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Closed captioning provided by bufort county.

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all right, good afternoon. I'd like to call this town council budget workshop. Meeting

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to order thursday, may 14th. Uh, gonna have a motion to adopt the

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agenda. I move. We got a first and second. All those in favor signify for raising your

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right hand. That is six to zero. Ms. Becker is

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on teams up on the screen. Um, so as we go through today,

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um, I'd like to, you know, as we go down in, in the presentation,

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made to ask questions, but, um, realizing we've got a lot of, a lot of material to

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cover, and, um, if there's a question that's asked if y'all

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would say that will be covered later on. Um, so, so that we can move forward,

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forward, uh, in a timely manner and really get the answers

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question and have that discussion on the, on the items that where we need. So that would be very helpful.

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um, so mr. Orlando, I'll turn it over to you.

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good evening, mayor council. Good evening. Members of the public,

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uh, tonight as it shows on the agenda, we're going to cover

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several of the funds, right, with first reading. Just a reminder first, and, and for the

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public at first reading, we rec we covered the entire consolidated budget, and

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then we broke it down by each fund. Tonight we will cover the general fund,

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the operating debt service, the gullah geechee, historic neighborhood community

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development corporation fund, the housing fund, and special revenue

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fund. At the table with me is john carpenter, assistant

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finance director, uh, and dave bird, as we know finance

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director tonight, I would, would ask it as much of a conversation workshop

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as ever. And so, yeah, I, I, mayor perry, I, I appreciate

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you saying ask as we go, right? Um, if,

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if what you ask is two slides ahead, we'll we'll let you

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know and try to get there. But the goal of today is to have this conversation

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with you. We talked a lot about special revenues. We talked a lot about those transfers

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in and transfers out. And we also said at first reading, um,

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you said at first reading, and I heard you, let's slow down and make sure we,

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we answer those questions. One for our understanding. And two, for, for,

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for the community. Dave will drive as much today as,

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as we're willing to let him. Um, I'm willing to let dave

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dive into the budget. I, I want dave to dive into the budget conversation with you,

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not just mine to present, but dave and I to, with john's, uh, help as

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well. Explain it all and, and answer your questions. So

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I'll dive in a lot of this stuff. You've already seen a few of the slides based upon your

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feedback are new. We updated the presentation

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prior and we updated the packet as well as, as the community

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thought. So, um, we're not gonna

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go over every single slide, but I, for the community's sake and so that we

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can talk through at, at workshop and that have at least some,

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some perspective of what we're talking about and why I've left some of the

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slides in, but I won't cover them all, um, for time sake. And so we can get into

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the budget. We've seen this, um, the community

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factors, the economic drivers, tourism, healthcare, real estate. Um,

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we took a look at our island at a glance at first reading. We took a look at our top employers.

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um, we've realized that gross sales by fiscal year, pretty

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much flat over the last several years, um, including

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each portfolio of fun, tourism, restaurant, grocery, et cetera.

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we talked about strong economic factors and bond rating. I, I don't want

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to underestimate that, but that is planned. That's not just happenstance.

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um, and so we're very, very pleased that the aaa bond

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rating from all three. Um, let us, let us into realize

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the, about the tax base and the, the property tax revenues and fiscal management.

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we took a look at open and closed businesses, half our businesses,

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um, on, on books, our short term rental permits. And, and the other 50%

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are diversified. We talked that

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the assessed value and the market value

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as we see it, uh, has grown approximately 32.5%

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over the last five years. We talked that we manage

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about 2000 acres. We don't manage it in that sense, but we have acquired and,

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and, and have on, on the books close to 2000 acres,

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27 parks, 14 miles of roads that we manage and maintained

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72 miles of pathways and 24 total buildings.

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that doesn't include restrooms and pavilions. That, that,

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uh, I always like to make sure

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that as we're looking at the budget, we look at our org chart because we are in different pieces

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of, of municipal business that have grown. And I think the org

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chart helps us understand what those core functions are.

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we have 290 full-time employees, 16 part-time.

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that hasn't changed since the amended budget. Um, and the amended budget

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increased by six full-time employees aligned with short-term

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rental program improvements from last year.

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we talked our first reading about the 10 goals and, and priorities

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out of the strategic plan that have guided our budget. And then I

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went over the budget goals of fiscal year 27, which are the same budget

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goals as as prior years. And we also looked at measuring those,

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um, a again, or stating those again moving forward.

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tonight's the workshop. Our next workshop

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is next week and anticipating a a, a town council

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meeting on june 9th. So we still have some, some time in between to answer your

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questions and go over things. We're starting to get into the,

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the true budget of general cap or general

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debt geechee, cdc housing and special

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rev. What you will see after this slide are some new slides. And I will

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for a little bit, turn this over to dave. Thank

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you, mark. And dave and I rehearsed a little bit that he's gonna talk slow enough,

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but not so slow that we don't get outta here till nine o'clock night. We, we'll be done by what,

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five 30? Okay, . So, um,

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, so good evening, mayor and council. Um,

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so after listening to some of the feedback

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and what the view of a $233 million

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budget, um, I thought it'd be good to take a step back

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and kind of explain that it's really not a $233 million

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budget and kinda give you some information

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and the public so we can understand some of the nuances of

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government accounting. 'cause it is a little bit tricky compared to

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non-governmental accounting. And, um, so I, I

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put some definitions here together. Um, patsy, that's something

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I picked up from you. So, um, but really to

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kind of break down how we show our income statement. And, um,

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and first we're gonna look at revenue just so we can get a idea of

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the high level, what are the revenues for the town, which is taxes, fees, grants,

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sale of land and investment income. And most of these are recurring

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direct revenues and they increase cash. So

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when I think of that, you know, you're gonna see $121 million of

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operating revenue for the town in 2027. And

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that's composed of many line items, but that's cash that we collect.

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okay? And then other financing sources, um,

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bonds, leases, sell of equipment and or vehicles.

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those are more non-recurring in nature. They still

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bring cash into the town. Um, but the difference is

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they're non-recurring. And so you'll see in the budget we have four

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and a half million for non-recurring revenue and other financing

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sources. And that's really for the, uh, firetruck lease. We're anticipating at the

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end of this calendar year. And that's what I would

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say are the inflows of cash that the town gets.

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okay? Then we get into more governmental terms,

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which can make the numbers look higher, but it's really

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managing numbers within all of the funds we have. And we probably have

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the six major and probably seven, probably about

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eight or so in the special revenues fund.

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and so we move dollars between funds

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based upon projects or, uh, needs

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of a fund per se. So when we do a transfer

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end from one fund to another fund, well that's booked

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as revenue to the fund receiving it and it's booked

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as expense to the fund sending it. It's not cash per se

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because it's not creating any more cash for the town,

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but we are moving money from, let's say, one bank account to another.

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and so, um, but it does inflate the revenue

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from a general fund perspective and, or excuse me, from a total town perspective.

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and it also makes the expense look higher. Um,

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and then we have the uses of funds for revenue and the uses

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of funds are money we're pulling out of the bank look

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at it that way to cover our expenses. So if

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we're spending more than that fund balance has in revenue

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that's coming in, we will pull money from

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that fund balance as a use of funds. And I kind

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of call that a withdrawal from the checking account. And, and, and when you look

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at it that way, once again, it's not new cash flow because

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it's cash that we've already received. So when we go to

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expense, same concept, we have our operating expenses,

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salaries, benefits, contractors, cip, which

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is really not operating. I would say capital projects are a little bit

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different there. Our debt service, uh, other just general operating

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expenses, it software, things of that nature. They could be recurring or non-recurring,

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but those are checks we're writing that's reducing cash.

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and um, when you look at our budget, we're spending $145 million,

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not $233 million, $145 million.

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and so I think it's important to kind of note that when we kind of go through things

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and then we have our transfers out. Well, as

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we mentioned, we transfer money like in our ci capital projects

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fund, we transfer quite a bit of money to that fund. A lot of those come from

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special revenue funds. And so that's an expense when

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we transfer out. That's the other side of the ledger. 'cause the

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transfer ends must equal the transfer outs. So you can balance.

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and then we have our fund balance surplus. Some funds we don't transfer

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out of, we don't spend all of it. So we have, I'll call

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money a surplus in that fund, but to get the budget to

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balance, we book that as an expense to basically balance

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that out from a balanced budget perspective, once again, making the expense

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look higher. And so all of that leads

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into change in fund balance. Oh, mark, here I go. I'm not doing the

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thingy. There we go. So our change in fund

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balance, if you look at a normal accounting income statement,

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uh, you could think of this as net income, which is operating

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revenue plus other financing sources minus operating

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expenses. So we've got 125 million of

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revenue, we're spending 145 million.

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so you'll see a negative change in fund balance this year's budget

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of just under $20 million. Okay? And that's gonna

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be a negative cash flow. I mean, we're spending more than we are taking

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in in 2027 fiscal budget. Um,

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a fund balance surplus we talked about is a fund minus the

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fund balance use is also a change in fund balance,

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depending on if it's higher or lower, will depend upon

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positive or negative cash flow. Either way you look at that will equal

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the same number. Okay? And we'll show that in a second. And once again,

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we always, we have our transfers this year, I think it's like $72 million,

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which is making that number go to 233 million.

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um, but we also have a transfer out and a transfer in, they

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net out to zero. And so our total, this is governmental

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as well. Our total revenue budget takes our operating revenue,

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our other financing sources plus transfers in

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plus uses of funds. And our expense site is

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our operating expenses plus transfers out, plus

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the fund balance surplus. So when you take the total revenue

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minus the total expense, you get your balanced budget.

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so the net of that is zero, which you normally do see in the budget.

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so I've kind of have a income statement

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view to illustrate what's happening. So we'll

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start at the top with operating revenue, and you've kind of got from

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24 through 27 with

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our projection for 26. And you can see we've done 130,

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135 million, 135 million, 121. Now we are

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going down a little bit in 2020, um, seven.

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and we've got, you know, grants that are going down for fema. We took down permit

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fees, we had the nova land sale that happened that, um,

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is not repeating. We took investment income down based upon

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anticipated reduced, uh, return of interest and other miscellaneous

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grants that have occurred. So there's, there's reasons behind the drop,

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but I would say 121, it's kind of a normal cash

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operating year this year because we don't have a lot of grant revenue

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in the budget. We have like a million in grant revenue for fema and

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a quarter million dollars for ccdb. I can't say those words. Letters,

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c, db, thank you sir. And so, and then we have our other financing

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sources. Well, you see 7.6 million in 25.

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that was the original fire truck equipment lease. Then

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we did the geo bond and the beach bonds. Well, that was 54 million this

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year and in the 26 fiscal year. And then we mentioned the

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four and a half million that's budgeted. So that's the 125 million,

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uh, our operating expenses, okay, we've got 90 million.

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okay? And we did break out capital separately to show that. And

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you can see capital 24 was 27 million, then it went

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to 31. It was a big year in 26 when we did the renourishment, right?

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and then we're coming back down to 54, but it is a big capital

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year for the town in 2027. And so

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we're spending 145. So we're spending roughly 20 million

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more that's, we've got all of these different consolidated schedules. But this

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is the summary of what's really happening from a town perspective.

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if you wanna look at it from a, and I, here's how I look at it too.

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you've got 121 million in revenue, we've got 90 million

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of operating expense that leaves 30 million on

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a given year to pay for capital projects. You could look at it that way as

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well, depending on what fund that money is sitting

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in. And that'll get important as we get down the road and start talking about fund balances

229
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and if they're restricted or not, like beach preservation. And so

230
00:16:54,675 --> 00:16:58,445
when you look at change in fund balance, the same concept we talked about before,

231
00:16:58,905 --> 00:17:02,745
you have fund balance use fund balance surplus. Well, if

232
00:17:03,025 --> 00:17:06,205
the surplus is higher than the use, like we have in 2026,

233
00:17:07,195 --> 00:17:10,765
it's a million surplus, 1.3 million this year. And in 27

234
00:17:12,175 --> 00:17:16,065
we've got 35 million versus 15 surplus. So we're, that's

235
00:17:16,645 --> 00:17:20,605
negative 19. We broke out the transfers in and out it because

236
00:17:20,885 --> 00:17:24,605
those balance out. And then I threw in the ending fund balance

237
00:17:25,385 --> 00:17:29,245
at the bottom of this here, which is right here. So we

238
00:17:29,445 --> 00:17:33,285
ended 24, around 230 million. That's pretty close to

239
00:17:33,485 --> 00:17:37,465
cash. Um, a little bit different but not too terribly different. Um,

240
00:17:38,345 --> 00:17:42,125
and then if you take the two 30 plus the um, change in fund

241
00:17:42,365 --> 00:17:45,205
balance in 25, at $24 million, you get 2 53.

242
00:17:46,395 --> 00:17:49,630
it's like your checkbook and you have 2 53 plus the one we get 2 54, 2 54,

243
00:17:51,755 --> 00:17:55,455
less than 20, we get to 2 34. So that's kind of how we're

244
00:17:55,805 --> 00:17:59,625
projecting to end the year from a fund balance perspective. And

245
00:18:00,715 --> 00:18:04,345
when you look at the budget and these consolidated roll up

246
00:18:04,925 --> 00:18:08,885
schedule, well you do see 2 33 and you do see

247
00:18:09,145 --> 00:18:12,645
2 33 revenue and expense because of the

248
00:18:13,205 --> 00:18:16,565
transfers in and the either use or source of fund balance.

249
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but really what's happening are the numbers above, which is the 1 25 in revenue

250
00:18:22,505 --> 00:18:25,715
and the 1 45 of expense. So we're not really spending more

251
00:18:26,835 --> 00:18:30,705
than in 2020, uh, five fiscal fiscal or

252
00:18:30,945 --> 00:18:34,545
the projection this year we're actually spending less. And so, um,

253
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I just wanted to put this together, just try to maybe answer

254
00:18:39,865 --> 00:18:42,995
any questions to kind of give a high level view without

255
00:18:44,005 --> 00:18:47,805
a schedule with a jillion numbers on it that I know can get a bit overwhelming

256
00:18:48,275 --> 00:18:52,125
when I look at it for sure. And so this is why we put this

257
00:18:52,445 --> 00:18:56,265
together. Yes. So thank you very much for

258
00:18:56,485 --> 00:18:59,605
that explanation. Um, I had asked for a reconciliation,

259
00:19:00,985 --> 00:19:04,865
uh, from our first reading, and you did a great job of laying all

260
00:19:05,085 --> 00:19:08,865
this out and you have further reconciliations in the lane,

261
00:19:09,185 --> 00:19:13,105
various, uh, variances. Um, and it's

262
00:19:13,395 --> 00:19:17,395
important that you laid this out because I'm sure

263
00:19:17,495 --> 00:19:21,435
the public, just like myself, had a reaction when they

264
00:19:21,555 --> 00:19:25,515
saw the $233 million, you know, when I first saw, 'cause of

265
00:19:25,595 --> 00:19:29,395
course I go right to the bottom line , it's like, okay, what's the bottom line under? It was 2 33.

266
00:19:30,975 --> 00:19:34,955
and um, and so the first thing I asked myself, are we really removing and cashing

267
00:19:35,395 --> 00:19:39,335
out $233, $33 million worth of expenses? And,

268
00:19:40,295 --> 00:19:42,975
and you've answered that. No. Um, and,

269
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and for me, this is a change in how to read financial statements. I come

270
00:19:48,515 --> 00:19:52,495
from a corporate background. We do not do things this way. And

271
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so I have had over time the need to learn exactly

272
00:19:56,855 --> 00:20:00,235
the differences between corporate accounting and government accounting.

273
00:20:01,495 --> 00:20:05,275
and as dave said, government accounting includes corporate type accounting

274
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where you look at revenues minus expenses to come to net income,

275
00:20:09,935 --> 00:20:13,915
but it requires a second piece, which is not in corporate accounting. And that is

276
00:20:14,375 --> 00:20:18,225
if you are moving money from one fund to another fund,

277
00:20:19,015 --> 00:20:22,975
you have to report that. And so that is added, as

278
00:20:23,195 --> 00:20:26,975
dave had explained. And um, for

279
00:20:27,295 --> 00:20:31,075
the public that might be watching or listening, I wanted to give just a really simple

280
00:20:31,705 --> 00:20:35,635
example. I'm a town. I have zero revenue, I have

281
00:20:35,955 --> 00:20:39,075
zero expense. I have a checking account and a savings account.

282
00:20:40,275 --> 00:20:43,955
I have $500 in my savings account and I transfer it to my checking account.

283
00:20:45,165 --> 00:20:49,045
government reporting would say, I, I have $500 of revenue and $500

284
00:20:49,865 --> 00:20:53,465
of expense because I transferred money. Did I really get

285
00:20:54,035 --> 00:20:57,965
$500? No, I just moved it from one account to another.

286
00:20:58,425 --> 00:21:02,205
did I spend $500? No, I moved it from one account to another.

287
00:21:03,225 --> 00:21:07,025
so it's, when I talked to dave about it, he

288
00:21:07,245 --> 00:21:10,885
used the word weird . He said, government accounting

289
00:21:11,285 --> 00:21:15,145
is weird. And giving a background of corporate finance, I'd

290
00:21:15,365 --> 00:21:19,185
say, yeah, it feels a little weird, but this is what, what happens. And

291
00:21:19,405 --> 00:21:23,105
so I started to ask myself, well why, why does government do

292
00:21:23,525 --> 00:21:27,485
that? And, um, there's a good reason. It's for

293
00:21:27,605 --> 00:21:31,165
accountability and transparency. These are public dollars.

294
00:21:32,345 --> 00:21:35,645
and as they're being transferred around, we wanna make sure that it balances

295
00:21:36,515 --> 00:21:40,345
that I'm moving money from this account to another account at the end of the day that it

296
00:21:40,565 --> 00:21:43,885
all balances and it doesn't transfer out to somewhere that we're not aware of.

297
00:21:44,865 --> 00:21:48,585
so that's one reason. And the other one is accountability.

298
00:21:50,345 --> 00:21:54,265
uh, we wanna know where the money is going from and to, and

299
00:21:54,485 --> 00:21:57,495
it gets to dave's point about we have all these special revenue funds.

300
00:21:58,645 --> 00:22:02,365
a lot of them have restrictions. So we collect a lot of

301
00:22:02,655 --> 00:22:06,485
beach re uh, beach preservation fee. We can only use that

302
00:22:06,665 --> 00:22:10,485
on beach related projects. So even though we collect a lot of money, we can't

303
00:22:10,725 --> 00:22:14,645
use that fund balance to do road projects. That's not allowed. And so there

304
00:22:14,925 --> 00:22:18,285
has to be, um, you know, an accounting of that. And what,

305
00:22:18,945 --> 00:22:22,805
uh, we are doing here is making it more transparent so that we can

306
00:22:23,025 --> 00:22:26,845
see exactly how funds are used and that they're used appropriately.

307
00:22:28,345 --> 00:22:32,025
um, so I hope that helps put some perspective on,

308
00:22:32,385 --> 00:22:36,185
on what it is that we're doing here, because I don't want the

309
00:22:36,405 --> 00:22:40,245
public to feel like we're actually spending

310
00:22:41,305 --> 00:22:44,785
in cash $233 million. Um,

311
00:22:45,585 --> 00:22:49,445
we have to go and look at it from a net income perspective. And I also

312
00:22:49,735 --> 00:22:53,565
appreciate you laying it out. Um, I know we do a lot of comparisons to budget,

313
00:22:54,825 --> 00:22:58,765
uh, but the public and I like to look at

314
00:22:58,925 --> 00:23:02,585
things compared to prior years. And so thank you so much for laying out,

315
00:23:03,345 --> 00:23:07,245
um, these comparisons of these different pieces of operating

316
00:23:07,805 --> 00:23:11,445
revenue, et cetera, for a couple of years as well as a projection,

317
00:23:11,925 --> 00:23:15,885
which we didn't normally see as well of, of, uh, the current year.

318
00:23:16,305 --> 00:23:19,885
so I think it makes the, um, it makes it much clearer

319
00:23:20,395 --> 00:23:23,965
what is happening in regards to our finances in the town.

320
00:23:24,585 --> 00:23:28,445
so I just wanted the opportunity to say that . Yeah. Thank, thank you for that. 'cause I think that

321
00:23:28,605 --> 00:23:32,485
provides a great explanation. Um, you know, not only does it provide the

322
00:23:32,645 --> 00:23:36,525
explanation, but also with the change in format, which is gonna make it more clear

323
00:23:36,915 --> 00:23:40,705
down the road because it'll be a standardized procedural aspect, um,

324
00:23:41,585 --> 00:23:43,845
really offers that transparency. So thank you.

325
00:23:46,375 --> 00:23:50,235
may I ask a question? Not sure if you can. Yes,

326
00:23:50,515 --> 00:23:53,195
we can hear you before you hear. Okay, good. Um,

327
00:23:54,635 --> 00:23:58,375
so thank you for the explanation. I appreciate it. I do understand

328
00:23:58,855 --> 00:24:01,835
what you're saying. I do have a simple question. Um,

329
00:24:03,575 --> 00:24:06,415
with regard to this year's budget, however,

330
00:24:08,305 --> 00:24:12,195
compared to previous budgets that we've had, this

331
00:24:12,505 --> 00:24:16,125
is, um, this is a different type of accounting that we're now using

332
00:24:16,515 --> 00:24:20,385
this year. No, no, I, all right. So I think,

333
00:24:20,625 --> 00:24:23,925
I think this year the only change we do have is

334
00:24:25,045 --> 00:24:28,555
we are balancing special revenues, which

335
00:24:29,245 --> 00:24:32,425
had not been done in the past. In the past we transferred money

336
00:24:33,735 --> 00:24:37,705
into the six major funds for a lot of that came from

337
00:24:37,945 --> 00:24:41,455
special revenues. Um, but we didn't really budget special

338
00:24:42,185 --> 00:24:46,005
revenues. And um, but this year we are, but

339
00:24:46,225 --> 00:24:50,225
as far as the government accounting standards, we're not changing from that.

340
00:24:51,775 --> 00:24:55,505
okay. So I guess the question that I can imagine a

341
00:24:55,975 --> 00:24:59,945
someone who's not with an accounting background, and I listened to the

342
00:25:00,305 --> 00:25:03,605
dialogue between you and, and councilwoman, uh, turner, and

343
00:25:04,545 --> 00:25:08,385
I can follow it, it makes sense, but I don't have an accounting background.

344
00:25:08,765 --> 00:25:12,305
so a simple question is then how do we compare

345
00:25:12,855 --> 00:25:16,685
last year's budget at $174 million versus $233 million

346
00:25:18,895 --> 00:25:22,685
this year with the same practices and not, at

347
00:25:22,905 --> 00:25:26,865
least since, did not understand the significant difference between

348
00:25:27,245 --> 00:25:31,105
the two. Does that mean, is that a, did I phrase that

349
00:25:31,305 --> 00:25:35,165
in a way that it's easy to answer? Yeah, I mean,

350
00:25:35,405 --> 00:25:38,585
I, I think the next slide gimme one.

351
00:25:40,195 --> 00:25:43,915
yeah, the next slide, we'll come back to this one. This slide kind

352
00:25:44,205 --> 00:25:47,525
of gives an overview and we have a subtotal

353
00:25:48,865 --> 00:25:52,325
for the six major funds. Um, and then we have,

354
00:25:53,545 --> 00:25:57,205
um, and this is, this is all in, but this

355
00:25:57,725 --> 00:26:01,205
is revenues. And you might be asking about expenditures.

356
00:26:02,005 --> 00:26:05,565
they're right here as well. They're the same. But from a,

357
00:26:06,155 --> 00:26:10,155
from a perspective, we did a six major funds of last year,

358
00:26:11,225 --> 00:26:14,825
um, to what it is this year in the budget, as well as,

359
00:26:15,825 --> 00:26:19,795
um, added in the special revenues on top of that. I'm not sure if that answers

360
00:26:20,425 --> 00:26:24,275
the question she's asking or not. No, I think the question I'm asking

361
00:26:24,815 --> 00:26:28,715
is, is a little bit more simple. And if this isn't the right time to, to get an

362
00:26:28,915 --> 00:26:32,075
answer for, um, mark, what I would request is a meeting

363
00:26:33,015 --> 00:26:36,675
so that I could sit down with you and dave so I can have a better

364
00:26:37,265 --> 00:26:40,815
explanation. My question is just simple. If we're using the

365
00:26:41,635 --> 00:26:45,605
practice, this nothing new here and, and the transfers,

366
00:26:46,065 --> 00:26:49,485
ins and outs and bank from savings to checking, et cetera,

367
00:26:50,105 --> 00:26:53,965
has always been consistent. I, I still need to explain to someone

368
00:26:55,025 --> 00:26:58,405
why the number jumped from 174 to 233.

369
00:27:00,115 --> 00:27:04,045
it's still the bottom line. So it now may not be

370
00:27:04,165 --> 00:27:08,065
the right time to answer the question so I can get a simplified answer. Um, and

371
00:27:08,325 --> 00:27:12,165
I would just like to schedule a meeting to be able to sit down with y'all so I can receive that

372
00:27:12,365 --> 00:27:16,245
information. So I can offer that to anyone who might ask me,

373
00:27:18,925 --> 00:27:22,825
didn't hear all of it. There was some, some I didn't miss the last

374
00:27:23,025 --> 00:27:26,345
part. Please help. I, it's, I'm just asking

375
00:27:27,445 --> 00:27:31,305
if what I wanna be able to do is take the simple

376
00:27:31,545 --> 00:27:35,415
number from last year, uh, 'cause I too look at the bottom line.

377
00:27:35,945 --> 00:27:39,525
I think that's the first place everyone goes to. And in

378
00:27:40,085 --> 00:27:44,015
cs that you have 174 million roughly from

379
00:27:44,695 --> 00:27:45,985
last year and 230

380
00:27:49,955 --> 00:27:53,605
understanding. But if nothing has changed in the accounting practice from

381
00:27:54,115 --> 00:27:57,815
last year to this year, I still need

382
00:27:58,135 --> 00:28:01,895
a more detailed explanation that I can simplify to answer

383
00:28:02,215 --> 00:28:05,355
that question for other people who like, hey,

384
00:28:06,425 --> 00:28:10,355
look at the bottom lines and are not accountants. So I'm requesting just a

385
00:28:10,475 --> 00:28:14,255
moment of time to sit with you and dave to, to have a meeting, um,

386
00:28:14,575 --> 00:28:17,595
for that purpose. Ms. Becker, I, I think, I think dave's about to address,

387
00:28:18,785 --> 00:28:22,635
address it for you. Alright, I understand your question now. First,

388
00:28:22,835 --> 00:28:26,255
first and foremost, I understood, yes, absolutely. We can meet, uh,

389
00:28:26,855 --> 00:28:29,755
you, me and dave whenever you're available,

390
00:28:30,925 --> 00:28:34,835
we're available. Absolutely. I think the, the one thing and to, to try to get

391
00:28:35,095 --> 00:28:39,015
to the bottom of, of your core question is, you know, why, why this year, why

392
00:28:39,235 --> 00:28:43,135
is this year different than last year? I would say one dave, dave is here in

393
00:28:43,395 --> 00:28:47,045
a, in a, and what dave and I have talked a lot about is a full accounting

394
00:28:47,715 --> 00:28:51,195
on the front end, not just that time of audit. And so in the past,

395
00:28:52,655 --> 00:28:56,375
the, the practice here, right, that I've picked up with and, and, and

396
00:28:56,795 --> 00:29:00,735
improved year over year, we can see, and I think this is important to,

397
00:29:00,975 --> 00:29:04,915
to look at, we had in fy 24, what we showed you were

398
00:29:05,225 --> 00:29:09,115
actuals, not budgets. We showed you real dollars. And I would say every year

399
00:29:09,355 --> 00:29:13,235
we've grown our fund balance and it shows we had in 24

400
00:29:14,525 --> 00:29:18,135
total operating one 30, we had

401
00:29:18,735 --> 00:29:22,155
85 operating in 26 capital.

402
00:29:23,175 --> 00:29:26,765
and we grew the fund balance by 18, right?

403
00:29:27,305 --> 00:29:29,595
this is wonky. Then we had 142

404
00:29:32,305 --> 00:29:36,035
revenue and 118 expense. And last year

405
00:29:36,335 --> 00:29:39,935
actual, or 25 actual fiscal year 25 actual,

406
00:29:41,265 --> 00:29:44,725
we grew the fund balance by 23, almost $24 million.

407
00:29:45,955 --> 00:29:49,805
that wasn't just underestimated expenditures, but what

408
00:29:50,045 --> 00:29:53,065
we didn't do is fund, or I should say budget

409
00:29:54,145 --> 00:29:58,005
all we, we, we put the revenues and the transfers

410
00:29:58,205 --> 00:30:02,025
towards the expenditures and grew the fund balance and,

411
00:30:02,425 --> 00:30:06,405
and showed that in the audit, correct? That that was the practice. It's been the practice

412
00:30:07,035 --> 00:30:10,365
what, what you're seeing here. And, and this is a good year to just simply

413
00:30:11,155 --> 00:30:14,485
push forward and move forward and budget all revenues

414
00:30:15,955 --> 00:30:19,585
with all expenditures and show on the front end

415
00:30:20,365 --> 00:30:24,275
a positive or negative use in fund balance. This

416
00:30:24,565 --> 00:30:28,225
year, the $19 million in change, almost whatever is

417
00:30:28,585 --> 00:30:31,085
up there, forgive my eyes, I can't see it. 19.9,

418
00:30:34,195 --> 00:30:37,885
that growth or reduction in fund balance this year, that's

419
00:30:38,205 --> 00:30:41,665
capital projects. At the end of the day, that's capital projects. We're not using it. So

420
00:30:42,425 --> 00:30:45,725
you see this all on the front end through the entire

421
00:30:46,645 --> 00:30:50,565
complete budget. And, and hence the difference in transfers. It was one of the first

422
00:30:50,925 --> 00:30:54,795
questions I've asked as I arrived is, you know, what about these additional revs

423
00:30:55,435 --> 00:30:59,225
that are coming into our accounts that aren't

424
00:31:00,125 --> 00:31:03,725
matching with expenditures? It was an off, it was an off balance budget.

425
00:31:04,225 --> 00:31:07,865
so what dave has done is infused them into the full budget and

426
00:31:08,245 --> 00:31:12,005
balanced it. So I hope that makes sense. Yeah. So if, if I might no, it does,

427
00:31:12,625 --> 00:31:16,605
it does make sense. And what, when I wanted to stop and thank you is because

428
00:31:17,675 --> 00:31:21,435
what you did identify was the answer to my first question. This

429
00:31:21,825 --> 00:31:25,455
is, well, maybe not a full sail, different way of doing

430
00:31:26,065 --> 00:31:30,065
the accounting. It is a different way of presenting it. And

431
00:31:30,285 --> 00:31:34,185
that's, that's been the initial question that I asked. Okay. And, and

432
00:31:34,405 --> 00:31:38,245
you answered it. Yes, sir. So there are variances from last year's reporting to

433
00:31:38,445 --> 00:31:42,405
this year's and, and the numbers are being reflected and that's why

434
00:31:42,525 --> 00:31:46,525
you see the difference of 1 74 to 2 33. It makes sense to me. I

435
00:31:46,645 --> 00:31:50,445
just need a simple explanation that I can transfer to other

436
00:31:50,805 --> 00:31:54,485
people who may ask me. So thank you. I appreciate that.

437
00:31:55,205 --> 00:31:59,025
I do have one other question, and this may not be the right time for it, but

438
00:31:59,305 --> 00:32:03,255
we took a $35 million bond and where

439
00:32:03,605 --> 00:32:06,915
are those dollars that are left? Where are those reflected

440
00:32:08,105 --> 00:32:11,745
in this budget? When we, um, when we go through the

441
00:32:12,835 --> 00:32:16,405
fund balances on, uh, at the end of tuesday,

442
00:32:17,705 --> 00:32:21,085
you'll see a kind of a fund balance walk by, by fund.

443
00:32:21,905 --> 00:32:25,585
and, um, in the capital fund, you'll

444
00:32:26,005 --> 00:32:29,965
see, um, doing it by memory, let's say it's $32 million, give or

445
00:32:30,125 --> 00:32:34,075
take, um, you'll, there's 24 million roughly

446
00:32:35,505 --> 00:32:39,265
of money left over from the

447
00:32:39,825 --> 00:32:43,685
go bond that has not been spent in this budget.

448
00:32:45,145 --> 00:32:48,765
so we have 24 million that, um, is in the bank,

449
00:32:49,385 --> 00:32:53,165
as we said before, that, um, uh, we don't have any expense

450
00:32:53,645 --> 00:32:56,275
in this budget related to that. Okay.

451
00:32:58,165 --> 00:33:01,845
becker, I I think also too, it's in here on this sheet.

452
00:33:02,305 --> 00:33:06,205
it is, yeah. It's in the 2 54. Yes. Yeah. Yep. And the

453
00:33:06,365 --> 00:33:10,225
2 34. Right? Absolutely. Correct me if I'm wrong, but a another simple

454
00:33:10,705 --> 00:33:14,005
way of looking at this is with the 27 proposed budget

455
00:33:15,825 --> 00:33:19,645
we are looking at, and I'll

456
00:33:19,925 --> 00:33:23,885
convert the word fund balance to savings. We're looking to

457
00:33:24,085 --> 00:33:27,655
see what we're gonna be able to put into savings or need to take out of savings to, to accomplish

458
00:33:28,505 --> 00:33:32,305
the work that's done. Yes. Done. Yeah. Just a, just a simpler aspect

459
00:33:32,725 --> 00:33:36,485
of it. Yep. Okay. Well, I appreciate those answers

460
00:33:36,905 --> 00:33:40,885
and thank you for the giving me the time and I look forward to meeting with you guys so that I

461
00:33:41,005 --> 00:33:43,965
can have a simplified answer to give to other people,

462
00:33:45,415 --> 00:33:49,235
ms. Bryson. Yes. Um, my question has to do, and and

463
00:33:49,515 --> 00:33:53,355
I apologize mr. Bird, if I misunderstood what you said. Um, I, I see

464
00:33:53,735 --> 00:33:57,635
our total expense a little over 145 million for the proposed budget.

465
00:33:58,415 --> 00:34:02,315
and I thought you said that we didn't spend any more than we did

466
00:34:02,435 --> 00:34:05,755
in 2025. And I compare 2025, it's about 119 million.

467
00:34:06,815 --> 00:34:10,395
so I must have misunderstood you because it looks like we are spending more money.

468
00:34:12,655 --> 00:34:16,265
um, I I don't recall if I said 2025, forgive

469
00:34:16,755 --> 00:34:20,715
me, but, um, I was, I I was, if I did,

470
00:34:20,915 --> 00:34:24,115
I meant to say in 2026. 26, okay. Yeah. Alright. And so,

471
00:34:24,975 --> 00:34:28,865
um, but we are, um, we are spending less

472
00:34:29,155 --> 00:34:33,155
than 2026 from a total town perspective. Yes. And I, I think a

473
00:34:33,275 --> 00:34:36,995
large part of that is our capital expense, especially the beach renourishment, which

474
00:34:37,315 --> 00:34:41,175
came from two sources, the bond as well as, um, yeah. And also in 26

475
00:34:42,295 --> 00:34:46,035
and the operating, um, we are coming down because we had the big

476
00:34:46,415 --> 00:34:50,215
go bond payment that we're making, right. Which is, uh,

477
00:34:50,695 --> 00:34:54,675
not gonna be repeated in 27, right? Right. And we'll see that when we get to the debt service

478
00:34:55,105 --> 00:34:59,035
fund. But I, I just wanna make sure, so maybe you said 25 or maybe I

479
00:34:59,155 --> 00:35:02,635
heard 25. I probably misspoke , forgive me. Okay. And I, I see the difference in expenditures

480
00:35:03,195 --> 00:35:07,155
there, and I had an asterisk beside of, uh, the two numbers in 2026

481
00:35:08,195 --> 00:35:11,835
relating back to what we just talked about. And that is the renourishment

482
00:35:12,315 --> 00:35:16,235
expenditures. Um, and, and I was wondering exactly where we were using

483
00:35:16,495 --> 00:35:20,415
the 19.9 million of fund balance. And I heard mr. Orlando say

484
00:35:20,635 --> 00:35:24,595
it's primarily in capital projects. That's yes, it is. I'll see that

485
00:35:24,715 --> 00:35:28,555
when we get to the capital fund, which we discuss next tuesday.

486
00:35:29,055 --> 00:35:32,275
and the way to look at it on that schedule, you've got

487
00:35:33,595 --> 00:35:36,495
125 million in revenue and

488
00:35:37,695 --> 00:35:41,685
we're spending 90 million in operating, but we have

489
00:35:41,845 --> 00:35:45,505
55 million in capital. Okay. So that's driving the,

490
00:35:46,115 --> 00:35:49,835
because we're using the surplus from revenue

491
00:35:50,395 --> 00:35:54,185
less operating, we're using more than that for

492
00:35:54,405 --> 00:35:57,285
the capital expenditures of the 55 million cip.

493
00:35:58,545 --> 00:36:02,485
and, and, and I think it's two slides over, so I'll save my question for the end, but it has to do

494
00:36:03,155 --> 00:36:06,435
with the, uh, the difference in, uh, transferring in and out comparing,

495
00:36:07,465 --> 00:36:10,885
uh, fy 27 to, uh, 26 projection

496
00:36:11,505 --> 00:36:15,445
and 24 and 25, primarily 24 and 25. But I'll wait two slides over for

497
00:36:15,645 --> 00:36:16,475
that question. Okay.

498
00:36:22,615 --> 00:36:25,825
okay. So, um, now we're kind of looking at a consolidated

499
00:36:27,165 --> 00:36:30,755
budget, which you saw this slide, uh, tuesday night.

500
00:36:31,845 --> 00:36:35,645
um, but we, we did a subtotal for the six major funds. So

501
00:36:35,865 --> 00:36:39,105
that's where you see the 1 74 in the original budget.

502
00:36:40,165 --> 00:36:43,865
and then one thing is, you know, we did our budget amendment this year.

503
00:36:44,725 --> 00:36:47,945
it was a big budget amendment. So, uh, we went from 1 74

504
00:36:48,745 --> 00:36:52,375
to 2 35, and then our six major fund

505
00:36:53,085 --> 00:36:55,985
number is 1 47, um, in 2027.

506
00:36:57,485 --> 00:37:01,255
and then we have the special revenues below that, which is showing as something

507
00:37:01,865 --> 00:37:05,865
that we're doing new. We did have actuals in 24 and 25 because

508
00:37:06,925 --> 00:37:10,905
that's what actually got booked on the general ledger, but we didn't budget

509
00:37:12,395 --> 00:37:16,385
those funds and we haven't in the past, so that's why it's zero in 2026.

510
00:37:19,775 --> 00:37:23,495
and the same logic on the expenditures. Um, and,

511
00:37:24,015 --> 00:37:27,975
but we will go through the funds specifically to walk through the

512
00:37:28,195 --> 00:37:30,595
changes that we've got and the funds themselves.

513
00:37:34,265 --> 00:37:38,185
and you want me to keep going? Sorry, that's where my questions are. If we could back up to those two

514
00:37:38,645 --> 00:37:41,985
previous slides. Go first go to revenues. So, um,

515
00:37:44,295 --> 00:37:48,125
where we have an fy 24, the actual special revenues fund a

516
00:37:48,485 --> 00:37:51,715
a little over 63,000,025, um, 71.5 million.

517
00:37:53,825 --> 00:37:57,705
and then if you look at expenditures, the numbers don't match. Um, so

518
00:37:58,105 --> 00:38:01,985
I'm, I'm not saying explain what happened in 24 and 25, but

519
00:38:02,205 --> 00:38:05,985
what I was trying to do when I saw those numbers appear, uh, before, uh,

520
00:38:06,235 --> 00:38:10,205
tuesday's meeting, um, I thought, well, can we compare those

521
00:38:10,485 --> 00:38:14,005
years to the proposed budget showing special revenues

522
00:38:14,665 --> 00:38:18,525
in and out? And, um, I, I don't think we can do that. I,

523
00:38:18,765 --> 00:38:22,565
I, I don't know why perhaps it was just a way of the way that the budget

524
00:38:22,865 --> 00:38:26,305
was handled in those years. Um, well, I would say that on the

525
00:38:27,315 --> 00:38:31,065
actuals, those are the actuals. So if

526
00:38:31,425 --> 00:38:33,415
we, in this regard, 63,000,024

527
00:38:35,995 --> 00:38:38,815
special revenues, we spent 59 million

528
00:38:40,385 --> 00:38:43,725
in expense, uh, sorry, right here.

529
00:38:44,825 --> 00:38:48,805
so we had a, let's say a surplus of 7 million. The reason why

530
00:38:49,105 --> 00:38:52,045
it balances in the budget is because

531
00:38:53,225 --> 00:38:57,145
we have to show a balanced budget, but the actuals are

532
00:38:57,365 --> 00:39:01,325
what the actuals are. So it, that's kind of how I would,

533
00:39:01,885 --> 00:39:05,835
I would say it from that perspective. So it

534
00:39:06,055 --> 00:39:09,915
showed in the budgets balance, but when the actuals came in,

535
00:39:10,525 --> 00:39:14,415
they were not balanced. And so what do we do then when it doesn't

536
00:39:14,695 --> 00:39:18,365
balance when the actuals come in? Well, we have the actuals

537
00:39:18,925 --> 00:39:22,235
flow through and we'll either have a fund balance or

538
00:39:23,295 --> 00:39:27,195
a fund balance surplus or a fund balance deficit that just, it

539
00:39:27,415 --> 00:39:31,415
will either increase or decrease the fund balance. Okay? As you

540
00:39:31,535 --> 00:39:35,395
look in 24, we were 18 million better in

541
00:39:35,615 --> 00:39:39,595
fund balance. And in 25 we were better by 20, almost

542
00:39:40,015 --> 00:39:43,895
24 million in fund balance. So that just flows through

543
00:39:44,765 --> 00:39:48,155
with what actually happens. But when we budget, we have to have a balance budget.

544
00:39:49,315 --> 00:39:53,065
so we have the sources and uses of funds to make that happen, right?

545
00:39:53,635 --> 00:39:57,435
so if I compare the, the numbers of the revenues on and, and

546
00:39:57,715 --> 00:40:01,635
ms. Hunter, I do have numbers on my pages now. Uh, 26. If

547
00:40:01,855 --> 00:40:05,535
I compare revenues to expenditures on 27, pardon me, then

548
00:40:06,035 --> 00:40:09,535
for just taking fy 24 for an example, 184,

549
00:40:10,755 --> 00:40:14,415
uh, point almost four, but the expenditures were 166.

550
00:40:15,435 --> 00:40:19,215
so hence the increase in the fund balance of about 18 million.

551
00:40:20,075 --> 00:40:23,975
yes. Okay. Yep. So what what happens is when the actuals come in, that

552
00:40:24,245 --> 00:40:28,115
adds to the fund balance or, or decreases depending upon that's right. And

553
00:40:28,335 --> 00:40:32,015
we either had more revenue than the budget. 'cause when we would've done the 24 budget,

554
00:40:32,915 --> 00:40:36,905
it would've been balanced. So what happened in 24? We either spent

555
00:40:37,285 --> 00:40:40,655
less or we had more revenue come in, or more revenue. Probably both.

556
00:40:41,395 --> 00:40:44,735
yep. In that case, we can increase the fund balance. Okay, thank you.

557
00:40:47,705 --> 00:40:51,555
um, so we went through this on tuesday, just a example,

558
00:40:52,245 --> 00:40:56,045
illustration of our mills, excuse me. Um, and we're

559
00:40:56,325 --> 00:41:00,285
leaving those flat at 5.1 and 27. We just

560
00:41:00,405 --> 00:41:04,155
have a kind of historical view of coming from 5.9

561
00:41:05,025 --> 00:41:08,755
and 23 down to 5.5 and 24 from

562
00:41:09,245 --> 00:41:13,245
a debt perspective. And then also, um, on operating

563
00:41:14,085 --> 00:41:17,845
17.2 to 15.9. But, um, and then from a total perspective,

564
00:41:18,325 --> 00:41:22,045
we're leaving those flat in this year's budget. And then our millage

565
00:41:22,485 --> 00:41:26,405
values, we spoke before on tuesday, the increase based

566
00:41:26,725 --> 00:41:30,685
upon the continued assessed valuation increases that happen.

567
00:41:30,985 --> 00:41:34,945
so we're projecting just under 1.4 million per mil. Okay. Ms.

568
00:41:35,165 --> 00:41:38,605
dunner? Yes. Um, if you could go back to the millage rate.

569
00:41:40,185 --> 00:41:44,125
so you have a footnote there that talks about why the millage rate

570
00:41:44,435 --> 00:41:48,405
went from 28 10 to 2310. And that was because you had an extra

571
00:41:48,755 --> 00:41:52,725
five for disaster recovery after matthew to collect some more funds

572
00:41:53,025 --> 00:41:56,435
to build up our fund reserves. Um, you should also,

573
00:41:57,105 --> 00:42:01,085
um, I think put footnotes as to the other reasons why in out years.

574
00:42:01,385 --> 00:42:03,965
so in 2024, it went from 2310 to 21 4.

575
00:42:05,665 --> 00:42:09,345
and that was because, um, we went through a property, uh, I'm

576
00:42:09,765 --> 00:42:13,445
sorry, um, uh, assessment of our homes. So beaufort

577
00:42:13,965 --> 00:42:17,845
county came out and reassessed all our homes. And with that,

578
00:42:18,115 --> 00:42:22,025
that meant the, as the assessed values went up and

579
00:42:22,625 --> 00:42:26,405
the, uh, property tax, uh, millage rate came down to help

580
00:42:27,105 --> 00:42:30,905
offset that increase. Now you also see

581
00:42:31,235 --> 00:42:34,505
that the, on the next slide where the, um,

582
00:42:35,865 --> 00:42:39,785
if you go to the next slide, uh, the millage values

583
00:42:40,585 --> 00:42:44,065
go up, but that's not what we is used for your property tax.

584
00:42:44,705 --> 00:42:48,565
and here's what I mean by that. When we went through the as reassessment,

585
00:42:50,315 --> 00:42:53,755
they cap it at 15%. So

586
00:42:54,375 --> 00:42:58,235
I, I went and looked at my bill, you

587
00:42:58,455 --> 00:43:02,195
know, and when I looked at the difference between my, uh, capped

588
00:43:02,665 --> 00:43:06,495
value and my appraised value, it was a lot of money. It was,

589
00:43:07,195 --> 00:43:11,135
it was a lot of money. And so what the county does is they cap it

590
00:43:11,295 --> 00:43:14,755
at 15% so that you're not overwhelmed by

591
00:43:15,415 --> 00:43:19,375
a large increase in your property taxes. And that stays flat for five years.

592
00:43:20,515 --> 00:43:23,875
so in my personal, uh, example, my

593
00:43:25,255 --> 00:43:29,115
property tax assessment for the town of hilton head has

594
00:43:29,575 --> 00:43:33,285
remained flat the last two years. And it will continue to stay flat

595
00:43:33,755 --> 00:43:37,655
unless I do two things. I sell my house and then the

596
00:43:37,815 --> 00:43:40,745
new person gets to pay the full value of the assessment assessment.

597
00:43:41,915 --> 00:43:45,795
or if I make a major renovation in my house, then the

598
00:43:46,335 --> 00:43:50,335
beaufort county will come out and reassess. I'm not sure exactly how that works if they

599
00:43:50,605 --> 00:43:54,005
take it all the way up or if it's the increase in what you renovated,

600
00:43:54,835 --> 00:43:58,655
but there is an impact there. So, um, I just wanna make that point

601
00:43:58,935 --> 00:44:02,885
'cause I know there've been some questions about it. I would venture

602
00:44:03,475 --> 00:44:07,265
to guess that the majority of people are not, um, renovating

603
00:44:07,935 --> 00:44:11,335
their homes. I mean, I know people renovate their homes, but it's probably not the majority of people.

604
00:44:12,035 --> 00:44:15,935
and, um, and then those that sell end up, uh, picking up the full

605
00:44:16,135 --> 00:44:20,095
assessment amount. So I just thought that was important as we

606
00:44:20,555 --> 00:44:24,415
go through this. Um, for clarity purposes. Yeah, thank

607
00:44:24,655 --> 00:44:28,305
you. Oh,

608
00:44:28,885 --> 00:44:32,705
property tax bill example, um, which we went through the other night, but,

609
00:44:33,305 --> 00:44:37,285
and what we have highlighted here is what, uh, the town gets on a

610
00:44:37,405 --> 00:44:40,785
typical property tax bill for 4% and then 6%

611
00:44:41,705 --> 00:44:45,515
and on the 4% it's around 20% of that bill. Most

612
00:44:45,805 --> 00:44:49,425
of it goes to the county. Okay.

613
00:44:50,705 --> 00:44:54,565
general fund, we went through kind

614
00:44:54,855 --> 00:44:58,125
of a highlight of this on um, tuesday.

615
00:44:59,235 --> 00:45:03,155
um, I'm gonna, we've got a couple of changes we

616
00:45:03,375 --> 00:45:06,395
made here. Um, we, we have now

617
00:45:08,515 --> 00:45:12,315
to kind of be consistent with what we spoke about before on

618
00:45:12,555 --> 00:45:16,135
our categories. We have our operating revenues as a subtotal

619
00:45:17,355 --> 00:45:21,015
and then we have any use of unbalance and then we have transfers

620
00:45:21,395 --> 00:45:24,175
in to go with the flow we had before

621
00:45:25,955 --> 00:45:29,935
and of the definitions. And then we added in a

622
00:45:30,055 --> 00:45:33,935
column here for a variance to 26

623
00:45:35,195 --> 00:45:38,395
oh uh, a variance to

624
00:45:39,315 --> 00:45:43,115
the 26 projection. And the reason why is

625
00:45:43,675 --> 00:45:47,385
the prior schedule showed that variance percentage

626
00:45:48,115 --> 00:45:51,745
to the amended budget, which made it look like it was growing quite

627
00:45:52,175 --> 00:45:56,005
a bit. But when we look at our, how we projected

628
00:45:56,615 --> 00:46:00,405
revenues for the 27 budget, we based that based upon

629
00:46:01,165 --> 00:46:05,135
what we are seeing happen in 26 from a projection perspective.

630
00:46:06,435 --> 00:46:10,435
so if you look at our growth rates here on the right, um,

631
00:46:10,915 --> 00:46:14,695
you know, property taxes, we have a two, well it's 1.9,

632
00:46:15,275 --> 00:46:19,095
but we, we factored in around 2% valuation growth in

633
00:46:19,495 --> 00:46:22,655
property taxes. We took a conservative view on that local accommodation

634
00:46:23,795 --> 00:46:27,515
tax, 1.5 business licenses at one.

635
00:46:28,555 --> 00:46:32,535
we reset permit fees down to what we

636
00:46:32,735 --> 00:46:36,565
had budgeted in the past, which is 1.8 million we're having this

637
00:46:36,855 --> 00:46:40,645
year we're almost $3 million. So we are not budgeting

638
00:46:42,005 --> 00:46:45,695
that level in 2027. Um, 'cause that's really related

639
00:46:46,115 --> 00:46:50,085
to construction activity. So we kind of set that back down from

640
00:46:50,455 --> 00:46:54,445
a conservative perspective. Um, and the other major item

641
00:46:54,785 --> 00:46:58,655
there is related to ems, it's hard to kind

642
00:46:59,235 --> 00:47:02,615
go through. I did it again, it's kind of hard to

643
00:47:03,285 --> 00:47:07,255
kind of looked at a historical trend of ems. So we, we took it,

644
00:47:08,035 --> 00:47:12,015
you know, it's 2.7 million this year. It's 2.2 5,000,024

645
00:47:13,675 --> 00:47:17,375
and 2.6 and 25. So we kind of took an average of that.

646
00:47:17,765 --> 00:47:21,235
it's kind of hard to predict. Hopefully that doesn't really increase. Um,

647
00:47:22,115 --> 00:47:26,115
and then our investment income and just across the funds you

648
00:47:26,335 --> 00:47:30,265
will see our investment income coming down. Um, it, you know, it

649
00:47:30,535 --> 00:47:33,445
we're projecting 2 million, oh, 16 to 69

650
00:47:34,665 --> 00:47:38,645
we budgeted one five. So it looks really like a high increase

651
00:47:38,875 --> 00:47:42,615
from the budget from a year ago. But from what's actually happening today,

652
00:47:43,545 --> 00:47:47,225
um, we are projecting a slow decrease in

653
00:47:47,685 --> 00:47:51,685
interest rates as well as well, we're using some of our money, so we're not

654
00:47:51,805 --> 00:47:55,805
gonna have as much money that we're getting a return on. So that was something to

655
00:47:55,965 --> 00:47:59,925
highlight from a change from what you saw the other night regarding the general

656
00:48:00,275 --> 00:48:04,215
fund. And then the transfers in. Um, we have our beach

657
00:48:04,565 --> 00:48:08,405
preservation, which we spoke about. That's the big change in transfers.

658
00:48:08,645 --> 00:48:12,605
then for the general as well as the str coming through at 1.3 million.

659
00:48:13,665 --> 00:48:17,565
we did talk about state a tax as well, um, that is coming

660
00:48:17,835 --> 00:48:21,715
down that that's set by the state and they, this year they're taking 15%,

661
00:48:23,505 --> 00:48:26,905
uh, off of what we that's collected and

662
00:48:28,045 --> 00:48:31,345
distributing that to other counties in the states. So, um,

663
00:48:32,945 --> 00:48:35,875
we are seeing that trend come down. So we are budgeting continued

664
00:48:37,085 --> 00:48:40,965
decreases in that number. If you look at, sorry, I did it again, but if you look

665
00:48:41,125 --> 00:48:44,965
at 24 or 4.6 million, three and a half,

666
00:48:45,695 --> 00:48:49,635
three, I mean it, you know, we, we are seeing continued

667
00:48:50,485 --> 00:48:54,205
reductions in this number that the state is using in other, in municipalities,

668
00:48:55,135 --> 00:48:58,935
right? And I think that's an important part because the question was asked, the question was asked

669
00:49:00,505 --> 00:49:04,405
why is sc at tax going down when local was going up? And it's

670
00:49:04,685 --> 00:49:08,515
the state law that allows that distribution based upon the formula they

671
00:49:08,805 --> 00:49:12,705
set at the beginning of their year. So, um, hence our

672
00:49:12,925 --> 00:49:16,125
dollars are, are not a hundred percent received back in that regard.

673
00:49:19,105 --> 00:49:22,845
so what you're saying is basically the state changed it and that

674
00:49:23,485 --> 00:49:25,775
resulted in us getting less. Right. Okay. Right.

675
00:49:27,505 --> 00:49:31,045
may I, may I ask another question on that form of the page before?

676
00:49:31,785 --> 00:49:35,725
yes. Okay. So one of the things that stands out to me

677
00:49:36,275 --> 00:49:39,365
that I find bothersome with regard to revenues

678
00:49:40,625 --> 00:49:44,285
is on the left hand side line, all of those great sources that we have

679
00:49:45,105 --> 00:49:47,845
and you move across and everything makes sense.

680
00:49:49,465 --> 00:49:53,035
you get to the grants portion and there's

681
00:49:53,525 --> 00:49:57,425
nothing, it's a zero. I'm bothered by that and it

682
00:49:58,075 --> 00:50:01,985
kind of give me some background on why it is we have no grant revenue coming

683
00:50:02,465 --> 00:50:05,645
in. A lot of it's due to where we book grants

684
00:50:06,595 --> 00:50:09,675
that do come in. They usually don't get booked to the general fund

685
00:50:10,745 --> 00:50:14,285
and they might go to the capital fund or special revenues fund under special revenues.

686
00:50:15,345 --> 00:50:18,045
so it's really where they're located, not necessarily,

687
00:50:19,425 --> 00:50:22,685
um, where they're booked based upon the grant. That's why.

688
00:50:24,035 --> 00:50:27,805
okay. So that makes sense. So if someone's looking at that, that I can simply

689
00:50:28,305 --> 00:50:32,275
say, go to the fund and look, I can show you where there's

690
00:50:32,765 --> 00:50:36,625
been grant activity and grant dollars that have been received are,

691
00:50:37,265 --> 00:50:41,205
uh, are documented in these places and I'd be able to show them

692
00:50:41,325 --> 00:50:45,205
that and we'll see that as we're moving forward. Correct. But I would,

693
00:50:45,545 --> 00:50:49,485
yes, ma'am. But I would say that in general we don't really

694
00:50:49,645 --> 00:50:53,565
budget unknown grants. So we, we try to take a conservative

695
00:50:54,365 --> 00:50:58,285
view when budgeting grants because I always say unless we have it in

696
00:50:58,405 --> 00:51:02,245
writing, um, I would hate to base the year based upon that

697
00:51:02,475 --> 00:51:06,385
unknown. Doesn't mean we're not chasing grants. But as far

698
00:51:06,605 --> 00:51:10,485
as that goes, it's just a matter of taking a more conservative view from

699
00:51:10,685 --> 00:51:14,525
a budgeting perspective. So where would I be able to see what

700
00:51:14,805 --> 00:51:18,685
grants that we have received that the grant writer and the efforts that

701
00:51:18,925 --> 00:51:22,685
are being made? And I know that there're considerable or where would

702
00:51:23,005 --> 00:51:26,965
I be able to see the re awards that we've, that we see? We'll, we'll

703
00:51:27,165 --> 00:51:30,925
see some in the capital fund on tuesday and then we'll see some

704
00:51:31,185 --> 00:51:34,625
in the special revenues today. And I will say, um,

705
00:51:35,345 --> 00:51:38,805
our grants team, um, you know, has spent a lot of time with

706
00:51:39,435 --> 00:51:43,405
fema working through getting the fema reimbursement. You know,

707
00:51:43,495 --> 00:51:47,275
we've, we projected 6 million of fema that's not in the general fund

708
00:51:47,565 --> 00:51:51,205
here, but we did project 6 million in fema, uh, in our budget

709
00:51:51,585 --> 00:51:55,485
for this year, or actually seven. And then we reforecasted 6 million this year,

710
00:51:56,305 --> 00:52:00,265
1 million in 27. We think we're gonna have upside of

711
00:52:00,845 --> 00:52:04,475
probably 4 million related to that. And there's been a lot of work done

712
00:52:04,915 --> 00:52:08,725
with our cip team and with the state on getting those

713
00:52:09,115 --> 00:52:12,905
fema reimbursed, a lot of calories spent. And so I would just say

714
00:52:13,125 --> 00:52:16,915
that there, there has been, um, success, very

715
00:52:17,205 --> 00:52:20,735
much success on that one big project to help out with our beach

716
00:52:21,365 --> 00:52:24,665
renourishment that I, I would say our grants team has been doing a great job on.

717
00:52:26,305 --> 00:52:30,245
so, so are those grants fema then, are those those go all the way back

718
00:52:30,445 --> 00:52:34,265
to irma and matthew irma. Matthew and dorian. Dorian

719
00:52:34,825 --> 00:52:38,685
and dorian, yes. So not that, so I guess what I'm trying to get

720
00:52:38,845 --> 00:52:42,765
at is what is I, I'd like to see what the current, um, activity

721
00:52:43,105 --> 00:52:47,005
is for something more recent that the team has been working

722
00:52:47,345 --> 00:52:51,065
on that's productive to adding to the grants. Um,

723
00:52:51,755 --> 00:52:55,515
line revenue line. I'll, I'll jump in here. Um, when

724
00:52:55,805 --> 00:52:59,335
dave says grant team, he means grant administrator, um, a person, right?

725
00:53:00,225 --> 00:53:03,565
and yes, their time is spent with the cdbg administration

726
00:53:04,425 --> 00:53:08,245
of the grants, um, as well as the fema. I wouldn't call it so

727
00:53:08,445 --> 00:53:12,405
much reimbursement, but the fema agreement we have. And then as we

728
00:53:12,485 --> 00:53:16,035
know, in past years the grants were, were elevated from arpa, from

729
00:53:16,515 --> 00:53:20,105
fema and, and that's not shown on the books. What I will do between now

730
00:53:20,825 --> 00:53:24,665
and in a few days is send to town council, um, the recent

731
00:53:25,255 --> 00:53:29,245
grant report that shows the grants that we're administrating. Because I always say this,

732
00:53:29,995 --> 00:53:33,885
getting a grant is a lot easier than administrating the grant and especially when we're trying

733
00:53:34,005 --> 00:53:37,965
to get how much is the total fema that we're chasing $12 million. You broke it down a lot.

734
00:53:38,385 --> 00:53:42,055
but I will say that that to me is, is more important as chasing money.

735
00:53:42,505 --> 00:53:45,965
we don't know we'll get versus the money we believe were deserved. That $12 million,

736
00:53:47,505 --> 00:53:51,485
um, has taken a lot more time on this beach renourishment and on

737
00:53:51,645 --> 00:53:55,605
this storm, um, on this storm agreement we have in place. So I understand what you're

738
00:53:55,845 --> 00:53:59,565
asking for. Um, I want to provide that clarity. Um, we're pushing,

739
00:54:00,025 --> 00:54:03,705
but not always on new, but on administrating and taking care of the ones we

740
00:54:04,115 --> 00:54:07,605
have. So we don't lose some of those dollars we think we, we we deserve.

741
00:54:08,145 --> 00:54:12,045
so, um, I'll send a report. Um, we've also, we're pretty close

742
00:54:12,305 --> 00:54:16,125
to fulfilling another grant, um, on some roads and some other projects

743
00:54:16,925 --> 00:54:20,005
pathways. So I think that's a, a good question. I'll share that report.

744
00:54:21,355 --> 00:54:25,145
yeah. Okay. So one of, to just make two, two comments. One,

745
00:54:25,925 --> 00:54:29,185
I I understand how difficult it is. At one time I was the, uh,

746
00:54:30,205 --> 00:54:33,965
director of, uh, grants for large university and writing them

747
00:54:34,265 --> 00:54:38,015
and then managing them and reporting on them to the federal government

748
00:54:39,145 --> 00:54:43,025
is very time consuming and very detail oriented and you cannot make mistakes. So

749
00:54:43,285 --> 00:54:47,165
I understand the level of work and I do know also it's not a team, it's one

750
00:54:47,325 --> 00:54:51,265
person. But, um, I wanted to follow the lead of our, our finance director in

751
00:54:51,505 --> 00:54:55,075
his, in his language. So I understand that that is time consuming

752
00:54:56,025 --> 00:54:59,845
and, and the rest I do have and I also want to,

753
00:55:00,145 --> 00:55:03,945
uh, acknowledge that our grants administrator worked

754
00:55:04,365 --> 00:55:08,005
with me and others, um, to make sure that we support,

755
00:55:08,585 --> 00:55:12,125
uh, secured the opioid, um, grant money

756
00:55:12,795 --> 00:55:16,725
that was made available and that we now are able to use in a very

757
00:55:16,925 --> 00:55:20,845
highly productive way right here on hilton a. And that is the

758
00:55:21,005 --> 00:55:24,945
significance achievement across the board. And she was instrumental in

759
00:55:25,165 --> 00:55:27,805
making that happen. I'm just moving forward,

760
00:55:29,275 --> 00:55:32,565
it's a source of revenue that I would like to see

761
00:55:33,355 --> 00:55:37,325
more activity. So that's all. And if there is activity that

762
00:55:37,585 --> 00:55:41,525
I'm not aware of, I just wanna know what it is and where it's been documented. That's

763
00:55:41,805 --> 00:55:45,765
all. Absolutely. And in that I'll show that, I'll show how we're playing offense as well as administrating,

764
00:55:46,465 --> 00:55:50,445
uh, affiliated agency and atac and all that stuff. So I think that comprehensive look at that's

765
00:55:50,885 --> 00:55:54,105
a a great question. Thank you. Thanks for bringing that up. 'cause the, the atex administration

766
00:55:55,115 --> 00:55:59,085
from grants is a lot as well. Yes. So it is

767
00:55:59,515 --> 00:56:03,365
correct. It's alright ms. Bryson. Yes. So just

768
00:56:03,645 --> 00:56:07,445
a couple things. I think it's been said before, but it bears repeating under transfers in beach

769
00:56:07,725 --> 00:56:10,835
preservation fee. The numbers for, or the number 4 26

770
00:56:12,135 --> 00:56:16,125
shows it was a lot lower and now it's a lot higher for 27 and that's

771
00:56:16,405 --> 00:56:19,445
the beach renourishment. That's where that money went in 2026.

772
00:56:20,825 --> 00:56:24,445
but we have more funds now to do other things for um, our beaches,

773
00:56:24,925 --> 00:56:28,565
our beach parks. And that's shown up in the great increase, uh, during

774
00:56:29,365 --> 00:56:32,765
fy 27. The other thing I would note is when you compare

775
00:56:33,705 --> 00:56:36,845
what's proposed for fy 27 to fy 26,

776
00:56:37,715 --> 00:56:41,645
there's about a $2 million increase in that, um, in revenues.

777
00:56:42,465 --> 00:56:46,285
um, right. And so when we look at this slide here, we kind

778
00:56:46,485 --> 00:56:50,265
of did an accounting of where we're spending money to

779
00:56:50,515 --> 00:56:54,465
support, um, our beaches in a town perspective. And

780
00:56:55,195 --> 00:56:59,035
that nu negative number there is what we're adjusting

781
00:56:59,675 --> 00:57:03,605
down, just to show you how much we're spending now on beach that we're not recovering.

782
00:57:04,725 --> 00:57:08,085
'cause the budget's 2 48. Um, so if I took a,

783
00:57:08,845 --> 00:57:12,835
I don't know, the projection of 2397, um, I, it's

784
00:57:13,125 --> 00:57:16,835
kind of more in line with what the 24 66 is, I would say. Yeah.

785
00:57:17,265 --> 00:57:21,045
I'm glad I could lead you to the next slide. Oh, , thank you.

786
00:57:25,035 --> 00:57:27,035
it goes to all the funds. It's an investment income,

787
00:57:31,925 --> 00:57:35,205
uh, back here. An investment income.

788
00:57:36,415 --> 00:57:36,415
yeah,

789
00:57:41,165 --> 00:57:44,315
fluctuates. Um, you know, if you look at 24

790
00:57:45,175 --> 00:57:48,155
and 25, we were around 2 million, two and a half million.

791
00:57:49,535 --> 00:57:53,515
it was really budgeted conservatively for this year, but we're ending up to be about

792
00:57:53,675 --> 00:57:57,415
2.2 million. And so, um, you know, we,

793
00:57:57,815 --> 00:58:01,735
we work with our treasury to make sure we're getting the returns on our

794
00:58:02,185 --> 00:58:05,795
capital that we can invest. And so, um, it does

795
00:58:06,355 --> 00:58:10,235
fluctuate, but I think it's more normalized now when you look at

796
00:58:10,435 --> 00:58:14,235
26 projection versus 27 versus the 26

797
00:58:14,855 --> 00:58:18,725
budget to 27, if that makes 'cause we're we're

798
00:58:19,195 --> 00:58:22,995
showing a minor decrease of 108,000 from 26

799
00:58:23,895 --> 00:58:26,645
to 27 from a projection perspective, which

800
00:58:28,375 --> 00:58:32,355
that's just in the general fund. If you look for the town, you're gonna look at

801
00:58:32,475 --> 00:58:35,425
like $9 million or the number. Yeah.

802
00:58:39,525 --> 00:58:39,525
okay.

803
00:58:47,045 --> 00:58:50,815
okay. We're gonna keep moving on the general fund. And we went through

804
00:58:51,055 --> 00:58:54,225
these on tuesday night. The different categories,

805
00:58:55,155 --> 00:58:58,815
um, just for the property taxes we talked about, the millage is remaining

806
00:58:59,315 --> 00:59:02,635
the same. Local accommodation taxes, 1.5%

807
00:59:03,615 --> 00:59:07,535
growth business licenses, 1% growth, beach services

808
00:59:07,795 --> 00:59:10,915
and parking 650,000. We didn't book any,

809
00:59:12,075 --> 00:59:16,055
we, we booked six 50, we spent six 50. So it's about a

810
00:59:16,175 --> 00:59:20,035
net to the town perspective, but we didn't really book any changes up

811
00:59:20,255 --> 00:59:23,805
or down for beach parking and the budget. Um, and then ems

812
00:59:24,585 --> 00:59:28,485
really the one change there we do have outside of the average we took

813
00:59:28,755 --> 00:59:32,685
from the prior years is the change in the, uh, billing based upon the

814
00:59:33,005 --> 00:59:36,885
medicaid fee schedule that we're doing and transfers in.

815
00:59:37,085 --> 00:59:40,685
we just talked about beach preservation, which uh, is two and a half million

816
00:59:41,145 --> 00:59:44,265
and this year, um, hospitality tax 6.5 million,

817
00:59:45,225 --> 00:59:47,885
that's consistent with what we did in 2026.

818
00:59:49,545 --> 00:59:53,425
our state accommodation tax is a formula as

819
00:59:53,645 --> 00:59:57,445
we show the, uh, 25,000 and then 5%

820
00:59:58,165 --> 01:00:01,955
of the remaining revenue. Um, and then the town's atex

821
01:00:02,305 --> 01:00:06,245
po policy of 20% from there. And um, and then our

822
01:00:06,445 --> 01:00:10,385
short term rental, which is our, our new str be

823
01:00:10,605 --> 01:00:13,325
coming through in the calendar fiscal year 2027.

824
01:00:21,585 --> 01:00:25,195
uh, from a total state perspective, no. Yeah,

825
01:00:25,745 --> 01:00:28,045
but for us it's coming down.

826
01:00:33,455 --> 01:00:33,455
yeah.

827
01:00:38,445 --> 01:00:42,295
from an expenditure perspective, um, we kept this consistent

828
01:00:42,925 --> 01:00:46,415
from an expense side. We are looking at budgeted

829
01:00:47,485 --> 01:00:51,195
amended budget expense to the 2027 budget

830
01:00:51,645 --> 01:00:55,415
expense. Um, not the projection. 'cause I, that's more important

831
01:00:55,805 --> 01:00:59,665
from a budget expense pers perspective. And so we've

832
01:01:00,015 --> 01:01:01,815
got a schedule that breaks out the $7.3 million

833
01:01:04,275 --> 01:01:07,275
growth year over year. Um, I'm gonna jump to that right now.

834
01:01:08,395 --> 01:01:12,315
so this is a, I call it a walk, but it's uh, our

835
01:01:12,535 --> 01:01:16,355
variance schedule to show the

836
01:01:16,575 --> 01:01:20,275
buckets that are really driving the change. Um, the first thing I would say,

837
01:01:21,255 --> 01:01:24,585
I guess I could start from the bottom up. We are going up 7.3 million,

838
01:01:25,835 --> 01:01:29,815
but 2.9 million of that's going into fund balance. That's the

839
01:01:30,215 --> 01:01:33,685
proposal, that's the surplus that we have in our general fund

840
01:01:34,275 --> 01:01:37,735
that's being booked as an expense. So, but that's really,

841
01:01:38,355 --> 01:01:41,535
um, it's a good thing. It's booked as expense, but it's a good thing.

842
01:01:42,515 --> 01:01:46,335
so really from a total expense perspective, we are,

843
01:01:46,595 --> 01:01:49,445
uh, going up $4.3 million here

844
01:01:50,675 --> 01:01:54,675
and 2.8 million of that is in personnel. Um, we

845
01:01:54,895 --> 01:01:58,375
talked the other day, we've got our 4% in for performance

846
01:01:59,065 --> 01:02:02,825
merit, uh, up to 4%, uh, performance based merit

847
01:02:03,705 --> 01:02:07,495
class in comp study implementation, and then we have

848
01:02:07,735 --> 01:02:11,435
a full year of the str positions, um, for

849
01:02:11,955 --> 01:02:15,865
the fiscal year. 27 better?

850
01:02:16,505 --> 01:02:20,035
yes. Oh, okay. Lots of people. Okay.

851
01:02:20,685 --> 01:02:23,935
. Um, I wanna talk about the class and comp study.

852
01:02:24,985 --> 01:02:28,845
so, um, I'm familiar with this. We did this,

853
01:02:29,145 --> 01:02:32,705
uh, routinely. Uh, it is really a best practice to go in

854
01:02:33,225 --> 01:02:37,005
and, uh, do a study in regards to your compensation program

855
01:02:37,745 --> 01:02:41,335
to make sure that you are, are not overpaying and conversely

856
01:02:42,005 --> 01:02:45,765
that you're not underpaying. And so I appreciate that we do this.

857
01:02:46,065 --> 01:02:49,965
it is a common practice in in business to do that. Um, I

858
01:02:50,085 --> 01:02:53,965
know that you, um, had said that you would be coming to us,

859
01:02:54,625 --> 01:02:58,375
uh, the finance committee, I believe you said, uh, to share,

860
01:02:59,345 --> 01:03:03,185
uh, what that study looks like, what it means, uh, what the impacts are,

861
01:03:03,865 --> 01:03:07,715
et cetera. Uh, and I know that beaufort county has also recently completed

862
01:03:08,545 --> 01:03:11,585
one. Um, they called it a step program. Um,

863
01:03:12,865 --> 01:03:16,585
I'm not sure exactly. I mean, steps in regards to,

864
01:03:17,185 --> 01:03:21,045
uh, being able to move up in regards to compensation. So it'll be interesting to

865
01:03:21,205 --> 01:03:25,145
see what approach was taken, how the study was done, and,

866
01:03:25,425 --> 01:03:28,325
and all of the details associated with that. So I look forward to seeing that

867
01:03:30,065 --> 01:03:33,845
ms. Becker. So along, along those same

868
01:03:34,175 --> 01:03:38,085
lines, um, yes, we had done one of these in just a

869
01:03:38,205 --> 01:03:42,105
few years ago, and, and it was helpful. We do have, um,

870
01:03:43,025 --> 01:03:46,705
we do wanna be competitive, making sure that we're hiring, um, and

871
01:03:47,055 --> 01:03:50,825
attracting the most qualified and professional, um,

872
01:03:52,735 --> 01:03:56,415
employees out there. And, and I always say that the best place to work is hilton

873
01:03:56,775 --> 01:04:00,295
head island. And this is one of the reasons why, because we do try to stay

874
01:04:01,085 --> 01:04:05,055
competitive like that. Um, I do have a, another question,

875
01:04:05,175 --> 01:04:09,075
though. Um, it has to do with another study or

876
01:04:09,465 --> 01:04:12,735
consultant that I, I think I had heard about previously.

877
01:04:13,835 --> 01:04:17,415
um, and it is that listed in here, the leadership development.

878
01:04:18,335 --> 01:04:21,785
I see it. Um, can you tell us a little bit about

879
01:04:22,445 --> 01:04:26,405
that and how often that will be included in budgets

880
01:04:26,895 --> 01:04:29,185
moving forward, or,

881
01:04:33,865 --> 01:04:37,865
yeah. Yes, ma'am. That's something I put in the budget this year. It's

882
01:04:38,155 --> 01:04:42,115
not a, it's not an annual recurring, uh, amount. Uh, I've, I've put

883
01:04:42,235 --> 01:04:46,235
it in the budget. I have not of course, procured or hired any leadership

884
01:04:46,875 --> 01:04:50,835
development, but I, but I would like to, and I believe it's time that we

885
01:04:50,995 --> 01:04:54,875
put some sort of leadership program in place, not just for the senior leadership team,

886
01:04:55,415 --> 01:04:59,115
uh, that, that is, uh, works closely with me, but our managers

887
01:04:59,595 --> 01:05:03,395
and supervisors throughout the entire organization, including fire rescue and including

888
01:05:03,675 --> 01:05:07,415
the non-fire rescue employees. So while, while the program's not scoped,

889
01:05:07,975 --> 01:05:11,665
the, the estimated amount is, is, and it's,

890
01:05:12,025 --> 01:05:15,795
it's clearly asked for in the budget. And I wouldn't say it's a one time,

891
01:05:16,495 --> 01:05:19,385
but it's, uh, not a recurring every year amount.

892
01:05:21,155 --> 01:05:24,925
okay. So I wanted to, uh, so in that regard, congratulate

893
01:05:25,725 --> 01:05:28,975
you on the fact that mark, you're looking forward to developing

894
01:05:29,965 --> 01:05:33,325
a very highly skilled and, um, uh, collaborative,

895
01:05:34,185 --> 01:05:37,985
uh, cohesive team of leaders there. You

896
01:05:38,205 --> 01:05:42,205
have a great team as it is. And one might think, well, my gosh, they're the best

897
01:05:42,465 --> 01:05:46,325
bet there that exists, but we can always, um, learn and do more.

898
01:05:46,675 --> 01:05:50,465
staying within the, um, pillar of excellence that hi had has,

899
01:05:50,865 --> 01:05:54,865
um, set for itself. I wanted to make sure that it was highlighted and

900
01:05:55,475 --> 01:05:59,255
that, um, everyone knows the commitment we have to our staff

901
01:05:59,745 --> 01:06:03,725
and to providing excellence, um, through our leadership and through

902
01:06:03,965 --> 01:06:07,885
throughout the organization. And I also wanted to confirm that it wasn't a,

903
01:06:08,205 --> 01:06:12,045
a year to year expense. So thank you for both of those things. Thank you,

904
01:06:12,245 --> 01:06:16,065
ms. Becker. Okay. Jumping down to

905
01:06:16,305 --> 01:06:20,105
the other operating expense items that are driving, uh,

906
01:06:20,465 --> 01:06:23,905
our change in 2027, we called out the

907
01:06:24,565 --> 01:06:27,585
one-time items here that are, um,

908
01:06:28,585 --> 01:06:31,525
uh, I'll call it significant changes from 26.

909
01:06:32,945 --> 01:06:36,865
um, first one being commercial insurance. Uh, this is the quote for

910
01:06:37,235 --> 01:06:40,765
this next fiscal year. So this is the real number. It's going up 8.5%

911
01:06:42,625 --> 01:06:46,385
to $1,167,000. Um, our

912
01:06:47,085 --> 01:06:50,685
heritage, we are increasing for the banner, banner hanging

913
01:06:51,185 --> 01:06:54,535
and removal. Uh, for that, for that function, for that, uh, event,

914
01:06:55,625 --> 01:06:58,925
our public safety consultant, we put in a hundred thousand dollars

915
01:06:59,825 --> 01:07:03,615
in the budget for 2027. Legal, legal

916
01:07:04,185 --> 01:07:07,805
is going up in this category, but we're, all we're

917
01:07:08,365 --> 01:07:12,165
doing is consolidating legal from other areas of the town

918
01:07:13,115 --> 01:07:16,905
into one, uh, into one department in the general fund. Um,

919
01:07:17,225 --> 01:07:21,065
so that's, that's really driving the change in this area. Uh,

920
01:07:21,425 --> 01:07:25,165
we have our election in november. Uh, we are looking to bring on an

921
01:07:25,445 --> 01:07:29,285
a da consultant, um, to do an evaluation of our,

922
01:07:29,625 --> 01:07:33,165
all of our a da, uh, all of our facilities, uh, public facilities

923
01:07:33,805 --> 01:07:37,625
for a da compliance, um, which is something that, uh, is planned for

924
01:07:37,845 --> 01:07:41,725
the next year. We just spoke about the leadership development. There are some technology

925
01:07:42,205 --> 01:07:46,045
investments being made for gis, um, and for fire

926
01:07:46,325 --> 01:07:50,245
rescue, well actually, uh, dispatch for radio software

927
01:07:50,445 --> 01:07:54,005
upgrade. Those were the big changes. If you look at everything else,

928
01:07:54,795 --> 01:07:58,445
it's flat. And, and that's really what we wanted to show there.

929
01:07:59,075 --> 01:08:02,645
what was really driving that change. Um, when you look at

930
01:08:03,245 --> 01:08:07,085
contracted public safety, it's actually going down, but some

931
01:08:07,325 --> 01:08:11,275
of that's just due to trash and recycling that is coming from

932
01:08:11,585 --> 01:08:15,485
the current contract for shore beach to I

933
01:08:15,665 --> 01:08:19,325
two recycling I two. Okay. And so that

934
01:08:19,685 --> 01:08:23,085
I think is gonna go up into the facilities, uh, organization.

935
01:08:24,665 --> 01:08:28,095
and then on grants, well, we have our affiliated agencies, which

936
01:08:28,875 --> 01:08:31,405
that was, uh, approved, um, for $373,000

937
01:08:33,645 --> 01:08:37,525
increase from 2026. And then last, we have

938
01:08:37,685 --> 01:08:41,065
our transfers. And so one is our, uh,

939
01:08:41,705 --> 01:08:45,545
gullah geechee transfer for salaries and benefits for,

940
01:08:46,265 --> 01:08:50,165
uh, 3 59. Um, we were taking a reduction of a

941
01:08:50,485 --> 01:08:54,425
transfer we did in housing, um, of 1 97. And

942
01:08:54,645 --> 01:08:58,545
then we are transferring money to special revenue for

943
01:08:58,915 --> 01:09:02,765
some grants expenditures that we're gonna have to, to true

944
01:09:03,045 --> 01:09:07,005
all that up. So at the end of the day, we just wanted to do a one pager to kind

945
01:09:07,205 --> 01:09:11,205
of break out what's happening within the general fund expense change

946
01:09:11,565 --> 01:09:11,845
from 26.

947
01:09:15,625 --> 01:09:19,365
um, mayor, if no one else, can I jump in? Go ahead.

948
01:09:19,785 --> 01:09:23,705
go ahead. Okay. Thank you. Uh, okay. Thank you. Probably should have waited on

949
01:09:23,925 --> 01:09:27,885
the other one as well. And I apologize if I had interrupted when, while you were going through

950
01:09:28,165 --> 01:09:32,085
the list, but, um, starting at, at the top, the heritage classic

951
01:09:32,735 --> 01:09:36,525
foundation, which I fully support, um, the additional funds

952
01:09:36,845 --> 01:09:40,645
that we gave them, uh, in the past as they've

953
01:09:40,965 --> 01:09:44,665
become a signature event, event, the amount of,

954
01:09:45,185 --> 01:09:49,185
uh, publicity, the amount of worldwide, uh,

955
01:09:50,255 --> 01:09:53,605
views that we get from that event is well worth the $400,000.

956
01:09:55,435 --> 01:09:59,005
what I'm bothered by here is that it looks like to me

957
01:09:59,515 --> 01:10:03,485
that this has become something. And, and when we, it's come in the past, it's been a special

958
01:10:03,795 --> 01:10:07,685
request and the ta sitting town council evaluates

959
01:10:07,965 --> 01:10:11,605
it and makes the decision, and it provides those additional

960
01:10:12,125 --> 01:10:15,405
dollars. What it looks like here, to me is it's a predetermined

961
01:10:16,485 --> 01:10:20,485
decision. And I'm very uncomfortable with it. And I know I've highlighted another

962
01:10:21,085 --> 01:10:24,845
instance, and unfortunately, if that's space, if I'm correct,

963
01:10:25,265 --> 01:10:29,235
and this is an , the council

964
01:10:29,865 --> 01:10:33,745
is going to pre-approve those dollars. It's another reason I'm

965
01:10:33,965 --> 01:10:37,485
gonna have to vote. No. Um, that is, that should not, that should not be.

966
01:10:38,025 --> 01:10:41,625
so that's one. And as we move down, um,

967
01:10:42,465 --> 01:10:45,625
I'm glad that we're doing the a da, um, we have, uh,

968
01:10:46,555 --> 01:10:50,245
been improving the ability for those who are moving,

969
01:10:50,595 --> 01:10:54,485
have some mobility issues, hearing issues, whatever the case

970
01:10:54,705 --> 01:10:58,625
may be across the island. And that's been a very good thing. But

971
01:10:58,845 --> 01:11:02,445
we've been doing it piecemeal. And I think that looking at island as a whole

972
01:11:03,025 --> 01:11:06,635
in terms of that is, is a very good idea. Um,

973
01:11:07,675 --> 01:11:11,415
so there's that. The, um, let's

974
01:11:11,765 --> 01:11:14,145
see. I'm trying to see is the spiritual thing. Um,

975
01:11:16,065 --> 01:11:19,965
the other one I'm, and I hope I'm not missing one, but if I am, I'll talk about it some other point.

976
01:11:20,615 --> 01:11:24,535
affiliated agencies is where I'm gonna go to at this moment when affiliated

977
01:11:25,685 --> 01:11:29,565
agencies come flow, or it's always interesting

978
01:11:29,805 --> 01:11:33,325
to read through their paperwork, to listen to their presentations and the discussion

979
01:11:34,075 --> 01:11:36,685
that fna has with, with those applicants.

980
01:11:39,115 --> 01:11:42,955
and then there's a yes or no made by

981
01:11:43,175 --> 01:11:47,035
the finance and administrative committee, which is a subcommittee of

982
01:11:47,255 --> 01:11:51,255
the full town council, but I'm bothered by is that doesn't come

983
01:11:51,415 --> 01:11:55,255
back through the full town council for a vote of, of the seven of us.

984
01:11:56,755 --> 01:12:00,695
and it shows up instead, um, as part

985
01:12:00,975 --> 01:12:04,755
of our budget. And I think that the process is off.

986
01:12:05,455 --> 01:12:09,275
I think that this needs to come forward as

987
01:12:09,655 --> 01:12:13,015
a separate issue after it hits f and a. They are not full town council,

988
01:12:14,595 --> 01:12:18,395
and it should come to the full town council for a vote before it

989
01:12:18,615 --> 01:12:22,575
shows up in our budget. Whether we agree with it or not. I'm not saying that I

990
01:12:22,695 --> 01:12:26,535
have an issue with it per se, although a discussion might be interesting

991
01:12:26,775 --> 01:12:30,655
to have, but I would like to see that process changed and not an assumption

992
01:12:31,085 --> 01:12:34,875
made. So, so there's

993
01:12:35,275 --> 01:12:38,155
that. If you go back to the other screen for me,

994
01:12:43,195 --> 01:12:47,135
um, and I don't think maybe I missed it, the transfers.

995
01:12:48,075 --> 01:12:51,995
um, I will have, when we get to, um, the transfers below, I assume

996
01:12:52,415 --> 01:12:56,175
you would rather I wait until we get to those areas to discuss those items.

997
01:13:00,775 --> 01:13:04,625
uh, we can, or if, if there's comments you would, I mean, these are the ones that

998
01:13:04,915 --> 01:13:08,875
we're doing from the general fund to other funds, so I,

999
01:13:09,075 --> 01:13:12,805
I think if you would wanna talk about 'em, that's fine. Okay.

1000
01:13:13,875 --> 01:13:17,005
so, um, I have, um, some

1001
01:13:18,095 --> 01:13:20,975
concerns with regard to the transfers

1002
01:13:22,455 --> 01:13:25,775
from the top, um, with the gullah geechee historic, uh, neighborhood

1003
01:13:26,805 --> 01:13:30,425
community, uh, development corporation, um, there

1004
01:13:30,875 --> 01:13:34,655
is a almost $400,000 transfer

1005
01:13:35,035 --> 01:13:38,965
in that covers salaries and benefits for two employees. Um,

1006
01:13:39,405 --> 01:13:43,025
I'd like to hear a little bit more about that if you wanna discuss it. I know

1007
01:13:43,655 --> 01:13:47,085
what I'm asking because I've asked it before, and, um,

1008
01:13:48,145 --> 01:13:51,125
I think it's worthy of a conversation, uh,

1009
01:13:52,265 --> 01:13:55,855
doubt or when we get to that, um, that fund, however

1010
01:13:56,435 --> 01:13:57,055
you wanna do it.

1011
01:14:00,975 --> 01:14:04,535
I can answer that one. I, I would prefer that, and I'm taking some, some notes

1012
01:14:05,245 --> 01:14:08,975
that we just park the cdc conversation until we get to the cdc

1013
01:14:09,335 --> 01:14:12,685
account, but we just earmark that there is a transfer

1014
01:14:13,635 --> 01:14:17,395
from general fund for salaries into,

1015
01:14:18,465 --> 01:14:22,195
in, in, into the cdc, and you'll see that show up there and we can talk about that good

1016
01:14:22,485 --> 01:14:26,445
with that. And so I'll, I'll, I'll hold off on that and the same will be true

1017
01:14:26,605 --> 01:14:30,605
then for housing. So, um, I just, we'll make a note here

1018
01:14:30,845 --> 01:14:34,025
and we'll talk about it in a bit. Thank you. Okay.

1019
01:14:35,055 --> 01:14:39,035
um, hang, hang on. Um, uh, ms. Hunter? Yes. I just had a

1020
01:14:39,315 --> 01:14:43,155
question about the a da. So in, in regards to facilities,

1021
01:14:43,815 --> 01:14:47,335
so we do have some affiliated agencies where, uh, we,

1022
01:14:47,855 --> 01:14:51,415
we own the property. Um, is it gonna extend

1023
01:14:51,935 --> 01:14:55,915
to those pieces as well? Okay. Yes, ma'am. All right. Just wanted to

1024
01:14:56,035 --> 01:14:59,255
make sure. Thank you. Absolutely. Mr. Brown. Yeah. So, um,

1025
01:15:01,255 --> 01:15:05,075
couple things. One, I I, I just wanna remind us all that, that this

1026
01:15:05,275 --> 01:15:08,635
is a workshop. I think this is an opportunity for us to work

1027
01:15:09,505 --> 01:15:12,695
okay. All here collectively. So if, if we

1028
01:15:14,285 --> 01:15:17,015
want to make changes, because my understanding this is still

1029
01:15:19,185 --> 01:15:22,765
draft form, although we've had first reading, we have opportunity to change. Alright?

1030
01:15:23,255 --> 01:15:27,195
so I'm make sure that we understand that. Um, the, the,

1031
01:15:27,435 --> 01:15:31,395
the line item that, that I wanted to bring some attention to was the

1032
01:15:31,975 --> 01:15:35,895
heritage foundation as well. Um, I'm, I'm understanding the additional

1033
01:15:36,215 --> 01:15:39,665
65,000 is something that we will be administering internally.

1034
01:15:40,595 --> 01:15:44,255
am I correct on that? Okay. Yes, sir. And the other part of it is,

1035
01:15:44,835 --> 01:15:48,815
um, you know, maybe they haven't closed their books out yet.

1036
01:15:49,235 --> 01:15:53,135
all right. And we, we heard when they, uh, when they came to see us this

1037
01:15:53,335 --> 01:15:57,285
year, that things have changed, um, from one year to another. Okay.

1038
01:15:57,955 --> 01:16:01,735
and this is a budget, so there's a good chance that they could come back

1039
01:16:01,995 --> 01:16:05,895
and ask for less, or they come back and ask for more. We, we, we don't know

1040
01:16:06,065 --> 01:16:09,545
until they figure things out. But what I would like to do, mr. Mayor,

1041
01:16:10,395 --> 01:16:13,855
uh, is appropriate that sooner than later

1042
01:16:14,645 --> 01:16:17,995
they come to us with sort of an after action report,

1043
01:16:19,125 --> 01:16:22,975
just to help us understand what went well and what

1044
01:16:23,175 --> 01:16:27,135
did not go so well. Um, they are responsible for

1045
01:16:27,295 --> 01:16:31,015
this event, but I mean, I can tell you for sure that I've heard some

1046
01:16:31,375 --> 01:16:35,135
comments about the event. Okay. Um, positive, but there's some negatives.

1047
01:16:35,405 --> 01:16:39,255
okay. And I wanna make sure that we have the opportunity to hear

1048
01:16:39,415 --> 01:16:43,215
from them what they heard, what they understand, and us share the same, particularly since we are

1049
01:16:43,735 --> 01:16:47,695
contributing to 400 k at this moment. Um, but if there

1050
01:16:47,855 --> 01:16:51,855
needs to be adjustments, at least prepare us now to start thinking

1051
01:16:52,215 --> 01:16:55,975
about what that may or may not be. So that was my request. Okay. Thank

1052
01:16:56,255 --> 01:17:00,255
you. Well, if, if, if, if no one else is

1053
01:17:00,475 --> 01:17:04,455
jumping in to alex's point, which I guess kind of speaks

1054
01:17:04,875 --> 01:17:08,435
to what I was asking, um, I

1055
01:17:09,255 --> 01:17:13,205
would like to hear other people's opinion as to whether or not it's appropriate that we are just

1056
01:17:13,425 --> 01:17:17,405
now budgeting into our, or putting into our budget

1057
01:17:17,905 --> 01:17:21,485
an assumption of a, the dollar amount that might be requested

1058
01:17:22,465 --> 01:17:26,255
and whether or not collectively the town council would

1059
01:17:26,635 --> 01:17:30,595
feel it appropriate to, to provide that or perhaps more,

1060
01:17:30,885 --> 01:17:34,725
or whatever the case may be. But I'm very uncomfortable with

1061
01:17:35,085 --> 01:17:39,065
building it into our budget. I would rather have a, a request made to us so

1062
01:17:39,285 --> 01:17:43,265
that we can hear the information as alex just described it, and, and

1063
01:17:43,485 --> 01:17:46,285
make an evaluation, um, at that time.

1064
01:17:49,865 --> 01:17:53,855
so I, I would like to hear what other people think. I mean, I, I know I talk in a d speak

1065
01:17:54,205 --> 01:17:58,105
in a different way, and I present ideas. And if I don't stop, I guess, and,

1066
01:17:58,545 --> 01:18:02,265
and make you make a point of saying, you know, these are things not just me.

1067
01:18:02,565 --> 01:18:06,485
I wanna hear what other people are talking about. It is a workshop. And, and I'm not

1068
01:18:06,755 --> 01:18:10,405
just here to, to hear myself speak. I would really wanna hear what other people have to,

1069
01:18:10,985 --> 01:18:14,565
to say about these things as well, because it is our budget. And this budget,

1070
01:18:15,585 --> 01:18:18,965
we are as a, as a council, as a government, we are

1071
01:18:19,865 --> 01:18:23,385
the 38,000 plus thereabouts rep, uh, con

1072
01:18:24,125 --> 01:18:27,725
residents of the island. And so we should be having a conversation,

1073
01:18:28,865 --> 01:18:32,805
not just talking to yourselves, talking. And sometimes that's what I feel like happens.

1074
01:18:34,135 --> 01:18:37,865
ms. Becker, mr. Orlando is gonna address this real quick. Thank you.

1075
01:18:38,905 --> 01:18:42,885
uh, I, I would just say there's an option. I, I completely understand what, what ms. Becker

1076
01:18:43,645 --> 01:18:47,365
is asking for it. It is, and again, this is, this has been trying to be a shift

1077
01:18:47,995 --> 01:18:51,925
this year in the budget to show clarity in what we're contemplating,

1078
01:18:52,645 --> 01:18:56,225
right? And so your options are this, leave the 400 as is,

1079
01:18:57,065 --> 01:18:59,925
or don't show the 400 night, right now, take the $400,000

1080
01:19:01,505 --> 01:19:04,765
and put it in the general fund fund balance, and that when the rbc,

1081
01:19:05,795 --> 01:19:09,705
when they come back to ask, you can make a decision. And then the then, but,

1082
01:19:09,945 --> 01:19:13,565
but in, in addition to the agreement, we would need a budget amendment, right? Two readings.

1083
01:19:13,985 --> 01:19:17,465
and, and, and I'm actually fine with that because I, I don't like the idea of, um,

1084
01:19:18,795 --> 01:19:22,445
even cutting them short, right? By putting 400,000 in the budget

1085
01:19:22,975 --> 01:19:26,945
would maybe, you know, and I know that we've, we've, we have done this for years. Um,

1086
01:19:27,625 --> 01:19:31,425
so I, you know, it's not taking you out, it's just real, it's journal entry within the

1087
01:19:31,645 --> 01:19:35,625
system to move it out of there into the general fund. Yes, sir. We've done it different ways in, in

1088
01:19:35,845 --> 01:19:39,445
past here, so I'm fine, I'm fine with that. Le leave the 65,000

1089
01:19:40,245 --> 01:19:44,125
because that's, those are the banners and the posts and the, and the labor.

1090
01:19:45,545 --> 01:19:49,385
so just weigh okay with that. Oh, I'm comfortable with that approach. That's,

1091
01:19:49,805 --> 01:19:53,685
that's fine. You can do it either way. You could leave the 400 in and then always add a budget

1092
01:19:53,845 --> 01:19:57,525
amendment for more. Uh, I don't know that we'd be paying less, but I, I'm comfortable

1093
01:19:58,205 --> 01:20:02,085
removing it. The 65,000. I did have a question because the banners have been hung

1094
01:20:02,285 --> 01:20:06,285
before, or at least the last couple of years that I can remember. 'cause I remember seeing them and going

1095
01:20:06,745 --> 01:20:10,685
and telling you how wonderful they look. Um, so is this something

1096
01:20:10,965 --> 01:20:14,765
that we have paid for in the last couple of years? It's how many years have

1097
01:20:15,045 --> 01:20:19,025
we done? So it, so is this just a matter of taking it out

1098
01:20:19,245 --> 01:20:22,865
of one area and assigning it to, uh,

1099
01:20:23,965 --> 01:20:27,905
heritage? Yes. So I call that a shift. We call that a shift in lift. Uh, yes. You

1100
01:20:28,125 --> 01:20:32,085
know, so we're just moving it, it is to show the transparency of what we are supporting.

1101
01:20:32,745 --> 01:20:36,285
yes. I believe it was in the facilities department, under, under events

1102
01:20:36,785 --> 01:20:40,775
or, or or wherever it was like that. And we just wanted to be be clear since,

1103
01:20:41,535 --> 01:20:45,365
since, you know, because here here's a little bit of my philosophy. In past

1104
01:20:45,605 --> 01:20:49,605
years, we have now, we go to first reading, we have a couple workshops,

1105
01:20:49,905 --> 01:20:53,845
we have public hearings, and then in the middle of the year when we do

1106
01:20:54,005 --> 01:20:57,765
a budget amendment for the things that we know are going to happen, we don't have public

1107
01:20:58,165 --> 01:21:01,985
hearings and we don't have workshops, and we don't have that full disclosure and

1108
01:21:02,205 --> 01:21:06,125
transparency of where the dollars are going. So when, when we put the

1109
01:21:06,285 --> 01:21:10,045
400 in the, in the budget placeholder for this year, knowing

1110
01:21:10,345 --> 01:21:14,045
it would come to town council with an agreement. 'cause that is, that is the, the way the agreement's

1111
01:21:14,605 --> 01:21:18,365
structured year to year. We just said, let's just put the 60 5k

1112
01:21:18,925 --> 01:21:22,805
for banners in there so people do see you included. And the

1113
01:21:23,005 --> 01:21:26,825
community knows the investment we're making from a tax use

1114
01:21:27,705 --> 01:21:31,565
and whatnot into that rbc fund. So that, that,

1115
01:21:31,805 --> 01:21:35,795
that hence the shift, hence it all in one place. Mr. Brown. Yeah.

1116
01:21:36,085 --> 01:21:38,805
so I, I don't wanna ultra complicate this,

1117
01:21:40,145 --> 01:21:43,155
but I guess I, I, I am struggling a little bit with

1118
01:21:44,845 --> 01:21:48,735
only showing 60 5k under the heritage classic foundation line. I

1119
01:21:48,855 --> 01:21:52,855
mean, I, again, it's a budget pick any line up here,

1120
01:21:53,065 --> 01:21:56,865
we're gonna put a number there, and at some point we may have to amend

1121
01:21:57,215 --> 01:22:01,215
it. Um, but I, I don't want to give the public impression right, that we are

1122
01:22:01,295 --> 01:22:03,655
cutting it. Right. So I, I struggle with that a little bit.

1123
01:22:06,445 --> 01:22:10,305
I'd agree with that. And I dunno, we've ever, we've never actually budgeted for it though.

1124
01:22:10,585 --> 01:22:14,505
correct. Mark, it's never been a light item. It's gonna request and we respond to it.

1125
01:22:14,925 --> 01:22:18,825
and I hear what you're saying with regard to this may

1126
01:22:19,025 --> 01:22:22,905
be a more transparent way of doing it, but I also don't think that we

1127
01:22:23,105 --> 01:22:26,895
have the level of, and I'm not by any means saying that

1128
01:22:27,185 --> 01:22:31,175
it's not a worthy, a worthy cause and good

1129
01:22:31,465 --> 01:22:35,255
amount of money and maybe more money, but it's

1130
01:22:35,545 --> 01:22:39,145
the commitment to it without having the request for it.

1131
01:22:39,685 --> 01:22:43,445
and then as alex had correctly pointed out some of the,

1132
01:22:43,845 --> 01:22:46,805
um, the look back, you know, the day after, uh,

1133
01:22:48,445 --> 01:22:52,335
what was good, what was bad, what'll change, and some of those metrics that I think that

1134
01:22:52,455 --> 01:22:56,405
we should know about before we commit ourselves to 400 or 500

1135
01:22:57,115 --> 01:23:00,295
or a million dollars or 300 million, it's just,

1136
01:23:01,325 --> 01:23:04,615
it's just for me, putting ourselves on the line

1137
01:23:05,345 --> 01:23:08,615
saying we're gonna do something without knowing what it is that we're

1138
01:23:10,095 --> 01:23:13,675
committing other people to. I, I'm not comfortable with it. And I've heard other people suggest

1139
01:23:14,165 --> 01:23:18,055
that as well. Yeah. So if I might mark, suggest that, um, maybe

1140
01:23:18,405 --> 01:23:22,325
we change the verbiage from heritage classic foundation, because that's indicating

1141
01:23:22,805 --> 01:23:26,645
the actual foundation for funding, and that's not what we're really talking about

1142
01:23:26,905 --> 01:23:28,845
on this at this point in time with the 65,000,

1143
01:23:33,155 --> 01:23:33,855
how do you feel about that?

1144
01:23:38,885 --> 01:23:42,865
I'm, I'm interested in what, I'm interested in what others have to say, because again,

1145
01:23:45,045 --> 01:23:48,505
if we put in a zero, it's gotta come back to town council

1146
01:23:49,165 --> 01:23:52,745
to have a discussion about what it's going to be. If you put it at 400,

1147
01:23:53,565 --> 01:23:57,545
you still have to have a conversation down the road about what it's actually going to be. Again,

1148
01:23:57,865 --> 01:24:01,765
it's just a budget. Um, it's a, it is a placeholder hold to

1149
01:24:01,985 --> 01:24:05,745
some degree. Um, and, you know, I, I'd welcome the rest of council

1150
01:24:06,005 --> 01:24:09,545
to, to sort of weigh in on this. Again, I'm okay with the 60 5k,

1151
01:24:10,225 --> 01:24:14,065
particularly since we've already been spending it. And I'm also comfortable

1152
01:24:14,425 --> 01:24:18,285
with saying out loud to the public that we are going to support this event. I'm

1153
01:24:18,505 --> 01:24:22,415
just asking that the folks show up at fna

1154
01:24:22,815 --> 01:24:26,575
sooner than later to give, give us a after action report. Okay. That's, that's all.

1155
01:24:27,275 --> 01:24:31,175
we can work, we can work on that. I I, I do know they're still counting the money probably. So, yeah. And

1156
01:24:31,335 --> 01:24:35,075
the bills, any ms. Bryson? Yeah, sure. Um,

1157
01:24:36,095 --> 01:24:40,075
I, I just looked at our ordinance. I don't see it as a line item in our ordinance. Um, so

1158
01:24:40,295 --> 01:24:44,155
if we're talking about a line item, it's not in the ordinance itself. Um, and, and

1159
01:24:44,375 --> 01:24:48,055
what I was curious about is what's been our practice? Have we included this somewhere

1160
01:24:48,715 --> 01:24:52,515
in, in the budget materials, or has it not been included, or

1161
01:24:52,735 --> 01:24:56,695
is it included in our budget amendment? At some point, I

1162
01:24:56,815 --> 01:25:00,775
believe la forgive me, I don't have what, what you're looking at right there in front of

1163
01:25:00,935 --> 01:25:04,915
me, but last year, I believe it was in the original budget, because it doesn't show up to you in

1164
01:25:05,135 --> 01:25:08,735
the, uh, in the amended, but it, but years prior, it wasn't in the budget.

1165
01:25:09,155 --> 01:25:12,705
and coming on board here, I would always ask the question, well, if we're

1166
01:25:13,205 --> 01:25:16,575
have this agreement, and the agreement reads that if the rbc

1167
01:25:18,575 --> 01:25:22,095
heritage has a title sponsor that the town will provide

1168
01:25:22,695 --> 01:25:26,455
a sponsorship, why aren't we budgeting it? Why are we pretending it's a mid-year?

1169
01:25:27,275 --> 01:25:31,255
but, and so we had those philosophical budget structure questions last year,

1170
01:25:31,495 --> 01:25:35,475
I believe it was in the original and

1171
01:25:35,695 --> 01:25:39,515
after years prior, it was a budget amendment. Yeah. And, and for instance, my

1172
01:25:39,735 --> 01:25:43,615
island recreation, we have a number that we put in there in our budget, but it

1173
01:25:43,775 --> 01:25:47,335
could change based on the request. So we do put a number in there to show

1174
01:25:48,125 --> 01:25:51,935
that there, we, we anticipate some expenditure for certain organizations,

1175
01:25:52,995 --> 01:25:56,495
and that shows, uh, what we plan and think we're going to spend.

1176
01:25:57,355 --> 01:26:01,215
so it, it seems as though it, if if we have the others in there,

1177
01:26:01,485 --> 01:26:05,435
then this belongs in there as well. Mr. Al alfred,

1178
01:26:05,555 --> 01:26:09,385
just to add on, on the heritage, I, I think it's fine. The way it's,

1179
01:26:10,215 --> 01:26:13,915
the only downside would be in a situation where heritage came in,

1180
01:26:14,335 --> 01:26:17,115
uh, looking for a lot less money. That's not gonna happen.

1181
01:26:19,025 --> 01:26:21,675
well, you, you answered the question because there's an agreement,

1182
01:26:23,095 --> 01:26:26,935
and if there's an agreement, then why wouldn't we have the dollar amount in there? And,

1183
01:26:27,735 --> 01:26:29,675
you know, using the previous year's allocation,

1184
01:26:31,885 --> 01:26:35,265
you know, obviously if they come in and ask for more, then that's gonna be a, an amendment to it.

1185
01:26:36,005 --> 01:26:39,945
so, but, but to your point, mr. Brown, having them come back and do that

1186
01:26:40,405 --> 01:26:41,565
is, is ideal. So

1187
01:26:45,245 --> 01:26:49,085
any other comments? Are you thinking ms. Donner? I am. You

1188
01:26:49,305 --> 01:26:53,205
can see the wheels going . I can , yes.

1189
01:26:53,765 --> 01:26:57,405
um, well, it's about the comment about affiliated agencies. So, um,

1190
01:26:58,155 --> 01:27:01,705
those numbers aren't theoretical. That's what they came and asked us for. And it,

1191
01:27:02,285 --> 01:27:06,025
and it was reviewed at two finance and administrative

1192
01:27:06,905 --> 01:27:10,705
meetings, and there were other council members in attendance

1193
01:27:11,365 --> 01:27:15,165
and, and some came up and provided feedback or not, but

1194
01:27:15,785 --> 01:27:19,555
I acknowledge it was just finance that voted three

1195
01:27:20,175 --> 01:27:24,065
zero, uh, to approve, and now it's in the budget. So I guess

1196
01:27:24,645 --> 01:27:28,455
the question is, we can always change the process and have a, have

1197
01:27:28,745 --> 01:27:32,535
this be a standalone item, just like, uh, we do with atex.

1198
01:27:33,365 --> 01:27:37,225
um, so that we can do that moving forward. I guess the question would be, what do we wanna do

1199
01:27:37,385 --> 01:27:41,305
for this year? Um, you know, do we wanna add it as a

1200
01:27:41,425 --> 01:27:45,425
discussion item at one of the workshops or, or not? I'm just throwing that

1201
01:27:45,685 --> 01:27:49,545
out there. Good question. Yep. Just to add on

1202
01:27:49,745 --> 01:27:52,905
to ms. Thomas' comments, I mean, we all here right now,

1203
01:27:54,485 --> 01:27:57,705
so I, I think any item that's in this proposed budget,

1204
01:27:58,955 --> 01:28:02,785
we're the policy makers. We have the luxury to have a discussion and change

1205
01:28:03,065 --> 01:28:06,665
it if we think we need to change it. So, um, I, I, I think

1206
01:28:07,085 --> 01:28:10,865
at this point, if there's, if there's something that's, you know, tickling one of us with the affiliated

1207
01:28:11,225 --> 01:28:15,065
agency, uh, now's the time to talk about it. So

1208
01:28:15,285 --> 01:28:18,645
I'll ask a question. Is there anything tickling you on the affiliated

1209
01:28:19,445 --> 01:28:23,325
agencies, and mayor council? Just, I, I skipped

1210
01:28:23,805 --> 01:28:27,625
a couple slides up. I put the slide, it's about three, it was four slides ahead to

1211
01:28:27,845 --> 01:28:31,005
go through these with you today to talk through them. So they're right up here. Thank you.

1212
01:28:31,865 --> 01:28:35,645
and, and I appreciate the comments on improving processes.

1213
01:28:36,265 --> 01:28:40,205
we always try to try to improve the process. Um, in the past,

1214
01:28:40,555 --> 01:28:44,465
what, what we did agree with, what I think together was if,

1215
01:28:45,505 --> 01:28:49,505
if whatever the ask is go to just for everybody, finance, administrative, if

1216
01:28:49,725 --> 01:28:52,565
finance administrative is making that recommendation, it's making the recommendation

1217
01:28:53,785 --> 01:28:57,785
to me, and I'm putting it in the budget for your consideration. Um, but

1218
01:28:58,415 --> 01:29:01,985
maybe a great point, a process improvement where that gets, gets approved and

1219
01:29:02,475 --> 01:29:06,405
full counsel and recommended individually, or we can do it like this and go through this

1220
01:29:06,525 --> 01:29:06,525
today.

1221
01:29:11,585 --> 01:29:15,365
and I can help walk us through this if you'd like. I could go one at a time and, and go through it.

1222
01:29:15,835 --> 01:29:19,525
well, again, I asked the question, does anybody have any, any issues with, with what

1223
01:29:19,885 --> 01:29:23,485
f and a, uh, approved? I've already been tickled.

1224
01:29:23,905 --> 01:29:27,885
I'm, I'm good. I, I, I don't have any questions about, about it. 'cause I,

1225
01:29:28,245 --> 01:29:32,005
'cause I appreciate the process that it went through. So I, I'm not here to, to discuss

1226
01:29:32,345 --> 01:29:36,245
the process tonight, but even the funding amounts, the requests and the allocations I'm fine

1227
01:29:36,365 --> 01:29:40,285
with. So I'm not sure

1228
01:29:40,525 --> 01:29:44,165
if anyone else is jumping in 'cause they can't see. So if I'm interrupting

1229
01:29:44,685 --> 01:29:48,445
anyone, I apologize. Um, I'm not necessarily bothered

1230
01:29:49,305 --> 01:29:52,235
by the money, per se, as it was recommended

1231
01:29:55,195 --> 01:29:58,715
to, the recommendation is to the town council, is that the recommendation

1232
01:29:59,315 --> 01:30:03,035
to, uh, the town manager? So I would be interesting

1233
01:30:03,455 --> 01:30:07,175
to be reminded of that, but I would, what I do want to say

1234
01:30:08,015 --> 01:30:11,765
is with regard to the affiliate agency, I think the process needs

1235
01:30:12,115 --> 01:30:15,995
to be improved. But secondly, it's growing.

1236
01:30:17,055 --> 01:30:20,925
the amount of money that gets allocated to

1237
01:30:21,595 --> 01:30:25,425
affiliated agencies is growing. And I think we

1238
01:30:25,625 --> 01:30:29,505
need to have a, another discussion about what that

1239
01:30:29,705 --> 01:30:33,185
means in terms of organizations and their reliance

1240
01:30:34,085 --> 01:30:37,715
on public funds, um, their nonprofits, these nonprofits

1241
01:30:38,485 --> 01:30:41,825
and, and the, the public funds. I know that it's for public,

1242
01:30:42,525 --> 01:30:45,945
uh, use. I know that it's beneficial to our, uh, community.

1243
01:30:46,725 --> 01:30:50,505
I'm not questioning that at all. What I'm asking or thinking

1244
01:30:51,065 --> 01:30:54,735
about is the increased reliance perhaps,

1245
01:30:55,685 --> 01:30:58,615
um, and the increased dollars

1246
01:30:59,695 --> 01:31:03,665
year over year that are being allocated to this. And so when people look at

1247
01:31:03,825 --> 01:31:07,785
our budgets, these are the types of things that, that they should be aware

1248
01:31:08,065 --> 01:31:12,035
of that's costing us more money, um, to provide these

1249
01:31:12,385 --> 01:31:15,285
types of services to provide these types of, um,

1250
01:31:16,415 --> 01:31:19,745
opportunities on the island for the residents and the visitors.

1251
01:31:20,445 --> 01:31:24,305
so it's a bigger picture that I wanna make sure that we drill down on so that the

1252
01:31:24,505 --> 01:31:28,225
public understands fully well. Ms. Ms. Becker,

1253
01:31:28,705 --> 01:31:32,455
I, if I, if I might, um, you know, I, I would, I think that, that this

1254
01:31:32,745 --> 01:31:36,725
conversation about the process needs to go to f and a down the road, um,

1255
01:31:37,855 --> 01:31:41,765
because that's outside of this budget conversation. Now if the money's, if the dollars are fine and

1256
01:31:41,985 --> 01:31:45,805
we're good with that, well, I'm not sure if

1257
01:31:46,025 --> 01:31:49,745
it's outside of, uh, the budget because of the process.

1258
01:31:50,165 --> 01:31:54,005
the piece where town council and we

1259
01:31:54,225 --> 01:31:58,045
either approve the affiliated agencies by virtue of

1260
01:31:58,265 --> 01:32:02,155
approving the budget. And so it all goes hand

1261
01:32:02,445 --> 01:32:06,325
in hand. Or we don't approve the budget 'cause we don't approve the affiliate

1262
01:32:06,865 --> 01:32:10,765
aid agencies and everything else gets left behind. And it's a, it's just

1263
01:32:11,225 --> 01:32:14,885
not a good situation to put an individual council

1264
01:32:15,365 --> 01:32:19,225
member in who yes, did likely attend

1265
01:32:19,825 --> 01:32:23,605
the f and a meeting, yes, did have an opportunity to speak,

1266
01:32:24,345 --> 01:32:27,825
um, at that meeting, but did not have an opportunity to

1267
01:32:28,515 --> 01:32:32,205
vote on the outcome. And so the only vote on the outcome

1268
01:32:32,785 --> 01:32:36,685
is to approve or not approve the budget. And so we're talking about

1269
01:32:37,035 --> 01:32:40,845
budgets, I think it's appropriate. If you don't, I would like to see it be brought up

1270
01:32:41,045 --> 01:32:44,865
again, um, in the future. I, I I, I think that we are, you

1271
01:32:45,085 --> 01:32:49,085
know, I think we're splitting hairs a little bit because this is, um, an item

1272
01:32:49,245 --> 01:32:53,245
that's been improved by f and a to go into the budget, not the actual allocation of the

1273
01:32:53,405 --> 01:32:56,915
funds. And that's where the difference is. So, you know, I think that

1274
01:32:57,725 --> 01:33:01,685
procedurally that's one conversation that we need to have offline. But if there's anybody else that

1275
01:33:01,965 --> 01:33:05,865
feels that the funding is not appropriate, speak now, mr. Alfred? Uh,

1276
01:33:06,525 --> 01:33:09,645
I wanted to repeat a comment. I made it a finance committee with respect to the

1277
01:33:10,565 --> 01:33:14,105
allocation of, uh, of a tax money to the, uh,

1278
01:33:14,705 --> 01:33:18,565
sea turtle patrol. Um, I mentioned it at the finance

1279
01:33:19,075 --> 01:33:22,765
committee that spr the sea turtle

1280
01:33:23,385 --> 01:33:27,245
patrol application shows a number of figures that

1281
01:33:27,405 --> 01:33:31,225
are quite out of line with the other applicants. One

1282
01:33:31,445 --> 01:33:35,375
of which is that the town is providing about

1283
01:33:35,725 --> 01:33:39,525
42% of the operating expenses of sea turtle

1284
01:33:39,865 --> 01:33:43,765
patrol, which is substantially higher than the portion for any of the

1285
01:33:44,175 --> 01:33:47,795
other funded agency. Second, uh, their balance

1286
01:33:48,295 --> 01:33:52,185
sheet shows a great deal of, of cash on hand. Uh,

1287
01:33:52,465 --> 01:33:56,385
so there's a question as to whether the amounts are really needed. And

1288
01:33:56,605 --> 01:34:00,585
the third thing that concerned me was how they fit in with, with the

1289
01:34:00,825 --> 01:34:04,675
public purpose, other than this year when

1290
01:34:04,965 --> 01:34:08,545
there's a beach renourishment going on and they are, uh,

1291
01:34:09,245 --> 01:34:12,765
required to provide services in that respect, but in subsequent

1292
01:34:13,285 --> 01:34:16,345
years, we will not have beach renourishment. So, um,

1293
01:34:17,705 --> 01:34:21,605
my, my, uh, position essentially is that I would like to see

1294
01:34:21,765 --> 01:34:25,765
this particular item more carefully considered next year.

1295
01:34:27,575 --> 01:34:31,465
thank you. Can

1296
01:34:31,685 --> 01:34:35,365
I just make one more comment? I apologize to evan. It's me talking a lot,

1297
01:34:35,865 --> 01:34:39,675
but these are . Well, I'll be quick, but you know, if this

1298
01:34:39,965 --> 01:34:43,485
is a workshop and, and I don't know where else we can talk about these things. We had discussed

1299
01:34:44,085 --> 01:34:47,105
what I'm gonna point out next. Previously, um,

1300
01:34:48,185 --> 01:34:52,125
the, and I don't have a problem with what it is that's being done with

1301
01:34:52,405 --> 01:34:56,325
regards to the oysters and that aspect. I

1302
01:34:56,445 --> 01:34:59,825
think there should be a of the agency

1303
01:35:00,715 --> 01:35:04,165
with regard to the foundation that indicates clearly

1304
01:35:05,035 --> 01:35:08,445
that the dollars that we are contributing, uh, to them,

1305
01:35:09,255 --> 01:35:12,965
those what it's going to specifically with the oysters and the oyster

1306
01:35:13,335 --> 01:35:17,285
reefs and, and that work that they're doing. And that is not a donation

1307
01:35:17,865 --> 01:35:21,635
or a grant to every

1308
01:35:22,165 --> 01:35:26,145
aspect of what the outside foundation does. And so I'm not, I don't

1309
01:35:26,305 --> 01:35:30,225
have a problem with it being in here, but I would like it to be really clear what it is that this

1310
01:35:30,385 --> 01:35:33,415
money is going towards. Thank you.

1311
01:35:36,845 --> 01:35:38,355
alright, mr. Bur.

1312
01:35:41,505 --> 01:35:45,225
okay. Um, so

1313
01:35:45,665 --> 01:35:47,605
we hold on a second here.

1314
01:35:51,785 --> 01:35:55,365
all right. We had, outside of the summary, we had departmental

1315
01:35:57,355 --> 01:36:00,445
reviews as well. In here. They, you know, there's a,

1316
01:36:01,675 --> 01:36:05,405
there's a lot of, uh, if you go back, we broke

1317
01:36:05,785 --> 01:36:08,395
out into different areas for executive,

1318
01:36:09,865 --> 01:36:13,725
um, and we broke out town council, town attorney, town manager, deputy

1319
01:36:14,195 --> 01:36:18,165
town manager, a lot of reclass between town manager and deputy town manager.

1320
01:36:18,785 --> 01:36:22,705
we talked about legal and um, the election, which is driving the

1321
01:36:22,925 --> 01:36:26,685
change in town council. Um, and the finance administration,

1322
01:36:27,985 --> 01:36:31,985
um, reclass in it. We created the,

1323
01:36:32,345 --> 01:36:35,865
uh, cio so there were dollars moved from it to the

1324
01:36:36,365 --> 01:36:40,365
cio. So you see that change happening in, in human resources.

1325
01:36:40,785 --> 01:36:44,765
we had the consultant, uh, for the comp study this year, which is not

1326
01:36:45,155 --> 01:36:48,945
repeating. Um, there's a lot of movement and

1327
01:36:49,365 --> 01:36:52,885
planning. It's a lot of re you're gonna hear a word reclass 'cause we,

1328
01:36:53,585 --> 01:36:57,485
we just reclassed a lot between the different departments. So I think

1329
01:36:57,825 --> 01:37:01,795
we can just keep ball moving from that. But you do have that. So from a expenditure

1330
01:37:02,485 --> 01:37:06,285
highlight, um, we went through these the other day. Uh, from

1331
01:37:06,605 --> 01:37:10,245
a staffing side, there's 2 82 folks in the general fund, 153

1332
01:37:10,885 --> 01:37:14,725
or fire rescue. Um, and we also have

1333
01:37:14,965 --> 01:37:18,845
the folks that we've put in the budget for the str program listed here,

1334
01:37:19,225 --> 01:37:23,155
the positions, uh, that we've added. And then, um, keep

1335
01:37:23,445 --> 01:37:26,525
on going our salaries and benefits. We have our

1336
01:37:28,295 --> 01:37:31,985
performance base pay increase plus class and comp,

1337
01:37:32,485 --> 01:37:36,365
our 401k and now going into our

1338
01:37:37,455 --> 01:37:41,385
operating expenses of 18 million. Just the different breakouts. We

1339
01:37:41,585 --> 01:37:45,545
talked about quite a few of these already. So we'll keep moving. Public safety,

1340
01:37:46,085 --> 01:37:49,905
we talked about that already in the variance as well as affiliated, as well as

1341
01:37:50,505 --> 01:37:54,415
transfers out. And, um, from other side

1342
01:37:54,705 --> 01:37:58,685
of this, from fire rescue, their budget's 24.8 million, which we

1343
01:37:58,845 --> 01:38:01,565
have discussed. And also public safety at 2.4 million.

1344
01:38:02,935 --> 01:38:06,405
those were in the departmental reviews already. So I'm gonna keep moving,

1345
01:38:07,545 --> 01:38:10,045
um, unless there's any questions and we'll jump to death service.

1346
01:38:13,125 --> 01:38:16,975
okay. Alright. So our debt service fund, uh, this is the

1347
01:38:17,135 --> 01:38:20,395
revenues for 2027 and,

1348
01:38:21,315 --> 01:38:24,355
uh, one of the things that you can see is our

1349
01:38:25,455 --> 01:38:29,355
original budget was 18.8 million. The amended is 31. Um,

1350
01:38:30,275 --> 01:38:32,295
and our projections back down to 11.5 million.

1351
01:38:34,495 --> 01:38:37,695
I would say. Uh, looking at this from a go forward perspective,

1352
01:38:39,035 --> 01:38:43,035
we get our property taxes that come in from the, uh, for the, uh,

1353
01:38:43,475 --> 01:38:46,455
uh, millage for the debt service, about 6.7 million.

1354
01:38:47,815 --> 01:38:51,815
a little bit of investment income. That number does fluctuate. So it is

1355
01:38:51,935 --> 01:38:55,775
coming down primarily 'cause we are removing some of the fund balance

1356
01:38:56,405 --> 01:39:00,135
that we did have in the past. Uh, we do have beach preservation fees

1357
01:39:00,415 --> 01:39:04,375
coming in to pay for the, uh, beach bond that was done at the end of 25.

1358
01:39:05,435 --> 01:39:09,315
and then our hospitality is being transferred in to help pay

1359
01:39:09,615 --> 01:39:13,555
for some of the go bond h tax, hh tax, sorry. So

1360
01:39:14,205 --> 01:39:17,975
from that perspective, we've got 11.53 million. It is down quite

1361
01:39:18,295 --> 01:39:22,055
a bit from 26, but that is really based upon

1362
01:39:22,335 --> 01:39:26,295
the use of fund balance that we needed to do from the go bond that we did in the

1363
01:39:26,455 --> 01:39:30,135
payment made. Okay. And on the expenditure

1364
01:39:30,695 --> 01:39:34,655
side, the same, the same flow. Um, this is a more normal

1365
01:39:35,005 --> 01:39:38,785
year, I would say from going forward from a debt perspective, 8.6 million

1366
01:39:40,075 --> 01:39:42,915
in principal, 2.9 million in interest, 11.5 million

1367
01:39:44,265 --> 01:39:47,955
total. So a lot of movement in 26 between the,

1368
01:39:48,755 --> 01:39:52,705
uh, two borrows we did and the payments that we made. But now we're more in a, we're

1369
01:39:53,055 --> 01:39:56,895
not repeating the go bond payment or the callable beach bond payment.

1370
01:39:57,275 --> 01:40:00,875
so those are coming down. And, um, just

1371
01:40:01,355 --> 01:40:05,285
some highlights here. I, I like to go to this schedule. This kind of gives

1372
01:40:05,565 --> 01:40:09,435
a kind of an overview of the history from 2018 through,

1373
01:40:10,665 --> 01:40:14,225
uh, 20, I can't see the last year, but 2030 probably. Um,

1374
01:40:15,225 --> 01:40:19,075
but it does show a, a gradual decline, a quite remarkable decline

1375
01:40:19,565 --> 01:40:23,445
from 2018 to 2025. We did take a step up in

1376
01:40:23,645 --> 01:40:27,565
26 and then are coming back down in 27. We did a

1377
01:40:27,685 --> 01:40:31,645
little recon up here, which I think is important to call out. You know, at the end

1378
01:40:31,765 --> 01:40:35,745
of 25 we were at $64 million that we owed. Um,

1379
01:40:36,105 --> 01:40:39,205
we took on 54 million in new debt in 2026.

1380
01:40:40,945 --> 01:40:44,365
um, we did pay off the 27 beach bond of 7.5 million,

1381
01:40:45,955 --> 01:40:49,765
15.7 million for the go bond and our scheduled debt

1382
01:40:49,965 --> 01:40:53,685
payments. So our 2026 ending balance is 86 million.

1383
01:40:55,025 --> 01:40:58,865
and then with our scheduled debt payments in 27, we're ending the

1384
01:40:59,085 --> 01:41:03,005
year at 77.8 million. So we, the way I see it is

1385
01:41:03,265 --> 01:41:07,105
we took on 54 million and we, at the end of 27, we

1386
01:41:07,325 --> 01:41:11,215
only owed 13.3 million more on that. So I think that's a pretty compelling

1387
01:41:11,885 --> 01:41:15,435
story from that perspective. Um, mark,

1388
01:41:15,905 --> 01:41:18,205
I'm jumping over to nicola. Yes sir.

1389
01:41:20,475 --> 01:41:24,185
keep moving. Keep moving. Alright, keep moving. That's great. Um,

1390
01:41:25,415 --> 01:41:29,415
thank you dave. So the, and, and I'll,

1391
01:41:29,655 --> 01:41:33,395
and I'll pause when I, I get to a, a certain point to help answer ms.

1392
01:41:33,775 --> 01:41:36,355
becker's, uh, earlier or prior question. Um,

1393
01:41:37,795 --> 01:41:41,435
our cdc as we call it, um, led by mr. Thomas boxley

1394
01:41:41,855 --> 01:41:45,805
as the exec director and just, uh, really more for the public listening

1395
01:41:46,415 --> 01:41:50,355
and the folks here, it is a single source

1396
01:41:52,525 --> 01:41:55,645
town of hilton head island nonprofit corporation

1397
01:41:56,555 --> 01:42:00,535
put in place by the town of hilton head island, or the

1398
01:42:00,695 --> 01:42:04,615
town of hilton head island by the town council appointed to the seats, right? So it's

1399
01:42:04,935 --> 01:42:08,865
a, it's a, it's a functioning in, in legal nonprofit. There

1400
01:42:09,215 --> 01:42:12,715
are board of directors that you have put in place and mr. Brown

1401
01:42:13,295 --> 01:42:17,275
and mr. Perry, you, you on the, you on the board, um, as

1402
01:42:17,495 --> 01:42:21,355
part of the bylaws, uh, requirement, town council member to

1403
01:42:21,835 --> 01:42:25,215
are on that board, other members of the board are members of the community.

1404
01:42:26,115 --> 01:42:30,015
mr. Boxley runs the, the corporation. Mr. Boxleys also part

1405
01:42:30,215 --> 01:42:33,525
of our senior team, right? And so every time I have a senior staff meeting

1406
01:42:34,595 --> 01:42:38,555
or something's going on, mr. Boxley is part of the culture and

1407
01:42:38,805 --> 01:42:42,655
part of the operations of the town. So I just think that that's important to

1408
01:42:42,855 --> 01:42:46,715
just simply get into, and not just jump into the budget, but

1409
01:42:47,275 --> 01:42:51,255
the fund. What we've done is, instead of keeping the cdc in the general

1410
01:42:51,685 --> 01:42:55,525
operating fund, similar to how we've looked at stormwater utility

1411
01:42:56,165 --> 01:43:00,055
fund, it's, I'll call it for argument's sake, dave will probably tell

1412
01:43:00,175 --> 01:43:04,175
me I'm wrong, but almost its own enterprise fund, where you can show money in

1413
01:43:04,375 --> 01:43:08,295
money out and it not be a line item in general fund. And that way

1414
01:43:08,585 --> 01:43:12,295
we've always said that as a nonprofit with our own reporting on the nonprofit,

1415
01:43:12,835 --> 01:43:16,455
at the end of the year, its own audit at the end of the year, we've, we've chosen

1416
01:43:16,845 --> 01:43:20,795
some years ago to make it its own fund. So in the past we say we have six

1417
01:43:21,015 --> 01:43:24,975
funds, we used to have four. It was much easier to take a look at from a community

1418
01:43:25,335 --> 01:43:29,295
perspective. But with these six now, including c, d, c, it's much

1419
01:43:29,725 --> 01:43:33,235
clearer where you're spending your time, your energy,

1420
01:43:34,035 --> 01:43:37,365
the dollars, right, where you're making those investments. So with that being said,

1421
01:43:38,385 --> 01:43:42,295
being said, this fund is used to account for and report the costs associated with

1422
01:43:42,575 --> 01:43:46,535
the corporation. And the corporation is put in place with a set of

1423
01:43:46,835 --> 01:43:50,655
bylaws adopted by an ordinance, by town council. So I always really

1424
01:43:51,165 --> 01:43:54,285
wanna make a a case to say it is the town's nonprofit,

1425
01:43:55,825 --> 01:43:59,105
the focus of the corporation is right here. I won't read it. Um,

1426
01:44:00,185 --> 01:44:03,235
but those come outta the bylaws, right? Uh, encourage

1427
01:44:04,545 --> 01:44:08,045
entrepreneurialism, prevent gentrification in business, attraction,

1428
01:44:09,275 --> 01:44:12,685
expansion, retention, provide land planning and development,

1429
01:44:13,945 --> 01:44:17,255
um, assistance for

1430
01:44:18,135 --> 01:44:22,065
gullah neighborhoods. Not, not not only

1431
01:44:22,385 --> 01:44:25,775
some, but, but every property in the neighborhood. Um,

1432
01:44:26,415 --> 01:44:30,245
pursue affordable housing opportunities, identify infrastructure needs,

1433
01:44:30,595 --> 01:44:34,475
and provide critical financial opportunities. I think it's important and maybe some

1434
01:44:34,715 --> 01:44:38,635
years, I, I think that, that, that a flaw were me. If

1435
01:44:38,795 --> 01:44:42,585
I could look back and say maybe I go through this page too fast, because it's

1436
01:44:42,875 --> 01:44:46,855
really important to show what we're funding. And the primary sources of

1437
01:44:47,075 --> 01:44:50,895
revenue have traditionally been a grant from the

1438
01:44:51,115 --> 01:44:54,955
department of commerce that you all, um, as, as a council

1439
01:44:55,285 --> 01:44:59,175
collective body, uh, asked us to go find. And,

1440
01:44:59,415 --> 01:45:03,415
and senator davis and, and some of the delegation and up, up in columbia for

1441
01:45:03,635 --> 01:45:06,995
us and with us, have provided a, an initial $5 million

1442
01:45:07,915 --> 01:45:11,705
grant. And on top of that, we have made a separate request.

1443
01:45:12,585 --> 01:45:16,425
back in the back, in the good old arpa days, when we had those stimulus dollars,

1444
01:45:17,455 --> 01:45:21,345
we had made a request to bufort county to receive some

1445
01:45:21,635 --> 01:45:25,575
of their american rescue plan grant dollars, where the

1446
01:45:25,795 --> 01:45:28,995
county set aside certain amount of dollars out of their grant

1447
01:45:29,945 --> 01:45:33,915
arpa proceeds for municipalities as a good neighbor fund. And so we asked for

1448
01:45:34,115 --> 01:45:37,955
those and we could use them in certain areas and we pledged

1449
01:45:38,235 --> 01:45:42,175
them here. And so hence the beginning of, of, of the cdc, um,

1450
01:45:43,065 --> 01:45:46,875
when it, when it was originated, uh, the cdc board was put

1451
01:45:47,075 --> 01:45:50,875
in place. We recruited and hired mr. Boxley and mr.

1452
01:45:51,175 --> 01:45:55,175
boxley came in and with the board and community members, uh,

1453
01:45:55,615 --> 01:45:59,375
put in place a strategic plan. It's, it's v one, right? We,

1454
01:46:00,315 --> 01:46:04,275
I think the, the version of a strategic plan I have with you all

1455
01:46:04,475 --> 01:46:08,095
right now is v three of a strategic plan in the five years I've been here. So

1456
01:46:08,695 --> 01:46:12,385
he has v one of his strategic plan. What

1457
01:46:13,145 --> 01:46:17,025
what you have here is, is, is a, is much simpler budget than

1458
01:46:17,315 --> 01:46:20,915
what we were just looking at. It's, it's a schedule of revenues.

1459
01:46:21,475 --> 01:46:25,165
and you can see the, the trend, right? Prior

1460
01:46:25,545 --> 01:46:29,365
year, south carolina use of funds, that was the south carolina

1461
01:46:30,155 --> 01:46:34,155
department of commerce grant. And we've over time used those

1462
01:46:34,395 --> 01:46:38,055
funds as a source, the primary lift, the primary source

1463
01:46:38,975 --> 01:46:42,555
of revenue for the budget this year, the, the, the request

1464
01:46:43,095 --> 01:46:46,895
is $1.123 million. And

1465
01:46:47,115 --> 01:46:50,785
we say it's prior use because it's a grant and, and all the,

1466
01:46:51,145 --> 01:46:55,005
the, the, the funds in and funds out the way they're, they're recorded and tracked is

1467
01:46:55,205 --> 01:46:58,385
just in fund balance right now. So the revenue stream

1468
01:46:59,345 --> 01:47:03,285
is a fund balance account savings, right? And pulling out of there and putting it into,

1469
01:47:04,065 --> 01:47:07,705
um, the, the revenue account here. In

1470
01:47:08,125 --> 01:47:12,075
addition, some investment income. In addition, this is projected

1471
01:47:13,165 --> 01:47:16,045
a hundred thousand dollars as a fundraising and or donations.

1472
01:47:17,225 --> 01:47:20,955
um, so there, the source of those revenues are, are exactly

1473
01:47:21,445 --> 01:47:25,115
that. Those are not through town dollars. There's also,

1474
01:47:25,705 --> 01:47:29,445
uh, a recent acquisition of, and we, we will stop calling

1475
01:47:29,785 --> 01:47:33,745
it memory matters sooner than later, but just for clarity in the budget, it

1476
01:47:33,965 --> 01:47:37,355
is that building right now. They have not yet moved out in the town.

1477
01:47:38,265 --> 01:47:41,205
and, and the towns cdc,

1478
01:47:42,275 --> 01:47:46,085
I'll say jv, joint ventured and acquisition of that building.

1479
01:47:46,945 --> 01:47:50,765
um, and in part of the acquisition, there was a lease back

1480
01:47:51,105 --> 01:47:55,085
by the current tenant, which is our tenant. Now, the, the current

1481
01:47:55,325 --> 01:47:59,265
owner, the past owner and current tenant is, is memory matters. The

1482
01:47:59,485 --> 01:48:03,315
nonprofit. They're moving out soon, but the, the part of the acquisition

1483
01:48:04,025 --> 01:48:07,805
was they would lease the building back. We understand they're moving

1484
01:48:08,065 --> 01:48:11,955
out soon-ish. We, we

1485
01:48:12,175 --> 01:48:16,055
are not in a hurry for them to move out. We want them to move out when they're ready. They're getting their

1486
01:48:16,255 --> 01:48:19,875
permits in place, but there's revenue from that, a revenue stream,

1487
01:48:20,425 --> 01:48:24,375
right? So there was a joint venture, the acquisition was portion of town,

1488
01:48:24,815 --> 01:48:28,765
a portion of them. But we've pledged the entire projected,

1489
01:48:29,455 --> 01:48:32,735
I don't even know if we'll get to the full 60 a projected revenue

1490
01:48:34,205 --> 01:48:37,625
from the acquisition into this as a revenue stream.

1491
01:48:38,525 --> 01:48:39,505
and then here, the $359,026

1492
01:48:43,225 --> 01:48:46,985
a transfer from the general fund operating account, which are property taxes,

1493
01:48:47,865 --> 01:48:51,825
business licensing, those, those dollars we saw in general fund a

1494
01:48:52,345 --> 01:48:56,185
transfer into the cdc

1495
01:48:56,885 --> 01:49:00,855
as a stream of revenue. And that is for two, two

1496
01:49:01,075 --> 01:49:05,035
members of, of staff, mr. Boxley. In past years,

1497
01:49:05,495 --> 01:49:08,885
you, you don't see that. And I will share that in past years,

1498
01:49:09,775 --> 01:49:13,395
um, those revenues weren't transferred in. And I'll explain that.

1499
01:49:14,295 --> 01:49:17,625
so very few sun funding sources

1500
01:49:18,975 --> 01:49:22,805
general fund for the town employees. Um,

1501
01:49:23,165 --> 01:49:26,945
and they, thomas and veronica are both employees

1502
01:49:27,685 --> 01:49:31,505
of the town and assigned to the community development

1503
01:49:31,905 --> 01:49:35,275
corporation. And the rest of it, the majority of it is that prior south carolina

1504
01:49:36,835 --> 01:49:40,625
grant, the

1505
01:49:40,915 --> 01:49:44,445
planned expenditures requested expenditures, very clear,

1506
01:49:44,945 --> 01:49:48,085
salary benefits, operating professional

1507
01:49:49,205 --> 01:49:49,205
services,

1508
01:49:53,355 --> 01:49:56,895
grants and incentive loans, land acquisition

1509
01:49:58,645 --> 01:50:01,765
and, and some contingency for a balanced 1.694

1510
01:50:03,965 --> 01:50:07,385
of revenue and a balanced 1.694 of expenditure.

1511
01:50:08,765 --> 01:50:12,705
um, I can, I can help answer ms. Becker's question

1512
01:50:12,805 --> 01:50:16,525
in the, in the past and, and we received some public comment last year, um,

1513
01:50:17,205 --> 01:50:20,975
asking why we as a town weren't

1514
01:50:22,455 --> 01:50:26,265
helping to fund. And my words, nobody else is, my understanding

1515
01:50:26,625 --> 01:50:30,445
of it was the salaries of the employees and the people that work for

1516
01:50:30,665 --> 01:50:34,505
the town that work on behalf of the cdc. And

1517
01:50:34,725 --> 01:50:38,685
this year, as the board made the recommendation, the recommendation was the full

1518
01:50:39,155 --> 01:50:42,965
support. As, as, as I've talked with mr. Boxley as well, the full support of

1519
01:50:43,165 --> 01:50:46,845
the full salaries for those two employees. The board shared that,

1520
01:50:47,305 --> 01:50:51,075
um, as well. And the board made that recommendation for their budget. What

1521
01:50:51,365 --> 01:50:54,825
you see on here is the full recommendation of the board and, and mr. Brown,

1522
01:50:55,385 --> 01:50:59,285
mr. Perry, not to put you on the spot, but I just want to make sure the rest of the council and

1523
01:50:59,485 --> 01:51:03,445
the community know I'm respecting the recommendation of the board, but

1524
01:51:03,605 --> 01:51:06,065
I also support what the board asked for. Um,

1525
01:51:08,475 --> 01:51:12,325
I'll go through this. Uh, salaries and benefits. There was that increase. I,

1526
01:51:12,565 --> 01:51:16,085
I think I explained that. And in addition to that, it's, it's the performance

1527
01:51:17,055 --> 01:51:20,965
based, uh, compensation. Uh, it's not a step plan, but it's performance

1528
01:51:21,565 --> 01:51:25,525
based up to 4% operating. There's a

1529
01:51:25,645 --> 01:51:29,555
$76,000. And that's coming out of the grant more or less because this

1530
01:51:29,845 --> 01:51:33,745
is the only general fund. This is coming from grant. And the

1531
01:51:33,965 --> 01:51:37,645
rest of it, I would say below that line is either grant interest earned,

1532
01:51:38,905 --> 01:51:42,805
uh, rent, everything other than general fund. General fund

1533
01:51:43,085 --> 01:51:45,905
is precisely for the, the, the people, um,

1534
01:51:47,525 --> 01:51:51,045
professional services, their plan this year for the professional

1535
01:51:51,845 --> 01:51:55,195
services. Again, grant money or interest or whatnot,

1536
01:51:56,265 --> 01:51:58,885
way finding experience, gullah and, and, and extension

1537
01:52:00,295 --> 01:52:03,525
legal services, community support for legal matters and appraisals.

1538
01:52:04,495 --> 01:52:08,085
there have been times where they have helped folks with their property appraisal

1539
01:52:08,975 --> 01:52:12,365
heirs, property clearing consulting services,

1540
01:52:14,325 --> 01:52:18,245
a pitch competition, uh, stony community improvement grant

1541
01:52:18,565 --> 01:52:22,245
program, and then an earmark of a million dollars

1542
01:52:22,745 --> 01:52:26,325
for additional land acquisition, um, for economic development.

1543
01:52:27,185 --> 01:52:30,665
and, and I say that because as we read the,

1544
01:52:31,505 --> 01:52:35,205
the opening paragraph, this is as much if not more of a, of a real

1545
01:52:35,905 --> 01:52:39,765
gullah geechee economic development corporation than it is, uh, only a community

1546
01:52:40,085 --> 01:52:43,965
development corporation as, as, as we know it. And then

1547
01:52:44,235 --> 01:52:48,205
some contingency. What what I, what I will also

1548
01:52:48,445 --> 01:52:52,445
share though, as well is that what, what doesn't jump out on the budget. And I think this,

1549
01:52:52,715 --> 01:52:56,625
this may help if, if nothing else, it helps my philosophy of,

1550
01:52:57,545 --> 01:53:00,815
of town employees when, when I say a senior staff

1551
01:53:01,715 --> 01:53:05,565
team, mr. Boxley is with us in our capital improvement project

1552
01:53:05,925 --> 01:53:09,165
meetings. He is with me in my senior, our senior staff meetings.

1553
01:53:10,105 --> 01:53:13,845
um, we've been working on capital projects, dirt roads, mitchellville road,

1554
01:53:14,625 --> 01:53:18,305
um, muddy creek, uh, bryant patterson, uh,

1555
01:53:18,645 --> 01:53:22,245
I should say, um, taylor family park, excuse me. And all of those things.

1556
01:53:22,865 --> 01:53:26,765
um, I know that they've also helped folks with business

1557
01:53:27,205 --> 01:53:30,365
licensed technical assistance when we had our small minority, uh, disadvantaged

1558
01:53:31,285 --> 01:53:35,085
business enterprise program. Our c our cdc is very

1559
01:53:35,525 --> 01:53:39,365
involved with that, helping full, helping identify, uh, folks and, and helping them,

1560
01:53:40,185 --> 01:53:42,705
um, qualify and register. Uh,

1561
01:53:44,275 --> 01:53:47,845
they've provided, uh, this is their third year providing financial

1562
01:53:48,445 --> 01:53:52,445
education. Um, and that's, that's with our, our, our town finance

1563
01:53:52,915 --> 01:53:56,795
team as well. Um, there's

1564
01:53:57,285 --> 01:53:59,855
dollars in here this year for the, the upfit

1565
01:54:01,505 --> 01:54:05,165
at some point. It's a capital project. It is the town's asset. We have to manage it

1566
01:54:05,605 --> 01:54:09,245
properly and, and, and manage the asset properly. But I know that there'll

1567
01:54:09,725 --> 01:54:13,485
be some future earmarking of grant as well as some discussion with town council

1568
01:54:14,255 --> 01:54:18,205
about improvements to that building. Um, but mr. Boxley shares with

1569
01:54:18,405 --> 01:54:22,345
me, as I believe he's been talking with the board, that, that when memory

1570
01:54:22,765 --> 01:54:25,805
matters, moves out that there'll be some programmatic and some

1571
01:54:26,965 --> 01:54:30,845
physical improvement. But, but also to align with the program and at what I would call a

1572
01:54:31,165 --> 01:54:34,345
business plan, a business model as, as, uh,

1573
01:54:35,235 --> 01:54:38,965
incubator and community development space in what we now call the memory matters.

1574
01:54:39,685 --> 01:54:43,455
building design studio, um, public meeting space,

1575
01:54:44,365 --> 01:54:48,325
business incubator, and, and community support space. Um, and, and

1576
01:54:48,565 --> 01:54:51,705
I could go on and on, and they also are,

1577
01:54:52,905 --> 01:54:56,645
are close to, and, and I'm, I'm explaining the salary

1578
01:54:57,185 --> 01:55:00,825
and this is what I'm finding myself doing. Mr. Boxley

1579
01:55:01,245 --> 01:55:05,115
is also, um, very close with and working with

1580
01:55:05,405 --> 01:55:09,305
thomas tom dunn, thomas boxley and tom dunn is what I'm trying to say. Um,

1581
01:55:09,995 --> 01:55:13,265
with, uh, other community organizations helping, uh,

1582
01:55:14,035 --> 01:55:17,845
prepare for on the front end of any, any disasters. And so our,

1583
01:55:18,105 --> 01:55:21,765
our emergency operations center includes our community development

1584
01:55:22,205 --> 01:55:25,765
corporation, um, wide range of community partners, faith-based

1585
01:55:26,325 --> 01:55:29,785
organizations, um, so on so forth. Uh,

1586
01:55:33,355 --> 01:55:37,255
thomas has also with the team, and I'm sure the board

1587
01:55:38,085 --> 01:55:42,055
more thomas with me though, helped talk with residents

1588
01:55:42,375 --> 01:55:46,205
and neighbors as it re as, as the, as our work

1589
01:55:46,725 --> 01:55:50,635
pertains to the william hilton parkway gateway corridor master plan

1590
01:55:51,605 --> 01:55:55,125
property impacts. What about the unknowns? How do we

1591
01:55:56,125 --> 01:56:00,025
continue to, I would say, heal from and build future trust with the

1592
01:56:00,485 --> 01:56:04,235
residents, especially after, um, what, what

1593
01:56:04,685 --> 01:56:08,165
I would say some of us inherited with some property

1594
01:56:08,735 --> 01:56:12,725
right of way plans, um, on the original projects. I, I won't

1595
01:56:13,005 --> 01:56:16,645
let us forget about that. Those, those right of ways were well outside the colored

1596
01:56:17,085 --> 01:56:20,885
lines of, of the current right of way well into front yards. Mr.

1597
01:56:21,145 --> 01:56:23,935
boxley has helped folks understand,

1598
01:56:25,505 --> 01:56:29,165
um, what the town's initiatives are not what they aren't.

1599
01:56:29,825 --> 01:56:33,715
um, wildhorse road, they acquired one in five wildhorse

1600
01:56:34,325 --> 01:56:38,065
road. Um, and I know that, that mr. Boxley and the board is

1601
01:56:38,525 --> 01:56:42,395
working with you on, on some plans there. I think at some point it's

1602
01:56:42,685 --> 01:56:46,205
going to be very healthy to have those conversations, board and council,

1603
01:56:46,945 --> 01:56:50,685
mr. Boxley and I participating together, but definitely the board

1604
01:56:51,225 --> 01:56:54,885
and the town council together. Um, 'cause the way I look at it every day,

1605
01:56:55,715 --> 01:56:59,525
it's in the budget. It's not separate. It's, it's a, it's a community development corporation

1606
01:57:00,045 --> 01:57:03,175
as a department arm of, of what I'm, what I'm overseeing.

1607
01:57:04,305 --> 01:57:08,285
um, but it's a lot, right? I, I think it's time for an updated strategic plan. And I think

1608
01:57:08,365 --> 01:57:11,885
the board and, and thomas are the ones that were saying that, not me. I think that's healthy.

1609
01:57:12,705 --> 01:57:16,325
um, they're also working on ongoing, ongoing fundraising

1610
01:57:16,725 --> 01:57:20,565
efforts, events grant writing, and I do know that they're working on it. Private foundations

1611
01:57:21,565 --> 01:57:25,275
included. Um, looking at the state, some of those grants that

1612
01:57:25,635 --> 01:57:29,105
were there some years ago aren't there right now. Um,

1613
01:57:30,115 --> 01:57:33,315
just different, different time. And then we also

1614
01:57:34,535 --> 01:57:37,475
had a, a planning department member,

1615
01:57:38,715 --> 01:57:42,475
veronica stewart, but, but the fte that we've always known, that was as part of the

1616
01:57:42,755 --> 01:57:44,135
planning department, um,

1617
01:57:46,945 --> 01:57:50,915
helping with, forgive me,

1618
01:57:50,995 --> 01:57:54,715
design studio 26 cases in 25 and 15

1619
01:57:55,105 --> 01:57:58,715
thus far. Veronica leads that veronica

1620
01:57:59,185 --> 01:58:02,635
also helped lead the home repair and the lateral sewer connection,

1621
01:58:03,215 --> 01:58:06,945
I'd call more business development on the front end, helping people qualify, helping

1622
01:58:07,435 --> 01:58:11,295
people understand the parameters and helping our, what at the time, our

1623
01:58:11,675 --> 01:58:15,555
building safety department implements. So home repair dollars have, have dried up

1624
01:58:15,785 --> 01:58:19,575
lateral sewer connection dollars, I believe we found a little bit. But all

1625
01:58:19,795 --> 01:58:23,475
part of that as well as the historic neighborhood design studio

1626
01:58:23,985 --> 01:58:27,715
shifted out of the planning department, which we're working on site plans

1627
01:58:28,175 --> 01:58:31,515
and zoning and other development projects, and shifted

1628
01:58:32,755 --> 01:58:36,395
veronica more alignment with thomas, because all those things that I just mentioned,

1629
01:58:36,915 --> 01:58:40,755
I think thomas needs some help with not just one person. I,

1630
01:58:41,025 --> 01:58:44,405
if I were thomas, I, I couldn't get to all of that and be successful.

1631
01:58:45,345 --> 01:58:49,125
and so the shift with veronica, I believe helps thomas and I believe

1632
01:58:49,465 --> 01:58:53,365
thomas and veronica are helping the cdc and then gullah geechee

1633
01:58:53,685 --> 01:58:57,465
land cultural preservation, uh, task force meetings, veronica as

1634
01:58:57,735 --> 01:59:01,665
point, but coordination and management and then heirs, property support, tax

1635
01:59:01,885 --> 01:59:05,405
record review, support with the goal, land loss

1636
01:59:06,215 --> 01:59:10,205
prevention and so on, so forth. Veronica has been working on a lot of that

1637
01:59:10,365 --> 01:59:14,285
in the planning department. But I do think that the alignment in the cdc has paid

1638
01:59:14,685 --> 01:59:18,525
dividends. And, um, uh, I share that

1639
01:59:18,765 --> 01:59:22,685
because I think in past years I've gone over that too fast and I don't

1640
01:59:22,925 --> 01:59:26,685
want to take for granted. Um, I don't want us to take for granted

1641
01:59:26,985 --> 01:59:30,965
and just fly through the fact that the salaries and

1642
01:59:31,325 --> 01:59:35,225
benefits at that amount and the rest, uh, understood as

1643
01:59:35,445 --> 01:59:38,985
expenditures. But most of which comes from a grant, um,

1644
01:59:39,465 --> 01:59:39,965
is, is overlooked

1645
01:59:44,655 --> 01:59:48,475
questions, housing funds, questions, or I did say, well, I'd

1646
01:59:48,695 --> 01:59:52,655
like to go back to what we were just talking about instead of skipping over. I

1647
01:59:52,775 --> 01:59:56,695
had questions. I don't know if anyone else raised their hand.

1648
01:59:59,855 --> 02:00:03,675
go ahead. Well, okay,

1649
02:00:03,965 --> 02:00:07,725
so I, I maybe I, I just can't hear from, we're on our way home

1650
02:00:08,105 --> 02:00:12,045
and it's, it's hard. But, um, so I appreciate

1651
02:00:12,745 --> 02:00:16,485
the, um, description. It, I'm not sure if people are fully

1652
02:00:17,095 --> 02:00:20,765
aware of exactly what the, uh, cdc

1653
02:00:21,945 --> 02:00:25,865
is, how it got started, and that was a really great history on

1654
02:00:26,085 --> 02:00:30,005
it. Um, one of the pieces that the

1655
02:00:30,225 --> 02:00:33,925
corporation, as I understood it, is that it should be

1656
02:00:34,885 --> 02:00:38,555
self-sustaining. So kind of a recurrent theme for me today

1657
02:00:39,885 --> 02:00:43,865
is folks reliance on the town and how

1658
02:00:44,065 --> 02:00:48,045
it impacts our budget, grows our town government, um,

1659
02:00:48,265 --> 02:00:51,605
neither, which I'm in favor of. So

1660
02:00:53,845 --> 02:00:57,725
am I accurate in the fact that the corporation should be

1661
02:00:58,585 --> 02:01:02,365
reaching out and becoming a business entity that has

1662
02:01:02,665 --> 02:01:06,605
a self sustaining, self-sustaining revenue source to

1663
02:01:06,885 --> 02:01:10,545
offset all of these wonderful things that they were put in place to do

1664
02:01:10,965 --> 02:01:11,975
for the native island community.

1665
02:01:20,265 --> 02:01:24,215
I, I, I, I, I lost the end of it. Oh, I, I

1666
02:01:24,335 --> 02:01:28,285
just wanna know if it, if there's an aspect to the cdc where they

1667
02:01:28,675 --> 02:01:32,375
are to be working towards a self sustain, becoming a self-sustaining

1668
02:01:33,235 --> 02:01:33,235
entity.

1669
02:01:37,245 --> 02:01:41,205
well, I, I, I would dare say, I mean, I'm not gonna speak for the, for the cdc, but

1670
02:01:41,325 --> 02:01:45,005
I would dare say that's the ultimate goal. Well, I think within

1671
02:01:45,505 --> 02:01:49,285
the documents and the, the intention that that was definitely the goal. Otherwise,

1672
02:01:50,425 --> 02:01:53,995
the intention would seem to have been, uh, misunderstood

1673
02:01:54,845 --> 02:01:58,545
that it somehow became a branch or another department of

1674
02:01:58,875 --> 02:02:02,825
town government. Um, and so that is

1675
02:02:03,045 --> 02:02:06,595
where I, I guess my concerns begin is that over,

1676
02:02:07,485 --> 02:02:11,145
whatever it has been, three and a half, four years that it's been in existence, the,

1677
02:02:11,825 --> 02:02:14,435
the amount of movement towards

1678
02:02:15,905 --> 02:02:18,495
self-sustaining itself and, and getting these,

1679
02:02:20,345 --> 02:02:23,785
the dollars flowing in, I see the a hundred thousand dollars. Um,

1680
02:02:24,385 --> 02:02:28,185
I'd be, as one of the grants that I'd be interested in knowing about. One

1681
02:02:28,405 --> 02:02:32,355
of the things that have to

1682
02:02:32,475 --> 02:02:34,695
say knowing, because this is an

1683
02:02:36,985 --> 02:02:39,685
in a budget that was prepared by the corporation

1684
02:02:41,065 --> 02:02:44,685
and never flowed through, as I understand it, f and a or through town council.

1685
02:02:45,625 --> 02:02:49,525
so this is our first look at it in a budget where we're supposed

1686
02:02:49,645 --> 02:02:53,245
to just approve it. And there are elements of it that I'm not comfortable

1687
02:02:53,725 --> 02:02:57,535
with, um, because it does feel as

1688
02:02:57,755 --> 02:03:01,055
though it is a branch, a department of

1689
02:03:02,135 --> 02:03:05,855
the, um, the, the government

1690
02:03:06,255 --> 02:03:10,155
that we are now funding. And I don't believe that was the intention. So clarity on

1691
02:03:10,375 --> 02:03:14,235
that, if I'm wrong, um, as helpful, certainly, um,

1692
02:03:14,575 --> 02:03:18,515
I see the good work, but I don't see anything within what they showed in

1693
02:03:18,735 --> 02:03:22,115
the strategic plan, um, as being driven

1694
02:03:23,125 --> 02:03:26,985
towards finding those streams of revenue on their own.

1695
02:03:27,875 --> 02:03:31,155
and that's, that's something I, I have to question. Um,

1696
02:03:34,485 --> 02:03:38,455
is there any discussion or, you know, on the strategic plan that

1697
02:03:38,745 --> 02:03:41,685
is forth that'll be forthcoming, uh, with the board? Um,

1698
02:03:43,365 --> 02:03:47,065
so before we approve a budget or after,

1699
02:03:47,535 --> 02:03:51,505
because it, it'll be, it'll be after. Again, you know, I'll state this again. You know, the budget

1700
02:03:51,765 --> 02:03:55,645
is not a, a, a actual promise of allocation. Um, but

1701
02:03:55,865 --> 02:03:59,825
it's, uh, what we expect to, to expend. Um, but no, that'll be

1702
02:03:59,905 --> 02:04:02,905
forthcoming in after the, uh, in the new physical year.

1703
02:04:04,955 --> 02:04:08,945
right. And again, I guess I'll point to to process, because if that's the case,

1704
02:04:09,725 --> 02:04:13,725
how can we agree to something that we're not informed on?

1705
02:04:15,175 --> 02:04:19,105
it's, it's, it's not in the, in the

1706
02:04:19,225 --> 02:04:23,075
proper sequence. And I'm uncomfortable with that,

1707
02:04:24,605 --> 02:04:28,535
having it here in a budget that I'm going to approve or not. However,

1708
02:04:29,055 --> 02:04:32,825
that works out. And there's a couple

1709
02:04:33,085 --> 02:04:36,865
of other elements that the, that are in there.

1710
02:04:37,295 --> 02:04:41,195
$60,000, which is a lease, um, income

1711
02:04:42,315 --> 02:04:46,095
for a building that's partly owned by the cdc and partly

1712
02:04:46,495 --> 02:04:50,415
owned, uh, you know, or money contributed towards it, is a town owned building.

1713
02:04:51,195 --> 02:04:53,845
so I'm curious and

1714
02:04:55,505 --> 02:04:59,185
wondering why the full lease amount, if any of it

1715
02:04:59,525 --> 02:05:03,015
is being put in as a stream of, um, revenue

1716
02:05:04,445 --> 02:05:07,985
for the corporation instead of coming into the town,

1717
02:05:08,485 --> 02:05:11,615
um, since it's a town asset. There's

1718
02:05:12,775 --> 02:05:16,465
also a question for me. Um, I understand clearly,

1719
02:05:17,325 --> 02:05:21,305
um, tom boxleys role and why he was hired, and

1720
02:05:21,555 --> 02:05:25,315
he's phenomenal. No one is, um, second guessing any of that. Just

1721
02:05:25,605 --> 02:05:29,355
so you know, my battery's about to die and I'm trying to switch to my phone. It's

1722
02:05:29,645 --> 02:05:33,205
been plugged in. But in any case,

1723
02:05:33,665 --> 02:05:37,225
the battery may need to be changed at some point. Um,

1724
02:05:38,985 --> 02:05:42,955
and I understand all of that, and I would assume that in time his salary will

1725
02:05:43,265 --> 02:05:47,125
be taken over by whatever revenue that the cdc

1726
02:05:47,525 --> 02:05:49,865
starts to create on its own. Um,

1727
02:05:52,195 --> 02:05:55,805
but in terms of the staff member, the way I understood

1728
02:05:56,285 --> 02:06:00,045
it, maybe I can be corrected or informed on this,

1729
02:06:00,905 --> 02:06:04,725
is in the community development department, there was a

1730
02:06:05,015 --> 02:06:09,005
designated person who, who was to

1731
02:06:10,695 --> 02:06:14,155
be available when anyone from the native islander community

1732
02:06:14,725 --> 02:06:18,715
would come in with specific requests with regard to their property.

1733
02:06:19,535 --> 02:06:23,415
and that is, that was done. And, and that, and

1734
02:06:23,715 --> 02:06:27,235
I asked at the time, so what would this person do with the rest of their time?

1735
02:06:28,055 --> 02:06:31,715
and they're like, oh, no, no, this is for anybody can come in and get these services.

1736
02:06:32,505 --> 02:06:36,305
this is just that, that there's a, the relationship that's being built totally

1737
02:06:36,795 --> 02:06:40,795
appropriate. Completely agree, that's fine. But the rest

1738
02:06:41,015 --> 02:06:44,855
of the time was to be spent, um, as a planner within

1739
02:06:45,275 --> 02:06:48,735
the community development department. What concerns me is that now

1740
02:06:49,375 --> 02:06:52,495
person is being taken away and being given another job,

1741
02:06:53,495 --> 02:06:57,105
uh, responsibilities. And

1742
02:06:57,565 --> 02:07:01,505
I think, um, unless it's changed and I'm

1743
02:07:01,725 --> 02:07:05,045
not aware that we are, we could use additional help,

1744
02:07:05,945 --> 02:07:09,725
um, in the, in the, in community development with plans

1745
02:07:10,385 --> 02:07:14,115
and that sort of thing. And so, are we now down one person with

1746
02:07:14,795 --> 02:07:18,285
more, uh, stress and birth on the rest of the department

1747
02:07:19,265 --> 02:07:22,205
as this person moves out completely and is being funded

1748
02:07:23,505 --> 02:07:26,655
by the town, again, goes back to

1749
02:07:29,385 --> 02:07:33,355
seemingly that this is becoming a branch and department of under

1750
02:07:34,615 --> 02:07:38,585
ms. Becker, you don't like my questions? Yes, go ahead. No, no, no. We're you're,

1751
02:07:39,215 --> 02:07:42,565
we're having a real hard time understanding everything that you're trying to say.

1752
02:07:43,545 --> 02:07:47,075
um, it's, it's, well, that's unfortunate. What, alright,

1753
02:07:47,635 --> 02:07:50,785
well, perhaps, um, I'll have to bring it up at the next, um,

1754
02:07:52,165 --> 02:07:56,085
workshop. Um, but these are, these are

1755
02:07:56,445 --> 02:08:00,425
questions that have to be answered. Um, I think that they're serious and

1756
02:08:00,645 --> 02:08:04,365
important and they may be easy, and that's fine. I'd like easy answers

1757
02:08:05,105 --> 02:08:09,105
and, and that's good. But until I get them, I

1758
02:08:09,225 --> 02:08:12,655
am bothered by everything I've said. Okay,

1759
02:08:13,435 --> 02:08:17,335
thank you. Any other comments from counsel? Well,

1760
02:08:17,625 --> 02:08:21,585
when can we discuss this again? Will it be appropriate for me to bring it up at the next workshop?

1761
02:08:23,405 --> 02:08:25,985
uh, I, I, I don't think that would be an issue.

1762
02:08:28,575 --> 02:08:32,545
okay. But as long as you say that, then we all said that time. Thank you. I would definitely ask those

1763
02:08:33,025 --> 02:08:36,945
answers again. Again, it's, it's, you sometimes you break in and out, so

1764
02:08:37,145 --> 02:08:41,105
it's very difficult and we're all strained to really hear and understand. And if

1765
02:08:41,225 --> 02:08:45,185
we're going to, you know, ask mark those questions because we wanna get 'em, he wants to get 'em right. We wanna get

1766
02:08:45,385 --> 02:08:49,345
'em right. So, yeah, no, I, I agree. And so I will,

1767
02:08:49,645 --> 02:08:53,605
um, again, put them out there so he has, so everyone has

1768
02:08:53,825 --> 02:08:57,435
them ahead of time, but I would like to have another set aside discussion

1769
02:08:58,105 --> 02:09:01,615
at the next workshop. Thank you. Okay, ms. Bryson. Sure.

1770
02:09:02,165 --> 02:09:05,865
um, as we look at our budget, we always look back at our strategic action

1771
02:09:06,375 --> 02:09:09,935
plan. That's what drives our budget. Um, and so it's

1772
02:09:10,505 --> 02:09:14,365
great that, um, mr. Orlando and his staff keep putting the

1773
02:09:15,025 --> 02:09:18,605
strategic plan before us when we look at our budget. So I just wanna remind

1774
02:09:19,245 --> 02:09:23,095
the council of number seven in our strategic action plan,

1775
02:09:23,715 --> 02:09:27,085
which says, preserve, protect and celebrate gullah geechee culture and

1776
02:09:27,745 --> 02:09:31,445
heritage. And the paragraph says, preserve, protect and celebrate the

1777
02:09:31,865 --> 02:09:35,625
cultural, heritage, historic neighborhoods and contributions of the gullah geechee

1778
02:09:35,985 --> 02:09:39,675
community through intentional policy development, targeted investment,

1779
02:09:41,485 --> 02:09:45,145
intergovernmental collaboration, and community driven planning and implementation.

1780
02:09:46,445 --> 02:09:49,965
and I wanna thank mr. Orlando for going through, um, all of the,

1781
02:09:50,685 --> 02:09:54,495
uh, work that, uh, mr. Boxing and his team have done

1782
02:09:54,965 --> 02:09:58,715
to help out with other projects that we have, like muddy

1783
02:09:59,065 --> 02:10:02,745
creek. Um, and, and like, um, uh, helping out with the

1784
02:10:03,185 --> 02:10:06,885
corridor plan, um, there's a number of different things that mr. Boxley

1785
02:10:07,305 --> 02:10:10,945
helps out with. And, and this says that we're gonna have targeted investment.

1786
02:10:12,125 --> 02:10:15,505
um, I have every confidence in the board of directors of the cdc,

1787
02:10:16,525 --> 02:10:19,905
um, and I do not have any questions about the budget because I have that confidence

1788
02:10:20,565 --> 02:10:24,185
and I think we ought to move on. Thank you, mr. Donner. Well, I appreciate

1789
02:10:24,625 --> 02:10:28,445
that pat. Ms. Becker. Ms. Becker, hang on. Ms. Turner was

1790
02:10:28,665 --> 02:10:32,565
getting ready to speak. Yeah, sorry, go ahead. No

1791
02:10:32,785 --> 02:10:36,565
problem. I just had a question. So, uh, when you were mentioning the grants,

1792
02:10:36,985 --> 02:10:40,425
you said one of them was from arpa, uh,

1793
02:10:41,515 --> 02:10:45,445
arpa related, and I was wondering if there was a timeframe on that of when you have

1794
02:10:45,605 --> 02:10:49,145
to spend it and if we've met that timeframe? Yes, thank you. Yes.

1795
02:10:50,025 --> 02:10:53,845
and yes, it was from arpa, from bufort county's arpa. Right. So when we

1796
02:10:54,245 --> 02:10:57,835
received 5.1 or $2 million of arpa, bufort county received more,

1797
02:10:58,355 --> 02:11:02,285
they transferred that. We've already spent that and closed it out. So I

1798
02:11:02,405 --> 02:11:06,385
just reminded us that there was some seed money both from bufort county through the fed

1799
02:11:06,925 --> 02:11:10,685
stimulus from arpa as well as department of commerce. And those were the only

1800
02:11:10,945 --> 02:11:14,365
two funding sources that started the towns cdc.

1801
02:11:15,225 --> 02:11:18,965
is there any limit on timeframe for the, uh, department of commerce?

1802
02:11:19,825 --> 02:11:23,805
no, ma'am. Okay. Thank you. Any other questions

1803
02:11:23,925 --> 02:11:27,615
or comments? Well, I just wanted to follow up

1804
02:11:27,975 --> 02:11:31,915
if I can. Hopefully you can. Um,

1805
02:11:32,535 --> 02:11:36,335
I don't want what I said to be misinterpreted, and I think ms. Bryson may have done just that.

1806
02:11:36,995 --> 02:11:40,775
no one's questioning the good work. That's not what's being questioned. What I'm questioning

1807
02:11:41,075 --> 02:11:44,695
is whether or not the corporation is becoming

1808
02:11:45,215 --> 02:11:48,955
a self-sustaining entity, or is it becoming an arm,

1809
02:11:49,375 --> 02:11:53,335
a department, um, that's funded through the town of

1810
02:11:53,495 --> 02:11:57,335
hilton head, because there is a difference there. And that's

1811
02:11:57,615 --> 02:12:00,415
what I want clarify. Thank you. Okay. Thank you

1812
02:12:03,135 --> 02:12:07,005
mayor perry. I, and I'm, I'm glad we heard it that question, that clear? I, I did take some

1813
02:12:07,485 --> 02:12:11,425
notes, the self-sustaining question, I think I heard some comments to ask

1814
02:12:11,645 --> 02:12:15,585
me. I I do think that's a conversation that town council needs to have in

1815
02:12:15,805 --> 02:12:19,325
the budget workshop or in a separate workshop, including amongst yourselves

1816
02:12:19,865 --> 02:12:23,715
and or at some point appropriate, uh, time with the community

1817
02:12:24,325 --> 02:12:28,325
development corporation board of directors that you appointed. Uh, I,

1818
02:12:28,725 --> 02:12:32,545
I do and, and I will talk with thomas and the board to

1819
02:12:32,765 --> 02:12:36,765
update the strategic plan. I believe that work is planned and there have been some conversations about

1820
02:12:37,045 --> 02:12:40,805
it, and that will be in-house, so you won't see that as an expenditure, but that's an in-house

1821
02:12:41,545 --> 02:12:45,515
update. Um, lease

1822
02:12:45,905 --> 02:12:49,825
proceeds, uh, that was a decision that, that frankly some of us talked

1823
02:12:50,145 --> 02:12:54,005
about. Just for, for clarity, the lease proceeds of 30 to

1824
02:12:54,225 --> 02:12:58,185
the town and, and 30 to the cdc as we started to try

1825
02:12:58,385 --> 02:13:01,865
to balance dollars and, and look at fund balances and, and look at revenues

1826
02:13:02,965 --> 02:13:06,925
and realize that that grant's only going to go so far. And ms.

1827
02:13:07,265 --> 02:13:11,225
becker's asking the really good question, is it a self-sustaining department? I,

1828
02:13:11,665 --> 02:13:15,545
I mentioned all the ways thomas helps me and it's, it's, it's clear

1829
02:13:15,855 --> 02:13:19,625
that I've, I've moved some general fund dollars into it.

1830
02:13:20,185 --> 02:13:23,905
I just wanna make it a little clear. Veronica's salary

1831
02:13:24,485 --> 02:13:28,445
was always as part of the general fund, she was in the planning department. She

1832
02:13:28,665 --> 02:13:32,515
still does the same thing she does in the planning department. I would say that she does more

1833
02:13:33,025 --> 02:13:36,285
now supporting thomas supporting corporation board meetings,

1834
02:13:37,145 --> 02:13:40,885
and she has a little less time that, that we're going to the gullah

1835
02:13:41,205 --> 02:13:45,205
geechee task force and more time going to the cdc. Right? I think that's just a

1836
02:13:45,325 --> 02:13:49,205
natural for progression. But still, veronica is point on

1837
02:13:49,445 --> 02:13:52,885
the neighborhood design studio. She just doesn't sit up on the second story, the planning department,

1838
02:13:53,655 --> 02:13:57,405
she's down the hall next to, uh, thomas and, and

1839
02:13:57,765 --> 02:14:01,655
building d the fourth building and, and still in the planning department

1840
02:14:02,325 --> 02:14:06,075
still did heirs property support and research and helping

1841
02:14:06,635 --> 02:14:10,365
with business licensing. But I, I would say the, the difference,

1842
02:14:10,865 --> 02:14:14,005
and, and I appreciate the question, I just wanna make sure I answer it

1843
02:14:15,155 --> 02:14:19,125
with the cdc, it's proactive, not reactive. I

1844
02:14:19,245 --> 02:14:22,725
would say it's as much as I, as my terms, uh, playing as much offense

1845
02:14:23,305 --> 02:14:27,165
as, as as defense, right. As much trying to business development and

1846
02:14:27,365 --> 02:14:31,125
help people as opposed to waiting for the doorbell or the non knock on the door.

1847
02:14:31,705 --> 02:14:35,525
and so, yeah, I, I just wanna make it a point, the, it was always funded

1848
02:14:35,805 --> 02:14:39,605
there, at least the one salary. This, the difference this year

1849
02:14:40,065 --> 02:14:44,045
is just, rather than keep that in the general fund, I

1850
02:14:44,165 --> 02:14:48,045
wanted to be very clear. I, I don't, I wanna be very clear in where

1851
02:14:48,345 --> 02:14:52,245
the dollars are are coming in and, and where they're being used. And that's

1852
02:14:52,645 --> 02:14:56,285
the difference. One salary, not two. And same, same portfolio

1853
02:14:56,905 --> 02:15:00,635
of work by the, the assistant director. Forgive

1854
02:15:01,125 --> 02:15:04,765
me for not having your job title right here, but the veronica.

1855
02:15:05,625 --> 02:15:09,605
um, and there's, there's a lot of, a lot of work to do. And

1856
02:15:09,825 --> 02:15:13,645
it's not only cdc centric. Um, that's why I wanted to explain how,

1857
02:15:13,925 --> 02:15:17,825
how much more thomas helps me and this senior team than just

1858
02:15:18,125 --> 02:15:20,145
the cdc board. Thank you.

1859
02:15:30,575 --> 02:15:32,105
I'll be right. Okay. ,

1860
02:15:37,655 --> 02:15:39,145
move on to the next item. ,

1861
02:15:42,525 --> 02:15:42,945
are you gonna see,

1862
02:16:05,565 --> 02:16:07,145
I gotta turn that on. Sorry. Um,

1863
02:16:10,965 --> 02:16:14,575
the housing fund was created when the town,

1864
02:16:16,755 --> 02:16:20,755
the housing fund was created when the town established finding home. And

1865
02:16:20,995 --> 02:16:24,955
as part of the finding home document and approval by town council, it had

1866
02:16:25,175 --> 02:16:29,165
in there to create a staff member to add a staff member, right. As part, part of

1867
02:16:29,285 --> 02:16:31,915
the strategy and recommendations coming from finding home.

1868
02:16:35,115 --> 02:16:38,955
angela. Um, just a moment. If, if we can check in with mr.

1869
02:16:39,175 --> 02:16:42,595
sunday to see if we have lost ms. Becca. Oh,

1870
02:16:43,745 --> 02:16:45,765
she's texting. I'm working. Oh, okay. Alright,

1871
02:16:59,125 --> 02:17:00,285
so she's waiting for

1872
02:17:06,685 --> 02:17:10,585
new link. Alright. Um, so with that being

1873
02:17:10,775 --> 02:17:14,545
said, the, the budget, the revenues are derived

1874
02:17:14,825 --> 02:17:18,645
from transfer from state at tax. That is a town council policy of $619,000.

1875
02:17:20,415 --> 02:17:23,565
it's a 5% state at tax collection amount.

1876
02:17:24,445 --> 02:17:28,025
the south carolina code was changed recently a couple years ago to allow

1877
02:17:28,645 --> 02:17:32,545
and provide for it didn't require it, but you opted to approve that.

1878
02:17:33,045 --> 02:17:36,975
um, that is, is the town policy. Um, and then the other is from

1879
02:17:37,685 --> 02:17:41,605
the use of fund balance prior year, unused dollars in

1880
02:17:41,905 --> 02:17:45,585
the housing account. We have not used a lot of these dollars over time.

1881
02:17:46,325 --> 02:17:50,185
um, the budget proposed this year, 3.2, uh, million dollars.

1882
02:17:52,405 --> 02:17:56,345
you can see this the prior year unspent as well as the at tax

1883
02:17:56,545 --> 02:18:00,185
collection, the use of funds, uh, very clear,

1884
02:18:00,925 --> 02:18:04,885
the muddy creek neighborhood stabilization. We have been slow, I'll admit it. It

1885
02:18:05,105 --> 02:18:08,965
is not, uh, easy to say, but it, it's, it's the truth. We

1886
02:18:09,185 --> 02:18:12,345
have been slow out there to figure out what to do with the $1.5 million.

1887
02:18:13,845 --> 02:18:17,825
the reason that this isn't in the capital improvement program is because, again, we wanted

1888
02:18:18,265 --> 02:18:22,105
to be very clear that it was going to support the acquisition that the town

1889
02:18:22,375 --> 02:18:26,145
made, not just the, I'll call it subdivision for bryant road.

1890
02:18:26,525 --> 02:18:30,145
we weren't just trying to walk in and subdivide property and improve it.

1891
02:18:30,605 --> 02:18:34,505
it may cause gentrification, it may cause, uh, a neighborhood

1892
02:18:34,925 --> 02:18:38,785
to change overnight with several, a whole, whole bunch of new homes.

1893
02:18:39,375 --> 02:18:43,265
what we did is we earmarked as part of the housing fund, uh, I will call

1894
02:18:43,425 --> 02:18:46,725
it a front end capital improvement program account, $1.5 million.

1895
02:18:48,845 --> 02:18:52,545
we have a great cip team. They're here. I'm very proud of them. They have

1896
02:18:53,195 --> 02:18:56,765
taken the input from the neighborhood meeting that we've had some time ago.

1897
02:18:57,405 --> 02:19:01,055
um, and they have now scoped and, and I would say scheduled

1898
02:19:02,335 --> 02:19:05,385
some work out there. And we went over that at first reading sidewalks,

1899
02:19:06,635 --> 02:19:10,535
crosswalks, stop signs, low level lighting, landscape cleanup,

1900
02:19:11,945 --> 02:19:15,765
driveway end and, and curb cut improvements, um,

1901
02:19:16,285 --> 02:19:19,945
for $1.5 million. We also have earmarked a million dollars.

1902
02:19:20,645 --> 02:19:24,565
and that, um, is for the bryant road public-private

1903
02:19:25,465 --> 02:19:29,445
partnership. The rfq request for qualification came in, remember, I

1904
02:19:29,645 --> 02:19:33,575
I mentioned that we extended it. We have seven great bids from seven

1905
02:19:34,115 --> 02:19:38,005
very interested teams, and we are just now starting to score that.

1906
02:19:38,705 --> 02:19:42,425
um, what we will do is talk a a lot about this between now

1907
02:19:42,825 --> 02:19:46,565
and when we submit a request or release, a request

1908
02:19:46,865 --> 02:19:49,925
for proposal to start looking for our partner. We have a, a,

1909
02:19:51,925 --> 02:19:55,845
a base dollar in there that may help incentivize and entice the appropriate

1910
02:19:56,245 --> 02:20:00,025
developer. But the town council at the time will direct

1911
02:20:00,495 --> 02:20:04,245
where and how those, that million dollars is used in the exact same

1912
02:20:04,585 --> 02:20:08,315
way you did with the north point agreement. You, you won't just earmark

1913
02:20:08,805 --> 02:20:12,245
it and, and, and I decide, or we decide you will in an agreement

1914
02:20:12,995 --> 02:20:16,545
determine where and really if that's needed, um,

1915
02:20:18,715 --> 02:20:22,245
lateral or excuse me, and then bufort, jasper housing trust due. Those are

1916
02:20:22,785 --> 02:20:26,675
per an agreement we have with bufort jasper housing trust. And then, because,

1917
02:20:27,635 --> 02:20:30,895
because there's no other source of dollars right now, brian rhodes

1918
02:20:31,765 --> 02:20:35,405
a big lift we've just earmarked in the fund balance surplus future

1919
02:20:35,945 --> 02:20:38,525
use $619,000 fund balance.

1920
02:20:40,485 --> 02:20:44,225
pretty much everything I just said is on these, highlight that highlight page right there.

1921
02:20:48,385 --> 02:20:51,325
any note? Yep. Excuse me. No, just any, any comments or questions?

1922
02:20:54,195 --> 02:20:58,055
yes. Thank you, sir. I, I think the only comment I've got is that we're still looking for more

1923
02:20:58,295 --> 02:21:02,175
funding for lateral sewer connections. Um, and I see

1924
02:21:02,375 --> 02:21:06,375
that, um, the at tax funds 619,000, I'm glad we're

1925
02:21:06,655 --> 02:21:10,495
putting that money in there. And my question is, can any of those funds be used

1926
02:21:10,695 --> 02:21:14,525
for lateral sewer connection? I'm seeing mr. Orlando shake his head no. Okay.

1927
02:21:14,915 --> 02:21:18,455
always have to ask. I know ms. Turner and I are both hoping that we can find more money.

1928
02:21:19,335 --> 02:21:23,175
I I don't believe aax is, is, is a, is a good source or easy source

1929
02:21:23,495 --> 02:21:27,095
to use on that because those, those investments or improvements are on private

1930
02:21:27,655 --> 02:21:31,375
property. Um, which is why we're seeking some grants. We do have some word

1931
02:21:31,685 --> 02:21:35,575
from, um, beaufort jasper saying that,

1932
02:21:35,735 --> 02:21:38,965
right? Bufort jasper housing trust. Um, and I will bring that, that opportunity

1933
02:21:39,775 --> 02:21:43,515
to town council as a potential grant, uh, agreement in,

1934
02:21:43,795 --> 02:21:47,335
in the, in the coming weeks. Mr. Brown.

1935
02:21:47,905 --> 02:21:51,855
yeah. Um, to, to pick up on, uh, where ms. Bryson was going. Um,

1936
02:21:54,645 --> 02:21:58,615
just to, to give context. The, the town received

1937
02:21:58,775 --> 02:22:02,755
those opera funds years ago and, um, it,

1938
02:22:02,975 --> 02:22:06,765
it gave us enough latitude where we could use those monies for lateral

1939
02:22:07,345 --> 02:22:11,225
sewer, uh, connections and went through that money almost

1940
02:22:11,835 --> 02:22:14,945
overnight. I would, I would say, okay. Um, and

1941
02:22:17,535 --> 02:22:21,375
I, I remember very distinctly, um, me and mr. Orlando having this

1942
02:22:21,655 --> 02:22:25,395
conversation around that will then

1943
02:22:25,705 --> 02:22:29,635
show the demand. Okay? And there's still money

1944
02:22:29,835 --> 02:22:33,155
left over at the community foundation in low country in the safe program.

1945
02:22:34,535 --> 02:22:38,515
the requirements to receive those money don't necessarily

1946
02:22:38,905 --> 02:22:41,615
line up with today's conditions. Okay. Um,

1947
02:22:42,995 --> 02:22:46,655
I for one have, um, made an appointment to

1948
02:22:48,325 --> 02:22:52,255
have the new, uh, ceo, uh, mr.

1949
02:22:52,685 --> 02:22:56,605
falk, um, to ride along with me on a, on a little tour so we can look

1950
02:22:56,895 --> 02:23:00,775
at some areas that still are in need of sewer with the hope

1951
02:23:01,925 --> 02:23:05,815
that if we take a look back at the demand and how quickly we went through

1952
02:23:06,015 --> 02:23:09,655
the money and the stall that they have had over time and not allocating

1953
02:23:10,215 --> 02:23:12,775
theirs, that we can regenerate a conversation around

1954
02:23:15,305 --> 02:23:18,035
rethinking the current funds and if not so

1955
02:23:19,575 --> 02:23:23,095
re-energizing folks that were committed to donating

1956
02:23:23,915 --> 02:23:27,915
to help build a new fund. Okay. So, um, I I wanted to, to

1957
02:23:28,375 --> 02:23:32,215
publicly say that, okay. And then ask, um, you know, my colleagues

1958
02:23:32,645 --> 02:23:36,275
that, um, you, you assist with some type of, uh, conversational

1959
02:23:37,205 --> 02:23:41,055
influence in that direction because it keeps coming up. We keep

1960
02:23:41,215 --> 02:23:45,135
waiting for grants and it's not happening, but the demand

1961
02:23:45,675 --> 02:23:48,775
is still there and we need to address it. Do we know

1962
02:23:49,705 --> 02:23:51,995
brown? Do we know what the number is?

1963
02:23:57,065 --> 02:24:01,025
septic versus I, I think that's something that we can

1964
02:24:01,775 --> 02:24:05,745
quickly get from psd. I thought we may have a

1965
02:24:05,825 --> 02:24:07,905
number. You have one mark.

1966
02:24:10,485 --> 02:24:14,065
we know that, but not, not here, but I, I can get that. Septic, septic,

1967
02:24:14,565 --> 02:24:18,225
what's left for septic, what's on on sewer. It's not easy to always obtain from,

1968
02:24:18,575 --> 02:24:20,745
from psd and real time,

1969
02:24:26,515 --> 02:24:30,465
lemme just add this mr. Decimal since you asked that question. Um, and this, this

1970
02:24:30,665 --> 02:24:33,915
really relates to the, the housing initiative, right?

1971
02:24:34,845 --> 02:24:38,345
um, obviously there a lot of cost in,

1972
02:24:38,865 --> 02:24:42,765
in development here on hilton head and, um, you know, and most times

1973
02:24:43,035 --> 02:24:46,645
when you, when you, when you put a unit on the ground, if you seeking market

1974
02:24:47,115 --> 02:24:51,005
rate, you can absorb all of those costs. Okay? I, I,

1975
02:24:51,205 --> 02:24:55,205
I know for a fact that, uh, psd, um, has a very,

1976
02:24:55,445 --> 02:24:59,305
very high expenditure when you want to do just one

1977
02:24:59,525 --> 02:25:03,285
unit when it comes to capacity, fees and so on. So all of that

1978
02:25:04,585 --> 02:25:08,445
in my mind is a discouragement for folks to put affordable housing

1979
02:25:08,665 --> 02:25:12,555
on the ground. So to me, the lateral sewer conversation is a little deeper dive

1980
02:25:13,265 --> 02:25:17,185
as it relates to us putting housing that is affordable on

1981
02:25:17,405 --> 02:25:20,485
the ground. So, um, it's a deeper discussion. Um, but I think

1982
02:25:22,095 --> 02:25:26,035
leveraging our partners is something that we need to, to

1983
02:25:26,255 --> 02:25:29,625
do at this moment. Alright, thank you for that.

1984
02:25:31,125 --> 02:25:33,655
any others? Okay.

1985
02:25:37,055 --> 02:25:40,385
okay, now we'll jump to special revenues. As we've discussed before, there's

1986
02:25:41,105 --> 02:25:45,065
multiple funds that make up special revenues that I kind of

1987
02:25:45,145 --> 02:25:48,945
call it the hub of a lot of fees that we get. Beach preservation hospitality.

1988
02:25:49,885 --> 02:25:53,805
um, hello? Just second. I gotta, he's

1989
02:25:54,095 --> 02:25:57,055
gotta let miss oh,

1990
02:26:15,055 --> 02:26:18,565
we'll take a quick five minute break and yeah, yeah, while they,

1991
02:26:30,375 --> 02:26:31,715
but we need to get the screen back up.

1992
02:26:46,225 --> 02:26:50,105
okay, now we're back to special revenue funds. I'm just going to skip real

1993
02:26:50,395 --> 02:26:54,035
quick to the income statement 'cause this has the overview

1994
02:26:54,975 --> 02:26:58,875
of the revenues that we generate. Uh, inside the funds are different

1995
02:26:59,845 --> 02:27:03,465
beach, pre beach preservation, hospitality, tiff, road usage, data

1996
02:27:04,015 --> 02:27:07,935
tax, real estate, palmetto, electric, short term rental, license fi

1997
02:27:08,175 --> 02:27:12,125
grants and investment income. So we are projecting around 55 million

1998
02:27:13,215 --> 02:27:17,195
in 27 coming from all of these, uh, uh, separate

1999
02:27:17,325 --> 02:27:20,795
funds. Um, the one couple of changes that you'll see there,

2000
02:27:21,815 --> 02:27:25,575
um, we, as we mentioned, we're not budgeting any grants that are not signed.

2001
02:27:26,455 --> 02:27:30,095
so that's zero up in operating grants and on the federal grants

2002
02:27:30,625 --> 02:27:34,435
it's zero. Uh, the 1 million we had in the projection for 26

2003
02:27:35,735 --> 02:27:39,735
was the, um, arpa arpa grants that came through. If you look at,

2004
02:27:40,255 --> 02:27:44,235
uh, the budget there, there, this fund was not

2005
02:27:44,355 --> 02:27:48,035
budgeted, so you don't see any dollars there. So the comparison

2006
02:27:48,815 --> 02:27:52,185
we did for 26 to 27 was to the projected numbers.

2007
02:27:53,495 --> 02:27:57,355
and, um, so that's really modest growth in the, as we

2008
02:27:57,515 --> 02:28:01,045
talked about before, for beach preservation fees and hospitality taxes.

2009
02:28:02,135 --> 02:28:05,995
and, uh, we did come down on, uh, the state a tax, which

2010
02:28:06,275 --> 02:28:09,955
we talked about. And then our real estate transfer fee we came down as well,

2011
02:28:10,705 --> 02:28:14,535
primarily based upon just taking a more conservative view. As

2012
02:28:14,755 --> 02:28:18,675
we can tell, we did about 4.9 million in 24, 5 0.2

2013
02:28:19,115 --> 02:28:22,925
and 25. We're having a really, really strong year this year, but we scaled it back.

2014
02:28:23,355 --> 02:28:27,285
it's hard to predict that. So we took a conservative view on that. Um, use of

2015
02:28:27,485 --> 02:28:31,165
fund balances, we do this fund, the special revenues

2016
02:28:31,725 --> 02:28:35,465
fund a lot of our other funds in the town. So, um,

2017
02:28:35,825 --> 02:28:39,745
you know, that's what you see here and what funds that they're coming out of. But

2018
02:28:39,985 --> 02:28:43,525
we are using $27 million of fund balance

2019
02:28:44,105 --> 02:28:48,045
in the special revenue funds. And at the end here we have the firetruck lease proceeds

2020
02:28:48,745 --> 02:28:52,645
coming through as well, uh, for four and a half million dollars. And that totals

2021
02:28:53,005 --> 02:28:55,915
the 86 million when you look over at expense.

2022
02:28:57,345 --> 02:29:01,225
um, the most of the direct expenses are really at

2023
02:29:01,465 --> 02:29:05,155
tax grants. So we've got just under four 4.1 million

2024
02:29:06,305 --> 02:29:10,285
in 2027 for at tax. And their dmo is around

2025
02:29:10,525 --> 02:29:14,445
3.7 million. And then we do have $50,000 for the

2026
02:29:14,885 --> 02:29:18,785
bufort county, uh, deed processing fees that were accessed from them. And,

2027
02:29:19,145 --> 02:29:23,025
uh, beach consulting services, uh, getting down to, uh,

2028
02:29:23,345 --> 02:29:27,165
our transfers out. As we mentioned before, these are

2029
02:29:27,365 --> 02:29:30,725
dollars that we're transferring to the general fund, our debt service,

2030
02:29:32,125 --> 02:29:36,005
cip and for our housing fund. And that's,

2031
02:29:36,325 --> 02:29:39,845
uh, $67 million. Um, we have a

2032
02:29:40,335 --> 02:29:42,985
total fund balance surplus of $10.5 million.

2033
02:29:44,745 --> 02:29:48,325
and this is in our natural disasters fund. That's really investment

2034
02:29:48,785 --> 02:29:52,505
income that's being added to the fund balance as well as

2035
02:29:53,425 --> 02:29:56,365
monies in beach preservation. So we collect that 15 million,

2036
02:29:57,625 --> 02:30:01,525
we allocate out, uh, money for capital for debt, and now to the

2037
02:30:01,645 --> 02:30:05,445
general funds. So we've got about 4 million left over there. And then our real estate

2038
02:30:06,005 --> 02:30:09,105
transfer, we don't budget any land other than 250,000.

2039
02:30:10,265 --> 02:30:13,805
so, um, we have, uh, real estate transfer continuing

2040
02:30:14,385 --> 02:30:18,305
out to the fund balance. Uh, we

2041
02:30:18,525 --> 02:30:22,365
talked a little bit about this on monday, um, or tuesday,

2042
02:30:22,815 --> 02:30:26,245
sorry, but this is just an overview of the state accommodation

2043
02:30:26,945 --> 02:30:30,725
tax and I think the really the highlight there is that we are using

2044
02:30:31,075 --> 02:30:34,755
more dollars for capital than we have in prior years. We're using $5.4 million

2045
02:30:36,865 --> 02:30:40,715
and then we're also transferring 600,000 to housing as well. So that

2046
02:30:41,005 --> 02:30:45,005
fund balance is roughly gonna end up at about 6 million next tuesday.

2047
02:30:45,395 --> 02:30:49,205
when we close out the session after cip review, we do

2048
02:30:49,525 --> 02:30:53,525
have a fund balance walk that we'll go through to kind of show you what we're looking at for all of the

2049
02:30:53,685 --> 02:30:57,525
different funds, including these special revenue funds. And this is just

2050
02:30:57,725 --> 02:31:01,325
a highlight that we talked about on tuesday of the state accommodation taxes,

2051
02:31:02,345 --> 02:31:05,725
um, where they go and the, and the allocation logic for them.

2052
02:31:07,585 --> 02:31:11,545
and then I'm gonna jump in, oh, here's an eye chart, but I'm

2053
02:31:11,765 --> 02:31:15,765
gonna jump into the, um, fund, ba fund balance sheet,

2054
02:31:16,185 --> 02:31:19,625
excuse me, proposed reserve policies for

2055
02:31:20,465 --> 02:31:24,075
our funds. And so we've got this broken out into

2056
02:31:24,515 --> 02:31:28,265
operating capital special revenues and

2057
02:31:28,865 --> 02:31:32,365
um, sorry about that. Am I

2058
02:31:35,265 --> 02:31:39,095
okay, there we are. So trying to go to the end. So,

2059
02:31:39,495 --> 02:31:43,135
um, when we spoke on, uh,

2060
02:31:44,705 --> 02:31:48,075
tuesday, we talked about the methodology changes

2061
02:31:48,735 --> 02:31:52,575
to some of these. One of those is on the general fund. Uh,

2062
02:31:52,795 --> 02:31:55,785
we are changing the minimum

2063
02:31:56,905 --> 02:32:00,215
fund balance from 50 or to,

2064
02:32:01,095 --> 02:32:04,355
excuse me, from changing that, growing that to 50%

2065
02:32:05,135 --> 02:32:08,865
of the spend, the expenditures for the general fund,

2066
02:32:09,975 --> 02:32:13,495
for the minimum reserve of the fund to

2067
02:32:13,995 --> 02:32:17,955
a maximum of 55%. Okay? And so

2068
02:32:18,205 --> 02:32:21,875
right now that 50% minimum in 2027

2069
02:32:23,185 --> 02:32:26,695
will be 32 3 72. And

2070
02:32:27,535 --> 02:32:31,015
um, we are just a shade above that in our proposal for

2071
02:32:31,615 --> 02:32:35,155
the end of 27 in this budget, any amount

2072
02:32:35,665 --> 02:32:39,635
over the 55% will be transferred to the natural

2073
02:32:40,355 --> 02:32:44,035
disasters fund. However, if there's encumbered dollars

2074
02:32:44,545 --> 02:32:48,435
that were not spent during that year that are causing

2075
02:32:48,895 --> 02:32:52,635
us to be over the 55% that would be, has been spent

2076
02:32:53,155 --> 02:32:57,135
in the following year, we will not use

2077
02:32:57,355 --> 02:33:00,955
those dollars to transfer to the natural disasters fund.

2078
02:33:01,435 --> 02:33:04,975
I think I said all of that right? Got it. So, um,

2079
02:33:05,585 --> 02:33:09,155
it's a lot. So, um, on storm water we talked about,

2080
02:33:10,095 --> 02:33:13,695
uh, changing that minimum to $3 million and

2081
02:33:14,575 --> 02:33:18,415
um, and then this year we are proposing $10 million to

2082
02:33:18,635 --> 02:33:22,635
accommodate for the, um, fixed asset, uh, re reserve

2083
02:33:23,055 --> 02:33:26,835
as well, which we can talk about more in the review next tuesday for storm

2084
02:33:27,075 --> 02:33:31,075
water on the capital fund we have the capital improvements program

2085
02:33:31,665 --> 02:33:33,865
fund reserve of $4.341 million.

2086
02:33:37,175 --> 02:33:40,835
uh, that's the town council designating that amount for economic development

2087
02:33:41,435 --> 02:33:45,195
opportunities getting down to real estate

2088
02:33:45,835 --> 02:33:49,795
transfer fee. We are not changing the million dollars that we have currently

2089
02:33:50,575 --> 02:33:53,195
on the books today on beach preservation.

2090
02:33:54,935 --> 02:33:58,855
uh, we are at $20 million currently. Um,

2091
02:33:59,415 --> 02:34:03,115
now we're looking to change the amount to have a

2092
02:34:03,785 --> 02:34:07,655
fund balance of 40 million minimum, but to

2093
02:34:07,875 --> 02:34:11,505
be adjusted as available each fiscal year

2094
02:34:12,415 --> 02:34:16,215
to that fund balance that's available not to exceed

2095
02:34:16,645 --> 02:34:20,465
$60 million at the end of 2033. And so

2096
02:34:21,015 --> 02:34:24,875
there will be more than likely, hang, hang on, hang on. It's,

2097
02:34:25,355 --> 02:34:29,145
it's, it's not, not to exceed, correct? It's the

2098
02:34:29,365 --> 02:34:33,335
minimum would be 60 million. Well, they target reserve balance of 60 million. Right,

2099
02:34:33,785 --> 02:34:37,605
but not, I mean, because I thought that there

2100
02:34:37,845 --> 02:34:41,265
was an opportunity to have actually more than that in there. There is,

2101
02:34:41,905 --> 02:34:45,885
but let me look at how I can, let me, let me help, yeah, I'm trying

2102
02:34:46,005 --> 02:34:49,685
to read this. Yeah, I know. I can read it from right here. And we apologize. The town shall

2103
02:34:50,205 --> 02:34:53,965
maintain a minimum beach preservation fee balance of 40 million to support the long-term

2104
02:34:54,525 --> 02:34:57,835
shoreline protection beach re nourishment and coastal resiliency initiatives.

2105
02:34:58,595 --> 02:35:02,075
each fiscal year, the town shall reserve available

2106
02:35:02,915 --> 02:35:06,515
fund balance amounts exceeding the established minimum exceeding,

2107
02:35:07,125 --> 02:35:10,575
right? So exceeding the 40 with a target reserve balance of 60 million

2108
02:35:11,585 --> 02:35:15,525
by the end of fiscal year 2033 to prepare to prepare for

2109
02:35:15,725 --> 02:35:19,695
the next major beach renourishment project. Reserved funds

2110
02:35:20,175 --> 02:35:23,895
shall only, or excuse me, shall solely shall

2111
02:35:24,245 --> 02:35:28,165
be used solely for beach preservation, renourishment shoreline

2112
02:35:28,845 --> 02:35:32,765
stabilization and related coastal resiliency expenditures approved by town

2113
02:35:33,005 --> 02:35:36,845
council. By the town council. So that's what that says. And so the, the story

2114
02:35:37,125 --> 02:35:41,105
there though is it was 12 upper moons ago,

2115
02:35:42,625 --> 02:35:46,465
we moved it, you moved it to 20, and right now in

2116
02:35:46,685 --> 02:35:50,605
this budget, that 20 is shifting to 42 8. And on the next

2117
02:35:50,765 --> 02:35:54,685
slide, and I don't want to go to the next slide yet, you'll see the projection to a hundred million

2118
02:35:55,005 --> 02:35:58,845
dollars, um, with a little bit of use, I would say, I shouldn't

2119
02:35:59,085 --> 02:36:03,005
say a little, but, uh, minimal use, um, over time.

2120
02:36:03,425 --> 02:36:07,085
but, but the point being is that right? We don't have to stop at 60,

2121
02:36:07,435 --> 02:36:11,405
there's no, no sir, that's, I just wanna clarify that aspect of it. No sir. But we proposed a,

2122
02:36:11,985 --> 02:36:15,685
we, we proposed this where that anything over 60 that you start making

2123
02:36:17,045 --> 02:36:20,635
decisions right on maybe, maybe the next beach improvement

2124
02:36:21,325 --> 02:36:24,685
project past islanders from a resilience standpoint, a parking, a usability,

2125
02:36:25,825 --> 02:36:29,605
uh, an upkeep is fish hall beach park, right? There's, there's some opportunity there.

2126
02:36:29,845 --> 02:36:33,785
I would also say that dreesen is a very, uh, important, uh, opportunity as

2127
02:36:34,005 --> 02:36:37,685
well. So we don't just wanna move it up to a hundred and then have no dollars

2128
02:36:38,065 --> 02:36:40,765
to improve our assets where, where folks are visiting a da

2129
02:36:42,465 --> 02:36:46,345
got it. Act, everything. So, alright. Okay. On

2130
02:36:46,625 --> 02:36:50,325
the next one is, uh, hospitality tax and there's no change recommended

2131
02:36:50,965 --> 02:36:54,965
from the current $5 million minimum current policy. And the

2132
02:36:55,165 --> 02:36:59,085
last one we have is natural disasters fund. So now I can read this.

2133
02:36:59,585 --> 02:37:03,545
um, the minimum shall the, the, the

2134
02:37:03,885 --> 02:37:07,605
minimum required fund balance shall increase annually by the amount of assigned general

2135
02:37:08,035 --> 02:37:11,795
fund balance transferred above the 55% general fund

2136
02:37:12,405 --> 02:37:16,325
threshold. And by investment income earned within the fund, the natural

2137
02:37:17,005 --> 02:37:20,985
disasters fund shall have no maximum fund balance limitation. So

2138
02:37:21,205 --> 02:37:24,635
it will grow slowly over time based upon those two opportunities

2139
02:37:25,545 --> 02:37:29,505
for additional funding and, and a, a reminder, right? How did, how did we get here? It,

2140
02:37:29,925 --> 02:37:33,805
I believe it was 20 and it remained 20 for a long time. And town council

2141
02:37:34,085 --> 02:37:38,045
would ask me every year to do some assessment on what would it cost

2142
02:37:38,465 --> 02:37:42,265
if right, based upon inflation, based upon added so

2143
02:37:42,485 --> 02:37:46,385
and so, where it was 20, we moved it to 36 in

2144
02:37:46,605 --> 02:37:50,225
this year, just because of what dave is saying, um, it increased as

2145
02:37:51,225 --> 02:37:53,285
and policy at least to 39 7 45.

2146
02:37:55,345 --> 02:37:58,325
so again, a, a little bit, but we made that 20 million to 36 million

2147
02:37:59,435 --> 02:38:02,325
jump based upon our recommendation. And then the 36 million

2148
02:38:03,555 --> 02:38:07,295
current to 30 39, almost $40 million.

2149
02:38:09,585 --> 02:38:13,425
so if you look at the roll up of all of them under the current policy, we're at 91,000,003

2150
02:38:14,685 --> 02:38:18,345
70, the proposed minimum is gonna be 1 23 9 63.

2151
02:38:20,985 --> 02:38:24,925
and based upon what we're looking at for 27, it would go up

2152
02:38:25,045 --> 02:38:28,995
to 1 3 5 7 67. So if you look at our ending fund

2153
02:38:29,285 --> 02:38:32,765
balance of just under 235 million will be at 58%

2154
02:38:33,885 --> 02:38:37,885
reserved. Go ahead. Um, I think you need a title

2155
02:38:38,105 --> 02:38:41,845
change over that last column because it says

2156
02:38:42,355 --> 02:38:45,345
projected reserve fund balance, it's 6 30 20 27

2157
02:38:47,025 --> 02:38:50,285
and that's not, that's the project, that's the minimum

2158
02:38:51,345 --> 02:38:51,345
amount.

2159
02:38:55,675 --> 02:38:58,805
the, so we're starting at $254 million

2160
02:39:01,065 --> 02:39:04,985
in our fund balance. And then you talk about our

2161
02:39:05,205 --> 02:39:08,585
current reserve policy ties up

2162
02:39:09,705 --> 02:39:13,165
91 million, right? And that the proposed minimum

2163
02:39:14,665 --> 02:39:18,405
for is 124 million, and then you've got 136 million.

2164
02:39:19,705 --> 02:39:22,045
but it says that's the projected reserve fund balance.

2165
02:39:24,945 --> 02:39:28,865
that's the, the, the 1 35 divided by the 2 35, the

2166
02:39:29,085 --> 02:39:32,745
percentage that would be reserved, but the,

2167
02:39:33,225 --> 02:39:36,925
the third, but with the title, it makes it look like that's all the money that we have in total.

2168
02:39:40,345 --> 02:39:44,335
oh, that one. I was asking if that column header is the right terminology. Right.

2169
02:39:44,875 --> 02:39:48,645
what, what should it be? What what would you prefer? It should be the proposed minimum

2170
02:39:49,035 --> 02:39:51,465
balance policy as of 6 30 20 27.

2171
02:39:53,435 --> 02:39:57,225
okay. I don't want people to think that we we're

2172
02:39:57,575 --> 02:40:01,295
going from 254 million to 2027. We're

2173
02:40:01,615 --> 02:40:05,605
going to 136 million in our total fund

2174
02:40:05,895 --> 02:40:09,685
balance. Right. I think. Okay. So it's just a, it's

2175
02:40:09,975 --> 02:40:11,685
just a titling on the top. Okay.

2176
02:40:15,955 --> 02:40:19,715
all right. I do have a quick question. Pardon me. Um,

2177
02:40:20,085 --> 02:40:23,815
only because I had to try to make a motion on tuesday night because we had a revised,

2178
02:40:24,435 --> 02:40:28,375
uh, page on the reserve policy. Um, and I

2179
02:40:28,495 --> 02:40:32,095
think I'm looking at the one that I was looking at on the screen on um, tuesday

2180
02:40:32,705 --> 02:40:36,495
night. But just looking at those, uh, and comparing them,

2181
02:40:36,755 --> 02:40:40,595
and I apologize if, if, if what we have before us tonight is

2182
02:40:40,815 --> 02:40:44,735
what you showed on the screen tuesday night, then we're, we're good. But my only

2183
02:40:45,095 --> 02:40:49,035
question is, um, and maybe we take care of this at second reading, um,

2184
02:40:49,315 --> 02:40:53,155
is that there's some numbers that are different. Um, and, and

2185
02:40:53,375 --> 02:40:56,695
I would call out the ones I can quickly compare each preservation

2186
02:40:57,475 --> 02:41:00,215
fee. The last revision I saw was 40,000

2187
02:41:01,575 --> 02:41:05,015
proposed minimum balance policy, and this shows a little over 42 8.

2188
02:41:06,835 --> 02:41:10,255
um, the other number that's different is the natural disasters fund.

2189
02:41:11,155 --> 02:41:14,175
the last number I saw was 36,000 and this is 39,745

2190
02:41:16,235 --> 02:41:19,375
et cetera. Um, and then that changes the subtotal and the total.

2191
02:41:20,275 --> 02:41:24,235
um, so if, if these are the ones you wanna revise, then I guess, and

2192
02:41:24,535 --> 02:41:28,365
I, I know mr. Coltrane is sitting behind me, , um, then will

2193
02:41:28,655 --> 02:41:32,655
it be okay if we make the further amendment to this page at second

2194
02:41:32,935 --> 02:41:36,915
reading? Right. And that, as I understand your question, you're

2195
02:41:37,235 --> 02:41:41,135
asking if it's a material change because the town council already voted first reading, we

2196
02:41:41,355 --> 02:41:45,235
talked a lot about it or a little bit about it in terms of terminology, but then we

2197
02:41:45,395 --> 02:41:49,035
also saw some opportunity to calibrate based upon your expectations.

2198
02:41:49,975 --> 02:41:52,975
and so we moved the, a couple of those numbers upward.

2199
02:41:54,345 --> 02:41:57,895
it's, it's still, at the end of the day, the same amount of

2200
02:41:58,465 --> 02:42:02,315
dollars in the budget, just a different reserve policy. Is that

2201
02:42:02,555 --> 02:42:06,355
a material change to the budget? Especially because you've already had first reading,

2202
02:42:06,835 --> 02:42:10,715
I believe that is what you're getting to. Yes. And I'm looking at the total,

2203
02:42:11,585 --> 02:42:15,555
it's a little over $6 million, uh, almost $6.6 million difference

2204
02:42:16,075 --> 02:42:19,395
in the total down at the bottom. Um, ,

2205
02:42:22,265 --> 02:42:26,085
you know what I'm talking about? Maybe we don't have these, and I, I'll help curtis with this. We, we, the town council

2206
02:42:26,665 --> 02:42:29,345
in the past has adopted the reserve policy

2207
02:42:30,865 --> 02:42:34,785
as a policy, but attached as an attachment to

2208
02:42:35,025 --> 02:42:38,885
the ordinance. I think it was, it might be exhibit ei can't

2209
02:42:39,205 --> 02:42:42,985
remember, right? Yeah, it was page, it was page four exhibit, but

2210
02:42:43,225 --> 02:42:46,625
it was page four of exhibit e and we went through, um,

2211
02:42:47,315 --> 02:42:51,005
well actually spoke to, to mr. Burr about that a couple of times.

2212
02:42:51,345 --> 02:42:54,985
no, I don't think that what you are proposing to do by the,

2213
02:42:56,065 --> 02:43:00,045
uh, recalibration of the numbers on this amounts to a

2214
02:43:00,405 --> 02:43:03,925
material change between what you have adopted

2215
02:43:04,545 --> 02:43:07,805
on first reading and what will be adopted on second reading.

2216
02:43:08,765 --> 02:43:09,685
I mean the, the gross

2217
02:43:13,185 --> 02:43:17,185
numbers, if I understand mr. Orlando correctly, are actually not changing what

2218
02:43:17,475 --> 02:43:20,755
is changing. There's, uh, the internal calibration of how you get there.

2219
02:43:22,885 --> 02:43:26,635
okay, great. But we'll need to make sure that second reading has

2220
02:43:27,065 --> 02:43:30,975
these new numbers in front of us, okay? Mm-hmm . Thank you for clarity. You will have this,

2221
02:43:31,235 --> 02:43:35,135
but we also have, uh, what, what I would call the guiding policy document,

2222
02:43:35,345 --> 02:43:39,055
which isn't this, you, you've seen that and you've adopted it and it's part of your first reading

2223
02:43:39,445 --> 02:43:43,255
package that will be changed and that's what you're adopting as well.

2224
02:43:43,475 --> 02:43:46,935
so both will be changed. Would it make sense to have that changed

2225
02:43:47,815 --> 02:43:49,725
document for the next workshop? Because,

2226
02:43:52,115 --> 02:43:55,655
and if I understand it correctly, this is in fact still gonna be

2227
02:43:56,205 --> 02:43:59,705
page four of exhibit e. Okay,

2228
02:44:05,035 --> 02:44:08,965
then you, okay. As we were just talking a little bit about

2229
02:44:09,165 --> 02:44:13,005
beach, this is, um, what we are looking at

2230
02:44:13,235 --> 02:44:16,835
between now and 2033 with our revenue streams

2231
02:44:17,345 --> 02:44:21,265
for the beach preservation fee and investment income, less our

2232
02:44:22,475 --> 02:44:26,045
operating expenses, our transfer to the general fund, cip,

2233
02:44:26,565 --> 02:44:29,965
which we have highlighted. 'cause uh, that's still could be

2234
02:44:30,605 --> 02:44:34,585
modified as we go through the time. And then our debt service, which, uh, the

2235
02:44:34,805 --> 02:44:38,565
last payment of that will be in 2033. So there'll be three more million additional

2236
02:44:39,165 --> 02:44:42,965
dollars after that, but it gets us to a very strong fund balance

2237
02:44:43,565 --> 02:44:47,405
position of over a hundred million dollars by 2033. We have

2238
02:44:47,605 --> 02:44:51,605
a step up of what that projected reserve, that's what I was trying to say before to get to 60.

2239
02:44:52,385 --> 02:44:56,285
um, it could go higher than that, but that was just the minimum with other dollars available

2240
02:44:56,905 --> 02:45:00,085
as needed based upon direction for any other capital projects.

2241
02:45:03,275 --> 02:45:06,045
yeah, because one of the reasons why we

2242
02:45:07,715 --> 02:45:11,655
move up to that much is that you don't have any capital projects associated,

2243
02:45:12,665 --> 02:45:15,835
uh, with this. You have our regular maintenance

2244
02:45:16,825 --> 02:45:20,625
and support that we provide, but uh, there's no

2245
02:45:21,375 --> 02:45:25,365
large projects associated in here, so it

2246
02:45:25,525 --> 02:45:28,405
does provide an opportunity to your point, right? Yes, ma'am.

2247
02:45:29,535 --> 02:45:33,465
right. We, we just projected low of 470 of 1.9

2248
02:45:34,385 --> 02:45:38,205
of four 70 and, and I can't see the screen, but I believe it's up, up close

2249
02:45:38,405 --> 02:45:42,365
to $2 million over there. So to your point, there's a little bit of money, but most

2250
02:45:42,605 --> 02:45:46,405
of that would be maintenance, not, uh, a major lift. Like

2251
02:45:46,925 --> 02:45:48,525
we're looking at islanders beach park

2252
02:45:52,565 --> 02:45:55,505
and this is just, uh, the rollup at the end.

2253
02:45:58,705 --> 02:46:02,355
that, that concludes our, our presentation. Okay. Awesome.

2254
02:46:02,855 --> 02:46:05,995
any, uh, last comments, questions from council?

2255
02:46:10,695 --> 02:46:14,675
all right, well, seeing none, um, ms. Becker, do

2256
02:46:14,795 --> 02:46:15,195
you have any comments?

2257
02:46:19,135 --> 02:46:22,915
no, I'm good. I finally got back on and was able to, and I'll

2258
02:46:23,155 --> 02:46:27,155
go back and watch the portion of the meeting that I missed. So I'm good for now,

2259
02:46:27,495 --> 02:46:30,635
but I'll have questions. Okay. Alright. Thank you.

2260
02:46:31,535 --> 02:46:34,475
so, uh, kim, do we have anybody sign up to speak?

2261
02:46:36,615 --> 02:46:40,575
we have two people. Okay. Timer up. Um,

2262
02:46:40,865 --> 02:46:41,215
skip poland.

2263
02:46:46,135 --> 02:46:49,655
he, he actually, we've got, they're, they're both signed up for

2264
02:46:50,935 --> 02:46:52,525
the budget and non agenda items.

2265
02:46:56,065 --> 02:46:59,955
well, this is, this is on the, the, uh, the agenda items. I'm sorry,

2266
02:47:00,115 --> 02:47:03,955
I don't, this is on the agenda item and then we'll do a clock. I, I'll

2267
02:47:04,235 --> 02:47:07,865
just hit my clock. I'll do my clock. Give us just a second, just

2268
02:47:08,305 --> 02:47:10,435
just one moment. Okay, go ahead.

2269
02:47:12,925 --> 02:47:16,515
okay. Alan, do you understand all this?

2270
02:47:17,175 --> 02:47:21,075
and please don't interrupt me again. I'm here today because the taxpayers of

2271
02:47:21,195 --> 02:47:25,115
this town are not getting answers and that needs to change. Let's get straight

2272
02:47:25,215 --> 02:47:28,235
to it. Court and city doge audits are coming.

2273
02:47:29,415 --> 02:47:33,395
who gave the legal opinion that a tax funds can be used the way they are? Name the lawyers

2274
02:47:34,185 --> 02:47:38,115
produce a written opinion or admit it doesn't exist. Who told

2275
02:47:38,315 --> 02:47:41,915
this council it was legal to spend taxpayers money on 600,000 or dr. Harbortown

2276
02:47:43,025 --> 02:47:46,835
500,000 for heritage golf sponsorship. Millions of the chamber

2277
02:47:47,095 --> 02:47:51,035
of commerce and taxpayer funded legal fees for private lawsuits by

2278
02:47:51,195 --> 02:47:54,955
lawyer alfred and terry finger's criminal dmo contract.

2279
02:47:55,945 --> 02:47:59,645
because if there's no valid legal opinion, there are no mistakes. These

2280
02:47:59,995 --> 02:48:03,605
are just knowing violations. While we're multi, multi-year

2281
02:48:04,275 --> 02:48:07,705
multimillion dollar dmo chamber contracts have proved that violate 5 0 1

2282
02:48:08,315 --> 02:48:11,925
dash c six tax laws, south carolina, a tax code south carolina

2283
02:48:13,115 --> 02:48:16,915
constitutional law that prohibits the use of public money for private benefit

2284
02:48:17,375 --> 02:48:21,065
and profits. Why is a tax funded chamber and other non-profits

2285
02:48:21,755 --> 02:48:25,635
operating like private businesses, selling ads, no business business license

2286
02:48:26,325 --> 02:48:30,195
generating revenue, committing tax evasion, and refusing to disclose where

2287
02:48:30,435 --> 02:48:34,275
the money goes? Where are the full financial reports? Where are the profit reports?

2288
02:48:34,905 --> 02:48:38,475
where's the transparency required by law? Why do town officials

2289
02:48:38,975 --> 02:48:42,585
use taxpayer money to join the chamber, attend the chamber ball party? There's

2290
02:48:43,075 --> 02:48:46,755
a direct conflict of interest. Public funds should not be used for private memberships.

2291
02:48:48,495 --> 02:48:52,415
why are the foer requests violated, denied and incomplete? Transparency is

2292
02:48:52,635 --> 02:48:56,555
not optional. It's a law. Why are town lawyers drafting approving

2293
02:48:57,035 --> 02:49:01,015
illegal contracts that benefit private entities? Why taxpayers pay for

2294
02:49:01,235 --> 02:49:04,555
it? Who was overseeing them? Why are the legal fees outta control

2295
02:49:05,695 --> 02:49:09,605
lawyer malpractice and criminal contract fraud by coltrane? Who should

2296
02:49:09,845 --> 02:49:13,745
be sued? This is simple to stop. Follow the

2297
02:49:13,965 --> 02:49:17,865
money, show the documents, name the people responsible. If you cannot do

2298
02:49:18,085 --> 02:49:22,005
that, then you're not governing your protecting. A system is broken. I'm calling

2299
02:49:22,265 --> 02:49:26,125
for immediate action. Full public disclosure of all financial records, all legal

2300
02:49:26,365 --> 02:49:30,265
opinions released to the public independent cpa, uh,

2301
02:49:30,665 --> 02:49:34,025
uh, city doge audits and budgets and year end year-end audits,

2302
02:49:34,845 --> 02:49:38,715
a complete review of a tax and dmo contracts and lawyers law laws,

2303
02:49:39,425 --> 02:49:43,135
the taxpayers are watching and this is not going away. Last perry,

2304
02:49:43,705 --> 02:49:47,595
you said you saw millions of tax receipts and invoices with the chamber and bill miles, including

2305
02:49:48,205 --> 02:49:51,795
canada. Where are they? This is criminal fraud. Alex brown

2306
02:49:52,485 --> 02:49:56,465
must be removed from finance committee and replaced by cpa. How

2307
02:49:56,685 --> 02:49:59,165
will you all respond under oath? In your deposition of risk of perjury?

2308
02:50:02,195 --> 02:50:05,905
sue coltrane and replace him with a free ai lawyer robot

2309
02:50:06,275 --> 02:50:09,935
to sit in his seat. That's free and honest. No one escapes

2310
02:50:10,575 --> 02:50:14,405
forensic audits by the fbi and many are handcuffed and y'all need to prepare for this episode.

2311
02:50:14,985 --> 02:50:18,605
thank you very much, mr. Busy.

2312
02:50:25,205 --> 02:50:29,115
good evening, richard. Busy indigo run. I want to begin today where I left off

2313
02:50:29,355 --> 02:50:33,295
on tuesday, uh, before the mayor abruptly cut me off. I

2314
02:50:33,415 --> 02:50:37,385
had clearly stated that I had one final comment, but the mayor chose to bang his gavel

2315
02:50:37,735 --> 02:50:41,615
and order me to sit down. What I was trying to say was this, while

2316
02:50:41,935 --> 02:50:45,895
it's commendable that the proposed budget does not increase the millage rate, that's

2317
02:50:46,215 --> 02:50:49,995
only half the equation. I heard what ms. Tanner said. But

2318
02:50:50,435 --> 02:50:53,935
if the millage rate remains at 19.4 and your

2319
02:50:54,535 --> 02:50:57,855
property capped value increases, your taxes would increase.

2320
02:50:58,555 --> 02:51:02,335
and keep in mind the next assessment, which I believe is two years down the road,

2321
02:51:02,955 --> 02:51:06,875
uh, your taxes would increase by as much as 15% with no

2322
02:51:07,205 --> 02:51:10,805
mill rate increase. The goal of the town council

2323
02:51:11,345 --> 02:51:15,165
should be to decrease taxes. Remember in 1983, we were

2324
02:51:15,385 --> 02:51:19,085
set up as a limited government. A statement from

2325
02:51:19,395 --> 02:51:23,365
tuesday's meeting, uh, got my attention. Alex brown talked about

2326
02:51:23,605 --> 02:51:27,285
how the budget process had changed and he proudly stated that there's

2327
02:51:27,785 --> 02:51:31,445
no more horse trading at the dais. But perhaps that's because

2328
02:51:32,035 --> 02:51:35,685
this town council conducts business behind closed doors through what

2329
02:51:36,085 --> 02:51:39,725
I believe are illegal. Two by two meetings, the town manager

2330
02:51:40,145 --> 02:51:44,065
and the mayor meet privately with two council members at a time to discuss the

2331
02:51:44,285 --> 02:51:48,255
budget, followed by additional meetings with different council members. These

2332
02:51:48,605 --> 02:51:52,005
rolling quorums are designed to avoid public scrutiny.

2333
02:51:53,165 --> 02:51:57,165
I know that these secret backdoor meetings, they've been going on for years and in

2334
02:51:57,325 --> 02:52:01,045
fact, my rep tammy becker, believes they're legal and anyone who

2335
02:52:01,445 --> 02:52:04,725
questions them is just plain wrong. In fact, she's openly participated

2336
02:52:05,465 --> 02:52:09,365
in these secret meetings as all of you have, becker believes

2337
02:52:09,765 --> 02:52:13,645
they're normal, and that way you can advocate for the things you want and fight

2338
02:52:13,925 --> 02:52:17,885
things you don't agree with. But all of this takes place in private, out of

2339
02:52:18,045 --> 02:52:21,965
the public view. So while some believe horse trading of the past

2340
02:52:22,305 --> 02:52:26,085
is ended, I suspect it has simply moved behind closed doors.

2341
02:52:26,945 --> 02:52:30,245
and many of you have praised the budget process as transparent.

2342
02:52:32,445 --> 02:52:36,115
I believe the opposite is true. All of the questions I raised tuesday

2343
02:52:36,695 --> 02:52:39,725
night, that to me, one of the most important remains unanswered.

2344
02:52:40,795 --> 02:52:44,485
does the town used zero based budgeting or does it simply

2345
02:52:44,945 --> 02:52:48,915
add to the previous year's budget? I've sent all my questions to mr. Orlando

2346
02:52:49,745 --> 02:52:53,725
and the town council tuesday night as I promised, but no responses so far.

2347
02:52:54,385 --> 02:52:58,295
and the issue of government is spending at the federal level, the state level,

2348
02:52:58,865 --> 02:53:02,665
and the town level. This town council should explore any

2349
02:53:03,065 --> 02:53:06,125
and all ways to decrease spending. Thank you.

2350
02:53:07,755 --> 02:53:11,655
thank you, kim. That's all we have on the budget. Okay,

2351
02:53:12,005 --> 02:53:15,665
so now we move on to non agenda items. Mr. Hoagland,

2352
02:53:22,525 --> 02:53:26,325
uh, skip hoagland, windmill harbor, running for honest watchdog mayor for

2353
02:53:26,545 --> 02:53:30,185
all taxpayers. The town lawyers for the last 40 years has severely

2354
02:53:30,665 --> 02:53:34,185
violated our community. They have committed criminal dmo contract fraud and malpractice

2355
02:53:35,505 --> 02:53:39,215
approved the illegal use of millions of tax funds like the 600,000 to dredge harbor town

2356
02:53:40,045 --> 02:53:44,025
and worse criminal used tax funds for their private pockets and clients. They also

2357
02:53:44,285 --> 02:53:48,185
use a job to profit their private practices and lawyer friends. The town

2358
02:53:48,365 --> 02:53:52,225
has violated procurement laws for the last 40 years. No opportunity for local lawyers

2359
02:53:52,925 --> 02:53:56,345
who pay taxes here and allowing the same corrupt lawyers to control our legal

2360
02:53:56,945 --> 02:54:00,695
services with our compromised town managers, internal cpas

2361
02:54:01,165 --> 02:54:04,945
and outside audit firms. Also, legal fees buried in the public

2362
02:54:05,215 --> 02:54:09,015
view in our budgets as as as mayor with a city doge.

2363
02:54:09,525 --> 02:54:13,385
all legal services and contracts will be reviewed by independent local volunteer

2364
02:54:14,455 --> 02:54:18,345
cpas serving on the city doge finance committee. And this will end all the

2365
02:54:18,465 --> 02:54:22,175
legal abuse. No more illegal contracts, no more malpractice

2366
02:54:23,165 --> 02:54:26,855
and no more illegal funding by the lawyers of this town council abusing

2367
02:54:27,825 --> 02:54:31,545
taxpayers. You serve ms. Becker. Mr. Perry, you understand this.

2368
02:54:31,925 --> 02:54:35,865
please stop your illegal votes. New lawyer you choose.

2369
02:54:36,175 --> 02:54:39,985
must be foremost honest. Take a town oath to follow all laws including state

2370
02:54:40,305 --> 02:54:44,145
and federal that prevail over local, especially when outside lawyers present

2371
02:54:44,625 --> 02:54:48,585
hard evidence to stop the new hired lawyer using this town job to profit

2372
02:54:48,845 --> 02:54:52,785
his private practice and his law per partners and friends, we need to hire a young

2373
02:54:52,945 --> 02:54:56,825
in-house lawyer, paid an ai recommended salary. This needs to

2374
02:54:56,985 --> 02:55:00,705
be a hilton head resident lawyer that has his community best interest in mind

2375
02:55:01,205 --> 02:55:05,205
and pays taxes here with ai. Legal answers, legal fees will be

2376
02:55:05,325 --> 02:55:08,705
reduced. I don't even use lawyers that much myself. 90%

2377
02:55:09,485 --> 02:55:13,365
of the time I use ai. So we all have to, we so we will have

2378
02:55:13,605 --> 02:55:17,325
an honest ai robot lawyer sitting in curtis coltrane's chair

2379
02:55:18,155 --> 02:55:21,445
that will answer every legal question this counsel wants to know for free

2380
02:55:22,675 --> 02:55:26,465
soon. Ai will eliminate both lawyers needs for judges, juries, and

2381
02:55:26,685 --> 02:55:30,685
decide most cases in a few minutes based on laws and facts, not emotions,

2382
02:55:31,125 --> 02:55:34,725
assumptions or failed weaponized legal, judicial, and political system.

2383
02:55:35,545 --> 02:55:39,405
curtis coltrane should be sued for his legal advice and his malpractice insurance

2384
02:55:39,845 --> 02:55:43,765
company paid the 600,000, the overcharged legal fees and ex

2385
02:55:44,065 --> 02:55:47,725
and explained these in the island packets explained these in the island packet

2386
02:55:48,445 --> 02:55:52,245
provided. This includes lawyer albert and, uh, coltrane's firm law partner

2387
02:55:52,865 --> 02:55:56,645
who robbed this community blind of 200,000 and fraud. Terry fingers'

2388
02:55:57,205 --> 02:56:01,205
firm, uh, drafted the illegal dmo contract. He is

2389
02:56:01,365 --> 02:56:05,285
corrupt and he is not qualified to apply to be the new town lawyer. If you do it,

2390
02:56:05,465 --> 02:56:09,045
I'm gonna get on you hard, harder than you've ever seen. Stop the corruption.

2391
02:56:10,115 --> 02:56:12,995
stop it, richard. Fizzy.

2392
02:56:15,095 --> 02:56:18,755
that's all we have. Alright, thank you. So we are adjourned.

2393
02:56:19,115 --> 02:56:19,995
thanks for everybody being here tonight.

2394
02:56:48,815 --> 02:56:50,615
thanks for watching bc tv.

2395
02:57:02,035 --> 02:57:05,875
I am memory campbell and this is beauford county moments. I want

2396
02:57:06,075 --> 02:57:09,545
to talk a little bit about food today. The food

2397
02:57:10,615 --> 02:57:14,435
has been a great part of our life in terms of gathering

2398
02:57:15,065 --> 02:57:18,935
food and preparing them. Our food is

2399
02:57:19,165 --> 02:57:22,905
based on the land and the sea. The land food

2400
02:57:23,215 --> 02:57:27,045
has always been rice. We don't feel we have eaten dinner unless we've

2401
02:57:27,395 --> 02:57:30,715
had rice. Rice was mixed with

2402
02:57:31,705 --> 02:57:35,475
various items from the sea, like oysters or shrimp.

2403
02:57:36,575 --> 02:57:40,495
and when they're cooked with rice in one pot, we call it a rice or

2404
02:57:40,715 --> 02:57:44,635
shrimp or an oyster perlow. And then we have

2405
02:57:44,795 --> 02:57:48,725
the watermelons and the sweet potatoes. Sweet

2406
02:57:49,355 --> 02:57:53,085
potatoes was always eaten with fish and fresh

2407
02:57:53,465 --> 02:57:57,055
fish with gravy and a sweet potato. There is nothing better.

2408
02:57:59,785 --> 02:58:02,765
okra has always been a very important part of our food ways.

2409
02:58:04,345 --> 02:58:07,885
we, we, we raise them as well as we prepare them

2410
02:58:09,115 --> 02:58:13,085
with shrimp and tomatoes. And some people would call that

2411
02:58:13,365 --> 02:58:17,035
a gumbo. And that's what exactly what it is. Okra,

2412
02:58:17,815 --> 02:58:20,565
gumbo. And so

2413
02:58:21,855 --> 02:58:25,485
enjoy the food of the low country because it's been

2414
02:58:25,995 --> 02:58:29,925
very much a part of our history. This is emery

2415
02:58:30,245 --> 02:58:33,125
campbell. This has been your beaufort county moment.

2416
02:58:36,385 --> 02:58:40,245
to see more beaufort county moments go to the beaufort county library homepage and click

2417
02:58:40,445 --> 02:58:41,345
on the local history tab.