* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:11] AND THANK YOU MAYOR. [1. CALL TO ORDER] WITH THAT, I WOULD, UH, LIKE TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. THE LIVE WEBCAST OF THE MEETING MAY BE VIEWED ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE NOTICE AGENDA AND INFORMATION ON THE CITY OF NATIONAL CITY'S WEBSITE. AND FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT THEY MAY SUBMIT A GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OR A PUBLIC COMMENT ON A SPECIFIC AGENDA ITEM IN A NUMBER OF WAYS, IN PERSON. AND DURING THE COUNCIL MEETING VIA ZOOM, UH, ON THE, UH, CITY'S WEBSITE, NO LATER THAN TWO HOURS BEFORE THE MEETING AND EMAILING NO LATER THAN FOUR HOURS BEFORE THE MEETING, ALL WRITTEN COMMENTS RECEIVED WILL BE DISTRIBUTED TO COUNCIL PRIOR TO THE MEETING AND PUBLISHED ON THE CITY WEBSITE. WITH THAT, WE HAVE ROLL CALL PLEASE. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER YAMANI HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER RODRIGUEZ. PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER MOLINA PRESENT, VICE MAYOR BUSH. HERE. MAYOR MORRISON. PRESENT. WE HAVE A QUORUM. OKAY. GROUP, PLEASE STAND WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. AND TONIGHT WE'RE GONNA HAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF THESE, ALMOST START DOWN THAT END RIGHT HAND OVER YOUR HEART. READY? BEGIN PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH STANDS? ONE NATION. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVIDUAL WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE. [4. PUBLIC COMMENT] ALRIGHT, NOW WE WILL HEAR PUBLIC COMMENTS. THIS IS A SPECIAL MEETING, AND ALL PUBLIC COMMENTS ARE RESTRICTED TO THE AGENDA ITEM ONLY. AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE COMMENTS TO, UH, TWO MINUTES PLEASE. OKAY. AND, UH, WITH THAT, UH, LARRY EMERSON BE FOLLOWED BY EDO TO BE FOLLOWED BY ED. GOT SHOCK. TWO MINUTES. YES, YOU LOOK HERE. GOOD EVENING. UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MAYOR, UH, LARRY EMERSON. I LIVE IN NATIONAL CITY SINCE 1964, WAS GONE FOR A WHILE AND CAME BACK AND, UM, SEVEN BROTHERS AND SISTERS ALL GREW UP HERE AND WENT THROUGH LOCAL SCHOOLS. UM, I TAKE PRIDE IN NATIONAL CITY AND TRYING TO KEEP IT CLEAN. MY WIFE AND I AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY HAVE GONE OUT AND HELPED CLEAN THE CITIES STREETS. UM, BUT I, FOR THE BUDGET RELATED ISSUES, I'VE BEEN VOLUNTEERING WITH THE NATIONAL CITY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND I KNOW YOU HAVE THIS BUDGET MEETING AND YOU HAVE A FUTURE PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR. AND I'VE BEEN VOLUNTEERING AT THE, UM, KIMBALL HOUSE ON THE WEEKENDS. AND IT'S REALLY BEEN EXCITING WHEN MEMBERS DRIVE COME BY AND SAY, ARE YOU OPEN? AND THEY WANT TO COME IN AND FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON. WHAT WAS THE HISTORY OF NATIONAL CITY? SO I'VE BEEN PARTICIPATING WITH THAT AND IT'S EXCITING TO BE ABLE TO SHARE THE HISTORY OF NATIONAL CITY WITH PEOPLE WHO COME BY AND ONE PERSON SKATED BY, ARE YOU OPEN? AND THEN THEY BROUGHT BACK A WHOLE FAMILY. SO IT WAS FUN TO SHARE THAT HISTORY. AND I JUST WANTED, WHETHER THIS BUDGET OR NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING, UH, THE PROGRAMS THAT WILL HELP US SHARE THE INFORMATION ON OUR NATIONAL CITY HISTORY SO PEOPLE CAN APPRECIATE, UM, THE, HOW THE CITY GOT STARTED AND THE KIDS CAN HAVE PRIDE IN, IN, AND THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS CAN HAVE PRIDE IN OUR, THE HISTORY OF OUR CITY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. UH, EDO FOLLOWED BY TED GODSHAW, FOLLOWED BY NANCY ESNO. UH, THANK YOU. UM, LET'S SEE. I SEE THE ADJUSTMENTS. IT LOOKED LIKE THERE'S A POSITIVE THING IN TERMS OF AN A POSITIVE EFFECT. UH, STILL STILL SEEM TO HAVE INDICATIONS THAT WE'RE GONNA STILL HAVE A BUDGET DEFICIT. UM, YOU KNOW, WE STARTED OFF AS A $5.5 MILLION BUDGET DEFICIT, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S GONNA BE LESS, WHICH IS A GOOD THING. THE, UH, THING IS I, UH, LIKE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE BACKGROUND OF THE $2 MILLION SHIFT PROJECTS FROM THE APA FUNDING, I GUESS, UH, TO GENERAL FUND MONEY, THAT'S A GOOD THING. BUT I THINK, I HOPE YOU GUYS ASK A, A LOT MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT THE UNDERLYING CAUSES FOR THAT SHIFT TO THE POSITIVE, NOT BECAUSE OF, UM, AND, AND BECAUSE OF DITAS TOO, LAST YEAR, SHE RAISED A GOOD ISSUE ABOUT THE CARRYOVER FROM THE PREVIOUS YEARS, UH, ENCUMBRANCES FOR THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, AND IT WAS A GOOD THING. BUT THE THING IS, SHE HADN'T REALIZED THAT IT HAD BEEN CARRIED OVER FROM THE PREVIOUS PREVIOUS YEARS. AND MY QUESTION NOW IS, DO WE REVIEW THE PREVIOUS, PREVIOUS YEARS ENCUMBRANCES TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S NO OVERSTATED ENCUMBRANCES THAT MIGHT INADVERTENTLY AFFECT US? OR MAYBE IT CAN BE CONTRARY. [00:05:01] WE HAVE LABOR COSTS THAT'S INCREASING AS OF YESTERDAY FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS. DOES THAT INCLUDE THIS? I DON'T EVEN KNOW. LOOKING AT THIS PROJECT HERE, I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THE, THE PROJECTIONS HERE THAT REALLY INCLUDES THE, UH, THE SALARY INCREASES THAT WE HAVE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR. AND IF IT'S ONLY SIX MONTHS, THEN THAT'S SORT OF A, A LAYER THAT'S THERE. AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE. SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS IS A GOOD PIECE OF INFORMATION, BUT IT'S INCOMPLETE. IT'S NOTHING WE CAN HANG OUR HAT ON YET, YOU KNOW, AND, UM, I, I TALKED TO STEVE A LITTLE BIT AND I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING YOU GUYS ASK MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW DID THIS HAPPEN TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE BUDGETARY PROCESS FOR THE FUTURE. NOT TO LAY CULPABILITY, BUT TO LAY IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE, UH, FOR THE FUTURE SO WE CAN HAVE A BETTER BUDGET. THANK YOU. TED GOTCH, WE FOLLOWED BY NANCY . HELLO MAYOR. TED GOTCH HERE. UH, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO ALLOW US THREE MINUTES WHEN THERE ARE FEWER THAN 10 SPEAKERS. JUST TO PUT THAT OUT THERE, ED BRINGS UP SOME GOOD IDEAS AND SOME GOOD POINTS. THE ARPA MONEY HAS BEEN CHANGED AND CHANGED. AGAIN, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S HIJACKED TO ME. THE PUBLIC HAD WEIGHED IN ON HOW TO SPEND MONEY LEFT OVER AFTER STAFF OVERTIME WAS PAID, ET CETERA. SO PLEASE TELL THE PUBLIC THE EXACT BUDGET CHANGES SPOKEN ABOUT ON PAGE THREE, PARAGRAPH THREE BELOW TABLE B, EXPENDITURES GIVE US A REAL REASON FOR ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC WORKS HAS IDENTIFIED, PREVIOUSLY PROGRAMMED GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATIONS THAT WILL BE SHIFTED TO ARPA FUNDING. ALSO, THE, THE DATA IS VERY OLD. YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE SALES TAX REPORT THAT'S VERY OLD, LOOKING AT CHANGING ECONOMIC CONDITIONS THAT ARE, THAT ARE WORSE IN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS. YOU'RE LOOKING AT, AS ED SAID, THEIR LABOR AGREEMENTS THAT ARE COMING IN. AND SO WE NEED TO BE MUCH MORE TIMELY IN THESE REPORTS AND IN THESE, IN THE, IN THIS STUDY. THANK YOU NANCY ESNO. UM, HI, NANCY ESNO. AND, UM, I'M HERE AS PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL CITY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. AND, UM, I KNOW YOU, THE CITY COUNCIL IS WATCHING THE SPENDING AND DOING WELL. I'M JUST HERE TO LEARN MORE. BUT I WANTED TO MENTION THAT WE, UH, JUST FINISHED PAINTING THE FRONT PORCH OF KIMBALL MUSEUM. AND, UM, WE'RE GETTING READY FOR MARCH 8TH, OPEN HOUSE, WHICH IS PART OF THE ARCHITECTURAL ASSOCIATION. YOU'RE ALL INVITED, AND WE'LL BE OPEN FROM 10 TO UH, FOUR WITH, UH, FILIPINO AND MEXICAN COOKIES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER SPEAKERS? NO, WE DO NOT. THANK YOU. WITH [5.1 Fiscal Year 2025 Mid-Year Budget Status Report] THAT, WE GO INTO OUR STAFF REPORT, WHICH IS THE FISCAL YEAR 2025, MID-YEAR BUDGET STATUS REPORT. AND, UH, BRUCE, TURN THAT OVER TO YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL. BEFORE I GIVE THE, THE MIC TO OUR NEW, UH, NEWER, ALMOST BRAND NEW, BUT NEWER FINANCE DIRECTOR BRUCE LTZ. I JUST WANNA MAKE SOME OPENING COMMENTS. UM, I THINK I SAID, UM, WHEN WE APPROVED THE, THE BUDGET AT THE FISCAL YEAR, THERE WAS NO TIME TO PANIC, I THINK WERE MY EXACT WORDS. I STILL FEEL THAT WAY. UH, WE'RE NOT IN A PANIC MODE. UM, BUT WE'RE IN A MODE OF, OF STILL JUST DEEP DEEPLY ANALYZING WHERE WE'RE AT FINANCIALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH THE MARKETS AND THE POLITICAL ARENA GRANTS, EVERYTHING THAT'S OUT THERE THAT WE NEED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT. UH, WE'VE HIRED MR. FOLTZ TO COME IN AND BE OUR NEW FINANCE DIRECTOR, AND I THINK HE'S DONE JUST AN ABSOLUTELY ADMIRABLE JOB IN COMING IN AND, YOU KNOW, GETTING TO KNOW HIS STAFF, GETTING TO KNOW OUR PROCESS, THE CITY, EVERYTHING. AND THEN HELPING US PREPARE THIS MIDYEAR BUDGET. SO THAT'S NOT AN EASY LIFT, UH, FOR EVERYONE SHOULD REALIZE THAT. VERY, VERY HAPPY WITH THE PRODUCT WE CAME OUT, UH, WITH, HAVE COME OUT WITH, UM, HE'S GONNA GO THROUGH THE DETAILS OF THE REPORT, BUT, UM, AGAIN, NO REASON TO PANIC. I THINK WE'RE ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, WORKING OUR WAY THROUGH THE PROCESS, UM, UH, WE'RE GONNA END UP IN A, A MUCH MORE POSITIVE SITUATION, UH, FROM STANDPOINT OF THE DEFICIT AND USE OF UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE AT BY THE END YEAR END, BE IT BY YEAR END, FISCAL YEAR END. THAT IS THE, THE PROJECTION. UM, AND I THINK WE REMAIN, CONTINUE TO REMAIN TO BE CONSERVATIVE ABOUT THINGS, YOU KNOW, NOT, NOT BOLSTERING REVENUES THAT MAY OR MAY NOT COME. UM, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO, THIS, THIS, THIS WAS ACHIEVED, UH, TODAY, THIS REPORT BY REDUCTION [00:10:01] IN SOME CASE OF REVENUES. UM, SO WE'RE TRYING TO PROVIDE A MORE REALISTIC, UH, PICTURE OVERALL. THAT'S WHAT A BUDGET IS, THAT'S WHAT A MID-YEAR REVIEW IS. IT'S A PICTURE AND TIME. AND I THINK A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LEARNING AND SEEING FROM MR. FOLTZ IS GONNA HELP US TELL A MORE ACCURATE PHOTO. UM, I, I WOULD REJECT THE NOTION THAT WE ARE PUTTING TOGETHER SOMETHING, UM, WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO HIDE SOMETHING OR IT'S A DIFFICULT JOB, YOU KNOW, UH, TO PUT TOGETHER A BUDGET FOR A CITY. AND, AND WE'RE ALL, WE HAVE A LOT OF NEW PLAYERS, UM, AND, UH, THINGS HAVE BEEN DONE A CERTAIN WAY FOR INTERNATIONAL CITY IN MANY ASPECTS FOR MANY, MANY, MANY YEARS. SO IT'S OKAY IF IT'S GOOD THAT WE HAVE NEW FOLKS IN, WE'RE LOOKING AT THINGS FROM A FRESH PERSPECTIVE, AND IT TAKES TIME. YOU DON'T GET EVERYTHING NAILED DOWN. AND EVEN A YEAR, NOT EVEN TWO, MAYBE THREE, YOU START TO REALLY FORM A BASIS FOR HOW YOU'RE DOING THINGS, HOW WE'RE PUTTING IT TOGETHER, A BUDGET. SO WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY WELL ON OUR WAY AND, AND TELLING THAT PICTURE. I THINK, I THINK THAT AGAIN, WHAT YOU'RE, WHAT YOU'VE SEEN AND WHAT WE'VE BRIEFED YOU ON, UM, IS HEADING IN THE RIGHT, RIGHT DIRECTION. I LOOK FORWARD, UH, TO PREPARATION OF THE NEW BUDGET, UH, YEAR FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR. AND WE WILL BE HAVING WORKSHOPS AND, AND MUCH PUBLIC OUTREACH ON, ON THAT PROCESS. UM, BUT THIS RIGHT NOW IS JUST OUR MID-YEAR BUDGET REVIEW. UM, WE HAVE SEVERAL RECOMMENDATIONS AT THE, AT THE END OF THE REPORT FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. SO BRUCE, IF YOU COULD PLEASE GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR CITY COUNCIL. UM, THE PRESENTATION TONIGHT IS FOR THE MIDYEAR, UM, REVIEW. SOME OF THE THINGS I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT REAL QUICKLY TONIGHT IS A LOOK AT REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES FOR THE SE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS. SORRY, BRUCE, CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE BUDGET? SURE. LOOK AT REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES FOR THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF THIS PHYSICAL YEAR. SO THAT'D BE THE PERIOD JULY THROUGH JANUARY. AND I'LL EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT LATER WHY WE'RE SELECTING THAT TIME PERIOD VERSUS JUST JULY THROUGH DECEMBER. UM, LOOK AT BUDGET ENHANCEMENT ITEMS THAT WE, UM, HAD ORIGINALLY IN THE INITIAL BUDGET AND THEN OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE GENERAL FUND REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES. JUST SOME FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS OF, UM, THE GENERAL FUND PROPERTY AND SALES TAX TOGETHER COMBINED REPRESENT 79% OF OUR GENERAL FUND REVENUES, PROPERTY TAX REPRESENTING 23% WHILE UM, SALES TAX IS 56% WITHIN SALES TAX. THERE'S ALSO A SALES TAX REPORT, UM, ATTACHED TO THE MIDYEAR, BUT THE THREE LARGEST COMPONENTS IS AUTO SALES, GENERAL CONSUMER GOODS, AND THE COUNTY POOL. THOSE THREE ITEMS ALONE REPRESENT ABOUT 69% OF ALL, UM, SALES TAX REVENUES. AND THEN WITHIN OUR GENERAL FUND, UM, WAGES AND BENEFITS REPRESENT ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF OUR GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES. AND THEN PUBLIC SAFETY MAKES UP ABOUT 62% OF OUR GENERAL FUND WITH POLICE REPRESENTING 4%, 44% AND FIRE, UM, 18%. THIS IS A VISUAL OF OUR, UM, SALES TAX REVENUES. AS YOU CAN SEE, SALES TAXES AND PROPERTY TAX ARE OUR TWO LARGEST COMPONENTS. LOOKING OVER THE PAST SEVEN YEARS. PROPERTY TAX WHILE HAS FLUCTUATED FROM YEAR TO YEAR. SOME, SOME YEARS HAS GROWN A LITTLE FASTER THAN OTHERS IS, HAS GROWN REALLY AT A STEADY RATE, ABOUT 6.4% OVER THE PAST SEVEN YEARS, LOOKING AT SALES TAX. UM, WHILE WE DID HAVE A DIP IN 2020, UM, AND A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN 2022, THE STEADY GROWTH OVER THE PAST SEVEN YEARS HAS ROUGHLY BEEN ABOUT 5%. LOOKING AT GENERAL FUNDS REVENUES, UM, ON THE LEFT HAND COLUMN IS BROKEN OUT BY MAJOR CATEGORIES WITH THE TWO LARGEST CATEGORIES, PROPERTY TAX AND SALES TAX BEING AT THE TOP, UM, IN THE MIDDLE COLUMN OF REPRESENTING THE REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR, FOR THE PERIOD OF JULY THROUGH JANUARY. THE PRIMARY REASON OF SELECTING JULY THROUGH JANUARY BECAUSE OF OUR PROPERTY TAX. UM, AS YOU KNOW, PROPERTY TAX ARE DUE TO THE COUNTY WITHOUT PENALTY ON, UM, DECEMBER 10TH AND APRIL 10TH. SO THE LARGEST PROPORTION OF OUR REVENUES COMING FROM THE COUNTY FOR PROPERTY TAX COMES IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY FOR THE FIRST INSTALLMENT, AND THEN THE SECOND INSTALLMENT HAPPENS IN APRIL AND MAY. SO REALLY IT TAKES SO TIME PERIOD OF JANUARY BEFORE WE REALLY HAVE A GOOD ESTIMATE OF WHERE WE STAND WITH OUR PROPERTY TAX. SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT A FAR RIGHT HAND COLUMN THAT REPRESENTS WHAT WE'VE ACTUALLY RECEIVED COMPARED TO OUR BUDGET. AND WE'VE RECEIVED 52% OF WHAT WE HADN'T BUDGETED FOR THIS YEAR. SO WE'RE RIGHT ON TARGET. WE WOULD EXPECT IT TO BE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 51 50 2%. UM, AT THIS, AT THE END OF JANUARY, [00:15:01] SALES TAX IS, UM, IT COMES IN AT A TWO MONTH DELAY. SO THE PROPERTY TAX, EXCUSE ME, THE SALES TAX THAT IS COLLECTED BY THE MERCHANTS IN THE MONTH OF JULY IS REMITTED TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IN AUGUST. AND THEN IN SEPTEMBER, WE ACTUALLY RECEIVE THOSE PROCEEDS. SO WE RECOGNIZE THOSE ON AN ACCRUAL BASIS WHEN THEY WERE ACTUALLY EARNED AT THE MERCHANT LEVEL VERSUS WHEN WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED AS A CASH BASIS. SO AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WE RECOGNIZE JUNE'S REVENUE COMING IN, IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST. SO THAT'S WHY THAT NUMBER, THAT PERCENTAGE LOOKS DOWN. SO IF WE LOOK AT, UM, COLLECTING FIVE OUT OF 12 MONTHS, FIVE 12 REPRESENTS 41.7%. WE HAVE 41 UM PERCENT RIGHT NOW. AND SO IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE RIGHT ON TARGET. IF WE LOOK AT FRANCHISE FEES, UM, LOOKS LIKE WE'VE ONLY COLLECTED 20%, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT COMPARATIVE 2024, UM, TO 25 IS ACTUALLY UP. REASON THAT PERCENTAGE LOOKS SO LOW AT THIS POINT. THE TWO LARGEST FRANCHISE, UM, CONTRIBUTORS IS GAS AND ELECTRIC PUBLIC UTILITIES. THEY ARE ENTITLED TO MAKE THEIR PAYMENT TO US, UM, RIGHT AROUND APRIL AND MAY IS THEIR CALCULATION IS BASED ON AN ANNUAL, UM, ANNUAL SALES, AND THEY ADMIT THEIR, UM, PAYMENTS TO US ONCE A YEAR AS OPPOSED TO THE CABLE COMPANY AND REFUGE THEY SUBMIT ON A QUARTERLY BASIS. AND, UM, THE OTHER SIGNIFICANT ITEM THERE AT 91% LOOK AT OTHER REVENUES THAT CAN CONSIST OF, UM, SEVERAL ITEMS. IT REPRESENTS, UH, A LOT OF INTEREST THAT WE'VE RECEIVED. IT REPRESENTS ANY TYPE OF GRANT REVENUE THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED SO FAR. WE RECEIVED LOW, LOW OVER A MILLION DOLLARS AS REIMBURSEMENT FOR FIRE, PLEASE EXCUSE ME, FOR FIRE REIMBURSEMENT FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. SO THAT NUMBER IS RUNNING A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN WHAT WE WOULD NORMALLY EXPECT. LOOKING AT GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES, PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, REPRESENTING POLICE HERE AT 44% AND FIRE AT 18% GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES. SO I HAVE TWO SLIDES. THIS IS BROKEN DOWN BY DEPARTMENT. ON THE LEFT HAND COLUMN, YOU CAN SEE THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS WITH THE TWO LARGEST DEPARTMENTS AT TOP. I HAVE THE BLUE COLUMN REPRESENTS THE ACTIVITY FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR FOR THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS, AND THEN COMPARATIVE TO THE TWO PRIOR YEARS. THE COLUMN IN THE GREEN REPRESENTS OUR BUDGET THAT WE ADOPTED IN ANY AMENDMENT SO FAR AFTER THIS YEAR. AND THEN THE FAR RIGHT COLUMN REPRESENTS, UM, THE AMOUNT OF ACTUAL EXPENDITURES COMPARED TO OUR BUDGET. SO AT THIS POINT RIGHT NOW, REALLY BEING SEVEN MONTHS INTO THE YEAR, SEVEN 12 REPRESENTS 58%. SO, UM, RIGHT NOW ALL DEPARTMENTS ARE RUNNING JUST SLIGHTLY LESS THAN 58% IS WHAT WE WOULD KIND OF EXPECT AT THIS POINT. UM, THE ONLY DEPARTMENT THAT WE SEE THAT'S A LITTLE BIT HIGH AT THIS POINT, I'LL DRILL DOWN A LITTLE BIT FARTHER LATER, UM, IS FIRE IS THAT 65%, UM, CONSUMPTION OF THEIR BUDGET. AND THAT'S MOSTLY DUE TO OVERTIME AND MOSTLY A LARGE PORTION OF THAT IS REIMBURSABLE OVER TIME. SO WHAT THAT PORTION IS GOOD THAT WE WILL, WE WILL RECEIVE A REIMBURSEMENT LATER. THE OTHER ITEM THAT LOOKS EXTREMELY LOW IS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT. WE DID BUDGET 3 MILLION FOR THIS YEAR. SOME OF THOSE MONIES HAVE BEEN DIVERTED USING, UM, OTHER FUNDING SOURCES SUCH AS ARPA THAT WE WILL NOT BE USING THIS YEAR. SO THAT'S WHY THAT NUMBER IS RELATIVELY LOW AT THIS POINT. THIS ALSO IS GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES. ON THE LEFT HAND COLUMN IS BY TYPE. THIS IS REALLY HOW WE SPEND OUR MONEY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WITH WAGES AND BENEFITS REPRESENTING TWO THIRDS OF OUR GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES. AGAIN, THE CURRENT ACTIVITY IS IN THE BLUE COLUMN IN THE MIDDLE COMPARATIVE TO THE TWO PRIOR YEARS. AND THEN ON THE FAR RIGHT COLUMN REPRESENTS HOW MUCH WE'VE CONSUMED TO THIS BUDGET VERSUS HOW MUCH WE'VE ACTUALLY CONSUMED COMPARED TO OUR BUDGET. SO AGAIN, UM, WAGES AND BENEFITS IS RIGHT AT 58% IS WHERE WE WOULD EXPECT US TO BE. THAT IS ONE OF THE AREAS THAT IS NOT ONLY THE LARGEST SINGLE EXPENSE IN OUR GENERAL FUND, BUT IT'S ONE OF THE AREAS THAT'S VERY CONSISTENT BECAUSE WE PAY ON A CONSISTENT BASIN BASIS TO OUR EMPLOYEES AS TO WAIT AS OPPOSED TO OPERATING MAINTENANCE. IT CAN FLUCTUATE FROM MONTH TO MONTH ON HOW MUCH WE SPEND THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. WE DO PAY OUR REGULAR UTILITIES, UM, OUR ELECTRIC BILL OR GAS BILLS AND SO FORTH. BUT OTHER ITEMS WITHIN OPERATING MAINTENANCE COSTS CAN FLUCTUATE. FOR EXAMPLE, CONTRACT SERVICES. THERE MAY BE A DELAY IN A, IN A PARTICULAR ITEM, SO FORTH. OVERALL, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT CONSUMPTION OF OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET AT 54% SINCE, UM, LABOR COSTS REPRESENTS SUCH A LARGE COMPONENT OF OUR GENERAL FUND. I WANTED TO PRESENT THIS SLIDE SO THEY HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING [00:20:01] OF WHAT MAKES UP OUR, UM, WAGES AND BENEFITS. SO AT THE TOP LINE, WE HAVE FULL-TIME WAGES FOLLOWED BY PART-TIME OVERTIME, OUR REIMBURSABLE OVERTIME, PERS AND BENE AND OUR REGULAR, ALL OTHER BENEFITS THEY'RE PROVIDED TO THE EMPLOYEES. AGAIN, THE MIDDLE COLUMN REPRESENTS THE ACTIVITY FOR THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, AND THE FAR RIGHT COLUMN REPRESENTS THE CONSUMPTION OF OUR ACTUAL USE OF OUR BUDGET. SO LOOKING AT FULL-TIME WAGES, WE WOULD EXPECT BEING SEVEN MONTHS INTO THE YEAR THAT THAT NUMBER WOULD BE CLOSER TO 58%. IT'S ACTUALLY LOOKING AT 51%. THAT'S DUE TO A LOT OF VACANCIES THROUGHOUT THE CITY. WE HAVE NUMEROUS VACANCIES IN VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS, AND SO THAT'S CAUSING THE, UM, THAT PERCENT TO BE MUCH LOWER THAN 58%. HOWEVER, OVERALL WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OR OVERALL, UM, WITHIN WAGES AND BENEFITS, WE ARE AT 58%. YOU ALSO NOTICE THAT OVER TIME AND REIMBURSABLE OVERTIME IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN WHAT'LL BE BUDGETED. UM, SO FAR WE HAVE ACTUALLY GONE SPENT MORE THAN WHAT WE BUDGETED, AND SO THERE'S A FLUCTUATION THERE, UM, BETWEEN FULL-TIME SALARIES AND OVERTIME. BUT COLLECTIVELY TOGETHER WE'VE ONLY USED 58% OF OUR BUDGET. DRILLING DOWN A LITTLE BIT FARTHER INTO OUR OVERTIME BUDGET, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE BLUE COLUMN REPRESENTS WHAT WE'VE ACTUALLY SPENT SO FAR FOR THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF THIS YEAR. COMPARED TO OUR BUDGET IN THE GREEN COLUMN. UM, WE HAVE CERTAINLY SPENT MORE THAN WHAT WE BUDGETED THE FIRE REIMBURSABLE OVER TIME, JUST LOW, OVER A MILLION DOLLARS. UM, THAT IS A REIMBURSABLE WE HAVE COLLECTED SO FAR, A GOOD PORTION OF THOSE FUNDS. HOWEVER, UM, WE'LL BE MAKING SOME RECOMMENDATIONS OF ADDITIONAL INCREASES IN REVENUES DUE TO MORE MONEY SHOULD BE COMING BACK TO US. SO AS YOU LOOK INTO KIND OF THE PINK COLUMN AND REIMBURSABLE, WE'VE ACTUALLY SPENT, UM, $317,000 MORE THAN WHAT WE ACTUALLY BUDGETED. SO THOSE, THAT MONEY WILL ACTUALLY BE RES REMITTED TO CALIFORNIA FOR REIMBURSEMENT. SO WE WILL RECEIVE THOSE FUNDS BACK IN THE FUTURE. A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, THE BUDGET ENHANCEMENTS THAT WERE, UM, ADOPTED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FISCAL YEAR, A TOTAL OF 1.9 MILLION THAT CAN BE BROKEN DOWN INTO TWO CATEGORIES, LABOR AND OPERATING MAINTENANCE COST. UH, THERE WERE VARIOUS ITEMS OR VARIOUS POSITIONS AND THROUGHOUT THE GENERAL FUND WERE REQUESTING ADDITIONAL STAFFING OF THE 1.2 MILLION THAT WAS ADDITIONAL STAFFING. THERE WAS A SAVINGS, A LITTLE OVER A MILLION DOLLARS DUE TO, UM, POSITIONS THAT WERE NOT ACTUALLY FILLED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. UM, A LITTLE BIT OF SAVINGS OF FROM OPERATING MAINTENANCE COSTS OF ITEMS THAT WERE NOT SPENT. AND AS THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS THIS YEAR, THERE IS A TOTAL OF 61% SAVINGS FROM THE ENHANCEMENT ITEMS. SO THESE ENHANCEMENT ITEMS WERE IN ADDITION TO OUR BASELINE BUDGET. AND AS WE STAND AT, AT THIS POINT RIGHT NOW, SEVEN MONTHS INTO THE YEAR, WE DO NOT ANTICIPATE FILLING THE REMAINDER OF THOSE POSITIONS THAT WERE IN THE ORIGINAL 1.2 MILLION, AS WELL AS HOLDING FIRM ON THE ITEMS THAT WE HAD, ADDITIONAL PURCHASES THAT WE HAD PLANNED. WE DO NOT PLAN TO SPEND THOSE GOING FORWARD. SO OVERALL, UH, THE 1.9 MILLION THAT WE DID ADD TO THE BUDGET, THERE IS A SAVINGS AT ONE POINT, ALMOST 1.2 MILLION IN TOTAL. SO, UM, THIS IS JUST KIND OF A REHAB RECAP OF ACTUALLY WHAT TOOK PLACE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. SO THE MIDDLE COLUMN, WHICH IS KIND OF A BROWNISH COLOR THAT REPRESENTS THE PROPOSED BUDGET GOING INTO THIS FISCAL YEAR. THIS, THESE FIGURES WERE BROUGHT TO YOU AT THE SECOND WORKSHOP IN MAY, SO AROUND MAY 21ST, THE CITY HAD PRESENTED A BUDGET THAT REPRESENTED ALMOST A $7 MILLION DEFICIT. AND THEN BY THE ADOPTION OF THE BUDGET ON JUNE 4TH, UM, REPRESENTED A DEFICIT OF ALMOST $5 MILLION. SINCE THAT TIME, THERE'S BEEN VARIOUS BUDGET ITEMS. THEY'VE COME TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL. FOR EXAMPLE, THE POLICE COLA IN ROUGHLY AROUND AROUND SEPTEMBER. AND THEN IN DECEMBER WE HAD THE COLA INCREASE FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, MEA AND CONFIDENTIALS. WE ALSO HAD VARIOUS ITEMS THAT WERE BROUGHT TO CITY COUNCIL TO INCREASE APPROPRIATIONS, FOR EXAMPLE, THE STAR DUTCH REMEDIATION PROJECT, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, A PURCHASE OF A FIRE VEHICLE. ALL THOSE ITEMS TOTAL ADDED $2.6 MILLION TO OUR BUDGET FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR, ACTUALLY INCREASING OUR DEFICIT FROM 5 MILLION UP TO SEVEN POINT, ALMOST 7.5 MILLION. SO INCREASE OF 2.6 MILLION IN [00:25:01] TOTAL. AND THAT IS WHERE THE BUDGET STOOD AT THIS POINT. GOING INTO OUR MIDYEAR, WE'RE LOOKING AT, AT THAT VERY LARGE DEFICIT. OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS MIDYEAR, UH, OUR REVENUE RECOMMENDATIONS WOULD CONSIST OF THE FOLLOWING. AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, UH, WE ANTICIPATE RECEIVING ADDITIONAL, UM, REFUND FROM THE STATE FOR OVERTIME FOR FIRE OVERTIME, A TOTAL OF, UM, HALF A MILLION DOLLARS. SO FAR WE'VE RECEIVED INFORMATION AND FROM OUR PROPERTY TAX REVENUE FROM VLF REVENUE, UH, IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL $276,000 THAT WILL COME TO THE CITY. INTEREST RATES HAVE STILL REMAIN HIGH. THE CITY HAS RECEIVED, UM, SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF INTEREST INCOME AT THIS POINT. WE EXPECT THAT THE TOTAL FOR THE YEAR WILL BE OVER A MILLION DOLLARS OF INTEREST COMING TO THE CITY. UM, REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE, UM, STARDUST END TOTAL OF 281,000. WE HAVE ACTUALLY RECEIVED THAT MONEY WHEN THE ORIGINAL STAFF REPORT CAME TO CITY COUNCIL TO INCREASE APPROPRIATIONS OF $450,000. AT THAT TIME, WE DID NOT INCREASE THE BUDGET. WE HAVE SINCE RECEIVED THAT PAYMENT FROM THE STATE. AND SO WE ARE RECOGNIZING THOSE REVENUES COMING IN. WE JUST RECENTLY MET WITH OUR SALES TAX CONSULTANT AND THE REPORT, UM, IS IN THE STAFF REPORT. THEY ARE RECOMMENDING THAT OVERALL, THEIR PROJECTIONS FROM LAST MAY, THAT, THAT THE CURRENT SALES TAX FOR THIS YEAR WILL BE DOWN, UM, $94,000. SO WE'RE RECOMMENDING AN ADJUSTMENT FOR THAT. ANOTHER ADJUSTMENT IS SINCE THE SWIMMING POOL HAS BEEN CLOSED FOR OUR RE UM, REMODELING, UM, THE REVENUE THAT WE WOULD ORIGINALLY ANTICIPATE RECEIVING, UM, WE WILL NOT BE RECEIVING 'CAUSE IT'S CLOSED. WE RECOMMEND AN ADJUSTMENT THERE OF 280,000 AND CANNABIS BUSINESS FEES, UM, HAS BEEN A LITTLE BIT SLOWER COMING IN. AND SO WE ORIGINALLY BUDGETED 250,000 FOR THAT REVENUE FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR. WE WERE RECOMMENDING ADJUSTING THAT DOWN 150,000. SO WE'RE RECOMMENDING OVERALL WITH OUR INCREASES AND OUR REDUCTION IN REVENUES, A NET INCREASE OF 1.1 MILLION IN THE GENERAL FUND. ON OUR EXPENDITURE SIDE, THERE'S SEVERAL ITEMS THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING TO REDUCE, UM, REDUCTION IN CONTRACT SERVICES. WE HAVE SOME CONTRACTS, UM, CONTRACT SERVICES WITHIN BOTH PUBLIC WORKS AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT THAT, UM, LOOKS LIKE WILL NOT BE NEEDED THIS YEAR. SO THERE'S A SAVINGS OF $370,000. THE STARDUST REMEDIATION ORIGINALLY ASKED FOR ADDITIONAL A HUNDRED, EXCUSE ME, 450,000 OF APPROPRIATIONS. WE SPENT 281,000. SO THERE IS A SAVINGS OF MONEY THAT WE DO NOT NEED. UM, AND THAT'S A TOTAL OF 168,000. AND THEN A TRANSFER OF 475,000 TO BOTH, UM, PARK MAINTENANCE AND LIBRARY FUND. THERE'S, UM, STAFFING AS WELL AS PROJECTS WITHIN THOSE, UM, TWO FUNDS THAT HAVE BEEN EXTENDED THAT WILL GO INTO NEXT YEAR AND NOT BE, UM, COME, WILL NOT BE SPENT THIS FISCAL YEAR. SO THERE'S ACTUALLY CASH FLOW SAVINGS FOR THIS YEAR, AS WELL AS $2 MILLION SAVINGS IN CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS. AND THAT WAS BROUGHT ABOUT BY DIVERTING 1.5 MILLION TO ARPA FUNDING, AS WELL AS ANOTHER PROJECT THAT WILL BE DELAYED UNTIL NEXT FISCAL YEAR. SO BECAUSE THOSE FUNDS WILL NOT BE NEEDED FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND, WE'RE RECOMMENDING ADJUSTING THE GENERAL FUND. WITH THAT BEING SAID, THERE'S A TOTAL A REDUCTION OF EXPENDITURES WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND OF $3 MILLION, BRINGING OUR DEFICIT DOWN FOR THIS YEAR. FOR THIS CURRENT YEAR, WE'RE LOOKING AT ROUGHLY A $3.3 MILLION DEFICIT. SO THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF A TIMELINE GOING OVER FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF OUR BUDGET. AGAIN, THE KIND OF OUR BEIGE COLOR IN THE VERY MIDDLE WAS WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY PROPOSED TO CITY COUNCIL. THEN THE ADOPTION OF A $4.9 MILLION DEFICIT. IT INCREASED TO ROUGHLY 7.5 MILLION DUE TO ADDITIONAL REQUESTS FOR FUNDING. AND BASED ON OUR MIDYEAR ADJUSTMENTS OF ADDITIONAL INCREASE IN REVENUES OF A LITTLE OVER A MILLION DOLLARS AND SAVINGS OF EXPENDITURES OF JUST OVER 3 MILLION, WE ANTICIPATE OUR DEFICIT FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR WOULD BE 3.3 MILLION. SO, LOOKING AT OUR UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE, UM, AS OF THE AUDIT REPORT OF 2023, OUR UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE IS 23 MILLION. UM, AFTER DOING SOME FURTHER ANALYSIS THIS PAST WEEK, LOOKING AT OUR, [00:30:01] UM, 2024 UNASSIGNED BALANCE, WE ACTUALLY ANTICIPATE THAT THAT BALANCE WILL INCREASE ROUGHLY 1.5 MILLION. UM, THESE ARE UNAUDITED FINANCIAL NUMBERS FOR 2024. THE AUDIT IS NOT COMPLETE, BUT WE ANTICIPATE RIGHT NOW, UNLESS THERE'S SOME MAJOR ADJUSTMENTS BY THE AUDITORS, WE ANTICIPATE THAT THE UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE AT THE END OF 2024 WILL BE ROUGHLY 24.5 MILLION WITH THE PROJECTED DEFICIT IN FY 25, LOOKING AT A DEFICIT OF 3.3 MILLION, WE'LL BRING OUR UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE BY THE END OF JUNE OF THIS FISCAL YEAR AT 21.1 MILLION. AND JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF WHERE WE STAND, UM, THIS IS OUR BALANCES AS THE END OF 2024. THESE ARE STILL, UM, FOR MOST PART UNAUDITED, BUT WE ARE LOOKING AT, AT THE END OF LAST FISCAL YEAR, STARTING AT THIS FISCAL YEAR. WE HAVE NOT MADE ANY MORE ADJUSTMENTS. THE EP TRUST AND THE PENSION TRUST, UM, THEY WILL EARN INTEREST. SO THOSE NUMBERS WILL INCREASE BY THE END OF 2025. WE DO NOT HAVE THOSE INTEREST NUMBERS YET, BUT THOSE NUMBERS WILL INCREASE. THE, UM, FACILITY MAINTENANCE RESERVE AS WELL AS THE ECONOMIC CONTINGENCY RESERVES HAVE REMAINED CONSTANT. THEY HAVE NOT CHANGED. UM, THEY CANNOT INCREASE OR DECREASE WITHOUT COUNCIL AUTHORITY. SO THOSE HAVE REMAINED, UM, STEADY OVER THE PAST YEAR AND THROUGHOUT THIS YEAR. AND THEN ARE UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCES AT 24.5 MILLION. AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, MR. MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL. JUST CLOSING COMMENTS, UH, UPON BRUCE'S COMPLETION HERE. YOU KNOW, IT, IT MAKES ME, I WANT TO REFLECT ON A COUPLE THINGS. SO I WANT TO THANK ALSO, UH, JANELLE AND PAUL WHO PLAYED A CRITICAL ROLE IN ASSISTING AND THE WHOLE FINANCE TEAM IN, IN ASSISTING BRUCE IN PREPARING THESE NUMBERS. UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IT'S NOT EASY TO COME INTO AN ORGANIZATION, YOU KNOW, ON THE FLY AND PREPARE SOMETHING LIKE THIS. AND HE, HE, HE LITERALLY ARRIVED FIVE MONTHS AGO. SO YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB. AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT FROM THE FINANCE STAFF IN BRINGING HIM UP TO SPEED AND, AND THEM HAVING THOSE DISCUSSIONS, YOU KNOW, TO AGAIN, PAINT THAT MOST REALISTIC PICTURE AS POSSIBLE. UH, I ALSO, WHEN I LOOK ACROSS OUR, OUR, OUR, THE BOARD HERE AND ALL THE DEPARTMENTS, I'M REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE COMMITMENT WE'VE DONE. WE'VE ACHIEVED THIS WITH PROVIDING A HIGHER AND BETTER QUALITY LEVEL OF SERVICE. I MEAN, IN GENERAL, THE, THE, THE STREETS, UH, THE CITY IS GENERALLY CLEANER. THAT'S NOT WHERE I WANT IT TO BE. WE NEED TO DO WAY BETTER. IT'S GENERALLY CLEANER, GENERALLY KIND OF THE HOTSPOT AND THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW. AND WE GET COMPLAINTS FROM THE PUBLIC. WE GENERALLY DOING A BETTER JOB. IF YOU'RE COMING TO BE SERVICED BY, BY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES IN CITY HALL, YOU'RE GETTING A WAY BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE. SO WE'RE ACHIEVING THIS THROUGH BETTER QUALITY CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SERVICES OVERALL. THAT'S MY OPINION. I THINK IT'S PRETTY MUCH A FACT, BUT, YOU KNOW, HARD TO KIND OF PROVE. BUT I, YOU KNOW, UM, IT, IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY THE, THE, THE SENTIMENT. WE SEE THAT THROUGH, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, THE INPUT WE GET FROM, FROM CUSTOMERS. UM, I WANT MAKE THE POINT ALSO THAT, UM, TO SEE, I DIDN'T PREPARE MY COMMENTS 'CAUSE I, I WANT TO, I WANT TO SPEAK FROM THE HEART HERE. UM, AND I TELL YOU, THE COMMITMENT BY EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THESE DEPARTMENTS, UH, IN THIS TYPE OF ENVIRONMENT TO, TO PROVIDE A HIGH QUALITY LEVEL OF CUSTOMER SERVICES, ALL THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE, UM, AT, WITH A MINIMUM STAFF, THIN STAFF. WE'RE, WE'RE VERY THINLY STAFFED HERE. EVERYBODY WORKS, DIRECTORS, EVERYBODY WORKS. THERE'S NO ONE'S POINTING, NO ONE'S STANDING IN THEIR OFFICE DIRECTING AND POINTING. EVERYONE WORKS. I MEAN, THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL WORK IN THE CITY, , YOU GUYS WORK. YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE NOT JUST POLICY, UH, FOLKS, YOU ALSO WORK. AND SO IT, IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST AMAZING. I DON'T THINK WE WOULD'VE ACHIEVED THIS WITHOUT KIND OF THE, THE CLOSE CONCERT OF MUSIC THAT WE PUT TOGETHER HERE. WHEN WE HAVE A PROBLEM LIKE STARDUST MOTEL, WE TACKLE IT. WE DON'T LET IT GET OUTTA CONTROL. WE GET REFUNDED BY THE STATE. IT SHOWS UP IN OUR BUDGET. IF WE WERE NOT A MORE PROACTIVE CITY, THAT WOULD BE SOME BIG SPIRALING PROBLEM CAUSING US MORE PROBLEMS, MONEY. AND WE'RE NOT ON TOP OF IT. I'M NOT SAYING WE'RE PERFECT, BUT WE'RE REALLY DOING A GOOD JOB WITH, AGAIN, A THIN STAFF. AND THAT'S ONLY BECAUSE WE HAVE REALLY DEDICATED EMPLOYEES. YOU KNOW, REALLY DEDICATED FROM THE TOP TO THE BOTTOM. WE HAVE BOTTOM TO THE TOP, HOWEVER YOU WANNA SAY IT, WE HAVE DEDICATED FOLKS HERE. [00:35:01] I AM DEDICATED. I AM DEDICATED TO WHAT I DO HERE. IT'S NOT EASY, IT'S NOT FUN, BUT I'M DEDICATED TO, UM, AND WE ARE ACHIEVING A, A BETTER CITY ORGANIZATION. I CAN TELL YOU THAT. IT'S NOT HARD TO SEE. IT'S HARD TO SEE SOMETIMES 'CAUSE WE DON'T ALL HAVE THE SAME VIEWPOINT, YOU KNOW, AND HOW WE SEE THINGS. BUT I GUARANTEE YOU, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DEPARTMENTS AND YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT WE DO AS COMPARED TO OVER A YEAR AGO OR SO, WE'RE DOING IT BETTER. AND IN SOME CASES, WE'RE ABSOLUTELY REWRITING THE BOOK AND HOW WE DO THINGS. AND IT HAD TO BE THAT WAY. HUMAN RESOURCES AND OTHER PLACES, ABSOLUTELY RENOVATED PLACES THAT NEEDED TO BE IMPROVED IN OUR ORGANIZATION. SO, UM, WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO PRESENT THIS INFORMATION TO YOU. OKAY. MEMBER BUSH. YEAH, THANK YOU STAFF. I APPRECIATE ALL YOUR, UH, HARD WORK ON THIS. UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A, A DEFICIT. IT'S GOOD THAT WE'RE NOT HAVING TO DIP INTO RESERVES, BUT I THINK WE DO NEED TO BE MINDFUL IN THE LONG TERM. SO I REALLY WANNA PUSH REVENUES AND CREATIVE WAYS TO UTILIZE OUR POOL AND SOME OF THE ASSETS WE HAVE, OPENING THOSE UP TO THE COMMUNITY CHARGING RENTALS. SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S BEEN LOOKED AT. UM, AND, BUT MY QUESTION IS ON THE SALES TAX. SO, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I WORRY ABOUT IS IF WE'RE TAKING INTO ACCOUNT TARIFFS. SO HAVE WE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHAT THE POTENTIAL OF, UH, THE TARIFFS FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WOULD BE ON OUR SALES TAX REVENUE? BECAUSE I'M HEARING THAT THE 25% INCREASE IN TARIFFS ON PARTICULARLY VEHICLES IS, YEAH, I CAN IMAGINE THAT'S GONNA BE HARMFUL AND MAYBE WORSE THAN WHAT WE ARE PROJECTED. SO CAN, CAN STAFF SPEAK TO THAT RI RISING PRICES AND SALES TAX? YOU KNOW, IT CAN BE TWO SIDES. UM, CERTAINLY WHEN GAS PRICES GO UP, WE ACTUALLY RECEIVE MORE SALES TAX 'CAUSE OF THE HIGHER THE PRICE. THERE'S A SALES TAX COMPONENT ON TOP OF THAT, AS, AS WE SAW CAR PRICES DUE TO, UM, SHORTAGE DURING COVID ACTUALLY WENT UP. SO WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED MORE SALES TAX BECAUSE THE PRICES DID GO UP. HOWEVER, THE VOLUME WENT DOWN BECAUSE THERE WAS LESS DEMAND. UM, AND BECAUSE OF THE SHORTAGE IN, IN PRICE AND SHORTAGE IN VEHICLES, BUT HOWEVER THE PRICES WENT UP AND PEOPLE WHO HAD DISPOSABLE INCOME PURCHASED CARS. AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO STILL CAPTURE THAT SALES TAX. UM, IT'S REALLY UNKNOWN AT THIS POINT, AND IT'S HARD TO JUDGE HOW THAT WILL AFFECT THE TARIFFS ARE ACTUALLY DESIGNED TO DETER PEOPLE FROM PURCHASING ITEMS. SO WHILE THE PRICE GOES UP, WE WILL RECEIVE EXTRA SALES TAX, HOWEVER, THE VOLUME OF ACTIVITY MAY GO DOWN. SO IT MAY CONTRADICT OR, YOU KNOW, OFFSET EACH OTHER REALLY. GOT IT. SO IS THERE A NEED TO LOOK INTO THAT MORE? IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE SAYING THAT IT'S, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT'S GONNA BE A PROBLEM THAT TARIFFS OUT. I DON'T THINK SO. THEY'RE GONNA EVEN OUT. NO. OKAY. NOT, NOT AT THIS POINT. OKAY. I APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. I ANYONE ELSE? MEMBER ANI. THANK YOU MAYOR. UM, THANK YOU GENERAL MANAGER AND THANK YOU DIRECTORS. THANK YOU, UM, MR. BRUCE FOR, UM, PRESENTING A MORE DESCRIPTIVE REPORT FOR THIS, FOR THIS MEDIA REPORT. UM, I HAVE PUSHED FOR NUMBERS. I SAID, LOOK FOR MONEY, LOOK FOR REVENUE. UM, AND I BELIEVE THAT ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS HAD DONE A GOOD JOB IN, UM, IN, UM, GUIDING OUR CITY MANAGER TO, UH, TO GET TO A, UH, PROJECTED, UM, LOWER DEFICIT. BUT I KNOW THAT WE'RE NOT DONE YET. I KNOW THAT WE'RE STILL LOOKING FOR REVENUES THAT ARE, UM, UH, LURKING BEHIND THE, BEHIND THIS, UH, ORGANIZATION. I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE NEW. UM, BUT, BUT MY QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE RAISED, I WOULD LIKE FOR THAT, FOR THOSE TO BE ADDRESSED. UM, UM, SO THEN WE CAN, WE CAN CLOSE A BOOK WITH A BALANCE BUDGET. UM, AND THAT'S OUR GOAL. I KNOW CITY MANAGER THAT, UM, WE ARE, UM, WORKING TOWARDS THAT. UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S AMAZING HOW OUR FIRE IS SO BUSY THIS YEAR. UM, I, I, I, I, UH, I, UH, UM, COMPASSIONATE FOR THOSE, UM, FIRES THAT THEY HAD HELPED, BUT, UM, TO FIND THEIR WAY OF BEING REIMBURSED FOR THOSE OVERTIME IS, UM, SOMETHING THAT ALSO HELPED OUR [00:40:01] BOOKS. UM, I ALSO, UM, WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE FOLLOW THROUGH OUR TTS, MAKE SURE THAT ALL THOSE ARE BEING, UM, ARE BEING COLLECTED, UM, BECAUSE THAT WOULD ALSO, UM, THOSE ARE ALSO REVENUE BACK TO OUR CITY. UM, I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, ADDRESS ONE WITH REGARDS TO ARPA MONEY. UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THIS IS A CON, UH, UH, UH, AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF OUR CITY. IT SAID THAT WE HIJACKED, UM, ARPA FUNDS. UH, I BELIEVE THAT WE WERE JUST, UM, DILIGENT TO, UH, REDIRECT PROJECTS THAT ARE, UM, DUE TO BE DONE INSTEAD OF, UH, LOSING THAT FUNDS. AND I WOULD LIKE OUR CITY ENGINEER AND PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR TO, UH, HELP ME, UM, IN EXPLAINING THAT BETTER. THANK YOU. UH, THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER STEVE MANGANELLI, DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING PUBLIC WORKS. YES. UH, IF YOU RECALL, BACK IN NOVEMBER, WE TOOK A SERIES OF CONTRACTS, UH, TO COUNCIL. AND, UH, ONE OF THOSE CONTRACTS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FUNDED BY THE GENERAL FUND, UH, ROUGHLY A MILLION AND A HALF DOLLARS. WE, OUR RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL WAS TO INSTEAD USE ARPA FUNDING. THE MAIN REASON FOR THAT WAS THAT WE HAD A OBLIGATION DEADLINE OF DECEMBER 31ST, 2024 TO, TO AWARD CONTRACTS FOR ARPA FUNDS. IF WE FAILED TO DO THAT, ANY MONEY THAT WAS NOT OBLIGATED WOULD'VE HAD TO BE, UH, RETURNED TO THE US DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY. SO ONE OF THE PROJECTS THAT PREVIOUSLY WAS NOT ON THE LIST TO BE FUNDED BY AR WAS THAT NIGHT. AND WHAT IT DID WAS SAVE A MILLION AND A HALF DOLLARS, A GENERAL FUND THAT HAS BEEN REDIRECTED TO OTHER PROJECTS THAT WILL BE COMPLETED NEXT FISCAL YEAR. SO THAT WAS AN EXAMPLE OF, OF WHY THAT DECISION WAS MADE. UM, AND WE PRESENTED THAT PUBLICLY AT THAT MEETING AS WELL. SO HOPEFULLY THAT SHEDS A LITTLE, UH, LIGHT ON WHY THAT DECISION WAS MADE. UM, THANK YOU. UM, DIRECTOR, UM, ANELLO, UM, I ALSO, UM, HAD, UM, REQUESTED THROUGH OUR CITY MANAGER TO, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, TO LOOK FOR MORE FUNDING FROM, UH, OTHER REVENUES, OUR CONTRACTS, UH, REVISIT THOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, UH, OTHER, OTHER OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE ARE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW. SO WE ARE NOT DONE. I KNOW WE HAVE, UM, MORE, UM, MORE THINGS TO DO IN ORDER FOR US TO HAVE, UM, A, A, A MORE, UM, UM, DESCRIPTIVE OR DESCRIBE, UM, BUDGET STUDY. I, I UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, THERE ARE REIMBURSEMENTS THAT, UM, WE, WE HAVE TO, UM, MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DILIGENTLY LOOKING FOR. UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, BUDGET REDUCTION IN, IN EVERY DEPARTMENT. AND I, I, UH, I AM, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, FOR OUR STAFF, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THEY'RE ASKING FOR, FOR THINGS THAT WE ARE TRYING TO PROVIDE, BUT WE ARE ALSO ASKING A LOT FROM THEM TO DELIVER THE DELIVERABLES THAT WE HAVE TO, UM, BRING FORTH TO OUR, TO OUR, UM, RESIDENTS AND OUR BUSINESSES. UM, IT IS A GIVE AND TAKE. UM, WE ARE ALL MAKING SACRIFICES, UM, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE DO BECAUSE WE LOVE OUR CITY. THANK YOU MAYOR MEMBER MOLINA. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. UH, MR. MANGANELLO, IF I CAN FOLLOW UP, UH, QUESTIONS REGARDING THE ARPA FUND. UH, I RECALL THAT WE HAD HAD, BEFORE NOVEMBER, WE HAD HAD A DISCUSSION WHERE WE HAD SAID, THIS IS WHAT WE WANT THE ARPA FUNDS. AND I BELIEVE IT WAS THE TOTALITY OF THE ARPA FUNDS TO GO TOWARDS. AND THEN IN NOVEMBER, THAT CHANGED. AND AS YOU MENTIONED, 1.2 OR, UH, 1.5 MILLION OF WHAT HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN MEANT FOR SOMETHING ELSE WAS NOW, UH, YOU KNOW, DEVOTED TO A CIP PROJECT, WHICH I THINK WAS A FABULOUS PLAN. UM, IN ESSENCE, WE WERE USING THE ARPA FUNDS VERY SMARTLY. MY QUESTION IS, THE STUFF THAT ORIGINALLY HAD SORT OF BEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, CHECKED OFF AS, OKAY, IT'S GONNA BE FUNDED BY ARPA NOW, IT'S NOT FUNDED BY ARPA. WHAT IS THE, WHAT HAPPENS THERE? WHAT HA WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THOSE ITEMS IS, AND, AND IT'S $1.5 MILLION WORTH, I, I ASSUME, UH, YES. THANK, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBERS. SO, UM, BACK IN APRIL OF 2024, WE PRESENTED SOME PRE PRELIMINARY RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL AND THE PUBLIC ON, [00:45:01] UM, OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR USING THE REMAINING ROUGHLY $8 MILLION OF ARPA FUND BALANCE, UH, BY THE DECEMBER, 2024 DEADLINE. UM, THE, AND, AND THESE PROJECTS ALSO WERE CONSISTENT WITH WHAT THE PUBLIC, UM, WAS VERY INTERESTED IN WHEN THE INITIAL, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WAS DONE SEVERAL YEARS PRIOR. WHAT WE ENDED UP FUNDING WAS, UM, SEVERAL, UH, SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS AT LAS PALMAS PARK, INCLUDING NEW RESTROOMS AND NEW POOL SUPPORT FACILITIES. THESE WERE HIGHLY RATED PROJECTS THAT WERE VOTED ON BY THE COMMUNITY FOR USE OF ARPA FUNDS. WE ARE USING ARPA FUNDS, UH, CURRENTLY TO, TO CONSTRUCT THOSE IMPROVEMENTS. ANOTHER HIGH PRIORITY PROJECT THAT CAME OUT OF THE ARPA WORKSHOPS WAS TO REPLACE THE BALL FIELD LIGHTING AT KIMBALL PARK THAT IS BEING FUNDED BY USE OF ARPA FUNDS. UM, ANOTHER PROJECT THAT WAS A HIGH PRIORITY PROJECT, UH, ONE IN YOUR DISTRICT WAS TO, UM, INSTALL A, UH, NEW PUBLIC RESTROOMS AT PARADISE CREEK EDUCATIONAL PARK THAT WAS SLATED TO BE FUNDED BY ARPA. UH, BECAUSE THAT PROJECT IS STILL TIED UP WITH ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITTING, IT'S TIED TO A STATE GRANT, UH, THE RESTROOMS WILL NOT NOT BE CONSTRUCTED TILL NEXT FISCAL YEAR. SO AT THE NOVEMBER MEETING, WE MADE THAT CLEAR THAT, UM, THE GENERAL FUND MONIES THAT WE'RE DEFERRING THAT FIVE, 500,000 OF, OF THAT 2 MILLION WILL GO TO FUND THAT RESTROOM. SO THAT RESTROOM IS FULLY FUNDED THROUGH THE GENERAL FUND AND WILL BE CONSTRUCTED NEXT FISCAL YEAR AS PART OF THAT PROJECT. SO, UM, IN SUMMARY, THE HIGHEST PRIORITY PROJECTS THAT, UM, WERE, WERE VOTED ON AND SUPPORTED BY THE COMMUNITY ARE ALL GETTING BUILT, WHETHER VIA THE ORIGINAL ARPA FUNDING OR THE SAVINGS TO THE GENERAL FUND, THEY'RE ALL GETTING BUILT. MOST OF THOSE PROJECTS ARE CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M HERE TO REPORT THAT WE ARE, UM, FULLY FUNDED IN, IN CONSTRUCTING ALL OF THE, THE HIGH PRIORITY PROJECTS THAT WERE VOTED ON BY THE COMMUNITY, UM, AS PART OF THE ARPA WORKSHOPS. MM-HMM . SO THOSE PROJECTS ARE GETTING DONE AND THEY ARE FUNDED. OKAY. GOOD. THANK YOU MR. MANGANELLO. UH, I DO APPRECIATE HEARING ABOUT THE BATHROOM AT PARADISE, UH, CREEK, UM, PARK. UM, OKAY. SO, UH, MY QUESTION'S ALSO, UH, OTHER QUESTIONS REGARDING THE ADJUSTMENTS. SO THE SAVINGS IN THE CIP, UM, WAS BECAUSE OF THE ARPA FUNDS, THERE WAS ANOTHER 500 MILLION, IS THAT CORRECT? UH, PART OF THE CIP THAT IS CONSIDERED SAVINGS. YEAH. SO 1.5 MILLION WAS THE DEFERRED GENERAL FUNDS, UH, SAVINGS DUE TO OUR ABILITY TO USE ARPA. THE OTHER 500,000 WAS FOR THE RESTROOM AT PARADISE CREEK PARK, AND THAT IS FUNDED BY THE GENERAL FUND. GOT IT. AND, AND THAT PROJECT, AGAIN, GOT DELAYED 'CAUSE WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH THE ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITTING, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S TIED TO A LARGER GRANT PROJECT WHERE WE'RE DOING SOME WETLANDS EXPANSION. WE JUST RECENTLY DEMOED THE, UH, WELDING SHOP. UM, SO NOW WE'RE GOING INTO PHASE TWO PERMITTING TO THEN BUILD THE REMAINING PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH WILL INCLUDE NEW PUBLIC RESTROOMS. OKAY. THANK YOU. YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, UM, DIFFICULT TO, UM, SO I DON'T HAVE A FINANCE BACKGROUND, BUT I'M TRYING MY BEST HERE TO UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING. RIGHT. AND I HEAR YOU SAY 500,000 IS IN FACT SECURED FOR THE BATHROOM. HOWEVER, WE ARE CONSIDERING THAT 500,000 A SAVINGS THIS YEAR, IT'S SIMPLY BECAUSE IT WASN'T SPENT THIS YEAR, IT WILL BE SPENT NEXT YEAR. UM, TO ME, IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE IT'S ACTUALLY A SAVINGS. I GUESS IT'S A SAVINGS ON PAPER. WELL, YOU KNOW, AND I'LL LET OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR SPEAK TO THIS, BUT YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS REVENUES VERSUS EXPENDITURES AT THE MID-YEAR POINT FOR THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR. SO THAT IS SOMETHING I THINK TO KEEP IN IN MIND IN GENERAL, IS THAT WHILE WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE SPENDING THAT $2 MILLION IN GENERAL FUND FOR CIP THIS YEAR, WE MOST CERTAINLY ARE GOING TO BE SPENDING IT NEXT YEAR. OKAY. I'M TRYING MY BEST MY, MY OTHER QUESTION HAD TO DO ANOTHER ONE OF THE ADJUSTMENTS IS A DECREASE IN FIRE INSPECTION SERVICE. CAN YOU PLEASE HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS? UH, YES. GOOD EVENING. UH, MAYOR, VICE MAYOR AND COUNCIL, BEING THAT, THAT'S PART OF OUR COMMITTEE RISK REDUCTION, UM, PORTION OF OUR DEPARTMENT. [00:50:01] I'M GOING TO TURN THAT OVER TO MY ESTEEMED COLLEAGUE, DIVISION CHIEF, UH, ROBERT HERNANDEZ. GOOD EVENING COUNCIL MEMBER ROBERT HERNANDEZ AND ASK CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT, SO TO SPEAK TO THAT. UM, I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND IS WE HAVE NOT DECREASED ANY TYPE OF SERVICES PROVIDED TO ANY OF THE BUSINESSES. WE CONTINUE TO DO INSPECTIONS AS WE ALWAYS HAVE, UH, AND AS WE'VE HAD SINCE 1956. SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO DO THOSE INSPECTIONS ANNUALLY. UH, WHAT I CAN ASSURE YOU, UH, ON IS THAT WE ARE WORKING ON AN ORDINANCE TO CAPTURE, UM, INSPECTIONS THAT POTENTIALLY AREN'T CAPTURED CURRENTLY NOW IN REGARDS TO, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO GET OUT AND SEE THESE BUSINESSES, UM, THAT AREN'T REPRESENTED BY THE HEALTH AND SAFETY CODES. SO IN ORDER FOR US TO BE SAFE AND TO ASSURE THAT WE'RE DOING IT THE RIGHT WAY, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAPTURE IT THROUGH ORDINANCE, WHICH WILL BE BROUGHT TO YOUR ATTENTION HERE IN APRIL. UM, BUT I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THE INSPECTIONS ARE CURRENTLY BEING DONE ON ALL BUSINESSES IN THE CITY OF NASHVILLE CITY. OKAY. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. SO, UH, A DECREASE IN FIRE INSPECTION SERVICE ISN'T REALLY A DECREASE IN FIRE INSPECTION SERVICE. THAT IS CORRECT. IT'S, UH, AND I THINK IT'S ALSO DESCRIBED AS, UH, WE LOOK AT VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE, RIGHT? SO AS WE GO OUT, WE DO THESE INSPECTIONS, WE ALWAYS TRY TO PROVIDE EDUCATION, AND I THINK THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS CAPTURED IN, IN THAT TOPIC. UH, SO AS AN EXAMPLE, UH, IF WE GO INTO A BUSINESS, A SMALL BUSINESS, AND THEY NEED TO USE AN EXTENSION CORD, UM, IF THEY TAKE SMALL FIVE SMALL EXTENSION CORDS, PUT THEM TOGETHER AND MAKE 20 FEET, THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING WE SEE. AND SO AT THAT POINT, WE WOULD PROVIDE THEM EDUCATION. WE WOULD SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, LET'S, LET'S NOT DO THAT. LET'S UNPLUG THEM. LET'S GET AN EXTENSION CORD THAT'S 20 FEET, USE IT DURING THE DAY AND UNPLUG IT. SO THAT EDUCATION COMPONENT IS IMPORTANT TO PROVIDE. SO ONCE AGAIN, UH, WE, WE LOOK AT VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE. WE WORK WITH THE BUSINESS IN ORDER TO TRY TO PROVIDE THEM EDUCATION TO ASSURE THAT THEY DO IT THE RIGHT WAY, THE SAFE WAY. BUT I THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, UH, WE ARE GONNA HAVE AN ORDINANCE THAT CAPTURES THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO DO THOSE INSPECTIONS. THOSE THAT MAY BE, ARE NOT REPRESENTED IN THE HEALTH OF THE SAFETY CODE. BUT I, ONCE AGAIN, AND LASTLY, I CAN ASSURE YOU AND THE ENTIRE DIOCESE THAT WE CONTINUE TO DO THOSE INSPECTIONS CURRENTLY AS WE SPEAK TO ASSURE SAFETY IN OUR COMMUNITY. GOT IT. THANK YOU. UH, ONE MORE QUESTION AND THEN A COMMENT, UH, REGARDING THE PENSION OBLIGATION. I, I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT THAT WAS GOING TO BALLOON AT SOME POINT, AND THAT POINT ISN'T RIGHT NOW. 'CAUSE WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT ANY OF THAT RIGHT NOW. NO, THAT'S SOMETHING WE'LL BRING BACK TO YOU AS A, UM, PART OF OUR FIVE YEAR FORECAST. SO THIS YEAR, I BELIEVE WE PAID ROUGHLY 1.5 MILLION NEXT YEAR. NEXT YEAR BUDGET WILL WE'LL BE REQUIRED TO PAY A LITTLE OVER 3 MILLION. THEN FROM THERE IT INCREASES UP TO, I BELIEVE, FIVE, 6 MILLION, AND THEN 7 MILLION FOR ROUGHLY TWO YEARS IN A ROW, OR ACTUALLY ALMOST THREE YEARS IN A ROW AROUND 2029, UH, 2030 AND 2031. THOSE ARE THE CURRENT PROJECTIONS. WE WILL NOT RECEIVE A NEW UPDATE OF THOSE FIGURES UNTIL NEXT AUGUST. SO THOSE ARE THE ONLY FIGURES WE HAVE AT THIS TIME. MM-HMM . OKAY. AND IT, AND IT CAN FLUCTUATE FROM YEAR TO YEAR BASED ON THE ECONOMY. SO AS THE ECONOMY IS DOING VERY WELL, UM, CALPERS WILL EARN MORE INTEREST. AND SO THAT MEANS IT'S LESS THAT WE HAVE TO BACKFILL. SO BASICALLY THE UNFUNDED LIABILITY IS DUE TO LOSSES THAT CALPERS SUSTAINED, AND AS THEY ARE ON A TWO YEAR DELAY. SO BASED ON THE, AS THE ECONOMY INCREASES, GETS BETTER, THEY EARN MORE INTEREST, THEN OUR FUTURE LIABILITY WILL BE REDUCED. MM-HMM . BUT AT THIS POINT, UH, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THOSE NEW NUMBERS WOULD BE. OKAY. GOT IT. UM, WELL, WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT THEN. NOT RIGHT NOW. AT LEAST NOT RIGHT NOW. SO MY FINAL COMMENT HAS TO DO WITH THE ENHANCEMENT, UM, ITEMS THAT WE'RE PART OF THAT $2 MILLION ENHANCEMENT THAT WE HAD AGREED TO, UH, UM, BACK IN JULY WHEN WE WERE, UH, ANTICIPATING NEW POSITIONS THAT COULD POSSIBLY BE FUNDED. UM, I I JUST WANNA POINT OUT THAT SEVERAL OF THESE POSITIONS THAT HAD BEEN ADDED TO THIS ENHANCEMENT ITEMS LIST, UM, SEVERAL OF THEM ARE NOT FILLED, RIGHT? I, I THINK I HEARD THE MA UM, THE CITY MANAGER SAY WE, UH, OR ACTUALLY, I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY BRUCE, THAT THEY'RE GONNA REMAIN UNFILLED. THERE'S NOT A DRIVE TO ACTUALLY FILL THESE POSITIONS, BUT THAT IS A LITTLE BIT CONCERNING TO ME. UM, EVEN THOUGH THE TOTAL OF WHAT WE'RE DISCUSSING TODAY IS DECREASING OUR DEFICIT FROM 7 MILLION TO 3.3 MILLION, UH, I DO WANNA POINT OUT THAT THE COST OF THAT IS THAT WE ARE GOING, WE'RE GONNA REMAIN ON THIS LEAN STAFFING THAT THE CITY MANAGER SUGGESTED. AND SO I, I JUST WANNA POINT [00:55:01] OUT THAT THAT MEANS THAT OUR STAFF IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK HARD. THEY, THEY, THEY WORK HARD ALREADY. UM, BUT, UH, THE POSITIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, COULD HAVE BEEN FULFILLED BASED ON THE PLAN FOR THE ENHANCEMENT ITEMS, UH, THERE'S AT LEAST 10 THAT I CAN COUNT THAT AREN'T BEING FULFILLED AT THE COST OF DECREASING OUR DEFICIT FROM SEVEN TO 3.3. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S, UH, SOMETHING TO BE HAPPY ABOUT. LET ME JUST POINT OUT, WE HAVE A MANAGEMENT ANALYST TO POSITION AT ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS THAT WON'T BE FULFILLED. A HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER POSITION AT, UH, QUITE A PRETTY PENNY, SEVERAL ITEMS, UH, FOR POLICE. UM, THEN THERE'S A FEW OTHERS THAT I CIRCLED ON HERE, CITY ENGINEER, UH, POSITION, PRINCIPAL PLANNER POSITION. I MEAN, THESE ARE KEY, UH, ROLES THAT, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY THEY MADE IT ONTO THIS LIST BECAUSE THEY WERE NEEDED AT SOME POINT, OR THAT THAT WORK IS NEEDED. UM, IT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED BY, BY SOMEBODY, AND THUS, UM, HOPEFULLY SOMEBODY CAN FULFILL THAT POSITION. HOWEVER, WHAT WE'RE SAYING NOW IS IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN, AT LEAST NOT THROUGH, UH, THE END OF JUNE. SO, UM, UH, I, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THAT BECAUSE I DO CARE A LOT ABOUT OUR STAFF AND I DO CARE A LOT ABOUT THE WORK THAT NATIONAL CITY IS REQUIRING OF US. AND, UM, IF WE CAN DO THAT BY HIRING THE FOLKS THAT, UH, WE NEED TO HIRE TO COMPLETE THAT WORK, I WOULD PREFER TO HAVE THAT THAN TO HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, CLAIM THAT WE'RE BETTER OFF ON THE DEFICIT, UH, BECAUSE WE'RE CONTINUING ON A LIEN STAFF. AND THAT'S MY 2 CENTS. THANK YOU, MAYOR. OKAY. QUESTION. YES, I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP WITH, UM, MR. HERNANDEZ ON THE, UM, I, I STILL WASN'T UNDERSTANDING THE DECREASE OF THE FIRE INSPECTION SERVICE BECAUSE IT'S ON, IT'S REFLECTED HERE ON THE SHEET, UM, UNDER REVENUE. UM, AND IT'S NEGATIVE ON THE REVENUE, BUT THEN IT SAYS THE NET IT LOOKS LIKE IS A POSITIVE. SO IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WE NORMALLY ARE, ARE WE SPENDING MONEY ON OR WE'RE GETTING REVENUE FROM? SO CAN YOU JUST CLARIFY THAT FOR ME? GOOD EVENING. COUNCIL MEMBER BUSH ROBERT HERNANDEZ, CITY FIRE. UH, YEAH, TO ANSWER THAT DIRECTLY, UM, WHAT WE HAVE DONE IN THE PAST IS THROUGH THE BUSINESS LICENSE COMPONENT. THERE IS A, A FIRE INSPECTION FEE THAT WE NORMALLY CHARGE OUR BUSINESSES. AND THIS IS, UH, AN ANNUAL FEE THAT'S DONE EVERY YEAR, UM, WITH BUSINESSES HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY. WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY, UH, 2000 AND SOME CHANGE BUSINESSES IN NATIONAL CITY THAT WE, UH, ATTEMPT TO INSPECT ANNUALLY BECAUSE, UH, THERE WERE, UH, WE WERE DOING INSPECTIONS THAT WERE NOT REPRESENTED BY THE HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE. LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. UH, WHEN WE DO INSPECTIONS, SOME OF THE, THE INSPECTIONS IN THE BUSINESSES THAT WE SEE THAT WE'RE REQUIRED TO SEE ARE THINGS LIKE SCHOOLS, UM, MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES, LIKE APARTMENTS, HIGH RISES, THINGS OF THAT SORT. AND THESE ARE REPRESENTED BY THE CALIFORNIA, UH, HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE BECAUSE THERE WERE OTHER INSPECTIONS THAT WERE DOING SUCH AS SMALLER BUSINESSES, UH, RESTAURANTS AND THINGS OF THAT SORT THAT WE'VE ALWAYS SEEN. AND WE HAVE CONTINUED TO SEE SINCE 1956. THEY WERE NOT REPRESENTED BY THE HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE. SO WE NEEDED TO HAVE AN ORDINANCE IN PLACE TO BE ABLE TO CAPTURE THOSE, WHICH IS THE ORDINANCE THAT I MENTIONED ORIGINALLY. SO BASED ON THAT, THERE WAS A, A, A, A STOPPAGE, IF YOU WILL, THROUGH HDL TO SAY, OKAY, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE CHARGING THIS AMOUNT BASED ON WHAT YOU NORMALLY DO UNTIL WE GET THAT ORDINANCE IN PLACE. UM, THE ORDINANCE AGAIN AS MENTIONED, WILL BE, UM, UH, PUT ON THE, UM, UH, STAFF, OR RATHER THE, UH, PROJECTION AND THE REPORT THAT WE NORMALLY DO AND BRING TO COUNCIL, UH, FIRST WEEK IN APRIL. UH, SO THE OBJECTIVE WOULD BE TO CREATE AN ORDINANCE THAT WOULD CAPTURE THOSE BUSINESSES THAT ARE REPRESENTED BY WHAT WE'VE, WE ARE NOT CHARGING NOW. UM, AND WE'LL CAPTURE THOSE IN THE ORDINANCE SO THAT WE THEN CAN START CHARGING FOR THE INSPECTIONS THAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING AND THAT WE CURRENTLY ARE DOING NOW. THANK YOU. THAT MAKES MORE SENSE. BRIAN. I'D JUST LIKE TO ADD A LITTLE BIT TO THAT. UM, LIKE CHIEF HERNANDEZ SAID THERE WAS NEVER ANY REDUCTION IN FIRE LIFE SAFETY IN THE COMMUNITY AND THE EFFORTS THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY CON, YOU KNOW, CONTINUALLY DO. BUT WHAT HE DIDN'T SAY WAS SOMETHING THAT'S, YOU KNOW, I'LL LET THEM SHARE THAT WITH YOU. AND IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A GREAT FOR THE CITY IS THE FACT THAT THEY REALIGNED SOME OF THEIR PRIORITIES IN TERMS OF THEIR COMMUNITY RISK REDUCTION PROGRAM IN, IN PURSUIT OF THEIR ISO RATING, WHICH SO PROUD. I AM SO PROUD OF [01:00:01] THEM. AND I KNOW YOU WILL BE, AND I DON'T WANNA STEAL ANY OF THEIR THUNDER, BUT THEY, THIS CITY HAS ACHIEVED AN ISO RATING OF ONE. AND WHAT'S THE PERCENTAGE OF DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE ACHIEVED THAT? THREE, FOUR. THAT WOULD BE THREE TO FOUR. THREE TO 4%. SO VERY FEW. YEAH. AND WHAT THAT MEANS TO THE COMMUNITY IS IN EFFECT ON THEIR INSURANCE RATINGS AND PROPERTY INSURANCE RATINGS. SO I KNOW THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE BRINGING THIS FORWARD AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AND I WANT THEM, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE THAT MOMENT. BUT IN, IN WHAT WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT, THIS WAS, THIS WAS PART OF THAT PRIORITY SHIFT AND SO THE, UM, THERE, THERE WAS AT, AT SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITY. GOT IT. NO, THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING THAT ADDITIONAL CONTEXT. SO I KNOW WE'LL HEAR MORE FROM THE FIRE, BUT THAT, THAT WAS HELPFUL. SO NOW WE UNDERSTAND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF IT. SO THANK YOU, BRIAN. YEAH, THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE IN THAT CASE? COULD I HAVE A MOTION PLEASE? SO, UH, MOVE TO ACCEPT THE, UM, MIDYEAR BUDGET, MR. CHAIRMAN? I HAVE A SECOND. I'LL SECOND. OKAY. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. AND MAYOR, I'D LIKE TO ALSO ADD THAT WE HAD WRITTEN COMMENT FROM TED GOTCHU. OKAY. I DID SEE THAT ONE. YES. MR. GOTCHU IS PRESENT. WOULD YOU LIKE TO, I THINK I ADDRESSED THAT. YOU ALREADY SPOKE. GOT IT. THANK YOU. UM, WITH THAT, UM, YEP. UH, WELL WE NEED YOU GUYS TO, SORRY, PUT IN YOUR NAME ON THE MOTION IN A SECOND. THERE YOU GO. NOW WE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. OKAY. ALRIGHT. WITH THAT WE WILL, UH, WE WILL ADJOURN THE MEETING. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.