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[1. Call to Order of the Edmond City Council Meeting.]
LIKE TO CALL OUR SPECIAL MEETING TO GET TO ORDER.[2. Presentation and Discussion of Funding Sources and Five-Year Budget Projections for the Edmond Police and Fire Departments.]
UH, TODAY WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT THE BUDGET WORKSHOP FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025 TO 26 WITH THE EDMOND POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS.AND WE ALSO HAVE A PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF FUNDING SOURCES OF THE FIVE YEAR BUDGET PROJECTIONS FOR THE EDMOND POLICE IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
I NEVER GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.
WELL, AF GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, I'M JUST GONNA GIVE YOU A BRIEF, UH, INTRODUCTION TO HOW WE'VE APPROACHED THE BUDGET THIS YEAR AND, UM, AND THEN WE'LL TURN IT OVER TO OUR PUBLIC SAFETY GROUP, MAYBE.
SO THIS YEAR WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE, BUT WE'VE TAKEN A VERY CONSERVATIVE APPROACH TO OUR BUDGETING THIS YEAR.
SO, UM, IN OUR BUDGET BOOK RIGHT NOW, WE'VE PROJECTED 0% GROWTH FOR FI FISCAL YEAR 26 ON OUR SALES TAX.
AND THEN THE REMAINING FOUR YEARS WE'VE, UH, BUDGETED AT 1% GROWTH.
HOPEFULLY THAT'S GONNA COME IN HIGHER, BUT THIS IS, WE'RE JUST TRYING TO BE VERY CONSERVATIVE AT THIS POINT.
AND THEN ON USE TAX, WE HAVE ESTIMATED 0% GROWTH NEXT YEAR FOR FISCAL YEAR 26, OR, I'M SORRY, I GUESS WE DIDN'T CHANGE IT TO FOUR.
SO WE WENT, WE TOOK THAT UP TO FOUR.
WE'RE ACTUALLY AT 4.8% RIGHT NOW, YEAR TO DATE FOR FISCAL YEAR 25.
AND TRADITIONALLY WE'VE BEEN IN THE DOUBLE DIGITS ON USE TAX.
SO WE FELT LIKE THAT WAS SAFE TO GO AHEAD AND USE, UH, 4%, UH, ESTIMATE FOR OUR REVENUE.
SO BASICALLY WE'RE REALLY JUST TRYING TO BE VERY CONSERVATIVE THIS YEAR.
OUR SALES TAX GROWTH HAS AVERAGED ABOUT 3% OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, AND WE'VE BUDGETED UNDER THAT.
SO, UM, HOPEFULLY WE WILL SEE A BETTER RETURN THAN 0%, BUT USE TAX HAS AVERAGED ABOUT 13, 14%.
SO, UM, WE'RE UNDER WHAT OUR AVERAGE HAS BEEN, BUT LIKE I SAID, RIGHT NOW WE'RE STILL SEEING, THIS JUST HASN'T BEEN GOOD.
PROBABLY WON'T BE THROUGH THE END OF DECEMBER OF 25.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER THING THAT WE'RE DOING, WHICH TRADITIONALLY WE DO THIS, WE DO TRY TO BUDGET EXPENSES AT THE MAX.
SO IN A GOOD EXAMPLE IS, UM, PERSONNEL.
SO IF EVERY EVERY POSITION IS FILLED, THAT WOULD BE WHAT THE COST WAS.
SO JUST KIND OF KEEP THAT IN MIND AS YOU'RE LOOKING AT ALL THIS STUFF AS WE PRESENT THESE BUDGET WORKSHOPS.
UM, SO JUST TO KIND OF REVIEW, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT PUBLIC SAFETY TODAY.
FIRE HAS A DEDICATED 0.25% IN, UH, RATE ON THE PENNY ON THE DOLLAR.
THEY BRING IN ABOUT $6 MILLION A YEAR FROM THAT.
AND THEN POLICE GETS A 0.125%, WHICH IS ABOUT 3 MILLION A YEAR JUST ON THEIR DEDICATED TAX.
AND THEN EACH OF THOSE FIRE AND POLICE GET A TRANSFER FROM THE GENERAL FUND.
AND THEN THEY DO HAVE SOME OTHER SOURCES.
IT'S VERY SMALL PART OF THEIR BUDGET, BUT THEY DO HAVE SOME GRANTS, WHICH IS VARIES YEAR BY YEAR AND, UH, FINES AND INTEREST AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND OF COURSE, THEIR RESERVES.
SO, UM, TO LOOK AT FIRE THIS YEAR WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, DEDICATED SALES TAX.
SO THERE'S A 6 MILLION I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT.
THEN GENERAL FUND WILL TRANSFER APPROXIMATELY 24 MILLION IN, AND THEIR OTHER SOURCES ARE ABOUT 2 MILLION.
SO THEY HAVE ABOUT 32 MILLION IN NEW REVENUE, AND THEIR ESTIMATED COSTS ARE AROUND 39 MILLION.
AND, UH, ONE THING THAT THEY'VE DONE THIS YEAR IS THEY DID TAKE ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THEIR FIRE STATION, WHICH IS NOT A RECURRING EXPENSE.
SO, UM, IT WAS VERY GENEROUS OF THEM TO DO THAT.
AND IT WILL BE UTILIZING SOME OF THEIR RESERVES THOUGH THIS YEAR, BUT AT THE END OF THE YEAR, THEY SHOULD HAVE APPROXIMATELY 4 MILLION LEFT.
SO, OH, SHOULD I WAIT UNTIL THE NO, NO, NO, GO AHEAD.
SO ON, UM, THE FIRE STATION COST, HOW MUCH IS THAT? OF THE 39? IT IT, IT'S 7 MILLION AND IT STARTED THIS YEAR THOUGH, SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW, CHIEF, YOU MIGHT REMEMBER HOW MUCH.
IT'S ABOUT 8.6 MILLION TOGETHER.
FROM THE 39 FOR, I'M SORRY, ALL THAT'S COMING OUT THIS YEAR.
THERE'LL BE JUST A FEW, BUT MOST OF IT'S COMING OUT THIS YEAR BEFORE PHOTOGRAPHY, ARE YOU SAYING 7 MILLION WILL COME OUTTA RESERVE THIS YEAR AND THE REST NEXT YEAR? UM, MOST I CAN GO OVER IN THE PRESENTATION, BUT MOST OF THE MOST WILL COME OUT THIS YEAR ON THE STATION SIX AND THE OTHER CAPITAL ITEMS WILL COME OUT.
THERE'S OTHER CAPITAL ITEMS THAT WE'LL GO OVER IN THIS AND THE PERSONNEL INCREASES FOR STATION SIX OR WHAT'S CAUSING INCREASES?
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I'M THINKING THERE'S LIKE 3 MILLION LEFT FOR 26 OUT OF THE SEVEN.SO IT WAS PAID FOR IN 25 AND 26 FIRE STATION NUMBER SIX ONLY.
AND IT WAS AROUND BETWEEN EIGHT AND 9 MILLION TOTAL.
UM, SO THAT'S FIRE AND THEN POLICE, THEY HAVE THEIR DEDICATED SALES TAX OF 3 MILLION.
THEY WILL GET 30 MILLION FROM GENERAL FUND AND OTHER SOURCES OF ABOUT A MILLION.
SO THEIR TOTAL NEW REVENUE IS 34 MILLION AND THEIR ESTIMATED COSTS ARE AROUND 39.
SO, UM, ONCE AGAIN, AND THEY DO HAVE SOME CAPITAL OUTLAY, I BELIEVE IT'S THREE TO 4 MILLION, UH, FOR THEIR TRAINING FACILITY.
SO THAT WAS PART OF WHAT HAD USED SOME OF THEIR RESERVES TOO, REALLY, BOTH FIRE AND POLICE, THE MAJORITY OF THEIR, UH, BUDGET IS THEIR PERSONNEL COSTS.
AND THESE COSTS, WHEN I WAS TALKING ABOUT CONSERVATIVE, IT IS IF EVERY VACANCY IS FILLED, AND TYPICALLY THEY DON'T FILL EVERY VACANCY.
SO THAT'S, THIS IS WORST CASE.
SO IF YOU, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT THE FIVE YEAR BUDGET RIGHT NOW, BOTH OF THESE FUNDS DO GO NEGATIVE AT SOME POINT IN THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS.
AND KEEP IN MIND, ONCE AGAIN, IT'S, THIS IS VERY CONSERVATIVE.
SO TYPICALLY IF YOU LOOK HISTORICALLY, THEY HAVE NOT USED THEIR RESERVES AND THEY'LL EITHER BREAK EVEN OR THEY MIGHT EVEN COME OUT A MILLION AHEAD OR SO.
BUT IF WE TAKE OUR CONSERVATIVE APPROACH, IT DOES LOOK LIKE THEY'RE GONNA GO MILLION, UH, GO NEGATIVE.
BUT ALSO TYPICALLY WE DON'T SEE THIS EITHER.
SO WHEN WE'RE RUNNING OUR FIVE YEAR BUDGET, YOU DON'T SEE IT GOING NEGATIVE.
SO IT'S JUST A MATTER OF, YOU KNOW, REVENUE'S DOWN AND COSTS ARE UP AND WHICH IS WHAT WE'LL BE WATCHING.
ANY OTHER, ANY QUESTIONS? I'M GLAD YOU MADE THE STATEMENT 'CAUSE THAT WAS GONNA BE ONE OF MY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHEN, 'CAUSE HISTORICALLY WE HAVEN'T USED OR OUR POLICE AND FIRE HAVEN'T USED THEIR RESERVES.
AND NOW, UM, OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS AS OUR BUSINESS MODEL HAS CHANGED, THERE'S BEEN A NEED INCREASED, NEED TO USE RESERVES, YOU KNOW, SO, SO IT HASN'T BEEN A LONGSTANDING PRACTICE? NO, NO.
AND, UM, THERE ARE SEVERAL, I'M SURE THEY'LL SPEAK ABOUT IT BETTER THAN I CAN, BUT, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE GOT A, A LOT OF, THEY'VE HAD A CHANGE IN THEIR RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
THEY ARE EXPECTING SOME LONG-TERM OFFICERS TO RETIRE, WHICH WOULD BE A HIGHER, YOU KNOW, WAGE BEING REPLACED WITH A LOWER WAGE WAGE.
SO THERE ARE THINGS LIKE THAT THAT ARE HAPPENING.
UM, AT THE SAME TIME WE'RE BUILDING A NEW FIRE STATION, SO I THINK WE'RE GETTING WHAT, 16 NEW PEOPLE, BUT, UH, THE MAJORITY OF THEIR COST IS, IS THEIR PAYROLL, THEIR PERSONNEL COSTS.
COUNSEL, ANY QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW? I'LL NOT NOW.
[3. Presentation and Discussion of Fiscal Year 2025-26 Edmond Police Department Budget.]
CHIEF.COUNCIL, JD YOUNGER, GET TO HONOR SERVING AS YOUR POLICE CHIEF, UH, FOR YOUR POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND TODAY I GET TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT OUR PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FY 26.
UH, SO AS IT STANDS TODAY, THE BUDGET THAT WE ARE PROPOSING, UH, IS ROUGHLY 38 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
AND THE FORMAT THAT WE'VE USED FOR THIS, YOU'LL SHOULD BE CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE GONNA PRESENT TO YOU, UH, BOTH TODAY AND IN FUTURE WORKSHOPS.
UM, SO WE'VE BEEN ASKED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR, UH, CHALLENGES, CHANGES, THINGS THAT WE SHOULD ALL BE AWARE OF.
AND THE THREE THAT I THINK ARE KIND OF TOP OF OUR LIST ARE OUR SWORN STAFFING, UH, VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT COSTS, COSTS AND TECHNOLOGY COSTS.
AS KATHY ALLUDED TO, AND I KNOW THAT MAYOR AND COUNCIL HAS, HAS MENTIONED THIS FREQUENTLY OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, REALLY SINCE COVID, UH, JUST COSTS CONTINUE TO INCREASE AND BEING AWARE OF WHAT THOSE ARE, UH, AND BEING CONSERVATIVE IN OUR, UH, EXPENSES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO MEET THE NEEDS, UH, WITH THOSE INCREASING COSTS.
UM, AND I MAY BE DUPLICATING SOME OF THE STUFF ON, ON FUTURE SLIDES, BUT, UH, SWORN STAFFING, AS KATHY REFERENCED, THERE WAS A STATUTORY CHANGE, UH, IN THE POLICE PENSION SYSTEM LAST YEAR.
UH, FOR THOSE THAT MAY NOT KNOW IN THE AUDIENCE, UH, THE STATE OPERATES, UH, PENSION SYSTEM FOR ALL MUNICIPAL POLICE OFFICERS, WHICH THE CITY PARTICIPATES IN.
UH, AS A RESULT OF THOSE CHANGES, UH, WE'VE SEEN A LITTLE BIT OF A LATENCY, UH, IN OUR NORMAL ATTRITION RATE.
UH, WE NORMALLY EXPERIENCE ABOUT FOUR AND A HALF TO 5% RETIREMENT A YEAR.
UH, SO THIS YEAR WE'LL HAVE, WE'VE HAD TWO PEOPLE RETIRE.
WE DON'T ANTICIPATE ANY MORE THE REST OF THIS YEAR, AND WE DON'T ANTICIPATE ANY MORE UNTIL FISCAL YEAR 27 STARTS.
SO THAT NATURAL ATTRITION, UH, HAS BEEN DELAYED.
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AND SO WHEN THE BENEFITS KICK IN FROM THE RECENT STATUTORY CHANGE, WE EXPECT TO SEE AN ACCELERATED ATTRITION FOR AT LEAST A COUPLE OF YEARS.SO WE'RE IN A LULL RIGHT NOW, BUT WE'RE PREPARING FOR WHAT WE THINK WILL BE AN ACCELERATION OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.
SO SOME OF THE, UH, COSTS THAT YOU'LL SEE ARE RELATED TO THAT, UH, VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT, UH, MOSTLY CARS.
UH, WE REPLACE ON AVERAGE ABOUT 14 CARS A YEAR.
UH, WE WORK WITH OUR FLEET MAINTENANCE.
UH, THEY HAVE DEVELOPED, UH, YEARS OF SERVICE AND MILES, UH, WHERE THE KIND OF COST BENEFIT RATIO EQUALS OUT.
I THINK RIGHT NOW WE'RE AROUND NINE YEARS, UH, A LITTLE OVER 115,000 MILES ON AVERAGE, UH, FOR WHEN WE REPLACE VEHICLES.
UH, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT WHILE THAT'S OUR TARGET AREA, IF WE WERE TO ENCOUNTER A DIFFICULT YEAR FISCALLY, UH, WE COULD MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS AND DELAY PURCHASES IF WE HAD TO.
UH, NOW THAT'S GONNA HAVE RIPPLES
UH, BUT I WANNA GIVE Y'ALL SOME CONFIDENCE THAT WE HAVE SOME CONTINGENCIES WITHIN THE NORMAL BUDGETING PROCESS THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS IF WE FACED, UH, SOME UNCERTAIN TIMES.
UH, AND THEN TECHNOLOGY COSTS, UH, NOT UNIQUE TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, BUT EVERYTHING RUNS ON A COMPUTER.
UM, AND WHERE HISTORICALLY WE HAVE TRIED TO KEEP THINGS IN-HOUSE ON OUR OWN SERVERS, UM, AS WE MOVE INTO THE FUTURE, UH, MOST COMPUTER SERVICES ARE BECOMING CLOUD-BASED.
UH, THEY'RE SELLING 'EM A SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE, SO YOU REALLY DON'T PURCHASE IT AND THEN HAVE IT FOREVER.
THAT'S JUST THE MODEL FOR TECHNOLOGY THAT THAT APPEARS TO BE PROLIFERATING.
UH, SO AN EXAMPLE WOULD BE OUR LICENSE PLATE READER CAMERAS, WHICH HAVE BEEN HIGHLY BENEFICIAL IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND I THINK PRETTY POPULAR IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, THOSE ARE ON A REOCCURRING CONTRACT.
UM, AND SO THOSE HAVE COST INCREASE, LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE.
UH, SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TECHNOLOGY, WE'RE TALKING, TALKING ABOUT COMPUTERS, RADIOS, WHICH ARE REALLY JUST A COMPUTER THAT YOU CAN TALK ON, UH, LICENSE PLATE LEADERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO A LITTLE MORE GRANULAR, LOOK AT THE BUDGET.
UH, IT'S A, IT'S ABOUT FOUR POINT A QUARTER PERCENT LESS THAN IT WAS LAST YEAR.
AGAIN, I THINK CONSISTENT WITH THE CITY'S CONSERVATIVE APPROACH, THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, UH, TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LIVING WITHIN OUR MEANS.
UH, A LARGE PART OF THAT IS DUE TO CAPITAL OUTLAY, UH, YOU APPROVED.
AND WE ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH TRYING TO GET THE NEW TRAINING FACILITY, UH, BUILT, WHICH IS A BUILDING THAT'LL HOUSE REALLY, UH, WHERE WE'LL DO SOME IN-SERVICE TRAINING, UH, AND SOME MORE PHYSICAL FITNESS TYPE OF STUFF.
UH, THAT WAS ABOUT A THREE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLAR TOTAL COST ONCE WE DID, UH, ONCE WE COMPLETE THE OVERLAY OF THE PARKING AREA AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
UH, BUT THAT'S NOT IN THIS BUDGET.
SO WE HAD THAT EXPENSE LAST YEAR.
UH, YOU'LL SEE PERCENTAGE WISE IN EACH OF THOSE CATEGORIES, UH, WHAT'S UP, WHAT'S DOWN? UH, WHILE IT'S A BIG PERCENTAGE NUMBER, IT'S RELATIVELY SPEAKING, IS NOT NECESSARILY A BIG DOLLAR NUMBER IN OTHER SERVICES AND CHARGES, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GONNA REPLACE OUR SWAT TEAMS BODY ARMOR.
UH, BODY ARMOR COMES WITH A WARRANTY.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN ON DAY, YOU KNOW, 367, UH, THAT IT'S NOT GOOD ANYMORE, BUT IT'S JUST RECOMMENDED BY THE MANUFACTURER TO BE REPLACED EVERY SO MANY YEARS.
SO THIS HAPPENS TO BE THAT YEAR THAT WE NEED TO REPLACE THE HEAVY ARMOR FOR THE SWAT TEAM.
UH, THERE'S OTHER COSTS IN THERE, UH, FIRST AID, UH, SUPPLIES AND THINGS LIKE THAT THAT ROUTINELY HAVE TO BE, BE REPLACED.
AND SO THAT'S PRIMARILY THE INCREASE.
YOU SEE THE, AGAIN, LARGE PERCENTAGE DECREASE IN CAPITAL OUTLAY, UH, THAT'S REFLECTIVE OF THE TRAINING CENTER THAT WE HAD IN LAST YEAR'S, UH, FISCAL BUDGET.
AND THEN, UH, NEARLY 10%, UH, INCREASE IN COST ALLOCATIONS, UH, FOR THOSE IN THE AUDIENCE MAY NOT BE VERY FAMILIAR WITH IT.
THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET COMES IN DIRECT COSTS, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PAYING FOR, BASICALLY THE PEOPLE UNDER OUR ROOF.
AND THEN IT COMES IN INDIRECT COSTS, WHICH ARE ALLOCATIONS, WHICH IS WHAT WE PAY FOR SERVICES THAT OTHER DEPARTMENTS PROVIDE, WHETHER THAT BE HR, FLEET INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, ALL SERVICES THAT WE NEED AS A POLICE DEPARTMENT, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THOSE IN HOUSE.
AND SO WE CARRY A COST SHARE OF THAT.
A LARGE PORTION OF THAT WOULD BE DISPATCH SERVICES.
SO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION IS COST SHARED BY BOTH FIRE AND POLICE.
AND SO OUR PORTION OF THAT IS REFLECTED IN THOSE COST ALLOCATIONS.
UH, HOPEFULLY YOU DO RECALL LAST YEAR WE PRESENTED A FIVE YEAR PERSONNEL PLAN, UH, THAT WAS INTENDED TO ADD 19 SWORN OFFICERS, AND I THINK 11 CIVILIANS SOMEWHERE AROUND THERE OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD.
UH, TO BE CLEAR, WE'RE JUST COMMITTING YEAR TO YEAR.
UH, SO IF THE BUDGET WERE, UH, TO TAKE A TURN, UH, FOR THE WORSE, UH, WE COULD SUSPEND THOSE REQUESTS.
UH, BUT AS OF THIS YEAR, WE THINK THAT THE FISCAL RESOURCES, UH, SUPPORT THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT PROPOSED PLAN.
AND SO THE PROPOSAL YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU IS AN ADDITIONAL THREE PATROL OFFICERS AND ONE PATROL LIEUTENANT.
I THINK I'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE.
UH, BUT THE WAY OUR SHIFTS ARE STAFFED CURRENTLY IS WE HAVE
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A CAPTAIN AND THREE LIEUTENANTS ON SECOND SHIFT, OR THE PEOPLE THAT WORK AFTERNOONS AND THIRD SHIFT ARE OUR OVERNIGHT SHIFT.UH, BUT ON DAY SHIFT, WE REALLY ONLY HAVE TWO PATROL LIEUTENANTS.
THERE ARE TWO ADDITIONAL LIEUTENANTS THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO DAY SHIFT HOURS, BUT ONE OF THEM SUPERVISES OUR TRAFFIC, UH, DIVISION, AND ONE OF THEM SUPERVISES OUR SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS WHO BECOME OUR LAKE PATROL DURING THE SUMMER.
AND SO WHAT WE DO TO MAKE, TO MAKE DUE WITH NOT HAVING A THIRD PATROL LIEUTENANT IS WE KINDA ROB A LITTLE BIT OF THEIR TIME FROM EACH OF THOSE SPECIALTY LIEUTENANTS.
AND SO WHAT OUR HOPE IS IS BY ADDING THIS ADDITIONAL PATROL LIEUTENANT THAT WILL GIVE SHIFT ONE A FULL COMPLIMENT OF PATROL SUPERVISORS, AND THEN ALLOW THAT TRAFFIC SUPERVISOR AND THAT SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER, UH, SUPERVISOR TO DEDICATE ALL OF THEIR TIME TO THEIR AREA OF EXPERTISE.
AND THEN THE THREE PATROL OFFICERS, AGAIN, UH, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, WE DON'T USE A STRAIGHT LIKE POPULATION RATIO TO DETERMINE OUR STAFFING IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS LOOK AT CALLS FOR SERVICE AND IDENTIFIED AN OBLIGATED TIME EXPECTANCY.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE EXPECT OF OUR OFFICERS IS WE WANT SOME PROACTIVE PATROLS AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE COMMUNITY.
IF YOU'RE HAVING A HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION MEETING, WE WANT TO, UH, BE ABLE TO SEND THE OFFICER THAT WOULD TYPICALLY WORK THAT AREA TO SPEND AN HOUR OR TWO, UH, WITH THE PEOPLE IN THAT.
SO WE HAVE TO LOOK AT, OKAY, WHAT'S THE SWEET SPOT FOR AMOUNT OF TIME THIS PERSON'S RESPONDING TO CALLS, THE AMOUNT OF TIME WE WANT THEM TO HAVE FREE TIME, UH, TO DO PROACTIVE ENGAGEMENT OR PROACTIVE TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT.
UM, AND THEN WITH ALL THAT, THEY STILL HAVE TO PUT A GAS IN A CAR.
THEY STILL HAVE TO WRITE A REPORT, THEY STILL HAVE TO DO THOSE THINGS.
SO WE TRY TO USE THAT DATA DRIVEN MODEL, UH, TO DETERMINE OUR STAFFING.
SO I SAY ALL THAT TO SAY, UH, THE THREE OFFICERS WE'RE PROPOSING FIT WITHIN THAT MODEL THAT KIND OF ALLOW US TO KEEP TRACK WITH THE COMMUNITY AS IT GROWS, UH, AS WE EXPERIENCE THAT INCREASED DENSITY IN DOWNTOWN.
AS WE EXPERIENCE THE GROWTH, UH, EAST OF EDMOND, JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RESOURCES NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN THE SERVICES OUR COMMUNITIES COME TO EXPECT.
THESE ARE JUST EXPLANATIONS FOR WHAT YOU SAW ON THE NUMBERS ON TWO SLIDES AGO, WHAT, WHY IT MIGHT BE UP, WHY IT MAY BE, UH, CHANGING.
UH, AGAIN, EXAMPLES WE GAVE WITH FIRST AID KIDS, UH, SWAP BODY ARMOR, UH, INCREASED VEHICLE COSTS, MAINTENANCE COSTS, UH, CONTRACT SERVICES.
THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF OUR TECHNOLOGY FALLS IN, UH, WHAT WE'RE PAYING TO, TO RENT OR SUSTAIN, UH, TECHNOLOGY THAT WE HAVE OR ARE PROPOSING TO ACQUIRE, UH, COMPLETION OF THE TRAINING FACILITY AND THE COST ALLOCATIONS.
I, I PUT THIS IN HERE JUST IN AN EXAMPLE OF OUR USE OF THE COMMUNITY POLICING BOARD.
UH, I'LL BE THE FIRST TO TELL YOU WHY THAT'S A LONG STANDING BOARD, AND I THINK A GOOD ONE.
IT'S BEEN IN EXISTENCE BY ORDINANCE SINCE 1997.
UH, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT, THAT I PARTICULARLY HAVE UTILIZED THEM AS MUCH AS I COULD, UH, IN COMPLETING THEIR CHARGE, WHICH IS TO WORK WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IN IDENTIFYING POLICING PRIORITIES, UH, FOR THE COMMUNITY, AND THEN HOW TO IMPLEMENT THOSE.
AND SO THROUGH CONSULTATION WITH MANAGEMENT, AND WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO, TO STEP UP OUR GAME ON WHAT WE'RE BRINGING TO THEM.
AND SO I'VE PUT THIS IN THERE AS AN EXAMPLE.
UH, SO TWO YEARS AGO WE BROUGHT TO THAT BOARD THE LICENSE PLATE READER, CAMERA TECHNOLOGY, DISCUSSED THE, THE DIFFERENT PROS AND CONS FOR THAT PRIOR TO BRINGING IT TO COUNCIL.
SO THIS YEAR WE WENT BACK TO THAT SAME BOARD AND TALKED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL OF, OF USING SAFETY CAMERAS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND TO BE CLEAR, THOSE ARE JUST VIDEO CAMERAS, UH, THAT WE CAN PUT UP IN PUBLIC SPACES, UH, TO UTILIZE FOR LARGE SCALE EVENTS THAT MAY HAVE ATTENDANCE.
UH, SO THANK, UH, AS EXAMPLES LISTED HERE, LUMINANCE HEARD ON HEARD UNHEARD LIBERTY FEST, THE ARTS FESTIVAL, WHERE WE'RE GONNA HAVE LARGE CONGREGATIONS OF PEOPLE.
AND OUR ABILITY TO, TO RIGHT NOW TO MAINTAIN AND KEEP AN EYE ON THAT IS JUST PHYSICAL.
WE GOTTA PUT MORE COPS OUT IF WE WANT MORE EYES OUT.
WHEREAS TECHNOLOGY WOULD WORK AS A FORCE MULTIPLIER.
UH, WHERE IF I COULD PUT A CAMERA AT A CERTAIN INTERSECTION, SEE ALL FOUR DIRECTIONS, AND HAVE A PERSON IN A COMMAND CENTER, WHETHER THAT BE, UH, THE DISPATCH CENTER OR IN OUR EOC, LIKE WE OPERATE ON LIBERTY FEST TO BE ABLE TO, TO IDENTIFY ISSUES THAT MAY BE OCCURRING, AND THEN DISPATCH OFFICERS THERE TO INVESTIGATE.
AND SO, UH, THE CPB, AFTER A COUPLE DIFFERENT MEETINGS IN DISCUSSION, THEY'RE, THEY'RE REALLY IN FAVOR OF US CONTINUING TO EXPLORE THIS OPTION.
AND SO IN THE BUDGET THIS YEAR, UNDER THAT TECHNOLOGY, UH, CONTRACTING COSTS, WE'VE BUDGETED TO BRING IN, IT'S REALLY A MOBILE TRAILER WITH CAMERAS ON IT.
YOU MAY HAVE SEEN 'EM IN PARKING LOTS OF, OF, UH, HOTELS OR ON CONSTRUCTION SITES, UH, WHERE IT LOOKS LIKE A LITTLE GENERATOR.
IT'S GOT A SOLAR POWERED PANEL ON IT, AND IT'S GOT A LARGE BOON THAT STICKS UP WITH A CAMERA ON IT.
UH, AND SO IT'S OUR INTENTION IF THE BUDGET'S APPROVED AS IS TO ACQUIRE ONE OF THOSE, UH, FOR AT LEAST A YEAR AND TRY IT OUT AT THESE, UH, EVENTS TO SEE IF IT DOES BELIEVE, DO WHAT WE THINK
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IT WILL.AND THAT'S JUST INCREASED A FORCE MULTIPLIER AS BEING ABLE TO BE MORE SITUATIONALLY AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON.
SO I THINK JUST TO WRAP UP, IT'S JUST, UH, FOR THOSE THAT WERE ABLE TO ATTEND THE, UH, ENA SUMMIT THIS SATURDAY, WE TALKED ABOUT WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FOR, FOR OUR COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
AND, AND IN MY MIND, THE CHALLENGE IS SUSTAINABILITY.
UH, WE HAVE AN INCREDIBLE WORKFORCE, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY GOOD PEOPLE, WHICH I THINK IS WHERE IT'S ALL STARTING.
AND IT'S JUST HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN THE RESOURCES THEY NEED TO CONTINUE TO MEET THE COMMUNITY'S EXPECTATIONS? SO HOW DO WE SUSTAIN IT? AND SO I THINK THIS BUDGET REFLECTS THAT, THAT FOCUS IS THAT SUSTAINABILITY.
UM, I THINK IT ALSO TAKES INTO ACCOUNT, UH, WHAT I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER IN THAT VOLATILITY AND SWORN STAFFING THAT WE'RE GONNA EXPERIENCE FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS.
UH, STARTING IN JULY OF 26, I THINK THROUGH PROBABLY, UH, THE FIRST QUARTER OF, UH, OF 2027, UH, I EXPECT TO LOSE UP TO 15% OF OUR SWORN PERSONNEL DUE TO RETIREMENT.
AND SO IN NUMBERS, WE'RE TALKING 15, 15% OF SWORN PERSONNEL STARTING NEXT JULY.
UH, SO WHERE YOU'LL SEE THAT IN THE BUDGET IS RIGHT NOW WE'RE AUTHORIZED 133 SWORN POSITIONS.
SO WE HAVE AN ACADEMY WE'RE RECRUITING FOR RIGHT NOW.
IT'S OPEN UNTIL APRIL THE 11TH.
IF YOU KNOW ANYBODY OF HIGH CHARACTERS LOOKING TO SERVE A GREAT COMMUNITY, SEND 'EM OUR WAY.
800 PEOPLE ALREADY APPLIED FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, SO WE NEED SOMEBODY WHO DECIDES IT OUT
UH, BUT IN, IN THE OCTOBER ACADEMY, UH, IT, IT WOULD BE MY INTENTION TO OVERHIRE FOR THAT ACADEMY.
UH, SO WE HAVE SIX CURRENT VACANCIES.
I'M ASKING FOR FOUR MORE POSITIONS THAT WOULD PUT US AT 10.
WE WOULD GLADLY TAKE 18 IF WE COULD FIND THEM.
AND SO THAT'S A FISCAL IMPACT, BUT IT'S PREPARATION FOR WHAT WE KNOW IS COMING IN THE NEXT YEAR.
UH, BUT WE HAVE THE RESOURCES FOR THAT.
SO I JUST WANT Y'ALL TO BE AWARE THAT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF THE YEARS, WE'LL, WE MIGHT SEE THOSE EBBS AND FLOWS IN STAFFING, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE END GAME IS THAT WE NOT ONLY MAINTAIN, BUT CONTINUE TO TREND UPWARDS, UH, WITH THE GROWTH OF OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THEN LAST, JUST THE TECHNOLOGY IS A FORCE MULTIPLIER.
UH, I WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS JUST CONCERNED ABOUT EVERY ONE OF YOUR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AS YOU MAY BE AS A CITIZEN OR A COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO LOOK, WHAT'S THAT BALANCE, UH, WHEN WE HAVE SAFETY CAMERAS, YOU KNOW, AN IMMEDIATE THOUGHT COULD BE, WELL, YOU'RE RECORDING ME, AND HOW ARE YOU USING THAT? WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE BEING TRANSPARENT WITH THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE ACQUIRE, HOW WE USE IT, THE GOVERNANCE MODELS WE HAVE, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, THAT IT'S LAWFUL AND SENSITIVE TO YOUR EXPECTATIONS OF PRIVACY.
AND SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALWAYS OPEN TO QUESTIONS, UH, COMMENTS ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY WE'RE USING, HOW, HOW IT'S BEING ACCESSED, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE OUR COMMUNITY KNOWS AND APPROVES OF EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING AND HOW WE'RE DOING IT.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
COULD YOU, UM, TALK ABOUT A CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW THE, THE COMMUNITY IS CHANGING, THE GROWTH, THE DISTANCES BETWEEN LIKE OKLAHOMA CITY AND EDMOND.
IT USED TO BE THIS FAR, NOW IT'S LIKE, GO OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR.
WHERE AND HOW THAT'S PROVIDING CHALLENGES FOR YOU ALL NOW? YES, MA'AM.
UH, I FREQUENTLY TELL PEOPLE THAT, UH, THAT WHY I MAY BE BIASED.
I LOVE EDMOND, AND I DON'T THINK WE'RE BETTER THAN ANYBODY, BUT I DO THINK THAT IT'S A SPECIAL COMMUNITY BECAUSE OF OUR COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY, OUR COMMITMENT TO PUBLIC EDUCATION, OUR COMMITMENT TO PUBLIC SAFETY.
BUT WHEN I GET DONE SAYING ALL THOSE GREAT THINGS, I ALSO SAY, BUT WE DON'T HAVE A BUBBLE OVER EDMOND.
WE'RE THE SAME AS ANYWHERE ELSE.
WE'RE A HUNDRED THOUSAND HUMANS, JUST LIKE ANYBODY ELSE'S HUMANS.
UH, BUT AS THE MAYOR REFERENCED 30 YEARS AGO, WE ALL KNEW WHEN WE WERE LEAVING OKLAHOMA CITY AND COMING TO EDMOND, 'CAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING THERE.
WE KNEW WHEN YOU WERE LEAVING OKLAHOMA CITY AND GOING TO MORE, THERE WAS A GAP.
WELL, THOSE GAPS ARE QUICKLY SHRINKING.
AND SO AS OUR CITIES GROW TOGETHER, WE JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE AWARE OF WHAT OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE DOING, AND THAT WE'RE PARTNERING WITH THEM IN A WAY, UM, THAT, THAT INCREASES PUBLIC SAFETY, NOT JUST WITHIN OUR LITTLE, UH, JURISDICTIONAL REALM, BUT REALLY THROUGHOUT THE REGION.
UH, AND TO UNDERSTAND WHAT MAY HAVE BEEN ISOLATED TO ANOTHER CITY 30 YEARS AGO.
IT'S NO LONGER ISOLATED TO JUST A CITY.
UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THAT DON'T WANT TO COMPLY WITH EXPECTATIONS OF BEHAVIOR REALLY DON'T CARE THAT THEY'RE GOING NORTH OF MEMORIAL.
UM, AND SO JUST BEING AWARE OF THAT AND MAKING SURE WE HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND THOSE CONNECTIONS TO OUR OTHER MUNICIPAL PARTNERS, I THINK IS SUPER IMPORTANT.
AND I THINK COUNCILS HAS A GOOD, GOOD, GOOD EXAMPLE ON THAT.
AND, AND DON'T SHUT YOURSELF INSIDE AND JUST THINK IT'S ALL GONNA BE OKAY.
YOU HAVE TO BE OUT, YOU HAVE TO BE ENGAGING, YOU HAVE TO LISTEN.
[00:25:01]
THINK I'M, I MIGHT KNOW ABOUT THE PROFESSION, AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S REALLY OUR COMMUNITY.AND SO WHAT DOES THE COMMUNITY WANT? AND THEN HOW, UH, DO WE AS PUBLIC SERVANTS ENGAGE TO MEET THOSE EXPECTATIONS? THANK YOU, SIR.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS FOR THE CHIEF? I'M NOT SURE WHO'S BEST TO FILL THESE QUESTIONS, BUT ON PAGE SIX, UM, THE PUBLIC SAFETY FIVE YEAR PROJECTION THAT KATHY PANIS WENT OVER, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PROJECTIONS OVER FIVE YEARS, I'M CURIOUS WHAT THOSE ASSUMPTIONS ARE.
IS THAT ZERO GROWTH DURING ALL THOSE YEARS? AS, I MEAN, SO THIS IS ABSOLUTE WORST CASE SCENARIO, I'M GUESSING.
UM, AND THEN I'M TRYING TO LOOK AT, KIND OF PUT THAT BACK TO, WELL, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE HAD RESERVES THAT PROBABLY WERE GREATER THAN WHAT WE NEEDED TO HAVE AS RESERVES, AND THAT WE WEREN'T NECESSARILY BEING THE BEST STEWARDS BY LETTING THEM CONTINUE TO BUILD.
SO I THINK WE'RE DOING A LITTLE CORRECTION WITH THAT, BUT WE DON'T WANNA RUN OUTTA RESERVES EITHER.
SO KIND OF SOME OF THE THINGS YOU SAID, I THINK ARE SHOWING THAT WITH THAT ATTRITION, OUR PERSONNEL COSTS ARE GONNA GO DOWN.
I MEAN, HOPEFULLY WE'VE BACKFILLED AND, AND, BUT IF YOU'VE GOT YOUNG, UM, SWORN OFFICERS VERSUS SOMEONE WHO'S BEEN THERE 25 YEARS, I THINK THOSE COSTS WILL GO DOWN.
AND SO I, I GUESS I'M JUST KIND OF WONDERING HOW TO PIECE ALL THIS TOGETHER WITH THE FUTURE.
AND IF WE NEED TO, DO WE NEED TO CUT MORE THIS YEAR, RIGHT? SO WE'RE NOT GOING ON THAT TREND OF JUST DEPLETING THEM? WELL, I'LL GIVE YOU THE LAYMAN'S, UH, LAYPERSON'S ANSWER AND THEN I'LL LET THE EXPERT STEP UP.
AND CORRECT ME WHERE I'M WRONG.
UH, SO I DEFINITELY THINK IT IS WORTHY OF OUR ATTENTION, UH, TO UNDERSTAND THE FISCAL SITUATION WE'RE IN.
UM, I THINK THE, THE LAST TWO YEARS OF REVENUES HAVE DEFINITELY BEEN DIFFERENT, UH, THAN WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN THE PREVIOUS 10.
UH, WHICH RENDERS AS A LITTLE, UH, AT A, AT A LITTLE DISADVANTAGE IN LOOKING AT PAST HISTORY AND TRYING TO PROJECT THAT FORWARD.
UH, ANYBODY THAT PULLS OUT THE LAST FIVE CFA REPORTS, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, CAN SEE THAT IN ALL.
BUT ONE YEAR, UH, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S RESERVE ACCOUNT HAS BEEN LARGER THAN IT WAS WHEN IT STARTED.
UM, AND AS OF THE, THE 24 CER, YOU KNOW, WE'RE AROUND 20, A LITTLE OVER 20 MILLION IN RESERVE, UH, BASED ON CRAWFORD AND ASSOCIATES RECOMMENDATIONS OF A 30% RESERVE, UH, FOR ACCOUNTS, I THINK WE WOULD WANT AROUND 10 OR 11 IN THE POLICE RESERVE AS A MINIMUM.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT NECESSARILY MEANS ANYTHING MORE IS A MISUSE.
UH, BUT I THINK IT'S JUST BEING AWARE THAT I THINK OUR FLOOR SHOULD BE AROUND 10 OR 11.
UH, AS MS. PANAS SAID, UH, ON THOSE PROJECTIONS THERE, I THINK THEY ARE.
WORST CASE SCENARIO, UH, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE NUMBERS, UH, AGAIN, WE SET IT ROUGHLY $20 MILLION IN 24 CER, UH, BASED ON MID-YEAR PROJECTIONS.
I THINK THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BUDGET'S GONNA COME IN SOMEWHERE BETWEEN TWO AND 2.4 MILLION UNDER, UH, PROJECTED, UH, SO FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR, FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR.
UH, AND THAT'S BASED ON A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
UM, AND WE'VE HAD SOME DELAYS IN CAPITAL OUTLAYS AS WELL, UH, WHICH WILL BE FULLY REALIZED NEXT YEAR.
AND SO USING THE ANTICIPATED 5 MILLION, AND AS SHE SAID, WE PROJECT FULL STAFFING, UH, FOR A WHOLE YEAR, AND DOING OUR BUDGETS WITH, I THINK IS CORRECT THE WAY WE SHOULD DO IT.
UH, BUT I THINK WHAT HISTORIES TELL US IS WE'RE RARELY AT FULL STAFFING.
AND SO THAT GIVES US WHEN, WHEN 90% OF YOUR DIRECT COSTS ARE STAFFING AND 78% OF TOTAL COSTS ARE STAFFING, THAT'S A PRETTY BIG DELTA.
UH, SO I THINK WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS WORST CASE SCENARIO.
UH, I CAN TELL YOU IN, IN, IN FY 17, UH, WHEN I STARTED OUR TWO OUTER YEARS, WERE IN THE RED.
EVERY YEAR SINCE THEN, WE'VE BEEN IN THE BLACK.
SO AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A DIFFERENT VALLEY THAT WE'RE IN.
WE KNOW IT COMES PEAKS AND VALLEYS.
UM, BUT I'M CONFIDENT THAT WE WILL NEVER, EVER, UH, PROPOSE A BUDGET IN THE NEGATIVE.
UH, AND AS THESE PROJECTIONS, IF THEY WERE TO BECOME A GREATER REALITY, WE DO HAVE SOME CONTINGENCIES BUILT IN BECAUSE IT'S ALL PERSONNEL.
AND SO WITH THAT NATURAL ATTRITION, THERE BECOMES OPPORTUNITIES IF WE NEEDED TO DO SOME COST SAVINGS IN THAT, WE COULD.
UH, SO WHILE I'M DEFINITELY ATTENTIVE AND I, AND I KNOW THAT KATHY AND THE CITY MANAGER ARE AS WELL, UH, TO REVENUE PROJECTIONS AND HOW WE'RE UTILIZING THOSE FUNDS, I FEEL PRETTY GOOD ABOUT WHERE WE'RE AT AND THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT MINDSET.
AND THAT BECAUSE OF THAT LONG VIEW, WHICH I'M THANKFUL WE HAVE THAT FIVE YEAR VIEW TO KNOW, HEY, THAT THAT RAIN CLOUD COULD BE OUT THERE, AND SO LET'S NOT MAKE ANY BETS TODAY.
UH, THEY'RE GONNA FORCE US INTO A BAD SITUATION, YOU KNOW, THREE OR FOUR YEARS FROM NOW.
KATHY, DID YOU WANNA I, I'D AGREE.
THE, THE, WHAT DRIVES IT, IF YOU CAN SEE THE WHOLE BUDGET AND LIKE REALLY DRILL DOWN AND SEE, IT'S REALLY BEING DRIVEN BY PERSONNEL, AND IT'S JUST BECAUSE OF THE AGREEMENTS.
[00:30:01]
AND SO WHEN WE PUT, UM, THOSE PERSONNEL COSTS IN, THEY LITERALLY RUN THROUGH OUR PAYROLL, UH, SOFTWARE.SO THEY, THEY'RE PRETTY ACCURATE, BUT IT'S FULL STAFFING.
AND LIKE CHIEF SAID, TYPICALLY THEY'RE NOT FULL STAFFED AND THEY HAVE COME IN.
SO, ONCE AGAIN, I GUESS, AND LIKE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, IT'S JUST HARD TO TELL TOO, WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO ANTICIPATE YOUR RETIREMENTS AND, AND IT TAKES WHAT YOU SAY, IT TAKES LIKE A YEAR TO GO THROUGH THE WHOLE RECRUITMENT PROCESS.
BY THE TIME YOU, YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU PUT IT OUT TO TAKE APPLICATIONS, YOU GET THE APPLICATIONS, THEY GO THROUGH THE ACADEMY, YOU CHOOSE THEM.
SO YOU CAN'T WAIT TILL THE LAST MINUTE.
SO, WELL, I MEAN, I GUESS WHAT I'M SAYING IS I, I DON'T WANT THE PUBLIC OR, UM, MEDIA TO COME AWAY WITH.
WE'RE JUST GOING TO LET OURSELVES GO INTO THE NEGATIVE.
I MEAN, AND SO I, I, THIS PAGE SIX I THINK CAN BE VERY MISLEADING, UM, IF SOMEBODY PULLS THIS OUT, BECAUSE THE REALITY IS WE'RE NOT GONNA DO THAT.
HOPEFULLY, WE, WE, WELL, NO, NOT, HOPEFULLY WE WILL NOT APPROVE BUDGETS THAT CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
RIGHT? SO THIS IS A PLANNING TOOL.
THIS IS NOT, IT IS A PLANNING TOOL'S GONNA HAPPEN, BUT IF YOU, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THE PRIORITIES ARE FOR A COUNCIL, WE HAVE MONEY IN OTHER BUCKETS AS WELL.
SO THE PRIORITY MIGHT BE, OKAY, WE'RE NOT GONNA GO NEGATIVE HERE, BUT WE'LL GO NEGATIVE IN GENERAL FUND, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE TO CUT.
I MEAN, YOU HAVE TO CUT, OBVIOUSLY.
WE'RE NOT GONNA GO NEGATIVE, BUT WE HAVE TO KNOW WHAT THE NUMBER IS, RIGHT.
BECAUSE HISTORICALLY, I MEAN CORRECT.
HISTORICALLY WE HAVE, WE'VE MADE THOSE MOVEMENTS, UH, WHEN YOU SEE THE TRANSFERS THAT ARE GOING ON AND THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE PERIODICALLY FROM THE DAIS, YEAH.
THOSE ARE THOSE SHIFTS THAT WE WERE MAKING.
AND I'M SURE THAT THE MEDIA IS NOT GONNA SCR THAT.
BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S THE, IT'S THE, IT IS JUST LIKE WHAT I TALKED ON SATURDAY WAS MISINFORMATION VERSUS DISINFORMATION.
WE, WE, WE, WE MOVE MONEY AND WE EXPLAIN WHY THE MONEY'S BEING MOVED UP HERE.
UM, WELL, BUT YOU HEAR WHAT I'M SAYING.
I, I, I, I, I, THIS I THINK IS MISLEADING, BUT IT'S TRUE.
AND THERE IS A LOT OF, WELL, THIS IS NOT WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN ON PAGE SIX BECAUSE WE WILL MAKE ADJUSTMENTS SO THAT WE DON'T DEPLETE OUR RESERVES AND GO INTO THE HOLE BY 14 MILLION.
SO UNLESS I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, AS YOU KNOW, I HEAR ALL THIS STUFF OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA THAT IS MISINFORMATION NOT ACCURATE, THAT WE'RE NOT HAVING PEOPLE WALK AWAY FROM THIS MEETING OR WATCHING IT ONLINE SAYING THEY'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO JUST DEPLETE, UM, OUR RESERVES.
SO IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO EXPLAIN THAT IN A DIFFERENT WAY, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR THAT.
UM, BUT I JUST KNOW WHAT I'M HEARING SOME PEOPLE SAY.
THE, THE FIVE YEAR FORECAST IS JUST A PLANNING TOOL, PLANNING TOOL TO ALERT US THAT THERE COULD BE AN ISSUE IN THE FUTURE.
IT'S THE NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET IS WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM.
AND THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SAY.
RIGHT? AND THAT'S, AS WE APPROVE THAT BUDGET, YOU WILL SEE THE BUDGET GET INTO BALANCE.
SO I'M JUST SAYING WE'RE NOT GONNA DO THAT.
SO DON'T GO OUT THERE AND SAY WE'RE MISS, WE'RE I I AM, I'M CLEARLY IRRITATED.
SO COUNCIL R IT'S A PLANNING TOOL.
IT IS A PLANNING TOOL, AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO DEPLETE OUR RESERVES.
TO ECHO YOUR COMMENTS, I WOULD JUST DIRECT ANYBODY THAT WAS INTERESTED, UH, TO GO AND LOOK AT LAST YEAR'S APPROVED BUDGET, UH, WHICH ALSO HAD, AND IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO HAVE VERY CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATES OF WHERE SPENDING AND EXPENSES WILL GO OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
AND LOOK AT WHERE WE'RE PROJECTED TO END THIS YEAR.
AND I WON'T SAY THEY'RE DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT, BUT IT'S JUST A DIFFERENT STORY.
AND THAT'S NOT TOO INCONSISTENT WITH HOW MOST YEARS ARE WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BECAUSE YOU DO HAVE A RESERVE ACCOUNT.
THERE ARE CERTAIN CAPITAL OUTLAYS AND OTHER THINGS THAT, THAT WILL PUT IN THERE THAT, THAT MAY NOT COME TO FULL FRUITION AS WE EXPECTED.
AND, AND SO I THINK WE HAVE AS A CITY, A REAL GOOD TRACK HISTORY OF HAVING THESE SAME CONVERSATIONS AT THIS POINT IN THE BUDGET AND SHARING WORST CASE SCENARIO, UH, OF WHERE THEY ARE.
BUT HISTORY TELLS US WE DON'T GO THERE.
AND WHEN I SAY WE COUNSEL AS SETTING THE POLICY DIRECTIVES ON HOW WE UTILIZE FUNDS AND STAFF, IS WHAT WE SPEND IT ON.
UH, BUT I THINK WHAT, FOR ANYBODY THAT WILL DO THE RESEARCH, IF YOU'LL JUST LOOK AT THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS AT THIS POINT IN THE CONVERSATION, THIS IS EXACTLY HOW IT GOES.
IF, IF WE STAY ON THIS PATH, IT'S GONNA END UP AT X.
WHAT CAN WE ADJUST? WHAT DO WE, WHAT DOES COUNCIL WANNA ADJUST? WHAT CAN STAFF ADJUST? AND I THINK WHERE WE END UP TRADITIONALLY HAS BEEN IN A VERY SAFE, CONSERVATIVE FISCAL POSITION.
[00:35:02]
WANTED IT SAID, YES, YOU ARE CORRECT.THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION BECAUSE WE WILL, WE APPROVE THE BUDGET EVERY YEAR AND WE WILL MAKE ADJUSTMENTS SO THAT WE DO NOT GO THERE IN FIVE YEARS.
AND THIS IS BASED ON ZERO GROWTH EVERY YEAR, MAXED OUT EVERY POSITION, ALL OF THAT STUFF.
'CAUSE I'M TELLING YOU, WE HOPE FOR THE BEST, BUT WE PLAN FOR THE WORST.
BEFORE YOU START, COME
BUT I WANTED TO GIVE A LITTLE SPECIAL KUDOS TO FIRE BECAUSE WE HAD SOME UNPRECEDENTED TIMES THIS PAST WEEK OR SO, UH, WITH THE WILDFIRES AND THE ASSISTANCE OF KEEPING EDMONDS SAFE, BUT ALSO REGIONALLY HELPING OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN THEIR NEED TO HELP KEEP THEM SAFE OFF.
JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU KUDOS FOR THAT.
WE, WE HAVE A GREAT DEPARTMENT, A LOT OF GREAT EMPLOYEES, AND THEY, THEY DID GREAT WORK OUT THERE.
[4. Presentation and Discussion of Fiscal Year 2025-26 Edmond Fire Department Budget.]
UM, MR. MAYOR, COUNSEL, CHAD WEAVER, INTERIM FIRE CHIEF, UH, GO, UH, BUDGET PRESENTATION.UH, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME TODAY.
UH, SO THIS IS OUR PLANNING TOOL, UM, OF OUR BUDGET PRESENTATION.
UM, WE'RE 3, 3 30, 8 $0.8 MILLION
UM, AND, AND BELIEVE ME, I, WHEN I, WHEN I SAW THIS AS WELL, LIKE, IT, IT, YOU KNOW, IT IS SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, IT MAKES US WATCH THE BUDGET AS WELL.
SO, UM, WE WE'RE VERY AWARE OF IT AND WE'RE GONNA WATCH IT, AND WE, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE WE'RE TAKING THE NECESSARY STEPS TO PREVENT HAPPENING.
WHAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE SAYING, UM, SO THIS IS A PLAN FIELD FOR US.
I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT IT HAPPENING.
I'M WORRIED ABOUT THE PUBLIC TAKING THAT AND SAYING, WE'RE, AND, AND, AND I LOOKED OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS OF OUR, OUR BUDGET FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
AND SO YOU'RE PREACHING TO THE CHOIR A LITTLE
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, LIKE, THAT'S MY POINT, IS THAT, YEAH.
UM, SO AFTER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, WE, WE HAVE BEEN IN THE POSITIVE OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
UM, ONLY AVERAGE $1.4 MILLION ABOVE A POSITIVE.
AND SO WE, WE, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PUT THAT IN RESERVES, AND WE ALSO, ON OUR RESERVES, WE, WE DID GO AHEAD AND BUDGET FOR STATION, UH, SIX AS WELL.
AND THAT THEY CAME OUT OF THIS YEAR'S BUDGET AND WILL NOT NEXT YEAR'S, BUT I'LL GO AHEAD AND GO OVER WHAT'S WE'RE OUR, OUR BUDGET EXPENDITURES FOR THIS YEAR, UH, AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.
UH, 3 MILLION, UM, HIRING PROCESS AND PROMOTIONAL PROCESSES.
UM, LIKE CHIEF GER SAID, WE, WE, WE ARE FACING RETIREMENTS IN DIFFERENT PROMOTIONS AS WE FILL POSITIONS AND, AND PEOPLE LEAVE.
AND PLUS WE'RE HAVING THE HIRING PROCESS TO STAFF A BRAND NEW FIRE STATION WITH ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL FOR THE CITY OF EDMOND.
UM, SO, AND THEN WE HAVE ADDITIONAL ASSOCIATED COSTS WITH, YOU KNOW, HAVING MORE APPARATUS WITH STATION SIX AND MORE PERSONNEL AND NEW FACILITIES AND MAINTENANCE ON THESE FACILITIES AND UTILITY COSTS AS WELL.
AND THEN WE, WE PUT INTO OUR FLEET REPLACEMENT EVERY YEAR WHERE IT BUILDS A CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR US AS WELL.
UH, RIGHT NOW WE, WE'VE WORKED VERY HARD TO GET OUR, UM, APPARATUS ON A 10 YEAR FRONTLINE, UM, YOU KNOW, CYCLE WHERE WE HAVE NEW APPARATUS, THEY'RE 10 YEARS OLD, OUR FRONTLINE APPARATUS, AND WE KEEP 'EM IN RESERVE FOR FIVE YEARS AND WORKED VERY HARD TO DO THAT.
BUT WE DO HAVE CONTINGENCY WITH WHAT WE INVESTED IN THE FLEET FUND OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
UM, I BELIEVE IT'S $6 MILLION LAST YEAR, WE PUT IN THE FLEET FUND WHERE WE HAVE THAT CONTINGENCY WE CAN PUT BACK IN OUR RESERVES IF WE HAD TO, TO EXTEND OUR APPARATUS LIFE OUT WITH OUR MAINTENANCE PROGRAM.
UH, SO THE, THE BUDGET FOR 2026 VERSUS, UH, THE ACTUALS OF 25.
UM, SO WHAT'S NEW THIS YEAR IS THE 15 NEW FIREFIGHTERS FOR OPENING STATION SIX.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE THE RAISES FOR THE NEGOTIATED CONTRACT, UH, WHICH, YOU KNOW, THE, OUR PERSONNEL COSTS COVER 80% OF OUR BUDGET, UM, THE CAPITAL EXPENDITURES.
UM, AND THEY'RE INCREASING, UH, ALL CLOSE TO A MILLION DOLLARS THIS YEAR.
AND THE REASON THOSE ARE INCREASING IS WE DID GET A, A GRANT, A 50 50 ARPA GRANT FOR IMPROVEMENTS ON OUR TRAINING GROUNDS AND CITY SERVICES AS WELL.
AND I CAN GO OVER THOSE LATER.
AND THEN, UH, SERVICE CHARGES BUDGET.
UM, SO OUR SERVICE CHARGES ARE GONNA INCREASE, AND THAT, THAT'S A DIRECT REFLECTION OF WHAT STATION SIX IS GONNA BRING WITH THE FACILITIES AND THE, UM, ADDITIONAL MAINTENANCE UTILITIES.
UM, WE'LL HAVE SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR THE NEW FIREFIGHTERS FOR THE TRAINING PLATFORMS THAT WE USE.
AND, UM, AND THE MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES.
THEY'VE DECREASED ACTUALLY THIS YEAR.
AND THE REASON THEY DECREASED IS WE ARE CAUGHT UP ON OUR COMPUTERS.
UM, WE DID GO AHEAD AND BUY EQUIPMENT FOR, UH, FIRE, UH, FOR ENGINE SIX AND STATION SIX OFF THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
AND, UH, WE, WE'VE ALSO, UH, YOU KNOW, GOT AHEAD ON SOME THINGS.
[00:40:01]
GOT THE VENING MACHINES THAT YOU GUYS APPROVED OR THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVED, UM, UH, TWO STATIONS WE'RE GONNA PUT, UH, OTHER STATIONS AS WELL.BUT THESE VENDING MACHINES HAVE HELPED US TRACK OUR, OUR MEDICAL INVENTORIES, BUT ALSO NOT OVERBUY ON OUR MEDICAL INVENTORIES AS WELL.
AND, UH, OUR A MR, UM, UH, PARTNERSHIP WITH A MR WITH, WE HAVE COST SAVINGS WHEN WE BUY THROUGH THEM.
UH, SO, SO SIGNIFICANT EXPENDITURES, UM, FOR THE 2026, UH, REPLACING EXPIRED PROTECTIVE GEAR.
UM, SO OUR PROTECTIVE GEAR IS 10 YEARS.
UM, UH, WE HAD TO REPLACE IT, AND THAT'S, THAT'S, UM, NATIONAL STANDARD.
AND SO WE HAVE 10 SETS THIS YEAR THAT WE HAVE TO REPLACE FOR OUR CURRENT FIREFIGHTERS.
AND THEN WE HAVE NEW FIREFIGHTERS.
WE, WE HAVE ONE, ONE CREW CLASS GOING RIGHT NOW, AND THIS IS PRETTY MUCH JUST STAFF STATION SIX.
AND THEN WE HAVE SOME RETIREMENTS THAT WE REPLACED.
SO WE'VE ALREADY STARTED THE HIRING PROCESS FOR ANOTHER ACADEMY LATER THIS YEAR.
WE JUST CLOSED APPLICATIONS ON FRIDAY.
AND, AND LIKE CHIEF YOUNGER SAID, WE DID HAVE 800 APPLICANTS.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S SIX VOLUMES OF OUR CITY IN OUR DEPARTMENT AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN THE SUPPORT THAT YOU GUYS GIVE.
UM, BUT, UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BUY, UM, ADDITIONAL, UH, PROTECTIVE GEAR AND UNIFORMS FOR OUR RECRUITS AS WELL.
AND SO THAT'S GONNA COST CLOSE TO $150,000.
UM, WE'RE CONTINUING TO HAVE, WE'RE PUTTING BALLISTIC VESTS AND HELMETS ON OUR FIRE APPARATUS, PROTECT OUR RESPONDERS IF THEY DO, UH, HEAVEN FORBID EVER GO TO AN EVENT THAT THEY HAD TO USE THEM.
UM, BUT WE, WE'VE GOT SOME ON SOME APPARATUS ALREADY, BUT THE GOAL IS TO EVENTUALLY HAVE ON ALL OUR APPARATUS, UM, 'CAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHEN ANY OF THOSE EVENTS COULD HAPPEN.
AND THEN WE ARE, UH, REPLACING SOME OLD COMPUTERS AND BUYING NEW COMPUTERS FOR STATION SIX.
SO THAT'S SOME OF OUR, UH, MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES.
UH, SO SERVICE CHARGES, LIKE I SAID, THE, UM, STATION SIX IS GONNA INCREASE OUR SERVICE CHARGES, YOU KNOW, SUBSCRIPTIONS, UTILITY COSTS, AND THEN THE COST OF HIRING, PROMOTION, UM, PROMOTIONAL PROCESS.
UH, WE DO HAVE PROMOTIONAL PROCESSES THAT WE WORK, UH, VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR, UM, OUR, OUR LOCAL.
WITH THAT, WE, WE MAKE SURE WE HIRE, HIRE OUT TO DO OUR PROMOTIONAL PROCESSES TO KEEP THE PROCESS PROMOTIONAL PROCESSES, UH, CONSISTENT AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IN FAIR AS POSSIBLE.
AND THEN, UH, THE COST OF HIRING.
WE USE A TESTING COMPANY TO HIRE A PERSONNEL TOO, TO WRITE THE TEST AND, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STAYING ABOVE BOARD AND DOING THE, THE CORRECT PROCESSES.
SO THAT'S ADDITIONAL COSTS THAT WE HAVE.
AND WE, WE'VE ALREADY SPENT A LOT OF THE HIRING COSTS THIS YEAR ON THIS BUDGET.
WE'LL HAVE SOME THAT CARRY ON OVER, 'CAUSE THE, THE, WE'RE HAVING THE SECOND CLASS START IN AUGUST.
SO CAPITAL ALLIES, THE ALLIES, UH, THE FEDERAL GRANT.
UM, SO WE, WE GOT A GRANT, AN ARPA GRANT WE PUT IN FOR IT.
AND IT WAS IMPROVEMENTS FOR OUR TRAINING FACILITY.
AND, UM, THIS GRANT, UH, WAS BASICALLY THE GRANT SAID THAT WE, IF, IF WE COULD PROVIDE CLASSROOMS AND ADDITIONAL STUDY OR HAVE PREPARATION FOR A DISASTER, UM, PREPAREDNESS.
AND SO WITH, WITH THAT, WE, WE WROTE THE GRANT TO, UM, HAVE A MAINTENANCE BUILDING IN OUR TRAINING GROUNDS.
THIS WILL NOT ONLY HELP THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, BUT IT'S GONNA HELP THE OTHER, THE CITY, UM, VEHICLE MAINTENANCE AS WELL.
IT HAD ADDITIONAL BAYS 'CAUSE THAT FACILITY WAS BUILT IN OH FIVE AND WE'RE, WE'RE WAY BIGGER THAN OH FIVE NOW.
AND SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE A DEDICATED PLACE WHERE WE CAN NOW TRAIN EMERGENCY VEHICLE TECHNICIANS, BUT ALSO HAVE SOME APPARATUS SPACE TO REPAIR THEM AS WELL.
PLUS A PLACE THAT WE CAN REPAIR APPARATUS ON THE FLY.
ON A LARGE EVENT, LIKE DONE THAT WITH THE WILDFIRES THAT JUST HAPPENED, WE, WE HAD TO HAVE A VEHICLE GO OUT AND FIX SOME FLAT TIRES AND, AND DO SOME QUICK WORK SO WE CAN GET 'EM BACK IN THE FIELD AND GET 'EM BACK IN SERVICE.
SO HAVING THIS, UH, WILL BE SOMETHING THAT'S VERY, VERY, UH, IMPORTANT FOR OUR DEPARTMENT AND THE CITY.
UM, WE ALSO MADE A, A, A PART OF THAT IS MAKING THAT A STAGING AREA.
AND THE MOST STAGING AREA, WHEN YOU USE 'EM FOR A STAGING AREA, YOU'LL NEED A ENTRY AND AN EXIT.
SO WE'RE MAKING AN EXIT ON AIR DEPOT WITH THIS GRANT AS WELL.
IT'LL ALSO HELP US WITH TRAFFIC WHEN THE SCHOOLS GO IN ACROSS THE STREET TO BE ABLE TO GET APPARAT OUT THERE WHEN THEY'RE TRAINING ON THE TRAINING GROUNDS.
AND THEN, UM, WITH THE PART OF THE GRANT AS WELL WAS WE, WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL LIVE BURN STRUCTURE, WHICH WE'LL BE ABLE TO TRAIN OUR FIREFIGHTERS WITH MORE, EVEN MORE REALISTIC CONDITIONS OF FIRE, UH, THE FIREFIGHTING, UH, TACTICS.
BUT WE'LL ALSO BE ABLE TO SHARE THOSE FACILITY WITH THE, OUR SURROUNDING DEPARTMENTS AND BE ABLE TO TRAIN THEM AS WELL AND HAVE THEM BE ABLE TO USE OUR FACILITY.
WE, WE'VE REPLACED, UH, WE HAD ALL OUR NEW S CVAS IN OH FIVE IS WHEN WE BOUGHT OUR SEB COMPRESSORS.
WE REPLACED TWO LAST YEAR, AND WE HAVE ONE MORE TO REPLACE AT STATION ONE.
SO THE S SC BAY COMPRESSOR IS $75,000, AND THAT'S PART OF THAT.
AND THEN WITH ALL THE CLASSES THAT WE'RE HOSTING WITH THE HOMELAND SECURITY, AND THEY, THEY MADE THE TRAINING PROP THAT WE CAN DO, UM, STRUCTURAL COLLAB TECHNICIAN TRAINING.
WE, WE CREATE A LOT OF DEBRIS ON OUR TRAINING GROUNDS.
AND SO IT TAKES A LOT TO CLEAN THIS DEBRIS UP AND, AND GET IT HAULED OFF.
SO WE ARE, WE ARE ASKING FOR A SKID LOADER IN THIS, UM, UH, BUDGET SO WE CAN RESET PROPS SO WE CAN CLEAN UP THE TRAINING GROUND SO WE CAN KEEP IT, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE CAN KEEP TRAINING GOING ON.
UH, THE VEHICLES THIS YEAR, WE, WE HAVE TWO STAFF VEHICLES.
THERE'S NO LARGE APPARITION BUDGET THIS YEAR.
[00:45:01]
AND, BUT WE ARE CONTINUING TO PLACE INTO THE VEHICLE REPLACEMENT FUND.AND THAT, THAT REPLACEMENT FUND, IT'S, IT'S CURRENTLY AROUND 10 MILLION OR 12 MILLION RIGHT NOW, BUT WE HAVE SOME APP APPARATUS WE HAD TO ORDER, WE HAD TO FORECAST REALLY FAR AHEAD ON OUR APPARATUS.
OUR CUSTOM FIRE ENGINES ARE 41 MONTHS OUT, SO WE HAVE TO THINK FOUR YEARS, ALMOST FOUR YEARS AHEAD WHEN WE'RE PLANNING TO BUY A NEW FIRE ENGINE.
UH, SO PROCESS AND POLICY IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, SO WITH THE FIRE STATION SIX, IT'S GONNA IMPROVE TURNOUT TIMES IN THAT AREA.
UH, BUT IT, IT NOT ONLY WILL IMPROVE TURNOUT TIMES IN THAT AREA, IT'S GONNA IMPROVE TURNOUT TIMES IN STATION THREE'S DISTRICT AND STATION ONE'S DISTRICT AS WELL, BECAUSE THAT MEANS THEY'LL STAY IN DISTRICT MORE SO WHEN WE WILL HAVE FIVE MORE PERSONNEL A DAY ON DUTY, WHICH IS GREAT.
UM, YOU, YOU OBVIOUS EVERYONE SAW THE NEED FOR IT JUST RECENTLY OF THE ADDITIONAL FIREFIGHTERS THAT WERE NEEDED TO, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HAVE A DISASTER OR SOMETHING GOING ON.
BUT OUR CALL VOLUME HAS INCREASED INTO EDMOND RAPIDLY OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
I BELIEVE WE'RE CLOSE A LITTLE OVER 11,000 CALLS LAST YEAR, AND I THINK IT'S GONNA INCREASE AGAIN THIS YEAR.
UM, THREE ADDITIONAL VEHICLE MAINTENANCE BASE, LIKE I MENTIONED ON THE ARPA GRANT.
AND THEN, UH, LOCAL STAGING AREA ONCE WE GET ON THE GRANT, THE IMPROVEMENTS TO FIREFIGHTER TRAINING, WHICH THE LIVE BURN STRUCTURE.
AND THEN IMPROVEMENTS TO FIREFIGHTER SAFETY, SO ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS, UH, IMPROVEMENTS TO PATIENT CARE CAPABILITIES.
UM, ONE OF THOSE IMPROVEMENTS IS WE BUDGETED FOR, WE'RE ABLE TO USE SOME OF THE BUDGET THIS YEAR TO BUY THREE LIVE PACK 30 FIVES, AND THEN WE'LL USE THE REST OF BUDGET.
WE'LL USE THE BUDGET EXTRA BY FIVE MORE, AND THAT'LL GIVE US NEW AK 30 FIVES.
WE CURRENT AK FIFTEENS, THE NEW AK 30 FIVES IS, UH, UPDATED TECHNOLOGY FOR OUR PARAMEDICS, UM, FOR LIFESAVING MEASURES.
ONE OF THE BEST FEATURES I THINK IS IT CAN ACTUALLY, WHEN THEY'RE DOING CPR, IS THAT IT CAN ACTUALLY READ THE RHYTHM WHILE THEY'RE CPR.
SO CPR CAN STAY CONTINUOUS ON THIS.
AND WE WANNA STAY AT THE TIP OF THE SPEAR 'CAUSE OUR, OUR EMS SERVICE THAT WE PROVIDE HERE IN E TOP NOTCH, AND WE'D LIKE TO KEEP IT THAT WAY, BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE, UM, ADDITIONAL PATIENT CARE CAPABILITIES.
UM, SAVINGS ON THE COST OF EQUIPMENT, MEDICAL SUPPLIES, LIKE I SAID, A MR PARTNERSHIP HAS BEEN HUGE IN THIS, PLUS ALL PLUS THE VENDING MACHINES THAT WE'VE, UM, BEEN ABLE TO PURCHASE.
UH, WE'RE ADDING, UH, OUR, WE HAVE A SQUAD PROGRAM.
THE SQUAD PROGRAM WAS, WE HAVE A SQUAD ONE AND SQUAD TWO IN SERVICE, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE SMALLER VEHICLES THAT RESPOND TO LOWER ACUITY CALLS.
AND RIGHT NOW WE, WE HAVE A OLD BRUSH PUMPER YOU RUNNING AS ONE, AND WE HAVE A, A PICKUP TRUCK WITH A CAMPER SHELL.
AND WE PUT TWO, TWO, UH, FIREFIGHTERS ON IT.
AND, UH, WE, WE RESPONDED WHAT WE, WE, WE NOTICED DURING COVID THAT WE NEEDED SOME CONTINGENCY PLANS.
AND SO, UM, THROUGH A MR WE'RE ABLE TO BUY A COUPLE AMBULANCES.
AND SO THESE AMBULANCES ARE, UM, WE'RE GONNA RUN 'EM WITH SQUADS, BUT ALSO GIVE US CONTINUOUS PLAN IF WE RUN INTO NERVE PANDEMIC.
IF WE HAVE A NATURAL DISASTER, WE'LL HAVE TRANSPORT CAPABILITIES, BUT WE'RE NOT GONNA BE A TRANSPORT AGENCY.
BUT WE'LL HAVE THOSE CAPABILITIES IF WE NEED TO.
UM, AND THEN WE HA WE ALSO, WE STARTED A PILOT PROGRAM THIS YEAR WITH OUR ATHLETIC TRAINER, UM, WORKING CLOSELY WITH RISK MANAGEMENT.
WE WANNA TRY TO REDUCE INJURIES IN THE FIRE SERVICE AND IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
AND, UM, SO WORKING WITH THIS ATHLETE TRAINER, UH, WE'RE TRYING TO REDUCE INJURIES AND HOPEFULLY REDUCE COST TO INJURY PAYOUTS AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT IN THE CITY.
BUT ULTIMATELY, KEEP OUR FIREFIGHTERS IN SERVICE BECAUSE WHEN THEY'RE IN SERVICE, THEY PROVIDE THE BEST, UM, THE BEST SERVICE THEY CAN PROVIDE IF THEY'RE ABLE TO DO THEIR JOB.
AND THEN WE'VE ALSO, UH, WE'RE FOLLOWING THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S LEAD ON MENTAL HEALTH CARE.
UM, WE'VE CONTRACTED WITH A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL, UM, THROUGH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S MENTAL HEALTH PERSON.
SHE PUT US IN CONTACT WITH SOMEONE.
AND WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN CONTRACTED FOR ABOUT A YEAR AND SEEMED TO BE DOING WELL, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO STAY ON THE SAME PATH AS, UH, POLICE DEPARTMENT AND PROVIDING MENTAL HEALTH, UH, CAPABILITIES FOR OUR FIRE DEPARTMENTS TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, THEY'RE ABLE TO RESPOND AND, AND HEALTHY ENOUGH TO RESPOND WHEN THE TIME COMES.
ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? I, I HAVE A, I THINK I HAVE A JOINT QUESTION.
WE HAVE TOP-NOTCH TRAINING FACILITIES, UH, THAT ARE TRAINING OUR PERSONNEL HERE, BUT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WE GET CAUGHT UPON OR SOME OTHER AGENCY WANTS TO USE OUR TRAINING.
HOW DOES THAT AFFECT OUR BUDGET? UH, WE, WE ACTUALLY, UM, SO OUR AUTOMATED AT AID PARTNERS, UM, WE HAVE OAK CLIFF, DEER CREEK.
UH, WE, WE ALLOW THEM TO TRAIN OUT THERE.
THEY, THEY PAY FOR ANYTHING THAT THEY USE OUT THERE.
IF THEY, IF THEY HAVE OVERTIME, THEY'LL REIMBURSE US IF WE HAVE TO HAVE SOMEONE OUT THERE.
UM, AND THEN ANYBODY ELSE THAT USE THE FACILITY, WE HAVE A CHARGE RATE IF WE WANT TO CHARGE 'EM.
SO IT DOESN'T COST US ANY ADDITIONAL MONEY, BUT IT'S SOMETHING WE WANNA ALWAYS SHARE WITH OTHER SURROUND COMMUNITIES.
UM, WE, WE'VE HAD THE BENEFIT OF BEING VERY SUPPORTED BY THE COMMUNITY WITH THE TRAINING FACILITY.
WE WANNA ALWAYS MAKE SURE WE SHARE THAT.
CHIEF, SIMILAR ON THE TRAINING.
UH, WE, WE OFFER OUR TRAINING FACILITY TO MANY OF OUR SURROUNDING PARTNERS.
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OUR, OUR FIRING LINE.UH, SO THEY BRING THEIR OWN AMMUNITION AND IT'S BOOKED WITHIN OUR TRAINING SCHEDULE, SO IT DOESN'T IMPACT US.
SO, UH, ANY DIRECT COSTS ARE, ARE VERY MINIMAL, IF ANY, AT ALL.
I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION, OR I GOT A COMMENT WHEN I CAN YEAH, I, GO AHEAD, SIR.
IT'S NOT ABOUT FIRE CHIEF YOUNGER.
UH, UH, YOU MENTIONED IN YOUR COMMENTS COMMUNITY POLICING, UH, HAVING A PRESENCE.
AND I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU THAT THIS, THIS WEEKEND, THERE WAS A PUBLIC EVENT AND YOU SPENT TWO, TWO AND A HALF HOURS THERE.
YOU STOOD FOR QUESTIONS, YOU HAD CITIZENS LINE UP TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THINGS.
AND, UH, YOU SPENT ALL MORNING DOING THAT.
AND, UH, THAT'S NICE THAT THE POLICE CHIEF WILL DO THAT ON A SATURDAY.
AND, UH, THE QUESTION, SOME OF 'EM WERE PRETTY DIRECT, AND YOU ANSWERED THOSE HONESTLY, CLEARLY.
AND OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE INTERESTED, YOU WERE CLEARLY INTERESTED IN WHAT THE PEOPLE HAD TO SAY.
SO I WANT YOU TO KNOW, I APPRECIATED YOUR PRESENCE AT THAT EVENT, AND, UH, THANK YOU.
AND I HAVE A LITTLE STATEMENT.
UM, Y'ALL DID AN AMAZING JOB DURING THE FIRE, AN AMAZING JOB.
WE WERE ABLE TO SAVE STRUCTURES.
PEOPLE WEREN'T PHYSICALLY HARMED, THEY WERE CONTAINED.
WE WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE AID TO SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES, BUT OUR ENTIRE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ROCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK.
EVERYBODY WAS ON THE BALL FROM THE MINUTE BEFORE THINGS STARTED.
THEY STARTED PREPARING FOR THIS, KNOWING THIS DAY WAS A POSSIBILITY, AND THEY COULD NOT HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB THAN I AM.
I JUST, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE I TOLD THIS AND HOW PROUD I AM TO BE A CITIZEN OF THIS COMMUNITY, TO HAVE THIS SERVICE PROVIDED TO OUR RESIDENTS TO KEEP THEM SAFE.
AND THEY'RE NOT JUST KEEPING THEM SAFE, BUT THEY'RE HELPING AND PROVIDING AID TO FOLKS WHO DON'T HAVE THOSE SERVICES.
UM, EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY PROUD.
I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY IN THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SERVICES ACROSS THE BOARD.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER PETERSON.
UM, I, I WANNA ECHO THAT, THAT WE, WE HAVE A GREAT TEAM AND WE'RE REALLY SUPPORTED BY EVERYONE HERE, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I KNOW I TALKED TO RANDY, I THINK EVERY FIVE MINUTES,
BUT HE ALWAYS CAME UP WITH THE ANSWERS, AND I KNOW IT WAS REACHING OUT TO EVERYBODY ELSE, SO I'M JUST, I, I WAS AWED BY HOW SMOOTHLY A DAY WENT, WHEN IT COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH WORSE BECAUSE WE SAW IT BE WORSE IN OTHER PLACES.
YEAH, I'LL, I'LL ECHO THAT SENTIMENT OF, YOU KNOW, YOUR BUDGETS ARE PRIMARILY MADE UP OF PERSONNEL, TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE AND TAKING CARE OF THEIR MENTAL HEALTH, THEIR PHYSICAL WELLBEING, AND YOU'RE DOING THAT SO THEY CAN TAKE CARE OF PEOPLE.
AND SO I KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE CAN GET, WE CAN LOOK AT NUMBERS AND THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT THING TO DO, BUT I DO WANNA THANK YOU BOTH AND ALSO THE EMPLOYEES, JUST REMEMBER THAT WE'RE YOUR PEOPLE.
WE WANNA TAKE CARE OF YOU SO YOU CAN TAKE CARE OF OUR COMMUNITY, AND WE REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
THANKS FOR ALLOWING US TO DO THAT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, PRESENTATIONS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE DISCUSSION TODAY? NO, SIR.
WELL, I APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S, UM, QUESTIONS.
UH, IT'S A SUPPORT, UH, IT'S A COMMUNITY THING.
IT'S A, IT'S A TEAM THING THAT WE'RE DOING HERE.
UH, AGAIN, THANKS FOR ALL OF OUR FIRST RESPONDERS, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, UM, AND THE TRAINING AND THE PRACTICES THAT THEY GO THROUGH, THE DRY RUNS.
'CAUSE YOU DON'T PREPARE FOR A DISASTER WHEN THE DISASTER'S HAPPENING.
THAT'S WHEN ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE DONE COME INTO PLAY.
AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT.
IF THERE'S, UH, NO OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, I'D LIKE TO CALL THIS SPECIAL MEETING FOR OUR BUDGET OVER.