Aug 08, 2024 Special City Council

[CALL TO ORDER/GENERAL COMMENTS]

[00:00:03]

ALL RIGHT. TIME IS NOW 6:30.

WE'RE GOING TO CALL THIS SPECIAL SESSION AND WORK SESSION OF THE BEDFORD CITY COUNCIL TO ORDER.

IT IS THURSDAY, AUGUST 8TH, 2024.

I'D LIKE TO WELCOME EVERYBODY IN THE AUDIENCE.

GOOD TO SEE EVERYONE HERE TODAY.

FIRST UP PUBLIC COMMENTS.

I DON'T THINK ANYONE HAS SIGNED UP.

[• Consider a resolution authorizing the City Manager or her designee to allow truck mounted adulticide spraying within the City rights-of-way to control the mosquito population due to increased positive tests.]

GIVE YOU PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR TIM ROGERS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIALIST TYLER SPENCE.

GOOD EVENING. TO REQUEST THE AUTHORIZATION TO COMMENCE ADULTICIDE SPRAYING AT A LARGER APPLICATION DUE TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES AROUND THE MOSQUITO POSITIVES IN THE AREA.

SO FAR, WE'VE HAD SIX CONSECUTIVE WEEKS OF MOSQUITO POSITIVES AND HAD REPORTED THREE HUMAN CASES OF WEST NILE VIRUS IN THE AREA.

SO ACCORDING TO THE MOSQUITO MANAGEMENT PLAN, THIS WOULD CONSTITUTE A LARGER APPLICATION OF TRUCK MOUNTED ADULTICIDE SPRAYING IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY. SO THIS IS WHAT SO THIS IS YOU'RE ASKING FOR OUR AUTHORIZATION GIVEN EVERYTHING HERE.

I DO HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS THOUGH.

WITH THIS ADULTICIDE SPRAYING.

SO TRADITIONALLY WITHIN THE CITY WE DON'T DO WE HAVEN'T DONE THIS THE FOGGING, THE SPRAYING, AND FOR ALL MY TIME HERE, I GUESS WE'VE BEEN LUCKY THAT WE HAVEN'T HAD THE CASES THAT WE'VE HAD THIS YEAR.

THAT BEING SAID YOU KNOW, SIX WEEKS.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME WHY WE'D BE DOING THE SPRAYING? BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN PRETTY ADAMANT IN THE PAST ABOUT, YOU KNOW, AS A CITY, HEY, WE'RE NOT GOING TO SPRAY.

COULD YOU TELL ME WHY? I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY THE CASES ARE UP, BUT CAN YOU GO A LITTLE BIT IN DEPTH, A LITTLE BIT MORE? SO BASICALLY AS OUR MANAGEMENT PLAN IS DESIGNED THROUGH THE CDC RECOMMENDATION FOR INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT AND ALSO THE RECOMMENDATION OF TARRANT COUNTY.

WE USE A PLAN THAT GOES IN THREE PHASES WITH A LOW, MEDIUM AND HIGH RISK LEVELS.

THOSE LEVELS ESCALATE BASED ON THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THE PRESENCE OF WEST NILE OR THE POPULATION OF MOSQUITOES IS ESCALATING, AND EACH OF THOSE AND EACH OF THOSE INSTANCES.

SO WE STARTED OUT WITH JUST LARVICIDING ALL OF OUR CHANNELS TO LARVICIDING IN RESPONSE TO THE WEST NILE POSITIVES.

WE ALSO HAVE BEEN DOING INVESTIGATIONS AT EACH SITE AND DISCOURAGING HOMEOWNERS FROM HAVING STANDING WATER ON THEIR PROPERTIES AND LIMITING SOURCES OF STANDING WATER AND ELIMINATING ANY HIGH GRASS AND WEEDS THAT MIGHT HOUSE ADULT MOSQUITOES UP UNTIL THIS POINT, AND IT HAS NOT SHOWN THAT IT'S BEEN WORKING.

SO AS A LAST RESORT, ACCORDING TO OUR PLAN, WE WOULD RESORT TO A LARGER ADULTICIDE SPRAYING APPLICATION TO TRY TO MITIGATE THE SPREAD OF WEST NILE VIRUS IN THE AREA. OKAY, SO WE HAVE BEEN MOVING UP THE RISK LEVELS PERIODICALLY AS THIS SEASON HAS PROGRESSED.

YES, SIR. OKAY, SO WE OBVIOUSLY STARTED THINGS OFF WITH THE LOW RISK LEVEL, WHICH IS JUST DOING PREVENTATIVE, PREVENTATIVE MEASURES, YOU KNOW, SETTING UP THE TRAPS, AND THEN WHEN ONE BECOMES POSITIVE, WE LARVICIDE THE AREA.

DO WE DO ANY SPRAYING AT THAT POINT? NO, SIR. NO SPRAYING.

UP UNTIL WHAT I'M REQUESTING RIGHT NOW.

OKAY. THE LARVICIDING IS DONE BY HAND IN THE CREEKS AND CHANNELS.

I KNOW IN THE PAST WE'VE WE'VE DONE BACKPACK SPRAYING AT THE MEDIUM RISK LEVELS, WHICH IS WHAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED IN THE PREVIOUS YEARS, BUT WITH THE CURRENT STATE OF THE MOSQUITO POSITIVES AND THE TARRANT COUNTY REGION, OUR COOPERATIVE PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH MUNICIPAL MOSQUITO THEY ARE AT THEIR LIMIT WITH PERSONNEL AND THE AMOUNT OF APPLICATIONS THEY HAVE TO DO PER NIGHT. SO THE BACKPACK SPRING IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE AS THEIR SERVICE.

THEY ARE RECOMMENDED BY BOTH THE CONTRACTOR AND THE COUNTY TO CONDUCT A SPRAYING WITHIN THE RIGHT OF WAY VIA TRUCK MOUNTED ULV FOGGING. GOTCHA, AND THAT'S RECOMMENDED BY THE COUNTY, OF COURSE.

YES, SIR. GOING ON RIGHT NOW.

ONE QUICK QUESTION.

ALSO WITH THE MEDIUM LEVEL THAT WAS DETECTED, FIRST, IT WAS SAID THAT WE HAVE TARGETED APPLICATION OF ADULTICIDE.

[00:05:03]

YES, SIR. SO DID WE DO ANY OF THIS TARGETED ADULTICIDE? NO, BECAUSE OF THE QUICKNESS IN WHICH THE MOSQUITO POSITIVES CAME THROUGH.

WE BECAME A CANDIDATE FOR A HIGH, THE HIGH LEVEL OF THE PLAN ALMOST IMMEDIATELY.

GOTCHA. OKAY.

SO THERE WASN'T WE WEREN'T AT THAT MEDIUM LEVEL FOR.

NO, NOT VERY LONG AT ALL BY THE TIME, BY THE TIME WE IMMEDIATELY ESCALATED, WE WENT AHEAD AND MOVED FORWARD WITH THIS.

YES, SIR. SO IS THERE ANY WAY THAT THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN DONE SOONER? COULD HAVE BEEN DONE SOONER? POSSIBLY WITH THE FORMALITY OF COUNCIL THAT WE THIS OBVIOUSLY TAKES COUNCIL APPROVAL.

YES. SO THAT TOOK A LITTLE TIME TO GET TO, BUT AS I SAID BEFORE, I WOULD IMAGINE THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER CITIES THAT ARE IN OUR SITUATION AS WELL.

YES DEALING WITH THE SAME.

I BELIEVE THEY DON'T HAVE TO NECESSARILY GO THROUGH COUNCIL.

THEY HAVE IT TO WHERE THEY GO FROM THE DESIGNEE OR THE DIRECTOR AT THAT POINT.

OKAY. SO FROM THE ONES I'VE SPOKEN TO.

GOTCHA SO I'M SEEING SOME PERHAPS ISSUES HERE WITH OUR INTEGRATED MOSQUITO MANAGEMENT PROGRAM THAT POSSIBLY THAT IF, I MEAN, IF OTHER CITIES ARE DOING IT AND BEING ABLE TO DO THIS QUICKER THAT'S A BIG I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT BECAUSE THIS IS A CONCERN OF PUBLIC HEALTH, AND WE NEED TO GET THIS DONE IMMEDIATELY ON BEHALF OF OUR CITIZENS.

I KNOW WE WAITED TO THIS COUNCIL TO THIS SPECIAL SESSION.

I KNOW, WERE THEY BACKLOGGED FOR THESE FOR THE SPRING? I KNOW THAT HISTORICALLY OTHER CITIES HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SCHEDULE SPRAYING WITHIN THE NEXT NIGHT OR NEXT SEVERAL NIGHTS.

IT IS SO EXTENSIVE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY THAT THEY'RE ASKING CITIES TO BE MORE FLEXIBLE WITH THEIR SCHEDULING, ASKING FOR SEVERAL NIGHTS, AND MORE OF A WINDOW OF TIME THAT THIS CAN BE DONE INSTEAD OF INSTEAD OF SCHEDULING IT FOR SPECIFIC TIMES.

GOTCHA. YEAH, I THINK THIS THIS DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT.

AS LONG AS COUNCIL IS IN AGREEMENT, I FEEL THAT, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO MAKE THE CALL, AND WE NEED TO DO THIS QUICKLY ON BEHALF OF OUR RESIDENTS.

I DON'T THINK IT WOULD.

YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET PUSHBACK FROM US TO SAY NOT TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO PROTECT OUR RESIDENTS.

SO I THINK THAT POLICY NEEDS TO BE TAKEN A LOOK AT BEFORE BEFORE I MOVE ON TO QUESTIONS.

THIS IS GOING TO BE PAID OUT OF I SAID THE FUND WAS THE 503 BUDGET, AND HOW MUCH IS GOING TO BE PER APPLICATION.

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH THIS IS COSTING US? FROM WHAT I'VE CALCULATED IT SHOULD BE ABOUT $56 PER APPLICATION, PER SITE.

EACH SITE IS GOING TO BE A HALF MILE RADIUS.

SO WE HAVE FOUR TRAP LOCATIONS $56 PER TRAP SITE.

GOTCHA. OKAY. THAT'S PRETTY MINIMAL IN MY OPINION.

YEAH. WE'RE A RELATIVELY SMALL CITY.

YEAH, EXACTLY. SO I WOULD IMAGINE.

YEAH, I REALLY DON'T BECAUSE OF THAT, BECAUSE OF THE PRICE.

I REALLY DON'T SEE AN ISSUE WITH US IN, YOU KNOW, IN THE FUTURE.

WE HAVE TO AMEND THIS SO THAT WE CAN GET THIS ADULTICIDE AND START DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN ON BEHALF OF THE RESIDENTS IN THIS CAPACITY.

COUNCILMEMBER FARCO. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR, AND NOW IT'S MAKING A LITTLE BIT MORE SENSE.

SO IT'S JUST WE'RE JUST AERIALS OR WE'RE SPRAYING THOSE THOSE DESIGNED AREAS.

BECAUSE IN THE PAST, WE WERE ALWAYS TOLD THAT IF WE DID FOGGING, IF WE DID THE STREETS LIKE THEY SAID, THAT IT WOULD NEVER MAKE IT TO THE BACKYARDS.

IT WOULD JUST IT WAS A WASTE UNLESS WE DID AERIAL SPRAYING OVER THE ENTIRE CITY.

SO THIS IS JUST FOR THOSE DESIGNATED AREAS WHERE WE'RE GETTING THE POSITIVE AND THE TRAPS.

YES, SIR. YEAH, IT'S NOT FOR THE ENTIRE CITY.

WE WOULD JUST BE GOING THE RIGHT OF WAY WITHIN THE HALF MILE RADIUS OF EACH TRAP, OKAY? BECAUSE YEAH 56 I WAS LIKE, LET'S DO IT.

LET'S GO.

ABSOLUTELY.

ALL RIGHT. COUNCILMEMBER DAWKINS.

THANKS, MR. MAYOR. SO, GIVEN THAT OUR PROGRAM HAS TO BE APPROVED BY COUNCIL, IS THERE SOME DANGER TO THIS APPLICATION LIKE, I'M JUST TO THE MAYOR'S POINT.

YOU KNOW, GIVEN THAT WE'VE REACHED A HIGHER LEVEL, WE WOULD LIKE TO MOVE QUICKLY TO MITIGATE THE PROBLEM, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THERE ARE RISKS IN USING THIS APPLICATION THAT WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF WITH PETS OR FOLIAGE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

SURE. SO I DO BELIEVE THAT MUCH OF THE CONCERNS AROUND THE APPLICATIONS ARE A.) FOR THOSE WHO HAVE RESPIRATORY

[00:10:01]

ANY OF THE POLLINATORS, STUFF LIKE THAT, AND I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT WHEN WE DO MAKE THESE ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE APPLICATIONS IT WILL BE ANNOUNCED TO THE PUBLIC THAT WE WILL BE DOING THAT IN WHAT TIME FRAME WE WILL BE DOING THAT.

TYPICALLY BETWEEN 9 P.M, AND 5 A.M..

MOST PEOPLE WILL BE INSIDE.

IF THEY'RE NOT INSIDE, WE'LL RECOMMEND THAT ANYBODY WITH ANY MITIGATING HEALTH ISSUES OR CONCERNS STAY INSIDE DURING THOSE APPLICATIONS AND KEEP SMALL CHILDREN, ETC.

AWAY, BUT THE CDC--NOT THE CDC--THE EPA, DOES REGULATE THESE CHEMICALS VERY HIGHLY, AND THE PEOPLE THAT ARE DOING THE APPLICATION ARE LICENSED INDIVIDUALS THAT MUST BE AWARE OF THE APPLICATION METHODS AND THE RISK BEHIND EACH CHEMICAL.

SO I PERSONALLY HAVE FULL CONFIDENCE IN THE USE OF THESE WITH THEIR INTENDED USE, AND I DON'T SEE ANY RISK THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT OTHER THAN ANYBODY'S OWN CONCERNS FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY.

OKAY. THANK YOU.

COUNCILMEMBER SABOL.

OKAY. SO WE'VE BEEN SHORT ON PUBLIC WORKS EMPLOYEES.

HAVE THE TRAPS BEEN WATCHED AS CLOSELY AS THEY HAVE BEEN IN PAST YEARS AND TREATED APPROPRIATELY? SO, FOR INSTANCE, I LIVE NEAR ONE OF YOUR TRAPS, AND I DON'T SEE AS MANY GUYS OUT THERE AS IN PAST YEARS CHECKING THE TRAPS.

OKAY, I CAN'T SPEAK NECESSARILY ON ON PREVIOUS YEARS.

I'M A FAIRLY RECENT EMPLOYEE, BUT I DO.

I DO GO OUT THERE WITH THE EMPLOYEES.

THE DRAINAGE CREW IS THE ONES WHO DO GO OUT ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK ACTUALLY WHO SET THE TRAPS, PICK UP THE TRAPS AND DELIVER THEM TO THE COUNTY.

THAT'S HOW WE GET OUR RESULTS EVERY WEEK.

THE MORNING AFTER WE DO GET A POSITIVE RESULT THERE IS A WORK ORDER MADE FOR THEM TO GO OUT AND LARVICIDE THAT CHANNEL THAT'S ASSOCIATED WITH THAT TRAP.

SO WE DO HAVE DOCUMENTATION OF THEM GOING OUT THERE.

THEY'VE ALL BEEN TRAINED ON HOW TO DISPERSE THE LARVICIDES, AND THEY ARE ALL I THINK MOST OF THEM ARE LICENSED INDIVIDUALS, AND IF THEY'RE NOT LICENSED, THEY WORK UNDER THEIR SUPERVISOR'S LICENSE.

DO THEY SO YOU'RE IS IT A COMPANY THAT'S GOING TO BE SPRAYING OR IS IT YOU.

OKAY. SO THE CITY IS NOT SPRAYING IT.

SO DO WE HAVE A CONTRACT WITH THAT COMPANY.

YES. SO WE HAVE A INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT THAT WE HAVE ENTERED IN WITH MUNICIPAL MOSQUITO THROUGH THE COUNTY.

OKAY, AND WERE THERE ANY CHOICES OF POSSIBLE COMPANIES THAT WOULD DO IT OR IS THERE JUST IS IT PRETTY MUCH A ONE MAN SHOW? THEY ARE THE PRIMARY ON THE CONTRACT.

THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE, BUT THEY ARE A MUCH SMALLER COMPANY.

MANY OF THE OTHER CITIES THAT DO PARTICIPATE IN THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT DO CHOOSE MUNICIPAL MOSQUITO AS THEIR CONTRACTOR.

SO IN YEARS PAST, PROBABLY TEN YEARS, I CAN REMEMBER THEY JUST SAID, DON'T SPRAY BECAUSE IT'S A WASTE OF TIME.

YOU'RE ONLY SPRAYING. HOW MANY LOCATIONS? FOUR. IT'S LIKE A QUARTER OF A MILE AROUND THAT AREA THAT COVERS THE MOSQUITOES.

SO THE MOSQUITOES REALLY HAVE TO GATHER IN THAT SPOT TO BE KILLED.

SO IT'S A HALF MILE RADIUS, BUT THE IDEA IS THE MOSQUITOES THAT TRANSMIT WEST NILE VIRUS, THEY'RE MOST ACTIVE DURING DUSK AND DAWN.

SO THE APPLICATIONS ARE AIMED TO BE AT TIMES WHERE MOSQUITOES ARE MOST ACTIVE AND OTHER INSECTS AND ANIMALS ARE NOT ACTIVE DURING THAT TIME.

SO WE ARE TRYING TO TARGET THAT, THAT SPECIFIC SPECIES OF MOSQUITO, AND LIKE IN THE PACKET, WHEN YOU REFER TO INTERSECTION, YOU'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT LOCATIONS OF WHERE YOU'VE GOT TRAPS.

YES. NOT WE TRY NOT TO SPECIFY OUR TRAP LOCATIONS JUST FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE SITE, SO PEOPLE DO NOT GO OUT THERE AND MESS WITH THEM OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, AND DO YOU THERE'S ONE MORE.

NEVER MIND. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

OF COURSE. COUNCILMEMBER STEVES.

THANK YOU, MAYOR. STORMIE JONES PARK.

THAT SEEMS TO BE THE AREA EVERY YEAR GETS HIT WITH THIS.

ARE YOU GOING TO SPRAY THERE OR BECAUSE IT'S TRUCK MOUNTED, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO? THAT CREEK RUNS ALONG THE HOUSES THERE.

HOW DO YOU GET BACK AND DO THAT? THERE IS A ROAD THAT DOES KIND OF DO A HORSESHOE AROUND THE PARK.

EXCUSE ME. SO THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO GET BACK THERE.

THE APPLICATION AREA IS MOSTLY AROUND THAT PARK.

I HAVE BEEN OUT THERE SEVERAL TIMES.

THE CREEK IS MOSTLY DRIED UP OUT THERE.

SO I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE PRIMARY AREA OF WHERE THE MOSQUITO POSITIVES ARE COMING FROM.

IT COULD BE PRIVATE SIDE TOO, WHICH IS A DIFFICULT THING TO ASCERTAIN BECAUSE WE OF COURSE CAN'T SEE INTO EVERYBODY'S PRIVATE YARDS.

[00:15:07]

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MAYOR.

SO HOW ARE WE GOING TO BE NOTIFYING RESIDENTS? OBVIOUSLY, ONES THAT COUNCILMEMBER STEVES SAID THAT THEY THEIR RESIDENTS BACKS UP TO THE CREEKS AND ALL THIS.

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO TO INFORM OUR RESIDENTS, ESPECIALLY ONES THAT ARE WITHIN THAT HALF MILE RADIUS? SO ACCORDING TO THE PLAN, THERE IS A 24 HOUR NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.

WE TYPICALLY DO THESE OVER SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND THE CITY WEBSITE.

WE CAN DEVELOP A, A EITHER A PAMPHLET OR A DOOR HANGER IF THAT SEEMS MORE SUFFICIENT FOR THE APPLICATION, BUT I'M OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS.

YEAH. ESPECIALLY BACKING UP TO SOMEBODY'S HOUSE.

I KNOW THAT I WOULD PROBABLY WANT TO KNOW EXACTLY WHEN THAT'S WHEN THAT'S GOING ON.

ESPECIALLY I HAVE ANIMALS, PETS, SMALL DOGS, KIDS.

THEY NEED TO KNOW.

WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING, AND SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE THAT WOULD BE MOST BENEFICIAL.

OKAY. SO AGAIN, WHEN WE START LOOKING AT THIS INTEGRATED MOSQUITO MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, I THINK WE SHOULD ALSO ADD SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT AS A PAMPHLET OR SOMETHING ELSE TO THAT, TO THAT NATURE, BUT ESPECIALLY FOR THIS, THIS CASE, I DON'T WANT TO HAVE A RESIDENT COME UP AND SAY THEY DIDN'T KNOW THEY HAD THEIR DOG OUT IN THE BACKYARD OR WHATNOT, OF COURSE.

YEAH. LET'S SEE HERE.

SO LASTLY, UPON APPROVAL TONIGHT, HOW SOON DO WE THINK WE CAN GET THIS? WE CAN GET THIS AS SOON AS THE WINDOW OF FRIDAY TO SUNDAY.

THEY HAVE A QUICK TURNAROUND.

THEY JUST NEED A LITTLE BIT OF A HEADS UP RIGHT NOW.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT, THAT'S GOOD.

COUNCIL, ANY MORE QUESTIONS ON THE SUBJECT? ALL RIGHT. I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION ON THIS ONE.

A MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCILMEMBER FARKO.

I HAVE A SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER DONOVAN BRANDON.

LET'S GO AHEAD AND VOTE.

ALL RIGHT. THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

THANK YOU, COUNCIL. THANK YOU, STAFF.

STAFF. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR US ABOUT WHAT WE'RE KIND OF HOPING FOR THIS OKAY.

ALL RIGHT. WE GOT IT OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD.

THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.

[• Receive and discuss FY 2024-2025 budget overview.]

WE HAVE A WORK SESSION TO RECEIVE AND DISCUSS FISCAL YEAR 2024-2025 BUDGET OVERVIEW AND I GIVE YOU CITY MANAGER ANDREA ROY.

THANK YOU MAYOR. GOOD EVENING MAYOR AND COUNCIL.

I AM HAPPY TO PRESENT TO YOU OUR FISCAL YEAR 25-26 BUDGET.

IT'S ENDEAVOR STARTED BACK IN MARCH, AND SO WE'VE HAD A BUSY SUMMER OF WORKING WITH OUR FINANCE STAFF AND OUR DEPARTMENTS IN ORDER TO BRING THE BUDGET TO YOU ALL TONIGHT.

I, OF COURSE, WANT TO THANK OUR FINANCE STAFF AND OUR DIRECTORS.

I CAN'T TELL YOU. WE'VE GOT SUCH A GREAT GROUP ON STAFF RIGHT NOW.

YOU'LL SEE WITH THE SUPPLEMENTAL REQUESTS THAT ARE BEFORE YOU.

OUR GROUP UNDERSTANDS THAT WE NEED TO OPERATE EFFICIENTLY.

ASKS OUR MOST DEFINITELY NEEDS AND NOT WANTS, AND WHILE WE ALL RECOGNIZE THERE ARE SOME ONES OUT THERE, WE WILL WORK TO GET TO THOSE WHEN WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO THAT.

SO I WILL NOT BELABOR THE POINT ANY LONGER.

I'LL GO AHEAD AND LET KAREN TAKE OVER AND KIND OF GET INTO THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF THINGS, AND SHE'LL WALK THROUGH THE DETAILS WITH YOU.

GOOD EVENING, KAREN.

GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.

SO JUST BEFORE WE GET STARTED, WE DO HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT MEMBER OF THE FINANCE TEAM THAT JOINED US JUST A LITTLE OVER TWO MONTHS AGO, AND SHE JUST HIT THE GROUND RUNNING, AND THIS FABULOUS BOOK THAT YOU GUYS HAVE RECEIVED AND THE FABULOUS ONLINE VERSION THAT YOU RECEIVE, REALLY, SHE HAD A HAND IN IT, AND SHE JUST GOT IN THERE AND DID SO MUCH WORK AND SO I JUST WANT TO INTRODUCE ANDA UPCHURCH, SHE IS OUR NEW SENIOR BUDGET ANALYST, AND WE ARE SO, SO EXCITED TO HAVE HER JOIN OUR TEAM TODAY.

WELCOME. WELCOME TO THE TEAM AND GOOD JOB.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT INTRODUCTION, AND I'M EXCITED TO BE PART OF THIS TEAM.

YOU'VE GOT A GREAT GROUP THAT I'VE JOINED THAT HAD EVERYTHING SET UP IN SUCH A GREAT WAY THAT I WAS ABLE TO, AS THEY SAID, HIT THE GROUND RUNNING.

SO THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU AND WELCOME.

I TOLD HER I WOULDN'T MAKE HER PRESENT ON HER FIRST BUDGET WITH US, AND SHE'D ONLY BEEN HERE FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS.

SO YOU'RE JUST GOING TO GET TO DEAL WITH BRADY AND I.

OH, OKAY, SO NO HAZING.

WE'LL GIVE HER A PASS.

WE'LL GIVE HER A PASS.

[CHUCKLING] ALRIGHT, NEXT YEAR. NEXT YEAR.

SO, BUT YES, AS ANDREA SAID, THIS PROCESS STARTS IN MARCH OF EVERY YEAR, WHERE WE SIT DOWN WITH OUR DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS AND KIND OF TALK ABOUT THE EXPECTATIONS FOR THE BUDGET PROCESS, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, AND THIS YEAR, WE KIND OF CHANGED IT UP ON THEM A LITTLE BIT.

WE KIND OF TOLD THEM WE'RE GIVING THEM A BASE BUDGET NUMBER.

THIS IS THE SAME NUMBER YOU HAD LAST YEAR, MINUS ANY ONE TIME ITEMS THAT WERE APPROVED IN LAST YEAR'S BUDGET, AND THIS IS THE BUDGET THAT YOU NEED TO WORK WITH AND ANYTHING OUTSIDE

[00:20:06]

SO YOU'LL SEE SOME SUPPLEMENTALS IN THERE THAT WERE FOR LIKE $800 OR $2000 THAT JUST SO THAT YOU COULD SEE WHAT WAS ADDED TO THE BUDGET THAT WAS DIFFERENT FROM LAST YEAR. SO THAT'S WHY SOME OF THOSE SMALL SUPPLEMENTALS ARE IN THERE.

I KIND OF WANTED TO JUST TO HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT WAS BEING ADDED TO THE BOTTOM LINE BUDGET.

I LIKE THAT METHOD MUCH BETTER SO WE CAN JUST SEE EXACTLY, EXACTLY WHAT IT IS.

YES SO THE PROCESS STARTS IN MARCH.

WE MEET WITH THE DIRECTORS. THEY HAVE A COUPLE OF MONTHS TO PUT THEIR NUMBERS TOGETHER, GIVE THAT BACK TO US FINANCE STAFF THEN TAKES ALL OF THAT INFORMATION, ANALYZES IT, AND THEN WE HAVE OUR BUDGET MEETINGS.

OH THANK YOU. THEY'RE MISSING THE MISSING THE SLIDE.

SO THEN WE HAVE OUR BUDGET MEETINGS WHERE WE SIT DOWN WITH THE FINANCE OR WITH THE DIRECTORS, AND WE ASK THEM QUESTIONS.

HEY, I NOTICED, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T SPEND MORE THAN $500 IN THIS LINE.

WHY ARE WE ASKING FOR 1000? MAYBE WE SHOULD LOWER THAT OR YOU'RE ALWAYS OVER IN THIS LINE.

MAYBE WE SHOULD INCREASE THIS BASED ON HISTORICAL SPEND, THINGS LIKE THAT.

IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO JUST KIND OF SEE WHAT THEY'VE PUT IN THERE AND ASK OUR FINANCIAL QUESTIONS, JUST TO MAKE SURE WE CAN BE PREPARED FOR THE MEETING TONIGHT, AND THEN WE SIT DOWN WITH THE CITY MANAGER.

WE GO THROUGH IT AGAIN AND GIVE HER AN OPPORTUNITY TO SIT DOWN AND ASK QUESTIONS AND ANALYZE THINGS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND THEN WE GET TO JULY, AND I WAS TELLING COUNCILMEMBER DONOVAN BRANDON EARLIER, YOU KNOW, THE LAST FOUR DAYS OF JULY ARE A LITTLE INTENSE BECAUSE WE CAN DO ALL OF THIS FABULOUS PLANNING AND ALL OF THIS ANALYSIS, AND THEN WE HAVE THE CERTIFIED ROLL ON JULY 25TH, AND WE HAVE TO GET IT TO YOU ON JULY 31ST.

SO IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHEN THAT WINDOW FALLS, AND SOMETIMES THERE'S SOME SATURDAY AND SUNDAYS TO GET YOU ALL A FABULOUS PROPOSED BUDGET, AND THEN WE ARE HERE TONIGHT, AND THEN FROM HERE WE WILL SET PUBLIC HEARINGS, WHICH WILL HAPPEN NEXT WEEK, AND THEN WE'LL ADOPT THE TAX OR THE BUDGET AND THE TAX RATE IN SEPTEMBER, AND THEN IT STARTS OCTOBER 1ST, AND WE GET A LITTLE BIT OF BREATHING ROOM AND THEN START THE PROCESS ALL OVER AGAIN.

GOING INTO THE BUDGET, WE ALWAYS CONSIDER YOUR GOALS AND STRATEGIC PLAN.

WE KIND OF LOOK AT FUNDING EXISTING LEVELS OF SERVICE AGAIN, KIND OF THAT BASE BUDGET THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, AND EMPLOYEE RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT IS A REALLY BIG DEAL WHEN IT COMES TO THE BUDGET IN PARTICULAR.

YOUR STRATEGIC GOALS ARE REVITALIZATION, ECONOMIC VITALITY, TRANSFORMATION, ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, AND TO COMMUNICATE, ENGAGE WITH CITIZENS.

SO THAT KIND OF DRIVES WHAT WE PUT TOGETHER TO PRESENT TO YOU IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

SO THIS YEAR WE HAD SOME CHANGES THAT WE WANTED TO BRING FORWARD AND POINT OUT TO YOU GUYS.

SO IN YOUR PROPOSED BUDGET, IS THE 3% COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT AMONG FOR ALL EMPLOYEES? THAT INCLUDES AND I APOLOGIZE, I WASN'T REALLY CLEAR.

THAT INCLUDES ALSO MOVING OUR STEP PLAN 3%.

SO IF YOU HAVE AN OFFICER THAT IS AT THE TOP STEP RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE STILL GOING TO GET THAT 3% BECAUSE WE'RE MOVING THAT STEP 3%.

SO THAT 3% IS ACROSS THE BOARD.

WE'RE ON FUNDING.

THE PUBLIC SAFETY STEP INCREASES.

SO THAT IS YOUR POLICE AND FIRE AT THE VARIOUS LEVELS THAT ARE ON THE STEP PLAN.

WHEN ONE OF THE THINGS WE CHALLENGED ANDA WHEN SHE CAME IN WAS REALLY LOOK AT OUR UTILITY COST, WE WANTED TO SEE IF WE WERE REALLY BUDGETING APPROPRIATELY FOR OUR WATER, ELECTRIC, GAS FUEL FOR OUR VEHICLES, THINGS LIKE THAT, AND SO SHE THAT WAS ONE OF THE VERY FIRST THINGS THAT SHE TACKLED.

SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT YOUR LINE ITEM DETAILS, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THOSE UTILITY COSTS HAVE HAVE INCREASED.

I'M SURE YOU FEEL IT IN YOUR PERSONAL BUDGET.

I KNOW I DO.

SO WE SAW THAT.

WE ALSO SAW SOME COST INCREASES IN PROPERTY INSURANCE AND WORKERS' COMP'.

THE INTERESTING THING WITH WORKER'S COMP IS THAT IS A THEY LOOK THREE YEARS PAST.

SO IF WE HAD TWO HIGH CLAIM YEARS, THAT'S GOING TO DRIVE OUR RATES IN THE CURRENT YEAR AND UNFORTUNATELY, WE DID HAVE TWO PRETTY INCREDIBLE HIGH CLAIM YEARS THAT REALLY DROVE THAT INCREASE THIS YEAR.

I WANT TO SAY ONE YEAR WE HAD A LOSS RATIO OF 127%, AND THEN ONE WAS 249%.

SO BASICALLY WHAT THAT MEANS IS THE INSURANCE COMPANY IS HAVING TO PAY MORE OUT THAN WE'RE PAYING IN IN PREMIUMS. SO IT DRIVES THAT INCREASE.

THE GOOD THING IS, GOING INTO THIS TIME NEXT YEAR, ONE OF THOSE HIGH CLAIM YEARS WILL FALL OFF.

SO IT'LL SEE HOW WE END THIS YEAR.

SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL SEE THAT NUMBER DROP A LITTLE BIT, BUT THE 249% IS STILL ON THERE FOR AT LEAST TWO YEARS.

QUESTION ABOUT THE CLAIMS REAL QUICK.

SO WAS THERE WAS IT ACROSS THE BOARD OR WAS THERE A PROBLEM? I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO OUT A DEPARTMENT, BUT I'M JUST SAYING, ARE WE FAMILIAR WHERE WHERE THE PROBLEM LIES? WE ARE, AND IT'S NOT ONE PARTICULAR DEPARTMENT.

IT'S KIND OF SPREAD THROUGHOUT.

WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES A WORKER'S COMP CLAIM COULD BE RELATED TO A VEHICLE ACCIDENT, SOME THINGS LIKE THAT.

SOMETIMES IT COULD BE RELATED TO A SAFETY ISSUE, AND MAYBE WE NEED TO DO SOME SAFETY TRAINING.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE MENTIONED TO OUR CITY MANAGER IS MAYBE DOING A SAFETY COMMITTEE, WHERE WE LOOK AT THESE TYPES OF CLAIMS ON A REGULAR BASIS AND COME UP WITH A

[00:25:02]

SO JUST FINDING WAYS TO MITIGATE THOSE CLAIMS. I THINK THAT'S WITH CERTAIN CLAIMS LIKE THAT.

YEAH. THERE'S WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.

YEAH. SO WE DON'T TAKE THOSE HITS, BUT YOU DID SAY RECENTLY THE CLAIMS HAVE NOT BEEN AS THIS YEAR WE'RE SITTING AT I'M GOING TO LIE TO YOU.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT OUR LOSS RATIO IS.

I KNOW OUR CLAIMS ARE ABOUT 95,000, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS IN REFERENCE TO WHAT WE'VE PAID IN SO FAR.

YEAH, YEAH. ALL RIGHT.

HOPING THAT'S ABOUT HALF OF THE PREVIOUS YEAR OF THE TWO YEARS AGO.

SO WE'RE LOOKING I'M HOPING WE'RE PRETTY GOOD.

SO YEAH, I CAN GET YOU AN ANSWER ON THAT IF YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW, PLEASE.

YEAH, OF COURSE. OF COURSE.

SO ANOTHER THING THAT'S IN THIS BUDGET IS THE NEW SENIOR CENTER OPERATIONS.

SO OUR SENIOR CENTER STAFF PUT TOGETHER A BUDGET PACKAGE, AND BASED ON WHEN THEY'RE OPENING, WE'RE ONLY FUNDING IT ABOUT 75% BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE OPEN THE FULL YEAR. SO REALLY EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.

THE OTHER THING THAT WE DID THIS YEAR WAS WE CONSOLIDATED SOME FUNDS.

SO THERE ARE TWO FUNDS THAT PREVIOUSLY HAVE HAD BUDGETS AND THEY HAVE BEEN ROLLED INTO THE GENERAL FUND.

ONE IS THE COMMERCIAL VEHICLE, CVE FUND.

THAT IS SUBSIDIZED BY THE GENERAL FUND.

FOR THE MOST PART, WE DON'T BRING ENOUGH OF THOSE FINES IN TO COVER THE COST OF THAT OFFICER.

THE PROGRAM IS NOT GOING AWAY, AND WHEN WE WERE PITCHING THIS IDEA TO PD, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THEY COULD STILL DO THEIR REPORTING, AND INTERIM CHIEF LAPENNA SAID, ABSOLUTELY. SO WE'VE ROLLED THAT FUND INTO THE GENERAL FUND.

THE OTHER FUND THAT WE ROLLED IN THERE IS THE PARKS DONATIONS FUND.

WHEN I CAME, I STARTED LOOKING AT THE NUMBER OF FUNDS THAT THE CITY HAS AND LOOKING TO SEE IF THERE'S A WAY WE CAN CONSOLIDATE FROM AN ACCOUNTING STANDPOINT WHEN WE DO OUR ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT.

A LOT OF THESE FUNDS DON'T MEET THE DEFINITION OF A SPECIAL REVENUE FUND.

SO THEY'RE ROLLED INTO THE GENERAL FUND FOR FINANCIAL REPORTING, BUT THEY'RE BROKEN OUT IN THE BUDGET.

SO WE TALKED WITH OUR AUDITORS ON THE DONATION FUND IN PARTICULAR.

STAFF IS NOT LOSING ACCESS TO THOSE FUNDS.

IT'S GOING TO BE ON THE BALANCE SHEET, SO IT WON'T ROLL INTO THE FUND BALANCE, AND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS WHEN WE DO A QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT TO YOU, WE'RE GOING TO PUT A SLIDE IN THERE THAT SHOWS YOU THE BALANCE IN THOSE DONATION FUNDS.

SO YOU STILL SEE WHAT'S AVAILABLE AS WELL.

FANTASTIC. SO GOOD.

I KNOW YOU HAD A LOT OF ISSUES, AND THEN WE PUT ONE ELSE ON THE TREE MITIGATION FUND.

YOU DID, BUT THAT ONE MEETS THE SPECIAL THE DEFINITION.

SO THAT ONE'S OKAY. OKAY.

YES. THE OTHER THING THAT I FORGOT TO PUT ON THIS SLIDE THAT WE DID WAS WE REALLY LOOKED AT OUR POSITIONS.

WE HAD A NUMBER OF FROZEN POSITIONS THAT WERE UNFUNDED.

THEY WERE JUST LISTED, AND SO WE SAT DOWN WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND KIND OF TALKED ABOUT, IS THERE A NEED FOR THESE POSITIONS, FUTURE NEED? CAN WE JUST GET RID OF THEM AND SO THIS BUDGET ELIMINATES ALL OF THE FROZEN POSITIONS EXCEPT FOR ONE.

WE KEPT THE INTERN POSITION AS A FROZEN POSITION, BUT IT JUST REALLY CLEAN UP THAT PERSONNEL SUMMARY MOVING FORWARD.

SO AND THOSE WERE NONE OF THOSE POSITIONS WERE EVER WERE FUNDED.

THEY WERE JUST BEEN FROZEN FOR A VERY LONG TIME.

WE DECIDED TO JUST TAKE IT OFF THE BOOKS.

YES, YES. GOOD.

SO THIS IS JUST WHERE WE KIND OF GET INTO THE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND FINANCIAL OVERVIEW.

SO SALES TAX IS AND WE SHOULD HAVE UPDATED THIS BECAUSE WE DID GET SALES TAX NUMBERS YESTERDAY.

WE HAVE EXPERIENCED A VERY ODD YEAR.

SO YOU CAN LOOK AT THE SALES TAX OVER THE LAST YEAR.

IT'S ALL OVER THE PLACE. SOME MONTHS IT'S UP SOME.

WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF MONTHS WHERE IT'S DOWN.

OVERALL THE SALES TAX NUMBERS THAT DID COME IN YESTERDAY, IT'S A 1.5% DECREASE COMPARED TO AUGUST OF LAST YEAR.

THAT PUTS US AT A LITTLE BIT OVER 2% COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, YEAR TO DATE.

SO GOING INTO THE BUDGET, WE WERE INCREDIBLY CONSERVATIVE, AND YEAR END ESTIMATE FOR SALES TAX.

WE JUST LEFT AT BUDGET AND GOING INTO 24-25, WE DID 2% OVER THE BUDGET, VERY, VERY CONSERVATIVE, AND I'M HOPING THAT I WILL BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED AS THOSE SALES TAX NUMBERS COME IN.

WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES EXPERIENCING THIS.

IT IS REGION WIDE.

I THINK ANDREA EVEN SAID IT'S TEXAS-WIDE.

I THINK PEOPLE'S SPENDING PATTERNS ARE CHANGING.

I THINK INFLATION IS STILL PLAYING A FACTOR IN THIS.

SO WE'RE WATCHING SALES TAX VERY, VERY CLOSELY.

SO YES.

COUNCILMEMBER STEVES. YES.

SO THE REDUCTION IN THE SALES TAX, WILL THAT AFFECT THE REDUCTION ON OUR PROPERTY TAX WORKSHEET WHERE THE.

SO NO, BECAUSE THAT IT'S GOING TO GET SUPER COMPLICATED.

IT'S THE LAST FOUR QUARTERS.

SO IT MAY NOT AFFECT IT THIS YEAR.

IT MAY AFFECT IT NEXT YEAR BECAUSE IT'S THE LAST FOUR--THE CREDIT THAT WE GET.

[00:30:03]

GREAT QUESTION.

THIS IS JUST A CHART JUST TO KIND OF SHOW YOU JUST HOW IT'S BROKEN DOWN BETWEEN 4B THE PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION AND THE GENERAL FUND.

SO OUR TAXABLE VALUES WE DID EXPERIENCE AN INCREASE THIS YEAR WHEN COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.

WE'RE ABOUT 6% HIGHER LIKE 6.1% HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR, AND THAT JUST GOES THAT'S JUST A HISTORY CHART.

SO YOU CAN JUST SEE THE GROWTH OVER THE YEARS AND I THINK YOU ASKED ME A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO KIND OF WHERE, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE'RE SEEING THE INCREASES.

IF WE SAW AN INCREASE IN OUR THE SENIOR FREEZE COUNT, THINGS LIKE THAT, WE DID SEE THAT PROPERTY COUNT GROW.

WE WERE AT WHERE'S MY NUMBER? WE WERE AT 4708 EIGHT LAST YEAR.

THIS YEAR WE'RE AT 4769.

SO WE DID SEE A SLIGHT INCREASE IN THOSE PROPERTIES THAT GOT ADDED TO THAT SECTION.

SO THIS JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU EXACTLY WHAT'S COMPARISON FROM THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.

AVERAGE MARKET VALUE, AVERAGE TAXABLE VALUE DID SEE AN INCREASE.

WE DID SEE AN INCREASE IN NEW CONSTRUCTION.

SO THAT'S ALWAYS A POSITIVE THING AS WELL.

BEFORE I GO INTO THE TAX RATE, DO WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE CHANGES THAT ARE THAT ARE COMING OUR WAY WHEN REFERENCE TO TAD? I THINK THAT YEAH, THAT MIGHT BE A GOOD TIME.

ONE THING I WOULD SAY IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THE LAST TWO YEARS IN THERE BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE THE TOTAL CHANGE FOR THE PROPERTY VALUES, YOU KNOW, 11.6%, 10.8%. NOW WE'RE AT 6.1%, AND THEN THAT SEEING THE REDUCTION THERE IN ADDITION TO OUR SALES TAX REVENUE REDUCTION.

YOU KNOW, ALARM BELLS START RINGING IN MY MIND.

I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT IT STARTS RINGING IN MY MIND WITH THE, YOU KNOW, POSSIBLE RECESSION SCARES COUPLED TO THE FACT WHERE TAD HAS MADE THAT ANNOUNCEMENT AND YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD AND TAKE IT FROM HERE.

SURE. OKAY. SO TAD IS HAVING A PUBLIC HEARING TOMORROW, AND IN FACT, I GOT THE REAPPRAISAL PLAN EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON AND IT'S ABOUT 165 PAGES.

SO I'LL BE READING THAT THIS EVENING.

SO TAD IS PROPOSING TO ONLY VALUE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY EVERY OTHER YEAR ON ODD YEARS.

SO THAT MEANS THAT THEY WILL HOLD VALUES FLAT UNTIL 2027.

SO WHAT THAT MEANS FOR US IS THE RESIDENTIAL VALUE THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW.

THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS.

THEY WILL REAPPRAISE MULTIFAMILY, THEY WILL REAPPRAISE COMMERCIAL AND ANY NEW VALUE ADDED.

SO IF THERE'S AN ADDITION TO YOUR HOME OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BUT EXISTING PROPERTY, THEY WILL NOT REAPPRAISE.

WHAT THAT DOES FOR US IS JUST LOOKING AT REAL PROPERTY ALONE.

RESIDENTIAL IS ABOUT 67% OF OUR APPRAISAL ROLL, SO IT'S GOING TO MAKE BUDGETS IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS A LITTLE CHALLENGING.

THAT EQUATES TO ABOUT IF THAT HAD GONE INTO EFFECT THIS YEAR, WE WOULD HAVE ONLY SEEN ABOUT 200 AND SOMETHING IN PROPERTY VALUE GROWTH, IN PROPERTY TAX GROWTH VERSUS WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS YEAR.

SO IT'S GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE.

I MAY STAND BEFORE YOU NEXT YEAR WITH SOME TEARS IN MY EYES AS WE FIGURE OUT HOW TO TAKE CARE OF OUR EMPLOYEES AND OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT IS ON THE PUBLIC HEARING IS TOMORROW AT 8 A.M.? I PLAN ON GOING.

I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE GOING TO SAY ANYTHING.

WE MAY JUST GO AND LISTEN TO THE COMMENTARY, BUT THAT IS ON THE HORIZON, AND DO YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING ON WHAT YOU'VE HEARD? SO I DID HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES AND THE CITY MANAGERS IN THAT AREA, AND ESSENTIALLY AND UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT TAD HAS QUIETLY BEEN DOING FOR SOME TIME, AND REALLY, YOU KNOW, I WAS SIMPLY INFORMED THAT THE ONLY QUESTION ON THE TABLE WAS WHETHER THEY WERE GOING TO GO TO TWO YEARS OR THREE YEARS ON THE REAPPRAISALS, AND SO THE MOTION IN FRONT OF THEM FOR TOMORROW IS TO DO TWO YEARS.

SO AT LEAST IN THAT SENSE, IT IS THE LESSER OF THOSE TWO EVILS AS FAR AS IT GOES.

SO IT IS OUR UNDERSTANDING THIS IS PRETTY MUCH, YOU KNOW, I HATE TO SAY THAT YOU USE THE TERM, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S PRETTY MUCH A DONE DEAL, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS FOR AND ACCOUNT FOR GOING FORWARD.

SO IT'S REALLY UNFORTUNATE.

WHEN I HEARD OF THIS, I, YOU KNOW, MY FIRST, MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, NOT HAVING THAT BUILT IN INCREASE, YOU KNOW, SO WE CAN TAKE CARE OF CARE OF COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENTS AND RAISES FOR OUR EMPLOYEES, ALL OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS.

I DON'T THINK THEY GET IT OVER THERE AT TAD, NOR, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE ELSE THAT THEY KEEP ON IMPOSING ALL OF THESE RESTRICTIONS ON US.

TO ME, I FEEL LIKE THE WIN HERE WOULD HAVE BEEN SIMPLY JUST CAP IT, CAP.

I KNOW THEY WANTED TO CAP THE PERCENTAGE, WHICH I THINK THEY THEY WENT ALMOST SHORT OF CAPPING IT, BUT THEY SAID THAT MOST OF IT'S ONLY 5%.

SO EVEN STILL, YOU'RE LOOKING AT A 5% INCREASE, AND SO, YOU KNOW, TO ME, I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, HAVING THAT INCREASE BUILT IN HELPS CITIES,

[00:35:05]

YOU KNOW, THIS IS GOING TO MAKE YOUR JOB MUCH HARDER NOW, KAREN, BECAUSE NOW YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE WE HAVE TO BUDGET TWO YEARS IN ADVANCE ESSENTIALLY ESSENTIALLY AND HOPING WHAT THAT WHAT THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE TWO YEARS FROM NOW AND HOPING WE'RE RIGHT.

YEAH. THE BETTER THE BETTER DEAL WOULD HAVE BEEN JUST TO BUILD IN THAT 5% EVERY YEAR, BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AT LEAST SOMETHING.

THIS IS NOT REALLY THIS IS NOT GOOD FOR OUR CITIES.

HAVE YOU TALKED TO OTHER CITY MANAGERS AND OTHERS IN YOUR FIELD? WHAT ARE THEIR FEELINGS? I THINK EVERYONE FEELS THE SAME WAY.

BECAUSE THE OTHER THING THAT WE HAVE AGAINST US IS, YOU KNOW, SB TWO THAT THE STATE PASSED A COUPLE YEARS AGO, IT LIMITED US TO 3.5%.

WELL, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THIS PROPERTY FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT, WE CAN'T GO 3.5% BECAUSE IT'S CAPPED.

IT'S FLAT, AND SO THREE YEARS FROM NOW WE CAN ONLY GO 3.5% VERSUS THE 3% EACH YEAR.

SO WE'RE MISSING OUT ON ROUGHLY 6.5% IN GROWTH TO BE ABLE TO FUND AND TAKE CARE OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND OUR PEOPLE AND OUR EQUIPMENT.

IT'S GOING TO BE CHALLENGING NEXT YEAR.

IT REALLY WILL. IT REALLY WILL.

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU SO KNOWING THIS INFORMATION KNOWING OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE TO THIS BUDGET PROCESS TAKES A WHOLE YEAR.

OF COURSE IT DOES. KNOWING THIS INFORMATION NOW KNOWING WHAT PREDICAMENTS WE ARE GOING TO BE IN, DOES THIS CHANGE THIS BUDGET AT ALL? IS THERE SOMETHING IN HERE THAT WE COULD WE AS A COUNCIL? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I TASK OUR COUNCIL.

THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT YEAR BECAUSE GOING FORWARD FROM THIS, BUDGETS ARE GOING TO BE VERY TIGHT, AND IT'S NOTHING THAT WE HAVE DECIDED ON OUR BEHALF.

WE'RE DOING THE BEST THAT WE CAN, BUT OUR HANDS ARE BEING TIED BY OTHER ENTITIES.

SO WHAT WOULD YOU IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD CHANGE? I THINK THIS BUDGET WE WERE ABLE TO REALLY ADDRESS A LOT OF NEEDS, AND SOME HAVE SOME ONGOING EXPENDITURES, AND SOME ARE ONE TIME, THE MAJORITY OF THEM ARE ONE TIME. IF I HAD TO LOOK AND SAY IF WE DIDN'T WANT TO FUND THIS AND WE WANT TO JUST PUT MONEY ASIDE IN THE GENERAL FUND, I REALLY DON'T SEE ANYTHING ON THIS LIST THAT THERE'S NOTHING FLUFF ON THIS LIST; THERE'RE NEEDS, AND THERE'S SOME NEEDS THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO FUND BECAUSE WE WERE TRYING TO BE CONSERVATIVE.

THE ONE SUGGESTION I DO HAVE GOING INTO THE NEXT SLIDE IS THE TAX RATE, AND I CAN SHOW YOU SOME OPTIONS IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT YOU WHAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO DO.

IT'S NOT HUGE DOLLARS.

SO THIS WHAT WE'VE PROPOSED IN THE TAX RATE OR IN THE BUDGET IS A FLAT TAX RATE.

YOUR VOTER APPROVAL RATE IS THE HIGHEST TAX RATE YOU CAN GO.

SO IT WOULD BE .496317 VERSUS .495726.

IT'S NOT A BIG DIFFERENCE, AND I'LL BREAK IT DOWN FOR YOU IN JUST A SECOND.

I LIKE THIS SLIDE JUST BECAUSE IT SHOWS YOU THAT EVEN THOUGH WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR DEBT CAPACITY, IF YOU'LL NOTICE, OUR DEBT RATE IS ACTUALLY GOING DOWN THIS YEAR COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.

THIS IS JUST OUR TAX RATE HISTORY.

SO THIS IS THE SLIDE I WANTED TO SHOW YOU.

SO THE FIRST TWO COLUMNS ARE WHAT WE HAVE IN THE CURRENT YEAR BUDGET, WHAT WE'VE HAD IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET THAT WOULD KEEP IT FLAT IF YOU WANTED TO GO TO THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST TAX RATE BY LAW THAT YOU CAN DO, THE IMPACT TO YOUR HOMEOWNER WOULD BE ABOUT $0.14 A MONTH.

IT WOULD GENERATE $32,000 FOR THE GENERAL FUND.

SO IT'S NOT IT'S NOT HUGE DOLLARS.

IT DOESN'T REALLY DO A WHOLE LOT, BUT THAT IS AN OPTION.

SO BUT I WILL SAY IN OUR PROPOSED BUDGET THAT WE HAVE PRESENTED TO YOU, IT IS THE FLAT TAX RATE.

IT'S THE SAME TAX RATE AS LAST YEAR.

SO SO YEAH.

SO JUST JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, ANYTHING OVER THAT VOTER APPROVAL RATE.

SO WE COULD BE THEORETICALLY AT THAT VOTER APPROVAL RATE WITHOUT HAVING TO GO TO THE VOTERS.

ANYTHING OVER THAT WOULD HAVE TO.

CORRECT. OKAY. CORRECT.

GOT IT. YEAH FOR 32,741, TO ME, IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE MUCH OF A BENEFIT TO GO THERE AND JUST TO KEEP THAT JUST, YOU KNOW, MY OWN THOUGHTS.

IT'S IT'S NEGLIGIBLE FOR 32,000.

YEAH. OKAY. THANK YOU THOUGH.

WELL I JUST WANTED TO SHOW YOU WHAT YOUR OPTIONS WERE.

YEAH. WELL, NO, I APPRECIATE IT, I APPRECIATE IT, AND IT'S GOOD INFORMATION TO KNOW.

I MEAN, IF THAT NUMBER WAS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, WE MAY HAVE BE HAVING DIFFERENT DISCUSSION.

YEAH. YEAH.

I HAVE TO THANK BRADY FOR RUNNING QUICK CALCULATIONS FOR ME WHEN I HAVE HAREBRAINED IDEAS, I'M LIKE, HEY, CAN YOU RUN THIS REAL QUICK? I WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT THIS DOES.

SO I WAS REALLY HOPING FOR IT TO BE A BIGGER NUMBER, BUT ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE I MOVE ON FROM THIS SLIDE? COUNCILMEMBER DAWKINS.

YOU WERE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THAT.

YEAH. THANKS, MR. MAYOR. SO REALLY BECAUSE THIS QUESTION ALWAYS COMES UP OF WHY WE WOULDN'T ADOPT A NO NEW REVENUE RATE, BUT WHAT I'M HEARING, OUR PRIMARY FUNDING

[00:40:02]

SO AGAIN, THAT'S ALWAYS A QUESTION OF WHY WE DIDN'T ADOPT A NEW REVENUE RATE.

YES. YEAH, AND THIS IS THE TAX RATE HISTORY SLIDE WHICH I REALLY LIKE THIS SLIDE BECAUSE IT DOES SHOW THAT WE'VE KEPT THE TAX RATE FLAT EVEN WITH THIS PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS.

YOU CAN SEE THE DEBT RATE.

IT INCREASED A LITTLE BIT LAST YEAR, BUT WE'RE GOING BACK DOWN, AND IT'S STILL ONE OF THE LOWEST TAX RATES ON THE DEBT SIDE THAT WE'VE HAD EVEN BEFORE WE DID THE 2017 BIG ISSUANCE.

COUNCILMEMBER STEVES.

THANK YOU, MAYOR. THE NEW CONSTRUCTION, WE HAVE ABOUT 150 OR 200 TOWNHOMES, HOMES COMING IN.

HAVE YOU DONE ANY CALCULATIONS ON HOW THAT WOULD ADD TO THE TAX ROLL? BECAUSE SOME OF THAT'S ON PROPERTY THAT WE WEREN'T GETTING REVENUE FROM.

IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT, CORRECT.

I HAVEN'T DONE ROUGH NUMBERS.

I MEAN, WE KNOW WHAT THOSE HOMES ARE VALUED AT OR WHAT THEY'RE SAYING THEY'RE VALUED AT AND SO WHEN THEY DO FINALLY MAKE IT TO THE TAX ROLLS, IT IS GOING TO BE A VERY NICE INFLUX, AND THAT WILL BE THAT.

LET ME FIND THAT SLIDE.

THAT'LL BE THAT NEW CONSTRUCTION PIECE OF THE TAX RATE CALCULATION WHICH DOESN'T WHICH DOES GET APPRAISED EVERY YEAR.

SO THAT WOULD BE APPRAISED, BUT ONCE IT HITS THEN IT WILL BE TWO YEARS LATER OR DEPENDING ON WHEN IT HITS.

OKAY. YEAH. GOOD QUESTION.

LET'S SEE. THIS JUST BREAKS DOWN KIND OF THE COST BY DEPARTMENT ON WHAT THOSE TAX DOLLARS GO TO.

SO NOT TO PICK ON POLICE AND FIRE, BUT YOU KNOW, THEY ARE OUR TWO BIGGEST DEPARTMENTS IN THE GENERAL FUND, AND SO THEY DO GET FUNDED $36 ABOUT A MONTH GOES TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, $28 GOES TO OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND THIS IS JUST OUR BUDGET OVERVIEW I ALWAYS LIKE TO POINT OUT WHENEVER YOU SEE A DECREASE IN FUND BALANCE, OR YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE COLUMN IN THE NEGATIVE, WHERE OUR REVENUES ARE LESS THAN OUR EXPENDITURES, THAT IS DUE TO ONE TIMES. EXCUSE ME, THOSE ARE DUE TO ONE TIMES, AND THAT'S WHEN YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE YOUR FUND BALANCE TO FUND THOSE ONE TIME PROJECTS.

YOU CAN'T USE YOUR FUND BALANCE TO FUND ONGOING EXPENDITURES.

I SAY YOU CAN'T.

YOU CAN, BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE A MECHANISM TO BRING THAT FUND BALANCE BACK UP.

SO AND WE'LL GO INTO THE DETAIL IN A SECOND ON WHAT THOSE ONE TIME EXPENDITURES ARE AND THIS JUST BREAKS IT DOWN BY FUND.

THIS IS AGAIN JUST A REVENUE COMPARISON.

THIS ALSO TELLS THE STORY.

YOU CAN SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, REALLY OUR PEOPLE, OUR PEOPLE ARE OUR BIGGEST EXPENSE OUT OF OUR ENTIRE BUDGET.

SO I KIND OF JUST SKIPPED OVER SOME SLIDES.

I WENT REALLY HIGH LEVEL.

I THINK WE REALLY. I JUST REALLY WANTED TO TALK TO YOU GUYS ABOUT TAD AND WHAT THE PLAN IS AND KIND OF WHAT OUR PROPERTY TAX IS LOOKING LIKE.

SO ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO BRADY? REAL QUICK CAN YOU GO OVER THE FUNDS REAL QUICK? OH OF COURSE. YEAH. I KIND OF SKIPPED OVER IT REALLY QUICKLY.

YEAH. I JUST WANT TO GO OVER JUST SOME OF THEM.

SOME OF THE DECREASE THE 4B FUND.

YES. SO OBVIOUSLY WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT ONE.

THERE'S A DIFFERENCE THERE.

YES, SIR. SO THAT IS IN THIS CURRENT BUDGET YEAR, WE HAD SLATED TO DO GREGORY ADDITION FOR 2.8 MILLION.

IT'S AUGUST AND WE HAVE YET TO BID THAT PROJECT.

SO WE PUSHED IT OUT TO THIS NEXT BUDGET YEAR.

SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THAT DECREASE IN FUND BALANCE, AND IF YOU'RE LOOKING IN YOUR PROPOSED BUDGET, YOU WILL SEE YOUR FY 24 BUDGET AND THEN YOUR FY 24 PROJECTED, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT COST, THAT EXPENSE DIFFERENCE RIGHT THERE.

SO YES OKAY.

THANK YOU. THAT WAS THE ONE FUND.

YES. SORRY I SKIPPED OVER THAT OKAY.

ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.

OH I DID WANT TO POINT OUT AND I APOLOGIZE.

I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE DONE IT AT THE BEGINNING WHEN WE WERE GOING OVER HIGHLIGHTS.

SO ONE OF THE OTHER DIFFERENCES THIS YEAR BETWEEN THE GENERAL FUND AND THE TOURISM FUND.

SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE TOURISM FUND, YOU MAY SEE EXPENSES A LITTLE BIT HIGHER.

WE BASED ON JUST THE INFLUX OF PEOPLE TO OUR CITY FOR THE FOURTH FEST, THAT IS REALLY NO LONGER A CITY EVENT THAT ATTRACTED PEOPLE TO OUR COMMUNITY.

WHICH MEETS THE DEFINITION OF THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FUND FROM THE STATE.

[00:45:01]

JUST BECAUSE IT'S MORE OF A DRAW TO OUR COMMUNITY TO PROMOTE TOURISM INTO OUR COMMUNITY.

SO THAT'S ONE CHANGE THIS BUDGET YEAR AS WELL.

GOTCHA. YEAH. I MEAN, I KNOW IN YEARS PAST THERE WERE SOME, YOU KNOW, CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THAT, AND, I MEAN, THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT IT IS A DRAW BECAUSE, I MEAN, I'VE SAW THE MOST PEOPLE I'VE EVER SEEN AT ONE OF OUR EVENTS OVER AT THE FOURTH BEST.

WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONLY OBVIOUSLY CITY TO DO THIS FOR THEIR FOURTH FEST, RIGHT? I MEAN, THERE'S MANY OTHERS THAT GO OVER THE TOURISM.

IT'S MOST PROPER WAY TO FUND THAT.

YES. OKAY. YES.

GOTCHA. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR ME? IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT.

OKAY WELL WE DECIDED TO DO THINGS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY THIS YEAR VERSUS LAST YEAR WHERE WE DID MUSICAL CHAIRS.

SO WE KIND OF SPLIT IT UP A LITTLE BIT BETTER THIS YEAR.

ALL RIGHT. VERY GOOD. EVENING.

EVENING. NOW WE'RE ABOUT TO GET INTO THE FUNDS.

SO FUNDS EXIST BECAUSE CERTAIN MONEY CAN ONLY BE SPENT CERTAIN WAYS EITHER BY THE STATE LAW OR BY Y'ALL'S DISCRETION.

FIRST OFF IS THE GENERAL FUND.

THAT'S GOING TO BE THE MONEY THAT'S LEAST RESTRICTED.

IT CAN GO TO THE MOST AREAS WE WANT, AND IT'S MAINLY GOING TO THE THINGS YOU THINK THAT CITIES DO POLICE, FIRE, LIBRARY, PARKS, THOSE SORT OF ITEMS, AND IT'S LARGELY FUNDED BY TAXES. SO IF WE ARE NOT GETTING MORE TAX REVENUE, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO DO MORE THINGS THERE.

IN GENERAL. THIS IS FIRST OFF A MULTI YEAR TREND OF GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES AND REVENUE.

THIS IS MAINLY TO SHOW THAT YEAR AFTER YEAR OUR ACTUALS, OUR REVENUE IS GOING TO BE HIGHER THAN OUR EXPENDITURES WHERE WE NORMALLY BUDGET CONSERVATIVELY.

SO WE'RE GOING TO HOPEFULLY COME IN HIGH ON REVENUE, AND THEN OUR DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS ARE VERY DILIGENT ABOUT THEIR BUDGETS, AND THEY GENERALLY SPEND LESS THAN WHAT WE ALLOW THEM TO.

SO WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM, I MENTIONED EARLIER, MOST OF IT OR MOST OF IT COMES FROM PROPERTY TAXES AND THEN SALES TAXES.

FRANCHISE TAX, THAT'S WHERE WE LET VARIOUS UTILITY COMPANIES USE OUR RIGHT OF WAY TO HAVE ACCESS TO OUR COMMUNITY CHARGES FOR SERVICES.

THAT'S GOING TO BE MOSTLY EMERGENCY AMBULANCE FEES.

THEN WE GO ON TO LICENSE AND PERMITS.

I THINK THAT'S FAIRLY SELF-EXPLANATORY.

AFTER THAT IS FINES AND FORFEITURES, WHICH IS OUR MUNICIPAL COURT.

OTHER GOVERNMENTAL.

MOST OF THAT IS GOING TO BE OUR H-E-B ISD PARTNERSHIP FOR THE POLICE OFFICERS THERE AND THEN OTHER REVENUES.

THAT'S MOSTLY INTEREST INCOME, AND WHERE THE MONEY GOES, WE SAW THIS A LITTLE EARLIER, BUT FIRE AND POLICE ARE FOR THE MOST PART, THIS ALSO DOES SHOW ABOUT 2.7 MILLION IN 1 TIME EXPENDITURES.

THAT IS THE REASON WHY YOU SEE THE EXPENDITURES BEING BUDGETED HIGHER THAN THE REVENUES THIS YEAR.

IF YOU DO BACK THAT OUT OUR ONGOING REVENUES ARE GOING TO BE HIGHER THAN OUR ONGOING EXPENDITURES, WHICH IS JUST AN APPROPRIATE WAY TO DO THINGS.

YOU MAY NOTICE THAT THE ADMIN SERVICES LINE ITEM IS A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN NORMAL.

THAT DOES INCLUDE JUST OVER 1.5 MILLION OF THOSE ONE TIME EXPENDITURES WHERE WE'RE MOVING MONEY OUT TO A DIFFERENT FUND TO FUND VEHICLE REPLACEMENT IN THE FUTURE.

SO THAT IS WHY THAT WENT UP A LITTLE BIT.

SO WHY ARE WE FUNDING VEHICLE REPLACEMENT AND WHY ARE WE DOING WHAT WAS IT, 1.5 MILLION WE'RE PUTTING IN THERE? ALL RIGHT. SO WHAT'S THE THOUGHT BEHIND THAT.

A LOT OF OUR VEHICLES HAVE BEEN PAID OFF.

SO THEY'RE ALSO MAYBE NEARING THE TIME TO BE REPLACED, AND AS OPPOSED TO LOCKING OURSELVES INTO A LEASE CONTRACT, THIS WOULD GIVE US THE OPTION TO BUY SOME VEHICLES STRAIGHT UP WITH CASH, AS OPPOSED TO BEING LOCKED INTO A LEASE.

LEASE GIVES US THAT OPTIONALITY WHERE IF WE DID NOT HAVE THIS FUND BALANCE TO BEGIN WITH, WHERE WE COULD CASH FUND SOME VEHICLES, WE WOULD BE LOCKED INTO THAT CONTRACT.

I MEAN, NOT LEGALLY, BUT PRACTICALLY.

GOTCHA, GOTCHA. SO THIS IS A BETTER WAY TO DO THINGS AND DO THIS GOING FORWARD AND THE CITY OBVIOUSLY AFTER WE PURCHASE IT AND PAY CASH FOR IT, WE HAVE AN ASSET AT THAT POINT WHICH WE THEN CAN SELL OFF, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY KEEP RENEWING OVER TIME.

YES, SIR. OKAY. GOT IT.

WE HAVE A FEW SLIDES HIGHLIGHTING ALL THE CHANGES IN THE GENERAL FUND.

THE BIGGEST INCREASE IS COMING FROM THE COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT.

THAT'S THE 3% INCREASE WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.

NEXT UP IS COMPRESSION ADJUSTMENTS.

THOSE ARE LARGELY FOR WHENEVER TWO POSITIONS THAT MAYBE ONE MANAGES ANOTHER, BUT THEIR SALARIES BECAUSE OF NEW HIRES OR WHATEVER REASON GOT A LITTLE TOO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER.

THIS EXPANDS THEM BACK OUT.

SO PEOPLE ARE PAID TO THE APPROPRIATE LEVELS.

THEN WE ALSO HAVE A NUMBER OF ONE TIMES.

THAT'S THE FAR RIGHT COLUMN, SOME VACATION BUY-BACK EQUIPMENT ACQUISITION FUND I MENTIONED EARLIER, TRYING TO FUND OUR COMPUTER REPLACEMENT AND GET A STRONGER SCHEDULE THAT OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS, SO WE'RE NOT REPLACING THEM ALL AT ONCE.

WE CAN REPLACE THEM ON A SCHEDULE.

ANY PARTICULAR QUESTIONS ON ANYTHING ON THIS SLIDE? COMPRESSION ADJUSTMENTS.

WHAT POSITIONS ARE THOSE FOR?

[00:50:03]

I'D HAVE TO. I DON'T KNOW IF THERE WAS ONE.

IN PRIOR YEARS, I KNOW THAT THERE WAS SOME ISOLATED ONES THAT WE TARGETED.

I DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE WAS A DEPARTMENT SPECIFICALLY FOR THESE OR WAS IT ACROSS THE BOARD? LOOKS LIKE KAREN'S. SHE PULLED IT UP.

YEAH. WHOOPS, THROWING STUFF.

SO YES SO OUR HR DEPARTMENT LOOKS AT EVERY POSITION AND COMPARES IT TO JUST ACROSS THE BOARD WHERE WE ARE, AND SO IT LOOKS I MEAN IT'S REALLY SPREAD OUT.

WE'VE GOT SOME IN UTILITY BILLING.

WE'VE GOT SOME IN COURT LIBRARY.

THERE'S SOME PARKS HAS A FEW.

I MEAN IT'S REALLY IT'S ALMOST ACROSS THE BOARD.

YES. GOTCHA.

YEAH. ALL RIGHT. VERY GOOD.

THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. YEAH BECAUSE I KNOW IN YEARS PAST I THINK IT WAS JUST A FEW, JUST A FEW DEPARTMENTS THAT THE COMPRESSION RATES WERE REALLY HITTING.

I THINK LIBRARY WAS ONE OF THEM AND I CAN'T REMEMBER THE OTHER ONE, BUT PUBLIC WORKS, THAT'S IT.

YEAH, MM HMM. YES.

COUNCILMEMBER SABOL. SO BRADY, WE HAD THE ENTERPRISE FUND FOR AND WE LEASED ALL OF OUR CARS.

THAT TURNED OUT NOT TO WORK OUT VERY WELL FOR US, IT'S WORKED OUT FINE, AND IT ALLOWED US TO GET A LOT OF NEW VEHICLES THAT WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WITHOUT IT, BUT WE WANT TO BUILD IN SOME OPTIONALITY.

SO WE'RE NOT FORCED INTO ONE DECISION.

SO WE HAD WE REPLACED OUR ENTIRE FLEET BASICALLY, AND NOW HOW MANY YEARS HAS IT BEEN 5 OR 6? SOMETHING LIKE THAT? YES.

SO WE PAID OFF SOME OF THOSE OR SOME OF THOSE HAVE COME INTO OUR HANDS AND WE'RE NOT RELEASING THEM OR WE'RE NOT GETTING REPLACEMENTS, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH THE REPLACEMENT FUND.

YES. SO WAS THAT A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME WHEN WE DID IT? I THINK AT THE TIME WE WERE, WE WEREN'T IN A CASH POSITION TO BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF OUR FLEET, AND SO I THINK AT THE TIME, IT MADE SENSE.

I THINK NOW WE HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT WE NEED, AND WE HAVE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH, OUR FLEET STAFF IS ACTUALLY COMING UP WITH FLEET REPLACEMENT CRITERIA AND A FLEET REPLACEMENT POLICY.

SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IS, YOU KNOW, YOUR POLICE CARS, YOU'RE PROBABLY GOING TO REPLACE THEM EVERY FOUR YEARS, BUT YOUR PUBLIC WORKS TRUCK, THAT'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE MORE LIKE AN EIGHT YEAR VEHICLE.

SO COMING UP WITH REPLACEMENT CRITERIA.

SO IT'S MORE SYSTEMATIC AND SO WHEN WE SAW WE HAD EXCESS FUND BALANCE, WE THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO START BUILDING THAT FUND AS WE WORK ON THAT FLEET REPLACEMENT POLICY AND PLAN.

OKAY. I JUST WAS CURIOUS.

YEAH. THANK YOU.

GREAT QUESTION. NO, I REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST CAME ON TO COUNCIL, THAT WAS THAT WAS A BIG DEAL.

A BIG DEAL WAS LEASING OUT THOSE VEHICLES, AND I THINK I AGREE WITH YOU AT THE TIME, I THINK IT MADE SENSE BECAUSE WE HAD A LOT OF AGING VEHICLES AT THE TIME, SO WE WERE ABLE TO UPDATE OUR FLEET, BUT NOW DOING THIS, I CAN SEE THIS IS GOING TO GIVE US SOME MORE FLEXIBILITY SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO JUST HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT LEASED VEHICLES ALL THE TIME. SO THIS IS GOOD.

OKAY. GOING ON TO THE NEXT SET.

THIS IS MAINLY POLICE FIRE AND THE LIBRARY.

THERE IS ONE CHANGE ON HERE THAT WAS NOT IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

THAT IS THE CAD TO CAD SOFTWARE PROGRAM FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.

WE DID SPEAK WITH THE FIRE CHIEF AFTER WE DID RELEASE THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

I HAD DISCUSSIONS AND THIS WAS A HIGHER PRIORITY, SO WE DECIDED TO INCLUDE THIS IN THE BUDGET.

WE ALSO LOWERED THE BODY ARMOR REPLACEMENT ONE TIME AMOUNT BY THE SAME AMOUNT AFTER DISCUSSION WITH THE FIRE CHIEF.

COUNCILMEMBER STEVES.

THANK YOU, MAYOR. FOR THE K-9 HANDLER, WHY ISN'T THAT NOT IN THE REGULAR POLICE BUDGET? ISN'T IT LIKE FLSA? SHOULDN'T THAT BE JUST A RECURRING.

THIS IS GOING TO BE THE FIRST YEAR WITH A NEW DOG.

SO THIS IS AN ADDITION, SO WE MENTIONED THAT THERE'S SOME VERY SMALL ONES THAT ARE JUST CHANGES WITH THE BODY ARMOR.

WE GOT A GRANT IN 2022.

WAS IT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE THAT WE TRIED THAT FOR THIS TIME AROUND? BRADY THAT IS OH I'M SORRY THAT IS OUR INTENTION.

THE ORIGINAL ASK WAS A LITTLE BIT HIGHER AND WE DID TALK TO POLICE AND I'M SORRY FIRE ABOUT THAT, AND BASICALLY THEY ARE FULLY AWARE AND READY TO PROCEED WITH GRANT REQUESTS FOR THAT. SO YES, WE'VE HOPEFULLY OFFSET THAT TO SUPPLEMENT WITH GRANTS.

THANKS. GOOD QUESTION.

I DID HAVE ONE ON THE PREVIOUS PREVIOUS PAGE.

SORRY. ON THE FLOCK SAFETY LICENSE PLATE READER PRODUCTS.

SPEAKING TO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE I WAS THE ASSUMPTION THAT IT ALREADY READ THE LICENSE.

WHAT IS THE WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS? THIS IS AN EXPANDED PROGRAM THAT DOES A LOT MORE, AND IT WOULD COVER A LOT MORE GROUND AND MORE QUICKLY GETS IT TO OUR POLICE.

OKAY. SO YEAH, THIS I MEAN, NO DOUBT THIS HAS BEEN A NEED FOR OUR COMMUNITIES AND IT'S BEEN I

[00:55:01]

WE WENT AND WE DID THIS FLOCK CAMERA SYSTEMS, AND I SAID IT BEFORE, I THINK THIS IS THE FUTURE OF POLICE WORK IS INVESTING IN THESE FLOCK CAMERA SYSTEMS. SO VERY GOOD.

I JUST WANTED TO DOUBLE CHECK. SO JUST EXPANDING ON EVERYTHING, GETTING EVERYTHING QUICKER AND.

YES. OKAY. YEAH, WE LOOKED AT PUBLIC, PRIVATE COMBINATION, LIKE WE'D SAY WITH THE BOX STORES, LIKE WALMART, LIKE THAT HUGE PARKING LOT.

HAVE, YOU KNOW, WITH THE FLOCK CAMERAS, HAVE WE LOOKED AT ANY KIND OF A JOINT AGREEMENT WITH THEM WHERE, YOU KNOW, THEY PAY HALF, BUT I'M SURE WE GET A LOT OF CALLS FOR SHOPLIFTING AND STUFF LIKE THAT.

THAT'S A FAIR POINT. I'M NOT AWARE OF IT, BUT, ANDREA? I KNOW WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS AND AS THE OPPORTUNITIES HAVE ARISEN THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP, BUT I'M GOING TO LET BOBBY ELABORATE.

I KNOW OF AN INSTANCE.

I'M SURE HE'S AWARE OF MANY MORE.

HEY, CHIEF, QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FLOCK CAMERAS.

SO, YES THIS FLOCK SYSTEM THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, THE EXPANSION, IT ACTUALLY DOES INCLUDE SOME LIVE VIEW CAMERAS THAT I HAVE PLACED THROUGHOUT THE CITY AROUND GENERATIONS PARK AND A COUPLE OTHER SHOPPING STRIPS, AND IT'S ALSO A SYSTEM THAT CAN INCORPORATE PRIVATE BUSINESS AND PRIVATE RESIDENT CAMERAS TO FEED INTO IT ALSO, AND SO KIND OF THAT SITUATIONAL IMMEDIATE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS CAN BE AT THE OFFICER'S HANDS WITHIN THIS SYSTEM, AND THIS EXPANSION ALSO INCLUDES A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MORE COVERAGE OF THE LPR CAMERAS ALSO.

SO WE COULDN'T INCENTIVE WALMART TO PAY FOR ANY OF THESE CAMERAS OR ANYTHING.

SO THERE IS A THERE ACTUALLY IS A WALMART ACTUALLY HAS ITS OWN GRANT.

IT'S NOT QUITE ENOUGH IN A SENSE OF WHERE THE COST HAS GONE, BUT TALKING TO WALMART AND STARTING TO WORK THROUGH THAT PAPERWORK TO WORK THROUGH THEIR GRANT FUNCTION TO TRY TO GET THEIR STORES COVERED THEMSELVES.

AWESOME. SO YEAH. THANK YOU.

YEAH. YOU GOT IT. THANK YOU CHIEF.

APPRECIATE IT. GREAT.

WAS THERE ANYTHING ELSE ON THE SECOND SLIDE? OH, YEAH.

[INAUDIBLE]? YEAH. OKAY.

YEAH. AMBULANCE REMOUNT FOR A LARGE DOLLAR FIGURE, BUT THAT'S GOING TO BE ABLE TO ADD SOME USEFUL LIFE.

OKAY, OKAY. GOING ON TO THE FINAL ONE.

ONE OF THESE IS SOMETHING YOU'VE ALREADY APPROVED IS THE INCREASE TO THE MOWING AND MOWING CONTRACT FOR OUR PARKS.

SO THIS IS INCORPORATING IT INTO THE ACTUAL BUDGET.

ONE OF THOSE THINGS WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE SEEING THOSE BIG CHANGES TO THE BUDGET YEAR AFTER YEAR, AND THEN THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ONE TIME ITEMS FOR GENERATIONS PARK.

THOSE ARE FOR OUR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS.

YES. ALL RIGHT. SO THE THOUGHT BEHIND THAT WE'RE DECORATING THE PARK FOR CHRISTMAS.

ARE WE GOING TO BE MOVING THE TREE LIGHTING BECAUSE WE'RE GETTING A NEW CHRISTMAS TREE WITH THIS? I SEE MARK LONG MAKING HIS WAY UP.

GOOD EVENING, MARK.

GOOD EVENING MAYOR AND COUNCIL.

HOW ARE WE DOING? DOING WELL.

YES. SO THE INTENT IS TO MOVE AWAY FROM OBS TO THE BEAUTIFUL GENERATIONS PARK AT BOYS RANCH AND START HAVING OUR FESTIVITIES THERE OVER CHRISTMAS TIME.

SO THAT CAME TO US THROUGH RESIDENTS.

THEY WANT TO SEE MORE OF A I DON'T WANT TO USE THE GRAPEVINE BECAUSE I KNOW THEY ARE THE CHRISTMAS CAPITAL OF TEXAS, BUT MANY OF THEM HAVE VOICED THAT WE CAN DO BETTER. IT'S A GREAT EVENT AT OBS, BUT YOU KNOW, SO WE ENVISION BIG.

SO THAT PACKAGE RIGHT THERE.

YES IT IS A BIG NUMBER BUT IT DOES COVER A LOT OF AMENITIES.

SO LIGHT UPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO GOTCHA.

OBVIOUSLY THAT'S A CHANGE.

SO THE MAIN THOUGHT PROCESS, BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S ALWAYS BEEN COUNCIL'S WISH, YOU KNOW, FOR OBS TO MAKE THAT PROPERTY UTILIZE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, AND SO WE'RE TAKING THAT AWAY NOW FOR FOR THE TREE LIGHTING.

IS THAT ONLY DUE TO THE FACT THAT WE JUST WANT TO MAKE IT BIGGER, BETTER, AND THAT OBS CAN ACCOMMODATE OUR VISION FOR EXPANDING IT, CORRECT? I MEAN, OBS SERVES THE FUNCTION AS IT IS RIGHT NOW FOR WHAT WE OFFER, BUT I THINK WE COULD I THINK THE VISION IS, IS TO MAKE IT A DESTINATION FOR A WINDOW OF TIME, TWO WEEKS A WEEK AND LET RESIDENTS ENJOY.

ABSOLUTELY. I MEAN, THE HOLIDAY SEASON.

THERE'S MORE. YEAH, THERE'S MORE PARKING.

THERE'S MORE. THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A LOT MORE SPACE THERE.

COUNCILMEMBER FARCO. OKAY, SO THE RESIDENTS ARE SAYING, WE LIKE THIS.

HAVE WE THOUGHT OF DOING A WISH LIST AND WANT FOR THIS? BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT A LOT OF THEM WOULD DONATE TO SOMETHING LIKE THIS WHERE WE'D INCREASE THE PARK AND CHRISTMAS AROUND THERE.

SO BUSINESSES TOO I MEAN, IT INCREASES EVERYTHING.

YEAH. NO, WE HAVEN'T THOUGHT OF THAT, BUT I MEAN, THAT'S A GREAT IDEA, A GREAT PLAN.

ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. WHEN I FIRST SAW THAT, I WAS A LITTLE I DON'T KNOW, I HAD I HAD MIXED EMOTIONS ABOUT ABOUT THE SWITCHING THE TREE LIGHTING TO

[01:00:08]

SO BUT THAT BEING SAID, YOU KNOW, I DO SEE WE NEED MORE.

WE NEED BETTER DECORATIONS; THAT, I CAN GUARANTEE YOU.

SO I JUST WANTED TO SEE WHAT THE THOUGHT PROCESS WAS AT, SEE WHAT IF COUNCIL HAS ANY THOUGHTS ON THE SUBJECT, ON WHAT WE FEEL ON THAT ONE BECAUSE I THINK THAT ONE'S PROBABLY OF ALL THE SUPPLEMENTAL REQUESTS, I THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE THIS IS THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL THING, SO BE CAREFUL.

THIS IS CHRISTMAS. I KNOW.

EXACTLY. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT TAKING CHRISTMAS.

BAH HUMBUG! I'M JUST KIDDING.

WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE? ALL RIGHT, COUNCILMEMBER DONOVAN BRANDON.

YOU CAN PRESS THAT BUTTON.

RIGHT THERE. DID YOU SEE ME CLUTCHING MY PEARLS UP HERE? I DID, I DID. OKAY, AND A CHRISTMAS TREE THAT'S $60,000.

IS THIS AN ARTIFICIAL TREE? CORRECT. IT IS.

WE WILL USE IT YEAR OVER YEAR.

SO THIS IS $60,000 OVER SEVERAL YEARS.

THIS IS SOMETHING I UNDERSTAND.

CHRISTMAS TREES I UNDERSTAND, BODY CAMS...

WOULD YOU LIKE TO TALK ABOUT BODY CAMS? [CHUCKLING] NO, I'M GOING TO GO WITH WHATEVER THEY SUGGEST BUT OKAY, AND THEN THE DECORATIONS.

I THINK IT'S YOUR MIC.

I ORDERED A NEW ONE.

OKAY, AND THE DECORATIONS ARE WHAT? ARE THEY DESIGNED? SO IT'S LIGHTS.

THEY'RE FAIRLY SUBSTANTIAL.

I WISH WE PUT A PICTURE IN WITH IT NOW.

THEY'RE GOING TO BE PRETTY. THEY WILL BE PRETTY OKAY.

THEY MIGHT BE A LITTLE GAUDY BUT THEY'RE THEY'LL BE NICE CHRISTMAS.

THEY'LL BE NICE. OKAY I'M GOING TO WILLIAMSBURG IN DECEMBER.

SO THAT'S WHERE I'M COMING FROM OKAY.

THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME.

COUNCILMEMBER DAWKINS. THANKS, MR. MAYOR. SO MARK, WITH THE THOUGHT OF MOVING THE CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING TO GENERATIONS PARK, DO WE ALSO HAVE TO CONSIDER PARKING ADJUSTMENTS? SO WE'RE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT THE FOURTH, WHERE WE WANT TO HAVE THE BUSING FOR PARKING, AND WE'RE ALREADY DOING THAT FOR BEATS AND EATS.

SO WOULD THAT BE CONSIDERED IN THIS BUDGET TOO, OF LIKE THAT HAVING BUSING FOR PARKING? GRANTED, THE TREE LIGHTING ISN'T AS LONG AS BEATS AND EATS OR THE FOURTH, BUT THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN WE'RE SEEING THAT'S A CHALLENGE IN HAVING A BIG EVENT THERE.

SO WE ARE TAKING THAT INTO ACCOUNT.

SO PD, FIRE, WE ARE ALL WORKING TOGETHER FOR A PLAN.

SO WE WILL HAVE A PLAN FOR AUGUST 31ST OF THIS YEAR.

WE HOPE THAT PLAN WORKS AND WE HOPE WE CAN INSTITUTE THAT PLAN MOVING FORWARD.

SO SOME OF OUR EVENTS, WE MAY NEED TO ASK FOR SOME MORE MONEY FOR SHUTTLES AND THINGS LIKE THAT BECAUSE WE DON'T SHUTTLE RIGHT NOW FOR SOME EVENTS, JUST ONE EVENT, BUT YES, WE WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO DO IT THIS PARTICULAR EVENT OVER A FEW DAYS, AND MAYBE LIKE A SELF-TOUR TYPE DEAL TO WHERE WE CAN UTILIZE THE WONDERFUL PARKING WE HAVE ON SITE, AND IT WOULD BE A COME AND GO AS YOU PLEASE.

SO WE'RE NOT KEEPING EVERYONE THERE FOR A TWO HOUR PERIOD OF TIME AND THEN RELEASING ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

SO YES, A PLAN FOR THE COUNCIL IS IS WE ARE WORKING ON WHAT I THINK WILL BE A GOOD PLAN THAT WILL WORK FOR OUR RESIDENTS THAT LIVE CLOSE.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.

ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? COUNCILMEMBER SABOL. THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE, THEY REALLY WANT US TO SPEND $160,000 FOR CHRISTMAS STUFF.

I MEAN, FOR ME, I GOT A LOT OF.

I WANT TO SPEND THAT MUCH. I KNOW, SEE, THAT'S WHAT I'M THINKING.

IT JUST IT KIND OF BOTHERS ME.

WE HAVE A LOT OF NEEDS.

SURE, AND WE'RE, AND WE CAN'T COMPETE WITH.

WE CAN'T EVEN COMPETE WITH DAYSTAR.

RIGHT. THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO COMPETE WITH.

SO TO ME, IT'S KIND OF LIKE I DON'T I'D RATHER KEEP IT SIMPLE.

WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THE NUMBER IS FLEXIBLE.

DO WE NEED A NEW TREE BECAUSE THE TREE IS ALWAYS BURNING OUT.

THE TREE WOULD BE THE REQUEST TO REPLACE THAT TREE.

THAT TREE HAS BEEN AROUND FOR QUITE A WHILE.

WE'RE STARTING TO SEE SOME ISSUES WITH IT.

A NEW ONE WOULD WOULD BE GREAT.

CAN WE GET A YEAR OR TWO OUT OF IT? I WOULD SAY PROBABLY YES.

OKAY. THANK YOU.

MAYBE WE COULD. OKAY.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

YEAH I GET I GET WHERE COUNCILMEMBER SABOL IS COMING FROM.

IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL THIS THAT WAS THE ONLY THING THAT I'M ON THERE, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE DO WANT TO MAKE IT LOOK NICE.

IT'S CHRISTMAS AFTER ALL.

I SEE THAT, BUT THAT BEING SAID YEAH, I THINK WE'LL HAVE TO CIRCLE BACK ON THOSE PARK DECORATIONS IN THE

[01:05:09]

OKAY. THAT'D BE THE ONE THAT IF WE COULD CHOOSE ONE.

GOTCHA. GOTCHA.

ALL RIGHT. APPRECIATE THAT.

THANK YOU. MARK. YOU'RE WELCOME.

WE'RE NOT CANCELING CHRISTMAS.

[CHUCKLING] WE'RE NOT CANCELING CHRISTMAS.

WE'RE NOT CANCELING CHRISTMAS.

NO NO NO NO. WE JUST WANT TO CLARIFY EVERYTHING.

SO. ALL RIGHT, I WILL SAY MY FAVORITE PART OF IT IS THAT IT'S IN THE ONE TIME AMOUNT COLUMN.

YEAH IT IS. WHICH IS MUCH BETTER FOR US OVER LONG TERM AND YOU KNOW AND IT I MEAN THIS IS ME ALSO THE DECORATIONS ARE DATED.

WE DO NEED SOME DECORATIONS THERE, AND WE'RE GOING TO TAKE PRIDE IN, AND IF WE'RE GOING TO, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SOMETHING FOR CHRISTMAS AND NEEDS TO LOOK NICE.

IT NEEDS TO BE GOOD. SO BUT ARE WE GOING TO COMPETE WITH GRAPEVINE? NO ONE'S GOING TO COMPETE WITH GRAPEVINE, BUT IT'S CHRISTMAS IN BEDFORD, SO.

ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU FOR THAT. ANY MORE CHANGE QUESTIONS? YEAH. COUNCILMEMBER FARCO.

SO, YES.

YOU CAN HAVE MY WATER. THANK YOU.

SO BACK TO CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS.

OKAY. SO ONE IS THAT I THINK IF WE KEEP DOING THIS AND WE HAVE MULTI SITES KIND OF LIKE GRAPEVINE, MORE PEOPLE WILL COME AND EAT IN OUR RESTAURANTS AND BRING SALES TAX, BUT SINCE IT'S A MULTI-DAY EVENT AND WE'RE TRYING TO DECORATE IT TO BRING PEOPLE IN, CAN WE USE HOT TAX FOR THAT? YES.

I'M SEEING KAREN SHAKING HER HEAD YES.

IT'S A VERY SIMILAR EVENT TO THE FOURTH FEST WHERE YOU'RE BRINGING FOLKS IN.

I DON'T KNOW IF THE FIRST YEAR WOULD DO THAT, BUT IT'S IT DOES MEET THE CRITERIA OF BRINGING PEOPLE INTO YOUR COMMUNITY, LIKE YOU SAID, EATING AT YOUR RESTAURANTS, THINGS LIKE THAT.

ALL RIGHT.

THAT'S GOOD. THAT'S A GOOD OPTION ALSO FOR FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE HEARTBURN ABOUT TAKING OUT OF THE REGULAR GENERAL FUND AND THEN JUST ADDING IT TO TOURISM.

OKAY. YEAH. THANK YOU.

GOOD QUESTION. ALL RIGHT.

ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS SUPPLEMENTAL LIST? OKAY. THE OPERATIONAL BUDGET, OBVIOUSLY, FOR THE NEW SENIOR SENIOR CENTER.

SO OBVIOUSLY THAT LINE ITEM IS NOT FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR NOW.

SO WE WILL SEE AN INCREASE ON THAT NEXT YEAR WHENEVER IT'S A FULL YEAR, BUT THIS DOES HELP US EASE INTO IT.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

OKAY, GREAT.

WELL, WE HAD SOME QUESTIONS, BUT ANY MORE BEFORE WE GO ON TO THE NEXT STEP.

YES. COUNCILMEMBER. DONOVAN. BRANDON.

OH, IT'S WORKING THIS TIME.

WHAT? WHAT ABOUT TWO TREES? WHAT IF THERE WAS ONE AT ONE PARK AND ONE AT OBS? YEAH, THAT'D BE 120.

MAYBE IT WOULD ATTRACT PEOPLE TO COME HERE AND BUY THEIR GAS.

I'M JUST.

DO ALL TREES COST 60,000? DO THEY LAST? ALL RIGHT, MARK, I DON'T THINK YOU'RE DONE.

I KNOW THIS IS A FAIRLY SIZABLE ONE TO FIT THE GENERATIONS PARK AREA.

DO THEY LAST FOR TEN YEARS? YEAH.

ALL RIGHT, MARK, LET'S TALK. TRYING TO KEEP CHRISTMAS ALIVE HERE, I LOVE IT.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, AND YES, TWO WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT TWO AMONGST STAFF.

THE MARK LONG CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL.

SO THE QUESTION AGAIN SO I CAN ANSWER IT CORRECTLY.

I'M THINKING A PARADE BETWEEN THE TWO PLACES.

THAT'S WHAT I'M THINKING. SO WE HAD CONVERSATIONS IF WE COULD HAVE TWO BECAUSE I OBS DOES HAVE A TRADITIONAL TYPE OF CHRISTMAS FEEL TO IT SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE.

SO AGAIN, CAN WE GET MORE YEARS OUT OF THE ONE WE HAVE? YES, WE COULD SET IT UP.

I WANT TO BE VERY CAREFUL WITH BECAUSE WE DO HAVE TO DO MAINTENANCE TO THAT TREE EVERY YEAR WHEN WE PUT IT UP.

SO THERE IS A COST ASSOCIATED WITH THAT WITH THE ONE.

SO WE COULD DO TWO.

I DO WANT TO SAY THAT I RENTING A TREE IS VERY EXPENSIVE AS WELL.

IT'S ABOUT 30 TO 40,000 ALONE JUST TO RENT IT.

THAT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE PUTTING A COMPANY IS PUTTING IT UP FOR YOU, BUT IF A TREE LASTS FOR 20 YEARS, THAT'S $1,000 A YEAR.

WE GET TO HAVE CHRISTMAS.

I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IS IT TYPICAL LIFESPAN FOR A TREE? IT'S PROBABLY AROUND THERE, 20.

I MEAN, YOU CAN IF YOU TREAT IT NICELY AND RIGHT AND STORE IT.

OKAY, I JUST WANT TO THROW THAT OUT THERE.

NO, THESE ARE ALL GOOD IDEAS.

I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A MORE IN-DEPTH DISCUSSION ABOUT CHRISTMAS A LITTLE BIT LATER.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, MARK.

BEFORE YOU GO, ANY OTHER THOUGHTS ON THESE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS, TREES ANYTHING.

IS THERE ANY OTHER THOUGHTS ON CHRISTMAS BEFORE I SEND MARK AWAY.

[01:10:03]

ALL RIGHT, I THINK WE'RE GOOD.

THANK YOU, AND I WILL MENTION THAT ANYTHING OVER $50,000 IS A PURCHASE OR A CONTRACT IS GOING TO COME BACK BEFORE YOU.

SO IF IT IS AT THAT LEVEL, YOU WOULD HAVE A SECOND CHANCE TO WEIGH IN ON THIS.

GOTCHA. I APPRECIATE THAT, THANK YOU.

I DID HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.

ARE WE GOING TO GO OVER SOME OF THE UNFUNDED SUPPLEMENTALS? WE ARE GOING TO END THE PRESENTATION WITH THAT.

ALL RIGHT. WELL, I WILL SAVE MY QUESTIONS FOR THEN OKAY.

ALL RIGHT. SO NEXT UP IS OUR LONG RANGE FORECAST, AND THIS FOCUSES ON THE GENERAL FUND, BUT IT'S A GENERAL REMINDER THAT CHOICES WE MAKE TODAY ARE GOING TO HAVE LASTING IMPACT YEAR AFTER YEAR.

SO IF WE DID FUND SOME ADDITIONAL ONGOING COSTS THAT THOSE ALSO TEND TO GROW.

OR IF AN ADDITIONAL PERSON THAT TENDS TO GROW, AND IT'S NOT.

THAT'S WHY WE TEND TO FOCUS ON THE ONE TIMES WHENEVER WE'RE DOING EXTRA SPENDING OR EXTRA PROJECTS, BECAUSE THOSE CAN BE TAKEN CARE OF NOW, AS OPPOSED TO COMMITTING OURSELVES TO SOMETHING YEAR AFTER YEAR FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS.

OKAY. NEXT UP IS THE DEBT SERVICE FUND.

WE DID HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS ABOUT DEBT RECENTLY.

THIS IS EVERYTHING OUTSTANDING AND THAT'S GOING TO BE PAID OUT OF OUR DEBT SERVICE FUND.

THE 2024 IS GOING TO DROP A LITTLE BIT NEXT YEAR.

WE DID FRONTLOAD THAT A BIT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOME CONDITIONS, AND SOME WONDER IF WE KNEW THERE WOULD BE GROWTH THIS YEAR AS OPPOSED TO FUTURE YEARS.

WHENEVER WE'RE A LITTLE BIT MORE UNSURE IF THERE'S GOING TO BE GROWTH THERE OR NOT.

WE ARE DRAWING DOWN THE FUND BALANCE A LITTLE BIT HERE.

IT IS ABOVE THE LEVELS WE NEED IT TO BE, SO WE THOUGHT WE'D TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND SOME OF OUR RESERVES AND THEN BE ABLE TO REALLOCATE THAT MONEY ELSEWHERE.

COUNCILMEMBER STEVES, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? GO AHEAD. GOING BACK TO THE OTHER SLIDE FOR THE REFUNDING AND IMPROVEMENT BONDS.

NOW, THOSE WERE THE ONES THAT WE RENEGOTIATED, RIGHT.

BASICALLY, YOU GOT A LOWER INTEREST RATE.

SO THE ONLY THING CHANGED WAS THE RATE OR DID YOU EXTEND THE-- I WOULD HAVE TO LOOK AT 2013, BUT CITIES ALMOST NEVER EXTEND.

NEVER EXTEND. IT'S JUST A RATE CHANGE? YES. OKAY. THANK YOU.

OKAY, AND THIS IS OUR CHART.

YOU CAN SEE AT THE BOTTOM THAT'S THE GENERAL FUND OR GOVERNMENTAL BOND TYPES.

THAT'S GOING TO BE FAIRLY FLAT FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.

SO UNLESS WE DO SEE ADDITIONAL GROWTH WE ARE NEAR THE LIMIT OF THE AMOUNT OF NEW DEBT WE CAN ISSUE, SO NEW GROWTH WOULD BE HELPFUL THERE TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ON ADDITIONAL PROJECTS IF WE SO CHOSE TO.

OKAY. NEXT UP IS ENTERPRISE FUNDS, AND THESE ARE FUNDS YOU CAN THINK OF LIKE A BUSINESS.

THEY'RE MEANT TO PAY FOR THEMSELVES.

THEY'RE ACCOUNTED FOR DIFFERENTLY.

IT'S MAINLY OUR UTILITY FUNDS.

SO FIRST OFF IS THE WATERWORKS UTILITY FUND.

ALMOST ALL THE REVENUE THERE COMES FROM WATER AND SEWER CHARGES, AND THEN THE EXPENDITURES ARE ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY PAYING FOR CONSTRUCTION, WHICH IS THE DEBT SERVICE, OR PAYING FOR THE TRA CONTRACTS FOR WATER AND SEWER PURCHASE.

THE TINY SECTION IN THE TOP RIGHT IS THE ACTUAL CITY COSTS INVOLVED IN THIS.

WE DO HAVE A RATE PRESENTATION COMING UP AFTER THIS BUDGET WORKSHOP LATER TONIGHT, SO YOU'LL BE ABLE TO ASK MORE QUESTIONS THEN IF YOU DO HAVE ANY, ON THE EXACT RATES, BUT WE DO HAVE A COUPLE SLIDES ON THIS.

THANK YOU. THERE ARE A FEW CHANGES THE COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT AND THEN THE COMPRESSION ADJUSTMENT.

ALONG WITH VACATION BUYBACK.

WE OFFERED THE WATERWORKS EMPLOYEES THE SAME THING AS WE OFFERED THE GENERAL FUND EMPLOYEES, AND THEN THE BIG CHANGES ARE THOSE TRA CHARGES.

THEY INCREASE THOSE AGAIN, AND THAT'S THE BIG PART OF WHAT'S DIFFERENT.

SO WE DID PUT TOGETHER TWO WATER AND SEWER RATE OPTIONS THIS YEAR.

LAST YEAR WHENEVER WE DISCUSSED YOU THE COUNCIL MENTIONED WANTING TO SEE WHAT A TIER SYSTEM WOULD LOOK LIKE.

SO UNDER THIS, IF YOU'RE USING MORE WATER YOU GET A CHARGED A HIGHER RATE.

UNDER OUR CURRENT SYSTEM, EVERY GALLON YOU PURCHASE IS CHARGED AT THE EXACT SAME RATE BUT IF YOU'RE A HIGH VOLUME USER, YOU MAY END UP PAYING MORE, WHICH MEANS THE PEOPLE WHO ARE LOWER VOLUME USERS MAY END UP BEING ABLE TO PAY A LITTLE BIT LESS.

SO UNDER OPTION ONE, THIS IS JUST KEEPING OUR NORMAL RATES.

THE BASE RATES WOULD ARE THE SAME EITHER WAY, BUT THAT PER GALLON CHARGE WOULD GO UP FROM 522 TO 556, AND THAT IS ALMOST ALL EXCLUSIVELY BECAUSE OF TRA INCREASES. WE HAVE GENERALLY PASSED THOSE ON, BECAUSE WE JUST REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER THAT.

YOU CAN SEE THE FISCAL IMPACT OF A BILL ON THE RIGHT FOR ABOUT 11,000 GALLON USE.

SO THE BILL WOULD GO UP FOR A REGULAR HOME ABOUT $7 A MONTH.

SO YOU CAN SEE HOW THAT COMPARES TO OPTION TWO HERE.

SO WE WERE AT 126 FOR THE NEW ONE.

WE'D BE AT 123 HERE.

SO WE ARE ABLE TO WITH THE TIER OPTION, CHARGE THE LOWER TIER SLIGHTLY LESS BECAUSE WE'RE CHARGING THE PEOPLE WHO USE 50,000 GALLONS MORE, SO THEY COVER A GREATER

[01:15:08]

IT HELPS ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO USE THEIR WATER LESS, AND THAT IS A LIMITED RESOURCE IN THIS AREA LONG TERM.

SO UNDER THE WATER OPTION TWO TIER STRUCTURE, WE ARE AT THE 15,000 MARK AND THEN 30 AND THEN 50 AND THEN MORE, AND EACH ONE OF THOSE WOULD BE WOULD COST MORE.

BOTH OPTIONS FOR US THIS YEAR ARE REVENUE NEUTRAL.

SO ONE IS NOT GOING TO GIVE US ANY MORE MONEY THAN THE OTHER.

IT WOULD JUST BE A PREFERENCE OF THE COUNCIL ON WHAT DIRECTION TO GO, BUT WE ALSO HAVE MUCH MORE IN DEPTH DETAIL ON THAT RATE STRUCTURE GOING FORWARD AND A LITTLE BIT.

OKAY. THANK YOU.

MOVING ON TO STORM WATER.

THIS COVERS A LOT OF THE DRAINAGE AND FLOODING ISSUES IN THE AREA.

THIS IS LARGELY GOING TO CONSTRUCTION.

THAT'S THE MAIN PURPOSE OF STORM WATER.

WE DO HAVE A SIZABLE BUDGETED RESERVE INCREASE THIS YEAR.

SO SOME FUNDS, SOME OF THESE PROJECT FUNDS YOU WANT TO BUILD UP OVER TIME AND THEN BE ABLE TO TACKLE SOME PROJECTS AT ONCE, WHENEVER YOU'RE READY FOR THEM, SOME WHENEVER YOU GET THAT BALANCE REALLY HIGH, YOU WANT TO DRAW THAT DOWN ON THE PROJECTS.

SO THE STORM WATER FUND IS KIND OF KEEPING THE POWDER DRY.

RIGHT NOW OF THIS YEAR, WE'RE GOING TO DO A LOT OF NORMAL DRAINAGE ISSUES AND THEN BUILD UP THOSE RESERVES.

SO IF WE HAVE A MAJOR PROJECT, WE HAVE THE FUNDS TO DO THAT, AND THEN THE CURRENT RATES ARE $5 A MONTH FOR FOR BASE RATE, AND THEN FOR SENIOR RATE IS 450 A MONTH.

ANY QUESTIONS ON OUR ENTERPRISE FUNDS, AND WE'LL BE HAVING A PRESENTATION SHORTLY AFTE WE WILL.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. SO SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS THESE FUNDS EXIST FOR MONEY THAT CAN ONLY BE SPENT ON A VERY SPECIFIC PURPOSE.

SO THE FIRST OFF IS THE STREET IMPROVEMENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND OR THE 4B FUND.

THIS CAN ONLY BE USED AS STREET IMPROVEMENTS.

I TALKED ABOUT THE STORM WATER FUND A SECOND AGO, ABOUT HOW THEY'RE BUILDING UP THE 4B FUNDS IN A TIME OF THEY HAVE THE PROJECTS NOW, AND THEN THEY'RE GOING TO START DRAWING THAT DOWN. ON THE LEFT, YOU CAN SEE THE ONGOING REVENUES ARE ABOVE ONGOING EXPENDITURES.

THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO SEE YEAR AFTER YEAR, AND BASICALLY ALL OUR FUNDS, BUT WE DO HAVE THIS LARGE 2.8 MILLION GREGORY ADDITION PROJECT THAT WE PLAN TO SPEND OUT OF THIS, AND I WILL MENTION THE 4B BOARD HAS NOT HAD A CHANCE TO SEE THIS YET.

THEY'LL BE SEEING THAT LATER THIS MONTH AND THEY'LL HAVE A CHANCE TO WEIGH IN AS WELL.

NEXT UP IS THE TOURISM FUND.

THIS IS FUNDED BY OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.

THE GENERAL RULE OF THUMB HERE IS HEADS AND BEDS.

IF IT'S GOING TO BRING HEADS INTO YOUR CITY OR GOING TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO GET A HOTEL ROOM THERE, THAT'S SOMETHING YOU CAN SPEND THIS ON.

WE DID YEAH.

RECENTLY MOVED SOME EXPENDITURES IN THERE.

100,000 IN ONE TIME EXPENDITURES ARE BUDGETED THIS YEAR, AND THEN WE DID MOVE THE FOURTH FEST IN THERE, AS MENTIONED EARLIER, AND HERE'S A LIST OF A NUMBER OF MINOR FUNDS.

YOU'LL SEE IN GENERAL, THE REVENUES ARE GOING TO BE HIGHER THAN EXPENDITURES.

IF YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ON ANY ANY ONE OF THESE GIVEN FUNDS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

MAINTENANCE FUND IS ALSO MAINLY KEEPING THE POWDER DRY.

WE'RE PUTTING SOME FUNDS AWAY THERE IN CASE WE DO FACE A MAINTENANCE ISSUES, THAT WE WILL HAVE MONEY ON HAND TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THOSE.

ANY QUESTIONS ON THESE MINOR FUNDS? OKAY, GREAT. OKAY.

LAST UP IS THE UNFUNDED SUPPLEMENTALS.

SO WE DID ASK OUR DIRECTORS TO REALLY TAKE A HARD LOOK AT THESE.

THEY PRIORITIZED ALL THEIR REQUESTS, AND THEN WE SAW WHAT WE HAD TO WORK WITH.

WE DO HAVE LIMITED RESOURCES AS A CITY.

WE CAN'T JUST FUND EVERYTHING THAT WE'D LIKE TO ALL THE TIME, BUT WE DO FEEL LIKE WE DID A GOOD JOB OF FUNDING THE NEEDS OF OUR CITY FOR THIS COMING YEAR.

A LOT OF THESE, ONE OF THE GENERAL THEMES IS WE'D LIKE TO WAIT AND SEE BEFORE WE'RE GOING TO COMMIT MONEY TO THESE ITEMS. SOME OF THEM, WE THINK WE HAVE A POTENTIAL SOLUTION IN PLACE THAT MAY NOT COST THIS, SO WE'D LIKE TO RUN THE COURSE ON THAT BEFORE MAKING ANY FUNDING CHANGES OR FUNDING CHALLENGES.

WE WANT TO SEE IF WE CAN DO THAT WITH THE RESOURCES ON HAND OR WE BRAINSTORM SOME OTHER WAYS TO FUND SOME OF THESE, OR SOME OF THESE MAY END UP GETTING RECOMMENDED IN FUTURE YEARS. IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THESE ITEMS ON THE FIRST LIST? WELL, I'D LIKE COUNCIL KIND OF TAKE A LOOK AT THESE UNFUNDED SUPPLEMENTALS.

I DID HAVE A QUESTION ON SOME, SO I WENT BACK PREVIOUSLY TO PREVIOUS BUDGET YEARS AND REQUESTED SOME INFORMATION ABOUT SOME SUPPLEMENTALS AND THAT WERE UNFUNDED IN LAST BUDGET CYCLE, AND THERE WERE TWO THAT CAME UP AND THAT I DIDN'T REALLY SEE HERE ON OUR FUNDED SUPPLEMENTAL LIST, AND I JUST KIND OF WANTED TO UNDERSTAND THE THINKING OF THAT.

ONE WAS FOR PARKS WAS A WHEEL LOADER FOR $125,000, I THINK IT WAS.

[01:20:08]

SO CAN WE TALK ABOUT WHY WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT? WHAT'S OUR PLAN? THAT ONE IS ONE OF THOSE ONES THAT IT'S PRIMARILY THE DOLLAR AMOUNT.

IT'S A PRETTY LARGE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT, AND KIND OF GOING BACK TO OUR CONVERSATION EARLIER ABOUT OUR VEHICLE REPLACEMENT POLICY AND PLAN, WE HAVE A LOT OF PIECES OF EQUIPMENT, A LOT OF THAT I THINK WE COULD PROBABLY DOWNSIZE, AND SO THAT'S KIND OF WHY I'VE PUT THAT OFF A COUPLE OF YEARS.

I REALLY WANT TO GET A PLAN IN PLACE, REALLY GET A GOOD INVENTORY AND COME UP WITH WHAT OUR NEEDS ARE.

NOT THAT THIS ISN'T A NEED.

I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICES FROM A LONG TERM PLANNING PERSPECTIVE, LOOKING AT EVERYTHING HOLISTICALLY ABOUT THE CITY.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE FUNDED FIRST.

OKAY. GOT IT, GOT IT.

WELL, SEEING IT, I JUST THAT WAS A CONCERN TO ME BECAUSE IT WAS ON THERE MULTIPLE YEARS AND THIS IS BUT THIS IS ALSO, YOU KNOW, ARPA FUNDS COULD BE USED FOR AS WELL.

THEY ABSOLUTELY COULD. OKAY.

THEY ABSOLUTELY COULD AS WE'RE ADJUSTING THAT AND TAKING A LOOK INTO WHAT THE NEEDS FOR THE CITY IS FOR THESE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT ALSO COULD BE INCLUDED IN THERE.

YES, THAT IS CORRECT.

ALL RIGHT. ONE OTHER ONE THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY IN THERE, AND MAYBE, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT.

SAYS IT WAS FOR FIRE DEPARTMENT, WAS FOR A PARAMEDIC DIFFERENTIAL PAY INCREASE.

SO THAT WAS REQUESTED LAST YEAR, AND WHEN WE LOOKED AT THAT AND WE ANALYZED HOW THE FIRE DEPARTMENT CAME UP WITH THAT NUMBER THE CITIES THAT THEY WERE COMPARING US TO ARE NOT OUR BENCHMARK CITIES, AND SO WHEN WE REDID THE ANALYSIS AND COMPARED OURSELVES TO OUR BENCHMARK CITIES, WE WERE ACTUALLY HIGHER IN PARAMEDIC PAY THAN THE OTHER COMPARISON, AND SO THAT'S WHY THAT WASN'T REQUESTED THIS YEAR.

OKAY. SO ALL RIGHT.

YES. PERFECT.

ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT.

THOSE ARE THE TWO FOR PRIOR YEARS.

COUNCIL, ANYTHING ON THIS LIST YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OF THAT WAS UNFUNDED? OKAY. YEAH, COUNCILMEMBER SABOL.

WHAT'S AN AERIAL REPLACEMENT? SO THAT IS A BIG FIRE APPARATUS.

YES, AND IT'S THEIR LADDER TRUCK TO BE VERY SIMPLE, SIMPLICITY; IT'S A LADDER TRUCK.

OKAY. YES, AND I WILL BE HONEST.

I KNOW THAT'S BRADY I'M GOING TO JUMP AHEAD.

SO THE REASON WHY THAT AND THE SQUAD IS ON THIS LIST IS UNFUNDED IS WHEN I CHATTED WITH CHIEF.

THOSE ARE NOT HARD AND FAST NUMBERS RIGHT NOW.

THOSE ARE ESTIMATES, AND SO I SAID, IF HE COULD GET ME SOME HARD AND FAST NUMBERS WITH TRUE QUOTES AND BACKUP FROM SOME DEALERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, SO WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH.

THESE ALSO ARE GOOD ITEMS THAT, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR REMAINING ARPA FUNDS, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO COME FORWARD OR GRANTS OR OTHER FUNDING MECHANISMS, BUT THAT'S PRIMARILY WHY THOSE TWO PIECES OF EQUIPMENT ARE ON THIS LIST AS UNFUNDED.

OKAY. YOU'RE WELCOME.

COUNCILMEMBER DONOVAN-BRANDON.

CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THE NET CASH SWAP POSITION IS? SO WE HAVE A SWAT TEAM, AND THIS WAS A--[CHUCKLING] SO THIS WAS ON THE LOWEST LEVEL OF FIRE DEPARTMENT'S REQUEST, AND IT WAS TO ADD A FIRE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL TO THE SWAT TEAM. THIS ONE ALSO, WE HAD SOME QUESTIONS ON, YOU KNOW, PERSONNEL COSTS, TRAINING COSTS, OVERTIME COST.

I THINK IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE HIGHER THAN THAT.

THAT WAS ONE OF MY QUESTIONS.

NOW I'M OFF, NOW I'M ON.

THAT WAS ONE OF MY QUESTIONS.

HOW DOES THAT ONLY COST $10,000? WELL, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHY WE RECOMMENDED THIS ONE STAY UNFUNDED UNTIL WE GET MORE INFORMATION ON TRULY WHAT THAT OVERALL COST IS GOING TO BE AND AGAIN, WITH WHAT WE'VE GOT WORKING WITH FUTURE FUNDING CHALLENGES, IT'S ONE OF THOSE ONES THAT WE MAYBE BRING FORWARD LATER OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. YEAH.

YOU'RE WELCOME. OKAY.

ALL RIGHT. THAT'S ALL WE GOT FOR THE UNFUNDED SUPPLEMENTALS.

THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT, AND WE ALSO TACKLED THE EQUIPMENT AND MAINTENANCE.

DO YOU WANT ME TO TAKE IT AND FINISH IT? OKAY. SO OUR NEXT STEPS ARE AT NEXT WEEK'S COUNCIL MEETING.

I CAN'T SPEAK. SEE, NOW I CAN'T TALK.

AT NEXT WEEK'S COUNCIL MEETING.

WE'LL DO THE CERTIFIED ROLL CERTIFIED COLLECTION RATE.

WE'LL ALSO DO SET PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE TAX RATE, AND THEN IN SEPTEMBER IS WHEN WE'LL DO THE PUBLIC HEARING ON BOTH THE BUDGET AND THE TAX RATE, AND THEN ALSO ADOPT THE BUDGET AND TAX RATE AT THAT TIME.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SOUNDS GOOD.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I KNOW YOU GUYS SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THIS, AND THERE'S A LOT OF BEEN A LOT OF CURVEBALLS THROWN AT YOU AND OTHER ENTITIES, AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF PLANNING INVOLVED. THE ONE FORTUNATE THING THAT WE THAT WE HAVE IS THAT WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO FUND A LOT OF THESE SUPPLEMENTALS, THESE ONE TIME COSTS, IN ADDITION TO WE HAVE THE

[01:25:05]

SO, COUNCIL IS IN A VERY UNIQUE SPOT HERE WHERE WE CAN FUND A LOT OF THINGS.

THIS WILL BE THE ONLY YEAR, THOUGH, THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET A LOT OF THESE THINGS DONE BECAUSE I KNOW, LOOKING AHEAD THINGS ARE GOING TO BE A LOT, LOT TIGHTER IN YEARS TO COME.

SO AT LEAST WE HAVE THAT AT OUR DISPOSAL GOING FORWARD, BUT I DO WANT TO SAY A SPECIAL THANKS TO EVERYBODY INVOLVED.

YOUR TEAM, EVERYONE DOES A FINE, JUST A FANTASTIC JOB WHEN IT COMES TO BUDGET.

SINCE MY YEARS WHEN I FIRST CAME HERE.

SO WHAT YEAR ARE YOU WITH US NOW WITH? THIS IS MY THIRD BUDGET, BUT I'M HERE LIKE TWO AND A HALF YEARS.

YEAH. SO THIRD BUDGET.

YES, AND SO PREVIOUSLY I'VE SEEN, I'VE SEEN SOME BUDGETS.

WE WOULD SPEND A SATURDAY HERE JUST HASHING OUT SUPPLEMENTALS.

MICHAEL WELLS IS SHAKING HIS HEAD BECAUSE HE HAD TO BE THERE THE ENTIRE TIME, AND IT WAS JUST EXCRUCIATING PROCESS.

IT'S GOOD TO HAVE HAVE QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS ON OUR STAFF THAT KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND ARE PROFESSIONALS.

SO A GOOD, YOU KNOW, HATS OFF TO EVERYBODY INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR FOR WHAT YOU DO TO PRESENT AND HELP OUT THE CITY.

THANK YOU. WELL, AND I WILL REITERATE WHAT ANDREA SAID.

I MEAN, A LOT OF FOLKS GO INTO PUTTING THESE NUMBERS TOGETHER FROM OUR DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS TO BUDGET STAFF TO FINANCE STAFF.

I MEAN, THIS IS A TEAM EFFORT.

IT ABSOLUTELY IS A TEAM EFFORT TO BE ABLE TO GET TO THIS POINT AND PRESENT TO YOU GUYS TONIGHT.

SO THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. SOUNDS GOOD.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO BEFORE WE TURN IT OVER TO OUR TO CHRIS WITH NUGENT, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND NEXT STEPS.

WE WANT TO KEEP THE TAX RATE WITH WHAT WE HAVE IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

DO WE WANT TO LOOK AT MOVING THE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS? DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE IT HOW WE CURRENTLY HAVE IT PROPOSED? DO WE WANT TO MOVE IT TO ANOTHER FUND? THAT'S GOOD. SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THAT FOR ME, IT'S OKAY.

AS PROPOSED. OKAY.

YOU KNOW, IT'S FINE.

I THINK WE JUST HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS THERE FOR THAT.

THAT'S ME. COUNCILMEMBER SABOL, YOU CAN GO AHEAD.

NO. IT'S OKAY. OKAY.

I MEAN, I WANT TO HEAR FROM COUNCIL ON THEIR THEIR OPINIONS ON THIS.

I KNOW MAYOR PRO TEM GAGLIARDI WAS, AS HE SAID, IN FAVOR OF CHRISTMAS.

SO I HAVE A FEELING THAT IT MEANS THAT YOU'RE OKAY WITH THE BUDGET AS IT IS.

THANK YOU, MAYOR COGAN.

YES I AM. I'M OKAY WITH THE BUDGET.

I THINK YOU KNOW, THINGS ARE JUST VERY EXPENSIVE AND WE HAVE A NEW BIG PARK, AND WE WANT TO DO IT RIGHT.

WE DON'T WANT TO.

WE DON'T WANT TO LOOK LIKE WE DECORATED IT FROM THE DOLLAR STORE OR THE DOLLAR TREE.

NOTHING WRONG WITH THOSE FINE ESTABLISHMENTS, BUT WE'D LIKE IT TO.

WE'D LIKE IT TO LOOK NICE, AND I THINK CHRISTMAS IS A TIME OF THE YEAR WHERE FAMILIES COME OUT AND THEY DO A LOT OF STUFF, AND THEY IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRING FAMILIES INTO BEDFORD. OKAY.

THANK YOU.

YES. I JUST WANT TO ASK KAREN SORRY TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT ON THIS ONE, BUT I KNOW THE YOU KNOW, THE SENTIMENT WAS, IS THERE A POSSIBILITY TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE THIS OVER TO THE TOURISM FUND? AND I JUST KIND OF WANTED TO GET YOUR GAUGE, YOUR INTEREST.

IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WOULD PROVIDE SOME RELIEF, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT IT'S BECAUSE IT'S A ONE TIME COST? THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE A BIG IMPACT.

OBVIOUSLY, OUR GOAL IS ALWAYS TO MAKE SURE WE'RE GETTING THE MOST OUT OF EVERY DOLLAR WE WERE SPENDING.

SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE IF THAT'S A BETTER LOCATION, IF THAT WOULD GIVE US SOME MONEY.

ALSO THE TOURISM, I DON'T KNOW, IT'S A LOT.

IT WAS A THERE WAS ARGUMENTS ABOUT THE FOURTH FIST BEING FUNDED OUT OF THE OUT OF THE TOURISM FUND, AND THERE WAS A BIG STRETCH.

I CAN SEE THAT WITH CHRISTMAS THAT BECOMES EVEN MORE OF A STRETCH, BUT GO AHEAD, KAREN.

SO AS FAR AS THE RELIEF OF THE GENERAL FUND, THIS IS A ONE TIME EXPENSE.

IT'S NOT AN ONGOING EXPENSE.

SO IT'S NOT ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE'RE HAVING TO SIT THERE AND GO, OKAY, IF PROPERTY VALUES DIP, HOW ARE WE GOING TO FUND IT? IT'S A ONE TIME COST, SO IT'S COMING OUT OF EXCESS FUND BALANCE, AND JUST KIND OF LOOKING WHERE WE ARE.

WE'RE OKAY, AND WE CAN DO THAT THIS YEAR.

NOW MOVING IT TO THE TOURISM FUND FREES UP EXTRA 160,000 IN THE FUND BALANCE FOR FUTURE MEAN THAT IS AN OPTION AS WELL.

I COULD ARGUE BOTH SIDES.

I REALLY COULD. I COULD ARGUE BOTH SIDES.

IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE WE.

YOU COULD GO EITHER WAY.

SO LET ME ASK YOU THIS FOR TOURISM WHAT IS TAKEN AWAY IF WE TAKE THIS, THESE FUNDS OUT OF TOURISM? I MEAN, RIGHT NOW IN THE TOURISM FUND, YOUR REVENUES, ARE WE SACRIFICING ANY CULTURAL EVENTS? ARE WE SACRIFICING BECAUSE RIGHT NOW YOUR REVENUES ARE OVER YOUR EXPENDITURES BY ENOUGH TO FUND THIS, AND EVEN STILL, IT WOULD COME OUT OF ONE TIME FUND BALANCE, AND WE ARE SITTING AT LET'S SEE, I'M ESTIMATING THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE 3.2 MILLION IN FUND BALANCE IN THE TOURISM FUND NEXT YEAR.

SO AND IT'S A ONE TIME COST.

SO THAT BEING SAID, I'M SEEING SOME HEAD SHAKING BECAUSE THAT WAS MY BIGGEST CONCERN WAS WHAT'S IT GOING TO TAKE AWAY FROM TOURISM, AND SO SO I'M SEEING A LOT

[01:30:08]

SO YEAH, I THINK WE LET'S EXPLORE FUNDING THE CHRISTMAS TREE AND THE DECORATIONS OUT OF THE TOURISM FUND, AND THEN THAT'LL FREE UP 160,000 FOR US TO PLAY WITH THIS COUNCILMEMBER FERGUSON.

SO. OKAY.

OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU, AND WE'LL TURN IT OVER TO CHRIS WITH NEWGEN, AND HE'LL KIND OF GO OVER THOSE DIFFERENT RATE STRUCTURES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.

SURE, COUNCIL THANK YOU FOR THAT.

APPRECIATE IT. ALL RIGHT.

GOOD EVENING. EXCUSE ME.

GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, COUNCIL.

CHRIS EKRUT WITH NEWGEN STRATEGIES AND SOLUTIONS.

PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU TONIGHT.

I PROMISE I WON'T TALK ABOUT CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS IN MY PRESENTATION.

WE WILL FOCUS ON THE WATER AND WASTEWATER FUND AND FOCUS ON THESE RATE CHANGES THAT YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD ABOUT THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING THIS EVENING.

I WILL REMIND YOU AGAIN, AS YOU HEARD EARLIER, THE WATER AND WASTEWATER FUND, THIS IS AN ENTERPRISE FUND.

IT IS A SELF-SUPPORTING FUND.

OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR RATES ARE SUFFICIENT SO THAT THIS FUND STANDS ON ITS OWN.

ULTIMATELY, WE ARE LOOKING FOR REVENUE SUFFICIENCY.

WE WANT OUR REVENUES TO MATCH OR EXCEED OUR EXPENSES.

WE ALSO HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN MEET OUR FINANCIAL METRICS.

AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREEN THERE, DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE.

THAT'S A MEASURE OF CAN WE PAY OUR DEBT? HOW FINANCIALLY HEALTHY ARE WE TO OUR BONDHOLDERS? WE WANT TO MAINTAIN A 1.1 RATIO THERE.

WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE MAINTAIN 90 DAYS CASH ON HAND IN THE WATER BUSINESS.

WE HAVE TO PLAN FOR A RAINY DAY.

IT WILL RAIN AT SOME POINT.

AGAIN, WE HAVE TO PLAN FOR THAT.

WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE RESERVES.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, THOUGH, AGAIN A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF YOUR FUND EXPENSES COME FROM THE TRINITY RIVER AUTHORITY IN TERMS OF WHOLESALE COSTS.

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR WATER AND WASTEWATER UTILITY AS A BUSINESS THAT IS ULTIMATELY COST OF GOODS SOLD, WE HAVE TO PASS THAT COST ON THROUGH TO OUR CUSTOMERS.

IF WE FAIL TO DO THAT.

WHAT THAT MEANS IS WE HAVE LESS FUNDS AVAILABLE TO RUN OUR BUSINESS AND MAINTAIN OUR OWN INTERNAL INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO AS YOU LOOK AT THE RATE INCREASE, WE'RE RECOMMENDING THIS EVENING, AGAIN, THE BULK OF THAT, NEARLY ALL OF THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH PASSING THE INCREASE ON FROM TRA, AND AGAIN, I'LL SHOW YOU SOME NUMBERS ON THAT HERE IN JUST A SECOND.

AS HAS ALREADY BEEN PRESENTED TO YOU TWO DIFFERENT OPTIONS.

THEY GENERATE THE SAME LEVEL OF REVENUE IN TERMS OF OVERALL WATER RATE DESIGN.

OPTION ONE IS MAINTAIN YOUR CURRENT DESIGN, WHICH IS A FLAT UNIFORM VOLUMETRIC RATE.

RIGHT NOW THAT'S $5.22 PER THOUSAND GALLONS.

SO AGAIN, THAT'S OPTION ONE.

THAT WOULD TAKE THAT $5 AND 22 RATE TO $5.56.

OPTION TWO AND AGAIN WE'VE TALKED WITH COUNCIL ABOUT THIS BEFORE IS TO POTENTIALLY COME IN AND MODERNIZE YOUR RATE STRUCTURE AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS GO TO WHAT WE REFER TO AS AN INCLINING BLOCK OR CONSERVATION BASED RATE STRUCTURE.

WHAT THIS DOES IS DIVIDES THE VOLUMETRIC RATE INTO FOUR TIERS, AND SETS A UNIT RATE FOR EACH OF THOSE TIERS.

AS A USER USES MORE WATER, THE UNIT RATE INCREASES SO THAT THOSE THAT USE MORE WATER PAY MORE.

THE IDEA HERE IS AGAIN, WE'RE TRYING TO SEND A BETTER CONSERVATION SIGNAL TO OUR CUSTOMERS.

WE WANT THEM TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF A LIMITED RESOURCE, AND SO WHAT THIS ALLOWS US TO DO IS PUSH A LITTLE MORE REVENUE TO THOSE HIGHER VOLUME USERS.

IT ALLOWS US TO KEEP THE BILL LOWER FOR LOWER VOLUME USERS OFTEN.

NOT ALWAYS, BUT OFTEN YOUR LOWER VOLUME USERS ARE YOUR FIXED INCOME CUSTOMERS, YOUR SENIOR CITIZENS, YOUR ELDERLY CUSTOMERS.

SO AGAIN, THIS IS ONE WAY WE CAN LOOK AT THE STRUCTURE AND MAKE SURE WE'RE KEEPING THAT BILL AS LOW AS POSSIBLE FOR THOSE LOWER VOLUME USERS, AND I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU SOME OF THOSE CUSTOMER IMPACTS HERE IN JUST A MOMENT.

SO AGAIN WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TRA EXPENSES ON THE WATER SIDE, 55% OF YOUR TOTAL WATER EXPENSES COME FROM TRA ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE, 57%. OVERALL, WE'RE SEEING A 6% INCREASE IN YOUR COSTS FROM TRA ON THE WATER SIDE, 9% ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE.

AGAIN, WE'VE GOT TO PASS THAT THROUGH, PASS THAT ON TO OUR CUSTOMERS SO THAT WE HAVE SUFFICIENT FUNDS TO MAINTAIN OUR INTERNAL INFRASTRUCTURE.

YOUR FUND PERFORMANCE RIGHT NOW YOUR FUND IS IN GOOD SHAPE.

YOU'RE SITTING IN GOOD SHAPE RELATIVE TO RESERVES.

WE WANT TO MAINTAIN THAT GOOD SHAPE OF THE FUND.

SO IF WE DID NOTHING, OBVIOUSLY WE'D HAVE TO START DRAWING OUT OF RESERVES.

LOOKING AT PROJECTIONS GOING FORWARD, IF WE DID NOT ADJUST RATES, WE WOULD FALL BELOW THAT RESERVE POSITION WHERE WE WANT TO BE.

SO AGAIN, SMALL RATE INCREASE TO TRY AND MAINTAIN THAT FUND GOING FORWARD.

YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB WITH YOUR WATER AND WASTEWATER UTILITY.

[01:35:03]

WE WANT TO KEEP RATE INCREASES SMALLER.

TRY AND DO THOSE MORE FREQUENTLY.

KEEP THEM SMALL.

THAT ALLOWS YOUR CITIZENS TO BETTER ADJUST THEIR OWN BUDGETS.

THIS IS SO THIS TIME OF YEAR.

I'M AVERAGING BASICALLY ONE COUNCIL MEETING EVERY OTHER DAY, AND THERE ARE A LOT OF COUNCILS I'M STANDING IN FRONT OF THIS YEAR WHERE I'M TALKING DOUBLE DIGIT RATE INCREASES.

THAT IS MUCH MORE DIFFICULT FOR CUSTOMERS TO ABSORB AS OPPOSED TO SMALLER RATE INCREASES.

SO AGAIN, WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING A 4.2% OVERALL REVENUE INCREASE IN THAT BOTTOM LEFT HAND CORNER.

YOU SEE THE BREAKDOWN THERE.

ULTIMATELY 3.7% OF THAT OVERALL INCREASE IS FOR PASSING THROUGH TRA COSTS.

0.5% IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CITY'S OWN INTERNAL COSTS.

SO AGAIN, THE BULK IS PASSING THROUGH THAT WHOLESALE EXPENSE.

LOOKING OUT INTO THE FUTURE, I DO WANT TO POINT OUT 26 AND 27 AS WE LOOK TO NEXT YEAR.

YOU SEE WHAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING FROM TARA RIGHT NOW BASED ON THEIR PROJECTIONS.

IT'S POSSIBLE I COULD BE BACK WITH YOU NEXT YEAR.

WE COULD BE LOOKING AT AN 8% INCREASE.

WE DON'T KNOW THAT FOR CERTAIN.

AGAIN, AS WE GET INTO NEXT YEAR, WE'LL SEE WHAT OUR WHOLESALE PROVIDER IS GOING TO PROVIDE TO US.

SO JUST DO WANT TO POINT THAT OUT.

AS WE PREPARE FOR NEXT YEAR.

WE COULD SEE POTENTIALLY HIGHER NUMBERS COMING IN NEXT YEAR, BUT FOR THIS YEAR 4.2% IS THAT RECOMMENDATION.

SO WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE TO AN AVERAGE CUSTOMER? STARTING WITH OPTION ONE, IF WE MAINTAIN THE CURRENT RATE DESIGN.

THIS IS A SUMMER BILL, 11,100 GALLONS OF WATER, 5900 GALLONS OF WASTEWATER.

AGAIN, THAT WASTEWATER IS SET BASED ON WINTER AVERAGE USE.

THAT TOTAL INCREASE THERE IN THE MONTHLY BILL, $6.79 WOULD BE THE INCREASE IN THE SUMMER.

AGAIN, THIS IS IF YOU MAINTAIN YOUR CURRENT RATE DESIGN.

OPTION ONE MAINTAINING THAT RATE.

DESIGN A WINTER BILL 5900 GALLONS OF WATER HERE $4.37.

IS THAT INCREASE DURING A WINTER PERIOD AS WE GO TO OPTION TWO? AGAIN, OPTION TWO THIS IS THE INCLINING BLOCK, THE TIERED RATE STRUCTURE PREVIOUSLY OPTION ONE I SAID THAT SUMMER INCREASE WOULD BE $6.79. UNDER OPTION TWO THAT INCREASE DURING THE SUMMER HERE IS $4.35.

SO AGAIN 679 OPTION ONE, OPTION TWO $4.35.

THAT WINTER BILL HERE $3.73.

OPTION ONE, IT WAS $4.37.

SO AGAIN OPTION TWO, WE'RE PUSHING MORE REVENUE RECOVERY TO HIGHER VOLUME USERS MAINTAINING LOWER RATES FOR LOWER VOLUME USERS.

I'VE GOT SOME OTHER CHARTS HERE TO KIND OF DEMONSTRATE WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE.

FOUR DIFFERENT GRAPHS. 5000 GALLONS, 10,000 GALLONS, AND THEN I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU 15 AND 20 HERE 5000 GALLONS ON THE BLUE BAR THERE.

THAT IS OPTION ONE.

THE YELLOW BAR. THAT'S OPTION TWO.

THAT'S THE INCLINING BLOCK RATE.

SO AS YOU MOVE UP, AS YOU USE MORE WATER AGAIN HERE'S FIVE AND TEN.

WE HAVE 15 AND 20.

BY THE TIME YOU GET UP TO 20,000 GALLONS WE'RE BASICALLY THE SAME BILL.

IF WE CONTINUE TO RUN THIS OUT 25,000 GALLONS, 30,000 GALLONS, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE OPTION TWO GET HIGHER THAN OPTION ONE.

SO AGAIN, WE'RE PUSHING MORE REVENUE RECOVERY TO THOSE HIGHER VOLUME USERS UNDER THAT INCLINING BLOCK RATE, I WILL TELL YOU THAT MOST COMMUNITIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS HAVE GONE TO AN INCLINING BLOCK RATE.

ULTIMATELY, TO THE EXTENT YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE STATE FOR FUNDING, POTENTIALLY UNDER STATE REVOLVING FUND LOAN PROGRAMS, THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD IS GOING TO WANT TO SEE THAT TYPE OF STRUCTURE.

DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE GOING TO NEED THAT PROGRAM IN THE FUTURE.

THAT'S JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT, BUT AGAIN, THAT INCLINING BLOCK IS A IS A MORE MODERN RATE STRUCTURE.

IN MY OPINION. IT'S MORE COMMON AS YOU LOOK AT THE STATE OF TEXAS RIGHT NOW.

SO WITH THAT SAID, I SHOW YOU THESE CHARTS EVERY YEAR.

I SAY THE SAME THING EVERY YEAR.

THIS IS A COMPARISON OF OTHER COMMUNITIES.

THIS IS NOT AN APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON.

EVERY COMMUNITY IS DIFFERENT.

COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE METROPLEX ARE GOING THROUGH THIS SAME EXERCISE RIGHT NOW LOOKING AT RATES.

SO AS I PUT YOUR FUTURE OPTIONS ON THIS CHART, THIS WILL LOOK DIFFERENT IN OCTOBER.

IT WILL LOOK DIFFERENT IN JANUARY BECAUSE OTHER COMMUNITIES WILL ALSO BE INCREASING AS WELL, BUT WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS THAT SOMERVILLE COMPARISON 11,100 GALLONS RIGHT NOW 119.29.

OPTION ONE THE HIGHER OPTION 126.09 OPTION TWO THAT LOWER OPTION 123.65 AS WE GO TO THE WINTER COMPARISON HERE, YOU START TO SEE MORE ROOM, MORE SPREAD HERE ON THAT WINTER COMPARISON.

[01:40:06]

OPTION TWO THE INCLINING BLOCK RATE 95.88.

SO AGAIN, THAT'S WHAT I HAVE FOR YOU THIS EVENING.

HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION FOR FOR BREAKING THAT WHOLE OPTIONS DOWN FOR US.

SO WHEN WILL WE BE BE VOTING ON THIS AND FOR DECLARING THE OPTIONS REAL QUICK? I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IS ABOVE MY PAYGRADE.

I KNOW, I UNDERSTAND WE WANT TO DO THIS THE SAME DAY AS THE BUDGET MEETING, IF YOU CAN.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT. VERY GOOD.

WHY DON'T WE GET CHRIS UP HERE? QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DIFFERENT RATE STRUCTURES, DIFFERENT OPTIONS THAT WE HAVE PRESENTED BEFORE US.

COUNCILMEMBER DAWIKINS, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YEAH. THANKS, MR. MAYOR. SO IS THERE A WAY WE CAN SEE THE SPREAD OF, LIKE, THE VOLUME OF USERS IN OUR COMMUNITY? ABSOLUTELY. WE DID NOT WANT TO OVERWHELM YOU WITH DATA TONIGHT, BUT WE DO HAVE WHAT'S CALLED A FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION WHERE WE'VE COME IN AND ACTUALLY BROKEN DOWN CUSTOMERS BY 1000 GALLON BLOCKS.

WE HAVE THAT DATA AND WE'RE HAPPY TO GET THAT TO YOU.

ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. YEAH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE I THINK THAT WOULD.

YEAH. PERFECT. THAT WOULD REALLY HELP US MAKE A DECISION HERE, ESPECIALLY FOR THAT.

OPTION TWO. ABSOLUTELY.

I'M FOR ME PERSONALLY, I'M INTRIGUED BY THAT OPTION ONLY FOR THE FACT THAT FOR THOSE ON FIXED INCOME, OUR SENIORS IN THE COMMUNITY WHO DON'T UTILIZE AS MUCH WATER, THEY'LL BE PAYING, OBVIOUSLY A LESSER A LESSER RATE COMPARED TO THOSE WHO WHO DO.

SO YEAH, I'D LIKE TO SEE SOME OF THAT DATA.

ABSOLUTELY. WE'RE HAPPY TO GET THAT TO YOU.

NOW ONE ONE DRAWBACK, POTENTIAL DRAWBACK.

I WILL SAY ON OPTION TWO, AS WE PUSH MORE REVENUE RECOVERY TO HIGHER VOLUME USERS, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF RISK AS WE GO THAT DIRECTION, BECAUSE WE GET INTO A PERIOD WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF RAIN.

PEOPLE ARE USING LESS WATER THAT CAN SLIGHTLY REDUCE REVENUES.

SO THAT IS SOMETHING WE HAVE TO NOTE.

WE DO BUILD THAT INTO OUR PROJECTIONS AS WE GO FORWARD.

FOR ANY ECONOMIST IN THE ROOM, THAT'S CALLED ELASTICITY OF DEMAND.

WE BUILD THAT INTO OUR PROJECTIONS TO TRY AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE STILL MAINTAINING THE FUND, TAKING THAT RISK INTO ACCOUNT.

GOT IT, GOT IT. YOU SAID A LOT OF COMMUNITIES ARE GOING TO THIS OPTION TWO MODEL WITH THE TIERED STRUCTURE.

YOU'RE SEEING THAT MORE AND MORE NOW.

MOST COMMUNITIES, HONESTLY, ARE ALREADY THERE.

OH. SO AGAIN IT IS VERY IT IS A VERY COMMON STRUCTURE.

IT VARIES ACROSS THE STATE, VARIES ACROSS THE METROPLEX.

THERE ARE SOME COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE THREE BLOCKS, SOME THAT HAVE, YOU KNOW, SIX AND SEVEN BLOCKS.

THERE'S ANY NUMBER OF WAYS TO DESIGN RATES.

THAT'S WHERE WE GET INTO THE POLICY AND THE ART SIDE OF RATE MAKING, BUT MOST COMMUNITIES DO EMPLOY THAT TYPE OF STRUCTURE.

GOTCHA. COUNCILMEMBER DONOVAN-BRANDON.

[CHUCKLING] IS IT THAT RISK AVOIDANCE THAT MAKES PEOPLE HANG ON TO THE OPTION ONE TWO THINGS.

RISK AVOIDANCE NUMBER ONE OR THAT'S NUMBER ONE.

NUMBER TWO IS HONESTLY SIMPLICITY.

BECAUSE ULTIMATELY WHEN A CUSTOMER GETS THEIR BILL AND THEY'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THAT I'M CHARGED THIS RATE FOR THIS VOLUME AND THIS RATE FOR THIS VOLUME WHEN WE THINK ABOUT A RATE STRUCTURE, WE WANT IT TO BE ADMINISTRATIVELY EASY.

WE WANT IT. WE WANT IT TO BE WHERE CUSTOMERS CAN UNDERSTAND IT AND SO IN THAT VEIN, SOME CITIES ARE LIKE, THAT'S JUST TOO MUCH FOR OUR CUSTOMERS TO TRY AND UNDERSTAND THAT BILLING STRUCTURE.

MOST OTHER COMMUNITIES HAVE SAID, LOOK, WE UNDERSTAND WE'LL EDUCATE OUR CUSTOMERS.

CONSERVATION IS THE MORE IMPORTANT GOAL.

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT RATE DESIGN, WE'RE TRYING TO BALANCE COMPETING OBJECTIVES, AND THAT'S WHERE THE POLICY SIDE COMES IN.

HERE. SOME COMMUNITIES PUT MORE WEIGHT ON CUSTOMER SIMPLICITY, CUSTOMER UNDERSTANDING RATHER THAN ON CONSERVATION.

DO YOU SEE PEOPLE CHANGE THEIR HABITS IF YOU? IT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.

I COMPARE IT TO FUEL AND THE REASON I COMPARE IT TO FUEL.

YOU'LL REMEMBER BACK WHEN WE FIRST GOT OVER $3 FOR GASOLINE EVERYBODY WENT OUT AND BOUGHT, YOU KNOW, LITTLE VOLKSWAGEN JETTAS.

THEY SOLD THEIR TRUCKS, THEY GOT LITTLE JETTAS.

NOBODY LIKED THE LITTLE CAR.

SO NOW EVERYBODY WENT BACK AND GOT THEIR TRUCK.

WE TEND TO FALL BACK INTO OLD HABITS.

WE TEND TO FALL BACK INTO OLD WAYS.

SO WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THAT CONCEPT OF ELASTICITY SHORT TERM, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY A RESPONSE.

LONG TERM, I TEND TO THINK THAT PEOPLE FALL BACK INTO THEIR OLD WAYS.

HOWEVER, WE ARE ALSO DOING BETTER ABOUT PLUMBING INFRASTRUCTURE, LOW FLOW TOILETS, LOW FLOW SHOWERHEADS, LANDSCAPING, PEOPLE ARE GETTING SMARTER ABOUT THEIR YARDS, ABOUT XERISCAPING, HOW THEY WATER THEIR YARDS.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO WATER IT ALL AT ONCE.

YOU CAN DO IT IN ZONES.

YOU CAN DO IT YOU KNOW, IN SMALLER INCREMENTS OVER THE EVENING.

YOU CAN WATER IN THE, YOU KNOW, OVERNIGHT INSTEAD OF DURING THE DAY.

[01:45:04]

OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY.

[INAUDIBLE] I WAS ABLE TO PULL UP SOME DATA FROM THE STUDY EARLIER THIS YEAR, AND OVER 75% OF OUR RESIDENTS WOULD FALL IN THAT FIRST TIER.

THAT'S ONLY 25 WHO ARE ABOVE THAT 15 AT LEAST AS OF THE LAST TIME WE LOOKED AT THE DATA.

OKAY. SO AS OF RIGHT NOW, YOU'RE SAYING THAT 75% WOULD BE PAYING THAT FIRST TIER OF THE LOWER RATE OF OUR COMMUNITY? OKAY. THAT'S GOOD INFORMATION.

GOOD INFORMATION. THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. ANYBODY ELSE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RATES.

ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

APPRECIATE IT. YEAH. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ALL RIGHT. I THINK THAT BRINGS US TO THE END HERE OF OUR MEETING.

DON'T DON'T JUST RUSH REAL QUICK, MAYOR PRO TEM.

I SEE HIM RUSHING FOR THE MIC.

READY TO GO.

I WANT TO BE READY. YOU WANT TO BE READY? DO YOU WANT TO THANK EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THE BUDGET AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING AND GETTING THIS MAKING OUT AND HAMMERING OUT THE FINAL DETAILS NOW THAT WE, YOU KNOW, WE MAY HAVE $160,000 TO, QUOTE UNQUOTE, PLAY WITH AND SO WE'LL SEE WHERE THAT GOES.

SO THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH, AND WELL, MAYOR PRO TEM, WOULD YOU LIKE TO I WOULD LOVE TO MAKE A MOTION TO ADJOURN.

ALL RIGHT. I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN THE WORK SESSION.

DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER SABOL.

DOES NO ONE ELSE WANT TO GO HOME? I GUESS NOT. ALL RIGHT.

BOY, NICHELLE SHELL.

ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE.

AYE. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 8:16.

THANK YOU ALL.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.