[0:07] >> Good morning. I will call

[0:10] our budget work session to

[0:11] order. Happy Friday to

[0:14] everyone. And I'll turn it over

[0:17] to Jay Chapa.

[0:18] >> Good morning, everyone.

[0:20] So you should have received

[0:20] an e-mail last night with

[0:23] budget responses from Tuesday.

[0:24] The information that we hope we

[0:27] covered the information the

[0:29] council asked for.

[0:29] One of the hearing, a second on

[0:30] the nas brave to come up and

[0:33] go through the presentation is

[0:34] put together the overall impact

[0:36] to our ratepayers and

[0:39] taxpayers. From the individual

[0:40] fees. But one of the items in

[0:43] the budget responses, the list

[0:45] of

[0:48] services that council read up

[0:52] on Tuesday concerns about the

[0:52] cuts in the impacts. And asked,

[0:53] allowed to work with the

[0:56] individual department heads

[0:59] to come together to put.

[1:01] What it would look like to

[1:01] bring back positions that are

[1:02] being impacted are programs

[1:04] that are being impacted to

[1:05] lessen the services. That's in

[1:08] your budget response. Boak.

[1:09] But the response you received

[1:12] and I just laid out your spot.

[1:17] Cost the equivalent for each of

[1:17] those areas along with the

[1:21] tax rate equivalent. If the

[1:23] the desire was to increase the

[1:24] tax rate. So the tax rate

[1:28] equivalent for each of those

[1:29] items the total one of the

[1:30] things that I did include that

[1:30] then come on Tuesday. But I've

[1:33] had several council members

[1:34] bring up to me. Was pay for

[1:38] performance or general

[1:39] employees.

[1:42] And so we included that this

[1:43] would be still having to start

[1:47] have made here. But it be 4 and

[1:49] a half percent.

[1:50] Average for everyone, not

[1:51] executive below assistant

[1:54] director and a 4% versus

[1:55] indirect or not.

[1:58] This, what's the equipment and

[1:58] hear what had included that

[2:00] for you? So you could see what

[2:02] the impact is there. But with

[2:03] that, I'm gonna as Brady come

[2:06] up and go through his

[2:09] presentation.

[2:13] >> Good morning, mayor and

[2:14] council Brady Kirk says

[2:17] director with the Fort Worth

[2:20] lab. So on Tuesday we gave you

[2:21] a very, very long report that

[2:22] included all of the fees which

[2:24] were recommended to change in

[2:26] Fy 27. But today we're coming

[2:29] to you with a much shorter and

[2:32] more focused overview of just

[2:33] those fees and rates. Which

[2:35] impact every resident that

[2:38] lives in the city. And be on

[2:38] property taxes. It's really

[2:40] a short list. So we're only

[2:42] talking about the storm water

[2:46] fee. Water and wastewater

[2:49] rates. Solid waste rates and

[2:50] the environmental fee.

[2:54] And then at the end go through

[2:54] those and how that's going to

[2:55] affect the total cost to

[2:56] residents on annual or monthly

[3:00] basis. I'll give you one quick

[3:00] summaries well of any other

[3:04] fees, depending on which city

[3:04] services resident chooses to

[3:07] engage with, they might have

[3:10] to pay.

[3:14] Starting with property taxes.

[3:16] I think you seen this these

[3:18] figures many times already.

[3:20] But within the recommended

[3:23] budget, there's a 3.2% increase

[3:28] to the tax rate, which is about

[3:29] 5%. And that 5% tax rate

[3:32] increase since that's smaller

[3:33] than the amount we've lost on

[3:36] the taxable value of an average

[3:38] home. That means that on

[3:39] average homeowner in the city

[3:43] would pay less to the city in

[3:45] Fy 27 in fy. 26. So that amount

[3:49] is about $16 and $0.69 per

[3:49] year. And not that people pay

[3:52] their property taxes on a

[3:52] monthly basis. But if if you

[3:57] break that up over 12, that's

[4:00] about. $1.39 per month. So that

[4:05] a one percent decrease.

[4:06] The storm water fee. We showed

[4:11] you in JUNE that we are

[4:12] recommending 85% that fee and

[4:14] that's to help fund some flood

[4:19] mitigation projects. Increase

[4:20] Capital Project Partnership

[4:21] participation and Channel last

[4:24] it management position. And

[4:27] so that 5% increase is going

[4:29] to be $0.36 for a typical home

[4:30] on the monthly water bill.

[4:32] And if you spread that out of

[4:35] the year, that's about $4 and

[4:42] $0.32

[4:42] And moving into water and sewer

[4:45] rates. So on the water side.

[4:48] There's a about a 5% increase

[4:52] to the fixed monthly charge.

[4:54] But this year there's no

[4:55] increase to the volumetric rate

[4:57] and that is for the cost of

[5:00] service. So. Really, for all

[5:01] these funds. After the property

[5:03] tax. None of these are general

[5:07] fund fees. So for water storm

[5:08] water, all the others.

[5:08] The revenue that they are and

[5:11] pays for the service itself.

[5:12] And so this like the other ones

[5:16] is is to pay for the cost of

[5:18] service. So on the water side,

[5:19] only that's about $0.70 per

[5:22] month to an average homeowner.

[5:27] Dollars and $0.45 per year,

[5:30] which is less than 2%.

[5:33] And on the wastewater side.

[5:37] There's a similar increase.

[5:40] Closer to 6% on the fixed

[5:41] charge. And then there is a

[5:43] small less than one percent

[5:47] increase to a typical homeowner

[5:48] on the volumetric rate. So

[5:52] those 2 combined would be about

[5:53] $0.63 per month or 7.50, per

[5:57] year, which is very similar,

[6:00] a little bit less than 2%.

[6:04] On solid waste. It's a little

[6:07] bit larger cause we're focusing

[6:07] on.

[6:09] The long-term outlook at this

[6:11] fund. And we've talked to you

[6:12] about whether or not the

[6:14] current solid waste rates that

[6:16] people are paying are really

[6:17] enough to pay holistically for

[6:19] the service that they're

[6:19] getting in. That service

[6:23] includes long-term capital

[6:25] planning. So.

[6:28] This is a recommended 20% to a

[6:29] typical household with a 96

[6:33] gallon cart that the $5.15 per

[6:36] month. Which is a little bit

[6:41] less than $62 annually.

[6:42] And then finally, the

[6:43] environmental fee, which is

[6:47] a another funds separate from

[6:48] the solid waste fund. On this

[6:52] front. We're recommending about

[6:53] an 11% That's one quarter per

[6:56] month and $3 per year to

[7:00] typical household.

[7:07] So when you sum that all up,

[7:08] you can compare that to city

[7:10] managers recommended tax rate

[7:13] of 70.2 cents. But also take

[7:13] into account how the taxable

[7:16] value of a typical home has

[7:18] fallen. You've got about a one

[7:21] percent decrease to the

[7:22] property tax bill, which is

[7:23] more than half of the whole

[7:26] equation. The typical homeowner

[7:29] is going to be paying. And a

[7:31] 6.6% increased to what people

[7:31] are going to be paying on

[7:35] average on that monthly water

[7:35] bill. And what it all shakes

[7:38] out to is a little bit less

[7:39] than a.

[7:44] 2% increased annually. So

[7:45] that's $5.70 per month that the

[7:48] typical household might see.

[7:49] And a little bit more than $68

[7:52] over the course of the year.

[8:01] And moving into other fees.

[8:02] These are not fees. The typical

[8:05] person would pay in the course

[8:06] there are daily lives, but

[8:09] out of that 150 pages,

[8:10] probably.

[8:11] 100 and something was just

[8:14] development fees because

[8:17] there's so many development

[8:18] permits. So the development

[8:21] services department is

[8:22] instituting about 5% on average

[8:25] across the board fee increase.

[8:28] And due to rounding or whether

[8:29] there are specific cost

[8:30] recovery consideration. Some

[8:33] of these mining increased by a

[8:34] little bit more than 5%.

[8:36] But the good news is that this

[8:39] increase was done with the

[8:40] support of the Development

[8:41] Advisory committee and the Real

[8:41] Estate Council with whom

[8:44] Deejays Department works very

[8:47] closely.

[8:48] And these aren't 100% only in

[8:51] development services. They also

[8:52] there are development fees that

[8:52] other departments collect.

[8:54] So, for example, there's a fire

[8:57] alarm permanent that the fire

[8:59] department, Lex. But these are

[9:03] not something that a resident

[9:03] would pay normally. Maybe if

[9:06] you are buying a brand-new

[9:06] built house, this might affect

[9:09] you. If you're doing a major

[9:10] home repair.

[9:13] But I talked to dj and he said

[9:16] that on a typical home, this 5%

[9:17] across the board increase.

[9:17] Would affect the cost of a

[9:22] newly built home by less than

[9:22] $100. So out of hundreds of

[9:25] thousands, that's a very small

[9:29] portion that cost.

[9:33] And then getting into some

[9:33] other fees which residents MAY

[9:37] pay if they want to use the

[9:39] services. A lot of the balance

[9:41] of the fee increases were in

[9:42] golf just because they had so

[9:42] many categories for the very

[9:48] services that they provide.

[9:48] So for the first one where

[9:49] parks and recreation overall is

[9:51] what I meant to say for the

[9:52] first one is golf. And that's

[9:56] an increase to the junior past

[9:57] fee. In golf. Just like those

[9:58] other funds. We talked about

[10:01] water, storm water. That's the

[10:02] fun where.

[10:03] The revenues that the Gulf and

[10:06] collects pays for the cost.

[10:09] Golf services. So this is just

[10:10] cost recovery. These other

[10:13] categories would be in the

[10:15] general fund. So for community

[10:15] centers, there's a lot of fees

[10:19] increasing. There's a lot of

[10:19] fees decreasing. It's part of

[10:20] the study the department did.

[10:22] And just overall streamlining

[10:25] these and trying to make it a

[10:27] little bit more efficient and

[10:29] straightforward and then some

[10:30] similar changes to the other

[10:33] services. So the Log Cabin

[10:34] Village, for example. The

[10:35] nature center, if you want to

[10:37] have a birthday party, one of

[10:38] our community centers or if

[10:39] you're taking part in athletic

[10:42] league, some of those might

[10:44] have gone. It.

[10:46] Before we leave this and I want

[10:47] to throw you off your pace if

[10:49] you prefer to take questions.

[10:51] At the end, I making notes.

[10:52] >> But on the other fee

[10:56] increase categories, I do want

[10:57] to get some more detail as far

[11:01] as the increase of junior past

[11:01] fees and how that impacts

[11:04] clumps. And right now we've got

[11:05] first team down there. We also

[11:07] have a high school days clubs

[11:09] that come in. They're rely on

[11:11] Rockwood, for instance, my

[11:14] council district 2. Your

[11:14] practice or programs Reiser.

[11:17] And I know in the past they

[11:19] have a told me and I

[11:22] communicated this to to Dave

[11:23] Lewis as well.

[11:24] They're concerned, you know,

[11:26] about the fees and now we're

[11:27] proposing an I'm wondering what

[11:29] kind of effect that's going to

[11:30] have on them.

[11:33] >> Nast data company already

[11:35] is.

[11:37] Good Morning Council Dave

[11:38] Lewis, director Park and

[11:39] Recreation. Yeah, really.

[11:42] There's a few things going on

[11:44] there. So we as with all fees,

[11:45] we benchmark coffees in each

[11:48] fall in order to prepare fee

[11:50] changes.

[11:50] With the junior few. We found

[11:52] that there are only 2 other

[11:53] municipalities are courses near

[11:55] road courses in our vicinity.

[11:56] That even offer a junior

[11:57] passed. And like with all of

[11:58] our fees, we strive to be the

[12:01] median for that. And so raising

[12:03] that he gets median first, he

[12:05] has its own feet in the range.

[12:05] And do we have with the

[12:07] construction of the building?

[12:08] We also through near local

[12:09] green that we offer isd.

[12:10] He's a special rate as well.

[12:13] Some of them were taking

[12:15] advantage of the junior golf

[12:17] annual pass because it is much

[12:17] lower. Then the fee that we

[12:21] offer them as a discount to be

[12:23] on the course. But really the

[12:24] the increase in the junior

[12:25] annual past. We should not

[12:25] affect either the first he or I

[12:28] see because we have special

[12:31] pricing for them.

[12:37] >> Talk about

[12:39] >> fees for the increase for

[12:41] birthday parties that it has

[12:42] that risen substantially are.

[12:46] >> Yeah, I think birthday

[12:46] parties are mostly at forward.

[12:48] They've sent a refuge where

[12:48] they actually didn't have a

[12:49] birthday party fee before Fs

[12:51] a few men. Tulsa, lot of this

[12:52] is just clean up. We want to

[12:55] for fees are in accordance with

[12:57] the ordinance. So it's just

[13:00] cleaning up what we do changing

[13:01] the title of some things.

[13:03] But again, it's all

[13:03] benchmarking and community

[13:05] centers log Cabin Village, 4th

[13:05] data center, the benchmark, all

[13:06] their fees against similar

[13:08] facilities in the region and

[13:09] across the state.

[13:12] >> Can you send us the new

[13:15] rate?

[13:15] Is it somewhere gets in the

[13:16] packzi that 2 days ago with

[13:17] okay these nights and that

[13:23] separately 271 page. Yes, it's

[13:24] a good thing. That's the

[13:26] 400 page. Okay. Yeah. Just just

[13:27] for the I want to make sure

[13:29] when we talk about the fees

[13:30] that are changing at the nature

[13:30] center.

[13:34] >> Is that is that include the

[13:34] non resident and increase and

[13:37] fees or did we talk about that?

[13:38] Is that having no?

[13:40] >> Yeah, we have not. We've

[13:42] changed a number of fees, but

[13:43] we avoided a non resident few

[13:44] because it is a tourism

[13:46] facilities. We do. We want to

[13:46] make sure they're in a case

[13:48] that attracted to people who

[13:51] don't live in the city to city.

[13:52] >> But we are the and the

[13:55] Veterans Free Access. Okay.

[13:58] Thank you.

[14:00] >> Ready, I don't think you

[14:01] got to it yet or maybe barely

[14:02] mentioned at the fire

[14:02] department lift assist. I know

[14:03] that's been a topic from

[14:06] several council members.

[14:07] So I don't know. It said if she

[14:08] forton tear anybody wants to

[14:11] speak to that decision, that

[14:15] would be helpful.

[14:17] >> I think you're going to get

[14:18] Christine's in more detail on

[14:20] that of public safety Committee

[14:21] near future.

[14:21] >> We didn't have a fee.

[14:25] So we wanted to include a fi Yi

[14:26] where where that forward and so

[14:27] that the public Safety

[14:30] committee was going to get a

[14:30] full presentation on that.

[14:31] To see if they want to

[14:33] recommend lifting the Senate

[14:35] even more what you want to do

[14:35] it going forward. But when will

[14:38] that briefing happened on

[14:41] public safety? The beauty and

[14:42] SEPTEMBER.

[14:45] Its next It would. And I guess

[14:47] I'm just backing up in time.

[14:48] Is that going to be before

[14:49] these decisions are made the

[14:51] budget? So we're not going over

[14:51] increasing more me on 7.50, or

[14:52] not. Yes, we should be able

[14:52] to and just then make the

[14:56] amendment for the budget

[14:57] ordinance. Okay.

[15:00] Cuts were larger to a speech

[15:01] that Al, you're welcome to.

[15:02] I don't know that the more for

[15:04] it. And just to go ahead and

[15:04] just skip public safety

[15:05] committee altogether does bring

[15:06] us to go to work. And then as

[15:07] mayor and council for decision

[15:09] because I'm pretty sure that's

[15:09] something we can.

[15:10] >> We're all going to be up to

[15:10] get behind because it's

[15:12] something that's been needed

[15:15] for quite some time to question

[15:16] on the amount. So staff are

[15:17] recommending the 7.50, but we

[15:18] want to take it to you all to

[15:19] see if you guys wanted to make

[15:19] it even higher.

[15:21] >> And that is public safety

[15:23] committee and it will it'll

[15:24] be whatever the committee

[15:27] recommends will add that into

[15:28] the budget ordinance that gets

[15:29] approved. And then from there

[15:29] after that after because they

[15:30] didn't want it to work session

[15:32] or from just re district budget

[15:33] that straight to the budget.

[15:35] Whatever recommendation will

[15:36] put it in today as a budget

[15:37] recommendation, you know, going

[15:37] straight into the ordinance,

[15:38] it'll get approved and they'll

[15:40] be the new fee. Whatever's most

[15:41] remind process to get that.

[15:42] Yeah. That sounds great to have

[15:44] you back. Comes on. The council

[15:46] brought it up.

[15:47] >> Related to this on the next

[15:48] slide. We have the ms fee

[15:49] increase at an existing fee.

[15:51] So would that be also taken

[15:53] on by the Public Safety

[15:56] Committee of errors as well for

[15:59] yeah. Yeah. I think that can be

[16:02] discussed as well. Right?

[16:05] Thank you. Cross an awesome.

[16:09] I both points for me.

[16:09] >> Next one, the municipal

[16:11] court fees. So there are some

[16:14] new fees that involve civil

[16:16] parking. There's a a technology

[16:17] fee to support that in and one

[16:20] of the one related civil

[16:23] parking. And there's a an

[16:24] increase to the booth fee.

[16:25] These are city services.

[16:27] You do not want to engage with.

[16:31] If you can avoid it. And then

[16:32] credit card fees. Last year

[16:33] we authorize the city to let

[16:35] vendors just pass those fees

[16:38] directly on to end users.

[16:39] So instead of

[16:40] taking them is revenue paying

[16:42] them out of our own pocket.

[16:43] We're just letting the end

[16:44] users pay for those. So we

[16:47] authorized 2 and a half percent

[16:49] last year because that was

[16:50] enough for existing city

[16:52] vendors. There's a couple

[16:53] vendors that. If we were going

[16:54] to passes on, there would be a

[16:57] little bit higher than 2%.

[16:58] So we're recommending.

[16:59] Giving authority to go up to

[17:02] the statewide maximum, which is

[17:05] 5%.

[17:05] And then finally be on the

[17:08] solid waste, monthly charges

[17:11] that you saw. There are a few

[17:12] extra fees on there. If you

[17:12] have something like an

[17:15] overloaded cart, there's an

[17:16] extra charge for that bags

[17:16] outside the card. I think

[17:19] that's the one where we had.

[17:20] Something funny, like 12 of

[17:23] them in the whole city and all

[17:24] year. But that is going to and

[17:25] then nothing out trips to where

[17:28] if you've requested, pick up

[17:28] and then you're not there for

[17:31] them to come get it, that he is

[17:32] increasing as well.

[17:34] >> Brady, do you know what the

[17:35] actual collection charges for a

[17:37] credit card company? What

[17:39] percentage?

[17:41] >> So for ours.

[17:43] >> Are you talking about the

[17:44] there?

[17:44] >> On what they're passing on

[17:47] us. And we're not gonna pass on

[17:49] to customers. Typically it's

[17:51] 3%, but they're so last year

[17:55] the council approved us

[17:56] allowing a direct charge.

[17:58] A pass to so that when a person

[18:00] pays the they pay with a credit

[18:01] card, they would pay that fee,

[18:01] whether it's 2% to have actual

[18:04] feeds, not an upcharge it off

[18:06] in the city. The issue is not

[18:07] all our systems or other

[18:07] systems. Again, are getting

[18:10] upgraded. And we have some.

[18:12] The vendor charges. More than

[18:15] 3% up to 5%. Sometimes 3 and

[18:16] a half. So we're having to

[18:19] cover the difference. So we're

[18:20] just trying to get.

[18:21] Requests be made whole

[18:22] completely basically making the

[18:24] money just to be a baby.

[18:24] And so it's it's just the

[18:26] actual cost. Some of them are

[18:29] 4%. That's what we have.

[18:30] Multiple vendors.

[18:33] On the system's. It's a it's

[18:33] like

[18:34] you have a different vendor,

[18:35] for instance, on the water

[18:38] side, then you have. On the

[18:39] city said you don't do because

[18:42] of the system's the types of

[18:44] systems that are used.

[18:45] >> Just to understand. So

[18:47] you're saying a flat fee of

[18:49] 5%, no matter which system

[18:51] they're accessing. Our do know

[18:52] it will be a charge. The will

[18:54] be charges stated with the with

[18:54] the system. Exactly. And and

[18:55] all of them. We went up to 5%

[18:58] because we don't have any that

[18:58] are well state doesn't let us

[18:59] go to 5% were just trying to be

[19:02] made whole from the city side.

[19:05] I think that's okay.

[19:11] >> Any questions or comments

[19:13] on the summary if Ian rates

[19:17] right now, yes, cause before

[19:18] >> I do forget which one it

[19:18] was. I think I know the answer

[19:19] to this, but I just want to

[19:23] confirmation solid waste charge

[19:25] slide 6. There's a nasty note

[19:28] based on typical home using

[19:29] 96 gallon cart.

[19:30] Does that also inclusive of

[19:32] the recycling Curtis? Well,

[19:36] yes, sir. Thank you. That's it.

[19:43] Everybody gets recycled part

[19:43] with that.

[19:47] First and second because the

[19:48] 96 cart, you know, our size

[19:48] rather, I mean, you have an

[19:51] option to upgrade to a larger.

[19:56] Council. Looks like you also

[19:56] have updated budget responses

[19:57] in your packet. If we want to

[19:58] have Christian walk through

[20:00] those that might be helpful.

[20:03] >> Sure thing. Good morning,

[20:05] mayor and council Christine

[20:06] Simmons with the 4th lab.

[20:08] So just 3 budget responses in

[20:09] your packet last night. The

[20:10] first is an updated version of

[20:13] the vacancy, eliminations and

[20:14] freezes budget response.

[20:16] Adding in the column for the

[20:17] total team personnel and the

[20:19] number of those positions that

[20:20] occur across the department

[20:21] now as unresponsive

[20:22] Councilmember Flores's

[20:24] question, maybe others about,

[20:26] you know, what kind of team

[20:27] strength is left. If we do

[20:27] eliminate or freeze a position.

[20:31] So that date is there for you.

[20:32] The second budget response is

[20:36] about gas lease revenue gas

[20:37] while revenue outlines the

[20:39] policy and our typical process

[20:40] for appropriating those funds

[20:41] and a little bit of the history

[20:42] of kind of what the order of

[20:45] magnitude of those funds has

[20:48] looked like.

[20:50] And then the 3rd budget

[20:51] response is the one that Jay

[20:52] mentioned where we worked with

[20:53] a couple of select departments

[20:56] based on your questions Tuesday

[20:58] to ask them, you know, with

[20:58] it with judiciously, like what

[21:02] positions would you add back?

[21:04] Knowing we're balancing the

[21:04] budget, but really looking

[21:06] again at the service level

[21:08] impacts for the programs that

[21:09] has asked about and that we've

[21:11] been hearing sort of similar

[21:15] themes in the community

[21:18] meetings. And so you'll see

[21:19] Code Development Services,

[21:20] Library, parks and recreation

[21:22] and transportation and public

[21:23] works. Each of those directors

[21:24] and staff sort over the last

[21:24] couple of days to say if I

[21:27] could add something back here

[21:28] is what it would be. And then

[21:29] the 4th lab staff layered and

[21:31] some serviceable impacts that

[21:33] we gathered from the

[21:33] departments and we produce the

[21:35] handout that you have, which

[21:36] is the tax rate equivalent of

[21:37] adding those back so that you

[21:40] can kind of have this menu in

[21:41] front of you and say, you know,

[21:41] these are really important

[21:44] things and know how that would

[21:46] affect the tax rate. And again,

[21:47] the one item that's not

[21:50] >> written up as the pay for

[21:53] performance fees.

[21:55] And the total all the items

[21:56] would be impacted. 0.3, 6, 4,

[21:58] 3, 9, 1, which would still put

[22:01] the average bill lesson.

[22:01] The current year's bill.

[22:05] But it basically lessons of

[22:06] by half. It would be $8 for $16

[22:12] that was added to the tax rate.

[22:13] And act. Talk about.

[22:15] >> The 7 positions for the

[22:17] public safety communicate or 2,

[22:20] that 7 out of 13 just so people

[22:20] understand what's happening

[22:23] there.

[22:23] >> Sure. So that so

[22:26] traditionally that area has a

[22:27] lot of turnover. And so we have

[22:30] typically 7 to 10 positions

[22:31] that are they can all the time.

[22:32] We're always recruiting.

[22:34] We're still recruiting now.

[22:34] We still have vacancies.

[22:39] And so the idea was just to.

[22:40] Not fund the salaries so that

[22:41] we could have that savings

[22:44] because they're basically

[22:45] always vacant anyway.

[22:49] >> Library page position.

[22:50] It says there's 12 positions

[22:51] but total 6 on the team.

[22:54] And so I'm confused about how

[22:57] that.

[22:59] Yes, you'd add those together.

[23:00] So we're at much amending

[23:02] freezing 12. There are 6

[23:03] additional and then sort of us

[23:07] across the whole department

[23:07] there. 41 pages and then

[23:09] libraries response this week.

[23:10] They did ask to add back just a

[23:11] couple of those for consistency

[23:13] in stopping in a few locations.

[23:26] I can Dave Lewis Kimono because

[23:27] I have some parks related.

[23:31] He said, no, I'm just kidding.

[23:33] I of not. On a Friday morning.

[23:37] Yeah. Is out you look silly.

[23:43] I just I'm looking at this

[23:44] maintenance worker and has

[23:47] worked were cutting a lot of

[23:49] those positions and then the

[23:49] recreation.

[23:50] >> Assistant position looks

[23:53] like we're cutting a lot of

[23:54] those, but they have a lot of

[23:54] positions and can you walk me

[23:57] through what the maintenance

[23:59] workers do and

[24:00] realistically what we can

[24:00] expect, the reduction services

[24:05] to look like without those.

[24:06] 6 maintenance workers.

[24:07] >> Yeah, there's 2 sets of

[24:07] maintenance workers are talking

[24:11] about. One group is with the

[24:12] Athletics division and we have

[24:14] built those back in essentially

[24:15] for six-month freeze for the

[24:15] year, meaning we can get

[24:16] through the winter, but we got

[24:19] to hire them back to get them

[24:21] into the spring and the other

[24:24] maintenance workers are spread

[24:25] throughout the different park

[24:26] operation divisions. We have 7

[24:27] divisions, north, northwest

[24:28] southeast. All of those we

[24:30] build back some of those.

[24:30] So really looking at it's kind

[24:33] of helps to look at the overall

[24:35] strength of that. It's hard

[24:36] to quantify really what the

[24:37] difference is, the way we've

[24:39] talked about this over the last

[24:43] couple weeks is. For people

[24:46] that are changing trash.

[24:47] Where they might be able to do

[24:49] that. In today's now, it'll

[24:50] take them 3 days. So obviously

[24:52] a little bit slower for that.

[24:53] But there MAY also be some

[24:54] things that they don't get,

[24:55] too. It's really hard to

[24:57] quantify exactly what that

[25:00] looks like. The good news is we

[25:01] have only seen a slight uptick

[25:03] in complaints via our app, son,

[25:05] emails and phone calls. But

[25:06] restoring that back should have

[25:09] less of an impact than was

[25:10] originally frozen. But it's

[25:12] really hard to quantify.

[25:13] Exactly. So it's things like

[25:15] trash pickup. It's what I'm

[25:17] trying to figure out is does

[25:17] this mean want to swing breaks?

[25:19] It takes longer for the swing

[25:20] to get prepared or is this like

[25:23] internal?

[25:25] >> You know, Quitman repair.

[25:27] We do know it. Good Something

[25:28] like a swing repair generally

[25:29] would be our skilled trades

[25:34] technician, which is also on

[25:34] that list. And it's why we've

[25:35] request to build those back.

[25:35] Ok, we have to we have to trade

[25:36] screws. One does maintenance

[25:37] and went to small capital

[25:38] projects.

[25:40] >> And what we would do if

[25:41] those aren't restart is

[25:43] actually shift some people from

[25:45] the small capital projects crew

[25:46] into the maintenance repairs.

[25:47] So MAY slow up some of our

[25:48] small peco projects, but it

[25:49] make sure that we're staying on

[25:52] top of repairs and maintenance

[25:52] to amenities within the

[25:53] facilities.

[25:54] >> Okay. And then let's talk

[25:55] about recreation systems out.

[25:57] Looks like we have a lot in the

[25:57] department. There's 95. But

[26:02] we're getting rid of 9 out of.

[26:05] About half of them. Half of

[26:06] this particular team, I guess

[26:06] so.

[26:08] >> Yeah. In the way they've

[26:10] divided up is the team would be

[26:12] essentially the community

[26:13] center. So that's the strength

[26:14] of that of an average community

[26:18] center. It's not the strength

[26:20] of all of them. And so it's

[26:20] really that's being spread out

[26:21] in the combination of

[26:25] Recreation Assistance Committee

[26:25] center, aids, the all work on

[26:27] programming. They'll work on

[26:29] answering phones, hosting

[26:30] people with the program are

[26:31] being more in a system being

[26:34] more heavy on the program side

[26:35] with being more on custodial

[26:36] service is answering phones.

[26:38] And so really it's trying to

[26:40] find the balance between those.

[26:42] We believe that this this new

[26:43] proposal would have very

[26:44] minimal impacts. What we're

[26:45] trying to do is really relook

[26:47] at things in shuffle to make

[26:49] sure that we're covering

[26:50] things. I think what's just as

[26:51] important as looking at the

[26:52] program, Dayton, really having

[26:54] a better understanding of when

[26:56] community centers are needed.

[26:58] Are we open times that we don't

[27:00] need to be? Are we opening to

[27:01] early staying too late open on

[27:02] days that the community hasn't

[27:03] expressed an interest in really

[27:05] needing that center? So that's

[27:06] part of our exercise, too.

[27:08] All of that analysis is part of

[27:09] regular recreation programming

[27:13] development really doing a much

[27:13] deeper dive right now to be

[27:17] more efficient. Thank you,

[27:18] >> This is not a day with his

[27:21] question. So you're off the

[27:24] clock. Okay. My pertains to

[27:27] development services.

[27:30] >> Don't lay day at it. He's

[27:30] going to be close to a day.

[27:33] I was they are right in line

[27:39] and the front row. It's in the

[27:40] >> Dj as far as development

[27:42] services. The customer service

[27:46] rep too. I know that in recent

[27:46] years we've been.

[27:48] Trying, you know, to to

[27:50] increase, you know, the Florida

[27:53] processes in your department.

[27:53] You've done a lot of work

[27:55] towards that. I want you to

[27:59] talk about this proposed, you

[27:59] know, reduction in force.

[28:00] How does that affect you?

[28:03] Does it affect you how you're

[28:03] going to compensate?

[28:05] >> Good Morning. Mary Council,

[28:08] thank you for the question.

[28:11] Councilmember Flores. Yes, we

[28:11] have been trying to increase

[28:13] customer service reps to

[28:14] increase the flow on the 5th

[28:18] floor. People in and out online

[28:20] what we plan to do to

[28:23] compensate with these cuts is

[28:26] to try to lean on technology.

[28:28] We've been working with it and

[28:29] some of the resources that they

[28:30] have to look at like chatbots

[28:31] other solutions that we can put

[28:34] a line that can get people off

[28:34] the phone obviously, without

[28:36] that, you know, the call time

[28:40] or the Cole whole time with

[28:41] the increase. But with

[28:41] technological solutions, we

[28:42] think we can, you know, kind of

[28:45] keep development moving

[28:45] forward. That MAY be a slight

[28:48] impact on, you know, wait times

[28:49] in the lobby. Maybe also with

[28:51] like, you know, plan review or,

[28:54] you know, moving things from

[28:54] like Tw to water to development

[28:57] services. But we're going to

[28:58] try to compensate, you know,

[28:59] with no technological

[29:00] improvements as much as

[29:02] possible and process

[29:04] improvements as well.

[29:04] >> All right. Or any of these

[29:07] proposed Do they impact the x

[29:10] team?

[29:21] If you're back up?

[29:27] >> After you are present.

[29:29] >> I heard from multiple

[29:33] residence about making sure

[29:34] that we did not do away with

[29:37] any services in parks and

[29:39] recreation. It's a forward

[29:40] facing department. So are you

[29:44] comfortable that these cuts

[29:44] will ensure that we don't do

[29:47] away with any of those

[29:51] services.

[29:52] And I know that's a broad

[29:55] question. But I you know, I

[29:56] want to support this, but I

[29:56] can't support it. If we're

[29:59] gonna lose services to the

[30:03] community.

[30:04] >> The new proposal minimizes

[30:05] any impacts. And again, we have

[30:07] to do more homework to really

[30:08] understand community need in

[30:10] each of the locations. So I'm

[30:11] confident that we can still

[30:12] provide the same level of

[30:13] service. It's just being more

[30:13] efficient, effective in and

[30:17] really understanding community

[30:18] need better. We look at all of

[30:19] our community centers

[30:20] differently. They serve

[30:20] different audiences with

[30:22] different needs and so really

[30:24] customizing that making sure

[30:25] that we're serving those local

[30:27] residents, but in a fashion

[30:28] that they need and making sure

[30:28] that we're not staying open,

[30:30] we don't need to. That's it.

[30:30] That's the big part of it.

[30:34] But it's also a maximizing

[30:34] those spaces.

[30:36] Well, we say that the community

[30:37] center supervisor's job is to

[30:38] make sure that at community

[30:41] center is bustling from open

[30:42] to close. How do you do that?

[30:42] You offer programs that people

[30:46] are interested in and how do

[30:47] you do that? You ask. And so

[30:49] it's really just making sure

[30:50] that we're understand that

[30:50] community need.

[30:52] >> Well, and that's good.

[30:53] So I 3 of the people that I

[30:55] heard from more ministers who

[30:57] rely believe it or not, handily

[30:57] on the community center for

[31:00] activities for their youth.

[31:02] And so I just want to be sure

[31:04] that I can reassure them that

[31:07] we're not going to disrupt some

[31:08] of those activities that they

[31:11] think help deter crime and keep

[31:12] their folks busy.

[31:14] >> Yeah, it's great to hear and

[31:15] I'd love to hear from them

[31:15] directly on what is important

[31:16] to him and what their needs are

[31:19] making sure that we're able to

[31:20] meet that.

[31:21] Thank you. They've had similar

[31:25] concerns and receive the same

[31:27] communication. I wanted to also

[31:28] inquire about community centers

[31:31] that have after-school programs

[31:32] and things of that nature and

[31:34] that have different, you know,

[31:34] organizations that are ready

[31:38] convening there regularly for

[31:41] whatever reason. And will those

[31:42] be given priority also

[31:43] considered? And we have not

[31:45] recommended any reductions to

[31:46] any of those programs at all.

[31:47] The only thing we're looking

[31:48] at is again, streamlining some

[31:49] of the hours. If we can

[31:49] determine.

[31:52] >> That the community doesn't

[31:53] need the facility. It's one of

[31:56] the topics are talking about.

[31:56] There are 4, 5 cities open on

[31:57] Sundays. All of them are open

[31:59] on Saturdays. Is it still

[32:00] necessary that to be open those

[32:01] days? When we start looking

[32:04] at the data, some of the usage

[32:05] is low on Saturday. So is that

[32:05] something that's that's

[32:06] necessary? But we need as the

[32:09] community that question and

[32:11] think about kids are back in

[32:11] school. Do you want to go to

[32:12] community center program on a

[32:13] Saturday after that busy week?

[32:17] Maybe. But that's what we need

[32:19] to better understand.

[32:20] >> And not to belabor the

[32:21] point. When you say we're going

[32:22] to ask the community is their

[32:25] formal method in which you're

[32:26] going to communities. We don't

[32:28] have a formal unplanned, but

[32:30] each community center does

[32:31] survey on their own and then it

[32:32] obviously is a lot of the

[32:33] anecdotal, Stephen. We've got a

[32:35] neighborhood association

[32:35] meetings and

[32:38] >> various stakeholder input

[32:38] that we get. Some of it's

[32:39] anecdotal, but somebody says

[32:41] serving as well and not one big

[32:42] survey. We do that. But every 5

[32:45] years we test community need is

[32:48] part of our strategic planning.

[32:48] >> Outside of us of formal

[32:51] survey, is there data that you

[32:51] can pull like check ins

[32:53] checkout skier is in in our

[32:54] system. We have all of that.

[32:55] Whether it's rentals, whether

[32:55] it's drop in or actually

[32:56] registered used. That's the

[32:57] data that we're looking at.

[33:00] >> That in combination with

[33:02] Placer ai the kind of overlap a

[33:03] little bit. But so we can tell

[33:04] when people come in just the

[33:05] traffic of looking to see who's

[33:08] actually registering for

[33:09] programs as well. I think my

[33:10] preference would be that we

[33:12] rely heavily on that data

[33:13] because I think sometimes

[33:14] preference.

[33:15] >> And what people voices,

[33:17] their preference versus what

[33:18] their actual habits are might

[33:21] be different. And so and I want

[33:22] to make sure that that's if we

[33:24] have that ability that's

[33:27] factored in. Absolutely.

[33:29] Anyone else for days. Thank

[33:30] you, Dave. Front row seat or

[33:33] I use month. Stay closed.

[33:35] Just never know. Yeah.

[33:39] And maybe add a question for dj

[33:41] again. If you don't mind.

[33:42] Dj, you alluded to working with

[33:43] it and different solutions that

[33:44] are maybe in turn already be

[33:47] able to the city of Fort Worth

[33:48] to feel like we have properly

[33:50] extinguished all options that

[33:51] are outside maybe vendors that

[33:54] were not currently working with

[33:55] the pilots. Some of this work.

[33:57] >> I'm not sure, mayor, to be

[33:58] honest, I think that'll come to

[33:59] light when we start doing some

[34:00] of these lean process analysis,

[34:02] obviously with these cuts, we

[34:05] need to look at how we keep the

[34:05] same level of service for our

[34:09] customers. So we'll be looking

[34:09] at, you know, all options,

[34:10] right? If there is a 3rd party

[34:12] that can do something faster

[34:15] for cheap and we'll definitely

[34:15] be looking at that. Yeah.

[34:18] >> You know, I I bring that up

[34:18] because council members hb

[34:19] public and interact with

[34:20] different vendors at lc

[34:22] meetings or tm outlook, cetera.

[34:24] I would encourage us to bring

[34:24] any of those options to dj his

[34:27] team so he can tell us a quick

[34:28] look at what's out there.

[34:29] What's interesting is a lot of

[34:31] these companies will let you

[34:31] pilot at no cost to the city

[34:34] for a period of time. You still

[34:34] have to have the man power on

[34:35] your. And so that's not

[34:35] actually creating more work for

[34:37] your team. So recognize it

[34:39] takes time. But to the extent

[34:40] that this body can be helpful

[34:41] and bringing options to you?

[34:43] I think I would encourage us to

[34:44] do so. Now and and let them

[34:46] start thinking about that.

[34:49] The next fiscal year. Park

[34:52] Ranger question.

[34:58] >> I just want to check with

[35:00] the use. Part of this budget

[35:00] have been scrubbed through it,

[35:03] but do any of the proposals

[35:04] come forward? You have any

[35:04] services or our cuts for the

[35:07] rise Community Center or

[35:10] library. No, not really.

[35:12] Thanks for that. Yeah.

[35:15] Questions council. Go ahead.

[35:17] Controllers have cut.

[35:18] >> I was going to ask will

[35:20] first from last meeting we've

[35:21] back and watch that. You want

[35:22] to thank you, mayor and the

[35:23] colleagues who stepped forward

[35:24] PetSmart Alliance because after

[35:27] as watching, of course, is wait

[35:28] after that. Snow. So certainly

[35:29] hearing a lot from the

[35:31] residence on that one, too.

[35:32] So long live PetSmart Alliance.

[35:37] Thank you for that advocacy

[35:37] and also to really make to

[35:38] cause checked to go in there

[35:41] like that. Yeah, so definitely

[35:42] don't want to at

[35:44] a couple things I'd like to

[35:47] learn more about.

[35:48] >> You know, as we

[35:49] your reach out to their

[35:49] residents and 11 about that

[35:52] Sunday's possible fee

[35:53] increases. And although some

[35:54] your tax or tax rate goes up,

[35:57] although they MAY be painless,

[36:00] it's really hard to justify a

[36:03] lot of that has we spend on

[36:07] public art hot topic and one

[36:07] that hard to bring up

[36:08] but it's really hard to look

[36:10] them in the face. And back,

[36:11] by the way, when asked to spend

[36:12] more on some of these fees

[36:13] while we're in a deficit year.

[36:16] >> While paying for these, so

[36:17] I know.

[36:18] We clearly know the process

[36:19] for moratorium. I don't know.

[36:22] That's necessarily the right

[36:23] way for this. But

[36:24] what does it look like as far

[36:25] as temporarily suspending

[36:29] funding for some of the larger?

[36:29] Public art projects that

[36:31] haven't been contractually

[36:33] obligated yet. I know it's if

[36:34] a pot because it's tied to the

[36:37] bond. What does that look like

[36:38] as far as deferring that to

[36:40] possibly year would become

[36:40] painter ears on up more

[36:43] positive budget year. What does

[36:43] that look like?

[36:45] Well, I think the council could

[36:48] take action not to not to fund

[36:49] those, but

[36:50] those are like you said its

[36:52] capital so would really help

[36:52] the general fund.

[36:54] >> Or any of the areas where

[36:57] we're asking for a fee

[36:57] increases right dollars.

[36:58] Just wouldn't be spent. And

[37:00] I guess it would you be used

[37:01] for capital instead?

[37:03] >> Yeah, I think that be the

[37:04] key theirs. You know,

[37:05] understanding we can move that

[37:07] back to general fund. But I

[37:08] think it also has a lot to do

[37:09] with just the perception and

[37:10] the you know, we're say, hey,

[37:12] guys, it's really tight year

[37:13] now. Again, we tell somebody,

[37:15] hey, we're kind of broke right

[37:16] now, but we're gonna go out,

[37:18] has taken lobster. It's kind of

[37:19] a bad perception. My opinion.

[37:19] It's important still. But I

[37:21] think about I think there's a

[37:22] legal question since we went

[37:25] to the bondholder, you know,

[37:27] to the voters and they voted

[37:28] for a bond that included public

[37:29] arts. I'm not sure. And then

[37:30] looking at Dennis Kneale is

[37:31] looking at him.

[37:34] >> Well, if there's even a

[37:35] mechanism for that.

[37:36] >> With that being even allow

[37:37] those inserting designated to

[37:38] public. That's what that's

[37:40] things like. I'm looking more

[37:41] for like a temporary pause and

[37:43] tell so maybe not but this year

[37:43] or next year, but the year

[37:47] where we can actually afford

[37:49] it. At. Good morning, Dennis

[37:50] Michael City attorney's office

[37:53] with respect to James question

[37:56] about allowed use of the bond

[37:57] funds. It was.

[37:59] Presented to voters MAY use

[38:00] up to 2%. So council does not

[38:03] allocate that money. Previous

[38:06] allocated money. Paws were

[38:06] implemented, as Jay said.

[38:08] Those projects just wouldn't

[38:09] get paid during this period.

[38:09] I we'd have to do a deep dive

[38:12] into the contract, Jeanette,

[38:14] like.

[38:15] Offer. This probably is a good

[38:18] topic for the council really

[38:19] wrestle with so.

[38:20] >> If I'm hearing you correctly

[38:22] j it wouldn't actually impact

[38:22] our ability to change this

[38:24] discussion on this fiscal year

[38:25] but has 0 impact on our

[38:26] operating budget. So if the

[38:27] body would be okay with it

[38:28] because we do need to get

[38:29] through this budget process.

[38:31] Let's push this conversation

[38:33] to a work session in SEPTEMBER.

[38:35] OCTOBER and talk about it

[38:36] openly and that way, we're not

[38:37] derailing this because I can

[38:39] already feel against the bill.

[38:39] Really want to keep it on

[38:42] track. And some understandably

[38:43] have to worry about

[38:43] perceptions. So that's one

[38:44] thing. I'll say they want same

[38:45] thing about that can cause

[38:47] we're back. I think it's for

[38:49] them to say no.

[38:49] >> And I'm just the other one,

[38:52] if a person but a response or

[38:56] rfi, if you will, if we can

[38:56] just get at because whenever I

[38:57] heard the credit card

[38:58] processing out of that, that

[39:02] part of Myers because as a

[39:02] small fry campaign, 3% for for

[39:06] us and my Pinellas and dollars.

[39:06] So it's not much at all.

[39:08] City our size, you know, kind

[39:08] of scale should be paying a

[39:09] lot last night and they were

[39:14] passed on. So it's easy for

[39:15] us to Sara. Well, whatever

[39:16] they're charging is what will

[39:16] pay for some development

[39:18] services. The last year when I

[39:18] came on board, the first thing

[39:20] that brought to me because they

[39:21] were spending almost a million

[39:22] dollars.

[39:24] >> Out of their budget to cover

[39:26] the credit card fees for that

[39:27] for people that came in to pay

[39:27] with credit cards, right?

[39:30] We try to push folks to do a ch

[39:32] or to do debit card. And so

[39:35] that's what we brought to city

[39:36] council. That change.

[39:38] Like I said, different. We have

[39:39] different vendors on different

[39:40] systems is type of systems.

[39:41] And we're trying to kind of

[39:43] streamline all those kind of

[39:46] things. And so the systems that

[39:47] have been we've been able to

[39:50] change to go ahead and pass.

[39:51] That forward has been done.

[39:54] We found that some of them are

[39:55] over 3%. And so.

[39:57] We're having to pay it out of

[39:59] work, collecting the dollars.

[40:00] But we were kept the 3% because

[40:00] that's what we asked. The

[40:03] council is just an increase in

[40:04] the cap.

[40:06] So yeah, Mahle widely to to

[40:07] see who's charging more than

[40:09] 3% does believe it's be said it

[40:09] actually charge under spies

[40:10] that they're charging a

[40:12] customer of more than 3 and a

[40:14] half percent or more. 3%.

[40:15] >> be really cares to see that

[40:17] certainly be some economies of

[40:18] scale there. You know, the

[40:21] average large businesses paying

[40:22] around 2, 2.1%

[40:23] And of course, we're going to

[40:24] pass that on shore. But it's at

[40:28] least one lesson that spent

[40:29] and quite frankly, there.

[40:30] If you're spending that much

[40:31] money to your smart about, if

[40:32] you're lucky enough to have a

[40:34] 3% cash back and look at charts

[40:35] to net percent great like I'm

[40:38] going to use my credit card,

[40:38] right? You're going to. Like,

[40:41] like Michael said, you're gonna

[40:42] get your miles real quick.

[40:43] But I just like to see what

[40:44] we're paying. And is that

[40:45] something that we we put an rfp

[40:46] out on or credit card

[40:48] processing cause? That's so

[40:50] yes, I think we do it from the

[40:50] different for the different

[40:52] vendors. And worst Reggie

[40:55] Reggie.

[40:56] >> He's maybe even getting one.

[40:57] >> Credit card processor for

[40:57] all of them end up. There is I

[41:00] can see getting an even better

[41:03] rate.

[41:05] >> Yes, the that process it has

[41:08] been our speed over the years.

[41:11] And as Jay indicated, it's a

[41:13] decentralized process. We have

[41:14] several systems that are

[41:16] managed by that have been

[41:19] implemented over the years.

[41:20] And so, yes, the city has

[41:23] considered and standardize

[41:25] process a bit. But, you know,

[41:27] with a little bit behind.

[41:30] >> And in doing that.

[41:34] >> The credit card fees are

[41:34] charged by the various

[41:36] merchants and there's not not a

[41:37] whole lot we can do about that.

[41:40] And I think the change is just

[41:41] simply to ensure the city's

[41:42] reimbursed.

[41:44] >> Right. And my point there is

[41:45] just what the city can do and

[41:46] that's negotiate those rates

[41:47] with those credit card

[41:49] processors because that is

[41:52] easily negotiable.

[41:53] That's one thing I just like

[41:54] us to look at, because it's

[41:57] easy to say that's the rate

[41:58] that.

[41:59] We can find vendors who will

[42:00] charge a lot less because they

[42:02] want the business with the city

[42:02] of Fort Worth because are.

[42:05] >> They're gonna count act with

[42:10] some data.

[42:12] Be as easy to negotiate that.

[42:12] >> Right to an rfp process you

[42:15] can. That's kind of what you

[42:16] get in on the.

[42:18] >> I mean, it's business.

[42:19] It's if you reduce the business

[42:21] with the city of forward, a

[42:22] number 2% of them. I would want

[42:26] that business from city forward

[42:27] because the amount it also tied

[42:29] to the fees they charge us for

[42:30] our vendor. Right? So

[42:32] >> one might have a better

[42:35] credit card fee to the end.

[42:36] User should be charging them to

[42:36] be a vendor, right? I mean one

[42:38] or visit us the more expensive

[42:41] on a system side, right process

[42:41] in the building. I don't go to

[42:44] Don the red hold and it's

[42:48] expensive.

[42:51] So is the as I in front of you

[42:51] is an equivalent on those items

[42:54] at this. The department's came

[42:55] back.

[42:56] As you'll see the the average

[42:57] tax bill for what it's worth

[43:00] would still be below the

[43:01] current one.

[43:04] Confirmed that it would be

[43:05] another.

[43:06] Not almost to 1.5 million

[43:11] before we would get to people

[43:12] too. The current tax rate.

[43:13] Or the current bill would

[43:14] match. The new bill would match

[43:18] the current bill. So that's the

[43:19] at this point. You can still

[43:20] make the argument that the

[43:23] average taxpayer would pay less

[43:25] with her if you wanted to

[43:28] increase the tax rate. Based on

[43:29] what we provided today.

[43:30] We're back. Yeah, I'm sorry.

[43:32] I just want to make sure that

[43:33] I'm clear. So if we look at it

[43:36] and budget response, number 20,

[43:37] I'm not 20.

[43:39] >> 19 that had all of the

[43:40] positions. What you're saying

[43:42] is this handout. Here is the

[43:43] cost difference. If we brought

[43:45] back all of those positions

[43:47] notes, the ones that are on

[43:48] tied to budget response.

[43:51] 21 post 21. Okay. All right.

[43:52] So the staff, the Aztecs this

[43:53] week when departments were

[43:54] trying to pick into sort of

[43:54] their biggest priorities for

[43:57] adding back. That's what I see

[43:58] your hand up.

[43:58] >> Okay. Lets a pay for

[44:00] performance at mid-year for

[44:01] general employees.

[44:05] >> Are typical. Glad I asked.

[44:05] Thank you.

[44:06] >> So again, I'm gonna repeat

[44:06] that. His anybody to hear it.

[44:08] You've on the sheet that he

[44:10] said you, that's this one here.

[44:12] The top line under restoration

[44:12] is increased pay performance.

[44:13] That is not in a better

[44:16] response, but they articulated

[44:18] here based on conversation this

[44:19] week. In addition to that at a

[44:22] budget response, 21 are each of

[44:25] these departments he went

[44:27] through and scrub which

[44:28] positions would have impacted

[44:29] services the most for us to

[44:29] consider restoring back into

[44:33] the originally proposed budget.

[44:33] And if you go up and you

[44:37] compare the budget scenario,

[44:38] you've got this year, 2027

[44:38] recommended. Then you have

[44:40] restorations and you have a

[44:43] total there. And what Jay-z

[44:44] articulating is if you move

[44:49] over to the right column under

[44:50] average tax bill, $1642 and

[44:52] $0.62 Compare that to the

[44:54] current fiscal year 2026.

[44:55] Adoption. You are still below

[44:59] are costing taxpayers less than

[45:01] $8.20 sits on average per year

[45:02] and their tax bill, even with

[45:03] the tax rate increases that

[45:08] are necessary to stabilize our

[45:10] budget and prevent furloughs,

[45:11] layoffs and impacts to

[45:13] services. So at this point, the

[45:14] council really needs to wrestle

[45:18] with what's in front of them,

[45:19] which is does the body majority

[45:20] want to move forward with what

[45:23] was recommended originally for

[45:25] 2027. Do they want to wrestle

[45:26] with a 2027 with restorations

[45:27] number and at this point would

[45:28] be really helpful to staff to

[45:30] give some direction where we

[45:31] want to go. So at this point

[45:34] out in the floor, we can have

[45:38] that discussion.

[45:44] Nobody wants to go first.

[45:48] Looking at the 0, 0, 5, 6, I

[45:50] mean, I think it's it's stuff,

[45:53] but I think it's the reasonably

[45:55] prudent thing to do. It's

[45:56] >> I think staff did a good job

[45:58] of going through and really

[45:58] figure out where we can where

[46:00] we can cut without really

[46:03] affecting service it's it's

[46:08] tough. To increase in the rate.

[46:09] However. We just have they just

[46:09] got so much more expensive.

[46:12] And I think as long as we can

[46:13] really articulate. Going to

[46:16] the year, if this is what this

[46:17] body decides to approve, I

[46:17] think we have to be really

[46:18] diligent on the things that we

[46:21] do approve going forward and

[46:21] making sure that it is a basic

[46:24] city service getting back to

[46:25] the basics. It's not a bunch of

[46:28] nice to haves because it's

[46:32] going to be really. It'll be a

[46:33] black eye for all of us to

[46:35] raise the rate even though it's

[46:36] effectively still lowering

[46:38] their tax bill. Perhaps most

[46:41] are. And I did go up and then

[46:42] turn around and give, you know,

[46:44] a nonprofit or get someone

[46:46] else. You know, millions of

[46:47] dollars at the same time.

[46:48] So I think it's really careful

[46:50] as we go for it. This is what

[46:50] we do said to be really

[46:51] diligent going forward on the

[46:55] dollars we spend and allocate.

[46:57] Council home.

[46:58] >> Not to devalue which said a

[47:01] COUNCILMAN, our staff. I think.

[47:06] Very often we substitute, you

[47:06] know, we consider raising rates

[47:07] and we start talking about

[47:08] nonprofit and that's where like

[47:11] they were giving them money

[47:13] often. I hear this body and and

[47:14] several colleagues that

[47:15] suggests that we rely on

[47:17] nonprofits to stand in the gap.

[47:18] So I don't think it's fair to

[47:21] talk out of both sides of our

[47:21] faith to say.

[47:24] Let's look for nonprofits to do

[47:24] certain things. Reports are the

[47:26] services and then we start

[47:27] talking about tax rates star

[47:30] saying that we're giving money

[47:31] away to nonprofits.

[47:34] >> All right. I guess just to

[47:37] which I hear you, however, I

[47:38] have never had a single

[47:39] nonprofit come to our office

[47:40] mic and say, can we help you

[47:42] out the infrastructure

[47:44] potholes?

[47:45] Parks and rec? So no, but they

[47:47] are standing in the gap, a

[47:50] social services and often and

[47:51] this friend, we suggest that we

[47:54] call upon them to stand in the

[47:54] gap for us on social services.

[47:55] So they are not in the job in

[47:57] the in the business of doing

[47:58] pothole. I'm just saying I'm

[48:01] not the value of point. I just

[48:03] want to.

[48:05] Remind you remind us that we

[48:06] often try to strike a balance

[48:07] with nonprofits and it's not

[48:08] fair to look at them like

[48:13] there's some type of charity

[48:14] case when we pay for services

[48:16] that the nonprofit is, in fact,

[48:17] a charity case. I mean, it's

[48:18] it's nonprofit. And I think

[48:19] that every nonprofit just say

[48:22] we have to be very diligent,

[48:23] make sure that the money we are

[48:23] getting out is to ones who are

[48:28] going to be good stewards of

[48:30] those dollars and the service

[48:30] they're providing is one that

[48:31] he says that is the got, which

[48:31] I completely agree. There's

[48:34] going to be some that are

[48:34] great. They're doing amazing

[48:35] work out there. And I want to

[48:37] see is continued because it

[48:39] that will really reduce the

[48:41] burden, I believe on on our

[48:42] system. And that's the Senate.

[48:44] And so I'm gonna not to belabor

[48:45] the point, but let's be

[48:46] specific. And in the future

[48:47] when we make a statement,

[48:48] that's all I'm asking. If we're

[48:48] going to throw that out there

[48:49] into the East Coast. Let's just

[48:51] be specific about when to

[48:52] nonprofits. We're talking about

[48:53] which ones with incident

[48:56] charity cases, which ones were

[48:57] considering part well, and

[48:57] that's where people's has a

[48:59] question. Maybe I'll ask for

[49:00] she and her Brady in the

[49:00] overall budget process and

[49:02] working with departments.

[49:03] I would assume.

[49:05] >> That our departments really

[49:06] looked closely at additional

[49:07] services that were being

[49:09] provided external to the city

[49:11] are contracts that we had as a

[49:13] part of their 3% or one percent

[49:13] cuts to either of you have any

[49:14] additional comment you could

[49:15] make about that process or

[49:16] things that you saw for

[49:19] departments. And I'll turn

[49:22] accounts for peoples.

[49:22] >> I would say, well, you know,

[49:23] it's a went through the

[49:23] process. And when we asked

[49:24] departments to cut one percent

[49:26] and 3%, we did the same thing

[49:30] with. Partners that we provide

[49:33] funds to. So we. They took the

[49:36] impact as well.

[49:37] >> You have an example. Maybe

[49:38] Jay, you can pry the clears.

[49:39] Ones are the 3 chambers of the

[49:41] lower chamber's been

[49:42] African-American

[49:44] black chamber, commerce that

[49:44] they you know, we went to them

[49:47] and say especially the first we

[49:49] didn't ask for that. But it's

[49:49] when we got further in the

[49:50] process. And when you the gap

[49:52] is getting bigger, we said.

[49:54] We need to were looking for

[49:57] every, you know, diamond, the

[49:59] in the cushion. So. They all

[50:00] said we understand will look

[50:02] at it and we'll come back and

[50:03] we can and they'll come back

[50:04] and said, yeah, we will make it

[50:07] work. So. So we went through

[50:11] that process.

[50:12] Qatar, people's incomes were

[50:13] back.

[50:14] >> So, mayor, I want to start

[50:14] out by saying I'm gonna catch

[50:17] my remarks because my budget

[50:19] meeting with the community

[50:22] isn't until AUGUST the 31st.

[50:24] But based on the conversations

[50:25] that I've had with community

[50:29] meetings, the things that j

[50:31] brought us today are things

[50:32] that my constituents were

[50:35] asking for. They ask about

[50:37] making sure that we provided

[50:38] for parks and recreation.

[50:40] They asked that we go back and

[50:42] look at library services and

[50:45] me. One of the things I was

[50:47] one of the council members Sj

[50:49] about going back to look at

[50:52] taking care of our employees by

[50:53] making sure that we provided

[50:55] them opportunities far pay for

[50:57] performance because I

[50:59] understand employee

[51:00] satisfaction and employee

[51:03] retention. Some I will just

[51:04] tell you.

[51:07] I am comfortable and at catch

[51:08] that by saying I need to hear

[51:11] from the rest of my residents

[51:13] on the 31st. But I am

[51:16] comfortable that j and team

[51:19] went back and did what I

[51:22] personally asked them to do

[51:23] because I feel like residents

[51:24] want the services provided to

[51:28] them and we need to and we U.S.

[51:30] Deal giving them a. We're still

[51:31] trying to keep their bills

[51:35] manageable. And we came in with

[51:37] a right that's below of what

[51:40] they mean with the tax I'm

[51:41] comfortable with this in j you

[51:43] and your staff have done an

[51:46] admirable job. I know this was

[51:50] it a tough one? I know we ask a

[51:51] lot of you, but today I'm

[51:52] comfortable now on the 31st.

[51:56] Most it MAY change. Thank you.

[51:57] Cause we're back.

[51:58] >> So I had I actually had my

[51:59] budget meeting yesterday and

[52:02] I own a j, though those weren't

[52:02] plants. I promise.

[52:04] >> All of the things that I

[52:05] brought up on Tuesday, it was

[52:07] like they every person hammered

[52:08] at home. But it was we heard a

[52:11] lot about not wanting a cut

[52:13] in services, particularly when

[52:16] it came to Code Library in

[52:19] parks, which we all kind of

[52:20] communicated and Tuesday.

[52:21] I have never been comfortable

[52:23] with the fact that we got to

[52:24] this budget solution on the

[52:27] backs of our employees. It just

[52:29] didn't feel right with me.

[52:32] We ask so much of them already.

[52:33] And if we're honest, government

[52:34] work is not one that comes with

[52:38] a lot of parks. They don't get

[52:39] bonuses. They don't get, you

[52:40] know, fun parties are cool swag

[52:42] right there coming here for the

[52:43] love of the game. And I want to

[52:46] make sure that that we're

[52:49] taking care of them. So.

[52:49] And no one likes an increase,

[52:50] but we're already going up.

[52:53] You've already recommended 3.2

[52:58] And since the increase and this

[53:00] minor increase gets us to a

[53:00] place where we're not cutting

[53:03] services and we're supporting

[53:05] our employees. And I think,

[53:07] you know, and we still get

[53:07] below what their tax bill was

[53:08] last year. And I personally

[53:11] think that's a win for

[53:12] everybody.

[53:15] >> Anyone else guess comes from

[53:17] a teen is.

[53:18] I'm so my budget e of meetings.

[53:21] Also coming up on Saturday,

[53:23] will this information as

[53:24] a second? That's because being

[53:25] counseled kind of gives us

[53:26] direction. Today will update

[53:26] the to let everybody know we're

[53:29] we're we're headed at least.

[53:30] >> I would really like to see

[53:32] included because, you know,

[53:35] people need to know that, you

[53:35] know, adding this well, provide

[53:40] the least impact on service.

[53:42] To piggyback on COUNCILMAN

[53:42] Martinez, my budget meetings

[53:44] that's really held already this

[53:46] week files on Tuesday night.

[53:48] And if there's going to be some

[53:49] changes, is there any way that

[53:50] I could call a concept to maybe

[53:52] get a brief summary so that I

[53:52] could fund that day to my

[53:55] constituents just to know that

[53:56] we have pivoted and to some

[53:56] extent with those

[53:59] conversations, the numbers that

[53:59] we proposed already have to

[54:02] have change or we can. We can

[54:03] put something together and and

[54:04] once we had at the presentation

[54:06] to include that with this is

[54:07] kind of where we're going, it

[54:11] will be updated on the website

[54:13] is thank you for for us.

[54:14] >> Kind of emphasized some of

[54:17] these talking points that were

[54:19] all having here. I my budget

[54:21] meeting is still up coming be

[54:22] interesting to see. Hopefully

[54:24] get some good participation.

[54:27] What I will be looking for that

[54:29] was like most Council members

[54:31] little clarity. What's

[54:31] important to, you know, our

[54:34] constituents with that said.

[54:36] I wish we have all the budget

[54:39] meetings, not because I think

[54:41] it would help us to reaffirmed

[54:41] what our priorities are as

[54:44] counsel because I'm still not

[54:44] clear on that. I could

[54:47] articulate what's priorities in

[54:47] my district, but that doesn't

[54:49] necessarily mean it's going to

[54:52] match up with everyone else.

[54:54] Right? So that's what I'm going

[54:56] to be looking forward to.

[54:56] And I know that's what's

[54:57] intended j when all this is

[55:01] done in this exercise is

[55:04] completed I'm looking for that.

[55:06] What do our priorities look

[55:09] like following these meetings

[55:09] following having received

[55:10] public input. Is it then?

[55:13] I think we can start making

[55:15] more refined choices on right.

[55:18] Word caught would reduce and

[55:20] we're not too.

[55:20] And at.

[55:21] >> I can honestly say after

[55:23] 4 meetings and I meant made the

[55:26] comment last night.

[55:28] COUNCILWOMAN That refer to

[55:30] after 2 or 3 speakers and one

[55:33] person kind of brought their

[55:35] list of grievances

[55:35] that merit exactly the

[55:38] conversation from this group

[55:41] on Tuesday. And so these items

[55:41] that were brought up Tuesday

[55:44] is exactly what we're hearing

[55:46] from.

[55:49] The 4 meetings we've had so

[55:50] far that folks are saying.

[55:52] You know, somebody said last

[55:54] night the other day you're

[55:56] already proposing a. The tax

[55:58] rate increase. Nobody wants

[56:01] less services because a little

[56:02] bit more to.

[56:03] Get get us back. Those services

[56:03] would rather do that because it

[56:05] doesn't look like you're not

[56:08] going to have a decrease on the

[56:09] tax rate.

[56:09] It doesn't make that much

[56:11] difference. If it's not going

[56:13] to change or overall customer

[56:14] on. That was a comment last

[56:15] night, but it's been consistent

[56:18] in every meeting. I think

[56:19] there's. I would guess maybe

[56:21] 100 people so far to the 4

[56:25] meetings 120 people. There's

[56:26] been one person that says and

[56:27] all they said was I like lower

[56:28] value like lower taxes. And

[56:30] that was his comment and

[56:31] everybody else. It's that's the

[56:34] only person out of all of that.

[56:37] Is that so? Yeah, we have a

[56:39] server results and you know

[56:39] that that chart that shows the

[56:41] departments that went up versus

[56:42] the ones to gun down. That

[56:45] mayor is almost exactly this.

[56:46] Non scientific survey that we

[56:48] put out to the public this

[56:51] summer. And so, Jay, back to

[56:52] you. So

[56:54] >> I haven't had my meeting it.

[56:55] But I told you I've heard from

[56:59] multiple people in this is what

[57:01] I heard. And I just got a text

[57:02] that said good job. Go for it.

[57:04] So I think, you know, residents

[57:06] do watch this and I hope people

[57:09] are listening or looking now.

[57:10] But the consensus I have unless

[57:14] it changes on the 31st is that

[57:14] people want don't want to drop

[57:16] and services and they're

[57:18] willing to pay a little bit

[57:19] more are see a little bit of an

[57:20] increase because they won't

[57:21] be paying more. But he a little

[57:24] bit of an increase to get

[57:26] those.

[57:29] >> Yes, thank you. I do want to

[57:29] support this recommendation.

[57:32] And a note comes, asa still

[57:33] being talked around. Other

[57:37] things that we can do. And I

[57:38] want to Thao directly to our

[57:41] employees. I general employees

[57:44] because I think

[57:44] they are the heartbeat of our

[57:45] community. And what makes the

[57:49] city wants a parks department.

[57:50] Alright, couple compliance

[57:54] ashtray teen and there were

[57:54] concerns

[57:55] raises are not getting raises

[57:59] and we know cost of living goes

[58:01] up every year. And so this

[58:01] budget supports to make sure

[58:04] they can still put food on our

[58:06] table. And I remind

[58:09] you that even a county last

[58:10] year get a tax decrease.

[58:10] But they also got rid of the

[58:14] whole department with 100 plus

[58:15] jobs and I want to make sure

[58:18] that I'm please know that we

[58:19] value here. We certainly not

[58:19] going to be could mean the

[58:22] body's Joplin departments.

[58:23] And if that

[58:24] costs us to raise at Texas,

[58:25] then that's what we want to

[58:28] do. And so I can support what

[58:29] you have to post today.

[58:32] Any other comments from

[58:36] council?

[58:36] Again, your staff's and an

[58:37] awesome job.

[58:38] >> Jay, I know this has not

[58:38] been easy. If you listen really

[58:39] across the state and several

[58:41] jurisdictions are all grappling

[58:43] with budgets. And I'm just

[58:45] really proud. Also this body

[58:45] to to Alice, give staff

[58:48] direction as we move forward in

[58:49] future meetings. So it sounds

[58:50] like follow-up that Kristi and

[58:51] her team will provide kind of a

[58:52] summary of what these changes

[58:53] look like to all council

[58:54] members will be helpful.

[58:54] Future meetings and also those

[58:57] of you that already had budget

[58:58] meetings as well. And then it

[59:00] might be helpful just one more

[59:01] time to articulate the timing

[59:02] of what we're going to do in

[59:04] the next month before we vote

[59:04] on the final budget to give

[59:05] your body time, you do have

[59:05] plenty of time. We're just got

[59:07] this recommendation front of

[59:08] you to allow staff to run with

[59:11] this rather than the original

[59:13] proposed budget present.

[59:14] >> So on AUGUST, 25th, so

[59:15] Tuesday's regular work session

[59:17] meeting, we have a place Holder

[59:17] for budget, follow-ups and

[59:21] items. They're just as part of

[59:21] the regular meeting. We have

[59:22] continued community engagement

[59:22] into next week with the last

[59:26] meeting occurring on SEPTEMBER

[59:29] for 3rd. And we have a budget

[59:29] public hearing special called

[59:32] meeting at 02:00pm on SEPTEMBER

[59:34] first. So that's just with all

[59:35] of you at once hearing from

[59:36] many community members who

[59:38] would like to speak on the

[59:38] budget and then you're

[59:39] scheduled to adopt the tax rate

[59:42] in the budget on SEPTEMBER.

[59:45] 15th.

[59:46] Any other questions on this

[59:49] topic before we even to ccpd.

Special Called Budget Work Session

Transcript