[00:00:01] ALL RIGHT. TIME IS NOW 6:00. I'LL GO AHEAD AND GET THIS BUDGET WORK SESSION FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026, [CALL TO ORDER/GENERAL COMMENTS ] 2027 IN ORDER HERE. SO I'D LIKE TO WELCOME EVERYBODY. GOOD TO SEE ALL OUR CITY EMPLOYEES HERE TODAY. IT'S A LITTLE WEIRD SEEING MICHAEL WELLS ON THE OTHER SIDE OVER THERE IN THE PENALTY BOX. AND, IT LOOKS LIKE FINANCE HAS TAKEN OVER OVER THERE. SO LET'S GET THIS THING KICKED OFF. SO WHO WOULD LIKE TO START OVER HERE? [WORK SESSION ] ALL RIGHT. YES. THANK YOU MAYOR. THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US THIS EVENING. I KNOW THIS IS AN EXCITING BUT NOT EXCITING TOPIC AT THE SAME TIME. SO BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO BRADY FOR THE NEXT PRETTY MUCH INDEFINITE FUTURE FOR THIS EVENING, I DID JUST KIND OF WANT TO LAY THE FOUNDATION FOR WHERE WE LANDED AND WHAT YOU ALL ARE GOING TO SEE TONIGHT. SO WHAT YOU WILL SEE IS A EXTREMELY LEAN BUDGET. AS WE CONTINUE WITH ALL THE DEPARTMENT HEADS TO DIVE INTO OUR BUDGETS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RIGHTSIZING THINGS AND PUTTING THINGS IN THE RIGHT PLACE. WE ARE AN EVOLVING COMMUNITY AS WE AGE, SO WE ARE MAKING SURE STAFFING LEVELS ARE ACCURATE, PROPER TRAINING IS OBTAINED, DOLLARS ARE GOING IN THE RIGHT AREAS, FLEET IS TRANSITIONING IN THE RIGHT WAY AND WE'RE ADDRESSING WHAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS. SO THIS HAS BEEN A PROJECT THAT STARTED BACK IN MARCH. SO THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON. SO WHAT YOU SEE TONIGHT IS A CULMINATION OF MANY, MANY MONTHS AND MANY, MANY HOURS OF WORK ON OUR BUDGET TEAM. BUT WE'VE HELD MULTIPLE BUDGET MEETINGS WITH ALL OUR DEPARTMENTS. WE HAVE GONE THROUGH ITEMS VIRTUALLY LINE BY LINE. SO WHAT YOU SEE IS A RESULT OF THAT. WE HAVE FOLLOWED UP WITH THE DEPARTMENTS AND THEN WE WILL FOLLOW UP AGAIN WITH ALL DEPARTMENT HEADS ONCE WE LAND. SO EVERYONE IS CLEAR AS TO WHAT IS FUNDED AND WHAT WHAT IS NOT FUNDED. SO YOU WILL ALSO SEE SUPPLEMENTALS, WHICH IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT TERM, SUPPLEMENTALS ARE ESSENTIALLY NEW OR ADDITIONAL REQUESTS TO MEET OUR DEMANDS. AND WHAT YOU WILL SEE ON THAT LIST IS THE RECOMMENDED SUPPLEMENTALS ARE ALL ABSOLUTE NEEDS THAT ARE REQUESTED BY THE DEPARTMENTS WE. WE ELIMINATED ONCE A LONG TIME AGO AND SO WHAT YOU WILL SEE ARE ABSOLUTELY NEEDS. AND THOSE HAVE BEEN PRIORITIZED. YOU WILL ALSO SEE A LIST OF SUPPLEMENTALS THAT WERE REQUESTED, BUT THAT ARE NOT BEING RECOMMENDED FOR FUNDING. ALL OF THOSE HAVE BEEN FULLY EVALUATED AND DEEMED TO BE ITEMS THAT WE CAN LOOK AT IN THE NEAR FUTURE. SOME OF THOSE WE WANT TO DO KIND OF A WAIT AND SEE ATTITUDE ON AS WELL. SO THAT'S WHERE THOSE ARE LINED. AND THOSE ARE ALL LISTED FOR THOSE REASONS. AND YOU WILL SEE THAT AS WELL. SO ALSO YOU WILL SEE CUTS WITHIN THE BUDGET. YOU WILL SEE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN CHANGED. WE HAVE ELIMINATED ALL OF OUR OUT OF STATE TRAVEL THAT WAS PLANNED. AND SO THAT HAS BEEN A CUT. AND AGAIN, AT THE SAME TIME, ALL OF THOSE THINGS HAVE BEEN DONE WITH THE GOAL OF MAKING SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO REINVEST IN OUR FACILITIES. WE INVEST IN OUR STAFF, WE MAINTAIN OUR COMPLIANCE. YOU WILL SEE A LOT OF COMPLIANCE THINGS, ADA COMPLIANCE, THINGS LIKE THAT HAVE TO OCCUR. THOSE ARE SOMEWHAT UNFUNDED MANDATES THAT WE MUST ABIDE BY. ALSO TO INCREASE OUR EFFICIENCIES TO BETTER SERVE THE PUBLIC AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ADDRESS OUR AGING INFRASTRUCTURE. ALL RIGHT. OKAY. NO. NO PROBLEM. SO ANYWAY, BEFORE THIS IS A GOOD TIME. SCREEN, I WANT TO MAKE SURE SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE ACCESS TO EVERYTHING. NO, BUT YOU CAN ACTUALLY DO THE BUDGET FROM FROM OVER HERE, SO. YEAH. SORRY, I DON'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT. NO. YOU'RE FINE. I WAS I WAS WRAPPING UP. NO, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE ALL THE COUNCIL. IT'S KIND OF IMPORTANT. SO YEAH. NO. SO I WAS REALLY WRAPPING UP. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HIT THOSE POINTS THAT EVERYBODY KNEW KIND OF WHERE WE ARE, WHAT WE'VE LAID OUT. AND I WILL GO AHEAD AND KICK IT OVER TO BRADY ONCE WE GET OUR TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES STRAIGHTENED OUT. SOUNDS GOOD. ALL RIGHT. I'M HERE FOR QUESTIONS. THANKS. ALL RIGHT. AS WE'RE GETTING THIS SETTLED, I WANT TO START OFF BY THANKING ANDREA ROY FOR LEADING US THROUGH THIS PROCESS. I WANT TO THANK COUNCIL FOR GIVING US GUIDANCE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. WE REALLY LISTENED TO YOU, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PUTTING OUT A BUDGET THAT YOU CAN BE PROUD OF, AND THAT REFLECTS YOUR PRIORITIES. I WANT TO THANK ALL THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS AND THEIR TEAMS. THEY SPENT A LOT OF HOURS ANSWERING QUESTIONS WITH US, WORKING WITH US. WE WE ASKED SOME HARD QUESTIONS AND WE HAD SOME HARD ASKS OF THEM. AND THEY SPENT A LOT OF TIME REALLY THINKING ABOUT THEIR BUDGETS AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY THEIR REQUESTS AND THEIR FUNDING WAS APPROPRIATE FOR WHAT THEY NEEDED TO DO. I WANT TO THANK MY FINANCE TEAM. KIM ROBINSON IS OUR COMPTROLLER. SHE'S GOING TO BE ON MY RIGHT TODAY. AND THEN OUR BUDGET MANAGER IS ANNA UPCHURCH. SHE HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS. SHE IS SHE KNOWS MORE ABOUT THIS BUDGET THAN, THAN ANYONE HERE. AND I'M VERY GRATEFUL THAT SHE'S ON OUR TEAM. THROUGHOUT THEY ARE BOTH GOING TO BE AVAILABLE TO RESEARCH QUESTIONS OR LOOK INTO THINGS. IT'S KIND OF LIKE A OLD ESPN SHOW. PARDON THE INTERRUPTION. WE HAVE OUR SAT TEAM ON THE SIDE. THEY CAN JUMP IN. [00:05:01] SO SOMETIMES I MAY ASK YOU TO WAIT A COUPLE OF MINUTES FOR AN ANSWER, BUT THEN WE CAN JUMP BACK IN AND MAKE SURE WE'RE GETTING THOSE ANSWERS TODAY IF WE CAN. AND ANYTHING ELSE, WE'LL FOLLOW UP. I KNOW YOU'VE HAD THIS DOCUMENT FOR LESS THAN A WEEK, SO YOU'RE NOT. IT'S A BIG DOCUMENT. IT'S HARD TO HAVE LOOKED AT EVERYTHING. SO WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE GOING TO BE QUESTIONS OVER TIME. BUT WE DID TRY TO HIGHLIGHT ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES. THOSE SHOULD BE REFLECTED IN THIS PRESENTATION. AND WE'RE PROUD OF THE DOCUMENT. WE'RE PROUD OF THE PROCESS AND WE THINK IT'S GOING TO BE SERVING THE CITIZENS WELL. SO FIRST OFF, WHAT IS A BUDGET? SOME CITIZENS MAY BE LOOKING AT THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME. IT'S THE PLAN FOR THE YEAR. FIRST AND FOREMOST. IT'S A REFLECTION OF YOUR PRIORITIES AND THE PRIORITIES OF THE COMMUNITY. WHAT WE ACTUALLY FUND IS WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. WE CAN SAY WE CARE ABOUT ALL SORTS OF THINGS, BUT IF WE'RE NOT PUTTING RESOURCES TO ACTUALLY ANSWER OR SOLVE THOSE PROBLEMS, I'M NOT SURE WE REALLY DO CARE ABOUT THOSE THINGS. SO A BUDGET IS A REFLECTION OF THAT. AND THEN FINALLY, A BUDGET IS ALSO A LEGAL DOCUMENT. IT IS THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT THAT WE CAN SPEND WITH YOUR PERMISSION. WE CANNOT SPEND A DIME MORE THAN WHAT YOU APPROVE IN THIS BUDGET OVERALL. SO WE ARE HELD BY THAT. SO GOING FORWARD, WE WANT TO START OFF WITH A BIGGER PICTURE QUESTION. HOW DOES THIS BUDGET IMPROVE BEDFORD THIS. WE WANT TO HAVE THIS BE ONE OF OUR EARLIEST, EARLIEST THOUGHTS AND REALLY THE BIG PICTURE ASSIGNMENT OF A BUDGET. THE GFOA BUDGET AWARD GOING FORWARD IS REALLY FOCUSED ON MAKING SURE WE ARE TYING WHAT'S IN THE BUDGET TO WHAT IMPACTS PEOPLE'S LIVES. SO FIRST OFF, WE ARE MAINTAINING EXCEPTIONAL POLICE, FIRE AND EMS. WE'RE IMPROVING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. WE'RE SUPPORTING RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION. WE ARE FUNDING OUR ABILITY TO ADVANCE ECONOMIC VITALITY. WE ARE INVESTING IN OUR TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE SURE WE'RE STAYING ON TOP OF WHAT WE NEED TO STAY ON TOP OF. AND THIS IS A BUDGET THAT PROTECTS OUR CITY'S LONG TERM FINANCIAL HEALTH. THIS IS A BALANCED BUDGET. THIS IS A BUDGET THAT CAN BE SUSTAINED LONG TERM. AND AS YOU'LL SEE IN THE LONG TERM, LONG TERM PLANNING GOING FORWARD, THIS IS A BUDGET THAT WE CAN SUBSIST ON. AS ANDREA MENTIONED, THE BUDGET PROCESS STARTED ON MARCH 4TH. IT'S KIND OF FUNNY. THE TOP THREE BOXES HAVE GONE OVER SEVERAL MONTHS, AND THEN THE REST OF THESE BOXES ALL KIND OF RUSHED TOGETHER AT THE END. SO WE DID MEET WITH EVERY DEPARTMENT, WENT THROUGH EVERY LINE ITEM. THERE ARE ALMOST 1200 ACCOUNTS. WE WENT THROUGH ALL OF THEM. WE WERE ABLE TO ACTUALLY LOWER 255 OF THOSE LINE ITEMS. SO WE WE DID TAKE A LOOK AT ALL OF THESE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE APPROPRIATE THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS. WE REALLY WANT IT TO BE A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS WITH OUR DEPARTMENTS AND REALLY EMPOWER THEM TO KNOW WHAT'S IN THEIR BUDGET AND WHAT THEIR BUDGET IS. SO WE WENT INTO THESE MEETINGS ASKING HELPFUL QUESTIONS. WHAT IS IT THAT YOUR DEPARTMENT NEEDS TO CONTINUE TO MEET YOUR GOALS? OH, HEY, IT LOOKS LIKE OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS YOU HAVE NOT BEEN SPENDING TO THIS LEVEL EVERY YEAR. ARE YOU SURE YOU NEED THOSE RESOURCES HERE? YOU HAVE THIS OTHER NEED. WHAT IF WE SHIFTED SOME OF THIS MONEY THAT YOU'RE NOT USING HERE TO SOMETHING ELSE? WE'RE WANTING TO WORK WITH OUR DEPARTMENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY BUDGET IS RIGHT SIZED. COMING UP TODAY IS THE WORK SESSION AT THE BOTTOM. WE'LL HAVE PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE TAX RATE, AND THEN WE'LL ADOPT THE BUDGET NEXT MONTH. SOME OF THE BIG STRATEGIES AND ASSUMPTIONS WE WALKED INTO THIS FIRST WAS THE COUNCIL GOALS AND YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN. YOU JUST FINISHED UPDATING THE STRATEGIC PLAN. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE USING THAT DOCUMENT. AND THAT'S NOT A WE'RE NOT WASTING YOUR TIME WITH IT. IT'S A REAL LIVING DOCUMENT THAT WE FOLLOW. WE WANTED TO FUND EXISTING SERVICE LEVELS. WE DIDN'T HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY. WE DIDN'T HEAR FROM YOU ALL THAT WE WANTED ANYTHING CUT OR CHANGE IN SERVICE LEVELS. SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE MAKING SURE WE'RE STILL DOING THE EXCELLENT JOB THAT WE'RE DOING. EMPLOYEE RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT. VERY IMPORTANT. I LOVE LIVING IN THE DFW AREA, BUT THERE'S ALSO A WHOLE BUNCH OF CITIES IN THE DFW AREA, AND IT IS A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE KEEPING THE BEST OF THE BEST THAT WE CAN HERE. AND THEN LAST AND CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, WE WANTED TO LIMIT OUR TAXPAYER IMPACT. WE DON'T WANT TO WE DON'T WANT TO RAISE TAXES ON ANYONE. BUT SOMETIMES IT IS NEEDED TO FUND THINGS. WE WANT TO BE AS RESPONSIBLE AS WE COULD WITH THAT TAX RATE FOR OUR FOR OUR TAXPAYERS AS POSSIBLE. AS A REMINDER, HERE ARE THE COUNCIL'S STRATEGIC GOALS, ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, TRANSFORMATION AND REDEVELOPMENT, AND QUALITY OF LIFE. IF YOU LOOK AT THE BUDGET DOCUMENT, THOSE GOALS SHOULD BE SEEN ON ALMOST EVERY DEPARTMENT PAGE ON HOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING TIES TO THE BIGGER PICTURE. SO SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS, IT'S KIND OF FUNNY, THESE FOUR LINES, THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET IS BEING INCREASED BY 1.75 MILLION OR RECOMMENDED. THESE FOUR LINES MAKE UP 1.65 MILLION. [00:10:04] SO THE MAJOR CHANGES THAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE IN THE GENERAL FUND ARE FROM THESE FOUR THINGS. THE FIRST IS A 2% COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT FOR ALL EMPLOYEES. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE SHOW THAT WE APPRECIATED THEM, THAT WE WANT THEM TO KEEP KEEP WORKING HERE. BUT THAT IS WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO SAFELY FUND THIS YEAR. WE'RE ALSO FUNDING THE PUBLIC SAFETY STEP INCREASES. THEY ARE ON THEIR STEP PLANS. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT AS THEY ADVANCE IN THEIR CAREER, THEY'RE BEING REWARDED. THERE WAS AN UNFORTUNATE RISE IN OUR HEALTH CARE COST. WE HAD A COUPLE OF ROUGH YEARS, SO OUR PREMIUMS DID GO UP. THEY WERE INITIALLY SET TO GO UP VERY, VERY MUCH. WE WERE ABLE TO LIMIT THAT, BUT THAT WAS STILL A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN OUR BUDGET. AND THEN THE LAST ARE TWO ITEMS YOU'VE ACTUALLY ALREADY SEEN. ONE IS THE AXON CONTRACT THAT YOU SAW LAST MONTH. AND THEN THE SECOND IS THE STRYKER CONTRACT THAT YOU SAW LAST YEAR. THOSE ARE TWO LARGE POLICE AND FIRE PURCHASES THAT MAKE UP A GOOD CHUNK OF THIS, THIS COMING ON TO OUR BUDGET YEAR. SO THAT'S THE OVERVIEW. NEXT UP IS ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND FINANCIAL OVERVIEW. THIS IS REALLY A REFLECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT THAT WE WERE IN WHENEVER WE CREATED THIS BUDGET. AND IT DRIVES WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO FUND THIS YEAR. THIS IS A CHART OF OUR SALES TAX HISTORY. A LOT OF NUMBERS. THE BIG PICTURE IS THAT OVER THE LAST YEAR OR SO, SALES TAX REVENUE HAS FLATTENED. THAT IS NORMALLY A NICE PLACE WHERE WE CAN FUND ADDITIONAL THINGS IN A NEW YEAR. WE'RE NOT ABLE TO DO THAT AS MUCH WITH EXISTING BUSINESSES. WE DID RAISE THE BUDGET ABOUT $200,000 BECAUSE WE DO HAVE SOME MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS COMING ON. WE HAVEN'T SEEN THE RETURNS FROM AN HEB OR A, WE'RE NOT GOING TO SEE RETURNS OF A SPROUTS, BUT THOSE WILL BE ONLINE NEXT YEAR. AND WE DO ANTICIPATE SALES TAX REVENUE. THIS IS THAT AND BAR FORM. AS YOU CAN SEE WE HAD A PRETTY STEEP INCREASE. AND THEN IT'S FLATTENED OUT THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. WE STILL ARE. WE STILL UP FOR THE SALES TAX FOR THIS YEAR. THIS LAST MONTH WAS WAS PRETTY TOUGH. SO WE'RE BASICALLY ZERO. OKAY. WE GET OUR NEW NUMBERS IN ABOUT A WEEK. OKAY. SO SALES TAX MAKES UP ABOUT A QUARTER OF OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET. ABOUT HALF OF OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET IS GOING TO BE FROM OUR PROPERTY TAXES, PROPERTY TAX REVENUE. HALF OF IT IS THE APPRAISED VALUE OF THE HOMES. THE OTHER HALF IS OUR TAX RATE. OUR TAXABLE VALUE DROPPED ABOUT BY MORE THAN 4% THIS YEAR. IT DIDN'T ACTUALLY DROP, BUT THE TAXABLE VALUE TAD GAVE US DROPPED BY ABOUT 4%. THAT PUTS US VERY CLOSE TO WHERE WE AT IN 2023. BACK IN 2023. WE WERE FUNDING A GENERAL FUND BUDGET OF JUST OVER $46 MILLION. WE'RE ASKING THE SAME TAX BASE TO FUND A GENERAL FUND BUDGET OF $51 MILLION THIS YEAR. SO THAT'S IT'S TOUGH. IT'S TOUGH TO TO COVER THOSE EXTRA EXPENDITURES WHENEVER YOU'RE WORKING WITH THE SAME TAX BASE. AND THE REASON FOR THE DECREASE WAS PROTEST OF EVALUATIONS. YES, SIR. YEAH. I CAN GET INTO THAT ON THE NEXT ONE. YES. SO IT DID FALL 4.4%. WE DID HAVE SOME NEW CONSTRUCTION WHICH WAS NICE. THAT WAS LARGELY A APARTMENT COMPLEX. DROVE MOST OF THAT. BUT THE TAX REVENUE, THE TAX BASE DID FALL BECAUSE OF PEOPLE CHALLENGING THEIR HOME VALUES THE PAST TWO YEARS. TAD HAS NOT REAPPRAISED, TAD ALSO ADMITTED THAT THEY WERE NOT FIGHTING ANY CHALLENGES TO PEOPLE'S VALUE THIS LAST YEAR, AND PROTESTS ALONE VALUES FELL 17% COUNTY WIDE. THEY ADMITTED THAT THEY ARE ABOUT 15% WHERE THE MARKET SHOULD BE AND TAXABLE VALUE. IF THEY WERE DOING THEIR JOB, OUR NUMBERS WOULD BE ABOUT 15% HIGHER COUNTY WIDE. WE DON'T HAVE THAT FIGURE FOR BEDFORD SPECIFICALLY, BUT I THINK THAT'S A FAIRLY GENERAL ASSUMPTION THAT WE'RE ABOUT 15% BELOW WHERE WE SHOULD BE. AND THAT MAKES SENSE BECAUSE YEARS UP UNTIL THIS REEVALUATION PLAN, WE WE WERE MANAGING TO HOLD THE TAX RATE STEADY, KIND OF ABSORB THAT INCREASE IN PROPERTY VALUATION TO FUND ADDITIONAL, YOU KNOW, VERY SMALL SUPPLEMENTAL REQUESTS. AND THEN, OF COURSE, COVER OUR COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENTS. AND SO SEEING THAT DECREASE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE, RIGHT. SO AND THEN THE STATE DIDN'T HELP US OUT MUCH. ABOUT 100 MILLION OF THAT DECREASE CAME FROM A CHANGE IN EXEMPTIONS FOR BUSINESS, PURPLE PERSONAL PROPERTY AND FOR BUSINESS AT 2500. USED TO BE THE EXEMPTION AMOUNT THAT WAS INCREASED TO 125,000. SO A LOT MORE PROPERTY THAT BUSINESSES OWNED WAS EXEMPT, WHICH IS NICE FOR THE BUSINESS OWNERS BUT IS TOUGH FOR US. ONE OF THE UNIQUE CHALLENGES ABOUT WORKING FOR BEDFORD AND MANAGING THE BEDFORD BUDGET IS THE SENIOR TAX FREEZE. [00:15:02] WE HAVE A VERY LARGE PORTION OF OUR HOMEOWNERS ARE UNDER A TAX CEILING, WHICH MEANS YEAR AFTER YEAR, THEY WILL NEVER PAY MORE TAXES THAN THEY DID AT THE TIME. THEY OWN THEIR HOUSE AT 65, ABOUT 36% OF OUR HOMES ARE FROZEN. SO WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE GETTING ANY NEW TAX REVENUE FROM ABOUT 36% OF OUR HOMES. THAT EQUATES TO ABOUT $4.26 MILLION IN REVENUE. IT'S ABOUT $1.4 BILLION IN HOME VALUE, AND THAT THE COUNT HAS INCREASED OVER TIME. MORE PEOPLE ARE HITTING THAT 65 MARK, WHICH MAKES MAKES THIS BUDGETING PROCESS TOUGHER GOING FORWARD BECAUSE THE REMAINING COMMERCIAL AND THE REMAINING 64% HAVE TO COVER ANY INCREASES. AND YOU'VE SEEN THIS TREND KIND OF OVER TIME. IS IT, ARE WE JUST SEEING KIND OF A MODEST INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR OVER WITH, WITH THESE FREEZES? YEAH. YES. I MEAN, SOME, A COUPLE OF YEARS WE'VE GONE DOWN, BUT WE'RE MAYBE WE'RE ADDING 100 ISH PEOPLE PER YEAR. OKAY. 100 HOMES. VERY GOOD. SO I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THIS IS KIND OF A TROUBLING TREND FOR US. IT IS DIFFICULT TO MANAGE AROUND. IT'S NICE THAT THE SENIORS DON'T HAVE TO PAY ANY MORE ON THEIR PROPERTY TAXES. THAT'S A THAT'S A GREAT BENEFIT FOR THEM. ABSOLUTELY. BUT AS YOU KNOW, AS A CITY AND WHOLE YEAH, THAT POSES A CHALLENGE ON, ON THOSE WHO ARE NOT WHO ARE NOT FROZEN. YES. CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG. I HEARD I HEARD RUMORS THAT WHEN WE GOT OUR NUMBERS FROM TAD, WE WERE AT THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE. AND THEN AND THEN THEY, THEY HAD TO REASSESS SOME OF THE THINGS AND WHICH I FIND ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS WHEN ON A YEAR WHEN THE TARRANT COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT DECIDES NOT TO APPRAISE ANYTHING, THEY STILL CAN'T GET IT RIGHT. THEY IMPLEMENTED A NEW SOFTWARE, WHICH THEY MISLABELED. ONE OF THE NUMBERS THAT THEY GAVE US IS THE EXACT MATCH FOR OUR TRUTH AND TAXATION FORM, BUT APPARENTLY THAT WAS NOT THE NUMBER WE NEEDED TO USE, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS LABELED THAT NUMBER. SO THEN THEY SAID, OH, IT'S ACTUALLY THIS OTHER NUMBER WHICH HAD A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT LABEL. SO THAT WAS THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED THERE. THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED THERE. AND ALSO TO THE TO WHY THESE WE DIDN'T GET OUR BUDGET YOU KNOW, LESS THAN A WEEK BECAUSE WE DIDN'T EVEN GET THE RIGHT NUMBERS FROM TAD. WE DID NOT. WOW. WITHIN, WITHIN THE DAY OF GETTING THE CORRECTED NUMBERS, WE, WE HAD THE BUDGET UP TO [INAUDIBLE]. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. SO OKAY. THANK YOU. GREAT. UNBELIEVABLE. SO HALF OF OUR PROPERTY TAX REVENUE COMES FROM THE ASSESSED VALUE. THE OTHER HALF COMES FROM OUR TAX RATE. AND THIS IS GOING TO BE THE THE BIGGEST CHANGE AND PROBABLY THE BIGGEST HIGHLIGHT OF THE BUDGET. LAST YEAR OUR RATE WAS OVER $0.52. OUR NO NEW REVENUE RATE. SO THAT'S THE RATE REQUIRED TO GIVE US THE EXACT SAME REVENUE AS WE DID LAST YEAR WOULD BE $0.55, WHICH IS ALMOST A THREE CENT INCREASE. WE ARE PROPOSING A BUDGET OF 50, A LITTLE OVER $0.56, WHICH IS ALMOST EXACTLY A FOUR CENT INCREASE OVER OUR RATE LAST YEAR. THOUGH I WILL SAY THAT IS BELOW OUR VOTER APPROVAL RATE, SO WE COULD GO EVEN HIGHER WITHOUT HAVING THIS GO TO AN AUTOMATIC ELECTION. BUT WE ARE COMFORTABLE WITH THIS NUMBER, AND WE BELIEVE THIS NUMBER WILL FUND OUR BUDGETED NEEDS. WE'RE GOING TO WE HAVE TO SHOW A LOT OF DIFFERENT NUMBERS FROM THE STATE. ONE OF THEM IS GOING TO SAY IT'S A 2.77% REVENUE INCREASE, ONE'S GOING TO SAY IT'S A 2.31% INCREASE OVER THE EFFECTIVE RATE. THE STATE DIDN'T DO A GREAT JOB WITH THEIR MATH PROBLEMS WHENEVER THEY PUT THE LAW TOGETHER. SURPRISE, SURPRISE. SO IT'S GOING TO BE BETWEEN ABOUT A 2.5% TAX INCREASE WOULD BE THE MOST HONEST REFLECTION OF THIS. AND WE'RE ALLOWED TO GO UP TO 3.5% UNDER THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE, RIGHT. SO YOU SAY 2.5% IS WHERE WE'RE AT. YES. IT'S DEPENDING ON WHAT NUMBER YOU LOOK AT, I THINK. BUT 2.5% IS A FAIR NUMBER TO SAY, SAY, OKAY. OF THIS BECAUSE OUR DEBT SERVICE REMAINED FLAT AND OUR TAX BASE IS SMALLER, WE HAVE TO HAVE A HIGHER RATE TO MAKE THE SAME PAYMENT. SO OUR DEBT RATE DID GO UP. OUR RATE IS ALSO GOING UP. IT'S GOING TO GO ABOUT THREE AND A HALF CENTS BASED ON THIS PROPOSAL. THIS IS OUR TAX RATE HISTORY. YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOOK THROUGH EVERY LINE, BUT I WILL SAY THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN ABOUT A DECADE, OR AT LEAST A DECADE, THAT WE ARE NOT GOING RIGHT UP TO THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE. EVERY OTHER YEAR WE HAD GONE RIGHT UP TO IT, OR MAYBE A ROUNDING ERROR DOWN JUST FOR A PRETTIER NUMBER. BUT THIS YEAR WE ARE MODERATELY BELOW THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE. THAT WAS A GOAL WE HAD. WE DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE TO TAKE THE MAXIMUM THIS YEAR IN OUR PROPOSED BUDGET. SO THAT DID TAKE SOME EFFORT. AND WE KNOW ANYTIME WE CHANGE THE RATES, THAT'S GOING TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON, [00:20:04] ON OUR HOMEOWNERS. THE TOP SHOWS THE AVERAGE HOME, WHICH IS ABOUT $318 MILLION, ACCORDING TO TAD. THAT'S THE TAXABLE VALUE. THEIR TAX BILL WOULD GO UP ABOUT $11 A MONTH UNDER THIS RATE. IF YOU JUST TURN 65, I THINK IT'S ABOUT 950, IT GOES UP PER MONTH. AND THEN THIS NEXT SLIDE SHOWS IF YOU'VE BEEN 65 FOR A BIT NOW, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE ANY IMPACT BY THIS TAX RATE. YOU'RE ALREADY AT YOUR CEILING AND IT DOESN'T REALLY IMPACT YOU. THIS IS A NICE GRAPH THAT SHOWS GENERALLY WHERE SOMEONE'S TAX DOLLARS ARE GOING. MORE THAN HALF OF IT'S GOING TO GO TO POLICE AND FIRE. THAT'S PUBLIC SAFETY DEBT SERVICE. I'D LIKE TO THINK THAT THAT IS CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THAT WE'VE ALREADY FUNDED. SO THAT'S STREETS. THAT'S BUILDINGS THAT'S THAT'S PARKS. A GOOD PORTION IS GOING TO SOME OF THOSE FUND SERVICES THAT WE OFFER LIBRARY PARKS. AND THEN SOME OF THE OTHER ONES ARE OUR INTERNAL SERVICES. BUT FOR THE MOST PART, YOU ARE ABLE TO SEE THE DIRECT IMPACT OF YOUR TAX DOLLARS ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS IN THE CITY. OKAY. OUR BUDGET OVERVIEW OVERALL, BEFORE WE GET INTO THE NUMBERS, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT FUNDS. ONE OF THE UNIQUE THINGS ABOUT GOVERNMENT FINANCE ARE THE FUNDS. WE HAVE REVENUES THAT WE CAN ONLY SPEND ON CERTAIN THINGS. WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO SPEND THEM ON ANYTHING WE WANT. SO THE GENERAL FUND IS MOST EQUIVALENT TO THE CASH IN YOUR WALLET. YOU CAN SPEND THE CASH ON YOUR WALLET ON PRETTY MUCH ANY PURCHASE YOU WANT. THE TOURISM FUND, MAYBE THAT'S CLOSER TO LIKE AN HEB GIFT CARD. YOU CAN DO A LOT OF THINGS WITH AN HEB GIFT CARD, BUT YOU CAN'T PAY YOUR RENT WITH AN HEB GIFT CARD. YOU CAN'T PAY YOUR ELECTRIC BILL. YOU CAN'T GET A NEW CAR WITH AN HEB GIFT CARD, BUT YOU CAN DO A LOT IN THAT BUCKET. AND THEN THE LAST WOULD MAYBE BE LIKE A DAVE AND BUSTER'S POWER CARD. A DAVE AND BUSTER'S POWER CARD IS VERY, VERY HELPFUL AT DAVE AND BUSTER'S, BUT NOT VERY HELPFUL ANYWHERE ELSE. SO THAT MAY BE LIKE THE STORM WATER FUND. WE, IT'S A GOOD CHUNK OF MONEY, BUT WE CAN REALLY ONLY SPEND THAT MONEY ON DRAINAGE PROJECTS. YES. MAYOR PRO TEM DAWKINS. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. SO, BRADY, THERE ARE SEVERAL FUNDS THAT WE HAVE EXPENDITURES EXCEEDING REVENUES. ARE WE USING FUND BALANCE? WE ARE. SO THE RECURRING EXPENDITURES ARE GOING TO BE BELOW OUR RECURRING REVENUES. AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE THOSE ARE ALL ANYTHING THAT'S MORE IS BECAUSE OF ONE TIME PROJECTS. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. AND OUR OVERALL REVENUE BUDGET IS GOING TO BE $108 MILLION. ALMOST HALF. THAT'S THE GENERAL FUND. THE WATER AND SEWER FUND IS RAPIDLY APPROACHING AND OUTGAINING WITH OUR RISING TRA COST. WE ARE BECOMING MUCH MORE OF A WATER AND SEWER AGENCY THAN WE HAVE BEEN IN THE PAST. SO THAT IT IS CROWDING OUT SOME OF THE OVERALL COST. BUT WE ARE STILL ABOUT HALF GENERAL FUND. REVENUES. SORRY GENERAL. GENERALLY OUR REVENUES ARE PRETTY SIMILAR. THE TOP LINE IS WHAT WE HAVE IN THE BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR. THE BOTTOM LINE IS WHAT WE HAD LAST YEAR. MOST OF THOSE ARE SEEING SMALL INCREASES. THE WATER IS A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT INCREASE, AND THAT IS JUST ONCE AGAIN REFLECTING HOW MUCH IT'S COSTING US TO BUY WATER. AND THIS IS BY TYPE. OVERALL, IN OUR CITY OF $110 MILLION, IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOP TWO, THAT'S CAPITAL OUTLAY AND DEBT. THOSE ARE GOING TO BE BASICALLY THOSE ARE CAPITAL PROJECTS. PERSONNEL MAKES 40%. AND THEN HAVING THE TOOLS TO LET OUR PERSONNEL DO THEIR JOB IS ABOUT 13%. COMBINING THE 313 PIES ON THE BOTTOM. AND THEN EVERYTHING ELSE IS, IS GOING TO BE JUST DIRECT WATER AND SEWER PURCHASES AND UTILITY BILLS. HERE IT IS BY FUND. YOU CAN SEE THAT I THINK OUR BIGGEST, OUR BIGGEST PIECE OF THE PIE RIGHT NOW IS A PUBLIC WORKS PASS THROUGH FOR TRA. THAT'S GOING TO BE OUR LARGEST FUND EXPENSE AT THIS POINT, FOLLOWED BY POLICE, FIRE, PUBLIC WORKS, AND THEN NON-DEPARTMENTAL. THAT'S GOING TO BE LARGELY DEBT SERVICE PAYMENTS. SO THOSE ARE CAPITAL PROJECTS ALREADY IN THE GROUND. AND THEN HERE ARE THE YEAR OVER YEAR EXPENDITURE. THE GENERAL FUND DID RAISE A LITTLE BIT. BUT THAT'S LARGELY GOING TO BE FOR ONE TIME EXPENSES WHICH IS ALMOST ALL THE THE ANIMAL SHELTER, MAKING SURE WE HAVE THE MONEY TO FUND THE REMAINING REMAINING COSTS OF THAT. I KNOW WE THROW AROUND THE TERM NON-DEPARTMENTAL A LOT. THAT'S NOT REALLY OBVIOUS WHAT IT IS. IT'S KIND OF GENERICALLY VAGUE. SO WE WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW WHAT GOES INTO THOSE NUMBERS. [00:25:02] AND THE DEBT SERVICE FUND AND THE WATER AND SEWER FUND. THOSE ARE LARGELY GOING TO BE DEBT PAYMENTS AND THE GENERAL FUND. THOSE ARE GOING TO BE ITEMS THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE FOR ANY ONE DEPARTMENT TO TO HAVE. THESE ARE ITEMS THAT ARE SHARED BY ALL DEPARTMENTS. SO INSURANCE, SOME LEGAL PHONE AND CABLE FOR LIKE FOUR DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS SHARE THIS BUILDING. SO INSTEAD OF JUST CHARGING IT TO ONE, IT GOES TO NON-DEPARTMENTAL. THIS IS PROBABLY THE SLIDE I'M MOST EXCITED ABOUT. DEPARTMENT HIGHLIGHTS. SO THERE IS A PART OF EVERY DEPARTMENTS BUDGET PAGE AS HIGHLIGHTS AND GOALS. AND WE HAVEN'T EVER TALKED ABOUT THIS IN THE PAST, BUT I WANTED TO GO THROUGH EACH DEPARTMENT AND I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT ONE THING THAT STOOD OUT TO ME OR SEEMED INTERESTING THAT THEY'VE DONE IN THIS PAST YEAR. SO STARTING OFF THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, THEY FINALIZED CAMPUS WEST AND THEY CONTINUE TO WORK ON BEDFORD COMMONS. THERE'S BEEN SOME SOME POSITIVE MOVEMENT THERE. CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE, THEY PROCESSED 406 PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUESTS, AND THEY DO IT ON AVERAGE IN LESS THAN A DAY. AND THAT'S THAT IS A BIG WORKLOAD THAT THEY'RE TACKLING. COMMUNICATIONS WON FIVE AWARDS FROM THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF MUNICIPAL INFORMATION OFFICERS. YOU CAN SEE THOSE OUT THERE, WHICH JUST REFLECTS THE AMAZING WORK THEY DO IT. THEY UPGRADED ALL THE IT EQUIPMENT AND CABLING AND THE NEW FIRE STATIONS. THAT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU NORMALLY THINK ABOUT, BUT THEY SPEND A LOT OF TIME OUT THERE MAKING SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE THE TECHNOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE THEY NEED HR, THEY LAUNCHED NEW WELLNESS INITIATIVES, AND THEY ALSO CREATED A FUN USE OF MENTAL HEALTH DAYS TO REWARD PEOPLE TO IMPROVE THEIR WELLNESS AND HOPEFULLY IMPROVE OUR HEALTH INSURANCE GOING FORWARD. DEVELOPMENT, THEY INCREASED THE NUMBER OF PROPERTIES AND TOTAL COMPLIANCE FROM 85% TO 90%. SO THERE WE ARE SEEING A GOOD REFLECTION OF THEIR WORK AND MAKING SURE PEOPLE ARE TAKING CARE OF THEIR PROPERTIES. FINANCE. WE LAUNCHED A NEW SOFTWARE AND WE COMPLETELY OVERHAULED OUR CHART OF ACCOUNTS AND LED THAT PROCESS. AND SHE DID AN AMAZING JOB. POLICE. THEY ACHIEVED ACCREDITATION THIS YEAR THROUGH THE TEXAS POLICE CHIEF ASSOCIATION, WHICH IS SOMETHING THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOREVER. AND IT'S AMAZING THAT THEY GOT IT ACROSS THE FINISH LINE. FIRE! THE RECENT STORY YOU MAY HAVE HEARD ABOUT THE BILATERAL FINGER THORACOSTOMY. THORACOSTOMY. SO THE HOURS OF TRAINING AND THE EQUIPMENT THAT THEY HAVE, THEY WERE ABLE TO SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE WHO WAS IN A DANGEROUS WRECK THAT THEY WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO HAD THEY NOT DONE THIS TRAINING AND LEARNED THESE NEW SKILLS. PARKS, THEY UPGRADED CENTRAL PARK AND THEY HAVE NEW LIGHTINGS THROUGHOUT OUR PARKS. RECREATION. A FOURTH FEST THIS YEAR WAS A HUGE SUCCESS. WE HAD ABOUT 30,000 PEOPLE ATTEND A PUBLIC WORKS HAS DONE A FULL METER INVENTORY, AND THEY SWEPT OVER 300 LANE MILES OF OF STREETS, COLLECTING 120 YARDS OF DEBRIS. SO THAT'S GETTING A LOT OF TRASH OFF OUR STREETS. ENGINEERING LAUNCHED A CITYWIDE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT AND DEVELOPMENT STATUS WEBSITE. SO NOW PEOPLE, IF THEY'RE CURIOUS ABOUT ANY CONSTRUCTION GOING ON, ON, THEY CAN GO AND SEE WHAT'S GOING ON THERE. LIBRARY. HEY, WE JUST BEAT OUT HURST AND EULESS IN THE SUMMER READING PROGRAM. YES. ALL RIGHT. FOR THE SENIOR CITIZEN CENTER, THEY SERVE APPROXIMATELY 1700 MEMBERS AND OFFER 30 TO 35 WEEKLY CLASSES, ALONG WITH MORE THAN 30 SPECIAL EVENTS ANNUALLY. AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, FACILITIES. THEY HAD TO RESPOND TO 700 WORK ORDERS THIS PAST YEAR, WHICH IS ABOUT ALMOST TWO A DAY THAT THEY ARE RUNNING AROUND THE CITY MAKING SURE OUR BUILDINGS ARE BEING MAINTAINED. SO THESE ARE JUST SOME AMAZING THINGS. AND I KNOW BUDGETS, A BUNCH OF NUMBERS, BUT THESE NUMBERS LEAD TO OUR DEPARTMENTS BEING ABLE TO DO SOME AMAZING THINGS FOR OUR CITY. I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR FOR INCLUDING THIS IN YEARS PAST. WE IT'S ALL BEEN ABOUT THE NUMBERS AND, IT'S JUST VERY RELIEVING. I DON'T KNOW HOW EVERYONE ELSE FEELS UP HERE, BUT I, IT'S VERY RELIEVING TO, TO, TO HAVE THE ANECDOTES HAVE STORIES AND THE SUCCESSES THAT WE THAT WE SAW THIS YEAR, BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST A BUNCH OF NUMBERS, IT'S EVERYTHING BEHIND IT AND THE HARD WORK THAT OUR EMPLOYEES PUT IN EVERY SINGLE DAY. SO THANK YOU FOR ADDING THIS, AND I HOPE GOING FORWARD, WE CAN CONTINUE THESE SUCCESS STORIES. I'M CERTAIN WE WILL. OKAY, GOOD. SO THAT IS THE MORE GENERAL OVERALL REFLECTION OF OUR FUNDS. NEXT UP IS GOING TO BE THE GENERAL FUND. BUT ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE SPECIFICS OF WHAT WE'RE FACING THERE? ANY QUESTIONS OVER ANYTHING? I THINK WE'RE ALL AWARE OF THE HURDLES THAT WE'RE FACING THROUGH TAD. YES. SO THIS IS OUR EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE TREND. THE BLACK BOX IS UNKNOWN NUMBERS. THOSE ARE PROJECTIONS. AND WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING FOR NEXT YEAR. YOU WILL SEE THE EXPENDITURES ARE ABOVE REVENUES. WE NORMALLY WANT TO SEE THAT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. BUT WE ARE FUNDING THREE A LITTLE OVER 03,000,000 IN 1 TIME EXPENDITURES THIS YEAR, [00:30:05] WHICH IS WE HAVE THE FUND BALANCE TO DO IT. AND WE'RE ABLE TO LARGELY GO TOWARDS THE ANIMAL SHELTER FOR THAT. I THINK I HAVE THE SPECIFIC NUMBER A LITTLE BIT LATER ON THE SLIDES. WHERE OUR MONEY COMES FROM. SO I TALK SO MUCH ABOUT PROPERTY TAX AND SALES TAX EARLIER, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE MOST OF OUR MONEY COMES FROM. AND OF THESE NUMBERS, PROPERTY TAX IS REALLY THE ONLY ONE WE HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER. THE REST OF THESE WERE MORE JUST GUESSING WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. WE CAN PUT IN A GOOD ENVIRONMENT FOR PEOPLE TO DEVELOP AND IN OUR CITY, BUT WE CAN'T MAKE PEOPLE COME GET PERMITS OR WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY FEES WE'RE GOING TO GET. WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE GOING TO RUN RED LIGHTS. I MEAN, IDEALLY FEWER THAN WHAT THEY'RE DOING, BUT WE DON'T HAVE MUCH CONTROL OVER THOSE REVENUE SOURCES. THIS IS THE CHANGE BY THE MAJOR REVENUE SOURCES. YOU MAY NOTICE FOR PROPERTY TAXES THE THE NUMBER IS LESS THAN WHAT WE'RE SAYING WE'RE GAINING FROM NEW TAXES. PART OF THAT IS BECAUSE IN ADDITION TO NOT REAPPRAISING HOMES, THE COUNTY HAS NOT BEEN FIGHTING PEOPLE SUING THEM VERY HARD. SO WE'VE BEEN REFUNDING A LOT MORE TAXES RECENTLY THAN WE HAD IN YEARS PAST. SO WE WERE PLANNING FOR THAT GOING FORWARD THAT WE MAY HAVE SOME MORE REFUNDS OF TAX REVENUE WE'VE ALREADY RECEIVED. GOING FORWARD. SO THAT'S ONE OF THE BIGGER CHANGES, SALES TAX THAT IS IN ANTICIPATION FOR SOME OF OUR NEW DEVELOPMENTS COMING IN. WE ARE, WE ARE HOPEFUL THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO HIT THAT NUMBER. FRANCHISE TAXES HAVE JUST BEEN SLOWLY FALLING, FALLING. THEY HAVE THE UTILITIES HAVE DONE A GOOD JOB OF GOING STRAIGHT TO THE STATE TO GET WHAT THEY OWE US LOWERED. SO THOSE HAVE JUST BEEN INCREASED DECREASING YEAR AFTER YEAR. CHARGES FOR SERVICES MAY STAND OUT TO YOU. THAT IS LARGELY AMBULANCE FEES. THOSE HAVE BEEN GOING UP RECENTLY AND WE'RE PLANNING ON THOSE GOING UP GOING FORWARD. INTERGOVERNMENTAL IS LARGELY HEB ISD INCREASING THEIR COVERAGE OF OUR OFFICERS THERE. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THESE REVENUES? YES. MAYOR PRO TEM DAWKINS. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. SO FRANCHISE TAXES. IS THAT IS THAT REVENUE CAPS? I'M THINKING ABOUT THE PEG FUND, BUT WITH THE FRANCHISE TAXES THEMSELVES FROM UTILITIES, WE CAN USE THAT IN THE GENERAL FUND. ANYTHING. OKAY. THANK YOU. YES. AND THEN WHERE OUR MONEY GOES, DEPARTMENT WISE, THE MAJORITY OF MONEY DOES GO TO POLICE AND FIRE. THEN SOME OF OUR OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND THEN SOME OF OUR SUPPORT DEPARTMENTS, GENERAL GOVERNMENT. THAT'S GOING TO BE PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE ON THIS FLOOR OF THIS BUILDING SUPPORT SERVICES IS LARGELY GOING TO BE PEOPLE OVER IN THE CITY HALL ANNEX, AND THEN ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES IS THE PEOPLE IN THESE TWO BUILDINGS THAT AREN'T THAT THAT'S GOING TO BE THE TEAMS I MANAGE. AND THEN WHERE THE MONEY GOES. SO IN ORDER TO MAKE ANY CUTS TO THIS TO OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET, IT'S ALMOST CERTAINLY GOING TO HAVE TO AFFECT PEOPLE. PEOPLE ARE 74% OF OUR BUDGET CONTRACTUAL SERVICES. THAT'S ALSO KIND OF PART OF THAT AS PEOPLE AS WELL. WE DON'T HAVE OUR OWN CITY ATTORNEY. SO THAT'S GOING TO BE A CONTRACTUAL SERVICE. WE DO SOME PLAN REVIEW THAT WE'VE OUTSOURCED. THOSE ARE GOING TO BE PEOPLE HOURS THAT ARE WORKING. THEY'RE JUST NOT DIRECT EMPLOYEES. AND YOU CAN SEE KIND OF THE PARTS OF THE BUDGET WE HAVE MUCH CONTROL OVER ARE PRETTY SMALL. SUPPLY IS 3% OF OUR OVERALL BUDGET, A CONTRACTUAL SERVICES THAT'S A BIGGER PERCENT. A LOT OF THAT SOFTWARE AS WELL. THAT'S KIND OF JUST WHAT'S NEEDED TO DO OUR JOBS THESE DAYS. YES. COUNCIL MEMBER SABOL. SO YOUR CONTRACTUAL SERVICES ALSO INCLUDE LIKE YOUR APARTMENT INSPECTORS, IF IT'S OUTSIDE THE, IF THEY'RE NOT PAID BY OUR HR TEAM AND ARE WE DISCONTINUING SOME OF THAT OR ARE WE JUST CONTINUING WITH ANOTHER COMPANY OR HOW IS THAT THIS YEAR? SO AS FAR AS INSPECTORS GO, ALL OF THAT IS CONTINUE AS IS. SO ALL OF OUR CODE OFFICERS THAT INSPECT MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES, THAT IS ALL IN HOUSE AND WILL STAY THAT WAY. WHERE WE USE SAFE BUILT FOR OUR OUTSIDE CONTRACTORS IS FOR THE BUILDING INSPECTIONS PIECE. AND THAT WILL ALSO REMAIN THE SAME BECAUSE WE ARE BRINGING A BUILDING OFFICIAL IN HOUSE. SOME OF THE INSPECTIONS WILL BE ABLE TO BE DONE BY HIM, BUT THAT'S NOT GOING TO BE IT WON'T BE A FULL REPLACEMENT. SO IT'LL BE KIND OF A 50/50 ON THAT. AND SO IS THAT FIGURE THAT 12% HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR? ARE WE PAYING QUITE A BIT MORE FOR CONTRACTUAL SERVICES? OH IN GENERAL. YEAH. WE ARE ACTUALLY PAYING LESS IN CONTRACTUAL SERVICES THAN WE DID THE YEAR BEFORE. YES. HAVE WE BEEN ON CONTRACT WITH THESE COMPANIES FOR TWO YEARS NOW? WE HAVE. YES. THANK YOU. YES. YES. DONOVAN. BRANDON. [00:35:09] TRANSFERS. DID YOU MENTION THAT? WHAT ARE TRANSFERS? YOU MENTIONED IT. I ZONED OUT. NO, THAT IS FINE. WE MOVE A LOT OF MONEY INTO EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT FUNDS. IT REPLACEMENT FUNDS. SO THAT'S JUST BASICALLY EARMARKING IT FOR FURTHER FUTURE MAINTENANCE. THAT'S THE MAJORITY OF THE TRANSFERS. OH, AND $2.5 MILLION IS MOVING OUR MONEY TO THE CAPITAL FUND FOR THE ANIMAL SHELTER. OKAY. THANK YOU. THE FAR RIGHT COLUMN YOU'RE GOING TO SEE IS THE CHANGE IN OUR RECURRING EXPENSES. YOU'RE GOING TO SEE MOST OF THAT IS GOING TO PEOPLE 1.5 MILLION OF THAT AT THE BOTTOM 600 000. THOSE ARE LEASES. SO THAT'S UNDER NEW ACCOUNTING RULES. WE HAVE TO TREAT THE AXON CONTRACT AND THE STRYKER CONTRACT AS LEASES. SO THOSE ARE JUST THOSE TWO BIG FIRE AND POLICE PURCHASES ARE GOING TO BE THERE. WE DID MOVE HOW WE PAY OUR ELECTRIC LIGHTS TO THE STREET MAINTENANCE FUND. THAT'S THE 343,000 SAVINGS. BUT WE ALSO WE ENTERED INTO A NEW ELECTRIC CO-OP THIS PAST YEAR AND ARE LARGELY. OUR ELECTRIC BILL FELL WITH THAT NEW CO-OP. SO THAT'S BEEN PAYING OFF DIVIDENDS EARLY. OKAY. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE IT BROKEN DOWN BY THE DEPARTMENT LEVELS. YOU CAN SEE MOST OF THE APARTMENTS STAYED WITHIN THE 3.5% INFLATION THAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED OVERALL, WHICH I'M PROUD OF ALL OF THEM. SOME OF THE ONES THAT DIDN'T GENERAL GOVERNMENT, THEY'RE FACING SOME INCREASED ELECTION COSTS THIS COMING YEAR, WHICH DROVE A GOOD, GOOD PORTION OF THAT PERCENTAGE CHANGE SUPPORT SERVICES. SO THOSE ARE SOME SOFTWARE. SOFTWARE CONTRACTS HAVE BUILT IN INCREASES NORMALLY ABOUT 5% IN THEM, WHICH ARE HARD TO COMBAT. ANY OTHER SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ON THESE PUBLIC WORKS? PUBLIC WORKS. THAT'S GOING TO BE THE UTILITY THE UTILITY ONE THAT WAS THE BILL THAT USED TO BE OUT OF THERE. GOTCHA. OKAY. AND I WANTED TO REMIND YOU, WE'RE ABOUT TO ENTER IN SOME TO THE BIG CHANGES. THE FIRST ONE WAS THE AXON PROGRAM THAT YOU ALL HEARD ABOUT FROM POLICE LAST LAST MONTH, MAYBE LAST MONTH, WHICH IS JUST REALLY JUST A NEEDED PROGRAM TO GET THEM NEW NEW EQUIPMENT AND NEW NEW GEAR. AND THEN THE NEXT ONE WAS THE STRYKER PLAN THAT WE ENTERED INTO LAST YEAR. WE USED ONE TIME FUNDING TO COVER THE FIRST YEAR, BUT THIS IS THE YEAR WE NEED TO START ABSORBING THAT INTO OUR NORMAL RECURRING BUDGET. THESE NEXT TWO SLIDES REALLY OUTLINE THE THE MAJOR CHANGES THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE IN THE BUDGET STARTING OFF IS JUST FUNDING THE CURRENT STEPS. THEN THE NEW HEALTH INSURANCE RATES 250,000. WE DID HAVE SOME SAVINGS WITH NEW WORKERS COMP RATES. WE ALSO HAD WE TOOK A HARD LOOK AT OUR LIABILITY INSURANCE TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING ON THAT WAS INSURED AT APPROPRIATE LEVELS. WE WERE ABLE TO LOWER THAT BILL A FAIR AMOUNT BY BY TAKING THAT HARD LOOK, TMRS RATE CHANGES AS OUR CITY, OUR EMPLOYEE POPULATION CHANGES, THAT SOMETIMES UPDATES YEAR AFTER YEAR. SO THAT GETS WRAPPED UP IN THE PERSONNEL, THE PUBLIC SAFETY STEP PLAN. SO THAT'S THE 2% COLA, BUT ONLY FOR MOVING THE STEPS FOR POLICE AND FIRE. THEN IT'S GOING TO BE THE COLA FOR THE REMAINING EMPLOYEES ABOUT 270,000. AND THEN WE ARE DOING A COMPENSATION STUDY AND COMPRESSION ADJUSTMENTS. SO THIS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT CERTAIN POSITIONS ARE IN LINE WITH THE COMPETING AREAS, AND ALSO SOMETIMES AN EMPLOYEE AND A SUPERVISOR END UP ONLY LIKE A PAY GRADE APART. AND IT'S MORE APPROPRIATE FOR THEM TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF SPACE BETWEEN THEM SO THAT THAT'S WHAT THAT TAKES CARE OF. WE HAVE SOME ONE TIMES FOR PEOPLE. THAT'S GOING TO BE THE VACATION BUYBACK PROGRAM. THIS IS MONEY THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO PAY OUT AT SOME POINT. WE'RE JUST GIVING PEOPLE THE OPTION TO PAY IT OUT. NOW WE ALSO HAVE SOME EARLY RETIREMENT OPTIONS. THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN HERE FOR A LONG TIME, AND WE LOVE THEM, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO RETIRE THIS YEAR IF THEY WANT TO. WE DID REMOVE OUT-OF-STATE TRAVEL. THAT WAS A SAVINGS FLEET. MAINTENANCE IS JUST GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE. SO THAT'S WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE'RE MAINTAINING THE THINGS WE HAVE. WE'RE OVERSPENDING THOSE ITEMS. SO NOW WE'RE JUST GOING TO APPROPRIATELY FUND THEM BECAUSE WE KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. WE DID FIND SOME REDUCTIONS FOR SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS. THAT'S 11,000. AND THEN WE THE BIG LAST BIG CHUNK WAS MOVING THE STREET LIGHTS. SO THESE ARE ALL THE THE CHANGES THAT AFFECT MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS. AND THEN THE NEXT SLIDE IS GOING TO BE SPECIFIC DEPARTMENT SUPPLEMENTAL REQUESTS THAT WE HAVE FUNDED IN THIS BUDGET. WE HAVE A ONE TIME AMOUNT FOR EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP COACHING. [00:40:03] WE HAVE A ONGOING AMOUNT FOR NEW COUNCIL AGENDA SOFTWARE, WHICH I'M PERSONALLY VERY EXCITED ABOUT AND HOPE MAKES THE BUDGET WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON. WORD DOCS AND PDFS AND EMAILING AND BACK AND FORTH. THIS WOULD REALLY CENTRALIZE AND SMOOTH THAT PROCESS OUT. DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY PARTNER. THAT'S GOING TO BE A ONE TIME COST TO HELP US GET OUR WEBSITE UP TO THE NEW ADA CODE. ANYONE NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO GET THE INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE, AND THIS CONSULTANT WILL HELP MAKE SURE THAT'S THE CASE. RIGHT NOW, THIS IS KIND OF ONE OF THE THINGS I'M PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT IS HAVING MONEY RESERVED FOR LEGAL ACTION AND DEMOLITION OF SUBSTANDARD PROPERTIES. RIGHT NOW, WE CAN FIND PEOPLE ALL WE WANT, BUT IF THEY DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THE LEGAL ACTION NECESSARY, THEY MAY NOT MAKE THE CHANGES THEY NEED. THIS MAKES SURE WE HAVE THE MONEY THAT WE CAN FOLLOW THIS PROCESS FROM BEGINNING TO END. WE MAY NOT NEED TO USE IT. I HOPE WE DON'T NEED TO USE IT, BUT KNOWING THAT THIS KIND OF STICK IS AVAILABLE WILL HOPEFULLY MAKE PEOPLE TAKE THE CARROT AND TAKE CARE OF THEIR HOMES. THE NEXT TWO ARE IT RELATED. JUST TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE SOME REDUNDANCIES SET UP, THOSE ARE GOING TO BE ONE TIME COSTS, WHICH ARE A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO FUND OUT OF FUND BALANCE. NEXT UP IS THE BODY WORN CAMERAS, WHICH WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, THE ANIMAL SHELTER RENOVATION, WHICH WE'VE DISCUSSED. THERE'S ALSO THE SECOND YEAR OF A PPE PURCHASE FOR FIRE. WE STARTED THAT LAST YEAR AS A ONE TIME. THIS IS THE SECOND ONE TIME AND THEY SHOULD BE UP TO UP TO SNUFF NEXT YEAR. THE NEXT IS STRYKER, WHICH WAS APPROVED LAST YEAR BUT IS COMING ON TO THE GENERAL FUND. AND THEN FINALLY WE HAVE SOME TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION AS A ONE TIME FOR FACILITIES. YES. MAYOR PRO TEM. DAWKINS. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. SO WITH THE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE DID WE HAVE AN ONGOING COST THAT BASICALLY THIS IS NEW? LIKE WE, OUR CURRENT SOFTWARE, WE, WE PAID FOR IT ONGOING AND IT'S IN THE END OF LIFE OR THIS IS COMPLETELY NEW, COMPLETELY NEW. WE DID NOT HAVE A SOFTWARE THAT WE WERE USING PREVIOUSLY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. SO PREVIOUSLY WE WERE JUST EMAILING BACK AND FORTH ABOUT PDFS AND AGENDA FILES AND THAT KIND OF THING. AND SO THIS WILL PUT IT ALL IN A CENTRALIZED LOCATION, HOPING SOMEONE REVIEWED IT. BUT NOW THIS ENSURES THAT EVERY PERSON IN THE DEPARTMENT WHO NEEDS TO GET EYES ON IT WILL GET THEIR EYES ON IT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO THAT EXPEDITES THINGS MAKES US MORE EFFICIENT GOING FORWARD. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. YES. COUNCIL MEMBER. SABOL. TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION AND FACILITIES. SO THAT IS WHAT TYPE OF TRAINING IS THAT? OH IT'S GETTING A SPECIAL CERTIFICATION. CHRIS. MARK. YEAH. SO WHAT WE DID AS PART OF JUST LOOKING AT THE FACILITIES BUDGET AND SEEING WHERE WE COULD SAVE SOME MONEY ON SMALLER ISSUES WITH LIKE HVAC OR PLUMBING OR ELECTRICAL, WE'RE CALLING OUT A COMPANY. WHAT WE HAVE DECIDED ACTUALLY, CHRIS HAD THE IDEA OF WHAT SEND THE THREE TEXTS THAT WE HAVE TO TARRANT COUNTY GET THEIR CERTIFICATIONS, AND NOW WE'RE ABLE TO ACTUALLY DO A GOOD MAJORITY OF THE WORK. ONCE WE GET OUT OF TECHNICAL A HIGHER TECHNICAL SPOT, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CALL THEM OUT. BUT I THINK THE $9,000 IS IS GOING TO SAVE US MONEY IN THE LONG RUN. SO THE GOAL IS TO TO DO ONE STAFF MEMBER PLUMBING, ONE ELECTRICAL AND ONE HVAC. SO THAT WILL GIVE THEM CERTIFICATION. SO LIKE, IT SEEMS LIKE WHEN PEOPLE GET TRAINING, LIKE IN DOING, THEY'RE NOT READY TO GO, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE TO GO DO INTERNSHIPS AND STUFF. SO I ASSUME THAT THESE GUYS HAVE GOT SOME SKILLS THAT THEY REALLY ARE NOT CERTIFIED FOR. SO THEY REALLY CAN'T TOUCH IT. SO THIS WILL GIVE THEM THE CERTIFICATIONS AND THE TRAINING NECESSARY TO MAKE THEM ABLE TO DO THESE. YES, YES. OKAY. I'M NOT SAYING THEY HAVEN'T TOUCHED IT. BUT YES, THAT WILL GIVE THEM YEAH. [LAUGHTER] I'M KIDDING. BUT NO, I THINK IN THE LONG RUN, WHEN WE, I CAN'T REMEMBER THE, THE AMOUNT THAT WE IN LOW LEVEL THINGS THAT WE HAD TO CALL A COMPANY OUT FOR. AND WE FELT THAT THE THIS ONGOING OR, THIS, THIS EXPENSE WAS WORTH IT. ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ON GENERAL FUND SUPPLEMENTAL. OKAY. THAT IS THE GENERAL FUND. OKAY. NEXT UP, WE'RE GOING TO SEE THE LONG RANGE FORECAST. THIS JUST GIVES US A GENERAL IDEA IF WE'RE GOING TO BE IN A GOOD SPOT MOVING FORWARD WITH THE RATES WE'RE PROPOSING. [00:45:01] YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'RE THE FOURTH LINE THAT'S RED. THAT'S GENERALLY WE WANT TO AVOID THAT. IT IS GOING TO BE RED EVERY OTHER YEAR FOR ACTUALLY A VERY SPECIFIC REASON. THOSE ARE THE NO REAPPRAISAL YEARS. THOSE ARE GOING TO BE PROBABLY TOUGHER TO GET EXTRA REVENUE. SO WE'RE JUST TRYING TO PLAN FORWARD FOR THAT. BUT IN THE APPRAISAL YEARS, WE ARE IN THE BLACK. OKAY. OKAY. WE'RE GOING INTO INDIVIDUAL FUNDS NOW, DEBT SERVICE FUND. THIS IS GOING TO BE ABOUT 26% OF OUR OVERALL TAX RATE IS GOING TO GO TO DEBT SERVICE. OUR DEBT IS LARGELY UNCHANGED FROM LAST YEAR. THIS LISTS OUT EVERY ONE OF OUR EXISTING BONDS. THIS IS OUR OVERALL DEBT SCHEDULE. THE BLUE ONE IS PROBABLY THE ONE THAT'S GOING TO BE MOST APPLICABLE TO GENERAL GOVERNMENT. THAT'S GOING TO BE OUR GENERAL GOVERNMENT BONDS. AND YOU CAN SEE THAT'S A PRETTY FLAT LINE FOR THE NEAR FUTURE. WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY TO ISSUE NEW DEBT UNTIL ABOUT 2038, UNLESS THE PROPERTY TAX VALUES GROW. SO AS TAD DOES THEIR JOB, THAT DOES OPEN UP A LITTLE BIT OF FLEXIBILITY TO FUND SOME OF THESE BIGGER PROJECTS THAT WE KNOW ARE AROUND THE CORNER. OKAY. NEXT UP ARE ENTERPRISE FUNDS. ENTERPRISE FUNDS ARE THE ONES THE FUNDS THE CITY KIND OF TREATS AS A BUSINESS. IDEALLY, EVERY DOLLAR COMING IN IS GOING TO FUND ONLY THIS BUSINESS, AND THEY'RE ONLY COLLECTING ENOUGH DOLLARS IN ORDER TO DO THEIR JOB. SO WATER AND SEWER IS GOING TO BE THE BIGGEST PORTION OF THIS. AND WE DO HAVE A PRESENTATION GOING MORE IN DEPTH TO THOSE RATES. BUT THIS IS KIND OF THE BIGGER PICTURE. BUDGET OVERVIEW. ALMOST OUR ENTIRE REVENUE STREAM COMES FROM THE PEOPLE'S WATER BILLS. WHAT WE'RE CHARGING PEOPLE FOR WATER AND SEWER SERVICE. OUR EXPENDITURES ARE ALMOST ALL THIRD PARTY EXPENDITURES. THOSE ARE GOING TO BE SEWER TREATMENT AND WATER PURCHASE DEBT SERVICE. YOU CAN THINK OF THAT AS ALL THE PIPES WE HAVE IN THE GROUND. AND THEN A 15% OF OUR BUDGET IS GOING TO BE OUR PUBLIC WORKS TEAM THAT'S OUT THERE IN WATER FOR OUR WATER AND SEWER TEAM. THAT'S A VERY SMALL PART OF THIS OVERALL THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE CONTROL OVER FOR WHAT WE'RE BUDGETING YEAR AFTER YEAR. WE DID WANT TO OUTLINE THOSE CHANGES. THEIR EMPLOYEES ALONG WITH THE REST OF US. THEY GET THE SAME 2% THAT EVERYONE'S GOING TO BE GETTING. THEY HAVE THE SAME VACATION BUYBACK OPTION, BUT THEN THEY DO HAVE THAT $2 MILLION IN ANTICIPATED EXTRA CHARGES FROM TRA FOR WATER AND SEWER. WE DID INCREASE THE FRANCHISE FEE TO THE GENERAL FUND THIS PAST YEAR AS THEIR BUDGET GROWS. THE FRANCHISE FEE IS SUPPOSED TO BE A PERCENTAGE OF THAT, SO WHENEVER IT GROWS, THAT PERCENTAGE WOULD ALSO GROW AND THAT TRANSFERS OVER. YES. MAYOR PRO TEM DAWKINS. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. SO THE THE SEWER SERVICE THOSE ARE OUR OBLIGATIONS, BUT THE SERVICE BELONGS TO OTHER ENTITIES. SO THERE'S A SMALL PORTION OF OUR TOWN IN HURST THAT WE BILL, BUT THEY'RE SERVING THEM LIKE SORT OF LIKE WHERE THE PIPES LINED UP. YEAH. WE'RE NOT JUST GIVING THEM MONEY FOR NOTHING. IT'S JUST IT'S A WEIRD, WEIRD SETUP. OKAY. THANK YOU. THEY'RE GOING TO BE A LOT MORE DETAIL ON THESE RATES IN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES, BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY PORTION HAD THIS. RATES ARE PROPOSED TO GO UP. THE LITTLE BOX ON THE RIGHT SHOWS YOU A REGULAR SUMMER BILL THAT YOU COULD EXPECT MAYBE $11 MORE, DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH YOU'RE WATERING DURING THE SUMMER. THIS IS ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY A PASS THROUGH FROM TRA. THESE WOULD BE THE NEW RATES. EACH RATE TIER WOULD BE GOING UP. THE LOWEST TIER WOULD BE GOING FROM 586 TO 659. AND THEN WE HAVE NEWGEN HERE TO SHOW US THE COMPARE WHERE WE STAND WITH OTHER CITIES IN OUR COMMUNITY. THE RATE STUDY THAT THEY DID, AND THEY CAN SHOW THE PERCENTAGE OF OUR RATES ARE GOING UP. SO CHRIS, IF YOU COULD COME UP. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. WELL, GOOD EVENING, MAYOR COUNCIL CHRIS ECKERT WITH NEWGEN, PLEASURE TO SEE YOU AGAIN. YOU KNOW WHY I'M HERE. RATES ARE GOING UP. SO AGAIN, NOT TO NOT TO BELABOR THE POINT, BUT A LOT OF THIS IS DRIVEN REALLY MOST OF IT IS DRIVEN BY INCREASES THAT YOU'RE SEEING IN WHOLESALE EXPENSES. SO HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AS WE GO THROUGH THIS. AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE WATER AND SEWER FUND, WE WANT TO LOOK AT OUR OVERALL REVENUE SUFFICIENCY. ARE WE GENERATING ENOUGH REVENUE? WE LOOK AT OUR RESERVES. WE HAVE ENOUGH IN THE BANK TO PAY OUR EXPENSES IN THE EVENT THAT WATER USE WERE TO FALL. YOU SEE THERE DAYS, CASH ON HAND. WE WANT TO MAINTAIN THAT 90 DAYS CASH ON HAND POLICY FROM A DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE STANDPOINT, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PAY OUR DEBT AND MAINTAIN OUR CREDIT POSITION. [00:50:02] SO ALL THE RATES THAT YOU SEE PROPOSED TONIGHT ARE ALL DESIGNED TO DO THAT. AS YOU SEE AT THE BOTTOM, THE REAL DRIVER IN RATES THIS YEAR ARE THE INCREASES THAT WE'RE SEEING FROM TRA. YOU'VE SEEN THESE ANNUAL COST NUMBERS ALREADY. WE'VE BROKEN IT DOWN TO AN EFFECTIVE RATE. AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT. THE MAJORITY OF YOUR BUDGET REALLY IS PURCHASED WATER EXPENSE AND PURCHASED SEWER TREATMENT EXPENSE. SO AGAIN, THAT REALLY IS THE DRIVER THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AS WE LOOK AT THE OVERALL COMBINED UTILITY PERFORMANCE. THAT TOP CHART THERE. THAT'S OUR REVENUE SUFFICIENCY. YOU SEE IF WE DID NOT CHANGE RATES WE WOULD BE IN A SLIGHTLY REVENUE INSUFFICIENT POSITION. BUT WHAT I WANT TO NOTE FOR YOU IS GOING FORWARD INTO THE FUTURE. YOU SEE THOSE THOSE INCREASES IN COST ARE STARTING TO GET LARGER. THAT'S BASED ON TRA'S PROJECTIONS. RIGHT NOW. WE ARE ANTICIPATING SEEING LARGER INCREASES IN THE FUTURE. WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS. WE SET RATES YEAR BY YEAR BASED ON WHAT WE NEED. WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN THOSE FUTURE YEARS. BUT I DO WANT TO PREPARE YOU. YOU MAY SEE SOME LARGER INCREASES AS I'M AS I'M BACK WITH YOU IN THE FUTURE. BUT AGAIN, SLIGHTLY REVENUE INSUFFICIENT THAT DAYS CASH ON HAND. IF WE INCURRED ALL OF THE COSTS THAT WE ANTICIPATE WE WOULD INCUR WITHOUT ADJUSTING RATES, WE COULD FALL BELOW THAT RESERVE POSITION. WE DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN. SO AGAIN, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SEEING THERE. THAT POINTS US TO WE NEED A RATE ADJUSTMENT. THAT BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CHART. DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE. WE'RE IN A GOOD POSITION RIGHT NOW. YOUR YOUR UTILITIES ARE IN A SOLID FINANCIAL POSITION. THIS RATE INCREASE IS SIMPLY DESIGNED TO MAINTAIN THAT GOING FORWARD. SO WITH THAT, WHAT ARE WE PROPOSING? AGAIN IT'S ABOUT A 5.5% OVERALL REVENUE INCREASE. NOW THAT'S THE THAT'S THE FUND REVENUE INCREASE. THIS WILL VARY TO THE CUSTOMER BASED ON THEIR OVERALL USE. THE WAY WE DESIGN THE RATE IS WE WANT TO KEEP THAT INCREASE IN THE MINIMUM BILL AS SMALL AS WE CAN. AND YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THAT IN JUST A SECOND. WE PUSH THAT REVENUE RECOVERY AND WE PUSH THAT INCREASE TO THE VOLUMETRIC CHARGE SUCH THAT THOSE THAT ARE USING MORE PAY MORE, THEY'RE THE ONES CAUSING US TO INCUR THAT COST. SO AS YOU USE MORE WATER, YOU WILL SEE A HIGHER WATER BILL. AND YOU'VE ALREADY SEEN SOME OF THOSE NUMBERS THERE. BUT AGAIN, UNDER THIS PLAN, IT IS ANTICIPATED WE'LL STILL MEET. THAT REQUIRED CASH, CASH LEVEL, THE RESERVE LEVEL AND OUR DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE REMAINS SOLID. SO GETTING INTO WHAT THIS MEANS FOR A CUSTOMER RIGHT NOW, THIS IS A SUMMER WATER BILL. AVERAGE SUMMER WATER BILL, 11,100 GALLONS OF WATER, 5900 GALLONS OF WASTEWATER. THAT'S BECAUSE WE LOOK AT A WINTER AVERAGE ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE. WE DON'T WANT TO PENALIZE SOMEONE THROUGH THEIR SEWER BILL FOR USING THAT WATER FOR IRRIGATION. BUT THAT BILL RIGHT NOW $134.48 OUR PROPOSAL IS TO TAKE THAT TO $145.26 POINTING DOWN THERE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CHART, THAT'S A TOTAL MONTHLY INCREASE ON A HIGHER SUMMER BILL, $10.79, $10.23 OF THAT IS A DIRECT PASS THROUGH OF THAT TRA EXPENSE YOU SEE THERE. THE INCREASE FOR THE CITY COSTS. THAT'S $0.56 ON THAT BILL. LOOKING AT THAT WINTER BILL, 5900 GALLONS OF WATER, SAME ON SEWER 104. IS THAT MONTHLY BILL RIGHT NOW. THAT WOULD GO TO ONE 1099. THAT'S A $6.99 MONTHLY INCREASE ON THAT LOWER WINTER BILL, $6.43 OF THAT IS ALL ASSOCIATED WITH THAT PASS THROUGH. SO AGAIN, THAT REALLY IS THE KEY DRIVER AS WE LOOK AT THE INCREASE THIS YEAR. I SHOW YOU THESE CHARTS EVERY YEAR. I SAY THE SAME THING EVERY YEAR AS WE LOOK AT OUR COMPARATOR GROUP OF CITIES. THIS IS NOT APPLES TO APPLES. EVERY COMMUNITY IS DIFFERENT. IF YOU LOOKED AT MY CALENDAR RIGHT NOW, YOU WOULD SEE WE ARE DOING PRACTICALLY THE SAME PRESENTATION THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE METROPLEX. SO WHILE WE'RE COMPARING YOUR FUTURE PROJECTED BILL, WE ARE COMPARING THAT TO EVERYBODY ELSE'S BILLS TODAY. IF WE RERUN THIS IN OCTOBER OR JANUARY, IT PROBABLY WON'T HAVE CHANGED THAT MUCH IN TERMS OF RELATIVE POSITION. WE WERE ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT THAT EARLIER. I THINK IN THE MANY NUMBER OF YEARS I'VE BEEN WITH YOU, YOU REALLY HAVEN'T CHANGED POSITION ON THIS CHART OVERALL. BUT WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS A COMPARISON OF THAT MINIMUM BILL. AS I SAID, WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP THAT INCREASE IN THE MINIMUM BILL AS SMALL AS POSSIBLE. THAT HELPS US PROTECT OUR LOWER VOLUME CUSTOMERS WHO ARE OFTEN OUR FIXED INCOME OR POTENTIALLY OUR LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS. SO WE WANT TO KEEP THAT INCREASE SMALL. YOU SEE HERE ON THAT INCREASE, $39.93 OF THAT MINIMUM BILL GOING TO $40.49. SO JUST A VERY SMALL INCREASE THERE TO COVER THE COST OF THE CITY'S INCURRING. AS WE LOOK AT THOSE SUMMER AND WINTER BILLS, THIS IS THAT SUMMER BILL. 13448 GOING TO 14526. AS I SAID, THERE ARE SOME CITIES ON HERE THAT I WILL BE WITH IN THE COMING WEEKS. [00:55:05] THEY'RE ALSO GOING UP. I DON'T HAVE THEIR INCREASE SHOWN HERE. SO AGAIN, YOU'RE WHILE WE SHOW YOUR RELATIVE POSITION CHANGING, I SERIOUSLY DOUBT THAT'S ACTUALLY GOING TO HAPPEN. BUT AGAIN, THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE FOR THAT SUMMER BILL ON THE WINTER BILL, THAT 5900 GALLONS, 104 GOING TO 111. NOT A LOT OF CHANGE HERE. THE LAST COMPARISON I HAVE FOR YOU TONIGHT IS THE COMMERCIAL COMPARISON. RIGHT NOW, AN AVERAGE COMMERCIAL BILL. IF WE TOOK THE ENTIRE COMMERCIAL CLASS OVER ALL OF THE COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS, 38,500 GALLONS GOING FROM $514.64, TO $564.09, YOU SEE A LARGE JUMP HERE. WHAT'S DRIVING THIS? AGAIN, THIS IS HIGHER VOLUME USE. THIS IS REFLECTING THE HIGHER LEVEL OF EXPENSE FOR PURCHASE WATER FROM TRA. SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THAT JUMP AGAIN. WE'LL RERUN THIS. WE'LL CONTINUE TO WATCH THIS GOING FORWARD. I HONESTLY DON'T EXPECT FOR YOU TO CHANGE THAT MUCH ON THIS CHART. BUT AGAIN IT'S THE VOLUME LEVEL THAT'S DRIVING THIS. OKAY. SO JUST JUST TO REITERATE THOSE COMMUNITIES, OBVIOUSLY IT SEEMS LIKE IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S A BIG JUMP, OF COURSE, AND THIS IS WHAT IT IS TODAY. DO MANY OF THESE COMMUNITIES, SOUTHLAKE, FLOWER MOUND, NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, YOU DO THEY HAVE THE SAME RATE STRUCTURE THAT WE DO NOW WHERE WHERE IT'S BASED ON VOLUME. RATE. YES. MOST COMMUNITIES HAVE A TWO PART RATE STRUCTURE, A FIXED CHARGE AND VOLUMETRIC CHARGE. AND MOST COMMUNITIES DO HAVE AN INCLINING BLOCK RATE OR A CONSERVATION BASED RATE. SO THAT IS THE PREDOMINANT TYPE OF STRUCTURE IN THIS AREA. OKAY. SO YOU'RE IF WE RAN THESE NUMBERS A FEW MONTHS FROM NOW, GENERALLY SPEAKING, PROBABLY WE WOULD OUR POSITION WOULD PROBABLY REMAIN THE SAME AS IT HAS BEEN. YOU'RE GOING TO STAY FAIRLY CONSISTENT BECAUSE AGAIN, MOST OF THE OTHER COMMUNITIES ON THIS LIST ALSO RECEIVE SERVICE FROM TRA. SO THE SAME INCREASE THAT YOU'RE RECEIVING, THEY'RE RECEIVING THAT SAME INCREASE AS WELL. SO AGAIN, IF YOU'RE NOT PASSING THAT THROUGH TO YOUR CUSTOMERS, ALL YOU'RE REDUCING, ALL YOU'RE DOING IS REDUCING THE FUNDS YOU HAVE INTERNALLY TO MANAGE YOUR SYSTEM. OR A CITY MAY CHOOSE TO DRAW DOWN ON FUND BALANCE TO, TO FUND THAT. THAT'S A ONE TIME THING THAT'S NOT GOING TO GET YOU DOWN THE ROAD. THAT'S NOT GOING TO MAINTAIN THE FINANCIAL POSITION OF YOUR UTILITY. ALL RIGHT. OTHER QUESTIONS I CAN ANSWER FOR YOU THIS EVENING. ALL RIGHT. ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS OVER WATER RATES, CHRIS? SO IT'S ALWAYS, ALWAYS A PLEASURE HAVING YOU. IT SEEMS LIKE IT IS THE SAME STORY, WHICH IS WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY IT'S A GOOD IT'S A GOOD THING BECAUSE MOST OF IT THAT LIKE, AS YOU MENTIONED, IS A TRA PASS THROUGH. IT IS JUST MAINTAINING OUR SYSTEMS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE. WE'RE MEETING DEMANDS, HAVING A LOT OF CASH ON HAND. OUR POSITION REMAINS MIDDLE OF THE PACK FROM WHAT IT SEEMS, LOOKING AT THE CHARTS COMPARED TO CITIES IN NORTH TEXAS OR IN OUR REGION. AND SO LIKE I SAID, IT'S, IT'S ALWAYS THE SAME BUT. SAME SONG, DIFFERENT VERSE. BUT I WOULD TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO APPLAUD YOU AS A COUNCIL BECAUSE THE FACT THAT YOU CAN COME IN AND HAVE FAIRLY MODERATE RATE INCREASES EVERY YEAR SPEAKS TO WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO MANAGE YOUR UTILITY AND KEEP IT IN A GOOD POSITION. I SPEND A LOT OF TIME WITH COUNCILS IN OTHER PORTIONS OF THE STATE, AND I'VE SEEN SOME SIGNIFICANT INCREASES. SO THE FACT THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO HOLD THE LINE ON SOME FAIRLY MODERATE INCREASES, AGAIN, I THINK YOU'RE DOING JUST AN EXCELLENT JOB. I APPRECIATE THAT. APPRECIATE YOUR FEEDBACK, CHRIS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. APPRECIATE IT. YES. OUR GOAL IS CERTAINLY TO AVOID THE YEARS. WE HAVE TO GO UP LIKE 20% BECAUSE THAT IS THAT IS A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM. OKAY. THESE ARE JUST OUTLINING THE RATES FOR EACH PART. THAT IS JUST FOR POSTERITY. IF ANYONE WANTS TO GO AND LOOK AT THOSE. BUT WE'RE NOT GOING TO WALK THROUGH THEM. YES. SO ANOTHER PORTION OF THE WATER AND SEWER IS THE WATER AND SEWER REPAIR FUND. EVERY YEAR WE MOVE MONEY INTO THE REPAIR FUND TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE CASH ON HAND FOR SOME OF THESE PROJECTS. THE RIGHT BOX HIGHLIGHTS THOSE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS IN THIS COMING YEAR. TWO OF THOSE ARE GOING TO BE PORTIONS OF LARGER PROJECTS, DRAINAGE OR STREET PROJECTS. WE DON'T WANT TO TEAR UP A STREET, PUT A NEW STREET IN AND HAVE LINES THAT WE HAVE TO IMMEDIATELY REPLACE THE NEXT YEAR AND THEN TEAR IT UP AGAIN. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING IT ALL AT ONCE. CORRECT. OKAY. NEXT UP IS GOING TO BE THE STORMWATER FUND. THIS IS GOING TO BE FOR DRAINAGE PROJECTS. OF NOTE. THIS IS A BUDGET WITH THE CURRENT $5 STORMWATER RATES. WE ARE DISCUSSING POTENTIALLY MOVING THAT. IF WE DO THAT WE WOULD THEN ADJUST THE BUDGET AT THAT POINT. BUT LET'S SEE THE BIGGEST INCREASE IN WHY WE ARE SPENDING MORE THAN WE'RE TAKING IN IS THE DESIGN. SOME OF THOSE SCARIER PROJECTS. WE'RE GETTING THE DESIGN STARTED ON THOSE THAT YOU LOOKED AT A COUPLE MONTHS AGO. [01:00:06] AND THEN HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE SEEING A FOLLOW UP ON THOSE DRAINAGE RATES IN THE COMING COMING MONTHS. OKAY. THOSE ARE THE $5 RATE AND THE 450 FOR 65 AND OLDER. OKAY. NEXT UP IS OUR SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS. THESE ARE GOING TO BE REVENUE THAT COMES IN THAT CAN ONLY BE SPENT ON VERY SPECIFIC PURPOSES. A QUARTER OF OUR SALES TAX IS DEVOTED TO THE MAINTENANCE OF OUR STREETS. WE DID TAKE THIS TO THE FOUR B BOARD TWO DAYS AGO AND THEY GAVE IT THEIR BLESSING. THESE ARE THE ONE TIME CAPITAL ITEMS THAT ARE GOING TO BE FUNDED OUT OF THAT FUND NEXT YEAR. WE DO ANTICIPATE REVENUES TO BE ABOUT THE SAME AS EXPENDITURES, BUT WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THE DESIGN ON A LOT OF THESE PROJECTS GOING FORWARD AND THEN SIGNALIZE SOME SOME DANGEROUS INTERSECTIONS. YES. COUNCIL MEMBER SABOL. SO WE'VE GOT A LONG TIME WITHOUT WEATHER EQUIPMENT, SAND SPREADERS AND SNOWPLOWS. WHAT DID WE DO BEFORE? WELL, I'D HAVE TO ASK PUBLIC WORKS ON THAT ONE. BUT WE'RE HAPPY TO BE GETTING SOME OF THIS IF WE'RE ABLE TO FUND IT IN THE BUDGET. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. COULD YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION? NOT THAT I WASN'T LISTENING. I JUST WONDERED WHAT WE DID BEFORE. WE ARE NOW GETTING SAND SPREADER AND A SNOWPLOW. WHAT DID WE DO BEFORE? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. SO HISTORICALLY, THE CITY DID HAVE TWO PIECES OF EQUIPMENT ON HAND, BOTH THE SANDER AND A SPREADER. RIGHT NOW WE'RE DOWN TO ONE. WE DID AUCTION THE PREVIOUS ONE. IT'S LIFE CYCLE RIGHT NOW. SO SINCE WE'RE DOWN TO ONE EFFECTIVELY, IF THAT EQUIPMENT GOES DOWN, WE DON'T HAVE ANY OPERATIONS. SO UNFORTUNATELY, YES, THAT EQUIPMENT DOES SIT FOR THE MAJORITY PART OF THE YEAR, BUT WHEN WE NEED IT, WE NEED IT. AND NONE OF US HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL TO TALK ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO HIT US COME THE WINTER MONTHS. SO IT'S JUST ALL ABOUT PREPAREDNESS. OKAY. THANK YOU. I THINK WE CAN BET, I MEAN, YEARS SINCE 2020, 2021, IT'S ALMOST LIKE CLOCKWORK FEBRUARY HITS. AND WE HAVE THAT WEEK WHERE, WHERE WE'RE LOCKED IN OUR HOMES AND, AND DON'T WANT TO GO IN THE ON THE ROAD. SO YEAH, EXACTLY. SO, SO I THINK WE CAN COUNT ON THAT FOR SURE. OKAY. NEXT UP IS GOING TO BE OUR TOURISM FUND THAT'S GOING TO BE FUNDED BY THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX. THE MAJORITY OF THIS FUND GOES TO SOME OF THESE LARGER EVENTS THAT WE HAVE. WE ALSO DO HAVE SOME TRANSFERS TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE COVERING THE EXPENSES THAT THEY TAKE FROM THE GENERAL FUND. SO WE, THEY DON'T HAVE THEIR OWN FINANCE TEAM. THEY DON'T HAVE THEIR OWN HR TEAM. SO IT MAKES SENSE FOR THEM TO CHIP IN ON THOSE RESOURCES THAT THEY'RE USING FROM THE GENERAL FUND. ANY QUESTIONS ON THE TOURISM FUND? ONE FUN HIGHLIGHT. THERE'S GOING TO BE AN ADDITIONAL SLIDE AT THE CHRISTMAS IN THE PARK THIS YEAR THAT'S BEING FUNDED. SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT ENDED UP MAKING THIS BUDGET. ABSOLUTELY. I THINK THAT'S NEEDED. THAT WAS A POPULAR VERY POPULAR ATTRACTION AT THE LAST AT OUR LAST CHRISTMAS AND TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY. SO IT'LL BE GOOD TO SPREAD THAT OUT. YES. AND WHILE OUR 75TH ANNIVERSARY IS AROUND THE CORNER, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE HAD SOME MONEY SET ASIDE IN THIS BUDGET TO START GETTING THOSE SUPPLIES READY. SO WE'RE NOT HAVING TO BUY THOSE LAST MINUTE RIGHT BEFOREHAND. SO WE HAVE SOME LEAD TIME BECAUSE WE KNOW WE'RE TURNING 75. COUNCIL MEMBER. SABOL. SO OUR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS IMPROVING FROM LAST YEAR. HOW MUCH IS IN THAT? WE ARE NOT. WE DID NOT INCREASE. NO ONE CAME TO THE MIC. I KNOW WE DIDN'T INCREASE ANY LINE ITEMS FOR FOR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS. SO A COUPLE. SO A COUPLE. NO NO NO. I THINK I THINK WE'RE DOING THE OPPOSITE. I THINK I THINK THE QUESTION, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WE WERE ARGUING OVER A CHRISTMAS TREE. AND NOW I THINK WE'RE I THINK COUNCIL MEMBERS. BUT GETTING I SECOND THAT. YES. THANK YOU. YES, YES, WE LOVE CHRISTMAS HERE IN THE CITY OF BEDFORD. THAT IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK AT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS. AND BY THE TIME THAT YOU VOTE ON THE APPROVED BUDGET, WE COULD HAVE SOME OPTIONS THERE. WELL, IT JUST WAS KIND OF GARAGE SALES IN SOME SPOTS. OKAY, OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER GAGLIARDI WOULD LIKE TO CHIME IN. LET ME GET A HOLD OF THE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS. SO, SO WHAT I REALLY LIKE AND I'M GOING TO, AND I THINK WHAT COUNCILWOMAN SABOL REALLY LIKES ARE THE LIGHT POST SIGNS LIKE UP AND DOWN FOREST RIDGE. THOSE LOOK REALLY NICE. AND IF WE COULD EXPAND THAT MAYBE TO OTHER MAJOR INTERSECTIONS, THAT'D BE REALLY NEAT AND NOT BUY THEM FROM GOODWILL. THANK YOU. OH, WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR COUNCIL INPUT. [01:05:03] THAT'S WHY WE'RE DOING THIS. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR. YOU. THAT'S WHY WE'RE HAVING A WORK SESSION. HERE WE GO. WE'VE OPENED. WE'VE OPENED THE FLOODGATES. COUNCIL MEMBERS DONOVAN BRANDON. WELL, WHILE WE'RE DECORATING THE PLACE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SOME POLL THINGS FOR 4TH OF JULY. I WILL MAKE A NOTE. WHITE AND BLUE. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE. THAT'S WHAT MR. TRUMP DOES THIS ALL THE TIME. HE'S A DECORATOR. WELL, WE JUST NEED TO CLASS UP THE JOINT, IS ALL I'M SAYING. SO YEAH, SO WHAT I'M HEARING IS AN ADDITIONAL DEFINITELY ADDITIONAL FOR CHRISTMAS. TO, TO IMPROVE THAT EVENT AS WELL. AND THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE SEASON AND AS WELL AS 4TH OF JULY. PERHAPS WE'LL MAKE A NOTE TO FOLLOW UP. ALL RIGHT. VERY GOOD. YES, CONTINUE. COUNCIL MEMBER DONOVAN BRANDON. MR. MAYOR, THANK YOU. I WAS ALSO THINKING WE MIGHT NEED SOMETHING FOR OUR 75TH BIRTHDAY. SO WE DO HAVE MONEY SET ASIDE FOR SOME PROMOTIONAL ITEMS FOR THAT. FABULOUS. YES. OKAY. SO I'M ASSUMING THAT NEXT OUR NEXT BUDGET THE FOLLOWING YEAR, BECAUSE WE WILL BE TURNING 75 IN THAT IN THAT CYCLE THAT WE WILL BE SEEING SOME ITEMS COME FORWARD. WE WILL DEFINITELY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY AND HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO. EXPLORE THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE. YES. OKAY. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAD SOMETHING IN THIS BUDGET TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT RUSHING AT THE LAST MINUTE. GREAT. YES. OKAY. OKAY. NEXT UP ARE SOME OF OUR MINOR FUNDS. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE AWARE OF THESE. THE TOP TWO ARE ONES THAT JUST HAVE REVENUE BUT NOT EXPENDITURES. WE'RE BUILDING THOSE UP OVER TIME TO BE ABLE TO HAVE FUNDS TO DO AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT OR INVEST IN OUR TIF ZONE WHENEVER THOSE COME TO PASS. WE ARE DOING SOME ONE TIME FUNDING OUT OF THE PEG FUND. OUR FUNDS ARE HOLDING STEADY, AND THEN WE'RE DOING SOME ONE TIME PROJECTS OUT OF PUBLIC SAFETY. THOSE ARE LIKE SEIZURE FUNDS, SO THEY CAN ONLY BE SPENT ON CERTAIN ITEMS? YES. MAYOR PRO TEM DAWKINS. THANKS. SO WHAT IS WHAT ARE WE SPENDING OUT OF THE FUND? I THINK WE'RE REDOING SOME OF THE CAMERAS, BUT I KNOW THAT THOSE LIKE THAT THE FUND BALANCE IS PRETTY HEALTHY BECAUSE IT'S LIMITED AMOUNT THAT WE CAN SPEND. ARE YOU AWARE OF OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE BEEN A LITTLE MORE LIBERAL IN. OR IS IT REALLY THE STATUTORY CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FOR PUBLIC ACCESS? IT IS A PRETTY STRICTLY WORDED STATUTE. OKAY. NO, I WAS JUST THINKING BECAUSE WE NEED TO DO WEBSITE IMPROVEMENTS AND THAT SORT OF PUBLIC, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO USE FUNDS FOR THAT. BUT WHEN I WAS TRYING TO INVESTIGATE THIS FUND, IT DID LOOK PRETTY NARROW, BUT I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE EXPENSES THERE. SO WE'LL TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT THAT, SEE IF THERE'S ANY OTHER OPTIONS THAT WE MAY NOT HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT. OKAY. WHAT I WAS GOING TO EXPLORE THAT WITH OUR FRIENDS IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE TO KIND OF OPEN UP, BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THE FUNDS ARE DECREASING. WE HAVE A HEALTHY BALANCE THAT IS VERY NARROW ON WHAT WE CAN SPEND IT ON. AND SO IF IT'S IN THE SPIRIT OF HAVING MORE PUBLIC ACCESS AT THE TIME THAT THE STATUTE WAS WRITTEN, WE WE HAD A CABLE. WE STILL HAVE A CABLE CHANNEL, BUT WE NOW HAVE OTHER AVENUES TO GET OUT PUBLIC ACCESS. THAT'S TRUE. AND FOR THAT PEG FUND, A LOT OF THAT REVENUE IS THROUGH FRANCHISE FEES, CORRECT? IT'S FOR A CABLE FEE THAT COMES TO US. YES, EXACTLY. OKAY. WHICH DECREASES QUITE, QUITE SUBSTANTIALLY. CUT THE CORD. CUT THE CORD. EXACTLY. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THE OTHER MINOR FUNDS? I DID HAVE A QUESTION OVER A TREE PRESERVATION FUND. IT'S NOT IN HERE. BUT IF WE GO INTO OUR INTO OUR DOCUMENT, I SAW QUITE A BIT QUITE A BIG INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR WHEN IT COMES TO REVENUES. OH WE GOT A WE GOT WE GOT A BIG OLD CHECK LAST YEAR FOR, FOR. FOR TREE PRESERVATION. PRESERVATION. OKAY. AND OBVIOUSLY THAT'S BECOMING VERY HEALTHY. I'M UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE TAKING SOME MINOR TWEAKS TO THAT, TO THAT FOR THE TREE PRESERVATION FUND AND THE USAGE OF THAT. JUST OPENING IT UP A LITTLE BIT SO WE CAN USE IT A LITTLE BIT MORE BROADLY. AGAIN, STILL FOCUSED ON TREE PRESERVATION AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT OPENING IT UP A LITTLE BIT MORE SO WE CAN, WE CAN SPEND THOSE FUNDS AND GET SOME GET SOME THINGS DONE. WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO WATER THE TREES. AND THIS FUND MAYBE WILL HELP WITH THAT AND MAKE SURE THE TREES GROW. GROW. EXACTLY. YEAH. WHICH IS NEEDED. VERY GOOD. OKAY. PERFECT. OKAY. NEXT UP ARE THE INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS. SO THESE ARE BASICALLY PIGGY BANKS. WE SET ASIDE MONEY FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO TRY TO ADDRESS THESE. SO WE MOVE THAT IN EVERY YEAR. AND THEN AS PROJECTS COME UP WE'RE ABLE TO FUND THEM. SOME OF THE FACILITY MAINTENANCE REQUESTS ARE COMING FOR OUR LIBRARY. THEY'RE DOING TWO HVAC UNITS AND A REPLACEMENT OF THE CHILDREN'S AREA FLOOR. [01:10:03] SO THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SOME IMPROVEMENTS THERE OUT OF EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT. THAT'S GOING TO BE SIX POLICE VEHICLES, A FLEET SERVICE TRUCK. AND THEN ONE OF THE PRETTY BIG ONE IS 250,000 FOR A SEWER CAMERA INSPECTION EQUIPMENT THAT LETS US GO AND DIG INTO THOSE LINES TO MAKE SURE WE FIND OUT WHERE THE PROBLEMS ARE AND BE ABLE TO ADDRESS JUST THE THE PART THAT'S BROKEN, AS OPPOSED TO HAVING TO TAKE THE WHOLE THING OUT. OUR CURRENT ONE IS NO LONGER VERY USEFUL. OKAY, MOVING ON TO SOME OF OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS. WE HAVE A HANDFUL OF. SOME OF THESE WERE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER WHENEVER WE TALKED ABOUT THE REPAIR FUND OR THE 4B FUND. THE ONLY ONE THAT WAS NOT MENTIONED ON A PREVIOUS SLIDE WOULD BE BROWN TRAIL. AND WE HAD SOME MONEY FROM OUR 2024 COS THAT WAS SET ASIDE TO DO THAT STREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT. SO NONE OF THIS WOULD BE NEW MONEY. IT'S MONEY WE HAVE ON HAND THAT WE HAD PREVIOUSLY DEVOTED TO THIS. OKAY, THE LAST BIT IS GOING TO BE OUR UNFUNDED SUPPLEMENTALS. SO THESE ARE REQUESTS THAT CAME IN FROM OUR DEPARTMENTS THAT WE DID NOT FEEL COULD MAKE THIS BUDGET WORK FOR BOTH THE CITY AND THE CITIZENS. SOME OF THESE ARE ONE TIME AND THEN SOME OF THESE ARE THE, MOST OF THESE ARE GOING TO BE RECURRING LARGELY ONE TIME EXPENSES WE WERE ABLE TO FUND OUT OF FUND BALANCE. FIRST UP IS A WEBSITE MAINTENANCE COMPLIANCE TOOL. AND THEN THAT KIND OF GOES IN LINE WITH OUR ADA PROJECT, BUT WE FEEL WITH THE CONSULTANT, WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO PUSH THAT OUT A YEAR MAYBE BEFORE WE NEED TO START USING THAT TOOL TO MAKE SURE WE ARE STAYING TRANSPARENT, ADVANCED EMAIL SECURITY. THAT IS SOMETHING WE'D LIKE TO HAVE. PEOPLE ARE CONSTANTLY COMING UP WITH NEW WAYS TO ATTACK US AND TRY TO TRICK US AND TRY TO DEFRAUD THE CITY. BUT WE'RE GOING TO BE FOCUSING ON TRAINING FOR THIS COMING YEAR MORE SO, AND THEN WE'LL REVISIT IT IN A YEAR AND SEE IF WE'RE ABLE TO DO SOME OF THAT INTERNALLY. YES. MAYOR PRO TEM DAWKINS. THANKS, MR. MAYOR. SO WHAT THE ADVANCED EMAIL SECURITY, DOES IT INVOLVE LIKE A SOFTWARE AS A SOLUTION THAT SITS ON TOP OF MICROSOFT THREE? 65 IT WOULD BE ANOTHER SOFTWARE SOLUTION THAT MONITORS OUR NETWORK COMING IN AND OUT. OKAY. THANK YOU. THERE'S A CONTRACT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE CURRENTLY. THIS IS ALL DONE ON A SPREADSHEET THAT WE'RE KEEPING UP TO DATE ON OUR CONTRACTS. OUR PURCHASING MANAGER WOULD LOVE SOMETHING TO ADDRESS THAT, BUT WE'RE JUST GOING TO KEEP THE SPREADSHEET FOR ANOTHER YEAR JUST BECAUSE IT IS A VERY TIGHT BUDGET YEAR. THE CLOUD MIGRATION THAT'S FROM PD, THEY CURRENTLY HAVE TWO SERVERS OVER THERE THAT MANAGE THEIR CAD. THEY HAVE A PRIMARY AND A BACKUP. BOTH ARE PAST THEIR RECOMMENDED LIFE CYCLE. BOTH ARE STILL WORKING. IF ONE OF THEM GOES DOWN, THIS MAY BE SOMETHING WE TAKE TO COUNCIL MID YEAR AND TRY TO GET FUNDING FOR THIS, BECAUSE IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THEIR TEAM AND WE CAN'T GET A NEW SERVER THERE BECAUSE WE HAVE TO BUY IT FROM THE COMPANY AND THE COMPANY WANTS EVERYONE TO GO TO THE CLOUD, A LEAD TECH. I'M GUESSING YOU'LL SEE THIS LATER IN THE YEAR OR MAYBE NEXT YEAR. WHENEVER WE DO FINISH THE NEW ANIMAL SHELTER, I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE A GOOD TIME TO REVISIT THEIR FTE'S. RIGHT NOW, WE'RE NOT RECOMMENDING TO FUND IT FOR A FULL YEAR, SINCE WE'RE JUST NOT GOING TO HAVE THAT NEW BUILDING GOING FOR MOST OF THE YEAR. MEDICAL EVALUATION PROGRAM FOR POLICE OFFICERS, THAT'S GETTING THEM, FULLY TESTED. THIS WOULD BE ABOUT HALF THEIR THE DEPARTMENT DOING THAT THIS YEAR. AND THEN NEXT YEAR, RIGHT NOW WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON SOME OF OUR EXISTING WELLNESS INITIATIVES. JUST BECAUSE THE FUNDING IS IS TIGHT FOR THAT AND SEE IF SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS WE'RE DOING CITYWIDE ARE GOING TO BE HELPFUL. THE SWAT VEHICLE THAT IS POTENTIALLY A FUTURE NEED, BUT IT'S NOT A PRESSING NEED THIS YEAR. SO YOU MAY SEE THAT IN THE FUTURE. A DIGITAL FORENSICS SOLUTIONS, THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE USING OTHER CITIES TO HELP OUT WITH AND CRACKING PHONES. WE'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THIS IN-HOUSE AT SOME POINT, BUT WITH THE FUNDING THAT IT IS, I THINK WE'LL CONTINUE TO RELY ON OUR PARTNERS TO HELP US OUT THERE. AND THEN FACIAL RECOGNITION PLATFORM WOULD HELP THEIR POLICING. BUT WE ALSO FEEL LIKE IT'S SOMETHING THAT MAY NOT BE PRESSING NEED THIS YEAR, AND THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED IN FUTURE FUNDING. AND THEN THE LAST IS THE AMBULANCE REPLACEMENT. IT IS SCHEDULED TO BE REPLACED IN TWO YEARS FOR OUR VEHICLE REPLACEMENT POLICY. SO YOU WILL LIKELY SEE US RECOMMEND FUNDING FOR IT THEN. ANY QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THE UNFUNDED SUPPLEMENTAL REQUESTS? OKAY. SOME NEXT STEPS. IN A FEW DAYS, WE'RE GOING TO BE VOTING ON THE MAXIMUM TAX RATE Y'ALL CAN CONSIDER. NORMALLY WE DO THAT AT THE PROPOSED RATE, BUT WE CAN DO THAT AT ANY RATE YOU WANT. IT'S JUST THE HIGHEST RATE YOU CAN CONSIDER. YOU CAN ALWAYS GO LOWER THAN THAT MAXIMUM RATE. AND THEN WE'RE ALSO GOING TO SET OUR PUBLIC HEARINGS. SINCE WE'RE GOING ABOVE THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE, WE DO REQUIRE A PUBLIC HEARING. SEPTEMBER 8TH IS GOING TO BE A BIG OLD [01:15:07] FINANCE DAY WHERE WE VOTE ON THE TAX RATE, WE VOTE ON THE BUDGET, WE VOTE ON WATER AND SEWER RATES A WHOLE BUNCH OF ITEMS THAT WE WRAP UP THE BUDGET PROCESS. ALL RIGHT. SOUNDS GOOD. LET'S SEE HERE. HOW MANY PUBLIC HEARINGS WILL WE HAVE ON THIS? ON THIS? IT'S JUST GOING TO BE THE ONE. JUST THE ONE. OKAY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. GOT IT. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. WELL, THAT WAS A LOT THAT WE WENT THROUGH HERE. IT WAS. AND IT REPRESENTS IT REPRESENTS A LOT OF WORK THAT WENT INTO WENT INTO THIS BUDGET. I KNOW, I KNOW FIRSTHAND. AND SO FIRST OFF, I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR, FOR THE HARD WORK AND PUTTING THIS ALL TOGETHER TO ALL THE DEPARTMENTS FOR, FOR YOUR HARD WORK. AND. AND I KNOW IT'S ONE OF THESE YEARS THAT WE WE REALLY ASKED, I THINK EVERY DEPARTMENT, HEY, WHAT CAN WE DO TO TRIM UP GOING FORWARD AND LOOKING AT THIS BUDGET, I KNOW THAT WE MADE A LOT OF CUTS AND WE HAD TO BECAUSE OF THE SITUATION THAT WE'RE IN. THAT BEING SAID YOU KNOW, I'M HOPEFUL FOR NEXT YEAR. YOU KNOW, I THINK AS LONG AS THE APPRAISALS HAPPEN NEXT YEAR, WE HAVE A LOT OF NEW PROPERTIES THAT ARE GOING TO BE COMING ON. IT'S JUST A SHAME THAT, YOU KNOW, WE SEE A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION GOING ON IN THE CITY, BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT JUST DID NOT HIT IN TIME FOR THIS BUDGET CYCLE. BUT THAT DOES MEAN THAT NEXT, YOU KNOW, NEXT YEAR WE'RE GOING TO BE IN SUCH A DIFFERENT, A DIFFERENT SITUATION THAN WE ARE. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT HAPPENS AS LONG AS AS LONG AS PROPERTY VALUES ARE EVALUATED ACCORDINGLY. WE WILL LIKE I SAID, BE IN A HEALTHIER POSITION HAVE MORE REVENUE AND, AND DO THAT. SO, YOU KNOW, JUST COMMITTED TO THE WHOLE, ALL THE DEPARTMENTS FOR RECOGNIZING THE, THE SITUATION THAT WE'RE IN AND AND THEN STILL ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT THAT OUR RESIDENTS EXPECT FOR THE CITY. SO, SO KUDOS TO EVERYONE AND HARD WORK YOU DO. ALL RIGHT. I'M GOING TO OPEN UP THE FLOOR TO COUNCIL FOR QUESTIONS. I DO HAVE ONE THOUGH. THIS WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT CAUGHT MY EYE. BRADY THIS WAS IN MISCELLANEOUS INCOME. OKAY. AND LET ME SEE HERE. IT WAS INTERGOVERNMENTAL AND IT WAS FOR IT WAS UNREALIZED GAIN OR LOSS OF $162,170. SO THAT WAS IN THE ACTUALS. PROJECTION. ON THE PROJECTION. OKAY. BECAUSE OF ACCOUNTING RULES IN OUR INVESTMENTS, IF ANY OF THEM GAIN OR LOSE MONEY THROUGHOUT THE LIKE, THE VALUE GOES UP AND DOWN AND WE HAVE AN UNREALIZED GAIN OR LOSS BECAUSE IF WE SOLD IT AT THAT MOMENT, WE'D EITHER MAKE MONEY OR WE'D LOSE MONEY. WE HAVE NEVER SOLD AN INVESTMENT IN MIDSTREAM. WE HOLD IT TO ITS MATURITY. SO WE'VE NEVER REALIZED ANY GAINS OR LOSSES. WE GET WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO GET IN OUR INTEREST. INCOME ACCOUNTING RULES SAY THAT AS OF THAT DAY, WE HAVE TO SAY IF WE LIQUIDATED THE WHOLE PORTFOLIO OR WE'RE GOING TO MAKE MONEY OR LOSE MONEY. SO THAT'S WHAT THAT NUMBER IS. SO WE'RE PROJECTING THAT IN OUR AUDIT. YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THAT. BUT IT'S NOT REALLY A BUDGET NUMBER. OKAY. YEAH IT DIDN'T. IT CAUGHT MY EYE. THAT'S WHY IT CAUGHT MY EYE. I THOUGHT IT WAS A LITTLE JUST ODD. I HADN'T SEEN THAT BEFORE IN PREVIOUS YEARS. SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THOUGHT WAS FASCINATING. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING THAT WAY. I HAVE ONE LAST FUN FACT FOR YOU ON OUR BUDGET IF YOU'D LIKE. LET'S DO IT. SINCE I'VE JUST BEEN THROWING MUD AT TAD. SO LET'S CONTINUE. IF OUR TAX RATE, IF OUR TAX BASE WAS WHAT IT SHOULD BE 15% HIGHER. YES, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO FUND THIS BUDGET WITH A TAX RATE OF ABOUT 47.5 CENTS, WHICH IS $0.05 LOWER THAN WHAT OUR RATE IS CURRENTLY, AND $0.09 LOWER THAN WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING. SO THAT IS REALLY THE DIFFERENCE OF HAVING OUR MARKET VALUES EVALUATED CORRECTLY. THAT JUST SUMMED IT UP. I'M GLAD YOU. I'M GLAD YOU SAVED THAT TO THE END. THAT WAS THAT WAS GOOD. THAT WAS. THERE IT IS. RIGHT THERE. AND SO IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE SLIDES, WE HAVE THOSE UP. BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE ACTUAL BUDGET BOOK, WE'RE PREPARED TO PULL THAT UP AND THEN BOUNCE AROUND AND GO TO A VERY SPECIFIC ANY SPECIFIC PAGE IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION THERE, OR WE COULD BE DONE YOUR CALL. UNFORTUNATELY, YOU CAN'T MAKE A MOTION TO ADJOURN THIS WORK SESSION IN A WORK SESSION. SO WE'RE DONE WHEN WE'RE DONE. OKAY. FOR THIS ONE. I DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ON LOOKING THROUGH THE BUDGET BOOKS. SO WE HAD SOME PERSONNEL CHANGES AS WELL TO THE ORGANIZATION. OKAY. A COUPLE OF OUR DEPARTMENTS TOOK A LOOK AT WHAT THEIR STAFFING NEEDS NEEDED TO BE. FOR ONE OF THOSE IS DEVELOPMENT. WE DO HAVE SOME CHANGING IN THE DIRECTOR POSITION. WE'RE REEVALUATING WHAT WE ACTUALLY NEED IN THAT DEPARTMENT. FINANCE. WE WERE ONE OF THEM. WE HAD A FULL TIME EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT. WE THINK WE THOUGHT WE ONLY NEEDED A PART TIME PERSON IN THAT ROLE. SO WE WERE ABLE TO SEE SOME SAVINGS THERE. AND THEN I THINK LIBRARY AND POLICE ALSO MOVED POSITIONS AROUND. BUT THESE WERE ALL BUDGETARY NEUTRAL. SO THAT'S HOW I DIDN'T SEE ANY OF THEM. [01:20:03] WE WEREN'T ADDING ANY FUNDS FOR THESE NEW PEOPLE. WE WERE JUST SHIFTING BASED ON NEED. OKAY. I DID SAY LIKE PART TIME DISPATCHER THAT WAS REMOVED REASONS BEHIND THAT JUST BECAUSE IT WAS VACANT, WE DIDN'T REDUNDANT. BUT WHAT WAS THE REASONING BEHIND THAT? I BELIEVE JUST THE NEED WASN'T THERE ANYMORE. BUT BOB AIKEN, OR CHIEF LAPENNA. THANK YOU MAYOR. COUNCIL. YEAH, WE HAD TWO PART TIME DISPATCH POSITIONS AND WE HAVEN'T FILLED THEM IN. I THINK ONE OF THEM HASN'T BEEN FILLED IN OVER TWO YEARS AND STUFF LIKE THIS. SO WE REALLOCATED THOSE FUNDS TO COVER SOME OTHER NEEDS IN THE DEPARTMENT. OKAY, THAT EXPLAINS IT THEN. AND THIS GOES BACK TO WHAT WHAT I WAS MENTIONING BEFORE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ASKED EACH DEPARTMENT, HEY, TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE VACANT POSITIONS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY EVALUATE THEM. SO. YES. OKAY. PERFECT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. DID SEE THAT PUBLIC WORKS HAD SOME CHANGES QUITE A BIT TO THEIRS. SO IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'D LIKE TO SEE, YOU KNOW, ALL THE GO THROUGH KIND OF THE CHANGES OF PUBLIC WORKS. I KNOW WE ELIMINATED POSITION. SO I'D LIKE TO SEE WHAT THAT BREAKDOWN IS. AND THE BIGGEST NUMBER CHANGE IS REALLY PULLING ENGINEERING OUT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND MAKING THAT ITS OWN DEPARTMENT. SO ENGINEERING WENT FROM 0 TO 8, AND THEN PUBLIC WORKS WENT DOWN FROM 54 TO 45. BUT LANE CAN ALSO TALK ABOUT HIS DEPARTMENT STAFFING. OKAY, PERFECT. SO THE GOAL OF HIRING AND COMING ON BOARD WAS JUST A COMPLETE EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT OF STAFF. PUBLIC WORKS HAD GONE THROUGH A SHIFT OVER THE YEARS. THERE HAD BEEN SOME POSITIONS THAT HAD GONE UNFILLED FOR A LARGE PORTION OF TIME AS WELL. SO ALONG OUR ORGANIZATION, THERE WAS CREWS OF THREE CREWS OF FOUR, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE. AND BECAUSE POSITIONS WEREN'T FILLED IN CERTAIN LINES OF BUSINESS, WE COLLAPSED DIVISIONS TO CREATE A FOUR MAN CREW ON ALL THOSE DIVISIONS, WHICH ULTIMATELY WE WERE ABLE TO MERGE SOME POSITIONS INTO A MANAGEMENT ROLE. WE HAD PREVIOUSLY ONE OPERATIONS MANAGER, THAT ONE OPERATIONS MANAGER OVERSEES THE ENTIRE OPERATIONS. SO EVERYTHING FROM STREETS AND DRAINAGE ALL THE WAY FROM WATER AND SEWER INDUSTRY WIDE, TRULY THAT POSITION IS MORE OF A UNICORN. YOU DON'T HAVE ONE PERSON THAT'S CERTIFIED LICENSED AND WELL, WHILE KNOWLEDGE AND ROUNDED AND SKILLED IN ALL OF THOSE ASSETS. SO WE DO HAVE ONE MANAGER THAT OVERSEES OUR STREETS, DRAINAGE AND TRAFFIC. WE HAVE ONE MANAGER THAT OVERSEES OUR WATER QUALITY WATER, WASTEWATER AND METERS TEAM. OKAY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THOSE ARE THE CHANGES. THOSE ARE THE CHANGES. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT. ALL RIGHT. I THINK WE'RE GOOD THERE. AND WE HAVE THE SPECIFICS UP ON THE SCREEN RIGHT NOW? YES. OKAY. LET'S SEE HERE. BRADY I DID. SO OBVIOUSLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE TAX RATE, WE DIDN'T DIDN'T QUITE OBVIOUSLY WE'RE NOT AT THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE FOR A LITTLE BIT. OBVIOUSLY A LITTLE BIT UNDER THAT. SAY WE WANTED TO GO TO, AND I'M NOT ADVOCATING FOR THIS ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, BUT I JUST WANTED JUST FOR THEORETICAL THEORETICAL PURPOSES, IF WE WENT TO THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE I THINK WHEN I LOOKED AT IT, IT WAS LIKE 6/10 OF A CENT. NUMBER ONE TO GET THERE. SO IT'S VERY MINUSCULE. BUT HOW MUCH REVENUE WOULD THAT GENERATE FOR THE CITY IF WE DID THAT? FROM MY CALCULATION, IT WAS LIKE 3533 50. 353,000. 353,000. I DID POSE IN THIS. THIS IS JUST TO COUNCIL. I DID POSE A QUESTION TO, TO STAFF ON THIS THAT, YOU KNOW, SEEING THAT WE HAD 2%, I DID WANTED TO SEE WHAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE WENT TO THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE, IS THERE A WAY WE COULD OFFER OUR EMPLOYEES A 3%? I KNOW, ARE WE WORKING ON 32326 TO GO TO THE EXTRA PERCENT? SO WE WOULD BE ABLE TO AFFORD 3% WOULD BE UNDER THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE. OKAY. SO TO GET TO THAT VOTER APPROVAL RATE, WE CAN ACTUALLY FUND THAT EXTRA EXTRA PERCENT INSTEAD OF GOING FROM 2 TO 3% BECAUSE, I MEAN, I KNEW I REMEMBER IN TALKS, I THINK WE WERE EVEN IN DISCUSSION GOING, JUST GOING TO TWO WAS AN ISSUE. AND AND HONESTLY, WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO BE AT 1%. SO IN A TIME WHERE PEOPLE ARE GETTING PINCHED, I MEAN, WHEN IT COMES TO EVERYTHING, COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENTS. ONE OF, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO TO JUST SHOW OUR EMPLOYEES THAT, THAT WE VALUE EVERYTHING THAT YOU GUYS DO FOR US IS, [01:25:04] IS DOING A COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT. SO I WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT THERE TO COUNCIL. AND THAT'S WHY I ASKED THE QUESTION, BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW IF WE COULD MAKE IT, IF WE COULD MAKE THAT 3%. AND ONE THING THAT I WILL SAY IS THAT I AM, I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO, TO, TO YOU GUYS AGAIN FOR GOING NOW REALIZING THAT WE'RE IN A SITUATION AND WE DIDN'T GO TO THAT VOTER APPROVAL RATE, WE LEFT SOME, SOME THERE AVAILABLE. AND, BUT YOU WERE FINE WITH IT ANYWAYS. THAT BEING SAID, IT TAKES IT UPON US WHETHER WE WANT TO TO DO THAT. AND AGAIN, SO THAT, THAT, THAT RATE IT'S WHAT AM I CORRECT WHEN IT'S JUST BEING 6/10 OF A PERCENT TO GET THERE TO THE BASICALLY BASICALLY. SO TO THE AVERAGE TAXPAYER THAT IS ON THEIR BILL. CAN WE DO THAT MATH? AND WHILE THAT, WHILE WE'RE FIGURING THAT OUT $20, $20 ANNUALLY. OKAY, OKAY, OKAY, OKAY. 20 BUCKS ANNUALLY TO GET UP TO THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE, OFFER OUR STAFF A 3% RAISE. YES. THAT IS THAT IS THE CASE. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. DOES THAT PUT INTO QUESTION OUR ABILITY TO FUND CHRISTMAS AND 4TH OF JULY IMPROVEMENTS? DIFFERENT FUNDS? THAT'S WHAT I FIGURED. DIFFERENT FUNDS. SO THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF THE HOT TAX AND TOURISM FUND. OKAY. PERFECT. ALL RIGHT. OKAY. COUNCIL. I'LL OPEN THE FLOOR TO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS. COMMENTS, CONCERNS. COUNCIL MEMBER SABOL. BRADY, DOES ANY OF THIS GIVE YOU HEARTBURN? GETTING TO 2% GAVE ME SOME HEARTBURN. WE HAD A I WOULD HAVE PREFERRED A COUPLE MORE CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATES THAN WE ENDED UP WITH, BUT I THINK THEY ARE NUMBERS WE CAN HIT. I WOULD NOT HAVE PUT ANY NUMBERS IN HERE THAT WERE. I DON'T THINK WE ARE GOING TO HIT MOST. MOST OF THE TIME WE JUST HAVE A LITTLE BIT LESS WIGGLE ROOM GOING INTO NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET THAN I WOULD TYPICALLY TYPICALLY LIKE, BUT I WE THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE WE WERE DOING SOMETHING FOR OUR EMPLOYEES. SO WHEN THE MAYOR SUGGESTS THE 3%, DOES THAT MAKE YOU WANT TO GO OUTSIDE? NO, NO, I WOULD I WOULD SAY THAT EVEN WITH THAT INFORMATION, THE BUDGET AS PRESENTED WOULD BE OUR PROPOSED BUDGET. WITH THE TAX RATE WE PRESENTED AND THE CURRENT FUNDING THAT WAS PRESENTED. IT DOESN'T REALLY AFFECT IT THAT MUCH, SO GO WITH IT. NO, I WOULD I WOULD SAY STICK WITH THE RATE THAT WE. YEAH. WE SAID WITH THE 2%. I, I'M SORRY TO EVERYONE ELSE IN THIS ROOM. I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW. BUT WE WOULD STILL BE WE'D BE KEEPING THE POWDER DRY. WE'D STILL HAVE THOSE THAT LEFTOVER INCREMENT AVAILABLE IN NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, WHERE WE CAN ABSORB A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THIS INCREASE THAT THEY GIVE US. IF WE GO 15% UP, WE COULD REALLY ONLY TAKE THREE AND A HALF OF THAT. BUT WE CAN WE CAN CARRY OVER. THEY BUILT THE LAW SO WE CAN CARRY OVER WHATEVER WE LEAVE RIGHT NOW TO NEXT YEAR. AND I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE A NICE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS SOME BIGGER PICTURE THINGS. VERY GOOD. OKAY. I THINK THAT WAS THAT'S THE COMPONENT THAT WAS MISSING. I WAS NOT UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT WHAT YOU LEAVE ON THE TABLE THIS YEAR, YOU THEN APPLY TO THE NEXT YEAR. THERE'S A THREE YEAR RUNNING AVERAGE THAT YOU CAN APPLY WHAT YOU LEAVE ON THE TABLE TO FUTURE YEARS. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THAT CHANGES THE CONVERSATION A BIT. THAT CHANGES IT A BIT. SO OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SORRY TO MUDDY THE WATERS. COUNCIL. I WASN'T AWARE THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT COULD BE DONE. ALL RIGHT, ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS. HOW ABOUT HOW ABOUT YOU, ANDREA? ANDREA, YOUR YOUR TAKE ON ALL THIS. I'M, I'M OF BRADY'S MINDSET AS WELL. AS MUCH AS I WOULD LOVE TO DO THAT, I ALSO DON'T WANT TO I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE PUSHING US TO THAT LEVEL. KNOWING THAT WE'VE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE WHAT WE'VE DONE, WE'VE CUT WHAT WE'VE CUT AND, AND WE FEEL COMFORTABLE WHERE WE'RE AT THIS YEAR. I THINK THAT NEXT YEAR IS GOING TO BE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CONVERSATION. AND AT THAT POINT, I THINK WE CAN, WE CAN FEEL A LITTLE BIT BETTER AND BREATHE A LITTLE BIT EASIER. KNOWING WE'VE GOT SOME, SOME WIGGLE ROOM BECAUSE IT IS TIGHT. AND I, I ECHO THAT, THAT SENTIMENT, AS MUCH AS I WOULD LOVE TO SAY, LET'S, LET'S DO IT. WE'RE, WE'RE ALL KIND OF, WE'RE AWARE OF WHERE WE'RE AT. THIS WAS WHAT WAS RECOMMENDED. I THINK THIS IS WHERE WE FEEL COMFORTABLE. WE DO NOT WANT TO GET IN A POSITION WHERE WE'RE UP AGAINST A WALL LIKE THAT. YEAH. WHAT IF THE STATE LEGISLATURE GOES BACK IN. ARE YOU EXPECTING ANYTHING? I WAS EXPECTING SOMETHING UNTOWARD FOR CITIES. I AM ALMOST CERTAIN SOMETHING UNTOWARD TOWARDS CITIES IS GOING TO BE PASSED. NOTHING IS ON DECK. THAT WOULD MAKE ME THINK WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING IMMEDIATELY. THE ONLY THING WOULD BE IF WE ARE GOING TO ADJUST THAT STORMWATER FEE. I THINK THEY'RE COMING AFTER YOUR ABILITY TO HAVE THAT AUTHORITY. [01:30:06] SO WE'D WANT TO DO THAT BEFORE THE SESSION GOT GOING. STORMWATER FEES, SOME OF THESE OTHER FEES THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO IS SOMETHING ON THEIR RADAR. AND WE ARE ALREADY TODAY WAS REALLY THE FIRST KIND OF LAUNCH OF THE INSIGHT INTO WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. AND WE'RE WATCHING A LOT OF THINGS. AND, YOU KNOW, WE FAIRED RELATIVELY WELL THIS PAST THIS PAST SESSION. THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE VERY CONCERNING THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED. AND THEN ALSO SOME THINGS THAT ARE NOT VERY CONCERNING. AGAIN, THERE'S SOME TALKS ABOUT CERTAIN POPULATION THRESHOLDS. SO SOME OF THOSE MORE REALLY AGGRESSIVE THINGS LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, EYEING LARGER POPULATIONS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE TOP NINE CITIES, NOT US. BUT NOTHING. I THINK THAT AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE BANKING ON THINGS LOOKING A LITTLE BETTER NEXT YEAR. I DON'T, I DON'T SEE SOMETHING. AND AGAIN, ALL THE MORE REASON TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF WIGGLE ROOM IF SOMETHING DOES, IF SOMETHING DOES COME UP. BUT I DON'T THINK THERE'S A MAJOR SEGMENT THAT'S GOING TO TAKE AWAY OUR OUR REVENUE SIGNIFICANTLY. THEY'RE DEFINITELY TALKING ABOUT SOME INTERESTING CUTS LOWERING THE SENIOR TAX FREEZE AGE BY TEN YEARS IS DISCUSSED. THERE'S A LOT OF FOCUS ON THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS OBVIOUSLY AS WELL. SO WE WILL, WE'LL, WE'LL MONITOR ALL OF THAT. YOU JUST BROUGHT UP SOMETHING THAT'S, THAT'S INTERESTING TO ME. SO IF THAT HAPPENS DO WE KNOW WHAT THAT KIND OF IMPACT WOULD DO IF SENIOR TAX FREEZES GET LOWERED TO 55 FOR OUR COMMUNITY? WE, WE COULD DIVE INTO THE CENSUS ON. I DON'T EXPECT PEOPLE ARE IN THAT RANGE. YEAH, I DON'T EXPECT A NUMBER THIS EVENING, BUT I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD, AS COUNCIL AND ALL OF US BE AWARE OF. I'M VERY CURIOUS TO SEE HOW MANY HOUSEHOLDS THAT IS. YOU SAID CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW ON A TAX FREEZE. WE ARE AT 36. 36% OF JUST HOMES. YES. AND I THINK WHEN IT COMES TO ALL PROPERTIES IN THE CITY OF BEDFORD, IT'S A THIRD. YES. AND SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE FOR US PERCENTAGE WISE IF IT WERE TO LOWER TO THE 55. SO WE DON'T KNOW THE AGE OF ANYONE WHO LIVES IN THE CITY. THAT'S NOT JUST INFORMATION WE HAVE ON HAND. WE COULD LOOK AT THE CENSUS AND SEE GENERAL RANGES AND HOW MANY PEOPLE MAY BE IN THAT BUCKET NOW. YEAH. YEAH. I MEAN, SOMETHING SOMETHING TO GET OFF. YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE NOT GOING TO PINPOINT IT BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THAT DATA, BUT SOMETHING GIVE US SOMETHING TO WHAT THAT COULD POSSIBLY LOOK LIKE. AND WE DO KNOW WHAT ONE THING WE DO KNOW IS. WE KNOW SOME TRENDS OF OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, HOW MANY HAVE REACHED THAT CEILING OF 65. SO YOU CAN YOU CAN KIND OF EXTRAPOLATE THAT OUT, RIGHT? SO, SO YEAH, I THINK WE WOULD ALL BE INTERESTED IN THAT. JUST, JUST ANOTHER SIDE NOTE. THIS WAS THAT WAS JUST ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS DISCUSSED. AND IT COULD, IT COULD PROCEED OR NOT. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE ACTUALLY JUST DISCUSSING TODAY WAS I HAD, I HAD WANTED TO DIVE INTO OUR DEMOGRAPHICS A LITTLE BIT DEEPER. YOU KNOW, WE, WE EVALUATE THOSE AND WE LOOK AT THINGS. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT AND I KNOW I SAY IT, WE WANT TO RIGHTSIZE THINGS. WE WANT TO, YOU KNOW, WE WANT OUR SERVICES AND AMENITIES GEARED TOWARD, YOU KNOW, WHO OUR RESIDENTS ARE. AND SO WE'RE WE'RE TALKING THERE'S SOME VERY INEXPENSIVE SOFTWARE THAT PROVIDES A LITTLE BIT DEEPER DIVE INTO THE CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUR DEMOGRAPHICS. AND I THINK THAT WILL GREATLY HELP US. IT'S A VERY NOMINAL COST. WE WILL EXPLORE SOME OF THOSE OPTIONS, BUT IT WILL ALLOW US TO GO. WE HAVE A PRETTY CLEAR NUMBER ON WHAT THAT POPULATION LOOKS LIKE AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND THESE LEGISLATIVE IMPACTS A LITTLE BIT BETTER AND PINPOINT IT A LITTLE BIT FINER AS FAR AS THAT GOES. SO WE WILL BE DOING THAT, AND HOPEFULLY I'LL BE ABLE TO SHARE THAT AS WE MAKE DECISIONS. RECOMMENDATIONS SAYING THIS IS THE SEGMENT THAT'S GROWING. THIS IS WHAT'S HAPPENING. AND WE'RE PINPOINTING THAT GROUP AND ADDRESSING THOSE THOSE FOLKS. SO PERFECT. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER DONOVAN BRANDON. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU. THIS LOOKS LIKE A HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT I COULD NEVER TACKLE. AND NOT ONLY DID YOU DO THIS, YOU PUT VARIABLES IN IT AND I APPRECIATE THAT. BACK TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING ABOUT THE LEGISLATURE ALSO BECAUSE THIS IS A PUBLIC FORUM. IT'S NOT JUST ON US TO MANAGE IT, BUT IT'S ON THE CITIZENS. SO IF THEY DON'T LIKE WHAT THEY'RE SEEING, THEY DON'T LIKE THE BUDGET, AND THEY THINK AUSTIN MIGHT CONTROL HOW WE SPEND MONEY. THEY CAN CONTACT THE PEOPLE. THEY DON'T HAVE TO LOOK TO JUST US. THERE'S POWER IN NUMBERS, AND WE CAN ADDRESS OUR LEGISLATORS AND TELL THEM WHAT OUR CHALLENGES ARE. THE THE UNFUNDED MANDATES JUST SHACKLE US TO SOMETHING THAT'S UNMANAGEABLE. SO ANYWAY, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE IF ANYBODY'S WATCHING THAT THEY KNOW THAT THEY NEED TO BE WATCHING WHAT'S HAPPENING IN AUSTIN AND WEIGH IN WITH WHAT THEIR THOUGHTS ARE BECAUSE IT AFFECTS, I GUESS, BE PROACTIVE INSTEAD OF JUST REACTIVE TO OUR CITIZENS AND US, [01:35:03] ALL OF US. THANK YOU. AND TO PIGGYBACK OFF OF THAT, THERE'S ONE MORE THING THAT RESIDENTS CAN DO BEFORE THAT HAPPENS, AND THAT IS VOTE AND GET EDUCATED ON WHICH CANDIDATES ARE GOING TO BE PRO LOCAL LOCAL CONTROL AND VOTE ACCORDINGLY. THAT IS THE FIRST FIRST THING WE CAN DO. OKAY. Y'ALL PROVIDE AN AMAZING SERVICE. ANY CITIZEN CAN COME AND WALK UP AND TALK WITH ANY OF Y'ALL. Y'ALL ARE ALWAYS VERY OPEN. AND THAT'S NOT THE CASE WITH STATE LEGISLATORS. THAT'S CORRECT. THAT IS CORRECT. I KNOW. ALL RIGHT. YES. COUNCIL MEMBER FARCO. BRADY I WANT TO THANK YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE, BUT I WANT TO THANK ALL YOU GUYS. YOU GUYS DO SO MUCH FOR LESS THAN ANY OTHER CITY, AND I APPRECIATE THAT. I LIKE THE INNOVATIVE THINKING, GETTING GUYS AND GALS CERTIFIED TO HELP US OUT IN THE FUTURE. THINKING THE FORWARD, THINKING ABOUT NOT PUSHING US TO THAT VOTER APPROVED RATE AND SAVING IT FOR THE FUTURE. THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE APPRECIATE AND I KNOW OUR CITIZENS APPRECIATE IT. YOU GUYS DO SO MUCH FOR OUR CITY AND OUR COMMUNITY. AND I THANK YOU FOR IT. AND ALL I HEAR IS WHAT GREAT THINGS OUR STAFF HAS DONE, WHETHER IT'S THE EVENTS WE'RE PUTTING IT ON, WHETHER IT'S POLICE OR FIRE, WHETHER IT'S PUBLIC WORKS. AND WE APPRECIATE THAT VERY, VERY MUCH. AND I APPRECIATE THE SACRIFICES YOU MAKE ON A REGULAR BASIS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT. ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? CONCERNS, COMMENTS? OKAY. ALL RIGHT. OH, AND I KNOW COUNCILMEMBER GAGLIARDI IS NOT HERE FOR ME TO GO AHEAD AND ADJOURN. ALL RIGHT. SO BRADY, THE NEXT PUBLIC HEARING YOU SAID WILL BE ON THE 11TH. OUR NEXT MEETING IS GOING TO BE ON THE 11TH. WE'RE GOING TO WE'RE GOING TO BE SETTING A LOT OF THINGS, BUT THE PUBLIC HEARINGS WILL BE ON SEPTEMBER 8TH. WE'RE GOING TO SET THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THE 11TH FOR THE EIGHTH. GOT IT. PERFECT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. ALL RIGHT. AND THANK YOU, EVERYONE. WE'LL GO AHEAD AND ADJOURN THIS WORK SESSION AT 7:31. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I'M SORRY. 7:37. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.