[00:00:01]
TIME,[I. COMMENCEMENT]
IT'S TIME NOTICES HEREBY GIVEN A SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING, FINAL BUDGET WORKSHOP ON THE FISCAL YEAR 20 23, 20 24 BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF TEXAS TO BE HELD ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 3RD, 2023 AT 6:30 PM FROM THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF PLEA CITY HALL, LOCATED AT 1 0 8 MAIN STREET, BLUE, TEXAS 7 7 5 3 1 AND REMOTELY VIA WEBEX FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BELOW LISTED ITEMS, CITY COUNCIL RESERVES THE RIGHT TO ADJOURN INTO EXECUTIVE POSSESSION AT ANY TIME DURING THE COURSE OF THIS MEETING TO DISCUSS ANY MATTERS LISTED ON THE AGENDA AS AUTHORIZED BY THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT.CODE INCLUDED BUT NOT LIMITED TO SECTIONS 5 5 1 0.071.
CONSULTATION WITH AN ATTORNEY, 5 5 1 0.072 DELIBERATION ABOUT REAL PROPERTY.
5 5 1 0.073 DELIBERATIONS ABOUT GIFTS AND DONATIONS.
5 5 1 0 7 4 PERSONNEL MATTERS.
DELIBERATION ABOUT SECURITY DEVICES 5 5 1 0 8 7.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 4 8 7 5 8 3 DELIBERATIONS ABOUT HOME HOMELAND SECURITY ISSUES AND IS AUTHORIZED BY THE TEXAS TAX CODE.
INCLUDED WITH NOT LIMITED TO SECTION 3 2 1 0.3022 SALES TAX INFORMATION.
THE AGENDA, AGENDA PACKET MEETING LINK INFORMATION ARE POSTED ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE@WWW.KLUTEXAS.GOV.
PUBLIC COMMENTS WILL BE ALLOWED IN PERSON WILL OCCUR AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT ITEM.
TO REGISTER TO SPEAK OR TO SUBMIT WRITTEN COMMENTS, PLEASE EMAIL CITY CLERK ROSIE, VET AT ROSIE@KLUTEXAS.GOV.
AT LEAST TWO HOURS IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETING, RECORDING OF THE VIDEO MEETING WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE UPON WRITTEN REQUEST TO THE PUBLIC IN ACCORDANCE WITH OPEN MEETINGS ACT MEETING HAS NOW BEEN CALLED TO ORDER.
MR. VAUGHN, WOULD YOU CARE TO PRAY OVER US THIS EVENING? YOU DO A FINE JOB.
DEAR FATHER, WE WANNA THANK YOU FOR ANOTHER DAY.
WE JUST ASK THAT YOU CALL FIRST RESPONDERS, WORKERS FLORIDA.
THEIR FAMILIES BE WITH THE COUNCIL.
THEY MAKE DECISIONS AND TRY TO FINALIZE THIS BENEFIT.
THE I PLEDGE THE, TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.
ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, LIBERTY, AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
NEXT ITEM WILL BE ROLL CALL CALVIN SHIFFLETT.
PRESENT LITTLE ANALYSIS ABOUT 49 YEARS AGO AT THIS TIME.
AND YOU CHOSE TO SPEND IT WITH US, HUH? AND YOU CHOSE TO I CHOSE TO SPEND IT WITH Y'ALL.
BET YOU PLEASE TELL US, SUSAN.
[II. WORKSHOP ITEMS]
ITEM WILL BE WORKSHOP DISCUSSION OF THE PHYSICAL YEAR 2023.ACTUALLY, ROSIE, CAN YOU GO TO THE POWERPOINT? UH, IT'S DOWN ON THE BOTTOM OF EXPAND.
AND IF YOU COULD START THE SLIDESHOW THERE.
IT'S BEEN A LONG PROCESS AND I WANNA SAY THAT I KNOW, UH, CLEAR IS GOING TO BE GREAT FOR US ONE DAY.
UM, BUT IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN A LONG, FUN PROCESS.
UM, I DON'T WANNA STEAL TOO MUCH OF THE THUNDER FROM WHAT'S COMING UP AFTER THIS AND OUR BUSINESS ITEMS, UH, BUT I DID WANT TO KIND OF TOUCH ON WHERE WE'RE AT, UH, WHAT'S CHANGED COMPARED TO WHERE WE WERE BEFORE, UH, AND HOW, WHERE WE'RE HEADED GOING INTO THE FUTURE.
SO, UH, FIRST OF ALL, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE ADVIL WARM REVENUE.
SO I'M GONNA STEAL SOME OF THE THUNDER WHEN WE TALK ABOUT TAX RATE.
UH, WE TOTAL TAXABLE VALUE INCREASED 35.3%.
I KNOW EVERYBODY HAS FELT THAT STICKER SHOCK ON THEIR OWN HOMES.
UH, AND THAT BRINGS US TO A TOTAL VALUATION OF JUST SHY OF $920 MILLION HERE FOR THE CITY.
UH, THAT'S A CUMULATIVE INCREASE, UH, OF 300% SINCE 2013.
SO YOU HAVE TRIPLED THE CITY'S VALUE IN 10 YEARS.
UH, AND THAT ALSO INCLUDES $22.8 MILLION
[00:05:02]
IN NEW VALUE, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST THAT WE'VE BROUGHT ONLINE SINCE 2018.SO I THINK WE'VE REBOUNDED, UH, VERY, VERY WELL FROM THAT REGARD, UH, FROM THE PANDEMIC.
SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
AS ALWAYS, WHEN WE TAKE UP THE CONSIDERATION OF PROPERTY TAX, THERE ARE TWO COMPONENTS, WHAT'S CALLED THE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS COMPONENT, AND THE INTEREST IN SINKING OR THE DEBT SERVICE COMPONENT.
THOSE TWO, UH, NEVER THE TWITCH SHALL MEET, ALTHOUGH THEY'RE COMBINED INTO THE TOTAL RATE THAT IS PAID.
SO IN THIS CASE, 4.6637, UH, IS THE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION TAX.
THAT'S THE FUNDING THAT GOES TO PAY FOR EVERYTHING THAT WE DO.
THE PERSONNEL, THE TIRES, THE OIL, THE MATERIAL, WHATEVER IT IS.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE THAT MONEY COMES FROM.
OUR DEBT IS SERVICED VIA THE I N S RATE, WHICH IS 0.039, ROUGHLY 4 CENTS.
UH, AND THAT GOES TO DEDICATE, THAT'S DEDICATED TO TAKING CARE OF OUR DEBT SERVICE, WHICH WILL GENERATE THIS YEAR ABOUT $366,000.
AND SO, UH, THERE'S ALWAYS THIS TUG OF WAR BETWEEN INCREASED VALUE.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THIS IS WHAT THE VALUES HAVE DONE, AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO THE RATES.
SO YOU'RE EFFECTIVELY REDUCING YOUR TAX RATE BY 13 CENTS THIS YEAR.
UH, BUT WE'RE GONNA INCREASE THE REVENUE BECAUSE OF THE INCREASE IN VALUE.
SO I GUESS IT'S A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD.
YOU GET TO TELL FOLKS THAT WE CUT TAXES, BUT THEIR TAXES ARE GONNA GO UP.
AND THEY DON'T, THEY DON'T APPRECIATE THAT, AND I CAN'T BLAME 'EM.
SO THERE'S THE TREND LINE ON THE TAX RATE AND ON THE VALUES, UH, SINCE 20 20 13, UH, WITH ALL THOSE CHANGES TO PROPERTY TAX AND REVENUE, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT $4.2 MILLION IN TOTAL REVENUE AND $3.9 MILLION GOING TO M AND O.
UH, ADDITIONALLY, THE INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT AGREEMENT, WE WERE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED THIS YEAR.
WE HAD BUDGET BUDGETED IT RIGHT AT 1.9 AND ENDED UP BRINGING IN ABOUT 2.2, UH, TWO, 2.15.
UH, WE EXPECT THAT TO GROW THIS NEXT YEAR, BUT NOT AT THE SAME RATE.
WE THINK IF WE UNDERSTOOD EVERYTHING CORRECTLY, THAT THEIR VALUE CAME ON THE FRONT END OR THE REVALUATION CAME ON THE FRONT END.
AND THAT'S WHY WE GET THE PAYMENT, A LITTLE OF TAXES A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THIS YEAR COMPARED TO WHAT WE, WHAT WE WILL GET THIS YEAR.
SO WE THINK THEY'VE CAUGHT THEIR LAG UP, AND THEN THEY WILL BE AT THIS NEW RATE.
SO WE'VE HELD THAT NUMBER FLAT.
UH, I'LL TALK ABOUT SALES TAX WHEN WE GET INTO THE, UH, INTO THE, THE FINANCIALS FOR ENDING SIX 30.
BUT THE TREND DOES NOT LOOK HEALTHY.
UM, WE ARE BASICALLY 4.25% DOWN YEAR OVER YEAR ON ACTUAL REVENUE.
AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING AND WHAT WE'RE BEING TOLD IS FOLKS ARE GOING BACK INTO THE STORE AND YOU CAN TELL WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE CONFIDENTIALITY REPORT, THEY'RE NOT BUYING ONLINE THE WAY THEY WERE LAST YEAR OR THE YEAR BEFORE LAST.
THEY WANT GO PHYSICALLY HANDLE THESE THINGS.
WE HAVE A FEW STORES THAT ARE BENEFITING FROM IT, BUT QUITE FRANKLY, THE BULK OF THAT BENEFIT IS GOING NEXT DOOR TO OUR NEIGHBORS, AS IS THE BULK OF THE HOT TAX.
SO, UH, IT'S ONE OF THOSE DEALS WHERE I GUESS THE STATE GIVETH AND THE STATE TAKETH AWAY, OR THE, THE MARKET GIVETH AND THE MARKET TAKETH AWAY BECAUSE ONE POSITION NOW WHERE EVERYBODY WANTS TO GO SHOP, UH, AND HANDLE THINGS.
BUT THAT, THAT CAUSES A LOSS OF REVENUE FOR US.
UH, AND THEN WE'VE ALSO INCLUDED IN THIS BUDGET, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT PREVIOUSLY, THE INCREASES TO THE WATER SEWER RATES TO THE, THE SOLID WASTE RATES TO THE E M S RATES, UH, ALL OF WHICH ARE COMING UP, UH, TRYING TO PLAY CATCH UP AFTER HOLDING THE LINE OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS.
WE HELD THE LINE ON THE WATER RATES FOR SEVERAL YEARS TRYING TO FOREGO, UH, SIGNIFICANT INCREASES.
UH, WE DID THE SAME WITH OUR SOLID WASTE RATES.
UH, AND THEN, UH, SO WE'RE PLAYING CATCH UP AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY CATCH UP.
HERE'S THE TREND LINE FOR SALES TAX.
AS YOU CAN SEE, WE GREW VERY, VERY STEADILY, UH, EVEN DURING THE PANDEMIC.
AND THEN WE'VE TAILED OFF THIS LAST YEAR.
AND SO, UH, AND LOOKING AT THE LEADING AND LAGGING INDICATORS FOR ECONOMIC, UH, THE ECONOMIC SITUATION HERE IN BRAZORIA COUNTY, THEY'RE PROJECTING A 3.4% GROWTH RATE ACROSS THE COUNTY IN TERMS, AND THEY'RE BASING THAT ON CONSUMER CONFIDENCE.
BUT AGAIN, WE'RE NOT SEEING THAT YIELD BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S GOING BACK TO BRICK AND MORTAR OR IS TRYING TO GO BACK TO BRICK AND MORTAR.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING LAG IN THAT REGARD.
SO WHAT IS IN THE ACTUAL FISCAL EXPENDITURES THAT YOU'RE GONNA LOOK AT? UH, WE'VE MAINTAINED THE 2.5%, UH, FOR EXEMPT AND 3.5% FOR NON-EXEMPT STAFF FOR NOW.
UH, WE PROPOSED A ONE-TIME ADJUSTMENT TO LONGEVITY.
UH, WE DELAYED THE HIRING OF CURRENTLY OPEN POSITIONS, UH, TO ACCOMMODATE THE COLA.
AND WE'LL GET INTO SOME OF THIS IN JUST A FEW MINUTES.
WE'VE BOUGHT, UH, ESTIMATED WE'VE GOT A 5% INCREASE.
IS THAT FINAL NOW? NOT HIGH, NOT FINAL YET.
HEY, WE LIKE THAT EVEN BETTER.
WE, WE STARTED THE YEAR ASSUMING, UH, 24, AND THEN WE TRIMMED IT DOWN TO 18 AND THEN DOWN TO 12 AND NOW DOWN TO FIVE.
[00:10:01]
STAYING WITH THE SAME LEVEL OF SERVICE, SAME LEVEL OF DEDUCTIBLE THAT WE HAD PREVIOUSLY.UH, AND THEN THE NUMBERS THAT WE HAVE INCLUDES THE, THE REIMBURSEMENT BACK, THE FUND 1 0 6 EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT.
CAN I ASK ONE QUESTION? YES, SIR.
ON THE HEALTH, IS THAT DUE TO SOMETHING WE'RE DOING DIFFERENT? IS THAT THE COMPANY RATES? IS THAT OUR, SO, UH, WE EXPECTED WITH OUR CLAIMS HISTORY TO SEE A, A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT INCREASE.
I WANNA GIVE ALL THE CREDIT IN THE WORLD TO JASON ELLIS AND THE TEAM AT ALLIANT FOR NEGOTIATING WITH BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD, UH, AND KEEPING THE, OR GETTING THE RATES AS LOW AS THEY CAN.
IF YOU REMEMBER, THIS IS THE FIRST INCREASE WE'VE HAD IN THREE YEARS.
THEY'VE DONE A GREAT JOB OF PUTTING PRESSURE ON OUR, OUR PARTNERS AT BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD.
BUT THERE'S NO CHANGE TO BENEFIT, NO CHANGE TO FORMULARY, NO CHANGE DIVISION OR DENTAL.
WE'RE LOOKING AT ACTUALLY ADDING SOME WHAT, UH, THE LIFE AND A D AND D A D AND BRINGING THEM UNDER THEIR, AND I THINK THE, THE OFFER FROM B C B S IS GONNA BE IF WE WILL BRING THE LIFE AND THE ACCIDENTAL DEATH AND DISABILITY UNDER THEIR UMBRELLA THAT THEY'LL REDUCE OUR LATE RATE AT, AT A DISCOUNT.
SO WE MAY SEE SOME SAVINGS ON TOP OF THIS, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT TALKING TO MY PEERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE ON THE T M L SYSTEM, THEY'RE SEEING DOUBLE DIGIT RATE INCREASES, UH, FOR HEALTH INSURANCE, WHICH IS REALLY, REALLY HAVING A, A PRETTY BAD IMPACT ON THEM.
UH, SO WE'RE VERY HAPPY WITH WHAT THEY DID AND THEY, THOSE GUYS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB FOR US.
WE'LL BE SITTING DOWN WITH THEM ON TUESDAY.
TUESDAY TO GO THROUGH, HOPEFULLY.
WHAT ARE THE FINAL SET OF NUMBERS THAT, THAT WE'LL BE READY FOR YOU, YOU GUYS, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF? WELL, I CAN TELL YOU FROM, FROM YEARS AND YEARS, EVERY TIME WE CAME IN HERE, WE HAD AN INSURANCE INCREASE.
INSURANCE INCREASE INSURANCE, BUT FROM, I TALKED ABOUT FROM HOSPITALIZATION, AUTOMOBILE BUILDINGS, EVERYTHING.
I WANT TO CONGRATULATE Y'ALL FOR BEING ABLE TO HOLD 'EM AT WHERE YOU'VE HELD THEM FOR, FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS.
BECAUSE UP BEFORE, I MEAN BEFORE THAT, IT IS ANYWHERE FROM SIX TO 16% EVERY YEAR.
UH, BUT IN TERMS OF HEALTH WISE, NO.
WE WE'RE DOING ABOUT THE SAME THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.
IT'S JUST, THEY ARE VERY, THE GROUP THAT WE HAVE REPRESENTING US IS VERY, VERY AGGRESSIVE.
SO WE OWE THEM A, A DEBT OF GRATITUDE.
WE NEEDED TO BUY 'EM A LUNCH
SO, UM, IT'S JUST THE INDUSTRYWIDE INDUSTRYWIDE RIGHT NOW IN ALL INSURANCES.
IT'S JUST THE COST OF PAYING THE CLAIMS FOR HEALTH INSURANCE AND STUFF IS PROBABLY JUST BECOME ASTRONOMICAL AND IT'S PROBABLY BEING SPREAD AROUND TO EVERYBODY.
SO 5% IS, YOU GET 'EM, ANGEL, THAT WAS, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT BAD.
IF YOU CAN GET IT DOWN, YOU BE WORKING MIRACLES.
WELL THAT'S, UH, I DON'T DO HEALTH INSURANCE.
BUT YEAH, WE'RE, WE'RE, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE VERY HAPPY WITH, WITH THAT NUMBER COMPARED TO WHAT OTHERS ARE SEEING IN THE MARKET.
UH, CAPITAL EXPENDITURE WISE, WE'RE CONTINUING THE SIDEWALK STREETS AND DRAINAGE, C I P THAT WE SET OUT IN 2020, UH, WE'RE A LITTLE BIT BEHIND ON THAT DUE TO A NUMBER OF FACTORS, BUT WE HOPE TO CATCH UP AND HAVE THAT.
OUR TARGET DATE, IF YOU RECALL, WHEN WE ADOPTED THAT PLAN, WAS 2026.
WE THINK WE'RE STILL WITHIN REASONABLE CHANCE OF MAKING THAT MARK, UH, CONTINUATION COMPLETION OF THE CAPITAL EXPENSES AT, UH, BBR HESTER CENTER, UH, REMEDIATION AT FS ONE.
I WILL SAY WE HAD ANOTHER GROUP COME IN AND TAKE A LOOK.
THEY'RE WA WE'RE WAITING ON THEM TO GIVE US AN ESTIMATE NOW, THERE, ALTHOUGH IT APPEARS THAT EVERYTHING IS STABILIZED AGAIN, SO GO FIGURE A KNOCK ON WOOD.
UH, AND THEN, UH, THE INSTALLATION OF THE GENERATOR AT THE MARION STREET GROUND STORAGE TANK.
UH, WE WERE LOOKING AT A POSSIBLE PROPERTY ACQUISITION BY THE E D C, UH, WHICH I THINK WOULD BE KEY TO US.
UH, WATER AND SEWER LINE IMPROVEMENTS.
AND THEN THE CAPITAL VEHICLE PURCHASES, WHICH STILL INCLUDE THE ONE AMBULANCE, UH, ONE SIDE LOAD COMMERCIAL SOLID WASTE VEHICLE, TWO PATROL UNITS, AND A SIX INCH DIESEL PUMP FOR THE WATER, UH, WATER UTILITY.
AND SO THAT BRINGS US TO, OH, HERE WE GO.
WE'VE INCREASED OUR REVENUE MODEL, AS YOU CAN TELL, UH, PRETTY SIGNIFICANTLY.
UH, BUT WE'VE ALSO UNFORTUNATELY INCREASED OUR EXPENDITURE MODEL.
AND I HAD BEEN CAUTIONING YOU WHEN WE DID HAD THE INITIAL MEETING, UH, WE WERE HAVING SOME FLUXX IN THE WAY THAT THE PERSONNEL MODULE IN CLEAR GOV.
[00:15:01]
THE WAY IT WORKS IS YOU PUT YOUR CAPITAL COST IN, YOU PUT YOUR NON-PERSONNEL COST IN, AND THEN YOU PUT YOUR PERSONNEL COST IN AND THREE COMPONENTS, AND THEN YOU MERGE 'EM TOGETHER.AND IDEALLY, THEY ALL BALANCE AND EVERYTHING IS EXACTLY THE WAY IT WAS.
AND YOU SEE THE NUMBERS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THERE.
I WANT TO GIVE ALL CREDIT AND PHRASE TO CHRIS AND TO ANGEL, THEY HAVE HELPED ME THIS WEEK GO LINE BY LINE BY LINE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ACCURATE.
AND SO THE TRUE UP PUTS US AT A RESIDUAL, UH, NEGATIVE OF 4 43.
WE HAD, WE WERE LOOKING AT A RESIDUAL DRAW OF 360 4 COMING OUTTA THE LAST MEETING.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY WE WENT THE WRONG WAY.
NOW, I HAD GOING PRIOR TO THIS, WE HAD PEELED OUT A NUMBER OF SMALLER EXPENDITURES.
STUFF THAT WE KNEW THERE MIGHT BE SOME, SOME ROOM TO WIGGLE AND GOTTEN THAT NUMBER DOWN TO TWO, I THINK IT WAS 2 51 AS OF AS AT THAT POINT.
AND THEN ONCE WE FIGURED OUT ALL THE, ONCE WE GOT ALL THE PERSONNEL LINE ITEMS, REENTERED MADE SURE THAT EVERYBODY ACTUALLY GOT BENEFITS.
UH, WE HAD ABOUT A THIRD OF FOLKS THAT WEREN'T GETTING THEIR BENEFITS.
WE HAD ANOTHER THIRD OF FOLKS THAT THEIR PAGES DISAPPEARED.
I DON'T THINK THEY WANNA WORK FOR FREE, AND I'M SURE THEY WOULDN'T COME IF WE DIDN'T OFFER BENEFITS.
SO ONCE WE GOT THAT BACK IN, THAT'S WHY THAT NUMBER JUMPED UP.
UH, IN ANY GIVEN YEAR, THERE IS SOME FLUXX IN OUR BUDGET.
WE HAVE THE ABILITY, WE MAY SEE A BIGGER REVENUE INCREASE THAN WE ANTICIPATED.
WE MAY BE ABLE TO CONTAIN EXPENDITURES, BUT TYPICALLY SPEAKING, THAT PLAY IS ABOUT 250 TO $275,000.
SO THIS IS A LITTLE BIT BEYOND OUR COMFORT ZONE.
UM, AND SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, I, THERE'S SOME OPTIONS ON THE TABLE.
UH, SOME FIXES THAT WE COULD DO.
UH, NONE OF 'EM ARE GONNA BE POPULAR
BUT THESE ARE THE, THE THOUGHTS, THE WAY THAT WE COULD CLOSE THAT GAP, THAT $443,000 GAP.
THE FIRST ONE WOULD BE TO SUSPEND THE INTERDEPARTMENTAL, TRANSFER THE REPAYMENT TO FUND 1 0 6.
WHAT IS, WHAT IS 1 0 6? 1 0 6 IS THE FUND THAT WE USE TO PURCHASE VEHICLES.
SO THE WAY THAT THAT WORKS IS WHEN I GO, LET'S SAY WE'RE GONNA BUY AN AMBULANCE, WE GO TO 1 0 6, IT PROVIDES THE FUNDING FOR THE AMBULANCE PURCHASE, AND THEN WE REPAY 10% OF THAT UNTIL IT'S AMORTIZED THROUGH THE, THROUGH THE COURSE OF THE, THE LIFE OF THE VEHICLE.
AND SO THERE'S A LINE ITEM, UH, FUND 48, 50 40.
I'VE LOOKED AT THE NUMBERS SO MUCH, I'VE LOST TRACK.
48 50 IN EACH BUDGET WHERE THAT TRANSFER COMES IN AND GOES OUT.
AND SO IF WE SUSPEND THAT, THAT $215,000 WE'RE PAYING ONE FUND WITH ANOTHER FUND, THAT'S ONE OPTION THAT WOULD REDUCE THAT DOWN.
UH, SO IF WE SUSPEND THAT, OR DOES THAT MEAN THAT WE DON'T GET, SAY, THE TWO POLICE VEHICLES OR THE ANTS? OR IS THIS JUST NO, THAT'S JUST, WE WOULD JUST, THAT'S JUST TRANSFER OF DONALD, WE WOULD JUST, WE WOULD STILL GET THE VEHICLES.
WE WOULD JUST NOT TRANSFER THAT 10% BACK, THAT COST ALLOCATION FOR THIS YEAR, POSTPONE THE PAYMENTS FOR A YEAR.
NO, HE JUST, HE, HE SAID, WE JUST WOULDN'T BE REBUILDING THAT ACCOUNT.
SO NEXT TIME YOU NEED TO ANSWER SAID IT PERFECTLY, JUDGE IT COVERED HIS PAY.
WE ARE, WE'VE GOT A VERY, I'LL GET INTO THE FUND BALANCE IN THAT FUND IN JUST A SECOND.
WE DO HAVE A HEALTHY FUND BALANCE.
UH, BUT YOU'RE RIGHT, WE DO, WE HAVE MADE A PROMISE TO OURSELVES, A PROMISSORY NOTE.
WE ARE GONNA PAY OURSELVES BACK.
UH, THE SECOND WOULD BE TO FOREGO THE COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT, UH, FOR STAFF.
UH, THAT'S A $252,811 EXPENDITURE.
I WILL BE VERY HONEST WITH YOU, IF WE DO THAT, UH, WE WILL BE SEEING SEVERAL DEPARTURES.
THAT'S JUST THE NATURE OF THE BEAST.
UH, WE WILL LOSE OUR COMPETITIVE, UH, OUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OR WHAT COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE WE HAVE, UH, WITH STAFF BECAUSE, 'CAUSE WE ARE, WE WOULD BE THE ONLY CITY IN THE REGION NOT OFFERING SOMETHING.
AND YOU'VE GOT SEVERAL COMMUNITIES TO OUR NORTH THAT ARE BLOWING UP AND EXPANDING VERY RAPIDLY AND ARE TRYING TO HIRE EVERYBODY THEY CAN AND OFFERING REALLY GREAT PACKAGES.
SO WE'VE, I, I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND DOING ENTIRELY AWAY WITH THE COLA.
UH, OR YOU COULD DO A ONETIME, UH, OR A PUSH YOUR ONE YEAR, PUSH YOUR COLA BACK TO A MIDYEAR MARK, SEE HOW THINGS ARE GOING, AND THEN INSTITUTE IT AT THAT POINT.
NONE OF 'EM ARE GONNA MAKE ANYBODY HAPPY.
UH, IS THIS NUMBER, THE COLA IS THE 252,000, IS THAT, WHAT PERCENTAGE IS THAT AT? THAT'S, SO THAT'S MA'AM TWO AND A HALF PERCENT.
THAT'S, WELL, THAT'S TWO AND A HALF FOR EXEMPT STAFF AND THREE AND A HALF FOR NON-EXEMPT STAFF.
UH, AND WE CAN TINKER WITH THOSE NUMBERS AND ADJUST 'EM UP AND, UH, ADJUST THEM DOWN.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S ABOUT $250,000.
I HAD LOOKED AT TRYING TO GO UP ON THE NON-EXEMPT STAFF WHEN I THOUGHT WE HAD A BETTER POSITION.
UM, BUT IT'S JUST NOT REALISTIC TO DO THAT.
UM, SO KEEP THOSE IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, LET'S TALK REAL QUICK ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE E D C.
UH, THE FUND MODEL HERE HAS CHANGED A LITTLE BIT.
[00:20:01]
DID TAKE A LOOK AT, 'CAUSE I'LL BE HONEST WITH YOU, I'M SPENDING A LOT MORE TIME WITH MYTHERE'S A 4.3 ACRE TRACK OF PROPERTY THAT I'VE SPENT MORE TIME ON THIS YEAR THAN I CARE TO.
BUT CHARGING BACK, WE'VE NEVER CHARGED MY SALARY BACK TOWARDS E D C.
SO WE'RE GONNA CHARGE THAT BACK A PORTION OF THAT.
SO WE INCREASE THE ALLOCATION THERE.
AND THEN WE ALSO CREATED THE E-COMMERCE, UH, INCENTIVE PROGRAM WHERE WE WOULD PROVIDE A, MR. AGUILAR CAME UP WITH A GREAT IDEA.
I THINK YOU SAW IT IN DENISON OR DENTON, DENISON DENISON, WHERE THE E D C IS ACTUALLY PROVIDING FUNDING TO ALLOW THESE SMALL MOM AND POPS TO GET ONLINE TO START DOING THEIR SALES ONLINE, TO ALLOW FOR DELIVERY AND EVERYTHING ELSE, WHICH IS JUST OPEN UP A WHOLE BUNCH OF REVENUE FOR THEM.
SO I THOUGHT IT WAS A GREAT IDEA.
WE PUT IN, UH, $25,000 OR BASICALLY 10 GRANTS TOWARDS THAT, UH, WHICH IS THE DIFFERENTIAL EXPENDITURES THERE.
SO HERE'S WHAT EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE.
WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THAT MOVIE? EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE.
SOMETIMES I DON'T REMEMBER, BUT HERE'S WHAT EVERYTHING LOOKS LIKE.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, GENERAL FUND, UH, WE'VE MODIFIED THAT NUMBER FOR, OH, SORRY.
NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT I WANNA DO EITHER.
MODIFIED THAT NUMBER TO REFLECT, UH, WHAT THE CHANGE IS.
UH, WE, THE GENERAL FUND CONSTRUCTION FUND IS THE DRAWDOWN RELATED TO THE, UH, CHILLER.
UH, AND THEN THE UNEMPLOYMENT FUND IS THE ESTIMATE BASED ON PREVIOUS YEARS.
UH, POLICE FORFEITURE AND KEEP BE FLOOR PRETTY NOMINAL.
UH, THE EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT FUND, WE TALKED ABOUT FUND BALANCE THERE.
RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A BUT FUND BALANCE OF ABOUT 3.8 BASED ON, OR 3.2 BASED ON THE UPCOMING BUDGET.
UH, YOU'D SEE THAT FIGURE REVISED, UH, BY, YOU COULD ADD 216 BASICALLY TO THE 7 36 NUMBER.
WE'D BE LEFT WITH A REMAINING BALANCE OF ABOUT $2.2 MILLION, THREE 80.
DEVELOPMENT LOOKS LIKE ZEROS, BUT THAT'S JUST MONEY PASSING THROUGH.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT WE DID RETIRE THE, UH, KROGER THREE 80 AGREEMENT.
I WISH I COULD SAY THAT IT BORE MORE FRUIT THAN IT DID.
WE'RE STILL IN TALKS ABOUT ACCESS AND MS. MADDOX CAN TELL YOU ABOUT HOW MUCH FUN THAT WAS.
UH, THE ACTUAL EXPENDITURES RELATED TO THE DRAINAGE PROJECT WILL TAIL.
WE MIGHT GET THOSE STARTED IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THE FISCAL YEAR FOLLOWING FOLLOW THE ENGINEER'S ADVICE.
UH, BUT WE KNEW WE WERE GONNA BE DRAWING DOWN FUNDS THERE.
WE'LL ALSO BE DRAWING IN THE GRANT FUNDS.
AND THAT FUND WE TALKED ABOUT THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
UM, AND WE HAVE A NET, IF YOU TAKE A LOOK, WHERE WE LOOK TO FINISH THIS YEAR.
UH, IT'S ABOUT THE SAME WHERE WE LOOK TO FINISH NEXT YEAR IF WE'RE ABLE TO GET ALL OUR PROJECTS DONE.
SO, MOVING OVER TO THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS, UH, WE DID GET THE SALARY ALLOCATIONS REDONE.
WE'RE COMING IN A LITTLE BIT LOWER THAN WE DID LAST YEAR.
UH, BUT WE ACTUALLY ANTICIPATE A LITTLE BIT MORE REVENUE.
WE'RE VERY HEALTHY, WE'RE MUCH HEALTHIER THAN WE ANTICIPATED IN CURRENT YEAR REVENUE.
UH, SO WE FEEL GOOD ABOUT THAT.
UH, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME FAIRLY LARGE PROJECTS, UH, LINED UP FOR THE NEXT YEAR, NOT INCLUDING WHAT WE'VE GOT GOING ON, UH, THIS YEAR.
AND THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE ANY EMERGENCY REPAIRS, BUT WE SHOULD HAVE THE WATER WASTEWATER MASTER PLAN COMPLETED FINALLY, WHICH ALLOWS US THEN TO START IMPLEMENTING SOME OF THESE PROJECTS THAT NEED TO TAKE PLACE IN TERMS OF REPLACING SOME, SOME OF THE AGING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE'VE GOT.
UM, SO, UH, WITH THAT, COUNSEL HAD ALSO ASKED ABOUT, UH, SOME ADDITIONAL POSITIONS.
AND SO, UH, WE TOOK A LOOK AND WE MODELED THAT IN.
UH, THAT WOULD BE, UH, THE NEW POSITION AT BUILDING SERVICES AND TWO NEW PATROL POSITIONS, UH, TO MAKE THIS WORK EVEN MARGINALLY, WE WOULD HAVE TO DO THOSE AS MID-YEAR APPOINTMENTS.
UH, AND YOU'RE STILL TALKING ABOUT AN ADDITIONAL COST OF ALMOST $112,000.
AND SO, UH, I DON'T KNOW THAT THOSE ARE DOABLE IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, TO BE VERY HONEST WITH YOU.
UH, I WOULD ALSO NOTE THAT WHEN WE ADD POLICE PERSONNEL, WE DON'T GET TAKEN AWAY UNDER STATE LAW BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE PART OF THE DEFUND THE POLICE ACT.
SO ANYTIME WE MAKE AN ADDITIONAL EXPENDITURE IN THERE, WE HAVE TO BE COGNIZANT OF THE FACT THAT, THAT YOU CAN'T TAKE IT BACK.
SO GOING BACK, UM, I KNOW THEY NEED HELP.
EVERYBODY NEEDS HELP, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT WE CAN JUSTIFY AN ADDITIONAL $112,000 IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
[00:25:01]
WITH THAT, WE CAN GO INTO THE, UH, HOLD ON.HOW DO I DO THIS? THAT'S NOT WHAT I WANT.
HOW DO I GET TO THE, OH, THERE WE GO.
WE CAN GO IN INTO THE INDIVIDUAL BUDGETS IF YOU GUYS WOULD LIKE AND TAKE A LOOK AT LINE ITEMS OR TAKE A LOOK AT EXPENDITURES.
UM, CAN YOU OPEN UP THE EXPEND EXPENDITURES? YES, MA'AM.
WHICH, WHICH FUND DID YOU WANNA SEE? GENERAL FUND OR I'M ASSUMING YOU MEANT GENERAL FUND.
WHAT ARE, OKAY, SO THIS IS THE ONE, 'CAUSE I GOT ONLINE AND I CAN SEE THIS ONE.
IS IT 'CAUSE ALL OF 'EM SAY GENERAL.
WHAT ARE THE OTHER, OKAY, SO YEAH, THAT, THAT, LET ME KIND OF STEP OVER THERE.
I THINK THAT MAY BE THE ONLY ONE THAT I'VE BEEN IN.
I DON'T WANNA MAKE IT MORE CONFUSING FOR YOU GUYS, BUT WHEN YOU LOG IN, UH, WE WILL MAKE YOU, THAT'S THE ONE THAT YOU HAVE DEFAULT ACCESS TO.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE WE'VE RUN A FEW VARIATIONS IN MODELS HERE, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE BEST AND MOST PRUDENT COURSE IS.
AND SO THE MODEL THAT WE'RE GETTING READY TO THE MODEL THAT YOU'VE BEEN WORKING FROM, AND THE MODEL THAT EVERYBODY CAN SEE RIGHT NOW HAS ACCESS TO IS WHAT'S CALLED SAVE NUMBER THREE.
AND THAT'S COMING OUT OF THAT LAST SESSION, UH, IT WAS UPDATED.
THIS IS ACTUALLY WHAT WE'LL BE MOVING TO TODAY BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONE THAT HAS THE CORRECTED AND RECONCILED PERSONNEL MODEL.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND JUST CLICK ON THAT.
AND NOW THAT'S THE ONE, WHEN YOU GO TO THE WEBSITE, YOU'LL PULL UP AND YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE
ARE WE ABLE TO CHANGE OUR DEFAULTS TOO? NO.
BECAUSE ONCE YOU, BECAUSE I SAW THAT PAGE, BUT I WAS LIKE, HMM, THAT LOOKS LIKE IT'S OVER.
ONCE YOU CHANGE THE DEFAULT, YOU HAVE BASICALLY CHANGED WHAT EVERYBODY SEES WHEN THEY GO TO PULL IT OPEN.
THANK YOU FOR TELLING ME THAT.
IT WOULD'VE BEEN ME THAT DID IT
SO, BUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING RIGHT HERE IN THE EXPENDITURES AND THE REVENUES, THE GENERAL FUND, WHEN WE'RE ON THE EXPENDITURES, THE GENERAL FUND THAT'S SHOWING US ALL THE DEPARTMENTS AND EVERYTHING.
SO WE'RE NOT HAVING TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.
SO I NEED TO GO TO ANOTHER IT'S ALL RIGHT HERE.
WITH THE EXCEPTION OF YOUR ENTERPRISE FUND, WHICH HAS AN ALLOCATED COST COMPONENT.
SO WHAT, THE WAY WE OPERATE THE, THE ENTERPRISE FUND IS CERTAIN STAFF, WE HAVE STAFF THAT ARE ALLOCATED, THEIR PERSONNEL COSTS ARE ALLOCATED TO THAT FUND.
BUT THE ACTUAL MEAT AND POTATOES OF THEIR WORK, IF IT'S A NON-PERSONNEL COST RELATED TO WATER, IT GETS CHARGED TO FUND O TWO.
IF IT'S A PERSONNEL THING, THEN IT GETS CHARGED OVER HERE AND THEN ALLOCATE OUT.
SO JOHN'S TEAM IS USED TO BE, THERE WAS A WATER CREW AND A STREETS CREW.
HE'S HAD TO MAKE DO WITH WHAT HE HAS.
AND SO HIS GUYS HAVE TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT A LOT.
ABOUT A LITTLE OR A LITTLE BIT LITTLE ABOUT A LOT.
WHAT AM I TRYING TO SAY JOHN? IT'S HARD TO HEAR.
BUT BASICALLY I'M SAYING THAT YOUR CREW HAS TO FUNCTION.
THEY'VE GOT, YOU'VE GOT WATER GUYS AND YOU'VE GOT WATER AND STREETS GUYS DOING THIS.
THEY CREW, THEY DO ALL WATER STREETS, UH, STEWARD DRAINAGE, UH, THEY'RE LOW MAINTENANCE
SO IN HERE, WHEN YOU OPEN UP, WE'LL JUST SAY I GET GENERAL GOVERNMENT FUNDS.
THERE'S A THING IN THERE THAT HAS SAL WELL, IS THERE SALARIES IN THERE? YES, MA'AM.
SO IF YOU CLICK ON THE INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS, SO ADMINISTRATION, THERE'S YOUR SALARIES.
SO THAT HAS, SO THIS HAS EVERYTHING IN IT EXCEPT WHERE DO WE GO? YOU SAID THE ENTERPRISE FUND, IF IT'S A WATER RELATED COST, LIKE A CAPITAL COST RELATED, LET'S SAY YOU WANNA LOOK AT SEEING WHAT WE'RE EXPENDING ON SEWER LINES.
THEN YOU GO BACK UP HERE TO OPERATIONAL BUDGETS AND YOU WOULD GO TO THE ENTERPRISE FUND AND THEN YOU WOULD CLICK ON THAT FUND RIGHT THERE.
ARE YOU, IS THAT HOW IT'S MARKED AS WITH THAT BLUE? YEAH, THE BLUE.
THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE DEFAULT BUDGET THAT WE'RE WORKING OUT OF.
ENTERPRISE FUND CONSISTS OF FUNDS THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY CHARGE FOR.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE MONEY MAKERS PER SE, BUT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE SELF-FUNDING.
IF YOU USE A MILLION GALLONS OF WATER, YOU PAY FOR A MILLION GALLONS OF WATER.
IF I USE A THOUSAND, I PAY FOR A THOUSAND.
AND SO FROM A REVENUE STANDPOINT, WE HELD OFF ON DOING WATER INCREASES 'CAUSE WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT TAX RATES AND OTHER COSTS.
WE HAVEN'T DONE A WATER RATE INCREASE I THINK SINCE 2019, MAYBE 2018.
SO WE'RE PLAYING CATCH UP NOW.
SO THIS YOUR, WHAT DID, BUT WE DID VOTE ON SOME INCREASE ON THE WATER BILL.
WHAT DID WE INCREASE? WELL, YOU, THAT WAS THE GOOD, YOU'VE GOT YOUR OT.
SO LAST YEAR WE INCREASED, UH, TO CATCH UP TO WHAT THE B W A GET US A LITTLE BIT AHEAD OF WHAT B W A WAS CHARGING.
[00:30:01]
OKAY.THIS YEAR WE'RE TRYING TO PUSH THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
OF COURSE, THEY CAME BACK AND INCREASED THEIR RATES AND THEY WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE THEIR RATES, UH, FROM NOW THROUGH 2055 TO HANDLE THAT.
THE GENERAL FUND IS BASICALLY, UH, FUNDED BY TAXES.
UH, THE WAY WE TRIED, THAT'S THE ONLY ONE THAT I THINK I HAD LOOKED AT WAS JUST THE GENERAL FUND.
AND YOU COULD DO THE REVENUE AND THE EXPENDITURES.
I KNOW IT'S GIVING Y'ALL HEADACHES, BUT AS FAR AS LIKE PUTTING INFORMATION THERE PLAINLY WHERE YOU CAN READ IT, IT'S, I LIKE IT.
ONCE WE FIGURE OUT HOW TO MANIPULATE THE IMPORT CORRECTLY OR HOW TO GET THE IMPORT TO WORK CORRECTLY, WE'LL BE IN GREAT SHAPE.
AND IT'S, I, I GOTTA, I GOTTA GIVE, LIKE I SAID, CREDIT TO ANGEL AND TO CHRIS, UH, FOR HELPING ME WITH THIS.
'CAUSE WE HAVE DUG DEEP AND DONE THINGS WE WEREN'T EXPECTING TO HAVE TO DO AND SPEND A LOT OF TIME HAVING TO GO BACK AND REFINE AND FIGURE OUT, BECAUSE YOU CAN, I'M GONNA PULL THIS OPEN AND I'M NOT GONNA CLICK THIS, I PROMISE, BUT THEIR COPY OF PASTE DON'T WORK AS GOOD AS OTHER PEOPLE'S COPIES OF PAST.
THAT SHOULD, IN THEORY, IF I CLICK THAT BUTTON, PULL ALL THE PERSONNEL COSTS OUT SO THAT WE CAN GO BACK AND REFINE THAT MODEL.
UH, THE PROBLEM IS, THE LAST TIME I DID THAT, THE PERSONNEL BUDGET, UH, ALLOCATED TO THE GENERAL FUND IS ABOUT $7.4 MILLION.
THE LAST TIME I DID THAT, IT PULLED OUT $331,212 WITH NO RHYME OR REASON AS TO WHAT CAME OUT.
AND SO THEN WE STARTED TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY DID IT ONLY, WHERE'S THE OTHER, WHY, WHY IS 7.1 STILL IN? THEY DIDN'T GIVE US A CLEAR ANSWER.
AND THAT'S WHEN I JUST ABOUT LOST MY PATIENCE WITH THEM LAST WEEK BECAUSE YEAH.
'CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ALL THOSE BUTTONS, SO DON'T WORRY.
ON OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT.
AT WHAT POINT OF THE PROJECT ARE WE ON? I KNOW YOU HAD SAID THAT, UH, WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DO MUCH THIS YEAR 'CAUSE OF WHICH COM WHICH COMPONENT ARE YOU WANTING TO KNOW ABOUT? THE SIDEWALKS? MM-HMM.
SO SIDEWALKS, UH, WE ARE IN YEAR THREE.
UH, IN TERMS OF PROGRESS, UH, OUR GUYS AT A G S, WE'VE HIT A SNAG AT SHANKS.
UH, THEY'RE TRYING TO NOW FIGURE OUT THE BEST WAY TO SKIN THAT CAT AND CARRY IT THROUGH, UH, FROM PLANTATION UP TO COMMERCE, UH, BECAUSE OF THE DEPTH OF THE DISHES THERE.
IN AN IDEAL WORLD, WE WOULD GO TRIM THAT ROAD DOWN AND BRING IT BACK TO GRADE.
UH, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY.
UM, THEY GAVE ME A SEVEN FIGURE COST ESTIMATE WHEN THAT CAME BACK AND I JUST SAID, THANK YOU.
WELL, LET'S FIGURE OUT ANOTHER WAY TO MAKE THIS WORK.
UH, BECAUSE IF WE WERE TO GO IMPLEMENT SIDEWALKS THE WAY YOU WOULD NORMALLY DO IT, YOU'RE GONNA PUSH WATER BACK INTO THOSE HOUSES ALONG, UH, ALONG SHANKS.
SO THAT'S THE LAST THING WE WANNA DO.
UM, SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, IT LOOKS LIKE WHAT THEY'RE GONNA COME UP WITH IS BASICALLY A SERIES OF CONNECTED CULVERTS THAT CARRY ON AS THE SIDEWALK, BUT TO DO THAT, THEY'VE GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE ENGINEERING IT CORRECTLY.
UH, BUT FROM THERE WE'LL COME BACK DOWN AND COMPLETE THIS WORK ON MAIN STREET.
UH, WIDENING THE SIDEWALK OUT, GETTING, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE WON.
WE WON'T BE ABLE TO REMOVE THE, UH, CENTERPOINT POWER POLES, BUT WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT IT'S PASSABLE FOR FOLKS IN A WHEELCHAIR AND IT WITH A STROLLER ON A BIKE TO GET THROUGH THERE.
BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IT'S IMPASSABLE.
AND I CAN'T REMEMBER IN OUR, IN OUR IMPROVEMENT PLAN, ARE WE, DID WE HAVE MAIN STREET ON THERE? WE PUT MAIN STREET DOWN AS A ROAD THIS YEAR.
WE TALKED ABOUT TRYING TO DO A SURFACE OVERLAY.
UH, EVERYBODY HAS TALKED ME OUTTA THAT
UM, SO COMING BACK AND FIXING IT, IF WE DO IT WITH CONCRETE, JOHN, DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT THE COST WAS? DO WHAT THE CONCRETE? YEAH.
SO WE, WE PLANTED IN THE, IN THE COUNTY PROCESS OF OLDER LAND, UH, INCLUDING OUR TWO COUNTING YEAR.
BUT AN OVERLAY OVER THE, OVER THE ROAD, WHICH WOULD, WOULD BE A TEMPORARY RIGHT.
FIX, I THINK LIKE BLACK ASPHALT OVERLAY.
SO THE, THE IDEA WAS THAT WE WERE PUTTING LIPSTICK ON A PIG THAT WAS KIND OF THE NAME OF THE PLAN.
AND THAT WOULD, THAT THAT BLACK WOULD ADD A LOT OF HEAT TO THE CITY TOO.
AND I, IT'S NOT IDEAL TO DO IT THAT WAY.
AND QUITE HONESTLY, THE COST OF ASPHALT'S JUST ABOUT CAUGHT UP THE COST OF
[00:35:01]
CONCRETE.SO, UM, WE HAVE FUNDS SET ASIDE.
I THINK IF, LET ME GO TO FUND O FIVE REAL QUICK.
I WANNA SAY THERE'S A COUPLE OF HUNDRED IN THERE FOR THE, I THOUGHT WE HAD A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THAT IN THE STREETS.
I KNOW WITH THE OVERLAY USUALLY EACH YEAR'S AROUND.
SO WE HAD $800,000 SET ASIDE TO, FOR STREET REPAIR.
WHAT WAS ALL THE CUTTING GOING ON RIGHT NOW? PROBABLY WASN'T A GOOD IDEA TO DO IT.
YEAH, I WAS GONNA SAY WITH AS MUCH MAINTENANCE, YOU'VE GOT TWO NEW, IS IT TWO, YOU'VE GOT COMCAST AND AT AND T PUTTING, WE GOT EIGHT.
YOU GOT CENTER POINT DOING GAS LEAK REPAIRS AND THEN AT T'S CONSTANTLY OUT THERE.
AND THEN WE'RE ACTUALLY OUT THERE RIGHT NOW DOING, UH, SOME TAPS.
SO WE MIGHT BE BETTER OFF JUST TO FIND THE REALLY BAD PLACES IN PATCH.
AND THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT WE'LL END UP DOING THIS YEAR.
WE DID THAT A FEW YEARS, WELL, SEVERAL YEARS BACK.
A LOT OF IT WAS RIGHT OUT HERE.
TAKES BAD PATCHES OUT DOWN THAT WAY.
AND THEN THE PEOPLE THAT DID THOSE DOWN THAT WAY DID A REAL NICE JOB.
HE'S NO LONGER, HE'S NO LONGER THERE.
HE'S, HE'S RETIRED TALKING ABOUT GOING BACK AND DOING THE TUCK PATCHWORK TO CLEAN UP THE BAD SPOTS.
I KNOW THAT IF YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THE ONES THAT WERE DONE IN THE YEARS PAST WHERE IT LOOKED LIKE WHERE THEY HAD DUG UP WATER LINES OR MM-HMM.
THAT, THAT IT'S LIKE, IT HAS A TEXTURE.
I THINK THEY WERE REBAR BACK IN CORRECTLY AND THEY ALL BUCKLING UP.
I KNOW THAT, UH, I KNOW THE CITY OF LAKE JACKSON HAS USED MATULA.
I MEAN, NOT MATULA, BUT UH,
FOR A LOT OF THEIR PATCHES ON THOSE TREES ON THOSE STREETS WHERE THE TREES HAVE BUCKLED ALL THE ROADS AND THEY DO A FAIRLY DECENT JOB.
IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING WE WANT TO TALK TO THEM, SEE IF THEY WANT TO GIVE US SOME UNIT PRICES, WE CAN DEFINITELY DO THAT.
WHICH CONTRACTOR? WHO IS THAT? SOS I BELIEVE.
I DON'T KNOW IF THEY, I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THEY'RE STILL IN BUSINESS.
THEY, AND THEN ON THE, ON THE A D C BUDGET, I KNOW YOU HAD SAID THERE, UH, Y'ALL WERE, MIGHT BE ACQUIRING SOME LAND, BUT WHAT OTHER PROJECTS ARE UNDER CURRENTLY? YEAH, LET ME, UH, BASICALLY THE SAME ONES THAT WERE THERE, THE RIGHT, THE LOW OR LOW OR HALF PAYMENT OF IMPROVEMENTS, UH, BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT, FACADE, STRATEGIC PLANNING, BRANDING, BRANDING INITIATIVE, UH, YOUR E-COMMERCE.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE BRAND INSTEAD OF PROGRAM FOR THE SIGNS OF THE F FACADE RENOVATION, THAT KIND OF STUFF.
UH, WE DO HAVE THE THREE 80 AGREEMENTS WITH, UH, IT JUST WENT OUTTA MY HEAD.
SUSHAN, SUSHAN AND OLLIE'S, THE OLLIE SHOPPING CENTER.
AND UH, WE'RE ACTUALLY ENTERING YEAR THREE OF THE ONE WITH THE OLLIE SHOPPING, OLLIE SHOPPING CENTER.
UH, WE LOOK FOR THAT TO ACCELERATE.
I CAN SAY THAT K F C HAS GOT THEIR PERMITS.
WE THINK THEY'RE PROBABLY READY TO START MOVING DIRT HERE PRETTY QUICK.
SO I HOPEFULLY THEY'LL BE ONLINE IN YOUR, IN THE NEXT YEAR TO KEEP, TO PUSH THAT A LITTLE FURTHER.
WE DO HAVE, IN TERMS OF SALES TAX TREND, WE HAVE NEW BUSINESSES COMING ON.
WE DO KNOW THAT WE HAVE NEW GROWTH COMING IN WITH ROAD STAR WITH K F C.
THE PROBLEM IS PROJECTING WHAT THEIR SALES ARE GONNA BE LIKE AND WHAT THE IMPACT'S GONNA BE.
AND SO WE TOOK A VERY CONSERVATIVE APPROACH WHEN WE CAME TO THAT REVENUE LINE ITEM, ESPECIALLY AFTER SEEING WHAT THE NUMBERS LOOK LIKE THIS YEAR.
AND WE DID BUDGET IN THAT BUDGET, THE SIGN PLACE, PLACE MARKER MONUMENTATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE LIVABLE CENTERS PLAN.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S BUDGETED IN HERE.
UH, ALONG WITH SOME OF THE STUFF RELATED TO FS ONE, I DID WANNA LET EVERYBODY KNOW THAT THE PHYSICAL HARD COPIES OF THE FINAL DRAFT OF THE LIVABLE CENTER'S PLAN CAME IN TODAY.
UH, THEY'RE ON THE TABLE IN THE, IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM, IF YOU WANNA TAKE A LOOK.
[00:40:01]
VERSION IF WE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO CONDENSE IT DOWN BECAUSE IT IS A MASSIVE FILE, UH, SO THAT WE CAN POST IT TO THE WEBSITE.BUT IT'S GOT A LOT OF GREAT RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, IT'S BEEN THE BASIS FOR THE GROWTH AND ACTUALLY THE, THE PLAN ITSELF WAS THE REASON THAT WE NOW HAVE, I GUESS, INTEREST FROM A LOCAL LANDOWNER THAT'S WILLING TO SELL TO SEE SOMETHING HAPPEN.
SO, AND I WANT TO SAY, I MEAN HERE WITH ALL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT I, THAT I MEAN, YOU WILL, AND I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB IN THE THE LIBERAL CENTERS PROJECT BECAUSE I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S NEEDED AND I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO, UH, BE, UH, PROACTIVELY MM-HMM.
UM, AND THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING ABOUT THE E D C.
UM, AND WHETHER, AND I ALSO HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION AND I GUESS IT'D BE MORE LEANING TOWARDS THE MAYOR.
I WAS ASKING CJ THE OTHER DAY IF WE'VE EVER, UH, WONDERED ABOUT AN E D C DIRECTOR OR IF THE CITY'S EVER HAD ONE BEFORE, OR I MEAN, YOU'VE BEEN THE, IN THE YEARS PAST THE, WHEN WE HAD A CITY MANAGER AND AN ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.
THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER WAS THE E D C DIRECTOR.
AND THEN RIGHT BEFORE GARY CAME IN HERE.
AND THAT'S WHY WE FELT COMFORTABLE WITH THE ALLOCATION THIS YEAR TOWARDS MY SALARY.
'CAUSE I'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME TOWARDS THAT AND ON THAT.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO HAVE TO DO THAT.
WELL, WHEN, WHEN, WHEN WE HIRED GARY, WE, WE ACTUALLY, GARY ACTUALLY GARY'S JOB WAS CITY MANAGER, E D C DIRECTOR COMBINATION BECAUSE WHEN, WHEN WE HIRED GARY, THE DOLLARS FOR THE, UH, THAT WE WERE PAYING THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER AND THE, AND THE CITY MANAGER AT THAT TIME WERE WEREN'T ENOUGH.
OR THE, THE MONEY THAT WE WERE PAYING, THE CITY MANAGER WASN'T ENOUGH TO HIRE GARY.
SO WE HAD TO COMBINE THOSE POSITIONS.
THERE WAS A SAVINGS, BUT FROM THE, FROM THE TWO, BUT ONE, THE, THE ONE, ONE SALARY WOULD NOT PAY HIM.
SO WHEN YOU TOOK OUT WHAT WAS LEFT TO, TO MAKE UP HIS SALARY, THERE WASN'T ENOUGH TO HIRE THE SECOND PERSON.
AND I THINK HONESTLY, YOU PAID DIVIDENDS IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE VALUE THAT'S BEEN CREATED.
SO, AND WHEN WE HAVE A E D C MEETING, GARY IS, I MEAN, UH, CJ IS THE DIRECTOR,
I, I MEAN I, THE THING, AND THIS COMES BACK TO AGAIN, MY, MY THING IS THAT I KNOW THAT EVERYBODY WEARS A LOT OF HATS AND I KNOW WE HAVE LIMITED AMOUNTS OF WHAT WE HAVE TO, WHAT WE CAN GET AT.
UM, BUT THAT'S WHY I WAS WONDERING, TO TAKE SOMETHING OFF OF SOMEONE THAT I KNOW CAN USE MORE TIME TO BETTER, TO BETTER SERVE.
WELL, CJ AND I HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS HOW TO GET A HOW TO, HOW TO GET US, UH, HOW TO GET AN ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER ON BOARD SO THAT SOMEBODY WOULD TO, TO GIVE HIM SOME HELP WITH SOME OF THIS STUFF.
BUT IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, THE DOLLARS AREN'T THERE.
AND UNFORTUNATELY THE MARKET IS NOT OUR FRIEND.
THE, THE, SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED TAKING THAT POSITION WERE WAY OUT OF OUR PRICE RANGE.
ABOUT HOW MUCH DOES THE
SO MR. AGUILAR, I APPRECIATE THAT IT'S, UH, THAT THAT MIGHT TWICE WHAT HE YEAH, SO I HAVEN'T, I'LL BE, I'LL BE HONEST WITH YOU, I HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THE, THE MARKET OR THE H G A C SURVEY, SALARY SURVEY FROM THIS YEAR.
BUT I WILL TELL YOU, UH, I HAD TWO ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS AT MY PRE PREVIOUS POSTING.
UH, BOTH OF THEM AFTER I LEFT MAKE MORE THAN, MADE MORE THAN I DO NOW.
ONE OF 'EM HAS GONE ON TO BECOME THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER AT BAYTOWN, AND HE IS MAKING SIGNIFICANTLY MORE THAN I MAKE NOW.
AND SO I WOULD SAY THAT FOR THE RANGE THAT WE, AND WHEN WE GET TOGETHER AND TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS FOR A, LET'S SAY JUST SOMEBODY FRESH OUTTA GRAD SCHOOL GOING TO THAT POSITION, YOU'RE PROBABLY TALKING MID ONE TENS TO ONE 20.
AND THEN YOU'RE GETTING UP ABOVE THAT IF YOU WANT
[00:45:01]
SOMEBODY WITH SOME EXPERIENCE.AND IN THAT GENTLEMAN'S CASE, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMEBODY WITH A DOCTORATE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD AND SOME REALLY SIGNIFICANT SHOPS, UH, IN TERMS OF THEIR SKILLS AND ABILITY.
AND SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE LOOKED AT WHEN I THINK WE FIRST GOT HERE, I, I'D SET ASIDE, I THINK ABOUT $105,000.
'CAUSE I KNEW WHAT I WAS PAYING HIM WHEN I LEFT.
AND I WAS LIKE, HEY, I WOULD LIKE TO RECRUIT ONE OF YOU GUYS TO COME DOWN HERE AND HELP ME OUT.
AND THEY BOTH KIND OF SAID, WELL, AFTER YOU LEFT
AND I SAID, OKAY, THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW.
GLAD YOU GUYS GOT TAKEN CARE OF.
SO, BUT I THINK WE, I'M JUST SPEAKING OFF THE CUFF, BUT I THINK THE LAST TIME THAT I LOOKED LIKE THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER AT LAKE JACKSON WAS LIKE 1 28, 1 38, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
THAT'S THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.
AND I THINK THEY HAVE TWO OF THEM NOW, DON'T THEY? WELL, THEY HAVE A, AN ASSISTANT AND THEN WHAT THEY HAVE, THEY CALL THE ASSISTANT TWO TO THE ASSISTANT.
SO IT'S, IT'S, UH, AND ACTUALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE BOTH GREAT GUY.
ALL THREE OF 'EM ARE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE A GREAT TEAM.
SO, BUT YOU DO THE JOB OF THREE.
WELL THAT'S, I, WELL, WHAT'S, WHEN I WAS ON THE PHONE WITH MODESTO, WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF PHONE CALLS, BUT, UH, WE, I SPENT TWO HOURS DISCUSSING TAX RATE MONDAY, AND HE WAS LIKE, WELL, WHAT'S YOUR BUDGET ANALYSTS THINK ABOUT THIS AND WHAT'S YOUR TAX? I WAS LIKE, DUDE, UH, LET ME CALL CHRIS AND ANGEL AND THE THREE OF US WILL GET TOGETHER AND SEE IF WE CAN COMPETE WITH YOUR TEAM OF NINE THAT YOU HAVE OVER THERE TO DEAL WITH.
SO LIKE, WE'RE NOT LAKE JACKSON WARD BUTTS OVER THERE.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE HISTORY ON IT.
LIKE I SAID, AT, AT THE TIME, WE HAD, WE HAD A CITY MANAGER AND AN ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER AT THE TIME WHEN I CAME HOME.
AND THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER WAS ALSO THE E D C DIRECTOR.
SO WHEN WE PAIRED DOWN TO ONE CITY MANAGER, HE TOOK BOTH, HE TOOK BOTH JOBS.
AND THAT'S THE WAY IT'S BEEN SINCE THEN.
AND IN SOME WAYS IT'S HELPFUL BECAUSE WE'RE A ONE STOP SHOP.
WE GET TO NEGOTIATE THE DEALS RIGHT OFF THE BAT.
THERE'S NO USED CAR TREATMENT FOR SOMEBODY THAT'S LOOKING TO COME IN.
ALL THE INFORMATION YOU GET IS FIRSTHAND, IS STILL SECONDHAND.
I KNOW THERE ARE BENEFITS BECAUSE I MEAN, I COME IN, SPEAK TO CJ MAYBE ONCE A WEEK AND YOU KNOW, WE CAN TALK ABOUT EVERYTHING.
I WOULD HATE TO LOSE THAT LINE OF COMMUNICATION, BUT I, I MEAN, I, I KNOW THAT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO, THEN YOU HAVE TO SCHEDULE THREE MEETINGS.
SORRY, THE MARKET'S EVEN PASSED.
WHAT, WHAT DO WE PAY YOU RIGHT NOW,
SO I APPRECIATE THAT, BUT I GOTTA TAKE CARE OF MY FOLKS.
SO THAT'S PUBLIC RECORD LESS THAN
LESS, LESS THAN A GOOD ONE, APPARENTLY.
SO, BUT, UH, NO, IT'S, IT'S, UH, WE ALL, AND I, IT'S NOT, I WANT TO GIVE THESE GUYS ALL THE CREDIT IN THE WORLD BECAUSE THEY DO WEAR A TON OF HATS.
WELL, I, I WILL TELL YOU THIS MUCH, WHEN I CAME INTO THE OFFICE, ALL THE EMPLOYEES IN THE CITY OF KLUT WERE ABOUT 60 TO 70% OF WHAT OTHER EMPLOYEES IN THE AREA WERE MAKING.
IT'S NOT, I DON'T THINK IT'S QUITE THAT BAD ANYMORE.
WE'VE REALLY WORKED HARD TO CATCH UP THE MARKET AND TRY AND KEEP THAT, KEEP TRIED TO KEEP THAT GOING, TO STAY COMPETITIVE.
UM, LIKE I SAID, THERE'S TWO CITIES TO THE NORTH OF US THAT ARE JUST GOING GANGBUSTERS AND THEY'RE TRYING TO RECRUIT EVERYBODY THEY CAN.
AND I MEAN, IT'S NOT GONNA STOP.
AND, YOU KNOW, AND WE BUILT THE VALUE WITH THE ANTICIPATION THAT WE WERE GONNA BE SECURING ONE, RECEIVING THE RECEIVING THE BENEFIT.
AND THE REALITY IS IS, AND I, I WAS COMMISERATING WITH ROSIE EARLIER WHEN I TOOK A LOOK AT IT.
IF WE HAD STUCK TO OUR MODEL ON TYPICALLY WHAT WE DID WHEN IT WAS THE OLD MODEL, WE'D ACTUALLY HAVE A NICE SURPLUS GOING INTO THIS YEAR BUDGET, GOING BACK INTO THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
[00:50:01]
IF WE STUCK AT 5% GROWTH OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS WITH THE VALUE GROWTH, THAT'S WHERE WE DO.BUT THE REALITY IS, IS WE'RE NOT, AND SO INSTEAD OF A A, A GAIN OF ABOUT $700,000, WE ARE AT A LOSS OR A LOT OPPORTUNITY LOSS OF ABOUT $675,000.
COLLEGE MATH HAS REARED ITS UGLY HEAD.
WHERE WOULD WE BE RIGHT NOW IF WE DIDN'T, HADN'T, HADN'T HAD THE 300% GROWTH? OH, NO.
IF WE'D BE, UH, WE'D BE BANKRUPT.
YES, YOU WOULD BE, YOU WOULD BE.
NO, I'M, I'M, WE'RE, WE'VE GOT PROBLEMS, BUT WE DON'T HAVE SIGNIFICANT OR FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS. YEP.
WELL, ONE THING I'M SURPRISED ABOUT WHEN WE, I GO TO THE CHRISTMAS PARTY AND YOU SEE THOSE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR THE CITY FOR SO MANY YEARS, FOR DECADES.
AND I MEAN, THAT'S A SIGN THAT THIS IS A GOOD PLACE TO WORK.
AND SO YOU, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A FACTOR.
EVERYBODY WORKS FOR A PAYCHECK AND WHEN WE CAN'T, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T KEEP 'EM BELOW WHAT THEY CAN GET IN NEIGHBORING CITIES.
BUT ANOTHER FACTOR IS, YOU KNOW, THE WAY YOU RUN YOUR CITY AND THE WAY YOU TREAT YOUR EMPLOYEES DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU DIDN'T TREAT YOUR EMPLOYEES WELL, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE PEOPLE HERE WORKING 30 YEARS OR WHATEVER.
I WOULD, I WAS SHOCKED WHENEVER I, YOU KNOW, HAD THOSE AWARDS THAT SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN HERE A LONG TIME.
WELL, I THINK IT'S THE, THE IDEAS THAT WE'RE A FAMILY, WE TRY AND TREAT IT LIKE A FAMILY.
WE, AS I TOLD ONE STAFF TODAY, I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU CASH, BUT WE CAN GIVE YOU TIME IF WE CAN TO DEAL WITH WHATEVER IT IS YOU NEED TO DEAL WITH.
WE'LL BE FLEXIBLE AND TRY AND FIGURE OUT A WAY TO KEEP YOU AND TO KEEP THE ORGANIZATION GOING THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN I ONBOARDED, WE HAD, I THINK THREE DEPARTMENT HEADS WITH OVER 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE.
THAT KNOWLEDGE THAT THEY PASSED ON WAS AMAZING AND SUPER, SUPER HELPFUL.
UM, AND SO AS WE START TO WATCH FOLKS, UH, RETIRED, NOT THAT ANYBODY'S ALLOWED TO
UM, BUT AS WE START TO WATCH FOLKS GET TO THAT POINT, IT'S KIND OF, IT'S A SCARY SCENARIO.
AND WE'VE GOT, I KNOW, ONE OR TWO THAT ARE PLANNING ON THE NEXT YEAR LINE STAFF, AND THOSE GUYS ARE A QUALITY FOLKS.
THEY SHOW UP WHEN NOBODY ELSE WILL.
THEY'RE PULLING THE, THE ODD HOURS AND THE HARD STUFF.
B, THEY HAVE A C D L, WHICH IN THIS DAY IS MORE OF A RARE COMMODITY AND THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO KEEP THAT C D L.
AND SO IT'S KIND OF FRIGHTENING TO THINK ABOUT WHO'S GONNA REPLACE 'EM.
WHAT WITH, WITH THAT, WHEN YOU SAID RETIREMENT POPPED UP, SOMETHING IN MY HEAD, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE GONNA, OR IS OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR, IS SHE, SO, UH, CHRIS, UH, SHE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH HER.
UH, SHE KEEPS SAYING SHE'S GONNA DO SOMETHING CALLED RETIRE IN JANUARY.
SO, UH, WHAT WE HAVE DONE IN THE PERSONNEL BUDGET IS WE HAVE SCHEDULED, UH, AN OVERLAP OF 90 DAYS.
SO, UH, OUR IDEA WOULD BE TO HIRE A FINANCE MANAGER OR FINANCE OFFICER TO COME IN, HOPEFULLY STARTING OCTOBER ONE, TO SPEND THAT OCTOBER ONE TO DECEMBER ONE PERIOD, DECEMBER 31 PERIOD WITH HER, SO SHE CAN KIND OF SEE THE FUN STRUCTURE, SEE HOW WE'VE MADE THINGS HAPPEN, AND BE ABLE TO HAND THAT OFF TO WHOEVER THAT PERSON IS WHEN, WHEN SHE IS READY TO RIDE OFF INTO THE SUNSET.
BUT YET SHE IS, SAYS SHE'S, UH, SHE'S HAD ENOUGH FUN AND SHE'S GONNA HANG UP HER 10 KEY.
AND I KEEP REMINDING ME THAT NOBODY GETS OFF THE ISLAND.
SO WE'LL EXPECT HER BACK TO VOLUNTEER.
WE CAN'T PASS AN ORDINANCE THAT SAYS SHE'S NOT ALLOWED TO RETIRE.
APPARENTLY THERE'S FEDERAL LAW THAT PRECLUDES THAT.
I, YOU KNOW, I, SO WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO START GOING OUT FOR ACCEPT TO ACCEPT APPLICATION? SO ANGEL, UH, WELL I'D SAY ANGEL, BUT ANGEL USED AI.
GOOD FIRST
I MEAN, SHE PUT IN THE PARAMETERS, BUT IT WAS LIKE SCARY HOW ON POINT IT WAS.
SO, AND HOW MUCH DO WE HAVE DO FOR THAT? UH, WE SAID AT 80.
AND THEN WE'LL LOOK AT MOVING UP FROM THERE.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S GONNA GET US WHERE WE NEED TO BE.
SO THERE'S SOME, UH, IF YOU LOOK IN, I DON'T WANNA PLAY IT, GIVE AWAY ALL THE INSIDE BASEBALL SECRETS, BUT IF YOU LOOK IN THE FUND FOUR 17 CONTINGENCY, THERE'S SOME SQUISH THERE TO HELP WITH THOSE KIND OF ISSUES.
I'LL TELL Y'ALL THAT E M R S CALLED ME AND SAID THAT 30% OF OUR EMPLOYEES ARE ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
[00:55:01]
THAT WAS A SCARY, THAT'S THE DOWNSIDE OF HAVING EMPLOYEES HERE FOR 30 YEARS.WELL, I KNOW I MADE MY, MY TIME TWO YEARS AGO.
I KNOW, UH, WE GOT SEVERAL PEOPLE THAT MADE THEIR TIME THIS YEAR.
AND SO YEAH, IT'S, IT'S SCARY.
THE GOOD NEWS IS I CAN'T GO ANYWHERE 'CAUSE I GOT KIDS, I GOTTA GET THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL AT LEAST.
SO GOT A COUPLE GOING TO COLLEGE PRETTY QUICK, HUH? YEAH.
I TELL HIM EVERY NIGHT I TELL HER, YOU KNOW, IT'S OKAY TO ELOPE
I DON'T WANT BE THERE TO SEE IT PERSONALLY, AND I DON'T WANT HAVE TO PAY FOR IT.
AND I TELL HIM EVERY NIGHT HE'S GOTTA GET SCHOLARSHIPS.
SO
SO I WAS JUST GONNA ASK, SINCE WE'RE ON THIS SUBJECT, 'CAUSE I MEAN IT'S, IT'S NOT JUST PAYROLL, BUT IT'S ALSO EVERYTHING AROUND THAT GOES WITH THE JOB.
ARE THERE ANY DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE HAVING DRASTIC CUTS OF ANY KIND? NO, MA'AM.
WE, WE'VE AVOIDED LAYING FOLKS OFF IN THIS MODEL.
WE HAVE AVOIDED, BUT NOT LAYING PEOPLE OFF, BUT JUST LIKE DRASTIC CUTS OF LIKE FUNDS TO GET ANYTHING DOWN TO OFFICE SUPPLIES OR ANYTHING? NO, NO MA'AM.
WE'VE, WE'VE, WE WHERE WE, WHERE THEY'RE, THEY WHEN I SAY THEY, THAT THESE PEOPLE, UH, BUT NO, THE DEPARTMENT HAS TO DO A GREAT JOB OF RUNNING EXCEPTIONALLY LEAN.
AND SO, UH, IF THERE WAS CUSHION SOMEWHERE IF THERE WAS SOMETHING WE'D TRY AND HOLD THAT BACK.
BUT THERE'S NOT, I MEAN, THEY ARE REALLY, REALLY GOOD ABOUT MANAGING THEIR PSS AND QSS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE OPERATE AS TIGHTLY AS POSSIBLE.
IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT OUR BUDGET ADOPTION HISTORY, WE HAVE ADOPTED WITH THESE VERY LARGE RED NUMBERS, BUT WE'VE ALWAYS FINISHED IN THE BLACK BECAUSE WE MANAGE AND WE WORK EVERY DAY, CHRIS AND THE DEPARTMENT HEADS TO STAY ON TOP OF THAT, TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT GETTING INTO A PLACE WHERE WE'RE IN TROUBLE.
AND WE HAVE A WHOLE LOT MORE INTERNAL CONTROLS IN PLACE NOW THAN, THAN WERE IN PLACE A FEW YEARS AGO, OR I'D SAY PROBABLY MORE THAN A FEW, PROBABLY EIGHT YEARS AGO, WE DID, WE WERE KIND OF LACKING ON A LOT OF INTERNAL CONTROLS.
AND THROUGH OUR BUDGETING OR THROUGH OUR AUDITING PROCESS AND ALL THAT STUFF, OVER THE YEARS, A LOT OF THAT HAS BEEN FIXED.
UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE, WHEN WE REPLACED THE, THE FIRST CITY MANAGER, WHEN THE, WHEN OUR ORIGINAL CITY MANAGER, 20 PLUS YEARS RETIRED, WE HIRED THE REPLACEMENT FOR THAT.
THE, THE FINANCE FOLKS THAT THEY HAD IN, THAT THEY HAD IN PLACE HADN'T BALANCED THE CHECKBOOK IN OVER A YEAR.
SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS BALANCING THE CHECKBOOK THEY HAD NOT DONE.
THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT LIVE LIKE THAT THOUGH.
SO, BUT THE, THE, AGAIN, OP FROM AN OPERATIONAL STANDPOINT, WE MADE SURE THAT WE GET THE SUPPLIES, THE EQUIPMENT THAT ARE NECESSARY.
'CAUSE THAT'S REALLY WHAT I'M WORRIED ABOUT.
JUST MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY'S GOT THE SAFETY EQUIPMENT THAT NEED AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.
WELL, WHEN I DID THE DOOM AND GLUE AGONY ON ME MEETING AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THIS PROCESS, UM, I, I MADE SURE THAT THEY KNEW PRIORITY WAS PEOPLE AND DON'T, DON'T SCRIMP, MAKE SURE YOU'VE GOT ENOUGH TO DO THE JOB, BUT DON'T, AND THEY'RE NOT EXTRAVAGANT.
SO, I MEAN, JOHN ASKED FOR THAT HOT TUB THAT ONE TIME, BUT WE
WELL, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE OPTIONS AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, YOU KNOW, IF IF WE, IF WE HAVE TO HAVE A CERTAIN PIECE OF EQUIPMENT TO GET SOMETHING DONE, WE CAN RENT IT IF WE HAVE TO.
AND THAT, THAT MEANS A, A VERY SHORT TERM COST VERSUS BUYING A $300,000 PIECE OF EQUIPMENT AND RIGHT.
AND THAT'S WHEN WE TOOK A LOOK AT THE VEHICLES THIS YEAR.
I MEAN, THE, AS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER, BUT WE SAT DOWN AND WERE LIKE, THESE ARE THE ABSOLUTE NEEDS.
LET'S GO WITH THE ABSOLUTE NEED.
AND THE AMBULANCE, I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT WE HAD PUT THAT IN THE BUDGET.
I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT HAD BEEN ASKED FOR.
AND I WAS LIKE, I'M HAVING AN HEART ATTACK.
I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S NOT GONNA BREAK DOWN GETTING TO ME
WELL, YOU'VE GOT, SO YOU'VE GOT TWO AMBULANCES AND IT'S LIKE THE, THE OLD RULE SAYS IF YOU GET TWO, YOU'VE GOT ONE.
IF YOU GET ONE, YOU'VE GOT NONE.
AND, UM, IN OUR CASE, WE HAVE TWO, THIS THIRD ONE, IF BOTH OF THOSE, LET'S SAY HYPOTHETICALLY THERE'S A MAJOR ACCIDENT IN RICHWOOD THAT THOSE GUYS ARE RESPONDING TO, WE'RE NOT HAVING TO CALL SOMEBODY IN TO HANDLE THAT FOR US.
OR IF WE NEED TO DO A LONG TRANSPORT, UM, I DON'T THINK WE'LL EVER SEE ANYTHING LIKE COVID AGAIN.
BUT WE HAD ONE TRANSPORT THAT WAS FOUR AND A HALF HOURS TRYING
[01:00:01]
TO FIND A BED.I DON'T THINK WE'LL EVER BE THERE.
BUT IF WE HAVE TO TAKE SOMEBODY TO HOUSTON, THAT'S BASICALLY THREE HOURS OF TIME LOST THAT WE'RE DOWN TO ONE TRUCK COME A LONG WAY IN 10 YEARS.
I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS.
STILL GOT A WAYS TO GO, BUT WE CAME A LONG WAY IN 10 YEARS AND IF THE STATE HAD PUT HANDCUFFS ON US, WE'D ALREADY BE THERE.
WITHOUT BRINGING ANY NEGATIVITY OR QUESTION.
AND I KNOW I, I HAD, I WAS GETTING A REPORT BECAUSE IT WAS A NUMBER THAT ALWAYS DO WE HAVE A GUESSTIMATION OF WHERE WE'RE AT ON THE E M S AS FAR AS WHAT YOUR OPERATING IS AND WHAT YOU, WHAT WE'RE HAVING TO ADD TO, OR THE OPERATING, I GUESS, PER SE? YEAH, SO, UM, OH, I'M NOT ON MY COMPUTER.
UH, IF YOU DON'T, THAT'S FINE.
YEAH, I CAN, I CAN GIVE YOU, THIS ISN'T THE TIME RIGHT NOW.
I CAN GIVE YOU TRUE UP NUMBERS.
I CAN TELL YOU THAT FOR THE FIRST YEAR IN FIVE YEARS, INSURANCE IS PAYING MORE.
SO I GOTTA GIVE CREDIT TO CORONAS.
THEY'VE ACTUALLY INCREASED THAT RECOVERY RATE OF ABOUT, WE WERE AVERAGING 18 TO 21%.
THEY'VE GOTTEN US, I THINK THIS YEAR ALMOST 34% RECOVERY, WHICH IS VERY, VERY NICE.
UH, IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'RE THE OPERATING COST ARE, UH, WE'RE A LITTLE BIT LOWER THAN WE WERE LAST YEAR PER TRUCK RUN.
SO, UH, I THINK LAST YEAR WE WERE AT 6 26 PER RUN.
THIS YEAR WE'RE ABOUT 5 79 PER RUN.
SO, UM, AND THEN IN TERMS OF REVENUE, LIKE I SAID, WE ARE UP ON THE INSURANCE.
I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG THAT'LL LAST TO BE HONEST WITH YOU.
AND I'LL, TO BE VERY HONEST WITH YOU ALSO, UH, OUR OWN HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IS TURNING AROUND AND ASKING US, TRYING TO CLAW BACK AND WE'RE LIKE, NOPE.
NO, NO, THE BILL WAS ACCURATE.
YOU ADMIT THAT THE BILL WAS ACCURATE.
JUST BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU OVERPAID DOESN'T MEAN YOU DID.
SO WE'VE HAD, YOU KNOW, OVER THE, OVER THE 18 YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN HERE, WE'VE, WE'VE HAD TO PULL OUT A GENERAL FUND OR OUT OF RESERVE FOR THAT DEPARTMENT EVERY YEAR SINCE I'VE BEEN BEEN HERE.
AND IT'S BEEN ANYWHERE FROM 200,000 TO A HALF MILLION.
SO I DON'T KNOW THAT, I DON'T KNOW.
I CAN TELL, YOU KNOW, ONE TIME WE HAD EM IN A ME OUT WITH THAT, BUT YEAH, WELL, WE HAD 'EM IN A SEPARATE FUNDS IN MY MIND.
E M S, FIRE POLICE, THOSE ARE GENERAL FUNCTIONS OF THE CITY.
THEY'RE PUBLIC SAFETY FUNCTIONS.
I RAN AN ANALYSIS, I THINK IT WAS TWO YEARS AGO, WHAT WOULD IT COST US IF WE PRIVATIZED AND BROUGHT ANOTHER SERVICE IN? AND IT WOULD'VE BEEN A SIGNIFICANT NET LOSS TO US, AND WE WOULD'VE INCREASED THE BURDEN ON THE LOCAL RESIDENTS.
BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, IF YOU GET, YOU GET A BILL FROM US, BUT UNLESS YOUR INSURANCE IS PAID, YOU DON'T PAY A DIME.
AND WE DON'T WANT YOU TO PAY A DIME IF YOU, IF YOU'RE PARTICIPATING IN THE VOLUNTARY PROGRAM.
SO BASICALLY WE GET THE INSURANCE COST, AND THAT'S IT FROM THE FOLKS THAT WE TRANSPORT FROM HERE.
IF YOU HAVE A THIRD PARTY VENDOR, NO ACADIANA, A M R, NONE OF THOSE GUYS ARE GOING TO AGREE TO THAT.
SO THEY'RE GONNA GO, THEY'RE GONNA INCREASE THE BURDEN ON THE, ON THE, ON THE RESIDENT.
WE WOULD LOSE MONEY FROM AN OPERATIONAL PERSPECTIVE.
AND QUITE FRANKLY, THE SERVICE, UH, WOULD BE TERRIBLE.
YOU WOULDN'T GET, UH, GUYS GOING OFF DUTY TO PICK UP CELL PHONES.
THAT LITTLE LADIES LEFT SOMEWHERE ELSE.
SO, WHICH HAPPENS NEXT? IT'S NEXT.
KINDA LIKE I ORDERED THIS 1 0 4
IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHETHER YOU'RE TALKING TO THE PEOPLE THAT JOIN IT OR THE ONE PAYING FOR IT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE BUDGET? I DID HAVE A QUESTION.
THE GOATS, ARE WE STILL THINKING OF THE GOATS DOING THAT? THE ARE INCLUDED, IF YOU LOOK ACTUALLY IN THE EQUIPMENT EXPENDITURE FOR FOUR 11 AND FOUR 16, THERE IS MONEY IN THERE TO LOOK TO EXPLORE GOATS OR ROBOTS.
UM, THOSE ARE FORCE MULTIPLIERS.
AND UM, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE TWO JOHN, TWO FULL-TIME GUYS IN MOWING.
YOU HAVE TWO FULL-TIME GUYS MOWING, TWO FULL GUYS, TWO FULL-TIME MOWERS AND TWO TEMPS, TWO TEMPS.
SO, UH, TRYING TO KEEP UP RIGHT IS A CONSTANT STRUGGLE IN MY MIND.
IF WE CAN BRING IN THE GATES AND RIGHT.
LET THAT BE A FORCE MULTIPLIER FOR US AND REDUCE A LITTLE BIT OF COST, I THINK IT'S A GREAT, GREAT IDEA.
IF IT'S ROBOTS, THAT'S EVEN, THAT'S COOL TOO.
UH, WE JUST, MY THOUGHT WAS, IS YOU COULD HAVE ONE GUY MOWING AND THEN OPERATING OR LETTING THE ROBOT OPERATE ON ITS OWN IN AN AREA WHERE IT'S AUTONOMOUS AND PROBLEMATIC.
[01:05:01]
IF WE CAN GET 'EM AND PUT 'EM IN THE DITCHES, THAT'S THE BETTER WAY TO GO.UM, BECAUSE THAT WAY WE'RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT A SLOPE MOWER OR PEOPLE FALLING OR ANYTHING ELSE.
'CAUSE GOATS DO PRETTY WELL WHEN THEY'RE ON STEEP HILLS.
SO STILL IN THE KNEE THEY HAVE A TENDER.
THEY COME WITH A, THEY HAVE A GOAT HERDER.
YEAH, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, WITH THIS TOWN, PEOPLE DO EAT GOATS.
NO, RITO IS ALWAYS A GOOD THING.
BUT YEAH, NO, THEY, THEY HAVE A, A GOAT HERD IN THE DOG THAT COMES WITH THE PACKAGE.
AND SO, UH, AND THEY ADDED THE OTHER ADDED BENEFIT AND WILL FOUND THIS OUT.
I WE'RE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT, HOW HE FOUND THAT OUT, BUT WHEN THEY TAKE CARE OF THEIR BUSINESS, UH, THEY NEUTRALIZE THE SEEDS OF WHATEVER THEY'VE EATEN SO IT WON'T GROW BACK, WHICH IS PRETTY DANG COOL.
SO, SO YOU CAN JUST GO BACK AND SPREAD IT.
YOU JUST GO BACK AND, WELL, I MEAN, WHEN THEY'RE, THEY DO A PRETTY GOOD JOB.
SO, SO WE WON'T, SO WE WON'T HAVE GREENS.
WE, WE SACKS GROWING IN THE DITCHES.
ONCE THEY EAT THOSE, HOPEFULLY ONCE THEY EAT THEM, THEY'RE GONE.
SO WHAT'S OUR TAX WRITTEN DISCUSSION? COMPLETE ON THE BUDGET OVER.
[III. BUSINESS ITEMS]
RIGHT.WE'LL MOVE TO BUSINESS ITEMS. AND THE FIRST ITEM IS FINANCIAL REPORT FOR QUARTER ENDING AND JUNE 30TH, 2023.
AND I APOLOGIZE 'CAUSE THE ROLE OF CHRIS KNOX WILL BE PLAYED BY AN UGLY, BALD DUDE.
SO, UM, UH, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'VE HAD A HEALTHY YEAR, UH, ACTUAL YEAR TO DATE.
UH, WE'RE ABOVE PROJECTED REVENUE IN TERMS OF PROPERTY TAXES AT 3.9 ALREADY.
UM, SALES TAX IS AT 2.4, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT BEHIND WHERE WE WERE LAST YEAR.
UH, IF THE TREND LINE CONTINUES, WE'RE 2.3% BELOW RIGHT NOW, JULY AND AUGUST, UH, ARE USUALLY SOFT MONTHS FOR US.
AUGUST, A LITTLE BIT BETTER THAN JULY, BUT NOT MUCH.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE CAME UP WITH THE 4.25, UH, DECLINATION FIGURE, ESPECIALLY AFTER SEEING THE JULY FIGURES THAT CAME IN.
I MENTIONED THE, THE, UH, INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT.
WE ENDED UP BRINGING IN 2.1, SO THAT WAS VERY FAVORABLE.
UH, FRANCHISE TAXES ARE LAGGING JUST A LITTLE BIT.
WE DO HAVE A SITUATION THAT WE'LL BE TALKING TO COUNSEL ABOUT, UH, IN REGARDS TO OUR DEAR FRIENDS AT CENTER POINT GAS.
IT'S TIME TO RENEW THAT FRANCHISE.
WE HAVE A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION ABOUT WHAT THAT'S WORTH AND WHAT OUR ROLE IS IN THAT PROCESS.
SO, UH, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT LATER.
UH, HOTEL MOTEL TAXES ARE UP COMPARED TO WHERE WE WERE THIS TIME LAST YEAR.
UH, BUT WE'RE STILL NOT WHERE WE HAVE BEEN.
UH, AND IN LOOKING, EVERYBODY WAS FULL THIS WEEKEND, WHICH WAS GREAT, BUT THEN YOU LOOK IN THEIR CONTRACT VEHICLES AND SO YOU KNOW THAT THEY'VE BEEN THERE FOR THAT 30 DAY PERIOD.
WE'RE NOT GETTING THIS OUT THERE.
THE REVENUE OFF OF THOSE ANYMORE.
UH, MUNICIPAL COURT, WE'RE LAGGING JUST A LITTLE BIT.
PERMITS WERE DOWN JUST A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE'RE GETTING READY TO CATCH UP.
I WILL SAY THAT I TALKED WITH OUR GOOD FRIEND, UH, ACTUALLY BOTH OF OUR GOOD FRIENDS, MR. KANAKA AND MR. KIRK THIS WEEK.
THEY BOTH ARE LOOKING TO BRING ADDITIONAL STOCK ONLINE THIS NEXT YEAR.
UH, AND ONE IS KIND OF EXCITING 'CAUSE IT'S GONNA BE, UH, A NEW AREA.
UH, AND WE THINK WE CAN GET 31 HOMES IN THAT AREA THAT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE VALUE.
UM, BOTH OF THE D I'M SORRY, SAID BOTH OF THE DS.
UM, AGAIN, TALKING ABOUT E M S, YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENTIAL.
UH, WE'RE UP ALMOST 70 TO THE GOOD THIS YEAR.
A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN 70 TO THE GOOD.
UH, GARBAGE IS UP, WATER AND SEWER UP.
UM, ALL IN ALL, UH, TOTAL REVENUES WE'RE AT 16.7.
WE DID SPEND, UH, OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND AND OUT OF THE E D C FUND, ROUGHLY $2.6 MILLION TO RETIRE THE MORTGAGE ON THE KROGER.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS NUMBER NEXT MONTH, IT WON'T BE THAT SAME.
WE'LL BE DOWN ABOUT 2 MILLION, BUT WE'RE STILL VERY, VERY HEALTHY OVERALL.
HERE'S WHERE THINGS START TO GET UGLY.
UM, THIS IS SALES TAX YEAR TO DATE.
UH, AS YOU CAN SEE, MILDLY LOWER THAN WHAT WE HAD BEEN LAST YEAR.
WE DON'T KNOW WHETHER THAT WAS, WHETHER IT'S AN ANOMALY OR NOT, BUT I'M JUST, WHAT I'M HEARING FROM OUR PARTNERS NEXT DOOR AND FROM OTHER PLACES THAT FOLKS ARE BACK IN THE STORES AND THAT'S WHAT'S LED TO THE DECLINE.
IT'S NOT SIGNIFICANT UNTIL IT BECOMES SIGNIFICANT.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, WE STARTED OFF REALLY, REALLY STRONG AT THE START OF THE FISCAL YEAR, OCTOBER LAST YEAR, 2 71, UP TO ALMOST 60,000 360 4, 2 57.
SO WE WERE KNOCKING 'EM OUTTA THE PARK AND THEN JANUARY CAME, AND I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT WAS
[01:10:01]
UNCERTAINTY OR WHAT, BUT WE STARTED, WE HAD ONE REALLY GOOD MONTH, AND THEN SINCE THEN WE HAVE FALLEN OFF.AND THAT TREND LOOKS TO BE CONTINUING.
UH, WE ARE KEEPING AN EYE ON IT, AND THAT'S WHY WE DID LOWER OUR BUDGET REVENUE PROJECTIONS GOING INTO THE 2024 CYCLE.
UH, JUST BECAUSE WE THINK THAT TREND LINE'S GONNA CONTINUE.
WE WILL BE BRINGING IN, WE DO HAVE THOSE NEW BUSINESSES THAT WE KNOW ARE GONNA COME ONLINE, BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE REVENUE GENERATION IS GONNA BE.
HOW MANY, UH, BUCKETS OF CHICKEN ARE GONNA SELL, HOW MUCH GUM IS GONNA SELL AT THE, AT THE ROAD STAR? WE JUST DON'T KNOW YET.
BUT WE'VE ALL ALSO HAD THE BUSINESSES CLOSED LAST YEAR TOO, DIDN'T WE? THAT'S CORRECT.
WE'VE LOST A, WE'VE LOST A FEW.
UM, AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, THE MARKET, GIVEN TO THE MARKET, TAKE IT AWAY, UH, COMPARED TO BUDGET, WE'RE STILL IN A VERY HEALTHY POSITION.
UH, WE FEEL LIKE WE'RE ON SOLID FINANCIAL FOOTING IN TERMS OF EXPENDITURES.
LET ME MOVE TO CASH ANALYSIS AND CASH ON HAND.
WE WERE AHEAD OF WHERE WE WERE IN 6 30, 22, AND AT THE END OF LAST FISCAL YEAR, UH, BY ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS IN, IN GENERAL FUNDS, UH, OTHER GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS WERE EXCEPTIONALLY HEALTHY, UH, AND CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN A HEALTHY BALANCE THERE.
AND AGAIN, THAT 27 NUMBER COMES BACK DOWN TO 25.
WE'RE ACTUALLY A LITTLE UNDER A LITTLE UNDER 25 ONCE YOU FACTOR OUT THE PAYMENT THAT WE MADE TO RETIRE THE DEBT OR RETIRE THE, THE, THE FIGURE OWED TO, UH, TO, UH, CINCO WEITZMAN, UH, HERE'S OUR CAPITAL PROJECT AND CAPITAL BUDGETS.
UH, WE ADDED THE MAIN STREET REMODEL.
UH, WE HOPE TO TURN THAT INTO A REVENUE GENERATOR FOR US.
SO IF YOU KNOW SOMEBODY THAT'S LOOKING FOR SOME OFFICE SPACE, IT'S VERY NICE.
UH, WE DID GO AHEAD AND PURCHASE THE TAHOES.
UH, WE MADE THE, ALL THE VEHICLE PURCHASES AND CREDIT AGAIN TO ALICIA HAMMOND FOR GETTING OUT AND BUSTING HER.
YOU KNOW WHAT WE, SHE BIRD DOGG VEHICLES LIKE NOBODY'S BUSINESS AND FOUND 'EM WHEN SOME OTHER FOLKS COULDN'T.
SO, UH, WE REALLY WANT, WE GREATLY APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, YOU CAN SEE WE'VE GOT THE C D B G ENGINEERING, UH, THE OH 5 4 9.
WE, UH, HAD BUDGETED $5 MILLION WORTH OF EXPENDITURES.
AND WE'VE HIT THE, THE GRAND TOTAL, I THINK 47 8 40 7,800 SO FAR.
UH, THEY SUBMITTED AN UPDATE TODAY.
UH, THEY'RE MOVING, THEY'VE MOVED THEIR TIMELINE AHEAD ABOUT A MONTH, BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT.
SO WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT A LATE 2024, BUT REALLY 2025, UH, TIMELINE FOR CONSTRUCTION THERE.
THE OTHER ISSUE THAT WE HAD THAT WE GOT THEIR PRELIMINARY, UH, INDICATOR ON WHAT THEY EXPECTED THE CONSTRUCTION COST TO COME OUT, AND THEY WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN OUR ESTIMATES.
UM, I HOPE THEY'RE WRONG AND THEY'LL HAVE PROMISED US THAT WE'LL HAVE DIALED IN BETTER DIALED IN NUMBERS BY SEPTEMBER.
UH, BUT WE MAY HAVE TO REFRAME THAT PROJECT AND TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE PRIORITIZE IN THAT PROJECT, UH, GOING FORWARD.
SO, UM, THAT'S IF WE DON'T DISTURB ANY OTHER BURIAL SITES ALONG THE WAY.
AND THAT'S ALL WE HAVE ON THE FINANCIAL REPORT.
AS I SAID, EVERYTHING RIGHT NOW LOOKS VERY SOLID.
UH, WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT NEXT YEAR, BUT WE WILL DO WHAT WE DO BEST.
AND THAT'S LESS, MORE WITH LESS.
LESS WITH MORE, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT WE DO,
THAT'S NOT WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
ROSIE, DO YOU HAVE THE PACKET ON TAXES IN THIS SECTION? UM, IT'S WHAT WE SENT OUT ON TUESDAY.
THE NEXT ITEM WOULD BE, ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THE FINANCIAL REPORT? OKAY, HEARING AIN'T NONE.
NEXT ITEM WILL BE CONSIDERATION OF POSSIBLE ACTION TO TAKE A RECORD VOTE ON A PROPOSED TAX RATE OF 0.4666, WHICH IS A TAX INCREASE OF 3.5%, WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO THE VOTER APPROVED TAX RATE TO BE CONSIDERED AT A FUTURE COUNCIL MEETING FOLLOWING A PUBLIC HEARING.
SO THAT BEING SAID, WE NEED TO SEE, NEED TO HAVE A RECORD VOTE ON WHO IS IN FAVOR OF THIS PROPOSED RATE, WHICH AS CJ MENTIONED, IS A LITTLE OVER THIR OR RIGHT AT 13 CENTS LOWER THAN OUR CURRENT RATE.
SO HOW DO WE EXPLAIN THIS? OKAY, SO THIS IS EVERY YEAR.
I APOLOGIZE THIS YEAR, MY LEFT HAND IS JACKED UP.
I KNOW YOU GUYS LOOK FORWARD TO THE FOUR PAGE SOLILOQUY I GIVE YOU ON TRUTH AND TAXATION.
UH, AND THE STATE TWEAKED THE RULES A LITTLE BIT, IF YOU RECALL, FOUR YEARS OR SIX YEARS AGO.
NOW THAT, UH, HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN? NO, IT'S BEEN FOUR YEARS SINCE WE DID AWAY WITH THE ROLLBACK RATE.
WE INSTITUTED THE NEW TREATMENT TAXATION THAT REFERS TO THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE, WHICH
[01:15:01]
USED TO BE THE EFFECTIVE RATE AND THE ROLLBACK RATE, WHICH IS NOW THE VOTER APPROVED TAX RATE IN THE OLD DAYS.FINALLY, LOOKING BACK, THE ROLLBACK RATE WAS 8.5%.
SO THEY CUT IT BY MORE THAN HALF.
SO AS VALUE GOES UP, IT COMPRESSES THE RATE AUTOMATICALLY.
AND I CAN, WE CAN GO DO TO THIS LOVELY 10 PAGE WORKSHEET THAT EXPLAINS BASICALLY WHERE WE STARTED VALUE-WISE LAST YEAR, HOW THE VALUE WAS ADDED TO THIS YEAR, GIVING US A REVISED TOTAL VALUE OF 7 74, 7 77 0 4 1, 1 0 1 9, THAT IS CERTIFIED GUARANTEED VALUE.
THEN YOU HAVE THE PROTEST VALUE.
THIS IS WHAT IS, THIS IS WHAT THE, SO THE CAT IS ARGUING THAT THAT FIGURE IS ACTUALLY 1 59.
THE INDIVIDUALS ARE SAYING IT'S ACTUALLY 1 42.
SO THERE'S ABOUT $17 MILLION IN PLAY.
THIS IS THE NUMBER WE USE THEN TO DETERMINE WHAT THE TOTAL TAXABLE VALUE IS.
UH, IT'LL PROBABLY FINISH A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN THAT NUMBER, BUT WE'LL BE AT 9 19 839.
UH, HISTORICALLY SPEAKING, THE CAD OR THE APPRA, THE CAD USUALLY DOESN'T LOWER A VALUE MORE THAN 5%.
SO I DON'T SEE THAT SWING CHANGING RIGHT NOW.
I KNOW JEFF, UH, IS THE CHAMPION OF GETTING STUFF DONE UP THERE, BUT, UH, YOU PROBABLY COULD SELL THAT SERVICE, BUT, UH, BUT WE DON'T SEE THE INTRINSIC VALUE COMING DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND SO WHAT HAPPENS IS AS THAT VALUE GOES UP, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO RAISE THE REVENUE ABOVE A CERTAIN NUMBER, IT AUTOMATICALLY COMPRESSES THE RATE.
AND SO WE HAVE NO CONTROLLABLE WHAT THE APPRAISAL IS.
THAT IS A HUNDRED PERCENT THEM.
ALL WE CAN CONTROL IS THE RATE THAT WE SET.
AND SO IF YOU TAKE A LOOK HERE BASED ON THIS, THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE, WHICH IS A MISNOMER FROM THE GETGO.
AND SO IS THE TERM TRUTH IN TAXATION, THIS NUMBER WILL NEVER BE TRUE OR IT WILL NEVER NOT BE A NO NEW REVENUE RATE BECAUSE THERE IS ALWAYS CHANGE IN VALUE IN FLUXX AND NEW VALUE COMING ON.
BUT THAT IS, IF WE WERE TO GENERATE THE SAME AMOUNT OF REVENUE NEXT YEAR AS WE INTEND TO GENERATE THIS YEAR, THAT WOULD BE THE RATE THAT WE SET.
SO IF WE WANTED TO STAND PAT, THAT WOULD BE THE NUMBER THAT WE WOULD GO TO.
OH, TWO STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION IS THAT WE DON'T DO THAT.
BECAUSE AS YOU COMPRESS, AS YOU STOP GOING TO WHATEVER THAT NUMBER IS IN THE FUTURE, YOU LOSE THAT MARGIN GOING FORWARD.
THE STATE'S NEVER GONNA COME BACK AND SAY, WE'RE GONNA LIFT THE REVENUE CAP AND YOU CAN GO CRAZY.
SO WHAT ENDS UP HAPPENING IS, IS WE GOT COMPRESSED FROM EIGHT AND A HALF, AND TYPICALLY SPEAKING, WE NEVER WENT TO EIGHT AND A HALF.
WE STAYED IN THAT FOUR AND A HALF TO SIX RANGE.
WHEN WE DID OUR RATE INCREASES, WELL UNDER THE ROLLBACK, STRONG FISCAL STEWARDSHIP, WE NEVER GOT TO THAT LEVEL.
BUT NOW THE PLAY ISN'T EIGHT POINT A HALF PERCENT.
IT'S NOT FOUR POINT A HALF PERCENT, IT'S THREE POINT A HALF PERCENT.
AND SO ONCE YOU GIVE THAT GAP UP, YOU NEVER GET IT BACK AND YOU CAN'T.
WE CAN DO WHAT'S CALLED THE DE MINIMIS RATE, BUT THAT GETS INTO SOME FUNKY QUANTUM PHYSICS MATH THAT I DON'T WANNA BE A PART OF AND Y'ALL DON'T WANNA BE A PART OF EITHER BECAUSE THERE'S FLOATING DECIMALS AND THEN YOU PLAY CATCH UP IN YEAR FIVE AND HAVE TO BASICALLY HOLD THE LINE AND THAT MAY NOT BE ADVANTAGEOUS TO THE CITY.
SO OUR RECOMMENDATION IS THE ROLLBACK RATE, THAT RATE IS 4.6 6 7 4 6 6 6 7 3.
UH, I HAVE MODELED IT A LITTLE BIT LOWER, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY IT WAS A $5,000 DIFFERENCE.
AND MY THOUGHT WAS LET'S JUST GO AHEAD AND GO THERE.
UH, HERE THIS CHART LAYS OUT THE, IN DETAIL WHAT OUR VALUES HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY, WHAT THE CHANGE IN VALUE HAS BEEN HISTORICALLY, WHAT THE ACTUAL TAXABLE VALUE HAS BEEN OR THE NEW VALUE COMING ONLINE HAS BEEN HISTORICALLY, WHAT THE RATE HAS BEEN.
SO, UH, IN 2023 YEARS AGO, WE HAD A, A RATE OF RIGHT AT 72 CENTS, I THINK WE BUMPED ALL THE WAY DOWN TO 69, 2007, 2008.
WE HELD THAT NUMBER UNTIL 20 15, 20 16.
AND THEN WE STAYED RIGHT AT RIGHT IN THAT SAME BALLPARK OVER TIME.
UH, BUT NOW WE'RE ABLE TO GO SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER.
AND I'M LOOKING AT THE M AND O RATE HERE.
TOTAL COLLECTION IS WHERE YOU WANNA BE ON THE FAR RIGHT SIDE.
AND SO THIS IS OUR TOTAL COLLECTION, OUR TOTAL RATE GOING HISTORICALLY SPEAKING.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S OUR, UH, THE I N S RATE I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.
THE M AND O, THIS IS THE MONEY THAT I GUESS I, I DON'T WANNA SAY THAT THAT'S OUR MAD MONEY, BUT THAT'S THE MONEY WE HAVE TO OPERATE ON IN TERMS OF THE GENERAL FUND.
AND THEN LOOKING AT THE IMPACT TO HOMEOWNERS.
THIS IS LAST YEAR'S MODEL, UH, WHEN WE WERE AT 59.4 WHEN I THINK WE ENDED UP ADOPTING AT THAT NUMBER.
[01:20:01]
SO THE TAX BURDEN, IF YOUR HOME STAYED AT ITS VALUE, WHICH IT DIDN'T, NO, YOU WOULD SEE A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN YOUR TAX RATE.NOBODY'S HOME STATED THEIR NUMBERS.
MATTER OF FACT, I DEBATED ABOUT CHANGING THE BASELINE NUMBERS HERE FROM TWO 100 TO 200 AND MOVING 'EM UP THAT WAY BECAUSE THE REALITY IS, IS EVERYBODY'S VALUES HAVE GONE UP SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND SO THEIR TAXES ARE GONNA GO UP EVEN THOUGH WE'RE REDUCING THE RATE AND WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES.
YOU'RE GONNA SEE THE, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT REDUCE THEIR RATE.
YOU'RE GONNA SEE THE COUNTY REDUCE THEIR RATE BECAUSE THEIR VA TOTAL VALUES HAVE GONE THROUGH THE ROOF AS WELL.
BUT THAT VALUE GOING UP MAY COMPRESS THE RATE.
IT'S NOT GONNA MAKE YOUR TAX BILL ANYMORE ANY MORE PALATABLE.
WELL, OR IF YOU WANT ME TO COME TRY AND EXPLAIN IT, I CAN ALLY, THEY ASKED ME, I GO, WELL, THIS IS WHAT WE DO.
BASICALLY WE COULD RAISE THREE POINT A HALF MORE PERCENT REVENUE THAT WE RAISED LAST YEAR.
SO I MEAN, PLUS NEW VALUE, RIGHT? SO IF ALL THEY'RE GONNA READ IS INCREASE, I KNOW, BUT I MEAN THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
I MEAN, WE CAN, WE CAN ONLY, WE CAN ONLY COLLECT THREE AND A HALF PERCENT MORE DOLLARS THAN WE DID LAST YEAR.
AND THAT'S SET, HUH? AND THAT IS SET, THAT'S SET BY THE STATE.
THAT'S ALL WE'RE ALLOWED TO GO TO.
UNLESS YOU WANNA GO TO THE, SO THIS OVER HERE, UNLESS YOU WANT TO GO TO, UNLESS YOU WANT TO HAVE AN ELECTION AND LET PEOPLE VOTE OR YOU WANNA GO TO THE ADMINIS RATE, WHICH IS A THREE YEAR CYCLE AND YOU COULD GENERATE, IN THAT CASE IT DOESN'T PLAY TO THE HOMEOWNER'S BENEFIT.
IT ACTUALLY IS SIGNIFICANTLY HARDER ON THEM BECAUSE IT'S A MUCH HIGHER RATE.
IF YOU TAKE A LOOK, WE'RE 4 CENTS OVER WHERE WE WOULD BE IF WE WENT TO DIMINISH RATE AND THEN IN YEAR THREE WE WOULD LOP OFF AN APPORTIONMENT OF THAT AND THEN WE'D HAVE TO HOLD STEADY FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
I THINK WE STAY WHERE WE'RE AT AT 3.5%.
UM, AND IT ALLOWS US THE GROWTH THAT WE NEED.
'CAUSE I DOUBT THERE'S VERY MANY BUSINESSES THAT WOULD CONTINUE TO OPEN THE DOOR IF THEY WERE JUST GUARANTEED THAT THEY COULD MAKE 3.5% MORE NEXT YEAR.
AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THE HUSTLE AND THE SALES TAX.
WE HAVE HARD ENOUGH TIME GIVING OUR PEOPLE RAISES NOW.
SO IF THERE WAS SOMEBODY THAT DIDN'T HAVE AN APPRAISAL INCREASE, THEY WILL ACTUALLY PAY LESS TAXES THIS YEAR.
BUT I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY ONE IN 1 MILLION.
I SAID IF THERE WAS ONE, THEY WILL ACTUALLY PAY LESS TAXES AND IT'S QUITE A BIT LESS TAXES.
AND I DON'T DRAG THIS OUT, BUT I JUST HAVE TO ASK.
UM, AND I KNOW IT'S YEAR BY YEAR, UM, AND MIGHT NOT EVEN SAY IT.
WHAT? I JUST, I JUST DON'T SEE NEXT YEAR'S VALUE NOT DROPPING.
NO, IT'S NOT GONNA, OH, YOU THINK IT'LL BOUNCE AND COME BACK DOWN? IT HAS NO CHALK.
I WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT HERE.
WELL, I, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THEN THINK FOR SALES SIGNS CONTINUES TO GROW AND THE RENT SIGNS STAY IN THE YARDS LONGER MM-HMM.
WHEN, WHEN PEOPLE START, WHEN WHEN THEY, THESE 1400 APARTMENTS, THEY'RE SITTING VACANT THAT BECAUSE THEY'RE MOVING IN WITH MOM AND DAD MM-HMM.
250,000 HOUSES THIS YEAR WON'T BRING 250,000 NEXT YEAR.
DOES THAT, DOES THAT AFFECT APPRAISAL? I DON'T KNOW.
ACCORDING TO THEM IT'S ALL ABOUT SALES.
I I DON'T, I, I DON'T WANT TO BE A POSITIVE, BUT I JUST FROM A REALITY CHECK.
AND I GUESS YOU ADJUSTED AT THAT POINT.
IT, IT IS A YEAR TO YEAR THING.
IT SAID WE CAN'T, SO THAT'S HOW IT'LL FLUCTUATE.
WELL, IF, IF THE MARKET CORRECTS ITSELF AND IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO YOU'RE THREE AND A HALF PERCENT THERE WITH, IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO THESE NUMBERS RIGHT HERE.
LIKE I SAID, I MEAN, YOU CAN, YOU COULD, THE NEXT YEAR, IF WE HAVE TO, WE COULD GO TO THE DE MINIMUS RATE IF WE HAVE TO.
IT'S STILL THE DE MINIMUS RATE NEXT YEAR IS STILL GONNA BE LESS THAN OUR CURRENT RATE THIS YEAR.
UNLESS, UNLESS IT GOES BACK TO WHAT IT WAS BEFORE.
IF IT CORRECTS THAT MUCH, WE ARE IN A WHOLE HEAP OF TROUBLE.
IF WE, IF IT CORRECTS THAT MUCH, THE STATE'S GONNA BE IN TROUBLE TOO.
[01:25:01]
WE'RE ALREADY IN TROUBLE FOR PUTTING UP BUOY, SO WE'LL BE ON OH YEAH.DO, DO I NEED A MOTION FOR THIS OR? YES, SIR.
THIS IS A RECORD VOTE WE HAVE TO TAKE.
THAT'S, I'M SAYING THIS IS JUST, THIS IS A RECORD VOTE ON THIS ITEM.
AND THIS IS AGAIN, THE START OF THE DISCUSSION.
WE WILL GET TO HEAR THIS AGAIN IN ANOTHER HEARING.
THIS IS, THIS IS, THIS IS A RECORD VOTE TO PUT IT IN THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR DISCUSSION.
AND THAT'S TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED FOR THE 24TH.
I'VE GOTTA GO MR. CRI FORM SEPTEMBER.
IS IT SEPTEMBER, SEPTEMBER, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER 1ST, MR. LAR.
ALRIGHT, YOU NEED TO READ THE OH, YES, YES.
YOU DON'T HAVE CHEAT SHEET ISSUE.
I, IT'S THAT WHOLE NOT BEING ABLE TO TYPE, UH, THE MOTION WOULD BE THAT YOU, UH, I, YEAH, I'LL MAKE A MOTION THAT WE, WHERE'S THAT, THAT WE, UH, THAT WE TAKE A RECORD VOTE ON THE PROPOSED TAX RATE OF 4.66637, UH, A TAX INCREASE OF 3.5%, WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO THE VOTER APPROVAL TAX RATE.
I'LL SECOND HAVE A SECOND IF PENDING.
MR. AGUILAR A I, MS. MADDOX? AYE.
IT'S UNANIMOUS FOR THIS EVENING.
NEXT ITEM WOULD BE CONSIDERATION OF POSSIBLE ACTION TO SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE PROPOSED TAX INCREASE AND ANNOUNCE DATE, TIME, AND LOCATION OF THE PUBLIC HEARING.
WE HAVE A RECOMMENDED DAY OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER THE SEVENTH, 2023 AT SIX 30.
DO I HAVE A MOTION AS SUCH? SO MOVE, MOVE BY COUNCILPERSON VAUGHN.
HEARING NONE ALL ENTERTAIN A VOTE.
WE WILL HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING ON SEPTEMBER THE SEVENTH.
NEXT ITEM IS CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO SCHEDULE ON SET A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE PROPOSED BUDGET AND ANNOUNCE TIME, DATE, AND LOCATION OF THE PUBLIC HEARING.
RECOMMENDED DATE IS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER THE SEVENTH AT 6:30 PM IF YOU'LL REMEMBER, IT'S A BIFURCATED PROCESS EVEN THOUGH WE'LL BE HANDLING IT IN THE SAME MEETING.
YOU HAVE TO TAKE A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE TAX RATE, TAKE A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE BUDGET.
THE BUDGET THEN HAS TO BE ADOPTED BEFORE THE TAX RATE.
SO WE WILL TAKE THAT ISSUE UP AND THEN WE WILL SET THAT ASIDE AND COME BACK, DO OTHER BUSINESS AND THEN COME BACK AND ADOPT THE TAX RATE.
SO WE'RE GONNA BE HAVING A PUBLIC HEARING FOR BOTH THE TAX RATE AND THE BUDGET.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA VOTE ON THE TAX RATE AND THE BUDGET IN THIS SAME MEETING? YES MA'AM.
WE'VE, THE STATE LAW HAS ALLOWED US TO CONDENSE IN THE PAST.
WE'VE DONE THAT IN OVER THE COURSE OF TWO OR THREE MEETINGS.
I, BUT AGAIN, THE BUDGET HAS TO BE ADOPTED FIRST AND THEN THE TAX RATE, WELL, WE'LL, WE'LL OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THE, WE'LL OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THE TAX INCREASE.
WHEN THAT PUBLIC HEARING IS OVER, WE'LL IMMEDIATELY OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THE BUDGET.
AND IS THAT WHY IT'S STARTING AT SIX 30? THEN WE WILL MORE TIME, THEN WE WILL CLOSE THAT PUBLIC HEARING AND WE WILL GO INTO OUR REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING WHERE WE WILL, UH, ADOPT THE ORDINANCES.
IS THERE, AND THIS IS JUST ME ASKING, 'CAUSE ON THAT, WE ACTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING THAT I'LL BE GONE TO ALL WEEK.
IS THERE A WAY THAT WE CAN MAYBE MOVE IT OR DO I HAVE TO COME BACK EARLY? OR IF, IF THERE THAT SO IF WE HAVE A QUORUM MM-HMM.
I I KNOW I DON'T, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE HERE.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT WE LAID THIS OUT WITH SOME FUDGE ROOM WITH THE COUNTY.
THE COUNTY HAS KIND OF HELPED US SET THIS CALENDAR TO MAKE SURE THAT WE MEET ALL THE DEADLINES THAT ARE REQUIRED FOR PUBLICATION.
UH, SO IF WE CHANGE THIS DATE, IT'S KIND OF A KNOCK ON EFFECT WITH THE COUNTY.
WE HAVE TO RE ADVERTISE, WE'LL HAVE TO RECALIBRATE OUR CALENDARS.
SO, UH, IF YOU COULD COME BACK, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
BUT IF WE NEED TO ABSOLUTELY MOVE IT, YOU GUYS CAN TELL US.
WE'LL WE WILL TAKE THAT HILL IF WE HAVE TO.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO SET THAT PUBLIC HEARING ON THE SAME DATE? SO MOVED.
CHRIS, DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.
COUNCILMAN AGUILAR MAKES A SECOND.
ALL ENTERTAIN A VOTE? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.
[01:30:01]
MEETINGS HAVE BEEN SCHEDULED.NEXT ITEM IS AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT WE ARE SCHEDULED ON THAT SAME DAY FOR THE ADOPTION OF THE BUDGET ORDINANCE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2023, WHICH WILL OCCUR AFTER THE PUBLIC HEARINGS.
AND WE HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE SCHEDULED DATE FOR THE ADOPTION OF THE TAX ORDINANCE THAT WILL BE HELD ON THAT SAME DATE AFTER THOSE TWO COULD BE HELD IN THE SAME MEETING.
THEY JUST HAVE TO BE HELD IN ORDER.
I KNOW IT'S EVERYBODY CONFUSED ENOUGH NOW? MM-HMM.
YEAH, IT, WELL THAT'S, WE ACTUALLY DEBATE THIS INTERNALLY EVERY YEAR IN THE OFFICE BECAUSE IT, FOR YEARS IT WAS TWO HEARING, TWO SEPARATE HEARINGS, TWO DIFFERENT DATES.
WELL, YOU HAD TO DO TWO HEARINGS ON THE, ON THE TAX RATE, ONE HEARING ON THE BUDGET, TWO DIFFERENT MEETINGS TO ADOPT AND THE STATE SAID NO, YOU CAN DO IT ALL IN ONE HEARING FOR THE TAX RATE.
SAME MEETING FOR THE ADOPTIONS.
YEAH, I KNOW THE, I KNOW ONE YEAR WE HAD LIKE A, A MEETING ON A TUESDAY.
A MEETING ON A WEDNESDAY
NOW THEY'VE CHANGED THAT RULE WHERE YOU JUST HAVE TO START ONE MEETING, CLOSE THAT MEETING, OPEN THE OTHER MEETING, SO, AND YOU'RE GOOD TO GO.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO COME FOUR DAYS A WEEK, YOU JUST HAVE TO COME TWO OR ONE
AND I BELIEVE AT THAT, AT CERTAIN TIME YOU COULDN'T DO THE BUDGET AND THE, YOU COULDN'T APPROVE THE BUDGET.
AND THE TAX RATE ON THE SAME DAY.
YOU HAD TO HAVE A 72 HOUR WAITING PERIOD.
SO REALLY QUICK ON AUGUST 24TH, NO.
WE ARE NOT HAVING THE PUBLIC HEARING ON TAX RATE, CORRECT? NO, THAT'LL BE THAT.
THAT'S THAT'S SEPTEMBER 7TH NOW, RIGHT? CORRECT.
NOW IF YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE AN ITEM ON THERE FOR US TO DISCUSS IT, WE CAN DO THAT TO I, THE MORE TRANSPARENCY THE BETTER.
[IV. NOTICE OF UPCOMING EVENTS AND MEETINGS]
BE NOTICE OF UPCOMING EVENTS.THERE'S NO, WE DON'T TAKE ANY ACTION ON OTHERS.
WE'RE JUST TELLING EVERYONE THAT THOSE ARE THE DATES.
A REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING ON THURSDAY, AUGUST THE 10TH.
AND THEN WE WILL HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE TAX RATE AND A REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING TO FOLLOW.
OR ACTUALLY WE'RE GONNA HAVE A REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING RIGHT ON AUGUST THE 24TH.
AND IF WE NEED ANYTHING ELSE, YOU CAN ALSO, SO SCHEDULE IT AT THAT MEETING.
CITY OFFICES WILL BE CLOSED ON LABOR DAY, WHICH IS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER THE FOURTH.
WE WILL HAVE A SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING TO ADOPT THE FISCAL YEAR 2023 BUDGET ORDINANCE AND THE FISCAL YEAR 2023 TAX ORDINANCE ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER THE SEVENTH AT SIX 30.
AS LONG AS WELL AS THE PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THOSE TWO ITEMS. AND WE WILL ALSO HAVE A REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING ON SEPTEMBER THE 14TH, WHEN WE WILL START THE 2023.
AND WE WILL HAVE A REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING ON SEPTEMBER THE 28TH.