[00:00:01]
I'D LIKE TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
OK, AT THIS TIME, WE WILL STAND FOR THE INVOCATION LED BY MR. PHILIP PUGH.
AND I WILL ASK MR. WEBB TO LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER, WE COME BEFORE YOU TONIGHT ASKING FOR YOUR GUIDANCE IN THIS BUDGET PROCESS.
WE ASK YOU TO BE WITH OUR MILITARY, OUR FIRST RESPONDERS, EVERYTHING IN YOUR NAME, AMEN.
I 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.
WITH THAT, I WILL ASK FOR A MOTION FOR THE ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED.
MR. COX, I MAKE A MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED.
FOR DISCUSSION, HEARING NONE, ROLL CALL, PLEASE.
OK, WITH THAT, WE WILL MOVE INTO OUR WORK SESSION.
[B. WORK SESSION]
AND THE FIRST ITEM WILL BE DISCUSSION OF FLEET MANAGEMENT.YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE.
THAT'S WHY WE NEED SIX-FOOT PEOPLE.
GOOD EVENING, MR. CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, MS. PUDLOW.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME UP TONIGHT AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND PRESENT THE FLEET MANAGEMENT BUDGET REQUEST FOR FY27.
I'LL GO AHEAD AND JUMP RIGHT INTO IT.
ON THE AGENDA TONIGHT, I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT ON OUR CURRENT WORKLOAD, COMPLEXITY, AND OPERATIONAL NEEDS.
I'D LIKE TO PRESENT SOME PROPOSED RECLASSIFICATIONS AND NEW POSITIONS WITHIN FLEET MANAGEMENT AND SHOW BENEFITS TO THE COUNTY OPERATIONS STAKEHOLDERS AND COMPLIANCE.
HERE'S A FEW FACTS THAT WE PUT TOGETHER FOR LAST YEAR, LAST CALENDAR YEAR, 2025.
WE MAINTAIN AND BUILD OVER 154,000 GALLONS OF FUEL, BOTH GASOLINE AND DIESEL, TO COUNTY VEHICLES.
WE'VE ISSUED $260,000 WORTH OF PARTS.
SHOP HOURS THAT WERE PRODUCED BY THE TECHNICIANS ON WORK ORDERS WAS 3,758.
02,849 OF THOSE HOURS WERE JUST FOR POLICE AND FIRE AND EMS, PUBLIC SAFETY.
THE REST OF THOSE SHOP HOURS, 908 HOURS, WAS TO THE REST OF THE COUNTY VEHICLES.
01,537 WORK ORDERS WERE GENERATED, AND WE MAINTAIN 258 DMV-REGISTERED VEHICLES.
THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY EQUIPMENT OR TRAILERS OR THINGS OF THAT NATURE THAT AREN'T REGISTERED WITH DMV.
WE ALSO HAVE 63 COMPONENTS, WHICH IS COMPRISED OF MOWERS, BOAT, PUMPS, GOLF CARTS, ETC.
THOSE ARE THE OTHER ASPECTS OF WHAT WE DO THAT AREN'T INCLUDED WITH DMV-REGISTERED VEHICLES.
72% OF ALL THE VEHICLES THE COUNTY OWNS AND COMPONENTS HAVE THE FUEL RING INSTALLED.
WHAT THAT IS IS THE FJ3 THAT GOES ALONG WITH THE FUEL FOCUS.
IT'S THE AUTOMATED FUEL SYSTEM THAT AUTOMATICALLY DOWNLOADS THE DATA FROM THE MILEAGE VEHICLE NUMBER TO PREVENT MISUSE OF FUEL.
ANOTHER FACT THAT'S NOT ON THIS SLIDE, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO ADD, THAT SO FAR THIS YEAR IN FY2026, FOR JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO BUILD ALL THE PUBLIC SAFETY VEHICLES SO FAR IN-HOUSE, WHICH SO FAR TO THIS DAY HAS SAVED US APPROXIMATELY $24,000 JUST FOR THE VEHICLES THAT WERE PURCHASED FOR FY26.
IF WE CONTINUE ON THIS PATH AND BUILD THE REST OF THE VEHICLES THAT ARE ALSO STILL ON ORDER, WE'RE ON TRACK TO SAVE APPROXIMATELY $43,000 FOR THE COUNTY BY DOING THIS IN-HOUSE.
SOME OF THE KEY FOCUS THAT I'D LIKE TO FOCUS ON IS OFFICE MANAGER RECLASSIFICATION.
THIS POSITION SUPPORTS OFFICE OPERATIONS, FINANCIAL PROCESSES, BUDGET SUPPORT, COMPLIANCE AND SAFETY, STAFF COORDINATION, FUEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR, AND DATA MANAGEMENT.
THE FLEET TECHNICIAN RECLASSIFICATION, WE'D LIKE TO CONSOLIDATE OUR FLEET MECHANICS
[00:05:02]
AND OUR APPARATUS TECHNICIANS INTO ONE POSITION SO THAT THEY ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL VEHICLES INSTEAD OF BEING SPLIT TO WHERE SOME ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ONLY SMALLER VEHICLES AND THE REST ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LARGER FIRE APPARATUS.THEIR POSITIONS CROSS PATHS FREQUENTLY.
THERE'S A LOT OF COMPLEXITY THAT GOES IN THAT THEY REALLY ALL NEED TO KNOW TO BE MORE STREAMLINED TO HAVE ALL OF THESE GUYS DOING THE SAME THING.
THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR OF FLEET, FIRE, POLICE, EMS VEHICLES, PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE, DIAGNOSTICS, AND VEHICLE READINESS.
NEW POSITION I'M REQUESTING IS A PARTS AND SAFETY COORDINATOR.
THIS POSITION WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR INVENTORY MANAGEMENT, VENDOR COORDINATION, PARTS PROCESSING, SAFETY COMPLIANCE, AND RISK MANAGEMENT.
CURRENTLY THESE DUTIES ARE SPREAD ACROSS ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES WHICH PULLS THE FLEET TECHNICIANS AND MECHANICS AWAY FROM ACTUALLY PERFORMING MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS ON THE VEHICLES THEY'RE SERVICING.
THE CURRENT ISSUES WITH THE OFFICE MANAGER ARE THE SUPPORT SPECIALIST DUTIES HAVE EXPANDED SIGNIFICANTLY.
THE WORKLOAD INCLUDES BUDGET, PAYROLL, FINANCIAL RECONCILIATION, SYSTEM MANAGEMENT, AND FUEL SITE MANAGEMENT.
RECENTLY ALL EIGHT OF THE COUNTY'S FUEL SITES AT THE FIRE STATIONS AND THE COUNTY COMPLEX HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED OVER TO FLEET MANAGEMENT FROM GENERAL SERVICES.
SO THIS OFFICE, PROPOSED OFFICE MANAGER POSITION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING INVENTORIES AT ALL OF THESE STATIONS AND ORDERING THE FUEL TO ENSURE THAT THEY STAY ADEQUATELY FULL TO RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES.
THE ADDED RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES INCLUDE STAFF COORDINATION, TRAINING, FINANCIAL PROCESSING, PURCHASE ORDERS, MAINTAINING RECORDS AND REPORTING FOR COMPLIANCE, ORDER PROCESSING AND MAINTAINING THE INVENTORY OF PARTS.
THIS POSITION ALSO SUPPORTS FLEET MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE SCHEDULING WHICH INCLUDES KEY VALET AND FUEL FOCUS AND AGAIN THE FUEL FOCUS IS ANOTHER NEWER THAT WE'VE ONLY HAD FOR APPROXIMATELY A LITTLE OVER A YEAR TO A YEAR AND A HALF.
TRACKING THE FUEL SYSTEMS, THIS POSITION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THAT SYSTEM.
HERE'S A GRAPH OF A PERCENTAGE OF WHERE THIS POSITION SPENDS THE MAJORITY OF THEIR TIME.
AS YOU CAN SEE, APPROXIMATELY 45% OF THEIR TIME IS SPENT DEALING WITH FUEL AND PARTS.
THIS INCLUDES INVENTORY, ORDERING, BILLING TO THE CORRECT WORK ORDER SO THAT THEY ARE BILLED TO THE DEPARTMENTS PROPERLY.
SYSTEMS ADMIN, FINANCIAL SUPPORT, ADMIN DUTIES, IT'S PRETTY SELF-EXPLANATORY.
AS FAR AS THE OFFICE STATISTICS ARE CONCERNED, THESE ARE THE NUMBER OF ITEMS THAT THIS POSITION ACCOMPLISHED IN THE YEAR OF 2025.
INVOICES PROCESSED WERE 839 INVOICES.
THE CURRENT ISSUES WITH THE FLEET TECHNICIANS AND MECHANICS AND APPARATUS TECHNICIANS PERFORM OVERLAPPING COMPLEX DUTIES, WORKLOAD INCREASE OF MODERN VEHICLES AND FIRE APPARATUS, HIGH TECHNICAL COMPLIANCE DEMANDS.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE AIM TO KEEP OUTSOURCING TO A MINIMUM.
WE BASE THAT OFF OF TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE AND WHAT'S NEEDED, WHAT WE HAVE, WHAT WE CAN AFFORD, WORKLOAD AND TECHNICIAN ABILITIES.
IT'S OFTEN THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE PROPER STAFF TRAINED TO DO CERTAIN JOBS SO WE HAVE TO OUTSOURCE THEM.
THAT'S WHY IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE, I FEEL IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE COMBINE THE POSITIONS AND CROSS-TRAIN OUR EMPLOYEES AMONG THEMSELVES AND PROVIDE GOOD FORMAL TRAINING.
BRIEFLY PUT A GRAPH UP OF THE FLEET TECHNICIAN TIME ALLOCATION OF 45% OF THEIR TIME IS PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS AND 25% OF DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIRS.
THEY CURRENTLY SPEND ABOUT 15% OF THEIR TIME ON PARTS INVENTORY, BILLING, THAT SORT OF THING.
THESE ARE THE SHOP STATISTICS OF NUMBER OF REPAIR WORK ORDERS BY TASKS, 527 PM TASKS AND 646 REPAIRS.
AND THIS IS FOR THE PARTS AND SAFETY NEW POSITION REQUEST.
THIS IS TO CENTRALIZE INVENTORY, VENDOR MANAGEMENT AND SAFETY COMPLIANCE, ALLEVIATE WORKLOAD FOR MULTIPLE PERSONNEL HANDLING DISPERSED DUTIES.
CURRENTLY WE HAVE $190,000 WORTH OF PARTS ON HAND.
THIS POSITION WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF ALL OF THOSE PARTS.
IF IT'S NOT APPROVED TO INCREASE WORKLOAD ON STAFF, IT TAKES THEM AWAY
[00:10:01]
FROM OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE PERFORMING.HIGHER RISK OF ERRORS IN INVENTORY AND COMPLIANCE AND HIGHER RISK OF INJURY AND NON-COMPLIANCE DUE TO THE LACK OF ASSISTANCE WITH THE SAFETY PORTION.
IN SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS ARE TO RECLASSIFY THE FLEET TECHNICIAN AND OFFICE MANAGER.
BOTH THE TECHNICIAN AND OFFICE MANAGER RECLASSIFICATIONS ARE SUPPORTED BY HR DUE TO THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSITIONS AND MARKET STUDIES.
THE SAFETY COORDINATORS TO CENTRALIZE INVENTORY AND SAFETY FUNCTIONS AND REDUCING WORKLOAD, OPERATIONAL RISK AND INCREASING ACCOUNTABILITY.
AND OUR EXPECTED OUTCOMES ARE REDUCED VEHICLE DOWNTIME, IMPROVED COMPLIANCE AND AUDIT READINESS, ENHANCED CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR INTERNAL AND PUBLIC STAKEHOLDERS.
I'D ALSO LIKE TO MENTION THAT THROUGHOUT THIS BUDGET PROCESS THAT ANY ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES OR POSITIONS THAT MAY BE ADDED IS POSSIBLE THAT IT COULD ADD ADDITIONAL VEHICLES.
AND I JUST WANT TO REMIND EVERYBODY THAT WE NEED TO STAY UP TO PAR ON STAFF TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN AND REPAIR ANY ADDITIONAL VEHICLES.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
THE FUEL FOCUS, THAT ALSO DOWNLOADS ANY ERROR CODES THAT ARE ON THE VEHICLE WHEN YOU'RE GETTING FUELED, DOES IT NOT? IT IS SUPPOSED TO AND IT'S CURRENTLY NOT FUNCTIONING LIKE IT'S SUPPOSED TO.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE MANUFACTURER AS IT WORKS TO TRY AND GET THAT RESOLVED.
AND IN REFERENCE TO YOUR PM PROCESS, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME TONIGHT, THE PERCENTAGE OF WORK THAT YOU MAY FIND DOING A PREVENTIVE PM, BECAUSE SOME OF THEM ARE ROUTINE, SOME OF THEM ACTUALLY CAN SHOW OTHER ITEMS OR SOMETHING YOU FIND DURING THE PM THAT GENERATES A WORK ORDER FOR REPAIR.
YOU DON'T HAPPEN TO KNOW THE PERCENTAGE? I DON'T HAVE THAT NUMBER RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
I'D BE HAPPY TO GET IT FOR YOU.
I JUST WANT TO SEE THAT PM PROGRAM IS ACTUALLY GOING SO IT COMES AROUND FULL CIRCLE.
THE PM, ANY REPAIRS THAT ARE FOUND WHEN WE DO A PM ARE PERFORMED ON THAT SAME WORK ORDER WITH THE PM, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE ASKING? OKAY.
SO WE DON'T GENERATE A NEW WORK ORDER NECESSARILY.
WE HAVE ONE PM WORK ORDER, THE VEHICLE COMES IN, WE LOOK IT OVER.
ANY ISSUES WE FIND, THOSE TASKS ARE ADDED TO THAT SAME WORK ORDER.
NOW, ARE THOSE FINDINGS DOCUMENTED SOMEWHERE ON THAT WORK ORDER? SO IF YOU HAD TO GO BACK, SAY COST OF REPAIRS OR REPLACEMENT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU COULD READILY PULL THAT UP AND SAY, LOOK, THIS IS HOW LONG WE'VE HAD IT, THIS IS THE AMOUNT OF REPAIRS, THIS IS WHY WE NEED TO REPLACE IT.
THERE'S THE MENTION OF THE MERGING OF THE MECHANICS AND THE APPARATUS TECHNICIANS.
IT KIND OF REPEATEDLY MENTIONS INCREASED EFFICIENCY AND REDUCING DOWNTIME.
DO YOU SEE ANY OPPORTUNITY IN SEEING A REDUCTION IN THE OVERTIME LINE ITEM, SEEING THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AN INCREASED AMOUNT OF EFFICIENCY ON THE WORK BEING DONE CURRENTLY? WE TYPICALLY DON'T HAVE MUCH OVERTIME.
I DON'T FORESEE THAT CHANGING MUCH.
THE MAJORITY OF OUR OVERTIME IS WE PROVIDE 24-HOUR ASSISTANCE, ON-CALL ASSISTANCE MAINLY FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND POLICE DEPARTMENT.
MOST OF OUR OVERTIME COMES FROM AFTER-HOURS CALL-OUTS.
WE CHANGE FLAT TIRES, RUPTURED.
WE JUST HAD A POWER STEERING LINE RUPTURED ON RESCUE 2 OVER THE WEEKEND.
ONE OF OUR TECHNICIANS WENT OUT FOR THAT LAST NIGHT.
THAT'S WHERE THE MAJORITY OF OUR OVERTIME COMES FROM.
I DON'T SEE THAT IT WOULD REDUCE THAT BY MUCH.
THE FUEL TANKS, I THINK IT'S UNDER GARAGE REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE.
FUEL TANKS, IS THE 20,000 THAT YOU'RE REFERENCING HERE, IS THAT GOING TO BE A RECURRING ANNUAL COST, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD SEE BEING POSSIBLY BIANNUAL OR KIND OF ON A RECURRING SEMI-ANNUAL BASIS? I SEE THIS FALLING OFF AS THE YEARS GO BY.
WE WERE CAUGHT OFF GUARD THIS YEAR WITH THE MAINTENANCE THAT WAS REQUIRED ON THE TANKS.
SO WE TOOK THAT NUMBER AND PUT THAT IN THE BUDGET BECAUSE THEY NEED TO BE MONITORED IN CASE IT NEEDS TO BE DONE AGAIN.
I DO FORESEE THAT THIS BEING A BIANNUAL OR EVEN LONGER RECURRENCE.
I DON'T FORESEE THAT FULL $20,000 BEING USED THIS YEAR FOR THOSE PURPOSES.
THERE'S MORE OF A BUFFER SO THAT IT'S THERE IF WE DO NEED IT.
THE TIRE MACHINE AND AIR COMPRESSOR, I'M NOT SURE I'D SEEN ANY DOLLARS SPENT SO FAR IN THE CURRENT BUDGET FOR MAINTENANCE ON THOSE ITEMS. IS THERE A PARTICULAR FAILURE RATE OR SOME OTHER MEASURE THAT YOU'RE USING TO KIND OF GIVE US AN INDICATION WHY WE'RE REQUIRING BOTH OF THOSE TO BE REPLACED IN A SINGLE YEAR? I DO NOT HAVE ANY INFORMATION
[00:15:01]
TO BACK THAT UP AS FAR AS FAILURE RATE.I CAN TELL YOU THAT WE'VE HAD, GENERAL SERVICES HAS COME OVER AND REPAIRED THE COMPRESSOR SEVERAL TIMES, AND THEY'RE CURRENTLY ORDERING US A NEW MOTOR TO REPLACE THE MOTOR THAT'S ON IT BECAUSE IT JUST WENT DOWN, I BELIEVE IT WAS TWO WEEKS AGO, AGAIN.
THE TIRES MACHINE IS MORE OF A RECOMMENDED ITEM.
THEY RECOMMEND REPLACING THE TIRE MACHINE, I BELIEVE IT WAS EVERY 7 TO 12 YEARS.
I CAN'T FIND A DATE ON THE TIRE MACHINE OR ANY RECORDS OF WHEN IT WAS PURCHASED.
I'VE SPOKEN WITH FINANCE, AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO FIND THE PURCHASE ORDER FROM WHEN IT WAS PURCHASED.
AND THIS MACHINE IS THE ONLY MACHINE THAT WE HAVE.
IF IT GOES DOWN, WE LOSE THE CAPABILITY OF CHANGING TIRES.
SO THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE OUTSOURCED UNTIL THE MACHINE WAS REPAIRED OR REPLACED.
ON THE CONVENTION AND EDUCATION LINE ITEM, I ASSUME THE INCREASE ON THAT LINE ITEM IS FOR THE PIERCE TRAINING, FOR THE APPARATUS? YES.
IS THERE ANY OPPORTUNITY TO STAGGER? SO SAY IF WE WANTED TO MAKE ALL OF THE FOLKS KIND OF THE SAME TWO LEVELS, WHETHER OR NOT IT WOULD BE BOTH GAS AND FIRE TRUCK, IS THERE ANY OPPORTUNITY TO STAGGER THOSE? BECAUSE I KNOW BETWEEN EDUCATION AND THE SALARY INCREASES, IT'S A BIG JUMP IN ONE SHOT.
EXCUSE ME, I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO CUT YOU OFF.
YOU COULD DO ONE OR TWO A YEAR, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AND STEADILY MOVE TOWARDS THAT DIRECTION.
THAT NUMBER WAS BASED OFF OF ONE THREE-DAY COURSE FOR EACH TECHNICIAN PER YEAR.
SO YES, WE COULD PROBABLY CUT THAT BY AT LEAST A THIRD, MAYBE EVEN CLOSER TO HALF, BECAUSE THAT NUMBER DOES ALSO INCLUDE ASSET WORKS TRAINING, WHICH IS OUR OPERATIONS FLEET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TRAINING, JUST SO WE CAN STAY UP TO DATE ON THAT.
BUT ABSOLUTELY, I DON'T SEE WHY WE COULDN'T STAGGER.
I APPRECIATE YOU ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS.
ON SLIDE 10, IT SHOWED SOME OF THE WORK DONE THIS YEAR WAS FOR FJ-3 INSTALLS AND CALIBRATION.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT ONLY TAKES PLACE ONCE WHEN THE ASSET IS PURCHASED, OR IS THAT AN EVERY-YEAR THING? THE INSTALLATION IS ONE INITIAL INSTALLATION.
THE VEHICLE IS PURCHASED, OR WE STILL HAVE SOME THAT WE ALREADY OWN THAT HAS NOT BEEN INSTALLED YET.
THE CALIBRATION IS THERE'S A SLIGHT MILEAGE DIFFERENCE WHEN IT'S FIRST INSTALLED.
ONCE THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN DRIVEN A CERTAIN NUMBER OF MILES, YOU RECALIBRATE, AND IT TAKES THE MILEAGE IT SEES, AND IT TAKES THE MILEAGE FROM THE VEHICLE, AND COMES UP WITH THE PROPER CALCULATION.
WE'VE BEEN INCORPORATING THIS INTO OUR PMS. SO WHEN WE BRING VEHICLES IN EVERY 6,000 MILES FOR PMS, WE CALIBRATE THEM THEN.
SO IT'S NO ADDITIONAL MAINTENANCE, NECESSARILY, FOR THE EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE TO DROP THEIR VEHICLES OFF TO HAVE THEM SERVICED.
ON SLIDE 3, IT NOTES 258 VEHICLES, TRAILERS, AND APPARATUS.
IS THERE ANY WAY THAT YOU CAN GET, AND MAYBE YOU ALREADY HAVE ASSET MANAGEMENT OR SOMETHING.
IS THERE ANY WAY YOU CAN GET MS. PUDLOW AND THE BOARD A BREAKDOWN OF THE 258 BY DEPARTMENT? ABSOLUTELY.
AND THEN ON SLIDE 6, IT'S PART OF THE PIE CHART.
IT TALKS ABOUT THE PROPOSED OFFICE MANAGER'S INVOLVEMENT IN, WELL, MAYBE IT'S THE PARTS MANAGER, PARTS AND INVENTORY MANAGEMENT.
DO YOU GUYS HAVE SOME KIND OF ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OR PLANNING TOOL OR SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE USING? WE DO.
IT'S CALLED FLEET FOCUS, AND IT NOT ONLY DOES IT TRACK THE VEHICLES, BUT IT HAS EVERY PART THAT WE PURCHASE IN INVENTORY GOES THROUGH THAT SYSTEM.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT FLEET FOCUS OFFERS IN THE WAY OF RESOURCE PLANNING OR AUTOMATION THAT MIGHT OFFSET SOMETHING THAT THE OFFICE MANAGER HAS TO DO MANUALLY? NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
THERE ARE SOME FEATURES, BUT I HAVEN'T LOOKED THAT IN-DEPTH WITH THEM.
LIKE, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE KEY VALLEY, THE MOTOR POOL TASK, THAT DOES THE MAJORITY OF THE WORKLOADS.
SO THERE MAY BE OTHERS OUT THERE POSSIBLE.
BETWEEN YOU AND CLIFF, IS THERE ANY WAY YOU COULD GET US A COST FOR SOME KIND OF TRAINING ON FLEETWORKS TO SEE IF THAT TYPE OF FUNCTIONALITY EXISTS AND IF WE CAN TRAIN PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY HERE POTENTIALLY? YES.
AND JUST TO CLARIFY REAL QUICK, THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEPARTMENT AND THE HARD WORK EVERYBODY DOES.
JUST WANT TO PUT THAT OUT THERE.
I KNOW Y'ALL WORK HARD AND I'VE SEEN IT.
100% WILL SUPPORT YOU ON A TIRE MACHINE BECAUSE IF WE ONLY HAVE ONE, THAT'S A PROBLEM.
AND THEN AS FAR AS THE COMPRESSOR GOES, YOU NEED A BACKUP ONE.
MY RECOMMENDATION IS TO FUND A NEW ONE AS A PRIMARY AND THEN KEEP THE OLD ONE AS A BACKUP IF WE'RE PUTTING A BRAND NEW MOTOR ON IT.
[00:20:02]
IS THAT BILLABLE HOURS OR MAN HOURS? IT WAS 3,758 AND THEN 2,849.IS THAT HOURS WORKED BY MAN OR IS THAT RECOMMENDED BY A, YOU KNOW, IT TAKES 13 HOURS TO PUT AN ALTERNATOR ON, BUT REALLY IT TOOK TWO? BILLABLE HOURS.
BILLABLE HOURS PER ALL DATA, EXACTLY LIKE YOU SAID.
IF A JOB CALLS FOR 10 HOURS AND YOU PUT IT ON IN TWO, YOU BILL 10.
THE NEXT THING, HAVE WE EVER TRIED PART-TIME AS PARTS GUY? HAVE WE EVER LOOKED INTO THAT AT ALL? I HAVE BROUGHT IT UP IN THE PAST, A POSITION REQUEST.
WE'VE NEVER MADE TRACTION WITH IT.
THAT IS ABSOLUTELY AN OPTION THAT WE CAN LOOK INTO.
BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS I'M LOOKING AT, YOUR PIE CHARTS AND ALL THAT, IF WE GAVE A PART-TIME PERSON, IT WOULD ALLEVIATE SOME OF THAT OFFICE MANAGER'S RESPONSIBILITY WHEN IT CAME TO INVENTORY MANAGEMENT, ASSET PARTS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
THE OTHER THING IS I WAS LOOKING AT YOUR SPAN OF CONTROL.
YOU'VE GOT TWO MECHANICS, TWO APPARATUS TECHNICIANS, A FLEET SUPERVISOR, A MANAGER FLEET, AND A SUPPORT SPECIALIST.
WELL, THAT'S A SMALL SPAN OF CONTROL.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT, LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, THE MANAGER OF FLEET COULD DO EXTRA, LIKE THE SAFETY PORTION OR THE PARTS STUFF? I MEAN, IF WE DID FUND A PART-TIME PERSON, YOU KNOW, TO OFFSET WHEN THEY'RE NOT THERE.
MR. PUGH DID STATE, YOU KNOW, LOOKING INTO SOME IT STUFF AS FAR AS TRACKING THAT STUFF.
BUT ONE OF THE CONCERNS, THE OTHER CONCERN THAT I'VE GOT IS THE APPARATUS TECHNICIAN AND THE MECHANIC TECHNICIAN, PUTTING THEM ON THE SAME PAY GRADE.
YOU'VE GOT, I WOULD SAY, THREE THAT ARE FIRE RIGHT NOW.
AM I LOOKING AT THAT RIGHT? WE HAVE TWO THAT ARE FIRE, ONE, AND THEN A THIRD ONE IS PART-TIME.
OKAY, A THIRD ONE IS PART-TIME.
SO IS THE MANAGER OF FLEET IN CHARGE OF THE ENTIRE SHOP OR IS HE JUST IN CHARGE OF THE FIRESIDE? IN CHARGE OF THE ENTIRE SHOP.
HE'S IN CHARGE OF THE ENTIRE SHOP.
SO MY ONLY THING IS IF THOSE APPARATUS TECHNICIANS HAVE THE CERTIFICATIONS, THINGS LIKE THAT, WE'RE GOING TO BRING OTHER PEOPLE ON THE SAME LEVEL, THEN YOU'RE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, CREATING A COMPRESSION ISSUE.
YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? THAT'S THE ONLY ISSUE I SEE WITH IT.
YOU KNOW, I KNOW FIRE TRUCKS, FIRE TRUCKS IS A SPECIALTY.
THEY AIN'T NO IFS, ANDS, OR BUTS ABOUT THAT.
THE OTHER THING IS, I KNOW YOU STATED EARLIER YOU WERE SAVING ABOUT $20,000 OR $25,000 ON BUILDING THESE UNITS.
HOW MANY MORE UNITS DO WE HAVE COMING IN? WE CURRENTLY HAVE THREE.
I KNOW WE HAVE THREE MORE COMING.
WE HAVE FOUR THAT STILL HAVE NOT COME IN.
OKAY, SO MY QUESTION IS, IS IT ONE GUY BUILDING THOSE? IS IT TWO GUYS? IS IT A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT? I MEAN, HOW MANY MAN HOURS GOES INTO THAT? IT TAKES ABOUT 80 HOURS, DEPENDING ON THE EQUIPMENT IN THE VEHICLE.
WE HAVE ONE TECHNICIAN THAT IS PRIMARY AT BUILDING THEM.
I MYSELF WILL BUILD WITH HIM, AND OTHER EMPLOYEES WILL JUMP IN AND HELP HIM AS WELL.
THE ONLY THING I'M LOOKING AT AT THAT IS, IS IT, HAVE WE LOOKED AT, YOU KNOW, BUYING A LOCK STOCK BARREL VERSUS BUILDING THEM? AND THE REASON I ASK THAT IS, IF WE'RE PAYING, AND I, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE STARTING SALARY OF A TECHNICIAN? IS IT $45,000? ROUGHLY, I'M NOT SURE.
IF WE'RE PAYING ONE GUY FULL-TIME TO JUST DO THAT, WOULD HIS TIME BE BETTER SPENT DOING OTHER THINGS IF WE JUST CONTRACTED THAT OUT? DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? IT DOES, BUT HE'S NOT JUST DOING THAT.
WHILE WE HAVE THEM TO BUILD, THAT IS WHAT HE DOES.
BUT ONCE HE'S DONE WITH THOSE, HE MOVES ON AND PERFORMS OTHER DUTIES, OTHER INSPECTIONS, PMS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
SO THAT IS NOT JUST HIS PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES.
AND THEN THE SAFETY THING, I GUESS THAT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, AN ADDED DESCRIPTION IN THE PARTS THING? YES.
WE'RE TRYING TO SPREAD, BECAUSE ONE OF YOUR EARLIER QUESTIONS WAS SPREADING SOME OF THE DUTIES AROUND THAT POSSIBLY THE MANAGER COULD DO.
THAT'S TYPICALLY WHAT WE DO NOW.
WE HAVE THREE OF US, THE SUPERVISOR, THE ADMIN SUPPORT, AND THE MANAGER, ALL THREE OF US DO THE PARTS BUILDING, THE PARTS ORDERING, THE SAFETY COMPLIANCE, THE MEETINGS, THE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES, ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
SO IT'S KIND OF HARD TO SAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO SPREAD THEM EVEN MORE.
THE NEXT PLACE LEFT IS THE GUYS ON THE FLOOR.
SO MY NEXT QUESTION IS, HAVE WE EVER LOOKED AT ALMOST LIKE A CAREER DEVELOPMENT? LIKE IF YOU HAVE A TECHNICIAN THAT WANTS TO GO GET A FIRE CERT, INSTEAD OF JUST SAYING, HEY, WE'RE GOING TO PAY EVERYBODY THE SAME, HEY,
[00:25:01]
ONCE YOU GET THIS CERTIFICATION, YOU CAN MAKE AN APPARATUS TECHNICIAN SALARY.HAVE WE EVER THOUGHT OF THAT INSTEAD OF JUST SAYING, HEY, LET'S PROMOTE EVERYBODY TO THEN GO GET THE CERTS? YOU SEE WHAT I'M SAYING? I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA AND I'D LOVE TO PURSUE THAT.
THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT AT THIS TIME.
WHAT IS THE AVERAGE TIME IT TAKES TO BUILD A POLICE VEHICLE? ABOUT 80 HOURS, DEPENDING ON THE EQUIPMENT THAT'S INVOLVED ON THE PARTICULAR BUILD.
AND I LIKED YOUR IDEA ON SAFETY.
HOW DOES Y'ALL'S SDS SYSTEM WORK? IS IT Y'ALL HAVE A PAPER TRAIL? WE CURRENTLY HAVE THE BOOKS ALL IN ONE LOCATION ON A WALL THAT WE CONSIDER THE SAFETY AREA WHERE WE KEEP ALL OF OUR PPE AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
HAVE YOU ALL EVER CONSIDERED ELECTRONIC? I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA AS WELL.
AND AS FAR AS SAFETY, I THINK WE, AS A WHOLE, THIS COUNTY PROBABLY NEEDS A SAFETY PERSON OR AT LEAST SOMEBODY THAT FOCUSES A GOOD PORTION OF TIME ON IT FOR ALL DEPARTMENTS.
WITH THAT, WE'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT ONE THAT IS DISCUSSION OF ANIMAL SERVICES.
I KNOW MR. LINEBERGER IS NOT WITH US, SO I THINK WE HAVE A STAND-IN.
GOOD EVENING, CHAIRMAN COX, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, MR. PUDLOW, MADAM CLERK.
ROB LINEBERGER COULDN'T BE HERE TONIGHT, SO I'LL BE PRESENTING ON HIS BEHALF.
AND WITH THAT, I AM MAJOR JAMIE NICHOLAS WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND WE'LL JUMP RIGHT IN.
TO START, I JUST WANT TO GO OVER THE OVERALL STRUCTURE WITHIN THE SHELTER CURRENTLY.
ROB IS OUR TOP-LEVEL SUPERVISOR FOR ANIMAL SERVICES.
HE OVERSEES BOTH THE CIVILIAN STAFF AT THE SHELTER AND ALSO SWORN STAFF ON THE ROAD.
SWORN STAFF CONSISTS OF THREE SWORN ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICERS.
THEY'RE DEDICATED TO FIELD WORK, CALLS FOR SERVICE, COMPLAINTS, SEIZURES, CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS, AND OTHER NEEDS.
OUTSIDE OF THAT, WE HAVE ONE FULL-TIME ADOPTION COORDINATOR STATIONED AT THE SHELTER, TWO ADDITIONAL FULL-TIME KENNEL ATTENDANTS, AND ADDITIONAL PART-TIME STAFF.
BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER, I JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT, AS OF CURRENT, THROUGH DEMAND, OUR FULL-TIME ADOPTION COORDINATOR IS ESSENTIALLY ABSORBING RESPONSIBILITIES FOR MANAGING THE SHELTER DAY-TO-DAY ABOVE AND BEYOND HER CURRENT JOB DESCRIPTION.
WITH THAT, WE'VE GOT A FULL-TIME KENNEL ATTENDANT WHO'S DOING THE SAME.
SHE'S BACKFILLING THE NEEDS FOR ADOPTION COORDINATORS.
SO WE'VE GOT TWO EMPLOYEES WHO ARE GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND DOING WORK THAT'S OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF THEIR INITIAL JOB DESCRIPTION.
WE'LL START WITH SOME OF THE BASIC CHALLENGES WE'RE SEEING AT THE SHELTER.
JUST TO START, BASIC CARE FOR THE ANIMALS.
THE SHELTER HAS THE CAPACITY TO HOLD JUST OVER 140 KENNELS.
WE'VE SEEN RECENT PERIODS OF TIME WHERE THE SHELTER HAS BEEN AT CAPACITY FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME.
THAT ALONE COULD BE REALLY TAXING ON OUR STAFF JUST TO PROVIDE BASIC CARE, BASIC CARE BEING TWO FEEDINGS A DAY AND CLEANING THE KENNELS.
THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE WALKING THE DOG, ANY ONE-ON-ONE TIME WITH THE ANIMALS, ANY KIND OF INDIVIDUALIZED CARE.
GOING BACK TO THE CLEANING OF THE KENNELS, JUST TO TOUCH ON THAT, CLEANING A KENNEL ISN'T JUST A WATER HOSE AND A SHOVEL.
THE STATE VETS SET STANDARDS FOR HOW WE SANITIZE AND DECONTAMINATE THOSE KENNELS, AND THAT'S A DAILY OCCURRENCE.
THAT MAINTENANCE IS OCCURRING 24-7, 365 WEEKENDS, HOLIDAYS, EVERY DAY THAT'S REQUIRED.
ON AVERAGE, JUST SAY WE HAVE 60 DOGS IN THE SHELTER, AGAIN, JUST BASIC CARE IS RATHER TAXING ON OUR STAFF.
MOVING ON TO DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT, THAT KIND OF FUNNELS INTO OUR CURRENT ADOPTION COORDINATOR STEPPING IN TO COVER SOME OF THOSE MANAGEMENT NEEDS WITHIN THE SHELTER.
THAT'S FINANCES, LOGISTICS, THE ANIMALS IN THE SHELTER, THEIR BASIC NEEDS, OVERSEEING THE PART-TIME STAFF, OUR KENNEL TENANTS, AND THEN OTHER NEEDS SUCH AS MEDICAL VISITS, BED APPOINTMENTS, AND ADOPTION EVENTS.
CUSTOMER SERVICE, THIS IS A BIG PIECE, AND I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT IF A PERSON OR A FAMILY COMES INTO THE SHELTER TO POTENTIALLY ADOPT A DOG, THAT TIME WITH THE FAMILY ALONE COULD COST SEVERAL HOURS, IF NOT MULTIPLE VISITS OR DAYS, TO PAIR THAT ANIMAL OR THAT FAMILY WITH THE RIGHT ADOPTION.
THE END GOAL IS TO HAVE A PERMANENT PLACEMENT ADOPTION, AND AGAIN, THAT'S AN ADOPTION COORDINATOR SPENDING HOURS, POTENTIALLY MULTIPLE DAYS IN A ROW FOR ONE ADOPTION.
THEN JUST TOUCHING ON COMMUNITY EVENTS, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND GET INVOLVED.
PEOPLE COME TO THE SHELTER TO ADOPT, BUT THE EVENTS TYPICALLY ARE IN THE EVENINGS, WEEKENDS, HOLIDAYS, AND IN THE END, WE'RE MAKING IT TO THESE EVENTS, BUT ULTIMATELY IT'S HOURS WE JUST DON'T HAVE.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, AS I MENTIONED, RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING TO RECLASSIFY OUR CURRENT ADOPTION COORDINATOR ONE POSITION.
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SUPERVISOR OF ANIMAL SERVICES IN GENERAL.THIS WOULD BE A SECONDARY MANAGEMENT POSITION WITHIN THE SHELTER TO OVERSEE OPERATIONS DAY TO DAY.
WITH THAT REQUEST, THAT WOULD ALSO REQUIRE US TO RECLASS THE CURRENT KENNEL ATTENDANT POSITION TO ADOPTION COORDINATOR TO BACKFILL THAT VACANCY.
AGAIN, WE CURRENTLY HAVE TWO PEOPLE THAT ARE DOING WORK OUTSIDE OF THE SCOPE OF THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION JUST TO MEET THE DEMANDS.
AND THE FINAL REQUEST IS WITH THOSE CHANGES, WE'D HAVE TO BACKFILL ONE KENNEL ATTENDANT.
AGAIN, JUST TO MAINTAIN TWO FULL-TIME KENNEL ATTENDANTS WITHIN THE SHELTER.
IN CLOSING, WHAT WE CAN TELL THE COMMUNITY WE'LL GIVE THEM WITH THESE REQUESTS, WE AIM FOR HIGHER QUALITY PERSONALIZED SERVICE.
AGAIN, THAT'S WITH THE ANIMALS AND WITH THE COMMUNITY.
OUR GOAL IS ADOPTION AND TO MOVE THESE DOGS TO PERMANENT HOMES.
BUT WITH THAT, EVERY MONTH WE SEE ADDITIONAL SEIZURES, CRIMINAL CASES, ABUSE, NEGLECT SITUATIONS WHERE DOGS ARE COMING IN.
SO THIS IS A PROCESS THAT NEVER ENDS.
WE WANT TO IMPLEMENT MORE COMMUNITY-FOCUSED PROGRAMS, VACCINATION CLINICS, EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH, AND OTHER RESOURCES FOR THE COMMUNITY.
JUST TO MENTION, THERE'S A WAIT LIST RIGHT NOW FOR OWNER-SURRENDER ANIMALS.
THAT COULD BE SHOCKING IN ITSELF, BUT WE DON'T BLINDLY JUST TAKE ANIMALS IN.
AGAIN, THAT'S A PROACTIVE PIECE WHERE WE CAN ENGAGE WITH THAT PERSON WHO'S LOOKING TO SURRENDER THEIR ANIMAL AND OFTENTIMES PREVENT THAT BY OFFERING RESOURCES OR EDUCATION TO KEEP THE ANIMAL IN THE HOME AND MAKE IT A HEALTHY SITUATION.
AND AGAIN, BACK TO THIS ANIMAL ENRICHMENT, THAT'S BASICALLY MORE TIME WITH THE ANIMALS.
AGAIN, NOT PROVIDING JUST BASIC CARE, BUT AGAIN, THINK OF A DOG IN THE SHELTER FOR WEEKS OR MONTHS.
IT'S NOT THE BEST ENVIRONMENT.
SO THE MORE INDIVIDUALIZED CARE THEY GET, THAT INCREASES THEIR ADOPTABILITY.
AND IN THE END, THAT'S OUR GOAL.
I'VE GOT SEVERAL STAFF FROM THE SHELTER HERE TODAY TO HELP ANSWER QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY.
ALL RIGHT, MR. OWEN WRIGHT'S TIME.
THE NEW POSITION FOR KENNEL ATTENDANT, I BELIEVE, THE UNDERSTANDING IS TO TRY TO HELP REDUCE SOME OF THE OVERTIME.
I NOTICED THAT THE OVERTIME LINE ITEM SEEMS TO BE LEVEL-FUNDED.
DO WE EXPECT THAT THAT LINE ITEM MIGHT BE ABLE TO DECREASE WITH THE ADDITION OF THE NEW ROLES? I SUSPECT.
AS CURRENT WITH THE BACK-FILLING AND THE TWO POSITIONS THAT ARE KIND OF DOING ABOVE AND BEYOND, WE TRY TO BACK-FILL WITH THE PART-TIME WORK AND WE TRULY APPRECIATE ALL OF OUR PART-TIME STAFF, BUT IN THE END, IT IS PART-TIME STAFF AND RELIABILITY IS AN ISSUE.
BUT WE WOULD SEE A DECREASE IN OVERTIME.
DO WE HAVE, I KNOW ONE OF THE BIG THINGS, AND I'M NOT SUPER FAMILIAR WITH ANIMAL CONTROL, BUT THE IDEA IS TRYING TO FIND WAYS FOR DIVERSION, RIGHT? TRYING TO EITHER KEEP THEM OUT OF THE SHELTER OR GET THEM REHOMED IF YOU HAVE A LOST ANIMAL.
DO WE HAVE ANY PROGRAMS IN PLACE OR PLAN TO HAVE PROGRAMS IN PLACE TO REALLY EITHER LIKE TO HAVE APPOINTMENTS FOR LIKE FOLKS SURRENDERING THEIR ANIMALS OR ANY DRAWS FOR LIKE CHIPPING ANIMALS SO THAT THEY CAN BE REUNITED WITH THEIR FAMILIES FASTER RATHER THAN COMING TO THE...
I CAN TELL YOU WE'RE A PARTNER WITH MULTIPLE ORGANIZATIONS.
IF SOUTHERNERS ADOPT ANIMALS AT THE SHELTER, WE REACH OUT TO PLACE THESE ANIMALS IN OTHER PLACES WHERE THEY CAN HOME THEM OR FOSTER THEM UNTIL THEY'RE PLACED IN CARE.
MORE ON THAT, MS. COBB MIGHT BE THE ANSWER TO THAT.
YOU ASKED ABOUT MICROCHIPPING.
WE DID JUST START WITH PETLINK, SO WE ARE MICROCHIPPING ALL OF THE ANIMALS AS THEY LEAVE.
HOPEFULLY THEY WON'T COME BACK.
I KNOW WE MENTIONED THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE I KNOW WE MENTIONED THE MANAGER WOULD BE FOCUSED ON THE VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT ASPECTS OF THIS.
DO WE FIND THAT WE HAVE QUITE A BIT OF VOLUNTEERS AT THE SHELTER? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN KIND OF USE TO KIND OF SUPPLEMENT THE ANIMAL ENRICHMENT PART OF THE DEMAND OF THE JOB THAT WE'VE GOT? WE DO. THERE'S PLENTY OF VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY, BUT WE FIND THAT IT DOES REQUIRE OVERSIGHT AND MANAGEMENT, AND SOMETIMES IT'S...
I HATE TO SAY IT, BUT MORE WORK THAN IT'S WORTH, BUT IT IS SOMETHING WE'RE EXPLORING.
WELL, I GUESS I GOT TWO MORE, ACTUALLY.
SO THE 10% GROWTH STATISTIC, DO YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE THAT CAME FROM? I NOTICE IT'S CITED A COUPLE OF TIMES THROUGH THE PRESENTATION, BUT I WASN'T SURE EXACTLY HOW THE PROJECTION FOR GROWTH 10% IN THE NEXT YEAR CAME ABOUT.
THAT'S BASED ON CALLS FOR SERVICE FOR ANIMAL CONTROL OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS, ROUGHLY.
EVERY YEAR WE'RE SEEING CONSISTENTLY ROUGHLY A 10% INCREASE IN CALLS, SO IT'S PROJECTED TO EXPECT 10% AGAIN THIS YEAR.
AND I GUESS THE LAST ONE, I NOTICED THAT WE'RE KIND OF RECLASSING A STRING OF JOBS.
WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO RECLASSING EACH ONE OF THEM RATHER THAN ADDING ONE AT THE TOP AND SHIFTING INDIVIDUALS THROUGH THAT STRUCTURE? I THINK WE'VE REQUESTED THIS
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BEFORE, BUT AT THIS POINT IN TIME WITH THE STAFFING WE HAVE, IT APPEARS TO BE THE MOST ECONOMICAL OPTION FOR GETTING WHERE WE NEED TO BE, AND AGAIN, THAT'S BABY STEPS HERE AS FAR AS INCREASING STAFFING BY ONE IN THE END.APPRECIATE YOU ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU. THAT'S ALL I HAVE, SIR.
I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY WHO WORKS DOWN THERE AND VOLUNTEERS.
I'VE BEEN DOWN THERE SEVERAL TIMES AND VISITED, AND I'M ALWAYS THANKFUL FOR WHAT Y'ALL DO.
HOW MANY VACANCIES DOES THAT DEPARTMENT HAVE CURRENTLY? CURRENTLY ONE VACANCY.
OKAY, SO YOU ONLY HAVE TWO, OR ARE THEY THREE AND THERE'S FOURTH, OR...? WE HAVE TWO CURRENT.
TWO CURRENT, AND THERE'S A THIRD THAT HAS NOT BEEN FILLED.
ALL RIGHT, IF THAT THIRD ONE WAS ABLE TO GET FILLED, WOULD THAT ALLEVIATE SOME OF THE OVERLOAD WORKLOAD ON EVERYBODY? IT COULD, BUT THE ACOS ARE TYPICALLY DESIGNATED FOR OUTWARD AND THE FIELD WORK.
AND THEN YOU'RE ASKING TO RECLASS A MANAGER 1.
SO YOU WOULD HAVE A MANAGER 1 AND THEN AN ADOPTION COORDINATOR? YES, SIR.
DON'T WE ALREADY HAVE AN ADOPTION COORDINATOR? WE'D RECLASS THE CURRENT ADOPTION COORDINATOR TO MANAGER 1, AND THAT WOULD REQUIRE A KINDLE ATTENDANT TO BE RECLASSED AND THEN A KINDLE ATTENDANT ADDED TO COMPLETE THAT.
OKAY. ALL RIGHT. I SEE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
SO YOU'RE MOVING WITHIN THE RANKS AND ADDING A KINDLE ATTENDANT? YES, SIR.
OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT AT THIS TIME.
ALL RIGHT. MR. FULLER-PUGH? I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
THE ONLY THING, I MET WITH A CITIZEN THIS WEEK, AND SHE WAS LOOKING FOR SOME VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES.
ONE OF THE THINGS SHE MENTIONED IS THAT WHEN AN ANIMAL HAS TO BE SPAYED OR NEUTERED, IT'S TAKING AN ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER TO TRANSPORT THE ANIMAL FROM THE KENNEL TO THE VET AND THEN BACK.
AND SHE WAS JUST ASKING IF THERE ARE ANY OPPORTUNITIES WHERE A PRIVATE CITIZEN OR A MEMBER OF THE CERT TEAM COULD DO THAT TRANSPORT INSTEAD OF THE ACO.
WE JUST NEED TO EXPLORE THE LIABILITY SIDE OF THAT.
BUT OTHERWISE, WE'RE LOOKING AT OPTIONS FOR VEHICLES TO TRANSPORT MORE AT ONE TIME AND POTENTIALLY INCORPORATE VOLUNTEERS INTO THAT.
OKAY. THANKS. THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT.
ALL RIGHT. MR. WHITT? FIRST OF ALL, I AGREE WITH EVERYBODY ELSE.
YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.
IT'S A SHAME WE'VE GOT SOME ANIMALS OUT HERE THAT PEOPLE JUST EITHER CAN'T AFFORD OR JUST NEGLECT.
IT'S JUST SAYING THEY CAN'T AFFORD IT.
THEY JUST DECIDE TO CHAIN THEM UP AND LEAVE THEM ON A TREE SOMEWHERE.
BUT NO, ALL MY QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED.
YOU ALL DO A GREAT JOB, THOUGH.
I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT I WANT TO SING PRAISE.
I SEE THREE OF THE LADIES THAT WORK THERE, AND I SEE ONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS IN THE AUDIENCE THAT'S ALWAYS THERE.
YOU ALL DO A GREAT JOB DOWN THERE.
I WILL PUT THE OFF ROAD ON MY BEHALF TO ANY CITIZEN.
WE'VE ACTUALLY GOT ONE LADY AUDIENCE THAT WAS AT THE SHELTER ON SATURDAY WHEN I WAS THERE.
SO COME BY AND LOOK AT THE GREAT JOB THEY'RE DOING DOWN THERE.
THIS SHELTER HAS REALLY TURNED AROUND IN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, AND THINGS ARE LOOKING VERY GOOD.
AND WE WANT TO KEEP THE ADOPTIONS UP, AND WE'RE GOING TO KEEP DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MOVE THAT ALONG.
WITH THAT, WE'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT ONE.
IT WILL BE A DISCUSSION OF SOCIAL SERVICES.
HOW ARE YOU DOING? HOW ARE YOU ALL DOING? GOOD EVENING.
CHAIRMAN COX, VICE CHAIR PUGH, FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS, MS. PUTLOW, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME BEFORE YOU TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT SOCIAL SERVICES.
I HOPE THAT YOU'VE SEEN THE VIDEO.
SO I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE POSITIONS THAT I'M REQUESTING.
THE ONE THING I ALWAYS LIKE TO JUST REMIND YOU ALL THAT SOCIAL SERVICES IS A LITTLE UNIQUE IN THE FACT THAT THE WORK WE DO BRINGS REVENUE TO THE COUNTY.
SO FOR EVERY DOLLAR THE COUNTY INVESTS IN US, YOU GET 65 CENTS BACK.
SO LAST YEAR, WE CONTRIBUTED ALMOST $3 MILLION TO THE COUNTY, AND SO THAT IS A GREAT THING.
AND WHILE OUR PERCENTAGE MAY VARY PER LINE, OVERALL, IT IS A GOOD RETURN ON INVESTMENT.
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SO I'M GOING TO DIVE INTO THE POSITIONS.I'M ASKING FOR A RECLASS OF TWO POSITIONS AND A BRAND-NEW POSITION.
SO THE FIRST ONE, THE BENEFIT PROGRAM 3 TO THE BENEFIT PROGRAM SPECIALIST 4, THIS POSITION IS GOING TO HELP US IMMENSELY.
THERE HAS BEEN MANY CHANGES TO THE POLICIES.
ONE OF THE THINGS YOU MAY HAVE HEARD A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SNAP ERROR RATE, BUT ONE OF THE NEW REQUIREMENTS THAT WE HAVE IS THAT WE MUST READ CASES BEFORE WE PROCESS, READ CASES AFTER WE PROCESS, AND ALL WITHIN KEEPING THE 97% EFFICIENCY AS FAR AS MAKING SURE THAT WE'VE DONE THEM ALL TIMELY.
THAT REQUIRES A LOT OF TIME BECAUSE WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE EXTRA RESPONSIBILITY, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE TRAINING THAT'S INVOLVED TO ENSURE THAT STAFF ARE DOING WHAT THEY NEED TO DO, THEY'RE LEARNING.
EVERY POSITION IS UNIQUE, AND SO, THEREFORE, YOU CAN'T JUST GIVE SOMEONE ONE ANSWER AND IT WORKS FOR EVERYBODY.
IT DEPENDS ON THE FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCES, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE, ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
ALSO, ALONG WITH THAT, THERE IS AN INCREASE IN THE DATA COLLECTION FROM CUSTOMERS.
THERE WAS A TIME WHEN SOMEONE WOULD SAY TO US, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SEVEN FOLKS IN THE HOUSE AND WE COULD TAKE THAT, OR THEY CAN SAY THAT I WORK, AND WE COULD ASK THEM TO GIVE A TESTAMENT ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY THEY MAKE AND IF THERE WERE A FURTHER INFORMATION NEED, WE WOULD HAVE THEM TO BRING IN, YOU KNOW, A COPY OF THEIR PAY STUB AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
BUT NOW WE'RE ASKING FOR THEM TO PROVE EVERYTHING TO US.
THIS IS THE SWING THAT COMES FROM WHO'S, QUITE FRANKLY, SITTING IN THE SEAT.
YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A TIME WHEN IT WAS SAID, YOU KNOW, NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE ARE REAPING THE FEDERAL BENEFIT OF SNAP, FOR EXAMPLE.
AND THEN THE NEXT GOVERNOR COMES AND SAYS, HEY, WE'VE GOT TOO MANY PEOPLE REAPING THE BENEFIT OF SNAP.
SO, THEREFORE, THE DECISIONS MADE AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, WE, THE LOCAL AGENCY, YOU KNOW, IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DOING THE WORK AND MEETING THE MANDATE.
THERE IS FREQUENCY IN PROCESSING AND VERIFYING.
AS YOU MAY KNOW, THERE IS A NEW WORK REQUIREMENT FOR SNAP.
CITIZENS MUST WORK 20 HOURS A WEEK OR VOLUNTEER 20 HOURS A WEEK.
THAT ALSO MEANS THAT THERE'S MORE WORK ON THE STAFF TO ENSURE THAT WE GET PROOF THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY WORKING.
AND I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT FOR LAST YEAR, WE RECEIVED 3,461 APPLICATIONS.
WE HAVE 6,500 OPEN CASES, AND WE PROCESSED 57 FRAUD.
THAT'S JUST FOR BENEFIT ALONE.
AND THE OTHER PART I WANT TO MENTION IS A LOT OF THE REQUIREMENTS ARE CHANGING OR BEING PHASED IN.
IN 2027, MEDICAID WILL HAVE A WORK REQUIREMENT.
THE ADDITIONAL WORK THAT COMES WITH THAT IS THAT RATHER THAN VERIFYING ONCE A YEAR, WE'LL BE VERIFYING TWICE A YEAR.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THAT CASELOAD OF 6,502, I'M SORRY, 512, YOU WILL FIND THAT WE'LL BE DOUBLING THAT AT SOME POINT, THE AMOUNT OF TIME THE STAFF HAVE TO TOUCH THOSE CASES.
SO I'M GOING TO MOVE ON TO THE MANAGER, CASE MANAGER THREE, TO THE COORDINATOR FIVE, FAMILY SERVICES POSITION.
SO THIS CAME ABOUT BECAUSE AS WE'RE WORKING WITH KENFORCE NOW, WE ARE RECOGNIZING THAT WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO AS MANY FAMILY PARTNERSHIP MEETINGS AS WE ARE REQUIRED.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WE DID 26 IN 2025.
BUT IF WE LOOK AT ALL THE POINTS IN WHICH WE ARE SUPPOSED TO DO A FAMILY PARTNERSHIP MEETING, WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HOLD 45, OKAY? NOW, ONE THING I DO WANT TO MENTION IS THAT EVERY FAMILY PARTNERSHIP MEETING THAT WE HOLD, THE COUNTY GETS $300 BACK, OKAY? SO LAST YEAR THERE WAS $5,100 THAT CAME BACK TO THE AGENCY FOR FAMILY PARTNERSHIP MEETINGS.
[00:45:01]
NEEDED TO, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN $13,500 COMING BACK TO THE LOCALITY.PART OF THE REASON WE ARE NOT ABLE TO HOLD THE MEETING, AS WELL AS LEARNING SOME OF THE INCREASE, IT HAS TO DO WITH THE NUMBER OF STAFF THAT I HAVE, THE NUMBER OF STAFF THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO WHO ARE TRAINED, WHICH ALL OF THEM WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONE OR TWO ARE TRAINED.
BUT IN ADDITION, IF THEY'RE INVOLVED IN A CASE, THEY CANNOT HOLD THE FAMILY PARTNERSHIP MEETING.
AND IT DOESN'T TAKE LONG FOR CPS, WHEN YOU HAVE FOUR EMPLOYEES, TO GET TO BARE BONES.
IF TWO ARE INVOLVED, THEN YOU ONLY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE TWO OTHER FOLKS, AND IF THEY'VE HAD SOME INVOLVEMENT, THEN YOU CAN'T USE THEM.
WE ARE TRYING TO SHORE UP AND DO A BETTER JOB FOR OUR CITIZENS, FOR OUR FAMILIES, TO BE ABLE TO SPEND THE TIME, INVEST THE TIME TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE FAMILY PARTNERSHIP MEETINGS.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, IT'S A LOT OF WORK THAT GOES INTO THAT.
YOU'VE GOT TO CONVINCE PEOPLE TO COME IN, TO WORK WITH US, AND TO MEET WITH US.
SO THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING.
KIN FIRST NOUN CULTURE, IT IS A HUGE PUSH TO PUT CHILDREN WITH FAMILIES.
WE ALL KNOW THAT CHILDREN DO BETTER WITH FAMILIES.
SO THERE IS A PROCESS IN WHICH WE WORK HARD WITH THAT.
THERE IS ALSO THE OPPORTUNITY FOR FAMILIES TO BECOME FOSTER FAMILIES.
THE ATTRACTION THERE IS TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME FUNDS SO THAT PEOPLE WILL WANT TO STEP UP AND TAKE THEIR KIN OR THEIR, YOU KNOW, FAMILY FRIENDS.
SO THAT, THIS POSITION WOULD HELP US WITH THAT.
IN ADDITION, THIS POSITION WOULD HELP US WITH TRAINING.
OUR GUIDELINES AND OUR POLICY CONTINUE TO TRAIN.
NEW LEGISLATURE THAT IS HAPPENING NOW WILL AFFECT THE CHANGE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.
WE HAVE TO PUT IT IN PLACE, AND WE HAVE TO MEET COMPLIANCE.
SO THIS POSITION WOULD BE A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO GET ON BOARD WHERE WE NEED TO GO, AND WE'LL BE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
THE LAST POSITION REQUEST IS A NEW POSITION REQUEST.
AND THIS KIND OF HINGES ON THE RECLASS THAT I SPOKE ABOUT.
I HAVE A SUPERVISOR WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR 11 EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE VARYING CASELOADS, VARYING PROGRAMS THAT THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR.
AND SO HAVING THIS NEW SUPERVISOR WILL ALLOW US TO, YOU KNOW, TO BE A LITTLE BIT BETTER AT SERVING THE CUSTOMER BECAUSE WE WILL HAVE A GROUP THAT IS SPECIALIZING IN A PARTICULAR AREA, LET'S SAY MEDICAID AND SNAP, ONGOING MEDICAID AND SNAP INTAKE, SO FORTH AND SO ON.
SO WHAT I'M REQUESTING IS NOT UNUSUAL.
WHEN YOU LOOK AROUND THE SURROUNDING LOCALITIES, MOST OF THEM HAVE A SUPERVISOR TO ABOUT FIVE EMPLOYEES WHEN IT COMES TO BENEFITS.
THAT IS BECAUSE OF THE COMPLEXITY OF THE WORK THAT THEY DO.
AND SO THIS POSITION WILL HELP US MEET COMPLIANCE.
WE ARE REQUIRED TO PROCESS APPLICATIONS AND GET IT RIGHT, OF COURSE, TO MEET 97 PERCENT TIMELINESS.
AND WHILE MY TEAM IS VERY GOOD, WE WORK VERY HARD, THERE ARE TIMES THAT WE FALL SHORT WHERE WE'RE AT 92 PERCENT.
WE'RE CLOSE, BUT WE'RE NOT THERE.
SO THIS POSITION WILL HELP US GET A BIT MORE ORCHESTRATED IN THE WAY THAT WE NEED TO OPERATE.
IT'S ALSO GOING TO HELP US PREPARE FOR WHAT'S COMING DOWN FOR THE NEW CHANGES, BUT ALSO WHAT WE ARE ANTICIPATING THAT WILL BE COMING AS IT RELATES TO MEDICAID.
THE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS IS ALL IN THE APPENDICES, APPENDIX AND THIS IS ALL THAT I HAVE.
WHAT ARE YOUR QUESTIONS? MS. SWIFT? YOU CAN GO FIRST.
ON THE TIMELINESS OF APPLICATION PROCESS, IT'S 97 PERCENT IS THE GOAL.
WHEN IT DOES FALL TO 92 PERCENT, DOES THAT IMPACT OUR FUNDING? DOES THAT IMPACT ANY? IT DOES NOT IMPACT OUR FUNDING.
THE OUTPUT, THOUGH, IS THAT A CITIZEN OR AN APPLICANT DID NOT GET THEIR BENEFIT TIMELY.
SO WE ARE AUDITED, AND THAT'S A POINT
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OF COMPLIANCE.SO WE HAVE TO DO OUR BEST TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE MEETING THAT GOAL, YES.
THE NEW REQUEST, NOT A NEW REQUEST, BUT AN INCREASE IN FUNDING REQUEST FOR HEALTHY FAMILIES, DID THAT USED TO BE CALLED SOMETHING DIFFERENT? NO.
THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HEALTHY FAMILY FOR AS LONG AS I'VE KNOWN THAT.
THE INCREASE, THOUGH, THAT THEY'RE ASKING WAS GRANTED LAST YEAR IS AN ADDITIONAL $10,000, AND THAT MONEY IS USED TO HELP US HELP FAMILIES WHERE WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO FULLY SERVE A FAMILY.
SO THEY ARE ABLE TO HELP US WITH THAT.
DOES THAT ADDITIONAL MONEY GO TO THE DEPARTMENT, OR DOES IT GO TO HOPEWELL? ARE THEY THE FISCAL AGENT FOR THAT GROUP? THEY ARE.
SO IT GOES TO HEALTHY FAMILIES DEPARTMENT.
BUT, HOWEVER, AS YOU MENTIONED, HOPEWELL IS THE FISCAL AGENT, SO HOWEVER THEY MANAGE THAT.
MR. WEBB? I READ AND SEE A LOT OF WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND THE COUNTRY WITH FRAUD AND ABUSE.
I'M NOT SAYING WE'VE GOT ANY HERE.
THERE'S ALWAYS POTENTIAL FOR FRAUD SOMEWHERE.
PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO SCAM SOMEONE.
FOR NOT BEING WHAT COULD BE THE PHYSICAL OR LEGAL IMPACTS FOR US NOT BEING COMPLIANT ON SOME OF THESE RULES COMING DOWN? I KNOW YOU MENTIONED ON THE 97 AND 92, WE HAVE THE SAME THING WHEN IT COMES TO THE PERCENTAGE THAT WE'RE ON PROPERTY TAXES, STUFF LIKE THAT.
BUT IS IT REALLY REAL LEGAL OR FINANCIAL IMPACTS? BECAUSE SOME OF THE STUFF THEY'RE TRYING TO PUSH DOWN FROM THE STATE COULD BE PRETTY IMPACTFUL.
SO OVERALL, FOR MY ENTIRE AGENCY, FOR FAMILY SERVICES AND BENEFIT, THERE ARE TIMES IF WE ARE NOT COMPLIANT, DEPENDING ON WHAT IT IS, THERE COULD BE A FINANCIAL PENALTY THAT WE COULD HAVE TO PAY MONEY BACK BECAUSE WE DID NOT MEET A CERTAIN STANDARD.
FOR EXAMPLE, 4E MONEY, IF WE WERE TO APPROVE SOMEONE ERRONEOUSLY FOR 4E AND WHEN WE'RE AUDITED, FIND OUT WE'VE MADE A MISTAKE, THAT MONEY IS OWED BACK TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
SO THERE ARE PENALTIES FOR THE BENEFIT SIDE OF THE HOUSE.
THE PENALTIES, I HAVE YET TO SEE.
ONE OF THE THINGS I MUST SAY, EVEN THOUGH I'M STANDING HERE ASKING FOR THINGS, PRINCE GEORGE DO A GOOD JOB.
I HAVE STAFF THAT WORK REALLY HARD TO GIVE EVERYTHING THEY'VE GOT TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE MAKING THE MARK AS CLOSELY AND TO THE BEST OF ABILITY THAT WE CAN.
IF WE WERE AN AGENCY THAT COULD NOT GET UP TO SPEED, WHAT COULD HAPPEN IS THAT THE COMMISSIONER COULD HAVE THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES COME OVER AND TAKE OVER MY AGENCY.
AND THEN THEY WOULD RUN THE AGENCY AND PUT THE RESPONSIBILITY OR THE PRESSURE ON THE BOARD TO FIND ANOTHER DIRECTOR TO BE IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT TO TAKE WHATEVER ACTION.
WE WON'T GET THERE, I PROMISE YOU.
BUT, YEAH, THERE ARE SOME REPERCUSSIONS IF WE'RE NOT COMPLIANT.
THE REASON I ASK THAT QUESTION, BOTTOM LINE, IS WHEN I KEYED UP ON THE EXTRA REPORTING THAT YOU REQUIRED.
I DIDN'T HEAR YOU SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GOING TO TRY TO DO IT.
SO THERE'S NO IF OR BUT IN THAT.
REQUIRED IS REQUIRED, ABSOLUTELY.
WHEN IT COMES TO SO WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING AS A LEADER IS RE-EVALUATING ALL OF THE WORK THAT WE DO, TRYING TO SHIFT THINGS AROUND SO THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY MEET THE MANDATES.
THE WORK THAT'S COMING DOWN THE PIPE, MAKING SURE STAFF UNDERSTANDS THAT REQUIRES TRAINING, JUST WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO ENSURE THAT, FIRST, WE'RE SERVING THE CITIZENS TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY, BUT THAT WE CAN FIND A WAY.
AND, QUITE FRANKLY, THESE POSITIONS MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN TRYING TO MEET THE REQUIREMENT, BEING ABLE TO MEET THE REQUIREMENT.
A NEW SUPERVISOR FOR BENEFITS MAKES A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE WHEN YOU KNOW THAT THERE IS SOMEONE WHOSE JOB IS TO WRAP THEIR ARMS AROUND, YOU KNOW, FIVE EMPLOYEES TO MAKE SURE OUR SNAP IS RIGHT, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT MAKING MISTAKES, TO LOOK AT WHERE WE'RE HAVING PROBLEMS. AND SO WE'RE GOING TO DO OUR BEST.
EVEN WITH YOUR BEST, THERE ARE TIMES WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO FALL SHORT BECAUSE WE'RE ALL HUMAN, OF COURSE.
[00:55:01]
COMPLIANCE, TO ENSURE THAT SOCIAL SERVICE IS REPRESENTED IN THE LIGHT THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE REPRESENTED, AND TO LET PRINCE GEORGE SHINE, BECAUSE PRINCE GEORGE AGENCY GENERALLY SHINE, AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT.SO HOW MANY, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER THE NUMBER WHEN WE HAD THE ORIENTATION CLASS, HOW MANY ROLES DID YOU HAVE OPEN CURRENTLY STILL? HOW MANY VACANT POSITIONS RIGHT NOW, TOO.
I THINK THAT'S ACTUALLY BETTER THAN AT ORIENTATION.
SO THAT'S A GOOD TREND, ACTUALLY.
ARE THOSE ROLES STILL A PART OF THIS BUDGET, THOSE TWO VACANT ROLES? YES.
BUT FOR SOME REASON I HAD A NUMBER IN MY HEAD THAT WAS HIGHER THAN THAT.
WE HAVE SOME NEW FOLKS, AND WE'RE NOT QUITE THERE YET, BUT WE'RE GETTING THERE.
DO WE RECEIVE, OR ARE WE KIND OF IN JEOPARDY OF RECEIVING ANY OF THE SNAP, I GUESS THE SNAP ERROR RATE, THERE'S PENALTIES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT? IS THAT JUST THE PULLING BACK OF MONEY, OR IS IT ADDITIONAL FEES ON TOP OF THAT? ABSOLUTELY.
FIRST I WANT TO SAY THAT THE SNAP ERROR RATE FOR PRINCE GEORGE IS ZERO.
HOWEVER, THE COST OF THE SNAP ERROR IS BEING PASSED THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF VIRGINIA.
WE WILL ALL BEAR SOME RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SNAP ERROR RATE.
SO I'VE PUT IN MY BUDGET $151,000, WHICH MAY BE MY SHARE FOR THE LOCALITY, AND I'VE HEARD THAT THE GOVERNOR HAS PUT THAT MONEY IN HER BUDGET.
I HAVE NOT SEEN ANYTHING IN WRITING.
THE IDEA IS THAT THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WILL BE IN THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET, AND NOBODY HAS TO PAY IT.
BUT QUITE HONESTLY, WHEN I LOOK AT THE LIST, IT'S BASED ON THE NUMBER OF SNAP CASES YOU'VE HAD.
SOME LOCALITIES HAVE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CONTRIBUTE.
WHAT'S NOT TOTALLY CLEAR IS HOW THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE THAT MONEY.
I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THEY'RE GOING TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF REVENUE THAT WE GET AS A RESULT OF THAT $151,000 IF WE ARE PENALIZED WITH THAT.
WE'VE GOT SIX VEHICLES, I BELIEVE.
AND THIS COULD JUST BE SOMETHING I'M NOT PRIVY TO FROM PAST DISCUSSIONS.
IS THAT A PART OF THE REGULAR VEHICLE POOL, OR ARE THOSE SEPARATE? IS THERE A REASON WHY THOSE ARE SEPARATE FROM THE REGULAR POOL? THOSE ARE SEPARATE BECAUSE WE WORK 24 HOURS, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, AND WHEN MY STAFF NEED A VEHICLE, THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO HOP IN A VEHICLE AND GO.
WE DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO NECESSARILY GO TO THE, YOU KNOW, POOL, GRAB A VEHICLE, SIGN IT OUT.
MY STAFF COME IN SOMETIMES LATE IN THE EVENING AFTER HOURS.
WE KEEP A READY CAR RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE BUILDING SO THAT THEY CAN JUST WALK UP.
IT'S WHERE THE BEST LIGHTING IS FOR SAFETY TO HOP IN THE CAR.
THERE'S TRAINING THAT HAS TO HAPPEN.
THERE'S OTHER CONFERENCES OR MEETINGS THAT STAFF ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND THAT'S NOT AT THE AGENCY.
AND, YOU KNOW, FOR 34, 36 EMPLOYEES OR 37 FROM FULLY STAFFED, WE NEED THEM TO BE ABLE TO JUST GET A CAR AND HANDLE BUSINESS.
MOST OF THE DAY, THE FAMILY SERVICES STAFF ARE THE HEAVIEST USERS OF THE CARS.
THEY GO TO HOSPITALS TO SEE CHILDREN.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF A KID HAS AN APPOINTMENT THAT NEEDS TO GO TO RICHMOND AND THE FOSTER FAMILY CAN'T DO IT, MY STAFF DOES THAT.
SO THE VEHICLES ARE SEPARATED AND HAVE ALSO ALWAYS BEEN SEPARATE.
IF YOU LOOK AROUND THE OTHER AGENCIES, DSS HAS ALWAYS HAD THEIR OWN FLEET OF VEHICLES FOR THOSE REASONS.
I GUESS THE ONLY OTHER THING I NOTICED IS THAT IT LOOKS LIKE THE FOOD BANK WE INTERACT WITH IS IN COLONIAL HEIGHTS, AND WE HADN'T RECEIVED ANY RESPONSE FROM THE PRINCE GEORGE FOOD BANK.
I'D LIKE TO HOPE THAT MAYBE AT SOME POINT WE COULD BE ENGAGED WITH OUR FOOD BANK, BUT I GUESS THEY'VE GOT A REQUEST.
WELL, I HAVE SPOKEN TO ANDREA, WHO WAS THE MANAGER AT THE TIME.
[01:00:01]
IT'S NOT CLEAR TO ME WHO THE MANAGER IS AT THIS MOMENT, BUT HAVE ASKED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS TO PUT IN A REQUEST, HAVE NOT RECEIVED A REQUEST.SIMPLY, SHE'S STATED THAT THEY'RE DOING JUST FINE.
I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THEY COULD BENEFIT.
THE REASON THAT THE COLONIAL HEIGHTS FOOD PANTRY IS INCLUDED IS BECAUSE THEY SERVE CITIZENS WITH THE ZIP CODE OF 23875.
SO IF THEY LIVE THERE, THEY CAN GO THERE.
AND SO, THEREFORE, HE HAS MET WITH US SEVERAL TIMES AND DO BELIEVE THAT THE NEED FOR DONATIONS IS GOING TO INCREASE.
JUST A QUICK QUESTION FOR CLARIFICATION.
ARE PEOPLE COMING THROUGH THE DOOR AT SOCIAL SERVICES ASKING FOR HELP AND WE HELP THEM, OR ARE WE PICKING THE PHONE UP AND CALLING PEOPLE SAYING, HEY, THESE ARE THE SERVICES WE OFFER? THEY COME THROUGH THE DOOR AND ASK FOR HELP.
AND ALSO, THEY EMAIL US AT THE SOCIAL SERVICES INBOX.
AND THEN YOU SAID YOU HAD TWO VACANCIES.
WHAT VACANCIES? ARE THEY THE BENEFIT EMPLOYEES OR ARE THEY SHORT-TERM? ONE IS THE BENEFIT.
ONE IS THE FOSTER CARE POSITION THAT I'M ASKING THAT YOU RECLASSIFY BECAUSE THE GREATER NEED IS THERE.
OUR FOSTER CARE NUMBERS, AS IT RELATES TO CHILDREN, WE HAVE SEVEN, IS VERY LOW.
SO THAT POSITION WOULD SERVE US BETTER IN THE ROLE THAT I'VE ASKED.
THE BENEFIT POSITION, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT, IS WE CONTINUE TO SEARCH FOR APPLICANTS.
HONESTLY, WHAT WE'RE PAYING IS AN ISSUE.
BASED ON HOW WE PAY OUR CITIZENS, WE HAVE GONE THROUGH A NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES, EXCUSE ME.
WE'VE GONE THROUGH A NUMBER OF PROCESSES, DOING INTERVIEWS, AND GET TO THE TABLE AND MAKE THE OFFER, AND THEY SAY NO.
WE'RE LOOKING AT OTHER STRATEGIES AND WAYS TO MAYBE LOOK AT IN-HOUSE TRAINING SOMEONE WITHIN THAT HAVE AN INTEREST IN BENEFITS AND MOVING THEM OVER TO THAT ROLE.
THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT AT THIS TIME.
ALL RIGHT, MS. JUDGE, MY QUESTIONS WERE ALREADY ANSWERED, SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME THIS EVENING.
THANK YOU ALL FOR WHAT YOU DO.
OKAY, NEXT ITEM UP WILL BE DISCUSSION OF UTILITIES.
GOOD EVENING, MR. CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, MS. PUDLOW.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ABOUT JUST THE BIG CHANGES THAT ARE IN THE BUDGET FROM LAST YEAR.
SO HOPEFULLY I WON'T TAKE TOO MUCH TIME WITH THIS.
SO WE ARE LOOKING AT AN INCREASE OF ABOUT $1.3 MILLION OVER WHAT WE HAD BUDGETED FOR OUR CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.
AND EACH OF THE SLIDES MOVING FORWARD, WE'LL DISCUSS A DIFFERENT TOPIC THAT WILL EXPLAIN SOME OF THESE INCREASES.
SO OUR BIGGEST INCREASE IS COMING FROM SENDING SEWER FLOWS TO HOPEWELL AND BUYING WATER FROM VIRGINIA AMERICAN.
THE BUDGET SHORTFALL THAT WAS DISCOVERED, I BELIEVE, LAST FISCAL YEAR THAT IS CARRIED OVER TO THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE IT ALREADY IN THE BUDGET FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, SO THAT IS $600,000 OF THAT $1.1 MILLION.
THE REST OF IT IS A PROPOSED 40% RATE INCREASE BY THE CITY OF HOPEWELL.
AND THEN VIRGINIA AMERICAN WATER IS PROPOSING A 27% RATE INCREASE.
THAT AFFECTS US MAINLY BECAUSE RIVERSIDE REGIONAL JAIL AND THE TANK SCHOOL AT FORT LEE, THAT'S RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET, DO GET WATER FROM VIRGINIA AMERICAN.
WE BILL THEM WHAT VIRGINIA AMERICAN BILLS US.
WE DO HAVE TWO POSITIONS THAT WE ARE REQUESTING.
ONE OF THEM IS A MANAGER FOR WATER WORKS OPERATIONS.
VIRGINIA CODE DOES MANDATE THAT WE HAVE A LICENSED WATER WORKS OPERATOR TO PERFORM OPERATIONAL TASKS THAT ARE REQUIRED WITH THE CERTIFICATION.
WE HAVE HAD DIFFICULTY KEEPING LICENSED OPERATORS, MAINLY BECAUSE OF, ONE, THE COMPETITION FOR THESE OPERATORS ACROSS THE STATE, AND TWO, NEIGHBORING LOCALITIES PAY BETTER THAN WE DO.
[01:05:01]
AND SO THEY COME HERE, THEY GET THEIR LICENSE, AND THEN THEY LEAVE FOR HIGHER PAY BECAUSE THEY'VE ALREADY GOT THEIR LICENSE.WE ARE CURRENTLY CONTRACTING WITH A LICENSED OPERATOR TO COME IN TO DO MONTHLY SAMPLING AND SIGN OFF ON SOME REPORTS.
THEY'RE NOT HERE MAYBE ONE OR TWO DAYS A MONTH, AND I THINK WE'RE PAYING ABOUT $2,500 A MONTH TO HAVE SOMEONE COME HERE ONE OR TWO DAYS TO TAKE CARE OF OUR SAMPLING.
AND THE LACK OF REDUNDANCY OF NOT HAVING ANOTHER OPERATOR OR A MANAGER IN THE WATER WORKS IS WE ARE EXPOSED TO A VIOLATION OF STATE CODE BY NOT HAVING AN OPERATOR ON STAFF.
BETWEEN SALARY BENEFITS, VEHICLE, AND UNIFORMS, WE ESTIMATE THAT TO BE ABOUT $190,000 THIS YEAR.
THE VEHICLE PURCHASE PART OF THAT WOULD NOT BE A RECURRING COST, SO THAT WOULD BE A ONE-TIME COST.
AND IT WOULD JUST BE SALARY AND BENEFITS MOVING FORWARD AFTER THIS FISCAL YEAR.
THE OTHER POSITION THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR IS AN 811 OR A MISUTILITY LOCATOR.
WE ARE MANDATED BY STATE CODE TO MARK ANY KNOWN WATER AND SEWER LINES WITHIN THREE DAYS OF RECEIVING THESE REQUESTS OR THREE HOURS FOR AN EMERGENCY TICKET.
DURING THE LAST FISCAL YEAR, WE HAD ALMOST 3,200 REQUESTS FOR UTILITY LOCATING.
IF YOU AVERAGE THAT OUT BY WORKDAYS, THAT'S AN AVERAGE OF ABOUT 13 REQUESTS PER WORKDAY.
IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THIS WITHIN THE TIMELINES THAT ARE MANDATED, IT DOES PULL OUR UTILITY WORKERS AWAY FROM DOING ROUTINE MAINTENANCE OR IT REQUIRES US TO PUT IN OVERTIME TO GET THESE LOCATIONS DONE WITHIN THE MANDATED TIME.
AGAIN, ABOUT $155,000 THAT FIRST YEAR.
THAT DOES ALSO INCLUDE PURCHASING A VEHICLE FOR THAT POSITION, WHICH WOULD NOT BE A RECURRING COST.
WE ARE ADDING TWO MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS. THE FIRST IS BEING PROACTIVE ABOUT REPLACING THESE SERVICE SADDLES THAT ARE FAILING.
WE WOULD LIKE TO DO OUR FIRST-YEAR FOCUS ON BRANCHESTER LAKES.
THAT DOES SEEM TO BE WHERE WE HAVE THE MAJORITY OF OUR SADDLE FAILURES.
IT WOULD REDUCE THE REACTIVE EMERGENCY SITUATION AND SHUTDOWNS.
IT WOULD ALLOW US TO GO IN THERE AND HAVE ONE SECTION OF A ROAD OPENED AT THE SAME TIME, REPLACE ALL OF THE SADDLES, AND GET IT DONE, AND THEN MOVE ON TO ANOTHER SECTION AND GET THAT PART OF THE ROAD REPAVED.
WE WERE THINKING THAT ABOUT $100,000 WILL BE ABLE TO GET US IF WE'RE DOING IT PROACTIVELY RATHER THAN PAYING A CONTRACTOR TO COME IN REACTIVELY.
THE OTHER IS A SEWER LINE AND MANHOLE INSPECTION AND EVALUATION AND REPAIRS.
WE WOULD GET CCTV FOOTAGE OF OUR SEWER LINES AND MANHOLE INSPECTIONS AT THE SAME TIME.
THIS WILL HELP US TO IDENTIFY AREAS WHERE WE HAVE FAILURES, AND IT WILL HELP TO REDUCE SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOWS AND REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF GROUNDWATER THAT'S COMING INTO OUR SEWER SYSTEM THAT IS USING VALUABLE CAPACITY THAT WE COULD BE USING FOR BUSINESSES TO LOCATE IN THE COUNTY.
AND THEN WE HAVE TWO UTILITY SERVICE VEHICLES RIGHT NOW THAT DO NEED TO BE REPLACED.
ONE HAS BODY PANELS THAT ARE RUSTING THROUGH.
I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE DOING MOSQUITO CONTROL WHEN IT DRIVES DOWN THE ROAD.
AND THEN WE'RE TRYING TO MOVE AWAY FROM STANDARD PICKUPS TO A UTILITY BODY.
THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT HAVE ALL THE COMPONENTS WHERE THEY CAN KEEP ALL THEIR TOOLS AND EVERYTHING STORED, AND THAT'S WHY IT IS $180,000 FOR TWO OF THOSE IN THE UTILITY BODY.
SO IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THE INCREASES THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR, WE WOULD ALSO HAVE TO DO AN INCREASE IN OUR RATES TO GENERATE THE REVENUES TO COVER EVERYTHING THAT WE ARE ASKING FOR AS AN INCREASE IN THE BUDGET.
WE ARE LOOKING AT, ON THE WATER SIDE, FOR SERVICE CHARGES, A 16% INCREASE.
THIS IS THE MINIMUM CHARGES THAT ARE BASED ON METER SIZE WITH SOME RATE BLOCK ADJUSTMENTS PER METER SIZE, AND THEN A 10% TO 20% INCREASE ON WATER RATES, AND THAT'S THE COST PER 1,000 GALLONS OF USED, AND THEN A 20% INCREASE ON THE SEWER SERVICE CHARGES.
THE INCREASES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT ON THE RATES WOULD GIVE THE AVERAGE HOMEOWNER ABOUT $31 INCREASE IN THEIR BIMONTHLY BILL FOR WATER AND SEWER OR ABOUT $188 INCREASE OVER THE YEAR FOR ALL OF THEIR BILLING.
[01:10:05]
CHARGES, I THINK THEY'VE BEEN CALLED CONNECTION FEES IN THE PAST.IN ORDER TO MEET THE DEMANDS THAT ARE GOING TO BE ON OUR SYSTEM, IT WOULD BE ABOUT A 30% INCREASE IN THE REVENUE FOR AVAILABILITY CHARGES.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY, WE'LL START TO MY LEFT THIS TIME.
YOU GOT MY QUESTION PRETTY PROACTIVELY THERE WITH YOUR PER HOUSEHOLD, SO GOOD JOB.
THE RATE INCREASES ARE EXPECTED TO COVER ALL OF YOUR PROPOSED INCREASES? YES, SIR.
KIND OF SIMILAR TO MR. WEBB'S QUESTION EARLIER ABOUT THE SOCIAL SERVICES, NOT HAVING THE MANAGER FOR WATERWORKS POSITION AS AN EMPLOYEE, ARE WE AT RISK OF ANY COMPLIANCE, LEGAL, FUNDING, ANY TYPE OF ISSUES LIKE THAT FROM THE STATE? SO BECAUSE WE DO HAVE COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEMS, WE ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A LICENSED OPERATOR ON STAFF.
SO WE DO HAVE SOMEBODY IN A WATERWORKS OPERATIONS POSITION RIGHT NOW.
HE IS WORKING TOWARDS GETTING HIS LICENSE.
I DON'T KNOW WHEN HE'S SITTING FOR THE EXAM, BUT HE'S WORKING TOWARDS IT.
SO WITHOUT CONTRACTING OUT WITH SOMEBODY RIGHT NOW, THEN, YES, WE ARE IN VIOLATION OF VIRGINIA CODE BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE AN OPERATOR ON STAFF.
BUT THAT CONTRACTOR CAN COUNT? HE DOES COUNT RIGHT NOW, YES.
I'M PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH THIS PART OF IT, AND, YEAH, THE STATE'S PRETTY TIGHT WITH HAVING A CERTIFIED PERSON ON STAFF, ESPECIALLY ON WATER.
ON THE MANAGER FOR, SINCE WE'RE CONTRACTING THAT FOR ABOUT $30,000 A YEAR, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT WE COULD EXPAND ON THAT CONTRACT FOR ON CALL OR SOMETHING IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE MISSING THAT WOULD BRIDGE THE DIFFERENCE IN THE $160,000 INCREASE? I WOULD HAVE TO FIND SOMEBODY ELSE TO BE ON CONTRACT BECAUSE HE IS ON CONTRACT WITH SEVERAL LOCALITIES.
SO WHAT WE GET HIM FOR IS ABOUT ALL HE HAS AVAILABILITY TO GIVE US AT THIS POINT.
IS IT LIMITED TO FIELD? DOES THE, ON THE 811 LOCATOR, IT SAYS CURRENTLY WE'RE USING A LOT OF OVERTIME TO DO THAT? I CAN'T, I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBERS ON THAT.
I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK.
I DO KNOW THAT WE ARE EITHER PULLING PEOPLE AWAY OR THERE'S SOMEBODY WHO'S WORKING AFTER HOURS IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE GET MARKED.
I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER OF OVERTIME HOURS, BUT I DO KNOW THAT WE ARE, WE DO OCCASIONALLY HAVE PEOPLE WORKING OVER TO GET THEM MARKED.
IF WE'VE HAD, LIKE TODAY WE HAD TWO LEAKS, AND WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE WE HAVE TO FIX TOMORROW.
WHEN WE HAVE ALL OF OUR STAFF ON THAT, THEN IT COULD, THEN IT'S ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU KNOW, THE TICKET CAME IN THIS MORNING, WE'RE UP AGAINST THE DEADLINE TO HAVE IT MARKED BY WEDNESDAY.
SO IF WE HAVE TO HAVE SOMEBODY WORK OVER TO GET IT MARKED IN ORDER TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS, THEN WE WILL.
I KNOW THAT YOU MENTIONED THE 155,000 ONE TIME, BECAUSE IT INCLUDES THE VEHICLE, BUT I GUESS I WAS JUST TRYING TO GET AN IDEA HOW CLOSE WE WERE IN THE OVERTIME COST TO THE COST OF THAT ADDITIONAL ROLE.
SO OF THAT, OF THAT ONE 55, ABOUT 75 TO 80,000 OF THAT IS THE VEHICLE.
THE REST OF IT IS SALARY BENEFITS AND UNIFORMS. OKAY.
THE SERVICE SADDLE REPLACEMENT.
HOW CLOSE, OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, ARE YOU AWARE OF HOW CLOSE WE'VE GOTTEN TO THAT 100,000 COST? AND KIND OF HOW THE OFFSET WOULD BE TO DO THAT PROACTIVELY VERSUS THE WAY WE'VE BEEN REACTIVELY? SO PROACTIVELY, WE, OUR STAFF WILL DO THIS.
SO THE ONLY ADDITIONAL COST FOR US IS GOING TO BE PURCHASING THE MATERIALS.
RIGHT NOW, IF WE'RE REACTIVE, WE'RE PAYING, MOST OF THE TIME, PERKINSON, THEIR FULL RATES, AND IT'S USUALLY THEIR EMERGENCY RATES, TO GO OUT THERE AND TAKE CARE OF THIS FOR US.
SO THE 100,000, DOES THAT INCLUDE THE MATERIALS? THAT'S JUST MATERIALS, BECAUSE WE'RE ALREADY PAYING OUR STAFF THEIR SALARIES.
DO WE HAVE, IS THERE ANY SPECIFIC INFLOW AND INFILTRATION MEASURES WE CAN ACCELERATE TO TRY TO REDUCE THE VOLUME GOING TO HOPEWELL? I KNOW THAT'S PART OF THE SURVEYING OF THE LINES TO SEE IF WE CAN FIND THAT SORT OF THING, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IF THAT WAS SOMETHING WE COULD ACCELERATE TO TRY TO DRIVE DOWN THOSE NUMBERS.
WE CAN, IT WOULD REQUIRE US TO INSTALL METERS, AND THEY'RE RADAR-TYPE METERS THAT WE CAN PUT IN THERE, AND IT CAN MEASURE THE FLOW, AND IT'LL ALSO IDENTIFY WHEN WE
[01:15:03]
HAVE A RAIN EVENT.SO WE CAN WATCH THE FLOW GO UP WHEN WE HAVE A RAIN EVENT, AND THEN HOPEFULLY COME BACK DOWN.
IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE US TO PURCHASE THE METERS AND PUT THEM OUT THERE AND MONITOR THEM, OR WE CAN CONTRACT WITH SOMEONE TO GO IN AND PICK THE SPOTS THAT WE KNOW WE HAVE AN ISSUE.
I BELIEVE FOUNTAIN RIDGE IS AN AREA THAT WE WANT TO FOCUS ON FIRST, MAYBE SOME OF THE MANCHESTER SEWER AREA, AND MAYBE SOME AREA ALONG 460 WHERE WE KNOW WE HAVE OLDER CONCRETE PIPE THAT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT AND FIGURE OUT WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO PREVENT A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OUT THERE IN 460.
AND THE ONLY OTHER THING, AND THIS MIGHT BE A BROADER CONVERSATION THAT WE THINK ABOUT, IS I KNOW YOU MENTIONED THE TWO TRUCKS ARE PRETTY ROUGH, RIGHT? I DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, I KNOW REBODYING EXISTING CHASSIS HAS COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TWO, AND MAYBE THESE TWO TRUCKS REALLY AREN'T CANDIDATES FOR THAT, BUT IF WE'VE GOT TRUCKS SOMEWHERE ELSE IN ANOTHER DEPARTMENT THAT PROBABLY NEED TO GET CLOSE TO THE END OF THEIR LIFE AS WELL, BUT MAY BE IN BETTER CONDITION FOR THESE, IT WOULD BE NICE BECAUSE THAT MIGHT BUY US 12 TO 24 MONTHS ON BUYING A NEW TRUCK, YOU KNOW, IF ALL WE NEED TO DO IS PUT A TOOLBOX OR SOMETHING ON THE BACK OF IT.
I KNOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE BIG UTILITY BOX.
SO ONE OF THE VEHICLES WE NEED TO REPLACE IS A 2013 FORD F350 WITH 163,000 MILES ON IT.
AND THAT IS THE ONE THAT'S BURNING OIL ALSO.
SO THE OTHER ONE IS A 2015 F250.
SO THESE AREN'T YOUR NORMAL PICKUP TRUCKS.
NOW I HAVE NOTICED THAT THERE IS A COOPERATIVE CONTRACT WITH THE STATE SHERIFF'S ASSOCIATION.
THE COSTS ARE ALREADY IN THERE.
AND IF WE CAN GET SOMETHING WITHIN THAT COOPERATIVE CONTRACT THAT BRINGS THE COST DOWN, THEN I WILL DEFINITELY DO THAT.
IS THAT THE CONTRACT YOU LOOKED AT WHEN YOU QUOTED THE NUMBER FOR THE? NO, I DID.
I UNFORTUNATELY DID NOT QUOTE THESE NUMBERS.
BUT I HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT THAT COOPERATIVE CONTRACT BECAUSE WE DO NEED TO REPLACE A DUMP TRUCK.
AND SO I'VE BEEN TRYING TO LOOK AT THAT COOPERATIVE CONTRACT TO SEE IF WE CAN GET, THERE WAS A NUMBER PUT IN BY MY PREDECESSOR FOR $200,000 FOR A DUMP TRUCK.
I'M TRYING TO SEE IF WE CAN GET SOMETHING AT A LOWER PRICE BY USING THAT COOPERATIVE CONTRACT.
I APPRECIATE YOU LOOKING INTO THAT.
PHILIP, YOU? MAKES ME FEEL WARM AND FUZZY NOW.
AND I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN WITH US FOR A LITTLE BIT.
WE'VE DONE TWO RATE INCREASES IN THE LAST 16 MONTHS, HAVEN'T WE? SO IN THE 24, ALMOST 24 YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT, I'M USED TO A RATE INCREASE EVERY YEAR.
SO WHEN I WAS WITH ANOTHER LOCALITY FOR 20 YEARS BEFORE I CAME HERE, IT WAS TYPICALLY A 5% TO 6% INCREASE EVERY YEAR.
THIS ONE IS A LITTLE BIT HIGHER, BUT WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT ALMOST 1.3 MILLION IN INCREASES JUST FROM THE OTHER LOCALITIES INCREASED TO US.
AND I'M GOING TO HAVE TO GO BACK IN MY NOTES AND STUFF FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS IN THE YEAR, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE WE DID A RATE INCREASE AND WE WERE IN THE POSITIVE, LIKE A LOT.
AND THAT COVERED THE DEAL GOING TO HOPEWELL WITH THE METER NOT READING CORRECTLY, AND IT SHOULD HAVE COVERED FUTURE FOR THAT.
SO WE HAVE JUST RECENTLY, I THINK IT WAS $600,000 THAT WE'VE HAD TO PAY TO HOPEWELL TO COVER THE METER READING ERROR.
SO WE KNOW THAT THAT IS $600,000 MORE THAN WAS ORIGINALLY BUDGETED.
SO WE'VE HAD TO ADD THAT $600,000 IN BASED ON THE BUDGET NUMBER THAT CARRIED OVER FROM OUR CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.
AND THEN ANOTHER, IT'S ALMOST $560,000 FOR THE RATE INCREASE THAT HOPEWELL IS PROPOSING.
SO THAT'S WHERE THAT $1.16 MILLION IS.
I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION, LIKE I SAID, I'M GOING TO REVIEW MY NOTES, BUT I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THE LAST INCREASE WE DID WAS LIKE $1.SOMETHING MILLION EXTRA REVENUE COMING IN.
I'LL GO BACK AND I'LL LOOK AND I'LL REACH OUT TO YOU WITH THAT QUESTION, BUT THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT AT THIS TIME.
[01:20:01]
THANK YOU FOR STEPPING UP FOR US.WE'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT ONE IS DISCUSSION OF THE ASSESSOR'S OFFICE, AND MS. PUDLOW IS GOING TO BE HANDLING THIS.
GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, CHAIRMAN COX, VICE CHAIRMAN PUGH.
THIS EVENING I'M JUST GOING TO GO OVER A QUICK RECAP OF THE ASSESSOR'S OFFICE PROPOSED BUDGET.
SO JUST AS AN OVERVIEW, THERE IS A TOTAL OF $8,940 IN NON-SALARY INCREASE REQUESTED.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY POSITION CHANGES, BUT AS YOU ALL ARE AWARE, RFP DISCUSSIONS ARE PENDING BASED ON, YOU KNOW, HAVING A FULL-TIME ASSESSOR IN PLACE OR NOT IN TIME.
SO THAT WILL BE A DISCUSSION ITEM FOR A FUTURE BOARD MEETING.
BUT AS FAR AS NON-SALARY INCREASES, AGAIN, TOTAL OF $8,940.
AND THEN AS MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO, $4,000 OF THAT IS FOR UPGRADING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR THE FIELD ASSESSOR TABLETS.
AS WE HAVE RECENTLY JUST HIRED A NEW PART-TIME REAL ESTATE MANAGER, WE'RE ABLE TO START SENDING PEOPLE OUT TO THE FIELD MORE, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GRABBING AS MANY OF THOSE FIELD REVIEWS AS WE CAN.
AND AS WE SEND FOLKS OUT THERE AND INCREASE THE WORKLOAD, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THEIR TABLETS ARE APPROPRIATELY WORKING AND THAT WE CAN USE THEIR TIME WISELY.
SO ANYWAY, WE HAVE FOUND SOME POTENTIAL FUNDS IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, SO I MIGHT BE ABLE TO REMOVE THAT.
THAT WOULD MAKE IT A TOTAL OF $4,940 INCREASE FOR THIS YEAR IN NON-SALARY FOR THIS LINE ITEM.
AND $3,000 OF THAT IS FOR A SCHEDULED INCREASE FOR MUNIS.
AND SO, AGAIN, THAT'S JUST A SCHEDULED INCREASE EVERY YEAR.
THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO TO KIND OF AVOID THAT.
AND THEN I HAVE LEFT THE EDUCATION AND CONVENTION BUDGET AT $11,000.
IT'S NOT SHOWN HERE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT WAS LAST YEAR, OR IT'S NOT AN INCREASE.
BUT WE DO HAVE NEW FOLKS IN THAT OFFICE, AND I DO FEEL THAT CONVENTION AND EDUCATION IS GOING TO BE CRITICAL.
IT'S A VERY TECHNICAL JOB, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE OUR FOLKS ARE EQUIPPED TO GIVE US THE MOST ACCURATE ASSESSMENT THAT WE CAN.
SO I JUST WANT TO JUSTIFY WHY THAT ONE WASN'T TOUCHED.
I DO FEEL IT'S JUSTIFIED IN THIS CASE.
AS FAR AS REDUCTIONS, WE DID HAVE A $6,000 REDUCTION, $6,652 IN PART-TIME SALARIES DUE TO POSITION CHANGES OR, EXCUSE ME, PERSONNEL CHANGES.
WE HAD AN INCREASE, AGAIN, IN THE $3,000 FOR MUNIS, SCHEDULED INCREASES FOR SERVICES, COMPUTER SERVICES.
AND THEN WE HAD A $200 INCREASE FOR ADVERTISING FOR THE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION HEARING.
THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN POSTAL SERVICE POSTAGE FOR REASSESSMENT.
WE WERE REALLY JUST TRYING TO EVALUATE.
WE'VE HAD THAT PORTION OF THE BUDGET KIND OF GO UP.
YOU CAN SEE $17,000 THERE, $11,000.
WE'RE JUST TRYING TO LEVEL IT OUT AT A MORE ACCURATE AVERAGE THERE.
AND THEN WE HAVE AN INCREASE IN TELEPHONE OF $1,000.
AND SO THAT, AGAIN, IS BASED ON TREND AND COUNTYWIDE INCREASES.
DECREASE IN BOOKS AND SUBSCRIPTION FOR $1,200.
AND THEN AN INCREASE, AGAIN, IN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, WHICH WE MAY BE ABLE TO TAKE OUT OF THE BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR, PENDING I'M WORKING WITH THE IT DEPARTMENT ON PURCHASING THOSE TABLETS THIS YEAR.
PENDING QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR THIS EVENING.
MR. HAMILL? I'M NOT SURE IT'S ON HERE.
AND I THINK IT WAS ON BOARD DOCS.
WAS THE DISCUSSION ABOUT HIRING OUT THE ASSESSOR PIECE FOR NEXT YEAR? YES.
SO THAT'S ACTUALLY SLATED TO BE ON THE FEBRUARY 24TH AGENDA FOR THE BOARD DOCS, SIR, YES.
SO IF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE BOARD WERE TO CONSIDER, AND THE ASSESSOR FULL-TIME SALARY, WHICH HAS BEEN REMAINED, IT'S REMAINED IN THIS BUDGET, THAT WOULD HELP US OFFSET THE COSTS OF DOING AN RFP AND CONTRACTING OUT FOR THE VALUATION PORTION OF THE ASSESSMENT, SIR.
SO THAT WOULD REDUCE THE WEIGHT.
BUT IT WOULD STILL, I'M NOT GOING TO SAY A PRICE, BUT IT WOULD STILL BE, YOU KNOW, AN INCREASE IN WHAT THE NORMAL BUDGET WOULD BE.
SO SAYING THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A DISCUSSION COMING ABOUT THIS, ONE THING I'LL SAY, AND I WILL SAY IT PREEMPTIVELY FOR THAT CONVERSATION, IS THAT IF WE LOOK AT IN-HOUSE VERSUS POSSIBLY DOING CONTRACT AGAIN, IS JUST IF WE HAVE ANY NOTES THAT WE DID, WHETHER OR NOT WE DID, WHETHER YOU WANT TO USE RETROSPECTIVE OR POST-MORTEM, AS MR. FORD PEW LIKES TO CALL IT, FROM THE LAST TIME THAT WE DID THIS.
I KNOW THIS IS GOING TO BE A HOT-BUTTON TOPIC IF WE START TALKING ABOUT AND JUST HOW WE CAN ENSURE THAT WE DO IT
[01:25:02]
CORRECTLY THIS TIME.IT'S GOING TO BE A SERIOUS THING WE WANT TO LOOK AT.
SO I KNOW IT'S NOT ON HERE, SO WE'LL SAVE THAT FOR THE FUTURE.
BUT THAT'S JUST A PLUG I WANTED TO PUT.
WELL, I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE ARE STRINGENTLY REVIEWING THE RFP, SIR.
THE STATE TAXING AUTHORITY IS ASSISTING ME WITH THAT.
THEY'VE BEEN VERY GENEROUS TO HELP US.
THEY HAVE ATTORNEYS ASSISTING AS WELL.
WE ARE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SET UP FOR SUCCESS IN OUR RFP, SIR, AND THAT OUR SCOPE IS CORRECT AND THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO HOLD FOLKS ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT WE NEED DONE.
AGAIN, PULLING IN LOTS OF BRIGHT MINDS TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE SET UP WELL AND PEOPLE WHO WORK IN THAT FIELD EVERY DAY.
I'M GLAD TO HEAR THE PROACTIVE NATURE OF THAT.
I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE, SIR.
MR. PHILIP PEW? I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING AT THIS TIME.
MR. FORD PEW? LOOKING AT THE SALARIES AND WAGES, ASSUMING THAT THE ACTUAL FOR 2025 IS $269,000, THAT WAS BECAUSE WE RAN THAT YEAR WITHOUT A FULL-TIME ASSESSOR.
AND THE REASON THAT THE REQUESTED AMOUNT FOR 2027 IS $439,000 IS BECAUSE IT'S WHAT THAT ADDED BACK.
SO I SEE ORIGINAL BUDGET FOR FY26 WAS $446,098, AND THEN THE REQUESTED FOR THIS YEAR IS THE SAME.
FY24, THE ACTUAL, YOU'RE CORRECT, THAT WAS NOT.
IT'S BECAUSE WE DID NOT HAVE A PERSON IN PLACE, SO YES.
AND THEN ON THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES LINE, THE ACTUAL WAS $450,000, $173,000.
THAT WAS BECAUSE WE CONTRACTED THE ASSESSMENT OUT TO THE SOFTWARE PACKAGE PROVIDER BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE AN ASSESSOR.
IF WE PUT THE RFP OUT FOR THAT SAME ACTIVITY, WILL WE BE SPENDING BOTH THE SALARY FOR THE ASSESSOR AND THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES? WE WILL BE TAKING – IF WE CONTRACT OUT, WE ESSENTIALLY ARE COMMITTING TO NOT HIRING AN ASSESSOR UNTIL THAT CONTRACT IS COMPLETE, SIR, SO WE WOULD BE TAKING THAT SALARY AND PUTTING IT TOWARDS THE RFP.
WELL, I DO HAVE TO SAY THAT WE HAVE SOMEBODY IN THERE THAT'S ASSISTING US PART-TIME THAT HOPEFULLY IS GOING TO HELP STRAIGHTEN SOME OF THE KINKS OUT IN THE ROAD.
I COULD SAY, HONESTLY, SIR, THEY'VE HIT THE GROUND RUNNING AND THEY'VE BEEN QUITE AN APPRECIATED ASSET TO THE ASSESSOR'S OFFICE.
I'VE BEEN THERE TOO MANY TIMES.
WITH THAT, WE'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT ITEM, WHICH WILL BE DISCUSSION OF ESTIMATED 2027 REVENUES.
I'M GOING TO STAY SEATED DUE TO THE LENGTH OF THIS PRESENTATION, IF YOU DON'T HAVE OBJECTIONS.
THIS PRESENTATION CERTAINLY IS DESIGNED TO RECAP SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT REQUESTS, BUT ALSO TO GIVE YOU AN INITIAL LOOK FOR THE TWO NEW MEMBERS, THE THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED TO PREVIOUSLY, AND IT WILL BE A REVIEW FOR YOU THAT HAVE SAT IN THE SEATS FOR AT LEAST A COUPLE YEARS.
SO THE FIRST ITEM, OF COURSE, I UPDATE YOU ON THIS QUARTERLY DURING THE QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT.
YOU KNOW THAT OUR AUDIT ENDED FY 2025 WITH A FUND BALANCE OF $51.5 MILLION.
THAT REPRESENTED ABOUT 36% OF ACTUAL 25 EXPENDITURES AND ABOUT 32% OF OUR CURRENT YEAR EXPENDITURES.
WE WERE WELL ABOVE OUR 12.5% MINIMUM AND CERTAINLY THE TARGET OF 15% THAT WE STRIVE TO ACHIEVE.
WE HAVE COMMITTED OUR FUND BALANCE.
AGAIN, THIS IS A RECAP FROM QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT UPDATE.
WE HAVE COMMITTED $3.283 MILLION TO DATE, WHICH REPRESENTS ABOUT 2% OF OUR BUDGETED CURRENT YEAR EXPENDITURES.
OUR REAPPROPRIATION OF PURCHASE ORDERS, GRANTS, AND AN AMOUNT THAT YOU HAVE ADVANCED TO THE SCHOOL DIVISION OF THEIR CARRYOVER FUNDS.
THE ROOF FOR THE RECREATION DEPARTMENT, WE ARE HOPING THAT COMES IN UNDER BUDGET DUE TO THE LACK OF ASBESTOS DETECTED.
SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER GRANT POSITIONS, THE VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT, THAT WENT WITH THOSE THREE ADDITIONAL OFFICERS.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, OUR YEAR-END SETTLEMENT RETURN TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH.
THE SCHOOL DIVISION, I KNOW THIS WILL BE A TOPIC TOMORROW EVENING, HAS ABOUT $1.839 MILLION LEFT OF WHAT THEY CONTRIBUTED
[01:30:01]
TO FUND BALANCE DURING FY 2025.AND PLEASE FEEL FREE TO STOP ME WITH QUESTIONS AS WE GO.
IF THERE'S SOMETHING YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
I'M HAPPY TO ADDRESS YOUR QUESTIONS AS YOU GO.
SO, AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A LOOK AT WHAT OUR STATUTORY OR WHAT OUR POLICY ASKS US TO RETAIN IN FUND BALANCE AT 12.5%, 15%, A HISTORICAL VIEW OF ACTUAL EXPENDITURES AND ADOPTED BUDGET CURRENT YEAR.
IF THE SCHOOL DIVISION ULTIMATELY DOES REQUEST AND YOU APPROVE THAT REMAINING $1.8 MILLION, YOU WILL HAVE ABOUT $46.3 MILLION LEFT IN FUND BALANCE.
IF REVENUES THIS YEAR CAME IN AT EXACTLY THE BUDGETED AMOUNT, WHICH THEY WILL NOT, EXPENDITURES ARE EXPENDED AT EXACTLY THE BUDGETED AMOUNT.
FUND BALANCE IS DERIVED FROM ACTUAL REVENUES MINUS ACTUAL EXPENDITURES.
QUESTIONS BEFORE I MOVE ON? SO, REVENUE REVIEW.
OF COURSE, THERE IS NO REAL ESTATE REASSESSMENT FOR FY 2027.
MS. PUDLOW WAS ALLUDING TO DOING AN RFP.
THAT REASSESSMENT PROCESS WILL ACTUALLY BE FOR YOUR FY 2028 BUDGET, BUT THAT WORK NEEDS TO START SOONER THAN LATER TO BE COMPLETED CORRECTLY AND IN TIME TO GET ACCURATE ASSESSED VALUES FOR FY 2028.
SO THE BOARD DID PREVIOUSLY PROVIDE DIRECTION TO REASSESS EVERY SECOND YEAR, AND WE ARE STILL, AS MS. PUDLOW MENTIONED, HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL IN RECRUITING A FULL-TIME ASSESSOR.
SHE WILL BE BRINGING YOU SOME INFORMATION RELATED TO AN RFP, AND IF WE DO CONTRACT THAT WORK, WE WILL ACTUALLY BE LOOKING FOR FUNDING IN THIS FISCAL YEAR, NOT THE UPCOMING BUDGET YEAR, SO THAT THAT WORK CAN START IN TIME TO HAVE THAT PROCESS DONE FOR FY 2028.
AS YOU MENTIONED, MR. MCMILLAN HAS JOINED THE TEAM JUST A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, AND AS SHE MENTIONED, HE HAS HIT THE GROUND RUNNING.
HIGHER REAL ESTATE TAX REVENUES FOR FY 2027, IF ANY, WOULD COME EXCLUSIVELY FROM NEW CONSTRUCTION IMPROVEMENTS AND DISCOVERY.
REAL ESTATE VALUES WOULD NEED TO BE ADJUSTED FOR TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS THAT REMAIN ONGOING, AND THOSE ARE VERY IMMATERIAL.
THAT STAFF HAS BEEN PREPARING A LISTING OF THE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE SINCE THE LAND BOOK WAS APPROVED, AND MR. MCMILLAN REVIEWED THOSE AND EMAILED ME, I BELIEVE IT WAS SUNDAY AFTERNOON, THAT ALL TOLL, UPS AND DOWNS, IT'S ABOUT $3,800 IN TAXES, SO THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY IMMATERIAL.
HE HAS ALSO LOOKED AT NEW CONSTRUCTION.
THOSE AMOUNTS ARE GOOD, BUT I AM TRYING TO DETERMINE, AND WE'LL BE TALKING WITH HIM LATER THIS WEEK, ABOUT IF THERE WAS A BACKLOG FROM FY 25 PRIOR TO THE APPROVAL OF THE LAND BOOK OR AT WHAT POINT THAT NEW CONSTRUCTION REALLY CAN BE ADDED, SO I'M TRYING TO DETERMINE AN ANNUALIZED NEW CONSTRUCTION AMOUNT, BUT I'VE ALSO MADE YOU AWARE THAT WE CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN TAX RELIEF FOR DISABLED VETERANS, SO THIS IS A RECAP OF A SLIDE THAT I PROVIDED DURING YOUR SEPTEMBER 30TH QUARTERLY FINANCIAL UPDATE.
I THINK ALL OF YOU WERE CONCERNED, DID THE LAND BOOK DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY FROM WHAT WE BUILT OUR BUDGET ON THIS YEAR, AND IT WAS INSIGNIFICANT, THE DIFFERENCE.
HOWEVER, WHAT WAS SIGNIFICANT IS THE AMOUNT OF TAX RELIEF INCREASE FOR DISABLED VETERANS THAT WE ARE PROVIDING AND EXPERIENCING.
IF I MAY ASK, I'M PRETTY SURE I KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS.
THIS IS STATE-DRIVEN, NOT THAT I'M AGAINST IT.
YOU ARE ALLOWED TO PROVIDE THAT RELIEF, AND I BELIEVE THE BOARD VOTED TO PROVIDE 100% RELIEF FOR DISABLED VETERANS.
I THINK THERE HAS BEEN AN UPTICK IN THE AMOUNT OF DISABILITIES BEING APPROVED BY THE ARMY, AND ARMY SPECIFICALLY.
WE REALLY DON'T HAVE WHAT WE WERE AT LAST YEAR, LIKE 1.9 OR SOMETHING? WE REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MIGHT BE? WE PROVIDED 2.3 MILLION, 2.37 MILLION IN TAX RELIEF FOR DISABLED VETERANS THIS YEAR.
[01:35:01]
YES, SIR.MR. CHAIRMAN? I MAY GET AHEAD OF MYSELF, BUT I DIDN'T SEE IT WHEN I GLANCED THROUGH THIS LAST NIGHT AND THIS MORNING.
WE ALSO INCREASED SENIOR CITIZENS' DISCOUNTS.
I APOLOGIZE, IT'S KIND OF SMALL ON YOUR SCREENS.
BUT THAT INCREASED BETWEEN $25,000 AND $26,000 FROM $113,800 TO ABOUT $200,000 IN RELIEF FOR SENIOR CITIZENS.
THAT'S WHAT WE KNOW AS OF RIGHT NOW? YES, SIR.
THAT WAS THE RELIEF PROVIDED THIS YEAR.
AND THAT WAS WITH THE INCREASE OR THE MORE GENEROUS RELIEF.
I THINK WHEN WE DID IT, WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY WAY OF REALLY KNOWING WHO MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO BE APPLIED FOR IT SINCE WE RAISED IT.
SO MR. MCMILLAN, AGAIN, IS WORKING TO VERIFY THE ADJUSTMENTS AND A LIST OF NEW CONSTRUCTION THAT THE TEAM HAD PREPARED PRIOR TO HIS ARRIVAL.
HE'S ALSO WORKING TO UNDERSTAND THOSE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.
BUT HE DID EMAIL ME SUNDAY AND THAT THOSE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS ARE IMMATERIAL TO OUR BUDGETED REVENUE.
SO WITH NO REASSESSMENT, THERE WILL BE NO EFFECTIVE TAX RATE INCREASE FROM HIGHER ASSESSED VALUES.
IF YOU DIDN'T MAKE AN IMPROVEMENT AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE A TECHNICAL CORRECTION AND THE BOARD CHOOSES TO KEEP THE TAX RATE AT 82 CENTS, WE WILL PAY THE SAME REAL ESTATE TAX IN FY27 THAT WE ARE PAYING THIS FISCAL YEAR.
SO THE TERM EQUALIZATION IS USED DURING A REASSESSMENT YEAR.
IF YOU CHOSE TO TAKE ACTION ON THE TAX RATE, IT WOULD SIMPLY BE LOWERING THE TAX RATE, NOT REALLY EQUALIZING BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING TO EQUALIZE TO.
THE VALUE OF A PENNY IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN AT $416,000 FOR REAL ESTATE TAXES, AND THE REAL ESTATE TAX RATE IMPACTS NOT ONLY YOUR REAL ESTATE TAX REVENUES, BUT IT IS USED FOR PUBLIC SERVICE TAXES AS WELL AS OUR MANUFACTURED OR MOBILE HOMES.
SO EXPENDITURE INCREASES HAVE BEEN COMMUNICATED TO THE BOARD BY EACH DEPARTMENT, AND MS. HURT AND I PROVIDED A VIDEO PRESENTATION TO THE BOARD LAST FRIDAY, AND THE PERSONNEL COMPONENTS WERE RECAPPED, NOT ONLY FOR BENEFITS BUT SALARIES.
AND I'M HAPPY TO OPEN THOSE POWERPOINTS AND GO INTO MORE DETAIL, BUT THIS IS A MORE HIGH-LEVEL SUMMARY ON THIS SLIDE, AND THEN THE UPCOMING SLIDES HAVE A LITTLE MORE DETAIL.
THERE WAS A DECREASE IN OUR VIRGINIA RETIREMENT CONTRIBUTION RATE, AS WELL AS OUR GROUP TERM LIFE INSURANCE THAT WE PAY FOR ALL FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES, WHICH WAS GOOD NEWS.
WE ARE ALSO ANTICIPATING AN INCREASE IN OUR HEALTH INSURANCE CONTRIBUTION.
HOWEVER, IN TALKING WITH COLLEAGUES, A SINGLE-DIGIT INCREASE IS PRETTY GOOD, SO WE'RE EXPECTING OVERALL ABOUT A 5.1 PERCENT INCREASE.
WE ARE BASING OUR MANDATED INCREASES FOR STATE-SUPPORTED LOCAL POSITIONS ON FORMER GOVERNOR YANKIN'S BUDGET PROPOSAL.
WE HAVE NOT HEARD MANY DETAILS ON GOVERNOR SPANBERGER'S BUDGET AT THIS POINT, BUT THEY ARE PROPOSING A 2 PERCENT INCREASE FOR STATE-SUPPORTED LOCAL POSITIONS JULY 1.
WE ALSO COVERED CAREER DEVELOPMENT INCREASES FOR 16 POLICE OFFICERS WHO HAVE MET THOSE REQUIREMENTS, AND ONE CHIEF DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE.
WE TALKED ABOUT THE STUDY THAT MS. HURT DOES IN-HOUSE, AND WE ARE RECOMMENDING GRADE INCREASES FOR JUST FOUR NON-PUBLIC SAFETY POSITIONS AND LOOKING AT PROVIDING THOSE REGRADES FOR THREE POSITIONS, TWO IN ANIMAL SERVICES AND ONE AT THE FLEET GARAGE OF FOLKS CURRENTLY DOING ABOVE THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION.
WE ALSO QUANTIFIED THE AMOUNT OF DOING A STEP INCREASE, THE MARKET SCALE ADJUSTMENTS AND COST OF LIVING THAT WE ARE RECOMMENDING FOR FIRE, POLICE, AND OTHER NON-PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEES, AND THEN, OF COURSE, THESE POSITION REQUESTS AND RECLASSIFICATIONS THAT EACH DEPARTMENT HAS ARTICULATED TO YOU.
SO WE ALSO WILL TALK LATER TONIGHT ABOUT OUR RIVERSIDE REGIONAL JAIL INCREASE, NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF CENSUS, BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF A PER DIEM
[01:40:01]
RATE INCREASE THAT WAS APPROVED JUST LAST WEEK.CRATER YOUTH CARE COMMISSION HAS NOT YET SUBMITTED THEIR BUDGET, BUT MS. PEDLOW TALKED WITH THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TODAY, AND THEY ARE NOT ANTICIPATING AN INCREASE.
OUR OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE SUBMITTED THEIR FUNDING REQUESTS.
THOSE INCLUDE THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, THE LIBRARY, AND GREATER REACH COMMUNITY SERVICES BOARD.
THE CHANGES TO OUR DEBT COMMITMENT AND, OF COURSE, INCREASES, OUR ANNUAL INCREASES FOR OUR SOFTWARE LICENSING AND MAINTENANCE, OUR CONTRACTUAL COMMITMENTS, ELECTRICAL COSTS, HEATING AND FUEL.
SO PENDING IS, OF COURSE, OUR SCHOOL FUNDING REQUEST AND FINAL STATE ACTIONS FROM THE STATE.
WE HAVE PRELIMINARY 2% FOR STATE-SUPPORTED LOCAL POSITIONS.
SO THIS DIVES A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO OUR REVENUE.
SO OUR ADOPTED CURRENT YEAR REAL ESTATE TAX REVENUE IS $34,365,000, AND OUR COLLECTIONS TO DATE ARE ABOUT 52.58%.
OF COURSE, THOSE BILLS ARE DUE TWICE A YEAR.
THE SECOND HALF WILL BE DUE JUNE 5TH.
SO THIS IS WHERE WE STAND TODAY, AND WE ARE HOPING TO BE ABLE TO KEEP THAT BUDGETED AMOUNT LEVEL, AND WE ARE HOPING THAT MAYBE ANTICIPATED NEW CONSTRUCTION WILL OFFSET THE INCREASED TAX RELIEF FOR DISABLED VETERANS SPECIFICALLY.
SO, AGAIN, WE ARE NOT ANTICIPATING GROWTH IN OUR REAL ESTATE TAX REVENUES, AND THAT IS, OF COURSE, KEEPING THE TAX RATE AT $0.82.
LOWERING IT IS $416,000 PER PENNY.
SO THE COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE HAS BEGUN PRELIMINARY MOTOR VEHICLE ASSESSMENTS FOR THIS YEAR'S TAXES THAT ARE DUE JUNE 5TH.
HER TARGETED PRELIMINARY BOOK COMPLETION DATE IS ABOUT MARCH 20TH.
THEY WILL NOT BE 100% COMPLETE IN THEIR ASSESSMENTS ON THAT DATE, AND THEIR FINAL BOOK WILL BE DONE AROUND APRIL 17TH.
WE HAVE HAD OUR PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX REVENUE BUDGETED AT $12,052,000 FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AND DELINQUENT AT $700,000.
THERE IS NO RECOMMENDATION TO CHANGE THE PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX RATES, AND IN 22, THE TAX RATE WAS LOWERED.
THE PANDEMIC CAUSED VEHICLE VALUES TO INCREASE FAIRLY DRAMATICALLY, AND SOMETIMES IN THAT YEAR, A VEHICLE MIGHT HAVE BEEN VALUED AT A HIGHER AMOUNT THAN IT WAS IN THE PRECEDING YEAR BECAUSE OF JUST THE ECONOMIC SUPPLY IMPACTED THE VALUES.
THAT WAS A ONE-TIME SPIKE, BUT THE DROP IN OUR PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX RATE HAS REMAINED IN PLACE, AND VALUES HAVE NORMALIZED.
THAT I'LL SHOW A FEW SLIDES DOWN, BUT AGAIN, WE ARE NOT SEEING ANY ABILITY TO INCREASE.
WE ARE HOPING TO KEEP IT LEVEL, BUT THE TAX RATE THAT YOU APPROVE TENTATIVELY FOR APRIL WILL IMPACT BILLS THAT ARE DUE THIS JUNE.
SO WE ARE TRYING TO FORECAST A YEAR AHEAD WITH NO INFORMATION.
THIS SLIDE DOES SHOW YOU ACTUAL COLLECTIONS.
WE EXCEEDED OUR BUDGETED TARGET BY ABOUT $415,000, BUT IN TOTAL, NETTING THOSE TWO, IT'S REALLY $213,000 OR SO.
THE MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE FEE WAS ELIMINATED IN APRIL OF 22.
AT THE SAME TIME, THE PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX RATE WAS LOWERED, AND THOSE SMALL AMOUNTS OF COLLECTIONS THAT YOU SEE ARE FROM DELINQUENT PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX PAYMENTS.
THIS PROVIDES THE FINAL BOOK THAT WAS COMPLETED LAST SPRING IN COMPARISON TO THE ONE THAT WAS DONE A YEAR PRIOR.
THE VALUES FOR PERSONAL PROPERTY WERE OVERALL $1.6 MILLION LESS.
VEHICLE VALUES WERE ESSENTIALLY FLAT, 0.03% MORE.
AND THE TAXES WERE ACTUALLY LESS.
SO AGAIN, VEHICLE VALUES HAVE NORMALIZED.
WE'RE NOT SEEING TREMENDOUS GROWTH THERE.
AND OUR BUSINESS FURNITURE AND FIXTURE FELL.
[01:45:01]
MIGHT IMPACT THIS WAS THAT PERSONAL PROPERTY REDUCTION THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT APPROVING, BUT THE LAST I READ, UNLESS I'M WRONG, THEY'VE KICKED IT OUT ANOTHER YEAR.YOU MEAN THE STATE? THE STATE.
PROVIDING THE LOCALITIES? YEAH, THE LOCALITIES WITH A TAX BREAK ON INDIVIDUALS, ONE PRIMARY VEHICLE PER PERSON.
THIS DATES BACK TO THE STONE AGE, AND I'M GOING TO AGE MYSELF, AND I AM OLD.
SO GOVERNOR GILMOUR, WHEN HE WAS IN OFFICE IN THE 90S, WAS GOING TO DO AWAY WITH THE CAR TAX.
AND WE ARE GETTING PPTRA FROM THE STATE, BUT IT HAS BEEN AT THAT SAME $2.6 MILLION FOR TWO DECADES.
SO THAT AMOUNT ALLOWS US TO PROVIDE SOME RELIEF TO OUR TAXPAYERS LOCALLY.
BUT AGAIN, THAT NUMBER FROM THE STATE HAS BEEN FLAT FOR DECADES.
THIS NUMBER IS PROBABLY GOING TO STAY FLAT ONCE YOU GET BUDGETED.
SO AT THIS POINT, I'M NOT GOING TO RECOMMEND A CHANGE IN BUDGETED PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX REVENUES UNLESS YOU DECIDE TO CUT THE RATE OR INCREASE THE RATE.
SO LEAVING IT AT $390, THERE REALLY IS LIMITED OPPORTUNITY TO INCREASE THAT BASED ON RECENT TREND.
WHAT WILL HELP WHENEVER LEGO IS DONE IS THEY WILL HAVE BUSINESS FURNITURE AND FIXTURES THAT ARE TAXABLE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT REBATES MIGHT HAVE BEEN PROMISED IN THEIR CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS, BUT AGAIN, THAT WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO INCREASE PERSONAL PROPERTY WITHOUT INCREASING YOUR TAX RATE IN A FUTURE YEAR WHEN THEY ARE COMPLETE AND THEIR ITEMS BECOME TAXABLE.
WE SHOULD BE GETTING TOOLS AND MACHINERY TAX OFF OF THEM TOO, CORRECT? I'M NOT POSITIVE.
I THINK IT IS TYPICALLY ONE OR THE OTHER.
WE WILL GET REAL ESTATE TAX REVENUE FOR SURE, BUT I THINK IT'S EITHER MACHINE AND TOOLS OR BUSINESS FURNITURE AND FIXTURES.
I CAN ASK FOR CLARIFICATION FROM MS. LANE AND GET YOU AN ANSWER TO THAT.
SPEAKING OF MACHINE AND TOOLS, WE HAVE TODAY BUDGETED $1,280,000, AND REALLY TOO EARLY TO TELL WHETHER THAT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY GROW.
WE DO SOMETIMES ADD BUSINESSES TO THOSE ROLES, BUT WE ALSO EXPERIENCE DEPRECIATION ON THAT MACHINE AND TOOLS TAX FROM ALL OF THOSE TAXABLE ENTITIES ANNUALLY.
SO AGAIN, HER BOOK, SHE'S WORKING ON IT NOW, AND WE WILL KNOW MORE, BUT IT WILL BE APRIL BEFORE WE KNOW MORE.
AND THOSE ARE DUE JUNE 5TH, SO WE REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY CURRENT YEAR TREND AND WON'T HAVE IT UNTIL THE BUDGET IS ADOPTED.
SO MOBILE HOMES, OUR CURRENT BUDGET IS AT $152,000.
BASED ON THE LAST TWO YEARS OF ACTUAL COLLECTIONS, WE ARE RECOMMENDING AN INCREASE TO $170,000 IF YOUR TAX RATE REMAINS AT $0.82.
AGAIN, THAT IS DUE ON JUNE 5TH, AND THOSE RATES WE WILL BE BRINGING BEFORE YOU IN APRIL, BUT THEY WILL IMPACT THE BILLS DUE THIS JUNE.
SO IF YOU CHANGE THE REAL ESTATE TAX RATE THIS YEAR, IT WON'T IMPACT REVENUES UNTIL FY27.
PUBLIC SERVICE TAXES, THESE ENTITIES ARE ELECTRIC, GAS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, AND WATER COMPANIES.
THEY ARE ASSESSED BY THE SCC, THE DIVISION OF PUBLIC SERVICE TAXATION, AND THOSE ASSESSMENTS ACTUALLY STRADDLE TWO FISCAL YEARS FOR US.
SO WE COLLECT HALF AT ONE ASSESSED VALUE AND THE OTHER HALF AT A DIFFERENT ASSESSED VALUE.
SO I DID HAVE A MEETING WITH MS. LANE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, AND BASED ON WHAT WE WILL BE SENDING OUT TO COLLECT ON JUNE 5TH, IF WE DOUBLE THAT, WE CAN PROBABLY LEAVE OUR PUBLIC SERVICE TAX ESTIMATE AT 2.5.
AGAIN, NO GROWTH, NO GROWTH IN THOSE.
THERE WAS A ONE-TIME SPIKE IN 24 FROM SOME TEMPORARY ACTIVITIES AT ONE OF THOSE TAXABLE ENTITIES.
E-POLL. THESE TAXES ARE DUE BY MARCH 1, SO WE REALLY DON'T HAVE A LOT, OR WE DON'T HAVE ACTUAL INFORMATION, BUT WE WILL HAVE IT SOON.
WE ARE RECOMMENDING AT THIS POINT TO LEAVE THOSE AT A TOTAL OF $2,039,500.
THERE MAY BE SOME LIMITED OPPORTUNITY TO INCREASE THOSE.
[01:50:02]
WE WILL KNOW MORE AFTER THOSE ACTUAL COLLECTIONS HIT.THEY WON'T ALL HIT IF THOSE PAYMENTS ARE POSTMARKED BY MARCH 1.
WE COUNT THEM AS CURRENT PROBABLY THAT ENTIRE WEEK.
SO WE WILL KNOW SOMETHING MAYBE BY MARCH 5TH OR 8TH ABOUT WHAT ACTUAL CURRENT-YEAR COLLECTIONS ARE.
BUT MS. LANE DID NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE RECOMMENDING AN INCREASE IN THOSE.
THERE IS AN INCREASE IN THOSE REVENUES NOW.
I'M CURIOUS TO ASK YOU A QUESTION. I'M NOT PUTTING YOU ON THE SPOT.
SOMEWHERE IN THE NEWS I'VE READ WHERE THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT NOW TO ALLEVIATE SOME OF THE PRESSURE ON THE POSTAL SERVICES THAT THE DATE YOU DROP YOUR MAIL OFF, THE DATE IT WILL BE POSTMARKED IS WHEN THEY ACTUALLY SHIP IT OUT.
THEY PAY BILLS AND ALL THAT NORMALLY TAKE SOMETHING UP THE DAY BEFORE THE DAY OF, THINKING, OKAY, IT'S POSTMARKED.
IF THEY DON'T SHIP IT OUT FOR TWO DAYS, IT'S LATE.
I'M CURIOUS TO SEE HOW THAT'S GOING TO PLAY OUT.
I KNOW MS. VARGO WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THAT WHEN IT WAS FIRST ANNOUNCED BY THE POSTAL SERVICE.
IT KIND OF PUTS US IN A BAD SPOT IF THE POST OFFICE IS POSTMARKING IT FOR A DATE LATER THAN WHEN THEIR CUSTOMER BRINGS IT IN.
CONSUMER UTILITIES TAXES, ELECTRIC AND GAS, WE ARE NOT, AGAIN, NOT RECOMMENDING ANY CHANGE IN THOSE.
WE HAVE LOOKED AT TREND INFORMATION, LIMITED OPPORTUNITY TO INCREASE THOSE.
SO WE DID HAVE SLIGHTLY HIGHER COLLECTIONS IN 25 THAN WE DID IN 24, BUT CURRENT YEAR TREND DOESN'T DRIVE ME TO RECOMMEND AN INCREASE.
SALES TAX, I SHARE THIS WITH YOU DURING YOUR QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT AS WELL.
WE FELL SHORT OF OUR BUDGETED AMOUNT SLIGHTLY DURING FY 2025, BUT WE ARE TRENDING BETTER THIS YEAR.
SO WE ARE HOPING TO MEET OUR $4.6 MILLION TARGET, BUT NO REAL INFORMATION TO RECOMMEND AN INCREASE.
SO THIS IS WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
YOU KNOW, I AM KIND OF GOING OUT ON A LIMB HERE, AND MS. PUDLOW MIGHT FIRE ME TOMORROW FOR RECOMMENDING A FAIRLY SIZABLE INCREASE HERE.
YOU KNOW, WE RECOMMENDED OR WORKED WITH THE TREASURER IN THE LAST FEW YEARS TO MOVE FUNDS OUT OF WHAT WAS CALLED THE VIP BOND FUND, WHERE WE DID SUSTAIN LOSSES IN 21 AND 22.
THE DECISION TO OPEN THOSE INVESTMENTS ACCOUNT WAS MADE BY THE PREVIOUS TREASURER, BUT WE DID WORK WITH MS. FARGO TO MOVE OUT OF THE BOND FUND INTO THE VIP LIQUIDITY POOL.
INTEREST RATES ARE GOOD NOW, BUT OF COURSE THE FEDS DRIVE WHAT THE INTEREST RATES ARE.
BUT EVEN WITH A DROP IN RATE, OUR ACTUAL COLLECTIONS FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS HAVE BEEN $2.75 MILLION AND $2.9 MILLION.
SO EVEN CONSERVATIVELY BUDGETING, UNLESS WE DRAIN OUR FUND BALANCE, WE COULD PROBABLY COMFORTABLY INCREASE THAT TO $1.5 MILLION.
WE CHANGED TO PRIMUS BANK JANUARY 1, 2025, AND BEGAN DRAWING INTEREST ON OUR OPERATING ACCOUNT.
AND BASED ON THE MARKET RATE, IT IS A MUCH LOWER RATE THAN WHAT WE ARE EARNING WITH VIP, BUT IT IS INTEREST.
WE ARE RECOMMENDING A SLIGHT INCREASE THERE OF $101,000.
WE ARE PROVIDING THE SCHOOL NUTRITION FUND WITH THEIR MONTHLY INTEREST ON THAT.
WE MET WITH MR. BALDWIN AND MR. GRAVES IN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, AND THEY ARE GOING TO BE BRINGING SOME RECOMMENDATIONS TO INCREASE SOME – I'M SORRY, THIS IS NOT PLANNING, THIS IS OUR BUILDING OFFICIAL.
THESE ARE OUR BUILDING PERMITS AND TRADE PERMITS THAT GO THROUGH MR. HARRISON'S OFFICE.
WE DO HAVE A LARGE SPIKE IN OUR CURRENT YEAR COLLECTIONS.
[01:55:01]
IF YOU LOOK AT OUR ACTUAL COLLECTIONS, WE ARE SEEING AN INCREASE THIS YEAR.HOWEVER, THAT IS DUE TO SOME ONE-TIME LARGE ACTIVITIES THAT WILL LIKELY NOT BE PRESENT IN FY27.
SO JUST AN $8,600 INCREASE IN THOSE PROJECTED FEES.
THIS ONE IS A LITTLE HARD TO READ, AND I WILL MENTION THAT MR. BALDWIN AND MR. GRAVES HAVE REVIEWED THE ORDINANCES THAT RELATE TO PLANNING FEES, AND THEY ARE GOING TO RECOMMEND SOME CHANGES.
THEY WERE INITIALLY SAYING WE NEEDED TO REDUCE OUR PROJECTED FEES BY $600, BUT NOW THEY ARE RECOMMENDING THAT WE COULD INCREASE OUR PLANNING FEES BY $27,600 IF THE BOARD APPROVES THE CHANGES.
WE ARE CERTAINLY HAPPY TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THOSE CHANGES DURING ONE OR MORE OF YOUR NEXT BUDGET WORK SESSIONS.
WE HAVE A MEETING WITH MR. GRAVES AND THE ATTORNEY LATER THIS WEEK TO TALK ABOUT THOSE CHANGES.
SO OTHER REVENUES THAT I'M NOT PROVIDING A LOT OF DETAIL ON, BUT JUST LOOKING AT OUR PRIOR YEAR ACTUALS AND OUR CURRENT YEAR TRENDS, WE WILL BE MAKING A RECOMMENDATION TO INCREASE OUR BANK STOCK TAX REVENUES BY $30,000, FINES AND FORFEITURES BY $36,000, OUR MOBILE HOME TITLING TAX BY $10,000, BUT A HIT FOR STATE COMMUNICATION TAXES.
THAT REVENUE STREAM HAS FALLEN EVERY YEAR IN THE DECADE THAT I'VE BEEN HERE.
I'VE TRIED NUMEROUS TIMES TO CALL THE STATE BECAUSE IT IS KIND OF COUNTERINTUITIVE.
BUT, OF COURSE, LANDLINES ARE FALLING BY THE WAYSIDE.
BUT THERE IS A DECREASE PROJECTED.
EMS IN-HOUSE TRANSPORT, THAT IS BUDGETED TODAY AT $840,000.
THERE WILL BE SOME DISCUSSION FROM CHIEF CASARES ABOUT HAVING A THIRD-PARTY BILLING PROVIDER, AND BILLING COLLECT THOSE FEES.
AND THERE IS SOME INDICATION FROM THEM THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY INCREASE OUR REVENUES.
THEY TAKE A PERCENT OFF THE TOP, SO THEY ARE CERTAINLY INCENTIVIZED TO MAXIMIZE BILLABLE REVENUES.
THE POLICE DEPARTMENT RECEIVES WHAT'S CALLED HOUSE BILL 599 FUNDS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES.
WE WON'T RECEIVE THAT UNTIL THE STATE BUDGET IS APPROVED.
THEY DO NOT RELEASE PRELIMINARY INFORMATION DESPITE ME NAGGING THEM EVERY YEAR.
BUT OUR CURRENT YEAR BUDGET IS $1.166 MILLION, AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY INFORMATION TO SUGGEST WE COULD MAKE A CHANGE.
WE HAVE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER GRANTS.
WE DID RECEIVE THIS YEAR A NEW MIDDLE ROAD SOUTH BEASLEY GRANT THAT ANNUALIZED IS $230,000.
OUR HARRISON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER GRANT WILL BE EXPIRING AT THE END OF THIS YEAR.
SO THAT WILL BE A REVENUE LOSS FOR NOW.
WE HAVE RETAINED THAT POSITION IN OUR BASELINE, BUT CERTAINLY MORE CONVERSATION CAN BE HAD IF THE BOARD WISHES TO TALK ABOUT THAT MORE.
AND CONTINUING GRANT FOR NORTH ELEMENTARY.
SO ALL TOLD, WE ARE ANTICIPATING AN INCREASE OF $153,000 ABOVE OUR CURRENT YEAR ADOPTED.
OUR OPERATION CEASEFIRE GRANT FOR OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT, THAT DOES FUND CURRENTLY ONE POLICE OFFICER.
THAT WAS A TWO-YEAR GRANT THAT EXPIRES AT THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR.
AND AGAIN, WE HAVE RETAINED THAT IN OUR BASELINE FROM OTHER SAVINGS.
COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY, THOSE ARE THE NEXT TWO GRANTS THAT ARE LISTED HERE.
THOSE POSITIONS ARE VACANT AND HAVE BEEN FOR THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF.
SO WE HAVE BOTH REMOVED THE POSITION AND THE GRANT REVENUE FROM THE BUDGET.
SO IT'S BUDGET NEUTRAL, ESSENTIALLY.
VICTIM WITNESS GRANT, WE DO NOT HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON ANTICIPATED 27.
[02:00:01]
I'M GUESSING MS. MOORE AND MS. DANAHILL WILL BE WORKING ON THEIR STATE GRANTS VERY SOON, ALONG WITH MS. WOFF.VICTIM WITNESS, WE RECEIVE $113,000 TODAY.
RECOVERY COURT, WE RECEIVED $90,000, AND THAT HAS BEEN THE SAME AMOUNT SINCE THAT GRANT WAS WRITTEN 12 YEARS AGO.
OUR LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANNING GRANT THAT WE RECEIVED FROM VDEM, WE HAVE HAD THAT GRANT A NUMBER OF YEARS.
THAT PAYS A PART OF THE SALARY AND BENEFITS FOR MR. BAYER.
HE INDICATED THAT THAT FUNDING MAY DRY UP, BUT PROBABLY NOT UNTIL FY28.
SO WE ARE LEAVING IT IN FOR 27.
COMP BOARD, THOSE FINAL NUMBERS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL MAY 1ST, AND THEY TYPICALLY SEND THEM OUT AT 9 P.M. ON MAY 1ST.
SO WE HAVE MADE PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES USING WHAT FORMER GOVERNOR YOUNGKIN PROPOSED, A 2% STATE INCREASE, OUR PAY INCREASE FOR STATE-SUPPORTED COMP BOARD-FUNDED POSITIONS ON THEIR COMP BOARD SALARY.
SO WE ARE EXPECTING HIGHER REVENUE.
THERE WAS TURNOVER WITHIN THE COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE'S OFFICE, SO LONG-TIME COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE RETIRED, SO WE PAY LESS TO THE INTERIM, BUT WE ALSO RECEIVE LESS FROM THE STATE.
AND EVERY TIME THERE IS TURNOVER IN THOSE OFFICES, OUR REVENUES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE, BUT NEVER ABOVE THE COMP BOARD-FUNDED SALARY AMOUNT.
THIS GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF HOW MANY, TO THE FAR RIGHT, HOW MANY POSITIONS ARE IN THOSE OFFICES.
THAT'S COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY, THE SHERIFF, THE CLERK OF COURT, TREASURER AND COMMISSIONER OF REVENUES.
THIRTY-EIGHT AND A HALF POSITIONS ARE IN THOSE OFFICES.
THE COMP BOARD FUNDS 34 AND A HALF, LOCALLY IS FOUR.
SO ONE IN THE COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY TODAY, ONE IN THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE TODAY, AND TWO WITHIN THE COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE.
OUR REIMBURSEMENT PERCENTAGES FOR THE TREASURER AND COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE ARE LESS BECAUSE THOSE POSITIONS ARE CONSIDERED MORE LOCAL THAN THOSE IN THE OTHER OFFICES.
WE ALSO RECEIVE FUNDING FROM THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ELECTIONS FOR THE REGISTRAR AND THE THREE ELECTORAL BOARD MEMBERS, NONE FOR THE STAFF IN THE REGISTRAR'S OFFICE.
HE HAS ONE AND A HALF, OR ACTUALLY TWO PART-TIME AND ONE FULL-TIME, IN ADDITION TO HIMSELF AND THE ELECTORAL BOARD MEMBERS.
THEY REIMBURSE ONLY A PERCENTAGE OF SALARY, AND IT IS THE SALARY BETWEEN MARCH AND FEBRUARY.
SO BUDGETING FOR THOSE REVENUES IS CHALLENGING.
IT WILL COST US $3,200 TO DO THE INCREASE, AND OUR RECOVERY WILL ONLY BE ABOUT $415.
YOU KNOW, WE WERE ESTIMATING, AS MS. JUDGE INDICATED, THAT ABOUT 66 PERCENT COMES FROM STATE AND FEDERAL, 34 PERCENT FROM MOST ADMIN EXPENDITURES.
WE DID RECEIVE SOME COMMUNICATION ON FEDERAL REDUCTIONS IN THE SNAP PROGRAM.
THOSE FEDERAL REDUCTIONS WERE PASSED TO THE STATE, AND IN TURN THEY PASSED THEM TO THE LOCALITIES.
WE ARE WAITING TO SEE IF MS. VANBERGER'S BUDGET HAS ANY ADDED REVENUE TO HELP US SHORE UP THAT DEFICIT, BUT WE DON'T KNOW.
SO THIS IS A LASER REPORT FOR FY26, THE BUDGET.
AND THE ITEMS VARY IN THE LOCAL MATCH PERCENT, BUDGET LINE TO BUDGET LINE.
THESE IN THE RED BOX ARE WHAT FUNDS MS. JUDGE'S ADMINISTRATIVE BUDGET, AND THE MATCH PERCENT CHANGES AFTER TIERED DOLLAR SPENDS.
SO YOU SPEND THAT $154,000, AND IT'S FULLY REIMBURSED.
THEN YOU SPEND THE $1.6 MILLION, AND IT'S REIMBURSED AT A DIFFERENT PERCENT.
AND THEN YOU SPEND THE BOTTOM BUDGET LINE, AND IT'S REIMBURSED AT A LOWER RATE.
SO AGAIN, BUDGETING IS A BIT CHALLENGING WHEN TRYING TO
[02:05:01]
DETERMINE WHAT WE WILL RECEIVE FROM THE STATE AMIDST COMMUNICATIONS THAT WE WILL GET.THE LOCAL MATCH WILL INCREASE EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, NOT EVEN JULY 1, OCTOBER 1.
SO FROM AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION, AND MS. JUDGE MAY BE ANGRY WITH ME FOR DOING THIS, I AM GOING TO SHOW FOR EVERY INCREASED SPEND ONLY 25 PERCENT REIMBURSEMENT BASED ON WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE PURPLE AT THE BOTTOM.
TODAY OUR REIMBURSEMENT RATES ARE IN THE WHITE SHADING, AND BASED ON WHAT THEY HAVE COMMUNICATED OCTOBER 1, THEY BECOME WHAT'S IN THE PURPLE SHADING.
SO WE AWAIT FINAL INFORMATION.
AND, OF COURSE, SHE USUALLY DOESN'T EVEN GET PRELIMINARY INFORMATION UNTIL SOMETIME IN MARCH FROM THE STATE.
SO OUR ADOPTED WELFARE ADMIN REVENUE, WHICH IS WHAT FUNDS HER ADMINISTRATIVE BUDGET, IS $2.3 MILLION.
AND EVERY TIME WE CHANGE AN EXPENDITURE, IT ALSO CHANGES REVENUE.
SO WHEN WE SAVE MONEY, WE GET LESS MONEY.
WHEN WE SPEND MORE, WE GET MORE, BUT NOT 100 PERCENT.
SO REVENUE REDUCTIONS FROM THE SNAP, WE ARE EXPECTING TO GET A HIT OF ABOUT $183,000 RIGHT OFF THE TOP.
WE DID HAVE SOME BASELINE SAVINGS WITHIN HER BUDGET, WHICH MEANS WE SAVED ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE, BUT WE'RE ALSO GETTING LESS REVENUE.
EVERY BENEFIT CHANGE THAT WE ARTICULATED MAKES REVENUE CHANGE.
THE MANDATED INCREASE FROM THE STATE, WE SPEND MORE AND WE GET MORE, NOT 100 PERCENT, AND THIS ARTICULATES THE CUMULATIVE.
SO PAST THAT COMP BOARD MINIMUM, THERE WILL BE CHOICES AND PRIORITIES FROM EVERY BUDGET CHANGE THAT MS. JUDGE COMMUNICATED IN HER ADMIN BUDGET.
SO SHE'S ALSO REQUESTING OVERALL $55,200 LESS IN NON-SALARY ITEMS, COMPARING 27'S REQUEST TO 26.
A LOT OF THAT IS COMING FROM THE FACT THAT SHE HAD A STRATEGIC PLAN COMPLETED THIS YEAR, WHICH WILL NOT BE IN THE UPCOMING BUDGET.
SO LESS SPENDING, BUT LESS REVENUE.
THERE WAS A USED VEHICLE BUDGETED FOR THIS YEAR, AND WE DO BUDGET THOSE VEHICLES WITHIN HER BUDGET BECAUSE WE DO GET REIMBURSED FROM THE STATE FOR A PART OF THOSE VEHICLES.
SO AGAIN, WITH ALL OF THOSE CHANGES, LESS SPENDING, IF APPROVED, MEANS LESS REVENUE.
CSA, WHOLE DIFFERENT REVENUE STREAM.
WE ARE NOT ANTICIPATING REDUCTIONS IN THAT PERCENTAGE OF REIMBURSEMENT, BUT WE ARE GOING TO BUDGET IN TOTAL A LITTLE BIT LESS BASED ON TREND AND CURRENT CASELOAD, AND THE BIG HITTERS IN CSA ARE EDUCATIONAL-RELATED SERVICES AND FOSTER CARE.
MS. JUDGE HAS RECOMMENDED A $44,000 DECREASE IN NON-EDUCATION-RELATED, BUT A SLIGHT INCREASE OF $11,500 IN EDUCATION-RELATED EXPENDITURES.
THE SCHOOL DIVISION DOES TRANSFER BACK THE LOCAL MATCH FOR THE EDUCATION-RELATED SERVICES.
LONG STORY, WE USED TO TAKE IT OFF THE TOP OF OUR LOCAL TRANSFER, BUT A PREVIOUS SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER ASKED THAT WE SEND THE WHOLE LOCAL TRANSFER OVER AND THEN ALLOW THEM TO TRANSFER THE LOCAL MATCH FOR THEIR EDUCATION-RELATED CSA EXPENDITURES BACK TO US.
SO IT'S BASICALLY A QUARTERLY JOURNAL ENTRY.
YEP, QUESTION? I SEE THE WHEELS TURNING.
IT'S ALL ABOUT BALANCING THE BOOKS ON ONE THING, BUT BASICALLY WHAT IT IS, THE MONEY GOES OVER THERE, BUT THE MONEY COMES BACK TO US, AND SHE PAYS IT.
I TRIED TO ARGUE THAT, BUT I LOST IT.
BUT ANYWAY, YEAH, WE'RE GIVING IT, AND THEN THEY GET A SEAT PUZZLED.
SHE CAN EXPLAIN IT BETTER THAN ME, BUT THAT'S ALL IT IS.
THE MONEY GOES TO THEM, SHOWS ON THEIR BOOKS, AND THEN WHEN IT'S DUE THE MONEY COMES BACK OVER HERE AND SHE PAYS IT.
WE MAKE A QUARTERLY TRANSFER FOR THE LOCAL MATCH COMPONENT OF THEIR EDUCATION-RELATED CSA EXPENDITURES.
I JUST THINK IT'S KIND OF FOOLISH.
[02:10:01]
THE MONEY GOES BACK AND FORTH, AND IT STILL WINDS UP BACK IN HER HANDS TO PAY IT.MR. CHAIR, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT STILL REMAINS AT THE BOARD LEVEL IF WE'RE SAYING THAT IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE? I THINK IT'D HAVE TO BE A DISCUSSION WITH THE CURRENT SCHOOL BOARD AND SEE IF THEY AGREE THAT IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE.
IT WOULD TAKE A LOAD OFF OF SOME LOAD OFF OF THEIR PERSON VERSUS JUST IT'S UP TO YOU ALL.
IT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA FOR TOMORROW NIGHT.
IF WE ELIMINATE THAT REVENUE STREAM, WE ALSO TRANSFER LESS TO THEM.
IT DOESN'T HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE BUDGET.
IT'S JUST PART OF OUR QUARTERLY ENTRY, WHICH WE IMPORT.
ARE THEY ABLE TO REALIZE ANY TYPE OF INTEREST FROM THAT MONEY BEING IN THEIR ACCOUNT VERSUS OURS? NO.
SO THEN PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, WE ACTUALLY OVERSPENT THIS PAST YEAR.
WE HAD TO ASK FOR SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION, AND THAT IS DRIVEN BY ACTUAL CASELOAD SERVICES PROVIDED IN THE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE BUDGET.
SO WE ARE RECOMMENDING AN INCREASE FOR FY27.
STATE AND FEDERAL REVENUES WILL INCREASE BY A LITTLE BIT LESS.
SO THE NET IMPACT IS ABOUT $12,664 TO US AS THE LOCALITY FOR SPENDING $185,000 MORE BASED ON CASELOADS.
FOSTER CARE IS GOING UP, AUXILIARY GRANTS, ADOPTIONS, AND VU SERVICES.
INDEPENDENT LIVING IS EXPECTED TO DECLINE.
SO NEXT WE'VE HIT THE MAJOR ITEMS FOR REVENUES.
THERE ARE A FEW $1,000 DIFFERENCES HERE AND THERE, AND WE WILL QUANTIFY ALL OF THOSE FOR THE BOARD.
MAJOR EXPENDITURES FROM REGIONAL PARTNERS, CONTRACTS, AND OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS, THE REQUESTS IN TOTAL FOR FY2027 ARE $4.662 MILLION, AND THERE ARE $334,000 MORE THAN OUR CURRENT YEAR ADOPTED BUDGET, WHICH TOTALS $4.3.
RIVERSIDE JAIL IS THE LARGEST INCREASE.
DURING YOUR LAST QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT, I MENTIONED TO YOU THAT CENSUS IS UP.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE PER DIEM HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE RIVERSIDE BOARD.
CRATER YOUTH CARE COMMISSION HAS NOT SENT US A FUNDING REQUEST AT THIS POINT, AND THEY INDICATED THAT THEY WOULD BE MEETING WITH THEIR BOARD IN MARCH, BUT WE ARE NOT EXPECTING A LARGE INCREASE.
THE APPOMATTOX REGIONAL LIBRARY SYSTEM HAS ASKED FOR ABOUT $41,000 MORE.
TRADITIONALLY, WE HAVE CONSIDERED THIS A MUST-DO, BUT SOME YEARS WE HAVE NOT MET OR SENT THE FULL FUNDING REQUEST.
YOU KNOW, EACH, THE APPOMATTOX SYSTEM SERVES NOT ONLY US BUT DINWOODY AND HOPEWELL, AND EACH LOCALITY IS BEING ASKED TO SEND 6% MORE TO THE REGIONAL LIBRARY SYSTEM.
MR. CHAIR, IF I COULD ASK A QUESTION.
THE RIVERSIDE REGIONAL JAIL, YOU SAID THAT THE BOARD APPROVED THAT INCREASE.
THAT BOARD IS COMPRISED OF THE UNDERLYING LOCALITIES THAT SUPPORT THAT? YES.
WELL, YOU CERTAINLY, IF YOU COULD ANSWER.
CHAIRMAN, CAN I COMMENT? SO, YES, SIR, THAT IS COMPRISED.
I WAS A MEMBER, A VOTING MEMBER OF THE BOARD THAT REVIEWED THAT INCREASE, ALONG WITH THE CITY OF HOPEWELL AND CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, COLONIAL HEIGHTS, PETERSBURG, BUT CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS SPECIFIC TO THAT.
WAS THAT SOMETHING THAT, WAS THAT PRIOR ADMINISTRATION THAT VOTED? BECAUSE IT WOULD ASSUME YOU WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAVE VOTED FOR OR AGAINST THAT, RIGHT? SO, I THOUGHT THAT THE PRIOR ADMINISTRATION HAD VOTED, SIR, BUT IT TURNED OUT IT WAS JUST AN APPROVAL TO TAKE THAT DISCUSSION FOR THE STAFF TO GO BACK AND BUILD A BUDGET BASED ON THAT DISCUSSION.
SO THE FINAL BUDGET THEY BUILT WAS FOR $56, BUT BASED ON DISCUSSIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS AT THE BOARD MEETING, THEY'RE OPERATING AT A DEFICIT RIGHT NOW AND PULLING MONEY OUT OF THEIR RESERVE FUNDS FOR COVERING OPERATION EXPENSES.
AND SO THIS IS ONE STEP OF TWO.
IT WAS A $5 INCREASE THIS YEAR AND A $4 INCREASE NEXT YEAR TO BE OPERATING NOT AT A DEFICIT.
[02:15:02]
INFRASTRUCTURE, IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT'S UNFORTUNATELY BEEN AVOIDED.THEY HAVEN'T BEEN INCREASING THE RATES LIKE THEY SHOULD HAVE EVERY YEAR, AND SO THEN IT'S JUST HITTING US HARD IN A TWO-YEAR SPAN, SIR.
SO, ANYWAY, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER MORE QUESTIONS.
OKAY. IN GREATER REACH, CSB HAS NOT REQUESTED ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
THEIR CURRENT FUNDING IS $188,025.
CRATER CRIMINAL JUSTICE TRAINING ACADEMY, BOTH OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AND OUR SHERIFF'S OFFICE SENDS THEIR DEPUTIES AND THEIR POLICE OFFICERS FOR TRAINING.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT IS BASED ON THE NUMBERS THAT BOTH OF THOSE OFFICES PROVIDED TO CRATER CRIMINAL JUSTICE TRAINING ACADEMY.
BUT, AGAIN, THAT'S AN OVERALL DECREASE.
CRATER HEALTH DISTRICT HAS REQUESTED $14,288 MORE.
HOWEVER, MR. STOKE, PRIOR TO HIS DEPARTURE, SHARED A JLARC STUDY THAT SHOWED OUR LOCAL MATCH DECREASING.
SO I HAVE REACHED OUT TO THEIR FISCAL TEAM TO ASK, YOU KNOW, TO GET MORE SPECIFICS ON THIS INCREASE AND THEIR STATEWIDE BUDGET.
WE TYPICALLY CONSIDER THIS A MUST-DO UNLESS THEY ARE ASKING US TO HELP THEM FUND A NEW STATE POSITION.
JAMES RIVER SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT IS ASKING US FOR $1,500 MORE.
WE FUND THEM TODAY AT $26,500.
MS. JUDGE DOES INCLUDE SOME REQUESTS IN HER SOCIAL SERVICES BUDGET.
THOSE ARE NOT REIMBURSED AT ALL.
SENIOR NAVIGATOR IS FUNDED TODAY AT NO CHANGE AT $2,500.
THE JAMES HOUSE IS FUNDED AT $5,000 AND DID NOT REQUEST AN INCREASE.
HOPEWELL PRINCE GEORGE HEALTHY FAMILIES IS FUNDED TODAY AT $30,000 AND DID NOT MAKE A REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR $27,000.
THERE ARE TWO AGENCIES THAT ASKED FOR FUNDING THAT WE ARE NOT FUNDING TODAY.
CRATER AREA AGENCY ON AGING, $22,000 REQUEST WAS MADE, AND COLONIAL HEIGHTS FOOD PANTRY, WHO DOES SERVE SOME OF OUR RESIDENTS IN THE 23875 ZIP CODE ACCORDING TO THE DOCUMENTATION THEY SUBMITTED.
AGAIN, YOU HAD THE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE PRINCE GEORGE FOOD BANK.
WE HAVE OUR SHEA REQUESTED FROM THEM IN THE TWO PRECEDING YEARS AND THEY DID NOT MAKE A FUNDING REQUEST.
SO IF THOSE REQUESTS ARE CONSIDERED, THAT WOULD BE A $24,500 INCREASE BECAUSE XERO IS FUNDED TODAY.
DO WE HAPPEN TO KNOW, I KNOW THE ZIP CODE IS SCREWING UP A LOT OF THINGS THE LAST TIME THEY CHANGED IT, THEY'RE PUTTING EVERYBODY IN DIFFERENT ZONES.
DO WE HAPPEN TO KNOW HOW MANY PRINCE GEORGE CITIZENS THAT ARE IN THAT RADIUS THAT WOULD ACTUALLY BENEFIT FROM THE COLONIAL HEIGHTS FOOD BANK? I'M GOING TO PULL OPEN.
MR. WEBB, I THINK I SAW IN THE PRESENTATION WHEN I WAS LOOKING, WHEN I ASKED THE QUESTION EARLIER ABOUT THAT, IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE THEY HAD SERVED 6,500 PEOPLE, BUT THAT WASN'T DEDUPLICATED.
SO IF THE SAME PERSON WENT MULTIPLE TIMES, IT COUNTED EVERY TIME.
I'M NOT SAYING IT'S NOT NEEDED.
I JUST WONDER WHY WE'VE GOT OUR OWN FOOD BANK.
BUT THE ZIP CODE I GET, IT SCREWS A LOT OF PEOPLE UP.
IT SCREWS ME UP HALF THE TIME.
WHAT THEY SUBMITTED INDICATES THAT THEY SERVED, LIKE MR. HAMILL SAID, ABOUT 6,300 PRINCE GEORGE RESIDENTS.
WE'RE HAPPY TO SHARE THE INFORMATION WITH THE BOARD FROM EACH OF THESE AGENCIES.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT, WE CAN ZIP IT TOGETHER IN ONE BIG PDF AND SEND IT TO YOU.
OR IF THERE ARE CERTAIN ONES YOU'D LIKE TO SEE, PLEASE LET US KNOW.
IN ALL HONESTY, IF IT'S THAT MANY PEOPLE, IT'S A PRETTY GOOD DRIVE, DEPENDING ON YOUR CAPABILITY TO COME FROM OVER THERE ALL THE WAY OVER TO 460 TO THIS FOOD BANK.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S WORTH DIVING INTO THAT DEEP.
AS LONG AS THEY'RE GETTING SERVED.
AND THEN WE ALSO RECEIVED SOME NEW REQUESTS THIS YEAR.
PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY 4-H HAS ASKED FOR $5,000.
WE DO ALREADY PAY A CAMP COUNSELOR, BUT WE DO NOT FUND THEM ABOVE PAYING FOR THAT CAMP COUNSELOR.
[02:20:04]
SOCIETY SUBMITTED A $5,000 FUNDING REQUEST.GREATER RICHMOND SCAN SUBMITTED A $5,000 FUNDING REQUEST.
AND CRATER COMMUNITY HOSPICE, 04,500.
I DON'T KNOW IF DONATIONS ARE DOWN, BUT MORE AND MORE AGENCIES ARE COMING TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ASKING FOR FUNDING TO REPLACE LOST FUNDING.
BUT I KNOW IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO FUND AN OUTSIDE AGENCY WHEN YOU ARE CONSIDERING MILLIONS IN REQUESTS FROM COUNTY STAFF AND TO DEAL WITH THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO DO INFLATIONARILY.
SO THIS IS JUST A SUMMARY OF PAGE ONE OF OUR GENERAL FUND, AND THE FUND IS OVER HERE TO THE FAR LEFT.
CRATER YOUTH CARE, WE DO NOT HAVE ANY INFORMATION, BUT THIS PROVIDES A RECAP OF THE ITEMS THAT I COVERED FOR YOU.
WE DO PAY PART OF A REGIONAL POSITION AT GREENSVILLE, SLIGHT INCREASE THERE OF $118.
CENTRAL VIRGINIA WASTE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY IS NO INCREASE.
THE TOP THREE ARE THE ONES THAT WERE MENTIONED IN SOCIAL SERVICES.
THESE NEXT TWO ARE NOT CURRENTLY FUNDED.
AND THEN THE ONES SHADED IN PINK ARE, AGAIN, NO FUNDING IS CURRENTLY PROVIDED FOR THOSE PARTICULAR ORGANIZATIONS.
SO YOUR GENERAL FUND TOTALS ARE RECAPPED AT THE BOTTOM HERE IF THEY WERE ALL FUNDED.
IS THIS JUST A ONE-TIME FUNDING, OR WOULD THIS BE A REOCCURRING FUNDING IF WE FUNDED ANY OF THESE? THEY WOULD EXPECT ANNUAL WITH AN INCREASE PROBABLY IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS.
THAT IS TYPICALLY THE WAY IT WORKS.
THERE ARE SOME OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE FUNDED THROUGH OUR TOURISM FUND AND OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUNDS.
THE HERITAGE CENTER, BY ORDINANCE, IS GIVEN OR PROVIDED WITH 7.5% OF YOUR LODGING TAX WITHIN THE TOURISM FUND.
THAT WAS APPROVED, I BELIEVE, IN 2017.
HOPEWELL, PRINCE GEORGE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, HAS ASKED FOR $52,060 MORE THAN IN THE CURRENT YEAR.
FOLAR, THROUGH THE TOURISM FUND, HAS ASKED FOR $17,000 MORE, I BELIEVE FOR SOME CAPITAL INITIATIVES THAT THEY HAVE GOING ON.
VIRGINIA GATEWAY REGION, SAME AMOUNT AS IN THE CURRENT YEAR.
LONGWOOD SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, SAME AMOUNT.
BRIGHT POINT COMMUNITY COLLEGE, THE SAME AMOUNT.
CRATER WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD, FIRST MARKETING INITIATIVES, ASKS EACH LOCALITY FOR FUNDING.
AND CRATER PLANNING DISTRICT COMMISSION HAS ASKED FOR A SLIGHT INCREASE FROM WHAT WE ARE FUNDING TODAY.
THAT GIVES YOU A TOTAL BY FUND OF THOSE REQUESTS.
AND MR. DUPREE HAS INCLUDED THESE AMOUNTS IN HIS FUNDING REQUEST.
AND THEY ARE FULLY SUPPORTED BY MEALS AND LODGING TAX.
SO AGAIN, A $237,000 INCREASE.
WE ARE BUDGETING TODAY $2.5 MILLION.
THE FUNDING REQUEST AT LEAST NEEDS TO BE $2.7 MILLION.
AND THAT IS BANKING ON CENSUS NOT CLIMBING EVEN HIGHER AND THE $57 PER DIEM THAT WAS RECENTLY APPROVED.
SO THIS IS JUST A SUMMARY OF CENSUS.
AND YEAR-TO-DATE, WE ARE AVERAGING $4,300 PER MONTH THIS YEAR, WHICH IS HIGHER THAN IN PREVIOUS YEARS.
OUR AVERAGE BETWEEN 2018 AND 2025 IS $3,655.
BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, IT HAS VARIED WIDELY YEAR OVER YEAR, MONTH OVER MONTH.
AND AS MS. PUDLOW MENTIONED, THE PER DIEM HAS BEEN $52 FOR THIS YEAR AND THE LAST TWO PREVIOUS.
[02:25:02]
AT $52, WHERE WE WOULD BE.BUT, OF COURSE, SINCE IT INCREASED TO $57, WE ARE REQUESTING AN INCREASE IN FUNDING GOING FROM $2.4 TO $2.7.
AND WE ARE PROJECTED TO RUN A DEFICIT IN THIS YEAR.
SO ARE THERE QUESTIONS BEFORE WE MOVE INTO SALARY AND BENEFITS? AND I'M TRYING TO MOVE THROUGH THESE RELATIVELY QUICKLY.
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT.
WE'RE GOING TO COVER RESPONSES AT NEXT WEEK'S WORK SESSION OR ONE-ON-ONE.
BUT BENEFIT, SALARY AND BENEFIT, THE ITEMS THAT WERE COVERED BY THE BUDGET VIDEO LAST FRIDAY, VRS IS DROPPING, AND THAT SAVINGS FROM THE VRS RATE DROPPING FROM $17.56 TO $15.85 IS ABOUT $419,000.
THE GENERAL FUND IS ABOUT $379,000 OF THAT.
GROUP TERM LIFE, IT IS CERTAINLY A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF SALARIES.
THE SAVINGS IS ABOUT $29,000 FROM THAT RATE DROP.
THE GENERAL FUND IS JUST UNDER $26,000.
WORKERS' COMP, INITIALLY WE DID NOT ANTICIPATE A RATE CHANGE.
HOWEVER, FRIDAY AFTERNOON, RIGHT AFTER WE FINISHED THE VIDEO, WE RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM OUR INSURANCE PROVIDER SAYING THAT OUR EXPERIENCE MOD WOULD BE INCREASING BY MORE THAN HE HAD PREVIOUSLY COMMUNICATED BASED ON OUR CLAIMS EXPERIENCE.
SO WE ARE STILL EVALUATING WHETHER OR NOT WE NEED TO INCREASE OUR BUDGETED WORKERS' COMP AMOUNTS.
WE DO NOT ANTICIPATE AN INCREASE IN OUR LINE OF DUTY ACT COVERAGE.
THAT WOULD NECESSITATE AN INCREASE IN THE BUDGET.
HEALTH INSURANCE, AS WE MENTIONED TO THE BOARD, ANTHEM IS OUR CURRENT CARRIER.
WE DO HAVE A HEALTH INSURANCE CONSULTANT, MARK THREE, THAT HELPS US NAVIGATE THE COMPLEX LANDSCAPE OF HEALTH INSURANCE IN GENERAL, BUT CERTAINLY BEING ON A SELF-INSURED GROUP.
WE DO NEED TO INCREASE WHAT IS BEING CONTRIBUTED TO OUR HEALTH INSURANCE FUND BY ABOUT $190,000, WHICH EQUATES TO ABOUT A 5.1% INCREASE.
I THINK THAT'S PRETTY GOOD IN COMPARISON TO WHAT I AM HEARING FROM OTHER COLLEAGUES AND ACROSS THE BOARD.
SO WE CAN EITHER ABSORB THAT BY USING SOME OF THE SAVINGS WE ARE REALIZING FROM THE VRS RATE DROP, OR WE CAN SHARE IT WITH THE EMPLOYEE, BUT THE AMOUNT THAT WE WOULD PASS ALONG IS RELATIVELY SMALL.
IF WE ABSORB THE INCREASE, THAT'S ABOUT A TOTAL OF $187,000.
THE GENERAL FUND PIECE IS ABOUT $166,000.
IF WE WERE TO SHARE THAT WITH THE EMPLOYEE, IT WOULD BE 4.3% TO BOTH EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE, AND THAT WOULD DROP FOR US BY ABOUT $27,000.
THAT WOULD BE PASSED TO THE EMPLOYEE.
WE DID SHARE AN INCREASE WITH THE EMPLOYEE AND COUNTY IN THE YEAR WE'RE IN TODAY OF 11%.
THE $27,000, IS THAT THE TOTAL COST, OR IS THAT PER EMPLOYEE? OH, NO, THAT'S THE TOTAL.
DO YOU HAVE A ROUGH IDEA OF WHAT THAT WOULD BE PER EMPLOYEE ON AVERAGE? YEAH, AND IT DEPENDS ON THE TIER IN THE PLAN THAT THE EMPLOYEE IS ON, BUT LET ME PULL UP THAT BENEFIT PRESENTATION.
THE MATERIALS THAT WE SHARED ON FRIDAY ACTUALLY HAVE THE RATES UNDER BOTH OF THOSE SCENARIOS.
THIS IS IF THE COUNTY ABSORBS IT.
THIS ALSO GIVES YOU A SNAPSHOT AS TO HOW MANY ARE ENROLLED IN EACH PLAN.
BUT IF IT WERE TO BE SHARED, THE INCREASE PER MONTH TO THE EMPLOYEE WOULD RANGE FROM $2 TO $40 PER MONTH, DEPENDING ON THE PLAN AND THE TIER WHO THEY HAVE COVERED.
[02:30:10]
WE ALWAYS COMPARE OUR CURRENT COMPLEMENT OF EMPLOYEES TO THE COMPLEMENT WHEN WE ADOPTED OUR BUDGET LAST YEAR.SOME OF YOU HAVE NOTICED, WOW, THE HEALTH INSURANCE IS HIGHER, AND THAT IS BECAUSE PEOPLE THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN ON THE PLAN LAST YEAR ENROLLED DURING OPEN ENROLLMENT, OR EITHER THEY HAD A QUALIFYING EVENT, THEIR SPOUSE CHANGED JOBS, RETIRED, OR HOPPED ON OUR INSURANCE FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
BUT OUR BASELINE ADJUSTMENT, WE ARE ANTICIPATING AN OVERALL SAVINGS OF ABOUT $174,000, EVEN KEEPING THOSE TWO GRANT-FUNDED POSITIONS IN.
SO THAT IS EVEN KEEPING THOSE IN.
AND THAT IS PREDOMINANTLY IN OUR BENEFITS, THAT WE ARE REALIZING THAT BASELINE SAVINGS.
SO WE MENTIONED THE HIT THAT WE WILL TAKE IF, IN FACT, THE SNAP REDUCTIONS ARE PASSED TO THE LOCALITY.
SO THAT ESSENTIALLY WIPES THAT OUT, $8,800.
OUR 2% PROVIDING OUR MANDATED 2% PAY INCREASE TO OUR STATE-SUPPORTED LOCAL EMPLOYEES, THE NET IMPACT IS ABOUT $63,000.
THE COST IS $124,000, BUT WE WILL RECOVER $60,587 FROM THE STATE, FROM ALL OF THOSE FUNDING AGENCIES.
WE DO NOT KNOW IF SPANBERGER WILL CHANGE THE 2% TO A HIGHER PERCENT OR KEEP IT AS IT WAS WITH FORMER GOVERNOR YOUNGKIN.
THEN WE LAYERED IN THE OTHER SALARY AND BENEFIT COMPONENTS.
THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT INCREASES FOR POLICE OFFICERS, THERE ARE 16 POLICE OFFICERS WHO SATISFIED CAREER DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS AND WERE MOVED TO A HIGHER GRADE.
IN OUR SALARY PRESENTATION THAT WAS SENT LAST FRIDAY, WE GIVE YOU OR SHOWED YOU HOW THE SCALES WORK, ALL OF THE GRADES FOR POLICE OFFICERS, FIREFIGHTERS, AND NON-PUBLIC SAFETY AND SHERIFF AND DEPUTIES.
SO THAT IMPACT IS ABOUT $82,000.
THERE IS ONE PERSON IN THE COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE'S OFFICE WHO ATTAINED HER MASTER DESIGNATION AS WELL.
ANOTHER $71,000 IS RECOMMENDED TO INCREASE THE GRADE FOR NINE EMPLOYEES OR FOUR POSITIONS.
ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICERS ARE WELL BELOW MARKET.
MR. TALMADGE MENTIONED THE RECOMMENDATION TO CHANGE ALL OF THE MECHANICS AND APPARATUS TECHNICIANS IN THE SEATS TODAY TO BECOME FLEET TECHNICIANS, SO THEY ARE ALL TRAINED TO DO WORK ON ALL COUNTY ASSETS.
SO IT WOULD RESULT IN A HIGHER GRADE FOR THE MECHANICS, BUT THE APPARATUS TECHS WOULD REMAIN ON THE SAME GRADE.
THE GARAGE SUPERVISOR, A GENTLEMAN THAT WORKS UNDER MR. TALMADGE, WHO IS THE MANAGER, WOULD ALSO NEED TO BE INCREASED IN GRADE TO MATCH OUR CURRENT FACILITIES SUPERVISOR GRADE.
AND THEN WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT THOSE FACILITIES MAINTENANCE MECHANICS BECOME FACILITIES TECHNICIANS AND BE ON THE SAME GRADE AS OUR FLEET TECHNICIANS, AND THAT COST IS $71,070.
TO PROVIDE HIGHER GRADE, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PAYING FOLKS FOR THE DUTIES THEY ARE PERFORMING AT ANIMAL SERVICES AND IN THE GARAGE, THAT COST IS JUST OVER $37,600.
AND PROVIDING A STEP INCREASE TO ALL EMPLOYEES IS JUST UNDER $400,000, AND THAT DOES HELP US AVOID COMPRESSION WHEN WE AWARD A STEP INCREASE, AND THAT PERCENT IS ABOUT 1.5% BETWEEN STEPS.
SOME ARE A LITTLE HIGHER, SOME ARE A LITTLE LOWER, BUT THAT IS WHAT THAT EQUATES TO ON A PERCENTAGE BASIS.
AND THAT PREVENTS US FROM IF WE KEPT FOLKS ON THE SAME STEP TODAY, SOMEBODY WHO HAS BEEN IN PLACE THIS FISCAL YEAR, IF WE BRING SOMEBODY NEW IN NEXT YEAR, THEY WOULD RECEIVE THE SAME PAY IF OUR CURRENT STAFF DIDN'T MOVE UP A STEP.
SO ALL OF THOSE COMPONENTS HAVE A NET IMPACT OF ABOUT $432,000 ON THE BUDGET.
AND THEN THE REQUEST GROWS, RIGHT? SO IN ADDITION TO KEEPING FOLKS ON THE CURRENT STRUCTURE, TO KEEP COMPETITIVE
[02:35:01]
IN THE MARKETPLACE AND TO KEEP PACE WITH THE COST OF LIVING, WE NEED TO INCREASE THOSE SCALES TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE.AND AGAIN, THIS DOES NOT PUT US AT THE TOP OF THE PACK.
IT KEEPS US IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK.
7% FOR FIREFIGHTERS, THAT PRICE TAG IS JUST OVER $304,000.
A 5% INCREASE ON THE SCALES FOR POLICE OFFICERS WOULD BE ABOUT $335,000.
AND TO PROVIDE NONPUBLIC SAFETY WITH A 3% COST OF LIVING ON THOSE SCALES, IT WOULD BE $436,000 BECAUSE THEY ARE GREATER IN NUMBERS THAN THE OTHER TWO GROUPS ABOVE.
SO THAT IMPACT IS JUST OVER A MILLION.
SO THE STUFF, JUST TO MENTION TO THE NEW BOARD MEMBERS AND TO RECOVER AS A RECAP FOR THE REMAINING THREE, YOU DO COMMIT THREE PENNIES OF YOUR REAL ESTATE TAX REVENUE DOLLARS TO FIRE AND EMS APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT, TWO PENNIES TO APPARATUS.
SO BASICALLY WE MAKE SURE THAT OUR DEBT PAYMENT FOR APPARATUS PLUS A GENERAL FUND TRANSFER TO CAPITAL FUND EQUATES TO TWO PENNIES.
SO WE KEEP THOSE AT THE LEVEL OF TWO PENNIES.
IT'S A $200 CHANGE BETWEEN THE TWO FOR FY27.
THE SAME IS TRUE FOR EQUIPMENT BECAUSE THE PENNY VALUE IS NOT CHANGING.
OUR DEBT PAYMENT TYPICALLY VACILLATES BY A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS A YEAR UNTIL THE DEBT IS RETIRED.
BUT WE MAKE SURE THAT THOSE TWO, WHEN COMBINED, TOTAL THE TWO AND THREE CENTS RESPECTIVELY.
SO MS. WOFF PRESENTED HER BUDGET REQUEST, AND IT WAS BUILT ON MEETING THE 2% MANDATED INCREASE FOR STATE-SUPPORTED POSITIONS, INCORPORATING THE RATE DROPS FOR VRS AND GROUP LIFE.
WE PUT A 5% PLACEHOLDER IN FOR HEALTH INSURANCE, NOT KNOWING WHAT THAT INCREASE WAS.
ADDING HER PART-TIME REGULAR POSITION, SHE DID ELIMINATE A LINE ITEM FOR BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS IN HER BUDGET.
SHE DID ASK TO HAVE A STRATEGIC PLAN COMPLETED BUT IS GOING TO ASK DCJS TO FUND THAT.
IF THEY DO NOT FUND THAT, WE WILL EITHER REMOVE IT OR REQUEST AN APPROPRIATION OF HER SPECIAL REVENUE FUND FUND BALANCE TO COVER THAT COST, THAT ONE-TIME COST.
SO WE ARE GOING TO EXPERIENCE AN INCREASE IN OUR LOCAL CONTRIBUTION OF ABOUT $19,000, NOT BECAUSE SHE'S SPENDING A TON MORE MONEY BUT BECAUSE OUR PERCENT SERVED GREW.
HOPEWELL WILL FALL, AND SURREY WILL ESSENTIALLY REMAIN FLAT.
THE NUMBER SERVED IS VERY MINOR IN SURREY.
SO THE INCREASE WITH JUST THE ITEMS ABOVE IS ABOUT $19,000.
IF WE PROVIDE A STEP INCREASE, IT WILL BE $22 MORE.
IF A COST OF LIVING IS PUT ON THE SCALE OF 3%, IT WILL BE ANOTHER $10,291.
AND THAT IS TO THE RIVERSIDE CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCY.
TODAY WE HAVE A GENERAL FUND BUDGET TRANSFER TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND IN OUR CURRENT YEAR BUDGET TO HELP PAY MACHINE AND TAX TOOLS REBATES AS PART OF THE ENTERPRISE ZONE AGREEMENTS.
WE DO NOT NEED TO BUDGET THAT FOR FY27 BASED ON PRELIMINARY INFORMATION.
SO THAT WILL ACTUALLY BE A RESOURCE YOU WILL HAVE AVAILABLE TO USE FOR SOMETHING ELSE IN THE GENERAL FUND.
WE MAKE A CAPITAL TRANSFER TODAY FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO THE CIP FUND FOR BOTH SCHOOL BUSES AND COUNTY VEHICLES.
WE HAVE HAD THOSE AMOUNTS FLAT FOR THREE YEARS.
THE SCHOOL DIVISION HAS ASKED FOR $81,000 MORE, AND WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO INCREASE OURS BECAUSE OF INFLATION AND THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES THAT ARE IN NEED OF REPLACEMENT.
AND THAT IS ONLY, OF COURSE, IF FUNDING PERMITS.
IF IT DOESN'T, WE HOPE TO BE ABLE TO LEAVE THOSE IN AT THE CURRENT LEVEL.
SO JUST TO MAKE SOME MENTION OF SOME THINGS THAT ARE BIG PRICE TAGS IN OUR BUDGET OR BUDGET
[02:40:02]
CHANGES THAT ARE MORE MATERIAL, AND WE ARE STILL SIFTING THROUGH THE NITTY-GRITTY AND WE HOPE TO HAVE THAT WORK DONE BY THE END OF THIS WEEK.TODAY THERE IS $125,000 BUDGETED IN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT BUDGET TO DO PART THREE OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ORDINANCE UPDATE PROCESS, AND THAT WORK HAS NOT YET BEEN AWARDED FOR PART THREE.
SOME WORK IS ONGOING, BUT IT'S BASICALLY A PURCHASE ORDER CARRYOVER FROM THE PRIOR YEAR.
AND MR. BALDWIN HAS REQUESTED $100,000 IN FY27 TO COMPLETE PART FOUR.
SO EVEN THOUGH IT LOOKS LIKE A $25,000 DECREASE, AND IT IS, IT IS STILL A LARGE NUMBER THAT IS BEING REQUESTED FOR FY27.
I KNOW THERE HAS BEEN SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT DIALING BACK THE LEVEL OF THIRD-PARTY SERVICES OR DOING SOME TYPE OF HYBRID.
OF COURSE, MS. PUDLOW HAS REQUESTED $138,000 TO COMPLETE FOUR ADDITIONAL DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLANS IN FY27 SO THAT WE CAN MOVE CLOSER TO PERFORMANCE-BASED BUDGETING.
I KNOW THERE HAS BEEN SOME MENTION OF TRAIN-THE-TRAINER MODEL, BUT FY27 WOULD BE AS SOON THAT THAT COULD, AS EARLY AS THAT COULD OCCUR, AND STAFF REALLY WOULD NEED TO OBSERVE THE PROCESS.
SO WE DO NEED SOME THIRD-PARTY SERVICES IN FY27.
THIS IS SOMETHING NEW TO THE BUDGET MANAGER.
MR. ENOS, IN THE GENERAL SERVICES BUDGET, PUT A 10% PLACEHOLDER FOR ELECTRICAL SERVICES, AND MS. GOYER DUG DEEPER INTO THOSE RATE INCREASES.
AND WE ARE MAKING AN ALTERNATE RECOMMENDATION.
IT IS STILL MORE, BUT IT IS $32,000 LESS THAN THAT PLACEHOLDER AMOUNT.
THE ENTIRE ELECTRIC BILL ISN'T INCREASING, JUST THE SERVICE RATE COMPONENT OF THE ELECTRIC BILLS.
SHE EXAMINED A THREE-YEAR ACTUAL.
WE DO KNOW THAT WE STILL NEED TO INCREASE, BUT THERE ARE INCREASES AND DECREASES IN EACH OF THE ELECTRICAL LINES, BUT $54,000 INSTEAD OF $86,000.
HEAT, MR. ENOS HAD ORIGINALLY ARTICULATED ABOUT $14,000.
WE LOOKED AT TREND INFORMATION AND PRIOR YEAR ACTUAL AND ARE INSTEAD ONLY ASKING FOR $939 INCREASE OVERALL.
SO WE DID DIAL BACK THAT INITIAL REQUEST.
SO VEHICLE FUEL DECREASED ACROSS THE DEPARTMENTS.
FUEL PRICES ARE PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT MORE STABLE THAN THEY HAVE BEEN, AND THE FUEL FOCUS SYSTEM HAS CERTAINLY HELPED US TRACK VEHICLE USE OR VEHICLE FUEL USE.
REPAIR AND JANITORIAL SUPPLIES, THOSE COSTS ARE INCREASING.
WE ARE EXPERIENCING THAT SQUEEZE TODAY.
MAINTENANCE CONTRACT, YOU KNOW, THE INFLATIONARY MUNIS INCREASES THAT EVERY DEPARTMENT THAT PAYS FOR A PART OF MUNIS, THAT'S AN ANNUAL THING.
I KNOW IN IT SOME OF THOSE COSTS ARE INFLATIONARY INCREASES, BUT THERE ARE A COUPLE OF LARGE POLICE DEPARTMENT ITEMS THAT ARE NEW TO THE OPERATING BUDGET THIS YEAR BECAUSE THEY WERE PREVIOUSLY COVERED BY GRANT FUNDING THAT HAS EXPIRED.
EVERY DEPARTMENT THAT WEARS UNIFORMS IS EXPERIENCING COST INCREASE.
I KNOW SOME LARGE INCREASES WERE COMMUNICATED TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT THIS YEAR.
SO WE ALSO HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF EXPIRED TURNOUT GEAR THAT CAPTAIN CORRIN AND CHIEF CACERES HAS COMMUNICATED, PRETTY BIG PRICE TAG TO REPLACE THAT EXPIRED GEAR FOR FIREFIGHTERS.
SO WE ARE CONTINUING TO EVALUATE THE UPS AND DOWNS.
SOME DEPARTMENTS DID CUT CERTAIN LINE ITEMS IN ORDER TO INCREASE SOMETHING THAT WAS A NEED IN OTHERS.
WE DID, TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, TRY TO LOOK AT THE DETAILS OF PHONE BILLS AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REDUCTIONS OR INCREASES ACCORDINGLY BASED ON TREND.
BUT WE ARE EXPERIENCING CERTAINLY SOME INFLATIONARY INCREASES.
[02:45:01]
FIVE-MINUTE BREAK? WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A TEN-MINUTE RECESS.SO THERE ARE A COUPLE OF NEW LINE ITEMS IN THE FY27 BUDGET, SAFETY TRAINING AND SAFETY SUPPLIES.
I KNOW THERE IS A MEASURED ATTEMPT TO MAKE THAT MORE OF A PRIORITY, BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT MS. PEDLOW IN THE COUNTY ADMIN BUDGET CUT HER TRAINING BUDGET TO HELP SUPPORT THESE INITIATIVES.
DEBT OBLIGATIONS, WE MAKE A GENERAL FUND TRANSFER TO THE DEBT FUND TO MEET OUR COUNTY AND SCHOOL DEBT OBLIGATIONS.
WE DO HAVE SOME DEBT FALLING OFF FOR FY27.
SO $21,000 LESS FOR A COUNTY, A VERY SMALL AMOUNT IN COMPARISON TO WHAT THE SCHOOL DEBT IS DROPPING.
SO WE DID NOT MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEBT FUND FOR DEBT RESERVES THIS YEAR.
IF YOU WANTED TO KEEP YOUR DEBT SERVICE CONTRIBUTION TO THE GENERAL FUND AT THE SAME AMOUNT, YOU WOULD BE MAKING A $522,443 CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEBT FUND WITH NO DEBT PAYMENT TO OFFSET THAT, AND IT WOULD BE BUILT IN THE DEBT FUND FUND BALANCE AND IT WOULD INCREASE THE DEBT FUND FUND BALANCE FOR FUTURE PROJECTS.
YOU HAVE OVER A $4 MILLION BALANCE IN THE DEBT FUND TODAY, SO THAT WILL BE A CHOICE EITHER TO BUILD DEBT RESERVES BECAUSE YOU KNOW YOU HAVE FUTURE PROJECTS COMING OR NOT.
SO THE ADOPTED CONTINGENCY, AND THE CONTINGENCY IS NOT THE SAME THING AS FUND BALANCE.
IT IS THE CURRENT YEAR AMOUNT THAT REVENUES EXCEED EXPENDITURES, AND THIS YEAR WE HAD $113,000, ALMOST $114,000 CONTINGENCY, AND WE HAVE MADE A NET DECREASE OF $13,000 TO DATE, AND THE BALANCE AS OF NOW IS $100,610, AND OUR 27 CONTINGENCY WILL BE BASED ON RESOURCES OVER EXPENDITURES.
SO AGAIN, WE CAN TARGET TRYING TO LEAVE IT AT A SIMILAR LEVEL OR A HIGHER AMOUNT.
IT JUST DEPENDS ON HOW REVENUES COMPARED TO EXPENDITURE PRIORITIES END UP.
SO 25 1/2 NEW FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES HAVE BEEN REQUESTED, TWO PART-TIMERS ACTUALLY, HAVE BEEN REQUESTED FOR FY27.
TWENTY-THREE OF THOSE ARE WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND, AND I DO NOT BELIEVE I UPDATED THIS SLIDE WITH THE CORRECTION THAT I SENT OUT THIS AFTERNOON, BUT IT DIDN'T CHANGE MATERIALLY.
SO ON TODAY'S GRADE STRUCTURE, THOSE POSITION REQUESTS ARE $2.2 MILLION FOR THOSE 23 GENERAL FUND POSITIONS.
IF THE COLA OR COST OF LIVING INCREASES ON THE SCALES ARE MADE, THEY WILL BE HIGHER, AND IT WILL DEPEND ON THE AMOUNT THE SCALES ARE ADJUSTED.
THOSE 12 RECLASSIFICATION REQUESTS COST ABOUT $184,000 WITH TODAY'S GRADE STRUCTURE.
IF COST OF LIVING INCREASES ARE APPROVED ON THE SCALES, THEY WOULD BE HIGHER.
AND JUST A SUMMARY OR A RECAP OF THOSE POSITIONS, IT WAS A PART-TIME REGULAR SPECIAL ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR IN RECREATION, SEVEN POLICE OFFICERS, ONE RECORDS CLERK WITHIN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, ONE KENNEL ATTENDANT IN ANIMAL SERVICES, ONE FIRE CAPTAIN FOR EMS, A FIRE AND EMS CAPTAIN DEVOTED TO EMS, ONE ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SPECIALIST, THREE, AND AGAIN, THIS IS USING CHIEF CASARES' SCALED BACK OPTION TWO, IT, TECHNICAL SUPPORT MANAGER SIX, BENEFIT PROGRAM SUPERVISOR FOR SOCIAL SERVICES, AN ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM SPECIALIST WITHIN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND CO-COMPLIANCE, TWO-AND-A-HALF SHERIFF DEPUTIES, TWO FULL-TIME, ONE PART-TIME REGULAR, ONE COORDINATOR IN THE GARAGE FOR INVENTORY AND SAFETY, ONE COORDINATOR FIVE AT THE ECC, WHICH WE WOULD HOPE TO SHARE WITH FORT LEE, BUT AS MS. PUDLOW MENTIONED, THE FEDERAL INITIATIVES ARE TOUGH TO SELL RIGHT NOW.
AND THEN THREE POSITIONS FOR THE COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY,
[02:50:02]
ONE SENIOR COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY, ONE LEGAL ASSISTANT, AND ONE ASSISTANT COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY.MS. FIERRO AND SHERIFF VARGO HAVE INDICATED THAT THEY HAVE REQUESTED THOSE POSITIONS AT THE STATE LEVEL, BUT THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES.
THE STATE DOLLARS ARE KIND OF STINGY AND ARE DEPENDENT ON STAFFING MODELS, AND EVERY LOCALITY IS ASKING FOR MORE.
MR. CHAIR? MR. DRURY, EARLIER IN YOUR REVENUE PRESENTATION, I BELIEVE YOU TALKED ABOUT A COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY GRANT THAT WAS AWARDED BUT WAS NOT UTILIZED.
WAS THAT FOR A POSITION? IT WAS AN OPERATIONS CEASEFIRE ASSISTANT COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY, BUT THE GRANT WAS SPECIFICALLY GEARED TOWARD GUN VIOLENCE, AND I DON'T THINK THAT THERE WAS ENOUGH TRACTION IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA TO JUSTIFY THE AMOUNT OF WORK INVOLVED WITH THE REPORTING ON THE GRANT.
THOSE GRANTS ARE WRITTEN WITH VERY SPECIFIC INITIATIVES IN MIND AT TIMES.
ONE ZONING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER WITHIN THE PLANNING OFFICE, AND THOSE ARE THE GENERAL FUND REQUESTS.
MS. WOFF HAS ASKED FOR A PART-TIME REGULAR TECHNICIAN WITHIN THE RCJA BUDGET, WHICH WE BEAR PART OF THE COST FOR, ALONG WITH HOPEWELL AND SURREY.
AND THE UTILITIES DEPARTMENT, AS MS. LUMPKIN MENTIONED, HAS ASKED FOR TWO POSITIONS, A MANAGER FOR WATERWORKS OPERATIONS AND A UTILITIES LOCATOR.
IN ADDITION TO THE NEW POSITIONS, THERE ARE REQUESTS TO RECLASSIFY POSITIONS.
ONE POLICE LIEUTENANT TO CAPTAIN, FOUR FIRE AND EMS LIEUTENANTS TO CAPTAINS, AND FIVE FIRE MEDICS TO LIEUTENANTS FOR FIRE AND EMS. THAT IS THE OPTION TWO REQUEST.
AND THEN MS. JUDGE HAS MADE REQUESTS TO RECLASSIFY TWO POSITIONS.
SO THE UNKNOWNS ARE WE DO NOT HAVE INFORMATION FROM THE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT OR THE SCHOOL BOARD AT THIS POINT ON THEIR BUDGET REQUEST.
TODAY OUR GENERAL FUND TRANSFER TO SCHOOLS IS JUST OVER $19.1 MILLION.
PART OF THAT GOES TO THEIR OPERATING FUND AND PART TO THEIR TEXTBOOK FUND, AND IT EXCLUDES WHAT WE PAY FOR THEIR DEBT SERVICE AND THE TRANSFER THAT YOU MAKE TO THE CAPITAL FUND FOR SCHOOL BUSES.
SO THE SCHOOL REVENUE SHARING CALCULATION, AND I BELIEVE MR. ELY HAS REQUESTED THAT THIS TOPIC BE PUT ON THE AGENDA FOR TOMORROW NIGHT'S JOINT MEETING.
I WILL DO MY BEST TO UPLOAD SOME HISTORICAL INFORMATION TOMORROW AND MAYBE ATTACH THESE SLIDES FOR THAT AGENDA ITEM.
I DON'T BELIEVE THEY'VE UPLOADED OR REQUEST OR HAD ANYTHING TO UPLOAD.
BUT IN 2007, AND I WAS AT THE SCHOOL DIVISION DURING THAT TIME, THE COUNTY AND SCHOOL ENGAGED IN A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING TO SHARE IN THESE FIVE GENERAL FUND REVENUE SOURCES.
AND THE BASELINE PERCENTAGE WAS ESTABLISHED AT JUST OVER 43% WHEN THE MOU WENT INTO PLACE, AND THAT WAS DONE IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE FUNDING TO SCHOOLS A LITTLE LESS ARBITRARY.
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MADE MODIFICATIONS TO THE MOU DOCUMENT IN AUGUST OF 2019, BUT THE SCHOOL BOARD NEVER RATIFIED OR AGREED TO THOSE CHANGES.
THEY MADE ALTERNATE SUGGESTIONS, AND THE PREVIOUS BOARD DIDN'T REALLY HAVE THE APPETITE TO EXECUTE A NEW DOCUMENT.
SO WE HAVE INSTEAD JUST BEEN USING THE REVENUE SHARING CALCULATION AND MOVING ON AS WE HAD IN PAST YEARS.
A SERIES OF CARVE-OUTS EVOLVED FROM THOSE FIVE SOURCES.
CERTAIN TAX INCREASES THE BOARD DID WERE DEDICATED TO SPECIFIC INITIATIVES AND WE CAN'T DEVOTE THEM TO THOSE INITIATIVES AND SHARE THEM UNLESS WE DOUBLE THAT TAX INCREASE.
AND THOSE SPECIFICALLY WERE FIRE APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT, THOSE THREE PENNIES THAT YOU DEVOTE TO THOSE, SCHOOL FACILITY INITIATIVES, AND OTHER PUBLIC SAFETY TAX INCREASES THAT THE BOARD MADE THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.
SO THE BASELINE PERCENT WAS, AGAIN, 43% BACK IN 2007, AND THAT PERCENT IS ADJUSTED FROM A FIVE-YEAR ROLLING AVERAGE OF SCHOOL ENROLLMENT
[02:55:03]
TO COUNTY POPULATION.AND THE SCHOOL POPULATION TO COUNTY POPULATION PRO RATA SHARE HAS DECLINED OVER TIME.
AND WITH THE CENSUS THAT WAS COMPLETED FOR 2020, OUR POPULATION SPIKED.
WELDON COOPER'S ESTIMATES WERE KIND OF OFF THE MARK.
THEY DID NOT HAVE US AT 43,000.
THEY HAD US AT 37,600 PRIOR TO THE CENSUS.
SO, AGAIN, A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN COUNTY POPULATION COUPLED WITH FLAT OR DROPPING SCHOOL ENROLLMENT HAS LED TO THAT PERCENTAGE GRADUALLY DECREASING OVER TIME.
THIS IS KIND OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE SINCE THE MOU WAS PUT IN PLACE.
IT STARTED AT 43%, AND IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET IT DROPPED TO 36%.
BUT, AGAIN, THIS IS WHEN THE BIG DROP OCCURRED WITH THE CENSUS.
SO WE DO NOT HAVE THE JULY 1, 25, POPULATION ESTIMATES.
THEY ARE NOT YET PUBLISHED ON WELDON COOPER'S WEBSITE.
THEY ARE NORMALLY PUT OUT LATE JANUARY, BUT THEY HAVE INDICATED ON THEIR WEBSITE THAT IT WILL BE LATE FEBRUARY BEFORE THEY PUBLISH, AND THEY ARE INDICATING THAT THE FEDERAL SHUTDOWN DELAYED INFORMATION FROM THE FEDS THAT THEY USED TO DO THESE ESTIMATES.
BUT THE FALL ENROLLMENT FOR THE SCHOOL DIVISION, AS REPORTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ED, K-12, DROPPED BY 28 FROM LAST FALL.
OF COURSE, WE DO NOT HAVE OUR POPULATION NUMBERS, SO WE CANNOT MAKE THE FINAL ADJUSTMENT TO THE PERCENT.
BUT IF OUR POPULATION WERE TO REMAIN THE SAME, IT WOULD BE A SLIGHT DECLINE IN THE PERCENT.
THIS IS A VIEW OVER TIME SINCE THE MOU WAS PUT IN PLACE IN 2007 OF WHAT THE CALCULATED TRANSFER COMPARED TO WHAT WE ACTUALLY TRANSFERRED.
THE MOU WAS PUT IN PLACE IN 2007, AND IMMEDIATELY IT WAS NOT HONORED.
IT WAS NOT HONORED IN 2007 OR 2008.
THE SCHOOL DIVISION RECEIVED LESS THAN WHAT THE MOU CALCULATION WAS.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE GREAT RECESSION OCCURRED IN 2008.
SO THERE HAVE BEEN YEARS WHERE MORE HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED TO THE SCHOOL DIVISION THAN WHAT THE CALCULATION CALLS FOR.
THIS CURRENT YEAR WAS ONE OF THOSE YEARS.
WE SENT $360,000 MORE THAN THE CALCULATED TRANSFER, AND OUR TRANSFER TO THE SCHOOLS BETWEEN 2006 AND 2005 INCREASED BY $1,032,000.
SO, YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED PRELIMINARILY THAT ALL OF THOSE SHARED SOURCES ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN FLAT.
SO THERE IS NO INCREASE OR NO PROJECTED INCREASE AT THIS TIME FOR US TO INCREASE THOSE SHARED SOURCES THAT WOULD RESULT IN AN INCREASE IN FUNDING TO THE SCHOOLS.
AND AGAIN, WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEIR REQUEST IS OR WHAT THEIR STATE RESOURCES MIGHT BE.
AND WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR THE FINAL PERCENT FROM THE POPULATION AS COMPARED TO THE FALL ENROLLMENT.
SO YOU DO HAVE THE OPTION TO GIVE MORE THAN WHAT YOUR CALCULATION CALLS FOR.
DOES WELDON COOPER PROVIDE A COUNT OF SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN VERSUS WHAT WE ENROLL? NO.
IT'S NOT AT THIS DISCUSSION? IT'S JUST FOR, YOU KNOW, KIND OF OUR GROWTH COUNT DISCUSSION? NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE. I CAN CERTAINLY LOOK.
[03:00:01]
ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH REPORT THEIR OWN MEMBERSHIP TO THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ED EVERY FALL, AND THEN AGAIN ON MARCH 31ST.OKAY. I'M JUST CURIOUS HOW MANY KIDS ACTUALLY LIVE HERE VERSUS ARE ENROLLED IN SCHOOLS.
WELL, I KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING.
SOME GO TO PRIVATE, SOME ARE HOMESCHOOLED, CERTAINLY.
AND THOSE COULD BE IMPACTING, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBERS THAT YOU SEE HERE, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
I ASKED A QUESTION A YEAR AGO.
IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE PRIVATE SCHOOLS THAT WE HAVE APPROVED, AND IT'S NOT JUST US, IT'S EVERYWHERE, IT'S POPPING UP, WHAT WERE THE TOTAL IMPACTS IF A PARENT...
AND I GET ASKED THIS QUESTION ALL THE TIME BY CITIZENS, SOME WITH GRANDKIDS STILL IN THE SCHOOL, SOME WITHOUT.
IF I CHOOSE TO SEND MY CHILD TO A PRIVATE SCHOOL BECAUSE I WANT HIM TO GET THE BEST EDUCATION HE CAN POSSIBLY GET, THEN WHY AM I STILL REQUIRED TO PAY TAXES TO THIS COUNTY? I KNOW THAT'S OUT OF OUR CONTROL, BUT I GET ASKED THAT ALL THE TIME.
AND I DID ASK A QUESTION TO THE BOARD MEMBERS ONE TIME WHEN WE WERE DOING CHAIR-VICE-CHAIR.
HAD THEY FACTORED THAT IN WITH THE FACT WITH ALL THESE PRIVATE SCHOOLS COMING UP, IF THAT HAD AN IMPACT WHEN IT COMES TO THE ADM, WHAT WAS YOUR PLAN? BECAUSE IT'S A PARENT'S CHOICE WHETHER THEY WANT TO SEND A CHILD TO THE PUBLIC SCHOOL OR THEY WANT TO SEND THEM TO A PRIVATE SCHOOL.
AND THE SAME IS TRUE ACROSS OUR DEPARTMENTS, RIGHT? I DON'T BREAK THE LAW, SO I PAY TAXES THAT SUPPORT POLICE OFFICERS.
I DON'T HAVE ANY KIDS IN RECREATION, BUT MY TAX DOLLAR HELPS SUBSIDIZE RECREATION ACTIVITIES.
SO THAT'S AN ARGUMENT ACROSS ALL THE DISCIPLINES, NOT JUST EDUCATION.
AND OUR ROOFTOP DOES NOT PAY TO EDUCATE A CHILD.
IT DOES NOT PAY A POLICE OFFICER'S SALARY.
IT'S ALL OF THEM COLLECTIVELY.
SO THE SCHOOL REVENUE SHARING CALCULATION, AGAIN, CAN'T BE COMPLETE UNTIL WE HAVE WELDON COOPER ESTIMATES.
BUT I DON'T SUSPECT OR I DO NOT EXPECT OUR REAL ESTATE TAX ESTIMATES TO CHANGE.
I DO PLAN TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE WITH MR. MCMILLAN ON NEW CONSTRUCTION TO SEE IF WE CAN GET A BETTER HANDLE ON THAT AND TRY TO COMPARE THAT WITH AN ESTIMATE FOR THE TAX RELIEF FOR DISABLED VETERANS.
BUT I DON'T EXPECT IT TO MATERIALLY CHANGE.
SO WE DO HAVE TO ASK WHAT OUR BUDGET PRINCIPLES ARE.
WE HAVE TO MEET OUR MANDATES, CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS.
WE CAN ENJOY THE VRS AND GROUP TERM LIFE REDUCTIONS.
OUR HEALTH INSURANCE IS GOING TO INCREASE.
THE CHOICE IS WHETHER TO SHARE IT OR TO ABSORB IT.
THE REGIONAL CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE WITH THE JAIL, GREATER YOUTH CARE, AND THE LIBRARY SYSTEM, THE INFLATIONARY INCREASES THAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE WILL BE ASKING YOU FOR INPUT ON ESTABLISHING RESOURCES, WHERE THERE IS A CHOICE.
AND, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY SOME OF THE THINGS THAT DEPARTMENTS CONSIDER MUST-DOS SOMETIMES ARE A LITTLE SUBJECTIVE.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO DECIDE OR THE BOARD WILL HAVE TO DECIDE WHAT YOUR TAX RATES ARE GOING TO BE, WHETHER YOU'RE GOING TO LEAVE THEM AT CURRENT LEVELS OR ENTERTAIN ANY IDEAS TO REDUCE OR CHANGE THEM.
OUTSIDE AGENCY REQUESTS, THOSE WILL BE CHOICES.
CERTAINLY WE WANT TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE IN THE MARKET, BUT WE KNOW THAT THOSE ARE LARGE PRICE TAGS.
BUT NOT DOING THEM MAKES US FALL FURTHER BEHIND AND THE POTENTIAL COST INCREASE IN FUTURE YEARS BE HIGHER.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL REQUESTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE, THE 23 GENERAL FUND POSITIONS.
SO THE PRIOR YEAR PROCESS WAS, OF COURSE, TO HAVE YOU WEIGH IN PRIOR TO MS. PUDLOW PRESENTING AN INTRODUCED BUDGET.
AND I KNOW SHE HAS MENTIONED A FEW TIMES THAT THAT PROCESS MAY CHANGE, BUT WE WILL SEEK INPUT FROM YOU IN WHATEVER MANNER YOU WOULD LIKE FOR US TO PROVIDE IT.
WE ARE HOPING TO HAVE A DETAILED HANDOUT DONE BY THIS WEEKEND TO SEND TO THE BOARD MEMBERS IN PREPARATION FOR THE 25TH BOARD MEETING OR THE BUDGET WORK SESSION.
[03:05:07]
AND THEN THESE ARE JUST A VIEWPOINT OF YOUR PRE-BUDGET WORK SESSIONS THAT ARE SCHEDULED.YOU KNOW, WE ADDED TWO TO HEAR FROM DEPARTMENTS, AND THEN TONIGHT WE HEARD FROM A FEW DEPARTMENTS AND THEN YOU HEARD FROM ME A LOT.
AND THEN WE HAVE ONE SCHEDULED FOR NEXT WEEK, ONE SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 3RD.
MS. PUDLOW, THE DATES AT THE BOTTOM ARE BUDGET ACTIONS OR BUDGET ITEMS THAT ARE ON YOUR REGULAR BOARD MEETING DATES.
WE ARE SCHEDULED TO PRESENT THE INTRODUCED BUDGET ON MARCH 10TH.
THEN WE WILL HAVE A SCHEDULED WORK SESSION ON THE 17TH WHERE WE ARE HOPING TO GET AUTHORITY TO ADVERTISE TAX RATES.
WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 31ST AND APRIL 21ST.
TAX RATE PUBLIC HEARING, IF WE FOLLOW THE CALENDAR, WOULD BE APRIL 28TH.
ANOTHER BUDGET WORK SESSION ON MAY 7TH TO MAKE FINAL ADJUSTMENTS.
WE HOPE TO HAVE STATE INFORMATION BY THAT TIME.
ON MAY 12TH, WE WOULD HAVE OUR PUBLIC HEARING ON THE BUDGET AND THEN ADOPT ON MAY 26TH.
YEAH, ABSOLUTELY, FANTASTIC PRESENTATION, MR. URY.
THE APRIL 28TH TAX RATE PUBLIC HEARING, MS. PUDLOW, I KNOW WE'VE MENTIONED THAT THE NEWSLETTER GOES OUT SOMETIME IN THE MONTH OF APRIL.
I KNOW ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I KNOW I'VE EXPERIENCED PERSONALLY, BUT ALSO I'VE HEARD OTHERS MENTION AS WELL, IS THAT OUR PUBLIC NOTICE IS TYPICALLY WEBSITES, SOCIAL MEDIA.
THE NEWSLETTER GOES TO EVERYBODY, TO MY UNDERSTANDING.
IS THAT CORRECT? YES, SIR, EVERY ADDRESS IN PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY.
I'D LOVE TO SEE IF WE'RE GOING TO ADVERTISE A TAX RATE.
COULD WE GET THAT IN THE NEWSLETTER AT A TIME THAT MEETS THE REQUIRED NOTICE PERIOD? IT DOESN'T REQUIRE ADDITIONAL COSTS.
WE WERE ALREADY GOING TO EXPERIENCE THAT COST FOR THE NEWSLETTER ANYWAY AND MAILING IT TO EVERYONE.
AND WE WOULD HIT A BROADER AUDIENCE WITH IT.
YES, AS LONG AS WE ARE GOING TO MAIL IT OUT IN THE TIMEFRAME.
BUT WE CAN PUT IT IN THE NEWSLETTER, AND I'LL TALK TO HANNAH ABOUT THE TIMEFRAME TOMORROW SO I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AS WELL.
I THINK WE WOULD HIT A LOT MORE FOLKS WITH THAT IF THAT NEWSLETTER IS HITTING EVERY HOME, EVERY ADDRESS IN PRINCE GEORGE.
MR. O, DO YOU KNOW IF WE WERE TO FUND EVERYTHING THAT'S BEEN ASKED UP IN THIS PRESENTATION, WHAT OUR RATE WOULD HAVE TO BE? I CAN CALCULATE THAT GAP.
YES, I DON'T HAVE IT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT SURE.
IT'S A BIG NUMBER, RIGHT? WHEN I ORIGINALLY DID THE NUMBER MYSELF, I SHARED MY ORIGINAL CALCULATION OF THAT, AND THERE'S BEEN SOME NUMBERS THAT HAVE CHANGED.
IT WAS NORTH OF A DOLLAR, WHICH IS LIKE $1,000 PER HOUSEHOLD IN ADDITIONAL TAXES A YEAR.
SO JUST AS WE'RE GOING INTO THIS, AND WE START LOOKING AT THE BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS, EVERY PENNY IS $416,000 A PENNY TO THE COUNTY.
THE MEDIAN HOUSE, IT'S SOMETHING LIKE $40 A PENNY IN COST.
SO WHEN YOU START GOING OVER A DOLLAR, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A LOT OF MONEY AT A TIME WHEN FOLKS ARE ALREADY EXPERIENCING A PINCH AT HOME ON THEIR BUDGETS.
I'M CURIOUS ABOUT HOW WE DECIDE WHAT OUR FUND BALANCE AMOUNT SHOULD BE.
I KNOW WE ARE WAY OVER WHAT THAT IS, WHAT THE MINIMUM IS, I GUESS THE 12.5%, RIGHT? I DON'T THINK WE WOULD EVER WANT TO GET IN THE BUSINESS OF USING THAT MONEY FOR RECURRING EXPENSES.
THERE'S THINGS LIKE THE THREE CENTS THAT WE DO TO FIRE APPARATUS THAT IT'S ALMOST THE SAME TYPE OF THING.
I THINK WE SAID WE CONTRIBUTE THREE CENTS TO THAT.
IF YOU TOOK MONEY FROM FUND BALANCE TO REPLACE CAPITAL, THINGS LIKE FIRE TRUCKS AND POLICE CARS, STUFF LIKE THAT, YOU COULD DO THREE CENTS A YEAR, AND IT WOULD LAST FOR 19 YEARS BEFORE WE'D EVER HIT THAT MINIMUM, BASED ON MY CURRENT CALCULATION.
OF COURSE, THAT'S BASED ON OUR EXPENSES.
IF THE EXPENSES GO UP, YOU WOULD BURN THROUGH THAT PERCENTAGE FASTER.
BUT ALSO THREE CENTS, IF YOU WERE TO OFFSET OUR CAPITAL EXPENSES BY ONE AND A HALF MILLION A YEAR, WHICH IS ABOUT THREE CENTS, THREE AND A HALF CENTS, THAT'S ALSO SOMETHING BETWEEN $16 MILLION TO $18 MILLION IN BORROWING CAPACITY ALSO.
IT DEPENDS ON WHAT IT DOES TO YOUR FOUR FINANCIAL PRINCIPLES AND YOUR BORROWING.
[03:10:01]
ABSOLUTELY.THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING YOU'D HAVE TO LOOK AT.
WE'RE IN A REALLY GOOD POSITION RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF THAT.
IF YOU START TAKING AWAY FROM IT, THAT WAS MY CONCERN WHEN WE WENT AFTER THE FIRE TRUCKS.
IT'S NOT THAT THEY WEREN'T, AND THE AMBULANCE.
PEOPLE LOOK AT THAT SAYING, WELL, YOU'VE GOT A BIG SLUSH FUND UP THERE.
AND YOU STEP IN, MR. IF I'M WRONG, WE'VE GOT A DOUBLE A PLUS STANDARD PORT HOLE, NINE YARDS.
AND WE'VE HAD, WE'VE WEATHERED A LOT OF STORMS OVER THE YEARS WITH A PANDEMIC AND ALL WE START GOING AFTER THAT FOR MORE THAN JUST AN EMERGENCY.
ONE TIME EXPENSE COULD GET HERSELF IN TROUBLE REAL QUICK.
WELL, THAT'S, THAT WAS A QUESTION THAT I'VE HAD BEFORE.
AND I THINK IT'S ALL IT'S, IT'S INTERESTING TO UNDERSTAND IS HOW FAR CAN YOU GO THROUGH THAT BEFORE YOU START KNOCKING YOUR BOND RATINGS, RIGHT? CAUSE YOU CERTAINLY DO NOT WANT TO LOSE THAT.
CAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S RATES THAT YOU GET.
WE STRESS ONE OF THE FOUR WHEN WE BUILT MOTOR ROAD SCHOOL.
AM I NOT CORRECT? MR. YES, SIR.
WE, WE DID VIOLATE ONE OF OUR DEBT POLICIES AND YOU DO HAVE FINANCIAL POLICIES AND YOU'RE CORRECT.
YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO USE YOUR SAVINGS ACCOUNT FOR RECURRING EXPENSES.
YOU KNOW, YOUR ORDINANCE 74 DASH FOUR AND 74 DASH SIX ARE WHAT DEVOTES TWO PENNIES AND ONE PENNY FOR FIRE APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT.
AND IT DOES SAY EACH YEAR'S TAX REVENUE.
SO CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD REQUIRE AN ORDINANCE CHANGE IF YOU WANTED TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT, YOU DID ACTUALLY FUND HALF OF THE FIRE TRUCKS USING FUND BALANCE.
IN ADDITION TO THE TWO PENNIES THAT ARE PAYING THAT DEBT, A HALF OF THE HALF OF THAT OVER 3 MILLION WAS TAKEN FROM CASH RESERVES.
AND WE DO USE CASH RESERVES AT TIMES FOR CAPITAL INITIATIVES.
SO ONE MORE THING IS THE REASON WE DID IT WHEN WE STARTED FUNDING THE REPLACEMENT OF COUNTY VEHICLES AS SUCH, IT WAS TO SAVE FROM HAVING ONE OF OUR PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATORS WOULD LIKE TO BOND A LOT OF STUFF.
YOU CAN GET A LOT MORE, BUT YOU'RE ALSO PAYING A LOT ON THE TAIL END WITH INTEREST.
I MEAN, IT WAS UP IN THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF INTEREST AND THE CAN'T APPROPRIATING IT AND PAYING CASH FOR IT.
WE'RE SAVING A LOT OF INTEREST THAT WE WOULD OTHERWISE BE PAYING, WHICH WE GET NO BENEFIT FOR IF WE CAN AFFORD IT.
I GUESS THE UNDERSTANDING THAT I'M LOOKING AT IS WITH THIS ORDINANCE, IT'S TALKING ABOUT ALLOCATING PENNIES, WHICH IS DIRECTLY TIED BACK TO A TAXPAYER'S BILL, RIGHT? WHEREAS IF YOU HAD THESE SORTS OF EXPENSES, WHICH SHOULD BE ONE TIME, THEY'RE NOT RECURRING EXPENSES, BUT YOU WOULD HAVE SOME CALCULATED AMOUNT THAT YOU COULD PULL FROM THAT FUND BALANCE.
IF YOU DID 500,000, YOU COULD FUND THAT FOR 57 YEARS BEFORE YOU'D EVER HIT OUR BOTTOM PERCENTAGE, NOT TO SAY IT WOULDN'T IMPACT HER BOND RATING, BUT THAT'S ALSO A PENNY, 1.2 PENNIES.
SO I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT TAKING ON DEBT.
YOU COULD FUND REPLACEMENT OF THINGS.
WE WERE ALREADY GOING TO REPLACE ANYWAY WITHOUT HITTING A TAX RATE.
IT COULD BE A WAY THAT YOU COULD ACTUALLY DROP TAX RATE BY DOING THAT.
IT WOULDN'T BE THROUGH ADDING PENNIES OR ALLOCATING PENNIES.
IT WOULD BE USING EXCESS DOLLARS.
SO LONG AS IT DIDN'T IMPACT BOND RATING TO DO THOSE EXPENSES.
THAT'S THE, THAT'S THAT PIECE WHERE IT'S KIND OF INTERESTING TO UNDERSTAND HOW THAT WOULD IMPACT.
WELL, I GUESS YOU COULD DO THAT.
WHICH IS GOING TO BE HOW MANY UNFUNDED MANDATES WE'RE GOING TO GET THAT WE HAVEN'T ALREADY SEEN, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT'S MY OPINION AND I DON'T CARE WHO'S WATCHING.
IT'S MY OPINION IS THE MORE THAT YOU TAKE ON, THE MORE SOMEBODY LOOKS AT IT AND SAY, WELL, THEY COULD TAKE THAT ON.
THEY CAN TAKE SOMETHING ELSE ON.
WE'LL GIVE IT TO SOMEBODY ELSE.
WE'RE SEEING THAT IN SOME AREAS, YOU CAN'T PROVE IT, BUT SOME AREAS ARE GETTING THINGS THAT WE, WE APPLY FOR AND WE DON'T GET, AND I SWEAR TO GOD, I THINK IT'S GOT TO DO WITH THEIR INDEX, WHERE WE'RE AT WHEN THEY START LOOKING AT THESE FUNDING OPTIONS, BUT IT'S JUST ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT IT.
SO ANYWAY, I'M NOT ASKING YOU, WE SHOULD TAKE ON DEBT OR USE THAT STUFF IN ANY WAY.
IT'S JUST UNDERSTANDING HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO, TO LOOK AT THOSE THINGS IN THE FUTURE.
UM, THE ONE PENNY RIGHT NOW THAT WE ALLOCATE FOR FIRE EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT, HOW MUCH IS IN THAT? HOW MUCH IS IN THAT ACCOUNT? DO WE KNOW? AND IS THAT SOMETHING THAT CAN OFFSET THE TURNOUT HERE THAT HAS BEEN REQUESTED? YOU TELL ME THAT.
EQUIPMENT SHALL MEAN ANY FIRE PROTECTION AND LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT, NOT CONSIDERED FIRE APPARATUS AS DEFINED IN THE OTHER SECTION.
THAT INCLUDES ALL MONITORS, UH, SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUS, STRETCHERS, TURNOUT, GEAR, DRONES, GENERATORS, GAS
[03:15:01]
MONITORS, HOSES, THERMAL IMAGING CAMERAS, AND STAIR CHAIRS.SO WHAT I'M ASKING IS, UM, ARE WE CURRENTLY USING THAT TO PAY DEBT SERVICE ON ANYTHING? WE ARE, BUT NOT AS MUCH.
WE, WE DID A BORROWING FOR SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUS A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO.
WE REFINANCED HER FOR 15 YEARS AND WE MAKE A MUCH LARGER TRANSFER TO THE DEBT, TO THE CAPITAL FUND.
SO YOU'RE TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT SLIDE IT WAS ON.
YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT, I THINK BEFORE WE SPLIT IT OUT AS SAFETY.
THAT'S HOW WE, YOU KNOW, SITTING THERE WITH THIS GUY, THIS IS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY.
AND IT'S PROBABLY IN TODAY'S STANDARDS FOR WHAT WE PAY FOR THE FIRE TRUCKS AND THE DAMAGE.
WELL, TWO CENTS, PROBABLY NOT ENOUGH TO EVEN KEEP UP WITH WHAT IT MIGHT BE FIVE YEARS FROM NOW.
AND I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THAT WHEN WE ALLOCATED THE MONEY THAT WE PROBABLY NEED TO RELOOK AT THE, THE TWO SET BECAUSE IT WASN'T GOING ENOUGH IN THE FUND TO REPLACE IT.
WE WOULDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TO PAY FOR THE FIRE TRUCK.
FIRE TRUCK'S GOING FOR A LITTLE OVER A MILLION DOLLARS.
AMBULANCE IS GOING FOR WHAT? 453, FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS. AND THAT WAS, THAT'S NO EQUIPMENT EITHER.
YOU'RE TALKING 40 GRAND FOR A MONITOR, $20,000 FOR, YOU KNOW, PREVIOUSLY, WE JUST HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO INCREASE IT. RIGHT. SO THIS YEAR, OUR DEBT PAYMENT IS SCHEDULED TO BE $84,000 NEXT YEAR.
SO WE WILL ACTUALLY TRANSFER TO THE EQUIPMENT FUND 300,031 SO THAT COULD HELP PAY FOR TURNOUT GEAR, AS COULD FIRE PROGRAM BONDS. I DON'T KNOW SPECIFICALLY WHAT TUKASERAS HAD IN MIND TO PURCHASE WITH THE FIRE PROGRAM FUNDS, I KNOW THERES NEVER SHORTAGE OF NEEDS FOR HOSE AND OTHER FIRE PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT THE TERMINOLOGY I'M GOING TO USE IS GETTING IN THE WEEDS OF THINGS AND STUFF LIKE THAT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THE MONEY THAT WE HAVE IS BEING BEST ALLOCATED FOR THE NEEDS TO CONSIDER THE TAXPAYER IN LOWERING THE TAX AND OR FUNDING NEEDED POSITIONS TO MAKE SURE THE STAFF IS SUCCESSFUL AND THEN IT'LL PROBABLY BE EASIER INSTEAD OF JUST SITTING HERE ALL NIGHT IF YOU'VE GOT SOME TIME I CAN COME IN SEE YOU AND MAYBE ASK SOME QUESTIONS I KNOW YOU'RE BUSY BUT YOU GIVE ME SOME DATES AND I'LL MAKE MYSELF AVAILABLE JUST TO MAYBE COME IN AND SIT AND IF ANOTHER BOARD MEMBER WANTS TO JOIN ME BORN WELCOME BUT JUST KIND OF IT'LL PROBABLY BE EASIER TO ASK A COUPLE QUESTIONS THAT I'VE GOT AND GET NUMBERS INSTEAD OF LOOKING YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN DO YOU HAVE ANY AVAILABILITY OR THIS WEEK IT CAN BE NEXT WEEK THIS WEEK DOESN'T MATTER YEP I CAN MAKE SOME TIME FRIDAY IF YOU'VE GOT TIME I'M AT WORK FRIDAY OKAY ABOUT MONDAY TUESDAY IT HAD TO BE TUESDAY RIGHT IF TUESDAY WORKS I CAN COME SOMETIME TUESDAY I THINK MR. HAMILL SAID HE'S AVAILABLE AS WELL OKAY WHAT TIME WHATEVER'S CONVENIENT FOR YOU HOW ABOUT THAT I'M GOOD RIGHT NOW MOST OF THE DAY 9 A.M. SURE OKAY MISS PUDLOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SIT IN ON THAT OR HOUR AND A HALF YEAH I THINK THAT'S FAIR YEAH I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A MYSTERY QUESTION BUT I HAD ASKED LAST WEEK FOR A LIST OF GIS LIST OF ALL COUNTY-OWNED PROPERTY THE LONG-FORM QUESTION IS DO WE ARE WE SITTING ON TOP OF ANY REAL ESTATE THAT WE COULD MARKET BETTER THAT WE COULD REINTRODUCE INTO THE PUBLIC POOL OR PURCHASE SO THAT WE COULD CLAIM SOME TAXES ON THAT IS THERE ANY COUNTY-OWNED PROPERTY THAT WE HAVE THAT'S
[03:20:01]
GOT TIMBER ON IT THAT CAN BE YOU KNOW REALIZED OR THINNED OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT TO BETTER INFLUENCE THE REVENUE STREAM OUTSIDE OF TRADITIONAL MEANS SO I DO HAVE THE LIST OF COUNTY-OWNED PROPERTIES I THOUGHT I SHARED IT WITH FORD BUT IT'S NOT IT'S ON THIS WEEK'S WE'VE GOT OKAY GOOD WE HAVE NOT EVALUATED THAT AT ALL SIR SO I'M HAPPY TO STEP ASIDE AND TAKE A LOOK AND AND SEE YOU KNOW WHAT THE AVAILABILITY IS THERE I WOULD IMAGINE THAT MIGHT TAKE ME A MINUTE TO FIGURE OUT I DON'T WANT IT TO THE TOP OF YOUR LIST YEAH OKAY OKAY ANYTHING ELSE ALL RIGHT WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM THAT'S ALL I HAVE NAME IS HURT YES OH YOU GOOD TOO OKAY GOOD ALL RIGHT SO EVERYTHING HAS BEEN COVERED ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE THE BOARD IF NOT I WILL ASK FOR A MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT MOTION TO ADJOURN HAVE A MOTION TO HAVE A SECOND I CAN HAVE A SECOND TAKE WHICHEVER ROLL CALL PLEASE MR. HAMEL YES MR. FORD PEW YES MR. WEBB YES MR. COX YES MR. PHILIP P YES* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.