2026-09-29 - City Council Budget Hearings

05:45All right, guys. It's 9:30

05:49and I know that we have some folks

05:51coming in late. So, why don't we go

05:53ahead and get started because I know we

05:54have a long day today, tomorrow, and for

05:57the next 10 days.

06:07I don't see it.

06:09>> That's it. It's fine. I can

06:13>> right there.

06:14>> All right. And as a housekeeping

06:15announcement, I know we have folks uh

06:17who are interested in the budget and the

06:19presentations to save on paper because

06:22we're facing a budget crisis. There is a

06:24QR code at the front desk and at the

06:27bulletin board where you can scan and

06:29that'll take you to the presentations as

06:31well as information about what we're

06:32going to talk about today. So go ahead

06:34and scan that QR code and we can get

06:36started.

06:45>> Good morning. You ready, Madam Chair?

06:47>> I'm ready. Thank you.

06:48>> All right. Good morning everybody. It's

06:49good to see you again. Um I the reason

06:52why we begin with this is because there

06:54are ordinances that have to be uh

06:57considered and one that certainly has to

06:59just be passed confirming what the

07:01millage rate will be for this budget. Uh

07:04I I'm going to say to you though in this

07:06presentation there is nothing new to

07:08report. So you're not going to get

07:10really any new information other than

07:13what we've already discussed at length

07:15last week. And and again, I will I will

07:18though cuz council member Harris asked

07:20last time give some more data on

07:22households, but other than that,

07:24everything the council is going to see

07:25today is both something we have

07:28discussed and is quite publicly

07:29available. So, um again, these are the

07:33millages that we'll start with that are

07:35potentially subject to the roll forward

07:37proposition. They are broken down here

07:40essentially as to the ones that would go

07:43directly to the general fund or

07:46supporting something that is a direct

07:48city service. And so in the first uh

07:52trunch you see general alimony and

07:54unrestricted general fund. If those are

07:57rolled forward all the way um for 1.82

08:01mills that could potentially generate up

08:04to $10 million in additional revenue.

08:07And then um for city dedicated use that

08:12would then go to these departments

08:14specifically and then the goal would

08:16obviously be then that takes money

08:18pressure off of the general fund as a

08:20result of this money being infused.

08:23There is police protection, fire

08:26protection, park and parkways and and

08:30nor it says a recreation department.

08:32Again, it's about um 1.911 mills and a

08:36potential increase of 11.388 million. Um

08:41also, there's fire, police, platoon that

08:45goes directly to potential pay for the

08:48police and fire based on um what the

08:52millillage was originally set up for.

08:54And if that is rolled forward is

08:56potentially $4.3 million. And then the

09:00other potential millages as discussed

09:03are library, early childhood education,

09:07oughten and city park. And collectively

09:10those are almost three mills 2.93

09:14that would generate close to $16.35

09:17million. So the bottom line number, the

09:20grand total is if you take the 10

09:22million from general fund, the 11

09:25million for city dedicated use, the 4

09:28million and the 16 million, you get to

09:3042 million. Now, Council Member Harris,

09:33you asked the last meeting, and I know

09:35some media outlets have already reported

09:37on this and and obviously we want to put

09:39the information out there, is if you

09:42have a $200,000 home

09:46um that is homestead exempt and all

09:49these millages were rolled forward, the

09:52annual increase would be $103.94.

09:56So that is a monthly increase of only

09:59$866.

10:01Similarly, for $250,000 home, um a full

10:06roll forward would be an annual increase

10:08of $141.13

10:11for a monthly increase of $11.76.

10:15And then just for purposes of brevity,

10:17I'll stop at $300,000,

10:20which is $178.33

10:23annually and a monthly increase of of

10:26only $14.86.

10:29So, um that those are the all-in

10:31numbers. Um, obviously if any council

10:35member wants, we can talk about what

10:37does it look like if you only do general

10:39alimony, what does it look like if you

10:40do general alimony and the city

10:43dedicated ones, what does it look like

10:45if you do the city dedicated ones and

10:48part of the other ones? Like we can we

10:50can provide all that to you. I mean, the

10:53the bottom line is obviously the number

10:55decreases because I'm giving you the

10:58all-in number right now for these

11:00millages that haven't been rolled

11:01forward uh since 2015. And then um here

11:05are the rest of the parts of the levy.

11:08These are millages that are not being

11:10rolled forward. The board of liquidation

11:13has confirmed, I think I said this last

11:16week, that they are not going to roll

11:17their millillage forward. So, it's 14.5

11:20mills will stay the same. Um, and I

11:23think that's a real credit to them,

11:25particularly considering the fact that

11:27the bonds were issued this year and will

11:30be in subsequent years. If you see,

11:32there's three different SUN water board

11:34drainage millages. All of those remain

11:37static. The school board already rolled

11:40their millages forward a couple of years

11:42ago, so they are not going to obviously

11:45do that again. And the Orleans Law

11:47Enforcement District is the sheriff. And

11:50you can see um how many of the mills

11:54overall are are for um these outside

11:57agencies. And then just for the sake of

11:59completeness, these next couple slides

12:01talk about um special millages.

12:03Actually, just this one. I thought there

12:05may be one more on the levy. Uh but

12:07downtown development district remains

12:09the same for now. The garden district

12:11remains the same. Turo Bouani and then

12:14the levy boards on both the east and the

12:17west bank stop um uh at the same level

12:21as well. So um

12:25that's what we have. We just wanted to

12:26make sure that obviously we know that

12:28these are ordinances. This is the way we

12:30always begin the presentations and

12:33particularly since the council members

12:34have asked what are potential impacts on

12:37households. We just wanted to make sure

12:38we were providing more detail

12:40particularly after you asked Councilman

12:42Ramirez last week.

12:43>> Yeah, I I appreciate that. Um, CEO

12:45Jeruso, I I do want uh would like some

12:49discussion about the various scenarios

12:50as you uh predicted because clearly

12:54there there are options that the city

12:56council can take. We can roll forward

12:58the general alimony. We could do general

13:00alimony plus the city services side, all

13:03of it. Um, do you have from the

13:07administration side what that would look

13:09like as far as cuts? So, if we only roll

13:12forward the general alimony, what would

13:14be off of the chopping block if we did?

13:17>> Yeah, I mean, it's it's it's a basic

13:19math proposition. So again, if you have

13:23the let's just take the one that you

13:24said first, council member, if you took

13:26the general alimony plus you did the

13:29city dedicated services, that's, you

13:31know, roughly $21.5 million. Then that

13:36subtracts from the 77 million that is

13:39there. So you take the 77 million minus

13:42essentially 21.5,

13:44you get to what like 56 12 at that

13:47point. Um, so you know, it is this is

13:51this is part of what we're we're trying

13:54to explain overall is that it's a series

13:57of choices. And I keep on saying this

13:59cuz it's it's how we feel. It's a menu

14:01of options,

14:01>> right?

14:02>> The option is number one, we need to

14:04make $77 million of cuts. Here are the

14:07proposed ones. And obviously, all of

14:10these meetings will be leading towards

14:12which ones um are more potentially

14:16acceptable than others. And then next,

14:18if in the realm of $77 million of cuts,

14:22if there's additional revenue that's

14:24raised, then which of those cuts come

14:26off of the board as a result of that?

14:29And and and again, these are the ones

14:32that you could say would do it. I mean

14:34and and just to completely answer your

14:37question, council member, um you know,

14:40the the the outside ones, I think you

14:43have to ask those agencies how it

14:46enerurs to the benefit of the city. And

14:48obviously, they're going to have their

14:50own answers about the benefits of the

14:53library and early childhood education,

14:55but that is not money that would

14:57directly come to the general fund

14:59itself.

15:00>> Yeah. I I guess my question is uh a

15:02little more pointed. Are there is there

15:05a revision of the proposed cuts that we

15:07saw in the budget that the

15:10administration would present to us if we

15:12decide on one scenario versus another?

15:15>> I think it would be it would be council

15:17member it would be a conversation

15:19between everybody about what it ought to

15:21be. I mean I I well I'm just I say that

15:24because look this is this is a dialogue.

15:27We present the budget as the

15:28administration. the council approves, I

15:31think it would be a mistake for us to

15:32say, well, these are the ones that we

15:34think and who cares what the council has

15:35to say. Um, and so we want that to be a

15:38very active conversation, right? And we

15:40know that you and your colleagues um are

15:42not only listening to your constituents

15:44and getting feedback in real time, uh,

15:47both in public and social media and the

15:49media and other venues. So, it would

15:52definitely be a continued dialogue and

15:54trying to make sure that we get broad

15:56consensus. I understand. Um, on the

16:00millage sheet, we did get a revised um,

16:03what the scenarios would be as far as

16:05individual homeowners, I think on

16:07Monday. Is this posted anywhere for the

16:10public to see?

16:11>> I don't know. I'm Look at Abby. Where is

16:13she? I don't know that it's posted yet,

16:15but we I mean, we provided it to the

16:17press, so obviously have zero problems

16:20posting it online where the other

16:22information is posted as well.

16:24>> Okay. It would be great if we could get

16:25that posted. Council members, uh, do

16:28Council Member King.

16:30>> Uh, good morning, Council CEO Drew. So,

16:32you you you mentioned that this is a

16:34dialogue and

16:36I've heard um it's kind of frightening

16:39the amount of misinformation I've I've

16:42been hearing surrounding the villages. I

16:44get it. No one wants tax to go up $1,

16:47one penny. But the amount of just false

16:51information. Um I think even sometimes

16:55purposely that's been sent out

16:57surrounding these millages is is

16:58alarming. And I asked asked actually

17:01last time we spoke what is the

17:04consequences if we don't have millages

17:07rolling forward. We're talking about the

17:09neutral ground grass not being cut.

17:11we're talking about possibly

17:13um just overall quality of life issues

17:17getting worse and I don't think that is

17:20being explained um as clear as it can

17:24be. So my question is, does the

17:27administration in your office have any

17:29plans like we did the budget

17:32the budget previews the past few weeks?

17:34Are there any plans to do the same thing

17:36to go to different communities and say

17:39this is the truth about this? Um it was

17:42just said your property tax isn't going

17:44to go up $100 a month. It may go up $5 a

17:48month. It may go up $8 a month. Are we

17:50going to try to educate the public as

17:52much as possible so they can know all

17:55the facts and have as much

17:59real factual information as possible

18:01opposed to the sky is falling, social

18:05media,

18:07print media,

18:09every other media that's you know the

18:10information that's being put out.

18:12>> Yeah. I mean a I would say that process

18:15started at the budget community meetings

18:17because it was certainly being reported

18:20as we're in the middle of those

18:21meetings. So the information continue to

18:23come up and um even at those meetings we

18:26knew that there was consternation and

18:28address those questions. I think the

18:31this the part that we can discuss very

18:34clearly with people is these are the

18:36things that we know as of right now are

18:39part of our proposed cuts and what that

18:42potentially looks like. But at the same

18:44time I think we would have to say hey

18:47this may not be the landing spot. It is

18:50the starting spot. That is the phrase

18:51the council used repeatedly. And then

18:54also it depends on what obviously

18:56happens with the rule four. Um, if there

18:59is interal board, then we know that

19:01there has to be $77 million in

19:04correspondent cuts. If there aren't,

19:06then these are the type of things that

19:08need to be saved. U and then we talk to

19:11people and particularly I would think

19:13the council members because it's going

19:15to be I think just candidly council

19:17members slightly different from

19:18community to community and council

19:21members are going to have different

19:22requests within those cuts than other

19:24ones. And so how do we work together?

19:26But I I know that certain council

19:28members um are having their own

19:30community meetings coming up on those.

19:32Uh I know that they've also ask the

19:34administration to participate or at

19:36least be available at those and

19:38obviously we're happy to do that too.

19:41>> Thank you,

19:45>> Council Member Willer.

19:46>> Thank you, Chairwoman. Just a couple of

19:48questions. Joe, can [clears throat]

19:50homeowners in New Orleans pay their

19:52property tax bill monthly?

19:55Not that I'm aware of.

19:57>> Same. So the the only reason I flag that

19:59is because when we talk about how much

20:01the increase will be when we break it

20:03down per month, I don't think that's

20:06totally fair because they have to pay it

20:08at the time it's due. And if they don't

20:10pay it at the time it's due, they start

20:11to um incur interest penalties. So I I

20:15don't think we should we should talk

20:16about it like that. Um, also I mean I I

20:19agree with some of what Council Member

20:21King was talking about, but when we talk

20:23about, you know, the the the potential

20:26roll forward, um, I think we also need

20:29to talk about, and I brought it up last

20:30week, people with, uh, special

20:33assessment levels right now, uh, with

20:36freezes, they still will pay more with

20:38the roll forward, regardless of how much

20:40that roll forward is. um because the

20:43millage rate when the millage rate goes

20:45up their expense their property tax bill

20:48will go up. So um I would just urge you

20:51to to keep communicating and um

20:53something else that you that you

20:55mentioned when you first started

20:56speaking was that um you know this is

20:59kind of a starting point. This is the

21:01budget that was presented to the

21:02council. But um we can make those

21:05changes. Um we can make changes with the

21:08uh given revenue that we have right now

21:10without increasing revenue and decide

21:13and prioritize what should be preserved,

21:15what should be cut, move things around.

21:18Um and so I just want to urge the public

21:20to to keep chiming in and reaching out

21:22to us based on, you know, what you think

21:25uh is the most important in this budget.

21:27But thank you for being transparent and

21:29upfront with us, Joe. Yeah, you got it.

21:30Um, and and and to that point, uh, to

21:33segue, Abby just let me know that her

21:36office is putting up a web page, so it

21:38should be available this week. So, we

21:40want to provide people information to be

21:42able to see for themselves.

21:44>> Thank you.

21:44>> And and I guess can I just add one

21:45thing? I mean, I I'm making a promise um

21:48with Abby with my back to me, but you

21:50know, the goal to me would be also for

21:52people to be able to I want to use the

21:55right words here, to be able to toggle

21:57through what the options look like. So

21:59if it's the full roll forward, this is

22:01what the impact would be either on a

22:03yearly or a monthly basis if this is

22:05what happens and this is what it looks

22:07like. So that way people can see the

22:09effect based on what portion or portions

22:12of the proposition were there.

22:14>> It would be it would be great to have an

22:16interactive as you're talking about

22:18where you can put your home value say

22:21$352,000

22:23and you can toggle through. So I don't

22:24know if we have the capacity to do that.

22:26Abby shaking her head. Yes.

22:28>> If we could do that, that would be

22:29great. Council member Green, do you have

22:30any questions on millages?

22:32>> The challenge we're coming in a little

22:34bit late is that I couldn't hear

22:35everything. So, I just want to say,

22:37could you just um state how long it's

22:40been since the city rolled forward a

22:42millillage that benefited the city of

22:43New Orleans because voters have voted on

22:45millages that have gone to early

22:47childhood education, Ottoman Institute,

22:50and other parks. But in terms of the

22:52roll forward that covers the inc

22:54potential increases in city government,

22:56how long has it been?

22:57>> Yeah. So, council member, if my if my

22:59memory is correct, the council did not

23:02roll the millages forward in 2023 in

23:05light of the fact that we were still

23:07coming off of CO and all the money that

23:09the city had and as somebody from the

23:11public point out, IDA as well, right?

23:13There was still the impacts of IDA being

23:15so there was zero rolled forward in

23:172023. In 2019,

23:20the council led an effort to roll

23:23forward generally um the public safety

23:27and general alimony mill um and I think

23:30maybe even sew and water board, but they

23:32didn't roll forward other ones. So, it

23:34wound up being revenue neutral. So, it

23:36was the effect was of a no roll forward

23:38as a practical matter even though there

23:41was an elegance of rolling some forward

23:43and and rolling some back. So the last

23:45time, council member, my understanding

23:47they've been ruled forward all the way

23:49is 2015.

23:50>> 2015. So you're 11 years ago.

23:52>> 11 years ago and by the start of the

23:54year 12 years ago.

23:55>> Okay. It's important to recognize no

23:57matter what your position is that some

23:59things have changed relative to city

24:00budget. For example, we as a city pay

24:04persons who work for us $15 an hour and

24:07up. And it it does increase the cost of

24:09our contracts versus others who can pay

24:12minimum wage or just get wages pay pay

24:14people whatever they want to pay them.

24:16But we've also had some sort of some

24:18other increases in city budget in the

24:20last

24:2211 how many years was it?

24:24>> 11 years.

24:25>> 11 years we've had some sort of

24:26increases. Are we impacted by increases

24:29for example in insurance anywhere?

24:31>> Sure. I mean look council member I think

24:34you know you know where I'm going with

24:35the question. Just feel free Joe. I know

24:37you've been on the council 8 years and

24:39you recognize that there have been some

24:40changes in the last 11 years.

24:43>> Well, I I again I'd point to two things.

24:45One is you're right, things have gotten

24:47more expensive. I mean, that's just the

24:48nature of usually how how how the world

24:51works. And again, um city government is

24:54no different than that. Uh, number two

24:57is I also think it's important because

25:00the council has demanded this that we

25:02also put a budget forward that has

25:05things that we know are are items that

25:08need to be included, right? So, for

25:10example, the increased healthc care cost

25:12of of nearly $30 million being included

25:15in this budget. The debt service that

25:17was not included in the last budget uh

25:20is being included. That's $18 million.

25:22We're including the retention pay and

25:25the uh terminal leave pay which are

25:27about $5 million. So again that council

25:30member creeps up the expenditure side

25:33because we're saying collectively we

25:35want to make sure that we are both being

25:38transparent and ensuring that our city

25:40employees are getting um the benefits

25:43that that they that they have. But at

25:46the same time you have to have revenue

25:49that meets those expenses. So you have

25:51both things happening simultaneously.

25:53And I I think sometimes that second part

25:56of the conversation getting lost. You're

25:57100% right. Things have gotten more

25:59expensive. Yes. And we also now are

26:03budgeting for significant line items

26:05that were not accounted for before. And

26:08as a result of that, the expenses at

26:11this moment until the budget is passed,

26:12we need to make sure the expenses

26:14revenues match. Crime is down

26:16significantly in our city and we stemmed

26:18the tide of the loss of police officers.

26:21But one way we did so was as a city

26:23council to make additional revenues

26:25available that would pay police better

26:27and also provide bonuses. Could you talk

26:29about the impact that that had on the

26:31city's budget and in terms of public

26:33safety?

26:34>> Yeah, I mean there's a couple of things

26:36there. I mean, number one, uh, I can

26:38give an overall number that I think, uh,

26:40again, I want to give credit to my

26:42office of performance accountability

26:44folks. They estimated that the across

26:46the board pay increases for city

26:49employees, including police, fire, and

26:52others, is roughly $26 million for just

26:54this year. So again, you're not talking

26:57about an insignificant amount of money.

27:00It's part of the whole piece that goes

27:02into where we are. And obviously um that

27:06will carry forward into the next year as

27:08well. And then you know you had the the

27:10largest retention bonuses this year for

27:13NOPD. Remember the council at the

27:17request of the last administration had

27:19those retention the higher retention

27:20bonuses for 23 24 25 and for 2020 uh for

27:26and I guess partially this year too. And

27:28we were close to uh several million

27:31dollars. And of course, remember part of

27:33that was the $6 million that was

27:35budgeted for wasn't available. So then

27:37the administration had to go find it. So

27:39it all those things all add up, council

27:42member. And so you talk about again

27:44people who are leaving the city who have

27:46time that terminal leave is a number.

27:47Your retention payments, you're

27:49budgeting around $5 million, $5.5

27:52million for next year. You have the

27:54salary increases which are $26 million

27:57for this year. So all of those things

27:59are just part of the pie that gets part

28:02of the expense side. And then of course

28:05um I I I will get to your hobby horse

28:07before you do which is you know there

28:09are there are other obligations that

28:12that the city is incurring and again

28:15from my presentation last week um

28:18roughly $98 million is being spent on

28:21outside agencies. you know, if we didn't

28:23have to spend that money on the outside

28:25agencies, that makes up the entire gap.

28:28So, those are the type of things when

28:30you combine them of what you're in.

28:33Could you be more specific with the

28:35larger agencies that we spend money on

28:37on the outside? So people understand

28:38that there is an institution that houses

28:41persons who are all charged with state

28:44charges who are held until they go into

28:46the state department of corrections, but

28:48the city incurs the expenses for

28:50insurance and general operations. Could

28:53you talk about that um expenditure?

28:55>> Yeah. Um and again, I I want to be

28:58careful.

28:58>> I know we have a consent decree. I

29:00understand. I'm not asking you to make

29:02an opinion. I'm just asking you to state

29:04the facts relative so that the public

29:06will know how much we spend on the

29:08Orleans Justice Center, which is a

29:10basically a state facility in terms of

29:14the charges that people are held on.

29:16>> There's essentially two different

29:17components to that, council member. One

29:19is roughly the the 50 so million dollars

29:24um that that OJC the the jail gets um to

29:28run its ongoing operations. And then

29:30there's also the 20 roughly $25 million

29:33or so that the city pays for for health

29:36care at the jail. So if you look at that

29:3898 million75 of it is is for that. And

29:42then of course that includes criminal

29:45court and the DA and the public

29:46defenders all the other ones going down

29:49the list as part of that group. So it's

29:52it's a lot of our um public just public

29:55safety providers and of course part of

29:57the pension system is part of that as

30:00well. So it's it's all of those things

30:02that in addition but um you know that

30:06that expense for for the for the jail

30:08and for the healthcare contract are both

30:11significant independently and then

30:13together um significant as well.

30:16>> Could you also talk about loss of

30:17federal revenues? Well, I'm look, um,

30:20you know, obviously, uh, the the fact

30:23that the ARPA dollars have dried up are

30:25are significant. Those were, you know,

30:28one-time funds that were used to replace

30:30revenue at the beginning and then used

30:32for significant other programming and to

30:35see how things were going to go. Um, you

30:38know, I think the hard part is when you

30:40have one-time revenue, uh, it's good for

30:42either piloting something to see if it

30:44can go forward or to test, but when the

30:47money dries up, then it becomes much

30:49harder. And, and you know, I'll cite

30:51council member Morell um, who frequently

30:54has had lived through this when he was

30:56in the state legislature. And the bottom

30:58line is you can't consistently use money

31:02that you only get once or expenses that

31:06repeat over and over again. And and as a

31:09result of, you know, all of that money

31:11going away, there are fewer options that

31:13we have. And then the last piece to that

31:15too, council member, is um I think we

31:19all want to make sure that we have a

31:22robust surplus as well, right? like we

31:25are not and I think maybe council member

31:27Willard asked this last time. We are not

31:29tapping in to our surplus dollars in

31:33order to fund this budget. So we are

31:35sequestering that roughly $138 million

31:39to make sure that we actually have our

31:41own cash in the bank as necessary.

31:44>> Why do we need $138 million or any

31:46monies um in reserve?

31:49>> There's there's a couple reasons. Um,

31:51first reason is in case something bad

31:54happens, particularly uh an act of God,

31:58really a hurricane for the city, uh,

32:00that you need to be able to tap into

32:01your own dollars. And if if all city

32:04services shut down, you couldn't collect

32:06property taxes and sales taxes and

32:08things were shuttered, then you need to

32:10have your own money. That's that's

32:11that's number one. Um, number two is,

32:15um, if the funds were robust enough, and

32:17this is what the LLA talks about, you

32:20could use some of those excess dollars

32:23as prepayments for your federal and for

32:26other state programs, and then they pay

32:28you back, and that money goes back into

32:30there. Um and then and then the third

32:33point which is an A and a B is under

32:36GFOA principles you want to roughly have

32:39about 16% of your general fund in that

32:43surplus. Um we are depending on which

32:46number you use whether it's the 748

32:49million or the 763 million at 18.1 or

32:5318.4%.

32:55So, we are now higher. And again, um B,

32:58I didn't go into this detail the other

33:00day, but when the ratings agencies look

33:03at the city of New Orleans, they are

33:06looking at a number of factors. And they

33:08are looking at, among other things, is

33:11your budget balanced?

33:13Do you have enough money in the bank?

33:15Are you at that 16% threshold or

33:17thereabout? And have you raised revenue

33:20or expenses to meet? Those are the

33:22things they're looking at. So as a city

33:24is um both trying to improve its credit

33:28rating and I think also trying to raise

33:32its esteem to build more capital. It is

33:35important to show those things are

33:36happening in order to make sure we

33:38change. Look, I I will tell you this.

33:40I've told this to the rating agencies

33:42after this budget is passed. I'm going

33:44to be like a cat scratching at their

33:45back door about this is where we started

33:48at the beginning of the year and we got

33:49dinged by two of the reading agencies

33:52held held static by one of them um

33:55because none of those things were in

33:57place and all three have now changed and

34:00therefore I'm going to actively pursue

34:02on behalf of the city trying to get that

34:04credit rating back up high. During the

34:06last 11 years, we incurred an expense

34:08that was somewhat unexpected. That was

34:10to build the third phase of the um

34:12Arlean Justice Center. What was the

34:14amount um that was involved with that?

34:17And um from where did that money come?

34:19>> Um council member, I have to get back to

34:21you in the total. Um the the issue there

34:24was it was delayed and so as a result of

34:28the delay, the project increased

34:30exponentially over time. I know a

34:32significant portion came from FEMA

34:35funds. I think some came from capital,

34:38but I don't want to spit out a wrong

34:40number to you, but it is it is a sizable

34:42number.

34:43>> There were cuts that have to take place

34:44in certain areas relative to what our

34:47city council expenditures allow.

34:49>> Anytime you have to pay for one thing,

34:51other projects get delayed as a result.

34:54>> Thank you. I know that you have a

34:55difficult job at this time. Um there's

34:57so many pressures on whether it be the

34:58loss of federal government revenues,

35:00whether it be, you know, issues

35:02involving what we assume as a city in

35:04terms of responsibilities for the state

35:06and the general pressures on us all

35:09because we understand that people are

35:11incurring higher insurance costs and the

35:13like. But it's just important to

35:15recognize that [clears throat] in the

35:16last 11 years, we have not raised a

35:17millillage that benefits the city of New

35:20Orleans general fund, but we've incurred

35:22hundreds of millions of dollars in

35:25additional costs. Thank you, sir.

35:27>> Thank you.

35:28>> Thank you. If are there any questions

35:31any more questions from the dis? If not,

35:34I do have one comment card

35:37from Mahairi Morgan. Mr. Morgan.

35:41>> Larry Morris.

35:42>> Yes, Mr. Larry Morgan. I couldn't read

35:45your handwriting.

35:51And just a reminder, everybody gets two

35:53minutes to speak. Just say your name and

35:55address and whether or not you are a

35:56paid actor.

36:05>> Good morning to the council. My name is

36:07Larry J. Morgan. Now from the residents

36:10of the 8312 OENA in the Cton district,

36:14thank you for giving me the opportunity

36:16to speak upon the subject of the budget.

36:20The budget

36:22is making many people leave our city. I

36:26went to slide for a week. I went to

36:31some of the places

36:33and many other places.

36:36Look like all the people I met. They was

36:39from New Orleans.

36:41You're driving the people out of the

36:44city.

36:46Taxes must have its limitation.

36:51We must

36:53consider

36:55that the economy and the salary that the

36:59people get here today, we don't make

37:02that kind of money. And the saddest part

37:05about it is this.

37:08Joe,

37:10you gave yourself a six figure raise and

37:14you was the one that was talking after

37:17election for lowering people and how bad

37:21the crisis was in city government.

37:25Joe, you're a joke.

37:29And what I like you to know

37:33all the time when y'all raise us the

37:37taxes and all that the service get less

37:41and less and less.

37:45Please consider

37:48we cannot afford any more taxes because

37:53many people the salary don't accommodate

37:57it and the service is not rendered for

38:02the prices that we pay. Please

38:08consider not

38:10>> Thank you, Mr. Morgan. Council member

38:12Morurell,

38:15>> thank you. Um, pardon my tiredness. I

38:17have two really quick questions. The

38:19first is I think it's important for all

38:20of us to acknowledge that when you're

38:22looking at millage increases, um, there

38:25are certain considerations that are

38:27beneficial to the city but don't

38:28directly impact the general fund. Uh, an

38:31example, Joe, I know that we have had

38:33conversations, uh, currently is the

38:35city's responsibility to fund the

38:37maintenance and upkeep of Crescent Park,

38:39correct?

38:41And one of the considerations I know

38:43that we were in conversations with

38:44Ottoan Park that maintains Walderberg

38:47Park and the rest of the riverfront. Um

38:50they are one of the groups that receive

38:53millage dollars. And one of the

38:55considerations that's under

38:56consideration is that in exchange for

38:59rolling forward their millillage, which

39:01is one of the smallest millages we have,

39:03that they would take over the

39:05maintenance of uh Crescent Park, which

39:08would mean that it would relieve the

39:10city of the obligation of doing so and

39:13also they would do it cheaper and also

39:15because of the fact they maintain the

39:17rest of the riverfront, it would have an

39:19economy of scale effect. Correct.

39:21>> That that's right. And you know, council

39:22member, I think as a broader oughten is

39:25in almost every council district except

39:27for one. Um, and they [clears throat] do

39:29a lot of work across the city. But to

39:31your direct point, what they have

39:33committed now is with this millillage

39:35rule board for to take over um the

39:38operation and the security at Crescent

39:40Park, which has been something that has

39:42been an unfunded mandate the city did

39:45not budget for, did not expect to take

39:47on this year. And again, because their

39:49property is closer to this, they are

39:51better able to manage it with additional

39:54funds than the city ultimately.

39:56>> The other thing I I want to put out

39:58there, I think there has been a lot of

40:01conversation about progressive versus

40:03regressive taxes. And uh I think it's

40:07important to define terminology. Um, a

40:11regressive tax is a tax that is um

40:16by being regressive in nature. It is a

40:18tax that's determined by tax authorities

40:20to fall disproportionately on the poor.

40:23And I can tell you as a former

40:25legislator um serving with several

40:27former legislators working with

40:29Louisiana Budget Project, the most

40:32regressive tax in the city of New

40:34Orleans and the state of Louisiana is in

40:36fact sales tax. Correct.

40:37>> Yes, it is. And though that is something

40:40that everyone um has asked the city to

40:43consider, looking at ways we can

40:45manipulate or increase the sales tax, we

40:48have consistently taken that off the

40:49table because it is a regressive tax

40:52that would create additional tax burdens

40:55for very basic goods and services.

40:57Correct.

40:57>> That's right. I mean to your point,

40:59council member, sales tax hits everybody

41:01evenly, right? So it doesn't matter if

41:04you make a million dollars or you're

41:05making at the poverty level 17,000,

41:07every increment it goes up, it affects

41:09everybody the same. Which means if

41:11you're poorer and you're trying to buy

41:13basic household goods, all of those

41:16increase as a result,

41:17>> right? And similarly uh with groups like

41:20the Louisiana Budget Project, they treat

41:23property tax as a non-regressive

41:25progressive tax because the amount of

41:27property tax you paid is directly tied

41:29to the valuation of your property. So by

41:32definition, property tax increases along

41:35with the valuation. So therefore, the

41:38people paying the highest property tax,

41:40the people with the most expensive

41:41houses. Correct?

41:42>> Yeah. I mean, council member, just to

41:43that point, if your house is valued at

41:47$750,000,

41:49then your annual increase, again, if all

41:52the millages were to be rolled forward,

41:54is $513 on an annual basis. By contrast,

41:59if your house is valued at 700, I'm

42:01sorry, 250,000. Say that one more time.

42:04By contrast, $250,000, then it's $141.

42:08So, it's a huge difference of nearly

42:11$375

42:13per year depending on what kind of house

42:16you can afford.

42:17>> Okay. Thank you for that clarification.

42:18I appreciate it.

42:19>> Thank you.

42:20>> Uh, Council Member King has a question.

42:22>> Yes. I want to make sure my point is is

42:26we the council is being asked will be

42:28asked in the future to um about this

42:31millillage to roll it forward. Correct.

42:33So my my question is I want to make it

42:35very clear. My first question is and if

42:39you may not as CEO I see members of

42:41administration in the audience what is

42:43the administration's position with the

42:45millillage

42:47>> on the millages? Yeah. at the position

42:49has routinely been there's a series of

42:52choices and either we can decide do we

42:55want to roll forward and these are the

42:57things that have happened or we don't

42:59roll forward and this is where we are.

43:00So that has been routinely our position.

43:03>> What is what would the administration

43:05prefer to see happen?

43:07>> I council member I think we're going to

43:09listen to everybody and decide as we

43:12move forward what happens with that.

43:14Again, what we're saying is this is the

43:17cut that has happened and as a result,

43:19people have to decide what do they feel

43:21more comfortable with. If we propose all

43:23the cuts, then people complain you're

43:25cutting too much and you're not raising

43:26revenue. If we propose you're raising

43:28revenue, then people complain about the

43:30cuts. So, it's about trying to find out

43:32where we want to land.

43:34>> Okay. So, am I clear in hearing that the

43:36administration doesn't have a yes or no

43:41answer when it comes to rolling? As I've

43:43said repeatedly, we have a menu of

43:45options that we are presenting. We're

43:46going to let people decide.

43:48>> Is is there someone in the audience who

43:49can answer that from the administration

43:51who can say yes or no? Because my

43:53question is if we're going to be asked

43:54to vote on this as a council,

43:57what help or what information will be

43:59armed are we going to be armed with or

44:01what help we will we get from the

44:02administration if they want to see it

44:04move forward?

44:05>> I mean, council member, I think we've

44:07laid that forward pretty clearly

44:09already.

44:09>> I don't think it was laid forward

44:11because Mr. Morgan is one of the people

44:13saying don't vote for it. I'm hearing

44:14all kind of people saying don't vote for

44:16it. I think the information isn't isn't

44:18being plainly given to the people the

44:22all the facts. So I I don't think matter

44:25of fact I know it hasn't been laid out

44:27pretty plainly. I was in a barber shop

44:28last week and I would say I gave the

44:30information to the people. They had no

44:32idea of the actual numbers being

44:36presented. All they are hearing is my

44:38taxes are going to be raised after the

44:43um sanitation fees have been raised. I'm

44:46not trying to sandbag anybody, but

44:48information is key. The more information

44:51we get out there to the people in the

44:53community, the better they can tell us

44:57as a council what their choices, what

45:00they want to see. But if we're if we're

45:03doing a a lackluster job as a whole

45:05administration and the council of

45:07getting information out, yeah, the

45:08people going to say no because they

45:09don't have all the information. So my my

45:13question is

45:15my comment is if the administration

45:18wants to see this roll forward, I

45:20strongly urge that they get with every

45:22council member and figure out which is

45:27the best way for that councilman for

45:28that district to educate the

45:31constituents as much as possible.

45:33>> Yeah. Well, council member again um a at

45:36your everybody's request, we're going to

45:38post the information online about what

45:41the consequences would be of partial uh

45:44incomplete, non roll forward or complete

45:46roll forward as has been requested. Uh

45:49the information is very much available

45:52about the starting point is of course we

45:54we this this conversation didn't start

45:57before now and we've been actively

46:00involved. I've I've met with the council

46:02members pretty much every Tuesday uh for

46:05the year except for the last month and

46:07we'll continue to make sure we do that

46:08as well. So that way we hear your

46:11feedback and all of your colleagues

46:13feedback and making sure that we

46:15understand what you're hearing when

46:17you're at your community meetings, when

46:19you're at your barber shop, when you're

46:20at the grocery store. So that way we can

46:23work together and if there's information

46:25that isn't being provided or needs to be

46:27provided differently, how do we work

46:29together to make that happen? That's

46:30what I'm saying. I don't want this to be

46:31a back and forth conversation of

46:34adversarial. I'm just letting you know.

46:36What I'm hearing right now is no. And I

46:39think we can help that if we say, "Okay,

46:41we're going to at

46:45we're going to get with our council

46:47members and say, "Here is all the

46:50information, the good, the bad, the

46:52ugly, the ugly." So the community will

46:55understand exactly what's being

46:58presented. they can say yes or no to the

47:00council members and we can have a more

47:03or we can have a a better idea of what

47:05our constituents want. You may say the

47:07information is out there because it's

47:08online. I guarantee you a lot of people

47:10have no idea where that is, how to

47:12access that information online. So I

47:15don't know if just putting online is the

47:16best. I think the best way get the

47:18bumps, get the bruises is to go to

47:21directly to the to the to the voters say

47:24this is what it is and and this is what

47:27isn't. So that's that's my comments on

47:30that. Thank you.

47:30>> Yeah. And again, um I would just

47:32reiterate that that was part of the

47:34purpose of having the community

47:35meetings. So we heard routinely from

47:37people about that. And

47:39>> well, we can go back and forth, but the

47:40community meetings didn't work. All

47:42right. And I and I feel a bit

47:44disrespected. Every time I say

47:45something, it's met with, "Yeah, I hear

47:48your butt." I was at a barber shop last

47:51week and the people had no idea the

47:53numbers being presented. All right? So

47:56I'm not trying to have this back and

47:57forth. My point is people don't know.

48:00There is a ton of misinformation out

48:02there that is making people very

48:05concerned and they're they're letting me

48:07know I'm like, "Hey, that's that's

48:08nowhere near what the information is."

48:10So the community meetings at that that I

48:13had at Burman, that I had at that you

48:15all had at Phyllis Wheatley that was all

48:17over the city clearly didn't work. So we

48:20need to find a better way.

48:22>> I'm happy to work with you any way to

48:23make that happen. Council

48:25>> Council Member Willard. Thank you, Madam

48:27Chair. Uh Joe, just you know to to

48:30piggyback on Freddy's point, um I don't

48:33think we can overcommunicate something

48:36like this. So any additional

48:39communications, direct outreach, you

48:42know, get in in front of church

48:44communities, stuff like that, um I think

48:48goes a long way. But you know, I think

48:51the the main takeaway is um and you know

48:55where I stand on this right now on the

48:57roll forward. Um but the main takeaway

49:00is if we don't create any additional

49:04revenue um the cost is 77 million in

49:08cuts. Right.

49:09>> Correct.

49:09>> And I think that's the main takeaway

49:11that that we walk away with today. Um

49:15you know

49:17there's 77 million in cuts. There's

49:19actually a h 100red million um 21.5 was,

49:23you know, um boosted with one-time

49:26spending, which is not ideal, but we're

49:28trying to get through this year and next

49:30year. Um and so when you remove that,

49:33when you add in that 21.5 million, it's

49:36about 77 million in cuts. So, um I just

49:39wanted to put that out there.

49:40>> Yeah. And it look I I let me let me make

49:43sure I answer Council Member King's

49:44question a better way. A conversation

49:48has begun and that doesn't mean that is

49:51the ending point or doesn't need to be

49:53repeated, shouted from rooftops.

49:56Um big meetings, small meetings of which

50:00administration will be a part of, the

50:02council members will be a part of. And

50:04obviously we want to help that

50:06communication because to everybody's

50:08point this is something that will be in

50:11the ether for the next 5 to 6 weeks. And

50:13so obviously there has been a beginning

50:16point of communication and there needs

50:18to be continued communication and and

50:21along the way if the council feels like

50:23there's ways for us to refine the

50:25communication as well we want to do

50:28that. If you're if you're saying this

50:30point is not seeping through or this is

50:32something you can explain better or did

50:34you think about running the map, we want

50:36to be your partner in making sure that

50:38we can do that. So um we provide what

50:41happens. The administration is a part of

50:43this but obviously the council

50:45particularly with with no disrespect to

50:47the at large is the district council

50:49members because they're the ones who are

50:51meeting regularly like council member

50:53King Harris um Green Hughes and McCarron

50:56their constituents. So we want to be a

50:58part of refining that information and

51:00getting it to you and and repeating it

51:02as necessary.

51:03>> And I think you know the the last thing

51:05I would say to put it a different way if

51:07we had an additional hundred million in

51:10recurring revenues we would be okay. We

51:13would be kumbaya. Uh we would have $21.5

51:16million to spend on one-time purposes

51:18for next year. Uh but that's not where

51:21we are. um there's really nothing we can

51:23do to come up with a 100 million in

51:25recurrent revenues right now. Um and so

51:29regardless of what revenue producing

51:31measures we take, we're still going to

51:33be in a situation where we have to cut.

51:35So, um again, you know, I really

51:37appreciate you and Mayor Mareno for

51:39being transparent through this entire

51:41process. And I agree, the conversation

51:43about a roll forward uh has begun.

51:46>> Yeah. I mean, look, and I I'll say it

51:48one last time, it has begun. And if

51:50people don't feel like they're getting

51:52the information, then let's all work

51:54collectively on trying to get as much

51:56out there as humanly possible and

51:58continuing because I think council

52:00member made another point about

52:01misinformation. How do we combat that as

52:03well and let people make decision why do

52:06that's what we're all

52:10>> Thank you. Um

52:11>> wait one more last

52:14>> Hold on one second. Hold on one second.

52:16I I do want to just get my question in.

52:19We are uh ripping off of what uh council

52:22member Willard said, we are at a $77

52:24million deficit. If we rolled forward

52:26the millages, we would gain $42 million.

52:30We're still looking at a deficit of $35

52:32million, right?

52:34>> Well, but you I wouldn't say that,

52:35council member, because if you're

52:37looking at it, let's just take the

52:39number right here. So again, if you say

52:42to council member uh Willard's point,

52:44the starting point was 99 million. we

52:47roughly have found um 21 million that

52:50gets you to 77 million. I have my

52:53calculator in front of me so that way I

52:55don't make a basic math mistake here.

52:57And if just the millages on this page

52:59are rolled forward, it's roughly then

53:02you've reduced it to 55 or 56 million.

53:05Um, as I said before and repeat again, I

53:08would be shocked if the council did not

53:11accept all the CAO proposed cuts, which

53:14is roughly about 16 million. So that

53:17gets you to 40. So, you know, those

53:20those moves if done would potentially

53:24half or more than half actually,

53:26>> right? But the bottom line is we're even

53:28if we roll forward the millages, we're

53:30still looking at significant cuts from

53:32this budget, from your proposal. Um, and

53:34again, I think that it's great that you

53:36all propose this, but I would like a

53:38scenario where the administration says,

53:41"Okay, well, the millages are rolled

53:43forward. This is what we would take off

53:44the table because right now everything's

53:47on the table."

53:48>> Right.

53:48>> Right. And so the proposal, the proposed

53:51cuts that we have here that were

53:54presented, if you could refine that if

53:56the millages were rolled forward, I

53:59think that would be helpful for all of

54:01us, especially as we're communicating to

54:03our constituents.

54:04>> Understood.

54:05>> Council member Morell,

54:07>> I think I have a bit of a different

54:09perspective. I think that if the council

54:12at this point rolls millages forward, I

54:14think that we would be in the position

54:16to dictate to you which cuts come off

54:17the table. Uh, I do think it's a a

54:20cooperative relationship, but at the end

54:21of the day, um, I don't expect the

54:25administration and council to agree

54:28necessarily on which of those items are

54:30the priorities to restore. Um, I think

54:32that we'll come to an agreement, but I

54:35think that already when I talk to my

54:37colleagues, there is uh there's

54:41consensus on some issues that need to be

54:43restored and not consensus on others,

54:45and it's going to be a cooperative

54:47public conversation. And so I mean

54:49though I certainly would love to see

54:51what is your priority as an

54:52administration as far as those

54:54restorations, I would tell the public

54:56that whatever you think that you want to

54:58restore, the council's ultimately going

55:01to have the final say because the

55:02council ultimately passes the budget,

55:04which you know from our last

55:05administration,

55:07there was multiple times that the budget

55:09committee and you did not agree with

55:11what the Canrell administration wanted

55:12to restore and that was part of the

55:15process. And even though our

55:18relationship with this administration is

55:19certainly a bit more respective, I don't

55:21expect there to be a one forone

55:24agreement on any of that. Um, what I

55:26would also add is that general comment

55:28to the public, and I my 10-year-old

55:31corrected me, uh, money does come from

55:33paper, which does come from trees, but

55:35we can't print it. So, um, something

55:38that I I said at a, uh, function, uh,

55:42last week regarding the budget is that

55:45for multiple years when we've had these

55:48conversations, there's kind of been a

55:51general conversation between the public

55:54and the council as don't cut my thing,

55:57fund my thing. And though we certainly

56:01want to hear that and that was part of

56:02the conversation at the mayor's town

56:04hall meetings, what I would put to the

56:07public is also what do you want cut?

56:12Because at the end of the day, there is

56:14a fixed amount of money that we have

56:16available to us. And if we are going to

56:18fund something that is uncut without

56:21raising millages, we have to cut

56:23something else. Um, I know for example,

56:26tomorrow we're going to receive a

56:28tremendous amount of information from

56:30the NOPD that they want a heck of a lot

56:32more money. And I will tell you what I

56:35intend to tell them tomorrow, which is,

56:37okay, NOPD, what do you want to cut?

56:41Because as any department, as any

56:43individual in the public wants to

56:45restore these cuts without a millage

56:47roll forward, it is going to require a

56:50cut somewhere else. There is no printed

56:53money that we have available to us. And

56:55so as we go into also the other budget

56:58presentations for today, as we hear

57:00advocates advocating for which

57:02departments to spare, part of the

57:05benefit of having a very significant

57:08and large briefing book available to the

57:11public is that you see how much things

57:13cost. You see how much we're spending on

57:15positions, on programs. There is nothing

57:18that prevents anyone from coming up

57:20here. And there will be plenty of people

57:22that come here tomorrow advocating for

57:24cutting NOPD.

57:26Go read the briefing book. Tell me what

57:28you want to cut and tell me how much

57:29money that generates and what your

57:31position as a lay person, the public,

57:34what cut you want to restore. Because

57:36that is the budget process. It's not

57:38just about coming to the kitchen table

57:40and saying, "Mom and dad, I want to

57:42restore the streaming services." Mom and

57:44dad are going to say, "Okay, who's

57:45paying for that?" And that's kind of

57:47where we're at. And I would hope this

57:49year versus previous years because there

57:52is a level of transparency as far as

57:55what things cost do not just come

57:58advocating for restoration and against

58:01millages if you don't have a proposed

58:03cut that you also going to advocate for

58:06because that is not helpful.

58:08>> And council member if I could complete

58:10that thought too. Um and this is a

58:12little bit I think what council member

58:13King was getting at as well. There's

58:15also we are talking all about general

58:18fund money too. And part of I feel like

58:20some of the inaccurate information I've

58:22seen is there is still non-general fund

58:25money that's going to many programs as

58:27well. And so when people talk about the

58:29cuts, they're focused on the general

58:31fund side, but there's still almost an

58:33equal amount on non-general fund funding

58:35as well that also everybody needs to

58:38keep their eye on as a complete picture.

58:42>> All right, I have one speaker card from

58:43Mr. Adun.

58:53Good morning. Um, also Wednesday,

58:57uh, Apple Street. Uh, I just wanted to

58:59add to the record, uh, for you, Mr.

59:01Morell, uh, in regards to the regressive

59:03tax. Um when the austerity crisis was

59:07announced in the beginning of the year,

59:09uh superintendent uh Anne Kirkpatrick

59:11said that uh there wouldn't be an

59:13incentive to um penalize the citizens

59:18with civil penalties. Um and I just want

59:21to

59:22emphasize the [sighs]

59:27emphasize that we don't like miss the

59:29forest for the trees.

59:31Um because while poor people are being

59:35regressively taxed, also what happens,

59:38especially on uh in black communities,

59:41especially in New Orleans East, people

59:43get fines, parking tickets, um code

59:46enforcement, all of that ramps up and it

59:48hits poor people as well. Uh so just

59:52wanted to make sure that was on your

59:53radar and add completion to your

59:56statement. Thank you.

59:58>> Thank you. The board is clear. Uh

1:00:01Ashley, you want to get to the next

1:00:02item?

1:00:04>> Yes, ma'am. The next item is the

1:00:06Department of Finance presented by First

1:00:08Deputy Mayor CEO. Accounting is up

1:00:10first.

1:00:20>> Then after accounting, we'll have

1:00:21purchasing.

1:00:26That all do it together. Wonderful.

1:00:27accounting, purchasing, revenue,

1:00:28treasury and retirement all together.

1:00:42>> I don't

1:00:53bring it up.

1:01:01What I I just

1:01:28stop.

1:01:32How you doing? How you doing?

1:01:41>> There's a lot of talent and experience

1:01:43at that table.

1:01:45>> There it is.

1:01:55>> Ready to go.

1:01:56>> Y'all ready?

1:01:56>> We're ready.

1:01:57>> Okay.

1:01:58>> Ready? All right. All right. Good

1:02:00morning, council members. Today, I'm

1:02:03pleased to present the Department of

1:02:04Finance proposed 2027 budget. Before I

1:02:08get started, I'd like to introduce the

1:02:10finance leadership team who will be

1:02:12presenting with me today. To my right,

1:02:15I've got Freda Richardson, deputy

1:02:17director and controller.

1:02:19Next to her is Kai Wells, interim chief

1:02:23procurement officer.

1:02:25Then I've got Romy Samuel, collector of

1:02:27revenue.

1:02:29We have Mr. Jesse Evans, director of the

1:02:32city of New Orleans employee retirement

1:02:34system. And then finally, Miss Courtney

1:02:37Wilson Renthrow, treasurer.

1:02:45Each of our bureau chiefs play a

1:02:47critical role in the city's overall

1:02:48financial management. And today, they'll

1:02:50each have an opportunity to walk you

1:02:52through their respective areas,

1:02:54including their proposed 2027 budget,

1:02:57the efficiencies they've implemented,

1:02:59and the pri priorities for the coming

1:03:01year.

1:03:03I'll begin with the agency level

1:03:04overview, and then I'll turn it over to

1:03:06each of them to provide the details for

1:03:08their bureaus.

1:03:14The overarching theme for 2027 is

1:03:17continuing to strengthen the city's

1:03:19financial management while being

1:03:21disciplined about how we use our

1:03:23resources.

1:03:25We have worked throughout 2026 to

1:03:27improve processes, leverage technology,

1:03:30and focus our staffing and expenditures

1:03:33on activities that directly support the

1:03:35city's financial operations.

1:03:39for you. We have the agency level

1:03:41proposed 2027 budget for the general

1:03:44fund,

1:03:47approximately 38.7 million

1:03:51compared to the 19.3 million in the 2026

1:03:54adopted budget. The primary driver of

1:03:57that increase CAO mentioned CEO Jesuso

1:04:01mentioned earlier is the debt service

1:04:04that was not budgeted in our general

1:04:05fund last year. It also it includes 18.2

1:04:09million in principal payments and 2.3 in

1:04:13interest expense that's reflected in our

1:04:15current operating 2027 operating budget.

1:04:19When we remove the debt service and

1:04:21compare the operating components on an

1:04:23applesto apples basis, the agency is

1:04:26proposing a budget of approximately $1

1:04:28million less than 2026.

1:04:32As you hear from each bureau today,

1:04:34you'll see that the underlying approach

1:04:35has been one of careful resource

1:04:38management and targeted investment.

1:04:41Several bureaus will actually be

1:04:43operating with fewer positions in 2027

1:04:46than in 2026,

1:04:48while others are holding at capacity

1:04:50because we believe there is a direct

1:04:51opportunity in revenue generation and

1:04:54compliance.

1:04:56Now, we'll turn it over and um address

1:04:59the key components of each department.

1:05:03And I'll start with the director's

1:05:05office. In the general fund for the

1:05:07director's office, we have currently

1:05:09five full-time equivalents.

1:05:12And we also are um responsible for our

1:05:16financial and supply management software

1:05:18of about 650 million $650,000,

1:05:22sorry, our brass software.

1:05:25And new for this year, we will be

1:05:27responsible for the budget for the board

1:05:29of review tax appeals consultant of

1:05:31about 800,000

1:05:33and also the audits for the city and the

1:05:36retirement systems of about 850,000.

1:05:43Next up, we have accounting.

1:05:46>> Good morning.

1:05:48for 2027 for personnel, we will reduce

1:05:53from 2022 FTEES that we have currently

1:05:57to um 20 in 2027, which is a 9%

1:06:03reduction. We are removing the assistant

1:06:06payroll supervisor vacancy and also an

1:06:09accounts payable office worker vacancy

1:06:12is being removed.

1:06:15Also for other operating for ADP we are

1:06:19coming in for $3 million for our ADP

1:06:22which is payroll and timekeeping

1:06:24software. This includes a proposed

1:06:27reduction that we've already received

1:06:29from ADP of $250,000

1:06:32for 2027

1:06:34for maintenance and an additional 50k of

1:06:37investments.

1:06:43>> Good morning. uh from purchasing. As it

1:06:46relates to personnel, we're at 6.5 FTEES

1:06:49in 2027, which is a reduction of three

1:06:52FTEEs from 2026 where when we were at

1:06:559.5.

1:06:57Um, with regards to our other operating,

1:06:59we have our brass commodity code

1:07:01maintenance as well as our uh hearing

1:07:04officer for our administrative hearing

1:07:05officer uh for disqualification

1:07:08hearings.

1:07:14Good morning. For retirement, um, our

1:07:17budget made primarily a personnel.

1:07:19That's that's primarily what what what

1:07:21drives our budget. Uh, 7 and a half

1:07:24full-time equivalents is what we are

1:07:26requiring for 2027. Those 7 and 1 half

1:07:29employees uh, play a vital role in

1:07:31safeguarding the the financial

1:07:33well-being of over 3,000 active

1:07:34employees and over 2,000 retirees. We're

1:07:37also the accountant and the custodian

1:07:38for the $621 million investment

1:07:40portfolio for the fund. From that fund,

1:07:43we pay roughly $4.3 million each month

1:07:46in retirement benefits. This underscores

1:07:48our commitment to timely, reliable

1:07:50financial support for those who serve

1:07:52the city.

1:07:53We do have one planned retirement uh in

1:07:56our personnel area for the year. It'll

1:07:58be roughly immediate retirement. And

1:08:00then as relates to our other operating,

1:08:02we basically go going to go with the

1:08:04basic operating needs of an office. We

1:08:06did have a planned construction with

1:08:07some enhancements for the actual office.

1:08:09We're going to push those back to our

1:08:11future uh future budget

1:08:14revenue.

1:08:15>> Good morning.

1:08:16>> The Bureau of Revenue is uh going into

1:08:192027 with 46 employees. We were able to

1:08:23double the audit staff, the sales tax

1:08:25audit team, which is definitely revenue

1:08:29generating. We will have more reach in

1:08:31the audit areas. So we'll be able to

1:08:34conduct more audits there. A project

1:08:37manager position which was a contractor

1:08:41has been cut and we have brought that

1:08:43task in house. One of our internal staff

1:08:46will handle that. Our other operating

1:08:49expenditures, we do have upkeep and

1:08:52maintenance for our sales tax revenue

1:08:54system, the collection system of 1.1

1:08:57million. We do have some cuts. Some

1:09:01printing costs have been reduced. Uh

1:09:04more people are filing online, so we

1:09:06don't require printing sales tax forms

1:09:09for those, which is a plus. Uh we have

1:09:12some outside consultants,

1:09:14storage of legacy data from the prior

1:09:17sales tax system. We're able to cut and

1:09:21a one-time expenditure with the clerk of

1:09:24court for filing of leans.

1:09:28Good morning. For Treasury, we have a

1:09:31reduction uh consist of 20 FTEES, a

1:09:35reduction of three FTEES from 2026,

1:09:38which includes positions in our cash

1:09:40sharing, AVT and brake tag uh units

1:09:43within the department. We also have

1:09:46other operating costs uh INOVA cash

1:09:48sharing system, which is a city-wide

1:09:50system of 215,000.

1:09:53We have our IS world tax administration

1:09:56platform SAS and maintenance fees that

1:10:00is 350,000

1:10:02printing costs which we have reduced uh

1:10:05but it is at 210 we have banking and

1:10:08analysis fees of 190,000 and we also

1:10:11have a reduction in our contract labor.

1:10:17That concludes our general fund uh

1:10:20budget uh key points. Uh here on this

1:10:23slide shows our non-general fund uh

1:10:26budget and as you can see for 2027 we

1:10:29are proposing zero non-general fund that

1:10:33is a difference of the moving the debt

1:10:35service in this non-general fund over to

1:10:38general fund for 2027.

1:10:43In the next few slides, we're going to

1:10:44talk about our efficiencies and goals

1:10:47for each bureau. So, I'll let them have

1:10:49an opportunity to discuss that.

1:10:53Thank you. for accounting. Um, for 2026,

1:10:57we did complete our 2025 audit on time.

1:11:01And this was the first year ever that

1:11:04the LLA approved and issued our audit in

1:11:07one business day after submittal, which

1:11:09was on July 1st, 2026.

1:11:12We have increased the efficient monthly

1:11:15production of our financial statements

1:11:17that are inclusive of enhanced analysis

1:11:19for the city council, mayor, and CEO. We

1:11:23have weekly reconciliations of bank

1:11:25accounts to move general fund dollars

1:11:28for weekly expenses of payroll fringes

1:11:30and vendor payments. And we want to

1:11:33thank the uh departments internal who

1:11:36are helping us in this effort because we

1:11:39could not do it without them. um

1:11:41ensuring that they have this information

1:11:44and brass timely so that we can

1:11:46reconcile

1:11:48efficient fund balance reconciliations

1:11:50by creating lamp investment bank

1:11:52accounts for about 60% of our special

1:11:55revenue funds and also creating the due

1:11:58to dou from journal entries between

1:12:00general fund and special revenue funds

1:12:03to ensure accuracy of [clears throat]

1:12:05reporting. So that's ensuring that those

1:12:07special revenue funds do have the

1:12:10representative of the cash that's for

1:12:12the fund balance for those special

1:12:13revenues within their segregated bank

1:12:16accounts act.

1:12:18We also have a object cleanup um that we

1:12:21are completing by the end of the year

1:12:23and that's also to ensure that duplicate

1:12:25objects are deactivated and creating a

1:12:28glossery of terms of active objects to

1:12:31increase our universal efficiencies

1:12:33across all departments.

1:12:36And also we have grass updates to assist

1:12:38vendors and departments in conducting

1:12:40business with CL in a more efficient

1:12:43manner. We've already done this year the

1:12:45account categories established for

1:12:47expenditures ties to special events.

1:12:51Vendor notification of canceled and

1:12:53rejected invoices. Before the

1:12:56departments nor the vendors knew that we

1:12:58canled or rejected invoices. They now

1:13:01can see that on a platform. they get an

1:13:03email, it they know exactly what it is,

1:13:06why it was cancelled, and what they need

1:13:08to do to get that invoice resubmitted so

1:13:10it can be paid. And lastly, initiating a

1:13:13monthly closing of our cash payables,

1:13:17purchasing, requisitions, source

1:13:19management, assets, and global ledger

1:13:22modules and bricks.

1:13:26Um for purchasing we were able to

1:13:28successfully host our annual procurement

1:13:30fair while spending a third of our live

1:13:32budget and we also assisted with

1:13:34analysis on contract consolidation to

1:13:37find areas for citywide savings

1:13:41>> for retirement. Uh we heard a lot about

1:13:43communication I think in the prior uh

1:13:45session. Uh we think communication is

1:13:47very very important as it relates to

1:13:48retirees. One of the things that we

1:13:50launched was a text messaging system

1:13:52called normers. Now, it allows us to

1:13:55communicate with our retirees via text

1:13:56message, give important announcements

1:13:58about things that are happening with

1:13:59with retirement. So, that's been very

1:14:00very successful. Uh, we allow members to

1:14:03actually sign up for that. It's actually

1:14:04a wet signature is required. We don't

1:14:06just do that over line online. They have

1:14:08to actually physically sign up for that.

1:14:09Again, another way to effectively

1:14:10communicate with our retirey community.

1:14:13We also uh are utilizing our monthly

1:14:15direct deposit statement. So, retirees

1:14:16get their benefit payments each month

1:14:18and there's a statement that goes out

1:14:19that indicates that a direct deposit has

1:14:22actually been made. We're now including

1:14:23notices within those direct deposits as

1:14:25opposed to doing separate mailing. So

1:14:26that again cuts down the cost of doing

1:14:28separate mailing. We include those

1:14:30direct those notices within the direct

1:14:31deposit uh statements. Uh we are

1:14:34managing our budget just for the basic

1:14:35basic office needs and again as I

1:14:38mentioned before we postponed a office

1:14:40construction enhancement. We're going to

1:14:41push that back to a future budget. Next

1:14:44we have revenue.

1:14:45>> Thank you.

1:14:46uh revenue is leveraging technology to

1:14:48maximize collections by streamlining

1:14:51compliance processes. What that means

1:14:53the new tax system enables

1:14:56the revenue department to communicate

1:14:59within uh the unit the bureau the

1:15:03delinquent tax unit can get audit leads

1:15:05to audit sooner. they are generating

1:15:09leads on their dashboards daily so they

1:15:12can actually make those recommendations

1:15:14a lot sooner. We've identified over

1:15:17$250,000

1:15:19in printing cost reductions. As

1:15:21mentioned before, we do not and will not

1:15:23have to print paper forms because people

1:15:26are using the online platforms more

1:15:29often to file sales taxes. We did not

1:15:31backfill the project manager position uh

1:15:35as support for the sales tax system or

1:15:38nor did we fill the net developer

1:15:41contract position.

1:15:43We've increased the number of audits

1:15:45with the addition of internal sales tax

1:15:49audit staff. To date, we're on pace to

1:15:52complete approximately 200 by year's

1:15:54end. uh collections so far have been

1:15:57$3.3 million in sales tax as of August

1:16:022026 and the current return on

1:16:04investment for our audit team is 4.6 to1

1:16:09for the Bureau of Treasury. We've

1:16:12established a process to refer

1:16:14delinquent accounts, particularly

1:16:16delinquent business personal property

1:16:18accounts to the office of debt recovery,

1:16:21uh increase in accountability and

1:16:23pursuing additional revenue

1:16:24opportunities.

1:16:26Uh we've also launched a comprehensive

1:16:29cash management initiative to improve

1:16:32the monitoring, collection, recordation,

1:16:34and forecast of available cash in

1:16:37working in lock step with the Bureau of

1:16:39Accounting and other departments within

1:16:42the city. We've uh implemented routine

1:16:45transfers to appropriate bank accounts

1:16:48to ensure cash is aligned with the

1:16:50individual fund needs. We've also

1:16:53strengthened the coordination between

1:16:55revenue collections, our cash

1:16:57availability, and expenditure

1:16:59requirements,

1:17:00improving the city's ability to forecast

1:17:03and strategically manage available cash

1:17:05to meet our operational needs.

1:17:11We will now move to our 2027 goals for

1:17:15accounting.

1:17:16will complete the fiscal year 2026

1:17:19annual financial audit and issue the act

1:17:22for by June 30th with timely resolution

1:17:24of audit findings and required

1:17:26management responses.

1:17:29Provide timely, accurate and analytical

1:17:31financial reporting to the mayor, city

1:17:33council and CEO to support effective

1:17:37financial management and decision

1:17:38making. maintain our weekly bank

1:17:41reconciliations and cash transfers to

1:17:44ensure [clears throat] that the general

1:17:45fund cash is accurately positioned to

1:17:48meet weekly payroll, franch and vendor

1:17:51payment obligations.

1:17:53strengthen our special revenue

1:17:55accounting and reporting by establishing

1:17:57dedicated LAMP investment accounts for

1:18:00at least 90% of special revenue funds

1:18:03and implementing standardized due to due

1:18:05firm accounting procedures to ensure

1:18:07accurate interf fund balances and timely

1:18:11fund balance reconciliations.

1:18:13And finally, our monthly closing of our

1:18:16cash payables, purchasing requisitions,

1:18:19source management, assets, and global

1:18:21ledger modules and brands.

1:18:24Uh, for purchasing, our 2027 goals are

1:18:27to participate in the monthly closing of

1:18:29Brass to aid in the finalizing of

1:18:31transactions monthly and the production

1:18:33of reliable financial records. continue

1:18:36to participate in vendor outreach events

1:18:38such as those hosted by Propeller in an

1:18:40effort to educate external stakeholders

1:18:42on how to do business with the city,

1:18:44specifically how to find and respond to

1:18:46opportunities and facilitate procurement

1:18:49training for internal stakeholders on

1:18:51the procurement policy manual and

1:18:52standard operating procedures through

1:18:54quarterly virtual trainings and

1:18:56workshops.

1:18:59The 2027 goals for retirements are these

1:19:02are pretty standard. the first two

1:19:04anyway. Uh we want to obtain an

1:19:05unqualified audit opinion for the 2026

1:19:07audit year. We submit our audit of

1:19:10course to the through the city but we

1:19:11also submit our audit directly to the

1:19:12legislative auditor as well. So again

1:19:14our goal is to have an unqualified audit

1:19:16opinion for 2026 audit uh for the audit

1:19:18year. Secondly, we want to attain the

1:19:20certificate of excellence for public

1:19:22pension plan reporting and transparency

1:19:24as so granted by the national conference

1:19:26on public employee retirement systems.

1:19:28This indicates our ability to or our

1:19:31fourthness to be transparent with how we

1:19:33operate and how we handle our financial

1:19:35obligations. We want to continue member

1:19:38education up to and including a 3-hour

1:19:40quarterly uh retirement class is offered

1:19:42via civil service. Remember, my staff

1:19:44actually teaches that class and we offer

1:19:45it quarterly and it's a three-hour

1:19:47class. Lastly, we want to continue the

1:19:49formal formalizing our plans for future

1:19:51operation stamping. As I look across the

1:19:53landscape of the retirement office,

1:19:55roughly 70% of the office will be

1:19:57eligible to retire in January of next

1:19:58year. That being said, we need really

1:20:00need to focus on a formalized plan on

1:20:02how we're going to operate in the

1:20:04future. Next, we have revenue.

1:20:06>> Thanks, Jesse. Uh revenue's 2027 goals.

1:20:09Uh we want to continue development in

1:20:11our current sales tax system. There are

1:20:13things we're learning every day, uh

1:20:16functionality that we can use. We want

1:20:18to grow our audit program and we will

1:20:22use the system to do that to identify

1:20:25those leads that we can pursue and

1:20:27recover those revenues. Uh in addition

1:20:30we want to broaden our re our resources

1:20:33leveraging relationships with banking

1:20:35institutions through ODR through office

1:20:37of debt recovery. Uh we also want to

1:20:41maximize recovery utilizing the existing

1:20:44city code. We currently have tools where

1:20:46we can recover uh outstanding

1:20:50liabilities, sales tax li liabilities

1:20:52utilizing warrants for restraint,

1:20:54levies, things like that, as well as

1:20:56leans. Uh I'll take this time to do a

1:20:59public service announcement. Uh we are

1:21:01having an amnesty program that is

1:21:03beginning October 1st going through the

1:21:06end of the year December 31st where

1:21:08taxpayers who have not filed can get a

1:21:11waiver of 100% of penalties and 50% of

1:21:15interest on sales taxes that are unpaid.

1:21:19So we will have opportunities to pay

1:21:22over time an abbreviated installment

1:21:24agreement and we urge taxpayers b

1:21:27business owners to come out and

1:21:29participate. Okay.

1:21:34Our 2027 goals for the bureau of

1:21:37treasury to successfully onboard our new

1:21:41uh tax sale vendor gov ease as the

1:21:43city's new tax lean auction vendor to

1:21:46strengthen tax collection. uh leverage

1:21:49some of our technologies such as is

1:21:51world billing and receivable system to

1:21:53maximize the staff's capacity especially

1:21:56where there is area of limited staffing

1:21:59strengthen cross functional

1:22:00communication and data sharing between

1:22:03city departments and the parish

1:22:05assessor's office to improve the

1:22:07accuracy and data uh validation of the

1:22:10business personal property tax bills in

1:22:12particular uh and improve our

1:22:15coordination between um between

1:22:17departments for projected revenue, cash

1:22:19availability, and the city's upcoming

1:22:21funding requirements.

1:22:25>> And that completes our presentation. Let

1:22:27us know if you have any questions.

1:22:29>> We do. Um I'll go first and then I know

1:22:31uh council member King and Willard uh

1:22:34have some questions really quickly. Um

1:22:36the director's office personnel notes

1:22:39five full-time employees in 2027, but

1:22:42the budget book says six. What is

1:22:45accurate?

1:22:50I only know of five.

1:22:52>> Okay. So, the budget book is not

1:22:54accurate in this

1:22:55>> unless do we include Freda in um the

1:22:58director's office? Okay. So, Freda and

1:23:01then two of our IT staff and then the

1:23:05assistant and then chief of staff.

1:23:07>> Okay.

1:23:08>> Equals six.

1:23:09>> Okay. So, six is the accurate number.

1:23:11>> Yes. And and just just generally for the

1:23:14public and my colleagues, there are some

1:23:16variances between the presentations and

1:23:19the budget books. So just look out for

1:23:21that as we go. Um sales tax, Romy, we

1:23:24can pay online now, right? We always

1:23:26Absolutely.

1:23:26>> Okay, good.

1:23:27>> Um and then on the audit staff

1:23:29positions, you said you have a 4.6 to1

1:23:32return on investment, correct?

1:23:34>> What can we anticipate going forward in

1:23:362027 with the additional staffers? Well,

1:23:39we we have five now. Um there are no

1:23:44additional

1:23:45>> Uhhuh.

1:23:46>> team members, but there is an

1:23:47opportunity there because it is proven

1:23:49that we can bring in revenues

1:23:52>> and we can generate revenues using these

1:23:54staff members.

1:23:54>> Absolutely.

1:23:55>> Great. Um and then on the gov ease, is

1:23:58that the replacement for civic source?

1:24:01>> Yes.

1:24:01>> And when what's the implementation

1:24:03schedule?

1:24:04>> Uh within the next 6 months. In the

1:24:07meantime, are we doing tax sales? What

1:24:09are we doing?

1:24:09>> No, currently no.

1:24:10>> So, we're just holding on tax sales

1:24:12until we can get this implemented.

1:24:14>> That's a larger conversation that we

1:24:16need to have because I think we can get

1:24:18some revenue there that is unrecognized.

1:24:20Is there a timeline on getting this

1:24:23implemented quicker than 6 months?

1:24:26>> We would like to. We're currently

1:24:28working on the 27 property tax bill. So,

1:24:31that's somewhat of the reason why there

1:24:33is a delay with the onboarding. Okay.

1:24:36Again, I'd like to have a larger

1:24:38conversation about that because it seems

1:24:39like that horizon is um not as quick as

1:24:44it should be. Uh Council Member Willard.

1:24:47>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um on the uh

1:24:50Romeo, on the sales tax audits, um have

1:24:53y'all done any modeling on when you get

1:24:55to a point of diminishing returns? Like

1:24:58if you add two more team members, you

1:24:59bring in more money, but then you know

1:25:02if you get up to 10, you're duplicating

1:25:04efforts and no additional money comes

1:25:06in.

1:25:07>> Well, the the reach I mean I'll be

1:25:11honest, when I started it was 25

1:25:12auditors. So, and we still were not able

1:25:15to reach all the registered businesses.

1:25:19We may audit

1:25:22maybe 2 to 5% of registered businesses.

1:25:25So the more staff we have, the more

1:25:27reach we have. Now we do have contract

1:25:29auditors. We have two firms right now uh

1:25:32that help assist. But we've seen that

1:25:35the return is higher with internal

1:25:37staff. So we're at 10 now. I think you

1:25:42know that's an opportunity for revenue

1:25:44growth if we add more team members.

1:25:47>> Have have you guys had any conversations

1:25:49with the department of revenue because

1:25:51they do sales tax audits in the city as

1:25:53well? Absolutely. We do joint audits.

1:25:56We've done Yes.

1:25:57>> Okay. Cool. All right. I'm going to

1:25:59start over because I kind of went

1:26:00through my question slide by slide. Uh

1:26:03Alyssa, you know, one of the big things

1:26:05for one of the big reasons for the

1:26:07increases because of the debt service

1:26:09that we're now budgeting for. Can you

1:26:11just kind of overview all of the types

1:26:13of debt service that we're including in

1:26:15this portion? Is that all of the city's

1:26:17debt service?

1:26:19>> That's the debt service that we are

1:26:21directly responsible for. So that's

1:26:23includes um the I think there's about

1:26:28five

1:26:28>> yes bonds

1:26:30>> five bonds that are that are our

1:26:32responsibility not the board of

1:26:34liquidation's responsibility.

1:26:35>> Okay. Um on the personnel side I was

1:26:40confused as well five versus six. So,

1:26:43I'd have to recalculate the number, but

1:26:45was basically trying to do an analysis

1:26:48of um you know, salary plus benefits for

1:26:52employees in finance versus accounting.

1:26:54And it seemed like finance

1:26:57was a little bit heavier than

1:26:59accounting, but I don't know how it

1:27:01reconstitute when when you put the six

1:27:03in. So, it may may level out altogether.

1:27:07Um,

1:27:09moving on to purchasing.

1:27:11Um, we have 6.5 FTEES for next year

1:27:16budgeted. I wanted to know if that

1:27:17includes the chief procurement officer

1:27:20position.

1:27:22>> Yes, it does.

1:27:23>> It does. Okay. And any can we get any

1:27:26type of update right now as to how that

1:27:28search is going?

1:27:29>> So, the search is is basically started I

1:27:32think about a week or so ago, two weeks

1:27:35ago. It got posted online. And I've also

1:27:37started doing some of my own recruiting.

1:27:38I put it on LinkedIn um in hopes of

1:27:41generating some more. I'm waiting to

1:27:43hear back. I've I've heard about a few

1:27:45people have already um we've got a few

1:27:48people who have already applied um but I

1:27:50haven't seen the list yet of how many

1:27:52applicants we've got thus far.

1:27:54>> Okay. Um,

1:27:56one of the reasons I'm asking about that

1:27:58is because, uh, you know, we recently

1:28:00updated the responsible responsible

1:28:02contracting ordinance, um, authorizing

1:28:05the Bureau of Purchasing to conduct

1:28:07those responsibility hearings um, to

1:28:10determine whether contracts are, you

1:28:13know, doing responsible work or

1:28:15nonresponsible work. And if they're

1:28:17doing nonresponsible work to hold them

1:28:19accountable, make sure they're not

1:28:21getting awarded with contract after

1:28:23contract. I think my team connected with

1:28:26you this morning, Alyssa, about that

1:28:2710,000 that was removed.

1:28:30>> Yes. Yes. So, we um had it in our

1:28:33original budget. Um but [snorts] as uh

1:28:35as you might have heard from CEO Jula,

1:28:37we're we're planning to have a menu of

1:28:40options and um whether or not that um

1:28:44that fits in or that was taken out,

1:28:47maybe we'll find something else to

1:28:48remove to add that in because I do see

1:28:50the importance of that um that line

1:28:52item.

1:28:53>> Yeah. for that hearing officer and you

1:28:55know again could be a a potential

1:28:57revenue producing measure um at least

1:29:00until we get all responsible you know

1:29:02contractors working on uh city of New

1:29:05Orleans uh construction sites. Um the

1:29:08next thing I'll go on to is um under

1:29:12revenue

1:29:15I wanted to know about

1:29:20the i3 verticals

1:29:23and the chase handheld device purchase

1:29:26maintenance. Yes.

1:29:27>> Can somebody touch on that?

1:29:29>> Yes. So I3 verticals is a vendor who is

1:29:33storing our legacy data, sales tax

1:29:35information from the prior system. When

1:29:38we do audits, we audit three years uh

1:29:41plus the current year. So we need to be

1:29:43able to research older data that we had

1:29:47not brought over into the new system. So

1:29:50we had to have that system stood up for

1:29:52a couple years while we, you know, keep

1:29:55adding going forward.

1:29:56>> The I3

1:29:57>> I3 vertical. Correct. The handhelds are

1:30:00for when we go collect from special

1:30:02events. That is a payment uh mechanism

1:30:05like toast, you know, similar to a toast

1:30:07or a square where we can go

1:30:10>> and collect on site at those um special

1:30:13events.

1:30:15>> So, um is I3 vertical going to be phased

1:30:18out?

1:30:18>> Yes.

1:30:19>> At what point?

1:30:19>> Uh 27.

1:30:21>> Okay. Yes. Okay. Good. Um 385,000 for

1:30:25outside consultants. Can you touch on

1:30:28that?

1:30:28>> So we do in with our current system it

1:30:31is a requirement that [clears throat] we

1:30:32maintain onsite their developers because

1:30:36the core product cannot be

1:30:41accessed through outside developers. So

1:30:44we have to maintain their staff but it

1:30:47was cheaper to add our team as well. So

1:30:50we we kept the minimum number of their

1:30:54team which is the fast enterprises team

1:30:56but we were able to hirenet developers

1:30:59at a much lower cost as contractors to

1:31:01the city to do some of the work.

1:31:04>> So it's cheaper to do it that way.

1:31:06>> Correct.

1:31:07>> Um what about 22nd Century? What what

1:31:10services are they providing?

1:31:11>> Well that was through that was the city

1:31:14developers were hired through 22nd.

1:31:16>> Got it.

1:31:17um other operating 32,000 onetime

1:31:21expense to the clerk of court.

1:31:22>> Correct. So when we escalate enforcement

1:31:27after

1:31:28sales tax audits, if we do installment

1:31:30agreements, we have to file leans with

1:31:32the courts. So there's a cost to filing

1:31:36those [clears throat] leans. And as we

1:31:38ramp up enforcement, the cost goes up.

1:31:40So we want to make sure we're paying the

1:31:44courts so that we're able to still do

1:31:45that. That's expected to be enough to

1:31:48cover it for next year.

1:31:49>> Yes.

1:31:50>> Okay. Um, moving on to Treasury, uh,

1:31:54548,000

1:31:56for Tyler Technology and INOVA annual

1:32:00fees. Courtney, what what are those?

1:32:02>> Yes. So, [clears throat] the INOVA

1:32:03cashing system, that's basically a cash

1:32:06sharing system throughout different

1:32:08departments uh within the city for uh

1:32:11taxpayers to come in and make payments

1:32:13in house. uh INOVA is based I mean I

1:32:17world is basically our billing and

1:32:18receivable system. So the tax bills that

1:32:20you receive are generated through that

1:32:23uh through that system. Uh we have taxes

1:32:26as well as code enforcement and other

1:32:28departments utilize that I world system

1:32:32uh to put leans and taxes on the bills.

1:32:35>> Okay. uh echo uh council member Harris's

1:32:39point on um tax sales for adjudicated

1:32:42properties in the city. I mean obviously

1:32:45we're in a cash crunch. Anything we can

1:32:47do to come up with money is a good step

1:32:49in the right direction but I understand

1:32:52we're onboarding a new vendor. So um but

1:32:54as soon as we can do that that would

1:32:56help all of us. Um I wanted to touch on

1:33:00business personal property because you

1:33:01had some information on that. Uh, is

1:33:04that reported directly from the

1:33:06businesses themselves? Is that

1:33:08self-reported?

1:33:09>> Businesses are supposed to submit a LAP

1:33:115 to the Orleans Parish Assessor's

1:33:13Office and from there we receive that

1:33:16data to generate the bills.

1:33:18>> Is there is there anything to make sure

1:33:19that information is being reported

1:33:21accurately?

1:33:25I think

1:33:25>> or do you know of of

1:33:27>> well as far as treasury if they come

1:33:31into our office we would direct them to

1:33:33the assessor's office but it's

1:33:35imperative that uh businesses are

1:33:38communicating to the city and the

1:33:39assessor open and close dates as well as

1:33:42ensuring that they're submitting those

1:33:44LA fives annually.

1:33:46>> Okay. And then I saw in the slides um

1:33:48increased communication improve

1:33:50communication with the assessor's

1:33:52office. So, I think that's a another

1:33:54good step in the right direction. But

1:33:56thank all of you for your time today.

1:33:59>> Council member Morurell,

1:34:02>> thank you. Um, couple of quick

1:34:05questions. I don't think I have that

1:34:06many. Um,

1:34:10Mr. Willard already uh touched on the

1:34:12fact that we are now budgeting for debt

1:34:15service in the general fund. did think

1:34:16that it might be worth explaining the

1:34:20the

1:34:22it might be worth explaining side slide

1:34:25one and slide six slide yeah slide eight

1:34:30where it is we are budgeting now from

1:34:34the general fund for debt service but we

1:34:38are removing from the non-general fund

1:34:43debt service previously so explain why

1:34:46we are doing that procedurally cuz I

1:34:47think that if someone is watching this

1:34:49at home they're like well are we robbing

1:34:51Peter to pay Paul or what is the economy

1:34:53of doing this? Yeah, I think the overall

1:34:56approach there is that this is truly

1:34:58owed by the general fund and using the

1:35:00general fund sources of cash. And so by

1:35:03putting it in a non-general fund, to me,

1:35:06it's kind of like we're it wasn't

1:35:08presented accurately because we didn't

1:35:11have another source of cash to pay for

1:35:14that um that service.

1:35:16>> Right. I I I think that's an important

1:35:18important distinction to make because

1:35:20the reality is that when you have debt

1:35:22service, it's a reoccurring cost that

1:35:25requires reoccurring revenue to to be

1:35:28identified to pay it. And by putting it

1:35:30in non-general fund, it is kind of a

1:35:34budget gimmick to try and present that

1:35:37it is not a reoccurring cost and

1:35:38therefore is eligible for other sources

1:35:40of funding. So, I I am heartened and I

1:35:44appreciate y'all doing it that way

1:35:46because though it is certainly makes our

1:35:48life a bit more difficult in that we

1:35:50have to have it compete with other

1:35:53reoccurring [snorts] expenses, it is the

1:35:56honest way to do it because at the end

1:35:57of the day, if we don't account for it

1:35:59properly, then we run the risk of

1:36:02pretending that that money is eligible

1:36:04in the general fund when it is actually

1:36:06accounted for. So, I appreciate y'all

1:36:08doing that. um with ADP uh the ADP uh

1:36:13the ADP I think it's on page two. Um

1:36:17just so everyone's aware you guys the

1:36:19the payroll system that you guys

1:36:21implement is used by all departments.

1:36:23Correct. Yes.

1:36:24>> So ADP what you're paying for the same

1:36:26ADP that NOPD uses every single

1:36:29department in the city uses. Correct.

1:36:30>> That's correct.

1:36:31>> Okay. I just it's I think it's important

1:36:34because we're going to see throughout

1:36:35these budget presentations there are

1:36:38costs that are allocated to one

1:36:40department that are actually a cost of

1:36:42all departments.

1:36:43>> Yes.

1:36:44>> Just like the audits for example uh uh

1:36:47previously the audits were housed in the

1:36:48New Orleans City Council in our budget.

1:36:50>> Correct.

1:36:51>> Though there are costs that the whole

1:36:53city bears and so part of the reason why

1:36:55that's now in your budget is because

1:36:57it's an audit issue. It just made sense

1:37:00procedurally to put it with the group

1:37:02that does the audit. So, I wanted to

1:37:04account for that. Uh, budgeting for

1:37:06retirement. I see that on page three,

1:37:08you guys are budgeting for I believe it

1:37:11is

1:37:12one person that's leaving midyear.

1:37:15>> Yes, we have one person who's retiring

1:37:17uh mid year.

1:37:18>> Yeah. So just for those of you who are

1:37:20watching uh the thousands or the

1:37:22millions or watching at home um part of

1:37:24that process we're trying to do in all

1:37:26departments is we have to budget for

1:37:28terminal leave for those people who are

1:37:30leaving at some point. Previously we did

1:37:33not budget for it though it occurs.

1:37:36Correct.

1:37:36>> So as a department you guys are talking

1:37:38to the people who are eligible for

1:37:40retirement and trying to figure out when

1:37:42they're going to retire so that you can

1:37:44budget for it. Correct.

1:37:45>> Correct. I mean that's what we're doing

1:37:46spec specifically within our office. But

1:37:48I think that should be something that

1:37:49department should do across the board,

1:37:51>> right? Because if that per if a person

1:37:53in any department decides to leave and

1:37:56they separate from the city and they

1:37:58have obligations the city has to pay

1:38:01that comes out the budget regardless.

1:38:03Correct.

1:38:03>> It does. Yes.

1:38:04>> So when you don't budget for terminal

1:38:06leave, it just creates a mid-year budget

1:38:08deficit if you have multiple people

1:38:10leaving.

1:38:10>> Correct. And just to be clear, they do

1:38:12have the option to get the actual cash

1:38:13payout, but they can also apply to

1:38:14additional credible service, which will

1:38:16give them a higher pension. So they it's

1:38:17just their choice. I can apply it for

1:38:19pension for additional credible service,

1:38:21higher pension, or I can take the cash.

1:38:23>> Well, we know from a lot of reporting

1:38:25that we have many people who chose the

1:38:26cash.

1:38:27>> So So I think that if

1:38:29>> I applaud y'all for using that as a

1:38:32practice, I hope other departments are

1:38:34paying attention because uh as I said,

1:38:37there's no money tree. So, if you are a

1:38:38department and you go and you do not

1:38:41account for terminal leave, I think

1:38:43something that's incumbent upon the

1:38:44council is that as we're looking at

1:38:45mid-year cuts, the idea is that if you

1:38:48are a department that did not account

1:38:50for terminal leave and many people

1:38:52leave, there's this idea we're going to

1:38:54find that money somewhere, I would

1:38:56encourage all departments to hear me

1:38:58now. That comes from your budget. So if

1:39:01you have people that leave and you don't

1:39:03account for it, we're not going to go to

1:39:05the money tree out back to get the

1:39:07money. We're going to have to relook at

1:39:09your own budget and you're going to have

1:39:11to live within your means. So if their

1:39:13department's not accounting for terminal

1:39:14leave right now, I would encourage you

1:39:16to do it because it's much more awkward

1:39:18when you have many people leave and then

1:39:20suddenly you don't have print paper, you

1:39:23don't have water, you don't have

1:39:24whatever the things you thought you had

1:39:26in your budget previously. So I

1:39:27appreciate y'all doing that. um

1:39:31retirement. So, um I think there's two

1:39:34slides. There's one on 11, one on 16. Uh

1:39:36I appreciate that y'all are doing some

1:39:38efficiencies like text messages and

1:39:40reducing overhead. Um who is responsible

1:39:44for the termination of colas for

1:39:45retirees. Is that also within your

1:39:47department?

1:39:47>> It's within the the board's uh

1:39:50discretion. Correct.

1:39:51>> Okay. Cuz I know that we did some

1:39:52changes a couple of years ago that make

1:39:54colas feasible. Um, is there any effort

1:39:58to budget for a potential cola for 2027?

1:40:03>> We not for There will be a onetime cola.

1:40:05There's uh

1:40:06>> we will do we do a onetime cola like

1:40:08every year, but I I it's only a flat

1:40:10500. We're actually have our actual

1:40:12we're looking at what a 1% increase and

1:40:14when I when we say cola an increase in

1:40:16the actual monthly benefit, right?

1:40:18>> We're looking at both a one time and a

1:40:205%. It's not in this year's budget.

1:40:22>> Okay. Uh but we will be look the board

1:40:24will actually be looking at it at its

1:40:25October meeting. We'll have those

1:40:26numbers put forth. The last time we

1:40:28looked at it, it was north of $20

1:40:29million to do%. They're very expensive

1:40:32because it is the gift that keeps on

1:40:34giving once you promise that 1%

1:40:35increase. There's no taking it back

1:40:37again. It's the gift that continues to

1:40:39give. Uh so to answer your question more

1:40:41directly, we are looking at it, but it

1:40:42will not be in the 2027 budget. At the

1:40:44earliest, it will be in the 2028.

1:40:46>> Right. So right now uh what so you're

1:40:49accounting for a one time not for a

1:40:52permanent co-inking

1:40:52>> that's correct.

1:40:53>> Okay. [clears throat]

1:40:55>> And for the retirees who are watching

1:40:56the one time I think we started that two

1:40:58years ago maybe two years ago. So um the

1:41:01one time that we have given retirees

1:41:03that we do it every December. We try to

1:41:05do it around Christmas. Right.

1:41:07>> It's uh we look at what the end of the

1:41:08year we've now since the council has

1:41:10been gracious enough to move it forward.

1:41:11It's every February now.

1:41:12>> Okay.

1:41:13So, so the the one we're budgeting for

1:41:16the one time that will continue and

1:41:18we're looking at feasibility in 2028 of

1:41:21doing an actual real cola.

1:41:22>> Correct. 1% and the 5%.

1:41:24>> Okay. Yes.

1:41:25>> Um, let's see what else I had.

1:41:28>> Oh, I think Oh, uh, also page 12, we

1:41:32talked about the audits. I want to also

1:41:35give kudos to the fact that audits are

1:41:37continuing to go up. I know that at one

1:41:38point uh as we're coming out of the

1:41:41pandemic and the like audits were down

1:41:44significantly. We're up now to 200. Um

1:41:47as council member Harris said and as you

1:41:49said Romy, I think that anything we can

1:41:51do to hire more auditors we should be

1:41:53doing because the ROI is 4.6 to1. So I

1:41:57will readily support any effort to hire

1:42:00as many auditors as possible because as

1:42:02you said, no matter how many auditors we

1:42:03hire, they're not enough. And there are

1:42:06plenty of individuals I know that we

1:42:08have even [snorts] begun to hear from

1:42:09people with the amnesty. They're going,

1:42:11"Whoa, wait a second. I've looked back

1:42:12on my books. I really need to figure get

1:42:14straight with my sales tax audits." I

1:42:16think anything that we can do as a

1:42:18council, if you identify any mechanism

1:42:21to hire more auditors, we will work with

1:42:23you diligently to hire as many as you

1:42:26can fill in those seats because that is

1:42:27a direct revenue increase to the city.

1:42:29And that's all I have. Thank you.

1:42:32>> Thank you, Council Member McCarron.

1:42:34Thank you. Um, thank you all for your

1:42:36presentation. I want to ask um this for

1:42:38every department. Can you guys provide

1:42:40us with a a org chart of your

1:42:44department? And and I'm going to ask the

1:42:46CEO from here on out if other

1:42:48departments can also present us with a

1:42:50org chart so we can kind of see. You

1:42:52don't have to put names of people that

1:42:54are on there. Just like, you know,

1:42:56filled, vacant, whatever would be

1:42:58helpful for us to kind of understand

1:43:00how, you know, each department runs. Um

1:43:04I just have a couple additional

1:43:05questions. Um could some of these

1:43:08positions So the FTEES [clears throat]

1:43:10the reduction are these positions being

1:43:13reduced? Are they currently vacant?

1:43:17Okay, they're vacant cuz to council

1:43:20member Morell's point about sales tax

1:43:23audits, you know, I think if there's

1:43:25people that are already in your

1:43:27department that could maybe be

1:43:28cross-trained as well. I don't know if

1:43:31that's something that y'all have thought

1:43:32about, but just a suggestion of of you

1:43:35know

1:43:36>> how you can have and you know if we're

1:43:39having trouble hiring that anybody can

1:43:41be crossrained on that. I don't know.

1:43:43>> Well, there is a cross trainining

1:43:44between accountants and auditors. You

1:43:46have to have so many hours in accounting

1:43:49um in order to qualify for the position.

1:43:52So I don't think there's anyone one free

1:43:55that's going to give up in accounting

1:43:57but um

1:43:59[laughter]

1:43:59>> not hardly

1:44:00>> I would say we have a shortage of

1:44:02accountants um the staff that are not

1:44:05the vacancies that you're seeing um that

1:44:08are not being filled are more of our

1:44:11management development series or um or

1:44:14assistant office workers.

1:44:16>> Okay. And what is the role of the the

1:44:18project manager? I know you said that

1:44:20was something you you guys originally

1:44:21were doing uh out of the house, but now

1:44:24you brought it in-house. What is that

1:44:25person what is their role?

1:44:26>> Well, they manage uh the development,

1:44:29the additional development we're doing

1:44:30with the system, the expansion of the uh

1:44:33sales tax collection system. We're

1:44:34learning as we go. Uh we have uh monthly

1:44:38meetings with municipalities across the

1:44:39country who are using this application

1:44:42and we see what is available there that

1:44:45we can use here. So as those different

1:44:49modules grow, we need a point person to

1:44:51kind of make sure those are moving in in

1:44:54the right direction.

1:44:55>> Okay.

1:44:55>> So we we brought that in house.

1:44:57>> Okay. Perfect. Um that I saw in revenue

1:45:00there's one person that is funded by a

1:45:03short-term rental fund. Is that what

1:45:06does that person do? And then are there

1:45:08other people that are working on

1:45:10short-term rentals, whether it's payment

1:45:12or enforcement, whatever? I know that

1:45:14mostly lives in in in short in um safety

1:45:17and permits, but you guys do process

1:45:19things. Is there anybody else that you

1:45:21can get on that cuz that's a that's a

1:45:23revenue stream and we're about to

1:45:24increase those nightly fees to create

1:45:26more revenue there.

1:45:26>> Absolutely. Uh because we have

1:45:30short-term rentals that report on

1:45:32platforms and individually, we make sure

1:45:35that the individuals who are reporting

1:45:38report timely. So we have an analyst, a

1:45:42revenue field agent who monitors those

1:45:44to make sure that that those filings are

1:45:47timely and if not they go out and make

1:45:49contact with those taxpayers. Uh we do

1:45:51have several support staff as well as I

1:45:54thought an auditor that does the same

1:45:56thing that is funded but I I defer to

1:45:59Mr. Delarge on that but we monitor the

1:46:02program outside of the platform filings.

1:46:05There are individuals who do their own

1:46:07filings.

1:46:07>> Okay. Yeah. I mean, if there's

1:46:09additional people that are working on

1:46:10the short-term rental stuff, then, you

1:46:12know, I would encourage all to kind of

1:46:14just take a look at that and make sure

1:46:15that we are capturing using that funding

1:46:18stream. Um, that's what it's for. Um,

1:46:21and that can kind of alleviate some

1:46:23general fund money um for other

1:46:26employees or whatever, you know,

1:46:28whatever y'all need. But let's I think,

1:46:30you know, during this process of of

1:46:32after hearings and going for the

1:46:34amendment, let's make sure that we're

1:46:36capturing that. Um cuz that is what it's

1:46:38supposed to be used for, too. So, um I

1:46:40think that was everything for me. Thank

1:46:42you, Council Member Green.

1:46:46>> Good morning, and thank you for your

1:46:47presentation. It's good to see you all

1:46:49there. I have a simple question that was

1:46:51the result of a statement that was made

1:46:53um that 2 to 5% of the businesses get um

1:46:57audited. I want to make sure that

1:46:59businesses out there don't think that

1:47:00they have a 95% chance of not being

1:47:03audited.

1:47:04>> Correct.

1:47:04>> Could you explain that statistic because

1:47:06we don't audit every business in Could

1:47:09you explain that so that

1:47:11>> so folks understand?

1:47:13>> So every year we develop an audit plan.

1:47:15We make sure that we have a healthy mix

1:47:18of all industries included. But we may

1:47:20focus on a particular industry. It may

1:47:22be one year it may be construction. Uh

1:47:25the others may be retail, restaurants,

1:47:27bars, hotels, the like. So what we do

1:47:32though uh each auditor has in their

1:47:35inventory a mix of audits because each

1:47:38audit is different. You learn different

1:47:41industries by performing those reviews.

1:47:44Now when we're in audit assignments, we

1:47:48do generate leads. So if we find that

1:47:52taxpayers are doing business with

1:47:54unregistered businesses, we will pursue

1:47:56those and those uh we we follow through

1:48:00on those because we have firsthand

1:48:02information to perform a review. So

1:48:08what we say is we also conduct many

1:48:11audits or desk audits. Our normal audit

1:48:14review is 3 years plus the current year

1:48:17which it which can take some time. We

1:48:19have scaled back on auditing that longer

1:48:23period of time so that we can do more

1:48:25audits and make sure that businesses are

1:48:27in compliance. What we want to make sure

1:48:30is that businesses are applying the tax

1:48:33law properly. It's not necessarily, you

1:48:36know, it's the gotcha moment. We want to

1:48:38make sure especially for the newer

1:48:39businesses because we try to get to new

1:48:42businesses within the first 6 months so

1:48:44that they understand what the city's

1:48:46expectations are as it relates to sales

1:48:49tax regulations so that we

1:48:51[clears throat] put them on the proper

1:48:52path. We don't want to wait 2 3 years

1:48:55down the line and they've been reporting

1:48:57incorrectly and then penalize them. So

1:49:00we try to reach you know with the many

1:49:02audits because it's a condensed period

1:49:03because they haven't been operating so

1:49:06for a longer period of time. So we try

1:49:08to reach out to newer businesses uh more

1:49:13seasoned businesses. Those take longer

1:49:15[snorts] because they've been in

1:49:16business longer. The longer the larger

1:49:19operations like hotels, major restaurant

1:49:22chains, those will take a longer period

1:49:25of time. But we try to do a healthy mix

1:49:27of all. It's important to understand for

1:49:29businesses that when you don't do the

1:49:32sales taxes correctly, you can run a

1:49:33file not only of the city but also of

1:49:35the state.

1:49:36>> But the state, correct?

1:49:36>> And the state has its auditors. In other

1:49:40words, I guess what I'm trying to

1:49:41emphasize to business is to utilize the

1:49:43services even to call in

1:49:45>> and ask if they need some help relative

1:49:48to how to do correct

1:49:51>> those applications. We and we have uh

1:49:54you know customer service

1:49:55representatives on the first floor of

1:49:57city hall. We are open Monday through

1:49:59Friday 9 to5. Taxpayers walk in all the

1:50:02time. We do not complete the returns for

1:50:04you but we will walk you through it and

1:50:07explain to you exactly what numbers need

1:50:10to go where. So you know we we welcome

1:50:13taxpayers. I think last year a year

1:50:15before it was 14,000 walk-ins for the

1:50:18year. So taxpayers do come in and sit

1:50:21with us and we we urge taxpayers who do

1:50:24not understand to come in and we'll

1:50:26explain it to you.

1:50:27>> Thank you. What are the repercussions

1:50:29for collecting sales taxes and not

1:50:32submitting them to the government agency

1:50:34which is the city?

1:50:35>> So we do levy penalties and interest as

1:50:38well as negligence fees if you don't

1:50:40file within 60 days of the due date. The

1:50:42penalties are 5% per month, which is

1:50:46capped at 25% per month after that fifth

1:50:49month, and 1.25% in interest. That does

1:50:53not cap. So, for as long as you keep the

1:50:56city's revenue, we will charge you for

1:50:59that. Now, in the amnesty period, we are

1:51:03waving the penalty. We do expect 100% of

1:51:07the tax dollars to come in um and 50% of

1:51:11the interest just like any bank if you

1:51:14borrow money you have to pay the

1:51:15interest on it but we're discounting the

1:51:18interest by 50% and waving the penalty

1:51:21and negligence fees 100%.

1:51:23>> I want to encourage our business owners

1:51:24that who collect sales taxes or which

1:51:26collect sales taxes to stop into city

1:51:29hall and find out the facts relative to

1:51:32what you have to do. Um, too many times

1:51:34we have businesses that go out of

1:51:37business and they say, "I'm owe the city

1:51:38thousands of dollars in taxes." Well, it

1:51:41could have been resolved earlier if you

1:51:43just walked into city hall. We're a

1:51:45small city. From wherever you are in the

1:51:47city of New Orleans, it takes you less

1:51:48than a half hour to get into city hall.

1:51:50We welcome you to come in and speak to

1:51:53someone in our various offices, the

1:51:55Bureau of Revenue, the the um Department

1:51:59of Finance, and others. And if there's

1:52:01no one who can give you that help, no,

1:52:03I'm not going to say that cuz you all

1:52:04can always give them the help. So, no

1:52:07excuses. You walk in, you're going to

1:52:08get information that's going to help

1:52:10your business out.

1:52:11>> Great.

1:52:11>> Thank you very much.

1:52:12>> And we do have it online. We we have uh

1:52:14the frequently asked questions. We have

1:52:16a brochure uh that we emailed all our

1:52:19taxpayers. So, there is information out

1:52:21there. Go to the city's website and

1:52:23you'll find it.

1:52:24>> Yeah. I'm trying to incorporate um into

1:52:26people reaching out that fact that some

1:52:28people say, "Oh, I can't understand it

1:52:30online. I don't have anybody to help me

1:52:31online. I've been in business 45

1:52:33[clears throat] years. I never had to do

1:52:34it this way."

1:52:35>> Right. Right.

1:52:36>> We're a friendly to the population city

1:52:39hall. Just walk in and ask.

1:52:41>> Yes, absolutely.

1:52:42>> Okay. Thank you.

1:52:45>> With no more questions and no comment

1:52:47cards, you are free to go. Thank you.

1:52:49Thanks to each of you.

1:52:51Up next we have the CEO's office and

1:52:53we're starting with the office of budget

1:52:55and management.

1:52:59I'm counting the other way. How many

1:53:00left?

1:53:09Sorry.

1:53:40change. You changing

1:53:54Heat. Heat.

1:54:05Heat.

1:54:20Heat.

1:54:53Good morning, council members.

1:54:54>> Good morning. I'm Bri Delarge, assistant

1:54:57CEO. Before I discuss our budget, I want

1:55:00to recognize the budget office and our

1:55:02CEO administrative staff. Their work on

1:55:06this proposal began well before the

1:55:08September introduction.

1:55:10Starting in May, the budget office

1:55:12worked directly with departments and

1:55:14agencies to help them prepare their

1:55:17requests. staff held workshops to walk

1:55:20departments through the budget portal

1:55:22quica and to discuss strategies for

1:55:25building their budgets. They also set

1:55:28aside dedicated times for departments to

1:55:30come to the budget office, ask

1:55:32questions, and get individual assistance

1:55:35leading up to the July 24th submission

1:55:37deadline. That support takes patience

1:55:40and a great deal of coordination.

1:55:43My staff help departments work through

1:55:45their submissions while continuing the

1:55:47office's regular responsibilities.

1:55:50I also want to thank our administrative

1:55:52staff whose work kept the office

1:55:54organized and supported the many

1:55:56meetings and deadlines involved in this

1:55:58process.

1:55:59The revenue estimating conference

1:56:01adopted the 2027 general fund forecast

1:56:04on September the 10th and the mayor

1:56:07introduced the proposed budget on

1:56:08September 22nd.

1:56:10In that short period, the team finalized

1:56:13the numbers, prepared the appropriate

1:56:16legislative documents, and completed the

1:56:18budget book. They put in long hours at

1:56:21the end of a process they had been

1:56:23supporting for months, and I'm proud of

1:56:24what they accomplished. The budget book

1:56:27was an especially important part of that

1:56:30work. We wanted it to do more than

1:56:32present tables and numbers. Our goal was

1:56:34to make the proposal easier for

1:56:36residents and council to understand and

1:56:38to ensure the book reflects Mayor

1:56:41Moreno's priorities and the direction of

1:56:43her administration.

1:56:45As the mayor and CEO said on September

1:56:4722nd, this is a leaner budget. There

1:56:51were no easy or good choices among the

1:56:53items reduced or eliminated to balance

1:56:55the 2027 proposal. Those decisions

1:56:58affect departments and the people they

1:57:00serve, and we'll hear more about that in

1:57:02the coming hearings.

1:57:04My presentation today will now focus on

1:57:06my office's proposed budget, the changes

1:57:09behind it, and the work we plan to carry

1:57:11forward in 2027.

1:57:14Our proposed general fund budget is $2.8

1:57:17million compared compared with 1.5

1:57:20million adopted for 2026, an increase of

1:57:23$1.25 million.

1:57:25Most of that change is in personnel. The

1:57:28proposed personnel budget is 1.7

1:57:31million, an increase of 1.1 million.

1:57:35This primarily reflects the transfer of

1:57:37existing staff from other agencies to

1:57:40establish and support the contracts

1:57:42management office. The increase in the

1:57:45office's budget should be understood in

1:57:46the context of that transfer of

1:57:48responsibil responsibilities and

1:57:50personnel.

1:57:52of the operating increases by $103,000

1:57:56from 936,000

1:57:58to just a little over one million. In

1:58:012026, nine general fund resources

1:58:04supported a portion of citywide postage

1:58:07cost and for 2027, we have placed a full

1:58:10citywide postage cost in general fund.

1:58:15The non the proposed non-general fund

1:58:17budget is 121,000 compared to 350,000

1:58:21adopted for 2026, a decrease of

1:58:24$228,000.

1:58:26This composition also changes. The

1:58:29proposal includes 121,000 in personnel

1:58:32and no other operating funding compared

1:58:35with no personnel and 350,000 in other

1:58:38operating for 2026.

1:58:41The removal of that other operating

1:58:43amount is tied to the citywide postage

1:58:46funding shift I just described. The

1:58:48personnel amount reflects staffing

1:58:50associated with the office's current

1:58:52responsibilities.

1:58:57Our office has also made changes to

1:59:00control costs. We have reviewed vacant

1:59:02positions and left them unfilled where

1:59:05we can maintain essential functions. We

1:59:08cross trainin staff so they can cover

1:59:11work across multiple areas and we have

1:59:13realigned existing personnel as

1:59:16responsibilities have changed including

1:59:18the creation of the contracts management

1:59:20office. We have minimized discretionary

1:59:23spending and centralized certain

1:59:25expenses across the CEO's office that

1:59:27gives us greater visibility into

1:59:29purchases, helps avoid duplication and

1:59:32makes better use of the resources we

1:59:34have. These efforts build on the spend

1:59:37the spending controls the city put in

1:59:39place during 2026.

1:59:42Our goals for 2027.

1:59:44In 2027, the budget office will review

1:59:47department's quarterly expenditure plans

1:59:49against actual spending each month. We

1:59:52will work with departments as conditions

1:59:54change so that their plans remain

1:59:56aligned with the adopted budget. We will

1:59:59also continue evaluating hiring and

2:00:01spending requests against available

2:00:03funding. city priorities and the CEO's

2:00:06controls on other operating

2:00:08expenditures.

2:00:09The contracts management office will

2:00:11move into his first full year. Our focus

2:00:14will be on setting clear expectation

2:00:16with departments, improving consistency

2:00:19in the contracting process, monitoring

2:00:22compliance with contract terms, and

2:00:24supporting timely invoicing and

2:00:26payments. We also want to help ensure

2:00:28agreements are executed before services

2:00:31begin. Our administrative staff will

2:00:33continue supporting the CEO executive

2:00:35office and other CEO divisions as well

2:00:38as well as the mayor's office when

2:00:40needed. They also manage the city's mail

2:00:42room and the timely distribution of

2:00:44mail. The two project managers assigned

2:00:47to the office will coordinate the city's

2:00:49state cooperative endeavor agreements

2:00:51and assist with contracts, budget work,

2:00:53and other special projects as designated

2:00:55by the CAO. The proposed budget asked

2:00:59every office to be careful with the

2:01:01resources available while continuing to

2:01:03meet its responsibilities.

2:01:05My team understands that obligation. We

2:01:07will continue to provide council and

2:01:09departments with the budget information

2:01:11and support they need throughout this

2:01:13process and as the 2026 budget is

2:01:15implemented.

2:01:20>> Thank you. Any questions? Council member

2:01:22Willard.

2:01:23>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh Brandy, thank

2:01:25you for the information and everything

2:01:27that you've been doing uh to help us get

2:01:29out of this financial crisis. A couple

2:01:32of questions. So on the general fund

2:01:34slide, um personnel is increasing

2:01:37attributable to um a agency transfers

2:01:41for positions in the contracts

2:01:43management office. On the agency and

2:01:46office transfers, were those positions

2:01:49backfilled

2:01:50like when they left one office? it will

2:01:52not be backfilled. So it's like like for

2:01:54example that's the one decrease we see

2:01:56in Nord that one position moved to our

2:01:58office the funding also shifted with the

2:02:00person.

2:02:01>> Okay. And um

2:02:04the non-general fund side that is just

2:02:07taking out the postage. Was that what

2:02:10that was?

2:02:10>> So the yes the postage but the the

2:02:12increases on personnel. So, two of the

2:02:14staff that are moving to contracts

2:02:16office primarily will service CDPG grant

2:02:20funding and so there they will retain

2:02:22their grant funding for the majority of

2:02:23their position. They'll have a little

2:02:25bit general fund, but the majority will

2:02:26be grant funded because that's the

2:02:27primary grants they'll be servicing.

2:02:29>> Okay. The the contracts management

2:02:32office, can you touch on that? Is that

2:02:34uh was that created this year?

2:02:36>> Yes. So, it's not fully operational just

2:02:38yet, right? So, we're in the final

2:02:40stages and uh Cameron McAfee, the

2:02:42project manager on Aby's team, is

2:02:45helping us oversee getting that

2:02:46established. And so, that will service

2:02:48the executive um

2:02:51branches, departments for contracts. So,

2:02:55the routing, the management of fiscal

2:02:58from start to finish will be managed by

2:03:00that office. It'll also help us to keep

2:03:02an eye on items of duplicate nature,

2:03:06right? So, why do we have three security

2:03:07contracts? Why are we not combining

2:03:09those costs? Why is this one less? Why

2:03:10is this one more? So, that'll also be

2:03:12more streamlined as well.

2:03:13>> So, historically, that was kind of

2:03:15handled per office, per agency.

2:03:17>> Yes.

2:03:18>> And so, we're putting it all under one

2:03:19roof.

2:03:20>> Yes. All executive branch offices. Yes.

2:03:22>> And how many people are slated to be

2:03:24there for next year's budget?

2:03:26>> We have um an administrator who will

2:03:28oversee that office. There's two

2:03:30supervisors and then each supervisor has

2:03:33three staff. And then the project

2:03:34managers that we have, we're we're

2:03:36tasking part of their work. They will

2:03:38also facilitate contracts as well. Some

2:03:40of the larger heavy lift like our

2:03:42central adjudication hearing officers

2:03:44contracts require a little bit more

2:03:46work. So they'll be assigned to those

2:03:48like they're assigned to the state CAS

2:03:50as well.

2:03:51>> Okay. Thank you.

2:03:53>> You're welcome.

2:03:54>> Anyone else? Council member McCar,

2:03:56>> I just had one. How many staff did did

2:03:59you say were transferred um to to the

2:04:02contract management office?

2:04:03>> I have to get you the exact number cuz

2:04:05we've reduced some. So some of the

2:04:07vacancies that we had, we're using that

2:04:09funding for the project managers who can

2:04:11be multitaskked in more than just one

2:04:13area who can manage multiple things, but

2:04:15we lost about three or four already. The

2:04:17number is around 10 or so, but I can get

2:04:18the number from um the exact number from

2:04:20you.

2:04:21>> And how many of those are are vacant

2:04:23versus

2:04:23>> So none are vacant now. All the

2:04:25vacancies were removed as part of our

2:04:26CAO savings and that work will be

2:04:28shifted in house. So that's what I spoke

2:04:30about earlier, the cross trainining. We

2:04:32have multiple staff, even our

2:04:34administrative staff are trained on

2:04:35contract work, so we don't plan on

2:04:37filling those vacancies for 2027 at all.

2:04:40>> Okay, perfect. Thank you.

2:04:42>> You're welcome.

2:04:42>> I just have a couple questions and

2:04:44Brandy, these may be for you, but maybe

2:04:46they're for CEO Jeruso about specific

2:04:49funds. Um, on page 131, there's M fund

2:04:547015,

2:04:57there's miscellaneous office

2:04:58administration. Do you know what that

2:05:01accounts for?

2:05:02>> What page is that again?

2:05:04>> 131.

2:05:05>> So, um 7015 is not a fund. It's a

2:05:08department code. Okay.

2:05:09>> And so that is a miscellaneous

2:05:11department code for CAO which covers

2:05:13citywide expenditures that don't

2:05:15attribute specifically to the CEO's

2:05:17office. Examples include outside

2:05:19security contract for Martyra, the

2:05:23hotels associated with that in OPSE.

2:05:26That also includes the expenditure for

2:05:28like the LLA. That's not a specific CEO

2:05:30expenditure, but it covers citywide and

2:05:32the CEO manages it, not in 7015, but in

2:05:36that 7,000 bracket. We also have like

2:05:38the retirey healthcare. That's not a CEO

2:05:40expenditure. So, we place it there. We

2:05:42also have a new code 7040 for city

2:05:44advertising that covers citywide

2:05:46advertising. So, that 7,000 why it's

2:05:48called miscellaneous. We trying to that

2:05:50that 7015 is like a catch-all, right?

2:05:52So, we may have different things that

2:05:54come up. Maybe it's a council initiative

2:05:56with the mayor, but it needs it's

2:05:58citywide. It's not for CEO, it falls

2:06:00into that bucket. So, what we did a

2:06:02couple of years ago, instead of having

2:06:03it all in the CEO executive budget, we

2:06:05tried to distinguish those so that 7015

2:06:08will cover those things that will cover

2:06:10more than one area of the city. And it

2:06:11also includes I was just thinking the

2:06:13docuign which goes to our contracts that

2:06:15the mayor, the law department, and

2:06:16others will be using to expedite signing

2:06:19of our contracts.

2:06:19>> Thank goodness for Docuine and and

2:06:21coming into the modern era. Um the

2:06:24details for uh 7015 we can get in

2:06:27Questica.

2:06:28>> Yeah, we can get it to you as well.

2:06:29Yeah.

2:06:30>> Okay, perfect. I think we'd all want to

2:06:31take a look at that. And then um

2:06:33municipal participation grant 7701

2:06:38uh also on that page

2:06:41>> is for arts council. Looks like

2:06:42>> arts council.

2:06:43>> Yeah. So arts council this is where SPCA

2:06:46lives. O2 appears to be council on

2:06:49aging. Um, public defender is 05, SPCA

2:06:53is 7706

2:06:56and 07. I can't recognize that one

2:06:58offhand, but those are for our partners

2:07:00>> and they live they live in that

2:07:01municipal participation grant. Yes.

2:07:03>> And they will come before us later in

2:07:05these next 10 days. All right. Thank

2:07:07you.

2:07:08>> Thank you.

2:07:11Up next we have ITI.

2:07:35Hi council members. My name is Jonathan

2:07:37Whisby and I'm the chief innovation

2:07:39officer for the city and oversee the

2:07:41office of information technology and

2:07:43innovation as part of that role. Um what

2:07:45I wanted to concentrate on on this first

2:07:47slide is some really important context

2:07:49for understanding this which is to say

2:07:52that the 2025 budget and the 2026 budget

2:07:56the transition between those cut about

2:07:574.1 million from ITI from 25 adopted to

2:08:0226 adopted. And really one of the first

2:08:04tasks that the mayor and the CEO gave me

2:08:07um when I was hired in January was to

2:08:10take a look at those cuts and see how to

2:08:12best implement them within the

2:08:14department. Um in about the spring of

2:08:16that year, I determined that we really

2:08:19couldn't implement all of those cuts

2:08:20without some really significant service

2:08:22impacts. And so working with uh the CEO

2:08:25[clears throat] as well as with our

2:08:27partner departments and I think in

2:08:28particular I want to give credit to DPW

2:08:31and to Steve Nelson for their assistance

2:08:33in this. We were able to find other

2:08:35departments that had associations with

2:08:37the programs we delivered. For instance,

2:08:39the payment for our asset management

2:08:42system, the payment for our geographical

2:08:43information systems. Uh and they were

2:08:46able to absorb those payments so that we

2:08:47could continue those services. What the

2:08:502027 budget does is it puts that right.

2:08:53It allows us to continue paying for IT

2:08:56products and enterprisewide IT services

2:08:58that we've always historically paid for.

2:09:00Um, and I also want to note importantly

2:09:02it is still a million dollars less than

2:09:04the 2025 budget. And on the next slide,

2:09:06I'll give you some insight into how

2:09:08those savings were achieved. So from our

2:09:1025 baseline, we're down a million even

2:09:12though from our 26 adopted baseline

2:09:14we're up to 3 million. Um

2:09:18just to kind of ground you in terms of

2:09:21how this impacts both our personnel and

2:09:23other operating budget, the personnel

2:09:25budget increases um from 40 to 42 FTEES,

2:09:30but that is the result of a transfer of

2:09:32four contracted staff to uh full-time

2:09:36civil servant staff. Uh in reality, we

2:09:39actually lost two uh budgeted positions

2:09:41in this 27 budget. So, you know, we uh

2:09:45are seeing a decline in overall staffing

2:09:47even though it appears to be uh an

2:09:49increase. Um on the other operating

2:09:52side, what's this what this does is it

2:09:53does a couple of things. First is it

2:09:55restores some of the funding for core

2:09:57services that was cut with the 26

2:09:59budget. And secondly, it really starts

2:10:01to solve a problem, you know, and I

2:10:02think you've you've heard and you will

2:10:04hear from other departments about sort

2:10:06of hidden costs in the 26 budget. One

2:10:08thing the city has always struggled to

2:10:10do is to fund the ongoing maintenance of

2:10:12IT systems. We can use capital funding

2:10:15to implement them, but then once they

2:10:17are running, we need to pay to maintain

2:10:18them and continue to have that service.

2:10:20And that is an operating cost. And the

2:10:22city historically has not budgeted well

2:10:24for the general fund cost of maintaining

2:10:26those systems after budgeting for the

2:10:28capital cost of implementing them. We

2:10:30see that this year with our asset

2:10:31management system and our 311 system and

2:10:33we're making a commitment to budget for

2:10:35those properly in 2027 so that we don't

2:10:38have an issue with trying to make those

2:10:39payments next year. Um and then you know

2:10:43sort of the final thing to talk about

2:10:44here is to be clear this also includes

2:10:48uh the elimination of furls for my

2:10:50department. So my department was under

2:10:52furls for 2026 it is not for 2027. So

2:10:55part of the increase you see in

2:10:56personnel is also the restoration of

2:10:59that funding to allow uh the employees

2:11:01to come off of furlow. Uh and then

2:11:03finally this allocation for other

2:11:05operating is still 700k less and then as

2:11:07I said before the whole allocation is a

2:11:09million less.

2:11:12Uh so you know I mentioned earlier one

2:11:14of my first mandates was take a look at

2:11:15what we could find in terms of budget

2:11:17efficiencies in the IT budget and we

2:11:19really tackled this a number of

2:11:20different ways and I want to give really

2:11:22a lot of credit to uh the senior staff

2:11:24in my department especially uh my deputy

2:11:27CIO Dennis Kakunga who has really led up

2:11:29a lot of these initiatives uh and our

2:11:31director of operations Kim Lru as well.

2:11:33Uh what we were able to do is eliminate

2:11:36some costs that we didn't necessarily

2:11:38and I want to focus in on this first

2:11:39one. Uh, ITI had a lease on some office

2:11:42space in the DXC building for our cyber

2:11:45command. What we did instead was we

2:11:47transferred that technology to a city

2:11:49hall conference room and we transition

2:11:51to a strategy of more virtual

2:11:52activations and inerson activations.

2:11:54Eliminated that lease. We did a lot of

2:11:56auditing of our licensing. We're able to

2:11:58cut down significantly on our costs for

2:12:00WebEx, for Zoom, uh, cell phone and

2:12:02Wi-Fi service within our department to

2:12:05try to rightsize some of those

2:12:06expenditures. And then we had to we had

2:12:08to decide on some eliminations of of

2:12:10software products and other things as

2:12:12well. In that process, we really tried

2:12:14to look at who's using this, how how

2:12:16often is it being used, what is the

2:12:17purpose it's fulfilling. You know,

2:12:19certainly there were many software

2:12:20products that once we went through that

2:12:21valuation, we decided this would have

2:12:23too severe an impact to the city to cut.

2:12:25But what you see on this list is really

2:12:27uh some that we decided we could live

2:12:28with. And then I want to also spend a

2:12:31second talking about this last item,

2:12:33public Wi-Fi service. Um, I think in

2:12:36general we would want uh a robust public

2:12:38Wi-Fi strategy within the city of New

2:12:40Orleans. The issue we have here is that

2:12:43the public Wi-Fi as it was installed uh

2:12:46under the prior administration was a

2:12:48little bit offset with other priorities.

2:12:49So for instance, we installed public

2:12:51Wi-Fi at Duncan Plaza. Within a couple

2:12:53of months, there was a fence put up

2:12:54around Duncan Plaza and the public Wi-Fi

2:12:57service there was hardly ever used. We

2:12:59looked at utilization rat rates for

2:13:01Lafayette Square for the public Wi-Fi.

2:13:04There was a little bit more use of that,

2:13:05you know, just shy of about a thousand

2:13:07users a month um with a little bit

2:13:09higher maybe during the Martyra period.

2:13:11Um we talked with the DEDD and a couple

2:13:13of other entities and decided we could

2:13:15remove this without significant uh

2:13:17service impacts as well. So that was

2:13:19sort of the process we went through to

2:13:21try to determine what we could find

2:13:23savings for uh in some of the decisions

2:13:25that we had to make.

2:13:28So I want to talk a little bit about

2:13:302027 goals. Uh in this first one I think

2:13:33it risks being a bit of a buzzword

2:13:35efficiency culture if I don't go into

2:13:36some detail on what I mean by that. So I

2:13:38want to give you a couple of examples.

2:13:40Um you know the first example I would

2:13:42say is we've done a lot of auditing of

2:13:45licensing this year and really our next

2:13:47step is to institutionalize some of that

2:13:49auditing to make sure that there are

2:13:50regular points at which it is constantly

2:13:52reviewing these licenses making sure

2:13:54that they're right sized and that we

2:13:56don't end up in a situation where usage

2:13:58of a particular program is dropped off

2:13:59but we're still paying for it as if it

2:14:01was being heavily utilized. Uh I also

2:14:03think it's about being

2:14:04solutionorientated and trying to find

2:14:06ways to solve problems without uh having

2:14:09to contract a vendor necessarily. Uh

2:14:11there was a 2024 letter the OIG wrote uh

2:14:15to the police department and to the CEO

2:14:17saying basically there's an existing

2:14:19issue here with uh detail scheduling in

2:14:22the city where the systems where police

2:14:24officers get scheduled in ADP don't talk

2:14:26to the systems that uh OPSC uses to

2:14:29schedule those details. uh and they had

2:14:31suggested you should go out and buy a

2:14:32vendor or software product to solve

2:14:34this. So, we're actually put able to put

2:14:36together a really important team. Uh,

2:14:38and you know, I do want to give a lot of

2:14:39credit here to that team. Aqua Gordon,

2:14:42JB Rash, Fabian, Barbara, Matt CG,

2:14:44MenopD. Uh, and what this team did is

2:14:47they worked over about a 3-month period

2:14:49to develop a way to integrate those

2:14:51systems so that now four times a day,

2:14:53ADP police officer schedules are being

2:14:55pushed to the OPSC system and no OPSC

2:14:58coordinator can schedule a detail during

2:15:00that time. So if there is a detail

2:15:02someone wants to work and they say

2:15:03actually something's just wrong with my

2:15:05my schedule in the system, they have to

2:15:06call up the supervisor and get them to

2:15:08change that schedule if that is indeed

2:15:10true. Uh and then the last thing I want

2:15:12to talk about on this is really uh

2:15:13integrating artificial intelligence into

2:15:16the way that we do things as well. Um I

2:15:18will say because of the way the city is

2:15:20resourced, we have really had a strong

2:15:22preference for vendor AI solutions. And

2:15:26some of the ways that we are looking to

2:15:27improve that is uh you'll see in a

2:15:29future slide I talk a little bit about

2:15:31um or that later in this slide replacing

2:15:33the permitting system for the city uh

2:15:35which was acquired well over 15 years

2:15:37ago. Um one of the core requirements

2:15:41that we're planning on putting into that

2:15:43RFP is the requirement that there be an

2:15:46initial AI review of documents uploaded

2:15:48by individuals who are looking to apply

2:15:50for permits. The current process as our

2:15:53understanding is from safety and permits

2:15:55is that there is sometimes a lot of

2:15:56delay from when the person uploads a

2:15:58document then a safety and permits

2:16:00person has to review it and determine if

2:16:02it's the appropriate document and then

2:16:04they communicate with the customer and

2:16:06that back and forth can last for days or

2:16:08sometimes weeks. So what we want to be

2:16:10able to do is at the point of upload say

2:16:12hey wait a second that document you

2:16:14uploaded actually isn't what we're

2:16:15looking for for this particular need.

2:16:17you need a document that has X or Y on

2:16:20it or a document you can find here and

2:16:21help to assist the customer at the point

2:16:24of application. So, we're looking for a

2:16:26lot of those vendor solutions. There are

2:16:28ways that we're looking to try to

2:16:29demonstrate and pilot uh more local AI

2:16:32uses, but I would say that for the most

2:16:34part, the way the city will really

2:16:36utilize AI in the coming year or two is

2:16:38going to be through vendor supported

2:16:39solutions because that really expands

2:16:41our capacity to be able to utilize these

2:16:43tools to their full um benefit.

2:16:47Next sort of uh on this list is cyber

2:16:49security. Obviously, there are going to

2:16:51be limits to how much I can talk about

2:16:53this in a public forum, but I do want to

2:16:55just make the council and the public

2:16:56aware. We have partnered really closely

2:16:59with uh SESA, that's a cyber security

2:17:01infrastructure security agency at the

2:17:03federal level. Um they have helped us

2:17:05organize a tabletop cyber security

2:17:07exercise earlier this year that we had

2:17:09really robust participation in from our

2:17:11local and regional homeland security

2:17:13entities. Um they also helped really

2:17:15conduct an intensive two-eek review of

2:17:17our cyber security defenses and were

2:17:19able to decrease our risk score by about

2:17:2285% in uh 3 months after that review. So

2:17:26they've given us a lot of really

2:17:27actionable items that we've been able to

2:17:29implement that have made the city more

2:17:30secure and I think our plan for the next

2:17:33year is to continue to build on that and

2:17:34implement some of the larger and large

2:17:37larger and more time-sensitive uh items.

2:17:40Um the next item we see on here 311

2:17:43system. You know last month the city

2:17:44council was gracious enough to approve

2:17:47uh a contract that allowed us to move

2:17:49forward with the uh acquisition of the

2:17:51311 module which will be fully

2:17:53integrated with our asset management

2:17:55system currently. One of the big holes

2:17:57that we have in 31 run right now is that

2:17:58there is no connection there uh in the

2:18:01current systems address based. So it's

2:18:03really difficult to line up to

2:18:05particular assets. Someone might say the

2:18:07corner of, you know, two streets, but

2:18:10you may it may actually mean, you know,

2:18:12the traffic light that's facing this way

2:18:14or that way, and it's hard for them to

2:18:15indicate it. The new system will allow

2:18:17them to indicate what specific asset

2:18:19they're calling about and also allow

2:18:21them to keep track of the updates that

2:18:22are made as that work item goes through

2:18:25the asset management system. So, we're

2:18:27excited about that. We anticipate a

2:18:29launch date of about Q2 of 2027. Uh, so

2:18:32we'll look forward to that. certainly

2:18:34will come to present to the council as

2:18:35we move towards that launch date. Um the

2:18:38next item on here uh the justice

2:18:40technology modernization project. I I

2:18:42don't know how much the visibility of

2:18:44this is in the community but for about

2:18:46the last 3 years the city spent about 30

2:18:48million in ARPA dollars really becoming

2:18:51a model in the country for how to

2:18:53integrate criminal justice IT systems.

2:18:55Uh and they've put in place really and

2:18:57this is due to really the the hard work

2:18:59of Nathaniel Weaver who's been on this

2:19:01project leading it. It's a really

2:19:02monumental accomplishment and our job is

2:19:04to continue to make sure that that

2:19:06continues to function. Uh in full

2:19:08disclosure, we didn't get additional

2:19:10dollars to do this in 27 in the proposed

2:19:13budget. So there is, you know, some

2:19:15additional funding needs that are

2:19:17required. Uh it to the degree that we

2:19:19don't receive them in any amended

2:19:21budget, we'll just have to we'll have to

2:19:22make additional cuts to our our core IT

2:19:24services. So that is an item that you

2:19:26know exists out there. Um, but this is

2:19:29something that's very very important to

2:19:31maintain uh for the overall health of

2:19:33the criminal justice system. Uh, I

2:19:36talked a little bit about the llama

2:19:37replacement already. This is a really

2:19:39important thing. I've assigned my deputy

2:19:40CIO to lead this requirements gathering

2:19:43process. We're hoping to release a

2:19:45solicitation sometime in the November

2:19:47time frame. Uh, and we're spending the

2:19:49time in between now and then talking

2:19:50with the dozens of different departments

2:19:52that interact with permitting to ensure

2:19:54that we understand the requirements. And

2:19:56then the last one on there, uh, I just

2:19:58want to make sure people understand we

2:20:00do have an April 2027 deadline we're

2:20:03working towards on accessibility for our

2:20:06website. Um, because we have a

2:20:08decentralized uh, website model, a lot

2:20:11of our content editors at departments

2:20:13rather than centrally located within

2:20:15ITI. And so what our web team's been

2:20:17doing has been uh, really going out and

2:20:20training a lot of these people on how to

2:20:21make documents accessible. Uh, and this

2:20:24is particularly for people with visual

2:20:25or audio disabilities, but it can be for

2:20:27a lot of different uh, potential

2:20:29disabilities. And so we're training them

2:20:31so that the objects that they upload to

2:20:33our website in the future are created in

2:20:35a way that they're accessible to people

2:20:37with those disabilities. And so that's

2:20:39something we're very focused on with

2:20:40that April deadline uh, looming as well.

2:20:43And that is the conclusion of my

2:20:44prepared presentation. I'm happy to take

2:20:46any questions you have.

2:20:47>> Thank you. Are we looking at other

2:20:48cities for the replacement of llama and

2:20:50what they use or how are you identifying

2:20:53the new system that would replace it?

2:20:55>> Yeah, I I think we wanted to start with

2:20:57initial process of requirements

2:20:58gathering internally. uh our system is

2:21:01very complex and I think permitting

2:21:03systems in general uh the regulatory

2:21:06frameworks very heavily between cities

2:21:08and so we wanted to first start with a

2:21:10really a review of um what we needed

2:21:13from it which each of our individual

2:21:14departments and their individual review

2:21:16processes required right things like the

2:21:18VCC HDLC they don't always have analoges

2:21:21in other in other communities that being

2:21:23said I think before the release of the

2:21:25RFP part of that process is particularly

2:21:28looking at how other entities these have

2:21:30structured their RFPs that you know

2:21:32resulted in systems that you know we

2:21:34believe are are you know among the

2:21:36leaders in the industry uh and just

2:21:39learning from that as well but we have

2:21:41not done exhaustive search of other

2:21:42cities at this point.

2:21:43>> So your uh November timeline is to issue

2:21:45the RFP

2:21:47>> Yeah. to issue the solicitation. Yeah.

2:21:48>> Solicitation. Um and then there would be

2:21:50of course an implementation.

2:21:52>> Yeah. The implementation timeline is

2:21:54hard to talk to because we haven't

2:21:55gotten responses back. you know, I would

2:21:57ballpark it at about a year, but it

2:21:59could be a little bit longer, a little

2:22:00bit shorter than that. Um, but I I don't

2:22:03expect it to be a quick process.

2:22:05>> Okay. And then just on 311 system,

2:22:07you're saying Q2 of 2027. Is that right?

2:22:11Full implementation.

2:22:12>> That's correct.

2:22:13>> Okay. All right. Uh, Council Member

2:22:15Willard.

2:22:17>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Jonathan, you

2:22:20said the personnel increase is largely

2:22:23attributable to your uh team coming off

2:22:26of furloss.

2:22:27>> The the well, I say there's two factors.

2:22:29It's coming off of furlows and then it's

2:22:31the addition of the two positions that

2:22:34result from the four contractor

2:22:36conversions. So, in that case, it's not

2:22:38actually diminishing the overall budget.

2:22:40It's shifting from operational to uh

2:22:42personnel.

2:22:43>> Were those contract positions coming out

2:22:45of your budget before?

2:22:46>> Yes, out of the operating budget. So but

2:22:49now you have benefits associated and

2:22:51everything like that. Um is it is it

2:22:54cheaper to have them inhouse or

2:22:56>> in the aggregate we will save several

2:22:59tens of thousands of dollars by doing it

2:23:01but on a per position basis it varies

2:23:03significantly.

2:23:04>> Okay. All right. Um, on the other

2:23:08operating side,

2:23:11I see where you have 750,000

2:23:14for those maintenance payments and the

2:23:17new 311 system and then you're restoring

2:23:20the budget. Um, if you take out that

2:23:23750,000, you're still looking at, you

2:23:26know, about a million and a half uh in

2:23:28other operating costs going up. Is that

2:23:31just restoring some of the things that

2:23:33you scaled back this year? Yeah, that's

2:23:35so you know we normally pay the contract

2:23:38for EZRI which provides our geographical

2:23:40information systems allow us to do our

2:23:41maps. If you've seen the ICC map that's

2:23:44you know required through that and

2:23:45there's a lot of systems that rely on

2:23:47that mapping technology. We have always

2:23:49paid for that. This year I had to go to

2:23:51DPW and say Steve you are a main

2:23:54consumer of this and I cannot fund it in

2:23:56my budget. Would you be able to pay for

2:23:58that this year? It's not an ideal way

2:24:00to, you know, structure this type of

2:24:02budgeting, but it was unavoidable

2:24:04because of the cuts that we received.

2:24:06Uh, and so what this does is next year

2:24:08allows me to continue to fund it as we

2:24:10have in prior years.

2:24:11>> Okay. Are there other examples of of

2:24:14stuff like that where maybe other

2:24:15agencies, departments share the cost,

2:24:18but in best practice, it should be

2:24:20funded under your department.

2:24:23So I I think there's a there's a mixture

2:24:25and some of these are historical you

2:24:27know reasons rather than necessarily

2:24:29best practice reasons. I think what we

2:24:31have tried to do is say if you have what

2:24:33we would define as enterprisewide system

2:24:35which would be generally two or more

2:24:37departments that are frequent users that

2:24:39it probably should be a thing in the IT

2:24:40budget. There are exceptions to that.

2:24:42You heard finance has brass in their

2:24:44budget. They have ADP in their budget.

2:24:46Those were implemented primarily as

2:24:48financial systems and so historically

2:24:50that's how they've been budgeted. uh and

2:24:51they have considerable staff to support

2:24:53those systems. For most other systems

2:24:56that would be more than one department,

2:24:58we would be the preferred uh way of of

2:25:01budgeting for those and certainly for

2:25:02your you know licensing for things like

2:25:04Microsoft and and other things.

2:25:06>> Okay. um

2:25:09the slide where you lay out the um 1.1

2:25:14million in cost savings in 2026

2:25:17um was that exclusive for ITI's budget

2:25:22or did there were there savings in other

2:25:24departments?

2:25:25>> Uh certainly other departments achieve

2:25:27savings that we helped them with but the

2:25:29all of these items are items that

2:25:31specifically were in the uh ITI budget.

2:25:34>> Okay. Um, so that 1.1 million, um, was

2:25:39that does that mean you spent 1.1

2:25:42million less than you were budgeted or

2:25:44that was your that was your way to

2:25:46>> less of historical spend?

2:25:48>> Gotcha.

2:25:48>> Yeah. Right. Because again, we received

2:25:49about a $4 million cut and I couldn't

2:25:51find a way to fully absorb that without

2:25:54really serious impacts to our cyber

2:25:56security or our our regular services.

2:25:59>> So that was the way you rightsize the

2:26:00shift this year. Right? We we tried to

2:26:02stick to where do we find efficiencies?

2:26:04Where do we get rid of programs that

2:26:06aren't being utilized sufficiently and

2:26:08not let's cut down to the bone and get

2:26:11rid of really core capabilities that you

2:26:14know residents and departments depend

2:26:16upon.

2:26:16>> Okay. Thank you,

2:26:19>> Council Member McCarron. Um okay so h

2:26:22how many this is why I've asked for a

2:26:25you know org chart going forward if you

2:26:28guys can submit it to me um or to us uh

2:26:32how many FTEEs do you have currently

2:26:34total

2:26:35>> currently I believe we have 39 uh three

2:26:39of the contractors are still uh on

2:26:41contract

2:26:42>> okay 39 and you're you're budgeted for

2:26:4540 so you'll have one additional hire

2:26:47this year

2:26:47>> I believe we're budgeted for 42

2:26:5041. Am I reading that wrong?

2:26:53>> Um, and in the budget book it says 40.

2:26:56>> Gotcha.

2:26:59>> So, is it 40 or

2:27:01>> I thought I thought I saw 41 or 42

2:27:04somewhere. So,

2:27:11yep. I

2:27:13see the 40. I think one of these

2:27:17positions has an allocation of I'll see

2:27:19here two

2:27:24I did review it this morning and I

2:27:26thought I counted an additional one. Uh

2:27:29I may have made an error in that but I

2:27:31can get back to you with the clarifying

2:27:32information.

2:27:33>> Okay. Yeah. I mean unless you know it

2:27:35just says general fund 40 positions

2:27:37proposed 2027

2:27:39adopted in 2020.

2:27:41>> So I think maybe I'm off by one then. I

2:27:43think we probably have 38 now um or 37

2:27:47now that have an inclusion of three

2:27:49additional contractor allocations.

2:27:51>> Okay. Um my other question I know you

2:27:55you talked about the 311 system. What

2:27:58are the do you know the overall cost of

2:28:00the system

2:28:02>> of the new system

2:28:03>> and what what's like the difference?

2:28:05What will it enable us to do?

2:28:07>> Yeah. So the current system is funded

2:28:09through OPCD and I don't know the cost

2:28:12of it currently but it's relatively

2:28:14minimal because it was developed in

2:28:16house effectively and they're just

2:28:17paying for quickbased licensing. Um the

2:28:20incremental cost of maintenance for the

2:28:2331 system which is in my budget is

2:28:25approximately $100,000. Okay.

2:28:27>> Um the implementation cost uh I'm going

2:28:32to forget it. It was it was in the 500

2:28:33to 600,000 range somewhere around there.

2:28:36But that is being funded through capital

2:28:37rather than through operating.

2:28:39>> Okay. And so going forward, your budget

2:28:41will have the ongoing maintenance. And

2:28:43are we receiving anything from OPCD on

2:28:46that or like are they helping out with

2:28:48the cost?

2:28:48>> I I have not had that conversation with

2:28:50Carl.

2:28:51>> Okay. But they will still be the one

2:28:53>> for certainly for 2027. I believe

2:28:55they'll have to maintain that cost

2:28:57because we're not implementing until

2:28:58partway through the year. But I would

2:29:00imagine that they will see some savings

2:29:02in 2027 and then certainly in 2028 there

2:29:05will be a savings. But again, I think

2:29:07their overall costs are relatively

2:29:09minimal because they designed the

2:29:11program themselves and so it's not

2:29:13really vendor supported. It's just some

2:29:15licensing.

2:29:16>> Okay. And when you guys have a full roll

2:29:19out of that, h will you have a a public

2:29:22meeting to kind of talk about so

2:29:24constituents are aware, you know,

2:29:26whether there's going to be any gaps of

2:29:27service and changes that they can

2:29:30anticipate. Um, obviously for district

2:29:33council members, that's where everything

2:29:34goes to get out to every department. So,

2:29:39um, as much as information that you can

2:29:41give us ahead of time is helpful.

2:29:43>> I I think we'll need to do that. Uh just

2:29:45as full disclosure from what we know now

2:29:47and again we're very early in the

2:29:49process of implementation. So there may

2:29:50be other things that arise. Um we're

2:29:53learning that the importation of past

2:29:56tickets is really problematic into the

2:29:58new system because of the way that the

2:30:00past tickets were characterized. Um so

2:30:03we may need to make a decision about how

2:30:05many of the past tickets we import if we

2:30:07import them at all. And that would be

2:30:09something we would have to do, I think,

2:30:10in collaboration with the council and

2:30:12with the community to really say here's

2:30:14the limits that we have and here's what

2:30:17the potential consequences are. We want

2:30:18to hear from you about how to best l

2:30:20limit or mitigate those consequences. So

2:30:22I think it will there will have to be a

2:30:24public input pro input process along

2:30:26with it. But I would like to get a

2:30:28little deeper in implementation because

2:30:29there's still things I'm sure I don't

2:30:30yet know that will be problematic that

2:30:33will come up as there usually are in

2:30:34these types of projects. Will we lose

2:30:37all that data?

2:30:38>> No. No. Uh the data will exist period.

2:30:42It's stored locally and there's not not

2:30:44going to be a loss of data. The question

2:30:46is basically how the new system intakes

2:30:48that data and associates it with assets

2:30:51and it's a complicated thing because the

2:30:54previous system was address based. And

2:30:56so a lot of times a resident was given

2:30:58no choice but to choose a specific

2:31:00address for the the problem they were

2:31:02reporting. in that address

2:31:06street. Yeah.

2:31:07>> Right.

2:31:08>> Okay. Um

2:31:11Yeah. Okay. Definitely let us know about

2:31:14that. Um cuz Yeah. My concern is that

2:31:17we're going to miss some service

2:31:19requests that we don't know about and

2:31:21then we'll have no record and then it

2:31:23kind of, you know, everything goes back

2:31:25into a new queue. Um which can be

2:31:28complicated. So

2:31:30>> yeah, I think there's a solution we can

2:31:31work out. I think it it would be best

2:31:33developed in partnership with the

2:31:34council and the community. Uh but I

2:31:36wouldn't worry about the data being

2:31:37lost. It's just a matter of how the data

2:31:39uh is treated within the new framework.

2:31:42>> Okay. Thank you.

2:31:45>> Council member, can I just make a

2:31:46comment? So I noticed what came up with

2:31:48John. It's going to come up with Abby

2:31:49when she presents in Christina. We're

2:31:51looking at the personnel total. So in

2:31:53some of these cases, the we didn't add

2:31:55add extra people, right? So I'm looking

2:31:57at how the budget was completed for 2026

2:32:00with our transition team and in certain

2:32:02cases as we had the right size parts of

2:32:04the budget there were random selected

2:32:06codes in CEO. So while CAO has reduced

2:32:08some of their personnel across the board

2:32:10they may have selected one of these cost

2:32:12centers. So Abby didn't add new people.

2:32:14Christina didn't add new people neither

2:32:16did John except for the contractors. And

2:32:18so that is going to be a case for some

2:32:19of these offices that is pulled in

2:32:20Questica that 2026 amendment update for

2:32:23the budget. That's how some of the

2:32:24budget was completed. Right now Abby and

2:32:27I are completing the 2026 amended

2:32:29budget. So there are some personnel

2:32:31shift changes for actuals but none of

2:32:33these areas are included because we're

2:32:35not over budget in the CO agency are in

2:32:37the 7,700s right now. So that is

2:32:40something for Christina and Abby. So

2:32:42when we get to those slides to give you

2:32:44some preface on that.

2:32:45>> Okay. Yeah. I did notice there's some

2:32:47some in CIO miscellaneous there's a

2:32:50couple of um 7,000 funds that have 7015

2:32:55has has a FTE and some other things.

2:32:59>> Yeah. So some of those are accurate. We

2:33:00can go over in detail with you, but

2:33:02specifically Aby's going to be

2:33:03presenting on 7030 and 7016 and it shows

2:33:06an increase in her personnel dollar

2:33:07total. But what happened is when some of

2:33:09the actuals were done, instead of saying

2:33:12maybe it came out of these cost centers

2:33:13based upon actuals, they chose just

2:33:15those cost centers and a lump sum amount

2:33:17which wasn't even enough to fund one

2:33:19person in some cases. So what they're

2:33:21presenting now is budgeting for actuals.

2:33:23There were no new hires in those areas

2:33:25to exceed what we had at the start of

2:33:272026.

2:33:28>> Okay. Thank you.

2:33:28>> You're welcome. Thank you,

2:33:30>> Council Member Moro.

2:33:32>> Thank you. Um couple of quick questions.

2:33:36Uh well maybe not so quick. Uh I

2:33:39appreciate you all budgeting for

2:33:40maintenance cost. I think that's

2:33:41important that uh we differentiate

2:33:43between the installation cost which is

2:33:45capital versus the maintenance cost

2:33:47because as we know even in this chamber

2:33:50as we speak maintenance costs are not

2:33:52insubstantial. So I appreciate that's

2:33:54being accounted for. Um when it comes to

2:33:57the IT part of ITI have you guys

2:34:00identified any duplicative services? say

2:34:03that because the council for example, we

2:34:05have a we have an IT person,

2:34:09but if you have a functioning city hall

2:34:12situated IT office, it is not necessary

2:34:15for departments themselves to have IT

2:34:18persons if they're centralized IT. Have

2:34:20you all gone through the various

2:34:22departments at city hall to see how many

2:34:23have individually assigned IT workers

2:34:26outside of your office? I haven't done a

2:34:28comprehensive study, but I've certainly

2:34:30looked at some specific departments,

2:34:32council included. Um, you know, I think

2:34:34our issue becomes when you consolidate

2:34:37them, it now takes away some level of

2:34:39service from that department where

2:34:41they're used to having someone sort of

2:34:43available to them at all times. And

2:34:45we've had some friction there in terms

2:34:46of meeting the needs of all of our

2:34:48client departments. Uh, that being said,

2:34:50I think that there are certainly some

2:34:52institutional benefits to such a

2:34:53strategy. uh and I'm definitely happy to

2:34:56work with any department that's

2:34:57interested.

2:34:58>> I think it's something that I think it's

2:35:00something that we kind of have to go

2:35:01beyond the uh talking to the

2:35:04departments. I think it's something we

2:35:05to look at very closely because when

2:35:07you're talking about for example the

2:35:09availability of replacement equipment

2:35:11and the like having all of that

2:35:12centralized with you like for example if

2:35:14you got a council member who has a

2:35:16deficient laptop the person who's our IT

2:35:19person is going to go to your department

2:35:21hopefully to see what is available to

2:35:23replace it without this think it's

2:35:26duplicative when the person who needs to

2:35:29provide the replacement of the service

2:35:31is going to just be interfacing with you

2:35:33as the master IT department to provide

2:35:36the service to the council as a whole.

2:35:38So, I know for us, I would appreciate

2:35:41you looking at all the departments that

2:35:42are centrally located in one building

2:35:44and seeing if we could centralize the

2:35:46services cuz it could save a lot of

2:35:47money. Um, I want to dig into the ops

2:35:51conversation and Mr. Duso was nodding

2:35:53when he said this. I I will be very

2:35:55candid and I'm going to say this to

2:35:57Chief Kpatrick when he comes in

2:35:58tomorrow. I do not know why OPSC exists.

2:36:03I understand the idea behind it which uh

2:36:06was by prior mayor Mitch Landrew that

2:36:09decentralizing detail management was

2:36:12somehow going to prevent the aorta of

2:36:13corruption. Obviously that's not the

2:36:16case because we've seen plenty of cases

2:36:18pop up since then. Um what concerns me

2:36:22is so for those of you the three people

2:36:26watching right now on the internet or

2:36:27the thousands Mr.

2:36:29Um,

2:36:31when it comes to details, when an

2:36:33officer is hired to do a detail, they

2:36:35tag on a $5 to $8 fee that is collected

2:36:39by OPSE to manage said detail. And that

2:36:45is a cost for the most part that OPSE

2:36:48keeps to have OPSE exist. Now, there's

2:36:52problems with that. one, as you said,

2:36:54we, and I'm going to be candid, not your

2:36:56fault, Jonathan, but I think we wasted

2:36:59money trying to put OPSC to work with

2:37:02ADP because many of the conflicts you've

2:37:05seen over the years are that OPSC

2:37:08separately as a department did not

2:37:10communicate with ADP. So the reason why

2:37:12you see all these instances in which

2:37:13officers are double dipping or accused

2:37:16of double dipping is because because

2:37:18those two systems did not communicate

2:37:20you could have duplicative entries.

2:37:23Whereas in a centralized ADP system that

2:37:27physically cannot happen if you try to

2:37:28put in time where ADP is identified

2:37:32time's already been assigned you

2:37:33literally cannot have duplicate hours.

2:37:35So

2:37:37the fact that we in my opinion not your

2:37:40fault but opinion wasted money trying to

2:37:42make these systems talk I think that the

2:37:46second eye and ITI the innovation part

2:37:49as I told Mr. Daruso, if you have a

2:37:52functioning centralized system that

2:37:54covers overtime and details centralized

2:37:58in NOPD or in the city through ITI, you

2:38:02just don't need OPSE and that $5 to 8

2:38:06that is captured for management that

2:38:08becomes money that rather than paying a

2:38:11third party to exist is now part of the

2:38:14city budget. Uh I think the other excuse

2:38:17that was used for the creation of OPSC

2:38:19was that at the time the administration

2:38:21did not believe they wanted to generate

2:38:24an additional retirement benefit. That

2:38:26was a silly argument to begin with

2:38:28because overtime and details do not go

2:38:30towards base retirement at all. They

2:38:33never have and they still don't. So what

2:38:36I want to encourage you and I've told

2:38:37Mr. Jerusalem this repeatedly is that

2:38:40almost every other law enforcement in

2:38:43the greater New Orleans area operates

2:38:44under a quarterm system where the

2:38:47department itself assigns details. They

2:38:50collect the money from the details for

2:38:52the overhead. And part of the benefit of

2:38:54that is that they create a quarter

2:38:56master where for example bulletproof

2:38:59vests, uniforms, part of the benefit of

2:39:02having the department manage it is that

2:39:05they provide those items. As you know,

2:39:07right now, uh, NOPD officers are provide

2:39:09a kind of useless stipen for equipment.

2:39:12But if you look at the cost of equipment

2:39:14versus the stipen, the two do not

2:39:16remotely carry each other. I would

2:39:18encourage I know this is probably get me

2:39:20some hate but the uniforms for example

2:39:23and I'll talk to Chief Krypach about

2:39:25this tomorrow. We are the only

2:39:28department utilizing this baby blue

2:39:31uniform and we are paying a premium

2:39:34because every other department in the

2:39:36country has shifted away from it. So, we

2:39:40are paying a vendor to produce a

2:39:43specific color for a specific shirt that

2:39:46we are paying an exclusive premium on

2:39:48for it to exist.

2:39:51Now, think about that for a second.

2:39:54Why are we paying more money to have a

2:39:57specific color of a specific uniform

2:39:59when there's an economy of scale just

2:40:01looking what is the cheapest color for a

2:40:03uniform? Because right now, because

2:40:05officers are paid a stipen to replace

2:40:07their own uniforms, if the cost of that

2:40:10uniform exceeds the stipen, they're

2:40:12paying for replacement uniforms. In

2:40:15Jefferson Parish, for example, because

2:40:17they manage their details, when an

2:40:19officer rips a shirt, they give him a

2:40:22new shirt. When officer's bulletproof

2:40:24vests get beyond their expiration date,

2:40:26they give them a new bulletproof vest.

2:40:28there's no interruption in the use of

2:40:30equipment because the details themselves

2:40:34pay for that equipment. So, I would

2:40:37encourage you to go to the second eye

2:40:39and look at the innovation piece because

2:40:41as we're going to have Chief Kurpatre

2:40:43come down here tomorrow and complain

2:40:44about all the money she doesn't have,

2:40:46there are opportunities through

2:40:49innovation to have the department

2:40:52generate money that it can utilize for

2:40:54its needs that do not require us to

2:40:57raise taxes at all. It just requires us

2:41:01to consolidate existing services in a

2:41:04way that a by having a centralized

2:41:07system whether it's ADP or something

2:41:08else you eliminate the opportunities for

2:41:12double billing completely two by not

2:41:15paying for this vestigial tale that is

2:41:18OPSE to exist we're not paying these

2:41:21people to kind of exist to oversee a

2:41:24program that [snorts] through very

2:41:26simple I mean you probably already have

2:41:28three ideas in your head on how we could

2:41:29do this like

2:41:31just having a centralized logging system

2:41:34where we assign officers based upon

2:41:37request. We can do this ourselves

2:41:39cheaper and have the city actually use

2:41:42the money rather than paying for a

2:41:44department we don't need. So I would

2:41:45[snorts] encourage you while we're doing

2:41:47this budget process, we're looking at

2:41:49ways to generate money that doesn't

2:41:51require tax increases. That is something

2:41:54we can do right now that I think we

2:41:56should really work at trying to

2:41:58accomplish.

2:41:59>> Thank you.

2:41:59>> I need you to innovate, Jonathan.

2:42:01>> No, no, thank you. I will say some of

2:42:02that information I wasn't previously

2:42:04aware of and so I appreciate it and

2:42:06we'll certainly take a look at it. I I

2:42:07do want to clarify one thing, which is

2:42:09to say certainly we used resources on

2:42:11this project, but we didn't actually

2:42:13incur additional costs. So, I just want

2:42:15to clarify that one. Okay. But I think

2:42:17>> well I appreciate we didn't throw good

2:42:18money after bad wasting money try and

2:42:20make those two things talk when really

2:42:21the simplest thing to do would be

2:42:22eliminate one of them and have a

2:42:24centralized system. So I I'll work with

2:42:26you offline on that but I think it's

2:42:27something we can accomplish in the short

2:42:29term that could really have a boon to

2:42:31officers in the city. Thank you.

2:42:33>> Thank you council member Green.

2:42:36>> Good morning and thank you Jonathan for

2:42:37the presentation. Um I want to make this

2:42:42as unpolitical as I can. I'm going to

2:42:44look to my CEO.

2:42:46Talk to me and the public about the

2:42:48Orleans Parish Communications District.

2:42:52Is that a city agency? And why are we

2:42:54incurring cost to upgrade the technology

2:42:58and the [clears throat] work that is

2:42:59being done by an agency that is not a

2:43:02city agency? So, the first question that

2:43:04I'll ask is my coun is my um CEO. Under

2:43:08whose jurisdiction does the OPCD fall?

2:43:12OPCD is a state agency.

2:43:14>> OPCD is a what? A state agency.

2:43:16[clears throat]

2:43:17Yet, the city of New Orleans is

2:43:19obligated to invest significant

2:43:22taxpayers dollars in an institution that

2:43:26provides services on a regional level.

2:43:28Am I correct with that?

2:43:31>> Yes, I believe so.

2:43:32>> Yes. You know, you know what I'm doing.

2:43:33[clears throat] At the end of the day,

2:43:34it's yet another obligation of the city

2:43:36of New Orleans relative to something

2:43:39that I'm not blasting the state because

2:43:42some of this is just etched into

2:43:45policies that haven't been analyzed for

2:43:47a while. But I think that um Councilman

2:43:51CEO, I'm going to say that for a while

2:43:52cuz we served for 4 years. CEO Jeruso, I

2:43:55appreciate your work. I appreciate the

2:43:57fact that you are accomplished um

2:44:00long-term member of the council who is a

2:44:03law a member of the bar who's a lawyer

2:44:05who has a lot of options and you've

2:44:07chosen to be here with the city of New

2:44:08Orleans. So I thank Mayor Moreno for

2:44:11what it took to have you here. You also

2:44:13are able to answer questions based on

2:44:15your experience. So my general question

2:44:18to you is that a is that an issue that

2:44:20we should be exploring the city spending

2:44:24local taxpayer dollars to invest in

2:44:27enhancements to 311, which is a good

2:44:29idea, but that fall under the under the

2:44:32cost jurisdiction of just the citizens

2:44:34of New Orleans.

2:44:36>> I guess if if I could just address the

2:44:38311 part, I think there's a broader

2:44:40policy issue here you're bringing up

2:44:41that that is very pertinent and deserves

2:44:43to be discussed. But on the 311

2:44:46specifically, I just want to say

2:44:47historically it was a city cost and the

2:44:50city incurred that expense to host. ITI

2:44:53actually was the host of 311 for a

2:44:55number of years. Um, and when you look

2:44:57at other cities budget, often it is

2:44:58considered a local service because the

2:45:00people responding to those 311 incidents

2:45:02are city departments. Uh, and so I think

2:45:05in that particular case, OPCD took it

2:45:08over for a reason not I'm not entirely

2:45:10aware of. Uh but I do think it is

2:45:12inherently and should be primarily a

2:45:14city responsibility and so that

2:45:16particular part I think is reasonable

2:45:19but I I get your point more broadly

2:45:21about the use of city resources. I'll

2:45:23let Joe address

2:45:24>> John I mean I think John pretty much

2:45:25answered the way I would have which is

2:45:28this one's a little bit trickier because

2:45:30there is obviously state management in

2:45:32the district itself as I answered as a

2:45:34state agency. At the same time, I think

2:45:37it's fair to say that 311 calls and

2:45:39certainly 911 calls generally are

2:45:42related to city quality of life issues,

2:45:44safety. So again, this is this is one

2:45:47that is a balancing act and I know that

2:45:49you're trying to achieve that as are

2:45:51other members of the council and then

2:45:53certainly um you've been very clear

2:45:55about other state obligations and how do

2:45:57we just work collectively to try to

2:45:59resolve those going forward and

2:46:00>> not everything that I bring up is just

2:46:02for the sake of controversy. It's a good

2:46:04statement that we work well with the

2:46:06state of Louisiana, but we work well

2:46:08with the state of Louisiana in many

2:46:10other areas and OPCD is a good is a good

2:46:13example. We help keep the citizens of

2:46:15our city and in some respects our region

2:46:18unless you tell me that if someone calls

2:46:20311 they can't report on something in

2:46:23Jefferson Parish. Can they report on

2:46:24something in Jefferson Parish? And I

2:46:26don't know. So I'm asking you something

2:46:28that I will ask you that I will tell you

2:46:30that I just don't know the answer. I've

2:46:31never had anybody say, "I called in to

2:46:33311 and reported something in St.

2:46:36Tammy." Is that something that they can

2:46:38do?

2:46:39>> Uh my understanding is that it's

2:46:40geoenced in the same way that 911 is. Uh

2:46:44and so depending upon the jurisdiction

2:46:45that you're starting that call from,

2:46:47you'll be referred to that

2:46:48jurisdiction's uh hotline effect.

2:46:51>> So for example, if you call 311 from

2:46:53Jefferson Parish, it connects to whom?

2:46:57Jefferson Parish OPCD. Okay, that's

2:46:59fine. Just wanted to clarify that, but

2:47:01that was just also for the public. But

2:47:03the bottom line is that we work well

2:47:05together on a lot of issues and we're

2:47:06going to be bringing enhancements to 311

2:47:09that are going to be involving our IT

2:47:11service here. And it's a good thing

2:47:13we're doing it within a state agency.

2:47:15That's all. Thank you very much.

2:47:19>> Any other questions?

2:47:21And no public cards. We can move on to

2:47:23the next. Great. Up next is the Office

2:47:25of Service and Innovation/performance

2:47:27and Accountability.

2:47:44Hi everybody. My name is Abby Via and

2:47:46I'm the chief performance officer and I

2:47:49lead the Office of Service and

2:47:50Innovation and the Office of Performance

2:47:52and Accountability.

2:47:54Um, so on this slide, as Brandy said,

2:47:56thank you Brandy for uh prefacing this

2:47:58in the 2026 budget, we were not budgeted

2:48:01for the cost of our actual FTEES that

2:48:03existed in both offices as of January

2:48:052026. So that has been corrected for

2:48:082027. So the increase here from 563,000

2:48:13to 1.2 million is primarily attributable

2:48:16to adjusting for our actual personnel.

2:48:19Uh we have seven FTEEs across the office

2:48:22of innovation and OPA. We also accounted

2:48:25for uh as every other department did the

2:48:28true cost of health insurance, workers

2:48:30compensation um to make sure that we're

2:48:32fully budgeting for all of those

2:48:33positions. And on the other operating

2:48:36side, you'll see a reduction of the

2:48:38$17,500

2:48:40uh which is essentially the elimination

2:48:43of any um other operating funding we'll

2:48:45have in lie of having our own budget. we

2:48:49will consolidate with other CIO units um

2:48:52on any office [clears throat] supplies

2:48:53or purchases throughout the year to

2:48:55hopefully decrease that overhead cost.

2:48:58Um so as I said, those are the two

2:49:00factors here that you see on the slide.

2:49:02Overall, we're not a super expensive

2:49:04office, so the numbers that I'm

2:49:05presenting on today are relatively

2:49:07small, but I'm happy to answer any

2:49:08questions about them.

2:49:12>> On the not

2:49:13>> Can I just I just want to interrupt one

2:49:14second. Um, there are many fine

2:49:17departments in the city of New Orleans.

2:49:19Poundfor-pound, you get the most value

2:49:21out of the Office of Performance and

2:49:23Accountability, Service Innovation. And

2:49:25I'm not saying that that there aren't

2:49:26other ones, but when you talk about,

2:49:28let's just take the overtime issue that

2:49:30Council Member Moral raised. They're the

2:49:33ones who build the dashboard. They're

2:49:34the ones who create the information.

2:49:36They're the ones who follow up with all

2:49:37the departments. They're the ones who

2:49:39follow up on an objective basis for

2:49:41everything. So, um, there's a lot of

2:49:44really important things the city of New

2:49:46Orleans does that provides

2:49:48services to the city, but also so many

2:49:51of the questions today council members

2:49:52have asked have been geared towards

2:49:54measuring and management and so much of

2:49:56that is really housed inside OPA and SMI

2:49:59and sort of make sure they're getting

2:50:01the proper information. Thank you.

2:50:03>> Yeah. No, thank you. Um, on this slide

2:50:06here, this is the non-general fund

2:50:07appropriation to the department. Um,

2:50:10this reflects a handful of grant funed,

2:50:13excuse me, grant funded positions that

2:50:15are assigned to the grants management

2:50:16office within the chief administrative

2:50:18office. I believe those are three FTEEs

2:50:21and there's no other operating

2:50:23appropriation in non-general fund.

2:50:27And on the budget efficiency slide, uh

2:50:30primarily we just didn't spend any money

2:50:32that we didn't essentially have to spend

2:50:34on payroll. Um, so we forewent all other

2:50:37operating expenditures in 2026. We buy

2:50:40our own water. We buy our own coffee. We

2:50:42did not attend any of the conferences we

2:50:44were invited to attend this year. Um,

2:50:46we've also consolidated several senior

2:50:48positions under the office. Um, also

2:50:51responsibilities are shared across the

2:50:53CEO leadership team, many of who are at

2:50:55the table today. Um, but we previously

2:50:57had a full-time chief of staff position,

2:50:59a director of innovation position, and a

2:51:01director of administration and planning.

2:51:04uh we no longer have any of those

2:51:05positions. Uh we have consolidated those

2:51:07functions across the senior team.

2:51:11Uh what I do also want to mention which

2:51:12isn't outlined on this slide is the team

2:51:15both the innovation and OPA staff's uh

2:51:18to Joe's point connection to

2:51:20[clears throat] a lot of the budget

2:51:21efficiencies that you'll be hearing from

2:51:23the departments over the next few weeks

2:51:25and in particular last year as we uh saw

2:51:28spending trends headed toward a notable

2:51:31spending deficit in 2025. a lot of the

2:51:34work that was done to reduce spending in

2:51:352025. Um, instituting a spending freeze,

2:51:39reducing overtime spending, uh, working

2:51:42with departments to minimize any

2:51:43non-essential purchases. Um, as well as

2:51:48responding to the both state

2:51:49requirements and, uh, local requirements

2:51:52on reporting, which were contingencies

2:51:55for the city's revenue anticipation

2:51:57note. Uh, a lot of that effort came out

2:52:00of the innovation and OPA offices. Um,

2:52:02we have a small team. We worked closely

2:52:05with budget and finance to accomplish a

2:52:07lot of that. But I do just because I

2:52:10literally have the microphone um want to

2:52:12shout out the work from those teams just

2:52:14to make it through the end of the year

2:52:15last year to ensure that we could

2:52:17continue to make payroll for city

2:52:18employees citywide and meet

2:52:20[clears throat] our obligations. And

2:52:22then of course this year um working with

2:52:24departments on creating budget

2:52:26efficiencies, uh instituting quarterly

2:52:28spending reviews with departments,

2:52:31continuing to see reductions on overtime

2:52:33spending, uh developing revenue

2:52:35enhancement measures. Um and I think a

2:52:38lot of that work is part of why we're

2:52:39sitting here in a much different

2:52:40position than we were a year ago today.

2:52:46And as for next year, um a couple of the

2:52:48goals that we have are outlined on this

2:52:50slide. I won't go line for line, but a

2:52:52couple of the ones I really want to

2:52:53highlight are the stat programming. So,

2:52:56this is really an effort that um I

2:52:59believe under Mayor Landrew and under

2:53:01John Wisby really took legs, but this is

2:53:03around using data to inform policy

2:53:06decisions. you know, monitoring uh

2:53:10performance indicators and metrics

2:53:11across departments and across functions

2:53:13to understand where resources should be

2:53:16allocated and where departments can

2:53:18potentially adjust how they're operating

2:53:21um to improve their service delivery and

2:53:23their efficiencies internally. And so

2:53:26we've seen a lot of that focus on the

2:53:28Department of Safety and Permits this

2:53:30year. Um I want to give a shout out to

2:53:31Cameron Mcy who's the associate director

2:53:33of OPA. Um he's meeting with the mayor

2:53:36this afternoon to discuss a public

2:53:37facing dashboard on permitting. Um and

2:53:40he's worked closely with Susanna Kirby

2:53:42to stand that up. We're very excited

2:53:43about it and I think it's a model that

2:53:45can be replicated for other departments

2:53:47um in 2027 and beyond.

2:53:51Uh as has been discussed here before,

2:53:52we're working on the reprocurement of

2:53:54our parking and traffic photo

2:53:56enforcement and collections vendors. Um

2:53:58that's going to be a large undertaking

2:54:00and that solicitation is in its final

2:54:02phases now.

2:54:04uh before it hits the streets and is

2:54:06open for bid. We're working to

2:54:08understand with the department of

2:54:10finance our cash level transactions and

2:54:12our grant reimbursement mechanisms and

2:54:14building uh tools like PowerBI to

2:54:17extract that data from brass to be able

2:54:19to give decision makers and the

2:54:21departments a better understanding of

2:54:23exactly how all of our bank accounts and

2:54:25different transactions are occurring. Um

2:54:27that has been instrumental in

2:54:29understanding our cash flow this year.

2:54:31Um, and obviously that is something the

2:54:33Department of Finance has led, um, and

2:54:35we've continued to support is just

2:54:37understanding how much cash do we have,

2:54:39where is the cash, um, and what that's

2:54:41going to look like going forward. Um and

2:54:43then generally working on transparency,

2:54:46continued collaboration with

2:54:48departments, understanding where we can

2:54:50both improve service delivery for

2:54:51communities and residents, but then also

2:54:54uh find internal efficiencies to keep

2:54:56overhead costs low and increase revenue

2:54:58opportunities wherever possible

2:55:00[clears throat] and appropriate. Um as

2:55:02Brandy mentioned, the the new contracts

2:55:04management office is opening next month.

2:55:06We're excited to continue to support

2:55:08that effort and ensure that um

2:55:10coordination is happening across the

2:55:12contracts management uh citywide and um

2:55:18we also do a lot of work around the uh

2:55:21Orleans Parish Prison and their jail

2:55:23healthcare contract. And so continuing

2:55:25to work alongside the sheriff's office

2:55:27and the health department and the office

2:55:29of criminal justice on those efforts,

2:55:31especially headed toward uh the phase 3

2:55:33extension. And lastly, uh just continued

2:55:37use of data across city departments um

2:55:40to give departments the tools that they

2:55:42need to be able to understand the impact

2:55:44they're having, how can they improve

2:55:46their service delivery or also how can

2:55:48they just promote their service

2:55:50delivery. A lot of departments are doing

2:55:51wonderful things and have made huge

2:55:53strides and so we want to be able to

2:55:54give them the opportunity to share that

2:55:56publicly or um monitor it internally.

2:56:01Um, with that, that is my presentation

2:56:04and I'm open for any questions.

2:56:06>> Thank you, Abby. I just want to um thank

2:56:08you for working closely with Dominique

2:56:10in my office to get that data dashboard

2:56:12up on the mayor's office uh side and the

2:56:15city council side showing real time uh

2:56:18budget to actuals and spending. I think

2:56:21that was a good step in the right

2:56:23direction. I do look forward to seeing

2:56:25the millillage uh calculator up and

2:56:28running and I I think that's very

2:56:30important. How many FTEEs do you have

2:56:32that are general fund funded?

2:56:36>> We have seven FTEEs.

2:56:37>> And then the the grant funded that would

2:56:41be three FTEEs.

2:56:42>> Three. And what happens when those

2:56:44grants are out?

2:56:45>> So those grants I believe are grants we

2:56:48expect to continue through 2027.

2:56:50Just to give I know that this a little

2:56:52bit uh strange that we have those

2:56:54positions in the office budget here. Um

2:56:57I think this predates back to when we

2:56:59initially received ARPA funding and the

2:57:01first uh sort of ARPA project manager is

2:57:05to Wisby's point, Jonathan's point. Um

2:57:08Nathaniel Weaver really led up the

2:57:09Justice Tech modernization program that

2:57:12predated the ARPA project management

2:57:14office. And so Nathaniel was placed in

2:57:16the innovation office and he functions

2:57:18as um my one of my director ports even

2:57:21though of course he's uh super

2:57:23autonomous but he is budgeted out he has

2:57:25historically been budgeted out of

2:57:26innovation and now that we shift out of

2:57:29having this large ARPA funded ARPA PMO

2:57:32we now have and we've reduced that

2:57:34significantly. We are now using the best

2:57:36and brightest of that team and deploying

2:57:38them on the grants management side. um

2:57:40they are funded with long-term grants in

2:57:43uh the absence of the ARPA funding that

2:57:44expires this year and that's why you see

2:57:46them in our office.

2:57:47>> I would also say that they were

2:57:48traditionally funded with general funds

2:57:50but because we're able to shift some of

2:57:52the funding to grant to offset the

2:57:53general fund, we will do that in any

2:57:55situation where we can. So they were

2:57:57already on general fund. So this

2:57:58actually helps the budget for this year

2:58:00and going forward as long as we have

2:58:01those grants.

2:58:02>> Okay, great. And I I love the use of

2:58:04data to inform policy. Uh Council Member

2:58:06Willer, did you have your button pushed?

2:58:08Okay. Council member McCarron,

2:58:12>> I think actually you asked my question

2:58:14about the FTEES. Um

2:58:17you said that 2026 though you were under

2:58:19budgeted.

2:58:21>> Yes, we um we were budgeted at an amount

2:58:24to Bry's point that did not accommodate

2:58:27the existing seven FTEES and their cost.

2:58:30Um I think it was a decision made during

2:58:31the transition around reducing personnel

2:58:33costs uh with not a corresponding

2:58:36reduction in the actual staff. So none

2:58:38of us were laid off during the

2:58:40transition. Uh we had no new hires in

2:58:432026. So it's the same people who were

2:58:45here in January. Uh we're just making

2:58:47sure that that funding is appropriately

2:58:48accounted for.

2:58:49>> Okay. And then and so you're just

2:58:51budgeted for seven FTEES general fund

2:58:55this year and then three grant funded

2:58:59for next year.

2:59:00>> That's correct.

2:59:01>> Okay.

2:59:02>> Okay. Thank you.

2:59:03>> And we'll get you an org chart.

2:59:05>> Yes, please. One just one follow-up

2:59:07question to council member McCarron.

2:59:09Does this take are you guys furoughed?

2:59:11>> Um yes, partially furled. I'm furoughed.

2:59:14Certain people have been exempted based

2:59:15on the nature of their duties and I

2:59:17believe that the people who are fully

2:59:19grant funded are also exempted.

2:59:21>> So part of this amount the 712 accounts

2:59:24for the non-furl in 2027.

2:59:26>> Correct. No furlows are incorporated

2:59:28into our 2027.

2:59:29>> And just going forward for any of these

2:59:31presentations are we taking into account

2:59:33for personnel the furlow versus

2:59:35non-furl?

2:59:36>> There are no furlows included in the

2:59:382027 budget. So every personnel increase

2:59:41that you will see will assume no

2:59:42furlows. um most departments have at

2:59:46least a couple employees who are furled.

2:59:49So even the police department or others

2:59:51uh you know you'll see a little bit of

2:59:53an uptick in that. There are only a

2:59:54couple of departments that I can think

2:59:55of that are fully exempt as of now. So

2:59:58you won't see any impact on the furlow

2:59:59being eliminated in 2027.

3:00:01>> Thank you.

3:00:02>> The health care cost should be

3:00:04>> included too as well. That went up over

3:00:06$2,000 per employee and the workers comp

3:00:09increased as well. So that you may see

3:00:10an a department I think we have civil

3:00:13service coming up. They didn't have any

3:00:14new employees but they show a slight

3:00:16increase in because of those fringe

3:00:17benefits as well.

3:00:18>> Okay. Got it. Thank you. Any other

3:00:20questions? All right. Let's move on.

3:00:24>> All right. I think next up is uh is

3:00:28office of labor and employee relations.

3:00:30And kind of much like Brandy Christina

3:00:33and her team do things behind the scenes

3:00:36that are unsung. So, um, most of the

3:00:39things are that affect us on a

3:00:40day-to-day basis, but not everybody sees

3:00:41it. So, Christina,

3:00:44>> good morning, council members. I'm

3:00:46Christina Hamilton, assistant CEO for

3:00:48human resources. Thank you for the

3:00:50opportunity to present the Office of

3:00:52Employee and Labor Relations proposed

3:00:532027 budget and priorities. Our office

3:00:56includes employer relations, personnel

3:00:58and training, benefits administration,

3:01:00and recruitment. I'll briefly review our

3:01:03proposed budget, highlight our 2027

3:01:06health plan cost containment strategy,

3:01:08and discuss our key workforce

3:01:10priorities. Our proposed 2027 general

3:01:13fund budget is approximately 3.9 million

3:01:16compared with approximately 3.74 million

3:01:18in the 2026 adopted budget for an

3:01:21overall increase of approximately

3:01:23$159,000.

3:01:25personnel increases by approximately

3:01:27$364,000

3:01:29due to budgeting for actuals which

3:01:31assistant CEO Delarge just explained due

3:01:33to the budgeting process that took place

3:01:35during the transition [clears throat]

3:01:37and our other operating decreases by

3:01:39approximately $25,000 or 37.2%.

3:01:44We will continue to coordinate across

3:01:45CAOHR and other CAO divisions to reduce

3:01:48duplicative spending, streamline the use

3:01:50of available resources and operate as

3:01:53efficiently as possible.

3:01:56One of our most significant areas of

3:01:58focus for 2027 is managing the cost of

3:02:00the city's self-funded health care plan.

3:02:03The city's recent claims experience

3:02:05demonstrates the need for action. In

3:02:072025, gross medical claims were

3:02:09approximately $53.5 million compared

3:02:12with approximately $44 million in 2024.

3:02:15Gross pharmacy claims were approximately

3:02:17$26.3 million compared with

3:02:19approximately $16.8 million in 2024.

3:02:23Overall plan costs were approximately

3:02:25$80.7 million and net employer cost was

3:02:28approximately $62.3 million. As a

3:02:31self-funded plan, the city bears the

3:02:33financial impact of claims experience.

3:02:36These trends reinforce the importance of

3:02:38managing cost while balancing the impact

3:02:40on employees, retirees, and their

3:02:43families.

3:02:45Hub International is the city's healthc

3:02:47care consultant and they have identified

3:02:49more than $31 million in potential

3:02:51savings associated with a range of

3:02:53health plan changes. After evaluating

3:02:56the available options and their

3:02:58potential impact on both employees and

3:03:00plan participants, the city elected to

3:03:02pursue a more measured approach with a

3:03:04combination of initiatives representing

3:03:06approximately 11.95 million in savings

3:03:10versus the 14.8 million you see on your

3:03:12slide. I'm going to make that update

3:03:14shortly. The strategy is diversified

3:03:17across the plan design, pharmacy,

3:03:19eligibility, and coordination of

3:03:21benefits, site of care, and employee

3:03:23contributions rather than relying on a

3:03:26single cost reduction measure. Please

3:03:28note that the narrow network option

3:03:30listed on the presentation is not being

3:03:32implemented at this time.

3:03:34The projected components are

3:03:36approximately $3.9 million from plan

3:03:38design, $2.7 million from pharmacy

3:03:41initiatives, $3.08 million from

3:03:44eligibility and coordination

3:03:45initiatives, $1.64 million from site of

3:03:48care strategies, and $647,000

3:03:52from employee contributions.

3:03:55For active employees, 2027 introduces

3:03:57two medical plan options. The active PO

3:04:01has a $1,000 individual deductible.

3:04:03Employees will also have a new

3:04:05highdeductible health plan with a $3,000

3:04:08deductible using the choice network.

3:04:11Compared with 2026, the PO has a higher

3:04:13cost sharing in several areas, including

3:04:16the individual deductible, individual

3:04:18out-of- pocket maximum, office and

3:04:19specialist co-pays, emergency room

3:04:22co-pay, and certain pharmacy co-pays.

3:04:24However, the family out-of-pocket

3:04:25maximum decreases from $13,500

3:04:28to $12,000 and employees gain a second

3:04:31medical plan choice. The highdeductible

3:04:33health plan provides lower employee

3:04:35payroll deductions than the PO, but

3:04:37carries a higher deductible. Of course,

3:04:39it is an HSA compatible plan under the

3:04:41current design. There are no employer

3:04:44HSA contributions assumed at this time.

3:04:46For the active PO, the base dental, the

3:04:49employee and spouse and employee and

3:04:51family contribution tiers have increased

3:04:53by $20 per month. However, the employee

3:04:56only and employee and children rates

3:04:57remain unchanged.

3:05:00For pre65 retirees, the city is

3:05:02establishing a separately self-funded

3:05:04retirey PO plan with its own plan design

3:05:07and stop-loss arrangement. Hub's updated

3:05:10January through June 2026 experience

3:05:13also shows why this is necessary.

3:05:16The retirees no Medicare population

3:05:18averages 555 subscribers, down from 600

3:05:22for the same period in 2025. Despite

3:05:25that enrollment decline, gross plan

3:05:27costs increased from approximately 5.83

3:05:30million to 7.17 million and per employee

3:05:34per member increased from $1,620

3:05:37to $2,154

3:05:40or approximately 33%.

3:05:42Retirees represented approximately 10.5%

3:05:46of average enrollment but 15.6% of gross

3:05:49plan cost with per employee per member

3:05:52approximately 57% higher than the active

3:05:55employee population. These figures refer

3:05:57to retirees no Medicare and subscriber

3:05:59counts and do not include covered

3:06:01dependent. The individual deductible

3:06:04increases from $750 in 2026 to $1,250

3:06:08in 2027 for retirees, and certain

3:06:11co-pays and out-of- pocket limits also

3:06:13changed. The separate design allows the

3:06:15city to address the retirey population

3:06:17distinctly rather than placing pre65

3:06:20retirees in the active select choice

3:06:22structure.

3:06:24Beyond the health plan cause

3:06:25containment, our priorities are to

3:06:27strengthen employee health, wellness,

3:06:28and productivity. Streamline HR

3:06:31operations and strengthen professional

3:06:33development, support employee

3:06:35recognition, engagement, and retention.

3:06:37Maintain constructive labor management

3:06:39relationships, focus recruitment on

3:06:41critical and hard to fill vacancies, and

3:06:43expand educational, professional

3:06:46development, and financial resource

3:06:47partnerships. We will continue with the

3:06:49mayor's outstanding employee award

3:06:51program, preventive health and wellness

3:06:53initiatives, health and wellness

3:06:54clinics, and the annual health and

3:06:56wellness fair, which will be this Friday

3:06:58from 10 to 2. Please come out. HR

3:07:00training and professional development,

3:07:02targeted recruitment strategies, and

3:07:04partnerships that connect employees with

3:07:06educational and financial resources.

3:07:08Overall, our 2027 priorities reflect a

3:07:11balance between fiscal responsibility

3:07:14and workforce support. We are focused on

3:07:16managing healthcare costs, operating HR

3:07:18efficiently, supporting our employees,

3:07:21maintaining constructive labor

3:07:22relationships, and recruiting and

3:07:24retaining the workforce necessary to

3:07:26provide services to the city of New

3:07:28Orleans. Thank you. And I'm happy to

3:07:30answer any questions.

3:07:31>> Thank you. Um, that was informative.

3:07:33October 1st is open enrollment. Is that

3:07:36ma'am? And when does it end?

3:07:37>> October 31st.

3:07:38>> Okay. And during that time, are are you

3:07:40all communicating these changes to city

3:07:43employees?

3:07:43>> Absolutely. We have it all queued up and

3:07:45ready to go. Yes, ma'am.

3:07:46>> Okay. And when does that start rolling

3:07:47out?

3:07:48>> It's going to start rolling out right

3:07:50today.

3:07:50>> I think it just rolled out.

3:07:52>> Yes, ma'am. [laughter]

3:07:53>> Okay. Council member Willard.

3:07:56>> Thank you. Um, thank you, Kristen. That

3:07:58was a lot of information. Um, so I I

3:08:02just have a I guess a few questions

3:08:04mainly on the healthc care side.

3:08:06>> Absolutely. Um, but on the personnel

3:08:09budget, an increase of 364,000,

3:08:12does that account for any of your staff

3:08:15coming off of furlow next year?

3:08:17>> Yes, that accounts for that as well.

3:08:19Yes.

3:08:19>> Okay. All right. Um

3:08:24I guess overall with the health

3:08:26insurance changes my concern it it may

3:08:30be you know not not properly based but

3:08:35are we basically transferring just more

3:08:37of the cost on to city employees?

3:08:40>> No, the city is definitely bearing the

3:08:42brunt of the cost of the healthcare

3:08:44insurance

3:08:45>> with the with the changes in this.

3:08:46>> Yes, we're still carrying most of the

3:08:48cost. Absolutely. Okay. Um, and I'm

3:08:52sorry. I'm sorry. Just to complete this

3:08:54also, we provide the health care costs

3:08:56for a lot the healthcare for a lot of

3:08:57the outside agencies too. So, just make

3:09:00sure that as we're doing all this, it's

3:09:01not just the city, it's also many of the

3:09:03outside agencies as well.

3:09:05>> Okay. Um,

3:09:08the select asher network savings, it

3:09:12said they were modeled for 6% reduction

3:09:15in medical claims. Can you

3:09:17>> We're scrapping that.

3:09:18>> Okay. It's no longer being proposed for

3:09:20this plan year.

3:09:22>> Yeah. I wanted to know how how do you do

3:09:24that? Like in in actuality.

3:09:26>> So

3:09:27>> I mean you can model to reduce but in

3:09:29actuality how do you reduce the claims?

3:09:31>> I I it it's a matter of also looking

3:09:34council member at the the number the

3:09:36sheer volume of claims and and just for

3:09:39again the totality of employees. So not

3:09:42just the city more dollar amount claims

3:09:45were with one healthcare provider as

3:09:47opposed to the other. So as a result of

3:09:49what was being proposed then then having

3:09:52that be the leader of that not sole

3:09:55provider but a select provider was going

3:09:58to induce the proposed savings but I I

3:10:01think in retrospect given that there's

3:10:04already these other changes um we will

3:10:06wait to roll it out in 2028 instead.

3:10:09>> Okay. um public watching this. Um you

3:10:14know, my my question just overall would

3:10:16be um are the employees paying paying

3:10:20more to get less?

3:10:22>> Absolutely not. We have the HSA

3:10:25available now that we didn't have that

3:10:27option available before. Yeah,

3:10:28absolutely.

3:10:29>> Okay. All right. Thank you, Kristen.

3:10:30>> You're welcome,

3:10:31>> Council Member McCarron.

3:10:33Okay. Sorry, I'm still not clear. So, so

3:10:37the select Ashner network is not being

3:10:40implemented for next year. Okay. Okay.

3:10:43Um,

3:10:45and then what is the new cost per if if

3:10:48an employee is just paying for

3:10:50themselves?

3:10:52You said there's no

3:10:53>> employee only has no change and employee

3:10:55and child or children has no change.

3:10:57It's only going to be the only changes

3:10:59to employee and spouse and employee and

3:11:00family.

3:11:01>> Okay. And it's going to be an additional

3:11:03$20 per month for each of those tiers.

3:11:05>> Okay, great. Um I saw on in the CAO

3:11:09miscellaneous budget there's this new

3:11:10section Brandy 7112

3:11:13says hospitalization hospitalization

3:11:16section is that is that for this cost or

3:11:19what what is that

3:11:20>> partial? So that is when we work with

3:11:23finance a lot right to get the fringe

3:11:25right. So that's where some of the bulk

3:11:26of the costs have come that the debt

3:11:29service right so that is specifically

3:11:31for the retirees who are under who are

3:11:33not eligible for Medicare. So that has

3:11:36not previously been appropriately um

3:11:38placed in the budget. So that cost is

3:11:40specifically for retirees.

3:11:42>> Okay. Okay. Thank you for clarifying

3:11:44that. Um, one other question on on

3:11:46enhanced recruitment for critical

3:11:48vacancies and just, you know, what are

3:11:52you guys going to be doing sort of next

3:11:53year to have workforce development

3:11:56incorporated into how you are

3:11:58recruiting, for example, with

3:12:00electricians? Something we talked about

3:12:02with with um, Director Nelson and our

3:12:05unions. you know, what what kind of

3:12:06partnerships is the city working towards

3:12:09to help strengthen, you know, if they

3:12:11have apprenticeship programs for

3:12:13electricians, how are we going to work

3:12:15with those our local labor unions to

3:12:18have a pipeline into um city government

3:12:21positions that we know that we are

3:12:23actively hiring for electricians, that

3:12:25sort of thing.

3:12:25>> Absolutely. Our recruitment team is very

3:12:28active. I don't know if you see them on

3:12:29social media, they're always making

3:12:30videos and everything, always announcing

3:12:33the critical positions that we have

3:12:34available. We meet with departments. If

3:12:36you let us know that you have a critical

3:12:38position you're trying to fill, we'll

3:12:39immediately come over and meet with you

3:12:40and see what your priorities are. We go

3:12:42to universities, all the local

3:12:43universities. We go to Tuland, we go to

3:12:45Lyola, we go to Xavier, anywhere. We go

3:12:47to many different job fairs. We are

3:12:49constantly working working to make sure

3:12:51we keep the city staffed up for any

3:12:53critical vacancies that we have.

3:12:55>> Okay. And I and I would encourage you to

3:12:57work with our our local union too

3:12:59because they do have an apprenticeship

3:13:01program and I think they're trying to

3:13:02you know especially with some of the

3:13:04stuff that we've been working on um with

3:13:06our virtual power plant our community

3:13:08solar those are all jobs that the

3:13:11electrician the electrical union are

3:13:13working to build towards too and I think

3:13:14they could be you know also good for the

3:13:17city. So definitely reach out with them

3:13:20and work with them on how you can create

3:13:21that sort of pipeline into those

3:13:23positions.

3:13:23>> Absolutely. Yes ma'am. Thank you.

3:13:26>> Just a couple more questions that

3:13:28sparked. Um I do think the uh one-time

3:13:31audit of the eligibility is critical. I

3:13:34know that sometimes kids are become 26

3:13:38and they're still on their parents plan.

3:13:39So I think that's really important that

3:13:41we do. It's a one-time audit

3:13:43>> once a year. Are you planning to do that

3:13:45going forward?

3:13:46>> One time audit for now, but we'll keep,

3:13:48you know, looking at things and seeing

3:13:49if we need to do it again. Absolutely.

3:13:51>> And on on audit, um I know Council

3:13:54CEO Jerusa and I, sorry, or Joe um

3:13:58[clears throat] talked uh separately

3:14:00about a staff audit. Is that something

3:14:02that your department would conduct?

3:14:05>> We can help with that. Absolutely. Yeah,

3:14:06we all work together. So, we you know,

3:14:08we work with everybody. We work with

3:14:09civil service. We work with whoever we

3:14:11have to work with. We can absolutely

3:14:13work together to conduct whatever type

3:14:14of staff audit we need to conduct.

3:14:16Absolutely.

3:14:16>> Yeah. We just want to make sure that um

3:14:18there aren't people on our staff roles

3:14:20that aren't actually staffed that aren't

3:14:23actually here anymore. And I I think we

3:14:25found an instance of that when um when

3:14:29uh traffic enforcement went over to

3:14:30NOPD.

3:14:32>> Yep. Yes, ma'am. Absolutely.

3:14:34>> Thank you. Any other questions?

3:14:36>> Let's keep rolling.

3:14:37>> All right. Thank you. Thank you all to

3:14:39the team who who again I think so much

3:14:41of this work you see up here is behind

3:14:43the scenes and so critical to the city.

3:14:45I think next up we have Megan Williams.

3:14:47Resilience.

3:15:09Nothing.

3:15:36>> All right. Uh, good afternoon. Uh I'm

3:15:39Megan Williams. I'm the chief

3:15:40sustainability officer uh for the city

3:15:42of New Orleans. Uh thank you guys for

3:15:44allowing us to present today and present

3:15:46our budget. For those of you who do not

3:15:48know, we are the climate action arm of

3:15:50the city. We create all of the climate

3:15:52policy uh and do a lot of the

3:15:54implementation as well. Uh historically

3:15:56our office has managed the Gentile

3:15:58Resilience District, the EPA climate

3:16:01pollution reduction act grant, hazard

3:16:03mitigation grants, um and a host of

3:16:05other climate mitigation grants. Um

3:16:08however some some of these grants are

3:16:09also managed by other departments. Uh we

3:16:12also do the large majority of storm

3:16:14water management planning and

3:16:15implementation of these projects.

3:16:19Um we are we are very slim in our

3:16:22budget. Uh as you can see there was

3:16:25nothing adopted for 2026 and even for

3:16:282027 uh there's a a very small

3:16:31percentage of uh personnel funding. The

3:16:34majority of it is operating which

3:16:35results in about $177,000

3:16:38budget for our office. Uh the proposal

3:16:42for uh the 22,000 in personnel is to

3:16:45move two of my staff members to split

3:16:47funding to help with some of the

3:16:49administrative purposes of our office.

3:16:51Um the majority of that falls all on me

3:16:53right now. Uh there's a lot of logistics

3:16:55and planning that needs to be done

3:16:57through our office that uh we could just

3:16:59use some assistance with, but all of our

3:17:01office otherwise is grant funded.

3:17:06Uh there were no general fund hires in

3:17:082026. The only hiring that we did was

3:17:11for our energy program manager which was

3:17:13funded through the EPA CPRG grant. Uh

3:17:17the reduction in costs for uh the

3:17:20operating budget is reflective of

3:17:23reducing funding for recycle debt and

3:17:25Christmas tree recycling. Unfortunately,

3:17:28uh given the majority of our other

3:17:29expenses are for personnel and consent

3:17:32decree efforts, which is the the bottom

3:17:35uh bullet there. Uh it was a tough

3:17:38decision between other programs, but

3:17:41there is also a funding line for the

3:17:43climate action plan for 2027. Because we

3:17:45are a C40 city, we are required to

3:17:47update the climate action plan uh to

3:17:50maintain our status. So our intention is

3:17:53to update that plan, but also we've been

3:17:56exploring other opportunities to help

3:17:57fund it. If we can find other

3:17:59opportunities to fund it, I can help I

3:18:01can repurpose that funding to hopefully

3:18:03back to recycled at and the Christmas

3:18:06tree recycling. But we are under consent

3:18:08decree by EPA and uh LDEQ for certain

3:18:12environmental sites like Gordon Plaza

3:18:15and Recovery 1 to maintain the grass

3:18:18around them and also to do some uh water

3:18:21quality testing. The water quality

3:18:23testing for this year has been moved to

3:18:25sanitation. Uh while we are going to

3:18:28maintain the funding for the maintenance

3:18:30at these sites, particularly recovery

3:18:32one, Gordon Plaza will be turned into a

3:18:34solar farm. We are anticipating issuing

3:18:36that RFQ any day now uh for

3:18:39advertisement, but we as a city are

3:18:41required to maintain access to the site

3:18:44for recovery one so that we can submit

3:18:46our water quality reports to DEQ uh in a

3:18:49timely fa fashion.

3:18:55Uh in our 2026 budget, uh the you can

3:18:58see the bulk of it is on other

3:19:00operating. There's a significant portion

3:19:02uh of the 31 million in other operating

3:19:04that was proposed for 2026 has been

3:19:07reduced by about $5 million and that's

3:19:10reflected through a couple of different

3:19:11measures. Uh one of those being grant

3:19:13writing services. We did have a uh a

3:19:16contract at one point for an outside uh

3:19:18consultant [clears throat] to do grant

3:19:20writing for us. We have eliminated that.

3:19:22Uh and a portion of that is also

3:19:24included in the Swiffer grant which was

3:19:26the recycling and solid waste master

3:19:28plan uh was on other operating as well

3:19:30because it was EPA funded. It was not

3:19:32general funded. Uh the 250 that you see

3:19:35proposed for the personnel is for uh

3:19:39pretty much myself and the proposed uh

3:19:42two employees to be split funded uh

3:19:44which results in about 25 million in

3:19:46other operating. Um included in this is

3:19:48also uh the 5135 fund which is green

3:19:52infrastructure maintenance. It is the

3:19:53only eligible fund in the city for green

3:19:56infrastructure maintenance that is not

3:19:58directly in fund 1000 for the general

3:20:01fund.

3:20:02Um

3:20:04again we have uh not utilized the entire

3:20:07amount of the 5135 for the green

3:20:11infrastructure fund but this will allow

3:20:12us to maintain the existing sites for

3:20:15green infrastructure that the city has

3:20:17implemented through grant funding. Um

3:20:19unfortunately none of those grants

3:20:21include maintenance funds. So we have

3:20:23had to get creative in how we maintain

3:20:25them. Uh and we've been working very

3:20:27closely with uh a couple different

3:20:28agencies to try to to utilize some of

3:20:31these funds and make this work a little

3:20:32bit better than it has in the past. Um

3:20:34on the other operating, you can see that

3:20:36there's also the Gentile resilience

3:20:38district grant which is managed through

3:20:40our office, but the majority of the

3:20:42other operating is the climate pollution

3:20:44reduction grant with all of the u the

3:20:47different measures including energy

3:20:49efficiency, municipal decarb, ebikes,

3:20:52and uh protected bike lanes.

3:20:56Some of the budget efficiencies that

3:20:58we've implemented this year is uh sort

3:21:00of right sizing some of the

3:21:02responsibilities in our office. Uh we

3:21:04were downsized pretty significantly

3:21:06um

3:21:08coming into the transition and we've

3:21:10been able to sort of repurpose some of

3:21:12our our positions in our office that

3:21:14currently exist to distribute the

3:21:16responsibilities. Uh we've again been

3:21:19hosting and collaborating with a lot of

3:21:20community groups uh in our current

3:21:22project areas to address some of the

3:21:24maintenance. Uh this is community

3:21:26groups. This is some of our consultants

3:21:28that have done work with us. Uh we have

3:21:30been trying to get really creative and

3:21:31getting more boots on the ground to uh

3:21:34address some of this work in the most

3:21:35creative fashion. Uh and one of the big

3:21:37things that we've done is we've

3:21:38consistently organized uh service days

3:21:40in our communities to address these

3:21:42things very directly. Our goal for 2027,

3:21:46uh I won't read all of these, but uh

3:21:49going back to the A Street Solar Farm,

3:21:51which is also considered Gordon Plaza,

3:21:54our intention is to turn this into a

3:21:55solar farm. Uh because this is a

3:21:58landfill site, uh or a super site, we

3:22:00are not able to disturb a lot of the

3:22:02ground. So, we have to be very mindful

3:22:04of the work that we can do. But the

3:22:05intent is to turn into a solar farm. And

3:22:08again, that RFP is uh planning to be

3:22:10issued here in the next couple of weeks

3:22:12and is currently with purchasing. Um

3:22:15through the CPRG grant, we're also

3:22:18intending on identifying some energy

3:22:19efficiency recommendations throughout 41

3:22:22city identified buildings. That project

3:22:24is kicking off next week with the first

3:22:26round of assessments. Uh we're also

3:22:28looking at [clears throat]

3:22:2914 buildings for uh solar photovalttaic

3:22:33installations which should help with

3:22:34some of the lighting in our buildings as

3:22:36well and also create some energy

3:22:37efficiency. Uh there were 14 that were

3:22:40originally identified. We're currently

3:22:42going back through the list to see if

3:22:43those sites still make sense. Uh and

3:22:45we're working very closely with property

3:22:47management and capital projects on that

3:22:50as well. [clears throat] Um and then the

3:22:52construction of Lincoln Beach phase one.

3:22:54uh that it is is a capital project but

3:22:56it is being managed through our office

3:22:58and through me directly. So our

3:23:00intention is to complete the

3:23:01construction of phase one. Uh and the

3:23:04big goal for for 2027 is to um implement

3:23:08and uh update the climate action plan

3:23:11again going back to it as a requirement

3:23:12for C40 uh membership. So we are

3:23:15exploring some options with our our

3:23:17climate mitigation partners like

3:23:19Gennoth, the water institute and trying

3:23:21to find some options on how we can

3:23:23create a very robust plan uh that

3:23:25creates some equitable equitable

3:23:27distribution of climate actions

3:23:29throughout the city. That's it.

3:23:31>> Thanks Megan. Uh I have a couple

3:23:33questions before I turn to Council

3:23:35Member McCarron and Green. Uh Saratoga

3:23:37law is that included in the non-general

3:23:40fund money?

3:23:41>> It is. It's currently included in the

3:23:44hazard mitigation grant for uh DPS1 for

3:23:48Broadmore. We are still waiting to hear

3:23:49back from FEMA on that extension to do

3:23:52the work. We have submitted the request

3:23:54already, but we have not gotten anything

3:23:55certain back from them yet. So, we're

3:23:57following up, I think, almost weekly to

3:23:59bi-weekly with them right now.

3:24:01>> Does that live in your budget or does it

3:24:02live in uh DPW's budget? uh it would

3:24:05likely live in ours under bond funds if

3:24:07we were able to do it uh or if we just

3:24:09if we are not able to do it with HMGP

3:24:11funds we would have to do it with bond

3:24:13funds. So we would have to get creative

3:24:15in in how we move some of that funding

3:24:17towards that project

3:24:18>> and the maintenance of that lot. Sorry

3:24:20you guys to get uh detailed but this is

3:24:22important um for district B. The

3:24:24maintenance parks and parkways cut it.

3:24:27It doesn't maintenance doesn't live with

3:24:28you.

3:24:29>> It does not. Not for that site at all.

3:24:31>> So we're trying to figure out who what

3:24:32department. Yeah, it would uh it has

3:24:35never really lived with us uh as a

3:24:38budget item because we've never taken

3:24:40over the site to do the project itself.

3:24:42So, in in future endeavors, once it is

3:24:44completed, it would fall under us, but

3:24:46not currently. That does not live in our

3:24:47budget.

3:24:48>> This just goes to the efficiency that

3:24:49can be had when departments actually

3:24:51figure out who's cutting what and who's

3:24:53doing what. I, you know, I know

3:24:54[clears throat] there was some confusion

3:24:55over the maintenance of this lot and who

3:24:57was cutting it and who wasn't. So, um,

3:25:00looking forward to getting that

3:25:02straight. On your

3:25:05other operating, it says reduction of

3:25:07funding for recycled debt and Christmas

3:25:09uh, tree recycling. It's actually

3:25:10elimination, isn't it?

3:25:12>> It is elimination, but I put it as

3:25:13reduction because if we're able to find

3:25:15other funding for the climate action, I

3:25:17could repurpose it back to those. It

3:25:19would just be at a lesser amount than in

3:25:21previous years.

3:25:21>> So, Christmas tree recycling, I just

3:25:23looked at um, the budget proposal that

3:25:25was given to us last week. It's about

3:25:27$20,000. Mhm.

3:25:29>> That's it.

3:25:30>> That's it. Yeah. In in previous years

3:25:33and what we're going to try to explore

3:25:35uh for the next year is partnering with

3:25:37more of our our part our our partners. I

3:25:39think Glass Half full did some of that

3:25:41work last year. So, we're going to still

3:25:43try to find as many opportunities to

3:25:44utilize the work. Uh there's sort of a

3:25:46two-step process with the Christmas tree

3:25:48recycling. The first step is collecting

3:25:50that, which I think some of that has

3:25:52previously been shared with sanitation.

3:25:54And then the second part is being able

3:25:56to bundle that. And that's where we

3:25:57really found the gap this year because

3:25:58that can be relatively expensive to add

3:26:01that to it. So I'm I'm putting that with

3:26:03a little bit of an asterisk next to it

3:26:04because I would like to be able to

3:26:05repurpose those funds.

3:26:07>> Recycled app for the public's knowledge.

3:26:09Uh they recycle during Migra events.

3:26:12They pick up cans, beads, etc. Um, have

3:26:15we ever done an analysis of the impact,

3:26:18their economic impact of them recycling

3:26:21and what we pay them to recycle versus

3:26:24tonnage and just hauling it and putting

3:26:27it in a landfill somewhere?

3:26:29>> I think there's there's some data from

3:26:31both our side as well as from recycled

3:26:33debt side. So, we would need to get them

3:26:35both in front of us and and compare them

3:26:37to see what the benefit and the cost is.

3:26:39>> Can you get that to us before the end of

3:26:41budget season? because it's important to

3:26:43know that if we actually fund recycled

3:26:46at then we could save money on uh

3:26:49proposed cuts to migra.

3:26:50>> Sure. I'll get with sanitation um and

3:26:53look at their numbers and see if they

3:26:54have it divvied out that way and then

3:26:55I'll get some numbers from recycle as

3:26:57well.

3:26:57>> Yeah, send it to all of us.

3:26:59>> All right. I think that's all I have.

3:27:00Thanks, Megan.

3:27:02>> Council member Mer.

3:27:03>> Thank you. Um and and thank you council

3:27:05member Harris for bringing up the

3:27:06Christmas trees. Um because you know I

3:27:09think it's important. I know it's only

3:27:10$20,000, but it has a a huge effect on

3:27:15restoring our coastline. So, my question

3:27:17about that is, are there other cities in

3:27:19the state that are doing this? If so,

3:27:22how are they funding these programs? And

3:27:24is there state or federal funding that

3:27:28we could figure out how to get to use? I

3:27:31mean, we're restoring the coast, so

3:27:33essentially helping the state in

3:27:35general. Do you know about other

3:27:36>> Yeah, Jefferson Parish has done it. Um,

3:27:39and they've funded it a couple of

3:27:40different ways. I believe they've had

3:27:41grants in the past to do it, but they've

3:27:43also used some of their own funding. Uh,

3:27:45one thing that I have been doing is

3:27:46talking to some of our coastal

3:27:47restoration groups to see if there is a

3:27:49way that they could assist us with that.

3:27:51Um, in the past, the coalition to

3:27:54restore coastal Louisiana has done

3:27:56volunteer days, but it it's been very

3:27:58specific the type of work that they've

3:28:00done on the volunteer days, which is

3:28:02just a small departure from what we

3:28:04need. So, I am having those

3:28:05conversations with our coastal groups.

3:28:07Um, I need to have the conversation with

3:28:09like Ponch Train Restoration uh or Pon

3:28:11Train Conservancy to see if there's some

3:28:13ways that we could get volunteer days to

3:28:15do this type of work.

3:28:17>> Yeah, if you need help with that, in

3:28:18fact, I'm going to say like, let's have

3:28:20a another conversation about this. If

3:28:22you need to come to a climate committee

3:28:24and we need to talk about this and get

3:28:25our coastal partners and figure out how

3:28:27we can make this happen, I think it's

3:28:28just incredibly incredibly important

3:28:31that, you know, spending $20,000 to help

3:28:34restore our coastline is vitally

3:28:36important. um as part of the bigger

3:28:38picture. So, so let's definitely plan on

3:28:40talking about that more.

3:28:42>> Sure. We've had great success with that

3:28:43program in the past, so it's it's not a

3:28:45desire to have to cut it by any means,

3:28:47but if we have to trim down, um

3:28:49unfortunately, it was one of the ones

3:28:51that seemed like it could be on the

3:28:53chopping block, but I would love to do

3:28:54it. And again, I've had some preliminary

3:28:56conversations with our coastal groups to

3:28:58see what that might look like to get uh

3:29:00probably several days of organizing. I

3:29:03think where we could probably use a lot

3:29:04of the help is on the pickup um and

3:29:07finding some more unique ways to cut the

3:29:09cost on the pickup side of things to

3:29:11actually get the trees to uh the

3:29:13location to get the drop off done.

3:29:14>> Okay, great. Let's talk I look forward

3:29:16to talking more about that. Um the only

3:29:18other question I had, you know, I know

3:29:20you talked about the CPRG grant, but how

3:29:23many employees do you have in your

3:29:24office?

3:29:25>> We currently have um eight employees in

3:29:28our office. All are grant funded right

3:29:30now. And you just hired a new one to

3:29:32help with the the climate grant.

3:29:34>> Yes.

3:29:35>> Okay. Um I guess we won't talk about

3:29:38benchmarking because you guys are going

3:29:39to have that next year, but additional

3:29:42reporting on that would be great um as

3:29:44you guys move forward on that. Um

3:29:49>> that's basically all I have.

3:29:50>> Yeah, I can add on the benchmarking

3:29:52piece. We are intending to hire someone

3:29:54full-time through the CPRG grant

3:29:56specifically to manage the benchmarking

3:29:58portion. What we are doing right now is

3:30:01reviewing the job description that's

3:30:02going to go out. We intend to post it in

3:30:04the next month so that we can start the

3:30:06hiring process or the interview process,

3:30:08I should say, to get someone on board

3:30:10cuz that is a a fairly full-time job

3:30:12just to do benchmarking. So, as we've

3:30:14onboarded our energy program manager,

3:30:16she's been reviewing the process and the

3:30:18ordinances and all the documentation

3:30:20about benchmarking to get herself

3:30:22familiar with it and then our next step

3:30:23is to hire someone to do it um under her

3:30:26guidance as well.

3:30:27>> Okay, perfect. Thank you. Council member

3:30:29Green,

3:30:30>> good morning and thank you for your

3:30:32presentation. I want to start off with

3:30:33the good by thanking you for your

3:30:36willingness to meet with community

3:30:38members at their neighborhood

3:30:39association meetings. That's important

3:30:41that they know that you're available. Um

3:30:43sometimes the questions get answered

3:30:45before them, but when you're there, they

3:30:47appreciate that. I also want to thank

3:30:49you for working with the businesses

3:30:52along Allegian Fields Avenue and

3:30:54residents who you might have seen to

3:30:56prepare them for what's going on at the

3:30:57Blue Green Corridor project and also for

3:31:00emphasizing the value to that entire

3:31:03community because those bio swells and

3:31:05those areas do work. Hunter Train Park

3:31:08in Gentilly Woods for example experience

3:31:11less flooding in part because hundreds

3:31:14of thousands of gallons of water can be

3:31:16stored before it hits the drainage

3:31:17system. But with that I'll ask you I

3:31:19didn't hear the answer that I wanted to

3:31:20hear relative to maintenance monies. So

3:31:23tell me about maintenance of those bios

3:31:26um what we can do moving forward within

3:31:28the budget or with either a private

3:31:31assistance or public assistance to get

3:31:33those maintained better for the

3:31:36neighbors.

3:31:36>> Sure. So, that's the 5135

3:31:39uh storm water fee and loo fund that is

3:31:41intended to be used for green

3:31:43infrastructure maintenance. That's what

3:31:44we're using right now. Uh we've been

3:31:46able to attribute about $300,000 towards

3:31:49that funding. It has taken a long time

3:31:51to get them back in working order and

3:31:53we're still parsing through the list

3:31:55right now. Um we are looking at

3:31:57different uh workforce development

3:31:59opportunities as well to help fund some

3:32:02of the maintenance that needs to happen

3:32:04out there. Uh and then in addition, one

3:32:07of the things that we are looking to do

3:32:09is something called adopt a storm water

3:32:11lot, which is very similar what the

3:32:12state does for adopt a highway and see

3:32:14if we can partner either with residents

3:32:16or community groups or consultants to

3:32:19help do some of that work to keep those

3:32:21lots in working order. So, our current

3:32:24contractor, uh, Groundwork New Orleans,

3:32:26has been, uh, charging through the list

3:32:29that we were given by your office of the

3:32:31priority lots, and we're going through

3:32:32every week and updating the priorities

3:32:34with them to make sure that we're

3:32:35knocking them down consistently and then

3:32:37getting them back in working order in a

3:32:39routine uh, fashion. So, if we can

3:32:42continue to utilize that fund, that will

3:32:44help us keep all of those things in

3:32:46working order in the way that they were

3:32:47intended to operate. The bottom line for

3:32:49the communities, Gentily Woods and

3:32:51Punter Train Park, is that we are

3:32:53working every day to maintain those lots

3:32:56and that you would see by maybe the end

3:32:58of November they could all be remediated

3:33:01or what do you feel?

3:33:02>> Yeah, I believe we'll be uh close to

3:33:04probably the beginning of November uh

3:33:06because we'll have a a much more robust

3:33:08staff out there um that we've been able

3:33:10to subcontract some of the work for the

3:33:12bigger lots that need some work done on

3:33:14them. So they are starting to move

3:33:16through them a lot faster and then

3:33:17they're also starting to loop back on

3:33:19the ones that have been cut to keep them

3:33:21at a manageable rate. So we are

3:33:23intending to have all of them done.

3:33:24There are a handful of them that are

3:33:26holding water and I've reached out to

3:33:28sewage and water board to assist with

3:33:29some of those things. Uh we've

3:33:30identified some of the problems with

3:33:32those. So uh pretty much every day we

3:33:34have some sort of conversation

3:33:35internally about what to do with each of

3:33:37those lots. How can the private sector

3:33:39um those who are interested in

3:33:41environment and sustainability and

3:33:43resilience, how can they assist your

3:33:45office? Um you mentioned the project

3:33:47potentially adopting a storm water lot,

3:33:50but are there other um means that people

3:33:53can use to work with your office and how

3:33:55would they contact your office?

3:33:57>> Yeah, we're always open to opportunities

3:33:59to figure out what that looks like in

3:34:00different neighborhoods. Uh each

3:34:02neighborhood has a different need. So we

3:34:04would love to take them on uh and any

3:34:07consultant or private business that

3:34:08wants to work with us. They can reach

3:34:10out to myself or our uh communications

3:34:13director Lauren Muse to figure out

3:34:14different opportunities to maybe hand

3:34:16over some of that work to them and they

3:34:18can assist in in moving that needle

3:34:20forward.

3:34:20>> It's important to recognize that there

3:34:22are some folks from the private sector

3:34:24who want to help might even be willing

3:34:26to help with some of those bio swells.

3:34:28To be very honest with you, I know that

3:34:29it's a little bit of a challenge because

3:34:30of the hill that goes into the area that

3:34:33collects the water, but maybe on the

3:34:35peripheries there are some organizations

3:34:37that have talked about helping because

3:34:39it is a it is a challenge as we move

3:34:41forward.

3:34:41>> Yeah, we're open to to any opportunity

3:34:44and help we can get. Can you talk about

3:34:46um briefly for the public the challenges

3:34:49that have been created by cuts in

3:34:50federal funding and also some of the

3:34:52opportunities that might exist

3:34:55in the future because these are such

3:34:57important areas in which you work.

3:35:00>> Sure. Uh in general there has been a big

3:35:02shift in funding towards any sort of

3:35:04climate solutions. Um and historically

3:35:06we have been all of the work that I've

3:35:08mentioned today is disaster recovery

3:35:11money. So, it is a direct result,

3:35:13especially on the storm water side, it's

3:35:15a direct result of Hurricane Katrina for

3:35:16the majority of them. Um, the the

3:35:20climate of federal funding has shifted

3:35:22away from a lot of that work. Um, across

3:35:24the board, we've seen grants canled or

3:35:27programs canceled like the brick funding

3:35:30program under FEMA that has since been

3:35:32restored. But without those pots of

3:35:34money to do these large scale capital

3:35:36projects, it is going to be very hard

3:35:38for us to consistently do the scale of

3:35:41projects that are really meaningful to

3:35:43address specifically storm water

3:35:44management. But for all of our climate

3:35:46vulnerabilities, it's going to be very

3:35:48hard for us to do this work without

3:35:51federal funding. In the long term, we

3:35:53would love to become a city that can

3:35:55self-fund a lot of this work, but it is

3:35:57going to take us some time to do that.

3:35:59But we also have to keep in mind that

3:36:01with these projects comes maintenance

3:36:03and none of the federal grants consider

3:36:05maintenance in their funding

3:36:06opportunities. So [clears throat] we

3:36:08have to be very mindful of how quickly

3:36:09we put projects out but also ensure that

3:36:11we're bringing maintenance to the

3:36:13forefront throughout the design process

3:36:15so that we can have opportunities to

3:36:18maintain that's not so costly and

3:36:19burdensome on us as well. So, uh, we're

3:36:22going to continue to be a climate

3:36:23vulnerable city from coastal flooding,

3:36:26um, like climate, uh, council member

3:36:27McCarron was mentioning with the coastal

3:36:30the tree, uh, recycling program. Um, so

3:36:33if we don't have funding and we fully

3:36:35rely on the the federal pot, it it's

3:36:38going to be difficult for us to to do

3:36:40these projects in the future.

3:36:41>> And I like to emphasize the positive.

3:36:43We're moving forward on very important

3:36:44projects. It's not just a blue green

3:36:46card. Talk to us for a second about

3:36:47what's going on at the Willie Hall site.

3:36:50>> Sure. So the Willie Hall site is one of

3:36:52the Gentilly Resilience District

3:36:53projects. Uh there's about $141 million

3:36:57in funding from uh HUD to do the work in

3:37:00Gentilly to mitigate storm water uh some

3:37:03storm water flooding. So the Willie Hall

3:37:05site is a site that was uh operated by

3:37:08Nord but a part of the Mcdana 35

3:37:10[clears throat] school. We have

3:37:12transformed that site into a storm water

3:37:14management site by installing tanks

3:37:15under the the playground. Uh you cannot

3:37:18see it today. It looks like it's just

3:37:20been restored with uh with soil and to

3:37:23and grass on top of it. But there's a

3:37:26system of about 5 million gallons of of

3:37:29storage underneath that park in

3:37:31particular. And it allows water to come

3:37:33in from the drainage system, fill up the

3:37:35tanks, and then exit slowly uh back to

3:37:38the drainage system. And that allows us

3:37:39to just take a little bit of pressure

3:37:41off of the immediate needs of the the

3:37:42pump stations in the area. Um when the

3:37:45the plans are finished, there will be uh

3:37:48a a track on a field track on top of it

3:37:52as well as a baseball field and um a

3:37:55building for Nord to operate their

3:37:57equipment out of uh or store their

3:37:59equipment out of. So it's one of about

3:38:01nine projects in the Gentilly Resilience

3:38:03District suite.

3:38:04>> Thank you very much for that

3:38:06information. Um my last question refers

3:38:08to um Councilman King's district, but on

3:38:11yesterday the green infrastructure for

3:38:13TMA project was dedicated. Councilman

3:38:16King, if I'm not trying to take any of

3:38:18your thunder, but it's another example

3:38:19of the state and the city working

3:38:21together to get something done. Could

3:38:24you talk about that particular project

3:38:26for a second? Were you there yesterday?

3:38:27>> I was. Yes. So that that site as well as

3:38:30the vision to reality site on Claybornne

3:38:32are examples of community-led green

3:38:34infrastructure projects. Um, and these

3:38:36are really meaningful projects that uh,

3:38:40community groups like Waterwise and

3:38:42Healthy Community Services have been

3:38:44able to implement through partnerships

3:38:46with the city and the state. Um, there's

3:38:48opportunity for other sites like this

3:38:50that are DOTD owned but city operated

3:38:54that we can utilize for these uh,

3:38:56community-led green infrastructure

3:38:58sites. and it's really transforming a

3:39:00space that we as the city often have not

3:39:02had as a priority or have had funding to

3:39:04do in previous years. These community

3:39:06groups have really led the charge in

3:39:08advocating for this scale within their

3:39:10neighborhoods. So, people not just for

3:39:12the the storm water side of it, but it

3:39:15also addresses the extreme heat issue

3:39:17that we have by installing trees and

3:39:19some shaded areas. Um, and it allows

3:39:21people to it brings people into a site

3:39:23very meaningfully to exist within their

3:39:25own environment. I know that it's a

3:39:27challenging time, but I'm emphasizing

3:39:29those projects to just let the public

3:39:30know that work is still going on in

3:39:32important areas in our city that is

3:39:35making our city more resilience

3:39:37resilient for the future. And I want to

3:39:39thank you for your office. There's a

3:39:40number of projects that you're working

3:39:41on that are making a great difference.

3:39:44The um release of requests for proposals

3:39:46relative to the agricultural state solar

3:39:48farm is such a significant change from

3:39:51where we were 4 years ago. M and that is

3:39:54why government sometimes has to spend

3:39:55money to get certain things done to

3:39:58relocate the residents of the Gordon

3:40:00Plaza subdivision. I I don't know the

3:40:01exact dollar amount, but it was millions

3:40:03of dollars. And now it's going to result

3:40:05in a solar farm that just like the solar

3:40:08farm that the Sisters of the Holy Family

3:40:10are sponsoring can provide potential

3:40:12relief to residents nearby. So, it's

3:40:15just good news stories that we need to

3:40:17emphasize in the midst of these

3:40:18challenging times that many of those

3:40:20projects continue to happen. and I thank

3:40:22you for your work in making some of

3:40:24those happen.

3:40:25>> Thank you.

3:40:26>> Thank you, Council Member Green. I that

3:40:28uh sparked a thought. Al Davis Park, the

3:40:30grass is dying. That is a water

3:40:32retention uh project. Do we have money

3:40:35in the budget to

3:40:37>> They place the grass uh Saturday, I

3:40:40believe, either Friday or Saturday at Al

3:40:41Davis. So, they'll be watering it in

3:40:43over the next couple weeks to ensure

3:40:44that it establishes. We did shift to a

3:40:47different method of installing the grass

3:40:49that has a much higher percentage of of

3:40:52establishing itself. So we should not

3:40:53have that same issue that we had with

3:40:55the previous iterations of it. So over

3:40:57the next 2 to 3 weeks, you should see a

3:40:59distinct difference in A Davis's

3:41:02quality. The same you'll see the same at

3:41:04Taylor Playground as well where

3:41:05[clears throat] the entire park will be

3:41:07redone with sod rather than seating. So,

3:41:10we we had a lot of conversations with

3:41:11our landscape architect and with our

3:41:13contractors on getting that grass

3:41:15restored to uh a proper working order

3:41:17where we can actually turn it back over

3:41:19to the community cuz it was not in that

3:41:20condition for a while.

3:41:21>> Yeah, the community is actually outraged

3:41:23about it and um very upset. But is that

3:41:26being grant funded or how are we paying

3:41:28for that?

3:41:28>> It was funded through uh some additional

3:41:30funds in the grant already. So, we've

3:41:32already paid for it. We've already got

3:41:33it installed. Uh we're we're at the

3:41:35point where we're just monitoring it

3:41:36over the next couple weeks to ensure

3:41:37that it will take the moment that we god

3:41:40forbid see something go wrong, our

3:41:42contractor is responsible to going for

3:41:44going to fix it within several hours,

3:41:46honestly. Uh so I've I've already

3:41:48instructed them that I don't want to see

3:41:49another blade of grass die in that area.

3:41:52So we have taken the steps we need to

3:41:54and have have installed the proper

3:41:57material at this point that I feel very

3:41:59confident on.

3:41:59>> Okay. Thank you, Megan. Council member

3:42:01King, anything? Thank you uh Megan for

3:42:05your presentation. Council Green, thank

3:42:07you for letting the people know the the

3:42:09great work happening in District C. But

3:42:11I also want to just uh give Miss Sheree

3:42:13Austin a shout out for leading that

3:42:15initiative over on Clebon at that area

3:42:19although owned by the state and operated

3:42:20by the city was a place of illegal

3:42:24dumping um trash

3:42:27animals vagrants. It it was a it was a

3:42:29sight for sore eyes and Miss Sher led

3:42:32the charge to uh making sure it becomes

3:42:34a positive for our city where it's nice

3:42:36park um border retention area. So thank

3:42:40you for um making that happen Miss

3:42:42Austin you and the other residents of uh

3:42:45thank you for that shout out council

3:42:47green.

3:42:49>> Good work.

3:42:50>> All right thank you. Thank you. Up next,

3:42:54up next is the Miller presentation,

3:42:57the early childhood.

3:42:59>> So with that, um, you have early

3:43:01childhood and have civil service. So we

3:43:04will be done and we look forward to

3:43:05seeing council in the next seven.

3:43:07>> Everybody do their stretches for

3:43:08tomorrow. It's public safety day.

3:43:10>> That's right.

3:43:11>> And bring your lunch

3:43:12>> and and also obviously we'll try to

3:43:13follow up on individual questions as we

3:43:15get.

3:43:15>> Thank you.

3:43:16>> Thank you all.

3:43:33Yeah, I need three more like this.

3:43:42Heat. Heat.

3:43:59Perfect.

3:44:10Hi everyone. Good to see everyone. Um,

3:44:14as we begin, we're really excited to be

3:44:16able to tell the story yet again of the

3:44:18success that we have seen as part of the

3:44:20uh early care and education millage that

3:44:22was passed in 2022. Um we are especially

3:44:25appreciative to the voters who made this

3:44:27happen as well as the council and the

3:44:29administration multiple administrations

3:44:32who have continued to invest in this

3:44:34work and given us such great support. Um

3:44:37we also want to just note that this has

3:44:39been something that we have uh worked

3:44:41with throughout multiple administrations

3:44:43and so we're incredibly indebted to uh

3:44:45Dr. Agno and her team for helping us

3:44:48maintain some of the success that we saw

3:44:50um over the past couple of years. So,

3:44:53this is a story that, as you all know,

3:44:56begins actually in 2017 when the city

3:44:59made the first municipal investment in

3:45:01parent education for $750,000,

3:45:04which then many of you as part of this

3:45:06council then doubled and doubled and

3:45:09doubled. So much in fact that we then

3:45:11were able to in 2022 put this on the

3:45:14ballot. We are now in the fourth full

3:45:17year of execution of that millillage.

3:45:19And each year we have seen a major

3:45:21initiative kind of launch as part of the

3:45:24suite of services and programs that are

3:45:26provided by it.

3:45:30This is a very large set of partners

3:45:33that work on this project. Um this is it

3:45:36includes 40 child care centers across

3:45:38the city. It includes nonprofit

3:45:40partners. It includes vendors that um

3:45:43have have launched as the result of this

3:45:45work. And it includes a number of folks

3:45:48who um have now started to expand their

3:45:51services to include young children. They

3:45:53may have traditionally focused on youth

3:45:55development or K12, but now are starting

3:45:57to focus in early care and education.

3:46:00As of today, we are serving 1,800 young

3:46:03people, uh, infants and toddlers as part

3:46:05of this work. 1,000 of them are

3:46:08supported by the early care and

3:46:10education millillage, but we have

3:46:12successfully for the fourth year in a

3:46:14row been able to get those funds matched

3:46:16by the state of Louisiana one to one.

3:46:19And that additional $21.5 million has

3:46:22ensured that an additional 800 children

3:46:24are receiving care uh full day full day

3:46:27full day full year care.

3:46:30With those numbers, that actually means

3:46:32that now the millillage and its matching

3:46:34funds are responsible for over 60% of

3:46:37the publicly funded seats in our

3:46:39network.

3:46:41With this data, um I showed this last

3:46:44year and I'll continue to show it. Uh

3:46:46New Orleans leads the state in the

3:46:48amount of young people who are being

3:46:50served by this work. Um we have 31% of

3:46:53our low-income toddlers and infants that

3:46:55are served by these publicly funded uh

3:46:57seats. Uh the average in the state is

3:47:0012%. Now it's 31%, there's 69% of

3:47:03children who aren't being served. And so

3:47:05we'll continue to to focus on getting as

3:47:08much access as we can.

3:47:11As many of you know, we have continued

3:47:13to evaluate this program and its success

3:47:16both internally as well as externally

3:47:18and independently. And one thing that we

3:47:21are most excited to show is that we are

3:47:24seeing major improvements in early care

3:47:26and education in kindergarten readiness.

3:47:29Um what we have seen here is that our

3:47:32children are showing up in kindergarten

3:47:35performing better than the statewide

3:47:37average. And that really tracks

3:47:39alongside the major investments that

3:47:41this city has made.

3:47:43Not only are we performing higher, we

3:47:45are performing higher in every single

3:47:48demographic regardless of race, uh,

3:47:50socioeconomic status, disability status

3:47:53or English language learner status. And

3:47:55that is true and due to the work of our

3:47:59partners, um, of our child care centers

3:48:01who get up every day and the tireless

3:48:03efforts of our team and our partners,

3:48:05many of which are here today.

3:48:10The 4H child care partnerships that we

3:48:12have are located across all five

3:48:15districts. That is intentional because

3:48:16there is need across all five of our

3:48:19districts.

3:48:20And of that, you also know that a big

3:48:23portion of those funds not just covers

3:48:25seats and care during the day, but also

3:48:28uh restricts funding for wraparound

3:48:30supports or comprehensive services for

3:48:33the children who are participating. What

3:48:35that means is that we've been able to

3:48:37launch two major partnerships with

3:48:40partners including Manning Family

3:48:42Children's Thrive Kids as well as

3:48:44two-lane tikes to provide in-classroom

3:48:47supports for our children, families, and

3:48:49educators. As a result, nearly every

3:48:53child in our program received a vision

3:48:55screening, a developmental screening,

3:48:57and a hearing screening, which means

3:48:59they are getting these screenings

3:49:00earlier, which means we can then

3:49:02intervene much faster. Of those children

3:49:05that were screened, over a quarter of

3:49:07them were immediately enrolled in care

3:49:09coordination. Some of them received

3:49:11intervention services and some of them

3:49:14were actually referred to and then saw

3:49:16developmental pediatricians.

3:49:18We also saw almost a thousand uh visits

3:49:23to from our two-lane partners um around

3:49:25two-lane uh mental health consultations.

3:49:28So really working with the educators,

3:49:30the families and the children themselves

3:49:32to help regulate emotions and manage um

3:49:34trauma and stress.

3:49:38We have seen in the past four years an

3:49:40increase in the acuity of our children

3:49:43with exceptionalities and special needs

3:49:45who are enrolling in our program. And so

3:49:47this year we launched uh a major

3:49:50initiative called the high- five

3:49:51initiative. The high- five initiative

3:49:53worked with six of the 40 child care

3:49:55centers where we saw high incidents of

3:49:58children with exceptionalities who

3:50:00needed additional support. And grants

3:50:02allowed them to hire full-time

3:50:04developmental support educators who

3:50:06could work alongside teachers in the

3:50:08classroom and work alongside children in

3:50:11their families to help ensure that those

3:50:13sort the services that they were already

3:50:15receiving in classrooms and the care

3:50:17that they were receiving was the most

3:50:18impactful. And the thing that was

3:50:21amazing about this is that uh one of the

3:50:23directors said, and I'll I'll just read

3:50:25partial partially part of the quote.

3:50:27This is the first year that everybody on

3:50:29my team came back. Um, so we're seeing

3:50:32byproducts of these types of

3:50:34interventions on educator retention.

3:50:38We are also in the third year of a

3:50:40partnership with the New Orleans

3:50:41Redevelopment Authority related to our

3:50:43child care facilities. Um, since 2022,

3:50:46we have partnered and provided $4.6

3:50:49million to Nora to support not just new

3:50:52construction, but improvements to

3:50:54facilities, signage, uh, enhancements,

3:50:57um, just a variety of things. and and

3:51:00we'll talk a little bit about how that

3:51:01funding is going to change going in the

3:51:03future. We have also at Agenda provided

3:51:06nearly 2,000 hours of direct technical

3:51:08assistance to almost 130 childcare

3:51:11centers, meaning we are helping them

3:51:13through the permitting process, the

3:51:14zoning issues, the licensing

3:51:16requirements.

3:51:18Three centers uh have launched since the

3:51:21start of this funding. So you note uh

3:51:23many of you have been at their openings.

3:51:25two in district B, uh, the Firehouse and

3:51:28Will Cox Academy, as well as Shiloh

3:51:30Gardens and Council District E, uh, in

3:51:32Holy Cross's neighborhood. And what's

3:51:34remarkable is two of those three are al

3:51:37also integrating housing support as part

3:51:39of their work. And so we're integrating

3:51:41child care with affordable housing,

3:51:43which we know is continues to be a

3:51:45priority for the city.

3:51:49As I mentioned, we continue to do

3:51:52independent evaluations as required by

3:51:54the cooperative endeavor agreement. I'm

3:51:56not going to read through um everything,

3:51:58but I will say a couple of important

3:52:00statistics uh based on our findings for

3:52:03this year's program. 94% of our families

3:52:06reported that the city seats program

3:52:08improved their ability to work or go to

3:52:10school. 89% of our families would

3:52:13recommend their site to a a friend or a

3:52:16family member. 77% of our children are

3:52:19remaining from year to year from year 1

3:52:22uh and 67% have retained going forward

3:52:26and 97% of our directors participating

3:52:30said that their city seats program

3:52:32experience has been very positive.

3:52:36We have continued to invest uh in child

3:52:39care educators which includes

3:52:40professional development, coaching,

3:52:43training. We provided over 2,000 hours

3:52:46of in-classroom support to help uh you

3:52:49know assist teachers in really

3:52:52developing their practice and getting

3:52:53really good at what they do. Um and we

3:52:56know that that's showing up in the

3:52:57progress that we're seeing with young

3:52:58kids. 77% of our city seats directors

3:53:02said that of all of our supports, the

3:53:05inclassroom coaching was by far had the

3:53:07greatest impact on their teacher and

3:53:09their teachers practices.

3:53:13We also launched a couple years ago now

3:53:15a wage enhancement program. As you know,

3:53:18childc care owner uh educators are some

3:53:21of the lowest paid professions in the

3:53:22city um and across the country. The

3:53:25average wage is $11 an hour. Now, as

3:53:28part of this work, we partner with our

3:53:30child care centers to ensure that they

3:53:31adopt the wage ordinance and so we do

3:53:34have some progress there with respect to

3:53:36that, but we also provide retention

3:53:38bonuses for individuals to stay in the

3:53:40classroom. It is not uncommon uh prior

3:53:43to initiatives like this that we would

3:53:44lose about 60% of our workforce from

3:53:47year to year. I'm happy to say that now

3:53:49we are seeing major retention work um as

3:53:53part of this and they are receiving

3:53:55these you know quarterly enhancements to

3:53:58essentially stay in the classroom. 90%

3:54:01of the teachers who were surveyed said

3:54:03that it reduced their stress levels and

3:54:0583% said that they would stay in the

3:54:07field as part of this. And just again a

3:54:11couple of quotes. I often struggle with

3:54:13the idea of staying in child care

3:54:15because it's so hard to make ends meet.

3:54:17This last year they helped me make me

3:54:19feel like I could stay in early

3:54:20education doing a job that I love.

3:54:24So going into this year our priorities

3:54:27are first and foremost this is a program

3:54:29that is effectively working. We have

3:54:31both independent data to suggest that as

3:54:33well as our internal data to suggest

3:54:35that. We would love to continue to serve

3:54:37as many children as possible. We have uh

3:54:40over 5,000 kids that could be eligible

3:54:42for these types of programs but cannot

3:54:44participate because we do not have

3:54:46funding for those seats. We also have

3:54:48over 50 child care centers that could

3:54:51also participate as part of this work um

3:54:53but cannot because we do not despite as

3:54:56much funding as we do have um it is very

3:54:58expensive to be able to provide full day

3:55:00full day full day full year care. We

3:55:03will continue to focus on early literacy

3:55:06um which is really aligned with many of

3:55:08our state priorities around that. We

3:55:10will continue to work with Nora on

3:55:12facility improvements but many uh to to

3:55:15the last presentation. We are focusing

3:55:17very much on green infrastructure as

3:55:19well as lead abatement. Those are two

3:55:22areas that we know the administration

3:55:23has already been focused on where we

3:55:25feel like we can leverage our funding

3:55:27appropriately. Also, we're seeing that

3:55:29many of our child care centers are

3:55:30spending an astronomical amount of money

3:55:32each year on repairs related to not

3:55:35having permeable pavements or not having

3:55:37drainage in their uh childcare centers.

3:55:40We will continue to have high

3:55:41accountability and maintain

3:55:43communication with the public, increase

3:55:45our uh ability to to uh improve our data

3:55:49systems,

3:55:50increase family support. We'll be

3:55:52launching our parent cohort this year

3:55:54and most importantly try to maintain as

3:55:57much funding as we can at the state

3:55:59level. Um as New Orleans has gone the

3:56:01rest of the state has gone and so with

3:56:04that we are now seeing 17 communities

3:56:06across the country uh excuse me across

3:56:08the state who are now leveraging funding

3:56:10for that state matching fund. And so

3:56:12that does mean that our competition for

3:56:14those funds is now much higher than it

3:56:17was in the past. And so we'll need to

3:56:19work not just with the administration

3:56:21and our council and our legislature, but

3:56:23to ensure that our representatives know

3:56:25that we should be pushing to see that

3:56:27that state matching fund has as much

3:56:29funding as possible so that all parishes

3:56:31across the state who have done the same

3:56:33things we have to to raise local funds

3:56:35will be able to participate.

3:56:37I'm going to turn it over to Janica

3:56:39Julian, uh my partner at Nola Public

3:56:41Schools. Good afternoon.

3:56:54Can you come help me with the slides?

3:56:56I'm sorry. Excuse me. Can you come help

3:56:58me with the slides? I don't know why.

3:57:11>> While we're waiting uh for the technical

3:57:13info, does anybody have any questions

3:57:14for Jen?

3:57:17Jen, I do have a I just have an

3:57:19observation. Currently, you're at 4.39

3:57:22mills,

3:57:23>> correct?

3:57:24>> And that gains you about $24 million a

3:57:27year. It's about 21 and a half. I

3:57:29believe that number reflects the Yeah,

3:57:31it's about 21 and a half that we

3:57:33currently use.

3:57:34>> Okay. All right. Um and then if your

3:57:37millage rolled forward to five,

3:57:40>> correct?

3:57:40>> You'd get about $3.4 million in

3:57:44additional funding. Correct.

3:57:45>> How many more children could you um

3:57:47help?

3:57:48>> So, there's two things that that

3:57:49conditions on. The first is the amount

3:57:50of state matching funds. So, right now,

3:57:53these are programs that operate

3:57:54together. And so if the state matching

3:57:56fund were reduced, we would not be a we

3:57:59would have to take any increases to

3:58:01absorb the killed children who are

3:58:02already enrolled in our state matching

3:58:04funds program. But we would need to do

3:58:07another thing which is also increase and

3:58:09augment the rate at which we are uh

3:58:12currently compensating our childare

3:58:13centers for these funds. Right now um it

3:58:16is not at market rate and so we would

3:58:18need to consider both of those things.

3:58:19Based on our modeling, we feel

3:58:21optimistic we could serve anywhere from

3:58:23100 to 200 more children. It would come

3:58:26at the expense and the cost of reducing

3:58:28some other things within the budget, but

3:58:30we feel um we could serve and we would

3:58:33serve more children as a result of a

3:58:34roll forward.

3:58:35>> So you could serve about 100 to 200 more

3:58:37children, but the demand is really like

3:58:395,000.

3:58:40>> Correct. Still

3:58:41>> okay. Thank you.

3:58:44>> Right. Sorry for the technical

3:58:46difficulty. At Nola Public Schools, we

3:58:49have the pleasure of making sure that

3:58:51these kiddos get into seats through our

3:58:53coordinated enrollment process. And so

3:58:56here there are five strategies that we

3:58:58want to share about um our enrollment

3:59:00and access that we provide for families

3:59:03through the coordinated enrollment

3:59:04process um through our avail system.

3:59:07Sorry. So, one, family access and

3:59:09enrollment support is connecting those

3:59:11families to these opportunities through

3:59:13some of our events, our family resource

3:59:16centers, which includes application

3:59:18assistance, ver verification support,

3:59:20and direct family navigation. And so we

3:59:23connect with a lot of our community

3:59:26partners around the city and bring the

3:59:28application process, you know, in those

3:59:31sites because we do realize that

3:59:33although our family resource centers are

3:59:35centrally located, in some cases

3:59:38families still experience barriers to

3:59:40being able to access those resource

3:59:42centers. But there we can start a new

3:59:45application. we can provide assistance

3:59:47with the verification

3:59:49um and do direct outreach to priority

3:59:51priority neighborhoods and families. The

3:59:55second strategy is around enrollment

3:59:57operations and accountability. We want

3:59:59to make sure that we are strengthening

4:00:01our enrollment applica operations

4:00:03through application verification,

4:00:06quality control of those applications,

4:00:08monitoring of our eligibility, staff

4:00:11development and data informed

4:00:12performance management. And so how we do

4:00:15those is that we make sure that the

4:00:17documents that are we're verifying we're

4:00:19doing that with quality as well as

4:00:22accuracy daily quality control and error

4:00:25correction staff coaching training and

4:00:27professional development

4:00:30compliance monitoring to protect public

4:00:32investment. So, not only are we

4:00:34providing that access, we want to make

4:00:35sure that we're doing it in a great way

4:00:38and being accountable to make sure that

4:00:40we are actually um passing the audits

4:00:42that come alongside [clears throat]

4:00:44the funding. The next thing is our

4:00:46technology and process improvement.

4:00:48Although our database system which is

4:00:50called Availab is helping to streamline

4:00:53applications and improve verification

4:00:55and enrollment workflows, we

4:00:57continuously monitor um the application

4:01:00including the questions um and the

4:01:03things that we're asking for. We do

4:01:05things like talk to our families as well

4:01:07as our stakeholders to find out if it's

4:01:09readable. um do they understand what it

4:01:12is we're asking for and what are the

4:01:14things that are, you know, preventing

4:01:16them from getting in the application in

4:01:17a timely manner. And so that's why we

4:01:20again went out into the community to

4:01:22provide that support because we want

4:01:24every family to be able to access the

4:01:26application and, you know, get across

4:01:28the finish line to submitting the

4:01:30application for enrollment.

4:01:32Next, we make sure that we're supporting

4:01:34our providers through training,

4:01:36onboarding, and enrollment technical

4:01:38assistance, coordinating that outreach,

4:01:40and ongoing engagement with early

4:01:42childhood and community partners. We

4:01:44know that often times families trust

4:01:47community partners because they're going

4:01:49into that space and have not maybe came

4:01:50into our space yet. So, we make sure

4:01:53that we're providing this information to

4:01:55the sites that provide services for

4:01:57families as well as community partners

4:01:59just to eliminate another barrier for

4:02:01families. And lastly, seat utilization

4:02:04and equitable access using our

4:02:06enrollment and demand data. We maximize

4:02:09publicly funded seats by doing targeted

4:02:12outreach, connecting with families to

4:02:14available opportunities, and

4:02:15strengthening the equitable access

4:02:17across our city. And so we're constantly

4:02:19monitoring our application cycle. Um we

4:02:23have a main round application cycle as

4:02:25well as open enrollment cycle. And we we

4:02:26like to call it always open enrolling

4:02:28because if a seat becomes available, we

4:02:31are going to fill that seat. And so our

4:02:33application process is ongoing

4:02:35throughout the year to ensure that if

4:02:37any vacancies um exist that we're able

4:02:40to fill those seats in a timely manner.

4:02:43And our goal is that every publicly

4:02:45funded early childhood seat is

4:02:46accessible to any eligible family

4:02:49through this process and that it's

4:02:51equitable and family centered um

4:02:53throughout the system.

4:02:56Get this slide

4:03:00here.

4:03:07All right. And so how we do these,

4:03:09again, I just wanted to give a little

4:03:11bit of data about some of the things

4:03:12that I talked about for our community

4:03:14based enrollment events. As I've stated,

4:03:17we go out in this community, but this

4:03:19year we did about um sorry, we started

4:03:22off with our at the beginning of our

4:03:23application cycle, we start off with our

4:03:25fair. It's a coordinated enrollment

4:03:27system fair where families are able to

4:03:29come out and they meet providers um and

4:03:32community resources. Unlike with our

4:03:35application process, you you you're not

4:03:37able to connect with a school or

4:03:39provider at that particular time. So, we

4:03:40thought that that it would be important

4:03:42that they can come on site. We're

4:03:44normally um at McDonald 35 every year.

4:03:47This year would be January 9th and

4:03:49they're able to walk up to a provider or

4:03:52school and ask them questions based upon

4:03:54the needs of their families. We this

4:03:57year had 21 total verification events

4:04:00and supported over 600 families. Whether

4:04:03that was with application assistance or

4:04:06verification as I talked about

4:04:07previously.

4:04:14We want to make sure that throughout

4:04:15this process we are also building family

4:04:17trust. And so in our high satisfaction

4:04:20rating surveys that we've done 83% of

4:04:23those families explained that their

4:04:25process was was either good to

4:04:27excellence and 92.5%

4:04:30were very satisfied. So even though

4:04:33we're getting a high rating, we still

4:04:35contact families who do rate their

4:04:37experience at a two or below to talk to

4:04:40them about their concerns and then that

4:04:42also aids in improving our overall

4:04:44satisfaction and our application

4:04:46process.

4:04:48We've expanded our family support by

4:04:50making sure that we have available live

4:04:52phone assistance and virtual support

4:04:54options um so that if families can't

4:04:56come in for whatever reason, they have

4:04:58another avenue to reach out to us. 91%

4:05:02of our applicants who initiated

4:05:03initiated an application either placed

4:05:06or successfully weight listed and then

4:05:08of those 90% did receive their first

4:05:10first choice placement.

4:05:15The next thing I want to talk about is

4:05:17within our system we implemented um two

4:05:21compliance managers on last year but

4:05:24right now that is helping to strengthen

4:05:25our quality assurance and reduce our

4:05:27audit findings. We have successfully um

4:05:30in the 2526 school year had all of our

4:05:33funding sources without any uh audit

4:05:36findings which then is going to be

4:05:39something that we're trying to make sure

4:05:40that we're doing moving forward. And

4:05:42what that means is not only are we

4:05:43filling the seats again, we are making

4:05:45sure that we are following all of the

4:05:47eligibility requirements for the various

4:05:49funding sources that we do offer. And we

4:05:52also make sure that we're pouring into

4:05:54our staff with a professional

4:05:55development and skill building as well

4:05:57as making sure that we're reinforcing

4:06:00our rigorous appliance framework to

4:06:02uphold all of those policy adherence

4:06:04that I spoke about earlier.

4:06:08We also have an engagement and

4:06:10enrollment campaign. You may see some of

4:06:13our billboards around the city, but we

4:06:15are thinking about ways that we can

4:06:17reach uh families who we are not already

4:06:19reaching. So be on the lookout for our

4:06:21before you know it campaign. We are

4:06:23going to highlight some of the journey

4:06:26of the kids who started in about 3 years

4:06:28ago in our campaigns from infasy through

4:06:32kindergarten. So we're excited that

4:06:34we're going to show a little bit of

4:06:35their journey and how they're being

4:06:36successful in their educational journey.

4:06:38Now

4:06:41lastly, this is the fiscal year budget

4:06:43for 2027. Um we have five categories of

4:06:47family enrollment and support

4:06:49information and media campaign, family

4:06:51access, our data systems and support and

4:06:54then fiscal administration and program

4:06:56support which totals 1.5 million um with

4:07:00100%

4:07:02uh indicated right here.

4:07:07>> Okay, any questions?

4:07:09All right, thank you so much for your

4:07:10presentation.

4:07:11>> Civil service is up next. Thank you,

4:07:14Ashley.

4:07:39I'm sorry.

4:08:13He's going to drive.

4:08:26Good afternoon, council members. Um I'm

4:08:28Amy Trapany, civil service director, and

4:08:29I have with me today Tia Harrison and

4:08:31Robert Hagman for my staff. Um for our

4:08:342027 proposed budget, um it's

4:08:37essentially a standstill budget from

4:08:382026. Our personnel costs are about $2.4

4:08:42million. Um as Brandy spoke about

4:08:44earlier, that's a $26,000 increase from

4:08:482026, but that's due to an increase in

4:08:50the fringes, the cost of fringes. Um it

4:08:53maintains our current staffing level of

4:08:55filled positions. Other operating is

4:08:58also fixed at 59,364

4:09:01and that is the same amount as we had in

4:09:022026.

4:09:06Okay. And the key components of our

4:09:07budget um as I said it maintains our

4:09:09current filled staffing and uh it

4:09:12eliminates two uh positions that are

4:09:14currently vacant. Uh one of the

4:09:16positions actually has sort of been

4:09:17replaced by technology when we went to

4:09:19our new learning management system. uh

4:09:21it eliminated the need for us to refill

4:09:23that position. So for our other

4:09:26operating again it's the same as 2026.

4:09:29Um just to note 92% of our other

4:09:31operating funds are essentially

4:09:33dedicated to two areas either software

4:09:36or or our disciplinary appeals process.

4:09:38About 63% of our budget goes to the

4:09:41different softwares programs that we use

4:09:43and 29% uh goes to the disciplinary

4:09:46appeals process and that's mostly for

4:09:48hearing examiners and court reporters.

4:09:50Um as you know we use uh Neo gov for

4:09:53most of our uh human resource uh

4:09:56tracking. So we use different uh modules

4:09:58of that system for applicant tracking.

4:10:00It's our job portal. It's our learning

4:10:02management system performance

4:10:04evaluations. It's online onboarding,

4:10:07electronic requisition routing. So we

4:10:09use that for a number of HR processes in

4:10:12city government across departments.

4:10:16Um for our budgeting efficiencies from

4:10:182026 to 20 uh from 2025 to 2026 uh

4:10:22essentially the biggest cut to our

4:10:24budget uh was that we did not get funded

4:10:26last year or this year for public safety

4:10:28promotional testing. Um so that was a

4:10:31significant uh difference in our budget

4:10:33from 2025 to 2026. And again that's not

4:10:36funded for 2027.

4:10:38uh our rules do allow for those

4:10:39promotional eligible lists to stay in

4:10:41effect for up to five years with

4:10:44commission extension and that is

4:10:46essentially what the commission has done

4:10:47for the existing eligible list. Uh the

4:10:49commission's extended them into 2027

4:10:55for our 2027 goals. Uh our our first

4:10:58goal is to continue to work with the

4:11:00administration and the civil service

4:11:01commission to revise civil service rules

4:11:03and processes to enhance efficiency,

4:11:06transparency, and fairness in the

4:11:08administration of the merit system.

4:11:10Every year we bring forward a number of

4:11:11rule changes uh to move things forward

4:11:13in our system. Uh we also want to

4:11:16sustain and monitor the efficiencies

4:11:18resulting from the mayor's hiring

4:11:20process improvement task force that we

4:11:22served on earlier this year. Um some of

4:11:24those changes that we've made uh we've

4:11:26gone for to a per vacancy per job

4:11:29posting system. Uh previously we would

4:11:32post positions collect applications put

4:11:35people on eligible list and then when

4:11:36the departments had a need we would give

4:11:38them the list. Um what that resulted in

4:11:40while it gave an instant list of people

4:11:43there were often people on the list who

4:11:45had applied months earlier and were no

4:11:47longer interested in the position. So

4:11:49we've shifted to where the department

4:11:51files a requisition. It goes through the

4:11:54approval process. It's an actual

4:11:56budgeted vacancy. Then we do the posting

4:11:58and create the eligible list for that

4:12:00particular vacancy. So uh much better in

4:12:03terms of the public knowing that it is

4:12:06for an actual seat in city government.

4:12:09Um one of the other efficiencies is we

4:12:12reertify the list of eligibles on a

4:12:14weekly basis. So, we're constantly

4:12:15sending more qualified candidates to the

4:12:18departments. Um, increased visibility

4:12:20for managers on those requisitions. Uh,

4:12:23we moved the hiring freeze form at to

4:12:25part of the requisitioning process. So,

4:12:27that's electronic now. And then there's

4:12:29a mandate for departments to use our

4:12:31online electronic onboarding system as

4:12:34well for new employees. Uh, another goal

4:12:37is to work with the departments to

4:12:38address critical vacancies through

4:12:40hiring rate increases, new

4:12:41classifications, or minimum

4:12:43qualification changes. Uh, we want to

4:12:45partner, Robin Tia's team will work with

4:12:47the departments to update job

4:12:49specifications to ensure they're

4:12:50accurately reflecting involving work

4:12:52requirements and organ organizational

4:12:54needs across city government and the

4:12:56sewage and water board. Again, those job

4:12:58titles and the job specs are living

4:13:00documents. We want to make sure that

4:13:01that those accurately reflect changes to

4:13:04the workforce, especially when you have

4:13:06uh increased incorporation of technology

4:13:08into jobs. Um, another thing that we've

4:13:11worked on this year and will continue to

4:13:13work on when you don't have money to put

4:13:14forward uh to initiatives, you can still

4:13:17do enhanced training for the

4:13:18departments. So, this year uh we did uh

4:13:21a workshop for departmental leaderships

4:13:23on disciplinary training. We partnered

4:13:25with the law department and the business

4:13:27council gave us some assistance. Really

4:13:29worked uh to train those departmental

4:13:32leaders on how to effectively enact

4:13:34discipline for employees in a way that's

4:13:36fair and stands up uh to any challenges.

4:13:39Uh we also created a reference guide to

4:13:42all things civil service for directors

4:13:44and new directors so that they would

4:13:46have um sort of a bible on how to work

4:13:48within our system effectively. It gives

4:13:50them a reference to say okay well how do

4:13:52I do this in the system? How does this

4:13:54work? developed that earlier this year.

4:13:56Um next year uh early in the year with

4:13:59the assistance of the business council,

4:14:00we hope to do a train the trainer

4:14:02session where uh right now we have about

4:14:0525 individuals uh who serve as uh

4:14:07trainers in our employee growth and

4:14:09development program. They're employee

4:14:11trainers and we're going to uh bring in

4:14:13someone to assist uh with training the

4:14:15trainer for them on uh techniques for

4:14:18adult learners. So to make that program

4:14:20better to effectively train our existing

4:14:22workforce. It's one of the things that

4:14:24we'll be working on earlier next early

4:14:26next year. So

4:14:27>> great. Any questions?

4:14:30>> Hearing none.

4:14:30>> No news is good news. Thank you.

4:14:32>> Yeah. Thank you. And with that, we will

4:14:33adjourn. As I noted, public safety is

4:14:35tomorrow. Do your stretches. Bring your

4:14:38lunch. We will be here for a long time

4:14:39tomorrow.

4:14:40>> Bye.