[00:00:01] IT IS NOW 1800 HOURS. I'M GOING TO CALL THIS WORKSHOP TO ORDER. [CALL TO ORDER:] THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE WILL BE LED BY DEPUTY MAYOR JAFFE. PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. HURRAH! ROLL CALL. MADAM. JONES. MAYOR MEDINA. PRESENT. DEPUTY MAYOR. JAFFE. PRESENT. COUNCILMAN JOHNSON. PRESENT. COUNCILMAN. HAMMER. PRESENT. COUNCILMAN. LANGEVIN. PRESENT. MR.. MORTON. PRESENT. MISS SMITH. PRESENT. OKAY. BUSINESS ITEM NUMBER ONE. [1. Discussion of the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget.] DISCUSSION OF OUR FISCAL YEAR 2026 2027 BUDGET. MR. MORTON, TAKE IT AWAY. JUST OPEN IT UP. GOOD EVENING. TONIGHT, WE HAVE OUR FY 27 PROPOSED BUDGET. BEFORE WE GET STARTED, WE DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT OUR GFOA BUDGET AWARD FOR THE 35TH YEAR THE CITY HAS RECEIVED THIS AWARD. IT IS A DISTINCTION RECOGNITION IN GOVERNMENTAL BUDGETING WITH A REQUIREMENT OF MEETING PROFICIENCY IN 14 DIFFERENT JUDGING CRITERIA. IT'S ALSO OUR THIRD TIME FOR RECEIVING SPECIAL RECOGNITION FOR OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES. SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON. THIS WAS FOR LAST YEAR'S BUDGET AND WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE THE SAME THING WITH THIS YEAR'S. THANK YOU FOR TONIGHT. THIS IS OUR AGENDA. THE CITY MANAGER HAS A PRESENTATION IN REGARDS TO THE FY 27 PROPOSED BUDGET, AND THEN WE ARE GOING TO TAKE YOU THROUGH THE PROPOSED BUDGET. FROM THE FY 26 ACCOMPLISHMENTS, WE WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE THE OVERALL BIG PICTURE OF ALL OF THE FINANCIALS AND THEN DOWN TO A DEPARTMENT LEVEL, SO THAT YOU GET A TRUE SNAPSHOT OF WHERE ALL THE IMPACTS ARE. WE'LL WRAP IT UP WITH OUR TAXABLE VALUES AND MILLAGE RATES, AND THEN WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU. YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BUDGETS, YOU KNOW, BUDGETS ARE MORE THAN JUST NUMBERS. AND IN SOME REGARDS IT'S A TRUE STATEMENT OF YOUR PRIORITIES AND YOUR INTENTIONS. SOME PEOPLE WAX A LITTLE MORE POETIC AND SAY IT'S A LOVE LETTER TO YOUR COMMUNITY, BECAUSE EVERYTHING IN OUR BUDGET IS TELLING OUR COMMUNITY WHAT WE VALUE THIS YEAR. OBVIOUSLY, WE'VE GOT SOME CHALLENGES AND WE DEFINITELY TRIED TO MEET THOSE CHALLENGES. SO A COUPLE OF THINGS I WANT TO PUT IN PERSPECTIVE. SO IT'S THE FIRST TIME WE'VE HAD A TRUE BALANCED BUDGET. AND SO NOT ONLY IS IT BALANCED, I'M CALLING IT BALANCED PLUS BECAUSE WE RIGHT NOW HAVE ABOUT 640,000. I THINK THAT NUMBER MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIGGER, CLOSER TO TO A MILLION. BUT WE HAVE ABOUT 640,000 IN UNDESIGNATED REVENUE AT THE POINT AT THIS POINT. BUT I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THAT AND WHY I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT AND CRITICAL. AGAIN, OUR REVENUES ARE GREATER THAN OUR EXPENDITURES, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE MISSIONS WE WERE ASKED TO DO. OVERALL, IT'S ABOUT AN 18.3% REDUCTION FROM FISCAL 26 BUDGET. WE DID BUILD IT ON THE ROLLBACK AS DIRECTED. WE HAD THE ALTERNATE, YOU KNOW, BUDGET BUILT AT THE 5.5 BUT GOT DIRECTION FOR ROLLBACK. FUNDAMENTALLY, THE BUDGET IS PRIORITY FOCUSED. AND IT GOES BACK TO THE QUESTION THAT WE KEEP ASKING OURSELVES AS STAFF IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES THE COMMUNITY EXPECT? WHAT ARE THE DEMANDS? AND THEN DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING AND WHAT WE COULD BE DOING. AND WE REALLY NEED TO FOCUS ON WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING, OUR OBLIGATIONS, OUR GOALS, OUR PRIORITIES, AND HOW WE CONNECT RESOURCES, SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY. SO IT IS PRETTY FOCUSED AND IT IS BUILT AROUND THE TENETS OF DOGE. AND THOSE TENANTS ARE TRANSPARENCY, FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY, AND CUSTOMER SERVICE. AND SO I WILL GET INTO HOW WE BUILT THIS BUDGET AROUND DOGE THIS YEAR. SO WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED? THAT'S JUST AS IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT A BUDGET BEING BALANCED TO REVENUES, BUT IN THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED INITIALLY IN THE FUNDING. AND ONE OF THOSE ARE NO NEW GENERAL FUND PROJECTS. NONE WHATSOEVER. THERE ARE NO NEW GENERAL FUND FLEET PURCHASES OTHER THAN THE ONGOING OBLIGATIONS WE HAVE FOR SOME FIRE ENGINES THAT WE BOUGHT LAST YEAR IN A THREE YEAR ROLL UP FISCAL STRATEGY. THERE'S NO NEW POLICE CARS BEING PURCHASED. THERE'S NO NEW FIRE EQUIPMENT, YOU KNOW, ROLLING STOCK. ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH GENERAL FUND IS NOT BUDGETED OR ALLOCATED THIS YEAR. IT DOES CONTEMPLATE A TEMPORARY POOL CLOSURE, AT LEAST FOR A YEAR, TO REEVALUATE THAT STRATEGY AND ALTERNATE FUNDING. THE REASON BEING IS WE KNOW WE HAVE ABOUT A, AND IT'S A GUESS RIGHT NOW THAT WE HAVEN'T BID IT, BUT THE LATEST ESTIMATE IS ABOUT A $1.7 MILLION CAPITAL REQUIREMENT. THAT'S GOING TO COME ANY YEAR, COULD BE THIS YEAR COULD BE NEXT. AND OUR ANNUAL OPERATING COSTS AROUND THE POOL ARE SOMEWHERE AROUND $769,000. SO IT'S JUST IT'S ONE OF THOSE OPERATIONS. AS WE TRIED TO LOOK AT AGAIN, WHAT, WHAT DO WE NEED TO BE DOING AGAIN WHEN I'M NOT FUNDING FLEET AND SOME OTHER THINGS, WHAT ARE WE DOING? AND IT DOES CONTEMPLATE THE ELIMINATION OF THE STAFFING THAT WOULD AFFECT THE AQUATIC FACILITY. [00:05:04] IN EITHER REGARD, THEIR COMPONENT OF OE TEMPORARY STAFFING APPEARS TO BE AROUND 420 $324,000. AND THEN THE BALANCE OF THAT IS USED IN OUR REC DIVISIONS, SOME OF OUR SUMMER CAMPS, SOME OF OUR PROGRAMING. SO WE WOULD NEED TO INCREASE OUR PARTNERSHIP STRENGTH WITH THIS YEAR, I THINK WAS THE FIRST TIME THE YMCA REALLY STEPPED UP AND RAN A LOT OF SUMMER CAMPS. WE'D HAVE TO BE LOOKING TO THOSE PARTNERSHIPS, BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE OPERATORS OF CAMPS. A LOT OF GROUPS OPERATE SUMMER CAMPS AND, YOU KNOW, SPREAD THAT WORD THAT THERE ARE SUMMER CAMP OPPORTUNITIES ASIDE FROM WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING WITH THE YMCA IN THAT PARTNERSHIP. AND WHEN I TALK ABOUT THE THREE PILLARS OF DOGE, RIGHT, DOGE SAID, HERE'S SOME CORE THINGS THAT IF YOU'RE NOT ALIGNING, RIGHT. I THINK ANOTHER WAY THEY SAID IT IS IF THE NEWSPAPER CAME TO YOUR TOWN AND PUT A HEADLINE AND SAID, CITY OF PALM BAY IS SPENDING MONEY ON THESE THINGS, HOW WOULD THE COMMUNITY REACT TO THAT? WHAT'S WHAT'S THE LITMUS TEST FOR PUBLICATION? AND SO IN THAT, WE HAVE A BUNCH OF, OF PROJECTS THAT ARE AIMED AT THAT DOGE INITIATIVE. ONE OF THEM IS COMMUNICATIONS. WE NEED TO BE EXTERNALLY FOCUSED. DOGE COMMANDS YOU TO BE SOLELY FOCUSED ON EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS IN TERMS OF PAID EMPLOYEES. SO WE DO HAVE A PROPOSED UN FUNDING OF TWO CURRENT COMMUNICATIONS POSITIONS THAT RESIDE IN THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, ALSO RECALIBRATING OUR WELLNESS PROGRAM TO BE MORE ACCESSIBLE, BUT NOT BEING A DIRECT GENERAL FUND EXPENSE TO THE TAXPAYER FOR WELLNESS AND REABSORBING SOME OF THOSE DUTIES THAT ARE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF WELLNESS, LIKE DRUG TESTING AND OTHER COMPLIANCE ISSUES, WE FIGURE OUT HOW TO RECALIBRATE THOSE THROUGH HR ON THE TRANSPARENCY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE SIDE. WE HAVE ALICIA, WHICH IS BACK IN ALMOST SEVEN MONTHS AGO, WE HAD A CONVERSATION REGARDING CONTINUED CUSTOMER CONCERNS AND COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE INEFFICIENCY OF OUR PHONE SYSTEM AND INABILITY TO GET ANSWERS QUICKLY. PEOPLE STILL SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON HOLD, AND SO THE SYSTEM IS IN THE BETA BETA PHASE TESTING. I MAY GET CORRECTED BY IT. I THINK I'M USING THE RIGHT TECHNICAL TERM, BUT EITHER WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO LAUNCH ABOUT NOVEMBER. AND SO FAR IN VERY EARLY TESTING, IT STILL HAS A LOT OF ERRORS, BUT IT'S DESIGNED TO CONNECT PEOPLE QUICKER TO THE PEOPLE THEY ACTUALLY WANT TO TALK WITH. SO IT'S LOOKING PROMISING AND TRANSPARENCY, CUSTOMER SERVICE. IN TERMS OF THE PROJECT DASHBOARD WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT. I UNDERSTAND THAT THAT'LL BE RELEASED SOMETIME IN SEPTEMBER AT A YET TO BE SCHEDULED PUBLIC WORKS OPEN HOUSE, WHICH IS THAT TOTAL PROJECT DASHBOARD FOR RESIDENTS TO LOOK WHERE EVERY CAPITAL PROJECT IS BEING WORKED ON, COMPLETED BUDGET, TIMELINES, STATUS, ALL THOSE WONDERFUL THINGS. SO IT'LL SORT OF OPEN UP THAT COMMUNICATION OF WHERE YOUR PROJECT MONEY IS GOING AND A WHOLE HOST OF PROJECTS ACROSS THE CITY. SO THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT TRANSPARENCY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE INITIATIVE THAT WE'VE MAINTAINED IN THE BUDGET. BACK TO THE TENANTS OF DOGE. WE'VE UNFUNDED RIGHT ABOUT 30 POSITIONS ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION AT THIS POINT IN TIME. AND WE WERE AGAIN, MOSTLY SUCCESSFUL THROUGH THE SOFT AND HARD FREEZE. BUT THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE PROPOSED TO BE UNFUNDED THAT ARE CURRENTLY FILLED UP. BUT AGAIN, BACK TO DOGE AND BACK TO TRYING TO BALANCE A BUDGET AND REPRIORITIZE WHAT WE'RE ASKED TO DO EVERY DAY. AND OF COURSE, THIS NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET PROPOSES NO NEW FTES WHATSOEVER, BUT WHAT IS INCLUDED? SO WE'RE STILL STRATEGICALLY, EVEN IN CONSTRAINT, TRYING TO MOVE THINGS FORWARD. AND INITIATIVES THAT I THINK ARE WISE AND I THINK COUNCIL INITIALLY HAD AGREED. SO WE'RE PROPOSING TO ADD ANOTHER $600,000 TO THE FLEET RESERVE, WHICH WILL BRING THAT TOTAL TO ABOUT 1.5 MILLION. WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT? FLEET RESERVE IS LIKE A SINKING, ALMOST LIKE A SELF-INSURANCE FUND. AND IF WE WERE TO INVARIABLY WE'VE BEEN DOING VERY WELL. I THINK THE LAST SIX, SEVEN MONTHS WHERE I DON'T BELIEVE WE'VE HAD ANY MISHAPS WITH PATROL VEHICLES, WHICH IS FANTASTIC. PART OF THAT IS A LOT OF INTERNAL FOCUS IN THE PD ON DRIVER BEHAVIOR. DRIVER SAFETY AND ATTENTIVENESS. SOMETIMES IT'S JUST LUCK. SOMETIMES THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT, BUT WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY INCIDENTS. BUT IF WE DO, WE TOTAL A POLICE CAR. WE'VE GOT A FUND TO GO REPLACE A POLICE CAR, NOT WAIT 10 OR 11 MONTHS FOR THE INSURANCE TO RECONCILE WHEREVER THAT PROCESS MAY BE. AS YOU RECALL, REAL RECENTLY WE HAD A BOOM TRUCK GOING FOR AN ANNUAL INSPECTION AND TURNED OUT THAT THE LIFT MECHANISM THAT WOULD SEND PEOPLE UP INTO THE AIR HAD A A. SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURAL COMPROMISE CRACK IN THE FRAME, AND IT WAS COMPLETELY UNSAFE FOR USE. WE NEED THAT TRUCK TO MAINTAIN OUR SIGNALS. THAT WAS ABOUT A $300,000 PIECE OF EQUIPMENT. SO WE'RE BUILDING IN SOME LATITUDE THAT EVERY EMERGENCY DOESN'T CREATE A CRISIS, AND EVERY EMERGENCY OR UNFORESEEN CHALLENGE DOESN'T DEMAND US TO COME BACK AND SAY, WHAT PROJECT ARE WE GOING TO NOT DO? WHAT SERVICE ARE WE NOT GOING TO DELIVER? OR WHERE ARE WE GOING TO TRY TO FIND THE MONEY TO FIX THAT, THAT PROBLEM? SO IT'S INSURING OURSELVES. WE'RE CARRYING FORWARD THE MILLION DOLLARS IN PUBLIC SAFETY THAT WE HAD PUT FOR PROPERTY ACQUISITION. HERE'S THE REALITY. WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO NEED A NEW POLICE STATION WITHIN FIVE YEARS. WE NEED TO HAVE START HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS. I'D LOVE IT. I THINK THE CHIEF WOULD LOVE IT IF WE COULD FIGURE OUT HOW TO KEEP IT ON THIS CAMPUS. WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO. EVEN IF WE CAN'T, WE MAY NEED TO ACQUIRE LAND FOR FIRE STATIONS. IF WE CAN'T GET IT THROUGH A DEVELOPMENT EXCHANGE, LET'S SAY WE CAN ACCOMPLISH BOTH THOSE. WE ALSO KNOW WE'VE GOT A TEMPORARY STATION NINE [00:10:04] SITTING ON LEASED PROPERTY. IT'S GOING TO HAVE TO BE MOVED. SO THIS IS THAT SELF-INSURANCE FUND, IF NOTHING ELSE, TO MAKE SURE IF THAT TRIGGER GETS PULLED AND WE'VE GOT TO RELOCATE TEMP STATION NINE TO A NEW HOME, WE KNOW WE HAVE THE RESOURCES AND CAPABILITY TO MOVE THAT FIRE STATION, MAINTAIN FIRE SERVICE IN THAT CORRIDOR WITHOUT A SIGNIFICANT DISRUPTION. SO I THOUGHT IT WAS A PRIORITY TO LEAVE THAT ALONE. WE HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT GOING INTO ROAD MAINTENANCE THIS YEAR. WE'RE STILL NOT HITTING THAT $4 MILLION ANNUAL TARGET THAT I THINK COUNCIL EXPRESSED AS A PRIORITY. I THINK WE HAVE SOME STRATEGIES MAYBE TO GET THERE THIS YEAR, BUT WE'RE PROGRAMING AT $3.25 MILLION NOW. THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT MAY BREAK IN THE BUDGET. HAVE TO BE CANDID, RIGHT? I KEEP USING THIS ANALOGY. WE WENT INTO THE STEAM TRAIN, AND OLD COAL FIRED STEAM TRAIN, AND WE THREW A BUCKET OF WATER ON THE COAL, AND WE'RE STILL ROLLING. AND SO SOME OF THESE DECISIONS THAT WE ARE PROPOSING TO MAKE, I'M GOING TO TELL YOU NOW, ARE NOT GOING TO WORK. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME CHALLENGES. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO NAVIGATE THROUGH THE YEAR. WE MIGHT HAVE ADJUSTMENTS. PART OF IT IS IT WAS A LARGE EXERCISE TO REDUCE THE BUDGET IN A YEAR WHERE WE ALSO SAW OUR FIXED COSTS GO WAY BEYOND OUR REVENUES. RIGHT? BUT ALSO HISTORICALLY, THE CITY HAS NOT MAINTAINED KEY PERFORMANCE MEASURES OR LEVEL OF SERVICE INDICATORS. AND THAT HAS BEEN A PRIORITY. WE'VE DIRECTED AND WORKED WITH STAFF. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AGAIN TOMORROW. WHAT ARE YOUR CORE KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, YOUR LOSS STRATEGY DELIVERY SERVICES FOR NEXT YEAR? WE SHOULD BE PRIORITIZING OPERATIONS AND EXPENSES TO THAT. SO MY POINT IS I CAN'T TELL YOU IF A MAINTENANCE POSITION I UNFUNDED. WE'RE GOING TO FIND OUT IN SIX MONTHS. HEY, WAIT A MINUTE. WE REALLY NEEDED THAT POSITION. CAN WE MOVE SOMETHING IN THE ORGANIZATION OR. I NEED TO ASK YOU, HEY, WE GOT TO REFILL THAT VACANT POSITION BECAUSE WE CAN'T DELIVER A REQUIRED OR DEMANDED OR EXPECTED LEVEL OF SERVICE. ADDITIONALLY, WE'VE IMPOSED SOME OVERTIME CONSTRAINTS FISCALLY BECAUSE YOU KNOW, WE HAVE AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT LATER, BUT WE ARE GOING TO DO A DEEP DIVE AND I'M CALLING IT AN AUDIT ON OUR OVERTIME PRACTICES SPECIFICALLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY, BUT ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION. SO UNTIL THEN, YOU KNOW, HAVING SOME OF THAT RESERVE TO FUND TRUE EMERGENCIES OR ACTUAL OVERTIME NEEDS THAT CAN BE VALIDATED, WE NEED TO MAINTAIN THAT EXAMPLE WOULD JUST BE WE'RE, WE'RE STRUCTURALLY UNPREPARED FOR CALL SERVICE. WE COULD HAVE A CALL SERVICE SPIKE. I JUST SAW SOME CRIME REPORTS AND KUDOS TO THE PD. CRIME IS DOWN AND ALL KINDS OF CATEGORIES. AGAIN, A LOT OF GREAT HARD WORK AND DILIGENCE. WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL. THAT'S NOT A FLUKE THAT THAT HAPPENS, ESPECIALLY IN A GROWING COMMUNITY TO SEE THOSE NUMBERS GO DOWN. BUT WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, THE LAST TIME WE HAD A HOMICIDE, I THINK WE HAD 100, 100, 200 HOURS OF OVERTIME, RIGHT? BECAUSE YOU'RE ON SCENE THERE ON SCENE 24 OVER SEVEN, THEY'RE DOING THINGS. SO WE NEED TO ALSO BE PREPARED TO REALIZE THERE MIGHT BE EMERGENCIES BEYOND OUR CONTROL. WE HAVE A HURRICANE. AND THEN WHAT? WHAT I'M PROPOSING TO DO IS THAT. 640. WE TALKED ABOUT. AND IT MAY BE A LITTLE MORE. I'D LOVE TO LEAVE THAT FROM THE BALANCED BUDGET IN A PERSONNEL CONTINGENCY. AND THE REASON IS FOR THOSE THINGS I STATED, IF WE DEFUND THE POSITION THAT WE SAID, HEY, WE NEED MORE ALLOCATION, WE HAVE AN OVERTIME EMERGENCY THAT CAN BE VALIDATED AND VERIFIED. WE'VE GOT A SOURCE TO GO TO WITHOUT WONDERING, AGAIN WHAT PROJECT WE'RE GOING TO CUT, WHAT SERVICE WE'RE NOT GOING TO DELIVER, OR WHERE WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO FIND MONEY. SO WE'RE SELF-INSURING THROUGH THIS. TRANSITION IS REALLY THE KEY OF WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO, TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ADEQUATE RESOURCES TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS. AS WE TRY TO NAVIGATE FROM A PAPER DOCUMENT THAT LOOKS MAY LOOK GOOD. NOW WE HAVE TO EXECUTE THAT IN THE REAL WORLD. AND WHAT ARE THE PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS AND THE UNKNOWNS OF THAT? AGAIN, GIVEN THIS ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE'RE WE JUST GOT OUR FIRST LEVEL OF SERVICE ANALYSIS OFFICIALLY BACK. ONE OF THE BIG ONES WE COMMISSIONED FROM THE POLICE. I THINK I'VE SHARED THE DRAFT WITH YOU. I'VE HAD A CHANCE TO READ IT. WE'RE GOING TO WORK ON THOSE TYPES OF ANALYZES ACROSS MANY CITY OPERATIONS TO UNDERSTAND TRULY WHAT WE NEED AND HOW WE BUDGET TIME AND PERSONNEL MOST EFFICIENTLY. SO AGAIN, BACK TO SUCCESSES REALLY QUICK. AND AGAIN, THIS BECOMES IMPORTANT. SO TRADITIONALLY WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IS ANY SAVINGS WOULD HAVE BEEN ROLLED INTO THE BUDGET. AND WE WOULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, GONE FORWARD AND NOT ADDRESSED THAT. HEY, WE'RE ROLLING MONEY FORWARD TO FILL BUDGET GAPS. SO WE WE ARE GOING TO HAVE SOMEWHERE BECAUSE OF THE MEASURES WE TOOK THIS YEAR, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 5 AND $7 MILLION IN ONE TIME PERSONNEL SAVINGS. THAT WILL NUMBER WILL NOT BE FINAL, PROBABLY UNTIL MID YEAR OF THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR. WHEN THE BUDGET IS COMPLETED, EVERYTHING IS AUDITED. ALL ACCOUNTS ARE IN THE ACFR IS DONE AND WE KNOW FOR A FACT, BUT I THINK THIS IS A GOOD GUESS. WE EXPECT TO HAVE I EXPECT TO HAVE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 2 AND $3 MILLION OF UNSPENT BUDGET SAVINGS. AGAIN, THAT WE DON'T WE HAVEN'T ROLLED FORWARD. WE HAVEN'T ROLLED UP. WE HAVEN'T FOUND ALTERNATIVE USES. WE'VE SAID MANAGE TO THE BUDGET, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND, DON'T MANAGE THE NUMBERS, MANAGE TO THE OPERATION, AND WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY POTENTIALLY ONE TIME AND IT COMES UP ABOUT EVERY 5 TO 8 YEARS. COUNCILMAN JOHNSON YOU MAY HAVE BEEN HERE THE LAST TIME THIS HAPPENED. HAPPENS AT CITIES ALL THE TIME, BUT WE HOLD OUR EMPLOYEE HEALTH INSURANCE RESERVES FOR PAYMENT OF CLAIMS TO A CERTAIN ACTUARIAL NUMBER, PLUS A RESERVE. AND WHEN YOU START TO EXCEED THAT RESERVE EXPONENTIALLY, YOU DO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO BACK AND SAY, OKAY, CITY. OVER THE ARC OF TIME, THROUGH THE CONSERVATIVE ACTUARIAL NUMBERS, WE'VE COLLECTED MORE AND HAD LESS CLAIMS OR INTEREST HAS BEEN BETTER. AND SO WE MAY HAVE A CHANCE TO GRAB BETWEEN 4 AND $5 MILLION ONE TIME BACK TO THE GENERAL FUND THIS NEXT YEAR. [00:15:07] ANOTHER SUCCESS THAT WE HAD WAS A REVERSED APPROXIMATELY AN ANNUAL ONGOING ONE AND A HALF TO $2 MILLION DEFICIT IN GARBAGE. NOW, WE STILL HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR THOSE THREE FTES THAT WERE BEING PAID OUT OF A DIFFERENT FUND. KEVIN AND HIS TEAM ARE GOING THROUGH AND DOING AND GOING TO BE WORKING ON AN INTERNAL, I'M GOING TO CALL IT AN AUDIT. AUDIT SLASH ANALYSIS OF STORMWATER, MAKING SURE EMPLOYEES ARE PORTIONED PROPERLY. AND HERE'S AN IDEA OF WHAT WOULD HAPPEN YEARS AGO. I'D BE AN EMPLOYEE WORKING IN THE STORMWATER DEPARTMENT. MR. HAMMER MAY BE ABLE TO MAY BE ABLE TO VALIDATE THIS. AND I MUST SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT? I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY WANT TO GO WORK ON ROADS. SOMETHING ABOUT ROADS REALLY EXCITES ME. I WANT TO BE WORKING WITH ASPHALT AND BUILDING ROADS AND DOING STUFF. YOU GO TO YOUR BOSS, YOU GET THE TRANSFER, BUT NO ONE EVER THOUGHT IN THE BACK END. YOU ALSO GOT TO MOVE THE SALARY TO ROADS. NOW, YOU SHOULDN'T STILL BE PAYING THAT EMPLOYEE OUT OF STORMWATER. SO WE KNOW THOSE KINDS OF THINGS ARE GOING ON. WE'VE BEEN FINDING THEM. WE'VE BEEN FIXING THEM. THAT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS. I CAN'T TELL YOU FULL ADJUSTMENTS YET. WE'RE STILL DIGGING THROUGH. IT'S BEEN IT'S BEEN AN ONGOING PROCESS. DEPARTMENT BY DEPARTMENT, DIVISION BY DIVISION. WE'VE DEFINITELY RENEGOTIATED EVERY CONTRACT THAT'S COME UP, WITH EXCEPTION OF THE EVANS CENTER AND THE SENIOR CENTER BECAUSE OF THE SERVICE THEY PROVIDE TO BE VERY ADVANTAGEOUS TO THE CITY IN THE CURRENT AND LONG TERM. SOME CONTRACTS HAVE SEEN, YOU KNOW, A 1020 X IN REVENUE INCREASE OVER THE TERM, WHICH IS GREAT. THOSE THOSE THINGS KEEP ADDING TO OUR CAPABILITY. AND IT'S THE FISCAL STEWARDSHIP THE COMMUNITY DESERVES. WE DID SAVE IT'S BEEN ADDING UP THIS WHOLE TIME, BUT PROBABLY 1,000,007 IN UTILITY FROM THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH WADE TRIM, A BILL THAT'S NEVER GOING TO COME DUE TO THE CITY, WHICH IS FANTASTIC. AGAIN, AT LEAST ON THAT SAVINGS NUMBER, WE NEED TO VERIFY IT. SO I JUST WANT TO KIND OF KEEP THAT IN YOUR HAT, BECAUSE I STILL WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT HERE IN A MINUTE. SO POTENTIALLY POTENTIALLY IT COULD BE LOWER. I DON'T WON'T BE HIGHER BUT IT COULD BE LOWER. WE COULD COME IN AT SIX TOTAL. RIGHT. SO A GUESS. SO I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST WE CONSIDER. AND WE'RE NOT. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE MANY MONTHS TO CONSIDER THIS. BUT LET'S SAY WE GET TO MID-YEAR AND WE HAVE $4 MILLION THAT WE SAY, YEP, ABSOLUTELY. THIS IS THE SAVINGS. I BELIEVE IT'LL BE DOUBLE THAT. BUT LET'S JUST SAY IT'S 4 MILLION. I WOULD SUGGEST YOU CONSIDER 50% IN THE CURRENT FLEET AND THEN FLEET RESERVE. WHAT THAT ALLOWS US TO DO IS MAKE SOME CAPITAL FLEET PURCHASES THAT WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO NEED BY MID-YEAR, ESPECIALLY IN POLICE, ESPECIALLY IN PUBLIC WORKS, ESPECIALLY IN FACILITIES TO KEEP OUR FLEET RIGHT AHEAD OF THAT REPAIR AND DEPRECIATION CURVE. SO IT'S IDENTIFIED PURCHASES WE KNOW WE NEED TO MAKE. WE'LL HAVE SOME CASH. I WOULD LIKE TO INVEST IN SOME FLEET PURCHASES. I SUGGEST ALSO PUTTING SOME IN THE ROAD MAINTENANCE. WE NEVER SEEM TO HAVE ENOUGH ROAD MAINTENANCE. WE KNOW THE VALUE OF EARLY ROAD MAINTENANCE IS SIGNIFICANT, SO ADDING AN EXTRA MILLION DOLLARS OR WHATEVER THAT 25% WOULD BE IN ROAD MAINTENANCE IS GOING TO PAY ITSELF IN IN TIME AND DIVIDENDS. I'D ASK YOU TO PUT 20% INTO MAINTENANCE PROJECTS, ABOUT 800,000, AND EXPLAIN TO YOU WHY THAT'S IMPORTANT, I THINK. AND THEN 5% MAINTENANCE RESERVE. AND THE REASON THE RESERVE BACKS LIKE FLEET SINKING. IF THE AC CHILLERS TO GO OUT ON THIS FACILITY TOMORROW OR THE ONE ON CITY HALL, AND IT'S A $50,000 REPAIR AGAIN LAST YEAR OR THIS YEAR, AS THE BUDGET'S DESIGNED SO FAR, I WOULD HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT SERVICE WE'RE NOT GOING TO DELIVER, WHAT EMPLOYER WE'RE GOING TO DELAY A HIRING IN A POSITION, WHAT PROJECT WE'RE GOING TO CANCEL TO TAKE CARE OF REPAIRS. WE NEED, LIKE EVERYONE ELSE DOES, TO START BUILDING, IN MY OPINION, A SAVINGS ACCOUNT TO TAKE CARE OF THOSE ISSUES. BIG UNKNOWNS MOVING FORWARD, RIGHT? WE DON'T KNOW THE TAX CLIMATE. WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT IT A WHOLE LOT, BUT MY GUT IS TELLING ME THINGS ARE GOING TO GET TIGHTER REGARDLESS. NOT NOT BETTER. WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO STRETCH INTO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT PARTNERSHIPS. BUT ON A WHOLE, WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, SYSTEMIC STRUCTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES, ROAD MAINTENANCE ISSUES, MALABAR, RIGHT. WE COULD SPEND SAVINGS ON ONE ROAD PROJECT. SO WE NEED TO KEEP THAT FISCAL STEWARDSHIP, THAT FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY. AND WE NEED TO BE THINKING FUTURE YEARS, NOT, HEY, WE CAN MAKE SOMETHING WORK FOR ANOTHER YEAR. HOW ARE WE GETTING TO THAT FIVE YEAR, SIX YEAR, SEVEN YEAR GOAL AND HOW ARE WE FUNDING IT? WHAT'S OUR TRUE CIP? WHAT'S OUR TRUE NEED? I WANT TO TALK TO YOU REAL QUICK ABOUT BUILDING INTEREST. JUST TO THROW IT OUT TONIGHT. I KNOW IT GETS BEAT AROUND A LOT AND I WONDERED IF I SHOULD BRING IT UP. BUT IS THAT THE BEST USE OF MONEY? BECAUSE I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU WHY. MAYBE IT IS. AND THEN THE BRIDGE. SAME THING. DO WE WANT TO REALLY DO A BRIDGE? DO WE WANT TO START TALKING ABOUT A ROUNDABOUT OR A TRAFFIC SIGNAL WITH A SECOND EXIT, SOMETHING THAT MEETS THE SAME TRAFFIC FLOW GOAL? I DON'T KNOW. BUT WITH SOME OF THE HITS WE'RE TRYING TO TAKE IN THE PARK IMPACT FEE BETWEEN THAT AND THE BRIDGE, WE WOULD WIPE THE FUND OUT. SO WE WANT TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT STRATEGIC ABOUT THE VALUE WE'RE GOING TO GET. AND HERE'S WHY I TALK ABOUT DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AND CAPITAL REFUNDING AT MIDYEAR AND MAYBE EVEN CONSIDERING SHIFTING THAT OUR INTEREST. WE HAVE ABOUT $3.9 MILLION DEFICIT. AND I HAD A DIFFERENT HANDOUT THAT ISN'T HERE. BUT IF YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THE HARD DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, IT'S PROBABLY ABOUT THE $2 MILLION RANGE. I GIVE YOU QUICK EXAMPLES. WE HAD AN A C REPLACEMENT, THE CAPTAIN'S HOUSE. WE'VE KNOWN THIS FOR SEVERAL YEARS. IT'S GOING TO GO OUT ANY TIME. IT'S WE JUST KNOW IT. WE'VE GOT SOME HURRICANE SCREENING MAINTENANCE WE NEED TO DO FOR 20,000. WE'VE GOT PARKS [00:20:01] PARKS, RESTROOM SAFETY UPGRADES. WE'VE GOT ACTUAL FUNCTIONAL UPGRADES AT A PLAYGROUND. WE'VE GOT ROOF REHAB AND REPLACEMENT. WE'VE GOT THINGS TO DO AT THE COMMUNITY CENTERS WE'VE GOT. RIGHT. AND SO WE'VE GOT THIS DEFERRED MAINTENANCE THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET AWAY FROM. WE'VE GOT SOME MUSCO LIGHT REPAIRS FOR 6000. AT SOME POINT THESE THINGS BREAK. WE KNOW THEY'RE IDENTIFIED NEEDS. AND WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT HOW ARE WE STARTING TO PRIORITIZE. AND THAT'S COUNCIL CAN HELP WITH THAT EXERCISE, BUT ACTUAL REQUIRED RENOVATIONS, YOU KNOW, ROOFING, SEALING OF BUILDINGS, THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO MATTER LONG TERM. AND AS WE DELAY, WE SAW THAT SHEET LAST YEAR WITH THE RED ZONE. AND MOST OF OUR FACILITIES ARE 80% OUT OF THAT SPEC OF MAINTENANCE COMPLIANCE. THOSE COSTS DON'T GO AWAY. THEY JUST CONTINUE TO TO GROW. RIGHT? SO IT'S PRIORITIZING SOME OF THAT MAINTENANCE AND SAYING, HEY, WE'VE GOT SOME REAL PRIORITIES THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS TO KEEP, TO KEEP THINGS MOVING. SO IT GOES BACK TO THAT PUBLIC, THAT USE OF SOME OF THOSE FUNDS FOR MAINTENANCE, MAINTENANCE, RESERVE AND THE DISCUSSION LATER ON ABOUT OUR INTEREST. WE DON'T HAVE THAT DISCUSSION TONIGHT, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN DEFINITELY TALK ABOUT. BUT WE CAN'T STOP. LIKE, I'M REAL EXCITED THAT YOU KNOW, WE'RE HAVING THESE FRANK CONVERSATIONS. WE'RE, WE'RE IN THE MIX. WE'RE REALLY LOOKING THROUGH OUR BUDGET, BUT EVERYTHING TELLS US WE GOT TO KEEP GOING. AND I HAD ORIGINALLY PLANNED ON DELAYING THE TOP ITEM. AND I ACTUALLY GOT IN A CONVERSATION. DEPUTY MAYOR, DO YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO THIS ITEM REAL QUICK? YEAH. SO EARLIER THIS YEAR, I GUESS IT WAS AROUND THE SRO CONVERSATIONS THAT THAT WE WERE HAVING ON THIS DAIS AND, AND WHAT THAT WAS GOING TO LOOK LIKE IF WE WERE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, GO BACK WITH THAT INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH BREVARD COUNTY SCHOOLS. AND I WAS HAVING A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH SHARON SHERIFF WAYNE IVEY AT THE TIME. AND ON ONE OF THOSE PHONE CALLS HE HAD ASKED ME, HE'S LIKE, HEY, WHY DON'T YOU GUYS PARTNER WITH US? WHY DON'T YOU ALLOW US TO HANDLE YOUR YOUR 911 CALLS? AND SO I HAD BROUGHT THAT CONVERSATION BACK TO CITY MANAGER MORTON. AND AT THAT TIME THERE WASN'T AN APPETITE FOR IT. BUT I ASKED HIM IF HE WAS STILL WILLING TO EXPLORE SOME HIGH LEVEL CONVERSATIONS. AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE. AND THERE IS A HUGE, YOU KNOW, HUGE OPPORTUNITY TO TO SAVE MONEY. AND THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT WOULD BE OPEN TO INTERVIEWING THE FOLKS THAT WORK FOR PALM BAY AND BRINGING THEM ON, YOU KNOW, THROUGH AN INTERVIEW PROCESS AND HIRING THEM WITH THE BREVARD COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT. YOU KNOW, AT A SITUATION LIKE JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO WHERE, YOU KNOW, I HAD CALLED 911 WHERE I WITNESSED A POWER LINE GO DOWN AND IT CAUSED A FIRE IN SOMEBODY'S FRONT YARD. SO I CALLED 911, OUR DISPATCH ANSWERED GOING THROUGH THE QUESTIONS, AND I SAID, WELL, THERE'S A FIRE. THEY'RE LIKE, PLEASE HOLD. WE HAVE TO TRANSFER YOU TO BREVARD COUNTY TO ROUTE, YOU KNOW, AND SO I THOUGHT THERE WAS SOME INEFFICIENCIES THERE, WHETHER THAT, YOU KNOW, BEHIND THE SCENES, YOU KNOW, IS THERE AN EFFICIENCY? I DON'T THINK SO. BUT ON THE SURFACE LEVEL SEEM WEIRD TO MAKE ONE PHONE CALL JUST TO BE ROUTED TO ANOTHER PHONE CALL. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, A MONTH AGO, WHEN THE SITUATION IN DRISCOLL HEIGHTS OR TWO MONTHS AGO, THERE WAS A FIRE, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE RESIDENTS DOWN THERE CALLED 911. THEY GET BOUNCED AROUND BETWEEN MELBOURNE, PALM BAY AND THEN ULTIMATELY THE COUNTY TO DISPATCH YOU KNOW, SAFETY TO THAT TO THAT COMMUNITY. SO, YOU KNOW, MY VISION OF WHAT THE SAVINGS THAT WE HAVE WOULD BE JUST REINVEST THAT MONEY RIGHT BACK INTO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR FOR PERSONNEL, YOU KNOW, FOR POLICE OFFICERS THAT PATROL OUR, YOU KNOW, PATROL OUR STREETS. SO IF I MISS ANYTHING, MR. MORTON, PLEASE ADD TO IT. NO, NO, I WAS GOING TO KICK IT OFF AND AND THAT GOT SORT OF PROMPTED. I THINK I'VE ACTUALLY SENT YOU ALL THE DRAFT AGREEMENT. YOU'VE HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT IT. AND I DIDN'T EXPECT THE RESPONSE. YOU KNOW WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE CHIEF. WE HAVEN'T TALKED REALLY ALL THROUGH THIS YET, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THIS IS A WITH WITH COUNCIL'S LEADING, WHICH I BELIEVE WE'VE SORT OF GOT IS, IS ONE OF THESE ISSUES. WE NEED TO AGAIN, WE NEED TO PRESS IN EVERYTHING WE CAN. RIGHT? EFFICIENCY, MERGERS. I STILL THINK THERE'S GREAT EFFICIENCY THAT CAN BE HAD WITH MERGING PARKS AND FACILITIES WITH PUBLIC WORKS. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT REDUCING GIANT NUMBERS OF PERSONNEL, BUT I THINK EVERY DAY, THE WAY WE SHARE EQUIPMENT, WE SHARE TRUCKS, WE SHARE WORK SKILLS, WE SHARE KNOWLEDGE, WE SHARE DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE JOB WILL JUST MAKE US BETTER. AND I'VE HAD A CONVERSATION WITH GREG RECENTLY WHERE HE'S FALLING BEHIND IN PARK MAINTENANCE. HE WANTED TO REASSIGN SOME OTHER MAINTENANCE FOLKS. WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT JUST TO SAY, HEY, HERE'S A MAINTENANCE ENTERPRISE BETWEEN PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS, WE CAN PUT TOGETHER TEN GUYS, 50, WHATEVER IT IS, AND GO KNOCK THIS PROJECT OUT AND JUST GET BETTER WITH THAT EQUIPMENT SHARING, TRUCK SHARING OR LABOR SHARING ACCOUNTABILITY, SOMETHING I'M DEFINITELY WANTING TO LOOK INTO THIS YEAR. AND YOU'VE ALSO HEARD ME TALK ABOUT THE FINANCE AND PROCUREMENT CENTRALIZATION. I THINK OVER THE YEARS, WE'VE SORT OF HAD AN OUTWORKING OF, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE SORT OF DUPLICATING SOME FUNCTIONS EITHER WHETHER IT WAS FOR EFFICIENCY, WHETHER IT FELT LIKE IT ADDED SOME CONTROL, SAVED SOME TIME. WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT HOW DO WE'RE CENTRALIZE SOME OF THOSE FUNCTIONS TO BE THE MOST EFFICIENT. BACK TO DODGE. WHAT ARE WE DOING? HOW ARE WE, HOW ARE WE LAYERING SERVICES AND HOW ARE WE PROVIDING THEM EFFICIENTLY? WE SHOULD BE HAVING THE CONVERSATION AROUND THE MEDICS, THE EMS AND THE TRANSPORT ON THE MEDICS. YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE OUR AMBULANCE PROVIDER, OUR EMS PROVIDER AS BREVARD COUNTY. BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT OUR MEN AND WOMEN CARRY A HUGE PART OF THAT LOAD EVERY SINGLE DAY. [00:25:04] AND THE TERM IS USED PACKAGE FOR TRANSPORT. AND WE'RE GETTING THERE. WE'RE STABILIZING. WE'RE OFTEN THERE WAY IN ADVANCE OF ANYBODY TAKING CARE OF THE PATIENT, SAVING LIVES, ADMINISTERING DRUGS, DOING ALL THOSE THINGS. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, BREVARD COUNTY AMBULANCE SHOWS UP TO TRANSPORT. I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE MORE CONVERSATIONS AROUND WHAT THOSE COST CENTERS ARE AND THE COSTS IT INCURS ON US TO MAKE SURE EVERY SINGLE FIRE PERSONNEL IS EMS TRAINED AND GETS TO GO TO SCHOOL, AND WE'RE BEARING A COST. I THINK THAT WE SHOULD BE HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH THE COUNTY WITH AROUND THAT AND MAYBE REIGNITE THIS CONVERSATION. AGAIN, WE'RE DRIVING INTO KPIS AND LEVEL OF SERVICE UNTIL WE REALLY KNOW THAT I CAN TELL YOU WHAT SOMETHING COSTS, WHY WE'RE DOING IT AND HOW IT MATTERS, RIGHT? A LOT. SOME OF THIS HAS GOT INSTINCT AND IT'S JUST EXPERIENCE OVER TIME. AND AGAIN, SOME OF THEM ARE GOING TO BE CALLS THAT WE THINK LOOK REALLY GOOD. I THINK LOOK REALLY GOOD RIGHT NOW. AND THEY MAY NOT WORK OUT REAL WELL. SO WE'VE GOT TO BE MINDFUL TO BE ABLE TO BE NIMBLE AND ADJUST AS WE MOVE THROUGH THIS BUDGET YEAR WITH A LOT OF STRUCTURAL CHANGES, WE NEED TO CONTINUE FISCAL DISCIPLINE. THAT'S A GIVEN. WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT. WE'RE NOT GOING TO USE UNFUNDED BAR SAVINGS, RIGHT. WE'RE GOING TO WE'RE GOING TO MAKE PEOPLE MANAGE TO THE NUMBERS, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. WE NEED TO SLOW WHAT WE CALL SLOW HIRING TO NET ZERO. GREAT EXAMPLE. LET'S SAY MAYOR WORKS FOR ME, AND HE GETS PAID $100 A YEAR, AND HE LEFT IN Q1 AND WE PAID HIM $25 IN Q2. WE HAD TO PAY OUT ALL HIS BENEFITS. THAT'S $50. GOT TO HAVE THAT DELAY IN HIRING UNTIL YOUR BUDGET CATCHES UP TO WHAT THE NEW PERSON IS GOING TO COST. YOU CAN'T BRING SOMEBODY IN. MAY COST THE CITY 80 GRAND TO ONBOARD AND GET EVERYTHING DONE. IF THERE'S ONLY $50,000 IN A LINE ITEM. SO WE'RE GOING TO CALL IT SLOW TO NET ZERO HIRING. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO EVENTUALLY, I THINK, AT SOME POINT, HAVE THE CONVERSATION AROUND THE FIRE DISTRICT AS A CONCEPT FOR THE CITY. A TAXING DISTRICT, THE REASON BEING, OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT DESERVES A PREDICTABLE, STABLE, RELIABLE REVENUE SOURCE TO DO THE MISSION WE'VE ASKED THEM TO DO. AND RIGHT NOW WE ARE NOT GIVING THEM THAT. AND SO WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THE REAL COSTS AND LET THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTAND THAT AND LET THEM AND YOU GUYS TELL US TO GO IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. BUT AGAIN, I THINK WE DESERVE RELIABLE, STABLE, PREDICTABLE FUNDING SOURCE. SO THEY KNOW THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES, THE TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT TO DO THE JOB SAFELY. AND WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DO THAT FOR POLICE. SO THAT DOES HELP. ALSO, MAKE SURE WE'RE CREATING THE SAME ENVELOPE FOR OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT. RIGHT. I LIKE THE IDEA OF I'VE HEARD FROM SEVERAL OF YOU REINVESTING THAT MONEY RIGHT BACK INTO BADGES AND BOOTS, WHICH IS, I THINK, SUPER IMPORTANT FOR A GROWING CITY. I WANT TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MAKING PLANNING AN ENTERPRISE FUND, JUST LIKE BUILDING, JUST LIKE A LOT OF OTHER THINGS, ALTHOUGH EXCLUDE RESIDENTS. AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS IF YOU'RE A HOMEOWNER AND YOU'RE COMING FOR YOUR $50 FENCE PERMIT, IT SHOULD BE A $50 FENCE PERMIT. YOU'RE ALREADY PAYING TAXES IN THE COMMUNITY. BUT SOME SERVICES WE DO, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL PAY US A FRACTION OF A COST FOR WORK THAT MAY COST US TENS AND TENS AND TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. WE SHOULD HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AROUND, DO WE WANT TO HAVE A COST RECOVERY MODEL? WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE? AND THE REASON I TALK ABOUT IT IS PLANNING AS AN ENTERPRISE. WE BROUGHT IN $400,000 IN REVENUE APPROXIMATELY THIS LAST YEAR FOR AN OPERATIONS COST OF 1.6 MILLION. HOW DO WE RIGHTSIZE THE WORK WE DO EVERY DAY? IF I GO TO A LOCAL ENGINEER CONSULTANT AND SAY, HERE'S MY DEVELOPMENT, I WANT TO WORK ON IT. I NEED TO GET A FLAT RATE THAT INCORPORATES THE EXPENSES, OR I'M PAYING AN HOURLY RATE HERE. IT'S A FLAT ONE TIME FEE AND OFF YOU GO. AND THAT'S AGAIN A COMMUNITY CONVERSATION. A COUNCIL CONVERSATION. BUT IT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD LOOK AT. RIGHT? HOW DO WE DO IT? DO WE DO ANOTHER SIMILAR MODEL TO BUILDING WHERE WE, YOU KNOW, HAVE DIFFERENT PATHS TO ACHIEVING PLANNING COMPLIANCE? SO I THINK THERE'S A VERY BIG CONVERSATION THAT CAN BE HAD. THIS IS AN IDEA THAT WAS THROWN OUT AT US AT, AT ONE OF THE TABLES FROM SOMEONE WHO'S HAD EXPERIENCE WITH IT, GRETCHEN HERE, THAT OUR NEW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR. SO SHE THREW THIS ONE AT US. BUT THIS IDEA OF CREATING A CULTURE OF STEWARDSHIP, RIGHT? MAYOR INSPIRED ME WHEN GRETCHEN MENTIONED SOMETHING AND THE LIGHT BULB WENT OFF THAT IN THE MAYOR'S VIDEO. IN OUR RECRUITMENT VIDEO, HE'S TALKING ABOUT EVERY NICKEL, EVERY DOLLAR. IT'S PUBLIC TRUST. IT MATTERS. AND SO, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING TO BUILD THIS CULTURE WHERE EVERYBODY REALIZES, NO MATTER WHERE YOU'RE AT IN THE ORGANIZATION, THAT WE WANT TO BE STEWARDS OF THE TAXPAYER RESOURCES AT EVERY SINGLE LEVEL, NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL, NO AMOUNT IS TOO BIG. AND BY ALLOWING PEOPLE TO CALL IN AND SAY, HEY, I HAVE AN IDEA TO SAVE FIVE BUCKS OR 50 BUCKS, 10,000 BUCKS, A $500,000. I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE KNOWS IT'S THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO TO BE PART OF THIS CULTURE OF FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY TO OUR COMMUNITY. AND I THINK THAT'S JUST AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE THAT WE CREATE THAT THAT SPACE. WE DEFINITELY HAVE AN AUDIT PLAN THIS YEAR, AS I MENTIONED, FOR PUBLIC SAFETY FOR OVERTIME, WE'RE GOING TO DO THE AUDIT AND THE METRICS UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING. THE NUMBERS IN OT ARE JUST COMPLETELY UNSUSTAINABLE. AND I'M HAVING TROUBLE CONNECTING THE DOTS TO HOW THOSE HOURS ADD UP. SO WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL. AND THEN ANYTHING WE FIND REGARDLESS, USUALLY BECAUSE IT'S PART OF THE BIG THREE WAGES, HOURS AND WORKING CONDITIONS BECOMES A SUBJECT AND A DISCUSSION AT THE BARGAINING TABLE GENERALLY. RIGHT? SO IT'S JUST ONE OF THE, ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO KEEP IN MIND AND WORK ON. AND AS I MENTIONED, THERE'S AN ONGOING OR JUST BEGINNING, I THINK YOU'LL HAVE A PRESENTATION IN THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO FOR THIS INTERNAL. I'M CALLING IT AN AUDIT, BUT REALLY TRACKING AND UNDERSTANDING WHERE THE STORM WATER DOLLARS ARE. AND AGAIN, I THINK PUBLIC WORKS HAS MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS THIS YEAR ON IRONING THAT OUT. [00:30:05] SOME ONE TIME INITIATIVES AGAIN, AGAIN, THINGS TO BE HOPEFUL FOR THIS YEAR. WE'VE GOT SEVERAL PROPERTY SALES AND OR LEASE PROPOSALS COMING TO YOU. NOT PURCHASES, BUT SALES AND OR LEASES OF SURPLUS PROPERTY. YOU ALLOWED US TO ENGAGE TO REALTOR SERVICES. WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH IDENTIFYING AND TRYING TO PACKAGE THEM IN TRANCHES OF 4 OR 5. WE HAVE OUR FIRST ONE GOING THROUGH REVIEW TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT UNINTENTIONALLY SELLING A PIECE OF PROPERTY THAT WILL BE CRITICAL IN THE FUTURE FOR RIGHT OF WAY OR STORMWATER OR SOMETHING. BUT GETTING SOME OF THESE PROPERTIES OFF THE BOOKS, RETURNING THEM TO THE TAX ROLLS, LETTING PEOPLE DO THINGS WITH THEM. ONE OF THEM MIGHT BE TO A LOCAL CHARTER SCHOOL. ANOTHER ONE MIGHT BE FOR A SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE. SO THERE'S IT'S GOING TO COME IN ALL KINDS OF FLAVORS FOR YOU GUYS TO DECIDE IF WE'RE MOVING THEM ON. WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO TRY TO DO THE WORK OF SHOWING THE TRUE COSTS AND RIGHT SIZING. AGAIN, NO MORE BUDGET ROLL UPS. WHAT DOES IT REALLY COST? HOW DO WE TRACK THAT THROUGH A COST CENTER? HOW DO WE ALLOCATE FOR EVERY RESOURCE? I'VE GIVEN YOU THE EXAMPLE, WHEN WE SEND SOMEONE OUT TO DO A POTHOLE, I'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO TELL YOU EXACTLY WHAT IT COSTS ON AVERAGE TO REPAIR AND PATCH A POTHOLE. I CAN'T TELL YOU THAT NOW. I CAN'T TELL YOU THE TOTAL MATERIAL COST, LABOR, TIME, VEHICLE, ALL THE COSTS ON AN AVERAGE BASIS SO YOU GUYS CAN MAKE BETTER EDUCATED DECISIONS ON THE BUDGET. AND SO CAN WE. TWO FROM THE OPS SIDE. AND WE NEED TO HAVE, IN MY OPINION, THE CONVERSATION OF GETTING BACK TO A MORE REGULAR AND STANDARD METHOD OF STORMWATER BILLING. RIGHT NOW, THE ONES WHO AREN'T PAYING ARE THE ONES WHO EITHER KNOW HOW TO WORK THAT PROCESS OR DO PROPERTY TRANSFERS DIFFERENT WAYS. AND SO AGAIN, I TOLD YOU WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE, I LOOKED AT A BASICALLY A UNCOLLECTIBLE DEBT OF ABOUT A HALF $1 MILLION JUST FOR ONE PROJECT WHERE A DEVELOPER DIDN'T PAY THE STORMWATER FEE. I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A MECHANISM TO CAPTURE THOSE THAT IMPACTS THE ENTIRE CITY'S ABILITY TO DEAL WITH STORMWATER ISSUES, SWALE MAINTENANCE, ALL THOSE THINGS THAT REALLY MATTER IN FLORIDA. SO WE JUST NEED TO KNOW THAT WE CAN COLLECT, AND WE'RE ASSESSING AND COLLECTING APPROPRIATE AMOUNTS OF MONEY TO MAKE SURE WE'RE MOVING OUR STORMWATER CIP AND PROGRAM FORWARD. THIS IS YOU, SHANE. I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO SHANE. THANK YOU. ALRIGHTY. SO STARTING OFF THIS NEXT SECTION, I JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE 2026 ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR. SOMETHING TO NOTE RIGHT OFF THE TOP IS THAT WE HAD NO BUDGET AMENDMENTS FROM THE FUND BALANCE IN THE GENERAL FUND. SO NO, NO NON BUDGETED NEEDS WERE ADDRESSED BY OUR BAR SAVINGS. SO ANYTHING THAT WAS REQUESTED INITIALLY WAS THEN ANALYZED, DETERMINED IF THERE WAS A SAVINGS AND THEN ESSENTIALLY USED FOR OTHER NEEDS THAT WERE FOUND IN THE GENERAL FUND. THERE WAS ALSO 21.6 MILLION IN CAPITAL INVESTMENTS IN FY 26 APPROVED BUDGET. SO 7.6 MILLION WAS FOR UTILITIES 2.1 FOR THE STORMWATER UTILITY VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT. AND THEN 11.9 IN GENERAL FUND WITH A FOCUS ON PUBLIC SAFETY. THERE WAS 3.25 MILLION COMMITTED TO THE ROAD MAINTENANCE CIP FUND, 1.25 MILLION COMMITMENT TO LOGT 600 K COMMITTED TO EMERGENCY FLEET REPLACEMENTS AND THEN 1 MILLION TOWARDS LAND ACQUISITION, INCLUDING FUTURE PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES. SO REALLY TRYING TO MAKE USE OF SAVINGS WHERE WE CAN FIND THEM AND AVOIDING GOING TO FUND BALANCE TO MEET THOSE GAPS THAT WE'RE IDENTIFYING. GETTING INTO THE SECTION ON THE FINANCIAL FINANCIALS, THIS IS GOING TO BE A BREAKDOWN KIND OF IN LAYERS. FIRST WE'RE GOING TO START WITH ALL FUNDS. YOU'RE GOING TO SEE HOW THE CITY SPENDS ITS $427.4 MILLION. THEN THE GENERAL FUND BREAKDOWN SHOWING THE PROPERTY TAX SUPPORTED OPERATING BUDGET OF 135.8 MILLION, WHICH IS ABOUT 29% OF THAT TOTAL. AND THEN WE'LL GET INTO ENTERPRISE FUNDS, WHICH ARE PRIMARILY SUPPORTED BY THOSE RATEPAYERS. THAT'S GOING TO BE YOUR WATER, SEWER, SOLID WASTE STORMWATER, ALL OF WHICH ARE FUNDED BY THOSE RATEPAYERS AND NOT TAXES. AND WE'LL GO AHEAD AND FLAG THOSE AS WE GO THROUGH THE NEXT SECTION OF THE PRESENTATION. SO HERE'S WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM CITY WIDE. THE LARGEST SOURCE TO NOTE ISN'T PROPERTY TAX. IT'S ACTUALLY GOING TO BE YOUR CHARGES FOR SERVICE, WHICH IS ROUGHLY 136.6 MILLION, OR 40% OF THAT TOTAL. THAT'S GOING TO BE YOUR WATER, SEWER, SOLID WASTE AND STORM WATER RATES. YOUR PROPERTY TAXES ARE 80.6 MILLION OF THAT, OR ROUGHLY 23%. AND THAT INCLUDES BOTH THE OPERATING LEVY AND THE VOTER APPROVED ROAD BOND FUND DEBT LEVY. ONE NOTE ON THE 28% LABELED OTHER, ABOUT 38 MILLION OF IT IS TRANSFERS BETWEEN OUR OWN FUNDS. SO THAT'S NOT NEW MONEY ARRIVING FROM OUTSIDE. AND THIS 344 MILLION IS RECURRING REVENUE ONLY. SO IT EXCLUDES ANY FUND BALANCE THAT WE'RE APPROPRIATING FOR PROJECTS THAT ARE ESSENTIALLY GOING FORWARD IN THE NEXT YEAR. SO NOT A USE OF FUND BALANCE TO BALANCE THE BUDGET, BUT JUST PROJECTS THAT HAVE ALREADY EXISTED THAT ARE GOING FORWARD. SO NOW WE'RE GOING TO SEE THE BREAKDOWN OF THE REVENUE COMPOSITION. KIND OF A BIG DATA HEAVY AND DENSE TABLE HERE, BUT REALLY THE FOCUS IS GOING TO BE ON THOSE BOTTOM LINE TOTALS AND THE HISTORY THAT [00:35:04] YOU'LL SEE FROM FISCAL YEAR 23 TO THE FY 27 PROPOSED BUDGET. SO YOU'LL NOTE THAT CHARGES FOR SERVICES IS THAT 136.6 MILLION OR ROUGHLY 40%. AND AGAIN, THAT'S THOSE RATEPAYER BASED ITEMS. PROPERTY TAXES ARE THE 80.6 MILLION. SO REALLY NOTING OH, LET ME GET. SO NOTING ALL THIS, YOU'LL SEE THAT REALLY THE BIG PORTION IS GOING TO BE IN THAT, IN THAT PORTION OF CHARGES FOR SERVICES KIND OF INCREASING OVER THAT PERIOD OF TIME FROM FY 23. SO AGAIN, JUST HIGHLIGHTING THAT NOT ALL OF THE CITY'S REVENUE IS MADE UP OF THAT PROPERTY TAX REVENUE. SO TO NOTE PROPERTY TAXES, WE'RE UP ROUGHLY 4.6%. BUT JUST TO ELABORATE, THAT'S A 7% INCREASE IN TAXABLE VALUE, NOT A RATE INCREASE ITSELF. SO THE PROPOSED MILLAGE IS ACTUALLY GOING DOWN BASED FROM THE CURRENT RATE OF 6.7000 TO 6.6015. AND THEN TWO LINES THAT ARE DOWN THAT I WANT TO NAME AND CALL OUT ARE THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL, WHICH IS DOWN 20% BECAUSE THE STATE HASN'T PUBLISHED THE FINAL SHARED REVENUE FIGURES. WE BUILT IN A 5% REDUCTION, AND WE'LL AMEND THAT WHEN THEY DO PUBLISH. AND IMPACT FEES ARE DOWN 17%, WHICH TRACKS WITH NEW CONSTRUCTION VALUE FALLING 11%. BUT THIS JUST GIVES YOU THAT HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THE TOTAL CITY'S REVENUE COMPOSITION. SO NOW GETTING INTO THE SPENDING AND EXPENDITURE SIDE OF THINGS, EVERYTHING HERE IS GROUPED BY FUNCTION. YOU'LL NOTE THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IS 47% AND THAT'S PRIMARILY UTILITIES AND PUBLIC WORKS OVERWHELMINGLY PAID FOR AGAIN BY YOUR RATEPAYERS AND RESTRICTED RESTRICTED CAPITAL DOLLARS, NOT PROPERTY TAXES. PUBLIC SAFETY IS 18% CITYWIDE INSIDE THE GENERAL FUND ALONE AND POLICE AND FIRE ARE 56% OF THAT ONE CATEGORY I WANT TO EXPLAIN BEFORE IT IS MISREAD IS THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORTING SECTION, WHICH IS 12% OR $51 MILLION, BUT 26 MILLION OF THAT IS FOR YOUR EMPLOYEE HEALTH BENEFITS. IT'S YOUR RISK AND CLAIMS, AS HIGHLIGHTED EARLIER, TRYING TO KEEP THOSE CLAIMS DOWN. AND THEN THE ACTUAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES SUCH AS COUNCIL, CITY MANAGER, PROCUREMENT, FINANCE, THAT'S 5.8 MILLION, OR ABOUT 1.5% OF THE BUDGET. SO OVERALL, THIS IS AGAIN, KIND OF ANOTHER BREAKDOWN DATA DENSE TABLE HERE, WHICH REALLY GIVES YOU THAT COMPOSITION FROM FY 23 TO THE PROPOSED FY 27. TOTAL SPENDING IS DOWN ROUGHLY 18.3% OR 96 MILLION FROM LAST YEAR'S AMENDED THREE. NUMBERS HERE DO LOOK DRAMATIC, SO I'M GOING TO GO AND BREAK THOSE DOWN. THE FIRST IS YOUR GROWTH MANAGEMENT, WHICH IS SHOWING ROUGHLY LIKE 136% INCREASE. AND THAT'S NOT AN INCREASE. IT'S A RECLASSIFICATION OF HOUSING GRANT PROGRAMS, WHICH IS ROUGHLY $4.5 MILLION MOVED FROM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. SO AGAIN, NO NEW POSITIONS. THIS BUDGET PERMITS, NO FTE INCREASES ANYWHERE. AND THEN YOU'LL NOTICE KIND OF AN OFFSET THERE WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WHICH IS DOWN A GOOD BIT AS WELL. AND THAT ALMOST 90% FOR THAT SAME REASON, PLUS FEDERAL ARPA DOLLARS ARE FULLY SPENT. AND WE'RE ON THAT INTEREST SIDE OF THINGS. NOW, AS KIND OF MENTIONED EARLIER, KIND OF DECIDING HOW TO SPEND THE INTEREST THAT HAS ACCRUED ON THOSE ARPA FUNDS. PUBLIC WORKS IS DOWN 31% BECAUSE THE GO ROAD PROGRAM SHOWS ZERO THIS YEAR. THAT'S JUST A FUND STRUCTURE CHANGE TIED TO OUR NEW ERP SYSTEM, WHICH IS STARTING OCTOBER 1ST. NOT A STOP TO ROAD WORK. ROAD FUNDING CONTINUES 3.25 MILLION OF THAT, WHICH IS FROM THE GENERAL FUND AND 1.765 MILLION IN GAS TAX. SO WITH 2 MILLION ROAD MAINTENANCE. SO THAT'S JUST KIND OF SHOWING HOW SOME OF THESE NUMBERS HAVE SHIFTED AND EVOLVED OVER TIME. WE'VE HAD A HANDFUL OF STRUCTURAL CHANGES, DEPARTMENTAL STAFFING CHANGES IN TERMS OF HOW THOSE DEPARTMENTS ARE LAID OUT. AND OF COURSE, WHEN YOU ADD IN THE COMPLICATION OF A NEW ERP, THAT ALSO ADDS FUN TO THE MIX. SO GOING INTO DEBT SERVICE TRANSFERS IN YOUR NON-DEPARTMENTAL, THIS SLIDE IS WHERE 18% DECREASE IS ACTUALLY LIVE. DEBT SERVICE IS ESSENTIALLY FLAT DOWN, ROUGHLY 1.7%. AND IT'S FULLY FUNDED, BUT TRANSFERS DROPPED 45 MILLION OR 54%. AND THAT ONE LINE IS 47% OF THE ENTIRE BUDGET REDUCTION. THE REASON IS, IS THE ROAD BOND PROGRAM. LAST YEAR, WE MOVED 55 MILLION TO THAT FUND, AND NOTHING COMPARABLE OR COMPARABLE OCCURS THIS YEAR. SO I WANT TO BE PRECISE THAT THIS IS A FINANCE TIMING ROLL OUT ROLL OFF, NOT A REDUCTION IN SERVICES. ALSO, YOU'LL NOTE THAT THE THE BAYFRONT CRA IS AT ZERO DUE TO THAT INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT EXPIRING IN MAY OF 2024. BUT WE'RE GOING TO KEEP IT ON THE BOOKS BECAUSE THERE'S STILL SOME ACTIVITY TAKING PLACE WITHIN THAT UNTIL IT DOES EVENTUALLY FALL OFF. BUT WE'LL SHOW THAT HISTORY UNTIL THAT [00:40:03] TAKES PLACE. OKAY. NOW, JUST LOOKING AT YOUR GENERAL FUND REVENUES THIS IS WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THE PROPERTY TAX BUDGET OF 52% OF IT. NOTHING ELSE IS CLOSE, WHICH IS WHY MILLAGE AND TAX, TAXABLE VALUE DRIVE SERVICE CAPACITY MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. YOU'LL NOTE THAT INTERGOVERNMENTAL IS 12% OF THAT. AND THAT'S THAT PIECE IS STILL WAITING ON THE STATE UTILITY TAXES IS 10%. FRANCHISE FEES AND CHARGES FOR SERVICES ARE SEVEN EACH. AND I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT THE FUND BALANCE LINE, 3% OF 4.45 MILLION IS DESIGNATED CARRYFORWARD. SO THAT'S NOT USING FUND BALANCE TO BALANCE THE BUDGET. THAT'S JUST PROJECTS AND EXISTING ITEMS THAT ARE ROLLING FORWARD THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE USING TO CONTINUE. LAST YEAR'S BUDGET USED ROUGHLY 13.6 MILLION. BUT AGAIN, WE'RE GETTING TO THAT POINT WHERE NOT TRYING TO GO TO FUND BALANCE, TO BALANCE THE BUDGET. SO ANOTHER DATA DENSE TABLE HERE FOR EVERYONE. JUST LINE BY LINE. THE GENERAL FUND IS STABLE. PROPERTY TAX IS UP 5.3%. FRANCHISE FEES ARE UP 6.7. UTILITY TAXES AND CHARGES FOR SERVICES ARE BOTH UP MODESTLY. THE DECLINES ARE SALES AND FUEL TAXES. INTERGOVERNMENTAL AND TRANSFERS. TRANSFERS BEING THE BIG ONE, DOWN FROM 4.8 MILLION TO UNDER A MILLION. BECAUSE THOSE WERE ONE TIME INTERFUND SUPPORTS THAT DON'T NECESSARILY RECUR. BOTTOM BOTTOM LINE 131.4 MILLION IN RECURRING REVENUE, PLUS 4.45 MILLION OF DESIGNATED FUND BALANCE EQUALS THE ONE 35.8 MILLION WHICH MATCHES THE PROPOSED SPENDING EXACTLY FOR THE GENERAL FUND. SO BALANCING THAT BUDGET, AND AGAIN, JUST CALLING OUT THAT THAT 4.451 MILLION IN FUND BALANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY TIED TO USING FUND BALANCE TO BALANCE THE BUDGET. IT'S ESSENTIALLY THOSE PROJECTS AND CAPITAL EARMARKED ITEMS THAT ARE GOING FORWARD FROM FY 26. SO GOING INTO THIS IS JUST KIND OF A TREND CHART SHOWING YOU THAT COMPOSITION BREAKDOWN FROM FY 23. KIND OF A NICER WAY TO LOOK AT IT THAN FROM THIS DATA DENSE TABLE. YOU CAN KIND OF SEE THE GROWTH IN GENERAL FUND REVENUE AND HOW IT'S PRETTY MODEST AND STABLE. I DO WANT TO NOTE THAT YOU HAVE THAT 13.6 MILLION APPROPRIATION OF RESERVES FROM PRIOR YEAR AMENDED. THEY WEREN'T ACTUALLY WHAT WE ACTUALLY COLLECTED. THE HONEST COMPARISON IS FY 27 AGAINST WHAT FY 26 WILL ACTUALLY FINISH AT 135.8 MILLION VERSUS 133.4 MILLION, OR ROUGHLY A 1.8% CHANGE. SO MULTI YEAR MULTIYEAR TREND GROWTH IS REAL. SO FROM FY 24 TO FY 25 ACTUALS, WE'RE UP ROUGHLY 9.8% AND WE'RE UP ROUGHLY 18% SINCE FY 24. THAT'S TAXABLE VALUE RECOVERING. WE FIRST PASSED OUR PRE 2008 PEAK IN FY 23. SO RECOVERING FROM THAT 2008 CRASH, IT KIND OF ILLUSTRATES HOW LONG IT TAKES TO RECOVER FROM THOSE ECONOMIC IMPACTS. ONE FORWARD LOOKING NOTE IS THAT NEW CONSTRUCTION, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, FELL 11% THIS YEAR. SO JUST KIND OF EXPECT THAT GROWTH TO MODERATE. AND THAT WILL KIND OF IMPACT WHAT FUTURE REVENUE DOES LOOK LIKE. OKAY. SO NOW WE'RE GOING TO GET INTO GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES BY DEPARTMENT. AGAIN THIS IS A DATA DENSE TABLE, BUT REALLY TO SHOW YOU THAT GENERAL FUND SPENDING IS 135.8 MATCHES OUR OUR REVENUES AND IT'S DOWN ROUGHLY 9.9%. POLICE AND FIRE PUBLIC SAFETY ARE 70.70 6.7 MILLION OF THAT, OR ROUGHLY ABOUT 56%. AND BOTH ARE FULLY STAFFED WITH EVERY NEGOTIATED, INCREASED, FUNDED. SO RECREATION IS DOWN 39.5%. I WANT TO BE STRAIGHTFORWARD ABOUT WHY. AS MENTIONED EARLIER, THIS BUDGET INCLUDES A CLOSURE TO THE PALM BAY AQUATIC CENTER FOR FY 27 AND ELIMINATES THE O STAFFING CONTRACT IN THAT WHICH IMPACTS RECREATION. ONE LABELED TWO CLARIFIES GENERAL GOVERNMENT AT 20 MILLION. ISN'T A DEPARTMENT, IT'S YOUR TRANSFERS AND NON-DEPARTMENTAL COSTS, THINGS THAT DON'T NECESSARILY BELONG TO ONE DEPARTMENT OR ANOTHER. IT'S KIND OF CITY WIDE OR GENERAL FUND WIDE. AND THAT KIND OF TELLS YOU HOW TIGHT THIS BUDGET IS IN TERMS OF GETTING IT OPTIMIZED TO WHERE WE REALLY, REALLY WANTED TO GET IT AS CLOSE TO THAT REALLY STRAIGHT BALANCE WHERE THERE'S NO USE AND DEPENDENCY ON FUND BALANCE. WE DID RECEIVE OVER 181 GENERAL FUND REQUESTS TOTALING $31 MILLION, AND WE DIDN'T FIND ANY. SO THIS DOESN'T SHOW ANY CAPITAL. WITH THAT AND AS MENTIONED EARLIER, YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF DEFERRED ITEMS. WE RECEIVED MANY, MANY, MANY REQUESTS, BUT OF COURSE WE'RE LIMITED ON WHAT CAPACITY WE CAN ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISH. [00:45:02] AND THAT'S WHERE IN FUTURE AMENDMENTS, WE CAN GO AND LOOK AT FUNDING CAPITAL NEEDS BASED ON WHAT IS DETERMINED MOST NECESSARY AT THE TIME. SO THIS NOW THIS TABLE HERE BREAKS IT DOWN BY TYPE. THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SLIDES IN THIS SECTION. YOU'LL NOTE THAT 7,070% OF THE GENERAL FUND IS MADE UP OF PERSONNEL EXPENDITURES. AND IT GREW ROUGHLY 3.4% BECAUSE WE FUNDED NEGOTIATED INCREASES, 5% FOR GENERAL EMPLOYEES. THERE WAS 8% TO FOR IAFF 4 TO 7% ACROSS FOP UNITS, THREE PLUS TWO FOR NEIGE. ON TOP OF THAT, MANDATORY POLICE AND FIRE PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS ARE 15.3 OR UP 39%. SO THAT'S A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF THAT BUDGET IS AT THE PUBLIC SAFETY PENSIONS. THIS IS THE SINGLE LARGEST COST PRESSURE IN THE BUDGET. WE PAID FOR IT ALL BY CUTTING CAPITAL, 68% UNFUNDED POSITIONS WHERE NECESSARY AND WHERE FEASIBLE. AND THEN ESSENTIALLY BRINGING THAT FROM 14.7 MILLION DOWN TO 4.7 MILLION. OKAY. NOW WE GET INTO YOUR ENTERPRISE AND INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS. THIS IS WHERE THE OTHER BULK MAJORITY OF THAT REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES COME FROM. THESE ARE FUNDS THAT PAY FOR THEMSELVES. SO UTILITIES IS AT 162.7 MILLION TWO THIRDS OF THIS PICTURE AND NO PROPERTY TAX DOLLARS SUPPORT IT. SO ALL RATEPAYER BASED SOLID WASTE IS AT 19.6 MILLION STORMWATER AT 15.1 MILLION. AND I'LL NOTE THE SLIDE DOES SHOW THAT WE'RE AT 15 MILLION SOLID WASTE 19.6. AND THEN THE REMAINING OTHER IS THAT 40.4. THAT'S GOING TO BE YOUR FLEET RISK AND HEALTH INSURANCE FUNDS. SO NOT NECESSARILY YOUR TYPICAL UTILITY FUND RATEPAYERS. THESE ARE YOUR INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS. SO THE UTILITY STORY THIS YEAR IS CAPITAL $55.6 MILLION IN NEW FUNDING REQUESTS. 47.6 OF IT IS CAPITAL WORK. AND THEN THERE WERE TWO LARGE PROJECTS THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS BUDGET, A 50 52.1 MILLION PLANT REHABILITATION AND A 62.4 MILLION TREATMENT FACILITY EXPANSION. THOSE ARE PENDING BOND REQUESTS, AND EACH WOULD HAVE TO COME BACK TO YOU ALL TO APPROVE AT A AT A LATER COUNCIL SESSION. OKAY. AND GOING INTO THOSE EXPENDITURES AGAIN, YOU'RE JUST GOING TO SEE THIS BREAKDOWN BY THE FUNDS. UTILITIES OPERATING IS AT 85.3 MILLION, UTILITIES CAPITAL 77.4 MILLION AND COMBINED. THAT'S AROUND $93 MILLION IN CAPITAL INVESTMENTS AND IN THE WATER AND WASTEWATER SYSTEM, THE LARGEST SINGLE COMMITMENT IN THIS ENTIRE BUDGET. THE BIG PROJECTS ARE YOUR SEPTIC TO SEWER CONVERSION AT 5 MILLION, A FIELD OPERATIONS BUILDING AT 5 MILLION, LIFT STATION REHABILITATION AT 4 MILLION, AND SEWER SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS AT 3.5 MILLION. SOLID WASTE IS ALMOST ENTIRELY OPERATING BECAUSE THE COLLECTION IS ACTUALLY CONTRACTED OUT AND IT'S COVERING ITS COSTS. SO 20.5 MILLION IN REVENUE AGAINST 19.6 MILLION IN EXPENSE. SO NOW WE'RE GOING TO GET INTO OUR DEPARTMENT LEVEL REVIEW OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET. BUT FIRST I WANT TO TALK ABOUT OUR THEME FOR THIS YEAR. SO OUR FOCUS HAS BEEN AROUND BUDGET FOR A FISCALLY FIT FUTURE. AND THE FISCAL FITNESS HAS REALLY, FROM KICKOFF, BEEN OUR FOCUS FOR THIS YEAR. AND IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT HOW MANY CUTS CAN WE MAKE AND HOW FAST CAN WE MAKE THEM. IT'S ABOUT BUILDING A BUDGET THAT HAS A FINANCIALLY STABLE FUTURE. BECAUSE, AND THE EXAMPLE I GAVE IN THE ICEBREAKER WE DID WITH DEPARTMENTS THIS YEAR WAS WE ASKED EACH DEPARTMENT TO BUILD THEIR WORKOUT, AND WE GAVE EVERYBODY THE SAME AMOUNT OF ENERGY TO BURN, AND THEY COULD PICK THE DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES TO BUILD THEIR WORKOUT. THE GOAL WAS TO BURN THE MOST CALORIES, BUT IN A SUSTAINABLE WAY. SO WE BUILT IN WHERE THERE WAS A BONUS. IF YOU PICK DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES THAT HAD A BALANCED WORKOUT, IT WASN'T ALL STRENGTH, IT WASN'T ALL CARDIO, IT WAS AGILITY, STRENGTH, CARDIO. THERE WAS A NICE BALANCE. AND THE GOAL OF THAT WAS TO SHOW THAT IT'S NOT JUST ALWAYS ABOUT DOING THE MOST AND THE FASTEST. IT'S ABOUT BUILDING A BUDGET THAT WE CAN KEEP SUSTAINABLE FOR THE FUTURE. AND THAT IS WHAT WE STARTED OUR WHOLE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT THIS YEAR FOR AND WHAT WE'VE CARRIED THROUGH AT EACH LEVEL. SO REALLY, WHEN YOU GO THROUGH AND YOU SEE THESE DEPARTMENTS SNAPSHOTS, IT DOESN'T ALWAYS TELL THE FULL PICTURE BECAUSE WE GET THE QUESTION OF WILL THIS DEPARTMENT INCREASE OR THIS DEPARTMENT HAS A DECREASE, OR IT LOOKS LIKE IT STAYED THE SAME. BUT IN REALITY, ALL OF OUR OPERATING COSTS HAVE GONE UP YEAR TO YEAR. EVERY DEPARTMENT, EVEN WITH THEIR OPERATING MAXIMUM, HAD TO MAKE CUTS FROM THE GET GO BECAUSE THEIR COSTS ROSE. BUT THE BUDGET THAT THEY GOT FOR IT OR THE ALLOCATIONS DIDN'T CHANGE. SO THERE WAS THAT FIRST LEVEL OF CUT. SO SOME OF THE CUTS THAT YOU SEE TODAY ARE ON TOP OF OTHER CUTS THAT THEY'VE ALREADY HAD TO MAKE OPERATIONALLY. [00:50:06] WE ALWAYS START WITH OUR PERSONNEL SNAPSHOT. SO ACROSS ALL FUNDS, OUR TOTAL FOR PERSONNEL THIS YEAR IS 131.4 MILLION. IT IS A 3% INCREASE OVER THE FY 26 AMENDED. THE GENERAL FUND IS THE LARGEST PORTION OF 73%, WHICH PAYS FOR ALL OF THE SALARIES FOR POLICE, FIRE AND OUR GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENTS. THE UTILITIES OPERATING FUND HAS ABOUT 14%, AND THEY DO HAVE 24 OVER SEVEN OPERATIONS FOR WATER, WASTEWATER CREWS AND CRITICAL ALWAYS ON SERVICES BUILDING COMES IN AT 3% STORMWATER AT ABOUT 4%, AND OUR FLEET AND GRANT FUNDS ARE ABOUT 1.55%. WE HAVE SOME INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS LIKE HEALTH, OUR HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS AND RISKS THAT ARE 4% TOGETHER. THIS IS JUST A BREAKDOWN SHOWING YOU ALL OF THE DIFFERENT AMOUNTS. SO THE 73 OR 73% FOR GENERAL FUND COMES OUT TO ABOUT 95.8 MILLION. SO HOW DOES THAT GENERAL FUND BREAKDOWN? PREDOMINANTLY IT IS PUBLIC SAFETY. 40% IS POLICE, 31% IS FIRE. SO 71% OF THE GENERAL FUND PERSONNEL COSTS ARE PUBLIC SAFETY RELATED. PUBLIC WORKS, OUR INFRASTRUCTURE STAFFING, IT COMES IN ABOUT 8%. AND THEN OUR OTHER CORE SERVICES RUN A LITTLE BIT LEANER. PARKS AND FACILITIES IS AT 6%. IT IS ABOUT 3.3 MILLION AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT IS ABOUT 2.7 MILLION. AND THOSE ARE EACH ABOUT 3%. ALL OF THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS AS A WHOLE COME UP TO ABOUT A TOTAL OF 9%. AND THIS SHOWS YOU THE MONETARY BREAKDOWN OF EACH OF THOSE PERCENTAGES. OUR NON-DEPARTMENTAL AT THE BOTTOM. I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT IT IS A SMALL POSITION OR AMOUNT FOR LABOR DISTRIBUTION. SO WE DO HAVE SOME SERVICES THAT GO ACROSS GENERAL FUND TO SOME OF OUR OTHER ENTERPRISE SERVICES. SO WE DO HAVE THAT AS A SET ASIDE BUILT IN. SO GOING INTO OUR DEPARTMENT SUMMARIES, WE'RE GOING TO START OFF WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR FY 27. THEIR PROPOSED TOTAL DEPARTMENT BUDGET IS 42.8 MILLION. THAT IS ACROSS ALL OF THE FUNDS. THEY HAVE TWO FUNDING SOURCES FOR FY 27, PRIMARILY THE GENERAL FUND, WHERE ALL OF THEIR EXPENDITURES FOR PERSONNEL AND OPERATING ARE HOUSED. AND THEN THEY ALSO HAVE JUST UNDER 1.8 MILLION IN THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND. THESE ARE THEIR ONGOING PROJECTS. THEY'VE HAD SOME GRANT PROJECTS IN THE WORK, NOT ONLY FOR HARDENING AT THEIR HEADQUARTERS HERE, BUT ALSO FOR IMPROVEMENTS OUT AT THE RANGE. THEIR LARGEST PORTION OF THEIR BUDGET IS 91% OF IT IS PERSONNEL. FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IN FY 27, THEY'RE ACROSS ALL FUNDS. BUDGET IS $35.7 MILLION. ALL OF THAT IS PREDOMINANTLY THE GENERAL FUND. THEY DO HAVE A VERY MINOR $2,000 BUDGET IN THEIR DONATION FUND FOR NEXT YEAR, AND THEY UTILIZE THAT FOR FUNDING TOWARDS SOME OF THEIR TRAININGS. AGAIN, THEIR BIGGEST EXPENDITURE IS PERSONNEL AT 84%. FOR PUBLIC WORKS ACROSS ALL OF THEIR FUNDS, AND THEY DO HAVE QUITE A FEW. THEIR TOTAL FOR FY 27 IS 69.5 MILLION. A BIG PORTION OF THIS IS GOING TO BE YOUR STORMWATER UTILITY AT 15 MILLION AND THEIR SOLID WASTE ONE AT 19.5 MILLION. I WILL ADD A CAVEAT. AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE WE TALK ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT. YOU'LL SEE A SLIGHT INCREASE TO THE SOLID WASTE FUND BECAUSE THIS YEAR WE ARE MOVING IN THREE PERSONNEL. SO THERE'S GOING TO START SEE PERSONNEL EXPENDITURES OUT OF THAT FUND. SO SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT ARE INCLUDED FOR PUBLIC WORKS THIS YEAR IS THEY DO HAVE SOME BUDGET REQUESTS THAT WERE APPROVED. WE HAVE A WORK ORDER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM THAT IS BEING ADDED INTO THEIR FUND. WE ALSO HAD A SALARY ADJUSTMENT FOR THE CITY ENGINEER IN ORDER TO MAKE THE POSITION MORE COMPETITIVE AND GET IT ACTUALLY FILLED AND HELP WITH SOME OF THE TRAFFIC NEEDS. WE DID BUILT IN ADDITIONAL SALARY, RETIREMENT, AND TAXES. THEY ALSO HAVE A STORMWATER UTILITY PORTION FOR THE WORK ORDER SYSTEM AND AN IT INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADE THAT'S ALSO BEEN BEEN BUILT INTO THE BUDGET. THEY DID SEE SOME BUDGET REDUCTIONS. THEY HAVE BEEN CLOSELY MONITORING THEIR ELECTRICAL SERVICES. WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PULL BACK SOME MONEY FROM THAT ALLOCATION THIS YEAR, AND WE LOOK TO DO IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR, ABOUT 289,000. AND THEN THEY ALSO HAVE SOME TEMPORARY PERSONNEL REDUCTIONS TO ABOUT 262,000. ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHANGES WE HAD THIS YEAR IS MOVING SOME OF THEIR OPERATING EXPENSES FOR THE TRAFFIC OPS DIVISION OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND INTO THE LEGACY FUND. WE'RE TRYING TO ALIGN THE USE OF THAT FUND WITH THE ACTUAL OPERATING USE AND REDUCE THE IMPACT TO THE GENERAL FUND. SO THEY HAD ABOUT $1.7 MILLION OF OPERATING EXPENSES THAT WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE OFF OF THE BURDEN OF THE GENERAL FUND AND MOVE TO THE LEGACY FUND. YOU ALSO HAVE THE TRANSFER OF THE PERSONNEL TO THE SOLID WASTE FUND THAT I TALKED ABOUT. AND I DO WANT TO ADD A CAVEAT FOR THE STORMWATER UTILITY FUND. SO AS OF RIGHT NOW, THE IT INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADE AND WORK ORDER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ARE THE ONLY BUDGET REQUEST ITEMS THAT WE'VE ADDED IN FOR STORMWATER AS THEY WORK ON THEIR AUDIT [00:55:06] AND TELL US WHAT THE FUND BALANCE AVAILABILITY IS. WE DO HAVE PENDING CAPITAL OUTLAY, ITEMS THAT MIGHT ALSO BE ADDED IN FOR THE BUDGET, AND THEY DO HAVE ONGOING OPERATING PROGRAMS FOR STORMWATER MAINTENANCE TO ABOUT 1.5 MILLION THAT YOU MAY SEE COME FORWARD IN THE PROPOSED FINAL PROPOSED BUDGET. FOR OUR IT DEPARTMENT. IT'S JUST UNDER $8 MILLION FOR FY 27. THEY ARE FULLY FUNDED IN THE GENERAL FUND. THEY DO HANDLE ALL OF OUR CITYWIDE CYBERSECURITY INITIATIVES, AND RIGHT NOW THEY HAVE NO BUDGET REDUCTIONS ON THERE. BUT WE DO WANT TO ADD A NOTE THAT WITH ALL OF THE TEMPORARY FUNDING OF PERSONNEL, WE DO EXPECT TO SEE A BUDGET SAVINGS IN IT NEXT YEAR BECAUSE AS THOSE POSITIONS REMAIN UNFILLED, WE HAVE CELL PHONE SAVINGS. WE HAVE SOFTWARE SAVINGS FROM THE LICENSES THAT THOSE POSITIONS WOULD NORMALLY HOLD. SO WE DO HOPE TO SEE A BUDGETARY SAVINGS ON THE IT SIDE. THEY'VE ALSO BEEN VERY PROACTIVE IN WORKING ON REBATES WITH SOME OF OUR VENDORS AND PROVIDERS, TO WHERE WE HOPE TO SEE SOME OF THOSE SAVINGS COME THROUGH FOR THAT DEPARTMENT. FOR PARKS AND FACILITIES, THEIR TOTAL BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR IS 12.6 MILLION. THIS INCLUDES ADDING SOME FUNDING IN FOR THE WORK ORDER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, THEIR PORTION OF IT. AND THEN IT ALSO DOES CARRY A REDUCTION OF 134,000 RELATED TO THE CLOSURE OF THE AQUATIC CENTER. AND THEN THEY ALSO HAVE SOME POSITIONS SLATED FOR TEMPORARY FUNDING TO ABOUT THE $200,000. THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT HAS A BIG CHANGE FOR THIS YEAR, WITH THE HOUSING DIVISION COMING INTO IT. SO THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE SOME OF THE CHANGES. THE BIGGEST PORTION OF THAT IN THE CHANGE IS THE INTRODUCTION OF CONTRIBUTIONS. PART OF WHAT HOUSING DOES IS SOME OF THEIR AID TO OTHER PROGRAMS. SO THAT IS A NEW EXPENDITURE LINE ITEM YOU'LL SEE UNDER GROWTH MANAGEMENT. AND THAT'S ABOUT 17% OF THEIR BUDGET. OPERATING IS JUST UNDER 3.4 MILLION AND 44%. AND THEN THEIR PERSONNEL IS ABOUT 39% ARE 3 MILLION. THEY NOW CROSS THREE DIFFERENT FUNDS. SO THERE IS A GENERAL FUND PORTION THAT'S ABOUT 3 MILLION. THE NUISANCE FUND IS 271,000. AND THEN OUR GRANT FUNDS FOR HOUSING ARE JUST UNDER 4.5 MILLION. THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT HAS A TOTAL BUDGET NEXT YEAR OF 2.1 MILLION, IT IS PREDOMINANTLY OR 98% PERSONNEL. WE CARRY A $52,000 OPERATING BUDGET, AND OVERALL, THERE'S NO OTHER CHANGES OR REDUCTIONS RIGHT NOW FOR THAT DEPARTMENT. FOR 27, WE HAVE THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. IT'S ABOUT 1.1 MILLION FULLY FUNDED OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND. NOW, I WILL SAY THAT THE DEPARTMENT MADE VOLUNTARY CUTS TO THEIR OPERATING MAXIMUM, MEANING THEY REDUCED THEIR OPERATING CHARGES BY ABOUT $39,000 FOR NEXT YEAR. AND THEY ALSO HAVE A POSITION SLATED FOR TEMPORARY FUNDING, WHICH WOULD BE JUST UNDER $69,000. CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE HAS A TOTAL BUDGET NEXT YEAR OF $1.75 MILLION. IT IS FULLY FUNDED OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND, AND IT DOES HAVE TEMPORARY FUNDING OF A TOTAL OF FOUR POSITIONS THAT TOTAL FOR JUST UNDER $450,000. OVERALL, IT STILL HAS ABOUT A 69% PERSONNEL BUDGET AND 31% OPERATING BUDGET. FOR PROCUREMENT. THEIR BUDGET OVERALL NEXT YEAR IS JUST UNDER $750,000. THEY DO HAVE A ONE TIME APPROVAL OF A $31,000 TO CONTINUE THE OUTSIDE CONSULTING SERVICES DUE TO THEIR LIMITED STAFFING RIGHT NOW. THEY'VE EMPLOYED EMPLOYED AN OUTSIDE AGENCY TO HELP WITH SOME OF OUR LARGER SOLICITATIONS. WE DO EXPECT THAT TO GO BEYOND SEPTEMBER 30TH. SO WE ARE BUILDING IN A BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR TO CONTINUE THOSE. THEY HAVE ONE POSITION SLATED FOR TEMPORARY FUNDING FOR NEXT YEAR FOR A TOTAL OF $107,000. HUMAN RESOURCES HAS A TOTAL BUDGET NEXT YEAR ACROSS ALL OF ITS FUNDS AT 27.5%. THE LARGEST PORTION OF THAT IS THE EMPLOYEE HEALTH INSURANCE FUND, AND IT DID SEE AN INCREASE FOR THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF INSURANCE RISES AND INSURANCE CLAIMS. AND THEN THEY ALSO HAD AN INCREASE DUE TO EMPLOYEE PAYOUTS FOR THE SICK AND VACATION PAYOUTS. OVERALL, THEIR GENERAL FUND PORTION OF 1.2 MILLION DID HAVE A REDUCTION DUE TO THE TEMPORARY UNDERFUNDING OF A POSITION FOR FY 27. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT HAS A BUDGET NEXT YEAR OF 962,000, AND A LARGE PART OF THEIR MOVE OUT WAS THE HOUSING DIVISION. SO THEY NOW ONLY HAVE ONE FUND THEY DON'T HAVE ACROSS ANY OTHER FUNDS AT THIS TIME. AND THEY DO HAVE A TEMPORARY FUNDING OF A FEW POSITIONS FOR A TOTAL OF 358,000. THE RECREATION DEPARTMENT NEXT YEAR HAS A BUDGET OF 1.8 MILLION. IT IS ALL GENERAL FUND FUNDED FOR THE CLOSURE OF THE POOL. WE HAVE SOME VARYING NUMBERS, BUT WE DO KNOW ON THE OPERATING SIDE AND FOR PART TIME WAGES IT'S A REDUCTION OF 95,000. [01:00:03] FOR STAFFING. IT'S A FULL REDUCTION IS 663,000. AND THEN WE HAVE ADDITIONAL POSITIONS THAT ARE SLATED FOR FUNDING FOR NEXT YEAR, TO THE TUNE OF ABOUT 309,000. OVERALL PERSONNEL IS 78% OF THEIR BUDGET AND OPERATING IS 22%. THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE HAS A TOTAL BUDGET NEXT YEAR OF 8.7 MILLION. A LARGE PORTION OF THAT, THE MAJORITY OF IT IS IN THE RISK MANAGEMENT FUND, ABOUT EIGHT 8.1 MILLION. THE GENERAL FUND HAS ABOUT 548,000. THE BIGGEST PORTION OF IT IS THEY'RE OPERATING. THE PERSONNEL ONLY ACCOUNTS FOR ABOUT 22 MILLION. OUR BUILDING DEPARTMENT HAS A TOTAL BUDGET OF 6.9 MILLION FOR NEXT YEAR. IT'S FULLY FUNDED WITHIN ITS ENTERPRISE FUND, AND IT HAS ONE BUDGET ADJUSTMENT FOR NEXT YEAR, WHICH IS A MINOR UPGRADE FOR THE IT INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADE. MOST OF IT IS 65% PERSONNEL AND 35% OPERATING. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, IS OUR UTILITIES DEPARTMENT. OVERALL, ACROSS ALL OF ITS FUNDS FOR FY 27, IT HAS $162.7 MILLION BUDGET. THE BIGGEST PORTION OF IT IS GOING TO BE ALL OF THEIR CAPITAL PROJECTS. ABOUT 57% 15% IS THEIR DAY TO DAY OPERATING FUNDS AND 11% ARE THEIR PERSONNEL FUNDS. BIG HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE UTILITIES FUNDS INCLUDE 93.1 MILLION IN CAPITAL OUTLAY PROJECTS, AND THEY HAVE 24.9 MILLION IN OPERATING ADDITIONAL ITEMS THAT WERE ADDED FOR ONGOING MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS THAT THEY CAN CARRY TRAINING AND REPLACEMENT OF ALL OF THEIR EQUIPMENT. SO NOW WE'RE GOING TO GET INTO OUR TAXABLE VALUES AND MILLAGE RATES. SHANE HIGHLIGHTED THIS A LITTLE BIT EARLIER, BUT WE ARE CONSERVATIVE AND OUR STATE REVENUES. WE START WITH A BUDGETED AT A 5% REDUCTION. AND AROUND MID-AUGUST WE GET THE ACTUAL NUMBERS AND WE CHEW UP AT THAT TIME. OVERALL, THE TEN YEAR HISTORY OF THE TAXABLE VALUES. SO AS YOU CAN SEE, OUR CURRENT YEAR GROSS TAXABLE VALUE HAS CONTINUED TO INCREASE YEAR TO YEAR. THAT INCREASE IS GETTING A LITTLE BIT SLOWER AS WE GO ON. THERE WAS ABOUT A 7% INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR. AND AS MENTIONED, OUR NEW TAXABLE VALUE HAS ACTUALLY DROPPED OR DECREASED BY 11.3%. SO THIS IS OUR COMPARISON OF OUR REVENUE. OUR IN COMPARISON WITH OUR ADOPTED RATE, OUR 3% CAP RATE AND OUR ROLLBACK RATE. AS YOU CAN SEE FOR FY 27, OUR PROPOSED RATE IS OUR ROLLBACK RATE OF 6.6015. SO THIS IS JUST TO HIGHLIGHT THE DIFFERENT MILLAGE RATES THAT WE HAD THIS YEAR. WE ARE AT ROLLBACK WHICH IS THE PROPOSED FOR OUR 27 REVENUE. IT'S ABOUT 70.5 MILLION. IT'S AN AND IT'S AN INCREASE OF 5.4%. NOW WE DID ADD IN DOWN BELOW. WE HAD SOME STATUTORY CHANGES EVERY YEAR. MOVING FORWARD. THE STATE HAS SAID WE WILL START AT ROLLBACK AS OUR STARTING POINT. SO TO GO ABOVE ROADMAP AUTOMATICALLY REQUIRES A TWO THIRDS VOTE. IF WE STAY AT ROLLBACK OR BELOW, IT'S THREE THREE OUT OF FIVE VOTES. JUST THE REGULAR MAJORITY. SO THIS IS THE COMPARISON. THE TAX BILL MILLAGE RATE IMPACTS. SO WE'VE DONE THE BREAKDOWN FROM PROPERTY VALUATION STARTING AT 25000 ON UP TO SHOW WHAT THE ESTIMATED TAX COSTS WOULD BE FOR EACH OF THE HOMEOWNERS AND THE ANNUAL REVENUE THAT WE WOULD SEE. SO STARTING AT A PROPERTY VALUATION OF ABOUT 25000. BASED OFF THE ROLLBACK RATE, YOU WOULD EXPECT TO SEE AN ANNUAL COST OF $165.04 ON UP TO A $350,000 HOUSE. YOU WOULD GO UP TO ABOUT $2,310.53. IN COMPARISON, YOUR ANNUAL COST CHANGE IS BETWEEN THE CURRENT PROPOSED OF 6.7, AND THE ROLLBACK GOES FROM $2.46 UP TO $34.47. AND THEN WE ALSO DID SOME OF OUR HIGHER VALUE HOMES. THIS WOULD RANGE FROM A $400,000 PROPERTY EVALUATION, WOULD BE ABOUT $2,640.60, UP TO 49, 5113, AND THE ANNUAL COST VARIANCE WOULD BE $39.40 TO $73.88. ON THE DEBT MILLAGE RATE, WE HAVE A CHANGE IN THE MILLAGE RATE FROM LAST YEAR, WHICH WAS 0.9993 TO 0.9385. THIS DIFFERENCE RESULTS IN A SAVINGS ON THE DEBT MILLAGE SIDE. SO IF YOU HAVE A VALUATION OF $50,000, YOU WENT FROM A TAX BILL OF $49.97 TO $46.93. SO ABOUT A SAVINGS OF $3.04 ON UP TO A $400,000 TAXABLE, IT WAS $399.72 [01:05:05] LAST YEAR. THIS YEAR IT'LL BE $375.40. A VARIANCE OF $24.32. SO WE USE WE TAKE AN EXAMPLE OF A HOUSE HOME HERE IN PALM BAY. AND THIS IS THE HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE HOME TO SHOW THE IMPACT OF THE SAVE OUR HOMES AND WHAT PERCENTAGE IS ACTUALLY PAID TOWARDS PALM BAY. SO THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A HOUSE BASED OFF THEIR 2025 INFORMATION. YOU CAN SEE THAT THE MARKET VALUE WENT DOWN. THE IMPACT OF OUR SAVE OUR HOMES WAS ABOUT 159,400. THEIR ASSESSED VALUE STARTED AT 87,670. AND THEN THEY HAD TAX EXEMPTIONS OF 50,722. SO WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, THEY HAD A TAXABLE VALUE OF 36,948. BASED OFF OF OUR CURRENT RATE THAT FOR 20 FOR 2025 TAXABLE VALUE, WHICH WAS FY 26, IT WAS $0.55. SO OF THEIR TOTAL TAX BILL FOR 2025, BETWEEN THE REGULAR MILLAGE RATE FOR THE CITY AND THE DEBT BOND, $284.47 WENT TO THE CITY OF PALM BAY. THAT WAS 34.3% OF THEIR TAX BILL. THE LARGEST PORTION OF THEIR TAX BILL, 47.6%, WENT TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, 16.3% WENT TO BREVARD COUNTY, AND 1.8 WAS FOR SPECIAL DISTRICTS. WE'VE UPDATED OUR DOLLAR BECAUSE WE KNOW EVERYBODY LIKES TO SEE THE DOLLAR SPLIT. WE DO HAVE SOME CHANGES FROM LAST YEAR. THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS BACK AS THE LARGEST PORTION OF THE DOLLAR BILL AT $0.30 ON THE DOLLAR FIRE IS AT $0.26. OUR DEBTS AND TRANSFER AND TRANSFERS AND DEBT SERVICE ACCOUNT FOR 8% ON THE $0.08 ON THE DOLLAR, AND PUBLIC WORKS IS $0.07 ON THE DOLLAR. IT. PARKS AND FACILITIES AND OUR NON-DEPARTMENTAL ARE OR ABOUT $0.06 ON THE DOLLAR. GROWTH MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE ARE ABOUT $0.02. LEGISLATIVE. THE CITY MANAGER. PROCUREMENT, HR, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND RECREATION ARE. PENNY AND THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IS LESS THAN $0.01 ON THE DOLLAR. SO OVERALL, WE'VE GONE THROUGH ALL OF OUR BUDGET WORKSHOPS. WE'VE PRESENTED THE PROPOSED BUDGET. OUR FIRST PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE BUDGET WILL BE ON SEPTEMBER 9TH, OR WE WILL DO OUR FLORIDA TODAY PUBLICATION ON SEPTEMBER 18TH AND HOLD OUR SECOND HEARING ON SEPTEMBER 23RD. OUR 30 DAY DEADLINE FOR BUDGET ADOPTION WILL BE OCTOBER 23RD. SO YOU WILL SEE OUR FY 26 CLEAN UP OF THE BUDGET ADOPTION IN THOSE FIRST TWO MEETINGS. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME? I THINK THE FIRST ONE TO TO BUZZ IN QUITE EARLY WAS COUNCILMAN. JOHNSON. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I CAN WAIT BECAUSE I HAVE A LOT. SO IS IT QUESTIONS OR IS IT MORE DISCUSSIONS? BOTH. OKAY. CAN WE JUST HANDLE THE QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW? ALL RIGHT. SO THIS ONE I'LL START WITH THIS MAY GO TO OUR CITY MANAGER, MR. MORTON. THANK YOU, MA'AM, FOR THE PRESENTATION. THANK YOU, SIR, FOR THE PRESENTATION. DO WE YOU MENTIONED A HALF A MILLION IN UNCOLLECTED STORMWATER FEES. HAVE YOU ARE WE IN THE EARLY PHASES OF LOOKING AT IDEAS OF HOW TO RECOVER THAT BECAUSE OUR RESIDENTS ARE DOING THEIR DUE DILIGENCE AND PAYING THOSE STORMWATER FEES WHILE WE HAVE OTHERS WHO AREN'T. SO ARE WE JUST KIND OF IN THE BEGINNING PHASES OF EXPLORING OR SO THAT THAT 500 WAS JUST ONE TRANSFER? I THINK THE TOTAL DEFICIT THAT YEAR OF UNCOLLECTED UNCOLLECTIBLE REVENUE WAS ABOUT A MILLION AND A HALF, WHICH IS SIGNIFICANT. AND WE ARE MORE THAN IN THE DISCUSSION PHASES. IT'S AN ISSUE WE IDENTIFIED 6 OR 7 MONTHS AGO AND HAVE BEEN PUTTING STRATEGIES. SO CURRENTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW WE CAN ONLY DO IT ON AN ANNUAL CYCLE IS IF YOU'RE UNPAID, WE'VE MOVED TO A CODE MAGISTRATE IN A LEAN SCENARIO JUST TO STOP LOSING REVENUE. IDEALLY IN A PERFECT WORLD, AND I'M NOT A POLICYMAKER, BUT I WILL TELL YOU, IT SHOULD BE BACK AS PART OF YOUR, IN MY OPINION, AS PART OF YOUR ANNUAL AD VALOREM FOR EVERYONE. AND THEN IT'S TO YOUR POINT, EVERYONE'S PAYING. THEY'RE ALREADY PAYING. LET'S MAKE SURE THOSE, THOSE FEW, THAT SIGNIFICANT MONEY ARE, ARE PAYING THEIR FAIR SHARE PORTION AS WELL AS SOME LARGE LANDOWNERS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT DON'T PAY AT ALL. AND SO IT NEEDS TO BE A TEAM EFFORT IN MY OPINION. OKAY. THANK YOU SIR. AND I KNOW WE MENTIONED IT A FEW MEETINGS AGO IN REGARDS TO ERP LONG TERM, DO WE SEE COST SAVINGS IN REGARDS TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ERP? I THINK I THINK EVENTUALLY WE'LL FIND SOME EFFICIENCIES. I THINK THE REAL VALUE IN THE ERP IS GOING TO BE IN THE TRANSPARENCY. AGAIN, IT'S PART OF THE REASON WE STRUGGLE WITH SOME OF THESE NUMBERS IS IT'S VERY HARD TO TRACK. WE'RE VERY HARD TO BUILD OVER THE YEARS. WE'RE GETTING A NOD FROM THE GUY WHO SPENDS ALL DAY ON THE COMPUTER AND IS AN EXPERT, TRULY ONE OF THE BEST EXPERTS I'VE EVER MET. [01:10:05] AND SO, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO ACCOUNT, YOU KNOW, LIKE WITH THE NEW KEY CARD SWITCH WHERE WE CAN LITERALLY SEE BILLS CURRENT INSTEAD OF WAITING SIX MONTHS, WE CAN TELL YOU WHAT PEOPLE ARE SPENDING ON A WEEKLY BASIS, MONTHLY BASIS. BE ABLE TO TRACK, BE ABLE TO AUDIT. I THINK THIS IS JUST MY PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE AND I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE, BUT I THINK ANY EFFICIENCY YOU ARE EVER SOLD IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY GENERALLY NEVER PANS OUT TO BE A SAVINGS, BECAUSE WHAT I'VE ALWAYS FOUND IN MY LIFE EXPERIENCE IS WE REALLOCATE THOSE RESOURCES TOWARDS ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL OR LICENSING TO SUPPORT THAT TECHNOLOGY CHANGE. SO I DON'T SEE A HUGE COST SAVINGS, BUT I DO SEE SOME COSTS, BUT, BUT MAINLY EFFICIENCY AND TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IS GOING TO BE MUCH EASIER FOR EVERYONE, YOU, THE PUBLIC, EVERYBODY TO SEE. AND THAT IS A HUGE WIN. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. SPEAKING OF PERSONNEL TO THE DISCUSSION, DEPUTY MAYOR JAFFE BROUGHT UP IN REGARDS TO OFFICERS AND SROS YOU CRUNCHED THE NUMBERS IN TO FULLY FIT. AN OFFICER WAS. WAS IT AROUND 100,000 OR. FROM FROM. I'D HAVE TO REFRESH THAT. BUT I THINK WE'RE CLOSER TO 150 OR 170 FOR YEAR ONE BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT SOME YEAR ONE PURCHASES, YOU'VE GOT A VEHICLE, RIGHT. THEN YOU HAVE THE FIVE, FIVE OR WHATEVER YOUR LIFE CYCLE. WE'VE GOT SOME TRAINING, WE'VE GOT FTO TIME, WE'VE GOT I THINK THE NUMBER IS HIGHER. WE CAN REFRESH IT. I DON'T RECALL THE EXACT NUMBER. OKAY, SO ESTIMATED 150 TO 170. THE REASON WHY I ASK COCO HAS SHIFTED THEIR DISPATCH TO BREVARD COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE. SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE WORTH TO HAVE A DISCUSSION WITH THEM TO SEE HOW THINGS ARE GOING AND IF THEY'RE HAPPY WITH THE PROCESS. BUT WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT 2.5 TO 4 MILLION, THAT'S ANYWHERE FROM 30, POTENTIALLY 35 OFFICERS THAT WE CAN GET ON THE ROAD. SO THAT'S THAT'S WHY I ASKED THAT QUESTION, SIR. I THINK I HAVE TWO MORE AND THEN I'M, I'M GOOD. LET'S SEE. DEPUTY MAYOR JAFFE BROUGHT UP HEALTH INSURANCE AND SPEAKING WITH SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER MATT SUZANNE. I SEE THE NUMBER IN REGARDS TO 21 MILLION, AND I'M ALSO THINKING BACK TO HOW CIGNA AND HEALTH FIRST WERE HAVING THIS FEUD ALL THE WAY UP UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE IN REGARDS TO NEGOTIATIONS AND JUST THE UNCERTAINTY OF THAT. I DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE'S BEEN A DISCUSSION SINCE IN REGARDS TO HEALTH INSURANCE OR JUST EXPLORING OTHER OPTIONS. SO THAT'S EITHER FOR YOU OR DEPUTY MAYOR JAFFEE. I DON'T, I REMEMBER WE TALKED ABOUT IT ABOUT A MONTH OR TWO AGO. SO THAT'S THE NEXT QUESTION. HAS THERE BEEN ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION IN THAT AREA OR NOT YET. SO IT'S A NEED. IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY. I HAVE NOT ENGAGED ANY FORMAL STUDIES OR ANALYSIS. I THINK THIS YEAR IN THE GAP, I JUST FOUND OUT THIS MORNING AN HR DIRECTOR, MISS CLAUSEN, CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT WE'LL LIKELY SEE AN INCREASE IN THE EMPLOYEE SHARE PREMIUM AGAIN FOR SOME HEALTH CARE TO COVER SOME OF THE RISE IN THAT COST. THAT'S THE PERCENTAGE BREAK WILL DEMAND THAT. BUT I THINK ULTIMATELY IT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED BY YOU. COUNCILMAN JOHNSON, DEPUTY MAYOR, ABOUT INVESTIGATING. IF WE CAN, YOU KNOW, CHANGE THE INPUTS TO GET A BETTER OUTPUT ON HEALTH CARE. THAT'S SOMETHING I'M HOPING TO TO DIG INTO THIS YEAR. I'VE SORT OF SET SORT OF THE TOPIC OF, OF THE AUDITS, BUT WE CAN AND FUND SAVINGS, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT. YES, SIR. TWO MORE QUESTIONS, MAYOR. I LIKE THAT YOU BROUGHT UP FINANCE AND PROCUREMENT IN REGARDS TO WORKING TOGETHER. I REMEMBER A YEAR AGO YOU FOUND THAT IN CHANGE ORDERS, IT WAS ABOUT HALF $1 MILLION THAT WE COULD WORK TOWARDS WORKING BETTER IN REGARDS TO PROCUREMENT. SO MY QUESTION AND THIS IS MORE SO FOR US JUST THINKING, MOVING FORWARD FOR YOU, MR. GROGAN, WHILE WE HAVE HIM POTENTIALLY HOW MUCH COULD BE SAVED THROUGH OUR PROCUREMENT PROCESS WITH MORE COMPETITIVE BIDS, BETTER COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS AND UTILIZING DESIGN, BUILD OR SEE MORE WHEN BENEFICIAL? BECAUSE EVEN WITH OUR ENTERPRISE FUNDS, EVEN WITH OUR ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS UTILITIES, WE'VE SEEN WHAT HAPPENED IN REGARDS TO WE HAD TO GO A DIFFERENT ROUTE IN REGARDS TO GETTING THE PLANT OPERATIONAL. BUT THANK GOODNESS WE WERE BLESSED WITH CATHCART. BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE MILLIONS THAT WERE LOST PRIOR. I'M JUST I DON'T KNOW WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, PREVENTED THAT. BUT IN REGARDS TO MOVING FORWARD, WHAT COULD WE DO TO MAKE SURE EVERY PURCHASE IS AS COMPETITIVE AS POSSIBLE IN 2030. WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE WASTE WASTE SANITATION CONTRACT UP FOR, YOU KNOW, UP FOR BID. LAST TIME THERE WAS ONLY TWO BIDDERS. SO EVEN CONVERSATIONS LIKE THAT OF HOW WE CAN JUST SQUEEZE EVERY DOLLAR WE CAN IN REGARDS TO BEING COMPETITIVE. SO YEAH, MR. GRAHAM, I WANT TO ANSWER IF HE WANTS, BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK ONE OF THE TREMENDOUS VALUES AMONG MANY VALUES THAT MR. GEOGHEGAN HAS BROUGHT WITH HIS WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE IS I THINK. I THINK WE UNDERSTAND THE MECHANICS SIDE. WE'RE MAKING BETTER DECISIONS. WE'RE BEING MORE ACCOUNTABLE. MR. GEOGHEGAN REALLY IS IMPRESSED ON US IS IT'S A CLIENT RELATIONSHIP AS WELL. AND THE CITY IS A CUSTOMER AS MUCH AS IT IS A CLIENT. [01:15:03] AND SO WE NEED TO HAVE A STRONG PRESENCE WITH OUR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS TO ATTRACT BIDDERS, WE NEED TO PROVE THAT WE ARE WORTH DOING BUSINESS WITH, THAT WE'RE CONSISTENT AND RELIABLE. IN FACT MR. GEOGHEGAN INSPIRED ME SO MUCH, AND SO DID SOMEBODY ELSE HERE THAT I PERSONALLY DROVE UP AND MET A VENDOR LAST FRIDAY AND DELIVERED A CHECK THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DELIVERED MONTHS AGO FOR 660,000 AND APOLOGIZED AND SAID, THIS IS NOT THE THE REPUTATION THE CITY OF PALM BAY IS EVER STRIVING TO GIVE OFF. WE WANT TO BE RELIABLE, CONSISTENT PARTNERS. AND WHEN WE HAVE THAT PARTNERSHIP LIKE CATHCART HAS EXTENDED TO US EVEN THROUGH SOME TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS, THERE'S OTHER WHOLE SIDE OF IT THAT WE NEED TO BE PRESSING INTO THAT WE'LL GET WE HAVE WE'VE GOTTEN BETTER SERVICE, MORE RELIABLE SERVICE, BETTER VALUE FOR OUR DOLLAR. YOU KNOW, MORE COMPETITIVENESS. SO I THINK WE'VE GOT THE STRUCTURAL SAVINGS SIDE THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO DELIVER THROUGH THE DIFFERENT BIDDING STRATEGIES, OPENING OUR BIDDING, THE BIDDER EDUCATION THAT THAT WE CONTINUE TO DO. DAVID HAS LEFT US SORT OF A HIGH LEVEL PLAYBOOK. MR. GRAY HAS LEFT US A HIGH LEVEL PLAYBOOK OF THINGS TO LOOK AT AND ALSO MANAGING THAT CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP. I WILL SAY WE'RE STRUGGLING WITH SOME RECRUITMENTS RIGHT NOW. I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, BUT I ALSO BELIEVE MR. GRAY HAS LEVERAGED HIS NETWORK EXTENSIVELY FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. I THINK HE BELIEVES IN THE CITY OF PALM BAY AND THINKS WE'RE ON THE CUSP OF BEING A MODEL GOVERNMENT FOR THE STATE. LONG STORY SHORT, I THINK WE HAVE 35 OR SOMEWHERE IN THAT NUMBER OF QUALIFIED APPLICANTS THAT HAVE APPLIED FOR THIS POSITION. I THINK MR. GRAY HAS IDENTIFIED 7 OR 8. YOU GUYS CAN CORRECT ME, BUT BUT THERE'S SOME HIGH LEVEL, AMAZING CALIBER INDIVIDUALS. SO I THINK IT PROVES OUT THAT APPROACH, THAT RELATIONSHIP, THAT REPUTATION MATTERS TO PEOPLE, NOT JUST TO THE VENDORS AND TO OUR EMPLOYEES, TO PROSPECTIVE PEOPLE WE DO BUSINESS WITH, TO EMPLOYERS BRINGING IN ADDITIONAL FOLKS INTO TOWN THAT THESE RELATIONSHIPS MATTER. SO I THINK HOLISTICALLY, THAT'S HOW WE'RE GOING TO APPROACH PROCUREMENT THIS YEAR. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. LAST QUESTION GOING BACK TO A CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD ON THE DAIS WITH DEPUTY MAYOR JAFFE, YOU BROUGHT UP UTILITIES. AND WHEN WE LOOK AT COMMUNITIES LIKE PORT SAINT LUCIE, THE REASON WHY THEY'RE ABLE TO GET A LOT MORE COMMERCIAL, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE A GDC COMMUNITY JUST LIKE US IS THEY HAD THE, THE WATER AND SEWER, THEY HAD MANDATORY WATER AND SEWER YEARS BEFORE US. SO THEY'RE ABLE TO GET THINGS ACCOMPLISHED BEFORE US WITH UTILITIES. HAVE YOU SEEN WHERE IF CITIES WERE TO SELL THEIR UTILITIES? I KNOW IT WAS A NO IN REGARDS TO THE DISCUSSION, BUT JUST ASKING THE QUESTION TO YOU HAVE YOU SEEN THAT WHEN CITIES HAVE SOLD THEIR UTILITIES TO A PRIVATE COMPANY, THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY GET THOSE MAIN LINES UNDERNEATH AND GET THINGS MOVING? BECAUSE THE REASON WHY I'M ASKING THAT IS SO THAT WAY WE CAN HAVE MORE PAD READY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND MORE, MORE COMMERCIAL IN THAT SENSE. I'VE GOT A TWO PART ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION. SO MY KNOWLEDGE OF THAT IS NOT COMPLETELY EXHAUSTIVE, TO BE VERY HONEST. SO IN MY RECOLLECTION OF THE LAST TIME I DID RESEARCH IS NOT THAT LONG AGO, ONLY SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF IF I'M REMEMBERING CORRECTLY AND PLEASE VERIFY, BUT IT WAS 10 TO 15 CITIES OR ORGANIZATIONS IN AMERICA IN THE LAST DECADE OR DECADE AND A HALF HAVE SOLD THEIR PUBLIC UTILITY. AND I THINK THREE OF THOSE, MAYBE FOUR, WERE TRYING TO GET THEM BACK. I'VE CONTRACTED EXTENSIVELY IN MY CAREER WITH VEOLIA, NORTH AMERICA, AMERICAN WATER, DIFFERENT SERVICE PROVIDERS FOR UTILITIES. IT'S LIKE A LOT OF THESE CONTRACTS, YOUR FIRST YEARS, YOU'RE CHEAPEST, YOU LOSE A LOT OF RATE CONTROL, OPERATIONAL CONTROL. THE COSTS REMAIN THE SAME FOR THEM. BUT ON TOP OF PROVISION OF SERVICE, THEY'RE TRYING TO EKE OUT A PROFIT FOR SHAREHOLDERS WHO PROBABLY RESIDE IN PORTUGAL OR, YOU KNOW, WE WORKED WITH AN ENERGY COMPANY AND THEIR BULK OF THEIR BOARD IS OVERSEAS. SO WE'RE SENDING OUR TAX DOLLARS OVERSEAS. JUST THINGS TO THINK ABOUT. BUT WHAT I WILL SAY IS, IS REALLY ENCOURAGING IS, YOU KNOW, UNDER UNDER GABRIEL'S LEADERSHIP AND HIS COMMITMENT TO DEVELOPING TIME AND TALENT. WE'VE DEFINITELY HAD SOME FOIBLES, RIGHT, THAT I THINK WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF POSITIVE TRACTION. WASTEWATER PLANT DELIVERY WAS STELLAR, BUT THEY JUST COMPLETED A WATER MAIN EXTENSION. I WANT TO SAY THIS VERY CLEARLY. AND GABRIEL, IF I GET A FIGURE WRONG, PLEASE JUMP UP AND SAY YOU GOT IT WRONG. BUT WE DID IT FOR THE PACE WATER MAIN EXTENSION, THE 12 INCH MAIN, I BELIEVE WITH 2 OR 3 FIRE HYDRANTS. WE DID THAT PROJECT IN-HOUSE, COMPETENTLY, COMPETITIVELY TIMELY, AND IT ALMOST A 70% COST SAVINGS FROM THE LOWEST BID. AND THAT PROJECT IS NOW LIVE AND ACTIVE. SO HE HAS BEEN BUILDING CONFIDENCE. HE HAS BEEN BUILDING PROFESSIONALISM, HE HAS BEEN BUILDING CAPABILITY INTO THE UTILITIES DEPARTMENT. AND SO RIGHT THERE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS GRANT THAT WE ALL THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO GET. I HAD HIGH HOPES. WE WERE TOLD WONDERFUL THINGS. AT SOME POINT WE'RE GOING TO PULL THAT TRIGGER AND COME BACK AND SAY, YOU KNOW, THE EXTERNAL BID WAS 3 OR $4 MILLION. WE BELIEVE WE CAN DO IT FOR 60 TO 70% LESS. WE'D LIKE PERMISSION TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE THOSE UTILITIES INTO THE COMPOUND FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. SO I THINK WE'RE BUILDING SOME ADVANTAGES THAT WE SHOULD BE VERY PROUD OF IN OUR UTILITIES DEPARTMENT INTO THE SYSTEM. THANK YOU, MR. MORTON, AND THANK YOU, GABRIEL. AND YOU KNOW, I JUST HAD TO I'M COMPELLED TO JUST LET YOU KNOW THERE ARE SIMILARITIES WITH PORT SAINT LUCIE RIE, [01:20:01] YOU KNOW, RE-EMPHASIZING THAT THEY WE WERE BOTH GENERAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION FOUNDED, BUT I THINK IT STOPS THERE. IF YOU TRACK WHAT THEY DID INFRASTRUCTURE WISE WHERE THE FOLKS WERE ABLE TO MAKE PAYMENTS ON THAT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT I THINK THAT THEY WERE NEVER WITH A 3% CAP. SO THERE, THERE'S DEFINITELY A LOT OF VARIABLES THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO OVERCOME. THEY HAD THOSE TOOLS AVAILABLE. DOES THAT CONCLUDE YOUR QUESTIONS? I'LL START. COUNCILMAN LANGEVIN, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OTHER THAN DISCUSSIONS YOU WANT TO GET INTO FROM STAFF? OKAY. I HAVE A QUESTION FOR MATT. YES, SIR. CARRY ON. OKAY. I DIDN'T SEE HE LEFT. I DIDN'T SEE HE LEFT. I DIDN'T SEE. OKAY, SO YOU WANT ME TO HOLD OFF? YEAH. GO AHEAD. DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YEAH, FOR MR. MORTON, I DO. I, I MEAN, I HAVE I HAVE ONE NOW FOR THE FOR THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. I KNOW YOU KNOW, LITIGATION HAS BEEN A THING THAT'S BEEN GROWING AND SINCE I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL, A LOT OF IT SEEMS FRIVOLOUS, BUT DOESN'T MEAN YOU STILL DON'T HAVE TO DEFEND A LAWSUIT, WHETHER IT'S FRIVOLOUS OR NOT. BUT MY QUESTION IS WE HAVE SEVERAL POSITIONS THAT ARE, THAT ARE FILLED. DO THEY NEED TO BE FILLED? CAN WE CAPTURE THOSE MONIES BACK TO THE GENERAL FUND? OR INSTEAD OF FILLING THOSE POSITIONS, CAN THAT MONEY BE USED FOR OUTSIDE LAW FIRMS? I KNOW YOU'RE USING THAT MONEY CURRENTLY NOW FOR OUTSIDE LAW FIRMS, BUT INSTEAD OF FILLING THOSE POSITIONS THAT AREN'T FILLED WITH PERMANENT FULL TIME EMPLOYEES. CAN THAT MONEY BE CAPTURED BACK INTO THE GENERAL FUND OR CAN ANSWER THAT? YES. I WILL TELL YOU, ESSENTIALLY, THE MODEL THAT WE BUILT STARTED BACK WHEN I FIRST STARTED IN 2011. IT IS MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE TO OUTSOURCE THESE TO OUTSIDE COUNSEL THAN IT IS TO DO IT IN-HOUSE, WHICH IS WHY ACTUALLY I WAS HIRED BECAUSE WE NEEDED TO BRING IN CASES AND HAVE THE LITIGATION CAPABILITIES. WE HAVE TWO POSITIONS AS FAR AS ATTORNEY POSITIONS, ONE OF WHICH I HAVE NOT FILLED, THE OTHER, YES, I DESPERATELY NEED TO FILL IT. I HAVE WE JUST DID INTERVIEWS. I HAD A FEW CANDIDATES. I'VE GOT IN THE WORKS, THE HR. BUT IF WE DON'T HAVE THAT PERSON IN-HOUSE, WE WILL SPEND SIGNIFICANTLY MORE HAVING TO OUTSOURCE ANYTHING THAT WE DO WITH OUTSIDE COUNSEL, EVEN WITH ME BEING ABLE TO NEGOTIATE WITH SOME OF THEM TO GET GOVERNMENT RATES, IT'S JUST VERY EXPENSIVE TO HAVE OUTSIDE COUNSEL. YEAH, I MEAN, I WOULD AGREE WITH THAT. I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, IF I WAS A CONVERT, HOW MANY HOURS YOU WORK A WEEK OVER A COURSE OF A YEAR, AND WHAT WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY AN OUTSIDE COUNSEL WOULD BE FOUR TIMES THE AMOUNT AND OUTSIDE LEGAL FEES. I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF THE UNFILLED POSITIONS, THE ONE IN PARTICULAR SAID THAT ISN'T FILLED, IT WON'T BE FILLED AT THAT. THAT'S MONEY THAT COULD BE ALLOCATED SOMEWHERE ELSE. OR YOU KNOW, YOU PREFER TO RETAIN. WELL, I DON'T IT'S NOT BUDGETED. ESSENTIALLY WHAT I ASKED FOR IS JUST NOT TO LOSE MY FTE, YOU KNOW, THE EMPLOYEE POSITION. BUT AS FAR AS THE ONLY ONE THAT I AM NOT FEELING IS THE WORKER'S COMP POSITION. I DO KEEP THAT BECAUSE I TRIED BEFORE AND WAS UNABLE TO FIND WORKER'S COMP. TRIED AGAIN TO FIND SOMEONE LABOR, EMPLOYMENT, IT WOULD ACTUALLY BE QUITE BENEFICIAL. I JUST LIKE I SAID, I HAVE HIGH STANDARDS AND I DON'T HIRE ANYBODY. IT'S FOR THE CITY'S PROTECTION. AND ALSO I'M RESPONSIBLE. AND IT'S MY BAR LICENSE. BUT IT WOULD BE VERY BENEFICIAL AS FAR AS MY OUTSIDE COUNSEL IF I HAD SOMEONE FOR LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT. SO IT'S I DON'T WANT TO GET RID OF THAT IN CASE I ACTUALLY FOUND THE RIGHT PERSON, BECAUSE LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT SERVICES STILL ARE THE TOP USE OF MY OUTSIDE COUNSEL BUDGET. AND IT HAS BEEN FOR THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SINCE WE HAD JIM STOLTZ. AND THE ONLY DIFFERENCE WAS BECAUSE JIM STOLTZ ACTUALLY IS A BOARD CERTIFIED LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAWYER, SO HE COULD DO MORE. SO THAT CONTINUES TO BE THE LARGEST USE OF OUTSIDE COUNSEL. SO I'VE NOT DONE ANYTHING IN THE HOPE THAT MAYBE, YOU KNOW, I CAN DO SOMETHING WITH IT. IT IS HARD TO GET ATTORNEYS IN PALM BAY. WE ARE NOT FRS AS FAR AS THE ATTORNEYS THAT ARE LOOKING TO GO INTO GOVERNMENT, WE'RE GOING TO PAY LESS THAN BEING ABLE TO USE YOUR SERVICES ON OUTSIDE AT A PRIVATE CORPORATION. AND THEN WE'RE WE'RE COMPETING WITH ALL THE OTHER GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES, MANY OF WHICH ARE FRS, YOU KNOW, EMPLOYERS AND THE AREA IN WHICH WE ARE WE DO HAVE GREAT THINGS AS FAR AS THE OUR LOCATION AS YOU CAN GET MORE HOUSE HERE THAN [01:25:01] ANYWHERE ELSE, BUT IT IS DIFFICULT SOMETIMES AND VERY COMPETITIVE TO BE ABLE TO GET ATTORNEYS HERE IN OUR OFFICE, ESPECIALLY THE ONES THAT ARE GOING TO BE HIGH QUALITY AND ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO GIVE US THE BIGGEST BANG FOR OUR BUCK, BECAUSE I REALLY AM TRYING TO GET BEYOND JUST NICHE ATTORNEYS TO GET MORE ATTORNEYS THAT ARE LIKE ME AND I KNEW EARLY THAT HAVE BROAD BASED EXPERIENCE AND SO THAT WE CAN USE MORE INTERNALLY, WHICH IS WHAT THE INITIAL MODEL WAS BASED UPON. THANK YOU FOR THE EXPLANATION. ALL RIGHT. I'M GOING TO GO BACK TO COUNCILMAN HAMMER AND THEN I'LL TEE IT OFF. BACK TO YOU. COUNCILMAN HAMMER. ALL RIGHT, THIS ONE'S FOR MATT. I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT A COUPLE TIMES. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CLOSING THE POOL. HAVE WE HAD A DISCUSSION WITH BREVARD COUNTY ABOUT BREVARD COUNTY TAKING OVER THE POOL? I JUST SAY THAT BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT OUR TAX BILL, WE'RE PAYING 0.3 MILLAGE RATE TO BREVARD COUNTY FOR THE SOUTH BREVARD RECREATION DISTRICT, WHICH WE HAVE NO BREVARD COUNTY PARKS. WE HAVE NO RECREATION FOR BREVARD COUNTY. AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, JUST LOOKING AT MY, WITH MY HOUSE, IT'S ROUGHLY A $200,000 HOUSE TAKE IN MIND WITH HOW MANY HOUSES WE HAVE. THEY'RE GETTING OVER A MILLION AND A HALF A YEAR IN TAXES FROM PALM BAY CITIZENS TO OPERATE NOTHING. SO THEY HAVE A POOL IN COCOA AND ROCKLEDGE, WHICH IS ONE FIFTH OF OUR POPULATION. I'D LIKE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THEM ABOUT TAKING THIS OVER INSTEAD OF CLOSING IT. I THINK IT'S SOMETHING. I'VE SEEN IT BE USED A LOT LATELY. SO I MEAN, WE'VE BEEN PAYING INTO THIS SINCE THE YEAR 2000, WHICH IS OVER $37 MILLION. SO IF WE CAN HAVE THAT DISCUSSION REALLY LIKE TO SEE THAT AS AN OPTION, AT LEAST HAVE THE DISCUSSION WITH THEM BECAUSE SEEING THEM COME IN AND OPERATE THAT POOL WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL. SO I WAS TOLD THERE IS NO INTEREST OR FINANCIAL CAPABILITY TO PARTICIPATE OR FUND THE POOL, BUT YOU KNOW, THE NEXT STEP, IF YOU WOULD DESIRE WOULD BE A FORMAL LETTER. I WOULD SUSPECT DRESSED, YOU KNOW, FROM STAFF TO STAFF AND POTENTIALLY COUNCIL TO COMMISSION REQUESTING THAT CONSIDERATION. I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH ADDITIONAL PARTNERS IN THE POOL, AND SO FAR THOSE HAVE COME UP EMPTY AS WELL AS IS ANYONE WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN OH, JUST NO DOLLARS, NOT CAPITAL DOLLARS, NOT ONGOING, JUST DAILY MONTHLY M AND OH, THERE'S BEEN EVERYONE SAYING THE SAME THING. WE DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES TO, TO PARTICIPATE. YOU KNOW, I, AND I KNOW COUNCILMAN JOHNSON IS GOING TO WEIGH IN ON THIS, BUT I KNOW THAT THEY DON'T WANT TO GET RID OF THAT REVENUE. AND I, I DO AGREE THAT THAT, THAT WAS A DEAL THAT WAS STRUCK BEFORE OUR TIME WHEN THEY EXCHANGED, THERE WAS A, A YEAR TERM LIMIT THAT THE CITY OF PALM BAY WOULD RECEIVE THOSE FUNDS. AND THEN IT WAS TO CEASE. BUT I AGREE THERE, IT'S OUR RESIDENTS THAT ARE MAKING THOSE PAYMENTS AND WE SHOULD BE REAPING THAT. BUT I LIKE YOUR TRAIN OF THOUGHT AND I, HAVE I BELIEVE THERE MAY BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR USER FEES, BUT WE COULD DISCUSS THAT, YOU KNOW, DOWN RANGE. COUNCILMAN. JOHNSON. MAYOR. I'M, I'M RIGHT THERE WITH YOU. COUNCILMAN. HAMMER. I'M RIGHT THERE WITH YOU. I'VE BEEN BRINGING THIS UP. I SPOKE TO OUR NOW RETIRED LARRY WICHOWSKI ABOUT THIS PROBABLY LIKE 3 OR 4 YEARS AGO IN REGARDS TO THE 1.5 MILLION. AND I'VE BEEN BRINGING IT UP, BRINGING IT UP. AND IT'S COME COME TO NOTHING. SO FROM EVERYTHING TO THE POOL DISCUSSION, WE MENTIONED THE BRIDGE LIKE THIS. THEY THEY HAVE TO WE'RE CONTRIBUTING. THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE THE SERVICE OR PROVIDE A PROJECT OR PROVIDE SOMETHING. BECAUSE LIKE YOU SAID, THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY THAT'S BEING PUT INTO THAT FUND. SO MAYBE IT'S, WE COME TO THEM WITH POTENTIAL PROJECTS FOR THEM TO FUND OR SOMETHING, BUT SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE. SO I'M, I'M WITH YOU. COUNCILMAN HAMMER, DOES THAT CONCLUDE YOUR QUESTION, SIR? YEAH. EVERYTHING ELSE HAS ALREADY BEEN ANSWERED. OKAY. MR. MOORE, CAN YOU SPEAK MORE ABOUT THE SUBJECT OF THE MS TRANSPORT? WHAT? WHAT YOU WERE THINKING THERE. WERE YOU LOOKING FOR US TO START BEGINNING TRANSPORT OR CAPTURING. TRYING TO CAPTURE MORE REVENUE FROM. BECAUSE THAT'S A THAT'S A COSTLY UNDERTAKING TO PROVIDE EMS TRANSPORT. YEAH. I'M INTERESTED IN TRYING TO CAPTURE REVENUE FOR THE SERVICE WE ALREADY PROVIDE. I THINK THERE'S A REAL COST THAT'S CALCULABLE TO PALM BAY FIRE. AND I THINK WE'RE PAYING OUR MEN AND WOMEN TO PERFORM THAT SERVICE, BOTH IN TERMS OF TRAINING, [01:30:04] EDUCATION, CERTIFICATION PAYS AND OVERTIME. AND I'D LIKE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH THE COUNTY. I THINK THAT WAS THE INTENTION THAT, THAT WE, SINCE WE ARE PROVIDING A SERVICE THAT THEY SHOULD, THEY NEED TO PROVIDE THE LEVEL OF SERVICE AGREED TO IN THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT OR FIGURE OUT A WAY TO FUND US IF IT'S EASIER AND BETTER SERVICE. AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE JUST WANT TO PROVIDE EXCELLENT SERVICE. IT KIND OF WENT AGAINST MY GRAIN. THE CHIEF CAN CAN CAN TELL YOU THIS, I TERMINATED THE PARAMEDIC SPONSORSHIPS LAST YEAR AS A FINANCIAL DECISION, AND IT WAS APPARENT PRETTY EARLY ON I WAS ABLE TO WITNESS IT MYSELF, WHERE WE'RE GETTING 911 MS CALLS, OUR MEN AND WOMEN ARE RESPONDING IN MINUTES. AND, YOU KNOW, 2020, I'M NOT SAYING THIS IS WHOLESALE, BUT 2023 MINUTES LATER, THE PARAMEDICS IS ARRIVING FROM THE COUNTY. SO MY POINT IS THEY'RE RELYING WHOLESALE ON US, AND I'M NOT BLAMING THEM FOR ANY CHALLENGES. I KNOW THEY'RE CHALLENGED LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE. I'M NOT TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, DISRESPECT, BUT WE JUST ARE LEFT WITH THE OPERATIONAL REALITY. SO I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO LOOK AT CAPTURING SOME OF THOSE COSTS. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE OTHER ONE. IT'S WORTH LOOKING AT. MY FEELING IS THE SAME THING. IT KEEPS BEING BROUGHT UP. WHY AREN'T WE IN TRANSPORT? MY EXPERIENCE WITH TRANSPORT IS IT'S VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE. THAT WOULD ALSO LEAD ME TO BELIEVE IF IT WAS THAT EXPENSIVE, WHY HAS THAT SERVICE NEVER BEEN DISCUSSED BY THE COUNTY TO BE OFFLOADED? AND I THINK THE CURRENT FIRE CHIEF FOR THE COUNTY, WHO'S NEW, WHO USED TO BE HERE, ADVOCATED VERY HIGHLY THAT WE SHOULD CAPTURE TRANSPORT. I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T RECALL. I KNOW FIRE CHIEF STOVER AND I HAVE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS. I DON'T RECALL THOSE. I THINK LOOKING AT THE WHOLE PACKAGE IS PROBABLY WORTHWHILE. AGAIN, JUST UNDERSTANDING COST CENTERS, RISK REWARD AND HOW MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW DOES IT IMPACT THE LEVEL OF SERVICE WE ULTIMATELY DELIVER TO OUR COMMUNITY? YEAH, I MEAN, UNFORTUNATELY, THE COUNTY DOESN'T TREAT US VERY WELL WHEN IT COMES TO ROADS. MS, PARKS, POOLS. AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FIX IS ON THAT, BUT I THINK IT'S ABOUT TIME THAT WE START PUSHING BACK ON EVERYTHING THAT THEY THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR CITIZENS. THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR CITIZENS. WELL, ULTIMATELY THOUGH, DEPUTY MAYOR, IT'S OUR CITIZENS LIVES THAT'S AT STAKE. WELL, BUT MALABAR ROAD, FOR EXAMPLE, IT'S A COUNTY ROAD. WHO'S GOING TO PAY FOR IT? WE'RE GOING TO PAY FOR IT. RIGHT. SO I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT JUST LIFE SAFETY, BUT IT'S, IT'S EVERYTHING. THAT SAME THING WITH THE PARKS. I MEAN, WE'RE WE HAVE A POOL THAT NEEDS TO BE REFURBISHED IN A YEAR'S TIME. YOU KNOW, THE COUNTY KNEW BETTER. FRED POPPY PARKS GOT A TERRIBLE DRAINAGE. THE COUNTY KNEW BETTER. MARLBOROUGH ROADS FAILING IN OTHER AREAS. THE COUNTY KNEW BETTER. AND OVER THE YEARS WE MADE REALLY BAD DEALS WITH THE COUNTY WE MADE AND OUR RESIDENTS ARE SUFFERING FROM IT. SO I HAD A QUESTION REGARDING THE BUILDING FUND. I KNOW HISTORICALLY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S TIMES WHERE THE FUND GOT TOO BIG AND IT HAD. ARE WE FACING THAT AGAIN? SO I'VE NOT REVISITED THAT CONVERSATION FOR A FEW MONTHS. BUT WHEN JOHN AND MR. STAFFORD MAY HAVE A BETTER ANSWER. BUT WHEN MR. PEARSON WAS HERE, HIM AND I AND MR. DILORENZO WERE ALL TALKING THAT. YEAH, WE NEED TO LOOK AT SOME MORE REFUNDS. I THINK SOME OF THAT WAS HELD IN ABEYANCE UNTIL THE NEW THERE'S ANOTHER NEW SYSTEM THAT'S BEEN PUT IN PLACE IN TERMS OF REDUCING HOW WE CHARGE AN ALLOCATION OF EVERY HOUR. RIGHT. SO, SO WE'VE HAD TO REMODEL YET AGAIN. BUT I HAVE TALKED WITH, WITH HBA AND OUR, AND OUR STAFF THAT, THAT WE DO NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE STATUTORILY COMPLIANT WITH, WITH THE AMOUNT OF FEES WE'RE ALLOWED TO HOLD EARLY IN THE CONVERSATION PRESENTATION, YOU TALKED ABOUT. ARPA FUNDS. ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A CLEAR DIRECTION TONIGHT FROM COUNCIL? JUST SOME IDEAS. ANY, ANY IDEAS FROM YOU BEST AND HIGHEST AND BEST USE OF THOSE FUNDS. SO THAT WAS ARPA INTEREST. I THINK WE'VE GOT TO ASK OURSELVES THE QUESTION AND LOOK AT CAN WE PERMIT LEGALLY PERMIT THE PORTABLES THAT ARE ON THE CURRENT PROPERTY? WHAT IS THE USEFUL ARC HORIZON OF TIME? LIKE? WHAT IS THEIR SERVICE LIFE LEFT AND IS THERE VALUE IN DOING WHATEVER M AND O CONTINUES TO BE REQUIRED? WE JUST INVESTED LAST YEAR, I THINK 20 OR $30,000 IN THE DECKING AND ADA AND CEILING AND SOME AND SOME THINGS OR ULTIMATELY. AND USING THAT ARPA INTEREST FOR DEFERRED CAPITAL MAINTENANCE THAT WE KNOW IS GOING TO BITE US, OR IS IT THE BETTER MOVE STILL? MY ONLY CONCERN IS I THINK ARPA INTEREST IS NOT GOING TO BE SUFFICIENT TO COMPLETE THE THIRD FLOOR. EVEN WITH THE VALUE ENGINEERING, EVEN WITH THE OPTIONS WE'VE BROUGHT FORWARD, I THINK WE MAY BE STARING DOWN THE ONE POINT ALMOST 8 MILLION. I BELIEVE IT IS IN OUR INTEREST AND LOOKING AT THE ADDITION OF AN ADDITIONAL, YOU KNOW, 5 OR $600,000 FOR F-F-A AND OTHER PIECES. AND SO I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT MONEY COMES FROM. SO BUT AGAIN, IF THAT'S A COST CENTER MOVE WHERE WE HAVE A LONGER RANGE PLAN FOR THE PUBLIC WORKS FACILITY, I COULD SEE THAT BEING A SEQUENTIAL RISK REWARD SCENARIO, BUT NO DECISION TONIGHT. [01:35:02] I JUST WANT TO START PUTTING AND I HATE BRINGING UP SOME OF THESE CONVERSATIONS LIKE ARPA. AGAIN, I KNOW IT'S BEEN BEAT AROUND FOR A WHILE IN THE BRIDGE. JUST TO ME IT FELT THE RIGHT TIME TO SAY, HEY, LET'S JUST, I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE THINKING ABOUT IT AND ASKING US EVERY DAY AND I'M JUST AGREEING, SAYING, LET'S JUST MAKE SURE THOSE DECISIONS, ONCE WE FINALIZE THEM, ARE THE ARE THE DECISIONS YOU WANT TO MAKE? YEAH. YOU KNOW, AN IDEA POSSIBLY FOR THE THIRD FLOOR IF LIKE, IF WE CAN'T AFFORD TO BUILD IT OUT AND IT'S SUCH A UNIQUE, YOU KNOW, CITY HALL IS IT COULD BE A WONDERFUL SKIFF, YOU KNOW, FOR, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THERE'S LIKE 15 OR 16 SKIFFS THAT HARRIS AND SEVERAL ELSE ON THE O. S ONE. RJ CONLON AND COULD BE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING SAFE THAT, YOU KNOW, A COMPANY THAT WOULD WANT TO BUILD A SKIFF THERE AND RENT IT FROM THE CITY. THAT CONCLUDES ANY QUESTIONS I HAVE, MAYOR. ALL RIGHT. SINCE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT TRANSPORTATION, MS WHO AUTHORIZES THOSE TRANSPORTATIONS? WHO AUTHORIZED THE COUNTY TO DO IT? THE ORIGINAL, THE ORIGINAL AUTHORIZATION. I'M NOT HERE. AND, YOU KNOW, I JUST HAD THIS RESEARCH YESTERDAY. I WAS VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE CERTIFICATE OF NEED PROCESS THAT WAS ABOLISHED IN RESPECTS TO HOSPITALS JUST A FEW YEARS AGO THROUGH LEGISLATION WHICH OPENED THAT COMPETITION. AND WE'VE SEEN HOSPITALS SORT OF GROW EVERYWHERE, RIGHT? THEY WERE HELD BACK TO THE CERTIFICATE OF NEED PROCESS. MY UNDERSTANDING, AND I'M NOT AN EXPERT ON THE MS SIDE, AND MAYBE SOMEONE HERE IS ON STAFF, BUT THERE USED TO BE A SIMILAR PROTOCOL THROUGH TRANSPORT WAS AUTHORIZED BY CERTIFICATE OF NEED. I BELIEVE THAT CERTIFICATE OF NEED HAS ALSO SIMILARLY BEEN ABOLISHED. NOW, MY MY UNDERSTANDING ALSO IS THAT IT IS THE LOCAL HOSPITAL PROVIDER, IN OUR CASE, PALM BAY HOSPITAL, THAT SETS A LOT OF THE STANDARDS AND OPERATIONAL CRITERIA IN TERMS OF WHO IS ALLOWED TO TRANSPORT AND HOW THEY ARE TRANSPORTED. CHIEF JUMP UP ANYTIME TWO PALM BAY HOSPITAL. SO THAT WOULD BE, AGAIN, A BIGGER CONVERSATION. I JUST BRING IT UP AS IT MAY BE SOMETHING TO UNDERSTAND ALL THOSE FUNCTIONAL PIECES TO UNDERSTAND THE LEGAL PIECES, UNDERSTAND THE OPERATIONAL PIECES. WE HAVE A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH KRISTEN MCCABE, OUR MEDICAL DIRECTOR. RIGHT. WE'RE DIALED IN OUR CHIEF AND OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, OUR WORK VERY, VERY WELL, AND I THINK HAVE AN AMAZING, PROACTIVE RELATIONSHIP. WE'VE SOLVED A LOT OF ISSUES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PALM BAY HOSPITAL OVER THIS LAST YEAR THAT I'VE BEEN AWARE OF. I'M SURE THERE'S MANY MORE I'M NOT AWARE OF, BUT THAT WOULD BE WHERE WE KIND OF START THAT ANALYSIS. AND IT WOULD REQUIRE AN ANALYSIS TO UNDERSTAND ALL THE RISK REWARDS, CHALLENGES, LEGALITIES, COMMITMENTS, AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. OKAY. AND I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY, DEPUTY MAYOR, WHEN I KNOW YOU THREW IN THE MALABAR ROAD MIX, BUT I WAS REFERRING MORE TO THE MS FUNCTION, RIGHT? IN THAT MS FUNCTION, HE'S LOOKING AT EXPANDING THAT MOU. HOW DO WE GET COMPENSATED? MY, MY POINT OF VIEW IS THOSE ARE OUR CITIZENS, RIGHT? SO I WOULD WANT OUR PEOPLE TO RESPOND. I KNOW THERE'S A COST. YEAH. AND MAYBE MISUNDERSTANDING. I THINK WE DO AN EXCELLENT JOB AND CONTINUE TO DO EVEN A BETTER JOB. WE JUST NEED TO HAVE A RELIABLE FUNDING SOURCE THAT, THAT THAT MAKES IT A VIABLE. AND I THINK OUR MEN AND WOMEN DO A PHENOMENAL JOB. AND I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE AND THEY SAVE LIVES. BUT WHERE I WAS COMING FROM, DEPUTY MAYOR WAS I'M NOT WILLING TO RISK THEIR LIVES OVER A FEW DOLLARS THAT WE WE FEEL WE'RE NOT GETTING REIMBURSED. AND THAT'S WHERE I'M GOING. YEAH. WE'RE TALKING BECAUSE THEY ARE PROFESSIONAL. THEY DO GET SOONER. THEY GET THERE SOONER. I, I WAS EVEN ON A CALL WHERE LAW ENFORCEMENT GOT THERE BEFORE F D AND IT WAS BREVARD COUNTY. SO I, I PREFER, AND I UNDERSTAND WE GOT WE SHOULD BE GETTING COMPENSATED WHEN WE PARTNER WITH THAT, BUT ULTIMATELY IT'S THE PALM BAY THEIR LIFE WE'RE SAVING. SO THAT'S WHERE I WAS COMING FROM. I BELIEVE SOMEONE'S WEIGHING IN AT THIS POINT. COUNCILMAN HAMMOND, I JUST WANT TO TO THROW OUT THERE AND ABOUT, I WANT TO SAY 2011, 2012 ISH. WE ACTUALLY BOUGHT AMBULANCE AND WE TRIED TO DO IT. AND IF YOU REACH OUT TO THE NOW CHIEF JIM STABLES, HE WAS OUR CHIEF WHEN THAT WAS GOING THROUGH. AND IT WAS EITHER BEFORE OR AFTER, BUT WE TRIED TO DO IT. AND IF YOU SEE A CONSTRUCTION VEHICLE, THAT'S AN AMBULANCE RUNNING AROUND, THAT'S OUR OLD AMBULANCE. WE BOUGHT TWO OF THEM. THEY SAT THERE, THEY DIDN'T GET USED, AND WE LITERALLY AUCTIONED THEM OFF FOR PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR. AND THEY MAYBE HAD 100 HOURS ON IT. AND THAT'S FROM OIL CHANGES AND STUFF EVERY YEAR. SO IT IS, AND I'VE ACTUALLY LOOKED INTO THIS AS WELL BEING FORMER FIREFIGHTER BECAUSE THERE WAS A COMPANY CALLED HARBOR CITY AMBULANCE THAT USED TO SERVICE ALL OF SOUTH BREVARD. BREVARD DIDN'T REALLY HAVE THAT. IT WAS ALL HARBOR CITY. WHAT HAPPENED WAS THEY GOT TO WHERE THEY CAN CHARGE, THEY CAN BUILD THE CUSTOMER. SO BREVARD COUNTY BEGAN TO DO IT. BUT IF I IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, BREVARD COUNTY TAKES A HUGE LOSS EVERY SINGLE YEAR ON TRANSPORT. [01:40:05] SO DEFINITELY SPEAK WITH CHIEF STAPLES ABOUT THAT BECAUSE HE WAS HERE TO EXPERIENCE THAT. SO WHEN YOU GO INTO THAT, MAKE SURE THE DISCUSSIONS HAD BECAUSE HE REMEMBERS IT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO RIGHT NOW I'M GOING TO GO TO THE PUBLIC, SEE WHO WANTS TO SPEAK. ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE WISH TO SPEAK? JUST RAISE YOUR HAND. YES, SIR. STEP RIGHT UP. GILBERT. IN 586 OCEAN SPRAY STREET, SOUTHWEST. I JUST I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. JUST REMEMBER, I HAVE THE FIVE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. TWO OF THEM ARE THE CITY OF PALM BAY. SO THAT'S THAT'S A PRETTY GOOD SIGNIFICANT NUMBER. AND THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE. THAT'S MY COUNTY COMMISSIONER SUPPOSED TO BE REPRESENTING ME. SO WE CAN START PUSHING ON OUR COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. AND ALSO FOR DISTRICT ONE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ELECTION IS GOING TO SHOW OUT, BUT FOR DISTRICT ONE, THAT'LL BE STUART BUCHANAN, WHO HAS A TIE TO THE CITY OF PALM BAY ALSO. SO JUST, YOU KNOW, LET'S TRY TO MAKE THAT COUNTY COMMISSIONER BE OUR REPRESENTATIVE, SINCE IT'S A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, MAKE THEM ACCOUNTABLE. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE WISH TO SPEAK? PLEASE STEP FORWARD. I HAVE TO BRING THIS DOWN, IF I REMEMBER. THAT'S FINE. OKAY. I HAVE IT HERE. SO MY NAME IS ANGELICA SNEED. I HAVE I HAVE BEEN A PALM BAY OWNER AND TAXPAYER SINCE 2006. I RECENTLY RETIRED AFTER 20 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE CITY IN GOOD STANDING. TODAY, I STAND BEFORE YOU AS A CONSTITUENT ADVOCATING FOR THE CITY OF PALM BAY. AS YOU DISCUSS THIS BUDGET, I ASK YOU TO REMEMBER THAT EVERY DOLLAR IN THIS BUDGET COMES FROM HARD WORKING TAXPAYERS OF PALM BAY. WITH THAT COMES A RESPONSIBILITY TO SPEND THOSE DOLLARS WISELY, TRANSPARENTLY, AND IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF OUR COMMUNITY. PALM BAY HAS THE SECOND HIGHEST MUNICIPAL MILLAGE RATE IN THE BREVARD COUNTY. YET MANY RESIDENTS CONTINUE TO ASK, WHAT DO WE SHOW FOR IT? EVEN THOUGH THE PROPOSED MILLAGE RATE IS LOWER. RISING PROPERTY VALUES CONTINUE TO GENERATE SIGNIFICANT TAXES. AS TAXPAYERS, WE ACCEPT EXPECT THAT THE INVESTMENT TO REFLECT IN OUR ROADS, INFRASTRUCTURE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE OVERALL APPEARANCE OF OUR CITY. MANY NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES HAVE LOWER MUNICIPAL TAX RATE, YET THEY APPEAR TO HAVE STRONGER COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT, BETTER MAINTAINED INFRASTRUCTURE AND MORE AMENITIES. THAT LEADS ME TO ASK, IS THE ISSUE REALLY A LACK OF REVENUE OR IS IT WE'RE PRIORITIZING AND SPENDING THE REVENUE WE ALREADY HAVE. WE WERE TOLD COST SAVING MEASURES BEGAN LAST AUGUST, YET ONLY A FEW MONTHS LATER, SUBSTANTIAL RAISES WERE APPROVED FOR EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP, INCLUDING THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THE NEW CODE COMPLIANCE MANAGER IS MAKING $10,000 MORE THAN THE PREVIOUS CODE MANAGER, WHICH WAS A WORKING CODE MANAGER. AT THE SAME TIME, POSITIONS THAT DIRECTLY SERVE OUR RESIDENTS ARE BEING ELIMINATED, LEFT VACANT, AND NOT REPLACED. FROM A TAXPAYER'S PERSPECTIVE, IT APPEARS WE ARE SAVING IN SOME AREAS WHILE INCREASING SPENDING AT THE TOP. HOW DOES THAT REFLECT THE CITY'S COMMITMENT TO FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY? I ALSO BELIEVE THAT THE ACCOUNTABILITY STARTS AT THE TOP. AS TAXPAYERS, WE EXPECT THE SAME LEVEL OF ACCOUNTABILITY FROM EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIPS THAT WE'RE PAYING OVER $200,000. WE EXPECT EXCEPTIONAL LEADERSHIP, TRANSPARENCY, RESPONSIVENESS AND SOUND FINANCIAL STEWARDESS. I AM ALSO CONCERNED ABOUT THE 10 MILLION GOLF COURSE PURCHASE. I UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT FEES MAY PAY FOR THE PURCHASE, BUT MY QUESTION IS WHO'S GOING TO MAINTAIN IT? IMPACT FEES MAY BUY IT, BUT HOW WILL WE MAINTAIN IT, ESPECIALLY WITH THIS NEW TAX AMENDMENT IN NOVEMBER? IF BALLOT REDUCES THE FUTURE CITY REVENUES, WE ARE STRUGGLING TO MAINTAIN OUR MEDIANS AND OUR CITY ASSETS TODAY. HOW WILL WE BE RESPONSIBLE TO MAINTAIN THIS GOLF COURSE? AND IT'S GOING TO BE A LONG TERM FINANCIAL OBLIGATION. I AM INVESTED AND INTERESTED IN PALM BAY BECAUSE THIS IS MY HOME, AND I'VE PAID TAXES HERE FOR 20 YEARS AND DEDICATED 20 YEARS OF MY SERVICE. I REMAIN COMMITTED TO PALM BAY AND BEING A PART OF THE SOLUTION. THANK YOU MA'AM. AND MY GOAL IS TO IDENTIFY CONCERNS NOT AND TO ENCOURAGE THOUGHTFUL DECISIONS. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. STEP FORWARD. [01:45:07] ROBERT SCHNEIDER, 1796 LYNBROOK. I JUST WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY. I MEAN, I'VE BEEN AROUND BUDGETS NOT AS DEEPLY AS THIS, BUT I SEE A LOT OF HARD WORK THAT'S GONE INTO THAT, ESPECIALLY FROM, YOU KNOW, I'LL JUST SAY DODGING. HOW DO WE GET BETTER? WHAT HAVE YOU I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE OPERATIONAL SIDE HOW DO WE GET MORE EFFICIENT IN THE FIELD? I'M NOT SURE. HAS THAT BEEN IDENTIFIED OR NOT? YOU KNOW, I CAME OUT OF THE CULTURE OF OF IMPROVING EVERYTHING WE TOUCH. SO IN ONE COMPANY I WAS WITH JUST TO GET EVERYBODY OUT THERE TO GO INTO THEIR TRUCKS AT THE SAME TIME AND DO A PRE TRIP AND A POST TRIP AND, AND GET EVERYTHING DONE NATIONWIDE SAVED $11 BILLION. SO THERE'S A LOT OF THERE'S A LOT OF CAKE AND MONEY ON THAT. WITH REGARD TO THE GOLF COURSE, I JUST THINK THE 135 ACRES PICTURE IN PALM BAY, WHAT THAT CAN BE IN FIVE YEARS OR TEN YEARS SHOPS OR WHAT HAVE YOU, BIG REVENUE RESOURCE DOWN THE ROAD. SO I APPRECIATE YOU LOOKING AHEAD. AND AGAIN YOU GOT A DYNAMITE STAFF OVER THERE COMPARED TO WHAT I'VE SEEN PREVIOUSLY AND THESE GUYS HAVE WORKED HARD AND THEY'RE THEY JUST WORK HARD AND THEY'RE COMMITTED. AND I DO APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER. NEXT SPEAKER. GOING ONCE. NO ONE ELSE WISHES TO SPEAK. OKAY. COUNCIL. I GUESS IT'S IT'S TEED OFF BACK TO US. YOUR DISCUSSION AT THIS POINT. GENTLEMEN, I'LL START WITH YOU. NOTHING. OKAY. COUNCILMAN. I THINK A LOT OF MY QUESTIONS GOT ANSWERED. I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR US IN TURN, OTHER THAN I'M IN SUPPORT OF THE SIX SIX AND MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT. SAME MAYOR. DEPUTY MAYOR. YEAH. I SUPPORT THE ROLLBACK. I'D STILL LIKE STAFF TO EXPLORE THE POOL INSTEAD OF A HARD FREEZE AND A HARD CLOSE. THIS YEAR, I KNOW THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME LARGE CAPITAL EXPENDITURES THAT THAT MAY COME IN FISCAL YEAR 28, BUT I'D LIKE TO SEE THE POOL REMAIN OPERATIONAL UNTIL THE WHEELS FALL OFF. YEAH, I I'M I'M WITH YOU, DEPUTY MAYOR. I I'M WE'RE OFF FOR THE ROLLBACK AND, AND AND I GET THAT. MY ISSUES ARE TWOFOLD. RIGHT? WHAT IS IT? TWO WEEKS AGO, WE HAD A CHILD THAT DROWNED IN NORTHWEST PALM BAY. I THINK WE COULD WORK ON EXPANDING THE CAPACITY OF TEACHING CHILDREN HOW TO SWIM. I'M NOT SURE OF THE BLOCK I DID CONTACT. EASTERN FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE, HAD A CONVERSATION WITH THE VICE PRESIDENT, JACK PARKER, UP THERE UNDER THE SAME GUYS, BUT HE WANTED TO SEE HOW THEY COULD EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITY OF OF PARTNERSHIPS. AND I THINK I'VE EVEN SPOKEN ABOUT INDIVIDUALS THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO TAKE OVER THE STAFFING OF THE POOL. SO I'D LOVE TO SEE THAT OCCUR. I THINK ANOTHER CONVERSATION THAT COULD BE HAD ARE THOSE SWIM TEAMS, ARE THEY COLLEGE OR HIGH SCHOOL SWIM TEAMS? THAT BLOCK OFF THAT TIME FRAME. SO I WOULD LOVE FOR THAT TO, TO CONTINUE THOSE DISCUSSIONS. WHEN YOU SAY TIL THE WHEELS FALL OFF, I, I THINK PERHAPS WE SHOULD START INCLUDING AND SEEING WHAT PARTNERSHIPS WE CAN HAVE AS WE. SO THE WHEELS DON'T FALL OFF. DEPUTY MAYOR, I THINK THERE'S A VALUE TO THE POOL AS OPPOSED TO SHUTTING IT DOWN. MANY OF YOU MAY NOT KNOW THIS, BUT EASTERN FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE HAD THE SAME ISSUE UP AND THEY HAD A POOL AND THERE WERE TALKS THAT THE Y WAS GOING TO TAKE OVER THAT POOL THAT NEVER MANIFESTED BECAUSE FINANCIALLY, I BELIEVE IT WAS IT WASN'T FEASIBLE. EVERYTHING IS DONE FOR A PROFIT. POOLS DON'T RUN TYPICALLY ON A PROFIT UNLESS YOU'RE WET AND WILD AND YOU'RE CHARGING AN I'M IN THE LEG AND HAVING HAVING ACTIVITIES, BUT THE SERVICES THAT THAT INITIATED THIS POOL WHEN IT WAS BREVARD COUNTY WAS THERE WAS TOO MANY CHILDREN [01:50:03] THAT WERE DROWNING IN POOLS. AND SCOTT ELLIS AND A COUNTY COMMISSIONER AND EASTERN FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE BACK THEN, IT WAS BCC. THEY, THEY WORKED ON, ON RESOLVING THAT. AND YOU'RE RIGHT, THIS WAS A COUNTY POOL. AND IT WAS A BAD DEAL WHEN THE CITY NEGOTIATED. BUT THAT'S THAT'S NEITHER HERE NOR THERE TODAY. RIGHT. WE'RE HERE TODAY. SO I, I AM I'M IN FULL AGREEMENT WITH WHAT THE DEPUTY MAYOR IS SAYING. IN THAT I'D LOVE TO SEE HOW WE PARTNER LIKE THE SAVINGS. MR. MORTON OF OW STAFF. MAYBE WE COULD RALLY AROUND VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE WELL EQUIPPED TO DO THIS, BECAUSE I KNOW THEY EXIST. AND MAYBE THERE COULD BE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO FACILITATE THAT AS WELL. I THINK WE HAVE SOMEONE HERE. WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME UP AND SPEAK AND SHARE? CAN I GET A COMMITMENT OUT OF YOU? YES, MA'AM. CAN YOU COME UP HERE? YES. SINCE WE'RE ON THE POOL, I THINK I'D LIKE TO GET THAT THAT ADDRESSED. I APPRECIATE THE INVITATION UP, I REALLY DO. OKAY. SO CAN YOU EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT VOLUNTEERISM AT THE POOL? IF YOUR ORGANIZATION COULD COME THROUGH AND AND PARTNER WITH THE CITY IN THAT REGARD? YES. SO I RUN A SMALL SWIM SCHOOL HERE IN BREVARD COUNTY. BUT I'M REALLY ACQUAINTED WITH ADVOCACY WITHIN THE STATE. THERE'S A LOT GOING ON WITH THE SWIM VOUCHER PROGRAM, WHICH WAS JUST INCREASED. I THINK WE'RE UP TO 1.2 MILLION, WHICH IS DISPERSED WITHIN ALL THE COUNTIES. THE APPLICATIONS DID JUST OPEN UP THIS PAST FRIDAY. SO I ENCOURAGE ALL FAMILIES TO APPLY SEND TO OTHER ONES BECAUSE THAT'S THAT DETERMINES ON HOW MUCH FUNDING WE GET. THE MORE APPLICATIONS, THE MORE FUNDING. AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT ENTITIES LIKE THE FLORIDA SWIMMING POOL ASSOCIATION, LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE ALSO KNOWN AS FSPA. I'M ON THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR ITS CONNECTING NONPROFIT. SO WHAT WE DO IS WE PARTNER WITH DIFFERENT SMALL SWIM SCHOOLS WITHIN OR I GUESS I SHOULD SAY JUST AGENCIES WITHIN FLORIDA. WE PROVIDE LOW COST SWIM LESSONS OR FREE SWIM LESSONS FOR DIFFERENT ENTITIES AS WELL AS DIFFERENT AGENCIES WE PARTNER WITH STEP INTO SWIM. THERE ARE NONPROFITS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE POOL AND HOT TUB ASSOCIATION. AND THEN EVERY CHILD SWIMMER, WHICH IS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL HALL OF FAME DOWN IN FORT LAUDERDALE. SO WE MATCH ALL THESE FINDINGS, WHICH IS BRINGS MORE MONETARY FUNDS FOR SWIM LESSONS. SO I KNOW OUR LOCAL CHAPTER, MY MENTORS WHEN I FIRST JOINED THIS COMMUNITY, I WENT BECAUSE I WANTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE POOLS, AND I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT THEY HAD THEIR ENTITY CONNECTED WITH THIS FOUNDATION. SO THERE'S DEFINITELY A LOT OF AVENUES AND I WOULD LOVE TO PARTNER AND, AND JUST SHARE MY EXPERIENCE. I JUST FINISHED MY DOCTORAL RESEARCH WHERE IT IS TITLED IMPROVING ACCESS FOR WATER SAFETY EDUCATION AND PREVENTION RESOURCES. SO MY STRATEGIC PLANNING WENT AROUND ALL THIS. SO DEFINITELY A LOT OF RESOURCES OUT THERE. AND IT'S NOT ONLY JUST ADVOCATES LIKE ME, IT'S ALL OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE GOING ON THESE CALLS. AS OF I THINK ON FRIDAY I CHECKED, THERE WERE, THERE HAVE BEEN 80 CHILDREN IN OUR STATE ALONE. UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S JUST, IT'S, WE NEED TO WORK MORE ON ADVOCACY AND IT'S ONE, ONE, TWO MONEY ONES TOO MANY. WE LOST ONE IN BREVARD COUNTY LAST YEAR. IT WAS FIVE. I WOULD LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, ACKNOWLEDGE JUST PALM BAY HAS REALLY SHOWN JUST GREAT ADVOCACY WITH THIS PARTNERING WITH OUR FIRST RESPONDERS, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WITH THE CHILDREN ON THE SPECTRUM AND MAKING SURE OUR PARENTS ARE AWARE YOU KNOW, OF ALL THESE. SO JUST, JUST FOR THE RECORD YOU'RE SAYING THAT YOU COULD ACTUALLY HAVE VOLUNTEER STAFF. I DON'T, I CAN'T CONFIRM OR GUARANTEE ANYTHING, BUT I KNOW WE COULD WORK WITHIN THE REALM AND FIGURE IT OUT. OKAY. I CAN'T GUARANTEE ANYTHING RIGHT NOW. NO, I MEAN, BUT I WANT TO BE ABLE TO PROBLEM SOLVE TOGETHER AND STRATEGICALLY PLAN TO BEST SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY AND HELP WITH COST RECOVERY. I KNOW THAT'S BEEN SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, IS IMPORTANT, AND I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT PROGRAMING PRECEDES DESIGN. THAT HAS BEEN MY, I GUESS YOU COULD SAY CATCHPHRASE FROM SOME OF MY OTHER AQUATIC CONSULTANTS FROM USA SWIM THAT I SEE EVERY YEAR. BUT POOLS CAN BREAK EVEN OR MAKE MONEY. IT TAKES TIME, LOTS OF STEPS, BUT I THINK IT'S DOABLE. I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE STAFF, THE MANAGEMENT AT PALM BAY HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLE. OKAY. KATIE WITH, WITH MENTORING THOSE LIFEGUARDS AND OTHER ENTITIES, YOU KNOW, INVOLVED WITH RECREATION ARE GREAT. [01:55:03] I JUST WANT TO BE ABLE TO HEAR. I WANT TO, YOU KNOW, SERVE WHERE I CAN AND HELP, BUT I CAN'T GUARANTEE ANYTHING YET, BUT I CAN WE CAN FIGURE IT OUT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. AND AND STAFF HAS YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION. YES, SIR. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SO I'M I'M I'M WILLING TO EXPLORE THIS GENTLEMAN. I REALLY AM ONLY BECAUSE I BELIEVE A CHILD'S LIFE IS IS IS MORE OVER IMPORTANT, BUT I, I WILL SAY THIS IF, IF THE SWIM TEAMS ARE BLOCKING OUT A LOT OF TIME, THEN THE SCHOOL BOARD OR WHOEVER IS IN CHARGE OF THAT SWIM TEAM SHOULD BE HAVING TO PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE. AND SO I'D LIKE TO SEE IF WE CAN EXPLORE THAT. BECAUSE OUR CITIZENS THEY SHOULD HAVE PRIORITY OVER THE POOL IN MY, IN MY VIEW, I BELIEVE THAT THEY SHOULD, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE SWIM LESSONS, WE SHOULD BE LOOKING OUT FOR THESE CHILDREN, FOR OUR CHILDREN AND THAT THAT'S WHERE I'M AT. WITH THAT. AND THEN I ALSO WILL SAY THIS I WANTED TO ASK POTENTIALLY YOU MENTIONED MID YEAR WHERE ABOUT YOU THINK 9 MILLION TO 15 MILLION, MAYBE 7 MILLION YOU WEREN'T SURE ON, BUT POTENTIALLY WENT ABOUT MID YEAR. WOULD YOU SAY THAT THAT WOULD TAKE PLACE MARCH OR APRIL, MARCH OF SO. 27. OKAY. AND I KNOW THAT JUST SO THAT YOU SEE THINGS FROM FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, A FEW FEW MONTHS AGO, WE TOLD OUR STAFF THAT, HEY, WE'RE NOT WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE ANY LAYOFFS. WE'RE GOING TO CONCENTRATE ON THE SIX SIX AND WE'RE CONFIDENT WE HAVE POSITIONS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY GOING TO BE ELIMINATED. I KNOW MOST OF THEM ARE VACANT. BUT IN THAT WE HAVE LET'S TAKE COMMUNICATIONS TWO COMPOSITIONS, RIGHT? PERHAPS WE COULD READDRESS WHAT POSITION THEY CAN GO TO. KEEP IN MY EYES. THEY'RE NOT JUST POSITIONS THEIR FAMILIES, THEIR FAMILIES THAT WE'RE AFFECTING. AND ONCE WE TELL STAFF, HEY, WE'RE NOT GOING TO LAY ANYBODY OFF IS IT POSSIBLE TO REASSIGN THOSE POSITIONS OR KEEP ONE OF THOSE POSITIONS. HOW HOW CAN THAT WORK IF WE HAVE 9 TO $15 MILLION COMING IN, SAY, MARCH? SO WE CAN WE CAN ALWAYS LOOK AT OPENINGS WHEN WE HAVE OPENINGS. RIGHT NOW, WE'RE REALLY IN A HIRING FREEZE UNTIL WE GET THROUGH THE BUDGET. WE GET THROUGH UNDERSTANDING THE LEVEL OF SERVICE, WE MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS. AND I WILL SAY THAT THOSE POSITIONS SPECIFICALLY WERE IN RESPONSE TO FOLLOWING THE PRINCIPLES OF DOSAGE AND THE GUIDANCE OF THE STATE CFO AND OPERATIONALLY, WHAT WE SHOULD NOT BE DOING AS A CITY. AND THAT WAS THE, YOU KNOW, SORT OF THE FIRST PASS AT THAT. SO TO YOUR POINT, ARE THE FINANCES, COULD THEY BE THERE POTENTIALLY? IS IT SUSTAINABLE LONG TERM? NO. YOU SAW OUR DEFICIT, JUST OUR NEEDS. I WILL TAKE EVERY EFFORT I CAN TO TRY TO PUT A PACKAGE TOGETHER, AS WE HAVE FOR SOME TIME WITH THE POOL AND FIND THOSE REVENUES. BUT NOW WE HAVE THOSE REVENUES PROGRAMED FOR EMERGENCY OVERTIME EXPENDITURES FOR POLICE AND FIRE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY. SO IT'S IT'S DEFINITELY AN OPTION WE CAN LOOK AT. BUT AGAIN, I'M FOLLOWING THE PRINCIPLES OF WE NEED TO DRAW OUR BUDGET DOWN TO A REVENUE BALANCE, AND WE NEED TO FOLLOW THE PRINCIPLES OF DOGE. AND EVEN IN THE BUDGET WE'VE APPROACHED THIS YEAR, WE'RE LEAVING SOME VERY CRITICAL ITEMS OFF THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO ADDRESS. SO THOSE TWO, THOSE POSITIONS, THEY THEY CAN BE REASSIGNED. I CAN'T I DON'T KNOW THAT TONIGHT. I'D HAVE TO KNOW WHAT OPENINGS AND OPPORTUNITIES WHO WHO'S DEPARTING, WHO'S NOT DEPARTING. AND YOU KNOW, THEY QUALIFY FOR AN OPPORTUNITY INTERNAL PROMOTION, INTERNAL TRANSFERS, THINGS LIKE THAT. THAT'S FAIR SIR. THAT THAT WOULD BE MY SUGGESTION. THANK YOU. I BELIEVE IN FAMILIES AND AND AND IF WE SAY SOMETHING TO, TO FOLKS, THEN I, I WOULD WANT THEM TO HAVE THAT KIND OF PEACE. THAT'S ALL. BUT THAT BEING SAID, GENTLEMEN, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSIONS WHERE. SIX WE'RE AT THE ROLLBACK RATE, SO WE'RE ALL GOOD TO GO. ALRIGHT, SO WE'RE DONE. DO YOU NEED FURTHER DIRECTION FROM US? I THINK I HAVE DIRECTION I WILL DEFINITELY BRING BACK. WE'LL GET TO WORK ON IT. AND I WILL LITERALLY CONTACT EVERYBODY WHO'S EITHER A PARTNER OR POTENTIAL PARTNER, CURRENT PARTNER, PAST PARTNER, COUNTY GOVERNMENT, STATE GOVERNMENT. AND WE CAN WORK WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE MORE KNOWLEDGE. WE'LL SEE IF WE CAN PUT SOME PACKAGE TOGETHER TO OFFSET THE 729,000 OR THEREABOUTS AND COME BACK WITH WHAT OPTIONS, IF ANY, WE CAN UNCOVER. OKAY. YOU MEAN AS FAR AS THE POOL? [02:00:04] CORRECT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THAT'S FAIR, SIR, AND WE APPRECIATE THAT. YEAH, PERHAPS WE COULD JUST CONTINUE TO DISCUSS WITH THE COUNTY. I LOVE, I LOVE MAYBE WE COULD ALL REACH OUT TO DISTRICTS ONE AND 2 OR 1 AND THREE, I SHOULD SAY, OR NOT. ONE, THREE AND FIVE, THREE AND FIVE. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. IS THAT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU, SIR? ALL RIGHT. SO WE'RE NOW ON ADMINISTRATION AS ADMINISTRATIVE LEGAL REPORTS, MR. [ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL REPORTS:] MORTON. ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO REPORT? I HAVE NOTHING THIS EVENING. THANK YOU, MADAM SMITH. YES, MAYOR? THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SEEKS YOUR ADVICE IN AN ATTORNEY CLIENT SESSION PURSUANT TO SECTION TWO, 86.011, SUBSECTION EIGHT, FLORIDA STATUTES. THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE ATTORNEY CLIENT SESSION SHALL BE CONFINED TO SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS OR STRATEGY SESSIONS RELATED TO THE FOLLOWING LITIGATION MATTERS ANTHONY CASILLAS VERSUS CITY OF PALM BAY ZERO FIVE, 2024CA045449. SCOTT MCINTYRE VERSUS CITY OF PALM BAY CASE NUMBER 624 DASH CV DASH 988. ATTENDEES WILL BE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL. CITY ATTORNEY PATRICIA SMITH, DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY ERIC MESSENGER, CITY MANAGER MATT MORTON AND A CERTIFIED COURT REPORTER. THE ATTORNEY CLIENT SESSION IS EXPECTED TO LAST NO MORE THAN 30 MINUTES. WE HAVE COORDINATED THE DATE ON AUGUST 6TH, 2026. THE ONLY ISSUE AS FAR AS THE TIMING IS COUNCIL LOOKING TO START. DO I HAVE A QUORUM AT FIVE OR IS COUNCIL LOOKING TO START AT 530? THAT'S THE ONLY ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK I NEED FROM YOU ALL. AS FAR AS WHAT TIME CAN WE GET A MAJORITY OF YOU HERE TO START THIS SESSION? I CAN TELL YOU 5:00 WOULD BE BEST BECAUSE THE LAST TIME YOU TRIED OR WE HAD AN EXECUTIVE SESSION, WE WENT TO 555 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND IT WAS VERY CLOSE. SO I WOULD HOPE COUNSEL CAN GO FIVE. I'M GOOD AT FIVE. WITH WITH A THUMBS UP. DEPUTY MAYOR, I THINK I GOT FOUR AT LEAST FOUR. OKAY. SO IT WILL BEGIN AT 5:00. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MA'AM. AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR WORKSHOP. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.