Aug 26, 2025 City Council

[WORK SESSION]

[00:00:04]

ALL RIGHT. TIME IS NOW 6:00. GO AHEAD AND CALL THIS REGULAR MEETING OF THE BEDFORD CITY COUNCIL TO ORDER.

IT IS TUESDAY, AUGUST 26TH, 2025. I'D LIKE TO WELCOME EVERYBODY, THOSE OF YOU IN THE AUDIENCE AND THOSE TUNING IN ONLINE.

WE'RE STARTING THINGS OFF WITH THE WORK SESSION AND THEN FOLLOWED BY OUR REGULAR SESSION.

THOSE OF YOU WHO I KNOW, I HAVE SOME UNDERSTANDING THAT SOME PEOPLE HAVE VOTED NOT TO HAVE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS.

IF YOU'VE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS, I JUST WANT TO JUST MAKE YOU AWARE THAT YOU ONLY HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK. THIS IS A NEW RULE THAT COUNCIL HAS ADOPTED, SO MAKE YOUR PREPARATIONS NOW WHEN WE DO OUR WORK SESSION.

ALL RIGHT. SO WITH THAT WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED WITH OUR WORK SESSION TO DISCUSS FISCAL YEAR 2025 2026 PROPOSED BUDGET.

GIVE YOU ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER KAREN RIGGS. OKAY, OKAY.

THERE WE GO. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.

SO YES, WE ARE HERE FOR A SECOND BUDGET WORK SESSION.

THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE A FULL BLOWN BUDGET WORK SESSION LIKE WE DID A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. THIS IS JUST GOING TO COVER SOME TAXABLE VALUE CHANGES. WE'RE GOING TO GO OVER THE TAX RATE AND WE'RE JUST GOING TO COVER SOME GENERAL FUND HIGHLIGHTS THIS EVENING. SO I'M GOING TO GO RELATIVELY QUICKLY.

PLEASE PLEASE STOP ME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR IF YOU WANT ME TO CLARIFY ANYTHING.

SO THIS IS JUST YOU'VE KIND OF SEEN THIS SLIDE A LITTLE BIT BEFORE.

I JUST WANTED TO GO AHEAD AND GO OVER A COUPLE OF THINGS.

YOU KNOW, THE TENANT REAPPRAISAL PLAN WENT INTO EFFECT THIS YEAR.

AND THAT IS WHERE THEY HELD RESIDENTIAL APPRAISALS FLAT FROM LAST YEAR.

AND BASICALLY WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS THEY ARE GOING TO REAPPRAISE THEM EVERY ODD YEAR.

SO THEY WILL NOT REAPPRAISE THEM AGAIN UNTIL 2027.

AND THAT WILL BE IN THE 27-28 BUDGET YEAR. SO IT'S TAX YEAR 27 BUDGET YEAR 27-28.

SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE DIFFERENCE IN COMPARING 24 TO 23, YOU CAN SEE THAT OUR VALUES WENT UP ABOUT 6.1%.

IF YOU LOOK AT OUR COMPARING THIS YEAR TO LAST YEAR, IT WENT UP A LITTLE BIT, ABOUT 0.6%.

NOW THAT IS INTERESTING BECAUSE OUR RESIDENTIAL APPRAISALS ACTUALLY WENT DOWN.

WE SAW AN INCREASE IN PROTEST, BUT WE DID SEE AN INCREASE IN COMMERCIAL VALUES, WHICH KIND OF HELP OFFSET THAT, WHICH IS WHY WE SAW A SLIGHT INCREASE. SEVERAL OF OUR NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES ACTUALLY SAW A DECREASE IN VALUE.

SO I CONSIDER US RELATIVELY LUCKY. SO I DID ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT ALL OTHER PROPERTY TYPES WILL BE REAPPRAISED ANNUALLY.

SO THIS REALLY ONLY APPLIES TO RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.

SO THIS IS JUST THE TAX RATE HISTORY SLIDE. WE DID GO OVER THIS A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.

THIS IS JUST KIND OF A TEN YEAR HISTORY OF OUR PROPERTY TAX RATE.

THE ONE THING ABOUT THIS SLIDE THAT'S KIND OF INTERESTING IS THIS YEAR'S PROPOSED RATE IS LOWER THAN IT WAS IN 2018, 2019 WHEN WE ISSUED THAT $70 MILLION BOND, A $70 MILLION BOND.

SO I JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT. THIS IS JUST THE TAX RATE SLIDE.

SO IN 24-25 OUR TAX RATE WAS 0.495726. THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE IS ESSENTIALLY $0.01 HIGHER THAN THE RIGHT TO LAST YEAR. BASICALLY WHAT THAT MEANS IS WE WOULD HAVE TO INCREASE THE RATE BY $0.01 TO INCREASE THE SAME AMOUNT OF, I'M SORRY, NOT INCREASE TO BRING IN THE SAME AMOUNT OF REVENUE AS WE BROUGHT IN LAST YEAR ON THE SAME AMOUNT OF PROPERTIES.

SO WE WOULD NEED TO INCREASE THE TAX RATE BY $0.01 TO BRING IN THAT SAME AMOUNT OF TAX REVENUE.

NOW, THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE IS THE RATE THAT WE PUT INTO THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

0.526212 AND THAT IS THE HIGHEST TAX RATE THAT WE CAN PROPOSE TO YOU WITHOUT GOING TO THE VOTERS.

NOW THIS IS A NEW SLIDE. AND I'M SORRY, WE DID LOOK AT OUR FORMATTING BUT APPARENTLY IT DID NOT STAY, SO I APOLOGIZE. THIS IS A NEW SLIDE. I WANTED TO SHOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAST YEAR'S RATE AND THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE.

SO WE COULD TRULY SEE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE VARIOUS TAX RATES.

SO THIS IS THAT $0.01 THAT I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT.

AND COUNCIL MEMBER SABOL, I THINK YOU ALWAYS POINT OUT THAT I TALK IN ACRONYMS. SO I WANTED TO PUT A LEGEND AT THE BOTTOM WHAT M&O AND I&S STAND FOR.

M&O STANDS FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS, AND THAT IS THE PORTION OF THE TAX RATE THAT FUNDS THE GENERAL FUND.

AND THE I&S PORTION OF THE TAX RATE IS THE PORTION THAT FUNDS OUR DEBT FUND.

I DON'T KNOW IF WE'VE CLARIFIED THAT IN THE PAST.

SO I KIND OF WANTED TO PUT THAT LEGEND ON THE ON THE SLIDE.

AND AGAIN, I APOLOGIZE FOR THE FORMATTING. WE DID THIS JUST A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO AND IT WAS FINE.

SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. IT STILL LOOKS GOOD.

THANKS. IT'S STILL FINE. IT LOOKS LIKE TYPEWRITERS, SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED.

THIS NEXT SLIDE. NOW, YOU HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE.

THIS IS WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT THAT $0.03 IN THE PAST.

AND AGAIN, I ADDED THE LEGEND AT THE BOTTOM. NOW THIS IS NEW.

THIS IS WHERE I WANTED TO SHOW YOU THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE AND THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE.

[00:05:04]

SO IF WE INCREASE TO THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE, IT'S ABOUT $0.01.

AND THAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO IS ABOUT $0.02.

AND AGAIN I APOLOGIZE FOR THE FORMATTING I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED.

I GUESS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO PLAY WITH THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN TILL WE GET IT JUST RIGHT. I DON'T MIND THE TYPEWRITER.

IT'S DIFFERENT. WELL, IT'S MORE THE WRAPPING.

IT LOOKED BEAUTIFUL. AND THEN WE GET IT ON THE BIG SCREEN. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS SLIDE BEFORE, BUT WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT IT, I TOLD YOU THESE NUMBERS, THEY WEREN'T VISIBLE ON THIS SLIDE.

SO I JUST WANTED THIS IN FRONT OF YOU. AND THIS JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU, IF WE INCREASED THE TAX RATE WHAT THE IMPACT WOULD BE TO THE AVERAGE HOMEOWNER.

SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THE AVERAGE HOME VALUE DID DECREASE A LITTLE BIT THIS YEAR AND THE INCREASE OF THE AVERAGE HOMEOWNER.

IF WE INCREASE TO THAT HIGHER TAX RATE, IT WOULD BE ABOUT $88 A YEAR, OR ABOUT $7 A MONTH TO A NEWLY SENIOR EXEMPT PROPERTY. IT WOULD BE ABOUT $73 A YEAR, ABOUT $6 A MONTH.

AND THE OTHER THING I DO WANT TO CLARIFY ON THE EXISTING SENIOR HOMES, THEY ARE NOT IMPACTED BY THE TAX RATE OR APPRAISAL CHANGES.

NOW, MAYOR, I BELIEVE YOU HAD ASKED ANDREA FOR ME TO DO AN ANALYSIS IF THE REAPPRAISAL PLAN HAD NOT BEEN IN PLACE THIS YEAR.

LIKE WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE? IT LOOK LIKE UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE SO MANY FACTORS THAT GO INTO THE REAPPRAISAL PLAN AND WHAT EVALUATION MIGHT LOOK LIKE. SO WHAT I WANTED TO SHOW YOU IS THE TAX RATE IMPACT SLIDE FROM LAST YEAR'S BUDGET.

SO THIS IS THE TAX RATE IMPACT SLIDE FROM LAST YEAR.

SO IF YOU'LL NOTICE YOU KNOW LAST YEAR WE KEPT THE TAX RATE FLAT AND THE VALUATION INCREASED BY ABOUT $21,000.

WELL THE IMPACT OF THE HOMEOWNERS? LAST YEAR WAS ABOUT $104 A YEAR, OR $8 A MONTH.

SO IT'S NOT REALLY MUCH DIFFERENT THAN THIS YEAR.

SO IT'S KIND OF A SEESAW EFFECT BETWEEN APPRAISALS AND TAX RATES.

IT'S GOING TO BE ONE OF THOSE THINGS, AND IT'S GOING TO BE THIS CONSTANT CONVERSATION BETWEEN APPRAISAL RATES OR APPRAISAL VALUES AND TAX RATES.

APPRAISALS GO UP. TAX RATES GO DOWN, APPRAISALS GO DOWN, TAX RATES GO UP.

IT'S GOING TO BE THIS SEESAW EFFECT EVERY YEAR.

YEAH. THEY PUT THAT IN, PUT THE, PUT US IN THAT DIFFICULT SITUATION WHERE WE KNOW THAT YOU KNOW PRIOR TO THIS, YOU KNOW, IF TAD WAS DOING THEIR JOB, WHICH IS JUST APPRAISING THE VALUES AND NOT WORRYING ABOUT TAX RELIEF, THEN WE WOULD HAVE WE WOULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, KEPT THIS TAX RATE STABLE MORE THAN MORE THAN LIKELY, AND THEN AND THEN MOVE FORWARD. BUT NOW THAT WE'RE IN THIS, WE'RE IN THE WOODS, SO TO SPEAK.

WE DON'T KNOW HOW THIS IS GOING TO GO. AND SO EVERYONE HAS COSTS.

EVERYONE HAS NEEDS, EVERYONE NEEDS RAISES, EVERYONE NEEDS INCREASE TO THAT.

INFLATION HAS CAUSED COSTS TO GO UP. SO SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE.

AND SO IT'S. TAD HAS DECIDED NOT TO GIVE. WE'RE THE ONES THAT HAVE TO BEAR THE BRUNT OF IT.

WELL, AND THEN IF WE GO BACK, WHAT HAPPENED ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO, VALUES JUST DECREASED DRAMATICALLY.

AND SO WE COULD BE IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT IN THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS TOO.

SO IT'S GOING TO BE THAT CONSTANT BETWEEN VALUATIONS AND TAX RATES.

SO IT'S IT'S JUST THAT'S THE PROPERTY TAX SYSTEM.

YEAH. GREAT. SO I APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THE TIME AND WORKING THAT I KNOW IT'S HARD.

IT'S HARD TO HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL AND REALIZE WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE.

AND THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT GOES INTO. BUT I THINK THIS IS A GOOD SLIDE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AND KIND OF ALMOST COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES, WHAT IT WAS LAST YEAR AND EXACTLY WHERE IT IS AND, AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO, TO MEET THOSE COSTS.

YES. BELIEVE ME, I THINK BRADY TALKS ABOUT THE MAGIC CRYSTAL BALL ALL THE TIME.

IF WE HAD IT, WE WOULD BE IN COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ROLES THAT.

WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS SLIDE BEFORE. I JUST THINK THIS TELLS A POWERFUL STORY.

IF WE INCREASE THE TAX RATE TO THAT HIGHEST POSSIBLE.

THIS JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU WHAT YOU GET FOR $4.59 A DAY.

I KNOW I PERSONALLY SPEND MORE THAN $4.59 ON MY LUNCH EVERY DAY.

AND SO I JUST LIKE TO SAY, YOU KNOW, FOR $4.59, YOU GET A QUIET PLACE TO READ A BOOK.

YOU GET POLICE AND FIRE PROTECTION. YOU GET A SHADED PLAYGROUND FOR YOUR KIDS OR GRANDKIDS TO PLAY IN.

YOU GET STREETS AND TRAFFIC SIGNALS. YOU GET SO MANY COMMUNICATION CHANNELS FROM PRINT TO SOCIAL MEDIA TO WEB TO CABLE.

AND THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE ALL THE INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS THAT KEEP THE CITY GOING.

AND I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE OUT ALL THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE NOT FUNDED BY OUR TAX DOLLARS WATER, SEWER, STORMWATER, CULTURAL ARTS. BUT FOR ALL YOUR TAX DOLLARS, FOR $4.59 A DAY, YOU GET A LOT OF SERVICES.

I DID WANT TO CLARIFY A LITTLE BIT ON THIS SLIDE.

WE TALKED DURING THE ORIGINAL BUDGET WORK SESSION, KIND OF ABOUT GENERAL FUND DECREASES.

AND I JUST WANTED TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ABOUT WHERE WE GOT TO THIS NUMBER AND HOW WE GOT HERE.

SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID THIS YEAR, WE KNEW GOING INTO THIS BUDGET, WE WERE GOING TO BE FACED WITH SOME CHALLENGES.

SALES TAX WAS REALLY FLATTENING. WE KNEW THAT HAD REAPPRAISAL PLAN WAS GOING TO PRESENT SOME CHALLENGES TO US.

[00:10:01]

AND THEY DID A FANTASTIC JOB. THEY WERE VERY, VERY RESTRICTED WITH WHAT THEY ASKED FOR.

AND WE MET WITH THOSE DEPARTMENTS IN MAY AND WE LOOKED OVER LINE ITEMS FOR THIS YEAR, LINE ITEMS FOR NEXT YEAR'S SUPPLEMENTAL, ASKED FROM PRETTY GOOD QUESTIONS. AND AGAIN THEY WERE DID A FANTASTIC JOB PRIORITIZING NEEDS OVER ONCE.

THEN IN JUNE WE HAVE WHAT'S CALLED CMO CITY CHATS.

IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ANDREA AND I TO SIT DOWN WITH EVERY SINGLE CITY EMPLOYEE.

WE GO TO EVERY FIRE STATION, ACTUALLY, I'M SORRY, WE GO TO THE MAIN FIRE STATION.

THEY COME TO US, WE GO TO PUBLIC WORKS. WE GO TO THE LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER.

WE SIT DOWN WITH EVERY SINGLE GROUP OF EMPLOYEES, AND WE JUST KIND OF TALK TO THEM ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE CITY. WE TALK ABOUT CIP PROJECTS, WE TALK ABOUT JUST EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND I DUBBED MYSELF THE DOOM AND GLOOM LADY. AND I SAID VERY CLEAR EXPECTATIONS ABOUT WHERE WE WERE WITH THE BUDGET.

I MADE IT VERY CLEAR THAT WE WERE FACING 12% INCREASE IN HEALTH INSURANCE, THAT I WASN'T REALLY SURE IF WE WERE GOING TO BE ABLE TO GIVE RAISES THIS YEAR, THAT IT MAY BE A 1%, IT MAY BE A 2%. I MAY HAVE TO PASS ON HEALTH INSURANCE INCREASE TO YOU FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SEVEN YEARS.

IT WAS A HARD CONVERSATION, AND WE ESTABLISHED THOSE EXPECTATIONS EARLY ON.

AND I'M GOING TO GET CHOKED UP BECAUSE THAT WAS REALLY HARD TO DO.

BUT WE ESTABLISHED THOSE EXPECTATIONS VERY EARLY ON WITH STAFF.

WE MADE IT VERY CLEAR THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE A CHALLENGING BUDGET.

AND SO THAT WAS EARLY IN JUNE. JUNE 23RD, THE FINANCE TEAM SET DOWN.

WE STARTED LOOKING OVER REVENUE NUMBERS, NOT PROPERTY TAXES, BECAUSE WE DON'T GET THE CERTIFIED ROLE UNTIL JULY 24TH.

WE CANNOT MAKE FINAL BUDGET DECISIONS UNTIL WE GET THAT CERTIFIED ROLE.

SO WE'RE STILL WORKING IN PRELIMINARY SITUATIONS.

WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE CAN FIND. AND FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DON'T KNOW THE CALENDAR, JULY 24TH IS A THURSDAY.

SO IF THEY DON'T GET IT TO US TILL FRIDAY MORNING, FINANCE STAFF MAY HAVE TO WORK ALL WEEKEND TO GET YOU A PROPOSED BUDGET BY JULY 31ST.

SO IF JULY 25TH IS A SATURDAY, THEY MAY NOT GET IT TO US UNTIL MONDAY.

SO THE CALENDAR FOR THE BUDGET IS INSANE, BUT I DIGRESS.

SO THAT WAS JUST THAT WAS JUNE 23RD. SO WE STARTED LOOKING AT WHERE REVENUE PROJECTIONS WERE ON JULY 3RD.

AS WE WERE PUTTING ALL THE NUMBERS INTO OUR SPREADSHEET, WE WERE LIKE I'M NOT REALLY LIKING THE WAY THE GENERAL FUND IS PENCILING OUT.

OUR EXPENDITURES ARE OVER OUR REVENUES AT THIS POINT, AND THAT WAS BEFORE FACTORING IN RAISES FOR GENERAL FUND EMPLOYEES.

NOW, STEP INCREASES. WE'RE FACTORING IN AT THIS POINT FOR POLICE AND FIRE.

WE HAD NOT FACTORED IN THE TMRS, AND WE HAD NOT FACTORED IN RAISES FOR OUR GENERAL FUND EMPLOYEES.

THAT REALLY CONCERNED ME BECAUSE AT THAT POINT, WE WERE FACTORING IN THE 12% INCREASE IN HEALTH INSURANCE, AND AT THAT POINT I WAS LIKE, I'M GOING TO HAVE TO PASS ON A RATE, AN INCREASE IN OUR HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS TO OUR EMPLOYEES WITHOUT GIVING THEM A RAISE.

AND THAT'S GOING TO IMPACT WHAT THEY BRING HOME TO THEIR FAMILIES.

AND I DON'T LIKE THAT. SO I EMAILED ANDREA AND I'M LIKE, WE I REALLY WANT OUR DIRECTORS TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT THEIR BUDGETS.

I DON'T WANT TO IMPACT SOMEONE'S BRING HOME PAY TO THEIR FAMILIES.

I WOULD REALLY LIKE OUR DIRECTORS TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT THEIR BUDGETS. SO WE SENT DIRECT.

WE SENT DIRECTOR'S EMAILS JULY 8TH THAT WEEK.

AND I SAID, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, I DO NOT WANT TO IMPACT SERVICE LEVELS.

I DON'T WANT OUR RESIDENTS TO FILL THIS. I WANT YOU TO LOOK AT WHAT DO YOU DO? THINK ABOUT HOW YOU DO BUSINESS. DO YOU NEED TO PRINT THAT? DO YOU NEED TO MAIL THAT? THINK ABOUT EFFICIENCIES.

AND I'M GOING TO GIVE BRADY A HARD TIME BECAUSE BRADY IS VERY TECHNICALLY DRIVEN, I'M VERY PAPER HEAVY.

AND SO WHEN I'M LIKE, DO WE NEED TO PRINT THAT? HE LOOKS AT ME AND HE GOES, DO YOU NEED TO PRINT THAT? BECAUSE I'M A VERY PAPER HEAVY PERSON. AND SO EVEN FOR MYSELF, THINKING ABOUT DIFFERENT WAYS TO DO BUSINESS.

AND SO WHAT THAT WAS THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THOSE EMAILS TO OUR DIRECTORS ON JULY 8TH WAS RETHINK HOW WE DO THINGS TO SAVE.

DO YOU NEED TO MAIL THAT? THAT SAVES POSTAGE, THAT SAVES PAPER, THAT SAVES ENVELOPES.

CAN YOU EMAIL THAT INSTEAD? SO THEY GOT ALL THAT BACK TO US JULY 11TH.

WE MET WITH OUR CITY MANAGER TO MAKE VERY PRELIMINARY BUDGET DECISIONS.

AT THAT POINT, THE TMRS COLA WAS STILL NOT FUNDED AND THE SENIOR NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE OFFICER WAS NOT FUNDED.

WE KNEW THAT THAT WAS A TOP PRIORITY FOR COUNCIL, AND THAT WAS EARMARKED AS THE FIRST THING THAT COULD BE FUNDED IN THE EVENT OUR CERTIFIED ROLE AND TAX RATE COULD AFFORD IT. SO JULY 24TH, WE GOT THE CERTIFIED ROLE FROM THE TARRANT APPRAISAL DISTRICT, AND THEN WE BEGAN CALCULATING EVERYTHING. AND THEN THAT'S HOW WE GOT YOU THE CERTIFIED ROLE OR THE CERTIFIED ROLE.

GOOD GOSH. THE PROPOSED BUDGET THAT YOU GUYS GOT ON THE 31ST.

I'M TALKING REALLY, REALLY FAST. SO STOP ME IF YOU NEED ANYTHING.

I THINK WE'RE ALL GOOD. I WAS TOLD TO GO FAST, SO I'M GOING FAST.

SO WE DID TALK ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT, BUT I ALSO WANTED TO PUT THIS ON A SLIDE FOR YOU.

THIS IS JUST OUR EMPLOYEE STATISTICS AS OF AUGUST 1ST.

[00:15:01]

SO AS OF AUGUST 1ST, WE HAD 316 FULL TIME EMPLOYEES, 60 BETWEEN 5 AND 10, 19 BETWEEN 10 AND 15, 32 BETWEEN 15 AND 48 OVER 20. WHAT DOES THAT TELL ME? WE HAVE A LOYAL WORKFORCE, BUT WHAT DOES IT ALSO TELL ME? ABOUT HALF OF OUR EMPLOYEES HAVE BEEN HERE LESS THAN FIVE YEARS.

SO HOW DO WE RETAIN THAT 0 TO 5 YEAR EMPLOYEE? WHAT ARE WE MISSING? OUR HR DOES A FANTASTIC JOB OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT.

THEY HAVE SOMETHING EVERY MONTH FOR OUR EMPLOYEES.

BUT WHAT ARE WE MISSING? I DON'T KNOW. I REALLY DON'T KNOW.

I DID CORNER THE POLICE CHIEF THE OTHER DAY. DO NOT ASK HIM TO PUT PENCIL TO PAPER BECAUSE I ASKED HIM, OFF THE CUFF, OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD. IF YOU HAD TO ESTIMATE WHAT IT COST TO HIRE AND TRAIN A NEW POLICE OFFICER, WHAT WOULD IT COST? AND HE'S LIKE SALARY, UNIFORMS, TIME.

NOT ONLY OF THAT OFFICER, BUT THE TRAINING OFFICER.

WHAT DOES IT COST? HE'S LIKE ABOUT 200,000. SO THAT'S MONEY OUT THE DOOR IF WE DON'T RETAIN THAT EMPLOYEE.

SO I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS A POWERFUL NUMBER. ABSOLUTELY.

WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT THIS, BUT AGAIN, I JUST WANTED TO PUT IT ON A SLIDE SO YOU CAN SEE IT.

OUT OF THE 12 CITIES THAT WE COMPARE OURSELVES TO, THERE ARE.

AS YOU CAN SEE, I DIDN'T COUNT THAT UP. BUT THERE IS ONE THAT'S AT 30, 2 THAT'S AT 50 AND THE REMAINDER AT 70.

THERE ARE TWO, IN ADDITION TO OURSELVES THAT DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE TMRS COLA.

NOW, MAYOR, I BELIEVE THERE WAS ALSO SOMETHING THAT YOU HAD ASKED ANDREA FOR ME TO DO, WHICH WAS TO FACTOR IN FUTURE INFLATION AND TO TERMS AND HOW THAT MIGHT IMPACT US.

WE ALL KNOW, I THINK WE'VE WE'VE GOTTEN A NUMBER ON TMRS AND HOW IT'S CALCULATED BASED ON CPI SCORES.

AND MY CONCERN WAS, IS THAT DEPENDING ON THE 30% OR 50%, IF WE HAD A CRAZY YEAR LIKE WE DID IN 2022, WHERE THE CPI WAS, I BELIEVE IT WAS CLOSE TO 9%, BUT I THINK IT WAS LIKE 8.5%, I THINK SO.

WHAT DOES THAT DO TO OUR ONGOING COSTS, AND HOW WOULD WE BE ABLE TO ADJUST WITH THAT? BECAUSE WE'RE ENDING UNCERTAIN TIMES. I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING OF OUR FUTURE NOW, WHERE THE DAYS OF THE 2%, 3% YOU CAN COUNT ON A YEAR AFTER YEAR FOR DECADES, THAT'S THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN ANYMORE.

I FEEL LIKE WE'RE IN A MUCH MORE VOLATILE SITUATION WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO SEE INFLATION ALL OVER.

ALL OVER THE PLACE. YOU CAN'T KEEP UP. AND SO MY BIG CONCERN IS WITH THESE ONGOING COSTS, WHAT DOES THAT DO TO OUR BUDGET.

AND I WISH I HAD AN ANSWER FOR YOU, I REALLY DO, SO I JUST WANTED TO.

THEY HIRE PROBABLY THE MOST INCREDIBLE, INTELLIGENT PEOPLE I'VE EVER.

LIKE, ANYTIME AN ACTUARY SPEAKS, I JUST SIT THERE AND GLAZE OVER AND JUST IN AWE.

THEY ARE THE MOST INTELLIGENT PEOPLE ON THE PLANET, BUT THEY FACTOR IN SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS.

WHEN THEY WHEN THEY CALCULATE OUR TMRS RATE, THEY HAVE A PERCENTAGE OF PAYROLL, THEY HAVE MORTALITY TABLES.

THEY'RE DIFFERENT FOR MALES VERSUS FEMALES. THEY FACTOR IN AVERAGE RETIREMENT AGES.

AND THEN THEY LOOK AT DIFFERENT OPTIONS THAT OUR RETIREES CHOOSE.

FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, A RETIREE CAN CHOOSE 100% SURVIVING SPOUSE.

THEY CAN WITHDRAW A PORTION OF THEIR RETIREMENT AND THEN THEY CAN WITHDRAW.

THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT GO INTO THE RATE CALCULATION.

SO UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO TELL YOU WHAT FUTURE INFLATION MAY DO TO OUR BUDGET.

BECAUSE I'M NOT AN ACTUARY. THEY'RE INCREDIBLY INTELLIGENT AND I FEEL INCREDIBLY DUMB WHENEVER THEY START SPEAKING, SO UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR YOU.

THEY LOOK AT INVESTMENT RATES. ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT THINGS GO INTO THAT RATE CALCULATION.

OKAY. YES, COUNCILMEMBER. KAREN, GO BACK TO THE OTHER SCREEN.

THIS ONE. OKAY. SO ALL THE ONES THAT ARE RETROACTIVE.

DID THEY START THOSE COLAS WHEN THEY SET UP THEIR RETIREMENT ORIGINALLY? PROBABLY. I DIDN'T GO THAT DEEP. BUT THE ONE THAT IS NON RETROACTIVE IS WATAUGA.

SO THEY HAVE SET UP IN THE LAST THREE YEARS WHICH IS WHAT WHY WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS DOING THAT AT THIS TIME.

AND THAT WOULD NOT BE RETROACTIVE. SO IF I HAD RETIRED FIVE YEARS AGO, I WOULD NOT GET A COLA.

CORRECT. IT WOULD NOT GO BACK. TOMORROW, I WOULD GET A CALL IF WE PASSED IT.

YES, MA'AM. OKAY. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN GAGLIARDI.

THANK YOU, MAYOR COGAN. YEAH. I MEAN LOOKING JUST FROM THAT ONE COMPARISON SLIDE.

I MEAN IT WE WE'VE HEARD MAYBE IT WAS IT SIX MONTHS OR A YEAR AGO, A NEIGHBORING CITY MANAGER REACHED OUT AND SAID, HEY, I'M COMING AFTER YOUR YOUR FOLKS. AND SO POACHING IS A REAL THING.

SO WHETHER IT'S WITH A POLICE OR FIRE CITY MANAGEMENT YOU KNOW, CITIES ARE GOING TO WANT TO GET THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST FOR THEIR FOR THEIR CITIES AND THEIR CITIZENS. SO, AND THIS IS A BENEFIT THAT ATTRACTS AND WE'RE ONE OF I MEAN, IT'S NOT A GREAT COMPANY,

[00:20:05]

OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY. NOW, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.

DO WE KNOW THAT HURST IS CONSIDERING THIS AS WELL? THAT I DON'T KNOW, I HAVEN'T DUG INTO. YEAH, YEAH.

OKAY, SO IT'S A TOTALLY DIFFERENT THING. TOTALLY. OKAY. OKAY. YEAH. GOTCHA. COUNCILMEMBER STEVES.

THANK YOU MAYOR. SO WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS DONE BY JANUARY 1ST.

IS THAT CORRECT? WE WOULD HAVE TO. DECEMBER 30TH.

YES. YES. AND WE'VE HAD THE PAST THREE YEARS TO CONSIDER THIS.

IT STARTED. LET'S SEE. IT WAS THE LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION.

SO NOT THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION. THE PRIOR LEGISLATIVE SESSION.

SO TWO YEARS. TWO. TWO. YES. AND WHAT WAS THE REASON WHY WE DIDN'T DO IT IN THE PREVIOUS BUDGETS? BECAUSE WE HAD PRETTY HEALTHY BUDGETS. SO WE FOUND OUT ABOUT IT TOO LATE LAST YEAR.

SO IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LAST BUDGET YEAR IN THIS BUDGET YEAR.

SO IT WAS NOT BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION IN LAST BUDGET YEAR THAT THIS WAS AN OPTION.

AND SO WE HAD ALREADY PROPOSED THE BUDGET TO YOU.

AND SO I HONESTLY DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT WAS AN AVAILABILITY FROM TMRS UNTIL I WANT TO SAY IT WAS EARLY AUGUST.

AND SO AT THAT POINT WE HAD ALREADY PRODUCED A BUDGET AND PROVIDED IT TO YOU.

YEAH. AND OUR CURRENT BUDGET IS BUDGETED WITH THE 30%.

CORRECT. CORRECT. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME.

SO THIS IS A SIMILAR SLIDE THAT WHAT YOU'VE SEEN IN THE PAST.

WHAT I DID WAS REMOVE ALL ONE TIME, BECAUSE I JUST WANTED TO FOCUS ON THE ITEMS THAT WERE IMPACTING THE TAX RATE.

SO. AND I KIND OF REARRANGED IT A LITTLE BIT.

SO THESE ARE JUST THE ITEMS THAT ARE RELATED TO PERSONNEL.

SO ANYTHING THAT WAS RAISED SPECIFIC OR RELATED TO THE COLA.

AND THEN THE NEXT SLIDE IS ONLY THINGS THAT WERE RELATED TO OPERATIONS.

SO AND I BELIEVE THERE WAS SOME TALK ABOUT WHAT IT WOULD COST TO REDUCE THE TAX RATE BY $0.01.

AND THAT IS $603,538. AND THEN THERE WAS SOME CONVERSATION BETWEEN WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 30 AND 50 IN THE TMRS AND THAT WAS ABOUT 263,000. SO IF YOU WANTED TO REDUCE THE TAX RATE, YOU WOULD HAVE TO SELECT BETWEEN THESE TWO SLIDES AND TO MAKE THAT WORK. SO AND THEN THE REST OF THE SLIDES ARE JUST UNFUNDED SUPPLEMENTAL UNFUNDED CIP AND NEXT STEPS.

SO YES, MA'AM. COUNCIL MEMBER SABOL. OKAY, SO I'M OLD ENOUGH TO GET SOCIAL SECURITY.

YES, MA'AM. SO A FEW YEARS AGO, THE INFLATION WAS A LOT HIGHER THAN THAN WHAT WE GOT INFLATION WISE.

LIKE, I THINK THE HIGHEST WE'VE EVER GOT WAS 3.2%.

AND IS THAT BECAUSE THEY LEAVE CERTAIN THINGS OUT OF THE CALCULATION.

AND IS THAT TRUE OF THE TEACHERS OF THIS. ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT WHEN SOCIAL SECURITY GAVE YOU A CPI ADJUSTMENT.

YEAH. UP 3.2. BUT IF THE INFLATION WAS A LOT HIGHER THAT YEAR I MEAN A LOT OF SENIORS KIND OF SUFFERED DURING THAT TIME.

AND I WONDERED IF THE SAME THING HAPPENS WITH OUR EMPLOYEES SO THAT OUR WE WOULDN'T IF INFLATION WAS AT 10%, WE WOULDN'T BE EXPECTED TO PAY. IF IT WENT TO 50%, WE WOULDN'T EXPECT TO PAY 5%.

THERE WOULD STILL BE SOME FACTORS THAT CAUSE IT TO BE LOWER.

IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY AND PLEASE DON'T QUOTE ME, I WANT TO SAY IT'S INFLATION AS OF JANUARY 1ST.

AND SO LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, I PULLED THIS TODAY AND I WANT TO SAY SOCIAL SECURITY IS OFF OF THE URBAN WAGE EARNERS AND CLERICAL WORKERS.

AND SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE JANUARY WAS 3% IN 25, IT WAS 2.9 IN 24, BUT IT FLUCTUATES EVERY MONTH.

SO FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, IF I LOOK AT JULY FOR 22 IT WAS 9.1.

BUT JULY OF 25 IT'S 2.5. SO I THINK IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHAT MONTH YOU LOOK AT AND WHAT MONTH YOU GRAB CPI.

BUT I BELIEVE TMRS DESCRIBES IT AS OF JANUARY 1ST.

OKAY. THANK YOU. YES, COUNCILOR STEVES. THAT BRINGS UP THE POINT.

HOW DO WE CALCULATE THE COLA FOR OUR IN OUR BUDGET RIGHT NOW? THE 3%? YEAH. THE FORMULA. WHAT FORMULA DO YOU USE TO CALCULATE THAT.

THERE'S REALLY NO FORMULA. 3% IS PRETTY AVERAGE.

IT'S PRETTY TYPICAL. MOST CITIES DO AT 3% FOR STANDARD EMPLOYEES.

YOU CAN KIND OF LOOK OVER. I MEAN, I AGAIN, I PULLED CPI JUST TO KIND OF GAUGE IT.

I MEAN, AGAIN, SHOT IN THE DARK. IF YOU LOOK AT MAY OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, 5% 8.6, 4, 3.3.

2.4. SO IT'S KIND OF 3%, IT'S PRETTY AVERAGE IS JUST PRETTY TYPICAL WITH WHAT CITIES DO.

SO YOU JUST GO WITH THE AVERAGE. PRETTY SIMPLE. YEAH.

YEAH. THANK YOU. YEP. COUNCILMEMBER FARCO. THANK YOU.

BUT THERE HAVE BEEN YEARS WE HAVEN'T GIVEN COLAS.

CORRECT. WELL, EVEN THOUGH THAT EVEN THOUGH INFLATION HAS GONE UP DUE TO CITY BUDGETS, WE HAVEN'T GIVEN COLAS.

[00:25:02]

OKAY. YEAH, I THINK WE'VE DONE IT FOR QUITE SOME TIME NOW.

I DO THINK THERE WERE TIMES WHEN TIMES WERE ROUGH THAT WE MAY HAVE NOT GIVEN 3%.

I WANT TO SAY I DO REMEMBER MEG'S CALCULATION HAD WHERE CERTAIN EMPLOYEES OVER A CERTAIN DOLLAR AMOUNT DIDN'T GET RAISES.

AND IF YOU MADE UNDER A CERTAIN SALARY, YOU DID GET RAISES.

SO I DO REMEMBER SHE HAD A CALCULATION LIKE THAT.

OKAY. YEAH. I THINK DURING OUR TIME HERE, AS FAR AS I KNOW, WE'VE ALWAYS GIVEN AT LEAST THE LAST EIGHT YEARS FOR SURE.

I CAN GET YOU SPECIFICS. IF I CAN LET THE COUNCIL KNOW THAT FOR SURE.

YEAH, BECAUSE I THINK THERE WERE TIMES THAT THEY WERE GIVEN MERIT BASED INSTEAD OF COLAS, AND IT WAS SKEWED IN THE PAST.

SO I CAN I'LL ABSOLUTELY LOOK THAT UP AND LET THE WHOLE COUNCIL KNOW THAT ANSWER.

BUT THAT'S NOT TIED TO ANY INDEX, RIGHT? PROBABLY NOT.

SO WHEN WE GAVE 3% LAST YEAR WAS JUST BASED ON WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS GOOD.

CORRECT? YES. SO IT'S NOT AN INDEX THAT'S TIED TO AN INDEX TO THE TEAM'S RIGHT.

ABSOLUTELY. SO THAT IS 30% OF WHATEVER CPI IS OF THAT JANUARY OF THAT YEAR.

CORRECT. IT'S AN INDEX. YES. YEAH. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU. YEAH. ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. SO AGAIN WE'VE KIND OF GONE THROUGH THESE SLIDES BEFORE. THE ONLY QUESTION I REALLY HAVE FOR COUNSEL IS SO WE'VE DONE TWO BUDGET WORK SESSIONS FOR YOU GUYS NOW TYPICALLY ON SEPTEMBER 9TH, WHICH IS WHEN WE DO THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR BOTH THE BUDGET AND THE TAX RATE, WE DO ANOTHER PRESENTATION FOR YOU.

VERY SIMILAR TO THE ORIGINAL BUDGET WORK SESSION.

DO YOU WANT A SIMILAR PRESENTATION LIKE THAT? DO YOU WANT A MORE CONDENSED VERSION? JUST KIND OF WANTED TO GET SOME COUNCIL FEEDBACK ON WHAT YOUR DESIRE IS.

WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME ON THIS SECOND ONE. SURE. I YOU KNOW, I KNOW THERE WAS A LOT OF QUESTIONS ON THE FIRST ONE.

AGAIN, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, WE'RE IN THE WOODS HERE.

THIS IS A DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT YEAR WITH DIFFERENT PROBLEMS. AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT IT IN A DIFFERENT WAY.

AND SO I WANT TO, YOU KNOW, THANK STAFF FOR TAKING A SECOND LOOK AT IT AND ACTUALLY BEING TRANSPARENT WITH THE PUBLIC AND SAYING, HEY THESE ARE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GOING TO CUT, THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO NEED TO.

NEED TO GET THERE TO GET TO THAT $0.01 AND TAKING THE TIME TO DO THAT AND BE FORTHRIGHT AND AND IN YOUR COMMUNICATIONS ON HOW YOU APPROACH THE BUDGET, I THINK THAT WAS ACTUALLY WELL NEEDED TO IS GIVEN US DATES.

ALL RIGHT. YOU KNOW, REALIZING THAT HERE WE CAN'T YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO FUND THIS. AND THEN AS THE NUMBERS CAME IN, THINGS WERE ADJUSTED. SO WITH THAT, SINCE WE'VE HAD A SECOND ONE, WHICH IS UNORTHODOX, I WOULD SAY THAT WE SHOULD PROBABLY CONDENSE IT.

CONDENSE IT. CONDENSE IT GOING FORWARD ON THE NINTH BECAUSE WE'VE ALREADY HAD TWO.

SO IF EVERYONE IS OKAY WITH THAT, I'M SEEING SHAKING HEADS.

SO WE'LL GO GO AHEAD THERE. OKAY. THAT A CONDENSED CONDENSED ONE.

WHAT OTHER DIRECTION DO YOU DOES STAFF NEED AT THIS TIME? AT THIS TIME, I'M ASSUMING WE'LL JUST MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PROPOSED BUDGET THAT WE'VE PRESENTED TO COUNCIL.

YEAH. I'M SEEING SHAKING HEADS. YES, MAYOR PRO TEM DAWKINS.

THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. JUST TO BE CLEAR, OUR PROPOSED BUDGET IS FUNDING A 30% BECAUSE I KNOW 50%.

THERE'S BEEN SOME CONVERSATIONS. YEAH. AND SO YOU'RE STILL KEEPING THAT BASELINE AT 30%.

AND WHAT IF THAT'S THE DIRECTION THAT COUNCIL IS GIVING US. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT'S THE DIRECTION. I GUESS THAT'S A QUESTION ON THE TABLE RIGHT NOW IS HOW SO.

SO THAT'S WHERE I NEED A GUARANTEE FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR. THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING. THANK YOU. WHEN DO WE HAVE THERE IS SOME INTEREST IN THE FUNDING THE 50% COLA.

SO. YES, COUNCILMAN. YEAH I WOULD LIKE TO. YEAH, YEAH, I'D BE IN FAVOR OF DOING THE 50%.

OKAY. I'M IN FAVOR OF FAVOR. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW WE'RE GOING TO FUND THAT 50%, BECAUSE THAT'S NOT IN THE ORIGINAL BUDGET I WOULD LIKE.

YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. SO WE HAVE A COUPLE OF OPTIONS ON THE TABLE.

ONE OF THE PROPOSALS THAT BRADY PROPOSED TO YOU A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO WAS WE COULD PUSH THE STRIKER YEAR ONE OFF TO THE EXCESS BOND FUNDING. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, MAYOR, I KNOW YOU WERE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THAT FIRE OVERTIME LINE ITEM.

SO WE PROPOSE REDUCING THAT BY ABOUT 60,000. I WASN'T TOO TERRIBLY CONCERNED WITH REDUCING THAT BY 60,000 TO MAKE UP THAT GAP.

IT'S A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE OVERALL BUDGET.

IT'S ABOUT 0.12% OF THE OVERALL GENERAL FUND BUDGET.

SO I WASN'T TOO CONCERNED WITH THAT. NOW, COUNCIL MEMBER STEVES, I KNOW YOU WERE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT THAT DOES TO US NEXT YEAR.

SO FOR YEAR TWO, WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING, DIDN'T WANT TO PROPOSE THAT THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT WITH OUR FOUR B BOARD.

HOWEVER, WHEN WE WENT TO OUR VOTERS FOR THE FOUR B SALES TAX, WE WERE, THE TAX LAW IS VERY VAGUE.

HOWEVER, WE WERE VERY STRINGENT IN WHAT WE SAID.

YOU CANNOT USE THAT FOR PERSONNEL. IT HAS TO BE USED FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS FOR STREET IMPROVEMENTS.

[00:30:01]

THERE IS A LINE ITEM IN THE STREET, STREET BUDGET IN THE GENERAL FUND FOR STREET LIGHTING, WHICH COULD BE INTERPRETED AS IMPROVEMENTS FOR THOSE STREET PROJECTS.

SO WE WANTED TO POTENTIALLY VISIT WITH OUR FOUR B BOARD BEFORE WE MOVED THOSE FUNDS OVER AND SEE AND GET, I MEAN, HALF OF THE COUNCIL'S ON THE FOUR B BOARD. SO IF YOU WERE COMFORTABLE WITH THAT AS AN OPTION FOR YEAR TWO, THAT'S AN OPTION. AND WHAT'S THE DOLLAR AMOUNT WE'RE TALKING.

IT'S ABOUT 330,000. NOW THE REASON WHY WE HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THAT IN THE PAST IS FOR B HAS PRIMARILY BEEN PRESERVED FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS.

SO WE DIDN'T REALLY. WE'VE NEVER REALLY LOOKED AT IT LIKE THAT BEFORE.

SO WE WERE KIND OF PLAYING AROUND WITH OPTIONS IF THAT WAS SOMETHING COUNCIL WANTED TO CONSIDER.

SO THE OPTIONS SO I'M UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY, IS PUSHING UP THE EMS STRIKER.

TO CAPITAL FUNDING FOR YEAR ONE, YEAR ONE AND THEN EITHER REDUCING OVERTIME BY FIRE BY LIKE 60,000.

YES. OR BY. OR WE COULD MOVE INTO THE WITH BLESSINGS FROM THE FOUR B BOARD MOVING THAT 300,000 FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO AND THAT COULD FUND YEAR TWO. OR WE COULD EITHER USE THAT AS ALSO YEAR ONE AFTER WE VISIT WITH THE FOUR B BOARD.

SO AS TIGHT AS THE BUDGET IS THIS YEAR, I MEAN, WE HAD TO RAISE TAXES.

I MEAN WE'RE RAISING THE TAX RATE UP TO THE THE MAX WITHOUT GOING TO THE VOTERS.

CORRECT. SO ALL THINGS BEING EVEN NEXT YEAR, THAT 30%.

SO WE HAD TO PUT IN WHAT, 200 AND WAS 300,000 TO, TO GET TO THE FROM GO FROM 30% TO THE 50.

IT'S TO 63 I THINK. OKAY. SO THAT THAT OUR LIABILITY INCREASES IN THAT FUND EVERY YEAR.

RIGHT. CORRECT. I MEAN MORE PEOPLE RETIRE AND DEPENDS ON HOW THEY RUN THE INVESTMENT.

SO POTENTIALLY HOW WOULD WE FUND IT NEXT, NEXT GO ROUND.

IT'S A PLAN. IT IS A PLAN. AND WE MAY COME TO YOU NEXT YEAR AND GO.

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO ADJUST OUR PLAN. AND WITH WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE STATE LEVEL WITH SENATE BILL TEN, WE MAY BE IN A CHALLENGE NEXT YEAR WITH WHAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.

THEY ARE THEY ARE PROPOSING TO REDUCE THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE TO 1%.

SO WE MAY BE AN EVEN STRICTER BUDGET CHALLENGES NEXT YEAR, WHICH MAY HINDER US BEING ABLE TO DO RAISES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

NOW, FROM A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE, WHAT WE PRODUCE IN THE BUDGET AT THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE THIS YEAR WILL BE FINE FOR NEXT YEAR.

IT MAY JUST HINDER US FROM FUTURE SPENDING. SO RAISES AND THINGS LIKE THAT OKAY.

YEAH OKAY. THANKS. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. SO WITH THAT I GUESS THE QUESTION STILL REMAINS.

I HAVE TO FOR THE 50% COLA. I GUESS THE OTHER OPTION IS DO WE WANT TO CONTINUE WITH THAT OR WITH THE PROPOSED BUDGET OF 30? AT THE NEXT MEETING ON THE NINTH, YOU'D, YOU'D BRING UP HOW WE'RE PAYING FOR THE 50%.

IS THAT CORRECT? ABSOLUTELY. THAT COULD BE ONE OF THE SLIDES THAT WE PRODUCE IN OUR PRESENTATION FOR YOU.

WHEN WE REDUCE, WHEN WE MAKE CHANGES TO OUR PRESENTATION, WE CAN PUT THAT SLIDE IN THERE.

OKAY. YEAH. BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY WILL HAVE A CHANGE IN OUR PROPOSED BUDGET.

HONESTLY FOR ONE OF THE OTHER FUNDS. SO WE'LL HAVE SOME CHANGES ALREADY TO PRESENT.

THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER SABOL. KAREN, I'M LEANING TOWARD THE 50%.

OKAY. ONLY BECAUSE I THINK 30% IS JUST TOO LOW.

AND IF WE ARE HIT WITH INFLATION, THEY NEED TO BE CATCHING UP.

AND I THINK I TRUST BRADY AND YOU TO COME UP WITH A PLAN EACH AND EVERY YEAR.

NO PRESSURE TO COVER US. I MEAN, I JUST, I THINK IT HAS TO BE DONE IN THAT WE'VE GOT SO MUCH TURNOVER ON THE YOUNGER, THE YOUNGER GROUP. THEY THEY'RE SMARTER THAN I WAS.

I THINK ABOUT LOOKING AT THAT SORT OF THING. AND THEY'RE THINKING, WELL, 25, 30 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, I'VE GOT TO HAVE A RETIREMENT. AND SO I THINK I'M FOR THE 50%.

THANK YOU. MAYOR PRO TEM DAWKINS. THANKS, MR. MAYOR. SO, KAREN, YEAH, I WOULD BE IN FAVOR OF I WANT TO SEE THE NUMBERS, LIKE IN FRONT OF ME.

BUT I DO CARE ABOUT THE EMPLOYEES AND THE RETENTION.

AND SO I THINK THAT WILL PUT US ON PAR WITH THE REST OF THE CITIES.

AND I THINK YOU DID MENTION WITH OUR SALES TAX THAT WE, WE GET A BENEFIT LIKE A PROPERTY TAXPAYERS GET A BENEFIT AS WELL AS FOR BE LIKE $0.25. AND SO I THINK IT WILL JUST BE INCUMBENT FOR US IN THE FUTURE YEARS TO SHOP BEDFORD SO WE CAN GET THAT SALES TAX UP TO STABILIZE OUR BUDGET FOR FUTURE YEARS. ALL RIGHT.

SO I'M HEARING 50 FROM YOU AS WELL. OKAY. ALL RIGHT.

SO I THINK THAT THAT DOES IT WELL FOR THE PRESENTATION AS LONG AS WE, YOU KNOW, PLEASE PRESENTS THE NUMBERS AND ALL THE CHANGES ON THE NINTH IN A

[00:35:04]

SO. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. LAST. ANY QUESTIONS GOING FORWARD.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.

NOW WE'RE ON TO THE REGULAR SESSION. ALL RIGHT.

[CALL TO ORDER/GENERAL COMMENTS]

LET US ALL THINK ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY AND HOW WE CAN MAKE IT EVEN BETTER.

WE WISH FOR SAFE STREETS, GOOD PARKS, SCHOOLS, LIBRARY, AND STRONG PUBLIC SAFETY.

MAY WE HAVE THE COURAGE TO MAKE THE INVESTMENTS NECESSARY FOR OUR SHARED FUTURE, RECOGNIZING THAT IT IS AN INVESTMENT IN ITS FOUNDATION.

WE ASK THAT WE BE GUIDED BY LONG TERM HEALTH OF OUR CITY, AND WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THE WILL TO BUILD IT.

THINKING OF EVERYONE IN THE SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY.

LET'S GO FORWARD. AMEN. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE UNITED STATES AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

HONOR THE TEXAS FLAG. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THEE.

TEXAS. ONE STATE UNDER GOD, ONE AND INDIVISIBLE.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER SABOL. MAYOR PRO TEM DAWKINS. THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON. WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENTS.

[PUBLIC COMMENTS]

I WANT TO TALK TO US ABOUT THE BEDFORD FOUNDATION FOR SENIORS.

GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL. CITY MANAGER.

GIVEN YOUR RESTRAINTS ON TIME, I'LL TRY TO DO A KAREN.

GO FAST. YES, PLEASE. BUT BUT THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME TIME TO SPEAK.

I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE HAVE A NEW NONPROFIT, 501 C3 FOUNDATION IN BEDFORD NOW, WHOSE SOLE MISSION IS TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO OUR BEDFORD SENIORS ACTIVITY CENTER. WE'RE FULLY INCORPORATED.

WE HAVE AN UP AND RUNNING WEBSITE. YOU HAVE BROCHURES AND A LITTLE SWAG IN FRONT OF YOU THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED.

SO WE'RE OUT IN THE OUT IN THE MARKET RAISING DONATIONS.

I'M SERVING AS PRESIDENT. STEVE OTTO, WHO'S HERE IN THE AUDIENCE, IS SERVING AS TREASURER AND SECRETARY, AND DAN FORD, WHO'S NOT WITH US TODAY. HE'S UP IN THE COOL WEATHER OF COLORADO.

HE'S OUR VICE PRESIDENT. ON OUR WEBSITE, YOU WILL SEE A PLACE FOR DONATIONS AND ALSO A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN BUY A T SHIRT THAT LOOKS SIMILAR TO THIS AND THE ONES THAT THEY FOLKS HAVE ON FROM MOOSE AND WEASEL AND OTHER BEDFORD BUSINESS.

WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH PARK STAFF AND FACILITY STAFF FOR SOME MONTHS.

THIS WHOLE THING STARTED WHEN STEVE AND ERNIE AND I WERE BUILDING THE SHELVES FOR THE LIBRARY.

THAT WAS TECHNICALLY THE FIRST PROJECT THAT'S ROLLED INTO THE FOUNDATION TO SHOW THE FUNDING.

AND WE HAVE SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 300 VOLUNTEER HOURS INTO THIS PROGRAM SO FAR.

WE'RE ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF RAISING FUNDS IN OUR FIRST LARGE PURCHASE FOR THE SENIOR CENTER IS AN EIGHT FOOT BINGO ELECTRONIC FLASH BOARD, SO THAT EVERYBODY IN THE ROOM CAN SEE THE BINGO NUMBERS FROM ACROSS THE ROOM, BECAUSE THAT ROOM IS PRETTY FULL MOST OF THE TIME.

YES IT IS. ANOTHER THING THAT WE'RE GETTING READY TO DO IS THAT IT? AS OF TODAY, WE RECEIVED A CORPORATE DONATION, THIS CAN ALLOW US TO PROVIDE THEM WITH A BRAND NEW BARBECUE GRILL, SO THAT WE CAN ESTABLISH THE REESTABLISH THE CONDITIONS AND THE TRADITION OF HAMBURGERS.

SO WE'RE GOING ON WITH THAT. WE HAVE A NUMBER OF FUTURE TARGETED PROJECTS, THE BIGGEST OF WHICH, WHICH WILL BE COUPLED WITH THE CIP PLAN FOR THE CITY, IS SOME KIND OF AN OUTDOOR COVERED PAVILION WITH SEATING AND LANDSCAPING AND THINGS OUT THERE IN THAT GRASS IMMEDIATELY BEHIND THE CENTER.

WE WILL BE AT BEATS AND EATS THIS WEEKEND. THIS WILL BE OUR FIRST INTERFACE WITH THE PUBLIC.

SO WE'LL BE HANDING OUT BROCHURES AND TELLING THE MESSAGE AND, YOU KNOW, SOLICITING DONATIONS IF WE CAN.

AND THAT'S WHERE WE ARE. SO WE'RE WE'RE PROUD TO BE BE HELPING THE CITY AND THE SENIOR CENTER.

WE'VE GOT A LOT OF GOOD POSITIVE YOU KNOW, FEEDBACK FROM THEM.

AND WE'RE GLAD AS YOU SEE THE WEBSITE, THE STORY OF THE THE REASON IT'S BEDFORD FOUNDATION FOR SENIORS IS BECAUSE ANYTIME YOU

[00:40:02]

IT'S TOUGH. THERE WE GO. IT'S TOUGH. SO IT GOT A LITTLE LONG, BUT IT GOT US HERE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY.

AND AGAIN THAT WAS FREE PLUG THERE. ALL RIGHT. OKAY. OKAY. OKAY.

OKAY. JUST BECAUSE OF THIS ITEM. OKAY. YES. COUNCILMEMBER GAGLIARDI.

I JUST WANT TO SAY ANOTHER BIG THANK YOU TO TO BRUCE AND STEVE AND FOR ALL THEIR HARD WORK.

AND I'M SUPER EXCITED TO SEE. FIRST, I WANT TO SEE THAT BINGO BOARD.

AFTER I HEARD ABOUT IT, I WANT TO NOW I WANT TO GO PLAY BINGO.

SO I MEAN, THAT'S A BIG, BIG DEAL. AND SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PUTTING ALL THE TIME AND EFFORT AND TO GETTING ALL THAT STUFF DONE FOR THE SENIORS.

THAT'S THAT'S REALLY AMAZING. THANK YOU AGAIN.

ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. NEXT UP TO SPEAK WE HAVE LUCY SNEARLY FOR THE TAX RATE IN BEDFORD COMMONS.

HELLO, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. LUCY. NEARLY 1824 GETTYSBURG PLACE.

I NEVER IN A THOUSAND YEARS WOULD IMAGINE I'D BE STANDING HERE TELLING YOU THAT I'M IN FAVOR OF A BIG TAX INCREASE.

I JUST THINK THAT THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN KEEPING OUR EMPLOYEES HAPPY.

IT'S VERY COSTLY TO HAVE TURNOVER. AND HONESTLY, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY YOU WOULD CONSIDER THE 30% COLA UPON RETIREMENT.

I WISH WE COULD DO 100 BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT.

YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY'S COSTS ARE GOING UP AND WE NEED TO KEEP OUR EMPLOYEES BECAUSE WE HAVE A GREAT STAFF LIKE CARYN RIGGS, WHO IS A GENIUS WITH THE BUDGET. YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO KEEP PEOPLE LIKE THAT AND WE NEED TO KEEP HER WANTING TO DRIVE ALL THE WAY FROM DENTON TO COME IN TO WORK EVERY DAY [LAUGHS] SO THAT TAKES SOME DOINGS. IF WE WANT TO CUT ANYTHING, I'M THINKING THAT IT MIGHT BE SOON COMING THE TIME TO PUT THE BRAKES ON BEDFORD COMMONS. I MOVED HERE IN 2018.

BEDFORD COMMONS WAS DISCUSSION ALL OVER THE PLACE.

YOU KNOW, THIS KIND OF STUDY AND THAT KIND OF STUDY AND AND IT WASN'T NEW WHEN I MOVED HERE, IT HAD ALREADY BEEN GOING ON. AND, YOU KNOW, HERE WE ARE STILL SPENDING MONEY ON THESE STUDIES.

AND I UNDERSTAND THAT IF THIS IS DEVELOPED, IT WILL PAY OFF IN THE LONG RUN.

BUT WE HAVE OTHER THINGS THAT WILL PAY OFF IN THE LONG RUN.

AND I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO DO EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE.

I MEAN, I PERSONALLY WOULD LOVE TO MAKE SOME BIG INVESTMENTS THAT WOULD PAY OFF, BUT I HAVE TO PAY MY BILLS TODAY, SO I HAVE TO WAIT FOR MY STOCKS TO INCREASE ENOUGH THAT I CAN BUY MORE.

AND I JUST FEEL LIKE WE HAVE JUST GONE OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY.

AND I KNOW THERE'S ANOTHER EXTENSION. SO COME JANUARY, IF THE PLAN ISN'T SOLID, IT MAY BE TIME TO STOP.

BUT THANK YOU FOR HEARING ME TONIGHT AND THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU DO.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING AND SHARING. ALL RIGHT, NEXT UP WE HAVE ERIC KRILL TALKING ABOUT THE INFAMOUS TARRANT COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT.

ERIC CARL, NORTH FORT WORTH MAYOR COUNCIL. GOOD EVENING.

AFTER WATCHING YOUR MEETING A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, I THOUGHT I'D COME AND TALK ABOUT TAD THIS EVENING.

FIRST OFF, BEDFORD WILL HAVE 11 VOTES TO ALLOCATE FOR TWO POSITIONS THIS YEAR.

AND YOUR PROCESS TO NOMINATE AND ELECT WILL START VERY SOON.

THERE ARE SOME NEW TAX ENTITIES PARTICIPATING THIS YEAR.

THE CONSERVATION DISTRICTS HAVE OPTED INTO THE APPOINTMENT PROCESS.

THERE ARE SIX OF THEM. BACK IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR, I STARTED ENGAGING WITH THEM TO GET THEM TO PARTICIPATE.

MY REASON WAS SIMPLE. I BELIEVE THE MORE ENTITIES INVOLVED, THE GREATER THE TRANSPARENCY OF THE DISTRICT AND HAS ELECTED OFFICIALS.

IF YOU CAN VOTE, I BELIEVE YOU SHOULD. FAST FORWARD TO A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, AND I WAS SELECTED AS THEIR NOMINEE TO APPEAR ON THE FALL BALLOT AND REPRESENT THEIR INTERESTS. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THEY HAVE EVER PARTICIPATED.

NOW, THE OTHER REASON I'M HERE IN FRONT OF YOU SHOULD BE A PACKET I PREPARED.

IT FOCUSES ON RESIDENTIAL VALUES AND THE NUMBERS TAKEN FROM THE TOTAL VALUES REPORT PROVIDED BY TAD FOR 2024 AND 2025.

I'VE DONE THIS FOR MANY OF THE ENTITIES IN THE COUNTY, AND THE BIGGEST OBSERVATION I NOTICED FOR BEDFORD WAS THE TAXABLE RESIDENTIAL VALUE DECLINED APPROXIMATELY 17 MILLION. ACROSS THE COUNTY CITIES, SPECIAL DISTRICTS IN THE COUNTY SAW AN INCREASE OF 5% AND OVERALL TAXABLE VALUE.

MOST OF THE INCREASE IS BUOYED BY RISING VALUES AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTY.

ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE, MOST SAW A DECREASE IN MARKET VALUE AND AN INCREASE IN APPRAISED VALUE.

ONE FACTOR PLAYING A ROLE IN THE RESIDENTIAL AND REDUCING THE RESIDENTIAL TAXABLE VALUE IS PROTEST.

PROTESTS WERE UP FROM 208,000 TO 228,000. THE AVERAGE MARKET VALUE OF A HOME HERE IN BEDFORD DECLINED 15,000.

[00:45:07]

REMEMBER THE PURPORTED REASON TO FREEZE THE VALUES WHEN THE REAPPRAISAL PLAN WAS TO PROVIDE TAXPAYER RELIEF.

HOWEVER, WITH VALUES FROZEN, HOMEOWNERS DID NOT RECEIVE THE BENEFIT OF REDUCED VALUES UNLESS THEY PROTESTED.

THOSE WHO DIDN'T PROTEST ARE GOING TO END UP PAYING TAXES ON OVERVALUED HOMES.

IF WE WERE ON YEARLY APPRAISALS, MOST HOMEOWNERS WOULD HAVE RECEIVED THE BENEFIT OF A REDUCED HOME VALUE.

I BELIEVE TAX ENTITIES SHOULD ALWAYS BE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO REDUCE THE TAX BURDEN THROUGH EFFICIENCIES AND SOUND PLANNING.

WITH THAT SAID, TAX RELIEF IS NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF TAD.

TAD SHOULD NOT TRY TO DICTATE ANY TAX POLICY.

WHAT TAD DID WITH THE FREEZE WAS TO INSERT ITSELF IN AN ATTEMPT TO CONTROL YOUR BUDGET, WHEN IN FACT IT'S THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

AS A TAX ENTITY, YOU CONTROL TAD'S BUDGET. TAD IS FUNDED BY YOU, YOUR BUDGETS BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR TAXPAYERS, NOT YOU AND TAD. TAD'S THERE TO VALUE PROPERTY.

WHEN THE TIME COMES, THIS BOARD WILL HAVE TO VOTE FOR INDIVIDUALS YOU BELIEVE WILL BEST REPRESENT THE INTERESTS OF YOU AND YOUR TAXPAYERS WITH CURRENT MARKET REALITIES.

THE FACT IS, MUCH OF TARRANT COUNTY HAS DECLINED IN VALUE.

I UNDERSTAND THE VALUE REDUCTIONS MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR THIS COUNCIL, BUT THAT'S PART OF THE JOB.

NAVIGATING DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES THAT SHOULD BE MAKING IT EASIER TO NAVIGATE, AND NEARLY APPRAISALS WOULD ENSURE THE MOST ACCURATE DATA TO ACHIEVE THAT OUTCOME.

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, IF THEY WOULD HAVE REAPPRAISED, I THINK AS A WHOLE, VALUES WOULD HAVE DROPPED MORE THAN WHAT YOU SAW.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL RIGHT.

WITH THAT, WE ARE WE HAVE NO ONE ELSE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS.

SO OUR NEXT ITEM AND THE ONLY ITEM IS CONSIDER APPROVAL OF ITEMS BY CONSENT.

[CONSIDER APPROVAL OF ITEMS BY CONSENT]

MAYOR. COUNCIL. GOOD EVENING. I'LL RUN THROUGH OUR CONSENT ITEMS. NUMBER ONE, CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE FOLLOWING CITY COUNCIL MINUTES.

AUGUST 7TH, 2025 BUDGET WORK SESSION IN AUGUST 12TH, 2025.

REGULAR SESSION ITEM TWO. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION APPROVING UPDATES TO THE CITY OF BEDFORD'S PURCHASING POLICY.

THE PROPOSED CHANGES WILL ESSENTIALLY ALIGN OUR PURCHASING POLICY POLICY WITH THE RECENT STATE LEGISLATIVE CHANGES RESULTING FROM THE PASSAGE OF SB 1173.

THE CHANGE WILL INCREASE THE FORMAL BIDDING THRESHOLD FROM 50,000 TO 100,000, AND BASICALLY IT WILL NOT IMPACT ANY CHANGE ORDERS IN PLACE.

SO ANYTHING MORE THAN 25% OR 50,000 WILL STILL REQUIRE COUNCIL APPROVAL.

ESSENTIALLY, THIS COVERS THE PRICE POINT ON OUR PURCHASES AND BIDS FROM 3000 TO 100,000.

STILL REQUIRING US TO OBTAIN THREE QUOTES, TWO OF THOSE BEING HUB, AND IT WILL REQUIRE THE APPROVAL BY THE CITY MANAGER OR HER DESIGNEE.

AGAIN, ESSENTIALLY, THESE CHANGES SUPPORT OUR EXISTING PROCEDURES.

IT WILL RAISE THE FORMAL BIDDING THRESHOLD AND ALSO ESTABLISHED BOND REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICABLE CONTRACTS.

THE STATUTORY CHANGES ARE REALLY SOLELY RELATED TO THE BIDDING THRESHOLD.

SO THE OTHER CHANGES WERE CLEANUPS AND CLARIFICATIONS RECOMMENDED BY STAFF.

SO JUST A NOTE ON THIS AS WELL. PLEASE NOTE THAT WHILE WE ARE ASKING FOR THE INCREASE TO ALIGN WITH STATE LAW, ANYTHING OF NOTE OR SIGNIFICANCE WILL STILL BE BROUGHT FORWARD FOR COUNCIL'S APPROVAL.

AND CERTAINLY ANYTHING A LITTLE BIT LESSER THAN OF NOTE WILL BE, COUNCIL WILL BE INFORMED OF THAT WHEN THOSE ARE HAPPENING TOO.

SO WE'RE NOT TRYING TO CIRCUMVENT ANYTHING, JUST TRYING TO ALIGN.

AND THEN ALSO IF THERE'S SOMETHING OF NOTE, WE WILL GO AHEAD AND BRING IT FORWARD. JUST, JUST IT'S JUST NOT AN ABSOLUTE REQUIREMENT ANY LONGER.

OKAY. AND THEN ITEM NUMBER THREE CONSIDER A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEDFORD, TEXAS, APPROVING A NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT BETWEEN THE ATMOS CITIES STEERING COMMITTEE AND ATMOS ENERGY CORP.

MID-TEX DIVISION REGARDING THE COMPANY'S 2025 RATE REVIEW MECHANISM FILING DECLARING EXISTING RATES TO BE UNREASONABLE, ADOPTING TARIFFS THAT REFLECT RATE ADJUSTMENTS CONSISTENT WITH THE NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT.

FINDING THE RATES TO BE SET BY THE ATTACHED SETTLEMENT TARIFFS TO BE JUST AND REASONABLE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST.

SO ESSENTIALLY, THE REQUEST WILL PROVIDE FOR A SETTLEMENT BETWEEN THE ATMOSPHERE AND COMMITTEE, OF WHICH WE ARE A MEMBER, AND ATMOS ENERGY CORP.

FOR A SETTLEMENT AMOUNT, ALLOWING FOR AN INCREASE OF $205.6 MILLION.

THIS ESSENTIALLY WILL GO INTO EFFECT OCTOBER.

IT WILL TRANSLATE INTO AN AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL RATE INCREASE, UNFORTUNATELY, OF $7.83 ON A MONTHLY BASIS OR 9.27%.

THE AVERAGE INCREASE FOR COMMERCIAL USAGE WILL BE FROM 25 TO 73, OR 66.56%.

ITEM NUMBER FOUR CONSIDER RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER OR HER DESIGNEE TO REJECT ALL PROPOSALS RELATED TO RFP2025-54 FOR DESIGN BUILD OF TENNIS AND PICKLEBALL COURTS AT GENERATIONS PARK AT BOYS RANCH.

ESSENTIALLY, WHAT WHAT STAFF DID WAS WE DID MOVE FORWARD WITH THE BID IN A COMBINED DESIGN BUILD FORMAT.

AND UNFORTUNATELY WITH THAT, THE COMPANIES THAT WERE LOOKING TO RESPOND, IT WAS A LITTLE BIT COMPLICATED IN THAT SENSE.

[00:50:04]

SO THE BIDS THAT CAME IN WERE SOMEWHAT COMPLICATED.

THEY WERE NOT APPLES TO APPLES THIS WAY. SO WE'RE GOING TO PULL THOSE APART AND ESSENTIALLY GO OUT FOR A DESIGN BID, LET THAT OCCUR, AND THEN THINGS WILL BE MUCH MORE DEFINED AT THAT POINT.

AND THEN WE'LL GO BACK OUT TO BID FOR ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION.

SO THAT'S THAT'S WHY WE'RE DOING THAT. WE WERE NOT ABLE TO COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES WITH THE MIX OF DESIGN AND BUILD TOGETHER.

SO THAT IS STILL MOVING FORWARD. BUT WE WOULD LIKE TO SPLIT THAT OUT.

SO IT'LL BE RIGHT BACK OUT THERE ON THE STREETS IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

AS SOON AS WE GET THIS REJECTED, WE'LL PUT THE DESIGN OUT IMMEDIATELY.

OKAY, THAT CONCLUDES CONSENT HERE FOR QUESTIONS.

ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. ANY QUESTIONS ON THE CONSENT? JUST ONE THING. THAT'S A GRANT, RIGHT? THAT WE'RE WE'RE WORKING WITH FOR THE IT'S CORRECT.

$750,000 GRANT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. DIDN'T SEE ANY QUESTIONS.

I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION ON THIS ONE. MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA BY COUNCILMEMBER GAGLIARDI.

SECOND BY MAYOR PRO TEM DAWKINS. LET'S GO AHEAD AND VOTE.

ALL RIGHT. THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU.

COUNCIL. THANK YOU. STAFF. ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON.

WE HAVE REPORTS. ALL RIGHT. SO, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WE ARE AT THE END ALMOST RIGHT.

[5. Mayor/Council Member Reports]

ALL RIGHT, SO NOW THAT WE'RE GETTING INTO I, ALWAYS WHEN SCHOOL STARTS, IT IS COUNCIL'S BUSY SEASON.

SO WE'VE BEEN WE'VE BEEN VERY BUSY GOING FORWARD.

I GOT INVITED TO A NEWLY CREATED LIONS CLUB CHAPTER, THE PACIFIC ISLANDER.

YES, THE MID CITY'S PACIFIC ISLANDER, AND THEY HAD THEIR CHARTER NIGHT ON AUGUST 16TH.

SO I GOT THERE TO TO SPEAK AND WELCOME THEM TO THE COMMUNITY THAT WAS I KNEW GOING IN WITH.

SINCE I TAUGHT OVER AT SOUTH EULESS. I'M LIKE, I KNOW I'M GOING TO SEE SOME STUDENTS THERE. AND SURE ENOUGH, THE FIRST PERSON WHO WELCOMED ME WAS ONE OF MY FORMER STUDENTS, WHICH WAS REALLY WHICH WAS REALLY AWESOME.

BUT THEIR LOGO AND THEIR SLOGAN WITH THE LIONS IS WHEREVER, THERE'S A NEED, THERE IS A LION.

AND SO WE KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF NEEDS IN THIS COMMUNITY.

SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THEM AND AND SEEING HOW THEY CAN BE UTILIZED WITH THE CITY OF BEDFORD.

SO THAT WAS THAT WAS A REALLY GOOD, GOOD THING TO BE A PART OF.

AUGUST 18TH, WE HAD OUR ZONING ORDINANCE REWRITE MEETING AND MY GOODNESS, P&Z HAS BEEN BUSY WITH WITH THAT ZONING REWRITE TODAY.

WE HAVE A LOT GOING ON WITH THAT. IT IS VERY INTENSIVE, BUT I DO WANT TO THANK P&Z FOR TAKING THE BRUNT OF THIS AND TAKING IT ON AND GETTING IN THE WEEDS IN THIS TO REWRITE A WHOLE, A WHOLE ZONING ORDINANCE.

THAT'S A BIG UNDERTAKING. AND SO IT WAS GOOD TO SEE WHERE WE'RE AT ON THAT. AND IT'S GOING TO BE SO MUCH BETTER AND USER FRIENDLY ONCE WE'RE ON THE OTHER SIDE.

AND THEN LASTLY, ON AUGUST 20TH, WE HAD THE H-E-B COLLABORATION MEETING.

SO THIS IS A MEETING ANNUALLY BETWEEN ALL THREE CITIES.

WHAT STARTED OUT WHEN I FIRST STARTED, IT WAS A MEETING BETWEEN BASICALLY JUST THE THREE CITIES AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.

WE MET IN ONE OF THE SMALL ROOMS IN PAT MAY, BUT NOW IT HAS BECOME A MUCH BIGGER ENDEAVOR, ENCOMPASSING THE HOSPITAL ENCOMPASSING THE TARRANT COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE, THE H-E-B CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE ROOM TO TALK, AND THAT'S A GOOD THING. THAT'S A GOOD THING FOR ALL OF US TO GET AN UPDATE ON WHAT THE ISD IS DOING, AS WELL AS COLLABORATE AS ONE COMMUNITY BECAUSE WE, YOU KNOW, H-E-B IS VERY SEAMLESS AND WE ARE VERY COHESIVE.

IT'S THE SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT PRETTY MUCH BINDS US ALL TOGETHER.

AND SO IT WAS IT WAS A GOOD UPDATE. WE HAD A HUGE UPDATE ON AND IT WAS A LONG ONE ON THE BOND AND EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE NEW HIGH SCHOOLS IN SCHOOLS.

I THINK THAT TOOK UP HALF THE MEETING, QUITE FRANKLY. BUT BUT THAT WAS, THAT WAS WELL NEEDED TO SEE WHERE THE PROGRESS WAS ON THAT ALSO TALKED ABOUT THEIR NEW PROGRAM FOR SENIOR AMBASSADORS. NOW, I KNOW, COUNCILMEMBER GAGLIARDI, YOU DID THE BOARD AMBASSADOR PROGRAM.

CORRECT. AND SO THEY'VE OPENED IT UP FOR SENIORS NOW.

SO IF YOU'RE 65 AND OLDER, SO, SO EXCITED TO INVITE YOU TO APPLY TO THE INAUGURAL HEBISD SENIOR AMBASSADOR ACADEMY PROGRAM IS GOING TO BE DESIGNED TO FOR RESIDENTS AGED 65 AND OLDER, TO GAIN A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.

THESE ARE GOING TO BE CLASSES COVERING EDUCATION, OPERATIONS, BUSINESS OPERATIONS, SCHOOL BOARD OPERATIONS AND GENERAL SCHOOL DISTRICT MANAGEMENT. SO FOR TWO HOUR SESSIONS AND IT'S ONLY LIMITED TO 30 COMMUNITY MEMBERS.

SO I WILL SAY IT WAS FANTASTIC. I MEAN, IT WAS SO INFORMATIVE.

AND I KNOW STEVE'S. YOU KNOW, HE'S BEEN MORE INVOLVED WITH THE DISTRICT, BUT JUST GOING THROUGH IT TO SEE HOW ALL OF IT WORKS AND THE LOGISTICS, IT'S AMAZING JUST HOW WE, YOU KNOW, EDUCATE THE KIDS, GET THEM WHERE THEY NEED TO GO AND FEED THEM.

AND IT'S SO YEAH, I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE WHO'S GOT SOME TIME TO DO IT.

THEY'RE GOOD AS THE SENIOR REPRESENTATIVE. DO YOU MIND PASSING OUT THAT INFORMATION OR IF YOU NEED INFORMATION TO TRY AND GET IT OUT? BECAUSE ACTUALLY OTHER APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSING THIS WEEK, THE 29TH? YEAH WE CAN, WE HAVE INTERESTED RESIDENTS CAN WE CAN GET IT OUT TO, GAGLIARDI IS THE PERSON TO GO TO.

[00:55:02]

AND SO WE'RE GONNA LET EVERYBODY KNOW. WE'RE GONNA LET EVERYBODY OKAY. VERY GOOD, VERY GOOD. THAT'S GOOD. IN ADDITION TO THAT ANOTHER THING THAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS TRYING TO WORK ON IS FOR CERTIFYING EVERYBODY IN FOURTH GRADE FOR WATER SAFETY, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THEY HAVE CPR SAFETY FOR FIFTH AND SIXTH GRADE.

SO THEY WANT TO DO FOURTH GRADE SEEING WHERE WE CAN CONNECT WITH THEM.

SINCE WE HAVE ACCESS, WE HAVE THE YMCA, WE HAVE [INAUDIBLE], THERE MAY BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO CONNECT WITH THEM, TO MAKE SURE OUR FOURTH GRADERS HAVE THAT WATER SAFETY BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT LEARNING TO SWIM THESE KIDS.

AND SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE SAFE.

OTHER THAN THAT, OTHER PARTNERSHIPS, WE BRIEFLY DISCUSS OUR PLANS HERE AT THE CITY FOR THE WORLD CUP, AND THAT'S NEXT YEAR ON JULY 12TH AND 13TH. AND THEN WE ALSO DISCUSSED THE SEMI CENTENNIAL.

SO THE 250TH YEAR CELEBRATING AMERICA. THEY DID SAY THAT THEIR BANDS AND GROUPS YOU KNOW, FOR THAT WE NEED TO IF WE WANT THEM AT OUR EVENTS, WE NEED TO SCHEDULE THAT IMMEDIATELY BECAUSE THEY GET BOOKED UP VERY QUICKLY.

WE ALSO MAYOR PRO TEM DAWKINS POINTED OUT TO THE CITY OF HEARST THAT WE ACTUALLY DO OURS ON THE FOURTH, AND WE ACTUALLY USE REAL FIREWORKS. THEY SHOULD KNOW PRETTY MUCH COVERS IT ON ON THE UPDATE.

SO WITH THAT, MOVING RIGHT ALONG. ANIMAL SHELTER ADVISORY BOARD.

[6. Report on most recent meeting of the following Boards]

YEAH, IT WAS IT WAS A GREAT EVENT. CHIEF LAPENNA WAS THERE DIRECTING.

TRAFFIC WAS FANTASTIC. WE HAD SOME HOT DOGS, AND WE HAD SOME VENDORS OUT THERE.

IT WAS A GREAT TIME. WE HAD SOME HARD WORKING STAFF OUT THERE, AND THEY'RE GETTING THAT BUILDING.

THEY'RE MAKING IT AS BEST AS THEY CAN WITH WITH WHAT THEY HAVE, WHICH ISN'T A WHOLE LOT, BUT THEY DO HAVE AIR CONDITIONING.

THANK YOU, CITY MANAGER ROY. BUT YEAH, IT WAS A GREAT EVENT.

IT WAS A GREAT EVENT. THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN SABOL FOR ORGANIZING THE.

IS IT. IT'S FOBOS. FOBOS? FRIENDS OF, FRIENDS OF FOSS, FRIENDS OF FOSS, THE FRIENDS OF THE BEDFORD ANIMAL SHELTER.

AND MY WIFE IS INVOLVED, SO I AM THEREFORE INVOLVED.

SO IT WAS A GREAT EVENT SO. AND THEN LAST THING I WANT TO THANK YOU GUYS AND THANK COUNCILMAN GAGLIARDI.

I WAS AT BELLE MANOR OPENING DAY FOR SCHOOL AND WELCOMING KIDS, AND IT WAS A GREAT TIME.

AND OUR OFFICERS WERE THERE, AND IT'S IT'S AMAZING TO SEE THE EXCITEMENT OF KIDS GETTING BACK TO SCHOOL AND THE FIRST DAY.

SO WE'LL SEE IN A FEW MONTHS HOW THEY'RE DOING.

OH, WELL, WHAT I, WHAT I FOUND IS THAT IF YOU NOTICED, THE PARENTS WERE SO EXCITED AND THEN THE KIDS YOU HAD, YOU HAD THE ONE OFFS, YOU KNOW, SOME WERE VERY EXCITED, SOME WERE TIMID AND SOME WERE. YOU COULD JUST LOOK A STRIKE OF FEAR GOING INTO THEM.

BUT THAT WAS ENTERTAINING. BUT I WILL SAY THIS. THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WAS VERY APPRECIATIVE OF US BEING OUT THERE. WE REALLY SHOWED UP OUR OTHER TWO CITIES OF HURST AND EULESS, WHICH IS ALWAYS A GOOD THING. AND SO WE'VE SET THE BAR HIGH, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO DOING THIS AGAIN NEXT YEAR.

ALL RIGHT. VERY GOOD. ALL RIGHT. NEXT UP, BEAUTIFICATION ADVISORY BOARD.

THANKS, MR. MAYOR. SO BEAUTIFICATION, WE HAD WE WENT THROUGH WITH THE ADVISORY BOARD TO AWARD TO BUSINESSES AND TO RESIDENTS WITH THEIR BEAUTIFICATION AWARDS ON AUGUST 16TH AND SO ON.

THE BUSINESSES WERE A LAW FIRM ON BEDFORD ROAD AND CHICK FIL A, AND THEN WE HAD ONE RESIDENT ON THE SOUTH SIDE AND ONE ON THE NORTH SIDE, SO ALSO THE ONE RESIDENT ON THE NORTH SIDE. HE HAS A BANANA TREE, WHICH WAS REALLY FASCINATING.

THAT WAS. TO SEE SO BEAUTIFICATION SINCE I HAD A CONFLICT WITH THE ZONING ORDINANCE AND THEY WERE MEETING AT THE SAME TIME, I DID GET UPDATES OF WHAT BEAUTIFICATION TALKED ABOUT THIS MONTH.

THEY'RE GOING TO GO FOR PLANTING TREES AT GENERATIONS PARKS, WHICH ARE LIVE OAKS, AND THEN WORK ON OCTOBER GLORY TREES ON OUR HARWOOD MEDIANS.

AND THEN WHAT'S COMING UP IS NOVEMBER 15TH IS THE FALL SWEEP.

SO THERE'S STILL AN OPPORTUNITY TO VOLUNTEER FOR THAT.

VERY GOOD. LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD, WHICH COUNCILMEMBER DONOVAN IS NOT HERE, SO WE WILL GET AN UPDATE NEXT TIME.

PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD. THANK YOU.

MAYOR. I JUST WANT TO MENTION THAT THE PARKS ADVISORY BOARD AND ALL OUR BOARDS ARE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS CURRENTLY FOR THE FOR POSITIONS ON THE BOARDS.

I BELIEVE THAT'S OPEN UNTIL SEPTEMBER 9TH. IS IT FOURTH? FIFTH? FIFTH. SO IF YOU WANT TO GET INVOLVED, GO AHEAD AND PUT YOUR APPLICATION.

WE HAVE VARIOUS BOARDS THAT HAVE OPENINGS. I ALSO LIKE TO MENTION THAT I WAS INVOLVED WITH WELCOMING THE STUDENTS TO SPRING GARDEN THE OTHER DAY, AND IT WAS PRETTY INTERESTING BECAUSE I WELCOMED MY I BROUGHT MY DAUGHTER THERE 23 YEARS AGO.

[01:00:01]

AND IT WAS GREAT SEEING THE SMILING FACES. SO IT WAS IT WAS AWESOME.

IT WAS GREAT. YEAH. IT WAS A GREAT IT'S A GREAT TIME. GREAT, GREAT.

ALL RIGHT, NEXT UP, SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD. HEY, BACK TO ME.

BACK TO YOU. SO I AGAIN, THE SCHOOL. THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL IS AWESOME.

I DID IT WITH SHADY BROOK. I'M SO GLAD YOU ALL WENT AND HAD FUN.

I MEAN, I HAD NO IDEA 23 YEARS AGO. I MEAN, IT'S I WELL, I'M GOOD AT TELLING LONG STORIES, BUT THE TYPING TEACHER AT SPRING GARDEN IS I INTERACT WITH HER ON A MORE FREQUENT BASIS, AND IT'S VERY FUNNY WHEN SHE COMES IN AND SHE REMINDS EVERYONE WHAT A WONDERFUL CHILD I WAS.

[LAUGHS] I WAS, I, I BELIEVE I SAID, WHY DO I NEED TO LEARN TO TYPE? I'M NEVER GOING TO USE THESE KEYBOARDS. AND THAT'S ALL I DO ALL DAY.

SO BUT WITH THE SUPERVISORY BOARD JUST TO TO PIGGYBACK ON THE, THE FOUNDATION THAT MR. EMORY AND MR. OTTO PUT TOGETHER, I MEAN, THEY'RE PUTTING SOME IT'S IT'S AWESOME TO HAVE THAT LEVEL OF CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT AND TO HELP SORT OF BRIDGE THE GAP WITH SOME OF THE FINER NEEDS AT THE, AT THE YOU KNOW, WE BUILT A FANTASTIC FACILITY AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A FANTASTIC BINGO BOARD.

I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE THIS BINGO BOARD. AND SO AND I THINK THAT'S I THINK THAT'S SUPER AWESOME.

AND SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO YOU KNOW, DOING STUFF IN THE FUTURE WITH THAT.

AND THEN WITH THE I ALSO GOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO OUT TO SPEAK TO RESIDENTS WITH SAL CARUSO AT THE VIEWPOINT AT TONY'S.

IT'S ALWAYS FUN TO GO OUT IN THE COMMUNITY AND TALK WITH FOLKS AND GET SOME FOOD.

AND I WAS THERE WITH PHILIP EISEN AND COUNCILMAN FARCO, AND IT WAS.

IT'S JUST A GOOD TIME. IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD TIME TO GO OUT THERE AND GET SOME GOOD FOOD AND TALK WITH SOME GOOD FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS. AND THEN, OF COURSE, I WAS AT THE THE ANIMAL SHELTER, AND THAT WAS THAT WAS FUN, TOO. I WAS ODDLY ACTIVE IN THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, SO.

BUT WE'RE CHARACTER. WE'RE READY. I'M READY FOR A NAP.

VERY GOOD. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT.

NO, IT'S IT IS. IT'S AMAZING THAT WE NOW HAVE THESE FOUNDATIONS THAT ARE NEWLY CREATED FOR THE ANIMAL SHELTER, AND THEN ALSO OUR SENIORS, AND AND HOPEFULLY THEY'RE GOING TO WITHSTAND FOR FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS TO COME.

BRIDGING THAT GAP AS YOU AS YOU MENTIONED TO TO UPKEEP THE BUILDINGS AND, AND PROVIDE EVEN MORE FOR, FOR OUR RESIDENTS. SO THIS IS IT'S VERY GOOD.

ALL RIGHT. WITH THAT? ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, CITY MANAGER STAFF REPORTS.

[7. City Manager/Staff Reports]

15 MINUTES? I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE NOTICED PULLING UP THIS EVENING, BUT WE'VE GOT A LITTLE BIT OF NEW SIGNAGE ON THE BUILDING.

SO COMPLIMENTS OF OUR ARPA DOLLARS. WE ARE HAPPY TO REPORT THAT THE EXTERIOR BUILDINGS ARE GETTING THEIR SIGNAGE.

AND THEN ONCE THAT'S DONE, WE'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT PHASE, WHICH WILL BE INTERIOR SIGNAGE WITHIN BOTH OF OUR PUBLIC FACING BUILDINGS.

SO BIG IMPROVEMENT. VERY MUCH NEEDED. TAKING CARE OF FOLKS AND GETTING THEM WHERE THEY NEED TO BE, OBVIOUSLY A PRIORITY AND SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN A LITTLE LACKING. SO WE'RE WE'RE GLAD TO FINALLY GET THERE.

ALSO ALONG THOSE LINES, I'M SURE YOU ALL HAVE SEEN THAT WE HAVE ADDED A, A FRONT DESK OUT HERE TOWARD THE FRONT OF CITY HALL, AND THAT IS NOW OFFICIALLY STAFFED. WE'VE GOT TWO CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES.

WE HAVE A MORNING INDIVIDUAL AND AN AFTERNOON INDIVIDUAL, AND IT IS JUST GOING IT'S GOING GREAT.

AND SO THAT IS IT'S A WONDERFUL CUSTOMER FACING THING, SOMETHING THAT WE JUST NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO.

WHEN YOU PREVIOUSLY CALLED YOU WENT THROUGH QUITE A CALL TREE AND I WE THAT WAS NOT THE MESSAGE WE WANTED TO SEND TO THE RESIDENCE.

WE WANTED TO BE THERE, THERE. OBVIOUSLY THERE'S DEPARTMENTS THAT THEY REACH OUT TO MORE FREQUENTLY. SO THOSE ARE STILL UP FRONT, BUT YOU CAN GET TO A HUMAN MUCH MORE QUICKLY AND GET DIRECTED TO WHERE YOU'RE GOING.

SO WE'RE VERY HAPPY AND PLEASED WITH THAT AND ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT HUMAN TOUCH AND GET FOLKS TO WHERE THEY'RE GOING MUCH, MUCH EASIER. SO IF Y'ALL SEE THEM, PLEASE STOP IN AND SAY HI.

WE'VE GOT, LIKE I SAID, TWO DELIGHTFUL INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE JUST HERE TO HELP, SO PLEASE USE THEM.

ALSO, JUST TO KIND OF MAKE A BRIEF ANNOUNCEMENT, I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT A LOT, AND SO I JUST WANTED TO LET EVERYBODY KNOW THAT OUR NEW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MANAGER WILL BE STARTING SEPTEMBER 8TH.

SO HE IS COMING FROM SAN MARCOS AND MOVING HIS FAMILY UP HERE.

SO WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE HIM. I DON'T THINK ANYBODY MORE THAN I AM, SO I CAN PASS THE TORCH ON FOR SOME THINGS.

AND SO I'VE GOT QUITE A LIST FOR HIM AND WE WILL GET HIM GOING THE MOMENT HE GETS HERE.

SO THE BEAUTY OF HIS NAME IS CHRISTIAN SMITH, BUT THE, THE BEAUTY OF CHRISTIAN IS THAT HE HAS DONE THIS EXACT SAME POSITION IN SAN MARCOS AND IS MORE THAN QUALIFIED TO JUMP IN AND JUST HIT THE GROUND RUNNING.

SO THAT WILL THAT WILL DEFINITELY HELP US KIND OF JUST GET RIGHT BACK OUT THERE ON THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FRONT.

A COUPLE OTHER QUICK UPDATES. I KNOW RECENTLY I HAD MENTIONED THAT WE WERE GOING TO COME BACK AND DO A PARKS UPDATE AS FAR AS PICKLEBALL, TENNIS COURTS, ETC. AND AS YOU SEE THIS EVENING, WE ARE, YOU KNOW, GOING TO GO BACK OUT FOR DESIGN.

[01:05:06]

ONCE WE GET DESIGN DONE, MARK WILL COME IN, DO A FULL UPDATE ON WHERE EVERYTHING SITS AT THAT POINT AND GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHERE THINGS ARE GOING TO FALL, SIT AND GENERALLY LOOK LIKE SO. UNTIL WE GET TO THAT POINT, WE THOUGHT AN UPDATE WAS A LITTLE PREMATURE.

IT'LL BE MUCH MORE BENEFICIAL AFTER THAT. AND THEN JUST TO KIND OF TOUCH ON SINCE THE ANIMAL SHELTER WAS MENTIONED, WE ARE ESSENTIALLY KNOCK ON WOOD AT 100% DESIGN ON THAT BUILDING.

AND WE'RE DOING ONE LAST SIT DOWN TO GO THROUGH THOSE PLANS.

AND SO THAT WILL GO OUT TO BID IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE.

SO I KNOW WE CAN'T GET THAT DONE QUICK ENOUGH FOR, FOR EVERYBODY.

SO THANK YOU MAYOR. THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. VERY GOOD. SOME EXCITING THINGS HAPPENING.

ALL RIGHT, NEXT UP. WE'RE OUT OF. WE'RE OUT OF ITEMS. OH, WE HAVE ITEMS ALREADY. SO SOON, I KNOW. MAYOR COGAN, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO ADJOURN.

MOVE TO ADJOURN. I MOVED TO ADJOURN. MOVED TO ADJOURN? IT'S STILL RIGHT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT.

MOTION TO ADJOURN FROM COUNCIL MEMBER GAGLIARDI SECOND BY MAYOR PRO TEM DAWKINS.

ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. MOTION PASSES.

WE ARE ADJOURNED AT 7:06. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.