ALL RIGHT. GOOD MORNING. [00:00:01] WE ARE GOING TO GET STARTED. [A. CALL TO ORDER - BUDGET RETREAT (8:00 A.M.)] THE TIME IS 8:07 A.M.. THIS WILL CALL TO ORDER THE MEETING FOR THE CITY OF PRINCETON. LET'S GO AHEAD AND DO A ROLL CALL MYSELF. BRIAN COHN IS PRESENT. MR. DEFFIBAUGH. HERE. MR. KLEIBER. HERE. MR. OBERA. HERE. MR. WASHINGTON. HERE, MR.. GERFERS. HERE, AND MISS CAROLYN DAVID GRAVES. HERE. ALL RIGHT. THAT WILL TAKE US TO EXECUTIVE SESSION. WE DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DISCUSS TODAY THAT WILL TAKE US BACK DOWN TO OUR REGULAR AGENDA. [D. REGULAR AGENDA] WE WILL BEGIN WITH ITEM D ONE, 2024 115. DISCUSS AND REVIEW THE CITY OF PRINCETON'S CURRENT AND PROJECTED FINANCIAL STATUS, REVENUES, EXPENDITURES, PROJECTS, PERSONNEL AND STAFFING, FIXED ASSETS, AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY, AND OTHER ISSUES RELATED TO THE FISCAL YEAR 2425 BUDGET. WELL GOOD MORNING. WELCOME, EVERYBODY. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE THIS MORNING. I APPRECIATE YOUR DEDICATION TO THIS. I KNOW THIS IS A LONG PROCESS AND WE'RE JUST KICKING IT OFF, BUT AGAIN, I APPRECIATE YOUR DEDICATION TO THE CITY, TO US. I'M EXCITED FOR TODAY. I THINK TODAY IS A FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL OF US TO WORK TOGETHER. THAT WAS ONE OF OUR STRATEGIC GOALS WAS THAT WE HAD THOSE PURPOSEFUL PARTNERSHIPS, AND SO WE ALWAYS WANT TO MAKE FOR SURE THAT WE FEEL LIKE THERE'S A PARTNERSHIP HERE AS WELL. SO AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE EARLY THIS MORNING. THANK YOU FOR BEING PREPARED, AND THANK YOU FOR DOING WHAT YOU DO. MR. MASHBURN, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT? GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, MIKE MASHBURN, CITY MANAGER. FIRST OFF, AGAIN, THANK YOU EVERYBODY, FOR BEING HERE. I KNOW IT'S 8:00. I KNOW IT'S EARLY TO HEAR A LOT OF NUMBERS. WHO HERE IS A NUMBERS PERSON? THIS SHOULD BE FUN. YOU ARE, AWESOME. THIS SHOULD BE REAL FUN. SO WE'RE GOING TO TRY AND BREAK IT DOWN FOR YOU, BUT ALSO THE CITIZENS AT HOME. SO IT'S VERY EASY TO UNDERSTAND THE CURRENT CLIMATE, SOME OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE AND SOME THINGS WE NEED TO PLAN FOR FOR THE FUTURE, BUT I DO WANT TO THANK COUNCIL AT THIS STRATEGIC RETREAT. ALL OF YOU HAD MENTIONED TRANSPARENCY AND INCLUSION WITH THE RESIDENTS ON WHAT WE DO, AND SO WHEN WE PLAN THESE RETREATS, WE TRY TO BE REAL INTENTIONAL ON WHERE WE HOLD THEM, AND SO THE FIRST ONE WAS AT GLOBE LIFE PARK, HOME OF THE CHAMPION RANGERS, LAST YEAR, AND WE HAD A LOT OF SIMILARITIES, AND WE'RE BUILDING A CULTURE OF CHAMPIONS HERE THIS YEAR OR FOR THIS RETREAT. WE'RE DOING IT HERE IN AN OPEN ENVIRONMENT. IT'S BEING RECORDED, IT CAN BE PLAYED BACK. CITIZENS ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO COME. MAYBE THEY'LL SHOW UP HERE IN A MINUTE, BUT, BUT ANYWAY, AND THEN WE PRINTED THE PAMPHLETS THAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU, AND WE'LL HAVE THOSE AVAILABLE ONLINE AND ALSO AVAILABLE TO ANYBODY THAT WANTS ONE PHYSICALLY AFTER THIS RETREAT, BUT IT SHOWS THE CORE VALUES THAT WE WENT OVER AND THE TOP PRIORITIES OF COUNCIL. NOW, SOME OF THOSE HAVE A LOT OF SUBSECTIONS THAT CAN TIE IN, AND YOU'LL SEE THOSE TIE INS HERE, BUT WE TAKE THAT VERY SERIOUSLY AS A STAFF TO MAKE SURE WE TURN IN A BALANCED BUDGET. THAT INCLUDES A LOT OF THAT. NOW YOU'LL SEE THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH MONEY TO GO AROUND, SO WE'RE GOING TO RELY ON YOU ALL TO RANK THOSE AS PRIORITIES OF WHAT WE CAN DO AS A CITY. SO ANYWAY, THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE CITY AND EVERYTHING YOU DO. I'LL KICK IT OFF AND THEN I'LL TURN IT OVER TO OUR TEAM TO GET GOING. SO FIRST OFF, THE PURPOSE OF THIS RETREAT IS TO COLLABORATE COLLECTIVELY TO THE WILL OF COUNCIL. YOU ALL REPRESENT THE CITIZENS AND SET OUR GOALS FOR THE BUDGET ADDRESS CHALLENGES. YOU'LL SEE SEVERAL OF THOSE, BUT WE GIVE SOME SOLUTIONS AS WELL AND THEN ALIGN RESOURCES ACCORDING TO THOSE TOP PRIORITIES. WHAT WE'LL COVER, WE WANT TO START WITH THE END IN MIND, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT HERE IN JUST A MOMENT, BUT WE'LL REVISIT THOSE CORE VALUES AND TOP PRIORITIES, BECAUSE AGAIN, WE WANT TO ALIGN EVERYTHING WE DO WITH WHAT YOU ALL SET AT THE STRATEGIC RETREAT. WE'LL GIVE A CURRENT BUDGET OVERVIEW THE CONSTRAINTS, OPPORTUNITIES AND COMPARISONS TO OTHER SISTER CITIES. BECAUSE I CAN SAY $10 MILLION, AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? DOES THAT MEAN ANYTHING TO US OR IT MEANS A LOT MORE TO US, I CAN GUARANTEE YOU, THAN IT DOES TO MCKINNEY OR FRISCO. SO WE'RE WE'RE GOING TO COMPARE SOME CITIES THAT KIND OF ALIGN WITH WHERE WE'RE AT TODAY AND THEN PROCESS ENHANCEMENT, TALENT ALIGNMENT, AND PUBLIC SAFETY REVIEW. I THINK WE'VE COMMITTED TO WANTING THE TOP TALENT IN THE CITY TO PUSH US FORWARD. SO WE HAVE PROGRESS WITH PURPOSE, BUT THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE ALL EXPERIENCING AS EMPLOYERS TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN TOP TALENT AND THEN A BUDGET TIMELINE SO EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT TO EXPECT. THE LAST THING WE WANT TO DO IS PUT A BUDGET IN FRONT OF YOU LAST MINUTE SO EVERYBODY FEELS FORCED TO APPROVE IT, SO WE'LL COME OUT OF HERE. OUR STAFF WILL THEN DEVELOP THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE BUDGET. WE'LL HOLD A TOWN HALL SO CITIZENS CAN WEIGH IN AND SEE WHAT'S GOING ON BEFORE WE ACTUALLY SUBMIT THAT FOR APPROVAL, AND THEN WE'LL GET COUNCIL INPUT AT THE END AND THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION. SO THIS IS MEANT TO BE A CONVERSATION. SO AT ANY POINT IF YOU WANT TO STOP TALK ABOUT ANYTHING. WE'LL PAUSE. MAYOR, IF YOU'D LIKE TO TAKE BREAKS IN BETWEEN GET SOME MORE COFFEE. IF ANYBODY'S NODDING OFF WE CAN DO THAT AS WELL. SO WE'LL GET KICKED OFF WITH THE CORE VALUES AND TOP PRIORITIES. SO CORE VALUES. WHAT WE DISCUSSED AT THE STRATEGIC RETREAT IS COMMUNITY CENTRIC APPROACH. WE WANT EVERYBODY TO FEEL INCLUDED WITH WHAT WE DO. WE WANT TO COLLABORATE WITH OUR PARTNERS AS WELL, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT IN JUST A MOMENT. STEWARDSHIP AND SUSTAINABILITY. SO WE CAN BUILD SOMETHING TODAY, BUT DOES IT LIVE ON FOR THE FUTURE AND DOES IT HAVE A FUNDING SOURCE ASSOCIATED? [00:05:04] I DON'T THINK ANY OF US WANT TO KICK THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD, LIKE I'VE SEEN IN MANY CITIES IN THE PAST WHERE TEN, 20, 30 YEARS, WE'RE DEALING WITH SOME SOME ERRORS THAT MAYBE WE COULD HAVE CORRECTED TODAY. SO WHEN WE BUILD THINGS, WHAT'S THE SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO MAKE SURE IT'S FUNDED AND LIVES ON AND THEN QUALITY OF LIFE ENHANCEMENT. ONE THING THAT WE'VE REALLY SEEN IN THIS COMMUNITY IS THERE'S A STRONG DESIRE TO HAVE A QUALITY OF LIFE. THAT'S WHY PEOPLE MOVE TO PRINCETON. IT'S IN COLLIN COUNTY, ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING, MOST DESIRABLE COUNTIES IN ALL OF TEXAS, WE'RE THE THIRD FASTEST GROWING CITY IN THE ENTIRE STATE OF TEXAS, BUT PEOPLE NEED THINGS TO DO, AND THAT'S WHY THE BOND WAS APPROVED FOR $109.1 MILLION LAST YEAR TO BRING IN PARKS AND RECREATION AND LIBRARY, BUT WHAT CAN WE DO AS WELL TO JUST ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF LIFE ALL AROUND AND THEN ECONOMIC PROSPERITY, YOU'LL SEE IN SOME COMPARISONS LATER THAT THE THING WE CAN REALLY INCREASE OUR BANDWIDTH ON THAT WILL HELP THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AS WELL, IS HOW DO WE BRING IN THOSE BUSINESSES INTENTIONALLY TO PRINCETON THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO WANT TO FREQUENT AND SUPPORT, AND THAT WILL IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR OUR RESIDENTS AND THEN ACCOUNTABILITY AND INTEGRITY. I MENTIONED THAT EARLIER, TRANSPARENCY IS HUGE FOR US. ONE THING I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE TALKED ABOUT OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS LET'S LET THE RESIDENTS WEIGH IN. LET'S DO EVERYTHING IN AN OPEN FORUM. LET'S BRING THIS TO THE FOREFRONT, AND SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY. LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, EVERYTHING WILL BE DONE ETHICALLY AND WE WILL RESPOND TO RESIDENTS. SO ANYTIME WE GET AN INQUIRY, I THINK OUR STAFF IS VERY GOOD AT RESPONDING TO THAT. SO OUT OF THAT CAME THE TOP PRIORITIES PURPOSEFUL PARTNERSHIPS. NOW WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? THAT'S ALIGNING US WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, WITH THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, WITH ANY OTHER BUSINESS PARTNER, THAT WE CAN COMBINE RESOURCES AND MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT DUPLICATING EFFORTS, BUT AMPLIFYING EFFORTS. WE'VE DONE THAT. WE'VE ALREADY STARTED A LOT OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS, AND WE'RE ON A GOOD PATHWAY THERE, AND I THANK YOU ALL FOR ALIGNING THAT. MANY OF YOU HAVE LINKED US WITH THOSE RESOURCES, AND IT'S BEEN VERY FRUITFUL TO DATE. ECONOMIC VALUE. WE'VE ALREADY MET WITH SEVERAL DEVELOPERS, AND PRINCETON IS NOW ON THE MAP. THAT PIECE BY DALLAS MORNING NEWS, WHERE WE'RE THE THIRD FASTEST GROWING CITY IN ALL OF TEXAS, CAUGHT SOME EYEBALLS. WE'RE GOING TO LEVERAGE THAT MOVING FORWARD. ENTERTAINMENT. WE TALKED ABOUT LAKEFRONT ACCESS, HOW THAT COULD WORK. SO WE'VE MET WITH THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. AND I THINK WE HAVE A PATHWAY TO MAYBE WE CAN'T PUT ENTERTAINMENT RIGHT THERE, BUT PROBABLY DO SOME THINGS THAT RESIDENTS WOULD REALLY LIKE. WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME OTHER ENTERTAINMENT OPTIONS AS WELL ENHANCING BUILDING STANDARDS. SO I KNOW WE'VE HEARD FROM THE RESIDENTS, THERE'S MANY NEW BUILDS THAT ARE HAVING FOUNDATION ISSUES, A COUPLE OF YEARS IN, OUR STAFF HAVE TALKED ABOUT CREATIVE WAYS THAT MAYBE WE CAN ENSURE THAT WE'RE CHECKING THOSE PROPERLY AND HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO THAT BEFORE THEY HIT THE BUYER, AND THEN UPDATE THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THAT WAS DONE IN 2019. WE GREW SO FAST, NOT THAT WASN'T A GOOD PLAN. IT'S JUST A BIT OUT OF DATE AND PROBABLY NEEDS TO BE UPDATED AT THIS POINT, BUT THAT DOES COME WITH A COST AND IT'S NOT CHEAP, AND THEN DEVELOP A LAND ACQUISITION PLAN AT THE RETREAT WE TALKED ABOUT THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH LAND AVAILABLE IN 30 YEARS FROM NOW. WE DON'T WANT ANYBODY SAYING WE DIDN'T DO THE RIGHT THING TO PRESERVE THOSE OPEN SPACES, AND I KNOW THAT'S A PRIORITY OF YOU ALL AS WELL. SO AT THAT POINT, I WILL TURN THE NUMBERS OVER TO BRENNAN HARDING, OUR DIRECTOR OF FINANCE. AS BRENNAN'S COMING UP, I JUST WANT TO PERSONALLY THANK YOU, MR. MASHBURN, FOR ORGANIZING THIS AND IN GETTING THIS TOGETHER TODAY. AS YOU STATED, THIS WAS A COUNCIL PRIORITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DID HAVE THIS AND THAT WE DID HAVE IT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. AND SO WE APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING ABLE TO DO THAT. I APPRECIATE YOUR THOUGHTFULNESS IN PREPARING THIS EARLIER IN THE BUDGET SEASON VERSUS LATER. I KNOW FOR THOSE OF US WHO SAT HERE LAST YEAR, IT WAS VERY HARD TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS AT THE FINAL HOUR AND THE FINAL DAY. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR DOING THIS. WE APPRECIATE IT, AND I KNOW OUR PUBLIC APPRECIATES IT VERY MUCH AS WELL. SO THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU SO MUCH. GOOD MORNING. I'M BRENNAN HARDING, THE FINANCE DIRECTOR. MADAM MAYOR, COUNCIL, I'M EXCITED TO TALK TO YOU TODAY A LITTLE BIT. THANK YOU, MIKE, FOR INTRODUCING ALL THAT INFORMATION. SO WE CAN KIND OF HAVE A PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATION AND OVERVIEW AND GO THROUGH THE OVERVIEW OF OUR BUDGET THIS YEAR. SO AS MIKE MENTIONED EARLIER, WE REALLY WANT TO FOCUS AND BEGIN WITH THE END OF MIND. REFLECT ON OUR LONG TERM VISION FOR PRINCETON. HE DID A GOOD JOB ESTABLISHING THAT YOU HAD A STRATEGIC PLANNING RETREAT SO THAT THE CITY COULD CAPTURE WHAT THE COUNCIL'S PRIORITIES WERE FOR FY 25, AND WE CAN MAKE SURE TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN WE'RE PLANNING OUR BUDGET. THIS ALSO SERVES AS A FORUM FOR THAT, AND THEN IN ADDITION, WE WANT TO DISCUSS HOW THE BUDGET CONTRIBUTES TO OUR COMMUNITY GROWTH AND OUR LONG TERM VISION. SO BEFORE GETTING INTO THE OUTPUTS OF THE BUDGET, WE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE INPUTS. SO FOUR KEY AREAS THE STRATEGIC PLANNING, RETREAT CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES, CITY MANAGER AND STAFF AND CITIZEN INPUT. SO FIRST, THE STRATEGIC PLANNING RETREAT, AS MENTIONED EARLIER DURING THAT RETREAT, WHICH WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, KEY STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING THE CITY MANAGER, CITY COUNCIL AND ORGANIZATION LEADS, DISCUSSED LONG TERM GOALS, PRIORITIES AND CHALLENGES. [00:10:04] THEN SECOND, CITY MANAGER AND STAFF. SINCE THE STRATEGIC PLANNING RETREAT, THE CITY MANAGER, MIKE, FINANCE DIRECTOR AND STAFF HAVE TAKEN DIRECTION PROVIDED TO UTILIZE AS INPUTS INTO OUR PROPOSED BUDGET. WE'RE CONSIDERING THE STRATEGIC GOALS, FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS AND COMMUNITY NEEDS WHILE DEVELOPING THAT BUDGET. THIRD, CITIZEN INPUT, INVOLVING RESIDENTS, LOCAL BUSINESSES AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS IS CRUCIAL, AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT. PUBLIC INPUT SESSIONS WILL ALLOW DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES AND PRIORITIES TO SHAPE OUR BUDGET DECISIONS, AND THEN, IN ADDITION, TRANSPARENCY AND INCLUSIVITY LEAD TO BETTER OUTCOMES, WHICH WE UNDERSTAND, AND NUMBER FOUR, CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES. WE UNDERSTAND WE EVALUATE. WE'RE EVALUATING EXISTING CONSTRAINTS SUCH AS LIMITED RESOURCES, LEGAL REQUIREMENTS, REVENUE LIMITATIONS, AND DEBT OBLIGATIONS THAT WE HAVE. WE'RE LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE THE CITY'S FINANCIAL OUTLOOK IN FUTURE YEARS, AND WE'RE UTILIZING CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING TECHNIQUES TO TURN CHALLENGES INTO OPPORTUNITIES FOR OURSELVES, AND THEN A STATEMENT ON TRANSPARENCY, JUST AS MIKE MENTIONED EARLIER, AND I WANTED TO REINFORCE THIS. OUR CITY UPHOLDS TRANSPARENCY AND OPENNESS IN OUR ANNUAL BUDGETING. WE WANT TO INFORM CITIZENS SO THAT THEY CAN CONTRIBUTE TO BETTER DECISION MAKING. AND IN ADDITION, TAXPAYERS DESERVE TO SEE HOW THEIR FUNDS ARE ALLOCATED, AND WE BELIEVE AND REALLY RELY ON THIS, BUT COLLABORATION BUILDS TRUST AND ACCOUNTABILITY. NEXT, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE DISTRIBUTION OF OUR TAX BILL. CLOSE TO ONE FIFTH. A LITTLE BIT MORE COMES TO THE CITY OF PRINCETON, BUT THE MAJORITY GOES TO THE PRINCETON ISD. SO WITH THAT ONE FIFTH, WE WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THOSE TAX FUNDS, WHAT WE TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION. SO PAUSE. YOU RIGHT THERE. IF YOU DON'T MIND JUST GOING BACK ONE SLIDE. I JUST THINK THE SLIDE IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO REALLY UNDERSTAND, BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS A HUGE MISCONCEPTION THAT OUR PUBLIC HAS IN RESPONSE TO THEIR TAX DOLLARS AND HOW THEY PAY THOSE TAX DOLLARS. SO THANK YOU FOR INCLUDING THIS BECAUSE AGAIN, I THINK THIS IS PHENOMENAL THAT THEY CAN SEE THAT OUT OF THAT PORTION, 22% OF THAT IS WHAT ACTUALLY GOES TO THE CITY. SO THANK YOU FOR INCLUDING THAT. ABSOLUTELY. TAX DOLLARS ARE NOT OUR ONLY REVENUE SOURCE, RIGHT? BUT WE DO HAVE LITTLE TO NO CONTROL TO QUICKLY SCALE REVENUE INCREASES IN OUR PROPERTY TAXES AND OUR SALES TAXES. LAST YEAR, THERE WAS A TAX REDUCTION THAT WAS FAVORABLE TO THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY, THE $330 ON AVERAGE FOR 21% REDUCTION. THE AREA OF OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO RECOVER COSTS BECAUSE WE CAN'T QUICKLY SCALE THOSE OTHER CATEGORIES IS OUR COSTS AND LICENSES, PERMITS AND FEES, WHICH WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT LATER ON. SO DISCUSSING ABOUT OUR ALLOCATION PRIORITIES AND AGAIN FOCUSING ON THE GENERAL FUND HERE, MORE THAN 50% OF OUR EXPENSES ARE RELATED TO PUBLIC SAFETY. NOW WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE SUFFICIENT BUDGET IN THERE. THAT'S ONE AREA WHERE WE DON'T WANT TO CUT BACK, WITH THE GROWTH IN THE CITY OF PRINCETON, AND 70% OF OUR EXPENDITURES ARE FOR PERSONNEL IN THE GENERAL FUND. THIS IS TYPICAL WHEN YOU COMPARE TO OTHER CITIES WITHIN THE UNITED STATES. SO WITH OUR REVENUE AND EXPENSES WE JUST DISCUSSED, I WANTED TO SPEND SOME TIME TALKING ABOUT OUR BUDGET CONSTRAINTS AND ALSO OPPORTUNITIES AND COMPARISONS WITH OTHER CITIES. SO FIRST OF ALL, OUR BUDGET CONSTRAINTS, FOUR MAIN CATEGORIES I WANTED TO SPEND TIME IN PROPERTY TAX REVENUE CAPS, RESIDENTIAL VERSUS COMMERCIAL TAX BASE, ALIGNMENT OF REVENUE AND EXPENSE DUE TO THE RAPID GROWTH AND OUR NEED FOR HOUSING DIVERSITY. THE FIRST ONE IS OUR PROPERTY TAX REVENUE CAPS. AS I MENTIONED LAST YEAR, THERE WAS SOME PROPERTY TAX RELIEF PROVIDED TO RESIDENTS AND RESIDENTS THIS YEAR AND IN FUTURE YEARS. ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND WE HAVE A 3.5% REVENUE GROWTH CAP ON EXISTING PROPERTIES. THAT EXCLUDES NEW CONSTRUCTION. WE GET A ONE TIME REVENUE INCREASE FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION THAT COMES IN THE CITY, WHICH IS HELPFUL IN A HIGH GROWTH CITY LIKE THIS, BUT DOESN'T COVER EVERYTHING. WHAT WE ARE SEEING IS THAT WE ARE NOT GENERATING SUFFICIENT NEW REVENUE TO MEET COUNCIL'S PRIORITIES, SET FORTH EARLIER ON IN THE STRATEGIC PLANNING RETREAT. ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND AS WELL, RESIDENTS THAT ARE OVER 65 HAVE A TAX FREEZE, SO WE DON'T SEE ADDITIONAL REVENUE COME IN THAT MEETS THE OBLIGATIONS THAT WE HAVE. COULD I ASK ONE QUESTION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR THEY PASSED THE LAW AND IT CAME IN THE ADDITIONAL $100,000. HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION. HOW HAS THAT IMPACTED US? YEAH. SO ONE THING TO NOTE ON HOMESTEAD TAX EXEMPTIONS THE CITY OF PRINCETON DOES NOT HAVE A HOMESTEAD TAX EXEMPTION FOR CITY TAXES. [00:15:09] HOWEVER, THE ISD DOES. SO THAT AFFECTS THE ISD TAXES THAT ARE PAID TOWARD THAT PORTION OF THE HOMESTEAD TAX EXEMPTION CAN REDUCE YOUR TAX BURDEN FOR THE SCHOOL TAXES, BUT FOR THE CITY, THERE'S NO CHANGE IN THAT CATEGORY, AND JUST ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND, WITH OUR PROPERTY TAXES MAYBE NOT INCREASING IN A WAY THAT WE MAY NEED FOR US TO MEET OUR PRIORITIES, THAT INCREASES OUR RELIANCE ON REVENUES FROM LICENSES, FEES, AND PERMITS. WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A LITTLE BIT. SO THAT'S A LITTLE BIT ON OUR BUDGET CONSTRAINTS IN THAT CATEGORY. THE NEXT CATEGORY IS ALIGNMENT OF REVENUE AND EXPENSES DUE TO RAPID GROWTH. RIGHT. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE PUBLIC IN THESE CATEGORIES PUBLIC SAFETY, STREET MAINTENANCE, AMENITIES, GENERAL CITY SERVICES, EXPENSES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE BEING GOOD STEWARDS FOR OUR RESIDENTS AND ALL OF THOSE CATEGORIES HAVE GONE UP, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, RECOVERING COSTS THAT WE'RE INCURRING IN THOSE CATEGORIES. THE OTHER BUDGET CONSTRAINT IS OUR PROPERTY TAX BASE. SO ONE THING TO LOOK AT HERE, 77% OF OUR PROPERTY TAX COMES IN FROM RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TAX AND 23% FROM COMMERCIAL. NOW THAT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN SOME OTHER CITIES THAT WE'LL LOOK AT IN COMPARISONS LATER ON, BUT THE WAY TO THINK ABOUT THIS, A LOWER PROPORTION OF COMMERCIAL TAX BASE PUTS A LARGER TAX BURDEN ON RESIDENTS, AND THAT PROVIDES SOME ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO THINK ABOUT AS WE STRATEGICALLY PLAN FOR OUR FUTURE. AS WE GROW THAT COMMERCIAL PORTION, IT ALLEVIATES SOME OF THAT TAX BURDEN ON THE RESIDENTS, AND THE FINAL BUDGET CONSTRAINT, OUR NEED FOR HOUSING DIVERSITY. SO ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND HERE, RIGHT, ARE THE AVERAGE HOME MARKET VALUE IN PRINCETON IS LOWER THAN ANNA, MELISSA, MCKINNEY, SALINA. THERE WILL BE A COMMON THEME LOOKING AT THESE CITIES LATER ON, COMPARING OURSELVES TO THOSE OTHER CITIES. WHAT DOES THIS WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US? RIGHT. WHAT WE FOUND IN A LOT OF WAYS IS INDIVIDUALS COME IN AND START GROWING THEIR FAMILIES OR FIND OTHER CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, AND THEY LOOK FOR THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY FOR THEMSELVES TO FIND A NEW HOME. THEY MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO FIND IT IN PRINCETON. RIGHT? SO THEY'RE PICKING UP THEIR FAMILY, THEY'RE SHIFTING. THEY'RE MOVING TO A DIFFERENT CITY FOR THOSE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES. WE WANT TO ENSURE, AS WE'RE PLANNING FOR OUR FUTURE, THAT WE'RE PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE RESIDENTS TO MOVE SOMEWHERE WITHIN PRINCETON AND HAVE THEM STAY HERE AND ALSO PROVIDE AMENITIES FOR THEM THAT WILL KEEP THEM HERE. SO WE DON'T WANT TO JUST TALK ABOUT OUR CONSTRAINTS. WE WANT TO FOCUS ON OUR OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE COMING FORWARD. SO THERE'S A FEW CATEGORIES THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT. FIRST OUR WATER AND SEWER RATES, STREET MAINTENANCE FEE, DEVELOPMENT, SERVICE FEES, AND OTHER COST RECOVERY INITIATIVES, AND THE PURPOSE OF DISCUSSING THESE FEES IS TO GIVE COUNCIL SOME INSIGHT INTO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, AND THE MAIN THING THAT I WANT TO PRIORITIZE OR EMPHASIZE HERE, THIS IS NOT JUST RANDOM FEES THAT WE'RE THROWING OUT THERE. WE ARE LOOKING AT WAYS TO RECOVER COSTS THAT THE CITY IS INCURRING AND APPROPRIATE THOSE COSTS TOWARD THE ACTIONS THAT ARE CAUSING THOSE COSTS. SO THE FIRST THAT WE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT, I WANT TO TURN THE TIME OVER TO WILL, WHO IS OUR UTILITY BILLING MANAGER, TO DISCUSS OUR WATER AND SEWER RATES. I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT, I REALLY LIKE HOW YOU JUST HOW YOU JUST SAID THAT, THAT WE'RE NOT JUST PUTTING FEES OUT THERE, BUT THIS IS A WAY FOR US TO CAPTURE WHAT IT ACTUALLY COSTS US TO HAVE THOSE SERVICES. SO THAT WAS REALLY GOOD. THANK YOU. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. GOOD MORNING, GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING MAYOR. GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK TODAY. I JUST WANT TO GO OVER SOME CONCERNS. I APOLOGIZE, I'M GOING TO INTERRUPT YOU JUST FOR A SECOND. IF YOU CAN SPEAK A LITTLE BIT LOUDER WHILE THE AIR IS GOING, IT'S A LITTLE BIT HARDER FOR US TO HEAR YOU. CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME NOW? GOOD. OKAY, A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE MIC. ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK TODAY. THIS IS MY FIRST TIME PRESENTING TO COUNCIL. SO JUST BEAR WITH ME IF I DON'T GET A LITTLE NERVOUS, JUST, I'M GONNA DO MY BEST TO WORK THROUGH IT. SO WATER AND SEWER RATES HERE IN PRINCETON HAVE NOT INCREASED IN 2019. WE'VE BEEN FORTUNATE IN THAT ASPECT. PART OF THAT IS A LAWSUIT FROM 2018 THAT FROM NORTH TEXAS THAT KEPT THE WATER RATES DOWN. UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAVE REACHED THE POINT WHERE THOSE RATES ARE NO LONGER FEASIBLE TO COMPENSATE US FOR INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE NOW, AGING INFRASTRUCTURE, INFRASTRUCTURE THAT NEEDS TO BE INSTALLED, REPAIRED OR REPLACED AT SOME POINT. CUSTOMER. SORRY, WHOLESALE CUSTOMER RATES HAVE INCREASED, BUT WE NEED TO BE ADJUSTED. THOSE ARE ADJUSTED YEARLY. THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE LOOK AT ALL THESE RATES WE WANT TO SEE. [00:20:04] HEY, WHAT WHAT CAN WE CHARGE THE MINIMUM. WHAT IS THE BOTTOM COST FOR US TO OPERATE WHILE STILL PROVIDING GREAT SERVICE TO THE CITY OF PRINCETON, YOU KNOW, TO RESIDENTS HERE, THAT'S THE END GOAL THERE FOR THIS, YOU KNOW, FOR THIS. PRINCETON HAS GROWN FROM JULY 2022 TO JULY 2023, WE SAW A 22.3 INCREASE IN POPULATION. THAT PLACES A GREAT STRAIN ON INFRASTRUCTURE. YOU KNOW, INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED, YOU KNOW, REPLACED. WE HAVE TO KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN ADJUSTING THESE RATES. WE WANT TO BE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE FUNDS NECESSARY TO MAKE THOSE REPAIRS. WE DON'T WANT TO BE INCURRING MORE DEBT TO KEEP UP WITH THE GROWTH IN PRINCETON. SINCE I STARTED IN OCTOBER 2022, WE HAD 9000 BILLABLE ACCOUNTS AS OF MAY 25TH LAST MONTH, WE'RE AT ALMOST 13,000 ACCOUNTS. SO IN JUST A YEAR AND A YEAR, IN SIX MONTHS, IT'S GROWING SUBSTANTIALLY. SO WE HAVE TO BE SURE THAT THE RATES REFLECT THAT, THAT THE RATES CAN KEEP UP WITH WHAT DEMAND IS PLACED ON THAT INFRASTRUCTURE. WE ALL LIKE GOOD WATER PRESSURE, RIGHT? WE ALL LIKE GET UP IN THE MORNING, TAKE GOOD SHOWER. WE DON'T WANT TO LOSE THAT. WE HAVE TO KEEP THIS IN MIND. I KNOW YOU CAN LAUGH AT THAT, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT HEY, YOU THINK ABOUT IT, SAY, HEY, IF EVERYONE RIGHT NOW TURNS ON THEIR FAUCET AND DEMANDED WATER, WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN? WOULDN'T IT BE READY FOR THAT? KEEP THAT IN MIND. WITH THE RATES ARE INCREASING, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE PUBLIC RECOGNIZES THAT THERE IS A NEED TO BE READY FOR THIS. YOU KNOW, POPULATION IS COMING, THE GROWTH IS COMING. ARE WE READY FOR THAT? A GOOD WAY TO BE READY FOR THAT IS TO ADJUST THE RATES, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE KEEPING UP WITH WHAT WE NEED. WE DON'T WANT TO INCUR ANY DEBT. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COST REFLECTS WHAT WE ACTUALLY NEED TO SPEND. WE DON'T WANT OUR RATES JUST BECAUSE I'M SORRY. WE DON'T WANT TO RAISE OUR RATES JUST BECAUSE WE WANT TO RAISE THEM BECAUSE IT'S NECESSARY. ALL RIGHT. OUR RECOMMENDED COURSE OF ACTION THERE IS A NEXT GEN STRATEGIES IS CURRENTLY WORKING WITH US ON A RATE STUDY. WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM. WE DO PLAN ON RELEASING THAT SHORTLY FOR YOUR APPROVAL. ONCE WE HAVE A CHANCE TO GO THROUGH IT. LOOK AT THE RATES. DOES IT MAKE SENSE? IS IT FEASIBLE? ANOTHER WAY IS TO RECOVER THOSE SOME OF THOSE COSTS FOR THIS DEPARTMENT, FOR THE UTILITY BILLING DEPARTMENT IS PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES, INDIRECT COST ALLOCATION AND COST RECOVERY. WE WANT TO BE SURE THAT UTILITY BILLING DEPARTMENT ITSELF CAN COVER ANY COSTS THAT IT INCURS BY ITSELF. WE SHOULDN'T BE DIPPING INTO ANY OTHER RESERVES, ANY OTHER FUNDS, ANY COSTS THAT WE INCUR MUST COME OUR OF FUNDS, OUR RESERVES. WE MUST BE SELF-SUFFICIENT, SELF-RELIANT, KIND OF TREATING THIS LIKE AS IF WE'RE BUSINESS. ANY COST, ANY OVERHEAD THAT WE HAVE, WE CAN COVER. WE WANT TO BE READY FOR THAT. PART OF THAT ALSO IS UPDATED FEE SCHEDULE, THOSE RATES. WE'VE LOOKED AT THOSE RATES. MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE WE'RE SET. WE'RE READY FOR ANY GROWTH, ANY PROBLEMS THAT COULD ARISE. IMPLEMENT A FIVE YEAR CUSTOMER RETAIL RATE PLAN. WE CAN COME TO YOU GUYS ONCE AND SAY, HEY, FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, THERE'S GOING TO BE A RATE INCREASE. THIS IS WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE. THAT WAY, EVERYONE'S ON BOARD. EVERYONE KNOWS, HEY, THIS IS THE DIRECTION WE'RE HEADED. DO NOT BE SURPRISED BY IT. WE KNEW BETTER ALREADY. THE LAST IS IMPLEMENT WHOLESALE CUSTOMER RATE PLAN. OCTOBER 1ST, 2024. THIS IS FOR CUSTOMERS OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS WHO RECEIVE WATER SERVICES AND SEWER SERVICES FROM THE CITY OF PRINCETON. THOSE RATES WOULD HAVE TO BE ADJUSTED TO ALSO TO REFLECT THAT COST INCREASE AND DECREASE COST OF DELIVERING WATER AND AS WELL AS CLEANING THE WATER THAT'S THAT THEY USE. SO ALL THESE THINGS ARE BEING LOOKED AT, PROCESSED, ANALYZED, OVERANALYZED AGAIN, AGAIN. BECAUSE LIKE I SAID, I WANT THESE RATES TO BE CORRECT. I WANT THEM TO REFLECT WHAT IT IS WE ACTUALLY WANT TO DO AND NEED TO DO. SO THAT'S THE PLAN. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM. YEAH, I HAVE A ONE MAIN QUESTION, AND THIS HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, SINCE I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL AND EVEN BEFORE, YOU KNOW, FROM THE CITY, AS THE CITIZENS POINT OF VIEW, THE COST OF UTILITIES, WATER MAINLY IS THIS RECOMMENDED COURSE OF ACTION. ARE YOU PROJECTING THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE AN INCREASE IN THE RATE? YES, THERE WILL BE AN INCREASE IN THE RATES. I MEAN, TO KEEP THINGS FEASIBLE. TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, AS A RESIDENT MYSELF, I LIVE IN PRINCETON. I SHARE THE SAME CONCERN. I, YOU KNOW, LIKE MANY PEOPLE HERE AND ON THE BUDGET, YOU KNOW, I SCALED BACK ON A LOT OF THINGS TO KEEP UP, AND THIS IS A CONCERN FOR ME BECAUSE IT AFFECTS ME PERSONALLY. IT AFFECTS MY FAMILY. IT AFFECTS FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS. SO PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT I DO THINK ABOUT THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW LIKE I SAID, IT'S GONNA AFFECT ALL OF US. YOU LIVE HERE IN PRINCETON GUESS WHAT? RATES ARE GOING UP, UNFORTUNATELY. SO WE ALL ARE AFFECTED BY IT, YOU KNOW? SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DO KEEP IN MIND. I WILL KEEP IN MIND. OKAY, AND YOU HAD MENTIONED PROVIDING SERVICES FOR OUTSIDE OF CITY? [00:25:06] IS THERE MORE OF A COST TO PROVIDE SERVICES OUTSIDE OF OUR CITY LIMITS AND FOR THOSE AREAS THAT? THERE IS. SO YOU HAVE TO KIND OF LOOK AT IT THIS WAY. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST ME TO DELIVER IF I WERE TO SELL YOU A GALLON OF WATER TO DRIVE FROM CITY OF PRINCETON TO, SAY, CULLEOKA AREA RIGHT, SOUTH PRINCETON, WHAT WOULD IT COST ME TO DELIVER THE SAME GALLON OF WATER TO SOMEONE DOWN THE STREET VERSUS SOMEONE AT THE END OF THE PENINSULA? IT COSTS MORE, RIGHT? THERE'S INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS THERE, THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO PUT IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF SERVICE THAT WE HAVE WITHIN CITY LIMITS FOR THEM AS WELL. JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE OUTSIDE CITY LIMITS DOES NOT EXCLUDE YOU. YOU ARE INCLUDED. YOU ARE PRINCETON, SO IT DOES COST MORE. SO RATES HAVE TO GO UP TO REFLECT THAT. OKAY. WE'VE HAD LATELY A LOT OF ETJ REMOVALS, AND SO AS A CITY, DO WE STILL PROVIDE SERVICES TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT REMOVE THEMSELVES FROM OUR TAX BASE? AND THEN IS THERE A PLAN TO MAYBE INCREASE THEIR COSTS SINCE THERE IS A COST TO PROVIDE FOR THEM AS WELL? WOULD THEY BE GIVEN LIKE A CONSIDERATION FOR LIKE AN ADMINISTRATIVE FEE OR SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT TO HELP OFFSET COSTS SINCE THEY'VE REMOVED THEMSELVES FROM THE TAX BASE? I CAN ONLY SPEAK ON THE SEWER CHARGES. PEOPLE OUTSIDE CITY LIMITS, DEPENDING ON THE AREA THAT YOU'RE IN, YOU'RE EITHER PROVIDED WATER AND SEWER OR JUST SEWER ONLY BY THE CITY OF PRINCETON. FOR PEOPLE WHO PROVIDE WHO ARE PROVIDING ONLY SEWER, THEY DO GET A CHARGE, A HIGHER RATE THAN PEOPLE INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS. SO THEY HAVE A FLAT FEE RATE OF 5115 THAT THEY PAY RIGHT NOW, NO MATTER HOW MUCH WATER THEY USE. THAT'S WHAT YOU PAY TO HAVE SERVICE TO US. DO WE STILL GET THE RATE STUDIES OR DO WE, IN AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CULLEOKA WATER SUPPLY CORPORATION, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE PROVIDE WATER TO THEM? I THINK WE STILL DO NOW. WE DON'T PROVIDE IT TO ALTOGA. THEY HAVE THEIR OWN. WELL, YES. SO AND THEN THERE'S ANOTHER WATER DISTRICT I THINK THAT'S CLOSE IN OUR ETJ AREA TOO, BUT IT'S A MULLIGAN WATER SUPPLY. YES. SO WE PROVIDE SEWER TO MULLIGAN. WE PROVIDE WATER TO ALL OF CULLEOKA AND SOME SEWER FOR DEPENDING JUST THE AREA THAT IS CULLEOKA SERVICING AS WELL, BUT WHEN IS THE RIGHT STUDY GOING TO BE DONE? IT'S ALMOST BEEN COMPLETED. WE JUST HAVE TO GO THROUGH IT AND ACTUALLY LOOK AT IT AND SEE IF THE NUMBERS MAKE SENSE. OKAY. THANK YOU. ONCE WE GET THAT, WE WILL PRESENT THAT TO COUNCIL, AND TO MR. OBERA'S POINT, I JUST WANT TO TALK TO THIS REAL QUICK, BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN HERE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME TIME, AND WE'VE CONTINUOUSLY HEARD THIS FROM OUR RESIDENTS ABOUT THE RATES, AND IT IS A PAIN POINT. YOU LIVE HERE TOO. YOU PAY THE SAME RATE. I THINK FOR A GOOD WHILE, PERHAPS OUR CITY HAD ALREADY STARTED TO INCREASE THOSE RATES COMPARED TO OUR SISTER CITIES THAT ARE IN THE WATER DISTRICT WITH US, AND SO IT KIND OF FELT LIKE OUR RATES WERE ASTRONOMICALLY MORE THAN A LOT OF OUR SURROUNDING CITIES. MOST OF THOSE SURROUNDING CITIES HAVE NOT ALL OF THOSE SURROUNDING CITIES HAVE ALREADY ADJUSTED THEIR RATES. AND SO WE'RE ACTUALLY VERY COMPARABLE TO THEM, IF NOT ACTUALLY LESS THAN WHAT THEY ARE RIGHT NOW. SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES FEELING THAT BURDEN, BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE FOR SURE THAT WE ALL UNDERSTOOD THAT, THAT IT'S NOT SINGULAR TO PRINCETON AND HAVING TO ADJUST THESE RATES. EVERY ONE ALREADY ACTUALLY DID. SO WE'RE JUST THAT'S WHERE WE ARE. I GOT ONE MORE QUESTION FOR YOU, AND I'LL LET YOU OFF THE HOT SEAT ANYWAY. YOU'RE DOING GREAT, BUT THIS IS A BIG TOPIC FOR THE CITIZENS, OKAY? SO WITH THE PROJECTED GROWTH, I KNOW Y'ALL DO WHATEVER ALGORITHM Y'ALL HAVE TO PROJECT THE GROWTH. SO WITH MORE CITIZENS COMING TO PRINCETON MORE PEOPLE COMING TO PRINCETON. WOULDN'T THAT KIND OF OFFSET THE INCREASE IN THE COST FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE? WHY WOULD WE HAVE TO IF WE GET MORE PEOPLE WHY AS THEY INCREASE NECESSARY, IF WE'RE HAVING MORE PEOPLE COMING IN TO OFFSET THE COST. I GUESS YOUR POINT, AND IT'S SOMETHING I'VE QUESTIONED MYSELF ON, BUT THINK ABOUT IT THIS WAY. IT'S WE'VE THE BIGGER WE GET, THE MORE STAFF WE HAVE. LET'S LOOK AT A STAFF POINT OF VIEW ONLY. I HAVE TO HAVE MORE PEOPLE TO ANSWER THE PHONES. PUBLIC WORKS HAS TO HAVE MORE PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY SERVICE IF THERE'S AN ISSUE. THEY NEED TO HAVE MORE CREWS OUT THERE READY TO GO THAT INCURS COST, MORE INFRASTRUCTURE INCURS COSTS. THE MORE INFRASTRUCTURE YOU HAVE, THE MORE REPAIRS YOU COULD POSSIBLY HAVE, THE MORE REPLACEMENTS YOU HAVE TO LOOK INTO. YOU HAVE TO BE READY FOR THAT. THAT MAKES SENSE. I DON'T LIKE IT, BUT YEAH, AND ALSO TOO, I THINK ORIGINALLY WHEN WE STARTED PUTTING A LOT OF THESE YOU KNOW, SEWER PIPELINES DOWN, THE CAPACITY ISN'T LARGE ENOUGH FOR THE GROWTH TO COME IN. SO EVEN THOUGH THERE'S MORE PEOPLE COMING IN TO PAY FOR IT, WE'RE ALSO HAVING TO REPLACE SO MUCH JUST FOR THE CAPACITY, AND THERE'S MORE WEAR AND TEAR ON THAT INFRASTRUCTURE. [00:30:03] SO IT'S UNFORTUNATE, BUT IT'S NECESSARY. I KNOW THAT HAVING ELEVATED WATER STORAGE IS VERY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY FOR THE PRESSURE AND EVERYTHING AND ALL THAT, BUT AND WE'VE GOT ONE HUGE GROUND STORAGE THAT WE RECENTLY COMPLETED OR TWO. YEAH. YEAH. TWO. I FORGOT THE ONE ON DOGWOOD. IS THERE GOING TO BE A TIME WE'RE GOING TO NEED ANOTHER GROUND STORAGE? I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS FOR THAT, BUT IF WE KEEP GOING THE WAY WE ARE, I WOULD SAY YES. I CAN'T I CAN'T GIVE YOU AN HONEST ANSWER BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE THE FIGURES ON THAT, AND MAYBE ANOTHER ELEVATED STORAGE ALSO. SO I THINK I'M GETTING SOME INDICATION THAT WE MIGHT HEAR ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT LATER. SO. OKAY. THANK YOU. YEAH. NO PROBLEM. ONE MORE. IF WE LOOKED INTO WHETHER THERE IS ANY FUNDING AVAILABLE TO OFFSET SOME OF THE COSTS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDING, WHETHER AT THE STATE OR NATIONAL LEVEL. I'VE LOOKED INTO IT, BUT IF YOU'RE SOMETHING I CAN DEFINITELY LOOK INTO, I CAN GET YOU AN ANSWER FOR THAT. MAYBE AFTER THIS I CAN GET YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION. LET ME LET ME LOOK THAT UP. OKAY. LIKE I SAID, I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER, SO I DON'T WANT TO SAY YES OR NO ON THAT. OKAY? ANYTHING ELSE? THANK YOU VERY MUCH. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. I KNOW IT'S YOUR FIRST TIME, AND WE DRILLED YOU, SO THAT'S A GOOD JOB. IT'S THE BEST WAY FOR ME TO LEARN, RIGHT? THAT'S RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. NO MORE QUESTIONS. I'M GOING TO INTRODUCE TOMMY. TOMMY ABSOLUTELY WORKS. WE'LL BE. GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. TO KIND OF ADDRESS SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAD. WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE DESIGN PHASE FOR A THIRD ELEVATED STORAGE TANK THAT WILL BE NORTH OF TOWN IN THE WHITE WING TRAIL SUB DEVELOPMENT, AND WE ARE ALSO BEGINNING THE DESIGN FOR AN ADDITIONAL GROUND STORAGE TANK THAT WILL BE LOCATED AT THE DOGWOOD PUMP STATION, AND WE ARE CURRENTLY EXPANDING THE PUMPING CAPABILITIES AT THE DOGWOOD PUMP STATION, ADDING ADDITIONAL PUMPS, UPSIZING PUMPS, THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT SO NOW I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT AN ADDITIONAL FEE. SO YEAH, IT'S A POPULAR TOPIC. SO THE DESIGN LIFE FOR ANY INFRASTRUCTURE AND THIS IS ALSO KIND OF GOES BACK TO YOUR TO YOUR QUESTION. MR. OBERA FOR ANY INFRASTRUCTURE IS APPROXIMATELY 20 YEARS. SO WHENEVER ANYTHING'S DESIGNED OR INSTALLED, IT'S BASICALLY PLANNED TO BE COMPLETELY RECONSTRUCTED OR EXPERIENCED, SOME KIND OF CRITICAL FAILURE THAT'S GOING TO NEED SOME KIND OF REPAIR WITHIN 20 YEARS. SO AND THOSE COSTS ARE GOING UP. SO YEAH, PEOPLE ARE MOVING IN, BUT SO IS THE COST OF KEEPING THIS INFRASTRUCTURE AND REPLACING IT WHEN IT'S NEEDED. SO TO REPLACE A ROADWAY IS ABOUT $3.5 MILLION A MILE TO MAINTAIN A ROADWAY IS ABOUT $10,000 A MILE. WE CURRENTLY HAVE 159 MILES OF ROADWAY WITHIN THE CITY OF PRINCETON AND ABOUT $154,000 A YEAR TO MAINTAIN IT. SO WE'RE MAINTAINING APPROXIMATELY 9.5% OF OUR ROADWAYS EVERY YEAR, THE WAY THAT THEY NEED TO BE. SO SOME OF THESE ROADWAYS, BEING THAT THEY WERE DESIGNED FOR 20 YEARS, ARE OVER 20 YEARS. SOME, LIKE THE CREEK VIEW AND THE PARK TRAILS SUBDEVELOPMENT THOSE THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS ARE ALREADY AT 20 YEARS AND THEY'RE STARTING TO FAIL OR HAVE FAILED, AND SO THE $154,000 DOES NOT GO VERY FAR AS FAR AS MAINTAINING THOSE ROADWAYS. SO TYPICALLY WE HAVE TO GO OUT FOR BONDS TO RECONSTRUCT ROADWAYS. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING INTO, SOMETHING THAT OTHER CITIES HAVE STARTED DOING IS CHARGING A ROADWAY MAINTENANCE FEE, AND THERE ARE TWO WAYS THAT WE CAN DO THIS. THE FIRST WAY IS THROUGH SALES TAX. THE CITY IS ALLOWED TO COLLECT UP TO 2% SALES TAX, WHICH WE ALREADY DO, AND THOSE NUMBERS ARE ALREADY ALLOCATED TO OTHER AREAS. SO THE ONLY WAY TO MOVE ANY OF THOSE INTO ANY KIND OF STREET MAINTENANCE FUND WOULD BE TO PULL THEM AWAY FROM ANOTHER ENTITY THAT'S ALREADY COLLECTING THEM, LIKE CDC OR EDC, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. THE OTHER WAY THAT CITIES COLLECT THIS FEE IS THROUGH A FLAT FEE THAT'S ATTACHED TO A UTILITY BILL. SO THE DOWNFALL OF, OF THE TAX METHOD IS THAT IT HAS TO BE VOTER APPROVED, AND THOSE FUNDS CAN ONLY BE SPENT ON THE ROADWAYS THAT WERE EXISTING AT THE TIME THAT WAS ADOPTED BY THE VOTERS. SO ANY NEW INFRASTRUCTURE THAT COMES IN, IF IT HAS SOME KIND OF FAILURE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO PULL THAT MONEY FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE TO MAKE THAT REPAIR. SO THAT ALLOWS THE FLAT FEE TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE NIMBLE, BUT THE SALES TAX OVER TIME WOULD COLLECT MORE MONEY AND ACTUALLY BE A LARGER FUND TO, TO RECONSTRUCT SOME OF THESE ROADWAYS, AND THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE ADOPTED EVERY FOUR YEARS. [00:35:05] SO EVERY FOUR YEARS YOU WOULD CAPTURE THOSE NEW FOUR ROADS THAT WERE THE FOUR YEARS WORTH OF ROADWAY INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE PUT IN. YOU WOULD COLLECT THOSE AND THEN THOSE TAXES WOULD BE ALLOWED TO GO TOWARDS THE MAINTENANCE OF THOSE ROADWAYS. SO THERE'S. THERE'S THAT'S PRETTY MUCH THE TWO WAYS THAT WE CAN COLLECT THAT. SO. YOU KNOW, I KNOW IT'S NEVER A POPULAR DECISION TO ADD A FEE ONTO OUR RESIDENTS. BUT WE CONSTANTLY, AND I'M SURE YOU GUYS RECEIVE COMPLAINTS CONSTANTLY ABOUT THE ROADWAYS AND THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE CITY AS FAR AS SIDEWALKS AND STREETLIGHTS AND, YOU KNOW, THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL STREET LIGHTS. THINGS LIKE THAT. I JUST GOT A QUOTE TO ADD ADDITIONAL STREET LIGHTS DOWN CYBER SPIN PARKWAY FOR $78,000, AND THAT'S JUST TO IMPROVE THE LIGHTING ON CYBER SPIN PARKWAY. SO I'M LOOKING INTO MOVING FORWARD AND HOW TO FUND. CAN I INTERRUPT YOU FOR JUST A SECOND ON THE MAINTENANCE FEE COLLECTED VIA THE WATER BILLS? HOW MUCH IS THAT? WHAT TYPE OF FEE ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? SO IT'S THE WAY MOST CITIES HAVE DONE IT. LOOKING INTO SOME OF THE CITIES THAT HAVE THAT ARE COLLECTING IT. THEY ALLOCATE A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE BASED ON THE IMPACT THAT STRUCTURE IS GOING TO PUT ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE. SO IF LIKE A RESIDENT, TYPICALLY THE FLAT FEE IS $10 A MONTH FOR A RESIDENT. WHICH, LIKE I SAY, IT'S AN ADDITIONAL BURDEN, AND NOW, YOU KNOW, IF YOU CHARGE SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AND PROBABLY LOTS OF CITIZENS WOULDN'T MIND PAYING THAT IF THE WORK IS DONE. YOU KNOW, AND I'M THINKING ABOUT THE ABBOTT EDITION, YOU KNOW, IF YOU CHARGE ALL THOSE PEOPLE $10 ON THEIR WATER BILL OVER THERE AND THERE'S NO IMPROVEMENTS ON THE STREETS, WHICH IT'S TERRIBLE, AND THE ADDITION WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME VERY UPSET PEOPLE. UNDERSTOOD, AND THE METHODOLOGY BEHIND HOW THE FUNDS WOULD BE EXPENDED, REGARDLESS OF HOW THEY'RE COLLECTED, WOULD BE A TRAFFIC, A ROADWAY ANALYSIS. I'M SPEAKING WITH A FEW CONTRACTORS RIGHT NOW AND GATHERING QUOTES TO MOVE FORWARD. IT'S LOOKING LIKE IT'S GOING TO COST ABOUT $120 A MILE TO ANALYZE ALL OF OUR ROADWAYS AND PROVIDE AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. YOU KNOW, YOU'RE JUST COMPLETELY UNBIASED OPINION OF WHICH ROADWAYS NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE CURRENT STATUS, CURRENT LIFE EXPECTANCY, THINGS LIKE THAT OF EACH INDIVIDUAL ROADWAY IN THE ENTIRE CITY, AND THEN THAT WOULD SET A PRIORITY OF HOW THESE FUNDS WOULD BE EXPENDED. THE MOST CRITICAL OR, YOU KNOW, THE MOST TRAVELED ROADWAYS BEING FIRST AND THE ONES WITH THE MOST PROBABILITY OF CRITICAL FAILURE WOULD WOULD BE RIGHT THERE WITH THOSE. SO THERE IS A THERE WOULD BE A PLAN THAT WOULD BE IN PLACE, AND IT WOULD BE AS OPEN AND TRANSPARENT AS ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO. AS TO HOW WE'RE PICKING THE ROADWAYS THAT, THAT THESE FUNDS ARE BEING EXPENDED ON. ACTUALLY LIKE THE IDEA OF THE SALES TAX APPROACH. IF WE WENT WITH THE WATER BILL APPROACH, I FEEL LIKE THAT PUTS THE BURDEN FAIRLY ON THE CITIZENS HERE, BUT THOSE ROADWAYS ARE BEING USED BY MORE THAN JUST THE CITIZENS HERE. RIGHT? SO IF WE ESPECIALLY AS WE EXPAND OUR RETAIL COMPONENT HERE, WE HAVE OTHER CITIES COMING IN, DRIVING ON THOSE ROADS, DAMAGING THE ROADS. IF WE PUT IT ON THAT SALES TAX, IF THEY'RE SPENDING THE MONEY HERE, THEN AT LEAST A PORTION OF THAT ACTUALLY GOES BACK TO FIX THOSE ROADS. AND IT'S NOT JUST THE CITY THAT'S PAYING FOR IT. YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT POTENTIALLY INCREASING THE RATES FOR OUR WATER BILLS AND WE'RE ADDING ON ANOTHER FEE ATTACHED TO THAT WATER BILL, I COULD SEE THAT NOT BEING VERY WELL RECEIVED, BUT IF IT'S BEING SPREAD OUT OVER THE TAX BASE OF EVERYONE THAT COMES HERE, I JUST THINK FROM A RESIDENT PERSPECTIVE THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE MORE PALATABLE, AND YOU'RE PROBABLY CORRECT. LIKE I SAY, IT'S NEVER A POPULAR DECISION, AND I'M SURE ME STANDING HERE IS NOT MAKING ME ANY MORE POPULAR WITH WITH THE RESIDENTS THAT ARE WATCHING, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK THAT WE NEED TO EXPLORE AND LOOK INTO SO THAT WE CAN START PUTTING A RETURN AND PUTTING THESE ROADWAYS BACK INTO INTO GOOD CONDITION. THIS MIGHT BE A QUESTION FOR LEGAL OR SOMETHING, BUT HOW DOES THAT AFFECT OUR IF WE DO THE SALES TAX THING AND HOW IS IT GOING TO AFFECT OUR CHARTER? DOES IT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT? YEAH. MAYOR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL. SO I THINK IT'S NOT GOING TO IMPACT YOUR CHARTER, BUT I THINK IF YOU GO THAT SALES TAX ROUTE, LIKE MR. MAPP CORRECTLY STATED, YOU, YOU ARE KIND OF CAPPED OUT RIGHT NOW AS FAR AS YOUR SALES TAX WITH YOUR EDC AND CDC. SO YOU WILL HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE VOTERS AND REDUCE THAT AMOUNT AND IMPLEMENT A NEW STREET TAX, SO TO SPEAK. OKAY. IN ADDITION TO MAINTAINING AND ENSURING THAT OUR ROADS ARE IN GOOD CONDITION IS THERE [00:40:01] ANYTHING BEING DONE OR HOW ARE WE WORKING WITH DEVELOPERS TO ENSURE THAT WHEN THEY ARE BUILDING OUT THEIR DEVELOPMENTS, THAT THE ROADWAYS ARE BUILT NOT ONLY TO CODE, BUT WE ASSURE THAT THEY THEY'RE DONE WELL, OKAY. SO THROUGH THE DEVELOPER, THE DEVELOPER ANGLE, THEY HAVE TO PAY IMPACT FEES FOR ROADWAYS, FOR ALL THE ROADWAYS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO AFFECT, AND THOSE FUNDS CAN BE USED TO UPGRADE THOSE ROADWAYS, BUT WHENEVER A DEVELOPER COMES IN AND THEY CONSTRUCT A NEW ROADWAY, THOSE COME WITH A TWO YEAR, 100% MAINTENANCE BOND. SO IF THEY DO FAIL WITHIN THE FIRST TWO YEARS, THAT BURDEN IS 100% ON THE DEVELOPER, AND THEN AFTER THAT TIME PERIOD, WE TRY TO WORK WITH THOSE DEVELOPERS TO TRY TO OFFSET SOME OF THE COSTS OF REPAIR IF THEY IF THEY'RE FAILING RELATIVELY QUICKLY. SO I HOPE THAT KIND OF ANSWERS THAT DO WE GO IN AND INSPECT TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE BUILDING AND THEY'RE NOT FUDGING? YES, MA'AM. WE DO HAVE CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE INSPECTORS. SO WHENEVER THEY'RE CONSTRUCTING THESE ROADWAYS, WE GET LABORATORY RESULTS, WE GET INSPECTION REPORTS, THINGS LIKE THAT FROM PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT IN THE FIELD INSPECTING THIS INFRASTRUCTURE AS IT'S BEING COMPLETED, AND THAT'S FOR WATER, WASTEWATER AND STREETS, AND I'M ASKING A QUESTION SPECIFICALLY, I WAS PRIVY TO A CONVERSATION BETWEEN SEVERAL RESIDENTS, AND THEY WERE SAYING JUST AFTER A YEAR AND A HALF THEIR POTHOLES AND I'M NOT SURE WHERE IT WAS, I DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO ASK. YEAH, WE WOULD LOVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THOSE. SO ANY ANY COMPLAINTS LIKE THAT, ESPECIALLY IF, WELL, ANY COMPLAINT FOR ANYTHING THAT'S PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE RELATED, WE'D LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT IT, BUT ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT ARE FAILING THAT QUICKLY SO THAT CAN BE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN GO BACK BECAUSE EVEN DURING THAT MAINTENANCE PERIOD, WE CAN GO BACK IN AND DO ANOTHER ENGINEERING ANALYSIS TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS WHAT IS CORRECT. YEAH, AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY I'LL SEE IF I CAN TRACK THEM DOWN. I MAY HAVE TO GO TO WALMART AND SIT, BUT I'M SAYING MAYOR AND COUNCIL. CAN I CHIME IN ABOUT THE FEES REAL QUICK? I DO WANT TO POINT OUT LAST YEAR YOU ALL APPROVED A NINE CENT TAX REDUCTION, WHICH IS AT LEAST THREE TIMES GREATER THAN ANY CITY I'VE EVER BEEN A PART OF MY ENTIRE CAREER. THAT AVERAGE IS ROUGHLY $300 A YEAR IN SAVINGS FOR THE AVERAGE TAX PAYER ON OUR HOMES HERE. SO THERE WAS HUGE RELIEF THIS YEAR JUST TO MAKE YOU ALL AWARE OF THAT, AND CITIZENS THAT MAY BE WATCHING. OKAY. THANK YOU, AND THEN ALSO TOO, I JUST WANT TO MAKE FOR SURE, JUST FOR THE PUBLIC WATCHING AT HOME AND OUR RESIDENTS THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THIS BECAUSE WE HEAR THIS A LOT ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND THEN FOR COUNCIL AS WELL, JUST TO KIND OF FINISH DRIVING THAT HOME. YOU KNOW, WE HEAR OFTEN TIMES WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND BRINGING IN, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN INDUSTRY OR RETAIL COMPONENTS, THEN THEY'LL SAY, WELL, WE DON'T NEED THAT. WE NEED THE ROADS, BUT WHAT THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND IS THAT THEY'RE MARRIED TO EACH OTHER. THEY'RE TIED IN. SO IF WE'RE CAPPED OUT AT 2%, WE HAVE TO HAVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND IT'S SO IMPORTANT, AND. SO CRUCIAL FOR US TO BE ABLE TO CAPTURE THAT AND DO IT THE RIGHT WAY, SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THAT TAX BASE. IF WE DO HAVE TO GO TO THE VOTERS AND DECIDE TO SPLIT THAT UP. SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE FOR SURE THAT'S FULLY ACKNOWLEDGED AND THAT WE'RE ALL OPERATING WITH THAT, THAT THEY'RE MARRIED. WE HAVE TO HAVE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN ORDER FOR US TO HAVE THE CONTINUED ROAD WORK, SO THAT THE BURDEN ISN'T 100%, YOU KNOW, IF WE'VE GIVEN THE $300 RELIEF, BUT THEN WE'RE GOING BACK AND TAKING IT AWAY BY SAYING, WELL, NOW YOU'VE GOT TO PAY ALL THESE THINGS. IT'S IT ALMOST JUST KIND OF COMES OUT IN THE WASH. SO IT'S CRUCIAL FOR US TO MAKE FOR SURE THAT WE DO EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO HAVE STRONG ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE DECISIONS THAT WE MAKE, WE HAVE TO MAKE FOR SURE WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THOSE IN THE SMARTEST AND MOST STRATEGIC WAY POSSIBLE, BECAUSE IT'S IMPACTFUL FOR YEARS. SO JUST WANTED TO MAKE FOR SURE OUR LISTENERS WERE AWARE OF THAT. YES, MA'AM. ROADWAYS ARE A VERY MAJOR PART OF QUALITY OF LIFE. YOU KNOW, EVEN FROM A PUBLIC SAFETY ASPECT, FIRE DEPARTMENT AND POLICE DEPARTMENT NEED TO GET SOMEWHERE. I MEAN, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT, AND WITH THE CURRENT TAX ALLOCATIONS, THERE'S JUST NO WAY THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN OR UPGRADE THEM WITHOUT GOING OUT FOR BOND OR FINDING, YOU KNOW, ALTERNATIVE FUNDING SOURCES. SO THIS WOULD ALLEVIATE A LOT OF THOSE ISSUES. I HAVE A QUESTION, MR. MAPP, AND MYSELF, AND I'M SURE MY FELLOW COUNCILMAN AS WELL RECEIVE VARIOUS ADVERTISEMENTS FROM DIFFERENT COMPANIES SHOWING SOME SORT OF EQUIPMENT OR MACHINERY TO HELP MAINTAIN THE ROADWAYS. I SAY THAT TO ASK HOW MUCH OF THE MAINTENANCE AND DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO DO WITH OUR 159 MILES. THAT'S NEW TO ME. I DIDN'T KNOW WE HAD THAT MANY MILES IN PRINCETON. HOW MUCH OF THAT MAINTENANCE ARE WE DOING IN-HOUSE VERSUS CONTRACTING OUT? EACH YEAR WITH EACH PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT WE GET, WE DO MORE AND MORE IN-HOUSE. WE'RE ABLE TO CONTRACT OUT LESS. [00:45:01] THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT ARE COMPLETELY OUTSIDE OUR SCOPE THAT WE DO HAVE TO CONTRACT OUT. WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE EQUIPMENT OR THE PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS NEEDED TO MEET THAT TASK. BUT YEAH, I MEAN, 159 MILES WE ADDED THAT WAS 38 MILES THAT WE ADDED LAST YEAR. THAT WAS 31% INCREASE, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT ADDING AT LEAST THAT MANY MORE. SO WE'RE GOING TO BE AT 215 MILES ISH NEXT YEAR. SO THE MAINTENANCE AND THE EQUIPMENT REQUESTS THAT WE'RE PUTTING IN, SINCE THEY'RE COMING OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND, IT'S ALSO IMPACTING ANY KIND OF REQUESTS THAT THE PUBLIC SAFETY IS MAKING FOR ADDITIONAL OFFICERS, FIREFIGHTERS, OTHER TYPES OF EQUIPMENT. SO THIS WOULD KIND OF HELP OFFSET THAT AND ALLOW US TO AFFORD TO PURCHASE SOME OF THE EQUIPMENT THAT IS REQUIRED FOR THE FOR TO PERFORM A LOT OF THESE MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES IN-HOUSE. OKAY. SO IN IF THIS WAS MR. TOMMY MAPP WORLD, AND THERE'S ONE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT YOU WISH YOU HAD THAT COULD HELP WITH WHATEVER IT IS YOU NEED TO DO, BUT CAN ALSO, IN THE FUTURE, HELP OFFSET SOME OF THESE COSTS FOR US. WHAT WOULD THAT BE? OH, THAT'S KIND OF A LOADED QUESTION, BECAUSE A LOT OF IT DEPENDS ON THE TYPE OF ROADWAY THAT'S EXISTING. YOU KNOW, IF THEY HAD A, IF IT WAS AN ASPHALT ROAD THAT WE NEED TO DO FULL RECLAMATION ON PROBABLY SOMETHING LIKE AN ASPHALT ZIPPER. THAT'S A $450,000 PIECE OF MACHINERY, BUT THEN YOU HAVE TO HAVE PEOPLE TO RUN IT. ANY KIND OF STREET MAINTENANCE ACTIVITY. I MEAN, EVEN IF IT'S JUST FILLING ONE POTHOLE, YOU NEED A CREW OF A MINIMUM OF FOUR, YOU TWO FOR TRAFFIC, ONE TO RUN THE EQUIPMENT, ONE TO FILL THE POTHOLE. SO IT KIND OF IN THE LARGER PIECES OF EQUIPMENT, THE LARGER JOBS REQUIRE MORE PERSONNEL. SO CONCRETE ROADWAYS, SLIPFORM MACHINES, THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT JUST LAY THE ROADWAY DOWN WOULD BE IDEAL, BUT, I MEAN, YOU'RE TALKING A MILLION PLUS, AT LEAST FOR ONE OF THOSE MACHINES. SO PERFECT WORLD, THAT'S WHAT IT WOULD BE. WE GET BY WITH CONCRETE SCREEDS, ASPHALT, MILLERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND THEN WE COMPACT IT BEHIND IT AND DO OVERLAYS, THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT WE'RE REALLY LIMITED ON THE LENGTH OF A ROADWAY THAT WE CAN DO OR THE SCOPE AND SCALE OF WHAT WE CAN DO. RIGHT NOW, WE DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE THE MEANS OF DOING A FULL DEPTH RECLAMATION ON A ROAD WHICH IS TURNING THE SUBGRADE OVER AND BEING ABLE TO SEAL IT OFF PROPERLY SO THAT WATER DOESN'T GET IN THERE. MOST ROADWAY FAILURES IS DUE TO WATER INFILTRATION TO THE SUBGRADE. SO WITHOUT HAVING THOSE PIECES OF EQUIPMENT, IT MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN. I MEAN, WE CAN GO OUT PAST POTHOLE, BUT AS YOU SEE ON COUNTY ROAD 458, WE'RE PASSING POTHOLES ON THERE ALL THE TIME. SO PERFECT WORLD, THOSE PIECES OF EQUIPMENT WOULD BE GREAT. I'D LIKE TO BRING UP ALSO THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE IMPACT FEES AND THE NEW STREETS AND THE DEVELOPERS AND MOST OF THE NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SUBDIVISIONS WE HAVE, THEY HAVE PRETTY GOOD STREETS, CONCRETE STREETS, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE A FEW POTHOLES THAT COME IN, BUT OLD PRINCETON AND I'M CONSIDERING DOWNTOWN AREA, AVID EDITION. THERE'S OTHER PLACES LIKE THAT ARE IN REALLY NEED OF REPAIR, YOU KNOW, AND I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT ADDRESSED A LITTLE, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT MORE BECAUSE THOSE ARE LOTS OF OUR SENIOR CITIZENS LIVE IN THOSE AREAS, AND BECAUSE MOST OF THEM HAVE BEEN HERE AND LIVED HERE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, YOU KNOW, 30, 40 YEARS, AND WE NEED TO REALLY TAKE CARE OF THOSE, THOSE AREAS, TOO. WE NEED TO BRING OUR ENTIRE CITY UP TO GOOD STANDARDS, JUST LIKE THE NEW SUBDIVISIONS. YES, SIR. ABSOLUTELY, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT'S DRIVING A LOT OF THIS, IS WE DON'T HAVE THE FUNDING NEEDED TO RECONSTRUCT THE ROADWAYS IN THE ABBOTT EDITION. SO THIS FEE IS BEING PROPOSED AS A METHOD TO FUND THE REPLACEMENT OF THOSE ROADWAYS AND THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT, YOU KNOW, ADDING BECAUSE THE ROAD, THE FEE COULD BE SPENT ON ROADWAYS, SIDEWALKS, ANYTHING WITHIN THE RIGHT OF WAY OF THE ROADWAY. SO ADDITIONAL LIGHTING, THINGS LIKE THAT. SO TO MAKE IT SAFER AND EASIER TO TRAVEL AND, AND, YOU KNOW, SAFER FOR PEDESTRIANS, EVERYONE. SO, AND MAYOR AND COUNCIL I'LL ADD TO THIS MIGHT HELP YOU PRIORITIZE THINGS. WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR PROJECTIONS ABOUT $4 MILLION ABOVE LAST YEAR, BUT THAT'S GOING TO BE INCREASE IN SALARIES, COST OF DOING BUSINESS, ETC.. SO WHEN MR. MAPP TALKS ABOUT THE COST OF THIS, THAT'S WHY HE'S BRINGING UP THE FEES, IS BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF BANDWIDTH TO WIGGLE, AND YOU'LL SEE THE OTHER NEEDS COME IN HERE TOO, BUT MAYBE THAT'LL HELP YOU PRIORITIZE AS WE WALK THROUGH THIS. ANY, AND THAT'S $4 MILLION MORE JUST FOR WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE. STREET MAINTENANCE, AND THAT'S GOING TO BE WHOLE BUDGET. SO NEW RESIDENTS COMING ONLINE, AN INCREASE IN PROPERTY TAX VALUE SALES TAX PROJECTIONS, ETC.. SO IT'S NOT A HUGE SUM OF MONEY, BUT THAT'LL HELP YOU KIND OF SEE, THAT'S WHY WE'RE BRINGING UP FEES, BECAUSE WE REALLY DON'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF AVENUES TO PURSUE TO GET [00:50:02] THIS RIGHT. WELL, I LIKE THE LIKE THE MAYOR SAID, THE LOCAL SALES TAX, THE I THINK THAT'S A GOOD DIRECTION TO GO, AND I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE THAT EXPLORED A LOT MORE AND IMPLEMENTED THAT AS SOON AS WE CAN. WE'LL WORK TO, TO PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER. LIKE I SAY THAT THE SALES TAX WILL HAVE TO GO TO THE VOTERS, AND SO THAT WILL PUT TOGETHER EVERYTHING THAT'S NEEDED. IF THAT'S THE DIRECTION THAT THE COUNCIL TELLS US TO GO. SO, AND, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION, MR. MASHBURN OR EVEN MISS ANDERSON, IF SHE'S IN HERE FOR THIS COMING UP ELECTION IN NOVEMBER, HAVE WE ALREADY ECLIPSED THE DATE THAT WE WOULD NEED TO BE ABLE TO ADD SOMETHING ONTO THE BALLOT FOR THIS YEAR? YEAH, THERE'S STILL A LITTLE BIT OF TIME WHERE WE'RE GETTING CLOSE, BUT THERE'S. I THINK WE CAN. THERE'S STILL A LITTLE BIT OF TIME. ALL RIGHT, WELL, THEN NO PRESSURE. RIGHT? A LITTLE BIT OF TIME. ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS OR ANYTHING? NO. OKAY, WELL, I'LL HAND IT OFF TO CRAIG FISHER. HE'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND FEES. SO, AND REAL QUICK, BEFORE YOU WALK AWAY, I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU BECAUSE I KNOW THAT'S STICKY FOR US TO TALK ABOUT THIS, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING NEEDED, AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL AWARE A WORLD DOES NOT EXIST WHERE WE CAN HAVE THE LOWEST TAX RATE AND NOT HAVE FEES ON TOP OF THAT, AND THEN STILL BE ABLE TO REPAIR WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN. SO IT'S NECESSARY, AND THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING, MADAM MAYOR. CITY COUNCIL. MY NAME IS CRAIG FISHER, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, AND HAPPY TO BE WITH YOU THIS MORNING. SO WE'VE BEEN BUSY IN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, AS YOU ALL ARE. EXCUSE ME. AS YOU'RE ALL AWARE, THE CITY HAS BEEN GROWING RAPIDLY. WE'RE ISSUING THOUSANDS OF SINGLE FAMILY PERMITS EVERY YEAR. THE DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE IS CONSISTENT. WE'RE GOT CONSTANT INQUIRIES COMING INTO MY DEPARTMENT. QUESTIONS ABOUT DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS. YOU KNOW, I WANT TO OPEN MY BUSINESS HERE. I WANT TO BUILD HOUSING HERE. IT'S NONSTOP, IT'S EXCITING. I'M HAPPY TO BE A PART OF IT. WE'VE GOT A GREAT TEAM IN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES. I HAVE GOOD STAFF THAT I THINK DOES A WONDERFUL JOB REPRESENTING THE CITY AND GETTING THINGS BUILT CORRECTLY AND IN A TIMELY MANNER. WE STRIVE, WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON BEING DEVELOPMENT FRIENDLY, AND I WANT TO CONTINUE THAT PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE WITH OUR DEVELOPING, OUR DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY. WE REALLY WANT TO BE A PARTNER WITH THE DEVELOPERS THAT ARE COMING IN. THERE IS STAFF TIME THAT TAKES TO REVIEW PLANS TO MAKE SURE THAT DEVELOPMENT IS DONE RIGHT, THAT WE GET HIGH QUALITY PRODUCT DELIVERED, THAT'S SAFE, THAT CAN CAN CONTRIBUTE TO A HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE. SO WE TOOK A CLOSE LOOK AT THE FEES THAT WE CURRENTLY IMPOSE AND FOR OPPORTUNITIES WHERE WE CAN COLLECT ADDITIONAL REVENUE TO HELP OFFSET STAFF TIME. WE FOUND A FEW AREAS WHERE WE'RE NOT COLLECTING FEES. WE PROPOSE THAT WE DO TO RECOUP STAFF, STAFF TIME. SO I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES. WE'RE NOT COLLECTING ANY FEES, FIRST OF WHICH IS FOR ETJ REMOVALS. I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE SEEN MANY OF THESE COME THROUGH. IT'S ALWAYS BEEN POSSIBLE TO REMOVE FROM THE ETJ, BUT A NEW STATE LAW THAT WAS APPROVED IN SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR MADE THAT PROCESS MUCH EASIER. SO YOU'VE SEEN, YOU KNOW, THREE OR 4 OR 5 ETJ REMOVALS EACH COUNCIL MEETING SINCE LAST SEPTEMBER THOSE PETITIONS HAVE TO BE REVIEWED BY STAFF, BY LEGAL. THERE'S A NOT AN INSIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME THAT'S REQUIRED TO PREPARE THOSE FOR THE COUNCIL AGENDA. WE'RE NOT COLLECTING ANY FEE AT ALL IN, IN THAT WITH THAT PROCESS. SO WE'RE PROPOSING A $200 FEE FOR ETJ REMOVALS. IT MAY DETER SOME FROM REMOVING THEMSELVES, BUT I THINK IT IT'D BE IMPORTANT TO COLLECT A FEE TO RECOUP STAFF'S TIME. YES, MA'AM. OKAY. YEAH. HONESTLY, WITH HER SAYING I WAS GOING TO ASK THIS IS I MEAN, THERE HAS TO BE SOME SORT OF CARROT TO FOR NOT TO REMOVE FROM ETJ. IS THAT THE ONLY FEE THAT CAN BE ASSESSED IF THERE'S STILL, YOU KNOW, GETTING SERVICES AND THINGS FROM THE CITY? I MEAN, I APPRECIATE THAT YOU BROUGHT THAT, BUT I'M WITH CAROLYN ON THAT, AND THAT HAS BEEN A CONCERN OF MINE. IT IS TRUE THAT THE ETJ REMOVALS ARE POSSIBLE, AND WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF THEM ALMOST EVERY COUNCIL MEETING. THERE'S BEEN QUITE A BIT, BUT MY CONCERN IS WE ARE PROVIDING SERVICES STILL. I KNOW THE COUNTY SERVICES THEM, BUT OUR FIRE AND OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AS WELL PROVIDE BACKUP. [00:55:03] IF THE COUNTY CANNOT GET TO THEM, WE HAVE TO. THAT'S A COST THAT OUR RESIDENTS HAVE TO BE, AND IT'S UNFAIR FOR THE INDIVIDUALS WHO GO THROUGH THE ETJ REMOVALS TO REMOVE THEMSELVES FROM THE TAX BASE, BUT STILL ENJOY THE BENEFITS THAT RESIDENTS DO, AND RESIDENTS HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. SO I THINK THAT THERE SHOULD BE NOT JUST AN ETJ REMOVAL FEE. THERE SHOULD ALSO BE AN ANNUAL ADMINISTRATIVE FEE IN LIEU OF PROPERTY TAXES TO HELP OFFSET COSTS OF PROVIDING OTHER SERVICES AS WELL, UTILITIES AND JUST WHATEVER WE MAY NEED TO PROVIDE THEM. SO THEY STILL ENJOY THE BENEFITS THAT THE CITY PROVIDES. YEAH, I WOULD LOVE TO EXPLORE AN ANNUAL FEE. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LEGALLY ABLE TO DO, BUT IF WE COULD EXPLORE THAT BECAUSE, I MEAN, I THINK YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD. I'M ALL FOR IT. YOU KNOW. YEAH. THE ADMINISTRATIVE ONE TIME FEE IS SOMETHING, BUT THEY ARE CONTINUING TO RECEIVE THOSE SERVICES, AND SO ONE TIME FEE DOESN'T CAPTURE ALL OF THAT. SO IF THERE'S ANY WAY THEN PLEASE, LET'S EXPLORE THAT. OKAY. UNDERSTOOD. I'LL LOOK INTO THAT. ONE POINT OF CLARIFICATION. PROPERTIES IN THE ETJ DO NOT PAY A PROPERTY TAX TO THE CITY OF PRINCETON. THEY ONLY PAY TO THE COUNTY. SO THERE WOULDN'T BE ANY CHANGE THERE WITH THEIR TAX, THEIR TAXES, BUT I'D BE HAPPY TO LOOK INTO OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCREASING THE FEE, AND THEN IF THERE'S SOME KIND OF ANNUAL FEE, I'LL EXPLORE. THERE'LL BE A PART OF THE PRINCETON CLUB, JUST LIKE THEY'LL BE A PART OF A GYM, AND THEY PAY AN ANNUAL FEE. PRINCE. OKAY. YEAH. THANK YOU FOR THE FEEDBACK, I APPRECIATE THAT. NEXT ON MY LIST IS ENGINEERING REVIEWS. WE HAVE THIRD PARTY ENGINEERING TEAM WITH KIMLEY-HORN THAT PROVIDES THAT SERVICE FOR US. 100% OF THOSE COSTS ARE PAID BY THE DEVELOPER. KIMLEY-HORN BILLS US. WE TURN AROUND AND BILL THE DEVELOPER. WE HAVE NOT BEEN COLLECTING ADMINISTRATIVE FEE FOR FOR OUR TIME THAT IT TAKES TO PROCESS THOSE SUBMITTALS. WE HANDLE ROUGHLY 10 TO 15 OF THOSE A WEEK. WE'RE PROPOSING A SMALL FEE OF $100. DO THAT IMMEDIATELY. YES, MA'AM. OKAY, WE'LL DO THAT. THAT'S THAT COULD BRING IN AROUND 80,000 A YEAR, WHICH WOULD COVER THE STAFF TIME. SO. OKAY, THAT'S EASY ENOUGH. NEXT UP, ZONING AND SUP APPLICATIONS. THIS WAS ANOTHER OBVIOUS OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO MAKE A CORRECTION. THE CURRENT FEE IS $325 FOR REZONING. THE PUBLICATION IN THE NEWSPAPER IS NORTH OF $600 FOR EACH APPLICATION. SO WE'RE LOSING MONEY. WE'RE PROPOSING TO INCREASE THAT TO $1,000, WHICH IS ON PAR WITH OTHER CITIES. IT'S ACTUALLY A LOT CHEAPER THAN THAN SOME. BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY FEEDBACK ON THAT, BUT LOOKING AT $1,000 FEE, UP FROM 325. IF IT'S ON THE LOW END, WHAT IS THE AVERAGE? I HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT. I KNOW THE CITY OF PLANO WHERE I USED TO WORK IS 1500, SO I'D BE HAPPY TO GET SOMETHING CLOSER TO AN AVERAGE OF OUR SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. I MEAN, I WOULD PREFER TO STICK TO AN AVERAGE. OKAY. TXDOT, THE CITY IS THE APPLICANT FOR FOR ALL TXDOT APPLICATIONS FOR DRIVEWAY PERMITS OR UTILITY BORES THAT GO UNDER STATE HIGHWAYS. WE HANDLE THAT BACK AND FORTH WITH TXDOT FOR OUR DEVELOPERS DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY WILL PROVIDE THE ENGINEERING PLANS AND FILL OUT THE APPLICATION, AND IT COMES TO US, WE HAVE TO PROCESS THAT. WE GOT TO DEAL WITH TXDOT. WE HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP THERE. PROPOSING A FEE TO RECOUP FOR STAFF'S TIME TO COLLECT THOSE FEES, AND THEN LASTLY PREDEVELOPMENT MEETINGS. THIS IS PROBABLY MY FAVORITE PART OF MY JOB. WE MEET WITH DEVELOPERS THEIR ENGINEERS, THEIR ARCHITECTS, THE BUSINESS OWNERS. IT'S A LOT OF FUN TO BE ABLE TO HEAR THEIR IDEAS, THEIR HOPES AND VISION FOR THEIR PROPERTY AND THEN HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REPRESENT THE CITY, DISCUSS OUR NEEDS. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS LOOKS LIKE? WE'LL HOLD PROBABLY 3 OR 4 OF THESE A WEEK. WE DO NOT CURRENTLY COLLECT A FEE FOR THAT. MOST, IF NOT ALL, CITIES IN OUR COMMUNITY DO CHARGE FOR FEES. WE'RE PROPOSING $100 FEE FOR PRE-APPLICATION MEETINGS, NOT TO REALLY DETER THEM, BUT JUST TO ACCOUNT FOR STAFF'S TIME THAT IS TAKEN UP. I LIKE THAT IDEA. I THINK THERE ACTUALLY MIGHT BE ANOTHER AVENUE THERE THAT IS HELPFUL IS THAT MIGHT WEED OUT PEOPLE THAT MAYBE WE DON'T NECESSARILY NEED TO BE HOLDING MEETINGS FOR THAT WANT TO COME HERE AND BE VERY INCENTIVE HEAVY. WHAT CAN WE DO FOR THEM? THEY DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO ACTUALLY FUND A PROJECT. I JUST THINK IT PUTS A LITTLE MORE SKIN IN THE GAME FOR THEM TO BE SERIOUS AND HAVE THOSE MEETINGS, AND THEN WE'RE NOT WASTING STAFF TIME. SO ABSOLUTELY FOR IT. YEAH, OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD. THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY OTHER QUESTIONS YOU ALL MAY HAVE. [01:00:04] IF NOT, THIS IS EXCELLENT. THANK YOU. I THINK THIS IS EXCITING, AND REALLY, ONE THING TO NOTE IS THIS ISN'T ANYTHING NEW. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD HAVE BEEN CAPTURING, AND SO YOU KNOW, THERE'S REVENUES LOST. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BRINGING THIS TO US, BEING CREATIVE WITH THESE DIFFERENT AVENUES THAT WE CAN RECOUP THESE FEES, SO I LOVE IT. THANK YOU, AND CRAIG I'D JUST LIKE TO SAY ANY OF THESE DEVELOP THESE SERVICE FEES THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO PROPOSE THAT ARE ON THE LOW SIDE, MAN, GO AHEAD AND MAKE IT AN AVERAGE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS MR. MASHBURN SAYING, WE'RE NUMBER THREE IN THE STATE OF GROWING CITIES, WE HAVE TO START THINKING ACCORDINGLY, AND, YOU KNOW, YOUR TIME AS STAFF IS VALUABLE. YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN THAT NICE TIE, YOU KNOW, WE GOT TO MAKE SURE. ALL RIGHT. SOUNDS GOOD. I APPRECIATE THE FEEDBACK. IT'S MY PLEASURE. I'LL NOW TURN THE TIME BACK OVER TO BRENNAN. DID YOU GUYS HAVE ANYTHING ELSE? OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I JUST WANT TO SAY WHAT A PLEASURE. IT'S BEEN WORKING WITH FOLKS LIKE CRAIG'S TEAM, AND THEY'RE REALLY THINKING ON THE CUSP OF THINGS THAT ARE COMING FORWARD AND DOING THE RIGHT THING. WE HAVE A LOT OF INITIATIVES TO RECOVER COSTS THAT WE'RE INCURRING AS A CITY. WE'RE NOT JUST LOOKING AT THOSE FEES, BUT THOSE ARE SOME OF THE MAIN THINGS THAT POPPED OUT THAT WE'VE WANTED TO PRESENT TO COUNCIL HERE TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF THAT, BUT ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR FEE SCHEDULE AND LOOKING AT ANY FEES AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE UPDATING THEM IF IT NEEDS BE. SO WE'RE DOING THAT EXERCISE WITH ALL DEPARTMENTS, NOT JUST CRAIG'S, NOT JUST TOMMY'S. SOME OTHER COST RECOVERY INITIATIVES THAT WE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT REAL QUICK. OPEN RECORDS, COST RECOVERY, AND THEN ALSO OUR TREASURY PROCESS MANAGEMENT. SO SOME STATISTICS OR SOME FACTS ON OUR OPEN RECORDS REQUESTS, WE RECEIVE OVER A THOUSAND OPEN RECORDS REQUESTS PER YEAR AND SOME WITH OVER 400 ATTACHMENT REQUESTS. SO THE CITY SECRETARY TEAM, THEY ARE SPENDING A LOT OF TIME PULLING TOGETHER THOSE OPEN RECORDS, WHICH WE WANT TO BE TRANSPARENT. WE WANT TO PROVIDE THAT, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO FIND A WAY TO RECOVER THE COSTS THAT WE'RE INCURRING BY PULLING ALL THOSE RECORDS TOGETHER. SO THEY'VE PROPOSED SOME FEES FOR US TO RECOVER THOSE COSTS AND TRY TO IMPLEMENT THOSE FEES, AND WITH THOSE LARGE RECORD REQUESTS, IT'S INTERESTING LOOKING THROUGH SOME OF THOSE STATISTICS AT THE LARGE RECORD REQUESTS THAT I LOOKED AT 60% OF THE ATTACHMENTS REQUESTED CAME FROM ONE RESIDENT. THAT'S A LOT. 2000 ATTACHMENTS IN THOSE LARGE RECORD REQUESTS, BUT 60% CAME FROM ONE PERSON. SO IT'S THERE'S A LOT OF THESE REQUESTS THAT COME FORWARD AND WE INITIATE THIS FEE. IT CAN HELP US MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SENDING OUT THESE REQUESTS FOR THINGS THAT ARE NEEDED, ACTUALLY NEEDED, RIGHT. NOT JUST ASKING FOR INFORMATION BECAUSE IT'S FREE AND WE CAN ASK FOR AT ANY TIME, BUT IF YOU ACTUALLY NEED THE INFORMATION MORE THAN HAPPY TO PROVIDE IT TO YOU. WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE CAPTURING THOSE COSTS AND ALLOCATING IT TO THAT INSTEAD OF PAYING FOR IT FROM THE GENERAL FUND, IF THAT MAKES SENSE, AND THE NEXT THING IS TREASURY PROCESS MANAGEMENT. SO MY TIME HERE. WE'VE IDENTIFIED THROUGH JUST SOME INITIATIVES AND BEING GOOD STEWARDS AND FOLLOWING THE BEST PRACTICES AND TREASURY MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES, ALMOST $200,000 IN ADDITIONAL REVENUE NEXT YEAR, JUST BY MAKING SOME SIMPLE SWITCHES WITH THE BANK THAT WE UTILIZE, AND WE'LL BE LOOKING AT ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES THERE, BUT THIS IS JUST COST RECOVERY INITIATIVES THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON IN THE FUTURE, AND NOT JUST AS A ONE TIME THING. NEXT. I WANTED TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH SOME COMPARISONS THAT WE'VE PULLED WITH THOSE OTHER CITIES, SO I FLASHED A GRAPH UP EARLIER, BUT HERE'S SOME ADDITIONAL GRAPHS. IF YOU LIKE GRAPHS, THEN, YOU KNOW, GET EXCITED RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I'VE GOT A LOT RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF YOU. SO THE MAIN MAIN PRIORITIES RIGHT. WE'RE LOOKING AT PRINCETON AND MELISSA, MCKINNEY, SALINA. THOSE ARE THE STATS THAT WE PULLED IN. WE FELT LIKE THOSE WERE RELEVANT CITIES, AND ONE THING TO TAKE IN MIND HERE RIGHT. THIS IS JUST OUR DEMOGRAPHICS. WE'RE VERY CLOSE TO ANNA, AND DEMOGRAPHICS POPULATION MEDIAN AGE, MEDIAN INCOME KIND OF LOWER COMPARED TO THOSE OTHER CITIES, BUT VERY CLOSE TO WHERE ANNA IS. SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND AS WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDES. PROPERTY TAXES. OUR PROPERTY TAX RATE REDUCTION RATE LAST YEAR, WE'VE MENTIONED THIS A COUPLE OF TIMES, RESULTED IN $330, ON AVERAGE REDUCTION FOR CITIZENS OR RESIDENTS HERE, AND WHICH WAS 21%, AND WHILE ANNA IS SIMILAR IN MEDIAN AGE, INCOME AND POPULATION TAX RATES, THERE ARE HIGHER THAN PRINCETON. SO COMPARED TO PRINCETON, ANNA HAS ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM PROPERTY TAXES THAT WILL ASSIST WITH THE DEMANDS THAT COME WITH BEING A HIGH GROWTH CITY AND PRIORITIES THAT THEY HAVE. REAL QUICK BEFORE YOU ADVANCE, IF YOU WILL GO BACK ONE SLIDE. ABSOLUTELY. I WANT TO MAKE FOR SURE THAT COUNCIL IS AWARE OF THIS. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THIS MIDDLE SLIDE, THE MEDIAN AGE HERE FOR PRINCETON PRETTY LOW. LOOKS LIKE ABOUT 3233 IS OUR MEDIAN AGE VERSUS SALINA. THEY'RE PUSHING 40 ON THAT SIDE. ADVANCED ONE SLIDE. [01:05:02] YES. YOU WILL SEE THERE'S A DIRECT CORRELATION THERE BETWEEN THAT MEDIAN AGE TO OUR HOME MARKET VALUE HERE. AND WE TALK ALL THE TIME ABOUT NOT HAVING ENOUGH HOUSING STOCK THAT IS HIGHER END HOUSING STOCK, AND THIS SHOWS THE NEED FOR THAT BECAUSE WHEN YOU'RE IN, YOU KNOW, YOUR UPPER 20S OR LOWER 30S, YOUR INCOME IS GOING TO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE HOUSING THAT YOU CAN AFFORD. OBVIOUSLY, AS YOU ADVANCE IN AGE, YOU HAVE MORE FLEXIBLE INCOME. YOU DON'T HAVE THE LITTLE KIDS AT HOME. WE DON'T HAVE THAT HOUSING STOCK. SO WHERE ARE THEY MOVING? THEY'RE MOVING TO SALINA. YEAH, RIGHT. SO YOU SEE THAT HIGHER AGE BRACKET IN SALINA? THEY'RE LEAVING PRINCETON. THEY'RE TAKING THAT SALES TAX WITH THEM AND THEY'RE GOING OVER AND THEY HAVE THE HOUSING STOCK THERE TO SUPPORT THAT. SO AND THAT'S THE EXACT STORY THAT WE WANTED TO TELL WITH THESE THIS INFORMATION. SO IT'S VERY HELPFUL. THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT DIRECT CORRELATION, AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE'S AWARE OF THAT, THAT WHEN WE CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT THE NEED FOR IT THIS IS WHY YEAH THAT LAST GRAPH THERE, I WANTED TO TOUCH ON THAT. IF WE TAKE THE PRINCETON HOME MARKET VALUE. SO IF YOU PICK UP YOUR HOME IN PRINCETON, YOU TAKE IT AND DROP IT IN ONE OF THESE OTHER CITIES, RIGHT. MIGHT BE A LITTLE VIOLENT TO DO THAT TO YOUR HOME, BUT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN, RIGHT, IS YOUR PROPERTY TAX THAT YOU'RE PAYING IN. ANNA WOULD GO UP MELISSA IT WOULD GO UP MCKINNEY GO A LITTLE BIT DOWN. RIGHT, BUT SALINA WOULD GO UP PRETTY DRAMATICALLY. SO WE'RE JUST IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT IN PRINCETON AND JUST TYING THIS ALL TOGETHER. ONE OTHER THING TO THINK ABOUT NEXT SLIDE IS OUR COMPARISON WITH OTHER CITIES. SO THERE ON THE LEFT A LITTLE BIT MAYBE HARD TO SEE WITH THE COLORS HERE, BUT PRINCETON WAS AT THE TOP RIGHT IN 2019, AND OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS PROPERTY TAXES HAVE GONE DOWN. THE TAX RATE HAS GONE DOWN TO NEAR THE BOTTOM, JUST JUST BARELY ABOVE MCKINNEY. SO WHAT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? RIGHT. ANNA'S TAX RATE HAS DECREASED AS WELL, BUT NOT AS MUCH AS PRINCETON HAS, AND THAT MEANS WE HAVE LESS REVENUE TO WORK WITH AS A RESULT OF THESE COMPARISONS. THE OTHER THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND ARE THIS IS NOT INCLUDE OUR ETA, RIGHT? BUT THE SQUARE MILEAGE THAT WE HAVE TO WORK WITH PRINCETON ON THE LOWER END COMPARED TO ANNA, MELISSA MCKINNEY AND SALINA, AND THEN WE TOUCHED ON THIS BEFORE, BUT JUST TO KIND OF DRIVE THIS HOME, OUR RESIDENTIAL VERSUS COMMERCIAL PROPERTY RATE, RIGHT. REMEMBER WHEN THAT COMMERCIAL PROPERTY IS LOWER IN THAT PROPORTION IT PUTS THE TAX BURDEN MORE ON RESIDENTS. SO WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO DO IN THE BUDGET AND OUR PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT. RIGHT. WE JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON THAT WITH OUR RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL MIX AND MAKING SURE THAT IT'S RELATIVELY THE SAME. SO JUST TO RECAP ON THAT, RIGHT? PRINCETON IS EITHER THE LOWEST OR CLOSE TO THE LOWEST IN POPULATION, AGE, INCOME TAX RATE AND HOME MARKET VALUE WITH BEING THE THIRD FASTEST GROWING CITY. RIGHT? SO THERE'S A LOT OF TRAJECTORY AHEAD OF US, BUT WHAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE TO FOCUS ON THAT, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE NEEDS FOR THESE ADDITIONAL FEES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE COLLECTING THAT REVENUE AND RECOVERING THOSE COSTS THAT WE ESTIMATE ARE COMING IN THE FUTURE. EXCUSE ME, MR. HARDY. YEAH. WHAT'S AN IDEAL MIX FOR RESIDENTIAL VERSUS COMMERCIAL? YEAH, I THINK THERE'S IT'S HARD TO HAVE A PERFECT MIX BECAUSE DIFFERENT CITIES HAVE DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES THERE. SO YOU CAN HAVE A LARGE ORGANIZATION THAT COMES IN THAT EMPLOYS A LOT OF FOLKS THERE. RIGHT NOW WE'RE AT THE WITH THE 23. LET ME LOOK AT THE I THINK 23, 77% MIX. WE'D LIKE TO GET CLOSER TO THE 25, 27% MIX, ALLEVIATING THAT TAX BURDEN ON THE RESIDENTS A LITTLE BIT MORE, AND ALSO KEEP IN MIND, AS YOU HAVE A LARGE COMMERCIAL BASE, THE PEOPLE COMING INTO THE CITIES, ON THE ROADS IMPACTING PUBLIC SAFETY, THE POPULATION COULD DOUBLE IF YOU HAVE A HUGE, HUGE COMMERCIAL BASE. SO IT'S SORT OF A SLIDING SCALE. SO JUST REMEMBER THAT AS WELL. SO LIKE BRENNAN SAID, WE WANT TO INCH THAT UP WITH THE RIGHT BUSINESSES TO OFFSET THE BURDEN ON TAXPAYERS. BUT WE DON'T WANT TO GET TOO CRAZY WHERE ALL OF A SUDDEN WE'RE FAILING IN A LOT OF AREAS AS WELL. YEAH, AND I THINK THERE'S REALLY PROBABLY NEVER GOING TO BE A MAGIC NUMBER ON WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. I THINK WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT IS THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT NUMBER IN THAT MIX, BUT WE HAVE THE RIGHT MIX SO THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMING IN. HOW MUCH MONEY ARE WE GETTING ON? MAYBE A LOW PERFORMING RETAIL VERSUS A HOTEL. WHAT DOES THAT ACTUAL TAXABLE INCOME LOOK LIKE? THAT WE CAN HAVE COME BACK TO THE CITY. SO YOU KNOW, WE JUST HAVE TO BE SMART IN THOSE DECISIONS THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT PARTNERSHIPS COMING IN. EXACTLY, AND, YOU KNOW, IN MY SHORT TIME HERE SO FAR WORKING WITH JOHN LAND THEIR TEAM, THEY'RE DOING ALL THE RIGHT THINGS, FOCUSING ON BRINGING IN THE RIGHT BUSINESSES TO HELP WITH THIS. RIGHT, AND IF THAT DRIVES TRAFFIC, INCREASES OUR SALES TAX TO ADD ON TO WHAT MIKE SAID AS WELL. RIGHT. SO THAT SALES TAX REVENUE THAT WE HAVE COMING IN CAN HELP WITH SOME OF THIS DEVELOPMENT AS WELL. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? BRENNAN, IF I MAY, JUST GETTING BACK TO THAT, THAT MIX RIGHT NOW, IF YOU LOOK AT THE CITY OF CITY OF PRINCETON'S LARGEST EMPLOYERS, NUMBER ONE IS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND NUMBER TWO IS THE CITY THAT IS NOT A HEALTHY MIX. [01:10:09] WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TRAFFIC IN THE MORNING, IT'S A MASS LINE GOING OUTSIDE OF PRINCETON, AND THEN AT NIGHT IT'S A MASS LINE COMING BACK TO PRINCETON. AND IT'S BECAUSE WE HAVE THAT STARTER LEVEL HOME, BUT WE DON'T HAVE JOBS, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE REAL COGNIZANT OF IS WE NEED TO ATTRACT EMPLOYERS THAT WILL BE SUPERIOR IN TERMS OF NUMBERS TO THE CITY, AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ARE TWO TAXING ENTITIES, AND WE NEED TO REVERSE THE TRAFFIC. WE NEED TRAFFIC COMING TO PRINCETON, AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE IN PRINCETON DON'T HAVE TO LEAVE PRINCETON FOR FOR JOBS. SO WE ARE VERY, VERY COGNIZANT OF THAT AS A STRATEGY TO THAT IS A BURDEN ON OUR ROADS, HAVING TO HAVE PEOPLE LEAVE AND THEN ONCE THEY GET TO A CERTAIN STRATOSPHERE WITH THEIR INCOME, HAVING TO MOVE TO, SAY, A SALINA, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THAT NEXT LEVEL OF HOME, AND WE'RE REALLY PUSHING HARD ON CREATING THOSE PRIMARY JOBS AND CREATING THAT NEXT LEVEL OF HOUSING. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU SO MUCH, JOHN, FOR ADDING THAT. IN ANY ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS SECTION. SO THE NEXT SECTION IS A LITTLE BIT LARGER. WE'VE GOT SOME DIFFERENT AREAS TO TOUCH ON. I WOULD PROPOSE THAT MAYBE WE TAKE A BREAK BEFORE THAT NEXT SECTION. IT WOULD BE A GOOD CLEAN STOP UNLESS YOU GUYS ARE JUST READY TO KEEP ON MOVING. I'M FINE WITH THAT TOO. I'M IN AGREEANCE WITH YOU, SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE A BREAK. THE TIME IS 920. THIS WILL PUT US INTO A BREAK TIME. LET'S PLAN TO BE BACK CLOSE TO 930. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GET BACK IN. THE TIME IS 938. THANK YOU SO MUCH, AND. AS WE GET INTO THIS NEXT SECTION TALKING ABOUT PROCESS ENHANCEMENTS, TOWN ALIGNMENT, AND COMMUNITY INVESTMENT. JUST A MOMENT. SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE ALL GETTING A AMBER ALERT. I JUST WANT TO AGAIN EMPHASIZE WHAT A PRIVILEGE IT'S BEEN TO WORK WITH THESE TEAM MEMBERS THAT HAVE SPENT TIME FOCUSING ON HOW THEY NEED TO ADAPT WITH THE GROWTH OF THE CITY, AND FOCUS ON PUTTING TOGETHER THESE PRESENTATIONS FOR ALL THEIR DEPARTMENTS. SO, SO HAPPY FOR THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE COMING FORWARD AND EXCITED FOR THEM TO SHARE ALL THE WORK THAT THEY'VE PUT INTO IT. SO FIRST PROCESS ENHANCEMENT. SO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT STREAMLINING PROCESSES. THIS SOME OF THIS COMES FROM MY, MY BACKGROUND, A LOT OF MY PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND COMES FROM PROCESS ENHANCEMENT, PROCESS OPTIMIZATION AND PROCESS IMPROVEMENT, BUT SOME THINGS THAT I'VE NOTICED SIMPLY IN THE FINANCE ORGANIZATION SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE THAT I WANT TO EMPHASIZE IS OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO FIND WAYS TO REDUCE COSTS OR REDUCE BURDEN ON OUR TEAM SO WE DON'T MAYBE DON'T NEED TO BRING IN AS MANY INDIVIDUALS, BUT ONE IS OUR ACCOUNTING STRUCTURE CONSOLIDATION. WE'VE GOT A LOT OF GL ACCOUNTS. I THINK WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO REDUCE THAT TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE ORGANIZED BANKING ARRANGEMENTS. I TALKED I TOUCHED ON THAT EARLIER JUST THROUGH SOME TREASURY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND QUICK CHANGES THAT WE MADE. WE FOUND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALMOST CLOSE TO $200,000 IN REVENUE NEXT YEAR PAPERLESS INITIATIVES. I'VE SEEN A LOT OF PAPER GOING AROUND THE CITY SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, AND I THINK WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO FIND WAYS TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF PAPER. ONE OF THE ONE THING THAT I SAW WHEN I CAME IN THAT WAS GOT ME A LITTLE BIT EXCITED. I DON'T I'M NOT NECESSARILY JUDGING ANYBODY OR HORRIFIED. I JUST GET EXCITED FOR OPPORTUNITY. HERE WAS A RECEIPT. I THINK IT WAS MAYBE FROM SAM'S CLUB WHERE SOMEBODY WAS BUYING THINGS, SUPPLIES FOR DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, BUT HIGHLIGHTED MULTIPLE COLORS, AND WE HAD THE GL ACCOUNT EVERYTHING FOR ALL THOSE DIFFERENT COLORS THAT WERE IN THERE TO MAKE SURE THE EXPENSES WERE HITTING THE RIGHT CATEGORY, AND I WAS LIKE, WHAT A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO NEVER DO THIS AGAIN. LET'S FIND A WAY TO NOT DO THIS RIGHT. SO WE HAVE SOME PAPERLESS INITIATIVES, A LOT OF SIGNATURE APPROVALS THAT CAN GO THROUGH THOSE INITIATIVES. WE HAVE EXTERNAL VENDOR RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO IMPROVE. WORKING WITH OUR AUDITORS AND PROCUREMENT INITIATIVES, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO DOWN TO FORT WORTH A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO AND MEET WITH INDIVIDUALS FROM MULTIPLE CITIES TO LOOK AT OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO IMPROVE THE PROCUREMENT PRACTICES FOR CITIES, AND ALSO VENDORS THAT MAY NOT MAY HAVE A PRODUCT THAT THEY CAN SELL TO CITIES. BUT NO EASY WAY TO DO THAT, RIGHT? SO SOME OF THOSE THE THINGS THAT THE BENEFITS THAT WE SEE IS, YOU KNOW, TO SIMPLY TELL THE STORY OF A LARGE CITY LIKE DALLAS OR FORT WORTH, WANT TO BUY A LOT OF EQUIPMENT AND THEY GET A REDUCED RATE. SOME OF THESE PROCUREMENT INITIATIVES ALLOW CITIES LIKE PRINCETON TO JUMP ON TO THAT CONTRACT AND PURCHASE THIS EQUIPMENT AT THAT REDUCED RATE TO SAVE US SOME FUNDS. SO EXCITING INITIATIVES COMING FORWARD. I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT WHAT THOSE INITIATIVES COME UP WITH IN THE COMING YEARS, BUT IT WAS GREAT TO BE PART OF THAT GROUP AND SEEING THAT. SO JUST THAT CULTURE, I THINK WE WANT TO CARRY THAT FORWARD THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE CITY AS WELL, AND DEVELOP A CULTURE OF PROCESS IMPROVEMENT, ENCOURAGE INDIVIDUALS TO FIND [01:15:10] WAYS TO RECOVER COSTS, REDUCE COSTS IN DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, AND THEN ALSO JUST GOING BACK TO OUR MAIN PRINCIPLES AND PRIORITIES DISCUSSED IN THE STRATEGIC RETREAT, AND THAT PHRASE COMES DIRECTLY FROM THAT, MANAGE OUR RESOURCES EFFICIENTLY, ETHICALLY AND TRANSPARENTLY. ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND AS WE TRY TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE BEST PROCESSES IN PLACE. WITH PRINCETON BEING A RELATIVELY SMALL CITY THAT'S GROWING, RIGHT, WE HAVE SOME SERVICES THAT WE OUTSOURCE, AND WE WANT TO MATCH OUR SERVICE DELIVERY DEMANDS WITH OUR RAPIDLY INCREASING POPULATION. THE OUTSOURCED SERVICES. NUMBER ONE, I'LL JUST GO THROUGH THIS LIST REAL QUICK, JUST TO SOME OF US MAY NOT KNOW THAT WE OUTSOURCE ALL THESE DIFFERENT SERVICES, SERVICES, RESIDENTIAL WASTE COLLECTION, DISPATCH, JAIL, ANIMAL CONTROL, EMS TRANSPORTATION, ENGINEERING SERVICES, HEALTH DEPARTMENT, AND YOU MIGHT SEE THAT AS A LARGE LIST AND WONDER WHY? WHY DO WE OUTSOURCE EVERYTHING? WHY DON'T WE BRING IT IN-HOUSE? IS THAT GOING TO BE MORE AFFORDABLE FOR US? AND THERE'S NOT LIKE THAT'S NOT ALWAYS GOING TO BE THE BENEFIT. THERE'S SOME BENEFITS, RIGHT? IT ALLOWS US TO BE AGILE AS A CITY, RIGHT? IT ALLOWS US TO LOWER OUR COSTS. WHEN WE OUTSOURCE, WE CAN GO TO THE EXPERTS INSTEAD OF HAVING SOMEBODY IN-HOUSE DO IT. WE DON'T HAVE THOSE PENSION COSTS. BY HAVING AN EMPLOYEE ON STAFF THAT'S DOING THIS PERMANENTLY, IT'S QUICKLY SCALABLE. SO AS THE GROWTH CONTINUES TO INCREASE, WE CAN RELY ON THOSE BUSINESSES TO SCALE. LOWER CAPITAL INVESTMENT, TOMMY SPENT SOME TIME TALKING ABOUT, I THINK THERE WAS A QUESTION ASKED FROM MARLO HERE, MAYBE WHAT EQUIPMENT WOULD YOU BUY IF YOU HAD THE ABILITY? RIGHT, AND THAT'S A CAPITAL INVESTMENT THAT WE'D HAVE TO PAY AT THE BEGINNING, RIGHT. WHERE A COMPANY THAT WE OUTSOURCE THE SERVICE TO HAS THAT CAPITAL EQUIPMENT, WE CAN PAY THEM A FEE. SO IT'S JUST DIFFERENT. IT'S NOT THAT ONE. AT CERTAIN POINTS OF A CITY'S LIFE, THEY MAY MAKE SENSE FOR US TO MAKE THOSE CAPITAL INVESTMENTS, BUT FOR PRINCETON RIGHT NOW MIGHT MIGHT NOT MAKE SENSE. AND THEN IN ADDITION, THE FINAL BENEFIT IS PERFORMANCE BASED OUTSOURCING OR PERFORMANCE BASED CONTRACTING. PARDON ME. SO IF ANY OF THESE SERVICES ARE NOT MEETING OUR EXPECTATIONS, WE CAN GO TO THE MARKET AND FIND SOMEBODY THAT'S MORE COMPETITIVE, THAT CAN HELP US ACHIEVE OUR OBJECTIVES MOVING FORWARD. THAT'S A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PROCESS ENHANCEMENT AND OUR SERVICE DELIVERY, AND I WANTED TO TURN THE TIME OVER TO FALLON, OUR DIRECTOR OF EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE FOR COMPENSATION STUDY, AND I JUST WANTED TO AGAIN, JUST MENTION HOW GREAT IT'S BEEN TO WORK WITH HER, AND I KNOW THAT SHE'S POURED A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT INTO THIS, SO I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THAT. BEFORE I JUMP OVER THAT, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THERE'S NO QUESTIONS FROM THE INFORMATION THAT I SHARED PREVIOUSLY. OKAY, I'LL TURN THE TIME OVER TO FALLON. GOOD MORNING COUNCIL. MY NAME IS FALLON CARRILLO AND I'M THE DIRECTOR OF EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE HERE AT THE CITY OF PRINCETON, AND TODAY I WILL BE REVIEWING OUR COMP STUDY AND GIVING YOU UPDATES. WELL, WE'LL BE COVERING IS WHY NOW? THE BACKGROUND, HOW WE'RE OUT OF ALIGNMENT, POTENTIAL CHALLENGES THAT WE MAY FACE WHEN IMPLEMENTING AND ALSO POLICY DIRECTION. SO WHY NOW? THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX INCREASED 4.9% OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS FOR THE DFW AREA. IN ADDITION, WITH PERSONNEL BEING 70% OF OUR CURRENT GENERAL FUND BUDGET, IT'S IMPORTANT TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES AND A COMP STUDY. THIS COMP STUDY WILL ALLOW US TO ALIGN PAY WITH MARKET STANDARDS, RECRUIT AND RETAIN TOP TALENT, AND ALSO INCREASE JOB SATISFACTION AND REDUCE TURNOVER WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION. SO GIVING YOU A LITTLE BIT. CURRENTLY WE COMPARE OURSELVES WITH FOUR OTHER CITIES, WILEY, ANNA, MELISSA, AND MCKINNEY. MOVING FORWARD, I WOULD LIKE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER INCREASING THE NUMBER OF CITIES WE BENCHMARK AGAINST WITH THE ONES LISTED ABOVE. IN DOING SO, YOU WILL PROVIDE A COMPARABLE TO OTHER CITIES. WILL BE COMPETING AGAINST THE MARKET THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY COMPETING WITH NOW, AND WE ALSO RECEIVE A LOT OF APPLICANTS FROM THE LARGER CITIES THAT YOU SEE ON THIS ONE. IN ADDITION, SOME BENCHMARKING FACTORS WILL BE THE POPULATION, PROPERTY TAX REVENUE, AND THE NUMBER OF FULL TIME EQUIVALENTS THAT OTHER CITIES HAVE COMPARED TO OUR OWN. SO COMPARING OURSELVES TO THE OTHER CITIES, I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT PUBLIC SAFETY AS THEY MAKE UP 52% OF THE PERSONNEL, AND THAT'S 70% [01:20:01] THAT WE HAVE FROM GENERAL FUND, AND I'LL JUST GIVE YOU TIME TO GO OVER THIS GRAPH TO LOOK AT IT. PRINCETON HIGHLIGHTED IN GREEN, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, FOR THE STARTING SALARY OF A FIREFIGHTER, WE COME IN LAST. KEEP IN MIND THAT WE ARE THE THIRD FASTEST GROWING CITY IN TEXAS. I'M GOING TO MOVE OVER TO THE NEXT SLIDE NOW. AGAIN HIGHLIGHTING PUBLIC SAFETY. I WANT TO SHOW YOU THE STARTING SALARY FOR POLICE OFFICER. AND RIGHT NOW WITH PRINCETON HIGHLIGHTED IN GREEN, WE ARE THIRD, BUT I DO WANT TO MAKE A NOTE THAT A LOT OF THESE CITIES ARE CURRENTLY UPDATING THEIR PAY PLANS BECAUSE THEY KNOW HOW COMPETITIVE THE MARKET IS, WITH PLANO JUST PASSING AN INITIATIVE TO BE THE TOP PAYING PD WITHIN COLLIN COUNTY. WE WANT TO MAKE NOTE THAT WE DO WANT TO HAVE A COMPETITIVE MARKET, AND WE ALSO WANT TO COMPENSATE OUR EMPLOYEES APPROPRIATELY, AND WITH THIS BEING SAID, I WANT TO TAKE THE TIME OUT TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR PUBLIC SAFETY AS WELL AS ALL OUR TEAM MEMBERS HERE AT THE CITY FOR THEIR DEDICATION, THEIR LOYALTY, AND THEIR COMMITMENT TO PROVIDE WONDERFUL AND EXCELLENT SERVICE TO THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF PRINCETON. AS YOU CAN SEE, THE COMPENSATION IS NOT EVEN MID IT'S DOWN IN THE LOWER SKILL. YET WE DO HAVE FAITHFUL EMPLOYEES HERE THAT CONTINUE TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU FOR HIGHLIGHTING THAT. THAT WAS IMPORTANT. THANK YOU. I'D LIKE TO JUST MAKE A COMMENT ON THE FIRE AND THE POLICE, AND I'VE SEEN THIS IN THE PAST, BUT I REALLY THINK THAT OUR FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS NEED TO HAVE COMPATIBLE PAY THE SAME STARTING SALARIES AND THINGS, YOU KNOW, OFFICER RANKS, THINGS LIKE THAT. I KNOW THE MINDSET IN LOTS OF CITIES MANY YEARS AGO BECAUSE I'VE WORKED IN GOVERNMENT NEARLY ALL MY LIFE. THAT IS THE MINDSET OF SOMETIMES THE OF A CITY STAFF OR THE CITY COUNCIL THAT, WELL, THE FIREFIGHTERS, THEY'VE GOT ONE DAY OFF OR TWO DAYS OFF OR THREE DAYS OFF, WHATEVER, ON THEIR SHIFTS SO THEY CAN GO OUT AND GET THEM A PART TIME JOB. WE DON'T NEED TO HAVE THAT MINDSET. WE NEED TO MAKE IT THAT THEY ARE FULL TIME, THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IF THEY WANT, YOU KNOW, LIKE POLICE OFFICERS OR FIREFIGHTERS. THEY WANT TO GO OUT AND GET A LITTLE PART TIME JOB TO HELP SUPPLEMENT VACATIONS OR WHATEVER, BUT WE NEED TO HAVE THE MINDSET THAT THEY NEED TO BE PAID EQUAL, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I ACTUALLY SAW IN OTHER COMMUNITIES WHERE FIREFIGHTERS HAVE ACTUALLY QUIT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO GO TO WORK FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT SIMPLY BECAUSE THE PAY, AND WE NEED TO CHANGE THAT. YES, SIR. DESPERATELY. I AM LOOKING AT THESE SALARIES AS WELL, AND MR. [INAUDIBLE] EARLIER SAID THAT WE WANT TO REVERSE TRAFFIC ON 380, AND IF WE'RE GOING TO REVERSE TRAFFIC ON 380, WE NEED TO SERIOUSLY LOOK AT OUR FIRST RESPONDERS AND HOW THEY ARE REMUNERATED AND ALSO THAT WE ATTRACT THE BEST, AND AS I LOOK AT THIS, AS I LOOK AT THE SALARIES FOR THE VARIOUS COMPARATIVE CITIES, WE WOULD AT LEAST NEED TO HAVE A STARTING SALARY OF 71,000 FOR FIREFIGHTERS AND 77,000 FOR POLICE OFFICERS, AND IT'S IMPORTANT FOR RESIDENTS AT HOME TO REALIZE THE COST, NOT ONLY IN TERMS OF RESOURCES, BUT ALSO IN THESE MEN AND WOMEN PUTTING THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE, GOING DOWN. 380 THE OTHER SAFETY THINGS THAT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED IN TERMS OF YOU KNOW, OTHER DRIVERS, IF WE'RE THINKING ABOUT A 380 TRAFFIC SITUATION, THE SAFETY OF THE OTHER DRIVERS, REROUTING, WE DO NOT HAVE A LOT OF ROADWAY OR AVENUES OFF OF 380 TO ROUTE PEOPLE. IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT, AND I THINK WE SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER TO ATTRACT THE BEST TO INCREASE THE STARTING SALARIES OF THESE INDIVIDUALS. THANK YOU. I ALSO WANT TO ADD WITH THIS SLIDE, I KNOW WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING PUBLIC SAFETY, BUT IF YOU ALSO TAKE THE OTHER CIVILIAN POSITIONS THAT WE HAVE WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION, THEY WOULD LINE UP WITH THIS GRAPH THAT I'M SHOWING YOU WITH THE POLICE OFFICERS. SO WE WOULD COME IN THIRD AS WELL, IF NOT SECOND, BECAUSE LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, A LOT OF THESE CITIES REALIZE THAT IT'S VERY COMPETITIVE. WE ALL WANT EXPERIENCED, SKILLED, EDUCATED TALENT AND BEING TRANSPARENT WITH THE LARGER CITIES SUCH AS MCKINNEY, ALLEN, AND FRISCO, WE HAVE RECEIVED APPLICANTS FROM THOSE BECAUSE THEY LIVE LOCALLY, YET THEY WORK IN THOSE LARGER CITIES, BUT BECAUSE WE'RE NOT COMPETITIVE IN SALARY, IT'S NOT WORTH IT FOR [01:25:04] THEM TO TRANSFER OVER TO PRINCETON, AND I KNOW THAT'S HUGE. I SEE IT WITH THE RESIDENTS, ESPECIALLY WITH COMMENTS MADE. WE NEED MORE PEOPLE FROM PRINCETON. YES, WE HAVE THEM, BUT IF WE DON'T PROVIDE COMPETITIVE PAY, WE WON'T RETAIN THEM OR RECRUIT THEM. I MEAN, JUST AS A RESIDENT HERE, AND I'M SURE YOU GUYS SEE THIS AS WELL. WE HAVE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITIES. I CAN DRIVE DOWN MY STREET ON THE WAY HERE AND SEE SQUAD CARS FROM OTHER CITIES PARKED IN THE DRIVEWAY, AND THEY'RE NOT WORKING HERE. THEY'RE WORKING IN OTHER CITIES. YES. FOR US TO BE THE THIRD CITY IN TEXAS RIGHT NOW, IT'S EMBARRASSING, REALLY, THAT WE'RE THE THIRD, AND YET WE CAN'T, AND WE'RE THE THIRD. YEAH, AND WE CAN'T. WE'RE THE THIRD AND WE'RE THE THIRD. THERE'S A TREND THERE. I UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT CITIES LIKE MCKINNEY, FRISCO, ALLEN, THE COLONY, THEY'VE BEEN AROUND LONGER, THEY'RE MORE ESTABLISHED, BUT AS WE COMPARE OURSELVES WITH THE OTHER CITIES, THERE ISN'T, I THINK, A REASON FOR US NOT TO AT LEAST COMPARE WITH WYLIE OR BE ON THE SAME PAR WITH WYLIE, AND BECAUSE OF SIZE AND JUST DEMOGRAPHICS, FARMERS BRANCH, WE NEED TO BE AT LEAST HERE SO THAT THE FALLOUT FROM MCKINNEY, FRISCO AND ALLEN THAT WE RECEIVE THOSE. AGAIN THESE--I'M SORRY MAYOR; GO AHEAD. NO, NO, NO, I WAS JUST SAYING, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS AT THE RETREAT, THAT THE DECISIONS THAT WE'RE MAKING NOW ARE NOT FOR TODAY AND THEY'RE NOT FOR TOMORROW, BUT THEY'RE FOR YEARS OUT. SO FOR THINKING YEARS OUT, WHERE DO WE WANT TO BE? YEARS OUT? DO WE WANT TO CONSTANTLY BE AT THE SAME LEVEL AS SOME OF THESE OTHER CITIES, OR DO WE WANT TO BE MORE? IF WE WANT TO BE MORE, THEN WE HAVE TO DO MORE. I ALSO JUST WANT TO REITERATE THAT THESE ARE RECOMMENDED CITIES BASED ON MY RESEARCH AND WHAT THE NUMBER IS THAT I BENCHMARKED AGAINST. OUR NEXT SLIDE ARE THE POTENTIAL CHALLENGES. WITH ANY CHALLENGE, THERE ARE SOLUTIONS, BUT FIRST WE WANT TO GET YOUR DIRECTIVE. SO BUDGET CONSTRAINTS AS YOU GUYS ARE AWARE, MAJORITY OF OUR FUNDS ARE MAJORITY OF THE SALARIES ARE ON THE GENERAL FUND WHICH IS RELIED ON UPON PROPERTY TAX. SO THOSE BUDGET CONSTRAINTS WITH COMPING PEOPLE APPROPRIATELY ALSO EMPLOYEE PERCEPTION. WE WANT TO BE TRANSPARENT NOT ONLY TO THE COMMUNITY BUT INTERNALLY AS WELL. SO WE WOULD LIKE TO ESTABLISH MAYBE A PAY PLAN OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE THAT WE CAN SHOW THE EMPLOYEES MOTIVATION, GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD, BUT ALSO SOME SALARIES AND POSITIONS MAY NOT BE AS FAR OUT OF COMP AS OTHERS. SO WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE. HEY, THIS POSITION IS FURTHER OUT OF COMPENSATION THAN YOURS. IN ADDITION, CONTINUOUS REVIEW SOME CITIES, SOME CITIES LOOK AT A FORMAL COMPENSATION STUDY WHICH CAN COST ANYWHERE BETWEEN $30,000 TO $50,000, AND I RECENTLY JUST READ AN ARTICLE WHERE A CITY PAID $100,000 FOR A COMPENSATION STUDY. SO IT IS AT YOUR CHOICE. WE CAN EITHER DO SOMETHING INTERNAL TO MAKE OUR WAY TO HAVE A FORMAL COMPENSATION, AND THEN DO THAT COMPENSATION MAYBE 3 TO 5 YEARS AND ANNUALLY HAVE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE REVIEW IT TO MAKE SURE IT'S UPDATED AND LASTLY, CONSIDERING ADOPTING A POLICY SURROUNDING A COMPENSATION STUDY FOR EQUITY AND MAKING SURE EVERYTHING IS FAIR, AND AT THIS POINT WE'LL LEAN ON TO YOU GUYS FOR POLICY DIRECTION. HOW WILL OUR COMPENSATION PHILOSOPHY BE? AS MENTIONED EARLIER, DO YOU WANT TO BE MIDPOINT? DO YOU WANT TO BE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GRAPHS THAT WE JUST PRESENTED? WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE ON THE TOP SCALE OF THE SMALLER CITIES? SO ON AND SO FORTH. BASE PAY. THIS WILL BE ADDRESSING BASE PAY FOR A LOT OF THE SALARIES. WOULD YOU LIKE TO PRESENT A MINIMUM WAGE FOR THE CITY OF PRINCETON? YES, THAT'S PERFECTLY FINE AS WELL AS VARIABLE PAY. WILL WE CONTINUE TO HAVE COLAS WHEN WE ESTABLISH A COMPENSATION PLAN? HOW WILL MERIT RAISES BE? STEP PAY? PROMOTIONS? SO ON AND SO FORTH, AND LASTLY, LEGAL COMPLIANCE. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING LAWS BASED ON THE TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION, THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, AND ANY OTHER TEXAS CODE THAT'S INVOLVED IN OUR COMPENSATION, AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? HEY, FALLON, WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO MAKE THOSE POLICIES AVAILABLE TO US SO WE CAN REVIEW THEM? YES AS FAR AS TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. WE DON'T HAVE INTERNAL POLICIES OF OUR OWN. WE DON'T HAVE A FORMAL COMP STUDY OR AN APPROVED COMP STUDY FROM COUNCIL. SO WE DON'T HAVE POLICIES SURROUNDING THAT. SO WE'RE JUST BASED ON TEXAS? [01:30:04] TO MAYBE ADD SOME CLARITY TO THAT. TYPICALLY WHAT I'M USED TO IS IF COUNCIL COLLECTIVELY SAYS WE WANT TO BE MIDPOINT OR MID PLUS FIVE OR WHATEVER THE CASE IS, WE CAN ADJUST THAT ON AN ANNUAL BASIS AS WE SEE MOVEMENT IN THE MARKET AND THEN PRESENT THAT ACCORDINGLY. NOW, OUR EARLY ROUGH INTERNAL RESEARCH SHOWS THAT IF WE WERE TO RIGHTSIZE ALL SALARIES IN THE CITY, WE'RE PROBABLY AROUND $2.5 MILLION INCREASE, WHICH IS SIGNIFICANT, BUT YOU SAW WE'VE BEEN LOW FOR SO LONG, I WILL SAY AND REITERATE WHAT FALLON SAID IS WE HAVE INCREDIBLY TALENTED, COMMITTED EMPLOYEES HERE. I HAVE NEVER SEEN THE TALENT THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION THAT, QUITE FRANKLY, IS UNDERPAID IN A LOT OF RESPECTS. IT'S TRULY IMPRESSIVE WHAT THEY'VE DONE. SO ANYWAY, SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND. THERE COULD BE A TIERED APPROACH. SO ALL WE NEED IS JUST POLICY DIRECTIVE FROM YOU ALL IS HEY, WE WANT TO BE MID OR UPPER-MID OR WHATEVER THE CASE IS. WHAT WE CAN DO IS PRESENT A BUDGET TO YOU ON A TIERED APPROACH, IF THAT'S NECESSARY. IF THERE'S A LOT OF COMPETING INTERESTS, I'LL HEAR WHAT YOU ALL ARE SAYING AS WE GO THROUGH OUR ONE ON ONES. WE'LL COMPRISE THE BUDGET BASED ON THAT, BUT IT COULD BE A MULTI-STEP APPROACH TO GET US WHERE WE NEED TO BE. I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE THAT THE MOST EXPENSIVE PART OF ANY BUILDING IS THE FOUNDATION, AND WE'RE BUILDING A CITY. WE HAVE THE FOUNDATION, AND I THINK WE NEED TO MAKE THE INVESTMENT. A COUPLE OF THINGS. ONE, YOUR SPEAKING VOICE IS SO SOOTHING. I LOVE IT. AS YOU WERE SPEAKING, I'M LIKE, I COULD LISTEN AND LISTEN. SO THANK YOU, THANK YOU. SECONDLY, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD ON THIS COMP STUDY AND PREPARING THIS, YOU'VE BEEN WORKING ON IT FOR QUITE SOME TIME, AND SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEDICATION. YOU ARE PHENOMENAL AND I HOPE YOU RECOGNIZE THAT, AND IT'S BEEN IT'S BEEN A JOY TO WATCH YOU FLOURISH IN THIS DEPARTMENT AND REALLY WHERE YOU'VE TAKEN IT. YOU ARE A GREAT ASSET TO EVERYONE HERE. SO THANK YOU FOR IT. YOU KNOW, WE WOULDN'T HAVE ANYTHING WITHOUT EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, RIGHT? SO THANK YOU FOR KEEPING US IN ORDER ALL THE TIME AND KEEPING THESE GUYS IN ORDER. AS FAR AS WHERE WE WANT TO BE DIRECTIONALLY WITH SALARIES, TO ME, I DON'T WANT ANYTHING IN OUR CITY TO BE MID. WE NEED TO BE BETTER THAN THAT. SO WHAT THAT PERCENTAGE LOOKS LIKE, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOME DATA BACK AND JUST DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, SCENARIOS AND WHAT WE COULD DO, BUT IF WE WANT TO BE BETTER AGAIN WE HAVE TO BE BETTER. SO BETTER IS NOT MID. LET'S BE BETTER. THANK YOU. NOW I'M GOING TO FORWARD THIS TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. ONE OF OUR TENURED EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL AND LOYAL TO THE ORGANIZATION. IT'S THE PRINCE OF PRINCETON. MADAM MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, I'M SORRY THAT I DO NOT HAVE THAT SOOTHING VOICE. I WILL TRY TO WORK ON THAT AS I GO ALONG. [CHUCKLING] WE'LL FORGIVE YOU. YEAH SO LET ME TRY TO FIGURE THIS THING OUT. ALL RIGHT, SWEET. SO BEFORE I GET STARTED, I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE FORMAT THAT WE HAVE HERE TODAY. I'VE BEEN HERE FOR ROUGHLY 20 YEARS, RIGHT. I'VE BEEN THROUGH NUMEROUS, NUMEROUS BUDGET PRESENTATIONS. THERE HAS ONLY BEEN, AS FAR AS I CAN RECALL, A HANDFUL OF TIMES TO WHERE WE HAVE BEEN AS DIRECTORS, BEEN ABLE TO TALK TO CERTAIN CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. SO I APPLAUD MISTER MASHBURN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR WE'RE BRINGING IT FORWARD. SO I AM HOPING THAT HELPS ME OUT WITH THE BUDGET JUST A TAD BIT, BUT NO, IN ALL SERIOUSNESS, IT'S THAT TRANSPARENCY, RIGHT? IT'S EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE KIND OF LOOKING FOR, EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE STRIVING FOR, BRINGING IT FORWARD TO Y'ALL, RIGHT? AND Y'ALL ARE THE REPRESENTATION OF THE CITY, AND SO THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR DAY TO COME. LISTEN TO US AND HEAR THE NEEDS OF THE CITY, AND THAT'S SOMETHING. IF I COULD INTERRUPT YOU. JUST A SECOND, CHIEF. YES, SIR. I JUST WANT TO SAY ALSO THAT I'VE BEEN ON THE COUNCIL SINCE 2005 AND WE'VE HAD A FEW BUDGET, NOT RETREATS, BUT THINGS LIKE THIS. EVEN HAD A BREAKFAST ONE MORNING. MISSING THAT THIS MORNING, BUT ANYWAY BUT IT WAS MY INTENTION. I'VE ALWAYS MADE COMMENTS TO ALL OF OUR CITY MANAGERS THAT WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST THAT I WANTED TO HAVE A FORMAT LIKE THIS. I ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE I WAS A COUNTY FIRE MARSHAL, AND AS A DEPARTMENT HEAD, I WAS ALWAYS GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME BEFORE A COMMISSIONERS COURT AND ADDRESS THE COMMISSIONERS COURT. YES, SIR, AND I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE ONES THAT MAKE THE DECISION ARE ABLE TO HEAR FROM THE TROOPS, SO TO SPEAK, AND FIND OUT EXACTLY BECAUSE YOU HEAR IT FROM THE, THE HORSE'S MOUTH, SO TO SPEAK. YES, SIR. IT MAKES US HAVE A BE ABLE TO MAKE A LOT BETTER INFORMED DECISION. [01:35:02] DEFINITELY. WELL THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR TAKING YOUR TIME. THANK YOU, MR. MASHBURN FOR SETTING IT UP AND ALL THE DIRECTORS THAT'S HERE. I'VE BEEN A PART OF THIS PROCESS FOR A LONG TIME, AND I'VE BEEN A PART OF A LOT OF TEAMS WITHIN THE CITY OF PRINCETON, AND JUST A WONDERFUL TEAM THAT WE HAVE HERE IN THE DIRECTORS. Y'ALL KEEP ON TALKING ABOUT ALL STAR TEAMS AND ALL THAT, BEEN HERE FOR 20 YEARS, AND I TRULY CAN STATE THAT WE DO HAVE A WONDERFUL ALL STAR TEAM BEHIND US HERE WORKING, AND EVERYBODY DOES HAVE THE BEST WANTS AND HOPES FOR THE CITY OF PRINCETON. SO I'M TRULY PROUD OF ALL OF THEM TOO AS WELL. SO MOVING FORWARD FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT SIDE, YOU ARE GOING TO SEE THE NEEDS, RIGHT, AND THESE ARE THE NEEDS. THESE ARE NOT THE ONES. THESE ARE NEEDS, AND SO ONE THING THAT WE DID WITHIN THE COMMAND STAFF OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT SIDE IS WE COMPARED OUR NEEDS TO THE CORE VALUES THAT WE HAVE RECENTLY JUST TAKEN IN AT THE STRATEGIC RETREAT. OKAY. SO WE HAVE HEARD A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE POPULATION THAT'S COMING. THE GROWTH IS COMING FOR US, BUT INSIDE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, IT'S HERE, RIGHT? WE'RE ALREADY BEHIND THE CURVE, RIGHT? SO WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT WITH THIS, SO WE'RE GOING TO ESTABLISH THESE NEEDS, RIGHT, AND KIND OF ROLLING FROM THAT. SO THE FIRST AND FOREMOST IS STAFFING. RIGHT, AND SO THE NATIONAL STATE AVERAGE WITH STAFFING FOR OFFICERS AND THIS IS OFFICERS PER THOUSAND IS 2.2. 2.2 OFFICERS PER THOUSAND RESIDENTS. OKAY. INSIDE THE CITY OF PRINCETON RIGHT INSIDE THE CITY OF PRINCETON, WE ROUGHLY HAVE 40 OFFICERS. WE'RE DOWN A LITTLE BIT RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE JUST RECENTLY JUST APPROVED THE SRO POSITIONS, BUT WITH THE SRO POSITIONS, WE ARE AUTHORIZED 40 OFFICERS ON THE LOW END POPULATION, GETTING WITH OUR DEVELOPMENT TEAM AND ALL THAT. WE'RE ROUGHLY SITTING AT 37 ON THE HIGH END FOR PEOPLE THAT WE HAVEN'T CENSUSED YET. WE'RE SITTING AT ANYWHERE FROM 46 TO 47,000. SO ON THE HIGH END FOR US, THAT'S TAKING US TO ROUGHLY 1.15 OFFICER PER THOUSAND. ON A VERY, VERY LOW END. THAT'S 1.8. WE'RE NOT EVEN HALFWAY THERE, BUT YET WE'RE ASKING THESE OFFICERS AND WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT IT. WE'RE ASKING THESE OFFICERS TO GO OUT THERE AND MEET THE MARKET, NOT ONLY MEET THE MARKET, BUT TO EXCEL THE MARK, AND I BELIEVE YOU ALL WOULD AGREE WITH ME WITHIN THE LAST PAST TWO YEARS OF THE COMPLETE OVERHAUL OF THE PD, NOT ONLY HAVE THEY MET THE MARK, THEY HAVE EXCEEDED THE MARK AND WE SET THE STANDARD. WE'RE NOT AVERAGE. THEY WENT BY AND THEY HAVE SET THE STANDARD FOR OTHER AGENCIES TO FOLLOW, AND THAT'S WITH LESS THAN MINIMAL STAFFING THAT THEY'VE DONE. SO THE THINGS THAT I'M TALKING ABOUT AND THE THINGS THAT I'M LOOKING AT IS, YES, PRINCETON IS THE THIRD FASTEST GROWING CITY WITHIN THE NATION, BUT WE GOT TO LOOK AT HIRE TIME. WE GOT TO LOOK AT TRAINING TIME. WE GOT TO LOOK AT OFFICER DOWNTIME. ONE OTHER THING WE GOT TO LOOK AT IS OFFICER STATS. WITHIN THE STATE OF TEXAS, THERE'S OVER 5000 LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WITHIN OVER 5000. THAT'S MUNICIPAL, THAT'S SHERIFF'S OFFICE, THAT'S RAILROAD, THAT'S ISD, THAT'S EVERYTHING ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS WITHIN THE LAST FIVE YEARS, WITHIN THE LAST FIVE YEARS. A LITTLE BIT OVER 1700 CADETS HAVE GRADUATED THE ACADEMY, AND HAD BEEN ISSUED A STATE LICENSE TO BE ABLE TO BE A POLICE OFFICER. THAT'S BECAUSE THESE NEW GENERATIONS DON'T WANT TO DO IT. IT'S A THANKLESS JOB. SO WITHIN THE LAST FIVE YEARS, A LITTLE BIT OVER 1700, THERE'S 5000 AGENCIES WITHIN THE STATE OF TEXAS. IF THE STATE OF TEXAS, ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING STATES IN THE NATION, WE ARE ALL FIGHTING OVER POLICE OFFICERS. EVERYBODY KEEPS ON TALKING ABOUT WE'RE NOT ABLE TO GET WE'RE NOT ABLE TO GET, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO GET BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S FIGHTING, BECAUSE THE POLICE OFFICERS AREN'T THERE TO GET. SO WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO? WE HAVE TO COMPETE WITH OTHER CITIES. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE HAVE TO DO. SO WHAT DO WE DO? WE COME BACK IN THE PD, WE CHANGE THE ORGANIZATION. WE CHANGE THE CULTURE. WE CHANGE ON HOW WE'RE GOING TO END UP APPROACHING THINGS. WE LOOK AS MR. MASHBURN WAS ABLE TO APPROVE ME THIS YEAR IT'S ONE OF THE FIRST TIMES THAT WE WENT OUTSIDE AND WE DID A STRATEGIC PLAN OF THE PD, AND SO WE HAD TO DO IT PRETTY QUICK. SO WHAT I DID IS I JUST ASKED FOR A STRATEGIC PLAN RIGHT HERE AND NOW, WHERE DO WE NEED TO BE AT RIGHT HERE AND NOW? THE 50,000 FOOT RULE, IS I'M LOOKING AT ABOUT 66 TO 78 OFFICERS. ALL RIGHT, CHIEF, LET ME INTERRUPT. I'M AT 40 REALLY QUICK AND THANK YOU FOR THIS INFORMATION. IT'S ACTUALLY A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT I WANTED TO KNOW. SO I'M GOING TO ASK YOU WE'RE AT 0.08 RIGHT NOW. YOU'RE SAYING THAT IT JUST AS A CULTURE OVERALL, OVER 1700 NEW RECRUITS FOR THE STATE THAT'S STATEWIDE, CORRECT? WITHIN FIVE YEARS. YES, SIR. FIVE YEARS. OH, MY GOD, THAT'S EVEN WORSE THAN I THOUGHT. SO WHAT DO WE DO? WHAT DO WE DO TO GET THERE? I'M GLAD YOU ASKED THAT QUESTION, AND WE'RE GOING TO ABSOLUTELY GET TO THAT QUESTION HERE IN ABOUT A SECOND. SO I KNOW MISS FALLON TALKED ABOUT IT. I KNOW SOME OF THE SOME OF THE OTHER ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATION HAS TALKED ABOUT [INAUDIBLE] TALKED ABOUT AND ALL THIS STUFF, AND WE'RE GOING TO GET THERE, BUT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, RIGHT, FIRST THING, WE GOT TO COMPETE. WE CAN'T BE OUT OF THE GAME. WE'RE IN A BOXING RING, RIGHT, MR. WASHINGTON. WE'RE IN A BOXING RING. [01:40:02] WE HAVE GOT TO BE IN THAT GAME, RIGHT? WE GOT TO BE ABLE TO SIT THERE AND FIGHT WITH OTHER AGENCIES. RIGHT. SO HOW DO WE FIGHT? DO WE JUST SIT BACK AND DO WE NOT, YOU KNOW, WORK OUT? DO WE NOT DO THESE THINGS? DO WE NOT WORK OUT THE CITY MUSCLES RIGHT, I.E. PAY OFFICERS INITIATIVES, ALL THESE OTHER THINGS? RIGHT. WE GOT TO START WORKING THOSE MUSCLES OUT. WE GOT TO START FLEXING. RIGHT. BECAUSE THE TIME THAT I'VE BEEN HERE, THERE HAS BEEN NO STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE PD. RIGHT? OUR CITY MOTTO NOW IS PROGRESS WITH PURPOSE. WELL, WE GOT PROGRESS. WHAT PURPOSE? WHAT ARE WE DOING? WE HAVE TO COME UP WITH THESE PLANS. RIGHT? AND SO WHETHER THAT'S GOING TO BE WHAT Y'ALL WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT ADOPTING POLICIES. RIGHT. SO WE'RE GOING TO ADOPT A POLICY. HOW MANY OFFICER PER THOUSAND. WE'RE GOING TO ADOPT THE POLICY OF STRATEGIC PLANS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. WHAT IS OUR GOAL. WHAT ARE WE OFFERING TO THE CITY OF PRINCETON. WHAT ARE WE OFFERING TO THE CITY OF PRINCETON, TO WHERE WE'RE NOT JUST GOING TO THROW PEOPLE AT IT HERE AND THERE? HOW ARE WE GOING TO STAY AHEAD OF THE GAME? AND I DON'T WANT TO BE AVERAGE. I DON'T. I DON'T ASK THESE OFFICERS THAT ARE SITTING BACK HERE TO BE AVERAGE. I ASK THEM TO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND. SO WHY SHOULD WE? HEY, CHIEF, DO WE HAVE IN OUR PLAN A STRATEGY TO APPROACH INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE LEFT OR ARE LEAVING THE MILITARY OR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE RETIRED MILITARY AND LIVING IN PRINCETON AND MAY WANT TO JOIN THE POLICE FORCE. ARE WE DOING ANYTHING WITH THAT? SO I HAVE IN MY PLAN TO APPROACH ANYBODY WHO WAS AUTHORIZED TO BE A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER RIGHT HERE AND NOW. SO AS FAR AS MILITARY, AS FAR AS WE'VE EVEN TALKED ABOUT GOING TO THE SCHOOL AND CREATING A FIVE YEAR PLAN WITHIN THE KIDS IN SCHOOL, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T REALLY BE A POLICE OFFICER UNTIL YOU'RE 21 YEARS OF AGE. TECHNICALLY, YOU CAN BE AT 19, BUT THAT'S A BIG LIABILITY RISK. SO WE'RE EVEN TALKING ABOUT KIDS FROM THE SCHOOL WORKING WITH THEM TO GET THEM THROUGH SOME OF THE THEY CALL IT [INAUDIBLE] CENTER RIGHT, AND SO TO GET THEM SOME OF THE PROGRAMS TO START WORKING TOWARDS LAW ENFORCEMENT, RIGHT, AND EVEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A WAY HOW TO EMPLOY THEM, TO HOLD THEM HERE UNTIL THEY'RE 21, THEN SENDING THEM OFF TO THE ACADEMY, BUT EVEN THAT'S A FIVE YEAR PLAN, BUT STILL, IT BOILS DOWN TO WE ARE COMPETING WITH OTHER AGENCIES. WE'RE IN THE DFW AREA. YEAH, AND THAT'S THE ROUGH PART ABOUT IT. I THINK THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT CONVERSATION TO HAVE WITH RESIDENTS, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT IS SAFETY. YES, MA'AM, AND I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE HAVING TOWN HALLS. SO I'M THINKING THAT THIS COULD BE JUST SAFETY AND FIRE IF ONE OF THE TOWN HALLS COULD BE JUST ABOUT THAT, SO THAT INDIVIDUALS CAN COME AND ASK THE QUESTIONS AND THEN HAVE A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE CITY'S COMMITMENT HAS TO BE IN TERMS OF ATTRACTING AND RETAINING QUALITY POLICE AND FIRE PERSONNEL. PERFECT. SO IF YOU TALK TO ANY POLICE OFFICER WITHIN THE STATE OF TEXAS, THE NUMBER ONE ATTRACTION TRAIT FOR A POLICE OFFICER IS A CULTURE IS THE CULTURE WITHIN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. YOU CAN ASK ANY ONE OF MY OFFICERS HOW THE CULTURE IS. WE SPENT THE LAST PAST TWO YEARS CHANGING THE CULTURE WITHIN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, CHANGING HOW WE'RE SEEING FROM INSIDE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO OUTSIDE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. CULTURE IS VERY BIG FOR ME, BUT CULTURE WON'T PAY THE BILLS. IT'LL JUST MAKE A HAPPY WORK ENVIRONMENT. RIGHT? I'LL SAY THIS REAL QUICK, AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE IN OUR RESIDENTS RECOGNIZE THE WORK THAT YOU'VE PUT INTO THIS. WE HAVE SEEN THIS DEPARTMENT TRANSFORM JUST UNIMAGINABLY IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, AND THAT IS ON YOU. THAT IS 100% YOU, BECAUSE WHILE WE ARE WORKING WITH THIS DEFICIT, WHILE WE'RE WORKING WHERE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH OFFICERS ON THE STREET, WE DON'T HAVE THE FUNDING THAT WE NEED. WE DIDN'T HAVE A PLAN. RIGHT. SO AS WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO DO THIS, WE SAT HERE YEARS AGO AND WE APPROVED FUNDING FOR OFFICERS. WE COULDN'T EVEN GET THE OFFICERS. YES, MA'AM. YOU'VE DONE IT. YOU'VE DONE IT WITH A DEFICIT, AND YOU'VE DONE IT WHILE IMPROVING THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT, AND THAT IS BECAUSE OF CULTURE, AND PEOPLE ARE COMING HERE BECAUSE OF YOU, AND I'VE HEARD IT FROM SO MANY OF THE GUYS THAT ARE COMING HERE. I HEAR IT FROM OTHER AGENCIES. I HEAR IT FROM OTHER CITIES. YOU, SIR, ARE REMARKABLE AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE BECAUSE YOU HAVE INSTILLED THAT CULTURE THAT PEOPLE HAVE LITERALLY BYPASSED MONEY TO BRING HOME TO THEIR FAMILIES BECAUSE THEY WANT TO WORK UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP. SO I COMMEND YOU. I THANK YOU FOR THAT. YES, AND HEY, BEFORE YOU GET STARTED, I KNOW, HE LOVES THAT. THAT EMBARRASSES THE HECK. SO THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT, BUT I'VE WORKED FOR SEVERAL DIFFERENT CITIES. WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN AT A WAR WITH TALENT TO TRY AND RECRUIT OFFICERS. IT'S ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT POSITIONS TO DO, BECAUSE WHO WANTS TO WORK A GRAVEYARD SHIFT AND GET SHOT AT ONCE IN A WHILE? THAT DOESN'T SOUND SUPER FUN TO ME AT ALL, BUT SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, WE'VE HAD A WAITING LIST TO GET IN HERE TO BE UNDERPAID. [01:45:01] WHICH, TO HIGHLIGHT WHAT YOU SAID, IT'S BECAUSE OF CHIEF. I'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH HIM AND A LOT OF HIS STAFF. YOU WALK THROUGH, THEY KNOW THE CULTURE. THEY KNOW THEIR CORE VALUES. THEY ARE ON POINT, AND SOME OF THE CASES THAT THEY'VE CRACKED THAT AREN'T PUBLICLY ARE HUGE. REALLY AMAZING THAT WE HAVE THE PEOPLE WE HAVE. SO GREAT JOB. THANK YOU. WELL, IF I WASN'T NERVOUS BEFORE, THAT IS. THAT IS ABSOLUTE KRYPTONITE FOR ME, BUT THANK YOU. UNDERSTAND? YES, MA'AM. THE DEFICIT, AND I WANT TO TAKE THIS PERSONALLY. THAT IS A FAILURE ON OUR PART FOR NOT MAKING FOR SURE THAT THINGS WERE DONE CORRECTLY, THAT THERE WAS MORE PLANNING, THERE WAS MORE STRATEGIC PLANNING TO PUT YOU IN A POSITION TO SUCCEED. SO I APOLOGIZE THAT YOU ARE WHERE YOU ARE. SO DON'T BE NERVOUS ON THAT ONE. YOU DON'T HAVE TO APOLOGIZE BECAUSE Y'ALL CAN ONLY DO WITH THE INFORMATION THAT'S GIVEN TO YOU. RIGHT, AND SO THAT'S THE REASON WHY I APPLAUD THE FORMAT TODAY BECAUSE THE INFORMATION IS FLOWING. IT'S COMING FORWARD, AND I'M HEARING ALL THESE DIRECTORS THAT ARE COMING UP AND THAT ARE SPEAKING THEIR NEEDS, AND THESE ARE NEEDS THAT ARE NOT JUST ALL OF A SUDDEN, THESE ARE NEEDS THAT HAVE BEEN HERE FOR A WHILE, AND SO THAT COMMUNICATION MIGHT NOT HAVE FLOWED TO CITY COUNCIL, TO WHERE THESE STRATEGIC DECISIONS CAN BE MADE, OR COME UP WITH STRATEGIC PLANS OR COME UP WITH POLICIES. AS FAR AS, HEY, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO COME UP WITH A POLICY OF HOW MANY OFFICERS PER THOUSAND DO WE WANT TO DO, OR WHAT DO WE WANT TO DO TO START COMBATING THIS IN THE FUTURE? BECAUSE I KNOW I'M NOT GOING TO BE HERE FOREVER. I KNOW Y'ALL ARE NOT GOING TO BE HERE FOREVER, BUT, YOU KNOW, PART IS THESE OFFICERS THAT ARE STANDING BACK HERE, THAT'S OUR FUTURE. WHAT ARE WE DOING RIGHT NOW? YOU TALKED ABOUT IT EARLIER. WHAT ARE WE DOING RIGHT NOW TO SET THEM UP FOR SUCCESS? TO BE ABOVE THAT AVERAGE BAR? SO RIGHT NOW WITHIN THE CONSULTING FIRM, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE RIGHT HERE AND NOW OUR NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS WITH THAT FIRM IS WE ARE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT A 2 TO 5 YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN, BUT WITH TALKING WITH THEM, THE ISSUES THAT WE RUN INTO IS WE'RE SEEING THE POPULATION GROWTH GO FROM ANYWHERE FROM 26 TO 32%, SO THEY CAN'T REALLY GIVE US A GOOD HARD NUMBER YET. THE ONLY NUMBERS THAT THEY CAN REALLY GO OFF OF IS WHAT WE'VE DONE. ROUGHLY TWO YEARS AGO WE DIDN'T HAVE THE POPULATION TWO YEARS AGO, WHAT WE HAVE TODAY. SO THE BEST NUMBER THAT THEY CAN COME UP WITH IS THE RATIO WITH THE NUMBER OF OFFICERS THAT WE HAVE ON PATROL, MIND YOU, VERSUS THE NUMBER OF CALLS FOR SERVICE THAT WE HAVE. SO ONE OF THE THINGS I WANT TO KIND OF BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO ABSOLUTELY CONTEND WITH, EVERYBODY AGREES THAT HIGHWAY 380 IS ONE OF THE WORST HIGHWAYS, PROBABLY WITHIN THE STATE OF TEXAS CORRECT, RIGHT. NO ON RAMPS, NO OFF RAMPS. WE HAVE BUSINESSES THAT DUMP OUT ON HIGHWAY 380. WE DON'T HAVE ANY FRONTAGE ROAD. WE HAVE HOUSES THAT DUMP OFF ON HIGHWAY 380. IT'S EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. THEY'RE ABOUT TO REDUCE THE FOUR LANE HIGHWAY INTO TWO. IT'S ALREADY BACKED UP RIGHT NOW AS IS. SO IF YOU BREAK THAT DOWN, YOU LOOK, I'M GOING TO HAVE TO OPERATE TECHNICALLY TWO CITIES. A NORTH SIDE AND A SOUTH SIDE. RIGHT NOW, TODAY I HAVE FIVE OFFICERS ON THE STREET. ACTUALLY I DON'T TODAY I WAS SITTING AND LOOKING AT EARLIER. I HAVE THREE OFFICERS ON THE STREET. THREE OFFICERS ON THE STREET. I'M ALLOTTED FIVE. THREE OFFICERS ON THE STREET, BUT YOU GOT TO THINK ABOUT A YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF AGO, WHENEVER I TOOK OVER, I ONLY HAD 1.5 DETECTIVES. THE CASELOAD WAS OVER 700 CASES PER DETECTIVE. PEOPLE WERE MAD BECAUSE CASES WEREN'T BEING SOLVED. WARRANTS WEREN'T BEING SOLVED. REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS WAS OUT THE ROOF. WE COULDN'T GET A HANDLE ON THAT, COULDN'T GET CONTROL ON THAT. SO I HAD TO GO IN, REVAMP CID. WE JUST CAME BACK IN REVAMPED SROS, REVAMPING ALL THESE DIFFERENT ITEMS THAT ARE OUT THERE, BUT RIGHT NOW WE'VE GOT TO START PROJECTING FOR THE GROWTH, NOT GOING BACK AND REVAMPING. WE'VE GOT TO START SETTING THAT BAR ABOVE AVERAGE. WE'VE GOT TO START LOOKING AT THAT. SO IN DOING THAT, SO WE'RE GOING TO GO TO THE NEXT THING TO HELP US COMBAT THE STAFFING. I THINK I TALKED SO MUCH THAT I KILLED IT. THERE IT GOES. [INAUDIBLE]. I KNOW FALLON ALREADY DISCUSSED THIS, BUT I'M JUST GOING TO BRING IT UP AGAIN. WE HAVE 13 COMPARABLE CITIES. WE'RE THIRD LAST. WE HAVE NEGOTIATED OUR STEP PAY RAISES EVERY TWO YEARS. THAT'S WHAT WE DO. WE COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL. WE RENEGOTIATE EVERY TWO YEARS. WE ASK FOR WHATEVER INCREASES ALL THIS STUFF. RIGHT? BECAUSE ONE, WE DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR TO COME BACK AND NEGOTIATE EVERY YEAR WHENEVER WE HAVE OTHER DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY THAT'S GETTING UNDERPAID TOO AS WELL. SO WE DO TRY TO BE A TEAM PLAYER ON SOME ASPECTS, RIGHT? BUT WITH THAT, WHAT ARE WE RUNNING INTO? IF THE WHOLE DFW AREA IS COMPETITIVE IN PAY, AT SOME POINT IN TIME, WE'RE GOING TO RUN INTO RETENTION ISSUES. LIKE I SAID EARLIER, CULTURE DON'T PAY THE BILLS. WE HAVE YOUNG OFFICERS THAT ARE CREATING FAMILIES, THAT THEIR FAMILIES ARE GROWING, THAT THEY WANT THE BEST FOR THEIR KIDS. IN TODAY'S SOCIETY, IT'S VERY EXPENSIVE TO LIVE. SO AS EVERYBODY KNOWS, I HAVE AN OLDER DAUGHTER WHO'S ROUGHLY 21 YEARS OF AGE, AND I RAN THE NUMBERS JUST TO SEE WHAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE TO MOVE HER OUT OF THE HOUSE. [01:50:05] I LOVE HER RIGHT, BUT I JUST WANT TO MOVE HER OUT OF THE HOUSE. IT'S GOING TO TAKE. BASE SALARY $61,000. $61,000 TO MOVE A KID OUT OF THE HOUSE INTO THE WORLD ON THEIR OWN. THAT'S WITHOUT ANY HELP. ANYTHING. APARTMENT COMPLEXES. PRICES ARE GOING UP. APARTMENTS ARE ALMOST EXPENSIVE AS HOUSES. NOW ALL THE INSURANCE IS GOING UP. CARS ARE GOING UP, FUEL IS GOING UP. EVERYTHING GOING UP ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE BOARD. SAME THING'S HAPPENING FOR THESE OFFICERS BACK HERE. IT'S GOING UP ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE BOARD. CHILD DAYCARE. I WAS TALKING ONE OF MY NIGHTSHIFT OFFICERS THE OTHER NIGHT. CHILD DAYCARE WAS LIKE A 2 TO $3000 A MONTH, BUT YET WE'RE GOING TO BE THE THIRD LOWEST CITY WITHIN THESE COMPARABLE CITIES, AND MIND YOU, THE TWO CITIES THAT ARE LOWERING US, OUR POPULATION ALREADY DWARFS THEM. OUR CALL LOAD ABSOLUTELY DWARFS THEM, AND THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE ASKED OUR OFFICERS TO DO, ESPECIALLY WITHIN THESE LAST TWO YEARS, THESE OTHER CITIES CAN'T TOUCH US. THEY JUST CAN'T DO IT. SO IT'S THE ATTRACTION. WE'RE COMPETING WITH ALL THESE OTHER CITIES, WYLIE, SACHSE, MURPHY, MCKINNEY, ALLEN. I HAD SOMEONE REACH OUT TO ME FROM MCKINNEY. WAS IT LAST WEEK? I HAD SOMEONE REACH OUT TO MCKINNEY? SAID THEY WOULD ABSOLUTELY COME. LOVE TO COME WORK FOR US IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO TAKE A $20,000 PAY CUT. THAT'S THE TYPE OF TALENT THAT WE'RE MISSING. LUCKILY, SO MR. OBERA YOU ASKED FOR THE CMV PROGRAM; WE GOT THAT UP AND GOING. IT'S STARTING TO COME AS SOON AS WE GET THE TRUCK IN COMING IN, IT'S ABSOLUTELY GOING TO BE WONDERFUL. WE HAVE A PERSON FROM MCKINNEY THAT'S GOING TO RUN THAT FOR US. HE CAME OVER FROM THE CITY OF MCKINNEY. HE'S BEEN DOING IT OVER THE CITY OF MCKINNEY FOR OVER 15 YEARS. HE STARTED UP THE PROGRAM OVER THE CITY OF MCKINNEY, BUT BECAUSE WE HAVE THAT SPECIALTY UNIT AND HE KNOWS THERE'S THAT POSSIBILITY OF THE PAY RAISES AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT COMING IN, THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT WE WERE TRYING TO ATTRACT. WERE YOU ABOUT TO ASK A QUESTION? I'M SORRY. I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT YOU DIDN'T WANT TO BRING THAT UP UNTIL EVERY TWO YEARS JUST BECAUSE OTHER DEPARTMENTS HAVE OTHER NEEDS. HOWEVER, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO POSSIBLY RECONSIDER THAT AND COME BACK ON A YEARLY BASIS. TWO YEARS IS A LONG TIME. A LOT OF CHANGE HAPPENS IN TWO YEARS. WE'VE SEEN THE MAJORITY OF OUR GROWTH HERE HAPPEN WITHIN THE LAST TWO YEARS. SO IF YOU'RE OPERATING ON NUMBERS TWO YEARS AGO, AGAIN, THAT'S NOT PUTTING YOU IN A POSITION TO SUCCEED. SO WE'RE HAPPY TO REVIEW THAT YEARLY, AND I WOULD REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO AND, AND JUST THINKING ABOUT THE MORALE OF THE OFFICERS AGAIN, TWO YEARS IS A LONG TO WAIT, A LONG TIME TO WAIT IF THE WAGES AREN'T COMPARABLE AND THEY'RE UNHAPPY TO SAY, OH, WE'LL REVIEW IT AGAIN IN A COUPLE OF YEARS. PLEASE BRING THAT TO US SOONER. YES, MA'AM. DEFINITELY. SO WITH THAT MRS. DAVID-GRAVES, YOU GAVE A NUMBER OUT, RIGHT? IT'S KIND OF THAT MEDIAN AVERAGE NUMBER, YOU KNOW, THE ROUGHLY 77. RIGHT, AND SO WHENEVER WE RAN OUR STATISTICS AND ALL THE OTHER STUFF, IF WE WANT TO GET AHEAD OF THAT, IF WE WANT TO BE COMBATING WITH THESE OTHER CITIES AS FAR AS ATTRACTING. 1700 CADETS HAVE GRADUATED WITHIN THE LAST FIVE YEARS. SO WE'RE TRYING TO PULL FROM OTHER AGENCIES. WHAT ARE WE DOING TO PULL FROM THOSE OTHER AGENCIES TO GET THAT EXPERIENCE, THAT QUALITY OF OFFICER HERE? WE'VE GOT TO BE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER. WE GOTTA BE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER AND WE GOTTA INCENTIVIZE THEM. WE GOT TO COME UP WITH DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. WE GOT TO LET THEM KNOW WHERE WE ARE GOING TO IN THE FUTURE. WE GOT TO COME UP WITH A PLAN. WE JUST CAN'T KEEP ON GUESSTIMATING AT THINGS. WE GOT TO COME UP WITH A PLAN. WE GOT TO SAY, OKAY, HEY, THIS YEAR WE MIGHT NEED X NUMBER OF OFFICERS NEXT YEAR. THIS IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT NEXT YEAR, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, AND THE GREAT THING ABOUT IT IS, IS WE'RE STILL ON WE'RE STILL IN FOUNDATION AREA RIGHT NOW. WE'RE STILL GROWING OUR PD. YOU KNOW, THE MAIN CORE PART OF OUR PD IS PATROL AND SPECIAL OPERATIONS. RIGHT, AND WE HAVE SROS. WE HAVE ALL THAT STUFF, BUT WE'RE STILL RIGHT HERE ON THE FOUNDATION LEVEL. CHIEF, I WANT TO SO WE CAN SHAPE THAT HOW WE WANT TO. I WANT TO SAY SOMETHING TO WHAT YOU JUST SAID AND HOW WE'RE AT THE FOUNDATION LEVEL, AND THAT WE'RE STILL GROWING THE PD. I THINK A COMPETITIVE, COMPETITIVE EDGE THAT WE CAN ALL THINK IF WE COMPENSATE THESE OFFICERS THE WAY THEY NEED TO BE TO BRING THEM IN HERE, A GROWING PD THAT COMES ALONG WITH OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCEMENT WITHIN THE PD AND SO IF WE'RE GETTING THESE YOUNG OFFICERS THAT ARE VIGOROUS AND THEY'RE READY TO GO TO WORK AND THEY'RE MAKING GOOD COMPETITIVE WAGES, KNOWING, HEY, HOWEVER MANY YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, I COULD BECOME A SERGEANT, I COULD BECOME A DETECTIVE. I CAN GO IN TO BE, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT LIEUTENANT, WHATEVER, CAPTAIN, RIGHT. THOSE OPPORTUNITIES ARE THERE. THEY'RE GOING TO STAY HERE, AND SO WE FIND OURSELVES IN A VERY, VERY, I THINK, AWESOME SITUATION TO WHERE WE CAN REALLY GROW AN AMAZING PD. BECAUSE WE'RE AT THAT FOUNDATION LEVEL THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, AND, YOU KNOW, AS SOMEBODY WHO'S WORN A UNIFORM I GET [01:55:04] IT. WHEN YOU'RE UNDERSTAFFED, I CAN'T IMAGINE BEING AT 1.08 OFFICERS PER THOUSAND ONE OF MY FELLOW OFFICERS IS ON VACATION, AND NOW WE'RE MINUS ONE MORE THAT WEEK OR THAT DAY, OR THEY'RE SICK AND WE'RE MINUS ONE FOR THAT NIGHT OR THAT SHIFT. THERE'S A FEW DEPARTMENTS IN CITIES THAT CAN'T BE UNDERSTAFFED. POLICE IS ABSOLUTELY ONE OF THOSE. SO FOR ME, THIS IS A TOP PRIORITY, MAKING SURE THAT THE CITY IS TAKEN CARE OF AND THE RESIDENTS ARE TAKEN CARE OF BECAUSE PUBLIC SAFETY POLICE FIRE. THOSE ARE TWO DEPARTMENTS THAT CANNOT BE LACKING AT ALL. IN MY OPINION. IT HAS TO BE, IN MY OPINION, OVERSTAFFED. IT'S BETTER TO HAVE IT AND NOT NEED IT THAN TO NEED IT AND NOT HAVE IT, AND RIGHT NOW WE NEED IT AND WE DON'T HAVE IT. YEAH, AND WHAT PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE IS THAT, I MEAN, WE ONE CALL FROM WALMART, THE SETBACK THAT PUTS US AS A CITY OF HAVING AN OFFICER TIED UP TO AN EVENT AT WALMART AND THEN HAVING TO DRIVE TO THE COUNTY OVER ONE INCIDENT AT WALMART, AND THEY HAPPEN EVERY DAY, AND IT'S WILD AND YEAH WALMART. YEAH. SO WITH THAT KIND OF GO BACK TO THE STAFFING NEEDS. SO I KNOW WE'RE ON PAY RIGHT NOW, BUT KIND OF GOING BACK TO THE STAFFING NEEDS, SOME OF THE THINGS YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, SUPERVISORS KIND OF JOGGED MY MEMORY. SO WHENEVER WE START SPLITTING UP. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT GOING TO DISTRICTS. RIGHT. SO WITHIN THIS NEXT YEAR, THE MAIN THINGS I'M LOOKING AT I ONLY HAVE ONE SERGEANT PER SHIFT RIGHT NOW THAT'S OUT THERE ON THE STREETS. WE'RE BREAKING THE CITY UP INTO TWO ESSENTIALLY BY HIGHWAY 380 BEING SHUT DOWN OR NOT SHUT DOWN, BUT BEING ROADWAY CONSTRUCTED ON. CORRECT. I NEED AT LEAST TWO OFFICERS OR TWO SERGEANTS PER SHIFT. THAT'S OUT THERE. ONE ON NORTH SIDE, ONE ON SOUTH SIDE. PROBABLY TO DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF OFFICERS PER SHIFT THAT'S OUT THERE RIGHT NOW WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON. BECAUSE ON AVERAGE, JUST TRAVELING THROUGH ONE OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS AT NIGHT TIME, IF YOU WANT TO DO A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH AND YOU'RE TRAVELING THROUGH ONE OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS TO WHERE YOUR SPOTLIGHT AND ALLEYWAYS OR YOU'RE LOOKING IN BETWEEN THE CARS AND ALL THIS STUFF TO TRY TO PREVENT ALL THE MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS OR THE BURGLARIES AND STUFF LIKE THAT. ON AVERAGE, IT'LL TAKE YOU ABOUT A GOOD HOUR PER NEIGHBORHOOD, AND THAT'S JUST PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE. PREVENT CRIME PREVENTION. THAT'S JUST CRIME PREVENTION. THAT'S NOT TALKING ABOUT THE ARRESTS FROM SOME OF THESE STORES, ANYTHING LIKE THAT. ON AVERAGE, AN ARREST FROM A STORE, IT'S GOING TO TAKE ANYWHERE FROM 4 TO 5 HOURS. THAT'S ALMOST HALF THE SHIFT TO WHERE WE LOSE THAT OFFICER, AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE DRILLING DOWN TO THE NEED AND ALSO ADDRESSING REAL, REAL TIME ISSUES THAT RESIDENTS ARE FACED WITH BECAUSE, FOR INSTANCE, RESIDENTS ARE SAYING, OKAY, PEOPLE ARE RACING THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND WE HAVE REPORTED IT TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, BUT NOTHING IS BEING DONE, AND IT COMES WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT IT'S JUST LIKE GOING TO THE HOSPITAL. YOU'RE IN AN EMERGENCY ROOM, YOU ARE EXPERIENCING AN EMERGENCY, BUT SOMEONE WAS FLOWN IN THAT HAS A GREATER EMERGENCY, SO YOU'RE GETTING PUSHED BACK. SO IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES, WE NEED ADEQUATE STAFFING. WE NEED TO HAVE COMPETITIVE PAY. WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO ATTRACT THE TALENT AND RETAIN THE TALENT. SO IT'S REALLY GOOD THAT WE'RE DRILLING DOWN. SO RESIDENTS HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT IT TAKES. LIKE MAYOR JUST SAID, ONE CALL FROM WALMART TIES UP SO MANY RESOURCES, AND I DON'T THINK INDIVIDUALS ARE AS RESIDENTS WE DO EVEN FOR US HERE IN COUNCIL, WE DO HAVE A FULL IDEA OF THE BREADTH OF WHAT IT TAKES TO REALLY DO POLICE WORK. YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU FOR THAT. REAL QUICK, CHIEF, BEFORE YOU START YOU KNOW, IT'S DEFINITELY OBVIOUS, YOU KNOW, IN REGARDS TO STAFFING THAT. THAT PAY IS AN ISSUE TO BE COMPETITIVE. WHAT ARE SOME OTHER INCENTIVES THAT YOU COULD USE TO COMPETE WITH THESE OTHER MUNICIPALITIES BESIDES PAY? PERFECT QUESTION. SO WE HAVE ALREADY STARTED LOOKING AT SOME OF THE DIFFERENT INCENTIVES, ALL THAT OTHER STUFF. SO AS MISTER GERFERS TALKED ABOUT. RIGHT. SO WE'RE KIND OF STILL ON THAT FOUNDATION AREA, RIGHT? SO THAT FOUNDATION AREA FOR US ALLOWS US TO START UP THESE SPECIALTY UNITS, AS YOU ALL HAVE KIND OF SEEN BETWEEN REVAMPING THE SRO, YOU KNOW, AND BRANCHING OUT RIGHT THERE, WE DO HAVE SERGEANTS POSITIONS THAT HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, UPON APPROVAL, START COMING IN THE PROMOTION, THE GROWTH WITHIN THE OFFICERS, ALL THAT OTHER GOOD STUFF TO SO THE CULTURE. SO ONE OF MY BIGGEST THINGS IS CULTURE, AS YOU ALL ARE WORRIED ABOUT. ONE OF MY BIGGEST RECRUITING TOOLS IS OFFICERS ITSELF. WE CAN PUT OUT WHATEVER FLIERS AND PAMPHLETS AND ALL THE OTHER STUFF WE WANT TO OUT THERE, BUT THE OFFICERS GO OUT THERE AND RECRUIT THE OTHER OFFICERS. WE INVEST BACK INTO THE OFFICERS, AND SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT INCENTIVIZING IS BEING ABLE TO UP THE TRAINING PROGRAMS. [02:00:05] BEING ABLE TO UP THE PROGRAMS FOR THE OFFICERS ITSELF. YOU ALL RECENTLY SAW THAT WE HAD THE SWAT TEAM JUST STARTED UP. OFFICERS ARE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. THEY GET TO GO AND TALK. K-9 UNIT JUST STARTED UP. CMV UNIT JUST STARTED UP ALL THESE SPECIALTY PROGRAMS THAT WE NEED, BUT IT SHOWS THESE OFFICERS THAT ARE COMING IN. OH MY GOSH, WE'RE GETTING AHEAD OF THE CURVE. WE'RE MAKING THIS NOT ONLY A WONDERFUL PLACE TO WORK, BUT WE'RE BEING PROGRESSIVE WITH IT TOO AS WE GO AND THESE OFFICERS THAT ARE COMING IN, THEY WANT TO BE A PART OF THIS. YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE SOME INCENTIVES TO TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE PAID HOLIDAYS AND ALL THIS STUFF, BUT WHAT OTHER AGENCY DOESN'T HAVE THAT RIGHT? SO, AS MR. MASHBURN HAS CHARGED ME WITH IS THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? AND I'LL TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, THE BIGGEST THING, THE BIGGEST THING THAT WE COULD EVER DO IS CHANGE THE CULTURE, BUT THEN AGAIN, THE CULTURE DON'T PAY THE BILLS AND WE CAN PUT AS MANY OFFICERS AS WE WANT TO. WE CAN SAY, I WANT 8 MILLION OFFICERS. THAT'S GREAT, BUT YOU WON'T ATTRACT ONE UNLESS THE PAY IS UP THERE TO GET THEM FROM THESE OTHER AGENCIES, AND THAT'S THE REASON WHY ON THE SLIDE YOU'LL SEE QUALITY VERSUS QUANTITY. A TOP QUALITY OFFICER. DO YOU WANT OUT THERE? OKAY, AND CHIEF, BEING A LONGTIME POLICE OFFICER MYSELF OVER 40 YEARS, I UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES YOU HAVE AND ALSO THE PAY. YOU KNOW, I CAN TELL YOU WAR STORIES ABOUT THAT, BUT I'M GLAD THE PAY HAS INCREASED CONSIDERABLY BECAUSE IT USED TO BE THAT THE POLICE OFFICER WENT TO WORK FOR AN AGENCY, NOT JUST FOR THE PAY, BUT JUST FOR THE SATISFACTION. JOB SATISFACTION. THEY DIDN'T CARE ABOUT THE PAY. WELL, THAT'S THINGS HAVE CHANGED BECAUSE THE PRICES HAVE INCREASED ON EVERYTHING. SO OFFICERS ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE PAY GOING INTO THAT, BUT ALSO I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS SOMETHING ELSE. YOU KNOW, YOU TALK ABOUT TRAFFIC ON 380 AND IT'S ABOUT TO GO DOWN TO TWO LANES WHENEVER THEY START CONSTRUCTION HERE. HAVE YOU CONSIDERED MAYBE MAKING A TRAFFIC UNIT AND HAVING A COUPLE MOTORCYCLES, BECAUSE IT'D BE EASY TO GET IN AND OUT OF THAT TRAFFIC TO, AND ALSO UNITS DURING THE DAYTIME WHENEVER YOU HAVE MOST OF THE ACCIDENTS TO BE ABLE TO DO THE ACCIDENT REPORTS INSTEAD OF TAKING OTHER OFFICERS OFF THEIR BEATS. YES, SIR. ABSOLUTELY. WONDERFUL IDEA. YES. YES, SIR. WE HAVE CONSIDERED IT. SO WAS IT ROUGHLY ABOUT A YEAR AGO, WHENEVER I FIRST CAME WITH THE TRAFFIC UNIT I WAS ASKED TO LOOK AT THE CMV PROGRAM. SO WE'RE GOING TO BE STARTING UP THE CMV PROGRAM. WE'RE GOING TO BUILD OFF AROUND THAT. RIGHT. SO WITH THIS EXTRA OFFICER, I HAVE ONE ADDITIONAL OFFICER RIGHT NOW ALL MY SHIFTS ARE EVEN, RIGHT? I HAVE ONE ADDITIONAL OFFICER. THAT OFFICER, ONCE I GET IT FILLED, WILL FLOAT OVER INTO THE TRAFFIC UNIT, AND ONCE THOSE TWO GET GOING, HOPEFULLY WITHIN THIS YEAR, WE ARE STARTING UP THE MOTORS PROGRAM, AND SO THOSE ARE THE CONVERSATIONS I DID HAVE WITH COMMAND STAFF WITH MISS TIFFANY OVER HERE AND WITH OUR CMV OFFICER AS WELL, BUT, YOU KNOW, HERE'S THE PROBLEM. WHENEVER I'M RUNNING SO SHORT ON STAFF, RIGHT, I OPENED UP THREE SRO POSITIONS. ODDS ARE I'M GOING TO HAVE THREE PATROL OFFICERS GO TO THE SROS. SO NOW I'VE GOT TO GO BACK AND HIRE BACK THOSE PATROL OFFICERS, AND IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIRING, IT TAKES ROUGHLY 3 TO 4 MONTHS TO HIRE AN OFFICER IN. IT TAKES AN ADDITIONAL FOUR MONTHS TO GET THEM TRAINED. I'M SITTING AT OVER THREE QUARTERS OF A YEAR BEFORE I SEE THAT OFFICER ON THE STREET. NOW, IS THAT GOING TO BE AN OFFICER WHO'S ALREADY BEEN TRAINED BEFORE? ARE WE ATTRACTING AN OFFICER FROM ANOTHER CITY TO WHERE I CAN RELY ON THEIR TRAINING, OR IS THAT GOING TO BE AN OFFICER WHO'S BRAND NEW? NOTHING WRONG WITH THEM. THEY JUST HAVEN'T BEEN TRAINED YET. SO WE GOT ON THE JOB TRAINING AND THEN WE GOT ALL THE EXTRA TRAINING THAT'S OUT THERE TOO AS WELL, BUT YES SIR. IN SHORT, YES SIR. WE DID CONSIDER THE MOTORCYCLES AND ALL THAT STUFF, BUT MY DIRE NEED RIGHT NOW IS THE PATROL OFFICERS THAT'S OUT THERE AND I DO UNDERSTAND THAT THE NEED FOR MORE OFFICERS BECAUSE OF ESPECIALLY BACKUPS, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED YOUR Y'ALL PROBABLY GO INTO THE COUNTY TO ALSO BACK UP SHERIFF'S UNITS OR CONSTABLE'S UNITS, ESPECIALLY. I UNDERSTAND THAT BECAUSE IN MY PAST EXPERIENCE AS AN OFFICER, SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, MY NEAREST BACKUP UNIT WOULD BE 15, 20 MINUTES AWAY. RIGHT. A LOT OF THINGS CAN HAPPEN IN 15 OR 20 MINUTES, AND SO IT'S REALLY COMFORTING TO KNOW THAT YOU HAVE A BACKUP OFFICER PRETTY CLOSE. ALSO BACK IN, I'VE GOT TO SAY BACK IN MY DAY THAT THE CRIMINALS ACTUALLY RESPECTED THE POLICE OFFICERS A LOT MORE THAN THEY DO TODAY. YOU KNOW, THINGS HAVE CHANGED, BUT I THINK SOME OF THAT SOCIAL MEDIA, WE DIDN'T HAVE THE SOCIAL MEDIA BACK THEN, BUT IT IS A DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT CULTURE THAT WE LIVE IN NOWADAYS. SO POLICING IS QUITE A BIT DIFFERENT IN DOING THAT, BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. THANK YOU. YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. WE DO LIVE IN A WORLD OF NEGATIVITY, AND BECAUSE WE LIVE IN THAT WORLD OF NEGATIVITY, THAT'S JUST GOING TO KEEP ON BREEDING NEGATIVITY UNTIL SOMETHING CHANGES. SO MOVING ON. I KNOW Y'ALL PROBABLY WANT TO GET WRAPPED UP WITH THIS TODAY. I CAN SIT HERE AND TALK ALL DAY ABOUT THIS. [02:05:02] SO SOME MORE NEEDS, RIGHT? MORE OFFICERS IS GOING TO INCUR MORE VEHICLES. MORE OFFICERS ARE GOING TO INCUR MORE VEHICLES. RIGHT NOW, I'VE GOT 2019S THAT ARE SITTING IN PATROL RIGHT NOW. ON AVERAGE, I SHOULD HAVE A PATROL VEHICLE THAT'S ABOUT THREE YEARS OLD OR LESS THAN 100,000 MILES BEFORE I TAKE THEM OUT OF PATROL. SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE MAXED OUT AS FAR AS OFFICER USED TO VEHICLES. SO FOR EVERY VEHICLE, IT'S ROUGHLY TWO OFFICERS PER VEHICLE. THAT'S THE AVERAGE FOR EVERY VEHICLE IS GOING TO BE TWO OFFICERS. IT'S REALLY 2.2 OFFICERS PER VEHICLE BECAUSE YOU ALWAYS GOT TO ACCOUNT FOR EITHER AN OFFICER BEING INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT, WHICH WE EXPERIENCED THIS LAST WEEK. RIGHT, WASN'T HIS FAULT. SO WE'RE GOOD, BUT OFFICERS BEING INVOLVED IN ACCIDENTS, MAINTENANCE, DOWNTIME, ALL THIS STUFF FOR THE VEHICLES. SO FOR EVERY VEHICLE IS GOING TO BE 2.2. SO WHATEVER WE DECIDE AS A COUNCIL OR WHATEVER WE DECIDE FOR POLICIES, PROCEDURES MOVING FORWARD, WE NEED TO KEEP IN MIND THAT WE'RE ALSO GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK AT VEHICLES ALSO MOVING FORWARD, BUT THE PROBLEM WITH THIS IS IT TAKES ROUGHLY ABOUT A YEAR TO GET A VEHICLE IN. Y'ALL COULD ADOPT TODAY THAT WE COULD HAVE SO MANY OFFICERS, BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO DO US ANY GOOD UNTIL WE GET THE VEHICLES IN FOR THEM TO DRIVE AROUND IN, UNLESS WE'RE CREATING FOOT PATROL, WHICH WE'RE NOT DOING. SO THIS IS GOING TO BE A DIRE NEED TO AS WELL, AND SO THE UNFORTUNATE PART IS, IS BUY BOOKS WE HAVE TO OPERATE OFF BUY BOOKS. ALL THAT. RIGHT. SO WE HAVE TO OPERATE OFF BUY BOOKS. SO I'VE GOT TO PUT IN THE REQUEST PROBABLY HERE IN ABOUT A WEEK OR A MONTH ON HOW MANY VEHICLES I WANT TO GO AHEAD AND ORDER TO POSSIBLY BE ABLE TO SEE AT THIS TIME NEXT YEAR. SO YOU HAVE THE STATE AVERAGE HERE OF 2.2 OFFICERS TO ONE VEHICLE. WHAT'S OUR AVERAGE? OUR AVERAGE RIGHT NOW. NOW. SO MIND YOU, I'M STILL OPERATING IN CID. I BELIEVE WE STILL HAVE A 2010 CHARGER IN CID. NOW WE'RE GETTING ALL THAT REPLACED THANKS TO THE MID-YEAR ALLOWANCE, ALL THAT STUFF. WE DO HAVE THE 2018 EXPLORERS THAT WE JUST SWITCHED OVER TO PATROL OUR AVERAGE. WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT ONE POINT OR. I'M SORRY. SO 3.3, ROUGHLY OFFICERS PER VEHICLE. OKAY. DID YOU SAY WE HAD A 2010 SOMETHING? DID YOU A 2010 FOR WHAT? CID. YOU GOT TO LOVE CLASSIC CARS. NOW Y'ALL DID THIS LAST YEAR. Y'ALL DID APPROVE A MID-YEAR ALLOWANCE TO BE ABLE TO PURCHASE TO GET THOSE CID CARS OFF THE LOT BECAUSE THEY ARE GOING DOWN. WE DID HAVE TWO MORE VEHICLES GO DOWN, AND THEN WE DID HAVE ONE OF THE SROS WRECK OUT. SO WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK AT REPLACING THAT SRO VEHICLE AT SOME POINT IN TIME. SO WE HAVE BEEN DOING THE SCHOOL A FAVOR THE LAST PAST TWO YEARS BECAUSE THE 2018 DODGE OR NOT DODGE, I'M SORRY, FORD EXPLORERS HAVE BEEN PAID OFF FOR A LITTLE WHILE NOW, AND SO WE HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTING THOSE INTO THE SROS. THE SCHOOL, WE PRETTY MUCH GO HALF AND HALF WITH THE SCHOOL ON THE OFFICER AND THE VEHICLE, AND SO WE'VE BEEN UTILIZING THE EXPLORERS TO HELP DRIVE DOWN THE COSTS OF BEEFING UP THE SRO PROGRAM, BECAUSE WE SERIOUSLY NEEDED IT. YEAH. CHIEF, I JUST WANT TO GO BACK TO THIS 2.2 OFFICERS PER VEHICLE, AND, I DON'T KNOW, PROBABLY CONCERNS ABOUT YOUR SHIFTS OR HOW Y'ALL WORK IT. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WORK 10 HOUR OR 12 HOUR SHIFTS OR EIGHT HOUR SHIFTS. YOU KNOW, IF YOU WORK EIGHT HOUR SHIFTS AND AGENCIES I'VE BEEN AT AND SEEN AND IT PROBABLY HAS CHANGED, RIGHT. I THINK I KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING. I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU. WE WORK 12 AND THIS IS OFF A 12 HOUR SHIFT FORMAT. OKAY. SO THIS IS NOT OFF AN EIGHT HOUR SHIFT FORMAT OR TEN HOUR SHIFT FORMAT, BECAUSE IF I OPERATED OFF THAT FORMAT, IT WOULD ACTUALLY DRIVE. YOU WOULD NEED LIKE 1.5 OFFICERS PER VEHICLE BECAUSE IF YOU WORK AN EIGHT HOUR SHIFT, EIGHT HOUR SHIFT, THEN YOU COME IN, YOU JUST CHANGE OUT THE VEHICLE AND THE OTHER OFFICER GOES ON DUTY DRIVING THE SAME VEHICLE AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO OKAY, SO WHAT WE TRY TO DO WITH INSIDE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, IF WE'RE ALLOWED TO DO IT, WE TRY TO KEEP THE NIGHT CARS TO THE NIGHT CARS. WE TRY TO KEEP THE DAY CARS TO THE DAY CARS. SO THAT WAY THEY'RE NOT GETTING RUN 24/7 BECAUSE THE 24/7 IS JUST CONSTANT WEAR AND TEAR. BECAUSE ONE THING YOU ALSO GOT TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT IS ENGINE IDLE HOURS. ENGINE IDLE HOURS AVERAGES ABOUT 3000 MILES PER HOUR. WITH ALL THE EQUIPMENT THAT'S INSIDE THE VEHICLES, WE GOT TO LET THEM IDLE OR ELSE THE MVCS THE COMPUTERS THAT YOU SEE ME WORKING ON OVER THERE, THE BATTERIES WILL EXPAND, THOSE COMPUTERS WILL GO DOWN. EVERYTHING WE DO INSIDE THOSE CARS IS RECORDED, WATCHGUARD. RIGHT. THE VIDEO CAMERAS END UP GOING DOWN THE TEXAS HEAT INSIDE THE CARS. WE CAN'T LEAVE THE WINDOWS CRACKED, SO WE GOT TO LEAVE THE AIR CONDITIONER ON TO COOL ALL THESE COMPUTER ELECTRONICS DOWN ALL THE TIME. ALL THE SOUND BOXES, ALL THAT STUFF. WE GOT TO KEEP THEM COOL. OR ELSE RICK CAN TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENS TO A COMPUTER ROOM IF YOU DON'T KEEP IT A CERTAIN TEMPERATURE. RIGHT. DEEP TROUBLE. ABSOLUTELY, BUT YET THESE ARE OUR MOBILE OFFICES, FOR OUR OFFICERS TO WORK OUT OF. [02:10:07] YOU KNOW, IN I DON'T KNOW IF THEY STILL DO IT. THERE USED TO BE SOME AGENCIES IN NORTH TEXAS THAT WOULD ALLOW TAKE HOME CARS, EVEN FOR PATROL OFFICERS THAT LIVE IN THE CITY, AND THEY FOUND THE STATISTICS SHOW THOSE CARS, THOSE VEHICLES LASTED LONGER AND WERE TAKEN BETTER CARE OF. YEAH. BECAUSE NO TWO PEOPLE TREAT THE VEHICLE THE SAME, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE STILL DOING THAT IN SOME AGENCIES. MESQUITE USED TO DO IT. I THINK THE COLONY WAS ONE OF THE AGENCIES THAT DID THAT, AND THERE'S AND THERE'S SOME OTHERS I THINK. YEAH. SO IT'S GREAT. SO THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THE PRICE PER CAR HAS SKYROCKETED. ABSOLUTELY. THE PRICE PER CAR SKYROCKETED. IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO GET EVERYBODY TO TAKE HOME CAR RIGHT NOW, AND THEN OUR PROJECTION GROWTH THIRD FASTEST GROWING IN THE NATION. RIGHT. HOW DO I DO THAT? IF WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO PROJECT OUR GROWTH WITHIN THE PD TO THE THIRD FASTEST GROWTH IN THE POPULATION, IT'S HARD TO DO. WE'RE GOING TO BE IN A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF DEBT, ESPECIALLY WITH EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WE GOT GOING ON LIKE TRAINING AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS. SO TRAINING FOR US, Y'ALL HAVE SEEN WITHIN THIS LAST YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THAT WE STARTED UP. IT DOES NOT COME FOR FREE. WE DO TRY TO FIND DIFFERENT AVENUES AND DIFFERENT RESOURCES, EVERYTHING LIKE THAT, TO TRY TO GET IT PAID FOR AS BEST AS WE CAN, BUT WE NEED TO PREP FOR IT AS A CITY OURSELVES. SO SWAT SCHOOL FOR US. SO OUR TEN OFFICERS, 11 OFFICERS THAT WE JUST SENT OUT TO SWAT SCHOOL. SO INSTEAD OF PAYING FOR THESE OFFICERS TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, TO PAY FOR THE CLASS AND TO PAY FOR THE LODGING AND ALL THAT STUFF, WE ACTUALLY BROUGHT THE CLASS TO US. WE HAVE GOT TO BE A LITTLE BIT CREATIVE, SO WE ACTUALLY PAY FOR THE INSTRUCTOR TO COME TO US. WITHIN CID, ALL THESE FORENSIC UNITS AND ALL THESE SPECIALIZED CRIMES THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON, ALL THAT STUFF, IT'S NOT FREE. IT'S NOT ONE DAY THESE PEOPLE JUST WOKE UP AND JUST LIKE, OH, HEY, I CAN DO THIS TODAY, RIGHT? WE HAVE TO SEND THEM OFF TO TRAINING CONSTANTLY TO GET THEM TRAINED UP. ALERT CLASSES, ACTIVE SHOOTER CLASSES, JUST THE BASIC BARE MINIMUMS THAT WE WANT OUR PATROL OFFICERS TO KNOW. WE GOT TO PAY FOR IT. WE GOT TO SEND THEM OUT TO THE CLASSES. SO IT'S JUST GOING TO BE ANOTHER BIG TICKET ITEM THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK AT. OKAY. COMMUNITY PROGRAMS KIND OF THE SAME THING. SO YOU SAW WHAT WE DID WITHIN THE LAST YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF. THIS IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK AT KIND OF COMING UP TOO, AND SO WHAT KIND OF PROGRAMS ARE WE WANTING TO KIND OF MOVE IN TOWARDS, RIGHT, THIS NEXT YEAR? AND WE JUST KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO PAY A DOLLAR AMOUNT KIND OF MOVING INTO THAT. I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION. GO AHEAD. IF WE EVER CONSIDERED HAVING PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS SIMILAR TO, LIKE, PLANO MCKINNEY, MAYBE EVEN ALLEN, THAT TAKES THE BURDEN OFF OF SOME OTHER OFFICERS ON OTHER CALLS, LIKE EVEN GOING AND WORKING AT ACCIDENTS, YOU KNOW? YES, SIR. 100% RIGHT NOW. [INAUDIBLE]. I CAN'T EVEN AFFORD AN ADDITIONAL CIVILIAN RIGHT NOW, SIR. I CAN'T EVEN AFFORD ADDITIONAL CIVILIAN RIGHT NOW. WE HAVE CONSIDERED ALL THAT STUFF, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT A PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER IS A CIVILIAN, BUT, YEAH, I MEAN, IT'S THE NEED KIND OF VERSUS THE WANT AND WHAT THE DRIVE DOWN IS GOING TO END UP BEING. SO IF I HAD TO PUT A TIER TOGETHER AS FAR AS THE NEEDS, RIGHT. WE'RE GOING TO NEED SOME MORE PATROL OFFICERS. I'M AND IT'S A LARGE ASK IS THAT AND I FEEL FOR Y'ALL BECAUSE IT IS A LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU ASK, AND AT SOME POINT IN TIME Y'ALL HAVE TO MAKE THE DECISIONS AND Y'ALL HAVE TO PASS THAT DOWN TO MR. MASHBURN, AND HE'S GOT TO END UP MAKING A DECISION, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THERE'S ONE PERSON THAT'S SITTING HERE, RIGHT HERE BEHIND ME THAT'S NOT ASKING FOR A WANT. THEY'RE ASKING FOR A NEED, AND Y'ALL HAVE TO DECIPHER THAT OUT, AND I KNOW IT'S A HARD TASK. YES, SIR, AND ULTIMATELY, I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS AND ALL THAT STUFF. I DON'T THINK WE'RE THERE YET. I WISH I WAS, I REALLY DO, I WISH I WAS, YOU KNOW I RELY ON SOME OF MY RESERVES TO COME HELP ME OUT. YOU KNOW, I CAN RELY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO GET THE WE REVAMPED THE CPA AND THEN HOPEFULLY SOME. WE TRY TO WORK ON THAT VOLUNTEER SECTION, BUT IT'S KIND OF HARD TO GET A REGULAR DUTY OUT OF A VOLUNTEER. RIGHT? SO OVERALL, WE GOT TO LOOK AT WHAT WE'VE DONE WITHIN THE LAST YEAR OR YEAR AND A HALF, TWO YEARS WHERE WE WERE AND WHERE WE'RE AT NOW. THOSE ARE JUST SOME OF THE ITEMS, RIGHT? WE HAD 19 OFFICERS ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF. TWO YEARS AGO. CID HAD 1.5 DETECTIVES. SRO HAD ONE BARELY IN THERE AND WE BARELY HAD THREE OFFICERS PER SHIFT, AND LOOK WHERE WE'RE SITTING AT RIGHT NOW. THAT'S BECAUSE Y'ALL'S ABILITIES TO LET US WORK AND TO HELP US GET TO WHERE WE'RE AT. RIGHT? BUT IF WE'RE ABLE TO DO ALL THAT STUFF WITHIN THAT YEAR AND A HALF WITH THE BARE MINIMUM, RIGHT. [02:15:04] WHAT WILL WE BE ABLE TO DO IF WE GET THE PROPER STAFFING? WHAT WILL WE BE ABLE TO DO IF WE GET THE PROPER PAY THAT'S IN THERE? AND REALLY, WITH THOSE STATEMENTS MADE, IT'S NOT JUST APPLICABLE TO THE PD. IT'S APPLICABLE TO EVERY DIRECTOR THAT'S HERE. WE'VE SEEN WHAT WE HAVE DONE WITH THE SUPERSTAR TEAM THAT WE HAVE BEHIND US. JUST WHAT IFS. WHAT IF WE GET THEM IN THERE? WHAT IF WE CREATE THESE POLICIES TO WHERE? YOU KNOW WHAT? FROM HERE ON OUT, WE'RE NOT JUST GOING TO GUESSTIMATE THE NUMBER OF OFFICERS WE NEED. WHAT IF WE CREATE THE POLICY AND SAY, OKAY, HEY, LOOK, WE'RE GOING TO START TAKING BIG CHUNKS OUT OF IT TO GET US TO THIS. WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE AVERAGE ANYMORE. WE'RE NOT JUST GOING TO BE THAT MEDIUM PART. WE'RE SHOOTING FOR THE PLACE TO WHERE PRINCETON IS, THE PLACE WHERE POLICE OFFICERS WANT TO BE OR ANYBODY FIREFIGHTERS WANT TO BE. PUBLIC WORKS OFFICIALS WANT TO BE. WE'RE SHOOTING FOR THAT PLACE BECAUSE I PROMISE YOU, THE MAJORITY OF THOSE OTHER AGENCIES THAT ARE THERE, THAT 13 COMPARISON CITIES, WE'RE GOING TO BE SURPASSING THEM. IT'S ALREADY HAPPENING. IF YOU GO OUT AND YOU LOOK ON GOOGLE MAPS, YOU LOOK TO THE LAND TO THE NORTH OF US, TO THE EAST OF US, AND TO THE SOUTH OF US. THAT LAND IS READY TO BE BROUGHT UP AND IT'S GOING TO BE COMING TO THE CITY. WE KNOW IT. WHAT ARE WE DOING TO PREP FOR IT? AND I THINK THAT'S MY FINAL SLIDE. ALL RIGHT. IT'S MY FINAL SLIDE. BACK UP TWO SLIDES. TWO SLIDES. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. LET'S SEE IF I CAN GET IT ON THE FIRST TIME. IS THAT IT? NO. ONE MORE. THERE YOU GO. THERE IT IS. I WANT YOU TO LEAVE IT HERE WHILE WE'RE HAVING THESE DISCUSSIONS. I THINK THIS SLIDE IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO SEE WHERE WE WERE VERSUS WHERE WE ARE NOW. YOU'RE GOING TO EMBARRASS ME. I'M SORRY? ARE YOU GOING TO EMBARRASS ME? NO. OKAY. UNLESS YOU WANT ME TO. NO, NOT AT ALL. GOOD. IT MIGHT EMBARRASS YOU A LITTLE BIT. NO, I JUST THINK THIS IS INCREDIBLE, AND I JUST WE KIND OF BREEZED OVER IT. PROBABLY BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE THE ATTENTION, BUT THIS IS WORTH TALKING ABOUT. JUST TO SEE WHERE WE WERE VERSUS WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE ARE IN A DEFICIT. RIGHT. SO THIS IS ALL THAT YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO AND THIS IS INCREDIBLE, BUT AGAIN, IF WE ARE MAKING DECISIONS TODAY THAT ARE FOR YEARS OUT, IF WE CAN DO THIS ON A DEFICIT, WHAT CAN WE DO WHEN WE'RE SHORED UP? RIGHT? SO THAT'S THE POTENTIAL THAT WE HAVE. SO THE NEXT TIME WE LOOK AT THIS GRAPH, I WANT TO SEE THAT BOX EVEN BIGGER ON ALL THE SERVICES THAT WE'RE PROVIDING BACK TO OUR CITIZENS AND ALL THE ALL THE WAYS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO KEEP THEM SAFE. JUST THIS ALONE IS IMPRESSIVE. SO AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR IT. I KNOW YOU TALKED JUST A MINUTE AGO ABOUT, YOU KNOW, YOU FELT BAD FOR US AND HAVING TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS ULTIMATELY BECAUSE OF MONEY. I THINK THAT THERE'S ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY HERE FOR US TO CONSIDER THOSE PARTNERSHIPS. COUNCIL, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY COULD PROBABLY START SETTING SOME VISION AND HAVING THOSE DISCUSSIONS POTENTIALLY WITH OUR CDC AND SAYING, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO MAKE PUBLIC SAFETY A PRIORITY. SO HOW ARE WE LEANING INTO THAT? HOW ARE THEY ABLE TO HELP ASSIST YOU WITH THAT? YOU KNOW, IF THEY'VE GOT A BUDGET THAT'S ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THAT, I THINK AS A COUNCIL, WE CAN START SETTING THAT VISION AND THAT GOAL AND GIVING THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT KIND OF DIRECTIVE AND VISION BACK DOWN TO THEM THAT YOU GUYS NEED THE HELP. SO LET'S LET'S ASSIST WITH THAT. YES, MA'AM. GOT ONE FINAL QUESTION. I THINK IT'S MY LAST QUESTION, CHIEF. I LOVE THE INFORMATION YOU PROVIDED ON THIS. IT'S A LITTLE HIGH ARCHING FOR ME, SO WHAT I'M ASKING RIGHT NOW. I'M SORRY. IT'S A LITTLE WHAT? I'M SORRY? IT'S JUST IT'S A HIGH OVERVIEW. YES, SIR. 50,000 FOOT, VERY HIGH OVERVIEW. SO I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO DUMB IT DOWN A LITTLE BIT FOR ME. WHAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE NUMBER? RIGHT NOW, THE BOTTOM LINE NUMBER IS 28 OFFICERS AND YOU'RE LOOKING FOR 28 OFFICERS IS GOING TO BE 14 VEHICLES. YOU'RE LOOKING AT STARTING PAY 79,000. BOTTOM NUMBER. THAT'S FOR ONE PERSON I'M TALKING ABOUT OVERALL. YEAH 79,000 PER PERSON PER OFFICER. STEP ONE OFFICER. SO YOU NEED 28 OFFICERS AT 28 OFFICERS, 14 VEHICLES TO COME BACK TO THAT AND 79,000 PER OFFICER AT STEP ZERO PLUS RELATED COSTS, BENEFITS AND EVERYTHING. SO ANOTHER 38%, LET'S SAY ON TOP OF THAT. THAT'S FINE. I APPRECIATE YOU PULLING ME OUT OF THAT ONE. ALMOST GOT IN A JAM RIGHT THERE DIDN'T I? ANYBODY GOT THEIR CALCULATOR. SO THE TRAINING UNIFORMS AND ALL THAT STUFF, YOU'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT $80,000 PER OFFICER AT STEP ZERO. STEP ZERO WE TALKED ABOUT STEP EIGHT. I WANT TO SAY IT'S GOING TO BE ROUGHLY ABOUT 103, MISS TIFFANY, IS THAT CORRECT? ABOUT 103 TO 104,000. STEP EIGHT, AND THEN YOU GOT YOUR SERGEANTS AND LIEUTENANTS. SORRY AGAIN. I'M SORRY. BRING THEM IN AT A SEVEN ON A SWORN OFFICER. THEIR UNIFORM, RADIO, THINGS LIKE THAT. EVERYTHING. IS THAT WITH TAX, TITLE, LICENSE, INSURANCE AND ALSO. YEAH, THAT'S WHAT WE CALL LOVINGLY CALLED INSURANCE TAX TITLE LICENSE. [02:20:01] STEP SEVEN ALSO KIND OF SPEAKS TO DO WE WANT QUALITY OVER QUANTITY. CORRECT. YES, MA'AM, AND AS YOU ALL ARE WEIGHING THIS AS WELL IT'S ALL CONNECTED. SO WE HAVE 199 FULL TIME STAFF HERE, BUT PD FIRE DON'T RUN WITHOUT IT, AND FLEET AND FACILITIES AND HUMAN RESOURCES, AND SO YES THIS IS A GIGANTIC NEED WE CANNOT AFFORD. WE NEED A RIGHT SIZE SALARY, BUT THE ENTIRE CITY IS IN THAT SAME BUCKET. SO WHEN YOU ASK THAT NUMBER, IT'S GOING TO BE A NUMBER YOU DON'T WANT TO HEAR RIGHT NOW, BUT IT'S WHERE WE'RE AT, AND SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO LOOK FOR AT THE CONCLUSION OF ALL OF THIS IS OKAY. YES, WE LOVE ALL OF THIS. WE HATE ALL OF THIS OR WHATEVER THE CASE IS. HERE'S HOW WE'D RANK THEM NOW, AND HOW DO WE GET THERE OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD I THINK IS PROBABLY THE CASE. SO OKAY. WITH AND I'M GOING TO JUMP ON MRS. DAVID-GRAVES BANDWAGON ON THIS ONE. IS THERE ANY STATE OR FEDERAL GRANTS OR FUNDING FOR PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES LIKE THIS? YES, BUT IT'S A PROMISE TO PAY. SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S CALLED COPS GRANT OR COMMUNITY SAFETY AWARENESS GRANT OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES, AND SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S ROUGHLY 3 TO 4 YEAR GRANT. OKAY. FIRST YEAR THEY'LL PICK UP 75%. SECOND YEAR THEY'LL PICK UP 50%, THIRD YEAR THEY'LL PICK UP 25%, AND FOURTH YEAR THEY'LL PICK UP ZERO, BUT YOU GOT TO PROMISE TO PAY. SO PRIOR ADMINISTRATION, WHENEVER WE HAVE WENT OUT AND TRIED TO LOOK FOR THESE GRANTS, WE HAVE SAID WE CAN NEVER PROMISE TO PAY BECAUSE WE NEVER KNOW WHAT THE BUDGET'S GOING TO END UP BEING THE NEXT YEAR. YES, SIR. HOW CAN YOU BUILD WITHOUT STEPPING OUT ON FAITH? I WISH I HAD THAT COMMENT WHENEVER HE GAVE IT TO ME, BUT I DIDN'T. I JUST GAVE IT A GOOD OLD YES SIR AND CONTINUE BUILDING. WE'VE GOT TO DO WHAT WE'VE GOT TO DO. YES, MA'AM. I'M 100% WITH YOU. IT'S A TOUGH CALL, BUT IT'S A NECESSARY CALL IF WE'RE GOING TO GROW AS A CITY. AS A MATTER OF FACT, IF WE'RE GOING TO PROGRESS WITH PURPOSE, WE NEED TO REALLY MAKE SURE THAT PURPOSE IS FULFILLED AT THE FOUNDATION. DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY. I'M RIGHT THERE WITH YOU. I THINK THIS HIGHLIGHTS WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE RIGHT PLACES THAT KNOW WE DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW WHAT THE BUDGET WILL BE, BUT THERE'S DEFINITELY SOME PROJECTIONS THAT WE CAN MAKE THAT WILL, YES, MA'AM, KIND OF HELP US KNOW WHAT IT MIGHT BE. I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT STATEMENT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I CAN STAND UP HERE ALL DAY. I KNOW CHIEF HARVEY'S PROBABLY NOT GOING TO LIKE ME FOR DOING IT, BUT, WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. YOUR VOICE WAS NOT AS SOOTHING AS FALLON'S, BUT. THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH, AND AT THIS POINT IN TIME, I WOULD LOVE TO CALL CHIEF HARVEY, IF YOU DON'T MIND. YEAH, ACTUALLY, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A BREAK REAL QUICK BEFORE WE GET STARTED WITH FIRE. SORRY, CHIEF. EXPECT TO BE BACK AROUND 11:00. IT'S 10:49 RIGHT NOW. ALL RIGHT. WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND JUMP BACK IN AND GET STARTED. IT IS 11:09, CHIEF HARVEY, SORRY TO KEEP YOU WAITING. THANK YOU. HONORABLE MAYOR, MAYOR, DISTINGUISHED COUNCIL. TOM HARVEY, FIRE CHIEF FOR PRINCETON. THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND RESONATE A LOT OF WHAT YOU'VE HEARD HERE TODAY, ESPECIALLY FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, HE KIND OF GOT IN THE TRENCHES EARLIER. I'LL TRY TO MOVE THROUGH MY PRESENTATION A LITTLE QUICKLY, AND WE CAN ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS ON THE BACK SIDE OF IT. AS WITH THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS, OUR JOB IS TO ALIGN WHAT WE DO WITH THE COUNCIL'S CORE VALUES, AND AS PART OF THAT, WE HAD TO LOOK AT THOSE VALUES, WHICH WE REALLY HAD SOME OWNERSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY CENTRIC APPROACH ADDRESSING COMMUNITY NEEDS. OUR JOB IS TO PROVIDE A HIGH LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT AND TAILORED PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE RESIDENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS IN THE CITY OF PRINCETON, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING THAT, THAT WE'RE GIVING THE COMMUNITY WHAT IT NEEDS, AND HOPEFULLY BY THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION WE'LL HAVE JUSTIFIED SOME WAYS TO GET THERE. FROM THE STANDPOINT OF STEWARDSHIP AND SUSTAINABILITY, OUR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY OBVIOUSLY FALLS IN LINE WITH OUR MISSION, AND THAT IS TO PROTECT LIFE, PROPERTY AND THE ENVIRONMENT FROM A RESPONSIBLE GROWTH PERSPECTIVE. WE WANT TO ASSURE OUR CAPABILITIES MEET AND EXCEED THOSE COMMUNITY NEEDS. WE WANT A LEVEL OF EXCELLENCE. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN PEOPLE SEE OUR DEPARTMENT OUT THERE WORKING THE STREETS AND WHEN THEY HEAR ABOUT US ON THE NEWS, IT'S GOOD, AND [02:25:08] PEOPLE ARE SATISFIED WITH THE SERVICE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING. FINALLY, FROM A FINANCIAL PRUDENCE PERSPECTIVE, EFFICIENT OPERATIONS WITH FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, WE OWE IT TO THE CITIZENS TO USE THEIR MONEY WISELY FROM A QUALITY OF LIFE ENHANCEMENT SAFETY. OBVIOUSLY, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THE COMMUNITY HAS A SAFE COMMUNITY WITH PROMPT, PROFESSIONAL EMERGENCY SERVICES. OUR STRATEGY FOR THIS BUDGET YEAR WILL BE TO CONTINUE TO EXPAND OUR DEPARTMENT'S CAPABILITY, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME BALANCING THE NEEDED INCREASES IN PERSONNEL. AS YOU'VE HEARD, PERSONNEL COST IS VERY EXPENSIVE, AND AS YOU WILL SEE, STAFFING IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS IN NEED OF SOME HELP BUT WE WANT TO BALANCE THAT. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STILL PROVIDING THE SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY, THAT WE'RE ENHANCING THOSE SERVICES. AT THE SAME TIME, WE'RE BUILDING THE PERSONNEL WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT TO GET IT WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE. WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT THROUGH UTILIZATION OF INNOVATION AND FISCAL ALTERNATIVES, WHETHER IT'S GRANTS, IT'S NEW IDEAS, NEW THINGS OUT THERE WITHIN THE FIRE SERVICE. IT'S ASSISTING IN THAT. WE'RE GOING TO ADJUST AND ADAPT OUR OWN OPERATIONAL DESIGN. THERE ARE SOME THINGS WE CAN DO INTERNALLY. WE'VE ALREADY BEEN DISCUSSING WHERE WE CAN REDUCE MAINTENANCE COSTS. WE CAN REDUCE OR AT LEAST KIND OF HOLD STAFFING FOR A LITTLE BIT TO GET US THROUGH THAT PERIOD OF TIME WHERE YOU'VE HEARD THAT IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA TO TRY TO TEAR IN THE STAFFING TO HELP THE CITY ALONG WITH THAT BUDGET, AND THEN FINALLY, AS WE'RE DOING THAT, ASSESS AND EVALUATE FOR ANY OPPORTUNITIES THAT MIGHT BE OUT THERE WE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF. OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY IS GOING TO BE IN OUR STAFFING NEEDS. OBVIOUSLY, THE IMPORTANCE OF FIRE AND EMS SERVICES IN THE COMMUNITY DICTATE. WE HAVE THE STAFFING. THE CHALLENGE IS, AND YOU'VE HEARD THIS ALREADY AND I'LL RESONATE. IT IS FOR US TO PROVIDE ALL THE SERVICES WE DO, WHICH WOULD INVOLVE PUBLIC SAFETY CODE COMPLIANCE, EMERGENCY SERVICES PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR THE THIRD FASTEST GROWING CITY CITY IN THE STATE. THAT IS A CHALLENGE. HISTORICALLY, WE'VE BEEN UNDERSTAFFED. TEN YEARS AGO, THIS DEPARTMENT WAS ENTIRELY VOLUNTEER, AND WE'VE HAD TO BUILD THIS DEPARTMENT ALONG WITH THAT FAST GROWTH TO GET US WHERE WE NEEDED TO BE. A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS WERE ALREADY ESTABLISHED. WE HAD THE LARGEST EMPLOYEE WORKFORCE. WE JUST DIDN'T HAVE IT AS PAID EMPLOYEES. THERE'S A LOT OF TRANSITION AND VOLUNTEERS. THERE'S A LOT OF OF CERTIFICATION AND QUALIFICATIONS THAT HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED. SO BUILDING THAT AS WE WENT AND, AND STARTING TO BRING IN THE PART TIME, THE FULL TIME AND THEN FINALLY BALANCE IT AND THEN GET AHEAD, IT TOOK MANY, MANY YEARS. WE JUST STOPPED THE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM WITHIN THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF. OUR NATIONAL AVERAGE FOR OUR FIREFIGHTERS PER 1000 POPULATION, 1.4 TO 1.81. IF WE LOOK AT PRINCETON RIGHT NOW ON THE STAFFING THAT WE HAVE OUT THERE, WE'RE LOOKING AT A 0.83, AND THAT'S TOTAL DEPARTMENT. THAT'S NOT JUST THE FIREFIGHTERS ON THE STREET, AND WE ESTIMATED THAT USING ABOUT A 40,000 POPULATION AT THIS TIME, WE CANNOT MEET THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION AGENCY'S STANDARD OF 1710, WHICH IS CONSIDERED THE STANDARD FOR CAREER FIRE DEPARTMENTS. 1720 IS TYPICALLY DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE PARTIALLY VOLUNTEER BASED, AND WE STRUGGLE WITH THE 1720 AT TIMES. THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS THE INCREASED SAFETY RISK OF THE WORKFORCE, BECAUSE IT'S A HIGH RISK OCCUPATION. YOU'RE OUT THERE, YOU'RE WORKING WITH MINIMAL CREWS, MINIMAL STAFFING, AND IT CAN BE TOUGH. PEOPLE CAN GET HURT. SO, AGAIN AS CHIEF WATERS INDICATED ON A TECHNICAL LEVEL FIRE DEPARTMENT SIMILAR TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND IT TAKES SPECIFIC TRAINING AND EDUCATION, WHICH CAN TAKE MONTHS TO OBTAIN. SO THAT REQUIRES LEAD TIME, AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT TO HAVE TO HAVE TO GO WITH THAT ALSO TAKES LEAD TIME. AS YOU KNOW, FIRE TRUCKS ARE TAKEN 2 TO 3 YEARS TO BUILD JUST TO GET PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT FOR THE FIREFIGHTERS RIGHT NOW. IT'S PROBABLY AT AT A FAST RATE IS IS 12 WEEKS TO SIX MONTHS, DEPENDING ON WHAT TYPE OF GEAR YOU'RE NEEDING AND WHERE YOU GET IT SOURCED FROM. THE THING WITH FIRE DEPARTMENT THAT AFFECTS THE STAFFING IS THE UNIQUE DESIGN. IN THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF OUR MISSION, AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS FIRE DEPARTMENTS ARE BASED IN LITTLE GROUPS, WHAT WE CALL CREWS OR COMPANIES, AND THEY HAVE TO BE SPREAD OUT [02:30:09] THROUGHOUT THE CITY IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS SO THAT WE CAN WE CAN RESPOND QUICKLY IN ALL AREAS OF THE CITY TO PROVIDE PROMPT SERVICE AND THE TASK THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH FIRE DEPARTMENT REQUIRE ADDITIONAL PEOPLE. JUST THREE PEOPLE ON A FIRE ENGINE. THERE HAS TO BE AN OFFICER TO MAKE DECISIONS, TO HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A DRIVER OPERATOR TO GET THEM THERE SAFELY AND PUMP THE WATER, AND A FIREFIGHTER TO BE ON THE END OF THE NOZZLE SPRAY IN THE WATER. SO IT TAKES MORE PEOPLE IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO HANDLE OUR RESPONSIBILITIES THAN IT MIGHT IN OTHER DEPARTMENT DISCIPLINES. SO WE HAVE TO, AS I SAID, DISTRIBUTE OUR WORKFORCE THROUGHOUT THE CITY FOR EFFECTIVE SERVICES. IT'S SKILL BASED. IT REQUIRES MORE EMPLOYEE INVESTMENT, AND OF COURSE, THE 24 HOUR OPERATIONS IMPACT OUR STAFFING NEEDS AND IN TURN, CAN EVEN IMPACT OUR OVERTIME. YOU CAN SEE, LAST YEAR, OUR CALL VOLUME WAS 4009 FOR THE YEAR. OUR TOTAL CALLS FROM JANUARY TO APRIL THIS YEAR WERE 1325, WHICH PUTS US ON TARGET FOR ABOUT 5300 CALLS IN 2024. THIS PARTICULAR GRAPH I PUT IN HERE TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHERE PRINCETON STANDS IN THE WAY OF CALL VOLUME. CALL VOLUME CONVERTS INTO BASICALLY OUR WORKLOAD, AND IF YOU'LL NOTICE, THE UPPER DEPARTMENTS ARE PAID DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE SIMILAR TO PRINCETON THAT WE CAN COMPARE OURSELVES TO, AND THEN THE LOWER DEPARTMENTS ARE AREA VOLUNTEERS. YOU'LL NOTICE PRINCETON IS EXCEPTIONALLY HIGHER THAN ALL DEPARTMENTS IN IN OVERALL CALL VOLUME, AND WHAT YOU DON'T SEE HERE IS THAT ANNA AND CELINA RUN THEIR OWN AMBULANCE SERVICE. SO THEIRS IS GOING TO BE EVEN HIGHER INCREASED BECAUSE THEY'RE RUNNING AN AMBULANCE SERVICE WITHIN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WHERE WE DON'T EVEN DO THAT. OURS IS STRICTLY ON OUR OWN CALLS AND FIRST RESPONDERS. SOMETHING ALSO TO REMEMBER HERE IS IN OUR GROWTH THAT WE HAVE IN THE PRINCETON FIRE DEPARTMENT. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE PARTICULAR. GRAPH THAT EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND FALLON CARRILLO HAD SHOWN YOU MOST OF THE CITIES AND I THINK WITHIN THE FIRST 8 OR 9 CITIES, THERE HAVE FEWER STATIONS THAN PRINCETON, AND MOST OF THOSE CITIES ARE VERY CLOSE IN POPULATION TO PRINCETON NOW. YET FROM A MANPOWER STANDPOINT, WE CAN BE AS MUCH AS 200% BEHIND THEM. SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE MOVING OUR STAFFING ALONG. WE'VE DONE A GOOD JOB WITH OUR APPARATUS MAKING SURE THAT WE FORECASTED WAY AHEAD. WE'VE DONE A GOOD JOB WITH OUR FACILITIES. WE NEED WORK WITH OUR EQUIPMENT AND OBVIOUSLY OUR. STAFF YOUR PREVIOUS SLIDE. YES. THIS CALL VOLUME DIFFERENCE. IF I'M LOOKING AT ANNA AND PRINCETON, THEY'VE GOT A VERY COMPARABLE POPULATION. WHY IS OUR CALL VOLUME SO MUCH HIGHER THAN THEIRS? WHAT'S ATTRIBUTING TO THAT? WHY IS OUR CALL VOLUME SO MUCH HIGHER FOR THOSE CALLS OUT? WELL, WE DO ACTUALLY HAVE MORE COUNTY AREA THAT WE COVER. OUR TOTAL DISTRICT IS LARGER THAN ANNA'S, WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR SOME OF IT. SOME OF IT JUST HAS TO DO WITH DEMOGRAPHICS. IT HAS TO DO WITH HOW WE RUN CALLS HOW WE WOULD SCREEN CALLS WHEN IT COMES TO WHETHER IT'S A FIRST RESPONDER CALL, WHETHER IT'S A LOCK IN OR WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE, THERE'S A DIFFERENCE IN HOW THOSE CALLS CAN BE ACCOUNTED FOR. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? FOR SURE. ARE THEY ALL GOING THROUGH THE SAME DISPATCH? IS IT ALL GOING THROUGH COLLIN COUNTY? DISPATCH? WELL, ACTUALLY YES, ALL ALL OF THOSE CITIES ARE NOW CELINA'S IS AUTOMATED, AND IT IS TRYING TO BECOME AUTOMATED, BUT ALL OF THEM STILL USE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DISPATCH. OKAY. I MIGHT ALSO ADD THAT HISTORICALLY, BECAUSE I WAS ALSO IN THE FIRE SERVICE AND ACTUALLY THE SECRETARY TREASURER FOR THE COLLIN COUNTY FIREFIGHTER ASSOCIATION, AND I'D BE THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COUNTY TO ISSUE THE CHECKS FOR ALL THE CALLS IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREA AT PRINCETON HISTORICALLY HAS ALWAYS HAD MORE CALL VOLUME THAN JUST ABOUT ANY AGENCY IN COLLIN COUNTY, INCLUDING SOME OF THE PAID DEPARTMENTS, AND SO IT'S JUST ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY, YOU KNOW, AND WE DO HAVE A VERY LARGE DID HAVE UNINCORPORATED AREA AND FIRE DISTRICT TO RESPOND TO. [02:35:07] YES, AND THIS CALL IS INTO OTHER CITIES AS WELL. SO WE WOULD GO INTO ANNA TO HELP, AND THERE IS A MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY FOR ALL DEPARTMENTS WHERE WE CAN SUPPORT EACH OTHER WHEN NEED BE. SO YES, THERE ARE TIMES WHERE WE MUTUAL AID INTO OTHER COMMUNITIES AND THEN OF COURSE WE GAIN SUPPORT FROM THEM ALSO. DOES THAT MEAN IS THAT FINANCIAL SUPPORT OR JUST IT IS FINANCIAL SUPPORT? I'LL HAVE A SLIDE HERE WHICH WILL SHOW YOU WHERE THAT REVENUE COMES FROM. OKAY, AND THEN I CAN GET INTO DEPTH ON THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE. I'D ALSO LIKE TO ADDRESS AND I'VE DONE IT BEFORE AS FAR AS STAFFING GOES FOR A NUMBER OF PERSONNEL ON AN APPARATUS YOU TALKED ABOUT EARLIER FOR AN ENGINE, NORMAL ENGINE, YOU HAVE THREE PEOPLE, YOU HAVE AN OFFICER AND THEN YOU HAVE A DRIVER OPERATOR. THEN YOU HAVE A FIREFIGHTER. SO THAT POOR LONE FIREFIGHTER'S THE MAIN ONE TO BE ON THE NOZZLE, SO TO SPEAK, AND DO THE GRUNT WORK. YES, AND IT'S ALWAYS BEEN MY OPINION THAT NEEDS TO INCREASE. WE NEED TO HAVE AT LEAST FOUR PEOPLE ON AN ACTUAL ENGINE, AND THEN WHENEVER WE GO TO AN AERIAL APPARATUS LIKE A QUIN OR A PLATFORM, THAT WE PROBABLY NEED AT LEAST FIVE PEOPLE ON THERE, AND THAT'S FOR SAFETY REASONS MORE THAN ANYTHING, AND, AND I THINK THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE MEET BETTER WITH THE NFPA STANDARDS THAN WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING, AND I KNOW THAT'S A FAR REACH TO DO FOR STAFFING, BUT I REALLY BELIEVE THAT'S THE RIGHT WAY, AND I'VE ALSO MENTIONED BEFORE IN IN SOME OF THE PEOPLE HERE MAY NOT KNOW, BUT WHENEVER YOU REQUEST MUTUAL AID FROM A DEPARTMENT, SOMETIMES, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S FROM A VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT, BECAUSE I'VE SEEN THIS IN THE PAST, YOU REQUEST AND THEY SAY, OKAY, THEY GOT AN ENGINE IN ROUTE AND THEY SHOW UP AND THERE'S DURING THE DAYTIME AND JUST ONE PERSON. WHICH DOES YOU NO GOOD, AND SO IT PUTS AN EXTRA BURDEN ON OUR STAFF AND, AND WITH THAT EXTRA PERSON ON THERE, I THINK IT WOULD INCREASE THE SAFETY AND ALSO IT JUST HELP OUT QUITE A BIT. PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT WHENEVER ESPECIALLY THIS TIME OF YEAR, YOU GO INTO A STRUCTURE FIRE, YOU'RE IN THERE FOR ON AIR FOR 15-20 MINUTES. YOU COME OUT. SOMETIMES THEY HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR BOTTLE AND YOU GOT TO GO BACK IN AND YOU'RE WORE OUT AND, SO WE REALLY NEED THAT. I THINK THE ADDITIONAL STAFFING FOR THAT. YES, SIR. NFPA DOES RECOMMEND FOR PERSONNEL ON ENGINES AND 5 TO 6 ON AERIAL APPARATUS. IT'S A DIFFICULT THING TO ACHIEVE. VERY COSTLY. NOT MANY DEPARTMENTS IN THE NATION ARE CAPABLE OF DOING THAT, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE. IT TAKES TIME AND WE'LL HAVE SOME WAYS WHERE WE CAN ASSIST WITH THAT. AS FAR AS SELF-RELIANCE, AS MR. DEFFIBAUGH HAS INDICATED, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT THING FOR PRINCETON, AS WE ARE SURROUNDED BY A LOT OF VOLUNTEER DEPARTMENTS TO OUR WEST, AND SO WE'RE NOT LIKE OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN THAT WHEN WE GET MUTUAL AID, WE'RE GOING TO GET A FULL COMPANY OR A FULL CREW TO ASSIST US ON A LARGE INCIDENT. WE MAY GET ONE INDIVIDUAL ON A TRUCK THAT COMES FROM A VOLUNTEER DEPARTMENT, EVEN THOUGH WE THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE GETTING A WHOLE CREW WHEN WE ASK FOR MUTUAL AID, SO THAT SELF-RELIANCE BECOMES VERY IMPORTANT. YOU MAY WONDER WHY I CHOSE STAFFING TO BE A HIGHER PRIORITY THAN THE SALARY ADJUSTMENTS HERE, EVEN THOUGH WE SAID ON THE BOTTOM OF THE SCALE, AND THAT IS BECAUSE OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO THE EMPLOYEES, IT'S TO THEIR SAFETY AND TO THEIR HEALTH AND THEIR WELLNESS, AND WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE WORKLOAD, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE RISK THAT THEY'RE TAKING OUT THERE RUNNING WITH SMALLER CREWS CALL VOLUME, INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF RESPONSIBILITIES THEY HAVE, OUR JOB IS TO TAKE SOME OF THAT LOAD OFF OF THEM. SO INCREASING THE STAFFING IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. OF COURSE, SALARY ADJUSTMENTS ARE NEXT. ALTHOUGH WE SIT ON THE BOTTOM, WE HAVE MADE SOME CHANGES OR AT LEAST WE'VE MADE CREATED SOME INCENTIVES TO ASSIST WITH THAT. THE MOST RECENT HIRING PROCESS THAT WE BEGAN WHICH WILL COMPLETE IN JULY IS DOING IS ALLOWING LATERAL MOVES FOR FIREFIGHTERS COMING IN FOR OTHER DEPARTMENTS WHERE WE CAN BRING THEM FROM THAT STEP ONE TO A STEP THREE LEVEL, WHICH WOULD BE EQUIVALENT TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT STARTING PAY, AND THEN WE HAVE THINGS FOR INCENTIVE CERTIFICATION, EDUCATION PAY. [02:40:03] WE'VE WORKED WITH EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE ON ADAPTING A COUPLE BENEFITS UNIQUE TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, WHICH HELPS THEM. WE'VE CHANGED THE SCHEDULE UP TO ALLOW A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME OFF REST FOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS RELATED TO THE WORKLOAD AND THE HOURS, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T TURN A BLIND EYE TO THE FACT THAT WE ARE SITTING ON THE BOTTOM IN THAT COMP STUDY WITH A HIGH RISK JOB AND COLLATERAL IMPACTS LONG TERM TO FIREFIGHTERS TO THEIR HEALTH. AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THE SALARIES, STARTING SALARIES IN THE CENTERS ACROSS THE BOARD NEED TO BE COMPATIBLE TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IN THE PUBLIC SAFETY ARENA, AND IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WAY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT TRYING TO GO OUT AND RECRUIT FIREFIGHTERS TO BRING THEM IN AT ANOTHER LEVEL. BECAUSE OF THAT, THEIR EXPERIENCE IS GOOD TO GET EXPERIENCED PEOPLE, BUT IF WE HAD THE SALARY ADJUSTMENT, WHETHER IT BE THE SAME OR EQUAL TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT STARTING SALARY, IT MAY TAKE THAT LITTLE TAKE THAT BURDEN OFF AND YOU STILL GET QUALIFIED PEOPLE TO COME IN, RIGHT? AS FAR AS SALARY ADJUSTMENTS. YOU HEARD FALLON CARRILLO LET YOU KNOW THAT ABOUT 70% OF THE CITY'S BUDGET GOES TO SALARIES. ABOUT 80 CLOSE TO 85% OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET GOES TO SALARIES AND BENEFITS. WE'VE TRIED TO MOVE THAT NEEDLE FORWARD. IT'S A CHALLENGE TRYING TO RUN THE DEPARTMENT ON ABOUT 400 AND SOME ODD THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR, AND IT'S A DIFFICULT CHALLENGE, BUT OUR WORKFORCE IS IMPORTANT AND THAT'S WHY OUR SALARY PERCENTAGE IS HIGHER THAN THE STANDARD FOR THE CITY. ONE THING THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IS THAT OUR WORKFORCE IS HIGHLY QUALIFIED. IF YOU LOOK AT US ACROSS THE BOARD WITH A LOT OF OTHER DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE STATE, YOU WILL NOTICE THAT OUR FIREFIGHTERS CARRY MORE CERTIFICATIONS THAN A LOT OF FIREFIGHTERS AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS, AND THAT IS BECAUSE OF THE STEP PLAN INCENTIVE WE USE TO HELP THEM GAIN INCREASES IN PAY, SIMILAR TO WHAT PD DOES WITH THEIR PAY SCALE, AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE HAVE SOME VERY EDUCATED AND HIGHLY QUALIFIED FIREFIGHTERS, AND WE NEED TO INVEST IN THOSE INDIVIDUALS AS AN EXCELLENT WORKFORCE, AND WE OF COURSE, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE RETAIN THOSE INDIVIDUALS. WE'VE HAD FIREFIGHTERS LEAVE IN THE PAST FOR HIGHER PAYING JOBS, SIX OF THEM, AS A MATTER OF FACT TO OTHER FULL TIME DEPARTMENTS, AND DESPITE OUR PAY, THEY'VE COME BACK TO US TO WORK WITH US, AND THAT'S A CREDIT TO OUR ORGANIZATION, A CREDIT TO OUR OFFICERS AND THE CULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT THAT WE HAVE HERE, THAT THEY'RE WILLING TO COME BACK AND SERVE THIS CITY AT A LOWER RATE OF PAY, KNOWING THAT THE GROWTH WILL COME, AND BUT BUT ENJOYING THE ENVIRONMENT THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE WORKING IN. OTHER PRIORITIES WE HAVE FOR THIS BUDGET WILL BE, OF COURSE, WORKFORCE SAFETY, THE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE GEAR THAT'S PART OF THE CANCER PREVENTION INITIATIVE, GETTING TWO SETS OF GEAR FOR EVERY FIREFIGHTER OUT THERE, OUR SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUS AS A STATE MANDATE, WHICH WILL HAVE TO BE SWITCHED OUT WITHIN THE NEXT TWO YEARS ENTIRELY. WE'LL HAVE A PLAN FOR THAT. WE HAVE A PLAN FOR THAT. OF COURSE, WE ALSO HAVE SOME RADIOS THAT WE ALSO HAVE A THREE YEAR PLAN FOR ATTRITION OF THOSE, AND THEN OUR PROGRAM SUPPORT THE EMS LIFE-PACKS LUCAS DEVICES TO SUSTAIN OUR ALS PROGRAM. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF OUR EMPLOYEES AND TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING THOSE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES WE HAVE OUT THERE. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE MAINTAIN A LEVEL OF EXCELLENCE IN THIS CITY THAT SETS AN EXAMPLE FOR EVERYBODY IN THE STATE. SUPPORTING REVENUE. THIS IS WHERE THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE DONE, THIS IS WHERE WE STEP IN, AND NOT TO THROW A PUN OUT THERE, BUT THE FIREFIGHTERS ARE GOING TO BE THE HEROES IN THIS ONE. SO WE ACTUALLY ARE GENERATING REVENUE. MOST FIRE DEPARTMENTS COST CITIES. THEY'RE VERY EXPENSIVE AND WE HAVE TO FIND WAYS TO GENERATE REVENUE. WE DON'T DO OUR OWN AMBULANCE TRANSPORT SERVICE, SO WE RELY ON OTHER OPPORTUNITIES. ONE OF THOSE IS THE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE. THROUGH FEES AND PERMITTING, YOU'LL SEE NEW FEE SCHEDULE COMING IN. THE FIRE MARSHAL IS ALREADY CREATED TO TRY TO GET CAPTURE A LITTLE MORE FEES AND PERMITTING. [02:45:04] SO FAR THIS YEAR, WE ARE ALREADY IN THE POSITIVE FROM WHAT WAS EXPECTED IN THE REVENUE COMING IN, JUST DUE TO THEIR HARD WORK FROM THE TWO PEOPLE IN THE PREVENTION OFFICE, FIRE MARSHAL MILLER AND INSPECTOR JOE CEDENO. ON THE EMERGENCY SERVICES SIDE, WE'RE IMPLEMENTING A COST RECOVERY PROGRAM FOR PERIODS OF TIME WHERE OUR UNITS ARE TIED UP FOR INCIDENTS THAT COME INTO THIS CITY, WHETHER IT'S A LONG TERM GAS LEAK FROM A CONTRACTOR THAT'S BUSTED A GAS LINE OR AN MVA THAT'S TIED UP 380 AND SHUT IT DOWN FOR TWO TO THREE HOURS, WE CAN RECOVER SOME OF THOSE COST GAIN, SOME REVENUE THERE. THE MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICTS. WE JUST CLOSED WITH THE BRIDGE WATER HERE RECENTLY FOR A FEE FOR FIRE AND EMS SERVICES, WHICH WILL COME BACK INTO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE CITY TO BENEFIT US, AND PURCHASING OF ONE TIME THINGS THAT WE'LL NEED FOR THE DEPARTMENT AND THE WAY OF EQUIPMENT AND STUFF LIKE THAT. COUNTY SUPPLEMENTATION. SO THE COUNTY CURRENTLY PAYS THE FIRE DEPARTMENT SUPPLEMENTATION FOR RESPONDING INTO THE AREAS OUTSIDE OF CITY LIMITS. HOWEVER, THAT HASN'T BEEN UPDATED IN OVER TEN YEARS, AND WE'VE BEEN RECENTLY HAVING MEETINGS WITH ALL THE FIRE CHIEFS IN THE COUNTY, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT TRYING TO GET THAT INCREASED. IN FACT, WE'RE TRYING TO GET IT TRIPLED, AND THAT WILL DEFINITELY HELP THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AS FAR AS RECOUPING SOME OF THE COST FOR GOING INTO THE COUNTY, AND THEN OUR OPERATIONAL DESIGN AND HOW WE RESPOND INTO THE COUNTY WILL ALSO ASSIST WITH THAT. WE'LL CONTINUE TO USE GRANT FUNDING TO TRY TO GET STAFFING EQUIPMENT WHERE WE CAN AND I MADE A NOTE HERE ABOUT THE TAX INCREASE, AND ALTHOUGH WE KEEP HEARING, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE LOW TAXES AND WE NEED TO INCREASE THE TAX, AND I WOULD AGREE THAT THE TAX INCREASE IS GOING TO HELP PUBLIC SAFETY. SENATE BILL TWO YEARS AGO KIND OF HURT PUBLIC SAFETY ACROSS THE BOARD, POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS. YOU KNOW, WENT AND LOBBIED THAT FIRE AND POLICE SHOULDN'T BE AFFECTED BY THAT 3.5 CAP, BUT IT PASSED ANYWAY, AND OF COURSE, WE TOOK A WE TOOK A HIT ON THAT, BUT WHERE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT CAN HELP IS GETTING THE ISO RATING UP WITHIN THE CITY, AND WHAT THAT DOES IS THAT REDUCES THE HOMEOWNER'S INSURANCE COST, AND SO EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY BE GETTING A LITTLE BIT HIGHER TAX RATE TO KIND OF PAY FOR SOME OF THE THINGS AND THE SERVICES WITHIN THE CITY, AT THE SAME TIME, THEY'RE GETTING A REDUCTION IN THEIR INSURANCE RATES. SO THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A BALANCE THERE AND THAT SHOULD HELP THINGS, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THOSE. THANK YOU. IF YOU'LL BACK UP ONE SLIDE. YES. FOR THIS, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR GOING THROUGH THIS AND REALLY GETTING CREATIVE ON HOW WE CAN CAPTURE SOME OF THOSE REVENUES BACK AND PUSH THOSE BACK INTO THE CITY SPECIFICALLY FOR THE MUD. THE REIMBURSEMENT THERE AND THE COST RECOVERY ON THAT, THAT IS HUGE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT WHEN YOU'RE OUT IN THE COUNTY, JUST BECAUSE YOU CROSSED THAT LINE DOESN'T MEAN OUR FIRE TRUCKS ARE GOING TO STOP AND SAY, WELL, YOUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE, BUT WE'RE NOT GOING TO SERVICE YOU. YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT EVERY SINGLE TIME, AND WE HOPE THAT YOU DO, BUT THERE SHOULD BE A COST ASSOCIATED TO THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE BACK. SO THAT IS GOING TO BE EXTREMELY BENEFICIAL FOR US TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT. SO THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT FOR ALL OF THESE. ALSO, I WANT TO SPEAK FOR THE ENTIRETY OF COUNCIL AND SAY THAT PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE STATED FOR PD AND THE NECESSITY TO HAVE THE STAFF. THAT'S FOR YOU AS WELL. SO I THINK WE ALL SHARE THE SAME SENTIMENT OF THE NEED AND THE DESIRE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, AND WE ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT PUBLIC SAFETY ISN'T JUST A SAFETY OF THE PUBLIC, BUT IT'S A SAFETY OF YOU GUYS AS WELL, AND WE CAN'T LEAVE YOU IN A DETRIMENT WHERE YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MEN AND YOU'RE IN AN UNSAFE SITUATION AND THEY'RE OUT THERE JUST TRYING TO SERVE THE PUBLIC, AND YET WE'RE PUTTING THEM AT A RISK THERE. SO YOU KNOW, JUST FOR THE BREVITY OF TIME, I DON'T WANT TO BEAT A DEAD HORSE, BUT EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE SAID TO THEM ALSO RELATES TO YOU AND THE WHOLE SCOPE OF PUBLIC SAFETY. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AGAIN, AS WE'VE STATED FOR CHIEF WATERS, THE CULTURE THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO BRING TO YOUR DEPARTMENT IS WHY YOU'RE ABLE TO RETAIN THOSE EMPLOYEES, IS WHY YOU'RE ABLE TO HAVE EMPLOYEES COME BACK, THAT MAYBE THEY'RE TAKING THAT PAY LOSS TO COME HERE. SO WE APPRECIATE YOU VERY MUCH FOR DOING THAT. THANK YOU. WANT YOUR HARD WORKING PEOPLE OUT THERE IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, ABSOLUTELY. MANY OF THEM THE MAJORITY OF THEM STARTING AS VOLUNTEERS HERE, BEING GIVEN THAT OPPORTUNITY AND THEN KEEPING THAT [02:50:02] COMMITMENT TO THE CITY, AND IT'S TIME TO REWARD THEIR EFFORTS FOR BUILDING THIS DEPARTMENT. ABSOLUTELY. IT'S AN AMAZING DEPARTMENT. I'M VERY, VERY PROUD OF YOU GUYS. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD? I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS JUST FOR MY INFORMATION IN THIS REGARD. I SAW THE RATIO OF 0.83 OUT OF 40,000 THAT WE'RE SITTING RIGHT NOW. SO WHAT'S A HARD NUMBER OF HOW MANY OFFICERS THAT YOU'RE SHORT RIGHT NOW. WHAT DO YOU NEED RIGHT NOW. I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU A BIG NUMBER, BUT THIS RIGHT NOW WE NEED 12. THAT'S $960,000. $960,000? YES, SIR, AND THE CHIEF, ACTUALLY, CHIEF WATERS, ACTUALLY GAVE A PRETTY INTERESTING STAT THAT I WASN'T AWARE OF. HOW MANY WITH TRAINING AND EVERYTHING, DO YOU KNOW, OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD? IF YOU DON'T, THAT'S FINE. HOW MANY FIREMEN, NEWLY TRAINED FIREMEN ARE COMING OFF THE ASSEMBLY LINE, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, STATEWIDE THAT YOU CAN PICK FROM FOR, YOU KNOW, TO COMPLETE YOUR STAFF. WELL, THANK YOU FOR ASKING THAT. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I WANTED TO MENTION AND I ALMOST FORGOT OUR RECENT HIRING PROCESS NETTED OVER 70 APPLICANTS FOR SEVEN POSITIONS THAT WERE HIRING HERE IN THE CITY. OKAY, AND JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, I THINK ADDISON, RECENTLY LARGE, WELL DEVELOPED CITY PAYS VERY WELL. WITHIN THIS METROPLEX AREA, I THINK THEY HAD TEN PEOPLE WANT TO COME HERE, THEY WANT TO WORK HERE, AND WE'VE GOT A LOT OF EXPERIENCE THAT ARE WITHIN THOSE APPLICATIONS. IT'S THE LARGEST GROUP THAT WE'VE EVER HAD APPLY FOR THIS DEPARTMENT, AND I THINK THAT'S A GOOD SIGN THAT THEY KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING. THEY LIKE WHAT THEY'RE SEEING AND THEY WANT TO BE PART OF IT. OKAY. THAT'S INCREDIBLE. JUST ONE FOLLOW UP QUESTION, CHIEF. YEAH. WHENEVER YOU SAID THE HARD NUMBER'S 12 WHENEVER YOU ANSWERED MR. OBERA IS THAT IN ADDITION TO THE SEVEN. YES. OKAY, AND MY LAST QUESTION IN REGARDS TO THE REVENUE, THE SUPPORTING REVENUE FEES THAT YOU HAD MENTIONED I GUESS I'M GOING TO ASK THE SAME QUESTION THAT I ASKED TO MR. FISHER EARLIER. ARE THOSE COMPARABLE TO WHAT OTHER PDS, FDS ARE POSSIBLY DOING FOR THOSE SAME SERVICES AND, YOU KNOW, JUST COMPARABLE IN OTHER CITIES? COULD YOU REPEAT YOUR QUESTION? ARE THE FEES THAT WE ARE REQUESTING FOR RECOVERY, AND THE SUPPORTING REVENUES ARE THEY COMPARABLE TO WHAT OTHER MUNICIPALITIES MAY BE DOING? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION, AND I'LL BACK UP HERE TO KIND OF HIT ON EACH ONE. SO THE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE IS MAKING SURE THAT THOSE FEES AND PERMITTING IS KIND OF RAISING THE BAR COMPARED TO WHAT ELSE IS OUT THERE USING SOME STANDARDS OF SURROUNDING CITIES THAT WE HAVE IN THE AREA RIGHT NOW. FROM AN EMERGENCY SERVICES STANDPOINT, THERE ARE LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE STATE USING THE PROGRAM THAT WE'RE GOING TO FROM A COST RECOVERY PERSPECTIVE FROM A MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT. WE'RE LOOKING AT A STANDARD THROUGHOUT COLLIN COUNTY WITH ALL THE FIRE CHIEFS TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING OUT THERE WITH MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICTS THAT WANT TO COME IN AND, OR ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE FIRE AND EMS SERVICES ARE BEING TREATED FAIRLY FOR THOSE SERVICES, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THE CITIES ARE BEING COMPENSATED FOR THAT ADDITIONAL HELP, THAT AND THE EQUIPMENT, THE MANPOWER AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT IMPACTS THE CITY SERVICES BECAUSE THEY'RE OUTSIDE, THE CITIZENS ARE PAYING FOR IT WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS, AND THAT MEANS THAT THE PEOPLE ON THE OUTSIDE ARE GOING TO PAY A LITTLE BIT MORE, BECAUSE IT'S TAXING THE RESOURCES THAT THE CITY'S RESPONSIBLE FOR FROM A COUNTY SUPPLEMENTATION. THERE WE DID A COUPLE LOOKS ON THAT USING THE NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS AND OTHER EXAMPLES OUT THERE ON WHAT CITIES ARE CHARGING FOR SERVICES OUTSIDE OF THEIR NORMAL JURISDICTION AND WE ARE WELL BELOW THAT, BUT WITH THIS SUPPLEMENTATION INCREASE THAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT WILL BE ABOVE AVERAGE IN COLLIN COUNTY, WHICH IS WHERE WE SHOULD BE WHEN WE LOOK AT COLLIN COUNTY BEING ONE OF THE WEALTHIER COUNTIES IN THE STATE, BEING ONE OF THE HIGHER PAID COUNTIES FOR FIREFIGHTERS WITHIN THE STATE, AND SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KIND OF CAPITALIZE ON THAT AND PUT OURSELVES IN LINE WITH IT FROM A GRANT [02:55:08] FUNDING PERSPECTIVE. IT JUST DEPENDS. THAT FEMA IS IS A DIFFICULT ANIMAL TO CRACK, AND SOMETIMES IT TAKES TEN, $15,000 TO REACH OUT AND HIRE A GRANT WRITER TO MAKE SURE A PROFESSIONAL GRANT IS IS PLACED FORWARD AND HAS GOOD SUCCESS IN, AND BEING GRANTED AND THE STAFFING IS ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THERE. AS FAR AS THE ISO RATING, IT'S FINISHING THAT UP, AND THEN THEY'LL TAKE A REVIEW THAT ACTUALLY GOES FOR REVIEW. THE OTHERS ARE AUTOMATIC UP TO LEVEL ONE, AND THEN ONCE YOU GET TO LEVEL ONE, THEY ACTUALLY HAVE TO GO BACK AND REVIEW THE DEPARTMENT AND MAKE SURE EVERYTHING'S ONLINE. CHIEF, ANOTHER THING ON MAYBE ADDITIONAL FEES OR PERMITS, AS I KNOW MANY YEARS AGO AND IT HAD BEEN TO SOME CLASSES THEY TALKED ABOUT THIS FOR MUNICIPALITIES IS AT THAT TIME WE DIDN'T HAVE MANY SERVICE STATIONS, BUT LOTS OF AGENCIES WOULD ACTUALLY CHARGE A FEE OR PERMIT FOR ANY JOBBER OR TRANSPORT TRUCK THAT COMES IN TO DELIVER FUEL, THAT SERVICE STATIONS HAVE TO GET A PERMIT AND INSPECTION FROM THE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE AND IT GENERATED ESPECIALLY IF YOU GOT A LOT OF SERVICE STATIONS, LIKE WE'RE GROWING THAT WAY NOW. SO WE HAVE A LOT MORE FUEL TRUCKS COMING INTO TOWN DELIVERING FUEL THAT WAS AN ADDITIONAL WAY TO, TO GET SOME REVENUE, BUT TO MAKE SURE ALSO FOR SAFETY FOR THOSE APPARATUS OF THOSE TRUCKS COMING IN, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S BEEN CONSIDERED OR NOT, BUT WE HAVE THE DOCUMENT THAT THE FIRE MARSHAL HAS SUBMITTED. I'M NOT SURE IF THE TRANSPORTATION OF FUEL WITHIN THE CITY, OTHER THAN FUEL TANKS THAT ARE PUT AT CONSTRUCTION SITES ARE BEING PERMITTED, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK INTO THAT AS PART OF AN INNOVATIVE WAY TO GAIN REVENUE FOR FOR THE CITY. MR. OBERA. DID I ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YES, SIR. YOU DID. THANK YOU SO MUCH. HEY, CHIEF, IN YOUR FIRST SLIDE, YOU HAD THAT WE CANNOT MEET NFPA 1710 STANDARDS. YES. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT'S THE MINIMUM STANDARD FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE. CAN YOU PAINT A SCENARIO OF WHAT THAT MEANS IN TERMS OF STAFF, IN TERMS OF SAFETY, IN TERMS OF COST, IN TERMS OF WHAT THAT WOULD MEAN FOR THE CITY IF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS UNABLE TO MEET THAT STANDARD. WELL, FIRST OF ALL, IT IS A STANDARD, AND CITIES ARE NOT UNDER AN OBLIGATION TO MEET THAT STANDARD IF THEY CAN'T FINANCIALLY OR FOR ANY OTHER OPERATIONAL NEED, THAT THEY DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY. HOWEVER, WE TRY TO MEET THOSE STANDARDS. THE CITY HAS ADOPTED THE NFPA STANDARDS 1710 HAS TO DO WITH BASICALLY HOW MUCH MANPOWER YOU NEED FOR PARTICULAR TYPE INCIDENTS, AND THEY USE STRUCTURE FIRES AS THE EXAMPLE, AND THEY THEY ALSO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT A STRUCTURE FIRE IS GOING TO TAKE ABOUT 8 TO 10 MINUTES TO GET TO WHAT WE WOULD BE CONSIDERED A WORKING FIRE THAT'S GOING TO DESTROY THE HOME, POTENTIALLY TAKE LIFE. FOR NFPA 1710 THAT STANDARD IS THAT WITHIN 60S, A UNIT HAS TO RESPOND AND THEY NEED TO BE ON SCENE WITHIN FOUR MINUTES. THAT'S THE FIRST UNIT, AND THEN WITHIN EIGHT MINUTES, 17 PERSONNEL NEED TO BE ON SCENE. RIGHT NOW EACH SHIFT IS STAFFED. TWO SHIFTS ARE STAFFED WITH 11, AND ONE SHIFT IS STAFFED WITH TEN. THAT IS THE MOST WE CAN PUT ON SCENE WITHOUT CALLING IN MUTUAL AID FROM OTHER CITIES, WHICH IS AUTOMATIC, AND WE PULL MUTUAL AID ANYTIME WE HAVE A WORKING INCIDENT LIKE THAT. SO THEY ALSO RECOMMEND CERTAIN POSITIONS. SAFETY OFFICER, INCIDENT COMMAND AGAIN, THE FOUR PERSON STAFFING RELATED TO ENGINES FOUR AND FIVE, SOMETIMES SIX, RELATED TO AERIAL APPARATUS, BUT IT'S ALL BASED ON HOW SOON YOU CAN PUT ENOUGH MANPOWER ON SCENE OF A WORKING STRUCTURE FIRE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND THEN AND THEN IT'S THAT'S WHAT YOU BASE YOUR STAFFING OFF OF. SO WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO HIRE, YOU'RE GOING TO LOOK AT CAN I PUT 17 PEOPLE ON SCENE OF AN INCIDENT WITHIN EIGHT MINUTES TO AFFECT THIS EMERGENCY? [03:00:02] THE PROBLEM IS, IS WE ALSO HAVE TO ALLOW PEOPLE OFF. SO BACK TO I THINK MR. GERFERS HAD MENTIONED ABOUT OVERSTAFFING YOU OVERSTAFFED SO THAT YOU ALWAYS HAVE 17 YOU REQUIRE A MINIMUM STAFFING LEVEL SO THAT YOU CAN MAINTAIN THAT SO THAT WE KNOW WE CAN ALWAYS MEET THAT NFPA STANDARD EVERY TIME THAT KIND OF CALL. AGAIN, WITH THAT AMOUNT OF STAFFING, YOU'RE DRAINING THE CITY. THAT'S EVERY STATION WITHIN THE CITY TO GET THAT STAFFING THERE, AND WE HAVE TO RELY ON MUTUAL AID. IF ANY OTHER CALLS COME IN THE INTERIM, THEN ALSO IF YOU GO AHEAD. SO YOU SAID THAT WE HAVE ADOPTED, BUT WE ARE NOT ABLE TO ACHIEVE THAT LEVEL. COULD THAT PUT US IN A LITIGIOUS SITUATION WHERE IF OUR RESPONSE TIME DOESN'T MEET THAT LEVEL, BECAUSE WE'VE ADOPTED, THAT COULD MAKE US LIABLE? NOT IF WE'RE NOT CAPABLE OF MEETING THAT STANDARD. IT WOULD DEPEND ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT FINANCIALLY, WITH THE CITY THE WAY IT IS THERE'S A LEGITIMATE AND LEGAL REASON. I'M SURE GRANT CAN PROBABLY ANSWER THAT QUESTION A LITTLE BIT BETTER THAN I CAN, BUT THERE WOULD BE PROBABLY A HIGH RECOMMENDATION FOR A CITY TO INCREASE THEIR STAFFING BASED ON NOT BEING ABLE TO MEET THAT STANDARD AND HAVING ADOPTED THAT STANDARD, BUT IT'S NOT AN ABSOLUTE REQUIREMENT. OKAY. SO WE ARE ASPIRING TO IT. YES, AND HOPEFULLY WITH THE STAFFING AND WITH THE FINANCIAL BACKING THAT YOU NEED, WE GET THERE. YES, MA'AM. ALL RIGHT. ALSO I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS, YOU KNOW, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE ONE UNIT ON SCENE PRETTY QUICK AND THEN HAVE TO WAIT AT LEAST EIGHT MINUTES OR SO FOR A SECOND UNIT, AND OUR FIRST UNIT JUST HAS THREE PEOPLE, SO THAT KIND OF HURTS THE TWO IN, TWO OUT CONCEPT THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE PRACTICED IN A STRUCTURE FIRE BECAUSE YOU JUST BECAUSE FIRST OF ALL, THE OFFICER'S ON THERE, HE'S GOING TO BE THE FIRST INITIAL INCIDENT COMMAND UNTIL SOME COMMAND STAFF ARRIVES. SO HE'S DOING A 360 THE FIREFIGHTERS PULLING HOSE OUT, GETTING READY FOR AN ATTACK, AND THEN THE DRIVER OPERATORS PREPARING FOR THE PUMP, BUT YOU CAN'T DO ANY INTERIOR STRUCTURE FIGHTING UNTIL YOU GET SOME MORE PEOPLE THERE, AND SO FIRE DOUBLES IN SIZE ABOUT EVERY MINUTE. SO IN THAT CONCEPT, YOU CAN JUST BARELY EVEN PUT ANY WATER ON FROM THE OUTSIDE. THAT'S CORRECT. YOU HAVE TO ADJUST YOUR TACTICS IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT YOU NEED TO DO UNTIL YOU GET ENOUGH STAFFING ON SCENE. WHAT MR. DEFFIBAUGH IS REFERRING TO ON A 360 IS MAKING A CIRCLE AROUND THE HOUSE, SEE WHERE THE FIRE'S AT, MAYBE CUT OFF THE ELECTRICITY, THE GAS, BUST A WINDOW SO THAT YOU CAN VENT THE BACKSIDE SO THE FIREFIGHTERS CAN GO IN ON THE INSIDE AND THE TWO IN, TWO OUT REFERS TO ANY TIME YOU PUT TWO FIREFIGHTERS IN ON THE INTERIOR IN A WHAT YOU CALL AN IDEAL ENVIRONMENT, WHICH IS WHERE YOU HAVE SMOKE AND FIRE, YOU GOT TO HAVE TWO PEOPLE ON THE OUTSIDE TO BACK THEM UP IN CASE SOMETHING GOES WRONG, AND WE 'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE ANY AGGRESSIVE ACTION TO PUT FIREFIGHTERS IN HARM'S WAY UNLESS THERE'S A RESCUE. IF THERE IS A KNOWN RESCUE SITUATION, THEN WE CAN DEVIATE FROM THAT TWO IN, TWO OUT, BUT THEN AGAIN, IT MIGHT ONLY BE TWO PEOPLE, THE OFFICER AND THE FIREFIGHTER DOING THAT WITH NOBODY ON THE OUTSIDE. SO THOSE ARE RARE CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT YES, ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN GET THEM ON SCENE MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE. THANK YOU. ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS? I JUST HAD ONE. ONE OTHER QUESTION, CHIEF. I NOTICED FOR FOR HIRING. WHAT IS THE LEAD TIME FOR A NEW FIREFIGHTER THAT'S HIRED BEFORE THEY'RE FULLY ONBOARDED AND READY TO GO? WHAT'S THAT LOOK LIKE? [CHUCKLING] AS FAST AS WE CAN GET THEM RIGHT NOW. THE PROBLEM IS, IS SOME OF THE EQUIPMENT. BECAUSE WHEN WHEN FIREFIGHTERS HAVE TO PUT ON PPE, WE CAN'T JUST BUY THEM A LOT OF GENERIC GEAR. BENDING OVER CAN EXPOSE THEIR BACK IN A FIRE, OR THEIR PANTS ARE TOO SHORT, EXPOSES THEIR ANKLES. THEY DON'T FIT RIGHT. THEY CAN'T WORK AND MOVE IN THAT GEAR. SO YOU HAVE TO ORDER CUSTOM GEAR, AND SOMETIMES THAT CAN TAKE 12 WEEKS. IT CAN TAKE SIX MONTHS TO GET THAT GEAR IN. WE WANT TO TRY TO GET TO WHERE WE HAVE TEMPORARY GEAR OR RENTED GEAR THAT WE CAN PUT THOSE FIREFIGHTERS IN TO ONBOARD THEM A LITTLE BIT QUICKLY, BUT TECHNICALLY HIRING INDIVIDUALS WITH PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE, WE CAN GET THEM IN IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING OUR PROCESS. [03:05:02] AS LONG AS THEY'VE MET ALL THE CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS, THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH SOME INITIAL TRAINING WITH US, SOME ORIENTATION THREE DAYS WORTH JUST TO SEE WHAT KNOWLEDGE THEY HAVE, AND THEN THEY START IN ON A ROOKIE BOOK FOR THEIR FIRST SIX MONTHS, BUT THE EQUIPMENT WOULD BE THE ISSUE RIGHT NOW. WE BROUGHT IN A PART TIME EMPLOYEE THIS WEEK OUR 39TH EMPLOYEE, AND WE HAD TO PUT THAT INDIVIDUAL IN USE GEAR. WE HAVE NO CHOICE. SO IT WILL BE 12 WEEKS BEFORE HE SEES ANY CUSTOM GEAR SPECIFICALLY FITTED FOR HIM. SO CHIEF, IF THE AND THIS IS JUST FOR MY INFORMATION. SO IF THE GEAR IS CUSTOM AND YOU'RE HIRING EXPERIENCED OFFICER, WOULDN'T THEY BRING GEAR FROM THEIR OTHER PLACE TO HERE IF IT'S CUSTOM. NO THEY CANNOT BRING OF COURSE ANOTHER MUNICIPALITY'S GEAR. THEY'RE NOT. IT'S NOT GOING TO BE GIVEN UP. IF THEY BOUGHT GEAR ON THEIR OWN, THEN WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO INSPECT IT AND CERTIFY IT AND SIGN OFF THAT THEY'RE ALLOWED TO USE THAT GEAR BECAUSE IT MEETS THE STANDARDS BUT TYPICALLY FROM A LIABILITY STANDPOINT, WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY GET GEAR THAT THE CITY ISSUES. ALSO, I'D LIKE TO BRING UP ABOUT ABOUT THE GEAR ABOUT THE PPE IS THAT LOTS OF PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT ANNUALLY OR BIANNUALLY THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON FIRE PROTECTION COMES THROUGH AND THEY INSPECT, AND I HAD IT HAPPEN TO ME AS FIRE MARSHAL. THEY CAME IN. IT WAS LIKE MID-YEAR BEFORE BUDGET, AND I HAD A COUPLE OF TEARS IN MY PPE THAT I HAD. NOT BIG ONES, BUT IT WAS ENOUGH THAT THEY SAID, NOPE, YOU GOT TO GET NEW GEAR, AND SO I WENT TO OUR PURCHASE AND I SAID, OKAY, WELL, WE'LL PUT THAT IN THE NEW BUDGET. NO, YOU GET A LETTER FROM THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON FIRE PROTECTION. THEY SAY THEY GIVE YOU 30 DAYS IN WHICH TO GET IT ORDERED AND THEN GET IT IN HAND, AND IF NOT, IT'S SO MANY THOUSAND DOLLARS A DAY FINE. SO THAT'S SOMETHING YOU GOT TO LOOK AT ALSO IS THAT, YOU KNOW THIS EQUIPMENT THEY HAVE WHENEVER THEY GO INTO FIRES, IT CAN BE TORN PRETTY EASY DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION, AND IT'S GOT TO BE REPLACED. YES, SIR. THAT'S THE ADVANTAGE OF HAVING TWO SETS OF GEAR. NOT ONLY WE WERE LOOKING OUT FOR THEIR HEALTH AND WELLNESS FROM A CANCER PREVENTIVE STANDPOINT, BECAUSE WE WANT TO DECONTAMINATE GEAR THAT'S BEEN IN FIRES AS CHEMICALS AND THINGS ON IT THAT CAN HARM AN INDIVIDUAL SO THEY CAN GET IN A SECOND SET WHILE THE OTHER ONE'S BEING CLEANED BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IF YOU TEAR UP ONE SET, YOU STILL GOT ANOTHER ONE YOU CAN GET INTO AND YOU CAN STILL BE EFFECTIVE. OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU AGAIN VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND WHAT YOU DO, AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE. ALL RIGHT. I THINK I SAW LUNCH COME IN. SO WE'LL BREAK FOR THAT OR ARE WE NOT BREAKING FOR THAT. I THINK WE'RE WE'RE ALMOST AT THE END. SO WE COULD BREAK. IF YOU WANT, WE CAN KEEP CHARGING THROUGH. THE LAST THING WE'LL JUST NEED TO TIE A BOW ON IS JUST DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL ON HOW TO START FORMING THE BUDGET. OKAY, LET'S CUT AND PUSH THROUGH. THANK YOU SO MUCH, AND ALSO JUST WANTED TO TAKE A MINUTE AND RECOGNIZE FALLON AND CHIEF WATERS AND CHIEF HARVEY AND THEIR EFFORTS, PUTTING THOSE PRESENTATIONS TOGETHER. SO I APPRECIATE THEIR HELP AND DISPLAYING THOSE THAT INFORMATION FOR YOU. THE NEXT CATEGORY OF INFORMATION WE WANTED TO DISCUSS WAS OUR DEBT ISSUANCES THAT WE HAVE COMING UP. YOU KNOW, THESE HAVE BEEN VOTED FOR AND APPROVED THESE GENERAL THIS GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND OF 109 MILLION AND CERTIFICATE OF OBLIGATION BOND OF 20 MILLION. SO JUST WANTED TO TALK THROUGH THE NEXT STEPS AND TIMING. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT WITH THAT, THAT GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND. WE DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT WE'D BE SPENDING ALL OF THOSE FUNDS ALL AT ONCE. SO THE RECOMMENDED PATH FORWARD IS TO SPLIT IT UP INTO TWO TIERS OR TWO TRANCHES, RIGHT, 55 MILLION INITIALLY, AND THEN DO THAT IN PARTNERSHIP OR IN TANDEM WITH THE $20 MILLION CO BOND. IF WE DO THEM TOGETHER, THERE ARE SOME COST SAVINGS THAT WE CAN REAP THE BENEFITS OF AS A CITY BECAUSE OF THE PROCESS THAT WE NEED TO GO THROUGH. WE WANT TO ISSUE THOSE BONDS BY THE END OF FY 24. BEFORE WE CAN DO THAT, WE MUST HAVE A COMPLETED AUDIT, WHICH IS CURRENTLY BEING FINALIZED. HOPEFULLY THIS WEEK BEFORE WE'RE ABLE TO FIND AND HOLD A BOND RATING MEETING. ONCE THEY'RE RATED, WE CAN SELL THE BONDS AND DEPLOY FUNDS. HOLDING PATTERN AGAIN IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. CURRENTLY, OUR RATING AGENCY HAS US AT A AA STANDARD OR AA MINUS WITH A STABLE OUTLOOK, AND THEN WITH THESE BONDS AND THESE DEBT ISSUANCES, [03:10:04] OF COURSE, THE BENEFITS OF THESE BONDS TO IMPROVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE CITY AND, AND ALSO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO RECOVER ADDITIONAL COSTS. SO I WANTED TO GIVE MIKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO DISCUSS THAT THE INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES WITH THESE BONDS. SURE. THANKS, BRENNAN. SO THE CEOS THAT WERE AUTHORIZED, I BELIEVE, IN NOVEMBER, WE'RE JUST WAITING TO RATE AT THE SAME TIME, IT'LL SAVE ABOUT $200,000. SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE DELAYING THAT PROCESS JUST SLIGHTLY. PART OF THAT MONEY WILL GO TOWARDS TWO SETS OF GEAR PER FIRE PERSONNEL. SO THAT'S GOING TO SHORE UP SOME OF THAT. SO THE QUESTIONS YOU ALL HAD, WE HAVE A PLAN FOR THAT. IN TERMS OF THE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS, THE $109.1 MILLION, PRIMARILY FOR PARKS AND RECREATION AND THE LIBRARY. WE'VE ALREADY STARTED THE DESIGN PROCESS ON THAT, OR WE'RE ABOUT WE'VE HAD INITIAL DISCUSSIONS. WE WENT OUT FOR AN RFP, VARIOUS ARCHITECTS. WE'VE SELECTED ONE OUT OF TENNESSEE THAT WILL BE DOING A SITE VISIT TO TOURING, A LOT OF THOSE AMENITIES, AND THEN WE HAVE FOUR PROJECTS THAT WILL BEGIN THE DESIGN PHASE ON. SO THE PUBLIC CAN EXPECT TO SEE SOME IMAGERY ON THAT TOWARDS THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR. SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. SO IT'S MOVING FORWARD. ANY QUESTIONS ON THOSE BONDS BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SECTION? THIS IS A GENERAL INFORMATIVE SLIDE HERE. RIGHT. SO RIGHT NOW THE CITY OR IN THE HISTORICALLY THE CITY HAS RELIED HEAVILY ON DEBT, ON BONDS, ON FINANCING. WHEN FIRE TRUCK COMES IN FOR INSTANCE, WE HAVE TO SECURE FINANCING FOR THAT FIRE TRUCK. WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME. IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN IMMEDIATELY, BUT CONVERT FROM A FINANCING MODEL TO PAY AS YOU GO MODEL, WHICH IF YOU KNOW THE PROCESS MINDED PERSON FOR ME, PUT THIS UP IN SIMPLE SLIDES, RIGHT IN SIMPLE STEPS. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE FLEET OR INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED OR NEEDS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED. THEN FINANCING IS IDENTIFIED. ONCE THOSE NEEDS ARE IDENTIFIED AND THEN FINANCE IS SECURED THROUGH A GO BOND OR CO BOND OR CAPITAL LEASE, AND THEN THAT DEBT IS PAID OVER TIME. SO WE WANT TO SWITCH FROM THAT PROCESS OVER TO A SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCING MODEL. WE TAKE A MULTI YEAR APPROACH FOR FLEET OR INFRASTRUCTURE AND IDENTIFY THE NEEDS THAT ARE COMING IN THE FUTURE YEARS. PAYGO FUNDING IS DEVELOPED AND BUILT OVER TIME, SO WE KIND OF COLLECT FUNDS AS WE GO ALONG, AND THEN WHEN FLEET OR INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS COME IN, WE CAN PURCHASE THOSE ASSETS WITH CASH AND NO DEBT OR INTEREST PAYMENT IS REQUIRED. SO THAT'S SAVING FUNDS FOR THE CITY, SAVING FUNDS FOR THE TAXPAYER. IT'S A MORE HEALTHY APPROACH FOR AS A CITY AND HELPS US WITH THAT GROWTH. AGAIN, WE'RE INVESTIGATING WAYS TO IMPLEMENT THIS MODEL. IT'S GOING TO TAKE TIME OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, BUT IT'S SOMETHING WE WANT TO CONVERT TO RATHER THAN THE FINANCING MODEL THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE. ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT? JUST TO ILLUSTRATE TO YOU, THAT GOES BACK TO WHAT YOU ALL WANT IN TERMS OF A SUSTAINABLE MODEL, AND SO IF YOU REWIND THE CLOCK BACK TO COVID, THAT'S AN UNPREDICTABLE EVENT. NONE OF US HAD ANY IDEA WOULD HAPPEN. I WAS PART OF A CITY THAT DID HAVE A HEALTHY PAY AS YOU GO MODEL AND HAD DONE THINGS THE RIGHT WAY. WE WERE IMPACTED MUCH LESS THAN ANY OTHER CITY, AND THAT'S A TESTAMENT TO THE LEADERSHIP THAT WAS IN PLACE AT THAT TIME. SO JUST SOMETHING TO CONSIDER. SO. TIMELINE. ALL RIGHT. SO THIS IS JUST A BUDGET TIMELINE. WHAT'S GOING TO BE HAPPENING IN THE NEXT LITTLE WHILE RIGHT. OBVIOUSLY THE STRATEGIC RETREAT HAPPENED BEFORE. WE'RE SITTING HERE TODAY FOR OUR BUDGET RETREAT. RIGHT. WE'RE KIND OF IN THE DEVELOPMENT STAGE RIGHT NOW. DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS HAVE REVIEWED THE ACCOUNTS TO PROVIDE FY 25 EXPENDITURE ESTIMATES. WE'RE REVIEWING THAT WITH THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS RIGHT NOW. THEN NEXT I WOULD CALL IT THE COLLABORATION PHASE, RIGHT. THE DIRECTORS, FINANCE, CITY MANAGEMENT, COUNCIL COLLABORATING TOGETHER TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE CAPTURING ANY ADDITIONAL NEEDS FOR FY 25. WE'RE CAPTURING EVERYTHING IN JULY RIGHT. AS WE GO INTO THE MONTH OF JULY. I WOULD SAY THAT'S THE ANALYSIS STAGE. WE'RE REALLY DIVING IN. WE'RE JUSTIFYING ALL THOSE NEEDS. WE'RE MAKING SOME OF THESE TOUGH DECISIONS WHERE WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING AROUND 4 MILLION, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT MORE IN REVENUE COMING IN THIS YEAR, IN ADDITIONAL REVENUE COMING IN THIS YEAR FROM PRIOR YEARS. DOES THAT MEET ALL THE EXPENDITURES THAT WE'VE SEEN FROM DIRECTORS OR ALL THE NEEDS THAT WE HAVE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY? WHAT DO WE NEED TO PICK BETWEEN RIGHT, AND WE NEED COUNCIL'S HELP WITH THOSE PRIORITIES, TOO AND THEN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, THAT'S THE FINALIZATION STAGE, RIGHT? BUDGET'S SUBMITTED TO COUNCIL, PUBLIC BUDGET WORKSHOPS AND HEARINGS ARE HELD. YOU'LL HAVE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS COMING UP AND PRESENTING THEIR ENTIRE BUDGET FOR THEIR ORGANIZATION, TALKING THROUGH THOSE NEEDS, AND THEN THE BUDGET AND TAX RATE ARE ADOPTED. ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS, THIS TIMELINE THAT'S HAPPENING, AND AS FIRM DATES ARE COMING ALONG, YOU'LL BE MADE AWARE OF THOSE DATES AS WE GO, AND [03:15:08] THEN FINALLY SECTION SIX. THIS IS OUR FINAL SLIDE HERE. RIGHT? CITY COUNCIL AND DIRECTION. SO THERE'S BEEN A LOT PRESENTED TODAY FROM DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS DIFFERENT PROPOSED FEES THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT AND DISCUSSED, APPROACHES THAT WE CAN TAKE. WE WANTED TO SPEND SOME TIME AND GIVE YOU THE OPTION OF ASKING QUESTIONS OR PROVIDING FEEDBACK, PROVIDING COUNSEL AND DIRECTION FOR US AS AN ORGANIZATION AS WE GO FORTH IN THESE IMPORTANT BUDGET SESSIONS WITH DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, WHAT DO WE NEED TO BE FOCUSING ON AND HOW SHOULD WE LEVERAGE THESE FUNDS THAT WE HAVE COMING IN? OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AGAIN, I JUST WANT TO ECHO WHAT WE'VE SAID A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT TIMES, BUT JUST TO REALLY MAKE FOR SURE WE'RE ALL AWARE THIS HAS BEEN AMAZING. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE. THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE. THANK YOU ALL OF YOU GUYS FOR JUST WHAT YOU'VE CONTRIBUTED TODAY. WE'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH BECAUSE IT DOES MAKE THOSE TOUGH DECISIONS A WHOLE LOT EASIER WHEN WE CAN SEE THE BIG PICTURE AND WHEN WE UNDERSTAND THE WHYS AND HOW THINGS OPERATE. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AS FAR AS DIRECTION, I THINK PROBABLY WOULD BE BEST IF YOU WANT TO JUST KIND OF GIVE AN OVERVIEW ON STAFF, KIND OF LIKE WHAT YOU'VE HEARD AND YOU KNOW, THE DIRECTION THAT YOU'VE GOTTEN THERE, AND THEN WE CAN ADD TO THAT IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT'S MISSING FROM THAT LIST. SURE. SO WE COVERED KIND OF THE MEAT AND POTATOES OF EVERYTHING. I THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHAT WE'VE ALL DECIDED IS WE NEED MORE MONEY TO COVER ALL THE NEEDS, RIGHT? I SAW A LOT OF HEAD NODS IN TERMS OF YES, LET'S STAFF AT THE RIGHT LEVELS. LET'S COMPENSATE AT THE RIGHT LEVELS. LET'S GET THE RIGHT VEHICLES AND THE RIGHT SAFETY EQUIPMENT. WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE FUNDS FOR ALL OF THAT. SO MY RECOMMENDATION IS A MULTI-PHASED APPROACH OVER MULTIPLE YEARS, AND I THINK THERE'S A WAY THAT WE ACCOMPLISH THAT. WE TALKED ABOUT ECONOMIC VALUE AND THE MARKET STREET DEAL THAT YOU ALL HAVE BROUGHT IN AND APPROVED, THE 100 ACRE TRACK, WILL EFFECTIVELY ALMOST DOUBLE OUR SALES TAX ONCE THAT'S ONLINE FULLY, WHICH IS INCREDIBLE. SO IN TWO YEARS, ONCE THAT'S FULLY FUNCTIONAL, THAT'LL BE A HUGE WIN FOR THE CITY. SO THAT'S ONE PIECE AS WE SORT OF PROGRESS AND GET THERE. WHAT I NEED TO KNOW, IT'S PROBABLY A COMBINATION OF DO WE ADD SOME PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL AND RIGHT SIZE ALL THE CITY SALARIES, AT LEAST IN A PHASED APPROACH? THAT'S PROBABLY PART OF IT. I THINK WE CAN GET BY ON SOME LEASED VEHICLES. MAYBE SOME PURCHASE SAFETY EQUIPMENT IS CERTAINLY NUMBER ONE. TWO, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE GET THAT, BUT THAT'S NOT A SUPER HIGH HURDLE, AND THEN WHAT I NEED TO KNOW IS THE FEES. IT SEEMED LIKE IF YOU HAD A PROBLEM WITH ANY OF THEM, TELL US THAT AND WE'LL ELIMINATE THEM. OTHERWISE WE'LL GO BACK. WE'LL TAKE THE FEEDBACK. YOU ALL SAID IS LET'S GO AVERAGE OR HIGHER, ESPECIALLY ON ONES THAT DO NOT IMPACT RESIDENTS. WE HAVE SOME OTHER ONES THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AS WELL. WE'LL UPDATE WHAT'S CALLED APPENDIX A IF YOU'RE NOT AWARE, THAT'S ESSENTIALLY WHERE ALL THE CITY FEES ARE. ALL THOSE HAVE TO BE PUT IN THERE AND APPROVED BY YOU ALL TO THEN MAKE THE ADJUSTMENTS, AND SO I THINK IF YOU JUST TELL US, HEY, GO AHEAD, MAKE THE RECOMMENDATION, WE'LL BRING THOSE FORWARD TO YOU ALL EARLIER. HAVE THOSE APPROVED AT A COUNCIL MEETING THEN THAT'LL HELP MAKE THE BUDGET WE CAN BACK INTO IT FROM THERE. PERFECT. IDEALLY, I THINK IT MAKES SENSE IF IT IS A NON-RESIDENT FEE. LET'S LOOK AT AT LEAST BEING A LITTLE ABOVE AVERAGE. I HAVE NO PROBLEM MAXIMIZING THAT FEE. I THINK WHAT THAT ALSO COULD DO I MEAN WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LOT IS IF A DEVELOPER HAS AN ISSUE WITH THAT, IT COULD POTENTIALLY HELP SLOW DOWN OUR GROWTH SO THAT WE CAN GET ON TOP OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE PUBLIC SAFETY NEEDS. SO I'M NOT OPPOSED TO MAXIMIZING IT, BUT YOU KNOW, I NEED YOUR OPINION ON THAT AS WELL. WE'RE FOR IT. OKAY, WELL, THEN ON THE DEVELOPMENT SIDE, LET'S MAXIMIZE THOSE FEES. TRY TO KEEP IT, YOU KNOW, AVERAGE ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE. OKAY. DEFINITELY WHAT YOU SAID THE MULTI-PHASED APPROACH FOR OUR STAFFING FOR THE PUBLIC SAFETY. THE LEASE OPTION ON THE VEHICLES IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE OUR BEST OPTION FOR A WHILE ANYHOW. I DON'T THINK THERE WAS ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD TO THAT, AND ONE FEE SPECIFICALLY, JUST ENSURE THAT WE'RE CLEAR ON STREET MAINTENANCE OR OF THE OPINION TO FOCUS ON LEVERAGING THE SALES TAX RATHER THAN INTRODUCING A FEE ON WATER BILLS. RIGHT? YES, CORRECT. I THINK WE WERE ALL IN AGREEANCE ON THAT. IS EVERYBODY IN AGREEMENT ON THAT? SO OF COURSE I DO WANT TO, TOMMY MENTIONED THIS, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE REITERATE THAT. RIGHT. WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO CHARGE $0.02 ON THE $1.00 FOR SALES TAX, AND WE'RE ALREADY DOING THAT AS A CITY RIGHT NOW. [03:20:06] ONE CENTS COMING TO THE CITY, $0.01 IS BEING SPLIT BETWEEN CDC AND EDC. SO THAT'S WHERE WE WOULD NEED TO INVESTIGATE SOME OPPORTUNITIES THERE. WITH SALES TAX DOLLARS INCREASING YEAR OVER YEAR, THEY HAVE INCREASED. DOES IT STILL MAKE SENSE FOR US TO CONTRIBUTE AS MUCH AS WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST FOR CDC AND EDC? WE WILL INVESTIGATE THAT OURSELVES AND COME WITH A RECOMMENDATION, BUT ALSO PARTNER WITH YOU TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE KIND OF LOOKING AT THAT. GREAT. OKAY. I THINK MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTAND A CONVERSATION. WE NEED TO START EXPLORING. PERFECT. OKAY. YEAH. OKAY. ANY GENERAL QUESTIONS? WE DO HAVE, YOU KNOW, CITY STAFF HERE. IF YOU HAVE ANY GENERAL QUESTIONS, WE WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM BEFORE WE BREAK FOR LUNCH, BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE JUST INFORMING YOU AS MUCH AS WE CAN AND GETTING INPUT WHILE WE HAVE YOU HERE. I FEEL MORE INFORMED THAN I EVER HAVE, SO THANK YOU. THAT'S THE GOAL HERE. THIS HAS BEEN FANTASTIC. ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE WE BREAK? OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH, AND ONE FINAL CHANCE THAT I HAVE TO THANK THIS TEAM THAT WE'VE THIS THIS TEAM THAT IS SUPPORTING US HERE. I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THEIR TIME AND EFFORT GOING INTO THIS PROCESS. IT'S BEEN A PRIVILEGE TO BE WITH THEM, SPEND TIME WITH THEM. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. DO WE HAVE ADDITIONAL SLIDES PAST THIS OR ARE WE OFFICIALLY ADJOURNING? WE ARE OFFICIALLY ADJOURNING. OKAY. IF I CAN GO AHEAD AND HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN. OH, NO. WE'RE DONE. YEAH, I'LL MAKE THAT MOTION TO ADJOURN. OKAY, DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH, GUYS. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.