THERE WAS A PAPER ROAD FROM THE CITY THAT WAS GOING TO BE A COST OF ABOUT $350,000 OVER WHERE BIBLIO TECH IS ON PLEASANTON ROAD.

SO WHEN I GOT INVOLVED IN THAT, WE WERE ABLE TO SECURE THAT FOR $0 AND NEGOTIATED THAT OVER WITH AT THE TIME, COUNCILWOMAN VIAGRAN AND ERIC WALSH AT THE TIME, YOU KNOW, LAST SESSION AS COMMISSIONER STATED, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ STATED, IS THE BILL THAT WOULD HAVE COST THE COUNTY SOME SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FUNDS WITH THE INCREASE IN SHERIFF'S COST.

SO IT'S HARD TO PUT MEASURES ON THOSE, BUT ABSOLUTELY LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.

ANY FURTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? I'LL CALL FOR A VOTE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ITEM 53 SIGNAL BY SAYING AYE.

AYE. ANY OPPOSED? [INAUDIBLE] ANY ABSTENTIONS.

LET'S GO BACK AND I'LL JUST GO BACK AND REVERSE ORDER.

I THINK. COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES, YOU PULLED 48 APPROVAL OF A BUDGET TRANSFER TOTALING $161,400,

[48. Approval of a budget transfer totaling $161,400, which reallocates funding from within the Tax Assessor-Collector's General Fund budget from the Capital Expenditure Appropriation to the Supplies Appropriation to provide sufficient funding for the office's cubical reconfiguration in Vista Verde, awarded to Workspace Solutions, LLC, for the Call Center and Financial Reporting offices. These purchases are not considered capital items with no depreciation value and cannot be capitalized at the end of the fiscal year during an external audit. The office was instructed to move these funds to the proper appropriation. ]

WHICH ALLOCATES FUNDING FROM THE TAX ASSESSOR COLLECTORS GENERAL FUND BUDGET, FROM THE CAPITAL EXPENDITURE APPROPRIATION TO THE SUPPLIES APPROPRIATION TO PROVIDE SUFFICIENT FUNDING FOR THE OFFICES CUBICAL RECONFIGURATION AND VISTA VERDE AWARDED TO WORK SPACE SOLUTIONS, LLC FOR THE CALL CENTER FINANCIAL REPORTING OFFICES.

THESE PURCHASES ARE NOT CONSIDERED CAPITAL ITEMS WITH NO DEPRECIATION VALUE, AND CANNOT BE CAPITALIZED AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR.

DURING AN EXTERNAL AUDIT, THE OFFICE WAS INSTRUCTED TO MOVE THESE FUNDS TO THE PROPER APPROPRIATION.

I DON'T KNOW WHO'S TALKING ON THIS BECAUSE NO ONE'S AT THE MIC.

THANK YOU. JUDGE.

WHAT'S THE PROCESS HERE? IS THIS THROUGH PURCHASING? YEAH. SO WHAT WE DID IN LAST YEAR'S BUDGET WAS, IS WE APPROVED THE.

SPEAK UP A LITTLE BIT. SURE.

[03:00:02]

SORRY. Y'ALL. USUALLY I'M REALLY LOUD.

WE'RE NOT PICKING UP THERE.

THESE. TINA, I THINK WHAT SHE'S ASKING IS HOW IT WAS HOW WORKSPACE WAS PROCURED.

IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE ASKING? CORRECT.

THANK YOU, DAVID, FOR YOUR TRANSLATION.

I CAN'T SPEAK TO THAT.

IS ANYONE HERE FROM PURCHASING? PATRICIA, CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT? THANK YOU.

GOOD AFTERNOON. I ACTUALLY NEED I ACTUALLY NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO DO SOME RESEARCH.

IF I COULD HAVE A COUPLE OF MINUTES.

I'M SORRY. IF I COULD HAVE A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO DO SOME RESEARCH.

OH, SURE. YEAH. I WANT TO KNOW HOW THEY WERE SELECTED AND WHY.

BECAUSE WE DIDN'T BID OUT ON THIS ONE.

RIGHT. LIKE I SAID, I HAVE TO DO SOME RESEARCH, BUT.

OKAY, A COUPLE MINUTES.

AND THAT'S FINE. OKAY. THANK YOU.

THANKS. SO YOU CAN GO ON TO THE NEXT ONE JUDGE.

AND I GUESS WE'LL PULL IT. WE'LL BRING IT BACK.

OKAY. WE'RE GOING TO TAKE WE'RE JUST GOING TO HOLD ON ITEM 48.

YES. HOLD TO TABLE PLEASE.

OKAY. SO FOR THE RECORD NO ACTION AT THIS TIME BUT WE WILL RECALL IT.

THEN WE GO TO I BELIEVE SHE NEEDS A FEW MINUTES TO FIND AN ANSWER.

SO INSTEAD OF WASTING TIME, I'M SUGGESTING THAT WE GO ON TO THE NEXT ONE AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK.

OKAY. ITEM TEN.

[10. Notification of payment to those employees who have accumulated hours in excess of the FLSA maximum level for an estimated amount of $1,401,094 and approval of the appropriate budget transfers in the amount of $290,891. ]

COMMISSIONER MOODY, WE'RE GOING TO DO NOTIFICATION OF PAYMENT TO THOSE EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE ACCUMULATED HOURS IN EXCESS OF THE FLSA MAXIMUM LEVEL FOR ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF $1,401,094 AND APPROVAL OF THE APPROPRIATE BUDGET TRANSFERS IN THE AMOUNT OF $290,891.

COMMISSIONER MOODY, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.

THANK YOU JUDGE.

OBVIOUSLY, THIS IS A REPEAT ITEM.

I WANTED TO JUST GET A QUICK UPDATE ON WHERE WE STAND.

WE DO HAVE THE GRAPH THAT, YOU KNOW, IS SHOWING THE MONTH ON MONTH FLSA, AS WELL AS OVERTIME FOR DETENTION OFFICERS AND JUST LOOKING FOR SOME MORE COLOR AND CLARITY ON WHERE WE STAND.

KNOW, WE'VE HAD THIS CONVERSATION SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE.

AS WE GET ADDITIONAL STAFF IN PLACE THAT WE EXPECT THOSE OVERTIME COSTS, FLSA COSTS TO DECREASE.

YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING AT THE TABLE.

IT'S DEBATABLE WHETHER YOU CAN SEE THAT OR NOT.

SO I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF THERE'S OTHER FACTORS OR WHETHER IT'S BEEN SLOW COMING OR WHETHER THERE'S ANY ISSUES WITH THE DATA THERE.

YES, SIR. GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY.

OR GOOD AFTERNOON RATHER.

SO AS YOU CAN SEE BY THE GRAPH, THE TREND CONTINUES TO GO DOWN WITH FLSA COSTS FOR THE LAW ENFORCEMENT SIDE.

ASSISTANT CHIEF JANSSEN CAN EXPLAIN AWAY THE DETENTION BUREAU SIDE.

AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT AS OF TODAY WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE REHIRE OF THE LAST DEPUTY MISS CLAUDIA DOUGLAS, WE ARE NOW SITTING AT ZERO VACANCIES FOR THE LAW ENFORCEMENT SIDE.

AND WE ARE DOWN WITH THE CLASS THAT STARTED YESTERDAY OF 40 CADETS FOR THE DETENTION BUREAU.

WE ARE RIGHT AROUND 100 OPENINGS NOW FOR THE DETENTION SIDE.

YESTERDAY THE ACADEMY WITH THE ADDITION OF THE THIRD CLASS FOR DETENTION.

I AM SITTING AT 170 CADETS AT THE ACADEMY RIGHT NOW.

THAT'S THREE CLASSES FOR THE DETENTION BUREAU AND THREE CLASSES FOR PATROL BUREAU.

WITH THOSE CLASSES, WHEN YOU START SEEING THEM GRADUATING NEXT MONTH, YOU'RE GOING TO START TO SEE AN IMPACT.

WITH REGARDS TO FLSA MOT, BOTH IN DETENTION AND IN LAW ENFORCEMENT, YOU SEE THOSE NUMBERS START TO TREND DOWNWARDS.

THE NEXT CLASS WE HAVE GRADUATING IN SEPTEMBER 6TH FOR THE JAIL.

THAT'S GOING TO PROVIDE THEM SOME MORE STAFFING THERE.

AND THEN FRIDAY THE 13TH OF SEPTEMBER, YOU'LL SEE THE ALPHA CLASS GRADUATE OF ROUGHLY 30 PATROL DEPUTIES THAT ARE GOING TO HIT THE STREETS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH.

SO WITH THE CLASSES THAT WE HAVE IN SESSION NOW AS WE CONTINUE TO BUILD ON THOSE CADET COURSES, YOU'LL SEE THE TREND CONTINUE CONTINUED TO DECREASE WITH REGARDS TO FLSA AND MOT.

APPRECIATE THAT.

I WOULD JUST, YOU KNOW, FIRST OF ALL, I THINK YOU SAID THERE'S ONLY 100 VACANCIES IN DETENTION NOW.

WE'RE RIGHT AT ABOUT 100 VACANCIES AS OF YESTERDAY.

AND IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, AT 1.9 MONTHS AGO, WE WERE AT 260.

RIGHT? YOU'RE RIGHT.

ABOUT NINE MONTHS AGO. TEN MONTHS AGO, WE WERE CLOSER.

WE WERE HOVERING AROUND 300 VACANCIES.

WOW. SO THAT IS INCREDIBLE.

AND THAT'S GREAT WORK BY THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND BRINGING THAT DOWN AND GETTING THOSE CADETS TRAINED.

SO I WANT TO JUST HIGHLIGHT THAT FOR THE COURT.

I DO STILL, YOU KNOW, QUESTION LOOKING AT THE CHART HERE, WHETHER WE CAN ACTUALLY SAY TODAY THAT FLSA IS GOING DOWN.

[03:05:07]

AND THERE MAY BE SOME OTHER FACTORS AT PLAY, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR IT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.

BUT I'M STILL LOOKING TO SEE THAT SIGNIFICANT DROP COMING FROM ALL THOSE ADDITIONAL CADETS GETTING INTO THOSE ROLES AND NOT SEEING ALL THE OVERTIME PAY GOING OUT, PAYING ACTUAL TIME INSTEAD OF TIME AND A HALF.

YES, SIR. AND WITH THAT, WITH THE TRAINING ACADEMY REMEMBER, WE HAVE TO INCLUDE SOME WEEKEND TRAININGS.

SO THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME INHERENT BUILT IN OVERTIME WITH THAT, JUST BECAUSE OF THE STAFFING LEVELS WE ALREADY HAVE NOW WHILE WE GET THESE FOLKS TRAINED, THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO FILL IN THOSE OTHER AREAS WHERE WE'LL BE ABLE TO AVOID THOSE KIND OF SITUATIONS.

BUT CHIEF JANSSEN CAN TALK ABOUT THE DETENTION BUREAU.

SO, COMMISSIONER, JUST A FEW FACTORS ARE CREATING A LITTLE BIT MORE OVERTIME THAN WHAT WE EXPECTED.

AND ONE OF THE FACTORS, OF COURSE, ALL OF YOU ARE AWARE, IS OUR INMATE POPULATION HAS SKYROCKETED.

SO WITH THAT SAID, IN COMPARISON TO LAST YEAR, WE'VE HAD TO OPEN EVERY UNIT IN THE JAIL.

THE SECOND FACTOR THAT'S THAT'S BEEN ONGOING IS THE AMOUNT OF INMATES.

SORRY. IF I COULD JUST INTERRUPT YOU FOR A SECOND.

COULD YOU AND MAYBE THIS IS A FOLLOW UP, BUT IF WE COULD TALK ABOUT LAST YEAR OPEN WINGS OF THE JAIL DETENTION CENTER VERSUS THIS YEAR, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S A VERY VALID FACTOR, RIGHT? BUT THINKING ABOUT OKAY, SO LAST YEAR WE HAD, YOU KNOW, TWO WINGS OPEN FOR THE, YOU KNOW, SUMMERTIME.

AND THIS SUMMER WE HAVE ZERO RIGHT.

BUT IN THE FIRST QUARTER JUST LOOKING AT THAT OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR AND TELLING US, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY WINGS OF THE JAIL WERE NOT BEING UTILIZED MONTH BY MONTH LAST YEAR VERSUS THIS YEAR? THAT WOULD GIVE US A GOOD SENSE OF YES, THAT'S A FACTOR.

AND IT COULD OBVIOUSLY BE CONTRIBUTING.

WE DEFINITELY CAN PROVIDE THAT FOR YOU, SIR.

OKAY. THANK YOU.

AND THEN JUST TO MENTION THE SECOND FACTOR INMATES ARE GOING OUT TO THE HOSPITAL.

THE BUDGET OFFICE IS AWARE THAT WE REQUESTED MORE STAFF BECAUSE OF THAT.

JUST TO GIVE YOU A SNAPSHOT FROM JULY, WE HAD 414 INMATES AT THE HOSPITAL.

AND IN COMPARISON TO THIS YEAR, WE HAD A TOTAL OF 797.

SO THAT'S ALMOST DOUBLED.

SO WITH THAT SAID, EVERY INDIVIDUAL INMATE THAT'S NOT PLACED WITHIN OUR CAU UNIT, THEIR OFFICER HAS TO BE PULLED FROM THE JAIL TO BE PLACED ON THAT INMATE TO WATCH THEM. OKAY.

WELL, THANK YOU FOR THINKING ABOUT THOSE OTHER FACTORS AND BRINGING THAT FORWARD.

IF YOU COULD SHARE THAT DATA ON, YOU KNOW, THE LAST TWO YEARS AND WHEN WE'VE HAD WINGS CLOSED AT THE JAIL, I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL IN UNDERSTANDING IT AS WELL. WE'LL DEFINITELY PROVIDE, SIR.

I MOVE APPROVAL.

MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MOODY.

SECOND. SECOND BY COMMISSIONER CALVERT.

ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.

AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ANY ABSTENTIONS? MOTION CARRIES.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THE REPORT.

I BELIEVE THAT CONCLUDES THE CONSENT AGENDA AND THOSE THAT WERE PULLED.

WE NEED TO GO BACK.

GO BACK TO WHAT? TO PATRICIA.

TO THE ONE I PULLED. NUMBER 48.

ALL RIGHT. COURT RECALLS ITEM 48.

AND I'M NOT GOING TO REPEAT ALL THAT.

THAT'S THAT'S A LOT OF WORDS.

SO, MISS TORRES, PLEASE ANSWER COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES' QUESTION.

THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME A COUPLE MINUTES.

SO YOUR QUESTION IS HOW WE PROCURED IT? YEAH. DID IT GO OUT FOR BID? YES. ACTUALLY COMMISSIONERS COURT APPROVED AGENDA ITEM.

I DON'T HAVE THE AGENDA ITEM, BUT ON JULY 9TH AWARDING A DELIVERY ORDER THROUGH A COOPERATIVE CONTRACT.

SO IT WAS FOR THE AMOUNT OF $168,966.16 FOR THIS PROJECT.

SO IT WAS ACTUALLY AWARDED THROUGH A COOPERATIVE PRICING.

SO WE DID NOT GO OUT TO BID.

NO A SOLICITATION WAS NOT ISSUED.

OKAY. WE DIDN'T GO OUT TO BID.

YOU'RE SAYING WE USED A CO-OP? YES. OKAY.

BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER WHEN EXACTLY.

BUT RECENTLY IT CAME UP AND THEY WERE NOT THE LOWEST BIDDER ON FURNITURE.

I'M SORRY. THAT WAS ANOTHER PROJECT.

THAT WAS ANOTHER BUILDING.

THAT WAS ANOTHER PROJECT COMPLETELY.

OKAY. SO HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO JUST GO THROUGH THE CO-OP? BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE, I GUESS, THE RIGHT TO GO THROUGH A CO-OP, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO LOOK FOR THE LOWEST.

SO IT WOULD SEEM TO ME THAT CERTAIN, I GUESS COMPANIES OR ORGANIZATIONS TEND TO HAVE THE SAME KIND OF WORK PRODUCT AND BIDDING.

[03:10:03]

NO. SO ON THIS PROJECT IN PARTICULAR, I DO KNOW THAT THE TAX OFFICE DID THEIR OWN OUTREACH THROUGH COOPERATIVE VENDORS.

I DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION, AND I DON'T THINK THEY'RE HERE TO SPEAK ON THAT.

BUT WHEN THEY CAME TO US FOR A RECOMMENDATION OF AN AGENDA THEY GAVE US THE WORKSPACE SOLUTION QUOTE, WHICH WAS THE LOWEST OF THE IT WASN'T A FORMAL SOLICITATION, BUT THEY DID OUTREACH TO THROUGH CO-OP VENDORS.

SO THEN THE DEPARTMENT CAN DO THEIR OWN OUTREACH, INFORMAL OUTREACH, AS OPPOSED TO GOING THROUGH PURCHASING TO DO IT.

YES. SO IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THIS IS THE PROJECT.

LIKE I SAID, I DON'T THINK THEY'RE HERE, BUT IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, THIS IS THE PROJECT THAT FACILITIES ASSISTED THEM WITH.

BUT I CAN'T SPEAK ON THEIR BEHALF.

I DON'T KNOW THE BACKGROUND BECAUSE THAT WAS THAT HAPPENED BEFORE THEY CAME TO PURCHASING.

SO WHO WOULD KNOW THE BACKGROUND ON THIS? THE TAX ASSESSOR AND HIS PERSONNEL.

OKAY, OKAY.

THAT'S FINE. I MEAN, I DON'T REALLY HAVE MY ANSWERS, MY QUESTIONS ANSWERED, BUT I DON'T WANT TO HOLD UP COURT ANYMORE.

SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND MAKE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL.

SECOND. MOTION BY COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES.

SECOND BY COMMISSIONER CALVERT.

ANY FURTHER DISCUSSIONS ON ITEM 48? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.

AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ANY ABSTENTIONS? COMMISSIONER MOODY YOU ASKED FOR A POINT OF ORDER ON ITEM 54.

[54. Approval and execution of a General Fund Grant Agreement between Bexar County and the Johnny Hernandez Foundation for a one-year period that began October 1, 2023, and ends on September 30, 2024, in the amount of $250,000. ]

THAT WAS PART OF CONSENT.

DO YOU WISH TO CORRECT YOUR VOTE ON ITEM 54? YES, JUDGE. JUST LIKE TO CORRECT MY VOTE ON 54 TO ABSTENTION.

SO NOTED. PLEASE MAKE NOTE ON RECORD.

I BELIEVE THAT NOW CONCLUDES THE CONSENT AGENDA.

LET'S GO BACK TO THEN ITEM 6, THE FILING FOR THE RECORD OF FILING LEGAL ADMINISTRATIVE DOCUMENTS,

[6. Filing for record the following legal and administrative documents and directing the Criminal District Attorney's Office to take action, if necessary:]

DIRECTING THE CRIMINAL DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO TAKE ACTION, IF NECESSARY, FOR ITEMS A, B, C, D.

COURT TAKES JUDICIAL NOTICE.

ITEM NUMBER SEVEN. COMMISSIONERS COURT MINUTES FOR TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2024 AND AUGUST.

[7. Commissioners Court minutes for Tuesday, August 6, 2024 & Commissioners Court Worksession minutes for Tuesday, August 13, 2024.]

COMMISSIONERS COURT WORK SESSION MINUTES FOR TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2024.

IS THERE A MOTION? MOTION BY COMMISSIONER CALVERT SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MOODY.

ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.

AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES.

COMMUNICATIONS TO BE HEARD.

[8. Communications from citizens who signed the register to speak.]

I APOLOGIZE, BUT WE'VE HAD OBVIOUSLY A ROBUST DISCUSSION THIS MORNING.

SO WE WILL NOW HIT ITEM NUMBER 8.

AND THE FIRST PERSON WILL BE JACK FINGER.

MR. FINGER, YOU CAN RETURN BACK TO THE PODIUM.

JUDGE SAKAI, OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSIONERS COURT.

MY NAME IS JACK M FINGER.

AND THE TOPIC I WISH TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION IS A PROBLEM WITH THE ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT.

SPECIFICALLY, THE ELECTIONS DIRECTOR, JACKIE CALLANEN.

TO GIVE YOU SOME BACKGROUND ON THIS, A PERSON IS NOT ELIGIBLE TO VOTE.

I REPEAT, NOT ELIGIBLE TO VOTE.

IF THEY ARE DEAD NOW, YOU WOULD THINK THEY COULDN'T DO THAT ANYWAY.

BUT YOU'D BE AMAZED HOW PEOPLE MANAGE TO RESURRECT THEMSELVES HERE IN THE COUNTY.

YOU'RE NOT ELIGIBLE TO VOTE IF YOU'VE MOVED AWAY FROM THE COUNTY, YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO VOTE IF YOUR REGISTRATION IS AT A COMMERCIAL SITE LIKE A BUSINESS.

THOSE ARE THE RULES.

I BELONG TO A GROUP CALLED BEXAR COUNTY ELECTION INTEGRITY THROUGH VARIOUS MEANS WE HAVE NOTED 54,000 PERSONS HERE IN THE COUNTY WHO FALL INTO THOSE QUESTIONABLE CLASSIFICATIONS. WE KNOW AT LEAST 5000 BY NAME.

WE'VE TRIED PRESENTING THIS TO MISS CALLANEN OF THE COMMISSION OF THE COUNTY ELECTIONS DIRECTOR.

SHE HAS REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS.

WE'VE PRESENTED AFFIDAVITS, SWORN AFFIDAVITS TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE AND ELSEWHERE.

NOW, MY GUESS IS THIS COMPLAINT IS NOTHING NEW TO YOU GUYS.

OTHER COLLEAGUES OF MINE HAVE DONE THE SAME THING PRESENTING TO YOU.

AND YOU'RE GOING TO JUDGE YOU'RE GOING TO SAY, WELL, MISS CALLANAN IS GOING TO RETIRE ANYWAY.

WHY BOTHER ABOUT THIS? NOT GOOD ENOUGH, JUDGE.

YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION THAT HIRES AND FIRES HER.

AND QUITE FRANKLY, JUDGE, I AM GOING TO NOT JUST REQUEST.

I'M AS A AS A CITIZEN REQUESTING THE LAW BE FOLLOWED.

I'M GOING TO INSIST THAT YOU TALK TO MISS CALLANEN AND TELL HER TO FOLLOW THE LAW.

[03:15:03]

SIR, MR. CALVERT, YOU'RE MY COMMISSIONER.

I'M GOING TO REQUEST YOU DO THE SAME.

YOU MIGHT GET MR. MOODY AND OTHERS. YOU MIGHT ALSO CHIME IN, BUT DOGGONE IT, WE HAVE AN ELECTION COMING UP.

WE DON'T WANT FRAUD.

THANK YOU.

COULD I GET A COPY OF THAT LIST, PLEASE? OKAY. I'LL HAVE THE LEADER OF MY GROUP TO SUBMIT IT TO YOU, SIR.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU.

DONNETTE GUERRERO.

GOOD MORNING. OR GOOD AFTERNOON? I'M STARVING. YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE.

ALL RIGHT. YOU GOT THREE MINUTES.

GO AHEAD. GOOD AFTERNOON.

I HAVEN'T BEEN HERE IN A WHILE, SO MOSTLY.

PARDON ME. WELCOME BACK.

THANK YOU. I'M HERE IN SUPPORT OF, JUDGE CHRISTINE HORTICK, AND THIS ARTICLE AND THE ANTIQUATED POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THAT THIS WHOLE COURT HAS, NOT ONLY CIVIL BUT AS WELL AS CRIMINAL.

OKAY. AND THE REVAMPING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.

SHE HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD ON THIS ARTICLE, AND IT HITS NOT ONLY THE CIVIL SECTION POINT, BUT AGAIN, I'M GOING TO RE ITERATE THE CRIMINAL.

THANK YOU. BASICALLY, JUDGE SAKAI, HERE'S A COURT TRANSCRIPT.

AND WE PAID SO MUCH MONEY TO REPRESENT DA GONZALES AGAINST ALL THIS KIND OF.

BUT I WANT TO READ SOMETHING TO YOU.

ON THIS COURT TRANSCRIPT ONE OF THE ADAS SAYS WHETHER OR NOT WHAT WE DO IN BEXAR COUNTY IS PROPER OR NOT. AND THAT'S NOT FOLLOWING THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE.

I'LL SEND YOU THIS COURT TRANSCRIPT IF YOU NEED IT.

BUT THEN THE STATE WAS CITED BY JUDGE ANGELINI AND SAYS, FOR THE RECORD, I'M GOING TO FIND THAT UNDER 2001, THE STATE VIOLATED 2801 BY NOT HAVING DEFENDANTS PRESENT DURING ANY PRETRIAL MOTIONS OR HEARINGS. SO YOU SEE WHAT I'M SAYING? IT'S NOT ONLY IN THE CIVIL SECTION OF NOT, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE ANTIQUATED POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THAT FOLKS ARE DOING.

I MEAN, 1962, MAYBE THAT'S WHEN I WAS BORN.

I'M NOT AT THE 65 BRACKET BENEFITS YET, BUT I'M PUSHING IT.

OKAY. WE NEED TO COME UP TO DATE.

OKAY? WE NEED TO.

I KNOW PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF CHANGE.

I WORKED FOR THE STATE MYSELF 15 YEARS, AND THEN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT SEVEN.

PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF CHANGE, AND ESPECIALLY WITH TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTER.

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT, REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THE POSITION, STEP DOWN OR WE NEED TO VOTE TO REMOVE YOU OR WHATEVER IT TAKES.

WE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, REVAMP ALL THESE THINGS, INJUSTICES.

THERE WAS A LADY STANDING OUTSIDE EARLIER ASKING FOR MONEY FOR HELP, AND NOW SHE'S GOING TO BRING ME TO THE MAC PROGRAM.

BRIEFLY, IF I CAN FINISH.

IN 2001, JUDGE RANGEL HAD ASKED FOR THE MAC MANAGER SIGN, AND IT WAS A TWO YEAR TERM.

OCTOBER. FROM OCTOBER 21ST THROUGH UP NOW.

I SEE THERE HERE ON YOUR AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 39.

WHO I DON'T KNOW WHO JIM BETHKE IS, BUT I KNOW IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS, JUDGE RANGEL HAD SET ME UP.

JUDGE SAKAI, TIME HAS EXPIRED.

GO AHEAD, WRAP IT UP. WRAP IT UP.

WORKING WITH BEFORE IT WAS SOMEONE ELSE.

BUT ANYWAY, WHO IS IN CHARGE OF THESE THINGS? COMMISSIONER CALVERT, CAN YOU HELP ME GET THIS INFORMATION IF I EMAIL YOU? THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MS. GUERRERO. ARTHUR RATCLIFFE.

THANK YOU.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

GOOD AFTERNOON, JUDGE SAKAI.

COMMISSIONERS. I AM BEFORE YOU AGAIN.

AND FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD LIKE TO COMPLIMENT THE THE DEPUTIES HERE IN THIS COURTHOUSE.

HOW CLEAN AND NEAT THEY ADDRESS THIS PAST WEEKEND.

ON FRIDAY, I CAME HOME AND I FOUND A BULL ON MY PROPERTY.

I DROVE TO THE SUBSTATION ON THE EAST SIDE OFF OF ROCKET LANE AND SOUGHT THE ASSISTANCE FOR ASTRAY OF THE SHERIFF TO HAVE THE BULL REMOVED OFF MY PROPERTY BECAUSE OF CAUSING DAMAGE AND SOME OTHER PROPERTY DAMAGE. AFTER AN HOUR WAITING, THEY SAID THAT HE DOESN'T WORK HERE.

[03:20:05]

SO I LEFT AND IMMEDIATELY WENT DOWNTOWN TO THIS BEXAR COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE.

THERE WAS THE INDIVIDUALS WERE RELUCTANT TO ASSIST ME.

HOWEVER, THERE WAS A SERGEANT THAT ASSISTED ME AND MADE THE CALL AND SO I LEFT. I WAS HOPING TO MEET WITH THE DEPUTY AT MY PROPERTY TO HAVE THE BULL REMOVED.

I WAITED ALL DAY.

NO ONE SHOWED UP.

SO I DROVE BACK TO SAN ANTONIO AND IT WAS ALREADY ALMOST 5:00 AND THERE WAS NO ONE THERE.

SO I WALKED ACROSS THE STREET WHERE THEY HAD THE WARRANTS, AND I PROCEEDED IN AND I ASKED THE ATTENDANT THERE THAT WAS CHECKING SECURITY, AND I WAS SOMEWHAT APPALLED.

SHE HAD A CONTRACT.

BEXAR COUNTY SHERIFF UNIFORM WITH SOME KIND OF HAT THAT HAD SOME KIND OF INSIGNIA, WHICH I THOUGHT IT WAS INAPPROPRIATE AND DISPLAYED DISHONORABLE AT THE BEXAR COUNTY SHERIFF.

AND WHEN I TRIED TO EXPLAIN TO HER THAT I WANTED TO TALK TO THE SHIFT COMMANDER, SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT.

AND I SAID, WELL, IT'S A SUPERVISOR.

CAN I TALK TO A SUPERVISOR? NO, YOU CAN'T GO TO THE WINDOW.

WELL I HAD TO GO THROUGH THE X RAY MACHINE, AND I REFUSE TO DO THAT.

I TRIED TO SHOW HER MY PLACARD THAT I HAD PRESENTED TO THIS COURT BEFORE, AND SHE REFUSED TO EVEN READ IT.

SO FINALLY, I JUST BACKED OFF AND SHE WENT AHEAD AND SHE GOT FRUSTRATED, SUPPOSEDLY CALLED SOMEONE AND HERE COMES THIS DEPUTY.

IF YOU THINK BARNEY FIFE LOOKED RIDICULOUS, HE DID TOO.

HE WENT AHEAD AND.

JUDGE THE TIME HAS EXPIRED.

MOTION ME AND I TRIED TO.

HE ACTUALLY READ MY PLACARD.

WRAP IT UP, MR. RATCLIFFE.

THE SHERIFF STILL HAS PROBLEMS, JUDGE SAKAI.

AND THIS COMMISSION IS GOING TO HAVE TO ADDRESS IT.

BUT THE PUBLIC TRUST.

AND ONE REAL QUICK, BECAUSE OF THE PUBLIC TRUST, YOU MENTIONED THE PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE WELFARE.

ONE THING THAT THE VIA FAILED TO DO IN THEIR PRESENTATION, THE SAFETY AND THE WELFARE OF THE CITIZENS.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

THANK YOU, MR. RATCLIFFE.

ALL RIGHT. THAT COMPLETES THE CITIZENS TO BE HEARD.

IS THERE ANY CITIZEN WHO'S NOT BEEN CALLED? ALL RIGHT, NOW LET'S GO TO INDIVIDUAL.

HOPEFULLY WE CAN QUICKLY GET THROUGH THAT.

ITEM 61, DISCUSSION.

[61. Discussion and appropriate action regarding the second-year recommendation from the Citizens Advisory Committee on Elected Officials' Salaries and Allowances for FY 2024-25 and the Elected Official Salary Grievance process.]

APPROPRIATE ACTION REGARDING THE SECOND YEAR RECOMMENDATION FROM THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ELECTED OFFICIALS SALARIES, ALLOWANCES FOR FY 2024-25 AND ELECTED OFFICIAL SALARY GRIEVANCE PROCESS.

IS THERE A MOTION? MISS TINA SMITH DEAN.

THEN DO YOUR PRESENTATION.

THEN WE'LL SEE IF THERE'S A MOTION OR NOT.

SURE. THIS ITEM KICKS OFF THE ELECTED OFFICIALS SALARY GRIEVANCE PROCESS.

TANYA SPOKE TO THIS EARLIER IN HER PRESENTATION.

WE ARE REQUESTING COURT'S APPROVAL TO PUBLISH THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ELECTED OFFICIAL SALARIES SECOND YEAR RECOMMENDATION.

IT'LL BE PUBLISHED IN THE SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS AND LA PRENSA ON AUGUST 30TH.

AND THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE COMMITTEE WAS TO INCREASE THE ELECTED OFFICIAL SALARIES BY 5%.

IF APPROVED BY THE COURT, WE'LL KICK OFF THE PROCESS, SEND NOTIFICATIONS TO ALL OF THE ELECTED OFFICIALS, AND CONVENE THE SALARY GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE IF NECESSARY. ALL RIGHT, JUST A NOTE.

I BELIEVE COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ HAD A COMMITMENT AND HE'S NOT ON THE DAIS.

HE HAD EXPRESSED SOME OPINION ON THIS PARTICULAR.

I'M NOW OPEN IT UP FOR DISCUSSION, COMMISSIONER MOODY.

JUDGE. APPRECIATE IT.

I MADE SOME COMMENTS EARLIER AS WELL.

YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATIONS.

I THINK THEY WERE BASED IN DATA AND WELL THOUGHT OUT.

OBVIOUSLY THAT WAS 13, 14 MONTHS AGO.

ALSO, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS WITHIN THE PROPOSED BUDGET, ABOUT A 3% COLA.

YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, GOING BEYOND THAT WITH ELECTED OFFICIAL SALARIES YOU KNOW, DOESN'T SEEM FAIR.

[03:25:05]

AND WE SHOULD CONSIDER MATCHING THE COLA THAT OUR BEXAR COUNTY EMPLOYEES ARE GETTING IN THIS BUDGET.

MAYBE OTHERS SEE IT DIFFERENTLY, BUT I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND JUST MAKE THE MOTION THAT WE MATCH THE 3% COLA OF OUR EMPLOYEES IN THIS BUDGET.

MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MOODY.

IS THERE A SECOND. SECOND.

SECOND BY COMMISSIONER CALVERT? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? COMMISSIONER CALVERT.

YEAH. IS THIS JUST FOR THE COMMISSIONERS, OR IS THIS FOR ALL OF THEM? THIS IS FOR ALL OF THE ELECTED OFFICIALS, THE CONSTABLES, THE JUSTICES OF THE PEACE, THE SHERIFF, THE DA TAX ASSESSOR, THE TWO CLERKS.

AND OBVIOUSLY THE COMMISSIONERS.

I CAN'T SPEAK FOR ALL. I MEAN, MY, BUT I GUESS YOU HAVE TO CLARIFY YOUR MOTION BECAUSE I THINK I'M HAPPY TO DO THAT AS A COMMISSIONER.

BUT THE RECOMMENDATION FOR ALL THE ELECTEDS IS BASED UPON A LOT OF OTHER DATA.

SO IF WE COULD MAKE IT EFFECTIVE FOR COMMISSIONERS AS OPPOSED TO THE REST OF THE ELECTEDS, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD SUPPORT.

SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS THAT WHAT YOUR MOTION IS.

COMMISSIONER MOODY. MY MOTION WAS FOR THE ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS MATCHING THE 3% COLA.

I MEAN, SO THERE'S A MOTION A SECOND FOR ALL COUNTY OFFICIALS ON THE FLOOR.

I'M SORRY. SO LET'S CLARIFY.

COMMISSIONER MOODY YOU'RE MAKING A MOTION FOR 3% FOR ALL ELECTEDS.

OKAY. I'D HAVE TO WITHDRAW MY SECOND ON ALL ELECTEDS BECAUSE.

BUT I WOULD BE OPEN TO A COMMISSIONER.

A COMMISSIONER ONE.

SO I'LL SECOND.

COMMISSIONER MOODY'S MOTION.

MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MOODY.

SECOND BY COMMISSIONER CLAY-FLORES ON A 3% INCREASE FOR ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS.

CORRECT. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSIONS? CALL FOR A VOTE.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.

AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ANY ABSTENTIONS? MOTION CARRIES.

THANK YOU. CAN I JUST MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT THAT? YES. SO JUST TO REITERATE, AND I THINK THIS IS IN ONE OF THE SLIDES FOR OUR COUNTY EMPLOYEES THAT OUR COUNTY EMPLOYEES OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS HAVE GOTTEN, I THINK, A 16%. IS THAT CORRECT? 15.8. 16%.

WHICH I THINK SAYS A LOT ABOUT OUR COUNTY STAFF AND THE WORK THAT THEY DO, BECAUSE, AGAIN, AS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WE CAN IMPLEMENT THESE GREAT VISIONS, BUT IT'S REALLY OUR COUNTY EMPLOYEES WHO CARRY THINGS OUT AND WHO DO THE WORK.

SO EVEN THOUGH THE I GUESS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED 5%, SO I WAS HAPPY TO SECOND 3% SO THAT WE CAN MATCH WHAT THE RECOMMENDED COLA IS FOR THIS YEAR FOR OUR COUNTY EMPLOYEES.