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HOW ARE WE? ARE WE LIVE? YES, SIR.
GOOD EVENING, AND WELCOME TO OUR AUDIT COMMITTEE, UH, MEETING.
IT'S 2:30 PM ON MARCH THE 17TH.
I'M ED MOORE, THE AUDIT COMMITTEE CHAIR, AND WE HAVE WITH US OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS, CHRIS OTT AND BJ WILLIAMS. WE ALSO HAVE WITH US THIS EVENING DISTINGUISHED GUEST, UH, OUR CITY MANAGER, MIKE BETS I SAW AROUND THE ROOM.
UH, I EVEN SAW, I THINK OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, UH, ANDY HESSLER.
AND SO WITH THAT, WE HAVE, UH, QUITE A FEW ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA FOR THE EVENING.
SO WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED SINCE WE DO HAVE QUITE A FEW OB OBJECTS ON OUR, UH, LIST THIS EVENING HAVE FOUR AGENDA ITEMS THAT WE WILL BE PRESENTING.
A WEAVER PRESENTATION, BUILDING INSPECTION, PERMIT PROCESS, AUDIT, REVENUE RECOVERY EFFORTS AUDIT, AND THE FARWELL GOLF COURSE FOLLOW UP.
I WANNA START OUT BY, UH, TAKING A LOOK AT OUR MINUTES COMMITTEE.
HAVE YOU HAD OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE MINUTES? IF YOU HAVE, WE'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE.
MOTION TO APPROVE BY SECOND COUNCILMAN WILLIAMS, SECOND BY COUNCILMAN OTT.
ALL OPPOSED? OKAY, MADAM SECRETARY, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS THIS EVENING? YES, WE HAVE MR. DO BOB DUCKWORTH.
BOB DUCKWORTH, BOB, COMING DOWN, YOU KNOW THE PROTOCOL.
BOB DUCKWORTH, 9 0 9 WAKEFIELD DRIVE, GARLAND, TEXAS.
PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU FOLKS TODAY.
PROBABLY SOME OF YOU THINK PROBABLY A CRAZY OLD MAN, BUT MY CAREER HAS WIRED ME TO WHERE I'M VERY INTERESTED IN AUDITS AND THOSE THINGS THAT GO ALONG WITH 'EM.
UH, MY CAREER WAS IN BANKING AND I WAS A COMPLIANCE OFFICER,
THAT WAS PART OF MY DAILY LIFE IN BANKING, PLUS DOING EVERYTHING ELSE EVERYBODY ELSE WAS REQUIRED TO DO.
AND THAT WAS, UH, MAKING LOANS.
AND, AND, UH, MR. WILLIAMS, I GUESS, HAD THE SAME CAREER BEHIND HIM.
CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME OKAY?
UH, I JUST WANNA SHARE, AND I'M TAKING A, I'M TAKING A, A, A STAB HERE THAT ON ITEM C, RECOVERY, REVENUE RECOVERY EFFORTS AUDIT, UH, I'VE TALKED TO SOME OF YOU ABOUT, UH, I, AGAIN, YOU PROBABLY THINK I'M CRAZY.
I GO BACK AND READ THE AUDIT THAT MR. JED HAS DONE, AND, AND I, I COMMENTED HOW, HOW GOOD A JOB THEY DO.
I THINK ONE OF THE LACKINGS IN THE CITY IS A COMPLIANCE ARM OF THE AUDITS.
UH, I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A FOLLOW, A STRONG FOLLOW UP TO THOSE, BECAUSE IN BANKING, I FOUND THAT, UH, WHEN I DID COMPLIANCE AUDITS, IF WE WEREN'T DOING SOMETHING RIGHT, IF I DIDN'T CHECK ON IT IN 30 OR 60 DAYS TO SEE IF IT HAD CHANGED, UH, THE SAME THING WAS HAPPENING AGAIN.
SO I'M JUST ENCOURAGING YOU TO, TO THINK ABOUT THAT IN YOUR, AS YOU, AS YOU PROCESS DOWN THE ROAD AND SOME OF YOUR AUDIT, I'VE LOOKED AT, UH, AND, AND ONE OF THE THINGS, AND, AND MR. MATT, AND HE MAKES THE COMMENTS THAT SO MANY THINGS OTHER CITIES HAVE THAT WE DON'T HAVE, BUT WE HAVE SOME THINGS THAT OTHER CITIES DON'T HAVE THAT ARE REALLY VALUABLE TO US.
THAT'S GPNL, WASTEWATER TREATMENT, LANDFILL FIRE WHEEL THREE, GOLF COURSES.
UH, WE HAVE, WE HAVE THESE THINGS THAT A LOT OF OTHER CITIES DON'T HAVE.
AND I THINK, I THINK I HAVE, I MADE IT KNOWN TO SOME OF YOU THAT I THINK WE'RE UNDER, UNDER UTILIZING THOSE ASSETS.
UH, I'VE READ SOME OF THE AUDITS, AND ONE OF THE KEY WORDS I LOOK AT IN AN AUDIT IS NOT, IF I SEE SOMETHING THAT SAYS WE'RE NOT DOING THIS, I, IT, IT, IT CATCHES MY ATTENTION AND I WON'T LOOK AT IT TO SEE WHY WE'RE NOT DOING OR DOES THAT, DOES THAT WORD MEAN WE'RE NOT DOING OR WE'RE NOT, UH, UTILIZING OR MAXIMIZING THAT BENEFIT FROM THAT, UH, INCOME STREAM.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE, I THINK, I HOPE THAT I'M HITTING THE RIGHT, UH, TRAIL HERE OF WHAT Y'ALL ARE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT, BUT I WOULD CERTAINLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO BACK AND LOOK.
UH, I'VE LOOKED AT SOME OF YOUR AUDITS AND I CAN SEE LOTS OF MONEY THAT HASN'T BEEN, UH, UH, HAS NOT BEEN PAID TO THE CITY BECAUSE, UH, WE HAVEN'T UTILIZED THE, UH, PROCEDURES, POLICIES, UH, THINGS THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO, UH, TO MAYBE, UH, UTILIZE THOSE.
UH, I MEAN THE WASTEWATER, THE, UH, THESE, THE LANDFILL, THOSE THINGS, PARTICULARLY THOSE THINGS THAT ARE IN VERY HEAVILY INCOME BASED THAT OTHER CITIES DON'T
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HAVE.UH, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT TRYING TO, TO, UH, UH, OVERCHARGE OTHER PEOPLE, BUT WE NEED TO, UH, ALWAYS LOOK AT A PRO THAT SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE AS A CITY SHOULD BE UTILIZED TO ITS MAXIMUM TO MAKE SURE OUR CITIZENS ARE PAYING A FAIR SHARE.
UH, BUT, BUT OTHERS THAT USE OUR, OUR FACILITIES THAT WE HAVE PAID TAXES FOR, IN MY CASE, 60 OR 70 YEARS, UH, TO MAKE THESE THINGS VIABLE TO THE CITY, WE NEED TO BE RECO.
WE NEED TO BE RECEIVING SOME BENEFITS OF THAT.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU WHEN YOU GET, IF THAT IS IN FACT WHAT YOU'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT, IF NOT, TAKE MY IDEAS AND THOUGHTS AND, UH, AND, UH, LET'S, LET'S SEE IF WE CAN BEEF UP OUR INCOME IN SOME OF THOSE, UH, FIELDS THAT WE, THAT WE, THAT ARE INCOME STREAMS FOR US.
DO WE HAVE ANOTHER? UH, NO, THAT'S ALL.
ALRIGHT, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.
LET US NOW MOVE TO OUR AUDIT DIRECTOR.
CHAD, IF YOU WILL INTRODUCE OUR NEXT, OUR FIRST SURE WILL GET RIGHT INTO IT.
GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIRMAN, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE TODAY.
UM, ESPECIALLY GRATEFUL THAT, UM, OUR EXTERNAL AUDITORS ARE HERE.
THEY HAVE COMPLETED THE FISCAL YEAR, YEAR 2025 FINANCIAL STATEMENT AUDITS AND SINGLE AUDITS.
SO SARAH DEMPSEY, WHO'S THE PARTNER WITH WEAVER, WHO'S HERE, WHO'S GONNA GO OVER THE RESULTS WITH US.
I ALSO WANT TO COMMEND OUR FINANCE STAFF.
THEY HAVE WORKED EXTREMELY DILIGENTLY TO GET THIS AUDIT DONE.
BE GREAT THANKS TO ALLISON AND HER TEAM, UH, FOR MAKE, MAKING THIS HAPPEN.
SO JUST WANTED TO CONGRATULATE THEM FOR, FOR THE, FOR A SUCCESSFUL AUDIT.
BUT I DON'T WANT TO TAKE ALL THE SURPRISES, SO I WILL LET SARAH GO OVER THE DETAILS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME.
UM, LIKE TED MENTIONED, WE DID THE FISCAL YEAR 2020.
WE JUST WRAPPED IT UP AND, UM, IT'S IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE DEADLINE THAT HAS BEEN SET FORTH.
UM, SEE, UM, BOND ISSUANCES, UM, ALL OF THAT, THE DEBT COVENANT.
SO, UM, RIGHT ON TIME FOR, UH, MYSELF, I'M SARAH DEMPSEY.
I'M THE AUDIT PARTNER ON THE ENGAGEMENT.
I'VE GOT OVER 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE.
UM, I'VE MET A LOT OF YOU BEFORE, SO YOU ALREADY KNOW THAT.
BUT I DO A LOT OF THE AUDITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ACROSS THE STATE, MUNICIPALITIES, SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
SO THE GOVERNMENT SPACE IS, UM, IS THE GROUP THAT I LEAD, AND I LOVE IT.
OUR AUDIT APPROACH IS A RISK-BASED APPROACH.
SO THAT MEANS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND LOOKING FOR WHERE THEY COULD BE MATERIALLY MISSTATED.
SO THE RISK-BASED APPROACH GOES THROUGH THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN REPORTED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
WE GET THE YEAR END TRIAL BALANCE, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT THE REPORTS THAT HAVE BEEN PRESENTED TO SEE IF THERE IS ANYTHING THAT COULD BE MATERIALLY MISSTATED.
UM, A LOT OF THE AUDIT AREAS ARE UP HERE, BUT IT'S, UM, A LOT OF REVENUE RECOGNITION, TREATMENT GRANT REVENUES, UTILITIES, ELECTRIC.
UM, THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS IS A BIG PART OF THE AUDIT, THE PURCHASING, UM, THE DISBURSEMENT OF CASH, PAYROLL, AND THEN OF COURSE UNRECORDED LIABILITIES.
WE'RE LOOKING TO MAKE SURE THOSE ARE INCLUDED IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS WELL.
UM, WE ALSO DO A SINGLE AUDIT BECAUSE THE CITY EXPENDS MORE THAN $1 MILLION.
AND THIS YEAR IT WAS THE ARPA FUNDING OR THAT CORONAVIRUS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
WE TEST INTERNAL CONTROLS AS PART OF THE AUDIT.
SO WE'RE NOT ISSUING AN OPINION ON INTERNAL CONTROLS, BUT WE DO HAVE TO TEST THAT THEY'RE OPERATING AS DESIGNED AND THAT THERE ISN'T A LACK OF CONTROLS THAT COULD CAUSE A MATERIAL MISSTATEMENT.
UM, FOR MANAGEMENT OVERRIDE OF CONTROLS, WHICH IS BASICALLY, UM, A RISK ON EVERY SINGLE AUDIT ENGAGEMENT THAT MANAGEMENT COULD GO IN AND CREATE JOURNAL ENTRIES AND MANIPULATE THE NUMBERS.
SO MANAGEMENT OVERRIDE OF CONTROLS IS TESTED THROUGH JOURNAL ENTRY TESTING AND MAKING SURE THAT THE APPROVAL PROCESS IS IN PLACE THAT, UM, THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS HAVE THE SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED.
UH, I MENTIONED OUR SIGNIFICANT RISKS ALREADY.
MANAGEMENT, OVERRIDE OF CONTROLS, REVENUE RECOGNITION, THE GRANTS, AND THEN THE PROPERTY TAX COLLECTIONS.
UH, AND OFF TO THE SIDE IS THE WORK THAT WE PERFORMED, JOURNAL ENTRY TESTING, THIRD PARTY SUPPORT, UM, MAKING SURE THAT ALL OF THOSE TRANSACTIONS HAVE THE PROPER SUPPORT NEEDED TO RECORD THOSE JOURNAL ENTRIES AND THAT THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ARE MATERIALLY CORRECT.
AND THEN THIS IS A LONG LIST OF THE OTHER AREAS THAT WE TEST.
AND LIKE JED MENTIONED, WE DO HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THE CITY.
WE REPORT TO YOU THE RESULTS, AND WE DO REPORT TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, BUT WE DO HAVE TO WORK WITH THE CITY ACROSS ALL DEPARTMENTS TO GET THE SUPPORT THAT WE NEED, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO TEST ALL THOSE AUDIT AREAS.
SO THIS IS A LONG LIST OF SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE DO.
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I'LL JUST GO THROUGH A FEW.UM, THERE'S NO IDENTIFIED FRAUD.
WHEN WE DID OUR AUDIT, WE WOULD BE REQUIRED TO REPORT THAT TO YOU.
WE LOOK AT THE PROPERTY TAX COLLECTIONS, CAPITAL ASSETS, UM, LEASES AND AVITAS.
AVITAS IS SHORT FOR SUBSCRIPTION BASED.
IT ARRANGEMENTS, UH, INVESTMENTS, LONG-TERM BILITIES, JUST A FEW.
SO FOR WHY I'M HERE, UM, THE AUDIT RESULTS, WE HAVE AN UNMODIFIED OPINION ON YOUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, WHICH IS, UM, A CLEAN OPINION, WHAT YOU'RE USED TO RECEIVING, NO MATERIAL WEAKNESSES TO REPORT TO YOU, AND NO SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCIES WERE REPORTED DURING THE AUDIT.
UM, WE ALSO TEST COMPLIANCE DURING THE COURSE OF THE AUDIT COMPLIANCE WITH STATE REGULATIONS, GRANT AGREEMENTS, UM, AGREEMENTS IN LARGE CONTRACTS THAT THE CITY HAS.
AND WE HAD NO MATERIAL NON-COMPLIANCE AS WE DID OUR AUDIT FOR THE FEDERAL AWARDS, THE ARPA FUNDING.
WE ALSO HAD AN UNMODIFIED OPINION, WHICH IS A CLEAN OPINION.
THE CITY IS A LOW RISK AUDITEE.
UM, WE'RE ONLY REQUIRED TO GET 20% COVERAGE, BUT THE, UM, ARPA FUNDING DID COVER, UH, MUCH MORE THAN THAT.
AND THEN, UM, NO MATERIAL WEAKNESSES WERE IDENTIFIED DURING ARPA AND NO SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCIES.
SO WE HAD NO AUDIT REPORT FINDINGS THAT HAD TO BE RECORDED, UM, IN ACCORDANCE WITH UNIFORM GUIDANCE.
UH, THIS MEETING COVERS OUR REQUIRED COMMUNICATION.
SO I'LL GO THROUGH THAT REALLY QUICKLY.
UM, WE DO THE AUDIT IN ACCORDANCE WITH GENERALLY ACCEPTED AUDITING STANDARDS, GOVERNMENT AUDITING STANDARDS, UNIFORM GUIDANCE, AND THEN IF WE HAD ANY UNUSUAL TRA TRANSACTIONS, WE ARE REQUIRED TO BRING THOSE TO YOUR ATTENTION.
THERE AREN'T ANY, THEY'RE UNUSUAL, BUT THERE IS, UM, A NEW PRONOUNCEMENT THAT WAS IMPLEMENTED THIS YEAR, GASB 1 0 1 COMPENSATED ABSENCES.
UH, AND IT DID INCREASE THE CITY'S LIABILITY BY ABOUT $2 MILLION.
NONE OF THE TRANSACTIONS THAT WE TESTED DURING THE COURSE OF THE AUDIT WERE UNUSUAL THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE GUIDANCE AND HAD TO LOOK AT OTHER SUPPORT.
SO THERE'S NOTHING, UM, TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION FROM, FROM THAT REGARD.
SO NO DIFFICULTIES OR DISAGREEMENTS AROSE DURING THE COURSE OF THE AUDIT.
UM, MANAGEMENT GAVE US THEIR REPRESENTATIONS THE DAY THAT WE ISSUED, WHICH IS REQUIRED TO LET US KNOW THAT YOU GAVE US EVERYTHING.
THERE'S NOTHING THAT'S BEEN WITHHELD.
UM, WE ARE INDEPENDENT AS A FIRM AND AS AN AUDIT TEAM, AND THEN WE PERFORM LIMITED PROCEDURES.
UM, THE ACT FOR IS A LARGE DOCUMENT.
UM, WE DO NOT AUDIT THE ENTIRE DOCUMENT THAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU OR, UM, ONLINE, BUT THERE, A MAJORITY OF IT IS THE ONE THAT ISN'T AUDITED IS THE MDNA.
BUT WE DO REVIEW THAT AND COMPARE IT TO, UM, THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS THAT ARE AUDITED.
AND THEN THERE ARE ESTIMATES INCLUDED IN THAT AUDIT REPORT.
WE'RE REQUIRED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT AS WELL.
UH, WE DO TEST ESTIMATES FOR REASONABLENESS, UH, AND THEN THE USE OF OTHERS.
WE DO UTILIZE OTHER PEOPLE DURING THE COURSE OF THE AUDIT.
SO WE HAVE A LIST OF THOSE THAT, UM, WE DO UTILIZE, UM, FROM A ASSISTANCE ON THE AUDIT PERSPECTIVE.
THE INTERNAL AUDIT GROUP REALLY DOES HELP US OUT QUITE A BIT DURING THE COURSE OF THE AUDIT WITH TESTING INTERNAL CONTROLS.
AND THEN WE GO BACK AND REPERFORM, UM, PORTIONS OF THEIR TESTING AS WELL.
SO THAT WILL BE CASH DISBURSEMENTS, PAYROLL DISBURSEMENTS, UTILITY BILLING.
UM, AND THEN IN THE PAST WE'VE ALSO HAD SOME SINGLE AUDIT ASSISTANCE.
THERE ARE NO AUDIT ADJUSTMENTS TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION.
I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF AN AUDIT, IS IF WE'RE RECEIVING THE TRIAL BALANCE FROM THE CITY AND WE ARE NOT HAVING TO MAKE AUDIT ADJUSTMENTS, THAT'S, UM, A REALLY BIG TESTAMENT TO THE TEAM THAT YOU HAVE IF WE'RE NOT GOING IN AND FINDING CORRECTIONS THAT HAVE TO BE MADE.
SO WANNA POINT THAT OUT THAT THERE ARE NO PAST ADJUSTMENTS, EITHER MEANING THEY WERE DETERMINED TO BE IMMATERIAL, BUT WOULD BE REPORTED TO YOU.
AND THEN, UM, NO MATERIAL ADJUSTMENTS AS WELL.
UM, THE OTHER WRITTEN COMMUNICATION THAT WE HAVE, WE DID HAVE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS THIS YEAR.
UM, IT'S NOT CONSIDERED A SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCY OR A MATERIAL WEAKNESS, SO IT'S NOT REPORTED, UM, WITHIN A SINGLE AUDIT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
BUT THERE WERE TWO, TWO RECOMMENDATIONS WHEN WE WENT THROUGH THE COURSE OF THE AUDIT.
UM, ONE IS THE, UM, UPDATE TO THE POLICE SYSTEM OF CONTROLS WHERE SUPERVISORS CAN NO LONGER, UM, APPROVE THEIR OWN OVER TIME IS BASICALLY WHAT WE FOUND DURING THE COURSE OF THE AUDIT.
IT WAS A PARTICULAR DEPARTMENT, IT WAS A VERY ISOLATED, UM, UH, INCIDENT.
IT WASN'T, UM, ANYTHING THAT, YOU KNOW, IF IT HAD BEEN, IT PROBABLY WOULD HAVE RISEN TO THE LEVEL OF A MATERIAL WEAKNESS.
BUT THIS WAS A, AN ISOLATED DEPARTMENT THAT WAS ABLE TO APPROVE THEIR OWN, UM, OVERTIME.
UH, AND THEN REFINING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WORKDAY, JUST, UM, YOU KNOW, A WORK, UH, AN ERP IMPLEMENTATION IS ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS THAT A FINANCE DEPARTMENT CAN GO THROUGH.
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UM, JUST HAVING A NEW SYSTEM WHERE ALL THE TRANSACTIONS ARE GOING THROUGH AND RECORDING OF JOURNAL ENTRIES.AND SO JUST REFINING THAT PROCESS ON SOME OF THE RECONCILIATIONS THAT WERE A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT TO RECONCILE AT YEAR END.
UM, JUST CONTINUING TO REFINE THAT PROCESS, AND I'LL PAUSE THERE IN CASE YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
READY? ME POOL OF OVERTIME WITHIN POLICE DEPARTMENT? NOT THE ENTIRE POLICE DEPARTMENT, IT WAS JUST A COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT.
IT WAS, UM, MUCH SMALLER THAN THE ENTIRE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND IT WAS JUST A DEPARTMENT THAT'S ON A DIFFERENT SYSTEM, UM, FOR TIME ENTRY.
SO THE SYSTEM THAT MOST OF THE CITY IS ON HAS, UM, AN APPROVAL PROCESS WHERE SOMEONE OUTSIDE WOULD APPROVE THIS PARTICULAR SYSTEM.
UM, SUPERVISORS COULD APPROVE THEIR OWN OVERTIME IF THEY NEEDED TO.
AND SO THAT WAS JUST THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WE HAD TO, TO CHANGE THAT, IF I MAY ADD IN.
UM, AND WE HAVE SAVANNAH MARTIN HERE FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UM, THAT CAN SPEAK ON THIS ISSUE AS WELL, IF THERE ARE FURTHER QUESTIONS.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS, AS COMMUNICATING WITH JEFF WATA, WHO WAS OUR, UH, MAN AUDIT MANAGER FROM WEAVER.
UM, AT THIS TIME, WEAVER DOES NOT BELIEVE ANY FRAUD OCCURRED RELATED TO THIS ISSUE.
IT WAS LIMITED TO ONE, UH, DEPARTMENT OF THE POLICE, THE POLICE, UH, DIVISION, IT'S THE COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION.
UM, AND WE'VE DISCUSSED THIS ISSUE WITH CHIEF BRIAN AND THE POLICE PROCEDURES WILL BE UPDATED AND THEY'RE ALSO REVIEWING WHETHER IT IS DETERMINED THEY CAN IMPLEMENT, ITS A CHANGE TO THE SYSTEM, WHICH IS THEIR POLICE SYSTEM, WHICH IS SEPARATE FROM THE TIME ENTRY SYSTEM THAT THE REST OF THE CITY USES.
OR THEY MAY BE IMPLEMENTING A SECONDARY APPROVAL LAYER.
UM, THIS ISSUE AROSE DUE TO MINIMUM STAFFING REQUIREMENTS IN THE COMMUNICATION DIVISION, MEANING THEY ARE OPERATING WITH THE BARE MINIMUM STAFF TO, YOU KNOW, OPERATE DISPATCH ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS.
SO THIS NECESSITATED OUT OF UNIQUE NEED TO GO AHEAD AND GET THAT TIME APPROVED PER THEIR INTERNAL POLICIES THAT SAME DAY.
AND SO THEY ARE LOOKING INTERNALLY OF HOW THEY CAN REMEDY THIS TO HAVE FURTHER CONTROLS, UM, ON THIS ISSUE SO THAT THERE IS NOT THE RISK OR THE POTENTIAL OF AN INDIVIDUAL ENTERING AND APPROVING OVERTIME THAT IS NOT EARNED WITHOUT ANY OVERSIGHT.
AND, AND WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO IMPLEMENT TO ADDRESS THAT? WHEN, WHEN, WHAT ARE THEY, WHAT DO THEY PROPOSE TO, TO DO? HAVE A A TIMELINE? YES.
SO WE, YEAH, WE, IT WAS A SPECIFIC OVERTIME, UM, INTRI RELATED TO MINIMUM STAFFING ONLY COMMUNICATORS.
SO WE'VE ALREADY IMPLEMENTED THE CHANGE, ADDED AN ADDITIONAL LAYER AND CREATED AN SO PUMP, BUT THIS IS CALLED OPENSHIFT.
IT'S A SPECIFIC MODULE IN OUR POLICE OFFICER DUMP.
UM, SO ONLY COMMUNICATIONS AND ONLY THE ONLY IF THEY USE THEM.
THERE WAS A AREA YOU TALKED ABOUT THE, UH, GS B 1 0 1 MM-HMM
AND YOU SAID THAT IT INCREASED LIABILITY.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE? SURE.
SO IN THE PAST, GASB WOULD SAY THAT YOU ONLY HAD TO HAVE A LIABILITY FOR SICK PAY IF IT WAS PAID OUT.
AND THEN THEY CHANGED IT TO WHERE THEY WANTED, UM, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO LOOK AT, EVEN IF IT'S EARNED AND NOT PAID OUT, WHAT'S THE POTENTIAL LIABILITY OF SOMEONE EARNING SICK LEAVE AND TAKING IT.
SO THAT'S REALLY THE BIG DIFFERENCE IS THAT IT HAD TO DO WITH, PREVIOUSLY IT WAS ONLY ON THAT CASH BASIS.
IF YOU TOOK SICK, UH, DIDN'T USE YOUR SICK LEAVE, BUT TOOK A PAY, UM, PAYCHECK FOR IT, THEN YOU WOULD CREATE THE LIABILITY.
BUT FOR, UM, FOR THE CHANGE IT WAS USING, JUST EVEN UTILIZING THAT TIME IS, UM, SOMETHING THAT ALL LOCAL GOVERNMENTS HAD TO CONSIDER.
SO IT'S A PERCENTAGE, IT'S NOT SAYING THAT EVERYONE WOULD 100% TAKE THEIR SICK PAY OR, OR SICK LEAVE TIME.
UM, SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS THE BIG CHANGE, IS THIS CASH PROCESS.
AND DO Y'ALL WANNA TALK TO
OUR LIABILITY, LONG-TERM LIABILITIES ARE OVER A BILLION DOLLARS.
SO WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE.
AND SO COMPENSATED ABSENCES MAKE UP A VERY SMALL PORTION OF THAT.
AND SO, UH, AS SARAH EXPLAINED, THIS IS JUST A RECORDING ENTRY BECAUSE IN GAS MINE, WHO IS, UH, THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD, UH, THERE IS A LONG-TERM LIABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE FACT THAT THERE IS UNUSED SICK TIME FOR, FOR THAT PERIOD, FOR THAT THREE MONTH PERIOD BEFORE THE YEAR ENDS.
SO WE WERE JUST RECORDING THAT, BUT I
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WANTED TO MAKE SURE THE CONTEXT THAT 2 MILLION SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF MONEY, BUT IN, IN, IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, WE HAVE OVER A BILLION DOLLARS OF LIABILITIES ASSOCIATED WITH OUR DEBTS AND PENSION LIABILITIES.YEAH, ALL MY QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED.
I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE MUCH MORE NO,
I WANTED TO STOP ON THE FINDINGS, BUT THAT'S THE LAST SLIDE, SO I GLAD THAT YEAH.
I'M GLAD I, I MADE IT, UH, SEEM LIKE IT WAS A MUCH LONGER PRESENTATION.
NOW I WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO THE CITY.
IT'S VERY HARD TO GO THROUGH AN ERP SYSTEM CONVERSION FOR THE FINANCE, AND SO EVERYONE HAD TO WORK REALLY HARD, AND WE APPRECIATED IT DURING THE AUDIT.
I KNOW IT WAS A CHALLENGE, UM, TO GET US EVERYTHING THAT WE NEEDED AND TO BE DEALING WITH ALL THE COMPLICATIONS OF THAT.
SO, YEAH, WE APPRECIATE IT AND THANKS TO YOUR TEAM AS WELL FOR HELPING US.
SO IT'S SAFE TO SAY THAT WE PASSED LINE COLORS.
CHAIRMAN, IF IT'S OKAY, I'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE SOME PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE.
UM, WE, UH, AS SARAH SAID, WE HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH A SIGNIFICANT ERP IMPLEMENTATION, AND THERE'S THREE LADIES IN THIS AUDIENCE WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING 80 HOURS PLUS FOR THE LAST PROBABLY A YEAR.
AND ESPECIALLY OVER THE LAST THREE MONTHS, UH, WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN DOWN IN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, AND ALLISON INHERITED A DEPARTMENT THAT HAD A LOT OF HOLES IN IT, UH, FROM RETIREMENTS.
UH, SO WE'VE HAD, UH, FOUR INDIVIDUALS THAT EITHER RETIRED OR LEFT THE CITY.
AND, AND IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, THAT'S OVER 25% OF OUR STAFF, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO GET THIS AUDIT DONE.
SO I, I HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH AUDITS FOR, YOU KNOW, 20 YEARS OF MY CAREER NOW.
AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS PROBABLY THE FIRST TIME WE'VE SEEN MANAGEMENT LETTERS THAT HAD, THAT SHOWED SOME, YOU KNOW, RECONCILIATION ISSUES.
BUT, UM, I WILL SAY THAT I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE PROUD OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
SO I WANTED TO JUST RECOGNIZE CATHERINE RICHIE, WHO IS OUR FINANCE ADMINISTRATOR, NANCY GARRA, WHO'S NEXT TO HER, AND OUR NEW CONTROLLER, KAREN HOLLINGSWORTH, FOR THE OUTSTANDING WORK THEY DID THIS YEAR ON BEHALF OF THE COUNCIL, LET ME JUST SAY THAT, UH, WE DO RECOGNIZE YOU GUYS HAVE AN AWESOME RESPONSIBILITY BASED ON EVERYTHING THAT WE SEE.
AND EVERY YEAR THAT OUR AUDITOR COMES SOME TYPE, WE, WE NOT ONLY PASS, BUT WE PASS WITH FLYING COLORS.
YOU, YOU'RE RIGHT TO LIFT UP THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTUALLY DOING THE WORK BECAUSE THEY'RE THE UNSEEN HEROES.
SO WE DO THINK HE'S SO VERY MUCH FOR THE, THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, AND WE THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN FOR COMING AND, UH, WORKING WITH OUR STAFF.
UH, YOU SEEM TO HAVE A VERY GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH US.
UH, WHAT I REALLY LIKE ABOUT THIS ALSO IS THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TRANSPARENT.
YOU PUT IT OUT THERE, YOU TELL IT LIKE IT IS, AND WE HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE WHERE WE CAN IMPROVE.
YEAH, I THINK THAT WE WORK WELL TOGETHER.
AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE ALL WANT.
THESE WERE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS.
NOTHING WAS, YOU KNOW, A MAJOR FINDING.
BUT WE JUST WANNA KEEP EVERYONE TRANSPARENT, AND I APPRECIATE IT.
MIKE, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? YOU'RE GOOD.
CAN I SAY ONE LAST THING? YES, ALLISON, I JUST WANTED TO THANK THE COMMITTEE, UH, FOR RECEIVING THE PRESENTATION TODAY AND ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS.
AND THANK YOU, MATT, FOR RECOGNIZING THE TEAM.
UM, THIS TEAM'S VERY COMMITTED TO ADDRESSING SOME OF THE OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US THAT WERE IDENTIFIED THROUGH THESE MANAGEMENT LETTERS, AND JUST ENHANCING OUR COMPETENCY AND ABILITIES OF, UH, PREPARING, YOU KNOW, ACCURATE, TIMELY FINANCIALS WITH OUR NEW ERP SYSTEM.
SO I REALLY WANNA GIVE KUDOS TO THOSE THREE LADIES OVER THERE AS THIS IS A BIG MILESTONE FOR THEM.
BUT THE WORK CONTINUES AND WE HAVE OUR BEST CONFIDENCE THAT, UH, WE WILL NOT HAVE THESE SAME MANAGEMENT LETTERS NEXT YEAR, UM, AS WE'RE ABLE TO REALLY DO A FULL FISCAL YEAR IN THIS NEW SYSTEM AND, UM, JUST ENHANCE HOW WE'RE USING IT AND HOW WE'RE REPORTING OUT OF THAT SYSTEM.
SO, JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR THAT OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON THIS.
ALLISON, JUST ALLISON, I KNOW ALL THEIR NAMES, I KNOW HE DID, BUT I'D LIKE FOR YOU TO HAVE THE LADIES LADY STAND SO WE WOULD KNOW WHO THEY ARE.
LADIES, WOULD YOU PLEASE STAND? CATHERINE AND KAREN AND NANCY.
AND OFFICER CHAIRMAN, ACTUALLY, I, I WOULD SAY ONE THING,
I WAS NOT GOING TO, BUT I WILL.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THIS, UH, THE STAFF THAT WE'RE JUST RECOGNIZED AND, AND THE LEADERSHIP OF, UH, UH, THE FINANCE TEAM, UH, UNDER ALLISON'S LEADERSHIP AND PREVIOUSLY UNDER MATT'S LEADERSHIP, UH, TOOK THIS ORGANIZATION THROUGH A NEW ERP IMPLEMENTATION.
UH, I WAS CIO AT THE TIME THAT WE IMPLEMENTED WORKDAY, AND I CAN TELL YOU WHAT AN ENORMOUS LIFT IT WAS, UH, FOR THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
AND NOT ONLY DID THEY WORK 80 HOUR
[00:25:01]
WEEKS, UH, TO GET THIS, THE MATERIALS READY AND TO, TO ASSIST WITH THIS AUDIT, BUT THEY DID THAT FOR OVER A YEAR, UH, WORKING TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS ERP IMPLEMENTATION WENT IN, IN A TIMELY MANNER AND WENT IN IN SUCH A WAY THAT WE COULD, DESPITE THAT END UP WITH A CLEAN AUDIT.AND, AND MY HAT'S OFF TO BOTH THE LEADERSHIP AND TO THE, UH, REST OF THE STAFF FOR THE ENORMOUS LIFT AND THE TREMENDOUS WORK THAT THEY DID IN THAT REGARD.
I COULDN'T BE MORE PROUD OF THAT TEAM.
I KNOW QUITE OFTEN, YOU KNOW, WE, WE GIVE MATT HIS KUDOS, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S A THING AROUND HERE THAT WHEN WE CALL MATT, IT'S ALWAYS MATT AND ALLISON
SO ALLISON, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH TO YOU.
OKAY, CHAIRMAN, THE NEXT ITEM THAT WE'RE GONNA DISCUSS IS THE BUILDING INSPECTION PERMIT PROCESS AUDIT.
SO, AS MANY OF YOU'RE AWARE, THE BUILDING INSPECTION DEPARTMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ADMINISTERING AND ENFORCING BUILDING RELATED REGULATIONS WITHIN THE CITY OF GARLAND.
UM, SO FOR THIS AUDIT, WE HAD TWO OBJECTIVES.
WE WANTED TO EVALUATE WHETHER THE DEPARTMENT'S INTERNAL CONTROLS EFFECTIVELY ENSURE THAT ALL PERMIT AND INSPECTION FEES ARE ACCURATELY ASSESSED, PROPERLY COLLECTED, RECONCILED, AND DEPOSITED, DETERMINE IF SYSTEM ACCESS RIGHTS ARE CONFIGURED TO PREVENT UNAUTHORIZED CHANGE CHARGES OR MIS CHANGES OR MISUSE.
SECONDLY, WE WANTED TO DETERMINE IF THE DEPARTMENT'S PLAN REVIEW, PERMITTING AND INSPECTION SERVICES ARE OPERATING EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY ENSURE THE DEPARTMENT IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE TIMELINESS REQUIREMENTS, AS WELL AS THE TEXAS STATE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES COMMISSION'S RECORD KEEPING REQUIREMENTS.
SO BASICALLY, UM, THIS WAS A VERY COMPREHENSIVE AUDIT.
UM, AS YOU'RE AWARE, THE DEPARTMENT WENT THROUGH A NUMBER OF LEADERSHIP CHANGES.
UM, I CAN TELL AT LEAST THREE OR FOUR DURING THE PAST 10 YEARS, I'M EX EXTREMELY, UM, UM, HAPPY TO REPORT, UM, THAT, UM, THE CURRENT LEADERSHIP, UH, WAS EXTREMELY TRANSPARENT AND THEY, THEY WERE EXTREMELY, UH, ACTED IN A MANNER THAT THEY WANTED TO KNOW MORE AND MORE.
THEY ASKED US TO LOOK INTO CERTAIN AREAS.
SO I'M, I'M VERY WELL PLEASED.
OBVIOUSLY, YOU'RE GONNA SEE SOME OBSERVATION, SOME AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENTS HERE, BUT THANKS TO THE LEADERSHIP OF AL AND ALSO AS WELL AS SEAN, UM, THEY, THEY WERE OPEN BOOKS AND, AND, AND, AND OBVIOUSLY THEY HAVEN'T BEEN WITH THE CITY FOR, FOR A LONG TIME, BUT, UM, THEY WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE CONTROLS THAT THEY IN PLACE, IF THEY WERE EFFECTIVE, HOW THEY COULD IMPROVE ON.
UM, SO I, I, I DO WANNA, I DO WANNA BRING THAT INTO YOUR ATTENTION ALSO, UH, AS WE GO THROUGH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND OBSERVATIONS.
I ALSO WANNA, UH, APPRECIATE OUR CITY MANAGER.
MIKE AND I, UM, YOU KNOW, TALKED ABOUT THESE OBSERVATIONS ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
AS SOON AS WE BROUGHT SOMETHING TO HIS TEAM'S ATTENTION, HE WAS ON SPOT.
UH, HE, HE WAS WILLING TO WORK WITH WHOEVER THAT NEEDED TO WORK WITH TO GET THIS THING GOING.
SO YOU, YOU WILL SEE THAT AS WE GO THROUGH THIS.
THE MAIN SCOPE OF OUR AUDIT WAS BASICALLY FROM OCTOBER 1ST, 2023 TO JULY 30TH, 2025.
WE DID EXPAND THE SCOPE, UH, FOR GOVERNMENT AND CHURCH PERMITS FROM OCTOBER, 2018 THROUGH JANUARY, 2026.
HE DID AN EXCELLENT JOB IN, IN DOING A LOT OF ANALYSIS AND, AND CONDUCTING VARIOUS TESTS.
HE'S GONNA GO OVER THE AUDIT ITSELF.
HE'S GONNA GIVE A PROGRAM OVERVIEW.
HE'S ALSO GONNA COVER A FEW STATISTICS AS WELL AS OUR OBSERVATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND MANAGEMENT ACTION PLAN.
SO WITH THAT, I WILL TURN THIS OVER TO SETH.
UH, SO BRIEFLY BEFORE WE JUMP INTO THE OBSERVATIONS, I'M GONNA GIVE A, JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT ITSELF.
SO THE BUILDING INSPECTION DEPARTMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ADMINISTERING AND ENFORCING BUILDING RELATED REGULATIONS WITHIN THE CITY OF GARLAND.
CORE FUNCTIONS INCLUDE PLAN, REVIEW, PERMIT ISSUANCE, INSPECTIONS, AND THE RELATED ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES TO ENSURE CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES COMPLY WITH ADOPTED BUILDING CODES, THE CITY ORDINANCE AND STATE REQUIREMENTS.
UH, THESE SERVICES SUPPORT PUBLIC SAFETY AND CONSISTENT DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
SO AS PART OF ITS OPERATIONS, BUILDING INSPECTION, ASSESSES AND COLLECTS PERMIT FEES, AS WELL AS PROCESSING FEES, WHICH ARE 25% OF THE PERMIT FEES FROM APPLICANTS SEEKING PERMITS FOR CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES.
THESE FEE, UH, FEES ARE APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL AND PUBLISHED IN THE CITY ORDINANCE.
THE FEE STRUCTURE DIFFERENTIATES AMONG MAJOR
[00:30:01]
BUILDING TYPES, INCLUDING COMMERCIAL, UH, MULTIFAMILY AND SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.FOR INSTANCE, UH, COMMERCIAL PERMIT FEES FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION ARE ASSESSED BASED ON THE VALUATION OF THE PROJECT.
MULTIFAMILY PERMIT FEES FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION ARE ASSESSED BASED ON THE NUMBER OF UNITS AND RESIDENTIAL SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL PERMIT.
FEES FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION ARE ASSESSED BASED ON THE SQUARE FOOTAGE OF THE PROJECT.
SO FEES WITHIN THE CITY ORDINANCES ARE UPDATED AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH FISCAL YEAR WHEN APPLICABLE.
UM, PERMIT AND INSPECTION ACTIVITIES, ALONG WITH THE ASSOCIATED FEES ARE RECORDED AND PROCESSED THROUGH THE CITY'S PERMITTING SYSTEM.
THIS SYSTEM IS ALSO USED TO CALCULATE THE FEES, TRACK PERMIT, STATUS, DOCUMENT INSPECTIONS, AND MAINTAIN THE BUILDING RECORDS.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS SUCH AS APPLICATIONS AND BUILDING PLANS ARE STORED IN THE CITY DOCUMENT REPOSITORY SYSTEM, WHICH IS INTEGRATED INTO THE PERMITTING SYSTEM THROUGH A A MODULE.
BECAUSE FEE ASSESSMENT IS AUTOMATED WITHIN THE SYSTEM, BASED ON THE SELECTED PERMIT AND BUILDING TYPE, UH, CLASSIFICATIONS, ACCURATE CONFIGURATION AND TIMELY UPDATES TO SYSTEM FEE TABLES ARE CRITICAL TO ENSURE THAT THESE FEES ALIGNED WITH THE CITY ORDINANCE.
SO, IN ADDITION TO THESE CITY ORDINANCE REQUIREMENTS, BUILDING INSPECTION IS SUBJECT TO STATE REGULATIONS GOVERNING TIMELINESS OF PLAN REVIEWS AND INSPECTIONS UNDER THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE, AS WELL AS RECORDS RETENTION REQUIREMENTS ESTABLISHED BY THE TEXAS STATE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES COMMISSION.
SO WE HAVE A FEW HIGH LEVEL STATISTICS.
I WON'T GO INTO TOO MUCH DETAIL, BUT YOU HAVE THESE TO TAKE A LOOK AT.
SO FROM OCTOBER, 2023 THROUGH JULY, 2025, BUILDING INSPECTION ISSUED ROUGHLY 18,000 PERMITS, CONDUCTED ROUGHLY 58,000 INSPECTIONS, AND ASSESSED ROUGHLY $6.4 MILLION IN PERMIT AND PROCESSING FEES.
SO BELOW WE HAVE A FEW DIFFERENT CHARTS.
THE THE TOP TWO, WE, WE HAVE THE NUMBER OF PERMITS ISSUED AND THE FEES ASSESSED ON THE RIGHT SIDE, UH, BASED ON THOSE BUILDING CLASSIFICATIONS WE TALKED ABOUT.
AND WE CAN SEE THAT, UM, WE KIND OF HAVE AN INCREASING NUMBER OF THESE, UM, COMMERCIAL, UH, PROJECTS GOING ON WITHIN THE CITY.
UH, IN ADDITION, ONE THING THAT WE NOTICED IS THAT THESE REVIEW TIMES FOR COMMERCIAL AND MULTIFAMILY PERMITS, UH, ARE GOING DOWN.
SO IT'S TAKING SIGNIFICANTLY LESS TIME FOR THESE TO GET THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT, UH, SINCE FISCAL YEAR 24 THROUGH THE END OF THE SCOPE.
SO TO JUMP INTO OBSERVATIONS, UM, OVERALL BUILDING INSPECTIONS, PLAN REVIEW, PERMITTING AND INSPECTION SERVICES MEET APPLICABLE STATE REQUIREMENTS FOR TIMELINESS AND RECORD RETENTION.
UH, WE ALSO WANNA NOTE THE FOLLOWING, UH, POSITIVE OBSERVATIONS.
SO, LIKE I JUST MENTIONED, THE PLAN REVIEW TURNAROUND TIME HAS STEADILY IMPROVED DURING THE AUDIT SCOPE.
AND FOR FISCAL YEAR 25 RESIDENTIAL PLAN REVIEWS AVERAGED ROUGHLY THREE AND A HALF DAYS WHILE MULTI-FAMILY PLAN REVIEWS AVERAGED 3.59 DAYS.
AND COMMERCIAL PLAN REVIEWS AVERAGED 13.09 DAYS.
SO IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE BUILDING INSPECTION, UH, DEPARTMENT IS TAKING INTERNAL MATTERS TO, TO HELP IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY.
UH, IN FISCAL YEAR 2025, THEY ACTUALLY REASSIGNED A FEW OF THEIR STAFF MEMBERS AWAY FROM THE FRONT COUNTER AND ARE USING THEM FOR, UH, WHILE YOU WAIT REVIEWS.
SO SOME OF THESE, UM, SMALLER PERMITS SUCH AS RE-ROOF STRAWS, SIMPLER PERMITS ARE BEING REVIEWED WHILE THEY'RE WAITING, THERE'RE IN PERSON, SO THEY'RE NOT HAVING TO, TO GO THROUGH THE STANDARD, UH, WAITING PROCESS, HAVING TO COME BACK AND PAY YOUR FEE ANOTHER DAY.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, THEY'VE IMPLEMENTED AN ELECTRONIC WAITING LINE SYSTEM, WHICH HELPS THEM WITH THEIR LOBBY MANAGEMENT.
UM, IT ALLOWS THEM TO, UH, KIND OF INPUT WHAT THEY'RE THERE FOR AND ALLOW PEOPLE TO KNOW THEIR WAIT TIME BEFORE THEY'RE, UM, SITTING THERE.
SO, AND IT, UH, LASTLY, THE BUILDING INSPECTION HAS ALSO DRAFTED OVER 50 STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES TO HELP THEIR STAFF, UM, AND KEEP THEM CONSISTENT WITH THEIR OPERATIONS AND THEIR INTERNAL CONTROLS.
NOW TO JUMP INTO OUR OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT, SO LIKE I TALKED ABOUT, FEES ARE BASED ON BUILDING TYPE CLASSIFICATIONS, UH, THE COMMERCIAL MULTIFAMILY SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL, UM, AS THEY ARE IN THE ORDINANCE.
AND THE BUILDING PERMIT FEE SCHEDULE WAS LAST UPDATED AT THE START OF FISCAL YEAR 2024, OCTOBER 1ST, UH, 2024.
THE, THE PERMITTING SYSTEM IS CONFIGURED TO CALCULATE THESE FEES BY BUILDING TYPE AND WITHIN THE SYSTEM.
THE COMMERCIAL OR NON-RESIDENTIAL CATEGORY IS FURTHER SUBDIVIDED IN THE SYSTEM, UH, INTO ADDITIONAL CLASSIFICATIONS SUCH AS CHURCH GOVERNMENT.
THEY'RE THE SAME FEE AS COMMERCIAL, UH, BUT THEY'RE JUST SEPARATED OUT FOR REPORTING PURPOSES.
ALRIGHT, SO DURING THE SCOPE OF THE AUDIT, UH, BILLING INSPECTION ISSUED ROUGHLY 18,000 PERMITS AND ASSESSED, UH, ROUGHLY $6.4 MILLION IN PERMANENT PROCESSING FEES.
SO WE REVIEWED THESE FEES, UH, AND WE SEPARATED THEM OUT HERE BELOW BASED ON THEIR CLASSIFICATION, LIKE WE'VE, UH, MENTIONED.
SO FOR THE COMMERCIAL AND NON-RESIDENTIAL PERMITS,
[00:35:01]
UH, WE HAVE ROUGHLY 4,500 PERMITS WERE ISSUED AND $3.4 MILLION IN ASSESSED FEES.OF THESE, WE NOTED THAT 522 PERMITS WERE OVERBILLED FOR A TOTAL OF $99,348 AND 1,521 PERMITS WERE UNDERBILLED, UH, FOR A TOTAL OF $966,531.
SO OF THE OVERBUILD AMOUNT, THE 99,000, WE NOTED THAT 50% OF THAT ROUGHLY IS ATTRIBUTED TO TWO CUSTOMERS.
AND THIS WAS CAUSED BY THE PERMITTING SYSTEM NOT HAVING THE FEES, UM, UPDATED, UM, UH, EFFECTIVE THE TEN ONE TWENTY TWENTY FOUR, UH, DATE, AND TO, FOR THE 966,531, WE NOTED THAT 87% OF THAT UNDERBILLED AMOUNT WAS ATTRIBUTED TO GOVERNMENT ENTITIES AND CHURCHES.
SO UPON FURTHER REVIEW OF THOSE PERMITS, WE DETERMINED THAT WHEN THE PERMIT FEES AND THE MASTER FEE AND RATE SCHEDULE WERE INCREASED BACK IN 2018, THE CHURCH AND GOVERNMENT FEES WERE NOT UPDATED ALONGSIDE THE OTHER COMMERCIAL FEES.
AND AS A RESULT, WE EXPANDED THE SCOPE FOR THESE CUSTOMER TYPES ONLY AND IDENTIFIED THAT, UH, A TOTAL OF ROUGHLY $1.4 MILLION WAS UNDERBID OR UNDER ASSESSED.
SO JUST TO CLARIFY, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UNDERBID AND UNDER ASSESSED, UH, 1,078,860 OF THESE WERE DETERMINED TO BE UNDERBILLED FOR CLOSED PERMITS.
SO THE CLOSED PERMITS ARE PERMITS THAT HAVE BEEN ISSUED, THEY'VE BEEN FULLY PAID FOR.
UM, WE HAVE NO, UH, THE CUSTOMER'S NOT COMING BACK FOR ANYTHING ON THAT PERMIT.
UH, THE $356,493 WAS UNDER ASSESSED FOR OPEN PERMITS, WHICH MEANS THEY'VE APPLIED FOR IT.
THEY POSSIBLY HAVE PAID A PROCESSING FEE, POSSIBLY NOT, BUT WE ARE ABLE TO INCREASE THE FEE IN THE SYSTEM, AND THAT AMOUNT WILL BE COLLECTED BEFORE THE PERMIT IS ISSUED.
SO, UNDER ASSESSED MEANS THAT IT'S STILL OPEN AND WE'RE ABLE TO COLLECT THAT MONEY, UH, BEFORE THE PERMIT GOES OUT.
SO OF THAT $1.4 MILLION MENTIONED ABOVE, A SINGLE GOVERNMENT ENTITY WAS UNDER BILLED BY 978,244.
UH, TH UH, DOLLARS FOR CLOSED PERMITS AND UNDER ASSESSED BY $270,109 FOR OPEN PERMITS.
UH, ONCE WE, ONCE IA NOTED NOTIFIED, SORRY, BUILDING INSPECTION OF THE SYSTEM FEE AIR, THE FEES FOR THE OPEN PERMITS WERE UPDATED AND THE PERMITTING SYSTEM TO ACCURATELY REFLECT THE CITY ORDINANCE AND WILL BE COLLECTED BEFORE PERMIT ISSUANCE ANYTHING ON THE COMMERCIAL AND NON-RESIDENTIAL PERMITS.
YES, I HAD A QUESTION OF, UH, YES, SIR.
WE, WE HAVE ONE GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY THAT OWE $978,000, CORRECT? UH, YES, SIR.
WOULD IT BE APPROPRIATE TO MENTION WHO THAT IS? I, I THINK SO.
I MEAN, UM, SO OPEN, DO YOU WANT, UM, IT'S GARLIN, ISD.
YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I SUSPECTED
AND IF I MAY, UM, UPDATE THE COMMITTEE ON THAT, MIKE MAY BE THE BEST PERSON TO FURTHER ELABORATE ON THIS ONE, BUT AS SOON AS WE BROUGHT THIS TO THEIR ATTENTION, MIKE CONTACTED GISD AND MATT AND HIS TEAM, THEY'RE WORKING WITH GISD TO FIND A RESOLUTION ON THIS ONE.
SO THE WORK IS ALREADY UNDERWAY.
SO MR. CHAIRMAN AND, UH, UH, MEMBER, UH, DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TIM, UH, I HAVE, UH, WHEN I BECAME AWARE OF THIS ISSUE, I REACHED OUT TO THE SUPERINTENDENT AND EXPLAINED THAT IT APPEARED THAT, UH, THERE WAS ADDITIONAL, UH, FEES OWED FOR SOME OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION.
UM, HE HAS AGREED TO WORK WITH ME TO GET THIS ISSUE RESOLVED.
UH, MATT AND, UH, UH, HIS TEAM HAS REACHED OUT TO, UH, THE CFO OVER AT, UH, JSD AND WILL BE ENGAGED IN MEETINGS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A FULL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN US AND JSD ABOUT WHERE THESE, UH, FEES WERE DUE AND WHAT THE AMOUNTS ARE.
AND THEN WE WILL, I WILL WORK WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE.
UH, FROM MY DISCUSSIONS WITH, UH, THE SUPERINTENDENT, I, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT IT'LL BE, UH, AN ISSUE TO RESOLVE.
WE JUST HAVE TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHAT THE NUMBERS ARE AND, UH, ARRANGE FOR A, UH, A WAY FOR THEM TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE.
DO YOU HAVE TIME SCHEDULE IN PLACE? YOUR DISCUSSIONS WITH, WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT? YOU, ARE YOU LOOKING AT, ONCE HE FIGURES OUT WHAT THEY
WE'LL CERTAINLY ASK HIM TO RESOLVE IT AS EXPEDITIOUSLY AS
[00:40:01]
POSSIBLE.UH, MINDFUL OF THE FACT THAT, UH, THIS WAS AS A RESULT OF THE, UH, BILLING THAT WE DID FOR THEM INITIALLY ON THESE PROJECTS, THAT IS THAT WE PROVIDED THEM THE WRONG AMOUNTS TO PAY.
AND SO, UH, I CERTAINLY WILL WORK WITH FLEXIBILITY WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO RECOVER THESE MONIES.
UH, IN LIGHT OF THAT FACT, AS HAD WE BILLED THEM ORIGINALLY AND THEY DIDN'T PAY US, IT WOULD BE A MUCH DIFFERENT CONVERSATION.
WE INITIALLY, UM, UNDERBID THEM, UH, BY $978,000.
AND I'VE TOLD THEM THAT WE NEED TO, UH, REMEDY THE SITUATION.
HE'S TOLD ME THAT, UH, HE WOULD WORK WITH ME TO GET THIS DONE.
I WOULD EXPECT IT WOULD HAPPEN SOMETIME IN THE SHORTER TERM RATHER THAN LONGER TERM.
UH, UH, WHAT I EXPECT THAT THEY WILL NEXT WEEK WRITE US A CHECK.
I WOULDN'T THINK THAT WOULD HAPPEN.
LIKE, I THINK WE'LL NEED TO SIT DOWN AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY, WE, AND THEY BOTH AGREE, UH, ON WHAT THE NUMBERS ARE.
AND THEN I'LL WORK ON A PLAN WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO, UH, MAKE SURE THAT THEY PAY THESE FUNDS BACK.
DO WE KNOW WHAT THEY WERE UNDER THE BILL? UH, 978,044.
SO, UM, THE, THE PERMITTING SYSTEM, UH, LIKE I WAS, UH, TALKING ABOUT, THEY HAVE THE FEES SEPARATED OUT FOR THESE CHURCH AND GOVERNMENT PERMITS.
AND IN 2018, WHENEVER THE ORDINANCE WAS PASSED TO INCREASE THE COMMERCIAL, UH, RATE, SINCE THEY'RE NOT TITLED COMMERCIAL IN THE SYSTEM, POSSIBLY, THIS, THIS IS JUST MY THEORY IS THAT, UM, THEY WERE POSSIBLY LOOKED OVER AND NOT UPDATED IN THE SYSTEM.
SO WE CONTINUED CHARGING THEM THE, THE PRE 2018 RATE, UH, FOR THIS TIME.
AND WE, WE HAVE, WE FIXED THAT, UH, YES, AS SOON AS THEY WERE MADE AWARE, THEY, THEY FIXED IT IN THE SYSTEM ON OUR SIDE.
SO ANY THOSE, THE, THE PERMITS THAT WERE ORIGINALLY UNDER ASSESSED, UM, ANY OPEN PERMITS ARE NOW CORRECTED AND THAT THE FULL AMOUNT, THE CORRECT AMOUNT WILL BE COLLECTED, UM, BEFORE THE PERMIT IS ISSUED.
SO ANYTHING STILL OPEN IS NO LONGER AN ISSUE IN THE SYSTEM.
UM, YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THAT? YEAH, COUNCILMAN, UH, AGAIN, AS SOON AS WE BROUGHT THIS TO BUILDING INSPECTIONS AWARENESS, SEAN QUICKLY WORKED WITH THE IT DEPARTMENT, UH, TO FIX THE RATES WITHIN THE SYSTEM.
AND, AND WE COULD SEE, UH, THAT THEY STARTED ASSESSING THE ACCURATE FEE FOR THE OPEN PERMITS.
THAT'S WHY THAT $270,000 WAS INITIALLY HONORABLE FOR THAT MUCH, BUT NOW WE ARE ASSESSING THE ACCURATE AMOUNT.
SO WHERE YOU NOW WHERE WE SHOULD BE YES.
AND THE ONE THING TO NOTE THOUGH, AND, AND THIS IS GONNA BE ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE NEAR FUTURE, WE'RE MOVING AWAY FROM THE CURRENT SYSTEM TO THE NEW SY TO A NEW SYSTEM.
SO, UM, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE A CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL OR A TESTING PROCEDURE TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE MOVE TO THE NEW SYSTEM, ALL THE RATES ARE ACCURATE OKAY.
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ORDINANCE.
ALRIGHT, SO THIS IS, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD TO THE MULTIFAMILY PERMITS.
SO DURING THE SCOPE OF THE AUDIT, 393 MULTIFAMILY PERMITS WERE ISSUED, UH, WITH ROUGHLY $1.2 MILLION IN ASSESSED FEES.
SO OF THESE 234 PERMITS WERE OVERBILLED BY $627,060 AND SEVEN PERMITS WERE UNDERBILLED FOR A TOTAL OF $1,263.
SO 99% OF THIS OVERBUILD AMOUNT WAS ATTRIBUTED TO TWO CUSTOMERS.
UH, ONE CUSTOMER, UH, WAS OVERBILLED BY 344,875, SPREAD ACROSS THREE PERMITS, AND THE OTHER, UM, $277,000 SPREAD ACROSS 204 PERMITS RESPECTIVELY.
SO UPON INQUIRE WITH THE DEPARTMENT, IT IS UNCLEAR WHY A HIGHER RATE WAS ASSESSED FOR THESE TWO CUSTOMERS.
DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THOSE? ANY QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, SO FOR THE SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL PERMITS, WE HAD A TOTAL OF JUST OVER 13,000 PERMITS ISSUED WITH $1.7 MILLION IN ASSESSED FEES.
OF THESE 239 PERMITS WERE OVER BILLED FOR A TOTAL OF $3,863 AND 1,835 PERMITS WERE UNDERBILLED BY A TOTAL OF 124,000 AND $160.
WHEN THE NEW FEES BECAME EFFECTIVE IN OCTOBER, 2024, THE PERMITTING SYSTEM WAS NOT UPDATED FOR AT LEAST 10 MONTHS, CAUSING A MAJORITY OF THESE DISCREPANCIES.
SO RECOMMENDATIONS ARE THAT MANAGEMENT SHOULD CONSIDER EVALUATING THE FEASIBILITY OF REQUESTING REIMBURSEMENT OF UNDERBID PERMITS AND ISSUING REFUNDS FOR OVERBUILD PERMITS FOR ANY MATERIAL VARIANCES
[00:45:01]
TO THAT MANAGEMENT CONCURRED.AND THEIR ACTION PLAN IS THAT BE BUILDING INSPECTION MANAGEMENT IS ACTIVELY WORKING WITH CITY MANAGEMENT TO EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF COLLECTING UNDERBID FEES.
MANAGEMENT IS FURTHER INVESTIGATING THE CAUSE OF THE OVERBUILD FEES AND ONCE DETERMINED WE'LL CONSIDER OPTIONS AND THAT HAS AN IMPLEMENTATION DATE OF IMMEDIATE AND ONGOING.
I WON'T REREAD THAT FOR ALL OF THEM, BUT WE'LL GO BACK UP.
UH, THE SECOND RECOMMENDATION IS THAT MANAGEMENT SHOULD CONSIDER UPDATING THE PERMITTING SYSTEM TO REFLECT THE MOST RECENTLY APPROVED PERMIT FEES IN THE CITY ORDINANCE MANAGEMENT CONCURS AND UH, BILLING INSPECTION MANAGEMENT NOTICED INCONSISTENCIES BETWEEN THE PUBLISHED PUBLISHED FEE SCHEDULE AND THE FEES CHARGED BY A PERMITTING SYSTEM.
IN AUGUST, 2025, STAFF IMMEDIATELY TOOK STEPS TO MAKE THESE CORRECTIONS IN THE SYSTEM.
HOWEVER, THIS ABILITY IS NOT INHERENT AND THE USER INTERFACE AND MANAGEMENT HAS ENGAGED IT TO ASSIST WITH THE ONGOING EFFORT.
THIRD RECOMMENDATION IS THAT MANAGEMENT SHOULD CONSIDER PERFORMING PERIODIC REVIEWS OF SYSTEM FEE SCHEDULE AND ASSESSMENT MANAGEMENT CONCURRED AND HAS THE ACTION PLAN THAT MANAGEMENT AGREES AND HAS BEGUN MAKING REVIEWS OF FEES ENTERED INTO THE SYSTEM AND CHARGED TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND LASTLY, MANAGEMENT SHOULD CONSIDER ESTABLISHING A PROCESS TO VERIFY THE COMPLETENESS AND ACCURACY OF FEES WITHIN THE PERMITTING SYSTEM FOLLOWING ANY UPDATES, MANAGEMENT CONCURRED AND THEIR ACTION PLAN IS THAT BUILDING INSPECTION MANAGEMENT RECOGNIZES THAT PERIODIC REVIEWS OF SYSTEM FEES ARE REQUIRED ON AT LEAST ONE OCCASION.
STAFF HAS SEEN THAT FEES WERE CORRECTED, UH, THEN REVERTED TO THE INCORRECT FEE.
IT IS AWARE OF THIS ISSUE AND IS INVESTIGATING AND STAFF WILL CONTINUE TO REVIEW THE FEES, UH, AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THOSE ARE THAT THEY'RE IMMEDIATE.
UH, SOME ARE IMMEDIATE AND SOME ARE ONGOING.
FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF FEE CHANGES IS SYSTEM DEPENDENT AND STAFF HAVE BEEN MANUALLY CHANGING FEES AS NEEDED SINCE OCTOBER, 2025.
MOVING ON TO OUR SECOND OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPROVEMENT, UH, A REVIEW OF THE PERMIT FEES LISTED IN THE CURRENT AND PRIOR CITY ORDINANCES.
UH, THE DEPARTMENT'S PUBLIC WEBPAGE AND THE PERMITTING SYSTEM REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INCONSISTENCIES.
CITY ORDINANCE 7 5 5 3 REFLECTS ONLY THOSE PERMIT FEES THAT WERE AMENDED OR NEWLY ADDED AS PART OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2024.
UPDATE FEES THAT WERE NOT INTENDED TO CHANGE WERE INADVERTENTLY, UM, EXCLUDED FROM THE SYDNEY ORDINANCE, UH, ENTIRELY.
THE DEPARTMENT CONTINUES TO ASSESS THE EXCLUDED FEES BASED ON THE AMOUNTS PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED IN CITY ORDINANCE 7 3 6 3, UH, THAT CAME OUT IN FISCAL YEAR 2022.
SECONDLY, CITY ORDINANCE 7 5 53 EXCLUDES THE CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION FEE.
HOWEVER, ACCORDING TO DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT, THE INTENT WAS ONLY TO REPEAL THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT FOR PLUMBING, HVAC, AND ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS.
THE DEPARTMENT CONTINUES TO ASSESS CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION FEES FOR ALL THE OTHER CONTRACTOR TYPES.
LASTLY, BUILDING INSPECTIONS, PUBLIC FACING WEBPAGE DISPLAYS MULTIPLE PERMIT PERMIT FEES THAT ARE INCONSISTENT WITH THE CITY ORDINANCE.
FOR EXAMPLE, SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL NEW CONSTRUCTION PERMIT, UH, FEES WERE LISTED AS 49 CENTS PER SQUARE FOOT ON THE WEBPAGE, WHEREAS THE CITY ORDINANCE LISTS THE FEE AT 52 CENTS PER SQUARE FEET.
UM, IA RECOMMENDS THAT MANAGEMENT SHOULD CONSIDER REEVALUATING PERMIT FEES ASSESSED AND THEN ENSURE THE CITY ORDINANCE IS UPDATED TO REFLECT APPLICABLE FEES.
MANAGEMENT CONCURS AND HAS THE ACTION PLAN THAT MANAGEMENT REQUESTED THAT THE CITY SECRETARY SEND ALL ORDINANCES TO BUILDING INSPECTION STAFF AT THE TIME THEY'RE PUBLISHED.
THE CITY SECRETARY HAS BEGUN SENDING THESE ORDINANCES AND BUILDING INSPECTION STAFF HAS BEGUN REVIEWING THEM IMMEDIATELY UPON RECEIPT.
MANAGEMENT IS CONFIDENT THAT THIS WILL HELP TO PREVENT ANY FUTURE FEE SCHEDULES BEING PASSED BY ORDINANCE WITHOUT BEING IMPLEMENTED.
MANAGEMENT ALSO IDENTIFIED SHORTCOMINGS IN STAFF TRAINING AND COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT WILL MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO ENSURE UPDATES TO THE FEE SCHEDULE ARE IMPLEMENTED IN A TIMELY MANNER GOING FORWARD, MANAGEMENT WILL CONTINUE TO BE MORE INVOLVED WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE FUTURE FEE SCHEDULES AS WELL.
AND OUR SECOND RECOMMENDATION IS THAT MANAGEMENT SHOULD CONSIDER UPDATING THE PERMIT FEES LISTED ON THE BUILDING INSPECTION WEBPAGE TO MATCH THE CITY ORDINANCE ACTION.
THEY CONCUR AND MANAGEMENT, UH, RECOGNIZES THAT THE FEES POSTED ON THE WEBPAGE MUST MATCH THOSE IN THE FEE SCHEDULE.
THIS WILL NOT ONLY PROVIDE A BETTER EXPERIENCE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, BUT WILL EXPEDITE PERMIT ISSUANCE AND STREAMLINE APPLICATION ACCEPTANCE.
IMPROVING STAFF EFFICIENCY STAFF HAVE UPDATED THE WEBSITE TO MATCH THE FEE SCHEDULE AND THEY HAVE AN IMPLEMENTATION DATE OF IMMEDIATE.
OKAY, THE THIRD OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPROVEMENT IS THAT THE CURRENT PERMITTING SYSTEM HAS LIMITED FUNCTIONALITY, UH, TO GENERATE ANY MEANINGFUL DASHBOARD REPORTS AND TRACK SIGNIFICANT PERFORMANCE METRICS, UH, SUCH AS INSPECTION TURNAROUND TIME.
SO I RECOMMENDS THAT MANAGEMENT SHOULD CONSIDER IMPLEMENTING, UH, ANY IMPORTANT PERFORMANCE METRICS AND REPORTING FUNCTIONALITIES AS THEY'RE CONFIGURING THEIR NEW, UH, PERMITTING SYSTEM
[00:50:01]
MANAGEMENT CONCURS.AND THEIR ACTION PLAN IS THAT MANAGEMENT WILL PUSH TO IMPROVE REPORTING FUNCTIONALITY IN OUR UPCOMING PERMITTING SYSTEM.
IN THE MEANTIME, MANAGEMENT WILL EVALUATE AND IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE METRICS CURRENTLY IN USE TO ENSURE THEY ACCURATELY MEASURE SUCCESS OF NEW PROGRAMS AND PROCESSES.
AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATION DATE ON THAT IS UPON IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW PERMITTING SYSTEM, LIKELY EARLY 2027.
AND LASTLY, OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPROVEMENT.
NUMBER FOUR, WHILE REVIEWING ACCESS RIGHTS WITHIN THE PERMITTING SYSTEM, UH, I FOUND THAT ONE PRIOR TEMPORARY EMPLOYEE AND TWO PRIOR CONTRACT WORKERS STILL HAD ACCESS.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, NINE GENERIC ACCOUNTS WERE IDENTIFIED.
UH, I RECOMMENDS THAT MANAGEMENT SHOULD CONSIDER EVALUATING USER ACCESS PRIVILEGES WITHIN THE PERMITTING SYSTEM AND DE DEACTIVATE ANY TERMINATED EMPLOYEES AND ANY UNNECESSARY GENERIC ACCOUNTS MANAGEMENT CONCURS.
AND THE ACTION PLAN IS THAT BUILDING INSPECTION MANAGEMENT HAS EVALUATED THE STAFF ENTITLEMENT REPORT, COMPARING THE DATA TO OUR PERMITTING SYSTEM.
MANAGEMENT FOUND NO FORMER BUILDING INSPECTION STAFF HAD ACCESS RIGHTS TO OUR PERMITTING SYSTEM.
HOWEVER, THERE ARE EMPLOYEES FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE ACCESS TO THE SYSTEM.
THERE ARE ALSO GENERIC ACCOUNTS THAT MAY INTENTIONALLY HAVE ACCESS TO THE SYSTEM TO SUPPORT WORKFLOWS AND REPORTING MEASURES.
STAFF WILL COMMUNICATE THIS CONCERN TO THE ID DEPARTMENT AND THE IMPLEMENTATION ON THAT IS IMMEDIATE AND THAT IS ALL.
WHAT'S THE STATUS, STATUS OF THOSE? SO LET ME SEE.
WHAT AND WHEN, WHAT RESPONSE WAS MANAGEMENT DOING NOW? YEP.
SO I BELIEVE ON NUMBER THREE, I CAN SPEAK, I KNOW THIS ONE HAS TO DO WITH THE, THE NEW SYSTEM THAT THEY'RE, UH, IMPLEMENTING.
I KNOW, UH, THEY'RE IN THE WORKS IN THAT AND IT SAYS APPROXIMATELY THAT THAT SYSTEM'S GONNA BE COMING OUT IN EARLY 2027, BUT I KNOW THEY'RE ACTIVELY WORKING WITH THE, THE TEAM DEVELOPING THAT TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE MEASURES ARE PUT INTO PLACE.
TERMINATED EMPLOYEES AND GENERIC ACCOUNTS.
YEAH, I BELIEVE THEY'RE WORKING WITH THE IT DEPARTMENT, UM, TO FIGURE THAT OUT.
I THINK THE, UM, THE GENERIC ACCOUNTS, I BELIEVE THAT'S BEEN TAKEN CARE OF.
SO, SO PART OF THE GENERIC ACCOUNTS, YES.
LIKE THIS SYSTEM THAT THEY WERE ON IS, UH, MORE THAN A DECADE OLD.
IT'S, IT'S QUITE OLD AND, AND UH, HAS BEEN VERY DIFFICULT FOR IT TO MAINTAIN, WHICH IS WHY IT, UH, IN CONJUNCTION WITH BUILDING INSPECTION IS PUTTING A NEW SYSTEM IN PLACE.
IF YOU RECALL, WE'RE GOING TO SALESFORCE TO MANAGE, UH, BUILDING INSPECTION.
UH, AND THE PRIOR SYSTEM WAS, WAS BOTH INEFFECTIVE AND HAD A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH IT, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE REPLACING IT AS A CITY.
UM, PART OF THE PROBLEM THEY HAD IS TO MAKE CERTAIN WORKFLOWS WORK, THEY HAD TO HAVE GENERIC ACCOUNTS THAT WOULD SET UP THAT WOULD ALLOW THEN THE WORKFLOW TO FLOW THROUGH A GENERIC ACCOUNT.
THERE'S NO PERSON WHO ACTUALLY HAS ACCESS WITH THAT GENERIC ACCOUNT.
IT'S SET UP AS A PLACEHOLDER TO WORK THEIR WORKFLOWS THROUGH.
AND SO IF FROM AN AUDIT PERSPECTIVE YOU LOOK AT IT AND SAY, WELL WHAT ARE THESE GENERIC ACCOUNTS? THE IT FOLKS WILL TELL YOU, WELL, WE USE THESE GENERIC ACCOUNTS AS PART OF A WORKFLOW SYSTEM THAT WE SET UP BECAUSE WE'RE DOING ESSENTIALLY WHAT'S A WORKAROUND IN AN OLD SYSTEM.
IT DOESN'T, WE DON'T BELIEVE, UH, FROM AN IT PERSPECTIVE IT CREATES A SECURITY RISK.
BUT YOU WOULDN'T KNOW THAT IF YOU WERE AUDIT LOOKING AT THIS, YOU'D JUST SAY AS THESE GENERIC ACCOUNTS, WHAT ARE THEY THERE FOR? THE FIX TO THIS OF COURSE IS MOVING.
UH, AND I THINK IT'LL FIX MANY OF THE ISSUES THAT ARE HERE MOVING TO SALESFORCE TO A MORE ROBUST MODERN IT SYSTEM, UH, TO MANAGE THE WORK OF BUILDING INSPECTION.
I THINK THAT BOTH, EVEN IF YOU LOOK AT THE, THE ISSUES RAISED ON HOW, UH, THEY WERE ABLE TO UNDER BILL AND OVER BILL CERTAIN CUSTOMERS, PART OF THE REASON FOR THAT IS THEY DIDN'T REALLY HAVE A GRACEFUL WAY AT IT TO JUST TO EXAMINE THE FEES AND TO TEST THE FEES THAT THEY WERE CHARGING ON A REGULAR BASIS.
THE SYSTEM ISN'T SET UP LIKE THAT.
WE BELIEVE THAT THE SALESFORCE SYSTEM WILL HAVE CONTROLS IN PLACE THAT WILL PREVENT THAT FROM EVER HAPPENING AGAIN, WHICH IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE'RE SPENDING A GOOD DEAL OF MONEY TO PUT SALESFORCE IN PLACE FOR BUILDING INSPECTION TO PREVENT THESE VERY TYPES OF PROBLEMS. OKAY.
HOW FAR ARE WE AWAY FROM THE SALES FORCE PROGRAM? ARE YOU SURE ON THE BUILDING INSPECTION? HOW CLOSE WE ARE? I THINK, YEAH.
HOW FAR AWAY ARE WE? BECAUSE IT'S PROBABLY 2027 THAT'S MOST LIKELY.
WE'RE AT THE VERY BEGINNING PHASES OF UH, CODE COMPLIANCE ROLLED OUT THE SYSTEM THERE THREE STEAMS CODE COMPLIANCE IS THE FIRST, SECOND STREAM IS, SO THEY SHOULD HAVE IT ALL IRONED OUT BY THE TIME WE
[00:55:01]
AND JUST, JUST FOR THE COMMITTEE'S, UH, UNDERSTANDING, THE REASON THAT WE HAD TO GO WITH CODE COMPLIANCE FIRST IS THE CODE COMPLIANCE WAS ON THE OLDEST OF THE SYSTEMS AND WAS ON A SYSTEM THAT WAS SOLD.IT COULD NO LONGER BE BACKED UP AND MAINTAINED.
SO THERE WAS A RISK THAT IF THAT SYSTEM FAILED, THAT CODE WOULD BE REDUCED TO WORKING ON PAPER AND PENCIL, WHICH WOULD BE CATASTROPHIC.
SO THEY PICKED CODE FIRST BECAUSE IT WAS THE OLDEST SYSTEM AND THE MOST ANTIQUATED AND MOST DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN LONG TERM.
UH, THE NEXT SYSTEM THAT THEY'RE DOING IS, IS THE PLANNING AND ENGINEERING BECAUSE THEY CURRENTLY DO NOT HAVE A COMPUTER SYSTEM AND THEIR SYSTEM OPERATES ESSENTIALLY, THEIR WORKFLOWS ESSENTIALLY OPERATE BY SENDING EMAILS BACK AND FORTH AND THERE'S VERY LITTLE CONTROLS IN PLACE.
AND SO BUILDING INSPECTION IS THE THIRD OF THE THREE STREAMS. YES, IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE THEM DONE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND IT IS WORKING AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE TO GET THEM DONE.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY WITH A LARGE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE KIND THAT THEY HAVE, IT'S JUST TAKES TIME.
AND UH, I'VE ENCOURAGED THEM TO WORK AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE IN THE MEANTIME, PUT THE CONTROLS IN PLACE THAT THEY HAVE FOR THE EXISTING SYSTEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THE TYPE OF, UH, UH, ERRORS THAT WE'VE SEEN HERE DO NOT RECUR.
IT'S REALLY, UH, SOUNDING TO ME LIKE, UH, MOST OF THE CONCERNS HERE HAVE TO DO WITH THE SYSTEM, THE PROGRAM ITSELF, ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATES TO UH, THE OVER AND ON THE CHARGING.
UH, IT SOUNDS LIKE, UH, WE WERE NOT TIMES YOU CAN UNCOMFORTABLE.
IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT'S WHAT HAS HAPPENED.
WE BECAME COMFORTABLE WITH THE OLD SYSTEM AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, THE PAGES WERE NOT CORRECTED WAS ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE HAVE ONE CHARGE ON ONE AREA, ANOTHER CHARGE IN ANOTHER.
AND I THINK THAT, UH, IT'S IMPORTANT TO US AT THIS POINT THAT WE RECOGNIZE TOO, BECAUSE THAT'S ONE OF THE REAL SITUATIONS HERE IS I DON'T HEAR ANY EMPLOYEE CONCERNS.
I DON'T HEAR A SITUATION HERE WHERE ANYONE IS TAKING MONEY OR, UH, MISAPPROPRIATING AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
EVERYTHING HAS TO DO WITH THE OUTDATED PROGRAM PERFORMANCE.
I THINK THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE THE ROUTE THAT WE'RE TAKING PRISON AND GETTING THAT PROGRAM IMPLEMENTED AS QUICKLY AND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
MAY I SAY ONE THING ABOUT THIS AUDIT AND, AND THIS AUDIT AND, AND JED AND I TALKED ABOUT THIS, THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE, THIS AUDIT OF EXACTLY THE BENEFITS OF HAVING INTERNAL AUDIT, WHICH IS IF YOU THINK OF THE NUMBER OF DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS INVOLVED BETWEEN BUILDING INSPECTION, THE CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE WITH THE FEE SCHEDULE, THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE DEVELOPING THE FEE SCHEDULE FOR CITY SECRETARY, THE IT DEPARTMENT, HAVING TO PUT IT IN THERE.
THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE WHO ARE TOUCHING THIS THAT FIGURING OUT THAT A MISTAKE LIKE THIS COULD HAPPEN COULD BE VERY CHALLENGING.
INTERNAL AUDIT COMES IN WITH A FRESH SET OF, IS LOOKING ACROSS A BROAD SPECTRUM OF THE ORGANIZATION AND IS ABLE TO FIND THINGS LIKE THIS THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO THEN REACH OUT AND TRY AND CORRECT.
AND IT'S A RESULT OF THIS TYPE OF AUDIT THAT WE BECOME BETTER AS AN ORGANIZATION AND I, UH, APPLAUD THE INTERNAL AUDIT STAFF FOR THE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE HERE TO IDENTIFY, UH, SOME WEAKNESSES WE HAVE.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHY WE HAVE THEM.
EVERY, EVERY DEPARTMENT IS OPERATING IN THEIR OWN SILO AND THEY SEE WHAT THEY SEE AND THEY THINK THAT THEY'RE DOING IT RIGHT.
AND THEN ANOTHER DEPARTMENT SEES WHAT THEY SEE AND THINK THEY'RE DOING IT RIGHT.
WHEN YOU HAVE INTERNAL AUDIT, THEY COME IN AND THEY LOOK MORE BROADLY, NOT WITH BLINDERS ON FROM THE DEPARTMENT THEY HAVE AND THEY SAY, HOW DO WE DO BETTER AS AN ORGANIZATION? AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT UH, HAPPENED HERE.
AND MY HAT'S OFF TO INTERNAL AUDIT AND I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE WORK AND THE COLLABORATION THAT I'VE HAD WITH INTERNAL AUDIT IN TRYING TO IMPROVE THE, UH, ISSUES AND, AND THE MANAGEMENT ISSUES THAT THEY'VE RAISED HERE.
NEVER AN ATTEMPT TO POINT FINGERS WOULD FIND PROBLEMS AND RESOLVE THEM.
ZACH, YOU GOT ANY ANYMORE? NO.
I MAY, YES, MIKE, I APPRECIATE THE KIND REGARDS.
UM, AND SINCE MIKE CAME ON BOARD, UH, HE MADE SURE THAT WE HAVE A WEEKLY MEETING.
AND SO I REALLY DO APPRECIATE THAT.
AND WE ARE COLLABORATING A LOT.
IN FACT, HE'S THROWING US MANY IDEAS.
HEY, JED, DID YOU LOOK AT THIS? HOW ABOUT THIS? AND SO HE UNDERSTANDS AND, AND WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR HIM TO BE HERE.
AND SO IT'S A, IT'S, IT'S A TEAM.
BUT YOU KNOW, WE JUST HAVE TWO DIFFERENT FUNCTIONALITIES.
AND SO I, I'M GRATEFUL FOR, FOR HIM AND HIS LEADERSHIP ONCE AGAIN, UH, AL AND SEAN, THEY INHERITED A LOT OF, UM, YOU KNOW,
[01:00:01]
SYSTEM WISE, OPERATIONS WISE.AND I COULDN'T ASK FOR TWO GREAT LEADERS WHO ACTUALLY HERE, BUT I'M SO AL YEAH.
AND, AND THEY WANTED TO GET, I KNOW
SO REALLY
WELL, YOU KNOW, I, I HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK WITH BOTH OF YOU AS WE GO THROUGH ALL OF THIS.
AND I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT WHERE WE'RE AS A LEADER BECAUSE WE'RE WAITING, WE'RE VERY PROACTIVE POSITIONS THAT WE'RE IN PRESENT, AND I ALL, WE DO OWE, OWE A LOT OF THAT RIGHT NOW.
AND YOU CAN'T GO ANYWHERE RIGHT NOW EITHER.
I'M SORRY, THE FOLKS THAT YOU NAME THREW THE NAMES OUT.
YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU LOCKED YOURSELF IN
WELL, CHAIRMAN, THE NEXT AUDIT IS THE REVENUE RECOVERY EFFORTS AUDIT.
UM, SO THIS AUDIT ACTUALLY FOCUSED ON TWO DIFFERENT AREAS.
UM, MAINLY OUR EMS FIRE DEPARTMENT'S, EMS DIVISIONS.
BILLING, AS YOU'RE AWARE, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT PROVIDES PRE-HOSPITAL EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE AND TRANSPORTATION TO RECOVER A PORTION OF THE COST OF PROVIDING EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.
THE CD SIX REIMBURSEMENT FROM INSURANCE PROVIDERS, MEDICARE, MEDICAID, AND, AND IN THE PAST, WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WILL REACH OUT TO PATIENTS AS WELL.
AND SO, CURRENTLY, UM, THE, THE REVENUE RECOVERY DEPARTMENT UNDER CUSTOMER SERVICE COORDINATES BILLING AND COLLECTIONS FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.
WE ARE USING AS THIRD PARTY TO, TO DO OUR BILLING AND COLLECTION FOR US.
UH, BUT AS PART OF THAT CONTRACT, WE ARE REQUIRED TO PAY A FEE FOR THE SERVICES THAT THEY'RE PROVIDING.
AND OUR REVENUE RECOVERY DEPARTMENT IS, IS THE ONE WHO MANAGES THAT AREA, THAT PIECE OF THE PUZZLE.
SO THAT WAS ONE AREA THAT WE WANTED TO LOOK INTO.
SECONDLY, WE WANTED TO, UH, EVALUATE COURT ABATEMENT PROCESS, WHICH IS MANAGED BY THE CITY'S COURT COMPLIANCE DEPARTMENT.
AS YOU'RE AWARE, THEY ENFORCES THE COURT BY ADDRESSING LANDSCAPING AND PROPERTY CLEANLINESS VIOLATION THROUGH NOTICES AND WHEN NECESSARY ABATEMENT, LABOR AND REGULAR COST INCURRED DURING ABATEMENTS ARE RECOVERED FROM THE PROPERTY OWNER THROUGH BILLING COLLECTION, BILLING AND COLLECTION EFFORTS.
SO WHEN THAT HAPPENS, WE HIRE A THIRD PARTY TO DO, DO AN ABATEMENT.
UM, THAT INFORMATION IS FORWARDED TO THE REVENUE RECOVERY DEPARTMENT.
THE REVENUE RECOVERY DEPARTMENT WILL REVIEW THE INVOICES AND, AND, AND THEY INVOICES THAT WE RECEIVE FROM THE THIRD PARTY.
AND THEN THEY CREATE OUR INVOICE TO THE CITIZENS AND THEY COLLECT PAYMENTS.
AND THEY ALSO, UM, UH, WORK WITH THE DALLAS COUNTY IN FILING PROPERTY LE PROPERTY LIENS.
SO THESE WERE THE TWO AREAS THAT WE WANTED TO LOOK INTO, AND YOU ARE GONNA HEAR SOME GOOD NEWS AS WE GO THROUGH THESE AUDITS.
I DO WANNA THANK THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, FIRE CHIEF LEE, CHIEF LEE AND HIS TEAM, AS WELL AS, UM, I'M NOT SURE IF BRIAN IS HERE FROM COURT COMPLIANCE, UH, UH, AND, AND CORY WASHAM REVENUE RECOVERY DEPARTMENT.
THOSE WERE THE THREE DIFFERENT CORY STANDING RIGHT THERE.
SO THOSE ARE THE THREE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT WE WORKED WITH.
UM, OUR MAIN SCOPE, UH, WAS JANUARY, 2023 TO SEPTEMBER, 2025.
MAINLY, WE HAD TWO OBJECTIVES DETERMINING IF EMS TRANSPORT DATA IS TRANSFERRED ACCURATELY AND COMPLETELY TO THIRD PARTY SYSTEMS FOR BILLING, VERIFY THE THIRD PARTY'S BILLING RATES ARE COMPLIANT WITH THE CITY ORDINANCE, ASSESS THE ADEQUACY OF INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER BANK DEPOSITS, AND VERIFY THE ACCURACY AND APPROPRIATENESS OF THIRD PARTY COMMISSION PAYMENTS AND REFUNDS.
ON THE ABATEMENT COURT COMPLIANCE SIDE, WE WANTED TO DETERMINE IF ALL ELIGIBLE COURT ABATEMENT CASES ARE PROCESSED ACCURATELY.
VERIFY THAT INVOICES COMPLY WITH THE CITY ORDINANCE, ASSESS THE ADEQUACY OF INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER THE PAYMENT PROCESS, AND VERIFY THAT LIEN PROCESSING IS ACCURATE, TIMELY, AND PROPERLY DOCUMENTED.
J IS GONNA GO OVER THE DETAILS OF BOTH OF THESE PROGRAMS IN A BRIEF MANNER, UH, SO THAT COMMITTEES ARE AWARE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING.
AND HE'S GONNA KIND OF COVER THE PROCESS ITSELF AND SOME OF THE STATISTICS AND THEN
[01:05:01]
THE OBSERVATIONS.WITH THAT, I WILL TURN THIS OVER TO JEFF.
UM, I'LL JUMP RIGHT INTO THE EMS BILLING AND COLLECTION SIDE FIRST, AND THEN I'LL TALK ABOUT CODE COMPLIANCE.
SO, EMS IS A DIVISION OF THE CITY OF GARLAND'S FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING PRE-HOSPITAL EMERGENCY, MEDICAL AND TRANSPORTATION.
EMS PERSONNEL RESPONDS TO NINE ONE ONE CALL INVOLVING MEDICAL EMERGENCY 24 HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
PARAMEDICS ASSESS, TREAT PATIENTS ON THE SCENE, THEN TRANSPORT INDIVIDUALS TO APPROPRIATE MEDICAL FACILITIES WHEN NECESSARY TO RECOVER A PORTION OF THE COST OF PROVIDING EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.
THE CITY PURSUES REIMBURSEMENT FROM INSURANCE PROVIDERS, MEDICARE, MEDICAID, AND OR PATIENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CITY POLICY AND FEE SCHEDULE.
THIS HELPS TO PARTIALLY OFFSET OPERATIONAL EXPENSES SUCH AS PERSONNEL, MEDICAL SUPPLIES, EQUIPMENT, AMBULANCE, UH, MAINTENANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.
WHILE EMS IS CRITICAL TO PUBLIC SAFETY, COST RECOVERY THROUGH BILLING REIMBURSEMENT REDUCES THE FINANCIAL BURDEN ON THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND AND SUPPORTS THE LONG-TERM, LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL OPERATIONS.
EMS BILLING RATES ARE APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL AND PUBLISHED IN THE CITY ORDINANCE.
AND THESE RATES VARY BASED ON THE LEVEL OF CARE PROVIDED BY EMS PERSONNEL.
IN THIS FEE SCHEDULE, WE CAN SEE THAT THERE'S THREE TYPES OF AMBULANCE SERVICES, B-L-S-A-L-S, AALS TWO, UM, WITH THREE DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS OF SERVICE.
UH, SOME ARE INVASIVE AND, UH, THE REST ARE HIGHER LEVEL OF CARE, WHICH THEN COME MORE COMPLEX FOR A LS TWO.
UM, AND THE FEES RANGE FROM THIS IS FROM THE, THIS IS BEFORE THE NEW RATES FROM OCTOBER 1ST, 2025.
SO THE RESIDENT FEES WERE ON 500, 555 50 TO 6 50, 6 75, AND 7 75 BASED ON RESIDENT, NON-RESIDENT.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S A MILEAGE FEE ADDED.
SO A THIRD PARTY VENDOR WAS CONTRACTED BY THE CITY IN 2017 TO PROVIDE BILLING COLLECTION AND REPORTING, DENIAL PROCESSING APPEAL, AND RE REMITTANCE POSTING SERVICES.
THE VENDOR IS COMPENSATED WITH 4.65 OF GROSS MONTHLY EMS COLLECTION.
PER THE CITY'S AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY, THE VENDOR DOES NOT GUARANTEE COLLECTION OF ALL BILL CHARGES.
THE CITY'S REVENUE RECOVERY DIVISION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWING THE VENDOR INVOICES AND PROCESSING VENDOR PAYMENTS.
NOW WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE EMS BILLING PROCESS.
UM, AS WE CAN SEE ON THE CHART, UH, BEHIND ME, WE CAN SEE KIND OF HOW THE PROCESS IS LAID OUT.
UM, FIRST, YOU KNOW, THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE PARAMEDICS ARRIVE AT THE SCENE AND PROVIDE MEDICAL CARE.
UM, THEN THE DOCUMENTATION HAPPENS.
PARAMEDIC FILLS OUT ELECTRONIC PATIENT CARE REPORT.
THEN THE PATIENT CARE REPORT IS AUTOMATICALLY TRANSFERRED TO THE BILLING VENDOR.
AND, AND THE BILLING VENDOR ASSIGNS SERVICE LEVEL FOR BILLING PURPOSES.
SO THAT'S WHERE THEY ASSIGN B-L-S-A-L-S-A-L-S TO, UM, AFTER THAT, THE VENDOR SUBMITS CLAIM TO INSURANCE, MEDICARE, MEDICAID, AND, UH, PAYMENTS ARE DIRECTLY, UH, SUBMITTED TO THE CITY'S LOCKBOX AND VENDORS SUB SUBMITS A MONTHLY INVOICE FOR SERVICES RENDERED.
REVENUE RECOVERY TEAM REVIEWS THE INVOICE, VERIFIES THE COMMISSION RATES, AND APPROVES PAYMENTS.
UM, NOW WE'RE GONNA GET THROUGH SOME DATA, UM, SOME ANALYSIS THAT WE DID ON EMS BILLING FROM JANUARY, 2023 THROUGH OCTOBER, 2025.
THE CITY'S EMS DIVISION RESPONDED TO NEARLY 35,000 BILLABLE MEDICAL RESIDENTS, UH, INCIDENTS.
MOST OF THESE, UH, REQUIRED ADVANCED LIFE SAVING SERVICES, WHICH IS A LS ARE ON ACCOUNTED FOR ON 72% NET CHARGES, WHICH IS A AMOUNT DUE AFTER THE ADJUSTMENT TOTAL AROUND 17.3 MILLION.
OF THIS 11.8 MILLION, 68% WERE COLLECTED AND DEPOSITED WITHIN THE CITY.
THERE ARE 12 CATEGORIES OF PAYERS OF EMS BILLING CHARGES OF ALL PAYER CATEGORIES.
THE LARGEST PORTION OF TOTAL CHARGES WERE COLLECTED FROM MEDICARE, HMO, MEDICARE PRIVATE INSURANCE, MEDICAID, HMO, MAKING UP A NEARLY 10.4 MILLION OF THE TOTAL 11.8 MILLION, WHICH IS THE GREEN CELLS.
YOU CAN SEE BEHIND ME, MORE THAN 75% OF BILLED CHARGES WERE COLLECTED ACROSS MOST PAYER TYPES.
NINE OUT OF 12, SIX OF WHICH WERE AT LEAST 97% COLLECTED.
[01:10:01]
NOTABLY, PATIENT PAYERS HAD THE LOWEST PERCENTAGE OF COLLECTION, WHICH IS THE ORANGE CELLS BEHIND ME.UM, NOW THE EMS BILLING PROCESS OBSERVATIONS, OVERALL, EMS BILLING OPERATIONS WERE ADMINISTERED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONTRACTUAL COMMISSION STRUCTURE, ADOPTED RATE SCHEDULE, AND ESTABLISHED BILLING PROCEDURES.
INTERNAL AUDIT AUDIT IDENTIFIED THE FOLLOWING POSITIVE OBSERVATIONS DURING THE REVIEW.
THE CITY RESPONDED TO APPROXIMATELY 34,000 MEDICAL CALLS DURING THE SCOPE OF THE AUDIT.
FROM JANUARY, 2023 THROUGH OCTOBER, 2025, THE CITY RECEIVED 11.8 MILLION IN MEDICAL CLAIMS COLLECTION WITH A MONTHLY AVERAGE OF ABOUT $349,000.
OF THE 101 SERVICES CHARGE, JUST, UM, SERVICE CHARGES SAMPLED BY INTERNAL AUDIT FOR APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF CARE BILLING ALL APPEAR TO BE ASSESSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CITY ORDINANCE RATES.
THE CONTRACTED, UH, VENDOR COMMISSION RATE OF 4.65% WAS PAID ACCURATELY AND TIMELY BY THE CITY TO HEN HENCE, PROGRAM MONITORING.
THE FOLLOWING OBSERVATION REQUIRE ATTENTION.
THE VENDOR INITIALLY BILLED TO 22.7 UH, MILLION BASED ON THE LEVEL OF MEDICAL CARE PROVIDED.
UPON REVIEW OF THE INSURANCE RULES AND PATIENT ELIGIBILITY, THE VENDOR ADJUSTED A NUMBER OF BILLS, REDUCING INITIAL CHARGES OF INITIAL CHARGES BY 5.4 MILLION.
ADDITIONALLY, THE VENDOR REFUNDED ABOUT $110,000.
THE CITY'S REVIEW PROCESS IS LIMITED TO VERIFYING THE TOTAL DEPOSIT AMOUNT AND ACCURACY OF THE VENDOR COMMISSION.
THE APPROPRIATENESS OF LEVEL OF CARE BILLING AND THE ACCURACY OF ADJUSTMENT AND REFUNDS ARE NOT SPECIFIC, SPECIFICALLY VERIFIED INTERNAL AUDIT IDENTIFIED.
TWO OUT OF 10 ADJUSTMENTS MADE IN SEPTEMBER, 2025 WERE INACCURATE AND ONLY CORRECTED UPON NOTIFICATION TO THE VENDOR.
THESE TWO ADJUSTMENTS TOTALED $1,400.
THE CURRENT SERVICE AGREEMENT DOES NOT, UH, REQUIRE THE CITY TO OBTAIN PROOF OF REGULAR SOC TWO TYPE TWO AUDITS OF THE VENDOR SYSTEM.
UH, WITHOUT SOC REPORTS, THE CITY LACKS INDEPENDENT ASSURANCE OVER THE VENDOR'S INTERNAL CONTROL RELATED TO THE INFORMATION SECURITY AND PRIVACY.
BOTH FIRE DEPARTMENT REVENUE RECOVERY DIVISION HAVE A ACCESS TO PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION.
PHI, HOWEVER, STAFF DO NOT, UH, COMPLETE ROUTINE RECURRING HIPAA TRAINING.
WITHOUT PERIODIC TRAINING, THE CITY IS EXPOSED TO INCREASED COMPLIANCE AND DATA PRIVACY RISK.
THE CITY WEBSITE DOES NOT REFLECT THE CURRENT EMSV AND RATE SCHEDULE PUBLISHED IN THE CITY ORDINANCE.
UM, AND THESE ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, ONE OBTAINING ASSURANCE THAT VENDOR BILLING SYSTEM IS PROPERLY CONFIGURED TO COMPLY WITH THE CITY ORDINANCE RATE REQUIREMENT.
AND THAT THE SYSTEM CAN GENERATE COMPLETE, ACCURATE AND TIMELY REPORT TO SUPPORT EFFECTIVE MONITORING AND OVERSIGHT MANAGEMENT RESPONSE CONCUR.
UM, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WILL REVIEW THE CONTRACT OF THE BILLING AGENCY TO ASSERT THEIR SYSTEM IS SET UP TO COMPLY WITH CITY ORDINANCES.
THIS DEPARTMENT WILL WORK WITH THE VENDOR ON GENERATING COMPLETE, ACCURATE AND TIMELY REPORTS.
MONITORING WILL OCCUR PERIODICALLY, AT LEAST ANNUALLY DUE TO STAFFING CONSTRICTION AND CAPACITY.
THE OVERSIGHT WILL BE COORDINATED THROUGH ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE MANAGER POSITION TO PERFORMING PERIODIC MONITORING PROCEDURES SUCH AS SPOT CHECK TO VERIFY THAT THE VENDOR PROPERLY CLASSIFIES THE LEVEL OF EMS SERVICES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CITY ORDINANCE AND PROCESS ADJUSTMENT AND REFUNDS ACCURATELY AND APPROPRIATELY MANAGE AND RESPONSE CONCUR.
THE DEPARTMENT WILL PERFORM REGULAR SPOT CHECKS QUARTERLY TO CONFIRM LEVEL OF SERVICES, BUILD MATCHES, LEVEL OF SERVICES PERFORMED.
PROCESS ADJUSTMENT AND REFUNDS WILL BE MORE DIFFICULT TO MONITOR, BUT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WILL ALSO PERFORM INQUIRIES ON THESE AS THEY OCCUR.
SHOULD THE VENDOR PROVIDE MONTHLY REPORT THAT CLEAR UP THESE ADJUSTMENT AND REFUNDS, THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER INQUIRY FOR THAT PERIOD.
UM, THREE, AMENDING THE SERVICE AGREEMENT TO REQUIRE RECURRING SOC TWO TYPE TWO REPORTS AND ESTABLISHING A FORMAL PROCESS TO REVIEW, EVALUATE AND DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT.
ASSESSMENT OF THIS REPORT MANAGEMENT CONCURS, UH, AS PART OF THE AGREEMENT WITH THE VENDOR, THE CITY WILL REQUIRE THE VENDOR TO MAINTAIN A SOC TWO TYPE TWO COMPLIANCE OR EQUIVALENT SECURITY ASSURANCE FOR SYSTEM THAT'S STORED FOR PROCESS AND PROCESSES.
UH, CITY EMS PATIENT INFORMATION.
THE VENDOR WILL PROVIDE SOC TWO REPORTS TO THE CITY UPON COMPLETION OF EACH AUDIT PERIOD, AND THE CITY WILL REVIEW THE REPORTS TO ENSURE APPROPRIATE SECURITY AND PRIVACY CONTROLS ARE IN PLACE
[01:15:02]
FOR REQUIRING, UH, RECURRING HIPAA TRAINING FOR ALL PERSONNEL WITH ACCESS TO PHI AND IMPLEMENT PERIODIC USER ACCESS REVIEWS TO ENSURE ACCESS REMAINS APPROPRIATE.UH, GARLAND FIRE DEPARTMENT WILL IMPLEMENT RECURRING HIPAA PRIVACY AND SECURITY TRAINING FOR PERSONNEL WHO HAVE ACCESS TO, UH, ANY PHI TRAINING WILL OCCUR UPON HIRE AND ANNUALLY THEREAFTER.
THE DEPARTMENT IS ALSO EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES TO AUTOMATICALLY REDACT PHI IN PATIENT CARE REPORTS, ALLOWING ACCESS TO THO ACCESS TO THOSE WHO NEED TO KNOW ONLY FULL ACCESS.
THIS DEPENDS ON SOFTWARE CAPABILITIES.
OTHERWISE, AS STAFF TIME PERMITS, PERIODIC SPOT CHECKS WILL BE MADE, UH, FOR APPROPRIATE ACCESS.
UPDATING THE CITY WEBSITE TO REFLECT THE CURRENT EMS AND RATE FEE SCHEDULE PUBLISHED IN THE CITY ORDINANCE MANAGEMENT CONCUR.
UM, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS UPDATED THE WEBSITE TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THE CURRENT FEE SCHEDULE.
AS CHANGES ARE MADE, THEY WILL BE UPDATED ON THE FEE SCHEDULE AS WELL AS THE WEBSITE.
THE DEPARTMENT SOCIAL MEDIA GROUP WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE CHANGES.
IMPLEMENTATION DATE, THE IMPLEMENTATION WILL VARY FOR EACH OF THESE ITEMS. THE LAST ONE BEING MARKED AS COMPLETE, THE OTHERS WILL BE COMPLETED BY END OF JUNE, 2026.
BARRING ANY UNFORESEEN CHALLENGES, I WILL PAUSE HERE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EMS COMMITTEE, WHO IS REALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR, UH, THE CHECK AND BALANCE AND, UH, EACH JUST MAKING SURE THAT, UH, THOSE NUMBERS ARE DOCUMENTED PROPERLY.
CHAIRMAN, IF I MAY, UM, WE BELIEVE, UM, OBVIOUSLY THIS AUDIT REVEALED ACCURACY IN ASSESSING FEES BY THE VENDOR.
SO WE BELIEVE THEY HAVE GOOD QUALITY CONTROLS IN PLACE.
UH, BUT AT THE, THE SAME TIME, PERIODIC CHECKS FROM THE CITY'S PERSPECTIVE IS, IS SIGNIFICANT AS WELL.
THAT'S WHY WE MADE SOME OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS FOR THE DEPARTMENT, AND SO CHIEFLY IS AWARE OF THAT, AND THAT'S WHY HE'S PUTTING THESE, UM, PRACTICES IN PLACE GOING FORWARD TO PERIODICALLY CHECK TO GET MORE REPORTS SO HE CAN LOOK AT THE DATA.
SO THAT'S REALLY SOUNDING LIKE THE, THE ISSUE.
I GUESS I HAVEN'T HEARD OVER $150,000 REALLY IN REAL DISCREPANCY.
NO, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS HERE, BUT I WAS LIKE, THAT'S REALLY SOMEWHERE THE BALL IS BEING DROPPED THERE.
WE JUST, WHERE I TOLD THERE I CORRECT THAT.
YEAH, NO, YOU'VE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB.
WE COLLECTED ABOUT $11 MILLION, 11.8 MILLION I BELIEVE, WITHIN THAT SHORT PERIOD OF AUDIT SCOPE.
AND IN FACT, GOING FORWARD, YOU KNOW, UM, AS YOU ALL HAVE APPROVED AN INCREASE IN FEES, SO THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR YEAH, CONTINUE.
NOW, CODE COMPLIANCE CITY OF GARLAND'S CODE COMPLIANCE DEPARTMENT ENSURES THE, THE CITY REMAINS SAFE, HEALTHY, AND LIVABLE BY ENFORCING PROPERTY MAINTENANCE STANDARD ESTABLISHED IN THE CITY ORDINANCE.
THE DEPARTMENT ACHIEVES THIS THROUGH ESCALATING ENFORCEMENT MEASURES, INCLUDING NOTICE OF VIOLATION FEES, ABATEMENT, ABATEMENT, BILLING AND LIENS.
COMMON VIOLATION INCLUDE OVERGROWN GRASS, EXTERIOR DETERIORATION, AND ACCUMULATION OF DEBRIS ABATEMENT SERVICES ARE PERFORMED BY LOCAL CONTRACTOR HIRED BY THE CITY TO BRING THE PROPERTY INTO COMPLIANCE.
'CAUSE ABATEMENT AND OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURE REQUIRE PERSONNEL AND OPERATIONAL RESOURCES.
THE CITY SEEKS REIMBURSEMENT THROUGH PROGRESSIVE FEE STRUCTURE.
THIS PROCESS IS INTENDED TO BOTH COVER, RECOVER, COST AND TO DETER REPEAT NON-COMPLIANCE.
ALL FEES ASSOCIATED WITH THE CODE COMPLIANCE PROGRAM ARE APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL AND PUBLISHED IN THE CITY ORDINANCE.
AND WE CAN SEE THE TABLE BEHIND ME.
UH, THIS IS HOW THE FEE STRUCTURE IS THE FIRST ABATEMENT'S $225 IN ADMIN FEE.
UM, THIS IS ALSO JUST THE ADMIN FEE, NOT INCLUDING THE ADDITIONAL CONTRACTOR FEE.
SECOND ABATEMENT, IF IT'S WITHIN 90 DAYS, FOUR 53RD ABATEMENT WITHIN 90 DAYS, 6 75, FOURTH, 7 25, AND THEN IT INCREASES $50 EACH.
UM, THE KIND OF THE, I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT THE PROCESS OF CODE AB ABATEMENT AND THE CODE COMPLIANCE.
UM, AND WHERE REVENUE RECOVERY COMES IN.
UM, AT FIRST YOU CAN SEE THE VIOLATION
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IS IDENTIFIED AND THE CASE IS OPENED AND NOTICES ISSUED TO THE HOMEOWNER, UH, COMPLIANCE PERIOD HAPPENS.UM, THEN CODE COMPLIANCE SENDS UH, PEOPLE OUT FOR RE-INSPECTION.
AND IF THE ISSUE IS CORRECTED, THE CASE IS CLOSED.
IF IT'S NOT ABATEMENTS IS PERFORMED.
UH, IF THE ABATEMENT'S APPROVED CASE IS SENT TO REVENUE RECOVERY, UH, INVOICE IS ISSUED.
UM, AND IF THE HOMEOWNER PAYS, THE CASE IS CLOSED.
IF THEY DON'T, A LIEN IS FILED.
UM, AND IF THE BALANCE IS PAID, THE LIEN IS RE RELEASED.
UH, CODE COMPLIANCE, UH, ABATEMENT PROCESS, UH, ANALYSIS.
DURING THE AUDIT SCOPE, THE PROGRAM PERFORMED 1620 ABATEMENT WITH THE TOTAL VALUE EXCEEDING OF $956,000.
OF THOSE 341 CASES WERE PAID, UH, WHICH TOTALS OVER $165,000 BEFORE ANY LIENS WERE FILED.
LIENS WERE FILED ON 1,279 CASES, VALUING ABOUT $791,000 OF THE CASES IN WHICH LIENS WERE FILED, 635 HAVE BEEN FULLY PAID OFF ABOUT $392,000 IN FEES.
18 HAVE PARTIAL PAYMENTS APPLIED ABOUT $6,000 AND 626.
LIENS HAVE HAD NO PAYMENTS PUT TOWARDS THEM, LEAVING AN UNPAID BALANCE OF OVER $393,000.
UM, CODE COMPLIANCE ABATEMENT PROCESS OBSERVATIONS OVERALL, THE CODE COMPLIANCE ABATEMENT PROCESSES FUNCTIONING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CITY ORDINANCE AND THE FOLLOWING STRENGTHS WERE NOTED DURING THE AUDIT SCOPE.
INTERNAL AUDIT FOUND THAT REVENUE RECOVERY INVOICED EACH ABATEMENT WORK ORDER THAT OCCURRED DURING THE AUDIT SCOPE.
60% OF ALL ABATEMENT CASES WERE PAID AND CLOSED, TOTALING OVER $563,000.
LIENS WERE APPLIED TO 1000 272 79 ABATEMENT CASES.
APPROXIMATELY HALF OF THESE ARE PAID OFF AND HALF REMAIN OPEN.
IN TOTAL, NEARLY 398,000 HAVE BEEN COLLECTED FROM THESE LIENS.
CODE COMPLIANCE AND REVENUE RECOVERY MAINTAINED THOROUGH DOCUMENTATION WITHIN THE CRM SYSTEM FOR THE SAMPLED WORK ORDERS.
CODE COMPLIANCE RETAINED, UH, SERVICE DESCRIPTIONS, DATES PERFORMED, UH, PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE, REVENUE RECOVERY MAINTAINED COPIES OF, UH, RECORD LIEN FILING AND NOTARIZED LIEN RELEASES WITHIN THE CRM SYSTEM.
THIS DOCUMENTATION SUPPORTS ACCOUNTABILITY, PROVIDES CLEAR AUDIT TRAIL, AND STRENGTHENS THE CITY'S ABILITY TO SUBSTANTIATE ENFORCEMENT AND RECOVERY ACTIONS.
AND THEY DID IT IN THE VERY ANTIQUATED OLD CRM SYSTEM, SO PROPS TO THEM.
UH, THE FOLLOWING OBSERVATION REQUIRE ATTENTION.
IN SOME INSTANCES WHEN MULTIPLE WORK ORDERS WERE PERFORMED ON A SINGLE PROPERTY ON THE SAME DAY, CODE COMPLIANCE ASSESSED MULTIPLE ESCALATING ADMINISTRATIVE FEES.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF A PROPERTY WAS IN VIOLATION OF THE CITY ORDINANCE BY HAVING OVERGROWN GRASS AND SEPARATELY EXCESSIVE DEBRIS, TWO WORK ORDERS WERE CONTRACTED AND PERFORMED, ONE FOR MOWING AND ONE FOR CLEANUP.
WHILE THIS VIOLATION WAS ONLY FOR A SINGLE PROPERTY, AND ABATEMENT OCCURRED ON THE SINGLE, ON A SINGLE DAY, THE PROPERTY OWNER WAS ASSESSED FOR A FIRST ABATEMENT FEE OF 2 25 AND THE SECOND ABATEMENT FEE OF FOUR 50.
ADMINISTRATIVE FEES WERE CHARGED MORE THAN ONCE FOR WORK PERFORMED ON THE SAME DAY BY THE SAME VENDOR.
THIS RESULTED IN EXCESSIVE ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGES TOTALING AROUND $9,325.
WHEN THE CITY PLACED LIENS ON THESE PROPERTY, THE ADDITIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGES WERE INCLUDED ON THE LIEN BALANCES.
11 PROPERTIES WERE SOLD WHILE CITY ABATEMENT LIEN TOTALING ABOUT $8,860 REMAINED OUTSTANDING AT THE TIME OF DE TRANSFER BASED ON INTERNAL AUDIT REVIEW.
THESE 11 INSTANCES APPEAR TO RESULT FROM LIENS NOT BEING IDENTIFIED OR ADDRESSED DURING THE TITLE CLOSING PROCESS, RATHER THAN ERRORS FROM THE CITY OPERATIONS.
IN ONE INSTANCE, A PROPERTY WITH MULTIPLE LIENS TOTALING OVER $2,000 WERE RELEASED WITHOUT RECORDED PAYMENT DOCUMENTATION OR WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION.
SOME RECOMMENDATIONS TO FURTHER STRENGTHEN THIS PROGRAM.
UH, MANAGEMENT SHOULD CONSIDER, UH, DISCONTINUING THE CURRENT PRACTICE OF ASSESSING ADMINISTRATIVE FEES WHEN MULTIPLE CASES ARE SERVICED ON THE SAME PROPERTY ON THE SAME DAY, AND CONSIDER UPDATING THE PROCESS TO PREVENT AND DUPLICATE CHARGES.
MANAGEMENT SHOULD REVIEW THE 11 PROPERTIES, ADJUST LIEN BALANCES AS NEEDED TO ENSURE THE AMOUNTS ARE ACCURATE.
HISTORICALLY, ADMINISTRATIVE FEES WERE ASSESSED ON A PER CASE BASIS WHEN MULTIPLE VIOLATION EXISTED ON THE SAME PROPERTY.
EXAMPLE, HIGH WEEDS AND DEBRIS SEPARATE WORKS ISSUES ORDERS WERE ISSUED, WHICH
[01:25:01]
COULD RESULT IN MULTIPLE ESCALATING ADMINISTRATIVE FEE BEING APPLIED WHEN WORK WAS PERFORMED ON THE SAME DAY UNDER THE CITY'S PREVIOUS CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, UH, LIMITED DATA VISIBILITY SOMETIMES MADE IT DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY THESE DUPLICATIONS.CODE COMPLIANCE WILL DISCONTINUE THE PRACTICE OF ASSESSING MULTIPLE ADMINISTRATIVE FEE FOR WORK PERFORMED ON THE SAME PROPERTY ON THE SAME DAY.
REGARDLESS OF THE NUMBER OF VIOLATIONS ADDRESSED WITH THE RECENT IMPLEMENTATION OF SALESFORCE CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS STAFF NOW HAVE IMPROVED VISIBILITY AT THE ADDRESS LEVEL, WHICH WILL HELP IDENTIFY AND PREVENT DUPLICATE CHARGES.
ADDITIONALLY, CODE COMPLIANCE WILL WORK WITH REVENUE RECOVERY AND REVENUE, UH, DIVISION TO REVIEW THE ABATEMENT, IDENTIFYING THE AUDIT AND ENSURE ANY PROPERTIES THAT WERE OVERCHARGED ARE CREDITED PROPERLY AND LIEN BALANCES ADJUSTED IF NECESSARY, IMPLEMENTATION DATE, IMMEDIATE AND ONGOING.
UH, NUMBER TWO, SENDING NOTIFICATIONS TO THE 11 PROPERTIES WITH OUTSTANDING LIENS THAT WERE NOT SATISFIED PRIOR TO TITLE CLOSING.
ADDITIONALLY, AS TIME AND RESOURCE PERMIT MONITOR PROPERTIES WITH ACTIVE LIENS TO IDENTIFY DE TRANSFER INVOLVING UNPAID ABATEMENT, BALANCE MANAGEMENT RESPONSE CONCUR NOTIFICATION LETTERS WILL BE ISSUED TO THE CURRENT PROPERTY OWNERS FOR ALL 11 ACTIVE LIEN ACCOUNTS.
UH, SALESFORCE HAS REPLACED THE PREVIOUS CRM DATABASE STAFF HAVE REQUESTED THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMATED WORKFLOW WITHIN SALESFORCE TO GENERATE NOTIFICATION LETTERS.
WHENEVER OWNERSHIP CHANGE OCCURS ON ACTIVE LIEN, THE PROJECTED COMPLETION DATE FOR THE ENHANCEMENT IS OCTOBER 20, 26.
UH, NUMBER THIRD RECOMMENDATION IS ENSURING ALL LIEN RELEASES ARE SUPPORTED WITH AUTHORIZATION AND OR OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTATION.
MANAGEMENT CONCURS, UH, CREDIT MEMOS ARE PREPARED AND INCLUDED WITH EACH CREDITED LIEN.
EACH CREDIT MEMO PACKET WILL BE REVIEWED TO ENSURE ALL REQUIRED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION.
EXAMPLE, DCA RECORDS, UH, MANAGEMENT EMAIL AUTHORIZATION AND RELATED MATERIALS IS COMPLETED PRIOR TO MANAGEMENT APPROVAL.
UM, ALL SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS WILL BE SAVED TO THE APPROPRIATE FILE RECORDS.
THIS PROCESS IS EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY AND WILL BE ONGOING.
CHAIRMAN, IF I MAY MAKE A QUICK COMMENT, UH, CODE COMPLIANCE AND REVENUE RECOVERY DEPARTMENT.
THEY HAVE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB IN, IN BILLING THESE, IN COLLECTING THESE, AND ALSO PUTTING LIENS ON THE PROPERTY, SO KUDOS TO THEM.
I ALSO WANNA SAY ALL THREE DEPARTMENTS WERE EXTREMELY TRANSPARENT AND WORKED WITH US, AND VIN DID A VERY GOOD JOB IN GETTING THIS AUDIT DONE.
ALSO, WANNA RECOGNIZE AARON, WHO ACTUALLY HELPED IN BOTH OF THOSE AUDITS IN, IN DRAFTING YOU, YOU, YOU WILL SEE IN, IN OUR CURRENT AUDITS AND FUTURE AUDITS.
SHE'S OUR TECHNICAL WRITER NOW, SO
SHE DOES A VERY GOOD JOB IN DRAFTING REPORTS, SO, AND YOU'RE TRAINING UP A VERY GOOD DEPARTMENT.
ANY QUESTIONS? NO QUESTIONS, JAMIE.
CHAIRMAN, THE LAST ITEM THAT WE HAVE ON THE AGENDA IS THE FIRE WHEEL GOLF PARK, UM, OPERATIONS AUDIT MANAGEMENT UPDATE.
UH, AS YOU MAY REMEMBER, WE ISSUED THE AUDIT REPORT BACK IN SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2025, AND WE MADE A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADDRESS INVENTORY MANAGEMENT POLICIES REGARDING MEMBERSHIPS, LEAKS AND LESSONS DISCOUNTS, COMPENSATION, BENEFITS, TABC, COMPLIANCE, FOOD CERTIFICATION, COMPLIANCE.
THERE WERE A NUMBER OF AREAS THAT WE COVERED.
UM, SO MR. SLAY AND MR. KENNEDY ARE HERE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE TO THE COMMITTEE, BECAUSE YOU ALL ASKED MANAGEMENT TO COME BACK.
IF I MAY SAY, IF I MAY SAY ONE THING BEFORE I TURN THIS OVER TO THEM, I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE, HE MAY NOT CONSIDER THIS AS A PRIVILEGE, BUT I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO AUDIT MR. KEVIN SLATE'S DEPARTMENTS, VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS DURING THE PAST 19 PLUS YEARS.
AND HONESTLY, WE BECAME VERY CLOSE AND WE GOOD FRIENDS.
SO I HAD ENOUGH FINGERS TO COUNT HOW MANY
YEAH, I THOUGHT ABOUT THAT LAST NIGHT.
I HAVE A FILE ABOUT THAT THICK AND IT JUST SAYS AUDITS
BUT HE, HE, YOU KNOW, WE SURELY WILL MISS HIM, HIS LEADERSHIP AND HOW HE APPROACHED THE AUDIT AND HOW, YOU KNOW, HE, HE NEVER LOOKED AT THIS AS POINTING FINGERS INSTEAD.
[01:30:01]
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, TEAMWORK AGAIN.AND SO, I, I REALLY DO WANT TO THANK, SINCERELY THANK FOR MYSELF AND FROM THE INTERNAL AUDIT DEPARTMENT, UM, A HUGE THANKS TO MR. SOLE FOR ALL THE SUPPORT THAT HE HAS EXTENDED TO US.
AND HE HELPED ME LEARN, BECOME A BETTER LEADER AS WELL.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, KEVIN, KEVIN WILL CALL YOU AND SAY, J THAT IS A LITTLE TOO MUCH
I REALLY DO WANT TO APPRECIATE HIM FOR HIS, UH, FOR THE FRIENDSHIP AND ALSO FOR WORKING TOGETHER.
WITH THAT, I WILL TURN, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THIS, JED, NOT ONLY IS JED A GOOD FRIEND, BUT HE IS AN AWESOME RESOURCE.
UH, WELL, I MEAN, WE CAN ALWAYS DO A BETTER JOB.
AND, UH, I, I'D LIKE TO THINK, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN WILLING TO LISTEN AND LOOK FOR THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
NOT, I MEAN, UH, MOSTLY ABOUT WORK, BUT I MEAN, WE TALK ABOUT A LOT, A LOT OF OTHER THINGS AS WELL.
AND AFTER THIS AUDIT, I SPOKE TO HIM SEVERAL TIMES BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT WAS OBVIOUS WE HAD SOME WORK TO DO, AND WE TAKE THAT VERY SERIOUSLY.
AND, UH, JED'S BEEN A GOOD SHEPHERD, AND HE'S, HE'S GOT A GOOD EAR ON HIM.
AND I WILL BOW UP A LITTLE BIT EVERY NOW AND THEN.
BUT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, AND I, I, I LOVE THE WAY HE, HE RECEIVES THAT AND HOW WE COLLABORATE.
AND HE, HE IS A GREAT RESOURCE GUYS.
HE, HE, UH, HE MAKES US BETTER.
HE REALLY DOES HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOUR ANNOUNCEMENT,
YOU, NO, I, I MEAN ALL OF, OKAY.
NO, HONEST, NO MORE, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, THOSE KIND OF WORDS FROM JUDGE, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST WONDERING SITTING HERE.
I'M VERY SINCERE, VERY HONEST.
SO, UH, YEAH, I GUESS THIS IS MY LAST PRESENTATION.
SO, UH, I VOLUNTEERED FOR THIS AND I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT.
TO ADD TO MY, TO MY FILE IN THE BACK OF MY OFFICE.
UH, YOU KNOW, I'M GONNA TRY TO GET THROUGH THIS, UH, FAIRLY, FAIRLY QUICK AS A RESULT OF THE AUDIT.
AND IF Y'ALL RECALL, THAT AUDIT SPREAD OVER TWO YEARS.
IT, IT LOOKED AT OUR AREAS INVOLVING OUR PRO SHOPS, OUR RESTAURANTS, HOW WE HANDLE CASH AND INVENTORIES, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF AREAS AT FIRE WHEEL THAT WE DID NOT HAVE ANY EXISTING POLICIES THAT WERE GOVERNING SOME OF OUR PROCESSES.
UM, AND WE REALLY NEED TO, WE REALLY NEEDED TO ADDRESS THOSE.
MATTER OF FACT, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT FROM TIME TO TIME, GETTING THOSE ADDRESSED.
AND JED HELPED PUSH US OVER THE, UH, THE FINISH LINE AND, AND THE AUDIT COMMITTEE.
UH, BUT, UH, THE AUDIT SCOPE WAS, UH, A LITTLE OVER TWO YEARS, AND THERE WERE ABOUT A DOZEN AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT THAT WERE IDENTIFIED AS A RESULT OF THAT.
WE HAD SEVERAL, WE HAD SEVEN FORMAL POLICIES ADOPTED.
UH, THESE POLICIES CONSOLIDATED A LOT OF THOSE AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT THAT WE IDENTIFIED.
UH, AT THE END OF THE DAY, UH, I THINK THE GUYS DEVELOPED, UH, ABOUT EIGHT NEW REPORTS.
AND I HAVE, I'M HOPING THAT JED SENT YOU A COPY OF THE POLICIES I JUST REFERRED TO.
I HAVE COPIES OF THEM, BUT, UH, WE ALSO HAVE REPORTING NOW, AND AT THE END OF THE MONTH, THE, UH, THE ONUS IS ON THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM.
IT, IT, IT'S ON ME TO SIT DOWN WITH DON AND MATT AND THE FOLKS AT FIRE WHEEL AND TO LOOK AT THESE INVENTORIES AND LOOK AT THESE REPORTS AND QUESTION AREAS OF CONCERN OR DISCREPANCIES.
UH, I'M KIND OF GETTING AHEAD OF MYSELF HERE, BUT THERE WERE A LOT OF GOOD THINGS TO COME OUT OF THIS AUDIT, AND I'M VERY PROUD OF THE WAY STAFF RESPONDED AND THE DIRECTION WE ARE GOING.
SO I THINK, I THINK WE'RE REALLY ON A GOOD PATH WITH NEW POLICIES, NEW PROCEDURES, AND, UH, REALLY, UH, A LOT OF OUR REPORTING, AND I'LL BOUNCE THROUGH HERE A LITTLE BIT, MERCHANDISE INVENTORY MANAGEMENT.
SO WE HAVE ALL OF OUR PRODUCTS IN OUR SHOP.
THEY'VE ALL GOT LITTLE SKEWS ON 'EM, WHICH ARE LITTLE IDENTIFIERS OR MARKERS ON THE ITEMS THAT WE SELL.
UH, WE DIDN'T HAVE 111, THREE OR FOUR MONTHS AGO.
SO WE HAVE ITEMIZED ALL OF OUR PRODUCTS.
THEY ARE IN OUR POINT OF SALE SYSTEM.
WE ARE INVENTORYING OUR PRO SHOPS.
UH, EVERY QUARTER, EVERY ITEM IN THE PRO SHOP WILL BE LOOKED AT AND INVENTORIED EVERY QUARTER.
WE ARE DOING ABOUT ONE THIRD OF OUR ITEMS A MONTH.
SO OVER A THREE MONTH PERIOD, WE WILL HAVE LOOKED AT EVERYTHING IN OUR PRO SHOPS.
[01:35:01]
A LIST OF JANUARY, AND THERE'S, THERE'S BALLS, THERE'S GLOVES, THERE'S CAPS, IT'S ALL ON HERE.BUT WE'RE FINDING, YOU KNOW, AND WE TALK ABOUT SHRINKAGE AND, UH, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE 13 TO 15% OFF, BUT A LOT OF THAT IS ONE ITEM.
SO RIGHT HERE, I'VE GOT CALLAWAY, UH, CALLAWAY SOFT ERC GOLF BALLS.
I SHOULD, I SHOULD HAVE 173 OF THOSE GOLF BALLS, BUT I GOT 172.
SO THE QUESTION IS, HOW BIG A DEAL IS THAT VERSUS BEING OFF, UH, A COUPLE OF BOXES OF FOOTJOY GOLF SHOES, RIGHT? SO WHAT I'M, THE POINT I'M TRYING TO DRIVE ACROSS IS WE ARE, WE HAVE A SYSTEM IN PLACE TO COUNT EVERYTHING, EVERY QUARTER, IS IT? SO THAT IS REALLY A GOOD THING.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE STRUGGLE FROM TIME TO TIME ENTERING MERCHANDISE INTO OUR POINT OF SALE SYSTEM.
WE'LL GET A TRUCKLOAD IN, IT DROPS EVERYTHING OFF AT FIVE O'CLOCK.
LET'S SAY, FOR EXAMPLE, DON'S RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING THAT IN OUR SYSTEM.
UH, AS Y'ALL ALL KNOW, WE'RE OPEN 12 HOURS A DAY, SUN UP TO SUNDOWN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
DON MAY NOT BE WORKING TOMORROW, OR MATT MAY NOT BE WORKING TOMORROW.
SO WE WOULD, FROM TIME TO TIME, HAVE AN INVOICE, HAVE MERCHANDISE THAT WE HAVE PURCHASED THAT'S IN OUR BUILDING.
UH, THAT INVOICE IS SITTING IN SOMEBODY'S BASKET, AND IT COULD BE A WEEK BEFORE WE PUT IT IN OUR SYSTEM.
WELL, GUESS WHAT? A LOT OF THAT MERCHANDISE IS BEING PLACED OUT ON THE SHELF AND BEING SOLD, BECAUSE I NEED THESE GOLF BALLS.
I NEED TO SELL THOSE GOLF BALLS.
AND SO FROM TIME TO TIME, WE'VE GOT THAT CATCHING UP TO DO.
AND MURPHY'S LAW SAID, JED'S GONNA SHOW UP THAT WEEK.
WE GET IT, AND WE'RE GONNA TRY TO DO IT.
WE'RE GONNA DO A BETTER JOB OF GETTING THAT STUFF IN OUR SYSTEM.
AND THE TEAM REALLY HAS COME TOGETHER WITH THESE REPORTS, AND I'VE DONE A, I MEAN, AN OUTSTANDING JOB WITH GOING OVER THEM.
AND, AND, UH, SAME WITH ALCOHOL.
OUR ALCOHOL INVENTORY MANAGEMENT.
UH, WE ARE DOING MONTHLY CYCLE COUNTS.
UH, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S PRETTY MUCH FALLS IN LINE WITH EVERYTHING WE'RE DOING, UH, WITH OUR, WITH OUR PRO SHOPS AND OUR, OUR INVENTORY.
YOU KNOW, ALCOHOL'S A LITTLE MORE OF A CHALLENGE BECAUSE, UH, UH, WE, THERE ARE DAYS WHERE WE SELL OVER A THOUSAND CANS OF BEER.
AND I KNOW THAT SOUNDS LIKE A LOT, BUT, UH, IT, IT, IT, SOMETIMES IT'S JUST HARD TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THAT STUFF BECAUSE IF YOU EVER COME OUT, WHEN WE HAVE LARGE TOURNAMENTS, I MEAN, OUR TEXAS EXS ASSOCIATION, OUR GUNS AND HOLES AS GUYS, I MEAN, THERE'S JUST SO MUCH VOLUME.
AND AS Y'ALL KNOW, WE, UH, A LOT OF OUR COURSE OPERATIONS ARE RUN BY TEMPORARY PART-TIME EMPLOYEES.
A LOT OF 18, 19, 20 YEAR OLDS THAT ARE, THAT ARE WORKING WITH US DURING THE SPRING AND SUMMER.
WE WILL KNOW WHERE IT'S AT, AND IF IT IS GOT A BIG RED EXCLAMATION MARK ON IT, WE'RE GONNA TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT AS A RESULT OF THE AUDIT.
UH, WE HAD, WE, WE, WE HAD SUSPICION AS IT RELATES TO SOME OF OUR ALCOHOL ISSUES, AND WE MADE CHANGES IN PERSONNEL IN TWO DIFFERENT AREAS, KIND OF AS A RESULT OF THE AUDIT, WHICH KIND OF HELPED US IN A COUPLE OF AREAS.
SO WE MADE A LOT OF CHANGES IN THE AREA OF MERCHANDISING AND ALCOHOL POSITIVE CHANGES.
UH, OUR MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM, UH, WE HAVE A MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM AT AT FIRE WHEEL.
IT WAS THE RESULT, UH, THE EASTERN HILLS.
WE DID NOT HAVE A BILLING SYSTEM FOR IT.
UH, WE, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR A GOOD EXCUSE TO TERMINATE THAT PROGRAM FOR A LONG TIME.
IT, THIS IS GOOD FOR FIRE WHEEL.
THIS IS AN ACCOUNTING NIGHTMARE.
WE HAVE NOTIFIED BY LETTER ALL OF OUR MEMBERS, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER ONE.
UH, WE ARE TRACKING ALL OF OUR MEMBERS.
WE ARE TRACKING WHETHER OR NOT THEIR CREDIT CARD GOES THROUGH, WHETHER OR NOT THE CREDIT CARD FAILS.
UH, I THINK HERE'S OUR MEMBERSHIPS.
WE'VE HAD A HANDFUL OF MEMBERS CANCEL THEIR MEMBERSHIPS, ALTHOUGH THE YELLOW
[01:40:01]
THING THERE IS CREDIT CARD DIDN'T GO THROUGH.AND SO WE HAVE SOMEONE LOOKING AT THIS EVERY MONTH TO MAKE SURE THAT IF YOU'RE A MEMBER AND YOU DON'T PAY, GUESS WHAT? YOUR MEMBERSHIP'S NOT GOING UNTIL OCTOBER.
YOU'RE GONNA GET ANOTHER LETTER, SAY YOU'RE DONE.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA WORK DOWN THIS MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM.
WE GOT A LITTLE PUSHBACK, BUT I THINK THEY ALL UNDERSTAND.
SO I THINK WE'RE IN A GOOD PLACE THERE, RIGHT? UH, GOLF LESSONS AND LEAGUES, ALL PUBLIC GOLF COURSES.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE AREAS.
WE DIDN'T HAVE A POLICY THAT, THAT REALLY CENTERED AROUND THIS.
AND WE, WE MET WITH, UH, OUR SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM.
UH, WE KIND OF TALKED THROUGH, THROUGH THIS.
I TALKED TO A NUMBER OF OTHER GOLF COURSES ABOUT THIS.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'VE GOTTA HAVE, WE'VE GOTTA HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY IN THIS AREA.
WE HAVE TO CONTINUE OUR JUNIOR GOLF PROGRAM.
AND A LOT OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE DO FOR OUR COMMUNITIES, WE'VE GOTTA CONTINUE.
IF WE HAVE A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE NEVER PLAYED GOLF IN THEIR LIFE AND WANTS TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY GOLF, WE'RE GONNA DO EVERYTHING WE CAN AT FIRE WHEEL TO HELP 'EM, HELP 'EM LEARN THE GAME AND ENJOY THAT FACILITY.
UH, SO OUR ASSISTANT PROS, UH, OUR EMPLOYEES, OUR, WE HAVE A LOT OF VOLUNTEERS.
UH, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE SOME, SOME GOLF PROGRAMS DIRECTED AT AMATEURS AND JUNIORS AND KIDS AND HIGH SCHOOL AGE STUDENTS, UH, THAT, THAT MAYBE SOME OF OUR STAFF ARE CONDUCTING AFTER HOURS OR, UH, YOU KNOW, IN CONJUNCTION WITH SOME OF THE THINGS WE'RE DOING AT FIRE WILL.
I MEAN, IT'S JUST KIND OF WHAT WE DO.
I MEAN, I WOULD TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, IF ANY OF YOU WANNA LEARN HOW TO PLAY GOLF, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA GIVE YOU A LESSON OR TWO AT, AT NO CHARGE, JUST TO SEE IF IT STICKS.
AND WE'RE HOPING IT'LL BECOME A LIFELONG THING.
SO, GOLF LESSONS AND LEAGUES AND WHAT OUR EMPLOYEES ARE DOING OUT THERE, I MEAN, IT GOES ON AT EVERY GOLF COURSE THERE IS.
I MEAN, WE'RE, WE EXIST TO SERVE THE PUBLIC AND WE'RE GONNA DO EVERYTHING WE CAN IN THIS AREA, BUT WE DO HAVE A POLICY THAT GOVERNS IT, THAT OUTLINES IT.
THAT IF YOU ARE, IF YOU ARE TEACHING A GROUP AND YOU ARE AN EMPLOYEE OF FIVE FIRE WHEEL AT FIVE O'CLOCK, WHEN YOU GET OFF, YOU KNOW, TAKE YOUR, YOUR, YOUR TEACHING GROUP OUT TO THE BACK AREA OF THE GOLF COURSE, OR, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? I MEAN, IT'S THINGS LIKE THAT.
WE'RE JUST BUILDING THE GAME FOR THE FUTURE OF GOLF.
I MEAN, THE MORE KIDS WE INTRODUCE TO THE GAME, AND THE MORE WOMEN, THE MORE VIBRANT THE, YOU KNOW, GOLF WILL BE IN THE, IN THE FUTURE DISCOUNTS AND COMPLIMENTARY BENEFITS.
I MEAN, UH, UH, WE CAN, WWW WE HAVE A POLICY THAT OUTLINES THIS.
AND, UH, UH, IT'S, IT'S A ONE PAGE POLICY THAT COVERS A LOT OF THIS.
AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS AN, THIS IS AN AREA THAT, THAT WE'RE GONNA KEEP AN EYE ON.
UH, UH, WE'LL REVIEW IT AT THE END OF EVERY MONTH.
BUT THERE ARE DEFINED DISCOUNTS.
THERE ARE DEFINED DISCOUNTS FOR SENIORS AND MILITARY PERSONNEL.
UH, THERE, THERE ARE COMPLIMENTARY GOLF ROUNDS.
UH, OUT OF THE 132,000 ROUNDS OF GOLF WE DO EVERY YEAR, THERE'S GONNA BE A THOUSAND, 2000 COMPLIMENTARY ROUNDS.
UH, QUITE FRANKLY, OUR SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM, UH, OUR, UH, OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GROUP, I MEAN, FOLKS COMING IN FROM ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY VISITING GARLAND THAT ARE, THAT ARE GUESTS OF G AND L OR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PGA TOUR PROFESSIONALS.
I MEAN, THE LIST GOES ON AND ON AND ON OUT AT FIRE WHEEL.
WHAT WE HAVE NOT BEEN DOING, WE HAVE NOT BEEN TAGGING THAT IN OUR SYSTEM.
IT JUST APPEARS WE'RE WILLY-NILLY JUST LETTING PEOPLE WE DON'T KNOW WHO'S PLAYING.
AND SO WE HAVE, IN OUR T SHEET, WE HAVE AN AREA FOR NOTES, AND I HAVE WITNESSED IT.
UH, THE GUYS ARE NOW DOCUMENTING WHO'S PLAYING AT NO CHARGE, OKAY? UH, IF WE, WE, WE GIVE DOZENS OF GIFT BASKETS TO EVERY SALAD AUCTION EVENT, EVERY TASTE OF GARLAND EVENT.
I MEAN, WE WANNA BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, A FREE ROUND OF GOLF FOR FOUR, FOR THE GOOD SAMARITAN BLACK TIE EVENT.
I MEAN, DON NEEDS TO HAVE THE DISCRETION, UH, TO DO THOSE SORTS OF THINGS TO FIX UP THAT BASKET.
BUT WE HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR THAT PRODUCT IN OUR MERCHANDISE INVENTORY SYSTEM, AND WE'RE STARTING TO DO THAT, A BETTER JOB OF THAT, RIGHT? DON? YES.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT.
IF YOU'RE A CITY EMPLOYEE, YOU GET A DISCOUNT.
[01:45:01]
SIT HERE AND TELL YOU THAT OUR EMPLOYEES EVERY TIME ARE SAYING, I DON'T KNOW YOU, I NEED TO SEE AN ID.YOU KNOW? I MEAN, UH, WE, I, I BROUGHT, HERE'S OUR COMP ROUND LIST, AND, UH, I GUARANTEE YOU, BRAD, THERE, THERE'S, YEAH, WELL, WE MESSED UP ON THREE OF THEM THIS MONTH.
SO, UH, BRAD PROBABLY GOT TALKING TO, BUT WE WENT OVER ALL THAT WITH EVERYBODY.
AND BRAD WILL TELL YOU, KEVIN, I REMEMBER THAT DAY, THERE WERE 82 PEOPLE IN HERE.
I WAS THE ONLY ONE IN HERE, AND DA, DA DA, DA, DA.
SO, UH, BUT I REMIND HIM, BRAD, WE'RE NOT GONNA FIRE YOU OVER IT.
YOU JUST NEED TO DO A LITTLE BETTER JOB.
YOU KNOW, SO JED KNOWS WHAT I'M TALKING FOR.
YEAH, WE, WE, UH, WE DID HAVE QUITE A FEW ISSUES IN THIS AREA.
VERY PROUD TO SAY I LOVE WHAT THE GUYS HAVE DONE.
UH, WE NOW HAVE A REPORT, WE HAVE ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES THAT WORK IN OUR RESTAURANTS AND OUR KITCHENS, UH, THAT WORK IN OUR PRO SHOPS.
WE HAVE CATEGORIES NOW WITH LITTLE BOXES.
WE CHECK, YOU GOT A NAME ON HERE, YOU GOT A CATEGORY, AND WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE YOU GOT YOUR CERTIFICATE.
CERTIFICATES ARE EXPIRING, UH, TWO IN APRIL, TWO IN MAY.
WE'RE ABOUT TO HIRE A LOT OF PEOPLE TO GET READY FOR THE SUMMER.
THIS WILL BE A LONG LIST, BUT WE HAVE AN ACTUAL REPORT WHERE WE NOTE WHAT THEY NEED.
WE NOTE WHEN THEY GET IT, WE PUT THE DATE, THEY SIGNED IT, THEY GOT IT, AND WE'RE GONNA KEEP UP WITH IT.
AND I WON'T SAY THE EMPLOYEES WILL NOT BE ABLE TO START WORK UNTIL THEY HAVE THE, UH, FOOD C CERTIFICATIONS.
SO, UH, AGAIN, YEAH, WE, THIS, THIS WAS REALLY GOOD.
THIS WAS GOOD FOOD SERVICE CERTIFICATIONS.
UH, LIKE DON SAID, UH, NOBODY'S GONNA START SERVING UNTIL THEY GET A BALLOT CERTIFICATE.
WE'RE TRACKING ALL THE CERTIFICATES.
THIS IS ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE THINGS WE'VE BEEN ACTUALLY LOOKING AT, UH, MONTHLY.
PRETTY MUCH SIT DOWN AT THE END OF EVERY MONTH, AND WHOEVER REPLACES ME OR WHEREVER THIS ENDS UP, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF REPORTS TO LOOK AT.
ACCOUNTS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES, IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN IN OUR PRO SHOP AND ONE OF OUR PRO SHOPS, I'VE GOT TWO POINT OF SALE SYSTEMS. THERE ARE A LOT OF TIMES WHERE THERE'S ONLY ONE EMPLOYEE IN THERE.
ONE OF THEM HAD BRAD SIGN ON, ID OVER HERE, AND THIS ONE WAS JUST A GENERIC SIGN ON.
AND BRAD WOULD ULTIMATELY BE GOING BETWEEN TWO CASH REGISTERS.
AND WE'VE KIND OF SHUT THAT DOWN.
AND THAT GENERIC ACCOUNT, IT DOESN'T EXIST ANYMORE.
SO BRAD'S GONNA HAVE TO SUCK IT UP AT ONE CASH REGISTER.
UH, YOU KNOW, BUT SOMETIMES THE GENERIC IS WHEN WE'RE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE RINGING A GUEST UP FOR A GREEN FEE AND A CART AND PHONE RINGS.
NOW WE GOTTA BOOK A TEE TIME WHILE THAT CREDIT CARD'S PRINTING UP, HE'S OVER THERE BOOKING THE TEE TIME.
SO HE'S MULTITASKING, TRYING TO HELP EXPEDITE AND NOT CREATE A LONG LINE OUT THE DOOR.
BUT ON THE FLIP SIDE, AT THE END OF THE DAY, IF WE DON'T BALANCE, IF THERE'S A PROBLEM, I CAN'T TELL ANYBODY THAT CASH REGISTER.
SO WE, WE NEEDED ALL OF THESE.
IT MAY SOUND LIKE WE'RE MAKING EXCUSES, WE'RE NOT.
THERE'S A VALID, THERE'S A GREAT REASON TO BE DOING THIS.
AND IT'S JUST TO KINDA KIND OF CLEAN UP A LITTLE, JUST CLEAN THINGS UP A LITTLE BIT.
IT, I'M REALLY TICKLED TO DEATH WITH SOME OF THIS.
SAME WITH TOURNAMENT EVENT DOCUMENTATION.
WE HAD SOME PROBLEMS. UH, YEAH, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE THOSE ANYMORE.
AGAIN, I GOT A GREAT REPORT,
UH, IT TELLS ME WHAT I DON'T HAVE.
I'VE GOT, I'VE GOT COMMENTS SET OUT HERE.
I'VE GOT MY PAYMENTS DATE MARK.
AND, UH, WE'RE, WE JUST GOT A LOT OF COOL REPORTS NOW.
SO WE WE'RE TRACKING ALL THESE TOURNAMENTS.
UH, MIKAYLA RAY TAKES CARE OF OUR TOURNAMENTS, AND THIS IS RIGHT UP HER ALLEY.
I DON'T KNOW WHY SHE DIDN'T DO THIS BEFORE.
UH, YOU KNOW, INTERNAL AUDIT SHOWED UP.
BUT ANYWAY, WE'RE ALL GOOD HERE.
THIS HAS BEEN A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A CHALLENGE THAN I THOUGHT.
UH, BUT WE ARE GONNA PROCESS ALL CREDIT CARD TIPS THROUGH OUR PAYROLL PROCESSING SYSTEM.
THIS WILL REALLY HELP US, UH, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY.
AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT WILL HELP US MAINTAIN BALANCE IN THOSE CASH REGISTERS.
CONSIDER THOSE EMPLOYEES AT THE END OF THE DAY, UH, ADDING UP THOSE TIPS ON THOSE CREDIT CARDS AND PULLING THE CASH OUTTA THE CASH REGISTER.
UH, SO WE HAVE CONFIRMED WITH FINANCE THAT WE CAN DO THAT.
[01:50:01]
WE ARE STARTING THE FIRST PAY PERIOD IN APRIL.I KNOW MY FIRST SLIDE INDICATED WE HAD IMPLEMENTED, WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED EVERYTHING, BUT WE HAVEN'T IMPLEMENTED THIS YET.
UH, AND I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO WHY, BUT WE ARE GONNA START THAT APRIL ONE.
WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE ADDRESSED ALL OF THESE ISSUES.
THE KEY IS NOW LOCKED UP IN THE SAFE.
I DON'T EVEN THINK DON KNEW THAT KEY EXISTED.
WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT KEY CAME FROM.
UH, BUT THAT PROBLEM HAS BEEN RESOLVED.
UH, ANY, YOU KNOW, ANY, ANY ISSUES.
WHAT, WHAT'S THE THRESHOLD FOR YOU, DON? I DIDN'T PUT THAT ON HERE.
SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, IF THAT DRAWER'S OFF FIVE BUCKS, THEY'RE CALLING DON.
AND THEY'VE BEEN DOING THAT ANYWAY.
BUT I, I TOLD DON, ANYTHING OVER $25 YOU NEED TO LET ME KNOW ABOUT IT.
SO, UH, AND I HAVEN'T GOTTEN A CALL YET.
I RUN THE CALLS YOU'VE GOT, BUT, UH, ANYWAY, WE HAVE THIS ALL DOCUMENTED IN A POLICY.
AND JED, YOU DID SEND 'EM THAT PO THE POLICY, RIGHT? MM-HMM
SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, HERE'S JUST KIND OF A SUMMARY.
WE HAVE DEVELOPED, UH, NEW POLICIES, NEW REPORTS.
WE'VE TALKED TO OUR EMPLOYEES, WE'VE LOST A COUPLE OF EMPLOYEES.
UH, WE'VE CHANGED UP A LOT OF PROCESSES.
I THINK WE'RE IN A MUCH BETTER PLACE.
AGAIN, I, I'M REALLY PROUD OF THE WAY DON AND MATT AND THE REST OF OUR STAFF RESPONDED TO THIS.
WE'VE INVITED JED, AND HE, HE PUT HIS HAND ON A BIBLE
SO I'M HOPING JED WILL KIND OF COME OUT AND JUST KIND OF CHECK IN ON US A TIME OR TWO.
I MEAN, HERE'S SOME OF THE KEY OUTCOMES.
WE'VE, WE'VE STRENGTHENED A LOT OF OUR INVENTORY CONTROLS.
YOU CAN GO OVER THOSE, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'VE, WE'VE JUST GOT STRONGER OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR OUR PEOPLE.
UH, THEY, THEY CAN, THEY UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT NOT TO PUT WALK IN TO PUT A PERSON'S NAME THERE.
WE NEED TO KNOW, WAS THERE A LIVE HUMAN BEING THAT ACTUALLY SHOWED UP OUT HERE? AND WHEN YOU PUT IN WALK IN, THAT'S A GREAT EXCUSE, BUT I DON'T WANNA SEE IT AGAIN, MAN.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, I I, I PUT IT DOWN HERE AT THE END, WE'RE TRYING TO MOVE FROM A MORE REACTIVE, CORRECTING THINGS ON A REACTIVE BASIS TO BEING MORE PROACTIVE IN CATCHING 'EM EARLY, RIGHT? SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.
UH, YOU KNOW, SO MANAGEMENT, MANAGEMENT HAS A ROLE IN THIS.
WE HAVE TO DO OUR PART TO KEEP DON AND MATT AND OUR STAFF AT FIRE WILL ACCOUNTABLE.
I HAVE, I'VE PROBABLY PROBABLY GOTTEN A LITTLE LAX IN THAT THE LAST YEAR OR TWO.
UM, I'M NOT AS CHIPPER AS I USED TO BE, JED.
BUT, UH, BUT YEAH, WE, MANAGEMENT HAS A ROLE AND WE HAVE TO MAKE TIME FOR DON AND MATT AND THE FOLKS THAT IT FIRE WITH TO GO OVER REPORTS AND ASK QUESTIONS, RIGHT? UH, AND WE'RE GONNA DO THAT.
AND THEN, I MEAN, FIRE WILL, AT THE END OF THE DAY, I MEAN, JUST, WE'VE GOTTA KEEP IN MIND, KEEP EVERYTHING IN PERSPECTIVE.
IT'S AN INNER INTEGRAL PART OF SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, WHEN IT COMES TO KIDS AND, OR EVENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS.
I MEAN, WE DON'T ACCOUNT FOR ALL THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES WE MAKE AND ALL THE SNICKER DOULAS WE SERVE.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA MISS SOME THINGS OUT THERE.
UH, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE WANT TO, WE WANNA APPLY SOUND BUSINESS PRACTICES AND DO WHAT'S RIGHT.
UH, WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WANT, WE WANT Y'ALL TO BE PROUD OF US IN THE JOB WE'RE DOING.
AND SO WHEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS COMES ALONG, WE LOOK AT IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET BETTER AND LEARN FROM IT.
AND, UH, I THINK THAT'S THE ATTITUDE EVERYONE HAS OUT AT FIRE WHEEL.
AND, YOU KNOW, UH, APPRECIATE WHAT YOU DO AND APPRECIATE WHAT YOU DO AS A COMMITTEE FOR SITTING HERE AND LISTENING TO PEOPLE LIKE ME FOR 30 MINUTES.
SO IF YOU'VE GOT ANY QUESTIONS, I'D, I'D BE HAPPY TO, TO ANSWER 'EM.
AL, YOU HAVE A YOUTH GROUP, RIGHT? WHAT DO YOU CALL THEM? WHAT'S THAT? YOU HAVE A YOUTH GROUP IN ONE OF THE PHOTOS? YES.
ARE THOSE THE GUYS THAT DO THE SOBRIETY TEST? NO.
COUNCILMAN WILLIAMS? I THINK THAT WAS THE GIRL SCOUT.
[01:55:01]
YOU.NO, THAT'S A, A VERY LARGE GIRL SCOUT JAMBOREE.
NOW SOME OF THEM MOMS LOOK A LITTLE BUT
CHRIS, UH, IT WAS A PRIVILEGE TO HEAR YOUR, YOUR FINAL REPORT
SO IT'S, UM, IT'S FORWARD LOOKING.
ANYONE ELSE? WELL, I JUST WANNA SAY THAT, UH, I HAVE THOROUGHLY ENJOYED YOU.
UH, I HAVE ONE WORD HERE, AND THAT IS TRANSPARENT
AND I KNOW THAT JUST BASED ON THE REPORT THAT I'VE JUST HEARD YOU HAVE COME FROM A MIGHTY LONG WAY.
THERE'S A LOT THAT'S TAKING PLACE OUT THERE IN WAY OF CORRECTIVE ACTION, IN THE WAY OF, UH, TRYING TO, UH, BRING US TO A POINT NOW WHERE WE'LL BE ABLE TO BE ACCOUNTABLE AND YOU'LL BE ABLE TO BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT'S TAKING PLACE, WHAT'S HAPPENING THERE.
UH, I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE GONNA ALWAYS HAVE TO REMEMBER IS THAT, YES, WE'RE IN THE GOLF BUSINESS, WE'RE IN THE CADDY BUSINESS, WE'RE IN ALL THESE DIFFERENT BUSINESSES, BUT MOST OF ALL, WE'RE IN THE PEOPLE BUSINESS.
AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT, UH, YOU GUYS HAVE REPRESENTED OUT THERE.
THE WAY THAT YOU BUILD RELATIONSHIPS, THE WAY THAT PEOPLE, YOU WORK WITH PEOPLE.
I'M, BY THE WAY, I'M STILL, I'M GOING TO GET IT.
AND I REALLY DO APPRECIATE YOU GUYS.
YOU, YOU WORK WITH ME TREMENDOUSLY, AND I JUST APPRECIATE YOU SO VERY MUCH WITH THE REPORT THAT WE HAVE.
PRESENTLY, I'M GONNA TURN TO OUR, UH, AUDIT DIRECTOR, UH, JET J BASED ON ALL THAT, UH, HAS HAPPENED, PRETTY SATISFIED AT THIS POINT WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS AS WELL AS, UH, REVOLUTIONS THAT HAVE COME FORWARD.
UM, WE ALWAYS LOOK FOR THREE THINGS.
UH, FROM AN INTERNAL CONTROLS PERSPECTIVE, WE LOOK FOR DESIGN.
WE, WE LOOK FOR IMPLEMENTATION, AND WE THEN LOOK FOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THOSE IMPLEMENTATIONS.
AND I THINK, UM, KEVIN, DON, MATT, THEY HAVE DESIGNED THE POLICIES, PROCESSES VERY THOROUGHLY.
UM, MY ONE CONCERN I KEPT ASKING KEVIN WAS, UM, DO YOU HAVE THE RESOURCES TO DO ALL OF THIS? CORRECT.
OR IS THIS TOO MUCH? RIGHT? AND HE, HE ACTUALLY, UH, AS HE SAID HERE, REPEATEDLY KNOW, THE STAFF RECEIVED IT VERY WELL.
THEY, THEY TOOK IT FROM A VERY POSITIVE PERSPECTIVE.
OBVIOUSLY, THEY WERE ABLE TO ELIMINATE SOME OF THE UNNECESSARY PROCESSES AS WELL.
AND SO THEY DESIGNED IT VERY WELL.
THEY IMPLEMENTED MOST OF THESE EXTREMELY WELL.
UM, AND, AND THE EFFECTIVENESS IS BEING MONITORED BY MANAGEMENT ON A CONTINUOUS BASIS.
SO I, I COULD NOT ASK FOR A BETTER RESPONSE FROM, FROM KEVIN AND FIREWALL STAFF.
YES, KEVIN MADE ME, UH, AGREE THAT I WILL GO OUT THERE IN AN UNOFFICIAL CAPACITY, CAPACITY.
MY ONLY REQUEST WAS, WILL YOU GO WITH ME? YEAH, NO.
HE'S BEEN VERY TRANSPARENT AS, AS YOU SAID, CARES FOR THE CITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, PUT HIS SOUL OUT TO CARE FOR THE CITIZENS.
AND I KNOW HOW MUCH KEVIN HAD FOR THIS COMMUNITY, AND, AND WE SURELY WILL MISS, MISS HIM, BUT WISH HIM ALL THE BEST.
WELL, I'M SURE YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING.
WELL, YEAH, I JUST WANNA SAY, KEVIN, YOU'VE DONE A FABULOUS JOB IN RESPONDING TO AUDITED AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE, UH, IMPLEMENTED OUT THERE.
AND WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL AND, AND, UH, YOU'RE BEING SO RECEPTIVE TO AUDITS.
MRS. SLAY HAS IN FACT ASKED IF WE WOULD, UH, DONATE SOME OF JED'S TIME TO AUDIT YOUR TIME AND YOUR ACTIVITIES IN RETIREMENT.
FAMILIAR WITH THE TERM UNOFFICIAL
WELL, UH, AND DON, UH, TO YOU, YOU HAVE CERTAINLY CREATED AN ENVIRONMENT AT THAT GOLF COURSE WHERE
[02:00:01]
PEOPLE WANT TO LEARN THE ART OF GOLF.JUST WANT TO SAY TO YOU, JUST CONTINUE TO DO WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING IN THE WAY OF YOUR PERSONALITY, YOUR ATTITUDE, YOUR CHARACT, BECAUSE I THINK THAT THAT REALLY HELPS BUILDS, AND ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU START TALKING ABOUT WORKING WITH THOSE KIDS.
I'D MUCH RATHER SEE THEM OUT THERE ON THAT GOLF COURSE THAN SOME OTHER, THE OTHER PLACES THAT THEY COULD BE.
SO, NO DOUBT, WE, WE, WE APPRECIATE IT.
I MEAN IT, THE ENTIRE TEAM AND THEY ALL, THEY ALL DO A REALLY GOOD JOB.
AND SOMETIMES WE GET BUSY COMPLACENT AND THAN WHEN IMPLEMENTING THESE CHANGES UP A GREAT SPOT.
AND WE HAVE ROOM FOR MORE KIDS.
SO IF YOU KNOW SOME KIDS YES, SIR.
WE HAVE A COUPLE OF KIDS THAT WILL, DO YOU HAVE ANY FLOWERS OR ANYTHING? UH, MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU COULD GET INTO OUR HANDS AND WE COULD PUT IT BEFORE SOME GROUP YOUNG YOUTH GROUPS.
WE'LL DO THE, WE'LL DO THE, UH, THE SUMMER CAMPS.
I'LL MAKE SURE WE FORWARD THOSE TO WE'LL GET THOSE TO, YEAH.
DO ANY OF YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE? NO, SIR.
OKAY, MATT, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR COMING.
NOW LOOKING AT MY, UH, ITINERARY OR MY AGENDA HERE, SEEMS LIKE THAT WAS THE LAST THING ON IT, JET, IS THAT CORRECT? YES, SIR.
WE HAVE ANOTHER MEETING THAT'S GONNA BE TAKING PLACE HERE IN ABOUT 30 MINUTES.
SO, UH, THAT'LL GIVE US, UH, PLENTY OF TIME TO, UH, GET EVERYTHING CLEANED UP AND READY FOR THEM WITH THAT COMMITTEE.