2026-09-30 - City Council Budget Hearings

02:08All right, y'all. Um, I'd like to get

02:12started. It's 9:30 and I believe we can

02:14uh start day two of our hearings. First

02:17up is the Orleans Parish Coroner.

02:47get started.

02:48>> All right. Well, again, we're here uh

02:51asking you all at the very least to keep

02:54what we have. Uh you know, inflation has

02:57taken a big bite in terms of our

03:00supplies, body bags.

03:03So, any reduction in our operating

03:07budget would make it very difficult for

03:09us to do autopsies because of the cost

03:12of our supplies. Uh

03:15but of course no different than anybody

03:17else. Um

03:20so basically we have 26 uh full-time

03:23employees 26 and a half

03:26and we just like to keep our budget at

03:28around the

03:30old budget of

03:33uh 4 million um

03:37249,000.

03:39If there's a little extra, we'd like to

03:40bump it up to 4,556,000.

03:44That would help reduce our overtime

03:47cost. As you know, we have to operate

03:5024/7

03:51and at uh we don't So, with our current

03:56uh employee, 26 full-time employees,

03:59that forces us to do more overtime than

04:02we like in order to keep the coroner's

04:04office staff for the city around the

04:06clock. So that's about it. Uh um I don't

04:12know if you all have any questions for

04:13us, but at the very least, we certainly

04:16like to keep what we had. Without that,

04:18I don't know. It would be very difficult

04:20for us to operate at this point.

04:26>> All right. Well, thank you for that

04:27presentation. Um I know that the

04:29proposed budget includes $31,000 for

04:32self-generated revenues. What does that

04:34account for?

04:36The the what? I didn't hear you.

04:38>> $31,000 in self-generated revenues.

04:41>> Oh, that's basically uh

04:44>> Huh?

04:44>> The Liberty account.

04:45>> Oh. Oh. The Liberty bank account. Oh,

04:48well, that's what we can generate.

04:50That's all we can generate is about

04:52$30,000 a year. That's all we can get on

04:54our own. Everything else comes from you.

04:57>> No, I understand that. But what what is

04:59it? Is it

05:00>> storage fees? Uh

05:03um

05:07>> minor fees we can charge for like

05:09autopsy reports, uh corners reports,

05:12storage fees. You know, the biggest part

05:15was when they stopped us from having um

05:19uh the cremation fees. They took they

05:21took basically like 90% of our uh

05:24ability to of fund ourselves. So that's

05:27just small fees that we can collect

05:29which is amounts to around $30,000 a

05:32year.

05:33>> Okay. And so your proposed budget

05:36includes 31,000 but the mayor's proposed

05:38budget says it's 23,000. Do you know

05:41what the difference in that number is?

05:44>> Uh you'd have to ask the mayor.

05:46>> All right. Got it.

05:48>> Council member, the the administration

05:50does not do a proposal for funds that we

05:52don't manage.

05:53>> Okay. Thank you.

05:56All right.

06:00And you have 26.44

06:02full-time employees.

06:04>> That is correct.

06:05>> And you want to increase staffing and

06:07reduce overtime. Do we know what the

06:09overtime was?

06:12>> I'll have to get that.

06:13>> Not right off the top of my head.

06:15>> If you could get us the the overtime

06:17number, that would be helpful. Just

06:19understand.

06:19>> You would have to know that.

06:21>> We'll we'll get it from Brandy.

06:22>> Yeah.

06:23>> Any questions for the corner? Council

06:26member Green followed by Willard.

06:27>> Yes. How you [clears throat] doing?

06:29>> I'm gonna take you off the subject a

06:31little bit just because you said that

06:32you would like to maintain where you

06:34are. Can you talk to the public about

06:36the fight against fentinel and

06:38overdoses? Are we making progress in

06:40that area?

06:41>> Well, the the number of overdoses is

06:44down not to

06:46uh a level that I think is

06:50um appropriate. Um

06:53um and there some new drugs out there,

06:55designer drugs that are just as

06:57dangerous that are beginning to show up.

06:59Um so it's always a fight with these

07:03drugs. Uh we made a little progress uh

07:07in terms of uh the number of drug

07:09overdoses,

07:12but people seem to like to come to New

07:14Orleans and die in hotels and shoot

07:17themselves up and pass away. So, um, but

07:22it's not as bad as it used to be, but

07:25it's not at an it's still at an

07:27unacceptable level.

07:28>> Well, I remember the first year in 2022,

07:30we had over 500.

07:32>> Well, we don't have that in the city,

07:33right?

07:34>> We don't have that anymore.

07:35>> Where do you think we are this year?

07:36>> We had 184 to date. you know, it's

07:38terrible figure, but I just think that

07:40it's important for us to recognize when

07:43we're making progress and also to tell

07:45people to stop doing some of the things

07:47that they do that are resulting in the

07:49negativity. And as a corner, you see it.

07:51But I want the media to pick up on this

07:53fact that there were over 500 overdose

07:56deaths in 2022.

07:59This year, there'll be less than 200,

08:01which is terrible.

08:02>> Less than 200.

08:03>> Terrible. But it's important to

08:04emphasize that you can't that you can do

08:06something about it. If you're addicted

08:07to drugs, it's not an inevitability.

08:09It's not an inevitability that you're

08:11going to stay on drugs for the rest of

08:13your life. Some progress can be made as

08:15we're making here in the city.

08:17>> And it's important. Well, of course, you

08:19shouldn't use drugs. So, I have to

08:20qualify what I'm about to say. You

08:23shouldn't use drugs. But if you're going

08:25to use them and you're going to buy them

08:27on the street, you better know what they

08:30putting in them. Um because you can lace

08:33drugs with all kind of fentanil

08:37forldahhide,

08:39some of these new designer drugs. Um and

08:43uh

08:45and so you think you're bar marijuana or

08:48cocaine, which is in itself is bad. And

08:51then it's laced with something else that

08:53you don't expect. And these respiratory

08:56depressants stop the diaphragm from

08:58moving. And unless somebody's standing

09:00over you with Narcan, you're not going

09:02to make it. So, um, uh, the other thing

09:06is trying to get Narcan into the hands

09:08of people who have this kind of problem.

09:10Um, so that if if they know they're

09:13going to use drugs or in a group, then

09:15they they they have the sublingual or

09:18the injectable to use in in to to try to

09:22counteract the effect of the drug. Um

09:25the problem is the drug

09:28suppression of respiration lasts a lot

09:31longer than the narcan. So

09:34you give one shot and the narcan wears

09:37often 45 minutes but the uh narcotic

09:42lasts 2 3 4 5 hours and so you have to

09:46have more than one and to keep to keep

09:48it going until the total effect of the

09:51drug wears off. the nocan is going to

09:53wear off a lot quicker than the uh

09:56narcotic is going to wear off. So I

09:59don't and and information and what we

10:01try to do that I try to make myself

10:03available to speak at anybody or any

10:06group who wants to talk about drug

10:08addiction or anything that the coroner's

10:10office does. Uh uh

10:14Brian has so many wears so many hats but

10:17I know he tries to go out and do and I

10:20make myself available. I don't get that

10:21many requests, but when I get them, I

10:23try to uh go and um educate people about

10:27the dangers of drug abuse. And um

10:30>> thank you. That's good that you

10:32mentioned that and that's why I bring up

10:33those things because I think people

10:34don't think to call the coroner's

10:36office. That's why we have these

10:37discussions because you see things that

10:40>> NOPD sees them many times individual

10:43officers but as a collective as one

10:45individual you and your office see a lot

10:48more and you can share stories with

10:50people who are in need.

10:50>> Well, you know we're part of the

10:51criminal justice system. I think people

10:53forget that you know that we're active

10:55part everything starts with us. I mean,

11:00uh, the whole criminal justice system

11:01begins at the coroner's office, um, for

11:04practical purposes and, uh, certainly as

11:07it relates to death, it it all does. So,

11:11um, but again, I'm here. I'm trying to

11:14make myself available. Um, and but I I

11:19must admit, I don't get that many

11:21requests to to do to see. So,

11:23>> maybe you'll get more now because people

11:25don't know those things. They don't pay

11:26attention to that. So I appreciate that.

11:28>> Yeah, I I am available. I will try to

11:30make myself available to trenches and

11:32everything to speak about

11:34>> any of the aspects of the coroner's

11:36office and particularly the uh

11:40various

11:42deep causes of strife associated with

11:46drug death. Um

11:49so

11:50>> okay,

11:51>> we do the best we can. I can promise you

11:53we will do the best we can.

11:54>> Okay. Thank you,

11:56>> Council Member Willer.

11:58>> Thank you. Um, good morning, Mr. Cornes.

12:00Good to see you.

12:01>> I hope all is well. Just a couple of

12:03questions. So, in your presentation, you

12:06talked about um how you wanted to add, I

12:08believe, six FTEES, which was supposed

12:11to help reduce your reliance on

12:14overtime.

12:14>> Yes.

12:15>> Um, do you know how much you're slated

12:17to spend on overtime this year?

12:19>> I do not.

12:20>> You're not sure?

12:21>> Okay. Okay. It we sent it we sent it

12:24into the city. The city would have those

12:26numbers. I do not know what what what

12:28you all are paying in overtime. I do not

12:30know.

12:31>> Where we are year to date is about

12:33$300,000.

12:35>> How much did you say?

12:36>> $300,000. Last year they came in at um

12:40$800,000.

12:42>> $800. Okay. That's helpful. Uh and

12:45Brandy, you might be able to help with

12:47this, too. In the presentation you you

12:50reference um a propos an adopted budget

12:54and a revised budget. Um what's the

12:57difference between those? Do you have

12:59that Brandy?

13:00>> So the the presentation by outside

13:02agencies are not completed by our

13:03office. So I'm not sure.

13:05>> Gotcha. Okay. Um

13:08okay.

13:10Well, one of the one of the things I

13:12wanted to talk about was um some of the

13:15the functions that you outsource in your

13:18office because I would imagine if you

13:20had more employees, you would outsource

13:22less. So, um

13:26let me see like one thing you have

13:28listed as 1.3 million for professional

13:31services.

13:33Do you know what what goes toward that?

13:36>> Doc, for me?

13:37>> Yeah, go ahead. just some some of those

13:39outsources that we have outsource. We

13:41have the vendors or for psych uh

13:43forensic psychiatrists. We have by law

13:45required to um perform um and issue um

13:51uh corners emergency certificates at

13:53different hospitals. We get calls daily

13:55with those. Uh so we have to those are

13:57all contractors that we have to have by

13:59law.

13:59>> Is it per hospital?

14:02It's we have four psychiatrists and they

14:03cover all the hospitals within our

14:05parish and also private uh treating

14:08facilities.

14:09>> Okay.

14:09>> Yeah. I think people don't understand

14:11how much a part of what we do is our

14:13psychiatric work and we have to have uh

14:15contracted psychiatrists to go and do

14:18these

14:19cards commitments and um OPC's orders of

14:23protective custody and all of the things

14:26they basic basically the Carter's office

14:29is the centerpiece of this uh mental

14:32health uh department as it relates to we

14:36get calls all day all around the clock

14:3824/7 It's a It's a big number. It's a

14:41big number.

14:42>> Um, my last question, do does the

14:44coroner's office provide uh expert

14:46witness testimony during trials?

14:49>> Unfortunately, I'm there all the time.

14:51>> Okay. So, it's you, it's

14:53>> and many times it's me and many times

14:55it's my psychiatrist.

14:57So, it's depends on what the district

14:59attorney particularly in older cases.

15:02Um, I I'm called to do. So, I do provide

15:05expert testimony when whenever I'm told

15:08to come and do it. Yes.

15:10>> And if you have to get one of those

15:11forensic uh psychiatrists or

15:13psychologists in um does that do you pay

15:17for that cost or does the DA's office

15:20cover it?

15:21>> Dr. F. So, we have forensic pathologists

15:24that testify for the cases that they

15:26autopsy. Dr. McKenna fills in with his

15:28older cases and they didn't on that

15:29autopsy. I'm talking about in criminal

15:31cases with homicides. All right. So,

15:33they're in city employees. So, that's

15:35part of our duties is to respond to the

15:37subpoenas and testify in court.

15:38>> So, the forensic pathologists that

15:40testify are city employees, too.

15:42>> They're contractors and they're rarely

15:43ever called for any testimony for any

15:46psychiatric uh trials or anything that

15:48may be needed.

15:49>> When I'm called, it's on murder trials.

15:51>> Okay.

15:52>> I'm I'm I would say all of them are

15:55murder trials.

15:56>> Okay.

15:56>> I'm providing the expert testimony.

15:58>> Okay. All right. Thank you guys.

16:01Any other questions for the corner?

16:04All right. Thank you all for appearing

16:06today. Ashley up next.

16:09>> I don't have it, Mr. Morgan, but come on

16:11up and then we'll take it.

16:15>> If you could just stay for public

16:16comment. Mr. Morgan has a comment.

16:40Good morning to everybody in the house.

16:43This is a subject that I'm never

16:48came into but a lot of people has asked

16:50me to address this. They say they had

16:54complaints and a fella Sanchez, he

16:57annoyed complaint. He's supposed to be

17:00the representative between the people

17:03and the police department and the people

17:06feel that he is covered enough for them

17:10and also that

17:13the people is angry at

17:17an Patrick.

17:20They are questioning

17:23why is she given many privileges.

17:26>> With all due respects relative to this

17:29agenda, this subject is the coroner's

17:32office. What you're saying is not

17:34relevant. You can wait and take out a

17:36card when the police department makes

17:38their presentation. We have to follow

17:40some protocol.

17:41>> Oh, okay. Well, then I apologize for

17:43this because I thought this was a police

17:46meeting. No,

17:47>> I apologize and I'm I filled out a card

17:50and we'll address it. Thank you for the

17:52consideration.

17:53>> Thank you. You'll be first up, Mr.

17:54Morgan, after the NPD goes. Mr. Coroner,

17:57thank you for appearing.

17:58>> Thank you.

17:59>> You are done for the day. Thank you very

18:00much.

18:01>> Up next, we have the Public Safety

18:03Agencies, and we're starting with the

18:05New Orleans Police Department.

18:26All right. And just some housekeeping.

18:29Number one, there are QR codes for our

18:31all presentations at the front desk. And

18:35then if you have a card, a yellow card,

18:37please put it in the clear box over

18:40there so that we can get it and indicate

18:42what matter you want to speak on.

19:12Yeah, good.

19:31Good morning. All of the agencies that

19:33fall under public safety were tasked

19:35with finding efficiencies and making

19:37reductions to get us to our 2027 budget.

19:40Today, each of them are going to do a

19:42presentation. They're all the executives

19:44are here supported by their leadership

19:46team. Each of them will do a

19:47presentation to you uh about those

19:49efficiencies and those reductions. and

19:52then they're all avail themselves to you

19:53for any questions that you may have. I

19:56will be here for the entirety to support

19:58them for any questions that may be

19:59beyond their scope. But thank you. Good

20:01morning. Start with the police

20:02department.

20:03>> Thank you. You may proceed.

20:05>> Yeah. Good morning, council. I'm Kirk

20:07Patrick. Thank you for having us. You

20:09know, before we begin today, I did want

20:12to tell you that I have a deep

20:14appreciation for what you're doing.

20:16you're are trying to close the

20:18structural gap and the police department

20:21is going to be uh collaborative with you

20:24in meeting that goal and [clears throat]

20:26so I think uh the mayor Moreno as well

20:29these are herculan

20:32efforts but we are going to be a good

20:34player with you as I said to reach the

20:37goal I will begin by um [clears throat]

20:40addressing if I may here

20:44where we stand today with our own

20:48efficiencies and that is reflected

20:50through our crime data.

20:53So we're going to show you uh what's

20:55important about this particular slide is

20:58when uh when people call 911 they want

21:02to be serviced they want to be serviced

21:03quickly and so this is our response time

21:07over several years. So if you would look

21:10the easiest way is to look at the lefth

21:14hand column those are your years 2021

21:16through 2026.

21:19If you will note uh it gives you the

21:22number of calls for service and they

21:25have been pretty stable for the past 5

21:28years but the call response times are

21:32what show our efficiency. So, back in

21:362021,

21:37uh we have in the police department our

21:39own structural gap, if you will, because

21:42back uh in the uh several years ago, we

21:46were a department of 1,200

21:48over 1,200 officers. Even years further

21:52back, you were 1,500. So, in many ways,

21:56the structural gap for us was between

21:58losing 600 to 300 officers. But how have

22:03we been able to still serve the

22:05community with our own efficiencies? So

22:09in 2021 on the very right hand side year

22:13to date our call for service response

22:16times we are still matching in 2026

22:21pardon me what we did in 2021.

22:24And uh so that's just a an example of

22:28our commitment to be as efficient in

22:31serving people as quickly as possible.

22:33Let's go to the violent crime trends.

22:35You know that this has made not only

22:36national news but we have even um been

22:40given a compliment on a global stage at

22:43the United Nations last week. uh

22:45Washington DC and New York, I mean,

22:48excuse me, New Orleans were called out

22:50as being two of the cities that have had

22:53amazing

22:55uh drops in our crime. The top one

22:59murder from, as we all know, in 2022,

23:04New Orleans was the murder capital of

23:06the United States. Since 222 to today,

23:10we have dropped our murders by 65%.

23:14And then you can go down the list here.

23:16Fatal shootings are down 67,

23:20non-fatal [clears throat]

23:2162, and armed robbery 56. And lastly,

23:25carjing, carjackings are 66 below

23:29reduction. Again, with our own

23:31structural gap of having over 300 fewer

23:35officers than just several years ago.

23:38So, what I will now do is turn it over

23:41to our controller. So to my left is

23:44Charlene Rollins. She is our comproller

23:47in the police department and she's going

23:49to walk you through the numbers

23:52associated with our budget proposal to

23:54you. Go ahead, Miss Rollins. You have

23:57the floor.

23:58>> Thank you, Superintendent, for that

23:59introduction. Um, council members, I am

24:02pleased to present the 20 27 proposed

24:06budget versus the um 2027 projected

24:09budget. Okay, this slide represents

24:11NOPD's proposed 2027 budget in

24:15comparison to the 2026 projected budget

24:18for general fund. NOPD's 2026 projected

24:21spend is expected to be 170 million by

24:24year end. included are personnel

24:27expenses of 151 million which cons

24:30consists of expected salaries including

24:32fringe benefits estimated um to the year

24:36end which also includes estimated

24:37overtime and pension expenses. Other

24:40operating expenses are expected to end

24:42at$19 million which is consistent with

24:44the 2026 adopted allocation. Using the

24:48project the projected 2026 year in spend

24:51on this slide instead of the 2026

24:54projected allocation referencing the

24:56slide is probably a more accurate

24:58comparison when considering the amount

25:00that should be presented with the 2027

25:03proposed budget. The 2027 proposed

25:06budget consists of 150 million in

25:08personnel cost in addition to 16.2

25:12million in other operating costs with a

25:14total proposed budget of 167 million and

25:18I need to note include any

25:20[clears throat] required budget

25:21reductions in that number. The proposed

25:24the proposed this proposes a variance of

25:273.2 2 million primarily due to the net

25:30impact of both proposed reductions to

25:33other operating um and personal costs

25:36discussed in more detail in the next

25:37slide.

25:42The 202027

25:44proposed budget consists of 10 million

25:47in total reductions compared to 2027

25:51budget request. Reflected below are 2

25:54million overtime and 4.3 million in

25:56proposed budgeted civilian staffing redu

25:59reductions resulting in 62 full-time

26:02equivalent positions. As a result,

26:05NOPD's 2027 proposed budget includes 975

26:10budgeted commission officers and 293

26:13budgeted civilian employees. Key other

26:16operating reductions include 2.5 in

26:19reductions um reducing our annual

26:22payment for the Axon agreement which

26:24actually started at 5.5 in annual spend

26:27and we're reducing it down to 3 million.

26:29Additionally, we proposed a reduction of

26:311.3 million in current outsource traffic

26:34investigation services. We also proposed

26:36an additional 452,000 in other operating

26:40reductions and that's primarily due to

26:42um savings we we identified in phone

26:45services.

26:48Next slide.

26:55>> The slide the next slide. Slide seven.

26:57No, I'm sorry. No, that's fine.

27:00Um, this slide presents the 2027

27:02proposed budget versus the 2026 adopted

27:06budget for non-general general fund

27:08expenses. The 2026 adopted budget for

27:12non-general funded expenses includes

27:1417.8 million of personnel expense and

27:174.7 of other operating expenses for a

27:20total of 22.5 million. In 2027, we are

27:24proposing 17 million in personnel

27:27expenses and 3.4 four and other

27:30operating expenses for a total of 20.9

27:32million in general fund non and

27:34non-general fund expenses. This resulted

27:37in a $ 1.6 million variance and this is

27:39primarily due to ARPA funding ending in

27:432026 and we were able to offset um it by

27:478.5 million in expected grant awards for

27:49the upcoming 2027 fiscal year.

27:54Next slide. Thank you. The non-general

27:56fund no previous

28:00right here. Yes, ma'am. The non-general

28:03fund request includes both recurring and

28:05new requests expected for the 2027

28:08fiscal year. Personal expenses again

28:10consists of 6.7 which is state

28:13supplemental pay allocation French

28:15Quarter development district patrol and

28:18if in comparing that to the budget book

28:20um that's going to be rolled up into

28:22special revenues right there. Okay. Also

28:25included is 6.3 in departmental justice

28:28community or policing services um which

28:31covers the reverse reimbursement of

28:33possibly 50 salaries full-time

28:36um career sworn law enforcement offices

28:39and again that's going to roll up into

28:40the federal fund section in the budget

28:42book. Other operating costs include the

28:45expected spend from the asset seizure

28:47funding in addition to 2 million for the

28:50department of justice bureau assistance

28:52grant which actually provides funding

28:54for investigating prosecuting sexual

28:57assaults and um confinement facilities.

28:59And on this slide, it's important to

29:00note that we mentioned the most

29:02significant um non-general fund ask, but

29:06if you were to compare that to the

29:07budget book, um there is a lot more

29:10other smaller grants that rolls up and

29:12we would we did that reconciliation. So,

29:13we do have that list if you need to know

29:15what that is. The non-journal fund

29:16recurring request also includes funding

29:18from Louisiana Highway Safety

29:20Commission, the Louisiana Commission on

29:22Law Enforcement, and other um justice

29:25grant awards. And I'll send it back to

29:26Miss Chief. I'm actually going to

29:29address overtime for us. And so this is

29:32our slide regarding overtime.

29:35You can pardon pardon me. On the left

29:38hand side are actual spent that we have

29:41um engaged in or spent this year. You

29:45can tell Mar excuse me the month of

29:47February is obviously tied to Marty Gro.

29:50So more importantly is the slide on the

29:53right and this was kind of a historical

29:55spin of overtime. The very left hand bar

30:00chart actually has to do with the year

30:042022 y'all. That was our co year and

30:07that is why the uh spend was so low back

30:12in that time was because of the co year.

30:16I came in 2023. This was the transition

30:20year. I started at the fourth quarter of

30:25the 2023rd year. So there was transition

30:29going on at this time and then the

30:32impact uh was right at the top of the

30:34year of 2024.

30:36Of course that is the event of the

30:39Bourbon Street terrorist attack. We also

30:43had Super Bowl. We also had an

30:47unprecedented snowstorm. So that is why

30:51that particular overtime jumped the way

30:54it did in context through the history of

30:57how overtime is spent here

31:00last year. You may recall and I again I

31:03want to thank this council and um you

31:08something to note before I make my next

31:10remark, but the bar that is in gold that

31:14was what you budgeted in overtime. So in

31:182024

31:21there was um not much actually in the

31:24budget for overtime and then in 2025

31:27there was no budget for the overtime.

31:30But in 2024,

31:32we spiked in the spend because of those

31:37unusual um big events that occurred.

31:40Then in 20 last year, as I said, I

31:44wanted to thank y'all because you gave

31:47me a budget and you said, "We asked for

31:5023 million, you gave us 23 million." And

31:53and that is actually something that we

31:56are grateful for that you did that for

31:58us. So we um through the good work of

32:04the assistant chief, we really managed

32:07according to that budget. But as an

32:10example, mid year this year, we had to

32:12make an adjustment. The council and the

32:14and the administration said, "We've got

32:17to cut that." And we we were given a new

32:20overtime budget of 15 million.

32:25We have promised to be good stewards.

32:27And if you'll see the spin chart there,

32:30we have operated below that new adjusted

32:35budget you gave us of 15 million. So, we

32:39just wanted to put all of that in

32:40context for you and um but again, we

32:44thank you for for uh trying to give us

32:47uh everything we have asked for. We

32:49recognize that we're now going to move

32:52to recruiting

32:56and um you know that this was a big one

33:00of the top three goals we had when I

33:02came here. Recruiting,

33:05graduating in the consent decree, and

33:08reducing violent crime. We've turned the

33:11corner on the recruiting. These are your

33:13numbers to show that between last year

33:16and this year we've had a 65%

33:20increase in the number of applicants.

33:23What really matters is that those

33:26applicants who turns around and actually

33:29takes the test. So you got to have a

33:32bigger pool because from that pool are

33:35the ones who are going to go and take

33:36the test and get into the actual

33:38process. We've had a 28% increase of

33:42those who are now test taking with us.

33:47So here are some of the just kind of a

33:51bar chart to show that

33:54and then let's we will kind of start

33:58winding down here with our budget

34:00efficiencies.

34:05We have been like every other

34:07department. We have looked at everything

34:10of where can we have efficiencies. We

34:14were willing to not have any so to speak

34:16sacred cows. So one of the first places

34:19we looked to were our contracts with

34:22outside vendors and we started to look

34:25at those to identify potential savings

34:28if we did business differently.

34:31Next, we hired a comproller who has

34:34really been a great compliment to Chief

34:37Landry and ourselves in handling the

34:40budget and the money and the business of

34:43running the police department. And then

34:45lastly, we've have been able to maintain

34:48the efficiencies of driving crime

34:51continually to drop the crime violent

34:54crime rate and we have done that with

34:57very good management of the overtime.

35:01So we will finalize our report to you by

35:05turning to the goals.

35:07So here we're we will continue to expand

35:12on the strategies

35:14to reduce violent crime.

35:18We also, if you may recall, in the May

35:22uh of this last year, we took on parking

35:26and towing. So it looked like we added

35:2950 new civilians to our overall staff,

35:32but that was the roll off where we

35:34didn't go out and hire. be rolled over

35:36from one department to the next

35:37department. So we have seen great

35:40efficiencies having parking and towing

35:42as a part of our team. Then uh we have

35:46recently made a decision to address

35:49violent crime in terms of narcotics and

35:53the sale and uh really street level

35:56narcotics. And so we're standing up a

35:59permanent narcotics unit. Our pilot is

36:03in process as we speak

36:06and that we are still pushing in and

36:09leaning into the recruitment of officers

36:12and sworn staff. Still have a goal of

36:14that 1,200. Today we were at 920 believe

36:199:06. We are graduating a class this s

36:23uh Friday. We will be adding 20 new

36:26police officers to our department. our

36:29complement to 9:26

36:31effective Friday.

36:33And then lastly, we are going to

36:35restructure policies to ensure fair and

36:40impartial discipline. We have been

36:42moving toward that and have made some

36:44adjustments and um even yesterday I I

36:49received some statistics from our PIB.

36:52Our complaints against our officers have

36:55from the public have also dramatically

36:57dropped. and that's a good sign of

36:59health. And um that's our presentation

37:03and we're ready to answer any questions

37:05you may have.

37:06>> Thank you, Superintendent. Um first I

37:08want to congratulate you on the sh you

37:11and your team, your officers, your

37:12commanders on the sharp decline in

37:15violent crime. [snorts] Um it's not only

37:18uh NOPD, which I commend you for, but

37:20it's also uh things like peacekeepers

37:22and lead um that help keep violent crime

37:26down. So, I want to congratulate you,

37:27but I also want to congratulate them

37:29and, uh, note that we need to keep

37:31investing in those programs. So, um,

37:33thank you for that. I do, uh, want to

37:36say congratulations on a comproller.

37:39>> I think it was much needed. Um, Brandy,

37:41I'm going to probably ask need some

37:44information from you on actuals because

37:47we looked at 2024 budgeted numbers at

37:51156.8 million. 2025 budget is was $149.4

37:56million, 2026 was 164.3 million and then

38:02this proposed 2027 budget is 167

38:06million. So um if we look at the delta

38:10in 2024

38:12um if you subtract the 2027 proposed

38:16budget from that 2024 number, we're at

38:19an additional $1 million. If you look at

38:22the 2025 numbers compared to what's

38:25proposed, it's over $18 million more.

38:28And then the 2026 is $3 million more.

38:31Um, so can we get those actuals from you

38:33from 2024, 2025, and up to now in 2026?

38:38And

38:38>> you're looking for general fund only.

38:40>> Looking for everything. I think we need

38:43to compare apples to apples with what

38:45[snorts] we're looking at here.

38:49Um, I do want to talk about uh the

38:53combination of parking and towing to

38:55NOPD. I think that was a good move. But

38:58I also understand that when we did that

39:00move, of the 71 individuals who

39:03transferred, at least 15 people were not

39:06actually in active status. So, can you

39:08explain a little bit about that?

39:12>> I cannot. Do you want to speak to that

39:14or

39:15>> can anyone speak to it?

39:18Can you rephrase that again?

39:20>> Sure. Of the 71 people who transferred

39:23from parking enforcement, at least 15

39:25were not actually in active status.

39:28There was one person who was deceased,

39:30who had resigned. Um, so can you tell us

39:33how you figured out where those 15

39:35people ended up and was that budget

39:38transferred over for those people who

39:41were not actually [clears throat]

39:41active? to actually answer your

39:44question. We didn't receive a budget

39:45from parking and tone. Uh I'm sorry, we

39:48got a very You know what it was?

39:50>> You you did actually. You got three $3.5

39:52million more when when we tried

39:54>> and uh those positions we tried to fill.

39:56I think we hired some new tow truck

39:58drivers. The reason we haven't been able

40:01to fill them as much as we could is

40:04because it's really hard for some people

40:06to pass our background check. So, we're

40:08looking into fixing some of that. But as

40:10far as those personnel, we uh actually

40:13did hire more tow truck drivers and

40:15actually I think we hired some more

40:17parking people, too. So where they ended

40:20up, I have no idea as far as civil

40:22service, but that wasn't something we

40:24had to address at the time.

40:26>> Do you know how many actual full-time

40:27employees work in who work in parking

40:30enforcement and towing right now? Do you

40:33have that number?

40:34>> No, I don't, but we can get you that

40:35number.

40:36>> Please do. Um Okay. Yeah.

40:40>> I want to turn to slide number eight.

40:42What?

40:42>> Hold on a second, Councilwoman. I'm

40:43being told it's 59 right now.

40:45>> You have 59?

40:46>> We have 59.

40:46>> Okay.

40:47>> And we've hired four um new tow truck

40:50drivers um as a result of losing um six

40:54that did not transfer over to us and

40:56we're in the process of continuing to

40:57hire.

40:58>> Okay.

40:59>> Yeah. And if I may just put a little

41:01context to why some were not able to

41:04transfer our uh criminal justice

41:07databases and access to the criminal

41:10justice database is governed by uh

41:15requirements of who may have access. So

41:18when we say someone didn't pass a

41:20background, we're basically saying we

41:22would not be able to have brought them.

41:24you weren't able to onboard them because

41:26they're coming into law enforcement

41:27rather than just general parking.

41:30>> Got it.

41:31>> Okay. So, um the $2.5 million on slide

41:35number eight that are covered by the uh

41:38French Quarter Development District

41:39Patrol, do you know what services are

41:41covered under that?

41:44>> Supplemental patrols. That's the

41:46supplemental police patrols for the 8th

41:48district.

41:49>> Okay.

41:51And then the $6.3 million DOJ community

41:55oriented policing services grant. What

41:57does that cover?

41:58>> That's covers the possible reimbursement

42:00of 50 police officers, sworn police

42:02officers.

42:04>> Okay.

42:06And that's grant funded, right?

42:08>> Yes, that's grant funded.

42:10>> Okay.

42:13Uh slide number six talks about a $1.3

42:15million elimination of traffic

42:17investigative services contract. That's

42:20the people who come on scene after

42:23there's a car accident.

42:24>> Yes, ma'am.

42:25>> What is the [clears throat] elimination

42:26of that uh contract? How will it impact

42:29calls for service and uh sworn officers?

42:33>> Right. With respect to potential, we

42:37value alternative responses to uh

42:41crashes. you know, rather than having a

42:43a full-fledged police officer,

42:46we would the we would have to pick up

42:49that work internally with respect to

42:52patrol officers responding to those

42:54crashes. However, uh I have mentioned

42:57before that

42:59looking at doing business differently,

43:02there are other models out there such as

43:03in Memphis called a police support

43:05technician model where it's actually

43:08done inhouse but by civilian staff who

43:13become a pipeline to become police

43:14officers, but they begin in a police

43:17service support status and they are the

43:21ones who respond to the crashes. The the

43:24goal is the same. Alternative responses

43:27to crashes are very efficient and

43:30effective. How you get there will be a

43:34decision of yours and the

43:36administration.

43:37>> Okay. Are we using state police at all

43:39to respond to accidents on the highways?

43:41Cuz I know from years past, for example,

43:44the sixth district would have to take

43:46police officers off of patrol to respond

43:49to accidents on the overpass or state

43:52highways. Are we using state police to

43:55investigate any of those crashes?

43:56>> I when I first got here, that was kind

43:59of a foreign thing to me to be honest

44:01with you. I was quite surprised. I did

44:04look into it. It's my understanding is

44:07that that is a an agreement that was

44:10made between the state and the locals.

44:13And it's not apparently just New

44:15Orleans, but here in this state,

44:18apparently state police does not handle

44:23traffic accidents on the interstate,

44:25which is very foreign to me.

44:27>> It's it's foreign to us, too. So, maybe

44:29we can try to work with our uh state

44:32troopers to see if they can respond.

44:34Uh, all I can tell you is that I did try

44:36to do some due diligence on that and

44:38that will I believe be a little above my

44:42situation maybe from the city

44:43administration or the council uh could

44:46could take that lead.

44:48>> Understood. Um, on slide number six,

44:50there's a $2.5 million reduction to

44:53Axon. What is Axon and what is the

44:55effect of that reduction?

44:57>> Sure. So Axon is the vendor who we

45:01contract for our bodywn cameras,

45:05our tasers

45:07and incar cameras. So that uh that would

45:11be a reduction associated with

45:14negotiating that that contract.

45:16>> Is it a reduction or elimination?

45:18>> It would be a reduction. So for

45:20instance, right now and under the

45:23consent, every officer who puts a

45:27uniform on or goes into the public

45:31would have to put a a camera on.

45:34The reduction would mean, for instance,

45:38detectives would no longer have to put a

45:40camera on type of thing. Uh we would

45:42have fewer cameras

45:45um for

45:48for that type of thing. So, it's a

45:50reduction and that would be the type of

45:52impact.

45:53>> Okay. But not elimination.

45:54>> It's not an elimination. No.

45:56>> Um I I do want to talk before I turn it

45:59over to my colleagues about something

46:00that I'm really passionate about which

46:02is the crime lab.

46:04>> Sure.

46:04>> Um can you talk about uh the budget for

46:09retrofitting the crime lab and also for

46:11personnel and is that included in this

46:13budget?

46:15>> It is not included in the budget. Um I

46:18would um would you like to address that

46:21uh deputy mayor or actually and and we

46:24have the chief Gernon who's over the

46:26crime lab?

46:27>> Uh yeah, thank you. We met with the

46:29leadership of the crime lab and to my

46:30understanding the retrofit is about a $9

46:33million

46:35cost. Um and so that is not reflected

46:37inside the police department's budget,

46:39but the mayor and I met with the entire

46:41leadership of what that looks like and

46:43how long that would take uh to do. And

46:46so I know that they have moved forward

46:48with the experts to lead and run and do

46:51the DNA testing. It's a separate

46:53question of how and when and how much

46:55for the retrofit,

46:56>> right? We could use capital funding for

46:58the retrofit versus operating or general

47:01fund money.

47:02>> We we did have that meeting. I think

47:03those conversations are still ongoing.

47:05>> Okay. uh just keep me updated on that

47:07because I do think it's important having

47:09our own DNA testing ability actually

47:12could bring us in some revenue because

47:14we could take in tests from other

47:16parishes much like the state and it

47:19would eliminate our need to outsource

47:21DNA testing which we do right now. Um

47:24how is our DNA backlog?

47:26>> I am going to have Chief Garn speak to

47:29specifics about our lab since he's over

47:31it.

47:31>> Okay. Thank you.

47:32>> Good morning Councilwoman.

47:33>> Good morning. um we know that you're

47:35really focused on this and we appreciate

47:36it and I just want to remind you guys

47:38that a few months ago you actually um

47:40authorized those COS positions and so we

47:43have the CODUS administrator which is a

47:45very highly specialized highly technical

47:46position that guy's actually on boarding

47:49December 1st um we're talking about in

47:51the entire nation we had two applicants

47:53and only one of them fit our criteria

47:55like we had that thing open for a year

47:57and we only found one person so it's a

47:59big win for us the fact that we were

48:01able to get him hired he's moving here

48:03from Illinois. It's a big deal. As far

48:05as the backlog, our backlog right now is

48:08pretty minimal. Um, when should I just

48:11correct that to and specifically

48:13resulting to sexual assault kits? That's

48:15really where we're talking about when we

48:16talk about backlog. A lot of the other

48:17things, car burglaries, things like that

48:19are are lesser priority. But those

48:22sexual assault kits are brought up

48:24almost weekly. So, if a sexual assault

48:26happens this week, it will be brought up

48:27next Tuesday. [snorts] Um the state

48:30police crime lab though is going to be

48:31moving at the end of the year and so we

48:33know that that combined with the um

48:36using up of that $4 some odd million

48:39dollars that the council allocated to

48:41DNA testing that money is going to run

48:43out by the end of the year as well. So

48:45we're going to probably start to see

48:47some backlog again at the state police

48:49cuz they're not going to be able to

48:50outsource anymore. But, you know, um we

48:53will have to work through that when it

48:54comes up to see a what is their new

48:56capacity as they're in a move and then b

48:59what is the new capacity as that uh

49:01money that you guys allocated dries up.

49:03>> Okay. Yeah, let's work together on that

49:05to make sure that um we are accounting

49:07and keeping track of the backlog as I

49:09know you are and Dr. Kelly is. Um there

49:11was some state money that uh

49:13Representative Landry got to um help

49:15with the backlog. So maybe we could tap

49:17her again to get some state funding uh

49:20given our current financial crisis. So

49:23thank you for your work and thank you

49:24for your attention to this. You as well,

49:26superintendent. It's it's really

49:27important and again it could be a

49:29costbenefit center if we get the CNA lab

49:32up and running.

49:33>> Thank you.

49:34>> Thank you. Um All right. I don't see any

49:36buttons pushed for speaking.

49:41>> I know it's not.

49:45>> All right. Council member McCarron,

49:47>> thank you. Um, thank you, Chief, for

49:49being here in this presentation. I want

49:51to touch back on on scene services. Um,

49:56I understand the, you know, the need to

49:59try and bring things inhouse. We talk

50:00about that all the time, especially in

50:02DPW, but for example, with DPW, you

50:05know, we have outside contracts, um, but

50:08we're hiring in-house staff. So in the

50:10meantime, we've got to keep these

50:12contracts so services do not fall short.

50:17So can you talk about the impact of if

50:19we do not if we just cut onseene

50:21services in January?

50:24>> What does that look like for people? Are

50:26we going back to six-hour wait times?

50:28And you know, and then what would be the

50:30plan to

50:32hire additional staff or figure out, you

50:34know, it almost seems like we're we're

50:36putting the cart before the horse to say

50:37we're going to cut this contract and

50:39then we don't really have a plan for

50:41backup,

50:42>> right? We we've uh been talking about

50:45what that plan would be. So, if the

50:48council and the administration says,

50:50Chief Kirkpatrick, NOPD,

50:53build an inhouse

50:56uh what I'm going to call for sake of

50:59terminology PST a police support

51:02technician program

51:04it from that green light of go it would

51:08be about 3 months because we would need

51:10to hire

51:1210 people

51:14to serve in that capacity and we would

51:18first start with inhouse people already

51:20in existing seats to see if they would

51:23like to serve in that capacity.

51:26But we believe it would be about a

51:28threemon startup from the word go to do

51:31we have people in cars you have to you

51:34have to get cars you have to get

51:36uniforms you have to have some training

51:39and so all of that we factor as a

51:42threemonth plan but that's uh in the

51:46meantime the second part of that

51:47question is what do you do immediately

51:50if if the contract does not continue if

51:53that is the decision

51:55of the council or the administration to

51:57not go forward. We have to service that

52:02that would be with the existing platoon

52:05officers and patrol. They will have to

52:09go service those and that becomes uh in

52:12the queue as any other 911 call. So that

52:16would be now we are committed to

52:19whatever this decisions of our community

52:23says we are going to do everything to

52:27maintain efficient services but the re

52:30but that is the impact we we would be

52:33doing that from the platoon.

52:35>> Have we done a full analysis on on the

52:38cost benefit or whe or whether there is

52:40a cost benefit to stand up our own

52:42program? I mean, do we have that data

52:44that you can supply to us versus

52:47continuing onseene services?

52:48>> We built out with that data uh on on a

52:52basis of 10 people and I believe that

52:55Stephanie might have it directly, Chief

52:57Landry, but it was around $650,000,

53:00but Chief, I know you did the analysis.

53:02>> Yes. That doesn't count all the

53:03supplies.

53:03>> It doesn't count all the supplies. It's

53:05only for hiring the the person the

53:07people for the um to run the program.

53:10And also we had um vehicles that were

53:13available um to infuse into the program.

53:18The only thing that we would really need

53:20is the approval to move forward with

53:22with personnel cost.

53:25>> And so [snorts] can you guys can you can

53:27you put it on like a piece of paper and

53:29a report for us

53:30>> forward to that information?

53:31>> Yeah, I mean I think we'd like to see

53:33that and and really understand on

53:35whether or not this

53:35>> Absolutely.

53:37>> Okay. Thank you.

53:37>> Absolutely.

53:38>> We've got that already kind of done. and

53:40we'll just package it in a formal way to

53:42send to you.

53:43>> Okay. Um I want to talk a little bit

53:45about some of the FTEs that are being

53:47reduced. Um specifically, there's a

53:50couple different sections of this. Um

53:52you've got a reduction in field

53:54operations. Um and then are any of these

53:57reductions, I know in chapter 90 of the

53:59code, there's certain positions that are

54:02required by law, for example, in the

54:03crime lab and PIB and force

54:05investigations,

54:07uh training academy. Are any of those

54:09personnel being cut? Are they going to

54:11affect any of those laws?

54:13>> We we will ma we'll follow all mandated

54:16laws. In terms of personnel who are

54:19mandated, they would not be a

54:21consideration for a reduction.

54:23>> Okay. Would you provide that list to the

54:24council if you have it?

54:26>> Yes, ma'am. We can provide that for you.

54:28>> Okay. Um what about in the 40 FTEES and

54:31field operations? Are those civilian

54:33operations or what? all of the

54:35potential. And I want to underscore,

54:39yes, they would be non there would be

54:41professional staff, which means they are

54:43not sworn. And I do want to underscore

54:46we value our professional staff. We do

54:49that, but all of the proposed cuts would

54:52be in the professional staff units.

54:55>> Okay. And that would what would that how

54:57would that affect, you know, sworn

54:59officers and their responsibilities if

55:01they lost civilian staff?

55:03>> Yes. the work doesn't go away. The work

55:06is still there and so it would be uh

55:10subsumed by sworn staff

55:14um and any other redirections of our

55:19current professional staff to see if

55:21there's additional work that they could

55:23take on. But those would be the only

55:25options cuz the work doesn't go away

55:27unless we can look at doing work

55:29differently. And I think we've proven

55:30that we know how to look at problems

55:33differently. Even in the crime fight,

55:35we've proven that we know how to address

55:38things from a different set of eyes.

55:40>> Could you kind of provide just a

55:43breakdown of not right now, but to the

55:45council a overview of what

55:47responsibilities would be eliminated

55:50from those civilian staff and have to go

55:52on to sworn officers?

55:53>> Yes, ma'am. We can provide all of that

55:55for you.

55:56>> Thank you. Um, I think we talked about

55:59the axon.

56:01Okay. And then the crime lab, I know

56:03briefly you talked about in in the

56:06budget book it shows a reduction from 53

56:09to two FTEEs. Did those positions just

56:12get moved under a different

56:14um

56:16section or

56:17>> Yeah, it's not Yeah, they were there's

56:20movement in that book. So, it wasn't a

56:23true reduction. They were just moved in

56:24different maybe cost centers. Okay. And

56:26are all the people that are working in

56:28the crime lab since I know we can't

56:30process DNA at this time due to the

56:32building um but we've hired uh people to

56:36try and process DNA once we get

56:38accreditation. Are people cross-trained

56:41in evidence processing or how does that

56:47>> Chief Garn do you want to address that

56:49for us please? I believe that that is

56:51the goal.

56:52>> Yeah. typically not. Especially with

56:54those DNA analysts, there's such a

56:56specialized training and there's such a

56:57high level of skill needed that they

56:59[snorts] are currently right now

57:00developing the systems, protocols,

57:02procedures, so [clears throat] that once

57:05we do get the physical infrastructure in

57:07place, they can kind of plug in those

57:10those procedures. But they're it would

57:13it would not be a good idea to crossrain

57:16them on other things because that's just

57:18not their skill set. I think that that

57:20would create a lot of unintended

57:22negative consequences.

57:23>> Okay, understood. Just checking.

57:25>> Um,

57:27what about my last question is um the

57:30the training academy you guys were

57:32moving to a new building. Have you moved

57:34to a new building?

57:35>> Yes, ma'am. We have moved into the

57:37building, but until but we everything is

57:41a temporary move until everything is

57:43dotted and signed off and I know the CEA

57:46has been making its way through. Okay.

57:48uh the necessary channels, but we are

57:50there and we're still um we would say

57:54for our sake uh we're temporarily there

57:57until the deal is done, but we have

57:59moved in.

58:00>> Okay. Thank you,

58:03Council Member Morell.

58:05>> Thank you. Good morning, Chief. Good

58:07morning, members. Uh a lot of my

58:10questions have been asked, but I I kind

58:11of need some uh finer information. So

58:14what is the total amount within the NOPD

58:18budget that's that's attributed to

58:19towing and parking enforcement

58:23>> there? There was two transfers initially

58:27in the 2027 budget. We got a contract

58:30portion which was like 43 $3 million and

58:33then we got another personnel transfer

58:35which she mentioned earlier was like

58:36right about $3.5 million. So that was

58:39the transfer. the 4.3 was in the budget

58:42initially at the 2027 year and then

58:44additional transfer a few months ago at

58:473.5.

58:48>> Okay. So just just for clarification cuz

58:50I know we there is heightened scrutiny

58:54when it comes to NOPD budget in your

58:56existing budget roughly $8.6 million is

58:59actually parking and towing enforcement.

59:02>> Correct.

59:02>> Okay. Just want to make sure they have

59:04that number free and clear. All right.

59:06And um I know you expressed this

59:08previously when we met when the transfer

59:10was taking place. Um obviously there are

59:13some concerns because of NCIC. You guys

59:16cannot have people who are inside of law

59:18enforcement who don't meet the

59:20background check cuz they could have

59:21potentially access to sensitive

59:22information and that has restricted your

59:25ability to get normal uh towing people.

59:28Um, uh, I do think that

59:34that was a foreseeable problem and it's

59:37probably a headache that you're going to

59:39have for an extended period of time just

59:41because I don't see how we can

59:43compromise our NCIC status by ever

59:46letting anyone who can't pass a

59:48background check be in our law

59:49enforcement offices. So, um, I do think

59:52it's a challenge, something we're going

59:53to have to account for, and it may

59:55require you to come back to the council

59:57and look at the salaries and the like

59:59for the people that we're hiring for

1:00:01those positions. So, I want to continue

1:00:03to have that dialogue because I can tell

1:00:04you that one of the things that we've

1:00:06really wanted y'all to address, and

1:00:08you've done it, particularly in the

1:00:10French Quarter and CBD, is nighttime

1:00:12towing. Because, as you know, previously

1:00:15when parking enforcement was under DPW,

1:00:17there really wasn't nighttime towing.

1:00:19There was towing during the daytime, but

1:00:21many people in parking enforcement and

1:00:23towing were not comfortable and were

1:00:25frankly scared to confront owners of

1:00:28vehicles and tow them at night. And as

1:00:30you know, we get a significant amount of

1:00:32calls from people throughout the city

1:00:34just for that purpose. So, I think the

1:00:36the move of parking and towing

1:00:38enforcement and OPD was the appropriate

1:00:40one. It's just that's a growing pain

1:00:42we're going to have to work through

1:00:43because I do think, not to sound

1:00:46ghoulish, but that's a lot of revenue

1:00:47left on the table when you see the

1:00:49tremendous amount of illegal parking

1:00:50that happens throughout the entire CBD

1:00:53and French Quarter area at night. And

1:00:55there are significant safety concerns

1:00:57because when many people park at the

1:01:00corner illegally, it prevents law

1:01:02enforcement and fire from navigating the

1:01:05narrow streets of the quarter. So, we

1:01:07need you to get those towing positions

1:01:08filled as soon as possible and to make

1:01:10sure we clear those areas as soon as

1:01:12possible.

1:01:14>> Um, I want to follow up with what

1:01:16Council Member Harris and Council Member

1:01:18McCarron said regarding OSS. Um, I think

1:01:21that our pivot to using a civilian uh

1:01:25contractor to do the on-site services

1:01:29was an important part of lowering u

1:01:32response time.

1:01:33>> Yes. Um, I do think it's going to have

1:01:35to be a cooperative conversation between

1:01:38now and the end of budget how we address

1:01:40the issue. I will say that I do think

1:01:44when have we last competitively bidded

1:01:47that service.

1:01:49>> I'm going to let Chief Landry speak to

1:01:51the

1:01:53>> I think the last competitive bid was

1:01:55like in 2018 2019. I would certainly say

1:01:59that if we're looking to reduce cost,

1:02:02something you might want to consider is

1:02:04competitively bidding the service.

1:02:06>> We have considered that and it was on

1:02:08the table and we're working with the

1:02:10administration about what direction

1:02:12we're going to go in,

1:02:13>> right? because I mean it it could be

1:02:14something that as we're going into the

1:02:16next fiscal year. I think that the

1:02:19council could be more comfortable if we

1:02:22set a number for it, competitively

1:02:24bidded to try and get it below that

1:02:26number and then that would be the

1:02:28compromise to try and fund that push. I

1:02:30do think that it would be

1:02:33a tremendous self-owned, self-goal,

1:02:36horrible position to be in if we were to

1:02:39[clears throat] not continue on-site

1:02:41services. If we saw call time creep back

1:02:44up to those terrifying levels in 23 20

1:02:47well 2022 and 2023 where people were

1:02:50having to wait 2 3 hours for response

1:02:53time because once an officer is already

1:02:55on scene doing a police report for a car

1:02:58wreck if they're needed somewhere else

1:03:00they have to transition to somewhere

1:03:02else. So, I think that is something

1:03:04we're going to have to work

1:03:05cooperatively to find a solution and

1:03:07rebidding that contract to see who else

1:03:09is out there to get that cost down could

1:03:12help us with the budget. Um,

1:03:17when it comes to recruitment, are we

1:03:19still working with the Police and

1:03:20Justice Foundation at all in any

1:03:21capacity?

1:03:22>> No, we're not.

1:03:23>> Okay. I just I want to say that because

1:03:24the recruitment numbers are impressive.

1:03:26So, um, I applaud y'all for taking that

1:03:30in-house and having a a a plan to build

1:03:34that up because when you look at your

1:03:35recruitment numbers and trans

1:03:37transferring those people who are

1:03:39applicants to then become test takers,

1:03:41we did a lot of work as a council

1:03:43working with you to remove barriers to

1:03:46get those individuals who are an

1:03:48applicant to get to the test. We did

1:03:50remote testing locations. We've done a

1:03:52lot of things to get there and I

1:03:54appreciate that's seen some dividends

1:03:56because we have to be able to have

1:03:58recruitment outpace attrition and that

1:04:01is that was a problem for multiple years

1:04:04and I don't know if we're quite there

1:04:06yet but it's heartening to see we're

1:04:09getting there.

1:04:09>> Yes, we're getting there and it's a work

1:04:11in progress and it's because of the

1:04:13group that we have Captain Captain Nolan

1:04:15and Dr. Green who's heading it.

1:04:18>> Very good. And their team has been

1:04:20excellent. So they've done a good job

1:04:24>> and I want to compare we have slide five

1:04:26which talks about the reduction of 62

1:04:29civilian FTEES. Compare it with slide on

1:04:33page 15 which says we've eliminated 68

1:04:35positions. So just for the math that

1:04:37means out of the 68 positions being

1:04:39eliminated 62 of those are civilian

1:04:42FTEEs. Correct?

1:04:43>> That's just the 68 actually represents

1:04:46position and that's converted. The 62 is

1:04:48FTEES. Okay. So that's that's the the

1:04:51difference. One is actual true true

1:04:52positions and it's because some of those

1:04:54positions are not full-time and it's

1:04:56converted to actually 62 FTEEs. That's

1:04:59the

1:04:59>> var. So the 68 and 62 are the same

1:05:01number. It's just some of those. Okay.

1:05:02It's because

1:05:05based upon the slide presentation. So as

1:05:07you know the public is following what

1:05:09we're doing. And I want to be very clear

1:05:10with the numbers because I don't want

1:05:12someone to look at your slideshow, look

1:05:15at the the the budget book, see a

1:05:18discrepancy, and say that this is

1:05:19something nefarious. So, I think it's

1:05:21important to let's let's hit that again.

1:05:23So, an FTE is full-time equivalent,

1:05:25which means that sometimes when you have

1:05:27multiple part-time positions, they are

1:05:29combined to make one full-time

1:05:31equivalent position. So though slide

1:05:34five shows that we're eliminating 62

1:05:37full-time equivalent, the listed

1:05:39positions that are being reduced shows

1:05:4168. That's because some of those 68 are

1:05:44part-time positions combined to create

1:05:46one FTE.

1:05:47>> That's correct.

1:05:47>> Okay. All right. Um I want to talk about

1:05:51Office of Secondary Employment. Um

1:05:55I think that you were not here when

1:05:57Office of Secondary Employment was

1:05:58created. uh Chief Krypatrick, Chief

1:06:01Harrison was and I would argue and I was

1:06:04not on the council. Well, obviously when

1:06:06it was created, the stated purpose of

1:06:09the office of secondary employment was

1:06:11to remove the aorta of corruption in

1:06:14regards to details and overtime and the

1:06:15like. I would argue based upon what has

1:06:18happened over several years that has

1:06:20been an abject failure. Um, the reason

1:06:22why I bring it up is not to dance on the

1:06:24grave of OPSC, but to talk about

1:06:27opportunities for this police department

1:06:29to self-generate revenue. Um, Office of

1:06:32Secretary Employment, um, they charge a

1:06:35amount over the detail cost per hour to

1:06:38operate the office. Um, almost every

1:06:41other law enforcement agency in our

1:06:43region does their details inhouse. Um,

1:06:46something that I know I've talked to

1:06:47both Chief Harrison and Chief Kurpatre

1:06:49about is that when you look at a lot of

1:06:51the accusations regarding double

1:06:53billing, if you simply were in the

1:06:55[snorts] same recording system, it would

1:06:57be impossible to double bill. For those

1:06:59of you who don't know, our uh city

1:07:02accounting system as ADP ADP, love it or

1:07:05hate it, is the same system used

1:07:06throughout corporations and hospitals in

1:07:08the United States. Simply put, if you

1:07:11try to input the same time for the same

1:07:14hour, the system kicks it out. You

1:07:15literally cannot do it. And the fact

1:07:18that we have a decentralized detail

1:07:20system separate from a centralized

1:07:23overtime system, we are literally

1:07:25creating the problem that continues to

1:07:28perpetuate problems. I bring this up

1:07:30because if we were to bring office

1:07:33secondary employment in house and

1:07:35eliminate it, the money that is charged

1:07:37to run the office of secretary

1:07:39employment would become general fund and

1:07:42OPD dollars. And on top of that, and I

1:07:46want to highlight this, I want to

1:07:46correct myself. I was wrong about the

1:07:48uniforms. It's not the color, it's the

1:07:50pocket that makes it expensive. So, I

1:07:52was corrected by officers. I want to I

1:07:54want to own that when I make a mistake.

1:07:55But what I want to highlight is that

1:07:59there is a huge discrepancy in what we

1:08:02do with NOPD and uniforms versus other

1:08:04jurisdictions. We provide a stipen. I

1:08:08believe it's $750 a year roughly. Is

1:08:10that correct?

1:08:10>> That's correct.

1:08:11>> Okay.

1:08:12The boots for a traffic cop are 400

1:08:14bucks.

1:08:15>> The belt for a cop was what is the belt

1:08:17for a cop on your belt? Utility belt can

1:08:20be about uh it can be about uh so it

1:08:23could be about almost $100.

1:08:24>> Okay, this adds up very quickly. Uh and

1:08:28I'll use Jefferson Parish as a

1:08:29comparison. All of your equipment

1:08:31Jefferson Parish is provided by the

1:08:32sheriff's office. Um I know that many of

1:08:36our recruits buy their uniforms while

1:08:38they're in the academy. When you look at

1:08:40these little things that kind of nickel

1:08:41and dime as barriers to entry into being

1:08:44an NOPD, I think that the quarter master

1:08:47system used by other by other

1:08:49departments is that the money that's

1:08:51generated from things like details, they

1:08:54take a portion of that money, they

1:08:56pre-by uniforms and equipment, and they

1:08:59give you that equipment. Because the

1:09:00reality is that when you're doing

1:09:02details and overtime with the equipment

1:09:05that you're paying for out of your

1:09:06pocket while the city is taking money

1:09:08off the top of that time, that

1:09:12doesn't really sit right with me. I

1:09:14think that if we want to be a

1:09:16professional law enforcement

1:09:17institution, we need to provide the

1:09:20equipment to our officers and provide

1:09:22replacement equipment for on the job

1:09:24damage. So, I really I know I've talked

1:09:26to Chief Harrison, Chief Data about it

1:09:28previously. I really want to move this

1:09:30forward. I think that if we bring

1:09:33everything in house, then we can

1:09:35actually have self-generated funds to

1:09:37offset and create other opportunities

1:09:39for NOPD to grow its own money and take

1:09:41less take put less pressure on the

1:09:44general fund for things like OSS because

1:09:48easily if we brought that in house, you

1:09:50could cover OSS and we wouldn't have to

1:09:52go and find some other part. I mean, to

1:09:55Councilman Harris's point, we don't want

1:09:58to have to rescue NOPD at the expense of

1:10:03peace ambassadors or other things that

1:10:06are happening to augment and lower how

1:10:08we fight crime. Cuz all those things

1:10:10together, funding JJIC appropriately,

1:10:14funding Umbu village, all these

1:10:15different things, they all work together

1:10:18to keep our crime rate low. It's why

1:10:20we're a national model right now. You

1:10:22can't take you can't fund one piece of

1:10:25that network and defund the other.

1:10:28Whether it's OSS responding to simple

1:10:30car wrecks, whether it's uh our violence

1:10:34intervention specialists who are going

1:10:35in neighborhoods to make sure they're

1:10:37not retaliatory killings. If you unfund

1:10:39any single piece of that, whole thing

1:10:41stops working. So, we have to find ways

1:10:45to make NOPD more self-sufficient. And I

1:10:49think that we're going to have to have a

1:10:50very

1:10:52forward-f facing, transparent

1:10:53conversation on how we eliminate things

1:10:56that have not worked and generate more

1:10:59revenue for NOPD to provide more

1:11:02opportunities for officers to actually

1:11:04have equipment not at their cost,

1:11:06generate revenue for the department, and

1:11:08also just have better outcomes. Cuz with

1:11:11one centralized system, you don't have

1:11:13all this miscommunication that happens

1:11:15that either A allows for bad things to

1:11:18happen or B allows for the appearance of

1:11:21bad things happening and NOPD having to

1:11:23spend a tremendous amount of time and

1:11:24effort with Reese back there trying to

1:11:26explain why the numbers don't line up

1:11:28the way they line up and the hours don't

1:11:29line up the way they line up. This needs

1:11:31to be streamlined. It never has been

1:11:32done. So, I will work with y'all

1:11:34diligently. I think that if we all

1:11:37decide to do this together, it can be

1:11:39done expeditiously. Maybe not before we

1:11:42finish this year's budget, but certainly

1:11:44it can affect midyear cuts or midyear

1:11:47changes next year. So, I'm just putting

1:11:49this on the table. It's something that

1:11:51we absolutely need to do and I want you

1:11:55guys to work with me in getting it done.

1:11:59That's all I got unless y'all want to

1:12:00respond to any of that.

1:12:02>> Chief Harrison.

1:12:03>> Yeah, thank you for that. and I think I

1:12:05will. Uh, historically,

1:12:07we have always had conversations long

1:12:09before I was the chief, when I was the

1:12:11chief, and even leading up to today.

1:12:12We've always had the conversations of

1:12:14what is the most efficient and effective

1:12:16way to make any of these decisions.

1:12:19This, the administration does not

1:12:20disagree with you that we should be

1:12:22having these conversations about

1:12:24efficiency, both with operations and

1:12:27with cost. So we are absolutely willing

1:12:30to have the conversation about let's

1:12:32look at what's the most effective and

1:12:33efficient way to do this whether but the

1:12:36decisions have always been beyond the

1:12:38authority and scope of the police chief

1:12:41historically. Thank you for inviting the

1:12:43chief into the conversation. We will

1:12:45bring this back to the administration

1:12:46and are certainly willing to have have

1:12:48those conversations with you.

1:12:49>> Okay. Thank you. It's all

1:12:51>> thank you uh Council Member Willard.

1:12:53>> All right. Uh good morning everyone.

1:12:56Good to see you guys. Uh, first I want

1:12:58to thank you for the work that you've

1:13:00been doing this year. Uh, crime stats

1:13:02continue going in the same direction.

1:13:04It's positive. The city's safer. I think

1:13:07people feel overall safer in the city of

1:13:10New Orleans. Um, one of the knocks

1:13:12against us is that sometimes we're not

1:13:14our best champion. Uh so that's a

1:13:17message that we need to get out there in

1:13:19the community that uh because if you go

1:13:21up to Baton Rouge during the legislative

1:13:23session, they still ask, "Is it okay? My

1:13:25my daughter wants to go to Two Lane. Is

1:13:27she going to be okay at two lane?"

1:13:29Right? Historically, we're at one of the

1:13:32safest moments in our city's history.

1:13:34So, thank you for everything that y'all

1:13:35been doing. And thank you for working

1:13:37with the council and the administration

1:13:39on the overtime. Um because that was a

1:13:42huge cost driver for us. Uh, and it

1:13:44looks like um you're going to come on

1:13:46under budget this year with the overtime

1:13:48that you've been allocated.

1:13:50>> Yes.

1:13:50>> Um, a few things that I wanted to go

1:13:53over. So, we talked about OSS um and the

1:13:5862 FTEES that are being reduced,

1:14:02eliminated. Um, those are all um

1:14:05administrative non brass positions.

1:14:08Correct.

1:14:09>> They're nonsworn

1:14:11professional staff members. Okay. Um,

1:14:16what areas are those covering as far as

1:14:19operations go?

1:14:20>> They're going to be all across the board

1:14:22almost in every division of our

1:14:24department. and everyone on our team. We

1:14:27said we are going to work with the

1:14:30council to meet our goals and everyone

1:14:34came to the table. Every all the chiefs,

1:14:36the majors and we said this this is what

1:14:41we can present. It's not easy just like

1:14:44your decisions are easy but everyone so

1:14:49uh will have some of the some impacts.

1:14:52>> Okay. Um, it sounds like from the

1:14:55council members up here today, the the

1:14:57one that um is the toughest to swallow

1:14:59is going to be OSS and and the civilians

1:15:03reporting to um the traffic incidents. I

1:15:06recall um my mom had a pretty bad

1:15:08accident around 2022. Uh she waited for

1:15:12somebody to arrive on the scene for

1:15:14about 2 hours uh and nobody came and so

1:15:17she she just left. I think she went to

1:15:19urgent care because she was actually in

1:15:21pain. we we can't go back to those days.

1:15:24So, I think collectively we have to

1:15:26figure something out. Um the the flip

1:15:28side is um you know, if we eliminate

1:15:31that contract or don't come up with

1:15:33another alternative, as you mentioned,

1:15:36um we're going to be pulling officers

1:15:37off of patrol to respond to those

1:15:39scenes. And um that's not ideal either.

1:15:42Right now,

1:15:43>> we have to have an alternative. How we

1:15:45get there and what that alternative is

1:15:47is a collective decision. But

1:15:52having an alternative bib, we we've got

1:15:55to have an alternative.

1:15:57>> All right.

1:15:59So, first I'll start off with the office

1:16:01of superintendent, your budget. It looks

1:16:04like um it's being reduced.

1:16:07You had a a funding from the US Treasury

1:16:10Department.

1:16:12Um it looks like that funding is being

1:16:14reduced to zero. You got $7 million.

1:16:17What is that?

1:16:17>> That was the ending of the ARPA funding.

1:16:19That was the end of the ARPA funding.

1:16:21Okay. And so now it's being supplanted

1:16:24by general fund dollars.

1:16:26>> Um some other

1:16:27>> ARPA funding is gone. Um and most of

1:16:29those costs we had to some of them we

1:16:31had to take in house but again we tried

1:16:33to um pursue other grant opportunities

1:16:36to actually reduce some of that funding

1:16:38loss.

1:16:39>> Okay.

1:16:39>> Okay. And then in that in the same um

1:16:43line right there uh looks like we have

1:16:46budgeted 1.8 8 million for retention and

1:16:491.8 for terminal leave. Is that

1:16:52accurate?

1:16:52>> That's correct.

1:16:54>> How did we um pin down those numbers?

1:16:57>> I'm going to have to defer to um the

1:16:59budget office for those.

1:17:01>> Okay. So, that came from the budget

1:17:02office.

1:17:02>> Numbers came from our office of

1:17:04performance and accountability data and

1:17:07trends to get us to those numbers. Yes.

1:17:10>> Okay. Um

1:17:12it looks like there was a discrepancy

1:17:14between the slide deck that you had and

1:17:17the budget book as it relates to FTEES.

1:17:21Um the the budget book had 1,330

1:17:27and then in your slide presentation it

1:17:29had 1,268.

1:17:32>> That would be after the reduction. So

1:17:34currently we're budgeted for like 2027

1:17:36had 1,330 but this slide shows the

1:17:40impact after the reductions. That's the

1:17:42difference.

1:17:42>> So you wanted to get to 1330.

1:17:45>> No, that's where we we started.

1:17:47>> Oh, that's what your reduction.

1:17:48>> We started at 1,330

1:17:50and then after the reductions we would

1:17:52be at the 1,268.

1:17:54>> Gotcha. So that's for the nonsworn

1:17:56reductions right there.

1:17:58>> All right. Um

1:18:03on moving on to operations,

1:18:06um what is the DOJ seizure division

1:18:09responsible for? Um there's an earmark

1:18:12of 500,000 for supplies, equipment,

1:18:15training right there.

1:18:16>> That's the asset seizure funds. That's

1:18:18another one in those special revenue

1:18:20funds. On one of those slides, I think I

1:18:22talk about it on slide. It's it's a

1:18:25total of 800,000. There's state and

1:18:27federal portion.

1:18:28>> Gotcha. Um and that's the asset seizure

1:18:30funds. That's an equitable sharing

1:18:32program that the office gets um as a

1:18:35result of confiscated funds and um

1:18:37participating in those those type of

1:18:39joint operations.

1:18:40>> Okay. And then the police seizure fund

1:18:42>> um that's that's all the same like they

1:18:44have one that's coded 500,000. There's

1:18:46like a state portion

1:18:48>> police seizures 300.

1:18:50>> Yes.

1:18:50>> So is that

1:18:51>> code is 800,000.

1:18:52>> Is that coming from general fund?

1:18:54>> No. No. That's

1:18:55>> that's federal and state as well.

1:18:57Federal. Yes, it's federal.

1:18:59>> Okay. Um

1:19:03the crime lab budget looks like there

1:19:06was funding in there for convention and

1:19:08travel expenses. Is is that still in

1:19:10there?

1:19:12>> Um

1:19:12>> 70,000.

1:19:13>> If it's still in 2027 line is is still

1:19:17there. All those are still represented

1:19:19there. Yes.

1:19:20>> Okay. Uh I mean across the board we've

1:19:22been asking departments and agencies not

1:19:25to do. Chief, you want to

1:19:27>> Yeah, there are certain things that are

1:19:29required for certifications.

1:19:31>> Gotcha.

1:19:31>> And those things that make uh cause for

1:19:34people to retain their employment and

1:19:36retain their certification. Uh we we

1:19:39have to do that. That is the only that's

1:19:42the only travel that's been put in

1:19:43there.

1:19:43>> Okay. So, it's more more so required.

1:19:46>> It's absolutely required for uh job

1:19:49>> for job security and and performance.

1:19:52>> Okay. All right. Um, moving on to some

1:19:55questions on the contract side. It it

1:19:58looks like you have a $750,000

1:20:00contract for cell phones. Have we looked

1:20:03at changing providers for lower costs on

1:20:07there? Same on the janitorial services.

1:20:10>> Okay. So, on the cell phones, we have

1:20:13been negotiating um uh with T-Mobile

1:20:16versus Verizon. Verizon has always been

1:20:18a great partner. during Katrina, they

1:20:21were the only ones that were still

1:20:22operating um and gave us the the

1:20:24connectivity. So, we have negotiated

1:20:27with them and the bill will be lowered

1:20:30to 300,000 this year.

1:20:32>> Okay.

1:20:32>> For 27.

1:20:33>> Okay. 300,000. Okay. What about on the

1:20:36janitorial services?

1:20:37>> Janitorial. It it it comes out of the

1:20:41property management.

1:20:42>> Okay.

1:20:43>> Budget. And once they are completed,

1:20:45they're they're um I guess they're

1:20:47contractual. Are they doing the RFP this

1:20:49year, Brandy? Do you know?

1:20:51>> Okay. I'm not sure if they're going to

1:20:52do an RFP um with the new transition of

1:20:55a new director. However, it's driven by

1:20:57their department.

1:20:58>> Okay.

1:20:59>> And we just we just utilize their trade

1:21:01agreement.

1:21:02>> Okay. Um

1:21:05450,000 for electronic citations. What

1:21:09What is that? What are those electronic

1:21:11citations?

1:21:13>> Is that is that a system? Yeah, that's

1:21:15that's actually a system for writing out

1:21:18tickets digitally. Got

1:21:19>> and uh you know sending it to the

1:21:21system.

1:21:21>> Okay. So that's that's for a system. All

1:21:23right. Um this one caught my eye and

1:21:26this will be the last thing that I have.

1:21:29Um we have a contract with Salesforce.

1:21:33What's that for? I mean I know

1:21:35Salesforce as a CRM. Uh

1:21:38>> we utilize Salesforce for recruitment

1:21:41purposes. It's our new vendor that um we

1:21:44we interface with our ESOF in in order

1:21:47to hire um our recruits.

1:21:49>> Okay. Have we uh looked at other

1:21:51options? I mean I just know from private

1:21:53sector sales forces uh very expensive.

1:21:57>> It it is and we have been um in

1:21:59negotiations with them but for right now

1:22:01it it has stabilized our recruitment

1:22:03efforts.

1:22:04>> Gotcha. So that's been part of the uh

1:22:07increase in those recruitment efforts.

1:22:08>> That's correct. Is it more more so for

1:22:10like targeting and and marketing?

1:22:12>> Yes, it is.

1:22:13>> Okay. Okay, that makes sense.

1:22:15>> All right. Thank you all so much.

1:22:17>> Thank you, Council Member Green.

1:22:18>> I'd like to ask my questions after

1:22:20public comment.

1:22:22>> We only have three uh comment cards. The

1:22:24first up, as promised, is Mr. Larry

1:22:27Morgan.

1:22:43And as Mr. Morgan is coming up,

1:22:44following him would be Edith Romero,

1:22:47followed by Sarah Whittington. Whitting

1:22:49Horn Whittington.

1:22:56>> Good morning to everybody in the house.

1:22:58Man, I'm looking at all these figures in

1:23:00the millions and how the black community

1:23:04feel that a big percentage of the

1:23:07service are not rendered to them.

1:23:12I'm wondering if that's reality because

1:23:15your councils

1:23:17that our people after America put you in

1:23:21office,

1:23:23you have to serve the people.

1:23:26And you talk about a budget,

1:23:30it's a lot of money.

1:23:34Lot of lot of lot of money. And what is

1:23:37it saying?

1:23:40Look at the police department.

1:23:44They was given a lot of money. They was

1:23:48giving each other big raises,

1:23:51buying extensive jewelry.

1:23:54All that was going on

1:23:56on Angatria watch that should have never

1:24:00could exist.

1:24:02If she was good government and governing

1:24:06the system and governing the people

1:24:08under her, the children that was killed

1:24:12in the French Quarter tragedy,

1:24:15no by their father should have never

1:24:18happened. if she was good in her line of

1:24:24work where she claimed that she had 36

1:24:27years

1:24:29on the force.

1:24:31The French Quer tragedy should have

1:24:33never happened. But yet y'all kept your

1:24:37own. Y'all find Woodfolk

1:24:41when Woodfolk was doing the job because

1:24:44she was black. But yet, Anico Patrick,

1:24:48all the people that was killed under her

1:24:51watch, she still exists today drawing a

1:24:55check on the taxpayers money. And yet

1:24:59what makes me

1:25:04>> Thank you, Mr. Morgan. Thank you,

1:25:08>> Mr. Morgan. That's your time.

1:25:11>> Mr. Morgan, that's your time. Edith

1:25:12Romero, followed by Sarah Whittington.

1:25:22Thank you so much. Um, yes. So, my name

1:25:24is Adomero. I'm here representing Iron

1:25:26Surveillance. And I want to first start

1:25:29saying thank you so much, Council Member

1:25:30Harris, Council Member McCarron, and

1:25:32Council Member Willard because you've

1:25:35really um asked the important questions.

1:25:37I've been cracking my head for the last

1:25:40few weeks and I have the privilege of

1:25:42knowing people in the big EC budget

1:25:44coalition that help me understand the

1:25:45budget. But this is not accessible to

1:25:47the people of New Orleans. And the

1:25:49people of New Orleans have um a right to

1:25:52understand where the city's money is

1:25:54going to, especially the police that

1:25:57makes up the biggest chunk of the

1:25:59budget. Um, looking at the presentation,

1:26:03you can't see it, but as uh council

1:26:06member Harris said, uh there is an

1:26:08increase of at least 3 million uh from

1:26:12last year. Um I was very confused

1:26:14because in the budget meeting with the

1:26:17mayor uh at uh McCarron's council member

1:26:20McCarron's uh district, she mentioned

1:26:23that there was going to be a decrease

1:26:25and that is not what I'm seeing in the

1:26:27numbers. Um, so I do encourage um an OPD

1:26:31to be more transparent about their

1:26:33budget. Um, I think the people of New

1:26:36Orleans deserve to know where funding is

1:26:38going to when it comes to overtime, what

1:26:41districts, what officers are acrewing

1:26:43overtime. I was just reading a report

1:26:45from the OIG about an officer that

1:26:48clocked in 2,000 hours reviewing red

1:26:52light tickets and they found out that it

1:26:54was actually just a 100 hours. So this

1:26:57is where our money is going to. We know

1:26:59that overtime was a huge chunk of the

1:27:03money that went last year and that got

1:27:05us to this place of a budget deficit. Um

1:27:08I also want to ask for more transparency

1:27:10on the overtime that is being spent

1:27:12using surveillance flock cameras, gent

1:27:15cameras, uh the police drones as well.

1:27:19Uh, and I want to advocate for this

1:27:21funding to actually go to community

1:27:23resources that actually can make our

1:27:25community safe. Thank you.

1:27:27>> Thank you, Sarah Whittington.

1:27:37>> Good morning. Sarah Whittington with the

1:27:39ACLU of Louisiana. Again, I'd like to

1:27:41thank the council members that asked for

1:27:43transparency here today um and to look

1:27:46at the actuals versus the projected

1:27:47numbers. Uh we know and understand that

1:27:50obviously between the budget book and

1:27:51the presentation today we came with some

1:27:53similar questions. Um again seeking more

1:27:57transparency about where and how our

1:28:00money is spent. Um we know that you hear

1:28:02it often but I do believe it needs to be

1:28:04reiterated that these budgets are moral

1:28:06documents about where and how a city

1:28:08chooses to spend its money. Um, and so

1:28:11within that, what it does look like to

1:28:13us is that there is potentially up to $5

1:28:16million more for police and we know at

1:28:19the same time that there's $5 million

1:28:20being cut from the low barrier shelters

1:28:23budget. With that comparison, in a state

1:28:26that criminalizes being unhoused, I do

1:28:28challenge this council to ask what it

1:28:30would mean to put people into the

1:28:32criminal legal cycle, a cycle and a

1:28:35system that will trap them versus

1:28:37funding the potential resources and

1:28:39opportunities to break those cycles. So,

1:28:42I know that this is a long process for

1:28:44this council. I know that there are a

1:28:45lot of different moving pieces. I know,

1:28:48however, that an increase in NOPD and a

1:28:50decrease in other areas that actually

1:28:52are proven effective should be answered

1:28:55and should be answered with transparency

1:28:56and accountability. Thank you.

1:28:58>> Thank you. That's the end of the public

1:29:01comment cards. Council member Green.

1:29:02>> Because this is a moral document, that

1:29:04would be one of the reasons I'd be

1:29:06concerned with any cuts in a department

1:29:09that has shown through its work that it

1:29:12is keeping our citizens safer. It's

1:29:14important to recognize some of the some

1:29:16of the changes that are taking place in

1:29:18our city of New Orleans in terms of our

1:29:20reduction in crime, but people forget

1:29:22that the reduction in crime means that

1:29:24there are fewer victims of crime. And if

1:29:27you are morally inclined to do something

1:29:29positive for this city, your first

1:29:31concern should be with those who are the

1:29:33victims of crime. So, I want to start

1:29:35off by saying that within the New

1:29:37Orleans Police Department is the victim

1:29:39witness assistance unit, which doesn't

1:29:41get a lot of attention. and the social

1:29:43workers that are in each department,

1:29:45each district of our city. They've done

1:29:47tremendous work in helping people who

1:29:50are the real who should be the real

1:29:52focus of the criminal justice system

1:29:54feel a little bit better and those are

1:29:56the people who have been victimized, who

1:29:58have been terrorized, who are the

1:30:00survivors of crime. So, I want to thank

1:30:02the NOPD for the victim witness

1:30:04assistance unit. I want to congratulate

1:30:06the NOPD on recruitment. I remember four

1:30:09years ago we were talking about

1:30:11hemorrhaging in our police department.

1:30:14Now we have more applications members of

1:30:16the media. We have a higher percentage

1:30:18of those who are um submitting

1:30:20applications taking test and that is a

1:30:23good situation. We have been compared to

1:30:26Washington DC in terms of the reduction

1:30:28in crime. Yes, Washington DC's

1:30:31population is twice the population of

1:30:33New Orleans. But do you know that in

1:30:35Washington DC there are 3,400 officers?

1:30:39There are also 3,000 members of the

1:30:42National Guard patrolling the city of

1:30:45Washington DC. But here in New Orleans,

1:30:48we have 900 plus hardworking officers

1:30:51and 300 civilian

1:30:54workers who are doing tremendous work.

1:30:55Compare that members of the media to

1:30:57Washington DC. If those are the two top

1:31:00cities that have been recognized for

1:31:02positive change relative to crime

1:31:04reduction, just think what that says

1:31:06about New Orleans and our New Orleans

1:31:08Police Department. The tremendous work

1:31:10that is being done, the tremendous work

1:31:12that is being done by also those who

1:31:14have been in support because I've been a

1:31:15member of the council for 4 years and

1:31:17we've done some things. We provided c

1:31:19certain technology.

1:31:21We've always said that if there is

1:31:23something that is going to work, tell us

1:31:25about it and we support it. So, a

1:31:27combination of the New Orleans Police

1:31:28Department working with elected

1:31:30officials has made some positive results

1:31:32in our city of New Orleans. I'm just

1:31:34also pleased to just say this in general

1:31:37about our budget.

1:31:39I am proud to be a member or resident of

1:31:42the city of New Orleans where we're

1:31:44making these changes. I am the oldest

1:31:46member on the council and that means

1:31:48that I've seen a lot. I've seen a lot

1:31:51since the 1970s when crime was just out

1:31:53of control in our city. I remember when

1:31:55I was the head of economic development

1:31:57under Mayor Moral, we had 400 murders in

1:31:59our city of New Orleans. I am not going

1:32:02to let us forget in terms of the moral

1:32:04document what we need to be doing to

1:32:06keep our citizens safer. This year we

1:32:09are going to have the lowest murder rate

1:32:10in the last 57 years or if that's the

1:32:14number. Is that the number? Is it about

1:32:1550 plus years? At the end of the day, we

1:32:17may have less than a 100 murders. And

1:32:19each murder is a is a human being. And I

1:32:22am sorry for that. But we have got to

1:32:24continue to make progress in the areas

1:32:26where progress has been shown already.

1:32:28So, as we look at the budget, I want to

1:32:30say to Mayor Moreno, I know the

1:32:32difficult situation that you're in, um,

1:32:35Chief Harrison, the difficult situation

1:32:37that you're in, but um, I'm going to do

1:32:39everything that I can to oppose the um,

1:32:41reductions in OSS and to oppose the

1:32:44reductions in the number of um, civilian

1:32:46workers because if it's working and

1:32:49people are feeling good and I'm going to

1:32:52meetings all the time where people are

1:32:53saying they want more surveillance

1:32:55because they like what they see, I'm

1:32:57going to do everything that I can to

1:32:59make sure that we continue moving in the

1:33:01path that leads us to greater public

1:33:03safety. But I just want to say to all of

1:33:05the officers who are there, to everyone

1:33:07who is not here, who is watching, I'm

1:33:10proud of the work of the New Orleans

1:33:11Police Department and I'm going to do

1:33:13everything that I can working with you.

1:33:15Mayor Moreno, if you're listening,

1:33:16working with you to identify the

1:33:18resources that allow us to continue to

1:33:21keep our cities safe and to make our

1:33:24citizens pleased that they are residents

1:33:26of New Orleans. Thank you very much for

1:33:28this opportunity and I even look forward

1:33:30to I'll throw this in to working with

1:33:32those who have concerns relative to

1:33:34surveillance. I want more surveillance.

1:33:37The people of the district that I

1:33:38represent more more cameras. They don't

1:33:40ask for fewer cameras because the

1:33:42cameras are working. Arrests are being

1:33:44made. The fifth district rate of crime

1:33:46is down so much compared to 2022 that if

1:33:50anyone looked at those numbers, they

1:33:51would say that there's got to be

1:33:52something exceptional going on within

1:33:54our police department relative to the

1:33:57arrests that are being made and the

1:33:58surveillance that is being done and the

1:34:00investigations that are being done. So

1:34:02I'm just saying that when we look at

1:34:04certain things and we use the word

1:34:05moral, moral is making our citizens

1:34:08safer. We are moving in the right

1:34:10direction and I'm going to do everything

1:34:11that I can to continue us moving in that

1:34:13in that right direction. Thank you

1:34:15members of the NOPD for the work that

1:34:16you do.

1:34:17>> Thank you. Any last words from uh our

1:34:21>> uh I think the young lady referenced $3

1:34:23million being added to our budget that

1:34:25represents the transfer of the DPW

1:34:28employees uh for 2027.

1:34:30>> I I think we still need to get the

1:34:32actuals from 2024 on down.

1:34:33>> Yes. And we will provide you with that.

1:34:35And uh once we get those numbers to the

1:34:37public, we'll we'll make sure that we

1:34:39get them to the public as well.

1:34:40>> Okay. Thank you.

1:34:41>> Thank you. And thank you for your

1:34:42service. Thank you everybody behind you.

1:34:45Um thanks Ashley.

1:34:46>> Up next is the fire department. Fire

1:34:48department, you're up next.

1:35:01Heat.

1:35:17Heat.

1:35:45Yeah, I don't like

1:36:02Yeah.

1:36:12>> Whenever you're ready.

1:36:18Council members, good morning. Thank you

1:36:21for the opportunity to come before you

1:36:23this morning. I am Roman Nelson, our

1:36:26superintendent of the fire department.

1:36:28To my left, I have our fire

1:36:30administrator, Tamikia Dunley Edmonds

1:36:32Edmund. Apolog apologies. To my right,

1:36:35uh, deputy superintendent, uh, of

1:36:37operations, Almond Bordes, and to his

1:36:40right, Deputy Superintendent of

1:36:41Planning, uh, Robert Olo. And uh I think

1:36:45in the in the rear we have a recently

1:36:47retired deputy superintendent of

1:36:49administration Elbert Thomas.

1:36:53Uh our priority for 27

1:36:57remains protecting life and property

1:36:59while maintaining our PIL class one

1:37:02standard and providing the reliability

1:37:06the residents of New Orleans expect.

1:37:08I'll cover our general fund changes, key

1:37:11adjustments, efficiencies, 2026

1:37:14accomplishments, and our 2027 goals.

1:37:22The 2027 proposed general fund budget is

1:37:26127.07 07 million

1:37:29personnel at 125.9 million adoperating

1:37:33at 1.17 million with a total reduction

1:37:37of 5.47 million versus 2026.

1:37:42The reductions are primarily from

1:37:43attrition and pension adjustments with

1:37:46targeted operating trims.

1:37:49We shape these changes to preserve core

1:37:51response operations, prioritizing safety

1:37:55and service continuity.

1:37:58We are aligning with citywide fiscal

1:38:00stewardship while protecting frontline

1:38:02capacity.

1:38:08key components. You reduce personnel in

1:38:122027 through attrition by not

1:38:15backfilling 29 FTE firefighter positions

1:38:19and implementing pension cost

1:38:21reductions.

1:38:23In other operating, we eliminated

1:38:25professional memberships, discontinued

1:38:28the ready rebound cooperative endeavor

1:38:30agreement, and postponed our 10-year

1:38:32turnout gear replacement cycle.

1:38:35We will closely monitor PPE condition

1:38:38and prioritize replacements where

1:38:41operational safety requires for our

1:38:43members. The bottom line is by doing

1:38:46doing targeted trims minimizing the

1:38:48impact on emergency response

1:38:542020 2027 proposed versus 2026.

1:38:59This non-general fund comparison

1:39:01reflects a reduction of appro

1:39:03approximately 6.93 million. The primary

1:39:07driver of that change, the end of the

1:39:09FEMA safer grant. The safer grant ended

1:39:12in 2023,

1:39:14but due to an ADP error during an

1:39:17update, the staff were reverted back

1:39:19into the fund code and so that error

1:39:21will be corrected uh going into next

1:39:23year.

1:39:26Next slide. budget efficiencies.

1:39:30We have maintained uh the removal of

1:39:33overtime that we used heavily in in 2024

1:39:37and and 25 for New Orleans EMS support

1:39:40and we're carrying that forward into

1:39:41next year

1:39:43and any other non-critical usage keeping

1:39:46our overtime usage focused only on

1:39:50maintaining essential response

1:39:52operations.

1:39:54Vaggency management wise, we continued

1:39:56the elimination or underfilling of

1:39:58select vacancies to control recurring

1:40:01costs. We reduced contracts where

1:40:04feasible, increasing in-house solutions

1:40:07or deferring discretionary work. These

1:40:10steps build on the significant citywide

1:40:132026 efficiency efforts implemented

1:40:16across departments.

1:40:19our 2026 accomplishments.

1:40:22Despite the fiscal challenges, 2026 was

1:40:26still a productive year for the

1:40:27department.

1:40:29We implemented electric electronic

1:40:31patient care reporting which helped to

1:40:33provide better uh uh quality assurance

1:40:36and and quality control for our medical

1:40:38efforts. In cooperation with New Orleans

1:40:40EMS,

1:40:41we secured $250,000

1:40:44in urban search and rescue support uh

1:40:47with the support of the state fire

1:40:48marshall's office.

1:40:50We were recently awarded uh a port

1:40:54security grant of around $400,000

1:40:57that will help to update all of the

1:40:58hazardous materials equipment on our

1:41:00hazmat units.

1:41:02We also successfully completed the

1:41:04annual FAA inspection for our airport

1:41:06rescue and firefighting operations.

1:41:09We transitioned into the new fire

1:41:11headquarters at 401 City Park Avenue.

1:41:15We advanced our mobile data terminal

1:41:17deployment and we continued

1:41:19strengthening critical incident stress

1:41:21support for our members and the

1:41:23community through our K9 capability.

1:41:26These accomplishments demonstrate that

1:41:28the department has continued moving

1:41:29forward while operationally and

1:41:32simultaneously managing significant

1:41:34financial constraints.

1:41:37Our 2027 goals,

1:41:40we understand the city's fiscal

1:41:42challenges and our responsibility is to

1:41:44be a part of that solution. We will

1:41:46continue to work with stakeholders to

1:41:49maintain the city PIL class one rating

1:41:52protecting the insurance benefits for

1:41:54residents residents and our businesses.

1:41:58We will finalize the implementation of

1:42:00our automatic automated vehicle location

1:42:03and dispatching

1:42:04in coordination with OPCD that will help

1:42:07to optimize unit selection and response

1:42:09times.

1:42:11We will continue to review positions and

1:42:13staffing for consolidation and greater

1:42:15efficiency

1:42:17and we will update our station

1:42:19consolidation and efficiency studies

1:42:20internally

1:42:22to have the most current data for future

1:42:24evaluation.

1:42:27Council members, we feel this proposal

1:42:29balances fiscal responsibility with

1:42:31operational readiness. The New Orleans

1:42:34Fire Department will continue to

1:42:35innovate, support our firefighters, and

1:42:37deliver for our residents. Thank you.

1:42:40And we'll be happy to address any

1:42:41questions that you may have.

1:42:43>> Thank you. I I just want to say I know

1:42:44that sometimes you are the first on any

1:42:47scene and I I just want to thank you for

1:42:48the work that you do. I've also seen

1:42:50some pets are very dear near and dear to

1:42:53my heart and I've seen some stories over

1:42:55this past year where uh your

1:42:56firefighters have helped save uh various

1:42:59animals. So I'm excited about Captain

1:43:01Billy and um his addition. I do have

1:43:04some serious questions though. Um what

1:43:06is the ready rebound CA? What does that

1:43:09cover?

1:43:10>> Ready rebound is a uh it's a service

1:43:14that we uh implemented last year uh

1:43:18under under the under the previous

1:43:20administration as a test. Basically what

1:43:22they provide is for lack of a better

1:43:26term it's a it's a concierge medical

1:43:28service for firefighters and and and and

1:43:31first responders in general where

1:43:32they're utilized.

1:43:34The idea is that you know the New

1:43:36Orleans Fire Department is Mr. Burnside

1:43:38uh uh often uh brings up has uh a very

1:43:41high pension costs

1:43:42>> and also very high workers compensation

1:43:44costs.

1:43:45>> And so basically what they what they

1:43:47focus on is getting firefighters

1:43:51uh rapidly into medical evaluations,

1:43:55MRIs if needed, and getting them

1:43:56surgeries as soon as possible. They

1:43:59coordinated with local doctors, uh, some

1:44:02of the best sports orthopedists in the

1:44:04country so that firefighters don't have

1:44:06to figure out who they go to when they

1:44:07get injured. They can call ready rebound

1:44:10and they get them fasttracked to get

1:44:12those services. Uh, from what we've

1:44:15seen, the while the service is fantastic

1:44:18where members use it, it's optional and

1:44:21we haven't seen the high usage rate uh,

1:44:23uh, over the past year. They have

1:44:26tweaked some things. I think they

1:44:27they've done some proposals to the CEO

1:44:29for some for some additional services

1:44:31they can provide across the city that I

1:44:34think the administration finds

1:44:35interesting, but I think right now we

1:44:38just can't afford to maintain that

1:44:39contract given the current fiscal

1:44:40situation.

1:44:41>> Okay. Thank you. I appreciate that.

1:44:42Council member Moro,

1:44:46>> thank you. Uh just for a point of

1:44:47clarification, it seems like on your

1:44:50slide two, do you have attrition

1:44:51reduction of 29 FT firefighter

1:44:54classification? We certainly uh

1:44:56appreciate that you are doing everything

1:44:59possible to lower cost, but are do you

1:45:02have any concerns that recruitment won't

1:45:04meet those attrition rates?

1:45:08>> Do you recruitment wise

1:45:10>> like like we obviously have a lot of

1:45:12firemen who are retiring? Are we

1:45:14recruiting enough new firemen to meet

1:45:17your attrition rate is my concern. So,

1:45:20uh, you know, over the over the past,

1:45:22uh,

1:45:25actually five or six years, we were

1:45:26hiring pretty much non-stop. So, uh,

1:45:30while this this this cut to attrition of

1:45:34essentially 29 firefighters will hurt, I

1:45:36think we'll still be able to maintain

1:45:38our our all of our apparatus and service

1:45:41and meet the response demands. Uh

1:45:44unfortunately under the hiring freeze,

1:45:46you know, we we still have uh a large

1:45:48recruiting demand. Currently, we have

1:45:50about 90 applicants who have cleared the

1:45:54the hiring process and are at the

1:45:56background phase, but due to due to the

1:45:59current hiring freeze, they're kind of

1:46:01on hold until the budget allows that

1:46:03future staffing. The cut of these 29

1:46:06firefighters, again, firefighters is the

1:46:08the the entry level basically on any

1:46:11apparatus. So those cuts are are uh

1:46:15normally what we have or like to have

1:46:17two firefighters in every apparatus. So

1:46:19it will result in more apparat apparatus

1:46:22running with three instead of running

1:46:23with four. But it should not impact

1:46:26service. It will mean more work for our

1:46:28firefighters on the scene of fires,

1:46:30right? More more labor intensive with

1:46:32less people. It may mean having to send

1:46:34more fire trucks to to incidents to meet

1:46:37the staffing numbers required in the PIL

1:46:39standards, but we've done it in the

1:46:41past. As you know, uh uh coming out of

1:46:44CO, we were extremely short staffed to

1:46:46the tune of about 63 firefighters uh

1:46:50less than what we have right now. So, it

1:46:52will be tough. It will increase the

1:46:54labor demands, but we will get through

1:46:55it.

1:46:56>> Um I know in particular, like I know

1:46:59that we have tried this in all

1:47:01departments. Have y'all budgeted for

1:47:02terminal leave in your budget for 2027?

1:47:10>> So the administration um the terminal

1:47:14leave administration uh ter I'm sorry

1:47:16the terminal leave expenditures budgeted

1:47:18through CEO's office.

1:47:19>> Okay. So Brandy

1:47:20>> I think let me just double check. I

1:47:22think for fire and NOPD [snorts] they're

1:47:24directly in their budgets. For everybody

1:47:25else in the city we do have one

1:47:27allocation in the CEO's office. I'll

1:47:29check.

1:47:30>> But in their in their budget for 2027,

1:47:32there is a line item for terminal leave.

1:47:34>> We have a specific line item. Again, we

1:47:35work with um office of performance and

1:47:37accountability to help us come up with

1:47:38some numbers and metrics to put terminal

1:47:40leave in.

1:47:41>> Okay. I just it's it's important because

1:47:43obviously, and not to beat a dead horse,

1:47:45we bring this up all the time. Uh

1:47:46previously under multiple

1:47:48administrations, we did not budget for

1:47:50terminal leave. We know that uh firemen,

1:47:53policemen, city employees all retired at

1:47:56any given time. And it's just important

1:47:58to note for the public that's watching.

1:47:59We are actually budgeting for terminal

1:48:01leave now so that we're not caught

1:48:03flatfooted when we know cuz obviously

1:48:05you all know your your firemen. You kind

1:48:08of know generally who probably will be

1:48:10leaving any given year. It is not

1:48:12difficult for us to do it. It's painful

1:48:13because it counts against obviously our

1:48:15overall available cash in the budget.

1:48:17But it's important for us to budget for

1:48:19that because we want to make sure that

1:48:20we account for making sure people get

1:48:22what paid what they're owe and we can

1:48:24also provide services. So, I appreciate

1:48:26that y'all have budgeted for it. Um, my

1:48:29last thing is u actually this might be a

1:48:32law question y'all.

1:48:35We are in the class action regarding the

1:48:38price fixing for fire trucks and

1:48:40ambulances, right?

1:48:42>> That's correct.

1:48:42>> Yes.

1:48:43>> Okay.

1:48:43>> Legal uh we have given legal all of the

1:48:46information I believe they are pursuing.

1:48:48>> Okay. That was that was my last

1:48:50question. Thank you. and and council

1:48:52member just one just one if I could

1:48:53follow up on a term relieve uh issue

1:48:56which is a good situation to be in. The

1:48:58fire department currently has 58 uh

1:49:01members on drop. I think we have over 25

1:49:04that have completed drop but are still

1:49:05working. And that is because of the uh

1:49:09the generosity of the of the council and

1:49:12the uh and the administration in the in

1:49:14the pay increases that have happened

1:49:16over the years that uh members still

1:49:18enjoy working and is still sticking

1:49:20around and working. It adds a little bit

1:49:22of complexity in projecting the terminal

1:49:24leave, but our our uh fire administrator

1:49:26and her staff have done a pretty good

1:49:28job at at kind of projecting that. And

1:49:30as you said, we kind of have an idea,

1:49:32but we do have a lot of people that

1:49:33could leave any day, but they

1:49:35determinate they they've decided to

1:49:37stick around, which is also helping our

1:49:39attrition.

1:49:40>> Well, certainly I would encourage you to

1:49:42continue to talk to your people who are

1:49:44eligible and say, "Hey, can you give me

1:49:45a heads up?" because it makes our job

1:49:47easier as the appropriating body if if

1:49:50we can all get in all departments our

1:49:53individuals to realize listen if you're

1:49:55thinking about leaving give us a couple

1:49:57of months heads up so we can make

1:49:58adjustments accordingly because it is

1:50:00very difficult for us especially if you

1:50:02have four 5 6 10 people all go we're

1:50:05leaving on Tuesday it's like well you're

1:50:08kind of leaving the whole department in

1:50:09a bad spot because when you leave on

1:50:11Tuesday we're going to have to go to the

1:50:13city council go to the mayor

1:50:16have a ding in our budget for doing that

1:50:18and then they're going to have to go

1:50:19find somewhere else in the budget to cut

1:50:21something else to make us whole again.

1:50:23So, I would encourage you to have

1:50:25conversations with everyone and this is

1:50:27for every department. Just say, "Hey,

1:50:28listen. We respect your ability. We like

1:50:30you're still here, but when you decide

1:50:32to go, give us a little bit of a lead

1:50:34time so that we can figure out how to

1:50:35manage it." Thank you, Chief.

1:50:37>> Absolutely.

1:50:39>> Council member Willard.

1:50:41>> Thank you. Um, good good uh morning,

1:50:44guys. Thank you for everything that you

1:50:46do and uh protecting the people in our

1:50:48city. Um firefighters in some ways are

1:50:52are the the most difficult first

1:50:54responders we have because you literally

1:50:56run into the burning building. So I just

1:50:59want to thank y'all for that and thank

1:51:00you for working with the administration

1:51:02on getting your budget in shape. Um it

1:51:05looks like 35 positions are being moved

1:51:08on to the general fund that were

1:51:10previously funded with federal dollars.

1:51:13Is that a grant that's depleted or are

1:51:16they just being moved somewhere else? Do

1:51:18you guys know?

1:51:20>> That that was that that safer grant that

1:51:23I mentioned earlier that the

1:51:24firefighters had actually been moved.

1:51:26The grant ended in 2024

1:51:29and they had been relocated, but an ADP

1:51:31update somehow put them back in their in

1:51:34their previous code. And so this is this

1:51:37is fixing that error uh in the ADP

1:51:39system. But the grant is uh

1:51:42>> where were they relocated after 2024? Do

1:51:45you know

1:51:46>> to to to the general fun to to the

1:51:48general fund?

1:51:49>> Uh 2521 is our fire suppression uh

1:51:52section where where all of our

1:51:54firefights.

1:51:55>> Okay. Um and then it looks like you're

1:51:57going to have 644 FTEES in the proposed

1:52:0127 budget.

1:52:06>> Yes. Yes. Um, are all of those positions

1:52:09filled at this point or any of them

1:52:12unfilled?

1:52:14>> So, right now there are approximately

1:52:16eight vacancies.

1:52:17>> Eight vacancies. Okay.

1:52:21>> All right. Uh, Council President Maro

1:52:23asked my other question. So, thank you

1:52:25all so much.

1:52:26>> Thank you. Are you all doing the pension

1:52:28as well? The pension presentation?

1:52:30>> No, I believe uh I believe uh

1:52:33>> All right. Thank you so much for your

1:52:35service and thank you for being here

1:52:36today. Up next is the fire pension

1:52:38presentation.

1:53:21Good morning.

1:53:23>> Good morning. Thank you, council

1:53:24members. Uh my name is Jonathan Whisby.

1:53:27I'm the chief innovation officer for the

1:53:29city. I wanted to give you some broad

1:53:32context for why I'm sitting here before

1:53:33you today to discuss the fire pension.

1:53:36Uh as we were going through the

1:53:38budgeting process this summer, it

1:53:40quickly became apparent to us that we

1:53:42were going to have a very significant

1:53:43shortfall uh between expenditures and

1:53:46revenues for the coming year. You know,

1:53:48early on identified it as being

1:53:50potentially 100 million. Uh and one of

1:53:53the things the CEO asked me to do uh

1:53:55once we had sort of determined that that

1:53:57was a likely uh outcome for the 27

1:53:59budget was to begin discussions with the

1:54:02New Orleans Fire Pension Board about the

1:54:05ongoing CA and our payment schedule with

1:54:07them to see if there was an opportunity

1:54:09to reduce our contribution in the short

1:54:11term in a way that you know could still

1:54:14preserve the health of that fund

1:54:16overall. Uh based upon that, I appeared

1:54:18at the August uh fire pension board

1:54:22meeting and asked them if they could

1:54:23appoint certain representatives to begin

1:54:26discussions with us. Uh we subsequently

1:54:28held four different meetings. At each

1:54:31meeting, I came and tried to uh present

1:54:33a proposal to them about a different way

1:54:35we could structure our payment plan. We

1:54:38discussed those proposals. I took their

1:54:40feedback and I went back to them with a

1:54:42an improved uh proposal at the next

1:54:44meeting. Uh during this process, I also

1:54:46collaborated with the Louisiana

1:54:48legislative auditors, division of

1:54:50actuarial um uh assistance uh so that

1:54:55they could because I am not myself an

1:54:56actuary so they could vet our numbers

1:54:58and provide some analysis on how uh our

1:55:01overall proposal fit the funding of the

1:55:04pension plan. So that's sort of some of

1:55:06the background of why we're here today.

1:55:08Um, this slide here is to kind of give

1:55:10you some sense of the overall issue we

1:55:13face with funding the fire pension board

1:55:15and why we identified this as a

1:55:17potential issue to to attack tackle

1:55:18early on. Um, you can see first off that

1:55:22there is a g a gap between 26 budgeted

1:55:25and 26 anticipated for pi fire pinion

1:55:28experiences about $1.2 million. That's

1:55:31again reminiscent of these hidden costs

1:55:33that we see in the 26 budget that were

1:55:35not previously budgeted for accurately.

1:55:38Uh you know and then when you look at

1:55:40the 27 requested you see that 57

1:55:44million 56.7 million that's again

1:55:46between two different pension funds. So,

1:55:49there's an old fund, which is a closed

1:55:50pension fund that services individuals

1:55:53who used to be firefighters uh decades

1:55:56ago, and then a new fund, which our

1:55:58current firefighters are enrolled in and

1:55:59recent retirees are enrolled in. And so,

1:56:01that's why you see this distinction

1:56:03between new fund and old fund

1:56:04contributions. Uh what we're proposing

1:56:06here is about an $ 8.5 million um

1:56:10reduction in the city's contribution to

1:56:12the fire pension plan. And I do want to

1:56:14state at the onset, this is not an

1:56:17agreement we have at this point between

1:56:18us and the fire pension plan. This is an

1:56:20ongoing discussion. Uh but we felt it

1:56:23was really important to have that

1:56:24discussion publicly and to share with

1:56:26the council and the public why we

1:56:28arrived at at these types of proposals.

1:56:32Um on this slide you can see some of the

1:56:34legacy costs we have associated with the

1:56:37fire pension and associated costs. You

1:56:40can see in addition to the new fund and

1:56:42old fund that I had on the previous

1:56:43slide and the uh uh we also have fire

1:56:47pension obligation bonds that we're

1:56:48still making payments on uh stemming

1:56:50from a uh I believe 2000 year 2000

1:56:53decision to uh bond out certain fire

1:56:56pension expenses uh and then a $5

1:56:58million longevity settlement we're

1:57:00paying. So when you add all these costs

1:57:01up, these fixed costs, you're talking

1:57:03about $76 million of the city's budget

1:57:06considering a general fund of $763

1:57:09million. That's approximately 10% of all

1:57:11the expenditures. I do want to note, and

1:57:13you'll see this in the in the text

1:57:15below, there is a millage that is

1:57:17currently in effect, pardon me, for 2027

1:57:21and 2028 that does partially offset

1:57:23these funds, but that 12.7 million is

1:57:26part of the city's uh $763 million

1:57:29general fund budget. Right? So, while it

1:57:31is offsetting, it doesn't diminish the

1:57:33fact that this is 10% of our overall

1:57:35budget, if unadulterated. Um, so what

1:57:38we're proposing here is this $ 8.5

1:57:40million reduction that will slightly

1:57:42reduce that. The consequences if you

1:57:44don't touch this part of the budget, if

1:57:46you just leave it off and say this 10%

1:57:48will see no cuts, is obviously you would

1:57:50have to redistribute those cuts to other

1:57:52agencies and other services. I think the

1:57:54council's already seen the proposed cuts

1:57:56in this budget already go relatively

1:57:58deep. Uh, and we were looking at ways to

1:58:00uh, creatively work to ensure continued

1:58:03services to residents.

1:58:08Um, I wanted to kind of show you uh how

1:58:12the current funding policy that the

1:58:15board has adopted compares to what the

1:58:17city has proposed in its last proposal.

1:58:20And I want to say what our last proposal

1:58:22composes of is a series of uh lower

1:58:26payments for the next couple of years.

1:58:28And I'll show you on the next slide the

1:58:30logic behind that followed by increasing

1:58:32payments and out years. when we ran

1:58:34these numbers through the LLA and

1:58:37obviously they have to make certain

1:58:38assumptions as well when they're doing

1:58:39their calculations but their uh uh

1:58:42conclusion was that we would reach full

1:58:44funding in 2040. Um you'll see this

1:58:47little asterisk there in 2040 under the

1:58:49current funding per policy uh the way

1:58:51that it was initially outlined to the

1:58:54city. They anticipated full funding in

1:58:562039, but since then the latest act

1:58:59evaluation produced in 2026 actually

1:59:02indicates that changes to the plan have

1:59:04extended that timeline into 2040. So

1:59:07even though that looks like a very

1:59:08significant difference there, we

1:59:10anticipate that we will pay off the full

1:59:12liability of the pension in the same

1:59:14time frame as the current status quo.

1:59:18Uh so let's take a look at sort of why

1:59:20this is necessary to to structure this

1:59:22way. Um, and so what we have here is

1:59:25those costs that we talked about earlier

1:59:27and when they end up being reduced or

1:59:30being eliminated within the city's

1:59:31long-term forecast, right? So you can

1:59:33see we have two more years of this $5

1:59:35million longevity settlement. When that

1:59:37cost rolls off the book books, we're

1:59:39planning on allocating that funding to

1:59:41the new fund. Um, we have four more

1:59:44years of these bond payments to 2030.

1:59:47When that cost rolls off, that then

1:59:49would then be added to the contribution

1:59:51for the new fund. And then as the old

1:59:53fund declines in terms of uh

1:59:55contributions, which we anticipate it

1:59:58will do since it is a closed fund, those

2:00:00savings are then added to our um new

2:00:03fund allocation. What the effect of this

2:00:06is is to keep the city's contribution

2:00:08overall to these expense categories

2:00:11relatively level through 2040. Right? So

2:00:14it's still at an extremely high level

2:00:16and I won't deny that. But what we will

2:00:18do is keep it stabilized and consistent

2:00:21so that it isn't an over uh as

2:00:24significant burden on our immediate next

2:00:27couple of years.

2:00:30Um with that I just want to uh uh close

2:00:33and and sort of talk about next steps.

2:00:35Uh so you know I I am aware that the the

2:00:38pension fund as of right now and the

2:00:40representatives at least in the meetings

2:00:42um you know have not yet accepted this

2:00:44proposal. Those are discussions that we

2:00:46are planning to continue. Uh you know

2:00:49what I will also say is an allocation of

2:00:51you know 39.9 million for the new fund

2:00:53will allow the city to continue making

2:00:55payments into the new year until

2:00:57approximately October. So we do have

2:01:00time to work out these issues. Uh but

2:01:03you know I I think what we saw was an

2:01:04imperative to offer an alternative to

2:01:07further cutting city services for

2:01:08residents uh by creating an opportunity

2:01:12to realize those savings and fixed costs

2:01:15in a way that also meets the goals of

2:01:17the p pension plan which is to become

2:01:19fully funded by 2040. Uh so with that

2:01:21I'll I'll certainly take your questions

2:01:23but uh that's uh what I wanted to

2:01:25present to you about the logic behind

2:01:27that of course.

2:01:28>> All right. Thank you Mr. Wisby. Um

2:01:29Council Member Moral. Thank you. I just

2:01:32because I know you're giving us a status

2:01:34update, but I think it's important to

2:01:36give a little bit of context. Um I think

2:01:38we can both agree that the firefighters

2:01:41pension fund issue is an inherited

2:01:44problem, not a new problem. Correct.

2:01:46>> Yes.

2:01:47>> Right. And so, um, what the

2:01:49administration and I would argue the

2:01:50council is probably in support of trying

2:01:52to do is trying to figure out a way to

2:01:54have shared sacrifice so that we can

2:01:57afford to fund the budget in a way that

2:02:00preserves a host of services, including

2:02:03those for active firemen. Correct.

2:02:05>> Yes, that's correct.

2:02:06>> Um, do what is your I mean, I know you

2:02:08you've said the the pension fund has not

2:02:10yet agreed to these terms. Do you feel

2:02:14like based upon conversations that they

2:02:16are open to it or is this going to be an

2:02:18uphill battle?

2:02:20>> I I think there's still diversity. You

2:02:21know, the reality is this proposal has

2:02:23not been presented to the pension board

2:02:25yet. It has only been discussed with

2:02:26their representatives and the discussion

2:02:28also has include the representatives of

2:02:30the fire union. Um what I will say is

2:02:32they haven't yet told me if you do this

2:02:35I will accept it. Um but I I think that

2:02:38there is a lot of logic behind uh this

2:02:41and that the goals that they expressed

2:02:42to me that they they could not give on

2:02:44which were full reach a plan that

2:02:47allowed you to reach full funding that

2:02:49that is still their guiding star. Uh, I

2:02:52will say they still, I believe, have

2:02:54some skepticism and disputes about the

2:02:56underlying numbers. And so what I'd like

2:02:58to do going forward is bring in the L's

2:03:00auditors and perhaps work more closely

2:03:02with the pension funds auditors so that

2:03:04they can feel more comfortable that

2:03:05those numbers do accomplish that

2:03:07purpose. And I think that would be in

2:03:09the spirit of transparency that we've

2:03:10had through these conversations. Uh, but

2:03:13I I can't tell you that one specific

2:03:14action or one specific timeline will

2:03:17lead to an agreement.

2:03:18>> Right. And I think it's important

2:03:19because right now what we're looking at

2:03:21is we have arguably arguably cuz I think

2:03:25we're trying to get before December 1st.

2:03:27We have till December 1st to complete

2:03:28the budget. And in order for us to be

2:03:32good fiduciaries,

2:03:34if you have not negotiated in good faith

2:03:38or at least are not far enough in

2:03:40negotiations to make this a gray area,

2:03:42then we have to budget for it. So

2:03:46I would certainly encourage you to work

2:03:48very closely with the pension board with

2:03:50the union to have robust uh significant

2:03:55conversations as soon as possible

2:03:57because we are going to need to have

2:04:00movement one way or the other before the

2:04:03end of October, early November to make

2:04:08some hard decisions cuz obviously um the

2:04:12I'm assuming the way this is proposed

2:04:14osed in the existing budget as if they

2:04:16is as if they accept the proposal.

2:04:18Correct. Or are we accounting for them

2:04:21not accepting the proposal?

2:04:23>> Uh I I think the proposal was budgeted

2:04:26that way to place on record the

2:04:28administration's position on the best

2:04:30path forward. Um, and you know, I I

2:04:33understand your purp your your point

2:04:35about December 1st and I do think that's

2:04:36an important deadline, but you know, I

2:04:38will note,

2:04:40>> you know, it wouldn't be a failure to

2:04:41make any pension payments through much

2:04:43of 27. Uh, and so there is some run room

2:04:46there if there's not immediate agreement

2:04:48reached, but certainly that's a decision

2:04:50to council.

2:04:50>> I think I think we'll have to agree to

2:04:53disagree. I think that the the challenge

2:04:55is is that if we're basing the current

2:04:59budget off of the assumption that the

2:05:02fire that the firefighters pension

2:05:05accepts the proposal we have and then we

2:05:09find near the end of budget that they

2:05:11are adamantly not opposed to it. Then we

2:05:13have to reintroduce to the public that

2:05:16the deficit that we're trying to clear

2:05:18is higher. So, like I said, I do think

2:05:21we need some clarity from the

2:05:22administration regarding the pension in

2:05:24that I would I know this is not

2:05:27attractive, but I would prefer we budget

2:05:29for the worst case scenario versus the

2:05:30best case scenario. And if this pension

2:05:34plan is part of the budget proposal with

2:05:37these numbers, I would honestly prefer

2:05:40it be the other way around that we're

2:05:42budgeting as if the firefighters pension

2:05:45turns down the numbers and we have

2:05:47respective cuts that are attributed to

2:05:49it. Because what I don't want to do is

2:05:52have a very lengthy process um educate

2:05:55the public on millages and other revenue

2:05:57raising measures, have a general idea

2:06:00and consensus about what the path looks

2:06:02forward. The firefighters pension board

2:06:04tell us to pound sand and go by the way

2:06:07we have to do $10 million and more cuts

2:06:09because there's no agreement. And then

2:06:12that could be perceived by the public as

2:06:15being, you know, the old uh Lucy and

2:06:17Lionus pulling the football at the last

2:06:19minute and saying we were all misled. So

2:06:22I don't know what the like I said if if

2:06:24the budget as proposed

2:06:27does not reflect the worst case

2:06:28scenario. I would prefer it to be

2:06:31revised to reflect the worst case

2:06:33scenario because we have to operate

2:06:35under that.

2:06:36>> Understood.

2:06:37>> Okay. Thank you,

2:06:39>> Council Member Willard.

2:06:41Thank you. Uh Jonathan,

2:06:44could you could you go through the last

2:06:48two slides?

2:06:50>> I'm I'm trying to understand them, but

2:06:54>> So, what's the AON funding policy? Is

2:06:56that what consultants are recommending?

2:06:59>> I if you don't mind, maybe I can give

2:07:01you a little bit of context on sort of

2:07:03how we got to today because I I think it

2:07:04is a little bit of a complex story. Um

2:07:07so in 2016 there there had been disputes

2:07:10from basically 2010 uh through 2015

2:07:13regarding the proper funding of the

2:07:14firefighter pension program. In 2016

2:07:17there was a CA that was signed by the

2:07:19three parties uh the city, the pension

2:07:22board and the union that settled those

2:07:24differences um and that created a

2:07:27framework for how all those entities

2:07:29would implement firefighter pension

2:07:31funding going forward. uh one of the key

2:07:33elements of that CA was a specific

2:07:36methodology to be used uh for

2:07:39determining actuarial contributions. Uh

2:07:42in approximately 2022, the office of

2:07:45inspector general released a report on

2:07:47the firefire pension fund and they

2:07:50determined that that formula had not

2:07:52been used which led to the possibility

2:07:55of underounting the city's expected

2:07:57contribution. Shortly thereafter, a cap

2:08:00on contributions expired in the city's

2:08:03pension obligation using the methodology

2:08:07that was prescribed by the CEA but was

2:08:09not implemented for, you know, basically

2:08:12through the entirety of the CEA caused a

2:08:15very significant increase in the city's

2:08:17pension contributions. Understanding

2:08:19that this caused an issue in terms of

2:08:22the city's ability to pay the pension

2:08:24board developed and this is what the AON

2:08:27funding policy is called. AON is their

2:08:29uh actuary um a a policy uh funding

2:08:33policy that started at a certain number

2:08:36and increased 2% annually until the fund

2:08:38was um was fully funded. This funding

2:08:43policy and I know the executive director

2:08:45has expressed to me that he had a a

2:08:46handshake agreement with the CEO at the

2:08:48time but it was never memorialized in an

2:08:51approved amendment to the CEA. uh and so

2:08:53his funding policy was adopted by the

2:08:55board uh without you know clear public

2:08:58input or or or public city input anyway

2:09:00into that plan. So when you say on

2:09:02funding policy those are the numbers

2:09:05that were determined by the actuary as

2:09:07essentially a payment plan on how we

2:09:09could start paying down our liability

2:09:11but it did not account for the city's

2:09:14existing obligations that were

2:09:16substantial in the short term for these

2:09:18legacy costs. Um, city adjusting

2:09:21proposal is the latest proposal we

2:09:23worked with on with the LLA to develop.

2:09:27That is the proposal that we uh contend

2:09:29would get the plan to full funding by

2:09:322040. You can see the way it does that

2:09:34is decreasing obligations in the short

2:09:36term and increasing them in the long

2:09:38term. that is, as previously stated,

2:09:40intended to offset the cost in the short

2:09:43term of those existing obligations and

2:09:46then essentially reallocate those monies

2:09:48in future years to the pension.

2:09:50>> So, you're putting um a smaller pot

2:09:53forward in the next few years to

2:09:55compensate for the old fund, the

2:09:58longevity, all of those things.

2:10:00>> That is correct.

2:10:00>> But, but at the end of the day, it gets

2:10:02you to the same total by 2040.

2:10:05>> Well, that's our contention. And I

2:10:06understand the board doesn't at this

2:10:08point agree with it. That's why I'm

2:10:09suggesting greater information sharing

2:10:11between our actuaries to make sure

2:10:13everyone's on the same board with

2:10:14assumptions and all that. It can get a

2:10:16little bit nerdy, but yes, we believe it

2:10:19does lead to full funding by 20 240 and

2:10:20that's the advice we've received from

2:10:22our uh our partners at that.

2:10:24>> Okay. So, the the issue we need to work

2:10:26through is making sure that over the

2:10:28course through 2040 um the city's

2:10:31adjusted proposal gets you to the same

2:10:33number as the AON. I think there's two

2:10:35parts to it, honestly, council member. I

2:10:37think one part is, you know, uh it is

2:10:40really important that if the city makes

2:10:42this type of a long-term commitment that

2:10:44it's memorialized in an enforcable way,

2:10:46and I think previous amendments to CA

2:10:50through all the required processes. Uh

2:10:53what we would propose is that this

2:10:54amendment,

2:10:55>> so they're just hesitant just because of

2:10:57how it's been done in

2:10:58>> there's been a couple different CAS that

2:11:00were were enacted different ways, right?

2:11:01But none of them were approved by the

2:11:02city council. the city council approved

2:11:05the initial CA. So I think what we would

2:11:07be requesting as part of this is if we

2:11:10reach an agreement to have the council

2:11:12enact that agreement to provide some

2:11:15additional legal certainty to the fund

2:11:18that the city isn't just going to in 4

2:11:20years come around and say haha we're

2:11:22reducing the contribution again that we

2:11:24have it enacted in a way that is legally

2:11:26sustainable. Um and then the second ask

2:11:29would be uh that yes.

2:11:31>> Okay. Uh and just looking from the

2:11:33numbers, I mean I guess they would have

2:11:36a concern about the ability to pay as

2:11:38you move forward. Has was it modeled in

2:11:41when you have that old fund um in the

2:11:44longevity and that other item roll off

2:11:47um if it basically balances out to what

2:11:50we're what we're we're paying with those

2:11:52costs included right now.

2:11:55Yes, that was our attempt here in this

2:11:56in this slide.

2:11:57>> Yeah. Can you walk us through that one?

2:11:59>> Yes, sure. Um, so you can see 27 and 28

2:12:03are relatively similar. They have all

2:12:04four obligations on board and those add

2:12:07up. In the first year, 67.7, but then it

2:12:09goes to 61.8, which is what's sustained

2:12:11throughout the rest of it. Um, in the

2:12:14year 2028, the last element of our

2:12:16longevity payment is completed and we no

2:12:19longer have that obligation. So what

2:12:21this does in 2029 is it transfers that

2:12:23$5 million to the new fund.

2:12:25>> Okay, I got it. And then in 2030, that

2:12:28bond is paid off. So that expense rolls

2:12:30off.

2:12:31>> Okay.

2:12:31>> And then the old fund, this is this is a

2:12:33schedule for the old fund that was

2:12:34provided by the pension fund. We didn't

2:12:36develop that.

2:12:37>> Um but it anticipates that fund

2:12:38exhausting by 30 cents.

2:12:40>> Okay, cool. Uh well, thank you for your

2:12:42work on this and and keep us in the loop

2:12:44on how those conversations go. I

2:12:46appreciate the the transparency. Um I I

2:12:49do tend to agree with Council Member

2:12:51Morurell. Um if we're not sure which

2:12:53path we're going to take, it's probably

2:12:55safer to budget for the worst case

2:12:57scenario because that could be what

2:12:59we're actually dealing with. So, but

2:13:01thank you.

2:13:02>> Thank you, Council Member.

2:13:03>> Thank you, Council Member Willard.

2:13:05You're free to go, Mr. Whisby.

2:13:06>> Thank you,

2:13:07>> Ashley.

2:13:10>> Next up is the Office of Coronation and

2:13:12Emergency Management.

2:13:19And council members, um, the office did

2:13:21provide a hard copy of their org chart,

2:13:24which is what I passed out to each and

2:13:25every one of you. Council member King, I

2:13:27have one for you.

2:13:52Heat. Heat.

2:14:11ready when you are.

2:14:14>> Thank you. Thank you. Good morning,

2:14:16council members. Thank you for the

2:14:17opportunity to to present the New

2:14:19Orleans Office of Coordination and

2:14:21Emergency Management's proposed 2027

2:14:24budget. My name is Derek Hessen. I'm the

2:14:26director of NOSM. As you all know, not

2:14:28only did our name change, but with the

2:14:31new administration, our role expanded

2:14:34and our mission expanded to include

2:14:36increased coordination between public

2:14:38safety and city services for planned and

2:14:40special events. Our mission is to

2:14:43safeguard New Orleans by coordinating

2:14:44emergency operations, delivering trusted

2:14:47information, reducing risk, and building

2:14:50resilient partnerships before, during,

2:14:52and after disasters. Today, we'll walk

2:14:55through our proposed budget. the

2:14:56reductions reflected in that budget, the

2:14:59steps we are taking to operate more

2:15:00efficiently, and our priorities for

2:15:022027.

2:15:07Our proposed 2027 general fund budget is

2:15:10approximately 2.74 million compared with

2:15:13approximately 3.32 million in the 2026

2:15:17adopted budget. That's over 17%

2:15:20reduction totaling approximately 574,000

2:15:23in both personnel and operating

2:15:26expenses. Regardless of the budget, it's

2:15:28vital we continue protecting the core

2:15:30functions necessary for emergency

2:15:32coordination and continuity of

2:15:34operations.

2:15:40The general fund reduction does not it

2:15:43does require several significant

2:15:45changes. Three positions were eliminated

2:15:47from NOSM. First, the hazard mitigation

2:15:49program manager that was rolled over and

2:15:52moved to the grant office. Secondly, the

2:15:54hazard mitigation coordinator. This

2:15:56position was funded out of general funds

2:15:58because it supports a number of

2:16:00different hazard mitigation program

2:16:02duties, not tied to any one specific

2:16:05project. Examples would be coordinate

2:16:07the city's automated flood warning

2:16:09system, develop new hazard mitigation

2:16:11grant proposals, and support emergency

2:16:14recovery and mitigation functions.

2:16:16Finally, principal emergency management

2:16:18coordinator. This position supports

2:16:20emergency response activities, EOCC

2:16:23activations, and our NOLA ready alerts

2:16:25and emergency preparedness efforts.

2:16:29Looking at the operational reductions,

2:16:31we are also implementing the following

2:16:34proposals. Reducing the RAVE emergency

2:16:37alert contract. Before I go much

2:16:39further, it's important to note that

2:16:41none of our recommendations impact

2:16:43emergency alerts. Residents can still

2:16:46rely on trusted information coming out

2:16:48of Nosam and NOL Ready. We believe we

2:16:51can achieve significant cost savings by

2:16:53how we utilize the service. Our analysis

2:16:56of the system shows significant

2:16:58emergency and non-emergency messages

2:17:01with multiple agencies utilizing the

2:17:03platform. We believe by sending targeted

2:17:06emergency alerts to specific

2:17:08geographical areas, we can reduce the

2:17:10number of messages. An example would be

2:17:12to geoence a water main break to the

2:17:15impacted area as opposed to sending it

2:17:17out citywide.

2:17:19In addition, we are evaluating what

2:17:21non-emergency alerts can be pushed out

2:17:24through social media platforms or

2:17:26through the Nola Ready app as a push

2:17:28alert if we were to build out that

2:17:30function in the Nola Ready app.

2:17:33Examples of non-emergency alerts are

2:17:35special event alerts and also the DPW

2:17:39road work alerts. These account for

2:17:41millions of alerts each year.

2:17:44The rave panic button was an initiative

2:17:46for the for city hall that would allow

2:17:48employees to utilize a panic button in

2:17:50the event of an emergency. Several

2:17:53factors including product integration

2:17:55prevented this from ever being rolled

2:17:57out. So it was removed from from our

2:17:59budget. The NOSM vehicle fleet

2:18:02replacement was removed for next year.

2:18:05We'll work to mitigate any gaps so to

2:18:07not impact our ability to respond to

2:18:09emergencies and requests for assistance.

2:18:13The EOCC technology upgrades include a

2:18:15computer and monitor replacement and

2:18:17that will be postponed until 2028. And

2:18:20finally, the parade trackers will be

2:18:23removed. This capability is important to

2:18:25maintain because the parade trackers

2:18:27feed into our common operating picture

2:18:29in the EOC during Migra. These trackers

2:18:32allow us to not only see where the

2:18:34beginning of the parade is on the map,

2:18:36but where the tail end is so we can

2:18:38start opening cross streets and

2:18:39emergency response vehicles know where

2:18:42they can cross routes. We will work with

2:18:44EMD to integrate their current vehicle

2:18:47tracking capabilities into our common

2:18:49operating picture.

2:18:52All of these reductions require us to be

2:18:54deliberate about how we prioritize

2:18:56existing resources and how we use

2:18:58partnerships and other funding sources

2:19:00to continue supporting the city's

2:19:02emergency management mission.

2:19:08Our non-general fund budget increases

2:19:10overall from approximately 73.9 million

2:19:14to 80.2 million. It's important to

2:19:17distinguish that increase from our

2:19:19operating capacity. The increases

2:19:21concentrated in the other operating

2:19:24expenditures column and are associated

2:19:26with grant-f funed programs while

2:19:29personnel funded decreased by

2:19:31approximately 1.32 million. Although the

2:19:35total dollar amount increases that does

2:19:38not represent an increase in NOS's

2:19:41staffing capacity. Most of the money

2:19:43represented on this slide funds various

2:19:45hazard mitigation grant programs or

2:19:48homeland security grant programs with

2:19:50very specific spending requirements.

2:19:58The non-general fund budget also

2:20:00reflects the elimination of the access

2:20:02and functional needs disaster

2:20:04accessibility coordinator and the mass

2:20:06care coordinator positions from fund

2:20:085108.

2:20:10And just for everyone's benefit, fund

2:20:125108, also known as the environmental

2:20:14improvement fund, is used to improve

2:20:17public health, housing, and

2:20:18environmental conditions in the city and

2:20:21is funded through fines, fees, and other

2:20:23costs. Traditionally, NOSM and the

2:20:26health department both funded two

2:20:28positions out of this fund. The access

2:20:31and functional needs disaster

2:20:32accessibility coordinator is responsible

2:20:34for developing and implementing programs

2:20:37that ensure inclusive emergency

2:20:39preparedness, response, and recovery for

2:20:42individuals with access and functional

2:20:43needs, including those with disability,

2:20:46limited mobility, chronic health

2:20:48conditions, and other functional needs.

2:20:51The second position, the mass care

2:20:53coordinator, is responsible for the

2:20:54planning, coordination, and

2:20:56implementation of mass care services to

2:20:59support the city during emergencies and

2:21:01large-scale incidents.

2:21:03This position focuses on providing

2:21:05shelter, food, emergency assistance, and

2:21:08related services to the city's

2:21:10population, particularly vulnerable

2:21:12groups during times of crisis. The most

2:21:15recent incident with the low barrier

2:21:17shelter is a perfect example of what

2:21:19this position would support.

2:21:22In light of the general fund positions

2:21:24we've eliminated, I will continue to

2:21:26advocate for funding from 5108 to be

2:21:29used to fund these these two positions

2:21:32as it has been previously. These two

2:21:34positions are more critical now than

2:21:36ever before.

2:21:38Moving over to the next column, this

2:21:40part of the budget includes significant

2:21:42grant-f funed programs, including the

2:21:44home elevation grant program that many

2:21:46residents use to raise their homes.

2:21:49Those funds are simply passing through

2:21:51our office. The second bullet for

2:21:54homeland security grant program includes

2:21:56our emergency management performance

2:21:58grant, our state homeland security

2:22:00grant, and finally our urban area

2:22:02security initiative grant also known as

2:22:05UASI.

2:22:07UASI is our largest homeland security

2:22:09grant and this year we actually saw a

2:22:1210% reduction in that grant award even

2:22:16with the Bourbon Street terror attack

2:22:17being included in our risk score to DHS.

2:22:21Finally, securing the cities is a

2:22:24federally funded program that works to

2:22:26reduce the risk of radiological and

2:22:29nuclear terrorist attacks in major

2:22:31metropolitan areas.

2:22:35All of these grants listed support

2:22:36specific programs with specific

2:22:38requirements and should not be viewed as

2:22:41interchangeable with general fund

2:22:43dollars available for routine

2:22:45departmental operations or staffing. In

2:22:48addition, staff funded through these

2:22:49homeland security grant programs are not

2:22:52emergency response personnel and they do

2:22:54not supplement any of our staffing gaps.

2:23:02This slide illustrates the change in our

2:23:04budgeted staffing levels, but it's

2:23:06important to note that the graph does

2:23:08not fully reflect our actual staffing

2:23:10capacity during this time period. The

2:23:13reduced staffing capacity has been

2:23:15slowly growing over the years. There's

2:23:17also a hard copy of our org chart that

2:23:20was provided so each of you can see

2:23:21where those vacancies lie. The general

2:23:25fund numbers shown represent positions

2:23:27that were budgeted each year, not

2:23:29necessarily positions that were filled

2:23:30or authorized to be backfilled. As a

2:23:33result, NOSM has been operating below

2:23:35its budgeted staffing level since 2024.

2:23:38This proposed 2027 budget formalizes a

2:23:42portion of that reduction with no

2:23:44general fund positions declining from 14

2:23:47budgeted positions in 2024 to 9 in 2027.

2:23:52That's a 45% reduction in Nosome staff

2:23:55over that time period. Throughout that

2:23:57period, we've continued to meet our

2:23:59emergency management responsibilities by

2:24:01cross-training staff, leveraging inter

2:24:04agency support, and prioritizing the

2:24:06functions most critical to emergency

2:24:08operations.

2:24:13We have already taken several steps to

2:24:15adapt to the city's fiscal environment.

2:24:17Those include piloting an inter agency

2:24:20emergency management planner program in

2:24:22which deputy mayor Harrison has been a

2:24:24tremendous advocate with implementing

2:24:26this program. This program brought on

2:24:29one police officer from NOPD and one

2:24:32fire officer from NOFFD on a temporary

2:24:35assignment to help bridge our most

2:24:37immediate preparedness gaps. This has

2:24:40been a huge help to our preparedness

2:24:41section as that section suffered the

2:24:43most from the cuts. We're also

2:24:46maximizing Homeland Security grant

2:24:47funding using nocost training and

2:24:49education opportunities and implementing

2:24:52tighter spending controls and staff

2:24:54furlows.

2:24:56We identified a thousand CS from the

2:24:58state that are available at no cost to

2:25:01any parish that wanted them. Nosam

2:25:03immediately confirmed that our region

2:25:04would take those CS and they will be

2:25:07stored here at our public safety

2:25:08warehouse. We were also fortunate to

2:25:11extend grant funding for the flood

2:25:13warning system for 2026. Unfortunately,

2:25:16that private grant expires this year,

2:25:19but we have secured Homeland Security

2:25:20grant funds so the cost will not hit the

2:25:23general fund. Our approach has been to

2:25:25look for opportunities to share

2:25:27resources, leverage grants, and build

2:25:29partnerships before seeking additional

2:25:32expenditures.

2:25:36and our goals for 2027.

2:25:39We're able to set these goals because

2:25:41we've met one of our most important

2:25:42goals since I came in, and that's the

2:25:45change of the culture for our office.

2:25:47When I came into the office, there were

2:25:48a number of issues that needed to be

2:25:50addressed, but the office culture was

2:25:52the most important. We immediately went

2:25:54to work on our office identity and

2:25:56values. Our values of an as an office

2:25:59are ones focused around accountability

2:26:01and having a customer service mindset.

2:26:03Most people can be taught job skills, so

2:26:06we want to be sure all of our employees

2:26:08can share in those values. Despite these

2:26:11reductions, our focus in 2027 remains on

2:26:14strengthening the city's preparedness

2:26:16and emergency management capability. We

2:26:19want to be an industry leader in

2:26:21emergency management to the rest of the

2:26:22nation. To that point, we must be

2:26:25realistic of our current capacity and

2:26:27ensure our core functions continue to be

2:26:29met. We will continue improving internal

2:26:32processes and crossf functional

2:26:34collaboration. Relaunch the volunteer

2:26:37core program which I'm very excited for.

2:26:40I believe there is going to be

2:26:42opportunities to partner with each one

2:26:44of you in your council districts as we

2:26:46promote this program. Next year we will

2:26:48conduct a city assisted evacuation

2:26:50exercise that will really t test our

2:26:53capabilities. We are looking to expand

2:26:55our private public private partnerships

2:26:58through the implementation of a business

2:27:00emergency operations center and

2:27:03implement the newly adopted hazard

2:27:05mitigation plan. Partnerships become

2:27:08particularly important in a constrained

2:27:10resource environment. Emergency

2:27:11management is inherently a whole of

2:27:14government and a whole of community

2:27:16function and our goal is to make sure

2:27:17the city can effectively coordinate

2:27:19those resources when they're needed.

2:27:24To close, our 2027 budget reflects a

2:27:27smaller organization operating in a

2:27:30constrained fiscal environment, but our

2:27:32core responsibility remains unchanged.

2:27:34Our focus will be on protecting

2:27:36essential emergency management

2:27:37capabilities, strengthening coordination

2:27:40across city government and our external

2:27:42partners, and ensuring that New Orleans

2:27:44remains prepared to respond when an

2:27:46emergency occurs. Thank you for your

2:27:48time, and we're happy to answer any

2:27:50questions.

2:27:51Thank you. Uh I appreciate the and we

2:27:54all appreciate the presentation. It was

2:27:55very concise. I do want to go back to

2:27:57page four. Um can you again just

2:28:00reiterate the access functional needs

2:28:02coordinator position and what they do

2:28:04and then the mass care coordinator and

2:28:06then can you also let us know what their

2:28:08rates of pay their annual salaries are

2:28:10or were.

2:28:14>> Yes.

2:28:18>> The Yeah. again. So, the access and

2:28:20functional needs disaster accessibility

2:28:22coordinator that was a position that

2:28:24lived over in our preparedness section

2:28:26and again they their mission is to

2:28:29support to target those individuals with

2:28:31access and functional needs. They are

2:28:33hyperfocused on planning not only

2:28:35planning but also coordinating those

2:28:37needs during any kind of disaster event

2:28:39as well. So when we execute a city

2:28:41assisted evacuation and we know that

2:28:44some of our residents that are homebound

2:28:46may need something other than RTA bus to

2:28:49pick them up, these are the individuals

2:28:50that we can help ensure that those

2:28:52missions are being um kind of targeted

2:28:55and delivered. And again with the mass

2:28:57care coordinator, this is uh this is a a

2:29:00huge role in the fact that all of our

2:29:02shelter operations, things like that run

2:29:04through this would run through this

2:29:06individual. We've um we've got a lot of

2:29:08good subject matter experts on the team

2:29:11that have experience in that. But having

2:29:13the dedicated personnel to ensure that

2:29:16shelter operations get set up or that if

2:29:19the a shelter runs out of water, water

2:29:21is being delivered or shower or

2:29:24portaotties, things like that. All of

2:29:26these different resource needs are being

2:29:27met and delivered to our shelter

2:29:29operations for our mascare. I believe

2:29:32the um the the approximate salary for

2:29:34both of those positions was around 67 um

2:29:39with the emergency as the emergency

2:29:41management coordinator position. Um

2:29:43that's the annual would be the annual.

2:29:45So

2:29:45>> Brandy, do we have a Brandy? Do you know

2:29:49the salaries of the access and

2:29:51functional needs and mass care

2:29:53coordinator?

2:29:53>> I would need to know the

2:29:54classifications. Those are not true

2:29:55classifications. What I can state is

2:29:58these positions were requested earlier

2:30:00this year, but that fund is at a tap

2:30:03capacity. So the administration and

2:30:05council will need to look at that in a

2:30:06collaborative measure. Grass abatement

2:30:08and some other items that move to the

2:30:10health department are also used by that

2:30:11fund outside of personnel. That fund

2:30:13also does not have um an established

2:30:16recurring pattern of revenue for us to

2:30:19know how much revenue is coming in in

2:30:21any point of a time.

2:30:23>> I got you. All right. So, so this mass

2:30:25care coordinator position, if we have,

2:30:27for example, a heat advisory or we have

2:30:29storms coming in, that person would

2:30:31coordinate the Nord opening and the

2:30:33shelter operations. Yes, ma'am.

2:30:35>> For people who are vulnerable.

2:30:36>> Yeah. And and they would also work to

2:30:38ensure that the staffing is there to run

2:30:40those centers and those shelters as

2:30:41well.

2:30:42>> And do you currently have any cross

2:30:44crossraining capability to crossrain

2:30:47anybody to do these tasks? Well,

2:30:50internally within our our own staff just

2:30:52based on the numbers, everybody has to

2:30:54wear the everybody has to wear the

2:30:55different hats, right? So, that's what

2:30:57we continue doing. We also work with any

2:30:59of our partner agencies. Um, homeless

2:31:01services, Department of Health is a is a

2:31:04great partner. And so, we we try to

2:31:06share in all of in all of those duties

2:31:08the best we can.

2:31:09>> Okay. But what you're advocating for is

2:31:10two dedicated people to do these things

2:31:13year round,

2:31:13>> right?

2:31:14>> And not just in disaster season,

2:31:16>> right? Yeah. There's there's so much

2:31:17work. It's during blue skies and gray

2:31:20skies, but all of the all of the work,

2:31:22all the pre-planning should be getting

2:31:24done during blue skies, so it's just

2:31:26easy to turn on.

2:31:27>> No, I totally understand. All right. Uh,

2:31:29Council Member McCarron,

2:31:31>> thank you. Um, well, I thank you,

2:31:33Director Hessen, and you and your team

2:31:35have we've worked together on a couple

2:31:36things and I appreciate your effort. I

2:31:38know we we talked about Jazzfest

2:31:40together and recently the Siren. So,

2:31:42appreciate your willingness to work with

2:31:44us uh and talk to constituents about

2:31:46things. So, um I just want to ask about

2:31:51the EOC technology upgrades.

2:31:56Says that you had planned upgrades, but

2:31:58they're being eliminated for 2027. What

2:32:00What were those upgrades?

2:32:02>> It was it it's a it's a number of of

2:32:05different technologies in the EOC. So, a

2:32:08lot of some of our displays, our um

2:32:10laptops and monitors, some of those

2:32:13things are just need to be phased out

2:32:14and transitioned out.

2:32:16>> Okay. So not not something that would be

2:32:19like vital in a

2:32:20>> No, no, no. We we we we still have the

2:32:22same capacity. So we're not we're not

2:32:24taking a loss. We're not reducing our

2:32:25capacity or capability to be able to

2:32:27respond. It's just part of the that

2:32:30normal IT life cycle of of the

2:32:33technology.

2:32:34>> Okay. Um and then I see, you know, you

2:32:36talked about briefly the city assisted

2:32:38evacuation exercise. Um did we conduct

2:32:41that in 2026 or that is is new for 2027?

2:32:45that'll be new in 2027.

2:32:47>> Can you just briefly explain what that

2:32:49looks like? What does that what does

2:32:50that mean?

2:32:51>> Yeah, absolutely. So, the city assisted

2:32:53evacuation plan is a is a joint city and

2:32:57state-run mission. The city assisted

2:32:59evacuation plan is all of the RTA bus

2:33:02stops function as pickup points and they

2:33:05bring all of our residents to the

2:33:06Smoothie King Center. Once they get to

2:33:08the Smoothie King Center and get

2:33:10processed, the state of Louisiana, the

2:33:12Department of Transportation and GOEP

2:33:14and uh Louisiana Department of Health,

2:33:16all of these different agencies will

2:33:18take those citizens and bring them to a

2:33:20state-run shelter. So, what we want to

2:33:22exercise is our the first part of that.

2:33:26You know, we don't want to necessarily

2:33:28exercise what the state's going to do.

2:33:29We're focused on what the city is

2:33:31responsible for that level of

2:33:32coordination. What do we need to do with

2:33:34pair of transit buses, the RTA buses,

2:33:38the communication piece, and the

2:33:40registration piece? The fire department

2:33:42is a huge partner in this mission with

2:33:45us. And so we want to go through all

2:33:47those steps at the Smoothie King Center,

2:33:49be sure we have all of the all the

2:33:51missing pieces together.

2:33:52>> Okay. And does that have any costs

2:33:54associated with it or

2:33:55>> any cost? We we will we will funnel

2:33:57those costs through some of our federal

2:33:59grant. Yeah. So we can claim those costs

2:34:02through federal grants. Great. Thank

2:34:03you.

2:34:05>> Any other questions? Council member

2:34:06Willer,

2:34:07>> just to follow up on what Council Member

2:34:09McCarron was talking about. So, is that

2:34:10like a planned um evacuation practice

2:34:14exercise?

2:34:15>> Yes.

2:34:15>> Okay. Um where are the state uh

2:34:19shelters? Where would they be set up in

2:34:20the event that we had to implement this

2:34:22plan?

2:34:23>> Well, it's it's so that's certainly a a

2:34:25call from the state. There is a mega

2:34:27shelter in Alexandria, for example, and

2:34:29so we would think that that would

2:34:31probably be a location where folks could

2:34:34be uh transported to, but again, that's

2:34:36the state's half of that mission. So

2:34:38they determine is it Alexandria, is it

2:34:40Lake Charles, is it Shreveport really

2:34:43based on the storm path and what's

2:34:45available, that's when they make those

2:34:47decisions.

2:34:47>> Okay. But they have shelters lined up in

2:34:49in different parts of the state. Okay.

2:34:52Uh, so our our part of the evacuation

2:34:55plan would just be getting people from

2:34:57bus stops and getting them to the

2:34:58Smoothie King.

2:34:59>> That's correct.

2:35:00>> Um, does the practice exercise go

2:35:03through like a logistics timeline?

2:35:05>> Yes, it it it's a it will cover

2:35:07everything with with a with a hurricane.

2:35:09We work off of something called an Hour

2:35:12timeline. So that tells us at 76 hours

2:35:15out these are the options right that the

2:35:17city has to execute and everything

2:35:20regarding contraflow or city assisted

2:35:22evacuation all of these different things

2:35:24you have to have so much time to execute

2:35:27these missions and as we get closer and

2:35:29closer to landfall your options

2:35:32>> continue to reduce right so this is

2:35:34going to help us be sure that our

2:35:36timeline matches the reality of what it

2:35:39takes on the ground

2:35:40>> okay sounds good thank you director

2:35:42Thank you.

2:35:44>> Any other questions? All right, with

2:35:46that, you're free to go.

2:35:47>> Thank you.

2:35:48>> Up next is the Juvenile Justice

2:35:50Intervention Center.

2:36:07Heat. Heat.

2:36:47Whenever you're ready, Director

2:36:49Williams.

2:36:51>> Good afternoon, council members. My name

2:36:54is Deserelle Williams. I am the

2:36:56executive director of the Juvenile

2:36:57Justice Intervention Center. Thank you

2:37:00for this opportunity to present our

2:37:02proposed 2027

2:37:04budget. Today, I will walk you through

2:37:07our major changes from the 2026 adopted

2:37:10budget, highlight key operational

2:37:12decisions, and outline our goals for the

2:37:15coming year. I have Mr. Gabrielle

2:37:18Bordane, our fiscal manager with us. And

2:37:21today, I would like to formally

2:37:22introduce you to Miss Lori Arsenal,

2:37:25who's our superintendent of support

2:37:27services, replacing Miss Lee Reeseman.

2:37:33>> Good morning. Uh, we, the leadership

2:37:35team at JJC, appreciate the city

2:37:37council's recognition of the important

2:37:40and valuable work that we do.

2:37:44Looking at our 2027 budget, uh you'll

2:37:47see reductions in both our personnel and

2:37:49operating budgets. Uh the personnel

2:37:54reduction reflects only the savings we

2:37:58expect to see at 2027 that we've already

2:38:01achieved this year, especially in

2:38:02overtime. And we'll get to that later.

2:38:05And I will detail our reductions in our

2:38:07other operating budget on our next

2:38:09slide.

2:38:11So, what's most important that you'll

2:38:13see is we have no plan reductions in

2:38:15staff and the standard of care that we

2:38:18will be delivering to the youth housed

2:38:20at JGIC.

2:38:22We we've got we've received assurances

2:38:24that we can continue to hire as needed

2:38:26and fill vacancies as they come up.

2:38:30We did hope to fill some middle

2:38:33management positions that are badly

2:38:34needed. Right now, Miss Williams is

2:38:37responsible for being the manager, the

2:38:40frontline manager to all the manage all

2:38:42the frontline staff, which is a great

2:38:44toll on her and she probably can go into

2:38:46that later. But we we're operating now.

2:38:49We're successful now. So, we're going to

2:38:51work within the budget that we have. As

2:38:53far as other operating, we have uh two

2:38:56major cuts. Uh few years back the city

2:39:00council had tasked us with expanding our

2:39:04our programming that we do within our

2:39:06facility to to the New Orleans East

2:39:08community. So we had hoped to do that

2:39:10beginning next year. Uh we scaled that

2:39:13back, but we'll continue offering the

2:39:15same programming that we have been

2:39:17offering year after year and we'll do

2:39:19the same amount and the same quality

2:39:21programming next year.

2:39:24We also hope to reduce our costs with

2:39:26our medical services contract. Uh

2:39:30currently our contract is for 1.4

2:39:32million which is about a third of our

2:39:34entire budget. So we're working with our

2:39:36our vendor children's hospital to reduce

2:39:39some of those costs while still

2:39:41maintaining the high quality medical

2:39:43care that our our youth have come to

2:39:46appreciate and that we are proud to

2:39:48offer.

2:39:50And the last uh major cut is uh we have

2:39:53two chillers that are nearing had near

2:39:56their end of life and thankfully we

2:39:58replaced one of them this year. So the

2:40:00air conditioning has been consistent

2:40:02since we did that a few months ago. We

2:40:05were hoping to do the other chiller next

2:40:07year, but it's been working well. So we

2:40:10can hold off one more year on that.

2:40:13Uh, I'd say the one thing that we don't

2:40:15have in our budget that is important

2:40:16that we get clarity on is we implemented

2:40:19a new jail management software this past

2:40:21year called Tyler Tech Eie supervision.

2:40:24It was previously paid for with ARPA

2:40:26funds. Now that those funds are no

2:40:27longer available that was one of our

2:40:29budget requests for this year. So

2:40:32someone if is going to have to pay for

2:40:35it. uh either we

2:40:37it just needs to happen otherwise we

2:40:39lose access to our main our main system

2:40:42of tracking youth from arrest to

2:40:46release.

2:40:47>> Let me let me just chime in for a

2:40:48second. He's speaking about our jail

2:40:51management system um that was part of

2:40:53the ebus and it was um covered under

2:40:56ARPA funding. And so now that that money

2:40:58is going away, we will have to assume

2:41:02the responsibility

2:41:04um through our operational budget to

2:41:06cover our jail management system

2:41:08subscript subscription.

2:41:13>> Okay.

2:41:15So um our budget efficiencies uh

2:41:19departments undertook significant budget

2:41:21efficiency efforts in 2026 as a part as

2:41:25part of the city's improved fiscal

2:41:27management. Um JJIC projects a 22%

2:41:32reduction in in overtime cost compared

2:41:35to 2026.

2:41:37We have been able to manage our overtime

2:41:41um budget without compromising safety

2:41:43and security. Uh we've hired a JDC staff

2:41:47uh with bar with professional barbering

2:41:49skills allowing an internal employee to

2:41:52perform a service that was previously

2:41:54outsourced and is uh it has resulted in

2:41:5950,000 um annually uh savings for

2:42:03haircuts for the young people um inside

2:42:06JJIC.

2:42:08We we put on here that we rebid our

2:42:11janitorial contracts, but we

2:42:14renegotiated the price um with our

2:42:17supplier uh reducing the cost of um some

2:42:21of our um janitorial supplies. We've

2:42:25also deactivated 12 of 31 cell phones.

2:42:30Um, we had 12 cell phones that were not

2:42:33in use and so we've deactivated those

2:42:35cell phones and we've cancelled uh

2:42:38software sub subscriptions that we will

2:42:40no longer leave need due to our um jail

2:42:44management system and also our FMS FX um

2:42:48system resulting in a total of 13,000

2:42:52savings annually for the city. Um, our

2:42:56increased youth programming services and

2:42:58our partnership with BHU village has

2:43:01resulted in behavioral changes inside of

2:43:04DJIC where we are um from the start of

2:43:10our programming sessions in 2026. Um,

2:43:14we've resulted zero critical incidents

2:43:16[clears throat] which is like physical

2:43:18assaults or youth on you youth on staff.

2:43:22Um we have four minor incidents which is

2:43:25basically basically uh redirection of

2:43:28youth um zero staff injuries and zero st

2:43:32um youth injuries.

2:43:39All right.

2:43:43So in 2027

2:43:46um JGIC has some goals set. We have

2:43:49revenue [clears throat] generating

2:43:50goals, youth development goals, and

2:43:53efficiency goals. And a part of those

2:43:55goals is to implement the school lunch

2:43:57reimbursement program, which will offset

2:44:00meal cost inside JGIC. Um, we do spend a

2:44:04large port a decentsized portion of our

2:44:08budget on food cost. And so, um, we are

2:44:11hoping to enter into the school lunch

2:44:14reimbursement program that will help

2:44:16offset some of that cost. We are also um

2:44:20looking to pursue grant opportunities

2:44:22targeted at juvenile justice reform,

2:44:24detention improvement, and community

2:44:26reintegration.

2:44:28Um and that ties into um the part of the

2:44:34our our presentation where we talked

2:44:37about uh cutting 300 from our

2:44:39programming um funds for 2020 uh 7. that

2:44:45was part of a community expansion that

2:44:47was geared towards different areas of

2:44:49New Orleans, most specifically New

2:44:51Orleans East. And so we want to uh we

2:44:55would like to try to pursue grant

2:44:57opportunities so we could um at some

2:45:01point in 2027

2:45:04uh bring those programming

2:45:06uh the programming to New Orleans East

2:45:10and then also um expand our re-entry

2:45:14um program throughout the community.

2:45:16JJIC has a uh juvenile intensive inhome

2:45:21supervision program and we would like to

2:45:24expand that program. That program is

2:45:26very successful. Um we have about a 70

2:45:31to 75% um success rate and children do

2:45:35really well in that program. we would

2:45:37like to expand it. And so in order to

2:45:39expand it, we we are seeking grant

2:45:42funding to try to um aid our efforts. Uh

2:45:46as far as youth development and

2:45:48community expansion goes, I spoke on one

2:45:50which was the intensive inhome

2:45:52supervision program, but we are in talks

2:45:55with uh Southern University at New

2:45:57Orleans um to establish college pathways

2:46:01for the graduates um of Travis Hill

2:46:04School at JGIC to be able to if still

2:46:07detained at JGIC move on to higher

2:46:10education. And so um some of the um

2:46:15representatives of Southern University

2:46:17at New Orleans has come to JJIC toward

2:46:20the facility. We sat down and now we are

2:46:23just kind of trying to work out how we

2:46:25could make this effort happen. And then

2:46:29the last thing would be efficiency

2:46:31goals. Um, we would like to transition

2:46:35from 12-hour shifts to eight hour shifts

2:46:38um to improve staff performance, reduce

2:46:40fatigue, and enhance overall safety

2:46:43while further reducing um overtime.

2:46:49All right.

2:46:52So,

2:46:54in closing,

2:46:56I would like to say to the council and

2:46:59who who's ever listening um virtually,

2:47:02JJIC remains committed to safely

2:47:05operating the city's juvenile detention

2:47:07facility, providing high [clears throat]

2:47:09quality care for youth in custody, and

2:47:12maintaining fiscal responsibility. Our

2:47:142027 budget reflects proactive planning,

2:47:18innovative efficiencies, and meaningful

2:47:20investments in both youth and staff. And

2:47:22I'm available for any questions.

2:47:25>> Thank you. What's your current um staff

2:47:27to uh child ratio? It's uh one is so

2:47:32it's 1 to8 and I will say um we have

2:47:36been able to uh capitalize right now on

2:47:40with the staffing we have based on the

2:47:42fact that um our daily population is

2:47:45trending in the 40s opposed to 76

2:47:49and above.

2:47:50>> That's good. Yeah, I mean I think that's

2:47:52a great trend and thank you uh by the

2:47:54way and thank you council member King

2:47:55for appearing on Monday. That seems like

2:47:5710 years ago, but uh thank you for that.

2:48:00Um I want to talk about this $181,000

2:48:04software bill that is coming due. Is

2:48:06that a yearly licensing fee?

2:48:08>> Yes.

2:48:09>> Okay. And do you know if this jail

2:48:11management system is the same that the

2:48:13sheriff uses?

2:48:14>> It's not the same. It's specific for

2:48:17juvenile um detention centers.

2:48:19>> And we you initially or we as council

2:48:22past council initially allocated ARPA

2:48:24money to pay for this. It was it was

2:48:28yeah it was covered through opera

2:48:30funding. I don't I don't know if y'all

2:48:33initiated it but I know it was covered

2:48:35through opera funding

2:48:36>> and there was no forward planning to say

2:48:38oh this is going to be a reoccurring

2:48:39cost of 101 $181,000

2:48:43in licensing fees.

2:48:45>> Not to my knowledge.

2:48:46>> Okay.

2:48:48Um do you have a grant writer?

2:48:51>> No. I'm hoping to work with the city um

2:48:56for uh it was my understanding that they

2:48:58were putting together like a a a grant

2:49:01team. Yeah.

2:49:02>> And so it's it's my hope that I could

2:49:04work with the city.

2:49:05>> Okay. Yeah. I just want to make sure

2:49:06that you are tapped into that grant

2:49:08writer since you're going after these

2:49:09grants. So that's great. And then um the

2:49:13school lunch reimbursement program is

2:49:15that through the state?

2:49:16>> Yes, it's um because we have Travis Hill

2:49:20School at JJIC. we we qualify for um the

2:49:25school lunch reimbursement program. We

2:49:28attempted to do it a few years ago. It

2:49:30is um tedious. It's a lot of work and so

2:49:35we have to um find the right uh

2:49:40individual to kind of really um headline

2:49:43that effort because it requires a lot of

2:49:46time. Do you get assistance from the

2:49:49state in applying for this reimbursement

2:49:52or is it something that you all need to

2:49:54figure out?

2:49:55>> We have to apply for it but there's we

2:49:57will definitely

2:49:59um need a dietitionian on board um

2:50:02because it's not you have to have

2:50:05certain meal plans and stuff in place.

2:50:07>> I got you. And this is just for lunch

2:50:09reimbursement. It's not for breakfast

2:50:11and dinner.

2:50:12>> Breakfast, lunch. Breakfast, lunch, and

2:50:14snack.

2:50:15>> And snack, but not dinner. So, you still

2:50:16have to have the costs of dinner,

2:50:18>> correct?

2:50:19>> Okay. All right. That's all the

2:50:20questions I have. Council member

2:50:22McCarron,

2:50:23>> um, just to piggyback on that question

2:50:25about the school lunch program, would

2:50:28that if you guys do get that

2:50:30reimbursement, would that also cover the

2:50:32juveniles that the state requires now to

2:50:34be housed at OJC instead of at JJIC? So,

2:50:38Travis [clears throat] Hills is is not

2:50:40the funding will go to JJIC,

2:50:43but it's

2:50:45it it you have to have a school in that

2:50:48space. And so, Travis Hill also service

2:50:51OJC. And so, um there I'm not sure if

2:50:56they qualify for it. I think that is

2:50:59something Sheriff War would have to um

2:51:02probably enter into discussion with the

2:51:05board of education in Baton Rouge to see

2:51:08if her agency qualifies. But I'm almost

2:51:10certain that it should because at the

2:51:15end of the day, I know there's 17, but

2:51:17they're still children.

2:51:18>> Yep. Yeah. Okay. We'll make a note to

2:51:21ask her about that when um she comes for

2:51:23her budget hearing. Um the only other

2:51:25question I had uh about your HVAC

2:51:28chiller, would that could that be

2:51:30addressed through capital

2:51:32planning or

2:51:34>> we've attempt to address it in the past

2:51:36through capital

2:51:37um capital projects to no avail. Um Mr.

2:51:42Bordon, if you could speak more to the

2:51:44issue as to why they didn't cover it.

2:51:47>> Yeah, it it has been in our capital

2:51:48budget request for the last few years.

2:51:51it just has we haven't been allocated

2:51:53any capital funds. So we had an

2:51:56immediate need like our air conditioning

2:51:57stopped working last year. So we we had

2:52:00to use the funds available to get it

2:52:01fixed. So if if we are but and I

2:52:05understand the city won't even been

2:52:07going to the market for bonds next year.

2:52:09So there won't be any more capital funds

2:52:11as I don't understand.

2:52:12>> What's the cost of the of the other one

2:52:14that you need to replace?

2:52:17it. Well, the one we just replaced, it

2:52:18cost us about $160,000,

2:52:21so we anticipate it to be about the

2:52:23same.

2:52:23>> Okay. Okay. I I will note that for

2:52:26capital. Um and and did you guys get

2:52:29like some kind of maintenance contract

2:52:31on it, too, to to make sure that it's

2:52:32being maintained now that we Okay.

2:52:35>> Yes. We got a a 10-year warranty on this

2:52:37one.

2:52:38>> Okay. Great. Thank you.

2:52:40Any other questions?

2:52:42>> Just a quick question. And it looks like

2:52:44you have 800,000 professional services

2:52:47contract for youth programming. What

2:52:49does that cover?

2:52:50>> So we we were at we actually don't have

2:52:53800. We we were allocated 600,000 in

2:52:572026. And so we were asking for an

2:53:01increase of 200,000 to um

2:53:05fulfill our uh request uh to service uh

2:53:09New Orleans East. um it covers

2:53:11structured programming inside JJIC. So

2:53:14it's therapeutic services um that we are

2:53:17mandated to um by license by detention

2:53:20standards to um pro provide to the

2:53:24youth. It's like rehabilitative

2:53:25services. So we do art therapy, we do

2:53:28grief therapy, we do um basketball

2:53:32therapy, we do um dance therapy.

2:53:37Oh god, what we don't do? We also have

2:53:39mental health services.

2:53:40>> Yeah, we have mental health services. Um

2:53:44>> conflict management.

2:53:45>> Conflict management.

2:53:46>> Okay. And and a lot of that is done by

2:53:48contractors.

2:53:49>> It's done it's done by um community

2:53:52partners or subcontractors.

2:53:55>> Okay. All right. Thank you.

2:53:57>> Any other questions? I do have one

2:54:00comment card from Katherine Stoma.

2:54:14Good afternoon. My name is Katherine

2:54:16Stoma. I'm the RN clinical manager for

2:54:19Manning Family Children's at the medical

2:54:21clinic located within the Juvenile

2:54:23Justice Intervention Center. I oversee

2:54:26the day-to-day clinical operations for

2:54:29our multiddisciplinary team which

2:54:31includes nursing, social work,

2:54:34pediatrics, and psychiatry.

2:54:36Together, we care for the medical and

2:54:38behavioral health needs of the youth at

2:54:40JJIC.

2:54:42Our nurses are on site 24 hours a day, 7

2:54:46days a week, caring for youth from the

2:54:48time they enter JJC throughout their

2:54:50stay, completing intake and discharge

2:54:53assessments, administering medications,

2:54:56responding to sick calls, collecting

2:54:58labs, and coordinating outside medical

2:55:01specialty care. Our pediatrician

2:55:04evaluates new youth and addresses

2:55:06medical concerns as needed, while

2:55:08psychiatry provides initial evaluations

2:55:11and ongoing psych psychiatric care. Our

2:55:14social workers provide individual

2:55:16therapy and assist with discharge

2:55:18planning, long-term placement, and

2:55:21connections to community services.

2:55:24As you heard directly from some of our

2:55:26youth on Monday, each young person at

2:55:28JJIC comes to us with their own

2:55:31experiences and needs. Regardless of the

2:55:34circumstances that bring them to JJIC,

2:55:38they are still children who deserve to

2:55:40have their medical and mental health

2:55:41needs recognized and addressed. While in

2:55:45custody, they depend on our team to

2:55:47provide that care. Your continued

2:55:50support allows us to provide safe,

2:55:52consistent care during their time at

2:55:54JGIC and helps ensure a healthier

2:55:57transition back into the community.

2:55:59Thank you for your time and continued

2:56:01support of the youth we serve.

2:56:04>> Thank you. All right. Uh that's it for

2:56:07you. Thank you for appearing here today.

2:56:09>> Thank you. Thank you very much.

2:56:10>> Thank you, Ashley.

2:56:11>> And last but not least, Orleans Parish

2:56:13Communications District.

2:56:16Heat.

2:56:32Heat.

2:56:39Let's

2:56:47see if I have the right number cuz I

2:56:49can't find it.

2:57:00Ready

2:57:08when you are. Okay.

2:57:10>> Good afternoon, madam budget chair,

2:57:12council members, Carl Fasel, the

2:57:14executive director of Orleans Parish

2:57:16Communication District. With me is our

2:57:18finance manager, Cassandra Robert, our

2:57:21deputy executive director, Teresa

2:57:23Thompson. Uh, we've got a pretty quick

2:57:26presentation. Since I'm the last one,

2:57:28hopefully we can roll through it pretty

2:57:29quickly for you.

2:57:32We have a historical call and incident

2:57:33counts for the last year. Uh you can see

2:57:36our answer times are not quite as good

2:57:38as we would hope. The goal is 90% of 911

2:57:42calls being answered in 15 seconds or

2:57:45less. We are hanging in the 70 to 80%

2:57:48range due to 10 call taking positions

2:57:51being frozen as a result of this year's

2:57:53budget. Our budget request for next year

2:57:55does provide for full staffing. As a

2:57:58result, we're expecting to to meet or

2:58:00exceed those national standards at that

2:58:02point. Call for service information,

2:58:04etc. You can see from the the previous

2:58:06years, we're bringing you about the same

2:58:08number of calls. Uh moving forward, next

2:58:13we got the last 6 months call and

2:58:15incident count for you as well. Pretty

2:58:17much shows the same thing with call

2:58:20answer times not not getting up to the

2:58:22standards.

2:58:25As far as accomplishments in the last

2:58:27year, we have deployed the new NOFD fire

2:58:30alerting system, mock alert, and working

2:58:32with the fire department. All of our

2:58:34supervisors have been certified to

2:58:36dispatch in all three disciplines. Our

2:58:39911 operations manager completed the

2:58:41Association of Public Safety

2:58:42Communications Officials, APCO,

2:58:45Certified Public Safety Executive or CPE

2:58:48program,

2:58:49joining myself and Miss Thompson as

2:58:52graduates. OPC is the only entity in the

2:58:54country that has three CPE graduates and

2:58:58senior leadership and we have three of

2:59:01the four CPE graduates in the state of

2:59:03Louisiana in 911. So, we're very proud

2:59:05of that and it shows that the interest

2:59:08we take in ensuring that we're doing the

2:59:09right things, going in the right

2:59:11direction. In addition, all four of our

2:59:13operations managers are nearing

2:59:16completion in the APC code registered

2:59:18public safety leader or RPL program.

2:59:21There are 11 RPLs in Louisiana. So,

2:59:24again, we will have the lion share of

2:59:26that when they complete that. We also

2:59:29have an assistant operations manager and

2:59:31my TAD manager who received scholarships

2:59:34from AFCO for that program and have just

2:59:36started it.

2:59:38Our education and development team

2:59:40received the third renewal of APCO

2:59:43accreditation for our training program.

2:59:45Our next recruit class is scheduled to

2:59:47start on Tuesday, October 13th with 14

2:59:50recruits, one withdrew.

2:59:52continuing the progress in providing the

2:59:55best services possible for our citizens

2:59:57and visitors. I think as you've seen in

2:59:59the last three years of my tenure, we've

3:00:01continually focused on training,

3:00:03education, and providing appropriate

3:00:05services. And I think you've also seen

3:00:07the number of citizen complaints to your

3:00:10offices have dropped to around one a

3:00:12month across the the complete council

3:00:15versus the multiples you were sending me

3:00:17to start with.

3:00:19national and international recognition

3:00:21of our work in pioneering the

3:00:23appropriate utilization of AI in the 911

3:00:25environment. I'm sure you saw the uh the

3:00:30article, the clickbait article from the

3:00:31Northern End of the State. Uh we fought

3:00:34back on that. We successfully got an

3:00:36actual retraction from USA Today and an

3:00:38apology. We suggested they take the

3:00:40money from that clickbait and make a

3:00:42donation to public service, but uh we

3:00:45haven't heard anything from that, so I

3:00:47don't expect to.

3:00:50Our goals are to ensure we we hit full

3:00:52staffing so that we can hit those

3:00:54national standards for call answering.

3:00:57Continue to improve the retention of our

3:00:59employees.

3:01:00Implement a new program called ASAP to

3:01:03PAP which allows alarm companies to send

3:01:06calls to us electronically rather than

3:01:09calling us on the phone and having to

3:01:10have a call taker speak with them and

3:01:12playing phone tag if we need to request

3:01:14a keyh holder or something like that.

3:01:17We also intend to push our training

3:01:19program down to

3:01:22excuse me to have our supervisors all

3:01:24achieve APCO or NENA national training

3:01:27or certified training. And we we have

3:01:31postponed our accreditation applications

3:01:33due to fiscal issues, but we intend to

3:01:36move those forward again during fiscal

3:01:38year 27 and achieve that national

3:01:40certification to recognize what we're

3:01:42doing.

3:01:44We are moving 311 call handling to the

3:01:47Carbine Apex system so that we can take

3:01:50advantage of the functionality there for

3:01:52sending pictures, getting exact

3:01:54locations, etc. We're transitioning the

3:01:57311 system to a new reporting and

3:02:00tracking system as you heard yesterday

3:02:02from John Whisby in consultation with

3:02:04the city that's going to provide

3:02:07automatic linkage to the city's order

3:02:09management and inventory control system

3:02:12so that citizens will receive automatic

3:02:14updates on the status of their 311

3:02:17complaints rather than having to call

3:02:19back and having us try to contact the

3:02:21city agencies to determine that status.

3:02:24We are hardening and diversifying our

3:02:26standard phone system to remove

3:02:28long-term single points of failure and

3:02:30eliminate the use of standard copper

3:02:32lines which AT&T is actively moving away

3:02:35from in the state. We also in excuse me

3:02:39intend to continue improvements in the

3:02:41training and qualification of our

3:02:42personnel throughout the agency.

3:02:46our operation staffing as of September

3:02:481st, you can see we had 14 vacancies

3:02:51from the ECS or call taking position.

3:02:54But an important point is of the

3:02:56positions that are filled, 11 graduated

3:02:58recently from our last class and are not

3:03:01fully functional employees. That's

3:03:03what's leading to the the call answering

3:03:05delays and issues. Uh we do have a few

3:03:08other vacancies at supervisory levels

3:03:10that will be backfilled and result in

3:03:12additional ECS openings.

3:03:15As far as support staffing goes, you can

3:03:18see we have eight of 32 positions that

3:03:21we have consciously chosen not to fill

3:03:23this year in order to conserve funding

3:03:26etc. Some of those we will have to move

3:03:28forward with in the the following year.

3:03:32We have requested and city

3:03:34administration has concurred with a

3:03:35total budget for fiscal year 27 for us

3:03:38of $26 million versus 24 million in

3:03:422026.

3:03:44Our request of the city has dropped by

3:03:462% in base general fund allocation and

3:03:507% when you consider the extra million

3:03:53that was added to the budget last year

3:03:55for overtime. So we're actually

3:03:57requesting less of the city this year.

3:04:00Uh the reason we can do that is we

3:04:02worked with the other 63 communication

3:04:04districts in the state. We passed an act

3:04:06through the legislature that allowed for

3:04:08an increase in broadband or cellular 911

3:04:12fees from the $1.25 per line per month

3:04:15that it had been since 2016 to $2 per

3:04:19month. So a 75 increase per subscriber

3:04:22per month is going to net us roughly an

3:04:25additional $2 million. uh million of

3:04:27that we we effectively reduced our

3:04:29request from the city directly. The

3:04:32other is being dedicated to everything

3:04:34you saw last year as things that we're

3:04:37kicking the can down the road

3:04:39effectively and everything we worked

3:04:40with the city administration and the

3:04:42transition team and postponing and not

3:04:45doing but some of them are becoming

3:04:47really necessary.

3:04:51Some of those things are the hardware on

3:04:53the operations floor, video wall, AV

3:04:54distribution system that we're buying

3:04:56parts off of eBay, but even that source

3:04:58is drying up. So, we're going to have to

3:05:00do it. Uh we have worked with capital

3:05:03budgets or the capital budget system.

3:05:06They're in the list, but they won't they

3:05:10will not be funded through 2028 at the

3:05:12earliest due to the the bond sale, etc.,

3:05:15etc. Uh so we are likely to have to go

3:05:18ahead much as JGIC did and have to take

3:05:21action using operational funds to deal

3:05:23with these issues.

3:05:26The NICE system again it's still broken

3:05:28still not working was out of service

3:05:30last year has resulted in our response

3:05:33to public records being delayed

3:05:35including records requests from the DA's

3:05:37office NOPD and our other public safety

3:05:40partners. We prioritize those, but it's

3:05:43taking about 3 weeks for us to fulfill

3:05:45those now, and it's not going to get any

3:05:47better.

3:05:49Our Cisco UCM main telefan system for

3:05:53non-emergency

3:05:54is also way past end of life and again,

3:05:57we're trying to limp it along in the

3:05:59hope that we can do a capex for it in

3:06:012028, but realistically speaking, it's

3:06:05it's going to be a problem.

3:06:08Uh, we're Oh, okay. Yeah, we're moving

3:06:11the 311 system, sorry, to Carbine. As we

3:06:14said, that's increased our license

3:06:16requirement for that slightly, but it

3:06:19provides wonderful new functionality for

3:06:21the 311 personnel.

3:06:24As you know, in 2025, our previous

3:06:27insurance carrier declined to renew

3:06:29coverage, VIP, because of the number of

3:06:31claims generated by by my previous

3:06:34administration. We had to go to hub,

3:06:36which is the same broker the city uses,

3:06:39and assemble a package, get the required

3:06:42insurance, which costs more. The good

3:06:44news is with a clear claim history,

3:06:47that's starting to go down now. So, it's

3:06:50still higher than it was, but it's

3:06:52getting better. We're continuing to work

3:06:54with their risk reduction people and the

3:06:57city's risk reduction manager. Uh we we

3:07:00are trying for 2028 to create a risk

3:07:03manager position within OPCD. Uh we'd

3:07:06hope to do that this year but not going

3:07:08to work out so that we can again

3:07:11continue to address those issues and

3:07:13ensure that we we minimize our risk of

3:07:15exposure.

3:07:18Next academy is planned to start on

3:07:19October 13th. We have 14 recruits

3:07:23should let us reach full Sunday. The

3:07:25full staffing should should make us able

3:07:28to not be below those national standards

3:07:31and requirements.

3:07:35And that's pretty much all I have.

3:07:38>> Okay. Any questions? Council member

3:07:40Willer.

3:07:42>> Thank you, director. Um had the

3:07:44opportunity to tour and meet with you

3:07:46and your team, check out your uh office

3:07:49space and your setup there. And um you

3:07:52guys are doing great work. Uh few

3:07:54questions. Um so it looks like going

3:07:56back to 2024, OPCD didn't have any

3:07:59overtime budgeted and um I guess my

3:08:04question is is it because you don't have

3:08:06enough staff that the overtime is in

3:08:08there or is the the nature of what you

3:08:10do overtime has to be accounted for?

3:08:13>> No. Much like the problem that occurred

3:08:15with the city budget, the same thing hit

3:08:17us. Overtime was being paid out of

3:08:20unfilled positions. Gotcha. And when the

3:08:22unfilled positions were backed out of

3:08:23the budget, we had the same issues.

3:08:26>> Okay,

3:08:26>> we fixed that. Uh part of our

3:08:28discussions with the incoming

3:08:30administration was a problem with with

3:08:32having that and they provided some

3:08:34additional funding for this year for

3:08:35overtime. It is now contained in within

3:08:38our normal budget, okay, appropriately

3:08:41and we have cut back on overtime usage

3:08:44as much as possible. uh we reduced what

3:08:47we consider critical staffing for call

3:08:49takers so that we are only filling it

3:08:52not when it's nice to do so but when

3:08:54it's required and by hitting full

3:08:56staffing we will decrease the amount of

3:08:58unscheduled overtime required to only

3:09:01special events etc versus sick time call

3:09:04outs etc.

3:09:05>> Okay. Um, so you have two vacant like

3:09:10supervisor positions, 14 emergency

3:09:13communications specialists, correct?

3:09:15>> Are those vacancies uh budgeted for in

3:09:18the 27 proposed budget? Okay.

3:09:22>> Um,

3:09:24looking at your operating costs, it it

3:09:27looks like you have close to a million

3:09:29dollars in annual subscriptions.

3:09:31>> Um, can you walk us through what some of

3:09:34those are for?

3:09:36I will have my finance manager pull that

3:09:38out.

3:09:38>> Perfect.

3:09:47>> The next thing I wanted to ask about was

3:09:48just hardware and software maintenance.

3:09:51So, if you're right, if you want to take

3:09:52that one on first.

3:09:53>> The the biggest pieces of hardware and

3:09:55software maintenance are the

3:09:56subscriptions or ongoing costs for our

3:09:59computer assisted just Yeah. our

3:10:01computer assisted dispatch system which

3:10:04runs almost a million dollars a year. Uh

3:10:06that includes all of the mobile display

3:10:09the software for the mobile display

3:10:11terminals in use by police, fire, EMS on

3:10:14scene services, SPCA etc. The second

3:10:17highest for us is our 911 telefanany

3:10:20system. The 911 telefanany system is a

3:10:23cloudnative system by carbine now Axon

3:10:26911. So we don't have capex costs

3:10:29associated with that anymore. There no

3:10:31servers etc. But it is around $650

3:10:35700,000 a year with the increase due to

3:10:38moving 311 to that system as well. So

3:10:41that eats up or creates almost one and a

3:10:43half one and 3/4 million in annual cost

3:10:47for the hardware software maintenance.

3:10:48The rest of this hardware software

3:10:50maintenance is things like the PBX, the

3:10:54mechanical systems of the building, the

3:10:56UPS or unin uninterruptible power

3:10:59systems of the building.

3:11:01>> Okay.

3:11:01>> Uh we're very fortunate with that. We

3:11:03actually had a meltdown of a UPS a year

3:11:06and a half ago and lost half our

3:11:07capacity due to the cont maintenance

3:11:10contract we maintained with the vendor.

3:11:12The only thing remaining of that UPS is

3:11:14the cabinet it's in now. Everything

3:11:16inside is brand new and fortunately all

3:11:19our plans worked. So you guys, the

3:11:22public, nobody noticed that we were

3:11:23working at half capacity for basically 2

3:11:25and 1/2 months.

3:11:26>> Wow. Okay. Um, and I guess my follow-up

3:11:30question to that is are those uh

3:11:32maintenance contracts actually with the

3:11:34suppliers or they with like third party

3:11:37companies?

3:11:37>> They're with the companies. Everything

3:11:38is pretty much proprietary requires it

3:11:41be with the manufacturers or the

3:11:42provider for that. Uh we're very

3:11:45fortunate. I in my previous history with

3:11:48OPC as a director of technology, I built

3:11:51a fantastic technology team who is able

3:11:54to handle most of the things that other

3:11:57places are calling for support

3:11:59internally. So we handle all of our

3:12:00first level and basically second level

3:12:03maintenance updates etc for everything

3:12:05internal and our vendors all and

3:12:07partners all recognize that and as a

3:12:10result our rates are significantly less

3:12:13than what other 911 centers in the state

3:12:16are paying for their support. So we're

3:12:19very proud of that fact and trying to

3:12:21save that money.

3:12:22>> Okay. Good evening board. Some of our

3:12:25major uh subscription costs is due to

3:12:29our carbine subscription, our quick base

3:12:32subscription. We have to keep the

3:12:34district operation for tracking of our

3:12:37purchase orders and our procurement

3:12:40process. That was one of our major.

3:12:42>> So QuickBase is what we're using now for

3:12:44the 311 system as well. And again, as

3:12:47Mr. Whisby advised yesterday and

3:12:49hopefully the budget will pass in order

3:12:50to provide the funding for that new

3:12:52system. Unfortunately, it won't be in

3:12:55effect in time to affect next year's

3:12:57quick bait quick base cost.

3:12:59>> So, you have to carry that for another

3:13:00year.

3:13:00>> Correct. We've got to carry that

3:13:01forward. We expect to drop it. We

3:13:04haven't been able to get numbers out of

3:13:05Quickbase as far as how much it's going

3:13:07to drop it because it's not a a direct

3:13:09correlation as you would expect based on

3:13:12user licenses. We also use QuickBase

3:13:14internally for our our procurement

3:13:16system etc. The municipal ordinance

3:13:18passed last year this year that would

3:13:21that requires us to move towards brass

3:13:23will eventually eliminate a lot of that

3:13:25but that's multiple years down the road

3:13:27at this point as well.

3:13:29>> Okay. My last question is just about

3:13:31repairs and maintenance. Um it looks

3:13:33like you have three different line items

3:13:35there. One is for uh building uh one is

3:13:39for vehicles. And then there's a third

3:13:41one that's 512,000.

3:13:44I want to know what that would that one

3:13:47covering.

3:13:49Is that for

3:13:52>> So there's one that's 172,000

3:13:56that's attributable to the building,

3:13:58>> right?

3:13:58>> One at 6,000 for vehicles. And I just I

3:14:02wanted to know what the 512,000 was for.

3:14:08>> Yeah, I don't think we have it sorted.

3:14:10>> It's not actually sorted on my report.

3:14:13>> Ah,

3:14:14>> but I can get that.

3:14:15>> Can you get get that? Okay.

3:14:16>> If if that's acceptable, we'll send it.

3:14:18>> Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you so

3:14:20much, director. Thank you.

3:14:21>> Thank you, sir.

3:14:24>> All right. With that, you are done.

3:14:26Thank you.

3:14:27>> Congratulations to you guys. I was

3:14:29expecting to be here till 5.

3:14:30Congratulations to us indeed.

3:14:32>> So was I.

3:14:33>> I caught you commenting [laughter]

3:14:34yesterday about bring your lunch.

3:14:37>> This is fantastic and unbelievable.

3:14:39Thank you.

3:14:39>> Well, thank you for your work. Um I know

3:14:41you've turned that department around a

3:14:43lot.

3:14:43>> Thank thanks for all the support your

3:14:47predecessors and y'all have given me to

3:14:48do it again. We think we're we're on

3:14:51completely on the right track and we

3:14:53want to stay on it.

3:14:54>> Well, thank you. That concludes our day

3:14:56for today. Uh we're back on Monday 9:30

3:14:59and we'll see you then. Thank you.