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Test test test.

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Yes, ma'am.

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You're driving.

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All right, welcome everyone. It is we
gave a few extra minutes in case people

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were still wandering in. It's a couple
minutes after six. So, we're going to go

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ahead and start. Thank you all for
coming. U I'm going to run you through

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the first two slide few slides today and
then uh the board is going to take a few

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slides and run us through the rest of
them and then we'll wrap up and do

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questions at the end. So we're going to
give a full budget overview

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uh which will be a little bit more in
depth maybe than the public hearing and

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then we also have Tom Tant with us from
Hazen and Sory to talk a little bit

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about our water and sewer system
specifically to give you that

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information just to just based on some
of the questions that we've been asked

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the last couple weeks. It'll be a good
way to answer a few of those or maybe

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spur some more questions. So, let's
start off. I'm Will Lewis and then we

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have four of our commissioners here
today. We've got we'll start at that end

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and we've got Brenda down at this end,
Tyrone, Mark, and Cynthia. Danny had a

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little emergency this evening and was
supposed to be here, but is not able to

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be here now. So, we're gonna do his part
for him. Next slide, Chad. So, a lot of

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y'all I see a lot of familiar faces.
You've been to listening sessions.

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You've been where we talked about this.
So, I'm gonna move through this

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relatively quickly, but this is our
overall city of Havlock or chart where

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it's the citizens elect a mayor and
commissioners. Mayor commissioners hire

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a city manager. It's the only employee
that actually works for the board. Every

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other employee works for the city
manager. All right. Uh this our mission,

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core values, and I again, I'm not going
to belabor it. A lot of y'all have seen

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this a bunch. It's also on our website.
Uh but we're going to work together

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enhance quality of life and deliver
efficient highquality services while

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providing for growth and responsible
development. And so that first sentence

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really I think is the one that's most
important when the board is doing things

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like creating a budget, choosing what
project we might fund, etc. is looking

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at that first sentence. All right.
All right. This is for perspective.

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So this is for fiscal year 2526 which
ends June 30th.

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We have 138 employees, 47.4
miles of streets that we take care of

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and and so we have a shared
responsibility for that with DOT. So

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think Highway 70, Macau, Belltown,
Fontana, those are all owned by DOT, not

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by us. We just remind them what needs to
be done there or partner with them. All

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the other streets are the ones that are
ours. We have we're basically 6.3 square

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miles, 12 parks, and that's everything
from city park to the recreation center

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to smaller parks like Surman's Park,
Tarheel, the community parks. We have 12

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of those. There are 5,966
utility customers. So that's folks that

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pay water and sewer. We have almost
6,000 of those. That includes the

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businesses, the non-residential in town.
We have 80 miles of sewer main. That is

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not a typo. We do have more sewer main
than we have street. Uh our population

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right now is 18,193. That's up about 800
from last year. And just real quick on

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the population, we've talked about this
before, but our population changes with

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the installation because they are a part
of our city limits. We were we've been

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as high as just over 20,000 population,
bumping 2122.

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And then uh with the A6's sundowning and
then the Harrier sundowning, we went as

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low as 16,000 and change. We are now
coming back out of that as the F-35

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squadrons are arriving. We're already
back up to just over 18,000 folks that

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live in the city. And that number is
projected to be back to 20,000 by 2030.

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And then the average home value in
Havlock is 186,300.

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We don't make that up. The county tells
us that. The way it works is we set a

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levy but the county does the assessment
and the tax appraisals. The county

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collects the taxes and gives them back
to us. So the county tells us what our

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average home value is in Havlock and
that's 1863. I know some of you in the

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room are probably like my house is worth
more than that. It's it might be and

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there's some houses that are worth less
than that. This is the average. This is

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the average home value. All right, Chad.
Uh our our general fund tax rate right

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now is 72 cents. uh our advorum tax base
is a billion. So what does advorm tax

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base mean for the perspective of a
billion? Um, just to give you an

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example, this morning we were told, uh,
for example, we have 18,000 people. Our

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tax base is a billion, but Pine No
Shores, for example, their tax base is

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two billion, even though they have a
population of 1500 because their average

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property value is way higher than ours.
And that matters because the math is how

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you end up knowing what you actually
pay. And I've given this speech before,

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so I will give the cliffnotes version.
The rate is immaterial. The levy, what

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you actually pay is what matters. So
it's as simple as if I asked you if you

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wanted to give me
if you if you wanted to give me 5% of a

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thousand or 50% of a million, right?
You're going to or in this case 50% of a

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thousand or 5% of a million. You're
going to give me 50% all day. I'll give

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you the $500. I don't want to give you
5% of a million because that's a way

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bigger number. The percentage is just a
multiplier. What you actually pay is

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what matters. So our rate, our tax base
is lower than most of our communities.

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The average, we are probably that one of
the lowest average home values in the

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area, 186. It's because we haven't had a
lot of new development for the last two

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decades. So that means the multiplier is
larger to get the same amount of money.

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Our value of one cent. So when we raise
taxes by one penny and you're talking

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about just property value of homes,
it's gets us about a about $99,000.

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So one cent tax rate brings an extra
$99,000 into the city.

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Our general fund right now is 17.6
million, our water fund 3.9, our sewer

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fund 6.1, solid waste 1.4, storm water
535.

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The building you're in is about $660,000
a year budget. And then your E911's 185.

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I'm gonna start at the bottom and go
backwards on what those are. E911 is a

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very restricted line item of funding
that we receive from the state. When you

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see your phone bill used to be on your
landline, now it's on your cell phone

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bill. You pay that little small
percentage at the bottom that goes to

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the state of North Carolina. They then
have an algorithmic formula that sends

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some of that back to us. And we can only
spend that for E911 services. So

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something related to telecommunications,
dispatch, things like that. Very

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restricted fund. It's also very small.
We get a very small amount of money

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every year. Torres and Event Center and
all the others are listed separate from

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the general fund for a reason. The
general fund is an account that is used

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as a service account to you. Everything
else is an enterprise fund. They are all

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supposed to be run as a business. So
Tourist and Event Center, we run this

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like a business. You pay a rate if you
want to use it. And that rate is a

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market rate to pay for the people, the
equipment, and the things like that that

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you rent to be here. Storm water, same
thing. And most of you, well, everybody

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in here that has a residence, you're
paying the same $4. And we all pay the

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same $4 for that. If you have a
business, it's a little bit different.

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Mark will get into that later.
Solid Waste. That's the fund where we

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pay that $20 and change every month and
you get all your blue can pickup, your

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green waste, brown waste, white goods
off the side of the road. That fund

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operates on its own. The part you pay in
your utility bill is that line item and

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that line item alone. Your sewer and
your water exactly the same as that.

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What you pay, the reason when you look
at your utility bill, you see water and

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sewer separate is what you pay for water
is to run the water fund. And that is

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supposed to be run like a business.
State of North Carolina requires that

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we're supposed to charge the rate that
actually runs the water plant. Same for

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the sewer. That's why there are two
different rates.

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All right, next slide.
Okay, this is a quick budget schedule. I

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won't belabor this too much. A lot of
you have already seen this and you

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already kind of know this. Our budget
really is an all year process,

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but our fiscal year runs from July 1 to
June 30.

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staff really starts working in December
and then by January they're starting to

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put together all of their capital outlay
requests and major program requests and

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then in March and April staff locks down
and they start building um what the

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budget needs to be and then start taking
immediate cuts to try to get down to a

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regular tax level.
Then in April and May, the board starts

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digging into it and working with staff
to try to see how they can change the

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budget or work the budget to get
whatever they desire. June is a heavy

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month of meetings. Y'all, some of y'all
in here have been to both of them. We

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have workshops. We have our public
hearing. We choose to do a listening

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session. Only the public hearing is
required by law. We do this because it's

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more interactive and we can give you a
little bit more information timewise.

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Then we have to approve a budget by June
30. So this year it's usually the last

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Monday of the month. We give ourselves
maximum amount of time to get feedback

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from you and then adjust the budget. So
this time our meeting for that will be

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June 22nd. The board has added in a
workshop which will be Wednesday June

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10th and that is to take all the input
that we get today, all the input we

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receive from the public hearing and then
for the board to go into a workshop and

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talk about what they want the final
version of the budget to look like based

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on what we've heard from our citizens.
and then for the 22nd for approval. Then

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July one, we start it all right back
over again.

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All right. And then this is uh an
overview of the budget to start

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perspective on what they're going to
dive into a little bit deeper. So right

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now as the budget sits presented the
proposed budget right now would show a

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threecent tax increase that started at 6
cent and the board has moved some things

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around and cut a few things um and paid
for some things out of general fund to

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reduce that to three. The user fee
increases in permits of 3.3%. So any

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permit that you might get from the city
would go up 3.3. That's not an arbitrary

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number. 3.3 comes from the consumer
price index. That's based off inflation.

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So 3.3% would mean you would pay the
same thing in today's dollars you paid

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last year for that same permit. Our
enterprise funds are proposed right now

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to go up by 15% in water, 20% in sewer,
7 and a half in solid waste, no change

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to storm water, and the fees in this
building to go to 10%.

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And that's to keep up with the market on
that one. And we're going to dig into

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those a little bit deeper further in.
All our state revenues are taken into

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account when we do the budget. So there
are things that are not within our

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control. So think about um we used to
get what was called an enterprise fee

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for people that have things in our ride
of way like cable, internet, um

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electricity. We are given that money by
the state. We don't always know what

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they are exactly. So, we project those
and they're projected through the North

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Carolina League of Municipality
forecast, which is a pretty accurate

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tool and that helps us know what we
might get from the state, but they're

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not always right. Just to use an
example, our E911 that they predicted

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this year is going to come in
considerably lower than it than it was

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projected, and we're going to have to
make that money up somewhere else. But,

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we're kind of looking at the crystal
ball at that one. What does the state

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think we're going to receive? And then,
we don't know what's going to happen at

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the North Carolina legislative level.
that does affect our budget which is why

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it is there. We could pass a budget, the
state could make a new law, we could

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immediately have to adjust our budget.
They the state typically puts mandates

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down that cost us money and they don't
fund those. So that means we have to

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fund them ourselves. So we either have
to have the money in our own budget or

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we have to create a way to fund them.
Storm water is a is an example of that.

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Our personnel uh changes by cola which
is cost of living adjustment at 3.3%

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again based on the CPI. So that means a
dollar is a dollar. So it means all of

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our employees could buy the same amount
of bread this year that they bought last

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year. And then 1.7 longevity. Uh I think
Brenda is going to get into that at the

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end. So I won't give all the logic
behind the 1.7, but that is for

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employees that have been here for one
year or more.

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There are two positional changes this
year. In a restructuring that we're

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doing right now, we are actually
eliminating one position from our

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current budget. And then the savings
from that elimination is going to fund a

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nuisance and abatement officer going
from part-time to full-time. And then

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safety coordinator position uh for the
entire city and all of our 140

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employees.
And then if you look at the right, these

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are things that just cost us money that
we don't necessarily get a say in, but

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we have to cover. So our retirement went
up by 14.1%. That's the system we have

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to pay into as a state for all of our
employees to be in the retirement

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system. And then our health insurance,
we are self-funded. Some of y'all that

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have been to these before have seen that
number be all kinds of crazy things. We

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are a self-insured pool. That has been a
really good choice by the city. It has

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helped keep our health insurance costs
very reasonable. So some years we're

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fortunate and we see a 0% change in our
health insurance. But then just for an

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example, if you have four or five
employees that are going through major

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medical issues, cancer treatments, maybe
a stroke situation or a major injury,

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you'll see that spike by 20 or 30% in
one year. I think it was only a couple

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years ago we had a pretty large spike
while we were covering that for our

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employees. Property insurance, we're
seeing a 10% increase. We do have to put

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insurance on the things that we own just
like you do. We're seeing a 10% increase

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there. Workers comp at 1%. Um, we
usually put together a contingency fund.

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We started that gosh
15 years ago and it was when the first

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time gas prices were spiking like crazy.
Um, the manager was having to come back

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to the board regularly to ask for
increases in the budget to cover those

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00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:49,919
gas costs within the line items. And we
decided we would create a contingency

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00:22:48,159 --> 00:22:52,559
fund to give to a manager so the manager
could use that for those things with

200
00:22:51,039 --> 00:22:57,440
approval from the board without having
to call a special meeting. This one was

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budgeted at 50,000. The board decided to
pull that 50,000 back in order that gets

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00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:04,240
you about half a penny on your tax rate.
So, they pulled that back and used it

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00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:09,919
for something else to try to not
increase taxes by that amount.

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Okay, that's kind of your overview. I'm
going to pass it to Cynthia now and

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00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:20,919
she's going to run you through the next
few slides

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00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:20,919
and then we'll switch to Mark.

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00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:38,919
Good evening everyone.

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00:23:39,039 --> 00:23:43,480
So the section that I have

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00:23:43,679 --> 00:23:49,559
are slides that are going to discuss our
fund reserve trends.

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00:23:52,480 --> 00:24:02,360
as well as the fund balance and retain
earnings

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and of course the proposed budget.

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00:24:03,679 --> 00:24:13,360
And if you look at the current fund
reserves trends, you will notice that

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00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:16,559
the general fund balance in 2015 was 5.7
million.

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00:24:15,039 --> 00:24:23,279
And then of course if you go down a
little further, you will see that in

215
00:24:19,039 --> 00:24:27,919
2020 we were at 8.9 million,
but then if you look at 2023 we're at

216
00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:35,200
7.9.
So it shows that we were trending down

217
00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:38,640
from the the 8.9
because we went up again but we went

218
00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:47,039
back down.
But then in 2025 with the general pal

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00:24:42,159 --> 00:24:51,440
sorry with the general fund we had 12.5
million

220
00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:57,360
And so the proposal for what's going on
with 2026 is 9.7

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00:24:55,039 --> 00:25:01,679
million. And then when you look at the
PAL fund

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00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:05,559
in 2015
it was 191,000.

223
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:11,320
But then in 2019 we were at 785.

224
00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:15,559
2023 518.

225
00:25:15,679 --> 00:25:21,000
2025 we had
1 million7,000

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00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:31,440
but for 2026 we're looking at 576.
And then of course if you look at the

227
00:25:27,120 --> 00:25:38,200
water section we have 20 sorry 2.2 and
2015

228
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:38,200
2019 3.6

229
00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:49,200
2024 5.6
but for 2026 we're looking at 3.9.

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00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:55,760
And then of course,
excuse excuse,

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00:25:52,400 --> 00:26:01,080
» excuse me, ma'am. Pardon me, ma'am. Um,
we're going to go through the slides and

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then afterwards,

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00:26:07,039 --> 00:26:16,159
» well, thank you for pointing that out.
But the paperwork I have I have that um

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00:26:12,799 --> 00:26:21,679
paper that shows the 2015. So, you I I
won't um bring up the 2015 for today.

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00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:28,400
We'll just discuss the 2017. So, I was
in error for not mentioning the 2017

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00:26:25,919 --> 00:26:32,799
amount, but bringing more data into the
conversation for 2015

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00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:36,400
because that's the starting point where
we're going with this from the 2015

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00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:41,640
conversation.
But we can start with just the 2017

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00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:41,640
information.

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00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:53,279
So, in 2017, we have 2.3
for water.

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00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:59,039
If you go up to 2020, we have 4.5.
And then, of course, for 2025, we're

242
00:26:55,600 --> 00:27:06,400
looking at 5.5. And then 2026 is looking
at 3.9.

243
00:27:01,679 --> 00:27:12,799
And if we go over to sewer for 2017,
you have 5 million.

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00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:22,760
If you go down to 2023, you have 5
million. If you go down to 2024, you've

245
00:27:15,279 --> 00:27:22,760
got 4.4, but for 2026 is looking at 2.3.

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00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:32,799
Thank you.
Now, here we have the estimated fund

247
00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:36,640
balance and retain earnings. And what
you'll see

248
00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:42,720
are the amounts that we started with
with the 12,254,98

249
00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:51,720
for the general fund as of July 1st,
2025 with the current new estimate of

250
00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:51,720
May 15, 2026 of 9,792.

251
00:27:53,760 --> 00:28:00,880
And if you're looking at the numbers,
everything in red are smaller numbers

252
00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:04,640
than what's on top, the larger numbers.
And you see that arrows is showing you

253
00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:09,919
that everything was going down. So,
there was money coming out, but with the

254
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:15,919
money coming out, there was cost and
expenses that we were able to use. And

255
00:28:13,039 --> 00:28:21,279
the majority of the cost and expenses
that were paid were things that

256
00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:25,120
benefited our city. For instance, we
were able to purchase ambulance. Um, I

257
00:28:23,679 --> 00:28:30,320
don't know how many of you that went to
the 250th birthday for Marine Corps in

258
00:28:27,279 --> 00:28:34,880
the park. We spent funds when there um
we've had the firefighter grant match.

259
00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:38,000
We had streets and paving this year. I
know a lot of citizens have wanted to

260
00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:43,360
have streets paved if this was a paving
year. Um some of the income or rather

261
00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:47,679
some of the the money went from the city
manager severance package as well as the

262
00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:51,840
city manager search down to parks and
reccks having vehicles and the city park

263
00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:56,399
playground. And we just did the ribbon
cutting on Friday for the city park

264
00:28:53,360 --> 00:29:03,120
playground. And then of course we've
also had um the Christmas tree. So

265
00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:08,960
according to the slide that's in front
of all of us, the city of Havlock was in

266
00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:13,120
position to spend some of the money from
out of the general fund. And you've

267
00:29:11,279 --> 00:29:17,679
always want to be able to spend it out
of the general fund instead of being

268
00:29:15,039 --> 00:29:21,600
able to tax our citizens. But of course,
we want to spend the money for the

269
00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:27,200
general fund when the city is healthy,
when the the fund itself is healthy. So,

270
00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:32,960
you'll see there, we were able to make
those types of purchases. And with the

271
00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:39,039
POW bill, that is the bill that helps us
to pay for the paving. We don't pave

272
00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:42,960
every year. We try to pave every couple
years so that we can get a larger

273
00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:47,520
cushion, get a little bit more bang for
the buck. And then of course water and

274
00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:53,520
sewer fund. That's a little
self-explanatory, but you don't want to

275
00:29:49,919 --> 00:29:57,440
have a low water fund because we want to
make sure in the event that there are

276
00:29:55,120 --> 00:30:04,039
emergencies or problems that there's
enough in that fund.

277
00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:04,039
If you can go to the next slide, please.

278
00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:16,159
And then of course this slide shows you
the budget year comparisons

279
00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:22,080
from the actual budget from 2024 to 2025
to the budget that we're in 2025 to

280
00:30:19,039 --> 00:30:28,159
2026. So the budget that we're in 2025
to 2026 is not classified as the actual

281
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:32,159
budget because we're still literally in
this budget. The numbers could change if

282
00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:36,000
something was to occur that wasn't
already listed or covered in this

283
00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:44,880
particular budget. And what I'd like to
point out to you is in the actual budget

284
00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:49,760
for 2024 2025 we had 26,181
$660

285
00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:59,600
$181,660.
But of course for the budget of 2025 to

286
00:30:51,679 --> 00:31:05,919
2026 we had 36 million 682 $682,680.
And then our proposed budget in 2026 and

287
00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:14,720
2027 is actually smaller than the
current budget that we're in. Our goal

288
00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:20,799
is not to just tax the citizens. But one
of the reasons why we had a larger

289
00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:26,399
operating budget in 2025 and 2026 is
because we had large grants that came in

290
00:31:23,919 --> 00:31:31,360
to help pay for some of the things that
were needed. And so we optimized it and

291
00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:35,360
we used it during that time frame.
And if we can go to the next slide.

292
00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:49,919
And then of course for 2026 through 2027
proposed budget fund balance use.

293
00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:56,880
We like being able as I stated before
out of the general fund to fund items

294
00:31:54,159 --> 00:32:02,159
when it is healthy. But these are one
time items. You know fire trucks,

295
00:31:59,519 --> 00:32:07,120
ambulance, things of that nature. things
that you buy a firet truck once this

296
00:32:04,799 --> 00:32:12,159
year and then you might have to buy a
firet truck in another 10 or 15 years.

297
00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:17,360
So when the general fund is healthy
that's when we want to be able to make

298
00:32:14,399 --> 00:32:22,159
those types of purchases and we had a
healthier general fund therefore we was

299
00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:28,799
able to make those types of purchases.
We b we purchased an ambulance um three

300
00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:34,320
police vehicles we had a backho tractor
um

301
00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:40,159
so I The large point with me standing
here that I want to convey to the

302
00:32:36,399 --> 00:32:44,640
citizens is we don't want to just
senselessly or carelessly raise taxes.

303
00:32:43,519 --> 00:32:48,720
We want to make sure that we're
protecting our fund balances and that

304
00:32:46,880 --> 00:32:54,960
we're trying to protect the needs of the
citizens without having to cut services.

305
00:32:51,919 --> 00:33:00,080
Um because from listening to a lot of
the citizens, they want to be able to

306
00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:03,039
keep the same services.
and thank you for your time. And of

307
00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:08,679
course, we'll be more than happy to
speak to you after everybody reviews

308
00:33:05,519 --> 00:33:08,679
their slides.

309
00:33:09,679 --> 00:33:16,480
» So, I'm I'm tag in for Danny since he's
not here. These were his slides. Um,

310
00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:21,440
these are some basic overviews of the
general fund to give you some percentage

311
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:25,360
perspective. And so, this fund,
remember, general fund is what your your

312
00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:31,840
tax dollars are paying for for your
property tax. So in this you think about

313
00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:38,000
things like recreation, police, fire,
EMS, um some of public works, all of

314
00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:42,720
admin, finance, uh those things are
being paid for in the general fund. IT

315
00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:46,720
support. So that one is your heaviest
one on personnel. It's because it is a

316
00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:49,840
service. This is intended not to make
money. You don't make money running

317
00:33:47,919 --> 00:33:53,679
parks and wreck. You don't make money
providing it for your departments.

318
00:33:52,159 --> 00:33:58,240
That's not what they're there for. So
these people are there to provide a

319
00:33:54,960 --> 00:34:04,799
service. So 33% into operations, 60%
personnel, only 7% in capital outlay,

320
00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:08,480
which is not horrible, but definitely
not at the number that uh we probably

321
00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:11,679
would want to be at. From a revenue
perspective, you see most of that is

322
00:34:09,839 --> 00:34:16,240
state shared and collected, which is
taxes. And then our little bit of

323
00:34:13,599 --> 00:34:19,520
Powville property or state shared and
collected, the ones I talked about are

324
00:34:17,359 --> 00:34:22,000
like enterprise funds and all that. I
shouldn't say enterprise funds. The

325
00:34:20,639 --> 00:34:27,440
enterprise account that we used to
receive for utilities in our rideways,

326
00:34:25,599 --> 00:34:31,760
property and motor vehicle tax make up
48% of that. So what you pay for your

327
00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:36,480
cars, your trucks, your trailers, your
house, that makes up the majority of

328
00:34:34,079 --> 00:34:41,280
that account. And then about 13% we get
through fees, permits, things like that.

329
00:34:38,879 --> 00:34:46,240
If you rent a picnic shelter, if you got
a building permit, anything like that.

330
00:34:44,399 --> 00:34:49,839
All right,
these are this is just an overview to

331
00:34:47,839 --> 00:34:54,800
show you that cuts before that it even
gets to the board.

332
00:34:52,159 --> 00:34:59,520
So, the department themselves cut $1.8
million out of the budget um as a part

333
00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:03,280
of getting it to the board to try to
provide the same level of service

334
00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:06,640
without increasing taxes or at the
lowest tax rate that they possibly

335
00:35:04,720 --> 00:35:10,480
could. And this is just an example of
some of the things. This is not

336
00:35:07,839 --> 00:35:14,000
comprehensive, but we look at things
like in administration, what can where

337
00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:19,280
can you save money finance? Some of this
is training cuts. Some of it is reducing

338
00:35:16,079 --> 00:35:22,240
legal line items. Um it, for example,
you might stall purchasing equipment.

339
00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:25,119
Maybe this was a year where you were
going to do a bunch of computers or

340
00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:28,960
laptops. You say, "Okay, we're going to
wait one more year in order to reduce

341
00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:32,160
that number." Um, sometimes it's
equipment you're not buying. You get

342
00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:36,400
down in streets and maintenance and
garage. Sometimes that's, you know, I

343
00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:39,920
could, it might be that we need a new
scanner for vehicles, but we say, "Okay,

344
00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:43,839
we're going to push that a year and and
take the risk on that." What I say is

345
00:35:42,079 --> 00:35:48,320
everything that you see in a cut,
whether it's one of these examples or

346
00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:52,160
something else, cuts are always a risk
assessment. So if you're willing to cut

347
00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:54,800
something or not pay for it, you're
accepting the risk that thing may not

348
00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:58,400
fail for the next year. You're willing
to go one more year with it. A perfect

349
00:35:56,560 --> 00:36:02,720
example is we've had trucks that are 20
years old that still happen to be

350
00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:06,560
driving and the board says it might be
on its last leg, but the people driving

351
00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:09,839
that truck are not responding to
emergencies. We're going to take the

352
00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:12,960
risk one more year on that truck.
Sometimes it works. we happen to get one

353
00:36:11,359 --> 00:36:16,320
more year. Sometimes a truck blows up
mid year and the board has to buy a

354
00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:20,640
truck anyway. But every cut is a risk
assessment. And so this is just a sample

355
00:36:18,079 --> 00:36:27,440
of some of those cuts. $1.8 million
worth, which is 19 cent on the tax rate.

356
00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:33,839
If you go back to the $99,000
per cent of tax. All right.

357
00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:38,480
And then if we look at water and sewer,
these are funds that again are

358
00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:42,240
enterprise funds. The state requires us
to run them like a business. So what you

359
00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:46,000
pay for your water is supposed to pay
for the cost to provide the water. So if

360
00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:49,440
you look at this, your personnel and
operations are much different because

361
00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:56,160
the business you're spending 50% in
operations, 46% in water, and in sewer,

362
00:36:53,440 --> 00:37:00,320
75% in operations, only 24% in
personnel. Those capital outlay numbers

363
00:36:58,320 --> 00:37:03,839
are very, very small. That is because
those retained earning accounts, as you

364
00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:06,880
saw a minute ago, are small. So the
money that we're spending on capital has

365
00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:10,560
to be limited based on the resources
that we have because capital outlay is

366
00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:16,800
things like buying a new piece of
equipment, buying a huge truck, backho,

367
00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:21,520
something like that, a vac
replacements of your capital projects

368
00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:25,280
like a massive sewer line project that
might be in your capital improvement

369
00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:28,320
plan. All right, next slide. I don't
actually know when to stop on Danny, so

370
00:37:26,720 --> 00:37:31,320
y'all got to tell me. Is this you now?
Okay.

371
00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:45,200
Good evening.
I'm up here alone, but I'm not afraid.

372
00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:50,880
That's my joke for the night. You're
supposed to laugh. I'm glad you did.

373
00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:57,280
Anyway, okay. Proposed utility bill. The
average low usage for the citizens is

374
00:37:54,160 --> 00:38:04,480
3,000 gallons per month for a single
family or or a couple. The average use

375
00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:08,079
is 5,000 and the high usage average is
9,000.

376
00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:11,359
And if you look at the chart, if you if
you're 2,000

377
00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:17,280
gallons a month, you're going to pay
$115

378
00:38:13,040 --> 00:38:23,200
57. The proposed is for the coming year
it'll be 137 but we use the 3,000

379
00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:30,480
because that is the low average of most
houses in Havlock. Your average is going

380
00:38:27,599 --> 00:38:33,960
to be 129 for this year. Next year it'll
be 154.

381
00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:43,040
And if you're the big average is 5,000
as you can see is 19056 because it goes

382
00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:47,960
by all of all of it goes off of your
usage and now it'll be $22262.

383
00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:56,560
Solid waste that's contracted through
GFL and they basically set our rates and

384
00:38:54,640 --> 00:39:01,839
I believe they're going up this year on
contract. Am I right, Mr. Mayor?

385
00:38:59,599 --> 00:39:06,560
Okay.
Storm water, everybody. Um, I did have

386
00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:11,119
one question about that earlier today.
Storm water is something that we're

387
00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:16,160
mandated to do it as a city. Um, it
doesn't mean we're just mandated to do

388
00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:25,480
it and we got to find some way to fund
it. And the way we funded it, come up

389
00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:25,480
with is is $4 per h per household. So,

390
00:39:26,079 --> 00:39:32,800
I don't have to go next slide. Uh the
current rate is for one eru which is

391
00:39:30,880 --> 00:39:38,000
basically the equivalent residential
unit and for all houses in Havlock they

392
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:42,240
use it's the same. It doesn't matter how
big your house is or how little your

393
00:39:39,440 --> 00:39:47,040
house is you get charged one unit. Where
the big difference comes in is the

394
00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:52,800
commercial rate is that for every 2500
square feet of a business they got to

395
00:39:49,359 --> 00:40:00,240
pay an eru. So it's $4 per 2500 square
feet for a business. So you can imagine

396
00:39:55,440 --> 00:40:03,480
what Walmart's storm water bill is
next slide.

397
00:40:05,119 --> 00:40:09,000
All right. Utility rates.

398
00:40:09,359 --> 00:40:19,119
Our system, as you can see on the slide,
is 40 to 70 years old, depending on when

399
00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:23,760
your your housing community was built.
There are a lot of different types of

400
00:40:21,200 --> 00:40:29,359
materials from 50 years ago, 60, 70
years ago than there are things that

401
00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:36,960
were built 20 years ago or 40 years ago.
We have 80 miles of sewer main and all

402
00:40:32,880 --> 00:40:41,920
that is made of many different
materials. Some cost more to repairs

403
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:47,440
than others.
And as the mayor was uh explaining what

404
00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:53,599
capital outlay means, you know, that is
what we use for our funds that are the

405
00:40:50,560 --> 00:40:57,880
earned um
I'm going to I'm going to mess this one

406
00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:57,880
up.

407
00:40:59,839 --> 00:41:05,520
Not capital A, but our our funds for
that. I always forget the name of it.

408
00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:10,160
The earned income
returned earnings. Retained earnings. So

409
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:18,040
part of that comes from it's basically a
savings account for your rainy days to

410
00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:18,040
put it in in small easy terms.

411
00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:25,359
Havlock's utility system is significant
and aging as I as I said combined with a

412
00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:29,040
limited growth which is a big thing. We
have Havlock has we're kind of

413
00:41:27,520 --> 00:41:34,640
landlocked. I know you're going to say
how how are we landlocked? Well, we have

414
00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:39,280
the base and the Noose River basically.
Then we are surrounded by national

415
00:41:36,720 --> 00:41:45,359
forest. So, it's hard for us to grow out
any way left or right and and out to the

416
00:41:42,880 --> 00:41:52,240
west or south.
So, what we got to do is try to grow

417
00:41:49,119 --> 00:41:56,240
within what we have. So, the combined
limited growth and the cost of

418
00:41:54,079 --> 00:42:01,359
maintaining replacing the infrastructure
has to be spread relatively small

419
00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:06,480
customer base. So, like everybody said,
why is our tax rate so high compared to

420
00:42:04,160 --> 00:42:10,079
other just the rate and and and I know
the mayor explained to you what the rate

421
00:42:08,079 --> 00:42:16,640
is. It's really matters what you what
you pay. But let's just say that we have

422
00:42:13,040 --> 00:42:22,160
a water break or a water main break here
in Havlock and they have the same water

423
00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:26,160
main break in Morhead.
And listen, just for number sake, the

424
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:31,440
repair costs $100.
They have 20 people to pay for that. So

425
00:42:28,319 --> 00:42:36,560
it cost them each $5. We only have 10
people to pay for that. So it cost each

426
00:42:33,680 --> 00:42:40,560
of our 10 people $10. So but you're
getting the same repair. You're getting

427
00:42:38,480 --> 00:42:46,280
the same material. You're getting the
same work. So that's one easy way to

428
00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:46,280
look at it.

429
00:42:52,560 --> 00:42:59,520
» Solid waste. Um, as you said, the rates
are going to go up for the the fees and

430
00:42:56,960 --> 00:43:03,520
the gas and all that. So, the rate we're
going to adjust. We've been doing this

431
00:43:01,359 --> 00:43:09,359
for a little while, but our expenditures
of this is only for 28% of the

432
00:43:05,359 --> 00:43:14,319
personnel. 58% is all operating costs
and 14% of your capital outlay,

433
00:43:12,160 --> 00:43:20,079
basically your savings account. So,
right now, you pay for the current

434
00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:25,040
resident $24.84.
proposed is going to be less than a $2

435
00:43:22,240 --> 00:43:30,720
increase on your solid waste per month.
And if you're a commercial, it's still a

436
00:43:27,280 --> 00:43:35,040
little bit over $2 as the rate goes for
the upcoming budget.

437
00:43:33,440 --> 00:43:40,880
Your storm water, there's no changes to
your revenue. As you can see that the

438
00:43:37,680 --> 00:43:47,920
expenditures for that is 41%.
23% for operating costs and 30 36% for

439
00:43:45,680 --> 00:43:52,960
your capital outlay because there's a
lot of other equipment that goes along

440
00:43:49,440 --> 00:43:57,440
with making sure your runoff whether
it's man-made or we make sure that what

441
00:43:55,280 --> 00:44:02,079
is man-made gets to the natural
estuaries to push the water out to where

442
00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:07,599
it goes that we have to have a little
bit more equipment to do that

443
00:44:04,960 --> 00:44:12,359
and there's no rate um increase for that
this year. Next slide, please.

444
00:44:12,960 --> 00:44:19,599
As you saw in one of the other slides
for the touring event center, we're

445
00:44:17,119 --> 00:44:24,240
going to go up about 10% on all of our
rates.

446
00:44:21,280 --> 00:44:27,599
Um, this is one of those ones that the
touring event center every year we have

447
00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:33,119
to add money to it to keep this
beautiful facility open. And as you can

448
00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:36,720
see, the 50% of the expenditures are for
personnel. We don't have really a whole

449
00:44:35,280 --> 00:44:41,280
lot of people that work here in the
tourist event center in comparison to

450
00:44:38,560 --> 00:44:47,520
other place other places, but they do a
phenomenal job and this place has kept

451
00:44:43,440 --> 00:44:51,599
up phenomenally. It it's it's amazing
and it's clean. Every time you come here

452
00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:57,280
and every event they have here, it is
done with the utmost professionalism

453
00:44:53,760 --> 00:45:01,839
that I've ever seen. So, and 46% is your
operating cost and only 4% of your

454
00:44:59,680 --> 00:45:05,760
capital outlay. Because of all the other
things we've done in years past to keep

455
00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:09,280
the improvements up on this building,
they've done a ve we've done a very good

456
00:45:07,440 --> 00:45:13,839
job as a city keeping this building up
to where it needs to be.

457
00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:17,599
Um, and again, the majority of
expenditures is personnel and operating

458
00:45:15,920 --> 00:45:23,599
expenses.
And with that, I'm going to turn it over

459
00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:26,480
to Commissioner Kanty for the next set
of slides.

460
00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:42,640
Good evening. So the next couple slides
I have uh understanding that a city

461
00:45:39,200 --> 00:45:48,480
cannot just run on the the taxes that we
receive from the citizen alone. We also

462
00:45:44,800 --> 00:45:51,520
actually go out trying to obtain loans
and grants and those will be my next

463
00:45:50,079 --> 00:45:59,040
couple of slides I'm going to cover. I'm
going cover right now our debt uh our

464
00:45:55,359 --> 00:46:03,599
debt slides. Currently, we have six USDA
loans and one state loan. As a

465
00:46:02,079 --> 00:46:08,560
municipality, we there are strict
guidelines that we actually have to

466
00:46:05,119 --> 00:46:12,160
follow before we are even uh approved
for these loans. We have to basically

467
00:46:10,160 --> 00:46:17,599
follow these guidelines to make sure
that one one we can pay back pay back

468
00:46:15,119 --> 00:46:21,680
the loan that we receive.
And

469
00:46:19,280 --> 00:46:28,480
for being good stewards of of the the
taxpayers's money, we've obtained again

470
00:46:25,280 --> 00:46:33,359
like I said six USDA loan and one state
loan and we've been responsible and

471
00:46:30,160 --> 00:46:40,000
paying all our uh all of our loans back
in a timely manner. And over the last

472
00:46:35,359 --> 00:46:45,920
three years uh 2023 we We repaid a sewer
annex loan, the water plant loan in

473
00:46:42,880 --> 00:46:51,440
2024, and we also paid off our fire
truck in 2025.

474
00:46:48,480 --> 00:46:57,359
So, we are being good steward of the
taxpayers money when we do receive it.

475
00:46:54,800 --> 00:47:03,599
Like I said, these are some of the
things that we hope to do go out and get

476
00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:08,880
to help ease the burden on the taxpayer
because trying to buy a fire truck, I

477
00:47:06,480 --> 00:47:13,200
think one fire truck is almost like 1.2
million if I'm not mistaken. I can

478
00:47:11,119 --> 00:47:20,280
correct that number in at the end of
this right here. Next slide.

479
00:47:16,480 --> 00:47:20,280
Uh current grants.

480
00:47:22,640 --> 00:47:29,599
There are also some things that we
actually have to do to actually uh to go

481
00:47:27,040 --> 00:47:36,000
out and grab uh to apply for grants.
Currently, we have over 17 million in

482
00:47:33,119 --> 00:47:42,079
grants right now. Uh there we're also
pending a

483
00:47:39,200 --> 00:47:47,119
uh a Marta Canal
grant that's going to be another $6

484
00:47:44,160 --> 00:47:52,400
million basically added to the city.
Now, these grants, they can't be used to

485
00:47:50,160 --> 00:47:57,920
to to lower the tax, but they they are
used to basically specific projects that

486
00:47:54,960 --> 00:48:04,240
are here in the city that we're trying
to take care of. And also our parks and

487
00:48:01,119 --> 00:48:09,280
wreck, they just completed their parks
and wreck uh master plan. That's going

488
00:48:06,480 --> 00:48:13,280
to allow us to apply for additional
grants for the parks and wreck. So we're

489
00:48:11,680 --> 00:48:20,960
looking forward to that in the upcoming
year now that our uh parks and rec

490
00:48:15,280 --> 00:48:25,280
master plan has been completed. But no,
these grants pretty much allows the

491
00:48:22,960 --> 00:48:30,800
Havlock to address major infrastructure
needs that basically help us with uh

492
00:48:28,480 --> 00:48:36,400
public safety, recreation, water, sewer,
and storm water projects here in the

493
00:48:32,800 --> 00:48:41,280
city for these grants. So, if there's a
grant out there for the city of Havlock,

494
00:48:39,359 --> 00:48:46,240
we're going to aggressively go after it
and try to get it to help alleviate some

495
00:48:43,280 --> 00:48:50,720
of the burden on the citizen of Havlock.
And just one clarifier, Tyrone, the the

496
00:48:48,960 --> 00:48:55,119
master rec plan is still in process. We
have completed the contract, so it is

497
00:48:52,640 --> 00:48:58,160
let and the contractor is working it.
Matter of fact, one of your first

498
00:48:56,319 --> 00:49:01,760
opportunities as citizens to give input
into that will be Friday. They're doing

499
00:48:59,680 --> 00:49:05,119
it in conjunction with our concert
Friday night. So, you'll have a few

500
00:49:03,440 --> 00:49:09,520
opportunities to give input to the
master rec plan. Uh then it will be

501
00:49:07,520 --> 00:49:11,680
completed and adopted by the board and
it can be used to get grants and things

502
00:49:11,040 --> 00:49:16,720
like that.
>> Thank you very much for that, Mr. Mayor.

503
00:49:14,400 --> 00:49:20,640
Next slide, please.
So we've seen these these sl these

504
00:49:18,800 --> 00:49:25,920
slides. This right here is what we are
proposing right now. This is the again

505
00:49:23,119 --> 00:49:32,079
this is a proposal. Uh the budget right
now is looking at to to be at a tax rate

506
00:49:28,640 --> 00:49:42,960
of 75 cents. That's 1 cents uh property
tax uh equaling generating 99,380.

507
00:49:38,559 --> 00:49:47,920
Average home basically is 186 uh
186,300.

508
00:49:45,680 --> 00:49:54,000
Uh our vehicle tax 1 cent basically
bring in 15,45

509
00:49:50,640 --> 00:49:57,000
with a total estimate tax value of 144
$114,993,0093

510
00:49:58,400 --> 00:50:07,119
uh fees per permit fees increase
generally to 3.3%

511
00:50:03,920 --> 00:50:14,240
CPI basically following the guidelines
and our enterp enterprise funds water

512
00:50:10,319 --> 00:50:17,520
increase 15% sewer increase 20% solid
wast

513
00:50:15,680 --> 00:50:23,839
and no change to our storm water and
then our tour and event center is 10%.

514
00:50:21,760 --> 00:50:28,720
Next slide
which rounds everything out as our

515
00:50:26,640 --> 00:50:32,000
proposed budget and again our this is
just the proposed budget. Our budget

516
00:50:30,240 --> 00:50:36,079
workshop meeting that's going to be take
place on the 10th which is this coming

517
00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:40,960
Wednesday is also open to the public.
You can get to come to see how we're

518
00:50:39,040 --> 00:50:44,960
tightening the screws now to basically
come up with a final project for the

519
00:50:43,040 --> 00:50:51,440
city of Havlock to continue to be good
stewardist of the taxpayers's uh

520
00:50:48,480 --> 00:51:00,160
finances. Uh 3 cents tax increase
average home as a as again 186,300

521
00:50:55,839 --> 00:51:07,520
an additional 55 $5589
per year or 4 point $466

522
00:51:04,800 --> 00:51:07,520
per month.

523
00:51:08,640 --> 00:51:18,040
And I believe uh Commissioner Wilson
will come up and cover our next couple

524
00:51:14,079 --> 00:51:18,040
of slides. Thank you.

525
00:51:19,359 --> 00:51:26,800
I'm the oldest, so I get to talk about
history.

526
00:51:24,160 --> 00:51:31,839
How did that happen? But I've been on
the board long enough to see all of

527
00:51:28,480 --> 00:51:38,240
those numbers. And you can see we went
through seven years where we did not

528
00:51:34,319 --> 00:51:43,520
raise taxes. But in 2023, we had a
listening session just like tonight

529
00:51:40,640 --> 00:51:50,160
where the citizens said,
"We don't want this big increase. Can

530
00:51:46,000 --> 00:52:00,319
you do it a little bit at a time instead
of one big Sometimes cutting

531
00:51:55,119 --> 00:52:09,599
just to cut is bad. Um but we tried for
a long time to stay um balanced and and

532
00:52:06,160 --> 00:52:15,920
not increase but but you can see the
world we live in today so much has

533
00:52:13,280 --> 00:52:23,040
increased. Inflation has hit us not only
in gas has been talked about but buying

534
00:52:19,359 --> 00:52:29,280
the the product to take care of your
water to take care of the sewer. All of

535
00:52:26,480 --> 00:52:36,000
those things, parks and wreck, we can't
get along without new trucks, new police

536
00:52:32,720 --> 00:52:43,760
cars, new fire trucks, all of those
things have to come as part of being a

537
00:52:39,839 --> 00:52:50,480
city. We have, like I said, we tried for
seven years, we were able to not have a

538
00:52:46,400 --> 00:52:56,640
tax increase, but however,
you've seen that we've had to go forward

539
00:52:52,720 --> 00:52:59,880
with that with that tax increase.
Next slide.

540
00:53:01,040 --> 00:53:11,160
Our utility funds. This is the this is
actually the one that scares me the

541
00:53:05,599 --> 00:53:11,160
most. If you look at 2026,

542
00:53:12,480 --> 00:53:17,640
we're we are at 2,6,000

543
00:53:17,680 --> 00:53:28,720
$600,000.
we spent this year so far 2 million3.

544
00:53:25,440 --> 00:53:32,280
If we have a year like this year, we're
going to be

545
00:53:32,559 --> 00:53:41,839
in trouble.
Um I don't know any other way to say it,

546
00:53:37,839 --> 00:53:50,160
but the grand total of our funds keep
going down. Um we we have explained

547
00:53:46,800 --> 00:53:58,160
again the costs going up with each and
every year as to operating those systems

548
00:53:54,800 --> 00:54:05,200
and not having an increase of our tax
budget like many other municipalities

549
00:54:01,440 --> 00:54:11,520
have because we haven't had the growth.
We do have hopes and plans for

550
00:54:08,640 --> 00:54:19,359
additional growth down down Lake Road,
additional growth out toward Stately

551
00:54:14,319 --> 00:54:26,880
Pines as as the I42 happens, but that's
not going to bring a answer soon.

552
00:54:23,920 --> 00:54:35,520
So know that those things are are being
talked. We're talking with developers,

553
00:54:30,000 --> 00:54:40,880
but it's not a quick fix. So, next is
Tom Tant. And I was happy to see him

554
00:54:38,960 --> 00:54:47,839
tonight because he's going to give you
Are you Did you want to Okay. So,

555
00:54:43,760 --> 00:54:53,280
anyway, Tom has has been our city
engineer for a long long time. He's with

556
00:54:50,880 --> 00:54:58,800
Hazen and Sawyer. I don't I can't
remember many projects that we have that

557
00:54:55,599 --> 00:55:03,040
he is influenced having some influence
by. So, this is Tom Tant. So, y'all

558
00:55:01,440 --> 00:55:06,160
might be wondering why we had Tom come
out today. A lot of the questions we've

559
00:55:04,400 --> 00:55:10,880
gotten about water and sewer in
particular over the last several weeks

560
00:55:08,559 --> 00:55:13,359
have been regarding how do you decide
what you're doing with your system? Like

561
00:55:12,240 --> 00:55:17,119
how are you planning for retained
earnings? How are you planning your

562
00:55:14,640 --> 00:55:21,760
projects? Tom does not work for the city
as an employee, as an engineer. We don't

563
00:55:18,800 --> 00:55:24,960
have that. Tom is a cont is on contract
with us through Hazen and Sawyer and is

564
00:55:23,760 --> 00:55:29,680
very familiar with Havlock's been
working on projects with us for a very

565
00:55:26,480 --> 00:55:33,520
long time. And the last couple years,
the phrase that we've used a lot is

566
00:55:32,000 --> 00:55:37,680
called changing the trajectory, right?
We all would love an easy button where

567
00:55:34,960 --> 00:55:41,839
you can just push it and say 70 years of
sewer line just get repaired and we move

568
00:55:40,079 --> 00:55:45,200
on and you have a perfect system and you
restart. It doesn't work that way. So

569
00:55:43,920 --> 00:55:49,440
when you find yourself in that
situation, what do you do to try to

570
00:55:47,119 --> 00:55:52,960
solve the problem and how do you expend
your funds efficiently in order to

571
00:55:51,280 --> 00:55:56,559
change that trajectory to get you moving
in the right direction? So Tom and his

572
00:55:55,280 --> 00:55:59,440
team have been integral in trying to
build that. So, he's going to run

573
00:55:57,599 --> 00:56:02,880
through a couple slides today to give
you sort of what the board looks at when

574
00:56:01,359 --> 00:56:07,839
they start doing their risk calculations
on how they decide their funding.

575
00:56:04,960 --> 00:56:13,280
» All right. Thank y'all. Uh, next slide.
So, um, this slide really here is in

576
00:56:11,440 --> 00:56:18,000
intended to explain that we're trying to
get in a proactive

577
00:56:15,520 --> 00:56:23,520
uh, stance on the utility side of
things. Um, when you got water lines and

578
00:56:21,280 --> 00:56:27,040
sewer lines that fail, you're doing
emergency repairs and you're doing them

579
00:56:25,599 --> 00:56:31,440
when you don't really want to be doing
them. Things are expensive. That's that

580
00:56:29,200 --> 00:56:36,880
that's a pricey way to run a system. And
so what we've been working on really

581
00:56:33,599 --> 00:56:40,799
since last year is to try to get um I
mean this shows a fiveyear plan. This is

582
00:56:38,880 --> 00:56:44,880
not intended to go five years and stop.
This is the first five years, but we're

583
00:56:42,960 --> 00:56:48,960
progressively going through a condition
assessment trying to identify what the

584
00:56:47,200 --> 00:56:54,000
problems are and really be in a more
proactive mode. Now the bad news is

585
00:56:51,760 --> 00:56:57,359
this. when you start looking for
problems so that you can identify

586
00:56:55,680 --> 00:57:01,040
problems before they're real big, you're
going to find them. All right? And

587
00:56:59,359 --> 00:57:06,960
there's a need to address them. But the
deal is long term, if we address these

588
00:57:03,839 --> 00:57:12,160
in a proactive uh uh stance versus a
reactive stance, at the end of the day,

589
00:57:09,839 --> 00:57:17,040
uh you got a lower cost. And so that's
really what this sort of asset

590
00:57:14,160 --> 00:57:21,680
management trajectory is about. Um to
try to be in a again more proactive

591
00:57:18,880 --> 00:57:26,480
stance
and just a couple of I won't belver this

592
00:57:24,000 --> 00:57:30,559
but you know there's a plan for 2026 and
so it does generate the needs uh for

593
00:57:28,720 --> 00:57:34,480
funds to stay on that program but that's
what's needed to try to get ahead of the

594
00:57:32,160 --> 00:57:39,920
game. I would also point out that uh
we've heard uh discussion about the the

595
00:57:37,200 --> 00:57:44,559
fund balances dropping you know and when
you get these repairs that cost a ton of

596
00:57:42,799 --> 00:57:49,359
money that you didn't see coming it
comes out of savings and that's really

597
00:57:46,160 --> 00:57:54,240
what some of those downward spikes are
result of in the water and sewer side.

598
00:57:51,520 --> 00:57:57,440
All right, next slide. All right, so I'm
going to change total gears here. I'm

599
00:57:55,920 --> 00:58:00,720
going to hop around a little bit, but
that certainly is a big one, and that

600
00:57:59,040 --> 00:58:04,480
that's really geared towards what I just
talked about out in the system. We have

601
00:58:02,640 --> 00:58:09,599
a wastewater plan. All right, next
slide. Um, we did some work back in 2007

602
00:58:08,079 --> 00:58:15,119
that said, okay, what do we need from a
wastewater capacity perspective? Uh, you

603
00:58:12,400 --> 00:58:22,160
know, and again, rock solid, but here's
what's going on. Next slide. Um,

604
00:58:19,040 --> 00:58:30,799
this chart just all you got to care
about is that in 2003 is the far left,

605
00:58:26,559 --> 00:58:34,640
2026 is the far right. And it's going
down to the right, right? And that

606
00:58:33,119 --> 00:58:39,440
downward trend, those are your
wastewater flows. And so, as we've gone

607
00:58:36,559 --> 00:58:43,920
through time and added people and added
businesses and everything else,

608
00:58:41,520 --> 00:58:47,440
actually, your wastewater flows are
going down. and okay. Well, that's I

609
00:58:46,000 --> 00:58:51,839
mean that's a good thing. I mean we're
managing the INI. That's a that's a

610
00:58:49,680 --> 00:58:57,200
great uh a great story and there have
been some great projects that that

611
00:58:53,520 --> 00:59:02,079
caused that. The next slide is kind of
interesting. So again, we're not going

612
00:58:59,440 --> 00:59:07,040
to belabor the the the technical points
here, but that red line going up, that's

613
00:59:04,799 --> 00:59:11,440
basic basically the strength and the
pollutant load within the waist stream.

614
00:59:09,200 --> 00:59:16,720
And so that stuff's harder to treat. So
the story is back in 2007 when we said,

615
00:59:14,319 --> 00:59:20,400
"Okay, we got a plan for the wastewater
plant and how we're going to deal with

616
00:59:18,079 --> 00:59:25,760
that." That was based on assumptions
that we thought were going to play out

617
00:59:22,000 --> 00:59:30,319
in 07, you know, and things like this
generate a greater need for wastewater

618
00:59:27,920 --> 00:59:35,599
treatment than than was assumed. And so
there's a lot of things in play behind

619
00:59:32,240 --> 00:59:40,799
the scenes beyond just your typical uh
inflationary kind of drivers that drive

620
00:59:38,319 --> 00:59:45,599
the cost of water and sewer. So that's
these are you know just some factors

621
00:59:42,319 --> 00:59:51,280
that go into that. All right. Uh and
then the last slide that I'll mention um

622
00:59:48,960 --> 00:59:55,760
that's why I mentioned it earlier. So
and this is just an example you know uh

623
00:59:54,079 --> 00:59:59,920
over at the wastewater plant we've been
talking about trying to get some

624
00:59:57,119 --> 01:00:04,799
improved controls and basically computer
controlled uh type of equipment at the

625
01:00:02,720 --> 01:00:08,559
plant because you know that that you
know those types of things solve a lot

626
01:00:06,720 --> 01:00:14,240
of problems or can help prevent a lot of
problems and things that um you know uh

627
01:00:11,599 --> 01:00:17,680
can if you're not careful can create um
you know a lot of expense on the city if

628
01:00:16,319 --> 01:00:22,000
things aren't caught in a timely
fashion. So stuff like this is just

629
01:00:19,920 --> 01:00:25,440
another part of the philosophy that's
going in to the planning for these

630
01:00:23,920 --> 01:00:32,359
facilities is trying to stay ahead of
that head of the curve. So with that I

631
01:00:28,079 --> 01:00:32,359
think that's the last slide I've got.

632
01:00:38,319 --> 01:00:46,160
I actually asked for this part because
in 2013 when I became a new

633
01:00:43,839 --> 01:00:53,680
commissioner,
I took a tour of our water I mean of our

634
01:00:49,200 --> 01:01:00,799
our sewer plant and in our sewer plant
there is a 1950

635
01:00:56,160 --> 01:01:08,720
something megathon box taking up room.
We have tried to improve our system as

636
01:01:04,480 --> 01:01:13,760
we can but as Tom mentioned GA would do
wonderful for our city. We've able we've

637
01:01:11,760 --> 01:01:18,880
been able to get it for our for our
water department, but we have not been

638
01:01:15,599 --> 01:01:27,920
able to get it for our wastewater. So, I
asked for sewer because I I am a widow.

639
01:01:23,599 --> 01:01:36,079
I live alone. I know what it cost y'all
to have your sewer treatment. But, but

640
01:01:32,079 --> 01:01:41,920
Havlock is doing everything we can with
the money that we currently are getting.

641
01:01:39,680 --> 01:01:49,680
And you can see by the previous slide
that I had that um if we have repairs

642
01:01:46,799 --> 01:01:54,640
like we did this year, the retained
earnings that we currently have will be

643
01:01:51,839 --> 01:02:00,400
much lower next year.
So now I'm supposed to talk about

644
01:01:56,720 --> 01:02:07,040
personnel. So I'm off sewer. And now to
our wonderful people because we do have

645
01:02:02,720 --> 01:02:13,760
a great staff that do so much for us and
as you can see we are in competition

646
01:02:10,400 --> 01:02:20,480
with all of our neighboring communities.
Um if they raise salaries and and we

647
01:02:17,839 --> 01:02:26,240
don't and currently all we're raising is
cola and longevity.

648
01:02:22,960 --> 01:02:31,920
uh cola just as the mayor said if they
buy buy a loaf of bread this year cola

649
01:02:29,119 --> 01:02:37,760
covers it to that it's the same loaf of
bread so that they're paying the same

650
01:02:34,400 --> 01:02:45,359
amount of their salary towards the the
loaf of bread next year. So we're just

651
01:02:41,760 --> 01:02:52,480
keeping pace with inflation and the
board had made a choice of of dates

652
01:02:49,280 --> 01:02:58,000
because originally when when I was on
the board. We started with whatever cola

653
01:02:55,680 --> 01:03:02,799
was in January. Well, it wasn't always
the same as it got to be March and April

654
01:03:00,240 --> 01:03:09,040
when we're actually doing the budget.
So, we are getting a later COLA date now

655
01:03:05,920 --> 01:03:15,440
than we did originally.
Our I wanted to read this. This is our

656
01:03:12,000 --> 01:03:20,319
actual city policy. The city's colon
longevity amounts are based on the board

657
01:03:18,079 --> 01:03:27,839
of commissioners adopted compensation
philosophy policy which is intended to

658
01:03:23,680 --> 01:03:34,319
recruit, retain, motivate our employees.
In addition, it is to pay all categories

659
01:03:31,039 --> 01:03:40,559
of employees at a competitive market
area level. A cost of living adjustment,

660
01:03:37,520 --> 01:03:46,559
COLA, is a pay adjustment designed to
help our employees keep up with

661
01:03:42,960 --> 01:03:51,839
inflation and rising living expenses. A
COLA is not intended to be a pay raise.

662
01:03:49,599 --> 01:03:57,280
Rather, it's an adjustment designed to
help our employees keep pace with

663
01:03:53,920 --> 01:04:02,000
inflation and rising living cost.
Without cola, an employee purchasing

664
01:04:00,000 --> 01:04:07,599
power
an employees purchasing power decreases

665
01:04:04,480 --> 01:04:13,520
over time as everyday expenses such as
housing, groceries, fuel, and utilities

666
01:04:10,559 --> 01:04:19,359
become more expensive. So that is our
board's philosophy.

667
01:04:16,319 --> 01:04:24,720
And I think any of you who
are out there in the workforce, you you

668
01:04:22,480 --> 01:04:30,640
feel the same way when it comes to cola.
You don't want to lose what standard

669
01:04:27,440 --> 01:04:34,319
you're currently at. And with that, I
thank everybody for being here tonight,

670
01:04:32,640 --> 01:04:37,319
and I'm turning it back over to the
mayor.

671
01:04:38,000 --> 01:04:46,160
So, one thing I'm going to add to that
slide is the 1.7 for longevity. Probably

672
01:04:44,160 --> 01:04:52,640
you might be wondering, how do we get to
that percentage?

673
01:04:47,920 --> 01:04:56,000
1.7 longevity is based on um a a
lifetime retirement track at the city of

674
01:04:54,480 --> 01:05:02,000
Havlock. So if you come to work for us
as a brand new police officer and you

675
01:04:59,039 --> 01:05:07,680
get paid your basic salary, if you stay
for 20 to 25 years and you get 1.7 every

676
01:05:05,760 --> 01:05:10,480
single year when you retire in that pay
grade, you will have moved from the

677
01:05:08,720 --> 01:05:15,119
bottom of the pay grade to the top.
That's where the that's just math to get

678
01:05:12,160 --> 01:05:19,760
1.7%. The board can do whatever
percentage they want every year. But

679
01:05:16,799 --> 01:05:23,520
they call it longevity because it's
a an amount of money that goes to that

680
01:05:22,079 --> 01:05:27,119
employee who stays here for their
career. So, it's about your longevity

681
01:05:25,200 --> 01:05:30,960
that here in the city of Havlock. All
right. I'm going to run through a couple

682
01:05:28,559 --> 01:05:35,280
of next steps real quick and then y'all
can um we'll we'll talk about whatever

683
01:05:33,119 --> 01:05:38,799
you want. So, we do have a workshop
Wednesday. We talked about that at the

684
01:05:36,559 --> 01:05:42,240
beginning. You are always welcome at any
meeting that the board of commissioners

685
01:05:40,160 --> 01:05:46,160
has. Period. Every meeting is an open
meeting. A workshop is not one that has

686
01:05:44,559 --> 01:05:49,440
a public hearing section or a public
comments or any of that. That's

687
01:05:47,680 --> 01:05:52,160
typically where the sausage is made.
That's where the board will sit down and

688
01:05:50,880 --> 01:05:57,359
talk about all the input they get from
you and decide what they want to do

689
01:05:54,559 --> 01:06:00,880
about this topic or any other topic. Uh
budget adoption will be June 22nd. We

690
01:05:59,599 --> 01:06:05,119
already had our public hearing on the
budget last Monday. So if you come on

691
01:06:03,680 --> 01:06:08,400
the 22nd, you want to talk about the
budget, there is a public comment

692
01:06:06,559 --> 01:06:10,799
section at the beginning. You could talk
about whatever you would like and that

693
01:06:09,599 --> 01:06:16,559
would include the budget. If you had
more input on the budget, they bless

694
01:06:13,920 --> 01:06:20,480
you. They would adopt that on June 22nd.
The budget would become effective July

695
01:06:18,480 --> 01:06:26,160
1. How can you get a hold of us
otherwise? I think that's what our next

696
01:06:22,640 --> 01:06:30,160
slide is, Chad, which is
you can check our website and if you

697
01:06:28,319 --> 01:06:32,880
want to look at past budgets, they're on
the website and we gave you some

698
01:06:31,440 --> 01:06:36,319
highlights of past budgets, but they're
on our website or you can come in and

699
01:06:34,480 --> 01:06:42,559
get it from us anytime you want. We're
on social media. Also, our meetings are

700
01:06:39,359 --> 01:06:46,240
at 7 o'clock. Um, unless it's something
special like this where we move it back

701
01:06:44,319 --> 01:06:51,119
a little bit to accommodate people's
schedules. workshops are the second

702
01:06:48,400 --> 01:06:53,760
Monday, regular televised are the fourth
and the regular televised are where we

703
01:06:52,559 --> 01:06:57,839
have the public comment section where
you can come up and speak about anything

704
01:06:55,119 --> 01:07:01,680
for five minutes to the board. Um, and
again, all of our meetings are open. I

705
01:06:59,520 --> 01:07:05,440
do have specific office hours set aside
Mondays 3 to 5 for any citizens. It's

706
01:07:03,680 --> 01:07:08,640
pretty heavily used. I always ask people
to call ahead if you want to come in

707
01:07:06,799 --> 01:07:12,079
just to make sure that there's time in
that 3 to five block. But I'll also meet

708
01:07:10,640 --> 01:07:16,880
with citizens as a lot of you in this
room know any other time if it's a

709
01:07:15,119 --> 01:07:21,839
Tuesday because you work Mondays or you
need to meet at 5:30 whatever I I meet

710
01:07:19,920 --> 01:07:26,480
people at Bojangles whatever you need to
do um because we want to get you

711
01:07:23,839 --> 01:07:29,520
whatever information you need. Um and
then I think that's kind of it right

712
01:07:28,079 --> 01:07:34,079
Chad that's our last slide and then
we'll back up to whatever ones we need u

713
01:07:32,640 --> 01:07:36,480
to go over whatever questions you have.
So here's how we'll do it. We do it just

714
01:07:35,280 --> 01:07:39,920
like if you've been to a board meeting,
we do it the same way. We're going to

715
01:07:38,319 --> 01:07:44,240
have you come up to the microphone for a
couple reasons. One, so everybody here

716
01:07:41,680 --> 01:07:47,680
can hear you. Two, because we are
Facebook liveing this whole thing. I

717
01:07:46,559 --> 01:07:51,760
don't know if I just made that term up.
We're on Facebook Live, whatever we're

718
01:07:49,039 --> 01:07:54,799
doing. And we're hooked into the
microphone system. So, if you're

719
01:07:53,440 --> 01:07:58,880
speaking in the mic, then people at home
that might be watching this will hear

720
01:07:56,079 --> 01:08:02,240
your question. Um, and then if you come
up, state your name and address clearly

721
01:08:00,640 --> 01:08:04,880
in the mic, just like we do at a board
meeting. So, we have it for the minutes

722
01:08:03,440 --> 01:08:10,400
because we are officially in a board
meeting. And then if um and then I'll be

723
01:08:08,559 --> 01:08:12,799
happy to answer whatever questions
you've got or we'll let the

724
01:08:11,520 --> 01:08:17,120
commissioners answer it if it was one of
their slides and they'd like to answer

725
01:08:14,079 --> 01:08:21,279
it and we can we can um go back and
forth. I'll go ahead and start with this

726
01:08:18,960 --> 01:08:26,080
reminder. Everybody up here pays the
exact same bills that you do. We are not

727
01:08:23,040 --> 01:08:29,279
tax exempt. We do not not pay utilities.
We pay all the exact same bills. We're

728
01:08:27,759 --> 01:08:32,319
all required to live in city limits.
That's the law. only three requirements

729
01:08:30,960 --> 01:08:35,279
to be a commissioner or a mayor. You
have to be 21. To live in the city

730
01:08:34,159 --> 01:08:39,920
limits, you have to be registered to
vote in the district you want to run in.

731
01:08:36,960 --> 01:08:44,640
That is true for all of us. We pay the
same bills that we ask our citizens to

732
01:08:42,319 --> 01:08:48,799
pay. Two, you saw a little bit of what
Tom mentioned today and you saw some

733
01:08:47,199 --> 01:08:52,159
graphs and you were like, "What the crap
am I looking at?" I get it because

734
01:08:50,560 --> 01:08:56,000
that's all a little bit foreign to you
guys. That is the type of information

735
01:08:54,239 --> 01:09:00,960
that the board is dissecting and working
through all the time for every decision

736
01:08:57,920 --> 01:09:04,799
that they make. Nobody here is lying to
you about numbers. Um, I do get

737
01:09:03,040 --> 01:09:09,279
frustrated when people accuse us of
that. None of us get paid to do this

738
01:09:06,560 --> 01:09:13,520
job. We get a very minimal, doesn't even
cover our time stipened to be your

739
01:09:11,279 --> 01:09:16,799
elected official. There's no benefit for
me to lie to you about how much money is

740
01:09:14,960 --> 01:09:20,400
in the general fund. There's no benefit
for us to say, you know, would we ghoul

741
01:09:18,719 --> 01:09:23,679
today just raise everyone's taxes and
see if it makes them happy or not. So, I

742
01:09:22,480 --> 01:09:26,719
just want to get out of the way that
nobody on this board wakes up in the

743
01:09:25,279 --> 01:09:31,120
morning to try to find ways to piss off
the community. Everyone's trying to do

744
01:09:28,480 --> 01:09:34,319
the right thing for the community. So,
and everything does have a thought

745
01:09:32,640 --> 01:09:38,319
process behind it. Is the thought
process right? We like to think so, but

746
01:09:36,960 --> 01:09:41,679
it doesn't mean we don't want your input
to think about it from a different

747
01:09:39,440 --> 01:09:45,359
perspective. So, with that being said,
anybody who'd like to speak, please feel

748
01:09:43,359 --> 01:09:50,159
free to come up to the microphone and
ask your question or concern and we'll

749
01:09:47,839 --> 01:09:55,840
work through it the best we can. Who
would like to go first?

750
01:09:53,600 --> 01:09:58,719
Come on up.
Yes, sir.

751
01:09:59,199 --> 01:10:08,239
Howard Hoffman. I live on Bobcat Circle
and my question is uh what is the money

752
01:10:05,120 --> 01:10:14,640
that's used for the water runoff for?
What does it do? Because in my home uh

753
01:10:11,199 --> 01:10:18,640
my water run my the water that comes
from the rain runs to the back of my

754
01:10:16,560 --> 01:10:25,679
property. I followed it one night goes
to a ditch which leads to the Sloum

755
01:10:21,520 --> 01:10:31,679
Creek. So where where's my incentive
going? What's it paying for?

756
01:10:28,480 --> 01:10:35,920
» Sure can answer that. Um the $4 storm
water fees, what what you're referring

757
01:10:33,199 --> 01:10:39,440
to and what does that go to? So the
money for us for storm water goes

758
01:10:37,840 --> 01:10:44,560
directly into an account that gets
utilized by our public works team to do

759
01:10:42,080 --> 01:10:48,320
storm water work and we have a storm
water director and it's used across the

760
01:10:46,800 --> 01:10:53,520
entire city. So some of that money is
used for specific large projects like

761
01:10:51,520 --> 01:10:58,719
maybe cleaning out an entire set of
ditches in a neighborhood. Some of it

762
01:10:55,440 --> 01:11:01,520
goes to general maintenance. So
part of your question that I'm going to

763
01:10:59,920 --> 01:11:05,040
add to that is what's different than it
used to be. So used to we did that with

764
01:11:02,960 --> 01:11:09,120
tax dollars when we created the fee.
That money is dedicated to that effort

765
01:11:06,800 --> 01:11:13,120
alone and it allows us to be much more
efficient about utilizing that money. So

766
01:11:11,600 --> 01:11:16,719
you know you have a set amount of money
that comes in every year for that $4

767
01:11:14,719 --> 01:11:20,480
dollar from every house. And then when
our team goes out and they start

768
01:11:18,400 --> 01:11:25,199
analyzing the ditches and doing the
storm water, it's a much more surgical

769
01:11:22,719 --> 01:11:29,280
approach to getting that done. So, I
don't know about your particular ditch

770
01:11:26,400 --> 01:11:32,560
in Bobcat, but I will say there are lots
of ditches in the city of Havlock that

771
01:11:30,960 --> 01:11:35,920
were ones the city probably should have
been cleaning that we were not because

772
01:11:34,239 --> 01:11:39,679
we didn't have the funds or the plan to
do so that we are now cleaning. And I

773
01:11:38,239 --> 01:11:42,159
would say yours, if we had a specific
question, we can just get Patrick to

774
01:11:40,960 --> 01:11:45,760
look at the map and figure out if that's
your ditch, our ditch, and who's

775
01:11:43,280 --> 01:11:50,800
supposed to be cleaning it. But it also
allowed us to jumpst start cleaning in

776
01:11:48,239 --> 01:11:54,320
some ditches that probably were citizen
required ditches, but they were not

777
01:11:52,719 --> 01:11:57,280
doing it. and they got so far out of
hand that there's no way you could have

778
01:11:55,600 --> 01:11:59,840
done it as a citizen. We were able to
take some of that money, go in and get

779
01:11:58,400 --> 01:12:02,960
it to the point where you can clean it
now as a citizen so you can keep up with

780
01:12:01,520 --> 01:12:06,400
your own ditch. So that's kind of like
the 10,000 foot. That's kind of what we

781
01:12:04,800 --> 01:12:10,159
that's what we do with the money. It all
goes towards that storm water work

782
01:12:08,000 --> 01:12:13,920
across the entire city. So even if your
own house you don't see it, it's

783
01:12:11,840 --> 01:12:18,320
happening in a further drainage
situation down from your house or

784
01:12:15,840 --> 01:12:21,560
somewhere in your neighborhood.
>> Yes, ma'am.

785
01:12:24,960 --> 01:12:30,880
We have to have a stormwater plan,
right? They don't mandate that we have

786
01:12:28,640 --> 01:12:34,480
to charge for the plan, but you have to
have a plan. And if the plan doesn't

787
01:12:33,199 --> 01:12:38,800
meet certain criteria, they can come in
and force you to charge people money. We

788
01:12:36,560 --> 01:12:42,159
decided to be proactive. And that's
because we're one of the 20 kma

789
01:12:40,159 --> 01:12:47,000
counties, which there are 20 waterfront
counties. We are one of them. So, we

790
01:12:43,440 --> 01:12:47,000
have to follow those rules.

791
01:12:53,679 --> 01:13:03,280
at the Amos 214 Grove Lane. Um, Lake
Road is um been developed with the

792
01:13:00,239 --> 01:13:07,679
bypass. Um, does the city of Havlock
control Lake Grove before it turns into

793
01:13:05,199 --> 01:13:11,920
NA? And I asked because sometimes
there's potholes right there or the

794
01:13:09,360 --> 01:13:16,719
grass isn't cut along the sides. Um,
with the development of the bypasses, a

795
01:13:14,640 --> 01:13:21,120
lot of traffic coming down there now.
Um, I noticed that we have more police

796
01:13:18,560 --> 01:13:25,840
presence to try to slow the traffic down
when they make that left turn off of the

797
01:13:23,120 --> 01:13:30,560
bypass. Um, so I wondered who is
responsible for the maintaining of that

798
01:13:28,159 --> 01:13:34,560
road from Lake Road to Nmau for the
grass and for the potholes.

799
01:13:32,719 --> 01:13:37,840
» Okay. So, first of all, thank you for
noticing that we've increased the police

800
01:13:36,159 --> 01:13:40,640
presence out there since the bypass open
because our team has been doing that

801
01:13:39,120 --> 01:13:45,520
aggressively. If I'm not mistaken,
Patrick, all of Lake Road is DOT. So all

802
01:13:43,600 --> 01:13:48,640
of Lake Road from Miller to the bypass
is owned by the North Carolina

803
01:13:46,719 --> 01:13:51,920
Department of Transportation. So if we
have potholes in there now that we know

804
01:13:50,159 --> 01:13:55,520
about, we do forward those along and ask
them to make the repairs and that's

805
01:13:53,600 --> 01:13:58,960
their that would be their rideway that
they would be managing. Correct,

806
01:13:56,640 --> 01:14:03,120
Patrick? There is a project coming. I
don't know the extent of it, but after

807
01:14:01,199 --> 01:14:06,640
the bypass is fully complete, they are
going to do some work up and down Lake

808
01:14:05,360 --> 01:14:11,199
Road. there's going to be some changing
of the road and widening to make it a

809
01:14:08,239 --> 01:14:14,960
little bit safer along with those u with
some of the rideway changes. And I I

810
01:14:13,679 --> 01:14:18,880
think you brought up a good point too.
So when we say roads are not ours or

811
01:14:16,560 --> 01:14:22,880
they are ours or whatever,
it does matter like who's paying for the

812
01:14:20,800 --> 01:14:26,560
road. So in this case, I think your
example is perfect. It's DOT's job to

813
01:14:25,040 --> 01:14:31,719
pay for maintenance, but our police
department is still who's enforcing the

814
01:14:28,159 --> 01:14:31,719
laws on the road.

815
01:14:38,560 --> 01:14:47,280
My name is Mary McCarthy. I live at 140
South Forest. Um, as you know, it

816
01:14:43,840 --> 01:14:53,600
flooded there really bad during Florence
and there's a ditch

817
01:14:50,800 --> 01:14:59,280
claw or something that goes in the
center of the road. There are cattails

818
01:14:56,080 --> 01:15:06,000
and weeds taller than I am growing in
there. And it seems to me I mean they

819
01:15:02,560 --> 01:15:12,000
had to my street.
Maybe they should consider

820
01:15:08,480 --> 01:15:18,320
doing something about that ditch. Um,
and the second question, the bypass, you

821
01:15:15,520 --> 01:15:22,480
know, I live at the very back and
there's woods, but you can still hear

822
01:15:20,400 --> 01:15:27,280
the
loud. Are they going to put any sound

823
01:15:24,560 --> 01:15:33,679
barriers up?
>> I mean, I'm used to the airplanes. I'm

824
01:15:30,400 --> 01:15:38,800
used to the railroad, but I'm not
traffic 247.

825
01:15:36,400 --> 01:15:45,520
So I didn't know if that was gonna as
where I live, you can see the headlights

826
01:15:41,120 --> 01:15:50,480
of cars getting on the eastern side of
getting off.

827
01:15:48,480 --> 01:15:55,120
» Sure. No, ma'am. I do not believe DOT
has any plans for sound barriers.

828
01:15:52,239 --> 01:16:02,400
» I'm pretty I'm 99% sure they have none.
>> I know the original project did not. Um,

829
01:15:58,080 --> 01:16:06,080
and then to your your first question,
and Patrick will straighten me out if I

830
01:16:03,760 --> 01:16:09,280
get this wrong. We did go in and do a
massive clean out of that major ditch

831
01:16:08,000 --> 01:16:11,679
that goes through the middle of South
Forest.

832
01:16:09,840 --> 01:16:15,640
» Yes.
>> After the storm. So,

833
01:16:18,800 --> 01:16:24,800
» Yes, ma'am. And so when we cleared that
out, I'm pretty sure some of those

834
01:16:22,400 --> 01:16:28,239
ditches are ones that are really
supposed to be the owner maintaining

835
01:16:26,159 --> 01:16:31,679
them, not us. And some of that is about
whether or not we have easement or

836
01:16:29,360 --> 01:16:34,400
rideway on the original deed. And so we
did the initial cleaning and I think

837
01:16:33,040 --> 01:16:40,360
they're supposed to be mowing down to
the bottom of the ditch and some do and

838
01:16:35,840 --> 01:16:40,360
some don't. Is that correct, Patrick?

839
01:16:45,360 --> 01:16:48,679
» Yeah. So

840
01:16:54,000 --> 01:16:59,120
So they do they they do go through once
a year. Patrick, you want to add it?

841
01:16:57,840 --> 01:17:02,640
You're good. So they do go through once
a year in South Force and do the ditches

842
01:17:00,640 --> 01:17:08,520
that we have control over to try to keep
them down.

843
01:17:05,280 --> 01:17:08,520
» Yes, ma'am.

844
01:17:18,320 --> 01:17:25,080
Yeah. Only the five or six of you on the
hill back there didn't flow.

845
01:17:21,840 --> 01:17:25,080
» Yes, ma'am.

846
01:17:25,360 --> 01:17:28,600
» Yes, ma'am.

847
01:17:29,120 --> 01:17:35,760
» Hi. My name is Steve Loyel. I live at
907 Trail, Wolf Creek. And I got a

848
01:17:34,000 --> 01:17:40,640
question just out of curiosity. They
laid new black top roads uh going into

849
01:17:38,480 --> 01:17:44,480
Wolf Creek, but they only did half of
it. And was there a reason? I mean, it

850
01:17:42,480 --> 01:17:49,600
looked really nice, but they didn't
Culac I think the one next to us they

851
01:17:47,120 --> 01:17:54,400
did uh the two culde-sacs coming into
Wolf Creek but I was just wondering

852
01:17:51,600 --> 01:17:59,360
basically they did 50% of the job just
was wondering why they didn't finish it.

853
01:17:56,560 --> 01:18:02,640
» Yes sir. So u I we can look at a
spreadsheet to get the exact answer but

854
01:18:00,719 --> 01:18:06,880
I can give you the general answer. So we
are very surgical about how we pave. So

855
01:18:05,040 --> 01:18:12,080
what we do is we have a spreadsheet and
it's got all the streets that we have

856
01:18:09,280 --> 01:18:16,159
responsibility for and then Patrick's
team, we hire a contractor to do a

857
01:18:13,920 --> 01:18:22,960
payment survey and then our team goes
out and verifies that. So if they tell

858
01:18:19,120 --> 01:18:26,880
us we grade A, B, C, D, E, F, whatever.
Then what we do is we pave based on that

859
01:18:25,040 --> 01:18:32,080
and then he takes the percentages. I
believe we use 6040 right now. 60%

860
01:18:29,360 --> 01:18:37,840
towards repair, 40% at full depth. So,
there are times where we get halfway

861
01:18:33,920 --> 01:18:41,120
down a road and that was a a D road and
then it turns to a B- road and we stop

862
01:18:39,440 --> 01:18:44,080
paving and then we move to somewhere
else that is a D or an F.

863
01:18:42,800 --> 01:18:47,840
» On a B road,
>> you might be on a B- road and and so

864
01:18:46,239 --> 01:18:51,920
what I would say is we could actually
tell you we have a spreadsheet and um

865
01:18:50,159 --> 01:18:54,719
I'd be happy to me or Patrick would sit
down with a spreadsheet with you and we

866
01:18:53,280 --> 01:18:58,640
can look at your road and say you are
graded currently at a B minus or a B+

867
01:18:57,199 --> 01:19:03,199
and then that would be why we would
stop. For example, Forest Steel Drive,

868
01:19:01,120 --> 01:19:05,920
they did the first 200 feet three years
ago, and that's where we stopped. And

869
01:19:04,480 --> 01:19:07,920
the other part didn't get done for three
years because it was still high enough

870
01:19:07,199 --> 01:19:16,880
grade.
>> So, I bought a house that is rated F.

871
01:19:12,880 --> 01:19:20,560
» Okay. So, we're we're getting we are
this. So, just to go back to Powell for

872
01:19:19,040 --> 01:19:25,280
one second since we're talking about it,
when you saw that Powell fund, it goes

873
01:19:22,400 --> 01:19:30,320
like this. It does that because we do
our paving every two years. So, we

874
01:19:28,800 --> 01:19:34,400
learned after Florence because we had to
skip a year. We learned that if you

875
01:19:32,080 --> 01:19:37,440
spend a million or more, you get way
more bang for your buck than if you

876
01:19:35,679 --> 01:19:40,400
spend 500,000 a year on paving. We
thought we were doing the right thing,

877
01:19:38,400 --> 01:19:44,880
spending 500,000 a year on paving. But
when a company comes in to mobilize,

878
01:19:42,400 --> 01:19:49,120
500,000 goes this far, but a million
takes you like three times further, not

879
01:19:46,719 --> 01:19:54,159
just twice as far. So, we have switched
our policy to paving every two years.

880
01:19:51,679 --> 01:19:57,320
Like this year we're spending 1 point is
it two

881
01:19:57,840 --> 01:20:06,159
almost 1.4 if you count utility cuts
1.18 or something on just streets. So

882
01:20:04,080 --> 01:20:09,520
we're spending a a dramatic amount of
money on paving and you'll see a lot of

883
01:20:07,679 --> 01:20:13,199
progress happen. We won't pave anything
except repairs for the next two years.

884
01:20:11,600 --> 01:20:16,440
Then we go back out with another million
dollar contract.

885
01:20:16,800 --> 01:20:21,080
» All right. Who else?

886
01:20:29,679 --> 01:20:33,640
I think the slide nir.

887
01:20:41,199 --> 01:20:47,360
» Yes.
>> I know we all know name and address

888
01:20:45,600 --> 01:20:50,800
under the mediumsiz American flag. I
remember but go ahead. Uh Troy Ellis on

889
01:20:49,679 --> 01:20:54,320
Nottingham Drive.
>> Thank you, Troy.

890
01:20:52,080 --> 01:20:58,800
» But for the the three or I guess four
columns with the three numbers, um the

891
01:20:57,280 --> 01:21:03,360
actual I guess is what you guys actually
have. We go to the bank. That's what the

892
01:21:01,120 --> 01:21:09,920
teller will tell you that we have. Uh
the budget is

893
01:21:07,440 --> 01:21:15,760
the proposed I'm guessing a little
gunged up on what those are.

894
01:21:12,880 --> 01:21:19,280
Uh so actual for 2425 that's what the
bank would tell you you actually spent

895
01:21:17,360 --> 01:21:26,000
out of your account. So that is the
legit audited completely finalized 2425.

896
01:21:23,199 --> 01:21:29,280
So we finish our budget um the next
month we go into audit and by the end of

897
01:21:27,920 --> 01:21:32,239
September October we've got an audit.
That's when we call it complete.

898
01:21:30,719 --> 01:21:36,480
» So this would be like if your accountant
did your books for 2425 and said that's

899
01:21:34,320 --> 01:21:40,239
what you spent. The middle one is what
we think we're going to spend by the end

900
01:21:38,239 --> 01:21:45,360
of this month. And that's pretty
accurate. What would change? Uh god, I

901
01:21:43,040 --> 01:21:49,679
shouldn't even say it out loud, but
let's say a water man, he not too. Let's

902
01:21:48,000 --> 01:21:54,960
say a water man broke right now while we
were in here. So that water line that

903
01:21:51,920 --> 01:21:58,639
that water fund number instead of 4.4
might become 5.1, right? Because we

904
01:21:57,679 --> 01:22:03,040
don't know what's going to happen in the
next three weeks. So that is what we're

905
01:22:00,800 --> 01:22:06,560
pretty sure this year's budget, that's
what we budgeted and that's what it

906
01:22:04,560 --> 01:22:10,880
should come out as. And then the last
one is what we're expecting next year's

907
01:22:08,719 --> 01:22:13,880
budget to be. Did that clear it up,
>> Troy?

908
01:22:17,040 --> 01:22:25,040
Maybe one day give me a tour of the
treatment plans to see what they look

909
01:22:22,400 --> 01:22:31,280
like. But um I guess whatever percentage
we raise it at. I told it to Mr.

910
01:22:28,159 --> 01:22:36,960
Commissioner, whatever you raise it at.
I guess I'll ask that if if it's 20% or

911
01:22:34,080 --> 01:22:42,000
15% attempt whatever in the world it is
if we could have that if it's the 20%

912
01:22:40,000 --> 01:22:48,400
it's a nice round number if that could
all go into repairing um the super

913
01:22:45,199 --> 01:22:53,199
system um not that the the ladies and
gentlemen that work for that division

914
01:22:51,440 --> 01:23:01,280
don't need a but we can just shove that
straight into fixing the pump houses the

915
01:22:56,480 --> 01:23:07,040
um uh the main system lines and the
system. I think that would be nice. And

916
01:23:03,360 --> 01:23:12,400
I guess since we're proposing
somewhere around the8 million, is there

917
01:23:09,199 --> 01:23:16,480
a which is there like a spreadsheet of
what neighborhoods we're looking at

918
01:23:13,920 --> 01:23:21,520
getting either repaired or remodeled or
pump houses that are getting fixed up

919
01:23:19,360 --> 01:23:26,960
» for the sewer fund in particular?
>> Yes.

920
01:23:22,239 --> 01:23:32,080
» Um not exactly. I would say that um we
would be able to provide what do it a

921
01:23:30,320 --> 01:23:35,120
couple ways. We have like an M&R line,
which is what we expect to pay in

922
01:23:33,679 --> 01:23:37,840
maintenance and repairs.
>> Some of that is we don't know what's

923
01:23:36,560 --> 01:23:41,520
going to break, right? And so, we're
just prepared to fix things that are

924
01:23:39,440 --> 01:23:44,960
going to break that are unknown. But
Patrick typically does have a

925
01:23:43,520 --> 01:23:48,320
spreadsheet of things that we know we're
preparing to do, maybe an upgrade at the

926
01:23:46,800 --> 01:23:51,440
water plant or something like that or
maybe some lines that we know are going

927
01:23:49,600 --> 01:23:55,120
to get replaced. So, it' be a mix of the
two, but yes, we could get you that

928
01:23:53,840 --> 01:23:58,320
depth of information out of the budget
if you would like it. Yes, sir.

929
01:23:56,320 --> 01:24:01,320
» Okay. I guess I'll finish up with this
question

930
01:24:05,120 --> 01:24:14,480
» I got to talk about the front door
and I guess aside for our sewer lines

931
01:24:11,199 --> 01:24:22,800
themselves they're getting old I guess
our wea or overhauled our water

932
01:24:19,920 --> 01:24:27,920
13 years ago 14 years ago but I guess we
weren't able to raise up the funs for

933
01:24:24,719 --> 01:24:27,920
the actual waste treatment

934
01:24:28,239 --> 01:24:33,560
because I know I guess we're trying to
beat them both to the grounds.

935
01:24:33,760 --> 01:24:43,199
Is there any looking
that's down the line?

936
01:24:39,840 --> 01:24:48,239
If that fails, it doesn't matter
if we can't manage it.

937
01:24:46,480 --> 01:24:51,040
» Yes. And I would guess there's a couple
things you're talking to specifically.

938
01:24:49,440 --> 01:24:54,040
Pricada. Is that what you're say,
Brenda?

939
01:24:58,159 --> 01:25:01,639
instead of just

940
01:25:02,800 --> 01:25:12,000
so many different lines
as he said 20 ft deep.

941
01:25:09,440 --> 01:25:18,000
Whenever we do a repair, we do it
manhole to manhole.

942
01:25:14,880 --> 01:25:22,120
At least we're making headway
with with getting our city

943
01:25:22,960 --> 01:25:30,960
I hate to say fixed, but
but we're trying to get it fixed.

944
01:25:29,120 --> 01:25:34,800
» So, the the the one thing that's
happened at the water plant that we've

945
01:25:32,480 --> 01:25:38,239
been able unable to do at the sewer
plant aggressively is the SCADA system.

946
01:25:36,719 --> 01:25:44,880
And y'all heard that phrase get dropped
earlier. SCADA is I don't know remember

947
01:25:40,480 --> 01:25:48,639
what STA SCADA stands for. What's that?
System control and data acquisition.

948
01:25:46,480 --> 01:25:52,960
It's when computers run your stuff. And
so that's how I say it. So at the water

949
01:25:50,880 --> 01:25:57,760
plant, for example, we have a computer
system that's monitoring every valve and

950
01:25:55,280 --> 01:26:01,920
and the system as a whole. So, if our
folks are sitting at home that work for

951
01:26:00,000 --> 01:26:05,360
the water plant on duty at one o'clock
in the morning and a water line blows

952
01:26:03,360 --> 01:26:08,960
out, this has literally happened on Nun
Street and the road's starting to float

953
01:26:07,440 --> 01:26:13,360
away because you've got a water man
flowing. They can pull their iPad out,

954
01:26:11,600 --> 01:26:17,440
hit a button on the iPad and shut that
water off from the plant so that we

955
01:26:15,600 --> 01:26:21,600
don't blow the road out. It also is
giving them real world data, real time

956
01:26:19,520 --> 01:26:25,760
data all the time about the plant. So,
they can see that data. They can operate

957
01:26:23,920 --> 01:26:30,719
the plant much more efficiently. You can
have things turning on and off by plan.

958
01:26:28,000 --> 01:26:36,800
Our sewer plant has very, very little of
that. Our sewer plant is still employees

959
01:26:33,920 --> 01:26:42,159
dropping into holes and manually turning
valves or manually opening gates. Um,

960
01:26:39,760 --> 01:26:47,760
things like that. We do have a plan for
that. It's about funding. Um, we've also

961
01:26:45,280 --> 01:26:53,679
we have done some major uh plant
improvements. Chad, fast forward to I'm

962
01:26:50,080 --> 01:26:58,480
gonna say slide 19ish, 18 something like
that. Keep going. Keep on going. Two,

963
01:26:56,560 --> 01:27:05,120
three more.
Keep going. Keep going. I was way off.

964
01:27:00,320 --> 01:27:09,760
Keep going. Keep going. There. Okay.
So, if you look at these numbers, some

965
01:27:07,520 --> 01:27:13,280
of these numbers of capital outlay were
at our actual sewer plant particularly,

966
01:27:11,840 --> 01:27:19,040
and I I've got the sheet back there. I
can pull it out, but uh 23 24 we did

967
01:27:16,480 --> 01:27:23,120
some major repairs on the influent pumps
and things like that in the plant to

968
01:27:20,560 --> 01:27:28,639
modernize them. Um, so we are doing that
as we go. But to your point, our plant

969
01:27:26,159 --> 01:27:31,360
only has so much capacity before we get
to a point where we've got to do a major

970
01:27:30,159 --> 01:27:38,840
upgrade of the plant and that's going to
be very expensive.

971
01:27:34,159 --> 01:27:38,840
» Did I get that? Okay, Tom. Okay.

972
01:27:40,080 --> 01:27:43,400
» Thank you, Troy.

973
01:27:44,000 --> 01:27:47,239
Who else?

974
01:27:48,719 --> 01:27:57,440
Yes, ma'am.
Carla Liner, 203 Cambridge Court in

975
01:27:54,320 --> 01:28:01,679
Westbrook. When we bought our house,
1985,

976
01:27:59,280 --> 01:28:07,120
we were not in the city limits. We were
in the county. We didn't want to live in

977
01:28:03,280 --> 01:28:15,440
the city. We were forcibly annexed.
I wish you'd never annexed us. Um, this

978
01:28:11,199 --> 01:28:23,840
is all great. Nobody's talking about
60% of the budget is personnel.

979
01:28:19,600 --> 01:28:30,400
You're giving them 3.3 plus 1.7 in North
Carolina math. That's 5%. Who the hell

980
01:28:26,560 --> 01:28:36,639
else is getting a 5% increase?
And I understand the 1.7. Yeah, that's

981
01:28:33,840 --> 01:28:39,920
great. Give it to them every year.
They're supposed to be working. I'll go

982
01:28:38,239 --> 01:28:44,800
to the police department because that
was my field. You start out as a

983
01:28:42,320 --> 01:28:48,960
patrolman. You want to be a corporal.
Then you want to be a sergeant. you're

984
01:28:46,960 --> 01:28:54,000
getting pay increases as you get
promoted. You're not going to be the

985
01:28:51,360 --> 01:28:59,600
same thing the whole time.
So, I think we need to to cut some fat

986
01:28:57,040 --> 01:29:04,800
in the personnel and that will save the
rest of us. Thank you.

987
01:29:02,239 --> 01:29:09,199
» Okay. So, a couple things. One, I would
say the only place personnel is at 60%

988
01:29:07,199 --> 01:29:13,199
is in the general fund itself. Nowhere
else, which is only one small portion.

989
01:29:11,440 --> 01:29:19,360
and our total personnel in the city is
of the budget is not 60%. Only in

990
01:29:15,520 --> 01:29:23,679
general fund two that 1.7 if you're not
getting promoted that argument only

991
01:29:21,199 --> 01:29:30,000
works if you have promotional slots. So
every department we have is very small

992
01:29:26,400 --> 01:29:33,600
and they look like this. So you have a
department head. Most departments don't

993
01:29:31,520 --> 01:29:37,840
have an assistant. Most of the time we
don't have multiple leadership positions

994
01:29:35,360 --> 01:29:43,600
underneath. So, it is normal for a
patrolman or patrol woman, no matter how

995
01:29:41,600 --> 01:29:47,760
old or young they are when they come to
us, to not get out of being a patrol

996
01:29:45,760 --> 01:29:53,280
officer by the time they retire because
we only have four sergeant slots plus an

997
01:29:50,880 --> 01:29:59,040
investigator sergeant, that's five. Then
you have two captains and one deputy

998
01:29:55,920 --> 01:30:03,199
chief. And you have 29 people in that
department. Third way count

999
01:30:00,000 --> 01:30:08,560
telecommunicators over 30. So to say you
mean you got seven slots for 26 people

1000
01:30:05,600 --> 01:30:12,080
to move into um everybody's not moving
up through the department. So the 1.7

1001
01:30:10,880 --> 01:30:18,400
make sure they're getting paid every
year. I would also add that in the city

1002
01:30:15,440 --> 01:30:21,600
of Havlock if you were to nobody wants
to talk about this but if you compare

1003
01:30:19,760 --> 01:30:26,080
what all of our employees get paid and
compare it to Morehead and compare to

1004
01:30:23,280 --> 01:30:30,719
Newburn and compare it to Carter County
and Craven County and everybody else

1005
01:30:27,520 --> 01:30:34,159
around us we are the lowest. Period.
Period. What does a police officer get

1006
01:30:32,719 --> 01:30:42,000
paid right now? If we hire a brand new
police officer, 45 46 brand new officer

1007
01:30:39,600 --> 01:30:45,280
$47,000 to be a brand new police officer
right now. What do they get paid in

1008
01:30:43,280 --> 01:30:49,840
Morehead?
57. So if you want to work in Havlock,

1009
01:30:47,840 --> 01:30:53,280
you're already getting paid 10,000 less
than if you want to go work in Morhead,

1010
01:30:51,199 --> 01:30:59,360
which by the way is only a 15 minute
drive. And then to say they don't rate a

1011
01:30:56,400 --> 01:31:03,199
1.7% increase to keep them moving along
their pay scale. I don't think that's a

1012
01:31:00,880 --> 01:31:07,920
fair conversation. And by the way, if we
look at this, um, everybody is doing at

1013
01:31:06,639 --> 01:31:11,520
least the percentage we're talking
about. And that is North Carolina math

1014
01:31:09,600 --> 01:31:16,719
in every municipality and county around
us. And some of them do it different. We

1015
01:31:14,159 --> 01:31:21,280
do longevity because our board has not
had an appetite for merit for years,

1016
01:31:19,120 --> 01:31:25,199
right? Merit's difficult. It's a
challenging thing. Other municipalities

1017
01:31:23,280 --> 01:31:28,239
do merit and they get paid a higher
percentage on the back side than the

1018
01:31:26,639 --> 01:31:33,120
front side. Some of them do it in
one-time sums. The board could change

1019
01:31:30,560 --> 01:31:38,080
that, but
if your employees don't get 1.7% for

1020
01:31:36,080 --> 01:31:43,679
their longevity every year, that is a
raise. That is a raise. The 3.3 is a

1021
01:31:41,199 --> 01:31:48,080
cola. I understand, we all can agree it
means the check looks bigger. But I

1022
01:31:46,400 --> 01:31:52,800
think we all understand inflation. If
you didn't understand inflation before

1023
01:31:49,520 --> 01:31:56,560
2026, I bet you get it now. Right? So,
if you understand inflation, you know

1024
01:31:55,040 --> 01:32:02,000
what they got paid a year ago is not
buying the same amount of bread that it

1025
01:31:58,080 --> 01:32:05,760
bought today. The 3.3 says your $150 you
got in your check is now still $150 even

1026
01:32:04,080 --> 01:32:12,080
though it looks like $160. That's
inflation, right? That's all the 3.3 is.

1027
01:32:09,120 --> 01:32:16,000
The 1.7 is an actual raise. That is
true. 1.7% of their total salary goes to

1028
01:32:14,800 --> 01:32:18,800
a raise in order to keep them moving
through their path. The board does not

1029
01:32:17,440 --> 01:32:23,440
have to do that. That is absolutely
correct. They don't have to do that.

1030
01:32:21,199 --> 01:32:26,080
But it is and and you could say because
I've had this argument given to me a

1031
01:32:24,560 --> 01:32:30,880
hundred times. I don't get that in my
house. Well, you don't work for me. You

1032
01:32:29,199 --> 01:32:33,199
don't work for them. I don't know what
Walmart's paying their people. I don't

1033
01:32:32,320 --> 01:32:35,760
know what you're getting on your
retirement. I mean, we can look it up

1034
01:32:34,400 --> 01:32:38,239
and see what Social Security is going to
do and what your federal government

1035
01:32:37,199 --> 01:32:43,440
retirement is going to do, and it's
going to be 2% or 2.8 or 1.3 or whatever

1036
01:32:41,520 --> 01:32:47,600
it is every year, but it is their
responsibility to take care of their 140

1037
01:32:45,360 --> 01:32:55,120
employees. And I don't think it's
unreasonable at all to say 1.7%

1038
01:32:51,120 --> 01:33:00,159
which equates to about $150,000 in your
general fund to cover that. I don't

1039
01:32:57,760 --> 01:33:02,560
think that's unreasonable at all. And I
think if you want to cut a budget,

1040
01:33:01,520 --> 01:33:06,400
cutting it on the backs of your
employees is not the way to make sure

1041
01:33:04,400 --> 01:33:09,840
that you have a healthy city in the city
of Havlock. You want to retain good

1042
01:33:08,239 --> 01:33:13,920
people. You want them to be able to do
their job and love doing their job. You

1043
01:33:12,560 --> 01:33:17,360
want to have I mean, look at the
employees that are here today. There's I

1044
01:33:15,840 --> 01:33:21,440
don't know if there's anybody here
that's been here less than 15 years in

1045
01:33:19,199 --> 01:33:23,679
the room except for one. I mean, people
come here and they stay because they

1046
01:33:22,400 --> 01:33:26,320
love the city of Havlock because we try
to do the best we can to treat them

1047
01:33:24,880 --> 01:33:31,120
right. And saying we're not going to
give you an increase year-over-year to

1048
01:33:29,760 --> 01:33:34,080
make sure you can still buy the same
amount of bread is not telling your

1049
01:33:32,320 --> 01:33:37,920
employees you want them to stay. I mean,
that's a culture thing.

1050
01:33:36,800 --> 01:33:40,480
I could preach on and on about that.
Some of y'all heard me preach about it

1051
01:33:39,120 --> 01:33:43,600
plenty. But I think if there's one
thing, if you want to cut something, we

1052
01:33:42,080 --> 01:33:46,800
can find plenty of things to cut for
150. that would be an impact on

1053
01:33:44,960 --> 01:33:50,800
everybody in this room that will be
shortterm compared to long term. And I

1054
01:33:49,440 --> 01:33:53,800
think in cutting your employees is long
term.

1055
01:33:54,159 --> 01:34:01,679
And I would one more point I'll add. You
have 140 employees for a city our size.

1056
01:34:00,320 --> 01:34:07,360
Everywhere else in North Carolina
they're averaging well over 160 to 180.

1057
01:34:03,840 --> 01:34:13,920
We are incredibly lean in employees.
The city of of Jacksonville has city of

1058
01:34:11,600 --> 01:34:18,880
Newburn has more police officers than we
have employees and they're only a 10 to

1059
01:34:16,159 --> 01:34:25,400
12,000 population more than us. You have
26 sworn officers. They have 130 sworn

1060
01:34:22,400 --> 01:34:25,400
officers.

1061
01:34:25,440 --> 01:34:29,560
All right. What else y'all want to talk
about?

1062
01:34:38,639 --> 01:34:45,199
Jim Schmidt, 437 Fox Hunt Lane. Back to
the grant thing that we talked about

1063
01:34:42,800 --> 01:34:49,520
earlier. Have those grants been have we
received those grants or they've been

1064
01:34:46,800 --> 01:34:54,800
applied for? So, that's received or
being executed on. So, hit that one for

1065
01:34:51,280 --> 01:34:58,880
me, Chad. So, um, this number for the
last three years has consistently been

1066
01:34:56,239 --> 01:35:02,000
over $20 million in grants. And so, we
get a lot of comments from the public

1067
01:35:00,159 --> 01:35:06,320
about get some grants that'll reduce our
costs. Well, we're executing that. 17

1068
01:35:04,800 --> 01:35:09,920
billion is what we are executing on
today and we will execute on this year.

1069
01:35:08,239 --> 01:35:13,040
We that's not applied for that is
received.

1070
01:35:10,880 --> 01:35:18,480
» And and so here's the way grants work.
Let's say that uh Phoenix Park million

1071
01:35:16,719 --> 01:35:22,320
dollars
we've been told we'll get the funding.

1072
01:35:20,239 --> 01:35:24,960
We do the process. We do the work. Then
they give us the money back. So part of

1073
01:35:23,760 --> 01:35:28,480
the reason you got to have money in your
general fund to retain earnings is we

1074
01:35:26,320 --> 01:35:33,040
have to front. We're going to front $17
million and then they'll pay us back in

1075
01:35:30,880 --> 01:35:37,280
incremental pieces as we finish the
project. So, these are all ones we're

1076
01:35:35,600 --> 01:35:41,360
expecting. That six million we're
approved for. We're just waiting on HUD

1077
01:35:39,440 --> 01:35:44,960
to send us the that the bottom where it
says currently waiting on paperwork for

1078
01:35:42,639 --> 01:35:50,639
an additional six. That's another Mac
Canal project. That's $6 million. Um, we

1079
01:35:48,719 --> 01:35:53,360
have been approved. It's in the federal
budget. So, we know we're getting it.

1080
01:35:52,000 --> 01:35:55,360
We're just waiting on HUD to send us the
appropriate paperwork to fill out to

1081
01:35:54,480 --> 01:35:58,800
start the process.
>> Okay. One more question. AMI metering,

1082
01:35:57,600 --> 01:36:03,120
is that complete for the city?
>> Yes, sir. AMI is complete. Matter of

1083
01:36:00,880 --> 01:36:08,800
fact, on that um slide we had that had
the two 22 and 23, if you'll go to that

1084
01:36:06,480 --> 01:36:14,159
slide real quick, 23. One more. One
more. So that 22 23 part of those

1085
01:36:12,639 --> 01:36:18,960
numbers were your AMI metering. It's
complete. And so if anybody if if you

1086
01:36:17,679 --> 01:36:22,239
want to know if your usage is right,
I'll tell every we've done this with a

1087
01:36:20,159 --> 01:36:26,400
lot of citizens. we can sit down and
show you your usage day by day, hour by

1088
01:36:24,320 --> 01:36:28,960
hour, week by week, and you can actually
see where you're using your water, when

1089
01:36:27,840 --> 01:36:33,960
you're using your water, and if there
are ways for you to conserve.

1090
01:36:30,239 --> 01:36:33,960
» Okay, great. Thank you.

1091
01:36:35,520 --> 01:36:39,280
» Speaking of which, I'll I'll just throw
this out while you're thinking about if

1092
01:36:38,000 --> 01:36:44,800
you have any more questions. on our
website. Still, we have a a usage

1093
01:36:43,280 --> 01:36:48,960
calculator that we built after the
listening session last year because one

1094
01:36:46,800 --> 01:36:52,719
of the questions was if I want to reduce
my usage and get that to the point where

1095
01:36:51,119 --> 01:36:56,800
I could reduce my water and sewer part
of my bill, what does that look like? We

1096
01:36:54,639 --> 01:37:00,960
built a calculator on our website that
if you go onto it and you type in take

1097
01:36:59,440 --> 01:37:03,920
your bill and type in how many gallons
you use, it'll give you your

1098
01:37:01,840 --> 01:37:07,600
calculation. If you say if I conserve
500 gallons, how does that change my

1099
01:37:05,840 --> 01:37:11,360
bill? you change that number, it'll tell
you what your water and sewer would be

1100
01:37:08,960 --> 01:37:14,719
in that scenario. Or
I've told citizens on the Converse, if

1101
01:37:13,360 --> 01:37:17,520
you got a bunch of family coming in
because it's graduation for your kids,

1102
01:37:16,639 --> 01:37:21,199
you know, you're going to have eight
more people, okay, if I go up a thousand

1103
01:37:19,520 --> 01:37:24,800
gallons, what's my bill going to look
like next month? We built that

1104
01:37:23,040 --> 01:37:29,040
calculator out of the response from a
listening session a year ago. And I know

1105
01:37:27,679 --> 01:37:31,760
for the first few months it got used a
lot because I took a lot of meetings

1106
01:37:30,320 --> 01:37:35,360
about it and I know staff took a lot of
meetings with citizens about it. So, I'm

1107
01:37:33,840 --> 01:37:40,440
just reminding you all it is there for
your awareness or to play with the

1108
01:37:37,440 --> 01:37:40,440
numbers.

1109
01:37:41,679 --> 01:37:44,920
Yes, ma'am.

1110
01:37:46,239 --> 01:37:53,119
» Sorry, Melantha Amos. I was looking at
um something that a friend was texting

1111
01:37:49,920 --> 01:37:56,719
me. Um her question was um with all
these changes and increases that we're

1112
01:37:55,280 --> 01:38:02,880
going to be funding, do we have any
plans to use some of these increases to

1113
01:38:00,400 --> 01:38:06,719
help when we have these storms? Um
particular if we go to a snow situation

1114
01:38:04,880 --> 01:38:11,199
that we did last year, how that's going
to affect because it seemed the priority

1115
01:38:08,880 --> 01:38:16,159
was the bypass where used to be the main
road of Havlock. Is that still a DOT

1116
01:38:13,520 --> 01:38:20,639
issue or is that a Havlock Craven County
issue so that we can get those roads

1117
01:38:18,080 --> 01:38:23,440
clears faster without having to focus
everything on the bypass which we're not

1118
01:38:22,080 --> 01:38:29,119
used to?
>> Oh, great question. So that was one

1119
01:38:26,960 --> 01:38:35,679
lesson learned from uh this last
snowageddon which was DOT did the bypass

1120
01:38:32,880 --> 01:38:39,040
really quick and then Patrick had to
strongarm some folks to get them to do

1121
01:38:37,679 --> 01:38:43,040
you know they came through Havlock
initially and then they kind of it got

1122
01:38:40,719 --> 01:38:47,119
busy and forgot and so our folks had to
remind them to come back and get their

1123
01:38:44,320 --> 01:38:51,040
main roads cleared in Havlock. Some of
this money in this budget will not go to

1124
01:38:48,880 --> 01:38:54,960
any of that. I will say with all
caution, a new piece of equipment we are

1125
01:38:53,440 --> 01:38:59,760
currently buying right now will come
with a snow plow attachment. Don't

1126
01:38:57,520 --> 01:39:04,320
expect we're plowing 46 miles of roads
with that. That is so we can plow for

1127
01:39:01,520 --> 01:39:07,520
emergency services because Patrick and
his team were out with a backhoe this

1128
01:39:05,600 --> 01:39:12,639
last time just to get because remember
y'all, we were all stuck at home. But

1129
01:39:10,320 --> 01:39:17,840
our fire, police, EMS, our water, and
our wastewater were immediately out in

1130
01:39:14,719 --> 01:39:21,280
the field battling demons all day while
we were safe in our homes or having

1131
01:39:19,199 --> 01:39:26,800
snowball fights with our kids. And we
were using back hose to try to clear

1132
01:39:23,199 --> 01:39:30,400
that area. That's not optimal. So, um,
this new piece of equipment does have a

1133
01:39:28,239 --> 01:39:34,880
little snow plow. We will use it to
plow. It will allow us to get open our

1134
01:39:33,199 --> 01:39:37,840
buildings open faster. So, we'll be able
to do city hall parking lot, tours and

1135
01:39:36,800 --> 01:39:41,360
event center parking lot, things like
that. so we can get back to business

1136
01:39:39,360 --> 01:39:46,719
quicker, but it will not be enough to do
46 miles worth. Um, we did learn the

1137
01:39:44,480 --> 01:39:49,920
lesson of maybe talking to DOT more
proactively next time because of the

1138
01:39:48,239 --> 01:39:54,159
bypass and that is a part of his
protocol now in that scenario, including

1139
01:39:52,080 --> 01:39:58,320
for hurricane storms. We'll know remind
them, hey, we're down here on the other

1140
01:39:55,679 --> 01:40:02,400
road. DOT will continue to own business
70 as they call it now. We're not we're

1141
01:40:00,480 --> 01:40:06,960
not going to take that road. So, how do
DOT will continue to own Highway 70.

1142
01:40:05,440 --> 01:40:10,880
City of Havlock taking that would be a
very risky and expensive move because

1143
01:40:09,119 --> 01:40:16,760
then we would have to own that road. So
we're going to let DOT keep that and

1144
01:40:12,560 --> 01:40:16,760
just work with them on that road.

1145
01:40:19,040 --> 01:40:27,199
» Jim Schmid 437 Fox Hunt Lane. When is
the uh NC do preparing to are they going

1146
01:40:24,480 --> 01:40:30,159
to pave the entire through the city and
I assume the work that's being done

1147
01:40:28,639 --> 01:40:33,440
right now is in preparation for that
paving the curving that they're doing

1148
01:40:31,760 --> 01:40:35,600
along the sides of the roads. New
concrete work.

1149
01:40:34,639 --> 01:40:38,400
» Exactly. Is that right?
>> Okay.

1150
01:40:35,920 --> 01:40:41,600
» Yes, sir. So, uh, DOT's been doing
curbing work, if you haven't noticed, up

1151
01:40:39,920 --> 01:40:45,760
and down Highway 70 and around
Cunningham and all that for the last two

1152
01:40:43,360 --> 01:40:50,800
months, maybe a month and a half. And
they've got a bunch more spots marked.

1153
01:40:48,080 --> 01:40:53,760
They are when they finish what they're
doing on the east end and the west end,

1154
01:40:52,400 --> 01:40:58,080
they are going to pave the entire city
of Havlock. It'll be what they call

1155
01:40:55,600 --> 01:41:01,600
milling fill. So, you've noticed on the
east end of town where they're doing the

1156
01:40:59,679 --> 01:41:05,679
new paving, they're grinding it out and
matching it. When they do the center

1157
01:41:03,600 --> 01:41:09,119
part of the city, it's if you were in
Newport last year, they did it in

1158
01:41:06,880 --> 01:41:12,960
Newport all up and down Highway 70.
There's going to be a piece of equipment

1159
01:41:10,239 --> 01:41:16,159
that grinds up two inches of asphalt,
puts it in a truck. They're either going

1160
01:41:14,719 --> 01:41:19,520
to remelt it and put it back down or
they'll bring in fresh asphalt behind it

1161
01:41:17,840 --> 01:41:22,960
so the road can't continually get
higher. It will be aggravating for a

1162
01:41:21,920 --> 01:41:28,639
little while. We're going to have one
lane closures up and down Highway 70 on

1163
01:41:26,159 --> 01:41:33,040
one side at a time while they do that,
but they are going to do the entire city

1164
01:41:30,400 --> 01:41:37,199
from East End to Sloum all the way to
the Sloum flyover. So, you'll have all

1165
01:41:35,440 --> 01:41:42,960
new pavement. It supposed to start in
the next few weeks. They told us June.

1166
01:41:39,600 --> 01:41:45,199
So, they seem to be on schedule. Uh I
know they won't start till their

1167
01:41:43,840 --> 01:41:49,199
curbing's done until they can kind of
move some resources off the ends, but

1168
01:41:47,119 --> 01:41:54,239
they told us they would start in June.
And I would say it's at least 30 to 40

1169
01:41:52,080 --> 01:41:57,760
days, Patrick, maybe longer, in order
for them to complete that through

1170
01:41:55,360 --> 01:42:01,360
Havlock. But that's why all your curbs
and storm drains have been getting

1171
01:41:59,119 --> 01:42:04,400
replaced. And while they've been doing
the a lot of it is going to happen at

1172
01:42:02,960 --> 01:42:09,400
night. Thank you, Ray, for that. Thank
you for the reminder. They are going to

1173
01:42:05,679 --> 01:42:09,400
do a lot of that at night.

1174
01:42:10,560 --> 01:42:16,239
And we always are very clear to them
that our business hours in Havlock are

1175
01:42:14,159 --> 01:42:21,119
not regular business hours. DOT
reiterated that to us that they always

1176
01:42:18,719 --> 01:42:24,560
stoppages. You can't be paving at 1500
to 1,600 because that's when everyone's

1177
01:42:22,560 --> 01:42:27,280
coming off the base. Um, and they they
do know that and they don't pay super

1178
01:42:26,159 --> 01:42:33,719
early in the morning for the same
reason.

1179
01:42:29,920 --> 01:42:33,719
All right. What else?

1180
01:42:34,719 --> 01:42:40,000
All right. So, what'll happen is the
board's going to go into a workshop on

1181
01:42:38,639 --> 01:42:44,880
Wednesday. Is that that workshop is
here, correct? So, the workshop will be

1182
01:42:42,000 --> 01:42:48,080
here in this building Wednesday
and they'll be talking about what

1183
01:42:46,880 --> 01:42:55,360
they're going to do to finalize the
budget and get the numbers in line. Um,

1184
01:42:51,520 --> 01:43:00,639
and then June 22nd will be uh when they
actually approve a budget. And um I know

1185
01:42:58,239 --> 01:43:06,800
everybody appreciates your input and
questions today, but you don't have to

1186
01:43:03,360 --> 01:43:10,719
end today. Uh we I have office hours.
You can contact all of us via the

1187
01:43:08,639 --> 01:43:14,159
website if you click the email button.
Um, you can get to all of us via email.

1188
01:43:12,880 --> 01:43:17,520
I'm happy to sit down and talk to
anybody that would like to if you want

1189
01:43:15,440 --> 01:43:21,360
to dig in a little deeper. We went a
little further than 10,000 ft. We got a

1190
01:43:19,199 --> 01:43:24,639
little bit deeper today. Uh, but we can
get into the adnauseium details if

1191
01:43:23,199 --> 01:43:28,960
anybody would like to anytime you want
to.

1192
01:43:26,400 --> 01:43:32,719
All right, no more questions. Last call.
All right, I'm going to have to take a

1193
01:43:30,239 --> 01:43:37,440
motion to adjurnn from the board. Motion
from Cynthia, second from Mark. All

1194
01:43:34,880 --> 01:43:40,800
those in favor? Those opposed? All
right. Thank you'all all for coming and

1195
01:43:39,040 --> 01:43:44,040
we'll answer questions afterwards if you
need us to.