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GOOD AFTERNOON, AND WELCOME TO THE MAY 2ND, 2023 NEWBURN BOARD OF ALDERMAN WORK SESSION.
MAY ASK ALDERMAN ROYAL, IF YOU WOULD MIND GIVING US A PRAYER.
FATHER, IN JESUS' NAME, WE THANK YOU FOR YET ANO, UH, ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY THAT WE CAN COME TOGETHER AS A BOARD FOR OUR CITY.
THIS WORKSHOP, WE PRAY THAT YOUR WILL WILL BE DONE, OUR DELIBERATIONS WILL BE FAIR AND JUST, AND THAT OUR, UH, WISDOM WILL COME FROM YOU.
WE PRAY FOR GUIDANCE FROM YOUR SPIRIT TODAY, AND THAT WHATEVER WE DO IN WORD OR DEED, IT WILL BRING YOU GLORY.
THIS IS OUR PRAYER IN JESUS NAME.
[1. Discussion and Review of Fiscal Year 2023-24 Budget.]
RIGHT, MR. HUGHES.NUMBER ONE, DISCUSSION AND REVIEW OF PHYSICAL YEAR 2324.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND ALDERMAN.
UH, WE'RE HAPPY TO MEET WITH YOU TODAY TO, UH, PRESENT OUR PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FY 2324.
AND SO IN FRONT OF YOU, YOU HAVE A, A BIG, THICK NOTEBOOK.
AND SO I JUST WANT TO GET YOU A LITTLE COMFORTABLE WITH THIS.
AND SO, UH, THERE ARE A VARIETY OF TABS.
ONCE YOU OPEN THE BOOK, THE, UH, THE GOLD TABS OR THE SUMMARY REPORT REPORTS, THERE'LL ALSO BE INFORMATION WITH THE MAJOR GENERAL FUND AND THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS, UH, AS WELL AS OTHER FUNDS.
THE TAN TABS ARE GONNA TALK ABOUT OUR STAFF POSITIONS, DUES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS, TRAVEL AND TRAINING.
THEN THEY'RE GONNA GET INTO EACH DEPARTMENT.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH ALL OF THESE AS, UH, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON.
IF AT ANY TIME YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO, UH, TO REACH OUT AND SPEAK UP.
UM, SO AS WE WERE, AS WE WERE WORKING ON THE BUDGET, WE LOOKED AT A COUPLE OF GOALS THAT WE HEARD FROM THE GOVERNING BOARD OVER TIME.
AND OF COURSE, I THINK THE MAIN ONE IS TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THE OUTSTANDING ESSENTIAL SERVICES TO OUR CITIZENS, AS WELL AS OUR CUSTOMERS WHO, WHO DON'T LIVE WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS.
UH, WE HEARD FROM YOU THAT YOU WANTED US TO CONSIDER, UH, INCLUDING THE SECOND PHASE OF THE SALARY STUDY.
WE ALSO LOOKED AT A COLA AND A MERIT IN HERE.
WE LOOKED AT UPDATING THE LAND USE ORDINANCE.
UH, WE LOOKED AT FUTURE CITYWIDE PLANNING, AND WE ALSO TOOK INTO ACCOUNT TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION ENHANCEMENTS.
NOW, ALL THIS IS ASIDE FROM A R P A FUNDS THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY DOING A VARIETY OF OTHER PROJECTS WITH, AND IT DOES NOT INCLUDE ANYTHING HAVING TO DO WITH STANLEY WHITE RECREATION CENTER OR THE ELEVATOR PROJECT.
SO WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND TURN TO OUR, UH, SUMMARY REPORT, AND YOU WILL SEE THE THE OVERALL BUDGET SUMMARY.
THE ADOPTED FY 23 BUDGET, INCLUDING ALL OF THE FUNDS, WAS $139,940 AND 32 CENTS.
UH, THE, THE TOTAL PROPOSED BUDGET, UH, COMBINED, WE'RE LOOKING AT $150,434,665, AND THAT'S BROKEN DOWN.
THE WATER OPERATING FUND, $12,733,000.
THE SEWER OPERATING FUND, 13,786,000 ELECTRIC OPERATING FUND, 60,954,000.
THE SOLID WASTE OPERATING FUND, 4,374,000.
UH, THERE ARE SOME SMALLER FUNDS THAT WE HAVE.
THE EMERGENCY NINE ONE ONE TELEPHONE SYSTEM THAT'S AT 156,000.
THE, THE EMPLOYEE'S BENEFIT INSURANCE, WE ARE SELF-INSURED, SO THAT'S WHAT THAT NUMBER IS FROM 7.8 MILLION.
THE MUNICIPAL SERVICE DISTRICT $421,000 SPECIAL POLICE REVENUE, 21,900 PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, THAT'S $10,000.
AND THAT'S FOR A FACADE IMPROVEMENT GRANT.
THE MPO PLAN GRANT, 305 $5,455 E SHARING WITH THE US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, $36,050 IN E SHARING WITH THE US DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY, THAT'S 8,000.
SO WE'RE GONNA GO INTO MORE DETAIL ON THESE THINGS, BUT THIS BRINGS A A, A TOTAL OF $150,434,000.
SO THE NEXT TAB YOU'LL SEE IS STAFF POSITIONS.
MR. HUGHES, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE WHO ARE TRYING TO FOLLOW ALONG, BEING THAT WE DIDN'T GET THIS INFORMATION AHEAD OF TIME, WOULD YOU MAKE SURE THAT I AM READING WHAT YOU ARE READING, IF YOU COULD POINT IT OUT, UM, AS YOU'RE GOING ALONG, I SAW, I KNOW YOU WERE READING FROM THIS, THE BUDGET SUMMARY.
BUT, UM, IF YOU'LL JUST MAKE SURE THAT I'M FOLLOWING WITH YOU, WHATEVER HEADING YOU ARE UNDER, I SURE WILL.
SO ON THE NEXT TAB YOU'LL SEE STAFFING AND POSITION HISTORY REPORT, AND IF YOU'LL LOOK AT THE TOP GOLD PART, THE, THE THIRD COLUMN OVER THAT IS FY 2223 FUNDED POSITIONS.
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BELOW THAT THE AMOUNT OF POSITIONS THAT EACH DEPARTMENT HAS.AT THE VERY BOTTOM, YOU'LL SEE THE TOTAL POSITIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY FUNDED IN THIS FY FISCAL YEAR, AND THAT'S 499 POSITIONS.
IF YOU'LL LOOK AT THE FAR RIGHT TAB, THIS IS THE RECOMMENDED POSITIONS FOR THE NEXT BUDGET YEAR.
SO WE ARE, WE ARE PROPOSING ADDING TWO POSITIONS TO THIS, THIS COMING YEAR'S BUDGET.
ONE OF THOSE POSITIONS IS IN HUMAN RESOURCES, AND THAT IS FOR AN ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT POSITION.
WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT WHEN WE GET TO, UH, THE HR.
AND THE SECOND POSITION THAT WE ARE PROPOSING IS, UM, HEAVY EQUIP EQUIPMENT OPERATOR AND THE PUBLIC WORKS GARAGE.
AND THE BIGGEST REASON WE'RE SEEING THAT IS WE'RE SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY ON OUR, ON OUR BIG TICKET VEHICLES LIKE FIRETRUCKS AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT, WHERE WE SEND, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A MECHANIC.
UH, WE SEND THOSE THINGS OUT AND IT COSTS SO MUCH IN LABOR TO, TO GET SOMETHING FIXED.
IF WE HAVE SOMEONE IN HOUSE THAT CAN FIX THOSE, WE'LL REDUCE OUR OVERALL COSTS.
SO THAT SHOULD ACTUALLY BE A FLUSH, RIGHT? IT, IT SHOULD BE.
WE, WE HOPE IT'S GONNA BE A MORE POSITIVE.
THE NEXT TAB OVER, YOU WILL SEE DOS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS BUDGET.
THIS GIVES YOU A GENERAL IDEA BY EACH DEPARTMENT, SOME OF THE DOS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS CITYWIDE THAT WE ARE PAYING FOR.
I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH THE LIST, BUT I'LL GIVE YOU SOME EXAMPLES.
UH, SO UNDER THE GOVERNING BOARD, YOU'LL SEE THAT, UH, WE ARE A MEMBER OF THE SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT FOUNDATION.
SO WE, WE PAY A CERTAIN AMOUNT EACH YEAR TO THAT.
WE'RE A MEMBER OF THE NEWBURN AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, THE NORTH CAROLINA LEAGUE OF MUNICIPALITIES, THE NORTH CAROLINA BLACK ELECTED MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS, UH, ASSOCIATION, THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES, UH, UH, ICMA, NORTH CAROLINA METRO MAYOR'S COALITION, UH, AND, AND A FEW OTHERS.
AND SO THAT'S BASED FOR EACH DEPARTMENT.
SO YOU'LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK THROUGH THAT.
THE NEXT TAB OVER, YOU'LL SEE THE TRAVEL AND TRAINING.
AND SO THIS IS AN ALL-ENCOMPASSING LIST OF TRAVEL AND TRAINING THAT DEPARTMENTS HAVE REQUESTED AND THAT WE ARE PROPOSING.
THEN THE NEXT TAB IS CAPITAL EXPENSES.
SO WHAT PAGE IS THAT? FOSTER 19.
SO WE ARE GONNA GO THROUGH THIS LIST ON PAGE 19.
SO CITYWIDE, WE DEPARTMENT HEADS REQUESTED 11.6 MILLION IN CAPITAL EXPENSES, AND WE ARE RECOMMENDING ABOUT 8.2 MILLION.
AND ON PAGE 19, AT THE VERY TOP, THIS IS BROKEN DOWN BY DEPARTMENT IN ADMINISTRATION.
WE'RE LOOKING AT $20,000 FOR A NEW VIDEO SERVER FOR THE PEG TV CHANNEL UNDER TECHNOLOGY $375,000 FOR THE VIRTUAL SYSTEM HOSTING INFRASTRUCTURE.
IT'S A TECHNICAL REFRESH, UH, AS EVERYONE IS AWARE, O OVER THE YEARS, EVERYONE'S GETTING AWAY FROM PAPER AND, AND TYPEWRITERS AND EVERYTHING IS COMPUTER AND VIRTUAL.
AND SO THAT'S HOW THE CITY OF NEWBURN OPERATES, AND WE CONTINUE TO ADVANCE IN OUR TECHNOLOGY.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS, IS NEEDED IN ORDER TO CONTINUE TO OFFER THE SERVICES TO OUR CITIZENS AND POLICE.
WE'RE RECOMMENDING 10 POLICE CRUISERS AT A COST OF $621,500 UNDER FIRE.
WE'RE RECOMMENDING TO REPLACE TWO MOTORS FOR THE RESCUE BOAT AT $60,000, REPLACING THE 2006 PUMPER QUINT WITH A FIRE ENGINE PUMPER.
THE BILL TIME IS APPROXIMATELY TWO TO FOUR YEARS, AND THE COST TO REPLACE THAT IS $800,000 PROPOSING TO REPURPOSE AN EXISTING RESERVE ENGINE TO BE UTILIZED AS A FIRST OUT ENGINE.
IF A TEMPORARY FIRE STATION, PROBABLY 43 CORRIDOR IS APPROVED ON DOWN THE LINE, THAT COST US $350,000.
AND WE'RE PROPOSING TO REPAIR, UH, AND REPAINT A REFURBISHED BODY OF, OF, OF ONE OF THE FIRE ENGINES IN THE AMOUNT OF $50,000.
SO TOTAL CAPITAL FOR FIRE RESCUE IS 1.26 MILLION FOR PARKS AND RECREATION, PROPOSING $20,000 FOR SECURITY CAMERAS AT, AT SOME OF THE PARKS, A BOX GREATER AND THE SKID STEER ATTACHMENT FOR $22,000.
LANDSCAPING RAFFLE AND SKID STEER ATTACHMENT FOR 7,500 AND SKATE PARK BILL FOR $150,000.
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AND RECREATION CAPITAL REQUESTED IS $199,500 FOR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES FOR GI S, WE'RE REQUESTING 35,000 TO REPLACE A VEHICLE IN PUBLIC WORKS REQUESTING $45,000 FOR A A LIFT UPGRADE AND AN ALIGNMENT HEAD IN THE GARAGE.$25,000 FOR A TIRE BALANCING MACHINE, $50,000 TO REPLACE THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL CONTROL BOXES AT GEORGE AND BROAD AND OAKS AND SOUTH GLENBURN INTERSECTIONS, $350,000 TO REPLACE THE EXISTING STREET SWEEPER.
$20,000 TO REPLACE EXISTING ASPHALT ROLLER, $75,000, UH, TO, UH, GET A COMPACT EXCAVATOR WITH ATTACHMENTS, $130,000 TO REPLACE, UM, THE LEAF ELECTRIC TRUCK, $25,000 FOR A GOOSENECK EQUIPMENT TRAILER AND $250,000 IN SIDEWALK AND CURVE IMPROVEMENTS.
TOTAL REQUESTED FOR PUBLIC WORKS IS $970,000.
AND FOR THE TOTAL GENERAL FUND, THAT'S 3.481 MILLION IN CAPITAL REQUEST ON THE WATER SIDE CAPITAL REQUEST, $50,000 FOR VARIOUS REHABILITATION PROJECTS, $48,000 TO REPLACE A PICKUP TRUCK.
$18,000 TO REPLACE A MOWER, $350,000 FOR VARIOUS WATER SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS, 154,000 FOR A BACKHOE REPLACEMENT, AND 63,000 FOR A PICKUP TRUCK REPLACEMENT.
TOTAL FOR WATER DISTRIBUTION IS $683,000 OF THEIR REQUEST.
SEWER, $150,000 FOR A FILTER CONTROL VALVE REPLACEMENTS, $350,000 FOR BIOSOLIDS, UH, PROCESSING AND SLUDGE BUILDING REHABILITATION, $250,000 FOR VARIOUS SEWER SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS.
$250,000 FOR LIFT STATION REHAB, $16,000 FOR SEWER CAMERA UPGRADE, $50,000 FOR REPLACEMENT OF LOCATING EQUIPMENT.
$125,000 FOR A DUMP TRUCK REPLACEMENT.
$60,000 FOR A FOR WELL $120,000 FOR TWO PICKUP TRUCKS AND $150,000 FOR PUMP ENGAGEMENT STORAGE FACILITY EDITIONS.
UH, TOTAL SEWER CAPITAL 1.46 MILLION FOR ELECTRIC.
REPLACE A VEHICLE, $200,000 FOR KELL ROAD EXPANSION, $450,000 TO REPLACE A LINE TRUCK.
$80,000 TO REPLACE A SERVICE TRUCK.
$400,000 FOR THE OLD TOWN RIVER CROSSING SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS.
$250,000 FOR THE GREENBRIAR SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS.
$20,000 TO REPLACE FUSION SPLICER.
CHARLES, WHAT IS THAT? FIBER? FIBER, UH, SOME FIBER, UH, ITEMS, $60,000 TO REPLACE A A FORD TRUCK.
$400,000 FOR METER DATA MANAGEMENT AND $80,000 TO REPLACE TWO ADDITIONAL VEHICLES.
TOTAL ELECTRIC REQUEST IS 2 MILLION IN CAPITAL FOR SOLID WASTE, $200,000 TO REPLACE A ROUTE TRUCK AND $75,000 TO REPLACE A CHIP TRAILER TOTAL FOR SOLID WASTE.
275,000 GRAND TOTAL OF ALL FUNDS FOR CAPITAL REQUESTED IS 7.2 MILLION.
SO IF YOU'LL TURN TO THE NEXT TAB, WHICH IS FEES AND CHARGES.
WE HAVE A, A WIDE VARIETY OF FEES AND CHARGES THAT, UM, WE CHARGE FOR A VARIETY OF SERVICES.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON THE ITEMS THAT DEPARTMENT HEADS HAVE MADE REQUEST TO CHANGE, AND THOSE ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN RED ON YOUR SHEET AND UNDER FIRE, WHICH IS ITEM NUMBER THREE IN BLUE AT THE BOTTOM PART OF THE PAGE, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS, IS MADE A FEW RECOMMENDATIONS.
THE FIRST ONE IS FOR THE FIRE HYLER FLOW TEST.
THAT PRICE HAD BEEN $50, AND THEY ARE MAKING THE REQUEST FOR THAT TEST TO GO TO $75 PER HYDRANT FOR THE PLAN REVIEW.
THEY'RE RECOMMENDING $75 FOR THE NEW BUSINESS INSPECTION, $75 FOR THE ABC, A L E INSPECTION, $75
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FOR SPECIAL REQUESTED INSPECTIONS, $75, AND FOR CARE HOMES, $75, ALL RISING FROM $50 FOR THE STANDBY PERSONNEL.MINIMUM FOUR MEN ON THE ENGINE COMPANY.
THEY HAVE BEEN USING THE FEMA EQUIPMENT RATE PLUS LABOR.
THEY ARE REQUESTED TO ADJUST THAT TO DOW.
ON PAGE 22, HALFWAY DOWN THE PAGE IN RED, YOU'LL SEE EMERGENCY RESPONDER RADIO COVERAGE SYSTEMS. THAT FEE HAD BEEN $75, AND THEY'RE NOW PROPOSING TO CHANGE THAT TO 200 FOR $100 PLUS $2 PER DEVICE AND FOR FIRE ALARM AND DETECTION SYSTEMS AND RELATED EQUIPMENT, ADDING $2 PER DEVICE.
AND AT THE BOTTOM OF THE FIRE WHERE IT HAS LINE SAFE LIFE SAFETY VIOLATIONS, A FIRST OFFENSE WOULD BE $100, SECOND OFFENSE WOULD BE $200, AND THIRD OFFENSE WOULD BE $300.
AND THESE ARE FOR REPEAT INSPECTIONS.
ON PAGE 23, WE'RE IN PARKS AND RECREATION.
AND ON THE LOWER PART OF THAT PAGE, HONOR TREE PROGRAM HAS BEEN STRICKEN AS A PROGRAM ON PAGE 24, APPROXIMATELY HALFWAY DOWN THE PAGE, THE YES CAMP FEES AND CHARGES, THEY'RE PROPOSING TO INCREASE THE COST OF THE CAMP FROM $25 TO $35 FOR THE FIRST FAMILY MEMBER, AND TO $20 FROM $20 TO $30 FOR EACH ADDITIONAL RESIDENT IN THE SAME HOUSEHOLD.
FOR NON-RESIDENTS, THEY'RE PROPOSING TO INCREASE THE RATE FROM 35 TO $45 FOR THE FIRST PARTICIPANT, AND FROM 30 TO $40 FOR THE SECOND PARTICIPANT.
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE, A NEW FEE IN CHARGE, MOBILE STAGE RENTAL.
THERE ARE FOUR BY EIGHT SECTIONS OF WOODEN MOBILE STAGE THAT ARE REQUESTED.
AND SO THEY'RE PROPOSING A DAY OF THE RENTAL FEE OF $10 PER SECTION WITH PLANNING AND ZONING.
THERE ARE QUITE A FEW, UH, RATE, UH, AND SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE JESSICA RU AND MATT BOSWELL COME UP AND, AND GO THROUGH THIS.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR ALDERMAN, I'M JUST GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH SOME OF OUR CHANGES THAT WE'RE PROPOSING IN OUR FEE SCHEDULE.
I THINK THEY MAY LOOK A LITTLE BIT MORE OVERWHELMING THAN THEY ACTUALLY ARE BECAUSE WE'VE REFORMULATED HOW WE'RE CALCULATING SOME THINGS, AND IN OTHER PLACES WE ARE JUST MAKING CHANGES FOR CONSISTENCY.
SO, UM, IT CAME TO MY ATTENTION, UH, THE FIRST WEEK I, I WORKED HERE THAT, UM, STAFF HAD BEEN KIND OF ADVOCATING TO MAKE SOME OF THESE CHANGES FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, AND THEY NEVER REALLY MOVED FORWARD UNDER THE PREVIOUS LEADERSHIP.
AND SO THIS IS AN ATTEMPT FOR US TO MODERNIZE, UM, SOME OF OUR CHARGES, AND SOME OF THEM ARE, ARE PRETTY OVERDUE.
SO I'M GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH THAT.
I THINK THIS IS AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION TO HAVE FOR SEVERAL FACTORS.
MOST JURISDICTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT FEES WENT THROUGH SOME SIGNIFICANT FEE ADJUSTMENTS IN 2016, AND THEN AGAIN IN 2021.
OF COURSE, IN 2016, WE WERE KIND OF COMING OUT OF THAT, UH, RECESSION THAT STARTED IN 2000 8, 9, 10, AND PEOPLE WERE REALLY HESITANT TO RAISE FEES AT THAT TIME.
AND THEN AGAIN, IN 2021, WE SAW THAT WHEN THE INFLATION STARTED HITTING AND WE WERE IN THAT PANDEMIC.
AND SO WE'VE SORT OF MISSED TWO, TWO PERIODS OF FEE UPDATES IN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES FEES HERE IN THE CITY OF NEWBURN.
AND SO, UM, THIS RESPONSE WE SAW DURING THIS TIME, DURING THOSE TWO UPDATES THAT TRADITIONALLY WERE HAPPENING IN OTHER OTHER FEE SCHEDULES, WE HAD A SIGNIFICANT BUILDING BOOM HERE IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
WE SAW UNPRECEDENTED GAS PRICES, WHICH ARE VERY CONNECTED TO THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE OUT OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES BECAUSE, UH, MORE THAN HALF OF OUR STAFF IS IN THE FIELD, AND WE DO HAVE A FLEET OF 11 VEHICLES.
AND THEN WE HAD THAT ROBUST INFLATION OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS WHERE SIMPLY BUYING SUPPLIES AND PAPER AND INSPECTION TICKETS, UM, AND, AND PAYING EMPLOYEES, THE COST OF DOING THAT WENT UP SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND SO THOSE FACTORS THAT REALLY ARE CONNECTED AND IMPACT OUR BUSINESS OPERATIONS HAVE A LITTLE, BEEN A LITTLE BIT IGNORED FOR SOME TIME.
AND THIS IS AN EFFORT TO CORRECT THAT.
AND THERE ARE SOME SERVICES IN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, WE ARE ACTUALLY
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LOSING QUITE A BIT OF MONEY TO ACTUALLY PROVIDE AND SHOULDN'T BE BECAUSE IN MY EYES I LOOK AT THEM AS USER FEES RELATED TO THAT, BUT DIFFERENT FROM THE ECONOMY.UM, IN 2018, THE BUILDING CODE CHANGED AND THERE'S A LOT OF FEES THAT ARE LISTED IN OUR FEE SCHEDULE THAT WE CAN'T LEGALLY CHARGE FOR ANYMORE.
SO THERE IS NO REASON TO ACTUALLY HAVE THEM LISTED OUT.
AND THEN AGAIN, YOU'VE HEARD ME TALK ABOUT ONE 60 D, WHICH WAS THAT BIG CHANGE TO DEVELOPMENT LAW THAT MERGED CITY AND COUNTY LAWS TOGETHER, AND THE VERBIAGE, UM, AND LAWS THAT CHANGE THERE, IT, IT IS INCONSISTENT WITH WHAT IS REFLECTED IN OUR CURRENT FEE SCHEDULE AND PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN UPDATED TWO YEARS AGO.
AND SO I'M ASKING TO DO THAT FOR US NOW.
SO WHAT YOU'LL SEE REFLECTED HERE IS THAT WE REMOVE THOSE FEES THAT WE, WE DO NOT USE OR CANNOT LEGALLY CHARGE FOR.
WE REMOVE FEES THAT HAVEN'T BEEN USED IN YEARS.
UM, I'VE ASKED ALL STAFF MEMBERS, UH, ABOUT SOME OF THEM.
THEY, THEY CAN'T REALLY TELL YOU WHY THEY'RE THERE OR STILL EXIST.
SO THAT SUGGESTS TO ME THAT THEY MAY BE REMOVED.
AND THEN WE ADDED SOME FEES THAT WE NEED TO BE CHARGING FOR, SUCH AS FLOODPLAIN DEVELOPMENT, ABC PERMITS, SOLAR PANELS, JUST THESE NEWER DEVELOPMENT TYPES AND PERMITS THAT WE'RE REQUIRED TO ISSUE THAT ARE NOT ACCOMMODATED UNDER THE CURRENT FEE STRUCTURE.
THE WAY IT'S SET UP TODAY, THIS IS ALSO IMPORTANT.
UM, SO STAFF CAN PROCESS THE FEES CONSISTENTLY, UM, AND NOT JUST BE LABELING EVERYTHING IN OUR SYSTEM AS MISCELLANEOUS BECAUSE IT, IT, IT DOESN'T EXIST IN OUR, OUR FEE SCHEDULE AND CREATES A MORE, UH, SOLID ACCOUNTING AND RECORD KEEPING FOR, FOR US MOVING FORWARD.
SO A COUPLE OF THE KEY HIGHLIGHTS, UH, I'LL CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO OUR HPC FEES INCREASED.
THE CURRENT ONES ARE JUST SIMPLY NOT MEASURE IT WITH THE AMOUNT OF STAFF TIME THAT IS SPENT ON THE REVIEWS.
ALMOST ANYTHING IN THE HPC AREA GOES THROUGH TWO SEPARATE REVIEWS.
AND SINCE ONE 60 D THERE'S NEW SIGNAGE REQUIREMENTS.
AND SO WE HAVE TO BUY A SIGN TO PUT OUT EVERY TIME ONE OF THESE THINGS GOES.
UM, SO THE $22 IS REALLY BEING CHARGED RIGHT NOW, IS NOT EVEN PAYING FOR THAT SIGN NUMBER, THAT THE NEVERMIND THE STAFF TIME.
AND SO THE FEES THAT ARE PROPOSED TO YOU ARE IN LINE WITH SOME SISTER CITIES IN WILMINGTON AND BEAUFORD WHO DO VERY SIMILAR WORK.
IN FACT, THEY'RE ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT LOWER.
WE ADDED SOME SPECIFIC LAND USE FEE CATEGORIES THAT ARE RIGHT NOW KIND OF BEING ENTERED AS MISCELLANEOUS OR BEING ENTERED AS SOMETHING, UM, THAT, UH, IS NOT EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE CHARGING FOR.
SO THINGS LIKE THIS ARE A FAMILY CARE FACILITY.
WE GO IF WE HAVE AN ORDINANCE WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE REQUIRED, THAT NEEDS TO BE CONNECTED TO A PERMIT.
AND OF COURSE WE HAVE A REGULATION THAT THEY'RE 2,500 FEET APART, SO WE NEEDED AN ACTUAL PERMIT TO, TO ISSUE CONNECTED TO A CHARGE FOR THAT.
WE, UM, ADDED A REZONING FEE OR A ZONING MAP CHANGE.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE DO ALMOST MONTHLY IN OUR DEPARTMENT, AND NO FEE ACTUALLY EXISTED TO CHARGE FOR THIS, AND SO IT WAS JUST BEING ENTERED.
UH, AS, AS A MISCELLANEOUS FEE, YOU'LL ALSO SEE A TEXT AMENDMENT FEE OR THAT'S A MODIFICATION TO THE LAND USE ORDINANCE TO CHANGE THE ACTUAL TEXT.
SO FOR YOUR KNOWLEDGE, UH, TO PROCESS A REZONING TAKES QUITE A BIT OF STAFF TIME.
IT GOES THROUGH A DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, IT GETS A STAFF REPORT, IT, UH, HAS TO GO TO OUR PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD, AND THEN IT HAS TO GO FOR A PUBLIC HEARING.
AND SO BY THE TIME WE ADD THE TWO REQUIRED PUBLIC HEARING ADS, AT LEAST ONE 10 DAYS BEFORE, NO MORE THAN 25 FOR THOSE TWO SEPARATE WEEKS THAT WE'RE REQUIRED TO DO TO MEET STATE STATUTES AND POST SIGNAGE ON THE PROPERTY AND MAIL LETTERS NOTIFYING ALL OF THE NEIGHBORS, WE ARE LOSING MONEY ON THAT PROCESS, NOT EVEN INCLUDING THE STAFF TIME SPENT ON IT.
AND SO I THINK $500 FOR A ZONING CHANGE IS, IS AN APPROPRIATE FEE THERE.
AND THAT IS IN FACT WHAT MOST OF OUR NEIGHBORS ARE CHARGING FOR.
THAT TEXT AMENDMENT REQUIRES ALL OF THOSE ITEMS. HOWEVER, A LITTLE BIT LESS STAFF TIME, THAT'S WHY THAT'S 3 75.
YOU'LL SEE HERE THAT WE'RE PROPOSING $50 FOR A SEPARATE ZONING PERMIT PREVIOUSLY.
HISTORICALLY, THE CITY OF NEWBURN HAS BEEN, UH, INCLUDING A ZONING APPROVAL AS PART OF THE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION.
AND THIS IS LEADING TO, TO MISSING SOME THINGS.
AND SO WE ARE SEPARATING OUT AND HAVE ALREADY STARTED USING A, A SEPARATE ZONING PERMIT.
THAT IS BECAUSE, UM, YOU NEED TO LOOK AT PARKING REQUIREMENTS, LOCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS, SPACING REQUIREMENTS, ANYTHING SPECIAL THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE CHANGE OF USE OF A BUILDING ANYTHING SPECIAL THAT MAY EXIST IN AN OVERLAY DISTRICT.
AND THAT IS NOT ACCOMMODATED WHEN THAT IS INCLUDED AS PART OF A BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION.
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AND SO THE CURRENT PROCESS ALSO IS MERGING THOSE TOGETHER.AND THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA LIKES TO SEE US SEPARATE THE, THE FEES THAT WE ARE GENERATING FROM OUR BUILDING INSPECTION SIDE OF OUR DEPARTMENT AND ALSO OUR LAND USE AND PLANNING SIDE OF OUR DEPARTMENT.
SO THE APPROACH THAT THIS IS PROPOSING TO TAKE IS LOOKING AT PERMITTING MORE AS IN ALA CART CAFETERIA RATHER THAN A BUFFET ISSUE OF THIS.
UM, AND THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT RULES AREN'T BEING OVERLOOKED.
ASSIGNED PERMIT IS NOW, UM, JUST GOING TO BE A ZONING PERMIT.
IN SOME CASES, SIGNS DO REQUIRE ELECTRICAL AND BUILDING PERMITS.
THE QUASI JUDICIAL HEARINGS ARE PROPOSED TO BE $375.
THOSE ARE OUR CASES, OF COURSE, THAT GO THROUGH OUR BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT.
THEY REQUIRE THE SAME PUBLIC HEARING, A SIGNAGE AND MAILINGS THAT A REZONING DOES.
SO TO GIVE YOU AN INDICATION OF WHAT WE'RE SPENDING TO MAKE THIS PROCESS HAPPEN LEGALLY, IT'S VERY SIMILAR.
AND THEN OUR SUBDIVISION AND SITE PLAN APPROVALS HAVE BEEN, UM, PROPOSED TO GO UP TO 375 AND $400.
THOSE ARE MASSIVE, MASSIVE STAFF TIME COMMITMENTS.
UM, ON OUR END, NOT ONLY IS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES STAFF GOING THROUGH AND LOOKING AT THAT, ALMOST EVERY DEPARTMENT HEAD WE HAVE IN THE CITY OF NEWBURN OR SOMEBODY THEY DESIGNATE COMES EVERY TWO WEEKS TO REVIEW THESE PLANS AT A DEVELOPMENT REVIEW COMMITTEE.
AND SO THIS IS STILL MUCH LOWER THAN SOME OF OUR, OUR NEIGHBORS ARE CHARGING, BUT I DID HESITATE TO TO JUMP TOO MUCH AT ONCE ON THOSE REVIEW PROCESSES THERE.
SO I'M COMFORTABLE WITH WHAT'S PROPOSED.
THOSE ARE THE MAJOR CHANGES IN THE LAND USE SECTION.
UH, WE'VE ALSO STREAMLINED PERMITS IN OUR, OUR BUILDING SECTION.
AND THIS IS WHERE IT MIGHT LOOK A LITTLE BIT CONFUSING TO YOU WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT ALL OF THOSE RED LINES AND CHANGES.
IT'S REALLY NOT AS OVERWHELMING AS IT MIGHT LOOK ON PAPER.
WE CHANGED OUR BASIC BUILDING INSPECTION FEE TO USE THE APPROACH THAT MOST JURISDICTIONS IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA ARE NOW USING, WHICH IS TO CHARGE A BASE FEE.
AND THEN ONCE YOU GO OVER THAT 1000 SQUARE FEET START, UM, ADDING FOR SQUARE FOOTAGE, THIS IS VERY COMMONPLACE.
IT SEPARATES RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PERMITS, COMMISERATE WITH THE AMOUNT OF WORK, UM, AND LEVEL OF EXPERTISE IT TAKES TO A REVIEW THOSE PERMITS.
AND B, THE LEVEL OF CERTIFICATION THE STAFF PERSON NEEDS TO HAVE.
OF COURSE, A LEVEL 1 BILLION INSPECTOR CAN GO AND, UH, INSPECT ANYTHING THAT IS JUST RESIDENTIAL.
BUT ONCE YOU START GETTING INTO COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS AND COMMERCIAL USES, YOU NEED THOSE LEVEL TWO AND LEVEL THREE BUILDING INSPECTORS, WHICH ARE REALLY AT A PREMIUM IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, IS, UM, SEEING A, A MASSIVE SHORTAGE OF, BECAUSE BUILDING INSPECTORS ARE RETIRING OUT MUCH FASTER THAN THEY'RE BEING CERTIFIED.
THIS PROPOSES TO STANDARDIZED TRADE PERMITS TO $75 PER RESIDENTIAL AND 1 25 PER COMMERCIAL.
THIS IS STANDARD WITH MOST OF OUR, OUR NEIGHBORS IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
MOST PEOPLE MADE THE JUMP TO 75,000 1 25 IN 2015 AND 2016.
IT ADDS IN SPECIFIC PERMITTING FEES FOR SOLAR FLOODPLAIN DEVELOPMENT.
ABC PERMITS, YOU'LL SEE THOSE IN RED LISTED AT THE BOTTOM.
WE HAVE PROPOSED A $10 FEE TO, UH, GET A SIGN RETURNED.
WE ARE SEEING AN INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF RIGHT OF WAY SIGNAGE AND SPENDING A LOT OF GAS AND A LOT OF STAFF TIME FOR PEOPLE TO WANT TO COME BACK AND GET THEIR SIGNS, EDUCATE THEM WHERE YOU CAN USE THE SIGNS WHEN THEY'RE NOT IN THE RIGHT OF WAY OR OUT IN THE COUNTY WHERE MAYBE THEY CAN USE THEIR SIGNS, UH, AND NOT BE BREAKING AN ORDINANCE.
WE'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO RECOUP SOME OF THAT.
YOU'RE SEEING A $25 VERY NOMINAL PERMIT MODIFICATION FEE.
THIS IS BECAUSE WE'RE FREQUENTLY SEEING CONTRACTORS COME IN AND SUBMIT A, A, A WHOLE PILE OF HOUSES IN A SUBDIVISION, THEN THEY ASK TO COME IN AND CHANGE A SUBCONTRACTOR ON THERE.
AND IT IS VERY, VERY TIME CONSUMING ON STAFF TO GO BACK INTO ALL THOSE PERMITTING RECORDS AND CHANGE THAT.
SO THAT IS AN ATTEMPT TO RECOUP THAT, THAT IS ALSO A FEE THAT MOST OF OUR NEIGHBORS HAVE ADDED IN THE LAST FIVE TO 10 YEARS.
AND THEN YOU'LL ALSO SEE SOME CONSISTENCY BY ELIMINATING SOME OF THOSE CUMBERSOME NUMBERS LIKE $22 AND $54.
ANY QUESTIONS ON ON ON THOSE? ALL RIGHT, SO WE'RE GONNA MOVE TO POLICE.
AND THE ONLY FEE THAT HAS BEEN, UH, REQUESTED TO BE CHANGED IS THE OFF-DUTY FEES.
TRYING TO KEEP THAT MORE IN LINE WITH WHAT THE ACTUAL COST IS OF SALARY, OF BENEFITS OF GOING UP TO $45
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PER HOUR IN PUBLIC ASSEMBLY, WHICH IS PARADES AND FESTIVALS.UH, SECTION EIGHT, ALSO ON PAGE 27, IT'S THE LOWER PART OF THE PAGE.
RECOMMENDED CHANGES ARE, UH, CLARIFYING THE BARRICADE RENTAL FEES.
UH, WE HAVE WOODEN OR PLASTIC A-FRAME BARRICADES.
THEN WE ALSO HAVE BARRICADES THAT ARE CONCRETE IN WATERFIELD.
UM, THAT RATE IS $60 PER BARRICADE, PLUS THE LABOR RATES FOR A MINIMUM OF THREE STAFF, WHICH IS REQUIRED FOR SETUP.
SO TO MOVE THOSE BIGGER BARRICADES, WE'VE GOTTA HAVE HEAVY EQUIPMENT TO MOVE THOSE THINGS OUT.
THAT'S WHY THE COST, THE MAJORITY OF OUR EVENTS ONLY REQUIRE THE, THE $5 BARRICADES, THOUGH ALSO, CITY LABOR INCREASES FOR FIRE, UH, RECOMMENDED $50 PER HOUR FOR POLICE, $45 PER HOUR FOR PUBLIC WORK STAFF, $45 PER HOUR AND FOR RECREATION STAFF AT $45 PER HOUR FOR SPECIAL EVENT RELATED ACTIVITIES.
ON PAGE 28 UNDER PUBLIC WORKS, AND THIS IS THE TOP OF THE PAGE, DRIVEWAY PERMIT HAS BEEN ADJUSTED TO INCLUDE ONE, THE FIRST INSPECTION, AND THAT GOES FROM $20 TO $30.
AND IF THE DRIVEWAY HAS TO BE REINSPECTED, THERE'S A REINSPECTION FEE OF $20.
THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO ASK GEORGE TO COME UP AND TALK ABOUT, UH, UH, SOLID WASTE AND, AND THE REFUGE FEES.
UM, WE HAVE ON THE CURRENT RATE SCHEDULE, UM, A PREVIOUSLY DETERMINED AND ANTICIPATED FEE SCHEDULE INCREASE ASSOCIATED WITH OUR CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS WITH GFL, WHO DOES OUR REFUGE COLLECTION.
UM, OUR, OUR CURRENT RATE SCHEDULE, UM, HAS, IS REFLECTIVE OF THE ANNUAL INCREASES.
IF THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX OR INFLATION FOR THE SOUTHERN REGION INCREASES A CERTAIN AMOUNT THIS PAST YEAR, 7% GFL S CONTRACTS ARE CAPPED AT 3% FOR RESIDENTIAL AND 5% FOR COMMERCIAL DUMPSTERS.
SO WHILE THEY, WHILE THE RATE OF INFLATION WAS HIGHER, THEY'RE CAP CONTRACTUALLY FOR THESE, THESE RATE INCREASES.
WE ALSO WERE AWARE, WHICH IS NOT REFLECTED IN THE NUMBER RUNNING SHEET RIGHT NOW, UM, THAT THE SOLID WASTE AUTHORITY AT TUSCARORA, WHERE WE DO OUR DISPOSAL AND GFL DOES THEIR DISPOSAL HAD BEEN CONSIDERING A TIPPING FEE INCREASE.
THEY CURRENTLY CHARGED $40 A TON.
THE SOLID WASTE AUTHORITY HAD NOT RAISED THEIR RATES IN 10 YEARS.
SO THAT WAS NOT INCLUDED BECAUSE WE DID NOT KNOW ONE IF IT WAS GONNA PASS.
WE DID NOT KNOW WHAT RATE WAS GONNA BE INCLUDED AT THAT TIME, IF ANY.
SO WHAT WE ARE UNDERSTANDING NOW IS ON THEIR BOARD AGENDA FOR MAY 11 IS A RATE INCREASE OF $2 PER TOILET.
SO THAT NUMBER CONTRACTUALLY GOES BACK THROUGH GFL.
SO IT'LL GIVE US A RATE INCREASE CONTRACTUALLY TO PICK UP THAT ADDITIONAL TIPPING FEE COST.
SO WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING IS RECOMMENDING, UM, IN THIS, ON THE SECOND MEETING IN MAY, A RATE INCREASE TO THE SOLID WASTE FEES.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW IS A RATE INCREASE OF APPROXIMATELY $4, A LITTLE OVER $4 FOR RESIDENTIAL SERVICE.
WHAT THAT WILL CAPTURE IS THE CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS WE HAVE WITH GFL, THE ANTICIPATED TIPPING FEE INCREASES, AND ALSO THE ASSOCIATED FEES OR ASSOCIATED SHARED SERVICES THAT WERE NOT ACTUALLY CAPTURED WITH SOLID WASTE THAT IS PROVIDED TO THEM EITHER THROUGH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS OR PUBLICS PUBLIC, UH, WORKS.
AND SO IT, WE ARE GONNA BE, SO WE'RE GONNA BE AT ABOUT A $4 PER MONTH.
4, 4 0 7, UM, IS KIND OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW FOR RESIDENTIAL MONTHLY INCREASE.
AND THEN THOSE NUMBERS WILL BE, UM, INCREASING BY THE YARDAGE OF A COMMERCIAL CONTAINER.
UM, THAT'LL BE REFLECTED OF, OF THE SIZE OF THE CONTAINER.
BUT SO WE'RE TRYING TO CAPTURE EVERYTHING TO, TO MORE ACCURATELY CAPTURE ONE, THE REVENUE THAT
[00:35:01]
IS GENERATED TO FUND SOLID WASTE.SO, SO NOT WORKING THROUGH SOME OTHER FUNDING SOURCED THROUGH THE CITY, AND ALSO REFLECTIVE OF THE GFL CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS AND THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SOLID SOLID WASTE TIPPING.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, IN THIS BUDGET, WE HAVE INCLUDED FUNDING FOR AN ACTUAL RATE STUDY.
SO UTILITY RATE STUDY THAT WOULD LOOK AT ALL OF OUR EXPENSES, OUR COST, OUR CARING COST OF EQUIPMENT, EVERYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH SOLID WASTE.
WHAT I DIDN'T WANT TO DO WAS TO HAVE THAT GOING ON WHILE WE WERE GOING TO BE GOING NEGATIVE IN OUR ANTICIPATED COST.
SO, SO WE KNOW THE CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS, WE ANTICIPATE THE TIPPING FEE GOING UP, AND WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT THE SHARED SERVICES WEREN'T ACTIVELY CAPTURED.
SO THAT'S, UM, KIND OF WHAT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
AND I'LL HAVE THOSE NUMBERS FOR YOU, UM, TO, TO LOOK OUT AND VOTE ON THE SECOND MEETING IN MAY.
AND THEN I'LL PUT AN EFFECTIVE DATE 1ST OF JULY, UM, AS WILL THE INCREASED TIPPING FEES THAT THEY PASS ON THE MAY 11TH MEETING.
GEORGE, ON THE, THE COMMERCIAL DUMPSTER SERVICES, DOES EVERY BUSINESS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS THAT HAS A COMMERCIAL DUMPSTER, IS IT THROUGH THIS PROCESS? SOME ARE CONTRACTED WITH US AND SOME ARE PRIVATELY CONTRACTED, BUT IT GOES THROUGH GFL.
SO WHAT, WHAT WOULD CAUSE A DIFFERENCE IN BEING CONTRACTED THROUGH US VERSUS GOING DIRECT ANY IDEAS? LOT, A LOT OF TIMES THE, THE REFUSE, UM, DURING THAT PROCESS, IF YOU'VE GOT A NEW CONSTRUCTION OR AN OUTFIT, IT'S MORE RELATED TO CONSTRUCTION DUMPSTERS.
BUT IF YOU'RE WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS, YOU HAVE TO AFTER YOU LOST YET.
AND BOARD, I JUST WANNA REMIND YOU ON NUMBER 10, UNDER REFUGE, THOSE FEES AND CHARGES THAT ARE IN RED, THOSE ARE INACCURATE BASED ON WHAT GEORGE, UH, HAS JUST COVERED.
SO WE WILL BE COMING BACK TO YOU AT A LATER MEETING WITH THAT.
THOSE NUMBERS ARE INITIALLY, UH, CALCULATED WITH ANTICIPATION OF THE CPI IN INDEX INCREASING.
WE WEREN'T SURE WHAT NUMBER THAT WAS GONNA BE UNTIL WE GOT IT BACK AND, AND GOT A CONFIRMATION FROM GFL ON THEIR CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS.
SO WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE A, A MORE ACCURATE NUMBER FOR YOU ON THAT SECOND MEETING IN MAY.
BUT WE DO ANTICIPATE A RATE INCREASE THAT'S REFLECTED ABOVE THOSE THREE THINGS.
AND WHEN IS, WHEN IS THAT CONTRACT UP? THAT CONTRACT ENDS JUNE 30TH, 2027.
ANY, ANY QUESTIONS ON SOLID WASTE? AND I WILL SAY THIS, EVEN WITH OUR RATE INCREASE, IF IT'S $4 FOR RESIDENTIAL, WE'RE STILL GONNA BE ON THE LOW END OF NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES.
UM, SOME RANGE, SUCH GREENVILLE, UH, GREENVILLE, MOOREHEAD, KENSTON, UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALL, SOME ARE IN RIGHT ABOUT 16, $17 ALL THE WAY UP TO 31.
SO RIGHT NOW, WE'RE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN ANY OF OUR SURROUNDING, UH, MUNICIPALS.
SOLID WASTE ALSO OPERATES AS AN ENTERPRISE FUND, WHICH MEANS IT HAS TO BE SELF-SUPPORTING.
SO WE JUST PASS THOSE COSTS ALONG, UH, OUR COST ALONG TO THE CONSUMER.
GEORGE QUESTION, AND THIS JUST HAS TO DO WITH THE TRASH PICKUP, CORRECT? HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS FEE.
UM, THE FEE IS CHANGES COMING LATER.
UM, HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHEN YOU PUT LIKE LEAVES AND DEBRIS OR WHATEVER.
YES, IT, IT DOES, IT ALSO COVERS THE, THE, EVEN THOUGH THE CITY, THE VEGETATED, THE VEGETATED PICKUP AND ALSO THE BROWN AND WHITE GOODS PICKUP IS ALSO COVERED IN THAT FEE.
ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY, WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO UTILITIES.
IN THE, IN THE FEE SCHEDULE, NO UTILITY FEES ARE REQUESTED TO INCREASE ON THE SCHEDULE, YOU SEE, BUT AT THIS TIME, I WANT TO ASK CHARLIE BASHARD TO COME FORTH AND GIVE SOME UPDATES ON, UH, WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM NAMPA, UH, AND ALSO TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE, UM, ONE OF THE PROJECTS THAT, THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR ALDERMAN AND WOMEN AFTERNOON, AS THE CITY MANAGER SAID, UH, I'D LIKE TO TAKE A FEW MO MOMENTS AND, UH, TELL YOU ABOUT A FEW THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THE UTILITY.
I I MADE MYSELF A FEW NOTES SO I DON'T GET TOO FAR DOWN IN A RABBIT HOLE AND
[00:40:01]
I GET TOO FAR IN THE WEED, SO I'LL TRY TO KEEP THIS AS, AS, UM, HIGH LEVEL AS POSSIBLE.UM, BUT, UH, STARTING OFF OUR COUNTY LINE ROAD SUBSTATION PROJECT, AS WE CALLED IT IN THE PAST, UM, EARLY ON I WAS ESTIMATING 10 MILLION.
UH, THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT, FOR THOSE THAT MAY NEED A REMINDER, UH, PROVIDES RESILIENT, RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM, MAKES ADDITIONAL CAPACITY AVAILABLE TO PREVENT INTERRUPTIONS, PROVIDE THE ABILITY TO REROUTE POWER TO THOSE AREAS THAT ARE DISTRESSED, AND IT MAKES ADDITIONAL CAPACITY AVAILABLE FOR FUTURE ECONOMIC GROWTH.
UM, WE'VE ALSO REFERRED TO THE PROJECT AS THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM CAPACITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT.
AND WE CREATED A PROJECT FUND, I THINK IT WAS LAST JULY, AND WE STARTED THAT PROJECT FUND WITH, UH, HALF A MILLION DOLLARS IN IT TO MAKE READY.
SO ENGINEERING, PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING SERVICES, ENGINEERING ESTIMATES, PURCHASING OF LAND, SOIL TESTING, THOSE TYPE OF COSTS THAT, THAT I NEED TO SPEND TO GET THIS PROJECT GOING.
AND, UH, THE NEXT STEP IN THAT PRO PROCESS IS TO BRING BACK, UM, LAND ACQUISITION AGREEMENTS, UH, FOR YOU FOLKS TO CONSIDER.
AND, UH, I HOPE TO HAVE THOSE IN FRONT OF YOU SOON.
IN THE MEANTIME, UH, THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ANNOUNCED A, UH, 10.5 BILLION SPENDING PROGRAM, UH, THE GRID RESILIENCY AND INNOVATION PROGRAM.
AND THIS PROJECT FITS BEAUTIFULLY INTO THAT, THAT FUNDING.
SO IN DECEMBER, I SUBMITTED A CONCEPT PAPER TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, AND THEY ENCOURAGED AFTER RECEIVING THAT CONCEPT PAPER THAT THEY ENCOURAGED ME TO SUBMIT A FULL APPLICATION.
THEY THOUGHT WE WERE A VERY WELL QUALIFIED, AND WE MET EVERY ASPECT OF THE GRANT.
WE SUBMITTED THE APPLICATION, UM, APRIL 6TH.
UM, TOTAL PROJECT COST, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, IS 1.4 MILLION, ASKING 13.2 MILLION FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, LEAVING US WITH A LOCAL CONTRIBUTION OF ABOUT 7.2 MILLION.
AND A LOT OF THAT'S IN, IN-KIND LABOR AND THEN SOME MATERIAL COSTS.
HOPE TO HAVE THE, THE NOTIFICATION OF THE AWARD, UM, IN JULY OF A JULY OR AUGUST OF THIS YEAR, THE PROGRAM IS MOVING VERY, VERY, VERY FAST.
SO I, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE GONNA BE ON SCHEDULE WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OR NOT.
AS SOON AS WE SUBMITTED, ACTUALLY THE WEEK BEFORE WE SUBMITTED OUR GRANT, THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WAS OUT, UH, SOLICITING AND TRYING TO FIND FOLKS THAT WILL GRADE THE GRANT.
THAT'S HOW FAST THINGS ARE MOVING.
THERE'S A SPECIAL CATEGORY FOR SMALL UTILITIES, AND SO MUCH OF THIS MONEY HAS TO GO TO SMALL UTILITIES.
UM, I'M, I'M VERY, VERY HOPEFUL, BUT CONCURRENTLY WITH THAT, I THINK WE NEED TO START CONSIDERING, UM, REVENUE BONDS AND EXPLORE THAT MARKET, UM, IN CASE WE DON'T GET FUNDED OR IF WE DO GET FUNDED, IF IT'S NOT QUITE THE ENTIRE ALLOTMENT OR IF WE JUST NEED TO COME UP WITH A $7 MILLION ON THE MATCH.
SO I THINK IT WOULD PROBABLY BE IN OUR BEST INTEREST TO KNOCK ON THOSE, THOSE DOORS AND, AND TRY TO GET THAT PROCESS GOING.
UM, WHAT REVENUE BONDS MAY OR MAY HAVE LOOK LIKE, AND THEN MAKE A DECISION DOWN THE ROAD, UM, LATER IF WE DON'T RECEIVE FUNDING.
CHARLIE, WHEN, WHEN IS OUR AMI PAID FOR? AMI? YEAH.
THE FINANCING WE DID FOR THAT.
WHEN, WHEN DOES THAT ROLL OFF THE DEBT SERVICE FOR THAT? I THOUGHT THAT ROLLED OFF.
I'D HAVE TO GET SOME HELP FROM FINANCE.
I WAS THINKING IT WAS SEVEN YEARS OF THOUGHT FROM WHEN WE TOOK IT OUT.
SO I, I INCLUDED A, JUST A, A VERY HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW MAP OF THE PROJECT AND, UH, IF I CAN DRAW YOUR ATTENTION IN GENERAL, IT'S, THIS PROJECT OCCURS MOSTLY ON THE JAMES CITY SIDE, BUT IT BENEFITS THE ENTIRE SYSTEM.
IF YOU LOOK TOWARDS THE RIGHT CORNER OF THE MAP, YOU'LL SEE CAROLINA COLLARS.
YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WATERSCAPE WAY OLD AIRPORT ROAD.
AND THEN THE KEY, UM, UH, LANDMARK IS, IS COUNTY LINE ROAD.
AND WE HAVE TO CONNECT TO THE DUKE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, UM, ABOUT A MILE OFF OF COUNTY LINE ROAD.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A CONSTRAINT OF THE PROJECT.
AND, UH, THEN THE REST OF THE DIAGRAM KIND OF SHOWS YOU, UH, SOME ADDITIONAL, UH, LINES THAT NEED TO BE INTERCONNECTED AND BUILT SO THAT WE CAN REROUTE THIS POWER ONCE THE SUBSTATION IS BUILT.
SO IN GENERAL, THE SUBSTATION IS GOING, UM, ACROSS THE STREET ISH FROM, UM, BLUEWATER
[00:45:01]
RISE.AND IT'S IN VERY GOOD POSITION, NOT ONLY TO TO REROUTE POWER, BUT ADD FUTURE GROWTH IN THIS, IN THIS AREA THAT IS GROWING VERY RAPIDLY.
NEXT IN THE UTILITY TRANSFORMER SHORTAGE.
I, I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THAT, UH, SIX MONTHS AGO OR SO.
UM, MARKET CONDITIONS ARE STILL THE SAME.
SEEN PRICING INCREASES UP TO NINE TIMES.
THE COST DELIVERIES ARE OUT 24 TO 36 MONTHS.
IF WE CAN GET PEOPLE TO EVEN GIVE US A QUOTE.
UM, WE RECENTLY STARTED EXPLORING INTERNATIONAL MARKETS, PARTICULARLY THE CHINESE, ASSUMING THERE'S NO, UM, PUSHBACK ON, ON DOING BUSINESS WITH THE CHINESE, POSSIBLE BETTER DELIVERY DATES.
UM, BUT, UH, THE PRICING STILL LOOKS THE SAME.
WE'RE STRUGGLING RIGHT NOW TO GET A COHERENT SPECIFICATION THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND AND MAKE SURE WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE BUYING.
AND THE SAME THING GOES WITH TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND WORKING THROUGH AN EMERGING DISTRIBUTOR MARKET IN THE US DOING BUSINESS INTERNATIONALLY.
IT, THEY JUST CAN'T WHIP OUT AN AGREEMENT.
THE CONTRACT, IT, IT'S A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PRODUCT REALLY IS.
CHARLIE, UM, CAN YOU GIVE ME, WHAT IS THE PRICE OF A TRANSFORMER? WASN'T IT LIKE NINE? THERE'S ALL DIFFERENT SIZES AND TYPES, RIGHT? BUT THE ONE THAT'S THERE'S MOST PRESSURE ON IS A 50 KVA PAD MOUNTED THAT TYPICALLY WAS A THOUSAND DOLLARS.
AND ANYTHING IN BETWEEN, WE'RE SEEING PRICES ON, I HAVE A QUESTION ALSO.
WHAT IS THE LIFESPAN OF A TRANSFORMER? WE'D LIKE TO LAST INDEFINITELY.
WE PUT 'EM IN SERVICE, HOPEFULLY 20, 25 YEARS, UM, MAYBE LONGER.
UM, DEPENDS ON SNAKES AND WILDLIFE AND VEHICLES AND INUNDATED, UM, SYSTEMS AND WIND.
AND WE'D LIKE TO GET OUT 20, 25 YEARS OUT OF THEM CAPITALIZING THEM, UH, FROM A FINANCIAL BASIS.
WOULD HAVE TO REFER TO KIM A, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER CAPITALIZATION ARE THERE.
CHARLIE, FOR THE, FOR THE BOARD'S KNOWLEDGE, UH, ONE TRANSFORMER, HOW MANY HOMES WOULD THAT SERVICE ON AVERAGE ON A 50 K V A? UM, IT'LL SERVE ABOUT SIX HOMES, ROUGHLY HOW MANY? SIX.
UM, THAT'S THE SWEET SPOT FOR THAT SIZE OF UNDERGROUND TRANSFORMER.
BUT AGAIN, NOT ALL TRANSFORMERS ARE, ARE THE SAME.
SOME ARE DESIGNED FOR OVERHEAD CONSTRUCTION, SOME ARE DESIGNED FOR UNDERGROUND, AND THEN THE SIZING VARIES OF HOW MUCH CAPACITY THAT THEY CAN CARRY.
AND THEN ALSO THE VOLTAGE THAT THE CUSTOMER REQUIRES.
THAT ALL VARIES AND THAT ALL, IT VARIES WITHIN THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS TOO.
SO IN THE MANUFACTURER'S WORLD, THEY HAVE TO HAVE THE CAPACITY AND THE MANUFACTURING SPACE TO PRODUCE ALL OF THESE TRANSFORMERS AT ALL THESE DIFFERENT SPECIFICATIONS ACROSS THE US.
UM, SO GUESSING THAT'S PART OF THE CONSTRAINTS THAT WE'RE SEEING.
SO THE PRESSURES THAT WE'RE RECEIVE WE'RE SEEING, UM, APRIL I TOOK A LOOK AT OUR INVENTORIES ON JUST THE 50 KBAS I'M TALKING ABOUT.
UM, THAT'S PROBABLY, WE'RE SEEING THE MOST PRESSURE BECAUSE THEY'RE IN MOST DEMAND RIGHT NOW WITH NEW DEVELOPMENTS.
UM, SO I'M PLANNING ON HOLDING THAT MINIMUM STOCK THAT LEVEL THERE.
UH, FOR OUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS, UM, I DON'T THINK WE CAN COMPROMISE THEIR SERVICE AND I NEED TO BE PREPARED TO, UM, SERVE THEM SHOULD THEIR ELECTRIC SERVICE FAIL OR THEIR TRANSFORMER FAIL.
OVERALL, WE'VE GOT ABOUT 2000 OF THESE IN SERVICE.
THEY'RE, SOME COULD BE A YEAR OLD, SOME COULD BE 20 YEARS OLD.
SO KEEPING A MINIMUM STOCK OF OF 40, THAT PUTS US AT ABOUT THE 2% LEVEL OF INSTALLED INVENTORY.
IS THAT RIGHT OR WRONG? IT'S A JUDGMENT CALL.
UM, I CERTAINLY DON'T THINK WE NEED TO STOP 50%.
UM, AND THAT NUMBER HAS SERVED US WELL IN THE PAST.
UM, ASSUMING WE CAN GET TRANSFORMERS IN A, IN A QUICKER PERIOD OF TIME.
UM, OTHER PRESSURES THAT, UH, ARE ON THE UTILITY ACTIVE PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE, LARGE DEVELOPMENTS, UM, BUILDING A LOT OF HOMES.
UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE RETURNING DIRT AND THEY WANT TRANSFORMERS AND I ONLY HAVE 11 LEFT THAT I CAN GIVE THEM.
SO I'M STANDING HERE SAYING, I'LL GIVE YOU A TRANSFORMER WHEN YOU FILL UP THE TRANSFORMER THAT I JUST GAVE YOU.
SO PUT 75%, PUT FIVE CUSTOMERS ON THAT TRANSFORMER AND I'LL GIVE YOU THE NEXT ONE UNTIL
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I'M OUT.AND THEN YOU'LL STAND IN LINE WITH EVERYBODY ELSE AND WAIT UNTIL I GET REPLENISHMENT.
I HAD 40 ORDERED, UH, THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE IN JULY.
THAT ORDER WAS RECENTLY PUSHED BACK UNTIL APRIL BY FEBRUARY ORDER OF, I THINK THAT WAS 50 THAT GOT MOVED UP TILL DECEMBER.
UM, WHO'S FIRST IN LINE, WHO DESERVES A TRANSFORMER NEXT.
THOSE ARE A LOT OF THE THINGS I'M GOING THROUGH ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS AND TRYING TO, TO SORT THAT OUT AND BE AS ACCOMMODATING TO THESE DEVELOPERS IN, IN OUR COMMUNITY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
UM, I'VE GOT 160 TOTAL ON ORDER, WHICH I THINK ACCOUNTS FOR ALL THE PROJECTS THAT I KNOW OF, UM, IN THIS PARTICULAR SIZE RANGE.
UM, BUT I, I DON'T KNOW WHEN THEY'RE GONNA GET HERE.
I I CAN'T TELL YOU WHEN THEY'RE GONNA GET HERE AND, UM, MAKE THOSE PROMISES.
SO AS THEY ARRIVE, UH, WE'LL SET 'EM AND GET 'EM INSTALLED.
UM, THAT'LL PROBABLY PUT PRESSURE ON US DOWN THE ROAD CUZ ONCE THEY START COMING IN, EVERYBODY WILL WANT THEIR STUFF NOW.
AND, AND OUR CAPACITY TO INSTALL IS, IS LIMITED TO WHAT WE, OUR CAPABILITIES ARE.
WE WE PAY FOR 'EM WHEN THEY ARRIVE.
SO I HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN THE INFLATIONARY COSTS ON THESE YET.
UM, THEY'RE PAY WHEN THEY'RE DELIVERED.
THE OTHER PART OF THIS EQUATION, UM, PROJECTS THAT ARE EMERGING, THEY HAVEN'T STARTED, THEY'RE CONCEPTUAL.
SOME ARE CONS, SOME ARE CONCEPTUAL ON THE BACK OF A NAPKIN.
HEY CHARLIE, LET'S WALK OUT IN THE FIELD.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? UH, TO, UM, PEOPLE WHO'VE SPENT MONEY AND THEY'VE DEVELOPED PLANS AND THEY'VE SPLIT A LOT OF TIME AND THOUGHT AND ENERGY INTO THIS.
AND HOW DO WE GET STARTED, CHARLIE? WELL, A COUPLE YEARS ON TRANSFORMERS AND WHEN DO YOU WANNA ORDER 'EM AND WHEN SHOULD THE UTILITY TAKE THE RISK ON ORDER? WHEN DO YOU PROMISE TO ME THAT YOU'RE GONNA INSTALL BUILD A HOUSE SO THAT MY INVESTMENT IS PROTECTED? THOSE ARE THE CHALLENGES THAT ARE CROSSING MY DESK, UM, THAT I HAVE TO SORT THROUGH AND FIGURE OUT, UM, HOW WE NAVIGATE THAT.
AND UM, HOPEFULLY I'M GETTING OUT TO OUR DEVELOPERS SOON IN THE PROCESS, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MAKE SOME TOUGH DECISION WITH THE DEVELOPERS ON, ON WHEN TO ORDER AND WHEN DOES UTILITY TAKE THE RISK ON THAT? MAY, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT WHEN THE KALE ROAD, UM, AMMI SYSTEM IS PAID OFF, IT WAS, IT'S GONNA BE DECEMBER 1ST, 2024.
AND WHAT'S THE ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE ON THAT? WHAT'S THE WHAT? THE ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE AMOUNT? I DON'T HAVE THAT.
SO NEXT, UH, UH, STREET LIGHTING.
I'M, I'M LOOKING TO GAUGE YOUR LEVEL OF INTEREST IN THIS.
I'LL, UH, I'LL, I'LL PUT IT IN THE CIRCULAR FILE AND, AND MOVE ON TO OTHER THINGS.
BUT OVER THE FIVE YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN HERE, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR STREET LIGHTING SCHEDULES.
UM, AND WE'VE CONSOLIDATED STATED SOME SCHEDULES I'VE BEEN WORKING ON A LITTLE BIT EVERY YEAR.
SO IT'S TOO MUCH TO DIGEST IT ONE TIME.
SO I'VE BEEN BREAKING IT APART.
UM, SO WE'VE CONSOLIDATED SOME SCHEDULES UP, UPDATED SOME PRODUCT OFFERINGS, WE'VE UPDATED SOME RATES AND NOW I'M LOOKING AT THIS SCHEDULE 32 C.
AND FROM THE UTILITIES PERSPECTIVE, I'D REALLY LIKE TO OMIT IT.
IT'S, UM, IT'S VERY, VERY DIFFICULT FOR THE UTILITY TO ADMINISTER.
UM, WE'VE, UM, MADE, UM, ERRORS WITH ADMINISTERING IT.
I WAS ASKED, UH, THIS SUMMER TO AUDIT IT FOUND A LOT OF, UM, PROBLEMS. UH, WE'VE GOT THOSE CORRECTED.
BUT IN GENERAL, THE WAY THIS RATE WORKS IS, LEMME BACK UP FIRST BY SAYING TO TO THE UTILITY.
A STREETLIGHT IS A STREETLIGHT IS A STREETLIGHT.
THE COST OF THE STREETLIGHT IS THE SAME TO THE UTILITY REGARDLESS OF WHO THE CUSTOMER IS, RIGHT? MY, MY EXPENSES ARE THE SAME.
SO THIS, THIS SCHEDULE IS DESIGNED FOR USE BY DEVELOPERS ONLY, WHERE THE DEVELOPER IS DEVELOPING, WHERE THE ROAD WILL IS ANTICIPATED TO BE, UM, TURNED OVER TO THE CITY ADOPTED BY THE CITY.
AND DURING THIS PROCESS, ELECTRICS INFRASTRUCTURE GOES IN EARLY STREET LIGHTING GOES IN THERE WITH THAT EARLY, WHO GETS THE BILL BY THIS RATE SCHEDULED.
DEVELOPER GETS THE BILL DAY ONE AND I HAVE TO WORK OUT TERMS AND TRY TO FIND WHO TO BILL THERE.
AND, UM, THEN AFTER THE STREETS ARE ADOPTED, THEN THAT BILL GETS TRANSFERRED OVER TO THE CITY TO PUBLIC WORKS ACCOUNT.
UM, TYPICALLY STREET LIGHTING GENERALLY COMES ACROSS YOUR, YOUR,
[00:55:01]
FOR YOUR APPROVAL ON THOSE REQUESTS IN THIS PARTICULAR MANNER.THEY WOULD ALL JUST COME OVER TO THE CITY ONCE THE UM, STREET IS APPROVED.
UM, SO HARD, HARDER TO BUDGET AND PLAN FOR AND IN COORDINATE BETWEEN THE UTILITY AND THE CITY.
LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, IT'S DIFFICULT TO ADMINISTER.
UM, IN SOME CASES IT ADDS SOME COSTS TO THE CITY.
THIS SCHEDULE ALLOWS A, UM, 2%, UH, FEE FOR THE COST OF INSTALLING IT UNDERGROUND OR 2% FEE FOR THE COST OF SPECIAL POLLS.
THE DEVELOPER, THE CUSTOMER CAN PAY THAT 2% UPFRONT AS A LUMP SUM OR THEY CAN ELECT TO PAY IT AS A FLAT MONTHLY FEE INDEFINITELY.
AND I CAN ASSURE YOU THE CONTRACTORS THAT ARE DOING THIS FOR TAKING THE FLAT MONTHLY FEE.
UM, SO THE CITY IS INHERITING THIS ME THIS FEE INDEFINITELY, FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER.
AND WHY I DID SOME QUICK CALCULATIONS, IT PAYS OFF IN A COUPLE YEARS.
I'M, I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND.
SO WHEN A DEVELOPER BUILDS A NEW DEVELOPMENT, THEY PAY THE UTILITY DEPARTMENT TO INSTALL THE LIGHT FIXTURES.
THERE'S NO COST FOR INSTALLING THE LIGHT FIXTURE.
THE COST OF INSTALLATION IS BUILT IN THE MONTHLY RATE.
OKAY? SO THERE'S NO COST FOR THEM TO PAY TO HAVE THE LIGHT FIXTURE INSTALLED.
WE INSTALL IT, THE UTILITY DEPARTMENT INSTALLS IT, AND THEY START IMMEDIATELY BILLING THE DEVELOPER WHO MADE THE REQUEST FOR THE STREETLIGHT AS PART OF THEIR NEW DEVELOPMENT.
THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOULD WORK.
SO WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING, HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE DO? IT WOULD RATHER I JUST BILL IT DIRECTLY TO THE CITY DAY ONE, NOW INSTALL IT RATHER THAN PUT IT ON THIS SCHEDULE.
I'LL PUT IT ON THE CITY'S RATE SCHEDULE AND THE CITY WOULD BE THE CUSTOMER DAY ONE.
SO WE, WE WOULD GIVE UP A LITTLE BIT OF LEVERAGE IN DEALING WITH DEVELOPERS FOR GETTING THINGS DONE THAT THEY NEED TO GET DONE BEFORE WE ACCEPT THE STREETS.
IF WE DID THAT, IS THAT FAIR? IF, IF YOU COULD LEVERAGE STREET LIGHTING AGAINST THE STREETS, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THE STREET LIGHTING IS NOT PART OF THE STREET, IT'S NOT PART OF THE RIGHT WAY.
IT'S INFRASTRUCTURE THAT EXISTS THERE SEPARATELY.
UM, THE RATE PAYERS, UM, WHETHER THE STREET IS THE TAXPAYERS, THE RESIDENTS, WHETHER THEIR STREET HAS BEEN ADOPTED OR NOT, THEY'RE PAYING TAXES, WHICH I WOULD THINK IN THE STREET LIGHTING IS A BENEFIT OF THOSE TAXES.
SO, UM, CITY DOESN'T HAVE A TIME TO GAIN BY THIS.
IT'S MORE OF A UTILITY MATTER THAT, UM, IF YOU FOLKS LIKE THIS IDEA, IF YOU'RE NOT OPPOSED TO IT, I'LL CONTINUE TO WORK ON IT.
IT WOULD HELP THE UTILITY OUT.
BUT I'M NOT DIGGING MY HEELS IN AND SAYING IT'S GOTTA GO ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
OKAY, SO, WELL, I I AGREE WITH YOU.
I MEAN, WE'RE FACT, WE'RE USING THAT LEVERAGE RIGHT NOW WITH A, A DEVELOPER, YOU KNOW, HE WOULDN'T TURN THE STREETS OVER, WOULDN'T TURN THE COMMUNITY OVER, UM, TO THE CITY.
UH, WE COULDN'T GET HIM TO BRING THE STREETS AND SIDEWALKS AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURES UP THERE TO OUR STANDARDS.
AND WE FINALLY DECIDED THAT WE FOUND OUT THAT HE WASN'T PAYING FOR STREET LIGHTS AND WE STARTED BUILDING FOR THE STREET LIGHTS.
AND BY LORD
WHAT ARE WE CHARGE PER UNIT FOR STREETLIGHT TO A DEVELOPER? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA? DON'T HOLD ME TO IT IN GENERAL.
EIGHT, $9 A MONTH DEPENDING ON THE FIXTURE AND THE LIGHT, BUT THAT'S A PRETTY STANDARD.
UM, IT ADDS UP WHEN YOU START PUTTING IN A NUMBER OF STREET LIGHTS.
I MEAN, I'D DO EVEN FAVOR OF IT IF THEY WANTED TO BUY, TO RUN STREET BIKES.
I MEAN WE JUST, YOU KNOW, WE INSTALL, THEY PAY FOR THE LAMP POST AND THEN THEY'RE GONNA PICK DIFFERENT CONS THAT WE DON'T WANT TO MAINTAIN.
WELL, NO, THEY HAVE TO BE HIS STANDARD.
WE PUT 'EM ALL BEHIND THE METER AND THEY CAN PUT WHATEVER THEY WANT UP.
BUT THAT'S KIND OF A DIFFERENT MATTER.
I I THINK OUR ORDINANCE REQUIRES, UM, THE INSTALLATION OF STREET LIGHTING ON NEWLY DEVELOPED ROADS, SO I DON'T THINK WE CAN GET TOO FAR OFF OF THAT.
UM, BUT IF THERE'S NO INTEREST, I'LL UM, I'LL LEAVE IT ALONE AND, AND MOVE ON TO OTHER THINGS.
I THINK IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN, WE CAN DISCUSS 'EM ALL OVER.
SO WE'RE GONNA GET A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT.
I SAID WE'RE GONNA RAMP UP AND GET A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT IN THE, IN THE DISCUSSION
[01:00:01]
BEFORE, BEFORE CHARLIE CONTINUES.JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW MUCH THE CITY CURRENTLY SPENDS ON STREET LIGHTS ANNUALLY, WE'RE BUDGETED $750,000 A YEAR RIGHT NOW, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA.
AND THAT THAT'S A LOT OF STREET LIGHTS.
THAT IS A LOT OF STREET LIGHTS.
DO YOU, IS THERE A DIFFERENCE OR HAVE WE ADJUSTED THE RATE THAT WE'RE PAYING FOR REGULAR STREET LAMPS VERSUS L E D LAMPS? WE'VE BEEN ADJUSTING THOSE OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN HERE.
AND, UM, ON THE CITY RATE, CITY 32, SCHEDULE 32, UM, I BELIEVE THOSE HAVE ALL BEEN ADJUSTED TO INCLUDE NEW STYLE L E D FIXTURES.
THE OLD STYLES ARE NOW OBSOLETE, MEANING THAT IF YOU HAVE, IF IT'S INSTALLED, WE'RE GONNA STAY WITH THAT PRICE, BUT IF IT HAS TO BE REPLACED, YOU'RE NOT GETTING THE OLD STYLE BACK.
IT'LL GO BACK AT THE, THE NEW L E D AND THE NEW PRICE.
AND WE DID THAT WITH, UH, THE AREA LIGHTING TOO.
UM, THIS ONE WILL NEED TO BE ADJUSTED IF WE STAY WITH SCHEDULE 32 C.
AND THEN THERE'S A, THERE'S ANOTHER REALLY WEIRD, UM, UH, STREET LIGHTING SCHEDULE THAT APPLIES IN AREAS WHERE IT'S NOT A CITY STREET, IT'LL BE A PRIVATE ROAD AND IT'S NOT OWNED BY, UM, THE STATE AND THE RATE IS AN ADMINISTRATIVE NIGHTMARE BECAUSE THE COSTS OF THE STREET LIGHTING IS SUPPOSED TO BE BROKEN DOWN PER RESIDENTIAL HOME AND DISTRIBUTED ON THEIR ELECTRIC BILL.
AND TO KEEP UP WITH THAT, WHEN THE LIGHT GOES IN, WHICH HOME IS BUILT, WHICH HOME IS NOT BUILT, IT, IT IS A REAL CHORE, UM, TO ADMINISTER.
AND, UM, THEN THE UTILITY LOSES WHEN, WHEN PEOPLE AREN'T IN THOSE HOMES, UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE NOBODY TO SEND THAT BILL TO IF THEIR ELECTRIC IS OFF AND THE PLACE IS VACANT.
SO THAT ONE IS GONNA BE THE NEXT ONE I BRING BACK TO YOU FOLKS BECAUSE, UH, UM, IT, IT'S, IT'S A MESS.
THE HARD PART WITH THAT ONE WILL BE THOSE THAT ARE ON IT, HOW DO YOU GET 'EM OFF? UM, AND SOME OF 'EM YOU COULD GO TO KINDLY AND SAY, PLEASE TRANSFER THIS ALL TO YOUR HOA OR YOUR POA AND LET'S DO BUSINESS THAT WAY.
SOME OF THEM ARE GONNA DIG THEIR HEELS IN AND SAY, NO, WE DON'T HAVE AN HOA, WE DON'T HAVE A POA.
IT NEEDS TO GO OUT TO EVERYBODY THAT LIVES HERE INDIVIDUALLY.
THOSE WE MIGHT, WE CAN MAKE ANY PROGRESS ON THAT RATE CHANGE.
UM, THOSE MIGHT HAVE TO, UM, RETIRE IN PLACE, SO TO SPEAK.
CHARLIE, ONE MORE QUESTION FOR YOU.
OH, CONCERNING STREET LIGHTING.
UM, I WAS HAVING A MEETING WITH, UM, SOME D O T OFFICIALS THE OTHER DAY AND THEY WERE TELLING ME THAT THIS ENTIRE, UM, 42, UM, CHA UH, INTERSTATE 42 CONSTRUCTION HAS TAKEN PLACE IN THE JAMES CITY AREA, WAS GONNA HAVE STREET LIGHTS, SAID IT WAS ONE OF THE ONLY INTERSTATES IN NORTH CAROLINA THAT HAD STREET LIGHTS.
WERE YOU AWARE OF THAT? I HAVEN'T SEEN THOSE PARTS.
YOU THE PLAN YET? THEY, THEY HAVEN'T GOT, THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON UTILITY RELOCATIONS SINCE THE DESIGN BUILD.
SO THE NEXT STEP WILL PROBABLY BE SEEING SOME OF THOSE STREET LIGHTING REQUESTS.
THEY'RE HOW MANY TRANSFORMERS IS THAT GONNA TAKE
THEY MIGHT TAKE A DIFFERENT TRANSFORMER CUZ SOME OF THAT STREET LIGHT'S 2 77, 4 80 VOLTZ COMPARED TO ON TYPICAL RESIDENTIAL.
UM, IF I USE ANY ACRONYMS HERE, PLEASE CHECK ME AND ASK ME TO EXPLAIN MYSELF.
UM, NAMPA ON THE NORTH CAROLINA EASTERN MUNICIPAL PUBLIC OR POWER AGENCY, WE'RE A MEMBER OF THAT AGENCY, UM, ALONG WITH 30 29 O OTHER EASTERN CAROLINA MEMBERS.
THAT'S WHERE WE, UH, PURCHASE ALL OF OUR POWER FROM.
AND WE'RE ON A LONG-TERM CONTRACT WITH THESE FOLKS.
STARTED IN, UM, 2015 AND IT, IT GOES THROUGH 2045.
THERE'S SOME OPTIONS FOR SOME EARLY OUTS.
UM, EMPA DOES NOT HAVE AN HAVE A STAFF.
UH, THEY DON'T, DOESN'T EXIST, UM, AS FAR AS OUTSIDE THE CONTRACT AND OUTSIDE THE MEMBERS.
UM, BUT THE CONTRACT IS ADMINISTERED BY ELECTRICITY STAFF, UM, AND FORECASTING THE, THE RATES AND THE SETTING OF THOSE RATES INSIDE THAT CONTRACT.
IT'S REAL IMPORTANT THAT WE KEEP
[01:05:01]
IN MIND THAT ALL OF THAT FALLS OUTSIDE OF OUR OWN BUDGETING CYCLE, AND I DON'T THINK IT WILL EVER FALL IN OUR BUDGETING CYCLE.SO TO, TO LINK THESE TWO PROCESSES TOGETHER IS VERY CHALLENGING AND, AND IT CAUSES SOME FRUSTRATION, CAUSES FRUSTRATION WITH ME, PROBABLY WILL CAUSE SOME FRUSTRATION WITH YOU FOLKS AS WELL.
UM, TYPICALLY, UH, WE'VE SPENT 35 TO 37 MILLION IN, IN OUR POWER SUPPLY COSTS.
AND THESE POWER SUPPLY COSTS ARE JUST TO BUY THE POWER TO, TO THAT OUR CONSUMERS NEED, NEED THIS, NOT THE COST OF DELIVERING IT TO THE HOUSE.
THAT'S A WHOLE NOTHER EXPENSE, A WHOLE NOTHER MATTER.
THIS IS JUST TO BUY THE POWER OF THE DE CONSUMING 35 TO 37 MILLION.
UM, THE CAMPUS FORECAST IS, IS NOT BEEN GOOD.
IT'S BEEN PRETTY FLAT, PRETTY LEVEL SINCE THE TIME I WAS HERE OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
HASN'T BEEN A LOT OF EXCITEMENT.
EVEN, UM, LAST YEAR, THE FIVE YEAR FORECAST REMAINED VERY LEVEL AND, UH, WE DIDN'T, I WASN'T HAVING THIS TYPE OF A CONVERSATION WITH YOU FOLKS AT THAT TIME BECAUSE OF, SO, UM, RIGHT NOW THEY'RE FORECASTING A FIVE TO 10% INCREASE.
WE COULD SEE THAT OVER ONE TO TWO YEARS.
UM, FOR NEWBURN, UH, THAT'S ABOUT A 1.8 MILLION TO 3.6 MILLION ANNUAL INCREASE, UM, JUST IN OUR POWER SUPPLY COST.
THE DRIVERS THAT WE'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW IN THIS FORECAST ARE WHAT I CALL A TRUEUP COMPONENT.
IT'S THE VER IT'S SEVERAL VARIABLE COMPONENTS IN OUR POWER SUPPLY CONTRACT FOR 2223.
IT'S WHAT'S REALLY DRIVING THIS RIGHT NOW IS NATURAL GAS.
AND WE WON'T KNOW THE FINAL TRUE UP UNTIL THE END OF JUNE, 2023.
I REALLY DON'T SEE NATURAL GAS TAKING A BIG DI NOSE DIVE BETWEEN NOW AND THEN.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE GONNA GET ANY RELIEF BETWEEN NOW AND JUNE.
UM, SO I, I THINK WE SHOULD TAKE THIS FORECAST SERIOUSLY AND, UH, CONSIDER WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO PREPARE.
UM, THE INCREASE MAY NOT BE NOTICED UNTIL OCTOBER NOVEMBER OF THIS YEAR.
UH, DEPENDING ON HOW THIS PROCESS GOES.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN NOVEMBER IS NAMBA NAMPA MEMBERSHIP.
UH, THE MEMBERS WILL GET TOGETHER, UM, AND VOTE AND NEW BERN HAS A VOTE, AND I'LL CAST THAT VOTE BASED ON YOUR INTERESTS.
UM, AND A VOTE TO PASS THAT TRUE UP COST.
RIGHT NOW, THAT TRUE UP COST WITH, WITH NAMPA IS AROUND 60000003.6 TO US.
UM, IF THEY PASS, IF THEY VOTE TO PASS THAT ON TO MEMBERS, IT'LL COME AS A LUMP SUM OR IT'LL COME AS A SPREAD IT OUT OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS.
AND THEY, THEY COULD LIKELY DO SO.
UM, THEY, THE VOTE COULD GO THE OTHER WAY WHERE NAMPA ABSORBS THAT TRUE UP COST AND THEY AB ABSORB IT FROM THEIR WORKING CAPITAL AND THERE'S NO COST PASSED ON TO THE CITY OF NEW BERN OR ANY OF THE OTHER COMMUNITIES AND EVERYBODY'S HAPPY.
I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY THE WAY THE VOTE'S GONNA GO, UM, BASED ON FOLLOWING THE MATTER.
UM, BUT IF THEY PASS THAT WORKING CAP, IF THEY ABSORB THE WORKING CAPITAL FROM THE, FROM THE KEMP, IF THEY ABSORB THE TRUEUP FROM THE KEMP'S WORKING CAPITAL, ELECTRICITY STAFF IS RECOMMENDING A RATE INCREASE TO BUILD WORKING CAPITAL AND WORKING CAPITAL IN THEIR LANGUAGE.
THEIR, UH, WORDS IS SIMILAR TO OUR FUND BALANCE AND, UH, THEY HAVE A MARKER OF HOW MUCH FUND BALANCE THEY SHOULD OR SHOULDN'T KEEP.
MUCH LIKE WE MIGHT STRUGGLE WITH DAYS OF SERVICE, DAYS OF CASH ON HAND.
I'M LOOKING AT THAT VERY CLOSELY.
UM, THAT WORKING CAPITAL AND THAT, AND THAT, THAT BENCHMARK OF MINIMUM WORKING CAPITAL WAS ALL SET IN 2015 BASED ON THIS CONTRACT.
AND I THINK IT WAS SET CONSERVATIVELY.
NOBODY KNEW HOW THIS CONTRACT WAS GONNA PERFORM.
IT'S PERFORMED WELL, BUT I THINK IT NEEDS A LITTLE BIT OF OVERSIGHT, UM, AND CHALLENGES SO THAT, THAT THEY'RE NOT OVER COLLECTING ON THEIR RATES, UM, JUST AS, AS WE WOULD BE CRITICIZED IF WE WERE OVER COLLECTING ON OUR RATES.
SO I, I AM TAKING A CLOSE LOOK AT THAT.
UM, UH, BUT I CAN'T TELL YOU WHICH WAY IT'S GONNA GO, BUT I, I STANDING HERE, I WOULD SAY WE SHOULD BE FORECASTING FIVE TO 10% INCREASES OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
UM, FROM THINGS TO CONSIDER REGARDING RATE INCREASES.
AGAIN, WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT RIGHT HERE IS, IS JUST POWER SUPPLY.
[01:10:01]
DOESN'T COST INCLUDE THE COST OF DISTRIBUTING THAT PROPER AND OPERATING THE REST OF THE BUSINESS.UM, BUT ONE, ONE THING I MAY NEED TO KNOW IF WE DO TALK FURTHER ABOUT, UM, RATE INCREASES IS WHAT'S, WHAT'S EVERYBODY'S PALATE? IS IT, DO WE WANT SINGLE DIGIT INCREASES, UM, ON A MORE REGULAR BASIS, HEALTHY STEPS OR DOUBLE DIGIT INCREASES, UM, AT LESS FREQUENT STEPS.
UM, SOME THINGS WE CAN DO IS WE CAN TAKE THIS EMPAS RATE INCREASE AND JUST PASS IT ON, JUST RAISE OUR RATES, CROSS THE BOARD TO MATCH THIS AND HOPE THAT THERE'S ENOUGH, UM, REVENUE TO, UH, MEET OUR, UM, EXPENDITURE REQUIREMENTS.
WE CAN ALSO DO SOME RE REDESIGNING OF OUR RATES SO THAT THEY BETTER ALIGN WITH HOW THE POWER SUPPLY CONTRACT IS SET UP.
AND WHEN THE POWER SUPPLY CONTRACT RATES ADJUST, OUR RATES WILL AUTOMATICALLY ADJUST AT LEAST THAT PART OF IT THAT IS RELATED TO THE CONTRACT.
IT'S NOT MINE, IT'S JUST A PASS THROUGH.
AND THEN WE COULD DESIGN IN A, A MULTIPLIER IN THERE THAT IS OUR OPERATING EXPENSE, AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE DECISION MAKING ABILITY TO RAISE OR LOWER THAT COMPONENT.
BUT THE SUPPLY SIDE OF IT, IT'LL JUST VARY WITHIN NAMPA.
UM, THE OTHER THING I'D LIKE TO SEE EXPLORE IS, IS PASSING THESE, THESE TRUE UPS IN A, IN A FUEL SUPPLY, UM, COST ADD AND ADJUST PASS THESE FUEL COSTS ON TO OUR CUSTOMERS, UM, AS THEY, AS THEY GO UP AND DOWN.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY COMPONENTS LIKE THAT RIGHT NOW IN OUR, IN OUR RATE STRUCTURES.
UM, THE OTHER THINGS WE COULD DO IS WE COULD DO A FULL COST OF SERVICE STUDY AND LOOK AT THE COST OF SERVICE ACROSS ALL OF OUR RATES, LOOK AT ALL OF OUR REVENUE REQUIREMENTS.
UM, AND THAT'S A LITTLE BIT LONGER TIME PERIOD TO DO SOMETHING THAT, THAT WAY.
UM, IN THE, IN THE LONG TERM, I THINK WE'RE HEADED TOWARDS, UH, TIME OF USE RATES.
UM, IT'S, IT'S GOING THAT WAY IN THE INDUSTRY, UH, FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS.
IT IT, IT'S GAME OF LOAD MANAGEMENT AND, AND SHAVING PEAKS AND TURNING OFF THERMOSTATS AND HOT WATER TANKS AND RUNNING GENERATORS.
UM, WITH A TIME OF U USE RATE, YOU CAN OFFER THE CUSTOMER THEIR CHOICE.
DO YOU WANT TO AVOID THE PEAK CONTROL YOUR OWN DEVICES OR YOU PAY A HIGHER PRICE AT PEAKING TIMES, OR YOU WANT TO USE DURING THE OFF-PEAK TIME WHEN THE PRICES AS WELL, UM, AND GIVE THE CONSUMERS THOSE CHOICE.
CHARLIE, WHAT'S, WHAT'S TO DO PROJECTING ON THEIR RETAIL RATES, HENCE WHO YOU BELIEVE, UM, I HEARD SCUTTLEBUTT, UH, 20% THIS YEAR, BUT THAT'S GOTTA BE APPROVED, RIGHT? CORRECT.
THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE TAKING TO THE, UH, BOARD, UH, PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION.
WHAT'LL BE APPROVED? I DON'T KNOW, 20%.
AND, AND WE GOTTA BE REALLY CAREFUL WHEN YOU TALK TO ME ABOUT RATES.
THERE'S A LOT OF, THERE'S A LOT OF COMPONENTS IN OUR RATES THAT THEY'RE NOT LINEAR.
SO ONE THING THAT DUKE DID LAST TIME ON THEIR LAST RATE INCREASE IS THEY DIDN'T NECESSARILY CHANGE THE COST PER KILOWATT HOUR, BUT THEY ADDED A LINE ITEM FOR STORM RECOVERY COSTS.
SO NOW EVERYBODY IS PAYING A RESIDENTIAL EQUIVALENT FOR COLLECTING THE COST OF, OF STORMS. UM, IT'S A FLAT RATE AND THEY ADDED SOME OTHER FEATURES, UM, TO THEIR BILL DIDN'T NECESSARILY RAISE THE COST PER KILOWATT HOUR.
UM, THEY'RE ALSO, DUKE IS ALSO INTRODUCING A, UM, CARBON REDUCTION PLAN IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA.
AND, UM, THEY OPERATE BOTH IN NORTH CAROLINA AND SOUTH CAROLINA.
SOUTH CAROLINA IS NOT CRAZY ABOUT IT.
UH, SO DUKE IS TRYING TO FIGURE A WAY TO REORGANIZE SO THAT THEY CAN DO IT IN NORTH CAROLINA.
AND I'M, I WAS WITH DUKE, UH, LEADERSHIP A WEEK AGO IN WILMINGTON, AND THEY MADE MENTION FOR THAT TO HAPPEN, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO BLEND OUR CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE HERE IN THE EAST EAST THAT I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT WITH THE CONTRACT IN THE WEST.
I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT'S GONNA WORK.
I JUST TOLD YOU IT WAS EXPIRED IN 2045.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT SIDE OF THAT ARGUMENT WE'RE GONNA WANT TO GET ON YET.
UM, BUT IT, IT'S A PRETTY DYNAMIC SITUATION.
UM, I DON'T WANT YOU FOLKS TO BE UNAWARE THAT, UH, IT'S DYNAMIC AND THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE GOING ON AND THERE ARE SOME EXPOSURES AND RISKS TO OUR POWER SUPPLY CONTRACTS.
UM, AND THEN MY, MY LAST QUESTION IS, OUR DEBT SERVICE ROLLS OFF IN 2025 JULY.
HOW MUCH IS THAT ANNUALLY? 3.2 MILLION ISH.
[01:15:02]
OUR DEBT SERVICE, UM, THAT YOU JUST ASKED ABOUT FOR THE EMI EXPANSIONS, UM, WE HAVE 3.5 MILLION THAT'LL COME OFF BY THE END OF, OR BY MAY, 2026.THE PHASE TWO AMI COMES OFF, UM, DECEMBER 1ST, 2024, AND THAT HAS 1,069,000 SURVEILLANCE.
AND THEN THE AMI EXPANSION IS THE ONE THAT GOES OFF IN MAY 17TH, 2026 WITH ALMOST 2.5 BALANCE.
AND ONE OF THE VERY PASSIONATE CONVERSATIONS I'VE BEEN HAVING WITH NICK KEA AND ELECTRICITY'S STAFF IS ALL OF THE MEMBERS AT.SERVICES COMING OFF, WHY DO A 2%, 3%, 5% INCREASE OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS AND THEN IN 2025 FOR US, IT'S A 9% REDUCTION.
DON'T DO THAT TO OUR RATE PAYERS.
WE'VE GOTTA FIND A DIFFERENT WAY TO LEVEL THAT OFF.
HAVEN'T BEEN SUCCESSFUL SO FAR,
WE COULD DO IT ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO WHEN THIS TOPIC CAME UP.
IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN BEFORE YOU GOT THERE.
NOT WITH ALL THE OTHER OPERATING COSTS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO, THAT WAS BEFORE THE TRANSFORMER DEBACLE.
ALL THE OTHER INFLATIONARY COSTS THAT WE'RE SEEING, AND IT'S NOT SO MUCH INFLATION.
UM, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW THESE RATES WERE DESIGNED.
I DON'T HAVE ANY OF THAT HISTORY.
THEY SEEM TO HAVE BEEN WORKING OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS COLLECTING ENOUGH REVENUE.
UM, BUT I DON'T THINK THEY WERE DESIGNED FOR MUCH TO RECOVER MUCH MORE INFLATION AT THIS PACE OF INFLATION.
SO EVEN IF WE COULD ABSORB THE POWER SUPPLY SIDE OF IT, CAUTION US THAT THE OPERATING SIDE OF THE BUSINESS IS, HAS EXPOSURE TO, UM, DEPENDING ON, ON WHO WE BELIEVE IT, YOU KNOW, I HEAR EIGHT TO 12%, UM, CONSUMER PRICING INDEX.
WE ALSO HAVE THE, UM, RECENTLY WHEN WE DID THE TRANSFER, UH, FOR THE ELECTRIC FUND OVER TO THE METRONET FOR 3 MILLION.
AND THEN 500,000 TO THE, UM, ELECTRIC SYSTEM CAPACITY.
SUBSTATION AND I'M, AND I'M, I'M BUILDING, UM, I'M COLLECTING REVENUE IN THE NC D O T FUND.
UM, AND UH, THAT'S, THAT'S LOOKING VERY GOOD.
UM, AND THEY JUST KICKED OFF THE, UM, THURMAN ROAD TO HAVELOCK SECTION OF THE PROJECT.
SO, UM, THAT, THAT'S CONTINUING.
BUT, UH, UM, WE'RE OPERATING A PLUS IN THAT FUND.
I I WAS, WE'RE WE'RE PAYING ABOUT $250,000 A MONTH OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT FOR THAT, FOR THE DEBT SERVICES FOR THE, UM, POWER PLANT.
TWO 80, I THINK 288,000 A MONTH.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? 3.2 MILLION 80.
HEY, WOULD IT BE TO OUR ADVANTAGE TO PAY THAT OFF? I MEAN, IF WE'RE PAYING $280,000 A MONTH, THAT'S GOING TO AFFECT OUR CASH ON HAND QUITE SIGNIFICANTLY THOUGH.
AND WE'RE ALREADY, MERCHANT'S REPORT SHOWED US, UM, JUST UNDER 80 DAYS.
WHY WOULD WE PAY IT OFF EARLY? I, I DON'T KNOW.
I I MEAN, I WAS JUST WONDERING IF IT WOULD, I LOOKED, IT WOULDS.
I MEAN, IF WE'VE BEEN PAY IT OFF, WE'RE CURRENTLY PAYING $280,000 A MONTH.
I'LL, I'LL TAKE A NOTE TO LOOK AT THAT.
I DID IT A COUPLE YEARS AGO, MIGHT SAY THIS AND IT, BY THE TIME I GET WORKING THROUGH ALL THE FEES AND LEGAL COSTS TO DO THAT WASN'T REAL ATTRACTIVE AND I STOPPED MYSELF.
BUT I CAN TAKE A SECOND LOOK AT THEM AND YEAH, I DON'T, I DON'T, I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT, BUT THERE WAS NO BENEFIT IN PAYING IT OFF EARLY.
WELL, OTHER THAN YOU CAN REDUCE THE RATE, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO REDUCE THE RATE TO THE CUSTOMER.
I LOVE WHAT YOU'RE THINKING, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT'S REALISTIC.
I DON'T THINK WE COULD PAY THAT OFF AND ABSORB A POTENTIAL COST INCREASE.
$280,000 A MONTH IS A LOT OF THE PAYMENT.
I MEAN, IF YOU COULD, I RECKON MY THOUGHT IS WE HAVE REFINANCED THINGS BEFORE AND SAVED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY.
I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THIS WOULD BE BENEFICIAL IF YOU DO ANYTHING, YOU USE IT TO ABSORB THE WHOLESALE COSTS OF COMING AT US.
I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY THE MORE REALISTIC APPROACH, I THINK WHEN THE DEBT SERVICE ROLLS OFF, ESPECIALLY THE POWER
[01:20:01]
SUPPLY.THEN IF WE LOOK AT THIS ON A FIVE YEAR PROJECTION, WHICH YOU CAN'T DO IT BECAUSE I CAN TELL YOU EVERY TIME WE'VE HAD THIS DISCUSSION, NO MATTER WHO'S BEEN STANDING IN YOUR POSITION, THEY'VE ALWAYS SAID WE SHOULDN'T LOWER THE RATES AND WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO EAT IT.
AND EVERY SINGLE TIME IT'S WORKED OUT IN OUR FAVOR.
NOW, WE MAY HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE, BUT THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENED EVERY TIME.
SO, SO, SO CHARLIE, WHAT, WHERE YOU ARE, YOU KNOW, THE INFORMATION YOU JUST PROVIDED TO US, UM, FROM THE CAMPER WITH THE RATE INCREASE, THIS IS WHAT MAY BE COMING DOWN THE LINE FOR US, FOR OUR POWER, FOR THE, FOR THE CITY OF NEWBURN FOR THESE INCREASED FEES.
BUT YOU REALLY WON'T KNOW UNTIL THEY ACTUALLY VOTE IN OCTOBER.
I'LL, I'LL HAVE TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THIS.
UH, JU JUNE WILL BE A VERY GOOD MARKER FOR ME, CUZ THOSE EXPENSES SHOULD BE FINALIZED IN JUNE.
SO JULY-ISH, I SHOULD BE, UM, HAVE A SENSE OF WHAT THAT, THE MAGNITUDE OF THAT TRUE UP IS BETWEEN NOW AND IN THAT TIME, I CAN BE WORKING ON, UM, IDEAS FOR, UH, RATE INCREASES OKAY.
TO BRING BACK TO YOU, UH, SO THAT I HAVE SOME, SOME OPTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER AND THEN THEN NOT TILL OCTOBER, WELL, I KNOW RIGHT, WHICH WAY THIS THING IS GOING.
BUT I MIGHT BE ABLE TO PUT SOME IMAGINARIES NUMBERS IN SOME, IN SOME, UH, GREAT DESIGNS.
BUT, BUT THEN AGAIN, THEY MIGHT VOTE TO ABSORB THE COST, CORRECT? MOST LIKELY THEY WILL.
MOST LIKELY, FROM WHAT I HEAR, THEY'LL ABSORB THE COST AND THEN THEY'LL TURN AROUND AND DO A 3% OR MORE INCREASE APRIL, AND THEN A TWO OR MORE PERCENT INCREASE APRIL, 2025.
AND THEN THREE MONTHS LATER, OUR DEBT SERVICE COMES OFF.
WHY CAN'T WE LEVEL THIS THING OFF? LET'S MAKE WORKING CAPITAL SURVIVE AND LET'S RIDE THROUGH THIS.
I DON'T WANT MY CUSTOMERS GOING UP AND DOWN AND UP AND DOWN.
UM, WE COULD, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE TAKE THE CONSERVATIVE APPROACH AND, UH, AND INCREASE RATES, WE MAY OVER COLLECT NOW.
UM, OR, OR WE MAY, UM, MARGINALLY COLLECT NOW POSSIBLY OVER COLLECT IN THE FUTURE AND THEN, AND THEN MAKE A CHANGE.
UM, BUT FROM MY POSITION, I'VE ALWAYS GOTTA ADVISE YOU TO OVER COLLECT.
KIM, DID YOU SHARE WITH THE BOARD THE DEBT SERVICE FOR THE ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT? WHATEVER EXCEL DOCUMENT YOU TRACK THAT ON? YES, I CAN, I CAN ACTUALLY.
DO YOU WANT THE FULL BALANCE RIGHT NOW, WHAT WE HAVE TOTAL FOR ELECTRIC FUND OR DO YOU WANT THE PAYOFF SCHEDULE? THE PAYOFF SCHEDULE.
I CAN DO THAT BECAUSE WE CAN, WE CAN PULL THE DAY'S CASH ON HAND FROM THE LATEST MONTHLY REPORT.
SO I JUST WANTED TO ANSWER YOU ALDERMAN ASER, UM, OUR, WITH OUR DAY'S CASH ON HAND ALREADY QUITE, YOU KNOW, BELOW THE BAR, THE BENCHMARK AND THE INCREASED COSTS ON, AND THEN ADDING THAT AS WELL.
I JUST THINK IT WOULD PUT US INTO A POSITION THAT I WOULD FEEL VERY UNCOMFORTABLE, ESPECIALLY GOING INTO HURRICANE SEASON.
THAT'S ALL I HAD PREPARED TO DISCUSS.
I APPRECIATE, UH, YOUR FEEDBACK AND, UH, GIVING ME SOME IDEAS AND, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THANK YOU, CHARLIE, FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK.
AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO ASK JORDAN HUGHES TO COME UP AND TALK ABOUT SEWER FINAL.
IT'S COLIN GETS US SET UP REAL HERE.
I'VE ACTUALLY GOT A COUPLE DOCUMENTS WENT AHEAD AND PUT IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY.
I'VE GOT A PRINTOUT OF THE SLIDES HERE, SO IF YOU WANNA MAKE SOME NOTES, SHE'S GOT THAT FOR YOU AS WELL AS A LITTLE TWO PAGER THAT'S, UH, KIND OF A SUMMARY OF THE WATER AND SEWER FUND, UH, FOR THE BUDGET FOR FY 24.
SO JUST THINK OF THAT AS A READER'S DIGEST CONDENSED VERSION OF WHAT'S IN THE BUDGET BOOK.
THERE'S A LOT IN THERE, IT GETS KIND OF MESSY, SO I'LL TRY TO CONDENSE THAT DOWN TO A SINGLE PAGE, EACH FUND FOR YOU TO GIVE YOU, GIVE YOU THE HIGH POINT.
UH, SO I'M GONNA GO THROUGH, UH, A COUPLE OF SLIDES REAL QUICK.
JUST GIVE YOU AN UPDATE OF, OF WHERE WE ARE WITH THE WATER AND SEWER FUNDS AND SOME CHALLENGES WE'RE LOOKING AT WITH, UM, THOSE FUNDS AS WE MOVE INTO FY 24.
UM, SO AS WE MOVE INTO FY 24, WE, WE'VE GOT SEVERAL THINGS.
WE'RE GONNA PRESENT SOME CHALLENGES TO THE WATER AND SEWER FUNDS.
UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST, I THINK CHARLIE HAS HIGHLIGHTED THIS, AND I THINK EVERYBODY MAY HAVE THAT.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS IN ANY OPPORTUNITY WE'VE HAD FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS,
[01:25:01]
BUT ESSENTIALLY OUR, OUR COST OF DOING BUSINESS, OUR OPERATIONAL COSTS, UM, THE GROWTH IN THOSE COSTS IS OUTPACING OUR REVENUE COSTS AND HAS BEEN FOR THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF OR TWO YEARS.UM, THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT IS JUST MORE EXPENSIVE TO DO BUSINESS TODAY, AND THAT RATE IS GROWING FASTER THAN WE'RE ADDING CUSTOMERS AND OUR REVENUE IS INCREASING.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DEVELOPING A GAP BETWEEN THE MONEY WE'RE BRINGING IN AND THE MONEY WE'RE GOING OUT.
AND, AND THAT GAP HAS GOT SUBSTANTIAL ENOUGH TO THE POINT WE NEED TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ON WHAT TO DO ABOUT THAT GAP.
AND WE'LL LOOK AT SOME OPTIONS FOR FY 24.
UH, SOME THINGS THAT ARE ADDING TO THAT AND COMPLICATING OUR REGIONAL CONSTRUCTION DEMAND AND GROWTH.
AND I USE THE WORD REGIONAL IN HERE, BUT THIS REALLY IS MORE OF A, A NORTH CAROLINA PROBLEM.
UH, WE ARE SEEING UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH IN THE UTILITY CONSTRUCTION WORLD, UM, FUELED BY A LOT OF THINGS HERE, HERE LOCALLY.
WE'VE GOT PROBLEMS WITH, UH, PROBLEMS WHERE WE'VE GOT IMPACTS FROM OUR NC D O T PROJECTS, A LOT OF HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS GOING ON THAT ALL NEED WATER AND WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND IN BIG BOLD LETTERS, THEY'VE GOT A RPA AND B I L PROJECTS.
THOSE ARE OUR, OUR A RPA PROJECTS AND OUR BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW MONEY PROJECTS.
SO THESE ARE BIG CHUNKS OF MONEY THAT HAVE COME DOWN THROUGH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, BEEN DISTRIBUTED IN EVERY, EVERY MUNICIPALITY IN COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY GOT A R P MONEY, MUCH LIKE NEWBURN DID.
A LOT OF, UH, JURISDICTIONS TOOK THAT MONEY AND DID WATER WASTE WATER PROJECTS.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF OUT THERE FOR BID RIGHT NOW.
THERE'S A HIGH DEMAND ON CONTRACTORS.
ON TOP OF THAT, THERE'S MONEY THAT WAS FUNNELED DOWN TO THE STATE THROUGH A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT AVENUES THAT MONEY HAS REALLY NOT HIT THE STREET YET, BUT THAT IS NOT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OR HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS.
THAT'S BILLIONS OF DOLLARS JUST IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER IMPROVEMENTS.
ON TOP OF THAT, FORTHCOMING IN THE NEXT YEAR OR SO, WE'LL START SEEING THE, THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW MONEY, WHICH IS, AGAIN, MORE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS JUST IN NORTH CAROLINA, FUNNELED THROUGH THOSE SAME AVENUES IN THE STATE.
I SAY THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER PROJECT THAT HAS NOT TRADITIONALLY BEEN HERE.
WHAT THAT HAS DONE IS CREATED AN EXTREMELY HIGH DEMAND FOR OUR CONTRACTOR RESOURCE EQUIPMENT MATERIALS.
UM, IT MAKES IT VERY EXPENSIVE TO DO BUSINESS RIGHT NOW, WHETHER I'M TRYING TO BUY A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT, GET A CONTRACTOR TO DO WORK, BUY, YOU KNOW, COMPONENTS, METERS, PUMPS, PIPES, ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH OUR WATER WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE THAT COSTS IS CONTINUE TO ESCALATE.
AND THE DRIVER BEHIND MOST OF IT IS ALL THIS MONEY CAN BE DUMPED INTO, INTO THE SYSTEM.
PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, A, A SEWER, WE WE'RE JUST GOT SOME PRICES ON A, A SMALL SEWER LINING PROJECT, UH, ON MLK BY THE PIZZA HUT.
SOMETHING THAT WOULD'VE COST US $80 A FOOT LINE, A SECTION OF PIPE, UH, TWO OR THREE YEARS AGO.
THE CHEAPEST PRICE WE'RE GETTING BACK IN IS IN THE $400 RANGE.
AND WE'RE SEEING THAT WITH A LOT OF STUFF.
AND QUITE FRANKLY, THE CONTRACTOR ARE CHARGING THAT MUCH BECAUSE THEY CAN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE TURNING DOWN MORE WORK, THERE'S MORE WORK THAN THEY CAN DO.
THEY'RE TURNING IT DOWN LEFT AND RIGHT.
THEY'RE PICKING WHAT THEY WANT TO DO, AND YOU'RE GONNA PAY A PREMIUM, GET CONTRACTORS IN HERE, DO WORK.
SO I SAY, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A LOT TO JUST SAY IT'S NOT A, A, YOU KNOW, A CHEAP TIME TO DO WORK IN THE WATER WASTEWATER WORLD.
WHAT COMPLICATES THIS MORE FOR NEWBURN IS THAT WE ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR APPLYING FOR THOSE AR THOSE STATE LEVEL ARPA FUNDS OR THOSE BILL FUNDS, ALL THAT MONEY IN NORTH CAROLINA.
IT GETS FUNNELED THROUGH, UH, A PROGRAM THAT'S ADMINISTERED BY THE DIVISION OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, AND THERE'S AN APPLICATION PROCESS THROUGH THAT.
THERE'S SOME, THERE'S SOME FINANCIAL STATEMENTS THAT YOU HAVE TO CERTIFY AND BE BECAUSE OF THAT.
WE'RE JUST INELIGIBLE FOR APPLYING FOR THAT.
SO DURING THIS TIME OF THE NEXT, UM, IDEALLY THIS MONEY'S SUPPOSED TO BE SPENT BY 26.
I I HONESTLY DON'T SEE HOW THEY'RE GONNA DO IT, BUT FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS, WHY YOU'VE GOT AN ELEVATED CONSTRUCTION COST.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE KIND OF PLAYING WITH HOUSE MONEY, WE'RE PLAYING OUT OF POCKET.
SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND AS WELL ADD ON TO THAT.
WE HAVE SEVERAL OF OUR OWN INTERNAL PROJECTS IN NEWBURN THAT ARE, ARE EITHER ONGOING NOW OR WILL BE INITIATED TO BE ACTIVE IN FY 24.
AND THESE ARE SOME BIG TICKET ITEMS IN THE LITTLE TWO PAGER ON THE BACK THAT HIGHLIGHTS, UH, SOME STUFF IN THE WATER AND WASTEWATER FUNDS THE TOP OF BOTH OF THOSE WITH WATER AND SEWER.
I KIND OF GIVE YOU, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME COST NUMBERS OF WHAT'S, UH, WHAT'S ALLOCATED TOWARDS THESE PROJECTS FOR THE YEARS TO COME.
SO YOU, YOU'VE GOT OUR, OUR LARGE SEWER IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT IN JAMES CITY THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON CURRENTLY UNDERWAY.
THAT WILL WRAP UP, UM, THIS CALENDAR YEAR, BUT IT'LL BE IN FY 24 WHEN THAT WRAPS UP.
WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK ON OUR JAMES CITY, UH, HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.
OUR UTILITY RELOCATIONS WITHIN CO D O T WE'RE UNDER CONSTRUCTION WITH PHASE ONE.
AS CHARLIE MENTIONED, THEY'RE JUST GETTING INTO THE DESIGN PHASE FOR THE, UH, FOR
[01:30:01]
THE SECOND PORTION OF THAT PROJECT, WHICH IS THURMAN ROAD TO THE HAVELOCK BYPASS.I'LL PROBABLY HAVE AN AGREEMENT FROM NC D O T, UM, WHERE WE'LL HAVE, WE'LL HAVE TO AGREE TO PAY OUR PORTION OF THE UTILITY RELOCATION COST FOR THAT SECTION OF THE ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, BEFORE FY 20, UH, FOUR IS OVER.
I ANTICIPATING GETTING THE SAME TYPE OF INFORMATION BACK FROM NCD D O T FOR THE HIGHWAY 43 CONNECTOR AND THE UTILITY RELOCATIONS THAT REQUIRED CUZ OF THAT PROJECT.
UM, BASED ON GENERAL STATUTES AND THE SIZE OF NEWBURN, ANYTIME WE ARE DOING UTILITY RELOCATIONS, WE WATER A WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE THAT CURRENTLY EXISTS WITHIN THE D O T RIGHTS OF WAY NEW BERN'S REQUIRED TO PROVIDE A 25% CONTRIBUTION TO THAT, YOU KNOW, TO THOSE WORK.
SO IF IT'S A 10 MILLION PROJECT, WE'VE GOTTA COME UP WITH 2.5 MILLION TO COVER THAT COSTS.
UH, ON TOP OF THAT WE'VE GOT THE SIMMONS STREET WATER AND SEWER REHABILITATION PROJECT.
THIS IS A LOCAL PROJECT WITH DOTS TRYING TO GET UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN, IN 25.
SO WE'LL LIKELY BE LOOKING IN THE SECOND HALF FY 24, LOOKING AT SOME UTILITY RELOCATION FOR THAT PROJECT.
THAT'S BASICALLY REPLACING ALL THE UNDERGROUND INFRASTRUCTURE AND RESURFACING SIMMONS STREET FROM THE RAILROAD TRACKS ALL THE WAY DOWN TO TRENT ROAD.
WE HAVE QUITE A BIT OF WATER AND WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE IN THAT, UH, MOST NOTABLY A VERY LARGE WATER MAIN.
WE HAVE 12 INCH, UH, ASBESTOS CEMENT WATER MAIN IN THERE.
IT'S CAUSES SOME TROUBLE OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS AND IT'S ONE WE REALLY LIKE TO GET INTO PLACE AND CERTAINLY PLACE BEFORE THEY DO ANY REPAVING WORK.
THEN WE HAVE OUR NORTHWEST INTERCEPTOR REHABILITATION PROJECT, PHASES TWO AND THREE, UH, PHASE TWO, WE ACTUALLY OPEN BIDS THURSDAY OF THIS WEEK.
SO I HAVE A PRETTY GOOD IDEA OF WHAT THAT'S GONNA COST.
UH, IF EVERYTHING GOES WELL, WE'D HOPE TO HAVE PHASE THREE OUT FOR BID BY THE, BY THE, THE SECOND HALF OF FI 24.
THIS IS ESSENTIALLY DOING SOME IN, YOU KNOW, INSIDE LINING, SOME SECURED IN PLACE PIPE LINING OF A VERY LARGE SEWER OUTFALL.
IT'S A 36 INCH OUTFALL THAT CARRIES ABOUT A THIRD OF THE SEWER FROM NEWBURN, UH, FROM THE WESTERN HALF OF NEWBURN TO THE, TO THE TREATMENT PLANT.
RUNS THROUGH SOME VERY S SWAMPY AREAS.
IT'S A VERY OLD PIECE OF INFRASTRUCTURE.
UH, IT'S MADE OUT OF CONCRETE.
IT'S GOT SOME, SOME HIGH, UH, SOME HIGH DETERIORATION IN CERTAIN PLACES DUE TO SOME HYDRO AND SULFIDE CAST CORROSION OVER THE YEARS.
UM, SO THIS IS ONE WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE NAILED DOWN.
WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE ANY SURPRISES FROM FOR YEARS TO COME.
AND LASTLY, ON THE LIST THERE, I HAVE THE WEST NEWTON WATER SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH IS A LARGE SCALE WATER SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT PROJECT ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF TOWN.
ESSENTIALLY CREATES A LOOP BETWEEN TWO DEAD ENDS OF THE WATER SYSTEM.
PROVIDES, UH, THE CAPACITY WE NEED FOR THE, THE CURRENT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OVER THERE FOR THE DOMESTIC SUPPLY AS WELL AS FIREFIGHTING SUPPLY, UH, FOR THE YEARS TO COME.
UM, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS PROJECT QUITE A BIT OVER THE LAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS.
IT'S CURRENTLY IN THE PERMITTING PHASE.
UH, WE HOPE TO GET IT OUT FOR BID BY THE END OF THE SUMMER AND GET SOME CONTRACT BY, YOU KNOW, THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR, BUT ABOUT MIDWAY THROUGH 24.
THERE'S A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION IN THE BACK OF THE PACKET IN THOSE LITTLE ONE PAGERS, BUT WE'VE GOT A LOT OF CAPITAL PROJECTS COMING UP.
UM, ALL THE COST ASSESSMENTS WE'VE DONE FOR THOSE PROJECTS IN THE LAST TWO OR THREE YEARS, AND KIND OF TAKE THOSE AND THROW 'EM OUT THE WINDOW AT THIS POINT, UM, BASED ON WHAT WE'RE SEEING WHEN PRICES COMING BACK IN.
SO WE, WE'LL TAKE THESE ONE AT A TIME AS WE GET TO 'EM, AS WE ADDRESS 'EM, BUT YOU KNOW, THE, THE COST OF WHAT WE THOUGHT THESE PROJECTS WERE GONNA BE A YEAR AND A HALF OR TWO YEARS AGO BASED ON GOOD DATA, UM, THERE'RE PROBABLY GONNA BE SUBSTANTIALLY MORE THAN THAT DUE TO THE, THE COST ESCALATIONS WE'RE SEEING FROM ALL THE DRIVERS MENTIONED ABOVE.
SO THAT, THAT'S A LOT TO TAKE IN.
UM, AND IT'S, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S NONE OF THAT'S REALLY GREAT NEWS.
SO I CAN GET TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
IF IT'S NOT ANYTHING BETTER THAN THIS, JUST SKIP IT, IT ACTUALLY GETS A LITTLE BETTER.
THE OLD FASHIONED, UH, A MESSAGE FROM MY TOO.
ALL RIGHT, THIS SLIDES A LITTLE BETTER, MAYOR.
UH, SO THIS, THIS IS, THIS IS SOME GOOD NEWS.
THIS IS WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE IN, IN THE UTILITY WORLD.
SO LIKE WE SEE, UH, AS A UTILITY MANAGER, UM, THESE ARE OUR, OUR GROWTH TREND FOR WATER AND SEWER CUSTOMERS OVER THE LAST DECADE OR SO.
AND, AND WHAT I REALLY WANT YOU TO PAY ATTENTION TO IS THE AREA THAT HAVE CIRCLED IN RED.
WHAT YOU GOT THERE IS A VERY CONSISTENT, STEADY GROWTH IN CUSTOMER BASE OF ABOUT TWO TO TWO AND A HALF PERCENT, UH, IN BOTH THE WATER AND SEWER CUSTOMER BASE.
OVER THE LAST, YOU KNOW, OVER THE LAST SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS THAT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT'S SLOWING DOWN AND TALKING TO THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY, THE DEVELOPMENT WORLD, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE ALL ON TRACK TO CONTINUE, YOU KNOW, GROWING THE CUSTOMER BASE AT A FAIRLY STEADY TWO TO TWO AND A HALF PERCENT IN THE
[01:35:01]
YEARS TO COME.THAT'S GOOD NEWS A LOT, LOT OF TIMES THAT THAT CAN GET FLATLINED THAT CAN GO THE WRONG DIRECTION FOR VARIOUS REASONS.
UH, WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WE'RE GROWING AS A UTILITY.
UM, ANOTHER GOOD NEWS IF, UH, LOOK AT REVENUE TRENDS OVER KINDA THE SAME PERIOD OF TIME, YOU'LL SEE AGAIN, UH, DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THE AREA OF CIRCLE AND RED.
OUR REVENUES ARE CONTINUING TO GROW KIND OF IN PARALLEL WITH THE CUSTOMER GROWTH.
WE'RE ADDING CUSTOMERS, WE'RE ADDING REVENUE.
THE, THE MONEY WE NEED TO OPERATE IT IS GROWING EVERY YEAR AS THE EXPENSE IS GROWING.
UM, SO FROM FY 20 TO 24, OUR REVENUE INCREASED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, 10.8% AND OUR SEWER REVENUE INCREASED ABOUT 7.8%.
SO, YOU KNOW, IN THAT FOUR YEAR SPAN, WE, WE DID A PRETTY GOOD JOB OF ADDING CUSTOMERS AND THAT HELPED OFFSET SOME OF THOSE, THOSE COST INCREASES FROM, YOU KNOW, UH, FROM LABOR EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS, EVERYTHING THAT GOES INTO RUNNING UTILITY.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE VERY LAST LINE AT THE BOTTOM, YOU'LL SEE THERE THAT THE EXPENSE OVER THE SAME TIME PERIOD HAS GROWN AT A MUCH FASTER RATE.
SO WHERE WE GREW ALMOST 11% IN REVENUE, WE GREW 26% IN EXPENSE.
WE GREW 24% IN, IN IN EXPENSE.
AND MOST OF THAT REALLY IS IN THE LAST THREE YEARS, WE HAVE SEEN AN EXPONENTIAL, YOU KNOW, UH, COST INCREASES IN A LOT OF THINGS.
AND REALLY OUR BIG TICKET ITEMS ARE WHAT ARE HITTING US, THE HARDER OUR TREATMENT CHEMICALS, OUR PUMPS, OUR BRASS FITTINGS, THINGS THAT ARE TYPICALLY VERY EXPENSIVE IN OUR OPERATION.
THOSE ARE THE THINGS WE'RE SEEING THE HIGHEST INCREASE IN.
UM, SO IT'S REALLY, IT'S REALLY HITTING US HARD.
SO NEXT, GIVE YOU JUST KIND AN OVERVIEW OF WHERE, WHERE WE'RE TRENDING, UH, IN GENERAL WITH THE WATER.
UH, THIS IS JUST LOOKING AT OUR WATER FUND.
THIS IS EX EXPENSE AND REVENUE TRENDS OVER THE LAST, YOU KNOW, SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS.
AND, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THE, THE TOP GRAPH THERE IS ALL OF OUR, OUR, OUR COST EXPENSE CENTERS, IF YOU WILL, IN THE WATER FUND.
YOU'VE GOT WATER TREATMENT, DISTRIBU DISTRIBUTION, MAINTENANCE, ADMIN, DEBT, SHARED SERVICE, UH, AND INTERFUND TRANSFERS AND TRANSFER SUPPORT.
YOU KIND OF LOOK FROM LEFT TO RIGHT ACROSS THAT CHART.
YOU'LL NOTICE ALL OF THOSE BOXES CONTINUE TO GET A LITTLE BIGGER EVERY YEAR.
UH, REALLY THE ONLY ONE THAT IS, IS KIND OF, UH, GETTING SMALLER AND PROVIDING US ANY RELIEF IS OUR WATER FUND DEBT.
WE, WE HAVE HAD SOME DEBT ROLL OFF.
WE'VE GOT A, A SIGNIFICANT PORTION THAT'S ROLLING OFF THIS YEAR THAT, THAT HELPS A LITTLE BIT, BUT THAT'S NOT QUITE ENOUGH TO GET US THERE.
UM, BELOW THAT YOU'LL SEE OUR, OUR WATER FUND CASH ON HAND TRENDS.
WHAT I'VE TRIED TO DO THERE IS PAINT THE PICTURE FOR YOU, UH, SINCE, UH, 2018 WHERE WE'VE TRENDED WITH WHAT THE MINIMUM LEVEL SHOULD BE AND WHERE THE CASH ON HAND HAS BEEN.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THE THE BLUE LINE IS, IS WHERE THE CASH IS.
THE RED LINE IS WHERE YOU WANT TO BE.
WE'VE HAD A, A FAIRLY COMFORTABLE, UH, BALANCE ABOVE THE RED LINE.
WE, WE'VE BEEN DOING PRETTY GOOD AT MAINTAINING A, A, A CASH BALANCE ABOVE THE MINIMUM.
THAT BALANCE HAS SHRUNK A LITTLE BIT IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS.
AND WE, WE HAVE SEVERAL LARGE CAPITAL PROJECTS CUT FORTHCOMING IN FY 24.
SO JUST TWO OF 'EM TALKED ABOUT THE WEST NEWBURN WATER PROJECT AND THE SIMMONS STREET WESTBURN WATER PROJECT.
OUR LAST ESTIMATE WAS 4.5 MILLION.
SIMMONS STREET WAS 1.5 MILLION.
SO JUST THOSE TWO PROJECTS ALONE, A $6 MILLION HIT.
WE CAN DO DIFFERENT THINGS THERE.
WE CAN LOOK AT, UH, DEBT OPTIONS.
WE CAN LOOK AT FUND BALANCE OPTIONS.
UM, BUT THAT GAP CURRENTLY BETWEEN CASH ON HAND AND MINIMUM LEVELS ABOUT $2.3 MILLION.
UM, SO WE'VE GOT A BUFFER THERE, BUT IT'S NOT A BUFFER THAT'S GOING TO ABSORB ALL OF OUR CAPITAL NEEDS, UH, MOVING FORWARD.
SO NEXT, VERY SIMILAR IN THE SEWER FUND, THE, THE SAME TYPE OF GRAPH AT THE TOP.
WE SHOW OUR EXPENSE CENTERS OVER THE LAST SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS, VERY SIMILAR, OUR OPERATION DIVISION, YOU SEE THOSE BOXES GETTING LARGER EVERY YEAR.
YOU WILL NOTICE ONE BIG ONE, ONE BIG CHANGE IN FY 24, THAT, THAT PURPLE BOX, THE DEBT ACTUALLY GETS QUITE SMALL.
WE HAVE A, A LOT OF DEBT ROLLING OFF THIS YEAR THAT REALLY DOES HELP BUT STILL DOESN'T GET YOU THERE.
UM, AGAIN, AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE, YOU'LL SEE A, THE CASH ON HAND TREND AND YOU'LL SEE THERE, WE BASICALLY, THOSE, THOSE LINES ARE FLOCKED.
WE ACTUALLY, OUR, OUR AVAILABLE CASH ON HAND IS RIDING JUST BELOW THE MINIMUM LEVEL AND HAS BEEN FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
UM, WE, WE DON'T SEE THAT REALLY CHANGING ANYTIME SOON.
WE'RE, WE'RE RIGHT AT THE MINIMUM.
AND SO FOR F FI 24 AND BEYOND, WE NEED TO MAKE EFFORTS TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT DRAWING THAT FUND BALANCE DOWN ANY, UM, AND IF WE CAN, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE, WE NEED TO MAKE EFFORTS TO PUT, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT TO THAT, TO GET BACK TO THAT MINIMUM LEVEL.
[01:40:01]
FOR YOU OR KIM.I, I THINK I ASKED THIS LAST YEAR, SO YOU MAY HAVE TO JUST REMIND ME WHEN WE ESTABLISH OUR DAVE'S CASH ON HAND FOR EACH UTILITY, WHAT WAS THE LOGIC IN CREATING THAT THERE? THERE'S A PRETTY GOOD SUMMARY.
IT'S ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE PAGES THAT MR. UH, CHE DID, UH, WHEN HE ESTABLISHED THAT GIVES THE METHODOLOGY BEHIND IT.
UM, THERE'S FOUR OR FIVE KEY POINTS THAT HE'S TRYING TO HIGHLIGHT.
THEIR EMERGENCY, UH, OPERATIONS WAS ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE TOP PRIORITIES, BUT FOUR OR FIVE KEY.
I ACTUALLY FOUND THAT LOOKING FOR THROUGH SMALL BUDGET BOOKS.
UM, THIS WEEK I'LL, I'LL GRAB THAT AND SEND IT TO KIM SO SHE CAN DISTRIBUTE THAT BACK IN CASE ANYBODY'S SEEN IT.
BUT IT, IT WAS A VERY CONCISE SUMMARY ABOUT FIVE OR SIX PAGES MM-HMM.
SO NOW IF, IF, IF YOU WILL, IF YOU'LL TURN YOUR ATTENTION TO THE, THE, THE TWO PAGE SUMMARY I'VE KIND OF PROVIDED IN, IN THE BACK AND, AND DOWN TOWARDS THE, THE VERY BOTTOM.
WE'LL START ON PAGE ONE AT THE VERY BOTTOM.
THE TOP IS BASICALLY JUST GOING THROUGH SOME SUMMARIES OF THE, THE DIFFERENT FUNDS AND, UH, KIND OF HIGHLIGHTED SOME CHANGES IN EACH DIVISION.
AS YOU GO THROUGH THE WATER FUND AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE, AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE ONE, YOU'LL SEE THE SECOND BULLET FROM THE BOTTOM WITH CURRENT REVENUE PROJECTIONS.
WATER FUND IS UNDERFUNDED BY ABOUT, UH, ABOUT $482,000 IS WHERE WE SHOULD, UM, COUPLE OPTIONS FOR ADDRESSING THAT IN FY 24.
UM, WE CAN SIMPLY PULL FROM FUND BALANCE AS YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S GONNA FURTHER LOWER THAT LEVEL.
WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF FUND BALANCE TO PLAY WITH IN THE WATER FUND.
UM, BUT THESE ARE GONNA BE REOCCURRING COSTS.
THERE'S NOT A LOT OF ONE TIME COST IN HERE THAT'S GONNA SHAPE THAT.
YOU KNOW, WE CAN, WE CAN PAY DOWN FROM THE WATER FUND THIS YEAR THAT YOU WON'T HAVE NEXT YEAR.
LOOKING AT OUR C I P OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, OUR CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN THE WATER AND SEWER FUNDS IS GONNA BE VERY SIMILAR OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
SO THERE'S NOT GONNA BE, THERE'S NOT MANY ONE-OFFS WHERE YOU CAN JUST MAKE A SINGLE CONTRIBUTION FROM THE, THE FUND BALANCE ONE YEAR AND KIND OF ERASE A DEFICIT.
YOU'RE GONNA SEE THESE SAME NUMBERS CONTINUING.
UM, ONE OF THE BIGGER CHANGES WE HAVE SEEN THIS YEAR IN THE OPERATIONAL COST, THERE IS ABOUT A $300,000 INCREASE IN OUR WATER METER COST.
AND WHAT THAT IS, IS WE ARE, WE'RE FAR ENOUGH ALONG AT OUR AMI PROJECT THAT OUR WATER AMI INFRASTRUCTURE, WE'RE GOING THROUGH REPLACEMENT OF THE NODE.
SO THE LITTLE COMMUNICATION DEVICE THAT COOKS TO METER COMMUNICATES BACK, IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE POTTED DEVICE, IT'S GOT A BATTERY, IT'S GOT A SHELF, IT'S GOT A, IT'S GOT A LIFESPAN.
WE'RE STARTING TO GET IN OUR FIRST PHASES OF REPLACING THOSE AMI NODES.
UM, AND WITH THAT, WE WE'RE KIND OF LOOKING AT WHAT A LONG-TERM PLAN WOULD BE, AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO REPLACE ABOUT 1800 OF THOSE A YEAR.
WE HAVE ABOUT A 10 YEAR LIFE, AS YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE BEST CASE SCENARIO.
WE'RE SEEING SOME OF THESE FIRST GENERATIONS NOT QUITE MAKE IT THAT FAR.
UH, THE NEWER MODELS WE'RE REPLACING 'EM WITH, UH, SEEM, SEEM TO, HAVING BETTER LUCK WITH, THEY'VE GOT A BETTER WARRANTY.
UH, WE SHOULD GET AT LEAST THAT 10 YEARS OUT.
SO WHAT I'M RECOMMENDING AT THE BOTTOM THERE, YOU'LL SEE AT THE VERY BOTTOM, SOME PROPOSED RATE AND FEE INCREASES IS A NEW FEE THIS YEAR.
IT'S A WATER METER EQUIPMENT FEE.
UH, IT'S A DOLLAR 67 CENT A MONTH.
AND BASICALLY WHAT THAT IS, THESE NODES SHOULD LAST 10 YEARS.
IT'S 120 MONTHS, THEY'RE $200 A PIECE.
IT BASICALLY TAKES $200, DIVIDES IT BY 120 MONTHS.
SO BASICALLY JUST PASSING THAT DIRECT COST ALONG TO EACH CUSTOMER INSTEAD OF A PERCENTAGE AND RATE INCREASE, WHERE THE MORE YOU USE, THE MORE YOU PAY.
THIS, THIS NUMBER REALLY IS THE SAME FOR EVERY CUSTOMER.
EVERY NODE'S THE SAME AT EVERY METER.
UM, YOU WANNA MAKE THIS AS EQUITABLE AS POSSIBLE.
UM, SO I'VE, I'M RECOMMENDING THAT AS AN ADDED TO THE, TO THE WATER RATE ORDINANCE THIS YEAR.
UH, IF APPROVED, THAT WILL GENERATE $360,000 APPROXIMATELY OF NEW REVENUE.
UM, AND COME VERY CLOSE TO, YOU KNOW, ERASING THAT, UH, ADDITIONAL EXPENSE IN THE, IN THE WATER TREATMENT DEPARTMENT THIS YEAR.
BUT THAT HELPS A LOT IN INCREASING THE, UH, DECREASING THE BUDGET DEFICIT.
THE OTHER TWO PROPOSED FEE INCREASES YOU'LL SEE THERE, AND YOU'LL SEE THESE BOTH IN WATER AND WASTEWATER.
UH, IN 2018, THE UH, NORTH CAROLINA LEGISLATOR PASSED SOME GENERAL STATUTE CHANGES THAT MADE UNIFORM CALCULATIONS FOR EVERY WATERED WASTEWATERS PROVIDED ACROSS THE STATE AND HOW WE ASSESS WHAT USED TO BE CALLED TAP FEES.
THEY'RE NOW ALL CALLED SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FEES.
AND THERE'S A VERY STRICT METHODOLOGY OF HOW THEY'RE CALCULATED.
EVERYBODY IN THE STATE WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS IN 2018, WE CALCULATED THE FEES, WE ESTABLISHED SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FEES AND CONNECTION FEES WITH THAT GENERAL STATUTE ALSO, ALSO REQUIRES US TO UPDATE THE ANALYSIS AND UPDATE THOSE FEES ON A EVERY FIVE YEARS.
[01:45:01]
WE'RE DUE FOR, UH, UP UPDATE OF THE ANALYSIS THAT CALCULATES THOSE FEES AS WELL AS UPDATING FEES THEMSELVES.WE'VE GOT THE ANALYSIS COMPLETED AT THIS POINT.
IT'S ACTUALLY POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE NOW.
WE HAVE A, IT'S A VERY LENGTHY PUBLIC REVIEW COMMENT.
IT'S 45 DAYS POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE WHERE WE CAN TAKE COMMENTS AFTER THAT.
WE, WE HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING WHERE WE CAN TAKE COMMENT AND THEN AFTER THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY, UM, MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOU FOR, FOR WHAT THOSE LOOK LIKE.
BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT A 7% INCREASE BASED ON THE CALCULATION, THE METHODOLOGY THEY HAVE TO USE IN THE, IN THE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FEE.
AND THE CONNECTION FEES ACROSS THE BOARD ALSO INCREASE TO, UH, REPRESENT WHAT OUR MATERIAL COSTS ARE TODAY.
SO WE ESTABLISHED THOSE IN 2018 BASED ON THE MATERIAL COSTS TO INSTALL A METER OR MAKE A NEW SEWER CONNECTIONS.
THOSE MATERIAL COSTS ARE SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT IN TODAY THAN THEY WERE IN 2018.
SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO, WE'RE BASICALLY LOSING MONEY, SUBSTANTIAL MONEY EVERY TIME WE MAKE A CONNECTION TODAY.
SO WHAT WE'RE DOING IS JUST BRINGING THOSE UP TO CURRENT PRICING.
UH, AND YOU'LL SEE THOSE COME BACK BEFORE YOU.
THESE AREN'T INCLUDED IN OUR, OUR ANNUAL BUDGET.
THEY'RE NOT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE OF FEES.
OUR, ALL OF OUR WATER AND SEWER RATES, OUR SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FEES AND CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES ARE ALL ESTABLISHED IN SEPARATE ORDINANCES THAT AREN'T TIED TO THE BUDGET.
SO WHAT WE'LL DO AT SOME POINT OVER THE NEXT TWO MONTHS, WE'LL BRING BACK BEFORE YOU RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RESTATING THE SCHEDULE OF FEES FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER RATES, AS WELL AS RESTATING THE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND, AND CONNECTION FEE SCHEDULE, SEPARATE ORDINANCES.
THAT'S WHY YOU, IF YOU THUMB THROUGH THE BUDGET BOOK, YOU'RE NOT GONNA SEE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FEE, CONNECTION FEE.
YOU'RE NOT GONNA SEE WATER AND SEWER RATES.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT IN SCHEDULE FEES.
THEY'RE ESTABLISHED BY SEPARATE ORDERS.
WHY THE RATES ARE THE SAME WAY.
SO FROM THE BUDGETARY STANDPOINT, ARE YOU RECOMMENDING TO PULL FROM FUND BALANCE TO BALANCE THE BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR? I, I AM NOT, I AM RECOMMENDING WE GO AHEAD AND IMPLEMENT THIS NEW METER FEE.
SO THE WATER SECTION THAT'S IN THIS PROPOSED BUDGET, IS IT BALANCED? IT IS BALANCED RIGHT NOW WITH A CONTRIBUTION AND THERE'S, THERE WILL, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A, I THINK A VERY FLUID BUDGET AT THIS POINT.
WE'RE MAKING SOME CHANGES EVEN YESTERDAY MORNING TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING, DISCUSSING SOME THINGS IN THE BUDGET.
JUST SO YOU HAVE A BALANCED DOCUMENT IN FRONT OF YOU.
YOU'LL SEE A LARGE TRANSFER FROM THE WATER FUND AND THE SEWER FUND JUST SO YOU HAVE A BALANCED NUMBER IN FRONT OF YOU.
UH, I THINK THE MESSAGE I'M TRYING TO GET ACROSS IS IT'S, IT'S UNHEALTHY TO PROBABLY TAKE THOSE FUND BALANCE, OKAY.
WE NEED TO LOOK AT OTHER WAYS TO BRING THAT REVENUE.
SO THAT'S A LOT OF, THAT'S A LOT TO TAKE IN.
AND THE MAYOR LIKES GOOD NEWS.
SO GOOD NEWS, EVEN ADDING THE DOLLAR AND 67 CENTS A MONTH CHARGE TO THE WATER BILL.
UH, THE RATE PAYERS OF CITY OF NEW BERN AND THE CUSTOMERS, THE WATER SYSTEM STILL PAYING LOWER RATES THAN YOU WOULD HAVE IN 2011.
SO LITTLE GOOD NEWS, I TOLD YOU IN 2023 YOU COULD PAY LESS FOR SERVICE THAN YOU DID IN 2011.
YOU PROBABLY TAKE THAT ACROSS THE BOARD WITH ANYTHING IN YOUR, IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE.
I KNOW I WOULD, YOU KNOW, IF ANYTHING I'VE BOUGHT AT THE HOUSE OR BOUGHT FOR THE BUSINESS COULD, COULD BE DONE AT 2011 RATES.
I JUMP ON TOP OF THAT RIGHT NOW.
AND LASTLY, ON THE SECOND PAGE OF, OF THE LITTLE TWO PAGE HANDOUT AT THE VERY BOTTOM, VERY SIMILAR SITUATION, UM, WITH THE, THE SEWER FUND.
YOU SEE THERE WE'RE CURRENTLY, BUT I THINK WHAT'S IN THE BUDGET BOOK YOU'RE LOOKING AT, WE HAVE ABOUT A $580,000, UM, DEFICIT.
UM, WE'RE GONNA HELP OUT A LITTLE BIT OF THAT WITH THE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FEE AND THE CONNECTION FEE INCREASES.
UM, BUT YOU'RE STILL GONNA BE SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THAN WHERE YOU NEED TO BE.
AND WE, WE WE'RE ALREADY BELOW THE MINIMUM FUND BALANCE.
WE DON'T NEED TO LOOK AT ADDITIONAL FUND BALANCE REDUCTIONS.
SO WHAT I'M RECOMMENDING IS A, ACROSS THE BOARD USER RATE INCREASE AT 4.5%, GENERATE A LOWER OF $500,000.
AT THE VERY BOTTOM THERE YOU SEE THE TOTAL REVENUE THAT THAT WILL GENERATE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THAT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THE, THE FUND BALANCE DEFICIT.
AND IF EVERYTHING PLAYS OUT AND, AND EVERYTHING BALANCES PERFECTLY, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
UH, NO MORE COST INCREASE SURPRISES AND WE CAN PUT A LITTLE MONEY BACK IN FUND BA I SAY A LITTLE MONEY ABOUT $50,000 BACK IN FUND BALANCE AND HELP TRY TO GET THAT NUMBER BACK TO THE MINIMUM.
JORDAN IS OUR OUT OF CITY LIMITS RATE STILL DOUBLE WHAT ENDS CITY RATE IS.
UM, THERE, THERE'S CURRENTLY SOME LEGISLATION BOUNCING AROUND, UH, THAT MAY IMPACT THAT.
UM, NOT GONNA SOUND THE ALARM ON THAT YET UNTIL THERE'S A REASON TO.
[01:50:01]
UM, I I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WILL WILL MAKE IT THROUGH.UM, BUT THERE IS SOME LEGISLATION, UH, RUNNING THROUGH THE BOTH HOUSE AND SENATE IN NORTH CAROLINA RIGHT NOW THAT WOULD CAP THAT PERCENTAGE OF WHAT YOU COULD CHARGE, UM, FOR OUT OF CITY CUSTOMERS.
THAT'S THE WAY IT HISTORICALLY BEEN IN NEWBURN.
OUR RATES ARE, ARE SET ON OUR OUT OF CITY CUSTOMERS PAYING AND DOUBLE.
UM, IT WOULD, YOU KNOW, WE'D HAVE TO, I'D DO A LOT OF LEGWORK TO CONTINUE THAT RATE STRUCTURE IF IT WAS EVEN POSSIBLE, DEPENDING ON WHICH BILL PASSES AND GETS APPROVED AND SIGNED THE LAW.
BUT A LONG WAYS FROM THAT HAPPEN, IF THAT HAPPENS, I'LL COME BACK TO YOU AND, AND BRIEF YOU ON THAT.
UM, THAT WOULDN'T BE A SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT CAUSE MOST OF OUR OUTOF CITY CUSTOMERS ARE COVERED UNDER SOME TYPE OF OTHER AGREEMENT THAT IT'S NOT REALLY THE FULL DOUBLE RATE.
IT, IT'S A PERCENTAGE OF THAT COULD, COULD BE AN ADDITIONAL CHALLENGE.
SO MORE OF THE LINES OF GOOD NEWS WITH THE FOUR AND A HALF PERCENT RATE.
THIS WILL BRING OUR, OUR SEWER RATES ACROSS THE BOARD BACK TO THE EXACT SAME LEVEL AS THEY WERE IN 2011.
SO, I MEAN, IT'S, WE'RE, WE TOOK SOME RATE REDUCTION SEVERAL YEARS AGO, UH, TRIED TO PASS ALONG AS MUCH SAVINGS AS WE COULD TO CUSTOMERS FOR AS LONG AS WE CAN.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY THERE'S, WE'VE KIND OF RUN OUT OF, YOU KNOW, THE ABILITY TO DO THAT.
ANY, ANY QUESTIONS FOR JORDAN ON THAT? ANY, ANY COMMENTS ANYONE ASK AT THIS TIME? I'LL JUST REMIND THE BOARD AT ANY TIME YOU WANT TO TAKE A BREAK? MOTION A SECOND.
SO LONG FOR HOW LONG? BETTER PUT THE TIME ON IT.
ALL MOTION TO TAKE AT LEAST A 10 MINUTE BREAK.
ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
ANY OPPOSED? OKAY, WE'RE IN RECESS.
MR. MANAGER, WHERE ARE WE? OKAY, IF WE ARE GOING TO, UM, GO INTO THE BUDGET ON ENTERPRISE FUNDS.
SO IF EVERYONE WOULD TURN TO THE WATER FUND TAB, WHICH IS PAGE 1 51.
IT'S CLOSE TO THE BACK OF YOUR HANDBOOK.
JORDAN USED, DID A VERY GOOD JOB OF GOING OVER A LOT OF THINGS.
SO WE'RE GONNA GONNA TOUCH BASE ON SOME THINGS, UM, ON THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS.
SO WITH EACH DEPARTMENT IN THIS BUDGET, YOU WILL SEE THE COVER PAGE THAT HAS, UH, THE BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS THE PURPOSE IN THE DEPARTMENT MISSION AND SOME GENERAL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.
SO ON PAGE 1 52, YOU'LL ALSO SEE SOME KEY OPERATIONS AND FUNCTIONS.
SO IN WATER RESOURCES, THERE ARE THREE DIVISIONS.
THE ADMINISTRATION, WATER TREATMENT AND WATER DISTRIBUTION MAINTENANCE.
THEN YOU'LL SEE SOME, UH, SUCCESSES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND, AND THEIR GOALS FOR PLANNING AHEAD.
AS JORDAN COVERED WITH YOU PREVIOUSLY, ON PAGE 1 53, YOU'LL SEE THE CAPITAL EXPENSES THAT WE ARE RECOMMENDING.
AND SO I TALKED ABOUT THOSE PREVIOUSLY.
SO FOR, FOR THE WATER, THAT'S $683,000.
ON PAGE 1 54, THIS IS WHERE YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO TAKE YOUR BOOK AND TURN IT TO THE RIGHT.
IT'LL BE EASIER TO LOOK AT IT LIKE THIS.
SO THERE'S A, A, A ROYAL BLUE LINE AT THE VERY TOP.
IT BASICALLY SAYS ACCOUNTS TO THE LEFT.
THE FAR RIGHT YOU'LL SEE A PERCENTAGE CHAIN.
BESIDE THAT, YOU'LL SEE MANAGERS RECOMMENDED.
SO ON THIS AREA RIGHT HERE, THIS IS THE REVENUES, ANTICIPATED REVENUES.
SO ANTICIPATED REVENUES FOR WATER IS $12,733,102.
AND HOW DO WE ARRIVE AT THAT AMOUNT? WELL, THAT'S WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT SALES AND SERVICES.
AND SO IT'S BROKEN DOWN, BASIC CUSTOMER SERVICE, CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES, CONNECTION FEES, AND ON AND ON.
THAT GIVES YOU AN EXAMPLE OF HOW WE GET TO THAT 12 MILLION IN ANTICIPATED REVENUE.
ON PAGE 1 55, YOU'LL SEE THE FUND
[01:55:01]
BALANCE APPROPRIATION, AND THAT'S WHAT JORDAN HAD TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.SO TO TO HAVE THIS BUDGET BALANCE, WE'RE LOOKING AT APPROPRIATING CURRENTLY 483,000 FROM THE FUND BALANCE TO BALANCE THIS ON PAGE 1 56.
NOW WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT EACH DIVISION ON THE EXPENDITURES.
AND SO YOU SEE THAT TOP BLUE LINE AGAIN.
THEN THERE'S A, A LIGHTER SHADE OF BLUE RIGHT BELOW THAT.
SO ON PAGE 1 56, YOU'LL SEE THE WATER RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION OVER AGAIN TO THE FAR RIGHT YOU'LL SEE THE MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED AMOUNT.
AND IN WATER RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION, WE'RE LOOKING AT PERSONNEL SERVICES AND FRINGE BENEFITS.
SO IT'S SALARIES, SALARIES AT FRINGE, AND THEN PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, ANY CURRENT OBLIGATIONS.
AND SOME OF THOSE CURRENT OBLIGATIONS COULD INCLUDE, UM, EMPLOYEE TRAVEL AND TRAINING, ADVERTISING, ANY TYPE OF OTHER MISCELLANEOUS FEES.
THEN WE'VE GOT SOME FIXED CHARGES SUCH AS IF WE'VE GOT ANY LEASES GOING ON, THE AMOUNT WE'RE PAYING FOR LEASE DUE SUBSCRIPTIONS, THEN SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS, AND IT'S A VARIETY OF THINGS WITH THAT, IT COULD INCLUDE UNIFORMS, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, FUEL CHARGES, ET CETERA.
SO IN WATER RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION THAT RECOMMENDED PROPOSED BUDGET IS $938,315 IN THE NEXT DIVISION.
AND WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS YOU GO THROUGH THIS, EVERY DIVISION IS GONNA ALWAYS START OFF WITH PERSONNEL SERVICES, FRINGE BENEFITS, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, CURRENT OBLIGATIONS, FIXED CHARGES.
IT'S CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT IN THE WATER TREATMENT DIVISION.
THE PROPOSED BUDGET IS $3,464,559.
CAN WE ASK QUESTION NOW? ABSOLUTELY.
MACLIN, PAGE 1 57 UNDER NINE, ITEM 74, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
WHAT'S $10,000 FOR? SO WE DECIDED TO BREAK THIS OUT.
AS SOME OF YOU MAY BE AWARE, THE ELECTRIC UTILITY WATER RESOURCES AND SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS IN THE GENERAL FUND, THEY DO A LOT OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.
AND SO THAT COULD INCLUDES SETTING UP AT, AT FAIR AFFAIRS AND EVENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO THAT'S TO COVER SOME OF THOSE COSTS.
AND IF JORDAN IS HERE, HE CAN EXPLAIN WHAT HE ANTICIPATES SOME OF THOSE COSTS INCLUDING.
THAT'S BASICALLY A NEW LINE ITEM.
YOU'LL SEE IT IN ALL THREE OF THE UTILITY FUNDS THIS YEAR.
UH, THIS IS FOR, YOU KNOW, ALL THE STUFF THAT GOES INTO SETTING UP BOOTHS AT MUM FEST.
WE DO A LOT OF CAREER AND JOB FAIRS TRYING TO RECRUIT STAFF.
SO IT'S JUST TRYING TO, WE, WE'VE BEEN PULLING THAT MONEY FROM WEIRD PLA OFFICE SUPPLIES, MISCELLANEOUS OTHER SUPPLIES TRYING TO PULL THE FUNDING FOR THOSE THINGS.
SO WE'VE CREATED A UNIQUE LINE ITEM JUST TO CAPTURE THOSE THIS YEAR.
AND, AND FOSTER, JUST AS A, A GENERAL QUESTION, SINCE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'RE LOOKING AT SALARIES YES, SIR.
SO THIS INCLUDES THE WAGE INCREASE WE DID IN DECEMBER.
DOES IT INCLUDE A WAGE INCREASE THAT WE COMMITTED TO? YES, SIR.
THIS INCLUDES THE FIRST PHASE OF THE SALARY STUDY.
THIS IS ALSO INCLUDING THE SECOND PHASE OF THE SALARY STUDY IN THE PROPOSED MERIT AND COLA.
AND SO WE'LL BE GETTING, WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT ALL THAT, UH, TOWARD THE END, RIGHT? I JUST, SO YES SIR.
JUST BEFORE THE NEW BOARD CAME ON, UH, THE LAST BOARD THAT WAS BEFORE, UH, IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A DISCUSSION, UH, ABOUT, UH, A, A PRAYER RAISE FOR THE BOARD AND, AND THEY NEVER, IT NEVER BEEN BROUGHT UP.
SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE BOARD IS ON THAT DISCUSSION, SIR.
I THINK THE BEST TIME FOR THAT IS GONNA BE COMING UP SHORTLY WHEN WE GET TO THE, TO THE, UM, GENERAL FUND BECAUSE GOVERNING BOARD WILL BE THE FIRST THING.
SO WE'LL BE GETTING THERE VERY SOON.
SO ON PAGE 1 59, THIS IS THE NEXT DIVISION IN WATER, AND THAT'S A WATER TREATMENT PROPOSED BUDGET IS $3,464,559
[02:00:04]
ON PAGE 1 63.THE NEXT DIVISION IS WATER DISTRIBUTION MAINTENANCE.
A PROPOSED BUDGET IS $3,310,859.
ON PAGE 1 67, WHICH YOU'LL SEE IS ALL OF THE DEBT SERVICE FOR THAT DEPARTMENT.
AND THAT AMOUNT FOR THIS YEAR IS $2,318,936.
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THESE, UM, STATUS, HAPPY TO GO INTO DETAIL WITH YOU ON THAT, JORDAN, UNDER THE, I RECKON THE CHEMICAL LINE ITEM WHERE IT WAS 390,000, NOW IT'S FIVE 60,000.
THAT'S THE, JUST THE, THE INFLATION OF THE CHEMICAL.
ANSWER THAT IS JUST THE INCREASES WE EXPECT TO SEE IN CHEMICAL COSTS.
WE ARE REBIDDING THAT, UH, WE HAVE BIDS GOING, UH, WE RECEIVE BIDS THE END OF MAY.
UH, WE HAVE WORKED WITH OUR CURRENT VENDORS AND THE CHEMICAL SUPPLY INDUSTRY TO ADJUST OUR CONTRACT TERMS TO BE AS FAVORABLE AS POSSIBLE TO GET THE LOWEST RATES AS POSSIBLE.
SO WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH THAT.
UM, THOSE NUMBERS ARE BASED ON OUR CURRENT RATES AND QUITE FRANKLY AT THIS POINT, I'M JUST HOPING THEY DON'T GO UP.
SO WE'LL, WE'LL SEE AT THE END OF MAY, WE'LL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
BUT THAT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT HAS INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE LAST TWO OR THREE YEARS COST OF DOING BUSINESS, RIGHT? YES, SIR.
ON PAGE 1 68, WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS REIMBURSEMENT OF SERVICES PROVIDED.
AND THIS BREAKS IT DOWN TO THE AMOUNT OF, OF FUNDS THAT THE WATER FUND TRANSFERS INTO THE GENERAL FUND FOR SERVICES PROVIDED TO THE WATER FUND.
AND SO IT'S BROKEN DOWN BY THE GOVERNING BOARD ALL THE WAY DOWN THROUGH PURCHASING AND WAREHOUSE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GENERAL INFORM IN ADMINISTRATION, ACCOUNTING, INSURANCE, LEGAL, PUBLIC BUILDINGS, ET CETERA.
SO THAT IS PAID TO THE GENERAL FUND.
TEMPORARY HELP SERVICES $65,000.
I MEAN, IS THAT, CAN, CAN WE NOT HIRE SOMEBODY OR YOU JUST CAN'T FIND ANYBODY TO HIRE? WHICH, WHICH, WELL, ACROSS THE BOARD WE HAVE, WE HAVE ISSUES WITH BEING ABLE TO GET EMPLOYEES AND AT TIMES IT'S EASIER FOR US TO GET A TEMPORARY, UH, EMPLOYEES IN ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS TO HELP FILL THAT NEED ON A, ON A QUICK BASIS, 65, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? THIS IS ON PAGE 1 64.
UH, AND BOTH THE WATER AND SEWERS, WE RUN PROBABLY FIVE TO EIGHT, UM, TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES ON ANY GIVEN DAY.
WE WOULD LOVE TO HIRE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES AND LOVE TO HAVE THOSE PHYSICIANS FILLED PERMANENTLY.
UM, WE'RE STRUGGLING TO GET APPLICANTS.
UH, THE, THE TEMPORARY HEALTH AGENCIES ARE, ARE REALLY A, A LIFE, A LIFEBOAT FOR US TO, TO KEEP OUR HEAD ABOVE WATER IN THE LABOR POOL.
AND THEY'VE DONE A REAL GOOD JOB.
UM, ABOUT HALF THE ONES THAT WE ROUTE THROUGH.
WE DO GET A, YOU KNOW, A CHANCE TO VET THOSE.
AND SOME OF THOSE BECOME VERY GOOD LONG-TERM EMPLOYEES FOR US.
OTHER ONES MOVE ON TO DO OTHER THINGS.
IT'S, IT'S NOT QUITE THEIR CUP OF TEA.
SO THEY, THEY MOVE ON AND THEY DON'T LAST VERY LONG WITH US.
BUT YEAH, WE HAVE A HEALTHY TEMPORARY SERVICES BUDGET BECAUSE WE HAVE, WE HAVE TROUBLE KEEPING PERMANENT, YOU KNOW, HIRING FULL-TIME PERMITS, STAFF SE, SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I DON'T REMEMBER HOW LONG, BUT THERE WAS A PRETTY INTENSIVE EVALUATION DONE ON, UM, I'M ON PAGE ONE SIXTY EIGHT.
I CALL ON CORPORATE ALLOCATIONS, CAUSE THAT'S WHAT I DO WITH EVERY DAY.
BUT THERE WAS A LOT OF WORK THAT WENT BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE PERCENTAGES WERE EQUITABLE.
AND I SEE THAT SOME OF THESE ARE VASTLY DIFFERENT.
SO DID WE REEVALUATE THAT? SO I'LL LET THE FINANCE DIRECTOR ANSWER THAT.
I'M SORRY, CAN YOU REPEAT THAT QUESTION? YEAH.
SO LIKE ON PAGE 1 68 FOR IT MM-HMM.
UM, THE CURRENT YEAR REVISED BUDGET IS 3 87 AND WE'RE RECOMMENDING 1 77.
SO THAT'S A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL DIFFERENCE.
SO WHAT IN ALLOCATIONS PERCENTAGE WISE, CHANGE WITH IT IN THESE DEPARTMENTS?
[02:05:01]
SURE.SO, UM, A COUPLE THINGS THAT WE DID DIFFERENT IS WE, WE, UM, CHARGED THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS FOR THEIR SPECIFIC CONTRACTS INSTEAD OF RUNNING IT THROUGH GENERAL FUND, UM, THAT WERE IT RELATED.
SO WE MADE SOME OF THOSE CHANGES REDID.
UM, OVERALL WE DID A, UM, AN EVALUATION OF THE COST ALLOCATION PLAN AND UPDATED IT ACCORDINGLY.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO ACTUALLY, UM, WORKED VERY HARD WITH ALL THE DEPARTMENT HEADS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD A REASONABLE, UM, ALLOCATION.
IT'S ALL JUSTIFIED AND RAN BASED ON, UM, WHETHER IT'S BY EMPLOYEE, NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES, NUMBER OF SQUARE FEET, YOU KNOW, JUST DEPENDING ON THE SERVICES NUMBER OF, UM, USERS.
SO THAT'S PRETTY MUCH THE CHANGE THAT YOU SEE.
AND IT'S BASED ON THE PRIOR TO YOUR BUDGET.
BUT I'M GONNA ASK TANYA IF SHE HAS ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD.
CUZ SHE IMPORTANT THAT THING DROP WAS FOR IT WAS MOVING THOSE CONTRACTS.
SO, SO SAME THING WITH UTILITY BUSINESS OFFICE, IT WENT UP 24%.
SO THE SAME THING BASED OFF OF THE NEW EVALUATION? YES.
AND THEN UBO, UM, THE CAPS AND SS ACCOUNTING, WHICH IS SHARED SERVICE ACCOUNTING, THAT ALL THOSE ARE TRANSFERS TO THE ELECTRIC FUND, NOT TO THE GENERAL FUND.
SO UTILITY BUSINESS OFFICE, SS, ACCOUNTING AND CAPS.
IF YOU LOOK AT THOSE THREE LINES, THOSE ONES, IT'S AN EXPENSE HERE, BUT IT, THE REVENUE GOES INTO ELECTRIC FOR THOSE THREE.
THE REST OF THEM GO TO GENERAL FUND.
BECAUSE THE ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT IS RUNNING THE CAP'S OFFICE NOW, IS THAT WHY? THAT'S CORRECT.
BY THE WAY, SSA ACCOUNTING AND CAPS.
CAPS, AND THAT'S BECAUSE THAT'S OUR UTILITY BILLS AND MM-HMM.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? I'D ALSO ADD THAT LOOKING AT THAT FIBER IS NEW.
IF YOU SEE A LINE ITEM THERE FOR CHAIR SERVICE FOR FIBER, THAT'S HISTORICALLY ALL BEEN ABSORBED BY THE ELECTRIC UTILITY.
AND, UM, WE TRIED TO WORK ON THAT.
SO YOU SAID THIS IS A CHANGE WITH THE, WHO'S PROVIDING THE SERVICES WITH THE CAPS AND THE UTILITIES AND SO FORTH.
DID YOU SAY THIS WAS SOMETHING NEW THIS YEAR OR UNDER THIS UMBRELLA? UH, NO.
SO WHAT'S NEW THIS YEAR IS SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO THE QUESTION ON IT, ON THE SECOND LINE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, IT DROPPED SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND THE REASON BEING FOR THAT DROP IS BECAUSE THERE WERE ENTERPRISE FUNDS, UM, CONTRACTS THAT WERE CHARGED TO THE GENERAL FUND IT, AND THEN WE ALLOCATED THEM OUT.
WELL, WE WEREN'T REALLY TRULY CAPTURING THOSE EXPENSES IN THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS.
THERE WAS, THERE WERE NOT AN EXPENSE FOR THE GENERAL FUND.
SO WE MADE THAT CHANGE AND DIRECTLY CHARGED THE APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR THOSE SPECIFIC CONTRACTS.
THEN THE REST OF IT, THE OTHER NEW PIECE TO THIS IS THAT WE JUST DID AN OVERALL REVIEW OF THE COST ALLOCATION PLAN, BECAUSE THE LAST TIME IT WAS DONE WAS, I WANT TO SAY IN 2014 OR 15, AND IT JUST NEEDED ANOTHER LOOK AT IT BECAUSE WE HAVE GROWN, THE, THE BASE NUMBERS CHANGED, THE, UM, OR THE BASE CALCULATION CHANGED.
SO, UM, THEY, WHAT WHAT THEY HAD PROPOSED FOR THAT YEAR IN THOSE FOLLOWING YEARS, WE COULDN'T JUSTIFY WERE ACCURATE.
SO WE TOOK A LOOK AT IT AND SOME CHANGE, SOME FLUCTUATIONS HAPPENED.
UM, SO THAT'S THE NEW PIECE TO IT, BUT IT'S ALL BASED ON THE PRIOR YEAR EX RIGHT.
THE PRIOR YEAR EXPENSES, UM, IN ORDER TO GET THE ALL, YOU KNOW, UM, AND THEN THE PERCENTAGE BASED ON THE PRIOR YEAR EXPENSES.
AND SO THAT'S HOW WE GET TO THE AMOUNT THAT WE NEED TO, UM, BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR.
SO, UM, ENTERPRISE FUNDS, JUST TO
[02:10:01]
KIND OF REFRESH YOUR MEMORY, THOSE FUNCTION IS A BUSINESS-LIKE ACTIVITY AND THEY SHOULD BE SELF, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO, TO SELF SUPPORTING SELF SUPPORT THEMSELVES.AND THEN THE GENERAL FUND, THAT'S WHERE OUR TAX, UM, INCOME IS COMING IN AND THAT, UM, WE, WE KEEP THEM VERY SEPARATE IN, IN THE, IT'S JUST, UM, AND THEY'RE, WHAT DO I WANNA SAY? THEY'RE VERY DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES.
SO YOU, YOU WANT THE BUSINESS LIKE, UH, FUNDS SEPARATE FROM THE GENERAL FUND AND THEY WANT, YOU WANT ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE ALL, UM, COVERING THEIR OWN EXPENSE.
AND THERE'S THIS REFERENCES ALL OF THOSE SHARED SERVICES THAT THE GENERAL FUND PROVIDES THAT THEY NEED TO COVER THEIR FAIR SHARE FOR.
DOES THAT HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHY WE DO THIS? ACTUALLY, I HAD ANOTHER QUESTION, BUT WE'LL STOP THERE NOW.
I WAS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT CAPS AND PAYING YOUR UTILITIES, AND I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU COMBINE THOSE UNDER ANOTHER UMBRELLA NOW BECAUSE, NO, UM, SO THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS COVERS WATER, SEWER, AND ELECTRIC, AND WE HAVE SEPARATE FUNDS FOR EACH ONE OF THOSE IN HERE.
HOWEVER, WATER, SEWER, AND ELECTRIC ALL USE THE SAME SERVICES WITH U UM, UBO CAPS AND THE SHARED COMPANY.
RIGHT? SO IN ORDER FOR EACH OF THOSE FUNDS TO PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE, THAT, UM, THE ELECTRIC FUND BEARS THE COST OF THAT.
SO THE WATER FUND AND THE SEWER FUND REIMBURSE THE ELECTRIC FUND FOR THOSE COSTS, NOT THE GENERAL FUND.
COULD, COULD YOU JUST CLARIFY FOR ME WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS IN THE UBO AND CAPS? I THOUGHT UBO WAS RENAMED THE CAPS.
IT, IT, I IT'S ONE AND THE SAME.
UM, I THINK FIVE YEARS AGO, UM, UTILITY BUSINESS OFFICE WAS AT FOR TOTON AND UM, WE SEPARATED THOSE COST CENTERS OUT OF THERE.
SO METERING AND BILLING HAS MOVED LOCATIONS AND WE CALL THEM UTILITY BUSINESS OPERATIONS, STILL UBO, BUT UTILITY BUSINESS OPERATIONS, CUSTOMER SERVICE AND PAYMENTS IS AT FOR TOTTEN AND IT'S JUST ALL THEY USE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND PAYMENTS.
BEFORE THEY WERE ALL BLENDED TOGETHER, WE SEPARATED THEM INTO DIFFERENT DIVISIONS IN COSTA COUNTY, WHICH IS, DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE? MM-HMM.
SO IF, IF YOU WENT INTO MUNIS MM-HMM.
IS THAT CORRECT? UM, YOU, SO I'M NOT SURE IF I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION, BUT UNDER ELECTRIC, THE UBO DIVISION, YOU'LL SEE ALL OF THEIR EXPENSES.
AND THEN THIS LINE UNDER THE SHARED SERVICES, YOU'LL SEE THE EXPENSE FOR WATER AND SEWER.
LET ME, I'LL TRY TO ASK YOU DIFFERENTLY.
SO IF I WANTED TO SEE ALL THE FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE UTILITY BUSINESS OFFICE MM-HMM.
FOR THE UBO O AND IT WOULD SHOW WHICH DEPARTMENT IT WAS COMING FROM WITHOUT HAVING TO LOOK THROUGH EVERY SINGLE DEPARTMENT TO SEE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THAT? CAN I CLARIFY THE UBO DIVISION 96 14 IS IN ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT, PERFORMS METERING AND BILLING.
BILLS OUT THE DOOR, ALL THOSE COSTS COME INTO THE ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT.
DOES THAT ADD ANY CLARITY TO IT? YEAH, I, I I REALIZE THAT CAUSE YOU YOU TOOK THAT OVER A FEW YEARS AGO.
SO IF I'M REQUISITIONING SOMETHING FROM THAT DEPARTMENT, I DON'T SPLIT THAT
[02:15:01]
REQUISITION BETWEEN ALL THE FUNDS AT THAT TIME.I JUST COMPLETELY ABSORBED IT IN THE ELECTRIC BUDGET.
AND THEN WE DO THIS COST ALLOCATION.
SO THE ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT IS CHEWED UP ON THOSE SHARED SERVICES.
SO PRIOR TO THAT CHANGE, WAS IT IN FINANCE? YES, IT WAS.
WHICH WAS THE GENERAL PHONE? THAT'S CORRECT.
IT WAS BEFORE, AND NOT TO BE CONVOLUTED, BUT YOU SEE THAT ON PAGE 1 95, WHICH IS THE REVENUES FOR THE ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT.
INTERFUND, INTERDEPARTMENTAL TRANSFERS.
SO THAT'S, BUT THAT IS THE REVENUE COMING BACK INTO THE ELECTRIC FUND, RIGHT.
FOR THOSE VARIOUS ONES, NOT JUST SPECIFICALLY YEAH.
1 69, UM, THAT HAS $337,256 FROM, UM, THE WATER FUND TO THE GENERAL FUND FOR, UM, PILOT, WHICH IS THE PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES.
AND THAT IS, UM, A CALCULATION THAT WE, UM, GENERAL STATUTE GIVES YOU, UM, TWO DIFFERENT WAYS YOU COULD CALCULATE IT.
I'M DOING BOTH AT THE SAME TIME.
SO, UM, THIS IS THE TAX RATE ON THEIR ASSETS.
SO YOU TAKE THEIR TOTAL ASSETS AND YOU CALCULATE THE 48 22, UM, AND YOU GET THE 337,856.
WHO IS IT BEING DEFERRED TO IN THE CORNER? THAT I DON'T SEE? OH, THIS IS TANYA.
THIS IS OUR BUDGET IN, UH, UM, ACCOUNTANT.
SO SHE'S WORKED HEAVILY ON THIS BUDGET.
IN SOME OF THESE CALCULATIONS SHE DOES.
SO THAT'S WHY I'M DEFERRING TO HER AS WELL.
THE NAME AGAIN, HER NAME IS TANYA.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THERE? ALL RIGHT.
LET'S GO BACK TO ONE 70 REAL QUICK.
CAN SOMEBODY EXPLAIN THIS ONE TO ME? THAT'S VERY GOOD.
DO YOU MIND TAKE THAT ONE TIME.
JORDAN, DO YOU WANNA COME UP AND EXPLAIN ABOUT THE, THE, UM, BAD DEBT LINE ITEM? IT HAD 200,000 AND YOU WERE, YOU ASKED US TO REMOVE THAT FOR THIS YEAR.
THAT THAT'S A NUMBER THAT THE LAST COUPLE YEARS THAT SHOWED UP AS PART OF THE PROCESS, WHAT IT'LL SPIN.
UM, YEAH, SO I'M ASSUMING BAD DEBT IS WHEN SOMEONE DOESN'T PAY THEIR BILL AND WE WRITE IT OFF.
I, I THINK IT CAME FROM THE WRITEOFF.
SOME OF THOSE AMOUNTS WERE, UM, CLEAN UP FROM OLD BILLS AND THE MAYBE JORDAN, THE 2020 COVID, THAT WAS SORT OF BEFORE, HONESTLY HAVE NO, I WISH I HAD A BETTER EXPLANATION.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT SHOWED UP.
UM, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE BUDGETS AGO, YOU NEVER REALLY GOT A CLEAR EXPLANATION FROM THE PREVIOUS FINANCE TRIP TO WHAT THAT WAS FOR.
I DON'T SEE, EXCUSE ME, I DON'T SEE WHERE I THINK WE'VE EXPENSED OR DONE ANYTHING WITH IT.
UH, SO YES, AS PREPARING THE BUDGET THIS YEAR, I SEE NO REASON TO ACCOUNT FOR IT.
WELL, THERE'S NOTHING, THERE'S NOTHING RECOMMENDED.
NO, BUT THERE'S THE, THE ACTUAL IS 16,000, BUT THE REVISED BUDGET'S 200,000.
I'M NOT REALLY, I HONESTLY, SO WHERE IN THE BUDGET IS BAD DEBT BEING CAPTURED FOR ANY OF YOUR UTILITIES? NO, CAUSE THERE'S, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY BAD DEBT.
SO, UM, IN 2022, I BELIEVE, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, WE DID THAT WHEN
[02:20:01]
WE DID THE FINAL BUDGET AMENDMENT AND THEY HAD $16,670.I WILL HAVE TO DIG IN TO FIGURE OUT WHY WE HAVE $200,000 IN A REVISED BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR.
I THINK THAT WOULD'VE BEEN, IT SAYS REVISED, BUT I'M THINKING WE PROBABLY STARTED OFF WITH THAT AS AN ORIGINAL, THAT AS A POSSIBILITY WE CARRIED OVER FROM PRIOR, THE PRIOR YEARS AS WELL.
SO MY GUESS IS WHAT I WOULD, WITHOUT GOING IN THERE AND LOOKING IS THAT WE HAD $200,000.
UM, THE DIRECTOR, MARY HOGAN HAD PUT IN SOME HIGHER BUDGET AMOUNTS IN THERE, UM, A COUPLE YEARS BACK.
AND THEN WHEN WE DO THE FINAL BUDGET AMENDMENT, WE BRING IT DOWN TO WHAT THE ACTUAL IS, WHICH IS THAT IN 2022 WITH 16,600.
SO WHEN YOU DO THE BUDGET, IT TYPICALLY CARRIES OVER.
AND I, I SEE NONE OF THAT BAD DEBT EXPENSE UNDER THAT HEADING FOR THE ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT.
SO IF WE HAVE THAT, WE WOULD, WE WOULD DO THAT THROUGH THE FINAL BUDGET AMENDMENT, IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY.
AND PAGE 180 9 FOR THE SEWER, THAT'S SEVEN NINE.
TANYA, DO YOU HAVE ANY HISTORY? WE CAN LOOK INTO IT AND GET, I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH AN EMAIL WITH YOU.
I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY WE'VE GOTTA BE CAPTURING THE BAD DEBT RIGHT OFF SOMEWHERE.
IT'S JUST NOT IN THAT PARTICULAR CATEGORY OR LINE ITEM, I'M ASSUMING.
MAYOR, I THINK HISTORICALLY IT WAS JUST DONE AS A YEAR END SET TRUE UP OF THE FUND.
YOU DON'T, YOU DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T, HISTORICALLY WE DIDN'T SHOW ANYTHING AS A, A ANTICIPATED LINE ITEM FOR THAT.
AND YOU WOULD HISTORICALLY DES SCREWED THAT UP AT THE END OF THE YEAR, ALONG WITH CONTRIBUTIONS BACK TO FUND BALANCE OR DEDUCTIONS TO FUND BALANCE, TO BALANCE EVERYTHING OUT FOR THE YEAR IN A, IN A YEAR END BUDGET AMENDMENT.
UM, I, I THINK THAT THE PREVIOUS FINANCE DIRECTOR WAS TRYING TO SHOW THAT UNDERSTAND THERE, THERE WOULD, THERE WOULD POSSIBLY BE SOME EXPOSURE THERE.
SHE WAS TRYING TO SHOW SOMETHING.
UM, IT WAS KINDA WENT OFF AND NEVER REALLY, NEVER REALLY GOT TRACTION, I THINK IN HOW TO, HOW TO BUDGET FOR THAT OR WHY, WHY THE NUMBERS WERE WHAT THEY WERE.
AND I GUESS TO SAY WHEN I DO IT AT THE, WHEN WE DID IT, THE, UM, FINAL BUDGET AMENDMENT, IF IT'S GOT, WHEN WE'RE PUTTING MONEY BACK INTO FUND BALANCE, IT MEANS WE'RE, WE, WE HAVE REMAINING BUDGETS AT THE, UM, IN SOME AREAS AND THE THESE ARE SMALL ENOUGH THAT IT OFFSETS THOSE WITHOUT HAVING TO, UM, TAKE AWAY, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT HAVING THE BUDGET BOARD.
IT JUST KIND OF GOES OFF OF THE TOP OF WHAT WE'RE PUTTING BACK INTO FUND BALANCE.
THEY'RE SMALL AMOUNT, SMALL AMOUNTS, VERY SMALL AMOUNTS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON WATER? FINE.
AGAIN, ON THIS PAGE YOU'LL SEE BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS, WHICH JORDAN HAS PREVIOUSLY COVERED PURPOSE AND MISSION AND THE GENERAL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THAT THEY'D LIKE TO ACCOMPLISH IN THIS BUDGET.
SO THERE ARE TWO DIVISIONS IN, IN THE SEWER, IN THE SEWER DEPARTMENT, AND THAT IS SEWER TREATMENT AND SEWER SYSTEM MAINTENANCE.
THEN YOU'LL SEE SOME INFORMATION ABOUT SOME SUCCESSES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND THEN THEIR GOALS FOR PLANNING AHEAD.
ON PAGE 1 74, YOU'LL SEE THE PROPOSED CAPITAL EXPENSE ITEMS, UH, TOTALING AMOUNT OF 1.4 MILLION.
THEN ON PAGE 1 75, ANTICIPATED REVENUES $13,461,244.
AND AGAIN, THE LINE ITEMS YOU SEE BELOW THAT ARE ANTICIPATED REVENUES AND HOW WE'RE GONNA ARRIVE AT THAT 13 MILLION NUMBER ON PAGE 1 77 IN THE SEWER TREATMENT DIVISION.
WE'VE GOT, ARE THE, AND I GUESS THIS GOES FOR EVERYTHING, THE 2023 ACTUALS.
IS THAT ANNUALIZED OR IS THAT YEAR TO DATE?
[02:25:01]
AND IF IT'S YEAR TO DATE THROUGH WHEN? IT'S YEAR TO DATE.UM, JUST CURIOUS, LIKE FOR, I GUESS I MAY HAVE JUST ANSWERED MY QUESTION ON THE BASIC CUSTOMER SERVICE, OUR CURRENT YEAR REVISED BUDGET, WE DON'T KNOW HOW WE'RE TRENDING TOWARD THAT WITHOUT DOING THE CALCULATION, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOWN IN REVENUE IN SEWER.
IS THAT BASED OFF OF HOW WE'RE TRENDING THROUGH APRIL? YES, BECAUSE THE CHART THAT WE JUST SAW, EVERYTHING WAS GOING UP.
SO I WAS ANTICIPATING A INCREASE IN OUR REVENUE.
THE EVERYTHING THAT'S IN THE BUDGET MERIT, UH, DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY OF THE RECOMMENDED COSTING, THE, THE RATE INCREASES.
SO WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IN THE BUDGET, WE WILL HAVE, UM, AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU'LL SEE A TRANSFER TO FUND BALANCE OR FROM FUND BALANCE TO COVER THE DEFICIT IN BOTH THE WATER AND SEWER FUNDS.
SO YOU WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT CAPTURING THOSE INCREASES IN, IN COSTS AND REVENUE.
WE, WE HAVE A REVENUE PROJECTION MODEL THAT WE USE MM-HMM.
UH, WE, WE UPDATE THAT EVERY MONTH AND THAT'S WHAT WE USED TO GENERATE THE REVENUE PRO, UH, PROJECTION NUMBERS.
SOME OF THESE NUMBERS HAVE BEEN DOWN IN SEWER.
UM, SO LOOK, YOU'RE GONNA SEE, UH, THE, IT SPITS OUT A, A LOWER ANNUAL BASIC CUSTOMER SERVICE.
ONE OF THE LARGEST DRIVERS IN THAT IS ONE OF OUR INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS.
UM, WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF DRY YEARS.
ONE OF OUR INDU, ONE OF OUR LARGEST SEWER CUSTOMERS IS AN INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMER.
IT'S, IT'S ACTUALLY A LANDFILL.
WE TREAT THEIR LEACHATE, WHAT DRAINS DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF LANDFILL, GOES TO SOME LAGOONS, IT GETS VARIATED AND EVAPORATED.
IT'S NORMALLY A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT.
LIKE I SAID, THEY'RE LIKE OUR NUMBER TWO SEWER CUSTOMER FOR THE LAST NINE MONTHS.
THEY'VE SENT ZERO TO US BECAUSE IT'S BEEN DRY.
THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO EVAPORATE OFF THEIR LEACHATE.
SO BECAUSE OF THAT, YOU PUT ALL THAT INTO THE PROJECTION MODEL, IT SPITS OUT A LITTLE LOWER NUMBER FOR ANNUAL BASIC CUSTOMER SERVICE THAN IT DID LAST YEAR.
SO, AND THE, THE MODEL IS BUILT A LITTLE CONSERVATIVE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT OVER BUDGETING IN REVENUE.
ON PAGE 1 77, SEWER TREATMENT, ESTIMATED EXPENDITURES FOR THAT DIVISION $4,497,383.
AND THAT DOES INCLUDE SALARIES AND BENEFITS.
AGAIN, THE CURRENT OBLIGATIONS, FIX CHARGES, SUPPLIES, AND MATERIALS.
ON PAGE 180 1, YOU'LL SEE INFORMATION ON THE SEWER COLLECTION SYSTEM MAINTENANCE DIVISION.
PROPOSED BUDGET IS 5,000,087 $87,452.
ON PAGE 180 6, EXPENSES FOR DEBT SERVICE ARE PROTECTED TO BE $102,559.
REIMBURSEMENT TO THE GENERAL FUND.
ON PAGE 180 7 FOR SHARED SERVICES, ANTICIPATED IT'D BE $2,768,877.
AND OUR PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES TO THE GENERAL FUND, $1,004,973.
SO LET US KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON ANYTHING IN THE SEWER FUND.
[02:30:01]
FOR COMPARISON, LIKE PAGE 1 69 AND 180 8 TRANSFER TO OTHER FUNDS.THERE'S NO RECOMMENDATION FOR WATER TO BE TRANSFERRED, BUT THERE'S $500,000 FOR SEWER.
THE $500,000 TO TRANSFER TO OTHER FUNDS.
YES, I BELIEVE THAT'S TO, OKAY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON SEWER? ALL RIGHT.
SO AGAIN, THE HIGHLIGHTS, YOU'LL SEE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS YEAR.
PROPOSED BUDGET, THEIR PURPOSE AND MISSION.
SO THE ELECTRIC UTILITIES IS BROKEN INTO SEVERAL DIFFERENT DIVISIONS.
THAT INCLUDES ADMINISTRATION, POWER SUPPLY DISTRIBUTION, COMMUNICATIONS CONTROL, UTILITY, BUSINESS OPERATIONS, AND CUSTOMER AND PAYMENT SERVICES.
ON PAGE 1 93, PROPOSED CAPITAL ITEMS ARE 2 MILLION.
AND WE'VE GONE THROUGH THAT, THAT LIST.
PREVIOUSLY, ESTIMATED REVENUES FOR THE ELECTRIC UTILITY ON PAGE 1 94, ANTICIPATED TO BE $60,954,792.
SO ON, ON THE BASIC CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR ELECTRIC 2023 ACTUALS THROUGH APRIL, IT'S 39 MILLION.
I KNOW THERE'S SEASONALITY CAUSE WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO HAVE MORE IN MAY AND JUNE THAN WE WOULD LIKE.
I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE THE HEAT BALANCES OUT IN THE WINTER, BUT IF YOU EXTRAPOLATE IT OUT, WE'RE PROJECTED TO DO 47 MILLION FOR THE FULL YEAR IN BASIC CUSTOMER SERVICE.
BUT WE'RE RECOMMENDING A BUDGET OF 55 AND THE CURRENT YEAR IS 55.
I CAN'T SEE WHAT YOU'RE WORKING ON.
UM, CHARLIE, PAGE 1 94 MAYBE USED THE SAME REVENUE MODEL THAT JORDAN USES AND IT'S EXTREMELY CONSERVATIVE.
BUT THIS, THIS IS VERY CONSERVATIVE.
SO I DO ALSO WANNA, UM, LET YOU KNOW WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE ACTUALS, THIS IS, WE'RE ALWAYS A MONTH OR MORE BEHIND, RIGHT? SO THE BILLS GO OUT, SO IT'S THROUGH NINE MONTHS.
SO THIS, THIS REVENUE WOULD BE YEP.
FOR I WOULD SAY EIGHT AND A HALF MONTHS.
SO REALLY JUST FOR FUTURE REFERENCE, THE 2023 ACTUALS OR THE CURRENT YEAR ACTUALS WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE BUDGET IS POINTLESS.
THERE'S NO POINT IN HAVING IT IN THERE UNLESS, UM, I THOUGHT THE ACTUALS WAS CALCULATED WITH ONE THROUGH THE END OF JUNE.
IT'S WHAT'S POSTED AS OF, UH, AS OF THAT DATE.
BUT YOU, YOU, WE ALWAYS TAKE THE REVENUE WE SHOULD, THAT WE BUILD OUT FROM JUNE, THAT COMES IN IN JULY IN MID AUGUST.
SO WE NEED TO POST THAT BACK AT THAT POINT.
SO WE'RE ALREADY A MONTH AND A HALF BEHIND.
SO WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT BILLS, YOU KNOW, BUILD REVENUE AND THEN TO TOP THAT OFF, YOU HAVE, IT HAS TO, YOU KNOW, GET THROUGH THE CYCLE.
RIGHT NOW WE'RE DEALING WITH AT LEAST A WEEK BEHIND, I THINK ABOUT A WEEK BEHIND WITH, UM, AN ISSUE WITH THIS, WITH THE CONVERSION.
SO, SO ARE ALL LIKE REGULAR SERVICES AND, AND STUFF LIKE THAT, IS THAT ALL CALCULATED THROUGH THE END OF JUNE OR IS IT ALSO EIGHT AND A HALF, NINE MONTHS WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THIS? IT DEPENDS ON WHAT IT IS, BUT THE, THE BILLS TO CUSTOMERS AND, UM, THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT FOR ENTERPRISE FUNDS, IT'S, WELL, I I WASN'T NECESSARILY REFERRING TO ENTERPRISE FUND.
I, MY QUESTION IS, SORRY, THE, UM, THE CURRENT YEAR REVISED BUDGET MM-HMM.
THEY HAVE A, UM, SUPPLY BUDGET OR AMMUNITION.
IS THAT REVISED BUDGET BASED ON THE ESTIMATED COST THROUGH THE END OF THIS PHYSICAL YEAR? YEAH, THE BUDGET IS, IS CORRECT? YES.
[02:35:01]
AND THEN IT'S THE 2023 ACTUALS THAT I WAS REFERRING TO.I, I THINK THAT JUST REALLY ADDS CONFUSION AND THERE'S NOT A LOT OF BENEFIT FOR IT BEING THERE IF IT'S GONNA VARY FROM DEPARTMENT TO DEPARTMENT AND MM-HMM.
YEAH, IT REALLY DOES BECAUSE YOUR, YOUR SALARIES AND BENEFITS ARE THE SAME SITUATION YOU HAVE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, A WHOLE PAYROLL AT LEAST THAT WILL GO BACK.
SOMETIMES THERE'S A PAYROLL AND A HALF THAT'LL GO BACK.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT SALARIES, YOU CAN'T LOOK AT IT AS THIS POINT IN TIME AS WELL.
THERE'S STILL STUFF THAT WILL GET POSTED TO THE FY 23 JUST BECAUSE OF, SO WHEN YOU GENERATE THIS BOOK, DO YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO PICK AND CHOOSE WHAT IS PREPOPULATED ON THIS REPORT? MM-HMM.
SO WE'D HAVE TO LOOK TO SEE IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN PULL OUT.
SO IS THERE, INSTEAD OF THE 2023 ACTUAL COLUMN, IS THERE A WAY TO PUT YEAR TO DATE PERCENT TO PLAN OR PERCENT TO BUDGET? UM, IS THAT AN OPTION? DO YOU KNOW? UM, SOME OTHER PERCENT.
SO THE TWO, WE CAN HIDE THE COLUMN 2023 ACTUALS.
BUT TO DO THE CALCULATIONS, IT'S, IT COMES OVER AUTOMATICALLY SO THAT I COULD, WE CAN PLAY WITH IT.
I THINK, I MEAN TO ME, I JUST, I WOULD RATHER NOT EVEN SEE THAT MM-HMM.
MAYBE DEPENDING ON WHEN THAT SHOWS UP, I DON'T KNOW.
YOU MAY LOOK AT IT AND IT MAY JUST BE AS WACKY AS THE ACTUAL NUMBER IS.
THAT WOULD STILL BE SKEWED IF YOU HAVE WHERE YOU'RE AT, WHERE YEAR TO DATE YOU WOULD HAVE TO KNOW WHICH ONES YOU STILL HAVE ALLOW.
SO JUST DON'T EVEN SHOW IT THEN I THINK WOULD BE MY RECOMMENDATION.
I DON'T KNOW HOW EVERYBODY ELSE FEELS ABOUT IT, BUT, SO HIDE THE 2023 ACTUALS.
SO DOES EVERYBODY UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHY I BROUGHT THAT CONCERN? SO THE 2023 ACTUALS, DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY ARE IN THE ACCOUNTING PROCESS, IT COULD BE ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE MONTH OF APRIL.
IT COULD BE HALFWAY THROUGH MARCH, IT COULD BE THE BEGINNING OF MARCH.
SO IT'S REALLY HARD TO, TO ME THERE'S NO BENEFIT IN HAVING THAT THERE.
CAUSE IT, IT CAN'T REALLY CALCULATE ANYTHING TO SEE SO, WELL, IT'S REALLY ONLINE.
IS THAT, ARE YOU JUST TALKING ABOUT THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS OR ALL THE GENERAL FUNDS AS WELL? IT'S A, IT'S ALL OF THEM.
SO, I MEAN, TO ME, TO ME THE, THE UM, 23 ACTUALS, THAT'S WHAT BALANCES OUR BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT A LINE ITEM, A SPECI SPECIFIC LINE ITEM THAT HAS A OVER EXPENDITURE, LET'S SAY OVER, UM, EXPENSES OVER HIGHER THAN WHAT'S BUDGETED.
WE HAVE WHAT'S, UM, WE HAVE SEVERAL ACCOUNTS THAT WE CAN GROUP TOGETHER AND IN TOTAL, AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T GO OVER THAT GROUP, FOR EXAMPLE, I'M GONNA USE SUPPLIES, THE POOLS, FIVE DIFFERENT SUPPLY ITEMS RIGHT.
AND AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T GO OVER THAT POOL POOLED AMOUNT SURE.
THEN THEY CAN OVER BUDGET THAT SPECIFIC LINE.
BUT STILL, UH, IT DON'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE TO ME.
I MEAN THE ACTUALS, I, I LIKE, I LIKE SEEING THE ACTUALS ON THERE.
CAUSE THAT'S GOING TO TELL US EXACTLY WHAT THE, EACH APARTMENT'S GOING TO SPEND IN THAT PARTICULAR LINE ITEM DUE THE REMAINDER OF THE, THROUGH THE YEAR.
I GUESS THE, WHAT I WAS SAYING THOUGH, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT, IF, IF YOU LOOKED AT, IF YOU LOOK, LET'S LOOK AT AN EXPENSE.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT PERSONNEL EXPENSE, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR PAGER 1 99, SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT SALARIES AND WAGES, IT'S BUDGETED FOR 2.197 AND THEY'VE ACTUALLY SPENT 1.71.
BUT THE QUESTION IS, IS WHEN IS THAT THROUGH? SO IS THAT THROUGH THE FULL MONTH OF APRIL? IS IT THROUGH THE PAY PERIOD? THEY ENDED A WEEK BEFORE APRIL ENDED.
THERE'S NO WAY TO TAKE THAT NUMBER AND THEN, CAUSE WHAT I TYPICALLY DO, IF, IF YOU, IF YOU WERE TO SAY THAT'S THROUGH APRIL AND IT WAS THROUGH THE END OF APRIL, YOU COULD TAKE THAT NUMBER AND DIVIDE THAT BY 10 AND THEN TIMES IT BY 12, WHICH WOULD GIVE YOU YOUR FULL YEAR ANNUALIZED RATE.
AND WHEN I DID THAT WITH ALL THESE OTHER CALCULATIONS, NONE OF 'EM ADDED UP.
SO THAT'S THE REASON I WAS SAYING IT WASN'T BENEFICIAL TO SEE IT.
CAUSE SOMETHING DOESN'T MATCH UP.
[02:40:01]
I DON'T MIND LOOKING AT 'EM CUZ YOU KNOW, SOME OF THEM, LIKE YOUR SAME EXAMPLE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE LINE ITEMS DOWN BELOW THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING AT OVERTIME, HOLY COW, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE PAYING WHAT IS THAT, 67% MORE OVERTIME THAN THEY'RE NOT EVEN DONE WITH A YEAR YET.I MEAN, SO, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT THAT PULLS OUT TO ME.
NOT EXACTLY, UM, YOU KNOW, TO THE PENNY, BUT IT'S LIKE, YEAH, OKAY.
THAT ONE'S WAY OVER, PROBABLY WAY OVER BUDGET.
WHEN YOU'RE, WHEN YOU, WHEN THE BUDGET IS BEING PREPARED AND, UM, THE 2023 ACTUALS, YOU, YOU HAVE THESE LINE ITEMS, IT SHOWS THESE LINE ITEMS. IS THIS SOMETHING THAT IS REQUIRED BY THE OPTS TO SHOW BE SHOWN OR IN YOUR PREPARATIONS IN YOUR BUDGET PREPARATION? UM, I DON'T THINK THAT COLUMN IS REQUIRED.
I'LL DOUBLE CHECK, BUT IT DOESN'T, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO SHOW SEVERAL YEARS.
SO WE HAVE, UM, 2022 AND 23 ON THIS.
UM, FOR COMPARISON PURPOSES, I, I, I PERSONALLY, I THINK IT GIVES, IF YOU LOOK AT IT IN A DIFFERENT LENS WHERE YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT IN, YOU KNOW, UM, A BIGGER PICTURE OF THIS IS, I GUESS WITH ALDERMAN BRISON SIDE, IT MAKES SENSE LIKE, WE'RE ALREADY OVER, SO IS THIS ENOUGH? WHY, WHERE ARE THE, THE OUTLIERS? INSTEAD OF LOOKING AND VALIDATING THE CALCULATIONS, LIKE WHERE ARE THE OUTLIERS AND WHAT SHOULD WE BE ADDRESSING? HOW COME THIS IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGH AND UNDER BUDGET HERE IT COULD BE BECAUSE WE HAD A SIGNIFICANT EXPENSE AND THAT'S NOT GONNA REOCCUR.
BUT IF YOU'RE USING IT FOR RECALCULATION PURPOSES, THEN IF YOU'RE NOT ALWAYS GONNA COME AND I MEAN YOU LEAVE IN THERE, I CAN JUST IGNORE IT.
I MEAN, I CAN LOOK AT IT FOR CERTAIN THINGS, LIKE ON PAGE 200, THE ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT HAS OVERSPENT THEIR BUDGET ON CURRENT OBLIGATIONS.
SO ARE WE GOING TO EXPECT, WELL YOU'VE GOT IT COVERED.
I GUESS HOPEFULLY AGAIN, YOU'RE BASING YOUR RECOMMENDED BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR OFF OF WHAT THE SPEND IS, RIGHT? NOT ALWAYS.
FROM LAST YEAR? NO, NOT ALWAYS.
IT AGAIN, DEPENDS ON THE CATEGORY.
SO WE DO DO, WE DO DRILL DOWN IN A LOT OF THESE NUMBERS TO LOOK TO SEE AND LOOK AT HISTORY TO SEE WHAT, UM, IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S REOCCURRING YEAR AFTER YEAR OR IF IT'S JUST HAPPENS TO BE SOMETHING THAT WAS NEW THAT YEAR OR YOU KNOW, JUST ONE TIME EXPENSE OR, OR REOCCURRING EXPENSE.
SO, UM, YES, WE USE IT AS A GUIDE AND THEN KIND OF LOOK AT IT IN THE BIG PICTURE AGAIN TO SAY WHERE'S THE OUTLIERS, WHERE WE MAY BE MISSING SOMETHING OR, UM, ARE OVER BUDGETING AND THEN TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHY.
CUZ SOMETIMES THERE'S ONE TIME EXPENSES COMING THIS YEAR AS WELL.
AND I THINK THE, UM, TIMING, YOU CAN CONFIRM THIS, THE PERCENT CHANGE THAT'S ALL THE WAY TO THE RIGHT.
I BELIEVE THAT IS, UM, REVISED BUDGET, UM, IN THE RECOMMENDED BUDGET.
WASN'T THE ORIGINAL BUDGET REVISED? YEP.
SO YOUR REVISED BUDGET, WE'VE, WE'VE MADE A LOT OF CHANGES THROUGH THE YEAR, WHICH ALSO INCLUDES THOSE ROLE APPEALS, WHICH WERE QUITE SIGNIFICANT THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF NOT BEING ABLE TO GET, UM, EQUIPMENT INSIDE AND OTHER CAPITAL.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON PARTS? PAGE 1 96, ELECTRICAL ADMINISTRATION ANTICIPATED EXPENDITURES, $2,136,080 ON PAGE 1 99, DISTRIBUTION OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE RECOMMENDING $8,718,454
[02:45:19]
ON PAGE TWO FOUR ELECTRIC POWER PRODUCTION, $38,000,907 498 CENTS ON PAGE 2 0 7 COMMUNICATIONS CONTROLLED.RECOMMENDED BUDGET IS $829,498.
HEY, HEY KIM, ON ON PAGE 2 0 2 FOR BUILDING STRUCTURES AND IMPROVEMENT LINE FOR SIX 50, I'M GONNA ASSUME THAT'S FOR KE ROAD EXPANSION THIS YEP.
AND THAT'S LISTED IN THEIR CAPITAL.
THE, THE NUMBERS ARE DIFFERENT.
THOSE SALES KELL ROAD EXPANSION IS 200,000 AND IT'S SIX 50 IN THAT LINE ITEM.
BUT EITHER WAY, WHAT, WHATEVER MAKES THAT LINE ITEM UP.
IS THERE A, IS THERE A CALCULATION SOMEWHERE IN HERE TO SHOW THAT THAT WOULD BE FINANCED? WE'RE NOT TRYING TO COVER ALL OF THIS CAPITAL OUTLAY IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET TO MAKE IT BALANCED.
ARE WE, UM, CHARLIE, I DON'T THINK HE PUT ANYTHING IN THERE FOR, UM, NO, I THINK IT'S COMING OUT OF HIS FUND.
CAN I HEAR YOU? DID YOU PUT IN REP PROCEEDS FROM DEBT? WERE YOU PLANNING TO PAY FOR YOUR $2 MILLION CAPITAL EXPENDITURE OUT OF FUND BALANCE PLANNING TO HAVE DEBT SERVICE ON ANY OF ELECTRIC BUDGETS? YEAH, OTHER THAN THE DEBT SERVICE THAT WE HAVE EXISTING.
SO WE JUST COVERED 2 0 7 COMMUNICATIONS CONTROL, WHICH IS 829,000 FOR $98 ON PAGE 2 0 9 UTILITY BUSINESS OFFICE OPERATIONS RECOMMENDED BUDGETS OF $2,851,861.
UM, THE SIX 50 WAS NOT CALE ROAD EXPANSION.
THAT WAS THE 200,000, THE SIX 50 WAS 400,000 FOR OLD TOWN RIVER CROSSING SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT AND 250,000 FOR GREENBRIER SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT.
ON PAGE TWO 13, CUSTOMER AND PAYMENT SERVICES RECOMMENDED BUDGET IS $1,660,052.
ON PAGE TWO 16, DID THAT SERVICE SERVICE LINE ITEM FOR EXPENDITURES FOR THIS COMING YEAR, $986,080 ON PAGE TWO 17, REIMBURSEMENT OF SERVICES TO THE GENERAL FUND WOULD BE $1,000,760 $661,760,669.
[02:50:02]
PAYMENT RULE OF TAXES TO THE GENERAL FUND, $3,104,596.SO THE, SO THE GOVERNING BOARD ALLOCATION FOR THE SEWER DEPARTMENT IS THE SAME AMOUNT AS THE ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT.
MAYBE THE CALCULATION WAS JUST DIVIDED BY HOW MANY DEPARTMENTS WE HAVE BECAUSE IT'S THE SAME FOR THE WATER.
UM, DO YOU WANT THE, WE'LL HAVE, WE'LL PULL IT UP.
WE'LL PULL IT UP, SEE WHAT IT'S CALCULATED BY.
CAN YOU GO BACK TO TWO 14? WE, OKAY, SO THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS WAS DIVIDED FOR THAT GOVERNING BOARD WAS DIVIDED A THIRD, A THIRD, A THIRD FOR, UM, GOVERNING BOARD.
WHAT PAGE WERE YOU ON? ASK THAT QUESTION FOR? FOR EACH ENTERPRISE FUND.
SO THE GOVERNING BOARD ALLOCATION IS SPLIT EQUALLY AMONGST ELECTRIC WATER AND SEWER FOR THE ENTERPRISE PORTION.
SO ON, UH, TWO 18, I GUESS THIS WOULD BE, UH, CUSTOMER AND PAYMENT SERVICES.
WHAT'S THE S AND M CONTRACTS? IT'S LIKE, UH, SERVICE AND MAINTENANCE.
I'M ON 2 14, 350 $8,000 FOR S AND M CONTRACT UNDER A CUSTOMER PAYMENT SERVICES.
THAT'S WHAT I WAS GOING TO ASK MINE.
YEAH, PAGES THAT TWO 14 CONTACT WITH, UM, RELATED TO THEIR SOFTWARE UPGRADES.
I'D HAVE TO PULL UP THE, SO THE SOFTWARE UPGRADES THAT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW, IT'S SOME NEW CONTRACTS.
SHE'S GONNA PULL UP THE DETAILS.
CHARLIE, DO YOU RECALL I'M EXACTLY WHAT IT IS.
I'M ASKING WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, BUT I, I'M GUESSING THOSE WERE THE IT ITEMS THAT WE WERE BUNDLED IN BEFORE, UNDER SHARED SERVICE AND NOW PUT OUT AND ALLOCATED ACROSS EACH DIVISION.
BUT YOU ALSO HAD, UM, ADDITIONAL CONTRACTS THIS YEAR FOR THE UBL, RIGHT? FOR THE, UH, CONVERSION TO HANSON? NO, NO, I'M SORRY.
UM, THERE ARE, THERE'S NEW CONTRACT FOR, UM, CASH HANDLING AND, UM, UM, SAFE SERVICES, UM, THAT WILL BE SHOWING UP IN THAT LINE ITEM THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT WHERE, I DON'T WANT TO GIVE TOO MANY CLUES AWAY HOW WE HANDLE CASH, BUT, UM, WELL, YOU COULD JUST FIND THAT OUT AND LET US KNOW.
CAUSE THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER.
THAT'S, AND IT'S WHAT, THOSE ARE THOSE CONTRACTS THAT WERE PULLED OUT? IT PULLED OUT IT.
SO WE HAVE $260,000 FOR THE HANSON CIS LICENSE AND SUPPORT.
WE HAVE 600,000 FOR ELECTRIC ELECTRONIC SECURITY, OR I'M SORRY, $600.
UM, WE HAD $30,000 FOR BANNER SUPPORT, MICROFOCUS COBLE, AND THEN $30,000 FOR BANNER SUPPORT ORACLE DATABASE, $35,000 FOR BANNER SUPPORT AND MANK SOLUTIONS AND $3,000 FOR SOFT DOCS.
[02:55:04]
IT RELATED, WHERE ARE WE NOW? STILL ON PAGE TWO 14.MAY HAVE QUESTION ON SOME OF THE SERVICE AND MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS.
THE FLAG, THE FLAG ON THAT WAS, IF YOU'LL LOOK ON THE BOTTOM PART OF THAT, UH, ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, THE PERCENTAGE INCREASE WAS 59000%.
SOME OF THESE LINE ITEMS LIKE THIS, IF YOU GROUPED A BUNCH OF STUFF TOGETHER THAT YOU LIST OUT WHAT'S, WHAT'S IN THAT GROUP.
I MEAN, IT WOULD BE EASY TO SIT DOWN THERE AND UNDER THAT $358,600 AND SAY 300,000 FOR THIS, 200,000 FOR THAT.
YOU KNOW, JUST KIND OF LIKE THE ATOMIZED BUDGET THAT THE DEPARTMENT HEADS SEND.
YOU KNOW, INSTEAD OF LEAVING ALL THESE, AT LEAST WHAT THEY USED TO SEND, I'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME SINCE I'VE, I HAD TO DO ONE, BUT ANYBODY, SO TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS A LITTLE BIT, WE DO SEND OUT THE BU UM, WE OPEN UP THE BUDGET AND THEY ENTER THEIR OWN BUDGETS.
AND THERE ARE SOME AREAS WHERE THEY DO PROVIDE THAT'S MANDATORY TO PROVIDE DETAIL AND SOME AREAS THAT ARE NOT.
AND SOME OF THESE, UM, THEY CHOSE TO PROVIDE MORE DETAIL.
SO, UM, IF WE WERE TO PRINT A BUDGET THAT HAD WITH THE DETAIL LIKE THAT, IT WOULD BE PROBABLY THREE TIMES AS BIG AS THIS.
SO WE, WE PROVIDE YOU THIS, THESE SHEETS RIGHT HERE WITH THE LONG DETAILS OF THE, UM, THE, UH, TRAINING AND THE DUES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS THAT WOULD ALSO PRINT WITHIN THERE.
SO WE CONDENSE EVERYTHING AND GIVE YOU, UH, A FEW PAGES SO THAT YOU CAN SEE IT BY DEPARTMENT.
BUT IF, IF WE WERE TO PRINT THIS WITH THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL, UM, WITH THE LINE SPACING, WE CAN'T FIX THE SPACING ON THIS, IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY LARGE.
YOU WOULD HAVE A VERY, VERY, VERY LARGE BOOK AND THAT I, I MEAN, WE'D PROBABLY HAVE TO SEND IT OUT BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'D HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DO IT ON OUR CURRENT FOR NURSE, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU.
FOR THIS MANY, WELL, AS LONG AS YOU CAN PULL THE INFORMATION UP, JUST YOU JUST DID IT, PROVIDED IT TO US.
BUT I THINK THAT ALSO MAYBE IN THE HIGHLIGHTS, WE CAN PICK SOME OF THOSE OUT NEXT TIME AND THEN HAVE THAT READILY AVAILABLE.
AND SEE IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE ELECTRIC PHONE.
WE'LL BE GOING TO SOLID WASTE, SOLID WASTE TO START ON PAGE 2 21 WHEN YOU'RE READY.
SO ON PAGE 2 21, AGAIN, YOU'LL SEE THE BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS THE PURPOSE, THOSE OBJECTIVES OF SOLID WASTE.
ON PAGE 2 22, YOU'LL SEE THE, THE CAPITAL ITEMS $275,000 IN CAPITAL FOR THAT FUND.
ON PAGE 2 23, ANTICIPATED REVENUES, $4,000,374 49 CENTS.
ON PAGE 2 24, YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE THE SOLID WASTE DIVISION PROPOSED BUDGET IS $3,000,924 304 $3,924,369.
DEBT SERVICE ON PAGE 2 27 IS PROJECTED TO BE $62,021.
ON PAGE 2 28, REIMBURSEMENT OF SERVICES TO THE GENERAL FUND, IT'S PROJECTED TO BE $382,972 ON PAGE 2 29 PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES, $4,687.
[03:00:12]
AND OF COURSE, AS, AS GEORGE CHILDS WAS STATING EARLIER, HE'LL BE COMING BACK AT A FUTURE BOARD MEETING TO DISCUSS, UH, THE ANTICIPATED INCREASES IN, UH, IN COST FROM G FFL AND THE LANDFILL.ANY QUESTIONS ON SOLID WASTE? ALL RIGHT, DEPUTY, YOU'LL TURN TO PAGE 2 32.
SO THE MUNICIPAL SERVICE DISTRICT, M S D ANTICIPATED REVENUES FOR $421,200 AND YOU'LL SEE A BREAKDOWN OF WHERE WE COME, COME UP WITH THAT ON PAGE 232.
ON PAGE 2 33, MSD EXPENSES ARE ESTIMATED TO BE $421,200.
THE MAJORITY OF THAT COMES FROM PAYMENTS FOR PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE ALREADY APPROVED.
THE GENERAL TREND FUND TRANSFER TO POLICE MM-HMM.
SO, FOSTER, THERE WAS CONVERSATION HAS BEEN ABOUT MS. D AND AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND ALL OF THAT.
CLEARLY WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO ESTABLISH THAT BEFORE WE ADOPT THIS BUDGET.
SO WHAT ARE YOU PROPOSING TO GARNER INPUT FROM THE MSD TAXPAYERS ON HOW THIS MONEY'S GONNA BE EXPENDED FOR THIS BUDGET CYCLE? SO ALTMAN PR HAS REALLY, REALLY BEEN VOCAL ABOUT WANTING TO, UM, GET INPUT FROM ALL THE PARTICIPANTS WITHIN THE MSD.
SO WHEN HE GETS BACK, WE ARE GONNA BE SCHEDULING A MEETING AND IT'LL MOST LIKELY BE MID-MAY WITH ALL OF THE, UM, PROPERTY OWNERS WITHIN THE MS. D.
WE WILL, WHEN WE HAD THE LAST WORK SESSION, WE TALKED ABOUT THE PROPOSAL FOR HOW AT MSD COMMITTEE COULD WORK.
WE'RE GOING TO PRESENT THAT TO THOSE RESIDENTS AND PROPERTY OWNERS.
WE'RE GONNA GET THEIR INPUT ON WHAT THEY COULD ENVISION WITH THAT PIECE.
WE'RE GONNA BRING THAT BACK TO THE GOVERNING BOARD AGAIN AND, AND DISCUSS THAT.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO, UH, TALK ABOUT A VARIETY OF PROJECTS WITH THE PROPERTY OWNERS.
UH, AND SOME OF THOSE CAN BE BEAUTIFICATION.
SOME OF THEM, UH, WILL BE A VARIETY OF ENHANCEMENTS AND WE'LL GET THEIR INPUT ON SOME PROJECTS THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE AS WELL.
UH, WE'LL BRING THAT BACK TO THE GOVERNING BOARD, GET YOUR INPUT IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER PROJECTS THAT COME UP, WILL RANK THOSE ACCORDINGLY.
CURRENTLY WE'VE GOT 1.6 MILLION, UH, IN THAT, IN THAT ACCOUNT.
AND WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO SPEND MONEY ON THOSE PROJECTS.
WE NEED TO DROP THAT BALANCE DOWN.
KIM, DO YOU SHOW WHAT THE DEBT SERVICE IS FOR THE MST? YES.
THAT'LL BE A QUICK WAY TO SOME OF IT DOWN.
DO YOU HAVE A LIST OF PROJECTED PROJECTS FOR, I DON'T HAVE IT HERE.
WE MEET TOMORROW, BUT YOU OKAY.
SO M S D HAS A BALANCE OF $641,163 TOTAL ALL, AND THAT'S GOT SOME SORT OF INTEREST RATE.
IT'S PROBABLY PRETTY LOW, BUT IF WE'RE SITTING ON 1.8 OR 1.6, 1.6 MILLION SITTING ON 1.6 MILLION, WHY WOULDN'T WE JUST PAY THAT OFF? THAT'S WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND.
SO WE CAN GET THEIR INPUT AS WELL.
AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO NOTIFY ALL THE PROPERTY OWNERS? WE'RE GONNA SEND THE MAILER OUT TO THEM TO LET THEM KNOW.
[03:05:01]
THE TRADITIONAL ROUTES OF COMMUNICATION WITH THE DOWNTOWN FOLKS OKAY.SO, WE'LL, OF COURSE, WE'LL LET THE TIRE BOARD KNOW IF YOU'D LIKE TO ATTEND THAT MEETING.
SO ON YOUR SCREENS IN FRONT OF YOU IN THE POWERPOINT, THE CURRENT MSD TAX RATE IS, UH, 1313 75 CENTS.
UH, THE TAX EVALUATION WAS 183.5 MILLION AS OF APRIL 6TH.
THE REVENUE NEUTRAL RATE IS 11 CENTS.
1 CENT ON THAT TAX RATE EQUATES TO $18,350.
UM, NO REASON TO RAISE THAT FROM THE REVENUE NEUTRAL BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF FUNDS WE CURRENTLY HAVE IN PLACE AND ANY FUTURE PROJECTS WE HAVE THE DEBT SERVICE.
IF WE DON'T PAY THAT OFF, UH, WE'VE GOT PLENTY TO COVER FUTURE PROJECTS.
WE'VE GOT SEVERAL OTHER FUNDS.
UM, ON PAGE 2 36, THERE'S THE REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION.
CURRENTLY THERE ARE, THERE IS ZERO ON THE MANAGERS RECOMMENDED.
NORMALLY WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH THAT IS THAT THE REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION, DURING ONE OF THEIR BOARD MEETINGS, THEY WILL MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE AMOUNT OF FUNDS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO ALLOCATE TO THE BUDGET.
UH, SO WHEN THEY DO THAT, WE BRING THAT TO THE GOVERNING BOARD IN THE FORM OF A BUDGET AMENDMENT, SO THAT THAT WILL MOST LIKELY COME SOME POINT IN JUNE OR JULY.
OR IF THEY THINK THEY'VE GOT A PROJECT COMING UP, IF THEY WANNA SPEND MONEY ON A HOUSE OR ANY OTHER PROJECT THAT'S NOT COVERED BY ANY TYPE OF GRANT THEY CURRENTLY HAVE.
SO THEY'VE REQUESTED NOTHING SO FAR IN, IN, FOR THIS UPCOMING BUDGET.
SO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S SALARY CAME FROM THAT CAME FROM DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
THAT'S FUNDED IN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
WILL, WILL, THE A R P ALLOCATION THAT WE APPROVE TUESDAY NIGHT SHOW UP IN THIS REDEVELOPMENT? NO, IT WON'T.
THOSE DOLLARS ARE IN GENERAL FUND.
SO WHAT DID WE DO TUESDAY NIGHT? HOW FAR WE ALLOCATED THE MONEY FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION? UM, WELL, I'M SORRY, CAN YOU REFRESH MY MEMORY ON WHAT PROJECT? SO WHEN, AT THE LAST MEETING, ALDERMAN AT PASTOR RECOMMENDED, I BELIEVE IT WAS $547,000 BE ALLOCATED FROM HIS A R P ALLOTMENT TO, FOR PUBLIC HOUSING, FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION, FIVE $47,000.
SO THAT SHOULD BE, AND, AND THAT WILL HAVE TO COME BACK TO A DID YOU DO ANYTHING FOR THIS BUDGET? FOR A BUDGET AMENDMENT? NO, I DIDN'T THINK IT GOT PASSED OR APPRO, UH, APPROVED.
YEAH, I THINK IT WAS, YES, FIVE TO ONE.
SO YOU WON'T SEE THAT ON THE, OKAY.
UM, SO I CAN, IF IT GOES TO, UM, REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION, WE CAN DO THAT AND SET IT OFF IN A PROJECT CODE.
WE CAN SET IT SO THAT WE CAN MONITOR IT, AND THAT'S FINE.
UM, IF YOU WANT TO GIVE THEM THE $547,000 IS A GRANT, THEN THAT'S A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION TO HAVE.
BUT, UM, I HAVE NO PROBLEM MOVING IT OVER THERE AND JUST MANAGING THAT TO ENSURE, SO BASICALLY THE DIFFERENCE IS WE WOULD PAY THOSE EXPENSES AND, UM, HAVE CONTROL OF THAT VERSUS GIVING THEM $547,000 FOR THEM TO SPEND AND THEN HAVE TO SEND THE REPORT OVER.
THE EASIEST WAY WILL BE TO SET IT UP THE WAY WE PREVIOUSLY ALLOCATED THE ARPA FUNDS FOR THE, UH, THE, UH, COMMUNITY CENTER, THE, UH, WELLNESS CENTER THAT, UH, THE BOARD ALLOCATED, I THINK IT WAS 350, 300 $50,000 FOR IN THE PROJECT PREVIOUSLY.
SO YOU WOULD JUST WRITE A PURCHASE ORDER AND DO DRAWS RIGHT OFF THE PURCHASE ORDER? YEAH, THAT'S CORRECT.
AND SO IF IT COMES IN LESS THAN THE 5 47, WE JUST PUT THE MONEY BACK IN AR CORRECT.
SO WE HAVE A PROJECT FUND FOR THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS CENTER STAY YET THE $350,000? NO, WE HAVE THAT STILL SITTING IN GENERAL FUND.
SO THAT, AND UNDER THE ART, I MEAN, WE HAVE A SEPARATE PROJECT UNDER THERE THAT'S CONSIDERED THAT WE'RE, WE'RE WATCHING ALL OF THOSE FUNDS AND ALLOCATING A PROJECT CODE AND
[03:10:01]
THEN, THEN IT'S JUST ROLLING TO THE NEXT YEAR OF WHATEVER'S UNSPENT.SO WE'RE NOT, WE WERE NOT ANTICIPATING ON SETTING UP PROJECTS FOR ALL OF THESE IN MONITORING ALL THESE DIFFERENT PROJECTS.
WE WERE JUST GONNA KEEP 'EM WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND AS INDICATED BY, UM, UNC WHEN, YOU KNOW, SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT WHEN WE, WE REACHED OUT TO THEM.
BUT IT'S, BUT THEY'RE STILL $350,000 ALLOCATED FOR, IT'S JUST A DIFFERENT OKAY.
WHEN AND WHENEVER THEY'RE READY TO START, THEN IT'S GONNA BE SOON.
WHENEVER THEY'RE READY, THEN WE'LL WORK WITH THEM ON, ON THE APPROPRIATE PROCESS FOR PURCHASE ORDERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO AT THE END OF, IN OUR FINAL BUDGET AMENDMENT THIS YEAR, WE'LL HAVE, UM, A LARGE AMOUNT, IT'LL BE THE REMAINING ARPA FUNDS THAT WE WILL COMMIT AND WE'LL SET THOSE FUNDS ASIDE.
AND THEN WE MON WE HAVE ALL OF THOSE WITHIN THE, UM, THE LIST THAT YOU, YOU'LL RECEIVE.
IT'S GOT A DIFFERENT CODE TO IT TO SEPARATE ALL YOUR PROJECTS BASED ON YOUR WARD AND YOUR PROJECTS THAT YOU'VE ASSIGNED IT.
THE MPO THE MUNICIPAL PLANNING ORGANIZATION.
SO THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY FIVE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS THAT PARTICIPATE IN THIS, UM, CITY OF NEWBURN RIVER BEND, UM, TR BRIDGE, TR WOODS, CRAVEN COUNTY, ENBRIDGE.
AND, AND SO OUR ALLOCATION FOR THAT IS $27,227.
EVERY OTHER LOCAL ENTITY CONTRIBUTES THOSE FUNDS AS WELL.
AND THEY ALSO GET A, A GRANT FROM THE STATE.
SO WE BASICALLY HOUSE THEM IN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
WE HAVE, UM, TWO STAFF MEMBERS THAT, THAT ARE EMPLOYED BY THE CITY, BUT ALL THOSE, UH, CONTRIBUTIONS GO PAY THAT BUDGET.
AND SO REVENUES, UH, END UP BEING $245,375 AND EXPENDITURES ON 2 39 FOR THE NPOS $245,375.
SO ALL OF THAT IS ADDITIONAL FUNDING, THIS FEDERAL TRANSIT PLANNING.
SO ON PAGE TWO 40 IS ADDITIONAL FUNDING, UM, FOR MPO WITH THE FEDERAL TRANSIT PLANNING AND IT'S 54,072.
UM, THERE'S PART OF THAT LOCAL MATCH IS THE 6,008, UM, THAT ALSO IS A FEDERAL GRANT.
SO ON PAGE TWO, THIR 2 41, YOU'LL SEE THE EMERGENCY 9 1 1 FUND.
THIS YEAR WE HAVE REVENUES OF $156,353.
ON PAGE 2 42, THESE FUND THE EXPENDITURES OF THE EMERGENCY OR EMERGENCY 9 1 1 SYSTEM, UH, IN THE AMOUNT OF $156,353.
UH, AND INCLUDES A VARIETY OF THINGS SUCH AS EMPLOYEE TRAVEL AND TRAINING.
THERE IS, THERE ARE NO EMPLOYEES IN THAT.
IT'S JUST A VARIETY OF, OF CONTRACTS AND THINGS THAT, THAT MEET THE CRITERIA FOR, FOR E 9 1 1, IT DOESN'T COVER THE TELECOMMUNICATION.
SO MY QUESTION IS, THE EMPLOYEE TRAVELING TRAINING AT $22,000, HOW MANY EMPLOYEES WILL BE TRAVELING AND TRAINING FOR $22,000? PULL UP THE ON THAT, GONNA PULL THE, IF YOU GO TO PAGE 1616 MM-HMM.
UH, DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? OKAY.
SO WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT THAT TRAINING IS.
SO UNDER, ON PAGE 16, TRAVEL AND TRAINING BUDGET, ABOUT HALFWAY DOWN, YOU'VE GOT EMERGENCY 9 1 1 SUPPORT, AND THAT IS, UM, APCO TRAINING FOR DISPATCH AND TELECOMMUNICATORS CC.
JUST MA'AM, LET ME, I'M SORRY.
SO ABOUT HALFWAY DOWN, YOU'LL SEE EMERGENCY 9 1 1 SUPPORT.
[03:15:01]
RIGHT? AND THAT'S THE LIST OF THE TRAINING THAT THEY HAVE, UM, THAT THEY'RE SCHEDULED TO GO TO OR THEY WANT TO GO TO.AND THAT'S THE APCO TRAINING FOR DISPATCH AND TELECOMMUNICATORS CTO TRAINING FOR TELECOMMUNICATORS, UM, COMMUNICATIONS TRAINING OFFICERS, UM, ANNUAL PSAP MANAGER TRAINING, 9 1 1 CIVILIAN UNIT SUPERVISORS TRAINING WITH THE NORTH CAROLINA JUSTICE ACADEMY AND THEN A P C O QUALITY ASSURANCE TRAINING, UM, FOR THE CIVILIAN UNIT SUPERVISORS.
AND THAT'S COVERED UNDER THE E 9 1 1.
THEY, THEY GET, UM, REIMBURSED FOR THAT.
HOW MANY TELECOMMUNICATORS DO WE HAVE? CHIEF? HOW MANY TELECOMMUNICATORS DO WE HAVE? I DON'T HAVE MY UM, OKAY.
ORG CHART IN FRONT OF ME, BUT ROUGHLY A TELL 20 IS ABOUT 12.
THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE SUPERVISORS.
SO WITH THESE TRAININGS, THE FIRST ONE, THERE'S SEVEN THAT COVERS SEVEN EMPLOYEES FOR A TOTAL OF 14,000.
SO SEVEN EMPLOYEES TIMES $2,000 TO GO TO THAT APP CODE.
AND THEN THE FOLLOWING FOUR, THERE'S THREE EACH.
ARE THESE TRAININGS MANDATED? SEVERAL OF THE TRAININGS ARE MANDATED, YES.
UM, JUST REAL QUICK, BACK ON 2 39 AND TWO 40, I KNOW WE'VE GOT TWO EMPLOYEES IN THE NPO.
IS WHY, WHY ARE THEY SEPARATED? IS ONE SALARIED AND ONE ONE EXEMPT? ONE NON-EXEMPT? IS THAT WHY THEY WOULD BE SEPARATED OUT? NO, IT'S THE TWO DIFFERENT GRANTS THROUGH MM-HMM.
SO THOSE ARE TWO SEPARATE CASES.
SO WE JUST DIVIDE UP THEIR SALARY.
SO, SO FOR EXAMPLE, ON 2 39, THE HEALTH INSURANCE, THE $25,000, THAT'S FOR BOTH.
ON PAGE 2 43, WE'VE GOT THE POLICE, UM, SPECIAL, UH, REVENUE THAT PROPOSED REVENUE IS, UH, $21,940.
AND KIM, WHY DON'T YOU TALK ABOUT THE TRAINING THAT IS USED FOR THAT.
SO, UM, THE TRAINING LISTED IN THE POLICE SPECIAL REVENUE IS INVESTIGATIVE TRAVEL, UM, FOR THE VICE AND NARCOTICS DETECTIVES.
AND THAT THIS YOU CAN FIND ON PAGE 16 AGAIN, BUT I'M READING IT OUT.
ORGANIZED CRIME DRUG ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE, UH, NARCOTIC ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE, MISCELLANEOUS TRAINING, IT SAYS FOR VICE NARCOTIC AND NARCOTICS DETECTIVES, BASIC NARCOTICS COURSE DRUG LAW ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM.
AND IT'S, UM, WITH THE FEDERAL LE TRAINING CENTER, WE HAVE UNDERCOVER TECHNIQUES COURSE AND ANNUAL GAIN CONFERENCE AND THE POLICE, UM, SPECIAL REVENUE FUND, UM, IT'S INSTRUCTION FEES FROM, UM, CLASSES THAT OUR OFFICERS PROVIDE, UM, THE COLLEGE.
AND SO THEY IN TURN USE THAT FOR ADDITIONAL TRAINING FOR THE, FOR THEIR STAFF.
FIRE DEPARTMENT STILL DO THAT AS WELL.
THE TRAINING THAT'S PROVIDED BY THE OUR EMPLOYEES DO DOES, AND THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE PAYS FOR IT.
ARE Y'ALL STILL NO LONGER DOING THAT? I'M SORRY, I THOUGHT YOU WERE ASKING THEM.
CAN YOU REPEAT THAT? I, I WAS ASKING BOBBY, HE ANSWERED ME.
[03:20:01]
SORRY.ARE WE READY TO MOVE? UM, OKAY.
SO PAGE 2 45 IS THE, UM, E SHARING DOJ.
THESE, THESE FUNDS ARE, UM, FROM CASES THAT GO TO A FEDERAL LEVEL.
UM, THE ASSETS FROM THE BUS ARE SOLD.
UM, THE CITY APPLIES FOR OUR PORTION OF THOSE ASSETS.
AND, UM, THAT'S USED FOR SPECIAL.
THOSE THAT REVENUE IS THEN USED FOR SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS AND TRAVEL AND TRAINING AS WELL IF NEEDED.
UM, THEY HAVE BUDGETED 36,050 AND THE EXPENSES ARE 36,050 AS WELL WITH 6,050 AND CONTRACTS AND 30,000 SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS, WHICH I THINK IT'S TO, AS I DON'T KNOW, POLICE CAN ASK, CAN GIVE MORE INFORMATION, BUT FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, IT'S THE FUNDS THEY NEED TO DO THEIR JOB TO, FOR THOSE BUSTS.
IF YOU WANT TO YEAH, I GET IT.
THIS IS DRUG MONEY, RIGHT? RIGHT.
SO PART, PART OF THOSE ASSET FORFEITURE DOLLARS GOES TOWARDS BY BUS MONIES THAT OUR UNDERCOVER STAFF USES TO ACTUALLY PURCHASE, UM, DRUGS TO MAKE, UH, CRIMINAL DRUG INVESTIGATIVE CASES.
AND PAGE 2 47 IS ALSO, UM, IT'S DEPARTMENT TREASURY.
IT'S THE SAME THING FOR SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS.
IS OUR GOAL TODAY TO COMPLETE THIS OR? YES, WE RETURN TOMORROW.
I THINK THE PLAN IS GONNA BE TO SPLIT THIS UP AND RETURN TO MARKS.
YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF INFORMATION IN, IN FRONT OF YOU.
UM, AND IT'S GONNA BE UP TO, TO YOU ALL, HOW, HOW LONG DO YOU WANT TO GO? BUT I, I THINK SOME OF YOU MAY WOULD LIKE TO REVIEW SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE WENT OVER TODAY.
AND THAT WAY IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, OVERNIGHT, THEN WE CAN KIND OF LOOK AT THOSE AND TACKLE THOSE.
AND OF COURSE, YOU'RE WELCOME TO LOOK AT THE GENERAL FUND TONIGHT AS WELL TO, TO COME TO CARE WITH ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE ALSO.
BUT IT IS A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT WE'VE GONE OVER TODAY AND WE'VE GOT A LOT MORE TO GO INTO GENERAL FUNDS.
SO, AND WE'RE JUST ABOUT FINISHED WITH ALL, ALL OF THE, UM, OTHER FUNDS ON THIS.
SO, UM, AND JUST TO PIGGYBACK ON THAT, IF YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS, THE SOONER YOU EMAIL, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND EMAILING THEM TO US, WE COULD WORK TO GET THOSE ANSWERS.
SO WE'RE PREPARED AND THAT'LL MOVE ALONG A LITTLE BIT QUICKER AS WELL TOMORROW.
UM, PAGE 2 49 IS THE FACADE OR PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND, UM, THAT'S THE FACADE PROGRAM.
UM, IT'S A GRANT TO COMMUNITY GRANT.
THERE ARE, LEMME SEE IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE FACADE.
IT'S, UM, THE NEW BURNS FACADE GRANT PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE AN ECONOMIC INCENTIVE FOR OWNERS AND TENANTS OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTY WITHIN THE FIVE POINTS COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR IN OTHER DISTRESSED AREAS OF THE CITY, IDENTIFIED BY THE BOARD OF ALL REN SIOUX MAJOR AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
SO, SO THIS PROGRAM'S BEEN AROUND SINCE AT LEAST 2012, BEEN ON AVERAGE AND WE'LL ALLOCATE APPROXIMATELY $10,000 A YEAR FOR THAT.
UM, AND EACH YEAR WE'VE HAD AT LEAST ONE OR TWO BUSINESSES THAT HAVE REACHED OUT TO, TO REQUEST THIS FUNDING.
UM, MOST RECENTLY WE, WE'VE HAD BREWERY 99, UH, TO RECEIVE SOME FUNDING IN THE NEW RESTAURANT ON, UM, CORK TAMPERING.
CORK CORK WAS, UH, RECEIVED SOME FUNDING AS WELL.
AND SO, OKAY, JUST THAT AGAIN, 2 50, 2 50 59.
SO THE NEXT FEW PAGES, UM, THERE'S NO BUDGET BEING RECOMMENDED AND IT PRINTS ANYWAYS BECAUSE OF THE HISTORY, SO THAT WE HAVE THE BALANCE BUDGET SO IF YOU WANNA JUMP TO PAGE 2 59.
[03:25:03]
2 59 IS OUR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS FUND.WE'RE SELF-INSURED AND BASED ON, UM, THE, WE'VE REACHED OUT AND RECEIVED, UM, CALCULATIONS FROM OUR INSURANCE COMPANY, THEY PROVIDED US AN ESTIMATED BUDGET, WHICH HAS US AT ABOUT $7,880,920.
AND THAT COVERS, UM, OUR WORKERS' COMPENSATION AS WELL AS OUR, UM, HEALTH AND DENTAL INSURANCE FOR RETIREES AND EMPLOYEES.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? OKAY.
AND THAT'S ALL WE HAVE RIGHT NOW FOR OTHER FUNDS, SO WE WOULD BE ENDING THE OTHER FUNDS AT THIS TIME, UNLESS YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
SO ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON WHAT WE'VE GOING ON OVER WITH THE, UM, EVERYTHING WE'VE COVERED TODAY? NO.
LET'S, SO WE'VE COVERED ALL THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS AND THE SPECIAL FUNDS AND THAT TOOK US THREE HOURS AND 40 MINUTES.
IS THAT ABOUT RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
SO THE GENERAL FUND INCLUDES MORE DEPARTMENTS FROM THE ENTERPRISE FUND.
SO WHAT'S THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD? WE'VE LOST TWO.
I'M READY TO STAY A LITTLE LONGER IF Y'ALL ARE.
YEAH, YOU DON'T THAT, IS THERE ANY WAY THOUGH THAT WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO WRAP THIS UP TODAY? I DON'T THINK THAT'S GONNA BE POSSIBLE.
SO IT, IT WOULD TAKE, IT WOULD TAKE A FEW MORE HOURS TO TO, TO GET THROUGH THIS.
DO YOU WANT TO GO OVER THE DEPARTMENT, DEPARTMENT LEVEL OR DIVISION LEVEL? ARE YOU WANTING TO GO LIBRARY LINE LIKE THIS WITH THE, UM, GENERAL FUND OR JUST PICK OUT SOME OF THE BIGGER AREAS WITHIN EACH DEPARTMENT? I WOULD, I WOULD SUSPECT WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA HAVE ABOUT THE SAME FORMAT FOR THE GENERAL FUND.
UM, LIKE I SAID, WE'VE LOST TWO.
PLAN WAS TO COME BACK AT ONE O'CLOCK AGAIN TOMORROW.
SO I'M, I'M WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO? ALLMAN ASTRA? I'M, I'M, I MEAN, I'M RETIRED.
I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING DO, BUT I, I'M PARENTS STAY HERE A LITTLE LONGER IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO STAY A LITTLE LONGER.
ACTUALLY, IRONICALLY, UH, THE FOUR OF US HAS LEFT.
THREE OF YOU ARE RETIRED, SO, AND I'M ON VACATION TECHNICALLY TODAY AND TOMORROW OR THURSDAY.
SO, I MEAN, I'M, I'M READY TO STICK AROUND FOR A LITTLE BIT LONGER IF YOU WANT TO START ONTO IT OR IF YOU WANT TO JUST START BACK AFTERNOON.
MR. MANAGER, WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND IF WE WANTED TO WORK A LITTLE BIT LONGER? UH, WELL, IF, IF WE WANNA WORK A LITTLE BIT LONGER, WE'LL WE'LL GO STRAIGHT INTO THE GOVERNING BOARD.
UM, WHATEVER THE BOARD WOULD LIKE TO DO.
I SAY WE AT LEAST WORK TILL FIVE.
T MCKENZIE THOUGH, REALLY WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE GOVERNING BOARD'S SALARY AND HE LEFT, SO I GUESS HE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THAT ONE.
UH, THIS IS THE GENERAL FUND AND SO ON PAGE 34, OF COURSE YOU'RE GONNA SEE THE BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS.
UM, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA GET TO SOME ALLOCATIONS SHORTLY.
SO I'M NOT GONNA REALLY GO INTO WHAT WAS ON THE BUDGET PAGE, BUT UNDER THE GOVERNING BOARD, UH, PAGE 36,
[03:30:01]
I PROPOSED, UH, BUDGETS 3 320 $2,629.THAT INCLUDES THE, THE, UH, SALARY AND FRINGE BENEFITS FOR THE GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS, OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND TRAVEL FOR THE, THE VARIOUS ALDERMAN AND THE MAYOR.
AND SO, AS YOU MAY REMEMBER, IN TERMS OF TRAVEL, YOU'VE GOT APPROXIMATELY $2,000, UH, THAT EACH OF YOU CAN USE.
AND, AND, UH, THIS IS FOR CONFERENCES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
MOST RECENTLY ARRINSON USED SOME FUNDS TO ATTEND THE CONFERENCE OFFER AND PRS USED SOME TO ATTEND.
SO HOLLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO ATTEND, UH, SOME OF THE TRAININGS THAT THAT, THAT COME ACROSS THE BOARD THROUGHOUT THE, THE YEAR.
UM, THE QUESTION ON THE, UM, THE HEALTH INSURANCE FOR THE GOVERNING BOARD, IS THAT, IS THAT ESTIMATED FOR THOSE THAT ARE CURRENTLY ON THE HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN? OR ARE WE BUDGETING FOR EVERYONE? WE BUDGET FOR ALL.
WE DO A, UM, BECAUSE WE'RE SELF-FUNDED, SO THEN WE CALCULATE BY THE TOLL NUMBER EMPLOYEES AND THEN PUT THAT WITHIN THEIR LINE.
AND THIS MAY BE A REALLY STUPID QUESTION, BUT FOR ALDERMAN AS AND ALDERMAN BEST, DOES THEIR HEALTH INSURANCE FALL UNDER THE GOVERNING BOARD OR RETIREE? GREAT QUESTION.
CAN DO, WE CAN DO A LITTLE BIT OF RESEARCH AND FIND STATEMENT RECEIVING.
YEAH, I THINK IF THEY'RE RECEIVING THE RETIRE, BUT IT WOULD STILL BE PART OF THE, UM, WE TAKE THE INSURANCE BUDGET AND WE DIVIDE IT BY HOW MANY EMPLOYEES WE HAVE AND THEN THAT'S HOW IT'S FOR THE HEALTH INSURANCE, I SHOULD SAY.
SO IT DOESN'T MATTER IN A SENSE.
UM, BRENDA, WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO OVER WHAT THE ALDERMAN ARE CURRENTLY ALLOCATED ANNUALLY AND UM, WITH THE MONTHLY BREAKDOWN, IF YOU'VE GOT THAT ALSO WITH THE MAYOR'S RATE IS FOR THE SALARY ON A MONTHLY BREAKDOWN, WHATEVER YOU HAVE.
THE MAYOR'S ANNUAL SALARY IS $16,143 AND 10 CENT.
THE ALDERMAN ARE 11,000, $98 AND 88 CENTS.
AND EACH YEAR WHEN A MAYOR PRO TEM IS SELECTED, THEY RECEIVE A SLIGHT INCREASE OF $877, MAKING THEIR SALARY FOR THAT YEAR.
SO, SO ON PAGE 37 OF THIS, YOU'LL SEE SOME OTHER EXPENSES THAT, THAT THE GOVERNING BOARD, UM, ADDRESSES.
THE, THE BIGGEST INCREASE THAT WE'RE GONNA SEE IS AN IT RESTRICTED, THAT'S $20,420.
AND IT'S BASICALLY BECAUSE IT'S TIME TO, UM, BUY NEW COMPUTERS.
AND WE, WE HAVE THAT ON FIVE YEAR CYCLE.
IT'S AUTOMATICALLY, I JUST GOT USED TO THE ONE YOU GAVE ME,
I DO, BUT I MEAN IT, I TO WHAT I'M USED TO AT HOME.
MINE'S BRAND NEW THAT Y'ALL GAVE ME THREE OR FOUR YEARS AGO.
I PERSONALLY, I DON'T NEED A NEW ONE UNLESS IT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN'T GET SERVICES FOR OR ANYTHING.
THAT'S USUALLY WHY WE GO FIVE YEARS.
CAUSE YEAH, AT THAT FIVE YEAR MARK, THEN, THEN THAT TRADITIONAL SUPPORT FOR THAT BRAND, THAT MODEL DIES OUT GOOD.
I MEAN AN IPAD, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS GONNA, I EVER SINCE WE WENT FROM THE IPAD TO THE COMPUTER, I NEVER USED A COMPUTER.
THE CITY GAVE ME, I USE A PERSONAL IPAD, MUCH EASIER FOR ME TO NAVIGATE THROUGH AN IPAD.
I DON'T KNOW WHO MADE THAT DECISION LAST TIME.
MAYBE IT WAS AN IT DECISION, BUT WE WERE NEVER ASKED WHEN WE WENT FROM IPADS TO THE LAPTOP.
SO THE GOAL IS, I DO KNOW IN TALKING WITH, UM, TONY, THAT THEY WERE LOOKING AT GETTING, CAUSE I HAVE LIKE THE TEST VERSION.
THIS IS SIMILAR, IT'S LIKE IN BETWEEN, BUT AT LEAST IT'S A TOUCH SCREEN AND YOU CAN, UM, IT'S SMALLER AND YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, MOVE IT AROUND.
WHAT'S THAT CALLED? IT IS A NOT A SURFACE APPROACH.
CAUSE THAT'S A, THAT'S A DELL.
AND SO THIS IS THE TIME TO TELL US, WOULD, WOULD THE BOARD PREFER IPADS OR WOULD YOU PREFER SOMETHING LIKE THE SURFACE, WHICH, WHICH KIM IS TALKING ABOUT? I, I WOULD TELL YOU WHATEVER IS A CHEAPER OPTION FOR ME.
KIM, WHO IS THIS ONE? THIS IS THE, CUZ I HAD THE IPAD FIRST AND THEN THEY
[03:35:01]
SWITCHED TO THIS ONE.THE IPAD IS LIKE, YOU JUST OPEN IT UP AND IT'S ALWAYS ON.
YOU PRESS THE ICON AND IT COMES UP.
THOSE YOU GOTTA BOOT UP AND YOU GOTTA SHUT DOWN.
AND IT'S JUST, THAT'S JUST, THIS WORKS SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING AND IT'S A TOUCH SCREEN, SO IT'S YEAH, YOU DON'T, AND I THINK THE, I DON'T EVEN HAVE TO HAVE ONE.
SO WE, WE CAN CERTAINLY DO IPADS.
CAN YOU CHECK AND SEE, I THINK THERE WAS A REASON WHY IT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE SECURITY, SECURITY ISSUES.
WE'LL BE ABLE TO BRING THAT UP TOMORROW.
WELL, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE DEPARTMENTS HAVE IPADS AND THEN ARE USING OUT AT THE FIELD FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER.
SO, UM, SO WE'LL TALK TO IT TO SEE IF THERE WERE ANY ISSUES WITH KEVIN VOID ON THAT.
THEN WE HAVE, UH, ALSO ON PAGE 37, CONTRIBUTION TO ALLIES, UH, ALLIES FOR CHERRY POINT TOMORROW, UH, THAT AMOUNT IS $14,200 IN THE HIGHWAY 17 TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION.
AND THOSE ARE ONGOING ALLOCATIONS.
WHAT, WHAT DO WE DO WITH THAT? WELL, I MEAN, HIGHWAY 17 TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? SO I BELIEVE ALDERMAN PRI IS, UH, IS ON THAT, THAT COMMITTEE, IS THAT CORRECT? UM, AND SO DO YOU HAVE ANY BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THAT, THAT GROUP, BRENDA, THAT YOU CAN SHARE? IT'S OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, A LOBBYING MM-HMM.
THE JACKSONVILLE AREA AND THE INCOME OR, OR NOT THE INCOME, THE REVENUE BY HAVING ADDITIONAL TRAVELER SHOULD PRODUCE FOR THIS AREA.
THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN TOLD IN THE PAST BY THE, AND TRYING TO MAKE IT A FOUR.
AND ONCE THAT PROJECT IS COMPLETE, HOWEVER LONG IT WOULD TAKE D O T TO COMPLETE IT.
UM, THERE HAD BEEN INDICATION LOBBYING SERVICES FOR THAT EFFORT WOULD NOT BE NEEDED ANYMORE.
WELL, IT'S GONNA BE A LONG TIME FOR A FOUR LANE FROM WASHINGTON TO NEWBURN, ISN'T IT? ISN'T IT ALLOCATED? I THINK SO.
I MEAN, IT'S A, I DON'T KNOW THAT IT'S ALLOCATED.
THERE IS A PLAN FOR, WELL, I'VE HAD A PLAN.
I I THOUGHT THE MAJORITY OF IT WAS ALLOCATED, BUT YEAH, I, I DON'T THINK THROUGH BRIDGE STATE THAT CRA COUNTY, I GUESS I SHOULD SAY.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON, ON THE GOVERNING BOARDS? JUDGE? ALL RIGHT.
ON PAGE 38, THIS, THIS IS ADMINISTRATION THAT BASICALLY COVERS THE CITY MANAGER, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, THE CITY CLERK, AND THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER AND ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT CITY HALL.
AND ON PAGE 40, CLOSED BUDGET IS $993,383.
AND THAT INCLUDES THE SALARIES AND BENEFITS, OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR THE CITY MANAGER OF, UM, $30,000.
AND THAT, THAT GOES TO FUND THINGS SUCH AS, UH, CERTAIN GRANTS.
UM, THERE, THERE ARE CERTAIN TIMES WE USE THAT IF THERE ARE ANY, UM, APPRAISALS AND THINGS THAT DON'T FIT THE CRITERIA.
UM, FOR THE UM, SPECIAL APPROPRIATIONS LINE ITEM OF COMMUNITY AND DEVELOPMENT, WE ARE PROPOSING $2,500 FOR A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT, UM, THE CITY BE REPRESENTED AND WE HAVE A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS THAT DO GO OUT, UH, AND SET UP FOR A VARIETY OF EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES.
AND, AND OF COURSE, UH, ADMINISTRATION WAS SET UP AT, UM, MEMPHIS FEST LAST YEAR WITH THE TENT AND THINGS.
AND SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT, THAT WE ARE VISIBLE AS A CITY TO ENGAGE WITH THE CITIZENS.
WHAT IS THE OTHER CONTRACTUAL SERVICES OF 50,000? LET'S, UH, PULL SOME DETAILS SO WE CAN SEE THAT.
[03:40:01]
UH, ONE IS FOR NEWBORN ALERTS, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY THE ALERTS.THEN THE REMAINDER OF THAT IS FOR, UH, ADDITIONAL TECHNOLOGY TO HELP WITH.
UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE TO, UM, MOVE TO TRY TO, UH, COMMUNICATE WITH OUR CITIZENS IS, UH, THE TECHNO TECHNOLOGY.
WE SEE THAT CONSTANTLY INCREASING.
AND ONE THING THAT WE DON'T HAVE ARE SURVEY MECHANISMS IN PLACE.
AND SO WE'D LIKE TO USE SOME FUNDING TO, UM, WORK WITH A DEVELOPER ON SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO WHERE UH, WE CAN DO A CITIZEN SURVEY ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, UH, IN A VARIETY OF PATTERNS.
WHETHER THEY FILL OUT A FORM OR WHETHER THEY DO IT ONLINE AND TELL US HOW WE'RE DOING OVERALL.
UM, THAT WAY WE CAN REALLY USE INFORMATION LIKE THAT ONGOING TO HELP WITH, UM, OUR BUDGETS MOVING FORWARD TO, TO MAKE SURE WE CAPTURE WHAT OUR CITIZENS, UM, WHAT WE THINK IS IMPORTANT TO THE CITIZENS.
ALSO, UM, JUST, JUST COMMUNICATION IN A VARIETY OF OTHER WAYS.
UM, WE WE'RE STARTING WITH THE CITIZEN RESPONDER THIS YEAR, BUT, BUT THE ONE THING THAT WE'RE NOT SEEING WITH THE CITIZEN RESPONDER THAT WE DON'T REALLY LIKE, IS THAT A GOOD WAY FOR CITIZENS TO BE ABLE TO FOLLOW UP AND SEE EXACTLY WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF THINGS.
AND SO CURRENT TECHNOLOGY THAT WE'RE USING WITH OUR GIS IS GREAT, BUT THAT FOLLOW UP PIECE, UNFORTUNATELY THAT COST MORE TO DO THAT.
SO, UM, AND I THINK THAT OUR GOVERNING BOARD WOULD LIKE TO SEE A PIECE LIKE THAT TOO.
CAUSE I GET A LOT OF REQUESTS FROM EACH OF YOU.
UM, AND NO ONE LIKES ANYTHING TO FALL THROUGH THE TRACKS.
WE, WE HAVE A WAY TO TRACK THAT AND GET AUTOMATIC NOTIFICATIONS, THOSE PROJECTS MOVING.
CAN I GO BACK TO STEP ONE OF THAT HIGHWAY 17 ASSOCIATION WE WERE TALKING ABOUT A FEW MINUTES AGO? MM-HMM.
WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK INTO THAT AND LET YOU KNOW.
I I CAN TELL YOU CRAVEN COUNTY WAS, UM, THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION LAST YEAR ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THEY WERE GONNA PULL OUT.
I DO NOT KNOW THE RESULT OF THAT DISCUSSION CUZ UH, APPARENTLY FEW OF THE COMMISSIONERS WERE NOT HAPPY AS TO HOW RESPONSIVE YEAH, THEY HAVE BEEN BECAUSE YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY THE NORTHERN PART OF CRAVEN COUNTY'S BEEN LEFT OUT OF ALL OF THAT.
I, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY DECIDED TO PULL OUT THAT OR NOT, BUT THEY WERE IN IT.
I THOUGHT MAYBE LOOKING IN THE AUDIENCE, MAYBE JORDAN OR CHIEF, OR YOU MIGHT KNOW YEARS AGO THE LOBBYING WAS VERY IMPORTANT.
BUT NOW THAT THEY'VE GONE TO THE STEP AND THE MPO, I THOUGHT THAT SORT OF NEGATED THE REASON TO HAVE A LOBBYIST ANYWAY.
THE WAY THE WHOLE PROCESS WORKS.
YEAH, I'D LIKE TO KNOW IF CRAVEN COUNTY IS A NUMBER WAITING TO HEAR NOW.
IF, IF I DON'T HAVE IT BEFORE WE LEAVE TODAY, WE'LL WE'LL HAVE IT FOR YOU TOMORROW.
WE TRIED TO PULL IT A FEW YEARS AGO AND I THINK HE CAME AND DID A PRESENTATION AND WE LEFT IT IN THERE.
YEAH, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, WE'LL HAVE SOME MORE INFORMATION.
WHERE ARE WE AT? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON ADMINISTRATION? PAGE 43 IS LEGAL.
RECOMMENDED BUDGET IS $311,822 FOR, FOR OUR LEGAL PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, WHICH INCLUDES TWO ATTORNEYS.
UH, THAT FEE, UH, IS NOT RISING THIS YEAR.
EVERY OTHER YEAR, UH, THE CITY ATTORNEY UH, COMES BACK WITH, WITH PROPOSED INCREASE BASED ON THE CPI AND THERE IS NO INCREASE THIS YEAR.
AND PAGE 45 WE'VE GOT SPECIAL APPROPRIATIONS.
SO ON PAGE 46 YOU'LL SEE THE DETAIL.
UM, WHAT WE HAVE IS 16,000, UH, FOR THE, THE ALLIANCE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, $2,000 FOR CITY HALL CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS.
TRADITIONALLY WE HAVE BEEN, UH, ALLOCATING $75,000 TO THE PUBLIC LIBRARY THIS YEAR.
WE SEE, WE RECEIVED A LETTER REQUESTING THAT ALLOCATION BE INCREASED TO $90,000.
[03:45:01]
SO I'D LIKE TO DEFINITELY GET FEEDBACK FROM THE BOARD ON, IF YOU WOULD, WE'RE WE'RE CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED FOR 75, CORRECT? YES, WE ARE.AND WHO REQUESTED THE $15,000 INCREASE? WAS THAT THAT WAS THE FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY? WAS THAT, I MEAN, I'LL I'LL JUST SAY I'M NOT INTERESTED IN GIVING ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THAT, NOR NOR AM I, NOR AM I ALDERMAN BRINSON? NO.
SO YOU CAN TAKE THAT BACK DOWN TO, HEY, WE ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING.
THEN WE HAVE APPROPRIATIONS TO, TO THE MAYOR AND THE GOVERNING BOARD A THOUSAND DOLLARS WHERE YOU'RE ABLE TO USE THOSE FUNDS FOR, FOR CERTAIN CRITERIA.
UM, AND WE CAN, WE CAN LET YOU KNOW TOMORROW IF YOU, IF YOU, IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR CURRENT BALANCE IS, WE CAN HAVE THAT FOR YOU TOMORROW AS WELL.
KIM, COULD YOU MAYBE CIRCULATE, UM, IT'D BE BENEFICIAL FOR PROBABLY THE EXISTING MEMBERS, BUT DEFINITELY THE NEW MEMBERS, LETTING THEM KNOW THAT POLICY OR WHATEVER THOSE GUIDELINES ARE ON MM-HMM.
I THINK IT'S IN THE NOTEBOOK THEY RECEIVED WHEN THEY FIRST TOOK OFFICE.
COULD YOU SEND IT TO ME? CAUSE I PROBABLY DON'T HAVE THAT NOTEBOOK ANYMORE.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS, UH, THE, UH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, WE INCREASE THAT TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
THAT ADDITIONAL 75 IS IN CASE THE GOVERNING BOARD DOESN'T WANT TO LOOK AT, UH, ANY TYPE OF PLANNING.
SO WE'RE HAPPY TO HEAR THE COMMENTS YOU HAVE ON THAT.
ANY TYPE OF WHAT, ANY TYPE OF PLANNING.
NOW OF COURSE AS, AS WE SAID, WE, UM, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE WAITING FOR THE SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT TO START, UH, TO COME DOWN ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WE ARE PULLING OUT OF THIS YEAR'S, UH, UM, BUDGET.
BUT ANY OTHER FUTURE PLANNING THAT THE BOARD WOULD LIKE TO, TO SEE, UM, THERE HAD BEEN SOME DISCUSSION, UH, ON SOME DOING THAT THEN WE, WE COULD HAVE THAT 75,000 TO GO TOWARD THAT.
SO HAPPY TO, HAPPY TO PROCEED.
IS THIS BOARD WOULD LIKE TO, WHAT, WHAT SUGGESTIONS WAS PLANNING FOR THIS BOARD? UM, SO, SO DURING, DURING ONE OF THE WORKSHOPS, ALDERMAN BROUGHT THIS UP.
I THINK ALDERMAN BRISON HAD DISCUSSED AS WELL SOME FUTURE PLANNING FOR THE CITY.
UM, DOWNTOWN PLANNING HAD BEEN, HAD BEEN DISCUSSED PREVIOUSLY.
OF COURSE, ANYTHING WITH DOWNTOWN PLANNING, IF IT'S WITHIN OUR MSD FUNDS CAN BE PULLED FROM THAT.
BUT IF WE'RE WANTING TO LOOK AT ANYTHING OUTSIDE OF THE DOWNTOWN, THEN WE'D HAVE TO ALLOCATE SOME FUNDS FOR THAT.
SO IT'S REALLY IF THE BOARD WANTS TO DO ANYTHING WITH THAT THIS YEAR OR NOT.
AND AND THAT'S FOR CITYWIDE? CITYWIDE? THAT'S FOR, OKAY.
YEAH, BECAUSE I, I I THOUGHT WE WERE SEEMINGLY MOVING ON TWO DIFFERENT FRONTS THERE WHERE IT WAS REALLY GONNA BE SOME SHORT TERM PLANNING AT LEAST FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS.
THAT'S THE STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH THIS ONE IS ACTUALLY LIKE FIVE TO 10 TO 15, WHATEVER WE DECIDE.
SO JUST BEING RESPONSIVE TO WHAT, WHAT I HEARD FROM SEVERAL OF THE MEMBERS TO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY WHETHER OR NOT YOU WANTED TO DO THAT OR NOT.
SO WHATEVER PLANNING YOU COME UP WITH, IT HAS CALIFORNIA WARDEN, OF COURSE.
BUT WE'RE JUST TRYING TO BUDGET IT RIGHT NOW.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THAT? ALRIGHT.
SO CAPITAL FOR THE PEG CHANNEL, WE DO NEED TO REPLACE THE VIDEO SERVER.
UH, THAT THING THE AGE IS IS ON THERE.
IF THAT GOES DOWN, THEN WE LOSE THE PEG CHANNEL.
BUT TOTAL BUDGET FOR, FOR THE PEG CHANNEL IS $64,350.
SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF THAT ARE 29,000 FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR LIVE BROADCAST RECORDING AND INDEXING OF THE CITY BOARD MEETINGS AS WELL AS SOCIAL MEDIA, LIVE STREAM AND SOUND SEARCH CAPABILITIES.
$6,000 FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR VIDEO PRODUCTION OF GOVERNMENT PROGRAMMING.
SO WE HAVE A VARIETY OF VENDORS THAT DO THAT WITH US.
AND $4,200 FOR LIVE STREAMING TO ROW TO, WHICH IS, UH, SO FAR BEEN POPULAR.
UM, FOLKS THAT WANNA SEE THAT ON THAT PLATFORM.
UM, I'M, I'M GONNA BRING THIS UP.
I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE DONE IT IN THE PREVIOUS TAB, BUT I FORGOT.
UM, AND THIS MAY, THIS MAY WRAP US UP FOR THE DAY, BUT, UM, THE CITY HALL ELEVATOR PROJECT IS SOON GOING TO BE COMPLETE.
AND I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU ALL, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE HAD A CHANCE TO WALK THROUGH IT OR TAKE A LOOK AT HOW THIS THING'S GONNA BE LAID OUT.
UM, BUT I MEAN, I HAVE SOME CONCERNS WITH HOW WE'RE GOING TO BE STRUCTURED
[03:50:01]
INSIDE TO MANAGE THAT FOSTER UNIT.KNOW I'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS MM-HMM.
IF WE DON'T MAKE ANY CHANGES, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TWO PUBLIC INGRESS AND EGRESSES TO CITY HALL.
UM, I DON'T THINK THE PLAN IS TO HAVE A RECEPTIONIST IN THE VESTIBULE AREA WHEN YOU WALK INTO THE ELEVATOR.
SO I THINK IT'S A, PERSONALLY, I THINK IT'S A LITTLE ODD THAT YOU WALK INTO A PUBLIC BUILDING AND YOU JUST PUNCH A BUTTON AND GO UP ON AN ELEVATOR.
UM, I'M SURE OUR POLICE CHIEF PROBABLY HAS SOME THOUGHTS IN THE OPINIONS ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY PLANS OR IF THERE'S ANY IDEAS THAT WE NEED TO BE DISCUSSING FROM A FUNDING PERSPECTIVE.
BUT I HAVE SOME CONCERNS WITH THAT WHOLE LAYOUT MYSELF.
SO THE ANNEX WILL HAVE SECURITY CAMERA ONE THAT'LL BE MONITORED BY A VARIETY OF, OF STAFF AS THEY COME IN.
WE'LL ALSO HAVE AS, AS YOU WALK IN THAT MAIN INTEREST.
AND I'M HAPPY ANYTIME ANY OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A TOUR TO SEE WHAT IT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE, LET ME KNOW.
WE'RE HAPPY TO WALK YOU THROUGH THERE.
UM, AS YOU COME IN, THERE'S GONNA BE A VIDEO MONITOR THAT BASICALLY GIVES YOU DIRECTIONS ON WHETHER YOU WANT SEE THE CITY CLERK, CITY MANAGER P O OR OR, OR WHICH FLOOR, UM, CITY HALL THE COURTROOM IS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
THERE'LL BE SOME DETAILED INFORMATION ON THAT.
BUT JUST LIKE, THERE WILL NOT BE ANYONE THERE, THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH ROOM TO HAUL THE HALLWAY OR NOT WIDE THE SIT THE DESK AND BE USER FRIENDLY.
UH, SO YOU'LL COME IN THERE, YOU'LL GO UP EITHER THE STEPS OR THE ELEVATOR TO, FOR HALF A FLOOR OR TO THE SECOND OR THIRD FLOOR TO GET TO THE APPROPRIATE LOCATIONS YOU WISH TO GO TO.
UH, THE BAD THING ABOUT THIS PROJECT IS AS YOU GO FROM THE NEW BUILDING TO THE OLD, YOU'RE GOING TO NARROW S UH, AND SO THOSE QUARTERS ARE BASICALLY WHERE THE, THE RESTROOMS ON THE FIRST FLOOR AND SECOND FLOOR.
AND THE HALLWAYS USED TO BE, UM, WE ANTICIPATE, I THINK THEY'RE, THEY'RE WAITING ON A FEW MORE THINGS FOR WINDOWS ON THE, UM, I BELIEVE IT'S THE FIRST FLOOR THAT THEY HAVEN'T DONE YET.
ONCE THEY DO THAT, THEY'RE GOING TO BE FINISHING UP ON THE, UM, THE FLOOR AND SOME WOODWORKING.
AND HOPEFULLY BY MID-JUNE WE SHOULD BE DOING A, UM, RIBBON CUTTING FOR THAT BUILDING.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING INTO ADDING SOME HISTORIC IMAGES OF, OF NU TO PUT IN THERE ON THE WALLS TO, TO DRESS IT UP AND MAKE IT LOOK NICE.
AND WE'D LIKE TO KIND OF ALSO SEGUE THAT IN, IN THE NEXT BUDGET YEAR WITH A TOOL WHERE IF ANYONE WANTED TO COME IN, THEY COULD ACTUALLY TAKE A WALKING TOUR, WHETHER BY QR CODES OR SOMETHING THEY COULD DOWNLOAD IN THEIR PHONE TO GUIDE THEM THROUGH CERTAIN AREAS OF CITY HALL.
BUT CAMERAS EVERYWHERE IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING.
SO IT'S BASICALLY LAYING OUT LIKE CRA COUNTY IS, SO THE, THE CRAVEN COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, YOU GO IN, YOU CAN GO INTO THE BUILDING, JUMP ON THE ELEVATOR AND GO TO WHATEVER FLOOR OR WHATEVER.
AND WHEN YOU WALK, WHEN YOU WALK FROM THE ELEVATOR, IF YOU'RE GOING ON THE FIRST FLOOR, WHEN YOU GET OFF THE ELEVATOR, YOU'RE GONNA WALK THROUGH BRENDA'S CURRENT OFFICE NOW TO GET TO THE MAIN LOBBY.
SO YOU'RE GONNA WALK THROUGH AN OFFICE TO GET TO WHEREVER ELSE YOU'RE GOING TO GO, WHICH CAUSE THE VAULT THAT'S THERE.
AND, AND IN REALITY, WHAT WE'RE PROBABLY LOOKING AT IS MOVING THE CLERK, UH, TO AN AREA THAT'S BACK WHERE THE SUITE IS OF THE CITY MANAGER AND ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.
UH, THAT WAY WE CAN CREATE A BETTER FLOW TO GET OUT TO THAT MAIN ENTRANCE OF CITY HALL.
UM, AND THEN YOU CAN COME INTO THAT, THAT SUITE.
AND I DIDN'T BRING THIS UP CAUSE I DON'T WANT, I DON'T WANNA SPEND A BUNCH OF MONEY ON THIS EITHER.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT IF THERE WERE SOME THOUGHTS THAT NEEDED TO BE ADDRESSED, I I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED NOW VERSUS SIX MONTHS DOWN THE ROAD WE COME BACK WITH ANOTHER BUDGET LIMIT LIKE WE DID FOR THE REST OF STUFF IN CITY HALL AND THEN WE DON'T, WE DON'T WANT TO DO THAT EITHER.
AND I THINK IF, IF WE DO SPEND ANY TIME WE'VE GOT SOME FUNDS IN THIS CURRENT BUDGET, THEN WE CAN DO SOMETHING WITH, OKAY, SO WE'VE MADE IT TO TECHNOLOGY.
SO TOMORROW WE HAVE, UH, TECHNOLOGY, FINANCE, HR, POLICE, FIRE PARKS AND RECREATION DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND PUBLIC WORKS, WHICH IS QUITE A BIT.
THEN WE HAVE THE OTHER TWO ITEMS ON THE AGENDA, WHICH IS THE A R P FUNDING FORWARD AND UPDATE WHERE WE STAND ON THOSE PROJECTS.
AND THEN WE'VE GOT A COUPLE PIECES OF PROPERTY DISCUSSED.
AND FOSTER YOU AND I HAD THIS CONVERSATION, UM, I DON'T KNOW AS IF THE WHOLE BOARD KNOWS OR NOT, BUT FEMA HAS OBLIGATED THE BP BUILDING.
SO WE'RE THROUGH WITH THAT PROJECT AND BOTH, UM, THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA AS WELL AS OUR CONSULTANT
[03:55:01]
AND I I AGREE.UM, THINK THAT WE SHOULD DO A, IF WE'RE GONNA DO A SCOPE OF WORK, CHANGE THE SCOPE OF WORK, WE NEED TO DO IT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
SO WE NEED TO DISCUSS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO WITH THAT FUNDING.
SO THAT WAS THE OLD BP FELL UNDER PUBLIC WORKS FOR BUILDING AND GROUND.
SO MAYBE TOMORROW WHEN WE GET TO THAT SECTION, WE CAN, WE CAN GO AHEAD, WE CAN GO AHEAD APPROACH THE SUBJECT AND TALK ABOUT SOME THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED PREVIOUSLY WHEN, WHEN THAT BUILDING WAS ORIGINALLY DAMAGED BY HURRICANE FLORENCE.
AND THEN ANY OTHER IDEAS THE, THE BOARD MAY HAVE CORRECTION.
SO IT'S A PLEASURE THE BOARD TO, ARE WE, WE NEED TO CONTINUE THIS RECESS.
SO IF THE BOARD IS READY, WE NEED A MOTION TO RECESS THIS MEETING UNTIL TOMORROW HERE AT CITY HALL AT 1:00 PM I HAVE A MOTION.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND, SECOND.
ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.