* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] RIGHT BEFORE THE, OKAY. [1. Meeting called to Order The AACOG Executive Committee is meeting in accordance with Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code (Open Meetings Act). As such, the Executive Committee reserves the right to retire into executive session concerning any of the items listed on this Agenda whenever it is considered necessary and legally justified under the Texas Open Meetings Act.] GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY. WE ARE HERE FOR OUR, UH, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING. I THINK WE HAVE PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY HERE, BUT WE'RE GOING TO FIND OUT REAL QUICK WITH OUR ROLL CALL. WE'RE READY? YES. JUDGE HEKE? YES, MA'AM. MAYOR DENNIS. YES. COMMISSIONER CARPENTER? YES, MA'AM. COMMISSIONER CLAY FLORES. MARCUS SUPREME FOR COMMISSIONER CLAY FLORES. THANK YOU. MAYOR DODGE. HERE. JUDGE EVANS. HERE. CHAIRMAN HAS WALKER. JUDGE KELLY? HERE. MS. LEWIS? HERE. JUDGE STEELE? HERE. JUDGE WHITMAN HERE. UH, WE HAVE A QUORUM. ALRIGHT. AND MUSIC. AND MUSIC. . AM I GONNA HAVE, AM I GONNA HAVE TO BE THE ONE THAT'S GONNA HAVE TO TELL EVERYBODY WE NEED TO SILENCE OURSELVES BEFORE WE START? SURE. OKAY. ITEM NUMBER THREE THIS MORNING IS PUBLIC COMMENT. DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS THIS MORNING THERE? NO PUBLIC COMMENT. GOOD. AND WE'RE [4. Consent Agenda] GONNA MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR. OUR CONSENT AGENDA. ITEM A IS CONSIDERING ACT UPON THE RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE THE JULY 16TH, 2025 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING. MINUTES. SO MOVED. SECOND. OKAY. WE'VE GOT A MOTION AND A SECOND THAT WOULDN'T HAVE THAT SECOND. MAYOR GOT A MOTION? UH, ANY DISCUSSION ON THOSE? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. STATE FIVE BY RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND. ANYBODY OPPOSED TO THAT? MOTION CARRIES. UM, ITEM [5. Human Resources Liaison Report - Ms. Lisa Lewis/Judge Wade Hedtke.] NUMBER FIVE, UNDER ADMIN, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A HUMAN RESOURCE. I LIAISON A REPORT, UH, MS. LEWIS AND MYSELF, DO WE HAVE, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING THAT REALLY WE REALLY NEED TO. WE HAVE AN ITEM TO DISCUSS IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. THAT'S CORRECT. YES, MA'AM. UH, [6. Discussion and appropriate action on the recommendation to approve the 3rd Quarter 2025 financial report - Julio Elizondo. A. Financial Statements B. Financial Dashboard C. Financial Presentation D. Quarterly Investment Report] ITEM NUMBER FIVE, ONTO OUR FINANCIALS. UM, SORRY. ITEM NUMBER SIX, DISCUSSION IN THE APPROPRIATE ACTION ON THE RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE THE THIRD QUARTER 2025 FINANCIAL REPORT. THE WAS HERE. GOOD MORNING. MR. MR MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE C ANTONIO CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER GIVE YOU ALL AN UPDATE ON QUARTER FINANCIAL STATEMENT. WE WILL COVER THE FINANCIAL DASHBOARD, THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS THEMSELVES, BOTH THE BALANCE SHEET, THE STATEMENT OF REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES, ALL OF THE ACCOUNTS IN BETWEEN, AS WELL AS THE ADMINISTRATIVE BUDGETS. HERE YOU CAN SEE OUR FINANCIAL DASHBOARD AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER. IF YOU ALL RECALL FROM THE JULY MEETING I DID, WE DID REVISE, REVAMP OUR FINANCIAL DASHBOARD, AND I GAVE AN EXPLANATION OF WHAT EACH ONE OF THESE METRICS REPRESENTS. I WON'T BE GOING OVER ALL OF THAT, SO THANKFULLY, UH, I'LL JUST BE COVERING A COUPLE OF THESE. THE FIRST IS THE PERCENTAGE EARNED AND SPENT UP AT THE TOP LEFT CORNER. YOU COULD SEE WE'RE AT 68% SPENT THROUGH THE END OF SEPTEMBER. OBVIOUSLY THREE QUARTERS OF THE WAY OF THE YEAR GONE, YOU WANNA BE AT THAT 75% MARKER, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME VARIANCE EXPLANATIONS FOR THOSE. YOU CAN SEE THAT CHART RIGHT BELOW THAT, UH, ARE THE, THE BIG REASONS FOR THAT ARE THE AGING PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS YOU'VE GOT SOME VARIANCE IN ART, WEATHERIZATION AND MVA, AND I'LL COVER THOSE EXPLANATIONS WHEN I GET TO THE PROGRAM SLIDES IN A BIT. THE OTHER TWO METRICS THAT I WANTED TO POINT OUT WERE THE CASH AND INVESTMENTS. AT THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER, WERE AT ABOUT $11.8 MILLION IN CASH AND INVESTMENTS. VERY GOOD FINANCIAL POSITION TO BE IN A COUPLE MILLION DOLLARS HIGHER THAN WE WERE A MONTH AGO TODAY. AND THEN OUR, A LARGE FACTOR, A LARGE REASON WHY WE ARE IN THAT POSITIVE POSITION IS BECAUSE OUR ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, YOU CAN SEE OUR A, UH, OPEN RECEIVABLES AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER ARE RIGHT AROUND THE $7 MILLION MARK, A COUPLE MILLION DOLLARS LOWER THAN WE WERE THE MONTH BEFORE AND EVEN LOWER THAN WE WERE IN PREVIOUS YEARS. SO VERY GREAT POSITION TO BE IN. THE BALANCE SHEET AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER WE'RE TOTAL ASSETS IS AT $51.5 MILLION, UH, SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN IT WAS A YEAR AGO. THE OBVIOUS REASON IS CASHING INVESTMENTS, AS I JUST MENTIONED, THE SLIDE BEFORE. AND THEN WE ARE CURRENTLY SITTING AT A SURPLUS OF $2.8 MILLION. OUR FUND BALANCE, BOTH UNRESTRICTED AND RESTRICTED, IS A, HERE'S A SUMMARIZED VIEW. UH, YOU CAN SEE AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER, OUR UNRESTRICTED FUND BALANCE IS $12.1 MILLION AND RESTRICTED IS $2.6 MILLION. LARGE FACTOR IN THAT IS THE MVA PROGRAM, AS I'VE MENTIONED, ALL YEAR LONG. UH, AND, UH, THEY'RE CURRENTLY SITTING AT A, A LITTLE OVER $10 MILLION IN THEIR FUND BALANCE. AND AS YOU'LL SEE IN HALEY'S PRESENTATION, THEY ARE PROJECTING ABOUT A $3 MILLION ADDITION FOR NEXT YEAR'S, UH, BUDGET AS WELL. CASH AND INVESTMENTS, AGAIN, I CAN'T HARP ON THIS ENOUGH, WE ARE AT $11.8 MILLION. UH, THIS DOES GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO INVEST IN OUR INVESTMENT POOLS. AS YOU CAN SEE, A LARGE PART OF THAT IS $8.5 MILLION, AND WE'RE EARNING SOME VERY GOOD INTEREST ON THAT. UH, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE ON THE INVESTMENT SUMMARY, AT THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER, WE'RE [00:05:01] AT $116,000 IN INTEREST EARNED FOR THE YEAR. UH, YOU CAN SEE OUR, UH, THE, THE, THE VARIOUS WAYS THAT WE'RE INVESTING THE MONEY. WE'VE GOT SOME CDS THROUGH SHIRTS, BANK AND TRUST THAT IS CURRENTLY STILL GIVING US COMPETITIVE RATES. AND THEN THE REMAINDER OF THAT IS IN, IN OUR INVESTMENT POOLS. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, UM, NOT VERY MUCH TO COVER HERE. AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, I'M VERY PLEASED WITH, UH, HOW WE'VE, UH, BEEN ABLE TO COLLECT OUR ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS. UH, JOHN AND, AND THE ACCOUNTANTS, UH, AND THE STAFF HAVE BEEN VERY AGGRESSIVE, UH, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, HOUNDING OUR FUNDING AGENCIES TO PAY US OUR MONEY. AND, AND THEY'VE DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB OF THAT. SO THE ONE AREA THAT IS A KIND OF A CAUSE OF CONCERN AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER IS TECH DOT. UH, YOU CAN SEE OVER 90 IS 374,000, BUT WE DO HAVE THAT BILLING SENT OUT AND IS CURRENT. WE CURRENTLY WAITING FOR TDOT TO SEND US THE PAYMENT ON THAT. AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE'RE AT $2.88 MILLION SURPLUS, AND I WILL COVER THE VARIANCE OF EXPLANATIONS NOW. SO ALAMO AGING IS UNDER BUDGET $518,000 FOR THE YEAR. UH, THEY, THIS IS PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF REDUCED WELLNESS SERVICES, UH, AND THE DEMAND IN ADDITION, BACK IN THE JULY FLOODING, THE THIRD LARGEST CONGREGATE MILL PROVIDER, UH, SHUT DOWN FOR SEVERAL WEEKS AND THEY'RE STILL SERVING UNDER CAPACITY. UH, SO THAT'S THE BIGGEST REASON FOR THEIR VARIANCE. UH, THEY WILL HAVE SOME CARRYOVER FOR F TO BE SPENT IN FY 26. THOSE NUMBERS HAVE YET TO BE DETERMINED BECAUSE THEY'RE CURRENTLY ENCLOSED OUT WITH HHS RIGHT NOW. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT, THEY'RE AGING $1.9 MILLION BELOW BUDGET. UH, VERY MUCH THE SAME REASONS DUE TO LOWER UTILIZATION OF WELLNESS SERVICE AREAS AS WELL AS MAINTENANCE DELAY, MAINTENANCE DELAYS IN THEIR TRANSPORTATION SERVICES. THEY ARE UTILIZING SOME OF THOSE FUNDS. THEY DID GET APPROVAL FROM HHS FOR, UH, TO UTILIZE SOME OF THOSE FUNDS FOR PUBLIC OUTREACH. SO YOU WILL SEE SOME BILLBOARDS BLASTED ACROSS THE CITY TRYING TO GET THE WARD OUT ON SOME OF THESE SERVICES THAT WE DO HAVE FUNDING AVAILABLE IN. AND THE OTHER REMAINING PORTION OF THAT WILL BE SPENT IN FY 26. LEO, CAN I STOP YOU THERE REAL QUICK? YES. JUST FOR YOUR OWN, UH, KNOWLEDGE ON THIS AND WILL CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG. UH, FOR INSTANCE, YOU MAY HAVE SEEN AN ARTICLE IN THE PAPER ON THE NEWS ABOUT, UH, A REDUCTION IN DEMAND FOR, OR PARDON ME, A REDUCTION IN SERVICE FOR MEALS ON WHEELS. WE ARE UNFORTUNATELY ABLE TO UNABLE TO TRANSFER THIS KIND OF MONEY, THESE WELLNESS SERVICE FUNDS TO THE NUTRITION PROGRAM. THAT'S TRUE. SO THEY'RE VERY RESTRICTED IN THEIR USE. AM I SAYING THAT CORRECT? ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. OKAY. SO I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT IF YOU SEE THAT AND YOU THINK, WELL, WHY CAN'T YOU SPEND YOUR MONEY? IT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE VERY LIMITED TO THE TYPE OF CATEGORIES WHERE THAT MONEY IS AVAILABLE THAT HHSC WILL NOT LET US TRANSFER IT TO THE NUTRITION PROGRAMS. YEP. THERE WAS A BLURB THIS MORNING ON WOAI ABOUT, UH, THAT ACOG CAN CUT FUNDING FOR BEAR COUNTY. THEY COULDN'T DO HOME DELIVERY MEALS. RIGHT? AND THAT COURSE IS INACCURATE, BUT, UH, AND THAT'S WHY I FIGURED YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THAT. AND I JUST WANT TO KNOW WE'RE WE, WE WISH WE COULD TRANSFER THOSE MONIES TO NUTRITION FAKE NEWS. THANK YOU FOR THAT, SIR. UM, MBA IS CURRENTLY FOUR $27 BELOW BUDGET. UH, EARLIER IN THE YEAR, DURING THE JULY BUDGET MODIFICATION PROCESS, WE DID ADD THE MERE GRANT MCMULLEN COUNTY PASS THROUGH FUNDS INTO OUR BUDGET. IT WAS LATER DISCOVERED THAT THOSE FUNDS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN OUR BUDGET AS THEY WERE GONNA BE PRIMARILY HANDLED ON THE MCMULLIN SIDE. SO WE'LL HAVE THAT VARIANCE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS YEAR. IDD IS CURRENTLY AT A $221,000 DEFICIT. UH, AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED IN JULY EARLIER THIS YEAR, UH, THAT MEDICAID ADMINISTRATIVE CLAIMING, UH, THE TIME STUDY THAT'S DONE AT THE STATE LEVEL, THE PERCENTAGE DID COME IN LOWER, WHICH RESULT IN THE $112,000 DEFICIT FOR THE QUARTER, UH, PROGRAM HAS IDENTIFIED WAYS TO MITIGATE THIS LOSS HAS ALREADY BEGUN IMPLEMENTING THEM. THEY'RE PRIMARILY IN, UH, SEVERAL OF THEIR PROCESSES, UH, WITH TRAINING, UH, THE STAFF AS WELL AS A COUPLE OTHER AREAS. BUT YOU'LL SEE AND HAILEY'S PRESENTATION THAT THEY ARE FORECASTING TO BEGIN THE YEAR, UH, WITH A DEFICIT IN THE FIRST FEW MONTHS. NOW, IF THESE PROCESSES, UH, DO WORK IN THE WAY THAT THEY HOPE THEY ARE, THEY WILL WORK, THEN WE WILL BRING, THAT IS A WORST CASE SCENARIO AND WE'LL BRING A BUDGET MODIFICATION TO CORRECT THAT. BUDGET. WEATHERIZATION IS CURRENTLY 360,363,000 BELOW BUDGET. UH, THIS IS PRIMARILY IN THE D-O-E-B-I-L GRANT, UH, PROGRAM IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON MULTIFAMILY UNITS AND THEY, UH, DO ANTICIPATE SPENDING ALL OF THOSE FUNDS BY THE END OF THE GRANT YEAR. AND LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, THE ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE OF THINGS. WE'RE CURRENTLY AT 2% BELOW BUDGET. UH, THIS IS WHERE WE WANT TO BE AT THOUGH HALEY WILL ALSO GIVE AN EXPLANATION IN HER PRESENTATION OVER THE ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE OF THINGS AND WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE FORECASTING AN UNDER RECOVERY FOR THE YEAR, AND HOW THAT PLAYS A PART IN OUR FIXED CARRY FORWARD RATE. UH, THAT'S APPROVED BY EDA. THAT DOES CONCLUDE MY PRESENTATION. I'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS, ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD SESSION? [00:10:02] SO I HAVE QUESTIONS. YES, YOUR HONOR. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU JULIO. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. AND THIS IS A QUESTION I DIDN'T ASK EARLIER BECAUSE I HADN'T WRITTEN IT DOWN ON, ON THE, UH, INVESTMENT POLICY. MM-HMM . HE SAID THAT YOURSELF AND JOHN ARE THE TWO PEOPLE. WHY ARE THERE JUST TWO WAS WHY MAYBE A THIRD PERSON THERE OR A AN SO THAT'S HISTORIC C**K HAS ALWAYS JUST UTILIZED THE CFO AND THE, THE CONTROLLER AS THE INVESTMENT OFFICERS AT THE AGENCY. NOW, I DON'T KNOW, UH, THE EXACT VERBIAGE FROM, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, STATE LEVEL ON HOW MANY ARE RECOMMENDED, BUT RECOMMENDED. I CERTAINLY LOOK INTO THAT AND SEE IF WE CAN HAVE A THIRD. OKAY. DO WE HAVE A POLICY THAT SAYS HOW MANY MEMBERS ARE ON THAT BOARD? I MEAN, ARE PART OF THAT COMMITTEE, OF THE INVESTMENT COMMITTEE? BECAUSE THAT'S PROBABLY WHERE IT COMES FROM. HOW SURE. SO THE, THE POLICY THAT I'LL COVER IN THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM, UM, DOES SAY, DOES SAY THAT THE COUNCIL, THE COUNCIL IS RESPONSIBLE, RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INVESTMENT POLICY, BUT I DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW, KNOW THERE'S A COMMITTEE, UH, FOR THE INVESTMENTS. I CAN LOOK INTO THAT THOUGH. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK, YOU'RE WELCOME. YEAH, OBJECTION. YEAH. THE ONLY QUESTION I WANTED TO ASK IS WHAT DO YOU, WHAT IS IT THAT, UM, THAT YOU THINK WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR FROM NOW? I KNOW THAT'S A PRETTY BROAD QUESTION, BUT BASED ON WHAT, WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT AT THIS POINT? UM, FOR WHAT EXACTLY, SIR, FOR FUNDING, ET CETERA? FOR FUNDING. UH, SO FROM WHAT WE'VE HEARD SO FAR, UH, THE ONLY PROGRAMS THAT ARE REALLY IMPACTED, UH, FOR THE AGENCY ARE, UH, WHETHER IT'S ORGANIZATION AND, UH, NATURAL RESOURCES. OKAY. AND, UH, PRIMARILY THE DOE AREA, THE T SIDE OF THINGS. UH, WE DID RECEIVE WARD AS WE ARE GONNA BE FUNDED, FUNDED WITH THE DOE UH, PROGRAM. BUT THERE ARE SOME, SOME, SOME RESTRICTIONS, SOME NEW RESTRICTIONS AND NEW GUIDANCE THAT THEY SENT OUT. UH, THAT HAS TO DO WITH, WITH LIMITING HOW MUCH INDIRECT AND INFORMATION THAT WE CAN CHARGE BACK. UH, SO WE ARE MEETING, UH, AND GAME PLANNING HOW WE'RE GONNA TACKLE THAT GOING FORWARD. BUT IN TERMS OF, UH, FUNDING, UH, YEAH, THOSE ARE THE ONLY TWO THAT I CAN THINK OF. NOW. THERE'S NO TELLING WHAT OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES, AGENCIES ARE GONNA BE, YOU FOLLOW SUIT AND START REDUCING FUNDING, BUT, BUT I, I, I REALLY DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION AT THIS TIME. OKAY. THANK YOU. WE'LL SAY WE'RE STILL NOT OPTIMISTIC ON THE NUTRITION PROGRAM AS WELL. YEAH. SO WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE CUTS COMING DOWN FROM THAT AS WELL. AND THE, UM, I THINK WHAT JULIO'S TALKING ABOUT IS, UH, AS HE SAID, THE INDIRECT RATE, CURRENTLY WE CHARGE 15, WHATEVER WAS 15 POINT DE MINI. THE 15% FOR 26 EVEN. WE'RE LOOKING AT, YEAH, RAISING JUST A LITTLE BIT. UH, DOE IS PUTTING IN A, UH, REGULATION THAT INDIRECT CAN ONLY BE 10% AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN MAKE THAT PROGRAM FUNCTION 10%. SO JUST A ELABOR READ A LITTLE FURTHER, DOEE HAS ISSUED GUIDANCE THAT SAYS YOUR INDIRECT PLUS PLUS YOUR FRINGE CAN ONLY BE 10%. AND CURRENTLY, CURRENTLY APRO HAS AN INDIRECT RATE OF 15% FOR 26 AND 34% FOR PERCENT FOR FRINGE. SO WHEREAS WHEN YOU NORMALLY NOBODY CHARGED THE 49%, THEY'RE SAYING YOU CAN ONLY CHARGE CHARGE 10%. AND SO YOU'RE SEEING THAT ACROSS THE, THE STATE RIGHT NOW AND, AND, AND THE NATION. AND SO, UM, IT'S JUST KIND OF ONE, IT KIND ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE'RE HAVING TO EVALUATE. UH, WE GAVE THE INFORMATION YESTERDAY. WE'LL BE LOOKING INTO THAT HERE PRETTY SOON. YEAH. MAYOR DENNIS AND I WERE AT A FUNCTION THIS MORNING AND JUDGE AKA TALKED ABOUT, TOUCHED ON THE ISSUE OF THE FOOD ISSUE, UH, AND BEING ABLE TO DO IT. IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S HE'S VERY CONCERNED ABOUT. SO WE, WE SEE IT. YEAH, WE SEE IT. UH, WE DO A MONTHLY, UH, FOOD BANK, UH, IN SAN ANTONIO, UH, FOOD BANK. AND THERE THERE'S CONCERNS ABOUT FOOD EVEN GETTING DOWN FOR LIKE CHRISTMAS. WE TYPICALLY DO TURKEYS AND HAMS, UH, BIRDS A LITTLE BIT FOR OUR FOLKS. AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO GUARANTEES ON A LOT OF THAT STUFF COMING DOWN. AND YOU SEE THAT, UH, JUST THE, NOT EVEN JUST THE FOOD, BUT THE QUALITY OF FOOD. YEAH. YEAH. SO IN SEIN WE'VE INCREASED OUR NUMBER COUNTY AND, UM, CITY INCREASED OUR NUMBER OF FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS. WE DO A COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING MEAL AND WE INCREASED IT BY 100% BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT THAT WAS GONNA BE AN ISSUE. INSTEAD OF A THOUSAND, WE'RE SERVING 2000. YEP. IT'S A HUGE ISSUE. AND WE'VE ALSO CUT OFF AND NOT ADDING ANY NEW PEOPLE FOR OUR MEALS ON WHEELS. AND THAT'S A REAL PROBLEM FOR US. AND SO I'VE BEEN ADVOCATING AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL AS WELL AS I COULD, SIMPLY BECAUSE THESE SCARCITY IS NOT A GOOD THING. IT'S NOT A GOOD THING. [00:15:02] ANY OTHER DISCUSSIONS? NOT WHEN WE [7. Discuss and appropriate action on the recommendation to approve AACOG's 2026 Public Investment - Julio Elizondo.] MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, DISCUSS AND APPROPRIATE ACTION ON THE RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE ACCO 2026 PUBLIC INVESTMENT. THANK MR. CHAIRMAN. THE PUBLIC FUNDS INVESTMENT ACT REQUIRE AN UPDATE TO OUR INVESTMENT POLICY POLICY. THERE HAVE BEEN NO AMENDMENTS TO INVESTMENT ACT AS OF, UH, SINCE 2019, BUT WE ARE RECOMMENDING TWO CHANGES TO OUR POLICY. UH, THE FIRST CHANGES ON PAGE THREE OF THE ATTACHMENT THAT YOU ALL HAVE, WHICH IS ADDING FOUR NEW, UH, FUND SOURCES TO CHOOSE FROM. WHEN SELECTING A VENDOR FOR TRAINING EARLIER THIS YEAR OR EARLIER THIS MONTH, UH, JOHN AND MYSELF ATTENDED, UH, THE TRAINING THAT WE RECEIVE ONCE EVERY TWO YEARS, AND IT WAS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU HAVE A MULTIPLE SELECTION OF, OF CHOICES THAT YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM. SO WE'RE ADDING IN TTML, TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY, LONE STAR INVESTMENT POOL AND TECH POOL. THE SECOND REVISION IS ON PAGE NINE IS AND IS OVER SPECIAL PURPOSE FUNDS. ACOG CURRENTLY HAS OVER 25 SPECIAL PURPOSE FUNDS AND THE CURRENTLY POLICY, THE CURRENT POLICY ONLY LISTS EIGHT OF THOSE WITH SEVERAL OF THOSE OF THOSE BEING OUTDATED. RATHER THAN UPDATE THIS LIST EVERY YEAR, STAFF IS RECOMMENDING CHANGING THE LANGUAGE TO STATE ACOG HAS SPECIAL PURPOSE FUNDS AND A GENERAL FUND STAFF. STAFF RECOMMENDS THE APPROVAL OF THE 25 PUBLIC FUNDS INVESTMENT POLICY, WHICH WAS LAST APPROVED AT THE BOARD MEETING IN OCTOBER OF 24. I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE. I, I POINTED OUT IT DOES SAY THE CFO AND CONTROLLER ARE THE IN IN THIS DOCUMENT. YES. YES. SO IF WE WANTED TO CHANGE IT, WE WOULD HAVE TO CHANGE THE DOCUMENT. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. MOTION? YES. THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM WILL BE SO MOVED. I SECOND MOTION IN A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN THE FAVOR. RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND OPPOSED? IT'S SOME CALISTHENICS ISN'T. YES, YES. MOTION BE CALS WE'LL HAVE TO DO LEFT HAND TOO. YES, THAT IS FINE. YES, SIR. ALRIGHT, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR BY RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND BY OPPOSED TO THAT AMENDMENT? NONE. OKAY. ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, DISCUSSION [8. Discussion and appropriate action on the recommendation to approve the proposed 2026 AACOG Budget - Haleigh Heins. A. 2026 Annual Budget Summaries and Spreadsheets 1. 2026 Agency Roll Up 2. 2026 Program and Titan Complex Budgets 3. 2026 Administrative Budgets (Indirect) 4. 2026 General Fund/Unrestricted Budgets] AND APPROPRIATE ACTION ON THE RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE THE PROPOSED 2026 A COG BUDGET. A GOOD MORNING, MR. CHAIRMAN, A MEMBER OF THE MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. MY NAME, C HINES, I'M THE BUDGET ADMINISTRATOR HERE AT ACOG. THE ITEM I'M BRINGING BEFORE YOU TODAY IS THE 2026 PROPOSED AGENCY BUDGET. HERE IS AN OUTLINE OF WHAT WILL BE COVERED, WHICH INCLUDES THE BUDGET OVERVIEW, BUDGET BY CATEGORY, THE AGENCY ROLLUP FUND BALANCE PROJECTIONS. THE BUDGET GUIDANCE IS USED TO CREATE THE BUDGET FOLLOWED BY THE PROGRAM, ADMINISTRATIVE GENERAL FUND, AND UNRESTRICTED BUDGETS. ACOG'S OVERVIEW INCLUDES THE 2025 BOARD APPROVED BUDGET WITH JULY MODIFICATIONS AND ANY AMENDMENTS THROUGH SEPTEMBER. THIS IS IN THE AMOUNT OF $102.3 MILLION. OUR 2026 PROPOSED BUDGET IS $95.8 MILLION. THIS IS A DECREASE OF $6.5 MILLION AND IT'S IN THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS FOR ALAMO AND BEAR AGING. WE HAVE A DECREASE OF 4.9 MILLION AND THIS IS, THIS BUDGET DOES NOT INCLUDE CARRYOVER FUNDS. IT ALSO HAS LOWER FUNDING FOR TITLE THREE AND SEVEN SERVICES. IN ADDITION TO LOWER PROJECTED FUNDING FOR NUTRITION SERVICES AND STATE GENERAL REVENUE. OUR ART DEPARTMENT IS INCREASING BY 3 MILLION, AND THIS IS DUE TO INCREASED CAPITAL FOR THE PURCHASE OF 34. BUSES. MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS IS DECREASING BY 1.1 MILLION. AND IN 2025, WE HAD TWO MILITARY INSTALLATION RESILIENCE REVIEW MERE GRANTS THAT WILL NOT CONTINUE OR WILL NOT OCCUR IN 2026. PUBLIC SAFETY IS DECREASING BY 3.7 MILLION AND THIS IS DUE TO THE COMPLETION OF THE COPS GRANT IN 2025. WEATHERIZATION IS DECREASING BY 2.1 MILLION. THIS BUDGET, UH, DOES NOT INCLUDE FUNDING FROM THE PROGRAM'S LIHEAP AND DOE GRANTS, AS WE CURRENTLY ARE UNCERTAIN THAT WE WILL RECEIVE THESE WHENEVER WE CREATED THE BUDGET. OUR GENERAL FUND AND ACOG COMPLEX IS INCREASING BY 2.3 MILLION. THE, IN THE GENERAL FUND THERE IS ABOUT 800,000 BUDGETED FOR PUBLIC SAFETY AS THEIR POTENTIAL MOVE TO THE N-E-I-S-D BUILDING AND AN ACOG COMPLEX. WE HAVE AN INCREASE OF 1.5 MILLION DUE TO THE REPLACEMENT OF THE CHILLING AND COOLING TOWER FOR THE BUILDING. HERE IS OUR AGENCY ROLLUP. THIS HAS OUR PROPOSED BUDGET OF 96 MILLION [00:20:01] WITH 297 FTES. STARTING WITH OUR PROGRAMS. WE HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 84.3 MILLION WITH 266.09 FTES. OUR PROGRAMS ARE FUNDED BY ALL GRANTS AND PROGRAM INCOME. MOVING OVER TO OUR ADMINISTRATIVE INDIRECT BUDGETS, THESE ARE PROPOSED AT 5.7 MILLION WITH 27.73 FTES. OUR ADMIN DEPARTMENTS ARE FUNDED THROUGH THE INDIRECT COLLECTED FROM PROGRAM. MOVING TO OUR GENERAL FUND, WE HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 1.9 MILLION WITH 0.40 FTES. THIS IS FUNDED BY MEMBERSHIP DUES FROM CREDIT CARD REBATES, EMS AND ADMINISTRATIVE FEES. LAST, WE HAVE OUR ACOG COMPLEX WITH A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 3.8 MILLION WITH 2.65 FTES. THIS IS FUNDED BY A PROGRAM SHARE OF EXPENSES AND THIRD PARTY TENANTS. HERE IS OUR AGENCY ROLL UP WITH PROGRAM DETAIL AND FUND BALANCES. STARTING WITH OUR PROGRAM BUDGETS, OUR PROJECTED BEGINNING FUND BALANCE IS 15.4 MILLION WITH TOTAL REVENUES OF 87.4 MILLION TOTAL EXPENDITURES AND INDIRECT OF 84.3 MILLION FOR A NET OVERALL INCREASE OF 3.1 MILLION, WHICH WILL BRING OUR ENDING FUND BALANCE TO 18.5 MILLION. MOVING TO OUR ADMINISTRATIVE INDIRECT, WE HAVE BEGINNING UNDER RECOVERY OF 151,000, TOTAL EXPENDITURES OF 5.7 MILLION TOTAL RECOVERIES IN ADMIN AND IT OF 5.5 MILLION, WHICH BRINGS US TO A NET UNDER RECOVERY OF 171,000 FOR A TOTAL UNDER RECOVERY OF 322,000. ACOG OPERATES ON FIXED CARRY FORWARD RATES ON A TWO YEAR SCHEDULE. SO THIS PROJECTED UNDER RECOVERY WILL IMPACT THE RATES FOR 2028. A FEW PROGRAMS BUDGETS ARE PENDING CONFIRMATION OF THEIR FUNDING, WHICH IF AWARDED, WILL INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF INDIRECT COLLECTED. AND THIS WILL BRING DOWN THE UNDER RECOVERY THAT WE'RE PROJECTING. OUR GENERAL FUND HAS A BEGINNING FUND BALANCE OF 25.4 MILLION, AND THIS DOES INCLUDE THE AGENCY'S FIXED ASSETS. WE HAVE TOTAL REVENUES OF 1 MILLION, TOTAL EXPENDITURES OF 1.9 MILLION FOR A NET DECREASE OF 909,000, BRINGING OUR ENDING FUND BALANCE AND FIXED ASSETS TO 24.5 MILLION. ACOG COMPLEX HAS TOTAL REVENUES OF 1.9 MILLION, TOTAL EXPENDITURES OF 3.8 MILLION FOR A NET OVERALL DECREASE OF 1.9 MILLION. OUR AGENCY TOTAL WILL HAVE AN INCREASE OF 159,000 TO OUR FUND BALANCE, WHICH WILL BRING OUR ENDING FUND BALANCE TO 4.8 MILLION. HERE ARE OUR FUND BALANCE PROJECTIONS BROKEN OUT BY PROGRAM AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER, 2025. WE HAVE A TOTAL FUND BALANCE OF 40.3 MILLION. FOR OUR 2025 FORECAST. WE PROJECT AN INCREASE OF 557,000, RESULTING IN A TOTAL PROJECTED FUND BALANCE OF 40.8 MILLION. FOR OUR 2026, WE'RE PROJECTING AN INCREASE OF FUND BALANCE OF 330,000 TO BRING OUR PROJECTED ENDING FUND BALANCE TO 41.2 MILLION. HALEY, CAN I STOP YOU RIGHT THERE REAL QUICK? YES. I JUST WANT Y'ALL TO SEE, IF YOU LOOK AT IED, WE'RE PROJECTING A LOSS THROUGH THE YEAR OF ONE 169,000. UH, THIS YEAR THE PROGRAM HAS A WHOLE LOST 310,000. UH, AND SO IF YOU REMEMBER, THIS IS ONE THAT WE GET FULLY UP TO STAFF, THEN THE PEOPLE LEAVE, THEN THE SERVICES CAN'T BE DELIVERED. AND WE'RE IN THIS VICIOUS CYCLE OF LOW PAY HEAVY CASE LOADS. CAN'T TRAIN 'EM FAST ENOUGH. AND SO, UH, JULIO REFERENCED IT EARLIER, BUT VIRGINIA IS WORKING. SO SHE'S REALLY TAKING FULL COMMAND OF THE PROGRAM WITH JACOB'S, UH, DEPARTURE. UH, SHE IS, UH, IMPLEMENTING SOME NEW TRAINING. WE'RE LOOKING TO DO PROCESSES AND WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME AUTOMATION OF SOME THINGS THAT SHE DISCOVERED TO BE DONE. AND, UM, WE ARE, UH, OPTIMISTIC THAT THOSE CHANGES WILL RESULT IN ACTUALLY SOME POSITIVE INCOME BY THE END OF THE YEAR. BUT I'VE ASKED THEM TO AT LEAST, UH, PROJECT A LOSS GOING FORWARD. JUST, YOU KNOW, AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION, BE MORE CONSERVATIVE ON WHAT WE CAN ACHIEVE, WHETHER WE WILL FULLY WIPE OUT THAT LOSS OR NOT, I DON'T KNOW, BUT WE'RE HOPING TO SEE SOME BENEFITS OF IT. AND IF WE DO GET THINGS SHIPPED RIGHTED, UH, WE'LL MAKE A BUDGET MODIFICATION BACK IN, IN JULY AND, AND, UH, CORRECT FOR THAT. BUT I DO WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WE'RE [00:25:01] HAVING SOME DIFFICULTIES IN THAT PROGRAM. AI, AGAIN, FIX THAT. , WE'RE LOOKING AT PART OF AI, WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT AS WELL. WE'RE AT, WE ARE AT DC SO, UM, EXPENDITURES FOR AN AI PLATFORM THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ROLL OUT ACROSS THE AGENCY WHERE WE THINK IT MAY BE BENEFICIAL. SO WE'LL SEE. THAT'S PART OF THOSE PROCESSES TO TRY TO MAKE IT MORE EFFICIENT FOR OUR PEOPLE TO HANDLE THEIR CASELOAD. SO WE SHALL SEE IF IT, IF IT CAN DELIVER. WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF TESTING IT AND, UH, REVIEWING IT RIGHT NOW. THANK YOU, HALEY. I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT. THANK YOU. OUR BUDGET GUIDANCE FOR 2026 CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING. WE HAVE BUDGETED OUR INDIRECT RATE AT 15%. THIS IS AN INCREASE OF 0.26% FROM 2025. THIS RATE ALSO MATCHES THE DI MINIMIS RATE. OUR COMMUNICATION IT COSTS PER FTE IS BUDGETED AT $400, WHICH IS AN INCREASE OF $30 PER FTE FROM 2025. ACOG IS CONTINUING TO MAINTAIN THE CURRENT SECURITY POSTURE AND IN DOING SO, WE MUST RAISE THE RATE TO ADJUST FOR INCREASED SECURITY COSTS. OUR COLA WE BUDGETED AT 3.5% FOR ALL STAFF. THIS EXCLUDES SENIOR LEADERSHIP WHO IS BUDGETED AT 2.7%. THIS 2.7% IS THE ANTICIPATED COLA FROM THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION FOR MERIT INCREASES, WE'RE PROPOSING A TIERED STRUCTURE. THIS HAS STAFF ELIGIBLE AT A MAX OF 5%. SENIOR DIRECTORS AT A MAX OF 3%, THE DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT 2%, AND THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ELIGIBLE FOR 1%. LASTLY, WE HAVE OUR MANAGER BONUSES THAT ARE BUDGETED AT 1%. SO LEMME CUT IN THERE AS WELL, HALEY. SO I WANTED TO BRING YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS NEW STRUCTURE. UM, WELL, LET ME ADDRESS THE COLA FIRST. AS YOU RECALL FROM LAST YEAR'S PRESENTATION, YOU MAY RECALL OUR STAFF REALLY NEVER RECOVERED FROM CO FROM COVID, RIGHT? WITH THOSE RAPID, UH, INCREASES IN INFLATION. AND WE HAD BUDGETED OR PROVIDED 3% COLAS AT TIME WHEN I THINK ONE OF 'EM WAS 8.9%. SO OUR STAFF IS STILL, AND I WISH I HAD THAT, I WISH I HAD INCLUDED THIS. I ASKED JOHN TO WORK THIS UP YESTERDAY. UM, EVEN WITH THE THREE POINT A HALF PERCENT COLON, WHICH IS ABOVE THE PROJECTED 2.7, UH, OUR STAFF WILL, AND, AND LAST YEAR THE BOARD GENERALLY GRANTED A 4% COLUMN. UM, OUR STAFF WILL STILL BE, UH, A NEGATIVE SIX POINT A HALF PERCENT BEHIND, UH, THE CPI FOR THOSE YEARS FROM 2024. UH, SO THIS IS WHY I'M ASKING YOU FOR THREE AND A HALF PERCENT, UH, BUT SENIOR LEADERSHIP, UH, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT'S REFLECTED IN THE NEXT STRUCTURE. AND THAT TIERED STRUCTURE, SENIOR LEADERSHIP HAS HAD, UM, SIGNIFICANT GAINS AND REALLY, UH, IN MY VIEW, IT'S UNSUSTAINABLE, UH, UNDER THE PREVIOUSLY EXISTING STRUCTURE. AND SO WE'RE KEEPING THAT AT 2.7% IS WHAT THE CPI WILL BE PROJECTED AT. SO GETTING BACK, YOU KNOW, IS ACOG'S POLICY HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO ALLOW ERIC BONUS UP TO 5%. AND I FELT THAT GIVEN THE DECREASES AND THE, LET'S JUST SAY TIMES OF AUSTERITY FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UM, I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS A GOOD LOOK TO BE HAVING, HOW 5% BONUS IS TO LEADERSHIP. SO I REDUCED THAT BONUS FOR OUR MANAGERS AND ABOVE, UH, 1% IS THE POTENTIAL. AND I THINK IT'LL BE VERY HARD THIS YEAR GOING FORWARD FOR ME TO APPROVE BONUSES. THERE'S EXTRA REALLY EXTRAORDINARY EFFORT. UH, BUT I DID WANT TO BUDGET SOME MONEY IN THERE FOR THAT. UM, AND THEN REGARDING THE STAFF, ONCE AGAIN, BECAUSE THEY ARE BEHIND THE CURVE, WE DID KEEP THE THREE TO 5% POTENTIAL. I DID LIMIT IT FOR SENIOR DIRECTORS, AS YOU CAN SEE, ONE TO 3% THE DEPUTY EXECUTIVE, WHICH WOULD BE AS ONE TO 2%, AND THEN, UH, MYSELF AT 1%. SO 1% MERIT AND 1% BONUS. SO ELIMINATING THAT POTENTIAL FOR THREE TO 5%. SO, AND I KNOW THAT SOME OF YOU IN THE PAST HAVE HAD CONCERNS AT HOW FAST, UH, PARTICULARLY MY PAY OR THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S PAY WAS RISING AT A 5% HERE IN FIVE, 5% BONUS, 5% MERIT. AND SO ONCE AGAIN, I, I, I SHARE THAT VIEW. I THINK THERE'S, WE'RE SEEING TOO MUCH OF A CONVERGENCE BETWEEN WHAT SENIOR LEADERSHIP IS GETTING AND WHAT THE RANK AND FILE STAFF IS GETTING. I'VE NEVER SEEN MONEY GO TO THEM. AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING. I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT TO YOUR ATTENTION. SO CLIFF, WOULD IT BE SMART TO TAKE PART OF THE MERIT AND MAKE THE COLA LARGER TO BRING EVERYBODY UP, REDUCE PART OF THE MERIT PAY, SHIFT THAT TO THE COLA TO BRING EVERYBODY UP TO WHERE WE [00:30:01] SHOULD BE, TO KEEP TO BE EVEN. I THINK IF WE DID THAT, I THINK I'M GONNA ASK JULIO TO DEFER, BUT I THINK IF WE DID IT ALL THE WAY ACROSS, I MEAN, IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT TO OUR BUDGET FOR THE, GIVEN THE SIZE OF THE POOL. SO HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH PERCENTAGE ARE YOU TALKING TO, TO BRING A HOLE TO BANK? WELL, 3.5 COLA IS $578,000. YOU YOUR MERIT, 456,000. SO IF YOU MOVE PART OF THAT TO YOUR COLA TO BRING THE WHOLE STAFF UP, HOW FAR COULD YOU GET REDUCE THE MERIT. YEAH. HOW FAR COULD YOU GO IF YOU'RE TRYING TO MAKE EVERYBODY WHOLE? SO IF YOU DID, WE CAN DEFINITELY ANALYZE, ANALYZE THAT PRIOR TO THAT. YOU KNOW, THAT'S A, A INTERESTING IDEA. AND WE HAVE, I'M GONNA ASK DEIDRE TO WEIGH IN TOO ON WHAT, YOU KNOW, OUR MERIT, WE'VE ALWAYS LOOKED AT MERIT AND OUR BONUS FOR, FOR MANAGERS AND ABOVE EVERYBODY ELSE IS ELIGIBLE FOR, UH, MERIT. UH, WHAT'S YOUR THOUGHTS? AND BECAUSE HE, UH, THE JUDGE, YOU JUST PUT THROUGH THAT OUT THERE. I, I'M JUST THINKING THAT IF, IF YOU DO THAT, UH, THE MERIT PART, UH, IF YOU DECREASE THAT AMOUNT, YOU WOULD REALLY, REALLY ALIGN TO, TO HAVE THE INDIVIDUALS TRULY MEET THE DEMAND OF EARNING THAT MERIT BONUS BECAUSE THAT NUMBER WOULD BE DRASTICALLY DECREASED. I REALLY DON'T SEE ANYTHING OPPOSED TO IT, TO BE TOTALLY HONEST, TO AT LEAST HALF THAT AMOUNT INTO THE MERIT, I MEAN INTO THE COLA STRUCTURE. UM, I REALLY DON'T SEE A NEGATIVE TO IT. BUT AGAIN, JULIO, THE IMPACT TO YOUR PROGRAM BUDGETS IS THE SUSTAINABILITY IS THE ONLY THING THAT I'M HESITANT ON SAYING THAT, THAT THEY CAN SUSTAIN SUCH THE WAY THE MERIT IS STRUCTURED WELL, IT WOULDN'T GET THAT MARRIAGE. SO YOU, YOU CAN WEIGH OUT THAT. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? IF YOU, WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS ON A MARRIAGE STRUCTURE, NOT ALL, UH, EMPLOYEES RECEIVE IT. IF YOU'RE MOVING A LARGE NUMBER NOW THEY HAVE NO PROGRAMS, HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO BE ABLE TO, UH, TO UH, TO CARRY THAT AMOUNT ON THEIR BUDGETS. YEAH. YEAH. AND THAT'S THE QUESTION, CAN THEY SUSTAIN IT? WELL, WHAT IS IT? YOU HAVE TO DO IT FORWARD IF YOU HAVE TO DO IT ONE TIME AND TO GET 'EM AS CLOSE TO HOLD AS YOU CAN GET 'EM, AND THEN GO BACK TO THAT, THAT MERIT IN, IN, BUT WHAT IS THE AVERAGE MERIT? I KNOW THAT'S PUTTING YOU ON THE SPOT, BUT, BUT THE AVERAGE MERIT 'CAUSE THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS THE AVERAGE AND TAKE THAT PIECE AND I WOULD, ABOUT 4% IS ABOUT AVERAGE. IT'S NOT MANY THAT WE BUDGET FOR 4%. YES. SPECIFICALLY IN THE PAST. WELL, SO THEN THAT'S A 1% MOVE OVER, BUT THE, THE ONLY THING IS THE, THE WELL, SO THE MERIT GOES TO THE BASE, BUT IT WOULD BE SOME PROGRAMS CAN'T SUSTAIN THE THE INCREASE, THE CONTINUED INCREASE THE CONTINUED INC. YES. CONTINUED YEAR AFTER YEAR. THAT'S THE CONCERN I WOULD HAVE IS THAT, SO WE MAKE IT SO THE MERIT IS A LUMP SUM AWARD. IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT ATTRIBUTED TO YOUR BASE PAY. NO MERIT IS ATTRIBUTED TO YOUR BASE PAY. IT'S JUST THAT IT'S NOT, EVERYONE DON'T RECEIVE IT. SO WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT BUDGETING YOUR, UH, PROGRAM BUDGET, AND I REALLY WANT HOPE THEY'RE, UH, WEIGHING IN ON THIS. WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT SETTING YOUR PROGRAM BUDGET, YOU'RE NOT SETTING EVERYONE AT THIS HIGH AMOUNT. SEE THAT'S WHY YOU CAN ONLY MAKE, UH, THEY PLAN FOR THE THREE TO 3.5300000000000002%, 3.5% THE PLAN FOR AN AVERAGE. AND IT VARIES ACROSS PERFORMANCE. YES. BUT THAT MERIT IS NOT GIVEN TO EVERY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL IN THAT DEPARTMENT. THAT MEANS THAT YOU MAY HAVE OVER INFLATED YOUR BUDGET TO WHERE YOU CAN'T SUSTAIN IT. POSSIBLY. NOW AGAIN, I NEED MY BUDGETING CODE TO WEIGH IN THERE. YEAH. SO, SO THAT 5 75, 78 IS THE, THE EXTREME MILLION DOLLARS WHAT YOUR, YOU ALLOTTED OVER YOUR, YOUR BUDGET. NOW WHAT SHE'S SAYING IS THAT TYPICALLY IT DOESN'T COME INTO THAT NUMBER. THE ACTUAL SIDE OF THAT ACTUALLY COMES IN A LOT LESS LOWER THAN THAT EVERY YEAR. SO I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, I LOVE THE IDEA BECAUSE I'D LIKE TO SEE OUR STAFF GET UP TO AS MUCH AS THEY CAN GET. SO THEN, BUT THE PROBLEM IS, IS IT'S YEAR AFTER YEAR, ONCE IT GETS TO THAT BASE, YOU KNOW, THEN WE HAVE ALL THE FRINGE THAT'S ATTACHED TO IT AS WELL. SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROGRAMS THE NEXT IMPACT. BUT IT WOULDN'T HURT FOR US TO TRY IT, YOU KNOW, TO SEE WHAT THOSE NUMBERS LOOK LIKE. SO I, I DON'T WANT, I THINK IT'S NOT A BAD IDEA. AND IF, UH, IF CLIFF, IF YOU AGREE, WE CAN, UH, RUN THE NUMBERS, HAVE, UH, OUR COUNTY TEAM RUN THE NUMBERS AND SEE WHEN MOVING HALF OF THAT AMOUNT INTO THE, UH, COLA STRUCTURE TO SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. IT DOESN'T, OR JUST A ONE TO 1.5. LOOK WHAT PROGRAMS CAN SUSTAIN MAKE THE AVERAGE, WE CAN LOOK AT WHAT PROGRAMS CAN SUSTAIN IT AND DO SOMETHING AND REPORT BACK. CAN WE DO THIS IN A WEEK, THE NEXT FOR THE BOARD MEETING? YEAH, WE DO IT ALL TIME [00:35:01] AT THE AND YES. AND BRING IT TO THE POOL BOARD. UM, WITH THAT RECOMMENDATION, I DON'T THINK IT'S ANYTHING HARMFUL IN TRYING TO, UH, PLAY WITH THE NUMBERS TO SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. WELL, IF OUR GOAL IS TO BRING EVERYBODY UP TO WHERE THEY, THEY'RE BUYING POWER STAYS IN SAME, I'D RATHER DO THAT THAN TO GIVE MERIT RAISES BECAUSE THE PEOPLE THAT WE'RE GONNA GET MERIT RAISED, THEY'RE STILL GONNA GET THE INCREASED COLA, RIGHT? SO THEY'RE GONNA GET MORE MONEY ALSO. AND THAT WAY WE GET EVERYBODY UP AND ONCE WE GET EVERYBODY UP, THEN WE GO BACK AND CONSIDER MERIT ONCE WE BECOME EVEN AGAIN. HUNDRED PERCENT. HOW MANY POSITIONS THE GET A BONUS LEFT ALL MANAGER AND I, AND I HAD A, I DON'T HAVE LIST IN FRONT OF ME, BUT HOW MANY OF 'EM ARE THERE'S ABOUT, IS IT THIS 27? ABOUT 2025 MAYBE? YES. I'M GONNA SAY 27 IS MY VIOLATION. NO MORE THAN 27 MANAGERS AND ABOVE WERE ELIGIBLE FOR BONUS. BUT LIKE I SAY, REALLY I BUDGETED THAT 1% REALLY ONLY FOR, OR ARE REQUESTED THAT THEY BUDGET THAT 1%, UH, ONLY FOR HAVE A LITTLE WIGGLE ROOM FOR REALLY EXTRAORDINARY PERFORMANCE THIS YEAR. I, I THINK WE'LL LOOK AT IT. MR. KELLY. I I'D LIKE TO TAKE A LOOK AT A ONE TIME RESET JUST TO SEE WHAT, WHAT THE COST IS. SAY THAT AGAIN JUDGE. THIS IS A ONE TIME RESET. I'D LIKE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE COST TO SEE IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN'T DO. WELL IT'S NOT A ONE TIME, SO IF THAT MERIT, MERIT PAY, WE COULD DO IT AS A BONUS. BUT MERIT PAY GOES TO THEIR BASE AND IS A CONTINUED OBLIGATION. YES. IT'S A CHANGE TO THE PROCESS FOR ONE TIME TO GET THEM THERE AND THEN GO BACK TO THE NORMAL PROCESSES. WHAT I THINK I HEAR, I TAKE A LOOK, SEE, CAN WE DO SOMETHING? WE DID LET BOTH OF THEM GO TO THE BASE, THE MERIT, DAKOTA, TO BOTH GO TO THE BASE. IT'S SO DIFFERENT. I THINK, I MEAN IT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN WORKING FOR SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE TO TRY TO GET THEM BACK UP BECAUSE THEY TOOK SUCH A BIG HIT. SO I IDEA TO TRY TO REDISTRIBUTE THAT MERIT. BUT THE PROBLEM IS, LIKE I SAY, SOME OF OUR PROGRAMS CAN'T SUSTAIN ANY, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MERIT SCENARIOS SO THAT YOU CAN SEE A, A 1 0 1 0.5 IN ADDITION, JUST TO GIVE YOU A, A CLEAR PICTURE. WE CAN RUN A A FEW SCENARIOS. OKAY. PEOPLE GET 1%. WELL, I I'M NOT REAL BRIGHT. OKAY, BUT, BUT YOU SAID THE MERIT GOES TO THE BASE, MERIT DOESN'T, THE COLA GOES TO THE BASE. SO WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE? HOW YOU DO IT? IT'S ALL GONNA INCREASE THE BASE IF IT'S NOT SUSTAINABLE. 'CAUSE ONLY MERIT IS ONLY GIVEN TO CERTAIN PEOPLE THAT ARE RECOMMENDED MANAGER, BUT IT'S STILL $456,000. YES, HE'S, YEAH, TAKE THE BUDGET AND AND APPLY IT TO COLA, DON'T DO MERIT IS WHAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING FOR THIS TIME. BUT IT ONLY, BUT LIKE I SAY, IT'S JUST, REMEMBER IT'S DIFFERENT POTS OF MONEY, SO WE'VE GOT TO MAKE SURE THOSE BUDGETS I SEE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT I, I DO THINK MERIT IS STILL IMPORTANT, UM, FOR THE MANAGERS AND FOR WORKFLOW AND FOR GOAL SETTING. I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT. I DO THINK TRYING TO WORK ON A STEP PLAN TO BRING 'EM TO WHOLE IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT. AND WE'VE ALL DONE IT IN OUR ENTITIES WHEN WE'VE DONE SALARY SURVEYS AND CHANGED THAT. UM, AND I KNOW WE LOOK AT THOSE GAPS AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS. SO I THINK, UM, IT'S WORTH BEING LOOKED AT, UH, THAT WOULD BE MOST ADVANTAGEOUS TO THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT. SO LIKE I SAID, I DO BELIEVE PROVIDE A FEW SCENARIOS WE COULD GIVE, UH, LET'S JUST TAKE A LOOK. LET US LOOK AT WORKING THAT, THE BUDGETS THAT CAN, WHAT PROGRAMS CAN SUSTAIN IT AND, AND PROJECT A LITTLE BIT FORWARD AND THEN COME BACK NEXT WEEK FOR THE FULL BOARD. YOU'LL BE GLAD I RETIRE ONCE YOU EXIST. NO, IT'S A GREAT IDEA. I DIDN'T, WELL I LOVE GOING TO MERIT TOO BECAUSE IT DOES IMPACT THEIR RETIREMENT AND GOES TO THEIR, THEIR BENEFITS AND GOES TO THE T-C-E-R-S COUNTRY. SO I THINK IT'S A A GREAT IDEA. WE IT'S A GREAT IDEA TOO. I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT IT. SO IS THERE A, SO WE'VE GONE UP ON OUR, OUR INDIRECT COST OF GONE FROM 11 15%. IT WAS, WELL WE WERE 11. WHAT? WELL WE BACK IN 27, SO WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN AROUND THE 12%. I'VE BEEN, I GOT HERE IN 2017 AND WE'RE AT 1290. OKAY. SO WE'VE STILL, OKAY, SO WE'VE GONE UP AND THEY ARE GOING UP AND THEY'RE PROJECTED TO GO UP AGAIN AND WE GOT, THAT'S PART OF WHAT I WAS GONNA TALK TO YOU ABOUT. AS WE GET A LITTLE FURTHER, WE'RE HAVING TO ABSORB SOME OF THE POSITIONS INTO THE GENERAL FUND, UH, SO THAT I CAN, UH, HOPEFULLY REPOSITION THESE PEOPLE AS OPENING BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE OF THE CUTS THAT WE'RE SEEING AND WEATHERIZATION, PARDON ME, IN NATURAL RESOURCES AND, UH, GUIDANCE FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CAME DOWN THAT WE COULDN'T PAY SOME OF OUR PUBLIC RELATIONS STAFF OUT OF PROGRAM FUNDS. SO YES, YOU'RE HITTING THE NAIL RIGHT ON THE HEAD. YEAH, SO MY POINT BEING THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GONE UP ON, WE'VE GOT TO, WE'VE GOTTA FIGURE OUT HOW TO BRING THE BASE UP ON, ON THE SAGE AND I THINK THAT Y'ALL ARE CREATIVE ENOUGH, CREATIVE ENOUGH TO GET THAT JOB AND [00:40:01] IF IT MEANS INDIRECT GOES TO 15 AND A QUARTER OR WHATEVER, IT'S, I MEAN, THERE'S, THERE'S GOTTA BE A WEAPON. SO I'M THRILLED TO HAVE YOUR SUPPORT. SO, WELL THE INDIRECT WILL, WE CAN DO THAT ASK, AS SHE MENTIONED IN ONE OF THE PREVIOUS SLIDES, THE MAJORITY OF OUR STAFF IS AT THE PROGRAM LEVEL. SO THE ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE OF THINGS, WE ONLY HAVE 180, HOW MANY STAFF DID YOU SAY? 27. 27. SO THE INDIRECT RATE WON'T REALLY BE IMPACTED BY THIS, UH, BY THE STUDY OF ADDING TO ADDITIONAL THE ADDITIONAL UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT I'M SAYING THAT, THAT YOU COULD, YOU COULD ADD TO THE INDIRECT RATE IF YOU HAD TO, TO, TO GET THIS ACHIEVED. THAT'S, THERE'S, THERE'S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SCAN THE CAP. I'M IS THAT, SO LET, LET US WORK WITH THOSE NUMBERS AND WE'LL GET BACK NEXT WEEK. FANTASTIC. SORRY. THANK YOU. SO WAYS TO GO. SO , HERE'S OUR BUDGET SUMMARY FOR 2026. I'LL REVIEW EACH PROGRAM AND THEIR MAJOR INITIATIVES FOR 2026 AS WE GO THROUGH THE NEXT SLIDES. IN THE TOP RIGHT CORNER OF THESE SLIDES, YOU'LL FIND REFERENCE PAGES THAT MATCH TO YOUR 2026 PROPOSED BUDGET PACKETS. OVERALL, THE PROGRAM BUDGET HAS REVENUES OF 87.4 MILLION EXPENDITURES OF 84.3 MILLION FOR A NET OVERALL INCREASE OF 3.1 MILLION. TO HIGHLIGHT OUR MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS IS ADDING 3.2 MILLION TO FUND BALANCE. AND AS CLIFF MENTIONED EARLIER AND POINTED OUT, OUR IDD IS A DEFICIT OF 169,000. HALEY, I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU AGAIN. SO IDD IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHERE THIS, WE PUT ALL THIS INTO MERIT PAY. OUR LARGEST PROGRAM, ROUGHLY 150 EMPLOYEES, THEY'RE ALREADY RUNNING A DEFICIT. SO THIS GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF THE IMPACT ON, WE SAID, BUT WE SAID WE'RE NOT PAYING 'EM ENOUGH TO KEEP 'EM. SO THAT WOULD HELP, HELP THAT. I MEAN THAT'S HOPEFULLY IT WOULD BE AN EXPERIMENT. WE COULD STAY, BUT WE COULD ALSO OFFSET IT IN THOSE INDIRECT COSTS, WHICH IS NOTE YOU GUYS CAN, I'M NOT A BUDGET PERSON, MY PLEASE CAN TELL YOU THAT AND DON'T EVEN LET HER HAVE THE MONEY. I ALWAYS HAVE TO RELY ON THEM AS WELL. I JUST, THERE'S CREATIVE WAYS TO DO IT. BUT ANYWAY, I JUST WANTED TO POINT TO THAT, THAT LIKE I SAY, THAT'S OUR LARGEST PROGRAM AND WE'RE RUNNING THE DEFICIT NOW. SO ANYWAY, GO AHEAD. I'M SORRY, THAT'S THE LAST TIME I'M GONNA INTERRUPT. I'M GONNA TRY AGAIN. OKAY, NO WORRIES. MY BAD. OKAY, SO AS JULIO MENTIONED IN HIS PRESENTATION, IDD IS FORECASTING TO END 2025 WITH A DEFICIT DUE TO SEVERAL FACTORS, PROGRAM PLANS TO MITIGATE THIS LOSS BY IDENTIFYING AND IMPLEMENTING IMPROVED PROCESSES. AS SUCH, THE BUDGET WAS BUILT AS A WORST CASE SCENARIO FOR THE FIRST SIX MONTHS AND REFLECTS THE DEFICIT. IF PROGRAM EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS, WE WILL BRING A BUDGET MODIFICATION IN JULY OF NEXT YEAR TO CORRECT THE BUDGET. STARTING WITH ALAMO AGING, WE HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 6.2 MILLION, WHICH IS DECREASING FROM OUR FORECAST. AND AS MENTIONED ON THE BUDGET OVERVIEW SLIDE, THIS BUDGET DOES NOT INCLUDE CARRYOVER FUNDS AND IT HAS LOWER FUNDING FOR TITLE THREE AND SEVEN SERVICES. IN ADDITION TO LOWER PROJECTED FUNDING FOR NUTRITION SERVICES AND STATE GENERAL REVENUE. MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE HEALTH MAINTENANCE POP-UP DAYS AND OPEN ENROLLMENT AWARENESS CAMPAIGN. FOR OUR, WE HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 15.2 MILLION, WHICH IS INCREASING SIGNIFICANTLY FROM OUR FORECAST AND ALSO FROM OUR BUDGET. THIS IS DUE TO INCREASED CAPITAL FOR THE PURCHASE OF 34 BUSES AND INCREASED OPERATING EXPENDITURES TO ALIGN WITH ADDITIONAL FUNDING RECEIVED. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OUR FORECAST AND OUR BUDGET FOR 2025 IS THAT SOME OF THESE BUSES THAT WE'RE PLANNING FOR IN 2026 WERE BUDGETED IN 2025, BUT THEY ARE BEING DEFERRED TO TO 2026. MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE IMPLEMENTING FREE WIFI ON ALL BUSES AND EXPANDING SERVICE AGREEMENTS WITH FOR BEAR AGING, WE'RE PROPOSING A BUDGET OF 11.6 MILLION. THIS IS DECREASING FROM OUR FORECAST AND THE SAME REASONS AS ALAMO AGING APPLY HERE. MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN TO FIGHT FOOD INSECURITY AND HOMELESS GO BACKS. ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION HAS A PROJECTED BUDGET OF FOUR POINT, UM, 429,000, WHICH IS DECREASING SLIGHTLY FROM OUR FORECAST. AND THIS IS DUE TO HOSTING ONE LESS ILLEGAL DUMPING TRAINING. MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE THE PURCHASE OF EQUIPMENT FOR DISASTER RECOVERY MOBILIZATION PROJECT AND IDENTIFYING AND APPLYING FOR OTHER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES. FOR IDD, WE HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 16.6 MILLION. THIS IS INCREASING FROM OUR FORECAST IN 2025. THIS INCREASE IS DUE TO A NEW OPIOID SETTLEMENT [00:45:01] GRANT THAT WE RECEIVED AT THE END OF 2025. MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE MAXIMIZING THE UTILIZATION OF TARGETED CASE MANAGEMENT AND EXPANDING ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT SERVICES FOR MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS. WE HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 27.2 MILLION, WHICH IS DECREASING FROM OUR FORECAST. AND AS MENTIONED ON THE BUDGET OVERVIEW SLIDE, THERE ARE TWO MERE GRANTS FROM 2025 THAT WILL NOT OCCUR IN 2026. MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE VETERANS HOME MODIFICATION AND SAFETY BLITZ, ALONG WITH RIDES FOR TEXAS HEROES PLUS TO EXPAND VETERANS BUS PASSES AND VOUCHERS. NATURAL RESOURCES HAS A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 499,000, WHICH IS DECREASING FROM OUR FORECAST. AND THIS IS IN THIS BUDGET. WE DO NOT HAVE THE FUNDING FOR CCO OR CLEAN CITIES INCLUDED. MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE THE CONTINUED MONITORING OF OZONE AND OZONE PRECURSOR POLLUTANTS AND REPLACING OZONE INFRASTRUCTURE. NEARING THE END OF ITS USEFUL LIFE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, WE HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 4.7 MILLION AND THIS IS DECREASING FROM OUR FORECAST. AND AGAIN, AS MENTIONED ON THE BUDGET OVERVIEW, WE HAVE THE COPS GRANT COMPLETION IN 2025. MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE INTEGRATING THE ACADEMY ONLINE PORTAL INTO THE ACOG WEBSITE AND CONDUCTING SPECIALIZED ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING FOR REGIONAL SERVICES. WE HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 364,000, WHICH IS INCREASING FROM OUR FORECAST. UH, REGIONAL SERVICES HAS A NEWLY AWARDED GRANT, UH, FOR EDA DISASTER RECOVERY AND THIS IS SET TO BEGIN IN JANUARY OF 2026. AND THIS IS IN THE AMOUNT, TOTAL AMOUNT OF 725,000 FOR THREE YEARS. MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE COORDINATING AND HOSTING WORKSHOPS AND PROMOTING INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR WEATHER. FOR WEATHERIZATION, WE HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 1.5 MILLION, WHICH IS DECREASING FROM OUR FORECAST. THIS BUDGET DOES NOT INCLUDE DOE OR LIHEAP AS WE'RE AWAITING THE CONFIRMATION OF FUNDING. HOWEVER, LAST WEEK WE DID RECEIVE CONFIRMATION OF D-O-E-F-Y 26 FUNDING AND THIS IS IN THE AMOUNT OF 809,000 THROUGH JUNE OF 2026. THE PROGRAM WILL BE REQUESTING BOARD APPROVAL FOR THIS GRANT TO BE ADDED AS AN AMENDMENT TO THE BUDGET. SOME MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE EXPANDING MULTIFAMILY WEATHERIZATION AND CREATING TRADING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STAFF AND CONTRACTORS. HERE IS OUR 2026 ADMINISTRATIVE INDIRECT BUDGET SUMMARY. I'LL REVIEW EACH ADMIN DEPARTMENT AND THEIR MAJOR INITIATIVES FOR 26 AS WE GO THROUGH THE NEXT SLIDES. OVERALL, THE ADMIN INDIRECT BUDGET IS 5.7 MILLION, WHICH IS A SLIGHT DECREASE OF 6,000 FROM OUR 2025 BUDGET. STARTING WITH AGENCY MANAGEMENT, WE HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 820,000, WHICH IS DECREASING FROM OUR FORECAST. AND THIS IS DUE TO THE ELIMINATION OF ONE DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR POSITION. MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE INCORPORATING AI INITIATIVES THROUGHOUT THE AGENCY IN ENHANCING COMPUTER SECURITY TO MEET THE STANDARDS REQUIRED. OUR BOARD GENERAL BUDGET IS PROPOSED AT 122,000, WHICH IS A SLIGHT INCREASE FROM OUR FORECAST. THIS BUDGET INCLUDES OUR SINGLE AUDIT AND IT ALSO HAS OUR LOCAL AND STATE ASSOCIATION DUES FOR GENERAL COUNSEL. WE HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 231,000 AND THIS IS DUE TO THE ADDITION OF JOSEPH GAY, OUR NEW GENERAL COUNSEL AND ASSISTANT DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR ACCOUNTING. WE HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 1.7 MILLION, WHICH IS DECREASING SLIGHTLY FROM OUR FORECAST. MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE IMPLEMENTING THE AI PLATFORM AND PROJE PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS. WE HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 158,000, WHICH IS DECREASING FROM OUR FORECAST. AND THIS DECREASE IS ATTRIBUTED TO FEDERAL GUIDANCE PROVIDED ON OUTREACH STAFF. MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE INTEGRATING AND COORDINATING THE EXISTING PORTAL FOR PUBLIC SAFETY WITH THE NEW ACOG WEBSITE AND ALSO STREAMLINING THE HOSTING OF ACADEMY'S LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. FOR HUMAN RESOURCES, WE HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 628,000, WHICH IS INCREASING FROM OUR FORECAST. THIS IS DUE TO VACANCIES BEING FILLED FOR 2025. MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR MANAGEMENT AND OFFERING NON [00:50:01] IDD EMPLOYEES FIRST AID AND CPR TRAINING. FOR OUR OUR IT BUDGET, WE HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 1.6 MILLION, WHICH IS INCREASING FROM OUR FORECAST AND THIS IS DUE TO NET WATCH IT PEN TESTING AND COMPUTER REFRESHES. MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE THE DEVICE REFRESH FOR OUTDATED EQUIPMENT AND PERFORMING LIMITED ROLLOUTS OF VETTED AI TOOLS AND PLATFORMS. FOR PROCUREMENT, WE HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 454,000, WHICH IS INCREASING FROM OUR FORECAST AND THIS IS DUE TO ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL FOR THE DEPARTMENT. MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT WITH IGSA AND JVSA OPPORTUNITIES AND STAFF TRAINING TO OBTAIN THE PROCUREMENT CERTIFICATION. HERE IS OUR GENERAL FUND AND UNRESTRICTED BUDGET SUMMARY FOR 2026. WE HAVE TOTAL REVENUES OF 1 MILLION AND TOTAL EXPENSES OF 1.9 MILLION FOR A NET OVERALL DECREASE OF 909,000. THE DECREASE IN REVENUE IS DUE TO THE TERMINATION OF THE SHIRTS EMS BUDGET IN THE LAST QUARTER OF 2026. AND THE INCREASE IN THE EXPENDITURES AS MENTIONED IN THE BUDGET OVERVIEW IS FOR THE POTENTIAL MOVE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY TO THE N-E-I-S-D BUILDING. LASTLY, WE HAVE THE 2026 ACOG COMPLEX WITH A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 3.8 MILLION, WHICH IS INCREASING FROM OUR FORECAST AND OUR BUDGET. AND THIS IS DUE TO THE REPLACEMENT OF THE CHILLING AND COOLING TOWER IN THE BUILDING. MAJOR INITIATIVES INCLUDE PROPERTY IMPROVEMENTS AND BATHROOM RENOVATIONS. THIS CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION. AT THIS TIME I'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE AND WE RESPECTFULLY REQUEST, WE RESPECTFULLY REQUEST APPROVAL OF THE 2026 PROPOSED BUDGET AND THE AMOUNT OF 95.8 MILLION. THANK YOU. ANY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS? COVERED IT DURING THE PRESENTATION. THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM. WE NEED TO THIS AND TAKE TO THE FULL BOARD, MOVE TO THE PRO SECOND JUDGE HILL AND JUDGE ALL THOSE FAVORS BY RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND. WE'RE JUST TAKING IT TO THE AGENDA, RIGHT? RIGHT. YES. YEAH, YEAH. OKAY. NONE. IT'LL GO TO THE FULL BOARD WITH A PRESENTATION, POSSIBLE MODIFICATION OF THE MERRI COLA, RIGHT? IS THAT WHAT WE'RE ABOUT PROPOSAL ON? YEAH. CHANGES WE DISCUSSED. OKAY. OKAY. ITEM NUMBER [9. Discussion and appropriate action on the recommendation to approve the Internal Audit update on completed 2025 activities and projects - Yajaira Jordan.] NINE THIS MORNING. DISCUSSION AND APPROPRIATE ACTION ON THE RECOMMENDATION TO WEEKLY INTERNAL AUDIT UPDATE ON THE PAGE 1 25 ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS. YEAH. JORDAN, DID I SAY THAT CORRECTLY? YEAH. HOW YOU DONE I BY ANYTHING ? HOW LONG LIKE I'LL TURN. UM, ALRIGHT. GOOD MORNING MR. CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE MEETING. WHILE SHE'S DOING THAT REAL QUICK, I WANNA POINT OUT THIS IS JOHAN'S FIRST TIME PRESENTING, SO NO INTERRUPTING. YEAH. OH YES. . BUT YOU SEEM TO ANSWER YOUR OWN QUESTION SO IT'S ALL IT'S ALL GOOD. . ALL RIGHT. SO MY NAME JAIDA AND I'M THE NEW ACOG. UH, I'M ACOG'S NEW INTERNAL AUDITOR AND I'M HERE TO PROVIDE YOU GUYS WITH AN OVERVIEW OF THE INTERNAL AUDITS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2025. THE STATUS OF COMPLETION FOR EACH PROGRAM IS AS FOLLOWS, SUB-RECIPIENT MONITORING HAS BEEN COMPLETED. THE ALAMO REGIONAL TRANSIT AND NATURAL RESOURCES ARE IN PROGRESS AND ARE ANTICIPATED TO BE COMPLETED BEFORE THE YEAR END. THIS IS DUE TO ME TRANSITIONING POSITIONS FROM IDD ACCOUNTANT TO INTERNAL AUDITOR. IDD IS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN LATE OCTOBER AND TO BE COMPLETED BY NOVEMBER, 2025. AND PUBLIC SAFETY IS SCHEDULED TO BE COMPLETED IN DECEMBER, 2025. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES, UH, FRAUD WEEK IS SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 6TH, 2020, UM, NOVEMBER 16TH, 2025. UM, THIS WILL INCLUDE TRAINING FOR ALL EMPLOYEES. IN SUMMARY, I HAVE NOT NOTED ANY SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING OR PROGRAM ISSUES AND I AM AWARE THAT I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT SHOULD BE DISCLOSED AT THIS TIME. IS THERE [00:55:01] ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS FROM ANYBODY? HEARING NONE. MOTION. OKAY. NOW WE'LL PASS ON THE MICROPHONE TO, FOR THE QUALITY ASSURANCE ITEM ON NUMBER NINE. I MOTION TO APPROVE. SECOND. ONE SECOND. THANK NEED TO VOTE. VOTE. OKAY. NOW WE MOVE, WE VOTE. WE ALL APPROVE. OH, I'M SORRY. ALL THOSE WE APPROVE. ALRIGHT. C USED IT WELL TOO. NOW ITEM NUMBER 10, DISCUSSION [10. Discussion and appropriate action on the recommendation to approve the Quality Assurance update on complete 2025 activities and projects - Bryn Herrera.] APPROPRIATE ACTION ON RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE QUALITY ASSURANCE UPDATE ON COMPLETE 2025 ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS. BRYN, GOOD MORNING. UH, MEMBERS OF THE EXEC, MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. MY NAME'S BREN HERRERA. I'M YOUR INFORMATION AND PRIVACY OFFICER HERE, UH, WITH OUR NEW INTERNAL AUDITOR YIDA. I'D GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON OUR INTERNAL REVIEWS AND INITIATIVES FOR 2025. JUST AS A A BRIEF REMINDER, THE INTENT OF ACOG QA IS TO ENSURE THAT OUR PROGRAMS MEET AND EXCEED THEIR COMPLIANCE STANDARDS SYSTEM, PREPARING FOR EXTERNAL MONITORS AND AUDITS, IDENTIFYING WEAKNESSES AND PROCESSES, AND OFFERING RECOMMENDATIONS WITH THE GOAL OF CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN MIND. MY ROLE AS THE AGENCY'S INFORMATION AND PRIVACY OFFICER IS TO REVIEW THE PHYSICAL, TECHNICAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE SAFEGUARDS WOULD PREVENT THE UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF SENSITIVE INFORMATION BOTH IN PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL FORMATS. ADDITIONALLY, TO COORDINATE AND IMPLEMENT IT PROJECTS WITH OUR CONTRACTED UH, VENDOR. AND I ALSO AIM TO PROMOTE COMPLIANCE WITH PRIVACY AND CYBERSECURITY LAWS VIA IMPLEMENTATION OF INDUSTRY STANDARDS, BEST PRACTICES, INCIDENT INVESTIGATION, AND IDENTIFICATION OF OUR NETWORK VULNERABILITIES. SO QA IS ON TRACK TO COMPLETE ALL AREAS IN THE APPROVED 2025 SCHEDULE BY THE END OF THE YEAR, AND I DON'T ANTICIPATE ANY ISSUES IN COMPLETING THE REMAINING REVIEWS BY THE END OF DECEMBER. RECOMMENDATIONS THIS YEAR HAVE LARGELY FOCUSED ON PROCESS IMPROVEMENT, PROCEDURE DOCUMENTATION, AND PLANNING FOR ANY FUTURE OR CHANGING COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS. UM, BASED ON THE REVIEW ACTIVITIES COMPLETED SO FAR, I DON'T FEEL THAT THERE ARE ANY SIGNIFICANT BREACHES OF COMPLIANCE OR CONDUCT THAT WARRANT REPORTING TO YOU OR THE BOARD. TODAY. WE'RE CONTINUING WORK REGARDING NUMEROUS IT INITIATIVES FOR THIS YEAR. ALTHOUGH MANY OF THESE ITEMS DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE COMPLETION DATES, THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE AREAS THAT THE INFORMATION AND PRIVACY OFFICE HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON THIS YEAR REGARDING CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT, WE'VE BEEN PROACTIVE IN OUR ASSET REPLACEMENT AND LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT AND SEEK TO CONTINUE THIS TREND INTO THE NEXT YEAR. UH, COGNIZANT OF THE RISING COST OF EQUIPMENT ACROSS THE TECH SECTOR, WE WILL BE RESEARCHING VARIOUS AVENUES TO ENSURE THAT THE AGENCY IS RECEIVING COMPETITIVE PRICING ON LAPTOPS, IT EQUIPMENT AND OTHER NETWORK HARDWARE. WE'VE ALSO BEEN WORKING TO ON INTEGRATING SINGLE SIGN ON FUNCTIONALITY WHEREVER POSSIBLE ACROSS DIFFERENT SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS TO MAKE OUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT LEANER AND MORE CONSISTENT. WE CONTINUE TO ITERATE ON DISASTER RECOVERY AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY. AND AS PART OF A NEW DATA BACKUP SOLUTION ADOPTED THIS YEAR, ACOG IS NOW CONDUCTING PERIODIC SIMULATED DISASTER RECOVERY TESTS. AND IN ADDITION, WE'LL IMPLEMENT ANNUAL DIS DISASTER RECOVERY TABLETOP EXERCISES AND DRILLS, WHICH WILL ENHANCE OUR READINESS REGARDING THE PERSONNEL SIDE OF DATA RECOVERY. THIS SIDE SLIDE SUMMARIZES THE INITIATIVES AND PROJECTS FOR 2025 ON THE INFORMATION AND PRIVACY REALM. IN PARTICULAR, I'M VERY HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT ACOG HAS COMPLETED AN AGENCY-WIDE EXTERNAL PENETRATION TEST THIS YEAR. THE VULNERABILITIES THAT THE TEST IDENTIFIED HAVE EITHER BEEN ACTIVELY ADDRESSED AND MITIGATED OR BEING MANAGED IN A WAY THAT REPRESENTS A MUCH LOWER OVERALL RISK TO THE AGENCY'S CYBERSECURITY. THIS PROCESS HAS ALLOWED US TO PROACTIVELY STRENGTHEN OUR DEFENSES, ENHANCE SECURITY AWARENESS, AND ALIGN WITH REGULATORY COMPLIANCE. REQUIREMENT 2025 HAS SEEN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CONTINUE ITS PROLIFERATION INTO THE TECH SECTOR TO THE POINT WHERE IT IS NOW BECOMING A CHALLENGE TO SOURCE TOOLS, PRODUCTS AND SOLUTIONS THAT DON'T HAVE AN AI COMPONENT INCLUDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH ACOG'S AI POLICY ADOPTED IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR, THE PRIVACY OFFICE HAS IMPLEMENTED PROCEDURES TO MONITOR THE ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AI WITHIN OUR ENVIRONMENT TO BALANCE THE UTILITY OF THESE TOOLS WITH OUR DATA PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS AND CONCERNS REGARDING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT, THE OFFICE CONTINUES TO COORDINATE WITH ACOG'S MANAGED IT VENDOR TO PLAN, SCHEDULE, AND IMPLEMENT REPLACEMENTS AND UPGRADES TO HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE. THROUGH OUR, THROUGHOUT OUR ENVIRONMENT, WE CONTINUE TO REINFORCE THE STAFF, THE IMPORTANCE OF CYBER VIGILANCE THROUGH REGULAR TRAINING, ENGAGEMENT VIDEOS AND PHISHING SIMULATIONS AND RECEIVE A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF STAFF INTERACTION, ENGAGEMENT, AND COMPLETION WITH THESE ACTIVITIES. [01:00:01] PRIVACY AND SECURITY ARE JOURNEYS RATHER THAN DESTINATIONS, UH, BUT I LIKE TO THANK ACOG LEADERSHIP FOR RECOGNIZING THE VALUE OF SUCH INITIATIVES. SO, IN SOME RECENT ACTIVITIES, CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ENHANCEMENTS TO ACOG'S COMPLIANCE, PRIVACY, AND SECURITY ENVIRONMENTS. I FEEL THAT WE ARE POSITIONED WELL TO PROACTIVELY RECOGNIZE EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES THREATS AND REGULATORY CHANGES AND TO MAKE STRATEGIC DECISIONS IN THESE AREAS. AS ALWAYS, I CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN AN OPEN DOOR POLICY FOR ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS TO STRIVE TO BE AN AND, AND STRIVE TO BE AN INTERNAL RESOURCE SO WE CAN MORE EFFECTIVELY MEET OUR MISSION. SO NORMALLY AT THIS POINT, THE INTERNAL AUDIT AND QUALITY ASSURANCE WOULD PRESENT THE BOARD WITH A PROPOSED REVIEW SCHEDULE FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR. HOWEVER, WITH GUIDANCE FROM AGENCY LEADERSHIP, WE ARE PLANNING TO CONSOLIDATE REVIEW FUNCTIONS AND MOVE TO A SCHEDULE WHERE OUR PROGRAMS RECEIVE BOTH AN INTERNAL AUDIT AND QUALITY ASSURANCE MONITORING AT THE SAME TIME, YA, HAIDA AND I ARE STILL WORKING OUT THE DETAILS OF THIS JOINT REVIEW SCHEDULE, BUT WE, BUT WE PLAN TO RETURN TO THE BOARD IN JANUARY AND WE'LL SEEK FORMAL APPROVAL FOR THE 2026 IAQA SCHEDULE AT THAT TIME. BOTH YIDA AND I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ECOG STAFF FOR THEIR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND FACILITATION OF OUR REVIEWS. WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND RESPECTFULLY REQUEST YOUR APPROVAL OF 2025. UH, QUALITY ASSURANCE AND PRIVACY. PRIVACY. YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. UH, THANK YOU, SIR FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. AND I KNOW THIS IS PROBABLY A, A QUESTION I SHOULD KNOW THE ANSWER TO AT THESE THREE LETTERS THAT YOU SENT, EITHER TO THE DIRECTORS OR ADMINISTRATOR. THEY WERE OPEN TO MAKING THESE CHANGES AND YES. MIGHT THAT THEY'RE VERY, THEY'RE RECEPTIVE AND THEY, NONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS CAME TO SURPRISE SURPRISES. THESE ARE THINGS THAT WERE DISCUSSED THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE REVIEW, SO, ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. WE APPROVAL. GOT A MOTION FOR APPROVAL FROM JUDGE EVANS. I'LL SECOND MR. SECOND. MAYOR . ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND. ANYBODY OPPOSED? OKAY. UH, WE [11. The Board of Directors shall convene into Executive Session to deliberate and receive advice regarding: The appointment, employment, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public officer or employee pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 551.074.] ARE GOING TO MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER 11, EXECUTIVE SESSION FORM THE DIRECTOR EXECUTIVE SESSION. DELIBERATE AND RECEIVE ADVICE REGARDING THE APPOINTMENT, EMPLOYMENT, REASSIGNMENT DUTIES, DISCIPLINE OR DISMISSAL OF THE PUBLIC OFFICER, FLORIDA DETECTIVE GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 7 4. IT IS 1102. TURN, GET ON A PLANE AND COME HOME. [12. Consider and act upon the items discussed in the executive session.] OKAY FOLKS, WE ARE BACK. UM, ITEM NUMBER 12 IS CONSIDERING ACT ONE ITEM DISCUSSING THE EXECUTIVE SESSION. I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE ANY TO, UH, ACT UPON WHICH TAKES US. ITEM [13. Items to be placed on the Board of Directors meeting agenda from the Executive Committee.] NUMBER 13, ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING AGENDA FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, WHICH IS WHAT WE'VE DISCUSSED AND TO TAKE TO THE WHOLE BOARD, UH, ON ITEM 10, 9, 8. YEAH, ALL THOSE POLICIES. SEVEN. YEAH. 7, 8, 9, 7, AND SIX AND SIX. I DON'T THINK WE TOOK A VOTE ON THIS ON SIX, BUT I WAS GONNA PUT IT ON THE AGENDA ANYWAY WITH YOUR PERMISSION. YES, SIR. OH, YEAH, YEAH, ON THE COURT. YES. UNLESS I, UNLESS I MISSED IT. DO YOU LIKE JUST TO RAISE HER HAND? GOOD WITH ME, THE RIGHT HAND ITEM [14. Items to be placed on the agenda for the next Executive Committee meeting.] NUMBER 14, ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON THE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING. I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY RIGHT NOW. THOSE ARE TO BE DETERMINED. ITEM NUMBER 15, NEXT MEETING [15. Next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 21, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. at AACOG.] IS SCHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21ST, 2026 AT 10:00 AM CLEAR. HOW ABOUT ITEM NUMBER 16? ADJOURN. WELCOME TO LEAVE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.