Travis County Commissioners Court
January 10, 2012 (Agenda)
Item 6
Item 6, consider and take appropriate action on proposed amendments to the chapter 57 Travis County smoking policy of the Travis County code and we indicate this item may be taken into executive session under the consultation with attorney section of the open meetings act.
>> good morning, judge, Commissioners.
sherri fleming.
health and human services and veterans services.
this item has been on the agenda for several weeks and we're working toward recommending to you a proposed smoke-free or tobacco -- free policy, however you have asked several questions and we provided you a great deal of backup so I want to assure you we won't go through every piece today, but we have a presentation that we plan to use for the public hearing that is coming up on the 24th.
and I think it also answers many of the questions that you all have asked staff.
so with your indulgence, we have a brief presentation for you right now.
>> good morning.
>> good morning.
>>
>> [inaudible] Travis County
>> [inaudible] the background information on the grant is that the u.s.
department of health and human services gave the city of Austin and the health department $7,473,000 for tobacco cessation programs and Travis County was the grantee in the amount of $200,000 for a period that ends in February 29, 2012.
our time line is we hired staff in March 2011 and was updated the court and have done research, have spoken with staff, have in many ways increased the communication and discussion and opportunities for employees to provide feedback and input on their thoughts on the recommended policy.
to that end, what we've shown in the next slide is Travis County chart and the saturation, in other words, who we presented this discussion to, who we presented the consideration of a recommendation of a draft policy to.
and we are very thankful and appreciative of the time that the supervisors and management gave us to do this presentation.
prior to doing the presentation, we did a survey of Travis County staff.
we sent out -- at that time there were approximately 4,426 employees.
882 responded.
that's a 19.9 response rate and that rate is considered valid and representative of the whole.
the survey results indicate that 20.2% of respondents, in other words, 20.2% of employees are tobacco users.
in the past month 73% of employees report someone smoking or using tobacco products in the area where we work.
we will have this survey and its analysis as well as the raw data available on the internet so that people can access and review it on their own.
further on the survey results is the next power point presentation in which we indicate a question.
there are two questions asked and then analysis comparing both answers, which was are you currently a tobacco user and if so or if not how do you feel about a tobacco cessation policy being implemented in tract work sites.
so the red indicates the nonusers favor to be free work sites but also tobacco workers also favor tobacco free work site and the rationale that many people gave to us when we spoke to them in person was that for them it encouraged them to not use as frequently as they do.
so the environment led them to reduce their intake.
we've been working very closely with dr. Harry deer of the county wellness clinic and well as josie pena, the news clinic manager, and they have been providing through the employee wellness clinic several resources for employees who are covered by the insurance that would like to reduce or stop tobacco use.
as well there's the Texas quit line.
the quit line basically is a support service so that you can call at any time to discuss the issues that you are facing, and seton through next year is offering group classes, and these classes are very important for the staff that do not have insurance.
these classes are free and available to the public.
the next slide is how has the city of Austin implemented the policy.
the city of Austin took on -- they did a smoking in public places ordinance in September 1, 2005, which all of the county facilities that are within the city of Austin abide by.
and obviously this ordinance does not apply to the unincorporated areas n January 2011, there were specific campuses of the health and human services department that went smoke free.
on July 16th all city vehicles were -- excuse me, tobacco products were forbidden from being used on city vehicles.
in September 2011, six additional campuses of health and human services department went smoke free.
December 26, 2011, the city parks went smoke free.
and this is rather significant considering that it's 16,000 acres of land containing 251 parks.
and on February 1, 2012, the city of Austin libraries is going tobacco free.
and the number of visitors to the Austin, city of Austin libraries is 3,850,796 give or take one or two on an annual basis so it's not just affecting the staff but also Travis County residents who also visit these sites for services.
the current Travis County smoking policy was adopted in 1986, and rather forward in many ways considering that no smoking in county buildings or county vehicles was allowed.
so that was very good policy.
and basically the work has been then the proposed policy is to further work on this policy and make it facilities issued for Travis County that tobacco use is not permitted by anyone at any time on Travis County property.
this includes employees, visitors, contractors, vendors, volunteers and interns.
and the areas that would not be available for tobacco use are listed below including indoor, outdoor spaces, parking lots, garages and driveways, vehicles owned, leased by Travis County, and this would be inclusive of vehicles that are parked on Travis County property.
there is, of course, in order to implement this policy and the proposed policy, we would have signage that would indicate and inform people coming to our buildings that what the policy is.
and it's self-enforced and encouraged by employees to follow Travis County poll simple proposed implementation would be not April fool's day but rather April 2, 2012, which also is the kickoff for public health awareness week.
there have been some frequently asked questions of this program from the court and we wanted to address these questions.
and basically there's three.
and probably not exhaustive and my apologize on that end, but where will the smokers smoke.
and the designated smoking areas are not encouraged by the policies since the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke are evident.
how will the policy be enforced.
I touched on this prior and in an effort to promote health we recommend no punitive action associated with this policy.
however, employees are ethically obligated to comply with policies that are part of Travis County code.
and will elected officials have to comply was another question.
the smoking in public places ordinance at city of Austin actually has a model for use which indicates that elected officials as well as other individuals who are occupying Travis County facilities would have a memorandum of understanding that they understand these are the rules by which Travis County is operating in the building.
the rest of the presentation is basically who is gone to be free as well as our contact information.
thank you very much for your time.
>> thank you.
>> so do we think we've done all we can to notify smokers of this public hearing opportunity?
>> we have advertised in -- how many papers?
>> eight publications.
>> so we've advertised in publications throughout the county.
we have listed information on the Travis County website.
we have added an announcement regarding the public hearing to each of the agendas so far in January.
so each time your agenda goes out, there is an announcement indicating the public hearing on January 24th.
I think there has been numerous communications throughout the public announcement system regarding the -- the public hearing coming up.
>> and the Travis County website, the front page has also the listing of the public hearings.
we can do further.
we can also print out fliers indicating the public hearing and post them in all of the facilities in order to promote awareness.
>> okay.
now, for Travis County employees, we have human resources liaisons, right?
>> yes, sir.
>> why don't we ask them to get department heads to notify their employees.
>> absolutely.
>> we certainly can do that.
>> now, the city of Austin has a provision that says you can smoke outside of 15 feet of the entrance to the building.
so is our proposal to have similar language?
>> it would make sense to follow along with the city of Austin in order to compliment rather than to confuse.
>> this says not including public sidewalks.
>> that's right.
>> and that ordinance is within the city of Austin so it would not affect your buildings that are outside the city of Austin.
and to our knowledge none of the other municipalities that you would have facilities located within, for example, manor or Pflugerville, to our knowledge, they do not have a smoking ordinance similar to date just yet.
>> okay, we have a legal opinion on that?
>> we have a legal opinion -- I would say month we don't.
-- no we don't.
>> that's my way of suggesting by next Tuesday we have one.
but if we have similar language that in county buildings, and I guess let's set aside those in unincorporated buildings, in county buildings this would apply, but you don't start counting the 15 feet if our a public sidewalk?
>> that's correct, sir.
I believe that the -- the decision has been made that public sidewalk is a right-of-way and it's impossible to legislate what someone does on their way from one place to another or the fact that this is public property, as it were, and no one can really dictate someone's behavior on that.
>> okay.
>> as far as smoking is concerned.
>> but I would suggest, judge, that that is a decision point for the court, whether or not you wish to designate 15 feet from the entrances of your buildings that are outside the city of Austin.
>> and is it recommendation of Travis County -- now, would our enforcement policy, which is kind of like voluntary compliance, no enforcement otherwise, does the city of Austin have that?
>> they've actually looked at amending their personnel policy in order to make it punishable --
>> but it hasn't been done yet so right now it's voluntary compliance.
>> that's right.
and right now it's a facilities issue and what you do within the facility rather than a personnel
>> [inaudible].
>> okay.
and my final question is at the cjc there is a little walkway to the entrance and buildings on both sides.
taken complaint I've heard people really are more than 15 feet from the entrance, but they are smoking and it's not going anywhere.
so if you walk through there as a nonsmoker to get to the entrance, you kind of have to -- it's kind of like walking through a smoke storm.
but if we follow the 15 feet distance provision, this wouldn't affect that one way or the other.
>> unless in your policy you are completely tobacco free, which means that anywhere on your property smoking is not permitted.
the.
>> which is what the city of Austin has done.
>> yes.
>> is that considered a sidewalk?
that distance between -- I guess what's clearly a sidewalk and when you are walking through the entrance to the building.
>> I would think that that's -- that might be a legal question as well whether or not that is considered our property.
I wouldn't propose to give you legal advice.
I have an opinion but not a legal opinion.
>> don't let lack of a license stand in the way, ms. Fleming.
well, we'll hear about that next week too, right?
any other questions or comments?
now, if you smoke and are a county employee, Tuesday is like your drop dead comment day, right?
>> Tuesday the 24th.
>> Tuesday the 24th.
we have two more weeks before -- right.
>> the intent of Commissioners court is to take action one way or the other.
we've kind of talked about this for several months.
and some of my friends smoke on the third floor of this building in the garage and so, I mean I think we ought to encourage them to come give comment if they have comments to give.
>> yes, we do encourage employees to come and, you know, share their comments with you so that you are fully informed as you make this decision.
>> sherri?
>> yes, sir.
>> can you tell me just example, for example, say let's look at the front two-door entrance to this building.
and there is a sidewalk, of course, and there is a street.
how would this -- if we look and looked at the city part of their ordinance, how would this be looked at or how would you look at it as far as voluntary compliance as far as persons smoking I guess a number of feet from the entryway, or would that even be applicable since there is a sidewalk there and, of course, there's right-of-way and all this other kind of stuff.
I just want to make sure that looking at the example of where we are right now, would that prohibit persons from smoking right in front of the doors right in front of this building or would they have to be 15 feet from the entryway of the doors of this building?
I'm trying to put it right here in front of me where I can put my hands around it and make sure that what we're doing is something that is in -- in concert with what the city of Austin is doing, but yet still effective as far as us looking for some type of voluntary compliance.
and again, signage, for an example.
where does the city of Austin have their signage, per se, in that regard as far as the entryway of buildings?
can you answer that for me, please?
>> well, I think that the front of this building does present a unique set of circumstances because you exit this building on to a public right-of-way, which is the sidewalk.
and you know, the policy -- the ordinance clearly indicates not being able to dictate what goes on on a public right-of-way.
sayest, you are correct that a person could stand on a public sidewalk you right outside this building and smoke.
that's just a unique set of circumstances whereby we immediately exit on to a public right-of-way.
>> Commissioner, as far as the signage question that you had, what we are going to do is go to all the facilities much Travis County and do a visual look at the parking places and because that you would need a sign for not just employees but vendors and visitors coming to our buildings, they would need to know from the moment they've parked that smoking is not allowed or tobacco products are not allowed as well as near the entrance and exits of these buildings in order to also satisfy that.
>> okay.
thank you.
>> dr. Deer, nurse pena, anything from a medical perspective that we should hear?
>> I think it's very important to protect Travis County employees and the public from secondhand smoke, as we mentioned earlier, that is a very significant issue.
>> and the clinic is always there to support the employee and we have all the resources available to them to help them if that's what they want to do.
>> to provide smoking cessation medication at no cost for the employees who come to the wellness clinic and chantix is also available starting January.
>> I can hardly wait until the 24th.
thank you all for your tenacity, persistence, I thought you all would have given up by now.
>> thank you for the wonderful initiative.
>> thank you.
The Closed Caption log for this Commissioners Court agenda item is provided by Travis County Internet Services. Since this file is derived from the Closed Captions created during live cablecasts, there are occasional spelling and grammatical errors. This Closed Caption log is not an official record the Commissioners Court Meeting and cannot be relied on for official purposes. For official records please contact the County Clerk at (512) 854-4722.
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