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OKAY, WE READY TO RECORDING IN PROGRESS? OKAY, WE ARE READY.
[I. INVOCATION, PLEDGE & ROLL CALL]
GOOD MORNING.WE ARE GATHERED HERE FOR A SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE PORT ARTHUR, UH, CITY COUNCIL ON TODAY, MARCH 7TH, 2023 AT 10:00 AM AND IT'S NOW 10 0 7.
UH, AND WE ARE AT THE CITY HALL AT 4 44 FOURTH STREET HERE IN THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR ON THE FOURTH FIFTH FLOOR, UH, IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS.
AND ALL OF COUNCIL HAS TO BE PRESENT HERE IN CHAMBERS FOR THIS MEETING TO OCCUR.
THE PUBLIC MAY PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING BY DIALING ONE OF THE FOLLOWING NUMBERS.
UH, THAT WOULD BE 8 7 7 8 5 3 5 2 4 7, OR 8 8 8 7 8 8 0 0 9 9.
YOU MUST ENTER THE MEETING ID OF 8 1 63 9 9 1 3 4 62, AND THE PASSCODE OF 8 9 5 0 0 7, AND YOU WILL BE ALLOWED ENTRY INTO THE MEETING.
AND DURING THIS MEETING, WE ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACTS.
AND IF THERE WOULD BE A NEED FOR SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS, YOU WOULD ONLY NEED TO CALL THE CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE, HOWEVER, 24 HOURS PRIOR TO THE MEETING AT 4 0 9 9 8 3 8 1 1 5, AND MAKE YOUR REQUEST.
AND THE CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE COULD DO ALL WITHIN ITS POWER TO COMPLY WITH YOUR REQUEST FOR SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS.
WITH ALL OF THIS BEING SAID, LIKE FOR YOU TO DO AS I'M GOING TO DO NOW, AND MUTE YOUR ELECTRONIC DEVICES, PLEASE, AND WE WILL BEGIN WITH OUR INVOCATION AND OUR PLEDGE, UH, CAUSE MCKEN, WILL YOU GIVE US THE INVOCATION, PLEASE? UH, SURE.
MAYOR, WILL YOU STAND INVOLVED WITH ME? OH, WE HAVE ANY FATHER, ONCE AGAIN, WE GIVE YOU THESE BLESSINGS.
WE GIVE YOU THE GLORY, WE GIVE YOU ALL THE OPPORTUNITY.
AND THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING THIS COUNCIL TO COME TOGETHER ONCE AGAIN AS COLLECTIVE COUNCIL TO DO THE BUSINESS OF THIS GREAT CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS.
WE ASK ALL THESE BLESSINGS, YOUR SON JESUS NAME, I PRAY.
WOULD YOU PLEASE JOIN US IN THE PLEDGE OF LEADERS? I PLEDGE THE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
AND AT THIS JUNCTURE, CITY SECRETARY, WOULD YOU BE SO KIND AS TO ESTABLISH THE QUO FOR ME? MAYOR BART, PRESENT MAYOR PRO.
[II.1. A Presentation By Terry Stokes, EDC CEO, Regarding A Quarterly Update/Status Report Of The City Of Port Arthur Section 4A Economic Development Corporation]
THE PRESENTATIONS WILL BEGIN NOW.AND AS A POINT OF CLARIFICATION, UH, ORIGINALLY THIS MEETING WAS SCHEDULED TO BE A JOINT MEETING BETWEEN WELL WITH THE PORT AUTHOR, UH, CITY COUNCIL AND THE EDC BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
BUT BECAUSE OF SOME, UH, EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES, WE COULD NOT, UH, HAVE A QUORUM FROM THE EDC.
SO WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO IS BEGIN WITH A PRESENTATION BY MR. TERRY STOKES, WHO IS THE EDC, UH, CEO.
AND HE'S GONNA GIVE US HIS, ACTUALLY HIS QUARTERLY UPDATED STATUS REPORT OR ON THE CITY PORT OFFICE, UH, SECTION FOUR, A ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION, AND IN THE OTHER PERTINENT MATTERS THAT HE MAY FEEL NECESSARY TO DISCUSS IF THE ATTORNEY PERMITS IT.
SO, MR. STOKES, UH, WE'RE READY.
UH, HONORABLE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, CITY MANAGER, CITY ATTORNEY, CITY SECRETARY, UH, DISTINGUISHED GUEST, UH, LAST TIME THAT, UH, I WAS BEFORE YOU, YOU WERE WELCOMING TO WELCOMING ME TO THE COMMUNITY.
UH, SEEMS LIKE SUCH A LONG, LONG TIME AGO.
UH, BUT, UH, SO GLAD TO BE BACK, UH, BEFORE YOU THIS MORNING.
UH, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN THE TIME FOR MY QUARTERLY UPDATE TO YOU THAT I COMMITTED TO YOU WHEN WE DID THAT WELCOMING.
AND, UH, I CERTAINLY HOPE THAT WE'LL, UH, BE ABLE TO GET BACK ONTO THE CALENDAR, UH, A JOINT MEETING, UH, AS SOON AS FEASIBLE FOR ALL PARTIES.
UH, AS MAYOR BART SAID THIS MORNING, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS, UH, JUST GIVE YOU, UH, A QUICK UPDATE OF WHERE THINGS STAND, WHICH IS WHAT I COMMITTED TO
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YOU, UH, BACK WHEN I STARTED.UH, MUCH OF THIS WILL BE WHAT I PROVIDED TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, UH, OF THE, UH, P A E D C LAST EVENING AT, UH, THEIR BOARD MEETING.
AND WHERE THERE ARE SOME, UH, NOTES THAT, UH, PROVIDED YOU, UH, AT YOUR, UH, DIAS.
UH, I WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN I'M AT A PARTICULAR POINT, UH, CAUSE I MAY NOT BE PARTICULARLY CLEAR.
SO I'LL JUST LET YOU KNOW AS I'M GOING THROUGH, OR I'M GONNA START WITH THE CORPORATION'S FINANCES.
UH, AND AT YOUR DESK IS A, UH, CURRENT, UH, FUND BALANCE, UH, FOR THE CORPORATION.
UH, LEMME TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, THANK MS. DANIEL, UH, FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.
SHE, UH, WORKED VERY HARD TO PROVIDE THIS, UH, YESTERDAY AFTERNOON, A AHEAD OF THE, UH, THE BOARD MEETING.
UH, SO I WAS ABLE TO UPDATE THEM ON WHERE WE STAND, AT LEAST AS OF THE END OF THE, THE CALENDAR YEAR, UH, BACK IN DECEMBER.
HOW, UH, GOING FORWARD, UH, THE MOST PERTINENT THING IN TERMS OF WHERE, HOW WE'RE GONNA USE THIS INFORMATION.
UH, AND I'LL GET INTO THE DETAILS.
WELL, LET ME START AT THE TOP, UH, GOING FORWARD AS WE BEGIN THE PROCESS OF BUDGETING FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, UH, AND IN LIEU OF THE FACT THAT THIS IS DECEMBER 31ST, UH, IN TERMS OF THE, THE REPORT THAT'S IN FRONT OF YOU, AND KNOWING FULL WELL THAT THERE WERE EXPENSES JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, ESPECIALLY RELATED TO, UH, CLOSING OUT THE PRESS BUILDING.
SO IN THE INTEREST OF SAFETY AND FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, UH, WORKING WITH, UH, THE BOARD'S TREASURER, WE ARE GOING TO, AND THIS WAS ANNOUNCED TO THE BOARD LAST NIGHT, GO INTO BUDGETING WITH THE MINDSET THAT THE, THE FUND BALANCE IS ZERO.
THAT WILL PROVIDE A SAFETY NET AS WE START TO PUT THE NEXT YEAR'S FISCAL BUDGET TOGETHER.
IT ALSO ALLOWS FOR CATCHING UP OF THE, THE SYSTEMS, UH, TO WHERE WE WOULD BE IN MAY WHEN WE'RE STARTING TO DO THAT BUDGETING.
AND THIS JUST PROVIDES FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ALLOWS THE BOARD TO DO IT.
ITS FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY IN A SAFE WAY.
AND IF IT TURNS OUT THAT WE DO HAVE A, A WONDERFUL CUSHION, AND THAT'S JUST WHAT IT'LL BE, UH, A FUN BALANCE RAINY DAY, UH, BUT, UH, DEFINITELY NOT ANY DEFICIT SPENDING AND NOT ANYTHING THAT'S WOULDN'T BE A BALANCED BUDGET.
UH, THAT IS WHAT I'M MOST USED TO OPERATING UNDER.
UH, AND I THINK THAT PROVIDES FOR MYSELF, UH, A GUARANTEE OF THE TRANSPARENCY THAT I PRO COMMITTED TO YOU ALL WHEN I GOT, WHEN I STARTED NOW IN CONJUNCTION WITH, UH, THE CORPORATION'S FINANCES, UH, AS I'VE, YOU KNOW, COME ON BOARD, TRIED TO GET MY ARMS AROUND THINGS, UH, I'VE RECOGNIZED THAT, UH, ONE OF OUR, UH, THE PA CS KIND OF STICKING POINTS IS THAT WE FAIRLY CONSISTENTLY, UH, RUN A FILE OF SOME OF OUR VENDORS IN TERMS OF PAYING THINGS LATE.
UH, NOTHING HAVING TO DO WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE EDC IS TRYING VERY HARD TO MAKE SURE IT HAS ITS ACT, ACT TOGETHER.
BUT IN GETTING OUR ACT TOGETHER, WE OBVIOUSLY ARE RELIANT UPON OUR CHIEF STAKEHOLDERS, WHICH IS THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR.
SO TO THAT END, I'VE, UM, HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH, UH, HONORABLE CITY MANAGER BURTON, UH, HIS, UH, TWO ASSISTANT, UH, CITY MANAGERS ALONG WITH MS. DANIEL.
IN FACT, WE MET FOR NEARLY A COUPLE OF HOURS THIS PAST THURSDAY, UH, TO DISCUSS THE CORPORATION'S FINANCES.
AND I FELT COMFORTABLE THAT WE CAME OUT WITH AN INITIAL PLAN THAT WE COULD, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE OLD SAYING, PLAN TO WORK AND THEN WORK THE PLAN, UH, IN THAT, UH, P A E D C STAFF ARE GOING TO GET, UH, SOME MORE CONCRETE DETAILED TRAINING ON THE RELATIVELY NEW SYSTEM THAT THE CITY HAS, UH, BROUGHT IN, UH, AS WELL AS FULL ACCESS TO ALL OF THE MODULES THAT ARE, UM, THAT, THAT, UH, STAFF WOULD BE RELIED UPON IN ORDER TO PROVIDE FULL UPTODATE INFORMATION.
UH, THAT ACTIVITY WILL KICK OFF IN MAY, AND HOPEFULLY BY JUNE, ALL THAT TRAINING AND FULL ACCESS WILL BE, UH, FINALIZED SO THAT AS WE GO INTO THE SUMMER, INTO THE MEAT OF, UH, BUDGETING, UH, EVERYONE WILL BE ON TRACK AND, UH, SYSTEMS FULLY UP AND OPERATING A FUNCTION ACCORDINGLY, AT LEAST ON THE, THE EDCS IN WITH FULL TRAINING.
THAT SAID, UH, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, I'M KEEPING AN EYE ON AND, AND NOW BY EXTENSION ASKING, UH, FOR YOUR HELP TO KEEP AN EYE ON, UH, ALTHOUGH I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE ADDITIONAL TRAINING FOR STAFF, MORE TRAINING IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN LESS.
UH, AS I TOLD MY BOARD LAST NIGHT AND, AND
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NOW TELLING CITY COUNCIL, UH, I AM NOT SURE THAT ALL OF THE TRAINING WILL NECESSARILY, UH, RECTIFY OUR BEING BEHIND IN TERMS OF PAYMENTS IN THE LONG RUN.UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE BEGUN TO LOOK AT, UH, IS TO WHAT EXTENT, WITHOUT DISRUPTING CITY OPERATIONS AND CITY FUNCTIONS, COULD THE EDC DO IN UNLIMITED MANNER THE RECEIVING OF ITS BILLS, THE PAYING OF ITS BILLS, AND THE KEEPING OF ITS LEDGER, USING THE SAME EXACT SYSTEM AS THE CITY AND MAKING SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS TRANSPARENT DATA FLOW IN, DATA FLOW OUT.
IN DOING SO, ALL OF THE CURRENT PROCEDURES AND POLICIES WOULD NOT CHANGE.
CONTRACTS STILL HAVE TO BE APPROVED BY THIS BODY.
THIS IS A LONG TERM, VERY NARROW FUNCTION, NOT LOOKING TO BREAK ANY OTHER SYSTEMS. IT IS SIMPLY FOR THIS CORPORATION.
YOU ALL KNOW WHAT OUR CHARTER IS AND WHAT OUR CHARGE IS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WHAT WE HAVE TO DO, UH, SO THAT THIS ENTITY SIMPLY CAN MAKE SURE THAT IT IS TAKING CARE OF ITS BUSINESS AS IT GOES OUT TO TRY TO SUPPORT EXISTING BUSINESSES AND PERHAPS MORE IMPORTANTLY, ATTRACT NEW BUSINESSES TO THE AREA.
UH, THERE'S NOTHING WORSE THAN SOMEONE IN MY POSITION SITTING DOWN WITH SOME MULTINA MULTI, UH, NATIONAL, UH, ORGANIZATION, UH, THAT IF I'M SITTING DOWN WITH THEM, BY THE TIME I GET IN FRONT OF THEM, THEY'VE DONE EXTENSIVE RESEARCH ON ME, THE ORGANIZATION AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND I DO NOT WANT THE CONVERSATION TO START OFF, HUH? YOU WANT US TO COME BRING OUR EMPLOYEES, BRING OUR FINANCES, SO FORTH AND SO ON.
WE'VE DONE OUR RESEARCH JUST KIND OF CURIOUS, WHY AREN'T YOU PAYING YOUR BILLS ON TIME? THAT'S AN UNFOR UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATION FOR ANYONE TO HAVE.
AND, AND I WOULDN'T WISH THAT UPON ANYONE.
BUT CERTAINLY IF YOU'RE SITTING DOWN IN FRONT OF FOLKS THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ATTRACT TO THE AREA THAT ADDS FOR A LIN A LENGTHY CONFIRMATION CONVERSATION OF EXPLANATION, DOESN'T MEAN THEY WON'T COME AND DOESN'T MEAN MY WONDERFUL CHARISMA WON'T WIN THE DAY.
UH, IT JUST MAKES FOR A LONGER CONVERSATION.
SO, LIKE I SAY, UH, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE EXPLORING.
I WANT TO MAKE VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY CLEAR.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, AS I HAVE BROUGHT THIS UP TO FOLKS, UH, SOME OF THE REACTION I TEND TO GET IS THAT, WELL, IF YOU WANT THAT, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE WHOLE THING.
YOU TAKE YOUR PAYROLL AND YOUR BENEFITS, AND LORD KNOWS EVERY ANYTHING ELSE WE CAN PUT IN THE BUGGY AND YOU TAKE IT ON DOWN TO 5 0 1.
IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEN I'LL JUST SCRAP THE IDEA.
AND THE REASON BEING, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT IN THE SHORT RUN, WHO WOULDN'T WANT WONDERFUL INDEPENDENCE? OKAY, YOU'RE TELLING ME I'LL GO STAY ON MY OWN, I'LL GO STAY ON MY OWN.
IT'S NOT WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR.
IF THAT WERE TO OCCUR, THEN IT ABSOLUTELY A HUNDRED PERCENT VIOLATES THE GUARANTEE THAT I GAVE YOU ALL OF FULL TRANSPARENCY.
HOW CAN I BE FULL TRANSPARENT IF I'M RUNNING OFF ON SOME OTHER RESERVATION? THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M ABOUT OR WHAT I WANT.
I AM TALKING ABOUT A NARROW THING TO JUST ALLOW ME TO FAME A BILLS ON TIME WITHIN ALL OF THE CURRENT PROCEDURES AND POLICIES AND PROGRAMS THAT WILL GO A LONG WAY TO MAKING SURE THAT WHEN I DO COME BEFORE YOU ONCE A QUARTER AND PROVIDE YOU WITH FINANCIAL INFORMATION, AS WELL AS PROVIDING MY BOARD EVERY MONTH THAT THE INFORMATION'S WORTH THE PAPER THAT IT'S WRITTEN ON, OR TYPED ON OR PRINTED ON.
AND RIGHT NOW, I CANNOT ASSURE YOU THAT IF I PUT SOMETHING FRONT, EXCEPT FOR THE REPORT THAT YOU HAVE RIGHT THERE, I I HAVE REASONABLE, VERY MUCH ASSURANCE THAT, UH, MS. DANIEL HAS GOTTEN US RIGHT TO, UP TO DECEMBER 31ST.
BUT IF YOU ASK FOR SOMETHING ON MARCH 7TH, I'M NOT SURE THAT I'M GIVING YOU SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ALL KIND OF SINK OUR TEETH IN AND HAVE CONFIDENCE.
THAT'S JUST A NATURE, NO BIG DEAL.
NO, YOU KNOW, NO, NO CONDEMNATION.
IT JUST MEANS THAT ON OUR SIDE, WE GOTTA GET OUR ACT TOGETHER.
BUT IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE NEED THE HELP OF OUR PRIMARY STAKEHOLDER.
DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? I'M SORRY.
UH, WELL QUESTION IS THAT ABOUT THE END OF THAT PART? YES, SIR.
WELL, AND, AND WHAT I THINK WE CAN DO AND KEEP IT, UH, AND TO BE SUCCINCT, IF WE, WE HAVE A QUESTION THAT'S DEALING WITH FINANCES AND EITHER YOU SEE, WE CAN ASK THAT NOW INSTEAD OF WAITING UNTIL YOU END YOUR PRESENTATION AND THEN BEGINNING TO ASK SOMETHING AND HAVING, YES, SIR.
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SIR, OUT OF EVERYTHING YOU SAID, AND I DON'T KNOW, I WANNA BE SURE THAT I, THAT I GOT THE RIGHT CONNOTATION AND UNDERSTAND IT.YOU, UH, SAYING, AND I GATHERED THAT THERE MAY NOT BE AN ASSURANCE THAT YOU WOULD HAVE AT THIS POINT, THAT OUR BILLS, THAT YOUR BILLS OUR BILLS WOULD ACTUALLY BE PAID ON TIME.
DID I UNDERSTAND THAT CORRECTLY? I KNOW YOU SAID YOU ALREADY HAD A MEETING, UH, LAST THURSDAY.
BUT ARE, ARE WE IN A POSITION THAT WOULD CLARIFY, WOULD CLEAR THAT UP OR NULLIFY THAT STATEMENT? OR WAS, IS THAT A STATEMENT THAT YOU WERE MAKING TO US? NO, THAT YOUR INTERPRETATION IS CORRECTLY.
WE DID HAVE A MEETING, UH, LAST SERIES, AND I CAN CONSIDER THAT THE KICKOFF CUZ I'M THE NEW GUY OF, LET'S SEE WHAT STEPS WE NEED TO TAKE TO HELP THE CORPORATION TURN THAT AROUND.
AND LIKE I SAY, WE DO HAVE AN INITIAL PLAN A AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT BECAUSE LIKE I SAY, MORE TRAINING IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN LESS.
THE SECOND THING I'M SAYING IS THAT, OKAY, THAT'D BE GREAT, BUT I'M NOT SURE THAT THAT NECESSARILY IS GOING TO THEN CLOSE THE GAP ON CURRENT BILL PAYING UP TO DATE, YOU KNOW, NOT FALLING BEHIND.
DO DO, DO YOU HAVE, UH, AN IDEA OF HOW WE CAN CLOSE THAT GAP OR WHAT WAS THAT, UH, ONE OF THE TOPICS THAT WERE DISCUSSED AT THE MEETING, THAT SOMETHING IS GOING TO BE PUT IN PLACE THAT WOULD, UH, ELIMINATE THAT PARTICULAR CHARACTERISTIC? YES, SIR.
IN OUR EXISTENCE? WELL, THE APPROACH THAT I'M TAKING, SO THAT I DON'T VEER OFF IN, IN ANYBODY ELSE'S SANDBOX IS I'M JUST FOCUSED ON FIXING THE EDC.
UH, IF, YOU KNOW, IF I, BRO, IF I SCOPE CREEP, THEN I'M GETTING INTO OTHER PEOPLE'S AREA THAT I DON'T HAVE ANY BUSINESS GETTING IN.
AS IT RELATES TO THE PA EDC COME BACK TO A GOAL OF WE PAY OUR BILLS, WE RECEIVE THE BILLS, WE PAY THE BILLS, WE'RE USING THE SAME SYSTEM AS EVERYONE ELSE.
SO THE REPORTING IS TRANSPARENT.
IT'S JUST THAT WE TOOK RESPONSIBILITY FOR TAKING CARE OF OUR VENDORS AND OUR STAKEHOLDERS.
UNDERSTAND THAT IF YOU'RE A VENDOR, YOU MAY NOT SEE IT AS THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR.
AND THAT'S HOW WE CON COMMUNICATE WITH ONE ANOTHER.
THE VENDOR THINKS THAT, WELL, NO, I CAME OVER TO DO SOMETHING ON THE ROOF OF 5 0 1 PROCTOR, AND THE ALL THE VERBIAGE SAYS PORT ARTHUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
SO THAT'S NOT THE POINT WHEN YOU'RE 60, 90 DAYS LATE THAT YOU LIKE, DON'T WANNA HEAR ABOUT ANYTHING OTHER THAN JUST WHEN ARE THE FUNDS COMING WOULDN'T HAVE ISSUED THE PO IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THE FUNDS.
SO AGAIN, FOR THIS NARROW SITUATION, GIVEN THE CHARGE OF THE CORPORATION, I THINK OVER THE COURSE OF TIME IN METHODICALLY BRINGING THIS IN SO IT DOESN'T BREAK SOMETHING ELSE, THAT'LL BE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.
THE CORPORATION SIMPLY GETS ITS INVOICES, PAYS BILLS, AND A TIMELY MANNER, AND MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE REPORTING IS TRANSPARENT.
I KNOW RACHEL IS YOUR ACCOUNTANT.
UH, THERE, SO IN YOUR BYLAWS, UM, DOES IT GIVE YOU GUYS, UH, WHAT IS THE BYLAW STATE IN RE IN, IN REGARDS TO THIS? I THINK THIS HAS BECOME A PRRA.
THE PRACTICE HAS BEEN THAT THE CITY'S PAYING THE BILLS, UH, HERE.
IS THAT A PRACTICE THAT WE WE'RE DOING? IT'S NOT POLICY THAT'S CORRECT.
YOU, YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.
SO YOU'RE TRYING TO CHANGE THE PRACTICE, THAT PRACTICE, YOU GUYS DO THAT.
I MEAN, I DON'T LISTEN, I MEAN THAT YOU HAVE AN ACCOUNTANT, WHY CAN'T YOU PAY THE BILLS? WHY, WHY ARE WE STANDING HERE ASKING US? BECAUSE EVERYTHING ROUTES THROUGH THE, THE CITY, IN THE CITY.
SO IT'S A PRACTICE, IT'S NOT POLICY.
CHANGE THE PRACTICE, TAKE IT BACK TO YOUR OFFICE AND, AND, AND MA'AM, I, I APPRECIATE THAT AND NOTHING WOULD MAKE ME MORE EXCITED.
BUT, BUT WHY YOU? AND IF I DID THAT TODAY, I WOULD BREAK OTHER THINGS.
I DON'T, DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT, SIR.
BECAUSE BASICALLY THE, THE, THE, YOUR POLICY ALLOWS YOU TO HANDLE YOUR INVOICES.
UM, MR. STOKES AND I, MAYBE IT'S, I DON'T THINK THAT THERE'S ANYTHING WRITTEN THAT GUARANTEES THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE THAT DONE THROUGH OUR FINANCE DEPARTMENT BECAUSE BY BYLAW SAYS WHAT? LET I'M, WELL, LEMME ASK THE ATTORNEY.
DOES BYLAWS SAY THAT THE CORPORATION CONTRACTS WITH THE CITY
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OF PORT ARTHUR OR ANY OTHER AGENCY OR FINANCIAL INSTITUTION THAT DEEMS NECESSARY IN FURTHERANCE OF THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE CORPORATION? THE CORPORATION'S FINANCING AND ACCOUNTING RECORDS SHALL BE MAINTAINED IN ITS STATES.BY WHAT? BYLAWS? BUT BASICALLY OVER THE YEARS THEY'VE CONTRACTED WITH THE CITY BECAUSE THIS, THE, THE, THEY DON'T HAVE A SEPARATE BANK ACCOUNT, AS FAR AS I UNDERSTAND.
THEY, THEY HAVE DIFFERENT ACCOUNTING, BUT EVERY, THE, THE MONEY COMES THROUGH THE CITY.
THAT'S WHY MY FIRST, THERE'S A, THEY'VE HAD ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES CONTRACTS WITH THE CITY WHERE THE CITY HANDLES THEIR FINANCES.
THEY CAN CONTRACT WITH SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT.
WELL, CAN THEY DO IT THEMSELVES? LET ME ASK THAT QUESTION.
IT SAYS, AND OF COURSE I CHANGED THE PAGE.
THEY HAVE TO CONTRACT WITH A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION AND SOMEONE TO MANAGE THEIR FINANCES.
SO, SO WE CAN ALTER THE CONTRACT HANDLE THEY TO CON THEY HAVE TO CONTRACT WITH THE CITY OR ANOTHER AGENCY OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTION OR ACCOUNTING SERVICE.
CAN'T, THEY CANNOT HANDLE IT IN-HOUSE AT THEIR, WHAT THEY'RE USING THEIR ACCOUNTING.
THEY WOULD NEED TO CONTACT THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTION OR AN ACCOUNTING SERVICE.
OKAY, SO THAT'S, SO WE, LET'S GO TO THE BYLAWS THEN.
THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE TO FOLLOW.
YOU CAN STAND HERE ALL DAY AND TALK TO US ABOUT IT, BUT IF WE DON'T FOLLOW THE BYLAWS, SO RIGHT NOW YOU'RE IN A CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY MM-HMM.
SO ARE YOU ASKING US FOR CLARITY PURPOSES TO DISSOLVE THAT OR ALL TO YOUR BYLAWS? THEN YOU MEET WITH YOUR BOARD AND YOU COME BACK ASKING, CAN WE DO THAT? AND ISN'T THAT HOW THIS HAPPENS? UM, MANAGERS, SEE, SOMEBODY GOTTA ANSWER ME.
I MEAN, SOMEBODY HAS TO HAVE AN ANSWER.
I, I, I THINK, UH, MADAME CITY ATTORNEY HIT THE, THE NUGGET.
WE DO NOT HAVE SEPARATE ACCOUNTING.
I MEAN, EXCUSE ME, ACCOUNTING BANK ACCOUNTS, BANK ACCOUNTS ARE HELD BY THE CITY.
SO PART OF THAT DISSOLVING AND DOING SOMETHING ELSE WOULD BE THAT THE CITY ALSO AGREEING TO SHIFT THE ACCOUNTS TO SOMEWHERE ELSE, BANK OF AMERICA, WELLS FARGO, WHATEVER.
AS WE WENT ALONG THAT CONTRACTING.
AND AGAIN, UH, JUST UNDERSTAND THAT THE NEW GUY IS TRYING TO GET HIS ARMS AROUND US.
I'M JUST, I'M TRYING TO TIPTOE TO MAKE SURE THAT I DON'T BREAK SOMETHING ELSE, FIX A THING WHICH MIGHT FIX WHAT WE'VE GOT, BUT BREAK SOMETHING ELSE.
AND I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
IT'S JUST A CONTRACTUAL MANNER.
BUT SOMETIMES WHEN YOU DISSOLVE CONTRACTS, YOU THEN HAVE, WELL, I DIDN'T SAY DISSOLVE IT.
YOU, YOU CHANGE IT, YOU AND NOT, WE'RE NOT DISSOLVING CHANGE ARE TWO DIFFERENT WORDS.
SO I'M NOT SAYING DISSOLVE THAT.
WHAT I AM SAYING IS THAT WHATEVER IT TAKES FOR YOU TO GET YOUR WORK DONE FOR THE EDC, BASICALLY, UH, IF YOU DON'T WANT LATE BILLS, YOU WANT BAD CREDIT, HOW DO YOU START WITH THAT PROCESS? AND THAT PROCESS SEEMS TO ME THAT IT STARTS WITH THE BYLAW THAT'S IN PLACE.
UM, IF, UM, IF IT'S THE SAME SYSTEM THAT WE'RE UTILIZING HERE AT THE CITY AND YOU HAVE SOMEBODY KEYING IN PROCESSING, TALKING ABOUT SOMEBODY INPUTTING MM-HMM.
SO, BUT YOU JUST HAVE SOMEBODY DOING THE HANDWORK AT A COMPUTER RATHER THAN IT BEING DONE HERE THROUGH OUR ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT.
YOU ARE BASICALLY USING YOUR ACCOUNTANT TO INVOICE OR SEND THE I'M, I'M JUST LITERALLY PIECE MAILING.
CURRENTLY THE PAYING OF OUR BILLS IS DONE BY THE CITY.
AND WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS DO THAT AT THE EDC AND YOU WANT IT DONE IN A TIMELY FASHION.
I MEAN, I MEAN WE, WE, WE ARE GATHERING, WE'RE NOT IN LIKE CORRECT THE PROBLEM.
SO LEGAL FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS.
YOU HAVE A, HE HAS A LAWYER HERE FOR EDC.
UH, CAN YOU GIVE US WHAT THAT PROCESS AND HOW WE CHANGE THAT? I MEAN, SOMEBODY'S GOT TO BE ABLE TO GIVE US SOME LEGAL ADVICE AS TO HOW THIS CAN TAKE PLACE.
OKAY, WELL IT'S REALLY ADMINISTRATIVE MATTER, BUT LET ME KIND OF EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT MORE.
YOU, THE BYLAWS ALLOW YOU TO USE WHATEVER FINANCIAL INSTITUTION YOU CAN RIGHT NOW.
YOUR, YOUR PROCESS, YOUR BILLS, LIKE THE REST OF THE DEPARTMENTS.
EVERY DEPARTMENT HAS A PERSON THAT MANAGES THE FINANCES OF THE DEPARTMENT.
AND WHEN THEY ASK FOR A PO THEY ASK FOR A CHECK, THEY GO THROUGH THE PROCESS AS SPECIFIED, AND THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT CUTS THE CHECKS, PAYS THE BILLS, PAYS THE CREDIT CARD BILLS.
IF YOU WANT TO DEPART FROM THAT, THE BYLAWS ALLOW YOU TO, BUT OBVIOUSLY YOU WOULD HAVE TO PROBABLY HAVE YOUR OWN BANK ACCOUNT AND WORK WITH YOUR OWN FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.
SO, SO IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE DOING, THE BYLAWS DO ALLOW THAT.
THE, THE INSTITUTE, THE GROUP HAS ALWAYS BEEN, THE
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EDC HAS ALWAYS BEEN SET UP WHERE LIKE CO-OP WORK THROUGH THE CITY, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER DEPARTMENT.BUT SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TO HOLD THE PURSE.
IF WE ARE HOLDING THE PURSE, YOU FUNCTION AS THE DEPARTMENTS DO AND THE CITY PAYS THE BILLS.
BUT IF YOU ARE DO WANT YOUR OWN BANK ACCOUNT AND YOU JUST DEPART FROM THE CITY, YOU CAN, YOU JUST HAVE TO PUT THAT PROCESS IN PLACE.
AND HE DOES THAT BY WAY OF HIS BOARD, RIGHT? THEN THEY HAVE TO COME THROUGH THE COUNSELING, GO THROUGH ALL THE PROCESS AND SEPARATE EVERYTHING FROM THE CITY.
AND THEN THEY WOULD ALSO, YOU KNOW, SO THEY WOULD, THEY CAN SEPARATE FROM THE CITY FINANCIALLY IF THEY WANT TO.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE ONE CLARIFICATION, UH, OR JUST MAKE SURE THAT I UNDERSTAND.
UH, I GUESS FOR SOME REASON I WANT, WHAT'S, WHAT'S STICKING IS SEPARATING FROM THE CITY FOR ALL OF YOUR FINANCIALS.
WELL, SOME PEOPLE CONSIDER PAYROLL, FINANCIALS, AND FOLKS, WELL, RIGHT NOW CONSIDER CONTRACTS DEAL FINANCIALS.
AND I'M JU AGAIN, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE NARROW FOCUS.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT PAYROLL RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT YOUR INVOICE.
YOUR, YOUR, WHAT YOU CALL 'EM ACCOUNTS PAYABLE, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
AND, AND WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THAT, BUT LET, IF WE CAN MOVE ON.
UH, REAL QUICK, UH, CITY ATTORNEY, UH, THE CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH THE EDC AND THE FINANCIAL SIDE, DOES THAT COME WITH A, THAT COMES WITH A COST, RIGHT? I'M UNDERSTANDING IT CORRECTLY CUZ WE ARE PROVIDING SERVICES.
WELL, WE HAVE PROPOSED IN RECENT YEARS AN ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, UH, FEE, BUT IT HAS NOT BEEN WORKED OUT IN RECENT YEARS.
BUT IN THE PAST WE'VE HAD WHERE THEY PAID US A FEE.
RIGHT NOW THEY HAVE NOT BEEN PAYING A FEE, BUT WE STILL PROVIDE THOSE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES.
WE TALKED ABOUT THAT I THINK A FEW MEETINGS AGO, UH, NOT A, NOT A FEW COUNCIL MEETINGS AGO, BUT WHEN WE'VE MET WITH THEM IN THE PAST, RIGHT.
AND WE PROPOSED AN ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES FEE, BUT THAT HAD NOT BEEN RECONCILED.
BUT IN THE PAST THEY'VE HAD AN ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES CONTRACTS FOR ALL THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE BECAUSE WE ARE SEPARATE.
SO THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE, UM, UPDATED.
BUT THEY CAN CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, BUT THE FINANCES, IF YOU HAVE EDC MONEY, IT HAS TO BE IN ONE PLACE.
IT CAN'T BE WITH THE CITY HERE AND BANK OF AMERICA HERE, AND YOU HAVE TO GO ONE PLACE AND HANDLE EVERYTHING.
BUT, UH, IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY DOABLE.
SO MY UNDERSTANDING, I WAS TRYING TO DECIPHER WHAT YOU WERE ASKING, AND I'M GLAD COUNCIL MEMBER MOSES WAS GETTING TO THE POINT ABOUT, UH, YOUR CONCERNS.
UH, SO BASICALLY YOUR PERSON, YOUR FINANCIAL PERSON GOES INPUT THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO GET INVOICES PAID AND HOWEVER THEY'RE BEING GETTING PAID LATE.
DOES THOSE INVOICES ALSO, UH, CURE SOME TYPE OF LATE FEE OR PENALTY? YES, SIR.
AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME? YES, SIR.
SO YOUR, YOU'RE SAYING YOUR PERSON IS ACTUALLY PUTTING IT IN ON TIME AND IT'S ON OUR SIDE THAT'S NOT PAYING THEM ON TIME.
AM I UNDERSTANDING IT CORRECTLY? I JUST WANT TO GET TO THE POINT.
THAT'S THE PROBLEM THAT I, YES.
YOU KNOW, I HEAR YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TRYING TO BE POLITICAL AND ALL THAT NICE.
BUT WHEN WE ARE TRYING TO GET THINGS, AND OF COURSE YOU'RE NEW, BUT WHEN WE ARE TRYING TO GET THINGS TAKEN CARE OF ON THIS COLLECTIVE COUNCIL, WE'RE GONNA ASK THESE TOUGH QUESTIONS.
OUR COHORTS ARE TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT AS WELL.
IT'S OUR FAULT IF WE ARE GETTING PAID LATE.
SO WE NEED TO FIX OUR PROBLEM AND ENSURE THAT THESE INVOICES YOU'RE SPEAKING OF OR GETTING PAID.
UH, I WROTE SOME NOTES HERE AS WELL AS A BLACK EYE.
I WROTE BLACK EYE THROUGH OTHER VENDORS THAT YOU MAY HAVE TO DEAL WITH.
BUT I DO HAVE CONCERNS WITH COUNCIL MEMBER MOSES AS STATED EARLIER ABOUT HAVING MONIES IN ALL DIFFERENT BANKS.
AND WE ARE THE OVERSIGHTING COMMITTEE ON THOSE FINANCIALS FOR THE EDC.
SO I DO HAVE A CONCERN BECAUSE I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING OVER THERE.
AND THAT'S WHAT, OKAY, SO, UH, THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO STRESS.
I DON'T WANT TO BREAK ANYTHING THAT PREVENTS TRANSPARENCY.
THAT'S THE, THAT'S WHAT I END WITH.
SO IF WE CAN LOOK AT OUR END AND FIGURE OUT WHAT WE ARE DOING, I KNOW THE MANAGER READY TO CHIME IN.
BUT IF WE ARE DOING IT, IF WE ARE DOING SOMETHING AND IF WE'RE NOT PAYING OUR BILLS ON TIME, WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO CORRECT THAT ON OUR SIDE.
AND I'M GO AUDIT, WHICH HE'D LIKE.
UM, COUNCILMAN KEN LAW HIT IT ON THE HEAD.
UM, THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE.
I, I BELIEVE, I BELIEVE IN ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS.
SO WHY ARE YOUR, YOU KNOW, WHY AREN'T, WHY HAVE THE BILLS AT THE EDC ALLOWED TO BE 90 DAYS LATE? THAT'S THE QUESTION THAT WE HAVE TO ASK OUR FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
THAT'S THE QUESTION THAT WE HAVE TO ASK, ASK OUR CITY MANAGER.
I TALKED, WELL, LET ME FINISH ME.
CAN WE, CAN WE CALL THE COPS? NO FINISH YET.
SO WHEN, AND I DO KNOW, I DO KNOW THAT WHEN SCOTT MOORE WAS HERE AND HE WAS HANDLING THE FINANCES, THERE
[00:30:01]
WERE, UM, THERE WERE SOME LITTLE EMBERS THAT WERE READ BECAUSE, UH, THE VENDORS WERE COMPLAINING THAT AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME THAT OUR BILLS WERE, WERE LATE, SOME OF OUR VENDORS WEREN'T BEING PAID ON TIME.AND WE WERE TOLD AS A COUNCIL AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME, IT WAS BECAUSE A NEW SYSTEM WAS BEING IMPLEMENTED.
AND SO AS YOU'RE COMING NOW, AND YOU'RE SAYING THAT SOME OF THAT IS STILL GOING ON, THE MAYOR IS RIGHT, WE NEED TO HEAR NOW WHY WE ARE NOW 60, 90 DAYS LATE.
SO IF, IF I MAY, UH, FINANCE PERSON, LET ME GO BEFORE THE FINANCE OH, OKAY.
AND YOU, BOTH OF YOU STAY, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY WE GOING, WE GOING TO GET SOME INFORMATION.
SHE WOULD PROBABLY BE ABLE TO ANSWER BETTER WHAT COUNCIL, LET, LET, LET ME JUST SHARE WITH IF COUNCIL MR. STOKES MET WITH MYSELF AND, UM, MY ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS AND, UM, OUR FINANCIAL DIRECTOR SOMETIME LAST WEEK.
AND WE, AS HE INDICATED IN THIS OPENING STATEMENT, WE MADE FOR ABOUT TWO HOURS, UM, TO GET TO THE ROOT OF THE MATTER.
AND WE LEFT THAT MEETING WITH THREE THIS THING POINTS THAT WILL FORM A PLAN AS HE INDICATED, IN ORDER TO WORK THE PLAN FOR US TO ADDRESS WHATEVER IT IS THAT'S PREVENTING THE, HIS BILLS FROM BEING PAID.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT RESONATED WAS TRAINING, TRAINING OF MR. STOKE STAFF MOVING, TRANSITIONING FROM NAVINE TO TYLER.
I DON'T KNOW WHETHER MR. STOKES HAVE SPOKEN TO HIS STAFF OR HOW IN-DEPTH HE HAS SPOKEN TO THEM TO FIND OUT HOW MUCH TRAINING THAT THEY HAVE, BUT CLEARLY THERE HAVE NOT BEEN AN IN-DEPTH CONVERSATION BETWEEN MR. STOKES AND HIS STAFF AS TO WHAT IS REQUIRED OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND HIS STAFF IN ORDER TO PROCESS PAYMENTS AND BILLS THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM.
MR. STOKES HAS A RESPONSIBILITY, HIS STAFF HAS A RESPONSIBILITY AND FOR SOME REASON THERE WAS, THERE HASN'T BEEN, IN MY OPINION.
AND, AND, AND BOTH THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS AND, AND THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE CAN CORROBORATE THAT THERE HAS NOT BEEN VERY CLEAR COMMUNICATION AS TO, AS TO WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY WHEN BILLS COME, HOW DO THE, THE, THE, UM, HOW DO THE DIRECTOR GO AND CLEAR THEM? BECAUSE I, I SHARED WITH MR. STOKES PART OF MY RESPONSIBILITY IN CLEARING THOSE ON BEHALF OF THE CITY.
I HAVE DESIGNATED THAT TO CERTAIN MEMBERS OF STAFF TO DO CERTAIN MEMBERS OF MY DIRECTOR.
SO ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT HAS TO BE CLEARLY DONE IS TO TRAIN WHOEVER IT IS THAT IS RESPONSIBLE AT THE EDC END IN ORDER TO TAKE OUT THAT WHATEVER, CHOKE, WHATEVER IT IS THAT'S NOT BEEN DONE TO CLEAR THAT PART OF IT VERY EFFICIENTLY.
AND THEN WE WILL BEGIN, BECAUSE TYLER, AS WE TRANSITION FROM NAVINE TO TYLER, THERE ARE VERY SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
IT'S NOT LIKE NAVINE AND THAT IS VERY CLEAR.
SO WHAT WE DID, AS HE CLEARLY INDICATED, WE GOT A PLAN TOGETHER FOR ME THAT WE COULD ADDRESS THAT.
NUMBER TWO, WE INDICATED THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH COMMUNICATION.
YOU KNOW, THE INDIVIDUAL WHO IS RESPONSIBLE AT THE EDC FREQUENTLY REACHES OUT TO THE, UH, TO THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE.
THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE, YOU KNOW, IS PRETTY BUSY AND SAYS, WELL, I COULD ASSIGN ANOTHER MEMBER OF STAFF RANK AND FILE MEMBER OF STAFF TO ADDRESS YOUR CONCERN.
SO WE DECIDED THAT WE'RE GOING TO PUT A PLAN IN PLACE AS WELL TO ADDRESS THE COMMUNICATION PART OF IT.
AND THOSE ARE THE TWO CRITICAL ITEMS THAT RESONATED WITH THE CITY.
IT'S NOT THAT THE CITY IS NOT PAYING THE EDC BILLS, NO.
EMPHATICALLY NO, THAT IS NOT TRUE.
THE FACT IS THERE IS A LACK OF TRADE ON BEHALF OF THE ED C STAFF, ALL OF THE EDC STAFF WHO'S INVOLVED, INCLUDING THE DIRECTOR THAT WAS NOT A WILL AS TO WHAT THEIR FUNCTIONS ARE AS FAR AS THAT IS CONCERNED.
AM I CORRECT, ANDY? AND THAT'S WHAT RESONATED AT RESONATED AT THE MEETING.
THAT IS WHAT RESONATED AT THE MEETING MS, MY TAKE FLOOR RIGHT NOW.
I THINK MR. BURTON A PRETTY GOOD JOB OF KIND OF EXPLAINING OUR SITUATION.
UH, WE ARE TRANSITIONING FROM ONE SYSTEM TO
[00:35:01]
ANOTHER.TYLER MUNIS IS GOOD IN A LOT OF WAYS, BUT IT IS VERY CUMBERSOME IN A LOT OF WAYS.
THERE'S CHECKS AND BALANCES AND YOU CANNOT, IT'S A HARD STOP.
YOU CANNOT MOVE PAST ONE PLACE, ONE STEP TO GO TO THE NEXT STEP IF ALL THE APPROVALS HAVEN'T BEEN DONE.
AND WE DO NEED TO HAVE TRAINING WITH THE EDC STAFF AS WELL AS ALL OF THE OTHER STAFF.
AND WE ARE PLANNING SOME HANDS-ON TRAINING FOR THE INDIVIDUALS WHO ACTUALLY DO, UH, ENTER THE, YOU KNOW, THE INFORMATION AT THEIR LEVEL.
BUT IT ALL STARTS AT THE PURCHASING LEVEL.
I IF, IF THE PURCHASING PROCESS WAS FOLLOWED AND YOU GET YOUR REQUISITION, YOU GET YOUR PURCHASE ORDER, WHEN YOUR MERCHANDISE COMES IN, THEY, THE DEPARTMENTS ARE REQUIRED TO GO IN AND RECEIVE IT IN THE SYSTEM.
IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE MERCHANDISE IN THE SYSTEM, UM, WE CANNOT PAY IT.
AND THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF THE, IT'S LACKING IN A LOT OF PLACES.
MY GIRLS SEND OUT ALMOST A HUNDRED EMAILS EVERY DAY TO DEPARTMENTS RECEIVE THIS, RECEIVE THIS, RECEIVE THIS, AND THEY SHOULD BE WATCHING THAT.
BUT THEY NEED TRAINING TO KNOW WHAT THEY SHOULD BE WATCHING FOR.
WHEN THEY GET SOMETHING IN, THEY SHOULD IMMEDIATELY GO IN THE SYSTEM AND RECEIVE IT.
AND IF IT'S RECEIVED IN THE SYSTEM AND THE INVOICES COME TO ACCOUNTING LIKE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO, THAT PROCESS WOULD WORK MUCH BETTER.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS, AT THE END, IF IT IS PAID ON A CHECK REQUEST, MEANING THAT THE PROCESS, THE PURCHASING PROCESS WASN'T DONE, THEY SEND MOST OF THE CASES, THEY SEND A PIECE OF PAPER WHICH HAS TO BE CHECKED OFF ON THE, UH, THE GIRLS ENTER THE INFORMATION IN THE SYSTEM AND THEN THE, IT GOES BACK TO THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR AND THEY HAVE TO APPROVE IT IN THE SYSTEM BEFORE WE CAN PAY IT.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF CHECKS AND BALANCES AND IT HAS PROVED CUMBERSOME.
WE ARE TRYING TO WORK THROUGH ALL THOSE ISSUES AND WE ARE TRYING TO PLAN, YOU KNOW, FOR SOME TRAINING, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S FAULT ON BOTH SIDES.
AND IT'S NOT A MATTER OF I'M GONNA SEND YOU THE BILL AND YOU'RE GONNA WRITE A CHECK TOMORROW BECAUSE IT JUST CAN'T HAPPEN THAT WAY IN THE SYSTEM.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF I'M MAKING ANY SENSE, BUT NOW, BUT BEFORE, BEFORE I LET, I'M GONNA LET THE COUNCILWOMAN HOLMES GO NEXT.
I JUST WANNA MAKE THIS ONE STATEMENT, WHAT I'M HEARING FROM YOU, BECAUSE I WANT TO JUST ASK, ANSWER TO THE QUESTION.
THE COUNCILMAN FRANK OPPOS, WHY ARE THEY LATE? NOW WHAT I'M FINDING OUT IS WE HAVE A PROBLEM ACROSS THE BOARD.
IT'S JUST THIS DEPARTMENT IS BRINGING THIS IN, BUT NOW IT'S YOUR DEPARTMENT'S RESPONSIBILITY, I THINK ALONG WITH THE CITY MANAGER TO BE SURE THAT ACCOUNTING IS DONE PROPERLY ALL OVER THE CITY OF PORTOR IN EVERY CITY DEPARTMENT.
SO I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT YOUR DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN GARLIC OR IS BEING DERELICT.
NOW, IF THIS IS THE ONLY TIME YOU'VE HAD A MEETING, WAS THURSDAY LAST TO DISCUSS THIS? WE HAVE A PROBLEM, AND I KNOW IT'S NOT GOING TO BE CORRECTED IN THE NEXT PAY PERIOD, THE NEXT 30 DAYS FOR 60 DAYS, BUT YOU AND YOUR DEPARTMENT WILL NEED TO DO, I, I'M NOT AN ACCOUNTANT, SO I DON'T WANT, I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, HAS TO BE PUT IN PLACE, BUT IT LOOKS BAD WHEN THE MAYOR GETS EMAILS ABOUT UNPAID BILLS AND THEY'LL SENDING IT TO THE MAYOR BECAUSE I'M THE MAYOR AND I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE SYSTEM.
AND HOWEVER, WELL YOU SEND THIS DOWN TO ACCOUNTANT OR SEND THIS TO WHATEVER DEPARTMENT IT IS MM-HMM.
AND THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT I'VE GOTTEN THESE TYPE EMAILS, BUT I JUST TOOK IT AS SOMETHING BEING WROTE.
BUT NOW I AM GATHERING INFORMATION.
WELL, TO STOP ME IF I'M SAYING SOMETHING WRONG, LET ME STOP YOU.
WE, WE ARE ONLY POSTED RIGHT NOW TO TALK ABOUT THE EDC, SO I THINK WE NEED TO OKAY.
I JUST, I KNOW, WANTED TO MAKE SURE IT'S CITYWIDE.
BUT TODAY WE ARE TALKING ABOUT MR. STOKES AND HIS DEPARTMENT.
SO MAYBE THAT IS YOUR TEST GROUNDS.
ONCE YOU GET THAT ONE STRAIGHT, THEN YOU WILL HAVE A MODEL THAT YOU CAN IMPLEMENT ACROSS THE BOARD SO THAT WE WILL NOT BE FOLK WHO DON'T PAY THEIR BILLS.
I THINK MY FIRST QUESTION WAS TO MR. STOKES, AND I THINK THIS HAS BEEN ASKED BEFORE AND SOMEWHAT ANSWERED.
I WAS WONDERING IF THERE HAD BEEN SOME IDENTIFICATION OF THE ISSUES THAT WERE CAUSING THE DELAY IN PAYMENTS.
I THINK I RECEIVED THAT ANSWER.
MY SECOND QUESTION IS, HOW LONG HAS EDC HAD THIS NEW SYSTEM? AND THAT MAY BE A QUESTION.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU, OKAY, WELL, SHE SAID WE COULDN'T TALK ABOUT YOUR SYSTEMS
[00:40:01]
OR, SO I'M ASKING HOW LONG HAS THIS SYSTEM BEEN IN PLACE? UM, WE WENT LIVE, UH, COME, COME A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE MIC SO I CAN PICK IT UP FOR YOU.WE WENT LIVE ON THE SYSTEM, UH, IN, UH, THE MIDDLE OF FISCAL YEAR 21.
SO WE HAVE BEEN ON THIS SYSTEM FOR A WHILE AND WE'VE BEEN STRUGGLING WITH TRYING TO GET, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING ORGANIZED SO THAT THE DEPARTMENTS WILL DO THE APPROVALS.
IF THE DEPARTMENTS WOULD DO THE APPROVALS, IT WOULD BE LIKE CLOCKWORK.
I, I'M FAMILIAR WITH THIS SYSTEM, SYSTEM, I CANNOT PAY THEM IF THEY'VE NOT BEEN APPROVED IN THE SYSTEM.
AND OUR GIRLS SPEND HALF OF THEIR DAY, THREE QUARTERS OF THEIR DAY SENDING EMAILS TO THE DEPARTMENT SAYING, PLEASE RECEIVE THIS.
I I, AND THERE'S NOTHING THAT WE CAN DO AND WE GET THE CALLS TOO.
AND WE'VE TRIED AND TRIED AND I THINK THAT THE PLAN THAT WE'VE PUT IN PLACE TO OBTAIN TRAINING FOR THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ACTUALLY DO THE PROCESSING IN THE DEPARTMENTS IS PROBABLY OUR BEST BET.
EITHER THAT OR TURN OFF ALL THE CONTROLS AND JUST PAY EVERYTHING.
BUT THAT WOULD BE NOT GOOD EITHER BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU LOSE YOUR INTERNAL CONTROLS THAT YOU REALLY NEED TO HAVE IN PLACE.
I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE SYSTEM SEVERAL YEARS AGO I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN, IN A CHANGE IN SYSTEMS LIKE THAT.
AND IT ONLY TOOK FOUR TO SIX MONTHS TO GET THE STAFF TRAINED TO DO THAT.
AND IT WAS A MUCH LARGER SYSTEM.
UH, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS ESSENTIAL THAT WE ARE IN 2023, WE CHANGED THE SYSTEM IN 2021, AND IT IS MY THOUGHT THAT WE SHOULD HAVE TRAINING THAT STARTS IMMEDIATELY.
I MEAN, MONDAY BECAUSE IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THIS KIND OF PROBLEM MM-HMM.
THE ISSUE LIES WITHIN THIS ORGANIZATION.
AND IF THE MAYOR IS GETTING LETTERS THAT INDICATE THAT BILLS ARE NOT BEING PAID, THERE IS A SYSTEM PROBLEM.
AND SO I THINK AS WE DISCUSS THIS, I I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND.
BUT, BUT THERE HAS TO BE, THERE MUST BE A REQUIREMENT THAT STAFF IS TRAINED ON THIS BECAUSE NOT ONLY IS EDC GETTING A BLACK EYE, DON'T KNOW IF I SHOULD SAY THIS, THIS NOT, MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT TIME, BUT SO IS THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR YEAH, OF COURSE.
UH, CAN CANDACE, UH, MR. STOKES, ONE OF Y'ALL, JUST FOR MY SANITY AND, AND CLARITY IN MY MIND, YOU HAVE THE PERSONAL DEPARTMENT AND YOU HAVE FINANCE CORRECT.
DEPARTMENT WHEN PURCHASING YOU ORDER.
SO GO THROUGH PURCHASING, THROUGH PURCHASING, PAY THAT BILL THEMSELVES, WHERE THEY GOTTA GO THROUGH FINANCE TO PAY IT, KIND OF HOW THAT WORKS.
FINANCE, FINANCE, UH, IT'S, IT'S ALL AUTOMATED IN THIS NEW SYSTEM.
AND FROM THE, THE TIME THAT YOU GET THE PURCHASE ORDER, THE DEPARTMENT ENTERS THE REQUISITION, IT GOES TO PURCHASING, THEY CREATE A PURCHASE ORDER FOR IT.
THE MATERIALS GET ORDERED, THE MATERIALS COME IN TO THE DEPARTMENT.
AT THAT POINT, THE DEPARTMENT NEEDS TO GO BACK IN THE SYSTEM AND RECEIVE THE MERCHANDISE IN THE SYSTEM.
THE VENDOR NEEDS TO BE MAILING THE CHECKS TO FINANCE SO THAT WE CAN MATCH THE INVOICE UP WITH THE RECEIVING DOCUMENT THAT'S IN THE SYSTEM.
A LOT OF VENDORS ARE NOT MAILING THE INVOICES TO FINANCE.
WE HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO, TO GET THEM TO DO THAT.
THEY SOMETIMES DO, THEY DON'T ALWAYS DO.
SOMETIMES THE INVOICES GO ALL AROUND THE CITY BEFORE WE EVER FIND THEM.
UM, THAT'S, THAT'S MY POINT, CANDACE.
SO IF, UH, PURCHASERS DON'T, DON'T GET YOU THE INFORMATION ON TIME OR BILL ON TIME, YOU CAN'T PAY IT.
IF IT'S NOT APPROVED IN THE SYSTEM, WE, YOU CAN'T PAY.
IT WON'T ALLOW US TO PRINT A CHECK.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S MY, THAT'S MY CONCERN.
UH, UH, MAYOR COUNCIL IS THAT WHAT CONSTABLE LADIES COUNCIL MOSES SAID IT'S THE PRACTICE, NOT A POLICY.
AND LIKE MY DOCTOR TOLD ME TO SAY, IT'S TOO MANY COOKS IN THE KITCHEN WHEN, WHEN IT COMES DOWN MY HEALTH SAID TOO MANY DOCTORS.
I'M SEEING, YOU KNOW, BACK IN THE PAST, TOO MANY COOKS IN THE KITCHEN AND WE JUST STREAMLINED THIS POLICY.
THAT COUNSEL
HE COULD DO HIS TRAINING IN IN-HOUSE.
AND WE NEED TO STREAMLINE THIS OPEN.
YOU COULD BE ALWAYS BE IN TROUBLE PAYING THE BILLS.
DEPARTMENTS, TURN IT, TURN THEIR BILLS IN, IT'S GONNA BE AN ONGOING PROBLEM.
SO THERE'S TOO MANY COOKS IN THE KITCHEN.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE HAVING THIS PROBLEM.
I GET A CALL TOO BY BILLS NOT BEING PAID, TRUST ME.
SO IF WE CAN WORK OUR WAY OUT, FOLLOW US.
[00:45:01]
THAT Y'ALL DO, Y'ALL PAY Y'ALL BILLS? SOMEBODY WILL OVERSEE IT.MAYBE CANS, OVERSEE, WELL, OTHER DEPARTMENT, TOO MANY COOKS IN THE KITCHEN.
UH, COUNCILMAN MARKS, JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
I KNOW YOU WERE RECENTLY HIRED.
COULD YOU TELL US EXACTLY WHEN YOU CAME ON BOARD? NOVEMBER 14TH.
AND THAT'S APPROXIMATELY FIVE MONTHS THAT YOU'VE BEEN YES.
AND, AND THIS PROBLEM'S BEEN ONGOING FOR WHAT, THREE, TWO YEARS? YES.
AND I FIND IT KIND OF DISHEARTENING THAT FINGER WOULD BE POINTED AT THE NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR NOT HAVING THE TRAINING IN PLACE OR THE STAFF OR THE STAFFING IN PLACE, WHATEVER.
CUZ HE CAME ON BOARD TO A STAFF THAT WAS ALREADY SET UP AND IT WAS HIS JOB.
IT IS HIS JOB TO ACTUALLY, TO COME IN AND TURN THIS THING IN THE DIRECTION THAT IT NEEDS TO GO INTO.
SO WE NEED TO BE AC SUPPLYING HIM WITH AS MUCH SUPPORT AS WE CAN POSSIBLY GET TO HIM AS SOON AS WE CAN POSSIBLY GET IT TO HIM.
THAT'S, THAT'S THE FIRST THING.
THE SECOND THING IS, IS, IS THE SECOND QUESTION ON THE, THE SYSTEMIC ISSUE THAT WE'RE HAVING WITH PAYING THE BILLS OR PAYING YOUR BILLS, THE EDCS BILLS, WHENEVER, WHENEVER YOU OR YOUR STAFF ORDERS OR CUTS A PO IT'S APPROVED BY YOU MM-HMM.
PURCHASING THEN SENDS THAT, THAT, THAT PO TO THE VENDOR.
AM I RIGHT? THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING.
I'M JUST TRYING TO GET A PICTURE OF THE SYSTEM BECAUSE WHAT THIS IS, IS A SYSTEMIC PROBLEM.
AND SO WE NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW THIS THING IS SUPPOSED TO FLOW.
WE SHOULD HAVE A FLOW CHART AS TO HOW ALL OF THIS IS GOING, THAT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN PLACE.
YOU, YOU DON'T HAVE A FLOW CHART AS TO HOW THIS GOES.
I I WILL CERTAINLY GENERATE ONE.
WELL, WELL, AND I DON'T, AND, AND I'M NOT TRYING NOT FOR YOU TO GENERATE WHAT I'M TRYING IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT FOR YOU.
THE, THE, THE, I'M JUST REMARKS.
HONORABLE COUNSEL MEMBER, ALL OF YOU.
I'VE APOLOGIZE FOR INTERRUPTING.
I'M TRYING TO FIX MY PROBLEM AND THAT AND, AND I'M TRYING TO, SO WHEN I SAY I'LL GENERATE, OKAY, YOU CAN EASILY SAY, WELL NO, THAT'S NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.
LET'S LOOK AT IT AS PRIVATE INDUSTRY.
I'M RELIANT UPON MY SERVICE PROVIDER.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, MY SERVICE PROVIDER CAN TELL ME ALL THE PROBLEMS WITH THE CUSTOMER, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, I'M RELIED UPON MY SERVICE PROVIDER.
I'VE BEEN TOLD AS RECENTLY AS LAST THURSDAY, MORE TRAINING.
SO, AND THAT'S NOW LET UNTIL MY SERVICE PROVIDER TELLS ME, WELL, YOU GOT ALL THE TRAINING AND ALL THE PROBLEMS ARE, THE WORLD IS GREAT.
JUST, JUST YOU'VE, LAST THURSDAY YOU SET UP TO, AND YOU'VE IDENTIFIED WHO'S GOING TO BE TRAINED YES, SIR.
SPECIFY HOW LONG THAT TRAINING IS GONNA HAVE TO TAKE.
WE WILL HAVE IT CONCLUDED BY JUNE.
IT'S GONNA TAKE US THREE TO FOUR MONTHS.
WE HAVE, AGAIN, WE, BUT KEEP, DO KEEP IN MIND THAT THE TRAINING IS PROVIDED BY OUR SERVICE PROVIDER.
SO WE ARE DEPENDENT UPON THEIR SCHEDULE.
YOU KNOW, IF SOME, IF, IF THE SERVICE PROVIDER SAID TOMORROW, TRUST ME, WE'LL BE THERE.
THEY SAID IT'S SATURDAY AT THE RISK OF
[00:50:01]
KNOW, INCURRING THE, THE WRATH OF MY STAFF, WE'LL BE THERE.BUT IF MY SERVICE PROVIDER TELLS ME X, AND WE'LL BE THERE THEN.
AND THERE'S SOME OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT I'M, I'M, I'M GONNA LEAVE IT RIGHT THERE.
BUT I, I WANT TO MAKE THIS STATEMENT BEFORE I LEAVE THIS, KNOWING THAT WE HAVE INVOICES THAT ARE 60 DAYS, THE 90 DAYS OVERDUE WHEN THEY WERE THE TERMS OF PAYMENT OR NET 30 WE'RE GETTING CHARGED PENALTIES AND INTEREST ON EACH ONE OF THOSE INVOICES.
AND, AND, AND SO WHEN THAT OCCURS AS EATEN INTO YOUR BUDGET, IT'S EATING INTO THE CITY'S BUDGET.
AND SO, BECAUSE THIS PROCESS OF TRANSITIONING FROM NAV STUD TO TYLER TO TYLER, TRANSITIONING TO TYLER FROM WHATEVER THE OTHER AVALON, AVALON STARTED IN, IN 20 21, 21.
AND WE WERE TOLD AT THE TIME IT WAS GONNA TAKE APPROXIMATELY SIX MONTHS TO TRANSITION.
AND THE TRAINING AND ALL OF THAT WAS TO BE INCLUDED IN THAT.
AND HERE WE ARE IN, IN IN MARCH OF 23 AND WE ARE STILL TALKING ABOUT TRAINING FOLK SOMETHING.
AND IT'S NOT THE EDCS FAULT, BUT SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT AND IT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT IMMEDIATELY.
UH, COUNCIL MCKEN LAW, UH, THANK YOU.
UH, THANK YOU COUNCILMAN MARK.
HE WAS, SHOOT, HE WAS GETTING EXACTLY WHERE I WAS GOING WITH THIS SECOND HALF OF MY QUESTION.
UH, NAVINE TO TYLER, UH, 2021, WE SAID THIS WAS GONNA CUT DOWN ON PENALTIES AND FEES, IT'S GONNA CUT DOWN ON, UH, GETTING OUR BILLS PAID.
AND I WAS TOTALLY AGREEING WITH THAT.
UH, ALSO THE FEESS AND PENALTIES THAT, UH, COUNCILMAN MARK SPOKE OF WE'RE PAYING EXTRA BUDGET MONEY THAT WE HADN'T PREPARED FOR.
AND I, AND I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT.
AND THE LAST THING I HEARD, THE CITY MANAGER STATED EARLIER THAT YOUR PARTICULAR DEPARTMENT HAD BEEN TRAINED ON, UH, ON THE NEW SYSTEM TO PROPERLY PAY THESE INVOICE IN A TIMELY MANNER.
WELL, I HEAR THIS CITYWIDE JUST NOT WITH YOUR DEPARTMENT.
I GET THE EMAILS AND I FORWARD IT DOWN TO THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE TO MAKE SURE THAT, HEY, IF SOMEBODY SENDS ME SOMETHING, I'LL MAKE SURE HE'S INVOLVED WITH IT.
BUT WHO HAS THE ABILITY TO RECEIVE THESE INVOICES THAT ARE NOT DOING IT IN 60 TO 90 DAYS? AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, THOSE INDIVIDUAL MANAGERS OR SUPERVISORS SHOULD HAVE WRITE-UPS.
THIS IS COMING FROM THE CITY MANAGER TO GET THESE BILLS PAID.
AND IF WE ARE NOT DOING IT THAT WAY, WE HAVE A SITUATION.
BECAUSE IF THEY'RE GONNA GO PAST 60 TO 90 DAYS TO GET SOMETHING PAID OFF AFTER THE CITY MANAGERS ALREADY INSTRUCTED THEM TO DO SO, WE WENT TO THIS NEW SYSTEM IN 2021 AND IS STILL NOT GETTING PAID, WE HAVE A PROBLEM.
SO WE HAVE, WE NEED TO HAVE SUPERVISORS, MANAGERS, WHOEVER'S THE PERSON THAT RECEIVES.
THAT'S WHAT YOUR, YOUR WORD YOU SAID RECEIVED THOSE.
SO WHO'S THE PERSON IN EACH OF THESE DEPARTMENT? IS IT THE FINANCIAL PERSON? I'M LIKE, UH, COUNCILMAN MOSES.
I WANT TO KNOW WHO'S THE PERSON THAT YOUR PEOPLE ARE SENDING A HUNDRED EMAILS A DAY TO ARE STILL NOT PAYING THOSE EMAILS.
AND IF THEY ARE NOT, UH, ADDRESSING THOSE EMAILS IN 60 TO 90 DAYS, THEY SHOULD HAVE LETTERS IN THEIR, IN THEIR FOLDERS OR WRITE-UPS OR WHATEVER YOU HANDLE.
BUT THE CITY MANAGER STATED EARLIER THAT YOUR DEPARTMENT WASN'T TRAINED.
SO WHAT ABOUT THESE OTHER DEPARTMENTS? SO THAT'S THE CASE.
THOSE PEOPLE HAVE THE ABILITY TO RECEIVE THOSE, UH, INVOICES THAT YOU STATED EARLIER.
MS. DIRECTOR, IF THEY'RE NOT PAYING IT, WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM? I'M TOO MAYOR.
I THINK, UH, CANDY, IF I JUST WANNA REITERATE FOR CLARITY, PURPOSE, YOU SAID YOUR GIRLS ARE SPENDING, UM, MOST OF THEIR TIME, UM, ON GETTING EMAILS OUT.
AND I KNOW WE ARE ON EDC, BUT THEY ARE SENDING OUT ON THIS RECEIVED, UM, ACTUALLY THIS RECEIVED COMPONENT TRYING TO GET THOSE, UM, EMAILS OUT TO STAFF TO MAKE SURE THEY RESPOND TO THOSE.
SO THEY'RE SPENDING A LOT OF THEIR TIME TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE, THESE ARE, THIS IS GETTING DONE.
AND LET ME ASK ONE QUESTION TO YOU, CANDY.
HOW, WHEN DID TRAINING TAKE PLACE, UH, AMONG THE CITY? UH, SEE THAT? THERE WE GO.
IT'S HARD TO NOT TALK ABOUT THIS.
UM, WITH EDC, LET ME JUST ASK, HAS MR. STOKES STAFF, UH,
[00:55:01]
EDC STAFF EVER BEEN TRAINED, UM, ON, UH, TYLER ON THE, THE, THE MOVE FROM NAVON TO TYLER? THERE WAS SOME, UH, TRAINING WITH TYLER BEFORE WE WENT LIVE, BUT IT WASN'T VERY BENEFICIAL BECAUSE IT WASN'T LIVE AND THERE WERE THINGS THAT DIDN'T WORK.AND THEN, THEN THERE WERE THINGS THAT HAD TO CHANGE.
AND I DON'T BELIEVE THERE'S BEEN ANY FORMAL TRAINING AFTER THAT.
BUT WHAT REALLY NEEDS TO HAPPEN IS A TRAINING, NOT WITH TYLER, BUT A TRAINING WITH, UH, WITHIN THE STAFF, WITHIN THE CITY FINANCE TO EXPLAIN TO THEM EXACTLY WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN AND WHEN IT NEEDS TO HAPPEN.
UM, I THINK WE'VE ALREADY SCHEDULED, UH, TO HAVE SOME DISCUSSIONS WITH THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS NEXT WEEK, AND WE NEED TO MOVE THAT DOWN TO THE ACTUAL PEOPLE WHO, WHO DO THAT.
AND WE, WE ARE GONNA TRY TO SET UP SOME FORMAL TRAINING, BUT UM, LIKE I SAID, UM, AND I'M SURE YOU HAVE A WRITTEN, UM, FROM INTERNAL PROCEDURES AND PROCESSES, UM, TO BE ABLE TO TRAIN FROM, SO SOMEONE GETS A WRITTEN, WELL, SOME OF THAT NEEDS TO BE DEVELOPED IS THE PROBLEM.
WE DIDN'T RECEIVE A LOT OF DOCUMENTATION FROM TYLER ITSELF THAT WAS TAILORED TO THE CITY AND IT NEEDS TO BE TAILORED TO WHERE IT'S SPECIFIC TO, YOU NEED TO GO HERE, HERE, HERE, AND DO THIS, THIS, AND THIS.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE JUST HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE, YOU KNOW, TO DEVELOP, TO DEVELOP YET.
BUT, UH, WE ARE GOING TO BE DOING THAT VERY SOON.
UM, ALL I WAS GOING TO SAY WAS, BUT WE STILL HAVE SIX IN ONE HAND AND HALF A DOZEN IN THE OTHER BECAUSE WE STILL HAVE TO FIX THE PROBLEM OR THE SITUATION THAT WE HAVE WITH MR. STOKES AND THE EDC.
SO WHAT I'M HEARING NOW, AND WHAT I AM UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE DON'T WANT MR. STOKES AT THIS PARTICULAR TIME TO, UM, PUT THE CHICKEN BACK IN THE EGG AND ALLOW YOU TO PAY YOUR BILLS.
YOU NEED TO PAY, YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR BILLS PAID.
BUT WE HAVE FOUND OUT THAT THE PROBLEM THAT WE ARE INCURRING IS SYSTEMIC.
AND IF WE WOULD FIX OUR PROBLEM ON THIS END, THEN IT WOULD ALLEVIATE YOUR PROBLEMS. BUT WE DON'T HAVE THAT FIX.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE THAT FIX BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO TAKE THE INCURRING OF MORE TRAINING.
SO WHAT DO WE DO? BUT, BUT, BUT WHILE WE'RE TRAINING, THE BILLS ARE STILL GOING TO BE LATE.
SAY, LET ME GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD AT THE CRUX OF IT IS TRAINING, FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING IS ONLY A MINUTE OR SMALL COMPONENT OF TYLER.
TYLER IS AN ENTIRE COMPUTER SYSTEM THAT WE ARE DEPENDING ON TRANSITIONING FROM NAVINE TO TYLER.
LET US TALK ABOUT THE SUCCESS STORIES OF TYLER.
WE HAVE FULLY TRANSFORMED IN THE HR DEPARTMENT.
THE HR DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN FULLY TRAINED AND WE HAVE BEEN FULLY TRANSFORMED.
RIGHT NOW I'M DOING STATUS AND WAGES ONLINE.
UM, WITHOUT THOSE FREE OR 40, UM, SHEETS OF PEOPLE COMING TO ME ON A DAILY BASIS, THAT IS A SUCCESS STORY ENTIRELY IN ITSELF.
WE ARE CONTINUING, WHEN WE TALK WITH THE, THE, THE, UM, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, IT'S A SUCCESS STORY IN THE MAKING WITH TYLER ITSELF.
YOU KNOW, SO THERE HAVE BEEN SUCCESS STORIES.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT AN A SYSTEM THAT HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED, IT'S A SYSTEM WITH VARIOUS SEGMENTS TO THAT SYSTEM.
YOU HAVE THE UTILITIES DEPARTMENT SEGMENT, YOU HAVE ACCOUNT AND, AND, UM, ACCOUNTING AND FINANCING SEGMENT.
YOU HAVE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES SEGMENT, YOU HAVE THE COURT SEGMENT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE UM, UM, PUBLIC WORK SEGMENT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THE PROCUREMENT SEGMENT, YOU HAVE THE SEGMENT THAT HAS, HAS TO DEAL WITH THE SHOP OUT THERE.
SO THERE HAVE BEEN SUCCESS STORIES WITH TYLER THAT WE HAVE BEEN VERY MUCH SUCCESSFUL WITH.
WE ARE APPROACHING THIS, THIS SEGMENT WITH FINANCE THAT HAS NOT REALLY BEGAN IN, INTO THIS SYSTEM, BEGAN IN 2021 WHEN WE BEGAN TO IMPLEMENT IT.
SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT CHI CANDI IS TRYING TO SAY.
WE DID NOT BEGIN IN 2021 WITH THE ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, JUST GOING FORWARD, THE SYSTEM OF IMPLEMENTATION.
SO THE, THE OTHER, SO WHAT I WILL DO, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, I WILL PUT A SMALL GROUP
[01:00:01]
TOGETHER TO COME AND EXPLAIN TO COUNCIL WHAT HAVE WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVED OVER THE YEARS 21, 22, AND WE APPROACHING 23.BECAUSE THERE HAS BEEN SUCCESS STORIES WITH TYLER THAT WE HAVE NOT SPOKEN ABOUT THE PARKS AND THE PAKISTAN RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE HAD SOME, WE HAVE HAD SOME SUCCESS WITH THAT.
ARE WE STILL WORKING OUT KINKS IN THE SYSTEM TO BE FULLY INTEGRATED BECAUSE THAT'S THE PATH THAT WE ARE MOVING ON.
FULL INTEGRATION OF THE SYSTEM.
YES, THERE, YES, THERE ARE KINKS AND THAT IS ONE OF THE KINGS THAT WE ARE WORKING ON THAT WILL REQUIRE CONTINUOUS TRAINING.
NOT ONLY IN THE ACCOUNT AND FINANCE DEPARTMENT, BUT THROUGHOUT THE, THE, THE ENTIRE SYSTEM AND THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CITY AS WELL.
THANK YOU MANAGER FOR YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT THE, UH, SUCCESS STORIES.
WHEN YOU ALL DECIDED TO MOVE TO THIS NEW SYSTEM, DID YOU DECIDE WHAT YOU WERE GONNA ROLL OUT FIRST AND ESTABLISH A LEVEL OF IMPORTANCE OF WHAT WOULD BE MOST IMPORTANT TO THIS COMMUNITY? YES, WE DID.
AND THAT'S WHY WE STARTED OFF, UH, WE EVEN BROUGHT TYLER STAFF ON, ON SITE HERE.
UM, IF YOU REMEMBER, UM, THE OCCUPIED, THE, THE, THE COUNCIL'S, UM, OFFICE.
AND WE STUDIED OFF WITH THE HR DEPARTMENT.
THAT HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE WE THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS NECESSARY TO, BECAUSE OF THE FACT HR DEPART JUST LIKE, JUST LIKE THE FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT, HR DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, TOUCHES ON EVERY OTHER FACET OF OPERATION, YOU KNOW, IN, IN, UM, IN THE ENTIRE, UM, SERVICE.
AND SO WITH THAT, WE HAVE SEEN, AND THIS IS A QUESTION, WE HAVE SEEN OUR SOLUTIONS RESOLVED WITH THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT WE NEED WITHIN THIS CITY.
AND LET ME GIVE YOU ONE EXAMPLE.
AND SO EVEN WITH THE STATUS IN WHICH MAY, MAAM, MAY I FINISH? GO AHEAD.
UM, SO WITH THAT, WE HAVE NOTICED, HOWEVER, LONG TERM BEFORE, AND, AND I DON'T KNOW WHY WE CHANGED SYSTEMS. WELL, ONE OF THE, OF THE REASONS THAT I WAS TOLD WE CHANGED SYSTEMS WAS BECAUSE WE WERE HAVING ISSUES WITH PAYING BILLS ON TIME AND THAT THIS SYSTEM WOULD BE BETTER.
SO, SO WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE, BUT IT WOULD BE BETTER IF WE WOULD LOOK AT ESTABLISHING THOSE THINGS THAT ARE PRIORITIES.
AND I THINK THAT PAYING BILLS AND KEEPING THE CREDIT RATING AND THE SCORE AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT IMPACT US FINANCIALLY ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
BECAUSE I THINK, AND HIRING STAFF IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND THEY ALL GO HAND IN HAND.
BUT I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, A, A COLLECTIVE, UH, TRAINING SYSTEM WOULD HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IN CREATING WHAT WE SEE NOW IS A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM THAT CAME UP BECAUSE OF EDC.
THAT'S, I WON'T SPEAK ON THIS ISSUE, UH, MEMORIAL TODAY.
THIS, THIS, UH, WE COULD BE HERE ALL DAY LONG DISCUSSING THIS POWER UNTIL SIX O'CLOCK TONIGHT, AND THAT'S WHAT WE ARE DOING.
BUT I LOOK AT THE AGENDA AND THEY SEE A PRESENTATION BY TERRY STOKES, G D C.
YOU NEED SEE ABOUT, UH, PUBLIC WORKS AND WARDLEY DIDN'T SAY THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS HERE, EDC.
SO WHY WE GOING ON OTHER DEPARTMENTS HERE? NOT SAYING INVOICING ON TIME.
MR. STOK WANNA KNOW HOW CAN HE PAY HIS BILLS HIMSELF? WE HERE TO DISCUSS THE EDC.
WHAT CAN WE DO RIGHT NOW? CITY, THE MANAGER, CITY ATTORNEY, UH, MR. STOKES, UH, FINANCE RELIGIOUS MAN, PAY HIS BILLS.
AM I CORRECT AS YOU HERE FOR YES.
WHILE WE GOING THROUGH OTHER, WE GOING TO GAS TO GET TO BEAUMONT? LET'S GO TO BEAUMONT.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP MR. STOK AND, AND THIS EDC PAY HIS OWN BILLS? THAT SHOULD BE A SIMPLE SOLUTION.
RIGHT? NOW, YOU RIGHT HERE, MR. MANAGER, CAN WE GET TOGETHER THE FINANCE STOKES YOU ALL AND FIND A WAY TO LOOK HOW HE CAN PAY HIS OWN BILLS? THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR.
AND I THINK, AND THAT, THAT'S THE RESOLVE THAT WE ARE GETTING THAT COUNCILMAN.
YEAH, BUT WE GOING, WE GOING TO OTHER DEPART, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE, THEY WERE, UH, JUST GIVING SOME, UH, OTHER EXAMPLES, I GUESS.
BUT WHAT WE'LL DO, EXAMPLE, HOW CAN WE HELP HIM RIGHT NOW? HE WANTS, OKAY.
WELL, I THINK THAT THE ASSISTANCE AS FAR AS I BELIEVE, UH, WHAT WAS ON THURSDAY LAST MM-HMM.
WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW IS DISCUSSING EVEN HOW WE GOT TO LAST THURSDAY, THIS MEETING, I WOULD SAY.
[01:05:01]
SAY, UH, EVEN THOUGH I UNDERSTAND WHAT THE, UH, CITY MANAGER WAS SAYING, BECAUSE YOU ARE THE, UH, UH, CEO, SO YOU SHOULD KNOW.HOWEVER, WE ALSO UNDERSTAND YOU ARE THE SECOND CEO IN SIX MONTHS.
OKAY? AND THEN THAT WAS ONE PRIOR THAT, YOU KNOW, EVEN TO THAT.
AND THEN THERE WAS WELL, WELL, UH, UH, AN INTERIM AND THEN A PERMANENT PERSON.
SO WE DON'T, YOUR, YOUR DEPARTMENT HAS GONE THROUGH, UH, SOME, UH, CHANGES.
I WOULD SAY THE MOST IN, IN SIMPLIFIED WAY, UH, IN A VERY SIMPLISTIC WAY.
YOU, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GONE, YOU'VE GONE THROUGH CHANGES AND LEADERSHIP, UH, OVER THE PAST YEAR, OKAY? YES, SIR.
AND YOU HAVE AN INHERITANCE SITUATION.
AND I WOULD SAY IT, UH, USE THAT TERM LIKE THAT LOOSELY.
SO YOU HAVE INHERITED ALL OF THE GOOD AS WELL AS THE BAD AND EVERYTHING THAT'S IN BETWEEN.
NOW, WHAT WE WANT TO KNOW, UH, WHAT I, I'D LIKE TO COMMEND YOU ON, IF YOU'RE DOING A GOOD JOB, BECAUSE WHAT YOU ARE DOING, YOU ARE MAKING US AWARE YOU ARE APPRISING THIS COUNCIL, THIS GROUP OF WHAT IS ACTUALLY TRANSPIRING, OKAY? AND I DON'T BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE AGAINST THE, UH, BYLAWS, RULES, ORDINANCES, OR EVEN LEGISLATIVE, UH, UH, WORKINGS HERE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, UH, BECAUSE WE FOLLOW EACH OF THOSE FOR YOUR EXISTENCE AND FOR OUR COEXISTENCE.
SO, UH, THE LEADERSHIP THAT THIS GROUP CAN GIVE HAS TO BE LEADERSHIP BASED UPON FACT.
YOU ARE DELIVERING SOME FACTS TO US THAT WE SEE THAT AS A GROUP OR OUR PERSON WHO IS THE CITY MANAGER, IS GOING TO SEE TO IT THAT THOSE THINGS ARE CORRECTED.
OKAY? SO NOW YOU CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT POINT.
AND I'M GONNA MOVE THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF MY UPDATE VERY FAST, CUZ I KNOW YOU HAVE OTHER FOLKS.
YOU SEE, I FEEL LIKE I NO, NO, SIR.
I REALLY EVEN WANT YOU TO SAY THAT.
I DON'T WANT YOU TO FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE.
AND IF YOU GOTTA TAKE A RESTROOM, BREAK THIS TAIL ME.
CAUSE I MIGHT HAVE TO GO ALSO.
LOOK, WE ARE HERE
OKAY? IF Y'ALL CAN HANG IN THERE WITH ME.
UH, NEXT ON, UH, MY PRESENTATION TO YOU IS AN UPDATE ON MY 90 DAY PLAN.
UH, THIS IS A PLAN THAT I BROUGHT, UH, ALONG WITH ME, UH, WASN'T IMPOSED UPON ME.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT I'VE DONE AT OTHER STOPS AND, UH, I'VE BEEN BLESSED TO BE SUCCESSFUL WITH.
AND THAT PLAN IS JUST MADE UP OF THREE COMPONENTS.
ONE, EXTENSIVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, UH, FANCY WAY OF SAYING, GETTING TO KNOW THE COMMUNITY FROM THE FOLKS THAT KNOW THE COMMUNITY THE BEST, THAT THEN WOULD LEAD TO THE CRAFTING OF A HIGH LEVEL STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE CORPORATION.
AND THAT HIGH LEVEL STRATEGIC PLAN, ONCE APPROVED, WOULD THEN INFORM ORGANIZATIONAL ALIGNMENT THAT WOULD BE NECESSARY TO SUCCESSFULLY ACHIEVE THAT PLAN OVER THE YEARS.
THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PORTION, UH, AND I HAVE ON PAGE ONE OF WHAT I HANDED OUT TO YOU, UH, IS WHERE I'VE LIVED, UH, SINCE NOVEMBER 14TH.
UH, AND YOU, NONE OF YOU PROBABLY REMEMBER OUR FIRST MEETINGS WAY BACK WHEN IT'S BEEN SO LONG.
BUT, UH, IT ALL STARTED WITH, UH, MY BOARD AND THEN YOU ALL, UH, THE FOLKS HIGHLIGHTED IN GREEN ON THAT REPORTER FOLKS THAT, UH, I'VE MET WITH, AND IN SOME CASES, MULTIPLE TIMES, UH, FOLKS IN YELLOW HAVE BEEN HIGHLIGHTED.
UH, AND IN FACT, I MEET WITH SUPERINTENDENT, UH, THIS AFTERNOON.
NOW, THE REST OF THE FOLKS, BY THE WAY, I SHOULD POINT OUT THAT IT, THIS WAS INTENTIONALLY AGGRESSIVE, OKAY? SO I MIGHT SAY OVERLY AGGRESSIVE.
I PREFER TO BE INTENTIONALLY SLASH OVERLY AGGRESSIVE.
AND THAT TAKES, THAT GOES A LONG WAY TO MAKING SURE THAT I DON'T MISS ANYBODY.
HOWEVER, I'VE HAD ENOUGH MEETINGS NOW, GOT ENOUGH INPUT WHERE I CAN START CRAFTING THE BEGINNINGS OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN I'M STOPPING TO MEET WITH PEOPLE.
I WILL CONTINUE TO MEET WITH FOLKS IN SOME CASES, DOUBLING UP, TRIPLING UP.
IT JUST MEANS THAT, OKAY, I'M STARTING TO GET A CLEAR ENOUGH PICTURE WHERE I CA CAN NOW START TO SIT DOWN AND CRAFT A STRATEGIC PLAN.
THAT PLAN WILL BE BASED ON A, AN APPROVED SET OF STRATEGIC PRIORITIES THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPROVED LAST EVENING.
UH, I HOPE THAT I PRINTED THOSE OUT FOR YOU, BUT IF NOT, LET ME JUST QUICKLY
[01:10:01]
JUST CALL THOSE OUT, UH, SO THAT YOU'RE AWARE OF WHAT THEY ARE.AND I'LL GET THIS LIST TO YOU, UH, UH, VIA ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION.
THESE ARE JUST AN ALPHABETICAL ORDER AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE, NO, NO ONES NOT ANY MORE STR HIGH PRIORITY OR STRATEGIC THAN THE OTHER.
ATTRACTING NEW ENTREPRENEURS AND BUSINESSES, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING NEW BRANDING, MARKETING AND MESSAGING FOR THE CORPORATION, DEVELOPING HOMEGROWN ENTREPRENEURS DOWNTOWN, REVITALIZATION ENTREPRENEURSHIP WITHIN THE PRESS BUILDING, INCREASING THE INVENTORY OF AVAILABLE HOUSING THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, CONTINUED AND EVENTUAL COMPLETION OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE THREE INDUSTRIAL PARKS, JADE AVENUE, HIGHWAY 73 AND SPUR 93, STRENGTHENING AND IMPROVING THE VIABILITY OF THE COMMUNITY'S EXISTING SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND LASTLY, WORKFORCE IN YOUTH DEVELOPMENT.
IT IS NOT THE, NECESSARILY THE CASE THAT THE P A E D C WILL BE THE LEAD ENTITY IN THOSE 10 STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, IN MANY CASES WILL BE A STRATEGIC PARTNER, A SUPPORTER OF SOME OTHER ENTITY THAT IS LEADING THAT PARTICULAR CHARGE.
BUT EACH ONE OF THOSE PRIORITIES HAS AN IMPACT ON THE EDCS OVER ACHIEVING ITS OVERALL MISSION.
SO, AS AN EXAMPLE, I'LL JUST THROW ONE OUT.
THE EDC MIGHT NOT BE THE LEAD ENTITY ON SECURING ADDITIONAL HOUSING THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
IT'S A SUPPORTER OF, BUT IT IS A KEEN STAKEHOLDER BECAUSE MY ABILITY TO ATTRACT NEW BUSINESSES AND INDUSTRIES INTO THE AREA IS INCUMBENT UPON THOSE FOLKS HAVING PLACES TO HAVE THEIR EMPLOYEES LIVE.
THAT ISN'T A 20, 30, 40, 50 MILE COMMUTE TO SOME OTHER ENTITY TAKING THEIR SALES TAX ALONG WITH THEM.
SO THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE OF, MAY NOT BE THE LEAD.
SOME MO IN OTHER CASES WILL BE, BUT AN INTERESTED PARTY IN EVERYTHING.
UH, I SHOULD POINT OUT THAT THESE PRIORITIES, UH, THEY'RE NOT MINE, UH, BY THE WAY, I HAPPEN TO SUPPORT THEM.
BUT THESE ARE MY EXTRACTIONS FOR, FROM EACH ONE OF MY CONVERSATIONS THAT YOU SEE HIGHLIGHTED IN GREEN ON THAT FIRST PAGE, STARTING WITH MY CONVERSATIONS WITH YOU ALL.
SO YOU MAY NOT RECOGNIZED THAT YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU SAID ALL THAT I HAD TO CON CONVINCE, CONDENSE THAT DOWN TO A BULLET.
BUT I WAS LISTENING AND I HOPE THAT EVERYONE, WHETHER IT BE YOU, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OR ANY OF THE COMMUNITY THAT I'VE HAD A CHANCE TO SIT DOWN WITH, UNDERSTANDS, OH, YEAH.
UH, IF I PAIR DOWN, WHAT I, MY THINKING WAS HE'S GOT IT ON THAT FOURTH BULLET THERE, OR THAT FIFTH BULLET.
SO, LIKE I SAY, THAT STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH WILL BE BUILT UPON, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THERE'S, THERE'LL BE 10 CHAPTERS.
CAUSE I JUST CALLED OUT 10 BULLETS.
LIKE I SAY, BASED ON THIS FOUNDATION OF THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, WE'LL INFORM THE CORPORATION'S MISSION FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
AND THAT, IN TURN, WILL INFORM OUR ORGANIZATIONAL, UH, LOOK AND FEEL.
UH, I GOT, I GOT TO DO SOMETHING ELSE HERE ON THE, UH, THE TRAIN.
IT'S THE TRAINING THAT I WANT TO FOCUS IN RIGHT NOW.
IT, IT SPECIFICALLY, UH,
AND I KNOW I'M, I'M GOING BACK, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
WHO'S GOING TO, YOU JUST CAN'T HAVE ONE PERSON TRAIN IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
I'LL TIE THAT INTO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE I MOVE ON? YES, SIR.
UH, NEXT TIME I WANTED TO JUST UPDATE, UH, YOU ALL, UH, ON, UH, WE HAVE, UH, CLOSED OUT.
AND AT LONG LAST HAVE THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EDC AND THE CREDIT UNION SIGNED, SEALED AND DELIVERED,
[01:15:01]
AS WELL AS A YEAR'S WORTH OF, OF RENT, WHICH COMES AT A REALLY GOOD TIME GIVEN THE FIRST TOPIC.I'LL TELL YOU, I HAVE NOTHING TO REALLY TO DO WITH IT.
I'M COMING IN AT THE TAIL END.
BUT, UH, I GATHERED AND I HAVE GATHERED FROM STAFF.
UH, THEY ARE BEGINNING THE PROCESS OF PUTTING TOGETHER THEIR RIBBON CUTTING.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, UH, THE, THE BOARD TREASURER MENTIONED LAST NIGHT TO, UH, HER FELLOW COLLEAGUES WAS THAT IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA THAT WE WORK IN CONCERT WITH THEM.
AND PERHAPS, FOR LACK OF A BETTER PHRASE, KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE, BECAUSE WE NEED TO HAVE A COMMUNITY RIBBON CUTTING, IF YOU WILL, UH, AS WELL.
AND I THINK, UH, GIVEN HOW MUCH IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE CREDIT UNION IS COMING BACK, IF YOU WILL, IN FULL FORCE, DOWNTOWN MIGHT NOT BE A BAD IDEA FOR THE COMMUNITY TO SEE BOTH OF THOSE THINGS GET LAUNCHED IN ITALICS.
I KNOW THEY'RE UNDERWAY, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, UH, AT THE SAME TIME.
SO CERTAINLY WE'LL KEEP YOUR APPRISED OF THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, WEIRD KIND OF DEPENDING ON WHAT SCHEDULE THEY PUT TOGETHER, BUT I'M SURE THEY WANT TO DO THAT SOONER AS OPPOSED TO LATER QUESTIONS.
I DON'T HAVE ANY CO UM, UH, QUESTIONS.
BUT THAT'S A GOOD THING WITH THE CREDIT UNION BECAUSE, UH, CITY EMPLOYEES ARE HERE AND IT REALLY MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE.
AND THEM BEING, I REMEMBER WHEN IT WAS IN THE BASEMENT OF THIS BUILDING, IT WAS SO CONVENIENT FOR CITY EMPLOYEES TO BE ABLE TO BANK WHERE, WHERE WE WERE.
AND SO JUST SEEING THEM COME BACK DOWNTOWN IS JUST TREMENDOUS.
I'M JUST REALLY HAPPY THAT THEY'RE GONNA OCCUPY SOME SPACE IN THAT BUILDING AND A GOOD, AND A PRETTY SPACE AT THAT.
EVEN THOUGH YOU CAME IN ON THE END, UH, WHOEVER STARTED IT AND YOU FINISHED IT, Y'ALL WORKED AS A TEAM, SO IT'S DONE.
UH, REAL BRIEFLY, LET ME TALK TO YOU ABOUT, UH, WORKFORCE AND OUR THINKING THERE.
UH, AS YOU, YOU ALL, UH, KNOW, AND I'M, YOU KNOW, STILL, AGAIN, GETTING UP TO SPEED HAVE SEVERAL PROGRAMS THAT THE EDC SPONSORS CURRENTLY.
UH, THEY ARE, UH, CDL BOTH A AND B LICENSES, UH, NEAR AND DEAR TO MANY FOLKS HEART, THE CERTIFIED NURSING, UH, PROGRAM, UH, PIPE FITTER ONE AS WELL AS A YOUTH AND PRO LU YOUTH, LET SAY THAT FAST THREE TIMES.
YOUTH EMPLOYMENT SCHOLARSHIP, BOTH PROGRAMS GOING WELL STRONG.
UH, BOARD JUST APPROVED LAST NIGHT A RENEWING OF THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM, UH, CONTRACT, WHICH HAD EXPIRED.
AND SO I'M REALLY HAPPY, UH, WITH WHERE THE BANK, WHERE THE PROGRAM STAND PRESENTLY, UH, THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE MISSING THAT KIND OF WORK AGAINST MY TRANSPARENCY.
WELL, I WRITE, I HAVE TO DEVELOP THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE MY BOARD AND YOURSELF METRICS.
UH, WHAT IS OUR COLLECTIVE RETURN ON INVESTMENT? HOW MANY FOLKS ARE STICKING WITH THE PROGRAM? WHERE DID THEY GO AFTER THE PROGRAM? HOW LONG DID THEY STAY WITH THEIR EMPLOYER? WHAT DID THEIR EMPLOYER THINK ON, DO WE NEED TO RE IS IT, DOES THE EMPLOYER NEED ANY REFINEMENT? ALL OF THOSE THINGS I KNOW, AND I'M WORKING ON THEM.
IN ADDITION TO THAT THOUGH, THE THING THAT I REALLY WANTED TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE, IS THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE MEETING INDUSTRY'S NEEDS, UH, IN PORT ARTHUR.
AND, YOU KNOW, I GET REPORTS, UH, QUARTERLY FROM TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION IN TERMS OF THE HIGH DEMAND JOBS FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS.
THOSE REPORTS ARE TIED INTO WHAT AUSTIN IS GOING TO ALLOW WORKFORCE COMMISSION TO FUND.
I LIKE GETTING AS MUCH GRANT MONEY TO PORT ARTHUR AS I CAN HUMANLY POSSIBLY DO.
ONE THING THAT CAN MAKE THE CONVERSATION WACKY IS IF I'M ASKING FOR FUNDING FOR PROGRAMS THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY HIGH DEMAND, NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY'RE NEAR AND DEAR TO OUR COLLECTIVE HEART AND NOT ASKING FOR ANYTHING AND NOT GONNA GET ANYTHING WHEN I'M IGNORING THE HIGH DEMAND, BECAUSE THAT LOOKS TO THEM LIKE YOU'RE IGNORING YOUR OWN INDUSTRIES.
SO, LOT OF WORK TO DO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IN SYNC.
UH, I TALKED TO THE BOARD LAST NIGHT, AND YOU'LL FIND IT IN YOUR PACKET OF WRITE UP ON THE CERTIFIED MEDICAL ASSISTANT, UH, PROGRAM, WHICH IS A HIGHER PAYING SALARY WITH A LONGER TERM, UH, PROJECTION IN TERMS OF YOUR CAREER GROWTH AND YOUR CAREER PATH.
AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT WHEN WE GO INTO BUDGETING FOR THE 2324, UH, I WILL PROBABLY ASK THE BOARD, LET'S, LET'S PERHAPS LOOK AT THAT BECAUSE THAT IS HIGH DEMAND GIVES OUR CNAS
[01:20:01]
THAT THAT PROGRAM WILL STILL GO ON.IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY, BUT ALSO GIVES THEM ANOTHER OPTION.
AND LIKE I I SAY, THE A THE DIFFERENCE IN, UH, OVERALL SALARY IS PRETTY SIGNIFICANT.
LASTLY IN YOUR PACKET ARE TWO SETS OF SCHEDULES.
UH, ONE IS ON THE 2023 SCHEDULE FOR SALES TAX TRAINING.
UH, AS I MENTIONED TO MY BOARD, UH, OF DIRECTORS LAST NIGHT, IF THEY HAVE NOT HAD THE LUXURY OF, OF TAKING THAT, UH, OPPORTUNITY, UH, I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE THEM TO DO SO.
UH, AS WELL AS THE OTHER SCHEDULE IN YOUR PACKET IS THE, THE SCHEDULE FOR 2023 IN BASIC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, TRAINING WITH THE SAME ADMONITION IF, UH, THAT HASN'T BEEN TAKEN STRONGLY ENCOURAGED.
AND IN BOTH CASES, AS I MENTIONED TO MY BOARD, I'VE TALKED TO THE LEADERSHIP OF THAT, PROVIDE BOTH OF THOSE TRAININGS.
THEY ARE WILLING TO COME TO US ON SITE FOR A NOMINAL FEE PLUS TRAVEL AND JUST DO IT RATHER THAN US TRAVEL TO THEM.
THEY WILL DO THOSE TRAININGS ON SITE.
AND THE SLIGHT ADVANTAGE TO THAT IS A, NOT, NOT, WE'RE NOT DOING TRAINS, PLANES, AND AUTOMOBILES, BUT ALSO THERE'S CUSTOMIZATION INVOLVED.
SO INSTEAD OF DOING A GENERIC CLASS, YOU ZERO IN ON OUR SPECIFIC CONCERNS.
JUST THROW THAT OUT AS AN OPTION.
AND THEN LASTLY, IN YOUR PACKET, AND THE LAST THING ON MY, UH, UPDATE IS YOU HAVE A SCHEDULE THERE FOR TWO MAJOR CONFERENCES THAT JUST ARE GOING TO HAPPEN TO BE IN OUR BACKYARD THIS YEAR, UH, THAT YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER, UH, BEING IN THE CAR WITH ME WHEN WE, WHEN WE GO.
ONE IS THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL, WHICH IS THE GOVERNING BODY, UH, GLOBALLY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
THEY WILL HAVE THEIR ANNUAL, UH, CONFERENCE IN DALLAS, UH, LATER ON THIS YEAR.
AND THEN THAT WILL BE FOLLOWED A FEW WEEKS LATER BY THE TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL'S ANNUAL CONFERENCE, WHICH WILL BE IN HOUSTON AT THE JW MARRIOTT.
AND, UH, I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, BUDGET PERMITTING, BE OUT IN FULL FORCE SO THAT, UH, FOLKS KNOW PORT ARTHUR'S IN THE HOUSE WITH THAT HONORABLE MEMBERS OF COUNSEL.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
AND, UH, THANK YOU MR. UH, SOAKS, UH, STOKES.
UM, I WOULD ASSUME THAT THERE WOULD NOT BE THIS, THIS I E DC THAT'S THE ONE THAT I ATTENDED BEFORE, I BELIEVE IN, UH, LAS VEGAS.
WHEN HE MET IN LAS VEGAS, THAT THAT IS A REAL GOOD, UH, GATHERING OF, UH, THAT WAS 19, WASN'T IT? YEAH, I THINK IT WAS 19 OR 20.
I, I CAN'T REMEMBER EXACTLY WHEN IT WAS.
YEAH, I THINK IT WAS 20 PROBABLY.
AND, AND, AND, UH, THERE WAS THIS INFORMATION THAT WAS SHARED THERE ABOUT THE EDC AND, AND, UH, COUNCIL PERSONS, IF, IF, IF THE OTHER COUNCIL PERSONS WOULD WANT TO GO, YOU WOULD'VE A REAL GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF THE COEXISTENCE OF EDC WITH CITY COUNCIL.
THAT'S WHEN I CAME BACK AND I SAID, Y'ALL, THIS IS WHAT WE CAN DO BECAUSE WE BE ABLE TO SEE AND GATHER INFORMATION, UH, THAT IS BENEFICIAL FOR OUR GROUP.
I WAS SAY LIKE, NOT YOUR GROWTH OR NO, OUR GROUP TOGETHER YES, SIR.
AS AN ENTITY FOR THIS COMMUNITY.
SO I KNOW THAT TO BE BENEFICIAL, BUT WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR INDULGENCE AND YOUR PRESENTATION.
I'LL SEE YOU ALL AGAIN AT THE END OF NEXT QUARTER AND, UH, IF, IF NOT BEFORE AND HOPEFULLY SOON A JOINT.
OH, COUNCIL MARK, ONE, ONE THING ON THE, UH, REPORTS FOR OUR, UH, PROGRAMS THAT ARE DONE IN CON JUNCTION WITH, UH, THE MAR STATE COLLEGE.
WHEN, UM, WHEN THE REPORTS COME IN, IF WE COULD HAVE SOME HIGH LEVEL, UH, DATA, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY STUDENTS ENROLLED, HOW MANY HAVE GRADUATED, FOLLOW UP TO FIND OUT IF THOSE WHO'VE GRADUATED, ARE THEY WORKING? WHERE ARE THEY WORKING? IS IT LOCAL OR IS IT SOMEWHERE ELSE? BUT YES, SIR.
THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT TYPE DATA YOU GOT IT.
I LIKE WHAT YOU, AND JUST TO PIGGYBACK ONE, WHAT, UH, MARK'S JUST STATED, UH, YOU SAID TO GET PROGRAMS THAT'S GONNA BE LUCRATIVE TO THIS AREA.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO DO OR THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT YOU HAVE TO DO.
I HAVE TO KEEP YOU INFORMED OF WHERE I'M TAKING THE TRAIN, BUT ALL RIGHT.
THAT'S OUR RESPONS RESPONSIBILITY.
HE DID SAY TEXAS WORKFORCE WILL LET YOU KNOW WHAT PROGRAMS THEY WILL YES.
THEY ARE TARGETING FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
[01:25:01]
AND IN TURN, YOU ALL KNOW ABSOLUTELY.TO WORK ON, I DON'T WANNA PUT WORDS IN THEIR MOUTH, BUT LET ME PUT WORDS IN THEIR MOUTH, MR. STOKES, YOU CAN ALWAYS GO WITH A LOAN, HOWEVER, IF YOU'D LIKE US TO HELP WITH YOUR PROGRAMS. NO, THAT'S, THAT'S ALL.
I ALWAYS TOOK IT AS A PART OF YOUR JOB.
UH, BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE NEXT, UH, ITEM BY THE CITY MANAGER, I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK.
IF I'M, IF I'M AN ORDER ON THAT, I'M TAKING ONE.
SO CAN YOU ALL JUST TAKE FIVE MINUTES AND WE GONNA COME RIGHT BACK.
UH, WE ARE BACK, UH, A CITY, A SECRETARY.
WOULD YOU REESTABLISH THE COURT DEPARTMENT PLEASE? MAYOR BART, PRESENT MAYOR PRO HOLMES.
HE KEEP COUNCIL MEMBER MOSES HERE.
I'M SORRY I WAS DOING, I WAS MORE TO TASKING.
NO, I'M NOT GOOD AT THE, OKAY.
[II.2. A Presentation By The City Manager Regarding City Projects And Departmental Updates]
WE'LL MOVE TO OUR SECOND ITEM ON THE PRESENTATIONS.WE HAVE A PRESENTATION BY THE CITY MANAGER REGARDING CITY PROJECTS AND DEPARTMENTAL UPDATES.
MAYOR, LET ME START WITH THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE DAY ON, UM, FEBRUARY 27TH TO FEBRUARY 28TH, AND, UM, INFORMED THE COUNCIL THAT, UM, STAFF WHO ATTENDED THE GOLDEN TANGLE IN AUSTIN WHEN THERE WITH A SINGLE MESSAGE.
AND THAT MESSAGE WAS VERY MUCH TIED INTO THE PRESENTATION THAT WAS MADE BY, UM, HOUSE SPEAKER FILLON, WHICH, UM, RESONATED WITH THE FACT THAT THERE IS A 43 MILLION SURPLUS OF FUNDS AVAILABLE BY THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE RIGHT NOW.
AND WHAT SOME OF THE MOST PRESSING NEEDS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, UM, OF WHICH PORT ARTHUR IS, IS VERY MUCH ACQUAINTED WITH, IS THE INFRASTRUCTURE CONDITION, UM, IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
AND, AND BY, BY, BY NO SMALL REASON, UM, THE INFRASTRUCTURE CONDITION.
UM, IN, IN THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY OF SPEAKING WITH STAFF MEMBERS FROM, UM, COUNCILOR, UM, CREIGHTON'S, WELL, UM, REPRESENTATIVE CREIGHTON'S OFFICE, UM, REPRESENTATIVE NICHOL'S OFFICE AND, AND, UM, UM, WHOM BEAST WITH, UM, REPRESENTATIVE CHRISTIAN'S OFFICE.
AND WE WERE VERY MUCH WELL PREPARED, UM, GIVEN THE FACT THAT MS. UM, OUR, UM, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR AND, UM, OUR UTILITIES DIRECTOR DEFINITELY BROUGHT, UM, OUR NEEDS, OUR VERY PRESSING NEEDS.
UM, AND SOME OF THOSE HIGHLIGHTED THE CONDITIONS OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AS FAR AS ROADS AND BRIDGES ARE CONCERNED AND MOVING AHEAD IN TERMS OF WHAT IS NEEDED FOR THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR TO CONTINUE TO BUILD ON A TRAJECTORY OF PROSPERITY.
WE SAW THE NEED FOR, UM, PUTTING TOGETHER A DOCUMENT FOR THE EXPANSION OF OUR WATER SUPPLY.
NOT ONLY OUR WASTEWATER SUPPLY, BUT OUR WATER.
ANYTHING THAT REQUIRES DEVELOPMENT.
ANYTIME THAT YOU SEE DEVELOPMENT IS REQUIRED IN A COMMUNITY, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WILL BE OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE IS THE AVAILABILITY OF THE WATER AND THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SO WHAT I DID, I MET WITH SAL PRIOR TO GOLDEN TRIANGLE DAYS AND WAS ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER A PROPOSAL THAT WE TOOK TO, WE TOOK WITHERS TO AUSTIN.
UM, THAT PROPOSAL LOOKED AT US, YOU KNOW, MAYOR SIXTY FIVE, THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY 5 MILLION THAT WOULD BE NEEDED FOR OUR WATER INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE WERE ABLE, AFTER OUR DISCUSSION WITH STAFFERS, YOU KNOW, WE WERE ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER, UH, UH, AN APPLICATION FOR THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD, WHICH WAS DUE SOMETIME LAST WEEK.
UM, THAT WILL BEGIN TO GET THE BOARD ROLLING.
UM, BUT IT WOULD REQUIRE, AS THE LEGISLATURE REMAINS IN SESSION, IT WILL REQUIRE US TO MAKE SOME SORT OF VISIT AGAIN TO AUSTIN TO PRESENT OUR CASE TO THEM.
YOU KNOW, UM, HOWEVER THE CH COUNCIL CHOOSES TO DO THAT, WHETHER, UM, ONE OR TWO REPRESENTATIVES WITH THE MAYOR, UM, WITH, UM, UM, A, A, A TEAM OF, UM, STAFF MEMBERS WHO ARE VERY MUCH INFORMED US TO, AND WHO ARE VERY MUCH INFORMED AND CAN ARTICULATE THOSE NEEDS VERY CLEARLY TO THE LEGISLATURE.
YOU KNOW, I WOULD APPRECIATE THAT, THAT WE DO THAT, YOU KNOW, IN THE NOT TO THIS FUTURE SOMETIME, UM,
[01:30:01]
BEFORE THE MONTH IS UP.AND, UM, HOPEFULLY IN THE COURSE OF APRIL, I KNOW THAT, UM, THE, UM, THE BLACK CAUCUS OF, OF THE, UM, TEXAS LEGISLATURE WILL BE MEETING SOMETIME IN APRIL.
AND WE SHOULD ALSO TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE THAT IS WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, UM, THE BASIS IS BEING SET IN ORDER TO CONTINUE TO NEGOTIATE FURTHER WITH THE REST OF THE LEGISLATURES TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH OF THAT PIE, UM, WILL BE COMING TO THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, OR HOW, HOW WE WILL BE ABLE TO SKILLFULLY, UM, NEGOTIATE AND INFORM THEM FURTHER OF NOT ONLY OUR NEEDS, BUT OF OUR STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE TO THE STATE OF TEXAS AND BY EXTENSION TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
UM, HAVING SAID THIS, UM, UH, DR.
FIGMAN IS COMING UP HERE WITH A MUCH MORE INFORMED, UM, REPORT THAT HE WILL DISTRIBUTE TO THE, UM, TO THE DESK.
UM, LET ME INFORM, UM, COUNCIL, WE HAVE BEEN DOING ONGOING TRAINING WITH THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS, UM, FROM THE TIME DR.
WE HAVE CHANGED, UM, WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, UM, IN TERMS OF OUR STAFF MEETING AND, UM, PRESENTING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TO BE TRAINED.
UM, I, I WANT TO COMMEND THE, UM, CITY ATTORNEY, JUST OUR, AT OUR LAST STAFF MEETING, ONE OF THE NEEDS THAT WE SAW AS WAS, UM, ARTICULATED BY THE COUNCIL WAS THE STRENGTHENING OF, OF, OF OUR PROCUREMENT AND PURCHASE IN DEPARTMENT, UM, WHERE WE HAVE HAD SOME CONCERNS.
AND SO THE CITY ATTORNEY TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH US AND, UM, TO, AND, AND EXPLAIN AND, AND TO INFORM SENIOR STAFF, YOU KNOW, THE EXPECTATIONS AND THE, THE NEED TO CONTINUE TO WORK VERY CLOSELY AND COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT AS FAR AS THE LAW IS CONCERNED, IN ORDER THAT WE PREPARE THE DOCUMENTS THAT ARE WHOLESOME FOR THE APPROVAL OF COUNCIL WITHOUT TOO, TOO MANY HITCHES THERE.
SO THAT, THAT'S ONE OF THE, UM, UM, THINGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON.
UM, I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT AS WELL, THAT WE HAVE JUST HIRED JUST YESTERDAY, UM, AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF FINANCE THAT CAME IN WITH THE FK AND I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH HIM TODAY, SO THAT WE'LL ADD A MUCH NEEDED, UM, BOOST TO THE, TO THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK ON LOOKING AT, UM, THE RESTRUCTURING OF THE, UM, IS IN DEPARTMENT.
UM, WE HAVE ASKED STAFF TO, UM, COMPILE A LIST OF THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
WE WILL LOOK AT THIS, AND IN GOING INTO THE BUDGET PROCESS, WE WILL CONTINUE TO EVALUATE, UM, OUR, OUR, OUR ASSETS IN TERMS OF, UM, THE DISBURSEMENT OF STAFF THROUGH OUR, THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS TO SEE WHETHER WE ARE GETTING THE MAXIMUM PRODUCTIVITY THAT WE NEED TO GET.
ONE OF THE THINGS I NEED TO, UM, UM, SHARE WITH COUNCIL, IT HAS BECOME MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT TO ATTRACT INDIVIDUALS.
UM, UM, PROFESSIONAL INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE SEEN, FOUND THAT AS A RESULT OF COVID, THEY CAN CONTINUE TO FUNCTION AT HOME.
YOU KNOW, UM, THERE WAS NO SURPRISE THAT, UH, IN TRYING TO RECRUIT, UM, UM, ONE INDIVI, ONE POSITION FOR THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
WE FOUND THAT LISTENER, GIVEN THE MARKET, THE CURRENT MARKET TRENDS, YOU KNOW, IT IS EASIER FOR, UH, AN INDIVIDUAL TO FUNCTION AT HOME AT A CERTAIN PRICE INSTEAD OF BEING, INSTEAD OF COMING TO WORK IN AN OFFICE ON A DAILY BASIS.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S ONE OF THE REALITIES, NOT ONLY AT A MUNICIPAL LEVEL, BUT THAT'S THROUGHOUT THE WORK INDUSTRY AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, MORE AND MORE INDIVIDUALS HAVE FOUND THAT THE FUNCTIONS THAT CAN BE CARRIED OUT AT HOME, YOU KNOW, IN FRONT OF A COMPUTER, YOU KNOW, UM, IT'S BEING DONE, YOU KNOW, AND SO WE CONTINUE TO GRAPPLE WITH THAT CHALLENGE AS WELL.
BUT AS WE CONTINUE TO GRAPPLE WITH THAT CHALLENGE, WE ARE CONTINUING TO REFINE OUR ORGANIZATIONAL CHAT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE REMAIN PRODUCTIVE AND IN FRONT OF THOSE CHALLENGES THAT CONTINUE TO PRESENT THEIRSELVES.
THIGPEN TO, UM, TO SOME EXTENT ELABORATE ON SOME OF THE INITIATIVES THAT WE HAVE STARTED UPON IN THE LAST THREE TO FOUR WEEKS.
AND, UM, WE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD ON THEM AS WE CONTINUE TO PURSUE THE BUDGET PROCESS.
UH, MORNING COUNSEL, LET ME FIRST APOLOGIZE.
THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE REALLY FROM SOUTHEAST TEXAS KNOW ABOUT BATTLING ALLERGIES, AND SO THE TREE POLLEN IS WINNING TODAY.
BUT, UM, AS THE MANAGER SAID AND, AND COVERED MOST OF THE PRESENTATION, WE
[01:35:01]
WANTED TO TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT GOLDEN TRIANGLE DAYS IN AUSTIN, AND WHAT A SUCCESS IT WAS.MR. DAVIS IS PASSING OUT A FOLDER, WHICH HAS INFORMATION THAT WAS UTILIZED AT GOLDEN TRIANGLE DAYS IN AUSTIN AS WE MET WITH THE VARIOUS STATE ELECTED OFFICIALS.
THESE, UH, ITEMS WERE PREPARED BY MS. ROBERTS, UH, THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, AND MR. MATTHEWS AND DR.
AND WHAT THEY FACILITATED WAS OUR ABILITY TO PROPERLY ADDRESS THOSE LEGISLATORS WITH WHOM WE MET.
WE DIDN'T GO THERE SAYING WE WOULD LIKE WITHOUT HAVING THE ACTUAL SPECIFICITY OF THE NUMBER AND THE COST.
AND AS THE MANAGER SAID, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SPEAKER FEELING POINTED OUT AT THE BEGINNING THAT A CHALLENGE FACING THE STATE OF TEXAS, WHICH IS IF IT WERE A COUNTRY, IT WOULD BE THE NINTH LARGEST GDP IN THE WORLD, IS THAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF TEXAS IS NOT WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE.
AND CERTAINLY AS WE CELEBRATE OUR HUNDRED 25TH ANNIVERSARY, OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS NOT WHERE WE WOULD LIKE IT TO BE.
WE ARE MAKING MASSIVE EFFORTS IN ORDER TO DO THAT.
AND THAT DOES SERVE A TWOFOLD PURPOSE.
ONE, OF COURSE, IS THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR OUR CITIZENS.
WE WANT THEM TO BE LIVING THEIR BEST LIFE WHILE THEY'RE HERE IN PORT ARTHUR.
AND SECONDLY, WE ARE POISED FOR GROWTH, BUT THAT GROWTH REQUIRES THAT WE HAVE INFRASTRUCTURE ABLE TO ADDRESS AND SUPPORT THAT GROWTH.
WE WANTED YOU TO HAVE THESE DOCUMENTS SO THAT AS YOU RECEIVE CALLS FROM LEGISLATORS OR IF THEY HAVE QUESTIONS, YOU HAVE THE SAME DATA THAT WE UTILIZE AS WE MET WITH THEM.
WE CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT WE WERE VERY WELL RECEIVED WITH ALL THE LEGISLATORS WITH WHOM WE MET.
WE MET EITHER WITH THE LEGISLATOR THEMSELVES, THEIR CHIEF OF STAFF, OR BOTH.
AND THE KEY BEING THAT WE WANTED TO GET THE MESSAGE ABOUT PORT ARTHUR INTO THEIR EARS.
THERE WAS A LOT OF TALK ABOUT PORT ARTHUR.
IN FACT, PORT ARTHUR WAS NAMED THE CAJUN CAPITAL OF THE TEXAS.
SO SINCE WE ARE THE CAJUN CAPITAL, WE ARE ABLE TO LEVERAGE THAT INTO SOME FURTHER ELEMENTS THAT WE ARE GOING TO PROCEED.
WE ARE HOPEFUL THAT BY PRESENTING THIS MESSAGE DIRECTLY TO THE LEGISLATORS, AS THE MANAGER SAID, THEY HAVE 33 BILLION.
AND AS WE FOUND OUT FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE, HAVING MORE MONEY MEANS MORE PROBLEMS THAN IN THE LEAN YEARS AS THEY TRIED TO FIGURE OUT HOW THEY'RE GOING TO, UH, PUT OUT THIS INFORMATION AND DIVIDE THESE MONIES UP.
WE ALSO WANTED THE COUNCIL TO BE AWARE, AS THE MANAGER INDICATED, THAT WE ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ALL OPPORTUNITIES TO MOVE THE STAFF AND THE TEAM FORWARD.
WE'RE WORKING HARD TO BUILD AND UPGRADE THE CITY MANAGER'S TEAM.
WE ARE USING OUR MEETINGS, WHICH ARE OPPOSITE COUNCIL MEETINGS FOR TRAINING.
AS HE SAID, WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH OUR STAFF IN SOME AREAS OF PROCUREMENT, OF PURCHASING.
WE ARE BUILDING THE STAFF IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE WE'RE ABLE TO ADDRESS ISSUES SUCH AS YOU HEARD TODAY.
WE ARE EVEN WORKING ON DATA ANALYTICS.
NOW, I PROMISE THE MANAGER, AS HE INDICATED IN THE MINISTERIAL MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, WILL RECOGNIZE THE PHRASE, I WON'T BE HERE VERY LONG.
SO I PROMISE HIM THAT THAT'S WHAT I WOULD DO.
BUT AS WE LOOK AT THE QUALITY OF ACHIEVEMENT, THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR THE STAFF, THAT WE ARE ENCOURAGING ALL OF OUR STAFF AND OUR SENIOR STAFF TO REACH FOR A HIGHER LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE.
AS WE TALK ABOUT MOVING FORWARD.
WE ARE WORKING NOW IN COMPILING THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR 2022, SO THAT WE CAN PRESENT TO THE CITY COUNCIL A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID IN 2022 ON BEHALF OF THE CITIZENS SUPPORT AUTHOR.
BUT JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF A TEASER ABOUT WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO, WE HAVE ONE OF THE PRESENTATIONS THAT WAS DONE BY ONE OF OUR DEPARTMENTS.
WE, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT DATA ANALYTICS.
AND I KNOW THE COUNCIL IS VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE IDEA, AND I'VE HEARD THE PHRASE ABOUT BIG DATA USING DATA AND CONVERTING DATA INTO A FORMAT WHERE IT CAN BE USED BY THE END RECEIVERS, WHICH IS THE COUNCIL AND THE CITIZENS.
SO I'M GOING TO ASK MR. HARRIS TO GO AHEAD AND PROVIDE US WITH THAT AT THIS TIME,
[01:43:17]
A MARION COUNCIL PARTS AND RECREATION.WE HAVE OUR DIRECTOR HERE, MS. CHANDRA ALPO.
BUT THIS IS THE TYPE OF DATA THAT WE'RE PREPARING FOR THE COUNCIL.
AND MANY OF OUR DEPARTMENTS, UTILITY OPERATIONS, THE OTHERS, REALLY WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND IN ADDRESSING OUR REQUESTS.
SO WE'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO LET YOU KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING AND WHAT WE'RE WORKING TOWARD ON BEHALF OF YOU AND THE CITIZENS OF PORT ARTHUR.
UH, I, I'D LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING AND, AND, UH, UH, MR. APPLE, COME ON UP.
COME UP BECAUSE, AND, AND I'LL LET YOU SPEAK.
UH, UH, COUNCILMAN FRANK, BUT, UH, CITIZENS HAVE A, A REAL, UH, UH, PERSONABLE RELATIONSHIP WITH ME.
AND SO NO MATTER WHERE I AM, UH, NO MATTER THE VENUE, AND THEY, THEY LOVE TO TELL ME ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS, YOU KNOW, OUR CHILDREN DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO.
AND I'VE BEGUN EVEN ABOUT A YEAR AGO TELLING THEM, YOU KNOW, WHY DON'T YOU GO TO PARKS AND RECREATION, OR GO TO THE OI, OR, I SAY THAT, THAT THE SENIOR CITIZENS OF DEALERS IN THE FRONT GO THERE.
CUZ THERE ARE PROGRAMS THAT ARE SET FOR OUR CHILDREN, UH, FROM LITTLE KIDS TO, UH, UH, ADOLESCENTS.
I WANT TO APPLAUD YOU FOR DOING THAT WITH YOUR DEPARTMENT.
YOU ALL HAVE HAD ME THERE FOR FUNCTIONS FROM SENIOR CITIZEN FUNCTIONS TO FUNCTIONS WITH, WITH, WITH, WITH, WITH LITTLE PEOPLE.
IT ALL, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHY Y'ALL DIDN'T INVITE ME BACK AGAIN LAST YEAR FOR THE PUMPKIN
I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE I DIDN'T PAINT THE PUMPKINS RIGHT OR SOMETHING.
THEY DIDN'T, THEY DIDN'T CALL ME THE SECOND TIME.
[01:45:01]
MISS GOLD DIDN'T, Y'ALL MIGHT I PAINTED HER, I GUESS.BUT YOU ALL ARE DOING A GREAT JOB.
YOU KNOW, WE CAN FIND TIME TO MAYBE LET DEPARTMENT KNOW THAT THEY AREN'T, UH, UH, UP TO PAR OR, OR THEY HAVEN'T REACHED THAT AT GOLD STANDARD AS YOU REFERRED TO.
BUT, UH, YOU ALL ARE DOING A GREAT JOB.
NOW, THE THING I'M SPEAKING ON IS I KNOW, UH, MY, UH, MENTEES FROM CAPITAL LEAGUE, WE ARE, WE HAVE A DEAL GOING ON NOW TRYING TO FIND OUT WHICH KIDS COULD COME OUT TO HELP WITH EAST EGG HUNT.
I'M JUST THE OLD ADVISOR NOW, BUT I'M, I STAY IN THE LOOP AND SEVERAL OF THE KIDS BECAUSE THEY, WE DID IT BY TWO OR THREE YEARS AGO AND I BROUGHT SOME KIDS OUT.
WE WERE RIGHT OUT ON GILLHAM CIRCLE SOMEWHERE.
EVERY MEDIUM THAT YOU ARE USING, YOU'RE STILL MISSING SOMEBODY.
I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU HIT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT TECH SAVVY BECAUSE THE PERSONS WHO LIKE TO STOP ME IN, YOU KNOW, IN AGB AND WALMART, AT THE SERVICE STATION, AT A FUNERAL, AT THE CHURCH, ANYWHERE TO TELL ME THAT THE KIDS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOTHING FOR THE CHILDREN TO DO.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT ROCK THEY'RE UNDER.
UH, EVERYTHING THAT I SAW THERE, I'VE SEEN IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA OR SOMEONE THAT'S SPOKEN ABOUT IT.
SO THE ONLY CHARGE I GIVE TO YOU NOW, GET THOSE PEOPLE TO LEAVE ME ALONE.
UH,
AND I, I WANNA APPLAUD YOU FOR IT.
I WANT MAKE, YOU KNOW, GIVE YOU A KUDOS AND, AND YOUR DEPARTMENT, YOU ALL ARE DOING A GREAT JOB.
AND THE NEXT TIME YOU HAVE A LUNCHEON, THEN YOU CAN INVITE ME AGAIN.
I JUST WANTED TO PIGGYBACK AND SAY GREAT JOB.
UM, MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THAT PRESENTATION IS ON THE, UM, GOVERNMENT ACCESS CHANNEL.
I'LL GET TIRED OF WATCHING ALL THE STUFF BEAUMONT PUTS ON THERE AND WE DON'T HAVE A FOOTPRINT THERE.
UH, SO JUST MAKE SURE IT'S THERE CUZ YOU'RE DOING A PHENOMENAL JOB.
AND MAN, IT YOU TO BE COMMENDED AND APPLAUDED.
JUST I WAS GONNA, UH, WITH THE MAYOR WAS SAYING, BUT MAYBE, UH, WATER, THERE'S GOTTA BE ANOTHER WAY TO GET IT OUT.
I DID SEE THE EASTER EGG HUNT ON THE, ON FACEBOOK.
UM, SOCIAL MEDIA, UH, I KNOW YOU HAVE INSTAGRAM.
I THINK I SAW IT ON INSTAGRAM AS WELL.
HOW DO WE GET THAT TO CHURCHES TO HAVE ANNOUNCEMENTS? CAUSE WE TAKE OUR ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COURSE AND PUT OUT THERE SO THAT OTHERS CAN SEE THE FLYERS, WHAT'S COMING.
I WOULD LOVE TO TAKE THE SWIMMING LESSONS.
I'M GLAD I SAW THAT COMING UP.
SO, UM, IF, IF, UM, MAYBE LETTER, I KNOW YOU GUYS SEND POLICE INFORMATION OUT TO THROUGH CHURCHES CUZ WE GET THOSE, WE ADVERTISE AND PUT IT INTO OUR FORMULATING TRIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS IN CHURCHES.
BUT MAYBE THERE'S GOTTA BE ANOTHER MARKETING STRATEGY THAT WE CAN GET INFORMATION OUT.
WATER BILLS, ACTIVITIES COMING UP FOR THE SUMMER.
UM, YOU KNOW, JUST MARKETING IT IN A BIGGER PLATFORM SO THAT WAY PEOPLE WILL KNOW.
CAUSE I GET THE SAME THING, THE MANAGER.
THERE'S NOTHING IN PORT ARTHUR.
WE HAVE NOTHING FOR OUR CHILDREN TO DO.
WE DO HAVE, UH, THINGS AND WE CAN VERY WELL SEE THAT.
CAN WE PLAY THAT VIDEO? YOU CAN TAKE THAT SAME VIDEO UPLOADED TO FACEBOOK AND PLAY THAT VIDEO REPEATEDLY.
UM, IT DOES IT, YOUR FACEBOOK PAYS, PLAYS, VIDEOS, YOUR INSTAGRAM PLAYS OF COURSE DOES THE SAME THING.
UH, SAVE IT TO A DRIVE AND MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
THAT ALL OF WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE, WHAT AN EXCELLENT JOB YOU'RE DOING.
SOMETIMES WE'RE JUST, UM, IT'S HARD TO TELL OUR OWN STORY.
WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING INTERNALLY, BUT TO GET THAT OUT THERE, IT'S JUST LIKE CHURCHES, WE KNOW WHAT WE DO AND PEOPLE COME VISIT YOU.
THEY STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
UH, BECAUSE YOU GOT THE EAST TEAM, THE LIFT, THE LIFT TEAM, THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.
AND SO, UH, IN THAT MANNER, I, I THINK SUGGESTING THE NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING, THE FREE WHATEVER, ALL THOSE, UH, MARKETING, UH, STRATEGIES WOULD HELP TO GET THAT WORD OUT THERE.
CHURCHES, WATER BILLS, WHATEVER.
SO THEY'LL KNOW THERE'S ACTUALLY SOME THINGS TAKING PLACE IN OUR CITY FOR OUR CHILDREN.
SO, UH, BUT ON A FANTASTIC, FANTASTIC VIDEO.
UH, YOU, DID YOU SAY SOMETHING ABOUT A LUNCHEON? YOU, YOU WAS INVITED TO A LUNCHEON BY, HE WENT TO LUNCHEON FOR MRS. UH,
ZPO INVITED TO A LUNCHEON AND INVITE YOU BACK AS YOU SAID.
OKAY, I'LL CALL YOU, UH, MS. APO,
[01:50:01]
RECORD, RECORD CENTERS OF OUR DISTRICT.AND YOU AND I BUMP HIS A LOT OF TIME THROUGH THE YEARS.
YOU COULDN'T GET ME A BELONGING SANDWICH.
BUT THAT SMILE ON HER FACE, DON'T LET FOOL YOU.
GAVE ME A TOUGH TIME WITH THAT.
FLASH MY CHILDREN, SHE GONNA, YEAH.
COUNCILMAN MARK, IT'S CHANDRE.
UH, I WANT TO PIGGYBACK ON WHAT ALL THE OTHER COUNCIL PEOPLE HAVE SAID.
YOU'RE DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB AND I'D JUST LIKE TO SUGGEST, UH, AT ONE TIME WHEN I WAS ON THE EDC ALONG WITH COUNCILWOMAN HOMES, WE PUT A BIG SCREEN TV OUT THERE AND WE WERE SUPPOSED TO, IT'S ON THE SIDE OF THAT 5 0 1 PROCER BUILDING, I THINK.
I THINK IT'S STILL THERE AND IT'S FUNCTIONAL, BUT IT'S SOMETHING WHERE WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE, UH, REGULAR MOVIE NIGHTS FOR, UH, THE COMMUNITY.
AND, AND I DON'T KNOW WHY WE NEVER FOLLOWED THROUGH ON IT.
IT WASN'T THROUGH PARKS AND RECREATION, IT WAS THROUGH THE EDC.
BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I, I THINK THAT WE COULD ADD TO THAT PORTFOLIO THAT WOULD BE ATTRACTIVE FOR SOME FOLK THAT CAN'T AFFORD TO GET OUT THERE, TO, TO CENTRAL MALL, UH, ELSEWHERE WHERE WE CAN RUN MOVIE NIGHTS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, IN THE SPRING WHILE IT'S STILL, THE WEATHER IS STILL, UH, AMENABLE TO, TO BEING OUTSIDE BEFORE THE MOSQUITOES GET TOO BAD.
UH, UH, CITY MANAGER, IT'S STILL ON YOU.
UH, I'M JUST PACKAGED HERE FROM PUBLIC WORKS.
THAT'S JUST SOMETHING LOOK AT US TO LOOK AT US AND, AND, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT SHE WANT.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT SHE UH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UM, CAN WE COME HERE ON THIS NOW? YOU WANT, YOU WANT JUST TALK TO TALK ABOUT IT LATER ON OR SOMETHING? I GOT QUESTIONS I WANT TO ASK.
JUST, JUST, JUST, UH, KIND OF CLEAR UP SOMETHING YOU SAID DUMP TRUCKS.
AND THIS IS THIS COUNCILMAN JONES, UH, ANALOGY.
UH, I, I CAN SEE WHAT YOU NEED.
NEED TWO IN, IN ONE GARBAGE TRUCK.
WE USE A GARBAGE TRUCK IN THAT, IN THAT BUSINESS INSTEAD OF ALL DUMP TRUCKS.
I DON'T, I'D RIDE TO THE CITY EVERY DAY.
I DON'T SEE THE NEED FOR ALL THOSE DUMP TRUCKS.
FIRST ONE, BUT MAYBE, MAYBE A GARBAGE TRUCK IN THERE.
TWO DUMP TRUCK AND ONE GARBAGE TRUCK.
AND ALSO ON OUR BRIDGE REPAIR PROGRAM.
WHAT BRAVE ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE PROCTOR STREET EXTENSION.
PROCTOR STREET EXTENSION BRIDGE.
AND YES, UM, IT'S IN A DEPLORABLE CONDITION.
WE GET A REPORT FROM TEXT DOT EVERY YEAR, AND THAT GIVES US A CONDITION ANALYSIS OF BRIDGES FOR THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR AFRICA.
AND THAT'S JUST ONE OF THEM THAT WE THINK THAT COULD BE ADDRESSED.
YOU KNOW, UM, THOSE BRIDGES WOULD TAKE, UM, TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO BE REPLACED.
SOME OF THEM NEEDS TO BE REPLACED, YOU KNOW, UM, BECAUSE OF THE EXISTENCE.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT, COUNSELOR, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE, THE, THE BUCKETS OF MONIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE AND TO SEE WHETHER WE CAN PEER THE PROJECTS, GIVEN THE BUCKETS OF MONEY THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE.
UM, WHERE WE, WHERE WE FIND, UM, THEY QUALIFY FOR FUNDING.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT.
WE HAVE, THIS IS BASICALLY OUR WISHLIST THAT WE HAVE.
NOW SEE WE'VE GOT $2 MILLION FOR A TRAFFIC STUDY.
WE DIDN'T HAVE NO TRAFFIC PROBLEM HERE YET.
MIGHT HAD ONE DOWN THE LINE, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE WANNA GET.
AND, UH, MY MIGHT, MIGHT, I SAY TO THE COUNCIL, THIS, THIS DOCUMENT, UH, CO UH, CITY MANAGER AND, AND MS. ROBERTS IS BASICALLY WHAT, UH, SENATOR FOREST WESTS AND I DISCUSSED AND SENATOR, UH, BORIS MILES AND I DISCUSSED AND YOU, YOU ALLUDED TO THE FACT OF THE, UH, LEGISLATIVE, UH, BLACK CAUCUS.
UH, IN THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION, THERE IS A, A, UH,
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A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT IF WE MAKE THE REQUEST, BUT THE REQUEST HAS TO BE DONE IN ABOUT ANOTHER 30, IN, IN LESS THAN 30 DAYS.SO THAT, UH, THEY WILL PREPARE WHAT'S GOING TO GO BEFORE THE GOVERNOR AND THEN WHAT WILL BE ACTUALLY FUNDED.
YOU KNOW, UH, WE MET WITH, UH, SENATOR, UH, WEST AND SENATOR, UH, UH, MILES BECAUSE OF MY RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM IN THE HALLWAY.
AND THE, THE, THE, THE MAIN THRUST IN THIS IS OUR GETTING BACK, BUT WE HAVE TO GO BACK SOON.
YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK IN MAY BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE THE SESSION WHEN WE BE READY TO END.
SO WITHIN THE NEXT MONTH, WE NEED TO GO BACK.
NOW, ACCORDING TO WHAT SENATOR WEST SAID, AND I LOOK AT THIS DOCUMENT THAT YOU ALL PREPARED, MS. ROBERTS HERE, THIS WOULD BE IDEAL IN GOING INTO THAT, UH, ENVIRONMENT, PRESENTING THIS TO SENATORS WHO HAVE AN AFFINITY FOR PORT ARTHUR.
AND I WOULD SAY THE AFFINITY FOR PORT ARTHUR IS THROUGH MY ACQUAINTANCE WITH THEM BECAUSE I JUST, I'M GONNA WAG MY OWN TAIL.
NOW, I CAN'T GUARANTEE THAT THE RESULTS WOULD BE, BUT I KNOW FOR SURE THEY WOULD TAKE IT AND THEY WOULD CARRY IT BECAUSE OF HOW THE FUNCTIONING AND THE POLITICAL FUNCTIONING GOALS IN THAT SETTING.
THEY WILL GO TO SENATOR NICHOLS AND TO SENATOR CREIGHTON WITH WHAT IS COMING OUT OF THEIR SENATORIAL DISTRICT.
THEY WILL SUPPORT THIS IF THEY CAN, AND I'LL JUST USE THE WORD, IF THEY CAN PARLAY SOMETHING THAT THEY WANT AND GET HELP FROM THOSE SENATORS, THIS IS HOW WE ARE ABLE TO GET WHAT WE WANT BY HAVING PERSONS THERE TO PUT FORTH WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO GET.
AND THAT THOSE, THOSE DECISIONS, A LOT OF FOLK DON'T LIKE THEM TO, UH, SAY IT OR ADMIT IT.
IT'S POLITICAL, IT'S POLITICS.
AND IT IS NOT THE, NOT, NOT THAT, BUT IT
THAT'S NOT THAT, I DON'T WANNA SAY IT, BUT IT IS.
THOSE OF US WHO GET THERE FIRST WITH THE RIGHT PRESENTATION WILL BE THE ONES WHO WILL BE CONSIDERED WHEN THE MONIES WILL BE ISSUED OUT.
SO I'M JUST, I'M JUST SAYING THAT IN THIS SETTING SO THAT WE WOULD KNOW, UH, I KNOW THE, THE, THE, UH, NEXTS, UH, SETTING OR, OR OR EVENT IS IN APRIL.
THAT WOULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US.
BUT EVEN IF SOMEONE COULD COME UP WITH SOMETHING IN THE KNICKS TWO OR THREE WEEKS, CUZ WE DON'T KNOW, BUT I THINK OUR SCHEDULES ARE, ARE SORT OF FILLED UP FOR US TO GO TO WASHINGTON AND SOME OTHER THINGS O OTHER, OTHER PLACES.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WITHIN ABOUT 30 DAYS WE HAVE TO GO BACK AND WITH THE RIGHT TYPE OF DELEGATION.
AND IT WAS REAL NICE ON A COMPLIMENTS.
MS UH, MS. ROBERTS, SHE SET UP A MEETING IN SENATOR ECKHART'S, UH, OFFICE.
I ATTENDED THAT MEETING ON, UH, THE LAST WEEK.
AT THE LAST DAY GAVIN WAS THERE.
UH, WE WERE ABLE TO DIALOGUE WITH HER, UH, POLICY ANALYSTS.
AND THIS IS A NEW THING THAT I FOUND OUT IN THAT POLITICAL ARENA, EVERYBODY, WHETHER YOU ARE A SENATOR OR STATE REPRESENTATIVE, YOU HAVE A POLICY ANALYST NOW WHO IS VERY ACTIVE IN YOUR OFFICE.
WHERE BEFORE I KNEW THAT WASN'T SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY OCCURRED.
NOW EVERYBODY HAS ONE IN THEIR OFFICE AND THEY ACTUALLY RESEARCH AND STUDY.
BUT ROBERT WAS, WAS ABLE TO BEGIN A PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PERSON WHO IS THE POLICY ANALYST IN THE OFFICE AND COULD SET UP A MEETING ON THE SPOT.
AND SO PORT ARTHUR WAS IN THE OFFICE WITH OUR DESIRES.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE GOT TO KEEP IN MIND
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IS FOR THE FUTURE AND THE WATER TREATMENT AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND, UH, I GUESS CLEAN WATER.I'M, I'M, I'M NOT AN ENGINEER SO I MIGHT BE SAYING IT INCORRECTLY, BUT THERE WILL GO, THERE WILL BE A GREATER NEED THAN WE ARE ABLE TO SUPPLY AT THIS TIME.
WE HAVE GOT TO BE IN POSITION TO ASSIST OUR INDUSTRIAL NEIGHBORS IN SABINE PASS AND EVEN OUR RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORS IN PORT ARTHUR PROPER WHEN THIS GROWTH ACTUALLY OCCURS.
AND THERE ARE SOME OTHER THINGS THAT I, I RECEIVED SOMETHING EARLIER THIS MORNING ABOUT THAT IS GETTING READY TO HAPPEN IN LAND IN CHAMBERS COUNTY, JEFFERSON COUNTY.
AND THE PART OF JEFFERSON COUNTY ACTUALLY ENCOMPASSES PORT ARTHUR MAYOR.
PLEASE, PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF THE AGENDA.
BUT IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN ANYWAY AND WE'VE GOTTA WE'VE GOTTA BE READY FOR THAT, CHARLES.
BUT I, I JUST WANT, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT THESE ARE THE REASONS THAT WE ARE HERE RIGHT NOW AND THESE ARE IDEAS AND THINGS THAT WE SHOULD KNOW AND BE COGNIZANT OF AND BE SURE THAT OUR STAFF IS DOING THIS JOB, WORKING ON THOSE THINGS TO BE SURE THAT, THAT, UH, WE'RE PREPARED.
AND, AND MAYOR COUNCIL, WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH KAREN KARD THROUGH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
OUR LOBBY IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER IS BEING DISCUSSED AT THE LEGISLATIVE LEVEL, UM, WE FOLLOW UP AND FOLLOW THROUGH ON THEM.
AND THEN WE COULD PLAN WHAT AND TO SCHEDULE OUR MEETINGS UP THERE BASED ON THE HEARINGS.
UH, AND I DON'T THINK THAT WE HAVE ANY OTHER INFORMATION EVER COME BEFORE THIS GROUP AT THIS TIME.
UH, MR. MAYOR, MR. MARK, GO RIGHT AHEAD.
SECOND HAS BEEN MOVED IN SECOND THAT WE WOULD ADJOURNED THIS MEETING, UH, TODAY.
UH, SPECIAL MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL ON MARCH 7TH, UH, 2000 AND, UH, 23.
AND WE WOULD'VE JOINED THE MEETING AT 12:16 PM ARE WE READY TO VOTE? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.
AND THE OPPOSERS AYES HAVE, SO IT IS ALL OF THE MEETING IS NOW ENDED AT 1216.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INDULGENCE.
COUNCIL MEMBER DID HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU DOWNSTAIRS.