Aug 04, 2026 City Council Budget Workshop

[CALL TO ORDER]

[00:00:05]

THIS MEETING OF THE RICHARDSON CITY COUNCIL WILL RECONVENE THE BUDGET WORKSHOP AT 6 P.M..

ITEM A IS PUBLIC COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS AND VISITORS FORUM, MR. MAGNER. THANK YOU. MAYOR, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. WE ARE NOT IN RECEIPT OF ANY CARDS IN ADVANCE OF THE 4 P.M. DEADLINE, AND WE DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK.

WONDERFUL. IS THERE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE THAT IS LOOKING TO SPEAK THIS EVENING? ALL RIGHT. SEEING NONE, WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM B, WHICH IS TO CONTINUE TO REVIEW AND DISCUSS FISCAL YEAR 2026

[B. CONTINUE TO REVIEW AND DISCUSS FISCAL YEAR 2026-2027 BUDGET FOR OPERATIONS, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS AND DEBT SERVICE ]

MR. MAYOR, THANK YOU, MAYOR, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.

REALLY APPRECIATE THE GOOD DIALOG AND DISCUSSION LAST NIGHT.

ALSO APPRECIATE THE FEEDBACK THAT YOU'VE INDIVIDUALLY PROVIDED AND SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE SUBMITTED.

WE HAVE RESPONSES TO EVERYTHING THAT WAS OFFERED UP IN TERMS OF NEXT STEPS AND, AND KIND OF HOMEWORK, IF YOU WILL. BEFORE THAT, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS JUST RUN THROUGH A RECAP OF LAST NIGHT REALLY QUICKLY.

WE'LL, WE'LL TALK ABOUT SOME OF THAT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT WE'D LIKE TO SHARE AND MAYBE ARRIVE AT SOME CONCLUSIONS REGARDING SOME OF THE EXPANDED PROGRAMS. AND THEN WE'LL GET INTO WATER AND SEWER FUND.

THE DRAINAGE FUND, SOLID WASTE GOLF AND HOTEL MOTEL.

AND RECALL, THE REMAINDER OF THE FUNDS WILL BE FILED ON THE 14TH.

WHEN I SUBMIT THE BUDGET. AND THEN WE'LL COVER THOSE ON THE 17TH WHEN I PRESENT THE BUDGET TO YOU.

WE'LL FINISH UP WITH CAPITAL AND DEBT PLANNING.

THIS WILL LOOK VERY FAMILIAR WITH YOU. AGAIN, ADHERING TO THE DIFFERENT PLANS WE PRESENTED DURING YOUR DEEP DIVES.

AND THEN LOOK FOR ANY DIRECTION YOU HAVE FOR ME MOVING BACK INTO FINAL PREPARATION.

SO AGAIN, THE BUDGET LAST NIGHT THAT WE DISCUSSED WAS BASED ON THE FOUR CORE AREAS OF PEOPLE, PUBLIC SAFETY, INFRASTRUCTURE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. IT WAS BASED ON SEVERAL ASSUMPTIONS, ONE, THAT THE PROPERTY TAX RATE WOULD REMAIN THE SAME.

THE SENIOR TAX EXEMPTION REMAINING THE SAME AT $160,000, BUT AGAIN PROVIDING ALMOST 33% PROTECTION FOR SENIORS AGAINST THE MARKET AND A $2 MILLION REDUCTION IN THE GENERAL FUNDS ALLOCATION FOR STREET AND ALLEY REHABILITATION BEING OFFSET, HOWEVER, BY $2.2 MILLION CONTRIBUTION FROM THE DART GMP, LEAVING ABOUT $400,000 OF THAT FUNDING TO FUND TWO VERY IMPORTANT TRAFFIC PROJECTS TO FURTHER OUR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, INCREASING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SEVERAL YEARS, THE FACILITIES AND PARK MAINTENANCE DEDICATIONS FROM THE GENERAL FUND TRANSFER OUT TO $750,000, AN INCREASE OF $127,000 EACH, AND THEN ALSO INCREASING THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND BY ABOUT $750,000 TO $2.8 MILLION ACCOUNTING FOR JUST SHY OF $4 MILLION OF PAY AS YOU GO CAPITAL REPLACEMENTS AND ABOUT $1.75 BILLION IN THE IT REPLACEMENT FUND.

WE TALKED ABOUT CORE PLAN EXTENSIVELY LAST NIGHT ACROSS ALL FUNDS.

YOU'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT A $3.3 MILLION INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR, AND THEN 3.5% MERIT INCREASES, MERIT BASED INCREASES FOR GENERAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AND 5.5% PROPOSED FOR PUBLIC SAFETY SWORN.

IMPORTANTLY, RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE, WE PAY ANY FULL TIME EMPLOYEE TO $1 BY $1.31 TO $22.31.

AND CONTINUING ON WITH SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN PUBLIC SAFETY.

IN ADDITION TO THE 5.7 5.5% MERIT INCREASE, THOSE OFFICERS, FIREFIGHTER, ETC.

THAT ARE WITHIN THEIR STEPS WOULD BE ELIGIBLE.

A BIG PART OF THE CAPITAL IS THE REPLACEMENT OF VITAL VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT IN PUBLIC SAFETY, RESTRUCTURING OF THE CERTIFICATION, PAY FOR 911 DISPATCHERS AND SWORN PERSONNEL.

AND THEN THE, BOTH THE HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS THAT WE DISCUSSED IN A SIGNIFICANT COMMUNITY PROGRAMING.

JUST IN TERMS OF FOLLOW UP FROM LAST NIGHT, THERE WAS A QUESTION RELATED TO THE PROPOSAL TO INCREASE THE SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN REVIEW FEE TO $5,000.

THAT WAS LARGELY BASED ON SOME SURVEY WORK THAT OUR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES TEAM DID.

NOW THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS APPLES TO APPLES, FOR INSTANCE, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE.

SOME CITIES HAVE A FLAT RATE AND THEN WE'LL CHARGE A RATE PER ACRE FOR INSTANCE, OR PER HALF ACRE.

BUT SO WHAT WE DID HERE WAS JUST KIND OF GIVE YOU A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES.

PLANO. OBVIOUSLY GARLAND. OUR NEIGHBORS IN DALLAS.

SO IN GARLAND A SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT OR PLANNED DEVELOPMENT WHICH HERE WE TEND TO, TO HAVE THE SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT BE A LITTLE BIT UNIQUE AS A AMENDMENT TYPE TO SOME OF OUR PLANNED DEVELOPMENTS, BUT I THINK PLANNED DEVELOPMENT, SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT LARGELY THE SAME IF YOU COMPARE THE WORK THAT'S INVOLVED IN PROCESSING THEM.

GARLAND, $4,700. PLANO $5,100. AND THEN DALLAS 5820.

I THINK MAYOR TO TO BOB'S POINT YESTERDAY, I THINK THAT WHILE THIS IS A DOUBLING OF THE FEE,

[00:05:04]

YOU KNOW, I THINK BACK TO HOW MANY APPLICANTS STAND AT THAT PODIUM AND TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH WORK THE STAFF HAS PUT IN TO THESE SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN OR PLAN DISTRICTS.

AND I THINK THAT THIS IS I FEEL LIKE THIS IS AN APPROPRIATE LEVEL TO TRY TO RECOVER A LOT OF THE COSTS THAT NOT ALL, BUT A LOT OF THE COSTS THAT GOES INTO PROCESSING THESE PERMITS.

AND SO IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS AND COUNCIL, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT IN A SECOND HERE.

ANOTHER QUESTION THAT WAS SUBMITTED TO ME WAS WHAT IS THE IMPACT TO THE AVERAGE RESIDENT? IF THE TAX RATE WOULD BE INCREASED TO 0.55141.

RECALL THAT'S THE RATE THIS YEAR. THAT'S THE RATE THAT WOULD BE NEEDED TO CAPTURE BOTH YEARS LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR IS INCREMENT THAT $2.2 MILLION OF NEW REVENUE THAT WOULD BE GENERATED.

AND SO THE AVERAGE RESIDENT WOULD SEE AN ADDITIONAL $39 THAT WOULD BE ADDED TO THEIR TAX BILL.

EXCUSE ME AT THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION. I HAVE A CHART THAT WILL SHOW YOU THAT DEMONSTRATES THE CUMULATIVE IMPACT TO RESIDENTS ACROSS THE GENERAL FUND, THE PROPERTY TAX, OBVIOUSLY, AS WELL AS ALL THE OTHER FUNDS AND INCREASES THAT THAT THEY CAN EXPECT.

AND SO THE $39 IS JUST THE INCREMENT LIBRARY BUDGET.

THERE WAS A SLIDE THAT SHOWED A $21,000 INCREASE.

THAT WAS THAT COULD BE EXPLAINED BY ONE TRANSACTION RECALL PRIOR YEAR, THE $30,000 SUPPORT THAT WE HAVE FOR THE RICHARDSON ADULT LITERACY LITERACY CENTER WAS IN THE LIBRARY COST CENTER.

WE MADE THE DECISION AS WE PREPARED THIS BUDGET AND INCREASE THAT BY $30,000 TO $60,000 TOTAL TO TAKE THAT THAT EXPENDITURE AND PUT IT IN NON-DEPARTMENTAL. WELL, YOU'LL YOU'LL FIND THE OTHER SUPPORT FOR AGENCIES, OTHER PARTNER AGENCIES LIKE THE NETWORK THE COUNSELING PLACE.

AND SO THE DECREASE IF WE DIDN'T MOVE THE $30,000, I WOULD, WOULD ACTUALLY BE AN INCREASE OF $9,000.

AND SO I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT GIVE CONSULTING WITH OUR TEAM AND GIVING SOME THOUGHT TO THE CONVERSATION LAST NIGHT.

MY PROPOSAL TO YOU WOULD BE TO LEAVE THE STUDY WORK RELATED TO CONDUCTING THE MARKET SCAN AND CREATING A ROADMAP FOR PURSUING HIGH IMPACT FUNDING STREAMS. I DO BELIEVE, I STILL THINK THAT THE CONSULTANT IS THE BEST STRATEGY FOR THAT WORK.

THAT IS WORK THAT I THINK HAVING SOMEONE WITH YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE IN THAT REALM WOULD BENEFIT US GREATLY.

HOWEVER, GIVEN SOME OF THE CLARIFICATION AROUND YOUR EXPECTATIONS WITH WITH RESPECT TO EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES, I DO BELIEVE THAT WE CAN DO THAT. CITY STAFF CAN DO THAT AND DO THAT WELL.

AND SO I'VE TAKEN THAT OUT OF OUT OF CONSIDERATION IF PER YOUR PER YOUR DIRECTION.

TRYING TO FIND A BALANCE FOR FOR THE FEEDBACK THAT I HEARD WHAT I'D LIKE TO RECOMMEND AS A FOLLOW UP ON THE RAILROAD RIGHT OF WAY AND MAYOR PRO TEM, THANK YOU FOR THE SUGGESTION. TO, TOWARD THIS END IS TO DEDICATE A $30,000 INSTEAD OF THE $60,000.

YOU KNOW, AS WE WERE TALKING TODAY ABOUT SOME OF THE CONDITIONS THAT WE SEE ON THE RAILROAD RIGHT OF WAY, THERE MAY BE TIMES WHERE THE ENTIRE RIGHT OF WAY DOESN'T NEED TO BE MOWED, BUT THERE MAY BE SECTIONS THAT NEED TO BE MOWED. AND SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION IS TO, TO, TO ALLOCATE $30,000 AND LEAVE IT UP TO CITY STAFF TO, TO MOW IT AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE AND NEEDED, BUT PERHAPS TO BE MORE STRATEGIC AT TIMES AND ONLY DEAL WITH AREAS THAT ARE MAYBE MORE EGREGIOUS OR MAYBE ARE CREATING OTHER UNDESIRABLE SITUATIONS. AND I SENT YOU COUNSEL EARLIER TODAY A LINK TO THE U.S.

CONFERENCE OF MAYORS WEBSITE. THEY OFFER A GREAT DEAL OF INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR PURPOSE, THEIR LEADERS THE TYPES OF EVENTS, THE ADVOCACY THAT THEY ARE INVOLVED IN. AND SO HOPEFULLY THAT WAS HELPFUL.

AND THEN I ALSO SENT YOU A MORE DETAILED EXPLANATION OF THE PROPOSAL THAT COOKSEY PROVIDED US FOR THE MEDIA TRAINING.

SO I HOPE THAT'S HELPFUL. WITH RESPECT TO THE STATE OF THE CITY A COUPLE OF PIECES OF INFORMATION THAT WERE REQUESTED AND THEN A LITTLE BIT OF ADDITIONAL WORK HERE.

I DID WANT TO TAKE ONE STEP BACK AND I SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS YESTERDAY, BUT TY TY SEVERAL OF THESE CONSIDERATIONS TO, TO TACTICS LIKE I DID FOR THE FIRST TWO HERE.

OBVIOUSLY, THE WORK TO INCREASE THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND INPUT IS ONE OF YOUR STRATEGIES.

YOU HAD SEVERAL TACTICS UNDER THAT. SO STATE OF THE CITY TO, TO THAT END AND, AND TO TOWARD THAT MISSION HERE.

SO, SO SOME OF THE INFORMATION REQUESTED. SO THE COST, THE ACTUAL COST OF THE 2026 STATE OF THE CITY WAS $22,898.

[00:10:03]

WE DIDN'T INCLUDE 2026. WE DIDN'T WANT TO THROW THE AVERAGE OFF.

OBVIOUSLY, THERE WAS AN ICE STORM THAT WAS A VERY ABNORMAL YEAR.

AND SO WE DIDN'T INCLUDE 2026 IN THAT AVERAGE.

WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU A BETTER SENSE OF WHAT IT WAS.

AND THEN THE VIEWERS THIS, THIS WAS A GOOD QUESTION AS WELL.

HOW MANY FOLKS ARE ACTUALLY VIEWING ONLINE THE NIGHT OF THE EVENT? AND SO WE LOOKED AT 2025, WHICH IS THE THE FURTHEST YEAR BACK THAT WE HAVE THE DATA GIVEN THE NEW SOFTWARE AND PROGRAMING THAT WERE USED. AND DURING THE EVENT THAT NIGHT, THERE WERE 23 VIEWERS.

LAST YEAR THERE WERE OVER 300 VIEWERS, WHICH MAKES SENSE.

AGAIN, I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT HOW IT WAS A LITTLE BIT OF AN OFF YEAR, BUT A LOT OF FOLKS DID NOT WANT TO GET OUT IN THOSE CONDITIONS, AND THAT WAS UNDERSTANDABLE. AND SO THAT WAS JUST A RESPONSE TO SOME OF THE QUESTIONS.

THE, WHAT I'VE DONE HERE ON THE, ON THE CHART IS JUST TRY TO GIVE YOU A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT SCENARIOS.

AND SO IN 2027, ASSUMING THE NEW PRODUCTION AND VENUE CHARGES THAT, THAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING. AND AGAIN, I WANT TO JUST REITERATE THESE ARE, THESE ARE ESTIMATES AT THAT TIME, WE HAVE NOT AWARDED THE CONTRACT. WE HAVE RECEIVED ALL OF THE RESPONSES TO THE RFP AND PURCHASING IS KIND OF CLOSED.

THAT PORTION. WE'RE STILL GOING THROUGH THAT EVALUATION, BUT WE HAVE A GOOD SENSE BASED ON THE, THE PROPOSALS. IF IN 2027, WE DID THE STATE OF THE CITY IN THE BOAT AND WE ASSUMED 400 ATTENDEES THE PRODUCTION COST GOING UP THERE, YOU SEE TO $20,000, THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE WOULD BE ABOUT $7,000 FOR A TOTAL OF $27,000.

NOW, I PURPOSELY SEPARATED THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE BECAUSE YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER DOING A STATE OF THE CITY THAT HAS A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO FOOD AND BEVERAGE, BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE, OBVIOUSLY, AS WE GROW THE ATTENDANCE, IF WE TAKE THE SAME APPROACH TO FOOD AND BEVERAGE, WHICH HAS BEEN A VERY NICE APPROACH YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THAT NUMBER GROW WAY MORE THAN, THAN THE PRODUCTION AND THE VENUE COST.

SO IF WE MOVE TO THE HILL PERFORMANCE HALL AND ASSUME A ATTENDANCE OF ABOUT 600, YOU SEE THE PRODUCTION COSTS INCREASE.

NOW YOU MAY SAY, WELL, WHY IS THAT? WHY IS THAT HAPPENING? BECAUSE IN THE IT'S ACTUALLY PRODUCTION SLASH SLASH VENUE.

AND SO AS WE AS WE MOVE TO THE LARGER HALL VERSUS THE HILL VERSUS BOTH, THERE ARE ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION STAFF THAT WE WOULD NEED.

BUT IN ADDITION, AS WE WOULD INCREASE THE NUMBER OF ATTENDEES VISITING WITH GARY AND, AND ALI TO MEET OUR OWN STANDARDS THAT WE WOULD USE FOR ANY OTHER, ANY OTHER GROUP USING THE ICEMAN, WE WOULD WANT TO ENHANCE SECURITY AND WE WANT TO ENHANCE OTHER LIKE FOR INSTANCE, THE CUSTODIAL SERVICES AFTER.

SO AS YOU BRING IN MORE PEOPLE, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE MORE CONSIDERATIONS THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, BUT HONESTLY, IT DOESN'T GROW THAT MUCH. I MEAN, THERE'S A COUPLE OF, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF MAYBE AN ADDITIONAL OFFICER OR TWO OFFICERS AS YOU GET TO A THOUSAND PEOPLE VERSUS 300. SO IT'S JUST FOR A FEW HOURS.

AND YOU CAN SEE THE PRODUCTION COST ISN'T THAT MUCH. IT'S REALLY IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE. AND SO YOU CAN SEE THOUGH, IF, IF, IF A THOUSAND PEOPLE ATTENDED IN THE HILL HALL, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT $50,000 VERSUS $27,000.

SO HOPEFULLY THAT'S HELPFUL. TO SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED LAST NIGHT FOR A LITTLE BIT OF DETAIL BEYOND THE NUMBERS.

ALSO HERE SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT I RECEIVED TODAY.

ONE ALSO UNDER THIS STRATEGY AS IT KIND OF RELATES TO MAYBE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE CONVERSATION AROUND THIS IS JUST TO BRING UP THE QUARTERLY TOWN HALL MEETINGS AND MONTHLY COFFEES THAT I KNOW HAVE HAVE BEEN A TOPIC OF CONSIDERATION FOR THE COUNCIL.

AND IF, IF, IF THIS IS THE IDEAL TIME TO AT LEAST HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BUDGET.

AND I, I DID NOT INCLUDE THOSE YESTERDAY, BUT THAT A LITTLE BIT OF AN OVERSIGHT ON OUR SIDE, BUT I THINK THIS IS THE IDEAL TIME TO INCLUDE THAT IF WE WERE GOING TO TALK ABOUT BUDGET, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, WITH EXPANDED PROGRAMS. AND SO MAYOR AFTER THIS, WE'RE GOING TO GET RIGHT INTO THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS.

SO I KNOW IT'S EARLY, BUT THIS MIGHT BE A GOOD PLACE TO STOP AND SEE WHAT FEEDBACK AND, AND WHAT ISSUES HERE WE CAN KIND OF CLEAR UP BEFORE WE GET INTO THE WATER AND WASTEWATER FUND. PERFECT. COUNCIL MEMBER CORCORAN.

THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. I HAVE JUST I'VE DONE A LITTLE BIT OF HOMEWORK BETWEEN NOW AND THE LAST MEETING.

SO I JUST KIND OF WANTED TO GIVE MY ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS.

YOU KNOW, I THINK I THINK THAT THE YOU KNOW, I THINK I'LL START WITH THE MEDIA TRAINING.

YOU KNOW, I'VE DONE A LITTLE BIT OF RESEARCH INTO WHAT PML OFFERS AND PML ACTUALLY OFFERS RECURRING AND QUITE VARIED COURSES ON MEDIA TRAINING AS A BENEFIT OF OUR MEMBERSHIP. SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK MY, MY THOUGHT WOULD BE THAT INSTEAD OF PURSUING THAT, THAT WE FOCUS ON FOR THAT AT LEAST WHAT WE ARE ALREADY PAYING FOR KIND OF COUPLING ALONG THAT TREND THOUGH.

I MEAN, I, I ALSO DID TRY TO VERIFY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE YOUR CLAIM THAT, MR.

[00:15:04]

MOST CITIES THAT ARE PURE IN SIZE, RIGHT. YOU HAVE TO BE OVER 30,000 TO QUALIFY.

AND YOU'RE I MEAN, YOU'RE RIGHT. LIKE FRISCO, PLANO, MCKINNEY, ALLEN, ROWLETT, ALL MEMBERS.

SO I DON'T KNOW THE EFFICACY I HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO, YOU KNOW, ASKING MY COLLEAGUES IN THOSE THOSE COUNCILS, BUT AT LEAST ON THAT CLAIM, I MEAN, AND JUST ON THE INFORMATION I HAVE NOW, I DON'T SEE I DON'T SEE WHY WE WOULDN'T WANT TO CONSIDER JOINING THAT GROUP OF CITIES IN BEING MEMBERS AS WELL, ESPECIALLY IF THERE ARE POTENTIALLY OTHER BENEFITS, SUCH AS ADDITIONAL TRAINING, RIGHT, THAT THAT COULD GIVE US.

SO JUST TWO THOUGHTS, TWO THOUGHTS THERE. AND THEN JUST, YOU KNOW, I GUESS AS FAR AS LIKE THE QUARTERLY TOWN HALL AND MONTHLY COFFEES, MY IMMEDIATE THOUGHT IS THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE A STIPEND TO HELP PAY FOR IS THAT AND GAS AND OTHER SORT OF ASSOCIATED COSTS OF BEING ON COUNCIL.

THAT'S IT. I ALSO LOVE YOUR COMPROMISE ON THE THE RAILROAD ROLLING DON.

SO THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT. COUNCIL MEMBER DORIAN.

THANK YOU. YEAH, I WAS GOING TO MAKE A COUPLE COMMENTS FROM YESTERDAY'S MEETING ON ONE, THE RECOMMENDATION FOR THE RAILROAD.

I THINK THAT'S A GREAT WAY TO PURSUE IT. AND IN THE EVENT THAT, THAT TURNS INTO SOMETHING LATER WHERE, YOU KNOW, AS WE, AS WE CUT THE PROGRAM, AS WE CUT THE GRASS OVER TIME, IT COULD BE MORE SUSTAINABLE.

AND IN THE EVENT THAT WE DECIDE TO MOVE A DIFFERENT DIRECTION WITH THAT, I THINK THAT'S DOABLE.

BUT I DEFINITELY LIKE CUTTING THE THE BUDGET IN HALF.

SO I AGREE WITH THAT. AS FAR AS OVER TO THE ICEMAN INCREASING THAT FROM THE BANK OF BANK OF AMERICA THEATER.

I THINK, YOU KNOW, I FEEL THIS IS JUST MY OPINION RIGHT NOW, SINCE WE'RE BUDGETING THIS YEAR, WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER BUDGET NEXT YEAR FOR US TO INCREASE THAT THIS YEAR.

TO MOVE IT TO THE OR THE CITY HILL PERFORMANCE HALL.

I'M NOT QUITE SURE IF THE TIMING IS RIGHT BECAUSE FIRST OF ALL, WE'RE LOOKING AT 325 AVERAGE ATTENDEES.

THAT GIVES US. I DID SOME CALCULATIONS THAT GIVES US ABOUT.

WE HAVE ABOUT 75 SEATS REMAINING AND THAT. THAT WOULD.

AND PLUS THE EXTRA SEATING THAT WE CAN PUT IN.

THAT GIVES US ABOUT ANOTHER 200 SEATS, 200 PEOPLE.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT OUT OF THAT. WE HAVE ABOUT 50 STAFF MEMBERS THAT ARE THAT ARE ATTENDING THERE.

SO IN THE EVENT THAT THAT EVEN REDUCED, YOU KNOW, WE STILL HAVE ROOM TO GROW FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER YEAR AND POSSIBLY TWO BEFORE WE, YOU KNOW, ABSORB SOME OF THESE OTHER ADDITIONAL BUDGET ISSUES.

SO I THINK RIGHT NOW, FOR ME PERSONALLY, I FEEL LIKE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I WOULD BE COMFORTABLE WITH STICKING WHERE WE ARE AT THE MOMENT.

DO I WANT TO ELEVATE THAT IN THE FUTURE AND DO I SEE A NEED FOR THAT? POTENTIALLY, YES. BUT SINCE WE ARE BUDGETING CRITICALLY THIS YEAR AND LOOKING AT ALL THOSE DETAILS, I THINK THAT WE COULD PROBABLY GET BY WITH KEEPING IT AT BANK OF AMERICA.

I'LL JUST JUST FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER YEAR, MAYBE TWO.

ON THE AS FAR AS THE FOOD VENUE GOES, I THINK EVERYONE REALLY DOES LIKE THE FOOD VENUE.

AND IN WHICHEVER SCENARIO THAT WE, WE END UP AGREEING TO.

SO I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT NOT TAKEN OUT IF POSSIBLE.

MAYBE WE ALTER THAT SLIGHTLY OR REDUCE IT, OR MAYBE COME UP WITH A DIFFERENT WAY OF, OF MANAGING THAT.

BUT THAT'S JUST MY OPINION. OVER TO THE, I DID NOT KNOW THAT WE WERE GOING TO PUT THE QUARTERLY TOWN HALL MEETINGS AND THE MONTHLY COFFEES AND THIS CONVERSATION, I ALMOST FEEL LIKE THAT SHOULD BE AN AGENDA ITEM AND NOT REALLY PART OF THE BUDGET, BECAUSE NOW WE'RE NOW THAT THESE PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN INITIATED, NOW WE'RE TRYING TO PUT THOSE INTO THE CITY'S BUDGET TO ATTEND.

AND THEREFORE, THERE'S ONLY A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THAT CAN ATTEND THOSE UNLESS THEY'RE PUT ON AN AGENDA ITEM.

SO MY OPINION ON THAT IS, I FEEL RIGHT NOW THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE MORE OF A CREEPING BURDEN FOR THE CITY STAFF TO NOW ENGAGE IN PUTTING TOGETHER A MONTHLY OR QUARTERLY TOWN HALL MEETING.

AND I THINK RIGHT NOW, WITH ALL THE MEETINGS THAT WE GO TO AND ATTEND, I MEAN, WE HAVE A MONTHLY PRESIDENTS MEETING.

WE HAVE A 30 TO 40 HOA MEETINGS ANNUALLY. WE HAVE COFFEE WITH THE COUNCILMEN.

SOME OF US SOME OF WE HAVE STATE OF THE CITY.

WE HAVE POLITICAL ISSUES, POLITICAL ISSUES THAT WE WORK WITH THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

AND WE HAVE SO MANY OTHER EVENTS THAT WE ATTEND.

I ALMOST FEEL LIKE THAT IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE AT THE MOMENT.

[00:20:04]

I MEAN, AND FIRST OF ALL, TO, IF THE, IF THE CITY IS PLANNING ON PAYING TO HAVE NOW INCORPORATE THE CURRENT QUARTERLY TOWN HALL MEETINGS.

AND I'M NOT SAYING THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THOSE. I'M JUST SAYING FOR US TO ABSORB THAT RIGHT NOW. AND THE MONTHLY COFFEES. WELL, THEN WHY CAN'T THE CITY PAY FOR THE EVENTS THAT THE COUNCIL IS DOING? LIKE, WHY CAN'T MY MONTHLY COUNCIL WITH THE COFFEE OR OUR COFFEE WITH THE COUNCILMAN AND MY MY EDUCATE ELEVATE SERIES I HAVE AT PEOPLE'S HOMES AND PEOPLE I MEET ONE ON ONE. I MEAN, WHY WOULD THE CITY NOT BE ABLE TO STEP IN AND PAY FOR THOSE SERVICES AS WELL? I JUST FEEL RIGHT NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO INTEGRATE THAT.

RIGHT NOW WE HAVE, I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY AN AVERAGE OF MAYBE 30 PEOPLE POTENTIALLY THAT, THAT ATTEND THOSE EVENTS. AGAIN, I DON'T SAY ANYTHING AGAINST THE EVENTS.

I THINK THE EVENTS ARE GREAT. I JUST DON'T THINK RIGHT NOW IT'S JUST TIME TO ABSORB THAT THROUGH THE CITY AND PUT MORE PRESSURE AND MORE WORK ON THE STAFF, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE'RE NOW TRYING TO GROW THOSE POTENTIAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SECTOR AND WE'RE HAVING SOME ISSUES WITH OUR POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT.

I THINK IT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. SO I'D LIKE THAT TO BE CONSIDERED. AND I MADE ONE MINUTE SHORT.

THANK YOU. OKAY, I'M GOING TO CALL THROUGH THE REST OF THE FOLKS ALSO, BUT JUST FOR CLARIFICATION ON A COUPLE THINGS AND NOT ARGUING FOR OR AGAINST, I'LL MAKE MY COMMENTS AFTER EVERYONE ELSE DOES.

BUT JUST SO WE ALL HAVE CONTEXT, WE ARE NOT NECESSARILY DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT WE ARE GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTING ANYTHING.

ALL WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS A PLACEHOLDER FOR THE BUDGET, SO THAT IF IN A LATER CONVERSATION, PERHAPS IN OCTOBER, DEPENDING ON HOW OUR CALENDAR WORKS, WE HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT IT.

AND IF WE AS A COUNCIL THEN DECIDE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH ANY AND ALL OF THESE THINGS, WE WOULD HAVE THE BUDGET SET ASIDE AT THAT TIME.

SO I'M JUST WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT JUST BECAUSE IT'S ON THIS PAPER DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE'RE RATIFYING THAT THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO.

IT JUST MEANS THAT WE'VE GOT THE FUNDS TO BE ABLE TO DO IT.

I'LL CONTINUE CALLING ON PEOPLE, BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I'M NOT LOOKING FOR A BACK AND FORTH, ALTHOUGH WE CAN WE CAN WE CAN DO THAT.

BUT I WOULD RATHER US GO THROUGH EVERYONE'S COMMENTS.

I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS EXACTLY WHERE WE'RE AT.

RIGHT. THAT THIS IS NOT A DECISION MAKING ON QUARTERLY, BUT IT IS A BUDGET ITEM THOUGH IT IS A BUDGET ITEM.

JUST WANT TO MAKE THAT CLEAR. THAT'S RIGHT. AND THERE'S NO DOLLARS ASSOCIATED WITH IT AT THE MOMENT.

YEAH. ALL RIGHT. SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO COUNCIL MEMBER JUSTICE.

THANK YOU MAYOR. I AGREE, I THINK THE, THE RAILROAD RIGHT OF WAY THAT'S A GOOD COMPROMISE THAT THE MAYOR PRO TEM SUGGESTED LAST NIGHT.

STILL DON'T LIKE IT, BUT I THINK IT'S A BETTER ALTERNATIVE TO THE FULL 6000.

YOU KNOW, BUT I THINK IT'S, IT'S TRENDING IN A BETTER DIRECTION AND HOPEFULLY THE WEED SUPPRESSANT WILL HELP.

AND WE CAN NOT HAVE TO BUDGET THAT 3000 IN FUTURE YEARS AND ALL THAT.

SO THAT'S A LITTLE SLIGHTLY MORE PALATABLE. MY POSITION I THINK IS THE SAME ON THE, THOSE EXPANDED PROGRAMS AS IT WAS YESTERDAY.

OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, WE'VE HAD TO CUT AND CUT AND CUT AND, YOU KNOW, DEATH BY A THOUSAND PAPER CUTS TO OUR STAFF ON TRAINING TO THE POINT WHERE WE'RE ONLY GIVING THEM LIKE STATE REQUIRED TRAINING IS MY UNDERSTANDING.

WE DON'T GIVE THEM. THERE'S NO BUDGET, I THINK, FOR ANY DEPARTMENT FOR DISCRETIONARY TRAINING.

AND SO I, I FEEL VERY UNCOMFORTABLE FOR THE COUNCIL SAYING NOT FOR THEE, BUT FOR, FOR WE LIKE LET'S, LET'S TRAIN OURSELVES, BUT NOT ALLOW YOU ALL TO GO GET DISCRETIONARY TRAINING.

THAT MAKES ME UNCOMFORTABLE. AND THEN JOINING DISCRETIONARY ORGANIZATIONS AGAIN, IF, IF TO COUNCILMAN CORCORAN'S POINT, THERE'S GREAT ROI THAT WE'RE NOT WE HAVEN'T HEARD YET.

JUST BECAUSE OUR PEER CITIES ARE MEMBERS, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT AGAIN, IS SOMETHING IN THIS CURRENT BUDGET ENVIRONMENT, WE SHOULD BE FUNDING AT THIS TIME. AGAIN, THAT THAT COULD GO TO TRAINING FOR OUR STAFF OR I MEAN, I THINK INCREASING THE COST OF LIVING WAGE, ONE PENNY IS 1100 OR $1200 PER PENNY OR SOMETHING ACROSS THE BOARD.

SO THAT'S SO LONG AS WE'RE NOT CREATING COMPRESSION ISSUES, MAYBE WE COULD ADD A FEW PENNIES THERE.

I MEAN, THERE ARE WE TALKED LAST NIGHT ABOUT ROUNDING ERRORS, BUT THOSE ROUNDING ERRORS ARE REAL WHEN IT COMES TO THINGS LIKE TRAINING FOR STAFF OR PENNIES FOR FOR REACHING THE COST OF, OF LIVING.

SO THAT CONCERNS ME. WITH RESPECT TO THE STATE OF THE CITY, I FEEL LIKE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO CREATE A SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM WE DON'T HAVE.

I THINK THAT THE NUMBERS REFLECT THAT WE ARE NOT AT A PLACE WHERE WE NEED A DIFFERENT VENUE.

I THINK THAT IF WE WANT TO TALK AS A COUNCIL ABOUT MOVING IT TO A DIFFERENT VENUE, WE CAN DO THAT.

BUT I'M NOT AT THIS TIME IN FAVOR OF INCREASING A BUDGET TO AGAIN, CREATE A SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM WE CURRENTLY DON'T HAVE.

AND, YOU KNOW, GOD FORBID WE MOVE IT TO HILL PERFORMANCE HALL AND ONLY 600 PEOPLE SHOW UP.

THAT'S NOT A GOOD LOOK. AND THEN WE HAVE TO SORT OF BACKTRACK AND GO BACK TO THE BANK OF AMERICA THEATER AGAIN.

I WOULD RATHER US HAVE THIS PROBLEM AND NEED TO CREATE A SOLUTION TO IT, WHICH IS TO MOVE INTO THE BIGGER HALL AND THEN AGAIN,

[00:25:02]

I'M FINE HAVING A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE QUARTERLY TOWN HALL MEETINGS AND THE MONTHLY COFFEES. I GUESS AT THE NEXT TIME WE TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET, I WOULD HOPE THAT THE CITY MANAGER WOULD BRING US WHAT THAT BUDGET WOULD LOOK LIKE.

SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A DISCUSSION AND REALLY UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, HOW IS THAT GOING TO BE MARKETED? WHO, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW WILL IT BE STRUCTURED? WHAT IS IT GOING TO COST US? CONCEPTUALLY, I THINK IT'S OKAY.

I JUST WANT US TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE NUMBERS BEFORE WE COMMIT TO IT.

MAYOR PRO TEM HUTCHENRIDER THANK YOU. MAYOR. DON, SOMETHING THAT HIT ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT LAST NIGHT IS KIND OF TO TO COUNCILMAN CORCORAN'S POINT, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, AND YOU CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, I THINK IT WAS ABOUT SEVEN YEARS AGO WHEN WE WENT TO TML.

I THINK GREG ACTUALLY DID A MEDIA RELATIONS TRAINING.

HE DID A SESSION AT TML. AND SO AS A COMPROMISE, AGAIN, FROM LOOKING AT IT FROM A BUDGETARY STANDPOINT, WOULD IT BE AN OPTION TO ASK GREG TO PUT ON A MEDIA MEDIA TRAINING PROGRAM FOR US? I ALSO KNOW THAT WE HAVE THE PIOS. I BELIEVE IN THE POLICE AND FIRE.

YOU CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG ON THAT. I THINK THEY ALSO HAVE HAD SOME LEVEL OF MEETING MEDIA TRAINING.

SO MAYBE BETWEEN THE THREE OF THEM. AND I KNOW YOU HAVE MAYBE BETWEEN ALL FOUR OF YOU, WE COULD TAKE A, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S APPROPRIATE, A SUNDAY AFTERNOON, A SATURDAY AFTERNOON, WHATEVER IS WHATEVER TIME IS APPROPRIATE. I'LL LEAVE THAT TO THE PROFESSIONALS. BUT MAYBE AS A COMPROMISE. SO WE DON'T HAVE TO ADD BECAUSE I DO AGREE WITH WITH COUNCILWOMAN JUSTICE, I DON'T, I REALLY I STRUGGLE, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE GOING TO GO AND DO SOME TRAINING AT EVEN.

AND AGAIN, I DON'T WANT TO GET BACK INTO THE, YOU KNOW, THE ROUNDING ERROR DISCUSSION, BUT, YOU KNOW, IF GREG AND MAYBE OTHER PIOS COULD PUT TOGETHER A PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SAYING IT'S A BAD IDEA, BUT THAT WAY IT'S IT'S BUDGET NEUTRAL. AND BECAUSE WE, WE EMPLOY.

GREG. AND SO, YOU KNOW, AND IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT I'M ALMOST POSITIVE THAT I SET THROUGH PART OF THAT SESSION AT TML THAT GREG DID. AND SO I JUST THROW THAT OUT THERE AS, AGAIN, A COMPROMISE THAT MAYBE WOULD, WOULD MEET BOTH OBJECTIVES, KEEP THE BUDGET NEUTRAL AND STILL PROVIDE US A LEVEL OF TRAINING.

AND THEN IF WE DO THAT TRAINING AND WE COME AWAY FROM IT GOING, WOW, YOU KNOW, HE DID A GREAT JOB, BUT MAYBE WE WANT MORE. THEN WE COULD LOOK NEXT YEAR AND TRY TO SEE IF MAYBE WE COULD WE COULD, YOU KNOW, IF AT THAT POINT IN TIME WE FELT LIKE THERE WAS A NEED TO DO MORE, WE COULD LOOK AT IT AT THAT POINT, THROW THAT OUT AS A COMPROMISE. THANK YOU. YEAH, I THINK THAT'S VERY DOABLE.

I THINK THE IDEA OF INCLUDING THE PIOS FROM FIRE AND PD WOULD BE VERY INTERESTING TO GET DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES FROM GREG.

SO IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN, DEFINITELY CAN FACILITATE THAT I THROW IT OUT.

COUNCIL MEMBER BARRIOS. THANK YOU. MAYOR. YEAH.

AGREED WITH THAT. MAYOR PRO TEM ON HIS ON ALL HIS COMMENTS REGARDING THE MEDIA TRAINING.

I AGREE WITH COUNCILWOMAN JUSTICE AND HER TAKE ON THE STATE OF THE CITY.

I THINK IT'S AN ISSUE FOR A PROBLEM WE DON'T HAVE.

AND THE, AROUND THE COMMENTS ON THE U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS.

I, LIKE I SAID LAST NIGHT, I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND HOW THESE BIG NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, I THINK WE'RE AT A POINT IN OUR CITY IN OUR GROWTH AND OUR SIZE AND OUR PERFORMANCE COMPARED TO OUR COLLEAGUES IN OTHER CITIES AROUND THE STATE TO WHERE WE ARE A STANDOUT CITY.

AND IF WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO GROW AND STRENGTHEN AND, AND TO USE COUNCILMAN DORIAN'S WORD TO ELEVATE US, WE NEED TO START LOOKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX. AND THAT OFTENTIMES MEANS OUTSIDE OF TEXAS.

BUT I THINK THAT ONE OF THE ORGANIZATIONS I MENTIONED LAST NIGHT WAS NLC, NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES.

DON, THAT IS THE KIND OF UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION OF TML, AND I'M SURE YOU'RE VERY, VERY FAMILIAR WITH IT.

I'D LIKE TO LOOK IF WE LOOK AT US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS, I THINK THAT'S A BIGGER DISCUSSION.

OKAY. WHAT VALUE DOES IT BRING? NOT ONLY IS IT WHAT IS THE ACTUAL COST OF JOINING, BUT WHAT'S THE TRAVEL COST? YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE COUNCIL? NOW IS THAT A SECOND CONFERENCE WE'RE ALL ATTENDING? LIKE OBVIOUSLY THERE'S MORE THAN JUST THE INITIAL COST OF JOINING, WHICH IS THE 12 GRAND. AND I'D LIKE TO SEE KIND OF A VALUE PROPOSITION BETWEEN THAT AND MAYBE AN NLC, WHICH IS ALREADY PART OF TML IN A SIMILAR VEIN, BUT JUST KIND OF A BIGGER SCOPE VERSUS CONFERENCE OF MAYORS, WHICH I DON'T, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT TOO FAMILIAR WITH THEM.

REGARDING QUARTERLY TOWN HALL MEETINGS AND MONTHLY COFFEES.

[00:30:01]

TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, I I THINK THEY BRING VALUE.

I THINK THAT WHAT THE MAYOR HAS DONE HAS OBVIOUSLY CREATED SOME EXCITEMENT IN THE COMMUNITY.

I THINK THAT SHOULD BE CHAMPIONED AND IT SHOULD BE CELEBRATED, BUT I DON'T THINK THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME.

I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE IF WE CREATE A SPOT IN THE BUDGET FOR IT AS A PLACEHOLDER, I'VE NEVER KNOWN SOMEBODY, YOU KNOW, LIKE CITY GOVERNMENTS AND CHILDREN ARE VERY SIMILAR IN THE SENSE OF YOU GIVE THEM $100, THEY'RE GONNA FIND A WAY TO SPEND IT. YOU KNOW, AND IF WE PUT A PLACEHOLDER IN A BUDGET FOR IT, WE'RE GOING TO FIND A WAY TO FILL IT AND SPEND IT.

AND I THINK THAT, THAT WHILE THIS IS SOMETHING OF VALUE THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT, BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S A DESIRE IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND I THINK WE HAVE SOME SUCCESS BASED ON WHAT THE MAYOR HAS DONE IN THE LAST YEAR.

THIS MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT TIME. AS FAR AS THE MONTHLY COFFEES, I'M NOT SURE ON THE EXACT THOUGHT BEHIND THAT, BUT I KNOW WE HAVE LIKE A YEARLY COFFEE OVER WITH THE CANYON CREEK, AND I THINK THAT HAVING MONTHLY COFFEES OUTSIDE OF JUST 1 OR 2 NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE CITY DEFINITELY BRINGS MAKES IT MORE EQUITABLE AND CREATES APPROACH, WHICH IS NEVER A BAD IDEA WHEN IT COMES TO GOVERNMENT.

EVERYBODY SHOULD BE INVOLVED. WE SHOULD ALWAYS ENCOURAGE MORE AND MORE INVOLVEMENT. SO WITH THAT, YES, I LIKE IT. I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME.

WE SHOULD MAYBE DISCUSS WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND THEN PLAN AHEAD FOR THE FOLLOWING BUDGET, WHICH I THINK IS THE APPROACH. WE KIND OF TOOK ON A FEW DIFFERENT THINGS IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN ON.

MEMBER OF THIS COUNCIL. WHEN IT REGARDS I DO HAVE A QUESTION ON THE LIBRARY BUDGET ARE LIKE THE BULLET POINT ON SLIDE FOUR. WHY IS OUR ALC.

HELP ME UNDERSTAND THIS. AND I REMEMBER I FEEL LIKE YOU MENTIONED IT LAST NIGHT AND I REMEMBER THAT. I JUST DON'T REMEMBER THE REASONING. HELP ME UNDERSTAND BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OTHER, I GUESS NONPROFIT IS UNDER A DEPARTMENT BUDGET BECAUSE LIKE WHEN WE GIVE TO OTHERS NETWORK OR COUNSELING PLACE, IT'S NOT UNDER DEPARTMENT BUDGETS. RIGHT? WHY WOULD WE DO THAT HERE? WELL, THAT WAS A LEGACY THING. THAT'S EXACTLY WHY, PARTICULARLY NOW THAT WE'RE INCREASING THE SUPPORT THAT WE WANTED TO MOVE IT TO NON DEPARTMENTAL SO THAT WE WOULD BE CONSISTENT IN OUR APPROACH.

SO IT WAS IN LIBRARY BUT IT'S BEING MOVED FROM LIBRARY TO LIBRARY TO TO DEPARTMENT.

I MISUNDERSTOOD THAT. THANK YOU FOR THE CORRECTION THERE.

THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU. MAYOR. CAN I JUST I JUST WANT TO MAKE ONE COMMENT, PLEASE.

SO I'M SORRY YOU'RE DISAPPOINTED THAT I, I PUT THESE ON HERE, BUT I'M BEING RESPONSIVE TO ALL OF THE FEEDBACK THAT I RECEIVED SINCE YESTERDAY.

SO YOUR FEEDBACK IS ON HERE. SEVERAL OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS.

SO I, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A WORKSHOP. IT'S INTENDED TO TALK THROUGH ISSUES.

SO I, AGAIN, I, I'M PICKING UP A THEME THAT, YOU KNOW, I, I, FRANKLY, I DON'T QUITE UNDERSTAND WHY IT WOULD BE DISAPPOINTING JUST TO PUT IT ON AS A DISCUSSION TOPIC. I'M BEING RESPONSIVE TO EVERYBODY EQUALLY ON THE COUNCIL, BUT BY, BY ADDING EITHER THE RESPONSES THAT I WAS ASKED TO PROVIDE QUESTIONS OR TOPICS FOR FURTHER CONVERSATION BEFORE WE WRAP UP AND I HAVE TO FILE THE BUDGET.

FAIR ENOUGH. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. WELL, THE QUESTION FOR DON, SAME THING.

RICHARDSON ADULT LITERACY PROGRAM THAT YOU HAD THAT WITH THE LIBRARY.

NOW YOU DON'T HAVE WITH THE LIBRARY. I WOULD BE ASKING TOTALLY DIFFERENT WAY THAN DAN IS ASKING WHY IT WAS WHY IT'S NOT.

YOU KNOW, YOU ALREADY SAID THAT THIS IS NOT THE LIBRARY BUDGET, SEPARATE THINGS.

BUT IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, THAT PROGRAM ACTUALLY SUPPLEMENT WHAT LIBRARY DO LOTS OF THINGS.

AND BECAUSE OF THAT PROGRAM, WE DON'T HAVE TO SPEND SO MUCH MONEY, YOU KNOW, HIRING SOME OTHER STAFF.

THEY ARE FULFILLING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT LIBRARY IS MISSING.

SO IF YOU CAN HELP ME UNDERSTAND A LITTLE MORE THAT WHY IT SHOULD NOT BE WITH LIBRARY BUDGET.

RIGHT. WELL, IT'S SO, SO YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.

I MEAN, YOU KNOW, OUR ESTIMATES ARE WE WOULD PROBABLY NEED AN ADDITIONAL TWO FULL TIME LIBRARIANS TO ESSENTIALLY DO WHAT THE VERY MODEST STAFF, BUT EXTRAORDINARY VOLUNTEERS AT WRLC ACCOMPLISHES BY PROVIDING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE SERVICES.

THAT'S A KEY PART OF OUR ACCREDITATION FOR THE LIBRARY.

AND SO IT'S A FUNCTION THAT IF THEY WEREN'T DOING IT, WE WOULD DEFINITELY BE DOING IT. SO YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. AGAIN, THE, THE DECISION TO PUT IT IN NON-DEPARTMENTAL WAS TO TO CREATE A CONSISTENT APPROACH TO FUNDING OUR OUR PARTNERS WHO IN ESSENCE PROVIDE SERVICES ON OUR BEHALF.

WE DO THAT WITH NETWORK, WE DO THAT WITH COUNSELING PLACE. AND SO AS WE DECIDED AFTER MANY,

[00:35:02]

IT WAS JUST A DECISION THAT, THAT WE MADE. I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR CONSISTENT APPROACH TO OUR NONPROFIT PARTNERSHIPS, BUT THERE'S NOTHING REALLY BEYOND THAT. IT WAS JUST SIMPLY THAT, NO, THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION.

BUT, YOU KNOW, TO ME, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, KEEPING LIKE WHATEVER A DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, NEED IN A FUND, WE SHOULD HAVE LIKE THAT DEPARTMENT, ALL THE COSTS SHOULD BE GOES GOES UNDER THAT DEPARTMENT NOT MIXMATCH.

I MEAN, IF YOU HAVE A FUND FOR CERTAIN THINGS, I ALWAYS LIKE TO SPEND THAT THING FOR THAT KIND OF PROJECTS THAT THINGS NOT NOT TAKING OUT SOMETHING FROM ONE DEPARTMENT TO OTHERS. IT'S I FEEL A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, I GET A LITTLE BIT CONFUSED BECAUSE EVEN THE CUSTODIAL THAT YOU HAD, IF IT WAS FOR THE LIBRARY, I FEEL LIKE THAT IT SHOULD BE COMING UNDER THE LIBRARY BUDGET AND COST, EVEN THOUGH IT'S LIKE ANOTHER STUFF. IT'S I KNOW CITY'S BUDGET IS MORE COMPLEX THAN OUR PERSONAL LIVES BUDGET.

SO I DO UNDERSTAND WHATEVER THE STANDARD PROCEDURE.

I, I JUST HAVE TO FOLLOW. BUT I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THAT HOW I CAN UNDERSTAND MORE.

IF THE COUNCIL FEELS LIKE IT'S MORE APPROPRIATE IN THE LIBRARY BUDGET, WE'RE HAPPY TO PUT IT BACK IN LIBRARY. NO. WELL, I SEE THAT SHAKING HAND LIKE OTHER WAYS.

SO THAT'S NOT THE POINT. I JUST WANTED TO UNDERSTAND MYSELF THAT I DON'T HAVE ANY STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT CERTAIN THINGS.

BUT ONCE I SEE. BECAUSE IF SOME DAY THAT RLC GOES AWAY, YOU HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE SOME OF THE SERVICES SO SUDDENLY. THEN YOU WILL SEE LIBRARY BUDGET IS GOING TO JUMP UP VERY HIGH AND IT WILL BE, YOU KNOW, THEN YOU HAVE TO GO BACK AND EXPLAIN THAT WHY WE HAVE SO MUCH MONEY THAT WE NEED NOW VERSUS BEFORE.

OTHER THAN THAT, YOU KNOW THAT IT WAS DONE BY THIS WAY.

NOW WE ARE ADDING THIS THING NOW. ANYWAY, THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING.

I APPRECIATE THAT POINT. SO NOW I DO HAVE SOME COMMENTS ABOUT THE OTHER PROGRAM.

I LIKE TO REALLY SEE THAT OUR STAFF GETS SOME MORE TRAINING, ESPECIALLY THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT DEPARTMENT CIP DEPARTMENTS, BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY PROJECTS GOING ON RIGHT NOW AND HOW WE CAN DO THINGS A LITTLE MORE EFFICIENTLY.

I'M SURE THAT EVERYBODY CAN IMPROVE. I CAN IMPROVE EVERY AND EVERYONE CAN IMPROVE THEIR EFFICIENCY.

AND SINCE WE HAVE BEEN DOING SO MANY CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, I'M SURE WE HAVE LEARNED A LOT FROM OUR PROJECTS.

BUT ALSO THE SAME TIME, I THINK THAT WE CAN LEARN EVEN A LITTLE MORE IF WE GO THROUGH SOME EXTRA TRAINING CONFERENCE.

SO I WOULD I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT THAT THEY HAVE A LITTLE MORE BUDGET ON THAT THING SEPARATELY ADDED.

I WOULD NOT, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT ANY ADDITIONAL TRAINING FOR THE, YOU KNOW, LIKE FOR, FOR THE COUNCIL AT THIS POINT, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE PRIORITY IS THERE.

I FEEL VERY STRONGLY AND BUT ALSO SAME TIME, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THAT WHAT EXACTLY THE MEDIA TRAINING IS GOING TO GIVE US, WHICH CLEARLY I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT WE HAVE BEFORE, WHAT THIS IS GOING TO BE SEPARATELY THEN.

SO I MIGHT BE MISSING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU KNOW, THAT WHY THIS THING IS ON THE, ON THE, ON THE TALKING POINT. SO I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THE BACKGROUND OF THIS TRAINING THAT WHY THIS TRAINING IS DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHER TRAINING.

SO WE CAN REALLY COMPARE WHAT THE ML IS PROVIDING VERSUS WHAT WE HAD BEFORE.

I KNOW. I DON'T KNOW IF I'M MISSING SOMETHING.

OKAY. THAT'S YOUR QUESTION. I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION, BUT I CAN I CAN STOP IT.

YEAH. WE'RE JUST AT THE END OF THE TIME, BUT I'LL HAVE YOU FOLLOW UP AFTER.

BUT LET'S ANSWER THAT. IF YOU HAVE THE YOU HAVE THE RUNDOWN THAT YOU SENT US ALREADY VIA EMAIL, RIGHT? YEAH. LET ME DO YOU WANT ME JUST TO KIND OF RECAP THAT IF YOU IF YOU WANT.

YEAH. YOU MAY NOT HAVE SEEN THE EMAIL TODAY, BUT IT WAS INCLUDED IN THERE.

SORRY. YEP. SO THE, THE TRAINING THAT'S ALLUDED TO, IT'S CUSTOMIZED TRAINING MATERIALS TAILORED TO OUR SPECIFIC POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THAT WOULD BE INDIVIDUAL ONE HOUR TRAINING SESSIONS WITH EACH COUNCIL MEMBER AND THE MAYOR.

THE INSTRUCTION WOULD INCLUDE MEDIA INTERVIEWS AND INTERACTING WITH THE PRESS, PUBLIC SPEAKING AND PRESENTATIONS AT CIVIC, NEIGHBORHOOD, BUSINESS AND CIVIC EVENTS.

APPROPRIATE AND EFFECTIVE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA, INCLUDING BEST PRACTICES AND LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS. PRACTICE INTERVIEW EXERCISES WITH INDIVIDUALIZED COACHING. SO THAT'S THE SUMMARY, IF YOU WILL, OF THE SCOPE OF THE PROPOSAL THAT I GOT TO BE RESPONSIVE TO THAT REQUEST.

I THINK THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT I THINK WE DID ATTEND, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT IN THE PAST AND WE HAVE, I THINK I THINK WE HAVE ENOUGH TRAINING BEFORE.

SO ANYWAY, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTION ON THAT ONE, BUT I'D LIKE TO MAKE A COUPLE OF POINTS.

[00:40:03]

SINCE WE'VE GOTTEN TO YOUR FIVE MINUTES, I STOPPED THE CLOCK FOR THAT REASON, IF THAT'S ALL RIGHT WITH YOU.

OKAY, SURE. ALL RIGHT. COOL. SO I WANT TO START WITH ON THE TRAINING SIDE, I HAVE NO DIFFICULTY WITH MEDIA TRAINING GOING AWAY.

THAT STARTED OFF AS AN INITIAL REQUEST THAT I THINK I MADE MAYBE IN MY FIRST COUPLE OF WEEKS, BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY MEDIA INQUIRIES, AND WE THOUGHT INSTEAD OF JUST TRAINING THE MAYOR, IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO TRAIN EVERYONE. IT KIND OF KEPT SLIPPING AND IT EVENTUALLY GOT TO THIS BUDGET AND, AND WHICH IS TOTALLY FINE IF WE WANT TO EXCLUDE IT.

THAT HAS EVOLVED A LITTLE BIT TO THE STATE OF THE CITY TRAINING IN THAT PRESENTATION TRAINING COULD HAVE BEEN USED BY ALL OF US.

I KNOW I PERSONALLY NEEDED A LOT MORE HELP THAN WHAT I ENDED UP, YOU KNOW, HAVING AND, AND GREG IS GREAT, BUT HE'S NOT A SPEECH TRAINER. AND BECAUSE THAT IS A MASSIVE SHOWCASE OF OUR CITY TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND EVERYBODY ELSE, WHICH I THINK WE ALL AGREE. THEN TO ME, I THOUGHT THE BETTER WE CAN BE, THE BETTER WE ARE AND THE BETTER WE PRESENT OURSELVES.

I THINK THAT CAN PROBABLY HIT A TOTALLY DIFFERENT SCOPE.

I'M FULLY COMFORTABLE PAYING FOR MY OWN, AND I'LL FIND OUT WHAT IT IS TO TRAIN EVERYBODY, AND PERHAPS I'LL DONATE IT TO THOSE WHO WANT TO TO TAKE THAT TRAINING IF THEY LIKE.

BUT THERE'S, THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRESENTATION TRAINING, IF THAT'S DESIRED BY FOLKS.

BUT I'M TOTALLY OKAY GETTING RID OF THAT LINE ITEM ON THE US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS WHEREVER WE LAND UP.

I'M ALSO VERY COMFORTABLE TAKING THAT LINE ITEM OUT OR KEEPING IT.

I'M TRYING TO NOT GET IN THE HABIT OF JUST PAYING FOR EVERY SINGLE THING THAT MOST OTHER CITIES AND OTHER MAYORS HAVE.

BUT I ALSO DON'T WANT TO HAVE LONG CONVERSATIONS ABOUT IT IF PEOPLE AREN'T COMFORTABLE.

THE LAST THING OR THE NEXT THING I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS WE'VE SHAVED 200 WHOLE THOUSAND DOLLARS OFF OF LAST NIGHT'S PRESENTATION.

WHATEVER ADDITIONAL TRAINING OR OTHER THINGS THAT YOU GUYS ARE DREAMING UP THAT YOU THINK THE $5,000 WILL SAVE US, OR 15 OR WHATEVER, WE'VE GOT $200,000 WORTH THAT WE CAN ALWAYS ASK OUR CITY MANAGER TO PUT TOWARDS TRAINING IF THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE DESPERATELY WANT.

WITH THAT MONEY. WE NOW HAVE 200,000 MORE TO SPEND.

AND AS COUNCIL MEMBER BARRIOS MENTIONED, IF WE'VE GOT IT, WE CAN SPEND IT.

I SAY, IF YOUR HEART IS REALLY THERE, THEN LET'S JUST GO AHEAD AND SUGGEST THAT THAT'S WHERE IT GOES.

LAST YEAR FOR THE STATE OF THE CITY, SOMETHING LIKE 4 OR 5 DAYS BEFORE THE STATE OF THE CITY, BEFORE IT GOT ICED OUT, WE HAD ALREADY SOLD. OKAY.

AND WHAT I MEAN BY SOLD IS $0 TICKETS. BUT PEOPLE WENT ONLINE AND SIGNED UP FOR TICKETS.

WE HAD SOLD 700 SEATS. THAT WAS LAST YEAR, DAYS BEFORE MANY, MANY DAYS, AT LEAST FOUR DAYS BEFORE BECAUSE IT STARTED ICING AROUND FOUR DAYS PRIOR. THAT'S WHY IF YOU REMEMBER FROM THE STATE OF THE CITY, WE HAD EXTRA SEATS AND STUFF SET UP BECAUSE WE WERE TRYING TO GET OURSELVES READY FOR THAT.

I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT SETTING UP ALL THOSE SEATS WAS PROBABLY MORE EXPENSIVE THAN JUST USING THE BIGGER THEATER.

BUT AGAIN, WHATEVER THE COUNCIL WISHES, IT'S TOTALLY FINE.

AYE I THINK WE'VE ALREADY PROVEN BY WAY OF SOLD TICKETS.

AND YES, THEY DIDN'T ALL SHOW UP BECAUSE IT WAS AN ICED OUT DAY.

BUT BETWEEN SOLD TICKETS, I THINK WE'VE ALREADY PROVEN THAT WE CAN DO CONSIDERABLY MORE THAN 600.

DOES SOMEONE CAN SOMEONE TAKE US TO THAT SLIDE REAL QUICK? I ALSO WANT TO MAKE A SUGGESTION SINCE WE'RE ALL SUPER CONCERNED ABOUT THE BUDGET.

WE HAVE A PRODUCTION AND FOOD AND BEVERAGE TODAY FOR THE BANK OF AMERICA THEATER OF $27,000 TOTAL.

I SUGGEST WE TAKE $500 OFF THAT TOTAL. NOT 27,000, BUT INSTEAD 26.5.

AND I, FOR ONE, AM WILLING TO HAVE A LESS FANCY EVENT IN TERMS OF BEING FED, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF EVENTS WHERE WE DON'T GET FED.

AND INSTEAD, LET'S OPEN THIS UP FOR 600 MORE GUESTS TO COME OUT AND ACTUALLY LEARN ALL THE GREAT THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN OUR CITY.

NOW, I PERSONALLY AM THE PERSON WHO PROMOTED THE LAST STATE OF THE CITY, NOT NECESSARILY A WHOLE HEAVY AMOUNT OF ADDITIONAL PROMOTION THAN OUR NORMAL FOR STATE OF THE CITY THAT NORMALLY HAPPENS BY THE CITY. IF WE KNOW THAT WE'RE TRYING TO FILL MORE SEATS, WE CAN PROMOTE IT HEAVIER TO BE ABLE TO GET MORE SEATS.

THAT PUTS 600 MORE EYEBALLS IN THE SEATS TO SEE ALL THE GREAT THINGS THAT OUR CITY IS DOING.

I WOULD TRADE A LOVELY DINNER OR OR BITES, WHATEVER THAT IS.

I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER EATEN AT STATE OF THE CITY, BUT WHATEVER THOSE LOVELY BITES ARE THAT ELEVATE THAT EVENT, I WOULD LOVE TO DO AWAY WITH THE FOOD. SO 600 MORE PEOPLE CAN SHOW UP AND WE'D HAVE 500 MORE DOLLARS IN OUR VERY DIFFICULT BUDGET OR WHATEVER THE TERMINOLOGY IS BEING USED TONIGHT. SO I THINK THERE'S A WAY TO GET THERE.

I THINK WE CAN GET THERE AND SAVE MONEY AT THE SAME TIME.

WE HAVE TO SACRIFICE A DINNER, BUT MANY OF THE TIMES WE GO TO EVENTS OVER THERE AND THERE ARE NO FOOD TO EAT OTHER THAN WHAT WE BUY.

SO THOSE ARE MY THOUGHTS ON THESE PIECES. THE QUARTERLY TOWN HALL AND THE MONTHLY COFFEE.

I HEARD MANY COMMENTS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW COME THE CITY ISN'T DOING THIS?

[00:45:04]

I'M HAPPY TO CONTINUE TO DO IT. IT'S IT COSTS ME ALMOST NOTHING.

I'M NOT BURDENING ANYONE. BUT IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WANT ME TO CONTINUE DOING, I'M TOTALLY COOL DOING IT.

I JUST WANT YOU GUYS ON THE RECORD SAYING YOU WANT THE MAYOR TO KEEP DOING IT HIMSELF VERSUS PUTTING IT AS A CITY PROJECT.

AND BY THE WAY, WE DON'T EVEN HAVE TO DECIDE ON THAT TONIGHT.

THAT'S JUST A PLACEHOLDER. SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT MAYBE IN OCTOBER.

AND THEN WE CAN DECIDE AND WE CAN DECIDE HOW WE WANT TO DO IT AND EVERYTHING ELSE. I'M 20S OVER AND I SEE COURT COUNCIL MEMBER CORCORAN.

YEAH, I'M JUST GOING TO JUST SO WORKING BACKWARDS, YOU KNOW, I'LL GO ON THE RECORD AND SAY, I THINK THAT IT'S, IT'S CHALLENGING TO HAVE THE CITY PAY FOR THOSE EVENTS BECAUSE DIFFERENT.

I'M NOT SAYING YOU OR ANYONE ON THIS DAIS, BUT THEY CAN TURN THEY CAN TURN POLITICAL, ESPECIALLY IN AN ELECTION YEAR.

I JUST DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S SOMETHING I WANT TO OPEN US UP TO.

I'M JUST NOT I'M NOT COMFORTABLE WITH IT. AND I'M ON THE RECORD SAYING IT.

AS FAR AS YOU KNOW, THE US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS VERSUS NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES JUST DOING SOME QUICK CHATGPT RESEARCH RIGHT HERE.

I MEAN, THAT ACTUALLY DOES SOUND COUNCIL MEMBER.

THAT SOUNDS LIKE A REALLY GOOD ORGANIZATION. THAT IS MUCH MORE, MAYBE MUCH MORE FOCUSED FOR A CITY OF OF OUR SIDE.

AND AS FAR AS LIKE THE EXPANDED TRAINING AND EVERYTHING ELSE.

SO NOT SAYING FOR THIS BUDGET, BUT I DO THINK THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO START LOOKING INTO.

AND IT COSTS ABOUT THE SAME AS US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS JUST AGAIN, JUST JUST A THOUGHT.

AND THEN YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, AS FAR AS STATE OF THE CITY GOES, I MEAN, I FEEL LIKE I HAVEN'T REALLY.

I DON'T KNOW, I GUESS I FEEL LIKE, I FEEL LIKE THAT'S, LET'S, LET ME THINK ABOUT THAT MORE.

BY THE WAY, WE DON'T HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION TONIGHT. IT'S JUST A MATTER OF WHETHER OR NOT WE BUDGET IT. BUT GO AHEAD, COUNCIL MEMBER ARE FINE. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR.

YES. I MEAN, STATE OF STATE OF THE CITY. I MEAN, IF WE HAVE PRESSURE FROM, YOU KNOW, FROM THE AUDIENCE THAT THERE ARE MORE MORE PEOPLE WANT TO SEE THAT. I THINK THAT KIND OF FLEXIBILITY, I THINK THE CITY STAFF SHOULD TAKE IT BASED ON BASED ON THE DEMAND THEY CAN. THERE SHOULD BE SOME FLEXIBILITY THAT THEY CAN ADJUST IT, WHATEVER ALL NEEDED.

IF WE HAVE IF WE LEFT IT OPEN, SAY, INSTEAD OF 500, WE SAY, OKAY, 700 PEOPLE CAN BUY TICKET.

BUT IF IT IS LIKE 500 PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE A CAP AND TICKET SOLD OUT, THEN SOLD OUT, THEN THEN DIFFERENT THINGS.

I DON'T KNOW HOW WE HAD 700 LAST TIME, BUT AGAIN, IF WE HAVE END UP SELLING 800 TICKETS, OF COURSE IT MAKES SENSE TO GIVE THEM SEAT.

OTHERWISE WHERE ARE THEY GOING TO SIT? SO THIS SOMETHING NEED TO BE PROBABLY DISCUSSED A LITTLE MORE.

OR MAYBE STAFF SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE THOSE KIND OF DECISION ADJUSTMENT TO THE FOOD AND OTHER THINGS.

THOSE ARE I THINK THOSE ARE BIG TOPICS. A LITTLE MORE TOPICS FROM THE ADMIN SIDE TO DISCUSS.

I WOULD NOT MAKE ANY COMMENT. I WOULD LEAVE THAT TO THE CITY DAWN AND COME UP WITH THEIR RECOMMENDATION.

AND FOR THE US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS MEMBERSHIP, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING IF WE SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE IS A RETURN OF THAT INVESTMENT. OF COURSE I SUPPORT THAT.

OTHERWISE, YOU KNOW, IF THERE IS, YOU KNOW, IF IF WE ARE MISSING SOMETHING, DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE CITY. WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT, BUT IT NEVER CAME OUT IN THE PAST.

BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT COULD NOT COME IN THE FUTURE.

SO THAT'S ALSO SOME KIND OF FLEXIBLE ON THAT THING, MAKING A DECISION ON THAT.

SO IF IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE CITY, DEFINITELY WE SHOULD DO THAT.

AND THE QUARTERLY MEETING, THOSE ARE PURELY POLITICAL THINGS.

I THINK IT SHOULD BE INDIVIDUALLY DONE. OR, YOU KNOW, IF HE WANTS TO DO THAT, DO THAT.

I TRY DOING THAT INITIALLY. I DID THAT A COUPLE OF TIMES, BUT IT'S YOU KNOW, SINCE WE DO SO MANY, YOU KNOW, OTHER HOA NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETINGS AND OTHER THINGS.

I THINK PEOPLE ARE COMING THERE AND GETTING SOME INFORMATION.

AND ALSO THE SAME TIME, YOU KNOW, WE CAN PROVIDE THEM MORE INFORMATION.

THERE IS NO THERE IS NO END OR LIMIT FOR THAT.

SO WE CAN DO MORE AND MORE DEFINITELY THIS PEER WORK.

BUT BUT I THINK THE TOWN HALL MEETINGS IS ONLY MAINLY, I THINK IT COULD BE SOMETIMES VERY MUCH POLITICAL.

BUT THAT'S ALSO SOMETHING I THINK NEEDS SOME ANOTHER DISCUSSION, ANOTHER BULLET POINT, ANOTHER TOPICS THOUGHTFUL PROS AND CONS AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO AND WHAT WE SHOULD NOT BE DOING.

SO I GUESS THIS IS FOR THE FUTURE DISCUSSION.

[00:50:03]

AND YOU KNOW, ME OF ALL OF ALL PEOPLE, I DO WANT TO TRY TO MOVE THIS TO THE NEXT LEVEL AND ELEVATE IT AT SOME POINT.

YOU KNOW, REDUCING THAT 500 AND, YOU KNOW, TAKING AWAY THE FOOD ELEMENT.

YOU KNOW, THE THINGS I'VE NOTICED OVER THE YEARS IS WE'RE STILL, WE STILL HAVE A MEDIUM TO OLDER GENERATION THAT ATTENDS THE, THE STATE OF THE CITY. AND A LOT OF, THEY REALLY DO ENJOY HAVING A FOOD ELEMENT.

NOW, DOES IT HAVE TO BE AS ELABORATE AS WE'VE HAD IT? SURE. WE COULD PROBABLY CUT THAT THING DOWN A LITTLE BIT, BUT I, I ALMOST FEEL LIKE JUST, JUST FOR THE PURPOSES THAT WE REALLY HAVEN'T MAXED OUT THE BANK OF AMERICA HALL YET.

I THINK THIS COULD CERTAINLY WAIT AND BE REEXAMINED AGAIN FOR ANOTHER YEAR AFTER WE GET THROUGH THIS BUDGET.

I MEAN, WE'RE GOING TO BE WE'RE GOING TO TURN AROUND. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE WE'RE AT ANOTHER BUDGET MEETING HERE IN ANOTHER YEAR.

AND WE COULD POTENTIALLY LOOK AT LOOK AT THAT AND SEE WHAT TYPE OF ATTENDANCE WE HAVE THIS YEAR, JUST TO SEE IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE WANT TO PURSUE.

I WOULD LOVE TO SEE US GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE TO, WE HAVE TO GO TO THE THE HILL PERFORMANCE HALL.

I THINK THAT WOULD BE INCREDIBLE. I'M JUST NOT SURE IF WE'RE THERE AT THIS VERY, VERY MOMENT.

BUT I WOULD SUPPORT IT POTENTIALLY IF WE IF THE NUMBERS LOOK GOOD.

THE SECOND THING ON THE BACK OVER TO MY COMMENT EARLIER ABOUT THE TOWN HALL MEETINGS, I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS HAS JUST RECENTLY BEEN PUT ON THE AGENDA TO ADDRESS IT TONIGHT FOR BUDGETING. BUT AGAIN, I, I REALLY FEEL LIKE WE'RE A YEAR BEFORE WE SHOULD EVEN BE DISCUSSING THIS AT THE MOMENT, I FEEL LIKE THIS IS SOMETHING WE POTENTIALLY COULD BRING BACK TO AS AN AGENDA ITEM FOR DISCUSSION MAYBE A YEAR FROM NOW, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SEE WHERE OUR BUDGET LOOKS LIKE AND POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT THAT AS AN OPTION.

I JUST THINK RIGHT NOW, PUTTING THAT BURDEN ON THE STAFF AND WITH ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE HAVE GOING ON AND ALL THE OTHER EVENTS THAT WE HAVE GOING ON, I MEAN, HONESTLY, I HAVE TO SAY ONE ONE COMMENT HERE, AND I KNOW I STILL HAVE TWO MORE MINUTES IF I'LL TAKE THAT.

BUT, YOU KNOW, I LOOK AT THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT WE'RE ALL SPENDING AND I MENTIONED THIS EARLIER, YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL ONLY GETS PAID PER COUNCIL MEETING.

WE WORK GENERALLY 32 TO 40 PLUS HOURS A WEEK.

I MEAN, WE'RE WORKING FULL TIME. MOST OF US HAVE A FULL TIME JOB AS WELL.

AND I KNOW THAT YOU'RE WORKING YOU KNOW, OUR MAYOR'S WORKING FULL TIME AS WELL HERE.

AND I JUST FEEL LIKE RIGHT NOW, HOW MUCH MORE CAN WE ADD TO OUR PLATE WITHOUT JUST TERMINATING OUR FULL TIME, OUR FULL TIME POSITION, OUR PAID POSITIONS? SO AS MUCH AS I LOVE DOING ALL THIS AS, AS FULL TIME, I'M, I, AND I DO ADVOCATE FOR IT. I JUST THINK, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW IS NOT A POTENTIALLY NOT A GOOD TIME FOR US TO CONTINUE ADDING MORE MENU ITEMS. I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW, IF YOU WANT TO TAKE, I THINK WHAT YOU'VE DONE IS GREAT.

AND I THINK IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THOSE ON PERSONALLY AND, AND HAVE 1 OR 2 COUNCIL MEETINGS LIKE WE, OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS, I THINK THAT'S GREAT. AND I, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'LL ALL CONTINUE TO ATTEND.

I JUST THINK THERE'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD, YOU KNOW, CIRCLE BACK TO LATER AS A POTENTIAL ITEM AND AND SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.

AND I THINK THE STAFF, YOU KNOW, CITY MANAGER AND STAFF COULD BRING THAT BACK TO US AT A LATER DATE.

THANK YOU. I DIDN'T SEE THE EXACT ORDER. SO I'LL JUST WORK ON THIS FROM THIS DIRECTION.

BACK DOWN. MAYOR PRO TEM HUTCHENRIDER THANK YOU.

MAYOR DON. QUICK QUESTION. MOST PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DECIDE THAT THEY'RE GOING TO WANT TO COME TO THE STATE OF THE CITY.

I WOULD SAY APPROXIMATELY TWO WEEKS AT LEAST.

SO MY QUESTION IS TO GET US PAST THIS. IS THERE ANY WAY THAT WE COULD SAY WE'RE GOING TO OFFER TICKETS UP TO TWO WEEKS BEFORE WE'LL SEE WHAT THE SALES? I KNOW THEY'RE FREE TICKETS, BUT I'M JUST GOING TO USE THE WORD SALES.

AND COULD WE PIVOT AT THAT POINT IN TIME IF IT'S LESS THAN 400? I MEAN, I'M SORRY IF IT'S 400 OR LESS. WE STAY IN THE BOAT.

EXCUSE ME. IF IT'S 400 OR MORE, WE MOVE IT TO HILL.

CAN'T DO THAT. NO, SIR. THE THE PRODUCTION IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PRODUCTION IN THE TWO HALLS.

THE EQUIPMENT THAT'S NECESSARY, THE STAFF THAT'S NECESSARY.

SO I MEAN, YOU GUYS KNOW BETTER THAN I DO. YOU'RE ON STAGE.

THERE'S LIGHTING. I MEAN, THERE'S THERE'S A WHOLE PRODUCTION.

NO, I KNOW THERE IS, BUT I KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT SEEMS LIKE IT OCCURS ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE.

SO THAT'S WHY I'M JUST ASKING THE QUESTION. NO, NO, THERE'S SOME PERIOD OF TIME.

YEAH. GREG IS BUILDING THAT PLAN AND MAKING THOSE DECISIONS AND WORKING WITH THE PRODUCTION TEAM FOR, FOR WEEKS AND WEEKS BEFORE YOU GUYS START TO PRACTICING.

AND SO I MEAN, I MAYOR WE TALKED, I MEAN, WE WERE IN DECEMBER LAST YEAR AND I REMEMBER THE MAYOR THE FIRST, YOU KNOW, SAYING THIS IS, THIS IS KIND OF THE CUT OFF.

WE EARLY DECEMBER, WE WERE MAKING DECISIONS, BUT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S AT LEAST A EIGHT WEEK LEAD TIME TO BE ABLE TO.

WELL, I WASN'T SURE. THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO ASK THE QUESTION IS IF THERE WAS IF THERE WAS ANY FLEXIBILITY AT ALL, WE COULD GET OFF THE TOPIC BECAUSE WE'VE ALREADY USED AN HOUR ON LAST NIGHT'S ITEMS AND WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN EVEN INTO TONIGHT'S ITEM.

[00:55:03]

BUT THANK YOU. YEAH, SORRY, WE CAN'T DO THAT.

NOPE. THAT'S FINE. COUNCIL MEMBER. JUSTICE. THANK YOU.

YEAH. I THINK THE PROBLEM THAT WE'RE FACING IS THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THESE PROGRAMS ARE, ARE SORT OF POLICY DISCUSSIONS THAT THIS COUNCIL NEEDS TO HAVE AND HAS NOT HAD.

AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO SOMEWHAT HAVE POLICY DISCUSSION ON THE FLY WITHOUT THE BENEFIT OF THESE NUMBERS AND WITHOUT THE BENEFIT OF STAFF BEING FULLY PREPARED TO TALK TO US ABOUT THAT SORT OF STUFF. AND SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK IF WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS, GREAT.

I THINK TOWN HALLS ARE EXCELLENT. AGAIN, I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE NUMBERS ARE. I WANT TO HAVE THE COUNCIL HAVE A POLICY DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT. SO, YOU KNOW, DON, I THINK THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I RECALL THAT WE'VE HAD A BUDGET WHERE WE'VE HAD A BUNCH OF EXPANDED ITEMS THAT WEREN'T THINGS THAT WE HADN'T PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED OR THAT WEREN'T COUNCIL TACTICS. AND SO, YOU KNOW, TO MAYOR PRO TEM POINT, I'M VERY HAPPY TO MOVE PAST ALL OF THIS.

AND I WOULD JUST ASK THAT, YOU KNOW, THESE BE MOVED TO NEXT YEAR.

YOU KNOW, AFTER WE'VE HAD A CHANCE TO HAVE POLICY DISCUSSIONS ABOUT IT AND IF THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO ADD AS EXPANDED PROGRAMS. SO WE NEED TO HAVE THOSE POLICY DISCUSSIONS BEFORE WE COME TO BUDGET RETREAT SO THAT WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE. WE ALL HAVE THE BENEFIT OF THE SAME INFORMATION, AND THEN WE CAN SAY YAY OR NAY WHEN IT COMES BUDGET TIME. BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE ATTEMPTING TO HAVE VERY HIGH LEVEL POLICY DISCUSSION ABOUT STUFF THAT THIS COUNCIL HAS NOT PREVIOUSLY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS. AND SO I'M JUST I'M NOT IN FAVOR OF, OF MOVING THESE FORWARD FOR THE REASONS I PREVIOUSLY STATED.

AND AGAIN, BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE WE ARE TRYING TO SORT OF SPLIT HAIRS ON THINGS THAT, THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE PREVIOUS BENEFIT OF, OF HAVING A DISCUSSION ABOUT. SO I'M NOT IN FAVOR OF ANY OF THE EXPANDED PROGRAMS EXCEPT FOR THE TWO COUNCIL TACTIC ITEMS AND THE, THE MOWING COMPROMISE THAT THE MAYOR PRO TEM CAME UP WITH.

AND TO THE EXTENT THERE'S MONEY ON THE TABLE, REDUCE THE BUDGET.

THAT'S IN MY OPINION. LET'S NOT SPEND IT. COUNCIL MEMBER BARRIOS.

THANK YOU. MAYOR, I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND HOLD MY COMMENTS AND JUST SAY DITTO TO EVERYTHING COUNCILWOMAN JUSTICE JUST SAID.

THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER CORCORAN. I THINK THE REASON THAT THIS IS SUCH A DIFFICULT SORT OF LINE ITEM BY LINE ITEM DISCUSSION IS BECAUSE IT IS SUCH A TIGHT BUDGET. YOU KNOW, I JUST WANT TO GO ON THE RECORD, I GUESS, AND SAY I DON'T HAVE AN I DON'T HAVE AN ISSUE WITH INCREASING THAT LINE ITEM FOR THE STATE OF THE CITY TO $37,500. WITH UNDERSTANDING THAT WE MAY NOT WE MAY NOT SPEND IT, AND IT MAY JUST BE MONEY THAT IS JUST NOT SPENT.

BUT I DO THINK THE FLEXIBILITY WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE.

THAT'S IT. COUNCILMEMBER. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR.

I'LL JUST MAKE IT SHORT THAT IF WE CAN TAKE OUT ANY LINE ITEM FROM THE BUDGET THAT WILL BALANCE THE BUDGET MUCH BETTER.

SO IF WE REDUCE $200,000 FOR CERTAIN ITEM, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THAT MONEY IS SITTING SOMEWHERE.

THAT MONEY IS GOING TO BE BALANCING THE BUDGET BETTER WAY.

SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY REALLY EXTRA MONEY TO SPEND ON ANYTHING, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE TAKING OUT SOME ITEM FROM HERE AND THERE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY EXTRA MONEY SITTING THERE. WE ARE PROBABLY USING THE BUDGET FROM THE, YOU KNOW, FROM THE BALANCE SHEET THAT TO MAKE THIS THING BALANCE.

SO CUTTING BUDGET, YOU KNOW, SPENDING LESS THAT'S THAT WILL BALANCE THE BUDGET MORE EFFECTIVE WAY.

BUT OF COURSE, I, I AGREE WITH COUNCILWOMAN. JENNIFER JUSTICE YOU KNOW WHAT SHE EXPLAINED, I THINK WE NEED TO DISCUSS THIS THING, YOU KNOW, EARLY ON BEFORE WE TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET.

I THINK WE ARE GOING BACK AND FORTH DISCUSSING, TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE THIS THING ON THE BUDGET OR LOOKING AT PROS AND CONS.

THIS IS A BIGGER DISCUSSION. SO I THINK THIS IS, I GUESS IT'S A KIND OF PREMATURE TO HAVE THIS THING ON THE ON THE BUDGET WITHOUT DISCUSSING A LITTLE MORE DETAIL. I THINK PROBABLY ALL HAS SOME BENEFIT.

I PROBABLY I MEAN, I AGREE, BUT I THINK THE PUBLIC NEED TO KNOW THAT.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? I THINK THIS IS FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT.

I THINK WE NEED TO DISCUSS THIS THING MORE. THANK YOU. WONDERFUL.

SO, MR. MAGNER, WHAT I'M GOING TO ASK, I THINK BASED ON WHAT WE HEARD I THINK WHAT I'M GOING TO ASK THAT WE DO IS WE'LL HAVE U.S.

CONFERENCE OF MAYORS REMOVED. WE'LL HAVE THE TRAINING LINE ITEM REMOVED.

GOING TO THE NEXT PAGE. WHAT WE'LL DO HERE IS WE CAN JUST BUDGET FOR THE 27,000 SOMETIME IN OCTOBER.

AND YOU AND I CAN WORK ON THE EXACT TIMING OF THE AGENDA.

BUT SOMETIME IN OCTOBER, WE'LL HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT IS ON THIS LIST, AND WE'LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO DECIDE HOW WE WANT TO SPEND THE 27,000, WHETHER IT'S GOING TO BE THE WAY IT WAS BEFORE, OR WHETHER WE VIE TOWARDS GOING THE 600 ADDITIONAL ATTENDEES.

THE THOUGHT PROCESS WAS NEVER TO MAKE FINAL DECISIONS ON ANY OF THESE PIECES, BUT JUST TO IDENTIFY A BUDGET ITEM THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A HOLD FOR US TO DISCUSS

[01:00:01]

THIS WAS STRATEGY AND TACTICS, ACTUALLY THINGS WE AS A COUNCIL AGREED ON.

AND SO ALL THIS WAS, WAS AN ATTEMPT TO PUT A LINE ITEM SO THAT WHEN WE HAVE THE DISCUSSION, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T DO ALL YOUR DISCUSSION IN THE FIRST YEAR OF A OF A COUNCIL TERM, THAT WE WOULD HAVE THE BUDGET THERE IN CASE THE CONVERSATION WENT SOMEWHERE.

BUT EITHER WAY, UNLESS ANYONE WANTS TO DO AWAY WITH THE STATE OF THE CITY, WHICH I DID NOT HEAR THAT 27,000 WILL BE HELD IN THE BUDGET, AND THEN WE CAN MAKE WHATEVER DECISION WE WANT TO AROUND THAT 27,000.

CAN I ADD ONE THING IF YOU MUST? OKAY. I WOULD PROPOSE NOT.

27 I WOULD PROPOSE PROBABLY $35,000. OH FOR THE BUDGET SAKE AND THEN, YOU KNOW, MOVE IN THE FUTURE, SEE HOW IT WORKS? BECAUSE EVEN WITH 400, I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE COULD GO WRONG ON THE BUDGET THINGS GIVING THAT SPECIFIC DOLLAR LIKE THAT I WOULD FEEL COMFORTABLE IF THERE IS, LIKE, FLEXIBILITY. ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS TO 35,000 AS A PLACEHOLDER FOR THIS PARTICULAR ITEM? THERE ARE NOT. ALL RIGHT. WE CAN MOVE ON. THANK YOU.

GREAT. ALL RIGHT. SO NOW WE'RE GOING TO TRANSITION INTO THE FOUR OTHER LARGE FUNDS WITH DRAINAGE FIVE.

SO JUST A QUICK REMINDER AND I'LL BE MINDFUL HERE OF MY PACE.

IN TERMS OF SOME GUIDING PRINCIPLES. THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS ARE QUITE A BIT DIFFERENT. THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS A DIFFERENT WAY OF APPROACHING THE BUDGETING AND THE BALANCING.

HERE WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE A VERY MUCH A MULTIYEAR APPROACH.

MANY OF THESE FUNDS, LARGE CAPITAL INVESTMENTS AND MANY OF THE PROJECTS SPAN SEVERAL YEARS TO COMPLETE.

OBVIOUSLY THE FUND BALANCE IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND MAINTAINING A STRONG FUND BALANCE.

AND ESPECIALLY WITH THE RECENT ENHANCEMENTS TO YOUR FINANCIAL POLICIES, CREATING ADDITIONAL THRESHOLDS AND HOTEL MOTEL, FOR INSTANCE. YOU KNOW, 80% OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS 40 YEARS OLD OR OLDER.

AND SO THE IMPORTANCE OF CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE, IN THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IS JUST CRITICAL TO CREATE TO, TO MAINTAINING OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AND OUR, OUR WASTEWATER CONVEYANCE SYSTEM.

I'M GOING TO SHARE SOME FIGURES WITH YOU HERE IN THE WATER WASTEWATER FUND THAT, THAT ALSO LIKE YESTERDAY REALLY EMPHASIZED THE NEED FOR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION STRATEGIES TO FILL THESE VERY, VERY DIFFICULT POSITIONS IN THE WATER AND THE SEWER REALM.

AND THEN OF COURSE, THE MANDATES THAT WE ARE ALWAYS ON THE WATCH FOR FROM MOSTLY T C, Q BUT SOMETIMES THE EPA AND, AND THE OPERATIONAL, THE CAPITAL AND OPERATIONAL EXPENSES THAT ARE GENERATED BY NORTH TEXAS WATER DISTRICT, ALL KEY COMPONENTS TO OUR PLANNING EFFORT. SO LET'S START WITH WATER AND SEWER FUND.

THIS IS YEAR ONE OF THE FIVE YEAR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT WE SHARED WITH YOU FOR TRANSITIONING TO A METER EQUIVALENCY METHODOLOGY.

YOU SEE A 4% WATER RATE AND A 12% SEWER RATE INCREASE IS NEEDED TO COVER SEVERAL THINGS.

AND I'M GOING TO GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ABOUT WHY THOSE RATES ARE, ARE NEEDED.

BUT I WANT TO FOCUS HERE ON JUST TWO, TWO QUICK THINGS.

ONE IS THE CONTINUED IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR WATER MASTER PLAN AND OUR SIMON PLAN THAT WAS JUST COMPLETED.

THE MASTER PLAN IS SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO GUIDE OUR INVESTMENT HERE FOR THE NEXT 8 TO 10 YEARS.

WHEN ERIC PRESENTED TO YOU, HE THERE WERE THREE PRIORITY PROJECTS IN THAT MASTER PLAN THAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON.

AND OF COURSE, THE CONTINUED ADHERENCE TO THE CMM IS CRITICAL FOR US STAYING IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE, THE EPA MANDATE THAT WAS PART OF THE 13 MEMBER CITIES OF THE WATER DISTRICT SEVERAL YEARS AGO.

THERE'S ALSO THE 3.5% MERIT BASED INCREASE FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER OPERATIONS, AND THEN THE $15 MILLION, OR JUST SHY OF $16 MILLION OF CAPITAL. SO JUST IN THE LAST FEW DAYS, RICHARDSON HAS HIT MAILBOXES.

AND IT IS ADDRESSED THE WATER WATER METHODOLOGY TRANSITION TO THE METER EQUIVALENCY.

WE HAVE RECEIVED CALLS AND A LOT OF CALLS, AS HAVE YOU.

AND THERE'S BEEN SOCIAL MEDIA DIALOG ABOUT THIS.

AND SO I WANTED TO JUST TAKE A SECOND FOR THOSE THAT ARE TUNING IN TO THE BUDGET DISCUSSION, BUT MAYBE DIDN'T HAVE THE BENEFIT OF THE PRIOR TWO BRIEFINGS THAT WERE PROVIDED BY WILLDAN.

I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, AS WE TALK ABOUT THESE INCREASES, TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS WHAT'S DRIVING THE NEED FOR THE INCREASES.

AND SO, AS I SAID, IT'S CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, WATER AND WASTEWATER, AND WE HAVE TO KEEP PACE WITH THE INCREASING COST AND OUR LONG TERM INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS. THE DRIVERS ARE THE RISING WHOLESALE WATER COSTS.

WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A SECOND. WE TALKED ABOUT THAT A LOT. HIGHER OPERATING COSTS.

OUR AGING INFRASTRUCTURE, AGAIN, 40% 80% OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS 40 YEARS OR OLDER.

AND THEN OUR MAIN GOAL HERE IS MAINTAINING OUR RELIABLE SYSTEM.

AND WE NEED TO DO THAT THROUGH INVESTING IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO MEET NOT ONLY OUR CURRENT NEEDS, BUT OUR FUTURE NEEDS. A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T THINK ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NECESSARILY OR INITIALLY WHEN THEY THINK ABOUT WATER AND WASTEWATER,

[01:05:06]

SO LET'S TALK ABOUT FIRST WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE THE WHOLESALE RATES THAT WE'RE SEEING FROM THE WATER DISTRICT.

AND SO WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS, IS THE WATER SIDE.

YOU CAN SEE HERE IN 2026 WE'RE PAYING $4.14 PER THOUSAND GALLONS.

THAT'S GOING TO INCREASE TO JUST ALMOST BY, BY $0.90 OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT TWO YEARS TO $5.04 PER THOUSAND GALLONS IS THE CURRENT ESTIMATE. AND YOU SEE THAT CLIMBING HERE BY OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, ALL THE WAY UP TO ALMOST $6 PER THOUSAND GALLONS.

AND SO AS YOU WELL KNOW, THE LARGEST YEAR AFTER YEAR, THE LARGEST GROWING LINE ITEM IN OUR WATER FUND AND OUR SEWER FUND IS THE WHOLESALE COST OF THAT WATER AND THE COST OF TREATING THE SEWER.

AND SO THAT IS A HUGE DRIVER THAT I THINK THE COMMUNITY NEEDS TO REALIZE THAT WE DON'T CONTROL OUR OWN DESTINY WITH RESPECT TO THAT.

THE OTHER IMPORTANT FEATURE, AS I MENTIONED IS THE INFRASTRUCTURE.

THIS IS AN 80, JUST SHY OF AN $84 MILLION CAPITAL PLAN IN WATER WASTEWATER OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.

RECALL, I SHARED THIS WITH YOU WHEN WE WERE HAVING THE BRIEFING INITIALLY WITH WILLDAN.

I THINK, CHARLES, WE PULLED BACK ABOUT $20 MILLION OVER THE FIVE YEARS FROM OUR ORIGINAL CAPITAL PLAN TO HELP SMOOTH OUT SOME OF THE DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS SO THAT WE COULD ON THE, ON THE RETAIL SIDE, TRY TO MITIGATE SOME OF THE INCREASES.

SO WHAT'S BEING PROPOSED, I THINK THAT'S MAYBE A LITTLE BIT CONFUSING TO, TO SOME.

SO WE'RE PROPOSING TO TRANSITION TO A METER EQUIVALENCY RATE STRUCTURE.

YOU CAN SEE NOW THE CURRENT WATER AND WASTEWATER BASE CHARGES ARE $8 PER MONTH EACH.

YOU SEE THE REGIONAL AVERAGE FOR WATER IS JUST OVER $24.

SO THREE TIMES AND THE WASTEWATER REGIONAL AVERAGE IS JUST SHY OF FOUR TIMES THAT, THAT, THAT CHARGE.

WHY IS THIS FAIR? BECAUSE THE BASE CHARGES WOULD BE BASED ON A METER SIZE, WHICH IN MANY REGARDS REFLECTS EACH CUSTOMER'S POTENTIAL DEMAND ON THE SYSTEM.

LARGER METERS ARE GOING TO HAVE A LARGER BASE CHARGE.

SMALLER METER METERS, RESIDENTIAL METERS WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE A LOWER BASE CHARGE.

THE BASE CHARGE IS INTENDED TO DEAL WITH THE FIXED COST OF OPERATING A WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM IN A IN A WASTEWATER CONVEYANCE SYSTEM.

THE USAGE CHARGES, WHICH ARE ALSO GOING UP WILL CONTINUE TO BE BASED ON ACTUAL WATER USE AND CONSUMPTION.

HERE IS JUST A CHART THAT SHOWS HOW THE $8 COMPARES RELATIVE TO OTHER, ARE WATER PROVIDERS, BOTH NORTH TEXAS CITIES, DALLAS WATER UTILITIES AND UPPER TRINITY. YOU CAN SEE ON ON THE LEFT CHART THERE, THAT WATER SIDE, WE ARE THE LOWEST AND BY FAR THE LOWEST IN THE NORTH TEXAS MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT BY $6.40 ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE. SECOND LOWEST. BUT AGAIN, IF YOU LOOK AT THE NORTH TEXAS MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT, LOWEST BY OVER $4.

SO THE PROPOSED METER RATE SCHEDULE HOW WILL THAT IMPACT RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS? APPROXIMATELY 95% OF OUR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS HAVE A THREE QUARTER INCH METER.

THE BASE CHARGE FOR THESE CUSTOMERS WOULD INCREASE FROM $8 TO $9.60 THIS YEAR.

BUT AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE RIGHT, THE CHART, IT WOULD GRADUALLY INCREASE TO $20 PER MONTH BY 2030.

BEGINNING THIS AUGUST. THIS MONTH, CUSTOMERS WILL BEGIN TO SEE THEIR METER SIZE LISTED ON THEIR WATER BILL SO THAT THEY CAN BE INFORMED.

NOW IT'S VERY IMPORTANT. AND TO, POINT OUT THAT QUALIFIED SENIORS WITH THE STANDARD THREE QUARTER INCH OR ONE INCH METER WILL CONTINUE TO PAY THE $8 MONTHLY CHARGE. SO THEY WILL NOT SEE THAT INCREASE THAT I JUST DESCRIBED.

AND THIS IS SENIORS THAT HAVE A LARGER THAN ONE INCH, WHICH I THINK WE SAID WERE LESS THAN YOU KNOW, DIGITS ON A HAND. WE'LL PAY THE STANDARD BASE CHARGE.

AND SO IN FIVE YEARS, THEY COULD BE PAYING AS MUCH AS THE $20 A MONTH.

SO CUSTOMERS THAT ARE ALREADY RECEIVING THE SENIOR SOLID WASTE DISCOUNT WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY ENROLLED IN THIS WATER AND WASTEWATER DISCOUNT.

IF THEY'RE NOT, THEN THEY CAN SIMPLY CONTACT OUR WATER CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND THEY CAN BE ENROLLED. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THE USAGE PORTION OF THIS.

THAT WAS THE METER EQUIVALENCY. LET'S TALK ABOUT THE RATE INCREASE, WHICH YOU CAN SEE HERE TOTAL RIGHT NOW, IF YOU'RE AN AVERAGE CUSTOMER OF 10,000 GALLONS OF WATER AND 5000 GALLONS OF WASTEWATER, AND OUR AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL USE IS ACTUALLY ABOUT 8400 GALLONS.

SO THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE. WE ARE THE SECOND LOWEST PROVIDER IN THE NORTH TEXAS MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT.

YOU CAN SEE AT 12134 THERE YOU CAN SEE EVERYBODY TO THE RIGHT, PLANO BEING THE NEXT HIGHEST IN THE WATER DISTRICT, BUT EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WATER DISTRICT, NORTH TEXAS MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT, EVERYONE ELSE IS GOING IS TO THE RIGHT OF OF WHERE WE STAND.

THIS IS GOING TO BE THE NEW PROPOSED RATE SCHEDULE.

[01:10:03]

AND THIS IS A VERY CONSERVATION ORIENTED RATE STRUCTURE.

IF YOU'RE IN THAT TOP, TOP TIER, YOU'RE PAYING MORE PER THOUSAND GALLONS THAN SOMEONE WHO IS IN THAT LOWEST TIER.

AND SO THERE'S A REAL BENEFIT AND A REAL INCENTIVE TO CURB WATER USAGE AS YOU GET INTO THE, TO THE TENS OF THOUSANDS. AND THEN YOU SEE THE VOLUMES DOWN AT THE BOTTOM FOR THE WASTEWATER.

SO THE ADOPTION SCHEDULE FOR THIS IS OBVIOUSLY THIS SUMMER WE HAD A BIG DISCUSSION.

YOU WILL RATIFY THIS AS PART OF YOUR BUDGET ADOPTION ACTIONS.

AND SO AS SOME OF THE COMMENTARY OUT THERE SAYS, THIS IS NOT FINAL.

IT'S, IT'S STILL PART OF YOUR BUDGET DISCUSSION.

THE NEW RATE WILL TAKE EFFECT ON OCTOBER 1ST, AND THEN CUSTOMERS WILL BEGIN SEEING THE NEW RATE REFLECTED IN THEIR NOVEMBER BILL FOR THE FIRST TIME. WHAT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, BEING VERY TRANSPARENT.

LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE IN THE COMING YEARS. THIS WAS THE FIVE YEAR PLAN. COULD THIS BE TWEAKED. THIS IS THE COMBINED IMPACT OF THE ONTO THE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER FROM BOTH THE WATER AND WASTEWATER. COULD THIS BE TWEAKED AND ARE THESE NUMBERS EXACT? NO. BUT MAGNITUDE WISE, I FEEL STRONGLY THAT THEY'RE IN THAT REALM.

JUST LIKE WE WERE TALKING YESTERDAY AT ME, SIGNALING STRONGLY TO, YOU KNOW, CITY STAFF THAT THEY ARE GOING TO BE SEEING 7.5% INCREASES YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR, THREE YEARS CONCURRENTLY ON THEIR PREMIUMS FOR INSURANCE.

THIS IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE THE PATH FORWARD THAT WE HAVE ON THE WATER WASTEWATER SIDE FOR THE COMBINED RATE.

AND SO HOPEFULLY THAT WILL THAT WILL HELP CLEAR UP ANY CONFUSION THAT'S IN THE COMMUNITY.

I WOULD SAY THAT CITY STAFF STANDS BY READY TO VISIT WITH ANY ANYONE WHO HAS ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ON THAT, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADD SOME CLARIFICATION.

ONE OF THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT YESTERDAY WAS STAFFING. I DIDN'T WANT TO I WANTED TO WAIT UNTIL TONIGHT TO SHOW YOU SOME STAFFING INFORMATION AS IT RELATES TO WATER AND WASTEWATER. THAT'S NOT A, THAT'S NOT A TYPO. THAT IS A JUST SHY OF A 29% VACANCY RATE IN OUR WATER WASTEWATER DEPARTMENT.

EXTREMELY CONCERNING TO ME IS OUR SEWER COLLECTION AND OUR WATER OPERATIONS.

THESE ARE FRONT LINE FOLKS THAT ARE RESPONDING TO BREAKS AND ARE RESPONDING TO BACKUPS ON A DAILY BASIS.

THIS IS A VERY DIFFICULT JOB. THESE ARE, THESE ARE VERY, VERY STRENUOUS, VERY LABOR INTENSIVE JOBS THAT ARE DONE IN THE MOST EXTREME CONDITIONS.

WATER LINES DON'T DISCRIMINATE. IT CAN BE 105 DEGREES OUT OR IT CAN BE 20 DEGREES OUT.

AND THESE FOLKS ARE RESPONDING. THAT'S WHY IT'S SO DIFFICULT TO FIND PEOPLE THAT WANT TO DO THIS WORK.

WE'RE DOING SEVERAL THINGS TO REALLY DOUBLE DOWN ON RECRUITMENT.

I MENTIONED THE CAREER PATH YESTERDAY JUST FOR WATER AND SEWER.

WE HAVE OVER $100,000 SET ASIDE. THIS IS A REAL RETENTION STRATEGY TO SHOW THESE THESE, THESE FOLKS THAT THERE IS A PATH FORWARD HERE.

AND IF THEY CROSS TRAIN AND THEY BENEFIT US MORE SO BECAUSE THEY CAN DO MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS THAT THEY'LL BE REWARDED FOR THAT.

WE'RE ALSO INCREASING THE CERTIFICATION PAY. YOU KNOW, CLASS A, B, AND C LICENSES ON THE WATER OPERATOR SIDE ARE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO, TO ACHIEVE. AND SO WHEN YOU HAVE SOMEONE THAT YOU MENTOR AND YOU HELP ACHIEVE THOSE, YOU DON'T WANT THEM TO LEAVE.

AND SO WE'RE GOING TO, WE'RE GOING TO REALLY STRENGTHEN THE CERTIFICATION PAY AS WELL.

AND THEN WE'RE DISCUSSING RIGHT NOW, BOTH SIGN ON BONUSES, REFERRAL BONUSES, AND IT'S NOT ON HERE, BUT I'M ALSO EXPLORING WITH ERIC AND THE TEAM RETENTION BONUSES BECAUSE I THINK WE, WE, WE LOSE A LOT OF A LOT OF THE MAINTENANCE HELPER TWOS IN THE FIRST 18 MONTHS WHEN THEY COME TO THE REALIZATION OF WHAT THIS JOB ACTUALLY ENTAILS.

AND SO I THINK IF WE CAN HAVE A RETENTION BONUS AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO STAY 2 OR 3 YEARS, MAYBE THAT THAT'LL, THEY'LL BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO THE WORK AND THEY'LL, THEY'LL, THEY'LL BE A STRONGER CONNECTION AND TO THE CITY, TO THE ORGANIZATION. AND WE CAN RETAIN MORE THAT WAY.

BUT THIS IS A, THIS IS NOT SUSTAINABLE EITHER.

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO REALLY FIGURE OUT.

THIS IS AGAIN, IF YOU KNOW ANY, ANY PERSON THAT, THAT THAT, THAT THEY TELL YOU THIS IS THEIR, THEIR IDEA OF THE KIND OF WORK THEY WANT TO DO.

IT'S A RARE BIRD, SO SEND THEM OUR WAY. BUT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S DIFFICULT WORK AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT THAT WE HAVE TO, WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT. AND SO I WANT TO ASSURE YOU, WE'RE, WE'RE DOING THAT THE DRAINAGE FUND WE MENTIONED LAST NIGHT. THERE IS A PROPOSAL FOR THE DRAINAGE FEE TO INCREASE BY $1 PER MONTH TO 725.

COMMERCIAL FEE WILL BE ADJUSTED APPROPRIATELY OR PROPORTIONATELY, AS IT IS BASED ON A 100FT² OF IMPERVIOUS SURFACE.

THE KEY DRIVERS HERE REMAIN. WE'VE TALKED YEAR AFTER YEAR ABOUT OUR INABILITY TO USE THE DRAINAGE FUND TO ACCOMPLISH PROJECTS.

THERE ARE, AND IT'S BEEN IT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST DEEP DIVES.

SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT PROBABLY IN IN YOUR REARVIEW MIRROR.

BUT WE TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE, MANY CONTRACTUAL SERVICES WE PROVIDE USING THE DRAINAGE FUND.

ESCALATION EACH YEAR IS REALLY EATING INTO ANY NEW CAPACITY THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO PUT FUNDS TOWARDS PROJECTS.

[01:15:06]

RECALL, LAST YEAR WE ADOPTED A NEW PLAN. AND SO THAT'S OUR THAT'S OUR RECOMMENDATION TO YOU ON THE DRAINAGE FRONT.

AGAIN, THE WORK PLAN THAT WOULD BE ACCOMPLISHED WITH THIS A FEE INCREASE IS THE WORK PLAN THAT WE DESCRIBE FOR YOU SEVERAL WEEKS AGO ON THE SOLID WASTE FRONT AGAIN.

I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE AGAIN RECOMMENDING A $1 PER MONTH RATE PER MONTH RATE INCREASE ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE.

AND YOU'LL SEE HERE SHORTLY FROM BOB, SEVERAL, SEVERAL DIFFERENT MARKET BASED INCREASES ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE.

AND WE HAVE A SOLID WASTE MASTER PLAN. WE HAD A VERY SUCCESSFUL FIRST YEAR IMPLEMENTING THAT PLAN.

THERE ARE SEVERAL ADDITIONAL PIECES TO THE PLAN BEING SUGGESTED HERE, BUT AS YOU'RE GOING TO SEE FROM BOB, BOTH INFLATIONARY PRESSURES AND RECALL, WE'RE ALSO A MEMBER OF THE NORTH TEXAS MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT COMES TO SOLID WASTE.

RECALL I'M BOB, I THINK THE NUMBER IS AROUND 9.5% THE TIPPING FEE AT MELISSA LANDFILL.

AND SO WE HAVE TO, WE HAVE TO ACCOMMODATE AND AND FACTOR THAT IN.

TO, TO OUR, TO OUR, OUR OUR EXPENDITURE FORECAST.

AND SO THAT'S A DRIVER AS WELL ON THE GO FUND.

WE, THIS IS GOING TO BE THE FIRST YEAR WE START OUT WITH BOTH COURSES OPEN.

I MENTIONED LAST NIGHT, WE'RE SEEING EXTREMELY POSITIVE PLAY IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF ROUNDS WE ARE SUGGESTING GREEN FEE ADJUSTMENTS FOR BOTH COURSES AND FOR CART FEES. QUITE FRANKLY IT'S REALLY EXCITING TO THINK THAT WE'RE GOING TO MAYBE PASS A 100,000 ROUNDS.

THAT'S NOT REALLY GOOD FOR THE GOLF COURSE. THERE'S A REASON WHY WE HAVE 100,000 ROUNDS AND BECAUSE WE'RE AN EXTREMELY GOOD BARGAIN.

THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL COURSES AND WE'RE CHARGING A VERY AFFORDABLE RATE.

AND SO WE'RE NOT TRYING TO PRICE ANYBODY OUT OF PLAYING PARK.

WE'RE JUST TRYING TO STRIKE THE APPROPRIATE BALANCE.

BUT QUITE FRANKLY, IF THE COURSE GETS A LITTLE REST BECAUSE THERE'S A FEW A FEW LESS ROUNDS, IT'S GOING TO BE A GOOD THING FOR THE COURSE OVER THE LONG HAUL. AND BECAUSE WE'RE RIGHTSIZING AND MAKING THE GREEN FEES AND CART FEES MORE APPROPRIATE.

WE DON'T ANTICIPATE NECESSARILY LOSING REVENUE JUST BECAUSE WE LOSE A FEW ROUNDS.

WE'RE ALSO ADJUSTING THE TWILIGHT TWILIGHT HOURS, AND BOB'S GOING TO RUN THROUGH THESE HERE BRIEFLY.

AND THEN OF COURSE VERY EXCITED, VERY, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE MASTER PLAN IMPLEMENTATION FOR BOTH THE MAINTENANCE BARN AS WELL AS THE TITLELESS TRAINING AND CLUB FITTING CENTER. I THINK KEN WAS TELLING ME EARLIER, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THAT FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION NEXT WEEK, ACTUALLY FOR, FOR THE AWARD FOR THE PROJECT. SO MORE TO COME ON THAT HOTEL MOTEL TAXES ARE PROJECTED TO INCREASE JUST OVER A PERCENT OR SO.

THE CENTER RENTAL REVENUES ARE PROJECTED TO INCREASE.

ALI HAS DONE A VERY NICE JOB ON THE RENTALS COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.

AND YOU SEE THERE WE COVERED BOB COVERED LAST NIGHT IN DETAIL THE REVENUE THAT WE EXPECT TO RECEIVE FROM FEE INCREASES.

IF THERE'S ONE THING THAT IS STILL A CURIOSITY TO ME, AND I KNOW WE'RE WORKING ON IT VERY HEARTILY, IS EISEMANN CENTER PRESENTS. YOU MAY RECALL THIS IS THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW THAT WE RECALIBRATED, IF YOU WILL. THE CENTER PRESENTS BUDGET. WE'RE TRYING TO FIND THAT SWEET SPOT TO WHERE WE MITIGATE RISK FROM PRODUCING THE PERFORMANCES OURSELVES.

AND BUT STILL STRIKING A GOOD BALANCE OF BEING ABLE TO OFFER A VERY DIVERSE SET OF PERFORMANCES THAT REALLY RESONATE WITH THE COMMUNITY. THE KEY HERE IS THAT WE'VE GOT TO GET THE REVENUE AND THE EXPENDITURES TO MATCH EACH OTHER, AND WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS TO THAT END. BUT THIS IS SOMETHING, AGAIN, THAT WE'LL, WE'LL WATCH VERY CLOSELY.

THERE IS $180,000 THAT HAS BEEN BUDGETED IN THIS EISEMANN CENTER BUDGET, HOTEL MOTEL BUDGET.

EXCUSE ME FOR EISEMANN CENTER'S 25TH CELEBRATION. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, NEXT SEPTEMBER THE 11TH IS 25 YEARS.

WE WILL BE COMING BACK TO YOU HERE. PROBABLY PROBABLY IN THE SEPTEMBER TIME FRAME THIS YEAR TO START TALKING TO YOU ABOUT KIND OF WHAT WE ENVISION FOR THAT CELEBRATION.

THAT'S A PLACEHOLDER DEPENDING ON HOW WELL THE PERFORMANCES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE 25TH DOES FROM A SALES STANDPOINT, YOU KNOW, WE COULD MITIGATE SOME OR MAYBE EVEN POTENTIALLY ALL OF THAT WAY TO BE DETERMINED.

YOUR ARTS GRANTS ARE STILL FUNDED AT 375. AND THEN OF COURSE, THERE, YOU SEE, LIKE WE DID LAST NIGHT, YOU SEE A SIZABLE DECREASE IN THE HOTEL MOTEL FUND BECAUSE OF THE CHANGES THAT YOU MADE TO THE WILDFLOWER FESTIVAL. AND SO LET ME STOP THERE.

BOB IS GOING TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF A DEEPER DIVE INTO EACH OF THESE FUNDS. AND THEN I'M GOING TO CONCLUDE WITH OUR WITH OUR DEBT DISCUSSION AND OUR PLAN FOR THIS BUDGET YEAR.

[01:20:05]

SO BOB. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING COUNCIL. FIRST FUND WILL GO THROUGH THE WATER FUND FOR FY 27.

WE'RE EXPECTING TO BUDGET THAT AT 128.9 MILLION.

THAT IS AN INCREASE OF ROUGHLY 9 MILLION. DON IS KIND OF ALREADY GONE THROUGH THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THAT.

IT IS YEAR ONE OF THE METER EQUIVALENCY AS WELL AS THE 12% OR 4% WATER AND 12% SEWER INCREASES.

AGAIN, DON'S KIND OF ALREADY GONE THROUGH SOME OF THIS.

WELCOME TO ANSWER MORE QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE THAT LATER.

BUT WE'LL KIND OF MOVE ON. HERE'S THE RATES THAT WE WILL SEE.

ONE THING I DID WANT TO POINT OUT YOU'LL SEE ON TIER FIVE, WHICH IS IN WATER RATES, THERE IS AN ACCELERATION OF TIER FIVE.

THE FIRST COUPLE OF YEARS TO, TO KIND OF WIDEN THAT GAP A LITTLE BIT TO ENCOURAGE A LITTLE BIT MORE CONSERVATION WATER SYSTEM, BUDGET OF WATER, WATER SYSTEM 46 54.6 MILLION.

THAT'S AN INCREASE OF 3.3 MILLION, 3 MILLION OF THAT IS A RESULT OF THE INCREASE IN THE WATER CONTRACT.

250,000 IS BEING ALLOCATED FOR CONTINUED SYSTEM INSPECTIONS FOR LEAD AND COPPER PIPES, AS WELL AS 300,000 FOR STREET AND ALLEY REPAIRS THAT ARE ONGOING WITH UTILITY REPAIRS.

YOU'LL SEE A COUPLE SERVICE VEHICLES BEING REQUESTED THERE FOR SERVICE TRUCKS AND ONE HALF TON PICKUP TRUCK SYSTEM MAINTENANCE.

THIS IS WHERE YOU'LL SEE. SEE, MOM? TOTAL OF 6.2 MILLION.

THAT'S AN INCREASE OF $167,000. SEE, MOM IS BEING BUDGETED AT 3.6 MILLION.

METER SHOP AND CONSTRUCTION. TOTAL BUDGET OF 2.7 MILLION.

THAT'S AN INCREASE OF 141,000. 95,000 OF THAT IS A RESULT OF THE COST OF LARGE METERS.

AS ERIC BRIEFED YOU ON A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, THOSE METER COSTS ARE REALLY ESCALATING.

AND THIS IS A KIND OF AN INFLATIONARY PRESSURE THAT WE'RE FORCED TO ADDRESS.

ADMIN THIS IS WHERE YOU SEE NON-DEPARTMENTAL AS WELL AS PUBLIC SERVICES ADMIN AND CUSTOMER SERVICE 4.8 MILLION.

THIS IS A REDUCTION OF 88,000 CUSTOMER SERVICES BUDGET, 1.7 MILLION GIS, JUST SHY OF 700,000. JUST LIKE WE DO IN THE GENERAL FUND, WE DO BUDGET UPFRONT SOME OF THE SAVINGS FROM PERSONNEL SAVINGS.

YOU'LL SEE IN THE NON-DEPARTMENTAL ABOUT 900 OR $594,000 IN ANTICIPATED SAVINGS FROM ROUGHLY 7.5% VACANCY RATE PUBLIC SERVICE ADMINISTRATION OF 436,000. RIGHT NOW, WE ARE BUDGETING THE FUND AT WE'RE EXPECTING IT TO END AT 91.59 DAYS WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW METHODOLOGY, WE WANTED TO LEAVE THAT EXTRA FUND BALANCE UNALLOCATED JUST AS KIND OF A BUFFER TO SEE HOW THINGS TRACK. YOU'LL SEE THERE THE OPERATING AND OTHER TRANSFERS OUT.

G AND A IS DECREASING ABOUT 15,000. BASED ON OUR MOST RECENT UPDATE OF THE COST ALLOCATION PLAN, FRANCHISE FEES IS BEING IMPACTED BY THE RATE INCREASE ROUGHLY $450,000.

INCREASE THE SUPPORT EVERY YEAR. THE HOTEL, MOTEL OR EXCUSE ME, WATER AND SEWER FUND TRANSFERS US AN AMOUNT TO THE SOLID WASTE FUND IN SUPPORT OF THE PROGRAM. WE ARE GOING TO UNDERTAKE A TWO YEAR STEP DOWN TO, TO KNOW SUPPORT THEIR KIND OF MAKE BOTH FUNDS SELF-SUFFICIENT.

SO THIS FIRST YEAR, IT'S A REDUCTION OF 352,000, NO CHANGE IN THE IT AND TRAFFIC INITIATIVE, SUPPORT FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF OUR LEGACY SYSTEMS DEBT SERVICE IS GOING TO INCREASE ABOUT 1.2 MILLION.

AND THEN AGAIN, WE'RE NOT ALLOCATING ANY OF THE PAY AS YOU GO PROGRAM UNTIL WE SEE WHERE THE FUND IS HEADING.

AS DON MENTIONED, WE ARE RECOMMENDING $1 INCREASE TO RESIDENTS AND THE EQUIVALENT ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE.

THIS GIVES US ABOUT 695,000 ADDITIONAL REVENUE.

ALL OF THAT WILL BE DEDICATED DIRECTLY TO PROJECTS.

SOLID WASTE FUND 20.8 MILLION, WITH ALMOST 97% OF THAT COMING FROM THE COLLECTION FEES THEMSELVES.

THAT IS AN INCREASE OF 468,000. AGAIN, THIS IS A REFLECT OF THE $1 RESIDENTIAL IMPACT PLUS TAX.

IT DOES MAINTAIN THE SENIOR DISCOUNT OF 26%. AND THEN ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE 11.6 MILLION.

THIS DOES HAVE SOME VARIOUS MARKET BASED INCREASES ON THE FRONT LOAD SIDE, KIND OF TO TO KIND OF ADDRESS SOME OF THE SOLID WASTE MASTER PLAN ITEMS. WE HAVE. BABIC TRANSPORT 372,000.

[01:25:06]

AGAIN WE DON'S KIND OF ALREADY GONE THROUGH THIS.

WE'VE TALKED ABOUT WHAT THE NEEDS ARE TO SUPPORT THIS $1 INCREASE.

A LOT OF IT HAS TO DO WITH, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT OUR STAFF ARE MAINLY, YOU KNOW, COMPENSATED AND STAFFING LEVELS STAY UP.

IT DOES INCLUDE A 5.3% INCREASE TO OUR DISPOSAL COST.

IT WAS BEING PROJECTED CLOSER TO NINE. BUT RECENT INFORMATION WE GOT WAS ABLE TO BRING THAT DOWN.

WE WERE ABLE TO ADJUST THE BUDGET IN ACCORDANCE WITH THAT.

WE DO TARGET ABOUT AN 80% RECOVERY OF RESIDENTIAL COSTS.

THAT'S ANOTHER DRIVER. WHEN WE LOOK AT RESIDENTIAL COSTS, WE LOOK AT ALL THE COSTS, INCLUDING DEBT SERVICE, FRANCHISE FEES, G&A, ALL THOSE THINGS. AND WE TRY TO ACCOMPLISH AN 80% COST RECOVERY FROM THE FEES DIRECTLY ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE.

AGAIN, WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT FRONT LOAD. LAST YEAR WE DID COMPACTORS AND A COUPLE OTHER THINGS.

FRONT LOAD. WE'RE LOOKING AT A 6% ON AVERAGE INCREASE FOR BOTH FRONT LOAD CONTAINERS AND FRONT LOAD COMPACTORS, THOSE OTHER MISCELLANEOUS CHARGES, THOSE ARE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE ADDITIONAL PICKUP, IF SOMEBODY HAS A THREE TIMES A WEEK PICKUP AND THEY CALL IN FOR AN ADDITIONAL PICKUP, THAT'S MORE COSTLY THAN JUST ADJUSTING THEIR SERVICE LEVEL TO FOUR DAY PICKUP.

SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT GAP IS IS STILL APPROPRIATE.

TOTAL EXPENDITURES OF 20.7 MILLION 20 ALMOST 21% OF THAT IS FOR THE LANDFILL FEES THEMSELVES.

COMMERCIAL 4.5 MILLION. THIS IS AN INCREASE OF 327,000.

THIS DOES THIS IS IMPACTED BY THE 3.5% MARKET ADJUSTMENT AND THE COST, THE, THE LIVING WAGE.

BUT THERE ARE ALSO A COUPLE POSITIONS WE ARE PROPOSING TO ADD IN THIS REALM.

LANDFILL FEES, AGAIN, 6%. THAT'S A COMBINATION OF THE TONNAGE AS WELL AS THE RATE INCREASE THAT WE'RE SEEING.

AND THEN A REPLACEMENT OF. I GUESS THAT'S SIX VEHICLES OR FIVE VEHICLES AND VARIOUS CONTAINER SIZES FRONT LOAD, THREE FOUR YARD, THREE YARD COMPACTORS, ALL THOSE KIND OF THINGS.

COMMERCIAL AGAIN PART OF OUR. METHODOLOGY OR BEHIND OUR REASONING BEHIND THE RATE INCREASE WE WANT TO, WE'RE PROPOSING THE ADDITION OF ONE HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATOR TO SUPPORT ADDING AN ADDITIONAL ROUTE.

WE FEEL THAT WITH SOME OF THE GROWTH WE'VE SEEN IN MULTI DEVELOPMENT MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENTS, IT'S JUST TIME TO ADD THAT EXTRA ROUTE. SO THIS WOULD INCLUDE A HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATOR AND THEN A VEHICLE.

AND THAT VEHICLE $450,000 WILL BE SUPPORTED OUT OF THE CAPITAL RESERVE FUND THAT WE'VE FUNDED THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS AS A PAY AS YOU GO PROGRAM.

THE OTHER POSITION IS A BUSINESS ANALYST. IT KIND OF COINCIDES WITH THE CONVERSION OF OUR UTILITY BILLING SYSTEM.

THIS WOULD HELP WITH THAT TRANSITION, AS WELL AS TO DEDICATE SOMEBODY TO COORDINATE COMMERCIAL BILLINGS AND ACT AS KIND OF A CUSTOMER SERVICE REP FOR OUR CUSTOMER.

COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS. RESIDENTIAL 8.5 MILLION $472,000 INCREASE.

A LOT OF THAT IS ON THE PERSONNEL SIDE. AGAIN, TO SUPPORT THAT PAY PLAN ADJUSTMENT.

LANDFILL FEES 117,000 $118,000. INCREASE THE COMPOSTING PROGRAM PROGRAM.

THE PROGRAM IS INCLUDES 300 235,000 FOR THE COMPOSTING PROCESSING FEES THAT IS REQUIRED AS PART OF THAT PROGRAM.

AND THEN THE RECYCLING CONTRACT IS GOING TO INCREASE ABOUT 23,000 TO JUST SHY OF 590,000.

THAT IS THE COST OF RECYCLING THOSE MATERIALS, WHICH THEN WE GET A REBATE BACK, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN OUR REVENUE PROJECTIONS ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE. WE ARE SUGGESTING ADDING TWO LOADERS FOR BOTH.

BABIC AND RECYCLING. THIS IS GOING TO BE OFFSET BY REDUCING CONTRACTUAL LABOR AND BRINGING THOSE IN HOUSE.

THIS WILL HELP ENSURE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SAFETY AND, AND STANDARDS OF DELIVERY.

THIS WAS ALSO RECOMMENDED AS PART OF THE SOLID WASTE MASTER PLAN.

SOLID WASTE ADMINISTRATION. THIS IS MOSTLY NON-DEPARTMENTAL INCLUDES A RESERVE FOR THE CAREER LADDER PROGRAM THAT DON MENTIONED.

WORKERS COMP IN THIS FUND IS INCREASING ROUGHLY $55,000, AND WE'RE SEEING ABOUT A $67,000 INCREASE FOR OUR INSURANCE RELATED TO THE VEHICLES AND SUCH WE HAVE OUT THERE. THE RADIO SYSTEM. WE BENEFITED RECENTLY BY THE REPLACEMENT OF THE RADIO SYSTEM AS IT MOVES OUT OF THE WARRANTY PERIOD.

WE'RE GOING TO START SEEING THOSE MAINTENANCE COSTS NOW OR THOSE ANNUAL MAINTENANCE COSTS NOW HIT THE FUND.

WE'RE EXPECTING THAT TO INCREASE BY ABOUT 38,000 FOR NEXT YEAR.

THE BUDGET, THE, THE FUND IS BUDGETED AT 90.99 DAYS.

IN COMPLIANCE WITH OUR 90 DAY MINIMUM FUND POLICY, AGAIN A IS GOING TO DECREASE SLIGHTLY AS A RESULT OF THE UPDATE OF OUR MOST RECENT COST

[01:30:08]

ABOUT $91,000 FROM FY 26 GOLF FUND, $4.5 MILLION.

ALMOST ALL THE REVENUE IN THIS FUND COMES FROM THE OPERATION AT CHERYL PARK.

THERE'S SOME SMALL ONES LIKE INTEREST EARNINGS THAT MAKE UP THE REMAINING AMOUNT, BUT MOST OF IT COMES FROM THE GREEN FEES, CART FEES AND OTHER FEES THAT CHERYL PARK CHARGES 3.1 MILLION IN GREEN FEES.

THIS IS AN INCREASE OF 672,000, BASED ON 110,000 ROUNDS, AS WELL AS ROUGHLY $450,000 IN RATE INCREASES THAT WE'RE PROPOSING.

CART FEES OF 1.1 MILLION. THIS IS AN INCREASE OF 235,000.

INCLUDES ROUGHLY 60,000 IN ADDITIONAL REVENUE FROM A FEE INCREASES.

HERE YOU'LL SEE A LIST OF THE INCREASES. BUT IN SUMMARY, REALLY WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS A $2 INCLUDING TAX INCREASE ON COURSE, ONE $3 INCREASE ON COURSE TWO INCLUDING TAX AND THEN A $1 INCREASE UP ON THE CART SIDE WHEN YOU INCLUDE TAX.

THIS DOES MAINTAIN THE 2,025% RESIDENTIAL DISCOUNT AS WELL AS THE 35% JUNIOR SENIOR RESIDENT DISCOUNT.

THE TWILIGHT CHANGE AFTER COMPARING TO OTHER CITIES OR OTHER COURSES IN OUR AREA MOST OF THOSE COURSES HAVE JUST ONE GREEN ONE TWILIGHT.

WE CURRENTLY HAVE TWO WE'RE RECOMMENDING GOING TO ONE AND THAT'S STARTING AT 1:00 AND CHANGING TO 2:00 DEPENDING ON DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME.

BUT THAT WOULD MAKE US KIND OF IN LINE WITH WHAT OTHER CITIES ARE DOING AND KIND OF YOU KNOW, KIND OF RIGHTSIZING THAT, IF YOU WILL. TOTAL EXPENDITURES OF 4.4 MILLION.

32% FROM PERSONNEL. WHAT WE WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS THE GOLF CART RENTAL OF 175,000.

THIS IS AN INCREASE OF JUST A LITTLE OVER $12,000.

THE ELECTRICITY IS INCREASING 58,000 158,000.

THAT IS A RESULT OF THE INCREASED ACTIVITY OUT THERE, INCREASED IRRIGATION, AS WELL AS ANTICIPATION OF THE OPENING OF THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY AND PRACTICE FACILITY OUT THERE. $100,000 IS BEING ADDED TO CART PATH AND FENCE REPAIRS IS KIND OF AN ENHANCED MAINTENANCE TO UPKEEP TO, TO KEEP UP WITH THE THE ACTIVITY OUT THERE.

CREDIT CARD FEES. AGAIN, AS A RESULT OF THE HIGHER ACTIVITY, WE'RE ANTICIPATING INCREASING ABOUT 46,000.

AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE SOME FUNDING SET IN THERE FOR THE PAY PLAN ADJUSTMENTS AND CAREER LADDER.

ROUGHLY $70,000 IS INCLUDED IN THE OPERATING FUND AS A PAY AS YOU GO MAINTENANCE STRATEGY FOR CART PATH REPAIRS 20,000 25,000 FOR FENCE REPAIRS AND 25,000 FOR GREEN CAR GREEN COVERS AND SOD. AS FAR AS THE REPLACEMENT OF THE CAPITAL EQUIPMENT, THERE'S MULTIPLE PIECES OF EQUIPMENT THAT YOU SEE OUT THERE BEING LISTED AS REPLACEMENT.

THIS IS BEING CASH FUNDED FROM THE YEAR END TRANSFERS TO THE CAPITAL RESERVE FUND.

THESE ARE ALL CASH FUNDED REPLACEMENTS. IT DOES INCLUDE SOME FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS, $4,500 FOR SOME IMPROVEMENTS AT THE PAVILION AND $15,000 FOR SOME CARPET REPLACEMENTS OUT AT THE GOLF COURSE.

RECENTLY, WE ADOPTED A FINANCIAL POLICY. WE PREVIOUSLY WERE AT 30, BUILDING TO 60.

WE'RE NOW AT 60 DAYS. THIS BUDGET DOES ACCOMPLISH THAT AT 60.99 DAYS.

IT DOES INCLUDE $243,000 INCREASE TO THE G AND A THIS IS A TWO YEAR STEP INTO FULL COST RECOVERY FROM THIS FUND.

AND THEN THE GOLF CAPITAL RESERVE IS CURRENTLY BUDGETED AT 836,000.

THIS IS WHERE WE DO PAY FOR THE REPLACEMENT CAPITAL OUT THERE.

THERE MOWERS AND SUCH, BUT THERE ARE ALSO SOME FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS, IRRIGATION WELL IMPROVEMENTS AND OTHER CLUBHOUSE AND PAVILION IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE HAVE ON OUR RADAR FOR ADDITIONAL REPLACEMENTS. HOTEL MOTEL TAXES 99.0 MILLION 57% COMES FROM THE TAXES, 40% FROM THE OPERATION OF THE ISOM CENTER AND ICEMAN PRESENTS.

THIS IS AN INCREASE OF 478,000. TAXES ARE INCREASING 66,000, MOSTLY FLAT.

WE'RE SEEING SOME HOTELS STRUGGLE THIS YEAR. SOME ARE DOING SOME RENOVATIONS.

SO UNTIL WE SEE A FULL RECOVERY, WE'RE GOING TO KIND OF KEEP THAT ON THE FLAT SIDE.

AS A CONSERVATIVE PROJECTION EISEMANN CENTER 3.7 MILLION.

THIS DOES INCLUDE THE EISMANN CENTER. THE EISMANN CENTER PRESENTS AS WELL AS THE PARKING GARAGE INCLUDES ROUGHLY $24,000 IN FEE CHANGES, AS WELL AS THE $180,000 FOR THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION.

HERE'S A LIST OF THE FEES THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY PROPOSING FOR THE HOTEL MOTEL FUND OR THE EISMANN CENTER.

[01:35:04]

THOSE THINGS ARE GETTING VERY EXPENSIVE TO REPLACE. AND THIS IS GOING TO ALLOW US TO KIND OF REPLACE THOSE MORE OFTEN BY HAVING A REVENUE SOURCE FOR THAT.

THERE'S ALSO SOME RECOVERY TIME FOR STAFF TIME THAT'S BEING DEDICATED TO EACH ONE OF THOSE PERFORMANCES.

WE ARE PROPOSING INCREASING THE, THE PREPAID BUYOUTS OR THE BUYOUTS THAT ARE PART OF THE CONTRACT.

TO MATCH THE PARKING FEES THAT WE ADOPTED LAST YEAR.

SO THIS IS JUST MAKING THOSE IN LINE WITH WHAT OTHER PARKING FEES ARE CURRENTLY BEING CHARGED ON THE EISMANN CENTER FACILITY FEE. WE RECENTLY LAST YEAR ACTUALLY INCREASED THAT TO $3.

THERE WERE A COUPLE CATEGORIES THAT DID NOT GET INCLUDED IN THAT INCREASE.

AND THIS IS JUST TO BRING THOSE OTHER ITEMS IN LINE WITH THAT $3.

AND THESE ARE FOR CONSIGNMENT TICKETS AND COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS.

THIS IS JUST, AGAIN, JUST TO BRING THEM IN LINE WITH THE OTHER REVENUE OR OTHER FEES THAT WE CHARGE.

HOTEL MOTEL EXPENDITURES OF 9.1 MILLION 38.6 OF THAT IS PERSONNEL.

EISMANN CENTER ITSELF 6.7 MILLION. THAT'S $490,000 INCREASE.

IT DOES INCLUDE SUPPORT OF THE PAY PLAN ADJUSTMENTS AS CORE PLAN SUPPORT.

IT ALSO INCLUDES 67 OR $67,000 FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF A VAN AND AN EQUIPMENT TRAILER.

THE EISMANN CENTER PRESENTS IS TIED TO THE REVENUE.

THEY'RE IN LINE THIS YEAR, AS DON WAS MENTIONING, THAT HAS BEEN A GOAL OF OURS TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE TWO PROGRAMS ARE THOSE TWO SIDES OF THE PROGRAM ARE IN LINE WITH EACH OTHER. AND THEN THE ICEMAN CENTER GARAGE IS 709,000.

THIS IS AN INCREASE OF 10,000. AND IT DOES COVER BOTH THE ICEMAN CENTER GARAGE AS WELL AS THE AUXILIARY GARAGE ACROSS THE STREET THERE, THE ADMIN AND CAPITAL RENEWAL 1.3 MILLION, A SLIGHT INCREASE OF 72,000.

THIS DOES INCLUDE 375,000 FOR THE ARTS GRANTS AND IS SEEING THE BENEFIT OF THE $305,000 SAVINGS FROM THE RESTRUCTURING OF THE WILDFLOWER FESTIVAL. THIS FUND AGAIN, WE JUST RECENTLY ADOPTED A FINANCIAL POLICY FOR THIS 60 DAYS IS OUR TARGET.

WE'RE CURRENTLY AT 176 DAYS. AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO KEEP THIS FUND STRONG GOING FORWARD REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE FUND BALANCE POLICY IS, AS LONG AS WE'RE ABOVE THAT FUND BALANCE POLICY, THE G AND A, AGAIN, SLIGHT DECREASE.

AND IT'S BASED ON THE RECENTLY ADJUSTED OR RECENTLY COMPLETED COST ALLOCATION PLAN.

AT THAT POINT, I'LL STOP IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE WE GET INTO THE CAPITAL AND DEBT PLANNING.

COUNCIL MEMBER BARRIOS THANK YOU MAYOR. HEY, DON, ON SLIDE 18 YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT YOU SAID 18.

YES, SIR. OKAY. I KNOW GOING BACK, I'VE BEEN HOLDING ON TO THE QUESTION.

NO WORRIES. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THOSE SEWER AND MAINTENANCE TYPE POSITIONS THAT REMAIN HIGH VACANCY RATE. JUST CURIOUS HOW ARE THOSE FILLED? ARE THOSE FILLED BY? DO WE GO OUT AND OUTSOURCE SOME OF THIS WORK? IS THIS OVERTIME WHEN WE EXPERIENCE THESE VACANCIES? BOTH IT'S OVERTIME AND BUT IT'S ALSO AUGMENTING EVEN EMERGENCY REPAIR WORK WITH CONTRACTUAL SERVICES, CONTRACTUAL SERVICES. OKAY. THAT THAT IS DEFINITELY CONCERNING, AS I'M SURE I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE.

SO I THINK IT'S GREAT THAT OBVIOUSLY IT'S ON YOUR RADAR FOR A GOOD REASON.

WHAT ONE OF THE THINGS THE SIGN ON BONUS AND REFERRAL BONUS IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU CAUGHT FROM OTHER CITIES IS, IS SOMETHING WE'RE DOING. I KNOW SOME OF OUR, LIKE OTHER SERVICES HAVE, WE'VE ACTUALLY USED BOTH OF THESE STRATEGIES SUBSEQUENT TO COVID WHEN WE HAD YOU KNOW, AN EXODUS WE, AT ONE TIME WE HAD 120 VACANCIES OR SO. WE USED THE SIGN ON BONUS, I THINK PROBABLY FOR ABOUT MAYBE 18 MONTHS OR SO.

EVEN THE REFERRAL BONUS, PROBABLY FOR ABOUT THAT TIME.

THE SIGN ON BONUS WAS MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE THAN THE REFERRAL.

AND LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, VERY SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING A RETENTION BONUS AS WELL, SO THAT WHEN WE HAVE SOMEBODY START AS A MAINTENANCE HELPER TWO, WE GET THEM TRAINED UP, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE OF AN INCENTIVE FOR THEM TO MAYBE STAY AT THE TWO.

AND THEN MAYBE EVEN THE, YOU KNOW, THE THREE YEAR MARK OR 2 OR 3 YEAR MARK DEPENDING.

BUT I, I THINK ALL OF THOSE, ALL OF THOSE ARE ON THE TABLE AND WILL LIKELY BE IMPLEMENTED HERE WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.

[01:40:05]

I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT WHAT IT TAKES TO DO THAT JOB IN MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT OR IN THOSE CONDITIONS.

SO I'M SURE THOSE ARE HARD TO FILL IN SIMILAR VEIN, ONE OF THE THINGS MENTIONED FOR VARIOUS SLIDES WAS THIS CAREER LADDER PROGRAM.

AND I'M TRYING TO RECALL, I'M SURE AT SOME POINT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT, I'M STRUGGLING TO, TO REMEMBER IS THAT SOMETHING NEW OR IS THAT SOMETHING YOU'VE HAD GOING A LONG TIME.

CAN YOU KIND OF GIVE ME A 32ND KIND OF OVERVIEW? NO, IT'S BRAND NEW AND BE FULLY IMPLEMENTED WITH THE FUNDING WITH THIS APPROVAL.

THIS IS THIS IS ABSOLUTELY YEAH. SO THE WHOLE IDEA IS THAT WE WANT TO INCENTIVIZE STAFF TO DIVERSIFY THE KINDS OF CERTIFICATIONS AND LICENSING AND EXPERIENCE THAT THEY HAVE ON THE JOB.

AND SO LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, IN THIS CASE, IF WE HAD A BIG WATER ISSUE, IT WOULD BE NICE IF THE SEWER COLLECTION FOLKS COULD HELP THE WATER OPERATORS.

AND SO THE WHOLE, THE WHOLE CAREER PATH OR PROGRESSION PROGRAM IS TRYING TO HELP YOUNGER EMPLOYEES MAYBE ACHIEVE HIGHER LEVELS OF CERTIFICATIONS AND LICENSING SOONER THAN THEY OTHERWISE WOULD BY, BY CREATING A VERY SPECIFIC PATHWAY. I ALSO THINK IT'S A GREAT RECRUITING TOOL BECAUSE IF YOU CAN SIT DOWN WITH SOMEBODY IN AN INTERVIEW AND SAY, THIS COULD BE YOU IN THREE YEARS IT'S AN EVEN MORE OF AN INCENTIVE FOR THEM TO CHOOSE US OVER SOMEBODY, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER ORGANIZATION THAT PERHAPS CAN'T GIVE THEM AS MUCH CLARITY AROUND THAT. AND I ALSO THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A VERY GOOD RECRUITING TOOL TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, TAKE SOMEONE WHO IS MAYBE AT A CROSSROADS IN TERMS OF DECISION, THEIR NEXT STEP AND, AND REALLY KIND OF POINT THEM IN A VERY SPECIFIC DIRECTION AND SAY, IF YOU STAY WITH US, HERE'S HOW, HERE'S WHERE YOU CAN BE. AND THE NEAT THING ABOUT IT IS IT'S VERY DEFINED CRITERIA.

AND ONCE YOU ACHIEVE THAT CRITERIA, YOU BECOME ELIGIBLE FOR ADDITIONAL SET OF CERTIFICATION OR LICENSING PAY OR EVEN COMPENSATION.

AND SO THERE'S NOT A LOT OF AMBIGUITY ABOUT HOW YOU GET SOMEWHERE IN YOUR CAREER.

IT'S, IT'S VERY WELL DEFINED. I LOVE THE IDEA.

AND ON TOP OF PROVIDING PEOPLE AN OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF MOVE UP AND ACROSS IN THEIR CAREER, I THINK IT'S A OBVIOUSLY SOME EFFICIENCIES BUILT IN, HOPEFULLY COST SAVINGS FROM US FROM A CITY, SOME EFFICIENCIES BUILT INTO THAT. SO I, I LOVE IT.

SO I WISH YOU GREAT LUCK WITH THIS PROGRAM. THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER.

THANK YOU. I'LL JUST ADD SINCE SINCE COUNCIL MEMBER BROUGHT THAT UP, I'LL ADD TO IT.

I THINK THIS IS A GREAT PROGRAM FOR THE CAREER PATH INCENTIVE AND INCREASING THE CERTIFICATE CERTIFICATION PAY AS WELL.

THAT'S A VERY DIFFICULT POSITION AND IT'S, IT'S A NEEDED POSITION.

IT GOES BACK TO TRAINING AGAIN FOR THE BASIC NEEDS THAT EVERYONE REQUIRES.

SO I DEFINITELY SUPPORT THAT. MY MAIN QUESTION IS I KNOW THAT WE'VE HAD AN INCREASE IN HOTEL MOTEL TAX OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.

AND I WAS WONDERING IS THIS WOULD THIS BE A TIME TO POTENTIALLY ASK TO PUT IN THE BUDGET TO ADD TO THE CULTURAL ARTS GRANT FUNDING? I KNOW A LOT OF OUR I KNOW A LOT OF OUR ART GROUPS ARE, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING TO STRUGGLE AND THERE'S INCREASING ACROSS THE BOARD.

AND I JUST WANTED TO SEE IF THIS WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO SEE.

MAYBE ADDING, I KNOW THAT WE USED TO ADD $25,000 INCREMENTS.

NOT SAYING TO ADD THAT MUCH, BUT WOULD IT BE A TIME TO POTENTIALLY LOOK AT THAT AS AN OPTION AT THIS TIME? SURE. THAT'S A POLICY DECISION. THE ONLY FEEDBACK I WOULD GIVE IS THAT CURRENTLY WE ARE WE ARE UTILIZING ABOUT $80,000, $88,000 OF FUND BALANCE THIS YEAR. AND WE, WE TALKED ABOUT JUST KIND OF, I DON'T THINK THAT'S AN IMPRUDENT THING TO DO.

IT'S GOING TO VERY WORTHWHILE KIND OF ONE TIME NON-RECURRING KIND OF EXPENSES.

BUT SO THAT WOULD BE THE ONLY THING I WOULD SAY THAT WOULD TAKE THAT NUMBER, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER YOU RAISED IT BY, THAT WOULD TAKE THAT $88,000 PLUS WHATEVER YOU WOULD RAISE THE ARTS GRANTS BY.

IF THAT'S A GOAL FOR PERHAPS YOU KNOW, THE FUTURE, THEN MAYBE WE CAN START YOU KNOW, EARLIER IN THE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, MAYBE LIKE FY 28, FOR INSTANCE, AND TRYING TO FACTOR THAT IN AND BRINGING YOU SOME IDEAS WITH POTENTIAL, YOU KNOW, FOR POTENTIAL OPTIONS ON HOW TO ACCOMPLISH THAT. WE KNOW.

ON THE FLIP SIDE, WE DO HAVE, YOU KNOW, APPROXIMATELY TWO AND A HALF TIMES THE NUMBER OF DAYS OF FUND BALANCE IN THE HOTEL MOTEL FUND.

BUT IF YOU'RE GOING TO INCREASE THE, JUST KNOW, IF YOU'RE GOING TO INCREASE THE GRANT, THAT'S LIKELY GOING TO BE A RECURRING THING.

BECAUSE YOU PROBABLY WON'T PULL IT BACK THE NEXT YEAR. SO THAT WOULD BE JUST ONE MORE YOU KNOW, ONE MORE, ONE MORE ONGOING EXPENSE, A FIRST LIEN, IF YOU WILL, AGAINST THE BUDGET NEXT YEAR.

BUT, BUT AGAIN, THAT'S REALLY A POLICY DECISION.

IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN, I THINK WE CAN, WE CAN FACTOR IT IN AND WE JUST MEAN A LITTLE BIT, A LITTLE BIT MORE

[01:45:05]

SURE. AND I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THAT TOO. AND EVEN IF WE DID CONSIDER AN INCREASE AND, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, IF THINGS TURN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION, WE COULD ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, PULL IT BACK.

I KNOW IT'S, IT'S RARE THAT WE DO THAT. YOU KNOW, I'VE WATCHED IT OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS, BUT I JUST THINK THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT YOU KNOW, OUR COMMUNITY WOULD WOULD DESIRE.

SO I'D LIKE TO CONSIDER THAT AS AN OPTION. AND IF IT'S NOT JUST AN ADD ON IT COULD POTENTIALLY BE AN INCENTIVE LIKE WE'VE GENERALLY DONE IN THE PAST WHERE EVERY TWO YEARS WE GIVE IT ABOUT A $25,000. EVEN IF WE INCREASE THAT INCENTIVE PROGRAM, THAT COULD BE AN OPTION TEMPORARILY, BUT JUST WANT TO THROW IT OUT THERE TO CONSIDER YOU KNOW, IF WE, IF WE CAN.

THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER CORCORAN. THANK YOU.

JUST REMIND ME SOME OF THE NEW FEES FOR THE ICEMAN CENTER.

THESE ARE THESE FEES INTENDED TO BE SORT OF A TEMPORARY REPLACEMENT, OR IS THIS SOMETHING WE'RE LOOKING AT SAYING ON AN ONGOING BASIS? YEAH. THESE WOULD BE ONGOING. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER.

THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION.

I SHOULD HAVE ASKED THIS QUESTION LAST YEAR. I SLIDED I DID NOT ASK YOU, BUT THIS YEAR ALMOST I DID NOT ASK YOU.

SLIDE 16. 16. ONE SIX.

ONE. SIX. ONE. SIX.

DOES THE SEWER RATE THAT 11,000 AND MORE. THAT'S $12 PLUS CHANGE UP.

SO THAT HOW DOES THAT COMPARE WITH OTHER CITIES.

YOU KNOW FROM 0 TO 11,000 IS $6.90. BUT BUT IF THERE ARE LIKE SENIOR CITIZENS, IF THEY HAVE GRANDCHILDREN COMING IN, THEY'RE GOING TO BE USING 11000 PLUS GALLON FOR THAT MONTH SOMETIMES SO.

AND OF COURSE, IF SOMEONE HAS TWO CHILDREN, THREE CHILDREN, THEY'RE GOING TO BE USING 11,000 PLUS.

IT'S KIND OF A HARD QUESTION TO REALLY ANSWER AS FAR AS A COMPARISON ON THE RATE.

THERE ARE OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE LOWER RATES, BUT THEY HAVE THE HIGHER BASE CHARGE.

WHEN WE LOOK AND COMPARE WHAT OUR AVERAGE BILL IS COMPARED TO THOSE, WE ARE ON THE LOWER END.

I THINK THE ONE ILLUSTRATION WE SHOWED WAS ON THE WATER SIDE, BUT THAT IS A SIMILAR STORY ON THE SEWER SIDE THAT WE ARE ON THE LOWER SIDE AS FAR AS WHAT THE AVERAGE BILL IS AND COUNCILMAN WITH THAT EXAMPLE, FOR INSTANCE, WITH THE SENIOR EXEMPTION IN THAT EXAMPLE YOU JUST USED, THAT SENIOR IS GOING TO BE PAYING $8 A MONTH FOR 12 MONTHS.

THE VOLUME IMPACT WOULD ONLY BE THAT ONE MONTH WHEN THEY MAYBE THEY HAD THE GRANDCHILDREN IN, YOU KNOW, IN TOWN FOR THAT MONTH. AND SO THEY'RE GOING TO OVERALL, RELATIVELY SPEAKING, THEY'RE GOING TO.

WHAT WE'VE PROVIDED, PARTICULARLY FOR THE SENIOR RESIDENT IS GOING TO BE MUCH MORE BENEFICIAL.

TO BOB'S POINT, IT'S THAT BASE THAT'S GOING TO BE SO MUCH LOWER.

IF, IF IT'S AN ANOMALY IN THE, IN THE CONSUMPTION OR CONSUMPTION HERE, BUT IN THE DISCHARGE IF IT'S AN ANOMALY, IT'LL BE A ONE TIME THING THAT THEY HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT. IT'S MUCH BETTER I THINK, THAN HAVING A HIGHER BASE AND A LITTLE LOWER CONSUMPTION.

I MEAN, THIS IS THE THING SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, I GET QUESTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, I WAS PAYING THIS AND THIS AND SUDDENLY MY BILL WENT UP LIKE THIS JUST BECAUSE OF THAT ONE SINGLE ITEM, IT GOES DISPROPORTIONATELY HIGHER.

JUST BECAUSE THE RATE WE DON'T HAVE ANY BREAKDOWN, LIKE FROM 11,000 TO 20,000 GALLONS FOR THE SEWER, YOU DON'T HAVE THAT. YOU HAVE JUST 0 TO 11, THEN 11 TO UP.

AND THAT'S AND THAT'S A DOUBLE RATE. SO I THINK THAT COULD BE EASILY 50, $60 SOME MONTH.

I JUST THOUGHT THAT I ASKED YOU THIS THING. AND WOULD IT BE BETTER IF I ASKED THIS THING LAST YEAR? AND THIS YEAR I WOULD HAVE BETTER ANSWER. BUT NEXT YEAR I THINK I'LL HAVE A BETTER ANSWER IF YOU CAN GIVE ME SOME INFORMATION.

YEAH, DEFINITELY WE CAN. WE'LL DO SOME SURVEY WORK TO SEE IF THERE IF THERE'S MORE OF A GRADUAL INCREASE IN THE TIERS.

BUT BOB, DO YOU HAVE ANY OR DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY SENSE OF HOW MANY IN A RESIDENTIAL.

I MEAN, I'M, I, IF I RECALL, THE VAST MAJORITY OF RESIDENTIAL ACCOUNTS ARE GOING TO HAVE LESS THAN 11,000.

YEAH. I MEAN, BECAUSE THAT MEANS YOU'RE PROBABLY USING 33 PLUS THOUSAND.

YEAH. WELL, YOU KNOW THIS BETTER THAN ANYBODY. I MEAN, YOU'RE PROBABLY USING 30. IT'S A HOUSEHOLD THAT'S USING 30,000 PLUS GALLONS OF WATER TO

[01:50:07]

SO MOST, MOST HOUSEHOLDS, PARTICULARLY, YOU KNOW, SENIORS OR, OR EMPTY NESTERS ARE GOING TO PROBABLY STAY UNDER THAT 11,000 GALLONS.

YEAH. THE AVERAGE HOME IN RICHARDSON USES ABOUT LESS THAN LESS THAN 78,000 GALLONS A MONTH.

77,800. YEAH. YEAH. SO THAT'D BE A LOT. SO SO THE MAJORITY OF THE TIER TWO ARE GOING TO BE COMMERCIAL OR KIND OF SUPER RESIDENTIAL USERS. YEAH. I MEAN, THIS IS SOMETIMES IT DEPENDS ON HOW MANY KIDS, HOW MANY CHILDREN, HOW MANY, HOW MANY, YOU KNOW, TAKING SHOWER. IT REALLY ADDS UP.

11,000. SO, YOU KNOW, FOR PEOPLE 11,000, IF SOMEONE TAKE A REGULAR SHOWER EVERY DAY, IT'S A SIMPLE MATH, LIKE 1100 GALLON PER DAY. HOW MANY TIMES YOU FLUSH.

BUT JUST THE THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, IN THE FUTURE, IF YOU CAN HAVE THAT THING COMPARISON OTHER CITY, THEN WE CAN HAVE I CAN HAVE BETTER ANSWER TO THE COMMUNITY.

SOMETIMES IT'S JUST BACKING UP WITH THE DATA.

COUNCIL MEMBER JUSTICE. THANK YOU, MR. MAGNER.

YOU ADDRESSED IT YESTERDAY WITH RESPECT TO THE GENERAL FUND, BUT FOR THE HOTEL MOTEL TAX FUND EXPENDITURES EXCEED REVENUES.

I THINK IT HAS TO DO WITH FUND BALANCE. BUT CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT FOR SOMEONE WHO MIGHT NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THERE.

YEAH, SURE. SO THE EXPENDITURES ARE ABOUT $88,000 GREATER THAN THE PROJECTED REVENUE.

WE HAVE IN, IN THE, IN THE HOTEL MOTEL FUND, WE HAVE BOB, YOU SAID YESTERDAY 170 IN THE HOTEL MOTEL FUND, THE 180, 180 DAYS OF FUND BALANCE IN, IN EXCESS OF THE THE NEW POLICY.

AND SO WE HAD SOME KEY EXPENDITURES, NON-RECURRING ONE TIME EXPENDITURES THAT WERE RELATED TO MAINTENANCE OF THE ICEMAN CENTER THAT WE REALLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GOT IN.

SO WE ARE, WE ARE DRAWING DOWN THE FUND BALANCE BY ABOUT $88,000.

BUT AGAIN, WE HAVE YOU KNOW, WE HAVE 100 PLUS DAYS OF FUND BALANCE MORE THAN REQUIRED BY THE POLICY THAT YOU RECENTLY ADOPTED AND WAY BEYOND ANY KIND OF BEST PRACTICE THAT WE WOULD, YOU KNOW, DRAW DOWN. SO.

YEAH, NO, I APPRECIATE THE EXPLANATION. I THINK, AND JUST LOOKING AT THE RAW NUMBERS CAN BE CONFUSING. SO I APPRECIATE THAT. ALL RIGHT.

GOOD. ALL RIGHT. SO WRAPPING UP HERE WITH OUR FY 20 2027 PROPOSED DEBT PLAN.

THIS TIES OFF TO THE PRESENTATIONS THAT YOU'VE RECEIVED DURING THE DEEP DIVE.

CHARLES DID A GREAT JOB OF SUMMARIZING THIS, BUT YOU CAN SEE A GRAND TOTAL OF ABOUT 50, JUST SHY OF $55 MILLION IN FIRST YEAR OF THE 2026 BOND PROGRAM, WE'RE LAUNCHING ON SEVERAL KEY INITIATIVES.

YOU SEE THE CEO'S FOR BOB'S COVERED HERE ON BOTH WATER, WASTEWATER AND SOLID WASTE.

AND SO AGAIN, THESE NUMBERS ARE EASILY RECONCILED WITH THE PRESENTATIONS THAT WE PROVIDED YOU THROUGH THROUGH YOUR DEEP DIVES.

BLESS YOU. SO WE ALWAYS LIKE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS TABLE, THE TYPICAL TAXPAYER IMPACT STATEMENT WHICH YOU SEE THERE ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE IS WHAT THE SERVICES COSTS HERE IN FY 26 AND WHAT THEY'RE ANTICIPATED TO COST IN FY 27.

AND SO YOU CAN SEE A GRAND TOTAL OF ABOUT $230 MORE FOR THE SAME SERVICES YEAR OVER YEAR.

BUT AGAIN, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT SOME OF THE RESIDENTIAL OFFSET THAT'S OCCURRING, FOR INSTANCE, IN SOLID WASTE. THESE ARE STILL VERY, VERY COMPETITIVE FEES FOR THE SERVICES THAT ARE BEING PROVIDED. A QUESTION WAS POSED AND I ANSWERED IT EARLIER, BUT JUST TO CLARIFY YOU KNOW, IF, IF THE TAX RATE WAS ADOPTED TO ACHIEVE OR TO REALIZE ALL OF THE INCREMENT, THAT ESSENTIALLY THE EFFECT OF THAT WOULD BE THE 230 WOULD BE 269.

AND SO THAT'S HOW YOU WOULD INTERPRET THAT MOVING MOVING FORWARD.

THIS IS THIS IS JUST A QUICK SUMMARY HERE. THE CURRENT RATE OBVIOUSLY AT THE TOP THERE, THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE IS, IS OF COURSE THE HIGHEST RATE THAT YOU CAN ADOPT WITHOUT A MANDATORY ELECTION.

SO JUST SHOWING THAT FOR COMPARATIVE PURPOSES, YOU SEE THAT THE INCREASE TO THE AVERAGE HOMEOWNER WOULD BE ABOUT $27 IF YOU DID INCREASE.

IF YOU DID, IF YOU DID DECIDE TO ADOPT THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE.

IN TERMS OF NEXT STEPS YOU'LL, YOU'LL BE ASKED TO TAKE TWO ACTIONS LATER THIS EVENING.

YOU DO HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU A RECOMMENDATION FOR YOUR MOTION FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING, YOU SEE THAT IT'S TO, TO ADOPT THE PROPOSED TAX RATE AS IT STANDS TODAY.

AGAIN, WE PROVIDED YOU WITH TWO MOTIONS. IF YOU DECIDE THAT YOU WANT TO ADOPT THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE I'M SORRY.

IF YOU DECIDE YOU WANT TO MAKE A MOTION WITH THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE, THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU'RE ADOPTING THE RATE.

IT JUST SIMPLY MEANS THAT YOU CAN HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AFTER EVEN AFTER I FILED THE BUDGET IT WOULD ALLOW YOU TO GO DOWN TO THE RATE THAT'S RECOMMENDED HERE,

[01:55:03]

AND THEN WE'LL HAVE THE TAX RATE HEARING ON THE 14TH AND THE BUDGET HEARING AND ADOPTION ON THE 21ST.

I WILL LEAVE THIS UP. BUT AGAIN, YOU HAVE THIS AND THE ALTERNATIVE AT YOUR PLACE.

AND THEN MAYOR AT THIS TIME WE'D BE HAPPY. THE WHOLE TEAM IS HERE AND AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? MAYOR PRO TEM HUTCHENRIDER.

[C. CONSIDER SETTING A PUBLIC HEARING ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2026, ON THE PROPOSED TAX RATE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026-2027. ]

EVALUATION FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026 2027. COUNCIL MEMBER CORCORAN.

MAYOR I'VE DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION. WHENEVER WE GET TO THE TOPIC OF THE MOTION.

NO PROBLEM. COUNCIL MEMBER BARRIOS I SECOND. ALL RIGHT.

SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY MAYOR PRO TEM HUTCHENRIDER, A SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER BARRIOS AND DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION.

COUNCIL MEMBER CORCORAN. I THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR.

I FEEL LIKE WE WE HAVE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 22ND TO MAKE THE ACTUAL DECISION ON WHICH ONE WE CHOOSE.

I DON'T KNOW WHY WE WOULDN'T PRESERVE THE FLEXIBILITY OF DISCUSSION FOR ANY NUMBER OF SORT OF HEARINGS, PUBLIC STATEMENTS BY OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS, OTHER THINGS THAT COULD HAPPEN DOWN THE LINE.

THAT'S JUST I MEAN, JUST MY THOUGHT. I MEAN, THE POLICY DISCUSSION OF WHETHER WE USE THE INCREMENT OR NOT IN AND OF ITSELF IS SOMETHING I FEEL LIKE IT'S WORTH HAVING ONCE WE HAVE MORE CLEAR PICTURE OF WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, NEW NUMBERS, ETC., ETC., ETC.. COUNCIL MEMBER JUSTICE. YEAH, I MEAN, I AGREE WITH COUNCILMAN CORCORAN FOR PURPOSES OF JUST PRESERVING IT.

I'M OKAY. MOVING FOR THE HIGHER RATE SO THAT WE CAN WE HAVE BOTH OPTIONS IF WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE UNIMAGINABLE INFLUX OF RESIDENTS ENCOURAGING US TO GO WITH THE HIGHER TAX RATE.

YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD PRESERVE THAT OPTION. I DOUBT THAT WILL HAPPEN. BUT GIVEN THE DYNAMICS IN AUSTIN AND, YOU KNOW, THE THE THINGS THAT COUNCILMAN CORCORAN IS, IS ALLUDING TO, I THINK THAT THE PRUDENT THING TO DO WOULD BE TO CALL IT THE HIGHER RATE.

AND THEN, YOU KNOW, IF NOTHING CHANGES BETWEEN NOW AND THEN, WE COULD PASS THE LOWER RATE.

MAYOR PRO TEM HUTCHENRIDER. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE ALWAYS DONE IS TRIED TO BE FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE AND FISCALLY CONSERVATIVE AT THE SAME TIME. FOR EIGHT YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN ON THE COUNCIL, WE'VE ALWAYS TRIED TO, TO SAY, HERE'S OUR BUDGET, HERE'S WHAT WE NEED IN OUR BUDGET AND NOT ATTEMPT TO GO OVER THAT.

SO I, I HEAR THE FLEXIBILITY DISCUSSION, BUT I FEEL STRONGLY THAT WE NEED TO SET THE RATE AT 0.54.

WE'RE RAISING QUITE A NUMBER OF FEES APPROPRIATELY, SO I'M IN SUPPORT OF THE FEES RAISING, BUT I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD DO. I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD EVEN BEGIN TO CONSIDER RAISING THE TAX RATE UP TO THE, THE LOST THE NUMBER OF THE 0.555555.55. I THINK IT'S A I THINK IT'S A DIFFICULT ECONOMY. I THINK IT'S A IT'S A DIFFICULT TIME TO EVEN CONSIDER IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM.

AND SO I THINK WE NEED TO, I WOULD, I WOULD IMPRESS THAT WE WOULD TAKE A STRONG MESSAGE TO OUR CITIZENS AND SAY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE PUT A BUDGET TOGETHER. WE KNOW IT'S A TIGHT BUDGET.

WE'VE REALLY TRIED TO BE CONSERVATIVE. WE TRIED TO BE VERY APPROPRIATE WITH, WITH OUR SPENDING.

WE CAN ACCOMPLISH THAT WITH THE 0.54, NOT THE .55.

AND SO EVEN THOUGH I DO HERE THE FLEXIBILITY ISSUE AND I'M NOT ARGUING AGAINST THE FLEXIBILITY, I JUST THINK WE NEED TO TAKE A STRONG STANCE AND KEEP IT AT THE .54218.

BECAUSE AGAIN, IT'S NOT JUST THE TAX RATE, IT'S ALSO ALL THE FEES THAT WE'VE INCREASED AS WELL.

SO THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO MAKE THE MOTION OF THE .54218.

THANK YOU. I JUST WANTED TO EXPLAIN MYSELF. NO PROBLEM.

I'LL JUST WEIGH IN THAT I AGREE WITH THE SENTIMENT THAT OPTION ONE WOULD BE THE THE APPROPRIATE WAY FOR US TO GO.

WE'VE HAD A STAFF THAT'S WORKED VERY HARD TO BUILD A BUDGET AROUND THAT NUMBER, AND I SEE NO REASON WHY WE SHOULD BE TELEGRAPHING ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT NUMBER.

BUT THAT SAID, I'LL CONTINUE WITH THE CONVERSATIONS WE HAVE.

COUNCIL MEMBER THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. I DO AGREE.

I THINK WE NEED TO BE STRAIGHTFORWARD WITH OUR TAXPAYER.

I KNOW THINGS ARE CHANGING AND FLUID WITH THE WITH WITH THE LAWMAKERS IN AUSTIN.

[02:00:02]

I THINK WE NEED TO BE STRAIGHTFORWARD TO THEM INSTEAD OF PLAYING THE GAMES WITH THE GAMES THAT SOMEBODY ELSE IS TRYING TO PLAY.

SO IF WE NEED ADDITIONAL FUNDS SOMEWHERE, SOME SOMEDAY IN THE FUTURE WILL BE VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD TO OUR PUBLIC ALSO.

I THINK THEY WILL NOT HESITATE TO HELP THEMSELVES, OURSELVES HERE.

SO. BUT IF WE IF WE TRY TO DO OTHER WAY, THEN WE'RE GOING TO START LOSING, LOSING CREDIBILITY SLOWLY.

SO I THINK I RATHER GO WITH THE BUDGET THE WAY IT HAS BEEN PREPARED AND LOOKS THAT WE CAN, WE CAN, WE CAN MANAGE THE WAY WE HAVE. IT IS.

BUT DOWN THE ROAD, IF WE, IF THINGS GET CHANGED OTHER WAY, WE WILL COMMUNICATE WITH OUR TAXPAYERS AT THAT TIME.

THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER. CORCORAN. JUST AS A QUICK, QUICK COMMENT AND UNDERSTANDING THAT WE'VE WE'VE ALWAYS, ESPECIALLY WE'VE ALWAYS AS LONG AS AGAIN, AS LONG AS I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL, I KNOW AS LONG AS COUNCIL MEMBER, MAYOR PRO TEM HAS BEEN ON COUNCIL, WE'VE ALWAYS TRIED TO GO FOR THE LOWEST, LOWEST POSSIBLE TAX RATE THAT WE CAN WHILE MAINTAINING A BUDGET THAT DOES WHAT IT HAS TO DO. JUST A QUICK REMINDER THOUGH. I MEAN, WE DID MY VERY FIRST BUDGET ON HERE.

I REMEMBER THAT WE DID VOTE JUST TO KEEP THAT HIGHER RATE, TO KEEP THAT DISCUSSION OPEN.

AND THEN EVENTUALLY WE DID VOTE FOR THE LOWER RATE, BUT IT WAS JUST JUST A POINT OF CLARIFICATION.

COUNCIL MEMBER BARRIOS. THANK YOU MAYOR. LAST NIGHT, I, I DEFINITELY, I KNOW I MADE THE COMMENTS, SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF, YOU KNOW MY CONCERNS WITH WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION AND LEAVING MONEY ON THE TABLE. I FORGET THE EXACT WORDING AND PHRASING I USED LAST NIGHT, BUT I WAS DEFINITELY LEANING TOWARDS USING THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE.

I THOUGHT ABOUT A LOT ABOUT IT AND MY MIND WAS TOWARDS USING THE CURRENT RATE.

BUT I ALSO UNDERSTAND THE ARGUMENT OR THE, I GUESS THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS WHICH IS WHERE I WAS LEANING LAST NIGHT.

SO I JUST WANT TO SAY I AM, I AM OPEN TO INCREASING THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE.

IF THAT'S WHERE, IF I END UP BEING A SWING ON THAT, I WILL, I'D BE OPEN TO THAT.

DON, WILL YOU CONFIRM YOU GO SLIDE 69. MY READING OF THIS IS THAT $27 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO RATES.

THAT WOULD BE JUST FOR THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE FOR FY 27.

YOU HAVE THE PRIOR YEAR INCREMENT AS WELL. OKAY.

AND THAT'S WHERE YOU GET THE TOTAL OF $39. AND AS YOU SEE HERE, THE RATE WOULD ONLY BE 54845.

THE ACTUAL RATE TO CAPTURE ALL THE AVAILABLE INCREMENT IS THAT FIVE, FIVE, 5.55.

SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT $39 IMPACT TO THE AVERAGE HOMEOWNER IN RICHARDSON.

BETWEEN THE TWO BETWEEN THE RAISE TAKING FULL INCREMENT AND LEAVING SOME ON THE TABLE.

OKAY. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER. JUSTICE. YEAH.

I MEAN, I JUST DISAGREE WITH THE SENTIMENT THAT IT'S SOMEHOW A BAIT AND SWITCH THAT WE WOULD CALL THE HIGHER RATE AND THEN APPROVE A LOWER ONE. I MEAN, WE HAVE TO HAVE AN ENTIRE WEBSITE OPEN FOR THE PUBLIC TO COMMENT AGAIN.

I WOULD BE STUNNED IF WE HAD SOMEONE WHO SAID, LET'S RAISE THE RATE TO THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE RATE, YOU KNOW, THAT WE CAN. BUT AGAIN, I THINK THE ENTIRE POINT OF A PUBLIC HEARING IS TO RECEIVE FEEDBACK.

I'M GUESSING THE ONLY WE, I THINK WE SEE RECEIVE LIKE TWO COMMENTS EVERY TIME WE DO THIS.

AND IT'S USUALLY TO DO THE LOWER TAX RATE. BUT AGAIN, GOD FORBID SOMETHING HAPPENED TO COUNCILMAN CORCORAN'S POINT BETWEEN NOW AND SEPTEMBER WHEN WE CALL THIS AND WE NEED TO CHANGE OUR THINKING ON IT.

YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE IT BEFORE. IT'S NOT A BAIT AND SWITCH.

AND AGAIN, I JUST DISAGREE WITH THAT SORT OF SENTIMENT.

I THINK WE LEAVE OUR OPTIONS OPEN HERE FROM THE PUBLIC AND THEN MAKE A DECISION.

COUNCIL MEMBER. DORIAN THANK YOU. I, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY, YOU KNOW, I AGREE ALWAYS GETTING VOTER VOTER OPINION IN MOST MOST SENSES, BUT ULTIMATELY I FEEL LIKE THAT MIGHT BE JUST BUY MORE TIME WHEN ULTIMATELY, I THINK MOST RESIDENTS ARE GOING TO CHOOSE THE LOWER RATE GENERALLY.

SO I WANT TO GO AHEAD AND SUPPORT TO MAINTAIN THE CURRENT RATE CURRENTLY, BECAUSE THAT IS BASICALLY WHAT WILL MOST LIKELY END UP WITH.

THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. WE DO HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.

I GUESS I'M GOING TO JUST ADD ONE OTHER THING BEFORE WE TAKE THIS VOTE, WHICH IS I'M, I'M ACTUALLY VERY HAPPY WITH THIS PARTICULAR BUDGET YEAR.

I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME SENTIMENT PUT OUT THERE ABOUT WHAT A TOUGH BUDGET YEAR THIS WAS OR ANY OF THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.

[02:05:01]

AND I THINK WE'VE GOT WHAT BY ALL MEANS IS ALLOWING US TO BE ABLE TO BE NEAR THE TOP IN COMPENSATION IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES. AND I THINK IT'S A LOT THAT WE CAN BE PROUD OF.

AND THIS IDEA AND THIS CONSTANT CONCERN ABOUT HOW INCREDIBLY TOUGH THIS BUDGET YEAR IS, I THINK IS DOESN'T NECESSARILY REFLECT EXACTLY WHAT WHAT IT IS, AT LEAST NOT BY MY STANDARDS HAVING HAVING SERVED DURING TIMES WHEN THE BUDGETS WERE GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION.

THIS YEAR, EVEN COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, IS A MUCH EASIER YEAR AND THAT WE ARE INCREASING OVERALL OUR PROPERTY TAX REVENUES AND THE GENERAL FUND REVENUES BY TWO POINT SOMETHING PERCENT VERSUS I THINK IT WAS LIKE 0.8 OR 0.6% LAST YEAR.

SO THE TEAM'S DONE A GREAT JOB. WE'VE GOT MORE REVENUE THAT WE CAN WORK WITH THIS YEAR, NOT AS MUCH AS WE'D LIKE, BUT HOPEFULLY WE'LL DO AN EVEN BETTER JOB NEXT YEAR BASED ON ALL THE GREAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORK.

SO WE'VE GOT A MOTION BY MAYOR PRO TEM HUTCHENRIDER, A SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER BARRIOS.

ALL IN FAVOR. AND THOSE OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT. THAT PASSES 4 TO 3 WITH COUNCIL MEMBER CORCORAN, COUNCIL MEMBER BARRIOS AND COUNCIL MEMBER JUSTICE VOTING AGAINST.

WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE FOR TODAY'S WE NEED TO SET THE PUBLIC HEARING DATE.

OH. I'M SORRY. LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO TO THAT ITEM.

SO WE HAVE ITEM C, WHICH IS TO CONSIDER SETTING A PUBLIC HEARING ON SEPTEMBER 14TH, 2026 ON THE PROPOSED TAX RATE.

IS IT THAT ONE. I APOLOGIZE. YES. OKAY. MR. MAGNER, DO WE JUST NEED A MOTION? AND SECOND. GO AHEAD. OKAY. MAYOR PRO TEM HUTCHENRIDER.

[D. CONSIDER SETTING A PUBLIC HEARING ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2026, FOR THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2026-2027 RICHARDSON MUNICIPAL BUDGET. ]

MOTION BY MAYOR PRO TEM HUTCHENRIDER. A SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER.

JUSTICE. ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION? ALL RIGHT.

ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

WITH NO FURTHER BUSINESS. THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT A SPRY 8:07 P.M..

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.