[This transcript was generated automatically from audio using AI and hasn't been reviewed by a person -- it can contain mistakes, including plausible-sounding sentences that were never actually said. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record.]

[0:08] All are posted on the wall. Thank you, please take roll.
[0:11] Mayor Nicola.
[0:13] Here.
[0:14] More.
[0:14] Here, Schmidt.
[0:15] Katziapolis.
[0:16] Here.
[0:18] Okay.
[0:19] We're fine tonight.
[0:20] Okay, everyone.
[0:21] I'm just roll call carries.
[0:24] Yeah, yeah.
[0:25] Sorry.
[0:26] I thought that maybe we're done.
[0:28] No, I don't know why.
[0:29] You are an optimistic young woman.
[0:32] Agenda item three is to conduct a public hearing on the city of
[0:38] 26, 20, 23 fiscal year, this item is for discussion purposes, and we'll not be voted on until the September 22nd Council meeting.
[0:47] Financials.
[0:48] All right.
[0:49] Good evening, everybody.
[0:58] So I got a bit of an agenda here tonight.
[1:00] Just to kind of go over.
[1:01] This will be really similar to what we showcased a few weeks ago.
[1:06] So I'm going to kind of go over some differences from what we kind of previously thought the boss.
[1:09] So you guys can understand that without having to rehash all of it.
[1:13] I thought I was going to have them in the opposite order so we will skip the first few slides in the circle back on those.
[1:22] So, general fun.
[1:24] Kind of get over that here first and foremost.
[1:26] So, we're at our revenues.
[1:29] We're again, we're just over 40 million for the upcoming year.
[1:35] And again, kind of what makes those up.
[1:36] I expanded a little bit as we were kind of talking.
[1:39] The others and transfers.
[1:41] It wasn't very apparent on my last slide, but those are primarily made up of the NPPD
[1:45] at least payments that we already do continue to get and transfer some other funds.
[1:50] So it looked weird to just say, like, I have a random 11 million dollar plug, so I want
[1:54] to do you know kind of what makes up that number there.
[1:58] And then we did kind of beef up our licenses and permits just a little bit, do some comprehensive
[2:03] fee schedule changes which we'll get into here a little bit.
[2:06] So if I know you all read the 800 and 8-page PDF that we sent you, I'm working on
[2:14] skinnying that up a little bit, I do have some screenshots from out of that document that
[2:20] will kind of help showcase, again, pie chart version of what it is that makes up our revenue
[2:26] stream as they're coming in across the board, again, primarily taxes, and then we have the
[2:35] property taxes just kind of want to showcase again where that money is going to for next year.
[2:41] Again, primarily most of its into general fund.
[2:43] We do have a public safety bonds which are taking up 16% of it.
[2:47] So we want to make sure you guys can see where our property taxes are going.
[2:52] We do have our distribution.
[2:55] We are roughly 11% based on the most current year.
[2:59] Unfortunately, we do not have the new numbers for the upcoming year as of yet.
[3:03] we won't have that stuff until they ratify everything,
[3:06] towards the end of October, primarily.
[3:08] And so once we do kind of have
[3:09] what everybody's new levees look like in the percentages,
[3:13] we will be sure to share that with you guys
[3:15] after everything gets ratified.
[3:17] Going into the expenses, we were just under 41 million
[3:21] for our expenses again.
[3:24] And so 1.7, I think we were at about 1.5,
[3:27] when we showed it to you last time.
[3:30] And one of the main reasons was,
[3:31] We had that 2% colo for personnel baited into the last time and now we're at the 3% and we kind of discussed that previously our goal was to get it to 3% and we're there so it takes that up just to hair on the overall increase.
[3:48] Another slide.
[3:51] What happened to my PowerPoint in front of me, but we do have some of the expenditures here.
[3:57] just so you can kind of see again how much makes up our people cost versus capital versus our operating.
[4:04] I find this interesting too, because right now we're at about 62%.
[4:09] And I was looking, Grand Island last night, as about 80% of their cost for people cost.
[4:13] And they were hoping to get closer to 70%.
[4:16] So they still got a long ways to go to get that.
[4:18] So I find that interesting, the discrepancy that we have just been telling you anything,
[4:22] or is it just interesting?
[4:23] It's more interesting. I think they're just people heavy. I think when I was there they had kind of like they wanted a benchmark goal of 70 to 75%
[4:32] So they've gotten a little people heavy
[4:33] But they're keeping their budget low, so that means they just keep squeeze and they're operating budget and doing more with less what they're adding people and
[4:41] And tough sustainable business model for any organization let alone a government one. So
[4:47] So how much of that any idea would be fire in life safety for them, for them, I don't know the most.
[5:00] For these numbers off top of my head, I think they have between 70 to 75 full-time firefighters and the MS people give or take. It's a substantial amount of money.
[5:09] We have 13.
[5:10] Yeah, I think it was between $8 and $10 million just for people. They have another fire station. They have four full-time fire stations, three ambulances and rotation. I didn't give them point there in the day.
[5:23] Yeah, that was always a tough sell people when when I was in the other
[5:28] Well people if you have a carney doesn't a lot cheaper and now that I've been here is for sure not Apple's
[5:33] Tap so I do not like comparing Grand Island and carney as it comes to fire in life safety
[5:40] Okay, we're going to go in enterprise funds a little bit. This is something we did not touch on
[5:44] Thanks, Howard, do you want to jump back to property taxes that we're at the beginning of your slides, or do you want to?
[5:48] Nope, okay
[5:52] I have some more detail when we get back.
[5:55] Thanks for telling me.
[5:56] Thank you.
[5:57] I have the slides on that presentation.
[6:00] Enterprise fund revenues.
[6:01] Again, we didn't talk much about enterprise funds at the time.
[6:04] Last time we were primarily focusing on general fund.
[6:08] So, where we were kind of at, prior year, we're down a little bit.
[6:11] Some mostly project driven type stuff.
[6:15] It'll kind of make sense a little bit, I think, as I get into it a little bit.
[6:18] But you can kind of see the start here
[6:20] where we can kind of show where most of it's coming in.
[6:23] And again, most of our stuff is it pertains
[6:25] to enterprise funds is our charges for service,
[6:28] which are like our water, our wastewater,
[6:31] any of the things that we're charging for rates,
[6:33] that also includes our golf
[6:35] and airport funds as well, along with our utility funds.
[6:41] Expenses were a 59 million for the upcoming year.
[6:47] So down about 10 million from where we were a year ago,
[6:51] Again, nice little chart kind of showing where we're at on that.
[6:55] This one's structured a little different as far as personnel Costco because our most
[6:59] expensive capital projects are generally driven by the enterprise fund between water, waste
[7:04] water, things like that.
[7:06] So we do see a little bit of a differential between the general fund as far as the breakout
[7:11] between the types of costs on that one.
[7:14] And overall, just kind of want to go over the highlights on the person and again, the numbers
[7:18] There's in the chart below where are the exact same ones that we showed you the other day.
[7:23] Again, these are based on Headcounts, not true, full-time equivalents or FTEs, as you
[7:27] kind of commonly hear.
[7:29] We are breaking some full-time positions up to some part-time and a new classification referred
[7:34] to as limited.
[7:36] And so the additional what you're seeing in front of you dictates that and as a reminder,
[7:42] the two full-time positions that we're planning on adding is a fire in the near, because
[7:45] the fire station number three and then we have a police FTE or head in there because of a grant
[7:51] but we still are hoping to hear maybe even by the end of the month give a take but we did
[7:56] budget for it and then if they don't get it we won't spend it so and then you I have a breakdown
[8:01] up above for the 3% on the pay plan adjustment so you can see how much the governmental funds are
[8:06] going to go up for a superpriotary from where we would have budgeted a year ago
[8:13] and it's a reminder
[8:14] Here in the slide, here's the breakdown of the different ones that I just went over.
[8:17] Again, I did the same thing I did last time, and I got ahead of myself, so that's just
[8:21] a little bit of breakdown of what we were able to accomplish with the changes that we have
[8:26] in the upcoming year.
[8:28] Some capital project highlights, this is the same slide from the other day, kind of going over
[8:33] what our major projects are that we have in the hopper for the upcoming year.
[8:38] And again, the primary one is going to be building and wrapping up our session number three
[8:42] for the upcoming year. Thank you for approving the second half of the bond proceeds last
[8:47] night. So we're getting the ball rolling on those and should have those in the next
[8:50] six day weeks right in time for when we have some of our next cycle of big bills in the spring
[8:55] probably more likely than not. So we'll be plenty good on that. And the other big one that we
[9:02] are still actively working on is the airport project that Jim has going on out there. And then
[9:07] and he's got a couple of our street projects
[9:09] that we will begin working on next year as well.
[9:12] So, same slide from the other day,
[9:14] and then I just wanted to kind of reiterate
[9:16] what we had used for some of our assumptions
[9:18] that are baked into this model for our revenue growth.
[9:23] Primarily, we are planning on a 1.5% sales tax increase.
[9:27] We were estimating property tax of 5%
[9:29] which I'll get into the specifics
[9:31] of what the number looks like,
[9:33] which we were pretty close on that.
[9:34] Our NPPD lease payments are 0% for the upcoming year.
[9:37] And again, we're planning on no primary or large increases to the occupation taxes and then
[9:43] we'll go over some of the comprehensive stuff on the what I would call small fee increases.
[9:50] And then, yeah, we again, we have the cola for the 3% on the expense side.
[9:54] We have no health insurance premium increases next this subcoming year where we were at.
[10:00] 20% last year. So everybody is kind of happy to hear that. Our capital is we are in a need to only situation. So our wants kind of got chopped. And then our operating budget is primarily just accounting for inflation increases. And then we obviously just went over the personnel reclassifications.
[10:20] So, some of the highlights, and these are going to be a little bit expanded from what I kind
[10:24] of went over previously, where the building permit fees were structuring not a little
[10:29] bit different, where we already have this in place, but we're bumping up the 27th since the
[10:34] 30th since Persquare Foot. They are kind of redoing the pool pass, trying to make it a more
[10:40] simplistic structure. We've had some issues with our family passes, and they're kind of just
[10:45] going to like a universal season pass of method, I do believe that I got to prove by the
[10:50] auction right advisory board if memory serves. And then we do have some different golf
[10:56] things that they're looking to add in. They added a driving range pass. They're adding some
[11:00] active military rates and then they did increase the passes across the board.
[11:06] Under the utility
[11:07] section and the enterprise sections, we added what I'm just kind of referring to as like a global
[11:12] section we kind of have rates that apply to all the different types because we build everybody
[11:17] had one fell swoop. Some people sometimes only have one service type versus the other. We
[11:22] had them like sometimes in water but not wastewater or vice versa. So Sarah and I kind of discussed
[11:28] and we put them into what we're referring to as a global section at the top of the interoperability
[11:32] funds. Water has a 3% increase. We're going to be in our last year of the sewer increase of
[11:38] seven and a half percent, and then we will re-evaluate for next year.
[11:43] And then as previously discussed, the landfill does have where we're trying to get the
[11:47] compacted and uncompacted to the universal rate as well.
[11:53] Sanitation, the collection rates are going to increase during a half percent on average kind
[11:58] of across all of our different feed types, and then the stormwater we are increasing from
[12:02] three to three twenty five for residential and from eight to ten on it
[12:06] on it on residential and here's where we're at for the rest of our
[12:11] cycle of budget stuff so next week we do have the joint pink postcard
[12:15] hearing we already know who's all going to be present so carney public
[12:20] schools will be there for the first time and I think ever is my understanding
[12:24] and so and while we feel the partner schools and I believe given is the
[12:29] other municipality that will be present for that meeting next week so I plan
[12:32] on presenting that that meeting on our behalf.
[12:34] And but was Buffalo County on that list, too.
[12:36] And Buffalo County, you're right.
[12:37] Yep.
[12:37] And we'll be there to present on there behalf as well.
[12:41] And then at the next council meeting on the 22nd,
[12:44] we will have you guys update or approve the comprehensive fee schedule.
[12:49] The actual tax request resolution,
[12:51] and then we'll have an ordinance approving the budget bill
[12:54] for the next fiscal year.
[12:56] And then I'll have the end of the month to get everything filed
[12:59] with the state and county.
[13:00] And that's the end of my presentation for public opinion.
[13:12] John, so are we, I don't see slides on the sales tax in here, are they?
[13:19] They're not sales tax slides in here.
[13:22] Specifically, like, where are the revenue numbers as a sugar?
[13:27] Oh, like, there it does.
[13:32] Specifically, it's a pertain.
[13:34] Yeah, I don't remember.
[13:35] Just as it fits in the overall revenue source for the general fund.
[13:39] Kind of have it lifted to our overall taxes.
[13:41] I didn't do anything specific for it.
[13:43] This is a personal preference.
[13:44] I like it in here because then I keep this sheet with me
[13:46] during the year and I like it.
[13:48] Where is that sales tax on?
[13:49] Oh yeah.
[13:50] So I'll leave that with you.
[13:53] Any questions?
[13:57] OK.
[13:58] This is a public hearing.
[13:59] Does anyone in the audience wish to address
[14:01] public hearing on the City of Carnegie Budget
[14:04] for 2026 to 2027?
[14:10] OK.
[14:11] Can I have a motion?
[14:13] I moved to the public hearing.
[14:14] on the City of County budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.
[14:19] Second, roll call, please.
[14:20] Mayor Nicola.
[14:21] More?
[14:23] Schmidt?
[14:24] Caziapolis?
[14:24] Aye.
[14:25] Sush Cutter?
[14:25] Aye.
[14:28] OK.
[14:29] Gender item four is the conduct public hearing on the setting of the 2026 City
[14:33] of County property tax lovy at a different amount than the preliminary property
[14:36] tax lovy set for the city of County by the Buffalo County clerk.
[14:39] The assignments for discussion purposes will not be voted on until the September 22nd Council meeting.
[14:48] So I wanted to show this slide mostly because this is what I had shown you previously.
[14:55] This was using the assumptions that we had at the time based on the best information.
[15:00] We're not available to a certain amount to showcase this again. And then the slide right behind it is what it is for actually going to end up looking like. So we were really close on the overall valuation.
[15:13] We had estimated 5% and it would be in right at 5.3%. Our growth estimation, we utilized last year's number, which was 1.67% and it came in at 2.53 a little bit higher than we wanted. So we won't complain about that.
[15:27] And then I decided to kind of break out, so you could see all the four different taxing areas, a little more clearly on how much goes to which of the entities for our overall property tax request of the 8.5 million.
[15:40] So you could see our overall entire levy across all of our taxing entities under our umbrella of taxing entities.
[15:48] So the primary differences again, this is kind of just a summary of what the differences are between them.
[15:54] Our tax ask from what we had previously presented is staying, it stays exactly the same as it was,
[16:01] so that the levy dropped a little bit from what I had originally estimated because the valuation was actually higher than we had guessed.
[16:09] But that's basically what's in front of you specifically as it pertains to hearing number two.
[16:18] From questions to rhyme.
[16:22] The public hearing is there any one of the audience who wished to address this public hearing
[16:26] on the setting of the 2026 City of Carnegie Property Tax Levy. Any more questions?
[16:33] No, okay, have a motion.
[16:35] I moved to close public hearing for pretending to setting the city 2026 City of Carnegie Property Tax Levy
[16:42] at a different amount than the preliminary property tax levy set for the city of Carnegie by the
[16:48] Hello county clerk.
[16:50] For all call please.
[16:51] Mayor Nicola.
[16:52] Schmidt.
[16:53] Kattyapolis.
[16:54] Bushcutter.
[16:55] Hi.
[16:58] All right.
[16:58] We're at reports.
[16:59] Anyone wishing to address the council on a matter not on this evening's agenda as
[17:03] asked if we're supposed to podium at this time.
[17:07] Seeing none.
[17:08] Do you have any reports from?
[17:11] Nope.
[17:14] I like Brian's time.
[17:20] All right.
[17:21] Go ahead.
[17:22] Go ahead.
[17:22] Did you?
[17:24] Second.
[17:24] Pro call please.
[17:25] Mayor Nicle.
[17:26] All right.
[17:26] Tats the opposite, push cutter.
[17:34] Oh, I didn't ask you if you want to do the clot,
[17:35] either the clot, session, anything.
[17:39] I'm just going to say my title.