[00:00:03]
[1. ROLL CALL]
TO MEETING.ORDER ROLL CALL MS. EBRA BONNER.
WE'RE I OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING? WELL, BEFORE WE DO THAT, MR. CHAIRMAN, UM, I THINK THERE ARE SOME STATEMENTS THAT NEED TO BE READ.
AT THE APRIL 30TH, 2024 SPECIAL MEETING OF THE DEITY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, I, CASEY M DOOLEY, INTEND TO PARTICIPATE IN DISCUSSION DIS CONCERNING THE FY 2025 BUDGET AND THE FFY 2025 TO 2034 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR DEITY COUNTY.
THE BUDGET AND CIP WILL DETERMINE HOW MUCH MONEY IS AVAILABLE FOR THE DEITY COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, INCLUDING FOR THE COMPENSATION OF EMPLOYEES.
I'M EMPLOYED BY THE DEITY COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, THE BUDGET AND CIP AFFECTS THE EMPLOYEES OF THE DEITY COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND I AM ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS TRANSACTION FAIRLY OBJECTIVELY AND IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST.
ALRIGHT, AND I'LL READ A STATEMENT AT THE APRIL 30TH, 2024 SPECIAL MEETING OF THE DEM WITTY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
INTEND TO PARTICIPATE IN DISCUSSION CONCERNING THE FISCAL YEAR 2025 BUDGET AND THE FISCAL YEAR 2025 THROUGH 2034.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN FOR DENWITTY COUNTY.
THE BUDGET AND CIP WILL DETERMINE HOW MUCH MONEY IS APPROPRIATED TO THE DENWITTY COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD.
MY WIFE IS EMPLOYED BY THE DENWITTY COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD.
THE BUDGET AND CIP AFFECT ALL THE EMPLOYEES OF DENWITTY COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD AND I AM ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN TRANSACTION FAIRLY OBJECTIVELY AND IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST AT THE APRIL 30TH, 2024 SPECIAL MEETING OF THE INDEM COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
I, DANIEL D. LEE, INTEND TO PARTICIPATE IN DISCUSSION CONCERNING THE FFY 2025 BUDGET AND THE FY 20 25 20 34 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN FOR DEITY COUNTY.
THE BUDGET AND THE CIP WILL DETERMINE HOW MUCH MONEY IS APPROPRIATED TO THE DEITY COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD.
MY WIFE IS EMPLOYED BY THE DEITY COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD.
THE BUDGET AND CIP AFFECT ALL THE EMPLOYEES OF DEITY COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD AND I AM ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TRANSACTION FAIRLY OBJECTIVELY.
I AM EMPLOYED BY THE APPOMATTOX SERVICE SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT.
AS SUCH, I WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN ANY DISCUSSION PERTAINING TO THE APPT SERVICE, SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION BOARD.
[Items 2A & 2B]
MR. CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD TONIGHT I'M GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH THE, UH, PUBLIC HEARING FOR BOTH THE FY 25 BUDGET AS WELL AS THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN.AS YOU SEE MS. EBER BONNER'S NOT WITH US TONIGHT.
BRENDA, AS YOU KNOW, SERVES AS YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO THE DISTRICT 19 BOARD AND THERE WAS A MENTAL HEALTH, UH, CONFERENCE IN, IN VIRGINIA BEACH.
SO THE FIRST BIT OF TRIVIA, ANYBODY KNOW WHERE THAT PICTURE IS? ANN CAN.
AND SIR, THAT YOU KNOW WHERE THAT PHOTO WAS TAKEN? HMM.
IT ANN'S FARM
AND THAT'S, UH, THE RICHLANDS FARM.
YOU DIDN'T GIVE ANY CLUES AWAY THOUGH.
I SHOULD HAVE GIVEN SOME CLUES AWAY, BUT WHAT A, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE.
I, ALL RIGHT, SO I'M CURSED EVERY TIME I TRY TO USE THIS.
DID YOU HIT SOMETHING ON YOUR END? NO.
MAYBE NEED A BATTERY? IT'S ON, IT WAS JUST WORKING AS BY WITNESS.
YOU HAVE TO JUST NEXT SLIDE AT 60.
SO TIMES DON'T, NO, YOU DON'T HAVE, JUST GIVE A BLANK.
WELL, THE OTHER PIECE FOR THE BOARD, I, I GUESS THIS IS THE, YOU ONLY HAVE TO READ THAT DISCLOSURE STATEMENT ONE MORE TIME.
SO EACH YEAR FOR THE, FOR THE BUDGET.
'CAUSE WE, WE REALLY SHOULD TIE THE BUDGET BACK TO YOUR OVERALL STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND EVEN THOUGH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE PIECES THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT AS A STAFF IS WE REALLY ARE IN THE, THE NEED, YOU KNOW, 2020 BEFORE COVID HIT, WE JUST STARTED TRYING TO GET BACK TO DOING SOME STRATEGIC PLANNING.
BUT WHAT WHAT HASN'T CHANGED IS THE OVERALL VISION MISSION AND, AND CORE VALUES VISION OF THE COUNTY IS WE CHERISH OUR HERITAGE, EMBRACE OPPORTUNITY, AND OFFER AN EXTRAORDINARY COMMUNITY IN WHICH TO, TO SPEND A LIFETIME.
[00:05:01]
YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE HERE DAY IN AND DAY OUT TO DO AS A GOVERNMENT IS TO BUILD OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH A COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC SAFETY.SO YOU, YOU KNOW, THE BOARD ESTABLISHED THESE VALUES IN THAT WORKSHOP WE DID IN 2020.
WE HAD THREE ADDED THREE MORE.
AND WHEN WE DID, IF YOU REMEMBER, THE COUNTY ATTORNEY SAID, IF YOU PUT THESE TOGETHER CORRECTLY, IT SPELLS THE WORD STRIVE.
BUT HE GETS INTO THE STEWARDSHIP, TEAMWORK, RESPECT, UH, VALUE ADDED CUSTOMER SERVICE AND EXCELLENCE AND INTEGRITY BEING IN THE HEART OF, OF WHAT WE DO.
AND WE SAY, IF WE DO THIS RIGHT, THEN IT CAN LEAD TO SOME SUCCESSFUL THINGS.
AND SO, UH, THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE, WE DON'T DO THINGS FOR RECOGNITION AND ACCOLADES, BUT IT'S, IT'S AWFUL NICE SOMETIMES TO BE RECOGNIZED, ESPECIALLY FROM SOME ORGANIZATIONS THAT, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, HELP PROMOTE GOVERNMENT.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE YEARS THAT WE WON NACO ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS.
AND THEN RECENTLY IN 2023, LAST YEAR, WE WON TWO, TWO, UM, AWARDS UNDER VACO.
YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE NUMBER OF YEARS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO, TO, TO HAVE THOSE ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS.
THE ONES BOLDED LEAD TO THE, THE TWO BEST SMALL, UH, COUNTY AWARDS IN 20 AND 23.
AS YOU RECALL, YOU'RE THE ONLY LOCALITY IN THE STATE.
A SMALL LOCALITY IS DEFINED AS A, AS AS POPULATION UNDER 50,000.
AND YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE IN THE STATE TO HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED TWICE BY VACO.
AND THEN AGAIN, IN, IN THIS DECADE, WE, WE'VE HAD IT RECOGNIZED TWICE.
AND THEN WE HAVE, UM, THE GFOA BUDGET.
AND THAT'S OUR, OUR OVERALL, UH, EXCELLENCE WHEN WE COME TO FINANCIAL REPORTING.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT CONSECUTIVELY, WE'VE RECEIVED THAT SINCE 2015 TO, TO WHERE WE ARE PRESENTLY.
BUT IT STARTS WITH LEADERSHIP.
SO YOU GOTTA HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE.
UH, SO, UH, I WANTED THIS YEAR TO HIGHLIGHT ALL OF THOSE IN INDIVIDUALS THAT PLAY A JUST A PIVOTAL ROLE.
IT STARTS WITH THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND FOR YOU ALL, YOU SET THE DIRECTION FOR THE COUNTY.
UM, YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOOK TOO FAR, EVEN IN OUR OWN REGION AND, AND SEE SOME DISCORD.
AND PEOPLE HAVE LACK OF TRUST IN GOVERNMENT.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN SAID, MR. CHAVIS SAID IT LAST NIGHT, AT A FUNCTION, WE HAVE THE BEST COUNTY AND WE REALLY DO HAVE THE BEST BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
AND I KNOW VACO RECOGNIZES YOU ALL FOR THAT.
AND ALSO STARTS WITH OUR OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS AND OUR CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS.
UM, AND EACH ONE OF THEM, IN ADDITION TO THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT, YOU KNOW, OUR APPROACH.
WE JUST RECENTLY WITH, WITH SOME, UH, MISS, MS. MANN THAT CAME ON BOARD, UH, YOU KNOW, HAD OUR MEMORANDUMS UNDERSTANDING RECENTLY SIGNED.
AND AGAIN, IT'S THAT PARTNERSHIP AND RELATIONSHIP STARTED WITH YOU ALL AND THEN GOES BACK TO, UH, THE CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS AND THE DAY-TO-DAY WORK THAT, THAT THEY DO FOR OUR COUNTY AND THE STAFF.
WE SAY PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND WHETHER YOU'RE A STATE OFFICER OR COUNTY OFFICE, AND WE LOOK AT IT AS THEY'RE ALL COUNTY EMPLOYEES.
AND SO WE WE'RE PROUD OF OUR CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS.
I CALL THIS THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM.
SO THIS IS US, UM, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY THAT'S THERE.
BUT AGAIN, THE DAY-TO-DAY RESPONSIBILITIES AS THE, TO, TO EXECUTE AND TO ADMINISTER THE DAY-TO-DAY ACTIVITIES OF THE COUNTY, IT TAKES A, A HARDWORKING TEAM.
PROUD TO SAY THAT TEAM, I GUESS SOME OF OUR NEWEST IS MISS LASHONDA LEE THAT'S HERE TONIGHT, AND DONNA HARRISON AND SOCIAL SERVICES.
BUT THE TEAM HAS BEEN TOGETHER FOR QUITE SOME TIME AND HAS DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB.
UM, AND THEN ONE RETIREMENT HERE PENDING HERE IN, IN A LITTLE BIT OF TIME WITH CHIEF HALE.
BUT WHAT A, WHAT A GOOD TEAM WE HAVE HERE.
JUST WANNA REMIND YOU THAT TONIGHT FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR PUBLIC HEARING.
UM, SO AFTER I, I GO THROUGH THESE, THESE SLIDE DECK, UH, WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR A HEARING BOTH ON THE, THE BUDGET AS WELL AS THE, THE CIP, UM, WE'RE REQUIRED BY THE CODE OF VIRGINIA THAT TO HAVE THE PRESENTATION.
UM, BUT YOU'RE, YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO TAKE ACTION TONIGHT.
SO THE CODE CONTEMPLATED FOR THE BOARD AND CITY COUNCILS THAT YOU HEAR THE PRESENTATION, YOU, YOU SOLICIT INPUT, WHETHER THERE WOULD BE ANYBODY HERE TO SPEAK TONIGHT OR INDIVIDUALS IN YOUR COMMUNITY ON THE PROPOSAL THAT I'M PUTTING BEFORE YOU.
AND THEN WE HAVE SCHEDULED ACTION AT YOUR, WHICH IS USUALLY A WORKSHOP MEETING, BUT IT'LL BE A SPECIAL MEETING.
THAT MEETING WILL BE HELD, UM, ON MAY 7TH.
AND THAT'S WHEN YOU'LL TAKE ACTION ON THE, ON THE BUDGET.
AS YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE ALREADY THIS YEAR ESTABLISHED THE TAX RATES.
SO THIS SLIDE JUST, UH, GOES THROUGH THOSE SPECIFIC RATES.
THE RATES ARE SIMILAR TO WHAT WE'VE USED IN THE PAST EXCEPT FOR THE AREAS, UH, RELATED TO MORE REAL ESTATE.
UH, AND YOU SEE THE AREAS THAT WENT FROM 79 TO 84 CENTS.
AND SO THE BUDGET OBVIOUSLY CONTEMPLATES THAT ADDITIONAL REVENUE COMING IN FOR THOSE SPECIFIC ITEMS. AND AGAIN, THAT WAS A, A BIG FOCUS ON PUBLIC SAFETY THIS YEAR.
[00:10:01]
SO I'M GONNA GET A LITTLE BIT INTO THE FIRST PART OF THE, OF THE BUDGET, WHICH IS THE REVENUE.SO HOW, HOW MUCH ADDITIONAL REVENUE, AND WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THE 84 CENT TAX RATE, BUT YOU KNOW, SPECIFICALLY WHAT DOES THAT MEAN WHEN IT COMES TO, TO OVERALL REVENUE BUDGET? SO THE FIRST PIECE HERE IS JUST SHOWING YOU WHERE THE REVENUE IS PROTECTED TO COME BY SOURCE.
AND SO EVEN THE, AND WE'VE GOT OUR, OUR, OUR FEDERAL REVENUE, NATIONAL REVENUE AT THE TOP.
UH, BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT'S ONLY $92,000.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LOCAL GOVERNMENT, IT'S REALLY SUPPORTED AT THE, THE LOCAL LEVEL, EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE GETTING SOME FUNDS OF AN OVERALL $60 MILLION BUDGET ONLY, UH, 92,000 THAT'S COMING FROM THE, THE, THE FEDERAL LEVEL STATE BUDGET, 8.1 MILLION.
AND THIS YEAR'S, UH, LOCAL BUDGET REVENUE IS 51.9.
SO IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT THAT GRAPHICALLY, AGAIN, THIS KIND OF SHOWS YOU OVERALL THAT THE OVERALL PERCENTAGE OF FEDERAL FUNDS THAT COME IN AS ZERO, IT'S NOT EVEN STATISTICALLY PICKED UP.
SO 86% OF THE LOCAL BUDGET IS, IS FUNDED, UM, BY THE LOCAL, THE LOCALITY ITSELF.
UM, SO IF YOU LOOKED AT, AT THE OVERALL, YOU KNOW, LOCAL, NOW WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT STATE, NOT LOOKING AT FEDERAL ANYMORE, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT JUST AT THAT LOCAL AREA, THAT BLUE AREA THAT YOU'LL SEE THAT THAT'S THE REAL ESTATE RATE.
SO THAT, THAT MAKES UP 40% OF ALL THAT LOCAL REVENUE JUST COMES FROM REAL ESTATE.
SECOND CATEGORY IS PERSONAL PROPERTY, AND THAT PERSONAL PROPERTY IS THAT GREEN AT THE BOTTOM, AND THAT'S AT 25%.
SO AGAIN, YOU KNOW, 65% OF ALL YOUR REVENUE IS JUST IN THOSE TWO REVENUE SOURCES, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE 25 PLUS OR MINUS, UH, REVENUE STREAMS, THIS MAKES UP THE MAJORITY OF IT.
NEXT AREA IS BUSINESS TANGIBLE.
AND YOU'LL SEE THAT'S ABOUT 9% LOCAL SALES AND USE IS AT 6%.
AND THEN PUBLIC SERVICE IS AT, IS AT 3%.
AND I WANTED YOU TO CAREFULLY LOOK AT PUBLIC SERVICE, 'CAUSE PUBLIC SERVICE FOR NEXT YEAR.
I WANT YOU ALL TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT.
'CAUSE AFTER THE REASSESSMENT, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC SERVICE WILL WILL MORE THAN LIKELY JUMP UP A LITTLE BIT FOR THE COUNTY.
THAT'S A POTENTIAL REVENUE THERE.
AND MAINLY BECAUSE OF THE INVESTMENTS.
SO THESE ARE UTILITIES AND WE'VE HAD A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WORK, UH, DONE BY DOMINION ENERGY IN THE NORTHEASTERN SECTION PART OF THE COUNTY.
SO AGAIN, THAT PUBLIC, UM, SERVICE PIECE.
SO I JUST WANTED YOU TO HAVE A, IN THAT YELLOW IS KIND OF THOSE OTHER 20 SOME AREAS, UM, OF TAXES.
SO AGAIN, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT LOCAL REVENUE, YOU THE TWO MAIN, UH, FORMS. AGAIN, IT'S GONNA BE REAL ESTATE AND AND PERSONAL PROPERTY.
SO I WANTED TO TAKE A DEEPER DIVE AND LOOKING AT YOUR, YOUR REAL ESTATE RATE.
AND YOU KNOW, I KNOW THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THIS BOARD SPENT A LOT OF TIME THINKING THROUGH THIS YEAR.
YOU, YOU WENT TO THE, THE BUDGET WORKSHOPS, YOU LISTENED TO ALL THE COUNTY DEPARTMENTS, AND I KNOW THAT YOU REALLY CAREFULLY CONSIDER INCREASE THIS YEAR, THAT FIVE, 5 CENT.
BUT WHAT I WANTED TO SHOW HERE IS JUST WHAT IS THE HISTORICAL TREND, IF YOU WILL, WHEN IT COMES TO THE TAX RATE.
UM, AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT THIS, YOU'LL SEE THAT YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU WERE, UH, PREVIOUSLY BACK IN, UH, 88, 92, THAT FIRST COLUMN, YOU KNOW, YOU WERE AT 80 CENTS, UM, AND YOU'VE EBB AND FLOWED SOMEWHERE IN THE EIGHTIES TO SEVENTIES.
YOU DID DROP ONE, ONE YEAR AND NINE AND 10 AFTER A REASSESSMENT, YOU DROPPED DOWN TO 68 CENTS AND THEN YOU QUICKLY HAD TO GO BACK UP TO 72 CENTS.
AND THEN YOU'VE BEEN AT 79 FROM 2013 UNTIL 2023.
AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE YOU'VE BEEN.
AND SO YOU SEE THAT BLUE AREA IS WHERE, WHERE YOU ARE NOW, SPECIFICALLY FOR 24.
SO, UM, VERY CONSISTENT, VERY STABLE OVER TIME.
ONE OF THE THINGS YOU DON'T WANNA SEE ON THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE IS A, A LOT OF TREMENDOUS UP AND DOWNS.
YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD FOR THE COMMUNITY TO GET CONDITIONED TO, TO HIGHS AND LOWS.
SO STABILITY IS REALLY GOOD IN THIS.
UM, THIS SLIDE, NEXT SLIDE IS PERSONAL PROPERTY.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE HERE, AND A LOT OF TIMES, AND I KNOW IT'S BEEN A POINT OF CON OF CONCERN WITH THE BOARD, YOU'LL, YOU'LL HEAR DI MANY RESIDENTS TALK ABOUT, UH, JUST WHERE WE ARE WHEN IT COMES TO PERSONAL PROPERTY TAXATION.
AND YOU CAN SEE WHEN, WHEN, YOU KNOW, AS FAR BACK AS AS 1985, YOU WERE AT $5 AND 20 CENTS, UM, WHICH WAS HIGH.
SO WHEN YOU HEAR PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THAT, YOU USED TO BE IN THE TOP FIVE OR 10 IN THE STATES, YOU DID, YOU WERE, UM, NOW YOU DROPPED IT, THE, THE BOARD DROPPED IT IN 86 AND THEN FROM 1987 FOR 32 YEARS IT WOULD BE $4 AND 90 CENTS.
AND IT WAS, IT WAS, UM, THE BOARD THAT, THAT DECIDED TO DROP IT IN 2022.
[00:15:01]
UM, AND WHERE THEY DROPPED IT IN 2010 AND THEN DROPPED IT AGAIN, UH, LATER.SO YOU, YOU WERE ABLE TO, TO REALLY SEE THAT YOU'VE DROPPED IT 30 CENTS IN IN THIS THE LAST, UH, FEW YEARS HERE.
SO FROM 19 AND 22, YOU DROPPED IT IN THOSE, THOSE TWO YEARS.
UM, SO AGAIN, YOU KNOW, SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF DECREASE THERE.
AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT I KNOW THAT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN IN INTERESTED IN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GET YOURSELVES OFF OF PERSONAL PROPERTY A LITTLE BIT WHEN IT COMES TO FINANCES.
SO NEXT COUPLE SLIDES, I JUST WANTED TO TO SHOW YOU WHAT'S CALLED THE GAIN LOSS ANALYSIS.
AND SO WHAT THIS DOES, THE AREAS THAT ARE IN THE BLACK ARE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE SEEING POSITIVE CHANGES AND THE AREAS IN RED, YOU SEE SOME, SOME DECREASE IN CHANGE.
AND SO ONE REASON THAT THAT PUBLIC SERVICE NUMBER IS DROPPED IS THAT IT'S PREDICATED UPON YOUR SALES RATIO.
SO LORI STEVENS HAS ALREADY INDICATED TO THE BOARD WHEN YOU ESTABLISHED THE TAX RATE AND WE WERE LOOKING AT, UM, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST TAX RATE, BUT PPTR RATE THAT NIGHT, AND SHE TOLD YOU THAT THE SALES RATIO IS DROPPED DOWN TO 57%.
SO THIS IS PREDICATED AT A HUNDRED, YOU KNOW, YOU WANNA BE AT A HUNDRED PERCENT WHEN IT COMES TO PUBLIC SERVICE.
AND SO IF YOU'RE A COMMUNITY THAT HAS A LOT OF UTILITY ASSETS, THE CYCLE OF WHICH YOU DO YOUR REASSESSMENT, UH, NEEDS TO BE A LITTLE BIT QUICKER.
SO IF I WAS SURREY, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT HAS THE POWER PLANT, YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD WANT TO DO THEIR REASSESSMENT VERY FREQUENTLY TO BE ABLE TO CAPTURE, THEY WANNA KEEP THAT AS CLOSE TO FAIR MARKET VALUE AS THEY POSSIBLY CAN.
SO I'M NOT GONNA READ ALL OF THESE TO YOU.
I MEAN, THE GOOD THING IN THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE AND ALL OF THIS INFORMATION IS ON THE COUNTY WEBSITE, GOING BACK TO SOME OF MY EARLY BUDGETS THAT, THAT ANNE AND I WORKED ON HERE.
SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE GAIN LOSS OVER THE YEARS.
THE GOOD THING I THOUGHT IN THIS YEAR IS THAT MORE THAN NOT, YOU'LL SEE THINGS IN THE BLACK AND SOME OF IT HAS, HAS DROPPED OFF, BUT NOT AS SIGNIFICANTLY AS YOU'LL SEE.
SO THE, THE GOOD PART OF THIS SLIDE TOO IS THAT WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU FINISHED YOUR LOCAL REVENUE, AGAIN, IS THAT 51.9 THAT I SHOWED YOU EARLIER, BUT THE OVERALL BUDGET CHANGE WAS $3.8 MILLION, WHICH WAS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY ON THE LOCAL SIDE, UM, THIS YEAR.
SO I WANNA TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE EXPENDITURE SIDE.
SO WHEN, YOU KNOW, YOU GOT THE NUMBER OF 51 9, SO I WANT TO TALK TO YOU JUST A TAD BIT ABOUT THE, THE EXPENDITURE PIECE.
AND AGAIN, TO, TO THE BUDGETS EVERY YEAR WE TRY TO BE VERY CONSERVATIVE AND, AND TAKE THAT APPROACH.
WE WANNA BE REALISTICALLY ALIGNED TO, TO WHAT THE ECONOMY IS DOING, UM, AND THEN ALSO TRY TO LOOK AT PRESENT DAY SERVICES.
AND SO WE, WE WANTED TO MAINTAIN THE LEVEL OF SERVICES THAT WE HAD, BUT WE ALSO WANTED TO ENHANCE IT IF WE POSSIBLY COULD IN SOME OTHER WAYS.
AND, AND THIS BUDGET CONTEMPLATES THAT, THAT, ESPECIALLY ON THE PUBLIC SAFETY SIDE AND SOME OTHER KEY KEY AREAS, WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT PEOPLE.
AND SO WE, WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN THE STAFFING THAT WE HAVE, WHICH HAS BEEN SOMEWHAT PROBLEMATIC IN CERTAIN AREAS, BUT WE ALSO GOTTA BE ABLE TO, TO ATTRACT.
SO, YOU KNOW, I'VE ALREADY AUTHORIZED THE RFPS OUT ON THE STREET NOW FOR A CLASS IN COMPENSATION, BUT WE ALSO, WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT PRINCIPLES FOR THIS BUDGET, AS MUCH AS WE COULD DO THIS YEAR, WE TRIED TO DO, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT LATER IN SOME OF THESE JUST SPECIFIC INVESTMENTS.
AGAIN, THIS SECOND BULLET TO THE BOTTOM TALKS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PUBLIC SAFETY SIDE, AND THAT'S BOTH LAW ENFORCEMENT AND ADDING SOME ADDITIONAL STAFF AND FIRE AND EMS. UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I CHANGED IT THIS TIME.
USUALLY IT'S THAT WE PARTNER WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM BECAUSE IT'S ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT'S REQUESTED.
WESTON HAD ORIGINALLY ASKED FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS, YOU'LL SEE LATER IN THE PRESENTATION THAT WE WERE ABLE TO LEVEL FUND BASED ON WHAT WE BELIEVE TO BE THE PROJECTIONS COMING IN, UM, FROM THE STATE ON WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO HOPEFULLY PAY FOR THIS YEAR.
SO THIS, THIS SLIDE JUST SHOWS YOU A LITTLE BIT OF OKAY TO, TO, FOR THE OVERALL GENERAL FUND, UM, THE OVERALL BUDGET, WHERE DOES THE, THE PIECES OF THE KA PIE GET BROKEN INTO? SO I, THAT BIG GREEN SECTION TO THE LEFT REALLY TALKS ABOUT COUNTY OPERATIONS.
AND SO OF ALL OF YOUR FINANCIAL COMMITMENT, THAT'S ABOUT 60% OF, OF WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
UM, SECOND TO THAT IS GONNA BE DO COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
AND AGAIN, YOU MAKE A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT.
YOU HAVE, WHAT IS THAT LOCAL REQUIRED EFFORT AND YOU'VE BEEN FUNDING MUCH MORE THAN WHAT'S REQUIRED OF YOU BY THE STATE.
AND I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE PROUD OF.
UM, WE GET INTO OUR, OUR TRANSFERS NOT ONLY FOR COUNTY DEBT, BUT ALSO FOR SCHOOL DEBT AND THAT YELLOW PIECE.
AND THEN, UM, AGAIN, THAT, THAT BLUE PIECE HERE GETS INTO WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE TRANSFERRING OVER TO BOTH CSA AND AND DSS.
YOU WILL SEE THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUND, WHICH WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO PUT 25,000 IN THERE, UH, ALMOST EVERY YEAR NOW FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
UM, YOU CAN'T REALLY SEE THAT PIECE OF THE PIE, BUT IT'S, IT'S, UM, PART OF THAT OVERALL TRANSFER AMOUNT.
[00:20:01]
OKAY, THE NEXT PIECE IS, IS YOU'RE LOOKING AT, UM, THE OVERALL OPERATING SIDE.SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT THAT 60% OF THE TOTAL BUDGET.
AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT IT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WE, WE'VE SAID IT FOR A WHILE, WE'RE IN THE PEOPLE BUSINESS, SO IT TAKES PEOPLE TO DO IT.
SO JUST IN LOOKING AT THE OPERATIONS OF THE COUNTY, 22.5 MILLION IS JUST IN SALARIES AND BENEFITS.
UM, SO AGAIN, OF THE 36, 22 0.5 IS JUST SALARY AND BENEFITS.
NOW OPERATIONALLY YOU HAVE ANOTHER 12.8 MILLION THAT MAKES UP THE, THE OTHER 36%.
SO WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THIS, THERE ARE CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE JAIL FOR EXAMPLE, THAT MR. CHAVIS AND I SERVE ON, AND THAT'S CLOSE TO $2 MILLION.
SO THERE ARE THINGS OUTSIDE OF SALARIES AND BENEFITS THAT THE COUNTY HAS TO PAY FOR CONTRACTS, MAINTENANCE, OTHER ISSUES THAT'S GONNA FALL IN THAT YELLOW SECTION, THAT INTERNAL CAPITAL, THAT SMALL GREEN SECTION, THAT'S GONNA BE KIND OF THE REPLACEMENT.
IF WE NEED A NEW BUILDING OF OFFICIAL'S VEHICLE OR WE, WE NEED A NEW ANIMAL CONTROL VEHICLE, THIS, THIS IS WHERE WE WOULD REPLACE THOSE THINGS.
COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, SELF-CONTAINED, CONTAINED, UM, BREATHING APPARATUS.
YOU KNOW, IT'S THOSE TYPES OF, UM, OF THINGS THAT YOU WOULD, YOU WOULD PAY OUTTA THAT.
UM, YOUR TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES AROUND 36, UH, POINT 0.1 MILLION.
SO WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT YOUR EXPENDITURE BUDGET, IT REALLY TALKS ABOUT WHAT LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO.
AND I TALKED A LITTLE BIT 'CAUSE IT WAS A GUIDING PRINCIPLE.
WE WANT IT TO AT LEAST MAINTAIN, WE DON'T WANNA GO BACKWARDS.
AND WE, WE ALSO WANNA LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE DOING PRESENTLY AND SEEING IF THERE'S ANY WAY WE CAN DO IT BETTER.
SO WE, WE COMPLETELY REVIEWED ALL THE COUNTY OPERATIONS.
WE, WE MET WITH ALL THE CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS, YOU ALL DID AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN YOU, OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS, YOU KNOW, KAISHA HAS HAD A LOT OF OUR OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE PARTNER WITH TO COME IN HERE AND GIVE YOU THEIR TESTIMONY AS TO WHY YOU NEED TO CONTINUE TO PARTNER WITH THEM.
SO AGAIN, MAINTAINING THESE OUTSIDE AGENCIES, THE CONSTITUTIONAL AND THE COUNTY.
AND THEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE PROPOSED 25 BUDGET, UM, WE ACTUALLY WERE ABLE TO PUT SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING THIS YEAR INTO SOME SPECIFIC AREAS.
UM, AND ONE OF THAT STARTED WITH ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION.
SO EVERY YEAR I, AND I KNOW THERE'S CONVERSATION OF WHAT HAPPENS AT THE STATE AND THE STATE DOESN'T FULLY FUND ITS OBLIGATIONS, AND I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IN, IN A LOT OF DETAIL, ESPECIALLY TO, UM, OUR CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES AND OFFICES OF THE CONSTITUTIONALS AS WELL AS, UM, THAT OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AND SO THIS YEAR WHAT WAS BEING CONTEMPLATED BY THE STATE WAS A THREE PER 3% INCREASE.
SO WE FELT LIKE IF WE WERE GONNA ACCEPT THOSE FUNDS, AND EVEN THOUGH IT WAS PARTIALLY, WE HAD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO COME UP WITH THE REST OF THAT 3%.
AND AGAIN, SO IF YOU LOOK AT ALL OF OUR EXISTING EMPLOYEES, UM, YOU'RE LOOKING ABOUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, FROM SALARY TO SALARY, BUDGET CHANGE, UM, YOU'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT A $2.2 MILLION INCREASE.
THAT'S WITH THE NEW POSITIONS, EVERYTHING INCLUDED.
BUT WHAT THE COMPRESSION STEPS.
SO WE MOVED EVERYONE AN ADDITIONAL STEP.
SO AGAIN, WHEN WE DID THE CLASS IN COMPENSATION, WE WANTED PEOPLE TO SAY, IF YOU STARTED ON THIS PARTICULAR YEAR, YOU SHOULD SEE YOURSELF GOING DOWN THAT SCALE.
SO THAT CAN HELP YOU CONTEMPLATE, YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU'RE GONNA BE.
IF YOU'RE WITH US 5, 10, 15 YEARS, YOU CAN SEE YOURSELF MOVED.
I'M PROUD TO SAY EVERY YEAR SINCE THE CLASS IN COMPENSATION PLAN WAS IMPLEMENTED, YOU'VE ALL DONE AT LEAST A COMP, UH, UH, THAT COMPRESSION STEP SOMETIMES MORE.
UH, IN ORDER TO, TO GET TO THE 3% WE NEED TO DO A COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT.
SO THAT 0.624 IS THE MATH ASSOCIATED.
SO EVERYBODY WILL MOVE A STEP.
AND THEN THAT COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT GETS THE, GETS THE 3%.
SO AGAIN, TARGETED INVESTMENTS.
NOW, UM, SO I WANTED, THIS IS THE HIGHLIGHT I THINK OF THE BUDGET IS, IS THE NEXT SEVERAL SLIDES.
THIS IS THE NEW THINGS THAT ARE BEING ABLE TO BE PROPOSED.
AND IT STARTS WITH THIS WHOLE CONCEPT.
IT'S ONE OF YOUR GUIDING GOALS FOR THE COUNTY.
UM, AND THAT'S HAVING A SAFE AND SECURE COMMUNITY.
AND LAST YEAR WE'RE PROUD THAT, THAT YOU STARTED TO IMPLEMENT SOME OF THE MATRIX PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE PUT FORTH.
THAT WAS VERY MUCH A PUBLIC PROCESS.
IT WAS USING OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT'S VOLUNTEER AND PAID CREW TO TALK ABOUT WHAT ARE THE NEEDS MOVING FORWARD.
AND YOU HAD NINE NEW ADDITIONAL PEOPLE LAST YEAR.
UM, WE INCLUDED THOSE NINE ADDITIONAL FULL-TIME FIRE MEDICS.
SO THE NEW POSITIONS AND THE REGRADES IS A A $742,000, UM, TOTAL COST.
SO SALARY AND BENEFITS, YOU CAN SEE THERE IS THE 646,000, THERE'S UNIFORMS, FIRE GEAR, UM,
[00:25:01]
YOU KNOW, MEDICAL EXPENSES, RECRUIT, SCHOOL, ALL THOSE TYPES OF EXPENSES.YOU KNOW, THE GOOD THING ABOUT THIS THIS YEAR, AND AND AGAIN WITH YOU ALL ADJUSTING THE TAX RATE, YOU WERE ABLE TO SECURE, BEING ABLE TO, TO MAINTAIN FULL-TIME COVERAGE, UH, BY COUNTY STAFF ALL THE WAY FROM THE NORTHERN END OF THE COUNTY TO THE CENTER PART OF THE COUNTY TO THE SOUTHERN END OF THE COUNTY ON THAT ROUTE ONE CORRIDOR.
AND SO IT'S THE FIRST TIME WE'VE ACTUALLY, WE'LL HAVE HAD, WE'LL HAVE PAID FIRE IN THE NORTHERN SIDE OF THE COUNTY, WHICH REALLY HELPS US BEING ABLE TO KEEP THE, UH, THE OTHER EMPLOYEES STAYING IN THE CENTER PART OF THE COUNTY AS WELL AS THE SOUTHERN IN THE COUNTY.
'CAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE TO GO NORTH EVERY TIME THAT THERE'S A CALL, THE, THE SYSTEM ITSELF IS STARTING TO GET LARGER WITH THE NINE AND THIS ADDITIONAL NINE.
SO WHAT WAS ALSO BEING CONTEMPLATED, IF YOU REMEMBER, WAS TO REGRADE, UH, SIX MEDICS TO LIEUTENANTS.
AND SO THAT STARTS TO GET A LITTLE BIT OF STRUCTURE IN PLACE AND A LITTLE BIT OF RANK AND FILE TO BE ABLE TO MANAGE BETTER ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS.
SO I WANTED TO SHOW YOU A LITTLE BIT OF VIDEO.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE SEEN THIS VIDEO, BUT THIS IS A RECRUITMENT VIDEO.
WE WE'RE TRYING WITH OUR VOLUNTEERS TO DO MORE WITH OUR VOLUNTEERS TO GET MORE VOLUNTEERISM.
BUT I THINK THIS STRIKES A GOOD BALANCE BETWEEN VOLUNTEERING AND, AND PAID PAID STAFF.
SO VOLUNTEERING IS A VERY GOOD STEPPING STONE INTO A CAREER.
THIS IS WHAT YOU JUST DECIDE TO DO.
'CAUSE YOU GET TO TRY IT ON, YOU GET ALL YOUR TRAINING FOR FREE.
YOU CAN TAKE IT AS FAR AS YOU WANT TO TAKE IT.
IF YOU CHOOSE TO GO PAY SOMEWHERE ELSE, YOU CAN COME IN WITH A LOT OF CERTIFICATIONS THAT'LL PUT YOU AHEAD OF SOMEBODY COMING IN OFF THE STREET.
IT'S A GOOD STEPPING STONE FOR A CAREER IN THE FIRE SERVICE.
BUT IT'S, I FEEL LIKE IT'S A GOOD STEPPING STONE FOR ANY CAREER.
THE GOOD THING ABOUT THE FIRE SERVICE IS THAT IT'S VERY WELL ROUNDED.
AND STARTING AS A VOLUNTEER GETS YOU THAT EXPOSURE AT, AT NO COST TO YOU.
I DIDN'T KNOW, I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT TOOLS OR ENGINES OR NOTHING.
UM, IN, IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, I'VE, I'VE PICKED ALL THAT STUFF UP FROM ALL MY MENTORS AROUND HERE.
AND IF YOU HAVE AN OPEN MIND AND YOU'RE WILLING TO WORK HARD, YOU CAN GROW INTO ANYTHING.
SIX STATIONS, ONE COUNTY SERVE TODAY.
SO THIS, THIS VIDEO HAS NOW BEEN PLACED ON, UM, OUR FIRE AND EMS PAGE.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TRYING TO GET IT MORE OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY.
'CAUSE I THINK ONE OF THE PIECES WITH THIS BUDGET, AND YOU'LL SEE THE NEXT SEVERAL SLIDES IS, YOU KNOW, FROM A A HUMAN RESOURCES STANDPOINT, WE'VE GOTTA TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET ALL THESE PEOPLE HIRED IN A MARKET.
THAT'S, THAT'S PRETTY COMPRESSED, RIGHT? AND WE KNOW THAT THERE'S WAGE INFLATION, THERE'S OTHER ISSUES HAPPENING.
SO ANY WAY WE CAN TRY TO, TO HELP OUR RECRUITMENT EFFORT, WE'RE GONNA TRY TO DO THAT.
SO AGAIN, I HOPE Y'ALL ARE AS PROUD OF THAT VIDEO AS I AM, BUT I THINK IT, IT DOES A GOOD JOB OF TRYING TO, TO SHOW PEOPLE WHAT DENWOODY COUNTY IS, IS ALL ABOUT.
AND THIS IS, THIS IS YOUR LARGEST ITEM THAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY FUNDING THIS YEAR, IS THIS COMMITMENT TO, TO FIRE AND EMS. ALRIGHT, UM, NEXT SLIDE HERE IS ANOTHER TARGETED INVESTMENT.
AGAIN, UNDER THIS, THIS SAME, SAME CATEGORY OF SAFE, SECURE COMMUNITY, BUT IT'S, IT'S LOOKING AT, UM, OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT SIDE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I, I'VE SAID IT NUMEROUS TIMES, A LOT OF SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS.
UM, WE WERE PRETTY PROUD WHEN WE DID THE, THE CLASS IN COMPENSATION AND THAT WE GOT OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT, UM, WHEN I THOUGHT WAS A LOT BETTER THAN WHERE WE HAD BEEN IN THE PAST.
UNFORTUNATELY, EVERYONE ELSE SINCE, SINCE REALLY WE, YOU KNOW, WE DID THAT IN 2019, COVID HIT A LOT OF PEOPLE WEREN'T DOING, UH, CLASSING COMPENSATIONS, THEY JUST TOOK THE COUNTY'S COMPENSATION PLAN AND WENT HIGHER.
AND SO WE FOUND OURSELVES, UH, YOU KNOW, AND I'VE SAID THIS PUBLICLY ALREADY, BUT IT'S ONE THING TO BE SECOND TO RICHMOND, HENRICO, CHESTERFIELD AND HANOVER, THOSE MARKETS ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
BUT WHEN DOEE COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT STARTING PAY, UH, AND JUST OTHER POSITIONS WERE SECOND TO SOME OF OUR MORE RURAL LOCAL LOCALITIES AROUND US.
WE FELT LIKE THAT, THAT WHEN THE SHERIFF RECOMMENDED THIS YEAR THAT THE BOARD CONSIDER, UH, MAYBE A TARGET INVESTMENT TO ADJUST ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT.
SO THERE'S A REGRADE OF ALL SWORN POSITIONS, UM, OF THE STATE COMP BOARD, UH, TO THEIR MINIMUM, UH, AS WELL AS ALL SWORN LAW ENFORCEMENT, WHICH WILL RECEIVE AN APPROXIMATE $5,000 ADJUSTMENT IN ADDITION TO THE 3% THAT I WAS JUST TALKING TO YOU ABOUT YOU EARLIER ABOUT.
SO THAT'S A, IT'S FIRST TIME IN MY CAREER.
SO, AND THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS TOGETHER.
WE'VE EVER REALLY JUST TARGETED A SPECIFIC GROUP.
WE'VE ALWAYS KIND OF DONE IT ALL OR NOTHING.
BUT I THINK DUE TO THE FACT THAT WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN LAW ENFORCEMENT, WE FELT LIKE WE COULDN'T WAIT ON THAT.
YOUR OTHER CLASSROOM COMPENSATION
[00:30:01]
PLAN, HOPEFULLY TO BE LOOKED AT FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR, WILL INCORPORATE SOME OF THE OTHER POSITIONS OR PARTS OF THE COUNTY.SO THIS NEXT SLIDE WAS IN ADDITION TO THESE, THIS, THIS, UH, ADJUSTMENT TO COMPENSATION, THERE'S STILL A REAL NEED FOR STAFFING.
AND SO THIS, THIS BUDGET CONTEMPLATES BEING ABLE TO HIRE TWO, UH, FULL-TIME DEPUTY SHERIFFS AND TO CREATE A FULL-TIME ENFORCEMENT TECHNOLOGY, UH, MANAGER.
AND SO YOU, THAT'S COVERED IN, IN THIS BUDGET.
AND, AND THE VEHICLE PORTION OF THIS IS IN THE CIP, BUT AGAIN, UM, MAJOR PIECE OF THIS INVESTMENT IS, IS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT.
NEXT SLIDE HERE IS AGAIN, IN STILL SAFE, SECURE COMMUNITY IS IN OUR COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
AND SO, UM, MS. MANN CAME BEFORE YOU AND REQUESTED A, A FULL-TIME ASSISTANT COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY.
IF YOU REMEMBER, THE STATE COMP BOARD HAD DONE AN ASSESSMENT AND THEY WERE LOOKING AT SPECIFICALLY WHAT THE NEEDS WERE IN HER OFFICE.
AND IF YOU REMEMBER, IT WAS ALMOST LIKE TWO AND A HALF PEOPLE WERE RECOMMENDED BY THE STATE.
KEEP IN MIND YOU FUNDED LAST YEAR OR YEAR BEFORE A, UH, INVESTIGATOR POSITION.
AND SO THAT'S NOT SUPPORTED BY THE STATE, BUT IT IS PAID BY THE COUNTY.
AND THEN THIS POSITION GIVES HER THAT, THAT OTHER ONE, UM, WHAT SHE DIDN'T GET THIS YEAR IS A, UM, UH, SOME PART-TIME OR ASSISTANT POSITION.
I'VE ALREADY TALKED TO MS. MANN ABOUT THIS, BUT THE NEW POSITION IS CONTEMPLATED.
AND I WILL SAY, 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, JUST AS A POINT OF DETAIL, THAT THAT TOTAL COST THAT YOU SEE THERE IS THE TOTAL INVESTMENT.
IT'S NOT STARTING PAY 'CAUSE YOU HAVE BENEFITS AND WHATNOT TO GO WITH THAT.
SO IT'S, IT'S THE TOTAL AMOUNT.
BUT AGAIN, ANOTHER COMMITMENT TO THE, THE COMMONWEALTH ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND THE JUDICIAL SIDE TO MAKE SURE THAT SHE HAS APPROPRIATE STAFFING TO BE ABLE TO, UM, TO DO HER JOB CORRECTLY.
THE SAME PUBLIC SAFETY AREA WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, THE REGIONAL JAIL.
LUCKILY, UH, IN THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, WE BUDGETED A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN WHAT WE WERE CONTRACTUALLY REQUIRED TO PAY.
SO HOPEFULLY TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR, WE KNOW THAT THERE'LL BE A SIGNIFICANT TRUE UP AT THE END OF THE YEAR, UH, TO PAY.
BUT BETWEEN THE, THE MONEY THAT WE HAVE ON THE BOOKS, WHEN WE HAVE BETTER YEARS AND WHERE WE OVER BUDGET IT FOR FY 24, WE THINK WE'LL BE OKAY FOR THAT.
BUT WE ARE SHOWN AN ADJUSTMENT FOR, FOR NEXT YEAR, UH, TO INCREASE JUST UNDER $200,000, UH, IN, IN THAT.
SO THE REAL STORY HERE IS THAT OUR POPULATION ISN'T DRASTICALLY GETTING HIGHER.
WHAT'S REALLY HAPPENING IS IN MECKLENBURG AND IN BRUNSWICK COUNTY, THE OVERALL INMATE POPULATION IS DROPPING.
AND SO THERE'S BEEN SOME CONCERNS WITH MAGISTRATES AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT SPECIFICALLY HOW TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND THAT DIFFERENT JUDICIAL DISTRICT, THEY'RE TRYING TO WORK ON THAT.
BUT WHEN, WHEN YOU CAN'T GET TO A MAGISTRATE AND YOU CAN'T, YOU CAN'T GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS, THEY'RE NOT SENDING AS MANY PEOPLE, UH, TO, TO MEHERON.
SO SOMEBODY'S GOTTA PAY THE DIFFERENCE.
SO WE END UP HAVING TO PAY THAT.
NOW, OUR POPULATION IS UP SOME, BUT NOT DRASTICALLY.
UM, SO WE'LL, WE'LL SEE WHERE WE HAD A MEETING TOMORROW WITH THE, I MEAN, THURSDAY, THURSDAY WITH THE, THE REGIONAL JAIL.
BUT THAT WAS ANOTHER, UH, SIGNIFICANT PIECE.
SO WE'RE GONNA MOVE NOW TO, UM, JUST BEING GOOD STEWARDS OF THE PUBLIC TRUST.
AND SO THIS IS GONNA GET MORE INTO THAT ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNMENT, HOW WE GO ABOUT OUR, OUR DAY-TO-DAY WORK HERE.
UM, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HOUSE.
AND SO SPEC, YOU KNOW, FIRST SLIDE HERE IS TALKING ABOUT A TARGETED INVESTMENT.
YOU HEARD FROM THE COMMISSIONER REVENUE WHEN, WHEN SHE CAME, UH, WHAT THE DMV SELECT.
THIS IS THE ACTUAL, UM, ANNOUNCEMENT BY CHANNEL EIGHT NEWS WHEN WE DECIDED TO OPEN A-A-D-M-V SELECT IN DWY.
UH, AND IT, IT TURNED OUT TO BE ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR THINGS THAT THE COUNTY HAS DONE.
WE, WE GET COMPLIMENTS ON THIS ALL THE TIME, BUT YOU HEARD FROM THE COMMISSIONER REVENUE ABOUT HOW MUCH, YOU KNOW, IT DOES PUT ON THE EXISTING STAFF.
THEY'VE BEEN COMPENSATED WITH ADDITIONAL STEP, BUT WE STILL LOOK AT THE VOLUME OF WORK THAT'S BEING DONE.
SHE RECOM SHE NEEDED A, UM, ANOTHER DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF THE REVENUE, UH, THREE.
AND SO WE, WE PUT THAT IN THE BUDGET.
AND AGAIN, TOTAL COST TO THAT POSITION IS, IS THE 65 1 46.
ON THE NEXT ONE IS THE TREASURER'S OFFICE.
AND, AND YOU HEARD FROM MS. PERKINS, YOU KNOW, SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE DAY-TO-DAY AND, AND HER OPERATIONS.
UM, SHE ALSO ASKED FOR A POSITION AND SHE ALSO ASKED FOR SOME PART-TIME FUNDS.
YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT WE COULDN'T DO EVERYTHING, BUT WE DID PUT $45,000 HERE IN ADDITIONAL PART-TIME.
SHE ALREADY HAS SOME PART-TIME FUNDS IN, IN HER, IN HER BUDGET, I BELIEVE WITH THOSE FUNDS AND THOSE FUNDS, IT, IT GETS YOU CLOSE TO $80,000.
SO THE, THE TREASURER AND I HAVE
[00:35:01]
HAD CONVERSATION THAT IF SHE WERE TO HAVE SOME STAFFING ISSUES OR, OR INDIVIDUALS LEAVING, SHE POTENTIALLY COULD USE SOME OF THAT PART-TIME MONEY IF SHE NEEDED TO, TO COMBINE THE POSITION.BUT AGAIN, THIS POSITION WOULD ADDRESS SOME OF THE, I MEAN THIS, UH, FUNDING WOULD ADDRESS, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE NEEDS THAT SHE HAS.
UM, WE, WE TALKED ABOUT ACCOUNTING AND UNDER MS. HOWERTON, AND AGAIN, A GOOD PART OF BEING A GOOD STEWARD OF THE PUBLIC TRUST IS A LOT OF THE BUDGETARY PROCESS THAT YOU ALL GO THROUGH, BUT IT'S THE OVERALL INTEGRITY THAT GOES WITH FINANCES, RIGHT? AND SO YOU SAW THAT SLIDE THAT, THAT TALKS ABOUT OUR APPROACH AND WHAT WE ARE, WE'RE SO PROUD OF WHEN IT COMES TO OUR FINANCES.
AND JIMY COUNTY, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WHETHER YOU'RE TALKING TO OUR FINANCIAL ADVISORS, WE DO A REALLY GOOD JOB WITH THAT.
BUT HOWEVER, WE DID BELIEVE THIS YEAR THAT WE NEEDED THAT ACCOUNTING POSITION.
UM, SO THE FUNDS ARE HERE TO BE ABLE TO, TO DO THAT AS WELL IN MS. TON'S SHOP.
SO THIS NEXT SLIDE, UM, AGAIN, IT'S KIND OF STILL UNDER THIS WHOLE IDEA OF BEING A GOOD STEWARD OF THE PUBLIC TRUST IS TALKING ABOUT THAT REASSESSMENT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE REASSESSMENTS ON A SIX YEAR CYCLE THIS YEAR, UM, AND IN THE, WHAT WE WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT WE PROBABLY NOT DO A SIX YEAR CYCLE IF WE CAN AVOID IT AGAIN.
UM, SO WE, WE HIRED WAMPS AND FY 24 IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.
THEY COMMENCED AND, AND DID, AND IT STARTED THEIR WORK.
AND FY 25, THE NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET IS CONTEMPLATED THAT, UM, ADDITIONAL WORK OBVIOUSLY IS GONNA GET DONE TO GET US TO THAT FILING DEADLINE AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
UM, SO IN TOTAL WE, IN, IN 24, THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, WE'RE EXPECTING THIS TO EXPEND ABOUT $300,000.
AND AGAIN, SO FOR NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, YOU'RE LOOKING AT ANOTHER 350,000 THAT GETS YOU TO THAT CONTRACTUAL PRICE OF BEING ABLE TO DO THE REASSESSMENT.
SO IT'S A BIG NUMBER, BUT THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE PAYING NOW FOR, FOR GENERAL REASSESSMENT.
A LOT OF QUESTIONS IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT ASSESSMENTS.
WHAT ARE THE ASSESSORS? SO I, THIS VIDEO HASN'T BEEN SEEN BEFORE.
THIS IS ABOUT JUST A LITTLE OVER THREE MINUTE VIDEO, BUT I'M GONNA HAVE MS. BROWN SHOW YOU THE VIDEO.
WE PARTNERED WITH A, A COMPANY TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS VIDEO AND WHAT WE WANTED TO DO IS TO TRY TO EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY ON WHAT ASSESSORS ARE AND WHAT ARE ASSESSORS AREN'T, AND THEN THE OVERALL EXPECTATION OF THE BOARD TO BE IN A POSITION TO ESTABLISH THE TAX RATE.
UM, SO THIS HAS BEEN ON THE COUNTY WEBSITE, UH, NOW FOR ABOUT A MONTH OR TWO, BUT WE HADN'T HAD A CHANCE TO SHOW YOU.
SO WE FELT LIKE IN THE BUDGET PRESENTATION IT WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO DO THAT.
I TALKED TO LORI STEVENS EARLIER TODAY, AND WE'RE GONNA TRY TO START PUSHING THIS OUT.
IT'S GONNA BE IN THE COUNTY NEWSLETTER THAT WE'RE GONNA TRY TO START EDUCATING OUR PUBLIC MORE ON WHAT THE REASSESSMENT IS IS ALL ABOUT COMMISSION.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE ROLE OF ASSESSORS AND HOW THEY AFFECT THE PROPERTY TAX THAT HOMEOWNERS PAY.
WHEN SOMEONE HEARS THE TERM ASSESSOR, THEY SEEM TO THINK OF A SCARY FIGURE REACHING FOR THEIR WALLET.
NOT SO ASSESSORS DON'T SET TAX RATES.
ASSESSORS DON'T CHASE TAX DOLLARS.
AN ASSESSOR IS INTERESTED IN FAIRLY DETERMINING PROPERTY VALUES AND THEY TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN IT.
PROPERTY TAX IS DETERMINED BY A SIMPLE FORMULA.
ASSESSORS ONLY AFFECT ONE OF THESE VARIABLES, THE VALUE, AND THEY DO SO WITH INCREDIBLE ACCURACY.
ASSESSORS AREN'T TAX COLLECTORS OR EVEN TAX SETTERS, THEY'RE JUST FELLOW TAXPAYERS.
AND THEIR PRIMARY GOAL IS TO MAKE EVERYTHING FAIR AND EQUITABLE.
IMAGINE THAT YOU'RE IN A RESTAURANT WITH TWO FRIENDS, ONE ORDERS A HOT DOG, ONE ORDERS A PLATE OF CAVIAR, AND YOU ORDER A STEAK.
THE WAITER COMES TO THE TABLE WITH A TOTAL BILL OF $100, BUT HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW MUCH EACH OF YOU SHOULD PAY.
IF EVERYONE PAID THE SAME AMOUNT, THE GUY WHO ORDERED THE CAVIAR MIGHT BE HAPPY.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE GUY WHO ORDERED THE HOT DOG ENTER ASSESSORS? THE FOOD IS YOUR PROPERTY.
JUST LIKE THESE MEALS, SOME PEOPLE'S PROPERTY IS WORTH MORE THAN OTHERS AND IT'S THE ASSESSOR'S JOB TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH EACH PROPERTY IS WORTH.
SO IN THE SAME WAY, THE VALUE OF THESE MENU ITEMS WOULD NEED TO BE DETERMINED.
AN ASSESSOR PLACES VALUE ON PROPERTIES TO ENSURE FAIRNESS AND EQUITY.
AFTER THE ASSESSOR DETERMINES THE VALUE OF EACH PROPERTY, LOCAL GOVERNING BODIES WILL SET THEIR BUDGETS FOR THE COMING YEAR.
THEY SET THE TAX RATE IN ORDER TO PRODUCE THE DOLLARS NEEDED FOR THEIR BUDGETS.
THE VALUE OF A PROPERTY DOES NOT AFFECT THE AMOUNT OF PROPERTY TAX NEEDED.
THE SUM TOTAL OF ALL THOSE BUDGETS IS A SET NUMBER THAT HAS TO BE DIVIDED UP AMONG ALL THE PROPERTY OWNERS.
SO EVEN IF EVERYONE'S VALUE WAS CUT IN HALF BY THE ASSESSORS, THE TAX RATE WILL BE RAISED IN ORDER TO GENERATE THE SAME AMOUNT OF TAX REVENUE.
THE ASSESSORS DON'T DETERMINE THE TAXES YOU PAY, THEY JUST DETERMINE THE VALUES OF PROPERTIES
[00:40:01]
TO KEEP EVERYTHING AS FAIR AND EQUITABLE AS POSSIBLE.WHEN YOU NOTICE A CHANGE IN YOUR PROPERTIES ASSESSED VALUE, THAT CHANGE IS THE RESULT OF A NEVER ENDING QUEST FOR FAIRNESS AND ACCURACY.
ASSESSORS ARE GRADED ON THEIR PERFORMANCE.
SO THERE IS A DETAILED SYSTEM TO GET ACCURATE VALUATIONS.
FIRST, THE ASSESSOR LOOKS AT SIMILAR PROPERTIES THAT HAVE SOLD THEIR SALE PRICES AND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EACH SALE.
THAT'S THE REASON YOUR HOME WON'T JUST BE COMPARED TO THE PLACE NEXT DOOR.
STUDYING THINGS LIKE SQUARE FOOTAGE, AGE AND LOCATION HELPS ASSESSORS DETERMINE HOW COMPARABLE ANOTHER PROPERTY IS TO YOURS.
EVEN SEEMINGLY SMALL DETAILS LIKE AN EXTRA BATHROOM OR FINISHED BASEMENT CAN RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN VALUE IN TWO OTHERWISE IDENTICAL HOMES.
ASSESSORS MAINTAIN A THOROUGH DATABASE OF REAL ESTATE INFORMATION TO MAKE THIS PROCESS AS PRECISE AS POSSIBLE.
CHANGES IN VALUE ARE TYPICALLY THE RESULT OF LOCAL REAL ESTATE MARKET SALES OR MAJOR CHANGES TO A PROPERTY.
REMODEL A KITCHEN OR FINISH YOUR BASEMENT AND YOUR PROPERTY'S VALUE COULD INCREASE.
WHEN YOU SEE YOUR HOME'S ASSESSED VALUE, YOU CAN REST ASSURED THAT THE NUMBER HAS NOT BEEN DRAWN OUT OF A HAT NOR GENERATED WITH ANYTHING BUT EQUITY AND ACCURACY IN MIND.
LONG STORY SHORT, ASSESSORS ARE HERE TO HELP, NOT TRYING TO HINDER THEIR FOCUS IS ACCURATE VALUES, NOT TAX COLLECTION.
THE ONLY THINGS AN ASSESSOR CHASES OUR FAIRNESS AND EQUITY AND THEY TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN IT.
SO AGAIN, I THINK THIS IS A A GOOD EXAMPLE.
AGAIN, TRYING TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC.
AND AGAIN, THAT WHOLE IDEA OF FAIRNESS AND EQUITY, UM, IS THE GOAL HERE.
WE, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW, AND MR. CHAVIS AND I WERE ATTENDED A REGIONAL MEETING LAST NIGHT AND THE CITY OF COLONIAL HEIGHTS SAID THAT THEY, IN JUST ONE YEAR BILL, UM, THEIR PROPERTY VALUES HAD A 16% INCREASE IN ONE YEAR.
MM-HMM
AND SO WE KNOW THAT IT'S GOING TO BE KIND OF SCARY WHEN PEOPLE START TO SEE WHAT THE PROPERTY VALUES WERE PROBABLY GO TO WHAT WE'VE ALREADY STARTED TO DO.
I'VE TALKED TO MANY OF YOU THIS WEEK ALREADY THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET THE MESSAGE OUT THAT I KNOW IT'S THE EXPECTATION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
WE JUST GOTTA THINK ABOUT HOW TO GET MORE, UH, PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT TO THIS IS THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE NOT GONNA KEEP THE TAX RATE WHERE IT IS.
AND LIKE THE N VIDEO IT SHOWS IF YOUR PROPERTY RATE GOES, IF YOUR PROPERTY VALUES GO DOWN, THE TAX RATE GOES UP IN THIS SITUATION, THE PROPERTY VALUES ARE GOING UP.
SO THE TAX RATE COINCIDING WILL MORE THAN LIKELY GO DOWN.
AND IT'S JUST TO, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A COMMITMENT OF TO TRY TO GET THAT AS LOW AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN, BUT YOU OBVIOUSLY GOTTA EVALUATE WHERE YOU ARE, UH, NEXT YEAR.
BUT AGAIN, I THINK WE, WE NEED TO START TALKING TO THE PUBLIC BEING A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, GOING TO MEETINGS, TALKING, DOING TOWN HALL, YOU KNOW, SPECIFIC GROUPS IF WE NEED TO, TO TALK ABOUT THIS PROCESS.
IF ANY OF YOU EVER WANT THAT VIDEO, IT WOULD BE ON THE COUNTY.
IT'S ON THE COUNTY WEBSITE NOW THAN A TALK OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
WE'RE GONNA TRY TO MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT EASIER FOR, FOR PEOPLE TO SEE IT, TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT PROCESS REALLY IS ALL ABOUT.
SO WE'RE GONNA LEAVE, UH, THAT SECTION NOW AND GO TO PLANNED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND, AND AGAIN, YOU SEE A COUPLE OF THE, THE NICE PIECES HERE WITH SHEETS BEING ANNOUNCED.
YOU HAVE THE HIGH VOLTAGE TESTING LAB THERE AND THE, AND THE COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLAN.
UM, SO THE FIRST PIECE OF THIS ONE IS THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
AND SO THIS YEAR WE HAVE IT, A PLANNER LAST YEAR WAS APPROVED.
UH, WE'VE BEEN, TO PUT THAT INTO PERSPECTIVE, I THINK WE'VE TRIED TO RECRUIT THAT FOR NEARLY A YEAR NOW.
UM, BUT WE, WHAT WE DID DECIDE TO DO WAS ADD ADDITIONAL FUNDS, UH, IN MR. BASSETT'S BUDGET OF ABOUT $32,000 TO DO WHAT IS REFERRED TO AS A A WILDER FELLOW.
AND SO THIS IS A POSITION FROM THE, THE WILDER SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS.
AND WHAT IT DOES IS WE ARE ABLE TO PARTNER WITH THEM.
IT BRINGS IN THAT, THAT GRADUATE STUDENT LEVEL POSITION TO WORK FOR THE COUNTY.
HOPEFULLY AT THE END OF THAT PROCESS, IF WE WANT TO HIRE THAT INDIVIDUAL, AT LEAST IT'S A GOOD WAY TO GIVE THE PERSON, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF EXPERIENCE.
AND ALSO MAYBE IT'S A WAY THAT WE CAN START TO ONBOARD, WHICH I REALLY APPLAUD MS. COLLINS AND MS. LEE FOR THINKING OUT OF THE BOX, UM, TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GET THIS POSITION, UH, FILLED OVER THERE.
UH, THE NEXT ONE, YOU KNOW, WE PRESENTLY HAVE IT IN PLAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
I, I STILL THINK IF, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WHEN THE BOARD, IF IT'S YOUR DESIRE TO FUND IT, BUT IT'S THIS DATA AND DEVELOPMENT ANALYST.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT, THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT POSITION.
WE HAVE SO MANY DIFFERENT, UH, PLATFORMS THAT WE'RE RUNNING TODAY, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THIS AT BUDGET TIME.
WE NEED SOMEBODY THAT, THAT CAN BE ABLE TO MAKE THE, THE INDIVIDUAL PLATFORMS INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER.
AND SO THIS DATA AND DEVELOPMENT ANALYST IS, IS JUST THAT, THAT TYPE OF POSITION.
IT SUPPORTS A LOT OF DIFFERENT COUNTY DEPARTMENTS AND WE'RE LOOKING AT A
[00:45:01]
SIGNIFICANT PROJECT NEXT YEAR IN OUR DISPATCH CENTER THAT'S, UM, OVER A MILLION DOLLAR PROCESS OF OUR NEW CAD SYSTEM, RMS SYSTEM THERE.SO REALLY FEEL LIKE THIS POSITION WAS, WAS NEEDED, UM, GOING TO QUALITY OF LIFE.
AND AGAIN HERE YOU'RE, I'M KIND OF HIGHLIGHTING THE DIY SPORTS COMPLEX BECAUSE WE'VE, WE'VE HAD A, A REC MANAGER POSITION, BUT THAT'S MAINLY AT, UM, EAST SIDE.
BUT WE NEED WHERE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU REMEMBER THIS YEAR WHEN MR. VINES CAME TO YOU, WE TALKED ABOUT SPECIFICALLY HAVING SOMEONE OVER THE SPORTS COMPLEX THAT'S ACTUALLY A REC MANAGER.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING TO ME.
I LOVE GOING OUT TO THE SPORTS COMPLEX.
YOU KNOW, I LIVE IN THAT NECK OF THE WOODS AND I DRIVE BY AND JUST SEE HOW BUSY IT IS AND THAT JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT.
AND SO WE, WE NEED SOMEONE THAT CAN HELP MANAGE THAT SPORTS COMPLEX AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE OTHER ASSETS WE HAVE OUT THERE.
SO THAT, THAT $66,000 OF TOTAL COST OF BEING ABLE TO, UM, AGAIN, GET SOMEONE OVER THERE.
AND ALSO, LIKE I SAY, UNDER THAT QUALITY OF LIFE PIECE, YOU KNOW, THE, WHEN THESE PEOPLE ARE, THEY, THEY CONTRIBUTE TO THE ECONOMY TOO WHEN THEY'RE OUT AND ABOUT.
SO WE'RE SWITCHING NOW TO DEY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
AND SO ON THIS SLIDE, WHAT I WANTED TO SHOW YOU IS THE TOTAL OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE SCHOOLS IS, IS ABOUT $58 MILLION, A LITTLE OVER $58 MILLION.
SO WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE PAY OUR FAIR SHARE OF THAT, BUT THAT'S JUST ABOUT 58.
WESTON ORIGINALLY WAS LOOKING FOR SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING IN END OF FEBRUARY, THEN BY THE TIME THAT YOU ALL MET IN COLLABORATION JOINTLY WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, YOU FOUND OUT THAT THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA WAS LOOKING AT FUNDING THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AN ADDITIONAL, AT THAT TIME, ALMOST $3.2 MILLION.
NOW SINCE THAT TIME, UH, EVEN THOUGH THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE AGREED ON THAT, THE GOVERNOR DIDN'T SIGN IT, THE GOVERNOR DIDN'T SIGN THE BUDGET.
SO NOW IT'S BEEN PUT BACK TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND THERE'S A SPECIAL SESSION OF THAT, OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY THAT COMES IN ON ON MAY 13TH.
UM, I STILL THINK, YOU KNOW, I, I'VE, I'VE HAD CALLS AND TO OUR DELEGATE AND OUR SENATOR, I'M HOPEFUL THAT THAT OF THE THINGS THAT MAY GET NEGOTIATED UP AND DOWN, THAT EDUCATION, PUBLIC EDUCATION'S NOT ONE OF THEM.
SO WE STILL ARE OPTIMISTIC THAT, THAT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WILL GET THAT 3.2 MILLION.
SO BECAUSE OF THAT, WE LEVEL FUNDED THE SCHOOLS THIS YEAR AT THEIR UPDATED REQUESTS WHEN THEY MET WITH YOU IN MARCH TO REFLECT, UM, A TOTAL GENERAL FUND TRANSFER OF JUST UNDER $19 MILLION.
AND SO THAT'S THE, THE SAME THAT WE GAVE 'EM LAST YEAR, THE 16 FOR THE OPERATING FUND, ALMOST 16.
TWO, THE SCHOOL DEBT THAT WE PAY FOR THE, THE SCHOOL DEBT ON THOSE, UM, PREVIOUS FACILITIES AND THEN OUR, THEIR INTERNAL CAPITAL OUTWEIGH OF 150,000 BIG HELP THIS YEAR THAT THE STATE STEPPED UP.
'CAUSE IF THIS WOULD'VE GONE UP, SOME OF THOSE OTHER THINGS WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO HAPPEN THIS YEAR.
UM, SO THAT WAS A, A BIG HELP FROM THE STATE.
SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, AND AGAIN, THIS IS A PROCESS THAT STARTS FOR THE COUNTY, YOU KNOW, GOING BACK TO NOVEMBER, UH, DECEMBER, BUT THIS IS THE SLIDE THAT TO ME, AND I KNOW IT MAKES ANN THE HAPPIEST.
SO THIS, THIS SHOWS YOU THAT, AGAIN, GENERAL FUND REVENUE IS AT 60.1 MILLION THAT I SHOWED YOU EARLIER.
IF YOU TAKE OUT WHAT IT TAKES TO OPERATE THE COUNTY, WHAT WE'RE GIVING TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, THE, THE DEBT FOR THE SCHOOLS, THE DEBT FOR THE COUNTY SOCIAL SERVICES AS WELL AS CSA, AND THEN THAT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUND, YOU'RE SPENDING 60,180,469.
SO THE, THE BEST IS THE FY 25 REVENUE LESS EXPENDITURE EQUALS ZERO.
WHAT'S NOT BEING SHOWN HERE IS YOUR INVESTMENT TO YOUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN.
AND WE'RE GONNA GET INTO THAT IN A MINUTE.
BUT YOUR OVERALL CIPI WANTED TO SHOW IT HERE, I LIKE TO SHOW IT HERE BECAUSE IT GETS, SHOWS YOU WHAT THAT POTENTIAL IMPACT MAY BE ON YOUR GENERAL FUND BALANCE.
AND SO THIS YEAR YOU'RE, YOU'RE AT, UH, 2,289,000 WOULD BE COMING OUTTA YOUR FUND BALANCE, UH, WHICH IS A GOOD, GOOD NUMBER.
IT'S A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN WHAT WE'VE HAD IN PREVIOUS YEARS.
AND WHAT YOU'LL SEE IN THE CIP, WE HAD SOME, UM, REMAINING FUNDS FROM OTHER PROJECTS THAT THAT PROBABLY WON'T HAPPEN.
SO YOU'LL SEE OVER A $4 MILLION CIP BUT YOU'RE HIT TO YOUR FUND BALANCE IS, IS IS A MODEST HIT THIS YEAR COMPARED TO WHAT WE'VE DONE IN YEARS PAST.
SO THIS, THIS SLIDE'S CHANGING A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, SCHOOL SYSTEM WITH THEM GETTING MORE, UH, STATE MONEY, UM, AND, AND YOUR ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT INTO PUBLIC SAFETY.
SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE VERY PRETTY CLOSE THIS YEAR.
[00:50:01]
DOLLAR K THROUGH 12 EDUCATION OF EVERY DOLLAR THAT COMES IN HERE, 31.40 CENTS GOES STRAIGHT TO TO, TO THE SCHOOLS.BUT PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS WITH THE JAIL GOING UP AND OUR INVESTMENT TO PUBLIC SAFETY THIS YEAR, YOU'RE AT 30.40 CENTS.
SO EDUCATION AND PUBLIC SAFETY, STILL BIG, BIG PARTS OF THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNMENT, THAT'S GONNA BE MOST OF YOUR GENERAL OPERATIONS THAT YOU SEE, UM, PUBLIC WORKS IS CALCULATED SEPARATELY.
YOU CAN SEE THAT STAYING ABOUT THE SAME COUNTY DEBT AGAIN, THESE, THESE AREAS OF THE BILL ARE STARTING TO TO BE ABOUT THE SAME, UM, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE.
SO, UH, QUALITY OF LIFE IS NOW JUST, JUST UNDER 3 CENTS IS YOUR COMMITMENT OF THIS DOLLAR BILL.
I LIKE TO TELL PEOPLE THE ONLY THING THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO AS A GOVERNMENT IS THAT LAST FAR TO THE RIGHT SLIVER QUALITY OF LIFE.
THERE'S NOTHING THAT REQUIRES THIS BOARD TO DO ANYTHING WITH PARKS AND RECREATION.
AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO MAKE DONATIONS TO THE LIBRARY.
YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, THE, THESE, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT, UM, THAT YOU HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTROL OVER.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT DOLLAR BILL, YOU'RE A LITTLE BIT CONFINED IN WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO THAT.
SO AT THIS POINT, UM, MR. CHAIRMAN, I'D LIKE TO OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL HAVE.
UM, AND LET SAY THIS BEFORE I, I GO MUCH FURTHER, I WANNA ESPECIALLY THANK, UH, ANN HOWERTON AND HER STAFF, UH, EVERYBODY WHO'S BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE BUDGET THIS YEAR TO GET US TO A BALANCED BUDGET.
UH, I THINK THIS IS, I I WAS THINKING ABOUT IT THE OTHER DAY.
I THINK THIS IS LIKE MY 18TH BUDGET AS COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR AND IT'S PROBABLY MY 22ND BUDGET IN DE WITTY.
UM, THIS STARTED OFF BEING ONE OF THE MORE DIFFICULT BUDGETS THAT WE'VE EVER HAD.
UM, AND THE WILLINGNESS TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE TAX RATE THIS YEAR I THINK HELPED, ESPECIALLY ON THE PUBLIC SAFETY SIDE, GET YOU SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, I KNOW THAT Y'ALL WERE, WERE WANTING TO DO.
BUT AGAIN, SPECIAL THANKS TO ANNE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I DECIDED TO GET IN THIS PROFESSION EARLIER 'CAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF MATH INVOLVED AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THEN I GET, I SEE WHAT ANNE DOES AND SHE CAN TELL YOU IF ONE NUMBER'S OUTTA PLACE, UM, IN A WHOLE SPREADSHEET.
SO PHENOMENAL JOB THAT MS. HOWERTON DOES TO GET US TO THIS POINT TOO.
SO JUST WANTED TO THANK HER AND THANK YOU.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THE BUDGET BEFORE I GO TO CIP? I DO NOT.
ALRIGHT, SO LET'S MOVE TO THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN.
UH, LITTLE BIT OF DIFFERENT APPROACH THIS YEAR.
YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE CIP UM, I PUT HERE IS THAT IT, IT OFFERS A, A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO PLANNING, UM, OUR CAPITAL NEEDS AND FINANCING THEM.
UM, IT'S INTENDED TO BE A STRATEGIC GUIDE AND AND DEVELOPMENT OF HOW THE COUNTY'S GONNA GROW.
SO WHEN YOU'RE, AND IT'S A, IT'S A STRAIGHT MESSAGE TO THE PUBLIC ON WHERE YOU THINK YOUR INVESTMENTS ARE GONNA BE.
AND THE ONE REASON WE TRIED TO CHANGE OUR PROCESS THIS YEAR WAS 'CAUSE IT'S TIED TO THE COMP PLAN.
AND BECAUSE THE COMP PLAN WAS NEWLY ADOPTED, WE PUT OURSELVES IN A, A MUCH MORE RIGOROUS, UH, PROCESS THIS YEAR THAN WHAT WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST.
SO THIS REVISED APPROACH, YOU KNOW WHAT WE DID? WE, WE CREATED A, UM, A WORKING GROUP AND IT WAS COMPRISED OF, UH, BOTH VOTING AND NON-VOTING MEMBERS.
UM, AND WE, WE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED EVERYBODY'S ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES WITH THAT.
UM, WE DID A COMPLETE REVIEW OF ALL COUNTY AND SCHOOL ASSETS.
AND THIS, THIS IS TOUGH 'CAUSE WHEN YOU START THINKING ABOUT ALL THE THINGS, ALL THE BUILDINGS, ALL THE PROPERTIES, ALL THE EQUIPMENT, YOU KNOW, IT TAKES A LOT TO JUST GO THROUGH THAT INVENTORY TO FIND OUT WHERE, WHERE YOU ARE.
SO WE LOOKED AT ALL THE PROPERTIES, EQUIPMENT, FLEET, VEHICLES AND APPARATUS.
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY WE'RE AT A HUNDRED PERCENT, WE'RE PROBABLY NOT, YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR I WOULD PROBABLY SAY WE'RE AT 85%, 80, 85%, UM, WITH IDENTIFYING EVERYTHING JUST 'CAUSE IT'S SUCH A MAMMOTH PROCESS.
BUT WE THINK YOU GOTTA START THERE FIRST.
UM, SO WE MOVED FROM THERE AND WE, UM, DETERMINED THE STATUS OF ALL THE PREVIOUSLY APPROVED PROJECTS.
SO WE WANTED TO KNOW WHERE ARE WE WITH WHAT, WHAT WE'VE ALREADY APPROVED.
'CAUSE THAT ALSO HELPS YOU ON, ON HOW YOU'RE GONNA IMPLEMENT IT FOR THIS YEAR, BUT ALSO IF THERE'S ANY GONNA BE FUNDS AVAILABLE TO HELP YOU WITH THE PROCESS MOVING FORWARD.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE LOOKED AT ALL THE NEW PROJECTS THAT WERE SUBMITTED THAT HAD UPDATED FORMS, TRY TO CAPTURE REAL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS INFLATION AND THE MARKET THAT WE'RE IN.
AND THEN WE HAD TO GO THROUGH THIS TREMENDOUS TASK OF HAVING TO PRIORITIZE ALL OF THE REQUESTS, UM, WHICH IS PRETTY, PRETTY SIGNIFICANT.
UM, AND SO WE ASKED THE, LET ME BACK UP.
WE ASKED ALL THE PEOPLE WHO WERE REQUESTING ALL THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT THEY HAD TO PRIORITIZE THEIR OWN DEPARTMENTS.
SO IF YOU HAD MULTIPLE PROJECTS, YOU HAD TO TELL US WHAT YOUR HIGHEST PRIORITY WAS.
[00:55:01]
CAN'T BE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY AND UNLESS IT'S ABOUT TO BREAK OR IT'S IN LIKE IMMINENT DANGER OF, OF FAILURE.AND SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS GOOD FROM THEIR PART.
SO THEN WE, WE, THIS REVISED APPROACH THIS YEAR WAS LOOKING AT, UM, AFTER THEY, EACH, EACH PERSON IN THE WORKING GROUP LISTENED TO ALL THE PRESENTATIONS, WHICH TOOK DAYS, BUT EACH INDIVIDUAL PROJECT WAS THEN RANKED.
AND SO WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO DO IS, IS SAY, LOOK OF YOUR 10 YEAR CIP, THIS RED AREA IS URGENT.
SO YEAR ONE, WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE IN FY 25, THE WORKING GROUP FELT LIKE THIS IS WHAT'S, WHAT'S REALLY NEEDED THIS YEAR.
AND IT'S, IT'S REALLY ALMOST LIKE I SAID, URGENT YEARS TWO AND THREE AS, AS A HIGH PRIORITY.
UH, MEDIUM YEARS ARE PRIORITY WOULD BE FOUR AND FIVE, AND THEN SIX AND 10 ARE ALMOST LIKE PLANNING YEARS.
I MEAN, THEY'RE, THAT'S WHAT IN THAT GREEN LOW PRIORITY, NOT SAYING IT'S NOT IMPORTANT, BUT WE'VE GOTTA BE ABLE TO, TO MAYBE LOOK AT THOSE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
AND YOU'LL SEE WHY IN A MINUTE.
UM, 'CAUSE THEN WE, WE SIT DOWN WITH OUR FINANCIAL, UM, ADVISORS, DAVENPORT, UH, PUBLIC FINANCE, AND, AND THEY EVALUATED OUR CREDIT RATING.
THEY LOOKED AT A, AN OVERVIEW OF THAT, LOOKED AT OUR PEER LOCALITIES.
WE'RE GONNA BE SCHEDULING A JOINT MEETING WITH THE SCHOOL BOARD AND THE BOARD TO KIND OF WALK THROUGH THIS.
WE WANNA GET THROUGH THIS BUDGET CYCLE, BUT WE'RE GONNA DO IT FAIRLY QUICKLY TO GET THEM, UH, TO SEE THIS PRESENTATION.
WE ALSO LOOKED AT OPERATIONS, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH WE WERE ABLE TO PAY GO EVERY YEAR.
AND, AND THEN LOOKING AT OVERALL FUND BALANCE.
AND SO DAVENPORT HELPED US WITH THAT.
AND THEN WE LOOKED AT EXISTING TAX SUPPORTED DEBT PROFILE.
AND SO THERE WE LOOKED AT KEY FINANCIAL RATIOS AND OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES AND HOW WE'RE OPERATING WITHIN OUR POLICIES AND HOW THAT COMPARES TO PEER UH, COMPARATIVE GROUPS AS WELL AS OUR DEBT AFFORDABILITY.
'CAUSE THERE'S A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR CAPACITY AND YOUR AFFORDABILITY.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK INITIALLY, I, I MENTIONED THIS TO YOU BEFORE, BUT, UM, THEY HAD THE CAPACITY TO DO 250 $60 MILLION WORTH, BUT THAT WOULD BE COINCIDING WITH A 60 SOME CENT TAX INCREASE.
SO WE WENT BACK AND SAID, WELL, WHAT'S, WHAT'S REALISTIC AND WHAT CAN WE DO IN OUR AFFORDABLE AFFORDABILITY? AND SO THAT WAS ABOUT $80 MILLION OVER THIS PERIOD OF TIME.
AGAIN, LOOKING AT SOME OF THE DEBT AND HOW IT'S GONNA COME OFF THE BOOKS.
UM, SO AGAIN, UH, I THOUGHT THEY DID, THE WORKING GROUP DID AN EXCELLENT JOB.
UM, THIS WAS ULTIMATELY, THE WORK WAS DONE ON A MONDAY.
AND I PRESENTED TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON A WEDNESDAY.
UH, JUST, JUST TELL YOU HOW MUCH TIME AND EFFORT WAS PUT INTO THIS.
SO WE, UH, TOOK THE WHOLE PLAN.
I'M, I'M GONNA MAINLY FOCUS TONIGHT ON THE FUNDING YEAR, BUT WE TOOK THE WHOLE PLAN AND, AND OUT FOR THE PUBLIC AS THE WHOLE, THE WHOLE, UH, PLAN.
BUT WE TOOK FY 25 34 TO THE CI, UH, CIP TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
THEY UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDED IT, UH, FOR APPROVAL.
WHEN YOU GET TO YOUR, YOUR, YOUR VOTE ON MAY 7TH, WHICH IT WAS NICE TO HAVE THEIR ENDORSEMENT.
SO WHAT ARE WE FUNDING? SO IN, IN FY 25, WHAT WE'RE CONTEMPLATING HERE, UM, IS A, A, A MIXTURE OF DIFFERENT PROJECTS.
ONE IN PUBLIC SAFETY, WE HAVE A DIESEL EXHAUST SYSTEM, UM, THAT WOULD BE A REPAIR PROJECT, UM, IN THE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
IT'S JUST TWO OF THEM, RIGHT? AND, UH, OR 3, 3, 3 DIFFERENT STATIONS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THEY'RE NOT WORKING.
YOU THINK ABOUT WHEN THE VEHICLE GOES INTO THE BAY, IT NEEDS THAT, THAT DIESEL EXHAUST.
AND SO THE, THE, THE COMMITTEE FELT LIKE THAT WAS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
REMEMBER LAST YEAR WE NEEDED A TANKER.
WE MOVED THEM TOGETHER SO WE COULD MAYBE GET TWO THIS YEAR.
SO THAT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF YOUR LARGEST INVESTMENTS THIS YEAR IS THOSE TWO TANKERS.
THE GOOD THING IS BUYING 'EM NOW, EVEN THOUGH IT'S GONNA TAKE YOU A WHILE BEFORE THEY SHOW UP, UM, WHICH IS ANOTHER PART PROBLEM, RIGHT, FOR THE GROUP, WAS THAT IF YOU DON'T DO IT, THAT YOU'RE JUST KICKING THE CAN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER DOWN WHEN YOU CAN ACTUALLY GET 'EM HERE.
UM, MCKINNEY, JIM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE A, UH, HVAC REPLACEMENT PROJECT BEING PROPOSED THERE THAT, UH, WOULD GIVE US THE ABILITY TO KIND OF USE THAT FACILITY YEAR ROUND.
NOW, PRESENTLY WE HAVE HEATING BUT NO AIR, BUT THIS WOULD ALLOW US TO BE ABLE TO, TO DO THAT.
UH, EASTSIDE WALKING TRAIL WITH LIGHTS IS ANOTHER PROJECT THAT'S BEING SHOWN HERE.
SUNNYSIDE SECURITY AND KEY CARD ACCESS.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE SECURITY PLAN THAT WAS DONE, UM, FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S INCLUDED HERE.
THE ELEMENTARY, DI ELEMENTARY, DIMITY MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND MIDWAY.
THEY USED SOME OF THEIR FUNDING, UH, TO, I THINK IT WAS, UH, ARPA
[01:00:01]
FUNDS OR TO, TO BE ABLE TO BUY THE EQUIPMENT.THEY'RE ACTUALLY SETTING, BUT THEY HAVE NOT BEEN INSTALLED.
AND SO ONCE THE, ONCE THE WORKING GROUP OR THE COMMITTEE FELT LIKE, HEY, WE, WE GOT 'EM HERE, WE NEED TO HOOK 'EM UP NOW.
AND THAT'S A BIG, BIG INVESTMENT, $2.1 MILLION.
UM, THAT'S THE LARGEST THING THAT WE DID, BUT WE FELT LIKE THAT WAS REQUIRED.
AND THEN THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, WE TALKED ABOUT THE LAW ENFORCEMENT VEHICLES, AND YOU SAW SOME OF THE POSITIONS BEFOREHAND.
SO YOUR TOTAL COST IS THAT 4.4 MILLION.
AND THE GENERAL FUND I SHOWED YOU THAT'S COMING OUT, THAT'S GONNA, YOU KNOW, BE YOUR, UH, IMPACT TO THAT OTHER FUNDING WE HAD THAT WE WERE ABLE TO COME UP WITH, I BELIEVE THE EAST SIDE WALKING TRAILS, MAYBE SOME ARPA FUNDS THAT YOU'RE USING FOR THAT.
AND, AND THEN THE $2 MILLION THERE, WE WERE, AGAIN, WE SCRUBBED PROJECTS.
THAT'S NOT GONNA BE DONE IN THE PREVIOUS CIP YEARS.
AND MAYBE THAT FINISHED BETTER THAN ANTICIPATED.
SO WE COULD PUT THAT $2.1 MILLION THERE.
SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE GETTING THE VALUE OF 4.4 MILLION, UH, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT ALL COMING OUTTA YOUR, YOUR GENERAL FUND.
SO THIS NEXT LINE, I JUST WANTED TO SHOW THE NUMBERS.
AND SO IN THIS URGENT CATEGORY IS THAT 4.4, BUT I WANT YOU TO GET AN IDEA, AND I THINK THE WORKING GROUP WANTED ME TO DO THIS TOO.
SO AGAIN, WE'RE KIND OF WORKING FROM URGENT PRIORITY TO HIGH PRIORITY YEARS TWO AND THREE, YOU CAN SEE NEXT YEAR, SIGNIFICANT 8.3 MILLION, AND THEN FY 27, IT DROPS DOWN JUST A LITTLE BIT BELOW 3 MILLION.
AND THEN IN YOUR MEDIUM YEARS IN FOUR AND FIVE YEARS, YOU'RE AT 2.7 AND 6.3.
SO KEEP IN MIND, YOU WILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO, IF YOU NEED TO, THIS OBVIOUSLY COULD BE SOME BORROWING GOING ON, BUT YOU STILL HAVE DEBT COMING OFF THE BOOKS THAT YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO LAYER SOME OF THIS IN.
SO I WANT YOU TO SEE WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
UM, NOW YOUR LOW PLANNING YEARS, FY 30, YOU CAN SEE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER, RIGHT? $130 MILLION.
AND SO YOU'VE GOT PROJECTS AND I, I KIND OF, YOU'LL SEE THE LITTLE ASTERISK THERE IN THE FOOTNOTE.
UH, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF THAT, OF THAT, UM, 121 MILLION IS IN THE SCHOOLS.
AND SO THIS WAS RENOVATION PROJECTS TO BOTH, UH, SUNNYSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND DIMITY MIDDLE SCHOOL.
AND SO I THINK THE, THE WORKING GROUP AND DR.
WESTON, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE USING DATA FROM WHAT WAS THE RRMM REPORT.
AND SO THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT UPDATING THIS INFORMATION.
SO WE PUT IT IN THE LOW PRIORITY YEARS KNOWING THAT WE NEED A BETTER NUMBER BECAUSE YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE THE ABILITY TO, TO FUND $121 MILLION.
WHAT'S ALSO INCLUDED IN THIS IS THAT FIRE STATION IN THE NORTHERN END.
AND WE KNOW THAT AT SOME POINT IN THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, FEW YEARS, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO ADDRESS THAT.
SO IN ADDITION TO, UM, US LOOKING AT AN UPDATED, UH, STUDY FOR THE SCHOOLS, WE'RE ASKING, UH, CHIEF HALE BEFORE HE LEAVES TO, TO LOOK AT ADJUSTING.
UM, WE HAVE A LIVE FIRE TRAINING FACILITY THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING.
AND SO WE WANT TO ADD TO THAT WORK THE FIRE STATION TO SEE IF IT CAN BE WHERE IT SHOULD BE PUT AND MAKE SURE THE NUMBERS ARE ACCURATE SO WE CAN GET A BETTER FEEL FOR WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE.
AND THEN WE HAD, UM, A PROJECT WHERE THE DIMITY WORKS, WHICH WAS LIKE A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT OF MAYBE A LARGE MEETING SPACE, BUT YOU HAD THE LIBRARY THAT WAS LOOKING AT A FLAGSHIP LIBRARY, AND YOU HAD MIKE PARRISH WITH EXTENSION LOOKING AT TRYING TO DO SOMETHING WITH AN AG SERVICES BUILDING.
WE PUT ALL THAT PROJECT TOGETHER, PUT IT IN FY 30, THAT'S ALL ADDING UP TO THAT, THAT 1 21 PLUS SOME ADDITIONAL PROJECTS.
SO I'M NOT GONNA READ ALL OF THEM.
THE NEXT BIG HIT IS AN FY 34, WHICH IS AT THE END OF YOUR, YOUR PROGRAM.
BUT THAT'S MR. VINES, UH, IMPLEMENTATION OF, UM, NUMEROUS PROJECTS THAT WOULD BE DONE THAT YEAR.
SPECIFICALLY, HE MENTIONED AN AQUATIC CENTER, AND THAT WAS, IF YOU REMEMBER, WHEN THEY DID THE MOST RECENT REC MASTER PLAN, UH, BETWEEN TRAILS AND AQUATICS, THAT WAS A, A BIG PUSH FOR THE DENWOODY COMMUNITY.
THIS DOES NOT HAVE TO BE, UM, A COUNTY PROJECT.
THIS COULD BE A-Y-M-C-A, IT COULD BE ANOTHER TYPE OF PROJECT THAT BRINGS THAT SAME TYPE OF ASSET.
BUT WE'RE, AGAIN, WE'RE SHOWING IT FOR, FOR OUR PLANNING PURPOSES.
SO THIS, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT SLIDE.
DOESN'T HAVE A LOT OF BEARINGS FOR THIS YEAR, BUT IT DOES FOR NEXT YEAR.
SO I JUST SHOWED YOU WHAT THE CIP IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
WE WANTED PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO SEE THE CIP AND IF THEIR PROJECT EXISTS IN YEAR FOUR OR FIVE, THEY CAN REALISTICALLY SEE THAT PROJECT HAPPENING.
SO YOU'RE GETTING A LOT OF BRICKS AND MORTAR PROJECTS DONE OVER THE NEXT FOUR OR FIVE YEARS.
AND THE MAIN REASON THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO DO THAT IS IN THIS, AND THE CIP WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATION WAS TO TAKE OUT OF THE CIP, THE REOCCURRING
[01:05:01]
SYSTEMATIC REPLACEMENT PROJECT.SO THIS IS YOUR SCHOOL BUSES, LAW ENFORCEMENT VEHICLES AND AMBULANCES.
IF YOU JUST TAKE 'EM OUT OF THE CIP.
NOW CONSEQUENTLY THEY'RE IN THE CIP BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE THE OPERATIONAL FUND TO PAY FOR IT.
BUT WHAT THEY WANTED US TO SHOW AND WHAT WE'RE SHOWING YOU TONIGHT AND THE PUBLIC IS WHAT THAT IMPACT WOULD BE IF YOU WERE TO DO THAT.
AND SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT FY 26 NEXT YEAR, ABOUT 1.6 MILLION.
AND SO THAT AVERAGE OVER NINE YEARS IS ABOUT 13 AND A HALF MILLION, BUT IT'S REALLY ABOUT ONE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
AND SO IF THE COUNTY IS ABLE TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT A WAY TO PAY FOR THAT OUTSIDE OF THE CIP, YOU'RE GONNA DO A LOT MORE BRICKS AND MORTAR TYPE PROJECTS.
AND SO THE THEORY HERE IS IF YOU'RE GONNA, YOU KNOW, EVERY YEAR YOU GOT SCHOOL BUSES, POLICE CARS, AND AMBULANCES HAS GOTTA BE REPLACED.
IF YOU CAN FIND A WAY TO GET 'EM OUT OF THE CIP, THEN, THEN THAT WILL HELP YOU DO MORE BRICKS AND MORTAR PROJECTS.
MAYBE SOME MORE THINGS THAT THE, THE COMMUNITY WOULD WANNA SEE.
SO I WANTED THAT SLIDE TO BE HERE SO THAT YOU WOULD SEE WHAT THAT IMPACT WOULD BE.
UM, THIS SLIDE IS JUST SHOWING YOU WHO WAS ON THE WORKING GROUP.
UM, I WILL TELL YOU, I WAS SOMEWHAT APPREHENSIVE TO, TO PUT EVERYBODY WHO HAD SPECIAL INTEREST TO A CERTAIN DEGREE IN A ROOM TOGETHER WHERE THEY JUST FIGHT FOR THEIR OWN PROJECTS.
UM, THERE WAS VERY LITTLE FIGHTING THAT TOOK PLACE.
NONE THAT REALLY, IT WAS MORE OF A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.
AND I WAS REALLY PROUD OF THE FACT THAT WE CAN PUT OUR INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS ASIDE AND, AND KIND OF DO WHAT'S BEST FOR THE COMMUNITY FIRST.
AND THAT WAS THE ULTIMATE GOAL THAT I HAD.
BUT THESE INDIVIDUALS DID A PHENOMENAL JOB IN, IN TRYING TO GET TO THE, THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN THAT YOU'RE SEEING IN THE FUNDING YEAR THAT YOU'RE SEEING TONIGHT.
MS. CHAIRMAN, THAT'S, THAT'S ALL I HAVE AS FAR AS PRESENTATION.
I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ON THE CIP IF YOU HAVE IT.
UM, WE DID SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING TONIGHT, SO THIS WILL BE THE TIME AND PLACE TO OPEN THAT PUBLIC HEARING, UM, AND SEEING IF ANYBODY WANTS TO SPEAK.
UM, AND THEN I CAN TAKE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL MAY HAVE.
UM, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY, SO IT'S BEEN A, A LONG PROCESS AND IT'S A, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE ALMOST STARTING TO TIME.
I KNOW, AND, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE WE GOT OTHER THINGS TO DO TOO.
BUT YOU'RE ALMOST AT A TIME AND OVERALL, UH, SOPHISTICATION AS A COMMUNITY THAT THIS PROCESS DOESN'T STOP.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE LIKE TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH AFTER THE, IT'S VOTED UPON, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE THINGS IN THIS COMMUNITY THAT ARE, THAT ARE STARTING TO NEED INVESTMENT AND TIME AND ATTENTION, IT'S, IT'S ALMOST A YEAR ROUND PROCESS NOW.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, MR. LEE HAD LAST YEAR, THE, I THOUGHT WAS GREAT, MOVING YOUR, YOUR ADVANCE AWAY FROM JANUARY AND PUTTING IT IN THAT OCTOBER TIMEFRAME.
I THINK WE SHOULD STILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH TRYING TO DO SOME OF OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT STUFF, UM, OVER THE, OVER THE SUMMERTIME IF POTENTIAL.
UM, SO AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW NECESSARILY THAT IT'LL, IT'LL STOP IN THAT PROCESS.
BUT THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TOO, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS, GLAD TO TAKE 'EM.
WELL, I, LAST NIGHT WITH ALL THE, UM, COUNTIES THAT, THAT MET, UH, IT'S GOING THROUGH THE SAME THING THAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH AND, UH, WAS VERY INTERESTING TO HEAR HOW SOME OF CHES COUNTY ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE VERY ACTIVE, BUT EVEN SUSSEX RIGHT? WHAT THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH.
AND, UH, BUT I KNOW THAT THE STAFF HAS BEEN WORKING HARD TO MAKE THIS COME TOGETHER.
AND, UH, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD JUST WANT TO THANK Y'ALL FOR WHAT YOU DO.
UH, PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW HARD IT IS TO PUT EVERYTHING TOGETHER, UH, IN THE COUNTY WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT CIPS AND ALL THE PEOPLE, THEY DON'T KNOW, UH, THE PAY THAT WE HAVE TO, TO GET GOOD PEOPLE.
I MEAN, GOOD PEOPLE ARE LEAVING US.
I MEAN, UH, WE HAD A GUY,
SO IF YOU DON'T PAY HIM, UH, THEY'RE GONNA GO SOMEWHERE ELSE AND, AND GET IT.
WELL, AGAIN, FROM A A STAFF STANDPOINT, I THINK WHAT'S, WHAT'S SO AMAZING WORKING HERE IS JUST THE, THE PRIDE THAT PEOPLE PUT IN SERVING MM-HMM
AND SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT THAT THEY EXIST EVERYWHERE, RIGHT? THEY'RE ALL, THEY'RE ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES.
PEOPLE DECIDE TO GET IN PUBLIC SERVICE.
UM, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I'M AWFUL PROUD OF THE, THE WORKFORCE THAT WE HAVE THAT, THAT THEY PUT THEM SOMETIMES, NOT THEMSELVES FIRST, BUT THE PUBLIC FIRST.
MR. CHAIRMAN, UH, I KNOW THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S
[01:10:01]
NOT PRESENT, BUT HE IS, HE'S ALREADY SENT ME A TEXT.WE NEED TO HAVE TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS.
SO WE NEED TO OPEN AND CLOSE BOTH PUBLIC HEARINGS EVEN THOUGH NO ONE HAS SIGNED UP FOR EITHER.
SO CAN WE, UH, OPEN, THE FIRST ONE THAT YOU OPENED WAS THE, UH, FY 25 BUDGET.
CAN WE GET ANOTHER, UM, FOR THE, CAN YOU OPEN AND CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN? OPEN AND CLOSE, RIGHT.
THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN, OPEN IT AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL SEE IF ANYBODY SIGNED UP, WELL OPEN.
NO, I GUESS THEN WE'LL CLOSE IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE TO THANK STAFF OF EVERYTHING THEY DO AND, AND IT, IT'S A LOT.
BUT, UM, I DO THINK MOVING FORWARD AND, AND I PLAN TO, TO DO SOME OF THIS, UM, YOU, I, A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND THE BUDGET PROCESS.
THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, THE BUDGET.
WHEN WE GOT HERE, IT WAS A BUDGET.
WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO CREATE A BUDGET.
UM, AND WE KEPT IT THE SAME OR LOWERED IT FOR 12 YEARS AND THEN THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF CRAZY INFLATION AND, AND, UM, THE NEED FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, WE HAD TO, UM, TO RAISE TAXES.
BUT I DO THINK WE NEED TO, TO GO OUT TO THE PUBLIC AND SOME OF THESE BIG TICKET ITEMS IN THE FUTURE ON CIP, UM, AS FAR AS THE COMMUNITY IS INVOLVED TO TRY TO GET THEM.
AND I DON'T KNOW THAT WE DO, I, I THINK THERE'S SOME, A LOT OF APATHY FOR GOVERNMENT AND, AND TRYING TO GET INPUT FROM 'EM.
BUT I, I STILL THINK WE NEED TO TRY AND, UH, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
MR. CHAIRMAN, WE JUST OPEN THE CIP
THAT'S ALL WE NEED IS ADJOURNMENT.
ALL WE AT THIS POINT IS AGAIN, VOTE WILL BE ON MAY 7TH.