* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [ CITY OF BAYTOWN NOTICE OF MEETING BAYTOWN FINANCE COMMITTEE THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2023 5:00 P.M. BAYTOWN CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL 2401 MARKET STREET, BAYTOWN, TEXAS 77520 AGENDA CALL TO ORDER AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF QUORUM ] [00:00:19] IT IS THURSDAY, JULY 27TH, UH, 2023. IT'S 5:07 PM UM, WE'RE AT BAYTOWN CITY HALL. WE HAVE A QUORUM FOR THE BAYTOWN FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING. UH, FIRST ORDER IS [a. Consider the approval of minutes for the Finance Committee meeting held May 30, 2023.] ITEM ONE A. CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON MAY 30TH, 2023. CAN I GET A MOTION? MOTION SECOND. ALL RIGHT. AND, AND I WAS NOT PRESENT AT THAT MEETING, SO LET THE RECORD SHOW THAT I'M ABSTAINING FROM THE VOTE. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ITEM PASSES. UM, FOR TWO A AND B, WE JUST RECEIVED THE, UH, QUARTERLY REPORTS. I'M GONNA SUGGEST, SINCE WE ONLY HAVE 20 MINUTES LEFT IN THIS MEETING, THAT LET'S TAKE 'EM HOME, READ 'EM OVER, AND IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, WE CAN EMAIL THIS GROUP OR ASK VICTOR, OR IF THERE'S ANY CONCERNS, WE CAN COME BACK AND HAVE ANOTHER MEETING ABOUT 'EM. THAT WAY WE CAN MOVE ON TO THREE A, WHICH IS THE LONG RANGE PLANNING DISCUSSION. DOES THAT SOUND GOOD TO EVERYONE? SOUNDS GOOD. OKAY. SO THEN I'M GONNA CONSIDER ITEMS TWO A AND B RECEIVED. SO FOR THREE A, DISCUSS [a. Discuss the City of Baytown long range financial planning.] THE CITY OF BAYTOWN LONG RANGE FINANCIAL PLANNING, WHICH IN YOUR PACKET CAN, I WOULD COMPLETELY REMOVE ALL THOSE FINANCIAL REPORTS. THOSE AREN'T GOOD. AND ONLY KEEP THIS. OKAY. VICTOR, IS IT YOUR PRESENTATION? JASON TERESA? THAT'S THE ONE, WHAT'S THAT? IT'S THE SUMMARY SHEETS. YEAH. OH, OKAY. OH, ARE WE GOING OVER THE YEAH, THE BUDGET PIECE. OH, THE BUDGET PIECE. OKAY. OH, I, I'M SORRY. UM, YEAH, SO, UH, OVERALL WHAT YOU, UM, WHAT YOU WILL HEAR SHORTLY IN THE, IN THE BUDGET PRESENTATION IS THAT, UM, OUR, THE NUMBERS ARE GONNA LOOK WONKY. OKAY? SO OVER THE YEARS, WE'VE HAD A, UH, PERSONNEL, UH, VACANCY, A LARGE VACANCY RATE BUILT INTO ALL OF OUR PERSONNEL. UH, AND SO WHAT SHOWED A LOWER NUMBER? SO IT WENT FROM 81 MILLION TO 88 MILLION, AND NOW YOU'RE GONNA SEE 84 MILLION. OKAY? TYPICALLY, BEFORE WE HAD LARGE VACANCY RATES BUILT IN, BECAUSE WE HAD, UH, ALL OF OUR POSITIONS ARE NOT FILLED, SO WE DID FACTOR THIS IN. UM, SO INSTEAD OF THE 99 MILLION FOR PERSONNEL, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A 5%, UH, VACANCY RATE BUILT IN, WHICH IS LOWER THAN WHAT WE'VE HAD BEFORE. UM, AND SO YOU'LL SEE ON THE BUDGET AT 94 MILLION, UH, THE, A FEW OF THE HIGH POINTS HERE, UM, THAT NO NEW PERSONNEL ARE INCLUDED IN THIS FY 24 BUDGET. OKAY? AND THAT WAS ON THE OVERVIEW THAT WAS SENT OUT TO COUNSEL BEFORE. UM, THE REVENUE LOOKS, UM, THE REVENUE LOOKS DECENT, UM, BUT IT IS ROUGHLY CON, FAIRLY, FAIRLY CONSISTENT, UH, THROUGH PAST TRENDS AROUND TWO TO 4% GROWTH OVERALL. HOWEVER, YOU WILL SEE A SLIGHT BUMP IN THE REVENUE. UH, IT SHOULD TYPICALLY BE WITH OUR STANDARD REVENUE SOURCES THAT WE'VE HAD. IT SHOULD BE AROUND 131 MILLION. WE DID TRANSFER 3 MILLION IN FROM THE REV FROM THE MEDICAL FUND. SO IT'S ACTUALLY BUMPING OUR TOTAL REVENUE TO APPROXIMATELY 134 MILLION. UM, WE HAVE A FEW FUNDS THAT WE SUBSIDIZE, AND I WILL, I WILL, UH, HIT ON THAT TODAY. IN THE BUDGET MEETING, UH, WE TRANSFERRED 1.4 MILLION TO THE AQUATICS FUND. UH, IT FINISHED THE YEAR. IT, IT WAS BUDGETED TO FINISH THE YEAR AT A DEFICIT AND IS ESTIMATED TO FINISH THE YEAR AT A DEC DEFICIT FOR FY 23. UM, AND SO TO GET AHEAD OF THAT FOR FY 24, 1 0.4 MILLION WAS TRANSFERRED IN. IF YOU PUT IN THE 700,000 FROM THE MDD AS WELL, IT'S ROUGHLY A $2.1 MILLION SUBSIDY, UH, FOR THE AQUATICS FUND. AND THEN DON'T FORGET THE TWO AND A HALF MILLION THAT WAS PUT IN A FEW YEARS BACK. SO IN TOTAL, THIS IS A HEAVILY SUBSIDIZED FUND WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT. UM, THE OTHER, THE OTHER SUBSIDY GOES TO THE SANITATION FUND, UH, 1.3 MILLION. UH, THIS IS A BUDGET THAT HAS CONTINUED TO SEE DOWNTRENDS ON, UM, ON THE ENDING WORKING CAPITAL. AND EVEN WITH BEST TRASH COMING ON, WE DID ACTUALLY SAVE MORE THAN WE WOULD'VE SPENT IF WE WENT WITH WASTE MANAGEMENT, BUT IT'S STILL GOING TO BREED IN DEFICIT AT 1.3 MILLION. I WOULD SAY A LARGE PORTION OF THAT IS PROBABLY THE GREEN CENTER. AND, UM, WE HAVE TO START CONSIDERING WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE OVERALL FOR THE [00:05:01] FUND OR FOR THE GENERAL FUND, BECAUSE YOUR PROPERTY TAXES ARE BEING USED TO, TO SUBSIDIZE THESE OTHER NICE TO HAVE PIECES, UH, THAT WE HAVE. AND TO THE TUNE OF WHEN YOU TALK $3 MILLION. I WOULD ROUGHLY GUESSTIMATE THAT THAT'S AROUND EIGHT TO 10 CENTS ON THE TAX RATE WHEN YOU PUT IT THAT WAY. SO, UH, THOSE ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS THAT WE HAVE. UH, BEFORE YOU, WHAT ELSE? NEXT SUMMARIES. WHAT'S THAT? OH, UH, SO THE OVERALL SUMMARY THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT, UH, AND IT'S PROBABLY A MATH PIECE, AND I DON'T, I DON'T WANT Y'ALL TO CALL ME OUT. THE 75 DAYS SAYS 75 HERE, BUT THE PRESENTATION I'M GONNA GIVE YOU FOR THE BUDGET SAYS 74 OR THE BUDGET BOOKS THAT ARE ON YOUR DIET, SAY 74. SO IT'S PROBABLY A MATH PIECE ON, ON LOOKING AT SUMMARIES. OVERALL, BOTTOM LINE EXPENSES ARE OUTPACING REVENUE, PERIOD THAT'S THERE, THERE'S NO OTHER WAY AROUND IT AT THIS POINT. UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE HAVE BEEN USING OUR, OUR RESERVES TO OFFSET SOME OF OUR, OUR OPERATING EXPENSES. UH, AND WHEN WE SPENT IT DOWN IN FY 23, FROM 43 MILLION, IT TOOK AWAY FROM YEARS OF HAVING A LARGE SURPLUS, UM, DID A ONE-TIME FEE AND PUT US DOWN INTO WHERE THE, UH, COUNCIL ASKED FOR THE RESERVES TO BE AROUND 70 TO 75 DAYS. SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL MONEY TO PLAY WITH IF WE WANT TO STAY AT THE 75 DAYS AT THIS POINT. UH, THIS WILL BE SOMETHING THAT I HIT ON DURING THE BUDGET PRESENTATION TONIGHT. UH, AND IT KIND OF IS WHAT IT IS AT THIS POINT. SO WE HAVE VERY LITTLE ACTUAL ACTUALLY HAPPENING. AND CHANGE WISE WITH THE BUDGET, UH, BECAUSE NO PERSONNEL WERE ADDED, THE SUPPLEMENTALS WERE REQUESTED AT 2.4 MILLION. WE ONLY APPROVED ROUGHLY 600,000. UM, AND THEN THE CIP CHANGED DRASTICALLY WHERE WE DID 40 MILLION LAST YEAR. UM, WE, WE ONLY TRANSFERRED 1 MILLION, 1.5 MILLION FROM THE GENERAL FUND FOR CIP, UH, PURPOSES INTO THIS ONE BECAUSE THERE WASN'T ANY MONEY AVAILABLE, BUT TWO, IN AN EFFORT TO REALIGN, UM, UH, FOR FUTURE PURPOSES. NEXT, THIS IS THE SANITATION FUND. YOU CAN SEE THE, THAT THE, WE STILL HAVE A REVENUES OVER EXPENDITURES, BUT THAT DOES INCLUDE THE $1.3 MILLION TRANSFER IN. IT DOES LEAVE US AT 30 DAYS. IF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE WANTS TO RECOMMEND THAT WE DON'T NEED THE 30 DAYS, WE CAN TAKE A LITTLE BIT OUT OF THERE TO TAKE THAT DOWN TO ZERO, WHICH WILL REDUCE THE AMOUNT THAT COMES FROM THE GENERAL FUND INTO THIS FUND. BUT IT IS GOOD FOR US TO HAVE SOME KIND OF RESERVE IN HERE IN CASE SOMETHING LARGE HAPPENS WITH OUR, UH, TRASH OR GREEN CENTER OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE. SOMETHING COMES UP. IT IS NICE TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A CUSHION SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO PULL THAT FROM THE GENERAL FUND AT A FUTURE DATE. UH, THIS IS THE SAME WITH AQUATICS. UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE AQUATICS ENDED FY 22 IN A DEFICIT. IT WAS BUDGETED TO END THE DEFICIT 65 DAYS IN FY 23. IT'S ESTIMATED THAT THE ACTUAL END OF THIS YEAR WILL BE, UH, A NEGATIVE FOUR DAYS, UH, OR JUST A DEFICIT BUDGET OVERALL. AND THEN IN ORDER FOR US TO GET THIS OPERATIONAL, UH, WE TRANSFERRED THE 1.4 MILLION INTO THE REVENUE PIECE. UM, I WILL TELL YOU, BECAUSE OF THIS REVENUE DEFICIT, WE TOOK OUT THE ADDITIONAL SPLASH PAD IN THE CIP BECAUSE THERE'S NO POINT IN ADDING SOMETHING ELSE TO THIS TO MAINTAIN WHEN WE CAN'T EVEN MAINTAIN WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE. SO THAT, UM, YOUR PROPOSED BUDGET, 24, THAT REVENUE INCLUDES THE TRANSFER. YES. YES, SIR. IT DOES. BUT, AND IT WAS ONE, WHAT WAS IT? 1.4. 1.4. SO TAKING THAT AWAY, I MEAN, YOU'RE EXPECTING REVENUE FROM THE PARK ITSELF TO GO DOWN A LITTLE BIT. YES, SIR. OKAY. DO Y'ALL HAVE, GO AHEAD. SORRY, I'M JUST CURIOUS DUE TO WHAT I MEAN, DECREASED DEMAND, OR I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER TO THAT. THAT'S I'D PUT THAT INTO. AND SOME OF IT IS ALSO THEIR SPEND. I MEAN, SO THEIR, THEIR REVENUE WE'RE PROJECTING IS LESS, AND THEN THEY ARE, UH, TYPICALLY SPENDING MORE OR ON AVERAGE CLOSE TO WHAT THE REVENUE IS. SO THEY REALLY DON'T EVER REALLY END WITH A, A STRONG FUND BALANCE. SO LIKE FOR 22, THEY ENDED WITH $42,000. AND ONE, ONE THING I WOULD SAY THERE, AND I HAD A MEETING, UM, EARLIER TODAY WITH, UH, DIRECTOR ACK AND THE AQUATICS MANAGER ABOUT THIS, UM, THE 1.4 MILLION IS REALLY A SAFETY NET. IT'S TO PREVENT THEM GOING INTO DEFICIT AND TO PROVIDE THE, THE 30 DAYS. UM, [00:10:01] I AM HOPEFUL THAT THEY'LL, WE WON'T SEE THAT AT ALL. SO PART OF WHAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT TODAY IS THAT PART OF OUR REALIGNING RIGHT, IS THAT ALL THESE PIECES THAT YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU ACTUALLY WON'T COME TO LIFE, RIGHT? OKAY. YEAH. WHEN I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GETTING AT IS THAT WE ARE WORKING, UH, WE HAD DISCUSSED NOT EVEN PUTTING IT IN HERE SO THAT Y'ALL, WE WOULDN'T EVEN HAVE THIS CONVERSATION, BUT IT ULTIMATELY CAME OUT TO, LET'S PUT IT OUT THERE, LET EVERYBODY SEE WHAT IT IS. WE'RE GONNA COMMIT TO Y'ALL THAT WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE, SO WE DON'T EVEN HAVE TO USE THAT 1.4 MILLION TRANSFER. DO Y'ALL HAVE SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO REMIT SOME OF THESE STUFF, THESE THINGS UP? SO SPAY, I MEAN, IS IT, YOU GONNA BRING THAT SUGGESTION TO COUNCIL? YES. OKAY. I'M JUST WONDERING. AND THEN, I'M SORRY. AND THEN THE SANITATION FUND, DO YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS YOU'RE GONNA BRING TO COUNCIL? SO, YEAH, I'M ACTUALLY GONNA BRAG ON THAT A LITTLE BIT. UH, WE ACTUALLY, WELL, THE FIRST THING THAT WE WERE GONNA DO IS ACTUALLY, UM, UH, GET RID OF THE GREEN CENTER JUST PERIOD, BECAUSE WE GOT, WE HAD THE GREEN CENTER, AND THEN IT WAS TO, UH, CURTAIL DUMPING OF STUFF ON THE ROAD, RIGHT? MM-HMM . WELL, IT DIDN'T WORK. SO WE STARTED THE CLEAN TEAM MM-HMM . SO NOW WE HAVE THE GREEN CENTER AND THE CLEAN TEAM BOTH DOING VERY SIMILAR, UH, THEY HAVE SIMILAR GOALS MM-HMM . AND SO THE SANITATION IS, YOU KNOW, 1.8 MILLION I THINK IN JUST, UH, PERSONNEL, IF I'M REMEMBERING THAT CORRECTLY, AND JUST PERSONNEL AND RUNNING THE GREEN CENTER. OKAY. HOWEVER, WHAT I HAVE TO SAY IS THAT AN EMPLOYEE DID A, ONE OF OUR GREEN BELT STUDIES AND HAS PROPOSED THAT SHE CAN MAKE CHANGES TO THIS, WHERE IT REDUCES OUR SPEND BY ONE 1 MILLION TO 1.4 MILLION, WHICH IS A HUGE WIN. AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN SPECIFICALLY AT THE GREEN CENTER, SPECIFICALLY AT THE GREEN CENTER. SO IT, IT'S GOOD BECAUSE I WAS A, I WAS WORRIED IF YOU JUST PRESENT COUNSEL THESE ISSUES, THEN YOU'RE GONNA COME UP, COME WITH SEVEN DIFFERENT OPINIONS ON HOW TO FIX IT. SO I WAS HOPING Y'ALL ALREADY HAD SUGGESTIONS FOR US TO CONSIDER, WHICH IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU, KEN. YEAH, I WAS JUST HYPOTHESIZING ON THAT. IT IS IT, TO MY UNDERSTANDING, DOES THE, THE, UH, WATER PARK RUN AT BASIC CAPACITY ON A REGULAR BASIS? DO Y'ALL KNOW THAT? I CAN'T ANSWER. I GOT NONE OF Y'ALL ARE WATERPARK MANAGERS HERE. YEAH, WE PLAN TO, SO WHEN WE HAVE THE, SO AT THE WORKSHOPS WE WILL BRING TO Y'ALL WHAT WE WANNA REVIEW, BUT WE'RE NOT TRYING TO DIVE INTO THOSE AT THAT POINT. WHAT WE WANTED TO COMMIT TO Y'ALL IS THAT WE PLAN TO BRING THESE PROGRAM PROGRAM REVIEWS TO THE COUNCIL THROUGHOUT THE YEAR SO THAT WE CAN REALLY DO DEEP DIVES ON EACH OF THESE THINGS. BUT WE HAVE SOME, WE HAVE SOME WINS RIGHT OUT THE GATE THAT WE THINK WE CAN DO, SUCH AS CREDIT CARD FEES. WE PAY $2.5 MILLION A YEAR IN CREDIT CARD FEES. THAT'S A HUGE SAVE JUST IN AND OF ITSELF, IF WE LOSE THAT EXPENSE TO THE CITIZENS WHEN THEY PAY WITH CREDIT CARDS OR HAVE AUTOMATIC DRAFTS SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY THEIR CREDIT CARD FEE. MM-HMM . OKAY. NEXT, UH, THE GARAGE FUND IS ANOTHER ONE THAT WE SUBSIDIZE. I BELIEVE THIS ONE IS 380,000, IS THAT CORRECT? I THINK THIS ONE'S 350,000, UH, 350,000, UH, THAT WE TRANSFER IN. I BELIEVE THIS ONE'S ACTUALLY FROM WATER SEWER THAT IS TRANSFERRED IN. UM, THAT IS NOT HELPFUL BECAUSE THE WATER SEWER FUND, UH, WITH THE SSO LITIGATION, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SAVING ALL MONEY THAT WE CAN TO, UH, UH, MITIGATE THAT IN THE FUTURE. OVERALL, THIS ONE IS RUNNING AT A DEFICIT. UM, UH, IT WAS UNTIL WE TRANSFERRED IN THE MONEY, UH, IT WILL STILL END WITH A POSITIVE WORKING BALANCE, BUT THAT DOES INCLUDE THE, UH, UH, UH, THE TRANSFER IN BECAUSE IT'S STILL A DEFICIT BUDGET NO MATTER WHAT. EVEN WITH THE TRANSFER, IT'S STILL A DEFICIT BUDGET. AND SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO LOOK AT INTERNALLY ON HOW OPERATIONS WORK. WHAT IS THE GARAGE FUND? IS THAT LITERALLY A GARAGE? IT'S LITERALLY A GARAGE. OKAY. FOR OUR, SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A, UM, I, I'M JUST GONNA USE THE WORD DISINGENUOUS. OKAY. IT'S A LITTLE DISINGENUOUS BECAUSE IT'S ITS OWN FUND. HOWEVER, IT'S OUR OPERATIONS. IT IS OUR OPERATIONS. SO IF WE ADD THIS TO OUR OPERATIONAL BUDGET, IT'S ONE MORE THING THAT IS PUTTING THE EXPENSES OVER OUR REVENUE EACH AND EVERY YEAR. RIGHT. SO, BUT IT'S A GOOD WAY TO SEPARATE THIS STUFF. BUT WE HAVE SOME COMPLICATIONS WITH THAT NOW THAT WE HAVE TWO FUEL AREAS AND TWO GARAGES NOW, NOW THAT PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING IS COMING ON. YEAH, I WAS GONNA ASK, DO THEY HAVE THE, THAT'S A SEPARATE, SO WE ACTUALLY, WE WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO ADDRESS THAT RIGHT NOW. OKAY. AND THE REALITY IS WE HAVE THREE AND A HALF GARAGES AS I CALL THEM. PDS DOES ITS THING, FIRE DOES ITS THING. WE HAVE A CENTRAL ONE AND DO SOME THINGS. THERE'S A, THERE'S A LOT WE CAN DO TO RATIONALIZE THIS LIKE PARTNER WITH COMMUNITY KIA, HONDA, AND OPIA [00:15:01] AND HAVE THEM DO ALL OF OUR MAINTENANCE. RIGHT. UM, THIS IS ALSO ANOTHER OPERATIONAL FUND THAT WE HAVE. UH, THIS IS ACTUALLY RAN BY THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, UM, UH, AS AN INVENTORY WAREHOUSE FOR NOT VERY WELL, IT IS ACTUALLY, IT IS ACTUALLY THE MOST CLEAN AND ORGANIZED DEPARTMENT THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY. AND I STAND BY THAT. UH, BUT IT DOES RUN INTO DEFICIT. SO WE DID HAVE TO TRANSFER IN $75,000 IN INTO THIS FUND. UH, BUT FOR THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO LOOK AT THIS AND SEE THAT THIS IS ONE MORE THING THAT IS ACTUALLY ADDED TO OUR OPERATIONAL COST. MM-HMM . OKAY. SO, UH, WE ARE PROPOSING, UH, GENERAL FUND DEBT, UH, OF ROUGHLY 15 TO 17 MILLION. WE ARE ONLY TRANSFERRING IN, UH, WE PLAN ONLY TRANSFERRING IN 1.5 MILLION, BUT WE CAN POSSIBLY GO UP TO TWO AND A HALF IF WE NEED TO, UH, FROM THE, UH, FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO THE CIP FUND. AND THEN WE HAVE ROUGHLY 815,000 OF THE 62 MILLION THAT WAS IN THE FY 23 BUDGET. UH, THAT IS NOT ALLOCATED. THAT WILL BE REALLOCATED TO CIP FUNDS FOR THE FY 24 BUDGET. SO EXPLAIN THE GENERAL FUND DEBT. SO THE GENERAL FUND DEBT WILL ADDRESS THINGS THAT STILL NEED TO MOVE FORWARD. SO YOU, YOU'LL GO OUT FOR A BOND? A BOND, YES MA'AM. OR NO, A COS CO. OKAY. SO THIS IS A BOND THAT VOTERS DON'T VOTE ON. CORRECT. THIS IS A BOND THAT WE VOTE ON ONLY, BUT IT'S A DEBT. RIGHT. SO I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO BE CLEAR. RIGHT. AND THEN LAST YEAR, I THINK WE STARTED AT 45 MILLION, UH, THROUGH THIS COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION. I THINK THAT DROPPED DOWN TO 25 MILLION. AND THE RATIONALE FOR THAT FUNDING IS TO SUBSIDIZE ALL THESE DEFICIT? NO, IT ACTUALLY IS PAYING FOR CIP PROJECTS, UH, THAT HAVE BEEN ON THE BOOKS. AND SO, UH, THE CIP COMMITTEE HAS IDENTIFIED ROUGHLY $15 MILLION OR $18 MILLION WORTH OF PROJECTS. UH, THIS WILL ALSO ADDRESS SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT CAME FROM THE MDD. UM, SO YOU HAVE THE MDD ITEMS, THE ITEMS THAT THE CIP COMMITTEE HAS IDENTIFIED. UM, THIS AMOUNT ACTUALLY COVERS THAT. UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE GET INTO SOME BIT OF A PHILOSOPHICAL DEBATE ON KEEPING OUR TAX RATE STEADY. AND SO SHOULD WE NOT ISSUE DEBT, WE START MANIPULATING THE DA THE TAX RATE. AND THAT'S PROBABLY MORE THAN WE CARE TO DISCUSS TODAY. UM, BUT, UM, IF WE DON'T ISSUE THE, THE DEBT, THE INS WILL GO DOWN THE, UH, THE, THE DEBT TAX, THE PORTION OF THE DEBT TAX RATE WILL GO DOWN. UM, WHICH GIVES THE ABILITY FOR THE M AND O TO GO UP THE MAINTENANCE OPERATION RATE TO GO UP IS SHOULD WE SO CHOOSE TO FILL THAT. IF YOU DON'T FILL THAT UP WITH MORE REVENUE, UH, TO THE M AND O, IT WILL AUTOMATICALLY DRIVE THE, UH, THE TAX RATE DOWN OVERALL. SO IT'S A PHILOSOPHICAL THING THAT THE COUNCIL HAS TO CHOOSE ON WHAT THEY WANNA DO. WHEN YOU PROPOSE THE GENERAL FUND DEBT TO US, WILL YOU PROVIDE A LIST OF ALL THE PROJECTS AND THINGS THAT IT'S GOING TO FUND? YES, MA'AM. THERE WILL BE A FILL LIST AND IT WILL BE BETTER AGAINST THE POLICY THAT WAS ESTABLISHED BY THIS COMMITTEE? YES, MA'AM. IN RESPECT OF THAT. OKAY. YEP. AND THEN, UH, EXPLAIN THE GENERAL CIPF. SO THAT'S JUST OUR FUND, UH, 3 51. AND SO THAT'S TRANSFERRING 1.5 MILLION FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO THIS 3 51 FUND, WHICH IS, WE CALL IT CIPF, IT'S JUST THE CIP FUND. OKAY. AND SO IT'S ALL GONNA BE ONE AND THE SAME. SO THE 1.5 WOULD BE ADDED TO THE 15 MILLION AND THE GENERAL FUND DEBT'S PAYING FOR CIP PROJECTS PLUS THIS LINE TO GENERAL CIPF AND THE EIGHT 15. YES, MA'AM. SO THERE ARE DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES, BUT THEY ALL FUND THE CIP FUND, WHICH I THINK IS ROUGHLY 17.2. RIGHT. SOMETHING LIKE THAT. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS? I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. OKAY. SHORT AND SWEET. ANYTHING ELSE? I, I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION. IS, IS THERE, UH, AN OBJECTIVE CRITERIA THAT WE EXPAND THE BUDGET? WHAT DO YOU MEAN? LIKE, UM, IS THERE LIKE A FORMULA FOR EXPANDING THE BUDGET? SO IF YOU, WE WANT TO MAKE BUDGET INCREASE, IS THERE A GENERAL FORMULA THAT Y'ALL GO BY? UM, LIKE POPULATION GROWTH OR, OH, LIKE A BENCHMARK THAT WE USE RIGHT. WHEN WE LOOK AT STUFF, UH, CURRENTLY THERE'S NOT, THAT'S PART OF THE CORE SERVICE PIECE THAT WE ARE TRYING TO ESTABLISH FOR Y'ALL. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE ADVISORY TEAM, VICTOR, THERESA, AND THREE OTHER OF US ARE WORKING ON TO ESTABLISH BENCHMARKS THAT WE CAN BRING TO COUNCIL TO SAY THIS IS WHAT WE ARE BASING THIS OFF OF, BUT THERE'S CURRENTLY NOT. OKAY. DOES KEN HAVE COPIES OF THE POLICIES WE CAME UP WITH ON DEBT ISSUANCE AND THE TAX RATE? PROBABLY NOT. WOULD Y'ALL PLEASE? I THINK WE DID. [00:20:01] I THINK WE DID. WE DID. WHEN WE FIRST MET, WE DID THE INDUCTION WITH CAN AND SARAH, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, BECAUSE HE SAID THAT THEY WERE GONNA, THEY WERE GONNA CROSS REFERENCE THESE PROJECTS WITH THAT MATRIX. I WANNA MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THAT MATRIX. OKAY. OKAY. IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT THOUGH, THEY CAN PRINT YOU OUT. ANOTHER ONE. I, I HAVE IT. UM, I KNOW WHERE IT'S AT. OKAY. AND I PROBABLY NEED TO HOLD THAT UP. THANK YOU. UM, ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE I ADJOURN THE MEETING? OKAY. WITH ALL ITEMS ON THE AGENDA HAVING BEEN ADDRESSED, THIS MEETING IS NOW AJOUR. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.