[0:04] I know.
[0:13] You know what, Sasha? I was like I saw
you post it the day I filed and all
[0:16] that. And I I love my friends like,
"Where is it?"
[0:32] No, no worries. No worries.
[0:45] What?
[1:12] Very very positive.
[1:16] I'm good. How are you?
[1:20] Even better you didn't even see me
today.
[1:26] Oh, okay. Well,
All right. We don't do the
[1:31] Too much stress living with that guy.
[2:14] » Yeah, I'm ready whenever you guys want
to open up.
[2:18] » Yes, all call on three cents meeting
open again today.
[2:27] » I'd like to call the ordinance going to
see county meeting for Monday, May the
[2:31] 4th, 2026. And I'd like to note that all
commissioners are present. So
[2:37] All righty, so our first
first discussion course is the
[2:42] neighborhood revitalization program.
Ty, before Ty before I give you the
[2:47] floor here, I would just like to say for
the record how excited I am how we got
[2:52] this accomplished. You know, we talked
about this
[2:55] 5 months ago and you know, and I would
say I'm very proud how the city and the
[3:00] county worked together to get this bill
or fix the neighborhood revitalization
[3:05] with unanimous support in the house and
the Senate. Again, signed by Governor
[3:09] Kelly. I mean, it would not have
happened without Tyson and Cody going up
[3:13] to Topeka and going through both
committees and us of course talked to
[3:17] certain our certain reps and senators.
So I'd like to say this I'm very excited
[3:21] about this and this could not have
happened without us working together on
[3:25] that. So
>> Thanks, Ty. I want to say I'm
[3:28] appreciative of everybody's efforts
involved.
[3:31] A lot of people to move the ball and
very good.
[3:35] Um I don't know.
You guys want to say anything?
[3:39] » I just
I don't compare the law.
[3:43] The mayor said, you know,
we listen to our constituents. Uh
[3:48] we told them what the problem was.
We come up with the solution. And really
[3:52] for a county the size of Pratt County to
get a bill through the Senate and the
[3:56] house with what? Four dissents? Yeah.
And with all the chaos up there,
[4:01] again,
you thank everybody, but the biggest one
[4:05] is Heather Morgan. She's our
representative up there, not our
[4:08] representative, but our
economic development kind of director,
[4:12] but she's into PICA every day and she
worked her tail off on this.
[4:16] I think she deserves some kudos.
>> Yes.
[4:19] » Yeah, thank you. I think we need to
bring up Heather and I agree with you.
[4:22] » So, that that's all I want to say.
>> Yeah.
[4:26] » That was good.
>> So, maybe talk about getting this toward
[4:29] the finish line.
>> Yes.
[4:31] » Yeah.
>> So, I had sent out an email at the end
[4:33] of March and I followed up with another
email probably mid-month last month
[4:39] where we had drafts of everything to the
small group.
[4:43] And
I don't know how you guys want to
[4:45] approach it, but to get close to that
July 1, we need to start.
[4:51] » We're going to
we're going to post
[4:54] the our drafts on the next city
commission meeting with the city.
[4:59] » Okay.
Um so, as far as
[5:03] it's probably just easy if we work
through the plan itself, the appendix
[5:08] needs to A, which is the map.
Everything that is not red or orange
[5:14] needs to be green.
And Cody had been working on that and I
[5:18] don't know what is in your GIS in the
city's GIS system, I think.
[5:23] So, that was that's what needs to happen
with the map. The appendix D in there is
[5:28] the interlocal agreement. So, you guys
have a draft of that. I don't think
[5:31] there's anything in there that's
controversial.
[5:33] » There's a good point.
>> The only
[5:36] uh
potential issue with that is Heather had
[5:39] said that within last year
the attorney general's office had
[5:44] rejected an agreement because it didn't
have
[5:47] all their day. It was baffling to me,
but if that's the
[5:52] the idea would be is we get everybody on
the same page.
[5:59] Um
The entities approve the resolution or
[6:02] permit through whatever and then I think
if I have to to drive to each place to
[6:06] get signatures on one place, I'll I'll
do that.
[6:10] Um and then the final appendix in the
NRP is uh appendix E which is an
[6:15] application and a checklist and
I went through my emails. I know I've
[6:19] seen this at some point because I
thought, "Man, Cody did a good job on
[6:23] this." Um but I can't find it and so
I know DJ needs to see it just to make
[6:30] sure he under he's aware of what
is in the application. Uh I don't think
[6:35] he's concerned, but I don't have it. So,
in my initial email to Cody, I didn't
[6:40] get a follow-up other than he would make
sure that our our transition work,
[6:45] everything got passed on.
I'm waiting on that.
[6:49] Um
>> And what is the talking mark?
[6:51] » So, the actual application which you
apply for.
[6:56] So, that that application is what is
used internally at county level
[7:00] by the applicant that submit everything
prior to prior to construction.
[7:05] Um in the past it's been pretty simple,
but
[7:09] I think we were sitting in one of the
small meetings and Cody had just said,
[7:13] "Hey, what do you think about this?" I
looked at it and I was like, "Well, this
[7:16] is better than what we have. Let's use
this." Uh
[7:19] and I don't know I don't think it got
circulated via email. I've spent about
[7:23] an hour trying to find my emails. So,
[7:27] So, uh
[7:33] I don't know if you guys have talked
about the interlocal agreement, but I
[7:36] guess if if you have any issues, I tried
to make it as simple as I can make it.
[7:41] Uh
if you have questions about that, happy
[7:44] to talk about it here or talk about it
in a small group however you want to do
[7:48] it or
Uh,
[7:50] there does need to be a
notice published twice. That's
[7:54] statutory.
Um, so that's giving public notice of
[7:58] the hearing. Each entity has to do that.
Um, and then at
[8:02] at the hearing or after the hearing
after public comment, you have the
[8:06] ability to adopt your ordinance
resolution and then execute
[8:11] the plan itself.
[8:14] Um, I don't know. You guys got
questions? We just need to to move in
[8:19] the sense that the response I've got
in my email chain, some of the smaller
[8:25] entities have responded back, not reply
all, just me, that they're saying, "Hey,
[8:29] we're willing we're willing to meet." I
didn't know what to tell them because I
[8:32] don't know didn't know what you guys
wanted to do. If we need a small group
[8:35] of five,
if I need to send out a an email, I'll
[8:39] limit that. That's fine. Okay.
I don't care. We just need to meet
[8:43] again.
>> Yeah.
[8:44] » Uh, Chase, you're on the small group
committee, correct? Do you think the
[8:48] small group committee needs to meet over
this or
[8:52] » I don't know. We got to have a little
lunch out. I mean, it's the matter.
[8:57] » I would agree. I thought the details of
that with the only really
[9:01] area of concern.
>> Yeah, the math and then we got the bill
[9:04] change, so I think we're good to go.
>> I know like we were consensus on the
[9:09] rebates and percentage.
>> That's just about all that is.
[9:10] » I was going to say that's the only the
only big changes in the front line and
[9:15] they're not even big changes.
There is the going from a 10-year to
[9:20] 7-year, which was agreed upon in the
small group. Now, not all the smaller
[9:24] entities were in that small group.
I can't imagine that they're going to
[9:27] give any pushback on it. And then there
was the $750,000 cap on the residential.
[9:34] Not on the commercial, just residential.
So, those are the the two bigger changes
[9:38] that we talked about for at least one of
the meetings.
[9:42] And you guys are are still wanting that,
I assume. We're on the same page.
[9:46] » Yes. I believe I believe we are.
>> And so, it seems to just be process now.
[9:51] Like, we just need to move the process.
Uh
[9:54] what do you guys want me to reach out to
everyone else? What do you want me to
[9:58] do?
[10:01] » Reach out sounds good.
>> Yeah.
[10:03] » Yeah.
>> Yeah. Do we think we need a small group?
[10:06] » I don't think so. Chase and Rick, Brad,
do you think? Yeah.
[10:10] » I think we need to get it on paper and
send it out to the small groups and
[10:15] make them agree to the thing or not do
their thing.
[10:17] » And Heather is working on picking up
some of the even small smaller cities,
[10:21] townships to try to get as much uh
participation as we can get. So, I'll
[10:27] get something out probably probably
within the next 2 days, I imagine. And
[10:31] hopefully, everybody can start the
process of doing it.
[10:36] process of doing what we need.
>> You said
[10:41] to the the hearing that has to be held
by each county and it has to be has to
[10:45] be noticed at twice. Is that a week
apart?
[10:47] » Yeah, consecutive weeks.
Yeah, and I don't have Well, I do have
[10:51] the statute. It's in the statutes.
Um
[10:55] so, that gets us you know
I don't know if we could even get in
[11:00] next week. And I don't know if we could
even get in next week. I don't remember
[11:03] already.
>> I guess it's all all the way to the end
[11:05] of this month.
>> all of August or good.
[11:08] You know, they only meet once a month.
>> Yeah.
[11:11] » And and so, it's going to be
Who should
[11:14] » Who should do it?
>> It's going to be hard.
[11:18] » I think they're
>> We may have to call a special meeting or
[11:20] something.
>> Yeah.
[11:21] » Maybe that's what we're talking about. I
mean, how long are we wanting to spend
[11:26] trying to
bring in everyone?
[11:29] Because
[11:33] I love the small groups with the
understanding that everybody wanted
[11:36] something to try to get something in
place by July 1, which is the date the
[11:40] statute becomes effective, the change in
the statute. All right.
[11:44] I think
[11:47] if things went perfect, and they're not
going to go perfect, I know that.
[11:51] We'd be fortunate to hit the file.
So, I guess I would want direction. How
[11:57] much time do you want me to spend trying
trying to get
[12:01] the smaller entities involved?
[12:07] » How How many of small entities are you
talking about?
[12:10] » Anybody that levies in the county has
the ability to enter. I mean, so we're
[12:14] talking about all the townships, all the
small cities.
[12:17] » Cemetery boards, cemetery boards.
>> All of us.
[12:20] » All those.
>> Are they
[12:24] Who of all those, who is currently not
participate or did, whatever?
[12:29] » Sewer district.
>> Sewer district. I don't know what they
[12:32] » I think sewer and what was another one?
[12:37] » I can tell you who's in the current one,
I can't name
[12:43] maybe.
[12:46] Most of Most of the townships are not
participating currently.
[12:51] The smaller cities, most of them are
with a couple of exceptions. All the
[12:55] schools are currently participating.
Uh all the schools have responded back
[13:00] to my email chain just to me directly,
not into the reply all. And so, they're
[13:05] just waiting to hear back. It's trying
to get the townships if they want to
[13:09] participate, and just make sure that
we're talking to all the cities and
[13:13] giving them the opportunity. What I
don't want to happen is
[13:16] they say, "Hey, you didn't even tell us
about this." That type of a deal.
[13:20] Um
>> Do we think they're not participating
[13:23] because they're not aware?
>> Um
[13:25] » Because I looked through
>> No, I
[13:28] » No, I The boards might changed and they
don't know what's
[13:32] And they denied they
[13:36] » As far as rebate amounts also, the the
amounts are
[13:41] negligible for the small entities, but
I mean, not my job to think about the
[13:47] politics of it all. They want to go back
to their
[13:50] taxpayers and say, "Hey, we are
participating to do that." They should
[13:53] have the opportunity to do that. I don't
want to just completely ignore those.
[13:58] » Well, can we just send each of them a
letter and give them a date that we need
[14:03] to know?
>> I'm happy to do that. What's the date?
[14:07] » Are you Are you talking like 3 months, 4
months, or
[14:10] » I hope not.
>> Okay.
[14:12] » End of the month. Yeah, I would say end
of the month, yeah. But I mean, it does
[14:15] depend, like some of the You said some
of these meet once a month. Have they
[14:19] are Are they meeting this week then or
>> Well, some meet on the first Wednesday
[14:24] of the month.
>> Yeah.
[14:25] » So, they've already met.
>> I I Yeah.
[14:31] » What about
You said school districts. I understand
[14:35] there's
three here in Pratt County, but does
[14:38] that include like Cunningham, Fairfield?
>> Okay.
[14:42] » I didn't Just the ones in the county.
>> That's right.
[14:46] » Okay.
So, they'll meet one more So, June 5th,
[14:50] maybe?
Or I would make it quicker than that.
[14:55] » I want to know by May 20th.
>> Yeah.
[14:57] » I mean, two weeks is not hard.
Figure it out if you want to do this or
[15:00] not.
>> What's that? Is Is PCC participating or
[15:05] Okay.
>> Well, so
[15:07] » That there's been communication from PCC
to me.
[15:12] » Yeah.
>> They're committed or whatever they're
[15:14] communicating, but it
communication seemed like they were
[15:17] working that direction.
>> I would just say June the 1st. Just say
[15:22] June the 1st, let us know, and
>> Well, so part of the issue is
[15:30] So part of the issue is that we have to
have the interlocal agreement approved
[15:34] by the Attorney General's Office. And
that's probably the largest lead time.
[15:37] » That's right.
>> So do we have to have all of our
[15:40] hearings done before that interlocal
agreement gets submitted to the Attorney
[15:44] General?
>> Yeah, cuz I think in your hearings
[15:47] you're approv- approving approving both
the NRP itself
[15:52] » That's when you
>> and the interlocal agreement.
[15:56] And so
after the hearing, you know, you would
[15:59] execute
uh the interlocal agreement. We go
[16:03] around, get signatures all in one page,
apparently.
[16:06] And then I would get I would send a
letter to the Attorney General saying,
[16:10] "Here are our approval approval
documents. Here are our
[16:17] » I think the the tricky part is figuring
out what the the right date is
[16:22] considering that we have to have notice
two consecutive weeks in a row in uh
[16:26] newspaper of general circulation in the
county.
[16:29] » Yeah.
>> So getting that time frame as well as uh
[16:34] 10 days hearing, and then getting it to
the Attorney General with as many weeks
[16:38] as possible before July 1st.
>> Yep. And that's the thing, which is the
[16:43] kind of why I started with you think
it would benefit to have a small group
[16:48] in the sense that we invite everybody in
the entities.
[16:52] Is it
It might be the quickest.
[16:56] » And that's a different inquiry because
as when we were thinking of the
[16:58] subcommittee, we were thinking like
economic development, you know, we have
[17:01] » You're the the working group. Yeah, I
think that.
[17:04] » If we had a small group where um a
member from each of the taxing entities
[17:08] were invited, I think that's a better
>> Okay, that is. This is the process. Get
[17:13] started on your process.
>> What to do.
[17:16] Don't let us know and we'll we'll wait
on you.
[17:19] » Yeah,
I agree then. I say we do a small group
[17:22] of the taxing entities. You want to do
it, you don't want to do it.
[17:26] » So, if we try to get a meeting set for
next week sometime.
[17:30] And if they come, they come and if
they're not, they're out.
[17:33] » Yeah, I concur.
>> Because they can send any of their
[17:38] representatives.
>> Yeah, okay.
[17:39] » It doesn't have to be you have to be
notified, yes.
[17:41] » Okay.
>> Which which I will happily do.
[17:44] » Okay.
>> Yeah, I think that
[17:49] we'll see what we get then and if we got
to go a different direction based off
[17:53] that meeting then we can't, but
I want to give them the opportunity to
[17:56] participate.
>> I
[17:59] I that was what the the committee got in
the small group, too, was let's try to
[18:03] get this out to all the entities to
participate, encourage them to
[18:07] participate. So.
>> So, do you want to just while you've got
[18:10] people here, you want to set a a day and
time that works next week?
[18:14] » Well,
it's going to be me for us and if one of
[18:18] you guys want to
>> Rick's available.
[18:20] » If you're bored then.
>> Yeah, that's fine.
[18:23] » I would probably Brad since you've been
on it.
[18:26] » Sure.
>> Are you okay doing that?
[18:27] » Yeah.
>> Are you guys okay sending Brad since
[18:29] he's been so representing the city?
Okay.
[18:32] » Yeah, nothing next week.
Once.
[18:37] » Well, until now.
>> Yeah, until now.
[18:40] » So,
if I maybe shoot toward the late part of
[18:44] the week, I guess I'll send an out say
it to by tomorrow night.
[18:47] » Yeah, Thur- Thursday I got a track meet.
>> Okay.
[18:51] What if we did Friday?
[18:55] Yeah, so the problem
>> If somebody can't make it, somebody else
[18:59] can.
>> Yeah, I mean yeah.
[19:00] » If they can't, then they'll just not
>> Yeah, if you can't make it, I'll go.
[19:04] » Yeah.
>> Well,
[19:05] » if Thursday will work for everybody
else, make it Thursday.
[19:11] I think the push it off to Friday.
>> Yeah.
[19:14] » Okay. out to Friday.
>> Have
[19:18] having worked these small trying to
schedule these small groups, it would be
[19:22] best for us if we just pick a day. Cuz
if I go out to small group and say give
[19:27] me a day to open, you know, I'm sweet.
I'm going to get six different days.
[19:31] » Okay. Let's do the 14th.
[19:36] » How would you go?
>> You thinking evening or you thinking
[19:39] » Well, for the the schools, it would have
to be
[19:43] later.
But we did
[19:46] 5:30
>> I can't do Thursday. Yeah, I can't do
[19:49] Thursday. If it's going to be me, you
could think about that till now.
[19:53] » Why don't we do Wednesday?
>> No.
[19:56] » After I work.
On Wednesday.
[19:59] » evening.
>> I'm going to get something out. Probably
[20:01] today.
>> Why don't we shoot for Wednesday?
[20:04] Wednesday's the 13th.
[20:08] » Okay.
>> Yeah, I'm a
[20:10] » Right.
>> I'm never on time.
[20:11] » Okay.
And then I'll help you out with the
[20:13] meeting. So, we'll just do Wednesday the
13th in the evening and we'll just see
[20:18] who can make it and if they they need
send somebody, send somebody else and
[20:22] » If they can't make it, I'll try to have
a conversation with them about the
[20:26] process and and assuming they want to
participate, try to walk through the
[20:29] process with them that way we can get
them.
[20:31] » What time?
[20:36] Yeah, I'm late.
>> 4:30 5:00
[20:39] » 5:00 works.
>> Yeah.
[20:41] » Do we want to meet out here?
[20:45] » Or at City Hall meeting?
[20:49] » City Hall's fine.
>> Okay. So, we'll just do next Wednesday
[20:52] 5:00 p.m. at City Hall.
Okay.
[21:03] Cool.
[21:07] Okay.
Are there any other things we need to
[21:10] discuss with the
NRP?
[21:16] » No.
>> Okay, perfect. Well, again, as I said, I
[21:20] I do
I do echo what everyone said. Heather
[21:22] Morgan was a very big part of this as
well, besides Cody and Ty as well. So,
[21:27] again, I'm very happy we finally got
this through, but more importantly, it's
[21:31] a big kudos for our both our governments
working together on this.
[21:36] » Good team effort.
>> Yeah, great team effort. So, all right,
[21:39] moving on to economic development.
Uh I know the city we were kind of told
[21:45] Chase in our last meeting we planned on
still giving $30,000
[21:50] and for next year's budget and
everything. So, I didn't know I know you
[21:53] guys don't have your budget talks still
this week or next week.
[21:56] » Tomorrow.
>> Tomorrow. Okay.
[21:58] » We start tomorrow.
>> Start tomorrow. So, but I invited Chase
[22:02] here for other reasons, too, besides the
economic development, but Chase, if you
[22:07] have anything to say with economic
development or I know you're changing
[22:12] the agreements after the end of June
with the chamber, correct?
[22:15] » Yeah, I've been meaning to get to you
and you've been on my list to get to to
[22:18] come visit about budget. I just been
gone the last three presentations, but
[22:22] um yeah, as far as our agreement with
the chamber, so it the current one
[22:26] expires June 30th. Um
we're not going to renew it in its
[22:30] current form. We're currently
negotiating more just on
[22:35] administrative services as far as
bookkeeping.
[22:39] It's um
that's going to be kind of our interim
[22:43] plan um
at least for the next 6 months till we
[22:46] kind of get some other stuff figured
out. So, um we still
[22:50] want to need someone to do
the stuff that the board members are
[22:55] currently doing just from a finance
standpoint. Um we're going to kind of
[22:58] put a pause on that uh for right now
while we get some other stuff going. So,
[23:03] um
as far as uh programs and grants, all of
[23:06] the same since I think we last spoke.
So,
[23:09] um our housing incentive, getting this
uh neighborhood revitalization going
[23:13] will help that put that
at least on hold until this is done
[23:18] since it's tied to that as far as
paperwork goes. So, um
[23:22] other than that, um we're still getting
We probably get about one
[23:26] at least one um
grant application of some form about
[23:31] every month. Um the last couple have
been pretty small ones. They just didn't
[23:35] qualify, but um
we've had a few others out here the last
[23:38] 6 months. So, um
we'll we'll feel pretty good about our
[23:42] things on our side.
[23:45] No.
All right.
[23:48] I don't Is there any other questions for
Chase with the economic development?
[23:51] Okay.
>> Thanks, sir.
[23:52] » Yeah, thank you, Chase.
All right. Uh the next thing is looking
[23:56] at our 20 looking at 2027 budget just to
see, you know, just have that open
[24:01] communication on what you guys are
seeing what you know, what we're planned
[24:04] on. You guys know
we are initiating this uh sales tax
[24:10] initiative and stuff to put on the
August ballot. Uh we have not come down
[24:13] to the conclusion yet of if we'll do a
half cent sales tax or full full cent
[24:18] sales, but the overall goal is just to
hopefully cut property taxes or more
[24:22] importantly our mill levies
uh in half to 26.5.
[24:27] Gina, is that correct?
>> Well,
[24:30] » Or is it
>> So, if if a 1 cent sales tax were
[24:33] implemented, then we would cut our mill
levy in half.
[24:35] » Yeah.
>> And if it were a half cent, it would be
[24:38] um
>> 13.
[24:39] » by 25%.
>> Yeah.
[24:41] » Um and of course this is it would be on
the ballot. It's up to the voters to
[24:46] approve or not.
>> And you guys haven't decided which
[24:49] » Right.
>> which direction you're going to go.
[24:52] » So, but our goal is if it does if it
would fail, our Our is to still hold the
[24:56] line for 27 stuff for our budget alone.
So, that's our goal anyway.
[25:01] » The city commission gallery has been
filled for the last three
[25:05] years in a row at budget hearing time.
But, we have not The city has not
[25:10] increased the mill levy in many, many,
many years. However,
[25:15] our gallery is still full of people
saying, "We have to do something about
[25:19] property taxes." So, we're trying to be
creative and and and look at options and
[25:24] um this is an option.
>> Yeah, our lovely people up in Topeka,
[25:29] they uh
[25:32] they seem to think we're the problem
with the property tax, but yet they keep
[25:35] giving
>> mandates
[25:37] » mandates to us and they keep giving tax
uh rebates to all these groups and and
[25:44] every time they do that, it just
increases pressure on the homeowner.
[25:49] Uh
[25:51] So, yeah,
I don't know where we're going to get
[25:55] into it, but
I'd like to keep soaring or the same as
[25:59] we can.
>> Yeah.
[26:00] » I know we are looking at the
insurance increases again and thanks to
[26:06] last week's hail storm, we'll probably
have a big increase.
[26:10] The nature.
>> Yeah.
[26:11] » Yeah, I know with the airport authority
getting hit, you know,
[26:15] I don't know have we seen Do we look at
Do we get their We have their insurance?
[26:20] » Right.
>> No.
[26:20] » No.
>> We cover the buildings that we
[26:23] own and our infrastructure at the
airport.
[26:26] And
Right. I mean, I I keep hearing these
[26:30] flubby answers of well, stop spending
money. Well, we have employees that that
[26:36] keep our lights on, that keep the water
pumping and the waste water treatment
[26:42] plant pumping and um the our health
insurance numbers were anticipated to go
[26:47] up by double digits. You know, just to
to keep our people healthy. Um so,
[26:53] when when we have to to do things like
buy fire trucks and bulletproof vests to
[26:57] protect our first responders,
the answer isn't as easy as we'll just
[27:01] stop spending money.
>> Yeah, it's
[27:05] we hear the same thing.
You know, why why are you buying a
[27:09] a new road grader, a $300,000 road
grader? Well, because it's got 20-some
[27:12] thousand hours on it and it it will work
out.
[27:15] » Yeah.
>> And we buy them one every every year.
[27:18] We've got 15 of them.
So,
[27:22] they get used heavily.
So, uh
[27:26] yeah, it's it's
it's a balance for us and we provide
[27:32] services
and
[27:35] you know, the tax rate and
it it's that
[27:39] really it's a
[27:43] The people would buy in high-dollar
homes, but we
[27:46] » Yeah.
>> We got to just tell us the market got
[27:49] money out there.
>> Yeah.
[27:51] » I think we had What did you say? Six or
seven
[27:55] homes sell for over $500,000 in Franklin
County last year?
[27:58] » It was
>> I think it's what DJ had said.
[28:00] » Yeah.
>> In that area. So, that tells the market
[28:04] there's money out there. I don't know
where. I don't have any.
[28:07] But, uh
[28:09] Yeah, there's there's a lot that goes
into it. A lot more than
[28:15] I just wanted to say this.
Isn't it 18 19 uh 18 or 19 statute
[28:22] unfunded
statutes
[28:25] » The government has to ask for.
>> Fine.
[28:28] And I don't think most constituents know
that.
[28:32] » Wait.
[28:35] 20,000.
>> Well, that's what the one said.
[28:40] » I understand.
>> Yeah.
[28:43] » It really is as simple as if you want
taxes to be lower coming to your
[28:48] entities and telling you telling them
where you want to cut.
[28:53] Uh
and it from the county's perspective
[28:56] when you can talk about some of these
entities, there are certain things that
[28:59] we can't cut.
>> Yeah.
[29:01] » Yeah.
>> Um so it's not a simple fix.
[29:05] Watch a lot of the legislative session.
Unfortunately.
[29:10] And
it's going to come back up again next
[29:14] session.
>> We have a question.
[29:16] » It seems to me big picture
it would benefit all the cities and
[29:21] counties in the state to to work with
the legislature on a solution.
[29:28] There were numerous times when I was
watching at the legislatures.
[29:34] New counties and towns.
[29:38] And that's hard to watch because
I know everybody in this room we're
[29:43] talking to be a steward of taxpayer
money.
[29:46] Um
[29:49] it's not going to get easier. I guess
that's is where I would leave it.
[29:53] » Yeah. If that bill would pass
we could be stuck.
[30:00] » Is that the 3% protest one that
>> Yeah. Yeah.
[30:03] You could be stuck at the same amount of
tax dollars for pure killing one that so
[30:08] regardless of
what your health insurance does, what
[30:11] your property insurance does.
You know, if the state sends down
[30:15] another mandate and said you got to fund
this
[30:18] it would have been a disaster. But I
don't think they're done.
[30:22] » I don't either. They're going to come
back.
[30:23] » Yes.
>> And they're going to try to handle it.
[30:28] What's going to happen is services are
going to get cut.
[30:31] » Yeah.
>> And
[30:32] then they're going to scream, "What are
y'all doing?"
[30:34] » So that was awful.
>> And you want to clarify too
[30:39] I'm not saying that property taxes
aren't high, they are.
[30:43] There are ways to address it at the
state level that we don't have the power
[30:47] to do at a local level.
>> I concur.
[30:50] » And and
typically working with the groups that
[30:53] we're in, Association of Counties,
League of Municipalities on a
[30:58] on a a bigger picture plan that actually
makes sense.
[31:02] It would benefit the entire state.
>> That's what a lot of people don't
[31:05] understand, too. I don't
blame B.J.
[31:09] B.J. has to follow a formula that's from
the state.
[31:14] We get audited every year to make sure
we follow that.
[31:17] » Yeah.
>> So, even though we might disagree with
[31:20] how this value in this county come out,
we don't have a say in
[31:24] that.
>> Yeah, you're right. And also with our
[31:28] size population, we actually we have
seven taxing entities as well. I mean,
[31:31] so
it's just
[31:34] one thing after the next. We can't
control everything.
[31:37] » So, there's a lot of money being thrown
here and that's right. But, the issue
[31:42] with the this the sales tax is that
currently this city has no money from
[31:45] these sales taxes.
Um our annual is 3/4 of a cent. So, we
[31:52] don't even have a
a 1-cent sales tax. The vast majority of
[31:56] the sales tax in every county is the
state at 6.5%.
[32:01] So,
you know, these are not easy answers.
[32:04] Just like the rest of the population's
equipment and vehicles and gas and
[32:10] and all of those commodities have
increased substantially. A lot of our
[32:12] equipment has doubled since 2020.
Lots of our equipment has doubled. And
[32:17] so, in order for us to take care of our
citizens, we have got to be able to pay
[32:21] for
fuel and
[32:25] and and motor equipment, you know, all
the things that we pay for with the
[32:30] with fewer fewer dollars. The the
department heads that I met
[32:34] twice each of the department heads that
I met twice last week.
[32:38] The budgets and the term to be aligned.
But what that necessarily means is that
[32:43] we're going to have to cut into our cash
reserves by a substantial amount in
[32:48] order to keep the millage
you know,
[32:51] well, the revenue neutral rate
even that that just means we're going to
[32:56] have to break into our
savings in order to address the issue.
[33:00] » You got to be careful there. You're
getting a buck rate.
[33:03] » Yeah, on the issue of cash reserves,
what I heard this comment at least three
[33:07] times at the state level.
Uh
[33:11] it's almost like they think that we're
sitting on large cash reserves, like
[33:15] just sitting on money to sit on money. I
can tell you when Scott came in four or
[33:20] five years ago originally, he his number
one concern was we didn't have cash on
[33:25] hand.
And so
[33:28] at least I don't know what's going on
statewide. I know here though, we're not
[33:33] sitting on a bunch of cash. No, we're
not.
[33:37] So, but as I said, I know you guys have
your budget talks this week. We have
[33:41] ours. I think we agreed earlier in June.
[33:47] Yeah.
>> So, the the department heads have all
[33:49] met with me and with Tara and have their
their spreadsheets and the requests and
[33:56] um
Well, once Tara updates everything,
[34:00] sends it to bring, we'll do a combined
spreadsheet.
[34:03] Company 90.
>> Yes.
[34:05] » Monday the 8th is the day.
>> Yeah.
[34:08] » I thought it was happening.
>> That's perfect. All righty, and is there
[34:12] any you guys have any or anything on the
budget wise? Okay, and really the last
[34:16] thing is and I'm glad Chase is here and
I brought this up to Tyson is
[34:21] uh the city is planning on moving
forward now uh
[34:24] with the moving the police department to
of course the community center. Uh you
[34:28] know, back in December we of course
supported uh
[34:31] nine was it 946,000?
>> 44
[34:35] » Yeah, 44 and even though we kind of
supported that at first, you know, the
[34:40] commission we kind of discussed if there
was other ways to kind of cut back some
[34:44] more and in the course Chase, we
appreciate all you've done and stuff and
[34:48] so with all Chase's work along with our
city workers, you know, we're planning
[34:53] on moving forward. We're going to spend
746,000
[34:57] and we're hoping to start this Chase in
late summer early fall. Okay, so
[35:03] » I'm sorry, I just I wanted to
realize
[35:07] dollars
>> Yes.
[35:08] » stewardship The initial bids came in at
1.6 million
[35:11] » Yeah.
>> and 1.3 million. 1.3 million was the low
[35:14] bid and we went to work to cut that
number, you know, and and back and back
[35:19] and had all kinds of discussions about
all the different infrastructure and
[35:23] buildings that we have. Where do we put
this and how can we be most responsible
[35:27] and still get our law enforcement
officers in a better situation and so
[35:32] the lowest bid initially was 1.3 million
and we brought it down to 900
[35:37] I'm sorry, 746,000.
>> Yes.
[35:40] So, no, I thank you Gina for that. So, I
I agree with you. So,
[35:44] with that I want Chase here to kind of
explain just to you guys since again
[35:49] with us, you know, we're going to move
out, you know, whatever that date is,
[35:52] you know, that kind of changes the kind
of the agreements between the city and
[35:55] county over dispatch and everything. So,
Chase, I just kind of wanted to invite
[35:59] you to you know, kind of give us an idea
once we start this where if you have an
[36:03] idea where the end date would be once we
complete this.
[36:06] » Um I mean total probably I'm going to
say 6 to 7 months total. Um I mean as
[36:11] far as
uh
[36:14] I don't think there'll really be any
significant disruptions
[36:18] um to the west half of the building
other than
[36:23] probably one long day of power when it
gets replaced, but other than that, I
[36:27] mean, there'll be noise for sure, but
uh um I think as far as services go,
[36:33] the west half
should remain
[36:36] fully functional.
I mean, I think the basement we went
[36:39] down there a couple weeks ago, it was
cleaned out. I don't know if that was
[36:42] whose old stuff that was, but
um that portion's ready to go. And then
[36:46] obviously upstairs is
wide open as it is. So, we will probably
[36:51] um
[36:54] probably block off
the east entrance.
[36:59] So,
everyone else using the building will
[37:01] have to come in the west end.
Um we'll have to do something different
[37:04] so it's not as inconvenient, but um
it minimizes parking disruptions and
[37:09] things like that. So, um
overall, it should be
[37:13] » Do you think you could open that for
commodities one day?
[37:15] » I was going to say something. Yeah.
>> Yeah, that's the main reason we're going
[37:18] to have traffic all over.
>> Yeah, and I think that might be easier
[37:21] than disrupting that. That might hurt
more problems anyway, so yeah. And we'll
[37:25] be
uh
[37:27] before we start, have a point of contact
on here.
[37:31] On each side to make sure
>> Everything's again
[37:33] » and as notices are given for everything
after everything like that.
[37:38] » Okay.
So, when you say 6 or 7 months from now
[37:42] or from when you start?
>> Start. Construction start.
[37:45] » And that is several months away, right?
>> Yes. Yeah.
[37:50] » And so, are you hoping September kind of
the ballpark
[37:54] » Yeah.
>> Yeah. That's about right around there.
[37:56] » So, roughly we'd be
opening up the police station hopefully
[37:59] in April and probably give it a go.
>> And I mean,
[38:05] it should go quicker, but
>> Yeah.
[38:07] » Yeah.
>> Hopefully it does, you know, and all
[38:09] that. So, as I said, Tyson, I didn't
know with that, you know, how much that
[38:13] if you know, we don't open this up till
April, you know, I don't know how much
[38:17] » We executed in December of 25.
>> Yeah.
[38:21] » And so, my guys had budgeted money for
this year
[38:26] and they'll budget money for next year.
It's all just a question of
[38:30] what that money is. Um
I think and uh
[38:35] I'd have to look.
You guys at Chad agreed to provide us uh
[38:41] like a
prospective budget that way we could
[38:45] know and we can get get that you know by
the end of the month middle of the
[38:50] month.
>> Yeah. What we did was we um separated
[38:53] out up until this well through budget
year 26 the the police department and
[38:59] the dispatch will run uh we're in the
same budget. This year for the 2027
[39:05] budget we split them out and it's not
it's it's
[39:09] our best educated guesses you know on uh
you know base I mean it's based on
[39:15] actual circumstances such as how many
dispatchers we have.
[39:18] » Yep.
>> But as far as some of the costs that are
[39:21] broken out I think we took 15% of what
the police department was spending on
[39:25] office supplies and things like that and
put it into that.
[39:28] » In our in the the sheet that was
provided in 25 so the we'd agreed to pay
[39:35] all employment related costs none of the
day-to-day costs and so I don't remember
[39:39] what the name of the form was that you'd
given me but it just had a breakdown of
[39:43] wages and then my share of this.
>> Right. And so we will give you
[39:48] I'll I'll I'll give you the whole
spreadsheet and then you can just ignore
[39:51] the end that
>> It it is broke out like that where we
[39:54] can I have that?
Yeah helpful.
[39:56] » Health insurance social security workers
comp wages yeah.
[39:59] » Yeah how much it gives you around
350,000
[40:02] or something?
>> It's about that.
[40:04] Well the wages for 2027 are anticipated
to be 3.3 million and so then the
[40:09] the benefits on top of that.
>> Yeah so the
[40:11] » But I will get that to you.
>> Yeah I appreciate it.
[40:16] » Robert do you have anything with the
police department or anything with the
[40:20] moving and all that?
[40:26] You guys have any other Okay, perfect.
>> Doug, one question. Yes. You guys
[40:30] brought to my attention last week you
guys have been buying or I guess buying
[40:35] like a thousand ton of asphalt from the
county every year.
[40:38] » Mhm.
>> And this year it's dropped to 250.
[40:42] » I don't know what it was last year. Nick
he managed told me or told me and Jeff
[40:47] and Jeff isn't here and Nick isn't here
but um that
[40:51] that at one point in time it was a
thousand but
[40:55] » That's what Doug had told me last week
it had been a thousand and he's already
[41:00] made it
for this
[41:04] the thousand ton and then he was told
later after it's already done
[41:09] that you guys just wanted 250 so we're
going to have to eat the other 750.
[41:15] It's already been paid for or
made.
[41:19] » So I haven't
talked to to I I can't really give you a
[41:23] a full intelligent answer because I
don't have the public works
[41:27] But what Nick had said is that it had
been decreasing. He thought that last
[41:31] year it was 300 and something.
>> Okay, I That's just what Doug had told
[41:34] me so that's all I was asking.
>> Yeah, and I I can have Jeff and Doug
[41:39] talk.
>> Okay.
[41:40] » Make sure that we're not
putting you in that situation, you know,
[41:44] in the future.
>> Right. Okay. He was just a little
[41:47] concerned about that.
>> Okay. Yeah, let's talk about it.
[41:50] » It It affects his budget and it goes
into our street.
[41:53] » For sure. Yeah. Yeah, we we want to be
good partners and we should all make
[41:56] sure we're talking.
>> You're going to get that asphalt cheap.
[41:58] » No, it should be
>> Well, and one of the things that the
[42:01] city has recently approved that the the
city commission has recently approved an
[42:05] asphalt recycler to be able to to repair
potholes and and some street cracking
[42:12] with hot mix. You know, that but it's in
small batches. Small batches.
[42:16] » It's like our old truck being driven
>> Yeah.
[42:19] » Yeah.
[42:23] That's all right.
>> Oh, no. No, you're good. Are you good?
[42:25] Do you guys have any other concerns or
whatsoever? So
[42:30] Well, I appreciate I as I said as as I
told Sasha a couple of couple weeks ago
[42:35] and I know I told Rick, you know, I I
think we've done some great work here in
[42:39] the last couple years and I think our
relationship has gone stronger and
[42:43] better than it's ever been. And again, I
mean it really shows, you know,
[42:47] especially our meeting I'm just kind of
looking at the clock only 45 minutes.
[42:51] It's all been positive
uh positive things. So I do appreciate
[42:55] that but um
other than that though, look forward to
[42:59] hopefully getting this NRP finally to
bed. Once we get this signed off, we can
[43:03] never we don't have to worry about this.
[43:07] » Only thing I've got left to say is
to my geek side with may the force be
[43:13] with you.
[43:22] » I might get that tonight at tonight's
city council.
[43:25] That's all. So
>> Did the city respond?
[43:27] » I will. I will. That's okay. So
uh with other that being said, um I'd
[43:32] like to make a motion that we adjourn
for to this afternoon.
[43:37] » Second.
>> It's been moved and seconded that we
[43:39] adjourn for this afternoon. Any other
discussions? All those in favor, please
[43:42] say I.
>> I.
[43:44] » I'll make a motion we adjourn.
>> Second.
[43:48] » We move and second we adjourn. All those
in favor, say I.
[43:51] » I.
>> I.
[43:52] » Opposed, same sign. We are adjourned.
>> You got to get food over here for
[43:57] » Yes.
>> Thank you.
[44:00] » It's not safe to drive on
>> No.