[00:00:01]
TAKE ROLL? UH, YES, PLEASE[CALL TO ORDER]
DO I DO THAT? OKAY.AND LELAND FISHMAN IS HERE, AND TYLER STERN IS ABSENT.
DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? NO, NONE WERE RECEIVED FOR THIS MEETING.
THEN NOW WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR, UH, NOW THAT WE
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
HAVE A QUORUM, IS AN APPROVAL FOR THE MINUTES OF THE MAY 14TH 24 MEETING.WELL, NOW WE NEED TO, UH, LOOK TO THE FOLKS WHO KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING ABOUT THIS.
SO THOSE MINUTES WILL LIKELY JUST NEED TO REMAIN UNAPPROVED.
UH, ESPECIALLY IF, IF, IF WE HAVE NEW MEMBERS COMING ON AND WE DON'T EVER HAVE A, A QUORUM TO APPROVE THEM, THAT WAS PRESENT AT THE MEETING.
SO WE CAN POST THOSE, I BELIEVE, OR ERIC, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, WE CAN POST THOSE, UM, UNDER THE COMMITTEE TAB AS THE MINUTES, BUT WE CAN JUST DESIGNATE THEM AS, UH, UNAPPROVED.
JUST OR DRAFT, JUST SO THAT THEY'RE AT LEAST DOCUMENTED UP THERE FOR THE WEBSITE.
THE DRAFT WOULD BE GOOD BECAUSE OKAY.
UNAPPROVED MAKES IT SOUND LIKE SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH PEOPLE.
UH, NOW, SO WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR THEN IS A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 29TH MEETING.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
ANY DISCUSSION? I, I PREPARED TO APPROVE THAT AS WELL.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR THEN? AYE, AYE, THAT MOVES.
[PUBLIC HEARINGS AND MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION]
BIANNUAL REPORT, UH, YES.AND IF I CAN GET A ZOOM LINK, I'LL GET THAT UP.
I'M IN MY EMAIL RECORDING IN PROGRESS.
UM, I STILL DO NOT HAVE A ZOOM LINK.
SO I, BRIAN, DO YOU HAVE THE LINK TO THE POWERPOINT? WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO BRING IT UP? 'CAUSE SORRY, EVERYBODY, JUST A MINUTE.
DID YOU GET YOUR PROMOTION? YEP.
ANOTHER ONE? OKAY, I CAN GO AHEAD AND SHARE.
YEAH, KEEP AN EYE FOR ANOTHER ONE.
YEAH, JUST, I KNOW IT'S NOT COMING THROUGH.
SO I'M TO SAY WELCOME EVERYONE AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO VOLUNTEER ON THIS COMMITTEE.
ALSO, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE WHILE WE GOT THE SLIDES UP TONIGHT, AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR VALUABLE FEEDBACK.
UM, AGAIN, I'M JESSE G***H, FINANCE DIRECTOR.
I'M THE STAFF LIAISON FOR THIS COMMITTEE AND WITH ME TONIGHT I HAVE CORY GARO.
SHE'S THE ASSISTANT FINANCE DIRECTOR, SO SHE'S HERE TO PROVIDE SOME BACKUP SUPPORT.
UM, IF YOU EVER HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, YOU CAN ALWAYS REACH OUT TO, TO ONE OF US.
SO WE'VE GOT A FUND FILLED PACKED AGENDA.
[00:05:01]
TONIGHT WE'LL BE REVIEWING THE STATUS OF THE MEASURE YOU FUND AS OF DECEMBER 31ST, 2020.I DON'T KNOW WHY I WROTE DECEMBER 31ST, 2024.
WE'LL BE RE REVIEWING THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE MEASURE YOU FUND AND LOOKING AT THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
WE'LL ALSO BE LOOKING BACK AT THE STUDIES THAT WERE COMPLETED IN 2021 WHEN WE FIRST HAD MEASURE U AND WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED SINCE INCEPTION.
UM, SO AS YOU KNOW, THE PASSAGE OF MEASURE U ESTABLISH THE MEASURE U OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, WHICH IS A FIVE MEMBER INDEPENDENT CITIZEN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.
MEMBERS ARE APPOINTED BY COUNCIL AND SERVE STAGGERED FOUR YEAR TERMS. I DO THINK AT THE BEGINNING WE MIGHT HAVE HAD SOME TWO YEAR TERMS, UM, TO HELP WITH THE STAGGERING.
SO THAT MIGHT EXPLAIN WHY YOUR TERM IS UP.
WE WOULD NEED TO DOUBLE CHECK.
UM, SO AS A REMINDER, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THREE OF OUR CURRENT MEMBERS HAVE TERMS THAT ARE EXPIRING ON JUNE 30TH.
SO THAT'S LELAND CAREY AND TYLER, WHO IS NOT HERE TONIGHT.
CITY COUNCIL IS CURRENTLY RECRUITING FOR THESE UPCOMING VACANCIES, ALONG WITH THE OTHER VACANCIES ON THE COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES.
UM, AND CURRENT INCUMBENTS, I BELIEVE CAN APPLY FOR A SECOND TERM IF DESIRED.
SO PER THE BALLOT MEASURE, THE COMMITTEE'S RESPONSIBILITY IS TO REVIEW AND COMMENT ON THE CITY'S REPORT, LOOKING AT HOW THE TAX PROCEEDS WERE USED ON CITY PRIORITIES AND PLANNED USAGE IN FUTURE YEARS.
THE ORAL COMMENTARY ENTERED INTO THE RECORD AT THE BIANNUAL MEETINGS DOES MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS, OR THE COMMITTEE CAN DRAFT A LETTER IN A PUBLIC MEETING TO BE SUBMITTED TO CITY COUNCIL.
SO WE'RE GONNA DO A LITTLE BLAST FROM THE PAST HERE.
SO THIS IS RELATING TO THE FISCAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY STUDY THAT WAS CONDUCTED OVER THE COURSE OF TWO YEARS TO DETERMINE SUSTAINABLE FUNDING NEEDS FOR CITY SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
THE CITY HAD EXPERIENCED HISTORICAL FUNDING SHORTFALLS, WHICH LED TO INSUFFICIENT STAFFING AND LOW INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE.
THIS WAS A DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE ME ISSUANCE OF MEASURE U.
OUR COMMUNITY FEEDBACK PRIORITIZED MAINTENANCE OF EXISTING SERVICES, INCLUDING PUBLIC SAFETY, EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, RETAINING TRAINED STAFF ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS AND REPAIRING AND MAINTAINING ROADS.
SO THE CHART THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IS FROM A COUNCIL PRESENTATION FROM MARCH OF 2021, AND IT WAS FORECASTING THE PLANNED USAGE OF MEASURE YOU FUNDING OVER A 15 YEAR TIMELINE.
THE BLUE STRIPED SECTIONS SHOW THE BASELINE AMOUNTS THAT WERE PLANNED TO TRANSFER TO THE GENERAL FUND.
THEN WE HAVE THE ORANGE, PURPLE, AND YELLOW SECTIONS, WHICH TOGETHER MAKE UP OUR WORKFORCE STABILIZATION RELATED INITIATIVES, THE TOTAL OF WHICH WOULD ALSO BE TRANSFERRED INTO THE GENERAL FUND FOR STAFFING EXPENSES.
THEN THE GRAY SECTION IS THE AMOUNT THAT WAS ALLOTTED TOWARDS DEBT SERVICE FOR THE $20 MILLION OF LEASE REVENUE BONDS FOR STREETS AND ROADS PROJECTS.
AND THEN THE GREEN SECTIONS OF THE TOP SHOW THE AMOUNTS GOING TOWARDS DIRECT INVESTMENT.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, THE FORECAST FROM FISCAL 21 SHOWS THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE MEASURE U REVENUES WOULD BE INVESTED IN THE GENERAL FUND WITH THAT AMOUNT RISING OVER TIME DUE TO ANTICIPATED INFLATION, COMPOUNDED PAYROLL COSTS, AND THE CALPERS UNFUNDED ACTUARIAL LIABILITY PAYMENTS SCHEDULE.
SO THOSE ARE THOSE LARGE PAYMENTS WE HAVE TO MAKE TO CALPERS EVERY YEAR TO HELP MAKE UP FOR THEIR PAST INVESTMENT LOSSES.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT FISCAL 25 ON THIS CHART, IT DOES ASSUME THAT JUST OVER $2 MILLION OF MEASURE U FUNDING WOULD GO TOWARDS DEBT SERVICE AND DIRECT INVESTMENT, AND THAT DOES CLOSELY ALIGN WITH OUR ACTUAL CURRENT YEAR BUDGET.
YOU MIND IF I CHIME IN ON THIS? JESSE, PLEASE.
I THINK WE HAVE ANOTHER COPY OF THIS LATER, BUT I, I, THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT SLIDE.
UM, AT LEAST WHEN I TRY TO THINK ABOUT, UM, MEASURE U, WHAT WE SAID MEASURE U WAS GOING TO BE DOING, UM, AND THEN WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED, AND IT'S INTERESTING JUST TO LOOK BACK FOUR YEARS AGO TO SEE WHAT WE SAID, AND ACTUALLY A LOT OF IT HAS COME TRUE PRETTY CLOSELY TO, TO HOW WE WERE FORECASTING BACK THEN.
UM, WHICH IS I THINK INTERESTING BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS, BUT I THINK ALMOST LESS THE NUMBERS ON THIS CHART, BUT MORE JUST THE COLORS AND HOW THEY'RE EXPANDING OR CONTRACTING AND THE OVERALL TRAJECTORY IS MAYBE MORE THE EMPHASIS HERE BECAUSE, UM, LIKE THE, THE BIG OBVIOUS EXAMPLE HERE IS THE ORANGE, UM, WHICH REPRESENTS SOME OF THE, UM, THE COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENTS AND THE STAFF COMPENSATION BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IF YOU GRANT A COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT IN ONE YEAR AND THEN YOU GRANT ONE THE NEXT YEAR AND THE NEXT YEAR, THOSE, THOSE COMPOUND OVER TIME.
AND SO WHEN YOU'RE SEEING THAT SORT OF YAWNING AMOUNT OF ORANGE, THAT'S ONE KEY PIECE, YOU KNOW, THAT WE, THAT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT IN SETTING UP THE OVERALL MEASURE YOU PLAN THAT YOU CAN'T, YOU CAN'T LOOK AT ONE STATIC YEAR.
AND I THINK I'LL, I'LL, YOU'LL PROBABLY HEAR ME COME BACK TO THAT COMMENT LATER WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE OTHER PIECES ON THIS AGENDA.
BUT THIS REALLY IS A DYNAMIC PROGRAM THAT IS CHANGING EVERY YEAR.
[00:10:01]
CAN SEE THAT IN THIS CHART.WE DO HAVE INCREASING REVENUES, BUT WE ALSO HAVE ESCALATING, UM, EXPENSES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO COVER.
UM, AND SO AS THAT GRAY BAR TOWARD THE TOP KIND OF SHRINKS THAT IS I THINK A LITTLE BIT OF THE ANGST THAT THE COMMITTEE IS FEELING, UM, IN TERMS OF THE AMOUNTS AVAILABLE TO INVEST FOR INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO I JUST, WE, I, WE THOUGHT THIS WAS IMPORTANT.
WE, I DON'T THINK WE'VE SHOWN THIS SLIDE IN MULTIPLE YEARS, AT LEAST TO, TO THE COMMITTEE OR EVEN A VERSION OF IT.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S HELPFUL TO KIND OF FRAME THE ORIGINAL PLAN AND HOW THAT WAS PROJECTED TO GROW OVER ABOUT A 15 YEAR TIME PERIOD.
YEAH, IF, IF I, MY, OF COURSE, UM, I DON'T THINK THIS COMMITTEE'S EVER SEEN THIS SLIDE.
AND SO WHEN WE SHOW OUR ANGST OVER WHAT WE SHOW AS DECLINING SPENDING ON THE THINGS THAT WE THOUGHT THIS MEASURE U WAS GOING TO BE SPENT ON, HAD WE KNOWN THIS AHEAD OF TIME, WE MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN SO SURPRISED LAST YEAR.
UM, WE'LL DEFINITELY KEEP THIS, UM, AND WORK ON, YOU KNOW, COMPARING WHERE WE'RE AT TO WHERE WE THOUGHT WE WOULD BE AT.
UM, SO JUST A VERY QUICK ECONOMIC UPDATE, UM, FOR THE CURRENT YEAR, WE ARE ANTICIPATING THAT REVENUES ARE GOING TO ALIGN WITH WHAT WE BUDGETED.
UM, CURRENT ECONOMIC PROJECTIONS VARY WIDELY DEPENDING ON WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO.
UM, WE'VE GOT GDP ESTIMATES RANGING FROM 1.3 TO PERCENT TO 2.6% GROWTH COMING UP.
AND SO A LOT OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH, YOU KNOW, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THEIR DECISIONS AROUND TARIFFS.
SO WE'RE JUST IN KIND OF A HOLDING PATTERN WAITING TO SEE WHAT SORT OF IMPACT THAT MIGHT HAVE ON THE LARGER ECONOMY.
UM, WE'RE EXPECTING INFLATION TO STILL REMAIN ELEVATED.
IT'S NOT LOOKING LIKE IT'S COMING DOWN ANYTIME SOON.
WE ARE STARTING TO SEE SOME FORECASTS THAT HOUSING PRICES MIGHT BEGIN TO DROP A LITTLE BIT.
UM, SO WE'RE JUST KEEPING AN EYE ON ALL OF THESE THINGS RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE CURRENTLY FORECASTING THAT REVENUES ARE SLOWING DOWN, BUT WE ARE NOT FORECASTING A RECESSION AT THIS TIME, BUT THERE'S JUST A LOT TO KEEP AN EYE ON AT THIS POINT IN TIME AND IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT TO PREDICT WHAT'S COMING NEXT.
SO, UH, THIS CHART SHOWS OUR MEASURE U EXPENDITURES IN BLUE AGAINST THE ANNUAL REVENUES IN GREEN.
AND SO, AS YOU CAN SEE IN FISCAL 24, WE PROGRAMMED INVESTMENT OF THE EXCESS REVENUES FROM PRIOR YEARS, AND WE USED THOSE TO FUND THE TURNING BASIN DOCKS PROJECT RIVER DREDGING EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, AND THE DOWNTOWN PUBLIC RESTROOM PROJECT AMONG OTHERS.
SO THAT SPENT THE BULK OF THE EXCESS REVENUES THAT WE HAD ACCUMULATED IN THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF MEASURE U.
ALL RIGHT, HIT THE BUTTON AGAIN AND THE FUN HAPPENS
SO, UM, WE WANTED TO SHOW JUST HOW MUCH MEASURE U INVESTMENT HAS DONE FOR THE CITY.
AND SO HERE WE JUST HAVE A LISTING OF PROJECTS AND PRIORITIES THAT HAVE RECEIVED DIRECT FUNDING FOR MEASURE U AND THAT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN FUNDED AND ACCOMPLISHED WITHOUT THIS CRUCIAL FUNDING SOURCE.
SO THE LIST INCLUDES LARGE SCALE PROJECTS LIKE THE NORTH MCDOWELL BOULEVARD AND MARIA DRIVE IMPROVEMENTS, FUNDING TOWARDS HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE INITIATIVES AND COMMUNITY GOODS LIKE FAIR FREE PUBLIC TRANSIT.
SO ALL OF THOSE ARE THINGS THAT HAVE RECEIVED DIRECT FUNDING OUT OF MEASURE U AND THEN DO IT AGAIN
UM, AND SO HERE IF WE TURN TO HOW THE CITY HAS LEVERAGED OUR MEASURE U INVESTMENT INTO THE GENERAL FUND, WE DO HAVE A SIMILAR LONG LIST OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
SO THIS FUNDING HAS HEAVILY GONE TOWARDS PUBLIC SAFETY AND PARKS NEEDS, IMPROVING OUR PUBLIC SAFETY RESPONSE TIMES, ENSURING THAT OUR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS ARE COMPENSATED FOR THEIR SPECIALIZED SKILLS AND INCREASING PARK MAINTENANCE LEVELS AND REPLACING PLAY PLAYGROUNDS.
THIS FUNDING HAS ALSO AIDED IN THE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF STAFF OFFSET THE IMPACTS OF INFLATION TO KEEP OUR SERVICE LEVELS FROM SHRINKING AND CONTRIBUTED TO IMPROVEMENTS IN CITY FACILITIES.
SO THIS CHART IS JUST TO GIVE SOME PERSPECTIVE ON THE AMOUNT OF MEASURE YOU SUPPORT AS A PART OF THE TOTAL GENERAL FUND.
AND SO THE FULL BAR SHOWS THE TOTAL GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES EACH YEAR, AND THE DARK GREEN PORTION REPRESENTS THE AMOUNT OF THOSE EXPENDITURES THAT WAS FUNDED BY MEASURE U.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, AT THIS POINT IT'S AROUND 20% OF THE TOTAL GENERAL FUNDS.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, MONEY COMING IN FROM OUR OTHER SOURCES LIKE PROPERTY TAX, BUSINESS LICENSE TAX, ET CETERA.
AND HERE WE WANTED TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR AND COMPARE THE AMOUNT OF OUR MEASURE U INVESTMENT IN CIP SINCE INCEPTION TO THE TOTAL AMOUNT THAT THE CITY INVESTED IN CIP OVER THE SAME TIME PERIOD.
AND REALLY WHAT WE WANTED TO SHOW IS THAT THE CITY HAS MANY FUNDING SOURCES THAT WE CAN PUT TOWARDS INFRASTRUCTURE AND THAT MEASURE U IS JUST A VERY SMALL
[00:15:01]
PART OF THAT PIECE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR ENTERPRISE FUNDS AND OUR DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES AND GAS TAX AND A LOT OF OTHER DIFFERENT TYPES OF MONEY COMING INTO THE CITY, ALL OF WHICH ARE MAINLY DEDICATED TO INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS.WHAT YOU SEE IN THE REPORTS FOR MEASURE U IS NOT THE FULL PICTURE.
UM, IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, THE LITTLE PIECE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO FUND WITH THIS, THIS ONE FUNDING SOURCE.
ALRIGHT, SO LOOKING AT OUR CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, WE HAVE $15.7 MILLION APPROPRIATED.
UH, THE TABLE SHOWS THE MEASURE YOU BUDGET IN BLUE, AND THEN WE ADDED A GREEN COLUMN JUST TO COMPARE TOTAL GENERAL FUND BUDGET AGAINST THE MEASURE U GENERAL FUND SUPPORT AMOUNT.
AND THEN THE TOTAL CIP SPENDING FOR THE CURRENT YEAR AGAINST THE DIRECT INVESTMENT THAT WE'RE IS COMING OUT OF MEASURE U.
SO JUST TO GET A SENSE OF THE SCALE, UM, IN THE PIE CHART, WE'RE SHOWING THE APPROXIMATE ALLOCATIONS FOR THE GENERAL FUND SUPPORT AMOUNT OF 13.6 MILLION.
SO WITHIN, WHEN THAT MONEY GOES INTO THE GENERAL FUND, IT DOES PRIMARILY GO TO POLICE AND FIRE, AND THEN WITH SMALLER AMOUNTS TO OUR REMAINING DEPARTMENTS.
AND JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, THAT GENERAL GOVERNMENT SECTION REPRESENTS THE TOTAL FOR ALL OF THE CITY'S ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENTS.
SO THAT'S HOW WE GENERALLY ALLOCATE THE FUNDS.
UM, SO NOW WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT THESE KIND OF SAME EXPENDITURES, UM, BUT WE'RE GOING FROM INCEPTION THROUGH OUR PRELIMINARY BUDGET FOR FISCAL 26.
AND ON THIS CHART WE ALSO SPLIT OUT, SO YOU COULD SEE THE ALLOCATION BETWEEN THE GENERAL FUND SUPPORT AMOUNT THAT'S BUDGETED AND WHAT'S GOING TO INFRASTRUCTURE AND INITIATIVES.
SO JUST TO SEE HOW THAT'S GOING.
AND YOU CAN ALSO KIND OF SEE THROUGH THOSE COLORS WHAT WE WERE ANTICIPATING, UM, IN THAT ORIGINAL FORECAST WITH THE DARK BLUE AMOUNT SHRINKING OVER TIME.
SO LOOKING AT OUR PRELIMINARY BUDGET FOR FISCAL 26, UM, WE'RE JUST SHOWING YOU SOME OF THE DETAILS OF THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE AND INVESTMENTS.
SO WE'VE GOT, UM, MONEY GOING TOWARDS CONTINUING THE FAIR FREE PUBLIC TRANSIT PROGRAM FOR ANOTHER YEAR.
WE HAVE SOME ROAD IMPROVEMENTS, WE HAVE TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES.
THERE'S FUNDING GOING TOWARDS THE LUCCHESE TURF FIELD REPLACEMENT.
AND THEN FINALLY WE'RE FUNDING, UM, THE SIDEWALK PROGRAM.
SO THAT'S FOR FOLKS TO RECEIVE CITY DOLLARS TO HELP FIX THEIR SIDEWALKS.
AND SO THEN WE BROUGHT BACK THIS FORECAST ONE MORE TIME, SO NICE.
AND SO WE WANTED TO SHOW HOW THE FISCAL 26 INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE AND PROGRAMS WAS ALWAYS INTENDED TO SHRINK AS COMPARED TO FISCAL 25.
SO WE ARE ON THAT PERIOD OF, YOU KNOW, THOSE GRAY BARS SHRINKING A LOT OF THAT IN THE FORECAST HAS TO DO NOT JUST WITH, AS BRIAN MENTIONED, THE COMPOUNDING OF PAYROLL COSTS, BUT IT'S ALSO BECAUSE WE'RE IN A PERIOD OF TIME WHERE OUR PERS UM, UNFUNDED ACTUARIAL LIABILITY IS GROWING.
IT'S GONNA PEAK IN WHAT, 2032 ISH.
UM, AND THEN IT'S GONNA START DROPPING AND WE'LL START SEEING SOME RELIEF IN HOW MUCH WE HAVE TO PAY.
UM, AGAIN, KNOCK ON WOOD, AS LONG AS THEIR INVESTMENT RETURNS ARE GOOD AND ALL OF THAT.
SO BASED ON THE CURRENT SCHEDULE, IT'S GONNA GET TIGHT FOR A FEW YEARS AS THOSE PAYMENTS INCREASE AND THEN THE PAYMENTS WILL DROP AND WE'LL HAVE MORE FLEXIBILITY WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND, WITHIN MEASURE U WITHIN ALL OF THESE FUNDING SOURCES.
SO WE JUST KIND OF HAVE TO GET PAST THE HUMP.
AND ALSO, UM, OH, SORRY, GO AHEAD.
I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU WANTED ME TO GO
UM, AND I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT TOO THAT, SO AS YOU CAN SEE, WHEN, WHEN, YOU KNOW FROM THE BEGINNING WHEN WE HAD MEASURE U, WE ALWAYS KNEW THAT IT WAS GONNA BE A HUGE HELP AND THAT IT WOULD HELP GET THE CITY BACK ON TRACK IN TERMS OF OUR STAFFING AND GETTING PROJECTS MOVING.
UM, BUT IT WAS NEVER ANTICIPATED TO BE ENOUGH DOLLARS TO COVER EVERY NEED.
WE, WE COULD ALWAYS SEE THAT AMOUNT SHRINKING AND KNEW THAT WE WEREN'T GONNA HAVE THE FULL FLEXIBILITY, UM, THAT WE WANTED, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF DEFERRED MAINTENANCE ON INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE HAVE.
AND THEN WE JUST WANTED TO, UM, MENTION THAT THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT AS ALWAYS IS COMMITTED TO TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
WE DO PERFORM ONGOING MONITORING AND FORECASTING FOR THIS AND OTHER CITY FUNDS.
WE ENSURE THAT ANY FUNDS TRANSFERRED TO CIP PROJECTS ARE USED AS DIRECTED AND WE MAKE DATA AVAILABLE ONLINE IN OUR REPORTING DOCUMENTS.
SO LOOKING FORWARD, UM, NEXT MONTH THE CITY COUNCIL WILL BE HOLDING WORKSHOPS ON REVENUES AND ALSO ON THE UPCOMING BUDGET.
SO REVENUE WORKSHOP ON MAY 5TH, UH, BUDGET WORKSHOP ON MAY 12TH.
AND THE COMMITTEE APPLICATIONS ARE DUE TOWARDS THE END OF THE MONTH.
LOOKING TO JUNE CITY COUNCIL WILL ADOPT THE FISCAL 26 BUDGET, AND THEY'LL ALSO APPOINT COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO THREE OF THE FIVE SEATS ON THIS COMMITTEE.
WE'LL HAVE OUR NEW FISCAL YEAR KICKING OFF ON JULY 1ST, AND THEN THIS COMMITTEE WILL NOT MEET AGAIN UNTIL JANUARY OF 2026.
SO WE'VE GOT A LONG BREAK NEXT, AND HERE
[00:20:01]
WE ARE.AND DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? MM-HMM
I REALLY WANNA THANK YOU FOR THAT.
IT'S GOOD TO SEE IT AS A PART OF THE GENERAL FUND.
IT'S, UM, RELIEVED ME SOMEWHAT.
UM, WHAT I WANTED TO ASK THOUGH IS, UM, ON THE GRAPH WHERE YOU HAVE THINGS GETTING SMALLER, THE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT, UM, THERE'S A ARTICLE THAT CAME FROM THE ARGUS IN DECEMBER OF LAST YEAR THAT SAID THAT, UH, MEASURE U IS UM, GOING TO BE FUNDING 53% OF THE ROAD MONEY NEEDED.
UH, WHICH FOR FISCAL YEAR 25 26, 50 3% OF 14.8 MILLION IS 7.8 MILLION.
SO THAT'S ACTUALLY THE MONEY, UM, HAS BEEN REDUCED FROM 1.4 MILLION TO JUST 400,000.
SO COULD YOU TELL ME ABOUT THAT? YEAH, SO I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THERE'S BEEN A REDUCTION.
I THINK IT'S MORE A MATTER OF WHEN WE'RE SAYING MEASURE U IS FUNDING, WE'RE ALSO TALKING ABOUT THAT $20 MILLION OF BONDS THAT ARE FUNDING ROAD IMPROVEMENTS.
SO MEASURE U IS PAYING FOR THE BONDS, THE BONDS ARE PAYING FOR THE ROADS.
SO WHILE YOU'RE NOT SEEING $7 MILLION, YOU KNOW, COMING OUT OF THE MEASURE YOU FUND, IT'S THE DOLLARS THAT WE'RE PAYING FOR IN DEBT SERVICE THAT ARE PAYING FOR THAT.
SO MEASURE U IS FUNDING IT, BUT IT'S BECAUSE IT'S PAYING FOR THE DEBT ON GETTING THAT LARGE CHUNK OF MONEY AVAILABLE.
DO YOU KNOW WHERE WE ARE IN SPENDING ON THE 21 MILLION? UM, I'LL HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK.
I THINK ALL OF IT'S PROGRAMMED OUT, CORRECT IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
YEAH, BUT THERE'S 141 MILLION NECESSARY TO FIX THE ROADS.
PROBABLY I'M NOT THE EXPERT ON THAT, BUT I CAN TELL YOU, I, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE 141 MILLION AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW TO FIX ALL THE ROADS.
SO WE'RE, SO WE WOULD NEED TO ISSUE MORE BONDS.
WE WOULD NEED MORE FUNDING IN ORDER TO COMPLETELY FIX ALL OF THE ROADS.
IS THAT IN ANY FUTURE BUDGET BESIDES MEASURE? YOU'RE RIGHT NOW WITH, UM, THE ECONOMY SLOWING DOWN, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO SEE WHERE THERE'S CAPACITY, UM, BECAUSE THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THEN THAT ONGOING ADDITIONAL COMMITMENT EACH YEAR.
SO RIGHT NOW IN OUR FORECAST WE'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, DOING A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THE GENERAL FUND, WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL OF OUR OTHER CITY FUNDS, SO WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS IT AND WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE BEST WAY TO FUND THAT.
AND IF I COULD JUST CHIME IN AS WELL.
SO I, I BELIEVE WHERE THAT NUMBER CAME FROM, UH, WAS LOOKING AT THE OVERALL FIVE YEAR CIP LOOKING AT THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF ROAD INVESTMENT, SORRY, CIP, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
UM, LOOKING AT THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF ROAD SPENDING THAT WAS ANTICIPATED OVER THE FIVE YEARS AND THEN HOW MUCH WAS COMING FROM MEASURE U AND IS THAT JESSE'S? ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
THAT WAS THE BOND MONEY, THE 20 MILLION AS WELL AS THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SOME VERY SMALL MISCELLANEOUS COMPONENTS AS WELL.
DID THAT OVERALL CALCULATION OF THE, DID YOU SAY AROUND 50%? UM, YEAH, IT SAYS 53%, YEAH, OF 60 MILLION.
SO, UM, MEASURE U WAS GOING TO PAY ABOUT BETWEEN FIVE AND 8 MILLION A YEAR.
SO THAT'S A COMBINATION OF BOND MONEY, WHICH, UM, AND AS WELL AS NON BOND MONEY.
SORRY COREY, WERE YOU GONNA JUMP IN? YEAH, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY ALSO I THINK, UM, YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT EACH YEAR.
SO MAYBE THIS YEAR WE AREN'T SPENDING 50%, BUT IT COULD HAVE BEEN IN 24.
WE SPENT, YOU KNOW, 80% OF OUR COSTS IN ROADS WERE COVERED BY MEASURE U.
IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHEN THE CASH IS GOING OUT THE DOOR.
SO THERE IS A LOT TO CONSIDER.
UM, MEASURE U AS WE'VE SAID, WAS NEVER INTENDED TO FIX ALL THE ROADS ALL AT ONCE.
20 MILLION WAS AN EXCELLENT START.
UM, WE'VE DONE A LOT AROUND TOWN.
I'M SURE ALL OF YOU HAVE SEEN ALL THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'VE DONE.
UM, NORTH MCDOWELL, MARIA, ALL OF THE PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE THAT WE'VE DONE, AND WE'VE ALMOST MADE OUR WAY THROUGH THAT 20 MILLION.
SO JUST THAT LITTLE CHUNK OF MONEY HAS MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE, UM, ON OUR ROADS.
AND SO OUR GOAL IS TO FIGURE OUT CAN WE, WHAT CAN WE AFFORD? WHAT OTHER REVENUE, YOU KNOW, MEASURES ARE OUT THERE THAT CAN ASSIST WITH THE DEFERRED BACKLOG OF ROAD PROJECTS THAT NEED, YOU KNOW, ATTENTION.
UM, SO THAT'S ALL I WAS GONNA ADD.
I GUESS MY CONCERN WAS WE TOLD THE PUBLIC THAT EACH YEAR WE'RE GONNA BE SPENDING 10 TO $14 MILLION ON ROADS.
SO I THINK THAT THAT WAS MY CONCERN.
AND I DID HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE RESTROOM.
[00:25:01]
ADO YOU WANT ME TO JUMP IN? JUSTIN? OH, PLEASE.
SO WE ARE STILL PLANNING ON THE DOWNTOWN RESTROOM.
WE HAVE HAD, UH, SOME ISSUES BECAUSE WE SELECTED A MANUFACTURER AND WE, WE THINK THEY HAVE A GREAT PRODUCT.
HOWEVER, UH, THERE WAS A BIT OF A TIMING ISSUE.
WE HIT A THREE YEAR, UH, BUILDING CODE CYCLE UPDATE.
AND IN THAT PROCESS, SOME OF THE A DA REQUIREMENTS CHANGED LIKE THE, THE WIDTHS OF THE DOORWAYS AND OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO THE MANUFACTURER, UH, HAD DESIGNED THEIR PRODUCT FOR THE PRIOR BUILDING CODE.
SO THEY'RE NOW HAVING TO GO BASICALLY BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD A BIT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE NEW PRODUCT THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE SOON, UH, IS FULLY COMPLIANT WITH THE A DA AND THE, UH, THE, THE CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODE, I, I DON'T TH I DON'T RE RECALL OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD THE ESTIMATE OF WHEN THAT CAN BE DELIVERED.
IT IS OUT A BIT INTO THE FUTURE, SO IT MAY BE THE END OF THIS YEAR, UH, YOU KNOW, TOWARD TO, TO THE MIDDLE OF 2026 WHEN THAT COULD BE DEPLOYED.
BUT AGAIN, IT IS A LITTLE DEPENDENT ON THE MANUFACTURER, UH, GETTING BACK TO US TO SAY, HEY, WE'RE GOOD TO GO.
EVERYTHING'S FULLY APPROVED, SO WE CAN NOW GO AHEAD AND PLACE THE ORDER.
BUT THAT IS STILL IN OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND WE'RE STILL INTENDING TO DELIVER THAT.
AND THE FUNDS ARE SAVED SOMEWHERE.
THE FUNDS
YEAH, I DON'T REMEMBER THE EXACT AMOUNT THAT'S IN THE PROJECT UNLESS YOU ALL HAVE IT HANDY THERE.
UM, BUT WE ARE STILL PLANNING ON THAT.
AND THE FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM AT THE LIBRARY, IS THAT COMPLETED? THAT IS PART OF THEIR OVERALL UPGRADE PROJECT.
SO IF YOU'VE BEEN THERE RECENTLY, THEY NOW HAVE EVERYTHING SHIFTED OVER TO THE TEEN CENTER, WHICH IS LIKE THE MINI LIBRARY.
UH, THE CONSTRUCTION I BELIEVE IS UNDERWAY.
SO THE FIRE SUPPRESSION IS BAKED INTO THE OVERALL RENOVATION OF THAT PROJECT.
AND THE TECHNOLOGY UPGRADE, IS THAT HAPPENING NOW OR THAT IS, UH, OUR FINANCE DEPARTMENT IS IN THE THICK OF IT RIGHT NOW.
WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF IMPLEMENTATION.
UH, WE SHOULD BE GOING LIVE WITH OUR NEW SYSTEM EARLY NEXT YEAR.
I HAVE ONE OTHER QUICK QUESTION.
I MEAN, THIS IS INSIGNIFICANT OVER OVERALL, BUT THE 70,000 ALLOCATED TO SIDEWALKS, UM, IS THIS, THIS IS SOMETHING NEW 'CAUSE I'VE REPLACED A LOT OF SIDEWALKS THAT OWNERS HAVE PAID IN FULL MM-HMM
SO WHAT, WHEN DID THAT COME TO BE? IT'S A PILOT PROGRAM AND WE'LL BE DISCUSSING IT AT THE BUDGET WORKSHOP IN MAY.
SO IT'S NOT APPROVED YET, CORRECT? YEAH, IT'S PART OF OUR PRELIMINARY BUDGET FOR STARTING JULY ONE.
AND THE OVERALL BUDGET FOR THE DOWNTOWN BATHROOM, UM, IS AROUND 800,000.
HAVE, HAVE YOU DECIDED ON THAT LOCATION FOR IT? UH, WE HAVEN'T 100%.
WE, OUR ENGINEERS IN OUR, UH, PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT HAVE DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH ON, I WOULD JUST ESTIMATE 10 DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.
THEY ALL HAVE PROS AND CONS, BUT WE DO NEED TO PRIORITIZE ACCESS TO WATER AND SEWER.
OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T WANNA BE TRENCHING, YOU KNOW, MANY HUNDREDS OF FEET IF WE CAN HELP IT.
UH, YOU KNOW, GOOD VISIBILITY, GOOD DOWNTOWN ACCESS FOR PEDESTRIANS.
UH, WE ALSO DON'T WANT TO TAKE UP A, A BUNCH OF PARKING SPACES IF WE CAN HELP IT, YOU KNOW, SO THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT CONSIDERATIONS.
FINAL, FINAL, UH, I THINK WE'RE GETTING CLOSE, BUT ONCE WE HAVE THOSE FINAL SPECS FROM THE MANUFACTURER, THEN WE CAN REALLY DIAL IN THE DESIGN AND GO OUT WITH SOME PUBLIC OUTREACH AROUND THAT, THAT FACILITY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR CAN WE MOVE ON TO, UH, THE MID-YEAR REPORT? SO I DIDN'T KNOW HOW, YEAH, I KNOW WE, WE HAVE KIND OF ONE LARGE PRESENTATION HERE, BUT WE DO HAVE THIS AGENDA.
SO THE FIRST ONE ON THE ACTION ITEMS IS APPROVAL OF THE 2024 ANNUAL REPORT, WHICH WAS, I BELIEVE, JESSE, A KIND OF A REPEAT OF THE AGENDA ITEM FROM JANUARY THAT WE WANTED TO COME BACK, OR, IS THAT CORRECT? YES.
SO THAT WOULD BE THE FIRST ACTION ITEM.
THEN THE SECOND WE COULD, UH, WE, YOU REALLY JUST, YOU HAVE A COPY OF THE MIDYEAR REPORT IN YOUR PACKET, BUT, UM, I THINK IT MAY BE HELPFUL TO TAKE THE AGENDA ITEMS IN ORDER IF WE CAN.
YEAH, I DIDN'T SEE THAT WE NEEDED TO.
NO, I KNOW IT'S BURIED IN THERE.
OKAY, SO IF, UH, THERE AREN'T ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, THEN WHAT I NEED IS A MOTION TO APPROVE THE JUNE 30TH, 2024 REPORT.
I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE 2024 REPORT, AND IS THERE A SECOND? SURE.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
[00:30:02]
THE ONLY QUESTION I HAD ON THIS WAS JUST SORT OF ONE OF FORM.I THINK THAT WAS BEFORE I WAS TECHNICALLY APPOINTED TO THE COMMITTEE.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I'M NOT OVERSTEPPING BY APPROVING IT OR IF THAT'S FINE.
BUT I DID READ IT MULTIPLE TIMES TODAY, SO I'M READY TO APPROVE IT IF, IF I CAN'T, THAT'S A, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
IT'S A VERY CONSCIENTIOUS QUESTION, BUT, UM, THE REPORTS FOR THE COMMITTEE NOW, AND YOU'RE ON THE COMMITTEE NOW, SO YOU CAN TOTALLY TAKE PART.
WELL, AND I CAN ALSO SAY THIS IS THE REPORT THAT WE PRESENTED IN THE JANUARY MEETING, WHICH YOU WERE ALSO A PART OF, RIGHT? YEAH, IT DID NOT HAPPENED BEFORE YOU WERE HERE.
ALRIGHT, IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE.
AND ANY OPPOSED? AND SO THE MOTION PASSES, SO NOW THE MID-YEAR REPORT, SO WE WENT A LITTLE OUT OF ORDER.
DIDN'T WE JUST DO THE BIANNUAL REPORT? NO, THAT WAS THE MID-YEAR UPDATE AND THE FISCAL 26 PRELIMINARY BUDGET REPORT.
I THINK THEY ALL SAY BIANNUAL ON THE FRONT, WHICH IS CONFUSING.
AND WE SHOULD PROBABLY UPDATE OUR TEMPLATE.
WHAT'S NEXT ON OUR AGENDA THEN?
UH, THEN NEXT YOU HAVE THE APPROVED TRANSMITTER MIDDLE LETTER TO CITY COUNCIL.
SO AGENDA ITEMS THREE AND FOUR WERE TOGETHER THEN.
YEAH, I DIDN'T READ THE AGENDA THAT CLEAR CLOSELY EITHER.
SO WHEN YOU SAID REPORT, I WAS LIKE, I BETTER START TALKING
YEAH, SO IIII THINK THE APPROVAL I, WE JUST HEARD THE VOTE, I BELIEVE.
DID, DID WE HAVE THE VOTE ON THE, UM, YEAH, ON THE APPROVAL OF THE ANNUAL REPORT.
SO THAT CLOSES OUT ITEM THREE, ITEM FOUR IS JUST A, UH, INFORMATIONAL ITEM FOR THE COMMITTEE, WHICH IS WHAT JESSE, UH, GAVE THE POWERPOINT FOR.
SO THERE'S NO ACTION FOR ITEM NUMBER FOUR ON THE AGENDA.
AND I THOUGHT THE REPORT WAS ITEM THREE AND THAT THERE WAS A FURTHER REPORT.
OKAY, SO WE HAD ASKED FOR, UM, A LETTER TO BE SENT TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
WE'D ASK STAFF TO DRAFT SOMETHING MORE FORMAL, UH, PERHAPS WORDED SLIGHTLY STRONGER THAN JUST, UH, THE FACT THAT THE COMMITTEE HAD MET.
AND I KNOW THERE WAS, UM, A MORE LENGTHY LETTER ONLINE.
AND THEN WE'RE, I ALSO NOTICED WE HAVE SOMETHING HERE.
UM, MAY I TURN IT OVER TO STAFF TO TALK ABOUT THE TRANSMITTAL LETTER? SURE.
AND I ALSO HAVE BOTH OF THE LETTERS AVAILABLE.
I KNOW YOU'VE GOT ONE PRINTED OUT IN FRONT OF YOU, SO YES, YOU'RE CORRECT.
STAFF DID, UH, PER, PER THE CONVERSATION BACK IN JANUARY, STAFF DID DRAFT A LETTER.
AND THE OVERALL, UM, THE OVERALL GIST OF THE LETTER WAS TO, TO TRY TO EXPRESS THE COMMITTEE'S CONCERNS, UH, ABOUT A LITTLE BIT WHAT WE'VE STARTED TALKING ABOUT HERE TONIGHT.
THE DECLINING AMOUNT OF AVAILABLE MEASURE YOU REVENUES TO GO TO INFRASTRUCTURE AND ROADS PROJECTS.
UH, SO WE, WE DRAFTED THAT FOR THE COMMITTEE TO REVIEW TONIGHT.
UM, COMMITTEE MEMBER HART HAD A, A DIFFERENT VERSION OF A LETTER THAT SHE WORKED ON AS WELL AFTER READING OUR VERSION.
SO SHE HAD EMAILED THAT TO STAFF.
I DIDN'T WANNA PUSH THAT OUT TO THE COMMITTEE JUST TO NOT CREATE ANY BROWN ACT ISSUES WITH, YOU KNOW, COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
UM, BUT I DID TELL HER THAT WE WOULD HAVE IT AVAILABLE TONIGHT SO THE COMMITTEE CAN DISCUSS, WE CAN EDIT ON THE FLY.
I CAN LITERALLY TYPE AS YOU'RE TALKING IF YOU WANT TO PROVIDE EDITS.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW WHICH VERSION YOU WANT START WITH, UM, OR FOR ROSEMARY, YOU WANT TO MAKE SOME COMMENTS.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE STAFF'S FOCUS OF THE LETTER, UH, UH, AND AGAIN, YOU'RE HEARING A BIT OF THE SENTIMENT TONIGHT IS WE'RE FEELING LIKE FOCUSING SOLELY ON MEASURE U UH, MISSES SOME OF THE NUANCE OF THE, THE BIGGER PICTURE OF THE CITY BUDGET.
AND SO THAT'S WHY YOU'VE GOT A COUPLE PARAGRAPHS OF INTRO TO KIND OF TEE UP A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT WERE THE MEASURE U PRIORITIES, HOW HAVE WE BEEN FOCUSED ON SPENDING THAT MONEY THUS FAR AND SOME OF THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE DIDN'T HAVE MEASURE U OR WE COULDN'T USE IT FOR GENERAL FUND PURPOSES.
YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD OBVIOUSLY RESULT IN SOME CUTS OR SOME REDUCTIONS IN THE CITY, UM, THAT WE WOULD NEED TO MAKE.
SO, BECAUSE IF YOU'RE STRIPPING OFF SOME REVENUE TO DEDICATE TO INFRASTRUCTURE, OBVIOUSLY THAT NECESSARILY MEANS THAT THERE'S LESS AVAILABLE FOR THE GENERAL FUND.
SO WE WANTED TO PROVIDE SOME OF THAT CONTEXT WHILE ALSO EXPRESSING THE COMMITTEE SENTIMENT THAT WE HEARD BACK IN JANUARY ABOUT A RECOMMENDATION OR, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME THOUGHTS AROUND RESERVING SOME
[00:35:01]
OF THE MEASURE U DOLLARS, UH, TO GO TOWARD ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.SO ANYWAY, TRY TO CAPTURE THAT IN THE LETTER.
UM, AND THEN YOU HAVE THE, THE ALTERNATE VERSION THERE IN FRONT OF YOU AS WELL.
SO THIS ONE THAT WE GOT WAS DRAFTED BY YOU.
UH, THE ONE THAT SAYS DRAFT WE GOT IN OUR PACKET AND THIS ONE, THE ONE ROSEMARY RO OKAY, THAT'S CORRECT, YEAH.
THE FIRST ONE THAT YOU HELD UP WAS DRAFTED BY STAFF.
THE SECOND ONE WAS, UM, FROM, FROM ROSEMARY'S EMAIL, I THINK ABOUT A DAY OR TWO AGO.
MAY I MENTION THAT, UM, AFTER MEASURE YOU PASSED, WHICH INCLUDED A LOT OF FIRE SAFETY, UH, REQUESTS FROM THE PUBLIC, UH, MEASURE H PASSED AND THERE'S 3.3 MILLION ADDITIONAL DOLLARS, UH, FOR FIRE.
SO I'M STILL CONCERNED THAT THE PUBLIC THINKS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE SPENDING $14.8 MILLION IN 25, 26, AND, UM, OF WHICH 7.8 MILLION WAS KIND COME FROM MEASURE U.
UH, I GUESS THAT WOULD BE, UH, IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE THEY'RE EXPECTING BONDS TO COVER FIXES AND TO BE COMPLETED BY 2030.
AND I'M STILL CONCERNED THAT, UM, EVEN WITH THE ADDITIONAL MONEY FROM MEASURE H, WE WON'T, UH, BE FIXING THE ROADS, WHICH IS WHAT EVERYBODY IN PETALUMA WANTED WHEN THEY PASSED THE TAX.
LEMME JUST PROVIDE A LITTLE CONTEXT ON MEASURE H 'CAUSE I THINK THIS IS ACTUALLY GOOD.
UM, GOOD, GOOD INFO TO TALK ABOUT WHAT MEASURE H IS FOR.
SO MEASURE H IS A DEDICATED TAX FOR FIRE SERVICES AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.
UM, THERE ARE TWO BIG CATEGORIES THAT MEASURE H WILL BE SPENT ON IN PETALUMA.
ONE IS, UH, ESSENTIALLY NINE NEW FIREFIGHTERS TO STAFF A NEW, UH, FIRE STATION AND THEN FUNDING TO BUILD THE FIRE STATION.
THERE ARE A COUPLE OF OTHER SMALLER ITEMS IN THERE, BUT MOSTLY THE, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE REVENUE WILL BE SPENT ON THOSE, THOSE TWO MAJOR, UH, ITEMS THAT I JUST MENTIONED.
IS THERE ANY TYPE OF RISK MANAGEMENT? LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT HOW UNCERTAIN THE FUTURE IS.
IT SEEMS LIKE, UM, WITH THAT EXTRA 5 MILLION THAT YEAR, WE SPENT $21 MILLION.
WE'VE JUST BEEN GROWING, UH, THE GENERAL FUND FROM THAT AMOUNT INSTEAD OF REALIZING IT WAS, UH, SORT OF A, A SURPLUS.
WELL, IT MIGHT JUST SO YOU'RE RECORDING, IT MIGHT BE JUST HELPFUL TO TALK ABOUT THE GENERAL FUND RESERVES OVERALL AND UM, YOU KNOW, THE FACT THAT WE DO HAVE THOSE AND THAT THOSE ARE PARTIALLY FOR EMERGENCIES TO, TO GIVE US FLEXIBILITY IF NEEDED.
I'M NOT, AND I'M NOT SURE IF THAT ANSWERS THE QUESTION, BUT WE CAN START THERE.
YEAH, I'M NOT, I'M NOT TOTALLY SURE WHAT THE QUESTION IS.
CAN YOU REPEAT YOUR QUESTION? SO I MAY, I I MEAN MAY MAYBE GO AHEAD, BUT I, I'M KIND OF HEARING, I FEEL LIKE WE'RE VISITING TOPICS THAT WE DISCUSSED AT THE LAST MEETING, UM, WHICH HAD TO DO WITH, AND AND THE STAFF TEAM RESPONDED WITH REMINDING EVERYBODY THAT THERE THERE WERE MORE PRIORITIES THAT THE PUBLIC SET FOR MEASURE U PROCEEDS THAN JUST ROADS.
IT WAS PUBLIC SAFETY, PUBLIC SAFETY RESPONSE TIMES, HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, WHAT ELSE AM I LEAVING AT? THERE ARE EIGHT, IF I REMEMBER RIGHT.
UM, THERE WERE EIGHT AND THEY WERE NOT ALLOCATED.
THERE WERE NOT, THERE WAS NOT, UM, A PERCENTAGE SHARE OF EACH NOR REALLY COULD THERE BE 'CAUSE UM, BECAUSE MEASURE U WAS A, UM, GENERAL PURPOSE TAX WITH ALL MONEY GOES GOING INTO THE GENERAL FUND.
BUT, UM, THE CITY'S COMMITMENT WAS REAL TO BE RESPONSIVE TO AND TO TARGET THE MEASURE YOU PROCEEDS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE, UM, SPENDING PRIORITIES, UM, AND THE NEEDS THAT THE PUBLIC COMMUNICATED WHEN THEY APPROVED MEASURE U.
SO I, I FEEL LIKE THERE, THERE'S NO PERCENTAGE ALLOCATE.
I MEAN IT'S THE FACT THAT THERE'S NO PERCENTAGE ALLOCATION.
THE EVERYBODY KNOWS, AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TONIGHT HOW TO ACCELERATE THE IMPACT OF MEASURE U.
UM, WE BONDED TO PUT $20 MILLION, UM, STRAIGHT TO ROAD IMPROVEMENTS.
AND AS COREY HAS NOTED, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PERCENTAGE IS OR HOW MUCH IS LEFT OR, BUT WE'RE TOWARD THE TAIL END OF THAT SPENDING.
[00:40:01]
UM, AND WE'RE NOW LOOKING AT WHEN AND HOW AND TO WHAT EXTENT FUTURE INFRASTRUCTURE BONDING IS POSSIBLE.UM, WE DO HAVE THE POLICE AND FIRE STATION PROGRAMMED, RIGHT? UM, AND SO, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ACTUALLY PROCEEDING VERY WELL AND STAFF HAVE COME UP WITH A WAY TO DO A PO TIP UP KIND OF STRUCTURE TO HOUSE BOTH POLICE AND FIRE WHEN IT WAS THOUGHT THAT THEY'D HAVE TO BE DONE.
YOU KNOW, FIRST ONE AND THEN THE OTHER, WHICH IS AWESOME.
AND THAT'S GONNA LEAD TO, UM, SYNERGY TYPE SAVINGS WITH MEETING SPACES THAT CAN BE SHARED EXERCISE SPACES THAT CAN BE SHARED, UM, THAT KIND OF STUFF.
UM, THAT WILL BE CHEAPER THAN TWO SEPARATE STANDALONE FACILITIES AND ALSO BETTER JUST IN TERMS OF INTEGRATING THOSE FUNCTIONS.
SO, UM, SO THOSE THINGS ARE TRUE FACTS ABOUT MEASURE U AND I THINK THE OTHER THING THAT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE, I MEAN MAYBE IT'S WORTH PUTTING THAT GRAPHIC UP AGAIN THAT THE COMMITTEE HADN'T SEEN BEFORE ABOUT WHAT THE TRENDS IN MEASURE U USES ARE AND THAT HOW THEY WERE NOT A SURPRISE.
UM, BUT I, I GUESS THE, THE THING I WOULD LIKE TO ADD IN CONCLUDING, AND THEN WE CAN ZERO IN ON REMAINING QUESTIONS, IS, UM, WE, WE KNEW WE NEEDED MEASURE U TO PLUG OUR DEFICIT WITHOUT WHICH WE WOULD HAVE LITERALLY BEEN IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS LIKE VALLEJO WAS.
UM, AND MEASURE U DID THAT AND WE KNEW WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTED TO SEE THE MEASURE U PROCEEDS TO GO TO, IN ADDITION TO PLUGGING THE DEFICIT.
AND THEY HAVE IN THE WAYS THAT WE'VE, YOU KNOW, REPORTED.
BUT WE ALSO KNEW THAT MEASURE U WOULD NEVER BE THE PANACEA.
IT WOULD NEVER FUND OUR, YOU KNOW, ROUGHLY $200 MILLION IN DEFERRED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ON ITS OWN.
AND I THINK THAT IS WHY WE HEARD THE COUNCIL RECENTLY WHEN IT MET ON ITS GOALS AND PRIORITIES FOR THE INITIAL TIME BEFORE THEY COME BACK AND SORT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, FIN FINALIZE AND FORMALIZE THEM FOR THE, FOR THE NEXT TWO TWO YEARS IS TO, TO A PERSON THEY WERE UNANIMOUS IN IDENTIFYING AS E ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AS ONE OF THOSE CITY'S TOP PRIORITIES GOING FORWARD TO CONTINUE TO MAKE FORWARD PROGRESS WITH PRO FUNDING OF PROGRAMS THAT STILL LACK THE FUNDS THEY WOULD IDEALLY HAVE, WHICH WOULD INCLUDE LIKE REALLY REALIZING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE FAIRGROUNDS AND THAT KIND OF INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE'VE GOT THE FUNDING FOR THE, OR I THINK WE'RE ABOUT TO HAVE THE FUNDING FOR THE MASTER PLANNING, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S GONNA BE A TON OF INFRASTRUCTURE OUT THERE IN ADDITION TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY CAMPUS.
THERE'S ROAD WORK THAT REMAINS TO BE DONE, OF COURSE.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S, YOU KNOW, HIGHER DEGREES OF PARKS, MAINTENANCE AND OTHER PROGRAMS. SO, SO I'LL STOP THERE.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, I'M NOT TRYING TO BE IN DIATRIBE MODE, BUT, UM, I THINK THOSE ARE ALL, I MEAN STAFF, PLEASE CORRECT ME IF THOSE ARE NOT FACTUAL, BUT I THINK THAT'S FACTUAL INFORMATION, UM, THAT'S IMPORTANT CONTEXT FOR, FOR, UM, THE VERY IMPORTANT WORK THAT MEASURE U HAS DONE AND CONTINUES TO DO, BUT ALSO RECOGNITION THAT IT'S, IT'S DOESN'T PROVIDE EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW, THAT THE CITY NEEDS TO CONTINUE TO GO FORWARD AND REALIZE ITS FULL POTENTIAL.
LIKE SOME OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, THAT NEEDS TO BE BUTTRESSED, I THINK BY OTHER FUNDING SOURCES AND OTHER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS.
AND I'LL JUST ADD TOO, UM, THE CITY DOES MAINTAIN, UM, RESERVES AND ALL OF OUR OPERATING FUNDS.
SO THAT INCLUDES THE GENERAL FUND AND THE WASTEWATER FUND AND THE WATER FUND AND OUR STREETS FUNDS, ALL OF THE, ALL OF THE OPERATING FUNDS WE MAINTAIN RESERVES IN.
SO COUNCIL POLICY FOR THE GENERAL FUND IS 15% AND WE ESTIMATE AT THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR WE'LL BE ABOUT 17%.
SO WE DO HAVE, UM, FUNDS IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY DOWNTURN IN THE ECONOMY, UM, PANDEMIC, WHATEVER IT MAY BE.
COULD I ASK THE, UM, SO YOU SAID WE HAVE TO GET OVER A HUMP IN LIKE 2032, AND IS THAT BECAUSE THE, UM, PENSIONS HAVE BEEN RE UH, THE, NOT THE PENSIONS, BUT THE BENEFIT FORMULA HAS BEEN REDUCED OR NO, WHY, WHY WILL OUR PERS PROBLEM REDUCED IN 2032? SO CALPERS UPDATED THEIR FUNDING POLICY BACK IN 2017 ISH.
[00:45:01]
AND AT THAT TIME THEY, UM, THEY WANTED ALL AGENCIES TO INCREASE THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS SO THAT THE UNFUNDED LIABILITY WOULD BE PAID OFF OVER A PERIOD OF 20 YEARS.AND SO WE'RE IN THAT RAMP UP PERIOD OKAY.
WHERE WE'RE HAVING TO REALLY CONTRIBUTE NOT JUST US ALL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN CALIFORNIA WHERE HAVING TO RAMP UP OUR CONTRIBUTIONS AND THEN THEY KIND OF LEVEL OUT AND THEN THEY START TO DECREASE AND THEY, AND THEY REALLY START TO DECREASE IN ABOUT, UH, 10 YEARS FROM NOW.
AND SO WE'LL HAVE A LOT OF ADDITIONAL, HOPEFULLY IF THINGS STAY AS PLANNED, UM, A MORE, UH, FUNDING TO PUT TOWARDS OTHER NEEDS.
UM, SO ALL OF THAT WAS TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN WE PUT TOGETHER THE FINANCIAL PLAN, UM, IN THE PROCESS OF OUR FISCAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY FOR MEASURE U.
UM, AND THAT'S HOW THAT CHART WAS, WAS GENERATED.
IT WAS US TRYING TO, UM, DEVELOP A PLAN THAT MET AS MANY NEEDS AS WE KNEW ABOUT, UM, IN THE SHORTEST PERIOD OF TIME.
THERE ARE BENEFIT ADJUSTMENTS AREN'T, AREN'T THERE? UH, WE'VE GONE FROM, WHAT, 3% AT 50 TO TWO AND A HALF OR 2.75? OH YEAH, THERE'S, YEAH, 57.
SO THERE'S BEEN CHANGES OVER THE YEARS THAT THAT TAKES YEARS TO KICK IN AND SO MM-HMM
YEAH, I'M SURE THAT WAS ALL TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.
UM, WHAT I HAVE A QUESTION ON, 'CAUSE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN ROSEMARY'S LETTER, UM, KEEPING WITH THE BROWN ACT.
NO, WE HAVE NOT SEEN IT UNTIL JUST THIS MOMENT.
UM, FACTUALLY, IS THERE ANYTHING IN ROSEMARY'S LETTER THAT YOU FIND THAT WOULD BE INACCURATE? BECAUSE WHAT, I DON'T HAVE YOUR LETTER IN FRONT OF ME, BUT THE ONE GLARING DIFFERENCE IS ROSEMARY'S LETTER CALLS FOR 25% OF MEASURE U FUNDS AND YOUR LETTER CALLED FOR 20.
UM, OTHER THAN THAT, IS THERE MUCH? THAT WAS BECAUSE I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE AMOUNTS, WHICH WAS 4 MILLION AND A LITTLE BIT MORE EACH YEAR.
I WAS WORRIED ABOUT WHAT THE CITY HAD TOLD THE PEOPLE.
I'M ACTUALLY, UM, WHAT I DID WANNA SAY IS FROM THE LANGUAGE IN THE ACTUAL MEASURE YOU BALLOT, IT SAYS THAT WE ARE A BIANNUAL INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL AUDIT.
SO THE REVIEW AND COMMENT IS AUDIT AND REPORT.
IT SAYS FIVE MEMBERS TO REVIEW AND REPORT ON THE USE OF PROCEEDS.
AND, UM, THE ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE U SAYS THAT IT'S GONNA BE GREAT BECAUSE THERE'S MANDATORY FINANCIAL AUDITS, WHICH IS US AND PUBLIC REPORTING.
SO I'VE TAKEN THAT TO HEART, BUT I GUESS WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO ASK IF I CAN ASK THE COMMITTEE IS ARE YOU OKAY WITH NO PROJECT SPENDING UNTIL 2032 TO GET THE CITY OVER THE HUMP? NO.
WELL, I DIDN'T SEE NO PROJECT SPENDING.
SO TO TO, TO TRY TO ANSWER THE CHAIR'S QUESTION, UH, A A LITTLE BIT.
I, I THINK THE MAIN CONCERN, AT LEAST THAT I HAVE AND STAFF PLEASE WEIGH IN IS THAT, UH, BOTH THE, THE CHART, THE, THE, THE PIE CHART AS WELL AS THE, THAT LARGER PARAGRAPH THAT HAS A LOT OF THE FINANCIAL DATA IN IT, UM, IS IT GOES BACK TO WHAT I FIRST CHIMED IN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING ON, IS THAT THE NUMBERS THERE, THOSE ARE ABSOLUTELY WHAT WE'D SAID BACK IN 2020 AS A VERY STATIC WAY TO DEMONSTRATE A, YOU KNOW, AN ESTIMATE OF A FINANCIAL NEED OF THE CITY.
BUT WE KNOW THAT IT'S NOT STATIC.
AND SO THAT'S PARTIALLY WHY WE SHOWED THAT LARGER 15 YEAR FORECAST.
AND SO WHAT I DON'T, WHAT WHAT I WOULD HESITATE ON IS TO PUT THOSE NUMBERS OUT THERE AS WE'RE BASICALLY REPRESENTING, WELL, THIS IS WHAT WE SAID AND THIS IS WHAT IT IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE.
THAT THAT WAS NOT THE INTENT OF, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE ADOPT AN ANNUAL BUDGET, THINGS CHANGE, THE ECONOMY CHANGES OUR EXPENDITURE NEEDS AND PROGRAMMATIC NEEDS AND COMMUNITIES NEEDS CHANGE OVER TIME.
SO I DON'T WANT THERE TO BE THE, THE, UH, IMPRESSION THAT WE HAD THESE FIXED EXPENDITURE CATEGORIES THAT WERE ESTABLISHED FIVE YEARS AGO AND WE'LL GO ON, YOU KNOW, UH, IN, IN PERPETUITY.
[00:50:01]
YOU COMPARE THE TWO LETTERS, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK I, IN, IN THE STAFF LETTER THAT WE ATTACH TO THE AGENDA, THERE ARE VERY FEW NUMBERS IN, IN THE LETTER BECAUSE I WAS TRYING TO EXPRESS THE GENERAL COMMITTEE SENTIMENT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE CONCERN AND THE, THE SHRINKING AMOUNT OF INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING, UH, RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO PUT MORE NUMBERS IN THAT CAN SOME FOLKS, SOMEBODY JUST COMING OFF THE STREET READING THE LETTER MAY GET REALLY CONFUSED BY SOME OF THE, THE, THE FACTS AND FIGURES AND THE NUMBERS THAT ARE IN, IN A, UH, LETTER FORMAT.UH, AND THEN FINALLY, UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT THE 20%, WE JUST PICKED A NUMBER THAT I ACTUALLY HAD THAT HIGHLIGHTED IN YELLOW BE BEFORE WE PUBLISHED IT, BECAUSE I KNEW THAT THAT WAS GONNA BE A, A POINT OF DISCUSSION AT THE COMMITTEE.
SO IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THE STAFF LETTER, CHANGE IT TO 25%, THAT GIVES, I DON'T THINK THAT GIVES US ANY HEARTBURN.
THAT'S JUST THE COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW, GIVING A RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S TOTALLY WITHIN YOUR PURVIEW.
THE BONDS THAT WERE SOLD, THE 20 MILLION IN BONDS, WHAT WAS THE, WHAT'S THE PERIOD OF TIME ON THAT? ARE THEY 20 YEAR BONDS, 25 YEAR BONDS, 20 YEAR BONDS, 20 YEAR BONDS? SO ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT THIS IS THERE'S ALREADY A MILLION DOLLARS IN ROAD REPAIRS THAT ARE BEING DONE AHEAD OF TIME THAT WOULD NORMALLY GO OUT, YOU KNOW, 20 YEARS.
SO IT, IT, IT ISN'T JUST THE AMOUNT YOU SEE BEING SPENT IN EACH FISCAL YEAR.
YOU KIND OF HAVE TO ALLOCATE A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR OF THAT $20 MILLION BOND.
SO WE, WE, WE HAD THIS DISCUSSION, I BELIEVE TWO MEETINGS AGO, WAS IT MORE PRUDENT TO PAY THE BOND FEES VERSUS WAIT 20 YEARS AND PAY INCREASED COSTS DUE TO INFLATION? AND YOU KNOW, IT'S OUT OF OUR, REALLY OUT OF OUR PURVIEW TO MAKE THAT DECISION FOR THE CITY COUNCIL.
BUT IT WAS BROUGHT UP, IT WAS DISCUSSED, AND IF WE DON'T ALLOCATE A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR, WE'RE WE'RE REALLY BEING DISINGENUOUS BECAUSE THERE IS ANOTHER MILLION DOLLARS THAT NEEDS TO BE ALLOCATED TO ROAD REPAIRS, RIGHT? SO IN OTHER WORDS, IT'S NONLINEAR, RIGHT? WHAT THE, IT'S, IT'S NOT REALLY POSSIBLE GIVEN THE BONDING DECISION FOR, FOR ONE REASON TO EXPECT THE SAME SORT OF CHUNKS TO BE ALLOCATED ON A YEAR BY YEAR BASIS.
'CAUSE IT WAS GREATLY ACCELERATED BY, BY THE BOND PURCHASE.
AND NOW WE'RE PAYING DEBT SERVICE EARLY.
AND I WOULD SAY, AND IF YOU, YOU GO BACK AND YOU LOOK AT THE, UM, DETAILED DISCUSSIONS THAT WERE HAD BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL WITH ALL THE, UM, PUBLIC WORKS ANALYSIS, UM, AND IF YOU THINK BACK TO HOW THE, THE PAVING MANAGEMENT INDEX, THE, THE PAVING CONDITION IN INDEX IS MANAGED AND YOU SEE HOW THERE'S A CAREFUL ANALYSIS THAT'S DONE TO, TO BASICALLY TO KEEP THE ROADS THAT ARE IN GOOD SHAPE AND GROW IN GOOD SHAPE SO THEY DON'T FAIL AND BE, BECOME MUCH, MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE.
AND ALSO, AS YOU NOTED CHAIR TO, UM, INCUR CAPITAL COSTS BEFORE THEY GO UP AND THEY BECOME, THOSE PROJECTS BECOME MORE EXPENSIVE.
SO IT'S A REAL CARE CAREFUL KIND OF BALANCING ACT, I THINK.
BUT I, I BELIEVE THAT IF YOU WERE TO LOOK BACK AT THOSE CONSIDERATIONS AND THE MONEY THAT'S BEEN SPENT AND WHAT'S BEEN ACCOMPLISHED, I REALLY DO THINK, AND I I'M NOT, I'M NOT, I DON'T HAVE THE EXPERTISE LIKE OUR PUBLIC WORKS TEAM DOES, BUT I REALLY DO THINK THAT YOU WOULD SEE THERE'S BEEN BANG FOR THE BUCK FOR THE CITY IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF PROJECTS BEEN DELIVERED SOONER, THOSE COSTS THAT ARE NOT GONNA ESCALATE AS A RESULT.
BUT THERE HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, INCURRED AT A, AT A LOWER RATE.
'CAUSE THE OTHER THING IS THAT, UM, WE SEE THAT THE, UM, INFLATION, THE INFLATIONARY COSTS FOR PUBLIC WORKS FAR EXCEED THE REGULAR, YOU KNOW, THE CPI KIND OF ESTIMATES.
SO I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT SUPPORTS THE WISDOM OF THAT DECISION.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S PARTLY WHY LIKE IN THE LAST, UM, PARAGRAPH OF ROSEMARY'S LETTER, I THINK THAT'S, I'M AFRAID THAT'S GONNA BE CONFUSING, UM, FOR FOLKS BECAUSE I THINK IT REFLECTS A PERSPECTIVE LIKE WE WOULD CONTINUE TO HAVE THE SAME BUCKETS, UM, PROPORTIONAL BUCKETS FOR DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF, OF SPENDING OF MEASURE U GOING FORWARD.
AND THAT JUST CAN'T BE THE CASE WHEN WE'RE DEALING WITH THINGS LIKE BONDS TO TRY TO BE CREATIVE AND GET MORE OUT OF THE FUNDING.
UM, SO, AND, AND ANOTHER THING I WOULD NOTE IS THAT, UM, AND THE STAFF DRAFT NOTES THAT, AND I, AND I THINK ROSEMARY'S DRAFT ATTEMPTS TO ALSO IS THAT TO, TO THE EXTENT THE COUNCIL, IF THE COUNCIL WERE TO, UM, LOCK UP A PERCENTAGE OF MEASURE U FUNDS, UM, THEN SOMETHING ELSE GETS SHORTED, UM,
[00:55:02]
AND WOULD HAVE TO DO, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING ELSE HAS TO BE A ALLOCATED TO COVER THE STRUCTURAL DEFICIT.UM, THE STAFF COSTS THAT, THAT BRIAN MENTIONED, WHICH BY THE WAY, ARE ALSO NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE OF CAPITAL FUNDS BECAUSE IT IS, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S STAFF COSTS IN THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT ARE DELIVERING THOSE PROJECTS.
SO IT'S NOT REALLY, UM, IT'S NOT REALLY ACCURATE TO, TO VIEW STAFF COSTS AND CAPITAL COSTS AS MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, PROJECTS GETTING DELIVERED, UM, VIA MEASURE U.
AND THEN AS YOU SAW, VERY IMPORTANTLY, UM, WE NEVER WERE LOOKING TO MEASURE U TO SOLVE ALL THE CITY'S FUNDING NEEDS AND WE DON'T LOOK TO MEASURE YOU TO SOLVE ALL THIS FUNDING NEEDS.
'CAUSE IT, WHAT IT DOES IS PLAYS THIS KEY LEVERAGING ROLE, UM, THAT IT'S HARD FOR ME TO EMPHASIZE TO YOU ALL HOW CRITICAL IT'S BEEN BECAUSE BEFORE MEASURE U, WE WEREN'T EVEN ABLE TO SPEND FUNDS, UM, THAT HAD BEEN COLLECTED FOR, UM, UM, DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES THAT WE HAD IN THE BANK.
A A HUGE CHUNK OF FUNDS THAT WE HAD IN THE BANK SITTING THERE NOT ABLE TO SPEND THEM BECAUSE, UM, AND I'M GONNA TRY THIS, IT, THIS IS A LITTLE COMPLICATED, BUT I'M GONNA TRY TO STATE IT SIMPLY SO IT'S NOT SO COMPLICATED.
UM, WITH, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUND BALANCE WAS, BUT IT WAS HUGE.
IT WAS LIKE 20 MILLION, 30 MILLION.
IT WAS A LOT OF MONEY SITTING THERE THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO USE, UM, EXCEPT FOR ON MAJOR INTER INTERCHANGE PROJECTS, WHICH HAVE TO STILL MOUNT UP FUNDING TO BE ABLE TO BE USED.
'CAUSE THEY'RE HAVE A HUGE PRICE TAG.
AND THE REASON IS IT'S IN THE NATURE OF DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES THAT IT'S ONLY LAWFUL TO REQUIRE NEW DEVELOPMENT TO PAY ITS FAIR SHARE OF A PROJECT COST.
IT'S NOT FAIR TO ASK NEW DEVELOPMENT TO PAY THE FAIR SHARE OF PROJECT COSTS THAT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN FUNDED FOR EXISTING DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO WHEN WE DO THOSE DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEE STUDIES TO COME UP WITH FAIR RATES TO CHARGE NEW DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, THERE'S A SPLIT, THERE'S A NEW DEVELOPMENT, UM, EXISTING DEVELOPMENT SPLIT AND, AND TO GO TO FUND THE PROJECT THAT THE NEW, THE IMPACT FEES ARE INTENDED TO HELP FUND LIKE NEW POLICE STATION, LIKE, YOU KNOW, NEW SWIMMING POOLS LIKE ROAD PROJECTS, UM, THAT NEW DEVELOPMENT REQUIRES OR EXPANSIONS TO THE TREATMENT PLANT, THAT KIND OF THING.
ACTUALLY NO, THAT'S A, SORRY, THAT'S THE ENTERPRISE COST.
UM, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT CHARGING THE NEW DEVELOPMENT AND USING THE FEE PROCEEDS TO COVER THE COST OF EXISTING DEVELOPMENT.
SO WHAT MEASURE YOU DID WAS GAVE US THAT MATCHING FUND FROM ANOTHER SOURCE THAN THE IMPACT FEES.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF COREY WOULD BE ABLE TO, AND, AND JESSE AND PROBABLY BRIAN TOO, WHO'LL BE ABLE TO SHOW WHAT ARE THE DEVELOPMENT FEE, UM, PROCEEDS THAT MEASURE U ALLOWED US TO FINALLY START SPENDING.
UM, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT PEGGY MEANS WHEN SHE SAYS, UM, I THINK RIGHTLY SO, TAKES PRIDE IN THE FACT THAT WE HAVE FEATHERED THE MEASURE U FUNDS SO FINELY THROUGHOUT THE CITY'S BUDGET TO LEVERAGE OTHER FUNDS INSTEAD OF, AND I THINK AND THE REASON THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE, UM, IT'S FACTUAL TOO, AND WHAT IT REFLECTS IS THE, THE CITY FINANCE TEAM TRYING TO BE REALLY RESPONSIBLE AND CREATIVE AND STRATEGIC ABOUT MAXIMIZING TO THE GREATEST EXTENT POSSIBLE, THE PUBLIC BENEFIT OF THE MEASURE U FUNDS THAT THEY'VE CHOSEN TO TAX THEMSELVES TO PROVIDE, WHICH IS AN AWESOME THING THAT THE, THAT THE PUBLIC DID.
SO, UM, ANYWAY, I THINK, I THINK THAT'S REALLY AN IMPORTANT PART OF CONSIDERING WHAT MEASURES YOU IS DOING SHOULD BE DOING, CAN BE DOING.
AND, AND I THINK IT THOSE CONSIDERATIONS, THINGS LIKE BONDING, THINGS LIKE VIEWING MEASURE YOU AS ESSENTIALLY SEED MONEY TO USE OTHER FUNDS LIKE DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES, WHICH IS A TOTALLY APPROPRIATE THING TO DO.
UM, AND IT IT, IT IS A CHALLENGE THAT OTHER CITIES HAVE TOO OF, OF TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, MEET THE O EXISTING DEVELOPMENT, NEW DEVELOPMENT SPLIT, UM, IT, THOSE ARE, ARE, UM, SOPHISTICATED
[01:00:01]
STRATEGIC APPROACHES TO REALLY MAXIMIZE THE PUBLIC BENEFIT OF THOSE FUNDS THAT I DON'T THINK PERCENTAGE ALLOCATIONS NEXT NECESSARILY CAPTURE, CAPTURE OR NECESSARILY EVEN APPROPRIATE WHEN THERE WERE NO ORIGINAL PERCENTAGE ALLOCATIONS, UM, IN MEASURE U NOR COULD THERE BE, 'CAUSE THE NATURE OF, OF THE GENERAL FUND, UM, TAX THAT IT IS.SO I'LL, I'LL STOP THERE, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, AND WE AND MY COLLEAGUES HERE CAN DO A BETTER JOB THAN I HAVE EXPLAINED SOME OF THOSE THINGS IN MORE DETAIL.
UM, BUT IT'S REALLY, THOSE ARE REALLY IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION THING I THINK TO, FOR, TO HELP THE YOU AND THE PUBLIC APPRECIATE JUST HOW TREMENDOUS THE BENEFITS, UM, OF MEASURE YOU HAVE BEEN AND CONTINUE TO BE, UM, IN TERMS OF THEIR IMPACT.
BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, RECOGNIZING THAT THAT, UM, THERE, THERE'S A MEASURE U IS, IS NOT, UM, AS CRITICAL AS IT IS, IS IS NOT GONNA BE THE VEHICLE ON ITS OWN TO TAKE THE CITY, YOU KNOW, THROUGH AN AMAZING FUTURE OF SIGNIFICANT, MORE EXPENSIVE, MORE, UM, CAPITAL PROGRAMS LIKE, LIKE FOR THE FAIRGROUNDS, UM, ET CETERA, THAT'S GONNA REQUIRE, UM, OTHER FINANCING MECHANISMS THAN MEASURE U.
SO, YOU KNOW, IF, IF I CAN JUST COMMENT IT, IT HAS BECOME INCREDIBLY FASHIONABLE WHEN ENTITIES ASK THE PUBLIC TO TAX THEMSELVES TO ANNOUNCE THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A CITIZEN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.
AND IF THE CITIZEN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE RUBBER STAMPS EVERYTHING THAT'S DROPPED IN FRONT OF THEM, THEN IT'S VERY DISINGENUOUS TO PUT THAT COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW, TO, TO SELL THE PUBLIC ON THE FACT THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A COMMITTEE AND THE FOUR OF US ON THIS COMMITTEE, NOT FOR EGO, NOT FOR PERSONAL GAIN, BUT FOR THE FACT THAT WE TOOK THIS JOB TO DO, TO DO OUR JOB.
AND IT IS NOT JUST TELLING THE CITY COUNCIL WHAT THEY ALREADY KNOW, BUT TO SOME DEGREE IT'S LETTING THE PUBLIC KNOW THAT, HEY, YOU DID A GREAT JOB SAYING YES ON MEASURE U, BUT BE AWARE THAT IT'S NOT GOING TO BE THERE FOREVER BECAUSE WE ALREADY SEE IT WITH THE CITY OF SANTA ROSA.
WHAT'S THEIR BUDGET SHORTFALL? 18 MILLION, 20 MILLION.
UM, WE SEE IT WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
WE, WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE, WE SEE IT WITH AGENCIES ALL OVER, UM, EXCEPT FOR FIRE WITH THEIR, WITH THEIR NEW TAGS.
SO WHAT I BELIEVE THIS COMMITTEE IS DOING IS TRYING TO WALK A TIGHT ROPE BETWEEN STAYING OUT OF THE COUNCIL'S BUSINESS AND LETTING THE COUNCIL AND THE PUBLIC KNOW WHERE MEASURE U STANDS.
AND I'M PERSONALLY OKAY WITH THE LETTER THAT STAFF WROTE.
I'M PERSONALLY OKAY WITH 20%, I'M OKAY WITH 25%.
BUT, UM, I JUST THINK IT'S FAIR TO SAY THE FOUR OF US ON THIS COMMITTEE AREN'T GONNA RUBBER STAMP ANYTHING.
YOU SHOULD, AND WE WOULD, WE WOULD LOOK, UH, WE WOULD LOOK TO YOU, AND MAYBE IT WILL BE IN JANUARY OF NEXT YEAR BEFORE WE CAN DO THIS, BUT I FIRMLY SEE THE COMMITTEE OR ASKING THE ARGUS TO PUT SOMETHING IN THE PAPER THAT, HEY, CITIZENS, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S THE NEXT CHAIRPERSON WHO WRITES A LETTER, UH, A GUEST EDITORIAL THAT LETS PEOPLE KNOW WHERE YOUR MONEY WENT, WHERE ARE WE? AND BY THE WAY, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS COST MORE THAN THEY DID FIVE YEARS AGO.
AND THIS ISN'T THAT, THIS ISN'T THE BANDAID, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S A BANDAID, BUT IT, IT'S, IT'S NOT A SPLINT.
SO, UM, I I, AT THIS POINT, I WOULD ASK MY FELLOW COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR THEIR COMMENTS AND, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO BEAT THIS HORSE, YOU KNOW, TOO LONG.
SO, UM, SCOTT, CAN I JUST ASK IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS? YEAH, SO I MEAN, OVERALL, I'M VERY CONSCIENTIOUS OF THE FACT THAT I, I'M COMING INTO A SPACE WHERE I THINK YOU GUYS KNOW A LOT ABOUT THIS.
I THINK THE CITY COUNCIL, REALLY A LOT OF THESE DECISIONS ARE THEIR DECISIONS ABOUT WHERE THE MONEY GOES AND HOW IT'S SPENT.
I, I DO BELIEVE THAT THEY'RE ELECTED, THEY'RE MORE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PUBLIC THAN WE ARE.
AND I THINK IT'S, I, I DON'T JUST THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE PUT THIS COMMITTEE TOGETHER JUST TO, YOU KNOW, FOR SHOW, LIKE YOU GUYS
[01:05:01]
ARE REALLY IN HERE SHOWING US A LOT OF STUFF WHEN ANSWERING A LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.UM, AND I'M DEFERENTIAL, I THINK, TO WHAT THE CITY'S DOING.
'CAUSE I'M READING THESE REPORTS, I'M NOT SEEING ANYTHING THAT SEEMS CRAZY IN THERE.
I'M NOT SEEING ANYTHING THAT'S UPSETTING ME.
I THINK A LOT OF THE SPENDING SEEMS PRETTY REASONABLE.
I DO TOTALLY UNDERSTAND WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE, I THINK IT IS GOOD TO HAVE A, I WANT THE PUBLIC'S PERCEPTION OF MEASURE U TO BE GOOD BECAUSE I THINK IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT IT'S TOTALLY NECESSARY FOR BALANCING THE BUDGET IN THE CITY.
IT REALLY SEEMS VERY IMPORTANT.
I DO WANT THE PUBLIC TO BE PLEASED WITH IT SO THAT IT CAN CONTINUE.
UM, AND I THINK THAT SOME OF THE POINTS THAT ARE, ARE BROUGHT UP ARE, YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC DOES WANT, I THINK THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO, WHO REALLY DO WANNA SEE ROAD IMPROVEMENTS.
I THINK THOSE THINGS ARE ABSOLUTELY WHAT PEOPLE WANT TO SEE.
UM, BUT ALSO, LIKE, IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT THIS IS REALLY NECESSARY FOR THE CITY TO BE FUNCTIONING.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, I I I TRUST THAT IT'S BEING SPENT WISELY AT THIS POINT.
SO THAT, THAT'S KIND OF MY POSITION.
UM, THAT'S WHERE I COME DOWN ON IT.
CARRIE, ANYTHING? SO I'LL BE THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE.
UM, I THINK BOTH LETTERS ARE EXCELLENT.
UM, THE STAFF OR BRIAN'S LETTER AND ROSEMARY'S LETTER.
UM, AND, BUT I DON'T THINK IT HURTS TO ASK FOR THE 25%.
THE COUNCIL CAN, YOU KNOW, COME BACK WITH 10% IF OR NONE OF IT.
BUT I THINK I, I WOULD PREFER TO GO WITH THE 25% AS ROSEMARY SUGGESTED.
I KNOW THAT THAT WILL, IF, IF THEY APPROVE THAT IT'S GOING TO CUT STAFF IN SOME AREAS.
BUT MY BIGGER CONCERN IS IF WE'RE AT 93.5% RIGHT NOW ON BENEFITS, PENSIONS, AND WELL STAFFING COSTS, UM, THE PRIVATE SECTOR CAN'T, CAN'T, CAN'T DO THIS.
AND I THINK THE CITY HAS TO PULL THE REINS IN A LITTLE BIT ON THE STAFFING END OF THIS.
AND I KNOW THAT'S NOT FOR THE FOUR OF YOU TO FIGURE OUT, AND IT'S MUCH MORE COMPLICATED THAN WE CAN EVEN CONSIDER.
BUT I AM, I'M REALLY CONCERNED THAT THERE'S, THIS IS GONNA BE AT 110% IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
IF, IF SOMETHING DOESN'T CHANGE WITH THE COMPENSATION OR, OR THE, YOU KNOW, ADDING NEW STAFF, IT, THEY NEED TO PULL OUT AS PEOPLE AGE OUT AND RETIRE.
AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THERE ARE SOME POSITIONS THAT JUST CAN'T BE REPLACED.
I MEAN THAT'S, YOU KNOW, LELAND AND I HAVE RUN OUR OWN BUSINESSES.
WE KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE WHEN YOU HAVE TO PULL IN THE REINS.
AND I THINK THE CITY HAS TO CONSIDER THAT TOO.
SO THAT'S MY CONCERN IS THAT THAT 93.5%.
I ALSO DO BELIEVE AS A VOTER IN PETALUMA, THAT WE MAYBE WERE LED TO BELIEVE THAT A LOT OF THIS MONEY FOR MEASURE U WAS GOING TO ROADS, AS WE'VE ALL SAID, AND WE HEAR IT FROM, YOU KNOW, CONSTITUENTS OUT THERE.
AND I THINK THAT IT NEEDS TO BE MADE PUBLIC IF, IF IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO, TO DO ANY MORE THAN, YOU KNOW, SIX AND A HALF PERCENT TO ALL THE OTHER PROGRAMS. I THINK AS LELAND SAID, IT'S ONLY FAIR THAT THE PUBLIC KNOWS THAT BECAUSE THIS IS NOT WHAT THEY BARGAINED FOR, UM, WHEN THEY VOTED FOR THIS.
IT DOES REDUCE GOING FORWARD TO THE AMOUNT ALLOWED FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PRO PROJECTS REDUCED IN THE YEARS GOING FORWARD.
EVEN LESS, LESS, LESS THAN SIX AND A HALF PERCENT.
AND I, I SORT OF REITERATE, UM, YOU KNOW, BEFORE MEASURE U PASSED, THE CITY WAS IN, IN DIRE STRAITS, IT SEEMED LIKE, UM, WE WERE IN TROUBLE AND WE'RE, WE'RE PART OF THE CITY.
AND, UM, WE JUST DON'T WANNA GET THERE AGAIN.
WE WOULD LIKE FOR THE CITY TO, UM, I THINK THAT EXTRA $5 MILLION WENT A LITTLE TOO FAST AND NOW WE'RE AT SORT OF A GOLD STANDARD WHERE MAYBE WE SHOULD BE LIKE A LITTLE SILVER AND GOLD
SO, UM, MY, MY FINAL COMMENT WOULD BE THAT, UM, BY SENDING ONE OF THE LETTERS, AND IF THE C COMMITTEE WOULD PREFER THAT WE SAY 25%, THAT'S, I WOULD BE OKAY WITH THAT.
[01:10:01]
WE'RE BASICALLY SAYING TO THE COUNCIL IS THAT WE THINK YOU SHOULD ALLOCATE MORE, MEASURE YOU TO PROJECTS AND SHRINK SOMETHING ELSE.THE LETTER SAYS EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR, AND IT WILL BE UP TO THE COUNCIL TO EITHER ACKNOWLEDGE OR, OR SAY, THANKS FOR YOUR LETTER, BUT WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD THE WAY WE WANNA DO IT.
UM, AGAIN, WE'RE NOT HERE TO TWIST ARMS, WE'RE NOT HERE TO MAKE DECISIONS ON THE BUDGET.
WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY NOT EVEN HERE TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE'RE HERE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE SAW THE REPORT.
SO TO A DEGREE WE'RE KIND OF JUST OVER THE LINE OF WHAT OUR, OF WHAT OUR PURVIEW IS ON THIS COMMITTEE.
BUT, UM, I, I THINK IT IS FAIR FOR US TO, UH, APPROVE ONE OF THE LETTERS.
UM, I, I PERSONALLY, UM, WITH NO DISRESPECT, ROSEMARY, I PREFER STAFF'S LETTER, UH, WITH THE CHANGE TO 25%, UM, AND HAVE THAT TRANSMITTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
AND AT THAT POINT IT'S UP TO THE COUNCIL, ESPECIALLY COME MAY IN THEIR BUDGET SESSION TO, UH, TO USE THE INFORMATION AND DO WITH IT AS THEY WILL.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE FINE TOO.
BUT I DO LIKE THE, UM, THE PIE CHART THAT ROSEMARY DID ON HER LETTER FOR THE COUNCIL TO SEE IF THAT COULD BE INCORPORATED INTO BRIAN'S LETTER MAYBE.
SO I THINK THE WAY WE HANDLED THIS LETTER LAST YEAR IS THAT IT BASICALLY BECOMES LIKE A COVER SHEET FOR THE OVERALL ANNUAL REPORT.
AND SO THAT TYPE OF PIE CHART AS WELL AS OBVIOUSLY MANY, MANY MORE NUMBERS AND DATA TABLES ARE IN THE BODY OF THE REPORT.
UM, SO THAT IS ONE WAY TO HANDLE IT.
IT'S KIND OF, IT'S A PACKAGE, IT'S THE LETTER TRANSMITTING THE REPORT, AND THEN YOU HAVE ALL THE, THE GREAT DETAIL AND INFORMATION IN THE REPORT.
UM, WE, WE OBVIOUSLY WE CAN PASTE A, UH, A TABLE AND I THINK ACTUALLY THE COMMITTEE MADE AN EDIT LAST YEAR ON THE LETTER TO TO SHOW SOME SORT OF A BAR CHART OR TABLE.
SO THAT'S ABSOLUTELY SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO IF NEEDED.
UM, I WASN'T SURE WHICH OF THE TWO PIE CHARTS YOU WERE REFERRING TO.
I THINK THE RIGHT HAND ONE IS A SNAPSHOT JUST OF THE, THE, UM, ONE YEAR BUDGET.
THE LEFT HAND ONE ARE IS MORE OF THOSE INITIAL PERCENTAGES THAT HAVE KIND OF CHANGED AND MORPHED OVER TIME.
SO IT'S REALLY UP TO THE COMMITTEE.
WILL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS ACTUALLY SEE A DOCUMENT ATTACHED TO SOMETHING AND FILED? YEAH, SO ACTUALLY THANK YOU FOR ASKING THAT BECAUSE I WANTED TO MENTION THE, THE DISTRIBUTION OF THIS AND, UH, IT'S, I THINK WE'VE, WE'VE GOTTEN BETTER OVER THE YEARS IN PUSHING IT OUT AS MUCH AS WE CAN.
SO AS MANY PEOPLE WILL SEE IT AS POSSIBLE.
SO WHAT WE, WHAT WE WILL DO IS WE'LL HAVE THE LETTER AND THE FULL REPORT THAT WILL GO TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
IT WILL GET POSTED ON OUR WEB, UH, THE CITY'S WEBSITE.
AND THEN, UM, AGAIN, JUST LIKE LAST YEAR, WE WILL PUT A, UH, A NEWS ITEM IN THE, UH, THE EMAIL BLAST THAT GOES OUT TO, I THINK IT'S LIKE 22,000 SUBSCRIBERS.
SO THEY'LL HAVE A LITTLE BLURB WITH A LINK, HEY, THE MEASURE YOU COMMITTEE MET, APPROVE THE ANNUAL REPORT, HERE'S A LINK TO THE REPORT, AND THE TRANSMITTAL LETTER WILL BE THERE AS WELL.
SO I THINK, UM, IN RECAP, ALL OF THE PIE CHARTS ARE, WILL BE IN THE REPORT THAT THE CITY COUNCIL WILL SEE, AND THE LETTER THAT THE, THAT STAFF WROTE, IF WE CHANGE THE, THE 20 TO 25% WILL BE THE COVER LETTER TO THE REPORT FROM THIS COMMITTEE.
I WAS GOING TO ASK, UM, IF THE COMMITTEE WOULD AGREE TO ADD THAT, UM, AFTER MEASURE U IS PASSED, ANOTHER $3.3 MILLION IS COMING INTO THE CITY, UM, ON THE MEASURE U PRIORITY INITIATIVES FROM MEASURE H SOMETHING IN THERE TO LET THEM KNOW THAT, UH, WE'RE GETTING AN ADDITIONAL AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE DIDN'T EXPECT, AND SO WHY CAN'T WE HOLD SOME, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE MONEY.
MEASURE H IS GOING TO NEW COSTS.
THERE'S A NEW FIRE STATION PLANNED WITH A FULLY STAFFED ENGINE, WHICH IS FOUR FIREFIGHTERS TIMES THREE SHIFTS IS 12 FIREFIGHTERS, UH, PLUS PROBABLY A BATTALION CHIEF OR A CAPTAIN.
SO THE MEASURE H MONEY IS GOING TO ADDITIONAL, IT'S NOT, IT'S FOR, IT'S TO REPLACE THE FIRE STATION DOWNTOWN WITH A STATION ON THE WEST SIDE OF TOWN WHEN THE NEW HEADQUARTERS IS BUILT.
MEASURE H WAS A MEASURE TO INCREASE AND ENHANCE COUNTYWIDE FIRE
[01:15:01]
SERVICES AND FIRE, UM, WILDFIRE RESPONSE AND RESILIENCY.AND IN FACT, THERE'S A, UM, MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT, A MANDATORY MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT REQUIREMENT BUILT INTO MEASURE H TO ENSURE, AND, AND THERE'S AGREEMENTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED BETWEEN THE COUNTY AND THE RECIPIENT AGENCIES TO ENSURE THAT MEASURE H IS NOT USED TO SUPPLANT EXISTING SERVICES, BUT TO ENHANCE SERVICES.
SO TO, TO ACTUALLY IMPROVE THE SERVICES.
AND WHAT I JUST WANNA QUICKLY ADD IN TERMS OF, UM, THIS CONVERSATION WE'RE THAT WE'RE HAVING, WHICH IS A REALLY GOOD CONVERSATION WITH THE COMMITTEE TO BE CLEAR, WE ARE HERE IN SUPPORT OF, AND IN RECOGNITION OF THE COMMITTEE'S ROLE TO REVIEW AND COMMENT TO THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMUNITY ON THE USES OF MEASURE U.
THAT'S TOTALLY YOUR JOB AND IT'S NOT WINDOW DRESSING.
AND IT'S, UM, I WOULD SAY IT'S NOT JUST FASHIONABLE, BUT IT'S ESSENTIAL FOR ANY MEASURE TO GET, UM, VOTER SUPPORT, TO HAVE SOME KIND OF A TRANSPARENCY MECHANISM BUILT INTO IT.
AND I DON'T THINK WE COULD HAVE, UM, RECEIVED THE PUBLIC SUPPORT WE DID FOR MEASURE U WITHOUT IT.
SO, SO THAT WE HAVE GREAT RESPECT FOR THAT.
UM, AND I THINK I WOULD CHARACTERIZE THE CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING TO HELP CONTEXTUALIZE WHAT MEASURE U FUNDS ARE DOING, WE'RE INTENDED TO DO, ARE DOING IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LARGER CITY BUDGET AND, AND FINANCIAL INITIATIVES AND CHALLENGES IS, IS NOT TO GET IN THE WAY OF THE COMMITTEE'S ROLE, BUT TO SUPPORT THE COMMITTEE'S ROLE AND HELP ENSURE THAT THE COMMITTEE'S CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT MATTER U MEASURE U ARE CONVERSANT WITH AND RELATE TO THE BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS THAT THE COUNCIL'S GONNA BE HAVING WHEN THEY MAKE THEIR BUDGET DECISIONS.
BECAUSE THAT'S THAT WAY WE MAKE SURE THAT THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE RELEVANT TO, AND GET PLUGGED INTO IN MEANINGFUL WAYS.
THAT CONVERSATION OF THE COUNCIL, IT'S TRUE THAT THE ULTIMATE BUDGET, BUDGETARY AUTHORITIES, THEIRS MEASURE, YOU DIDN'T CHANGE THAT, BUT THEY REALLY ARE LOOKING TO GET THIS COMM COMMUNITY'S VALUABLE INPUT TO THEM AND THE PUBLIC ABOUT HOW IT'S GOING.
AND YOU KNOW, WE'RE HERE TO SUPPORT THAT.
NOT STAND IN THE WAY, NOT TRY TO RECHARACTERIZE IT, BUT THAT'S WHY WE'RE SHARING SOME OF THAT INFORMATION.
WE ARE, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, UM, IF WE'RE GONNA BE CREATIVE AND, AND CONCENTRATE THE FUNDING, SOME OF IT'S GONNA BE IN, IN BUNCHES, RIGHT? LIKE THE, LIKE THE, LIKE THE ROAD FUNDING.
SO ANYWAY, THAT'S JUST, JUST TO BE CLEAR THAT IT'S REALLY FROM A HOPEFULLY, UM, THIS HELPS YOU SEE THAT IT'S FROM A PLACE OF RESPECT AND SUPPORT FOR THE COMMITTEE THAT WE'RE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS, UM, ABOUT THE EFFORTS THAT ARE BEING MADE TO TRY TO MAXIMIZE THOSE FUNDS.
SO AT THIS POINT, UM, IF THE COMMITTEE'S READY, IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, UM, I'D LIKE TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION THAT THE BOARD AUTHORIZE STAFF, UM, TO SEND THE, UH, TRANSMITTAL THAT WE GOT IN OUR PACKET WITH THE CHANGE TO 25% AND THAT WE AUTHORIZE THAT TO GO TO COUNSEL.
AND ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE.
SO THAT MOTION PASSES AND I BELIEVE THAT IS THE LAST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA, CORRECT? DO I NEED A MOTION TO ADJOURN OR DO I GET TO JUST ADJOURN? ASK A FURTHER QUESTION.
SHOULD WE AT ALL PRESENT TO THE COUNSEL OURSELVES OR, OR NO, THIS LETTER, WHEN, WHEN DOES THE COUNCIL GET THE LETTER AND THE PACKAGE BEFORE THE BUDGET? WE, SO WE, WE'LL FINALIZE IT, UH, PRETTY QUICKLY, I'D SAY NEXT WEEK.
AND IT CAN GO OUT TO THE COUNCIL, TO THE NEWSLETTER, ET CETERA, PUT ON THE WEBSITE.
UM, JESSIE, COULD YOU REMIND US OF THE DATES FOR THE DIFFERENT BUDGET MEETINGS? JUST SO THE, IF THE COMMITTEE WANTS TO SPEAK IN PUBLIC, THEY CAN.
SO ON MAY 5TH, WE'RE DOING A REVENUE WORKSHOP WITH THE COUNCIL TO TALK ABOUT BASICALLY HOW, YOU KNOW, HOW ELSE CAN WE BRING IN MORE MONEY TO SUPPORT ALL THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO DO.
AND THEN ON MAY 12TH, WE'RE HAVING OUR BUDGET WORKSHOP.
SO THAT WILL BE GOING THROUGH THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET FOR FISCAL 26.
SO I THINK EITHER OF THOSE MEETINGS, IF YOU DECIDE YOU WANNA COME AND MAKE A COMMENT, UM, TO TALK MORE ABOUT THIS, THAT WOULD BE A GOOD TIME.
DO WE NEED TO BE ON THE AGENDA IF WE WOULD WANT TO? I, I, I THINK, UH,
[01:20:01]
SPEAKING IN PUBLIC COMMENT WOULD BE, WOULD BE PERFECT.UH, YOU'LL, YOU'LL GET, UH, THREE MINUTES THAT WOULD TYPICALLY BE ALLOCATED, AND THEN IF, IF SEVERAL OF YOU WANNA SPEAK AS WELL, THAT'S, THAT'S JUST AS FINE AS WELL.
YEAH, I, I THINK THE, THE, WE, WE WOULD NOT BE PRESENTING AS A COMMITTEE, WE'D BE PRE PRESENTING AS INDIVIDUAL CITIZENS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
WELL, WE'LL SEE Y'ALL IN JANUARY, HUH?