Summary
(This report represents a summary of events of the meeting,
 and is not necessarily complete nor an exact transcript of testimony.)

The Public Safety Commission convened as posted to consider and take formal action, if necessary, on the following agenda items:

I. CALL TO ORDER
10:30  am  Chairman Polunsky called the meeting to order. In attendance: Chairman Allan Polunsky, Commissioners Carin Barth, Tom Clowe, John Steen, and Ada Brown. Also present were Director Steve McCraw, Dep. Director Lamar Beckworth, Dep. Director Cheryl McBride, Chief of Staff Duke Bodisch and Interim General Counsel Duncan Fox.  A quorum was present.

II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion and second was made and the minutes were approved unanimously.

III. PUBLIC COMMENT (members of the public wishing to address the Commission are subject to a time limit of 5 minutes and must complete a Public Comment Registration Card located at the entry)

Lt. Jimmy Jackson Presents Check to Jubilee Co-Chairs Barbara Hinesley and Lamar Beckworth and to Dir. McCraw

 DPSOA Secretary/Treasurer, Jimmy Jackson, Lieutenant, Tyler, presented a donation check in the amount of $5,000.00 to 75th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee Co-Chairs Barbara Hinesley and Lt. Col. Lamar Beckworth and to Director Steve McCraw.  This check brings the total amount donated to the Diamond Jubilee Committee by DPSOA to $13,000.00.  These funds were proceeds from the sale of 75th Diamond Jubilee Memorabilia that DPSOA volunteered to handle.  Any excess funds from the Jubilee are to go to the DPS Memorial Fund.

IV. DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Director Steve McCraw –  Col. Beckworth and I presented an award to Barbara Hinesley for her part in making the Diamond Jubilee a great success.

Director Steve McCraw – We are collecting data and information on several matrixes and will be making them available on a DPS dashboard. Some of the information that will be available for evaluation and reporting includes:
Licensing
• CHL licensing – 74,830 licenses issued over the last fiscal year
• Cost to DPS for CHL licensing – $5 million
• Revenue generated by CHK licensing – $10,822,000
• Law Enforcement Services
• Crime Records – 7,900 queries
• 1,206,000 hits on the website

Crime Lab services (18 different tests offered)
• 28 million tests submitted overall
• 2 million breath analysis
• 47,256 blood alcohol tests
• 5,257 DNA examinations
• 1,000 firearms tests
• 6,000 toxicology tests

These services are provided at no cost to other law enforcement agencies throughout the state.  We are running a 283 day backlog on DNA Tests and would like to cut that to 180 days.  We have a 52 day backlog on toxicology exams.
Highway Patrol
• 1,967,000+ patrol hours
• 845,000+ CVE hours
• 14,837 High profile encounters (dangerous suspects)
• 76 hits related to terrorism
• 119,000 lbs. of marijuana seized
• 17,000 lbs. of cocaine
• 297 lbs. of meth
• 1,345 stolen vehicles
• 25,305 DWI arrests
• 1,204 Accident investigations
• 7,337 unsafe commercial vehicles removed from the roadways
• 1,285 Commercial drivers taken off the road

Commercial vehicles are involved in 15% of fatal auto accidents
Texas Rangers
• 859 Felony arrests
• 6 major initiatives underway currently
• 4,000 hits of meth
• 9,000 lbs. cocaine
• 402 lbs. heroin
• $23,000,000 in Cash

Recruitment and Training – We have centralized recruitment and training, with one person in charge and accountable for recruitment, training and graduation.  We are raising the bar for minimum reading level of our recruits from grade level 9 to grade level 14 (2 years of college). We will be assigning a mentor to each recruit; a Sergeant from the duty station that the recruit has requested will be available to the recruit and his/her family throughout the academy and to the graduation. This will begin with the next recruit class.
• B2010 – 26% attrition; from 53 to 39 (8-9th week)
• C2010 – 25% attrition; from 55 to 41 (5th week)
• Highest attrition rate over the last 10 years – 28%
• Lowest attrition rate over the last 10 years – 13%

Commissioner John Steen asked Col. McCraw what he would set as a goal for attrition in the recruit classes.  Col. McCraw said that he would like to see it at around 10%.  He also stated that DPS will start classes with 60 recruits (up from 50) and will recruit year-round.
Commissioner Ada Brown asked if DPS conducts exit surveys with those who do not make it through graduation.  Deputy Director Lamar Beckworth responded that DPS currently does exit interviews, but will be doing more extensive interviews going forward.  The information gathered in those interviews will be carefully evaluated and be useful on the front end with the evaluations and screening of new recruits. Comm. Brown added some of the problem seems to be the shift from “theoretical” to “practical”; transitioning from the idea of law enforcement to the physical and mental requirements of law enforcements.
Director McCraw discussed the rise in cross-border violence.  He mentioned the 24 murders across the border from Brownsville (Matamoros) and the bullets that came across the border in El Paso, closing I-10.  Col. McCraw discussed the Mexican Drug Cartels’ rising use of trans-national gangs to move drugs, cash, and stolen vehicles.  He said that the rise in the violence of these trans-national gangs has prompted us to raise the threat level along the border to Tier 1. We are aware of the very real threat from terrorist groups including Al-Queda, Hezbolah, and Hamas, including car bombs. We have established a policy to address the IED part that is being used nationally. We have established an enterprise wide intelligence department to process the State Intelligence Estimate.  There is a mandate to develop and report a state assessment on gangs.  Gangs have become the most significant organized crime threat in Texas.  Gangs recruit in prisons and in schools. There has been 150% increase in crimes related to gangs (not an exact number).  Gangs will proliferate.  We are working on a statewide gang strategy using a team approach.  One of our team partners will be the prosecutors.  Houston is ground zero in terms of trans-national gang crimes.  Other major metropolitan areas are also very active including Dallas/Ft. Worth, El Paso, San Antonio, Austin and Amarillo. Col. McCraw referred to it as the CONPLAN – Terrorist Attack and Significant Criminal Response Plan.  This has been adopted by the Department of Justice.
V. NEW BUSINESS
A. Presentation on DPS Memorial Ride
Trooper James Colunga, Waxahachie and Trooper Dub Gillum, Granbury – I came up with the idea and last year we had 12 riders, and this year we have 30 riders, including Col. McCraw.  Next Saturday, we will leave from Headquarters at 8:00 am for the 33 mile ride.  This is similar to the Police Unity Tour Ride, with unity being very important.  The Department is offering 4 hrs. of administrative leave for the riders.  I want to build a new memorial on the new site.  I want to provide more “personality” next to the names of the fallen officers.  1. Raise money for the memorial. 2. Raise money for the disability fund.  Trooper Gillum said that the goal, down the road, is to combine all groups, including DPSOA, TSTA, etc. to pool the funds to provide benefits for our fallen troopers..  We would like to see it grow into something like the DPS 100 Club, similar to the Houston, Dallas, and others.  We would also like to tap into the resources of the Commissioners to help us achieve our goals of raising funds. 20% of funds will go to administration, with half of the remaining going to the memorial fund, and half will go to the disability fund.  We anticipate $200,000 – $300,000 for the memorial.  So far we have approximately $4,000.

Comm. Clowe asked about their 501C3.  You have a Board and Trooper Colunga is the President.  Trooper Gillum sits on the Board.  We will have a short ceremony at 11:00 or 11:30 back at the end of the ride at the Academy and  we welcome anyone to attend.
 

B. Report, discussion and possible action to appoint search committee to retain new General Counsel
Chairman Polunsky suggested appointing a committee to include Comm. Brown and Comm. Steen to work toward selecting a new General Counsel.  Dir. McCraw will also be involved in this Selection Committee.  At this time I do not feel that it will be necessary to use a search firm for this job.
Motion by Barth, second by Clowe to form the Search Committee with Commissioners Brown and Steen, working with Dir. McCraw.

Passed unanimously.

C. Report, discussion, and possible action to authorize the Department to request approval to use unexpended local border security funds to enhance aerial surveillance along Texas/Mexico border for border security operations and transnational gang investigations
Col. McCraw requests that we move this to move to new business.

D. Report, discussion and possible action regarding proposed FY 2011 OAI Plan and role of Commission contact in audit and inspection processes
Steve Goodson, Assistant Director of Audits and Inspection – A systematic approach for moving forward.  There are 14 primary projects, and 16 secondary (alternate) projects.
Motion by Steen, Seconded by Clowe to approve the project lists.
Passed unanimously.

Steve Goodson – Contact Commissioner Concept – aligns the Commissioners with specific projects so that there is coordination and oversight for these projects.
Motion by Barth, Seconded by Steen.
Clowe asked how the Commissioner is assigned.  Mr. Goodson said that he seeks preferences from the Commission and then facilitates the assignment.
Passed unanimously.

E. Report, discuss and possible action regarding Driver License Division Reorganization and Improvement Plan
Assistant Director Rebecca Davia – Drivers License Division.  Believe me, I have received the message that we need improvement.  I am hear to present a plan
Improve our customer service
Protect Safety and Security
Improve Employee Environment

• We need to provide easy to access and easy to understand information to the consumer.
• Minimize process time.
• Comfortable and accessible transactions for the customers (much online).
• Provide interesting and useful information about DL operations

We have 24 projects identified for FY11 which began on September 1, 2010

3 projects will have significant impact.
• Business intelligence data – need the information to
• DL/ID Initiative Requirements – more than half of our customers require 2 or more trips to complete their transaction.
• Customer flow initiative – cues customers by types of transactions, so simple transactions are not tied up behind the longer, more complex transactions.

These problems were not created overnight, and will not be solved overnight, but we hope to make significant improvements.

AD Davia went on to show a proposed DL Division organizational chart, using “customer” as a key element in the structure. Four major areas: Customer Operations = Field Offices; Customer Support = Headquarters; Technology Solutions; Policy and Business Solution.

Comm. Steen asked how the progress would be measured.  AD Davia said that DL will be using a matrix to track and evaluate and provide it in a dashboard format similar to the one the Director alluded to previously.

Director McCraw stated that the goal should be no more than one hour wait/transaction time.

Comm. Barth discussed the need to get legislative support for improving the DL division and process. She also suggested looking at ways to streamline, automate, etc. the processes to eliminate unnecessary paperwork and processes to achieve an efficiency level needed. Comm. Barth stated that she wants to see some very specific, quantitative matrix outlining results.

Comm. Clowe suggested that tough decisions will need to be made regarding utilization of assets and resources.  We may need to close some underutilized offices and move the resources to the urban areas where the wait times are excessive.

Motion by Steen, seconded by Barth to approved the Reorganization and Improvement Plan.
Passed Unanimously.

Comm. Clowe asked to have a progress report for DL to be added to a Commission Meeting at least once a quarter routinely.  Chairman Polunsky agreed and directed Commission Assistant Douherty to make a note of that.

F. Report, discussion, and possible action regarding the adoption of a negotiated rulemaking policy as provided under Government Code 411.0044
Acting General Counsel Duncan Fox – moved to authorize the proposed new rules.  Motion was made and seconded. 
Passed Unanimously.
VI. ADJOURN INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION (if required) to consult with legal counsel regarding pending or contemplated litigation or settlement offers or to receive legal advice on items posted on this agenda; deliberation regarding real estate matters; consideration of any other items authorized by law, including personnel matters, the Director’s action of discharging employees as identified in this agenda; ongoing criminal investigations
Adjourn to Executive Session at 12:38 pm.
Reconvene at approximately 2:15 pm.

VII. ONGOING BUSINESS
Reports, discussion and possible action regarding the following:
A. Discussion and possible action regarding the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a member of the Department or Commission management team
Not present for this discussion.
B. Committee report on 28-day work cycle and Overtime and Compensatory Time policy
Not present for this discussion.  Was informed that there was not much said on this topic.
C. Update report, discussion, and possible action by the Commission regarding modification and transformation of the DPS organizational structure approval of personnel placements and salaries to pursuant to Government Code chapter 411, Secs. 411.005, 411.006 and 411.0071
Col. Steve McCraw recommended that DPS raise the Assistant Director of Homeland Security to the level of Deputy Director of Homeland Security.
Motion was made by Steen and Seconded by Clowe to approve.
Chairman Polunsky said that he would like to abstain.  Comm. Clowe agreed that he wasn’t aware of the fundamental organizational change without prior notice or discussion.
Col. McCraw suggested that the proposal be tabled to a future meeting after the Commission can be further briefed.
Comm. Steen withdrew his motion.  Comm. Clowe withdrew his second.

D. Report discussion and possible action on matters affecting the Office of Inspector
General, Texas DPS operations:
1.  Consideration of policies for OIG operational oversight pursuant to Government Code 411.244(d);
Inspector General, Stuart Platt – The Commission has reviewed the policy recommendation that will become the cornerstone of the OIG Policies.

Comm. Steen asked if “all of the Commissioners” could be notified within 72 hours regarding significant issues (rather than just the Chairman).

Motion by Steen, second by Barth
Passed Unanimously

2.  Personnel update including status of Captain selections;
IG Platt introduced Michael Allen Bradbury, H.D.(Dino) Henderson, and Luis Alexander Sanchez who are being promoted to Captain rank to work in the OIG Office effective October 1, 2010.

3.  Update on OIG facilities and office space
There is no space for OIG to continue in our current space that we are “borrowing”.  The only option at this time is to look for space off campus.  The Commission previously approved temporary off campus last spring.  Deputy Director McBride is beginning to look for funds to allow us to move off campus.  The Commission agreed without need for a further vote.

E. Update report, discussion and possible action regarding the status of building safety and security at the DPS campus on North Lamar
No discussion.

F. Report, informational only, on new and pending contracts:
1. Amendment No. 5 to Contract for the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Verification System (TexasSure)

2. TXDPS Livescan Maintenance & Support Services

3. Audit Services of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved Public Assistance Program grants
Assistant Director Valerie Fulmer – said that there were updates in the Commissioners’ packets, and there were no questions.

G. Report, discussion and possible action on the Fiscal Year 2010 – 2011 Operating Budget
Deputy Director Cheryl McBride discussed the budget briefly, but referred the Commissioners to her report.

H. Report, discussion and possible action regarding purchases using seized funds
(Taken out of sequence) Deputy Director Cheryl McBride – Services – $8.8 million to start. New Balance is $4,755,452.  Requested to add $15,000 to the vehicle make ready. 
A motion was made and seconded to approve.
Approved unanimously.

Comm. Barth asked for the list of permissible uses for seized funds and asked that it be included in the Commissions prep books.

The permissible list included:
• Law Enforcement Investigations
• Law Enforcement Training
• Law Enforcement Facility Improvements and Maintenance
• Law Enforcement Travel
• Awards and Monuments
• Asset accounting
• Community Based Programs

Cannot be used for Salaries

 DD McBride showed slides regarding the 2011 operating budget and asked for approval from the Commission.

Motion made, and seconded.
Passed unanimously.

I. Update Report, discussion and possible action regarding recruitment
Deputy Assistant Director Frank Woodall – Attrition rates are as follows: A-2010 -24%; B-2010 – 17%; and C-2010 – 20% (plus two additional who could not qualify for their firearms certification).  Three year average, 20.8%.  Recruits are leaving because 1, they are not physically ready for the training, or 2, they are not mentally ready for the training. We are still short about 386 troopers, down from over 400 at the first of the year.

Chairman Polunsky asked DAD Woodall to get information and compare the DPS training to that of Parks and Wildlife and the Game Wardens for the next Commission meeting.  Comm. Barth asked to get another municipal law enforcement agency to the list of comparisons.

J. Final report, discussion and possible action on 75th “Diamond Jubilee” Anniversary of the Department from the Diamond Jubilee Committee
Barbara Hinesley – acknowledge three key Committee members who did a fantastic job in assisting with the event logistics. Ms. Hinesley made a presentation of photos of the August 6 headquarters Jubilee Celebration.

Chairman Polunsky thanked everyone who volunteered and helped to make this an historic event.  It exceeded all expectations.  It was a fantastic event. 

Jubilee Committee Chair Barbara Hinesley accepts the Governor's "Yellow Rose" Award from Chairman Alan Polunsky

Chairman Polunsky was proud to present the Governor’s Yellow Rose of Texas award to an outstanding contribution to the state by a woman.
VIII. REPORTS
A. Commission member reports and discussion
None

B. Finance Report
None

C. Audit & Inspection Report
None

D. Division status reports on activities and action
Nothing to add.
IX. CONSENT ITEMS
A. Discussion and possible action on the Director’s Action of discharging probationary
employee Ana Adkison
B. Discussion and possible action on appointments of Special Rangers and Special Texas
Rangers pursuant to Government Code chapter 411, Secs. 411.023 & 411.024: Special Rangers – James R. Sanders; Special Texas Rangers – Salvador Abreo and Alvin Schmidt
C. Discussion and possible action on proposed rules for publication:

1. Proposed new Rules 1.281 – 1.284, 37 TAC Secs. 1.281 – 1.284, regarding Negotiated Rulemaking Policy

2. Proposed amendments to Rule 4.37, 37 TAC Sec. 4.37, regarding Acceptance of Out-of State Commercial Vehicle Inspection Certificate

3. Proposed amendments to Rules 14.32, 14.33, and 14.36, 37 TAC Secs. 14.32, 14.33, and 14.36, regarding School Bus Driver Safety Training Program

4. Proposed amendments to Rules 14.52 and 14.54, 37 TAC Secs. 14.52 and 14.54, regarding School Bus Safety Standards
Motion to approve all consent items except item C-1 which was previously approved.
Seconded.
Passed Unanimously.
X.  ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDA

Comm. Ada Brown asked for 1 item which was not overheard.
XI. DATE FOR FUTURE MEETINGS
October 21, 2010
 

XII.  ADJOURN
The Commission may take items out of the order in which they are posted on this agenda.
Also, an item that has been adopted, passed upon, delayed or tabled for a later meeting may be considered or reconsidered at the same meeting.

3:35 pm.

DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Director Steve McCraw – The Texas Department of Public Safety has been, and will always be about its people. Deputy Director Brad Rable has accepted a position with a firm in the private sector, and has submitted his resignation to DPS. The Department is a better organizationOur Criminal Intelligence and Texas Rangers division have completed a draft policy regarding confidential informants. AD Tom Ruocco and AD Tony Leal have worked together to prepare this document to provide rules and structure for interfacing with cooperative individuals. We value human intelligence and we need to have strict rules in place to help us to encourage the robust intelligence gathering necessary to combat the criminal factions that we are up against. 

A. Report, discussion, and possible action regarding Commission approval for the

Department to request delegated leasing authority from the Texas Facilities Commission for the lease of real estate in Lubbock, Texas, under Title 1, Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 115

Acting General Council Duncan Fox – This would speed the process the leasing process. Motion to approve by Steen and seconded by Clowe. Passed

 

 

 

B. Report, discussion and possible action on the Fiscal Year 2012 and 2013 Legislative

Appropriation Request

 

 

Assistant Director Cheryl McBride – We just heard today that the Legislative Budget Board has approved $6.1 million for the Laredo Crime lab, and $10 million for repairs and rehab. Let’s move to the Exceptional Items.

　

FY 12-13 Exceptional Items –

Tier 1 – Operational Gap: 79,748,823 (5% Revenue recovery, gasoline variance, utilities, etc.)

Tier 2 – Salary Detail: $137,035,789 (Stipends, salaries, etc.)

Tier 3 – IT Detail: $46,930,823 (personal digital device to swipe DL outside of B&W, for one)

Tier 4 – Facilities Detail: $181,567,458 (Repairs; temp housing in Florence, San Antonio and El Paso Regional offices etc.)

Tier 5 – Border: $17,133,344 (two high altitude surveillance aircraft)

　

Total amount: $462,426,237

　

Comm. Barth said that she feels very strongly that salary increases for Schedules A, B, and C needs to be moved way up on the priority level. Compensation should be certainly in the top three. Comm. Steen asked AD McBride to make the case for why operational gaps should take a higher priority above the compensation issue. AD McBride stated that the operational priorities are a matter of keeping the doors open. Col McCraw added that the Commission has made it clear not to use funds from unfilled vacancies to cover operations, but rather to fill those slots, so we are having to make a priority of operational needs. He went on to explain his perspective of the importance of the other priorities.

　

Chair Polunsky – I have a real problem with both the gasoline and utilities having to be exceptional items. What does the legislature expect…park the black and whites? McBride stated that this is our mechanism to bring this to the Legislature’s attention.

　

The Commissioners, lead by Comm. Clowe, noted the hard work and the great presentation on the budget. Clowe stated that this was the clearest and best prepared presentation since he has sat on the Commission. Any organization that doesn’t put it’s people first, is in trouble. The fact that we don’t have the funding for gasoline is because we accepted what they gave us. We have to be ready to make the best argument at the capitol and just lay it out that we need this funding to do our jobs.

　

Comm. Steen suggested that it might be politically prudent to whittle down this list to make it more “sellable” to the legislature. AD McBride that the list has already been whittled from over a $1 billion. Chair Polunsky suggested that we need to begin with what we feel like we need, and even in the best of legislative years, we won’t get everything on the list.

　

AD McBride asked the Commission to clarify how they would like the priorities set. Chair Polunsky suggested leaving the 5% Revenue Recovery at the top (because it includes some jobs) and then put the Schedule A, B, and C compensation just below that.

　

Comm. Barth said that she somewhat agrees with Comm. Steen that the Commission look at cutting some items. Comm. Clowe recommended not cutting the list further, understanding that we won’t get it all.

　

5% Revenue Recovery stays at first

Then Compensation

Gasoline Utilities

And move the disaster recovery to the top of the IT Tier.

　

Motion made to adjust the priorities as listed above by Clowe, second by Barth. Passed unanimously.

　

FY12-13 Rider Reviews –

703 – Unexpended Balance between fiscal years in biennium;

704 – Sale of surplus properties;

705 – Sale of Bryan District Office

706 – Enterprise Resource Planning System

707 – Capitol Budget Expenditures from Federal Awards

　

Motion by Barth, second by Clowe. Riders passed unanimously.

　

DPS Base Strategy Request for 2012 – 2013 – $1,355,530,061 per each year. Our deadline for submitting to the LAR is Monday.

Motion by Barth, second by Steen. Approved unanimously for submission to LAR

　

Finally, in response to the Governor’s request to provide an additional 5% cut to the previously requested 5% cut. These cuts would result in loss of positions in the agencies. A detailed list was shown, but not distributed. Ms. McBride asked for the Commission’s approval to present these proposed cuts with the LAR.

　

Motion by Clowe, second by Steen. Approved unanimously.

　

Seized Funds Available – Current funds available $6.6 million; less recruit schools of $2.5 million each, Balance $1.15 Million.

　

Requested budget – $5,577,825; Actual Cost $6,633,639; Variance: ($455,614)

AD McBride asked the Commission approved the variance expenditures.

　

Motion by Clowe, second by Barth; Motion to approve passed unanimously.

　

　

 

VI.

 

ADJOURN INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION (if required) to consult with legal counsel regarding pending or contemplated litigation or settlement offers or to receive legal advice on items posted on this agenda; deliberation regarding real estate matters; consideration of any other items authorized by law, including personnel matters, the Director’s action of discharging employees as identified in this agenda; ongoing criminal investigations

 

Adjourn to Executive Session at 12:33 pm.

Reconvene at approximately 1:30 pm. (one of the briefest Executive Committee breaks in memory, which caught many at the Department, as well as me, off guard. With a brief afternoon session, the meeting was over before many had had a chance to return to the room).

VII.

 

ONGOING BUSINESS

 

Reports, discussion and possible action regarding the following:

A. Discussion and possible action regarding the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a member of the Department or Commission management team

The Commission voted to promote Assistant Director Cheryl McBride to Deputy Director of Services, the position vacated by Brad Rable.

　

The Commission also voted to name interim Inspector General Stuart Platt to the permanent position of Inspector General. Duncan Fox will continue in his position as Interim General Counsel for the department.

 

B. Committee report on 28-day work cycle and Overtime and Compensatory Time policy

With Comm. Brown not in attendance, this item was tabled until the next Commission meeting.

 

 

 

C. Update report, discussion, and possible action by the Commission regarding modification and transformation of the DPS organizational structure approval of personnel placements and salaries to pursuant to Government Code chapter 411, Secs. 411.005, 411.006 and 411.0071

Nothing to report.

 

 

 

D. Report discussion and possible action on matters affecting the Office of Inspector

General, Texas DPS operations:

　1. Consideration of policies for OIG operational oversight pursuant to Government

Code 411.244(d);

2. Consideration of complaint receiving process

Nothing to report.

 

 

 

E. Update report, discussion and possible action regarding the status of building safety and security at the DPS campus on North Lamar

Included in AD McBride’s earlier report on Exceptional Items requests to the LAR.

 

 

 

F. Update report, discussion and possible action on Promotion Process

Major Carey Matthews – Reported that the pilot Promotion Process was completed in the El Paso Region with very few bumps. The goals of the new process regarding diversity were achieved and the overall feedback has been very positive. Major Matthews provided numbers for the promotions, which I was not able to record. The one area that he would like to see improvement on is communication between the involved supervisors.

 

 

 

G. Report, discussion and possible action on the Fiscal Year 2010 and 2011 Operating

Budget

Previously reported by AD McBride.

 

 

 

H. Report, discussion and possible action regarding purchases using seized funds

Previously reported by AD McBride.

 

 

 

I. Report, discussion and possible action regarding pending contracts and contract renewals:

1. Adapter development, enterprise license, application maintenance and support for the Texas Data Exchange (TDEx) web based application (Appriss)2. Emergency contract for providing strategies & plans to support management of the Texas Border Security Operations Center (Abrams Learning & Information Systems Inc)

J. Update Report, discussion and possible action regarding recruitment

Previously reported by Director McCraw, Deputy Assistant Director Jesse White, and Captain Jason Hester.

 

 

 

　

K. Update report, discussion and possible action on 75 th “Diamond Jubilee” Anniversary of the Department from the Diamond Jubilee Committee

Co-Committee Chair Barbara Hinesley reported on the success of the Jubilee events, and was congratulated by the Commission for the great work and success of the celebration.

 

 

 

　

　

 

VIII.

 

REPORTS

 

A. Commission member reports and discussion

None

 

 

 

B. Finance Report

Previously reported by AD McBride.

 

 

 

C. Audit & Inspection Report

None

 

 

 

D. Division status reports on activities and action

 

None

 

IX.

 

CONSENT ITEMS

 

A. Discussion and possible action on the Director’s Action of discharging probationary

employees Walter Scott and Norma Alcalde

B. Discussion and possible action on appointments of Special Rangers and Special Texas

Rangers pursuant to Government Code chapter 411, Secs. 411.023 & 411.024: Special Rangers – Albert G. Corbell, George M. Coyle, Tony Crosthwait, Michael Duncan, James Pearce, Mario Salinas, Harvey Stamper and Russell Wheeler.

C. Report, discussion and possible action on adoption of:

1. Proposed amendments to Section 3.1 and 3.4, 37 TAC Sec. 3.1 and Sec. 3.4, regarding Crash Investigations

2. Proposed amendments to Sections 35.93, 35.181, and 35.292, 37 TAC Secs.

35.93, 35.181, and 35.292, regarding Private Security Rules, as published in the

July 2, 2010 issue of the Texas Register (35 TexReg 5795, 5796, and 5797)

　

　

X.

 

ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDA

 

XI.

 

DATE FOR FUTURE MEETINGS

 

XII.

 

ADJOURN

 

2:30 pm.

 

 

 

The Commission may take items out of the order in which they are posted on this agenda.

Also, an item that has been adopted, passed upon, delayed or tabled for a later meeting may be considered or reconsidered at the same meeting.

Deputy Director Cheryl McBride

due to his leadership, and his contributions are appreciated and will be missed. (Later in the meeting, the Commission voted to name AD Cheryl McBride to the position of Deputy Director of Services.)

　

Regarding the Enhanced Highway Safety initiative that we are working with TxDOT on, TxDOT is reporting an error rate on the forms of 7.28% from DPS. The error rate from other law enforcement agencies from around the state is 22.68%, so our error rate is significantly lower. Comm. Barth questioned where this number came from, and Dir. McCraw explained that it is the figure reported by TxDOT. AD Baker explained that the higher rates that he had previously reported to the Commission reflected errors detected by his HP Sergeants but were subsequently corrected prior to submittal to TxDOT. 6.28% of the errors reported by TxDOT were related to rules of the software. Comm. Clowe suggested that the Department should analyze the types and possible causes of the errors and use that study to improve the training on filing the reports.

Dir. McCraw reported that the Department has been working with Mike Bledsoe at the FBI to ensure that the Automated Booking stations are being properly utilized. This will enable the immediate ID of criminal aliens. 15% of bookings that utilize the Automated Booking Station report 15% of the bookings are criminal aliens. TDCJ reports that 22% of their bookings are criminal aliens.

Dir. McCraw reported that the Academy graduated 29 previously commissioned officers in their “Advance” class (A-10) last Friday, and thanked Chairman Polunsky, Commissioner Barth, and Commissioner Clowe for participating in the ceremony. Captain Jason Hester reported that the B-10 Class currently has 42 recruits participating, and the C-10 Class, which just started a week ago, has 44 recruits, down from the 55 that it started with. The resulting attrition rates are 17% for the B-10 Class and 24% for the C-10 Class. Dir. McCraw suggested that they will look to start 60 in each class with the hope of graduating 50-55. Comm. Barth questioned the high attrition rates of the class, wondering why, if they could pass the Physical Readiness Test (PRT), that they could not handle the physical requirements of the Academy. Dir. McCraw explained that the PRT sets a minimum requirement to enter a recruit class, and that the Department is striving for much more than that. Passing the PRT does not ensure that the recruits are ready for the day to day physical stress required in the Academy, nor does it adequately address the mental stress needed to endure the aggressive schedule of training at the academy. He quoted the great Green Bay Packers coach, Vince Lombardi: “Fatigue makes cowards out of all of us.”

Comm. Barth suggested that Dir. McCraw step back and look at the Department’s screening process again. There seems to be a disconnect somewhere. The last class had a 24% attrition rate; both are just too high. There is not enough being done on the front side to ensure that recruit expectations are in line with the reality of the stress of the Academy. Capt. Hester said that it is sometimes hard to look into the hearts and minds of a recruit and determine their mental toughness.

Comm. Clowe made the comment that it would be a mistake to just look at the PRT and say that that is the problem. These men and women are facing a substantial change in the way of life with a 4:30 wakeup call and their day continuing non-stop until 9:00 pm. They are subjected to routines, pressures and mental tests. We need to acclimate candidates as to what to expect.

Dir. McCraw – My commitment to the Commission is to not graduate any unqualified recruits. The Department will not compromise quality of our standards.

Comm. Barth asked how long a recruit is in the system. Deputy Assistant Director Jesse White said that it is typically anywhere from 90 to 120 days from application to Academy. It is approximately 30-60 days from acceptance to the Academy. DAD White went on to say that each candidate receives a booklet that details the academy schedules, rules, routines, etc.; some read it and some do not. He said that they will make sure that the training plan will be fully explained and understood up front and that they understand that they will need to be physically ready. We have had discussion of going to a more aggressive screening including timed physical and cognitive testing. Col. McCraw pointed out that he has not yet approved these plans.

Chair Polunsky suggested considering a one week preliminary assessment period prior to starting the Academy in which 75-85 are invited with the expectation that 50-55 might enter the Academy. The current attrition rate is unacceptable. More thought needs to go into culling people out before they enter the Academy. These are just some thoughts for discussion, and not necessarily a recommendation.

Comm. Steen asked Captain Hester if he would put the attrition rates on a graph and perhaps include other law enforcement agency comparisons.

Comm. Barth suggested that they look at other law enforcement agencies around the country, and Comm. Clowe suggested that they also look at military and FBI training attrition rates and practices.

McCraw – I will come back with a plan to fix our attrition problem.

Comm. Steen asked Dir. McCraw to comment on Texas Monthly’s August article that states that the border is not currently experiencing spillover violence. Dir. McCraw stated that it depends on how you define “spillover violence”. The local gangs along the U.S. side of the border, in the Colonel’s opinion, is spillover violence in that there is a direct connection to the Mexican cartels. Kidnapping in McAllen are on the increase. We have prevented kidnappings and other illegal acts that don’t show up in the statistics.

Comm. Steen states that the article also goes on to state that there has been no better time to live along the border and that McAllen is one of the safest cities of its size in the U.S.

Dir. McCraw said that the data that they are drawing on are indexed crimes. It doesn’t necessarily report threats that in my opinion are “violence” but not reported as such.

Comm. Clowe stated that he also read the Texas Monthly article and feel that the reporter totally missed the point. I have friends that live in McAllen that say that they are afraid to venture south of the border and fear the growing tensions.

Dir. McCraw – these cartels are getting increasingly confrontational and sophisticated in their operations, and adding additional threats to our Troopers and agents. It is not just on the border, but on the corridors running throughout the state.

Chairman Polunsky thanked Deputy Director Rable for his time and contributions to the Department and wished him the best in his new endeavor.

Below is an article by Brandi Grissom that appeared in the Texas Tribune on August 3, 2010.

State Law Enforcement Lags Local Police in Pay

by Brandi Grissom, Texas Tribune
August 3, 2010

Poor pay and strict training and promotion standards have contributed in no small part to a large vacancy rate at DPS.

Sometimes Brian Hawthorne just shakes his head in wonderment. How is it that a campus cop can make more money than an officer in the legendary Texas Rangers?

“There’s a problem,” says Hawthorne, president of the Department of Public Safety Officers Association.

The Texas State Auditor’s Office put that problem in black and white last week with a review comparing state law enforcement salaries to those of local police in departments with more than 1,000 officers. For some positions, state pay lags nearly 20 percent behind local police pay. It would cost Texas nearly $50 million over two years to align maximum state police salaries with maximum local police salaries, according to the auditor’s report — and it would take about $40 million just to get state police to the mid-range average salary for local police. “The Legislature may wish to consider revising [law enforcement salaries] to provide competitive salaries,” the report recommended.

Poor pay and strict training and promotion standards have contributed in no small part to a commissioned officer vacancy rate at the Department of Public Safety of about 10 percent. About 370 of the department’s approximately 3,500 commissioned officer positions are vacant, says Jesse White, its chief human resources officer. DPS has amped up recruiting efforts and reworked some training and promotion policies to retain troops. Salaries, however, are out of its control. Lawmakers set the DPS budget and state employee salary schedules every two years. And with an estimated $18 billion budget shortfall ahead in the 2011 legislative session, they’ve already asked state agencies — including DPS — to cut back expenses. Despite the budget woes, at least some lawmakers say they must find ways to make trooper pay more competitive or jeopardize the quality of the state’s police force. “I just think it compromises public safety,” says state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.
The state auditor’s review compared the salaries of state law enforcement officers in the DPS, the Parks and Wildlife Department, the Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Department of Criminal Justice to police salaries in six metropolitan police departments — Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio — and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. State pay usually came up short.

The maximum state pay for experienced patrol officers is about $61,800. Among the seven big-city entities, only two paid less: El Paso and Houston. The city of Austin pays officers the highest salaries, approaching $90,000 at the top end. Even some university police forces pay more than DPS. The maximum pay for a University of Houston patrol officer is $69,000. To bring state patrol officers’ pay in line with the average maximum would require a 16 percent salary increase, according to the report.

For supervisors, including sergeants, lieutenants and captains, maximum pay for state officers was 14 to 20 percent lower than pay for local officers. Average maximum pay for captains in local departments was about $101,000 a year, compared to about $84,400 for DPS captains. A police captain at the University of Texas at El Paso can make up to $112,000.

Salary Comparison

Compared to salaries in some smaller rural police and sheriff’s departments, DPS pays fairly well, says Tom Gaylor, deputy executive director of the Texas Municipal Police Association. But when it comes to big, urban agencies, state trooper compensation doesn’t compare. “When I was a cop in Plano, we were working the same beat, basically … but they were making $20,000 less,” Gaylor says. Part of the problem, he says, is that the state takes a one-size-fits-all approach to law enforcement pay, setting one rate for all officers instead of adjusting salaries based on cost-of-living variations across Texas. “It’s a real disincentive for those guys to stay in metro areas or suburban areas, because the pay doesn’t go as far,” he says.

Another big advantage for local officers: They don’t have to move to get a promotion. For many years, DPS troopers typically had to relocate from one area of the state to another to climb the ladder. But that’s one of the issues the department has worked to address internally, says spokeswoman Tela Mange. “A lot of people have spouses who have careers, who don’t necessarily want to pick up and move across the state,” she says. It used to be that some officers would move hours away from their families to work and then return home to visit on the weekends. Recognizing the strain that put on officers, Mange says, the department now works to give officers more say in where they are stationed.

Recruitment Poster

DPS also has loosened training requirements for police officers from other agencies who want to become troopers. The department shortened its training school for already trained peace officers from six months to two months. And DPS has redoubled its recruiting efforts, focusing particularly on soldiers preparing to leave military duty. The department has its own recruiting website, www.joindps.com, has launched radio ads and soon will air a 30-second commercial during movie theater previews in Texas cities. “We’re making sure that the word is out there,” says Valerie Fulmer, assistant director of DPS’s administrative division.

The policy adjustments and the increased recruiting have helped, Mange says, but there’s not much DPS can do about salaries. The pay discrepancy isn’t a new phenomenon for DPS, which has asked lawmakers each session to narrow the gap. But every time the state raises state law enforcement compensation, local departments increase pay, too. “The training troopers receive is outstanding, and it really hurts when people leave and take that training with them,” Mange says.

Lawmakers’ ability to boost state cop pay may be limited next year, too. Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus have already asked state agencies to drop 10 percent from their budgets in the next biennium. Sen. Whitmire says DPS — which reported a $27.5 million budget hole in January — should be shielded from additional budget cuts. Instead, he says, lawmakers should improve trooper pay to make it more competitive with local departments. “DPS is a fine department, but it won’t be fine much longer if we don’t give them the resources and certainly the pay level needed to recruit and retain outstanding individuals,” he says.

DPS officials recognize they will be fighting for sparse dollars next year. They are used to coming up short in comparison to locals, they say. Officers don’t become state troopers for the money, Fulmer says; they do it because they believe in the agency’s mission. “Folks we get are folks who always wanted to be troopers,” she says.

DPSOA was invited by the Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) to attend a small group briefing on the Texas employees group benefits program financial status and plan design change recommendations. ERS staff intend to take their recommendations for changing health care benefits to the ERS Board of Trustees at a May 25th meeting.  The meeting was called and conducted by Ann Fuelberg, the Executive Director of ERS. Attending for DPSOA were Board Members Gary Chandler and Mark Proveaux as well as our Legislative Consultant Larry McGinnis and our Executive Director John Pike.  Other state agencies and associations were in attendance including Texas Public Employees Association.

Ms. Fuelberg began her presentation by reviewing the $140.4 million shortfall that ERS is forecasting for FY 2011 based on current plan design, funding level, and the plan benefit cost trend. ERS has been using its contingency fund in an attempt to balance the program, but a shrinking contingency fund can only cover a small portion of the shortfall. At this rate, remaining $112 million in the contingency fund will be exhausted. The  plan’s cost benefit trend has leveled off at 9%, with almost half of the plan costs coming from hospital stays.

Ms. Fuelberg also discussed the recent Plan Benefit Survey of its members which had more than 45,000 completed surveys submitted from a good demographic cross section of the ERS members.  ERS also held three focus group discussions with 41 participants.  From this feedback, some of ERS’s findings included that members were willing to accept small increases in fees, slightly increased copays, and changes based on years of service. On the other hand, they do not want to pay more for specialist care, hospitalization and emergency rooms, nor name brand drugs.  ERS also determined that the members are less willing to use smaller hospital networks nor to increase the years of service from 10 to 20 to qualify for retiree insurance.

Below are some of the employee group benefit plan changes that ERS staff will recommend to the Board of Trustees for adoption at next month’s meeting:

ERS Staff Recommendations
To the ERS Board of Trustees

      Current  — Proposed

Copays:
 Health Select    $20/$30  —  $25/$40
 HMO     $30/$40  —  $25/$40

 In-Patient Hospital   $100/day-$500 max —  $150/day-$750 max
 Out-Patient    $100/day  —  $100/day (no change)
 Emergency Room    $100   —  $150
 
Prescription Drugs: 
 Generic     $10   —  $15
 Name Brand    $25   —  $35
 Non-Preferred    $40   —  $60

20% Co-Insurance:
 In-Network    $1,000   —  $2,000
 Out-of-Network    $3,000   —  $7,000
 Out-of-Area    $1,000   —  $3,000

Other Changes:
 High Tech Imaging/care    $100 Copay
 (CT Scans, MRI, Nuclear Med.)
 Urgent Care Facilities   $50 Copay

Limit on annual visits and lower allowable charges for chiropractic care.

Ability to buy more than 30-day supply of maintenance drugs at participating pharmacies with no retail maintenance fees.

Many of the above proposals serve the dual purpose of reducing the costs to the plan and encouraging members to utilize more cost efficient healthcare practices (primary care providers, generic drugs, outpatient facilities, etc.). Ms. Fuelberg also pointed out that ERS posts their annual review of cost containment and fraud on their website as well as recommendations for cost effective care providers (http://www.ers.state.tx.us/insurance/default.aspx).  

Finally, Ms. Fuelberg stated that it was her intention to do her best to minimize the burden on the members for filling this shortfall.  The final decisions regarding plan changes will be up to the ERS Board of Trustees.  ERS has planned a series of update briefings between now and the May 25 Board meeting.  If you would like additional information, make plans to attend one of the regional briefings (see attached schedule).

April 27, 2010 10:30 a.m. Criminal Law Enforcement Auditorium

6100 Guadalupe, Bldg E Austin, TX 78752

Summary

(This report represents a summary of events of the meeting,

 and is not necessarily complete nor an exact transcript of testimony.)

The Public Safety Commission convened as posted to consider and take formal action, if necessary, on the following agenda items:

I.      CALL TO ORDER

10:35 am  Chairman Polunsky called the meeting to order. In attendance: Chairman Allan Polunsky, Commissioners Tom Clowe, Carin Barth, John Steen and Ada Brown. Also present were Director Steve McCraw, Dep. Director Brad Rable, Chief of Staff Duke Bodisch and General Counsel Stuart Platt.  A quorum is present.

10:36 am Chairman Polunsky recessed to Executive Session.

12:01 pm Chairman Polunsky reconvened.

Commissioner Barth made a motion to instruct Col. McCraw to negotiate a contract with Seven Goodson for the position of Assistant Director of Audits.  Comm. Brown seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

12:02 pm Chairman Polunsky recessed to Executive Session.

1:32 pm Reconvened. Comm. Barth had to excuse herself for a family emergency.

II.      APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Commissioner Steen moved to approve the minutes.  Seconded by Comm. Brown.  Motion passed.

III.      PUBLIC COMMENT (members of the public wishing to address the Commission are subject to a time limit of 5 minutes and must complete a Public Comment Registration Card located at the entry)

Don Dickson, TSTA, I want to thank Maj. Matthews for his thoughts and work on the Promotional Policy recommendations.  My concern is not so much with the policy on paper, but how it will actually work.  I’m concerned about the behind the scenes conversations and actions, that don’t necessarily see the light of day. The government code says that promotions should be based on “merit”, but what does that mean?

Mr. Dickson also commented on the “check mark” evaluation process.  I propose that the evaluation process should begin with a self evaluation.

Finally, I would recommend that the Department should consider the State Office of Administrative Hearings on matters of dismissal.  SOAH has a great deal of experience in handling such executive matters.

IV.      DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Director McCraw – First of all I would like to address some of Mr. Dickson’s concerns regarding the evaluation process and we expect to address that later in this meeting.

Stuart Platt, General Counsel, and Phillip Adkins, Counsel for Administrative License Revocation, addressed the Commission to lay out the organization chart of the Legal Operations.  They are working towards a “one law firm”  approach. They include:

Office of General Counsel

Administrative License Revocation

Crime Records/Legal Services

Regulatory Hearings

Regional Counsel

Counsel Adkins: In 1995 the Legislature authorized the ALR process. In 2008, we oversaw 100,380 license suspensions.  We held 28,000 hearings.  We know that as we move forward, the Legislature will add more obligations like this for us to deal with.  The only way to handle this is to have someone who has oversight of the entire process, and we are convinced that this new organization will enable us to adjust to this demand.  ALR currently has 44 attorneys of the 69 attorneys employed by the Department.

V.      NEW BUSINESS

A.          Report, discussion and possible action regarding promotional process

Maj. Carry Matthews and AD Jessie White – Maj. Matthews – I was asked by Dir. McCraw to review and make recommendations for our Promotional Process.

The Goal was to make the Process: Legal, Fair, Competitive, Consistent, Attracts the Largest Pool of Qualified Candidates, Specific Location for our Promotion Candidates, Employee Development

The Nine Core Promotion Competencies are: Leadership, Interpersonal Ability, Liaison, Organization and Planning, Problem Solving/Judgment, Flexibility/Adaptability, Initiative, Communication, and Investigation.

There will be a 3 Member Career Board: 1 selected by command, 2 selected by the promotional lottery.

After feedback from DPSOA, TSTA, and others, we have added the written test qualifier and screening tool to add the objectivity that was lacking previously.

The lottery pool will be drawn from all employees who do not have a sustained 1825 complaint within the last 48 months (this was applauded by Comm. Brown, who said that employee involvement will be very important to the process).

Col. McCraw asked Maj. Matthews to explain the role of the Verification Officer.  His only role and contact with the Career Board is to say Yes or No, as to whether the candidate has been verified.  The Verification Officer is purposely isolated from the Career Board.

AD Jesse White said that they are looking at the Commissioned employee promotional process to see if there are elements that  can bed used in the non-commissioned personnel promotional process.

Comm. Brown commended Maj. Matthews for his work and pointed out that the cost of developing these recommendations was his time only.  Comm. Brown had concerns regarding the written test based on feedback from the field that often the questions were trivial and not meaningful to the position.  Please make the written test questions be meaningful, and emphasize law based information. Maj. Matthews said that they are already addressing this. AD Tony Leal recommended that the Divisional Directors should make questions relevant to their divisions’ needs, which vary by division.  Comm. Brown thought that that was a very good suggestion and re-emphasized her support of the new process.

Maj. Matthews estimated it may take 60 – 90 days to implement the new process in the El Paso Region, and then they will move on to Laredo after three months of using the process in El Paso.  From there, they will roll it out to the rest of the Agency in about six months.

Comm. Steen moved to approve the rollout described above, and then come back to address and report back to the Commission regarding the Process in about six months.

The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.

B.        Report, discussion and possible action on the authorization of additional recruit schools

Col. McCraw – CFO Cheryl McBride, AD Jesse White, and DAD Frank Woodall, Training – Due to some delays in the polygraph testing, the dates of the schools have been moved back somewhat with the 7 weeks Advanced School beginning on June 6, and the 18 week school beginning on July 18.  We have about 160 in the pipeline for the 7 week Advanced School (already commissioned officers).  We could have 150 new officers on the road in 21 weeks.  We are asking for 5 new recruit schools (one new class every 3 weeks) with as many as 3 recruit schools going at once.  There would be 3 7 week Advance Schools, and 2 18 week schools.  This would give us the potential to graduate and put 250 troopers on the road by the end of the year (December 10).  This would keep the classes to 50 persons per class.  The Agency loses 14 troopers per month on average through attrition.  If a recruit drops out during the first week of the school, we will have people in the pipeline that can step in and continue the training.  This cannot happen after the first week due to the shortened schools.

7 Week: June 6 – July 27

7 Week: June 27 – Aug. 13

18 Week: July 18 – Nov. 19

18 Week: Aug. 8 – Dec. 10

7 Week: Aug. 29 – Oct. 15

Cheryl McBride addressed the costs.  FY 2010, approx. $1.2 million, and FY 2011, approx. $1.6 million, which will spend the available variance money.

Comm. Clowe moved to approve, Second by Comm. Brown.  Passed Unanimously.

C.        Report, discussion and possible action based on briefing and recommendations of the

Office of General Counsel on discharge appeal hearings process

Gen. Counsel Platt said that there are 4 hearings to be scheduled, and there are others coming up. Comm. Steen asked Platt to work on scheduling 3 of so in a full day of hearings.

VI.      ADJOURN INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION (if required) to consult with legal counsel regarding pending or contemplated litigation or settlement offers or to receive legal advice on items posted on this agenda; deliberation regarding real estate matters; consideration of any other items authorized by law, including personnel matters, the Director’s action of discharging employees as identified in this agenda; ongoing criminal investigations

Already taken place.

VII.      ONGOING BUSINESS

Reports, discussion and possible action regarding the following

A.         Update report, discussion and possible action on appointment of Director of Audit and

Review position  per GC411.242

Nothing

B.        Update report, discussion, and possible action by the Commission regarding modification and transformation of the DPS organizational structure approval of personnel placements and salaries pursuant to Government Code chapter 411, Secs.

411.005, 411.006 and 411.0071

Nothing

C.       Discussion of public comment concerning proposed repeal of rule 15.163, 37 Tex Admin. Code Section 15.163 and proposed new rule 15.163, 37 Tex Admin. Code Section 15.163 regarding Amnesty, Incentive and Indigence Programs

Gen. Counsel Stuart Platt – We have received approx. 200 written comments, and heard oral testimony yesterday.  We are looking at about June to make any changes.  Comm. Clowe commented that the feedback is that the amount of the penalty is clearly beyond the means of many people to pay.  I question using the income tax return as a measure of ability.  Perhaps paychecks or such might be more effective.  I also heard testimony regarding allowing the judges set the fees, which I am not in favor of. While we don’t want to lose the money we are currently receiving, but we want to make it accessible for more to pay.  I think we can collect as much or more, by lowering the fees and collecting for more of the offenders.

Chairman Polunsky generally agreed with Comm. Clowe, and stated that the situation needs to be corrected.

Platt stated that the changes would be substantive and that the rule would need to be posted in the Texas Register.

D.        Update report, discussion and possible action regarding the status of building safety and security at the DPS campus on North Lamar

E.        Report, discussion and possible action on the Fiscal Year 2010-11 Operating Budget

AD Cheryl McBride – Since last month we have added $345,000 for the Inspector General’s office, and bumped up the utilities to $3 million.  This brings our current variance to $5.6 million.

F.        Report, discussion and possible action regarding purchases using seized funds

AD McBride – No additional items for purchase from the funds.  Current available balance is $7.2 million.

G.        Update Report, discussion and possible action regarding recruitment

Already discussed

H.        Update report, discussion and possible action on 75th “Diamond Jubilee” Anniversary of the Department from the Diamond Jubilee Committee

Legal Asst. Barbara Hinesley – Co-Chair for the 75^th Diamond Jubilee.  The firearm is not available for viewing or ordering at this time but should be available for the May PSC Meeting.  We are taking out an ad in Texas Highways Magazine.  We are working within a budget.  June 6 is the deadline for all committees to have all programs in place.  Southside Market from Elgin has won the bid for the dinner, and tickets will be available for sale through the TSTA office by June 1.  I would like to show you the Diamond Jubilee flag that DPSOA created for us.

VIII.      REPORTS

1. A.           Commission member reports and discussion

None

1. B.           Finance Report

N one

1. C.           Audit & Inspection Report

None

D.        Division status reports on activities and action

Admin – None

CID – Tom Ruocco – regarding the Department Transfer Policy.  Previously, we departmentalized the transfers.  But when we combined, we prioritized and came up with a staffing need for each area. We are asking for a 3-6 month transition period when we move new people into an area before we move the others out to facilitate training.

DL – None

Emergency Mgt – None

Gvt. Relations – None

HP – None

Counter Terrorism – None

Adjutant General’s Office – None

Texas Rangers – None

Law Enforcement Support – None

Information Technologies – DD Rable – we will be fully deployed by the end of this month, and this was truly a team effort and I am proud of the progress.

IX.      CONSENT ITEMS

The following items may be discussed and acted upon in a single motion or discussed

separately as determined by the Commission

1. A.   Discussion and possible action on the Directors action of discharging probationary employees Stacy Hinton.

B.        Discussion and possible action on adoption of proposed rules for publication

1.       Proposed New Rules 1.232 and 1.233, 37 TAC Secs. 1.232 and 1.233, regarding

Accounting Procedures, as published in 35 TexReg 1436, February 19, 2010.

2.       Proposed New Rule 1.43, 37 TAC Sec. 1.43, regarding Personnel and Employment

Policies, as published in 35 TexReg 1436, February 19, 2010

Comm. Steen made a motion based on the Colonel’s recommendation for all above items.  Seconded by Comm. Clowe.  Passed unanimously.

X.      ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDA

Security of the Capitol and the Headquarters. – since Maj. Ortiz could not be here today.

Update on Drivers Responsibility revisions.

XI.      DATE FOR FUTURE MEETINGS

Thursday, May 20th.

XII.      ADJOURN

Adjourn – 3:30.

The Commission may take items out of the order in which they are posted on this agenda.

Also, an item that has been adopted, passed upon, delayed or tabled for a later meeting may be considered or reconsidered at the same meeting.

Last week was a very busy week for your Association leadership.

On Monday night, DPSOA hosted a catered Italian dinner at the Saint Michael Plaza Hotel for the 91 members of the B-09 Recruit Class.  The event provided an opportunity to tell them what DPSOA is, and how their dues enable us to provide the professional representation at the Capitol and at the Department.  We also discussed the other benefits of Membership, including, legal representation, scholarships, death benefit, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, emergency financial assistance, etc. 

Vice President Gary Chandler, Secretary/Treasurer Jimmy Jackson, and Board Members Chris Pratt, Jeff Lyde and Jason Hester were on hand to address the group and answer any questions. The food, provided by Pete Fumo’s Italian Restaurant in Manor, was delicious, and the recruits were very appreciative.  About 90% of the recruits in the class signed up as Members initially, and we are hoping that some of the remaining will follow suit.   Congratulations to Christopher Estrada of El Paso, the grand prize drawing winner of the 12 gauge shotgun.

Wednesday afternoon, Gary Chandler, Jimmy Jackson and I testified before Chairman Tommy Merritt’s House Public Safety Committee regarding their Interim Charge #1 – to study the recruitment and retention practices that the Department of Public Safety and make recommendations on how to make improvements.  DPSOA recommended that the legislature consider implementing a Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) similar to those offered by many of the major metropolitan police departments in the state and/or reinstating/fixing the retire-rehire program.  The committee responded somewhat favorably, but asked some very specific questions which we were not able to answer on the spot.

Following the testimony, after visiting informally at the Capitol with Col. McCraw and others from the Department, Gary Chandler, Jimmy Jackson, Larry McGinnis, John Pike and I met with ERS to start a dialogue and work on answering some of the questions asked by the Committee.  We made it clear to both the Committee and ERS that we feel strongly that either of these programs, if presented and structured properly, would be both strong recruitment and retention tools for the Department, and that they could be designed to be budget neutral, a requirement we realize is necessary for it to stand a chance in the legislature.

On Thursday morning, I attended the 75^th Jubilee Celebration Planning Committee Meeting along with DPSOA staffers John Pike and Patti Benson. The plans are progressing as scheduled and the August 6^th finale event in Austin should be fun and informative for all.  DPSOA also plans on participating in the 10 Memorial motorcycle ride and six Regional Celebrations during the week leading up to the finale.  DPSOA has volunteered to market the memorabilia for the Diamond Jubilee.  If you haven’t been by the story in the last couple of weeks, you haven’t seen the great new items including challenge coins, coffee mugs, t-shirts, lapel pins, and more.  Go to the DPSOA website (www.dpsoa.com) and check it all out.

Thursday evening, DPSOA co-sponsored an All State Employee Appreciation Day at Sholz Garten in Austin, along with the Texas Public Employee Association.  About 250 people attended, including several key legislative staff that we had personally invited to attend.  Gary Chandler, Clay Taylor, Mark Proveaux and I were on hand representing DPSOA, along with John Pike, Gloria Lopez and Larry McGinnis.

And on Friday morning, John Pike attended the B-09 recruit class graduation and swearing in ceremony at the Shoreline Christian Center in Austin.  I had planned on attending as well, but was called back to Houston for an administrative issue. Speaker of the House, Joe Straus, gave the keynote address, and reminded the class that they are entering the greatest law enforcement agency in the state, and one of the best in the U.S.  and thanked the recruits and their families for their commitment and service.  This class is the last of the 27 week classes.  The department is implementing 18 week recruit classes and an 8 eek “advanced” class for already commissioned recruits. 

Congratulations to Zackary Epperson of Rankin for being awarded the Major James O. Ratliff Outstanding Performance Award.  Congratulations are also in order for Kelly Kraig of El Campo who won the Academic Achievement Award, and Clifford Drake III of Bastrop who was awarded the Phebus Award. We are all proud of this entire class of men and women who will be joining our ranks on the highways. Please do what you can to make them feel welcome.

Brian C. Hawthorne

President, DPSOA

March 31, 2010 – 10:30 a.m.
Criminal Law Enforcement Auditorium
6100 Guadalupe, Bldg E Austin, TX 78752

SUMMARY

(This report represents a summary of events of the meeting,

 and is not necessarily complete nor an exact transcript of testimony.)

The Public Safety Commission convened as posted to consider and take formal action, as necessary, on the following agenda items:

I.      CALL TO ORDER

10:30 am  Chairman Polunsky called the meeting to order. In attendance: Chairman Allan Polunsky, Commissioners Tom Clowe, Carin Barth, John Steen and Ada Brown. Also present were Director Steve McCraw, Dep. Director Brad Rable, Chief of Staff Duke Bodisch and General Counsel Stuart Platt.  A quorum is present.

II.      APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes were approved unanimously.

III.      PUBLIC COMMENT  (members of the public wishing to address the Commission are subject to a time limit of 5 minutes and must complete a Public Comment Registration Card located at the entry)

None

IV.      DIRECTORS REPORT

Director Steve McCraw – 5 Major Recommendations

Restructure DPS

            Flattened the organization structure, unified Regional Commands

            Establish New Leadership Team

            Improve Strategic Planning

            Texas Homeland Security Strategic Command – in seventh iteration, should be completed soon

            Improve Communication

            Establish a Comprehensive Security Program

            Establishing a Statewide Fusion Resource

Create a Human Resource Strategy (142 have applied for the advanced school, 8 have been disqualified.  We also have a major increase in our 18 week, general recruit class.

Overhaul Financial Processes and Systems

Department-Wide All Hazards Continuity of Operations Plan

Our challenge is to continuously improve process.  This is an ever evolving challenge.

DL Division has 307 field offices around the state: 172 Full time; 39 Part time; and 96 Mobile.

Chairman Polunsky complimented the Director on an excellent, impressive report, and his congratulation was echoed by Comm. Steen and on the accomplishments that Dir. McCraw has made since taking the position.

Chairman Polunsky also stated that he would still like to get pay raises for Troopers and the DL personnel.

V.      NEW BUSINESS

A.        Discharge appeal hearing and possible action regarding DPS employee Joseph Garcia

Ms. Salibar, Department of General Counsel; Albert Carion, Counsel for Joseph Garcia.

The case had to do with the dismissal of Joseph Garcia for “striping” unmarked DPS vehicles that had been retired and to be sent for auction.  Only black and white vehicles require this type of marking to keep them from being mistaken as patrol vehicles in the future.

 Defense Counsel Carion opened stating that Joseph Garcia did what his supervisor instructed him to do, by striping all vehicles on a list in a particular lot.  The mistake was made by the supervisor.  There was no malicious intent.

Sgt. Derek Prestridge – 15 yrs with the Dept., handled the investigation and report for DPS.  His conclusion was that Mr. Garcia took this action out of anger with his supervisor. Mr. Garcia never stated that witnesses who testified to that affect had lied regarding his stated motives.

After two hours of testimony and summaries, Chairman Polunsky closed the hearing and outlined their options.  Comm. Brown made a motion to affirm the Director’s termination, and seconded by Comm. Clowe. The motion passed unanimously.

B.        Report, discussion and possible action on DPS sexual harassment policy

Maj. Rhonda Flemming – Human Resources – Outlined the Federal Law and pointed out that State Law mirrors the Federal Law.  She mentioned the new training as required by statute. Additional training is also available.  There is also additional mandatory training for employees that have a previous violation.

Comm. Steen pointed out the Department’s zero tolerance policy regarding sexual harassment.  He asked that Maj. Flemming state what zero tolerance meant to her.  She stated that it meant that any confirmed incidents must be addressed with appropriate reprimands or action taken. Comm. Steen suggested outside consultants (Ms. Gladstone that was used by the TABC is one good option) to shore up our policy and communication of that policy. 

Director McCraw said that he has no problem with utilizing outside resources. 

Comm. Barth questioned whether the current policy of the Department was adequate.  Both Maj. Flemming and Dir. McCraw said that they felt that it is adequate, however, Dir. McCraw acknowledged that there is always ways to improve policy, and the very discussion at this meeting is sending the right message across the Department.

There was some discussion between Barth and Steen about the benefit and need for outside contracting in this area.

In 2009 there were 113 allegations of section 18.35 violations and of those, 35 were of the sexual or harassment nature, and only 15  of those were sustained.  We currently have 10 allegations so far in 2010.

Comm. Clowe reiterated that the message from the Commission is that what you (Maj. Flemming) do is extremely important and appreciated. Maj. Flemming said that she has had great support from the Director.

C.        Report, discussion and possible action regarding services, staffing and funding of the

Office of Inspector General

1.       Hotline

Inspector General LaFayette Collins, and Dept. Inspector General Kent Radney (sp) – We will establish an ethics hotline to be available 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year. Florida based ChemTel(?) was awarded the contract for $22,000 per year, 1 year renewable.

2.       Staffing/budget

Chairman Polunsky asked IG Collins to justify the staffing and budget. The new AG structure will have two Captains below the Dep. Inspector General, who would supervise the 12 Lieutenants up from the current 6 Lieutenants. We have based the proposed staffing on past experience, and our projections are on the low end of the current internal affairs need. Most cases take 3-4 weeks to investigate.  The idea of additional staffing is to keep the HP Lieutenants or Sergeants in the field from having to travel to other districts to investigate internal affairs cases.

Comm. Barth asked Dir. McCraw if there would be a policy change forthcoming to move these investigations from the field offices to the AG’s office.  McCraw responded “Yes”, and the field supervisors would stand ready to assist/cooperate as necessary.

In six months, we had 95 cases.  Of the 95, only 36 were investigated by the OIG.  With the increase in OIG staffing, we will still fall short, but instead of only handling 30% of the cases through the OIG’s office, 60% or more will be handled by the OIG’s office.

There was some discussion regarding renting space off campus on a temporary basis, with the possibility of keeping the OIG off campus permanently by renting long term or purchasing. Securing permanent space on campus was also mentioned. Dir. McCraw stated that there may be some benefit to not having the Office of Inspector General not being located on the HQ campus. Chairman Polunsky restated the issue at hand is to find OIG contiguous space quickly on an interim basis.

Chairman Polunsky asked Dep. Asst. Dir. Sandra Fulenwider about a conversation he had with her regarding space for the OIG.  We have 3 contiguous offices in building C, but other than that, offices are scattered about the campus. Dir. McCraw explained that most all Divisions/Departments need contiguous space, so it is difficult to shuffle people around.  DAD Fulenwider explained that she is currently in the process of doing a complete campus space evaluation. This study will take approximately four months.

Comm. Barth made a motion to fund OIG space in the amount of $47,400 to rent space off campus for four months and an additional $147,000 for office space for 2011, with the possibility of an additional $25,000 contingency fund to fill the potential gap and moving expenses. Seconded and passed unanimously.

D.        Report, discussion, and possible action on construction of a building and facilities through the Texas Public Finance Authority, pursuant to the General Appropriations Act, Art. IX, §17.11 and Article V (Department of Public Safety), Rider #57, 81st Legislature, R.S. (2009) (Construction of a Crime Lab in Laredo)

Cheryl McBride – Introduced guest from the Texas Public Finance Authority, Mr. Burns, and said that they are here to ask to pass 2 resolutions:

1.     To pass a resolution to request general obligation bonds for $6.1 million for the construction of a Crime Lab in Laredo

Motion by Steen, Second by Barth.  Passed unanimously.

1. 2.    To use funds from existing funds not to exceed $610,000 to move forward with this project, to be reimbursed from the sale of future bonds.

Motion by Barth, Second by Steen.  Passed unanimously.

Ms. McBride stated that DPS will be seeking an additional $10 million in bonds this summer.

VI.      ADJOURN INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION (if required) to consult with legal counsel regarding pending or contemplated litigation or settlement offers or to receive legal advice on items posted on this agenda; deliberation regarding real estate matters; consideration of any other items authorized by law, including personnel matters, the Directors action of discharging employees as identified in this agenda; ongoing criminal investigations

Adjourn to Executive Session: 2:15

Reconvene: 5:15 pm

VII.      ONGOING BUSINESS

Reports, discussion and possible action regarding the following

A.         Update report, discussion and possible action on appointment of Director of Audit and Inspection

Review position  per GC411.242

Comm. Barth – Nothing to Report at this time.

B.        Update report, discussion, and possible action by the Commission regarding modification and transformation of the DPS organizational structure approval of personnel placements and salaries pursuant to Government Code chapter 411, Secs.

411.005, 411.006 and 411.0071

Col. Steve McCraw – I would like to recommend that the Capitol Commander Ortiz report directly to the Deputy Director Lamar Beckworth. 

Motion made, seconded, and passed unanimously.

Col. McCraw asked that Interim Asst. Dir. John Jones be named permanent Assistant Director for Intelligence and Counterterrorism. Chairman Polunsky asked the Commission if anyone wanted to tell ex-Navy Seal Jones that he doesn’t get the job.  Laughs all around.

Motion made, seconded, and passed unanimously.

Col. McCraw asked that Interim Asst. Director Ren Earl Bowie be named as the permanent Assistant Director of the Regulatory Licensing Division.

Motion made, seconded, and passed unanimously.

C.        Update report, discussion and possible action regarding the status of building safety and security at the DPS campus on North Lamar

None

D.        Report, discussion and possible action on the Fiscal Year 2010-11 Operating Budget

CFO Cheryl McBride – The Commission heard testimony regarding updates.  Motion made, seconded, and passed unanimously.

There was some discussion about possibly reassessing the DL personnel regarding their pay grade classification that would allow us to move some of them into a higher pay grade to make their positions more competitive with other comparable state agencies. Chairman Polunsky questioned whether or not this could be done, but restated his desire to get their pay scale up to where it should be.  He pointed out that these civilian personnel do not have an organization looking out for their interests at the legislature that our Commissioned personnel have, so the Commission needs to try to look out for their interests.

E.        Report, discussion and possible action regarding purchases using seized funds

CFO Cheryl McBride – Updated information only – The balance of seized funds is $9,237,000; the amount available for approved projects is $6.8 million.

F.        Update Report, discussion and possible action regarding recruitment

Assistant Director Jesse White – We have 126 applicants for the Advanced Course (already commissioned officers) and 509 applicants for the 18 week course.  The recruiting website has been launched.  We will have a recruiting video available for viewing by the May meeting.  We have recruiting “business” cards prepared and will be distributed through THP.  This week we seized a Hummer for use by the HQ recruiters.  As of May1, six regional recruiter FTEs will transfer from THP.

Comm. Barth asked AD White what the plans are to handle the additional qualified applicants.  There was discussion of adding additional classes or to make the classes larger than the optimum 50 recruit maximum.  Comm. Barth asked if there was money in the budget to handle the larger classes.  AD Fulmer joined the discussion stating that if they retained the large numbers, a request would be made to the Commission for additional funding. Chairman Polunsky clarified that the problem was not how to reject applicants, but how the Department would fund the training.  As problems go, it is a good problem to have.

G.        Discussion and possible action on the scheduling of the Driver Responsibility Program

(DRP) proposed rule Public Hearing

General Counsel Stuart Platt – Recommended having a Public Hearing on a day prior to a Public Safety Commission Meeting from 2:00 until 8:00 in the evening at the Capitol. The Commission selected April 26, with the PSC Meeting to be on April 27^th at 10:30 am following the dedication of building A for Col. Tommy Davis at 9:00 am.

H.        Update report, discussion and possible action on 75th “Diamond Jubilee” Anniversary of

the Department from the Diamond Jubilee Committee

Asst. Counsel Barbara Hinesley – Our slogan is “Honoring the Past and Celebrating the Future”.  Ms. Hinesley showed the DPS 75^th Anniversary web page and went through the celebration agenda. The Commission gave Ms. Hinesley very high praise for the amount and quality of work that she and her Committee have done on this project.

VIII.      REPORTS

1. A.           Commission member reports and discussion

None

1. B.           Finance Report

Nothing further to add.

1. C.           Audit & Inspection Report

None

1. D.           Division status reports on activities and action

No additional reports made: Admin, DL, Gov. Relations, HP, IT, Intel & Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement Services, Regulatory Licensing, Emergency Management, etc.

Comm. Steen asked to discuss the use of PSC Meeting time regarding Discharge Hearings.  This morning’s meeting spent 2 hours time to hear testimony regarding a case that involved $56 in real damages. Perhaps 3 of the 5 Commissioners could sit at these hearings on a rotating basis. I do not want to be disrespectful to any employees.

Counsel Stuart Platt asked if he could report on this idea at the next meeting, and perhaps he will have more than one option to consider.

IX.      CONSENT ITEMS

The following items may be discussed and acted upon in a single motion or discussed

separately as determined by the Commission

A.        Discussion and possible action on the Directors action of discharging probationary employees  Robert Lerma and David Hartley

B.        Discussion and possible action on appointments of Special Rangers and Special Texas Rangers pursuant to Government Code chapter 411, Secs. 411.023 & 411.024:                                                                                                                                                Special Rangers  (DPS) James L. Blodgett, Arlyn H. Heathington, and Walter P. Mezynski; (Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association) Harold L. Dempsey

C.        Discussion and possible action on proposed rules for publication

1.    Proposed amendments to Rule 1.231, 37 TAC Sec. 1.231, regarding Procedures for

Vendor Protests of Procurements

2.    Proposed amendments to Rule 15.89, 37 TAC Sec. 15.89, regarding Moving Violations

3.    Proposed repeal of Rules 28.171-28.175, 37 TAC Secs. 28.171-28.175 and proposed New Rules 28.181-28.185, 37 TAC Secs. 28.181-28.185, regarding Preservation of Biological Evidence

4.    Proposed new Rule 36.1-36.21, 37 TAC Secs. 36.1-36.21, regarding  Metals

Registration

D.        Review of pending Contracts

1.    Synthetic Oil (Amsoil)

2.    Emergency Facility Support Services (BCFS Health and Human Services)

3.    Space Segment Acquisition and Resolution of Claim (Hughes Network Systems, LLC)

4.    Satellite HUB Services and Maintenance and Resolution of Claim (Hughes

Network Systems, LLC)

5.    Electronic Prescription Transmission System (Atlantic Associates, Inc.)

Comm Clowe to approve Consent Items A, B, and C items 1-4.  Seconded and passed unanimously.

Item D is an information item.

X.      ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDA

Comm. Steen’s suggestion regarding Dismissal Hearings.

Comm Ada Brown – Proposed changes to the promotion process, and addressing the 40 hr. work/comp time.

XI.    DATE FOR FUTURE MEETINGS

April 27, 2010

XII.    ADJOURN

6:12 pm

The Commission may take items out of the order in which they are posted on this agenda. Also, an item that has been adopted, passed upon, delayed or tabled for a later meeting may be considered or reconsidered at the same meeting.

Meeting

February 18, 2010, 10:30 a.m.

Criminal Law Enforcement Auditorium

6100 Guadalupe, Bldg E

Austin, TX 78752

SUMMARY

(This report represents a summary of events of the meeting,

 and is not necessarily complete nor an exact transcript of testimony.)

The Public Safety Commission convened as posted to consider and take formal action on the following agenda items:

I.      CALL TO ORDER

10:43 am  Commissioner Clowe called the meeting to order. In attendance: Commissioners Tom Clowe, Carin Barth, John Steen and Ada Brown. Also present were Director Steve McCraw, Dep. Dir. Lamar Beckworth, Dep. Director Brad Rable, and General Counsel Stuart Platt.  A quorum is present. Chairman Alan Polunsky was ill, and could not be present for the start of the meeting.  Commissioner Clowe chaired the meeting until Chairman Polunsky arrived at 11:34.

II.      APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes were approved unanimously.

III.      PUBLIC COMMENT  (members of the public wishing to address the Commission are subject to a time limit of 5 minutes and must complete a Public Comment Registration Card located at the entry)

None

A.         DIRECTOR REPORT

Presentation for Diamond Jubilee logo design

Director Steve McCraw – We attended the third Homeland Security Conference in San Antonio, with 5,782 in attendance. The leadership was impressed with the progress being made at DPS with the Regional Commanders in place.  It was a great conference.

Highway Patrol – 8,598 employees with 3893 commissioned officers.  Alert training is included in the Recruit class

Since 9/1/2009 the Highway Patrol Division has had 4,660 felony arrests, 371 pursuits on highways, 414 drug seizures, 10, 524 DWI arrests, $5.5 million is cash seizures; The Texas Rangers in 2009 had 1,096 felony charges, 234 murder convictions.  I credit much of this success with our unified DPS response across all Divisions.  The church arson case remains a priority.  We are taking a multi-disciplinary approach.

Border Security – Dir. McCraw said that our Border Security is the most successful operation of all of the border states, and gave credit to the Boarder Star initiative as implemented by DPS and to the Governor. Dir. McCraw reported a 40% decrease in illegal aliens and a 55% increase in marijuana seizures.  This year, 1897 lbs. of drugs have been seized, and $42,987,000 in cash headed for Mexico has been confiscated.

Concealed Hand Gun Licensing – Col. McCraw stated that they are making sure that they are placing the proper emphasis on this issue. There are 42,841 concealed hand gun licenses in Texas.  The wait time for issuing a license has gone from an average of 105 days to 25 days.  There are three baselines for this progress: 1. Online instructor renewal; 2. Texas Online application; and 3. Automated fingerprint identification.

Regarding our Recruiting initiative, Col. McCraw reported that they are focusing on the 4 “R’s”:

Recruiters – Full time, committed recruiters on the road working to draw quality recruits

Recruit School – Reducing the Academy from 27 weeks to 18 weeks is the right thing to do.  It will help to make us more competitive and we will be working the recruits harder during the 18 weeks, including longer hours and more class time. Also, the 7-8 week course for already commissioned officers will be offered.

Regionalism – If you are from the panhandle and want to be stationed in the panhandle, you will be offered one of 3 duty stations in that area.

Responsibility – It literally is everyone’s responsibility to be recruiting quality people into the DPS.

Comm. Ada Brown asked if a formal name had been assigned to the abbreviated academy for already commissioned officers.  Dir. McCraw said no.  Ret. Sgt. Mike Resin (name?) of Caldwell suggested the title: “Advance School” which would remove the stigma of “abbreviated” and “modified” and imply that they are selecting the cream of the crop recruits from other agencies.  Dir. McCraw and Dep. Director Beckworth liked the title and it was agreed that the shortened course would be called Advance School.

Comm. Steen asked Dir. McCraw to expound on the progress in issuing CHLs.  Col. McCraw said that it began by just applying brute force to the problem, but slowly systems have been implemented to improve the process.

Comm. Steen raised concerns regarding delays when inspecting Commercial Vehicles hauling cattle, and Dir. McCraw had responded quickly.  We have initiated a “Free Pass” – trusted trucker program.  The concern with livestock is that if they remain stationary for more than 45 minutes, the livestock (cattle, poultry, etc.) are at risk.   Comm. Steen thanked the Director for the quick and good response.  The “Free Pass” program should be up and running within several months.

Comm. Clowe – we don’t often stop and look back at where we have come from.  I see the leadership team at DPS on a regular basis, but last month I had the opportunity to be with 2 DPS Troopers on a personal issue of an accident, and I never fail to be impressed with the courtesy and professionalism of our people.  It is most impressive and we need to continue to aspire to the highest level possible.  That is what will get us to where we need to be in the future.  Dir. McCraw agreed that from top to bottom, there is no other agency in the country with higher quality personnel.

Director McCraw and Deputy Dir. Beckworth presented a framed print of the 75^th Anniversary Jubilee Logo to Jimmy Guckian, who submitted the winning design for the logo. Guckian was accompanied by his wife and three of his four children.  Along with the framed print, a check was also presented.  Dir. Beckworth jokingly suggested that he cash the check in the next 10 days.

IV.      NEW BUSINESS

A.        Follow up discussion, report and possible action on Physical Readiness Test for the

Department of Public Safety

Moved to the next meeting’s agenda.

B.        Discussion of FBI National Academy

Deputy Director Lamar Beckworth – we have several training programs for our higher level personnel to attend. One of the most popular is the FBI National Academy.  The criteria include that you have to be a higher ranking officer, above Sergeant, and be of the highest caliber.  The cost is $1500 per individual to send someone to this school.  They showed a list of employees who have attended.  This is an 11 week program. Individuals are selected by the Assistant Directors. It is a very fine program.  There was some discussion of how we can send more personnel to these training programs.

C.        Update report, discussion and possible action on Information Technologies

Deputy Director Brad Rable – There are 250 IT professionals and a tremendous group of senior leaders who have lead us through this journey.  We are not through, and this is simply an update report with no call for action from the Commission.  We want to be able to handle all of our own IT issues, without having to rely on outside resources.  We are working from our current slogan Courtesy, Service & Protection.

We are about 90% complete in staffing our leadership, hiring 10 from the outside, and keeping 7 from our current staff, with an average of 25 years of experience.

We changed the name from IMS (Information Management Services) to IT (Information Technology).  Every IT employee is assigned work and is tracked for progress. “Delivery Matters” is a phrase that you will be hearing a lot.

We handle issues on three levels:

Develop Strategy & Approach – Brian Lane

Deliver Capabilities – Mark Doggett

Manage & Monitor – Glenn Rosamond

IT Strategies

Stabilize the existing environment

Leverage Existing Applications/Data Sources (for example, reduce printers at HQ from 1711 to 400)

Achieved Substantial Savings and Reductions in Legacy IT Costs.

            Samples:         Eliminate optical discs – $300K

                                    Office printer consolidation – $500K

Focus Internal IT Staff on True Business Priorities

Significantly Increase Our Effectiveness in Preventing and Solving Crimes

IT Maturity Model (from Chaos to Reactive to Proactive to Service to Value)

Chairman Polunsky has joined and taken over as Chair of the Meeting at 11:35 am.

Comm. Steen asked how long DD Rable expects this IT Maturity Model will take to develop.  Dir. Rable said that at this time, we hope to get to Level 3 (Service) in 2012, but doesn’t necessarily feel that going to Level 4 (Value) to be necessary or cost effective.  Level 3 will put us head and shoulders above any other entity in this sector (law enforcement).

D.        Report, discussion and possible action including Executive search firm services for interview process for Audit and Review position  per GC411.242

Comm. Barth moved and Seconded by Comm. Clowe to begin the process for and Audit and Review position search.

Passed unanimously.

No interim Audit and Inspection position will be named.

E.        Report, discussion and possible action on Capitol security

F.        Review of pending contract renewal:

1.     Texas On Road Vehicle Emissions Testing Program (Environmental Systems

Products Holdings, Inc.)

Assistant Director Bowie and Assistant Director Valerie Fulmer – Administration.- it is a 1 year renewal and Comm. Barth has reviewed the contract as well.  Commission is OK on that.

V.      ADJOURN INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION (if required) to consult with legal counsel regarding pending or contemplated litigation or settlement offers or to receive legal advice on items posted on this agenda; deliberation regarding real estate matters; consideration of any other items authorized by law, including personnel matters, the Directors action of discharging employees as identified in this agenda; ongoing criminal investigations

Adjourn to Executive Session at 11:40 am.

Reconvene from Executive Session at 2:47 pm.

VI.      ONGOING BUSINESS

Reports, discussion and possible action regarding the following:

1. A.            Introduction of new Inspector General

Inspector General Lafayette Collins – Having served since March of 2004 as a U.S. Marshal in the Western District as recommended by Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn to President Bush.  He began his role on February 1, 2010.  IG Collins has 34 years in law enforcement and is honored and humbled to be named to this appointment.

B.        Update report, discussion, and possible action by the Commission regarding modification and transformation of the DPS organizational structure approval of personnel placements and salaries pursuant to Government Code chapter 411, Secs.

411.005, 411.006 and 411.0071

Pass on this item. 

1. B.           Review, discussion and possible action regarding the status of building safety and security at the DPS campus on North Lamar

Handled in Executive Session.. – we are still analyzing the necessary changes. It will take 60-90 days to have our Metes and Bounds study completed (the first step in the process of making modifications to the campus perimeter security).

1. C.           Presentation, deliberation and possible action regarding the driver responsibility program including the Amnesty, Incentive and Indecency Programs, and consideration of authorizing the publication of the proposed repeal of current rule 15.163, and authorizing the publication of proposed new rule 15.163, 37 TAC 15.163, for notice and public comment in the Texas Register

Assistant Director Michael Kelley – We have made it so that letters that go out from our contracted collection agency makes it clear that it is coming from the collection agency and not from the Department.

We are trying to improve the 37% collection rate, but it hasn’t improved despite making it clear that the violator will not be able to get their driving privileges back until it is taken care of.

We are combining the Indigence Programs.  They will have to show that they are at 125% or less of the poverty level (a little over $10,000 for an individual. We are still determining what documentation will be necessary.  They will have to show proof of insurance and will be allowed to make a one-time modified payment ($250) to get back into compliance.

Comm. Barth questioned whether or not this figure might still be too high for someone at that income level.  Mr. Kelley asked for the Commissions permission to post it and wait for public comment before determining how much it will impact the indigent population.  There are plans for a public hearing.

Motion made by Comm. Steen, seconded by Comm. Brown.

Passed unanimously.

1. D.           Report, discussion and possible action on the Fiscal Year 2010 Operating Budget

Cheryl McBride, Assistant Director of Finance (CFO) – Updated a variance schedule.  We are now carrying an excess budget balance of $5,014,000.

E.        Report, discussion and possible action regarding purchases using seized funds and clarification of use of seized funds

Cheryl McBride, Assistant Director of Finance (CFO), Dep. Director Lamar Smith, Assistant Director Tom Ruocco, Asst. Chief John Brannon, Aircraft Section –

 We have added in three items (body armor, tasers, and utility uniforms) and have added in 2 additional items, including High Retention Holsters.

Motion by Steen to spend up to $227,200 to purchase these holsters for those officers who would like them.

Seconded by Brown

Comm. Clowe asked for more discussion on the other items so that he would have a full picture of what they are asking for.

If approved (including helicopters), it would leave a balance of seized funds of $6,331,880.

Looking ahead to 2012, we will ask the legislature if we can use $5,313,958 from seized funds to purchase an additional helicopter and additional plane.

DPS currently has 14 helicopters that average approximately 500 hrs. per year in flight time.  The new helicopter will make it 15.

Asst. Chief John Brannon showed video of helicopter rescues using the higher capacity helicopters being requested.

CFO McBride clarified the request to use seized funds and to go to the LBB to ask to exceed the cap by $578,000.

Plus $1.325 Million for helicopter from seized funds, and the $227,200 for the holsters from the seized funds.

Motion for holsters passed unanimously.

Motion for helicopters by Clowe, Second by Barth.

Passed with 4 votes, with Comm. Steen voting no, with the explanation that he feels that the funds would be better used to secure the headquarter complex.

G.        Update Report, discussion and possible action regarding recruitment

Assistant Director Jesse White, Human Resources – update only, no vote required.  The short course will begin on May 16, and the long, 18 week course will begin in July.  We have 465 signed up for the long academy.  On Feb. 8 we went to Tulsa, OK, where they were having layoffs, and we will return to review applicants, and will interview.  Phoenix, AZ, is anticipating laying off 400 officers, and we will go there as well.

Reinstatements, we are only averaging 1 reinstatement per month.

Commissioner Brown asked about what recruiting materials are being added.  AD White mentioned table cloths, pull up

H.        Update report, discussion and possible action on 75th Diamond Jubilee Anniversary of the Department from the Diamond Jubilee Committee

Barbara Hinesley – Asst. Counsel, Jubilee Committee Co-Chair – All 18 subcommittees are working diligently to meet deadlines.  Tele Mange of PIO is working on a media plan to make sure everyone is aware of what we are doing with the celebration.  The lapel version of the 75^th badge will be available for purchase by non-commissioned personnel through the DPSOA store, and we will be linking our website to the DPSOA site.  The yearbook photos are being taken, and should be on schedule.  The regional programs are all progressing and have a deadline of 60 days out.  In answer to Comm. Brown’s question, the tour will be in Garland on July 27.

Comm. Steen offered to donate, and his donation challenge was going to be matched by Comm. Clowe and Chairman Steen.

VII.      REPORTS

1. A.           Commission member reports and discussion

None

1. B.           Finance Report

Cheryl McBride, Assistant Director of Finance (CFO) – Paula Logan has transferred from HR to Risk Management. Out of 273 buildings, 83 fire inspections have been completed, and 85 more have been scheduled.  We are working on a new accounting system, and should shorten reimbursements for travel vouchers from 30 days or more to about a week.  We are searching for a Grant Management software program, and are reviewing our issued credit cards (to see if all of them are necessary).

1. C.           Audit & Inspection Report

None

D.        Division status reports on activities and action

Administration – Nothing to report

Criminal Investigation – Nothing to report

Drivers License – Michael Kelley, Asst. Dir. of Drivers License – in response to last meeting’s request regarding the metrics that is being used to track progress.  Mr. Kelley showed slides outlining the process and numbers. I will report back in May or June with updated information base

Emergency Management – Nothing to report

Government Relations – Nothing to report

Highway Patrol – Assistant Director, David Baker – Free Pass is submitting proposed locations for

Information Technology -– Nothing to report

Intelligence & Counter Terrorism – Nothing to report

Law Enforcement Support – Nothing to report

Office of Inspector General – Nothing to report

Regulatory & Licensing – Nothing to report

Texas Rangers – Nothing to report

VIII.      CONSENT ITEMS

The following items may be discussed and acted upon in a single motion or discussed

separately as determined by the Commission

A.        Discussion and possible action on appointments of Special Rangers and Special Texas

Rangers pursuant to Government Code chapter 411, Secs. 411.023 & 411.024:

Special Rangers Wayne Williams

B.        Discussion and possible action on adoption of proposed rules:

1.               Proposed amendment to Rule 27.1, 37 TAC 27.1, regarding review of personal criminal history record, as published in 34 TexReg 9108, December 18, 2009

2.               Proposed new Rules 28.171-28.175, 37 TAC 28.171-28.175, regarding preservation, cataloging, and delivery of biological evidence, as published in 34

TexReg 9382, December 25, 2009

Motion by Clowe to approve both Consent Items, Seconded by Barth

Passed unanimously

IX.      ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDA

For April Agenda, Comm. Brown asked for:

Promotional Policies

28 Day Work Cycle

For April Meeting, Comm. Steen asked for:

Update on Drivers License times progress.

X.      DATE FOR FUTURE MEETINGS

March 23, 2010

XI.      ADJOURN

4:45 pm.

The Commission may take items out of the order in which they are posted on this agenda.

Also, an item that has been adopted, passed upon, delayed or tabled for a later meeting may be considered or reconsidered at the same meeting.

The Public Safety Commission may meet and discuss in Executive Session and have action taken in an Open Meeting where required on the following items:

Government Code Sec. 551.071 Consultation and deliberation with legal counsel about pending or contemplated litigation or a settlement offer, or on a matter where the Commissioners seek the advice of their attorney as privileged communications under the

Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of Texas, and to discuss the Open Meetings Act and the Administrative Procedures Act with their attorney

Government Code Sec. 551.074 Appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline or dismissal of director, assistant director, and persons appointed to management team positions pursuant to Govt. Code Sec. 411.0071

Government Code Sec. 551.076 Deliberations about security audits, security devices, including deployment and implementation of security personnel and devices Government Code Chapter 411, Sec. 411.0041 Ongoing criminal investigations

Government Code Sec. 551.072  Deliberation of the purchase, exchange, lease, or value of real property, if deliberation in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the position of the governmental body in negotiations with a third person

Government Code Sec. 551.073 Deliberation of a negotiated contract for a prospective gift or donation to the state or the governmental body if deliberation in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the position of the governmental body in negotiations with a third person

Below is a summary of Friday’s Public Safety Commission Meeting in Garland that I asked our Executive Director, John Pike, to attend and report on. Below is a link to the full report with photos included.
Brian Hawthorne, DPSOA President

Public Safety Commission
Meeting
January 29, 2010, 10:30 a.m.
200 North Fifth Street, first floor of Garland City Hall
Garland, TX 75040

SUMMARY

(This report represents a summary of events of the meeting,
 and is not necessarily complete nor an exact transcript of testimony.)

The Public Safety Commission convened as posted to consider and take formal action, as necessary, on the following agenda items:

I. CALL TO ORDER

10:43 am  Chairman Polunsky called the meeting to order. In attendance: Chairman Alan Polunsky, Commissioners Tom Clowe, Carin Barth, and John Steen.  Commissioner Ada Brown was not in attendance. Also present were Director Steve McCraw, Dep. Dir. Lamar Beckworth, and General Counsel Stuart Platt.  A quorum is present.

Chairman Polunsky thanked the City of Garland and the Garland City Council for the use of the very fine facility for the meeting.

Commissioner Clowe stated that the Commission attended the Garland Crime Laboratory Dedication and had the opportunity to tour the new, very fine, state of the art facility.  Chair Polunsky echoed the kudos for the facility and hospitality.

Garland Crime Lab Ribbon Cutting

Photo: Chairman Polunsky assists Senator Royce West with the ribbon cutting at the new Garland Crime Lab Facility.  Also Pictured (from L to R) Manuael Valadez, Jr. (Manager, Field Crime Lab), Comm. Carin Barth, Rep. Robert Miklos, Comm. John Steen, Chairman Polunsky, Rep. Joe Driver, Sen. West, Comm. Tom Clowe, and Dir. Steve McCraw.

II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes were approved unanimously.

III. PUBLIC COMMENT (members of the public wishing to address the Commission are subject to a time limit of 5 minutes and must complete a Public Comment Registration Card located at the entry)

None

Chairman Polunsky thanked the nine Capitol Troopers and DPS Officers who acted heroically in apprehending the gunman who was discharging a firearm at the State Capitol.  They distinguished themselves in this incident and it points out that all of our Troopers put their line on the lives day in and day out for the citizens of Texas.

Representative Joe Driver – Thank you for coming to my district and welcome.  It was a very interesting showing of the new Crime Lab Facility this morning. Thank you for all that you do for the citizens of Texas.  Those bullets at the capitol were only a few degrees off from going through my office.  My staff, who are here with us today, were a little shaken by the incident. Thanks for a job well done.

Chairman Polunsky thanked Rep. Driver for his continued support of law enforcement and the DPS in particular.

IV. DIRECTOR’S REPORT
A. Presentation of Purple Heart Award

Director Steve McCraw – First and foremost I would like to recognize Agent Armando Lopez, Jr., who courageously acted in serving a felony warrant for multiple bank robberies.  While carrying out this operation, Agent Lopez suffered life threatening injuries.   Robert Casey, Special Agent with the FBI task force introduced the rest of the FBI task force that was involved in the incident.

Director McCraw gave a summary of the shooting incident at the capitol, but could not speak in detail since it is an ongoing investigation.  McCraw has subsequently met with Sen. Williams to discuss further security measures that could be taken at the capitol.  I will discuss these security measures with the Commission in Executive Session, but it is not appropriate to discuss in detail security measures at the Capitol in a public Forum.

B. Regional Commander Report

Commander Jack Webster thanked the Commission for coming to Dallas Region to visit our new facility and hold their monthly meeting.  The CID division reorganization was implemented on January 1, 2010.  Commander Webster gave a rundown of some of the larger seizures in the Region. 

Commissioner Steen asked Commander Webster how his career progressed to this point of being named a Regional Commander.  His Career began in 1984 as a Trooper.  He went on to explain other aspects of his career progression.

V. NEW BUSINESS
A. Review, discussion and possible action on exigent circumstance approved contracts
and all contracts for Public Safety Commission approval

Dep. Asst. Director Fulenwider –  I have been working with Commissioner Barth on this issue.  Commissioner Barth said that this is on the agenda as more of an informational item.  We have created a Board that will help us to keep a closer eye on contracts as they come closer to renewal.  DAD Fulenwider…. Stated that they are using a manual system now for tracking contracts, but hope to move to an automated system within the next couple of months.

Commissioner Steen pointed out a $3 million contract that is on the exigent contract list, and asked who is responsible for determining this and signing off on it.

Director McCraw stated that ultimately he is, and he signs off on the larger contracts.

C. Discussion and possible action on a 2010 recruit school

Director McCraw – is 27 weeks the right amount of time for a recruit school?  Our review indicates that it is not.  We determined that a more appropriate length is 18 weeks.  It was originally set up to coincide with the TCLEOSE certification process.  We have decided that the recruits do not have to be certified before they start their supervisory field training.

We also recommend that we have a 6-8 week recruit school for officers who are already TCLEOSE  certified.  The abbreviated schools not only reduce costs, but also gets the men and women out on the streets earlier.  They still will be required to have their six months under the supervision of the Field Training Supervisor.

Chair Polunsky clarified that Col. McCraw is requesting that the June Academy would be an 18 week school, and would also like to add an 8 week school for already certified officers.  We have determined that it takes a minimum of 37 recruits are required to break even.  We propose having more schools with a minimum of 37 recruits, and not necessarily wait for a full school of 100 recruits or more.  We feel that this will greatly help our recruitment.

Another element that we are working with is regionalism.  Working with AD Baker and Deputy Director Beckworth in being able to guarantee a recruit where they will be stationed following their completion of the Academy.  AD Frank Woodall, head of the training academy, spoke about the details of the reduced curriculum for the 8 week modified academy. Chairman Polunsky asked about the physical conditioning, and it was stated that since there would not be adequate time for full conditioning during these abbreviated schools, recruits would have to meet the minimum physical readiness test standards.

Chairman Polunsky was perplexed that the Commission had already set that minimum standard of readiness but it doesn’t seem to have been implemented for the current recruit school class.  He asked that the Director be given the minutes from the previous PSC meeting that this fitness requirement policy was established.

It costs roughly $700,000 in fixed costs for a recruit school.  Total cost (fixed plus per recruit cost) for an 18 week school will be approximately $1,809,700.

Commissioner Steen made a motion to change the Recruit School to 18 weeks, and to have a short, 8 week course for already certified officers.  There was no second, so the motion failed.

Comm. Clowe said that he would like to further discussion of the PSC’s expectations regarding the PRT requirements for admittance prior to matriculating into the academy.  Is there an understanding now, that this is the requirement to be admitted into the Academy.

Commissioner Barth pointed out that the additional classes are not in the approved budget.  She asked Dir. McCraw if he felt that this is the best use of funds.  Dir. McCraw answered that yes, it is the best use of these funds.

Commissioner Clowe asked about the recommendation of a maximum of 50 recruits per class.  I know that we will have some pushback from those who went through the longer schools.  AD Baker and DD Beckworth both completed 18 week schools.  Col. Beckworth addressed the issue stating that they have already heard these arguments. We provide these officers with the best physical, intellectual and psychological training that we can, and we have been very cautious regarding what has been cut.  We are convinced that we have not compromised our standards at all, and that any training that is removed from the 18 week course will be provided through our continuing education programs. 

Commissioner Clowe stated that he is an advocate of 6 months of training, and I am reassured that this will be continued through field work and continuing education.

Comm. Clowe – How do we reasonably assure the quality candidate will be able to get a preferred location.  Col. McCraw responded that the Department will lock down open positions in the Department at the beginning of recruit classes.  While we will not commit to a single location, we will be able to offer them one of three choices.  We will lock these three with a letter, and will offer these positions to the recruit.

Comm. Clowe also wanted the issue of the big change, and we want to make sure that we do not have any compromise in our standards or quality.  I would be more comfortable approving this change if we establish a retrospective review process to make sure this change is performing as expected.

Chairman Polunsky – In the larger sense, I am in support of the Director’s recommendations. Dir. Woodall, who do you  report to?  Dir. Woodall responded the he reports to Assistant Director Valarie Fulmer.  Chair Polunsky stated that the Colonel and Dir. Woodall were not in their positions when the Commission changed the policy to require the passing of the physical readiness test, but AD Fulmer was definitely in place.  There was some discussion about why it was not implemented for the current class, and Col. McCraw took the responsibility for this lack of implementation.  It would be helpful if a number of people who were critical to the discussion were present at this meeting.  McCraw stated for the record that it was his call not to have AD Fulmer, AD McBride, and DD Rable attend the meeting due to the uncertain weather conditions.

Comm. Steen complimented the Director for a well thought out plan, and remade his motion to pass.  Commissioner Clowe seconded the motion.  The motion to change the Academy to 18 weeks, and to have a special, short 8 week course for already TCLEOSE certified officers passed unanimously.

Comm. Steen asked why our minimum standards have to be so rigid and not have more discretionary capabilities.

Comm. Clowe responded by providing some historic background regarding how these standards have been developed, and because of the work that went in, he felt that our standards are not necessarily rigid, but are very reasonable.  They have been very well vetted.

D. Report, discussion and possible action on request by the Legislature to cut appropriations

Col. McCraw stated that the Governor sent out a letter requiring all state agencies to reduce their budgets by 5% across the board.  That represents a $14, 627,000 cut in our budget.  We were already looking at $27 million that we might be short.

Our recommendations, if approved by the Commission, to the Legislative Budget Board will include cuts:

Texas online
Driver responsibility fees
41 Border vehicles and accessories
Border Security overtime

Commissioner Steen moved to approve the recommendations.  Comm. Barth seconded the motion.
Chairman Polunsky wanted to state for the record that this will not cut positions nor salaries for any of our personnel. 

The motion passed unanimously.

24 of the 117 recruits failed the PRT at the entrance to the class.  All of the recruits have subsequently passed the PRT. There are 325 applicants in the application pool for the next recruit class.

E. Discussion and possible action on dedication ceremony renaming Building A of DPS Headquarters in honor of Colonel Thomas A. Davis, Jr.

Col. McCraw – The dedication stone will be delivered next week, and we are seeking Col. Davis’s input on when we can make the dedication, perhaps in April.

VI. ADJOURN INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION (if required) to consult with legal counsel regarding pending or contemplated litigation or settlement offers or to receive legal advice on items posted on this agenda; deliberation regarding real estate matters; consideration of any other items authorized by law, including personnel matters, the Directors action of discharging employees as identified in this agenda; ongoing criminal investigations

Adjourn: 12:30
Reconvene at 3:11 pm –

VII. ONGOING BUSINESS
Reports, discussion and possible action regarding the following:
A. Status report, discussion and possible action on appointment to the Office of Inspector
General

Lafayette Collins of Round Rock has been hired as the Inspector General for the Department of Public Safety. A $147,500 salary was offered and accepted and Mr. Collins will be on Board next week.

B. Report, discussion, and possible action by the Commission regarding modification and transformation of the DPS organizational structure approval of personnel placements and salaries pursuant to Government Code chapter 411, Secs. 411.005, 411.006 and
411.0071

Nothing at this time

C. Review, discussion and possible action regarding the status of building safety and security at the DPS campus on North Lamar

Nothing at this time.  TFC is finalizing the Meets and Bounds survey.  Once contract is signed, it will take about six weeks.
D. Report, discussion and possible action on the Fiscal Year 2010 Operating Budget

Col. McCraw – the LBB has authorized the funding for the helmets, body armor, etc.

F. Report, discussion and possible action regarding purchases using seized funds

Tom Ruocco – Total seized funds as of 12/31/2009 equals $14,884,909. There are $5,132,215 already committed.  The balance of the seized funds will be used for Helicopter and Plane ($5,313,958) replacement from the $9,436,694 balance of the seized funds available.  A balance of $4,122,736 will be remaining for FY2012.

Commissioner Steen moves to approve the $316,000 Incidental Costs and deferring the other items for further deliberation. Seconded by Comm. Barth. 
The motion passed unanimously.

Commissioner Steen asked for clarification regarding what seized funds cannot be used for.  Dir. McCraw listed personnel, buildings, roads and things of that order are prohibited to be funded through seized funds.  Comm. Steen asked for additional clarification to be included in a report at the next Commission meeting.

G. Update Report, discussion and possible action regarding recruitment

AD Jesse White,  Assistant Director of Human Resources – Update on recruiting.  We have replaced the pagers of the recruiters with Blackberry’s.  We are about to get the new wrapped Tahoe on the road soon.

Buccaloo Media will produce a recruiting video at no charge.  This will be made in 1080i high definition.

We now have approval to have a link on the National Guard website for recruiting purposes.

www.joindps.com domain has been secured and is up.

We will be participating in a job fare at the Norris Conference Center on February 11.  We will also participate in a Tulsa, OK, job fare on Feb. 8, since they are reducing their police force and fire department personnel.

H. Update report, discussion and possible action on 75th “Diamond Jubilee” Anniversary of the Department from the Diamond Jubilee Committee

Lt. Col. Lamar Beckworth – we had our last meeting on January 19th.  We are sending out donation letters.  We are updating the website weekly. We have a sample of the decorative slide.  We are starting to take photos for the yearbook on Monday, and the photographers will be traveling around the country.  We will have a film set up.  Two large banners will be hung on the facility inviting the citizens to join the festivities.  We are working on the memorabilia items, including the boots, which we hope to have sample boots for the next meeting of the Planning Committee.  We are also making plans for the motorcycle tours.

VIII. REPORTS
A. Commission member reports and discussion
B. Finance Report

None

C. Audit & Inspection Report

None

D. Division status reports on activities and action

CID – Ruocco – nothing at this time

Drivers License – Assistant Director Michael Kelley – 1. Our civilian management model:  We are 90% complete in filling the management positions, and 87 % complete with the civilian personnel. 2. We are still having an attrition problem in busy centers such as Houston and Dallas, and we are working with Deputy Director Rable to look into a stipend or graded pay system for those hard to fill and maintain offices. 3. Our DL system is moving forward, and the IT contractor is working day and night to support this transition; 4. Our customer service model is in progress. We have never had  “customer service training” so we are working on a training program that will give us consistency.  We will also be looking to have a consistent look and work flow in each of the offices.  We are using the North Lamar office as our model.

Emergency Management – nothing to report

Highway Patrol – Nothing

Information Technology – Nothing

Comm. Clowe asked for an IT update at the February Meeting.

Regulation and Licensing – Nothing   We are current on CHL.

Law Enforcement Support  – Nothing

Texas Rangers – Nothing to add
IX. CONSENT ITEMS
The following items may be discussed and acted upon in a single motion or discussed
separately as determined by the Commission
A. Discussion and possible action on the Director’s action of discharging probationary employees:  Eva Santiago and Donald White
B. Discussion and possible action on appointments of Special Rangers and Special Texas
Rangers pursuant to Government Code chapter 411, Secs. 411.023 & 411.024: Special Rangers – Gregory Haire, Terry Jackson, Stephen Lawson, Frank Pe’Vey, Delbert Roberts, and Lisa Sheppard
C.       Discussion and possible action on proposed rules for publication:
1. Proposed New Rules 1.232 and 1.233, 37 TAC Secs. 1.232 and 1.233, regarding
Accounting Procedures
2. Proposed New Rule 1.43, 37 TAC Sec. 1.43, regarding Personnel and Employment
Policies
3. Proposed repeal of rule 15.163, 37 TAC 15.163 and proposed New Rule 15.163, 37 TAC
15.163, regarding Amnesty, Incentive and Indigence Programs
D. Discussion and possible action on adoption of proposed rules:
1. Proposed amendments to Rule 3.171, 37 TAC Sec. 3.171 regarding Parking and Traffic
Administration, as published in 34 TexReg 7944, November 13, 2009
2. Proposed repeal of Rule 13.86, 37 TAC Sec. 13.86; proposed amendments to Chapter
13:  Rules 13.1, 13.7, 13.10, 13.21, 13.25, 13.26, 13.28, 13.30, 13.71 – 13.73, 13.75,
13.76, 13.131 – 13.134, 13.137, 13.161, 13.182, 13.208, 13.233, 13.234, 13.237, 13.253,
13.254, 13.272 – 13.276, 13.278, 13.301, and 13.304, 37 TAC Secs. 13.1, 13.7, 13.10,
13.21, 13.25, 13.26, 13.28, 13.30, 13.71 – 13.73, 13.75, 13.76, 13.131 – 13.134, 13.137,
13.161,  13.182,  13.208,  13.233,  13.234,  13.237,  13.253,  13.254,  13.272  –  13.276,
13.278, 13.301, and 13.304; and proposed new Rules:  13.86 – 13.99, 37 TAC Secs.
13.86 – 13.99, regarding Controlled Substances Rules, as published in 34 TexReg 7947
– 7966, November 13, 2009
3. Proposed repeal of Rules 35.182, 35.251 – 35.253, 35.256, 35.257, 35.260 – 35.265, and 35.267, 37 TAC Secs. 35.182, 35.251 – 35.253, 35.256, 35.257, 35.260 – 35.265, and  35.267,  Proposed  amendments  to  Rules  35.42,  35.43,  35.70  –  35.72,  35.185,
35.202, and 35.311, 37 TAC Secs. 35.42, 35.43, 35.70 – 35.72, 35.185, 35.202, and
35.311, and Proposed New Rules 35.46, 35.251 – 35.253, 35.256, 35.257, 35.260 –
35.265, and 35.267, 37 TAC Secs. 35.46, 35.251 – 35.253, 35.256, 35.257, 35.260 –
35.265, and 35.267, regarding Private Security Rules, as published in 34 TexReg 8465 –
8478, November 27, 2009
Items C 3 is pulled down by the Private Security Bureau, and will be added back to the next meeting’s agenda.  All remainder are strictly consent Items.

A motion was made by Barth and seconded by Clowe to approve the consent items with the exceptions.

Approved unanimously.

X. ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDA

Other than items already requested in the meeting.
Safety & Security for the DPS Headquarters.

XI. DATE FOR FUTURE MEETINGS

February 18, 2010 will be the date of the next PSC Meeting.

XII. ADJOURN

Adjourned at 4:07 pm.

The Commission may take items out of the order in which they are posted on this agenda.
Also, an item that has been adopted, passed upon, delayed or tabled for a later meeting may be considered or reconsidered at the same meeting.

Meeting

Thursday, December 11, 2009

10:30 a.m.

Criminal Law Enforcement Auditorium

6100 Guadalupe, Bldg E

Austin, TX 78752

SUMMARY

(This report represents a summary of events of the meeting,

 and is not necessarily complete nor an exact transcript of testimony.)

The Public Safety Commission convened as posted to consider and take formal action, as necessary, on the following agenda items:

I.             CALL TO ORDER

10:35 am: Chairman Polunsky called the meeting to order. In attendance: Chairman Alan Polunsky, Commissioners Tom Clowe, Carin Barth, Ada Brown and John Steen. Also present were Director Steve McCraw, Dep. Dir. Lamar Beckworth, Dep. Director Brad Rable, and General Counsel Stuart Platt.  A quorum is present.

II.           APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes were approved unanimously.

III.       PUBLIC COMMENT (members of the public wishing to address the Commission are subject to a time limit of 5 minutes and must complete a Public Comment Registration Card located at the entry table)

None

IV.         DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Colonel Steve McCraw – Texas County District Attorneys Association – We were able to attend and address the TCDAA meeting and discuss our developing partnership with the 16 border county attorneys.  We are very encouraged about the progress and potential that this partnership is bringing.

Texas Fusion Center Policy Council  – We are also encouraged by the progress that we are making in coordinating and sharing among the fusion centers in Texas.  There will be no investigations carried out by Fusion Centers.  That is not their charge.  The Council in conjunction of the Texas Attorney General’s Office is conducting an audit of civil liberty policy to ensure that we are protecting the rights of the citizens of Texas.  Our goal is to achieve fusion statewide. This has not been done in any other state in the nation.  We are working with facilitators from the Department of Justice to build “Communities of Trust”.  We are also working to adopt the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative.  Privacy studies have already been conducted on this and we are encouraged by the availability of this information nationwide.

We currently have 7 fusion centers: Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Laredo, El Paso, and the Statewide center here at DPS.  McAllen is also looking at developing.

Chairman Polunsky asked if Texas is unique in having multiple local fusion centers.  Col. McCraw said that fusion centers originally developed at the state level, but it is not uncommon for larger states with higher density populations to develop multiple local fusion centers.

Chair Polunsky asked if in a perfect world, would  it be better for fusion operations to be centrally coordinated.  Col. McCraw stated that he feels that there are benefits to having local coordination that can adapt quickly to situations as long as there is a distributive process that enables statewide sharing and coordination with these remote centers.

V.          NEW BUSINESS

                Review, discussion and possible action regarding the status of building safety at the DPS campus on North Lamar

Commissioner Clowe – I asked Dep. Dir. Rable to report on this.  Dir. Rable introduced his team, including Asst. Dir. Valarie Fulmer.  We made an emergency decision to move the Recruit Class to a hotel off campus and our agreement lasts through the end of this month.  Phase II, our short-term plan, will run through the end of this B-09 Recruit class and the end of the fiscal year for In-Service training. We are working to secure a contract with the hotel at a very good rate ($42 double occupancy).

We are doing an entire state DPS facility safety condition assessment through a contractor.  We will receive a prioritized list of improvements that are required or recommended.  This will be a living document that will be updated as the changes are made.  We are hoping that the contract will be executed by the end of January. The vendor will send 60 personnel into the field across the state where they will evaluate for a week at a time in the field and then work for a week in their offices.  The vendor estimates needing approximately two months to assemble this information.  Our target today is the end of May, 2010 for their report. The contract will call for not only and assessment and recommendations, but also will provide cost estimates for correcting the insufficiencies.

Comm. Steen asked if the Academy facility will be made a priority.  Yes was the response.

Comm. Clowe said that he has inspected the temporary accommodations and found them to be better than adequate.  The response was that they have been pleased with the facility and there have been no complaints.  Mr. Woodall, director of the Academy, said that they had early concerns regarding security of the facility which have been addressed, and restated that the recruits are keeping their vehicles on campus, and being bussed to the Academy daily. 

It was stated that the cost for housing the recruits off campus is approximately $21 per recruit per night, or approximately $2,000 per day.

Comm. Steen asked why we are moving forward with all of the state’s facilities, rather than using a laser-like focus on the Training Academy.  Dep. Dir. Rable said that the immediate focus will be on the Academy, but I made the call that the overall condition of DPS facilities will be helpful in making long term decisions.

Comm. Barth indicated agreement with Dir. Rable, but the whole Commission seemed to agree that the Academy needs to be a top priority.

A.D. Fulmer asked Sheryl McBride, CFO of DPS, discussed Phase III – Long Term Strategy.  The first step is to research and assemble Recruit School Costs.  Fixed and variable (in process).  Next is to do a break-even analysis (to be ready by the January PSC meeting), and third, the dormitory facility analysis (30 days post dormitory building assessment).

Dep. Dir. Rable said that they were looking at how to determine what is the minimum feasible class size, and if there is potential to run 2-3 simultaneous classes.  Chair Polunsky agreed that one of the things we should be looking at is the bigger picture of how to make a better mousetrap.

Comm. Steen asked CFO McBride what the bottom line cost of moving the recruits is costing DPS on a daily basis including transportation, etc.  Ms. McBride promised to work on that number to report later in the meeting following the Executive Session break.

                Update report and follow up discussion for possible action from interim OIG regarding staffing and services, as requested at the November 19, 2009 Public Safety Commission meeting

Deferred until after the Executive Session cover the OIG staffing. 

Post Exec. Session: Sheryl McBride, responding to Chairman Polunsky’s question, said that they have identified funds that can be transferred from THP to the IG office. The budget for the IG’s office is $775,000.  Chair Polunsky says that if we name a new IG today, we will ask him to review this and report back at the January meeting.

VI.  ADJOURN INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION (if required) to consult with legal counsel regarding pending or contemplated litigation or settlement offers or to receive legal advice on items posted on this agenda; deliberation regarding real estate matters; consideration of any other items authorized by law, including personnel matters, the Directors action of discharging employees as identified in this agenda; ongoing criminal investigations

Chairman Polunsky adjourned to Executive Session at 11:32 am.

Reconvened at: 3:04 pm.

VII.  ONGOING BUSINESS

Reports, discussion and possible action regarding the following:

                Report, discussion and possible action on the Fiscal Year 2010 Operating Budget

CFO and Asst. Director Cheryl McBride – updated the budget variance worksheet that was discussed in the November meeting, bringing the balance down to $5.8 million.  We removed the IT Critical Salary of $1.1 million and the Private Security Technology Request of $3.3 million

Jesse White, Deputy Asst. Director for Human Resources – we’ve prepared a priority to do list based on Comm. Brown’s recommendations. 

1. 1.    Determine curriculum reductions to shorten the Academy course (will also reduce costs and improve recruitment)
2. 2.    Guaranteed duty assignment prior to the start of the class
3. 3.    Aggressively seek high potential applicants from military/colleges for trooper-trainee internship program
4. 4.    6 full time regional recruiters (by March 2010)
5. 5.    Regional commanders accountable for the region’s recruiting efforts
6. 6.    Marketing emphasis: Public service, not remuneration
7. 7.    Investigating recruiter presence at Ft. Hood & Ft. Bliss
8. 8.    Examining feasibility of graduation & recruiting bonuses (regarding the bonuses, the Comptroller’s Office gave an opinion that these bonuses are OK for Commissioned employees – Sched. C as well as non-commissioned personnel)
9. 9.    Col. McCraw signing MOA for Army Reserve Employer Partnership Initiative on 1/8/2010 during All American Bowl events.

Comm. Steen asked what the impact of implementing these recommendations.  Dep. Dir. Rable stated that they haven’t busted the $750,000 budget yet, but they will review it again over the next two months and will report back to the PSC if there is a danger of busting the budget.

Comm. Clowe asked for further information regarding the #1 item – what will “shortening” the recruit school intail?

Mr. Woodall, Dir. of the Academy, said that TCLEOSE requires 618 hours and approximately 6 weeks, but DPS has added on significant amounts of additional requirements.  We will look at all of this training and determine what is appropriate for the initial training, and what can be part of ongoing training.

There was some discussion regarding the importance of salary in the recruitment process, and Comm. Clowe thanked them for promoting the public service aspect of this job. 

Chair Polunsky said that he agreed with everything that Comm. Polunsky said, but it will also be extremely important for us to go to the wall in the 2011 Legislative Session to bring our salaries up to be competitive with these urban law enforcement agencies that we compete with for recruits.

Chair Polunsky said that this isn’t a hard vote to move forward with everything on the list, but rather a nod to move forward and to bring back the Commission some more specifics and affix costs to these recommendations for our next meeting.

CFO McBride updated the Commission that from the beginning to the end of the current recruit school, the cost will be $3,700 per day, within our original $1 million budget estimate.

Regarding the DPS HQ Security TFC Design Specs, it was decided that creating the full scale construction drawings and specs to the tune of $350,000, a lower cost, more general project analysis (approx. $80,000) would be helpful for preparing an exceptional item for the 2011 Legislative Session.

Comm. Steen went on record saying that campus security is at the top of his list of priorities and is concerned that the Commission is shelving the item until after the study of overall facility upgrades are in before May of 2010.

Comm. Barth moved to approve the $85,000 to go forward with the project analysis to include the Traffic analysis and the metes and bounds survey to produce a good faith estimate (within 10-15%) of the required cost for bringing the campus security up to specs.  Comm. Steen seconded.  Approved unanimously.

                Office of Inspector General interview process, status report on the search, discussion and possible action on the appointment

Comm. Barth moved to approach LaFayette Collins, currently a U.S. Marshal in the Western District of Texas, to take the position of Inspector General. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

                Report, discussion, and possible action by the Commission regarding modification and transformation of the DPS organizational structure approval of personnel placements and salaries pursuant to Government Code chapter 411, Secs. 411.005, 411.006 and 411.0071

Director McCraw – Nothing at this time.

                Report, discussion and possible action regarding purchases using seized funds

CFO McBride – Current available balance is $2.8 million.  In January we will assemble the DPS Seized Fund Committee to bring back a proposal for the February PSC meeting.  No action required

                Updated Report, discussion and possible action regarding recruitment policy committee and department recruitment

Already Discussed.

                Discussion and possible action regarding security measures for Department

Taken up in Executive Session.

                Update report, discussion and possible action on 75th “Diamond Jubilee” Anniversary of the Department from the Diamond Jubilee Committee

Dep. Dir. Beckworth deferred to Legal Asst. Barbara Hinesley.

Thanks to Sgt. Michael Cantu for designing the Commemorative Badge, a sample is being shown (AD Baker’s).

The cost of the commemorative weapon – a Sig Sauer two tone SAO P228 single action revolver with rosewood handles in a glass-topped display case.  This is not a model that is currently available in production so it should have value as a collectable.

DPS 75 Logo

Congratulations to Jimmy Dugin, a support specialist who submitted the winning logo design.

VIII.  REPORTS

                Commission member reports and discussion

None

                Finance Report

CFO McBride: Reports are in your book.  The agency has been using a very dated general ledger system (30 years) that doesn’t provide us with flexibility of reporting, so we are looking at systems used by other agencies that could bring us into the 21^st Century.

                Audit & Inspection Report

Ferrill Walker, Dir. of Audit and Inspection – nothing to add to my written report.

                Division status reports on activities and action

Administration – AD Fulmer – nothing to add

CID – AD Ruocco – Nothing to add

Drivers License – AD Michael Kelley – Nothing to add unless you have questions – Comm. Steen asked AD Michael Kelley to come forward to an update.  Mr. Kelley stated that they have 18 facilities rolled out, and Gestner in Houston, the largest office in the state, will be rolled out next week (a full week process for such a large facility).

We are talking to other states and looking to adopt some things that have worked for them including uniform signage, having personnel wear a “uniform” even if it is informal. Post a photo of the office manager. Etc.

Comm. Steen asked about the feasibility of closing some offices.  AD Kelley said that he would not recommend closing any offices at this time.   Comm. Steen also asked about wait times, and Mr. Kelley said that they are beginning to monitor and study the wait times.

Emergency Management – AD Jack Colley – I got my shots last Saturday.  Another round of the virus will be coming around in January and February and I encourage everyone in the state to get their shots.  Our private sector partners (pharmacies) have been a model for the country for distribution.  We have had 117 H1N1 deaths in Texas to date.

Government Relations –  Amanda Arriaga – Nothing to add to my report.

Highway Patrol Division –  AD Baker – Nothing further to add.  Comm. Steen asked about the HP troopers being assigned to guard the Capitol and the Governor’s Mansion, and there are some concerns in the field regarding this. AD Baker we are in the process of permanently filling these positions, but we are still having to fill these positions from the field.  AD Baker deferred the question of when these positions will be filled to Director McCraw who said that these positions will be filled by the end of May.

Information Technologies – DD Rable – Nothing to add

Counter-Terrorism – Nothing to Add

Law Enforcement Support – AD Mike Simpson – You have my report, but I would like to add a few things.  The DPS Crime Lab just processed the 200,000^th case on 12/3/2009.  We have just topped out the new Crime Lab on the HQ Headquarters . Jan. 20, 2010, we will have an open house at our 60,000 sq. ft. Crime Lab in Garland. We have gone from a year turn around on crime lab evidence to a 2 month turnaround that we are confident we can maintain. 

Comm. Clowe suggested having the January meeting in Garland to attend the Open House.

Regulatory Licensing – AD Lewis – Nothing to add

Texas Rangers – AD Leal – Nothing to add

Gen. Counsel Platt asked for action on item 9 on the Priority Action list to allow Col. McCraw to sign the MAO for Army Reserve Employer Partnership Initiative since that is needed prior to the next PSC meeting.  The motion was made and it passed unanimously.

IX.  CONSENT ITEMS

The following items may be discussed and acted upon in a single motion or discussed separately as determined by the Commission

                Discussion and possible action on appointments of Special Rangers and Special Texas Rangers pursuant to Government Code chapter 411, Secs. 411.023 & 411.024: Special Rangers-Tomas Hernandez Valdez

                Discussion and possible action on adoption of proposed rules:

1. Proposed amendment to Rule 14.52, 37 TAC Sec. 14.52, regarding Texas School Bus Specifications, as published in 34 TexReg 7043, October 9, 2009

2. Proposed amendments to Rule 27.121, 37 TAC Sec. 27.121, regarding Sexual Assault Reporting, as published in 34 TexReg 7044, October 9, 2009

Comm. Steen asked the Colonel if there were any items on this list that needed to be discussed.  With no comment, a motion was made by Comm. Clowe and seconded by Comm. Steen and the rules were adopted.

X.  ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDA

Comm. Clowe asked that the Priority Items be on the January agenda.

XI.  DATE FOR FUTURE MEETINGS

January 21, 2010 – in conjunction with the Grand Opening celebration of the new Crime Lab in Garland.

X.  ADJOURN

Adjourned at 5:00 pm.

The Commission may take items out of the order in which they are posted on this agenda. Also, an item that has been adopted, passed upon, delayed or tabled for a later meeting may be considered or reconsidered at the same meeting.

The Public Safety Commission may meet and discuss in Executive Session and have action taken in an Open Meeting where required on the following items:

Government Code Sec. 551.071 Consultation and deliberation with legal counsel about pending or contemplated litigation or a settlement offer, or on a matter where the Commissioners seek the advice of their attorney as privileged communications under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of Texas, and to discuss the Open Meetings Act and the Administrative Procedures Act with their attorney

Government Code Sec. 551.074 Appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline or dismissal of director, assistant director, and persons appointed to management team positions pursuant to Govt. Code Sec. 411.0071

Government Code Sec. 551.076 Deliberations about security audits, security devices, including deployment and implementation of security personnel and devices

Government Code Chapter 411, Sec. 411.0041 Ongoing criminal investigations

Government Code Sec. 551.072 Deliberation of the purchase, exchange, lease, or value of real property, if deliberation in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the position of the governmental body in negotiations with a third person

Government Code Sec. 551.073 Deliberation of a negotiated contract for a prospective gift or donation to the state or the governmental body if deliberation in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the position of the governmental body in negotiations with a third person