Legal Department FY2020 Proposed Budget and Programming Achievements

Legal Department FY2020 Proposed Budget Presentation May 9, 2019

Legal Department Organization Chart City Attorney (Ronald C. Lewis) Labor, General Counsel Section (Tracy Calabrese) Chief Employment & Civil Rights Section (Donald Fleming) First Assistant City Attorney (Randy Zamora) General Litigation Section (Judith Ramsey) Office of Inspector General (Robin Curtis) Deputy City Attorney (Deidra Penny) Administrative Officer (Marsha E. Murray) Claims & Subrogation Section (Randy Zamora) Disaster Recovery Section (Anthony Vargas) Staff Administration Section (Henry Merceron) Contracts Section (Martin Buzak) Municipal Prosecution Section (Wynetta Chaney) Neighborhood Services Section (Nirja Aiyer) Real Estate Section (Ondrea Taylor) 2

Department Programming/Accomplishments Major Services and Impact Contracts - Successfully negotiated multiple contracts valued at several hundred million dollars for design and construction at IAH and a design-build infrastructure spaceport project at Ellington Field. Real Estate Generated revenues of over $14 million for the General Fund by closing on a property co-owned by the City and Harris County. General Counsel Updated HFD EMS fees and billing procedures ordinances resulting in estimated revenue of $1 million annually. Claims and Subrogation Legal advocacy resulted in no payments on approximately 75% of claims filed against the City. 3

Department Programming/Accomplishments Major Services and Impact General Litigation Successfully represented the City in protecting same- sex couples employment benefits of employees. Neighborhood Services Addressed neighborhood blight and/or dangerous conditions for over 180 buildings. OIG Investigated over 300 cases and facilitated numerous trainings in an effort to decrease the number of necessary investigations. Labor, Employment and Civil Rights- Provided counsel on implementation of Proposition B. Disaster Recovery Provided counsel facilitating the expedited delivery of home repair dollars to Hurricane Harvey impacted Houstonians. 4

Department Programming Anticipated growth in demand for legal services from significant clients, including the Houston Airport System, Houston Public Works, Houston Planning and Development, General Services and Solid Waste Management departments. 5

FY2020 - Revenues Highlights General Fund revenues are primarily comprised of the recapture of salaries of personnel dedicated to specific departments. 13 FTEs dedicated to Houston Public Works were transferred from Legal s FY20 budget. Property and Casualty revenues are increasing because expenditures are increasing for legal services. 6

Revenues By Funds ($ in thousands) Variance FY20 Prop/FY19 Estimates FY18 Actual FY19 Budget FY19 Estimates FY20 Proposed % Fund Change General Fund $1,344 $1,515 $1,157 $547 $(610) (53%) Property & Casualty Fund $12,791 $23,169 $22,674 $26,580* $3,906 17% Total $14,135 $24,684 $23,831 $27,127 $3,296 13.8% *Revolving fund revenues, shown on page 7, must match fund expenditures, shown on page 8. 7

Expenditures By Funds ($ in thousands) Variance FY20 Prop/FY19 Budget FY18 Actual FY19 Budget FY19 Estimates FY20 Proposed % Fund Change General Fund $14,990 $16,330 $15,081 $15,455 $(875) (5.4%) Property & Casualty Fund $12,791 $23,169 $22,674 $26,580 $3,411 14.7% Workers Compensation Fund $239 $249 $249 $262 $13 5.2% Total $28,020 $39,748 $38,004 $42,297 $2,549 6.4% 8

FY20 Personnel vs Other Costs Fund 1011 FY2020 Proposed Budget $262 Other Services $2.7 10.0% General Office Services $3.4 12.6% Other Costs $27 10.3% Supplies $13.4 49.6% Personnel $235 89.7% Restricted Accounts $7.5 27.8% 9

FY20 Personnel vs Other Costs Fund 1000 FY2020 Proposed Budget $15,455 Other Services $241 17.2% Supplies $321 22.9% Other Costs $1,403 9.1 % Legal Services Contracts $125 8.9% Personnel Budget $14,052 90.9% Restricted Accounts $540 38.5% General Office Services $176 12.5% 10

FY20 Personnel vs Other Costs Fund 1004 FY2020 Proposed Budget $26,580 Restricted Accounts $189 1.0% Supplies $177 .95% Other Services $235 1.3% General Office Services $139 .75% Legal Services Contracts/Expert Witnesses $6,000 32.4% Personnel Budge $8,046 30.3% Litigation Support Services $1,418 7.7% Claims/Settlements/ Judgments/ Attorneys Fees $10,375 55.9% Other Costs $18,534 69.7% 11

Functional Organizational Chart (in thousands) Ronald C. Lewis City Attorney Budget $42,297* FTEs: 202.7 (Attys 116.8) Marsha E. Murray Chief Administrative Officer Randy Zamora First Assistant City Attorney Labor, Deidra Penny Deputy City Attorney General Counsel (Tracy Calabrese, Section Chief) Budget: $2,005 FTEs: 15.7 (Attys- 11) (Fund 1000) Employment & Civil Rights (Donald Fleming, Section Chief) Budget: $9,522 FTEs: 24 (Attys- 13) (Fund 1000) General Litigation (Judith Ramsey, Section Chief) Budget: $14,443 FTEs: 28 (Attys - 18) (Fund 1000 & 1004) Office of Inspector General (OIG) (Robin Curtis, Section Chief) Budget: $1,178 FTEs: 9 (Attys - 4) (Fund 1000 & 1004) Contracts (Martin Buzak, Section Chief) Budget: $1,617 FTEs: 21.5 (Attys- 13.8) Disaster Recovery (Anthony Vargas, Section Chief) Budget: FTEs:8 (Attys - 5) (Grant Funded) Staff Administration (Henri Merceron, Division Manager) Budget: $3,668 FTEs 17.5 (Attys - 2) (Funds 1000 & 1011) Claims & Subrogation (Randy Zamora, Section Chief) Budget: $2,700 FTEs: 10 (Attys - 4) (Funds 1004 & 1011 (Fund 1000) Neighborhood Services (Nirja Aiyer, Section Chief) Budget: $1,828 FTEs: 18.7 (Attys 10) (Fund 1000) Real Estate (Ondrea Taylor, Section Chief) Budget: $2,146 FTEs: 26.7 (Attys- 15) (Fund 1000 & 1004) Municipal Prosecution (Wynetta Chaney, Section Chief) Budget: $3,190 FTEs: 23.6 (Attys - 21) (Fund 1000) *The Legal Department s total budget is $42,297,000; however, not all FTEs are within the department s budget. The budgeted costs for all FTEs is $47,448,000. 12

FY2020 Budget Reductions FY20 budget reductions total $450,739. The following 3 vacant budgeted positions were eliminated: First Assistant City Attorney Senior Paralegal Legal Investigator 13

FY2020 - Expenditures Highlights Insufficient resources in the Legal Department budget for technology needs. $5,125,000 (12%) of budget is for the engagement of outside counsel. Reduction due to transferred cost of HPW-work personnel to HPW s budget totaling $1,496,928. 14

Questions 15

Appendix Department Demographics Asian Male 2.5% Hispanic Male 5.5% Black Female 27.6% White Male 20.25% Black Male 7.35% White Female 25.15% Asian Female 4.9% Hispanic Female 6.75% 16

Budget History ($ in thousands) FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 $38,898 $39,263 $39,378 $39,308 $39,648 $42,297 Current Budget $33,561 $27,831 $28,413 $28,020 $38,003 $42,297 Actual / Projection $5,337 $11,432 $10,965 $11,288 $1,645 $0 Surplus/Deficit 17

Department Budget Reductions (in thousands) 3-Year Total Fund FY18 FY19 FY20 General Fund $548 $266 $451 $1,265 Total $548 $266 $451 $1,265 3-year budget reductions Eight FTEs have been eliminated consisting of four attorneys and four staff. 18

FY 2020 Performance Measures Customer Measures Priorities FY18 Actual FY19 Budget FY19 Estimates FY20 Proposed PS,CC,S&I Neighborhood Matters handled including Deed Restrictions 1,256 1,308 1,428 1,342 CC,SFM,S&I EEOC /TX Workforce Commission matters handled 297 350 400 700 Business Process Measures Priorities FY18 Actual FY19 Budget FY19 Estimates FY20 Proposed SFM,S&I Liability Claims processed 1,228 1,100 1,354 1,200 SFM,S&I Liability Claims-no payment 818 900 1,008 950 PS,S&I,CC, SFM Contracts prepared 1,056 1,100 1,153 1,153 19