[PRELIMINARY OPEN MEETING]
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THE COUNCIL WILL NOW RECESS INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION IN THE CHILDREN'S PROGRAM ROOM TO HOLD A CLOSED EXECUTIVE MEETING PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF VERNON'S TEXAS CODE ANNOTATED GOVERNMENT CODE, CHAPTER 551, THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AUTHORITY CONTAINED IN SECTION 551.071, TO CONSULT WITH THE ATTORNEY TO RECEIVE LEGAL ADVICE AND DISCUSS LITIGATION IN SECTION 551.074 TO DISCUSS PERSONNEL MATTERS.
NEXT ITEM IS THE DISCUSSION AND DIRECTION REGARDING NOMINATIONS TO THE COLLIN CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT AND THE DENTON CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT.
LISA, TELL ME DO WE HAVE A LIST OF NOMINEES FOR THOSE THAT HAVE ACTUALLY DO THEY APPLY WITH THE CITY ON THIS? SO THEY CAN APPLY TO THE CITY ON THIS? WE JUST WILL NEED TO DO A RESOLUTION AT THE NEXT MEETING NOMINATING INDIVIDUALS.
SO THESE WOULD BE FOR THE FIVE APPOINTED POSITIONS, AND THEY'LL SERVE FOUR YEAR TERMS. CAN YOU SEND COUNCIL THE MEMBERS THAT ARE CURRENTLY ON THE COLLIN AND THE DENTON COUNTY? THEY'RE IN THE AGENDA ITEM.
OKAY, AND ANY BUT I THINK IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING ONE OF THEM DOES NOT WANT TO SERVE AGAIN.
WE CAN DOUBLE CHECK AND SEND A LIST IF THERE IS ONE.
SEND THAT LIST THE WEDNESDAY BEFORE.
YEAH. SO YOU'LL JUST NEED TO AT THE NEXT MEETING IF WE WANT TO NOMINATE, AND THEN IT WILL COME BACK TO YOU IN AT THE END OF NOVEMBER TO ACTUALLY VOTE ON INDIVIDUALS.
IS EVERYBODY OKAY WITH THAT REGARDING THOSE NOMINATIONS? OKAY. NEXT ITEM IS THE FISCAL ROADMAP PRESENTATION.
HONORABLE MAYOR, MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL.
SO THAT IS THE AGENDA THAT I WANTED TO SPEAK TO, PRIMARILY FOCUSING ON THE ACTION PLAN.
SO YOU KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT COME JANUARY AND PRIOR TO THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
SO TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, THE CITY MANAGER BROUGHT FORWARD AN INITIATIVE CALLED FISCAL ROADMAP, AND IT WAS IN RESPONSE TO HIS VISION AND UNDERSTANDING THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE AT A CROSSROADS WHERE WE'RE CHANGING FROM A GROWING CITY TO A MATURE CITY, AND WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS BOTH FINANCIALLY AND OPERATIONALLY? KNOWING THAT WE THOUGHT 3 TO 5 YEARS, WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS, AND SO WE WORKED WITH THE CONSULTANT, DAN JOHNSON, WHO PARTNERED WITH BAKER TILLY TO REALLY DEVELOP WHAT THAT CONCEPT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
IF YOU RECALL, LAST AUGUST, I BELIEVE THEY PRESENTED TO YOU THE STRUCTURE OF A FISCAL ROADMAP, AND SO STAFF, THEN WE THOUGHT, LET'S START REALLY PLANNING OUT OUR TRIP.
LET'S LOOK AT WHAT MILESTONES WE NEED TO REALLY MAKE SURE WE REMAIN THE CITY OF EXCELLENCE THROUGH THAT MATURE ERA OF CITY DEVELOPMENT, AND SO WE BEGAN THAT TRIP PLANNING.
WHAT ARE OUR LOW HANGING FRUITS? WHAT POLICIES DO WE NEED TO BRING BACK? BUT WE ALSO STARTED WITH BENCHMARKING, LOOKING AT OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE ALREADY GONE THROUGH THE TRANSITION, AND WHAT CHANGES HAVE THEY MADE TO THEIR FISCAL AND OPERATIONAL
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POLICIES? AND THEN THIS BUDGET YEAR CAME AND WE REALIZED, OH, WE NEED TO SPEED UP OUR APPROACH AND WE HAVE NOW REALLY FOCUSED ON FOUR MAIN AREAS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BRING BACK TO YOU IN THE NEAR FUTURE.THOSE FOUR AREAS ARE LOOKING AT FINANCIAL POLICIES, OUR LONG RANGE FINANCIAL MODEL, OUR ANALYTICS AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND BUDGET PROCESS CHANGES, AND AS I GO THROUGH THESE, I'LL EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT MORE.
I DON'T REALLY I THINK YOU'RE AWARE OF THE CURRENT BUDGET LANDSCAPE THAT WE'RE IN.
MANY CITIES ARE ALSO EXPERIENCING THE SAME LANDSCAPE, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT ARE MORE MOVING TO A FROM A GROWTH MODE TO A MATURE MODE. REVENUES ARE FLATTENING, COSTS ARE INCREASING, AND SO THAT'S WHY THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT NOW, IS I THINK THAT CROSSROADS CAME A LITTLE SOONER THAN WE EXPECTED.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE, OUR REPUTATION AS A CITY OF EXCELLENCE REALLY HAS BEEN BUILT ON THE FOUNDATION, THAT EVERY DEPARTMENT IS REALLY THE BEST IN THEIR FIELD, AND MANY OTHER CITIES BENCHMARK TO OUR VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS.
WE'RE ACCREDITED WHERE WE CAN BE ACCREDITED.
AT THE SAME TIME, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE AS WE GO THROUGH THIS TRANSITION THAT ORGANIZATIONALLY, WE'VE GOT TO RELOOK AT SOME OF OUR POLICIES AND PRACTICES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO APPROACH OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES AND OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE TO MAKE SURE THE CITY AS A WHOLE REMAINS EXCELLENT, AND THAT IS STILL EXPECTATIONS THAT THE DEPARTMENTS CONTINUE TO BE THE BEST IN THEIR CLASS, BUT ALSO, HOW CAN WE DO THAT FROM AN ORGANIZATIONAL STANDPOINT? ONE THING THAT IS A GOOD BENCHMARK, AND SOME OF THE CITIES WE'VE REALLY BEEN FOCUSING ON ARE ONES THAT HAVE RECEIVED THE MALCOLM BALDRIGE BALDRIGE QUALITY AWARD, AND THAT REALLY IS A FOCUS THAT CITIES HAVE MADE.
THAT LOOK AT THINGS OPERATIONALLY OR SYSTEMS APPROACH IS WHAT YOU'LL HEAR ME SAY TO REMAIN THE CITY OF EXCELLENCE, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE, REALLY, OUR FINANCIAL FOUNDATION HAS BEEN BUILT ON A GREAT DEAL OF EXCELLENT POLICIES AND PRACTICES.
WHAT I WOULD SAY WE JUST NEED A TUNE UP.
WE NEED TO LOOK AT WHAT ARE OUR PROCEDURES, HOW ARE WE IMPLEMENTING, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE POLICIES THAT NEED TO BE ADJUSTED TO MAKE SURE WE CAN WEATHER OUR TRANSITION AND REALLY THE GOAL IS TO HAVE A RELIABLE, CONSISTENT AND PREDICTABLE MODEL.
SO LET ME TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TIMING AND AND WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM US.
WE WILL THERE ARE THE FOUR AREAS WITH SOME OF THE SPECIFIC POLICY AREAS AND INITIAL FOCUS AREAS THAT WE WANT TO GET REALLY WORKING ON AND BRING BACK.
WHAT ARE OUR GUARDRAILS? IT'S KIND OF DEFINING WHAT WE WANT TO CHANGE, AND WE'LL BRING BACK TO COUNCIL POLICIES THAT POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER BY JANUARY, AND THEN AFTER THAT IT'LL BE OKAY.
HOW WILL STAFF FOLLOW THESE POLICIES.
SO WE KNOW WHAT THOSE LEVERS ARE THAT YOU DESIRE.
SO LET ME TALK ABOUT EACH OF THESE REAL QUICK.
THE FIRST ONE, FINANCIAL POLICIES.
THE THREE FIRST PRIORITY CATEGORIES ARE UP THERE.
WE WANT TO LOOK AT ALL OF OUR FUND BALANCES, INTERNAL FUNDS, EVERYTHING, AND REALLY LOOK AT DEFINING WHAT ARE THE BALANCE MINIMUMS. SPECIFY CRITERIA FOR RESTRICTED AND UNRESTRICTED.
LOOK AT THE CITY AS A WHOLE IN ALL OF THOSE FUNDS.
CAPITAL MAINTENANCE POLICY IS ONE OF THE TOP PRIORITIES AS WELL.
THAT ALSO FEEDS INTO REPLACEMENT POLICIES.
SO VEHICLE REPLACEMENT FUND, EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT FUND, REALLY REVIEWING AND REDEFINING THE PARAMETERS AND ALSO THE ALIGNMENT WITH THE GENERAL FUND BALANCE AS CAPITAL MAINTENANCE AND THE REPLACEMENT FUNDS.
SO WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT ALL OF THAT, AND THEN THE THIRD ONE BUDGET POLICIES AND PRACTICES.
AS YOU KNOW OUR GREATEST RESOURCE IS OUR STAFF.
IT'S ALSO THE LARGEST EXPENDITURE, AND WE WILL BE THIS IS MORE INTERNAL BUT REALLY LOOKING AT THE
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COSTS, GETTING MICROLEVEL PROJECTIONS FOR ALL OF OUR SALARY AND BENEFITS, KNOWING, YOU KNOW, IF THINGS PROJECT ON THE SAME PATH, WHAT WILL THOSE COSTS BE IN THE FUTURE SO WE CAN MAKE PLANS FOR THAT.OKAY, REALLY DIVING INTO WHAT ABOUT THE VACANCIES YOU HAVE, HOW ARE YOUR OVERTIME COSTS REALLY LOOKING AT SOME ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACHES TO STAFFING LEVEL CHANGES.
THE NEXT ONE IS LONG RANGE FINANCIAL MODEL.
WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS IS KIND OF LIKE THE COMPUTER CHIP IN THE CAR.
IT WILL REALLY HELP DEFINE WHERE WE'RE HEADED, AND NOTHING WORKS WITHOUT IT IN A SENSE.
SO THIS IS GOING TO BE A NEW FINANCIAL MODEL, PROJECTIONS THAT REALLY ARE IT'S MORE INTERACTIVE, SCENARIO BASED, LONG TERM ECONOMIC MODEL THAT COMES IN SO THAT WE CAN REALLY DEFINE WHAT IS A BASELINE FOR THE PROJECTION, AND THEN WE LOOK AT DIFFERENT SCENARIOS, WHAT ARE WORST CASE SCENARIOS, BEST CASE SCENARIOS, AND THEN WE CAN KIND OF PLAN FROM THERE A LITTLE BIT MORE METHODICALLY.
NEW REVENUE GENERATION IS ANOTHER AREA IS JUST REALLY MAKING SURE WE HAVE CAPITALIZED ON ANY POSSIBILITIES, AND WE'LL BRING THOSE FORWARD TO YOU, AND THEN COST RECOVERY POLICY. WE HAVE HEARD COUNCIL TALK IN THE PAST ABOUT FEES AND HOW DO WE SET THOSE, HOW MUCH IS RECOVERED IN COSTS AND WHAT THE GOAL IS, IS TO HAVE AN ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACH AGAIN TO THIS, AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS THERE'LL BE A RANGE, A SPECTRUM OF FEES OR COSTS BASED ON LEVEL OF SERVICE.
SO A BASIC CORE SERVICE IS GOING TO BENEFIT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
SO WHAT WOULD THE COST OF SERVICE BE? IT'S BASICALLY SUPPORTED BY GENERAL FUND YOUR TAX DOLLARS.
SO WE'LL HAVE THAT SPECTRUM, AND THEN WE'LL BRING BACK A PLAN TO IMPLEMENT ON A REGULAR CADENCE BUT ALSO IF IT'S NOT GOING TO BE REVIEWED ONE YEAR, WHAT'S THE METHOD TO INCREASE COSTS BASED ON CPI OR OTHER METHODS? WE WILL BE BRINGING BACK A POLICY RECOMMENDATION IN THAT AREA.
THESE NEXT TWO AREN'T REALLY POLICY BASED THAT YOU'LL SEE, BUT YOU'LL SEE THE RESULTS OF IT BY MORE INTENTIONAL FOCUS ON ANALYTICS AND ACCOUNTABILITY. DATA METRICS AND BEING DATA INFORMED IS CRITICAL, AND SO WE THE GOAL IS TO HAVE EARLY INDICATORS OF OVERALL BUDGET PERFORMANCE, VARIANCES THAT INFORM THE CITY MANAGER AND THE EXECUTIVE TEAM IF THINGS AREN'T AS WE EXPECTED THROUGHOUT THE BUDGET YEAR. SO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL AND DATA ANALYTICS, BUT ALSO ANALYTICS ON THE FINANCIAL MODEL, OUR PROJECTIONS AND ASSUMPTIONS BEING SEEN.
IS THAT COMING TO REALITY OR DO WE NEED TO MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS EARLY ON? THE OTHER IS BUDGET PROCESS CHANGES.
THIS IS MORE INTERNAL, BUT WHAT WE PLAN TO DO IS REALLY LOOK AT OUR CALENDAR OF WHEN WE GET PROJECTIONS IN, WHEN WE FINALIZE SALARY AND BENEFIT PROJECTIONS.
WHEN WE HAVE FEE CHANGES, THOSE WILL ALL COME MUCH EARLIER IN THE PROCESS.
WE KNOW WHAT WE CAN WORK WITH.
SO THAT IS THE PLAN, AND THESE ARE JUST THE FIRST STEPS.
THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY LONG TERM, ALWAYS LIVING, BREATHING FISCAL ROADMAP PROJECT, BUT WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM US IS WE'RE GOING TO GET TO WORK IN SMALL FOCUS GROUPS, MOSTLY THE DEPARTMENT STAFF LEADERS THAT ARE ALREADY WORKING IN THESE AREAS, ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH THE POLICIES, ARE GOING TO WE'RE GOING TO WORK TO REDEVELOP AND REDEFINE THEM.
THE GOAL IS, AGAIN, BRING THOSE FORWARD NO LATER THAN JANUARY, AND WE'LL PROBABLY BRING SOME FORWARD IN THE INTERIM IN THE MEANTIME, AS THOSE SOME MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO DEVELOP THAN OTHERS OR FASTER.
SO WE WILL BRING THOSE BACK TO YOU FOR YOUR INPUT, YOUR FEEDBACK, AND SO WE CAN MAKE SURE FROM A POLICY LEVEL IT REFLECTS WHAT YOUR GOALS ARE AS COUNCIL, AND THEN ONCE THE POLICIES ARE SET, WE'RE GOING TO BROADEN OUR FOCUS GROUPS WITHIN DEEPER IN THE ORGANIZATION TO REALLY TALK ABOUT HOW ARE WE GOING TO IMPLEMENT, AND
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WE'LL HAVE AN ACTION PLAN.IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE A LOT OF THIS IS TWEAKING BUT CHANGING OUR PROCESSES, AND SO THERE'S ANOTHER EFFORT THAT'S GOING IN SYNC WITH THE FISCAL ROADMAP, AND THAT'S FOCUSING ON OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES AND PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE, WHICH LASHAWN ROSS IS LEADING, AND WE'RE VERY MUCH ALIGNED THAT AS WE GO THROUGH THIS, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE OUR ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE, WE BRING THAT ALONG AND PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT CHANGES IT HAS AN IMPACT MAKING SURE COMMUNICATIONS ARE STRONG AND THEN LONGER TERM, WAY DOWN THE ROAD, HOPEFULLY NOT TOO FAR.
WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE READY TO GO BEFORE THE NEXT BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PHASE.
SO ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? ANY QUESTIONS FOR SHELLI? YES.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT, SHELLI.
REGARDING NEW REVENUE SOURCES HOW I GUESS HOW MANY STONES ARE WE GOING TO TURN OVER LOOKING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COST OF SERVICES ARE BORNE BY THE PEOPLE AS LOGICALLY AS POSSIBLE, WHO ARE USING THOSE SERVICES AND BENEFITING FROM THEM? YEAH, I THINK THAT'S PARTLY TO THE COST RECOVERY COMPONENT IS CREATING THAT DEFINITION.
AS FAR AS NEW REVENUES, I THINK IT'S A MATTER OF LOOKING AT WHAT IT COULD BE IN ANY ARENA, BUT WHAT ARE SOME OTHER COMPONENTS THAT CITIES ARE UTILIZING TO KIND OF AUGMENT WHAT WE GET FROM THE GENERAL FUND? SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE, BUT THAT'S WHAT THE TEAM IS REALLY GOING TO FOCUS ON AND BRING BACK TO YOU ALL, AND ULTIMATELY YOU DECIDE.
NO, WE DON'T LIKE THAT, AND WE'LL ADJUST.
OUR NEXT ITEM IS THE CONSENT AGENDA.
ANY ANY ITEM COUNCILMEMBER WOULD LIKE TO REMOVE.
OKAY. NEXT ITEM IS ANY ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDAS? OKAY. WE WILL TAKE A RECESS AND BEGIN AT 7:00.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.