[0:00] [Music]
[0:19] Good evening. I will call this meeting
[0:20] to order. Uh if you would kindly stand
[0:22] for the pledge of allegiance.
[0:25] Pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[0:27] United States of America and to the
[0:29] republic for which it stands. One nation
[0:32] under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[0:35] justice for all.
[0:38] Thank you very much. Madam clerk, would
[0:39] you kindly call the role?
[0:43] Laughen here. Rean here. Reynolds here.
[0:48] Tada here. Morose here.
[0:52] Uh so the format for tonight is going to
[0:56] be a little bit different than it's been
[0:57] in the past. Um this is the the evening
[1:00] for uh departments with specific
[1:02] questions from the council that the
[1:03] council wanted to talk to. Uh so we're
[1:06] just going to call out the lines in the
[1:07] budget. Uh those of you that are guests
[1:09] that are department heads, appreciate
[1:10] your attendance. You may or may not be
[1:11] required depending on the the nature of
[1:13] the question, you know, but that's
[1:14] between um uh you know, you and the
[1:16] mayor as far as how that that's going to
[1:18] work. So the first one we're going to
[1:20] start with is going to be capital appro
[1:21] and we'll hold all public questions to
[1:23] the end so the public will have an
[1:24] opportunity to ask questions but we'll
[1:25] save that to the end. Um so the first
[1:28] one is going to be capital
[1:29] appropriations and reserve questions on
[1:33] that. Councelor Tata. Thank you Mr.
[1:36] Chairman. Uh so just so we're all on the
[1:38] same page I'm looking at page 89 of the
[1:40] budget book.
[1:46] My question, my general question on this
[1:48] page is if all of the project projects
[1:52] that are listed here um are actually
[1:55] happening, if any of them have been
[1:56] closed out since this budget was
[1:59] submitted, and if we anticipate um the
[2:01] full expenditure of the bottom line,
[2:03] which is 1,70,164.
[2:10] Good evening.
[2:12] So this page
[2:15] is capital that was carried forward from
[2:18] the prior year plus capital this year
[2:22] that hasn't been spent yet.
[2:25] So these projects could be finished
[2:28] throughout the end of the year and then that's not this is what you
[2:33] appropriate tonight that 1 million not
[2:35] tonight but this
[2:36] 1,7164 is the highest it can be but if
[2:41] when all these when the year's closed
[2:43] out I go through all these accounts and
[2:45] any money that's spent does not get
[2:48] appropriated because then we'd be double
[2:50] spending so that they'll get that
[2:52] they'll all be reduced or you know if
[2:55] they haven't been spent they haven't
[2:56] been spent. So that money would
[2:58] automatically go back to the general
[2:59] fund or those these are the projects
[3:00] that get put on that list that we get by
[3:03] February 1st. No this this is not part
[3:06] of the cap and not okay this is general
[3:10] fund capital projects and then they
[3:12] either lapse
[3:14] or we do this so that they don't lapse.
[3:17] Okay but they projects would be gone.
[3:20] Got it. So automatically if there's
[3:21] leftover money or if something doesn't
[3:22] happen it just automatically goes back
[3:24] to the general fund. Correct. So usually
[3:26] I you know I contact them I try to get
[3:28] them to spend you know throughout the
[3:31] year you know so these are you know I
[3:34] went through and I thought these were
[3:36] projects that were still ongoing that
[3:39] probably needed to be carried forward.
[3:41] Okay. Perfect. Thank you. That's all I
[3:42] have for that Mr. Chairman. Anyone else
[3:45] on this
[3:46] topic? Okay. Moving on to
[3:51] Uh, board of assessment appeals.
[3:59] Council Ted. Yes. So, let's go get to
[4:01] that
[4:11] page. So, we're on page 19 of the budget
[4:14] book.
[4:17] My question on this one was I had never
[4:20] realized before, this might just be my
[4:22] own
[4:24] uh lack of realizing in the past, but it
[4:27] looks like this commission or this board
[4:30] um gets a stipend. And I don't recall I
[4:34] thought the only boards or commissions
[4:35] that received stipens were town council
[4:38] and public utilities commission. Um, so
[4:40] when I realized this this year, I just
[4:43] had never realized it before, but I also
[4:44] noticed that it looks like every year
[4:46] that stipent is fluctuating.
[4:49] Um, so year ended 2024, it looks like
[4:53] 6,978 was spent in their salary
[4:56] line, which I assume is the stipens
[5:00] because that's the only thing I see on
[5:02] the following page. And then the next
[5:05] year, I'm sorry, the current year it
[5:08] looks like it's
[5:10] 14,000. And then for this proposed
[5:12] budget, they requested 8,000 and the
[5:14] mayor approved 8,000. So I just wanted
[5:16] to know a little bit about the history
[5:17] of that, why they're getting a stipen,
[5:19] why the fluctuation in the rate.
[5:22] Not sure who's here to answer that. I
[5:24] can answer that for well some of that. I
[5:27] mean, they since they've always gotten a
[5:29] stipen, it's always been in the budget.
[5:31] It really only fluctuates on the year of
[5:35] revaluation. So it's usually
[5:38] 8,000 in all the budgets and then it
[5:41] gets bumped up in year revaluation
[5:43] because there's almost twice the amount
[5:46] of work. So how many meetings per year
[5:48] do they typically
[5:50] have? I mean I know that they have the
[5:53] they would have the um appeals they meet
[5:56] for the car taxes once. How how often
[5:59] are they meeting? Kev, can you come up
[6:02] and answer
[6:11] that? It's Kevin, the assessor. Uh they
[6:14] do board of assessment appeals meets the
[6:17] first um Saturday I believe in
[6:19] September. Um and they also um meet
[6:24] during the uh month of March. Uh this
[6:28] year there were uh about 240 appeals
[6:32] total. Not all of those were heard by
[6:34] the board of appeals because what many
[6:36] of those were over a million dollars. So
[6:39] but the volume was quite heavy this year
[6:41] for the board.
[6:43] So for this past March
[6:46] and they get paid extra because it was
[6:48] the reval year. So in a in a non-reval
[6:51] year, so basically every three years
[6:54] they're probably meeting twice per year.
[6:56] Does that sound about right? The the
[6:58] September and the March. Correct. Um we
[7:01] do a revaluation every five years. So
[7:04] five, I'm sorry. One out of four. Okay.
[7:07] So if you they're they're budgeted for
[7:10] 2,000 each and then there's a recording
[7:12] secretary. So depending on how much she
[7:15] works. So of that
[7:18] 8,000 6,000 is for the board members,
[7:21] 2,000 is for the recording secretary.
[7:23] Okay. And then in the
[7:25] revalure, how does that shift? So that
[7:28] was
[7:30] probably, was it 14? It was probably
[7:32] 12,000 for the stipens and 2,000 for the
[7:35] recording secretary. So they're they
[7:37] would each be getting 4,000 in the reval
[7:39] year. I mean, right. Yeah. 4,000. Yes.
[7:46] Okay.
[7:49] So, do we know that the the history of
[7:51] how this how that I mean I know there
[7:54] there's other boards and commissions
[7:54] that meet much more frequently that
[7:56] don't receive stipens. So, I just not
[7:58] sure what the history is why this board
[8:00] receives them and others do not.
[8:03] I do not know that. Do you know that,
[8:05] Mr. Coons? They've received stipens
[8:07] since I've been here and I've been here
[8:08] almost 20 years. So, just always been
[8:10] that way. Okay. Yeah. So, I don't I
[8:12] don't know the history. Okay. All right.
[8:16] That is all I have on that. Thank you,
[8:18] Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Cle.
[8:20] Appreciate it. Thank you. Anyone else on
[8:21] this topic?
[8:23] Okay. Next, we'll we'll go to um
[8:33] Kapan. Is that me again? Council Tata.
[8:36] Great. All right. So, two pages here.
[8:38] So, page 23 and then
[8:42] um again on page 83. So, I'll start on
[8:50] 23. I'm sorry. Actually, we'll go right
[8:52] to
[9:03] 83. All right. I'm assuming this is for
[9:05] Mr. Senna, but correct me if I'm wrong.
[9:08] The transfer is uh the line item
[9:11] transfer general fund. So, I know we
[9:12] have we have the electric division pilot
[9:15] um but then there's a line item transfer
[9:17] general fund and it looks like
[9:19] 500,000 was
[9:22] um expended in 2020 the fiscal year
[9:25] ending
[9:26] 2024 then
[9:29] nothing currently and then a request of
[9:33] 390,136 this year which the mayor
[9:35] approved in his budget. So I'm
[9:38] assuming that's just a choice that the
[9:40] administration makes and that's in order
[9:42] to balance to make all the projects on
[9:44] the next page to get those paid for.
[9:49] So the 500,000 in the prior year
[9:53] the Rob um public works needed more
[9:57] money for paving. Okay. So that's you
[10:01] know that's what that so his paving
[10:03] account is in the cabin nan. So you guys
[10:07] approved that transfer and and that's
[10:09] how that went there. So as we kind of
[10:13] discussed last night, the electric
[10:16] revenue keeps going down. You know,
[10:17] conservation's great, but it's generated
[10:21] on the cost. There's a formula that the
[10:24] electric division gives me that that
[10:27] number. So but that number keeps
[10:29] dwindling and the projects keep getting
[10:31] more and more. So to fund the the
[10:36] projects on the other
[10:37] page, the first number is the electric
[10:39] division number and then we needed the
[10:41] 390 136 to fund the rest of those
[10:44] projects.
[10:46] Okay. Okay. So if one of
[10:51] those All right, I understand. So so
[10:54] this
[10:55] 21101 that's coming out of here that's
[10:58] going to tie to the revenue of the the
[11:00] cap and non fun. Okay. So basically, if
[11:03] we took that if we did not take that
[11:05] transfer of 390 from the general fund,
[11:07] we would have to then go to the next
[11:09] page and pick $390,000 worth of projects
[11:12] that we would not be doing. Correct.
[11:15] Okay. All right. And then on
[11:17] that list of projects, this I'm not sure
[11:19] who these questions are going to be for
[11:20] depending on what line, but um
[11:23] the brick paper replacement that is not
[11:26] in this year, but it is scheduled for it
[11:28] looks like every other year. Um, this
[11:31] might be for Mr. Bramitis who was here
[11:33] last night, but um, not a question, but
[11:35] more of a comment. I know the Oh, maybe
[11:38] we do have somebody. I'm sorry.
[11:44] How are you? How are you, Alison
[11:46] Capachinsky, town engineer? Thank you
[11:48] very much. The brick pavers, are we
[11:51] actually replacing with bricks or have
[11:53] we looked at maybe doing stamped
[11:55] concrete that looks like bricks? Because
[11:56] I know the weeds and the the maintenance
[11:58] of the bricks has been an issue. So that
[12:00] line item um is funded for the resetting
[12:02] of brick pavers. So we do have to, you
[12:05] know, replace some bricks, but the goal
[12:07] is to remove the bricks, clean up the
[12:09] area, and put the same bricks back.
[12:10] Okay. So it's really for the labor.
[12:12] There is a little bit of material costs
[12:13] in there, too. Okay. So that's more
[12:15] maintenance of the existing ones.
[12:16] Exactly. Perfect.
[12:19] Um the this is I'm just going to go
[12:22] through what I think might be yours. Um
[12:24] the downtown parking lot improvements,
[12:26] that's $80,000 for this year. I'm
[12:28] assuming I think we talked about these
[12:30] last night. I'm assuming these are the
[12:31] ones that are behind um on Center
[12:33] Street, those rear lots. Is that
[12:35] accurate?
[12:37] Um I don't know that we've we know that
[12:41] a lot of them need to be addressed. So I
[12:42] don't know that we've picked exactly
[12:43] which ones. Um you know, it's kind of a
[12:46] fluid plan as far as I know. Um it will
[12:48] be a combined effort with me and public
[12:50] works. Okay. So then the 80,000 that's
[12:53] just where did that number come from if
[12:55] we don't have them the projects chosen
[12:57] yet? I think just to get us started we
[12:59] think we could at least you know repave
[13:00] some stuff but you know maybe some need
[13:02] uh guard rail um you know some could use
[13:05] some other improvements as well. So um
[13:07] to try to get us you know going in the
[13:09] right direction. Okay. So that's kind of
[13:10] just earmarked for that and then you'll
[13:12] decide what how far that money will get
[13:14] you basically. I think so. Yeah. And
[13:16] like there's always an opportunity to
[13:18] look for other funding as well and use
[13:19] that as part of a match. Okay. Got it.
[13:22] Uh the Gregory Road sidewalk extension,
[13:24] would you be able just to talk about
[13:25] that? So it looks like it's 70,000 in
[13:27] this budget and then
[13:29] $280,000 uh earmark for next year. Yeah.
[13:32] So that project we estimated to be
[13:35] $350,000. Um because there was, as you
[13:38] could tell, there are quite a bit of
[13:39] projects to be done this year. Um rather
[13:41] than picking and choosing whether we go
[13:43] with, you know, the traditional sidewalk
[13:46] replacement program or this Gregory Road
[13:49] sidewalk extension, um the strategy that
[13:52] the administration came up with was to
[13:54] fund 20% of it now and look for a grant
[13:56] this year. So then we'd have the match
[13:58] already here and then the grants always
[14:00] want you to have the uh entire project
[14:02] funded in the capital improvement plan.
[14:04] So it would show there. We'd say, you
[14:06] know, here's the rest of the funding,
[14:07] but hopefully get something from them.
[14:09] um and see if that works out. Okay. And
[14:12] that's to expand I'm sorry, I'm just not
[14:14] familiar with um that project that this
[14:16] is an expansion. Yeah. So, right now
[14:18] there's no sidewalks on uh Gregory Road
[14:21] and so we're going to um hopefully
[14:23] install sidewalk from uh Highland to
[14:27] Johnson. Um and then I believe it goes
[14:31] up maybe three houses on Highland. I
[14:34] don't have the plans with me, but it's
[14:35] about that scope. Was this the one that
[14:37] we were hearing about? There were people
[14:38] a few years ago where speed of cars they
[14:41] were have concerns. Okay. All right.
[14:43] Perfect. All right. Thank you. And um I
[14:45] apologize. I think that did come up last
[14:46] night. So I'm sorry if that was
[14:48] redundant.
[14:51] Uh this one I know
[14:54] about the library parking lot repairs we
[14:57] did discuss last
[15:00] night. I think that's all I
[15:04] have for that. Yes, I'm all set. Thank
[15:07] you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Appreciate
[15:09] it. Thank you. Anyone else on this
[15:11] topic? Thank you, Miss
[15:13] Capinski. Moving on to next, we'll go to
[15:15] uh pension. We can do pension uh
[15:18] employee
[15:19] insurance together.
[15:41] Good evening. Hello everybody. Jim
[15:42] Hottown, HR
[15:44] director, Council Tat. Thank you, Mr.
[15:47] Chairman. I'll do uh W do pension first
[15:49] and then see if anyone else has anything
[15:51] and then we'll go to the next.
[15:57] Okay. Get to the right page here.
[16:09] Okay. So, we're on page
[16:13] 27. Mr. I don't know if you know this
[16:15] off top of your head. I I should have
[16:16] looked up myself, but in the most recent
[16:19] audit, were there
[16:23] um I know there's not a surplus in the
[16:26] pension because it's obviously a fluid
[16:28] account, but what
[16:30] is does it look like? How does it look
[16:32] like we're funding this? Does it look
[16:33] like we have too much in it, not enough
[16:35] in it? What's the state of the pension
[16:37] fund? Basically,
[16:39] state of the pension fund or the line
[16:40] item because the pension fund is
[16:43] something different. Okay. So that's run
[16:46] through the pension commission, right?
[16:47] So if you're looking at the line items
[16:50] on page 27, I can tell you how we get
[16:52] there. Okay. Yeah. So you don't want
[16:55] Yeah. You're not here to speak on the
[16:57] pension, but So what we do is we do
[17:00] preliminary numbers when we're getting
[17:02] ready to submit the budget to the
[17:04] finance department for the mayor's
[17:07] review. And once we're done with that,
[17:11] the mayor and Tim go through the budget
[17:13] and um Tim will then let us know what
[17:18] positions on the town side are going to
[17:20] be funded and what that amount is and that includes full-time and
[17:24] part-time positions. So then what we do
[17:26] is we roll those numbers up. We add in
[17:31] the um what the board of ed provides us
[17:35] for their uh payroll for the
[17:37] consolidated pension plan. We do pay for
[17:39] the board of ed's pension contributions.
[17:42] Okay. And then those amounts get rolled
[17:44] up and we calculate the pension
[17:47] contribution for the town and the board
[17:49] of ed which this year is
[17:52] 25.3% and Medicare and social security
[17:56] for uh for those uh wage amounts social
[18:01] security for part-timer 6.2% and
[18:03] Medicare for everybody who's covered
[18:06] 1.45%.
[18:08] So that's how we come up with this and
[18:09] then our actuary gives us the value of
[18:13] what we put into the LOAP program.
[18:17] Okay. So thank you for that. That's very
[18:20] helpful.
[18:22] The I didn't realize that the board of
[18:24] ed pension is also on this side. So is
[18:27] that is that typical for municipalities
[18:29] that that would not be part of the board
[18:31] of ed's budget because I'm assuming
[18:33] that's a large part of this. It's like
[18:35] 12 million.
[18:37] Yeah,
[18:38] I can get it. I can get the number for
[18:40] you. Yeah, I don't need it right now.
[18:41] But just just to clarify, so that
[18:43] doesn't include teachers though because
[18:44] that does not include teachers. No, it's
[18:46] just the the non-certified personnel uh
[18:49] that are covered under the mirror
[18:50] statutes. Okay. But it wouldn't be 12
[18:53] million, Jim. The whole line I know is
[18:55] 12 million. Hold on. Let me see.
[19:03] So the
[19:04] 25.3 is also determined by the actuaries
[19:09] and the the
[19:10] 25.3 what number is that are you
[19:12] referring to? So for the on the town
[19:14] side Mhm. anyone who's in the pension
[19:18] all the
[19:19] salary. So every time we run payroll
[19:23] 25.3% will come out and go into the
[19:26] pension fund every week. Okay.
[19:30] Yes. So I can tell you the board of ed
[19:32] payroll that we
[19:35] uh use to set the pension contribution
[19:39] is
[19:41] 12,810 362. Okay. That's what we get
[19:44] from the board of ed. Sorry, that's the
[19:46] total payroll number. Sorry. Okay. And
[19:49] then it's the same percentage from that
[19:51] 25.3%. Yes. All right.
[19:56] Um, is that I don't know if you can
[19:58] speak to this or not. This is more for
[19:59] the pension commission, but the 25.3 is
[20:01] that is that typical is that like a
[20:03] normal range for municipality? That
[20:05] seems awfully high, but I mean I don't
[20:07] know. Maybe that's just typical. You
[20:09] know, that's probably a question for the
[20:12] actuaries. Okay. But
[20:14] um considering we've made some
[20:17] assumption changes over the years, the interest credit assumptions dropped
[20:22] from 8% I think we're down to 7% Tim
[20:24] right now and the amortization rate went
[20:27] from I think 25 to 24 years. So we're
[20:30] paying more to pair down what we owe.
[20:34] Okay. I assume that's something that
[20:36] you're looking at with contracts. I mean
[20:38] I'm because I I just I don't
[20:42] so employee wages wage increases you
[20:46] know brings this number up as well you
[20:49] know. Yeah. Okay. I don't I mean
[20:53] admittedly this is a subject I'm not
[20:55] very well versed in. I don't really
[20:57] understand, you know, pension like the
[20:58] workings of all of that. But I just my
[21:00] concern always is that
[21:03] um it becomes unaffordable or
[21:06] unsustainable over time because it's a large amount of money.
[21:10] Um you know, just this page alone is $12
[21:12] million. So that's annually, you know,
[21:15] almost $12 million that we're paying
[21:16] into this. So it's a huge it's a huge
[21:18] chunk of the budget.
[21:22] Um I think that's all I I have on the
[21:25] pension. So just to and just to um if I
[21:28] may u just to clarify so the pension
[21:30] contribution is simply the payroll
[21:33] multiplied times the
[21:35] actuarial percentage correct that's
[21:37] correct okay so so it's that simple so
[21:39] as we increase staff that's just
[21:41] naturally going to go up that's correct
[21:43] and so the the percentage could vary by
[21:45] year but that has to do with market
[21:46] performance etc etc correct that's
[21:48] correct yes correct it's a complicated
[21:51] right so so there's two ways you can do
[21:54] it they can calculate that the the match
[21:58] is $11 million and sometimes just put in
[22:01] the $11 million or the way we do it is
[22:06] if the payroll is not fully there,
[22:09] you're not paying extra, right? So,
[22:12] we're only paying what we're required to
[22:14] pay on the actual employees. Whereas if
[22:17] we just took the if they I'm just making
[22:19] up numbers but if they said 11 million
[22:22] is what's required your required
[22:24] contribution and we always make the
[22:26] required contribution. So we could just
[22:29] put the 11 million in or we could do it
[22:31] the way we do it. We find it more
[22:32] efficient to do it the way we do it.
[22:34] Okay. No understood. Anytime you say the
[22:36] word actuary it becomes very
[22:37] complicated. Right. Um, so does that
[22:39] mean then that this is so is this a
[22:41] fixed budget amount and that this is
[22:43] what we're going to spend or if we don't
[22:45] spend the payroll, do we then adjust the
[22:46] payment based on the actual payroll
[22:48] spend?
[22:50] So this is if every position was filled
[22:54] for every week, this is what we would
[22:57] pay. So So that that's
[23:00] No, that answered my question. Thank
[23:01] you.
[23:03] Any other questions this one? Yep. Mr.
[23:05] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Hut. Um, in
[23:08] the part of the world that I live in, we
[23:09] deal with loaded costs of employees,
[23:11] right? Do we have any semblance of a,
[23:14] you know, is it a 1.5 factor? Is it a,
[23:17] you know, is it somewhere on that scale
[23:19] that we can say for pension eligible
[23:22] employees, our our costs are X? So that
[23:25] when we take a look at headcount, we can
[23:28] adjust, you know, that number and those
[23:30] that that math becomes less complex. So
[23:33] I think the 25.3% is the number you
[23:36] would use for pension. Okay. Um but as
[23:40] far as a general is it you know you've
[23:42] got the FTE cost is the FTE cost. So
[23:45] that's a 1x factor and now we've got you
[23:48] know personal cell phones you've got any
[23:50] number or work cell phones you've got
[23:51] any number of different things benefits
[23:54] included in that conversation. Do we is
[23:57] there a target number that we work
[23:58] towards? No. No. Okay. Thank you. Thank
[24:01] you Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Anyone else
[24:03] on this topic? All right, moving on. And
[24:06] uh Jim, hang on a minute. So, the other
[24:08] one was uh pension and then
[24:12] employee employee insurance and other
[24:14] benefits.
[24:17] Council Tata, thank you. So, this is on
[24:19] page 28. I'm looking at a couple
[24:22] questions on this one.
[24:26] So under the program
[24:29] description, it says longevity and
[24:32] annual payment based upon years of
[24:33] service for general government employees
[24:36] except fire, police, public works, and
[24:38] public
[24:39] utilities. Why are those specific
[24:41] departments exempt from that? I do not
[24:44] know. This is how it's been since I
[24:46] started here. My guess is that because
[24:49] uh they they reside outside of town
[24:53] hall, but that's we've always budgeted
[24:56] for everybody but these departments for
[24:59] longevity. Okay. And what's the So those
[25:03] town those departments get longevity. It
[25:05] just gets paid out of their own
[25:06] department. Correct.
[25:08] They have their own. So So the
[25:10] firefighters that are eligible, they get
[25:12] longevity. It just gets paid out of the
[25:14] fire department budget. Okay. So, all of
[25:16] those other departments, yes, they Yes,
[25:18] they get it. They just It's not paid out
[25:20] of this line item. Okay. All right.
[25:22] Thank you. That makes
[25:25] sense.
[25:27] Um, is that also the same the next line
[25:31] down? It says the town provides life and
[25:32] health insurance for its employees in
[25:35] accordance with union contract
[25:36] provisions. Other benefits such as
[25:39] employee assistance program, tuition
[25:40] reimbursement, and training are
[25:41] included. So, that that would be for
[25:43] everybody would be budgeted in. So, we
[25:46] budget for everybody for life and health
[25:49] insurance except utilities. Okay. Um
[25:52] employee assistance program, we budget
[25:55] for the town. Utilities, police and fire
[25:58] have their own separate programs. And
[26:01] tuition reimbursement, we budget for the
[26:04] town employees. Okay? And police and
[26:07] fire, they have their own tuition uh
[26:09] language in their contracts. Okay? So
[26:11] basically every department has these
[26:14] benefits. It's just a matter of who's
[26:16] paying or where the money's coming from.
[26:18] So from the town side, tuition
[26:20] reimbursement, nonp police, non-fire,
[26:23] that's only limited to management
[26:24] employees. Okay, understood. Thank you.
[26:29] And you'll notice the longevity keeps
[26:31] going down because new hires are not
[26:34] eligible. So as people retire, they're
[26:37] off the books and then Okay. So that's
[26:40] what we use. So eventually that's going
[26:41] to get to zero. Okay. The um this came
[26:44] up last night, Mr. Hut. Um the fire
[26:47] department switched their health
[26:48] insurance I believe last year. Do you
[26:51] know how much that saved the town? So
[26:55] you know, as you know, we're in a
[26:56] contract negotiations with fire right
[26:58] now. When when we did move the initial
[27:02] move uh back in 2023, I believe it was
[27:07] uh July of 2023.
[27:10] what our our um insurance consultant
[27:14] projected for one year, I believe it was it was close to $300,000.
[27:20] Okay. And are there programs like that other departments might be able to
[27:29] enter into? I I've heard that there's
[27:32] state plans possibly like state health
[27:34] insurance plans. Is that anything that
[27:36] different I'm sure each union and each
[27:38] contract will be different, but is that
[27:39] something that we might look into or
[27:41] that they would want to look into to try
[27:43] to save some money and get them on
[27:45] different plans? So, so we're in
[27:47] negotiations with a variety of unions
[27:50] from time to time. Uh insurance
[27:53] proposals come from these unions that
[27:55] are not the town's plan. Right now, the
[27:58] only bargaining unit that has insurance
[28:01] outside of the town is the firefighters.
[28:05] Okay. And then I'm also assuming if we
[28:07] lose too many then would that make the
[28:10] town plan more expensive because now
[28:12] your pool is diminished? That may
[28:14] happen. We would have to get those, you
[28:16] know, that information from our
[28:18] insurance consultant. Okay. So, it's
[28:19] kind of a catch 22. Okay.
[28:23] Um, another benefit, I don't see it
[28:27] listed here, but I've heard that some
[28:29] departments have it. Military buyback.
[28:31] Is that anything that departments are
[28:33] offered or any levels are offered? So,
[28:36] back before um some some some union uh
[28:41] some pension contracts have that
[28:43] provision for employees hired as of a
[28:45] certain date. For the most part, that
[28:48] has been discontinued.
[28:50] uh police and fire never had military
[28:53] buyback that I know of. Uh and the
[28:56] reason being is they they already worked
[28:58] 23 and 22 years. So, but th those those
[29:02] unions have never had military buyback,
[29:04] but all the others did at one point. U
[29:07] I'm not sure that they have it right
[29:10] now. I think maybe some employees do,
[29:11] but then others do not. Okay. So, that
[29:13] would be something that would be
[29:14] negotiated at the union. That's correct.
[29:16] Contract. Yeah, that would have to be
[29:17] negotiated. have to be costed and uh but
[29:20] yeah that's that's correct. Okay. Thank
[29:23] you. That is all I have for that page.
[29:27] Mr. Chairman. All right. Anyone else on
[29:29] this topic?
[29:30] We'll go on next then to property
[29:32] casualty insurance.
[29:34] Mr. Chairman, if if I might ask um what
[29:37] what's left on the list? I have several
[29:39] department heads here and I just want to
[29:41] see which ones we can Sure. So we have
[29:43] mayor, finance, uh general fund revenue,
[29:46] debt service,
[29:48] uh contingency. Okay. And then we have a
[29:51] general question about the telephones.
[29:53] So
[29:54] yeah, it looks like recreation and
[29:56] engineering can leave. Yes. Yep. I think
[29:58] we're all set. Thank you so much. Thank
[30:00] you. Appreciate uh appreciate your
[30:06] attendance. Next, now we're on property
[30:08] casualty. Council Tat.
[30:17] Okay. So, page
[30:21] 29. So, this I'm I'm assuming I mean
[30:24] this is what it is, right? The insurance
[30:26] bill comes and there's not much we can
[30:28] do about this. I'm assuming. Correct.
[30:32] So, what you're looking at is the
[30:33] projected premiums for the insurance
[30:36] policies the the town has. Okay. So, we
[30:39] don't have them yet. This is our
[30:40] estimate of what they're going to be.
[30:42] No, we don't receive the actual uh
[30:44] premium invoices until July 1st. We're
[30:47] currently in the renewal cycle uh
[30:49] filling out our applications for
[30:50] renewal. Okay. And then have in the
[30:52] past, do you know historically have we
[30:54] usually been pretty close to our
[30:56] projections? Are we usually over? Uh we
[30:59] there have been years where the
[31:00] projections um have been slightly higher
[31:04] than the actual premiums. Okay. Uh but
[31:06] again, we're projecting these several
[31:09] months before the actual renewal data
[31:12] goes in. So there's a lot of factors
[31:13] that are involved in the actual renewal
[31:15] that would ultimately present with the
[31:17] premium. Okay. And my only other
[31:20] question on
[31:21] here
[31:25] the I have a couple actually the
[31:27] insurance deductible. So I noticed a
[31:29] couple departments have their own uh
[31:31] line item for that. Like last night we
[31:33] saw I think um FIRE had a $10,000
[31:35] deductible listed in theirs. So what
[31:37] does this what is the difference between
[31:39] this is that um how does that work?
[31:42] Basically who who is in this 50,000. So
[31:45] back in 2004 uh my office crafted a
[31:49] policy called a cost allocation program
[31:51] and what that did was it took the total
[31:53] premium that I budgeted for and spread
[31:56] it out amongst the departments so that
[31:58] departments had some accountability for
[31:59] that line item. Uh so what this
[32:02] represents is any department that's not
[32:04] covered under the cost allocation
[32:06] program and or just general policies
[32:09] that we don't allocate out to the
[32:11] specific departments. Okay, that's
[32:13] great. I like that that that's split out
[32:14] like that because I think it's more
[32:15] reflective of each department's budget.
[32:17] So that's good. My only other question,
[32:20] I notice here that um board of ed
[32:23] is
[32:25] 877,570 and that's in the general
[32:28] government budget, not in the board of
[32:30] ed budget. Is that typical that that
[32:33] would appear here? I'm just there's a
[32:34] there's several things I think we
[32:36] already mentioned one before where it's
[32:38] board of ed and it's in the general
[32:39] government budget. Um so it's kind of
[32:42] hard to get a picture of if I'm trying
[32:43] to look at board of ed spending and then
[32:45] there's
[32:45] $877,000 here. That's obviously a large
[32:48] amount of money. That's their
[32:50] expenditure. So, is the town paying that
[32:52] for the board of ed? Yeah. So,
[32:53] historically, uh, which as long as I've
[32:56] been here and predates me, the town has
[32:58] always budgeted for that. Uh, and we do
[33:01] pay those bills directly. We ultimately
[33:04] control that money. The board of
[33:05] education does not. Okay. And the reason
[33:09] for that is just historically that's
[33:10] what we've always done. The previous
[33:12] administration had decided that's how
[33:14] they wanted to carry that money. Okay.
[33:15] Uh so that's always resided uh on my
[33:18] side of the uh the ledger. Okay. Would
[33:20] you have an issue with that going to the
[33:22] board of ed side or Yes, you would.
[33:24] Okay. And what would that reason be?
[33:25] Well, the overall control. So if they
[33:28] have a budgeted number, they can budget
[33:30] a number, but they're not obligated to
[33:32] pay that premium. Correct. Okay. So this
[33:35] way here we we ensure that the bills get
[33:37] paid and uh ultimately the control lies
[33:39] with one department that can oversee the
[33:41] entire program. Understood. Makes sense.
[33:43] Thank you. Uh that is all I have Mr.
[33:45] Chairman. Any other questions on this
[33:46] item? Mr. Shriber, I just have a general
[33:49] question for you. So the obviously the
[33:51] property casualty like market is is
[33:53] pretty uh rough right now and we've seen
[33:56] some precipitous increases over the next
[33:57] few years. Do you have any idea from the
[33:59] consultant if we expect to see this turn
[34:01] around at any point? Um so we're in
[34:04] constant contact with them in regards I
[34:06] don't think that people understand that
[34:08] the external market forces that are in
[34:10] the entire industry do affect us
[34:12] locally. Uh and so we try to mitigate
[34:15] that with a number of different ways uh
[34:17] through loss control programs or
[34:19] different programs. Um they do market
[34:21] the program vastly for us to see if we
[34:23] can take advantage of any of that. Uh
[34:25] and so we are always looking at
[34:27] different ways of possibly reducing
[34:29] those increases um as they come through.
[34:32] Um you know again adding particular
[34:34] buildings. We did add two properties to
[34:35] the schedule this year. Uh so that in in
[34:38] itself will increase the you know the
[34:40] property line item. So, you know, and
[34:43] I'm not I'm not real familiar with
[34:44] commercial property. Um, if we have
[34:46] major renovation projects and buildings,
[34:48] does that potentially improve our lot
[34:52] with insurance? So, it's a double-edged
[34:54] sword because we routinely review the
[34:57] actual valuation of the buildings to
[34:59] make sure that we are insuring them to
[35:01] the proper level. So, when they are
[35:04] redone, that does increase some
[35:06] potential for their value to increase,
[35:09] right? Uh, so we we pull it's a poolled
[35:12] number that we use for our property. So,
[35:14] and that includes the utilities as well.
[35:17] Okay. Thank you very much, Council Tata.
[35:19] I'm sorry, one more thing. I just
[35:20] thought of
[35:22] the I'm assuming we ensure all buildings
[35:25] in town that we own despite who's
[35:29] occupying the buildings. Correct.
[35:31] Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[35:34] Thank you. Um, thank you very much,
[35:36] gentlemen.
[35:38] Do you have any other questions for me?
[35:40] Uh so the contingency. Yep. Did you have
[35:44] any I believe there items in the
[35:46] contingency related to HR
[35:52] and if not then then we're all set. Hang
[35:54] on just a second. Ch.
[36:02] Mr. Chairman. Um, we have the tax
[36:06] assessor here as well and I'm just
[36:08] wondering if there would be any
[36:11] questions with respect to his
[36:12] department. I don't see anything on the
[36:15] agenda that would indicate that. Uh,
[36:16] does anyone have questions for the tax
[36:17] assessor?
[36:19] Okay. Thank you very much.
[36:23] And my questions here are not Mr. H or
[36:28] Okay. So, none of the the questions are
[36:30] related to the your department. So,
[36:31] thank you very much. Thank you. Thank
[36:33] you. Appreciate it.
[36:38] All right. So, next uh we'll move on to
[36:41] contingency.
[36:44] Councelor T. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[36:46] So, this is page 64.
[36:51] Um
[36:53] the well first the first thing I noticed
[36:56] was that we don't have numbers for
[37:00] uh expended of fiscal year ended 630
[37:04] 24 or expended uh 25. I'm not sure was
[37:07] there a reason that wasn't there?
[37:09] Contingency by nature is not spent. It
[37:12] gets transferred to the appropriate
[37:13] account. Okay. So, if I wanted to look
[37:16] back and see last year we put in I let's
[37:20] just say we put in $500,000 and we ended
[37:23] up transferring out $300,000 during the
[37:27] year, we would have had 200,000 left.
[37:29] How would I find out how much we used of
[37:32] that? On the on the the monthly reports
[37:35] I give you, if you look at the
[37:37] contingency line item, the budget will
[37:40] be reduced, but it it will never be
[37:42] spent. You can't spend it at a
[37:44] contingency. It has to go to the proper
[37:46] account.
[37:48] Right. So there so there's transfers out
[37:50] of contingency into whatever account we
[37:52] Correct. Correct. So how would I know
[37:53] then what was transferred out of that
[37:55] account in a in a year?
[37:59] Take the original budget and subtract
[38:03] out the revised budget.
[38:06] So can we can I would you be able to get
[38:08] me those that number? I I think what I'm
[38:10] trying to see it say is if we let's say
[38:12] in the budget last year we said $500,000
[38:14] of contingency and then we didn't spend
[38:16] any of that but it went back to the
[38:18] general fund then I'm I'm trying to see
[38:20] how much historically we've spent of
[38:22] that. Well wait if I can interject for a
[38:25] second. So if you look at our budgets
[38:26] though every month we have transfers for
[38:28] different things. And if you look at
[38:29] especially the June budgets there's a
[38:31] lot of transfers in and out of
[38:33] contingency because we get revenue from
[38:34] other places that end up going into
[38:35] conting contingency. Correct. No,
[38:37] revenue doesn't go into contingency. I I
[38:40] can get you in the numbers. Do you want
[38:42] to know what was left in contingency for
[38:44] how many years?
[38:47] Would five years be asking too much?
[38:49] Nope. That's fine. So,
[38:52] one right in the current year though,
[38:55] you're not going to see money out of the
[38:57] acred wages for a reason and you're
[38:59] going to there's transfer is going to be
[39:01] coming soon.
[39:02] So, we had projected settled contracts
[39:07] last year. So, the the money wasn't in
[39:09] the departments. We've got to move that
[39:11] money in. Yes. I do not do that right
[39:13] away because if the department doesn't
[39:15] need the money and I put the money in
[39:16] there, then they start going, "Oh, my
[39:18] salary line has x amount of money." Then
[39:21] they start trying to transfer it out and
[39:23] do other stuff. So, that's probably the
[39:27] first meeting in May. Okay. Or maybe
[39:29] I'll wait till the second meeting in May
[39:31] because the first meeting in May is
[39:32] probably going to be the budget. We'll
[39:34] make those transfers. But there is
[39:36] salary that currently has to get moved
[39:40] from contingency into the proper line
[39:42] items. Okay, that makes sense. And if
[39:44] even if when you give me the numbers, if
[39:46] you don't want to include the current
[39:47] year, that's fine. I'm just kind of
[39:48] looking for a history. So that makes
[39:51] sense.
[39:52] So my next question, which you kind of
[39:54] just brought up, so there's two lines
[39:56] that make up contingency. There's the
[39:58] general purposes and then there's the
[40:00] acred expenses. Um the acred expenses
[40:03] I'm assuming is that's HRs. That's HR. But that's what you were just
[40:07] saying. Those are the wages contract.
[40:10] Without getting into contractual,
[40:14] you know, they're negotiating these
[40:16] contracts. So there's two contracts out
[40:19] that are they're out as of 6:30 20. So
[40:24] there's a full year they projected when
[40:26] it when this contract settled the year
[40:29] we're in is a full year of raises and
[40:32] then now you have to do the next year
[40:34] because so it's so that's why that
[40:37] number is so high is it's two years of these two contracts. So, and to be
[40:44] honest with you, the the number was
[40:47] higher and
[40:49] I kind of asked, you know, we we kind of
[40:53] trimmed it down a little bit. So,
[40:55] hopefully that is enough. Okay. And that
[40:58] you're specifically speaking to line
[40:59] 58821, right? So, the 1.2 million. Okay.
[41:02] You know that, you know, Jim's
[41:04] calculations were a little bit higher
[41:06] than that. And, you know, I said we
[41:08] can't we can't do that. We got to go
[41:10] let's go with this number. So fingers
[41:13] crossed. Okay. And then the other one,
[41:16] you know, we're at a $270 million bud
[41:18] budget. We had $300,000 to adjust on the
[41:22] fly. That's not very high.
[41:25] Okay, that's all I have. Thank you.
[41:28] Anyone else on this topic?
[41:31] Okay, moving on to Mayor
[41:47] council.
[41:57] Sorry, that's right. I assumed. Uh,
[42:00] thank you. Evening again, Mr. Mayor. The
[42:04] part-time
[42:06] um looks like there's a new part-time
[42:07] position. Can you just explain what that
[42:10] position is?
[42:13] that the the one at the bottom of the
[42:17] um on page 15 it shows part-time and
[42:20] then department request one mayor one
[42:22] and then it looks like on the following
[42:24] page it's the yeah it looks like it's
[42:27] the bottom one. It just says part-time.
[42:30] So, we have a part-time employee who
[42:34] um is working on clearing out our
[42:38] archives.
[42:41] Um and
[42:46] um she does cover phones at times if
[42:50] both of the administrative aid and the
[42:53] secretary are not in the office.
[42:56] Um she does work similar work for other
[42:59] departments in terms of uh going through
[43:02] uh there's a fair amount of purging to
[43:04] be done. There's a lot of paper that
[43:05] dates back to my birth.
[43:09] Um and she's really
[43:13] um done quite a bit in terms of purging
[43:17] what can be purged and
[43:21] um in some other or organizational
[43:25] functions that really um they've helped
[43:27] us. They've helped program planning um I
[43:30] think she spent some time in the clerk's
[43:32] office with a project. So, she does she
[43:35] does float a bit, but she stops into our
[43:38] office on the way in every morning that
[43:40] she works. Okay. And this is a this is a
[43:42] scheduled employee that there's set
[43:44] hours. It's a Yes. schedule. Okay. And
[43:47] then you anticipate this being a a
[43:48] permanent part-time employee. The end of
[43:52] the
[43:53] work is probably
[43:57] um will probably take us through next
[44:00] year. Okay. All right.
[44:03] Um, just while we're on that page, I
[44:04] just wanted to give
[44:06] um just kind of a a thanks to to you,
[44:09] but also to um your office. Your office
[44:12] staff has been has been great. So, um
[44:15] very efficient and um I know we you
[44:17] know, I end up kind of bothering them
[44:19] sometimes for stuff, but they've been phenomenal.
[44:22] So um so I I'll take the opportunity to
[44:25] say that we are
[44:28] three three people in that office new to
[44:31] our positions. Um and while Corey had
[44:35] been the executive secretary
[44:37] uh prior to becoming administrative aid,
[44:40] she had only been there a few years. Um,
[44:43] so all things considered,
[44:46] um, the
[44:48] relative I'm not going to say lack, but
[44:50] potential for a gap of institutional
[44:52] knowledge, um, I I think we're doing
[44:55] pretty well, and I
[44:58] I'm I'm not one to brag, but I'm pleased
[45:00] with the hires. Yeah. No, absolutely.
[45:02] And Corey specifically has been just
[45:04] very efficient, gets back to me right
[45:06] away. Um, pleasant, friendly. So, she's
[45:09] you have you have great staff in there.
[45:11] [Music]
[45:15] Um, oh, the office furniture. So, I know
[45:17] there's nothing in this budget, but that
[45:19] um that has all been purchased,
[45:21] expended. That's all. Um, I mean, it
[45:23] looks great. I've been in there. Um,
[45:25] well, thank you. Um, we we still have
[45:28] some furniture that that dates back to
[45:31] the 80s. Um, you know, I think the the
[45:35] wooden file cabinets um in the mayor's
[45:38] office proper. Um, but you know, we we
[45:41] replaced some chipboard furniture that
[45:44] really was at the end of its useful
[45:46] life. Yeah. Um, I think I think our
[45:48] conference table got repurposed
[45:51] somewhere. Um, but yeah, no, the the
[45:55] furniture that was replaced was in need
[45:57] of replacing. The the desk that I sit at
[46:00] um I couldn't get all the drawers to
[46:02] work. Yeah. So, and my it was Yeah.
[46:06] It was time. Um, but that but that
[46:08] was last year. That money's all Yeah,
[46:10] we're not we don't foresee that type of
[46:13] uh replacement anytime soon. Great.
[46:16] Okay, those were the only questions I
[46:18] had. Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor.
[46:19] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Anyone else on
[46:21] this topic?
[46:23] Before we move on, I'd also like to say
[46:24] Corey and Dawn, your office have been
[46:26] fantastic to work with. Uh just super
[46:29] nice people, great attitudes, and uh
[46:31] very efficient. So now I'll find out if
[46:33] Corey watches the meeting because she'll
[46:34] have to mention or shout it.
[46:37] Thanks for saying that. And in case they
[46:40] didn't watch, I will make sure to let
[46:41] them know. All right. Thank you, Mayor.
[46:43] Um, moving on to uh finance.
[46:51] Council Tata. Yes. I'm just going to
[46:54] believe it's page 20. Yes. Well, it's a
[46:57] lot of pages, but it starts on
[46:59] 20. All right. I'm actually going to
[47:01] start on page 21.
[47:06] Uh line
[47:08] 566000. I feel like I asked about this
[47:10] every year, but then it looks like it
[47:12] went away for a few years, but now it's
[47:14] back. So microfilming is So it
[47:19] is, believe it or not, through after
[47:23] we're done paying all the bills, it's
[47:25] about 15 bankers boxes like this. So
[47:31] we're running out of room. So to get rid
[47:34] of them, I we need to microphone because
[47:36] I have to save them. So we were caught
[47:39] up and then we're a little behind. So
[47:42] I'm hoping this will take care of two
[47:43] years of it. Okay. In the the micro
[47:46] film, it's not really microf filming.
[47:48] They they put it on a fl, you know, a
[47:50] flash drive that Okay. That's I was just
[47:52] going to ask. It's not actually
[47:54] microfilm. Okay. All right. We're That's
[47:56] just what they call line. That was my
[47:57] next question. All right.
[48:00] um line 56720 purchase services data
[48:04] process. So it looks like you had kind
[48:05] of a a somewhat large expenditure there
[48:07] but then not this year is that so let me
[48:09] explain how that works.
[48:13] So as they they said last night that
[48:16] it people were moved into the IT budget.
[48:21] So it used to work in reverse. They were
[48:25] our IT people. So we would have to pay
[48:28] the electric division for that through
[48:30] proportionate charges. So somehow I was
[48:33] the lucky individual who who paid for
[48:35] that. So that now kind of got reversed.
[48:38] We're not paying for them anymore. We're
[48:40] charging them. Okay. So I look like a
[48:42] hero because my budget went down hero.
[48:46] All right. So yeah, I understand. So
[48:48] that works. um
[48:55] uh operating expenses line
[48:59] 58735. So it looks like it's a little
[49:03] your your current expenditure seems
[49:05] fairly low, but I I know that certainly
[49:07] could be because there's things that are
[49:08] not split out equally over 12 months. Is
[49:10] that what's happening there? So that
[49:13] that's you know I've got four divisions
[49:15] in the mail room. So that that's you
[49:18] know the mail mail room machines are
[49:21] 28,000 postage for the tax bills there's
[49:24] bank courier fees there's supplies you
[49:26] know and then just you know
[49:28] miscellaneous stuff but and everything
[49:30] is going up
[49:32] so you know price of stamps went up all
[49:36] materials are going up but um what we
[49:39] normally would do is you know at the end
[49:42] of the year if there's money in there
[49:45] we'll we'll pay for we'll load up the
[49:47] postage machine. Okay, got it. So, um,
[49:51] basically, so when we look at the
[49:52] expended column, I mean this, for lack
[49:54] of a better terms, you're basically on a
[49:55] cash basis, that's like what's actually
[49:56] expended as of that point in that
[49:59] column. So, if a if a major bill comes
[50:02] in um in May, that's going to that would
[50:07] be reflected later on. Correct. And that
[50:09] we're not that the tax bailing of the
[50:11] tax bills is going to happen in June.
[50:12] Yeah. So, that's going to be a big bill.
[50:14] Okay, that makes sense.
[50:18] the I know we've been talking about
[50:20] direct deposit and online bill pay is
[50:22] coming. Do you know as of yet is that
[50:25] going to result in efficiencies in your
[50:28] office or or not your office but in the
[50:30] finance department as a whole where we
[50:31] would be able to save positions because
[50:33] I'm think I'm just thinking that there's
[50:36] somebody reconciling hundreds of
[50:38] paychecks every week and things like
[50:39] that where it might be more efficient.
[50:40] Is that anything you foresee happening
[50:42] in the coming year? That would be the hope not the coming year. I our
[50:47] office is so busy right now with various
[50:49] projects that I can't I would love to
[50:53] snap my fingers and make everything
[50:54] happen. It's just physically impossible.
[50:56] It's the it's the same employees that
[50:59] are doing it. So right
[51:03] now will invoice cloud make it more
[51:06] efficient eventually.
[51:07] Yes. But the stuff still needs to be
[51:10] reconciled.
[51:12] So
[51:14] reconciling payroll checks is really not a big deal. The bank does that for
[51:18] you. They, you know, they send us a
[51:20] file. Okay.
[51:22] Our goal is to to get to direct deposit,
[51:26] but I've got my I've only got two
[51:28] payroll people and they have to crank
[51:30] out a weekly payroll every week and
[51:32] they're working on some other projects
[51:34] right now. So, my goal is to at least
[51:38] get the
[51:39] pensioners soon and then we'll we'll go
[51:41] from
[51:42] there. Okay. But, um I would think it's
[51:45] going to take a couple years because,
[51:47] you
[51:48] know, just invoice cloud, you know,
[51:51] hopefully it goes live and we we do it,
[51:53] but not everyone's going to use it. So,
[51:57] until you've
[51:59] got until it completely shifts, it's the same amount of work. It's
[52:04] actually we're adding more work because
[52:05] instead of just doing what we normally
[52:07] do now the money is coming
[52:09] electronically but we still have to make
[52:11] sure it hits the right accounts and gets
[52:12] posted properly. So it's still the same
[52:14] amount of work. It's just a different
[52:16] format. But I mean if
[52:20] they're I'm not going to have people sit
[52:23] there doing nothing. We will reprogram
[52:25] them or you know you know we'll figure
[52:28] something out.
[52:31] Okay. And then I apologize if you've
[52:34] already answered this. I haven't gone
[52:35] through the emails yet, but um open
[52:38] positions. There's
[52:41] if you already answered it, I I can look
[52:43] through my email. I don't need you. I
[52:44] don't mind answering it. Okay.
[52:47] So, I have one open position because
[52:50] today was her last day. Okay.
[52:54] So, I had one I have one in tax, but
[52:57] we've already gone through the whole
[52:58] process and she's walking, you know, on
[53:01] May 22nd. that she's coming in. Okay.
[53:04] So, I do have money in this budget for
[53:08] that position. I did not start the
[53:11] process. I don't want to give it up yet,
[53:14] but I'm hoping with some of the
[53:17] efficiencies
[53:18] with that if we roll it out to the
[53:21] departments that maybe this position
[53:23] won't be needed. But as of now, that's
[53:26] the only one I have open. Just the one.
[53:28] It's funded but I did not start the
[53:30] process yet. Okay, great. Thank you.
[53:33] That is all I have. Thank you, Mr.
[53:35] Chairman. Thank you. Anyone else on this
[53:37] topic?
[53:39] Moving on to general fund revenue.
[53:43] Can we do debt service first? Moving on
[53:45] to debt service before we before we
[53:48] switch gears.
[54:19] All right. Sorry. It says uh page 22.
[54:26] So, my question here, and I think I I
[54:29] think I've seen it on the the following
[54:31] pages, but the new police department
[54:34] bonding that's um I'm assuming that's
[54:37] now in reflected in this budget. And
[54:39] about how much is that annually?
[54:42] All right. So, I kind of figured that's
[54:45] what your question was going to be.
[54:47] So, so far we've bonded
[54:54] 23,674,074 for the police station
[54:55] project. We still have to bond the rest
[54:58] of it, which hopefully soon. I keep
[55:02] keeps getting pushed down a little bit.
[55:05] So, that's how much we've bonded. So in
[55:08] these numbers
[55:10] here 1.1 uh so we we bonded
[55:15] two two amount uh two times so one was a
[55:18] big amount one was a little bit combined
[55:21] in the principal portion of this one
[55:25] 183 is attributed to the new police
[55:29] station and for interest
[55:33] $927,060 is in the the interest line.
[55:37] Okay. And that is only for what was
[55:39] what's already been bonded. Correct.
[55:40] So if we if we do more bonding
[55:44] and then Well, we have to do more. Yeah.
[55:46] So when we do the more bonding to pay
[55:48] the bills, it's did we budget for that
[55:51] in here? No. I
[55:54] estimated in my numbers. I
[55:59] took what I know that we have to pay.
[56:02] Mhm. And I'm assume so I estimated that
[56:07] when I
[56:08] bond I was going to do $13 million which
[56:11] would be the police station I think one
[56:12] of the boilers and the four Fairfield
[56:14] Boulevard.
[56:16] So I just so I estimated if I do $13
[56:20] million at 20 years that'd be 650,000.
[56:24] So, I've added 650,000 into what I know
[56:27] we have to pay. Okay, great. I that's basically what I was getting. I
[56:30] want to make sure that that's um and
[56:32] then I for interest I did the same
[56:34] thing. I did the 13 million times, you
[56:36] know, I just used 4% and I added that to what is known. Okay. And then the 250
[56:43] in the the new debt financing, that's
[56:46] kind of if I'm off, that's where I would
[56:48] go to take that money. Okay, that makes
[56:50] And I can also use that money for, you
[56:52] know, if something came up, we could
[56:56] transfer that somewhere else to to pay
[56:58] for something an emergency instead of
[57:01] using debt for it. Yep. Got it. So
[57:04] basically the the so the police
[57:08] station without the additional bond we
[57:10] still need to do is it's over $2 million
[57:14] a year principal and interest just where
[57:17] we stand right now. And we still have to
[57:18] issue how many how much more in bonds?
[57:21] 13 million. So premium gets involved. So
[57:24] I would say it's probably going to be
[57:25] around 11 12 million. Okay. So that's um
[57:30] I just think it's an important number to
[57:31] note for we're look I know we're looking
[57:33] at projects
[57:34] um
[57:36] this you know there's been a lot of talk
[57:38] of bonding but that's that's adding a
[57:40] large amount to our um that's going to
[57:42] be correct. So
[57:44] bonding bonding spreads the expenditure
[57:48] over the 20 years, but it does cost more
[57:51] because you got to pay the interest.
[57:52] Yeah, exactly. But but it it doesn't
[57:55] create the spikes. So and you know, we
[57:58] do not like to bond rolling stock
[58:01] because it doesn't last that long. So
[58:03] you you're paying for it when it's out
[58:06] of service. Makes sense. Okay, that was
[58:09] what I had on police. And
[58:11] then out of this page, so the the grand
[58:15] total that we we the taxpayers pay um in
[58:20] bonding, uh the proposed
[58:23] is a little under $6.7 million per year.
[58:27] Do you know about how much of that is
[58:30] board of ed bonding? Because I assume
[58:31] that's included in this as well,
[58:33] correct? Yeah, actually if you go to the board of ed, you go to
[58:51] page
[58:54] 66, there's a memorandum page there. I'm
[58:57] sorry, I'm probably not talking to the
[58:58] mic. There's a memorandum page there
[59:00] that shows what the general government
[59:04] side is paying on behalf of the board of
[59:05] ed.
[59:08] Oh, perfect. And then that that pension
[59:10] that we were talking about before,
[59:11] that's in there, too. Correct.
[59:15] Actually, I have this page highlighted
[59:16] and I forgot it was here. So, thank you.
[59:18] Um, okay. So, total in the general
[59:20] government budget that belongs to board
[59:23] of ed, the prop in the proposed budget
[59:26] is $6.7 million. Correct. Okay.
[59:30] And that just for the benefit of anyone
[59:32] listening, that's made up of principle
[59:35] on bonds for the schools, interest on
[59:36] bonds for the schools, uh the
[59:39] non-certified pension contribution,
[59:41] which we were discussing earlier,
[59:42] property and casualty insurance we
[59:44] discussed earlier, and the school
[59:46] resource officers, which I believe are
[59:48] paid through the police department
[59:49] budget. Correct. Okay. So, that's what
[59:51] makes up that $6.7 million that's board
[59:53] of ed spending, but that's paid from the
[59:55] general government budget. All right.
[59:57] Thank you very much for that. Uh that
[1:00:00] was all I have for debt service. Thank
[1:00:02] you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Satan.
[1:00:03] Appreciate it. Anyone else on this
[1:00:05] topic? And moving on to
[1:00:07] uh general fund
[1:00:09] revenue. Councelor Tata.
[1:00:16] [Applause]
[1:00:17] So I believe this is pages 9 through 12.
[1:00:30] Okay. So, starting on page nine, there's
[1:00:33] uh page nine, section two, Roman numeral
[1:00:35] 2. There's pilots and other
[1:00:37] taxes. Um, I just want to kind of go
[1:00:40] through these. I think most of them are
[1:00:42] self-explanatory, but I just want to
[1:00:43] make sure I understand what they all
[1:00:44] are. So, um, there's a pilot for
[1:00:47] McKenna, Ashler. Uh, the Coanta one is
[1:00:51] done now. That's out of there. Yeah, I
[1:00:53] should have taken that line out. That's
[1:00:54] No, that's okay. I Yeah, I think they
[1:00:56] usually linger for a few years, right?
[1:00:59] Um,
[1:01:02] looks like Well, I I guess let me lump
[1:01:03] them. So, Mechanicore, Olberg Heights.
[1:01:06] Um, there's there's housing ones in
[1:01:07] there that they pay a pilot because is
[1:01:10] that paid through the state? Who's
[1:01:12] paying that? It's kind of tied
[1:01:16] to the water and sewer. So, there there
[1:01:20] is a formula for that. Okay. But they're
[1:01:23] those are housing those are those it's
[1:01:25] the housing authority. Okay. Instead of
[1:01:27] we don't tax them. So it's a calculated
[1:01:30] pilot is the reason we don't tax them is
[1:01:32] because it's um those are town owned or
[1:01:35] no? Are those are owned by the housing
[1:01:37] authority?
[1:01:39] I believe they're owned by the housing
[1:01:40] authority. Okay. But I'm not 100% sure
[1:01:43] on that one. Okay.
[1:01:46] Um, so basically if we did charge tax,
[1:01:49] who would I just because I'm trying to
[1:01:52] wonder I'm trying to figure out the
[1:01:53] history of why there is no tax is that
[1:01:55] if the housing authority, which is the
[1:01:57] town owns them, then the town would
[1:01:59] basically be paying it, taking money
[1:02:00] from itself to give back to itself. Is
[1:02:02] that the rationale there?
[1:02:05] Uh, it's before, you know, before my
[1:02:08] time, but I believe it's something in
[1:02:10] that that line. that it's a nonprofit,
[1:02:13] so you you can't tax them, but they
[1:02:15] agree to give us a payment. What we're
[1:02:18] learning, um, so we've been approached,
[1:02:21] uh, with respect to repurposing the old
[1:02:23] Genesis property on Kraki,
[1:02:26] um, what we're learning is that
[1:02:28] typically with public housing or
[1:02:30] low-income housing or variable income
[1:02:33] housing, um, there's a a a pilot
[1:02:37] negotiated, uh, instead of the typical
[1:02:40] assess tax formula.
[1:02:42] Okay. So, these were negotiated when
[1:02:44] they were built there. There's a formula
[1:02:46] for the housing authority um pilot
[1:02:50] payments. Okay. There's an agreement uh
[1:02:53] in a formula. Okay. Understood. Um
[1:02:57] Ashler Village, we know what that is.
[1:02:58] That was because of a well, we we know
[1:03:01] the history there. Um Transco, that's
[1:03:04] 65,000. What is I'm not familiar with
[1:03:06] that. Transco is a power company. Okay.
[1:03:11] So I D they
[1:03:14] I think it's plan the Pierce plan. Okay.
[1:03:17] Yes. Okay. I I know what that is.
[1:03:21] Um there's a line item 41110 pilot for
[1:03:25] college and hospitals. We don't have
[1:03:28] anything on that line item. Did Did we
[1:03:30] at one point? Yes. So the state
[1:03:35] used to break that out and now they just
[1:03:37] give us one amount which so that's in
[1:03:40] the So now all that that's part of the
[1:03:46] 41114 the pilot state owned property
[1:03:49] they just give us that amount they don't
[1:03:50] break it out by whether it's schools or
[1:03:53] whatever they used to break it they used
[1:03:55] to say this is for schools this is for
[1:03:57] hospitals now they just say this is our
[1:04:00] you know they just give us one number So
[1:04:02] what comprises that? What are they
[1:04:04] paying us? That they that's just the
[1:04:06] state tells us that we don't know. They
[1:04:09] that's what they their formula gives us.
[1:04:12] So is would that be basically in place
[1:04:14] of so I know there's the state law that
[1:04:16] you can't charge um you know like for
[1:04:19] educational or hospitals is does the state then give you money to
[1:04:22] offset that? Is that what that is? No,
[1:04:24] this is if the state buys property, so
[1:04:28] that's taking it off our tax roles,
[1:04:31] they're they're they're supposed to give
[1:04:32] us money. They are
[1:04:34] sorry, they are supposed to uh pay us
[1:04:38] for that, but then they don't, you know,
[1:04:40] they don't fund it. So, you know, when
[1:04:42] it program first started, they would pay
[1:04:44] you 70% of it. Now, you're lucky if
[1:04:46] they're paying you 30% of what they owe
[1:04:47] you. And it's it's a formula. So, you
[1:04:50] know, when the governor's budget comes
[1:04:52] out, I get sent a page telling us what
[1:04:54] the what the revenues are. Okay. But
[1:04:57] this isn't tied to specific properties
[1:04:59] though. It's It might be at the state
[1:05:01] level, but they don't give us that
[1:05:03] information. They just tell us how much
[1:05:05] we're getting.
[1:05:06] All right. That's That's interesting.
[1:05:09] All right. It's I mean, it's $57,000, so
[1:05:11] I'm not I'm not complaining. I would
[1:05:12] just love to know what the what the
[1:05:15] justification of it is or how they're
[1:05:16] coming to that. Um, it's kind of it's part of their formula grants that
[1:05:22] same thing with the ECS. It all comes,
[1:05:26] you know, that how I get the ECS number.
[1:05:28] That's how I get this number.
[1:05:30] Okay.
[1:05:32] [Music]
[1:05:34] Um, just going through the list
[1:05:43] here. All right. I think that's all I
[1:05:45] have for that page.
[1:05:48] on page 10, uh, line
[1:05:52] 44060. I believe I asked you this last
[1:05:54] year and I assume the list is the same,
[1:05:55] but that's rent of town property. It
[1:05:59] looks like our revenue is
[1:06:01] 55,44.
[1:06:03] [Music]
[1:06:04] Um, do you recall what properties that
[1:06:06] is? I I know some we we let use
[1:06:10] buildings for That's the $4. That's the
[1:06:13] $4, correct? Yep. Um
[1:06:16] there's I can get you that information.
[1:06:18] Okay. I'm assuming it's the same list as
[1:06:20] last year, but it's two different It's
[1:06:23] two properties.
[1:06:25] So,
[1:06:26] um I can get you that. I don't know off
[1:06:28] the top. I appreciate that cuz I know
[1:06:30] the ones that we that we let use the
[1:06:33] properties. I know that the Scow and
[1:06:35] STEM building is one, correct? And
[1:06:37] that's a nominal fee. And then uh the
[1:06:40] library. The library. Yep.
[1:06:43] the senior
[1:06:44] center and a daycare. And which one? The
[1:06:47] daycare. Oh, yes. Okay. Yep. Okay. Thank
[1:06:51] you. Yeah. If if you do have the the
[1:06:52] others, that would just be
[1:06:55] helpful.
[1:06:56] Uh the only other thing on that page I
[1:07:00] noticed the bottom line uh total state
[1:07:04] grant and aid that went down by about
[1:07:07] what 1.2 million this year.
[1:07:11] So that's not a good thing.
[1:07:14] So just another uh I just wanted to note
[1:07:17] make a note of that that that's we lost
[1:07:19] quite a bit there.
[1:07:22] Uh on page 11.
[1:07:25] So that that difference is there's a
[1:07:27] municipal sharing grant.
[1:07:30] Sometimes they fund it, sometimes they
[1:07:32] don't. So in 6:30 2024
[1:07:38] they they funded in in fiscal year end
[1:07:41] 23 and 24 which we didn't budget for
[1:07:45] when so when I was trying to make the
[1:07:48] budget for the
[1:07:49] 2425 talking to the CCM people without
[1:07:52] them telling me they you know wink wink
[1:07:55] told us you know we're not you're not
[1:07:58] getting that this year so that's why I
[1:07:59] didn't fund it okay so
[1:08:03] but so yeah we we got a bump for like
[1:08:06] two years but it's it's gone so It's, you know, it could come back and
[1:08:11] all the It'll be Yeah. Pleasant surprise
[1:08:13] if it does, but Okay. Um, on page
[1:08:17] 11, I
[1:08:21] don't I don't think I have questions on
[1:08:24] this page, but because we talked about
[1:08:25] it last night already, but
[1:08:26] um I had just made note of the So, we
[1:08:31] charge for certain services in town. Um,
[1:08:34] and the ones that kind of stand out that
[1:08:36] were
[1:08:37] the the big ones were the ambulance. Um,
[1:08:42] so I I got good news on the ambulance.
[1:08:44] So I was talking to Chief Buck today and
[1:08:46] I didn't take into account that extra
[1:08:48] run that they added recently. So you
[1:08:51] guys can probably bump that up about
[1:08:53] $200,000. Perfect. Which
[1:08:57] Yeah, he seemed to be alluding to that
[1:08:58] last night, too. So that's great. So, so
[1:09:00] the ambulance brings in 2.5 million in
[1:09:03] revenue that we can hopefully safely say
[1:09:05] 2.7 at this point. Correct. And then
[1:09:08] once we get better data, we'll hone that
[1:09:10] in. And that's a net number. So, they
[1:09:14] might
[1:09:15] bill 6 million, but the collections and
[1:09:20] stuff I I can't have the ins and outs on
[1:09:22] the budget. So, we try to guess what's
[1:09:25] the actual cash that's coming in. And
[1:09:26] that's how we come up with that number
[1:09:28] because for on the accounting side when
[1:09:30] I book the receivable I debit the
[1:09:32] accounts receivable and I credit
[1:09:34] deferred revenue. So it's a it's a wash.
[1:09:38] Yeah. Know so we we show that they owe
[1:09:40] it to us but we also show that we don't
[1:09:42] have it. Yeah. So well looks I mean it
[1:09:44] looks like you're almost spot on if you
[1:09:46] look at the prior the prior year and
[1:09:48] then what you're where you are this
[1:09:49] year. It looks like that'll probably be
[1:09:51] about Yeah. We try you know your
[1:09:53] projection seems like it's accurate.
[1:09:54] back at, you know, three years of
[1:09:56] history and, you know, I, you know, for
[1:09:58] the big numbers, I talk to the
[1:09:59] department heads and say, "Hey, do you
[1:10:00] know of any big projects? Should we bump
[1:10:02] this up or not?" And police, same thing.
[1:10:05] So, police brings in 7 Well, you're projecting or proposing 782. So,
[1:10:10] that's the the police extra duty and the car rentals. Yep. And again,
[1:10:15] that looks like you're pretty close to
[1:10:16] the That number came from them. Okay,
[1:10:18] perfect. Okay. Um,
[1:10:23] and then the I'll direct you while we're
[1:10:25] on this page. The there was a big jump
[1:10:28] in the proportionate charges. Where is
[1:10:30] that? I'm sorry. So that's uh Oh, the
[1:10:32] bottom of the page. Bottom.
[1:10:35] So what that is is that water electric
[1:10:38] have to pay their
[1:10:40] own they're supposed to pay everything
[1:10:42] on their own dime. So any services that
[1:10:45] they use that we do we bill back to
[1:10:47] them. Mhm. So, this number really hasn't
[1:10:50] been tred up in about 15 years. So, the
[1:10:54] utilities asked us to to true it up and
[1:10:56] I said, "You might not like the
[1:10:58] results." And it it worked out in our
[1:11:00] favor. So, you know, probably 20 years
[1:11:03] ago, someone came up with a method to do
[1:11:05] that and we probably been adding three
[1:11:07] or 4% a year. We've got backup to these
[1:11:11] numbers and and we'll we'll continue to
[1:11:12] kind of true it up. So I'll give props
[1:11:14] to the deputy controller for for doing
[1:11:16] that project. So but so basically you
[1:11:20] know we've calculated of the human
[1:11:23] resources
[1:11:26] department
[1:11:28] 26116 between water and electric they
[1:11:31] they've used they owe us that amount.
[1:11:36] Okay,
[1:11:41] great. That is all I have for that
[1:11:44] section. Thank you, Mr. Trman. Thank
[1:11:45] you, Mr. Senna. Anyone else in the
[1:11:47] general fund revenue?
[1:11:49] All right. And so the last one was a
[1:11:51] general question about the telephone.
[1:11:53] Yes, that was also me. Um I don't know
[1:11:56] if Mr. Mayor, if Mr. I don't know if you
[1:11:57] could uh speak to this, but I know we we
[1:11:59] spoke a little bit about it tomorrow
[1:12:00] night, but it just seems to me as I'm
[1:12:02] going through each department that the
[1:12:03] telephone line seems awfully high. Do
[1:12:06] what is now I know there's certain
[1:12:07] departments that have their own systems
[1:12:08] like we spoke about last night, but as a
[1:12:10] whole, it just seems like it's it just
[1:12:12] seems very high to me. Is there what's
[1:12:15] the system or what's is there a reason
[1:12:17] why or are we looking for a new system?
[1:12:19] Just any background you could give would
[1:12:20] be helpful.
[1:12:22] So it's it's kind of helter skelter
[1:12:25] because you're dealing with cell phones,
[1:12:28] right? So in an ideal world, we would
[1:12:33] and you know, we're probably I think
[1:12:35] we've had discussions on it is maybe we
[1:12:38] should try
[1:12:39] to have one department re this in and go
[1:12:43] say, "Hey, we want 50 phones of Verizon
[1:12:46] and try to do that." But
[1:12:49] these the previous administration the
[1:12:52] department head would say hey I need a
[1:12:54] cell phone and then they get permission
[1:12:56] to get a cell phone and they would just
[1:12:58] go do their own thing. So that's in that
[1:13:02] line. I think you've got the internet
[1:13:06] probably is in some of them. So like
[1:13:08] when you're when you're looking at fire,
[1:13:10] they've
[1:13:12] got devices out in the field that you
[1:13:15] know it's it's cellular service. You
[1:13:17] know when you look at it telephone it's
[1:13:20] because it's anything cellular is
[1:13:23] getting build into that right so they
[1:13:27] have iPads in the field that that you
[1:13:30] know they need something to connect to.
[1:13:32] So it's something we can look into. It's
[1:13:34] kind of deceiving, but if we the more
[1:13:36] objects we add, the the more pages and
[1:13:40] it's it's so maybe a better description,
[1:13:43] but I do believe, you know, it's
[1:13:46] probably going to be, you know, we will
[1:13:48] take a deep dive in at some point to try
[1:13:50] to see if we can get everybody on the
[1:13:53] same provider.
[1:13:55] Okay, that's help. I Yeah, I think the
[1:13:57] way you just explained it, maybe it's
[1:13:58] more of just the heading that's throwing
[1:14:00] me because I know even police last night
[1:14:02] were saying like his fiber runs are
[1:14:04] listed under telephone which is
[1:14:05] obviously very expensive but it's not
[1:14:08] really telephone, right? So, you know,
[1:14:10] these objects in the budget are been
[1:14:14] here forever and times have changed. So,
[1:14:16] like microfilming. Yeah. All right. That makes me feel better though that
[1:14:20] it's not purely telephones in that line.
[1:14:22] Uh, thank you. That was that was my only
[1:14:24] question on that.
[1:14:26] Anyone else on this one?
[1:14:30] Oh, okay. All right. Uh, questions on
[1:14:33] something else? Yeah. So, yeah, sorry.
[1:14:36] And I didn't submit this before
[1:14:37] anything. Uh, government TV. Um, the
[1:14:40] background behind the
[1:14:43] manager position.
[1:14:46] So, the the department has been
[1:14:48] operating on all part- timerrs.
[1:14:51] Um what we're finding is that while
[1:14:56] um Mr. Kinesi uh is kind enough to be
[1:15:00] the lead in the department um he
[1:15:03] really doesn't want this to be more than
[1:15:05] a part-time job.
[1:15:07] Um so and we have I think we have five
[1:15:11] or six part- timerrs uh at this point.
[1:15:14] There is a lot of administration that's
[1:15:17] going by the wayside. um we actually
[1:15:19] have pure reporting obligations that we
[1:15:22] really need somebody with expertise
[1:15:25] um to comply with. And we are also um
[1:15:30] missing grant funding
[1:15:32] opportunities in
[1:15:35] um you know for we by way of example we
[1:15:38] were able to uh purchase the audio
[1:15:41] equipment for the council chambers with
[1:15:42] an ARPA grant. Um there are other pieces
[1:15:46] of equipment that uh need to be uh
[1:15:50] updated or upgraded or kept current with
[1:15:52] for a variety of reasons. And in order
[1:15:56] to write those grant specifications,
[1:15:58] while we do have a grant coordinator,
[1:16:00] she does not have the specific expertise
[1:16:03] uh that you need to fill out the
[1:16:05] technical portions of a grant
[1:16:07] application.
[1:16:09] Um and
[1:16:12] just by and large the the
[1:16:16] um the
[1:16:17] operation is running okay. Um there
[1:16:21] seems to be more of a an interest in
[1:16:24] information from the public um through
[1:16:27] the government t TV the YouTube channel
[1:16:31] um and just to keep up with the whole
[1:16:34] juggling all the balls you know having
[1:16:37] two part- timerrs trying to manage that
[1:16:40] um is really proving to be uh a
[1:16:43] situation where we are experiencing lost
[1:16:46] opportunities that we need to stay on
[1:16:48] top of. Do we I because I agree
[1:16:50] everything's been running really well at
[1:16:52] least from our perspective, my
[1:16:54] perspective anyway. Um do do we think so
[1:16:59] it's it's listed at
[1:17:00] 83,000. Do we think there are grant
[1:17:04] opportunities available that would that
[1:17:07] would kind of get us back the 83,000 in equipment equivalency? Like what are
[1:17:11] we that's what I'm I'm I'm trying to
[1:17:13] pick out of all the you know the years
[1:17:15] and uh it's been going well. it's not
[1:17:18] broken. Uh I understand there's it
[1:17:20] sounds like there's a desire to kind of
[1:17:22] do something a little more advanced. Um
[1:17:25] I think we're all just kind of looking
[1:17:27] for ways to to understand what's going
[1:17:29] on. So I'm just I'm I'm trying to
[1:17:31] wrestle, I guess, with the idea
[1:17:34] that do we pay somebody 83,000 and what
[1:17:38] are we getting back? Like are we going
[1:17:40] to get grants? Are we going to get 83?
[1:17:42] Are we gonna get $60,000 in grants to
[1:17:44] pay for equipment when it could be
[1:17:46] cheaper to just pay $40,000 for new
[1:17:49] equipment and somebody else 20
[1:17:50] something,000 to write the pure
[1:17:53] specification as another assistant? Um
[1:17:56] that's all I I was just I was wondering
[1:17:58] where it came from. I guess. Yeah. No.
[1:18:00] And additionally,
[1:18:02] um, you know, between Tom Keshi and
[1:18:05] Susan Shot, they're managing the
[1:18:07] scheduling, right? Um, there are times
[1:18:11] that, um, you know, while we've
[1:18:14] scheduled some of the part- timerrs that
[1:18:16] uh, their operation to to record a
[1:18:19] meeting doesn't end up fully staffed for
[1:18:21] any variety of reasons. Um there are
[1:18:24] times that one of the part- timerrs runs
[1:18:27] up against exceeding the 19 and a half
[1:18:31] hours uh weekly. Uh if that continues to
[1:18:35] be a problem or if it if it continues to
[1:18:38] occur, it could turn into a problem. Um
[1:18:41] where we then have to treat that
[1:18:43] employee like a full-time employee. Uh
[1:18:46] and then suddenly we have the expense
[1:18:48] associated with a full-time employee.
[1:18:56] U that that answers the bas basics of my
[1:18:58] question so it's good enough for now but
[1:19:00] so thank you uh Mr. Senator separate
[1:19:06] comment but uh in my budget I did put in
[1:19:10] there for um budget software to get a
[1:19:13] prettier product for you guys. So we did
[1:19:16] not discuss that but that is in my
[1:19:18] budget. Much appreciated. So and um I'm
[1:19:22] going to we're closed Friday and I'm off
[1:19:24] tomorrow. So I'm I'll get your answers
[1:19:26] next week if that's okay. And if you
[1:19:29] don't mind if you could email me the
[1:19:31] questions so this way I definitely don't
[1:19:33] forget. Thank you.
[1:19:36] All right. Questions from the
[1:19:38] public. Mrs. Shardulo
[1:19:44] and please limit it to the topics we've
[1:19:46] discussed tonight. There'll be another
[1:19:47] opportunity at the public hearing, you
[1:19:48] know, to ask your questions of the
[1:19:50] department heads. Yes. Paul Shardillo,
[1:19:52] two Mayberry Drive. Yeah. I my questions and comments have to do
[1:19:58] with what's it's they're all listed
[1:20:00] here. So I I'm assuming I can question
[1:20:04] on that, right? Is that correct? I'm not
[1:20:07] sure what you mean, but go ahead and
[1:20:08] we'll we'll take them one by one. As an
[1:20:10] example, one of the issues I wanted to
[1:20:12] raise is the uh I wanted to ask uh
[1:20:16] either the mayor or probably Mr. Senna
[1:20:20] why we need a contingency fund in the
[1:20:23] budget. Now that's that's listed
[1:20:26] contingency. So that's what I'm looking
[1:20:28] for. Do we really need a contingency
[1:20:30] fund? Do we need a contingency? Yes.
[1:20:33] Okay. For for flexibility because when
[1:20:37] we make these budgets Yeah. four months
[1:20:40] in advance, things happen and you need
[1:20:43] to be able to adjust. Okay. Well, let me
[1:20:46] respond to that. Um, I don't agree with
[1:20:49] that and here's why. Uh, I think we
[1:20:52] already have a contingency fund. It's
[1:20:55] called the surplus. That's
[1:20:58] one. So, if you need money uh during the
[1:21:01] year, I I don't understand why you can't
[1:21:03] come to the council and ask them for it.
[1:21:06] And that's where they, you know, they
[1:21:08] allocate the funds. Uh the surplus fund
[1:21:12] is over, the unaudited portion is over
[1:21:15] by about 2 million, right? I think in
[1:21:17] the mayor's letter you said it was 222
[1:21:19] million. 10% of the budget's 20. So the
[1:21:23] money's there to be used if I understand
[1:21:25] what you're saying about things happen.
[1:21:28] The second reason I don't think and and
[1:21:30] so
[1:21:31] basically what we're doing is by putting
[1:21:35] it in the budget
[1:21:38] Mr. So this isn't public comment. This
[1:21:40] is a question and answer. You asked the
[1:21:42] question, he answered it. I thought it
[1:21:43] was a workshop. This is a workshop. This
[1:21:45] is a council workshop. So you're welcome
[1:21:46] to go on to the next question. No, I'm
[1:21:48] not going to the next question. I'm
[1:21:50] sorry. I am not. I want an answer to
[1:21:52] this question. You asked a workshop. Do
[1:21:54] we need a contingency? He answered the
[1:21:56] question. No, he didn't. Well, you
[1:21:57] didn't, sir. Allow me time to respond,
[1:22:00] sir. No. No, sir. You have not given me
[1:22:04] time to respond. You're not going to
[1:22:06] shut me down simply because you don't
[1:22:08] want to hear what I have to say. And I
[1:22:10] guess I would Mayor Mr. Charardullo.
[1:22:14] Yeah. You are out of order, sir. No, I
[1:22:16] don't think I am. You are. I'll adjourn
[1:22:18] the meeting and we'll go home. Okay. Go
[1:22:20] right ahead.
[1:22:21] Now, I want to give you the opportunity
[1:22:22] to answer your questions. Ask your
[1:22:24] question. Well, let me finish. However,
[1:22:26] we've heard this several times before,
[1:22:28] right? So, I I understand you don't like
[1:22:30] the contingency. No, you haven't heard
[1:22:31] it. He asked the question, he answered
[1:22:33] it. You're not giving me a chance to
[1:22:36] have an interaction with the controller.
[1:22:39] I guess I'll appeal to the
[1:22:41] council. Am I being treated properly
[1:22:44] here? I'm a taxpaying
[1:22:46] resident at a workshop and you're
[1:22:49] telling me I can't talk to the
[1:22:51] controller. You can talk to him. I said
[1:22:53] you asked the question which he
[1:22:54] answered. No, he did not. He answered it
[1:22:56] and it we're having a back and forth
[1:22:58] just like vice chair Christina has back
[1:23:02] and forth. That's how you that's how you
[1:23:04] discuss an issue and you come to a
[1:23:07] resolution or you come to an
[1:23:09] understanding. So at a prior meeting,
[1:23:10] Mr. Sen had offered to meet with you to
[1:23:12] discuss these topics. Correct.
[1:23:14] Listen, I don't want to go into that. I
[1:23:16] asked I don't want to I don't want to
[1:23:17] I'm not here to denigrate anybody. I'm
[1:23:20] trying to get a simple answer to some
[1:23:23] concerns that I have as a taxpaying
[1:23:28] resident who's looking at a 50% increase
[1:23:31] in taxes. I have a right to come here.
[1:23:34] It's the freedom of information, freedom
[1:23:37] of conversation. So, this is a council.
[1:23:39] You're trying to shut me down. I'm not
[1:23:40] trying to shut you down. I'm trying to
[1:23:41] get Well, then stop. Let me talk to him.
[1:23:44] So, Mr. Lard, you're done. Have a seat.
[1:23:46] I am shutting you down. You are way out
[1:23:48] of order. No, I'm not. I think the
[1:23:49] council wants to appeal my decision.
[1:23:51] They're welcome to. I think you're out
[1:23:52] of order, Mr. Per. Thank you very much.
[1:23:55] Have a good evening, sir. I I wish that
[1:23:57] we had our attorney here tonight. Are
[1:23:59] there any other questions from the
[1:24:00] public?
[1:24:06] Okay. I I'll defer to this gentleman. He
[1:24:08] can have the mic. Thank you. But I
[1:24:10] resent what you're doing. You're
[1:24:12] shutting down a public workshop question
[1:24:16] and answering session. You have not
[1:24:18] given me time to respond to Mr. Senna.
[1:24:22] Am I correct,
[1:24:24] sir?
[1:24:27] No.
[1:24:29] Okay. So, bottom line, Mr. Shardo,
[1:24:33] contingency fund, you're you're out of
[1:24:35] order. The other gentleman has the
[1:24:36] floor. The council should banish it.
[1:24:39] You'll reduce the taxes by $1.9
[1:24:43] million. You have a surplus. Thank you,
[1:24:46] sir. You come in every year under spent
[1:24:48] by3 to7 million. Why do you need a
[1:24:51] contingency fund?
[1:25:01] Good evening. My name is Tom Knight. I
[1:25:03] live on Brookiew Avenue. Uh just a
[1:25:05] couple of quick comments, please. I want
[1:25:07] to thank you, Mr. mayor for your quick
[1:25:10] response to come to the senior center
[1:25:11] last week. Uh, and although I didn't
[1:25:14] hear everything I wanted to hear because
[1:25:16] my taxes are going up 16% too and I'm
[1:25:19] not happy about it, but I you guys are
[1:25:20] all working hard on that. Um, one of the
[1:25:24] things that came up at
[1:25:26] that talk, the Q&A I'm sorry, Mr.
[1:25:29] Knight, if you could just speak into the
[1:25:30] microphone. They're not picking you up
[1:25:31] on TV. One of the things that came up at
[1:25:33] the Q&A at the senior center was the
[1:25:36] mention of Mary Mashinsk's House Bill
[1:25:39] 6804 regarding the possible taxation of CHO and like enterprises. How do I
[1:25:46] find out? I I went to the site and
[1:25:48] actually wrote a an email to Mary, you
[1:25:51] know, encouraging it, but how do I find
[1:25:54] out the status of it? Where it sits? Is
[1:25:57] it in process? Um, so you're talking
[1:26:00] about the status of the piece of
[1:26:01] legislation. Yes. So, if you go on to
[1:26:03] the state web page, I don't have the
[1:26:04] House Bill number handy, but I 6804.
[1:26:07] Okay. So, on the on the state
[1:26:09] legislature web page, uh, you can follow
[1:26:10] the progress of the of the bill. Yeah.
[1:26:12] Okay. I got to look harder. Um, also
[1:26:16] earlier there was conversation about
[1:26:18] praise for your staff and I echo that
[1:26:19] because I I stop in your office
[1:26:21] occasionally because every department in
[1:26:24] this building I get nothing but
[1:26:26] cooperation when I come here and I don't
[1:26:29] always see that at at other towns. I see
[1:26:31] a lot of abruptness and curt answers and
[1:26:35] things like that. So, um, my hats off to the staff here, all of you people.
[1:26:41] Also, when can we get this fixed so we
[1:26:45] can seat people in there? The balcony.
[1:26:50] That that uh is a building code
[1:26:52] challenge. Um it was so 1917 it was
[1:26:57] built and the building code was very
[1:26:59] different than it is now. Um it has to
[1:27:03] do with the the steepness of it and um
[1:27:07] and the proximity of the seating. you
[1:27:10] know, it was designed for a different
[1:27:12] time. So, that that that presents a
[1:27:15] challenge that I'm not sure how we get
[1:27:19] around. Yeah. It's too bad cuz it's, you
[1:27:22] know, I think for the things that they
[1:27:24] have here that attract the crowd that
[1:27:26] would enhance enhance it. It's a nice
[1:27:28] feature. So, okay. But thank you for
[1:27:31] that. That's all I have. Thank you.
[1:27:32] very much. Anyone else from
[1:27:35] the
[1:27:37] public, sir?
[1:27:46] Hi, Dave Pillo. Um, 40 Jolie
[1:27:50] Drive. I lived here 32 years and our
[1:27:54] taxes have been going up every year.
[1:27:57] And it seems that everybody
[1:28:00] gets what they
[1:28:01] want. I see public works need a loader
[1:28:05] 350,000 that they just got a new one.
[1:28:08] So, why do we need another one? There's
[1:28:10] other things that are on the list
[1:28:14] um that we didn't negotiate with
[1:28:16] anybody. We said, "Okay, it's there.
[1:28:19] It's written. I know the mayor went
[1:28:21] through it. Um you know, we should be
[1:28:23] holding back some of that stuff. You
[1:28:26] know, some of that stuff could wait
[1:28:27] another year. Give the tax people a
[1:28:30] little break instead of falling 19% what
[1:28:34] you're trying to say on households." And
[1:28:37] I don't get why if you look in your
[1:28:40] budget um only
[1:28:43] 30% went up in this industry tax. Okay,
[1:28:48] you got them using more of the roads,
[1:28:51] more of their equipment. Okay, heavy
[1:28:54] equipment that are going all over this
[1:28:57] road. Okay. We don't get any services of
[1:29:01] trash pickup because you want to have
[1:29:05] the contractors pick up our trash
[1:29:09] because they make money. Hampton has a
[1:29:12] pickup. North Haven has a pickup. It's
[1:29:14] in their town taxes and they're
[1:29:17] lower. And we got a lot of regulations
[1:29:20] that we don't let people build. So if
[1:29:24] you look at it, this town has been
[1:29:26] stagnant.
[1:29:27] because people were complaining, well, I
[1:29:29] don't want this there. I don't want that
[1:29:31] there. Or you can't build this there.
[1:29:33] There's no growth in this town. I don't
[1:29:35] see it. The only growth I see is near
[1:29:38] the church over there, which they're
[1:29:40] building two buildings over there, and
[1:29:42] they don't look too good next to the
[1:29:44] church. So, we need some type of um
[1:29:48] growth in this town. Now, we advertise
[1:29:52] it, but we don't get it. And the taxes
[1:29:55] every year seem to go up. That's what
[1:29:56] I'm going to complain about. The taxes
[1:29:58] do not stay, you know, for the last I've
[1:30:02] been here, like I say, 32 years and they
[1:30:04] have been going up. And that
[1:30:07] 19% I'm probably looking, you know, 19%
[1:30:11] of my taxes. I keep my house well. I'm
[1:30:14] on a corner. The public works plow snows
[1:30:18] against the my sidewalk all the time
[1:30:20] because it's a corner. I complain to
[1:30:23] them because it's full of ice. and they
[1:30:25] go, "Ah, it's not our
[1:30:27] problem." Well, why can't you move it
[1:30:29] out to the side? And then we got the
[1:30:32] public works. They're zooming down the
[1:30:34] street to make time. And then when I see
[1:30:38] we got 25 trucks in the public works, a
[1:30:41] line item, and we want another net a
[1:30:43] plow. Do we really need that plow this
[1:30:47] year? No. That's like a
[1:30:50] $300,000 truck. If we got 25 or we got
[1:30:54] it says the line item is
[1:30:57] 25, we got to look over the stuff and
[1:31:00] try to cut some of these things at least
[1:31:03] till next year if someone could wait.
[1:31:06] You know, there's just frivolous stuff
[1:31:08] that we don't need right away if we're
[1:31:10] going to go after the residents and try
[1:31:13] to make the
[1:31:14] taxes more enjoyable each year instead
[1:31:18] of all at once. That's all I say.
[1:31:22] You know, you know, everything's tough
[1:31:25] nowadays between tariffs and everything
[1:31:27] going up. I know food cost. You see all
[1:31:29] the food costs go up. I'm a senior. I do
[1:31:33] not get an increase. Only social
[1:31:35] security. I don't get my pension doesn't
[1:31:38] increase. Not an increase. All right.
[1:31:41] So, um, you know, there's no increase
[1:31:44] for me, you know. So when taxes go up,
[1:31:48] you know, and you know how many people
[1:31:50] do we have in this town?
[1:31:53] 45,000. That's been like that for the
[1:31:56] last 30
[1:31:58] years. And right now, half of them are
[1:32:02] seniors in this town. We got a school
[1:32:06] system. We got 16,000 kids. We got two
[1:32:10] schools. And those schools must be empty
[1:32:13] on the classrooms. Why can't we use
[1:32:16] those classrooms for something else? Why
[1:32:19] do we need a board of education that
[1:32:21] needs a building near Oakdale? Why?
[1:32:24] That's cost. We used to have the board
[1:32:27] of education in Shane. Why not? We must
[1:32:31] have the room. So, this is all cost that
[1:32:35] you're saying items. Oh, it's going
[1:32:37] against the town, not with the board of
[1:32:40] education. Why? because we're just
[1:32:42] giving everybody what they want. Someone
[1:32:45] has to go out there and say, "Do we need
[1:32:48] this? Do we need this lease that we're
[1:32:50] out in Oakdale and can we put them back
[1:32:52] in this school
[1:32:54] system?" You know, and then someone says
[1:32:56] on a new school, we need 30 to 40 acres
[1:32:59] to build a new
[1:33:00] school. Well, there is a site right
[1:33:04] where our school is.
[1:33:07] the church down the street is probably
[1:33:09] going to get rid of that church and you
[1:33:11] could expand sheen down that street. I'm
[1:33:14] sure they would take the money because
[1:33:17] they're you know people that go to
[1:33:19] church now are
[1:33:21] low. So you you do got
[1:33:25] spaces and you could be a second floor.
[1:33:27] I went to Hamna High School. We had over
[1:33:30] 2,000 kids in our school. We have less
[1:33:33] and less. But on that high school, if
[1:33:36] you look at it, they build up on the
[1:33:39] sides. They all that high school's been
[1:33:41] the same since
[1:33:43] 19 50. All right. That same school, they
[1:33:47] didn't build a new high school. They
[1:33:49] built a new uh middle school all in one,
[1:33:52] but they didn't build a high school.
[1:33:54] They added
[1:33:55] on.
[1:33:57] So you you know in some of these schools
[1:33:59] you do have room like I say and that's
[1:34:03] going to be another cost as we go
[1:34:04] through time. I'm just saying these
[1:34:07] things are going to pile up. New police
[1:34:09] station now that police station building
[1:34:12] what are we doing with that Donald? We
[1:34:15] got more parking spaces that are owned
[1:34:18] by the town that isn't even used but we
[1:34:21] take care of
[1:34:22] them. Well we we down near the train
[1:34:25] station. We got a parking lot. No one
[1:34:29] uses that. The people across the street use it and park their cars all
[1:34:33] the time where they used to park in
[1:34:35] their own lot. Now there's parking
[1:34:38] there. All right. Or it's a staging
[1:34:40] point for someone working around the
[1:34:42] town. Okay. We take care of all these.
[1:34:46] We got to repave them. Everything else.
[1:34:49] If you go in other towns, they have
[1:34:52] meters collecting money for that. We
[1:34:55] don't. Middletown has them. You New
[1:34:58] Haven, you go down there. That's why I
[1:35:00] don't go to New Haven. You're paying
[1:35:02] stuff down there. But we have all these
[1:35:05] things that we're taking on and it's
[1:35:08] going on to the taxpayer. You don't
[1:35:10] realize it. But, you know, I'm just
[1:35:13] trying to say it's I've been here
[1:35:16] watching this town the way it is.
[1:35:19] Um, and it's always every year, uh, we
[1:35:22] got to raise the taxes up. And, you
[1:35:24] know, now I can't blame this mayor. You
[1:35:28] know, you may blame the last mayor or
[1:35:30] the way everything's been running, but
[1:35:32] it shouldn't be, but he was cutting
[1:35:35] things in the end. Um, so that
[1:35:40] 19%, you know, is a hell of a lot. I
[1:35:42] just hope news people do something about
[1:35:45] that and try to make it as the years go
[1:35:48] on that you really need all that money
[1:35:51] right now or we could save somewhere
[1:35:53] else. So I think you be making taxpayers
[1:35:57] happy. I know if it doesn't come through
[1:36:00] like that, you're going to see the next
[1:36:03] mayor not be here, the mayor that's here
[1:36:05] because I'm sure everybody's going to be
[1:36:07] up in arms. You know, they're going to
[1:36:10] say one year I got this mayor in here
[1:36:13] and now it went up and I'm paying this
[1:36:18] much. I know there's re-evaluation
[1:36:20] because of re-evaluation because there's
[1:36:22] no one building anything in town.
[1:36:25] Everybody's over and paying the town.
[1:36:27] Yes. Because they want to live in
[1:36:29] Wallingford. But as you go get to that
[1:36:32] point, people are going to say, "Uh, I
[1:36:35] can't live here anymore." Like I say, I
[1:36:38] don't have any more kids going to
[1:36:40] school. But I like kids to have a nice
[1:36:42] school. Yes, but you're going to get
[1:36:45] arguments one this and the other. And
[1:36:47] then we took over child care in the
[1:36:50] morning for people that we never had. It
[1:36:52] was a government thing. We got the money
[1:36:55] from the beginning. Now we don't get the
[1:36:57] money. All right. So that's another
[1:36:59] expense been thrown out. I had to work
[1:37:02] all the time. Okay. and I had my wife
[1:37:06] stay home and watch the kids. Okay, I
[1:37:08] didn't have that stuff. So, but we're
[1:37:12] paying for it. So, all these things that
[1:37:15] are added on through the government, you
[1:37:17] know, that we have to do this. We really
[1:37:20] don't have to do this. You know, this is
[1:37:22] actually babysitting for people's kids.
[1:37:25] That's what it is. So the uh the board
[1:37:27] of ed will be back at the public hearing
[1:37:29] on the 28th if you wanted to ask them
[1:37:30] questions about how they run the I plan
[1:37:32] on going to that too. Um you know my
[1:37:35] wife was a pair. She went through the
[1:37:38] system for a number of years and the
[1:37:41] kids the behavioral part of the kids are
[1:37:45] real wrong. All right. There's no
[1:37:49] behavior. They have more problems with
[1:37:51] un the kids don't have a behavior that
[1:37:54] have a behavior problem. All right.
[1:37:56] There's a lot out there. There's a lot
[1:37:57] of single parents and they go to work
[1:38:00] and they expect the school system to do
[1:38:03] everything, you know, and and that's the
[1:38:06] way society is nowadays. It is that's where our cost comes from, too,
[1:38:12] you know. So, uh it's an all round
[1:38:14] thing. Um, but you know, I'm just saying
[1:38:18] on the tax part of it, I can't, you
[1:38:21] know, see, uh, you know, maybe I'll move
[1:38:23] out of here. But, uh, you know, I like
[1:38:26] the place. Like I say, I've been here so
[1:38:28] many years. My wife loves it. She works
[1:38:30] here. Um, you know, I worked for, you
[1:38:34] know, a utility myself. Even in
[1:38:36] utilities, they put in new meters there.
[1:38:39] Well, how come we
[1:38:41] couldn't put a transponder in those
[1:38:44] meters? So, we didn't have a meter
[1:38:45] reader run around. Why couldn't we pay
[1:38:47] for that service to get rid of a person
[1:38:50] that we have to hire to walk around and
[1:38:52] read the meters? We put in a new meter.
[1:38:55] The gas company does it. The electric
[1:38:57] company does it down in southern
[1:38:59] Connecticut. Why couldn't we upgrade
[1:39:02] that to that? We didn't upgrade it to
[1:39:04] save money. Same thing with this new
[1:39:06] system supposed to put in the computer
[1:39:08] system here. That's supposed to save
[1:39:11] money in the end. I hope it does. You
[1:39:14] know, it's supposed to really eliminate
[1:39:16] jobs hopefully where you don't need as
[1:39:19] many people. Well, it looks like we're
[1:39:21] adding people because well, we need
[1:39:23] someone for this. We need someone for
[1:39:25] that. So, so I appreciate your thoughts
[1:39:27] and you're certainly welcome back, you
[1:39:28] know, to the public hearing to ask the
[1:39:29] questions of the department. I just
[1:39:30] wanted a piece of my mind about it.
[1:39:33] Sorry to bother you about it, but uh I
[1:39:36] just say it's ridiculous to go up
[1:39:39] 19% in one year and shock everybody.
[1:39:43] Understood. Thank you so much. Anyone
[1:39:46] else from the public? Sir,
[1:39:52] uh Mr. Sher, do I recognize the
[1:39:53] gentleman behind you? Oh, I'm sorry. I
[1:39:56] thought you said you weren't coming in.
[1:39:57] Okay, good. I just want to make a
[1:39:59] parting comment to you to address a
[1:40:01] question that you keep directing to me.
[1:40:03] Sir, you don't have the floor. Let the gentleman speak.
[1:40:07] And if you'd like to speak to me
[1:40:08] afterwards, I'd be more than happy to.
[1:40:11] Hi. Uh my name is Bruce Hey. uh as a
[1:40:14] former broadcast combat correspondent
[1:40:16] for the United States Army and somebody
[1:40:19] who helps out a couple hours a week at
[1:40:20] the studio down the hill. Uh I'm
[1:40:23] somebody who's very interested in that
[1:40:25] full-time uh government channel
[1:40:28] position. Uh to address some issue
[1:40:31] regarding the uh grant
[1:40:33] situation, the current grant cycle has
[1:40:36] recently passed. So they're now on a
[1:40:39] two-year cycle. So, the next grant cycle
[1:40:42] will be in September of next year to be
[1:40:44] paid out the following June and the
[1:40:47] limit has been raised to
[1:40:51] $250,000. So, if there's need for
[1:40:53] equipment, so that's something to to
[1:40:56] keep in mind uh coming
[1:40:59] up. Um other than that, I don't really
[1:41:03] have any other information regarding
[1:41:05] that.
[1:41:06] Well, thank you very much.
[1:41:14] Paul Shardillo to Bayberry
[1:41:16] Drive on the issue of meeting with Mr.
[1:41:19] Senna. I want to clarify. Uh I a couple
[1:41:22] of weeks before this whole process
[1:41:24] started. I approached Mr. Senate in the
[1:41:26] hall and I asked him if I could meet
[1:41:27] with him to discuss some issues on the
[1:41:29] budget. He told me he was very busy
[1:41:32] during the budget season. I understood
[1:41:33] that and to see him after the budget was
[1:41:36] over. I have issues that are real
[1:41:39] issues. I believe they have to be
[1:41:41] discussed. Hey, if you don't want to do
[1:41:44] anything about it, fine. But I have a
[1:41:46] right to bring them forward to the
[1:41:47] council, give you my rationale. You make
[1:41:49] the decision. And I I don't understand
[1:41:52] why you shut me down here. I thought
[1:41:53] this was No, I'd be happy to explain.
[1:41:55] So, at the at a normal council meeting,
[1:41:56] we have the public question and answer,
[1:41:57] which you avail yourself of frequently.
[1:41:59] Correct. Yes. Okay. So, now you come
[1:42:01] tonight and you want to engage in a
[1:42:02] debate with the comproller over his
[1:42:04] budget philosophy. That's not what this
[1:42:05] meeting is for. This is a council
[1:42:07] workshop for the council to ask
[1:42:08] questions of the departments. We have
[1:42:10] public comment because I believe the
[1:42:11] public comment is valuable. But you want
[1:42:13] to rehash the same discussion about the um that that fund. I think
[1:42:19] it's necessary. The council thinks it's
[1:42:20] necessary. The controller thinks it's
[1:42:22] necessary. You can have whatever opinion
[1:42:23] you like. But it's been voted on and
[1:42:25] decided. So if anyone wants to cut it
[1:42:27] from the budget, they're more than
[1:42:28] welcome to make a motion. But I'm not
[1:42:30] going to have you engage in a debate
[1:42:31] with the comproller. And that's why I
[1:42:33] shut it down. One. Number two was you
[1:42:34] were extremely rude when I asked you to
[1:42:36] stop and you went on some sort of a
[1:42:38] tear. So that's the reason you got shut
[1:42:40] down. Just so we're all clear. Okay.
[1:42:42] Well, let me respond to you. No, no,
[1:42:43] we're done here. First now, who's being
[1:42:45] rude? Everyone have a lovely evening.
[1:42:47] This meeting is uh listen uh
[1:42:51] basically Okay.
[1:43:04] [Music]