[1:59] Mhm.

[3:06] » Good evening, everyone.

[3:08] Welcome to the Board of Commissioners

[3:10] special meeting and public hearing of

[3:12] the proposed annual budget for FY

[3:15] 2026-2027

[3:17] for June 2nd, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.

[3:21] Can I have a motion to adopt the agenda?

[3:24] >> So moved.

[3:26] » So moved.

[3:26] >> All in favor?

[3:27] » All in favor?

[3:27] >> Aye.

[3:28] » Aye.

[3:28] >> Okay.

[3:30] » Okay.

[3:30] >> The agenda is adopted.

[3:32] » The agenda is adopted.

[3:32] Uh can I have a motion to open the

[3:34] public hearing?

[3:36] >> So moved.

[3:40] » All in favor?

[3:41] >> Aye.

[3:42] » Aye.

[3:42] >> Aye.

[3:43] » Aye.

[3:43] >> Okay. Public hearing is now open.

[3:48] Uh can I uh

[3:49] verify with the clerk?

[3:52] I now open the public hearing for the

[3:54] proposed fiscal budget 2026-2027

[3:57] for the annual budget for Waxhaw. Clerk,

[4:00] do you have a verification notice?

[4:02] >> Yes, the notice of this public hearing

[4:04] » Yes, the notice of this public hearing

[4:04] was published in accordance with the

[4:06] North Carolina General Statute 159-12.

[4:10] The proposed budget has been available

[4:12] for public inspection in the clerk's

[4:14] office and on the town's website since

[4:17] May 21st, 2026.

[4:20] >> Thank you.

[4:21] » Thank you.

[4:21] So, we have our presentation by our town

[4:24] manager, Scott Dodson.

[4:42] » Good [snorts] evening, mayor and Board

[4:44] of Commissioners.

[4:46] This evening, I'm proud to present the

[4:48] uh

[4:49] budget for fiscal year 26-27.

[4:53] Um I have a brief presentation that'll

[4:55] go over some of the highlighted portions

[4:57] of that, but as the clerk noted,

[5:01] the budget has been available to the

[5:03] public both on our website and here at

[5:05] town hall. So, people could review it

[5:08] and look at it.

[5:10] Um so, we're going to go through this

[5:12] very brief presentation and then I'd be

[5:14] happy to answer any questions that the

[5:15] commissioners have.

[5:19] Um so, by North Carolina law, I'm

[5:22] presenting a balanced budget and I am

[5:24] not recommending a tax rate increase.

[5:27] So, what does that mean?

[5:29] The total budget presented to you folks

[5:31] is 26.99

[5:33] million

[5:34] and that is balanced between revenues

[5:37] and expenditures. The tax rate um is the

[5:40] same as the current year and that is 29

[5:43] cent per hundred valuation.

[5:46] The increase in the budget is a total of

[5:49] 1.75%

[5:51] over the prior year in um total cost and

[5:55] revenue.

[6:00] The board met um earlier in 2026 and

[6:04] talked about their top-tier strategic

[6:06] priorities and as part of this budget um

[6:10] the staff put together their budget

[6:12] request

[6:13] uh understanding what those top-tier

[6:15] strategies are. One, investment uh in

[6:19] managing and expanding infrastructure

[6:22] capacity and connectivity to support

[6:24] growth that is both already happened and

[6:28] uh may be coming.

[6:29] Growth management, foster a sustainable

[6:32] development approach that balances

[6:33] residential growth with commercial

[6:35] diversification.

[6:38] Three, economic sustainability, create

[6:41] opportunities for long-term fiscal

[6:43] resilience and economic vitality and

[6:45] organizational development. And that is

[6:49] uh cultivate a resilient and unified

[6:50] organization that um looks to serve uh

[6:54] the citizens and residents of Waxhaw uh

[6:57] to the best of its ability.

[7:00] So, let's look at the revenues.

[7:03] In the revenues, um which total 26.99

[7:07] million, of that

[7:09] 15.32

[7:10] million are property and vehicle taxes.

[7:13] So, they make up uh the majority of

[7:16] revenues for the town. The next one

[7:19] would be sales and use tax. In Union

[7:22] County, they redistribute that based

[7:24] upon your ad valorem rate and uh uh

[7:28] other statutory requirements and that is

[7:31] at 5.87 million.

[7:34] Fees and other uh are about 1.64

[7:37] million.

[7:38] That includes building fees

[7:40] um

[7:41] uh fees for use of facilities and those

[7:44] kinds of things in the town. We don't

[7:45] have a lot of fees, but we do have um,

[7:48] enough that they are also in uh,

[7:51] this budget as well.

[7:52] Franchise tax of 1.3 million, special

[7:56] revenue funds about 1.17.

[7:59] I have recommended in this budget a $1

[8:02] million fund balance transfer from

[8:04] unappropriated fund balance in order to

[8:06] balance the budget.

[8:08] The last amount that we get are other

[8:10] state revenue shared revenues. Those

[8:13] would be things like alcohol taxes

[8:16] from the ABC store and other ABC permits

[8:21] as an example.

[8:23] Expenditures by department. Um, sorry if

[8:27] not everyone can read this out who is

[8:29] here tonight, but let me go through

[8:31] those briefly. Our largest department is

[8:34] the police department at

[8:36] 6.36 million. Parks and recreation is

[8:40] 2.6, sanitation by itself

[8:44] is 2.58

[8:47] million.

[8:49] Public services, which manages

[8:51] sanitation and facilities management,

[8:54] um, is next at 2.22 million.

[8:58] Uh, debt service we have pulled out to

[9:00] show what debt service is and that is

[9:02] debt service on the town campus. That

[9:05] would be town hall, public facilities

[9:08] for public services and parks and

[9:09] recreation.

[9:12] As well as debt service that is entering

[9:15] its last two years on the police

[9:17] department building on 16.

[9:21] Administration comes in next at 1.69

[9:25] and that is the overall administration

[9:27] of the town.

[9:29] Um, information technology, as all of

[9:31] you know who work on a day-to-day basis

[9:34] in any organization, IT is a big part of

[9:37] what we do and how we communicate and

[9:38] how we store store information and all

[9:41] the other things that we do.

[9:43] Engineering, we have uh we're fortunate

[9:45] to have an engineering department here

[9:47] that both reviews incoming plans as well

[9:50] as assist in overseeing uh the our asset

[9:54] management program as well as working

[9:56] with public services and others

[9:59] uh to uh deal with storm water, uh

[10:02] roads, um lighting and other kinds of

[10:05] things that go on around town.

[10:07] Facilities management um was actually a

[10:09] new department. It's handled and managed

[10:11] under public services at .82 uh million

[10:15] and they manage all of our facilities uh

[10:18] from the inside perspective and some

[10:20] outside.

[10:21] Planning and zoning then becomes the

[10:23] next one and that is where we had code

[10:25] enforcement as well. Uh building

[10:28] inspections is its own standalone

[10:30] department but works with and under

[10:32] planning and zoning and engineering.

[10:34] Then we have another internal service uh

[10:37] human resources,

[10:38] finance,

[10:39] uh business development uh which

[10:42] concentrates the the majority of its

[10:43] town time and talents in downtown as

[10:47] well as assisting in other economic

[10:48] development efforts around the town.

[10:50] Emergency management, we do house the

[10:52] fire marshal as well as transfer dollars

[10:55] over to the Waxhaw Fire Department.

[10:58] Um tax,

[11:00] that's the portion that the county takes

[11:02] uh when they collect the taxes for us.

[11:04] Most taxes are paid one time and uh

[11:07] that's our percentage. If you didn't

[11:09] have that there, you'd have people and

[11:11] uh you'd have a tax collector. So, the

[11:13] county does that for us but still cost

[11:15] us.

[11:16] Uh we have code enforcement standalone

[11:18] again. It's part of planning and zoning,

[11:20] building inspections and engineering,

[11:23] what we call development services and

[11:25] then the Board of Commissioners is last

[11:27] at um at .13 million.

[11:32] Um we again these presentations are made

[11:36] public so people can look at it. Some

[11:37] people view how these things are done a

[11:39] little bit differently. We tried to

[11:41] represent and regroup some of our um

[11:45] efforts and and the services that we

[11:47] provide in this way. About 26.8% of a

[11:51] dollar or 26.8 cents goes to public

[11:54] safety and that's police and emergency

[11:55] management. 14.9 cent out of a dollar is

[11:59] infrastructure and operations so that's

[12:01] public services, facility management,

[12:03] and engineering.

[12:04] Uh 12.7 is your general government and

[12:07] that is board of commissioners, admin,

[12:09] finance, tax, human resources.

[12:12] Parks and recreation is next at 10.2

[12:16] cents. Garbage is 9.4 cents of your

[12:19] dollar that you pay for every dollar.

[12:22] Uh your debt service is 8.5 cents.

[12:26] Um community development, that's

[12:27] planning and zoning, building, code

[12:29] enforcement, and business development,

[12:31] about 7.9. IT, about 5.6. IT's really

[12:35] become an infrastructure for us. As a

[12:37] basic rule, it's kind of how we have to

[12:39] base a lot of our operations. And uh at

[12:42] one time IT expenses were across in each

[12:45] department. Now we've combined them all

[12:47] into one department so that we can

[12:49] understand our um

[12:51] infrastructure better and our costs

[12:53] associated with same.

[12:55] The last uh last four cents is for

[12:57] capital investments and that's for

[12:58] capital reserve, capital outlay, and uh

[13:02] capital outlay reserves.

[13:05] So the three big drivers that are really

[13:08] driving up uh the need to stay at our

[13:11] current tax rate uh come from outside

[13:14] sourcing that is uh beyond our control.

[13:17] About 2.58 million or an increase of

[13:20] 418,000

[13:22] for residential waste and that comes

[13:23] from two things. One, they have an

[13:25] automatic kicker in their contract which

[13:28] is up in 2028.

[13:30] That is normal in those contract means

[13:32] for about 4% 4.3

[13:35] and we grew

[13:36] to about 7253

[13:39] households up from 7000. So that

[13:42] pass-through cost is paid out of the tax

[13:44] rate but that was about a $418,000

[13:47] increase.

[13:49] $344,000

[13:51] or an increase of 104 for fuel gas and

[13:53] oil. Anyone going to the pump I probably

[13:56] don't have to say too much but we have a

[13:59] very spread out town and so we have to

[14:02] do a lot of traveling by

[14:04] vehicles.

[14:06] $310,000

[14:08] that's up 55,000 for street lights. As

[14:11] you folks know in the past year you've

[14:13] taken on more streets as they've been

[14:14] turned over and that increase one of the

[14:17] things we pay for our sidewalks, street

[14:18] trees and

[14:21] street lights.

[14:24] We also have other cost that are rising

[14:28] in there and I think it's worth noting

[14:29] facility electric as you can imagine

[14:31] electric rates are increasing and

[14:33] vehicle maintenance.

[14:35] Those are pass-through pass-through

[14:37] growth driven cost not discretionary

[14:40] spending. So these are things we are

[14:41] just trying to make sure that we're

[14:44] capturing and paying to maintain our

[14:47] systems.

[14:48] So staffing and compensation. So we have

[14:51] 110 full-time positions and the

[14:55] equivalency of 15 part-time positions.

[14:59] In that 110 are four new patrol

[15:03] officers. So that is part of a

[15:05] three-year plan for the police

[15:06] department to bring our numbers on

[15:08] patrolling officers throughout the

[15:11] town up to the standards that our

[15:14] citizens expect and that are also

[15:16] industrial standards.

[15:18] That that rating system of of how many

[15:21] officers per thousand.

[15:23] In that compensation approach, we have

[15:25] 2.5% for cost of living adjustment, and

[15:29] then we have a merit pool per department

[15:32] of 2%. Um the board discussed at their

[15:35] work session last week, and you'll

[15:37] discuss again on the 9th, how we

[15:39] formalize that that pool and how that

[15:42] works.

[15:43] Uh the officers that would be coming in,

[15:46] also it should be noted, would come in

[15:47] at at the half-year mark.

[15:54] So, in capital, the board adopted

[15:57] earlier, about a month and a half or so

[15:59] ago,

[16:00] a CIP plan, capital improvement plan.

[16:04] In that, that is a 5-year look,

[16:07] of which the board debated and

[16:09] prioritized over 49 projects, valued at

[16:14] 13.3 million over 5 years.

[16:18] Now,

[16:19] so folks in the audience knows they

[16:21] adopted you folks adopted that by

[16:23] resolution, which means it is a plan.

[16:26] Uh when you appropriate is the next box

[16:29] over, and that is the fiscal year the

[16:31] proposed fiscal year

[16:33] 27 CIP ordinance. This is when we

[16:36] actually appropriate dollars. Um the

[16:39] board has been working for the last

[16:40] couple of months to understand their um

[16:45] cash position, both unassigned,

[16:48] assigned, committed. Um so the amount of

[16:52] 5,972,749

[16:56] dollars for the CIP ordinance actually

[16:59] comes entirely drawn from your savings

[17:01] account. So, your reserved

[17:04] uh CIP fund dollars, and uh the town

[17:09] board went through a lot of discussion

[17:11] about how we're

[17:13] where we put those dollars and what

[17:15] they're for. So, this ordinance is

[17:17] simply drawing them down. This does not

[17:19] reflect any new dollars in that. These

[17:22] are all reserved dollars for various

[17:24] projects.

[17:25] Um so, the ordinate the plan plans it.

[17:30] The ordinance appropriates it for this

[17:32] year.

[17:34] So, the capital projects funded for

[17:36] fiscal year 27, uh again, the total

[17:39] amount is 5. 9

[17:42] 72749

[17:44] million.

[17:45] Uh Pine Oak signal,

[17:48] 1675 Broom intersection, which is um

[17:52] a rather large project as you can see by

[17:54] the dollar amount and that is only our

[17:56] portion of it.

[17:57] Um there are also other dollars that

[17:59] come in and support this from the state

[18:02] and federal level.

[18:04] Kensington is a project by itself and

[18:07] you're beginning to see some of that

[18:08] work as you go to the Harris Teeter down

[18:10] Kensington.

[18:11] Helms Road extension is

[18:15] for this fiscal year will be the right

[18:17] of way. You've already started the

[18:19] dollar 750,000

[18:22] last year

[18:23] for design.

[18:25] The Helms Road, and you see that number

[18:28] next. 75 and Old Providence is another

[18:31] intersection set of

[18:33] intersection improvements at 710.

[18:36] The Mill Bridge signal, which is a

[18:38] signal right out of town hall here going

[18:41] towards the South Carolina line. It is a

[18:43] signal to allow for proper movement in

[18:46] and out of that development onto that

[18:48] road. As you all know, there are some

[18:50] blind sections in there.

[18:53] So, slowing traffic down in there is

[18:54] very important.

[18:55] Uh Kensington and a CARPO grant has come

[18:58] in to actually help that Kensington

[19:00] project up top.

[19:04] So, um

[19:07] at a date in the future, our

[19:09] recommendation is at your next regular

[19:10] meeting on the 9th,

[19:12] the board has the opportunity to adopt

[19:15] by ordinance the operating budget.

[19:16] That's the 26.99 million dollar budget

[19:19] balanced budget.

[19:21] And secondly, a capital improvement

[19:23] ordinance that appropriates those for a

[19:26] total of 5.9

[19:28] million

[19:29] for for that capital improvement

[19:32] ordinance.

[19:33] So,

[19:34] that is my presentation. Can I answer

[19:36] any questions of the board?

[19:45] » Scott, just like to start by saying

[19:47] thank you.

[19:49] Thank you to your

[19:51] the staff and the department heads

[19:53] for working with us, aligning with us

[19:58] all the way starting all the way back as

[19:59] I noted [clears throat] in our work

[20:00] sessions and our board retreat.

[20:04] And when we found that we were more

[20:06] aligned and rowing in the same direction

[20:09] and staff was hearing what we were

[20:11] seeking

[20:12] and that they were actually seeking

[20:14] similar things in a parallel track.

[20:17] I just would like to start by saying I

[20:18] know we are very appreciative of our

[20:20] staff

[20:22] and the work that they do for our town

[20:24] and our residents.

[20:27] With that,

[20:28] I'd like to go ahead and open up the mic

[20:31] to any of my other commissioners.

[20:33] >> Does anybody have anything else they'd

[20:35] » Does anybody have anything else they'd

[20:35] like to add or any questions?

[20:37] >> I'd also like to say thank you town

[20:39] » I'd also like to say thank you town

[20:39] manager and staff. I really appreciate

[20:41] all the work that's been put into this

[20:43] and especially uh

[20:46] what the staff has done with the

[20:48] reduction we asked for. I know it's not

[20:50] easy

[20:51] to do that and

[20:53] haven't

[20:55] I'm not a lifelong resident of Waxhaw,

[20:57] but um

[20:58] I don't remember a time when you know, a

[21:01] specific reduction number was put out by

[21:04] a Waxhaw board like this and um

[21:08] so it's I know I understand it's

[21:10] difficult and a bit of a new thing for

[21:12] you guys, but um I think it's also

[21:15] something you can take pride in that

[21:16] you've been true public servants

[21:18] with and public stewards of the

[21:21] taxpayers' money. So, thank you very

[21:23] much.

[21:25] >> Madam Mayor, would you like me to expand

[21:28] » Madam Mayor, would you like me to expand

[21:28] on that

[21:29] >> Yes, I was just going to say that, you

[21:30] » Yes, I was just going to say that, you

[21:30] know, uh Commissioner Don talked about

[21:32] um our discussions from our work session

[21:35] on May 5th and that we had asked if

[21:37] there was any more room, any wiggle room

[21:40] from the departments and we left it up

[21:42] to you all because you know what you

[21:44] need to operate day-to-day. Um we're

[21:46] always looking for savings and I know

[21:48] the taxpayers appreciate it and uh I

[21:50] also do would like to extend a thank you

[21:52] because um it is always more difficult

[21:56] to work with less, but and

[21:58] uh we appreciate the effort.

[22:01] >> So, let me go ahead and expand on both

[22:03] » So, let me go ahead and expand on both

[22:03] of your comments uh if that's okay. Um

[22:06] at last week's work session and actually

[22:08] this board has been working in working

[22:09] session for last month and a half.

[22:11] You've been dealing with capital, you've

[22:13] been dealing with uh what money do you

[22:14] have in reserve and making sure that you

[22:16] have those things there and we've been

[22:19] talking about the budget in

[22:20] generalities. Then we got a little bit

[22:22] more specific and into operations and

[22:24] personnel and then we got into um a a

[22:28] more generalized conversation by the

[22:30] board where you folks talked about

[22:32] several directions. So, um what I

[22:35] presented tonight um at in the first

[22:38] part of this meeting was the proposed

[22:40] budget by me, the the the manager with

[22:44] the assistance of a great uh team of um

[22:48] department heads and um as well as other

[22:51] staff who just really, you know, put

[22:53] their best foot forward to do that. So,

[22:56] at that work session meeting last week,

[22:58] the board asked us to consider some

[23:00] operational cost reductions and had a

[23:02] series of board questions. So, this

[23:05] very small presentation hopes to answer

[23:08] that. The board also has a memo from me

[23:10] on this that expands this in a little

[23:12] bit more detail as you debate the

[23:14] budget.

[23:16] So, the board directions were two

[23:19] concerns in general. Operational cost

[23:22] reduction, could we find and identify a

[23:24] minimum of 5% reductions in those

[23:26] operational costs? You had some specific

[23:30] focuses into IT software and travel

[23:32] expenses. So,

[23:34] I highlight that because we heard you

[23:36] and we we tried to deal with some of

[23:38] those areas and I'll talk about that as

[23:40] in a second.

[23:41] Second was the board had a concern about

[23:43] fund balance preservation. So, my

[23:45] recommendation is a million-dollar

[23:47] drawdown.

[23:48] If you do the savings reduction, can you

[23:51] decrease that drawdown in your savings

[23:53] accounts? And these are your unassigned

[23:55] savings accounts. So, staff, I really

[23:59] have to commend and I appreciate y'all

[24:01] highlighting them. Uh we sat around in a

[24:05] room. Nobody complained. Everybody put a

[24:07] piece of paper to a pencil, pencil to a

[24:10] piece of paper, and worked it out. And

[24:13] they worked with each other, and I'm

[24:14] really proud of what they were able to

[24:16] do. So, our staff response, I want to

[24:19] talk about it is twofold. One,

[24:22] they found the 5% target and actually

[24:25] exceeded that up to a 7% reduction in

[24:29] operations. Um and that total is around

[24:32] 511,000.

[24:34] Um we recommend preserving the current

[24:36] tax rate in order to do that. That would

[24:39] allow less money to be drawn down from

[24:43] fund balance. So, in the important

[24:44] budget context down below,

[24:47] um

[24:48] I want to remind the board that 577,000

[24:52] is that uncontrollable cost increase

[24:54] that is out there, which means it stacks

[24:57] the next year.

[24:59] Just want fair warning for the board.

[25:01] So, um I know you folks are conscious of

[25:03] that, but that those costs will stack.

[25:06] Um

[25:07] and you know, of course, we've

[25:08] recommended those be remain in the

[25:10] budget, so we worked around those into

[25:12] other areas of operation.

[25:14] Um and that would allow you to only have

[25:17] to draw down 488,570

[25:20] dollars in in your unassigned fund

[25:22] balance, thus preserving around 511 in

[25:25] in your savings accounts for future

[25:27] needs.

[25:28] So, um but I I I I wanted to make that

[25:32] caveat context just so you know, there

[25:34] are stacking costs. Everybody's living

[25:36] with inflation. Nobody likes a price

[25:39] that goes up. Um unfortunately, those

[25:41] prices

[25:43] don't always go down. So, um the cost of

[25:46] operating uh this organization like your

[25:48] household is going up.

[25:51] Um so, what we found in general

[25:52] operations was around 419,000.

[25:57] And in addition, uh 91,000 out of uh

[26:01] and I want to clarify what PDIT budget

[26:05] reductions means.

[26:06] Um the police department um wanted to

[26:09] participate in this part of the process,

[26:12] and we appreciate their willingness to

[26:13] do that, so we moved uh monies from

[26:16] general fund operating into um

[26:20] I think I'm going to say the name right,

[26:22] but federal uh impoundment dollars that

[26:24] we get automatically can only be spent

[26:26] on police things, so we moved cost over

[26:29] into there.

[26:30] Um those are dollars that can't be spent

[26:31] on anything else in the budget. You you

[26:33] you you can't lower a tax with it. You

[26:35] can't

[26:36] do a street sweeper with it. It's It's

[26:38] got to be law enforcement, and that was

[26:40] for a system that they need to start

[26:43] integrating with the not only all of

[26:45] their

[26:46] um IT information that integrates, but

[26:49] also with the surrounding jurisdiction.

[26:51] So, we found 91,000 and thank thank

[26:54] folks for looking into that. And we took

[26:56] a long, hard look at IT in general.

[26:59] Um as was noted last week and in

[27:01] conversations that several of us have

[27:03] had over the last week and a half, some

[27:05] things are caught by contract. They take

[27:07] a little while to unwind to find those

[27:09] efficiencies, but I feel like the way

[27:11] we've presented it shows where we can

[27:14] and where we can start to do things. But

[27:16] again, like everything else, we will

[27:18] have future cost and so I I think this

[27:20] board knows that. Travel and training

[27:23] adjustments out of that 419 were about

[27:26] 27,000.

[27:28] Give or take.

[27:29] Uh so uh

[27:31] th- those are the total reductions. So,

[27:33] to put those in context, they look like

[27:36] this.

[27:37] Uh the 419 came out of admin, parks and

[27:40] rec, police department, planning and

[27:42] inspections, human resources,

[27:44] technology, engineering.

[27:46] And then those other the travel and

[27:48] training came out of a lot of them in

[27:50] the PDIT reductions. So, they came from

[27:53] across the board. It took a lot of

[27:55] teamwork to do that and uh we believe

[27:57] that these are reductions that will not

[27:59] reduce our ability to serve and to

[28:02] protect and to um protect our resources

[28:05] that we we do have and and share and

[28:07] enjoy.

[28:09] Um wanted to note also that there's a

[28:11] fund balance and capital strategy in

[28:13] here in the budget.

[28:15] You are paying as you go, which is a a a

[28:19] capital funding process of around

[28:21] 500,000. So, that's the newest dollars

[28:23] in the fiscal year will be spent on uh

[28:26] pay as you go capital.

[28:28] Uh but then also as an expenditure line

[28:31] out in back over into your savings

[28:33] accounts, we've recommended 250,000 for

[28:35] your capital reserve.

[28:38] By By ordinance, this board is supposed

[28:41] to commit X amount of dollars every year

[28:43] and it has

[28:44] um even in this year when the board

[28:46] moved about 1.5 million if you'll recall

[28:49] from unassigned fund balance over into

[28:51] your assigned fund balances.

[28:53] So, um

[28:54] they did you folks did that as a board

[28:56] this year. The second reserve or line

[28:59] item that goes over into savings

[29:00] accounts is for capital outlay reserves.

[29:04] Um

[29:04] capital outlay reserve versus a capital

[29:08] the difference between that is

[29:10] things that are less than $50,000.

[29:12] That's your moving and rolling stock.

[29:14] That's some of your

[29:16] those things under 50,000 or have a

[29:18] one-year payment schedule or one-year

[29:20] contract on them.

[29:23] Um open requirements

[29:25] you know, making sure that paying

[29:27] attention in your budget. We wanted to

[29:28] make sure you knew

[29:30] IT costs do remain elevated. We We

[29:32] recognize that. Some things are just

[29:35] harder to unwind. Three-year contracts,

[29:37] two-year contracts, four-year contracts,

[29:39] and those kinds of things. So,

[29:42] we now that we stack them in the way we

[29:44] have, we feel like we can manage those

[29:46] well. We have great IT team here. And

[29:49] that's really everybody else, too.

[29:51] Everybody's part of that.

[29:53] Sales and use tax shortage. I think

[29:55] that's the other more concerning issue.

[29:58] We've talked about this in our work

[30:00] sessions.

[30:01] It is a shortfall in the current fiscal

[30:03] year. So, I have budgeted very

[30:04] conservatively into next year like with

[30:07] no growth whatsoever.

[30:09] Um

[30:10] We continue to watch that.

[30:12] That is a concerning sign.

[30:14] Um

[30:16] Next is attorney fee governance. We've

[30:18] just pulled it back to an amount that we

[30:21] feel we can manage. And we've put a

[30:23] pre-approval requirement instituted by

[30:25] the manager. In other words, filtering

[30:27] through me into the so we can control

[30:29] those costs. It's not that everybody's

[30:31] out of control. It's just we've had a

[30:33] lot to do this year. We want to make

[30:35] sure that we um

[30:37] guard that and make sure we we

[30:39] appreciate

[30:41] Matt's good legal review on all things.

[30:44] We took the facade grant down to 30,000.

[30:49] Part of our strategy between that and

[30:50] abatement issues is to come back to the

[30:53] board when we're beginning if we have a

[30:56] rather large project that requires

[30:57] dollars that might exceed that.

[31:00] So we'll come back to you folks and have

[31:02] a conversation with you about that so

[31:04] that the board can be involved in that

[31:05] decision where it wants to move money

[31:07] from if it wants to do the project are

[31:10] there other opportunities and choices so

[31:12] that the board can be more involved in

[31:13] those processes.

[31:15] But we still have left money in there.

[31:18] So

[31:19] again that net fund balance draw would

[31:22] go to if you keep the rate the same at

[31:23] 29 cents would go to 488 570.

[31:28] So I just want to recap that the board's

[31:31] direction was for those reductions 5% we

[31:34] found those.

[31:35] We focused on IT and travel. I think

[31:38] those were good calls by the board. You

[31:39] saw those things and our staff did a

[31:41] good job of bringing those back.

[31:43] And

[31:45] we addressed that fund balance drawdown.

[31:48] The process we conducted a full

[31:50] Department by Department review.

[31:53] This is what the staff was doing Finance

[31:55] coordinated consolidation of all

[31:57] operational PDIT and travel cut. So

[32:00] Finance is is is is keeping those

[32:02] numbers in the right order. We evaluated

[32:05] uncontrollable cost and capital strategy

[32:07] options. So we had that out loud

[32:09] conversation.

[32:10] And there's our presentation back to you

[32:13] folks. So 511 and cost reduction.

[32:17] A three-part capital plan that does put

[32:20] money back into your reserves and pay as

[32:22] you go. That's a definitely capitalized

[32:24] strategy and then a net fund balance

[32:26] drawdown reduction.

[32:32] Can I answer any questions?

[32:36] >> Any questions?

[32:39] Yeah.

[32:43] » I just like to

[32:44] I say start off by saying thank you

[32:46] again.

[32:47] I know it's not an easy task. Um

[32:50] when a customer comes to you and

[32:52] essentially ask you what to

[32:55] work on a project and then say, "Hey,

[32:57] sharpen your pencil.

[32:58] Take a second look at it."

[33:00] What you all did to investigate, take a

[33:02] second look at it, evaluate what the the

[33:05] stacking of contracts going into working

[33:08] with our department heads.

[33:10] We appreciate and I like to just

[33:12] re-echo. We appreciate the

[33:14] teamwork that the staff has aligned with

[33:17] the this team here on the dais.

[33:20] And we are grateful for that.

[33:22] Um with that said, you've outlined a a

[33:24] lot of the friction points that we

[33:26] mentioned earlier in our conversations

[33:28] and our work sessions and you've

[33:29] addressed those. Those were you know,

[33:31] essentially making sure that we were

[33:33] working together and making sure that we

[33:35] were addressing the end and allowing the

[33:38] public to understand

[33:39] why we were

[33:40] doing a fund balance transfer, how it

[33:42] helped us sequence in those key capital

[33:45] improvement projects that we have been

[33:47] looking to and keep momentum on.

[33:50] Um I'd like to just start off by that.

[33:52] Thank you.

[33:56] » Anyone else?

[33:58] >> Yeah.

[34:00] » Yeah.

[34:00] >> Scott, um

[34:02] » Scott, um

[34:02] for the folks the board of

[34:03] commissioners, we've all it's not just

[34:05] been a couple of days during the week.

[34:06] It's been ongoing phone calls, emails

[34:09] and not just once, but twice, but three

[34:11] times going back and trying to find

[34:13] these additional savings. And I know my

[34:15] fellow board of commissioners, we've

[34:17] drilled it through the audit. It is our

[34:18] job. We're supposed to do that and

[34:20] scrutinize everything we see and decide

[34:23] if it's going to be a scalpel or butcher

[34:24] knife to go through this. And I'm really

[34:27] comfortable with the due diligence that

[34:28] you guys did and coming back and and I

[34:30] think the town is going to be extremely

[34:32] appreciative of the effort put forth by

[34:34] all you folks and yourself Mr. Manager.

[34:37] I appreciate you.

[34:38] >> You're welcome.

[34:38] » You're welcome.

[34:38] >> Thank you.

[34:41] » Anyone else on the board?

[34:44] >> Well, you guys said plenty.

[34:46] » Well, you guys said plenty.

[34:46] I I thank everybody for their efforts

[34:48] and um

[34:50] I had a lot of questions. You guys

[34:54] were very patient and you're generous

[34:56] with your time and

[34:58] um appreciated the

[35:00] you walking us through the process being

[35:02] our first budget and all that for some

[35:04] of us. So,

[35:06] uh I think we're in a good place and I

[35:08] Can you Can you discuss the financial uh

[35:13] like the cash cash position of our fund

[35:16] balance

[35:17] in in regards to what's a healthy fund

[35:21] balance and maybe how much more we have

[35:24] than than

[35:26] comparatively speaking to other

[35:28] municipalities

[35:29] >> Sure.

[35:29] » Sure.

[35:29] >> in terms of percentages.

[35:31] » in terms of percentages.

[35:31] >> Sure. We you have a an unassigned fund

[35:34] » Sure. We you have a an unassigned fund

[35:34] balance at this point time of around 29

[35:36] million. Now, that number will go down.

[35:39] We've had this discussion before.

[35:41] Um

[35:42] by state statute, we have a

[35:44] stabilization amount within that.

[35:47] We have that. That's marked.

[35:49] Um within that, you want around 40% for

[35:53] an organization like us because we do

[35:56] not have monthly cash flow. It could go

[35:59] a bit lower than that because

[36:02] if you had a utility. So, for example,

[36:04] if I had a water and sewer company, we'd

[36:06] have cash flow coming in. That cash flow

[36:09] offsets the need

[36:10] to carry so much cash.

[36:13] So, you can invest it more.

[36:15] Um you have in your fund balance in

[36:18] addition to the 29 million,

[36:21] you have another

[36:25] 14 15 million dollars that is reserved.

[36:28] So, of the CIP, some of that money is

[36:31] coming forward for those projects. You

[36:33] the boards have been very specific about

[36:35] assigning them to projects

[36:37] across time. So, those are monies in

[36:41] addition. So, your total cash balance as

[36:43] of the end of April was around 46

[36:46] million. That will draw down, that will

[36:48] change over the time of the year.

[36:51] Our operating control line is around 5

[36:54] million is what we like to have. The

[36:57] rest is invested. So, we try to invest.

[37:01] Matter of fact, in the current fiscal

[37:03] year, we've been fortunate that

[37:06] Rosie and her team in finance have done

[37:08] a great job of their investment strategy

[37:11] and your interest rate that you've

[37:13] gotten back in returns is

[37:16] exceeded by about 40% or so. So, almost

[37:19] a million dollars plus where we budgeted

[37:22] around 600. So, they did a good job of

[37:24] investing the public's monies and making

[37:27] sure that they got returned into

[37:31] the operating cost of running the

[37:33] organization. Appreciate that. So, what

[37:36] you need is around 40%. So, 40% of 26

[37:38] million, you know, is around 5, 6

[37:42] million that you would have.

[37:44] The idea behind that is for safety. In

[37:47] other words, if Helene comes through,

[37:49] you have those kinds of operating things

[37:51] so you can operate for about 4 months.

[37:53] We have that.

[37:54] Plus, we have the state statutory

[37:57] reserve amount of an additional 3

[38:00] million. And then, we have additional

[38:02] that has been reserved for projects

[38:04] across the organization. Does that help

[38:07] with your

[38:07] >> Yeah, yeah. It

[38:08] » Yeah, yeah. It

[38:08] helps me. I think it helps the public to

[38:11] understand that, you know, we're pretty

[38:13] financially sound and we are it it and

[38:19] besides that, getting the savings and

[38:22] and

[38:23] digging deeper into the budget to find

[38:25] some of those cost reductions, that just

[38:28] helps keep that cash

[38:30] uh

[38:31] keeps us from having a

[38:33] do something with the tax rate, but uh

[38:37] with the cost [snorts] going up and and

[38:39] that not wanting to go further into fund

[38:43] balance to fund stuff.

[38:45] I think um it it's uh

[38:49] mhm

[38:50] it precludes us from reducing the taxes

[38:52] right now.

[38:54] >> Cost are cost are running up. I think

[38:57] » Cost are cost are running up. I think

[38:57] everyone who runs a household or an

[38:59] organization right now is that you have

[39:00] a lot of rising cost.

[39:02] Some in your control, some are not, but

[39:04] um

[39:05] I appreciate the board's understanding

[39:07] of that and I think they try to be and

[39:09] the department heads and the every

[39:11] employee in this organization tries to

[39:12] be a good steward with your dollars and

[39:14] spend it wisely and within the limits

[39:16] that you folks ask, but also tries to

[39:19] solve the problem. Uh again, um

[39:21] remembering the CIP, we are investing a

[39:24] substantial amount of money as we we

[39:26] have done in the past, but this year

[39:28] especially about 5.9 million.

[39:31] >> Thank you.

[39:33] » Thank you.

[39:33] >> Madam Mayor, it is a public hearing, so

[39:35] » Madam Mayor, it is a public hearing, so

[39:35] I want to make sure I don't take up too

[39:36] much time if people have comments or

[39:38] anything else.

[39:40] >> I

[39:40] » I

[39:40] think we're good. Thank you.

[39:44] So, at this time I'd like to open the

[39:45] floor for public comments. I don't have

[39:47] anyone who's signed up this evening, but

[39:49] if there's anyone here that would like

[39:50] to make a public comment, I'd like to

[39:52] give you an opportunity.

[39:56] Okay.

[39:58] Nobody?

[39:59] It's not too bad. It's not scary at all.

[40:03] But okay, well

[40:04] hearing uh

[40:06] no one being interested in

[40:07] >> Well, we appreciate the folks that

[40:09] » Well, we appreciate the folks that

[40:09] showed up and who are watching online

[40:11] that actually take an interest in this

[40:13] process as well.

[40:15] Um

[40:15] thank you for

[40:17] taking part.

[40:18] >> All right, so um I guess

[40:21] » All right, so um I guess

[40:21] Do you have anything else, anyone? Okay.

[40:24] Can I have a motion to close the public

[40:25] hearing?

[40:26] >> Motion to

[40:27] » Motion to

[40:27] close the public hearing.

[40:30] >> All in favor?

[40:31] » All in favor?

[40:31] >> I.

[40:33] » I.

[40:33] >> All right, the eyes have it. This public

[40:35] » All right, the eyes have it. This public

[40:35] hearing is closed.

[40:37] Uh, looking ahead, we have a Board of

[40:39] Commissioners meeting, a regular meeting

[40:41] on June 9th, 2026 at 6:30 right here in

[40:44] Town Hall. And if there's nothing else,

[40:48] can I have a motion to adjourn?

[40:50] >> Motion to adjourn.

[40:53] » Motion to adjourn.

[40:53] >> All in favor?

[40:54] » All in favor?

[40:54] >> I.

[40:57] » Adjourned.

[40:57] >> I.

[40:58] » I.

[40:58] >> We are adjourned.

[40:59] » We are adjourned.

[40:59] >> Thank you.

[41:00] » Thank you.

[41:00] >> Close the public hearing.

Board of Commissioners - Special - 02 Jun 2026

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