--------- So yeah, she's done already. All right. All right, good morning everyone. Uh, thank you for coming out. It's a little after 10. It's 10:05. We're going to go ahead and call the public safety committee meeting for Tuesday, April 7th
to order. Um, the first item of business is approval of the March 3rd, 2026 uh minutes. Move to approve. >> All right. All in favor? >> I. I. >> Any nays? No. Okay, that one passes. All
right. Uh this next presentation is um actually quite an important one. Um I never like to rush meetings for the sake of rushing meetings. So I do want to make sure we give this one the time it deserves. Um and so with that being said, we're going to go over workers compensation overview. Uh director
Kristen Smith from human resources is here to give that or she's not. >> No, Kristen will provide the overview, but I want to do a quick introduction. And I want to do an introduction to the workers comp program overview that you're about to receive for two reasons.
One is the former HR director and second as the assistant city manager responsible for the oversight of the human resources department that administers the workers compensation program. I want to share that the city is part of the state's workers compensation program that basically
regulates the framework around medical care and wage replacement for employees that are injured on the job. that o that program that we uh participate in has been around since 1913 and the city has been a participant in that program for decades.
Beyond compliance with state requirements, what you're going to hear in today's presentation are things that we do above and beyond what the law requires. You're also going to hear that our goal is even just more fundamental that employees go home safely at the end of a shift. And so there's lots of
efforts that go into that on related to on the job training that our first responders receive. In addition to that, um they also receive PPE and protection equipment. And then of course the safety net of the state state regulated insurance in the event that that they
sustain a job rellated injury or an occupational illness. The duties of our first responders carry an inherent risk and we recognize that they are the first to go into situations that would prevent that would pro uh expose them to injuries and illnesses
that occur on the job. And so again, beyond the state regulatory requirements, the city provides support for injury prevention. We provide early um detection. So there's screenings that are provided to our first responders and then recovery. Some of the examples that
you're going to hear more about are the athletic trainers that are provided to first responders at no cost to those individuals. You're also going to hear about our nurse case managers that help with complex workers compensation claims and then annual health screenings that we provide to our firefighters for early
detection of occupational illnesses. On average, the city receives over a thousand claims every year. Vast majority of those claims are from our first responders. And while I say those numbers, I want to say that behind each of those claims and
each of those numbers, there's an employee, there's a worker, there's a work group, and there's a family that's impacted. And that perspective matters. What you're going to f what we're going to focus on in today's presentation is really about the overall program and the
administration. the individual cases. While those situations matter to the individuals, to the employees, to the city, we are legally prohibited from talking about medical situations of our employees. So today's presentation is really going to
look at the overall program administration and ways that we can strengthen this program in a consistent and fiscally sustainable manner for the benefit of our employees and the trust of our taxpayers. So before I allow Kristen to
come up, I do want to share that Kristen has been with us for all of six months in one day. And we're going to lean into her newness to the organization and her public and private experience to really look at how we administer the program and opportunities for change. So with
that, I'm going to turn it over to Kristen to provide the overview. >> Thank you. Iana. Again, I'm Kristen Smith. I am the HR director here at the city. I'm here to provide uh a very high level overview of
workers compensation both as a framework outlined by the state uh as well as provisions that are in place um for the city's uh specific program. All right. Um so the state actually sets the framework and outlines uh guidelines
for workers compensation um for all employers um across the state. Um at very fundamental levels, workers compensation is in place to ensure employees who are uh injured or become ill as a result of their work that they
receive treatment uh timely care and in some situations compensation um for their situations. Uh the regulatory body for workers compensation in the state is the Texas Department of Insurance. They provide both the framework um that we are
required to follow. Uh they ensure compliance and they can also take enforcement action. Uh as a public entity, the city is required to participate in the state's workers compensation program. Um like many other employers uh again across the state.
I always like to use for reference because everybody typically understands how uh employer provided health insurance works. So you know you have an employer uh employees pay premiums to that employer to participate in their benefit programs. Uh the employer
provides funding and so it really is the shared pool of resources that helps to cover the cost of employee benefits. Um workers compensation is not set up with that model. uh employees do not contribute to workers compensation. Uh
it's fully funded. All of the mandates by the state uh are funded by the employer, which means that uh taxpayers pay for the cost of workers compensation. Um and again, the city is self-insured and so all of the state mandates, anything that you know is
added in addition to that, other aspects of our programs, they are all funded 100% by the employer. And then just for reference and I'll talk more about this. Um on average the city has on an annual basis anywhere
from u roughly 1500 to700 claims. Uh and these numbers represent the last year but they're pretty um representative of what our annual um participation or claims activity looks like. Uh and our largest category is strains followed by
um miscellaneous uh and um falls and slips. Uh and I do want to say that um you know we have our frontline employees who you know do very physical work. They work out in the elements. We obviously have police and fire uh who have you
know very hazardous positions. Uh so it is not uncommon to see that fire and police and some of our other target departments uh are some of the highest utilizers of workers compensation. Uh the claims numbers that you see here, they span from anything as simple as a
you know cut or scrape uh where somebody gets you know some basic treatment and returns to work uh on up to the you know full spectrum of uh injuries and illnesses that our employees um may face. And again, just, you know, to support uh and chime in on Diana's
point, these are numbers that tell us activity, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if we have, you know, one claim or thousands of claims. Uh, every claim is specific to that employee. Um, they only care about the care that they're receiving and how they're
navigating their claims. And that is, uh, the approach that I and my team uh, are committed to focusing on. How do we help each individual employee navigate what is sometimes a complicated process under the state guidelines that we have
to follow? All right. So, speaking of statemandated provisions, I do want to uh dive a little bit deeper into what the regulations uh require of us as employers. So again, unlike traditional health insurance where there's a network
of providers, you're able to go uh out of medical necessity to kind of any of those providers and receive care uh in order for something to be considered compensible uh and covered under workers compensation. We have to be able to show causation. And there are two um primary
areas for that. Um so one um workers compensation is not considered at fault. Meaning in order for an employee to access care there does not have to be a determination that the employee contributed to it his own his or her own
um accident or illness. Um there are a couple of exceptions to that. So, for example, if an employee um maybe was using an illegal substance and had an accident, that could be uh a potential uh possibility of of that claim not
being covered. Um but overwhelmingly um the fault of the employee is not considered um when accessing care. Um on the legal side, again, it has to be directly related to work. So, um, not only does it have to occur while that
employee is performing work, um, the type of injury and the extent of the injury has to be directly shown to be connected to the work the employee was performing at the time of injury. And so, a good example for this is, you know, maybe I have a shoulder injury.
I've, you know, lifted weights for years or I have, you know, other physical demands that have caused me to have prior injuries. Maybe I've had a treatment on my on my shoulder in the past. And then if I injure my shoulder at work, all of those factors will be
considered and the type and level of care that I need uh will be reviewed based on the type of work that I was doing at that time and the result. And then um to support that, our workers compensation providers um they're looking for medical causation. So they
are assessing not only the way the employees presenting at time of injury but they're looking at prior medical records um what's the employees history are there co-orbidities other illnesses other degenerative conditions that may have contributed to the extent of the
employees injury and again these are required uh under state guidelines. I'm sorry, Kristen. Real quick before we go on from that one, the on that last slide, if we can go back there real quick, when it says the other contributing factors are also considered, um, does that mean something
is found that it it has to be denied or it's automatically denied or it could lead to the denial? >> Yeah, definitely not that black and white. suggest that the employees, you know, physical condition, prior medical history are all taken into account when
determining the level of compensibility and if the injury is directly related to what they were doing at the time of injury and that it happened in the workplace. So, it's just one of several factors that would be considered. >> Thank you.
>> All right. So, the exception to that um are presumptive coverages. So for certain first responders, there are certain illnesses that are assumed to to have developed out of the course of employment. And so for presumptive coverages, it places the burden on the
employer to determine that it was not caused through the course of their work. And so the current presumptive list includes tuberculosis, um specific type of heart attack or stroke, uh and certain cancers that are
listed there. All right. So for determination for a typical injury, we have u roughly 15 days to determine if it is compensible under workers comp. I do want to state again while these timelines are occurring, it does not mean that
employees are waiting on care. Um the goal always is timely um and effective uh medical treatment for our employees. But for a typical injury, 15 days to determine whether it is truly a workers's comp covered um injury. And
then for presumptive illnesses, especially for cancers that may require, you know, more medical um workup, labs and um scans and other screenings, um employers are provided with a longer timeline to determine uh compensibility
and that is 60 days. >> Um regardless of the outcome. >> Sorry, one second. If I could just interrupt you for a second, do you mind going back to the previous slide real quick? >> Absolutely. >> Yeah. Um the list of cancers, where do we um where do we get that that list
from? >> So um this is provided by the state um and do you is it something that you need? >> That answer my question. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Sure. >> All right. And then um in addition to the timelines for determining initial
compensibility um the state has set up guidelines for dispute resolution. And so employees have many steps to follow um to have their cases or the conditions of their case heard um by varying parties. And that starts with just initial proactive outreach with their
examiners uh and could progress up to a final appeal review uh and potentially litigation if the employee chooses that route. All right. So, next is claims navigation. And um this is an important aspect of how workers compensation works
because you know employees are not looking at regulations and guidelines when they're trying to access care. They only want to know what their claims experience is. And so this aspect of care really touches our individual employees. Um and you know depending on how complex their conditions are, there
could be you know multiple claims that happen. Maybe I'm, you know, initially hospitalized or now I'm going to physical therapy. Now I need inhome therapy. So they're, you know, these claims um this claims experience follows employees as their case um progresses.
So again, I keep referencing uh employer paid health insurance because um it's there are similar aspects to workers comp. Um third party administrator is one of those aspects that's very similar. So, in an employer sponsored plan, you know, your third party
administrator may be something like Blue Cross Blue Shield or Etna. Um, our third party administrator is currently Sedwick. Um, actually have a couple of representatives from Cedric that have joined us as well. Um, they want to make sure that they're here and hearing uh and, you know, continue to be an active
participant. Um, Cedric uh was uh became uh our partner several years ago through a competitive procurement process. Um we do expect uh to have uh a new competitive bidding process uh this uh calendar year with implementation in FY27.
Again, the role that the third party administrator plays is case management. So that includes claims examiners um that follow employees throughout the life of their claims. Um providers that are providing medical care, uh nurse case managers, um they also provide us
with reporting and metrics uh around the city's um overall program. They're also focused on compliance. So, um similar to uh employers, um the Texas Department of Insurance also, um regulates and overseas third party administrators and
the services that they provide. And then medical providers uh are, you know, extremely important as well. So, we have u medical providers with varied specialties, um varied locations. Um if we have medical providers that um we
have a medical need of an employee and a provider is not represented in the network that can provide that care. Uh we do also direct contract with providers that may have a specialty uh that's not readily available. Um we are adding u roughly two providers uh per
month on average to the network. Um, there is a a third party that partners with Cedric to help us identify providers, but we add providers from many different sources. So, our nurse case managers, and I'm going to talk about in just a second, make recommendations. We are actively looking
for partners as well. We may have employees that are recommending providers. So, providers can be added to our network in many ways if they are willing um to participate. >> Miss Smith, one second. Uh, Councilman Flores. Uh thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh
I'll ask this right now before we get uh you know further into the layers here of uh how uh third parties interface with uh you know city processes etc. But specifically with what the city manager had informed us uh that at the city level we were going to implement to have
a case manager there to advocate for the worker who's you know going through this process right now. Uh if I remember correctly and Jay correct me if I'm wrong. Uh I I think you alluded to some time before that's implemented. Uh first question is where are we with that? I
mean has it been officially fully implemented? >> Sure. So under human resources we uh are currently recruiting for two uh senior HR analysts. They will be directly um uh assigned for police and fire. They both will share u police and fire. So there
is redundancy. Um but um in addition to that, the city already partners with n secondary nurse case managers that are independent. They're not employed by Sedwick or our thirdparty administrator. Um and they right now partner directly with our employees that have more
complex injuries or illnesses, but we are actively recruiting um for the addition. Um our uh human resources workers compensation team right now consists of three people uh a manager and two employees. So uh the addition of the two analysts again they will be
dedicated for police and fire. It's important that employees have an escalation point that they trust that is you know easily accessible. Uh and that is why we're adding uh those additional care coordinators. >> Okay. And and they can interface with
that you have up there right now third party administrators. >> Yes. >> They can interface >> they can interface with Sudwig. They can interface with our nurse case managers. They will also be able to interface with the department liaison. So for our larger departments, especially police and fire and some of our higher utilized
departments, there are medical records coordinators and other liaison, wellness coordinators in the departments. And so uh these care coordinators will also be um liaison for them. >> All right. Thank you. >> On that one too, real quick for the varied specialties. uh if there if we
don't have one that's in the network and we've seen this recently and there's been a handful of cases um this the specialist is either not in network or um they just prefer to go to a specialist that deals with you know athletes or um first responders.
What is the process for that first responder to either get a waiver uh for someone outside network or to get someone who's not in network? for example, uh again won't name names, but uh police officer severely injured. They don't have a special specialist who could take care of the jaw. Uh there was
a 10-month delay for her getting care. Um but she found a provider that could provide care right away. Like what does that process look like for them to say, I want to go to this doctor and they've agreed to take workers comp. >> Okay. So I'll answer that in kind of two parts. So our additions to the network
represent a medical need. So meaning it is driven by medical necessity. A provider, an employee has an injury. I'll just use a um a dentist. Someone you know got hit and they have to have dental work. A dentist would not typically be represented in a workers comp network. We don't have a lot of
claims and so there's a medical need and that's where it originates. This person needs this specialty type of care. If we don't have that, then we are actively working with the employee um working with our third party um that partners with Cedric to um reach out to providers to see if they have a willingness to
direct contract with us. Um and so in those cases, it doesn't have to be well, you have to now take all of workers comp. We're trying to address a specific need. uh if an employee has a preference um but there is representation already in the network we typically and we don't
have a formal waiver process for that so you know I need to have shoulder surgery there you know 20 surgeons that can provide that surgery in network um we don't typically change um or introduce new providers just because of an
employee preference but we do actively reach out if if it is determine that there's a need. So I'm saying a lot to say we we like for these changes to originate from a medical condition that we cannot meet within network but
because we are focused on the employees and we want to make sure that we have specialists that are preferred that are close to them um you know many other factors go into that even if there is representation in the network to meet that employees need if they are very passionate that they want to do
something different then we do advocate and reach out to additional providers of their choice. We can't make them join our network, but we do actively reach out to those providers to see if they have an interest. If they do fully join our network, then yes, part of that commitment is providing services to all
of our employees, not just one specific. >> Thank you. >> Explained a lot, but it's kind of two entry points. you know, one is, you know, absolutely if we don't if we cannot support someone because we don't have that coverage, we're going to find an option to address that single
employee. Um, if we have the coverage, but it's employee preference, then we try to advocate to have those providers, if they are interested, join our network. But there are parameters for joining the network. >> Should it be a pretty quick process for the for those who are they don't have one in network, for example, and I teach
my Marines all this this all the the only one who care more about you is you. So if that uh first responder or any employee, they find somebody who is out of network because we don't have anyone in network and they come to HR and they say I found a doctor, they're willing to take workers comp, uh we don't have
anyone in network. What is that process to get that that that approved? >> And I will um early in the presentation, I'll ask Danielle to come up. Danielle is our workers compensation manager and she can talk more about adding that. I do just want to um speak for a minute
about um cost containment as well. You know, again like an employer provided network. Part of the benefits uh to the employer of having providers in network is that they have pre-negotiated rates and um you know they go through a
vetting process and so you know it it is not that everybody can join. there are parameters uh and part of that is making sure that we you know have a sound network that's been officially vetted. >> Good morning.
>> Sorry. So, if we do not actually have a provider in the 504 that we currently have established, we will make a one-time single case agreement with that provider acknowledging that they're willing to accept workers compensation rates and partner with us and we bill them directly. >> Is that a pretty quick process as far as
>> it can be? It depends on the provider's office. So a lot of times we're having to reach out to the office. We're talking with the person that may answer the phone or receptionist and then we're navigating between their billing department, the provider themselves and trying to work with them. So typically it can happen fairly quickly. >> And as far as the billing goes, it's the
correct me if I'm wrong because I usually am. Uh workers comp as far as the rates, it's that's established by a state. Yes. Correct. So like they're not really negotiating a rate that So an in-et network provider is going to be charging the same as an out out of network provider. >> Correct. Typically under workers compensation, it'll fall similar to the uh Medicare fee guidelines.
>> Awesome. Thank you so much. >> I have a question. because we're talking about specialties and and network providers. I have an injury and um
I say I've had shoulder surgery before and I'd like to go back to that same surgeon for like continuity of care but that surgeon is not in network. So is that a situation where preference would
matter or in that case would we still be required to use um an in network position? >> It would be considered and so ultimately it's going to determine whether or not the uh specialist is going to be willing to join with us or to work with this in this case. A lot of times when you have
a surgery from a prior injury, no additional surgeon usually wants to treat that injury. They want you to stick with that older surgeon. So, usually we would um review that for adding them into the 504. >> Okay. And so, um what if my surgeon says um I don't like your reimburse, you
know, I don't like I don't do workers comp. I don't like the reimbursement rates. So, in that instance, is there um is is that just a no that that employee would not be able to use that physician moving forward?
>> So, it would be a direct contract agreement. we would either have to work with them to directly contract on a rate. Um, sometimes we are going to run into a situation with a specialist. I'll use myself for an example. Um, had a tooth extraction issue. I needed to see an endodonist. They don't accept
insurance anywhere. It's a specialty and they don't have to. So, I went got my tooth procedure done, paid out of pocket. I submitted the reimbursement request to my insurance. So, we usually will always try to find some kind of a in between agreement with the provider and contract directly. If we can't then
we will try to work with our in network providers to see if we can address the employees needs. >> Okay. Thank you. >> All right. I I have addressed most of this slide, but I do want to go to the nurse case managers and make sure we don't go over that point. So again, as I mentioned with Cedric, they do have
nurse case management services, but um the city um has gone above and beyond that. We have nurse case management agreements. Um, one of them, the the one that we use most frequently actually originated in police, but um, we assign these nurse case managers for employees
that may have more complex injuries. Um, they are literally physically present for employees. So, they're at the hospital. They're able to go to medical visits. U, they are communicating u with us. They're communicating with providers. They can work with employees
uh, family members if the employee is not in a condition to be able to partner. So that nurse case manager uh is helping with that personal touch for employees that have you know more severe injuries or where they they're where they may be managing u multiple injuries
and need that support. All right. So, um, for statemandated requirements, uh, under financial support, um, in addition to medical care, employees, you know, receive, uh, potentially temporary income benefits or other payments. Um, um, for first
firefighters and police officers, uh, they have access to up to one year of injury leave if it is requested under typical uh, guidelines. And then there are uh survivor benefits or line of duty death benefits if um you know god forbid an employee uh succumbs to their
injuries or illnesses. Um in addition to that the city has expanded so for general employees um there's a disability supplement pay um that provides uh um based on employees years of service uh additional uh supplemental pay uh up to maximum medical
improvement. Uh and then as you know uh city council has also uh extended the one year of injury leave for um first responders which we call O days or occupational days uh to allow for up to two years um or maximum medical
improvement. Uh and those O days are available based on uh injury. All right. So the goal is always um as much as medically possible you know returning employees to work um and so we are actively working our nurse case managers also help us with this our
departmental liaison um looking for light or full duty opportunities so you know maybe if I've had again you know shoulder surgery I can't move one arm but I'm still able to do meaningful work uh they may reassign them maybe they're doing desk work or something else that
you know would not um irritate their uh current injury, but it does, you know, require lots of collaboration. Uh, and the departments are always, you know, very helpful, uh, in helping us find additional assignments. Um, and then maximum medical improvement, uh, another framework that's established by the
state, um, just means that, um, an employee has reached a point where, u further medical treatment will not improve their condition. Does not mean that they're not still managing symptoms and pain or dealing with conditioning. Um but it is um defined uh under the
REGGG and uh at uh MMI the temporary income benefits in sorry go back one. All right. So, if an employee does uh get to a point where they are unable to fully return to work, um we do have through our retire uh employees
retirement fund uh occupational disability retirement. Um so we you know work uh with employees help them very as early as possible start that process. Um there are requirements um to receive that but it uh at least does provide an
additional pathway if uh for some reason employees are not able to return to work on a permanent basis. All right. So, outside of the statemandated guidelines, I just want to highlight a few of the programs that the city has in place to uh support our employees. Again, the nurse case
managers, I can't uh stress, you know, how important these types of partnerships are. Uh they really help us with um expediting return to work. Um but the main benefit that these um partners provide is um medical expertise
uh and improved outcomes for our employees. So um you know of all of the things that I've heard about workers comp and the things that I've learned in u the last six months in one day is that our employees really appreciate our nurse case managers. Um and that is you
know definitely an area that u would be a recommendation for expanding in the future. We also offer early detection um uh for fire specifically as well um for presumptive u type conditions. Uh
offering um we the city provides funding towards preventive screening uh early detection. Um and that is a program that is uh deeply rooted in our departments to help our employees have u better outcomes and um be able to be proactive
about their uh care and treatment. And then we also have athletic trainers. So the city currently partners with Baylor, Scott and White to provide athletic trainers. Uh these trainers are available to all employees um regardless of the type of injury. Uh they are again
provided at no cost uh and help with conditioning. Um they also outside of injuries just help with overall wellness. Um so again just another um factor to help our employees uh stay healthy and um return um back to work
fully. Um again um there is you know no one person or no one change that is going to um move the needle on workers compensation. It really is a collaborative effort. It requires uh lots of conversation, lots of dialogue.
Um I have had lots of meetings, lots of discussions um since the very beginning just trying to understand our current state. But I am one of many many people um several in the audience, several in this room that are dedicated and um um
focused on making sure that employees get what they need. So um again circle of care it really depends on our departmental leaison all of our care providers our network uh holding our u third party um providers accountable. It is a conversation that will continue
indefinitely. Um being able to have quantifiable metrics um that way we have better visibility on outcomes of our employees and what the activity actually looks like across the city. Um also getting perspectives of workers. We already have touch points. Cedric has
proactive uh surveying that they do throughout the claims process. Um but uh one of our uh goals for this fiscal year is to get uh independent surveying and independent feedback touch points for employees. That way they're not having to funnel their comments or concerns
through the TPA, but they're able to come to us directly. Um and then also, you know, the the ideal scenario is that people are not getting hurt at work and that we're not having injuries or illnesses. And so, you know, making sure that we're working very closely with our
safety team and risk management um to identify how we can start to reduce some of our numbers uh and doing deeper dives into accidents and injuries to to see how we can prevent um future occurrences. I've already mentioned the addition of
physicians um but again collaboration and that collaboration also includes our employees. Um they are the ones that are having the direct experience. So they are the ones that we want to hear from. Um and so finding ways to be able to surface that in a way that is
collaborative and proactive and helps us to improve the program and move the needle forward. Uh and then again our third party administrator is a very critical player. Um and the city will be going out for competitive bidding uh this calendar year with plan
implementation uh of the results of that um procurement in fiscal year 27. So, I will pause here. So, we have a second agenda item on mental health um that I'll speak to and have a couple members here, but I'll pause here and open for questions on workers
compensation specifically if there are any. >> I think we're I know we'll have a lot of questions too on the the mental health side. Um so, first I'm going to open it up to colleagues if you'll have any comments or questions right now on this on the workers comp piece. Mayor,
>> um thank you for your presentation, Kristen. My first question is in in your experience both before you were here in the city of Fort Worth and then today, are there legislative constraints within the state law that you think we should work on as a city to work with our state partners that maybe are limiting our
ability to better serve our employees? >> Um, as I mentioned earlier, you know, our employees are not looking at the regulations and guidelines. They just want to know that they're getting access to care and the support that they need. And so in my opinion where we can have the most impact is making sure that we
have a robust support network for employees that the city can manage and control. Meaning you know third party administrators and provider networks you know they have structure they are regulated but we have the ability to provide support that looks the way that
we want it to look. So, our nurse case management model, that's a great example of how one-on-one care and really focused support can really drive outcomes and behaviors. So, I would in my own personal opinion, I would focus a lot of effort around how do we make that
as viable and expansive as possible for employees. >> That's helpful. Thank you. And then another question is without giving specifics because I know we can't talk about individual cases. Have there been incidents or cases that you've seen in the past six months in your employment here that were less than optimal results
that you were disappointed with how we were able to handle it? Maybe it wasn't totally a fault situation just things went wrong and how do we learn from those moving forward? >> I think all things point back to that circle of care having employees one understand um what their options are. I think we have some opportunities around
education and resources. If I am injured today, today is when I should understand what is next for me, right? So, we can provide lots of training, lots of resources. People are not connected to that until it's time for them to utilize it, right? Like what was said? Oh, this
is for me. So having something that helps people right away understand what their choices are, but also having someone with metal medical expertise or claims navigation expertise that can walk them through the process, especially for our more complex cases. So you know, again, overwhelmingly
people are getting very minor, you know, cuts and scrapes and things that are, you know, it makes sense you're back to work. But when somebody has lost work time or they are hospitalized or have higher level care, then surrounding them with support is going to always present
the best outcome. >> In best case scenario today, when you have a um first responder or an employee injured critically, they're hospitalized. How quickly does that nurse case manager make contact with that particular employee or more importantly their family member who's in their case? >> Our nurse case managers are there at the
hospital once they know somebody is hospitalized. They're there. Uh Danielle and her team, they play an active role. They're monitoring these higher level cases. Um I see the departments, especially for police and fire being very critical. Our police and fire associations are also very critical.
Employees dealing with these situations need somebody that they can trust. And sometimes we have to, you know, rely on our departmental representatives to kind of be the liaison for us. Like, hey, we're trying to get the nurse in there. We're trying to get some support. What are you hearing from the family? how can
we help them? And so it really is just a circle of all of us working together to make sure people have the best experience. >> Thank you. >> Um and just one last question um related to the RFP on the TPAs. How many additional TPAs out in Texas do you anticipate would bid on a contract this
large for? >> So you not going to sugar coat it. There are not a lot of options. Um we are a large employer but I think that the most important aspect of the RFP is making sure that the scope is reflective of the services that we expect. Uh that it's
very reflective of um the metrics uh and outcomes focused care that we want articulated from our provider. Um so I want to focus on making sure the scope is very robust and then finding the right partner that matches that whoever
that may be. When you say not very many, how many does that include? >> Um, two or three. >> Okay. Has there been any consideration, this is a longer question, that we would need to break up our workers comp into different employee groups to have more competition among workers comp providers? >> Um, I am not aware of any conversations
about that. Now, uh, as far as TPAs, I have seen other organizations kind of break down care, meaning they may have a TPA that provides one aspect, they may have a provider network that provides another, a nurse case management profile, and all of those providers are
coming together to provide services. So, that, you know, is a conversation that we need to have as well as we're approaching next steps. >> I think that's something I would like to explore at a later time as we get closer to the RFP process. Thank you, Kristen. Back to you, Charlie. >> Okay. Thank you, Mayor. Um, okay. So, first I want to preface this comment
with the fact that I don't think anyone is intentionally doing anything to not take care of our first responders and that's where the focus is today is on the first responders this process. Um, I know we just met um I know Diana I know how much she truly cares about our first responders. So, I don't think there's
any ill intent. I don't think any anything's intentional, but there's clearly a process in place. But I think the issue that we really need to explore is why the process is breaking down, where it's breaking down, and what can we do as a city, especially being self-insured, uh to be better and to
provide a better level of care. Um I know looking at the first slide, I know the goal uh is that, you know, workers, including first responders, are treated with dignity and respect, but there's been more and more and more stories, I mean, just just 30 plus first responders
that come directly to me, um where we're not doing that. And I'm glad Cedric is here because I did see some emails from Cedric to some of these uh employees that had someone sent their loved one that email, it I'm sure it would have upset them as well. Um
so with that being said, um I'd really like to this is going to be a much longer conversation to tackle it because I know we're not the only ones in the state that have workers comp issues. However, I think we can do better. Um, but one of the uh gentlemen I I asked to uh to come come answer some questions is
Skyler Ainsworth. Uh, one of our uh one of our firefighters who's wellversed in this. Skyler, do you mind if uh ask a couple questions? So, for those that don't know Skyler, um he actually went through the process to become a a licensed adjuster if I'm not mistaken. so he could actually
understand the process that some of these adjusters are going through um including one week of anatomy which we won't go into all that um but from a first responder. So Skyler you heard the process for workers comp uh in for the city of Fort Worth um as far as what's
actually happening on the ground uh for the boots on the ground who are having these issues. Where is the process breaking down that we really need to make sure we're focusing as a city on uh and and really aiming to fix because again we know no one's doing anything with mal intent but where do we where's the breakdown because there's clearly a breakdown.
>> Absolutely. I mean that's obviously why we're here, right? Um and from a backstory standpoint, I've been in this role for about 12 years. I've seen our system work well. Well well I saw it fail work well and then we're not doing something right again. Um, I think the
the presentation on the procedure is accurate, but that's in that's in the workers compact. That's that's kind of a a law situation. Um, where we're probably failing right now is we're listening to Cedric too much or a
TPA in general. You can change Cedric out, it's going to be the same problem. Their their business model exists to save money. And so in the past there's been times where things were going well because we were able to have a dialogue with the city. We were able to overturn
denials because it made sense. Um and that's not happening now. We are we have we are a different set of employee groups, right? And and I don't mean that to disparage general employees at all. Um
burning roofs don't land on everyone. um police officers get shot. That's not a that's not a line of duty injury for a general employee. So, we have a different set of injuries and there's doctors out there that are world class that just want to treat first
responders, but in the past, we were allowed to do that. And the stance right now is it's a no. And I'm talking about Zoom meetings with office managers and the physicians trying to get approval for these things. And some of these
firefighters are here today. Uh they can answer those questions better than I can because they're the one that needed the treatment. And we're not doing that right now. And the stance has been we're going to we're going to stick to the network. And I was around when the network uh came about those early
meetings. And this was our concern those years ago when when uh Mark Barta brought up the idea of a 504 network for the city. These were our concerns is what do we do when you're not here anymore? and we don't have the dialogue. We don't have the common sense approach
to how do we fix this? And that day came and we're here. Mark doesn't work here anymore. Chris Lamb doesn't work here anymore. And that's what led to where we're at. It's no coincidence that they they left in 2024. And when we pulled or when uh the news pulled their data for
2024, 2025, you found a spike in denials. And that's because I believe because there's a change in city administration that decided to to change it to change the stance of the city. We can't have that dialogue
anymore. Uh we blame it on Cedric, but that the truth is the city is self-insured and within certain confines of of the law, we can be better and that's not happening right now. Are you saying there's a spike or is
there a sustained increase in the number of denials? >> If you looked at the the two-year data going back that that was uh pulled in the uh public information request, there is a spike in denials. Absolutely. >> Okay. Absolutely. >> In your opinion, do you see this as
something maybe trending to an increase in the number of denials? >> U number of denials, frequency of denials. Absolutely. Surgeries are consistently denied. Uh it it doesn't even make sense. It's why doctors don't want to join the network because if you
join the network you would think your treatment plan would be approved but we deny our own doctors treatment plan. So we have a treating physician uh a specialist and a surgeon all recommending surgery but Cedric denies
it in lie of physical therapy and injections. I went to claims adjuster school as councilman Lor alluded to. I spent one week or uh in a one-week course, I spent one hour on anatomy. And so we're using an hour of anatomy in a
guide book to decide whether or not this injury is compensible or whether this surgery should be approved when we have physicians with a lot more training than that saying absolutely it should be and we're denying it. And I don't know why.
>> Thanks. I appreciate I appreciate your words. Um, I think what is useful for this conversation is really an understanding on how the workers compensation system, that framework of laws came to be. Um, there's been
pendulum swings in the state of Texas um, from the quote wild and woolly days of workers comp when everyone was getting paid, you know, every employee was getting paid. They literally had lawyers that were giving out loans. It was just I mean it was a a racket. Um
and you saw business, cities, organizations come in and lobby for greater oversight, greater laws. And so then you saw that pendulum swing and it become much harder for employees to get that care. Then you've seen it come
back. Right now you have not necessarily in our system, but you can see your own doctor. You know, they they've that system is complicated. It's overly complicated. And so I think um it's easy for us to sit here at this table and be like, "Well, duh. That's the, you know,
that's the the easy answer." Uh but when you get into it, as I'm sure you know, because you went to claims adjuster school and our city attorneys can tell you, it's an incredibly complicated framework and a lot of it our hands are tied. Um, and so I think understanding
that it's not as easy as sometimes Sedwick saying yes or no or a doctor saying I want to be in network or I want to, you know, I don't want to be in network. Um, but also keep in mind that
Sedwick is no different than any other third party claims administrator. Their job is to to save you money to have you spend the least amount for medical care. It is industry standard to start with
the lowest form of the least invasive form of treatment. So that's you know physical therapy or I mean I think that's standard across the board. So, that's not something that I necessarily want us to look at changing in the way that that we recommend care because that
care, while I agree adjusters um should be leaning on the the medical advice and that's a a whole another rig and roll. Um I want to be careful that we're not trying to change what's standard of care and understanding that a lot of those um
protections were put in place. There's protections for the employee, but there's also protections for entities like us, the city of Fort Worth, so that we don't have runaway workers compensation costs, which was what was happening and why we have those in place. So, we do have a fiduciary
responsibility to our first responders and our general employees. We also have a fiduciary responsibility to our taxpayers. Um, and which is why we engage with organizations like Cedric. I won't share my personal opinion on them. Um but you know my personal opinion on
most third party claims administrators is um you know they're there to be obtuse and so that's what we see. Um you mentioned people left with the city and then we saw start started to see a breakdown. Sedick is our friend and our foe in this
situation. They protect us as a city because just two years ago, we had to kick a provider out of our workers compensation system specifically for first responders because it was found that they were um not doing right by the city and they were overcharging us and
they were extending care when they shouldn't have. And so it's those type of protections that we have to balance. Um and that's what we're trying to do here. I think what we need at this from what I'm hearing and what I heard you say is it seems to rock and roll when
it's easy workers comp claims. You know, if I fell, broke my wrist, you know, needed repair, you know, needed to get that wrist taken care of, had surgery, came back, easy peasy. It's when we get more complicated, which tends to come with our first responders because they
have, as you mentioned, more complicated injuries, that it gets it gets murky. I appreciate that we're bringing on these two new positions. I know um within the fire department and I believe within the police department, they have
individuals that work specifically on workers comp within the departments. What I want to see is a better system internally so that when I'm dealing with Sedwick, which whether it's Sedwick or one of the other um third party claims administrators,
if I'm not getting the care that I need, I have an immediate number direct bat phone. So that they don't have to call me, they don't have to call Charlie, they don't have to call anyone on this DAS to get that level of attention. Um,
I also think we need to have make sure employees understand what clearly what their options are when seeking care. If I have a preferred doctor and you know and they don't want to enter the system, they don't want to um take those
statemandated um payments, there's not much that we can do for that employee if we if we can't negotiate, we can't force a doctor in the network. um it's our job to make sure that network is robust as possible. And so my charge
to you would be really do an examination of our network and see where we can't expand it. I would highly recommend um reaching out to some local partners like UT Southwestern and um our local hospitals to see where we can partner
and and add specialties to that network. And then making sure that we have that bat foam here at the city, whether that's uh both in fire and PD, but also at the HR level so that um that we can look at these one-on-one and that we can
intervene when we need to intervene. And we need to make sure that we are intervening when appropriate because we do know that that and Sedwick, we say Sedwick because that's who we're using, but the truth is any third party administrator that we have, even after you go out for that RFP, we're going to
run into the same issues. And so what can we do internally to fix this system? >> So there's a several several things in there uh wouldn't mind responding to. Um first off uh the case managers for example, we have this isn't the first
time we've discussed case managers specifically for first responders. We've gone down this path before. Um one of the issues though is they don't have decision-making power. They just have recommendation. Um, and so they recommend treatment, they advocate for it, but even those
still get denied. >> Um, and I have um I have some of our current uh case managers that that they reach out going, "Hey, can you help?" Because even what I'm trying to get approved is getting denied. >> So,
>> and these case managers, I'm sorry to interrupt. I just these case managers, are they at Sedwick? Are they >> No, they're an additional third party. Um, fourth party, I don't know. Uh so uh no they do not work for Sedwick. Um they're it's a contract employees that be a correct way of saying that.
>> Okay. >> Um you know uh one of them uh that's worked with us probably the longest. Uh she used to uh she used to refer to me as her secret weapon. She could contact me. I would get a hold of the city. We'd
talk through it and things would move. Uh I I can't say that. I don't have that. I don't have that anymore. Uh, and so, um, >> Kristen, can I can I ask a rel >> be rude, but you're batting average with me ain't too >> Can I,
>> uh, so >> can I ask a relationship question? Um, the way Cedric, our third party, and we work, right? So, uh, I'm I'm assuming that the third party case managers
report, you know, they're the nurses, they're on the ground, they're making quote unquote medical recommendations in addition to what the doctors are making. They report that to Sedwick. Correct. >> Correct. >> And then what happens? So then I guess what happens when
there's conflict? Say for instance, we've had some recently, right, where Cedric has said no, but it's been the city's position that we want to cover that, right? And that's happened with council before where we've had discussions about from a policy perspective, do we cover a specific
injury for a first responder? So, when that happens, do we have the authority in our as a self-insured entity to tell to to mandate that they cover a particular claim? what happens in that conflict. >> Yeah, I I think it may be helpful to
have um the law department address this as well. Um but I can tell you the difference and I want to make sure we have a clear distinction between our nurse case managers and the care coordinators that will be added to HR. But um Skylar is right. The nurse case
managers are not making care decisions. They're there as informed medical professionals. Um they are, you know, looking at quality of care. They're also helping employees navigate um which is separate. But as far as what council is able to do as a self-insured provider,
is there anyone that can speak to that? >> Good morning. Steven Cumby, assistant uh city attorney. Yes, council can decide to to accept a claim uh or require the city to provide for a surgery or uh just the council can make any
decision that the the city could make um that Danielle could make is in her job as the the manager of the workers compensation program for the city. So if Cedric said if Cedric said no to a particular surgery, we could then direct
from our perspective, we could direct the city to cover that. And would it be covered through our workers compensation? It be covered through that scheme. It wouldn't be some sort of out outside of >> That's correct. It would be through workers compensation. You could accept the claim uh the city could accept the
claim at your direction. So, so al so what I'm hearing then is ultimately every claim that is filed the the city we don't because we use Sedwick but the city has the authority to thumbs up or thumbs down each claim that comes
through. Correct. >> That's correct. >> Okay. and that's been utilized in the past before uh which I think highlighted a lot of the concerns which you know one of the the things I'd like for this body to explore as far with legal and finding out if there's a a way a path forward um
is if something is denied at the first benefits review conference before it goes down to contested case hearing which coincidentally it's usually approved the day before that hearing um but if it is denied at the benefits review conference uh then you can go to mayor and counsel for approval uh or
denial because I mean I think we can all do an hour of anatomy and get the same level of training as an adjuster. Um and so we can make those those calls especially for these the larger complex issues because one of the other things I know we're kind of running up against time but again being an important issue
uh especially whenever you look at presumptives and there should be a standard as far as you know no two cases are the same but they should be treated equally. We have one um member with uh with cancer other existing issues that
was uh approved. Another one with the same exact situation uh denied and now he's $20,000 plus out of pocket. A lot of stress, a lot of time and they're actively planning his funeral because he might not make it past December 2027. Um and so adding one more layer of
complexity and stress to these families is just unacceptable. um and asking that individual what would have changed in the claims process if it would have changed his outcome. No real definitive answer there, but it certainly would have lowered stress and saved them a lot of money from things they have to do out
of pocket. So, just some things to consider u there as well and how big of an issue this is because we're not talking about a pencil pusher like me who strains his back trying to pick up a Twinkie I dropped on the floor. Um you know, I've dealt with back strain issues in the Marine Corps and it took, you know, years to finally get the surgery
because battling VA. I never want to see our employees uh our first responders having to have a tougher fight on the administrative side than they are with any claims process. Um even talking with the chaplain, one of the things they screen for is PTSD, not just from the event itself, but from the actual
process. Uh which blows my mind. I mean, there's times when a lot of our first responders are lucky to be alive. I know firsthand what that means, thinking like, "Hey, this is going to be my last day. If it wasn't for powerful God and some well- aimed shots, I probably wouldn't have been here myself. Um, but
these first responders should not be dealing with this level of denial, especially when the city does have that capability uh to approve when it is a common sense approach because again, we're not talking about your average stub toe. So, that's what I really want to make sure we're we're focusing on. Um, so, thank you, Skyler. Anything else
to add? >> Um, yeah, just in kind of closing because you're talking about the presumptions. um it was in the presentation even um the law is supposed to be that it's presumed that it happened in the line of duty and that's not what what's happening. It's still the causation and
the uh um the burden of proof is still on the firefighter. um we're still having to provide all the documentation and if we run into that 60-day timeline, it's denied. Now that now they have to appeal and um like you
said before, oftent times, more often than not, that goes to the the day before, like you said, the day before a contested case hearing and then sometimes that denial is overturned. Not always. Um but I don't believe we're
applying that presumption correctly. um when we look at the definition of the word um it the firefighters should have the benefit of the doubt in this situation if they fall into one of those uh presumed cancers and it's not happening. Um and we can do again we can
do better better than that. Um again we're not asking anything we're not asking for the city to pay more money. We're not asking for doctors that cost more than other doctors. It's the same rate. uh they just may be better doctors and they would like to treat firefighters and police officers. Um we
also you're absolutely right, there's a fiduciary responsibility, but when we drag out a claim six to nine months and backfill this injury with overtime and then ultimately do the surgery that was recommended from the get-go, that is not being fiduciary responsible at all. And
again, those claims could be handled completely different. We could have our employees back to work. uh we're not paying that overtime and we have them in a situation where the worst thing for us is to leave us at home. We hate it. We just want to come back to work. Um and I I think there's data to support that. If
you look at lost time from work, it's interesting that we do have such a high injury rate, but when you look at amount of days missed from work, it's incredible how quickly our folks want to come back to work. Um it it really is truly the worst thing you can do to us
is make us stay home. And all we're trying to do is get back. And we can't do that in this system. We can't do that with uh denials of treatment plans that physicians are recommending. And we don't follow through on it. Physical therapy isn't going to fix some
of these injuries. Yet, that is the recommended course of action. Athletic trainers, it's fantastic that we have them, but they can't they can't fix some of these problems. It's surgery. And when it takes nine months to get your surgery approved, we're not getting anywhere. We're actually doing more harm
than good both to the employee and to the budget. >> Did you have something? >> We're about to move on to the next one. >> Well, not the next question, but >> so Oh, awesome. Thank you very much. I >> I'll just say this. Um, thank you for
being here and speaking and I'll reflect back as we're sounds like we're wrapping this up. um what Diana said earlier, we get thousands of claims a year and behind each of those claims is a person. And I think that what we're forgetting is that there's a person behind that and a family that's they're supporting.
These people have answered the call to public service and that we're leaving them hanging. We absolutely have to be cautious with taxpayer dollars, but ultimately there's a person behind those claims. So, we should be doing whatever we can to make it efficient as possible for them to get the care that they need so they can get back to work as he said
and back to their jobs. That's my point. >> Okay. >> Okay. I think we're ready to roll on to mental health. >> Um actually have a couple of representatives in the uh in the audience that can speak to this better, but I want to kick us off with just what's um provided from a regulatory
perspective for mental health or behavioral health. Um so if it is an extension of an employes's injury or illness, if they're having um behavioral health issues, uh need mental health support and that's medically supported, uh it will be covered under workers
compensation just like a traditional uh injury or illness. Uh and then we also have a state provision um for traumatic events. This is specific to um sworn peace officers and telecommunicators. Um and the city has a policy on this um for
leave protections for 3 days up to 5 days. But um this is just a small snapshot of of what the city offers for behavioral health. I'll ask um Bug and Cliff if y'all can come up right quick. You're the expert. So step
>> morning. Uh I just want to address specifically because it's on the agenda and if of course there's any questions, I'll be glad to answer those. But in terms of time used for a lot of our resources for the police department, one program that we have that we haven't seen at this level, um, first of its
kind across the nation is our R3 program. It's for all first responders for the city of Fort Worth. And what I mean by that is our telecommunicators, fire, police, and retirees. For the police department, um, let me
back up. with the R3 program. It is a large-scale public private partnership. Um, and we partner with nonprofit groups that provide non-clinical resources that specifically address moral injury. And because they do that in a format where there's objectives and goals, our
department allows our officers to attend these programs since they are providing tools for stress management and resiliency. They do not have to use their own time. They can attend using training time. So for our three resources, we do have that covered where our officers do not have to do that. So
I wanted to speak to that real quick. Cliff, I'll turn over to you for fire. >> Yeah. Uh we do not have the paid training time on the fire side. Uh we're a little bit we have minimum staffing standards. Uh so when we do when somebody reaches out and says, I want to participate in the R3 program, uh we
have to backfill that position on the truck because we're we have to have four minimum staffing every day. So uh uh the hope is that this is a proactive program is how it was built. One of the slides that was put up here is like risk management and we want to lean into health. The R3 program is being
developed for that very purpose that it is a proactive thing. You do not have to be in a bad space in order to reach out and participate. uh on our side, we're kind of utilizing it as a reactive program at the moment with hopes that we eventually get uh just like our
counterparts on the PD side uh paid training time to utilize these resources. Uh along with that, we started sending our first responders uh on these program their weeklong five-day trips uh fully funded at no cost to the first responder. When they started
coming back, uh we saw a need for followup afterwards. some of these uh individuals were coming back after having processed through heavy trauma u on the job. Uh so along with that we have uh started a counseling program that backs up the
R3 program. So with the help of American Warrior in our community uh we've also partnered with PD to get uh quite a bit of funding from outside resources uh mainly grants to uh give our first responders seven free sessions. And we
might say, well, we have the EAP, so why do we need these additional free sessions of counseling? And, uh, one of the things we're running up against is cultural, uh, competency in our, uh, counseling. So, um, we've had numerous stories in the past where we send a a
firefighter to go talk to somebody about a horrific scene that they, uh, had to witness and were a part of, and the therapist ends up crying because it is that traumatic. And so we've gone out now in partnership with PD and American Warrior and um got culturally competent
counselors that are first responders themselves, their spouses, their veterans. Uh they understand what we're going through. And so we've seen um I mean we are spending anywhere between 15 to $20,000 a month out of uh community resource and grant funding paying for
these uh these sessions as well. So >> you said that's paid for just by grants. No city funding >> correct >> on >> that one. And then as far as the um the uh so there's no they're having to use vacation time or the paytime off to
>> uh a portion are using vacation time. So we have uh around six spots allotted per month and that was set up by the previous fire chief. So we can send about six individuals a month. Above and beyond that um individuals are using their own
vacation time. I think this is probably one of those other deeper dives that we'll take to figure out, you know, what we what we're doing and what we can do better as well by our first responders. >> Yeah. Dr. Hall, >> I don't know if you'll have the specifics, but when you say that you're
getting this through grant fundings and different partners, um can you specifically name what that grant funding, one of those grtors? Um just where you're sourcing those funds from or where you're sourcing or that partnership has been established with. Yeah, one is a state grant that is
actually uh if I'm honest with you, we piggy back on PD with that uh because it is more geared towards police officers and we kind of weasled our way in for lack of better terms. They were they were generous enough to work with us and uh bring the fireside in. Uh a lot of
the community resources uh are coming through American Warrior and just other community members uh that are really trying to have our backs. >> Thank you. Any other questions? >> Thank you so much, chaplain. Appreciate
it. >> That's all that I have. We have, you know, many takeaways. Just want to open up to see if there are any additional questions or comments. >> Anything else? >> I just I want to reiterate what you brought up and as it relates to fire. Um
I understand that they staff differently so it makes it much more difficult to to find the time the way that um PD does. But I think it's imperative that we do find that time and that there is par between the two uh departments as far as
the um access and availability to to participate in mental health um programs without having to take vacation time. There is uh there are some other distinct differences between those two contracts.
Um vacation time is considered productive time in the fire department. So they're not technically the same, right? So uh the time that they may use for those things still count towards overtime. It's almost as
if they're still at work. So they don't really there's not really a major difference. between in in terms of the hours that's that's used following >> No, I'm not because >> so so a vacation hour >> Uhhuh. >> in the fire department is productive
time. >> Okay. >> Which means that it's as if they're still at work in terms of how they're compensated and paid. >> Okay. So, so I guess I'm not following because I I get what you're telling me
that that vacation time goes towards but why can't we have some sort of carveout? I mean, we create we create that policy. So why can't we create a policy that allows for specific to these types of
support that that they're able to that we're able to work that into the system without creating the overtime issues. >> It's not to say that we can't. I just wanted to make sure that it's clear that though that there that is a distinct difference between those two contracts.
>> Oh, I I guess what I would challenge and just to kind of find some middle ground. I understand what uh Councilwoman Beck is saying, but it would seem to me that if the topic was brought up at the podium that there is some type of disparity or perceived disparity. And so I would say
that there's an opportunity to either outline what that policy or practice is to eliminate that disparity or perception of >> Agree. >> Okay. >> Agree. >> Any other questions for Kristen?
Kristen, thank you so much. Uh we appreciate it. Um we're going to go ahead. We're going to be uh punting the ebikes and scooters. Uh although a very important topic as well. Um but for the sake of time, we're going to push down to the next uh public safety committee uh meeting. Um but to the the first
responders and the the residents, um you know, one bringing this all all to light. Um you know, thankfully you have a mayor and council and city staff who truly does care. Uh, and so I have no doubt that, you know, we can be the forefront in this nation for how we address these issues. Um, think we're
starting to find some some some cracks and where we can fill those and how we can just do better by our first responders. U and I'm looking forward to having that discussion and bringing, you know, all the stakeholders and those who are culturally competent. Great use of words there and bringing first responders who understand it, uh, as
well as providers who understand the, uh, you know, what it's like to get a first responder back to the elite warrior, um, status they were before their injury. So, um, for those who came out, we certainly appreciate it. Um, and there will certainly, this was not the end of the discussion. I think it's really just the beginning of it. Uh, so,
Mayor Johnson, thank thank you for putting all this together. Um, that we have any questions or, uh, any future discussions? Here's your agenda item request. >> All right. I'd like uh for staff to see uh what the number of um surgery and
treatment um denials by the city and what percentage of those denials were overturned uh on appeal. Uh I know that we have seduit data that that we can um utilize, but also I'd like to uh ask
staff to also uh consider uh prior provider historical data. Yeah, I'd like an IR on um officer involved um accidents related to police uh
pursuits in the last we'll say 12 to uh 24 months. Uh specifically, I' I'd like to know um injuries, any cost that the city has paid out as a result of those injuries.
Um, I think it's um important to note um if those injuries were the the criminal or if they were, you know, bystandards. And then I'd also like as part of that presentation um PD to to bring forward some potential
um technology resources that um can aid us in those pursuits. Just for clarity, that's officer involved injuries that occurred to the people that they're pursuing or bystanders or officers >> or the officers.
>> Correct. All three. >> Yeah. >> Thanks. >> I know that we we're on limited time. I did appreciate the informal report regarding uh cardia uh arrest survival reporting. um in the RR there were a number of opportunities that were identified and I would love the
opportunity um to have a conversation or hear more about what we're going to do to address those opportunities that we have as a city. >> Okay. Uh we're going to take a quick break uh before starting the legislative committee for those sticking around for
that. So with that we can turn Part: 2
Hello. I just What are you going to cover? Ready? Is Rachel here? I'm gonna do it from here. >> Okay, >> ready. >> Rachel, are you ready?
Thank you so much. How are you? Good to see you. >> Are we ready? Are we ready? Uh in the interest of time, we'll uh begin this legislative intergovernmental affairs committee. We'll call it to order. I think we got a quorum. We're
good. First on the agenda is approval of the March 3rd minutes. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? April or March 3rd meeting minutes are approved. I went now into briefing items. We have Charleton State University Vision Fort Worth. Dr. Cap is
here along with uh Dr. Baker as well. So y'all, you're up. >> Great. Well, good afternoon, good morning depending on I know what time it is. Uh but it's good to be with you. It's a joy to have a few minutes uh to share a little bit about our Charlton State Fort Worth efforts and Charlton
State efforts. So, we do have material for everybody and if you did not get it already, we'll make sure that you have it before uh the end of today's session. But, uh for those I haven't had a chance to personally connect with, my name is Rachel Capua. Uh Council Member Crane, thank you for the the opportunity to
connect and uh to share with this committee and this team about uh a few efforts and a few updates related to Tarlton State. And I do want to be really mindful of time given the agenda and um us starting a bit later. So I'm going to run through things pretty
quickly. Uh but if you have any questions as we walk through this, please stop me at any time. Uh but there's really kind of three main goals for this. Number one, uh on behalf of our president, Dr. James Hurley, and our executive cabinet and team, we wanted to give you some updates about UN
Universitywide efforts, but really focus specifically on Charleton State Fort Worth. what's happening here in Fort Worth, um our our shared vision for Fort Worth, and then how Tarlton State will be part of the Texas&M Fort Worth project. And so, um with that, just some
quick level setting and context setting, uh as a university, as an institution. Um we're at about 21,000 students statewide now. Uh and we really make up uh many locations. our home anchor campus in Stevenville, Texas, uh which
just had its 125th anniversary uh now just about a a cycle or two ago. Um and so in terms of the institution and its roots, they run deep here in Texas. Uh we are a proud member of the Texas&M system and so uh
it was the first institution to join that system in 1917. Uh but here in Fort Worth, we've been serving our city here uh and our community here since 1978. And so we have locations uh in the two uh areas mentioned and then Waco and
then Brian. So uh just a level set on that context. I'll be brief with this uh but want to share some specific stats about just the university at large. Uh we are experiencing some really tremendous and encouraging enrollment
grow growth and since 2019 it's been about 60% um increase which is in large part to our president and our team. But specifically here uh this stat that you see on the screen is what we're most proud about. It's 84%
uh now ranked number one in Texas for six consecutive years for students who graduate which is what we want right? We want them to graduate with the post-secary credential and then move to a an employment of choice or graduate school. So 84% of our students are
finding that next step um and one of those two paths and again it's the number one in Texas which is something that we're really proud about. Um related to legislative priorities and I wanted to hit this quickly for this team and this committee in particular uh
legislatively and from a prioritization standpoint health sciences is and will continue to remain a key focus for us. Uh in this last legislative session, we did focus on uh the proposal for a college of osteopathic medicine. Uh so
we hired our executive founding dean for that. It will be focused on rural health. And so you see on this slide uh as we work and focus and prioritize on health sciences, we want it to specifically impact our rural populations across Texas. So you'll see
some updates and related efforts there. And then related to health care, it is about facilities. It is about uh ensuring that we have the right spaces and places for these programs to thrive. So the actual building that you see on the left hand side is here in Fort Worth. We opened it in 2024. Some of you
were there. And the building on the right is our new health professions building in Stevenville. So as we really focus on interprofessional education and processes related to those programs related to those we have the facilities to help support. Let me jump in uh to
the most important part of of I know what you may have questions about and that is Charleton State Fort Worth. So I mentioned 1978 was when we had our very first program here. Um and as the city continues to grow of course our higher education landscape is also thriving and
also growing. Uh specific to our campus here in Cowtown, um we're sitting at just under 2700 students here at Tarlton State Fort Worth. About 1,800 of those undergraduate, just under 900 graduate. Um this also includes our dual credit
program with Crowley ISD. So we actually have these students traveling from Crowley and North Crowley High School to Charlton State Fort Worth um five days a week uh pending their schedule to take college level credit. So, we're sitting at about 2,700 here in Fort Worth across
those uh areas and programs. This I just wanted to show a picture. So much of the last 24 months for Charleton State Fort Worth has been about creating community and connection and uh communication across our teams. And so these are just some pictures of that. Uh we've hosted
different groups and programs with Rev Partnership, the T3 partnership, uh school districts, etc. So, some pictures and some programming that we've been really proud of. But as we look at where we're located and we're specifically in
district six uh with with Dr. Hall, she's been um really excellent to work with thus far. And we're just thrilled to be an anchor. We we hope a continued anchor in District 6 and in the city of Fort Worth. And so, where we're located, this map gives you a good indication of
where we are. Southwest Fort Worth in particular, there's so much growth happening and so much underway. And so for Charlton State Fort Worth on Chisum Trail in the southwest corridor of our city, we really are at the way point between Fort Worth and Stevenville, but
we're actually too at the junction of four counties that you see there. So who we are, where we are, and and who we serve, uh, we believe is an important responsibility. This is a picture that we love to show. It was one that the the back building or
interprofessional education building that you just saw, it's now fully open. Uh so it doesn't look like this anymore. But when you look at this picture, you know, some words might come up. You might think potential, you might think opportunity. Uh something that comes to mind for our team on a daily basis is
access. Right now, and I'm going to say this maybe twice so that I can hopefully underscore it well. Right now, Tarlton State Fort Worth is the only 4-year public institution in the city of Fort Worth, our city limits, our city lines
that's offering all four years of undergraduate and graduate. Charlton State for Worth is the only four-year public institution that's offering all four years of undergraduate and graduate. So, this campus, 80 acres of
land that was donated to us back in 2014 by the Walton Development Group is is what we want to come alongside, continue to come alongside with the city and the community and stakeholders to build this around who we are serving, not only now, but generations, right, year years from
now. So, when you look at this picture, uh, Tarleton State and system, we own the land to that back tree line. to give you kind of an idea of this picture. Uh again, it was a gift from the Walton uh team and family, which we're so appreciative of. And this really was to
help ensure that we were providing those three things: access, opportunity, and affordability here in the Fort Worth area. This is a quick overview of of something that we always like to to illustrate, and that is just a a visual of a a page in our master plan. really
loved how the team wanted to ensure that we were keeping Fort Worth at the core, Chisum Trail at the core. Um, even down to the architectural landscape of of what you see when you're there and the textures as you see limestone and the and the prairie land. So, wanting to
preserve as much of that on Chisum Trail as we're able to. Uh, but it is certainly a work in progress and something that we really feel um just blessed to be part of. This this visual here is actually from 2017 uh that you
see in in your in your handouts or on screen. Uh this was the 2017 master plan in particular. And it was to show really showcase what Charlton State Fort Worth is and will look like when it's fully built. So when we say 80 acres, what
does 80 acres really look like in full fruition? It a lot has happened right since 20 2017. And so we're starting to work with other partners. We've hired Bennett uh partners and um our friends and team over at at Schaefer and we've
started building out new visuals. This first one that you see here of what Charlton State Fort Worth will look like in the more immediate future. And so it is focused on community. it is focused on creating a traditional more comprehensive college campus um in
Southwest Fort Worth that offers the three things that we have have even um spoken about and hit on today. And so this is a picture of the amphitheater. It's right outside our main building. Uh you can see the Charlton the Teon Texas uh logo, but it's one of many renderings
that we'll be releasing in the coming weeks um and months as we update the master plan and look ahead. This is a a just a a kind of a note of gratitude more than anything else because for those that are on council, you you had a
significant part to play in this and and it was this B I think back last spring. Uh we had what we considered at that time Worth Creek Parkway. Uh and mayor and council uh gratefully and thankfully approved that that name be changed to
Tarlton State Parkway. Uh so sincere and heartfelt thanks for that. Uh it is the exit and what will become the exit off Chisum Trail Parkway and so it does not exist yet but we've been in a close collaboration with our city colleagues
as well as NTA and we are expected to break ground on this exit in 2026 with the 2028 opening. So uh just some visuals there to highlight an exciting update. What you see here is the illustration of uh what NTA has provided
us related to campus and the exit. And so uh we're thrilled about this because if you've been to campus, it right now takes you down an almost two-mile road, Brewer Boulevard. Uh and this will open up access quite tremendously actually for our faculty, staff, students, and
really the communities residentially that are around us. One of the last updates just to kind of share is is really what's ahead. We tal, you know, I talked about this this updated master plan. We spoke um and have spoken at length with many around
these tables and um across the city about how can we just make sure that we do this work really intentionally as we grow out this campus and again really have this vision for Fort Worth. And so, uh, this last January, so just a few months ago, we launched our new Rooted
and Rising, uh, campaign. And, and I use campaign with a a really significant caveat, and that is that it's just a it's a message for what we believe this this story and the execution of this campus really means. That we are as an institution rooted in Fort Worth for
nearly 50 years. We're a part of the&m system which is such a gift but we want to rise and serve and support a community and a city that's rising and growing uh in in really significant ways. And so that's what these groups um
and individuals um I know play a significant and important piece in this website. So the tarlton.edu/visionfortworth will be our external facing site. The link there is for you. It gives you just all the dates and things that we've talked about today. Quick facts about
our Fort Worth location. Uh we've been really honored and thrilled uh that many here. Of course, um our our our chancellor and our system team um Glenn Hager and our our board of uh regents as well as the state have been continued
supporters as well as Mayor Parker. Uh and thank you to really J when Jay was in the assistant city manager role played a significant part in this um this campus and its beginnings um for that will be forever grateful for. But I really just want to end with that this
is this is and what we believe a a community and a citywide effort. Um I put up a picture here of Mayor Monreef. Um Mayor Monreef is a Charlton State graduate. He was actually our very first Texan writer, uh, our very first mascot.
And back in the 60s, the our student body president, nobody would be, you know, be surprised by that. Uh, and and what he says best is that, you know, Fort Worth is Charleton State and Charleton State is Fort Worth because of of of who we serve and what we believe
as an institution. And so as we continue moving forward, as we continue building buildings, we want to do that in a collective and collaborative way as much as possible. And then I'll end with uh just a really quick and and brief
overview about&m Fort Worth because as as we know this as an innovation hub and innovation district here in in downtown specifically is this is a important project. It's an impactful project. Um, and so what you'll start seeing and as we've started kind of building this out,
this website snapshot included is that Tarleton State specifically will have its anchor campus here in Fort Worth on Chisum Trail and will we will be a part of Texas A&M Fort Worth here in downtown and because it is a&M system effort and
because it is a project um that we believe as a system and as an institution uh very strongly in, we're thrilled to be adding value and and some extended value, expansive value to this project. And so, uh, this team knows this slide best. I mean, we know what's
coming as it relates to Texas A&M Fort Worth. Uh, specifically, the law and education building that you see there to the right hand side, what will open in August of 2026? I know the grand opening ribbon cutting was just announced for
August 5th of 2026. Uh we will have Tarlton State will have uh portions of the sixth, seventh, and eighth floors of this building, the law and education building downtown. Our sixth floor will
be um really all but two classrooms will be fully dedicated to Charleton State. So we'll be moving all of our health sciences, particularly medical laboratory science. uh in your packets you have a one-pager that lists out the academic programs by uh discipline there
if if you need or would like for reference, but this building in particular will really be housed for Charleton State. Um really our health sciences hub. We'll have actual uh in these renderings show them, you know, skills labs, simulation suites, etc.
really focusing on medical laboratory science as well as graduate level nursing. So you see some of that um pictured here. And then finally, we want it to be a community and resource uh location, too. So this space, if if you have not um seen this particular
rendering yet, this is Texas&M Fort Worth, the eighth floor. It will be available to all of uh the the tenants, if you will, in the building. But what's most exciting perhaps is that we're going to be able to bring in um community stakeholders uh extended
education, workforce development um in partnership with the system to robustly think about what this looks like uh for our city and then especially for this corridor that we're building and this innovation hub that we're building downtown. So that is that is coming.
This last rendering is a picture of our uh the second building downtown which again some of you may have seen. It's the research and innovation building part A uh where Charleston State will have a biotechnology research and innovation hub. So if if there were to
be kind of the the main key components of this, it is that that we with our whole hearts believe that this is a community and and citywide effort. And as we grow and as we build out, um, our campus just in that Southwest Fort Worth
location that was mentioned, uh, really is expected to grow, um, to the size of of what we currently have in Stevenville. So, it will be, uh, fully built about 10,000 to 15,000 students just here in the city of Fort Worth for
Charleton State. And that is something that we want to meet that moment as we think about growth at the city level. We want to meet that moment when we think about the priorities of of of committees like this mayor and council. We want to make sure that we're being thoughtful about our pipelines for education to and
through our Tar County College family and others. Uh but more importantly, we're in we're in this space together and just appreciate the time very much. So, I'll welcome any questions of course if there are any and um on behalf of our team, thank you for the opportunity to share.
>> Thank you, Rachel. Any questions from the committee? >> I'll just say thank you. It was important that you pointed out the four four-year graduate public university that y'all are the first and only at this point. So, we're glad to have you here as we build out this education ed
educational framework. But thanks for that thorough update on what's going on and we look forward to seeing what the future brings. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. Thank y'all. >> Thank you. >> All right, moving on. Uh, next Texas state legislator interim charges a briefing on thatwami. Y'all
come on up. Just going to go through um the elections u that are coming up in um in November. Um here you have the 11 races in the uh Fort Worth area. Um there's
going to be three that are um that are unimposed. That would be Ramon Ramon Romero and Nicole Collier and um Junior Isa Zenu, hopefully I pronounced that right. Um beat Chris Turner in the
primary and he will be unopposed in November. All the other um races are are opposed and um there will be obviously a Democrat and Republican in each race. Um this next slide shows the rematch
between um Rem and Wongans. And like I said, it was it's a rematch of that contested primary that happened beginning of the year. And um Senator
Cook is going to be um running against um Amy Martinez in November to replace um Senator Birdwell's seat. And um Representative King, I mean Senator King, sorry, and um
Senator Parker are are not on this this year's ballot. Um this slide shows, excuse me, this slide shows the um governor's priorities and it's a five-point reform plan. Um
again, we are going to be a focus of a lot of um legislation that is going to come up in this next legisl legislative session. Um the governor would like to limit local spending growth. Um he would also like to see uh twothirds voter
approval for any property tax increase and um he would like to um see um general public have petition power that would allow 50% of the voters to force a um roll back ballot. Um he also wants to
um change the appraisal process to a five-year process rather than an annual process and drop the homestead cap um to 3% yearly and extend that to all properties. And lastly, he would like to see a um
referendum a referendum on eliminating school property tax. And um so I'm I'm Britney. I'm going to take over from K Kowami. One of the things we wanted to make sure to highlight for y'all is that as a part of the process, we were in the legislative
session last year. We're now in what we call the interim. We'll go back to legislative session next January. And during this time, they're they're starting their what we call their interim charges. and they're going to they're going to have interim charge hearings. Um on behalf of the city, we
did do um some outreach around your jail diversion program. It's a big initiative around homelessness that um you're going to see that both the Senate and the House will be looking at. And so we did do some outreach around that. We just wanted to make that as a reference to
you in the event that that's a priority um in your in your district. But we wanted to highlight for you. Again, these are not all the interim charges. There are there's probably a hundred pages worth of these, but in the Senate,
you have kind of one take on things. So, so Kwami just laid out for you kind of what the governor wants everybody to do. The Senate, the Lieutenant Governor, Dan Patrick, has laid out what he would like the Senate to take on. And one of the key differences that you'll see on
property tax in particular here on this slide with the finance committee is the Senate is very focused on a homestead exemption. So again, we've seen um a few different sessions negotiate the homestead exemption with what we call
compression. And so whenever you look at those two different factions, usually you have the Senate on one side and the House on other side and then obviously the governor is somewhere in the middle or has his own ideas as well. And so as we get ready to go back into this interim charges as well as the next
session, I think what we're seeing here is that this this kind of fight or that I hate to say it's a fight, but this negotiation is starting early. And so one of the reasons it's starting early is because um the property tax cuts that
they have already done are quite expensive, especially going into each new legislative session. So especially the compression taxes and so as they get ready to go into these new legislative sessions, they have to continue to spend
this money on education if they continue to focus on the ISDs, for example. And so just to summarize it or try to summarize it here quickly, um they're going to talk a lot about whether or not they can afford certain pieces of these
property tax cuts and you're going to have affordability affordability of the property tax cuts introduced. I think you will see it introduced very much here in finance. Um the lieutenant governor has already started talking about what they can afford versus what they can't afford.
um and he's kind of he's he's kind of tried to create I think some distance between him and what the governor has already outlined. I think we'll start seeing that and Holly's going to cover the house. Um but you'll see it in house appropriations andor ways and means in the house. Um so just to kind of um
highlight the property tax piece. Um the other thing I just want to draw special attention to is oil and gas. um oil and gas is a big way that the state has um money. Okay. So, when they can go in and
they can do these massive property tax cuts, it's typically because WTI or um uh Brent crude oil is, you know, high eight 80 to $100, right? And what we saw in the last kind of 12 months is it has
fallen. But now with our Iranian issue, um, we see it ticking back up. It's now over $100 or the last time I checked it was over $100. Um, it's very volatile, which is not new in Texas. Severance taxes are always volatile. But the thing
to watch going into the next session is how long it stays probably above $80. above $80 means that the legislature probably is going to have some money and it's it's again it's how they kind of put money into the rainy day fund. It's how they pay for stuff that they want to
pay for. So if you kind of want to use that as your kind of barometer um I've used it as my barometer. Um so the other thing the other big topic that's happening right now um is fraud, waste and abuse and health and human services.
Um and then business and commerce actually met last week and they covered the electric grid, but they also covered data centers. And so they covered um uh echo economic development data centers and kind of how the grid plays into
that. And so we'll see that um as a also a um a theme throughout a number of different charges. And so I'm going to kind of keep going pretty fast though. So BNC is going to pick back up and they still have another hearing they'll have on managing data center growth,
broadband, um economic developmental meet. Um we have another finance committee meeting again on data centers. That theme is going to resonate. They're also going to pick up um transportation issues and you'll also see that your grade issues are a big thing that um is
is there and then the mental health and the homelessness in the Senate. And so these are the charges from the Senate. Oh, wait. I've got another slide. Sorry. Um, Senator Benton Court's committee, local government. They have a number of issues obviously that are going to
impact us here. They'll be again looking at cutting property taxes, the homestead exemption because that's again the focus of um the Senate. Then state affairs is going to look at gambling loopholes. Um, and there's a pending AG opinion on some
things around that nature. And then you have water, agriculture, and rural affairs. They used this verbiage, energyintensive technologies. Um, and so that could also be around data centers. Um, and just to flag that for you as well. And your water infrastructure
revenue. And I think that's my last slide. Yes. So I'm going to turn over to Holly and Holly's going to cover the house. >> Thank you everybody. Holly Dills with McGuire Woods Consulting. Um, appreciate youall having us here today. So, in the House of Representatives, there are 25
standing committees as we have it today. And then there are three new select committees. I bring that up because I do want to mention, it's not in our slides. One of the select committees that I think will be of the utmost importance to Fort Worth, and that's the select committee on general aviation. So, we will continue to monitor that with you
guys and see wherever y'all fold in, but it's going to be very important to City of Fort Worth. Um, as Britney mentioned, as far as House appropriation goes, they will come out with their own budget. they will come out with their own property tax cuts and look for ways to increase revenues amongst the state. Um
the one important thing again for Fort Worth is the rail grade crossings and you will see that across the board in Senate Finance, House Transportation, House Appropriations and Senate Transportation. It is of the must utmost importance on both sides and even text that will probably be I would assume one
of their number one legislative priorities. um house culture, recreation, and tourism. They are going to be looking at the economic development and education contributions that rodeos bring to the state of Texas and keeping up with the heritage and how the state can help promote these events
to further enhance what you have guys have going on. Um house elections, they're going to look at to see if there's a need for adjustment of election timelines. I feel like this is a pretty perennial issue that always comes up that they will take a look at as well as what is the evolving
technology. Are communities keeping up with it? Are there additional staffing needs to make sure that elections are handled correctly? And then improve any efficiencies that the state can to make that easier on the communities. The House Select Committee on Governmental Oversight again one of the new committees and it is I'm sorry moving
forward. Um, oops. Sorry guys. It is not Doge. We still have Doge. Um, but it is going to look at all of these acts that have been around for quite some time. The regulatory consistency act, that's a full-scale review of local local
government ordinances across the state. Tort claims, uh, they're just going to see if it needs to be updated. Safeguarding taxpayer funds, that's going to be looking at what public funds are used for third parties. And then the public information act, they pretty much always have some some tweaks and some
suggestions on what the legislative session should do with that. Homeland Security, public safety, and veterans affairs. They're going to monitor HP33, which is the active shooter incidents at public education institutions, um, K through 12 as well as universities. And
then strengthening the law enforcement pipeline. I'm so happy to see this because they're going to look at recruitment, retention, pipeline, and then family resources that are needed to encourage folks to go into the academy and into law enforcement. House Ways and Means will look at local government spending and debt practices. That will
also be where property tax relief is probably most focused as far as legislation and not the actual accounting for it. House Committee on Land Resource Management. They're going to review all of the things that were taken up last session with zoning,
density requirements, residential development, pre-planning processes, uh local government fees, third parties, and that'll be something that we will keep a very very close eye on of course for you guys. The House Committee on Natural Resources, Groundwater Management, I think you're going to hear
more about groundwater next legislative session than probably any time in the past. looking at the adequacy, looking to see what data and modeling is readily available and how all of those pieces come together to make the state's plan. Um, I think they're about to come out with a new regional water plan. Sure, folks in this room have been working on
it. So, they will base a lot of those recommendations and things on that regional water plan for the state. Innovative water supply strategies that is looking at the new water supply for Texas fund and how it is being implemented, who is trying to apply for it, what can be done to promote it more
for communities to use for these efficiencies. House Committee on State Affairs, disaster preparedness, just coordination, you know, everything after the floods of last summer. I think they're just going to be looking to see how state and local and all of the folks work better together. um poll
attachments will be involving what is impacting and impeding any type of broadband to get out to the rural areas. And then of course we have data centers and as of this morning they released the agenda for the House State Affairs Committee to take up data centers on
Thursday. So we can dive into that as much or as little as y'all want to get through all of this transportation as I said railroad grade separation projects. They hopefully will also be looking at short lines, aviation, ports, all of the usual suspects.
And then last but not least, here is the current list of hearings that have been posted. We of course will see a whole lot more. Um they are starting to pop like wildfire. So most of the hearings in the spring will take place until probably May, June, little summer break,
maybe a couple things in there, and then they'll pick back up in the fall. These interim charges will then be have recommendations in different reports submitted to the speaker and lieutenant governor in October. Those reports will be made public in November and legislation will already start being drafted based on those recommendations
of the committees. So another side note, Sunset Advisory Commission is also about to start meeting and releasing their calendar and that is all of the Health and Human Services agencies. So, um, as many of you might be familiar, about every 10 to 12 years, Health and Human Services goes into one agency and then
they break it down into five. One agency and break it down into five. So, it'll be very interesting to see what the Sunset Commission does with that this session. And the new chairwoman is uh, Senator Lewis Cole Course. Happy to answer any questions. >> Great. Thanks, Holly. Any questions from
anybody? >> Nope. Well, thanks for the update. Appreciate that. Um, Elizabeth, is this your time where you say an Allen, this is his last meeting, so >> yeah, I think I have some interim charges for uh Councilman Bllelock.
I just beg of you, my friend, colleague, that you remember how much we love local control and don't make us call you down to this uh this particular legislative hearing if you forget that. So, I'm looking at
you. It's not a threat, but I'm looking at you. What are your two favorite words, Alan? Local control. Let me hear you say it loud from your chest, Alan. Come on. What's your two favorite words?
Are you read enough yet? I can keep going. >> Elizabeth, thank you so much for your support. I'm so excited you want to see me down there. I can't wait to be there and have these conversations again. Great. Uh, there are no questions. Uh, thank you again for being Oh, sorry.
Yes, please. >> Just curious, we still have a contract with Corly Pipes, don't we? >> Yes. Yes, we do currently. Yes, sir. >> And they usually do an update as well. We get that next meeting. >> Um, yes, we can make it next. >> Okay. Usually we do them all together. I was just curious on why we weren't
didn't have them today. >> Okay. Okay. Thank you. >> Yeah, sounds good. I appreciate uh anything else than meeting a term. I think so.