[00:01:50]
YOU CAN SEE, I CAN, I CAN PICK UP.
GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO TODAY'S THREE O'CLOCK MEETING,
UH, WE'RE GONNA, SO WE'RE GONNA START TODAY'S MEETING EARLY, UM, AND, UM, WE'RE OFF TO A ROUSING START.
UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US TODAY.
UH, THIS IS A CITY OF HARDY CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP 2 0 5 MAIN STREET, HARDY, SOUTH CAROLINA 2 9 9 0 2 9 9 2 7.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12TH, 2025 AT 2:22 PM UM, THE, THIS IS A WORKSHOP.
OUR RULES AND DRESS ARE RELAXED FOR TODAY.
JUST REMIND EVERYBODY WE CAN SPEAK WHENEVER YOU'D LIKE.
JUST WAIT TILL THE PREVIOUS SPEAKER HAS FINISHED THEIR, THEIR THOUGHTS.
SO, HAVING SAID THAT, WE ARE HERE TO DISCUSS THE 2026 BUDGET, AND I'M GONNA TURN IT RIGHT OVER TO MR. GRU.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, EXCITED TO HAVE YOU HERE THIS AFTERNOON AS WE CONTINUE TO WORK TOWARDS DEVELOPING OUR FISCAL YEAR 2026 BUDGET, UM, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC.
I KNOW THAT, UH, WE DON'T HAVE ANYBODY IN, IN PERSON TODAY, BUT ANYBODY WHO MAY WATCH THIS VIDEO LATER ON, WE REALLY KIND OF KICKED THIS PROCESS OFF, UH, WITH OUR STRATEGIC PLAN RETREAT A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
AND SO WE STARTED HAVING SOME INITIAL CONVERSATIONS THERE.
WE TALKED ABOUT SOME CAPITAL PROJECTS AND SOME PROGRAMS THAT WE WANTED TO PURSUE.
THIS MEETING IS GONNA HELP US TAKE ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS THE DIRECTION OF BUILDING THAT BUDGET.
AND I KNOW I'VE USED THE ANALOGY WITH A LOT OF OUR PLANNING EFFORTS THAT IT'S LIKE BUILDING A CAKE.
YOU KNOW, YOU FIRST GOTTA START BY MIXING THE INGREDIENTS, THEN YOU GOTTA BAKE THE CAKE, AND THEN YOU GOTTA DECORATE IT.
AND SO THERE ARE MULTIPLE STEPS ALONG THE WAY, AND YOU'RE ADDING THINGS ALONG EACH STEP.
I THINK THIS IS VERY SIMILAR TO THAT.
AND SO, BY WAY OF ANALOGY, WHAT WOULD, I WOULD SAY THAT WE'RE HERE TODAY IS WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT KIND OF CAKE DO WE WANT TO BAKE? WHAT ARE THE INGREDIENTS THAT WE WANT TO PUT INTO THAT CAKE SO THAT WE CAN GO BACK AS STAFF, WORK WITH ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS, AND ULTIMATELY BAKE SOMETHING TO BRING BACK TO YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
AND THEN ONCE WE APPROVE IT, WE'LL PUT THE DECORATIONS ON IT AND SHOW IT TO THE PUBLIC, AND EVERYBODY WILL GET TO ENJOY IT.
SO, IT MAY BE A LITTLE BIT CORNY, BUT I FIGURED IT'D BE A, A GOOD WAY TO TRY TO EXPLAIN HOPEFULLY WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH TODAY, WHICH IS GETTING SOME ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE THAT WE WILL DIRECTLY USE TO HELP US BUILD THIS YEAR'S FISCAL BUDGET.
SO, WITH THAT INTRODUCTION, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR, JOHN.
UM, HE'S GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH SOME OF OUR INFORMATION AT ANY TIME, PLEASE JUST PAUSE US, SAY, HAVE GOT A QUESTION, WANNA TALK ABOUT SOMETHING.
UM, WE DON'T NEED TO WAIT TILL THE END TO HOLD IT.
WE'LL JUST KIND OF TALK ABOUT IT AS WE'RE COVERING THIS INFORMATION.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNSEL.
WE'VE GOT, UM, JUST, UH, I THINK IT'S JUST 10 SLIDES THAT HOPEFULLY WE CAN, UH, GET
[00:05:01]
THROUGH AND GET YOUR QUESTIONS AND OUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED.FIRST THING YOU SEE HERE ON PAGE TWO IS OUR 2026 OR FISCAL YEAR 26 BUDGET, UH, PROPOSED BUDGET SCHEDULE.
YOU SEE, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS AT THE STRATEGIC GOAL SETTING RETREAT BACK JANUARY 27TH.
CITY MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE DIRECTOR HAVE MET WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, INDIVIDUALLY.
AND THEN WE ALSO, UH, DID OUR BUDGET KICKOFF MEETING ON THE FOURTH WITH STAFF.
SO HERE WE ARE TODAY AT THE FOURTH LINE OF THIS, DOING THE, UH, CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORK RETREAT WORKSHOP.
SO FIRST THING WE'RE ASKING FOR JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS HERE.
WE HAVE A HANDFUL OF DECISION, UH, UH, DECISION POINTS.
WE WANT YOU GUYS TO GIVE US GUIDANCE ON.
WE, UM, WANNA, WANNA UNDERSTAND THAT, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE AS TO WHAT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS YOU WOULD LIKE US TO PRIORITIZE AS WE BEGIN TO BUILD THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
AND THEN ALSO, UH, WE'RE PRE PRESENTING SOME, UH, INFORMATION ON THE UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE AND OUR AT TAX AND H TAX FUNDS AND HOW WE MAY USE THEM.
UM, AND AGAIN, WE'RE, WHAT STAFF IS HOPING TO GET IS A GENERAL SENSE OF, AS YOU BEGIN TO BUILD THIS BUDGET, WHAT DO YOU WANT US TO DO WITH CERTAIN THINGS? THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT OUR ASK IS.
AND, UM, SO I GUESS I'LL JUST MOVE RIGHT INTO OUR, UH, OUR DECISION ITEMS. THE FIRST ONE IS, WE CURRENTLY HAVE A BUDGET STABILIZATION FUND, WHICH IS WHAT WE CALL IT, BUT MOST PEOPLE CALL IT A RAINY DAY FUND THAT SET AT 20% BACK WHEN COVID CAME.
BEFORE COVID, WE HAD A 25%, UH, RAINY DAY FUND.
AND WE DID THAT WITH, UH, A GOOD BIT OF THOUGHT.
WE LOOKED AT WHAT GFO A'S RECOMMENDATION WAS, AND THEIR RECOMMENDATION IS TWO MONTHS, WHICH IS EFFECTIVELY 16.67%.
AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH MR. GRUBER, WHO COMES FROM, UH, MUNICIPALITY, WHERE THEIR OPPORTUNITIES TO HAVE, UH, SOME SERIOUS RAINY DAY PROBLEM ISSUES.
THEIR BUDGET, THEIR, UH, RAINY DAY FUND WAS 33%.
SO THE FIRST PIECE OF INFORMATION OR PIECE OF GUIDANCE THE COUNCIL'S ASKING FOR IS, AS WE BEGIN TO BUILD THE BUDGET, WOULD YOU LIKE US TO LEAVE IT AT 20%? OR, OR IS THE COUNCIL INTERESTED IN RAISING IT OR LOWERING THE RAINY DAY FUND? I PREFER WE INCREASE IT, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT INCREASED OVER THREE YEARS.
THAT WAY WE'RE NOT TAKING A BIG HIT ALL AT ONCE, STILL LOOK AT OTHER PROJECTS.
BUT THE GOAL WOULD ME WOULD BE TO HAVE IT TO 25% IN THREE YEARS.
THAT'S JUST MY, UH, STEVE, YOU'RE SAYING GRADUALLY, GRADUALLY, UH, AND THE RATE OF INCREASE ON
WE'RE GONNA SET IT AS A, AS A GOAL.
WE'D LIKE TO HAVE, IT'S NOT GONNA BE A WRITTEN STONE, BUT SURE.
SO I WOULD CHARACTERIZE THAT AS IT'S AN ASPIRATIONAL GOAL.
WE WILL DO THIS BY THIS POINT IN TIME, WE'RE JUST LETTING PEOPLE KNOW OUR GOAL IS TO INCREASE IT TO 25% AND WE'RE GONNA DO IT OVER THIS PERIOD OF TIME SO THAT WE'RE NOT PUTTING ANY AG ADDED STRESS OR PRESSURE ON ANY OF OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING.
IT IS OUR, OUR LOSS ABOUT BULLS WE ARE SHOOTING FOR.
BUT I THINK THAT'S, IT IS A REALISTIC GOAL THAT WE, THAT WE GO FOR, BUT WE HAVE TO BE CONSCIOUS OF WHAT THE ECONOMY COULD DO.
I DON'T WANT TO PUT IT DOWN AS WE HAVE TO HAVE IT.
LET ME THROW THIS OUT THERE TO, TO SEE THAT WHAT KIND OF REACTION WE GET BACK.
WOULD IT BE APPROPRIATE TO SAY THAT WE ARE SUPPORTIVE OF INCREASING OUR FUND BALANCE SO LONG AS WE ARE NOT TAKING AWAY FROM SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE OTHER MIGHT, MIGHT FEEL THAT IT'S A PRIORITY? ESSENTIALLY IT'S ON THE LIST, BUT IT'S AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST.
SO IF WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO ADD TO IT, WE WILL, BUT IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO SPECIFICALLY DIRECT FUNDING TO UNLESS WE CAN DO IT WITHOUT IMPACTING OTHER PROGRAMS. UM, OR IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE DELIBERATE WITH? MORE AGGRESSIVELY? OKAY.
ONE THING IF I, AND YOU CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT WE ONLY HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO DEAL WITH NEXT, NEXT BUDGET YEAR.
WHATEVER DECISIONS WE MAKE THIS YEAR DOES NOT OBLIGATED TO NEXT YEAR'S COUNSEL TO MAKE THE SAME DECISION.
YOU HAVE TO COME BACK AND MAKE THE
[00:10:01]
DECISIONS NEXT YEAR AS WELL.SO ASPIRATIONAL GOAL, IF YOU WANNA CALL IT THAT, THAT'S GOOD.
UM, BUT, UM, RECOGNIZE EVEN IF WE HAVE A GOAL TO GO TO 25, WE CANNOT OBLIGATE A FUTURE COUNCIL TO DO THAT.
I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO LOOK AT THIS 'CAUSE WE ARE NOT AS AT RISK AS WHAT SOME OF THE COASTAL COMMUNITIES ARE, BUT I THINK HURRICANE HELENE THIS YEAR REALLY SHOWED ALL OF US THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A COASTAL COUNTY TO BE IMPACTED.
YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A LOT OF INTERNAL COMMUNITIES THAT WERE HIT FAIRLY HARD.
AND SO HAVING A HEALTHY FUND BALANCE IS GONNA BE OUR PRIMARY WAY OF RESPONDING TO TO THAT.
AND I CAN TELL YOU FROM EXPERIENCE, THE FIRST THING YOU START DOING IS WRITING CHECKS.
THAT IS THE VERY FIRST THING THAT YOU START DOING TO CLEAN UP AND PICK UP AND GET BACK TO NORMAL IS YOU START WRITING PRETTY SIZABLE CHECKS.
SO HAVING A FUN BALANCE WOULD ALLOW US TO DO THAT.
ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON WHAT IT SHOULD BE, UM, THIS YEAR AND WHAT YOU ASPIRE TO BE IN THE FUTURE? JOHN BOW, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS? I KIND OF AGREE WITH STEVE.
UM, I CAN'T REMEMBER THE EXACT REASON, BUT I KNOW WE HAD IT 25 ON LORDED.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE SAW IT WAS INTERFERE WITH THE OVERALL BUDGET.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS COVID, BUT I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM, UH, RAISING IT A LITTLE BIT.
BUT ALSO WHAT YOU SAID, MAYBE IF IT'S NOT INTERFERING WITH SOMETHING CIRCLE, LET'S MOVE IT UP.
I I WOULD SAY THAT BETWEEN 20 WHERE WE ARE IN 22 AS A WORKING NUMBER WOULD BE WHAT I WOULD BE COMFORTABLE WITH.
NOT OVER 22, BUT IF YOU NEEDED TO TWEAK IT A LITTLE BIT, THAT WOULD BE MY, UH, LEVEL.
IF WE'RE CURRENTLY AT 20%, IF WE INCREASE IT, WHAT, UH, 15%? WOULD THAT BE A, A WORKABLE NUMBER? I DON'T WANT TO, I I, I DON'T WANNA PUT A NUMBER ON IT.
I, UH, WITHOUT, HOW DO I SAY IT? THAT WOULD BE MY GOAL.
15% OF THE 20 15% OF THE 20? YEAH.
SO BASICALLY ONE AND A HALF PERCENT WE'RE GONNA TAKE IT.
AND IF WE, IF, IF THINGS WOULD EVER WORK OUT, THAT WOULD BE A NOT ONE AND HALF, IT'S TWO SOMETHING TO SHOOT FOR, BUT NOT AT THE COST OF OTHER PROJECTS.
WHY DON'T, SO WE CAN GIVE SOME, UM, HARD, UH, NUMBERS TO STAFF TO GO WITH.
UH, PERSONALLY I WAS SKEPTICAL OF LOWERING IT FROM 25.
I THINK MR. BOYLE, YOU MIGHT REMEMBER THAT OR WHOEVER WAS HERE.
I, I WAS A LITTLE SKEPTICAL ABOUT LOWERING IT FROM 25.
UM, SO I CERTAINLY WOULDN'T OPPOSE GOING IT BACK UP.
UH, I DON'T THINK WE NEED WHAT, A HILTON HEAD OR A MYRTLE BEACH OR THOSE WHO HAVE SAND EROSION AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UH, BUT CERTAINLY I, YOU KNOW, I WOULD NOT OPPOSE.
SO, UH, SO WE HAVE SOME CLEAR DIRECTION.
UH, WHAT DOESN'T, UH, SOMEONE FROM COUNCIL PROPOSE A SPECIFIC NUMBER AND WE'LL TAKE A STRAW POLL.
MR. MAYOR, ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? I DON'T LIKE HALF PERCENTAGE POINTS, SO I'LL SAY TAKE IT TOO MUCH.
WE DO AS MANY DECIMAL POINTS AS YOU LIKE, RIGHT?
ALRIGHT, WELL THE FIRST PROPOSAL IS 15% OR, UH, ONE AND A HALF PERCENT TO 21, 21 0.5%.
UM, LET'S, LET'S TAKE A STRAW POLL WITH THAT AND IF THAT DOESN'T GET A MAJORITY, THEN WE'LL GO BACK TO THE SECOND SUGGESTION OF 2%.
SO ON THE FIRST ON THE 21.5%, UM, STRAW POLL ONLY, UH, STEVE, WE'LL START WITH YOU.
I AGREE WITH THE, UH, ONE AND A HALF PERCENT, A MILLION AND A HALF INCREASE IN IT.
ALRIGHT, I'LL GO ALONG WITH IT.
OKAY, SO WE, UH, MR. WHITE, I COULD GO WITH THAT.
AND MR. CARROLL, YOU MADE THE, UH, PROPOSAL, SO YOU'LL STICK WITH THAT.
YOU DIDN'T CHANGE YOUR MIND IN THE LAST THREE SECONDS.
[00:15:01]
AND I'LL, I'LL GO WITH THE ONE AND A HALF.SO TAKE THE FUND BALANCE TO 21 POINT A HALF PERCENT.
UM, THE NEXT THING WE HAVE IS THE COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT.
AND WE SAW PREVIOUSLY THE CALCULATION THAT IS, UM, UH, THE, THE CALCULATION THAT THE STANDARD CALCULATION THAT WE DO EVERY YEAR SPIT OUT A 3.39% PROPOSED COLA FOR NEXT YEAR.
NOW, I KNOW THAT COUNSEL, AS WE GET FURTHER INTO IT, IS GONNA BE INTERESTED IN OTHER DATA POINTS.
WHAT IS, WHAT IS, UH, MS. GUZMAN, I BELIEVE YOU ALWAYS WANNA KNOW WHAT DID DOD DO? AND THEN WE CERTAINLY, I'VE ALREADY PUT OUT EMAILS TO, UH, THE OTHER LGS IN THE BEAUFORT AND JASPER COUNTY ONLY RECEIVED A COUPLE OF RESPONSES BACK, BUT WE'LL HAVE THAT INFORMATION AS WE GET, YOU KNOW, FURTHER INTO THIS.
AND WHEN MR. UH, GRUER PRESENTS HIS BUDGET TO YOU, BUT JUST AS A STARTING POINT, YOU WANT US TO USE 3.39, YOU WANT US TO USE A HIGHER NUMBER, A LOWER NUMBER? UM, LET'S START WITH MR. CARROLL THIS TIME.
JOHN, YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS? NO, SIR.
I'M, UM, WHATEVER, UM, JOSH AND JOHN, COUNSEL, I'M FINE WITH WHATEVER Y'ALL WANNA DO WITH THAT.
MR. WHITE, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS? MY CEILING WOULD BE 3.5, BUT THERE'S SOME FLEXIBILITY IN THERE.
MR. MESMAN, 3.5 IS SOUNDS BETTER THAN 3.39.
I BELIEVE THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE THAT WOULD AGREE WITH YOU, SIR.
WE'RE NOT GOING TO PROPOSE SOMETHING THAT IS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT MANY OF OUR OTHER COUNTERPARTS ARE DEALING WITH.
I, I THINK THAT, UH, FOR ME, UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE OTHER JURISDICTIONS ARE DOING.
AND, UH, AND THAT'S WHERE WE GOT OFF THE RAILS A COUPLE YEARS AGO BECAUSE WE WERE PROPOSING A NUMBER THAT WAS SO MUCH HIGHER THAN EVERYBODY ELSE.
AND, AND I THINK WE SHOULD BE REASONABLE.
KEEPING IN MIND ALSO AS THE COUNCIL, UH, I THINK IS AWARE WE HAVE HAD A SYSTEM OF COLA PLUS MERIT MM-HMM
AND WHEN WE GET THE COMPARABLE NUMBERS, WE GET A NUMBER THAT INCLUDES BOTH.
SO IF YOU COME BACK AND SAY, OKAY, EVERYBODY'S 3.5 AND NOW WE WANT 3.5 PLUS THE 4% MERIT, WE'RE WAY OVER.
SO I THINK WE HAVE TO TAKE THOSE INTO CONSIDERATIONS.
WE WANT, I THINK EVERYONE, I THINK I WOULD SAFELY SPEAK FOR EVERYBODY.
WE WANT OUR EMPLOYEES TO GET A NICE GOOD RAISE AND KEEP TRACK WITH THE COST OF LIVING EVERY YEAR.
WE'RE VERY PROUD OF OUR STAFF.
WE WANT TO TREAT THEM RIGHT, BUT WE SHOULD NOT BE SO FAR AHEAD OF WHAT EVERYBODY ELSE IS DOING.
AND, UM, SO I DON'T HAVE A NUMBER 3.5 IF THAT'S WHAT THE COUNCIL WANTS TO START WITH, BUT WHEN YOU COME BACK, COME BACK WITH THE DATA THAT SHOWS WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING.
AND THEN THEN THOSE, THAT DATA WILL DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THAT'S IT I'M FOR OR AGAINST IT.
MOST OF THE OTHER JURISDICTIONS ARE DOING EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW.
THEY'RE HAVING SOME VERY PRELIMINARY MEETINGS.
SO I WOULD SAY PROBABLY ABOUT 60 DAYS FROM NOW WE'LL START SEEING SOME ACTUAL ESTIMATES ABOUT WHAT THEY MAY BE LOOKING AT.
SO COUNSEL AS AN OPERATING NUMBER FOR THEM TO GO.
DO YOU WANT SOMEBODY WANT TO, UH, JOHN, DO YOU WANNA MAKE A PROPOSAL ON THE 3.5 OR THREE POINT? YES, SIR.
IF, UM, REST OF THE COUNCIL SAYS THAT, AND THEN, BUT I'LL TAKE A STRAW, STRAW POLL CAVEAT.
WE GO WITH THE, UH, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER, BUT PENDING I'LL, I'LL SAY YES PENDING.
UM, THE, THE, UM, THE REVIEW OF THE DATA, MR. MAYOR, IF I MAY.
UM, WE'RE NOT TRYING TO LOCK YOU INTO FINAL NUMBERS.
WHAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO DO, AND I THINK THIS WAS A POINT YOU MADE WELL AT THE END OF THE STRATEGIC RETREAT, IS LET'S AGREE ON WHERE YOU WOULD HAVE US JUMP OFF, RIGHT? AND LIKE WE'VE SAID, WE'RE GONNA JUMP OFF AT GOING TO 21.5 FOR THE RAINY DAY FUND.
SO IF WE'RE SAYING LET'S START THE PROCESS AT 3.5, THAT GIVES, YOU KNOW, ME AND AMY AND THE REST OF THE STAFF SOMETHING TO WORK WITH AS WE START TO BUILD THIS, THAT'S, THAT WE'RE AGREEING UPFRONT IS LIKELY NOT TO BE WAY OUTTA LINE.
AND THE ONLY THING, THE ONLY REASON
[00:20:01]
I SAY THE CAVEATS BECAUSE, AND I, WE HAVE ALL STAFF HERE AND, YOU KNOW, WE WANT THEM, EVERYBODY TO UNDERSTAND, WE DON'T WANNA SAY 3.5 AND THEN TWO MONTHS FROM NOW WE, WE FIND OUT EVERYBODY'S GIVEN A 1% RAISE AND WE COME OFF THE 3.5 BASED ON THAT DATA JUST, JUST AS LONG AS EVERY, BUT WE ALL UNDERSTAND WE'RE TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT THING.WE'RE TRYING TO DO THE COMPETITIVE THING THEN.
THIS IS JUST SO YOU CAN GO OUT AND PUT YOUR NUMBERS TOGETHER.
SO, UH, BO YOU, YOU 3.5, UM, VAL, 3.5, IS THAT, IS THAT ROUNDED ENOUGH FOR YOU? NO, IT'S NOT, BUT IT'S OKAY.
YOU DON'T WANT FOUR OR THREE? I'M STILL 30 POUNDS.
WELL, WE'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING ELSE TO PAL ABOUT.
STEVE FIVE, 3.5 OR, ALL RIGHT, SO GO.
AND THEN, UM, OH WAIT, YEAH, THAT, THAT'S LATER.
SO I MENTIONED, UM, I THINK DURING OUR INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS, AND I MAY HAVE MENTIONED IT DURING THE WORKSHOP, I CAN'T RECALL.
UM, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I WANT TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE AWARE OF THAT I WANT TO GET INCLUDED IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET IS ESSENTIALLY SOMETHING THAT WOULD AMEND THE FRINGE BENEFIT PACKAGE THAT WE OFFER TO OUR STAFF.
AND WHAT I'M PROPOSING TO DO IS INCORPORATE WHAT I HAVE CALLED A CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PROGRAM, BUT I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT THAT IS TOO OVERLY TECHNICAL OF A TERM.
AND SO WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR THE LABEL THAT WE CAN ATTACH TO THIS.
BUT ESSENTIALLY WHAT THE PROGRAM WOULD DO IS IT, IT WOULD ALLOW US TO GIVE PAID TIME OFF TO OUR STAFF TO ALLOW THEM TO GO VOLUNTEER AT A QUALIFIED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.
AND SO, UM, FOR US IT REALLY DOESN'T INCREASE OUR COST ALL THAT MUCH.
WE HAD SOME INTERNAL DISCUSSIONS ABOUT WOULD IT IMPACT THINGS LIKE OVERTIME, UM, AND ULTIMATELY, AT LEAST THE JURISDICTIONS THAT I'VE BEEN A PART OF, AS LONG AS YOU'RE COMMUNICATING ABOUT YOUR WORK SCHEDULES A COUPLE OF WEEKS IN ADVANCE, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO MOVE PEOPLE AROUND TO ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE ENOUGH COVERAGE WHILE STILL ALLOWING FOR FOLKS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO GO OUT AND VOLUNTEER.
IT'S NOT A WHOLE LOT DIFFERENT THAN WHEN WE HAVE PEOPLE WITH SICK TIME AND OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, BUT IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US AS AN ORGANIZATION TO GIVE BACK DIRECTLY TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO IF, IF I SAY THAT WE'VE GOT ROUGHLY 150 FULL-TIME STAFF MEMBERS AND ALL OF THEM WERE TO PUT IN EIGHT HOURS OF VOLUNTEER WORK, THAT'S OVER A THOUSAND HOURS THAT WE'RE GIVING BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY.
AND IT REALLY ISN'T COSTING US ALL THAT MUCH IN ORDER TO DO IT.
AND SO IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE OPEN TO CONSIDERING, I WOULD LIKE TO INCLUDE IT AS PART OF THIS YEAR'S BUDGET ORDINANCE AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THE BUDGET ORDINANCE ADOPTION, WE WOULD THEN INCORPORATE THAT INTO OUR FORMAL, UH, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES HANDBOOK FOR ALL OF STAFF.
SO BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE ABOUT THAT, BUT WANTED TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK ABOUT THAT POLICY.
YOU'VE BEEN PART OF A PROGRAM LIKE THIS PRIOR? I HAVE.
WELL THEN WHAT I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE THEN GET BACK TO THE COMMUNITY MM-HMM
ARE YOU TALKING HARDY COMMUNITY? ARE YOU TALKING THE GREATER HARDY COMMUNITY? WHAT ARE WE TALKING? I WOULD NOT NECESSARILY LIMIT IT TO JUST HARDY VI WOULD TALK ABOUT OUR REGION KNOWING THAT OUR FOLKS LIVE IN AREAS AROUND HERE.
SO JASPER COUNTY HARDY, I WOULDN'T WANNA SEE SOMEBODY GOING AND VOLUNTEERING UP IN PENNSYLVANIA.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT REALLY BRINGS A WHOLE LOT OF BENEFIT BACK HERE.
BUT IF, IF YOU LIVE IN BLUFFTON AND YOU WANT TO, YOU KNOW, VOLUNTEER AT BLUFF AND SELF-HELP, TO ME THAT'S, THAT'S FURTHERING THE GOAL.
SO WE WOULD HAVE AN APPLICATION KIND OF PROCESS IN THE WAY THAT YOU WOULD GO ABOUT IT, SUBMITTING IT ALMOST LIKE YOU DO WITH YOUR TIME SHEETS.
YOU WOULD SUBMIT THOSE HOURS AND WE'D BE ABLE TO REVIEW THEM AND ALL THAT.
SO WE'D HAVE SOME CHECKS AND BALANCES, BUT I, IT NEEDS TO BE FOR THE BENEFIT OF OUR REGION, THE OTHER JURISDICTIONS THAT YOU HAVE HAD THIS IN MM-HMM
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME NUMBERS ABOUT, UH, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF HOURS BASED UPON THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES MM-HMM
TO GET A, YOU KNOW, A RATIO SO WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT WITH THIS.
YOU KNOW, YOUR OTHER, UH, JURISDICTIONS HAD MORE EMPLOYEES THAN WHAT WE HAD HOURS, YOU KNOW, THEY DID.
I'M NOT, I'M NOT AGAINST THE PROGRAM.
I'D JUST LIKE TO NEED MORE INFORMATION.
SO I, I'LL, I'LL BE PERFECTLY HONEST.
SO THEY'VE BEEN A PART OF THE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT I'VE, I'VE BEEN A PART OF.
WHAT I'VE FOUND THROUGH THOSE ENTITIES IS REALLY, WE HAVE TO ENCOURAGE STAFF TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
AND, AND SO I KNOW JUST AT LEAST BEING PART OF HILTON HEAD, WE WERE TRACKING AND REPORTING ON THE NUMBER OF HOURS THAT PEOPLE WERE DOING.
AND WHEN WE SAW THAT, HEY, WE'VE GOT 300 PEOPLE ACROSS AN ENTIRE ORGANIZATION AND WE ONLY HAVE 300 HOURS OF VOLUNTEER WORK, IT'S LIKE, HEY, WE NEED TO SEND A MESSAGE OUT.
Y'ALL NEED TO THINK ABOUT THIS.
WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO FIND THE TIME TO GO OUT AND GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.
[00:25:01]
WOULD SEE A SPIKE IN PEOPLE GOING OUT AND VOLUNTEERING.AND SO AS LONG AS I THINK WE STAY ON TOP OF THAT, WE COULD REALLY SEE SOME GOOD BENEFITS, BUT WE COULD CERTAINLY GET SOME DATA POINTS ABOUT, ABOUT THAT.
MY FAVORITE FOR CITY TO GET OUR HEADS, AND I KNOW WE'RE WELL KNOWN NOW,
AND I THINK THE FACT THAT WE'RE GIVING BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY, I THINK WE'LL SAY A LOT JUST LIKE STEVE SAYS, WE JUST SEE WE TO SEE THE NUMBERS.
MR. W ANY THOUGHTS? I I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA.
UM, I LIKE IT, BUT I'D LIKE TO THROW SOMETHING ELSE OUT.
AND THAT'S THE COMMUNITY OF OUR EMPLOYEES.
AND WHAT I HAVE DONE IN A COUPLE CORPORATE SITUATIONS IS EVERYBODY DONATED EIGHT HOURS, BUT IT WAS IN A CATASTROPHIC SICK FUND FOR ALL THE EMPLOYEES SO THAT IF SOMEBODY HERE MM-HMM
WAS OUT BECAUSE THEY HAD A SPOUSE THAT HAD A TERMINAL CANCER SITUATION AND THEY'VE USED ALL THEIR SICK TIME UP AND ALL THEIR VACATION TIME, TO ME, THAT'S ANOTHER COMMUNITY THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
AND MY FEELING IS THAT SORT OF CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME.
AND SO THAT'S ANOTHER, I WON'T SAY COMPETING IDEA, BUT AN IDEA.
AND I THINK THAT, UH, THE TIMES THAT WE, AND WE USED IT AND I'LL TELL YOU WHAT A DIFFERENCE IT MADE AND IT MADE A DIFFERENCE IN ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES FEELING LIKE THEY WERE TRYING TO HELP MORE THAN JUST, I'M REALLY SORRY WHAT YOU'RE GOING THROUGH.
SO I WOULD THROW THAT OUT AS A POINT COUNTERPOINT KIND OF IDEA.
WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK AT THAT.
WHAT, WHAT I'VE SEEN IN THE PAST, IT'S ESSENTIALLY REFERRED TO AS A DONATED LEAVE BANK.
I THINK WE HAVE THAT PICK THE NAME.
ALREADY HAVE WE ALREADY HAD YOU ALREADY HAVE YOUR YEAH.
OUR EMPLOYEES CAN CURRENTLY DONATE UP TO A CERTAIN NUMBER OF OKAY, GOOD.
THEN IF SOMEONE NEEDS THEM, THEN YOU'RE, UH, GAVE SOME ONCE MORE, YOU'RE AHEAD OF ME.
SO THAT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I'M YEAH, THAT'S A LOT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS I SAW AS A DOWNSIDE TO THAT IS YOU HAVE SOME FOLKS THAT ARE VERY OUTGOING, UM, THAT ARE VERY INVOLVED WITH OTHER STAFF MEMBERS.
AND SO I'M GONNA PICK ON SAM HERE.
IF SAM NEEDED HOURS, I GUARANTEE YOU JUST ABOUT EVERY EMPLOYEE WOULD BE HAPPY TO DONATE SOME HOURS TO HIM.
BUT WE HAVE SOME OTHER EMPLOYEES WHO MAY NOT BE AS WELL KNOWN OR RECOGNIZED.
SO I DON'T WANNA CREATE SOMETHING WHERE IT'S, I DON'T WANNA CALL IT A POPULARITY CONTEST, BUT WE WANT TO CREATE SOMETHING WHERE EVERYBODY CAN HAVE ACCESS TO IT BASED UPON THE NEED.
OUR OURS WASN'T, UH, PERSON TO PERSON.
IT WAS A, THAT'S, THAT'S MORE OF WHAT ANONYMOUS, KIND OF, THERE WAS THIS FUN IMAGE AND YOU KIND OF HAVE AN OVERSIGHT BODY THAT LOOKS AT THE REQUEST AND DETERMINES WHETHER IT'S, AND WE DIDN'T NECESSARILY ADVERTISE WHO WAS USING IT BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE ARE SENSITIVE, BUT, SO THAT'S JUST ANOTHER WAY OF DOING.
WE CAN DEFINITELY LOOK AT THAT.
MR. KYLE, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS? OH, THAT'S GOOD, MR. WHATEVER.
UM, IT LOOKS GOOD, LIKE VAL SAID, FOR THE COMMUNITY TO BE GIVING BACK AND, UM, I, I, I'M, I'M FORWARD.
AND WHAT BOTH, LIKE I SAID, I JUST KNEW WE HAD THE, UM, DONATE TIME BECAUSE LIKE I SAY, WE HAD IT WAY BACK WHEN I WAS HERE.
'CAUSE WE HAD SOME PEOPLE THAT WERE OUT FOR MAKING SURGERY AND WE WOULD GIVE SOME DAYS.
WELL, I FOR 1:00 AM NOT GIVING UP ANY OF MY HOURS FOR SAM
I, I, I, YOU KNOW, THE TOO PRECIOUS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE LET HIM FIND HIS OWN HOURS.
THAT THE ONLY TIME I GET WRITTEN UP,
I, I DON'T HAVE ANY HOURS TO GIVE ANYWAY, SO, UM, I'M, I'M A LITTLE TORN ABOUT THIS AND BECAUSE I, AND I JUST GOOGLED SOMETHING JUST TO CONFIRM WHAT MY RESERVATIONS ARE AND I, I GOOGLED THE DEFINITION OF VOLUNTEERISM.
VOLUNTEERISM IS THE ACT OF GIVING TIME AND LABOR TO HELP OTHERS WITHOUT RECEIVING FINANCIAL COMPENSATION.
SO THIS IS NOT VOLUNTEERISM IN BY DEFINITION.
THAT WE ARE PAYING PEOPLE TO BE VOLUNTEERS, WHICH DOESN'T MAKE 'EM VOLUNTEERS ANYMORE.
WELL, LET'S SO HAVE IT, I'LL GO WITH WHAT THE COUNCIL WANTS BECAUSE THAT'S JUST MY OWN TORN.
BUT I WOULD ADD, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS IF THE COUNCIL WANTS TO DO THIS
[00:30:01]
KIND OF PROGRAM, AND I, I DO BELIEVE IT DOES HAVE SOME PUBLIC RELATIONS BENEFIT AND BEING IN THE VOLUNTEER WORLD OURSELVES.YOU KNOW, I, I CERTAINLY WANT TO, BUT WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS THAT, I THINK SOMEBODY ELSE MENTIONED IT, THAT IT'D BE, UH, DONE FOR HARDY BILL TO, FOR US TO PAY SOMEONE TO GO TO HILTON HEAD ISLAND AND WORK AT MEMORY MATTERS.
I, I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE, THAT'S THE SPIRIT OF WHAT WE WANNA DO.
WE HAVE AN OFFICE HERE, WE HAVE LEGAL VOLUNTEERS, WE HAVE MERCY MISSION.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF AVENUES GROWING THAT COULD, AND I'M JUST TALKING HARDY BILL, BUT THERE'S ALSO JASPER COUNTY.
UM, SO I WOULD LIMIT IT TO VOLUNTEERING IN HARDY AND JASPER COUNTY.
BUT I'LL, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING I FEEL STRONGLY ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, WHATEVER THE COUNCIL WANTS.
WELL, I THINK IT JUST TO INITIALLY START THE PROGRAM THAT IS CERTAINLY, I THINK SOMETHING THAT WE CAN PUT IN PLACE.
IF FOR SOME REASON WE'RE NOT ABLE TO GENERATE ENOUGH, UM, OF THAT VOLUNTEERISM SPIRIT, AND YOU'RE RIGHT.
LET, LET'S, LET'S CALL A SPADE A SPADE AND SAY WE ARE INCENTIVIZING VOLUNTEERISM, UH, BY, BY ALLOWING FOR PAID TIME OFF.
SO THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT.
BUT THE BENEFIT I THINK IS STILL THE SAME.
IT, THERE'S, THERE'S BENEFIT AND I SEE IT, AND THAT'S WHY I, I WOULDN'T OPPOSE IT.
I, I'M UNEASY ABOUT IT, BUT I WOULDN'T OPPOSE IT.
AND OTHER, OTHER, UM, ENTITIES THAT USED IT.
OUTSIDE THEIR OWN COMMUNITY OR, YOU KNOW, BRING US ALL THE INFORMATION IN? WE'LL MAKE THE DECISION.
I CAN TELL YOU WE'VE USED OR NOT, WE, I'VE USED IT AS, AS A TEAM BUILDING OPPORTUNITY BEFORE TO GO OUT TO A HABITAT FOR HUMANITY BUILD.
YOU GET A NUMBER OF YOUR STAFF MEMBERS, YOU GO OUT THERE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT TAKING TIME OFF BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT WORKING, BUT YOU'RE STILL DOING TEAM BUILDING.
UM, WHEN I WAS AT HILTON HEAD, WE DID ARTIFICIAL OYSTER REEFS AND BAG THOSE AND PUT THEM OUT ON THE WATER FOR AN AFTERNOON.
AGAIN, IT ALL GOES BACK TO WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH, WHICH IS GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.
BUT MAYOR, I THINK YOUR POINT ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT THE BENEFIT'S GONNA BE CONTAINED HERE LOCALLY IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK AT DOING.
JOHN, CAROL, HELL'S PAINTING
THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE PROBLEMATIC, BUT MAYBE WE COULD, UH, ORGANIZE A PAINTING OF THE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE OVER HERE THAT CAN, BUT, BUT IT IS, THERE'S PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITY.
YOU HAD THE FOOD GIVEAWAYS OUT BACK HERE.
ISN'T TOO MAYOR WHO'S COOKING, I THINK THE 20TH.
DID THEY, DID THEY APPLY? IS IT 20TH? I, I HAD TOLD 'EM WE HAD A COUNCIL MEETING AND WE COULDN'T PARTICIPATE.
BUT THAT DOESN'T STOP 'EM FROM BEING OUT THERE.
WHO'S COOKING? BECAUSE I, I SAW A HOT MEAL BEING ADDED OUT AT THE SAME TIME.
UM, I THINK IT'S JUST GROCERIES.
OH, DON'T, YEAH, WE IN THE, IN THE THING THAT THERE'S A MEAL, THE CHURCH IS DOING THAT TOO.
THEY, THEY ASKED US IF WE WOULD PARTICIPATE 'CAUSE THEY USUALLY DON'T GIVE THE, THAT WAS OUR IDEA.
UM, WHEN THEY CONTACTED ME ABOUT THE 20TH, I SAID, YOU ARE WELCOME TO CONTACT JEN AND DO IT.
BUT THAT WE HAD A COUNCIL MEETING THAT WE COULD NOT DO WHAT WE'VE DONE AT THE LAST TWO AND THAT WE WOULDN'T BE AVAILABLE.
'CAUSE IT'S THE 20TH AND WE HAVE A COUNCIL MEETING.
SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS THE CONFLICT.
AND I HADN'T HEARD ANYTHING BACK.
YOU'RE ALREADY VOLUNTEERS ENOUGH
BUT THERE, THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES LIKE THAT IF THERE'S ANOTHER HARVEY PLACE AND THEY WANT TO, AND, AND MAYBE WANNA DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
BUT IT, I I WOULD AT LEAST FOR THE TRIAL, DO IT LOCAL.
SO THEY'VE AGREED, UH, I'M BACK.
SO THE NEXT THING WE WANT TO DO IS WE WANT TO GET, UM, WE'RE JUST SEEKING YOUR DIRECTION ON ARE THESE THE PROJECTS, CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT YOU WOULD HAVE US PRIORITIZE? YOU'LL SEE THE FIRST A THROUGH H THERE ARE THE SAME EIGHT THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR QUITE A BIT.
AND WHEN, UH, THE CITY MANAGER AND I HAD THE ONE-ON-ONES WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS, IT WAS BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION THAT WE DID A, WE HAD A CAMPAIGN A COUPLE YEARS AGO BECAUSE OUR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS HAD, UM, GOTTEN KIND OF HORRENDOUS AND NON-EXISTENT.
WE DID A THREE YEAR, I THINK, CAMPAIGN ON
[00:35:01]
THAT, BUT WE'VE KIND OF, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING CURRENTLY.SO IT WAS ASKED THAT WE ADD THAT TO THIS LIST.
IT, IT MAY BE EASIER TO TAKE THIS QUESTION UP IN KIND OF TWO PARTS.
THE FIRST BEING A THROUGH H AND WHAT A THROUGH H IS, IS OUR INTERPRETATION OF THE COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK THAT WE HEARD FROM YOU ALL AT THE STRATEGIC PLAN WORKSHOP.
THOSE WERE THE THINGS THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT AND THE PRIORITIES THAT WE WERE KIND OF ORGANIZED.
NOW, AGAIN, I WOULDN'T SAY THAT A IS MORE OF A PRIORITY THAN E IT'S JUST THOSE WERE THE LIST OF ALL THE HIGH PRIORITY PROJECTS THAT HAD BEEN IDENTIFIED AS PART OF THAT, THAT SESSION.
SO FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE WANNA CONFIRM YES, THAT'S THE LIST.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING WITH.
AND AND WHY THAT'S IMPORTANT IS BECAUSE WITH CONFIRMATION OF THAT, WE'RE GONNA START BUILDING SOME OF THIS.
AND, AND JAMES, IF YOU COULD THROW THAT, UM, THAT EXCEL FILE UP REAL QUICK.
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT IS BECAUSE WHEN WE COME BACK WITH A STRATEGIC PLAN WORKSHOP, UH, AND WE COME BACK WITH THE ACTUAL PLAN, I'M GONNA TRY TO ATTACH THIS AS AN EXHIBIT OR AN ATTACHMENT TO THAT PLAN.
AND WHAT THIS REALLY IS, IS IT TAKES EACH ONE OF THOSE HIGH PRIORITY PROJECTS, IT SETS A BUDGET, AND IT SETS A SCHEDULE TO IT SO THAT YOU'LL KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING, WHAT WE'RE SPENDING THE MONEY ON WHEN WE'RE SPENDING IT, AND THEN BE ABLE TO SEE THE OVERALL BIG PICTURE AS IT RELATES TO ALL THESE PROJECTS.
SO FIRST AND FOREMOST IS CONFIRMATION THAT YES, THAT'S THE LIST, THAT'S THE PRIORITY, THAT'S THE FOCUS.
AND THEN THE SECOND ONE IS WANTED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE NEW ASPECT OF ENHANCED DECORATIONS, LANDSCAPING, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO MIGHT BE EASIER TO TAKE IT IN TWO PARTS.
THE QUESTION I HAVE IS, SOME OF THESE WE'VE ALREADY SUSPENDED MM-HMM
UH, A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF MONEY, MONEY ON.
I MEAN, AND SOME OF 'EM WE'VE ALREADY ANNOUNCED TO THE PUBLIC.
WE ARE GOING TO, TO, AND WHERE I'M GOING WITH THAT ONE IS, UH, UH, THE MEMORIAL PARK.
WE'VE ALREADY PUSHED THAT OUT THERE TO THE FOLKS.
UM, SAM, I, I, I, I THINK A NEW, UH, PD HEADQUARTERS IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.
BUT FOR ME, THE MEMORIAL PARK, WE'VE COMMITTED OURSELVES TO IT PUBLICLY IF WE WANT TO DO THAT.
AND THE OTHER IS THE FIRE STATION 82 RELOCATION.
YOU KNOW, A YEAR FROM NOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE OUR, OUR, UH, YEAH.
FIRE EQUIPMENT SITTING OUT IN THE RAIN
I WOULD AGREE WITH YOU THAT THAT IS DEFINITELY A DRIVING CONCERN OF OURS.
I WOULD SAY I THINK WE HAVE THE INTERNAL CAPACITY THAT WE CAN TAKE ON ALL OF THESE CONTEMPORANEOUSLY WITH ONE ANOTHER.
SO THAT'S WHY I'M SAYING WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY RANKING THEM 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
WE'RE JUST SAYING COLLECTIVELY AS A GROUP, THESE ARE OUR HIGH PRIORITY TARGETS.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE BUILDING IS A CLEAR WORK PLAN.
AND YOU'RE RIGHT, FOR SOME OF THESE, WE'RE GONNA GO BACK TO ACTIONS THAT HAVE ALREADY TAKEN.
SO YOU'VE ALREADY SPENT SOME MONEY, YOU'VE ALREADY HAD SOME DESIGNS, YOU'VE ALREADY DONE SOME WORK, BUT WE'RE NOT COMPLETE YET.
SO WE'RE AT LEAST SHOWING WHERE WE'RE AT IN PROCESS TODAY, AND THEN WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE GOING IN THE FUTURE SO THAT YOU CAN FOLLOW ALONG.
ULTIMATELY, WHAT THIS DOES IS THIS ALLOWS YOU TO HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE TO ARE YOU ON TIME, ARE YOU ON BUDGET? AND WHAT CAN WE EXPECT AND WHEN CAN WE EXPECT IT? AND THIS IS A WORK PLAN THAT WE CAN SHARE PUBLICLY SO THAT NOT ONLY YOU ARE INFORMED, BUT THE PUBLIC AT LARGE IS INFORMED ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING AND WHEN WE'RE DOING IT.
ANYONE ELSE? SO, JOSH, ARE YOU ASKING US TO PRIORITIZE THIS? UH, ALPHABET? NOT NECESSARILY PRIORITIZE IT JUST, WE'RE LOOKING FOR CONFIRMATION THAT THE, IS IT EIGHT ITEMS THAT ARE ON THERE? NINE ITEMS? I THINK EIGHT THAT THE EIGHT ITEMS THAT ARE ON THERE ARE THE HIGH PRIORITY PROJECTS THAT YOU WANT US TO FOCUS ON IN TERMS OF GETTING SOME MOMENTUM AND SOME, SOME PROGRESS.
IF THAT'S FINE, THEN WE'VE GOT THE LIST AND WE'LL MOVE FORWARD SO THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR CONFIRMATION.
NOW, IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S NOT ON THERE THAT YOU WANNA SEE ON THERE, WE NEED TO KNOW THAT.
OR IF THERE'S SOMETHING ON THERE THAT YOU THINK, HEY, IT'S GREAT, BUT THIS IS NOT A NOW THING, THIS IS A LATER THING, WE NEED TO KNOW THAT TOO.
SO CONFIRMATION OF THIS LIST IS REALLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
AND YOU SAID THE LIST IS COLLECTIVE AS OPPOSED TO THOSE ARE THE ORDERS.
I THINK THE EASIEST WAY TO DO IT IS A THROUGH H.
THOSE ARE THE HIGH PRIORITY PROJECTS.
AND IF, AND IF YOU AGREE WITH THAT, THEN WE'RE GONNA DO WORK ON ALL OF THESE.
I THINK, AND I THINK, EXCUSE ME WHEN GO AHEAD JOHN.
UM, STEVE BROUGHT UP A POINT THAT WAS KIND OF WHAT I WAS THINKING.
UM, I KNOW LIKE, UM, YOU AND I TALKED YESTERDAY MM-HMM
UM, LAST YEAR'S BANK, WE, UM, APPROVED $400,000 FOR 1 0 2 MAIN MM-HMM
AND YOU SAID YOU HAD SOME PLANS THAT YOU HAVE TO UTILIZE.
SO I WOULD THINK THAT WOULD KIND OF BE 1% WE ALREADY HAVE BUDGETED FOR IT FROM LAST YEAR.
[00:40:01]
I'LL TELL YOU WITH, WITH THIS LIST, I FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH RESOURCES, ENOUGH FUNDING, AND ENOUGH CAPACITY THAT WE CAN MAKE PROGRESS IN ALL OF THESE.IF WE WERE TO START ADDING TO THIS LIST, WE WOULD HAVE TO POTENTIALLY REEVALUATE THAT.
BUT WITH, WITH WHAT WE HAVE HERE, I'M COMFORTABLE THAT WE CAN MAKE SERIOUS PROGRESS ON ALL OF THESE BY THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR.
NOW DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE'RE GONNA BE READY TO BUILD ANYTHING, BUT WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHOW YOU THAT WE'LL AT LEAST HAVE THE CONCEPTUAL PLANS DONE, OR WE'LL HAVE THE SITE ANALYSIS COMPLETE OR WHATEVER IT IS.
BUT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO FOLLOW ALONG IN THIS CHART WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO AND WHEN WE'RE GONNA DO IT.
I THINK PROGRESS ON ALL OF 'EM IS IMPORTANT.
NOW LET ME, LET ME HIGHLIGHT IF JAMES, IF YOU COULD PULL THAT UP ONE MORE TIME.
LET ME HIGHLIGHT WHY I THINK THAT THIS IS IMPORTANT.
BECAUSE WHILE FOR THIS YEAR WE'RE PROBABLY TALKING ABOUT SMALLER NUMBERS.
YOU SEE, YOU KNOW, DESIGN PHASE 40,000 DESIGN 90,000.
BUT WHEN YOU START HITTING 25 AND INTO 26, WHEN WE START ACTUALLY TALKING CONSTRUCTION, THOSE NUMBERS GET TO BE FAIRLY BIG.
WHICH IS, OKAY, WE'LL HAVE A PLAN, WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT.
WE'LL WE'LL WORK TOWARDS THAT, BUT IT DOESN'T MAKE A WHOLE LOT OF SENSE TO GO OUT AND SPEND $400,000 ON SITE ANALYSIS AND DESIGN.
IF AFTER WE'RE DONE WITH THAT, WE'RE NOT GONNA MOVE FORWARD AND BUILD THE BUILDING ONCE WE GET DONE WITH IT.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO SHOW THIS A LITTLE BIT COMPREHENSIVELY SO THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THAT IF THESE ARE THE PROJECTS WE'RE GOING FORWARD WITH TODAY, A COUPLE OF YEARS FROM NOW, WE WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT DO WE NEED TO BORROW SOME MONDAY? DO WE NEED TO BOND SOME OF OUR REVENUE SOURCES SUCH AS DA FEES AND OTHER THINGS? WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO ULTIMATELY THEN GO FORWARD WITH CONSTRUCTION? AND SO IT'S NOT A TODAY CONVERSATION, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE YOU'RE AWARE THAT AT SOME POINT IN TIME IN THE FUTURE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE IT IF THIS IS THE PLAN WE'RE GOING FORWARD WITH.
SO, UH, THE QUESTION BEGS THE QUESTION, LET'S SAY WE ALL AGREE AND THAT'S ALL.
AND WHEN WE GET TO FEBRUARY 26TH, WE HAVE ALL THESE CONSTRUCTION NUMBERS UP THERE.
QUESTION IS THIS, THESE ARE PROJECTS NOT ONLY FOR THE PRESENT, BUT FOR THE FUTURE.
SO IF WE SAY YES TO ALL THESE THINGS, ALL THOSE CONSTRUCTION COSTS, DO WE HAVE ENOUGH BONDING CAPACITY TO TAKE CARE OF 'EM ALL? AND THAT'S IT.
AND, AND WHEN WE START GETTING READY TO HAVE THOSE, WE'RE GONNA BRING YOU THE DATA POINTS THAT SAY HERE'S WHAT OUR TOTAL CAPACITY IS.
'CAUSE RIGHT NOW I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE MUCH OF ANY OUTSTANDING DEBT.
THERE IS NO GENERAL OBLIGATION.
AND THAT THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE TYPE OF DEBT THAT YOU HAVE LIMITS ON.
BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO, I MEAN, YOU COULD DO THESE PROJECTS WITHOUT UTILIZING ANY GENERAL OBLIGATION DEBT.
WE ACTUALLY KIND OF HAVE THAT DATA POINT.
THE POINT IS, WE CAN, WE, WE CAN SAY WE WANNA DO 'EM, BUT IF WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY, SO WE'VE GOTTA KNOW NOW THAT WHEN THE TIME COMES, WE HAVE A WAY TO GET THE MONEY.
AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE NOW THEY ARE, THEY ARE PLACEHOLDER NUMBERS, BUT THEY ARE OUR BEST ESTIMATES AT SOME OF THESE COSTS BASED UPON WHAT WE KNOW NOW.
BUT THAT'S WHY I'M MAKING SURE THAT IT'S IN THIS DOCUMENT SO THAT YOU CAN SEE.
AND IF YOU CAN SCROLL UP JAMES, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THEM, AND I'M, I'M JUST GONNA HIGHLIGHT THE PD OFFICES AS ONE.
'CAUSE THAT'S GOING TO BE A BIG, BIG NUMBER.
I, I'M, I'M JUST TELLING YOU RIGHT NOW THAT THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
SO IF WE'RE DOING A 20,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT 20 TO $40 MILLION.
SO ONE THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THE SITE IS APPROPRIATELY SIZED TO MEET OUR NEEDS, BUT HAS THE CAPACITY TO BE EXPANDED IN THE FUTURE BECAUSE OUR NEEDS TODAY ARE GONNA BE DIFFERENT THAN OUR NEEDS 20 YEARS FROM NOW.
SO WE NEED TO MEET THOSE CURRENT NEEDS, BUT MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO EXPAND IN THE FUTURE, TO MEET THOSE FUTURE NEEDS WHEN THE TIME IS APPROPRIATE.
SO WE'LL BUILD THAT INTO OUR DESIGN PLAN.
BUT FOR SOME OF THESE, AGAIN, NEW CITY HALL FIRE STATIONS, HARDY V PD, THOSE, THOSE COULD BE SOME BIG NUMBERS BY THE TIME WE GET TO ACTUALLY TALKING CONSTRUCTION, AND I KNOW WE'VE GOT BONDING CAPACITY, BUT WE MAY HAVE, WE MAY HAVE TO LOOK AT OTHER REVENUE SOURCES AS WELL.
UM, WELL, I, I HAVE CERTAINLY NO OBJECTION TO THE LIST AND TO THE SCHEDULE.
I WOULD ASK, THERE'S TWO THINGS THAT WEREN'T ON THE LIST THAT, OKAY.
UM, I WOULD, I WOULD QUESTION THAT, UH, NOT BEING THERE.
NUMBER ONE, A COUPLE YEARS AGO WE STARTED A, A STORMWATER MASTER PLAN.
DO WE HAVE ANYTHING LEFT TO DO WITH IDENTIFYING STORMWATER PLANTS? YOU KNOW, WE, WE STILL HAVE, WE, WE STILL HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE
[00:45:01]
NEVER COME TO ANY FINAL CONCLUSION ON PINE ARB ROAD.UM, IS THERE, IS THERE, IT'S A THREE YEAR CONTRACT AND WE'VE, WE'VE RUN, WE'VE RUN THAT CONTRACT IS WHAT I'M BEING TOLD.
WE, OKAY, SO WE'VE RUN THAT CONTRACT, BUT NOW DID, IS THERE ANY IMPLEMENTATION NEEDS BASED ON THAT STUDY THAT WE NEED TO START PLANNING FOR? ARE WE SATISFIED THAT EVERYTHING'S BEEN DONE TO ALLEVIATE THE STORMWATER FLOOD FROM YEAH, I WAS, I KNOW THAT WORK HAS BEEN DONE ON PINE ARBOR ROAD AND IT WAS DONE ON 46 AND SOME OTHER AREAS, AND THAT WAS DONE INTERNALLY BY OUR PUBLIC WORKS CREWS.
NOW WHETHER THAT WAS THE ENTIRETY THAT WAS CALLED FOR, I, I, I DON'T KNOW, BUT WE CAN GET SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THAT PARTICULAR ASPECT.
YEAH, IT'S A GREAT, EXCUSE ME, I'M, UH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, MAYOR, THE, UM, COUPLE THINGS.
FIRST OF ALL, A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW ARE SIMPLY JUST PART OF OUR OPERATIONAL BUDGET.
LIKE THE WORK ON PINE ARBOR THAT'S JUST BEEN OPERATIONAL HAS BEEN CAPITAL.
UM, WE HAVE ALREADY DONE SOME CAPITAL THINGS.
UM, AND WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE IN THE WORKS THAT, I MEAN, THAT LIST DOESN'T REPRESENT EVERYTHING WHEN OUR CIP OBVIOUSLY SOME ARE, YOU KNOW, THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE SMALLER ITEMS. UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'VE, UM, THE 17 PUMP STATION IS ONE THAT COMES TO MIND.
YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, WE GOTTA WORK DOWNSTREAM AND WORK BACK, YOU KNOW, THE WATER ACTUALLY HAS A PLACE TO GO.
UM, AS WE TALKED BEFORE, I KNOW WE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, NOT THRILLED ABOUT IT, BUT ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE, OF THE STORMWATER MASTER PLAN WAS TO ALSO HAVE, ESTABLISH A, UH, STORMWATER UTILITY.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, WE'VE BEEN ADDING A FEE INTO OUR NEW DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS TO KIND OF GET SOME MONEY TO PURCHASE THE, THE PROPER EQUIPMENT TO MAINTAIN BOTH OUR STREETS AND DRAINAGE.
'CAUSE THEY'RE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE VERY MUCH RELATED.
SO, UM, YES, THERE WILL BE NEEDS AND THERE WILL BE BIGGER PROJECTS THAT WILL BE IDENTIFIED, BUT NOTHING AT THIS POINT.
BUT WE WILL, WE CAN STILL, AND, UM, WITH CARLA BEING ON, ON, UH, STAFF NOW, WE ARE CERTAINLY GONNA KEEP PUSHING FORWARD WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT MASTER PLAN.
BUT I'M CONFIDENT THAT, UM, WE DON'T, WE, WE DON'T HAVE A BIG CIP PROJECT FOR THIS UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR.
BUT, BUT WORK WILL STILL CONTINUE TO HAPPEN THROUGH THIS, THROUGH THE, UH, THE OPERATIONAL BUDGET.
ARE YOU SAYING MATT, THAT WE STILL HAVE SOME, UH, CIP PROJECTS? UH, RIGHT NOW? YEAH.
WE'VE GOT LIKE, THE MC TIER PUMP STATION IS ONE THAT WE'VE, WE'VE GOT, I'VE FINISHED UP, SO OUR, WE HAVE A FIVE YEAR CIP BUDGET.
AND SO IT'S A FAIRLY LARGE SPREADSHEET.
WHAT WE'RE DOING IS IDENTIFYING THE PRIORITIES OUT OF THOSE.
SO IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA KEEP WORKING ON THE OTHER ONES THAT ARE IN THE BUDGET, AND THE BUDGET HAS TO BE APPROVED AS PART OF YOUR OVERALL APPROVAL OF THE OPERATIONAL BUDGET.
UM, IT'S JUST THAT WE WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THESE, THAT THESE ARE GOING TO BE THE ONES THAT WE'RE REALLY GONNA MAKE A, A CONCERTED EFFORT TO ADVANCE AND, AND MOVE DOWN THE ROAD IN TERMS OF COMPLETION.
I'M JUST SAYING I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE ONES THAT ALREADY IN PROGRESS.
HOW MUCH ARE WE COMMITTED FOR? SURE.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S TO MATT, YOUR POINT, THERE ARE ONGOING PROJECTS LIKE, LIKE THE STORM HOLE, ALL THE PUMPS AND EVERYTHING THAT WILL CONTINUE IN ADDITION TO WHAT THESE ARE ABSO ABSOLUTELY.
AND THERE'S ONE OTHER THAT WE'RE WASN'T ON THIS LIST THAT UH, UH, I GUESS THIS IS MIGHT BE FOR JEN.
WE HAVE ALWAYS HAD AS PART OF OUR PLAN, OUR RECREATION PLAN TO GET A WALKING PATH FROM RICHARD GRAY TO THE REC CENTER.
IS IS THAT IN THE EXISTING PLANS? YES, IT IS.
IT JUST, IT WASN'T TALKED ABOUT AT THE WORKSHOP AS BEING A PRIORITY.
THAT'S WHY IT'S, BUT I KNOW THIS IS AN ONGOING, AND THIS MAY ALSO, AND ONE OF THE REASONS I BROUGHT IT UP, IT MAY ALSO BE ONE OF THE THINGS PERHAPS THAT WE CAN PURSUE OUR LEGISLATION, LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION TO, UH, HAVE THEM FUND IT.
BUT MR. BOYLE, WHAT WE WELL, YES, MR. MAYOR.
UM, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE, AND IT COULD JUST BE THE WAY I, I PUT THIS IN THE OUTLINE.
THESE ARE THE EIGHT THAT, THAT, UM, THE CITY MANAGER AND I HAVE, HAVE LOOKED AT AS THE EIGHT THAT YOU REALLY, THAT YOU'VE TALKED, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT REPEATEDLY.
WE DON'T MEAN TO THINK THAT WHEN YOU GET THE CIP YOU'RE NOT GONNA SEE 40, 50, 60 ODD REQUESTS THAT MR. GRUBER MIGHT ONLY RECO, YOU KNOW, RECOMMEND FOR, FOR FURTHER, UH, FOR FURTHER APPROVAL.
UM, MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY BE LESS THAN HALF THAT.
BUT THIS IS JUST THE ONES THAT WE'VE
[00:50:01]
IDENTIFIED OVER TIME THAT ARE ONGOING, UH, YOU KNOW, FRONT OF MIND THINGS FOR COUNCIL.THIS IS NOT THE LIST OF ALL THAT WE'RE GOING TO ASK FOR.
AND I GUESS THAT WAS THE QUESTION.
YOU KNOW, THERE ARE THINGS LIKE THE TRAIL LIKE STORMWATER THAT HAVE BEEN IN PROGRESS THAT WE JUST WANT, I THINK THE FEELING FROM THE COUNCIL IS WE STILL, WE DON'T WANT THEM TO FALL OFF THE LIST 'CAUSE THESE EIGHT WENT ON.
SO THIS IS NOT TAKING ANYTHING OFF OF OR ONTO THE CIP LIST THAT ALREADY EXISTS.
THIS IS JUST PRIORITIZING THOSE THINGS THAT YOU WANNA MAKE A CONCERTED EFFORT ON.
AND SO IF YOU WANTED TO ADD THE WALKING TRAIL AS PART OF THAT AND, AND THE REST OF COUNCIL AGREED, WE CAN EASILY MAKE THAT NINE ITEMS INSTEAD.
AS LONG AS IT'S, IT'S GONNA BE AS LONG AS IT'S ON, YOU CAN SEE IT EITHER WAY.
AND I DON'T WANT IT TO BE FORGOTTEN.
I KNOW JEN WON'T LET IT TO BE.
WE WORRY ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS, BUT WE, WE DON'T WORRY ABOUT JEN FORGETTING ABOUT THE PAST.
WELL, THE OTHER THING IS, THESE ARE THE ONES THAT WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA COMMUNICATE WITH THE PUBLIC THE MOST ABOUT IF WE'RE REPLACING A ROOF OR AN HVAC SYSTEM, THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT.
EVEN THOUGH IT IS ON OUR CIP, WE HAVE TO REPLACE THE ROOF AGAIN ALREADY.
UH, WELL NOT ON THIS BUILDING, BUT WE HAVE PLENTY OF OTHERS.
SO THIS ARE THE ONES THAT WE'RE REALLY GONNA TALK TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT AND THAT THEY'RE GONNA WANNA KNOW WHAT ARE WE DOING AND WHAT'S THE PROGRESS THAT WE'RE MAKING.
SOME OF THESE PROJECTS PROBABLY WOULD QUALIFY THE CD BG.
SO, UM, THE MAYOR MENTIONED, UH, LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION AND SEEKING SOME EXTERNAL FUNDING FROM THE STATE.
UM, WE'RE GONNA MEET AS STAFF NEXT WEEK AND WE'RE GONNA START PUTTING TOGETHER KIND OF A PROPOSED ASK LIST OF PROJECTS.
UM, AND WE'RE GONNA THEN BRING THAT TO YOU.
I'M EITHER GONNA TALK WITH YOU ABOUT IT DURING OUR TWO ON TWO MEETINGS OR TRY TO FIND A WORKSHOP OR SOMETHING WHERE WE CAN BRING THAT BACK, GET YOUR BLESSING ON THAT LIST.
AND THEN THE MAYOR AND I WILL MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO GO UP TO COLUMBIA AND DELIVER THAT TO OUR DELEGATION REPRESENTATIVES AND TALK TO THEM ABOUT THOSE PROJECTS AND WHY WE THINK THE FUNDING FOR THEM IS IMPORTANT.
SO THAT'S GONNA BE COMING UP PROBABLY WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.
UM, BUT WE'RE ALWAYS GONNA SEEK OUT EXTERNAL FUNDING IF WE CAN, IF WE CAN QUALIFY FOR IT.
AND SO THE CDBG PROGRAM'S, ONE OF THEM, IT'S, IT'S BEEN OUT THERE FOR A WHILE, BUT THERE'S A NUMBER OF BOXES THAT WE HAVE TO CHECK AND SOMETIMES WE DO AND SOMETIMES WE DON'T.
BUT TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN, WE WILL BE CHASING SOME OF THOSE FUNDS.
I'M WORKING WITH NEIL ON ANOTHER ONE WITH A HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT THROUGH FEMA, ASSUMING THAT THEY STILL EXIST AS AN AGENCY OF THE GOVERNMENT.
UH, 60 DAYS FROM NOW, WE'RE GONNA GO SEEK SOME FUNDING THERE TO DO SOME OF OUR GENERATOR PROJECTS FOR SOME OF OUR CORE FACILITIES.
THERE'S, THERE'S A NUMBER OF THINGS, BUT IF WE CAN FIND EXTERNAL FUNDING, WE'RE ALWAYS GONNA GO AFTER IT.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY, UM, OUTSTANDING, UM, CBD WE DON'T.
SO THAT, THAT QUALIFIES US, RIGHT JOHN? YEAH.
AND I THINK WHEN WE DO GO TO COLUMBIA, IF, IF WE COULD BE JOINED BY ANOTHER COUNCIL MEMBER, I THINK THE MORE WE GO IN STRENGTH, THE BETTER.
WE CAN'T CROSS THE THRESHOLD OF THREE, BUT IF WE CAN CERTAINLY BRING TWO IF Y'ALL CAN DECIDE WHO YEAH.
BUT I THINK THAT WOULD MM-HMM
CINDY'S GONNA BE VERY HELPFUL IN TRYING TO COORDINATE SCHEDULES WITH THEM.
'CAUSE I, I SUSPECT THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT HARDER TO GET AHOLD OF THAN IT WILL BE FOR OUR SCHEDULE.
IT WOULD BE EASIER FOR US TO GET OUR SCHEDULE TOO
I FIGURED THAT THAT MIGHT BE THE CASE.
NO, YOU'RE COMING AND THEY RUN OUT THE BACK THAT THAT'S IT AND GOOD ABOUT THAT.
YOU, YOU GET THERE AND THEY SAY, OH, IT WAS A COMMITTEE MEETING, LUNCH BREAK.
WELL, YOU DIDN'T, EXCEPT IT'S AROUND ELECTION.
WE'RE WE'RE LIVE AND IN PUBLIC GROUP.
SO THE LAST ITEM THAT I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT, THE ITEM I, SO THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE TALKED ABOUT DURING THE WORKSHOP, BUT I, I WANTED TO ADD IT HERE TO REMEMBER TO, TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT IT.
AND I KNOW WE DISCUSSED IT KIND OF DURING OUR, OUR TOUCH BASE MEETINGS, BUT I'D LIKE TO LOOK AT ASSUMING THAT WE HAVE THE FINANCIAL FLEXIBILITY TO DO SO.
THIS IS, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT RISES TO THE TOP OF THE LIST, BUT I DO THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT REALLY GOES TO THE CHARACTER OF THE COMMUNITY AND THAT IS HOW DO THINGS LOOK? AND SO WE'VE GOT SOME AREAS THAT ARE OKAY, BUT I REALLY THINK THEY COULD STAND TO BENEFIT FROM BEING ELEVATED.
AND SO I USED AN EXAMPLE OF THE WHITE HARDY BOULEVARD CORRIDOR AND I DROVE THROUGH MULTIPLE TIMES THIS YEAR OVER THE CHRISTMAS SEASON.
AND I SAW THAT OUR, OUR TEAM HAD PUT UP SOME DECORATIONS AND IT LOOKED NICE AND IT LOOKED FESTIVE.
AND I, I'M THINKING TO MYSELF, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN ADD TO THAT, IT COULD REALLY LOOK SOMETHING SPECIAL.
AND OBVIOUSLY THAT CAN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, BUT IF WE START ADDING SOME FUNDS YEAR OVER YEAR, I THINK WE CAN RAISE THE IMAGE, NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS, BUT OUR OVERALL LANDSCAPING LIGHTING SIDEWALKS.
UH, AGAIN, DRIVING DOWN WHITE HARDY BOULEVARD.
WE'VE GOT SOME GREAT STREET LAMPS THAT ARE THERE.
[00:55:01]
SOME OF WHICH DON'T, YOU KNOW, MANY OF WHICH HAVEN'T BEEN PAINTED IN, WHO, WHO KNOWS HOW LONG.SO MY POINT WITH THIS IS IF WE CAN FINANCIALLY MAKE IT WORK, I'D LIKE TO PUT SOME MONEY INTO OUR CIP BUDGET TO FOCUS ON OUR GROUNDS AND OUR LANDSCAPING AND OUR LIGHTS AND OUR DECORATIONS TO TRY TO RAISE THE IMAGE OF THE CITY CUMULATIVELY THROUGH ALL THOSE ACTIONS.
AND I, AND I BROUGHT THAT UP AT THE RETREAT BECAUSE THAT VERY REASON, JUST TO CHECK AND SEE, MAKE SURE WE DON'T EVER GET IN THE SITUATION, ERIC, AND REMEMBER THAT WE WERE IN, I MEAN WE HAD ALMOST NOTHING MM-HMM
THAT THAT DOES THAT QUALIFY FOR, UH, CITY IT VERY WELL COULD STREETSCAPE PROJECTS WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY TALKED ABOUT THAT LAST WEEK ABOUT THAT.
AND, AND THERE'S MAIN STREET FUNDS AND THERE'S SOME OTHER FUNDS THAT WE CAN GO CHASE TOO.
SOMETHING TO CONSIDER FOR AS, AS YOU'RE MM-HMM
DOING THAT IS, WE HAVE JUST IN THE PAST WHAT YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF, WE'VE HAD TWO LANDSCAPE COMPANIES LOCATED WITHIN OUR CITIES.
I'VE SEEN OTHER CITIES DO THAT WHERE THEY HAVE BASICALLY ANY NEW BASKETS OF BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS ALONG THE STREET.
THOSE ARE DONATED OUR CITY STAFF WATER.
BUT THAT'S, THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT MAYBE WE NEED TO DO TO ASK THESE PLACES.
SO, SO MY WIFE MAKES FUN OF ME BECAUSE IF WE TRAVEL ANYWHERE, SHE'S OUT LOOKING AT THE COOL SHOPS OR THE INTERESTING THINGS AND I'M TAKING PICTURES OF THE HANGING BASKETS AND THE STRIPING ON THE SIDEWALKS BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S COOL TO ME.
NO, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT I THINK WE COULD DO.
AND I THINK WE START RIGHT AT, AT THE CENTER OF MAIN STREET AND WHITE HARDY BOULEVARD AND WE KIND OF EXPAND FROM THERE AS FUNDING WILL ALLOW.
BUT IF WE CAN REALLY START IMPROVING HOW THAT LOOKS, IT WILL PAY DIVIDENDS IN TERMS OF OUR REDEVELOPMENT EFFORTS FOR THOSE AREAS.
ALSO, I THINK A LOT OF THAT IS LOW HANGING FRUIT.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THESE OTHER THINGS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, IT IS LOW HANGING, BUT EXPENSIVE FRUIT
IT IS, BUT IT IS ALSO, AS YOU SAY, A REAL MULTIPLIER EFFECT.
IT'S WHEN PEOPLE SAY THAT IT'S ALSO A MULTIPLIER EFFECT WHEN THEY DON'T SEE IT.
AND THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE OUT THERE.
NOW WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, CRATE MYRTLES THAT ARE DOWN MAIN STREET, SOME OF WHICH ARE THERE, SOME OF WHICH HAVE BEEN KILLED OVER TIME, SOME OF WHICH HAVE BEEN CUT DOWN.
AND WE JUST NEED SOME CONSISTENCY AND TO ELEVATE IT A LITTLE BIT.
I REALLY THINK IT'LL START TO TAKE NICE SHAPE.
SO THAT WAS THE CONCEPT THERE AND JUST WANTED TO KIND OF GET YOUR FEEDBACK ON IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD OR SHOULD NOT PURSUE.
DO YOU? I WAS JUST GOING TO BRING THAT UP.
MAYBE WE COULD MEET WITH THEM AND LOVE, SEE HOW THEY COULD HELP US WITH THOSE, WITH THOSE BASKETS.
YEAH, IF YOU CAN HELP ME MAKE AN INTRODUCTION, WOULD LOVE TO TALK TO THEM.
AND IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS, IF WE CAN PAY TO PUT IT IN, IF THEY CAN HELP US KEEP IT AND MAINTAIN IT, THAT WOULD BE EVEN BETTER.
BECAUSE THEY ALL LIVE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
I'LL, I'LL BE HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU TO MAKE THOSE, UH, CONNECTIONS AND SIT DOWN AND CHAT WITH 'EM.
THEY'VE BEEN HERE, JOSH, PRIOR TO YOU COMING AND THEY, THEY DID A NICE DISPLAY FOR OCTOBER FOR BREAST CANCER MONTH OUT FRONT.
AND THEY WERE LOOKING FOR MORE PROJECTS, I THINK.
NEIL, WERE YOU THERE WHEN WE MET WITH THEM? SO WE, WE'VE MADE INITIAL CONTACTS.
PROBABLY A GOOD IDEAS 'CAUSE YOU KNEW YOU SINCE THEY CAME.
AND, UH, VAL NEIL, WHY YOU I, CAN YOU SET IT UP? OKAY.
AND, UH, LET'S SEE WHAT ADDITIONAL THINGS THEY CAN DO.
WE ARE TO THE LAST GUIDANCE POINT THAT WE WANTED TO BRING FOR YOU TODAY.
AND I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS INDIVIDUALLY, BUT WANTED TO TALK ABOUT IT COLLECTIVELY AS WELL.
AND AGAIN, THIS GIVES US DIRECTION ON HOW WE'RE SUPPOSED TO TRY AND BUILD THE BUDGET.
WHICH DIRECTION ARE WE GOING IN? IT'S THE QUESTION OF MILLAGE.
ARE WE GOING TO BUILD A BUDGET WITH A MILLAGE SPECIFIC DIRECTION, OR ARE WE GOING TO BUILD A BUDGET THAT IS A NEEDS BASED OR REQUEST BASED BUDGET THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT? AND THEN SEE WHERE THE MILLAGE KIND OF SHAKES OUT AT THE END OF IT.
AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S DIFFERING OPINIONS ON THAT, AND SO WE WANTED TO BRING THAT FORWARD TO YOU ALL, UM, TO SEE IF WE COULD GET ANY KIND OF CONSENSUS OR DIRECTION ON HOW TO AT LEAST APPROACH IT FROM THAT CONCEPTUAL STANDPOINT.
WHY DON'T WE START WITH STEVE.
UM, I'D LIKE TO SEE A BUDGET WITH NO INCREASE IN THE VILLAGE.
I'D ALSO LIKE TO SEE THE SAME BUDGET WITH A DECREASE OF ONE.
IT'S THE ONLY WAY WE'RE, WE'RE ABLE TO JUDGE.
WHAT IT IS BY IS, IS BY LOOKING AT IT ON FROM BOTH SIDES.
BUT I, RIGHT NOW, I FAVOR GIVEN THE UNCERTAINTY OF, OF THINGS THAT WE ARE WAY BEYOND OUR CONTROL TO KEEP THAT, UH, MILLAGE WHERE IT'S
[01:00:01]
AT.UM, BUT I NEED TO LOOK AT THE NUMBERS BOTH WAYS TO MAKE A, MAKE A POSITIVE DECISION.
STEVE, ARE YOU SAYING REDUCE IT? NO, I, I, YES.
I, I WANNA LOOK AT THE NUMBERS BOTH WAYS.
OF, OF LEAVING IT ALONE WHERE THE MILLAGE IS RIGHT NOW.
AND AT A 1% DECREASE THAT WAY, IT'S THE WAY I CAN JUDGE.
YOU WANT TWO BALANCE SHEETS FROM THERE? YEAH.
TO SEE WHERE, WHERE YOU KNOW, WHERE WE CAN, AND THE REASON I SAY THAT IS, IS WE, THIS IS OUR FIRST THING.
WE TALKED ABOUT INCREASING OUR BUDGET STABILIZATION FUND.
WE, WE JUST TALKED ABOUT DOING THAT.
UM, NOW WE HAVE TO FIGURE THAT INTO THE BUDGET.
SO, SO THE NUMBERS, THE NUMBERS WE HAVE TO LOOK AT
WE ARE GROWING IN LEAPS AND BOUNDS.
I DON'T THINK WE ARE KEEPING ABREAST OF WHAT THE OTHER SURROUNDING JURISDICTIONS ARE DOING, UH, UM, HOW DIFFICULT IT HAS BEEN FOR CHIEF WOODWARD TO RECRUIT POLICE OFFICERS TO FILL THE ONES THAT HAVE ALREADY LEFT OR EVEN KEEPING ABREAST OF THE GROWTH IN THE CITY.
SO THAT'S MY CONCERN WITH DROPPING IT.
SO TO WHAT STEVE SAYS, LET US HAVE THE NUMBERS FOR KEEPING IT STEADY AND TRYING TO GIVE CHIEF A COUPLE OF BODIES, UH, DROPPING IT AND NOT HAVING ANYTHING.
I THINK THAT, UM, WITH WHAT'S BEEN SAID, I WOULD THE 30,000 FOOT LEVEL AGREE WITH IT.
I WOULD SAY MY WAY WOULD SAYING WOULD BE KEEP IT THE SAME.
YOU ALWAYS HAVE THE POSSIBILITY OF LOWERING IT DOWN THE ROAD.
WHAT I, YOU DON'T HAVE THE POSSIBILITY OF DOING IS LOWERING IT AND THEN MOVING IT BACK UP, IN MY OPINION.
SO I WOULD SAY KEEP IT THE SAME AND, UH, WATCH WHAT HAPPENS.
AND, UH, ALWAYS COULD BE A SURPRISE AND, BUT, UH, MY, MY INSTINCTS WILL KEEP IT THE SAME AT THIS POINT.
AND, AND STEVE AND VAL REALLY MY, I'LL LEAN TOWARD LEAVING IT AS IT IS BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE, UM, SAM TO WORRY ABOUT AND, UM, HIS GUYS AND, UM, IT'S ALREADY HARD ENOUGH TO GET AN OFFICER PERIOD.
AND THEN YOU GOT THE COMPETITION SURROUNDING AREAS AND WHATEVER.
AND ALSO I WORRY ABOUT, UM, WHICH I DISCUSS TO YOU JOSH SEVERAL TIMES ABOUT KEITH LAUREN.
AND THEN SOMETHING HAPPENS AND YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO MAYBE GO OFF OF SOMETHING AND THEN WE GET IN THE VIBE.
SO I, I LEAN TOWARD LEAVING IT ALONE.
BUT LIKE STEVE AND, YOU KNOW, SEE I FALLS OUT.
I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE PHILOSOPHICALLY, UH, THE, AS WE SEE IN FRONT OF US, THE, UM, THE MILLAGE REDUCTION THAT'S TAKEN PLACE OVER SINCE 2016 WHEN I BECAME MAYOR, WHEN I CAME HERE AND THERE WAS NOTHING GOING ON.
UH, IT WAS, I CAMPAIGNED, I TALKED TO THE PEOPLE OF, OF HARDY V UH, AND THOSE COMING AND I'D HEAR IT ALL THE TIME ABOUT HOW HIGH TAXES ARE VERSUS BEAUFORT COUNTY.
IT'S ALL, AS A, A FISCAL CONSERVATIVE.
I HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SHOULD LEAD TO LOWER TAXES.
AND AS WE CAN SEE, THAT PHILOSOPHY HAS BEEN PUT INTO PLACE.
AND I DO RECOGNIZE THAT LAST YEAR WAS A GOING AWAY GIFT TO ME.
UH, AND I THANK THE COUNCIL FOR THAT.
BUT IT IS, IT IS A BEDROCK OF MY CORE BELIEFS.
AND AS SUCH, I, I CANNOT SUPPORT I I'LL, WHATEVER THE COUNCIL CHOOSES, ITS MAJORITY RULES.
BUT I CANNOT SUPPORT OR EVER VOTE FOR ANY BUDGET THAT DOES NOT HAVE A, UM, A DECREASE IN MILLAGE.
EVEN IF IT'S, EVEN IF IT'S A SMALL AMOUNT.
AND PART OF MY JUSTIFICATION, AS I SAID IN IN, IN THE RETREAT, NOT ONLY IS THE CORE BEDROCK, WE'RE HAVING ALL THIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BRINGING
[01:05:01]
IN LITERALLY MILLIONS OF ADDITIONAL REVENUE EVERY SINGLE YEAR.AND THAT WE SHOULD GIVE BACK TO THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE MADE IT POSSIBLE.
AND THAT'S THE RESIDENT OF THIS CITY.
AND ON TOP OF IT, MY SECOND RATIONALE WAS WE HAVE, WE ARE GIVEN OUR RESIDENTS, NOT A REDUCTION, BUT WE'RE RAISING TAXES.
MY TAXES AS AN EXAMPLE, WENT UP $325 'CAUSE WE HAVE MORE PEOPLE THAN WE'VE HAD AN INCREASE IN TAX REVENUES.
AND SO THOSE RE REBATES IN LOST REVENUES ARE LOWER, RAISING THE BOTTOM LINE TAX.
AND THAT'S WHAT ALL PEOPLE, PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND LOSS, THEIR A TAX AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS.
THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHAT DID THEY PAY LAST YEAR AND WHAT DID THEY HAVE THIS YEAR? AND ON TOP OF IT, WE'RE RAISING SALES TAX BY 1%.
SO I FEEL EVEN MORE STRONGLY THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF THOSE TWO REASONS THAT WE SHOULD DO OUR PART AND REWARD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BY LOWERING TAXES.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A CORE BEDROCK I'VE HAD ALL MY LIFE.
AND I, I I WOULD BE A HYPOCRITE IF I VOTED FOR SOMETHING THAT DIDN'T, DIDN'T ALIGN WITH THAT CORE.
AND I, I RECOGNIZE THAT THE OTHER FOUR, YOU MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT THING AND, BUT I'M JUST SAYING THIS, AND HERE'S ANOTHER REASON THAT THESE NUMBERS, WE HAVE AN INCREASE IN ASSESSED VALUE OF 15%.
WE HAVE AN ASSESSED, WE HAVE A MARKET VALUE OF 10%.
WE HAVE SO MUCH MORE OF A TAX BASE, AND THAT'S WHAT'S BRINGING IN MILLIONS OF MORE DOLLARS.
I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT THERE IS $140,000 OF, OF MONEY THAT AT THE, EACH DEPARTMENT COULD COME IN AND LIVE WITHOUT.
THAT WOULD NOT CHANGE THE LEVEL OF SERVICE AND WOULD, WOULD, UM, CONTINUE TO GET MORE POLICE OFFICERS AND DO ALL THE THINGS THAT WE WANNA DO.
THE CAPITAL INVESTMENTS ARE TOTALLY SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
AND SO, UM, I FEEL VERY STRONGLY ABOUT IT, STRONGLY ENOUGH THAT, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THE COUNCIL WANTS.
BUT I WILL CERTAINLY, I I'LL, I'LL BE A NO VOTE.
I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT, UM, IT'S A CORE VALUE OF MINE AND I'LL STAY TRUE TO IT, UM, THIS YEAR EVEN MORE SO BECAUSE OF THE, WHAT'S COMING OUT TO BE TAX INCREASES FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
UM, SO, BUT ONCE AGAIN, I, I WILL AGREE WITH WHAT STEVE SAID IN THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO SEE THE NUMBERS.
WE HAVE TO SEE WHAT, UM, WHAT LEAVING IT THE SAME AND WHAT 1%, UH, ARE GOING DOWN TO 94 IS, UM, I WILL ON MY OWN FIND 140,000 I, UH, THROUGH QUESTIONING
AND I'M NOT GONNA GIVE ANY EXAMPLES 'CAUSE I DON'T WANT TO EMBARRASS PEOPLE.
BUT YOU KNOW, I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN FIND 140,000 OUT OF A BUDGET OF WHAT, 30 MILLION WHATEVER, CLOSER TO 50 50.
IF WE CAN'T FIND $140,000 OUT OF 150, THAT OKAY, WE CAN LIVE WITHOUT THAT THIS YEAR.
THE ONE OF THE REASONS I ASKED FOR TO SEE THE BUDGET BOTH DIRECTIONS IS JOHN, JOHN AND I HAVE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF A DISCUSSION WITHOUT SEEING WHAT OUR, UH, COST OF LIVING IS GOING TO BE AND WHAT THE SALARY INCREASES ARE GOING TO BE.
WE HAVE AN ESTIMATE OF WHAT OUR, UH, ADDITIONAL TAX REVENUE IS.
WE HAVE JUST AN ESTIMATE OF THAT.
WE DON'T REALLY HAVE AN ESTIMATE OF WHAT THOSE OTHER COSTS ARE GOING TO BE.
AND I, WE WENT THROUGH THIS LAST YEAR, I BELIEVE THE YEAR BEFORE, YOU SIT THERE AND YOU SEE THIS NUMBER OF WHAT OUR ADDITIONAL REVENUE IS, AND THEN YOU START CHIPPING AWAY AT IT WITH THESE, UH, COSTS THAT WE HAVE TO PAY.
AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, THEN WE HAVE WHAT'S LEFT OVER.
NOW WE'VE JUST, LIKE I SAID, WE JUST DISCUSSED ABOUT INCREASING, UH, THAT RESERVE, THAT THAT'S A NEW FACTOR INTO THAT MONEY THAT'S LEFT.
SO, YOU KNOW, I, I'M NOT GONNA COMMIT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, BUT AS OF THIS POINT RIGHT NOW, I'M IN FAVOR OF LEAVING THAT, UH, THE MILLAGE ALONE.
IF, IF, IF, IF WE SEE THAT WE'RE SUCCESSFUL WITH IT, WE LOOK AT IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR, BUT WE HAVE TOO MANY UNKNOWNS FOR ME RIGHT NOW.
[01:10:01]
A PERSPECTIVE BASED ON WHAT HARRY SAID, WHICH I THINK IS, UH, IT'S A WONDERFUL LEGACY WE'VE HAD AS A GROUP.AND, UM, I DON'T TAKE IT LIGHTLY AT ALL.
I THINK, JOHN, IF YOU AND JOSH COULD TAKE THE VALLEY, UH, VALUE OF ONE MILLAGE POINT AND LOOK AT THAT, AND I THINK YOUR LOOK WOULD BE PERHAPS MORE OBJECTIVE THAN THE COUNCIL BECAUSE WE HAVE OUR LEGACY THAT THAT'S ME SPEAKING FOR MYSELF.
BUT I THINK IF YOU COULD DO THAT AND SHOW US AREAS WITH CONSENSUS OF OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS SO THAT THE COUNCIL ISN'T SORT OF DOING SOMETHING TO THEM FOR SOMETHING WE HAVE A LOT OF PRIDE IN, WHICH IS A VERY LEGITIMATE PRIDE THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
UH, I, I HAVE IT NOT AS MUCH PHILOSOPHICALLY AS I HAVE A SENSE OF CAUTION.
AND SO, UH, I'M OPEN TO, UH, TO SOME OBJECTIVE FACTS AND, AND, AND I DON'T, AND I'M NOT IRONCLAD AND I THINK HARRY RAISES A VERY GOOD POINT.
AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS A GOOD POINT.
I I THINK IT WOULD BE MORE POWERFUL IF HARRY DOES THIS, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU AS WELL.
UH, AND I THINK IT'S AN OPEN QUESTION STILL, BUT WE'RE BEING CAUTIOUS HERE.
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I DON'T THINK IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE AT THE POINT TO HAVE POINT, COUNTERPOINT DEBATE.
WHAT WE WANNA DO IS A CONSENSUS.
I WILL, I WILL SAY AND REMIND, I BROUGHT THESE NUMBERS OUT LAST YEAR, NOT COUNTING 2024.
IF YOU GO BACK TO 2015 WHEN THE MILLS WAS 136, THE TAXPAYER, THE AVERAGE TAXPAYER GONNA USED $350,000, UH, LAST YEAR.
AND, AND THE VALUES OF OUR HOMES, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY ARE MUCH HIGHER THAN THAT.
BUT 350, UH, IF WE HAD LEFT THE MILLS AT THREE A HUNDRED THIRTY SIX IN 2015, 10 YEARS AGO, THE HOMEOWNER OF A $350,000 HOME WOULD HAVE A TAX BILL.
NOT COUNTING EVEN 2024 OF $2,100 HIGHER THAN WHAT IT IS TODAY.
BUT BECAUSE OF TAX REDUCTION AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF, OF REDUCING TAXES, WE HAVE MADE OUR HARDY BILL MORE PALATABLE AND MORE UP FOR INVESTMENT.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE OTHER I, UH, BEDROCKS OF, OF TAX REDUCTION.
IF WE HAD LEFT THIS THE WAY IT IS, IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THIS PHILOSOPHY, WOULD PEOPLE, WOULD PEOPLE MOVE HERE WITH, WITH TAXES BEING THAT HIGH? UM, I DON'T KNOW PERSONALLY, I BELIEVE THAT WE WOULDN'T HAVE THE INVESTMENT IN OUR CITY IF OUR TAXES WERE STILL HIGH.
BUT HEY, I, I THINK AT THIS POINT WE'VE ALL STATED OUR OPINION, LET'S, UM, LET'S, UM, THERE WAS A PROPOSAL THAT WE'D LOOK AT BUDGETS WITH A 1% DROP OR ONE MILL DROP AND WITH IT'S STAYING THE SAME.
SO, UH, UH, STEVE, YOU MADE THAT, UH, RECOMMENDATION.
UH, IS THAT YOUR, UH, ARE YOU A YES OR NO WITH THAT? YES, BUT VAL YES, I THAT TOO, SIR.
LET'S SEE IT BOTH WAYS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WILL, WE'LL TAKE IT FROM THERE.
I'M SURE THERE WILL BE FURTHER DEBATE AS WE GO ALONG THE SEASON.
UH, I WILL BE ASKING QUESTIONS.
UM, OF EACH DEPARTMENT AS WE GO THROUGH IT.
UH, AND I DO MY OWN LITTLE SIDE RESEARCH.
WE, WE WILL SHARE ALL OF THAT INFORMATION WITH YOU WELL IN ADVANCE SO THAT IF YOU DO HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT INDIVIDUAL LINE ITEMS, OTHER THINGS, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO FEED YOU AS MUCH INFORMATION AS YOU WANT COMING OUT OF THAT BUDGET.
BUT I'LL TELL YOU THIS, WHEN WE GO THROUGH IT WITH STAFF AND I'VE ALREADY STARTED TALKING TO THEM ABOUT IT, WE'RE GONNA SCRUB THE BUDGET.
WELL, WHAT WE WILL BRING TO YOU WILL BE A LIEN AND MEAN BUDGET THAT MEETS ALL OF OUR NEEDS BUT DOESN'T HAVE ANY FLUFF ON TOP OF IT.
AND SO WHEN YOU SEE THAT, WHEN IT COMES FROM ME, KNOW THAT THAT'S AN EXERCISE THAT WE'RE GONNA DO TO MAKE SURE IF WE'RE ASKING FOR IT, IT'S BECAUSE IT'S A NEED AND WE CAN JUSTIFY IT.
DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER, UM, NEEDS OF THE COUNCIL IN TERMS OF INPUT? UM, I DON'T BELIEVE SO.
I THINK WE HAD A COUPLE ADDITIONAL DATA POINTS THAT WE JUST WANTED TO SHARE FROM YOU.
AGAIN, PIGGYBACKING OFF OF OUR LAST MEETING AT THE WORKSHOP, THERE WAS A COUPLE OF AREAS WHERE WE WERE JUST GONNA BREAK OUT AND
[01:15:01]
GIVE YOU SOME MORE INFORMATION.UM, SO I THINK JOHN'S GOT JUST A THREE OR FOUR SLIDES TO GO OVER WITH YOU REAL QUICK.
AND THEN THAT'LL BE ALL WE HAD FOR TODAY.
JUST SUGGESTION DE MAYOR MERIT.
SO WE HAD BEEN MAYOR, I WAS GONNA SAY, WHAT IS THAT? WE HAD BEEN ASKED TO, UH, LOOK AT, UM, OUR PREVIOUS YEAR'S FI OR PREVIOUS FIVE YEARS FUND BALANCE.
THIS IS THE CHART THAT WE HAD AT THE, UM, STRATEGIC PLANNING RETREAT.
AND THEN WHAT I'VE DONE IS I'VE TAKEN, I AM LEARNING TO WORK THIS MOUSE NOT LEARNING
I THINK, UM, THE FIRST LINE THERE IS THE 12,229,000.
THAT'S THE UNASSIGNED GENERAL FUND BALANCE WE HAD AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, FISCAL YEAR 24.
WHEN YOU INCREASE THAT FOR THE, UH, CHANGE IN BUDGET STABILIZATION FUND FOR THIS YEAR, YOU'RE NOW BASICALLY STARTING FISCAL YEAR 25 AT 10,900,000.
AND YOU SEE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE PLANNED FOR THOSE FUNDS THAT COME OUT OF THAT.
UH, MR. CARROLL YOU MENTIONED EARLIER, THE 1 0 2 MAIN STREET YOU SEE THAT'S IN THERE, THE, UH, OLD CITY HALL RENOVATION, THE AXON CAMERAS, AND THEN THE WHITE HARDY BOULEVARD MASTER PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.
SO THAT 12.29, WE LOSE ABOUT A THIRD OF THAT TO GET TO ABOUT 8.6 MILLION.
SO THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE.
AND THEN MOVING ON FROM THAT, THE OTHER THING WE LOOK AT IS THE AT TAX AND H TAX.
AND, UM, WE JUST WANT TO, UH, WHAT I'VE DONE IS I'VE UPDATED WITH THE, UH, AUDITED 20, THE FISCAL YEAR 24 AUDIT, AND THEN I'VE PUT IN WHAT WE BUDGETED FOR 25 TO SEE THAT WHEN YOU GET DOWN HERE TO THE FUND BALANCE AT THE END OF OF THE YEAR, OUR PLAN OR OUR BUDGET FOR THE END OF THIS YEAR IS FOUR 37,000.
AND, UH, BASED ON ALL THAT WE'RE PLANNING TO DO, AND OF COURSE AT A AND H TAX IS WHERE THE SLASH PAD WOULD COME FROM.
SO YOU SEE BETWEEN THE TWO, WE'VE GOT, I USED 1.5 MILLION.
SOME OF THE RECENT INFORMATION WE HA WE HAVE IS INDICATING ANYWHERE FROM 1.2 TO AS MUCH AS ALMOST 1.7 TILL WE DECIDE WHAT IT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE AND WHERE WE'RE GONNA PUT IT.
UM, I, I JUST USED THAT NUMBER JUST TO HAVE A NUMBER THAT'S IN THAT REALM.
AND THEN, UH, I DIDN'T DO THAT ON MY OWN.
I CONSULTED WITH, UH, MS. COMBS.
AND THEN YOU SEE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT THE PARKING LOT WORK GOING ON IN, IN 25 AND 26 AS WELL.
YOU SEE THAT AND IT JUST SHOWS WHERE YOUR BUTTON YEAH, I THINK THAT'D BE AWESOME, JOSH.
SO, UM, MAYBE, SO AS YOU LOOK DOWN HERE, THIS IS THE, THE PROJECTED FUND BALANCE IN LOCAL, LOCAL A AT THE END OF THIS YEAR.
AND THEN YOU SEE HOW, UM, AGAIN, WE'VE GOT A BIG CHUNK OF MONEY FOR SPLASH PADS, SO THAT'S GONNA DRIVE THE BALANCE EVEN LOWER FOR 26 AND THEN IT'LL START TO CREEP UP.
BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, WE'LL ALSO HAVE ANOTHER ADDITIONAL PROGRAM OF PROJECTS THAT WE'LL BE PUTTING IN HERE.
DON'T, UH, DON'T LET ME, I DON'T WANNA FORGET TO MENTION THIS, WE'RE, THIS IS WHERE THE FIRST THING WE DO WITH LOCAL A AND LOCAL A H IS WE PAY THE INTEREST IN PRINCIPLE ON THE REC CENTER.
UM, YOU SEE THAT AGAIN DOWN HERE FOR LOCAL H.
AND WE ALSO HAVE, UM, AGAIN, YOU SEE THE SPLASH PAD DOWN HERE AND THE, THE PARKING AS WELL.
SO AGAIN, 25 WE HA WE'LL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY, BUT THEN WE'LL BE SPENDING UH, 1.2 MILLION OTHER THAN THE INTEREST AND ALL ON, UH, THOSE TWO PROJECTS.
SO IT'S GONNA DRIVE THAT BALANCE DOWN.
AND THEN AGAIN, IT STARTS TO CREEP UP IN ANTICIPATION OF US HAVING MORE PROJECTS WE COULD ON.
SO SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND WITH THE LOCAL ACCOMMODATIONS, TAXES BY STATUTE, WE'RE ON THE CLOCK TO EXPEND THOSE.
AND SO I BELIEVE WE'VE GOT A TWO YEAR NO, THE STATE THAT'S NOT LOCAL.
I'M SORRY, I WAS TALKING STATE.
THE STATE MONEY, NOT FORGET THAT WE, WE, WHEN WE GET THIS MONEY, WE CAN SPEND IT HOWEVER WE WANT.
AND THEN WE ON ME FOR A SECOND.
JOHN, WHAT, WHAT MATRIX, UH, DID YOU USE TO PROJECT THE INCREASING REVENUE IN BOTH OF THOSE? UM, JUST, JUST, UH, I, I WISH I COULD TELL YOU IT WAS REAL HIGH SCIENCE, BUT IT'S BASICALLY LIKE, YOU KNOW, 15, 20, 20 5,000 JUST BASED ON WHAT WE THINK IS COMING OVER THE YEARS.
WE GOT LIKE A STRAIGHT LINE, 3%.
AND THEN THE OTHER TWO THINGS RELATED MORE TO THE MILLAGE.
[01:20:04]
THAT'S ALL I HAVE.IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS, MR. WHITE, YOU HAVE A QUESTION AND TURN ON YOUR MICROPHONE.
I, UM, I HAVE UH, SORT OF A PHILOSOPHICAL POINT AND IT'S A QUESTION TOO.
AND IT HAS TO DO WITH MERIT BUDGETS.
AND WHEN I LOOK AT HARDY, I SEE PAY GRADES THAT HAVE VALUES FOR JOBS, THEN I HAVE QUARTILES, FIRST QUARTILE, SECOND QUARTILE, WHICH GETS YOU TO THE MIDPOINT.
THIRD QUARTILE, FOURTH QUARTILE.
AND LET'S SAY YOU HAVE A 4% BUDGET.
I THINK A MISTAKE THAT IN MY OPINION WE'RE MAKING IS TRYING TO BE EQUITABLE.
IF WE GIVE EVERYBODY 4%, IF SOMEBODY'S IN THE FIRST QUARTILE AND YOU'RE, AND YOU GIVE THEM A 12% RAISE AND SOMEBODY ELSE IS OVER IN THE FOURTH QUARTILE AND YOU GIVE 'EM, UH, A 12% RAISE, IT'S NOT THE SAME.
SO WHAT I, WHAT I BELIEVE IS THAT YOU GIVE RAISES BASED ON THE QUARTILE SO THAT SOMEBODY IN THE FIRST QUARTILE COULD GET MAYBE A 12% RAISE.
SOMEONE IN THE THIRD, SECOND QUARTILE MIGHT GET AN 8% IN THE FOURTH QUARTILE, MAYBE THEY ONLY GET A 4%, BUT 4% ON THAT HIGHER SALARY IS AS MUCH OR MORE THAN THAT FIRST QUARTILE.
AND IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR WORKFORCE TOWARDS THE MIDPOINT, WHICH IS WHERE PEOPLE GET JOB OFFERS, THEN YOU'RE GOING TO SET UP A REASON FOR THEM TO LEAVE.
AND I THINK THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE WITH OUR FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND OUR POLICE DEPARTMENTS.
AND SO IN THE, IN THE ATTEMPT TO BE EQUAL, WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY BEING EQUAL.
WE'RE CREATING OUR OWN TURNOVER PROBLEM.
AND SO, AND ALSO IF YOU TAKE THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY, LET'S SAY 4%, YOU CAN MAKE THAT DISTRIBUTION WORK OUT WITH DIFFERENT NUMBERS.
NOW THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS IT TAKES A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO PEOPLE IN THE WORKFORCE AND EMPLOYEES BECAUSE THEY SAY BO WHITE GOT A 12% RAISE AND JOHN ONLY GOT A 4% RAISE, BUT THE DOLLAR VALUE AND WHERE WE'RE IN OUR PAY SCALE IS, UH, IS IS LARGER THAN MAYBE WE UNDERSTAND.
AND THE REASON I'M SAYING THIS IS I KNOW STEVE IS SITTING HERE AND I KNOW SAM IS SITTING HERE AND ALL THE REST OF YOU'RE SITTING HERE AND I WANNA PUT THAT OUT FOR YOU TO THINK ABOUT.
YOU CAN TELL ME I'M CRAZY, YOU CAN TELL ME, YOU KNOW, BO YOU'RE PUTTING YOUR FINGER ON SOMETHING.
BUT I THINK WE CAN DO IT AS A GROUP AND IT'S THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY, BUT IT'S DISTRIBUTED ONCE MORE WHERE PEOPLE ARE IN THEIR PAY GRADE AND WE WANT TO GET EVERYBODY TO THE FOURTH THAT FIR THAT MIDPOINT SO THAT WHEN THEY GET THE CALL FROM THE RECRUITER IT'S, DO I REALLY WANNA LEAVE FOR A THOUSAND DOLLARS? PROBABLY NOT.
DO I WANNA LEAVE FOR $5,000? PROBABLY.
SO, AND I'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME OVER 40 YEARS IN THIS, PARTICULARLY IN THE COMPUTER INDUSTRY WHERE WE HAD TREMENDOUS TURNOVER AND WE HAD TO DO THIS.
SO I THROW IT OUT AS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT, UH, NOT IN A CRITICAL SENSE OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, BUT JUST ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT THE SAME SET OF NUMBERS.
AND SAM AND, UH, STEVE, YOU GUYS LIVE WITH THIS A LOT MORE THAN MAYBE OTHERS AND APPRECIATE YOUR FEEDBACK ON THAT.
NOT NECESSARILY NOW, BUT OVER THE NEXT MONTH OR SO.
AND CERTAINLY GET THAT TO JOSH AND JOHN AS WELL.
THAT'S ALL I HAD TO SAY, MR. MAYOR.
DID YOU UH, I HEARD YOU SAYING THAT, THAT WE COULD CALL YOU CRAZY.
AND, AND LET ME JUST SAY SOME, AND I KNOW HARRY'S IN JT IT SOUNDS CRAZY UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY DO THE MATRIX AND THE MONEY'S THE SAME.
AND YOU SAY, HOW IN THE WORLD DID YOU DO THAT? IT'S BECAUSE OF WHERE PEOPLE ARE IN DIFFERENT PAY GRADES AND UH, SO ANYWAY, THANK YOU.
UH, AND I AM, SOME DO SAY I AM CRAZY AND I HAVE THAT REPUTATION, A SONG NAMED THAT.
OKAY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BY COUNCIL? OKAY THEN, UH, IF THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS, I'LL TAKE A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
WE HAVE A MOTION, WE A SECOND.
[01:25:01]
IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH FOR FEEDBACK.