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And at this time, I'll recognize Mayor Pro Tempush who will lead our ceremonial opening.

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Thank you, Mayor. Good evening, everyone. Before we begin tonight's meeting, I wanted to take a moment to recognize and thank

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the large number of remarkable teams that have worked tirelessly behind the scenes during over the past few weeks.

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Our public works, our public safety, our communications professionals. There really are the heartbeat of this town

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through snow and ice and freezing temperatures, you kept carry running, you kept us connected

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and you kept us safe. Now the numbers tell an extraordinary story and I thought I would

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share with all of our residents that over 20 days our teams logged more than 41,500 miles.

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That's one and a half times around the world and spread over 1100 tons of salt.

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using 75 plows, 28 spreaders, and 200 steel blades.

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I actually got to see one of those blades broken.

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They prepared 90,000 gallons of brine.

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And if you want to know how much that is,

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that is about six standard sized backyard pools worth of brine.

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And they worked 18,500 hours across 16 separate 12-hour shifts.

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There were over 400 staff members from every department and the communications team kept the

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public informed through 225 updates on all types of social media from Facebook, next

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store, Instagram, X, blue sky, and the carry collects app.

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These netted over 2 million impressions by people watching live about what was going on in

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It was an incredibly helpful and informational and safe set of reminders that were provided

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to us and there were live interviews by many of our staff and there were over 10,000 views

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on our live traffic cameras.

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But thanks to everyone's efforts in the community's caution, we only saw a small number

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of weather related emergencies.

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We had about over those 20 days, we had about 30 calls to 3-1-1 and just a dozen really true emergencies.

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Among those were eight traffic accidents, two with injuries and three accidents that involved stranded motorists.

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One call however stands out though as a very powerful reminder of both the human courage and the importance of safety.

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During the second storm, a young child ventured out into a frozen pond that gave way beneath him,

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but fortunately, I nearby, I will say, hero.

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Saw what happened, and ran to help, and together, they were actually rescued by our incredible team from Fire Station 5,

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even though that they ended up in the frozen water for more than five minutes.

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Reminds us that no ice is safe ice, and every second counts in an emergency.

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And, though sadly, there was another event where we learned a loss of a family dog who fell through the ice at another neighborhood pond.

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And, though this one occurred outside of our active snow response, it is a reminder for all of us that we need to stay vigilant.

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We need to check on our neighbors and be mindful that this winter season is still lingering on.

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on and on, so to every member of the town staff who answer the call of duty and to every

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resident who helped, whether you helped a neighbor, whether you stayed at home like

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you were supposed to, you all really showed resilience, professionalism, and heart, and

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you really are the true spirit of Kerry, so with that, if you would join me

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in the

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Thank

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you for all that data. I love data.

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You should boast this and we'll share as well.

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Okay, we've received a request to include a proclamation presentation in celebration of Ramadan.

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Is there a motion to amend the agenda accordingly?

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There's a motion on a second discussion.

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I'll invariably say aye.

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Aye.

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Aye.

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Opposed.

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Motion carries unanimously.

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We're now at recognition to reports and presentations.

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And we have troop to 13 working on their citizenship and community badge.

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And if you would stand and be recognized, please.

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Thank you.

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We appreciate you being here.

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And for your interest in local government.

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All right, our first proclamation this evening is the Lunar New Year proclamation and now

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I now invite Council Member Fwang to join her invite a guest at the podium for the presentation.

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Yes, so I just changed to where Chinese traditional clothing to invite being Mr. Lee to join me.

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Before I read this proclamation, I would love to recognize the North Carolina Chinese American Society members over there.

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Could you please stand up?

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We are going to celebrate the new year tomorrow and they prepare the red envelope for everyone.

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So everyone of us get an envelope and there's a golden chocolate inside.

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So, and also to the audience, if you can just grab a red envelope after the meeting.

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Okay, please take.

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Thank you.

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And just in here.

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Celebrating the Lunar New Year in Kerry, not Carolina.

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Whereas, Kerry celebrates the rich cultural history and diversity of our citizens

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through recognizing important and significant holidays, including the Lunar New Year.

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Whereas, the Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is a memorable holiday filled

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with joy, festival traditions, family reunions, Thanksgiving, and reflection.

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It's the most significant celebration for many communities around the world.

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Whereas, the Lunar New Year also known as the Spring Festival marks the transition from one zodiac animal to the next,

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with February 16 marking the end of the year of the snake and the February 17 marking the beginning of the year of the horse.

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Whereas in Chinese culture, the horse is a symbol of strength,

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vitality, perseverance, and freedom, representing energy,

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resilience, optimism, and the spirit of progress and determination.

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Whereas, movement of foundation, North Carolina Asian Americans Alliance,

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and the North Carolina Chinese American Society,

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hosts a vibrant celebrations and cultural traditions for local communities

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to come together to appreciate the heritage of the Luna New Year.

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Now, therefore, I, Balahon,

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Council Member of Carey,

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North Carolina, on behalf of the Carey Mayor and Council,

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which, good fortune, health and happiness

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to all those who celebrate this joyous new year,

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proclaim this fifth day of February,

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twenty twenty six.

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Thank you so much and happy lunar new year.

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Our second

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proclamation is the Ramadan proclamation and I will now invite Council Member

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Bonsel to join Mr. Williams at the podium for the presentation.

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As we gather

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today I want to take a moment to recognize the holy month of Ramadan, a time

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observed by Muslims around the world as a period of fasting, reflection, prayer,

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and service. Ramadan is a reminder of the values we all share, compassion, gratitude,

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self-discipline, and care for our neighbors. It is also a time that brings families and communities

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together in the spirit of generosity and understanding with that it is my honor today to read

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this proclamation recognizing Ramadan and its significance in our community.

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Whereas Ramadan is

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In nine months of the Islamic-to-Unner calendar, and is considered one of the holiest months

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for over 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide, including members of the Muslim community in

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Kerry.

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And whereas Ramadan is a time of spiritual reflection, self-discipline, and acts of kindness,

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During which Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, abstaining from food, drink and other physical needs to cultivate gratitude.

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This of Ramadan emphasizes the values of compassion, generosity, and community with Muslims coming

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together to break their fast at sunset during iftar, and uniting in worship and prayers. And

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whereas Ramadan fosters great greater understanding and mutual respect among people of all

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and cultural backgrounds contributing to the rich diversity and inclusiveness that defines

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carry. And whereas carry values the contributions of the Muslim community to our shared

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prosperity, cultural vibrancy, and civic life, recognizing that our diversity is a strength.

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Now, therefore, Icerika Bansal, carry council member on behalf of our mayor and carry council

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due hereby recognize February 17th through March 19th, as Ramadan in carry not

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Carolina, and increase citizens to learn more about this important month, join in building bridges

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of understanding across all faiths and appreciate the reflection of the values of reflection,

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kindness and unity embodies in Ramadan.

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Proclaim the fifth day of February 236.

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So, good evening.

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Thank you so much to the mayor,

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the council members and council member,

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Bouncer for your leadership.

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This means a lot to the Muslim community

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as we continue to move forward to try to unite

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as a human family.

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Thank you.

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Right.

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We're going to move into the business portion of our meeting now

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and we're at our next item,

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which is the 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report independent audit results and the presentation

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of the annual financial results update so at this time I'm going to recognize Interim

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Town Manager Russ Overton to introduce the item.

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Thank you, Mayor.

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I've got a slide clicker for me.

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I thought it would be good to introduce kind of where we're at as we receive the findings from

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audit tonight is that there are four different investigations or inquiries that are going on during

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this transitional time. As everyone knows, the first one would be the North Carolina office

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of a state auditor is investigating alleged cases of fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer dollars,

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having independent of anything we are doing. One thing that the council has done is hired

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Lomble Bond Dickinson to examine a procurement card usage reimbursement expenditures of the town funds by the former town manager.

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Examination of the former town managers reporting of town finances and review a work environment created by the former town manager.

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We expect that report in the coming months.

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The district attorney has also called for an investigation by the North Carolina SBI to perform a criminal investigation.

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And tonight, to highlight what you're receiving is Cherry Becker is Kerry's external independent

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auditor that reviews financial statements for financial reporting and compliance related

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to federal funds and internal controls for the fiscal year 2025.

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I guess it's good to point out that they are looking back at the last fiscal year while the state

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auditor Wumble Bond and anything else are looking at a multi-year effort.

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So earlier today I had the privilege of meeting Lee Ann Waters with Cherry Beckert and she will be up later to talk about what our external independent auditor's review has been.

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I think this slide's very important because all of this can be kind of confusing, especially when you're hearing of what our independent external auditor does.

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So I wanted to take a moment to walk through this slide of how you get to an annual audit.

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Staff, the close of a fiscal year, staff creates draft financial statements.

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Again, give those to the auditor to come in and audit to those statements.

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The auditor then shares their opinion with the town council and that will be tonight.

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And then that information goes into something called the annual comprehensive financial

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report or the act for that is ultimately shared with the public.

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And I believe currently, it will go online where there are also, I believe, the prior six

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years of that document currently online as well.

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So, also earlier tonight, our Finance Director, Kim will be branched, walked through the draft

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act for, and then after you receive your report tonight, and as they finalize that

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work, the Auditor's opinion, will be added to that.

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So, with that, I'm going to turn it over to Assistant Town Manager Dana Woodmore for a few

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opening statements as well.

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Good evening, Mayor and Council.

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I'm pleased to be here tonight as part of a team sharing important information regarding

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carries fiscal year 2025 independent external audit and year-end financial statements.

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Collectively, this information reports on financial accountability and performance.

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Please note, this information is specifically for fiscal year 25 only, so that was July 1,

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24 through June 30, 2025.

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I'll go straight to the headline.

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The auditor anticipates issuing an unmodified opinion

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often referred to as clean, which is the highest possible designation.

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And the financial results for the year include very good news.

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So I'd like to share some things that can help explain the contradiction between tonight's report and the recent negative attention on carry.

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To adequately explain the positive financial results you're about to hear, we need to go back to the spring of 2024 when finance staff raised concerns about fiscal year 24 performance.

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In response to those concerns, action was to actions were taken by staff and council in the spring of 2024 to ensure that carries performance met the fund balance policy that year.

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Then in fiscal year 25, carries staff closely monitored financial performance, including revenue growth and net position.

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While also taking comprehensive action on capital projects due to inflationary pressures.

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Tonight's financial results reflect the many actions taken towards the end of fiscal year 24

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and throughout fiscal year 25.

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And of note, from the perspective of the auditor,

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Kerry's financial department, finance department, has processed countless transactions throughout

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the year in a new financial system that Cherry Beckert is able to obtain audit evidence

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supporting the issuance of this unmodified opinion.

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What these results do not answer are the many questions raised by the media and our citizens.

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So as staff continues to respond to the many inquiries, we are learning something very simple.

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Carries, former town manager, shared incomplete information and or different information with different people.

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For example, when staff raised concerns related to performance in the spring of 2024,

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for, we were given the impression that you counsel were told everything.

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We now know that you did not know the full truth, because you were not told.

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This key contradiction of incomplete information provided by the former town manager contradicts

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our value of transparency and constantly undermines trust.

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That reality, our reality, has been very difficult, and as you highlighted Mayor, very sad.

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But it led Council to do the hard work they were elected to do, that you were elected to do, which involved a change in leadership.

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It

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also included a call in the fall of 2025 from the mayor to carries independent auditor

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Cherry Beckert, where he shared his concerns.

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From that and follow-up calls with staff, the independent auditor's findings and recommendations

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include a material weakness relative to the controls environment due to the tone at the top

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from the former town manager.

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So, tonight, land waters from Cherrybeckert will share more specifically about the work they

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were contracted to do for carry, how it is similar and different from the work that they do in other communities,

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and then she will provide the results of this year's audit.

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In addition to the anticipated Clean on Modified Opinion, Cherrybeckert will also provide recommended best practices

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in response to Mayor Weinbreck's and staffs expressed concerns.

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Essentially, Perry did a great job, did great work in fiscal year 2025, and there are growth opportunities.

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And we welcome that.

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Leon will then be available for any questions that you may have.

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Following that our finance director, Kimberly Branch, will share with you the favorable fiscal year 25 financial results which includes the general fund fund balance at an amount that well exceeds policy and puts us in great shape to finish the current fiscal year 2026.

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Kimberly will also be available to answer your questions.

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Thank you all for giving me time on your agenda here tonight to discuss the results of the

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2025 audit.

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Excuse me.

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I'm going to go through the agenda that we have here on the first slide.

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And I will refer you to slide number 13.

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They're a little different from my prepared slides because they go along with your

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packet.

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but this is your client service team this year. I am the engagement director. I will be the individual who is responsible for signing the audit on behalf of Cherry Becker.

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This was my first year working with the town of Kerry in this row. Dan Goggerty is our second reviewer.

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He is someone who is independent of our audit team, who has not worked on the audit, but who

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reviews it at another level to ensure that our work conforms to all standards that your

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report is prepared and compliance with GAP, and that we have provided or applied the proper

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procedures throughout the conduct of the audit.

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day and has been part of our audit team for three years.

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Jennifer Moran served as the senior manager.

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She worked closely with the staff here during the conduct of the audit.

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She has also been with the audit team here at Carey for three years.

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And we had a new senior associate,

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Chandler Ward, who worked on the audit this year,

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and new key staff, Cody Russ.

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This is something that we try to do on a regular basis.

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is rotate team members in and out of your audit team so that we preserve our independence.

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That's very, it's one of our ethical standards that we have to apply throughout the conduct of our engagement is to remain independent.

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We try to balance that with some team members who are more experienced so that your folks aren't training us on carry every year.

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So, moving on to the results of the audit, one thing that, before I really get into the

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prepared comments on the slide, I want to let you know that this audit is not performed

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as part of an investigation of any means.

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Our audit has a completely different purpose than what those investigative procedures are having

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or what the inquiries you might call them.

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The purpose of our audit is to express an opinion

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on the financial statements as a whole,

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and to be able to provide assurance

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that those financial statements are materially correct,

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meaning that they do not have what we call a material error

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in those financial statements that if it were corrected,

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would change the decision that a financial statement user makes

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based on those financial statements.

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And so to do this, we spend time, we make inquiries,

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your mayor participated in one of those inquiries.

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We talk to members of management, members of staff.

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We gain an understanding of your processes and procedures

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over your key transaction cycles.

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And that helps us to determine where your financial statements

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are at what we call risk of material miststatement. And then that's where we deploy most of our audit

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resources, because we do not review 100% of...

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Local misstatement are areas that have a high degree of estimation involved. We are management

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judgment. And when I say management, I generally mean the management of the finance department

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who are calculating and coming up with those estimates. We are there. There's a high degree

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of judgment on their part. If there is a new accounting standards, there's also always

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elevated risk around that particular instance as a team is learning the ins and outs and

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how to apply that new standard. And then certainly this year, where the finance staff had a new

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implementation of an ERP system that managed all these transactions, there is a lot of risk

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around just that transaction, what I will call that transaction cut. So we, those are certain

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areas that we do tend to spend a lot of our off it, our off, my last name was off it before

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00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:11,720
I got married. So our audit resources. So I'm going to take you to this slide here now and

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speak more to this slide. But we have audited the financial statements of the town of Kerry

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as of, and for the year ended June 30th of 2025, in accordance with generally accepted

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auditing standards, and government auditing standards, and those government auditing

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standards are like a second layer of auditing standards that are applied to governments,

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and those standards are prescribed by the United States Government Accountability Office.

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We have also issued or audited the town's compliance with the compliance requirements that are

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described in the audit requirements of federal and state awards, you may have heard it called

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uniform guidance, you may have heard it called a single audit, and also the annual audit manual

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for governmental audits in North Carolina that could have a direct and material effect on your major

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programs. So we do not audit 100 percent of your federal and state award programs. There is a

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population, if you will, that is prescribed in the guidance that helps us identify which programs

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will be audited as major each year.

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So in doing that, we anticipate between now and February the 12th that we will be issuing

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and modified opinions on the financial statements and on the federal and single audits.

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we are currently in the final phases of our own internal quality control reviews as we are wrapping

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that audit up.

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This slide just identifies the programs that were audited as major this year.

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We have your highway planning and construction program. We also audited the federal transit

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cluster as a major program this year and there were two programs that were part of that cluster.

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the federal transit formula grants, as well as the best and best facilities formal program.

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And then you have one major state program, and that is your pow deal.

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So all of those were similar programs, and that they're all related to highways and transit.

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So I talked to this slide just a little bit earlier.

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When we are planning and performing our audit, we consider internal control over financial reporting.

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really is a basis for helping us design which audit procedures are appropriate in the circumstances.

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We are not testing your internal controls to the level where we can offer an opinion on the

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operating effectiveness of those controls and we are not offering an opinion on the effectiveness

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of your operating controls.

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So, this is getting into a little bit of oddities language and so I hope

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you all will bear with me just a little bit.

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There are certain control deficiencies that are defined by our auditing standards.

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The first is a material weakness, and this is the highest level of standard or of deficiency.

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It's the one that we consider to be the most, the most really significant.

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A material weakness is a deficiency or a combination of deficiencies in internal control.

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Such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material

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misstatement in your financial statements would occur and would not be prevented or detected and corrected on a timely basis.

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The definition of a significant deficiency is very very similar, but it's not as severe as a material weakness,

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but yet we still feel that it is important enough to bring to your attention as members of those charged with governance.

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This year we did note two weaknesses that we consider to be material weaknesses.

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Dana referred to the first one just a little bit earlier.

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During the conduct of our audit, Mayor Wombrecht reached out to me.

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We had conducted an interview earlier during the course of the audit,

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at which time there was nothing for lack of a better word,

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exciting to report. But during the conduct of the audit, Mayor Weinberg reached out to me

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on a weekend to just to let me know that he had concerns that concerns had been brought

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to his attention and he wanted to do the right thing and bring them to Ira attention as

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your auditors. And so from that point, he helped us to identify some other individuals and

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employee of the town who wished to speak with us and provide information as a result of their

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conversations and he provided us with some areas of concern and as a result of that we did

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00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:18,480
expand our testing to look at some of the procurement cards as well as the travel and training

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and for fiscal year 25, we are focused solely on 2025.

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And so, I guess you would say the results of those procedures

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and additional inquiries, let us to believe that the town had a

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deficiency in its internal control, specifically that control

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environment in the town at the top.

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And there is an entity called the Committee on Sponsoring,

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It's the committee on sponsoring organizations.

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I'm trying very hard not to use acronyms without defining them.

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We call that COSO.

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And COSO has done a lot of work on identifying the different elements of internal control

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structure.

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And almost every government that you would step 30 and you and as well as commercial businesses use

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that internal control structure to design their internal controls.

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And the very foundation of an internal control structure is the control environment with

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the tone at the top, the tone that is set at the highest levels of management being really

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important and the foundation of all of that.

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So the results of our procedures did indicate that your former town manager did not always

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consistently model or reinforce the expected ethical behavior that is laid out in your policy,

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00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:53,200
in your ethics policy, messaging from your former town manager, and not always adequately

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00:37:53,200 --> 00:38:00,420
communicate the importance of compliance with policies and procedures, accountability, and

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00:38:00,420 --> 00:38:05,880
other internal control responsibilities, and unfortunately, we learned that employees

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did perceive that there was a risk of retaliation, if they raised concerns.

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00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:19,660
So we've given you more information there on the effect, but I think you all have been

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dealing with the effect and know that very well.

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So I will get down to the recommendation, which is that we recommend that as a body, we

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the town, but essentially you all, as those who are charged with governance, that you periodically

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evaluate the control environment by providing surveys, particularly anonymous surveys, that

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00:38:44,820 --> 00:38:52,320
really would help you to evaluate employee perceptions of culture, leadership behavior, and

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the effectiveness of your internal controls as your team perceives it.

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And we further recommend that you consider strengthening your reporting mechanisms.

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So what you might sometimes call whistleblower mechanisms and particularly your anti-rotalliation protections that are provided to employees.

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The second material weakness is one that is very, very common.

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The following mistakement was identified during our audit, Kimberly talked to you all in the work session about closing out the audit and trying to identify all the transactions that occur in July, all this September before you close the books that are really related to the prior fiscal year.

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This year, the results of our audit procedures indicated that there was a grant receivable

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00:39:51,630 --> 00:39:59,350
and related internal intergovernmental revenue in the amount of $2.1 million in governmental

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00:39:59,350 --> 00:40:06,930
activities and capital projects fund. That was a material audit adjusting entries that needed

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00:40:06,930 --> 00:40:13,970
to be recorded, so that would have increased both your grant receivable and increased your

353
00:40:13,970 --> 00:40:20,050
or governmental revenue. I will tell you this was not material to the governmental activities but

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00:40:20,050 --> 00:40:25,070
it is material to your capital projects major fund and therefore that's why we're reporting

355
00:40:25,070 --> 00:40:31,890
this as a material weakness. So our recommendation for that is just that we recommend that the

356
00:40:31,890 --> 00:40:39,570
town enhance its financial close processes to include a reconciliation of their eligible grant

357
00:40:39,570 --> 00:40:45,290
expenses as they are reporting it on your schedule of expenditures, the federal and state awards

358
00:40:45,290 --> 00:40:47,350
to your intergovernmental revenue.

359
00:40:50,260 --> 00:40:55,360
And then Dana mentioned that we did have some best practices to offer you.

360
00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:56,580
We do have three.

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00:40:57,160 --> 00:41:05,080
The first being that we believe you should consider adopting a policy that governs benefits

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00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:09,740
that are provided to elected officials, I've laid out for you some of the things that you

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00:41:09,740 --> 00:41:15,700
to consider including in such a policy and we, we think the benefit of that is that this

364
00:41:15,700 --> 00:41:21,560
would really serve as a buffer between staff and elected officials when difficult decisions

365
00:41:21,560 --> 00:41:24,600
have to be made or advice needs to be communicated.

366
00:41:27,140 --> 00:41:32,480
The second control recommendation that we have, I'm going to call that a best practices.

367
00:41:32,760 --> 00:41:35,000
It's not a deficiency in internal control.

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00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:46,860
It's something that we see as we are conducting audits in other organizations that we think is good and that we like to pass on as advice to others.

369
00:41:47,260 --> 00:41:51,600
And that is that you develop a policy addressing your chamber intercity visits.

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00:41:52,260 --> 00:41:58,440
We recognize that there are valid business purposes for these and that those purposes are myriad.

371
00:41:58,440 --> 00:42:04,600
There are a lot of different business purposes and things you can learn from those particular

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00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:05,180
trips.

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00:42:05,660 --> 00:42:11,400
We would just recommend that you consider establishing a policy that clearly delineates

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that information, just for transparency to your citizens, so that they too will understand

375
00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:24,040
the business purposes and the benefits of participating in those types of trips.

376
00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:32,000
And then the final recommendation that we have really relates to the dollar threshold for your

377
00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:34,060
P card loss receipt form.

378
00:42:34,320 --> 00:42:43,120
The town does have detailed policies for how to report loss receipts for charges that

379
00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:50,900
are made on the P card, but it does lack this strong, defined dollar threshold above which

380
00:42:50,900 --> 00:42:57,600
employees would be required to reimburse the town for any P car transaction for which they

381
00:42:57,600 --> 00:43:01,320
could not provide a valid supporting receipt.

382
00:43:03,120 --> 00:43:07,600
I'll kind of along with that, just to reduce the frequency of loss receipts and improve

383
00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:12,800
record retention, we would also recommend that you consider adopting a cloud-based digital

384
00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:17,360
tool for the receipt and storage of receipts just to make it a little easier on your

385
00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:21,220
to retain those and get those turned in appropriately.

386
00:43:23,680 --> 00:43:25,340
Okay, correct at Miss Statement.

387
00:43:25,460 --> 00:43:27,460
This is a slide I'll go through very quickly

388
00:43:27,460 --> 00:43:31,120
because I talked about this already when I talked about the material weakness,

389
00:43:31,660 --> 00:43:35,520
but we did have the $2.1 million auto-digesting

390
00:43:35,520 --> 00:43:37,920
entry related to grants receivable.

391
00:43:39,180 --> 00:43:41,040
And then the incorrect at Miss Statement.

392
00:43:41,120 --> 00:43:45,580
This is a, this really centers around the implementation

393
00:43:45,580 --> 00:43:50,060
I'm a new accounting standard gasp statement number 101 compensated absences.

394
00:43:51,340 --> 00:43:58,320
So just as a course of being an employer, the town provides certain benefits, including

395
00:43:58,320 --> 00:44:05,460
leave paid for its employees, vacation pay, sick pay, there are a number of different

396
00:44:05,460 --> 00:44:06,600
types of leave.

397
00:44:06,600 --> 00:44:16,220
This standard changed the way that governments have to measure that compensated absences.

398
00:44:16,680 --> 00:44:22,900
It is something that had to be applied by all governments in order to be in accordance

399
00:44:22,900 --> 00:44:25,340
with generally accepted accounting principles.

400
00:44:26,180 --> 00:44:33,100
So during the conduct of that, we did identify that the beginning balance was misstate

401
00:44:33,100 --> 00:44:42,400
1,145,87 dollars. Let me back that up. When you apply one of these new standards, you have

402
00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:48,860
to apply it what we call retropectively. So as if it had been in place at the beginning of the fiscal

403
00:44:48,860 --> 00:44:53,100
year so that your years are comparative. So, your town...

404
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:13,140
It's required to make a change to the beginning balance. When you look at these financial statements in detail, it will say that position is previously reported and then it will have a restatement.

405
00:45:15,040 --> 00:45:24,060
So that restatement is what we're talking about there. So there was about a million dollars that ran through current fiscal year that really should have been pushed to the beginning balance.

406
00:45:24,060 --> 00:45:31,380
at the end of the day, your confidential absence balance is correct, your ending net position is

407
00:45:31,380 --> 00:45:37,300
correct, and this is an immaterial dollar amount. So, you know, we brought it to the attention

408
00:45:37,300 --> 00:45:44,700
of management, but it wasn't, it wasn't reclassified. I know that's a little complicated. It's

409
00:45:44,700 --> 00:45:51,760
kind of an auditor thing, and probably not the most exciting thing we'll talk about tonight.

410
00:45:52,700 --> 00:45:56,180
I did, I will go through this slide very quickly.

411
00:45:56,680 --> 00:46:01,720
This is, again, you did implement gas-based statement number 101, compensated absences

412
00:46:01,720 --> 00:46:02,420
this year.

413
00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:08,360
I will tell you this was a heavier lift on your team than what we thought it would be when

414
00:46:08,360 --> 00:46:09,700
the standard first came out.

415
00:46:09,800 --> 00:46:14,620
So they had to put a lot of work into this standard, required a lot of historical analysis.

416
00:46:16,520 --> 00:46:23,300
As part of our audit, we did evaluate the town's identification of accounting for and disclosure

417
00:46:23,740 --> 00:46:29,480
of the town's relationships and transactions with related parties, understanding that

418
00:46:29,480 --> 00:46:34,140
I have communicated certain issues with you related to your former town management,

419
00:46:34,800 --> 00:46:35,400
town manager.

420
00:46:35,720 --> 00:46:41,380
We noted no additional related party transactions or related transactions that were previously

421
00:46:41,380 --> 00:46:47,380
and disclose to us and we did not have any issues with any other transactions of that nature.

422
00:46:49,520 --> 00:46:55,660
Now sometimes governments will enter into transactions for which there is not any authoritative

423
00:46:55,660 --> 00:47:03,040
literature that tells them how to record that transaction. However, all significant transactions

424
00:47:03,700 --> 00:47:10,500
that you have in your financial statements are we were able to apply authoritative

425
00:47:10,500 --> 00:47:12,760
guidance to those transactions.

426
00:47:13,620 --> 00:47:16,400
So for the purpose of my presentation,

427
00:47:16,920 --> 00:47:20,520
professional standards define significant unusual transactions

428
00:47:21,080 --> 00:47:24,440
as those that are outside the normal course of business

429
00:47:24,440 --> 00:47:29,280
for the town or otherwise appear to be unusual due to their timing,

430
00:47:29,720 --> 00:47:32,880
due to the size or due to the nature of the transaction.

431
00:47:34,280 --> 00:47:36,520
So something that a lot of governments

432
00:47:36,520 --> 00:47:39,360
are participating now in, and you've probably heard a lot

433
00:47:39,360 --> 00:47:45,620
about it or public-private partnerships, so those don't happen every day and we consider

434
00:47:45,620 --> 00:47:50,380
something like that just to give you an example that might be significant and unusual

435
00:47:51,220 --> 00:47:59,720
for you all. I talked about accounting estimates earlier and the fact that those do include

436
00:47:59,720 --> 00:48:06,200
a degree of estimation and a degree of judgment. I've identified for you here those significant

437
00:48:06,200 --> 00:48:14,340
estimates, the ones that we consider to be significant, and what we do around those estimates

438
00:48:14,340 --> 00:48:22,180
is we review the inputs, we review the historical trends, we just really look at all the

439
00:48:22,180 --> 00:48:29,460
assumptions and the calculations to make sure that those are reasonable in our opinion, in

440
00:48:29,460 --> 00:48:34,720
relationship to the financial statement as a whole, and we found them to be so. We also like to

441
00:48:34,720 --> 00:48:42,160
that those estimates are consistent from year to year, so we don't want to see governments

442
00:48:42,160 --> 00:48:49,480
changing their methodologies for calculating those estimates from year to year, and yours are consistent.

443
00:48:51,020 --> 00:48:56,820
Your financial disclete statement disclosures are neutral, consistent, and clear from year to year.

444
00:48:57,900 --> 00:49:02,260
And then finally, this is something that I'm required to tell you all,

445
00:49:02,260 --> 00:49:14,980
is that we do provide you with one non-attest service, a non-attest service is anything we do for you that is not strictly related to auditing the financial statements.

446
00:49:15,900 --> 00:49:28,900
Because you are subject to a federal single audit, another step in that procedure is that you are required to file your financial statements with a federal audit clearinghouse into inter-information,

447
00:49:28,900 --> 00:49:32,760
and relate it to your schedule of expenditures,

448
00:49:33,200 --> 00:49:36,140
a federal awards into a data collection form.

449
00:49:36,620 --> 00:49:40,560
And I tell people, it's not really the easiest form to use.

450
00:49:40,820 --> 00:49:44,660
I know that's probably surprising that a federal website

451
00:49:44,660 --> 00:49:46,740
would not be terribly easy to use.

452
00:49:47,300 --> 00:49:50,000
But we do hundreds of those every year for our clients

453
00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:54,480
and our team is very proficient in using that.

454
00:49:54,960 --> 00:49:58,300
So we provide that service to your team here.

455
00:49:58,300 --> 00:50:10,180
we download the information we give it to Kimberly and her team to review and approve and once they have done so that is uploaded and Kimberly will get on the site.

456
00:50:10,540 --> 00:50:14,660
She will certify it and finally submit that.

457
00:50:15,380 --> 00:50:25,860
So all that is to say, the reason it's important that I tell you about non-attest services is that sometimes if a firm provides too many non-attest services to you,

458
00:50:25,860 --> 00:50:27,520
It can impair independence.

459
00:50:29,460 --> 00:50:31,440
So we always make that known to you,

460
00:50:31,520 --> 00:50:32,960
that we have that non-attest service.

461
00:50:33,300 --> 00:50:35,020
We've evaluated that service.

462
00:50:35,360 --> 00:50:38,280
It's nothing that we believe impairs our independence

463
00:50:38,280 --> 00:50:41,520
and we are not aware of any other circumstances

464
00:50:42,060 --> 00:50:46,120
or relationships that create threats to our independence.

465
00:50:46,220 --> 00:50:48,600
As I started this presentation by saying,

466
00:50:49,200 --> 00:50:51,260
we work very hard to guard our independence

467
00:50:51,260 --> 00:50:54,360
by rotating new members onto this team every year.

468
00:50:57,740 --> 00:51:05,720
During the course of our audit, we did not encounter any significant difficulties in dealing with the management of your financial staff.

469
00:51:06,140 --> 00:51:10,900
Of your financial department, they provided all the information that we requested.

470
00:51:11,100 --> 00:51:13,340
They provided it in a timely manner.

471
00:51:14,140 --> 00:51:22,200
And to our knowledge and belief, they have answered all the many questions that we have posed to fully and to the best of their ability.

472
00:51:22,200 --> 00:51:31,080
We did not have any disagreements with management on any kind of financial reporting, accounting or auditing manner.

473
00:51:31,720 --> 00:51:42,440
Everything that we have been reviewed, every question we've had, the adjustment that we provided has been resolved to our satisfaction.

474
00:51:43,740 --> 00:51:52,980
We did not have any matters ourselves that we had to consult outside of our engagement team

475
00:51:52,980 --> 00:51:54,520
and get another opinion.

476
00:51:56,180 --> 00:52:00,940
At the end of this audit, as we are getting ready to issue, we are going to request certain

477
00:52:00,940 --> 00:52:05,860
representations from management that will be included in a management representation

478
00:52:05,860 --> 00:52:06,380
letter.

479
00:52:06,380 --> 00:52:11,920
It will be signed by Kimberly, is the Finance Director, Mr. Overton, is the interim town manager.

480
00:52:13,020 --> 00:52:22,120
I tell people this is five or six pages of very specific information about the town's responsibility for internal controls.

481
00:52:22,560 --> 00:52:35,400
The town's responsibility to report to us, known fraud, very specific representations about how the financial statement elements are measured.

482
00:52:35,400 --> 00:52:39,240
And at the end of the day, those five or six pages

483
00:52:39,240 --> 00:52:43,840
bull down to saying, we've provided you with everything

484
00:52:44,280 --> 00:52:47,120
that you've asked for, and we do not know

485
00:52:47,120 --> 00:52:50,500
of any information that would change the unmodified opinion

486
00:52:50,500 --> 00:52:53,020
that you were receiving on your financial statements.

487
00:52:53,740 --> 00:52:57,340
So that is the short version of that set five or six page letter.

488
00:52:58,720 --> 00:53:02,100
In some cases, management at our clients

489
00:53:02,100 --> 00:53:07,500
It's made aside that they want to consult with another accountant about auditing and accounting

490
00:53:07,500 --> 00:53:07,880
manner.

491
00:53:08,180 --> 00:53:14,120
It's really similar to obtaining a second opinion on certain situations.

492
00:53:15,140 --> 00:53:20,020
Occasionally, one of our clients won't like what we're, like our interpretation of a

493
00:53:20,020 --> 00:53:25,240
generally accepted accounting principle, or they'll disagree with us that an issue is a

494
00:53:25,240 --> 00:53:27,720
material weakness, and they'll go out and get a second opinion.

495
00:53:27,720 --> 00:53:33,340
to our knowledge. There were no such consultations with other accountants or auditors.

496
00:53:34,720 --> 00:53:39,720
We generally discuss a variety of matters throughout the year, about the application

497
00:53:39,720 --> 00:53:47,020
of accounting principles and auditing standards, all those discussions occurred in the normal course of our professional relationship.

498
00:53:47,020 --> 00:53:53,380
But fraud and illegal acts, this is something that I just want to point out to you, because

499
00:53:53,380 --> 00:53:58,680
I know you're concerned, management did report to us very early on.

500
00:53:58,820 --> 00:54:06,200
I think it was maybe the second conversation I ever had with Kimberly and there, but management

501
00:54:06,200 --> 00:54:11,780
reported to us that check fraud in the amount of $1.3 million was perpetrated against the

502
00:54:11,780 --> 00:54:15,660
town on or about April the second of 2025.

503
00:54:15,660 --> 00:54:19,120
So that was perpetrated by an outside party.

504
00:54:19,620 --> 00:54:25,600
Upon being made aware of this incident, the financial department's management immediately

505
00:54:25,600 --> 00:54:29,100
reported the incident to police to get that on record.

506
00:54:30,000 --> 00:54:32,980
They also reported it to its financial institution.

507
00:54:33,440 --> 00:54:39,500
The town did not suffer financial loss as a result of this incident as the financial

508
00:54:39,500 --> 00:54:44,960
student institution credited the town's account for the amount of the fraudulent check

509
00:54:44,960 --> 00:54:49,840
it went through the positive pay system and so we were able to see audit evidence of that

510
00:54:49,840 --> 00:54:51,600
amount coming back into the town.

511
00:54:52,840 --> 00:54:59,020
We did not have any internal control recommendations related to that particular incident

512
00:54:59,020 --> 00:55:05,840
because it appeared to have happened external to that check leaving this building.

513
00:55:07,320 --> 00:55:12,620
Additionally, as I stated earlier, Mayor Weinberg reached out to us during the course of

514
00:55:12,620 --> 00:55:18,020
Our audit and report it to us, the potential misuse of the funds by the former town manager.

515
00:55:18,920 --> 00:55:25,080
And as we have discussed, we did report a material weakness related to the strengthening

516
00:55:25,080 --> 00:55:28,680
of the town's control environment, specifically the tone at the top.

517
00:55:30,160 --> 00:55:36,000
And then I have identified the other investigations that have we have been made aware that

518
00:55:36,000 --> 00:55:38,880
those inquiries or investigations are ongoing.

519
00:55:40,340 --> 00:55:45,200
Going concerned, going concerned has to do with the town's financial sustainability

520
00:55:46,000 --> 00:55:52,040
into the future, particularly looking at the next 12 months and know of the inter-conditions

521
00:55:52,040 --> 00:56:00,820
noted that there was a doubt about the town's ability to continue as a going concern.

522
00:56:02,980 --> 00:56:09,200
Kimberly talked to you all about the different pieces of your annual comprehensive financial report.

523
00:56:09,200 --> 00:56:13,420
It's much easier to say act first, so I'm going to go with that.

524
00:56:14,180 --> 00:56:16,660
You do have your required supplementary information.

525
00:56:16,900 --> 00:56:23,080
Those are particularly your management's discussion and analysis and the schedules that

526
00:56:23,080 --> 00:56:29,140
really give information on your participation in your employee benefit plans, your pension

527
00:56:29,140 --> 00:56:37,000
and OPEP plans, other post-employment benefits, those documents that are as we call it,

528
00:56:37,000 --> 00:56:43,600
not audited. We review that information to make sure it is consistent with the financial statements

529
00:56:43,600 --> 00:56:49,400
and consistent with our audit evidence and we found it to be so but we do not express an opinion.

530
00:56:50,580 --> 00:56:55,580
The financial statements also includes supplementary information such as your schedule of

531
00:56:55,580 --> 00:57:02,160
expenditures of federal awards and federal and state awards. We do audit that schedule the

532
00:57:02,160 --> 00:57:07,260
supplementary information and we anticipate that we will issue an unmodified opinion on

533
00:57:07,260 --> 00:57:13,040
that supplementary information in relation to the financial statements as a whole.

534
00:57:13,580 --> 00:57:15,420
Can we discuss other information?

535
00:57:16,080 --> 00:57:18,740
Your introductory and your statistical section.

536
00:57:19,960 --> 00:57:22,980
That information accompanies the financial statement.

537
00:57:23,580 --> 00:57:28,760
It is not required supplementary information because the standard seter does not require

538
00:57:28,760 --> 00:57:32,380
the standard setter being the government, accounting standards board.

539
00:57:34,000 --> 00:57:39,700
But similar to the RSI, we do not audit or express an opinion on that other information.

540
00:57:40,020 --> 00:57:46,180
We review it to make sure that it is consistent, again, with the financial statements and our audit evidence.

541
00:57:47,980 --> 00:57:54,880
And finally, there are three new standards that will be coming online that your finance department will be working through.

542
00:57:54,880 --> 00:58:01,900
Guests be statement number 103, financial reporting model improvements, there will be changes

543
00:58:01,900 --> 00:58:06,740
to the contents, what is required in your management's discussion and analysis.

544
00:58:06,940 --> 00:58:09,780
That's one of the key things that will affect the term.

545
00:58:10,140 --> 00:58:15,600
Additionally, there will be some changes to your proprietary funds statements, particularly

546
00:58:15,600 --> 00:58:18,520
your utility fund that you all talked about earlier.

547
00:58:19,720 --> 00:58:23,100
None of these changes will change the numbers.

548
00:58:23,100 --> 00:58:29,220
It won't change the way those numbers are measured, but it will change where they are presented

549
00:58:29,220 --> 00:58:31,020
within the financial statements.

550
00:58:31,920 --> 00:58:37,460
There will be some changes too to where your budgetary comparison schedules are right now.

551
00:58:37,640 --> 00:58:38,720
You have them in statements.

552
00:58:39,060 --> 00:58:39,980
They will move to schedules.

553
00:58:40,340 --> 00:58:44,380
So things will just move around just as you've learned where everything is they're going

554
00:58:44,380 --> 00:58:45,760
to move on you.

555
00:58:46,280 --> 00:58:50,140
Gaspy statement number 104, disclosure of certain capital assets.

556
00:58:50,140 --> 00:58:54,520
This, again, it doesn't change the way capital assets are measured.

557
00:58:55,320 --> 00:58:57,760
There are some new disclosure requirements.

558
00:58:58,580 --> 00:59:03,640
Do not anticipate this will be a problem for your staff and you are largely reporting

559
00:59:03,640 --> 00:59:05,860
in conformity with that standard already.

560
00:59:06,600 --> 00:59:13,840
And then finally, there's gas, be statement number 105, subsequent events that has to do with events

561
00:59:13,840 --> 00:59:18,980
that might arise between the date of the financial statements June 30 of any given

562
00:59:18,980 --> 00:59:27,440
this year and the date that the audit report on those standard is finally issued and whether

563
00:59:27,440 --> 00:59:33,000
it gives you guidance and a definition on what qualifies as a subsequent event that should

564
00:59:33,000 --> 00:59:37,960
be either recognized in the financial statements or disclosed in the notes to the financial

565
00:59:37,960 --> 00:59:45,380
statements. I have my contact information so that if I do not answer something for you tonight

566
00:59:45,380 --> 00:59:54,400
or you think of something after tonight you can reach out to my email or my phone number and I'm very happy to speak with you.

567
00:59:54,840 --> 00:59:57,680
So with that, that is the end of my prepared remarks.

568
00:59:57,860 --> 00:59:59,860
I know some of you all may have questions for me.

569
01:00:00,110 --> 01:00:02,270
If you don't know that, then what if you don't know that, it's just a water.

570
01:00:08,540 --> 01:00:09,580
Need it?

571
01:00:09,580 --> 01:00:10,460
That's a lot of talking.

572
01:00:10,540 --> 01:00:11,240
Not a lot of talking.

573
01:00:14,200 --> 01:00:19,960
Yeah. So, this is the first time to go through the first audit as a new council member.

574
01:00:20,780 --> 01:00:27,080
And my first question is, if this audit is like math calculation of all the financial reports,

575
01:00:27,800 --> 01:00:31,320
you're just checking the numbers are correctly calculated.

576
01:00:31,320 --> 01:00:41,520
but the use of these phones or some of the numbers you won't ask the question about why

577
01:00:41,520 --> 01:00:45,420
this expenses is more than the previous years.

578
01:00:46,980 --> 01:00:54,060
So I guess the answer to that question really hinges around the purpose of the audit, which is whether

579
01:00:54,060 --> 01:00:57,900
or not the financial statements are materially mistreated.

580
01:00:57,900 --> 01:01:02,740
So, and where we assess our risk of material misstatement.

581
01:01:03,860 --> 01:01:15,600
So, transactions that fall below a certain calculated number have a lower chance of getting selected

582
01:01:15,600 --> 01:01:18,940
as part of our audit testing and procedures.

583
01:01:19,440 --> 01:01:26,400
We really tend to focus on those audit areas where we have assessed risk of material misstatement

584
01:01:26,400 --> 01:01:35,260
to be high. One of the things that we do is we do do some comparative analysis between years

585
01:01:35,260 --> 01:01:43,600
and we do ask questions and gain all the evidence about why transactions may have, why balances

586
01:01:43,600 --> 01:01:51,620
may have materially fluctuated. I would have to look at my working papers, but between 2025 and 2024,

587
01:01:51,620 --> 01:01:56,360
where there were not a high degree of areas

588
01:01:56,360 --> 01:01:58,220
that had a lot of fluctuation.

589
01:02:00,350 --> 01:02:03,030
Can I follow up just to be clear?

590
01:02:03,810 --> 01:02:06,650
There are hundreds of thousands of transactions.

591
01:02:07,330 --> 01:02:09,970
And you test certain ones.

592
01:02:10,190 --> 01:02:13,770
So they just pull certain ones once that they think

593
01:02:13,770 --> 01:02:15,950
might be risky or different.

594
01:02:17,210 --> 01:02:18,510
So just to be clear.

595
01:02:19,350 --> 01:02:20,310
Can I ask a question?

596
01:02:20,310 --> 01:02:20,590
Yes.

597
01:02:21,910 --> 01:02:27,450
So I'm pretty sure this is probably out of your scope, but I'm still going to ask.

598
01:02:27,970 --> 01:02:33,590
So the two material deficiencies that you have identified, is there any potential impact

599
01:02:33,590 --> 01:02:34,870
on our AAA rating?

600
01:02:35,970 --> 01:02:38,910
Or do we need to be ready for that kind of impact?

601
01:02:39,670 --> 01:02:41,290
I don't know that I can answer that.

602
01:02:41,290 --> 01:02:44,090
That would be better for your bond and buzzer to answer.

603
01:02:44,310 --> 01:02:45,230
I'm apologizing.

604
01:02:45,310 --> 01:02:45,970
No, you're fine.

605
01:02:46,310 --> 01:02:48,410
I didn't think so, but wondering.

606
01:02:49,130 --> 01:02:55,930
So, I have a question, what is this scope of your audit engagement with respect to internal

607
01:02:55,930 --> 01:03:04,830
town policies, with specifically compliance requirements, for instance, our policy 175

608
01:03:04,830 --> 01:03:10,650
that says, you know, would speak to the need of keeping a third of our general fund expenditure

609
01:03:11,890 --> 01:03:15,870
listed, is that reviewed for compliance as part of the audit?

610
01:03:15,870 --> 01:03:24,210
When we review compliance, and when you get our report, you will also get what we call our yellow book letter, it's our audit, it's our report over

611
01:03:24,210 --> 01:03:32,190
of your independent auditor on internal control over financial reporting in accordance with government auditing standards.

612
01:03:32,710 --> 01:03:35,170
Really proud that I can say that from New York.

613
01:03:35,170 --> 01:03:37,610
We read it 45 times this year.

614
01:03:38,550 --> 01:03:42,550
What we're really focusing on are contracts,

615
01:03:43,050 --> 01:03:47,210
grant agreements, statutes that are external to this

616
01:03:47,210 --> 01:03:51,470
government, not your internal policies and procedures.

617
01:03:51,770 --> 01:03:55,990
We're really looking more at third party-type issues.

618
01:03:56,350 --> 01:03:59,030
And that is what would rise to the level of a funding.

619
01:03:59,030 --> 01:04:07,610
So, follow on, it's mentioned within the Act for our policy 175, but actually maybe it's

620
01:04:07,610 --> 01:04:12,050
part of the boiler plate, you know, that says, sure, you will keep to this.

621
01:04:12,930 --> 01:04:19,250
If during your audit procedure, you become aware of a noncompliance with an internal

622
01:04:19,250 --> 01:04:24,970
policy that isn't within your standard scope, would you communicate that to management for

623
01:04:24,970 --> 01:04:25,450
counsel?

624
01:04:25,450 --> 01:04:32,070
And the reason I bring that up is I went and looked at the act for for Raleigh, which you will do.

625
01:04:32,710 --> 01:04:39,150
And they do have a section within their act for about their time policy or their city policy.

626
01:04:39,750 --> 01:04:47,090
And it actually specifies where they were, right, and what percentage they're at and all of that.

627
01:04:47,090 --> 01:04:52,670
So I'm wondering how maybe they ask for that as part of their statement of work.

628
01:04:52,670 --> 01:04:54,650
I'm just surprised it was not part of our-

629
01:04:54,650 --> 01:04:57,610
That is something we recalculate, you have a note.

630
01:04:57,910 --> 01:05:01,390
It's called the unassigned fund balance in age 84.

631
01:05:01,810 --> 01:05:02,450
There you go.

632
01:05:03,530 --> 01:05:05,510
You actually describe that.

633
01:05:05,530 --> 01:05:08,950
And so one of the things we do is we recalculate it.

634
01:05:09,090 --> 01:05:13,570
So I recalculated it this year just to make sure the Kimberly wasn't misreporting.

635
01:05:13,690 --> 01:05:18,550
The 33, you know, that she was there when she wasn't.

636
01:05:19,230 --> 01:05:26,570
So, normally, yes, if we would probably say something, I think what we would say is not a finding that we would say,

637
01:05:26,770 --> 01:05:31,570
hey, Kimberly, this amount isn't right. You didn't report the right percent.

638
01:05:32,030 --> 01:05:37,930
So, it's not part of your standard alignment, part of your stated scope, maybe?

639
01:05:38,910 --> 01:05:45,530
I would say that that is something we would recommend that you would change your disclosure on. It would not be something that would be a finding.

640
01:05:47,910 --> 01:05:52,730
So, you happened to look at it this year because it doubled up?

641
01:05:52,850 --> 01:05:54,470
Well, just, I'm just new.

642
01:05:54,910 --> 01:05:56,230
I'm completely new to your audit.

643
01:05:56,970 --> 01:06:01,590
So, I've read, I've read everywhere if you're independent of your financial statements

644
01:06:01,590 --> 01:06:02,750
three times now.

645
01:06:03,410 --> 01:06:09,370
So, because I was new, I was very cognizant of those things.

646
01:06:10,310 --> 01:06:10,470
Okay.

647
01:06:10,470 --> 01:06:14,550
and I'm curious how you would feel if I told you that we were out of fun

648
01:06:14,550 --> 01:06:20,370
balance for a year that Cherry Becker did and audit for us.

649
01:06:20,530 --> 01:06:22,750
What would you say to that?

650
01:06:22,830 --> 01:06:27,870
Would that surprise you say because I don't know about the judgments that the

651
01:06:27,870 --> 01:06:31,690
the audit team used or the conversations that they might have had.

652
01:06:34,660 --> 01:06:37,120
But if I'm understanding correctly,

653
01:06:38,320 --> 01:06:44,860
You were saying, it's not that you would say we were out of compliance with our policies,

654
01:06:45,740 --> 01:06:52,360
but you would just note that what was documented was not calculated correctly.

655
01:06:52,660 --> 01:06:57,760
I would dock, I would, so let me just back this up a little bit.

656
01:06:58,000 --> 01:07:03,100
When we review your financial statements, we have a lot of back and forth with your staff.

657
01:07:03,720 --> 01:07:06,200
And we make recommendations to them.

658
01:07:06,200 --> 01:07:12,360
We don't draft these financial statements, but we might say to them, hey, we don't agree

659
01:07:12,360 --> 01:07:16,860
that this is reported appropriately, and you need to make a change.

660
01:07:17,080 --> 01:07:22,020
We would like you to consider to make a change is how we would say that.

661
01:07:22,800 --> 01:07:28,940
In the course of this engagement, your team has been very compliant.

662
01:07:29,080 --> 01:07:33,860
I guess is the word, in making the changes that we recommend.

663
01:07:33,860 --> 01:07:42,360
Both my changes as the engagement director who does the first level review as well as our second review or he had a number of

664
01:07:43,040 --> 01:07:50,100
Recommended changes for their consideration as well and I just wanted to say, you know what we're always focusing on is

665
01:07:50,100 --> 01:07:55,680
Are these financial statements materially correct in relation to government accounting principles?

666
01:08:00,400 --> 01:08:00,620
I

667
01:08:03,620 --> 01:08:05,980
have a

668
01:08:05,980 --> 01:08:08,120
Wait, you look like you were going to ask them.

669
01:08:08,120 --> 01:08:09,180
I'm not ready yet.

670
01:08:09,220 --> 01:08:12,040
I know if I know your looks when you're going to ask a question.

671
01:08:15,490 --> 01:08:19,570
Is there someone, if not you in your firm, that would be,

672
01:08:19,890 --> 01:08:24,670
the can offer an opinion on the ERP that we chose?

673
01:08:25,990 --> 01:08:26,110
Yes.

674
01:08:28,070 --> 01:08:28,830
Yes, later.

675
01:08:29,510 --> 01:08:30,110
Yes, not you.

676
01:08:30,390 --> 01:08:31,730
Yes, it's not me.

677
01:08:32,630 --> 01:08:36,450
I tell people, I'm real good with numbers, not so much with the ERP's,

678
01:08:36,570 --> 01:08:37,270
but yes, ma'am.

679
01:08:37,270 --> 01:08:41,170
there, we do have someone that could give you some information on that.

680
01:08:41,550 --> 01:08:45,070
Not that I don't trust the team, but the team shows something excellent.

681
01:08:45,350 --> 01:08:49,190
I would just like to have a sort of independent opinion on that.

682
01:08:49,270 --> 01:08:53,330
And one thing that I would tell you that we had, we did have our IT team,

683
01:08:54,090 --> 01:08:56,890
talk with the team here, talk about what they did,

684
01:08:57,150 --> 01:09:00,810
what their controls were to ensure that the information transition

685
01:09:00,810 --> 01:09:10,350
over appropriately but I will tell you just from watching teams, implement ERPs. It is a very

686
01:09:10,350 --> 01:09:17,920
time-consuming, very heavy lift. No matter how good the product may be. Sure. Sure. Appreciate that.

687
01:09:20,290 --> 01:09:28,960
And I think the this question I think is for our staff and then I was wondering if you could tell me

688
01:09:29,580 --> 01:09:38,960
Just a little bit more so I better understand how the, I think there's 2.1 million grant receivable revenue, was, was not recorded or misrecorded.

689
01:09:44,300 --> 01:09:53,040
How to ask it, because I saw it said, okay, but it was added to the ledger, I'm using the wrong words, I am not an account.

690
01:09:53,040 --> 01:09:59,240
And it was clear that it was added and it's reflected currently in our capital fund balance.

691
01:09:59,400 --> 01:10:04,460
But I'm just curious about, you know, how something like that can go unrecorded.

692
01:10:04,460 --> 01:10:07,920
And in fact, what unrecorded actually means in these terms?

693
01:10:08,560 --> 01:10:13,440
Well, I may need to let Kimberly answer part of that question.

694
01:10:14,360 --> 01:10:17,700
But let me tell you the way we identified that transaction.

695
01:10:17,700 --> 01:10:32,340
So one of the things that we need to do every time we do an audit at any, any government that has a federal single audit is we take because we're issuing an opinion on your schedule of expenditures of federal awards.

696
01:10:32,540 --> 01:10:34,580
We want to make sure that it is correct.

697
01:10:35,300 --> 01:10:42,740
And so one of the things we do is reconcile it back to your financial statements and back to your general ledgers.

698
01:10:42,740 --> 01:10:50,720
And in this case, we were out by that $2 million, we just couldn't identify it.

699
01:10:50,820 --> 01:10:58,000
And so we reached out here to staff, they investigated it more, and they were able to determine

700
01:10:58,000 --> 01:11:04,740
that this expense had been recorded, but that the corresponding accounts receivable had

701
01:11:04,740 --> 01:11:05,580
not been made.

702
01:11:06,280 --> 01:11:11,220
I have something in my memory about why that happened, but I don't want to miss speak

703
01:11:11,220 --> 01:11:12,600
on their behalf.

704
01:11:13,100 --> 01:11:13,880
I appreciate that.

705
01:11:16,630 --> 01:11:17,230
Other questions?

706
01:11:19,820 --> 01:11:20,320
Thank you.

707
01:11:20,320 --> 01:11:20,940
Thank you all.

708
01:11:21,140 --> 01:11:23,040
I really appreciate your time and again,

709
01:11:23,140 --> 01:11:25,300
if after today, other questions arise,

710
01:11:25,420 --> 01:11:28,100
please feel free to reach out to my contact information.

711
01:11:39,910 --> 01:11:42,590
Okay, good evening, Mayor, and Council is so happy.

712
01:11:42,630 --> 01:11:45,470
I'm so happy to see you again this evening,

713
01:11:45,690 --> 01:11:50,090
and very pleased to be before you to share financial highlights

714
01:11:50,670 --> 01:11:54,770
from the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2025.

715
01:11:54,770 --> 01:12:03,110
We have provided an update on the audit, including the audit process and key findings that support the results I will present.

716
01:12:04,030 --> 01:12:13,490
I will provide a deeper dive into two of our major funds with a primary focus on the general fund with the summary highlight of the utility fund.

717
01:12:14,790 --> 01:12:19,110
Before we move further into the presentation, I want to highlight a few important points.

718
01:12:19,110 --> 01:12:25,690
This year's audit has been especially special because it included several major transitions.

719
01:12:27,030 --> 01:12:33,110
First, we have a few new staff members who participated in their first year audit with the town.

720
01:12:34,010 --> 01:12:43,050
And secondly, Dana and Lee Ann actually gave reference to this is our first year for producing financial statements.

721
01:12:43,050 --> 01:12:45,910
using the town's new financial system.

722
01:12:46,310 --> 01:12:49,850
We now, we are now using Oracle Fusion, a cloud-based system

723
01:12:49,850 --> 01:12:53,530
that took us about two years of focus, deliberate work,

724
01:12:53,790 --> 01:12:55,750
to finally say we are going live.

725
01:12:56,590 --> 01:12:59,330
Despite these changes and some say challenges,

726
01:13:01,370 --> 01:13:04,090
the team has worked diligently and collaboratively

727
01:13:04,090 --> 01:13:09,070
and we are grateful to be nearing completion of this year's audit process.

728
01:13:09,770 --> 01:13:11,710
I could not have asked for a stronger team.

729
01:13:11,710 --> 01:13:19,990
If I may take a minute to recognize some of the superstars who have stuck it out and continue to say yes to this work each and every day.

730
01:13:20,350 --> 01:13:29,930
I have with me tonight, both of the assistant directors, Dmitry Scheheris and Dera Schoffner, and also a member of our reporting team.

731
01:13:30,590 --> 01:13:38,850
And without Dera, Dera actually leads off our reporting area. Without her, I will say we probably would not be where we are right now.

732
01:13:38,850 --> 01:13:43,230
So we're very appreciative and I just want to say thank you all for that.

733
01:13:43,830 --> 01:13:45,850
I also want to sincerely thank you all.

734
01:13:47,230 --> 01:13:53,550
Each of you for your leadership, dedication, and steadfast commitment to carries financial stewardship.

735
01:13:54,350 --> 01:14:01,590
Your engagement and guidance continue to be essential to carry financial strength and long-term success.

736
01:14:05,070 --> 01:14:07,970
As a reminder during our quarterly meeting in November,

737
01:14:07,970 --> 01:14:14,410
I provided an initial overview of where the Towns Financial Performance was trending for fiscal year 2025.

738
01:14:15,490 --> 01:14:22,670
I am hoping by the completion of our presentations, you will also feel confident in what we're doing.

739
01:14:26,060 --> 01:14:39,720
Sorry about that. First, I want to, as a takeaway I have for you,

740
01:14:39,720 --> 01:14:45,600
Continue to show growth year over year, and we are able to add amounts to fund balance

741
01:14:45,600 --> 01:14:48,940
for future consideration as of the end of the year.

742
01:14:49,580 --> 01:14:54,920
Second, we met the policy that is set for the general fund fund balance.

743
01:14:56,240 --> 01:14:59,980
Third, our utility fund, another major fund continues to...

744
01:15:00,000 --> 01:15:07,700
Hello, positive results. And lastly, with all, with our anticipated clean, unmodified opinion that

745
01:15:07,700 --> 01:15:13,740
Ms. Waters just discussed, we are well positioned to continue to build on our foundation of

746
01:15:13,740 --> 01:15:16,940
growth, to advance further in our financial management.

747
01:15:19,480 --> 01:15:21,320
As a result of the independent financial

748
01:15:21,320 --> 01:15:28,160
audit, staff is able to compile and distribute the annual financial report. That is referred

749
01:15:28,160 --> 01:15:32,400
to as our annual comprehensive financial report also known as the ACFER.

750
01:15:33,160 --> 01:15:37,900
The ACFER is compiled with four sections in mind to keep in mind.

751
01:15:38,600 --> 01:15:45,940
They are the introduction, the financial section, the statistical section, and the compliance

752
01:15:45,940 --> 01:15:46,520
section.

753
01:15:47,060 --> 01:15:53,920
Tonight, as part of our work session, each of you received copies of the draft ACFER for

754
01:15:53,920 --> 01:15:56,600
the financial sections of the audit.

755
01:15:56,600 --> 01:16:07,640
For purposes of the public, if you are interested in definitions of these sections, please refer to the most recent streaming of Kerry's work session from this afternoon.

756
01:16:10,500 --> 01:16:15,640
Okay, reflecting on fiscal year 2025, several of these highlights may feel familiar.

757
01:16:16,480 --> 01:16:28,140
A significant portion of the change noted this year was driven by increased property tax revenue resulting from the effective tax rate combined with the White County Revaluation that took place.

758
01:16:28,140 --> 01:16:29,960
effective this fiscal year.

759
01:16:30,480 --> 01:16:35,840
Cell attacks continue to show nominal growth during the year to remain consistent with the

760
01:16:35,840 --> 01:16:42,100
towns broader financial strategy, carry state focused on cash flow, strategic investment

761
01:16:42,100 --> 01:16:46,940
in existing assets, and careful stewardship of fund balance.

762
01:16:47,500 --> 01:16:54,100
As a result, budget line items were monitored more closely and additional capital projects

763
01:16:54,100 --> 01:16:55,300
were closed out.

764
01:16:55,300 --> 01:17:01,680
to the reassessment work Council went through as part of the budget planning process, both of which

765
01:17:01,680 --> 01:17:05,760
supported a stronger operational bottom line for this year.

766
01:17:08,260 --> 01:17:09,620
To see the makeup of the general

767
01:17:09,620 --> 01:17:17,520
fund, 59% is for property tax followed by 21% in sales tax, which is included within the other

768
01:17:17,520 --> 01:17:23,960
taxes and licenses. Sales and services round out the top three, which is where sanitation and parks

769
01:17:23,960 --> 01:17:26,340
recreation revenue is captured.

770
01:17:28,360 --> 01:17:32,620
On the expense side, public safety is representing 27%

771
01:17:32,620 --> 01:17:39,500
of total spending alongside general government, which is also at 27%. Public works representing

772
01:17:39,500 --> 01:17:47,340
13% of spending, leaving about 33% for debt service, development, infrastructure, and other.

773
01:17:50,350 --> 01:17:56,350
When reviewing actual figures from the audited financial statement, please note that the fiscal

774
01:17:56,350 --> 01:18:05,530
year 2025, the general fund received $281 million in operational revenue and incur $266 million

775
01:18:05,530 --> 01:18:07,070
in operational expenditures.

776
01:18:07,770 --> 01:18:13,570
When including all fund activity, the general fund also had net transfers of about 7.8.

777
01:18:14,170 --> 01:18:21,110
As a result, the positive net outcome comparing total revenues and expenditures was $23.6 million.

778
01:18:21,110 --> 01:18:30,110
This amount represents the change in fund balance recognized for fiscal year 2025 and it is very positive and exciting news.

779
01:18:32,540 --> 01:18:42,800
When highlighting this dashboard of results for 2025, operating revenues came in slightly over budget and increased 20% compared to the prior year,

780
01:18:42,800 --> 01:18:53,220
The largest contributor to this revenue performance, as mentioned, was the property tax of which we collected almost 100% at year end by year end.

781
01:18:53,600 --> 01:18:58,020
Sales tax recognized the nominal 1% growth year over year.

782
01:18:58,300 --> 01:19:04,940
Current year trends in sales tax are shown a slight improvement, however fiscal year 2025 concluded with the slow growth.

783
01:19:10,200 --> 01:19:16,060
Operating expenditures include items such as personnel, contract services and small equipment.

784
01:19:16,060 --> 01:19:23,780
percentages spent are slightly different from previous year, spending was 98% of budget compared

785
01:19:23,780 --> 01:19:26,580
to about 94% in the prior year.

786
01:19:27,080 --> 01:19:33,720
Total expenses were up 1%, this increase is nominal and consistent with year over year in

787
01:19:33,720 --> 01:19:34,520
previous year.

788
01:19:35,060 --> 01:19:40,400
This change is related to departments, continuous thinking around monitoring costs, strategic

789
01:19:40,400 --> 01:19:46,940
way to replenish, balance levels depleted by previous years investments.

790
01:19:47,980 --> 01:19:54,860
For fund balance, current policy states that fund balance is to be 33.33% of budgeted

791
01:19:54,860 --> 01:20:03,480
expenditures. When for fiscal year 2025, that amounted to $85 million and estimates about

792
01:20:03,480 --> 01:20:10,480
4 months. As we have reference in a previous slide, we added an additional $23.6 million

793
01:20:11,080 --> 01:20:16,760
based on performance during this year, increasing fund balance to 106 million. This

794
01:20:16,760 --> 01:20:22,460
is more than the policy suggest. Now that Kerry is shifting to a more mature community,

795
01:20:23,000 --> 01:20:28,260
we will revisit some of our policy statements such as this one to make assessment on if they

796
01:20:28,260 --> 01:20:36,920
still relevant for today. Switching to our other major fund, the utility fund, it continues to perform positively.

797
01:20:37,440 --> 01:20:44,680
Revenue increased about 2.5% compared to prior year. These results were in line with the budget expectations.

798
01:20:46,620 --> 01:20:54,220
On the expense side, operating expenses decrease at the same rate as the revenue increase in that

799
01:20:54,220 --> 01:21:00,560
So, that yielded almost a break even result for the fiscal year.

800
01:21:03,400 --> 01:21:08,640
To bring us back to the key takeaways from our fiscal year 2025 financial results.

801
01:21:09,220 --> 01:21:14,360
The town continues to be in strong financial position with an additional 23.6 million added

802
01:21:14,360 --> 01:21:16,260
to the fund balance for the fiscal year.

803
01:21:16,880 --> 01:21:20,040
We also met our financial policies and guidelines.

804
01:21:20,040 --> 01:21:26,780
and our fiscal year 2025 fund balance results exceeded the town's fund balance policy.

805
01:21:27,400 --> 01:21:33,180
As you recall from prior discussions, actions taken to support and maintain the town's

806
01:21:33,180 --> 01:21:38,100
financial health included the timely closure of capital projects, which allowed residual

807
01:21:38,100 --> 01:21:44,960
funds to be reverted back to their original funding sources, as well as the laying spending

808
01:21:44,960 --> 01:21:46,800
on non-critical initiatives.

809
01:21:49,440 --> 01:21:55,340
Going to next steps, staff will submit the final annual comprehensive financial report by February

810
01:21:55,340 --> 01:21:59,300
12th, this year's updated deadline to the LGC.

811
01:21:59,880 --> 01:22:04,460
You all will receive a bounded copy shortly after that date.

812
01:22:04,860 --> 01:22:10,280
Simultaneously, we are working to finalize our citizen-friendly publication, the popular annual

813
01:22:10,280 --> 01:22:11,340
financial report.

814
01:22:11,740 --> 01:22:12,580
We call that a paper.

815
01:22:13,520 --> 01:22:26,140
The Act for Along with the Paffer will be submitted to the GFOA, which is the government finance officer's association for reporting awards upon completion of this year's audit.

816
01:22:26,880 --> 01:22:35,000
That concludes my presentation. If there are any questions, I am here along with Leanne, Dana, and of course, rest to answer any of your questions.

817
01:22:36,380 --> 01:22:36,760
Thank you.

818
01:22:38,600 --> 01:22:45,720
aren't you maybe yeah well my questions are not as much about what has been

819
01:22:45,720 --> 01:22:52,620
presented which I think you did a very good job thank you is more for us we've

820
01:22:52,620 --> 01:22:56,720
been in a maintenance mode so while it looks very rosy and nice it's really

821
01:22:56,720 --> 01:23:04,560
not because we have unfunded police fire everything else and I don't know the

822
01:23:04,560 --> 01:23:07,460
impact of that and we won't know until we get into the budget.

823
01:23:08,640 --> 01:23:10,980
I think we'll have a very just as we are tonight.

824
01:23:11,180 --> 01:23:13,080
Robust conversations about last year's budget.

825
01:23:13,280 --> 01:23:16,760
We're going to have very robust conversations about next year's proposed budget.

826
01:23:17,460 --> 01:23:21,360
But I think that's important to put out there because this looks like,

827
01:23:21,640 --> 01:23:22,400
wow, we're doing great.

828
01:23:22,520 --> 01:23:25,120
We've got a lot of extra money, not really.

829
01:23:26,100 --> 01:23:28,420
Because we have a lot of unfunded positions.

830
01:23:28,420 --> 01:23:34,020
I think it's a good point just jumping on to what you said.

831
01:23:34,880 --> 01:23:41,380
It looks good right now because halfway through the year, we basically stopped everything

832
01:23:41,380 --> 01:23:42,200
we were doing.

833
01:23:43,240 --> 01:23:46,140
And so we had what 168.

834
01:23:47,300 --> 01:23:48,160
Unfunded.

835
01:23:48,640 --> 01:23:49,360
It's 68.

836
01:23:50,940 --> 01:23:51,780
It's 68.

837
01:23:52,280 --> 01:23:53,120
It's 68.

838
01:23:53,120 --> 01:23:59,640
We unfunded capital projects that were not started that citizens expected.

839
01:24:00,400 --> 01:24:05,820
Some of those even might have been from 2019 bond item.

840
01:24:06,520 --> 01:24:15,420
So it looks good and we caught up, maybe, and we deverted from going up the cliff.

841
01:24:15,960 --> 01:24:21,980
And now we have to get back on the road to doing what we do best, which is to fund police,

842
01:24:21,980 --> 01:24:27,240
fire, parks, and give the services that are citizens and infrastructure.

843
01:24:28,280 --> 01:24:30,200
And it's sidewalks.

844
01:24:30,440 --> 01:24:30,600
Sidewalks.

845
01:24:30,600 --> 01:24:31,160
Sidewalks.

846
01:24:32,620 --> 01:24:34,240
Can I ask a clarifying question?

847
01:24:34,900 --> 01:24:40,140
Can we really could you please tell us if there is a healthy proportion of our,

848
01:24:40,140 --> 01:24:43,640
of our fun that fun balance we keep talking about?

849
01:24:43,800 --> 01:24:46,840
It's a healthy portion of that that's not committed or as I learned earlier,

850
01:24:47,440 --> 01:24:48,040
unencumbered.

851
01:24:48,040 --> 01:24:56,440
As of June 30th, 2020, if you look at the statements that we talked about tonight, you will see

852
01:24:56,440 --> 01:25:02,120
an amount that says unassigned. I think that's a safe number to look at. That's a healthy number

853
01:25:02,120 --> 01:25:08,180
to look at as unrestricted. Okay, I'm unassigned uncommitted. I have a somewhat related question.

854
01:25:09,080 --> 01:25:13,260
Kimberly, you've helped Bella and I read our

855
01:25:13,260 --> 01:25:18,160
act for and understand that when meeting our

856
01:25:18,160 --> 01:25:21,540
fund balance requirements, there is a point at which we

857
01:25:21,540 --> 01:25:25,300
have too much in fund balance and that is also a

858
01:25:25,300 --> 01:25:29,000
deviation from best practice. Is that a heart and

859
01:25:29,000 --> 01:25:32,620
fast threshold? Is that somewhat subjective? And hearing

860
01:25:32,620 --> 01:25:36,580
that we actually are now exceeding our fund balance? How

861
01:25:36,580 --> 01:25:41,680
much are we exceeding it by or are we entering that territory or we're keeping too much

862
01:25:41,680 --> 01:25:47,120
in fund balance. So it's not a hard and fast calculation. Most of the time we would hear

863
01:25:47,120 --> 01:25:51,880
about it from say our local government commission who weighs who looks at our levels compared

864
01:25:51,880 --> 01:25:57,940
to peers. However, what I will say is we talked about we're going to be looking at these policies going

865
01:25:57,940 --> 01:26:02,640
forward and so I think those questions are great to ask like what level at what level do we

866
01:26:02,640 --> 01:26:05,920
want to keep fund balance and what will happen to those amounts over fund balance.

867
01:26:07,380 --> 01:26:12,000
And Kimberly, we did cover some of this in during our work session, but for the benefit

868
01:26:12,000 --> 01:26:17,980
of those that are here today in the council meeting and those are, you know, have joined us

869
01:26:17,980 --> 01:26:18,460
virtually.

870
01:26:19,620 --> 01:26:23,800
We did have a slight dip in 2023 fund balance.

871
01:26:24,240 --> 01:26:28,180
It was it went down by two percent, right?

872
01:26:28,220 --> 01:26:30,080
So we were at 31 percent.

873
01:26:30,080 --> 01:26:41,100
So our, our floor, our policy says 33.33 percent for 20, 23, we were between 31 and 32 percent.

874
01:26:41,340 --> 01:26:47,360
So there was a slight, that's right. But we recovered and we got issues at the right time,

875
01:26:47,540 --> 01:26:51,960
but things went hold. Yeah. And that's how we kind of recovered and now we're in a recovery

876
01:26:51,960 --> 01:26:58,400
and maintenance mode for that reason. That is correct. Okay. Go ahead. Yeah. So for the

877
01:26:58,400 --> 01:27:06,680
is remaining dollars this year going to add to the reserve. So that definitely going there or we

878
01:27:06,680 --> 01:27:14,800
are still have opportunities to use this talk about that if you're with the budget ask questions

879
01:27:14,800 --> 01:27:15,780
for next year.

880
01:27:17,740 --> 01:27:24,780
One of the things that was also brought up when we talked about the expert is that this is a new year

881
01:27:24,780 --> 01:27:29,680
that are current contract with Cherry Becker ends this year.

882
01:27:29,840 --> 01:27:31,920
We have the opportunity to go back out.

883
01:27:32,140 --> 01:27:33,740
Does that mean we also have the opportunity

884
01:27:33,740 --> 01:27:36,280
to talk about what that statement of work

885
01:27:36,280 --> 01:27:40,260
or contractual agreement might look like?

886
01:27:40,560 --> 01:27:40,620
Absolutely.

887
01:27:41,500 --> 01:27:44,380
Yes, because I think that, you know,

888
01:27:44,380 --> 01:27:46,820
less and less in learn what I think might be great

889
01:27:46,820 --> 01:27:50,140
is to be able to have a detailed understanding

890
01:27:50,140 --> 01:27:51,820
of where we are in the fun balance

891
01:27:51,820 --> 01:27:54,380
so that we don't have to go back and forth

892
01:27:54,380 --> 01:28:02,940
the pages and do the math ourselves, having the auditor or finance department highlight

893
01:28:02,940 --> 01:28:10,120
to us where we are and also that way we have the transparency associated not just with

894
01:28:10,120 --> 01:28:17,300
us but also with our residents and as we move forward and have the discussions about what

895
01:28:17,300 --> 01:28:19,660
is the right number for fun balance.

896
01:28:20,260 --> 01:28:24,580
You know, when Raleigh's fun balance percentage is 17%

897
01:28:24,580 --> 01:28:26,960
right, and ours is 33 and a third.

898
01:28:27,160 --> 01:28:28,280
Yeah, we're sitting at it.

899
01:28:28,280 --> 01:28:30,140
There's there's there are 41.

900
01:28:30,640 --> 01:28:32,320
There are different methods, right?

901
01:28:32,320 --> 01:28:34,300
And we'll bring options to you.

902
01:28:34,420 --> 01:28:36,840
So like with Raleigh, they look at unassigned,

903
01:28:37,280 --> 01:28:38,160
which is a category.

904
01:28:38,900 --> 01:28:41,100
Our policy is based on total fun balance.

905
01:28:41,100 --> 01:28:44,340
So you know, there's so many differences there that we'll have to

906
01:28:44,340 --> 01:28:45,460
allow you guys to consider.

907
01:28:45,460 --> 01:28:52,780
So that I think as we negotiate and look for a new contract, that extra visibility,

908
01:28:53,120 --> 01:28:56,620
extra accountability, extra transparency would be really helpful.

909
01:28:57,480 --> 01:29:06,220
I think our Mayor Prudem, Lori Bush also made a comment in work session, which I want to share with everyone with the

910
01:29:06,220 --> 01:29:14,660
permission to color code the fun balance so that we know that you know it is in alignment

911
01:29:14,660 --> 01:29:21,560
with the policy so that we don't have to go look for it and you know to the point we don't

912
01:29:21,560 --> 01:29:25,320
have to calculate ourselves but you know it could just become a second habit where we are

913
01:29:25,320 --> 01:29:31,440
just you know we look for that color coding and we can identify that number easily yeah I have

914
01:29:31,440 --> 01:29:35,740
to say that when I was trying to understand it a little bit more I looked at other municipalities

915
01:29:39,820 --> 01:29:47,120
and what I enjoyed reading was actually Raleigh's because they actually talked about what their

916
01:29:47,120 --> 01:29:54,620
fund balances, how they got there, where they moved money from and to in order to keep the fund balance

917
01:29:54,620 --> 01:29:59,880
and how to support the financial allocation of general fund revenues.

918
01:30:00,000 --> 01:30:11,780
It was quite transparent in a way that says, you know, we were getting a little bit low. Here's what we did, and here's why we did it. And it was written in a way that anyone could understand.

919
01:30:12,520 --> 01:30:19,360
Lord, I want to make a comment that I was hoping to make, which I think speaks to somewhat what you're saying.

920
01:30:19,360 --> 01:30:23,900
Clearly, you and the other, any other finance or budget staff that I've interacted with was

921
01:30:23,900 --> 01:30:28,600
incredibly knowledgeable, and, you know, never guesses which I love, you know, brings back

922
01:30:28,600 --> 01:30:33,380
the information when we ask a question. I'm only speaking for myself here, but I'm sure some

923
01:30:33,380 --> 01:30:40,500
of my colleagues will agree. What I would like to have more of is your context to your opinion.

924
01:30:41,120 --> 01:30:46,160
And in such, I feel as though we probably would have gotten a lot more of this kind of information

925
01:30:46,160 --> 01:30:53,020
in previous to now if there was just a different attitude

926
01:30:55,080 --> 01:30:59,060
or with our leadership, right, at the very top sort of being

927
01:30:59,060 --> 01:31:03,880
the filter sometimes, I would really like to, you know,

928
01:31:03,880 --> 01:31:07,120
a lot more here what you think if that makes sense.

929
01:31:07,700 --> 01:31:08,840
Because are you sure you want that?

930
01:31:09,080 --> 01:31:10,180
I want to hear it.

931
01:31:10,580 --> 01:31:12,320
I can't tell you how much.

932
01:31:12,320 --> 01:31:16,940
I believe because we have conversations and you know if I've asked you a question directly or whatever

933
01:31:16,940 --> 01:31:23,960
you give such incredibly hopeful context and it not just tells me what that number or the

934
01:31:23,960 --> 01:31:29,240
answer to the question is but it makes me understand relative to why I'm asking where we are

935
01:31:29,240 --> 01:31:40,100
or what it affects, what the number actually means. And so I just wanted to invite you to

936
01:31:40,100 --> 01:31:43,140
or of course your very specific information

937
01:31:43,140 --> 01:31:44,960
that you tend to deliver to us.

938
01:31:45,240 --> 01:31:47,000
But I'd also like to hear your color commentary

939
01:31:47,000 --> 01:31:47,700
in your opinion.

940
01:31:48,640 --> 01:31:49,360
Very good.

941
01:31:49,700 --> 01:31:52,640
And Kimmery, for the benefit of people who are listening

942
01:31:52,640 --> 01:31:55,560
and who are watching this meeting today,

943
01:31:56,020 --> 01:31:57,580
could you explain the process?

944
01:31:57,960 --> 01:31:59,240
Like, I know that in the previous meeting,

945
01:31:59,700 --> 01:32:02,280
we kind of covered this in more detail.

946
01:32:02,760 --> 01:32:04,160
Nick, when do we conclude this?

947
01:32:04,180 --> 01:32:05,840
When do we strive our next discussions?

948
01:32:06,040 --> 01:32:07,840
So that, you know, we can track those timelines?

949
01:32:08,040 --> 01:32:09,340
I know that's probably not part of you.

950
01:32:09,340 --> 01:32:13,040
So I'm talking about the timeline for how we get our report.

951
01:32:13,780 --> 01:32:16,200
So how do we conclude this like right now?

952
01:32:17,560 --> 01:32:20,180
And what is the, I know you have next steps here,

953
01:32:20,820 --> 01:32:22,660
but then what does it like exactly

954
01:32:22,660 --> 01:32:25,760
to what Gonsolman Con Johnson said,

955
01:32:26,140 --> 01:32:29,600
like translate this for us a little bit more?

956
01:32:30,200 --> 01:32:32,360
So we're continuing our audit.

957
01:32:32,740 --> 01:32:35,380
Most, the financial piece is complete.

958
01:32:35,800 --> 01:32:37,480
We're still working on the compliance piece.

959
01:32:37,480 --> 01:32:43,320
That piece, just as a reminder, was deferred because of delayed because of the federal shutdown.

960
01:32:44,080 --> 01:32:55,820
As a result of that, the local government commission extended the formal deadline for submissions of jurisdictions financial reports to them to February the 12th.

961
01:32:55,920 --> 01:33:03,640
So, between now and February 12th, we are hoping to land wrap up this year's audit.

962
01:33:03,640 --> 01:33:11,680
So then we'll just start. We'll start all over again. But February 12 is our deadline that we have to have things submit it formally to a local government commission

963
01:33:11,680 --> 01:33:15,840
And we can call it done from an audit perspective. Okay. Thank you. Yeah.

964
01:33:16,380 --> 01:33:25,020
Just one more question about the recommendations that were made by our auditor. Some of them were in the process of doing like the surveys.

965
01:33:25,020 --> 01:33:32,240
But there were a couple of other comments associated with protections, ensuring no retaliation.

966
01:33:32,780 --> 01:33:38,100
Is there a group that is working on implementing some of these recommendations?

967
01:33:38,360 --> 01:33:43,100
We're going to add them to the implementation group that will be working on policies and procedures.

968
01:33:43,760 --> 01:33:49,420
Right, so then we will see that back as kind of a follow-up to the recommendation?

969
01:33:49,580 --> 01:33:50,640
Yes, at some point.

970
01:33:50,640 --> 01:33:55,500
and also I think it will be fitting to find out what Wambabond Dickinson recommends to you

971
01:33:55,500 --> 01:34:00,460
so that we add those to the list as well. Well, they do be iterative, iterative, or are you going

972
01:34:00,460 --> 01:34:05,160
to wait until all of that? I guess. Thank you. Other questions?

973
01:34:05,680 --> 01:34:12,560
Carissa asked the question earlier about the $2.1 million dollars. Yep. And she said that you could

974
01:34:12,560 --> 01:34:20,520
provide more insight. So I can tell you that from our review process that we normally do, it was an

975
01:34:20,520 --> 01:34:26,960
oversight. Because what typically happens is we know we spend money during the year. Technically

976
01:34:26,960 --> 01:34:31,060
we should go through all of them and say, is this eligible for reimbursement? If it's

977
01:34:31,060 --> 01:34:36,400
eligible for reimbursement within a short period of time, we should agree back as a receivable

978
01:34:36,400 --> 01:34:43,000
and a revenue. And so then in this case, it didn't pass the sniff internally, which is why

979
01:34:43,000 --> 01:34:45,320
we immediately said, yes, we should book this entry.

980
01:34:45,320 --> 01:34:46,080
other

981
01:34:48,190 --> 01:34:53,490
questions. Can I bring up the last question? Because we are talking about to the

982
01:34:53,490 --> 01:34:59,570
phone balance a lot, but that seems to be especially for the staff or the council in

983
01:34:59,570 --> 01:35:05,790
the mayor. We care about that a lot, but as a citizen, they may want to just to hear

984
01:35:05,790 --> 01:35:14,530
always spending healthy wisely and the private tech they paid and did they get cover all

985
01:35:14,530 --> 01:35:21,730
services could you give us a more a description, a conclusion about that? We're doing a good job

986
01:35:21,730 --> 01:35:29,130
or we still have to fund more. So when we look at for fiscal year 2025 when we look at our revenue

987
01:35:29,130 --> 01:35:33,970
compared to our expenses and this is going back to our general fund because that's our operating fund.

988
01:35:34,890 --> 01:35:43,970
Reminder we are adding revenues minus expenses was about 23.6 positive. That means we had no use of our reserves

989
01:35:43,970 --> 01:35:48,690
of fun balance. That means we could add to fun balance. So that's why we were able to add.

990
01:35:49,070 --> 01:35:56,610
Now if we have a year and sometimes we do is planned, we may have expenditures over revenue.

991
01:35:56,730 --> 01:36:00,850
But again, it would be planned by you all the authorization through some type of budget action.

992
01:36:01,170 --> 01:36:05,790
If that's the case, if it's a negative number, revenues expenses, that's when we are eating

993
01:36:05,790 --> 01:36:10,770
into fun balance. But for the past couple of years we've had positive results. So we have had

994
01:36:10,770 --> 01:36:12,350
We have not had that need.

995
01:36:13,190 --> 01:36:15,770
So I want to put that in layman's terms

996
01:36:15,770 --> 01:36:16,670
the way I understand.

997
01:36:17,590 --> 01:36:20,230
You have to have more money at the end of the year.

998
01:36:20,290 --> 01:36:22,090
If you don't, you have to dip in the savings.

999
01:36:22,710 --> 01:36:24,550
It's savings as your fund balance.

1000
01:36:25,050 --> 01:36:28,310
You ask question earlier, is it bad to have a high fund balance?

1001
01:36:28,730 --> 01:36:32,270
I have a personal opinion because if you're collecting revenue

1002
01:36:32,270 --> 01:36:35,630
and you're taking debt and instead of using the revenue,

1003
01:36:35,630 --> 01:36:39,890
if you got too much, then that's not a good use of taxpayer dollars.

1004
01:36:39,890 --> 01:36:42,130
but that's a personal opinion, we're gonna go there.

1005
01:36:42,370 --> 01:36:45,450
We're gonna have this discussion, but it's a danger

1006
01:36:45,450 --> 01:36:50,030
that we're in, I think, if we have, we're at 41%, I think.

1007
01:36:50,050 --> 01:36:52,150
For as of June 30, 20, 25, yes.

1008
01:36:52,170 --> 01:36:57,270
41% of operations, you know, cities on the coast

1009
01:36:57,270 --> 01:37:00,150
that have to deal with hurricanes, or at 35%.

1010
01:37:00,150 --> 01:37:01,430
And we're higher than that.

1011
01:37:02,450 --> 01:37:05,190
So that's a discussion we definitely have to have.

1012
01:37:05,750 --> 01:37:08,450
So I appreciate that very much.

1013
01:37:11,390 --> 01:37:16,910
I think that's why it's so important what Kim said about revisiting the policy statements

1014
01:37:16,910 --> 01:37:22,930
to see if it's still relevant for us to maintain that percentage of fund balance, because

1015
01:37:23,630 --> 01:37:29,430
things have changed. Our community has changed over the years and it may be that that

1016
01:37:29,430 --> 01:37:35,610
number isn't the right amount for us to maintain, which goes along with what you're saying.

1017
01:37:35,610 --> 01:37:41,010
Are we meeting the needs of the community and the expectations and finding that balance?

1018
01:37:42,210 --> 01:37:46,410
Other. I would like to just thank you and your entire team.

1019
01:37:47,650 --> 01:37:57,710
Doing your job every day is hard enough, but to do it while you're under the scrutiny of so many people, including us.

1020
01:37:58,490 --> 01:37:59,130
And the United States.

1021
01:38:00,830 --> 01:38:17,310
And you know, the state auditor, I mean, you do your job as transparently as possible all the time, but this is an additional level and some of our questions are hard enough, but hearing your job,

1022
01:38:21,190 --> 01:38:29,070
you know,

1023
01:38:29,070 --> 01:38:32,010
for putting together a presentation.

1024
01:38:32,310 --> 01:38:37,450
I don't think I've ever heard such a very detailed walk

1025
01:38:37,450 --> 01:38:43,770
through of the act for and the amount of passion

1026
01:38:43,770 --> 01:38:49,990
that you all have really does translate into what makes

1027
01:38:49,990 --> 01:38:50,470
scary great.

1028
01:38:50,770 --> 01:38:52,970
So I'd like to thank you all for what you do every single day,

1029
01:38:53,090 --> 01:38:55,490
especially with everybody looking over your shoulder

1030
01:38:55,490 --> 01:38:56,170
at the same time.

1031
01:38:56,310 --> 01:38:57,450
Thank you for those comments.

1032
01:38:57,450 --> 01:38:58,330
We appreciate it.

1033
01:38:58,550 --> 01:38:58,570
Okay.

1034
01:38:58,830 --> 01:38:59,190
Great.

1035
01:38:59,530 --> 01:39:00,050
Thank you.

1036
01:39:00,130 --> 01:39:00,530
Thank you.

1037
01:39:00,530 --> 01:39:00,630
Thank you.

1038
01:39:01,410 --> 01:39:03,230
And I would like to close us.

1039
01:39:03,470 --> 01:39:04,390
Thank you.

1040
01:39:04,610 --> 01:39:07,710
Close us out by repeating what Russ said earlier.

1041
01:39:08,590 --> 01:39:10,090
This is an investigation.

1042
01:39:11,150 --> 01:39:13,390
This is a report of our finances.

1043
01:39:14,310 --> 01:39:17,350
And they explained very well what this report is.

1044
01:39:17,450 --> 01:39:18,850
It's not an opinion.

1045
01:39:19,390 --> 01:39:21,190
That will be the state auditor.

1046
01:39:21,350 --> 01:39:22,490
They're an elected body.

1047
01:39:22,650 --> 01:39:24,270
They will certainly have an opinion.

1048
01:39:24,710 --> 01:39:27,030
And I have a feeling it won't be very rosy.

1049
01:39:27,690 --> 01:39:34,010
but we will hear from them and we also have the DA and the SPI looking into things.

1050
01:39:34,470 --> 01:39:39,150
Don't know if they'll find anything. We have no idea, no information what's going on with them.

1051
01:39:39,410 --> 01:39:46,070
And then we have the internal investigation where they will try to come up with additional policy

1052
01:39:46,070 --> 01:39:51,490
and procedure changes to make us stronger to make sure this never happens again. Did I cover that?

1053
01:39:51,490 --> 01:39:57,930
Yes, sir. So this basically takes one of the four kind of concludes that information for us.

1054
01:39:58,270 --> 01:40:02,790
So there's more coming. If you're here and wondering, is that it?

1055
01:40:02,990 --> 01:40:07,650
No, if there's more coming. Anything else before we move on?

1056
01:40:08,050 --> 01:40:09,470
All right. Thank you.

1057
01:40:11,700 --> 01:40:15,360
If I can get my agenda back hold on just a second.

1058
01:40:15,800 --> 01:40:16,500
Here we go.

1059
01:40:20,920 --> 01:40:25,140
All right. We've reached the public speaks out portion of our meeting.

1060
01:40:26,140 --> 01:40:27,180
What's that?

1061
01:40:28,200 --> 01:40:31,420
I skip right over the manager because I already called on the manager.

1062
01:40:32,920 --> 01:40:35,260
I like to the last topic.

1063
01:40:35,480 --> 01:40:36,500
I have an update as well.

1064
01:40:36,860 --> 01:40:37,180
Okay, please.

1065
01:40:37,460 --> 01:40:43,860
It's going to be eerily similar to Council Member Bush's ceremony opening comments as well.

1066
01:40:44,380 --> 01:40:50,300
Because you may have seen there's lots of staff up in the seats tonight.

1067
01:40:50,820 --> 01:40:54,420
But I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about a response to the winner, weather response.

1068
01:40:54,420 --> 01:40:59,500
also that we've seen over the past few weeks as we were hit to buy back to back storms,

1069
01:40:59,840 --> 01:41:04,920
winter weather storms, which they obviously name now, Furn, and then winter storm,

1070
01:41:05,440 --> 01:41:11,000
Gianna. And together they made it for a challenging week for a stretch of two weekends

1071
01:41:11,000 --> 01:41:16,260
a row for our staff. So employees are out treating roads. I don't have all the data.

1072
01:41:17,120 --> 01:41:21,460
I can't remember Bush already gave it, but responding to issues, keeping critical services running,

1073
01:41:21,460 --> 01:41:26,960
often during long hours and tough conditions, and what really stood out as it normally does

1074
01:41:26,960 --> 01:41:32,700
during any kind of emergency operations that we do is how many people step up and go beyond

1075
01:41:32,700 --> 01:41:36,780
beyond their regular roles, taking time away from their families, and the personal commitment

1076
01:41:36,780 --> 01:41:41,900
to work, extra shifts, and help wherever they are needed. So we want it to be sure to take

1077
01:41:41,900 --> 01:41:46,420
time tonight to thank those staff members and recognize a special group that are here that

1078
01:41:46,420 --> 01:41:51,960
above and beyond to help and I'd ask Cheap Cooper to come up and say a few words. And then

1079
01:41:51,960 --> 01:41:57,980
I also say that I expect that they have learned a lot about our financial statements as they

1080
01:41:57,980 --> 01:42:02,380
were up there for the last hour and 40 minutes. So thank you all for being here.

1081
01:42:03,820 --> 01:42:09,200
Good evening, Mayor and Council. Thank you, Mr. Overton. And Ms. Bush, you did a great job,

1082
01:42:09,600 --> 01:42:15,320
summarizing the statistics, great job. So good evening, Mayor and Council. I'd like to take a moment

1083
01:42:15,320 --> 01:42:19,060
to formally recognize and thank the more than 400 employees

1084
01:42:19,500 --> 01:42:22,920
who worked extended hours over two consecutive weekends

1085
01:42:23,280 --> 01:42:24,700
during the recent storms.

1086
01:42:25,600 --> 01:42:28,280
This was very challenging stretch for our organization,

1087
01:42:28,680 --> 01:42:31,060
responding to whether like this requires more

1088
01:42:31,060 --> 01:42:33,180
than reporting for a regular shift.

1089
01:42:34,080 --> 01:42:36,540
It means employees coming in on short notice,

1090
01:42:37,320 --> 01:42:39,620
working long and often overnight hours,

1091
01:42:40,140 --> 01:42:41,920
and setting aside normal responsibilities

1092
01:42:41,920 --> 01:42:44,580
to support the town and our residents.

1093
01:42:45,980 --> 01:42:51,080
Despite the difficult conditions, these employees stepped up without hesitation to ensure continuity

1094
01:42:51,080 --> 01:42:55,360
of operations and kept essential town services running smoothly.

1095
01:42:57,180 --> 01:42:58,080
Excuse me.

1096
01:42:58,600 --> 01:43:03,820
Their efforts were critical in maintaining public safety, supporting residents and ensuring

1097
01:43:03,820 --> 01:43:10,100
that our facilities, infrastructure and communications remained operational throughout the

1098
01:43:10,100 --> 01:43:10,640
storms.

1099
01:43:10,640 --> 01:43:18,940
Many staff serve, many staff members served in the Emergency Operations Center, some for the first time.

1100
01:43:19,340 --> 01:43:26,780
Participating in special meetings, coordinating response efforts, and helping ensure decisions were made quickly and safely.

1101
01:43:27,800 --> 01:43:36,200
Others worked overnight and extended shifts in the field or behind the scenes while balancing time away from their families and personal commitments.

1102
01:43:36,980 --> 01:43:43,040
Through out both storms, staff work closely with our neighboring jurisdictions and partner agencies,

1103
01:43:44,060 --> 01:43:47,900
reflecting the strength of our emergency preparedness and our regional partnerships.

1104
01:43:51,920 --> 01:43:55,860
The names of the staff who supported storm response are listed on the screen.

1105
01:43:56,620 --> 01:44:00,280
If you're here this evening and worked there in either of those storms,

1106
01:44:00,720 --> 01:44:03,140
I would ask you to please stand so you can be recognized.

1107
01:44:18,240 --> 01:44:19,080
Thank you.

1108
01:44:19,080 --> 01:44:25,500
I would also like to offer special recognition to our Public Works team, the A-plus team.

1109
01:44:28,440 --> 01:44:34,480
The Public Works team, whose long hours and hazardous conditions helped ensure roads remain

1110
01:44:34,480 --> 01:44:40,240
passable, infrastructure functioned, and critical services uninterrupted.

1111
01:44:41,040 --> 01:44:45,620
To everyone who supported the storm's response, thank you for your dedication, flexibility

1112
01:44:45,620 --> 01:44:46,420
and teamwork.

1113
01:44:46,420 --> 01:44:51,900
Your efforts made a real difference in this community and exemplify the

1114
01:44:51,900 --> 01:44:55,780
high standard of service, our residents expect and deserve.

1115
01:44:56,400 --> 01:44:57,760
Thank you for your support, Council.

1116
01:44:58,220 --> 01:44:59,360
Chief, thank you.

1117
01:44:59,740 --> 01:44:59,980
I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I.

1118
01:45:00,000 --> 01:45:27,960
To say that when I talk about Carrie and talking about the best of the best, this is a perfect example. There's nobody compares to you guys, where the first ones were the roads clear, and that really impacts the citizens. They really notice it and they really talk about it. So thank you, I can't imagine going, especially after the first storm, I think I talked to you and I said, you guys got to really be tired, and here we go again.

1119
01:45:27,960 --> 01:45:39,880
And you had back to back, and you did both of those excellently, and I'm so proud to be a citizen, let alone the mayor, so thank you for all the work and your team did during these storms.

1120
01:45:40,600 --> 01:45:40,960
Thank you, Mayor.

1121
01:45:45,280 --> 01:45:46,900
Okay, did I skip anything else?

1122
01:45:49,320 --> 01:45:50,720
Sorry about that.

1123
01:45:52,380 --> 01:46:00,900
Our next item is public speaks out, and we've included instructions for speaking at this forum online and on the printed agenda.

1124
01:46:00,900 --> 01:46:05,140
There's three opportunities for you to participate in public speaks out.

1125
01:46:05,620 --> 01:46:10,640
You can do it through written comments or by calling in or by attending your person tonight.

1126
01:46:11,260 --> 01:46:17,520
And if you're here in person and would like to speak, I would ask if you please take a seat in the rows to my right that are highlighted.

1127
01:46:18,860 --> 01:46:27,220
Public speaks out have three minutes each for their comments and you may speak on any topic that is not a public hearing.

1128
01:46:27,220 --> 01:46:32,620
And that's to your benefit because public hearing speakers get more time.

1129
01:46:33,640 --> 01:46:38,600
The three-minute time limit will be enforced not to be rude but to be fair to all of our

1130
01:46:38,600 --> 01:46:38,980
speakers.

1131
01:46:39,300 --> 01:46:40,920
We have a timer on the podium.

1132
01:46:41,540 --> 01:46:43,540
It will start off with a green light.

1133
01:46:44,240 --> 01:46:48,700
And when it turns yellow, that's a signal that you have 30 seconds remaining and you should

1134
01:46:48,700 --> 01:46:49,780
try to wrap up.

1135
01:46:50,180 --> 01:46:54,880
And when it's flashing red, that's the point I'll interrupt you again, not trying to be rude,

1136
01:46:54,880 --> 01:46:57,280
just trying to be fair to all of our speakers.

1137
01:46:59,060 --> 01:47:07,080
I would ask that all speakers please be respectful and address the council as a whole rather than individual members.

1138
01:47:07,780 --> 01:47:12,400
And I'll remind everyone that this is a business meeting even though we just had a pause.

1139
01:47:13,280 --> 01:47:19,680
This is the business portion of the meeting and we would ask that you treat it as such.

1140
01:47:19,680 --> 01:47:26,380
Public speaks out has one hour for this at actual part of the agenda.

1141
01:47:26,940 --> 01:47:38,720
I would ask that you please refrain from applauding, speaking from your seats, using props or engaging in any behavior that may distract from the council listening to the speakers.

1142
01:47:39,580 --> 01:47:45,940
Interruptions including applause actually take away from that one hour time limit that we have.

1143
01:47:45,940 --> 01:47:52,080
and that would reduce the available time for public speaks out so we ask you please don't do that.

1144
01:47:52,600 --> 01:47:59,640
Thank you in advance for adhering to our guidelines in keeping this meeting effective and respectful.

1145
01:48:02,320 --> 01:48:09,040
This form is intended for council members to listen to public comment, not for discussion.

1146
01:48:09,860 --> 01:48:15,840
And while we may direct staff to follow up, we won't respond to your comments at this time.

1147
01:48:15,840 --> 01:48:18,980
Each council member is available to meet with you.

1148
01:48:19,320 --> 01:48:22,100
I've met with individuals today as a matter of fact.

1149
01:48:22,780 --> 01:48:24,420
And we welcome those conversations.

1150
01:48:25,240 --> 01:48:27,960
You may reach out to us via email, 311,

1151
01:48:28,280 --> 01:48:31,420
or just the direct meeting request form.

1152
01:48:31,980 --> 01:48:33,940
So now that I've said all these things,

1153
01:48:34,460 --> 01:48:36,360
now is the time for public speaks.

1154
01:48:36,480 --> 01:48:39,480
I'll start off by calling on our clerk to read

1155
01:48:39,480 --> 01:48:42,420
any written comments and call on any registered speakers.

1156
01:48:42,980 --> 01:48:47,560
We received five written comments. These comments have been emailed to Council,

1157
01:48:47,840 --> 01:48:52,260
prior to the meeting, provided to Council when they arrived, and also attached to the

1158
01:48:52,260 --> 01:48:57,900
online agenda for accessibility. We have two registered speakers. Our first registered

1159
01:48:57,900 --> 01:49:00,100
speaker is Philip Cotrose.

1160
01:49:22,780 --> 01:49:25,880
Hello, my name is Philip Cotrose. I'm a long-time resident of

1161
01:49:25,880 --> 01:49:30,660
Kerry. Thank you, Council, for allowing me the opportunity to speak out. This is actually the

1162
01:49:30,660 --> 01:49:35,220
Second time that I'm going to speak to you on this topic, which is about merit pay for the

1163
01:49:35,220 --> 01:49:36,240
town of Kerry staff.

1164
01:49:37,080 --> 01:49:41,040
I spoke here last year during the budget process, and I asked you to consider maintaining

1165
01:49:41,040 --> 01:49:46,120
the 5% merit budget that the former town manager had proposed cutting as a way of helping

1166
01:49:46,700 --> 01:49:48,660
to balance that year's fiscal budget.

1167
01:49:49,320 --> 01:49:51,260
My message then had three main points.

1168
01:49:51,660 --> 01:49:57,520
Number one, cutting the merit budget is never going to be enough to solve the town's budget

1169
01:49:57,520 --> 01:49:58,080
challenges.

1170
01:49:58,080 --> 01:50:02,440
I believe Kerry's going to face these for several years due to a combination of inflation,

1171
01:50:03,480 --> 01:50:06,680
slower growth, and aging infrastructure, among others.

1172
01:50:07,760 --> 01:50:13,120
Number two, as someone who's had the distinct pleasure of volunteering and working with staff from numerous departments,

1173
01:50:14,060 --> 01:50:18,600
I believe that Kerry has the best to the best, who performed well beyond the norm.

1174
01:50:19,260 --> 01:50:23,700
Anyone who drove the roads from Kerry to any neighboring city or town during the winter weather,

1175
01:50:23,700 --> 01:50:30,160
or anyone who interacted with 3-1-1 who worked extra weekend at evening hours saw two very recent

1176
01:50:30,160 --> 01:50:36,480
examples of why our town staff is the best. In a high-performing number three, sorry,

1177
01:50:36,700 --> 01:50:42,440
in a high-performing and a lean staffing environment, one in which carry has the lowest number of

1178
01:50:42,440 --> 01:50:49,140
full-time employees for a thousand residents in an immunosuppity and weight county. These cuts are dangerous.

1179
01:50:50,080 --> 01:50:55,860
They spur, or they may spur, well-trained top-tier staff in our town to leave for other

1180
01:50:55,860 --> 01:51:01,340
neighboring municipalities, some who are experiencing now much higher growth rates and have

1181
01:51:01,340 --> 01:51:06,680
significantly higher property tax rates, which would enable them to drive employee acquisition

1182
01:51:06,680 --> 01:51:12,480
away from the town of Gary. Unfortunately, the budget for this year was passed with the aforementioned

1183
01:51:12,480 --> 01:51:17,340
reduced merit budget for town of Gary's staff, but I looked at this as an opportunity to come

1184
01:51:17,340 --> 01:51:21,680
back here again during budget process and try to persuade you once more.

1185
01:51:22,540 --> 01:51:26,680
So fast forward and I was very pleasantly surprised to see that our interim town manager

1186
01:51:26,680 --> 01:51:31,500
will be making a proposal, or at least I hope you still plan to make that proposal, to

1187
01:51:31,500 --> 01:51:35,540
bring the current year's merit budget back to 5% consistent with years past.

1188
01:51:35,900 --> 01:51:37,380
I applaud him for taking that action.

1189
01:51:38,240 --> 01:51:42,140
You all as counsel have to decide if the various shifts in the funding that are proposed

1190
01:51:42,140 --> 01:51:46,120
in order to bring that budget back to where I believe it should be, or the right ones.

1191
01:51:46,120 --> 01:51:55,020
I haven't studied that, I don't have an opinion on that part, but having watched the increased scrutiny that you all are rightfully given to proposed expenses,

1192
01:51:55,240 --> 01:52:01,560
I suspect that you have or will drive that action with that proposal as well.

1193
01:52:02,060 --> 01:52:03,020
My ask is simple.

1194
01:52:03,340 --> 01:52:11,540
Regardless of how you get there, get there, particularly for non-executive staff, who are likely the ones most impacted by the current cut.

1195
01:52:11,540 --> 01:52:16,560
The dedicated staff of the town of Carrey are in many ways what make this place great.

1196
01:52:16,940 --> 01:52:18,000
Let's keep it that way.

1197
01:52:18,560 --> 01:52:19,020
Thank you.

1198
01:52:19,160 --> 01:52:19,540
Thank you.

1199
01:52:20,360 --> 01:52:22,660
Our next registered speaker is Thomas Pavlet.

1200
01:52:43,000 --> 01:52:47,520
So I'd like to speak about the financial malfeasance in the news in Carrey.

1201
01:52:48,440 --> 01:52:52,260
I'm going to start out by saying we can't blame everything on Sean Steegel.

1202
01:52:52,260 --> 01:52:59,920
On December 9th, WRAEL, WRAEL News, quoted Laurie Bush saying,

1203
01:53:00,500 --> 01:53:04,020
I also want to state clearly that there is no connection between the tuition,

1204
01:53:04,260 --> 01:53:09,220
miscommunications I have described, and the questions many of you understand

1205
01:53:09,220 --> 01:53:12,340
we have about the town managers leave.

1206
01:53:13,800 --> 01:53:18,540
But WRAEL later reported that the questions revolving around Sean Stiegels'

1207
01:53:18,540 --> 01:53:25,280
actions began from a public information request for emails regarding the $37,000 for

1208
01:53:25,280 --> 01:53:28,360
Lori Bush's master's degree among other things.

1209
01:53:29,240 --> 01:53:35,240
So actually, because of Lori's actions, that's how this financial malfeasance came

1210
01:53:35,240 --> 01:53:35,940
to light.

1211
01:53:37,640 --> 01:53:41,940
And I would actually like to know why the town council has not exercised their right

1212
01:53:41,940 --> 01:53:44,460
to replace Lori as Mayor Pro Temporary.

1213
01:53:46,790 --> 01:53:52,550
I was also surprised to learn recently that Mayor Weinbrecht was being paid under a contract

1214
01:53:52,550 --> 01:53:57,350
by a local engineering firm, a firm that does millions of dollars of work for the town

1215
01:53:57,350 --> 01:54:03,070
of Kerry, which is competitively procured, and also works for private developers.

1216
01:54:03,830 --> 01:54:08,770
Developers you need approvals from the town for their projects, including rezoning, permitting,

1217
01:54:09,130 --> 01:54:10,550
site plans, and traffic studies.

1218
01:54:11,690 --> 01:54:18,290
By the way, I noticed in the mayor's recent State of Carrier Dress, his former firm was

1219
01:54:18,290 --> 01:54:21,550
prominently shown in one of his slides.

1220
01:54:25,160 --> 01:54:28,960
The mayor was the same conference in Texas as Sean Steele.

1221
01:54:29,840 --> 01:54:35,440
He says it'd be expensive, his engineering firm, where Sean misused his spending account.

1222
01:54:36,220 --> 01:54:38,900
The mayor says he knows nothing about that.

1223
01:54:38,900 --> 01:54:45,720
these things that I'm talking about are clearly a conflict of interest, so I will conclude

1224
01:54:45,720 --> 01:54:51,380
by saying that I'm not old enough to be the father of either one of you or any of you,

1225
01:54:51,660 --> 01:54:55,060
but I am a father and so I'm going to give you some fatherly advice, same thing that I would

1226
01:54:55,060 --> 01:55:00,560
give to my own kids. Number one, you should write a memo about everything that went wrong

1227
01:55:00,560 --> 01:55:05,520
and how this situation can be prevented in the future. Number two, you need to resign.

1228
01:55:08,460 --> 01:55:09,580
Next speaker please?

1229
01:55:09,600 --> 01:55:10,960
No additional register speaker.

1230
01:55:11,140 --> 01:55:15,060
If you are here and would like to speak a public speaks out now as your opportunity.

1231
01:55:27,940 --> 01:55:28,980
Can you move to your left please?

1232
01:55:29,340 --> 01:55:30,480
Thank you.

1233
01:55:30,720 --> 01:55:31,900
Good evening, I'm Annuala Priser.

1234
01:55:32,140 --> 01:55:33,060
I've been here before.

1235
01:55:37,330 --> 01:55:40,030
I'm here to talk again about the lack of accountability

1236
01:55:41,010 --> 01:55:46,330
and the toxic environment that the town has created and is ongoing.

1237
01:55:47,170 --> 01:55:49,270
I have been defined as an angry woman

1238
01:55:49,270 --> 01:55:52,890
and have been forced calls to civility by our mayor

1239
01:55:52,890 --> 01:55:56,410
When a reality he's trying to avoid accountability,

1240
01:55:57,330 --> 01:56:00,050
the last gentleman has spoken to a lot of that.

1241
01:56:00,790 --> 01:56:03,590
I'm here to talk about something that has to do with accountability.

1242
01:56:04,770 --> 01:56:08,170
In the past few weeks, I, myself and others, have brought

1243
01:56:08,670 --> 01:56:12,970
to your attention, what happens with the Tano Carey Theatre,

1244
01:56:13,210 --> 01:56:16,810
the Carey Theatre, which is owned and operated by the Tano Carey.

1245
01:56:17,230 --> 01:56:20,450
I was told that the Tano Carey follows a master plan

1246
01:56:20,450 --> 01:56:26,450
and that the single employee who makes all the decisions for this theater is being supervised.

1247
01:56:26,970 --> 01:56:30,530
This is an employee who has shown in the past a shocking,

1248
01:56:30,530 --> 01:56:35,610
lack of common sense, a shocking lack of good taste.

1249
01:56:36,030 --> 01:56:41,110
She was behind in 2022, a show that never happened.

1250
01:56:41,330 --> 01:56:48,230
He was a drug-wind story hour that was supposed to be family friendly with people with stage names that were

1251
01:56:48,230 --> 01:56:55,310
slowly bulger. And there was a public outcry, I was part of that, and we

1252
01:56:55,310 --> 01:57:00,730
foil that never happened. Recently, your employee has decided to show a

1253
01:57:00,730 --> 01:57:07,950
movie, which is a bloodlible against juice. I brought that to your attention, and

1254
01:57:07,950 --> 01:57:11,430
I was told you, follow the master plan. Well, I have proven you do not follow

1255
01:57:11,430 --> 01:57:16,130
the master plan. The master plan is simply a fig leaf, something that you

1256
01:57:16,130 --> 01:57:18,730
to use as a paper shield.

1257
01:57:19,090 --> 01:57:21,050
This employee has made the decision herself.

1258
01:57:21,490 --> 01:57:24,350
The reason why we, as Jews, are concerned about the movie,

1259
01:57:24,670 --> 01:57:26,410
is because we know history.

1260
01:57:27,090 --> 01:57:30,210
Just not too long ago, in 2020, a similar child

1261
01:57:30,210 --> 01:57:31,110
died in Gaza.

1262
01:57:31,430 --> 01:57:34,330
His name was Mohamed Al-Dura, the media,

1263
01:57:34,510 --> 01:57:36,410
the Western media portrayed him as being killed

1264
01:57:36,410 --> 01:57:37,570
by the idea of.

1265
01:57:37,870 --> 01:57:41,150
Long story short, it was the catalyst for the second

1266
01:57:43,290 --> 01:57:49,710
or some have been laden, spoke about Mohamed Al-Dura as a justification for 911, a terrible

1267
01:57:49,710 --> 01:57:54,130
terrorist attack against our country that caused it as thousands of lives of our citizens

1268
01:57:54,850 --> 01:58:03,470
was sparked for wars and then we found out that the Western media had lied, they had edited

1269
01:58:03,470 --> 01:58:12,930
video, the child lived. They never showed that. But it cost us human lives, not just Jewish lives.

1270
01:58:13,430 --> 01:58:18,930
And when we bring to your attention and movie, the similarly is possibly the spark,

1271
01:58:19,170 --> 01:58:25,930
the catalyst for violence. When they have already been Jews killed on this soil recently,

1272
01:58:25,930 --> 01:58:35,990
when they're being called in our town for global antifada and you dismiss it as sorry I'm not done

1273
01:58:35,990 --> 01:58:42,830
I have I'm sorry your time is expired you need no it is a mother of fact I still have a few seconds you have no time left I'm sorry

1274
01:58:43,450 --> 01:58:45,270
Thank you

1275
01:58:45,270 --> 01:58:46,750
Next speaker please

1276
01:59:01,210 --> 01:59:08,530
Members of the town council Mr. Mayor Mr. Overton my name is Elliott tardiff carry residents since 2014 and it's

1277
01:59:08,530 --> 01:59:13,170
privilege to speak with you again. I have two orders of business to bring before the

1278
01:59:13,170 --> 01:59:18,730
stay as to ask for your consideration in action. First, that town leadership and

1279
01:59:18,730 --> 01:59:22,630
staff worked to improve pedestrian safety at the intersection of

1280
01:59:22,630 --> 01:59:26,990
Kilder Farm Road and Kilnain Road, which is heavily trafficked by both vehicles

1281
01:59:26,990 --> 01:59:32,130
and pedestrians alike. There's two go-carry bus stops on this part of Kilder

1282
01:59:32,130 --> 01:59:37,170
one on either side of Kilnain, nearby businesses, some of whose staff walk or take

1283
01:59:37,170 --> 01:59:42,330
public transportation to and from, as well as a daycare and a church, yet unlike the

1284
01:59:42,330 --> 01:59:47,870
maynard and kill their intersection a few hundred yards of the way, there is only one

1285
01:59:47,870 --> 01:59:53,550
marked pedestrian crosswalk and no pedestrian crossing lights to speak of. I worry this

1286
01:59:53,550 --> 01:59:57,850
is an accident waiting to happen. Please be proactive and fix this now.

1287
01:59:58,810 --> 01:59:59,110
Second.

1288
02:00:00,000 --> 02:00:07,480
In regards to the $250,000 agreed to be spent by the town in the last meeting, number 1, all invoices

1289
02:00:07,480 --> 02:00:13,400
from the outside firm investigating matters involving the former town manager at all be made

1290
02:00:13,400 --> 02:00:19,820
a matter of public record if they aren't already. The $150,000 was stated as a payment of services

1291
02:00:19,820 --> 02:00:27,160
to come. So what's been spent already? My fellow taxpayers and I deserve to know what this is

1292
02:00:28,780 --> 02:00:38,880
The $100,000 agreed to be spent by the Council for an employee engagement survey needs to be rethought and broader issues you raised need to be addressed.

1293
02:00:39,420 --> 02:00:45,720
To be crystal clear, I want this town staff to be heard and they in the town to be better off for it.

1294
02:00:46,040 --> 02:00:52,480
I say this as a former employee of this state whose agency also, quoting from your last meeting,

1295
02:00:52,480 --> 02:01:02,640
Did a lot with a very lean workforce close quote, but whose department did, and to my understanding, still does, annual employee engagement surveys,

1296
02:01:03,340 --> 02:01:13,220
drawn up, administered, and finding summarized to senior management and staff all in-house with no additional expenditure to outside firms as was agreed here.

1297
02:01:13,220 --> 02:01:19,160
If I heard correctly, you say the communication section is too understaffed to carry this out.

1298
02:01:19,620 --> 02:01:22,120
Yet, quote, there's been a hiring freeze.

1299
02:01:22,700 --> 02:01:23,500
Close quote.

1300
02:01:24,200 --> 02:01:32,600
You say you want to spend money to drive participation, but you state staff quote is really great at responding to surveys because they've done it before.

1301
02:01:32,940 --> 02:01:33,220
Close quote.

1302
02:01:34,060 --> 02:01:38,620
You want this quote unquote health check and quote you need the state and now close quote.

1303
02:01:38,620 --> 02:01:44,780
But I see a data that seems content with urgency, a taxpayer expense while kicking the

1304
02:01:44,780 --> 02:01:47,220
can down the road rather than fixing what's wrong.

1305
02:01:47,800 --> 02:01:48,340
Do right.

1306
02:01:48,640 --> 02:01:54,000
By everybody, fix the issues at hand while instituting a regular survey schedule as policy.

1307
02:01:54,680 --> 02:02:00,360
So staff have a permanent certainty of being heard in a way that's responsible by taxpayers too.

1308
02:02:00,520 --> 02:02:01,780
That's a better record to have.

1309
02:02:01,980 --> 02:02:02,940
Thank you for your time.

1310
02:02:04,920 --> 02:02:07,120
Next speaker for Public Speaks Out.

1311
02:02:24,500 --> 02:02:30,340
Good evening Mayor and Council, I am Renee Miller and my concern today is the proposed

1312
02:02:30,340 --> 02:02:33,460
increase to the merit budget, proposed in tonight's discussion item.

1313
02:02:34,900 --> 02:02:40,280
There are a few things I'd like for you to consider as you are reviewing this matter.

1314
02:02:41,800 --> 02:02:50,570
The first is that the reasons that employees leave when employers ask this question is usually

1315
02:02:50,570 --> 02:02:58,610
answered as pay. But when outside surveyors ask this question, pay is typically 5th or 6th

1316
02:02:58,610 --> 02:03:05,410
on the list. This has held true for the 30 years that I have been certified as a senior

1317
02:03:05,410 --> 02:03:11,850
professional in human resources. So I question whether an increase will actually have the effect

1318
02:03:11,850 --> 02:03:19,850
expected. Secondly, I was pleased this afternoon to read that Kerry has a policy in place

1319
02:03:19,850 --> 02:03:24,570
Let's suggest that executive staff be exempt from this merit pool.

1320
02:03:25,510 --> 02:03:29,970
During that first budget hearing last year, Mr. Kochers, who spoke earlier, suggested

1321
02:03:29,970 --> 02:03:34,610
that this might be limited to lawn and lower management, and I agree.

1322
02:03:35,930 --> 02:03:40,390
By spelling this out more clearly through your policies and citing those for the public,

1323
02:03:40,790 --> 02:03:44,830
I believe you can demonstrate transparency, and we can see that you can make adjustments

1324
02:03:44,830 --> 02:03:48,970
to ensure that we continue responsible spending in this area.

1325
02:03:50,090 --> 02:03:53,710
I believe citizens support this policy and are especially interested in

1326
02:03:53,710 --> 02:03:55,850
recognizing the excellent work of our staff.

1327
02:03:57,250 --> 02:04:00,830
Finally, I ask you to consider the tax implications of

1328
02:04:01,590 --> 02:04:02,970
making this move.

1329
02:04:03,670 --> 02:04:09,770
The grand total of this project is $2,815,000.

1330
02:04:10,530 --> 02:04:14,810
That sounds insignificant when you think about

1331
02:04:14,810 --> 02:04:20,930
dollar budget. By moving money from one pot to another, there's no immediate tax

1332
02:04:20,930 --> 02:04:26,870
implication. But the base payroll will change as you consider the fiscal year,

1333
02:04:26,950 --> 02:04:34,210
2027 budget. The current published budget and my notes from last year's process indicate

1334
02:04:34,660 --> 02:04:42,860
that 1% per mill equals approximately $5.3 million in revenue. So the effect could be

1335
02:04:42,860 --> 02:04:49,820
An additional 1.5 cent per meal needed to cover this cost in fiscal year 2027.

1336
02:04:51,080 --> 02:04:54,760
That's before any merit increase is a lot for next year.

1337
02:04:55,980 --> 02:05:04,160
I ask that you keep in mind that most carry citizens who work for private employers haven't had a merit increase above 2% for years.

1338
02:05:05,180 --> 02:05:10,140
And those on fixed incomes have had some recent years with no adjustment at all.

1339
02:05:10,140 --> 02:05:16,700
Council should hold the line for now at 3% and limit any increase adopted now to frontline

1340
02:05:16,700 --> 02:05:23,480
employees and then review further increases as part of the fiscal year 2027 process.

1341
02:05:26,090 --> 02:05:27,470
Next speaker, please.

1342
02:05:34,610 --> 02:05:34,910
Good evening.

1343
02:05:35,350 --> 02:05:38,010
Mayor Council members, Madam Clerk.

1344
02:05:38,750 --> 02:05:43,670
I stand before you with deep humility and great gratitude for the Ramadan Proclamation

1345
02:05:43,670 --> 02:05:48,090
that we received at the beginning of this meeting.

1346
02:05:48,810 --> 02:05:51,810
I want to thank Councilman Bonsoir for her leadership on that.

1347
02:05:52,230 --> 02:05:55,110
28 days ago I stood before you.

1348
02:05:55,730 --> 02:06:01,670
And I had some remarks that was covered by multiple media outlets.

1349
02:06:02,790 --> 02:06:07,830
I stand here with an acute sense of the power of words and the impact that they have

1350
02:06:07,830 --> 02:06:14,760
and the different perspectives that words can change.

1351
02:06:15,940 --> 02:06:20,900
I was here, the last meeting for the entirety of this meeting.

1352
02:06:20,900 --> 02:06:24,120
I can't do that now, because you'll have your little niece there,

1353
02:06:25,020 --> 02:06:27,140
that does have a two hour delay tomorrow,

1354
02:06:27,900 --> 02:06:29,940
so I have to leave shortly after this.

1355
02:06:31,280 --> 02:06:35,520
I will be balanced and just,

1356
02:06:35,520 --> 02:06:46,460
And my statements, I have been grilling you all, if you want to say that, but I'm somebody who is somebody of justice and fairness.

1357
02:06:47,520 --> 02:06:56,680
And when I was here last meeting, I watched the specifically the Farrell Road zoning.

1358
02:06:57,920 --> 02:07:03,180
In each and every one of you starting with the mayor, you listened with an attentive ear.

1359
02:07:05,440 --> 02:07:14,840
You were empathetic to our residents that dealt with the fellow road zoning and it is my hope that

1360
02:07:14,840 --> 02:07:18,960
that same humanity that you showed when it's time for you to vote even though you haven't

1361
02:07:18,960 --> 02:07:27,600
voted on it yet, that you do not allow ambitious developers to come in on this private

1362
02:07:27,600 --> 02:07:34,780
property into certain families, it is sacred property to move in and create all of the problems

1363
02:07:34,780 --> 02:07:39,540
that was mentioned by the residents before. I hope that when the cameras is off the

1364
02:07:39,540 --> 02:07:48,700
that takes place. But with that being said, I was profoundly impressed by hope that carry

1365
02:07:48,700 --> 02:07:54,920
has with each and every one of you. And I know we don't mention names, but I was very impressed

1366
02:07:54,920 --> 02:08:02,780
with the interim and town manager, Mr. Overton, his knowledge, his death, the way he understood

1367
02:08:02,780 --> 02:08:09,120
it, and everyone, I was very impressed today. So I have to be just and say I was proud of that,

1368
02:08:09,120 --> 02:08:18,420
but I also want to say in closing, this community is still expecting transparency and accountability

1369
02:08:18,420 --> 02:08:20,700
And hopefully we can get that Ayyomata.

1370
02:08:23,190 --> 02:08:25,950
Next speaker for public speaks out.

1371
02:08:33,350 --> 02:08:35,970
Anyone else for public speaks out.

1372
02:08:36,930 --> 02:08:39,230
Saying no one I'll close public speak.

1373
02:08:41,870 --> 02:08:44,110
We now move to I'm for on the agenda,

1374
02:08:44,990 --> 02:08:46,310
which is the consent agenda.

1375
02:08:46,470 --> 02:08:48,370
Please keep in mind one.

1376
02:08:48,710 --> 02:08:50,330
Motion improves all of these items.

1377
02:08:50,710 --> 02:08:53,190
For those watching on video or streaming,

1378
02:08:53,470 --> 02:08:57,370
I'll take a moment to read these items on the consent agenda.

1379
02:08:57,370 --> 02:09:02,690
We have minutes, while not street parking deck, we have a lot of improvements, amendment proposal,

1380
02:09:03,970 --> 02:09:06,570
adjustment to the adopted meeting schedule.

1381
02:09:07,730 --> 02:09:11,350
I know we have a council member that would like to speak to one of these, but I would entertain

1382
02:09:11,350 --> 02:09:13,430
a motion to,

1383
02:09:16,020 --> 02:09:19,200
I would entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda.

1384
02:09:19,860 --> 02:09:21,420
No, I'll move the way approved, a second.

1385
02:09:21,940 --> 02:09:23,140
It's a motion in a second.

1386
02:09:23,240 --> 02:09:24,640
I know we move to discussion.

1387
02:09:24,920 --> 02:09:29,920
I was reading notes while I pause, and I know Ms. Wong wanted to speak to one of the issues.

1388
02:09:29,920 --> 02:09:37,080
Thank you, Mayor. I'd like to begin by thanking the residents who reach out to the council

1389
02:09:37,080 --> 02:09:43,220
regarding the WONO Street parking lot item. Ask that we recap the entire process and we

1390
02:09:43,220 --> 02:09:50,000
listen to our people's voices and we value your input. Transparency is important to us. That's

1391
02:09:50,000 --> 02:09:57,680
why I want to take a moment to walk through everything. Beginning October 23, while the town

1392
02:09:57,680 --> 02:10:03,580
as repairing the Wona Street parking deck. We constructed a temporary gravel lot to support

1393
02:10:03,580 --> 02:10:09,920
overflow parking and construction vehicles. This property is owned by Academy Park,

1394
02:10:10,000 --> 02:10:15,220
Commercial ILC and the lot was always intended to be temporary until the property owner

1395
02:10:15,220 --> 02:10:21,940
begins construction on its project. So that means we're using someone else's property for the parking.

1396
02:10:21,940 --> 02:10:42,800
Under the downtown development project agreement approved by the Council on June 26, 2025, the town is permitted to continue using this gravel lot until construction on the new building begins, but only if we make certain visual and safety improvements such as sensing and landscaping.

1397
02:10:42,800 --> 02:10:55,360
If we decided not to make those improvements, the agreement requires that the lot be removed and returned to the grass by September 11, 2026.

1398
02:10:56,600 --> 02:11:06,220
Then on January 8th, the council was presented with two options, one is for $125,000 for the improvement to the gravel lot.

1399
02:11:06,220 --> 02:11:12,240
the other is $20,000 to remove the gravel lot and return to grass.

1400
02:11:13,060 --> 02:11:16,540
At that time, the consensus was that maintaining the parking lot

1401
02:11:16,540 --> 02:11:19,000
because it would benefit our citizens.

1402
02:11:20,240 --> 02:11:26,280
However, our councilwoman congencin raised important questions about the cost,

1403
02:11:26,800 --> 02:11:28,960
which prompted us to take another look.

1404
02:11:29,600 --> 02:11:32,300
And then we asked the staff to revisit the proposal

1405
02:11:32,300 --> 02:11:37,080
and ensure that any improvements still meet ADA requirements

1406
02:11:37,080 --> 02:11:40,560
and find a more cost effective solution.

1407
02:11:41,660 --> 02:11:43,470
Our staff did exactly that.

1408
02:11:44,040 --> 02:11:46,760
They brought back a significant improve option,

1409
02:11:47,080 --> 02:11:51,160
which is 75,000 for the necessary upgrades.

1410
02:11:52,040 --> 02:11:56,060
And this is 5,000 more than returning the log to grass.

1411
02:11:56,060 --> 02:12:02,240
And it preserves much needed parking for residents and businesses and visitors.

1412
02:12:03,900 --> 02:12:06,980
Please let me know if anything has been incorrect.

1413
02:12:07,560 --> 02:12:08,720
I would love to share that.

1414
02:12:08,820 --> 02:12:10,780
I drive to the downtown every day.

1415
02:12:11,200 --> 02:12:16,260
I saw that parking lot is always full, which is 100% using.

1416
02:12:17,660 --> 02:12:18,460
Thank you, Ms. Wong.

1417
02:12:18,700 --> 02:12:19,940
I would just add to that.

1418
02:12:19,980 --> 02:12:21,660
This is just my point of view.

1419
02:12:21,660 --> 02:12:28,980
I think staff originally thought, because the worst case scenario it years before something would be built there,

1420
02:12:29,500 --> 02:12:34,760
they were treating it sort of as semi-perminent and we had built to the carry standards.

1421
02:12:35,320 --> 02:12:40,340
And that's why we got the 125 proposal and Council said, you know what?

1422
02:12:40,500 --> 02:12:42,620
It's temporary but it's permanent.

1423
02:12:43,340 --> 02:12:46,700
So yeah, let's move more toward the temporary and spend less.

1424
02:12:47,040 --> 02:12:48,340
And that's what happened.

1425
02:12:48,340 --> 02:12:52,320
It's not that staff just threw out a number and that was crazy.

1426
02:12:52,800 --> 02:12:57,360
They were meeting our standards, just wanted to point that out.

1427
02:12:57,700 --> 02:12:59,080
So thank you for bringing that back.

1428
02:12:59,640 --> 02:13:00,200
Thank you, sir.

1429
02:13:00,320 --> 02:13:01,920
Any other comments?

1430
02:13:02,160 --> 02:13:03,260
We have a motion on the table.

1431
02:13:03,420 --> 02:13:04,660
All in favor, please say aye.

1432
02:13:05,380 --> 02:13:06,000
Any opposed?

1433
02:13:06,160 --> 02:13:07,460
Motion carries unanimously.

1434
02:13:08,760 --> 02:13:09,260
All right.

1435
02:13:10,400 --> 02:13:14,180
There are no public hearings, so we now move to discussion.

1436
02:13:14,180 --> 02:13:25,200
We have fiscal year 2026 budget adjustment budget again, no budget adjustment to restore funding to the employee merit program our interim town manager

1437
02:13:25,200 --> 02:13:29,960
Russ overdone will present the item and council may take action Mr. overdone.

1438
02:13:30,400 --> 02:13:36,140
Thank you, Mayor and council. As we now know this year, our merit program was underfunded compared to prior years.

1439
02:13:36,140 --> 02:13:47,240
Tonight, I would detail a request to restore funding to our employee merit program to match the rate of the prior budget year 2020 FY 2025 at 5%.

1440
02:13:49,290 --> 02:13:56,850
It's fitting that tonight we recognize the efforts of our staff that went above and beyond to work last two weekends for the winter storms.

1441
02:13:56,850 --> 02:14:13,410
Holding true to our statement of values that employees are our most important resource, and part of really carries DNA and having a high-performing workforce who deliver exceptional services to our citizens so much so that 66% of our general fund expenditures are for personnel.

1442
02:14:16,970 --> 02:14:23,030
Staffing was not added in the last two budgets, and during current year budget, we also now know that

1443
02:14:23,030 --> 02:14:25,530
29 positions were actually unfunded.

1444
02:14:25,610 --> 02:14:31,230
Further lowering are staffed to sit at some ratio, which are lower than many in the state

1445
02:14:31,230 --> 02:14:35,610
and further straining resources as the community continues to grow.

1446
02:14:38,010 --> 02:14:42,730
Carry utilizes a pay for performance policy that rewards the highest performing staff.

1447
02:14:42,730 --> 02:14:48,190
This policy has served us well and at the same time hasn't been evaluated in over 10 years

1448
02:14:48,190 --> 02:14:56,010
So also part of this. I'm asked. I've asked for a group of staff to reevaluate this policy and determine if any changes are recommended

1449
02:14:56,790 --> 02:14:59,970
Which if they are then would come back to council for review

1450
02:15:00,000 --> 02:15:02,100
Prior to the end of this fiscal year.

1451
02:15:04,510 --> 02:15:22,470
In order to fund this merit increase, staff is proposing to reallocate existing appropriated funding in the current year's budget. To be clear, that means no additional taxes, fees or other new appropriations to the current adopted FY2026 budget.

1452
02:15:22,470 --> 02:15:26,610
And now that we're just passed the midpoint of this budget year, we are well positioned

1453
02:15:26,610 --> 02:15:32,410
to assess where we can reallocate funding with the least disruption to operation and services

1454
02:15:32,410 --> 02:15:34,090
to fully fund our merit program.

1455
02:15:34,490 --> 02:15:37,250
Again, this is a reallocation to existing resources.

1456
02:15:38,070 --> 02:15:43,510
And in that, and as the table shows, 500,000 is proposed to come from contract services from

1457
02:15:43,510 --> 02:15:51,030
the Town Manager's office, $450,000 from your mid-year appropriation monies, traveling training

1458
02:15:51,030 --> 02:15:55,970
at $250,000 reduction in a reallocation of the Found Manager's office.

1459
02:15:56,470 --> 02:16:03,330
Historic Preservation of a study that is not planned to be performed this year of $200,000.

1460
02:16:04,250 --> 02:16:09,150
Contract Services in Parks and Recreation Reallocation of $200,000 solid waste, contract

1461
02:16:09,150 --> 02:16:16,530
and services reallocation of $150,000 and a utility fund remote water infrastructure division

1462
02:16:16,530 --> 02:16:28,930
of $280,000 in parts funding from the fleet department at $35,000 as well as a $750,000 transfer

1463
02:16:28,930 --> 02:16:31,450
to the general fund from the utility fund.

1464
02:16:34,440 --> 02:16:35,020
In detailing,

1465
02:16:39,810 --> 02:16:41,250
I'll see this.

1466
02:16:42,590 --> 02:16:46,570
This is a summary of your mid-year appropriations today, and it includes the action you just

1467
02:16:46,570 --> 02:16:50,830
took for the Walnut Street gravel parking lot, as well as what would be the merit adjustment

1468
02:16:50,830 --> 02:17:01,290
So I just want to keep this chart going to be show the balance of the mid-year appropriation funding that was a million dollars and you currently have a hundred and eighty five thousand dollar balance

1469
02:17:02,670 --> 02:17:07,270
So with that staff recommends that the council recognized and appropriate

1470
02:17:07,270 --> 02:17:16,430
$750,000 of miscellaneous utility revenue to cover an additional indirect cost reimbursement from the utility fund to the general fund and

1471
02:17:16,430 --> 02:17:22,970
Additionally, that Council reallocate $1.7 million from the general fund as earlier discussed

1472
02:17:22,970 --> 02:17:29,870
and $280,000 from the utility fund and $35,000 from the free fleet fund to increase

1473
02:17:29,870 --> 02:17:36,290
the fiscal year, 2026 pay for performance and police compensation program budget from an average

1474
02:17:36,290 --> 02:17:40,550
3% to a 5% award and with that, I'll answer any questions.

1475
02:17:42,050 --> 02:17:51,750
I'll start off by saying that carry staff is the best of the best and I'll stand up to anybody anywhere until them that.

1476
02:17:52,170 --> 02:17:53,390
I honestly believe that.

1477
02:17:53,690 --> 02:18:01,470
And I work for a man for 29 years and he had a saying, my biggest asset walks out the door every day of five o'clock.

1478
02:18:01,710 --> 02:18:03,750
And that's what I think about the carry staff.

1479
02:18:04,410 --> 02:18:05,650
They go home every day.

1480
02:18:05,770 --> 02:18:07,210
That's carry's biggest asset.

1481
02:18:07,850 --> 02:18:09,610
That's why we're the best of the best.

1482
02:18:09,610 --> 02:18:15,950
Just to give you a clue, carry gets recognized annually each year.

1483
02:18:16,590 --> 02:18:21,390
This year, there are 40 awards that I talk about in the State of Carrier Dress.

1484
02:18:21,810 --> 02:18:28,010
That's not from the people sitting at the table, that's because of our staff, that's because

1485
02:18:28,010 --> 02:18:29,650
they're that good.

1486
02:18:30,410 --> 02:18:36,350
And if we want to keep the best of the best, we've got to step up and take care of the best

1487
02:18:36,350 --> 02:18:36,850
of the best.

1488
02:18:36,850 --> 02:18:39,990
Now, I can also tell you from a business perspective.

1489
02:18:40,670 --> 02:18:43,150
When you have high turnover rate and less retention,

1490
02:18:43,690 --> 02:18:45,990
you're onboarding time, cost money,

1491
02:18:46,510 --> 02:18:50,110
and you're actually losing money by spending less

1492
02:18:50,110 --> 02:18:51,530
if there's a lot of turnover.

1493
02:18:52,210 --> 02:18:53,610
So it's important for retention,

1494
02:18:53,830 --> 02:18:57,350
and our think our retention is low for the field

1495
02:18:58,230 --> 02:19:01,310
that government work, we're pretty low.

1496
02:19:01,990 --> 02:19:04,990
And so to have the best of the best,

1497
02:19:04,990 --> 02:19:07,230
And take care, I'm just make sense.

1498
02:19:07,890 --> 02:19:09,630
And if you go, I don't know.

1499
02:19:09,910 --> 02:19:12,570
We're not really efficient by doing that.

1500
02:19:12,930 --> 02:19:14,930
Well, Kerry, somebody mentioned that earlier

1501
02:19:14,930 --> 02:19:18,210
has less than seven employees per thousand residents.

1502
02:19:18,950 --> 02:19:22,850
There is nobody around us that comes close to that.

1503
02:19:22,990 --> 02:19:25,290
I think rallies may be seven and a half.

1504
02:19:26,530 --> 02:19:28,790
But so they're doing a lot with less.

1505
02:19:29,150 --> 02:19:34,310
And now with the extra work pounded on them by the public records request.

1506
02:19:34,310 --> 02:19:37,170
It's just unreal and the storms they have to deal with.

1507
02:19:37,650 --> 02:19:43,030
So to me, this is the no-brainer, especially when you're talking about reallocation of funds.

1508
02:19:43,890 --> 02:19:48,470
And some of those things will disappear, but a lot of those things will come up in next year's budget discussions.

1509
02:19:48,930 --> 02:19:50,490
So we'll discuss that again.

1510
02:19:51,490 --> 02:19:57,950
But I was really impressed by a total of $750,000 coming from the manager's office.

1511
02:19:58,310 --> 02:20:00,230
That was very impressive to me.

1512
02:20:00,230 --> 02:20:06,530
That's like putting your money where your mouth is, if you believe in your employees, you're going to step up and do that.

1513
02:20:06,610 --> 02:20:13,870
And so I love that part of the presentation and that part of how do we pay for this?

1514
02:20:14,350 --> 02:20:17,890
But it's to me, it's no brainer than if you're going to have the best of the best.

1515
02:20:17,910 --> 02:20:19,470
You've got to take care of the best of the best.

1516
02:20:19,670 --> 02:20:21,130
And Carrie has the best of the best.

1517
02:20:23,320 --> 02:20:24,160
I said a lot.

1518
02:20:24,160 --> 02:20:32,100
you said it well. I do have some strong opinions here of myself really. If I could share an

1519
02:20:32,100 --> 02:20:38,200
next I'd appreciate that because when things started going awry for this council and

1520
02:20:38,200 --> 02:20:46,400
our staff in November, one of the, you know, we were reacting to a lot of very negative

1521
02:20:46,400 --> 02:20:52,960
information coming at us very quickly. But I got to thank, I've got to thank Res.

1522
02:20:52,960 --> 02:20:58,640
for his leadership in others, especially in the town manager's office because while we were trying

1523
02:21:00,140 --> 02:21:05,220
to work kind of caught on our back foot sometimes as far as like what do we do first and whatever

1524
02:21:05,220 --> 02:21:09,660
so we were really trying to get a handle on things and he says yeah and we've got a you guys made

1525
02:21:09,660 --> 02:21:17,920
a mistake with the the production in the merit pool and as soon as he said it I realized I made a

1526
02:21:17,920 --> 02:21:25,760
very, very dumb mistake myself, because when we were told staffs on board and you can reduce

1527
02:21:25,760 --> 02:21:31,380
it and everything's okay, I cannot blame that on bad information being given to me because

1528
02:21:31,380 --> 02:21:39,120
I know better. I got a cost of living race last year. I got a handsome merit race. I think

1529
02:21:39,120 --> 02:21:43,660
at one point I came in saying, oh my God, I got a race I didn't even ask for. And that is

1530
02:21:43,660 --> 02:21:52,640
absolute, just such a lack of paying attention to what's going around me on my part.

1531
02:21:52,640 --> 02:21:56,020
I want to personally apologize for staff for that.

1532
02:21:56,700 --> 02:22:00,840
It shouldn't have taken what you said to make me see that.

1533
02:22:01,520 --> 02:22:05,880
That of all the things that we were trying to do to keep our tax increases low as humanly possible.

1534
02:22:06,260 --> 02:22:08,480
Touching staff patient have been one of those things.

1535
02:22:08,860 --> 02:22:10,380
And for that, I really do apologize.

1536
02:22:10,380 --> 02:22:16,800
That being said, one of the things I ran on the first time and then again, this time is affordability.

1537
02:22:18,080 --> 02:22:24,420
And I feel very strongly that, especially, we'll call them, rank and file.

1538
02:22:25,120 --> 02:22:27,220
I've been rank and file most of my adult life.

1539
02:22:27,260 --> 02:22:33,320
I absolutely know what it's like to have a car repair derail your entire financial health or wondering,

1540
02:22:34,920 --> 02:22:37,920
can I really afford this house setting where should I move in with my friend Amy?

1541
02:22:37,920 --> 02:22:43,220
That kind of, that this is not, you know, 30 years ago for me, this is 15 years ago for me.

1542
02:22:43,560 --> 02:23:02,720
So I do understand the struggles and I think here in Carey, we have a new stat, we have a new council and I think we have an opportunity to revisit how we approach pay in general because I believe that we should be paying every single one of our staff members a livable wage for Carey.

1543
02:23:04,000 --> 02:23:07,020
That's my opinion, actually, that's the hell I'll die on.

1544
02:23:07,280 --> 02:23:08,860
No one can change my opinion on that.

1545
02:23:08,920 --> 02:23:14,120
And I think that this is an opportunity for us to start moving in a direction where we

1546
02:23:14,120 --> 02:23:19,600
can all feel really good about the fact that we are setting what I would call a very good

1547
02:23:19,600 --> 02:23:21,400
example for other employers here in carry.

1548
02:23:22,280 --> 02:23:28,460
I have spoken to quite a few residents about this and I've had one person tell me, well,

1549
02:23:28,760 --> 02:23:30,160
you know, they make enough.

1550
02:23:30,160 --> 02:23:32,260
if it's, you know, whatever everybody understands

1551
02:23:32,260 --> 02:23:35,480
that affordability is incredibly problematic right now.

1552
02:23:35,860 --> 02:23:39,160
I do understand that that has ongoing tax implications.

1553
02:23:39,840 --> 02:23:41,120
I do read the budget.

1554
02:23:41,180 --> 02:23:44,960
I do understand the piece of that pie that our staff salaries

1555
02:23:45,550 --> 02:23:50,420
takes up on our budget and I'm okay with that.

1556
02:23:50,480 --> 02:23:52,680
I just want, for me it's a values judgment.

1557
02:23:53,520 --> 02:23:58,390
And for me, again, I won't make the same mistake twice on this.

1558
02:23:58,390 --> 02:24:21,330
I'll make all kinds of mistakes, but this is not a mistake, I'll make again, and then I just wanted to just go on record with, you know, how I really see the entire topic of how we pay our staff and culturally, I would love to be able to get the ball rolling on that being a really core piece of the culture as we reexamine absolutely everything here in the ton of carry.

1559
02:24:22,470 --> 02:24:29,790
So, I want to piggyback on that, and I'll share some more information on what Councilman

1560
02:24:29,790 --> 02:24:33,830
Conjonson said and give her some credit, but she's not giving it to herself.

1561
02:24:34,710 --> 02:24:39,090
But this conversation kind of, and I want everybody to have context about this.

1562
02:24:40,130 --> 02:24:45,750
This conversation was really between Council, during one-on-one discussions, and Shon's

1563
02:24:45,750 --> 02:24:52,890
people who was our town manager back then. And the conversation was, how do we have a balancing act?

1564
02:24:53,370 --> 02:25:00,230
How do we make sure that the taxes are not, we don't have to go to a three cents up and give enough

1565
02:25:01,330 --> 02:25:09,230
merit increase to the staff so that we can balance both sides well. With the given information that we

1566
02:25:09,230 --> 02:25:19,190
at that time. It was proposed that from 5% to 3% could be fine. Yes, spoken to the staff members

1567
02:25:19,190 --> 02:25:26,310
and for this year we can stabilize things that would be better. And then in future we can

1568
02:25:26,310 --> 02:25:31,990
start identifying areas for opportunities where we can get down caused and we can find those,

1569
02:25:31,990 --> 02:25:36,570
you know the money and you know reallocate funds.

1570
02:25:38,870 --> 02:25:43,430
I was told, and I don't know, I didn't confirm with anyone of you,

1571
02:25:43,750 --> 02:25:49,490
but Councilwoman Conjonson and especially Councilwoman Craig were the two who said,

1572
02:25:49,830 --> 02:25:55,430
who were very hesitant with this move and how Mayor Harold.

1573
02:25:55,430 --> 02:26:02,030
Um, and I think, um, they were very hesitant with this move because, um, especially, I remember

1574
02:26:02,030 --> 02:26:08,090
having conversation about councilwoman Craig, and she kept saying that, you know, my heart

1575
02:26:08,090 --> 02:26:14,010
does not agree to this, and you know, are you okay with the staff is fine and if it is

1576
02:26:14,010 --> 02:26:19,990
okay with just 3% but, you know, please let them know that and I'm coding you, I'm sorry, but

1577
02:26:19,990 --> 02:26:23,330
So this is what I know about your conversation.

1578
02:26:24,250 --> 02:26:28,910
And I felt that there was a gentleman, there was some

1579
02:26:28,910 --> 02:26:33,210
gentleness, like everybody cared, we did care about the staff,

1580
02:26:33,450 --> 02:26:35,530
and we did care about how the tax implication

1581
02:26:35,530 --> 02:26:38,310
is going to be on the residents because of the affordability

1582
02:26:38,310 --> 02:26:38,750
factor.

1583
02:26:39,190 --> 02:26:41,150
So we were torn on both sides.

1584
02:26:42,410 --> 02:26:45,990
And when the conversation kind of, a lot of things

1585
02:26:45,990 --> 02:26:49,490
started coming out, and there was so much information

1586
02:26:49,490 --> 02:26:55,530
out there we sat down with us and you know who actually gave us the true picture of where the

1587
02:26:55,530 --> 02:27:02,310
financials are and we started talking about the merit increase. We were supposed to bring this

1588
02:27:02,310 --> 02:27:08,130
conversation in December or maybe January. December 1st and then we made it to January.

1589
02:27:08,190 --> 02:27:19,470
Yeah, so but then I said let's slow this down, slow the process down and let's identify where the

1590
02:27:19,470 --> 02:27:28,210
And that way, the council will have enough time to ask questions and think through everything without

1591
02:27:28,210 --> 02:27:29,750
listening into any decision.

1592
02:27:30,870 --> 02:27:33,610
So I want this to have to know that you're very appreciated.

1593
02:27:33,830 --> 02:27:41,670
Everything that you do is, you know, like Mary said, we are very proud of that we are part

1594
02:27:41,670 --> 02:27:49,310
of this organization, but we also want the residents to know that we care and we were very

1595
02:27:49,310 --> 02:27:55,810
a full about how to move forward but we had only sort of a limited information to work with.

1596
02:27:56,930 --> 02:28:02,310
So, I think with the given information that we have today and I know someone mentioned about,

1597
02:28:02,890 --> 02:28:07,230
you know, how private corporation works where people don't have merit increase.

1598
02:28:08,350 --> 02:28:14,570
But private is very different from public sector and the kind of work and the hours that public,

1599
02:28:17,190 --> 02:28:24,390
downstaff puts in is far more than private. So the expectations are different, life is

1600
02:28:24,390 --> 02:28:29,090
different and the work is very good out different. I can say this because I worked in private

1601
02:28:29,090 --> 02:28:36,670
sector pretty much all my life. I do feel that looking at where how you manage the budget

1602
02:28:36,670 --> 02:28:45,530
us commendable, because you cared for the people who work for you, and I have to say that

1603
02:28:45,530 --> 02:28:51,650
we gave him a hard time about where the funds are going to be from, how we're going to manage this,

1604
02:28:51,670 --> 02:29:00,130
but he made it happen. And thank you for being that person, because that's exactly what is needed

1605
02:29:00,130 --> 02:29:05,450
today. I understand a lot of residents have their hesitation and you know a lot of

1606
02:29:05,450 --> 02:29:07,290
you probably are thinking what are we doing?

1607
02:29:08,350 --> 02:29:09,730
But this is intentional.

1608
02:29:10,270 --> 02:29:12,350
There was a lot of thought that went into this.

1609
02:29:12,710 --> 02:29:15,790
And at this point, we really need to move forward

1610
02:29:15,790 --> 02:29:16,850
with a lot of care.

1611
02:29:17,150 --> 02:29:20,530
And I know that for us, you have put that emotion

1612
02:29:20,530 --> 02:29:23,530
and you're hard into it to make this happen for this staff.

1613
02:29:23,930 --> 02:29:25,150
So thank you for your leadership.

1614
02:29:25,530 --> 02:29:25,850
Thank you.

1615
02:29:27,710 --> 02:29:30,010
I also would love to weigh in.

1616
02:29:30,510 --> 02:29:32,710
So public, I believe our public sector

1617
02:29:34,530 --> 02:29:37,980
and I also want to explain why.

1618
02:29:39,030 --> 02:29:43,190
First off, a national surveys have already shown

1619
02:29:43,190 --> 02:29:47,090
that public servants make about 15 to 20% less

1620
02:29:47,090 --> 02:29:50,010
than their private sector comparisons.

1621
02:29:50,910 --> 02:29:56,370
So they're already getting a smaller salary base.

1622
02:29:57,450 --> 02:29:59,650
But that comparable private sector workers,

1623
02:29:59,650 --> 02:29:59,970
There's...

1624
02:30:00,000 --> 02:30:06,940
They have the same education and experience and they're getting more money. So asking our public

1625
02:30:06,940 --> 02:30:15,680
servants to accept or reduced or stagnant merit increase on top of that already deepens the pay

1626
02:30:15,680 --> 02:30:22,000
penalty that they have. Now let's all be honest, public servants do it for the passion, but they

1627
02:30:22,000 --> 02:30:29,980
also still have to have a livable wage and we want them to be able to afford to live in the

1628
02:30:29,980 --> 02:30:34,600
And merit pay is just one of the tools that we have to recognize strong performance and reward

1629
02:30:34,600 --> 02:30:40,420
people like all of the best of the best, as you say, who go above and beyond and keep,

1630
02:30:40,640 --> 02:30:46,000
and we want to keep those experienced professionals here and keep them from being pulled

1631
02:30:46,000 --> 02:30:48,940
away to higher pain, private, employers.

1632
02:30:49,960 --> 02:30:55,240
But for me, and more importantly, this adjustment is about writing a wrong.

1633
02:30:55,240 --> 02:31:09,200
As you probably can tell there was a miscommunication between what we understood staff's recommendation was and what staff believed our recommendation was.

1634
02:31:09,400 --> 02:31:24,440
Council previously acted under information that didn't reflect staff's recommendation or the realities of what the labor market really are and our employees shouldn't bear the consequences of that miscommunication.

1635
02:31:24,440 --> 02:31:43,860
We're storing the merit pay increase really corrects that earlier decision and I'm glad our conversations, our group conversations have brought that back and it also honors the commitment that we intend that we say every day at this day it's about the best of the best.

1636
02:31:43,860 --> 02:31:55,620
It sends a clear message to our employees that when we see something is wrong and unfair, we fix it in the open and on the record.

1637
02:31:56,960 --> 02:32:01,900
So I absolutely support where we are with this record staffer.

1638
02:32:03,180 --> 02:32:04,180
Other comments?

1639
02:32:04,580 --> 02:32:07,340
I know we're being very repetitive at this point.

1640
02:32:10,520 --> 02:32:15,480
this absolutely weren't being repetitive because staff needs to hear from

1641
02:32:15,480 --> 02:32:16,980
every one of us.

1642
02:32:19,120 --> 02:32:22,020
Our thoughts on this. I'm not going to speak for everybody

1643
02:32:22,020 --> 02:32:27,440
because I don't know how everybody's voting. I've hear the comments, but from

1644
02:32:27,440 --> 02:32:34,740
me personally you need to hear that I'm animistic and to reiterate what's been

1645
02:32:34,740 --> 02:32:43,860
said, I believe it's safe to say, others have said they do the miscommunication is where

1646
02:32:43,860 --> 02:32:49,900
we landed here. As someone who works in a profession that has absolutely not been adequately

1647
02:32:49,900 --> 02:32:57,340
compensated for their professionalism and everything they give to the community, I knew

1648
02:32:57,340 --> 02:33:01,980
better. As Sureka said, I knew what I'm at gut,

1649
02:33:04,970 --> 02:33:08,910
and I didn't question enough. I absolutely

1650
02:33:09,600 --> 02:33:17,490
should have gone to staff. And I remember hearing the recommendation on the 101, and then

1651
02:33:17,490 --> 02:33:25,270
at another time, and literally I'm sure my mouth must have dropped open. And I should have

1652
02:33:25,270 --> 02:33:32,250
better and, as has been stated, we have to, in my opinion, we have to correct the mistake that

1653
02:33:32,250 --> 02:33:44,190
we made and at a time when our auditor is saying, it's suggesting that we consider anti-retaliation

1654
02:33:44,190 --> 02:33:48,970
protections, whistle blowing, protections.

1655
02:33:51,170 --> 02:33:57,670
We, I think we can understand how this miscommunication

1656
02:33:57,670 --> 02:34:06,910
came to be and now it's time to take action. I also want to say that it is unfortunate that a lot of

1657
02:34:06,910 --> 02:34:14,570
people in the community are not getting merit increases, but that doesn't mean that we act in

1658
02:34:14,570 --> 02:34:24,310
the same way. It means that we step up and we bleed. I'm happy overall that our theme

1659
02:34:24,310 --> 02:34:31,710
of the evening seems to be that there's a lot to be reevaluated for the future in all

1660
02:34:31,710 --> 02:34:40,530
policies, and also wanted to point out that it's written in the staff report, in my case,

1661
02:34:40,810 --> 02:34:46,890
everybody watching has it read all of the staff reports and everything, that these reallocation

1662
02:34:46,890 --> 02:34:55,090
of funds that we're looking at here do not, it's not a lack of support for particular programs

1663
02:34:55,090 --> 02:35:04,250
or whatever. For example, his door preservation is listed in here. As soon as I saw it, I said,

1664
02:35:04,370 --> 02:35:09,250
I'm not going to make a mistake that I did prior. I went straight to my board and said,

1665
02:35:10,930 --> 02:35:17,630
there's been some discussion about possibly taking $200,000 out of his door preservation fund for

1666
02:35:17,630 --> 02:35:25,070
the master plan. We had a conversation, we had a conversation with the community board and the

1667
02:35:26,130 --> 02:35:30,410
just to make sure everybody understands so that they're not sitting and they're

1668
02:35:30,410 --> 02:35:33,570
not listening to a meeting and saying oh my goodness like you're just

1669
02:35:33,570 --> 02:35:38,970
taking out money and so that it's clearly written in here that the intention is

1670
02:35:38,970 --> 02:35:45,010
for in the future to ask for that money back again this is a year where we're

1671
02:35:45,010 --> 02:35:49,510
not ready to use that money so it's an appropriate action and I'm sure they're

1672
02:35:49,510 --> 02:35:53,870
stories for other areas. So I had obviously had a lot to say tonight.

1673
02:35:56,030 --> 02:35:58,710
But this is an opportunity

1674
02:35:58,710 --> 02:36:05,890
to do something that we should have done last year. Any other thoughts?

1675
02:36:07,070 --> 02:36:14,970
I'd like to commend my colleagues who made this previous decision and now feel that you have

1676
02:36:14,970 --> 02:36:21,470
opportunity to write a wrong and you've spoken so eloquently about standing up to do the right

1677
02:36:21,470 --> 02:36:29,230
thing. So thank you for that. I also hold our staff in highest esteem. So I think we have consensus

1678
02:36:29,230 --> 02:36:36,070
there. I think it could be natural at this time of increased scrutiny for residents to say,

1679
02:36:36,070 --> 02:36:46,670
is this really the time to be rewarding employees and I think in one regard what has happened with our

1680
02:36:46,670 --> 02:36:54,770
town manager isn't pertinent in that you know this was a previous decision this is restoring our

1681
02:36:54,770 --> 02:37:02,070
merit pay as it had been. But in some ways I think it is especially relevant that at this time

1682
02:37:02,070 --> 02:37:05,730
of our employees working under some dearest.

1683
02:37:06,130 --> 02:37:09,130
And I think it's fair to say, even before our employee survey,

1684
02:37:09,670 --> 02:37:12,070
anecdotally, we can hear of low morale

1685
02:37:12,070 --> 02:37:16,190
that this is a way for us to publicly and literally

1686
02:37:16,700 --> 02:37:20,530
put our money where our mouth is to show our appreciation

1687
02:37:20,530 --> 02:37:23,710
for the staff, especially during such a difficult moment.

1688
02:37:24,590 --> 02:37:27,850
I also want to say, for the benefit of residents listening,

1689
02:37:28,390 --> 02:37:30,190
we've had robust conversations

1690
02:37:30,190 --> 02:37:38,650
about how to do this as fairly as possible, even looking at other ways to compensate employees

1691
02:37:38,650 --> 02:37:46,330
at this moment. And we landed on this decision because this is looking back retroactively

1692
02:37:46,330 --> 02:37:53,050
that it makes the most sense to use the current rubric we already have in place, which

1693
02:37:53,050 --> 02:38:00,590
Russ, I think it's fair to say is fairly complicated, is not easy to distill exactly who gets

1694
02:38:00,590 --> 02:38:07,990
compensated how much in which ways. And so for now, we were going to use that existing rubric

1695
02:38:07,990 --> 02:38:14,730
to, as Mayor Protem said, write this wrong. But I appreciate in your presentation, you noting that

1696
02:38:14,730 --> 02:38:21,430
this is yet another opportunity for us to reevaluate going forward. So this is sort of looking backward

1697
02:38:21,430 --> 02:38:28,570
And so we're going to use the best tool that are disposal now and have an opportunity to perhaps refine that tool going forward.

1698
02:38:30,730 --> 02:38:31,410
My turn.

1699
02:38:33,210 --> 02:38:34,890
Thank you everyone for your input.

1700
02:38:34,890 --> 02:38:37,690
It's really a moving moment.

1701
02:38:38,630 --> 02:38:42,910
I would love to share my personal experience because small business owner.

1702
02:38:44,690 --> 02:38:49,230
And AFA staff is employees not satisfied with their salary.

1703
02:38:49,390 --> 02:38:51,790
They would just come to us and say, I want to raise.

1704
02:38:51,790 --> 02:38:57,070
But as far as I know, you never received that message before, right?

1705
02:38:57,930 --> 02:39:05,850
So that means our staff is pretty, like under the hat of the A-plast team or the best of the best,

1706
02:39:06,190 --> 02:39:12,290
so they have the passion to serve our community to remain that reputation.

1707
02:39:12,950 --> 02:39:17,570
Even though they feel the pressure of the living cost is increasing,

1708
02:39:17,570 --> 02:39:28,790
And especially, I appreciate your 75,000 from your top managers office because if I was thinking

1709
02:39:28,790 --> 02:39:33,590
my when I grew up, my mom doesn't have enough money, I would think, I'll have to

1710
02:39:33,590 --> 02:39:35,130
save someone and spend on something.

1711
02:39:35,830 --> 02:39:41,530
So you're like this feeling, you feel our budget is tight and you don't want to spend more

1712
02:39:41,530 --> 02:39:46,010
and just use your office money to benefit our staff.

1713
02:39:46,290 --> 02:39:50,570
And I appreciate that and absolutely I feel this is

1714
02:39:50,570 --> 02:39:55,510
that the merit program needs to be a 5% and move forward

1715
02:39:55,510 --> 02:39:59,690
and appreciation for our staff hard work.

1716
02:40:00,150 --> 02:40:03,430
And especially before last year, I was a citizen.

1717
02:40:04,310 --> 02:40:06,830
And I feel whenever I talk to any staff,

1718
02:40:07,310 --> 02:40:10,090
their face is always a smile.

1719
02:40:10,090 --> 02:40:17,010
like the high standards service that makes me feel really lucky to live in carry.

1720
02:40:17,430 --> 02:40:18,230
Thank you so much.

1721
02:40:19,290 --> 02:40:22,010
I also want to acknowledge a few more people, Mayor.

1722
02:40:23,270 --> 02:40:30,530
Danowid Mar, Susan Scott, Ginny, for your leadership,

1723
02:40:31,090 --> 02:40:35,550
because I know you have been the biggest advocate for the staff and you,

1724
02:40:35,550 --> 02:40:42,850
you all your entire team worked way hard in finding money from different buckets and trying

1725
02:40:42,850 --> 02:40:45,850
to come up with a perfect case scenario for us.

1726
02:40:46,170 --> 02:40:50,070
Thank you so much for putting in all this hours.

1727
02:40:50,870 --> 02:40:51,510
Thank you.

1728
02:40:51,650 --> 02:40:54,070
Are we ready for motion motion?

1729
02:40:55,250 --> 02:40:55,930
Yeah.

1730
02:40:56,570 --> 02:40:57,410
That's right.

1731
02:40:57,750 --> 02:40:58,450
No, no, no, no.

1732
02:40:58,450 --> 02:40:58,630
I'm not.

1733
02:40:58,630 --> 02:40:58,730
I'm not.

1734
02:41:00,290 --> 02:41:00,630
Okay.

1735
02:41:04,170 --> 02:41:05,130
You got this.

1736
02:41:06,570 --> 02:41:09,570
Laura is sitting next to me, that's very, very good.

1737
02:41:11,310 --> 02:41:18,810
So up at the motion to go by staff recommendation that Council recognize and appropriate

1738
02:41:18,810 --> 02:41:25,850
750,000 of miscellaneous utility revenue to govern additional indirect cost reimbursement

1739
02:41:25,850 --> 02:41:32,270
from the utility fund to the general fund additionally that Council reallocate 1.5, 1.75 million

1740
02:41:32,270 --> 02:41:41,390
from the general fund $280,000 from the utility fund and $35,000 from the feed fund to increase

1741
02:41:41,390 --> 02:41:47,550
the fiscal year 2026 pay for performance employee compensation, program budget from an average

1742
02:41:47,550 --> 02:41:49,490
3% to 5% award.

1743
02:41:50,370 --> 02:41:51,690
There's a motion, is there a second?

1744
02:41:51,690 --> 02:41:52,330
A second?

1745
02:41:52,950 --> 02:41:53,090
Second.

1746
02:41:54,450 --> 02:41:55,850
I'll invariably say aye.

1747
02:41:55,890 --> 02:41:56,290
Aye.

1748
02:41:56,530 --> 02:41:57,210
Any opposed?

1749
02:41:57,430 --> 02:41:58,950
The motion is unanimous.

1750
02:41:59,250 --> 02:41:59,550
Thank you.

1751
02:41:59,550 --> 02:41:59,870
Thank you, council.

1752
02:42:00,290 --> 02:42:03,890
Thank you to you and your staff for everything that you do.

1753
02:42:04,550 --> 02:42:04,910
All right.

1754
02:42:05,030 --> 02:42:06,870
We need to go in the closed session.

1755
02:42:07,110 --> 02:42:08,410
Can I get a motion to go in the floor?

1756
02:42:08,450 --> 02:42:13,550
We're soon to GS-143-1811A-136.

1757
02:42:14,090 --> 02:42:14,730
I made it.

1758
02:42:14,790 --> 02:42:16,750
We hold a closed session and to consult with attorneys.

1759
02:42:16,750 --> 02:42:21,050
employed by and or retain, by the town in order to preserve the attorney's claim,

1760
02:42:21,230 --> 02:42:25,850
privilege, between the attorneys and the town, and to provide the disclosure of information

1761
02:42:25,850 --> 02:42:29,930
that is made privileged or confidential pursuant to the laws of the state and not considered

1762
02:42:29,930 --> 02:42:34,790
a public record within the meeting of chapter 132 of the General's statute, and to consider

1763
02:42:34,790 --> 02:42:39,490
the qualifications, confidence, performance character, fitness, conditions of employment,

1764
02:42:40,090 --> 02:42:44,750
or appointment, or conditions of initial employment, of one or more individuals, public

1765
02:42:44,750 --> 02:42:46,270
officers or employees.

1766
02:42:46,610 --> 02:42:47,190
There's a motion.

1767
02:42:47,770 --> 02:42:47,950
Second.

1768
02:42:48,030 --> 02:42:48,650
And the second.

1769
02:42:49,050 --> 02:42:49,450
Discussion.

1770
02:42:49,670 --> 02:42:50,390
All in favor, please.

1771
02:42:50,570 --> 02:42:50,910
Say aye.

1772
02:42:51,190 --> 02:42:51,470
Aye.

1773
02:42:51,650 --> 02:42:52,190
Did you pose?

1774
02:42:52,450 --> 02:42:53,010
Motion carries.

1775
02:42:53,330 --> 02:42:54,850
And we now move into closed sessions.

1776
03:50:51,920 --> 03:50:56,680
Being our council meeting, we've concluded our business. I would entertain a motion to adjourn.

1777
03:50:56,840 --> 03:50:58,860
So moved. Second? Motion and a second.

1778
03:50:59,040 --> 03:51:01,420
discussion. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Aye.

1779
03:51:01,620 --> 03:51:03,940
Opposed, motion carries. We are adjourned. Thank you.