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We'll uh go ahead and get started uh
with the 2027

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Zansville budget workshop. Mr. Mayor,
floor is yours.

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» Good morning. Thank you.
>> Morning.

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» Uh good to see everybody here this
morning to talk through this. Um you

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have all received a copy of the 2027
proposed budget which breaks down

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spending by category and each town
department. Um and so everyone who may

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be watching online is aware of the
process so far. Uh the administration

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generated this budget with department
heads and our financial consultants at

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CRO. Then we took a deep dive into each
department's spending plan which

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included a liazison from the council and
I want to thank those of you on the

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council who helped in this process. It
was very uh productive and very

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meaningful. So thank you very much for
that. Um, this is not the final document

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that we're going to be presenting today,
but the process will help us stay on

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track to complete and file the 2027
budget by the state imposed deadline of

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November 1st. So, the goal here is
three-fold. U, what we're going to

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propose is a planned temporary deficit
funded by reserves that we built for

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exactly this purpose. targeted hires to
catch up after two years of a hiring

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freeze and a path back to positive cash
flow by 2030. So, let's begin with the

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big picture. Uh, we are on track to end
2026 with a reserve of about $40.4

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million, which would put our surplus at
about 85%.

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For 2026 alone, we anticipate a surplus
of about $3.2 $2 million dollars, but

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that is largely due to incumbrances that
were forwarded to next year and our

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supplemental lit payment coming in
higher than anticipated. And I want to

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point out and and state very clearly
that neither of those conditions will

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exist in 2027.
Therefore, uh the proposed budget that

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we have for you for 2027, we anticipate
total expenses of about $52.6 million

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against revenue of $51 million. So this
budget uses about 1.65 million in

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reserves again purposely and temporarily
to get us through this year as we work

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through the effects of sea 1, the 2025
state property tax law that limits our

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revenue growth. So at the end of 2027
um our reserves will fall to about 38.7

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million lowering our percentage from 85%
to 74%.

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And I want to point out that that is
still very comfortably above our minimum

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surplus goal of 15 to 20%. Now
therefore, um I I know a lot of you and

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I myself would not favor using reserve
funds for operating expenses because I

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think long term that is unsustainable to
do that. However, uh we do have a 5-year

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plan in place that shows that we can
spend this money now to sustain our

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operations and level of service that's
expected by our constituents. Once all

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current aspects of SEA1 are in place, we
should be able to achieve positive cash

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flow once again by 2030. Now, to get
into the details here, uh I want to

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start with employee pay. Now, due to the
way the calendar falls in 2027, all of

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our employees will get 27 paychecks this
year instead of 26. So, if we keep

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everyone at the same rate, they will
realize an increase in salary for the

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year of 3.85%.
This is not only a base salary increase

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for 2027, it will be the new base that
we can build upon in 2028. And if

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council agrees to this pay hike, we plan
to reach out through our HR department

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to all employees to explain in small
group settings how this will be carried

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out. But again, the proposal is for an
effective pay increase of 3.85%

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for all employees across the board. In
addition, we propose to increase our

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longevity pay for all employees who
qualify at every level. And notably

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[clears throat] what this does is this
raises the certified salary for our

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public service employees, public safety
employees, excuse me, which forms the

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basis for their retirement pay through
Indiana's public employee retirement

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fund. We should also note the state has
increased the employer contribution uh

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of PEF [gasps]
to 26.5%. That's an increase of 3% and

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the town will absorb that. We have had a
soft hiring freeze in place since the

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beginning of 2025 after the legislature
passed SEA1. And this budget proposal

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calls for adding several members to the
staff to support our current employees

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who I think have done a great job
providing services to the town while

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being a bit short-handed over the last
couple of years. So here is the proposed

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new hiring that we have. Uh it starts
with public safety and that would

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include six firefighters
also one IT professional who will devote

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the vast majority of their time to
serving police and fire IT needs. I

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consider this to be a public safety hire
as well. And as we get into the fire

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department and police department
budgets, we'll talk a little more about

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that, but this person would be working
under the IT department. Also, one

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person for the Department of Public
Works streets division to get us closer

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to matching our employee count to a
formula that includes population and

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lane miles of road that we maintain.
Also, a deputy director of planning and

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building to help handle the increased
volume of work that they have taken on

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and the reducing reduced staff levels
that they have uh experienced over the

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last couple years. Now again, we're
going to go into each department

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individually and uh talk about their
budget and personnel needs and plan to

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do that by providing an overview of each
and then then you can ask the pertinent

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department heads questions uh that you
may have. So I'm going to ask Chief Van

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Gorder uh and the fire crew to head over
to the uh desk over there as we begin

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with the fire department. This is our
biggest budget expense. Takes up about

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41% of the overall budget. Now, I
mentioned hiring six new firefighters in

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2027, and I do understand uh that the
department would like to have more,

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especially with a new station opening up
uh later this in 2027 in Western

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Zansville. But these new positions are a
first step, and they will cover both 27

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and 28. We have had several
conversations among myself, the chief,

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and council members. and we plan to
propose significant new firefighter

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hires in 29 and 30 to move the
department closer to its staffing goals.

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There is also the possibility of getting
more staff through a safer grant from

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the federal government as we did in
2022. I have asked the fire department

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to engage in that application process.
So with that, um, let me turn up go

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ahead here. You can see some of the
basic numbers for the fire department on

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your screen. I know you have more
in-depth information in your packets,

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but uh I'd like to direct you if you
have any questions or any concerns, if

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you'd like to share those with the chief
um and um Jason and

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um [clears throat]
>> Aaron

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» Aaron over there right now.
>> So maybe maybe it'd be good just real

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quick uh what format do you want here?
Do you are we going to hand it over to

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them to present to us or do you want us
to review? We've already reviewed this

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stuff. Do we ask questions now or
afterwards? Yes.

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» I think now's a good time to ask
questions to the to the department

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heads.
>> Okay.

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» So,
>> yeah, we didn't have a formal

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presentation. In addition, we're here to
answer questions.

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» That's great.
>> Do you want me to go ahead and lead it

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in?
>> Yeah, go ahead.

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» So, so as the budget leaison for the
fire department, work closely with the

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mayor and uh
>> Chief Van Gorder and his deputy chiefs.

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Thank you all for for your tireless work
and thank you the mayor too. Um this

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budget process was probably um this was
a much easier process than than past

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years. I will say that. Um I think that
a considerable impact on um the the fire

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department and the operations obviously
is personnel. We continue to talk about

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that at every safety board meeting. Um
when we talk about personnel issues and

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and staffing for the fire department. I
think that these uh six additional

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firefighters for this next year will
ensure that we can keep uh stations um

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291, 292, and 293 open. Um as well as
adding to our firefighters next year uh

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at the new station 295 eventually when
it's completed. So um that that's the

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the biggest the biggest hurdle in this
whole process has been those six new new

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firefighters. Um and then of course
equipment and and ongoing things. So,

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um, happy to turn it over.
>> Yeah. The only thing else I would like

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to add is again was really appreciate
the mayor uh standing firm and helping

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support public safety. Not only is this
the six firefighters plan for 2027, but

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the mayor has developed a four-year plan
to address all of the fire department

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staffing needs. with us. I'd like to
thank uh our local 5195 union

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representative, our district trustee uh
Luke Miller for being here who's been

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instrumental in reviewing this material.
And I would say labor and management

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stand here in support of this four-year
plan to address the staffing needs in

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the fire department.
>> 23, right, in the four-year plan. Yeah,

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it's about 18 to 23 total individuals,
[clears throat]

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» which will be a a considerable step in
especially coming in 2029, 2030, right,

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is when we believe we'll be able to make
sub a lot of those those hires, which

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eventually as as systems be continue to
come online, this will probably work out

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pretty well.
>> Yeah. And the other important thing here

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is that uh the fire department working
with a safety board had been uh having

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discussions and prepared a plan if we
were not able to receive uh the minimum

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of six individual new hires. And if we
were not able to achieve the six that

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would change our service delivery in the
fact that fire station 293 in kind of

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west central area that protects
Stonegate and Royal Run, we would have

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seen a reduction in staffing and
services to the community there. Right

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now there's an engine and ambulance. we
would have to uh reduce one of those

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crews uh and reassign them. This plan
moving forward does not allow that to

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happen and fire station 293 remain
staffed as it is today.

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This isn't this is as expected fair like
because we knew when 295 was going to

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come online that when we took over Perry
Township um that this eventually was

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going to happen. Yeah, we we had hoped
for a little bit uh longer of a

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transition plan with Perry regarding
their dissolution. Uh but they had

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indicated to us that they're in a much
shorter timeline uh towards dissolving

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and going away. So we needed to act a
little sooner than what we had first

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anticipated

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» questions. Anyone [clears throat]
>> are you able to quantify? Let's I know

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zero is the low end, but let's assume
that the grant comes through. How many

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additional firefighters would that
potentially be able to bring on?

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» It depends what the application is. One
of the the questions always becomes the

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with a grain application is the town of
Zansville becomes responsible to ensure

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employment of those individuals. So it
may on the the front end seem like oh

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well let's put in for the balance of
those individuals right away but then

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we're also responsible to make sure that
we gainfully employ them. If not we're

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responsible to fund back those funds. So
it's going to be really a bit of a

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balancing act. Uh last time we did this,
we put in for six individuals. I would

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expect that number to be just a little
bit north of additional six individuals

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through a safer uh application. Again,
we worked successfully with a third

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party vendor uh to submit that grant and
we have not begun that process. The

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mayor has directed us to. Uh we're
working on uh with a director of finance

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and records and closing out our current
grant application. And as soon as we get

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that grant closed, then we'd be able to
begin to prepare for the submission

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process, which doesn't happen until mid
2027, mid next year. So the earliest we

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would receive funds would be 28 or
after.

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» Okay. So then we could potentially have
pressure on the budget in 28

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[clears throat and cough] because we
fund them, we get the grant, but then

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the grant ends and then we have six new
people that we have to fund.

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» Right? That wouldn't be till three years
later. So you start in 28, 29, 30, and

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then that would become our burden in 31.
>> Great.

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» Hopefully by that time we've everything
has starting to even out, right? And

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then those six we can just build that in
to existing budgets and then have that

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in to perpetuity. Right.
>> I didn't realize there was such a delay

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in the helps.
>> You get it for a couple years before

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they yank that money from you.
>> Yeah.

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» And I would point out too, the last time
we did the safer grant, there was no way

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that we could have anticipated SEA1,
right? you know, so when we had those

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six firefighters come into the budget
this year, that was a little bit of a of

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a hurdle that we had to overcome, but
now we're budgeting on a five-year plan.

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So, we know what our situation is going
to look like in 2031. Uh, and this seems

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like a like a very good solution for us
to pull those hires forward and and get

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up to fully staffed status sooner.
>> Sure. Thanks.

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» Just to clarify, if I can, um, and we
all knew that the we're all aware of the

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needs. We all see the
the the new fire station having to be

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fully staffed and and one coming even
further after that. So, we know we're

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going to have to add what another 15
firefighters in the next few years. Um

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the grant that you're talking about
would not be for the six that we're

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putting on now. It' be for the sixth the
following year.

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» That would be correct.
>> Just to clarify, um I guess it's really

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just a question as much for for the
mayor, especially for folks watching.

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So, all six of the new firefighters we
would hire this year, which would not be

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part of the grant, would be funded with
operational deficit spending

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uh for 2027, which I think we would
support. Um, but help the public

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understand watching why that changes
after 2027 and it no longer becomes

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operationally dependent on deficit.
>> Well, it does in 2027 and 2028. uh in

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2029 we get closer to evening out in
2030 we will be able to control our own

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tax rate at that time and we can uh tax
at an appropriate level to fund the

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services that we need here in Zensville.
So SEA1 uh is a phased in product right

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now. Um so we're shifting I mean the big
picture is we're shifting from property

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taxes to income taxes to fund our
government. And as that shift occurs,

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you know, there's going to be a bit of a
deficit until we get to the point where

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we're less reliant on property taxes.
>> Yeah. I just want folks following along

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to realize that we this [clears throat]
is what we're suggesting now. Future

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council will have to vote for tax
increases on that shift to make sure

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that we're covering.
>> Well, it's not a tax increase

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necessarily. It's setting the tax rate.
Right now, we don't set the the uh local

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00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:33,519
income tax rate
under the terms of SEA1. Right now, the

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all municipalities will be doing that uh
in 2028 uh for collection in 29. And we

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first receive those revenues in 2030,
but

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» you would have to have some increase in
order to cover these costs of

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firefighters more than what people are
paying currently. I

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» I don't know that that's necessarily
true. And and maybe Tim Barry is here

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with Crow. He can explain that a little
further. It's a shifting of of where the

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taxes
>> you're just coming out are levied

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whether from property taxes to local
income tax.

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» It'll be based on your
>> I understand that people are paying less

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in property taxes but action will have
to be taken to pass new lit revenue. It

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may be about depending on where your
taxes are in terms of income versus

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property. Some people are going to pay
more some people may pay less. Some

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people may come out flat. I'm just
explaining to people that they may hear

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that this council may have to pass a lit
increase to cover those dollars that are

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no longer coming in through property
taxes.

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» Well, I I think I think to be clear,
it's no secret that that a council for

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the town of Zansville will be required
to increase the tax.

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» That's what I'm just trying to have,
>> but I think everybody in the public

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knows that, too. There's no reason to to
>> We just went through this last meeting.

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» I mean, this is this is going to happen.
So I think I think it's just important

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to to have that.
>> That's my point, Jason, is that I for

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folks tracking and if I'm watching and
thinking, hey, there's gonna be a

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deficit. How why is that change? Why
does all of a sudden the deficit

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spending close the gap? It's going to
it's going to close through a lit. But

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no secret, but I don't know if everyone
knows that. I would venture to say if I

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pulled my neighbors, I don't know that
most people know that that's coming

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because they haven't always dialed in
every meeting that we have. In fact,

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some of our meetings haven't even been
been shown on television the way they

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should have. Go ahead,
>> Tim Barry with Crow. Um, I might add

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that the changes as a result of Senate
Enrolled Act One uh will change the

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local income tax
um from how it is allocated. Those taxes

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are allocated today based upon property
tax levy. As you recall, the town of

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Zansville is a loser in that scenario
because

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uh the town's property tax levy is not
as high as some neighboring communities.

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So, it is undetermined what that rate
that will be necessary to fund moving

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forward. But I will say that Zansville
will benefit in the fact that uh the

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incomes of Zansville uh the income tax
dollars of Zansville will stay in

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Zansville with the rate that is
established by the town council. And

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that may not be as uh high of a rate as
some other neighboring communities will

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need to adopt because of that levy in
balance that is taking place today and

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the income imbalance between the town of
Zansville and other communities in the

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county. I think that SCA1 has gotten a
lot of um negative undertones because

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it's easier for uh understanding that it
has changed what is status quo. But I do

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think there's positivity in SEA1 that
people overlook because they don't

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understand it. And I think um having
more control on our local dollars is the

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00:18:51,520 --> 00:19:01,120
ultimate goal of SEA1. It's just
changing from property taxes that are

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00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:08,559
divvied up not necessarily according to
where they came from. And Tim called us

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00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:14,400
a loser. We're not losers. No. Um but we
are contributors to our county. So

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that's a that's a big point that I think
I believe is what they're angling to

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change with SEA1 that has the bad taste
in everyone's mouth. But I think this is

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00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:32,240
the positive part of SEA1, the direction
that is the legislation. I think they

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get a lot of bad rap for this. And I
think this is the part that people don't

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understand that is
I guess angled to be better for

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00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:47,840
Zansville. We can finally um pay for our
own. And

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00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:53,039
the goal is for the balance of people
who don't have income and struggle with

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00:19:50,559 --> 00:19:58,640
their property taxes to feel less of the
burden and the people who are making

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00:19:55,360 --> 00:20:03,919
income to be able to have their money go
to their town. So that's my

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00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:09,600
understanding of SEA1. I'm not an expert
on it, but I do read on it and watch um

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you know just different explanations of
it and I believe that is what is

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supposed to be happening per the
legislation.

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» Better for donors, not good for the
recipients, the net recipients. There

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are towns around us who got more money
because of their growth rate and um it

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will hurt them when it comes down to
what income level they are at.

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00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:45,600
» Well, yeah. Well, Scienceville continues
to medium home values in the $750,000

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range, right? Strong income tax will
help support us.

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00:20:47,039 --> 00:20:52,000
» Yeah, I think we're all comfortable
doing it. I just want to make sure folks

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at home are understanding why we would
purposely pass a budget that wasn't

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00:20:54,000 --> 00:21:00,559
quote balanced on paper. That's how the
mayor opened the meeting. Right.

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» Well, I'm not comfortable with that. But
um I do know that sometimes when we are

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00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:11,039
applying for grants and we have a large
percentage of reserves, uh we get look

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00:21:09,039 --> 00:21:16,159
less favorably because it looks like
well you could cover it. So, this is not

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00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:21,840
a complete negative either to spend down
your reserve a little bit because you do

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00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:27,120
end up um looking more balanced. And
even the county where we just had the

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00:21:23,919 --> 00:21:31,760
reallocation of the fire department u
requests,

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00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:37,360
our fire department needs money too, but
we don't look as needy. So, it would be

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00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:40,880
harder pressed to to go to the county
and and have them have just done

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00:21:39,534 --> 00:21:46,400
[clears throat] a special distribution
for us. So that's that's another

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positive which sounds like a negative. S
spending down your reserves a little bit

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is not a bad thing. [clears throat]
>> Yeah. No, it's not. And and kudos to

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previous councils u many of them who we
owe the gratitude I think for having a

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00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:07,679
$40 million deficit that we were to
having a $40 million

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00:22:05,919 --> 00:22:12,000
» surplus. Surplus.
>> Uh yeah like that's the wrong word.

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00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:17,679
» We're not losers and we don't have that
allows us to be able to do this. So, I

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think we've been fiscally uh responsible
in the last decade.

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00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:24,080
» And I I would point out too that it
works both ways in addition to, you

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00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:29,120
know, maybe some grants looking at us
less favorably because we have high

291
00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:32,799
reserves. Uh the rating agencies like to
see those high reserves and as we go to

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00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:37,440
the market in bonding for the new fire
station, for the new DPW center, that

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00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:40,320
works in our favor. having having those
high reserves

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» turns into that balance of that special
sweet spot.

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00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:48,320
» So what would you say the sweet spot is?
That's what I was sitting here. Is it I

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know 20 15 to 20 is kind of our target,
>> right?

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00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:56,720
» But when you've worked with the agencies
closely, I mean is 30% more of a sweet

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00:22:55,120 --> 00:23:02,400
spot because then we're favorable to the
bonding agencies but then our ability

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00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:05,600
maybe a question for Tim.
>> Worth of that.

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00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:09,679
» It's high even higher than that. Okay. I
I think they'd like to see it as high as

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we can get it. Uh I think over 60% is
probably preferable to them. Um you

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00:23:11,919 --> 00:23:17,440
know, we're not the only town that's
wrestling with the effects of SEA1.

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00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:21,440
Every municipality in Indiana is going
through this right now. And I think the

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00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:25,679
ra rating agencies are kind of looking
sideways at everybody in Indiana at the

305
00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:31,280
moment because of this unsettled period
that we're in. Uh but us coming in with

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00:23:28,159 --> 00:23:34,480
a high uh reserve percentage is
something that has really worked in our

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00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:38,240
favor and it's been been a positive. I
mean, the bonds for the fire station

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00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:42,080
were 3.8%.
Uh, try getting a mortgage for 3.8%

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00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:45,919
these days. You can't do it. I mean,
that's that's pretty good and that

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00:23:43,679 --> 00:23:50,640
speaks well for what the market believes
about Zensville's economic future.

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00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:56,000
» There are three things three things on
that point I want to add very quickly.

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00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:59,600
Um, one is our ISO rating. Chief, can
you very quickly talk about how

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important the ISO rating is and why why
having new more firefighters for ISO

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00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:07,840
matters?
Yeah. Uh the insurance service office,

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00:24:06,159 --> 00:24:10,559
what you're referring to, uh has a
rating for the fire departments uh

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00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:15,600
throughout the state of Indiana,
throughout the nation. Um and that

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00:24:12,799 --> 00:24:19,440
insurance rating equates to what we as
individual property owners pay in our

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00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:23,840
annual homeowners insurance premiums.
The lower the score like a golf score,

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00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:29,360
the better off you are. We are on the
cusp uh of being a class one fire

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00:24:26,799 --> 00:24:33,919
department. We are a class two uh fire
department. Uh we are evaluated for the

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00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:38,720
number of fire stations, the proximity
of those fire stations to our residents,

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00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:43,200
the response time, the staffing that is
there. Uh will the six firefighters

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00:24:41,039 --> 00:24:48,240
ensure that we are a class one? It'll
help. It will not be 100% of it, but it

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is a big component of what goes on uh in
evaluating the insurance service office

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delivery of services to our community.
And then and then the other thing we

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didn't talk about um the the the the
increase across the board for for pay.

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00:25:01,039 --> 00:25:05,600
How how is that going to go across with
the department?

328
00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:08,240
» Yeah, I think uh couple two two things
are very important in this budget to

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public safety, just not the
firefighters, and I won't speak for

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00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:14,960
Chief Spears, but I know our uh law
enforcement brother and sisters in blue

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00:25:12,799 --> 00:25:20,559
that are in the merit system uh is
recruitment and retention. Uh currently

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00:25:17,919 --> 00:25:25,760
uh this year uh Zansville uh town of
Zansville ranks below the 60th

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00:25:22,799 --> 00:25:29,520
organization in longevity pay. So we are
well below our neighboring areas. One of

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00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:34,000
the things that the mayor has
implemented as part of this plan is to

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00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:38,640
increase our longevity pay which will
move that up and help our base pay so

336
00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:42,400
that our incumbent firefighters as well
as recruitment efforts will be able to

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00:25:40,799 --> 00:25:45,600
be competitive with neighboring areas.
We will not be the highest. will not be

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00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:50,400
in the top three or so, but it'll at
least put us back up towards the top to

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00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:54,960
be competitive for both police and fire
for recruitment and retention.

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00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:57,200
» And what is that longevity years? How
does how do you end up getting the

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00:25:56,320 --> 00:26:02,640
longevity pay?
>> Um, based upon state law, it says that a

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00:26:00,159 --> 00:26:08,480
uh pension base is determined by base
pay plus 20 years of service unless you

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are a local unionized organization. The
fire department does have a recognized

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00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:18,000
union. So therefore, we are able to
account for or accredit and add up to 25

345
00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:21,279
years worth of longevity. Some people
ask why is the police and fire

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00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:24,799
different? Again, that's one of the uh
many benefits of having a union and the

347
00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:30,360
fire department is we're able to account
and add the 25th year of longevity pay.

348
00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:38,320
» Chief, I had a quick question about the
uh uh the budget that's in front of us.

349
00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:42,880
Looks like on 27 28 29 on personal ser
person personnel services there's a

350
00:26:40,559 --> 00:26:48,159
there's a I guess it goes down a million
dollars then back up. Can you explain?

351
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:51,200
» Yeah, I would have to defer to Tim Barry
and financing records. I can tell you

352
00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:55,200
that we've been working on a five-year
budget with the mayor and stuff and I

353
00:26:53,039 --> 00:26:58,960
would say that 27's pretty rock solid
with all the numbers that we have and uh

354
00:26:57,360 --> 00:27:02,240
28 and beyond are kind of some
projections right now and I'd say

355
00:27:00,159 --> 00:27:05,440
they're not quite finished.
>> Does that represent grant funding? uh

356
00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:08,880
that does not count take into account
any grant funding. I think it's more

357
00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:16,120
just some administrative administrative
cleaning up that needs to be done in 28

358
00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:16,120
29 and 30 uh within the plan they have.

359
00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:28,720
» Can you speak to um the six firefighters
and the retirements? Um, are

360
00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:33,840
we able to continue to replace everyone
who's retiring then which would not be

361
00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:39,919
included as an additional person or do
we anticipate having some positions dip

362
00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:46,880
down as people retire? I'm I'm just
trying to follow when we have people go

363
00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:54,320
to training and how it's cyclical and
wondered if we would see

364
00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:58,720
I guess unplanned possible savings from
timing of retirements versus bringing

365
00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:04,320
new people on or is that anticipated
that we're going to bring extra people

366
00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:09,279
on early as people are rolling off? I
believe in the six months between

367
00:28:06,799 --> 00:28:13,840
January and July we might have a couple
of retirements.

368
00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:19,600
» Will we and will we bring an additional
two people on to be trained so that when

369
00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:24,880
the retirees roll off the numbers would
stay the same personnel wise but it

370
00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:28,960
would almost appear to be two over for a
few months or how does that work with

371
00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:33,039
timing of training?
>> You're exactly correct counselor. Um

372
00:28:31,039 --> 00:28:37,120
Zenzo Fire Department has been received
written notification from two

373
00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:44,960
individuals who are planning to retire
um at the end of Q1 2027. Um it is our

374
00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:49,520
intent to hire two individuals in in
addition to the six the so this is uh we

375
00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:54,240
talk about retirements. This is not part
of the plus six as we talk about it

376
00:28:51,679 --> 00:28:57,360
internally to our firefighters. Uh we
would look to hire two additional

377
00:28:55,600 --> 00:29:01,279
individuals. We would start them in
January. One may say, "Wait a second.

378
00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:04,480
You don't need them till April when they
retire." Keep in mind that when we hire

379
00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:08,320
individuals, they have to go off to a
22- week academy. And we actually won't

380
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:11,600
see those individuals come to work for
us until June. So, they're actually

381
00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:14,640
going to be after where they are. We
will have a short two or three month

382
00:29:13,039 --> 00:29:18,640
period of time. We'll be paying both
salaries. How are we able to achieve

383
00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:21,760
that? Uh, a couple of things is one, we
have to just absorb those extra costs

384
00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:25,200
within our budget. It's not part of an
additional dollar amount or a bucket of

385
00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:29,360
money that we've put in there. But we're
also think about this way. We have uh

386
00:29:27,039 --> 00:29:32,960
individuals with 20 plus years of
service that have 20 years of longevity.

387
00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:35,919
Uh and we'll be replacing those with
individuals with one year. And then

388
00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:38,960
individuals with one I'm looking to HR
to confirm years one through three or

389
00:29:37,679 --> 00:29:42,640
one through four don't get any
longevity. So there'd be some cost

390
00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:46,960
savings there and going from a senior
employee to a more junior employee. Um

391
00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:50,480
you know from the safety board
discussions that the fire department uh

392
00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:54,480
has been challenged with staffing. We
have two current vacancies. We're super

393
00:29:52,559 --> 00:29:58,880
excited to share that through the
recruitment effort of Captain Campbell,

394
00:29:56,559 --> 00:30:02,960
our paramedic uh firefighter hiring has
gone excellent. We have two individuals

395
00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:05,760
that should be working as laterals,
meaning they were experienced

396
00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:09,279
firefighters somewhere else coming to
shift for us before November of this

397
00:30:07,679 --> 00:30:12,720
year. That's great. Uh we'll help fill
some voids. And then we also look to go

398
00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:16,000
back to that fair, excuse me,
firefighter paramedic hiring list. There

399
00:30:14,399 --> 00:30:20,480
are four more individuals on that list
and extend four of the six job offers

400
00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:23,200
that are coming to that. So that again,
we're adding paramedics to the fire

401
00:30:22,159 --> 00:30:26,399
department, which has also been
something we've talked about at the

402
00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:29,200
safety board level. And I'm sure as you
guys have traveled around and heard from

403
00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:32,799
our firefighters, we are short in the
paramedic field. Also want to give kudo

404
00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:35,919
to our incumbent firefighters that we
have three of our current firefighters

405
00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:39,279
that are off in paramedic school right
now and they will graduate in June or

406
00:30:37,919 --> 00:30:45,760
July of next year.
>> That sounds like great news.

407
00:30:43,039 --> 00:30:50,720
» Thank you.
>> Any other questions for Chief Van Gorder

408
00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:50,720
and his team?

409
00:30:51,279 --> 00:30:56,159
Okay. Well, the next uh department up,
thank you, gentlemen. The next

410
00:30:54,000 --> 00:31:00,080
department up is the police department.
Um, and we are not asking for new

411
00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:04,799
officers at this time. We believe the
department is currently uh well staffed.

412
00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:08,640
However, there are three areas that are
going to be transitioning from rural to

413
00:31:06,559 --> 00:31:13,279
urban. Wild Air, the courtyards of
Russell Lakes, and the courtyards of

414
00:31:10,559 --> 00:31:17,919
Heritage Trail. And obviously, very few
people live there now. Uh, but

415
00:31:15,679 --> 00:31:22,960
population in those areas will grow. We
know that for sure. So, uh we plan to

416
00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:29,279
propose adding three to five new police
officers by 2031. Uh but again, none of

417
00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:34,399
those new hires are uh in the pipeline
for 2027. And with that, I I put the

418
00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:39,840
numbers on the screen for you and uh
Chief and his team are sitting at the

419
00:31:36,159 --> 00:31:44,399
table to answer any questions.
>> Yeah, if there are any uh questions for

420
00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:48,240
Chief Spears and his team, I I don't
have any questions. Oh, I just let me

421
00:31:46,559 --> 00:31:53,760
I'll just open it up for real quick one
more time as a the budget leaison for

422
00:31:50,159 --> 00:31:59,600
police. I want to thank um Chief Spears,
Captain Samuelson for for their hard

423
00:31:55,760 --> 00:32:03,279
work. Um this this budget proposal adds
I believe the biggest biggest expense

424
00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:08,240
here is new vehicles, right? There
there's a few new vehicles uh that that

425
00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:11,360
we want to to add to the fleet.
>> Actually, there's a decrease in number

426
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:13,360
of vehicles that we are purchasing this
year.

427
00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:17,279
» Right. Right. But we're still adding.
So, I mean, that's the biggest expense,

428
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:21,760
right, for for the department this year.
And then we we talked adnauseium about

429
00:32:19,679 --> 00:32:25,440
about new hires, and it sounds like
again, as more neighborhoods come

430
00:32:23,519 --> 00:32:30,240
online, there will be a need in future
years, but but you're this budget

431
00:32:27,919 --> 00:32:37,519
proposal does not add any new police
officers to the force this year, right?

432
00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:40,320
And and you're fine with with that as as
we sit here right now?

433
00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:43,919
» Yes. Fortunately, we're fully staffed
right now. Uh although two of our

434
00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:48,320
officers just started the Indiana Law
Enforcement Training Academy today. So

435
00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:51,760
they're they're in uh some form of
training for the next several months,

436
00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:58,640
but once they're out, we'll be fully
staffed and uh and I feel like we're

437
00:32:54,720 --> 00:33:02,399
we're good for next year.
>> Very easy.

438
00:32:59,679 --> 00:33:06,720
» All right.
Any other questions for Chief and his

439
00:33:03,919 --> 00:33:08,399
team?
>> Thanks.

440
00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:12,480
» Thank you guys.
>> Thank you. Uh I'm kind of going in the

441
00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:16,559
order of size of the departments and and
uh impact on the budget. So the next one

442
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:20,720
will be DPW and Lance is going to take
the table here obviously for streets,

443
00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:25,360
facilities, and storm water. We we'll
focus on streets first and you will

444
00:33:23,279 --> 00:33:30,480
notice uh in the request there there's a
request for one new employee um to get

445
00:33:28,399 --> 00:33:33,919
us closer closer to the staffing that is
commensurate with the formula that takes

446
00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:38,640
into account the number of people served
the number of lane miles of road that we

447
00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:42,720
service as well as I mentioned before
the anticipated movement of several

448
00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:48,559
areas from rural to urban. Uh another
notable item is Lance's move the Oak

449
00:33:45,279 --> 00:33:53,679
Street path construction to 2028.
uh we will work on obtaining rights of

450
00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:58,559
way in 2027. So the project is not
falling off the radar. It's just moving

451
00:33:55,919 --> 00:34:03,919
on a timeline that uh fits into our
budget a little better than uh

452
00:34:00,799 --> 00:34:07,120
previously announced. So um if anybody
is concerned about the Oak Street

453
00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:12,240
Pathway not going forward, it is going
forward uh albeit on a little different

454
00:34:09,839 --> 00:34:16,960
time schedule. So with that in mind, if
we could stick to the streets um

455
00:34:14,720 --> 00:34:23,240
category right now, any questions for
Lance on that? and he would be happy I'm

456
00:34:19,359 --> 00:34:23,240
sure to answer those

457
00:34:28,079 --> 00:34:39,119
inter lance intersection improvement
um there is there any big asks for next

458
00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:42,960
year in terms of you know where you want
to see

459
00:34:41,119 --> 00:34:46,399
I'm thinking of intersections like I'm
thinking of in front of St. house. I'm

460
00:34:44,639 --> 00:34:51,040
thinking of in front of here at town
hall. I'm thinking of 200 in in

461
00:34:49,599 --> 00:34:57,359
Michigan, which I know is in DOT's
territory. Is there anything in this

462
00:34:52,960 --> 00:35:02,079
budget for next year that that is a need
or a want that didn't make it in or

463
00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:05,760
» the needs and wants are many? [laughter]
>> Yes.

464
00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:10,560
» Um but at this point, there is no focus
project contemplated in the budget. um

465
00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:14,320
we don't have the funding in the
near-term horizon to fund the

466
00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:18,720
preliminary phases of any major road
construction even if we get a grant um

467
00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:24,480
or crossings or any types of those only
cover construction. Um Mr. Mayweather is

468
00:35:21,599 --> 00:35:29,920
putting together a list of the top dozen
or so um having merged the comprehensive

469
00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:34,079
plan which was recently completed along
with our most recent traffic impact

470
00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:38,640
study. So he is building sort of a
prioritized list of these areas to vet

471
00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:42,400
with the mayor and council as well so
that when funding opportunities do arise

472
00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:45,520
as far as grants we can be prepared to
do that and we kind of all agree on what

473
00:35:44,079 --> 00:35:48,560
the next you know one or two
transportation projects should be but

474
00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:52,720
the budget does not include any
significant intersection projects.

475
00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:56,880
» Could you could you speak real quickly
to the kind of the jump in capital

476
00:35:54,880 --> 00:35:59,280
outlays in 2028? What is that project or
what what are you looking at

477
00:35:57,599 --> 00:36:03,680
» in 2028? 2028.
>> Yeah, that's a little over. It's almost

478
00:36:01,119 --> 00:36:08,160
1.9 million. That's phases three uh
phases four and five of the Oak Street

479
00:36:05,599 --> 00:36:13,520
pathway to connect. Originally, we had
broken this out into five phases to to

480
00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:16,880
make it a little more um by the bite of
the elephant type approach and

481
00:36:14,720 --> 00:36:21,359
affordable on an annual basis. Uh the
last two phases, phase three will be be

482
00:36:19,359 --> 00:36:26,320
under contract this year and probably
constructed next year. What we did is

483
00:36:23,599 --> 00:36:30,400
combine phases four and five because uh
they can include a bridge uh over the

484
00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:35,200
creek out west and then [clears throat]
a really small segment. So it it made

485
00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:38,720
more sense to spend a year getting
engineering completed so that we have

486
00:36:37,119 --> 00:36:43,040
more accurate cost. So when we're at
this point next year, uh instead of a a

487
00:36:41,680 --> 00:36:45,280
high level estimate, we could have
something more approaching a

488
00:36:44,079 --> 00:36:48,400
construction cost
>> and that would 2028 we would be able to

489
00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:54,640
finish the pathway at that point
>> in 2020 2028. We would at least get it

490
00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:57,800
under contract uh if not constructed.
>> Thank you.

491
00:36:59,040 --> 00:37:07,119
I think this is one of our big areas. We
get a lot of push back from our

492
00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:11,920
constituents that they would like to see
the infrastructure

493
00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:19,119
improvements um especially in the north
side where the c county roads are

494
00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:28,880
getting um crowded especially during
rush hour um or school hours.

495
00:37:23,920 --> 00:37:35,119
Do you work with the county to um pay
for those improvements or are we

496
00:37:31,040 --> 00:37:39,920
completely at the mercy of the county to
get something like 300?

497
00:37:37,599 --> 00:37:43,839
» We we work with the county and we're
always looking for opportunities to

498
00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:49,040
partner. There are some more some lesser
significant projects uh that could

499
00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:52,800
evolve um in the next year or two or
three that are partnerships with the

500
00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:55,960
county and INDOT, but those are still in
their infancy.

501
00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:05,599
» I'm interested in seeing the
intersection improvement uh the top

502
00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:10,400
dozen. Um
and I won't be afraid to say it. That's

503
00:38:07,520 --> 00:38:16,079
something I would consider midyear if we
come up with ways that um could help

504
00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:21,200
some of our traffic
uh congestion in specific areas as we

505
00:38:19,520 --> 00:38:24,960
look at that list.
>> Um I would I would love to announce that

506
00:38:23,119 --> 00:38:29,280
we're doing something major for everyone
that's frustrated.

507
00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:32,079
» Understood. And of course with the the
financial outlook, you know, we don't

508
00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:35,440
have money for these projects.
>> I understand that. Um, but we're looking

509
00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:39,599
forward to working with the mayor and
getting his concurrence and input. Um,

510
00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:44,320
and then he would engage the council
leadership to see what you wanted to do

511
00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:48,160
for rolling out our unfunded plan.
>> Right.

512
00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:54,000
It's just hard to explain that we can
use our reserves for some things. And if

513
00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:57,760
this is one of our people's biggest
complaints that we're hearing about, I

514
00:38:56,560 --> 00:39:02,400
think that this [clears throat] is not a
bad area to focus on.

515
00:39:01,599 --> 00:39:09,040
Thank you.
>> I I I would tend to agree. Thank you.

516
00:39:06,480 --> 00:39:14,560
» That's just since it came up the I think
I think a lot of people talk about 300

517
00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:17,280
which is a county project. I think I did
I not recently hear that maybe there's

518
00:39:15,839 --> 00:39:20,079
been some movement though from the
county to maybe move forward with doing

519
00:39:19,599 --> 00:39:23,200
something
>> on three. Is that an intersection

520
00:39:21,920 --> 00:39:24,880
project? Are you talking about the
intersection?

521
00:39:23,920 --> 00:39:29,359
» The the widening.
>> Oh, the widening. Uh no. I the

522
00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:32,720
intersection there are some intersection
projects under consideration but as far

523
00:39:31,440 --> 00:39:36,720
as overall widening throughout the
corridor I've not heard anything about

524
00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:45,480
that.
>> Thank you. Maybe wishful thinking.

525
00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:45,480
» Any other questions for Mr. Lance?

526
00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:49,680
» Thank you.
>> All right. He's going to stay in the

527
00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:53,599
seat to talk about facilities which I
think is pretty straightforward. I don't

528
00:39:50,960 --> 00:39:56,000
have any additional comments but uh the
numbers are on your screen right now. on

529
00:39:54,880 --> 00:40:02,160
Lance. I don't know if you have anything
more to say about facilities.

530
00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:06,000
» Uh, not really except there is one um
thing to recognize and that is that the

531
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:10,640
mayor's restructuring of
responsibilities, the increase in

532
00:40:08,640 --> 00:40:15,359
services and charges. The facilities
maintenance division has taken over the

533
00:40:13,040 --> 00:40:19,839
billings for the security of all the
facilities and the cameras. That used to

534
00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:23,520
be an IT expense. Um, so we are taking
that over in facilities maintenance.

535
00:40:21,200 --> 00:40:28,280
That's the the really one and only major
change for this year, next year

536
00:40:25,280 --> 00:40:28,280
proposed.

537
00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:37,993
And if there are no further questions
there, we can move on to storm water.

538
00:40:35,973 --> 00:40:37,993
[clears throat]

539
00:40:44,079 --> 00:40:54,040
That one appears very straightforward
like you apply a percentage and it just

540
00:40:49,359 --> 00:40:54,040
goes up each year by a small amount.

541
00:41:00,079 --> 00:41:02,828
» Any questions?
>> I don't have any additional comments. If

542
00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:05,680
you have questions about storm
[clears throat] water,

543
00:41:03,680 --> 00:41:06,880
» I think we're good.
>> Okay.

544
00:41:06,400 --> 00:41:11,119
» Thank you.
>> Thank you.

545
00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:16,240
All right. The next department uh that
we would like to take a look at here is

546
00:41:12,960 --> 00:41:20,560
parks and recreation. Uh you will notice
uh and you have noticed taking a deep

547
00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:23,920
dive that it includes one new hire in
parks maintenance which would increase

548
00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:28,960
the headcount in the department. But I
want to be very clear it does not

549
00:41:26,319 --> 00:41:32,319
increase the cost because we're able to
move one of our naturalists out of the

550
00:41:30,880 --> 00:41:37,440
parks operating fund to the
non-reverting operating account. that is

551
00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:42,319
funded by programming fees which will be
sa self self- sustaining going forward.

552
00:41:40,079 --> 00:41:47,520
Uh and that is the first step in the
parks department's goal of having all of

553
00:41:44,960 --> 00:41:51,680
our naturalists uh funded by programming
fees eventually. But you know we're

554
00:41:49,599 --> 00:41:55,359
we're taking that step by step. I think
this is a very good step and it will

555
00:41:53,119 --> 00:42:00,000
certainly help uh in the maintenance of
our parks particularly this time of year

556
00:41:57,359 --> 00:42:05,040
when our seasonals are back at school or
back you know at uh other jobs that um

557
00:42:03,680 --> 00:42:08,960
they're not able to help us with
maintenance anymore at this time of year

558
00:42:07,119 --> 00:42:13,280
but the maintenance goes on for another
couple of months until the snow flies.

559
00:42:10,560 --> 00:42:18,359
So uh with that Jared is in the seat and
he can answer any questions that that

560
00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:18,359
you might have.

561
00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:24,560
I guess I would just say real quickly as
a leazison with the parks group, I I

562
00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:28,240
want to thank Jared and his staff. Um I
think there's there's no department that

563
00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:31,760
does more with less that probably than
this department and I think our

564
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:35,839
community absolutely loves our parks.
They're incredibly important to them,

565
00:42:33,359 --> 00:42:38,960
but they're not they're not inexpensive
to maintain and to grow. And I

566
00:42:37,804 --> 00:42:43,359
[clears throat] think um if you look at
2027, there are some costs in there that

567
00:42:41,599 --> 00:42:48,319
are associated with the kind of the
growth of the parks in our in our town.

568
00:42:46,319 --> 00:42:52,319
Um but otherwise you've done a wonderful
job of managing the money and um

569
00:42:50,640 --> 00:42:58,040
hopefully we can continue to support all
that you aspire to do with our parks.

570
00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:58,040
Thanks Jared.

571
00:42:59,520 --> 00:43:03,240
» Any questions for Jared?

572
00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:08,480
» Thanks.
>> Okay. Thank you.

573
00:43:04,800 --> 00:43:14,079
» Appreciate it. Oh, is that we good?
I guess we're good. Okay. Uh let's move

574
00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:17,680
on to inter information technology. Um
again there is additional employee in

575
00:43:15,680 --> 00:43:22,160
the budget uh and this is the person who
will focus the vast vast majority of

576
00:43:20,079 --> 00:43:27,200
their time on public safety seeing to
the tech needs of our police and fire

577
00:43:23,839 --> 00:43:30,800
departments which represent 63% of our
employees and more than 60% of the

578
00:43:28,960 --> 00:43:35,520
budget and you know I will point out
that they do operate 24 hours a day 7

579
00:43:33,040 --> 00:43:40,640
days a week and the technical needs that
both police and fire have are only

580
00:43:38,160 --> 00:43:46,400
growing. Other municipalities have had
success in bringing in an employee in IT

581
00:43:43,760 --> 00:43:50,160
to focus specifically on those needs. Uh
and in addition, it will free up the

582
00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:55,200
current IT staff to handle more tickets
from other departments and plan for the

583
00:43:52,240 --> 00:44:00,800
future needs of the town. Uh the budget
reflects uh also increasing costs of

584
00:43:58,560 --> 00:44:05,280
hardware and software licenses and
supports our goal of maintaining

585
00:44:02,640 --> 00:44:09,599
security and increasing the transparency
for our constituents. So, all that being

586
00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:14,359
said, uh, John Emory is in the seat
right now and can answer any questions

587
00:44:10,960 --> 00:44:14,359
you might have.

588
00:44:15,599 --> 00:44:23,040
» Do we have someone overlooking um
consolidating licenses? Do we I know at

589
00:44:21,040 --> 00:44:26,960
some point when we're looking at the
claims that are coming across, we see

590
00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:34,160
subscriptions
for um a variety of things. Do we all

591
00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:40,480
run that through each other that we are
no department is paying for

592
00:44:36,640 --> 00:44:44,960
an additional license on its own or
>> say licenses what do you like anything

593
00:44:42,800 --> 00:44:49,760
» software supports or I don't know I've
just seen simple things like um the one

594
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:55,440
that pops in mind is the simplest and
it's not necessarily it but like the IBJ

595
00:44:53,920 --> 00:45:02,400
I've seen it come through from different
aart or departments is there anyone that

596
00:45:00,319 --> 00:45:09,760
» so really the only software I guess that
comes out of it would be Microsoft

597
00:45:04,960 --> 00:45:14,960
office software ware um anything that's
um sometimes

598
00:45:12,079 --> 00:45:18,960
like secure access something that like
every department uses

599
00:45:16,800 --> 00:45:25,280
» uh each department has their own PC card
they everybody has their own

600
00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:29,200
whatever they want to get is up to them
and their department head and that's a

601
00:45:27,040 --> 00:45:30,319
finance policy it's not really me
>> okay

602
00:45:29,760 --> 00:45:34,880
» um but
>> it just made me think about it when I

603
00:45:32,240 --> 00:45:38,800
thought about costs that you have and
Um, it just hit me. I wondered if we

604
00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:44,160
ever
>> check that there isn't some sort of cost

605
00:45:40,560 --> 00:45:48,400
savings in um cross departmental
subscriptions or um

606
00:45:47,440 --> 00:45:53,839
» that's not
>> But you don't have anything other than

607
00:45:50,720 --> 00:45:58,000
» my stuff is mostly it's well my stuff is
all information technology related,

608
00:45:56,000 --> 00:46:00,800
infrastructure related and security
related.

609
00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:05,839
» Okay.
the new public safety it um where will

610
00:46:03,599 --> 00:46:10,880
that individual work out of well out of
town hall do you anticipate

611
00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:17,359
» uh probably out of town hall um
currently I don't have any more office

612
00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:22,880
space uh it's on the list to figure out
but uh the biggest hurdle I guess is

613
00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:27,359
getting it approved so we're kind of I
don't want to put the the cart before

614
00:46:24,960 --> 00:46:31,839
the horse so to say so I figured we
would get this through and then move

615
00:46:30,079 --> 00:46:36,720
forward Can you explain to us the
benefit of having this public safety IT

616
00:46:34,480 --> 00:46:40,720
individual um for you and your
department?

617
00:46:38,160 --> 00:46:46,800
» So currently I would say public safety
is 50 if not 60 or 75% of all the

618
00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:51,839
tickets we get all the on call support
uh public safety is 24/7. Currently all

619
00:46:49,760 --> 00:46:56,640
those responsibilities kind of fall to
me and I've been on call for five years.

620
00:46:54,800 --> 00:47:02,800
I'm not opposed to it. It just is what
it is. Um, but ideally we can get

621
00:47:00,400 --> 00:47:06,720
someone in. And and then the other
benefit to having a public safety is

622
00:47:04,800 --> 00:47:11,440
currently
all of or most of the knowledge I have

623
00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:15,280
from working here at this long is in my
head and I want to be able to get that

624
00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:22,960
out of my head and get that passed
around. So it it it's the the age-old if

625
00:47:19,680 --> 00:47:26,319
if the IT guy gets hit by a bus, uh, all
that knowledge is gone and we have to

626
00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:29,920
get that out and we have to spread that
around. So we don't have a single point

627
00:47:28,240 --> 00:47:34,240
of failure. And it single point of
failure is the worst. That's the worst

628
00:47:32,480 --> 00:47:38,319
you can be. And currently when it comes
to knowledge and help and things like

629
00:47:35,680 --> 00:47:42,960
that, I'm the single point of failure.
So we share that knowledge. We get that

630
00:47:41,119 --> 00:47:48,960
knowledge spread throughout our
department more. Uh we also have that

631
00:47:45,760 --> 00:47:51,599
help to focus on public safety. Uh then
then yes.

632
00:47:50,480 --> 00:47:56,720
» Does that sort of explain your
>> No, it's very very helpful. Just saying

633
00:47:53,520 --> 00:48:01,280
50 to 60 to 75% of your tickets. Yeah,
>> are public safety related. That that

634
00:47:58,720 --> 00:48:04,880
helps me tremendously. So, thank you.
>> And I would throw in there, if we didn't

635
00:48:03,280 --> 00:48:09,520
have John, we would have a major
bandwidth issue. And I don't mean it

636
00:48:07,119 --> 00:48:14,880
related, I mean personnel related, but
he carries a huge load. Um, I think the

637
00:48:12,400 --> 00:48:19,839
addition of the safety officer is going
to let him recapture some bandwidth

638
00:48:16,960 --> 00:48:25,440
because as I sat through these meetings,
I just kept thinking about how difficult

639
00:48:22,160 --> 00:48:30,640
it is while managing the day-to-day to
be proactive and be thinking ahead for

640
00:48:27,520 --> 00:48:36,240
future issues. He's doing a great job
and and I think that the addition of the

641
00:48:33,440 --> 00:48:41,920
uh safety personnel or the IT safety
person is going to play out huge uh for

642
00:48:39,280 --> 00:48:46,960
the IT department. Would this person
work in that command center or just

643
00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:53,359
that's when you said where would they
work out of? Um would it be someone that

644
00:48:49,839 --> 00:48:59,440
would be needed? And do you know what
I'm saying? The RV or is that someone

645
00:48:56,480 --> 00:49:03,440
who stays here and works with them?
>> Person will probably

646
00:49:01,520 --> 00:49:07,680
» hopefully work out of my office. We're
just we'll just shift things around how

647
00:49:05,520 --> 00:49:13,520
we need to.
Uh, I would imagine there on between the

648
00:49:11,280 --> 00:49:16,960
will be four firehouses and police
department. I can't imagine they'll be

649
00:49:15,280 --> 00:49:18,880
in the office a whole lot.
>> Okay.

650
00:49:18,240 --> 00:49:24,480
» Um,
>> I was thinking that like is this kind of

651
00:49:20,480 --> 00:49:28,000
a remote help or would they end up
>> going from spot to spot?

652
00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:30,800
» We're pretty resourceful. Yeah,
>> we'll figure it out.

653
00:49:28,960 --> 00:49:33,800
» I I think it's a I think it's a needed
position.

654
00:49:35,760 --> 00:49:44,559
Just I guess this is a question towards
the mayor. So DPW mentioned the camera

655
00:49:41,040 --> 00:49:49,520
systems uh throughout the uh the town
that they would take over the

656
00:49:46,800 --> 00:49:55,839
maintenance on those. Was that at IT
before? Was that IT's programming before

657
00:49:53,040 --> 00:49:59,119
or and was that strategic to put it over
on DPW to give

658
00:49:58,480 --> 00:50:02,880
it more?
>> It is. and and you know when we had a

659
00:50:01,280 --> 00:50:08,480
change in our IT department a little
over a year ago um it looked to me like

660
00:50:06,160 --> 00:50:13,119
it was sort of becoming the catchall for
everything and I thought that if we

661
00:50:11,280 --> 00:50:17,359
allowed just because it plugs in doesn't
make it it so we allowed the the other

662
00:50:15,760 --> 00:50:22,200
departments to take more responsibility
for the things that more directly

663
00:50:18,720 --> 00:50:22,200
affected them

664
00:50:22,204 --> 00:50:27,440
[clears throat]
and I think I think it's been it's I

665
00:50:26,079 --> 00:50:32,079
think it's been helpful to John and I
think it's made us uh certainly more

666
00:50:29,440 --> 00:50:36,000
streamlined in in it and allow them to
focus on the things that are really

667
00:50:33,839 --> 00:50:41,079
important both internally and outward
facing.

668
00:50:38,079 --> 00:50:41,079
» Great.

669
00:50:42,240 --> 00:50:49,359
» Okay. Uh the next Thank you, John. The
next item is uh planning and building.

670
00:50:47,280 --> 00:50:54,160
Um the planning and building department
has been short-handed since the hiring

671
00:50:52,400 --> 00:50:58,640
freeze that we imposed two years ago
with the passage of SEA1.

672
00:50:57,119 --> 00:51:02,880
um I'll go ahead and take
responsibility. It wasn't we that

673
00:51:00,000 --> 00:51:06,480
imposed that. I imposed that. Um but at
the same time, the volume of work has

674
00:51:04,480 --> 00:51:09,760
only been increasing. So I think a
deputy director, adding a deputy

675
00:51:08,079 --> 00:51:14,640
director will help provide direction for
the department as well as help us build

676
00:51:12,000 --> 00:51:19,599
a succession plan in a department where
several key employees are either at or

677
00:51:16,559 --> 00:51:23,440
near retirement age. So this is uh we're
trying to be forward thinking here as

678
00:51:21,359 --> 00:51:26,960
well as uh give them some help in the
short term you know to to impose a

679
00:51:25,680 --> 00:51:32,240
little more organization a little more
efficiency um which I think is badly

680
00:51:29,920 --> 00:51:36,000
needed in planning and building. So with
that Mike Dale is in the seat uh ready

681
00:51:34,720 --> 00:51:39,160
to take your questions.
>> Good morning.

682
00:51:40,805 --> 00:51:45,240
[clears throat]
>> Questions for Mr. Dale.

683
00:51:46,640 --> 00:51:51,040
» All right. Okay, thanks.
>> Thank you.

684
00:51:49,520 --> 00:51:55,520
» All right, the next uh department is
communications. Um you may notice that

685
00:51:53,839 --> 00:52:00,240
the communications budget looks a little
bit different uh than it did last year.

686
00:51:57,760 --> 00:52:03,760
We've added a line for part-time help.
Uh but those funds have been moved from

687
00:52:02,000 --> 00:52:08,880
contractual services. So, it's really
not a budget impact. It's just a a

688
00:52:06,400 --> 00:52:12,880
change to the part-time line. Um and it
will give Alexa more support um

689
00:52:10,800 --> 00:52:17,040
especially as as more projects come in
line and and things that are, you know,

690
00:52:15,359 --> 00:52:22,440
specific needs. and and she's in the
seat right now to answer any any

691
00:52:18,720 --> 00:52:22,440
questions you might have.

692
00:52:24,559 --> 00:52:30,559
» Maybe you could share real quickly about
the contractual like what you're

693
00:52:28,960 --> 00:52:33,520
thinking about doing in terms of finding
some support.

694
00:52:31,520 --> 00:52:38,880
» Absolutely. So, um currently we actually
have somebody on staff part-time that

695
00:52:35,920 --> 00:52:44,480
can and has assisted me with several
projects um which includes photography,

696
00:52:41,520 --> 00:52:48,079
videography, and some drone work. and
having somebody that's already on staff

697
00:52:46,240 --> 00:52:53,040
but not having a part-time line to be
able to utilize that at a quick moment's

698
00:52:50,160 --> 00:52:56,880
notice um will be a huge benefit to the
continued success of the communications

699
00:52:54,640 --> 00:53:00,880
department. Um so that's kind of the
goal with moving so it's budget neutral.

700
00:52:58,480 --> 00:53:05,040
I already have a contract services line,
which most of these things do get

701
00:53:02,640 --> 00:53:09,599
contracted out, but having someone on
staff that's close by that already knows

702
00:53:06,720 --> 00:53:12,800
how Zansville operates is super helpful.
Um, and just makes us be able to get

703
00:53:11,200 --> 00:53:17,599
those items out quicker and more
effectively. Um, contract services is my

704
00:53:15,760 --> 00:53:22,160
biggest line just because I am a
department of one. So, a lot of those

705
00:53:19,599 --> 00:53:26,079
things, bigger projects for videos and
other photography projects still get

706
00:53:24,160 --> 00:53:29,839
outsourced. Um, as well as some graphic
design work. So, it does stay budget

707
00:53:28,559 --> 00:53:34,839
neutral, but it's going to be a huge
help to be able to utilize that option

708
00:53:31,839 --> 00:53:34,839
more.

709
00:53:37,680 --> 00:53:41,839
» Okay, great.
>> Uh for the rest of the departments we

710
00:53:40,800 --> 00:53:46,079
have, we'll go through a little more
quickly. They're pretty straightforward,

711
00:53:43,520 --> 00:53:50,800
but the the next one up is uh human
resources. Um and this budget uh is just

712
00:53:49,119 --> 00:53:55,760
showing normal increases from year to
year. But one thing that HR would like

713
00:53:52,960 --> 00:53:59,760
to do is a salary survey. uh that would
cost about $30,000 to assess how the

714
00:53:58,400 --> 00:54:04,319
town salaries compare with other
municipalities and in the marketplace.

715
00:54:02,559 --> 00:54:09,760
Uh and Joe and I have talked about this
and that's not an expense that I would

716
00:54:06,319 --> 00:54:13,760
like to incur in 2027. Uh something we
will reconsider in future years, but I

717
00:54:11,760 --> 00:54:19,359
don't think it's uh it fits into the
budget for 2027. But if uh anybody has

718
00:54:16,720 --> 00:54:23,680
any other questions uh for Joe, she is
available.

719
00:54:21,440 --> 00:54:29,680
» So my question is a pretty simple one.
So, you are looking to give everyone a

720
00:54:27,119 --> 00:54:32,079
3.85% increase by giving them just an
additional paycheck. Is that correct?

721
00:54:31,760 --> 00:54:36,480
And
>> well, there are 27 pays because we're

722
00:54:35,119 --> 00:54:39,440
paid [cough and clears throat]
um bi-weekly, right?

723
00:54:38,000 --> 00:54:42,880
» So, there are 27 pays.
>> So, it's just going to happen naturally.

724
00:54:41,040 --> 00:54:48,400
» It's going to happen naturally and our
choice is

725
00:54:44,800 --> 00:54:54,720
how do you uh how do you not continue to
pay, you know, on that 27th pay? Um and

726
00:54:52,640 --> 00:54:59,680
different communities have have decided
to do it differently. Um one option

727
00:54:57,920 --> 00:55:05,920
would be to take my annual salary and
divide it by 27. But then every payday

728
00:55:02,640 --> 00:55:07,920
you are shorting me and I don't think
that's a legitimate

729
00:55:07,040 --> 00:55:11,839
» right
>> uh option.

730
00:55:09,839 --> 00:55:17,520
» So the the pay increase is associated
with just that additional correct pay.

731
00:55:14,240 --> 00:55:22,240
» But going into the next year that 3.85%
will not actually be factored in. So,

732
00:55:20,400 --> 00:55:25,440
I'm just wondering, are we looking at
pay increases on top of

733
00:55:23,599 --> 00:55:29,839
» Oh, it will. It will. It becomes part of
the new base salary. Okay. So, in 2028,

734
00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:34,559
any salary increases will be built upon
that. And and I will say that in our

735
00:55:31,599 --> 00:55:39,200
five-year budget plan, uh we have built
in uh a modest pay increase each year

736
00:55:37,040 --> 00:55:42,000
that we can adjust up or down based on
market conditions at the time.

737
00:55:40,480 --> 00:55:47,599
» Thank you. And what you will see on the
salary ordinance a couple months from

738
00:55:44,559 --> 00:55:54,948
now is an incre an increase of
everyone's salary for the 3.85%

739
00:55:51,440 --> 00:55:58,799
um to make sure that we're um
[clears throat] notifying and and making

740
00:55:56,799 --> 00:56:01,520
sure that the salary number is correct
for state board of accounts.

741
00:56:00,240 --> 00:56:03,599
» That's exactly why I was asking. I
didn't want us to have to then go back

742
00:56:03,040 --> 00:56:06,880
to go
>> correct.

743
00:56:05,680 --> 00:56:13,280
And Joe, just for the sake of the
council, can you explain the PEF and how

744
00:56:10,480 --> 00:56:17,119
it is scheduled to bump each of the next
couple years? I know

745
00:56:14,559 --> 00:56:22,160
» well there's a lot of confusion when
because lots of people say PEF. Um PEF

746
00:56:20,319 --> 00:56:29,359
is civilian.
>> So I I have uh PEF, you know, this whole

747
00:56:26,240 --> 00:56:37,599
group over here in in uh uniform, they
have fund 77, which is completely

748
00:56:31,920 --> 00:56:45,440
different fund. um the um fund 77
um committee or whoever the people are

749
00:56:41,520 --> 00:56:52,000
um they tell me they tell us there's a
schedule um for the increases for the

750
00:56:48,079 --> 00:56:57,680
employer portion and we have no choice.
We we are committed to that and so those

751
00:56:54,559 --> 00:57:01,520
are the increases that take place um for
every you know every employee in public

752
00:57:00,640 --> 00:57:07,119
safety
>> right but then we we do bump the PEF

753
00:57:05,359 --> 00:57:11,680
just to keep things kind of more in line
right and aren't there if I recall

754
00:57:09,200 --> 00:57:20,880
correctly there's some pretty chunky
bumps to the 77 that are already known

755
00:57:16,000 --> 00:57:24,960
» sure um and I don't have it's one or one
or two% % over the [clears throat] next

756
00:57:23,040 --> 00:57:31,440
couple of years is that have already
been notified. Um I don't have the same

757
00:57:28,079 --> 00:57:37,280
for civilian but civilian we're matching
um or we are doing the employer or

758
00:57:34,000 --> 00:57:44,160
employee portion too which is 3% it's 6%
for public safety.

759
00:57:40,000 --> 00:57:48,480
» The 77 is a huge chunk of the budget of
which we have zero control over other

760
00:57:46,559 --> 00:57:53,200
than hiring those firefighters, right?
Everyone pays into the 77. It's a huge

761
00:57:51,200 --> 00:57:56,720
chunk of our budget. So the the jumps
over the next two to three years are

762
00:57:54,799 --> 00:58:01,200
something that we have no control over.
Not that I'm, you know, it's a

763
00:57:59,280 --> 00:58:04,799
contribution. And I've I've I've learned
this too. It doesn't actually mean that

764
00:58:02,720 --> 00:58:08,559
the the public safety personnel are not
they're actually not getting more money

765
00:58:06,160 --> 00:58:13,280
out of this. We're just donating they're
just donating more money into the pot,

766
00:58:10,960 --> 00:58:20,480
which is unfortunate, but it does make
up a huge portion of um of the budget is

767
00:58:17,839 --> 00:58:23,760
paying into the 77. And that's in the
projections going forward. That was my

768
00:58:22,319 --> 00:58:26,720
point is just to let you guys know that
all those bumps are accounted for,

769
00:58:26,160 --> 00:58:30,960
» right?
>> Yes.

770
00:58:27,119 --> 00:58:32,960
» And will those people vest in it 20
years?

771
00:58:31,520 --> 00:58:37,280
» There's different schedules for whether
you're talking about civilian or public

772
00:58:35,040 --> 00:58:42,240
safety. And
>> minimum [clears throat] is 20 years. Um

773
00:58:39,680 --> 00:58:48,799
and then there are um if you stay
longer, you get a more larger percentage

774
00:58:44,880 --> 00:58:52,079
of your of the actual certified salary.
I have that correct.

775
00:58:50,400 --> 00:58:55,119
» And when someone does invest in it, it
just rolls

776
00:58:54,079 --> 00:58:59,839
» back into the fund.
>> Sure.

777
00:58:57,040 --> 00:59:03,680
» It it is it is the state fund, right?
>> And just like lots of retirements,

778
00:59:02,319 --> 00:59:07,760
you're paying into it, you're paying
into it, and you may or may not

779
00:59:05,520 --> 00:59:11,960
» reap the benefits of it
>> as as an individual.

780
00:59:12,880 --> 00:59:19,200
Joe, I just want to say [clears throat]
thank you for uh all your hard work on

781
00:59:17,040 --> 00:59:23,200
protecting that 3.85%. I think it's
important. I know the nuance and how it

782
00:59:21,359 --> 00:59:26,880
gets paid out. Uh which I appreciate
also that people don't have less in

783
00:59:25,119 --> 00:59:31,839
their kind of monthly budget. So, I
think that's a smart way to do it. But

784
00:59:28,640 --> 00:59:36,880
also, um, not we haven't talked a whole
lot about it, but, uh, in these dollars,

785
00:59:33,680 --> 00:59:40,160
it's we're seeing a flat, um,
maintenance of our health insurance

786
00:59:38,160 --> 00:59:46,799
costs, which most
>> we spent nine months, um, between last

787
00:59:43,040 --> 00:59:53,359
year and this year um, crafting a brand
new plan that, uh, we hope will um,

788
00:59:51,119 --> 00:59:58,240
result in quite a bit of savings. though
to kind of hedge our bets a little bit.

789
00:59:55,040 --> 01:00:02,400
We maintained a flat um expense for both
the staff and the town in the budget.

790
01:00:01,359 --> 01:00:06,720
» Yeah, I think that's important. I
appreciated hearing about that and

791
01:00:03,839 --> 01:00:11,520
really that it's protecting the same
quality that people need and expect. So

792
01:00:09,359 --> 01:00:16,480
just uh great job on overall.
>> Thank you. Also, just for the sake of

793
01:00:14,640 --> 01:00:20,319
the council, will you explain the
because I think it's a really good thing

794
01:00:17,680 --> 01:00:24,079
that you guys have done. Um, how the
benefits are being taken out because

795
01:00:22,319 --> 01:00:27,359
it's to the employees advantage is the
way that you guys

796
01:00:24,880 --> 01:00:35,119
» are you referring to the 27 pays?
>> So, in 2027, there will be 2020 there

797
01:00:30,240 --> 01:00:41,520
will be 27 pays. In January um of 27, we
will not uh deduct benefit expense,

798
01:00:38,400 --> 01:00:44,559
employee benefit expense. So for those
for different employees it's going to be

799
01:00:42,880 --> 01:00:50,880
a different impact whether it's
individual or family but it's one less

800
01:00:47,760 --> 01:00:55,559
you know deduction in January. So for
many it will feel a little better.

801
01:00:57,440 --> 01:01:06,240
» Any other questions for Joe?
>> Okay. The next department we have is

802
01:01:02,640 --> 01:01:11,440
finance. Um and you notice in here
there's there's money in the capital

803
01:01:08,880 --> 01:01:15,200
improvement fund. the CCI fund to
continue the digitization project that

804
01:01:13,760 --> 01:01:19,920
we have underway. We don't want to let
that fall off. Uh as well as moving the

805
01:01:17,920 --> 01:01:24,480
financial system to the cloud, which
will certainly make it more secure, much

806
01:01:22,319 --> 01:01:28,559
more efficient. Uh and this is something
that um you know, I I frankly think is a

807
01:01:27,440 --> 01:01:32,160
little bit overdue, but it's going to
protect us against, you know, a tornado

808
01:01:30,720 --> 01:01:35,839
coming through and taking out our
servers or something like that. Uh the

809
01:01:34,480 --> 01:01:40,640
information will be in a much better
place once it's in the cloud. So, that's

810
01:01:37,920 --> 01:01:46,760
that's the one uh difference in finance
this year, and Cindy is there to answer

811
01:01:42,559 --> 01:01:46,760
any further questions you might have.

812
01:01:49,599 --> 01:01:53,920
» I mean, it looks like Cindy's got
[clears throat] a handful of them here.

813
01:01:52,319 --> 01:01:59,760
If you just maybe just rattle through
them, go through them. Okay. Um, she

814
01:01:56,240 --> 01:02:03,920
also has Okay. The town court um
increased the budget about $3,900 this

815
01:02:02,000 --> 01:02:07,599
year to hire a Spanish- speaking
interpreter that the judge has asked

816
01:02:05,440 --> 01:02:11,920
for. Uh actually the judge has asked for
this the past couple years. So we uh you

817
01:02:09,920 --> 01:02:15,839
know kind of felt that the persistence
uh with which she's been asking uh means

818
01:02:14,240 --> 01:02:19,680
something. So we're going to put that in
the budget for this year. Uh there is no

819
01:02:17,839 --> 01:02:25,359
increase in salary for the judge. That's
$6,100. The prosecutor makes $2,700 a

820
01:02:23,359 --> 01:02:30,319
year and the court administrator is a
part-time employee uh in the finance

821
01:02:27,680 --> 01:02:35,440
department. and Cindy will also speak to
the public assistance administration,

822
01:02:31,920 --> 01:02:40,559
mayor, council, and non-dep departmental
uh budgets as well. So, um I can tick

823
01:02:38,640 --> 01:02:44,400
through them in order here or you know,
you can do it however you want. You can

824
01:02:42,000 --> 01:02:48,680
ask Cindy any question. She's she's
there and ready to answer.

825
01:02:51,839 --> 01:02:54,799
» Maybe just go through them, John, and
then maybe at the end if we have

826
01:02:54,240 --> 01:02:58,720
questions.
>> Okay. Well, there's we'll start with

827
01:02:56,079 --> 01:03:02,400
finance. Um, most of the money in here
is

828
01:02:59,599 --> 01:03:07,200
» salaries, right? And and that capital
outlay that I did mention for the

829
01:03:04,079 --> 01:03:12,240
digitization project.
>> Any questions about finance?

830
01:03:09,920 --> 01:03:15,760
» Okay. Town court.
>> The only question I have about town

831
01:03:13,599 --> 01:03:18,799
court is you mentioned uh the judge and
the prosecutor have the same salary. Is

832
01:03:17,520 --> 01:03:25,039
there any particular reason why we don't
tie that to cost of living like we do?

833
01:03:23,359 --> 01:03:28,559
The judge makes a little bit more than
than the prosecutor, but but yes, the

834
01:03:26,799 --> 01:03:32,720
the salaries have not changed,
>> but it doesn't go up, right? I mean,

835
01:03:30,319 --> 01:03:36,079
» right. The salaries have not changed uh
in the past several years, or at least

836
01:03:34,559 --> 01:03:39,720
as long as I've been doing this, their
salaries haven't changed.

837
01:03:40,720 --> 01:03:45,760
» That's a good question. We hadn't really
thought of that. Do they get paid uh

838
01:03:44,079 --> 01:03:47,200
bi-weekly like everybody else or they
get paid monthly?

839
01:03:46,640 --> 01:03:50,760
» Monthly.
>> They get paid monthly.

840
01:03:54,240 --> 01:04:00,960
Yeah, I mean they I I know it's uh
obviously it's an elected position and

841
01:03:59,200 --> 01:04:05,440
an appointed position. I know it's a lot
of work. I just wonder even though it's

842
01:04:03,599 --> 01:04:09,200
seems like a pretty minimal amount. I
just wonder if we don't

843
01:04:07,839 --> 01:04:12,319
seems like it wouldn't hurt to tie that
to the same cost of living increases

844
01:04:10,720 --> 01:04:16,799
that we get or anybody else gets.
>> Right. Okay. And I was going to Tim, I

845
01:04:14,400 --> 01:04:20,720
don't remember what um came up because
we were trying to decide whether or not

846
01:04:19,039 --> 01:04:24,799
their pay got compensated by the state.
It does not. Okay. Because we at the

847
01:04:22,799 --> 01:04:28,319
time we weren't sure if they got
compensated from the state as well, but

848
01:04:26,559 --> 01:04:33,119
I I guess he's saying no, they don't.
So, um

849
01:04:30,960 --> 01:04:38,079
» yeah, I mean I I guess um if it's
possible, I'd like to see maybe that

850
01:04:34,480 --> 01:04:42,000
tied to an increase. Um and then, you
know, Joe, I know you you mentioned a

851
01:04:39,680 --> 01:04:47,440
salary study earlier. I think AIM just
did one in 25 that'll roll out here at

852
01:04:45,039 --> 01:04:52,240
the end of 26. Maybe we can
>> you have that. So, does that also have

853
01:04:49,599 --> 01:04:56,319
judge and prosecutor salaries too or No,
>> I'm pretty sure it does.

854
01:04:54,160 --> 01:04:59,280
» I mean, it it might be good just to take
a look at that again. It's a lot of work

855
01:04:57,760 --> 01:05:02,640
and I know we're with all the
additional, you know, court work that's

856
01:05:01,039 --> 01:05:07,359
being done with the other municipalities
and us absorbing that, it might make

857
01:05:04,000 --> 01:05:11,359
sense to to revisit that at some point.
>> Yep.

858
01:05:09,760 --> 01:05:14,720
And in addition, starting from the base
where where we are right now, it

859
01:05:12,559 --> 01:05:20,400
wouldn't be a significant budget impact.
So certainly something that I'd be happy

860
01:05:17,200 --> 01:05:25,119
to consider. Um the next line is public
assistance

861
01:05:21,920 --> 01:05:30,160
and uh as the townships dissolved, uh we
became the township trustees. Uh and

862
01:05:28,000 --> 01:05:31,359
Cindy actually is the township trustee,
right? For

863
01:05:30,880 --> 01:05:34,079
» Yes.
>> Union and for Perry

864
01:05:33,280 --> 01:05:38,640
» and Eagle.
>> And Eagle.

865
01:05:36,559 --> 01:05:44,720
» Yeah. the uh this budget is is pretty
much flat um from uh the current year.

866
01:05:42,319 --> 01:05:49,119
Uh we've been able to stay within our
current budget right now. We did

867
01:05:46,720 --> 01:05:56,160
increase it significantly last year or
for 2026. So, um right now we're doing

868
01:05:54,640 --> 01:06:00,240
fine with the budget that we have. So, I
don't foresee any need to uh increase

869
01:05:58,240 --> 01:06:05,839
it.
>> Sandy, you're not seeing additional

870
01:06:02,319 --> 01:06:10,880
requests or folks coming forward?
Not not really. I mean, it's it's been

871
01:06:08,079 --> 01:06:15,359
pretty steady, but it's also been um
pretty level as far as whether they're

872
01:06:12,960 --> 01:06:19,680
asking for shelter, utility, etc. So,
we're we're well within our budget right

873
01:06:17,039 --> 01:06:25,119
now.
>> Yeah. [clears throat]

874
01:06:22,319 --> 01:06:28,400
» Okay. The next item is administration.
Um and you know, there you see the

875
01:06:27,200 --> 01:06:32,319
numbers. I don't have any additional
comments on this. Cindy, do you?

876
01:06:30,720 --> 01:06:35,640
» No. Okay.
>> Any questions?

877
01:06:36,319 --> 01:06:46,160
Okay. Uh the mayor's budget uh which
basically the same from year to year. Uh

878
01:06:43,440 --> 01:06:50,880
no increases for other services and
charges and uh you know then you just

879
01:06:48,160 --> 01:06:56,799
have the personnel cost.
That is is pretty straightforward too.

880
01:06:54,559 --> 01:07:02,079
The council budget.
Any questions about the council budget?

881
01:06:59,200 --> 01:07:05,680
Yeah, I think the um we we'll likely see
and we didn't get this to you guys uh

882
01:07:04,160 --> 01:07:12,480
Friday because we were going through a
lot of this on Friday, but with um

883
01:07:08,400 --> 01:07:18,079
changes to support to the council, um
we'll likely see some of those expenses

884
01:07:15,599 --> 01:07:22,559
being absorbed by uh Barnes and
Thornberg and then obviously others with

885
01:07:20,559 --> 01:07:25,520
um someone with within Cindy's
department and staff. So, we're still

886
01:07:24,400 --> 01:07:29,599
trying to work that out and we'll have
an engagement letter from Barnes that

887
01:07:26,960 --> 01:07:32,559
will detail that soon and then we'll get
that to you guys. But just for the

888
01:07:31,200 --> 01:07:37,839
public and for the council to know
though, there likely will be a change in

889
01:07:34,640 --> 01:07:43,359
this bottom line number of 306 because
we'll be um leveraging Barnes to help

890
01:07:41,119 --> 01:07:46,559
with a lot of our meeting prep. So,
>> okay,

891
01:07:44,880 --> 01:07:50,400
we'll look forward to that discussion.
And then the the final budget we have is

892
01:07:48,240 --> 01:07:54,720
the non-EP departmental. And this is
kind of a a catchall for expenses that

893
01:07:52,319 --> 01:07:58,960
affect every department like insurance
premiums, uh bank fees, ditch fees,

894
01:07:57,280 --> 01:08:04,559
bonding for the employees who are
bonded. Uh spending will be up about 2%

895
01:08:02,319 --> 01:08:09,440
and that's mostly due to higher property
and casualty insurance rates. So if

896
01:08:07,200 --> 01:08:14,200
there's any questions about that, u
Cindy is ready to answer them.

897
01:08:14,559 --> 01:08:19,759
So,
>> uh, within this budget is the food and

898
01:08:17,920 --> 01:08:22,880
beverage fund and and I don't know if
you want to talk about the food and

899
01:08:20,960 --> 01:08:28,799
beverage fund. Uh, currently we have
about $1.4 million in the bank. Uh, and

900
01:08:26,400 --> 01:08:33,359
the monthly gain that we've been getting
has been increasing a bit recently due

901
01:08:31,040 --> 01:08:38,319
to some new restaurants coming online
and and some new activity in that area.

902
01:08:35,279 --> 01:08:42,719
So, we're now averaging about $70,000 a
month. And, as you know, that can only

903
01:08:40,799 --> 01:08:48,239
be used for economic development
purposes. So we're proposing in 2027

904
01:08:45,679 --> 01:08:54,239
spending about 470,000
that would be 75,000 for the Booney DC,

905
01:08:50,880 --> 01:08:58,159
30,000 for the Indie Chamber, 115,000
which is the payment on the town hall

906
01:08:56,640 --> 01:09:03,359
mortgage that comes from food and
beverage. Uh 100,000 for the new CBP

907
01:09:01,120 --> 01:09:07,920
office which will be a one-time expense
going forward. That would likely be

908
01:09:04,880 --> 01:09:13,120
about 50,000 a year. uh a h 100,000 for
the main street momentum business

909
01:09:09,440 --> 01:09:18,319
support project and then 50,000 for zark
the architectural review committee um so

910
01:09:16,480 --> 01:09:21,520
that is that is what we have in mind and
that's what we'd like to appropriate

911
01:09:19,520 --> 01:09:25,839
from the food and beverage fund and uh
you know if additional needs or desires

912
01:09:24,400 --> 01:09:28,719
uh emerge throughout the year we would
come back for an additional

913
01:09:26,880 --> 01:09:33,839
appropriation to the council
>> mayor what what's the what's the update

914
01:09:30,880 --> 01:09:38,640
on the CBP because a 100,000 are we not
doing the employee um

915
01:09:36,480 --> 01:09:42,880
» that that includes uh helping to fund
for that employee. So, uh the CBP office

916
01:09:41,199 --> 01:09:47,040
is currently being built out at the
airport uh as part of a larger project

917
01:09:45,440 --> 01:09:51,279
for Becks. They're they're building out
a new hanger and the CBP office as part

918
01:09:48,799 --> 01:09:56,480
of that building. Uh we are working in
partnership with Hamilton County, Boone

919
01:09:53,679 --> 01:10:01,920
County, Westfield, Lebanon, and Carmel
to fund operations there. Uh so the

920
01:10:00,000 --> 01:10:07,600
initial payment would be our share of
the um the construction buildout and and

921
01:10:05,280 --> 01:10:11,760
equipping that office appropriately and
then ongoing for probably the next two

922
01:10:10,080 --> 01:10:16,560
or three years it would be to help pay
for one of the employees there. The the

923
01:10:14,800 --> 01:10:20,080
plan right now is to have two employees
there. Uh and in addition to doing the

924
01:10:18,560 --> 01:10:23,600
customs duties, they'll be able to help
with um you know the the

925
01:10:22,960 --> 01:10:26,159
» global entry.
>> Global entry. Right.

926
01:10:24,560 --> 01:10:30,800
» Right. I was going to say clear pass,
but global entry, I think, is the is the

927
01:10:28,400 --> 01:10:34,560
exact term. So, um, you know, high
hopes. It's moving forward and, um, as

928
01:10:33,840 --> 01:10:39,520
far [clears throat] as I know, they're
on track to get that going in the first

929
01:10:36,640 --> 01:10:43,760
quarter of 2027.
>> Thank you.

930
01:10:41,120 --> 01:10:47,440
» Can you say those that list of breakdown
of expenses one more time? I wrote some

931
01:10:45,840 --> 01:10:55,040
of them down and I wanted to
>> Sure. uh 75 75,000 for Booney DC, 30,000

932
01:10:52,719 --> 01:11:02,239
for the Indie Chamber,
115,000 for the town hall payment,

933
01:10:58,400 --> 01:11:06,880
100,000 for the CBP office, 100,000 for
the Main Street Momentum Business

934
01:11:03,760 --> 01:11:09,880
Support Project, and then 50,000 for
Zark.

935
01:11:15,199 --> 01:11:18,679
Total of 470,000.

936
01:11:21,360 --> 01:11:29,044
which gives us the opportunity to, you
know, leave some in that account for

937
01:11:25,520 --> 01:11:29,044
things to come up. [clears throat]

938
01:11:31,600 --> 01:11:38,320
So, [snorts]
um,

939
01:11:34,719 --> 01:11:43,840
the Zark 50,000 um, every year I feel
like the Zark I I I get comments from

940
01:11:41,440 --> 01:11:47,679
the people on Zark about 50,000 not
being enough or they they can't do

941
01:11:45,440 --> 01:11:50,640
anything with that money. is is 50,000
just kind of I think it's been that way

942
01:11:49,600 --> 01:11:53,840
for a few years. Correct.
>> It has been that way for a few years. Uh

943
01:11:52,239 --> 01:11:55,760
last this past year they haven't used it
or they haven't used it so far.

944
01:11:55,360 --> 01:11:59,600
» Okay.
>> In [clears throat] 2026, but it doesn't

945
01:11:58,000 --> 01:12:02,880
build up. You know, it is an
appropriation that's available to them

946
01:12:01,120 --> 01:12:06,800
to use as they see fit. If they need
more than 50,000, they can come back to

947
01:12:05,360 --> 01:12:09,440
the council and ask for an additional
appropriation. I I don't know that

948
01:12:08,159 --> 01:12:11,760
that's ever happened
>> in the history of Zark.

949
01:12:10,719 --> 01:12:15,120
» Okay.
>> They don't fund things at 100%. They

950
01:12:13,840 --> 01:12:16,880
they fund things at
>> right

951
01:12:15,520 --> 01:12:20,440
» a certain percent chunks.
>> Yeah. Yeah.

952
01:12:22,045 --> 01:12:26,960
[clears throat]
>> So in closing here, you know, I believe

953
01:12:24,320 --> 01:12:32,560
that this budget is presented protects
the level of service everyone in

954
01:12:28,480 --> 01:12:38,320
Zensville expects uh in the SEA1 world.
Uh and again, it will get us back to

955
01:12:34,400 --> 01:12:42,239
balance by 2030. Um, so just as a
timeline here, any concerns you have,

956
01:12:40,800 --> 01:12:46,560
uh, please share them with us by
September 4th, so we can be ready to

957
01:12:44,320 --> 01:12:50,480
post the budget to gateway, September
11th. That that's our deadline to do

958
01:12:48,560 --> 01:12:53,360
that. The first reading of the budget
and public hearing will occur at the

959
01:12:51,920 --> 01:12:57,760
regular town council meeting on
September 21st,

960
01:12:55,440 --> 01:13:04,760
and the second reading uh will be on
October 5th, and hopefully we would have

961
01:13:00,640 --> 01:13:04,760
final passage at that time.

962
01:13:05,440 --> 01:13:12,000
Uh, thank you, mayor. So, you want uh
any feedback from council by um the

963
01:13:11,280 --> 01:13:18,400
fourth,
>> please. That would be very helpful.

964
01:13:15,120 --> 01:13:22,880
» Yeah, I appreciate that. I think the uh
um appreciate your work and the work

965
01:13:20,239 --> 01:13:27,120
from the um you know, staff and
obviously council as well. And just you

966
01:13:24,640 --> 01:13:32,239
know, we've had couple of runs at this.
I know um you guys sent out the the

967
01:13:30,159 --> 01:13:37,040
5-year plan and these budgets on the
12th and to everybody on the council. We

968
01:13:34,640 --> 01:13:41,840
all got it, reviewed it then again on
the 21st with final changes. So, um I

969
01:13:40,400 --> 01:13:45,440
don't know if there's been feedback from
there, but again, council, just as the

970
01:13:43,760 --> 01:13:49,840
mayor indicated, if there's any changes
you'd like to have, uh we need to have

971
01:13:47,920 --> 01:13:54,480
those submitted by 94 so we can have
everything updated again by 911 and then

972
01:13:52,159 --> 01:13:59,760
we'll hear that in the mid o or
midepptember and 1 October meeting. So,

973
01:13:57,600 --> 01:14:04,800
Heather, is there any anything you'd
like to add to that or any changes or N?

974
01:14:04,560 --> 01:14:08,800
» All right.
>> President Punky, can I ask a question to

975
01:14:06,719 --> 01:14:12,880
the mayor? Mayor, uh, we talked about
the food and beverage fund, uh, and all

976
01:14:11,600 --> 01:14:17,199
these. I know these aren't part of the
budget, but they're they're part I'm

977
01:14:15,360 --> 01:14:22,480
glad that councelor Samson asked you to
repeat them. Um, is you said this kind

978
01:14:21,120 --> 01:14:26,880
of has to go towards economic
development. Um, and I I I guess I'm

979
01:14:25,520 --> 01:14:30,880
just got a disconnect in my head. It
says town hall, the town hall payment of

980
01:14:29,280 --> 01:14:35,679
115,000.
Can you help me understand the

981
01:14:33,199 --> 01:14:42,880
connection there between
economic development and

982
01:14:39,199 --> 01:14:44,640
uh how we're using that for those funds
for that payment.

983
01:14:44,080 --> 01:14:48,080
» Yeah. [clears throat]
>> And what your justification is on that.

984
01:14:46,719 --> 01:14:51,120
» I'm going to let Cindy answer that
because

985
01:14:48,640 --> 01:14:59,040
» she was decided. Yeah. that was decided
when uh we took the bond or actual lease

986
01:14:54,400 --> 01:15:04,800
out to build town hall. Uh so we we
actually get the payment dollars from

987
01:15:01,679 --> 01:15:12,400
about four different sources. And so at
the time it was decided that um uh the

988
01:15:09,920 --> 01:15:20,320
building of the town hall fell within
that category. And so um

989
01:15:16,640 --> 01:15:23,679
it was it was decided to use food and
beverage for a portion of the town hall

990
01:15:23,040 --> 01:15:27,760
payment.
>> And I think the the argument would be

991
01:15:25,120 --> 01:15:33,040
that building the town hall consolidated
public services made public services

992
01:15:30,000 --> 01:15:38,000
more efficient and that in itself is an
economic development tool. Having a town

993
01:15:35,520 --> 01:15:43,880
council having a town hall that is more
responsive and more efficient than than

994
01:15:40,320 --> 01:15:43,880
what we had before.

995
01:15:43,920 --> 01:15:51,679
You could also make the argument pretty
easily that all of the, you know, fire

996
01:15:48,800 --> 01:15:56,880
department uh meetings, you know, if you
drive out any any given, you know, week,

997
01:15:54,000 --> 01:16:00,560
there's a hundred police cars or fire,
you know, vehicles from other

998
01:15:58,320 --> 01:16:04,320
municipalities that come in here for
meetings and then they go out into the

999
01:16:02,080 --> 01:16:08,800
town, have lunch or lunch is brought in.
I mean, you know, there's certainly

1000
01:16:05,760 --> 01:16:11,760
economic value to having a centralized
location for for public meetings like

1001
01:16:10,719 --> 01:16:16,320
that.
just just to me it seems like a payment

1002
01:16:14,960 --> 01:16:23,120
a payment [clears throat] structure for
a a facility like like the town hall

1003
01:16:18,960 --> 01:16:27,040
should be coming from another uh another
fund as opposed to one that's funded by

1004
01:16:24,880 --> 01:16:31,920
the the local businesses or that that
collect the food and beverage tax and I

1005
01:16:29,120 --> 01:16:37,840
don't know as I look at the other boon
DC and the chamber and the CVP I can see

1006
01:16:34,640 --> 01:16:41,280
that Main Street of course and then Zark
that goes straight back into the

1007
01:16:39,120 --> 01:16:47,360
community and I understand
the use of the town hall. Um, but I just

1008
01:16:44,719 --> 01:16:51,679
I struggled with that 115,000, but I'll
let that go. I just wanted to kind of

1009
01:16:48,719 --> 01:16:55,679
understand and interpret your and uh how
long ago did that occur that

1010
01:16:54,080 --> 01:16:58,880
» when we did the lease, which would have
been

1011
01:16:56,320 --> 01:17:01,679
» so when it was first
>> 17

1012
01:16:59,600 --> 01:17:06,320
» 17
something like that

1013
01:17:03,199 --> 01:17:10,400
» and that will just go on into until the
payments paid off. Is that

1014
01:17:07,760 --> 01:17:14,360
» Yeah, I believe it's 2037 is when the
town halls paid off.

1015
01:17:15,600 --> 01:17:22,400
» Just wanted to have a little mini
conversation about that. Thank you.

1016
01:17:20,320 --> 01:17:27,840
» You said there are four sources that are
paying into that though. What are the

1017
01:17:24,239 --> 01:17:33,040
» the uh CCD fund, Oak Street, TIFF, food
and beverage, and then uh the general

1018
01:17:30,239 --> 01:17:37,199
fund through lit dollars.
And initially for the first five years,

1019
01:17:35,040 --> 01:17:43,400
the county actually contributed towards
the town hall as well, but that has

1020
01:17:40,159 --> 01:17:43,400
since ended.

1021
01:17:47,583 --> 01:17:52,080
[clears throat]
>> I would just thank the department heads.

1022
01:17:49,920 --> 01:17:56,400
This is just another example of really
hard good work and appreciate being a

1023
01:17:54,560 --> 01:18:00,480
part of it. Been through a lot of these
processes over the last seven years and

1024
01:17:58,880 --> 01:18:05,320
they get better every year. So
appreciate everybody's hard work and

1025
01:18:02,320 --> 01:18:05,320
diligence.

1026
01:18:07,360 --> 01:18:12,080
» Okay. Thank you.
>> Thanks, John.

1027
01:18:10,880 --> 01:18:16,000
I don't know that we necessarily need
like an official uh adjournment here, so

1028
01:18:14,480 --> 01:18:19,719
you guys can just kill the feed in the
back whenever you're ready.

1029
01:18:21,280 --> 01:18:25,360
» Thank you.
>> Thanks, everybody.