* 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. [00:00:01] [1. Call to Order of the Edmond City Council Meeting.] I'D LIKE TO CALL THE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING, COVERING OUR FY 20 25, 26 THIRD BUDGET HEARING MEETING TO ORDER. I [2. Public Hearing, pursuant to 11 O.S. ยง 17-208, on the Proposed Budget and Financial Plan for Fiscal Year 2025-26, containing the General Fund, Special Revenue Funds, Capital Project Funds, Internal Service Funds, Public Works Authority Utility Funds, and Other Enterprise Funds, to include: Presentation and Discussion of the Proposed Budget and Financial Plan for Fiscal Year 2025-26; Presentation and Discussion of Proposed New Positions, Proposed Position Reclassifications, and the Proposed Organizational Chart for Fiscal Year 2025-26; Presentation and Discussion of Options to Meet Target General Fund Balance of Ten Percent; Receive Public Comments, Recommendations, or Other Information regarding the Proposed Budget and Financial Plan for Fiscal Year 2025-26; Discussion and Consideration of a Purpose Based Budget Format for the Proposed Budget and Financial Plan for Fiscal Year 2025-26; and Discussion and Consideration of Potential Amendments to the Proposed Budget and Financial Plan for Fiscal Year 2025-26.] BELIEVE WE'RE STARTING OUT WITH A PRESENTATION FROM STAFF THIS MORNING. YES, RANDY, WHO'S COVERING THAT? WELL, LEMME START BY SAYING, UH, THIS IS OUR THIRD PUBLIC HEARING ON THE BUDGET. UM, I MEAN, I THINK WE'RE IN A PRETTY GOOD PLACE WITH IT, AT LEAST FROM MY UNDERSTANDING. UM, AND THAT'S DUE IN PART TO A LOT OF HARD WORK BY KATHY AND HER TEAM AND, UH, THE DIRECTORS AND CHIEFS THAT ARE SITTING BEFORE YOU THAT HAVE PROVIDED INFORMATION, UH, AND ANSWERED QUESTIONS. AND, YOU KNOW, WITH THE HARD WORK OF THE, THE PEOPLE SITTING UP HERE AROUND THIS, I THINK THE GOAL FOR TODAY IS TO BE IN A GOOD, GOOD PLACE AT THE END OF THE DAY, UH, AT THE END OF THIS MEETING, TO HOPEFULLY GET THE BUDGET ADOPTED NEXT MONDAY. UH, TO PUT IT IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE DAY, THE SHOCK CLOCKS RUNNING ON US AT THIS POINT. SO, UH, WE, WE, WE HAVE TO MAKE SOME PROGRESS. SO WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY TO TURN IT OVER TO KATHY AND LET HER RUN THROUGH INFORMATION SHE'S PROVIDED. THANK YOU. OKAY. I'M KATHY PANAS, THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE. SO, UM, AS ANDY OR, AND RANDY'S, IT'S A RANDY ANDY SHOW. I'M SORRY, . IT JUST FLOWS OFF THE LIPS. UM, SO THIS IS THE THIRD PUBLIC HEARING, UM, AND WE'RE JUST GIVING YOU SOME FOLLOW UP ON SOME QUESTIONS WE HAD LAST TIME. AND WE'VE ALSO ADDED SOME PROPOSED CAROLINE OWEN, WHICH I FAILED TO PUT ON THE, THE TOP SLIDE IS ALSO OUR HR DIRECTOR IS ALSO PRESENTING THIS MORNING ABOUT NEW POSITIONS AND RECLASSIFICATIONS IN THE ORG CHART. AND THEN I'LL TAKE IT BACK WITH YOUR QUESTIONS FROM LAST TIME, WHICH WERE OPTIONS TO MEET THE TARGET OF THE 10% OF A GENERAL FUND UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE. UM, AND IT'S ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THAT. WE WILL RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENTS AFTER THAT. WE'LL DISCUSS THE PURPOSE-BASED BUDGET THAT YOU GUYS HAVE ASKED ABOUT. UM, JUST REALLY TURN THAT OVER TO YOU. AND THEN, UM, JUST AT THE END, IF, IF, IF YOU CAN LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU WANNA CHANGE, WE'LL SEE IF WE CAN GET A CHANGE IN TIME FOR, TO ADOPT ON MONDAY. SO JUST AS AN OVERVIEW, TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, BE CAUTIOUS WITH OUR EXPENSES THIS YEAR. WE, OUR BUDGET RIGHT NOW IS $413 MILLION IN EXPENSES. IT'S A $40 MILLION DECREASE FROM LAST YEAR. WE'RE LOOKING AT A HIRING FREEZE FOR ALL POSITIONS EXCEPT PUBLIC SAFETY AND UTILITIES FOR FISCAL YEAR 25. WE'VE PROJECTED SALES TAX, TAX GROWTH AT 0% COMPARED TO 25. AND WE ARE USING RESERVES, UH, WHICH WE'VE ACTUALLY PRESENTED BEFORE, UH, 57 MILLION OVERALL. UM, AND WE'VE GONE OVER THIS AS WELL PREVIOUSLY. SO JUST THE ONLY REAL BIG DIFFERENCE IS WE'VE ADDED THIS THIRD PUBLIC HEARING, WHICH IS TODAY, AND WE DO STILL INTEND TO ADOPT ON THE NINTH, UM, IF WE'RE ABLE TO, IF EVERYBODY IS AGREEABLE TO THAT. SO, UM, AT THIS POINT I WILL TURN IT OVER TO CAROLINE OWEN, AND THEN I'LL COME BACK LATER. SO, OWEN, IT'S CAROLINE. S OH, HI. I USED TO WORK WITH A CAROLINE . WE WERE ALL WONDERING. MORNING, WOULD YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF? ? WE ALL NEED A LITTLE HUMOR AT EIGHT O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING. RIGHT. UM, GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. MY NAME IS CAROLINE PIERCE. I AM THE HR DIRECTOR AT THE CITY OF EDMOND. SO I AM GONNA BRIEFLY REVIEW, UM, SOME UPDATES TO OUR ORGANIZATIONAL CHART, WHICH OBVIOUSLY IS PART OF APPROVING THE BUDGET. SO I JUST WANNA GIVE YOU A BIRD'S EYE VIEW AND GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF, OF ANY MAJOR CHANGES IN RESTRUCTURE AN ORGANIZATION. IS IT THIS BUTTON? ? OKAY. SO SOME THINGS THAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR, UM, THAT KIND OF CAUSED A WAVE EFFECT WAS THE DEPARTURE OF BRIAN OCHSNER, WHO WAS THE DIRECTOR OF, UM, COMMUNITY IMAGE. WE TOOK THAT DEPARTMENT AND KIND OF DISPERSED IT ACROSS OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND PUT FUNCTIONS WHERE THEY WOULD BE BETTER UTILIZED AND ACTUALLY BE PART OF THAT SERVICE DEPARTMENT. SO SOME OF THE MAJOR MOVES WITH THAT WAS WE MOVED TO URBAN FORESTRY UNDER PLANNING SO THAT URBAN FORESTRY CAN BE MORE INVOLVED WITH PLANNING AND NEW DEVELOPMENT. UM, WE CREATED THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES DIVISION, WHICH IS RUN BY CHRISTY PATTERSON. SO THAT INCLUDES A VARIETY OF THINGS. WE ACTUALLY MOVED CODE ENFORCEMENT UNDER THAT DEPARTMENT, WHICH MADE MORE SENSE BECAUSE CODE ENFORCEMENT IS PART OF WORKING WITH, UM, COMMUNITY [00:05:01] DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT AND JUST IMPROVEMENT IN THE COMMUNITY. THE PARK AND REC DIRECTOR WHO DID AT ONE TIME REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY IMAGE DIRECTOR WAS THEN MOVED UNDER THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER'S DIRECTION. SO ALL OF THOSE MOVES WERE DONE TO JUST IMPROVE OPERATIONS. AND THEN WE DID NOT FILL THE POSITION OF THE DIRECTOR. SO THERE WAS A COST SAVINGS THERE. SOME OTHER THINGS THAT HAPPENED, UM, PLANNING AND ZONING, WHICH HISTORICALLY IT WAS TITLED THAT WE RETITLED IT TO JUST PLANNING TO REFLECT THE REALITY OF WHAT THE OPERATIONS ARE FOR THAT DEPARTMENT. UM, WE DID MOVE THE PURCHASING AGENT UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT TO THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE. AND THAT POSITION NOW REPORTS TO THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER. THAT WAS DONE REALLY MORE TO ALIGN WITH THE MUNICIPAL CODE BECAUSE IN THE CODE, THE PURCHASING AGENT, YOU KNOW, ON PAPER IS THE CITY MANAGER. SO IT MADE SENSE TO ALIGN IT UNDER THAT OFFICE. THE DOWNTOWN TRANSPORTATION MANAGER. AT ONE TIME IT WAS REPORTING TO THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER. WE MOVED IT DIRECTLY UNDER THE CITY MANAGER JUST BECAUSE OF OPERATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DOWNTOWN. WE ALSO MOVED ONE POSITION, THE SPECIAL EVENTS COORDINATOR, UM, TO WORK WITH THE DOWNTOWN TRANSPORTATION MANAGER, UM, FOR OBVIOUS REASONS, I DON'T KNOW IF I'M USING ALL THE TITLES CORRECTLY, UM, TO ASSIST WITH THAT. AND THAT PERSON ALSO OVERSEES DOWNTOWN EVENTS. UM, SO IT JUST ALIGNED BETTER MALE COURIER, UM, PART OF CODE ENFORCEMENT CURRENTLY. BUT WITH THE STRUCTURE OF CITY HALL, UH, IT MADE MORE SENSE TO MOVE THAT OPERATION OVER TO CITY HALL. AND IT'S PART OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES NOW. THERE'S NO COST ASSOCIATED WITH ANY OF THIS RESTRUCTURE OR ALIGNMENT. UM, SO REALLY THERE'S NOT ANYTHING RELATED TO IT. IT'S JUST KIND OF MOVING THE DOMINOES, SO TO SPEAK, IN DIFFERENT AREAS. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ORGANIZATIONAL RESTRUCTURES? OKAY. A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE PROPOSED POSITIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 26 RECLASSIFICATIONS IN NEW POSITIONS. UM, RECLASSIFICATIONS, THIS KIND OF OUTLINES WHAT'S BEEN REQUESTED. UM, ARCADIA LAKE, THEIR CURRENT LAKE MANAGER, THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THAT POSITION, THEY'RE ASKING FOR AN UPGRADE AND SALARY TO ALIGN MORE WITH WHAT THE JOB REALLY REFLECTS AND ALSO TO ALIGN THE HIERARCHY OF ARCADIA LAKE AND WHERE THE POSITIONS FALL ELECTRIC. GLEN CAN PROBABLY GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION, UM, KIND OF RESTRUCTURING AND, AND BRINGING ON SUBSTATION. THEY'RE CREATING A CREW BASICALLY FOR SUBSTATION, IS THAT CORRECT? YES. UM, SO IT IS BASICALLY ALIGNING WITH THE RESTRUCTURING OF THE DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS TO, TO RECLASSIFY SOMEONE INTO A LEAD POSITION. ENGINEERING. WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT IS A CONSTRUCTION MANAGER INSPECTION SUPERVISOR. THIS IS A RECLASS OF CURRENT POSITIONS, AND THE REQUEST IS BASICALLY FOR SUCCESSION PLANNING. UH, CURRENTLY THEY HAVE ONE SUPERVISOR THAT OVERSEES ALL OF INSPECTIONS. WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT IS, YOU KNOW, THE RETIREMENT OF THAT POSITION, UM, MAINTAINING BASICALLY THE KNOWLEDGE AND THE DEVELOPMENT. SO BRINGING PEOPLE INTERNALLY, MAKING THEM SUPERVISORS AND RECLASSIFYING THEM INTO THAT POSITION. SO THEY WILL HAVE BASICALLY A SUCCESSOR WHO CAN MOVE INTO A CONSTRUCTION MANAGER POSITION KICKING BIRD GOLF. VERY SUCCESSFUL. UM, AS YOU GUYS ARE, ARE AWARE WITH, WITH THE REVAMP OF THE COURSE. UM, CURRENTLY, BRIAN, YOU KNOW, IS THE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS. BASICALLY, HE HAS A FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD ASSISTANT. WHAT HE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS TAKE HIS FIRST ASSISTANT AND ACTUALLY MAKE HIM A HEAD GOLF PROFESSIONAL. SO THESE ARE ALL RECLASS. UM, BASICALLY JUST GIVING MORE RESPONSIBILITY TO PEOPLE WHO WERE ALREADY IN THIS POSITION. NEW POSITIONS THAT WERE REQUESTED. THE ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT, UM, AGAIN, HAVING TO DO WITH THAT RESTRUCTURE WITH SUBSTATION TECHNICIAN REQUEST. CURRENTLY HAVE ONE DISTRIBUTION DESIGN ENGINEER PROJECTS JUST KEEP PILING UP GROWTH WITH THE CITY, SO THEY ARE REQUESTING A SECOND ONE. UM, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS REQUESTING A BUSINESS MANAGER, SOMEONE WHO'D BE DEDICATED TO WORKING WITH THEIR BUDGET AND UNDERSTANDING THEIR BUDGET AND HELPING PLAN FOR THE FUTURE WITH EXPENSES POLICE. UM, ORIGINALLY THEY HAD ASKED FOR THREE OFFICERS, NOW THEY'RE JUST ASKING FOR ONE AS WELL AS AN ADDITIONAL LIEUTENANT POSITION. UM, THAT LIEUTENANT POSITION, I, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, IS TO HELP WITH THE DAY SHIFT OPERATIONS, WHICH IS VERY HEAVY WITH PERSONNEL. IT ALSO INCLUDES THE SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS. SO THEY JUST NEED ADDITIONAL LEADERSHIP, WATER RESOURCES, UM, PLAN EXPANSION, OPERATIONS EXPANSION. RIGHT NOW THEY ONLY HAVE ONE GENERAL MAINTENANCE PERSON [00:10:01] WHO BASICALLY TAKES CARE OF ALL THE PROPERTIES. SO THEY'RE ASKING FOR A SECOND ONE AND THEN ANOTHER WATER WELL OPERATOR, JUST AGAIN TO HELP WITH PLAN EXPANSION OPERATIONS AS THEY INCREASE. SO, UM, WITH KATHY, NATHAN AND MYSELF, NATHAN IS OUR HR ANALYST AND WE CAME UP WITH THE COST. AND SO THE COST FOR THE PROPOSED POSITIONS IS 7 3 9 7 7 7. AND THEN FOR THE RECLASSIFICATIONS IT'S 203 AND 14. AND THE LEAD SUBSTATION TECHNICIAN, THIS MIGHT ACTUALLY BE HIGH, UM, BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE THE INFORMATION OF THE CURRENT POSITION THAT THEY WANNA MAKE THE LEAD, BUT THAT'S THE TOTAL SALARY FOR IT. SO THIS IS THE COST OF BASICALLY MAKING THOSE CHANGES AND ADDING THOSE POSITIONS. ANY QUESTIONS, ANYONE? VERY QUICKLY, I GOT ONE QUESTION ON, ON FIRE. THE BUSINESS MANAGER POSITION RIGHT NOW THAT'S BEING HANDLED BY AN ASSISTANT CHIEF, IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH, IT'S BEEN HANDLED BY THE FIRE. DID JIMMY COME UP? YEAH, YEAH. COME ON UP HERE. UH, CHAD WEAVER, MOND FIRE, UH, MAYOR. THE, THE FIRE POSITION, UM, WAS ORIGINALLY BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION BY, UH, A PREVIOUS CITY MANAGER AND WE STARTED LOOKING INTO OTHER CITIES THAT HAD THIS, AND CURRENTLY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT BUDGETS HANDLED BY THE FIRE CHIEF, BUT THIS WOULD HELP, UH, FORECAST BUDGETS, TRY TO LOOK OUT FURTHER AND HELP US MANAGE OUR FINANCES BETTER. OKAY. THAT WAS AN EASY QUESTION TODAY, WASN'T IT? YEAH. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? JUST TO BE CLEAR, THESE ARE DIRECT COSTS, RIGHT? SO THEY'RE NOT YES. IT DOESN'T INCLUDE THE ALLOCATION KIND OF TAX ON THAT? NO, IT'S DIRECT COST. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . OKAY. SO OUR LAST BUDGET HEARING, WE IDENTIFIED SOME QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAD. SO, UM, ALL TO COVER BUDGET AMOUNT ASSOCIATED WITH A HIRING FREEZE FOR NEXT YEAR, FISCAL YEAR 26. UH, OUR 10% UNASSIGNED GENERAL FUND RESERVE BALANCE, UM, CURRENT PROPOSED UNASSIGNED GENERAL FUND RESERVE BALANCE. SO I'VE STARTED WITH THAT AND GIVE YOU OPTIONS OF WHAT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO DO WITH THAT, UH, AMOUNT NECESSARY TO OBTAIN THE 10% UNASSIGNED RESERVE BALANCE AND OPTIONS TO GET THERE. UM, THERE WERE A COUPLE OTHER QUESTIONS. NEW CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS, INCLUDING THE FISCAL YEAR 26 BUDGET. SO I HAVE ANSWERS, BUT WE DO HAVE STAFF HERE TOO, IF YOU HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS AND STREET MAINTENANCE OVERLAYS, INTERSECTION PROJECTS INCLUDED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 26 BUDGET. SAME THING. I HAVE ANSWERS, BUT IF YOU HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, WE DO HAVE STAFF HERE THAT CAN ANSWER IT. AND THEN WE'LL DISCUSS THE PURPOSE-BASED BUDGET. SO, UM, JUST TELL YOU, MY APPROACH HERE WAS, RIGHT NOW OUR CURRENT VACANCIES, THESE ARE VALUED AT THE FISCAL YEAR 26 VALUE. SO THIS WOULD INCLUDE ANY STEPS AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME, THAT KIND OF THING. CITYWIDE 3.5 MILLION. SO JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU AN IDEA, AND WE ARE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN GENERAL FUND AND PART OF INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS THAT AFFECTS GENERAL FUND WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR RESERVE BALANCE. AND SO CAROLINE JUST COVERED THIS AND THERE'S THE TOTAL OF JUST NEW POSITIONS AND RECLASS. AND ONCE AGAIN, THE ONLY THING THAT AFFECTS GENERAL FUND AT ALL IS THIS ENGINEERING. AND WHEN I'M DOING THESE CALCULATIONS THIS TIME, WE BUILD OUR, OUR ALLOCATIONS WERE ABOUT 25%, OR EXCUSE ME, 24% OF OUR INTERNAL SERVICE SERVICE FUNDS WERE CHARGED TO GENERAL FUNDS. SO THAT'S WHAT I'VE BASED IT ON WAS OUR ALLOCATION OF STUDY THIS YEAR. SO IT'S ABOUT $3,500 OF THAT WOULD ACTUALLY AFFECT GENERAL FUND DEPENDING ON IF IT WAS ACTUALLY A DIRECT ALLOCATION OR NOT, BUT JUST FOR ESTIMATE PURPOSES. SO IF WE HAD A PERSONNEL FREEZE, AND THIS IS THE GENERAL FUND ONLY, MY APPROACH WAS WE HAVE KNOWN VACANCIES RIGHT NOW IN THESE TWO FUNDS. SO THE, ALL THE GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENTS AND ALL THE INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS DEPARTMENTS. SO SOME OF THOSE MAY BE FILLED, SOME OF THEM MAY NOT, BUT TYPICALLY YOU'RE, YOU HAVE A VACANCY RATE. AND THAT'S WHAT I WAS GETTING TO HERE. SO THIS IS ACTUALLY A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE, WHAT YOU JUST PREVIOUSLY SAW ON ANOTHER SLIDE. THIS IS 24% OF THAT MILLION. SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THAT IS. AND THEN OUR HISTORIC, OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, TURNOVER RATES [00:15:01] BEEN 8.62%. SO WORKING WITH HR THERE WERE, THERE ARE 81 OR 82 POSITIONS IN GENERAL FUND. AND IF I TAKE 8.62%, IT'S AT LEAST SEVEN POSITIONS AT AN AVERAGE RATE. AND IT WAS AROUND 90,000 A YEAR. AND THAT'S TOTAL COMP, THAT'S NOT BASE PAY, THAT'S EVERYTHING. PENSION AND EVERYTHING. SO THAT'S WHERE I'M GETTING THE 6 43. AND THIS IS IN ADDITION TO WHAT WE KNOW IS VACANT RIGHT NOW. AND THEN THERE ARE 303 POSITIONS IN THE INTERNAL SERVICE FUND GROUP. AND AGAIN, 8% OF THAT IS 26, AND THAT AVERAGE WAGE, OR TOTAL COMP IS A LITTLE HIGHER AROUND 99,000. AND SO THAT'S WHERE I'M GETTING THE SIX 20. SO ALL OF THAT TOGETHER, IF WE FILL ABSOLUTELY NO POSITION AND WE DON'T FILL THESE IS 2.1 MILLION. SO THAT'S A MAX, BUT AT LEAST YOU UNDERSTAND WHERE I'M GETTING IT. SO, UM, SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE 10% UNASSIGNED GENERAL FUND NOW. SO RIGHT NOW IN OUR PROPOSED BUDGET, OUR UNASSIGNED GENERAL FUND RESERVES ARE THE 6.19 7.03%. SO WE NEED 2.6 MILLION OR 2.9699999999999998% TO GET TO 10%. EXACTLY. AND SO EVERY 800,880 $880,621 IS ANOTHER PERCENT. THAT'S WHAT YOU'D HAVE TO USE TO GET TO ANOTHER PERCENT. SO WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT ALL THIS, AND YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE BUDGETED AT ZERO SALES TAX, WE DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL GET MORE OR NOT, BUT THAT'S CONSERVATIVE. WE'VE HAD CONSULTANTS AND DISCUSSIONS ON, WE REALLY DO THINK IT, WE COULD END UP AT A LITTLE OVER 2.5% BY THE END OF 26, BUT WE DON'T EXPECT TO SEE THAT GROWTH UNTIL JANUARY OF 26. SO REALLY THROUGH 25, WE'RE STILL EXPECTING ZERO GROWTH. SO I JUST DID AN ANALYSIS BASED ON OUR ACTUAL SALES TAX COLLECTIONS THIS YEAR, AND SO I KNOW WHAT THAT IS, WE'RE MISSING ONE CHECK, SO I KNOW WHAT THAT IS. WE ZERO, WE'VE BUDGETED AT ZERO. SO I JUST DID A FORMULA TO GET TO 2.5% AT THE END OF 26. AND SO IT ADDED APPROXIMATELY 553,000 IF THAT HAPPENS. VACANCY SAVINGS FROM MY OTHER SLIDE IS 2.43. SO TECHNICALLY, IF WE DON'T FILL ANY, ANY POSITIONS AND WE DO GROW, WE WOULD BE OVER 10% IF WE JUST LET THAT NATURALLY ORGANICALLY HAPPEN, EVEN IF WE DON'T GET ANY ADDITIONAL REVENUE FROM SALES TAX. AND LET'S SAY WE MISS THIS BY 500,000, SO WE FAIL $500,000 WORTH OF POSITIONS, WE'RE STILL AT NINE. AND THAT'S, THAT'S VERY GOOD. SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN AN ECONOMIC DOWNTURN, IT IS WHEN WE SHOULD BE USING OUR RESERVES ANYWAY, OR AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, TAPPING INTO THEM. SO JUST TO PUT THIS OUT TO YOU, IF WE DID THIS ONLY, AND EVEN IF WE ACHIEVE HALF OF IT OR TWO THIRDS OF IT, WE'RE IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE WITH OUR, WITH OUR RESERVES. SO THAT SAID, THE OTHER OPTIONS THAT WE HAVE IN GENERAL FUND ARE, THESE ARE JUST THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES THAT WE HAVE, MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES, UH, OTHER SERVICES AND CHARGES, CAPITAL OUTLAY AND INTERDEPARTMENTAL TYPE THINGS. UM, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THESE BEFORE AND I'VE, I'VE, I'VE GOT A LIST OF EVERYTHING, BUT I TRIED TO JUST KIND OF HIT SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THOSE HERE. AND IF YOU HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS, I'VE GOT IT HERE. I CAN TELL YOU WHAT ELSE IS IN THERE. BUT MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES, HONESTLY, THE BIGGEST THING, IT'S, IT'S THINGS LIKE OFFICE SUPPLIES, POSTAGE COSTS, FOOD SUPPLIES, RECREATIONAL SUPPLIES. IT'S JUST A LOT OF THINGS. AND NONE OF THEM ARE REAL BIG. SO THE LARGEST THING IS COMPUTER SUPPLIES, AND THAT'S REALLY OUR REPLACEMENT COMPUTERS. SO, AND IT'S 106, UM, THOUSAND. SO WE COULD DELAY THAT. THAT'S AN OPTION. UM, THE OTHER, LET'S SEE, THE NEXT LARGEST THING, HONESTLY IS BOTANICAL SUPPLIES. AND I COULDN'T TELL YOU EXACTLY WHAT THAT IS. I'D HAVE TO ASK OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT, BUT IT'S 78,000, SO IF WE WANNA DIG DEEPER IN THERE, IT WOULD BE A PICK AND CHOOSE OR, YOU KNOW, CUT BY 10% OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. UM, SO SAME THING WITH OTHER SERVICES AND CHARGES. THE BIG THING IN THAT, IN THE 5.6, THAT'S, THAT'S THE BUDGET FOR THE GENERAL FUND IS THE 3.5 CONTRACT SERVICES, WHICH WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE. THAT'S WHERE ALL OF OUR DONATIONS [00:20:01] ARE. AND, UM, JUST, THERE ARE OTHER THINGS IN THERE THOUGH. LIKE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HAS 30,000 FOR SUPPORT. UM, FESTIVAL MARKETPLACE, CITY COUNCIL'S IN THERE, 190,000 AND IT'S RTA, IT'S THINGS LIKE THAT. IT'S CONTRACT THINGS YOU'D THINK OF AS CONTRACTS. UH, PELICAN BAY CONTRACT WITH THE SPORTS FACILITY, THAT'S AN A RECURRING THING. 240,000, OR EXCUSE ME, 245,000 PARK MAINTENANCE, 209. UH, OUR STREET TREE PROGRAM WITH URBAN FORESTRY IS 174,000. SO THERE ARE THINGS YOU COULD, YOU KNOW, ONCE AGAIN, YOU COULD EITHER REDUCE IT 10% OR CUT ONE OF 'EM OUT. BUT THAT'S THE TYPE OF THINGS THAT ARE IN THERE. AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, OUR DONATIONS, UH, WHICH IS ALL TOGETHER, IT'S NOT ALL IN THIS PARTICULAR OBJECT CODE, BUT OUT OF GENERAL FUNDS, ABOUT 2.2 MILLION IN THIS PARTICULAR ITEM, IT'S ABOUT 1.23 OF IT, I THINK. BUT ANYWAY, IT'S IN THIS ACTUAL, UH, CATEGORY. AND THEN THE NEXT THING IS CAPITAL OUTLAY. AND ALMOST ALL OF THAT IS STREET REPAIR AND IT COMES FROM OUR GAS TAX. WE CAN'T SPEND IT ANY OTHER WAY. SO REALLY, UNLESS YOU JUST DON'T WANNA DO STREET REPAIRS, YOU CAN'T MOVE IT ANYWHERE ANYWAY. UM, AND THEN THE OTHER, WHICH WE'VE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER TOO, IS OUR, UM, OUR INTERDEPARTMENTAL TRANSFERS, THEY'RE 90 MILLION. AND JUST AS A REFRESHER, 16 OF THAT IS OUR DEBT INDENTURE THAT GOES BACK AND FORTH. THERE'S NO IMPACT TO IT, UM, IN THE GENERAL FUND BECAUSE IT, IT GOES IN AND THEN COMES BACK OUT PER OUR DEBT IN DENTURE, 54 MILLION IS, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY, EIGHT MILLION'S ADMIN SUPPORT. UM, SO ONCE AGAIN, THAT'S THE CIRCULAR OVERHEAD TYPE THING. INSURANCE ASSESSMENT, 281,000, 6.9 MILLION GOES TO STREETS, 2.9 MILLION GOES TO TRAFFIC. AND THOSE ARE THE OTHER LARGE ITEMS. AND WE DO COVER THAT A LITTLE BIT LATER TOO, BUT THAT'S WHAT MAKES UP THAT WHOLE 90 MILLION. SO IF YOU WANTED IT, IT WOULD AFFECT OUR, IT WOULD AFFECT OUR BOTTOM LINE UNASSIGNED, BUT THOSE WERE THE THINGS THAT YOU'D HAVE TO CONSIDER CUTTING IF YOU, IF YOU DIDN'T WANNA JUST GO WITH VACANCY SAVINGS AND POSSIBLE SALES TAX INCREASE. CAN, BEFORE WE MOVE ON, CAN I ASK A QUESTION HERE? SO IF WE TOOK THE MONEY OUT FOR THE HIRING FREEZE, JUST TOOK THE, THE FUNDING OUT OF THERE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 2.1 MILLION, OKAY? MM-HMM . AND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS WE NEED 2.6 MILLION TO GET TO 10%. YES. WHEN YOU DO THE MATH, THEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LOOKING FOR ANOTHER $475,000. SO WHAT PERCENTAGE OF A CUT WOULD THAT BE TO EVERY DEPARTMENT THAT'S AFFECTED VERY SMALL ? WELL, I MEAN, WELL, BUT I DON'T KNOW. I MEAN, I JUST DON'T KNOW. I MEAN, WHAT IS IT? UM, ONE, ONE PERCENT'S 800. SO HALF A PERCENT IS 400. I MEAN, I JUST SAY YOU'D HAVE TO PICK EVERYBODY, PICK EVERYBODY, CUT YOUR BUDGET BY HALF A PERCENT. WELL, I MEAN, THAT WOULD BE A VERY SIMPLE WAY TO GET YOU THERE. AND THAT'S A VERY SMALL NUMBER TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. AND WE COULD EVEN MAKE IT BETTER BY STARTING THE, THE HIRING FREEZE TODAY. I DON'T KNOW WHY WE HAVEN'T ALREADY DONE THAT. I MEAN, IF WE'RE, IF WE'RE FACING, IF WE'RE FACING THE REALITIES OF, OF A REVENUE REDUCTION AND WE DON'T KNOW WHEN IT'S COMING BACK, WHY ARE WE SAYING WE'RE STARTING A HIRING FREEZE ON JULY 1ST? WE NEED TO BE DOING IT NOW. AND IF WE DID THAT, WE'RE GONNA GET A LITTLE BIT OF SAVINGS ON THE FRONT END OF THIS, WHICH WILL HELP US. WE CAN'T COUNT IT INTO THAT NUMBER, BUT IT'LL HELP US. BUT YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THAT, I MEAN, I WOULDN'T HAVE A PROBLEM SAYING, OKAY, CITY COUNCIL, WE'VE GOT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN, IN THAT SPECIAL PROJECTS FUND. GREAT. TAKE 15,000 OUT OF IT. I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S A PRETTY, THAT'S A PRETTY SIMPLE BASIC WAY TO DO IT. AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S GONNA BE MORE THAN 3% OF THE CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WHEN YOU TAKE THAT OUT. BUT I MEAN, WE'VE ALL GOTTA GET SERIOUS ABOUT THIS IF WE'RE GONNA DO IT. AND WE CAN'T JUST SIT HERE AND ASSUME THAT, YOU KNOW, GEE, WE'RE GONNA GET TWO AND A HALF PERCENT GROWTH. NO, WE ARE STARTING WITH A NUMBER ON REVENUE AND WE'RE GONNA LIVE WITH IT. SO, I MEAN, THAT WOULD, TO ME, THAT WOULD BE A VERY EASY WAY TO GET US THERE TO THE 10%. SO ONE THING I WOULD POINT OUT ON THAT IS HALF OF THAT SALARY SAVINGS IS ESTIMATED FUTURE VACANCIES. SO THEY DON'T EXIST, EXIST TODAY. SO PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY THERE. SO WE CAN'T PULL THAT MONEY OUT OF THE BUDGET BECAUSE UNTIL THEY LEAVE, IT WOULD BE HARD TO IDENTIFY. YEAH, YEAH. WELL, WE, WE COULD PULL THE MONEY OUT, WE COULD PULL THE MONEY OUT, AND WE'RE JUST SHORTING THE [00:25:01] PERSONAL SERVICES BUDGETS IN THOSE AREAS. I MEAN, WE'RE JUST BASICALLY SAYING WE'RE UNDERFUNDING AND IF IT DOESN'T HAPPEN, WE'RE GONNA BE BACK THERE FOR A BUDGET AMENDMENT TO MAKE AN ADJUSTMENT AT SOME POINT IN THE YEAR, HALFWAY THROUGH THREE FOURTHS OF THE WAY THROUGH SOMETHING. I THINK ONE ISSUE JUST, AND CAROLINE CAN SPEAK TO THIS BETTER, BUT IF WE DON'T KNOW WHAT POSITIONS WE'RE CUTTING, YOU DON'T KNOW WHEN YOU GO OVER BUDGET. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE, SO IF, IF YOU'VE GOT ME IN THERE AT A CERTAIN RATE, AND MY OVERALL, WELL, OUR OVERALL GENERAL FUND GOES OVER, WHO DO YOU PICK? LIKE HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU DO THAT SO THAT WE CAN WATCH IT OKAY. AND CATCH IT, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? SO LITERALLY YOU LOOK AT IT ON A QUARTERLY BASIS AND YOU'RE THREE MONTHS THROUGH THE FISCAL YEAR, IF ON YOUR PERSONAL SERVICES BUDGET, YOU'RE MORE THAN 25% OVER ON YOUR EXPENSES, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. DO WE HAVE TO DO IT AT THAT POINT? NO. COULD WE WAIT AND SEE WHERE WE'RE AT HALFWAY THROUGH THE YEAR? YES. COULD WE GET TO, YOU KNOW, NINE MONTHS INTO THIS AND THEN LOOK AT IT AND SAY, OKAY, WE DIDN'T GET THE TURNOVER WE WERE EXPECTING IN THIS AREA. WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO A, A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION. WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO A BUDGET AMENDMENT AT THAT POINT TO MAKE IT WORK. I MEAN, IT, IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE, IT'S JUST HOW DO WE MAKE THE NUMBERS WORK TO SEE WHERE WE'RE HEADED? BECAUSE WE'VE GOTTA BE SERIOUS ABOUT THIS IF WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET OUR EXPENSES BACK IN LINE WITH OUR REVENUE. AND WE CAN'T JUST SAY, GEE, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA USE RESERVES BECAUSE THAT'S WHY THEY'RE THERE. WHEN WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN. I MEAN, ON A NATIONAL LEVEL, IF ALL OF A SUDDEN WE DO HAVE A BUNCH OF TARIFFS HIT AND PEOPLE QUIT SPENDING THEIR MONEY, WE'RE GONNA BE IN WORSE SHAPE. WE DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER AT THIS POINT. AND THAT'S A REALLY GOOD POINT TOO. UM, POSSIBLY SOMETHING WE CAN THINK ABOUT IS PRESENTING MORE OFTEN TO COUNCIL WHERE WE ARE, LIKE EVERY MONTH OR, YOU KNOW, UM, WHICH, WHICH WE DON'T DO RIGHT NOW. GOOD IDEA. WHAT'S YOUR RECOMMENDATION HERE ON THE STAFF SIDE OF THINGS? WELL, ON THE STAFF SIDE OF THINGS, THE 10% IS A GOAL. AND IN FACT, I THINK THE POLICY SAYS, UH, THE CITY WILL STRIVE TO MAINTAIN THE, THE BALANCE, THE GENERAL FUND OF 10%. UH, AND IT EVEN THEN GOES ON TO SAY THAT IT RECOGNIZES THAT FUND BALANCE LEVELS WILL FLUCTUATE FROM YEAR TO YEAR OVER THE NORMAL COURSE. UM, I MEAN, I I THINK WE'RE GETTING CLOSE TO 8%, YOU KNOW, GIVEN, GIVEN A DOWN YEAR. I'M MEAN, I'M VERY COMFORTABLE WITH 8%. THAT'S SO, SO WHAT WOULD THAT, WHAT WOULD THAT MEAN IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE? I MEAN, WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND WE DO ON THESE, ON THE VACANCY PART OF THIS SPECIFICALLY? THAT WOULD MEAN LEAVING, UH, THE FUNDING THERE FOR THOSE POSITIONS THAT IT CURRENTLY EXIST. OKAY. AND THEN WE WOULD REALIZE THOSE SAVINGS AT THE END OF THE YEAR BECAUSE OF JUST NATURAL ATTRITION. OKAY. BUT REMOVING THE ONES THAT ARE CURRENTLY VACATING, UM, I THINK THAT COULD BECOME PROBLEMATIC OVER TIME WITHOUT KNOWING EXACTLY WHAT THOSE POSITIONS ARE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. SO, UM, OKAY. I MEAN, TO ME, WE SHOULD ALL EXPRESS OUR OPINION HERE PROBABLY, BUT I THINK, UM, I GUESS IN GENERAL, THE RESPONSIBLE THING TO DO IS TO, OUR RESERVES AT THE END OF FY 24 ARE FOUR, 5.5%. RIGHT? WE HAVE A BUDGET THAT GETS IT TO SEVEN. WE HAVE SOME OTHER THINGS WE CAN DO HERE TO GET IT UP TO MAYBE EIGHT, POTENTIALLY 10. TO ME. UM, I MEAN, JUST LIKE A HOME BUDGET, IF YOUR SALARY'S DOWN, IT'S HARD TO BUILD SAVINGS. UM, SO IT'S A HARD BALANCE TO FIND HERE. UM, NO PUN INTENDED. I THINK IF WE'RE MOVING TOWARDS A PLACE WHERE WE CAN GET BACK TO 10 IN THE NEXT YEAR OR SOMETHING, UM, THEN THAT'S A RESPONSIBLE MOVEMENT. UM, I DON'T, I GUESS MY CONCERN IS I DON'T WANNA BE SO SEVERE ON, UM, TYING STAFF'S HANDS TO NOT BE ABLE TO FILL CERTAIN THINGS THAT ARE REALLY IMPORTANT. SO I THINK THERE'S A MIDDLE GROUND. UM, I DON'T, I GUESS I WOULD PREFER TO GIVE A LITTLE MORE FLEXIBILITY THERE THAN TO HIT A HARD 10%. JUST, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE I'M AT. UM, I THINK THERE'S A MIDDLE GROUND WHERE WE CAN, YOU KNOW, MAYBE [00:30:01] NOT FILL THE EXISTING VACANCIES, BUT ALSO NOT ASSUME A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF ROLL OFF. WE CAN, WE CAN MONITOR THAT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. UM, AND SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, AND THEN WE COULD KIND OF MAKE TACTICAL DECISIONS AS, YOU KNOW, MAYBE ATTRITION OCCURS ON WHAT TO DO WITH THAT. BUT I THINK, UM, MY PREFERENCE WOULD BE SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE TO, TO MAYBE TAKE, YOU KNOW, REMOVE THE BUDGET FOR THE CURRENT VACANT POSITIONS, BUT NOT THE FUTURE ONES, WHICH SHOULD PUT US AT MAYBE 8% OR SOMETHING. I, I WOULD AGREE. I, I'D LIKE TO SEE US GET TO EIGHT, 8.5% FOR SURE. I THINK, I THINK AS A COUNCIL, WELL, A LOT OF THESE THINGS ARE OPERATIONAL, SO RANDY, UM, BUT, AND, AND WE CAN'T, AND DON'T WANT TO BE THE ONE CALLING WHICH POSITION, SO FORTH. UM, I THINK WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, AND E THIS GOES DOWN TO DEPARTMENT HEAD TOO. THIS IS NOT ASPIRATIONAL. THIS IS SOMETHING WE WANT TO SEE HAPPEN. OKAY. I DON'T KNOW THAT IT NEEDS TO HAPPEN TO TOMORROW, BUT WE NEED TO MAKE PROGRESS TOWARD IT. AND I THINK THE NEXT YEAR WE NEED TO HIT AT THAT POINT AGAIN, AS WE SAID, IN A DIFFERENT BUDGET HEARING. I MEAN, I CAN, I, ACADEMICALLY I CAN ARGUE 10 PERCENT'S NOT ENOUGH, 10 PERCENT'S TOO MUCH. UM, NOBODY KNOWS. BUT I DO THINK IT, IF, IF WE DON'T HAVE A TARGET, WE NEVER GET THERE. SO I WOULD SAY IT'S NOT ASPIRATIONAL. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHEREVER WE LAND, WHETHER WE GET TO EIGHT, EIGHT AND A HALF OR WHATEVER, UM, AND, AND NEXT YEAR SOMETHING HAPPENS IN ANY DEPARTMENT THAT, THAT CAUSES A, A NEED TO AMEND OR HIT RESERVES. I'M MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE NEED TO TIE SOMETHING TO THAT, THAT STRATEGICALLY ADDRESSES HOW WE GET BACK TO, I THINK IT'S BEEN TOO EASY A LITTLE BIT THAT, WELL, AND I AGREE THE RESERVES ARE THERE IN THE EVENT WE NEED THEM, BUT THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'VE STOPPED. SO IF WE NEED THEM, HOW DO WE GET BACK TO WHERE WE WERE? AND EVEN TO AN IMPROVED POSITION. I THINK IT'S INTERESTING AND I'M GLAD KATHY, ALL, ALL THE WORK, UM, AND ALL THESE POTENTIAL CHANGES, BUT MOST OF THEM, I CALL THEM, THEY, THEY BEND THE CURVE A LITTLE. I, I MEAN, I HATE IT, BUT TO REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE, IT'S PERSONNEL AND BENEFITS. AND THE KEY TO ME IS HOW DO WE DO THAT, NOT ONLY STAY? YEAH. I SPOKE TO A GROUP NOT LONG AGO AND, AND SAID, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE BALANCE IS STAYING AND, AND MEETING AND STAYING AT A LEVEL OF SERVICE AND ALMOST TO A ONE, THEY SAID, NO, WE WANT TO SEE THE LEVEL OF SERVICE GO UP. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I GET IT. WE ALL WOULD LIKE TO HAVE BOTH, BUT WE DO NEED TO MAKE PROGRESS ON THIS ONE AND, AND HOPEFULLY IMPROVE AND INCREASE THAT LEVEL OF SERVICE IN EACH AREA. UM, SO THE 10% IN RESERVES, I, I AM COMFORTABLE WITH KNOWING THE TRAJECTORY AND THE DIRECTION WE'RE HEADING AS LONG AS IT'S THAT DIRECTION. I, UM, WHEN I THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ASKING EVERY DEPARTMENT TO MAKE A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE CUT, THAT'S HARD FOR ME TO VISUALIZE. 'CAUSE I CAN'T, I DON'T KNOW WHAT, WHAT THAT MEANS. AND THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT LEVELS OF THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO US AND TO AN EVERYDAY CITIZEN, AND I DON'T, I, I HESITATE TO DO THAT, UM, WITHOUT HAVING A CONCRETE, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? AND AT THIS POINT IN THE BUDGET PROCESS, I'M NOT SURE THAT WE'D HAVE, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'D HAVE TIME TO, FOR YOU ALL TO DO THAT AND THEN COME BACK AND SHOW US. SO, UM, YEAH, I'M, I'M COMFORTABLE WITH THE TRAJECTORY WE'RE ON. UH, KATHY, I ALSO LIKE WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS WE COULD USE MORE PRESENTATIONS AND MORE UPDATES. UM, I THINK THAT'S, UM, THE MORE TRANSPARENCY, THE BETTER. THE, THE MORE UNDERSTANDING WE HAVE, THE BETTER. I MEAN, I, UM, HAVE POURED THROUGH THIS BUDGET AND EVEN THE CONTRACT SERVICES, I'VE READ EVERY LINE AND, UM, AND ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT IS THIS ONE? WHAT IS THAT ONE? AND, UM, I, I'M REALLY PROUD OF THE WAY, [00:35:01] I'M PROUD OF THE LEVEL OF SERVICE OUR CITY OFFERS, AND I DON'T WANT TO, UM, I WANNA HEAD IN THE DIRECTION, LIKE PHIL SAID, OF IMPROVING. AND SO I WANNA GIVE STAFF THE SUPPORT THEY NEED, UM, TO DO THEIR JOBS WELL. AND, UM, SO THAT'S WHERE I'M AT. THANK YOU, UH, MR. MAYOR, WE'VE, UH, WE'VE CUT $40 MILLION FROM LAST, FROM THIS YEAR. THAT'S A LOT. MM-HMM . UM, I THINK THE ONE THING WE COULD DO TO NOT JEOPARDIZE A JUNE 9TH PASSAGE OF THE BUDGET, WE'VE GOT THE NOVEMBER CASE. WE'VE GOT THE NOVEMBER, UH, STRATEGIC PLAN MEETING, THAT'S 5, 6, 7, 8 HOURS, WHATEVER IT IS, WE'RE OUT THERE. UH, SOME OF THAT TIME COULD BE UTILIZED TO HAVE A YEAR END BUDGET MEETING. AND IF THERE'S CUTS THAT NEED TO BE MADE, THAT'D BE, WE COULD HAVE A MEETING ABOUT IT, TALK ABOUT IT. ALL FIVE OF US WILL BE THERE. ALL THE CITY STAFF WILL BE THERE. UH, THAT MIGHT BE A, A, A GOOD USE OF OUR TIME TO GO THROUGH THE BUDGET AGAIN, IT WON'T HURT, AND WE CAN GET AN UPDATE OF WHERE WE ARE. WE MIGHT HAVE SOME IDEAS ABOUT GROWTH OR DECLINE AND, AND MOVING TOWARD THE 10%. I WANT TO DO THAT. I SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT. I'D LIKE TO GET THERE. UH, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE CAN DO IT BY 10:00 AM TODAY WHEN IT, UH, THAT'S GONNA BE A LITTLE TIGHT, I WOULD THINK. UH, SO I WOULD SUGGEST TO YOU THAT WE FIGURE OUT WHAT WE, WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO TODAY, IF ANYTHING, IN TERMS OF MOVING TOWARDS 10%, 40 MILLION'S A LOT. AND I, I APPRECIATE EVERYONE FINDING THAT 40 MILLION, THAT'S A, THAT'S A HELL OF A TASK AND THEY DID IT. SO, UH, I WOULD HOPE WE COULD MOVE FORWARD, GET THIS DONE, GET EVERYBODY SET, AND THEN TAKE A GOOD STRONG LOOK AT IT THE AFTERNOON OF THAT NOVEMBER JAMBOREE AT KINGBIRD WHEN WE'VE GOT THE STRATEGIC PLAN MEETING, UH, AND SPEND THAT TIME THAT WAY. UH, THAT, THAT WOULD BE USEFUL. IT'D BE HELPFUL. IT'S OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND, UH, THAT MIGHT BE A GOOD WAY TO DO THAT. THAT'S A THOUGHT. LET ME ASK THIS QUESTION THEN. I MEAN, BASED ON EVERYBODY ELSE'S INPUT HERE. SO IF WE JUST TOOK THE MONEY OUT FOR THE POSITIONS THAT ARE VACANT RIGHT NOW, WE'RE TALKING 875,000, WHAT DOES THAT MOVE THE NUMBER TO 1%? LIKE TO EIGHT TO AN EIGHT? I MEAN, THAT'S MOVING THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THAT GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY, WE'RE NOT GONNA HANDCUFF PEOPLE UNNECESSARILY BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT BECAUSE WE DON'T PRESENT A BUDGET HISTORICALLY AS FAR AS THIS COUNCIL KNOWS IN A FORMAT THAT, AS PRESTON SAYS, LIKE YOUR HOUSEHOLD BUDGET LOOKS LIKE, SO YOU CAN REALLY SEE WHAT'S GOING ON, UM, WHICH IS PART OF WHAT THIS PURPOSE-BASED CONCEPT IS, IS TRYING TO MOVE US TOWARDS. BUT IF THAT GETS US TO 8% AND THE ABILITY TO COME BACK IN NOVEMBER AND SAY, LET'S SEE WHERE WE ARE, AND IF WE NEED TO MAKE, YOU KNOW, IF WE NEED A BUDGET AMENDMENT AT THAT POINT TO REDUCE BECAUSE WE SEE ONE QUARTER THAT IS WORSE THAN WE EVEN EXPECTED, WE'VE GOT THE ABILITY TO TALK SPECIFICS, THEN, UM, YEAH, I THINK WE CAN GO FURTHER SIMPLY BECAUSE THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD ABOUT THROUGH THREE QUARTERS OF THIS YEAR, UM, OUR DEPARTMENTS VERY FEW, IF ANY, WERE MORE THAN 75% OF THEIR EXPENSES, AND SOME OF THEM WERE LESS THAN 50, WHICH MEANS THERE'S SOME WIGGLE ROOM THERE. UM, BUT YEAH, I MEAN, IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DIG IN ON LITERALLY ON, IS IT PERSONAL SERVICES? IS IT SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS, IS IT OTHER EXPENSES? UM, THAT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN THIS MORNING. AND I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT OTHER THAN JUST SAYING, OKAY, EVERYBODY GO FIND HALF A PERCENT OR SOMETHING TO MAKE THE NUMBER HIGHER. AND AT THAT POINT, THAT'S NOTHING BUT A, A POSITIVE GESTURE. UM, YOU KNOW, THE REALITY OF IT IS, I TRULY BELIEVE THAT WHATEVER WE DO, WHAT WE'RE FIGHTING FOR IS TO FIND THE FUNDING TO GET INTO STREETS BECAUSE WE HAVE GOT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT OUR STREETS [00:40:01] PROGRAM. UM, WE ARE INCREDIBLY SHORT ON KEEPING UP WITH THE PROBLEMS, AND WE'VE GOTTA GET TO A POINT WHERE ALL OF OUR SPENDING IS UNDER CONTROL SO THAT WE CAN FOCUS ON THE STREETS ISSUE, BECAUSE THAT'S BEHIND THE FINANCIAL CONCERN THAT OUR VOTERS HAVE HAD. THAT'S THE SECOND BIGGEST THING THAT PEOPLE TALK ABOUT. AND WE'VE GOTTA THINK, NOT JUST SHORT TERM, BUT WE'VE GOTTA BE THINKING LONG TERM AND HOW WE GET IT THERE. UM, I THINK THIS IS, I MEAN, IF WE TAKE THAT MONIES OUT FOR THE VACANT POSITIONS THERE, AND IF WE STARTED THAT HIRING FREEZE TODAY, INSTEAD OF SAYING, WELL, WE'RE GONNA WAIT UNTIL JULY 1ST, WHICH MEANS ANYBODY COULD GO AHEAD AND FILL ANY POSITION, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN WE'RE NOT GONNA ATTAIN WHAT WE THINK WE'RE GONNA ATTAIN. AND TO ME, THAT'S A CONCERN, IS THAT WE TAKE MONEY OUT AND OVER THE NEXT THREE WEEKS, WE HIRE 10 OF THOSE POSITIONS. ALL OF A SUDDEN WE'RE BEHIND THE CURVE IMMEDIATELY. I DON'T AGREE. I I, I AGREE WITH YOU, MR. MAYOR, THAT STREETS ARE IMPORTANT. WE'VE GOTTA FIND THAT MONEY AND, UH, I MEAN, WE JUST CAN'T WISH IT INTO THE BANK. WE'VE GOTTA HAVE IT IN INCREASE IN REVENUE, AND WE'VE GOTTA FIND SOME THINGS TO PERHAPS TRIM, BUT WE HAVE TRIMMED $40 MILLION. AND, UH, I I, I'D LIKE A BETTER EXPLANATION ON THE, THE UNFILLED POSITIONS, UH, THE DOLLARS THERE, JUST TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A LITTLE BIT BETTER. BUT I THINK THERE'S AN EXPECTATION, UH, OF A FLAT BUDGET. THERE'S NEVER, THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A FLAT BUDGET. YOU CAN GET CLOSE, BUT WE'RE DOING THAT. UH, I GO BACK TO THE $40 MILLION, THAT'S IMPRESSIVE. BUT I WANT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE STREETS. I DO. AND I DON'T WANT OTHER SERVICES TO SUFFER PARKS, UH, WHATEVER IT IS. UH, I WANT TO BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THIS, AND I, AND, AND I WANT TO TRY TO ACCOMPLISH WHATEVER YOUR GOALS ARE AND OTHERS, BUT WE'VE GOT PLENTY OF TIME THIS MORNING HERE LEFT. LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS AND FIGURE OUT WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO. IF IT'S 800, YOU SAID 800,000 BUCKS. 700, 870 5,000, HOW MUCH? 8 75. THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY. UH, MR. MANAGER, WHAT'S YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? YOU, DO YOU LIKE THAT THOUGHT PROCESS? I MEAN, THAT WAS THE KIND OF THE THOUGHT PROCESS BEHIND THE HIRING FREEZES THAT WE WOULD REALIZE THAT SAVINGS, SO YES. YEAH. PROVING THEN LET'S, UH, LET'S FIGURE OUT SOMETHING ON THAT. BUT I DON'T WANT TO, I DON'T WANT TO CREATE A ISSUE FOR THE STAFF TO BE ABLE TO DO THEIR JOBS. AND, AND SOME OF THOSE JOBS THAT ARE, ARE VACANT. I MEAN, THEY MAY BE SIGNIFICANT AND GOTTA GET FILLED. I DON'T, WELL, AND, AND THAT'S, I MEAN, THAT'S WHERE, WHAT WAS PRESENTED IN THE HIRING. I MEAN, EVERY JOB, EVERY JOB'S SIGNIFICANT. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT IT IS. SURE. IF IT MAKES OUR CITY FUNCTION BETTER, AND I DON'T WANT TO, I DON'T WANT TO CUT SOMETHING TODAY THAT WILL MAKE, I MEAN, IT, IT'S A MONTH. SO I, I DON'T KNOW. I'D LIKE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT. WELL, THAT, I MEAN, THAT COMES BACK TO WHAT CITY MANAGER PRESENTED TO US ABOUT THE HIRING FREEZE, IS THAT THERE, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE EXCEPTIONS TO A HIRING FREEZE. SURE. AND IF WE'VE GOT ONE THAT, WHETHER IT'S A REVENUE GENERATOR, A A AS PUBLIC SAFETY OR HEALTH SAFETY OFFER, SAFETY HEALTH, IF IT'S ONE THAT WE NEED ON THE CUSTOMER SERVICE SIDE TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN PROVIDE THE SERVICE TO THE PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT IS PUBLIC FACING, UM, WE'VE GOT AN ABILITY TO, TO DO AN EXCEPTION. I MEAN, THAT WAS, THAT WAS PART OF THAT PROPOSAL. AND YOU KNOW, THE BIG THING IS I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY MANAGER AND THE HR DIRECTOR ARE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WHEN REQUESTS COME IN FOR AN EXCEPTION, SO THAT WE GET THAT COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE REALLY DOING WHAT THEY NEED TO DO SO THEY UNDERSTAND THE NEED AND THAT WE'RE KEPT UP ON IT SO THAT WE KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING. AND IT, WE WOULD ALSO INCLUDE THE FINANCE DIRECTOR IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS BECAUSE OF THE FINANCIAL IMPACT THAT WOULD HAVE. SO, AND I, I WOULD HOPE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE'VE BEEN IN SITUATIONS LIKE THIS IN OUR PROFESSIONAL LIVES WHERE IF SOMEONE IS DOING A REALLY GREAT JOB AND THEN SOMEONE LEAVES, AND THEN THAT [00:45:01] MAKES THAT PERSON WHO'S DOING A REALLY GREAT JOB ALSO WANNA LEAVE. AND I WANNA LOOK AT THAT. SO I WANT TO RETAIN THE HIGH PERFORMING, UM, STAFF THAT WE HAVE. I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE, UM, THAT IT'S FAIR TO THEM, UM, AS WELL. SO, BUT I WOULD TRUST, YOU KNOW, DEPARTMENT HEADS AND THE CITY MANAGER TO COLLABORATE ON THAT. BUT I WOULDN'T WANT ANYONE TO FEEL STUCK OR, UH, WANT TO FLEE BECAUSE OF SOMEONE THAT'S LEFT AND THEN NOT BEING REPLACED. SO, BUT I WOULD JUST LOOK TO YOU ALL AS MANAGERS TO KIND OF KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THAT. BUT CAN WE GO TO SLIDE 15 JUST TO LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE? I THINK THE KEY IS THAT, UM, AS IT IS RIGHT NOW, KIND OF IN THE DRAFT BUDGET, THE TOP TWO LINES HERE, KNOWN VACANCIES ARE STILL IN THE 14 FOUR, 13 MILLION. RIGHT. ARE STILL IN WHAT, STILL IN THE FOUR 13? UM, YES. TOP LINE NUMBER MM-HMM . SO I THINK THE KEY TO ME IS JUST THAT IF, YOU KNOW, IF WE TAKE OUT THE TOP TWO LINES ON THIS CHART, WHICH IS JUST REMOVING THE BUDGET AUTHORITY FOR THE VACANCIES, IT'S REALLY ALIGNING US, LIKE RANDY SAID, IT'S REALLY ALIGNING US WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT WE MADE GOING INTO THIS, WHICH IS HIRING FREEZE. SO I, I, I AGREE WITH THAT. I THINK WE HAVE TO DO THAT. THAT GETS A STAY PERCENT. WE CAN STILL ADJUST AS WE GO THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. SO IT SOUNDS LIKE MAYBE THERE'S CONSENSUS ON THAT PIECE. UM, TO THE MAYOR'S COMMENT ABOUT THE JUNE HIRES, I WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE PLANNING TO HIRE IN JUNE. . I MEAN, IF IT'S LIKE 50, THEN I THINK WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT THAT. IF IT'S, YOU KNOW, TWO THEN MAYBE THAT'S IN THE NOISE. UM, ARE IN THE MARGINS. SO COULD YOU TALK, SURELY YOU KNOW THAT OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD. YEAH. , TELL US ABOUT THAT. IT'S OKAY IF YOU DON'T. CAROLINE PIERCE, HR DIRECTOR AGAIN, UM, VACANCIES ARE A MOVING TARGET. YEAH. AND THEY CHANGE ON A DAILY BASIS. THEY REALLY DO. UM, YOU KNOW, JUST YESTERDAY WE HAD TWO MORE RESIGNATIONS, SO WE NEVER KNOW. AND EVERY DAY CONDITIONAL OFFERS ARE MADE AS WELL. UM, SO IT IS VERY HARD TO PREDICT. WHAT WE DID IS WE TOOK A SNAPSHOT AND THEN KATHY TOOK POSITION, YOU KNOW, SHE TOOK A PERCENTAGE OF POSITIONS, UM, TURNOVER RATE, THAT'S HOW SHE GOT TO THIS NUMBER. UM, BUT KNOWN VACANCIES, RIGHT NOW, I WOULD SAY WE HOVER BETWEEN 40 AND 50 VACANCIES CONSTANTLY. AND THAT'S IN ALL DEPARTMENTS. UM, SOME OF THOSE ARE DEPARTMENTS THAT IT, IT, IT CAN REALLY AFFECT OPERATIONS FIELD SERVICES. YESTERDAY. NOW WE HAVE 10 VACANCIES IN THAT DEPARTMENT, AND THAT'S GONNA BE YOUR STREETS AND YOUR WATER AND YOUR WASTEWATER LINE. MM-HMM. UM, SOLID WASTE DRIVERS. WE HAVE THREE VACANCIES THERE. WHEN YOU'RE DOWN THREE PEOPLE IN THAT DEPARTMENT, OPERATIONS SUFFER. UM, THAT MEANS YOU'RE WORKING YOUR PEOPLE OVER TIME. EXACTLY. SO, WELL, AND, AND, AND THOSE POSITIONS THOUGH, ARE BEING FUNDED DIRECTLY FROM RATES. RIGHT? RIGHT. SO IT'S REALLY NOT AN IMPACT. GENERAL FUND POSITION, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GENERAL FUND, THAT'S GONNA BE YOUR POSITIONS LIKE MUNICIPAL COURT, UM, PARKING, PARK, AND REC. UM, SO, SO YES, WE HAVE, I CAN THINK OF FOUR VACANCIES OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD RIGHT NOW. UM, WILL IT AFFECT THOSE OPERATIONS? IT JUST MEANS FOR PARK, IT'S THE PARK RANGERS. UM, IT'D JUST BE PLANNED SERVICES THAT WE WOULDN'T PROVIDE FOR MUNICIPAL COURT. UM, IT COULD AFFECT THE OPERATIONS OF THE CURRENT EMPLOYEES. I THINK, AND, AND REMEMBER THIS IS ABOUT MAKING A STATEMENT AND HAVING THE ABILITY TO HAVE AN EXCEPTION MM-HMM . BECAUSE WHEN WE HAVE POSITIONS THAT WE NEED TO FILL FOR A SPECIFIC REASON, THAT DOESN'T IMPACT, OR SHOULD I SAY, MAKE A HUGE IMPACT ON THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE. YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. BECAUSE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THOSE RANGERS, THAT'S PUBLIC SAFETY. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT MUNICIPAL COURT, IT BECOMES AN ISSUE OF CAN THEY HANDLE THE WORKLOAD UNTIL THINGS TURN AROUND? MAY OR MAY NOT. I MEAN, IT, IT, IT'D BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, MAYBE IT'S A PROBATION OFFICER, WE'RE GONNA BE SPLITTING HAIRS. I MEAN, I'VE DONE, I'VE LIVED IT AND IT IS TOUGH, BUT THE WHOLE IDEA IS TO MAKE PEOPLE THINK TWICE ABOUT CAN WE HANDLE THE CURRENT WORKLOAD, YES OR NO, AND DOES IT HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON OUR COMMUNITY? SO I MEAN, LET, LET'S ACCEPT THAT FOR WHAT IT IS. AND LET'S SAY WE NEED TO BE SERIOUS ABOUT REIGNING IT IN, AND THEN WE'LL DEAL WITH EACH REQUEST SEPARATELY. MY ONLY PROBLEM WITH STARTING IT IN JUNE, SORRY, STARTING IT IN JUNE, LIKE IMMEDIATELY, [00:50:01] IS JUST THAT STAFF HASN'T HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THAT . AND SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE WE DON'T NEED TO GIVE THEM AN, AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE WHAT THOSE POSITIONS ARE THAT ARE PLANNING TO BE FILLED IN THE NEXT 26 DAYS. IT'S PROBABLY NOT THAT MANY. UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, TO SEE, JUST TO DO THE SMART THING AND, UM, WE'VE LOOKED AT THE OTHERS STARTING, I ASSUME KNOWN VACANCIES MEANS THE ONE THAT ARE, IS THAT, IS THAT IMMEDIATE OR IS THAT ONES THAT WE WOULD, WHEN WE SAY KNOWN VACANCIES HERE ON SLIDE 15, I THINK THOSE ARE CURRENT VACANCIES. CURRENT VACANCIES, EVERYTHING. OKAY. YEAH. SO THAT'S WHY I'D SAY STAFF'S MORE AWARE OF THAN OKAY. SAYING THEY'RE NOT WELL. SO MAYBE THAT IS MORE KNOWN THAN SAYING YEAH. IT'S NOT GONNA STOP 'EM FROM SAYING, MR. CITY MANAGER, I NEED AN EXCEPTION. YEAH. AND HERE'S THE REASON WHY. YEAH. WELL, SO I GUESS THE QUESTION IS, WOULD THESE NUMBERS GO UP IF WE CHANGE THAT ASSUMPTION TO START NOW VERSUS JULY 1ST? NOT DRAMATICALLY. IT COULD. I MEAN, WE HAVE THINGS IN PLACE. IF, IF THESE NUMBERS ARE ALL KNOWN VACANCY TODAY, THEN WELL, NO VACANCY IN THEORY IT WOULDN'T CHANGE. RIGHT. YEAH. YEAH. WHICH HAVE ALREADY CHANGED. YEAH. OKAY. WHICH IS KIND OF WHY WE PRESENTED A HIRING FREEZE STARTING IN JULY, BECAUSE IT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD GAUGE FROM THAT POINT FORWARD. YEAH. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? UH, EXACTLY. I I, I DIDN'T QUITE UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. SO IF WE SAY WE'RE GONNA IMPLEMENT A HIRING FREEZE WITH THIS COMING FISCAL YEAR. YES MA'AM. IF SOMEONE HAS A VACANCY THAT OCCURS AFTER JULY 1ST, THAT'S WHEN WE LOOK AT WHETHER THERE'S AN EXCEPTION TO THAT VACANCY OR NOT. SURE. BUT FOR CURRENT VACANCIES THAT ARE ALREADY IN PLAY, THAT ARE ALREADY ADVERTISED, INTERVIEWING FOR SO ON AND SO FORTH, THOSE WOULD BE FILLED. YEAH. OKAY. AND MR. MAYOR, I'M ALL FOR, I'M ALL FOR DOING SOMETHING. I'M, I'M NOT LOOKING TO MAKE A STATEMENT. I'M LOOKING TO HAVE AN IMPACT. AND I, $40 MILLION IS, IS A HECK OF A STATEMENT. AND, UH, I DON'T KNOW THE VACANCIES THAT, LIKE YOU SAID, THEY'RE, YOU'RE ALREADY INTERVIEWING, THEY'VE BEEN POSTED PROBABLY THERE'S PLANS TO HIRE TODAY. UH, I I, I DON'T, I, I DON'T WANT TO, UH, TO LOWER OUR STANDARDS OR OUR SERVICES, UH, AND IF, IF THE JUNE DATE WOULD JEOPARDIZE THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S A PROBLEM. I MEAN, WE CAN COME, IF WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT TILL NOVEMBER, WE CAN COME BACK IN AUGUST OR SEPTEMBER, WHATEVER YOU WANNA DO. BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE, WE'RE CAREFUL. OH, WE'RE SPENDING A, A LOT OF TIME DISCUSSING $800,000, MR. MAYOR, AND TO GET US TO, WHATEVER IT IS, EIGHT, UH, 8.5, WHATEVER IT, UH, WELL THEN LET'S LOOK AT THE OPPOSITE. WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO GET THAT 800 THOU 875,000 IF WE JUST REDUCED EVERY BUDGET A CERTAIN AMOUNT, THEN I, I MEAN, THE POINT IS, WE'RE SITTING HERE TALKING ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 8% AND 10%, AND WE'RE ONLY AT 7%. SO IF 8% MOVES US IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, GREAT. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET US TO 8%? YEAH. I MEAN, WE EITHER TAKE IT OUT OF PERSONAL SERVICES AND THE REALITY OF IT IS IF WE'RE STILL NOT THERE, AND AT SOME POINT IN TIME WE'RE GONNA HAVE A, A BUDGET AMENDMENT ANYWAY. OR YOU CAN TAKE IT OUT OF YOUR SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS AND YOUR OTHER EXPENSES, OR YOU CAN TAKE IT FROM ANYWHERE. ASK A DEPARTMENT HEAD, WHERE DO YOU WANT TO TAKE IT? , WE GOOD. , I'M TRYING TO THINK ABOUT HOW TO DO THIS, BECAUSE NO MATTER WHAT WE DO, WE NEED TO REPORT MORE OFTEN AND WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHICH WAY ARE WE GOING. AND AS WE HAVE BUDGET AMENDMENTS COME NEXT YEAR, WE JUST NEED TO, WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE EFFECT IS ON THE GENERAL FUND AND THEN SAY YES OR NO AT THAT POINT. FOR SURE. AND I, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT ALL THE POSITIONS ARE. SOME OF THEM PROBABLY ARE DEFINITELY REALLY NEEDED. UM, WELL, I WOULD HOPE THEY'RE ALL NEEDED. . WELL, DEFINITELY THERE, BUT MAYBE YOU CAN POSTPONE, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, UM, IT, IT'S ALL IT IS LEVEL OF SERVICE. EVEN IN MY DEPARTMENT, THERE'S LIKE A LOT OF OTHER THINGS WE COULD BE DOING AND WE'RE NOT. AND IT'S, AND I'M NOT SAYING I NEED MORE PEOPLE RIGHT NOW, BUT IF WE DO WANNA DO CERTAIN THINGS EXACTLY, AT SOME POINT YOU DO. MM-HMM . SO IT'S JUST A CHOICE, RIGHT? BUT, UM, UM, SO LET'S JUST PICK A MILLION DOLLARS. IF WE WANTED TO PICK A MILLION DOLLARS, WE'D BE OVER 8%. UM, AND THEN YEAH, WE JUST HAVE TO GO THROUGH AND [00:55:02] YEAH, YOU EITHER CUT EVERYTHING. LET'S SEE. SO LET'S THINK ABOUT THAT. SO EVEN, UH, OTHER SERVICES AND CHARGES IS 5.6 MILLION. SO IF WE MADE THAT 4.6 MILLION, OKAY, THAT'S WHERE ALL OF OUR DONATIONS ARE. I'M JUST SAYING, DOES, LIKE YOU SAID, CITY COUNCIL MAY BE WILLING TO GIVE UP PART OF THEIR 100,000. ARE WE WILLING TO DO THAT EVERYWHERE OR JUST CERTAIN PLACES? AND TO ME IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT, I DON'T WANNA SAY IT'S NOT MATERIAL, BUT IT'S REALLY NOT MATERIAL TO OUR 400 MIL MILLION DOLLAR BUDGET. I THINK IF WE WILL REALLY WATCH IT AND YOU GUYS JUST SAY YES OR NO, AS WE GO FORWARD, I THINK WE CAN BUILD IT. WE JUST REALLY NEED TO WATCH THAT AND MAKE SURE WE'RE BUILDING IT AND NOT TAKING AWAY, AND SOME OF THAT'S REPORTING AND SOME OF THAT'S, YOU KNOW, MEETING MORE, NOT, MAYBE NOT MEETING MORE OFTEN, BUT TALKING ABOUT IT MORE OFTEN, SHOWING YOU REPORTS, UM, AND MONITORING IT. I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF HEARTBURN, HONESTLY. STARTING WHERE WE ARE WITH A PLAN, LIKE SEVERAL HAVE SUGGESTED LET'S BUILD, LET'S HAVE A PLAN TO BUILD IT BACK UP AND THEN LET'S MAKE SURE OUR PLAN'S WORKING. UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, THE HIT ON THE GENERAL FUND WAS THAT ICE STORM, AND WE DIDN'T HAVE FUNDS IN RESERVES IN ANOTHER FUND. SO WE TOOK IT FROM GENERAL FUND AND IT WIPED US OUT, WIPED US OUT, MADE OUR PERFORMER GO DOWN TO A NEGATIVE TWO AND WE JUST DIDN'T HAVE THE FUNDS WHERE WE SHOULD HAVE HAD 'EM. WE HAVE CHANGED THAT. AND NOW THAT'S IN A DIFFERENT AREA. SO WE'VE TRIED TO ADDRESS AT LEAST THAT THING THAT HAPPENED. SO, UM, I DON'T, I MEAN, YOU CAN'T ALWAYS STAY AT 10, BUT YOU'RE RIGHT. LIKE WHAT IS AN EMERGENCY TO FIND THE EMERGENCY THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, THAT YOU'RE GONNA TAKE OUT OF GENERAL FUND? UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN WHEN THAT HAPPENED, WE DIDN'T GET REIMBURSED. WE PAID 12 MILLION OUT, WE GOT REIMBURSED NINE SOMETHING CLOSE TO 10. SO WE NEVER RECOVERED ALL OF THAT FROM FEMA ANYWAY. BUT WE'VE MADE IT UP. AND THAT'S, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT YOU DO. IF WE HAVE AN ACCIDENT, A MAJOR ACCIDENT OR SOMETHING THAT CERTAIN DEPARTMENT HAS TO FIGURE OUT, HOW AM I GONNA COVER THAT? SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S A LITTLE BIT WHERE THE, UM, WHAT DO I WANNA SAY? FLEXIBILITY COMES IN LIKE, SO YEAH, WE MAY CUT A MILLION DOLLARS, BUT NOW WE'VE LOST FLEXIBILITY TO REALLY MEET AN EMERGENCY IN THAT. BUT WE COULD COME BACK, DOESN'T MEAN WE COULDN'T COME BACK TO COUNCIL AND ASK. WELL, THE, THE, THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS CONVERSATION IS ARE WE MAKING PROGRESS TOWARDS THE 10% YES OR NO? AND WE CAN GO ALL THE WAY AND IT'S GONNA BE TOUGH. I MEAN, IT'S GONNA FORCE SOME ISSUES THAT WE PROBABLY AREN'T GONNA LIKE, OR WE CAN MAKE A LITTLE BIT, I TELL YOU WE'RE NOT GONNA LIKE 'EM, OR WE CAN MAKE A LITTLE BIT OF PROGRESS TOWARDS IT TO THE 8% AS OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS ON MY LEFT ARE, ARE, WERE SAYING EARLIER, AND THAT DOESN'T TAKE MUCH TO GET US THERE. IT'S JUST HOW DO YOU TAKE THAT OUT? AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ROUGHLY BASED ON ALL OF THE, THE, THE BUDGETS THAT YOU SENT. MANY OF US, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ROUGHLY 50 OF 'EM IN THERE, BUT YOU GOTTA KIND OF CARVE IT BACK TO WHAT'S AFFECTED BY THE GENERAL FUND. AND IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, $800,000 GETS US TO THAT 8%, GREAT. OKAY. SO YOUR CHOICE IS YOU DO A PERCENTAGE ON EVERYBODY AND WE MOVE ON, OR WE LOOK AT TAKING THIS MONEY OUT OF PERSONAL SERVICES TO START WITH. IT DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE NOT GONNA COME BACK AND SAY WE NEED TO ADD SOMETHING BACK AT SOME POINT. 'CAUSE THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NO MATTER WHAT IS, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE'RE SITTING AT SOME POINT IN TIME. AND HISTORICALLY AS A CITY, RECENT HISTORY SAYS, WELL, WE COME BACK EVERY TIME SOMEONE WANTS TO SPEND MORE MONEY. SO HOW IS THAT ANY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING? IF WE GET THREE MONTHS, SIX MONTHS DOWN THE ROAD AND WE SAY, OKAY, WE NEED TO PUT SOME MONEY BACK INTO WHOEVER'S BUDGET BECAUSE THE VACANCIES HAVEN'T BEEN THERE, OR WE FOUND WE NEED TO FILL ONE BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A HIRING FREEZE GOING ON. 'CAUSE IT'S GONNA HAPPEN ANYWAY IF WE'RE GONNA DO A HIRING FREEZE ON JULY [01:00:01] ONE. SO THINK ABOUT THIS THOUGH TOO. SO IF WE START WHERE WE ARE AND WE ADOPT BUDGET NEXT WEEK, YOU CAN ALWAYS DO NEGATIVE, UH, BUDGET AMENDMENTS AS WELL. YOU CAN REDUCE, YES, WE CAN ALWAYS COME BACK AND REDUCE IT TOO, BUT, BUT WHY WOULD WE WANT TO DO THAT IF WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO A GOAL? LET'S START AND GO TOWARDS THAT GOAL, BECAUSE I THINK WE ALL CAME IN HERE TODAY SAYING, GEE, CAN WE GET TO THAT 10% NUMBER YES OR NO? BUT IF WE'RE COMFORTABLE JUST MOVING OURSELVES A LITTLE BIT TOWARDS IT AND GET TO AT LEAST 8%, LET'S GET THERE. SO THAT WE'RE SAYING WE'RE GONNA TIGHTEN OUR BELTS A LITTLE BIT MORE AND THEN WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT IT. YEAH. MY RECOMMENDATION, SO HERE'S THE THING. TO ME, THIS IS A SYMPTOM OF HOW WE DO THE PROCESS IN THAT WE DON'T DEFINE UPFRONT A TARGET, UM, RESERVE BALANCE, RIGHT? WE, WE, UH, IDENTIFIED UPFRONT SOME OF THE OTHER ASSUMPTIONS, LIKE A, A HIRING FREEZE AND 0% SALES TAX. THOSE THINGS WERE DEFINED UPFRONT. LIKE IN NOVEMBER, RIGHT WHEN Y'ALL STARTED THE PROCESS. I DON'T THINK WE DEFINED A TARGET FOR RESERVES. SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT EVERYBODY DOES THEIR BUDGET KIND OF BOTTOMS UP AND THEN WE SEE WHERE WE END UP WITH RESERVES AND OH, WE ENDED UP AT SEVEN AND THAT'S GOOD BECAUSE THAT IS AN IMPROVEMENT FROM LAST YEAR AND WE HAVE SOME THINGS WE CAN DO HERE, BUT WITHOUT, IT'S JUST HARD TO COME IN AT THE END I FEEL LIKE, AND, YOU KNOW, APPLY, YOU KNOW, TURN THE CRANK, UH, ON EVERYBODY TO, TO GET IT DOWN, TO GET IT TO 10. THAT'S JUST REALLY HARD TO DO. I THINK WHAT WE OUGHT TO DO IS MY OPINION, BUT TAKE OUT THE TOP TWO LINES HERE, YOU KNOW, GET TO 8% FOR RIGHT NOW AND START OUR, YOU KNOW, APPROVE THE BUDGET AT THAT LEVEL. AND THEN, UM, WHEN WE GO, LIKE, LIKE BARRY SAID, WHEN WE GO INTO THE NOVEMBER MEETING, LET'S DO A DEEP DIVE ON IT AND THEN LET'S ESTABLISH GOING INTO NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET. LET'S ESTABLISH A TARGET, UM, RESERVE FOR GENERAL FUND THEN, RIGHT? SO THAT EVERYBODY CAN PLAN TO THAT NEXT YEAR. AND WE CAN ESTABLISH OUR ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT TAX INCREASE AND OUR ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT HIRING AND WHATEVER. BUT IT JUST SEEMS, IT'S HARD TO ME TO COME IN NOW AND, AND TRY TO REDUCE THAT WITHOUT THAT TARGET BEING ESTABLISHED UP FRONT. WE GOTTA, I THINK WE GOTTA FIX THAT UP FRONT NEXT YEAR AND JUST GET IT TO 8% THIS YEAR. UM, INCREASING FROM WHERE WE'RE AT. UH, THAT WAS EXACTLY MY POINT. WHEN I SAID IT, IT FEELS LIKE IT'S TOTALLY ASPIRATIONAL. SO LET'S NOT MAKE IT ASPIRATIONAL. LET'S SAY IT'S 8% THIS YEAR AND THEN WE MOVE FORWARD FROM THERE AND WE CAN DO THAT TODAY? OR DO WE, I MEAN, MR. BEAR, MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT. I'M WITH YOU ON GETTING TO 8%. I AM 8.59 BE GREAT. CAN WE DO IT TODAY? OR THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER ARE COMING. WHY DON'T WE, UH, WE COULD OBVIOUSLY SEE IF WE CAN'T GET THERE BY LABOR DAY AND FIND, I MEAN, I'D THINK BY LABOR DAY, MR. IN YOU COULD FIGHT A MILLION DOLLARS. YOU MEAN PERSONALLY? PERSONALLY, YEAH. WELL, MAYBE NOT THAT POINT. UH, I DON'T KNOW. I JUST DON'T WANNA THROW A WRENCH IN THE JUNE 9TH. I WANT TO GET, I WANT TO ACCOMMODATE, UH, THE, THE MAYOR'S THOUGHTS AND, AND COUNCILMAN WATERSON. UH, I JUST, I DON'T WANT TO GO IN THIS TODAY, OR I, I MIGHT BE WILLING TO DO IT TODAY, BUT I, WE'VE GOTTA HAVE A, A PROCESS AND I, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S RIGHT. I JUST KNOW THAT WE COULD CERTAINLY ACCOMPLISH THAT BY LABOR DAYS. SO MS. PANIS? YES. BETWEEN YOU AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S MS. OWENS OR MS. PIERCE AT THIS POINT, IT'S PIERCE, IT'S MS. COUNCILMAN MOORE, BUT BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU, HOW DIFFICULT IS IT IF YOU TOOK OUT THAT 875,000 TO MAKE THOSE ADJUSTMENTS BEFORE NEXT WEEK? I'D HAVE TO HAVE IT DONE TODAY BECAUSE I'VE GOTTA GET MY, THAT'S THE PROBLEM. I'VE GOTTA GET IT. WE'VE GOTTA GET IT TO THE, WELL, CAN YOU GET THAT DONE TODAY? IF I STAY LATE TILL MIDNIGHT ? YEAH. IF I WORK ALL NIGHT. YEAH. I MEAN, I, I THINK WE NEED TO STOP SAYING WE'RE GONNA MOVE TOWARDS IT AND WE NEED TO MAKE SOME EFFORT. AND I MEAN, YOUR STAFF HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL. WE'VE WORKED A LOT. I WILL TELL YOU, UH, YEAH, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF WORK THIS YEAR AND WE APPRECIATE IT. AND YOU WERE TALKING EARLIER ABOUT IF WE, WE HAD PICKING SPECIFIC CUTS AND WHERE AND WHAT THAT I CAN GET THAT DONE TONIGHT. YOU'RE NOT ONE, SO YOU DON'T GET TO BAIL EITHER. IF I DO THIS TONIGHT, IT'S GONNA BE AN ON TOP ENTRY. I'M NOT GONNA GO YEAH. WHO, WHAT'S CUT? I DON'T KNOW IF THAT NUMBER'S RIGHT. COUNCILMAN [01:05:01] MOORE. UM, SO, UH, AND IT PROBABLY WON'T BE 8%, IT'LL PROBABLY BE 7.95. SO IF YOU WANT 8% AROUND, NO, IF YOU WANT, IF YOU WANT 8%, I WILL FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET TO 8%. BUT IT'S NOT EASY. AND I, I WANTED TO, I HAVE A FOLLOW UP QUESTION. I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTOOD YOUR COMMENTS CORRECTLY. UM, WHAT I HEARD WAS THAT, THAT 7.2, WHEREVER WE ARE RIGHT NOW IN THE BUDGET, IT'S PROBABLY A ADOPT ADOPTABLE, KNOWING THE VACANCY SAVINGS ARE COMING AND BY LABOR DAY, IF WE NEED TO DO AN AMENDMENT TO THE BUDGET OR AT A MINIMUM UPDATE OF WHERE WE ARE, AS LONG AS WE'RE MOVING TOWARDS THAT 8%, IS THAT KIND OF THE DIRECTION OR THE IDEA THAT YOU WERE PROPOSING THERE? KIND OF SORTA, I DON'T THINK WE CAN, THE MAYOR'S NOT GONNA BE SATISFIED WITH THE NOTION OF WE'RE MOVING THAT DIRECTION. WE NEED TO GET TO THAT DIRECTION. CORRECT. AND WE NEED TO GET THERE. UH, I'M JUST, IF, IF, IF WE'RE GONNA TASK MS. PANIS WITH FINDING ROUGHLY A MILLION DOLLARS BY THE CLOSE OF BUSINESS TODAY WITHOUT THE CITY CLERK WIGGING OUT DOWN THERE ABOUT GETTING IT POSTED, THAT'S GONNA BE A TALL TASK. AND SO, UH, YES, THAT WOULD BE MY THOUGHT IS THAT WE COULD LOOK AT THIS CAREFULLY, SURGICALLY, UH, AND FIND THE MONEY TO GET IT TO EIGHT TO ACCOMMODATE WHAT THE MAYOR'S TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH. AND MR. WATERSON, MR. FRAME, AND MS. MS. NICHOLS, UH, WE ALL WANT TO GET THERE. AND SO IF A MILLION DOLLARS GETS THIS TO EIGHT, IS THAT RIGHT? ISH? I THINK SO. IT'S ABOUT 8 75, RIGHT? YEAH. DO YOU HAVE THE EXACT NUMBER? EIGHT. SEVEN. SEVEN? WELL, NO. 888 80% OR 7.0 3 71 OR WHATEVER IS IS ONE. YEAH, IT'S A LOT OF MONEY, BUT YES, IT'S A HELL OF A LOT OF MONEY. BUT YOU CAN'T DECIDE THAT IN 48 MINUTES. MAYBE WE CAN JUST FIGURE IT OUT BY LABOR DAY AND, UH, AND SOLVE THAT PROBLEM AND GET YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO BE. DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE? WELL, I WANNA BE A 10. WELL, , I MEAN, SO I, I'D LIKE TO HAVE A HEADS HAIR, BUT I DON'T, YOU KNOW, , BUT, SO I DON'T KNOW THAT, THAT, THAT'S MY FAULT. AND, AND, AND 10 WOULD BE GREAT AND, AND WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET THERE NEXT YEAR. UH, BUT I, I AGREE WITH YOU. I SUPPORT YOU ON TRYING TO GET TO EIGHT OR TO GET GETTING TO EIGHT. AND IF A MILLION DOLLARS DOES THAT, AND WE CAN DO THAT WITHOUT CUTTING VITAL SERVICES AND GET THAT DONE BY LABOR DAY, THAT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE A REASONABLE APPROACH. IF IT'S NOT, I'M CERTAINLY OPEN TO OTHER SUGGESTIONS. I AM. MS. MURDOCH NICHOLS, YOU'VE BEEN AWFUL QUIET DOWN THERE. WELL, MAYBE I'LL JUST CLARIFY THAT. I UNDERSTAND. 'CAUSE THAT'S IMPORTANT THAT I UNDERSTAND. SO WE'RE SAYING, I UNDERSTAND THE, THE PERSONNEL FREEZE, WHICH I THINK THIS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT STARTING JULY 1ST. NOW THAT 8 75 IS IN ADDITION TO THE PERSONNEL FREEZE. YES. NO, THAT EIGHT, THAT EIGHT, IT WOULD ALIGN US TO THE, THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD LITERALLY SAY, IF WE DON'T FILL THOSE POSITIONS, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SAVING. TAKE THAT MONEY OUT. THAT IS THE, THE IMPACT WITHOUT THE ESTIMATED TURNOVER. THE 8 75 IS LITERALLY WHAT'S MAKING IT TODAY. ESTIMATE. OKAY. RIGHT NOW, THE BUDGET HAS AUTHORITY FOR ALL VACANT POSITIONS RIGHT. TO BE FILLED. BUT THE ASSUMPTION GOING IN FROM STAFF IS THAT THEY'RE NOT GONNA MOVE ON THOSE BASICALLY. SO THAT WE WOULD UNDERRUN THE BUDGET. I THINK WE NEED TO LINE IT UP. THAT'S SORT OF WHAT I WAS GETTING AT. KEEP GOING. WHAT WAS THAT LAST? I DIDN'T HEAR THAT. I THINK WE NEED TO ALIGN THE BUDGET WITH THE ASSUMPTION BY TAKING OUT THOSE TOP TWO LINES. KEEP GOING THOUGH. I'M SORRY. I'M I'M GOOD WITH THAT. YEAH. I'M, AND WE'RE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT JULY 1ST. MM-HMM . NOT, NOT TODAY. YEAH. YEAH. WHERE ARE WE TALKING ABOUT TODAY? NO, SORRY. I GOT, I DID GET, IF WE, IF WE GET PAST IMPLEMENTING TODAY OR, YOU KNOW, 20, WHAT IS IT? 27, 25, 6 DAYS, WHATEVER IT IS FROM NOW, UM, IT'S NOT GONNA MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE. IT'S, IT'S JUST AN ITEM OF PRINCIPLE WITH ME. IF [01:10:01] OF SAYING, IF WE'VE GOT AN ISSUE THAT OUR RUNNING, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT OUR FINANCES AND WE SAY WE'RE GONNA DO A HIRING FREEZE, WHY AREN'T WE DOING A HIRING FREEZE? I CAN GET PAST THAT. OKAY. OKAY. BUT I WANT US TO MOVE FORWARD AND I, I HATE TO SAY, WELL, GREAT IF YOU WORK TILL MIDNIGHT, WONDERFUL. YOU KNOW, MY PAST, I DID THAT A LOT. I DID TOO, . BUT I, I THINK THAT AS MR. WATERSON SAID, LET'S, IF WE'RE GONNA DO IT, LET'S ALIGN IT AND MOVE FORWARD AND FIGURE OUT WHAT BUDGETS THOSE COME OUT OF AND REDUCE THE PERSONAL SERVICES ON 'EM. AND I CAN'T DO THAT IN A DAY. DO YOU KNOW WHAT POSITIONS ARE VACANT TODAY? WE HAVE A LIST THAT WE KEEP, BUT DON'T WE HAVE, DIDN'T YOU SAY OFFERS ARE ALREADY OUT TO EX IT? IT VARIES. I MEAN, I, I CAN GO BACK TO THE OFFICE AND PEN PAPER AND TELL YOU EXACTLY WHAT IS VACANT, WHAT IS IN PROCESS, IF THE CONDITION OFFER HAS BEEN MADE OR NOT. UM, OFTEN WE'RE JUST TALKING, SO RIGHT NOW THERE'S A SMALL AMOUNT OUTSIDE OF UTILITIES. IT'S INTERNAL SERVICE FUND TOO. INTERNAL SERVICE FUND AS WELL. YEAH. SO THAT WOULD MEAN WE WOULD, THERE ARE OFFERS THAT WERE GOING TO BE MADE THAT WOULD NOT BE MADE. YEAH. I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'D CUT THE LINE. YOU'VE INTERVIEWED PEOPLE AND THEY'RE IN BACKGROUND. I WOULDN'T THINK YOU'D WANNA RENEG ON YOUR OFFER, BUT I GUESS WE COULD. SO IN ROUGH NUMBERS, AND I'M NOT GONNA HOLD YOU TO THIS. HOW MANY BUDGETS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT ARE IMPACTED BY THIS CONVERSATION? I HAVE NO IDEA. I HAVE NO IDEA. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THOSE VACANCIES ARE. WELL, NO, NO, NO. FORGET, FORGET THE VACANCIES THEMSELVES AS THEY, AS THEY ARE SITTING THERE. LITERALLY HOW MANY BUDGETS RELY ON THE GENERAL FUND? THERE'S PROBABLY 15 IN GENERAL FUND AND THERE'S 17 OR SO IN INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS. AND THEN THERE'S A PORTION OF THAT. SO THEN IF YOU JUST REDUCE THEIR PERSONAL SERVICES, JUST SPREAD THE WHOLE 8 75 ACROSS ALL OF IT, IT'S NOT THAT EASY. NO. BECAUSE IF WE'RE COMING BACK TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT WHERE WE ARE ON THE BUDGET, ISN'T THAT THE EASY WAY TO DO IT? NO. THE EASY WAY TO DO IT IS PUT AN ON TOP NUMBER AND THEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO WORK ON IT MORE AND WATCH EVERY POSITION. NO, NO. IT'S NOT THAT EASY. I MEAN, DO YOU THINK IT'S THAT EASY? MM-HMM . DO NINE. YEAH, WE'D HAVE TO DO IT ON TOP. THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO WAY I CAN GO EVERY THROUGH 30 FUNDS, IDENTIFY HOWEVER MANY PEOPLE, I DON'T KNOW, 300 PEOPLE I DON'T KNOW. AND DECIDE WHICH ONES. I'D HAVE TO LOOK AT WHERE ARE YOU IN THE INTERVIEW PROCESS? IS IT HIGHER NOW? IS IT LOWER? WHAT ARE OUR VACANCIES? THIS IS AT 26 RATES TOO. IT'S NOT AT 25 RATES, WHICH IS WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW. THIS IS WHERE I SEE THE PROBLEM WITH OUR ENTIRE BUDGETING PROCESS IS BROKEN. BECAUSE IT SHOULD NOT BE THAT DIFFICULT TO SAY, I'M GOING TO TAKE X AMOUNT OUT OF PERSONAL SERVICES BUDGET OF THESE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE AFFECTED. WE HAVE OUR BUDGETING PROCESS SO TIED TO THE FUNDS AT THE FUND ACCOUNT LEVEL, THAT WE CAN'T DO THE SMART THING FOR OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS THAT SAY, HERE'S YOUR MONEY. THE SOURCES COMING FROM GENERAL FUND PERIOD. OR IT'S COMING, THIS IS COMING FROM GENERAL FUND. THIS IS COMING FROM THIS RESERVE FUND, OR THIS REVOLVING FUND, OR THIS ENTERPRISE FUND, WHATEVER IT IS, AND MOVE ON. WE'VE GOT IT SO INTERTWINED THAT WE CAN'T MAKE DECISIONS THAT HELP OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS MANAGE THEIR BUDGETS. AND WE'VE GOTTA FIX THAT. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT HAVING A BUDGET REFORM COMMITTEE AS WE MOVE FORWARD. BECAUSE WE NEED TO HELP YOU ALL, WE NEED TO HELP YOU AND YOUR TEAM, MS. BANIS. 'CAUSE WE NEED TO MAKE YOUR LIFE A LOT EASIER. WE NEED TO MAKE EVERY SINGLE DEPARTMENT HEAD'S LIFE EASIER BECAUSE IT IS SO DIFFICULT TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS BECAUSE OF THE WAY WE DO IT TODAY. AND THERE IS A WAY TO GET THERE AND IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. AND I THINK WE ALL KNOW THAT. I MEAN, THAT'S PART OF OUR CHALLENGE WHY WE'RE SITTING UP HERE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION RIGHT NOW. SO CAN I YES, RANDY. UM, SO WE AS CITY COUNCIL, UM, WE HAVE THE CITY MANAGER, THE CITY ATTORNEY, AND YOU'RE UP HERE WITH US. AND I, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR [01:15:01] MORE FROM YOU ON, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE, UH, A LOT OF STAFF THAT FALL UNDER YOUR, UM, YOUR LEADERSHIP AS INTERIM CITY MANAGER. I THINK IT'S LIKE 800 SOMETHING. COULD YOU, COULD YOU SPEAK MORE ABOUT, ABOUT THIS? I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU, PLEASE. UM, THAT'S A LOT OF, THAT'S A LOT. UM, SORRY. NO, YOU'RE FINE. UH, SO AS PROPOSED IS, IS MY SUGGESTION. OKAY. AND I'M WILLING TO COMMIT TO, LOOKING TO FIND, TO GET TO THE 8% BY LABOR DAY. OKAY. UM, SO TO SEE IF WE CAN FIND ANY SAVINGS IN THERE. UH, AND TO KI TO HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT KIND OF SALARY SAVINGS WE'LL BE TRACKING AT THAT TIME SO THAT WE'LL HAVE A, A CLEAR PICTURE. UH, I DO WANNA STRESS THIS IS GONNA CAUSE A REDUCTION IN LEVEL OF SERVICE. IT, IT JUST IS. I MEAN, IF WE'RE GONNA HOLD POSITIONS OPEN AND NOT FILL THEM, THAT WILL EVENTUALLY IMPACT OUR CITIZENS IN SOME WAY. THAT'S FINE. WE, WE OFFER A VERY HIGH LEVEL OF SERVICE. IF WE HAVE TO DIAL IT BACK A SLIGHT NOTCH, THAT THAT'S PROBABLY OKAY. UM, BUT, UH, TO YOUR POINT YOU MADE EARLIER, JUST BECAUSE WE'RE HOLDING A POSITION OPEN, I DON'T WANT TWO OTHER PEOPLE TO HAVE TO WORK 80 HOURS A WEEK NOW BECAUSE WE'RE DOING THAT. UM, THERE IS STILL A BALANCE AND A QUALITY OF LIFE FOR OUR EMPLOYEES THAT WE NEED TO ACHIEVE. SO IT, THAT'S THE COMPLEXITY OF ALL THIS, IS TRYING TO MAINTAIN A HIGH LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT OUR CITIZENS EXPECT AND DESERVE AND KEEP A, A WORKFORCE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WELL QUALIFIED AND, UH, THAT ENJOYS THEIR JOB AND THEIR WORKPLACE AND, AND THE CITY OF EDMOND AS AN ORGANIZATION. OKAY. SO THANK YOU. BUT I'M, SO, ALL RIGHT. WHERE DO WE WANT TO GO ON THIS? I MEAN, THE NUM THE BUDGET NUMBER HAS BEEN THE SAME I THINK SINCE FEBRUARY. RIGHT. THE PROPOSED BUDGET NUMBER'S BEEN THE SAME. IT'S TOUGH FOR US TO TRY TO MAKE A POLICY DECISION HERE AND THEN WE'RE, WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO MAKE THE CHANGE. THAT'S KIND OF FRUSTRATING. I MEAN, IF WE CAN'T GET THERE TODAY TO HAVE IT READY BY MONDAY, THEN I, I DON'T KNOW WHY WE'RE READING THIS MORNING, HONESTLY. BUT IF WE NEED TO HAVE AN ACTION TO FIX IT BY LABOR DAY AND THAT GETS US TO 8%, YOU KNOW, PLAN BY LABOR DAY. AND THAT'S A COMPROMISE. I THINK THAT'S FINE. THE POINT TO ME IS THAT WE ALIGN OUR BUDGET AUTHORITY WITH OUR ASSUMPTION AND HIRING FREEZE IS OUR ASSUMPTION. THAT'S HOW WE'RE PLANNING TO OPERATE. IF THERE'S COMPLEXITY IN TAKING THE NUMBERS OUT, THAT TAKES A LITTLE LONGER, THEN MAYBE THAT IS WHAT IT IS. I THINK THAT'S THE MINIMUM THAT WE NEED TO DO THOUGH, TO ALIGN THE AUTHORITY WITH THE ASSUMPTION, WHETHER WE DO IT TODAY OR WHETHER WE DO IT IN A MONTH. I MEAN, IT'S NOT REALLY THAT MATERIAL, RIGHT. IN TERMS OF HOW WE'RE GONNA OPERATE. 'CAUSE THAT'S THE ASSUMPTION ANYWAY. HIRING FREEZE, RIGHT? MM-HMM . YES, SIR. COUNCILMAN FRAME? I DON'T DISAGREE. I DON'T SEE HOW ELSE WE GET THERE. UH, CAN'T GO BACKWARDS, UNFORTUNATELY, FROM THIS DI MAY, MAYBE WE WEREN'T CLEAR ENOUGH THAT SEVEN PERCENT'S NOT GOOD. NOT ACCEPTABLE, BUT IT'S, WE, WE ARE KIND OF WHERE WE ARE AT THIS POINT. UM, AND WHETHER WE AMEND THAT LATER ON AS PRESTON INDICATED, UH, SO BE IT. SO I I THINK I'M HEARING HERE IS PRETTY MUCH A CONSENSUS THAT IF WE LEAVE THE NUMBER WHERE IT IS TODAY, WE'RE COMING BACK HERE THE FIRST MEETING IN SEPTEMBER TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT WHERE WE'RE AT WITH THE BUDGET AND KNOW WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO GET US TO THAT. YES SIR. EIGHT PLUS PERCENT, RIGHT? IS THAT ACCEPTABLE OVER HERE? MM-HMM . YES SIR. THANK YOU. I, I, I, MR. MAYOR, I, I THINK THAT GIVES THE ESSENTIAL POSITIONS THAT NEED TO BE FILLED BY THE END OF THE MONTH. WE CAN CONTINUE WITH THAT TO CONTINUE OUR SERVICES TO THE CITY AND NOT HAVE A REPUTATION OF, WELL, I'VE BEEN OFFERED A JOB, THEY'RE DOING A BACKGROUND CHECK AND NOW THEY'RE RESCINDING THAT, THAT WOULD BE A HORRIBLE SPOT TO GET IN. [01:20:01] I DON'T KNOW THAT WE CAN ACCOMPLISH THIS BY THE CLOSE OF BUSINESS TODAY. I'M LOOKING AT MS. PANIS AND SHE'S TELLING ME WITHOUT SAYING IT, THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE. NOW SHE'S SAYING IT . SO , I'M JUST TIRED. RIGHT. AND, UH, AND DON'T THINK YOUR EFFORTS HAVE, I KNOW. I APPRECIATE YOU GUYS, REALLY. THANK YOU. SO, MR. ME, IF WE CAN DO THE, IF WE CAN THE, THE, THE, THE FREEZE EFFECT IN JULY AND, AND WORK OVER THE SUMMER WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND MS. PANIS AND OTHERS TO FIND THAT, TO GET US TO EIGHT, THAT ACCOMPLISHES YOUR GOAL, UH, AND OTHERS. AND MY GOAL, UH, TO GET US WHERE WE NEED TO GO, THAT SEEMS REASONABLE WITHOUT RUSHING THROUGH SOMETHING. I DON'T WANT TO CAUSE US AN EMBARRASSMENT ON THE, THE JOB PLACEMENTS. AND I DON'T WANT TO BE SLOPPY TO TRY TO GET SOMETHING DONE BY 5:30 PM TODAY THAT WE MAY NOT GET DONE. AND THEN THAT'S EVEN WORSE. THAT'S MY FAULT THEN. I MEAN, AT THIS POINT, WE REALLY DON'T NEED TO DO ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS BECAUSE WE'RE STILL, STILL WHERE WE WERE. THE PLAN IS STILL IN PLACE. UM, WE DO NEED TO DISCUSS, I THINK THERE'S STILL THREE MORE THINGS ON THERE. THE CONSTRUCTION BUDGET. I THINK WE CAN GO THROUGH THAT PRETTY QUICK BECAUSE BASICALLY WHAT, WHAT YOU ALL HAVE TO PRESENT, IF YOU WANNA PULL THAT SLIDE UP, IF, IF, IF I'M CORRECT ON THE WAY I INTERPRETED IT, AND FROM THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD THAT, UH, MR. WATERSTON HAS HAD WITH, WITH, UH, MR. CONYERS AND OTHER STAFF, UH, BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS WE'RE IN DESIGN PHASES OR EXISTING PROJECTS THAT ARE ALREADY ONGOING AND THERE'S NOTHING NEW BEING THROWN IN TO BUILD THIS YEAR, WHICH I THINK WAS PART OF THE, OUR CONCERN. UM, AND I, I THINK I'LL LET MR. WATERSON MAKE A STATEMENT ABOUT THE SPACE STUDY AND, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT, AS THEY SAY IN THE EDUCATIONAL WORLD, BUTTS IN SEATS. MR. MAYOR, BEFORE WE LEAVE THE BUDGET THING, I WANNA SAY THIS. I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE WORKED TIRELESSLY OVER THE LAST 30 DAYS. YOU AND COUNCILMAN WATERSON ON THIS, AND YOU'VE DONE GREAT WORK ON TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT YOU SAID YOU WOULD DO. AND SO THANK YOU FOR THIS MORNING AND THANKS FOR AGREEING TO THE, THE LABOR DAY PROJECT. UH, I THINK THE CITY WILL BE BETTER SERVED FOR THAT. BUT I DO WANT TO THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE OVER THE LAST 30 DAYS. I THINK YOU'VE, YOU'VE HELPED EVERYBODY UP HERE UNDERSTAND A FEW THINGS AND, UH, SO WE CAN NOW MOVE ON PAST THAT. WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE KIND WORDS. UM, I MEAN WE JUST, I THINK AT THIS POINT WE KNOW THAT THE WORK HAS JUST STARTED BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA MAKE THIS EASIER FOR ALL OF US. I HOPE SO, . OKAY, SO NOW CAN WE MOVE ON? YES, SIR. ALRIGHT. UM, I MEAN, BASICALLY WE KNOW WHERE WE'RE AT ON THOSE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. YOUR, ALL YOUR QUESTIONS WERE ANSWERED, RIGHT? YEAH. MY ONLY CONCERN WAS THE, THE DESIGN OF, UH, THE DESIGN THERE UNDER ELECTRIC. AND MY DESIRE WAS TO REMOVE THAT FROM BUDGET AUTHORITY AND BRING IT THROUGH, YOU KNOW, IF WE DO A SUPPLEMENTAL LATER, UM, TO GO WITH THE DESIGN CONTRACT. THAT'S WHAT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT. HAVE WE ALREADY LET THAT CONTRACT THOUGH, FOR THE DESIGN? OR IS IT NO, UH, WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW IS WE'RE DOING, UH, IN ESSENCE A I WANT TO CALL IT A BODY COUNT. WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT WE SEE FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS FOR ELECTRIC AS FAR AS STAFFING AND NEEDS. UM, IT'S NOT A DESIGN OF A FACILITY PER SE. THE 1.5 MILLION IS PART OF THE BOND PROCEEDS. UM, IF WE CHOOSE NOT TO MOVE FORWARD, WE CAN ALLOCATE THAT TO SOME OTHER SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT PROJECT. UM, SO IT'S, I DON'T, I BELIEVE I INCLUDED 600,000 IN THE NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET FOR BEGINNING TO DESIGN, BUT THAT IS SITE SPECIFIC AND YOU KNOW, I KNOW YOU HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE SITE, SO I DO NOT INTEND TO USE THOSE FUNDS, UM, FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR. SO THOSE CAN BE MOVED OUT OF BUDGET IF WE SO DESIRE. OKAY, THANKS. THE WAY THAT, UM, MR. CONGRESS DESCRIBED IT TO ME WAS THAT IT WAS GONNA HAVE TO COME THROUGH US TO LET THAT DESIGN CONTRACT ANYWAY. YES. UM, AND SO WE WOULD'VE CONTROL OVER THAT. MY PREFERENCE WAS TO ALIGN THE BUDGET WITH, WITH THAT [01:25:01] BY REDUCING OUT THAT 600 K OR WHATEVER IT WAS FOR DESIGN, UM, TO ALIGN THE BUDGET AUTHORITY WITH KIND OF THAT DECISION POINT. UM, MAYBE IT'S TOO LATE TO DO THAT. I DON'T KNOW. UM, BUT THAT WAS WHAT I WELL, IF IT'S IN THERE OR NOT, IT WILL NOT BE SPENT. OKAY. SO MAYBE THAT'S AN AMENDMENT. I DON'T KNOW. UM, WELL, HOW HARD IS IT TO TAKE THAT ONE OUT? IT'S THE SAME. IT CHANGES MY WHOLE BUDGET BOOK AND I HAVE TO REPRINT EVERYTHING AND GIVE IT TO CO I, MY SUGGESTION. LEAVE IT IN. LIKE I SAID, THE APPROVAL COMES THROUGH COUNSEL ANYWAY. I DON'T INTEND TO BRING ANYTHING FORWARD TO COUNSEL. IT WILL OKAY. KEEP HER FROM HAVING TO WORK TILL MIDNIGHT. THAT'S FINE. I MEAN, FOR NEXT YEAR I WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND WHERE IS THE POINT BY WHICH WE MUST MAKE DECISIONS OR CHANGES IN ORDER TO MAKE IT INTO THE BUDGET BOOK. I, THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT MAKES IT HARD ON US. RIGHT. WELL, MAYBE THE LAST, MAYBE THE LAST TOPIC WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS MORNING WILL HELP US FOR NEXT YEAR ON THAT. SO, UM, THANK YOU MR. FISHER. YEAH. THANKS MR. MAYOR. YES, SIR. OR WAIT A MINUTE, ARE WE, WHERE ARE WE ON THIS? THE SPACE STUDY OR ARE WE MOVING HERE TO THE NEW POLICE THING? MY SUGGESTION TO MR. UM, ENTZ WAS THAT WE DO A CITYWIDE STUDY OF SPACE BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD ON ANY NEW BUILDING PROJECTS. SURE. I THINK THE, THE POLICE LAKE HOUSE AND WINE LIBRARY ARE KIND OF SEPARATE FROM THAT. TALKING MORE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE CITY STAFF AND WHERE THEY SIT, UM, DAY TO DAY. DAY-TO-DAY. NO, NO. I, I JUST HAD A, I I I DON'T THINK THIS IS, IS A NEW POLICE HOUSE. IT, IT WASN'T THAT A CONDEMNED PROPERTY THAT YES. THE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S JUST FIXING IT UP. WELL, I THINK IT'S NEW. IT, IT WILL BE A NEW BUILDING IN PLACE OF THAT CONDEMNED BUILDING THAT THEY HAD OUT THERE AT THE LAKE. RIGHT. SO, YES. BUT IT WAS A CIP PROJECT. YES. SO IT WAS ONE OF THE CIP PROJECTS THAT WAS VOTED ON. I MEAN, CHIEF YOUNGER CAN SPEAK, BUT I DON'T FOR HIMSELF, BUT I DON'T THINK HE'S GONNA DO THAT. SPEND $5 MILLION IN A, A FLAT BUDGET YEAR, I DON'T THINK. WELL, AGAIN, UH, JD YOUNGER, UH, POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, FIRST OFF, WE'RE NOT BUILDING A LAKE HOUSE FOR POLICE OFFICERS. YEAH. , UH, THE REASON IT'S CALLED LAKE HOUSE IS AS MANY KNOW THAT WERE HERE BEFORE ME, IT WAS A PREVIOUS RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY, UH, THAT WAS CONVERTED TO CITY USE AND USED AS A, AS A BASE FOR OUR LAKE PATROL AND, AND THE OFFICERS THAT WORK OUT THERE. THE, THE HOUSE, UH, WAS CONDEMNED MANY YEARS AGO AND, AND HAS BEEN RAISED, AND WE'VE JUST BEEN GOING THROUGH A PRETTY LENGTHY PROCESS TO GET THAT REPLACED. AND SO THAT MONEY'S BEEN IN THE BUDGET REALLY SINCE 2017, UH, AND HAS BEEN MOVED A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT FISCAL YEARS. UM, AND, AND MOST RECENTLY, UH, WE'VE BEEN DELAYED A LITTLE BIT ON STAFF TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET WATER AND SEWAGE TO THE FACILITY, UH, BECAUSE THERE'S SOME CONSTRAINTS THERE. AND SO I DO BELIEVE WE'RE AT A PLACE, UH, IF I UNDERSTAND IT CORRECTLY, TO, TO MOVE FORWARD ON THAT. UH, I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT WE'RE NOT BUILDING THE LAKE HOUSE FOR POLICE OFFICERS. AND IT HAS BEEN, UH, IN THE PLANS FOR SEVERAL, SEVERAL YEARS. AND, AND I BELIEVE, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, IT WAS INCLUDED IN, IN MUCH OF THE LITERATURE THAT WAS PUT TO THE CITIZENS AND ON PROVEN CIP. SO IT'S, IT'S THE ATTEMPT, UH, TO FULFILL A PROMISE THAT WAS MADE TO CITIZENS, UH, THROUGH THAT PROPOSAL. THANK YOU FOR CLEARING THAT UP. THANK YOU. I DIDN'T THINK YOU WERE GONNA HAVE A BEACH BLANKET. BINGO OUT THERE, . THANK YOU. YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT STREETS? I, I, I DON'T UNLESS ANYONE ELSE HAD ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION. THANK YOU, CHIEF. ALL RIGHT. SO STREETS, OVERLAYS AND INTERSECTIONS. THIS IS JUST STRICTLY FROM THE BUDGET, UH, STREET MAINTENANCE AND IS KEITH STEWART, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. I THINK HE'S HERE. YES. IN THE ACTUAL BUDGET FOR STREET MAINTENANCE IS A MILLION DOLLARS OF CONCRETE STREET REPAIRS MATERIALS OF 300,000 AND CONTRACT SERVICES AND LABORS IS MORE LIKE TREE TRIMMING AND THAT KIND OF THING. IT'S NOT NECESSARILY FILLING A POTHOLE, BUT THAT'S WHAT IS IN THE BUDGET RIGHT NOW FOR STREETS REPAIR. OVERLAYS COMES OUT OF THE 2000 CIP FUND AND IT'S, UH, BUDGETED AT 4.5 MILLION. AND THEN THE INTERSECTION PROJECTS, I THINK ARE ALL OUT OF 2017. THEY'RE OUT OF BOTH. UH, SO THOSE ARE THE INTERSECTION PROJECTS THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFIED. SO, UH, WAS THAT 11 MILLION? UM, AND THEN DID I HAVE, OH, SORRY. OKAY. [01:30:02] I WAS THINKING, OH, I'M SORRY. WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR WAS, UH, UNCOMMON GROUND, SO IT IS IN THERE TOO. THAT'S CONSIDERED AN INTERSECTION PROJECT. SO YEAH, THOSE COME OUT OF BOTH OF THE CIP FUNDS. SO IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, WE CAN HAVE OTHER STAFF COMING TO BE CLEAR. THAT'S NOT UNCOMMON GROUND IN THE PARK THAT'S GOING TOWARDS THE ROAD IMPROVEMENT. CORRECT. ON COLTRANE NEXT TO UNCOMMON GROUND. YES, SIR. AND SOME UTILITY PLANNING. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT 17 POINT SOMETHING MILLION, FOUR AND A HALF OF IT IS OVERLAYS, WHICH WE REALLY NEED TO FIND MORE FOR THAT. YES. I MEAN THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S PART OF WHAT THIS WHOLE DISCUSSION IS ABOUT IS HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE GET MORE MONEY INTO THE STREETS, UM, HOWEVER WE DO IT. SO I, THAT ANSWERS A LOT OF QUESTIONS FOR ME BECAUSE AS MANY OF US HEARD OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, OH, WE'RE ONLY SPENDING FOUR AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS ON STREETS, PERIOD. AND THAT'S NOT TRUE. AND I THINK EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT, WHAT'S OUT THERE. UM, ONCE AGAIN, IT'S ONE OF OUR CHALLENGES WITH THE WAY WE HAVE BEEN BUDGETING IS THAT YOU DON'T SEE ALL THAT IN A QUOTE STREETS DEPARTMENT BUDGET, SO THAT WE CAN TELL WHAT'S GOING ON. UM, THIS MAKES IT A WHOLE LOT EASIER TO, TO SEE IT RIGHT. WHEN WE HAVE TO SAY, OKAY, WHEREVER IT IS, PUT IT ON A SLIDE FOR US. AND I, I APPRECIATE THAT. UM, 'CAUSE I THINK IT'LL HELP A WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE REALLY DOING HERE. ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS? OKAY. BEFORE YOU MOVE TO QUESTIONS, DO YOU HAVE AN EXAMPLE HANDY OF THE PURPOSE-BASED? OH, YEAH. SO I DON'T KNOW. UM, I FEEL LIKE OUR, YOU CAN GO OUTTA ORDER OFF THE AGENDA. OKAY. PREFER, SO WE CAN SKIP TO, IT'S NOT IN ORDER. SO WE CAN CARRY ON YEAH. PURPOSE-BASED BUDGET. SO YES. AND THIS IS REALLY, UM, YEAH. OKAY. SO I JUST PUT TWO EXAMPLES IN HERE AND I WANNA REALLY THANK MY STAFF FOR WORKING ON IT, PARTICULARLY MATT NEWCOMB. HE HAS REALLY, HE'S WRITTEN ALL THIS, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF AN EXAMPLE OF THE REPORTING WE CAN GET TO FOR ALL THIS STUFF THAT YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT. SO WHETHER IT'S A RESERVE BALANCE OR WHATEVER, UM, HE'S DONE A FANTASTIC JOB OF GETTING THIS ALL TOGETHER. AND SO INITIALLY, AND THIS IS CITY COUNCIL'S BUDGET, SO I WAS REALLY JUST SHOWING INITIALLY WE, BECAUSE OF HOW OUR BUDGET BOOK IS STRUCTURED RIGHT NOW, IT GROUPS THINGS BY TYPE OF REVENUE RATHER THAN BY FUNDING SOURCE. AND SO THAT'S ONE THING WE'RE TRYING TO WORK ON. SO YOU MIGHT NOTICE CITY COUNCIL HAS NO FUNDING SOURCE, AND THAT'S BECAUSE ALL OF OUR FUNDS FOR GENERAL FUND GO INTO THREE DIFFERENT FUNDS, WHICH IS NOT THIS ONE . SO THAT'S JUST ONE OF THE CHALLENGES. BUT THIS DOES SHOW YOU AT LEAST EVERY SINGLE FUND WOULD SHOW YOU THE REVENUE SOURCES AND THEN ALSO THE, UH, THE EXPENSES. AND I JUST EXPANDED THIS SO THAT YOU COULD SEE EVERY SINGLE LINE ON THIS. YOU COULD EXPAND THIS WAY AND THEN YOU COULD SEE EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING OTHER THAN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT VENDORS ARE IN THERE, BUT WE CAN GET TO ALL OF THAT KIND OF STUFF. AND THEN THE FIRST ONE WAS MORE WHAT MAYOR NASH HAD KIND OF ASKED, LIKE, CAN WE GET IT TO A FUND LEVEL AND SEE WHERE, WHERE IT'S COMING FROM FUND? SO THERE'S SOME MARRIAGE THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN ALL OF THIS. AND THE OTHER THING, UM, THE REASON WE WE'RE PUTTING LIKE THIS IS JUST A DRAFT, IS WE'VE TAKEN WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW AND WE'VE JUST ARBITRARILY GROUPED THEM SO THAT WE COULD TRY TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT YOU COULD LOOK AT. SO ALL OF THAT NEEDS TO BE VETTED AND IT NEEDS TO BE DECIDED WHAT YOU WANT IN YOUR PURPOSE. UM, THIS IS CITYWIDE, BUT YOU KNOW, IF YOU TAKE ONE THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE EASIER, SOMETHING LIKE POLICE DEPARTMENT OR SOMETHING. WE DO HAVE SEVERAL FUNDS THAT ARE SET UP FOR THAT. SO OUR INTENT WAS TO GROUP THAT PURPOSE TOGETHER. YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T HAVE A, YOU DON'T HAVE A SLIDE THAT SHOWS THE ONE THAT MATT CREATED ON THE FLY WHERE HE BROKE IT INTO DISTINCT PIECES FOR US IN, IN MY OFFICE THAT DAY. DO YOU WANNA COME LIKE TALK , BECAUSE THIS IS, WELL, I'LL, I, I KNOW, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS IS A WORK IN PROCESS AND WHAT WE HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT WAS SEPARATING WHERE THE REVENUE IS FROM THE EXPENSES. SO YOU CAN DISTINCTLY SEE THE DIFFERENCE. I THINK AS FAR AS WE GOT WHOOPS. SORRY. WAS REALLY MORE THIS, BECAUSE THIS RIGHT HERE, IT KIND OF STARTS WHAT WE HAD AND THEN THIS IS BREAKING IT OUT, SO THAT SHOULD RIGHT. AND WE HAD TALKED ABOUT JUST ADDING A COUPLE OF BLANK LINES IN BETWEEN TO [01:35:01] SEPARATE THE REVENUE FROM THE EXPENSES AND RIGHT. THE WHOLE IDEA OF THIS IS TO BE ABLE TO SHOW HOW MUCH WE'RE APPROVING FOR PERSONAL SERVICES FOR A DEPARTMENT, HOW MUCH WE'RE APPROVING FOR SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS, AND THEN OTHER EXPENSES. AND THEN IF YOU HAVE CAPITAL, AND THEN ON THE INTERDEPARTMENTAL TRANSFERS SO THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THAT BY DEPARTMENT. UM, WHICH IS, IN MY OPINION, WHERE WE NEED TO BE MOVING. UM, WELL, AND I THINK WHAT'LL HAP AND WE CAN DO IT HOWEVER WE NEED TO, BUT THE BY DEPARTMENT PIECE IS RIGHT HERE. SO YOU'D HAVE IT ON EVERY RIGHT DEPARTMENT, RIGHT? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? YEAH. OKAY. YEAH. BUT, AND THE EXAMPLE YOU SAW ON THAT SLIDE RIGHT THERE SHOWS IT BY OBJECT OF EXPENDITURE CODE, WHICH I DON'T BELIEVE WE SHOULD AS A COUNCIL SHOULD EVER BE APPROVING AT THAT EXACT LEVEL BECAUSE IF WE DO THAT, IT TIES EVERYBODY'S HANDS. BUT IF WE SHOW WHAT YOU'VE GOT FOR MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES, THEN THE DEPARTMENT HEAD SAYS, OKAY, I KNOW THIS IS WHAT I GOT. NOW YOU MAKE THE DECISIONS IN INSIDE OF THAT ON WHAT YOU DO. LIKEWISE, ON PERSONAL SERVICES, LIKEWISE ON OTHER EXPENSES, THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THAT WOULD MOST LIKELY BE ON CAPITAL OUTLAY. AND ON CAPITAL OUTLAY IT WOULD BE PROJECT SPECIFIC. UM, AND EVEN THAT COULD BE UP FOR DISCUSSION AS A COUNCIL, WHETHER WE WANT TO SHOW EACH ONE OF 'EM OR WE'RE GONNA JUST LUMP IT AND SAY GO DO IT. UM, BUT THE IDEA BEHIND IT, OKLAHOMA CITY USES THIS CONCEPT, AND IT IS WHAT DRIVES THEIR WHOLE BUDGET BOOK IS IT SHOWS, AND THEY DO IT JUST SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT. THEY DON'T DO IT BY THE OMBA CATEGORIES. THEY DO IT BY DEPENDING ON THE DEPARTMENT, BY WHAT THE, THE CHARGE OF THE DEPARTMENT IS. SO SOMETIMES IT'S PAYROLL GENERAL, OR, UH, ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, UM, FIELD SERVICES. BUT THE SIMPLEST WAY FOR US TO GET STARTED IS JUST RELYING ON OMBA CATEGORIES, WHICH IS PERSONAL SERVICES, SUPPLY, THE MATERIALS, OTHER EXPENSES, ROLL THOSE TWO UP TO OTHER OPERATING EXPENSES, AND THEN YOU HAVE CAPITAL OUTLAY. AND I'D LIKE TO SEE US BE ABLE TO PULL THOSE TRANSFERS, THOSE INTERDEPARTMENTAL TRANSFERS UP INTO THE EXPENSES, REVENUE AND EXPENSE. YEAH. PULL IT UP SO THAT WE'RE SHOWING YEAH, THE, WHEN YOU'RE TRANSFERRING OUT, IT'S AN EXPENSE OF THAT DEPARTMENT AND THEN IT'S DROPPING INTO A REVOLVING FUND, WHATEVER WE'RE GONNA CALL IT. AND THEN THAT'S WHAT'S FUNDING IT ON THE OTHER SIDE, ON OUR SUPPORT SERVICES. AND IT BALANCES AND IT BALANCES. I I, YEAH. I MEAN, BELIEVE ME, WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, THIS IS A TOUGH CHARGE AND I'D LOVE TO SEE THIS IN THE BUDGET BOOK BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT SHOWS OUR CITIZENS WHAT WE'RE REALLY DOING. INSTEAD OF US HAVING TO ASK YOU MS. PANIS, EVERY TIME THERE'S A PUBLIC QUESTION ABOUT WHAT JUST HAPPENED, AND YOU HAVE TO GO CHASE THE NUMBERS TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE ARE, AND WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO DO THAT. I MEAN, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SAY, IF YOU'RE ASKING A QUESTION ABOUT OUR IT DEPARTMENT, HERE'S WHAT WE'RE DOING. THE THE QUESTION IS, AND I GUESS I LOOK AT MATT WHEN I SAY THIS, THE QUESTION IS, CAN YOU PULL THAT TOGETHER FOR US BY MONDAY? BY MONDAY WOULD BE PRETTY GOOD. I MEAN, THE HARDEST PART IS UP THERE ON THE TOP IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE RESTRUCTURE THE REVENUE. RIGHT. AND I DON'T WANT TO THROW SOMETHING IN THAT IS IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM MISLEADING AT THIS POINT. YEAH. DO YOU WANT ME YEAH. COME ON UP HERE. MATT NEWCOMB, FISCAL ANALYST. UM, ANOTHER VERY DIFFICULT PART ABOUT THIS IS WHEN YOU START GETTING INTO, UH, POLICE, POLICE WOULD BE A PRETTY EASY ONE. FIRE WOULD BE A PRETTY EASY ONE. BUT WHEN YOU START GETTING INTO MORE BROAD CATEGORIES THAT USE CIP FUNDS, HOW WE'VE ARBITRARILY GROUPED THEM MM-HMM . I WOULDN'T FEEL VERY CONFIDENT PRESENTING THAT TO THE PUBLIC JUST OF YET, SINCE IT'S NOT VETTED BY ANYBODY BUT ME. SO YEAH, THAT'S, I MEAN THAT, AND, AND THAT'S OUR CHALLENGE, RIGHT. YOU KNOW, THAT IS OUR CHALLENGE AS IT COMES BACK TO THE WHOLE CONVERSATION THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING THROUGH THREE OF THESE PUBLIC HEARINGS IS WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE DO? HOW FAR CAN WE TAKE IT? AND THIS SUCKER IS NOT EVEN REALLY READY TO BE PUT IN THE OVEN YET. [01:40:01] UM, AS MUCH AS I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THIS IN THE BUDGET BOOK, I JUST, I DON'T SEE IT HAPPENING AND IT BEING ACCURATE. YEAH. LAST THING WE WANNA DO IS PUT SOMETHING OUT THAT DOESN'T HAVE THE REVENUE FILTERED INTO THE RIGHT CATEGORIES OR SOMETHING. YEAH. THAT, THAT IS AS DANGEROUS AS THE COMMENTS THAT I'VE BEEN MAKING ABOUT IF YOU ALLOW ANYONE TO JUST GET HOLD OF OUR DATA AND PULL WHATEVER THEY WANT. I'VE MADE A CAREER OUT OF ANALYZING DATA AND STATISTICS LIE AND LIARS USE STATISTICS TO DO WHAT THEY WANT TO DO. RIGHT. FIGURES LIE LIARS FIGURE THE WHOLE THING. WE DON'T WANT TO GO DOWN THAT PATH. WE WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S RIGHT IN THE FIRST PLACE, BUT THIS IS A WAY TO GET US THERE. AND IT LITERALLY GIVES OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS NUMBERS THAT THEY CAN WORK WITH THAT THEY CAN SEE AND THEY KNOW WHAT IT IS. AND THAT EMPOWERS THEM. THAT EMPOWERS ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS TO DO THEIR JOB WITHOUT HAVING TO FIGURE OUT WHEN THE, WHEN IS THE NEXT TIME WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO TO CITY COUNCIL TO GET A BUDGET AMENDMENT PASSED BECAUSE WE'VE GOTTA FIGURE OUT WHERE THE MONEY IS AND MOVE IT. AND WE DON'T NEED TO BE DOING THAT. WELL, AND IT'S THE, IT'S THE ONLY WAY THAT IT MAKES SENSE FOR THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE. MM-HMM . MM-HMM . THAT'S, THAT'S A BIGGER PART TO ME. AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, NONE OF THIS CHANGES THE NUMBERS. IT'S JUST A WAY TO FILTER THE DATA AND PRESENT IT THAT'S MORE CLEAR. THAT'S RIGHT. I TO THE AVERAGE PERSON. RIGHT. RIGHT. I THINK IT'S MOVING IN A REALLY GOOD DIRECTION MYSELF AND WILL HELP US TO COMMUNICATE BETTER WITH THE PUBLIC AND MAYBE INTO NEXT YEAR'S PROCESS. ONE THING ABOUT THIS I, IF YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER, IS WHEN WE DO START MEETING MORE REGULARLY ON BUDGET AND HOW YOU'D LIKE TO SEE THAT, THE VERY FIRST THING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IS JUST YOU EVEN AGREE WITH OUR GROUPINGS. LIKE THERE'S JUST ALL KINDS OF STUFF MM-HMM . AND, UM, IT'S, WE ARE GETTING, WE ARE THIS CLOSE TO HAVING OUR JL WHICH THIS IS A NERDY ACCOUNTING PIECE, BUT IT'S, WE'VE RUN OUT OF OBJECT CODES, WHICH ARE THOSE 83 10 ELECTRICITY COSTS WE'VE RUN OUT OF THEM. AND SO WE'VE GOTTEN TO WHERE NOW IT'S ALL MANUAL TO TRY AND FIGURE CERTAIN THINGS OUT, BUT ONCE WE MOVE TO THE, THE JOURNAL LEDGER, WE CAN TRACK THINGS BY PROJECT MM-HMM . AND THERE'S SO MUCH OPPORTUNITY TO CODE THINGS DIFFERENTLY AND GROUP THEM AND IT'S FAST. AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT MATT'S BEEN WORKING ON A LOT. UH, WE ALSO HAVE OUR QUESTA BUDGET SOFTWARE THAT IS VERY CLOSE TO BEING IMPLEMENTED. IT'S ALL THIS IS KIND OF HAPPENING AT ONCE. AND HONESTLY, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO DECIDE YESTERDAY DO WE MOVE IT INTO QUESTA OR DO WE STILL TRY TO DO IT THIS WAY BECAUSE QUESTA IS THE PUBLIC FACING, UM, SOFTWARE. AND, AND, AND IT'LL ALL MARRY AT SOME POINT, BUT IT'S ALL ABOUT SETTING IT UP RIGHT IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND WE'RE STILL LIKE THREE FOURTHS OF THE WAY THERE. WE'RE JUST NOT, WE'RE TESTING, BUT I'M, I LOVE YOUR QUESTIONS. I THINK THEY'RE VERY GOOD QUESTIONS AND WE'VE GROWN TO A SIZE NOW THAT IT'S JUST, WE'VE JUST GOT SO MUCH DATA. YEAH. AND THEN YOU'VE GOT ALL THAT HISTORY TOO, THAT WHENEVER YOU CHANGE SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO GET THAT THERE SO YOU CAN COMPARE. SO IT'S JUST A LOT OF WORK, BUT IT CAN BE DONE. BUT I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE WITH US AND I THINK OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT YEAR WE'LL REALLY BE ABLE TO MAKE SOME HUGE STRIDES AND WE JUST HAVE TO MEET, MEET REGULARLY. I'M GLAD WE'RE ON A PATH TO MODERNIZE OUR FINANCIAL TOOLS. I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE CITY AS WE GROW. YEAH. AND EVEN YOUR EXAMPLE THAT YOU SENT OF OKLAHOMA CITY AND THEIR PACKET, IT'S JUST COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE DO, BUT IT'S NOT, CERTAINLY NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO CREATE THAT. IT'S JUST TAKES TIME TO, WE'VE JUST GOTTA GET US THERE BECAUSE THE WAY WE'VE TIED EVERYTHING TOGETHER AT THIS POINT, ONE OF THE MOST, WE'VE GOTTA FIGURE OUT HOW WE DROP IT INTO THE RIGHT BUCKET SO THAT THEN WE'RE PULLING IT OUT OF THE BIGGER BUCKET INSTEAD OF TYING IT ALL THE WAY DOWN AT THAT ACCOUNT LEVEL. AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE YOUR CHALLENGE IS. RIGHT. AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO ME AS THE NERDY ACCOUNTANT IS THAT IT BALANCES AND IT AGREES. THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO IS PUT OUT SOMETHING THAT IS $10 MILLION OFF OR 20 MILLION AND IT'S LIKE, THEN YOU'VE LOST ALL TRUST. SO AS LONG AS WE'RE TAKING OUR TIME AND DOING IT CORRECTLY AND TYING THINGS DOWN, UM, AND WE CAN VERIFY. I AGREE. WE, WE ALL KNOW BUDGETS ARE WRONG AS SOON AS THEY'RE ADOPTED. RIGHT. BUT, BUT IF IT'S WRONG BEFORE IT GETS ADOPTED, THAT MAKES NO SENSE. NO, AND I'LL, I'LL TELL YOU HONESTLY, THIS BUDGET THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, I DON'T THINK IT'S, I THINK EVERYBODY'S PUT A LOT OF WORK [01:45:01] INTO IT. I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING THAT'S JUST CRAZY OUTSIDE OF WHAT YOU SHOULD ASK. WE DO HAVE SOME FUNDING CHALLENGES THIS NEXT YEAR JUST 'CAUSE OUR SALES TAX HASN'T COME IN. BUT, UM, IF WE CAN GET OUR REPORTING A LITTLE BIT REFINED WHERE YOU CAN SEE THINGS MORE OFTEN AND ASK QUESTIONS LIKE YOU'VE BEEN ASKING AND WE CAN ANSWER 'EM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GREAT THING. WELL, AND I, AND I THINK KATHY, I THINK, UM, IT'S GONNA SOUND ODD TO SAY THIS, BUT, BUT THIS YEAR AND THE VOLATILITY IN THE REVENUE AND THE SALES TAX, IT'S A GOOD LEARNING TOOL FOR US. GOOD LEARNING EXAMPLE BECAUSE THAT VOLATILITY IS THERE NOW WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE IT AND IT ALSO PUTS EMPHASIS ON WE NEED TO DO THINGS TO INCREASE IT BECAUSE THERE IS GOING TO BE VOLATILITY ALWAYS. AND AND WE HAVE TO BE CONSCIOUS OF THAT IN THAT BUDGET PROCESS. THAT'S CORRECT. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES. OKAY. SO THIS WAS, MY NECK IS KIND OF STUCK TO THE LEFT. I NEED TO LOOK TO THE RIGHT MORE OFTEN. LET'S SEE. ANYTHING OVER HERE? WE'RE GOOD. SO I KNOW WE NEED TO RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENTS AND THEN ALSO IF, IF AT THE END IF WE CAN REALLY JUST, I'LL RE RESTATE WHAT I THINK I HEARD AND THEN WE'LL FIGURE OUT WHEN WE PUBLISH AND WHEN WE ADOPT. SO. OKAY. OKAY. UM, SO I THINK WE'RE READY FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS. YEAH. SO DO WE HAVE ANYONE HERE TODAY THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK WILSON 7 42 CIRCLE? APPRECIATE THE DISCUSSION IN, UH, IN MY EYES, THIS IS LAST COUNCIL'S BUDGET. 'CAUSE IT WASN'T SET UP BY THIS COUNCIL'S STRATEGY, ESPECIALLY FROM A STAFF PERSPECTIVE. THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE BENEFIT OF THE ALL THE CHANGES WHEN THEY DID ALL THE HARD WORK TOWARDS THIS BUDGET. MM-HMM . SO YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO TO GET IT DONE MONDAY. AT LEAST THIS MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC FULLY SEES THAT. OKAY. STRATEGY WISE TOO, THIS BOARD SETS FUNDING LEVELS AND LETS OPERATORS OPERATE. AND I WOULD JUST KIND OF CAUTION AS SOMETIMES HAPPENS ON CITY COUNCILS, YOU REACH DOWN SOMETIMES TO SUSIE SMITH, BLAH BLAH, THIS ROLE. YOU SET FUNDING LEVELS AND LET THEM DO THE BEST THEY CAN ON THE SERVICES FOR THAT FUNDING LEVEL. SO THOSE ARE COMMENTS I GUESS I LIKE KATHY WOULD LIKE TO VERIFY, CLARIFY WHERE THE POSITIONS, AT LEAST FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, ALL RECLASSIFICATIONS, THE 200 K FROM HR SHOULD OCCUR. WE WANT THE BEST IF HR FEELS THEY'RE DOING THOSE SERVICES AND IT'S APPROVED THROUGH FINANCE AND THOSE SHOULD DO THOSE, ALL OF THOSE OTHER POSITIONS, NEW POSITIONS, FIRE, POLICE, WHOEVER WE REALLY, REALLY, REALLY CARE ABOUT, WHICH SHOULD BE EVERYBODY SHOULD BE STOPPED. YOU ADDED 54 POSITIONS LAST YEAR. THAT'S A LOT OF POSITIONS IN A FLAT TO NEGATIVE YEAR. LET THE SYSTEM ABSORB THAT. IF NEXT YEAR YOU NEED 'EM FROM A SERVICE LEVEL, YOU CAN ALWAYS ADD IT. BUT JUST WATCHING THE DISCUSSION OF HAND WRINGING OF TRYING TO ELIMINATE OR LOOK AT OPTIONS FOR STAFFING, THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE TO HOLD THE LINE. FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I WOULD TRY TO SET UP THE, I PERSONALLY WOULDN'T DO THE ORG CHANGES. I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE IT'S TOO LATE TO SET UP THE NEW CITY COUNCIL, CITY MANAGER STRATEGY OF WHATEVER'S GONNA BE, BUT THAT'S A DECISION THERE. AND THEN I WOULD CHALLENGE THIS BODY AND THIS IS GONNA BE HARD. CRAC, YOU'RE INCREASING CRAC NOT DECREASING, NOT HOLDING THE LINE IN A FLAT ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT. SO I WOULD JUST MAKE SURE YOU LOOK AT THAT. AND THEN I THINK I'D SET THE TONE FROM THE STAFFING PERSPECTIVE OF THIS IS WE WANT A FLAT, TRUE FLAT PART OF THE $40 MILLION IS YOU JUST STOPPED DOING CAPITAL. YOU DID NOT REDUCE ANY PERSONNEL OR ANY OTHER COST SIGNIFICANTLY. AND IT'S NOT EASY. I GUESS I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDER THIS GROUP UNDERSTANDS THAT. BUT I WOULD HOLD THE LINE 'CAUSE YOU COULD ALWAYS GIVE EXTRA FUNDING AND I WOULD ALLOCATE IT ALL TO OVERLAYS. 'CAUSE IF OVERLAYS IS NOT 10 TO 11 MILLION, THE STREETS ARE GOING BACKWARDS EVERY YEAR. AND BE GLAD WE'RE NOT OKLAHOMA CITY ASKING DEPARTMENTS TO DO A 4.5% REDUCTION WITH THIS AMOUNT OF HAND WRINGING FOR 0.8%. [01:50:01] THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO ? ONLY IF YOU WANT TO, MR. BEAR, I MOVE TO ADJOURN. , ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I JUST WANNA SAY SOME OF THOSE THINGS THAT MR. WILSON MENTIONED, I THINK WE'LL HAVE MORE ABILITY TO INFLUENCE STARTING OUT, YOU KNOW, NEW NEXT YEAR. A LOT OF THAT WE JUST, WE HAVEN'T HAD A LOT OF TIME TO LOOK INTO. SO GOOD COMMENTS. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. CLOSING REMARKS. YOU GOOD? I JUST WANNA THANK KATHY AND MATT AND SHEILA AND THE, AND THE FINANCE STAFF WHO'VE BEEN SO HELPFUL THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS. WE'VE BEEN PUTTING 'EM THROUGH THE RINGER, SO I REALLY DO APPRECIATE IT. IT'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL AND IT'S BEEN HARD FOR ALL OF US ON A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME FROM THIS SIDE. WELL THANKS FOR CALLING THE MEETING MR. MAYOR. UH, . YEAH, THANKS. UH, SERIOUSLY, UH, YOU INDICATED YOU WANTED TO TAKE A GOOD STRONG LOOK AT THE BUDGET. YOU'VE DONE THAT, THE COUNCIL'S DONE THAT. UH, I THINK ONE OBSERVATION WOULD BE WHEN WE START THIS PROCESS FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, UH, WE STARTED EARLIER, UH, PERHAPS CONVENE THE MEETINGS AT 2:00 PM OR 1:00 PM AS OPPOSED TO THREE OR THREE 30. AND, UH, IF WE'RE IN A SPOTLIGHT, LIKE I DON'T, I DON'T WANT TO BE IN A SPOTLIGHT LIKE WE ARE TODAY TRYING TO FIGURE SOME THINGS OUT ON, ON WEDNESDAY BEFORE THE MONDAY DEADLINE. UH, BUT, UH, I, I'D LIKE TO LOOK AT THOSE WHILE WE'RE AT THE STRATEGIC PLAN, FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE GONNA DO IT NEXT YEAR. UH, SO THANK YOU AGAIN. I'M GOOD. ALRIGHT. FROM OUR DISCUSSION, UM, I THINK WE ARE WHERE WE'RE AT AND WE'RE JUST MOVING FORWARD THERE. WE'RE, WE'RE NOT GONNA ASK YOU TO MAKE ANY OTHER CHANGES BECAUSE OF THE, THE ONLY THINGS THAT WOULD TRULY ACHIEVE WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AT THIS POINT. UM, YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO GET TO BECAUSE OF THE WAY EVERYTHING'S TIED TOGETHER AND WE GET IT. AND AS MR. WILSON STATED, UM, YEAH, THIS IS, THIS IS THE PREVIOUS COUNCIL'S BUDGET TO BE QUITE HONEST. AND STAFF IS, HAS NOT HAD THE LUXURY OF LISTENING TO THE FIVE OF US, THE LUXURY , YOU KNOW, OVER THE PAST YEAR TO GET US HERE. UM, BASICALLY WE'RE LOOKING AT FOUR WEEKS OF WORK AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT WE CAN DO TO HELP YOU. UM, AND WE'RE GONNA BE, WE'RE GONNA BE BRINGING A, A RESOLUTION TO A COUNCIL MEETING IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE TO TALK ABOUT A TASK FORCE TO LOOK AT THE WAY THE BUDGET IS CONSTRUCTED AND HOW THE FUNDS ARE CONSTRUCTED AND HOW WE DEAL WITH THEM. UM, WE KNOW THAT, WE KNOW WE HAVE TO DO THAT BECAUSE WE'VE GOT TO MAKE THIS EASIER ON EVERYBODY. UM, YOU KNOW, I, I APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH. I APPRECIATE YOUR STAFF SO MUCH BECAUSE YOU'VE HAD TO LISTEN TO US GO A HUNDRED MILES AN HOUR OVER THE LAST MONTH AND, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE BRINGING THREE OF US, IF NOT ALL FIVE OF US UP TO SPEED ON AN INCREDIBLY CURRENT COMPLEX SYSTEM. WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA HELP YOU. UM, IF WE'RE GONNA DO WHAT WE'VE SET OUT TO DO, WE'VE GOTTA MAKE IT EASIER. SO, UM, I DO APPRECIATE YOU AND, AND YOU KNOW, THE NEXT ARTICLE IN THE OKLAHOMAN, UM, WE'D PROBABLY NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY BRING BOXING GLOVES FOR THE TWO OF US , BUT, 'CAUSE THAT'S THE WAY IT SOUNDED. BUT, UM, I TRULY DO THANK EVERYBODY FOR THE WORK THAT YOU PUT IN ON THIS AND THE EXPLANATIONS THAT Y'ALL HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BRING TO US AT THIS POINT HAS HELPED, UM, BECAUSE IT GIVES US INSIGHT AS WE MOVE FORWARD. WELL, I WANNA THANK YOU ALL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTIONS. IT'S REALLY MADE US ALL THINK AND, UM, ANYTIME YOU HAVE A QUESTION, PLEASE LET US KNOW. WE'LL BE READY TO HAVE MORE OFTEN MEETINGS, MORE OFTEN AND, UM, REPORTING AND ALL THAT TYPE OF THING. SO, AND YEAH, I, I THINK THE WHOLE STAFF OF THE CITY, I MEAN, EVERYBODY'S GOT TO GET THEIR BUDGET DONE. SO, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU GUYS. THANK YOU MA'AM. LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED ANYTHING ELSE. ALRIGHT. I GUESS I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADJOURN AT THIS POINT. SO JUST TO BE CLEAR, REAL QUICK, NO CHANGE TO THE CURRENT BUDGET AS PRESENTED. [01:55:01] AN ACTION TO BRING A REVISION AROUND THE LABOR DAY TIMEFRAME. RIGHT. OKAY. AND THE HIRING FREEZE IN JULY, JULY ONE, AS PRESENTED BY CITY OF MAJOR. YEP. YEP. RIGHT. YEP. ALL RIGHT. MOTION TO ADJOURN. SECOND. MOTION TO SECOND PASSED YOUR VOTE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. MAKE SURE WE'RE ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. * 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.