Aug 30, 2022 City Council

[CALL TO ORDER ]

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AND WELCOME TO THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BELMONT CITY COUNCIL. TODAY IS TUESDAY.

AUGUST 30TH. TODAY'S INVOCATION WILL BE GIVEN BY PASTOR E B. WILL YE OF OUR MOTHER OF MERCY CATHOLIC CHURCH. EVERYONE IF YOU SO CHOOSE. PLEASE STAND. AND I'M GONNA ADD AT THIS TIME IF EVERYONE WILL PLEASE SILENT. YOUR CELLPHONES. PASTOR. THANK YOU. WE'RE PRAYING THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN. AS WE GATHER HERE TODAY, THERE, LORD TO DELIBERATE AS A CITY COUNCIL. TO SHOUT THOUGHTS AND IDEAS FOR THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY. WE ASK THAT YOU LORD, WE MAKE US TRULY INSTRUMENT OF YOUR PEACE. PLEASE LORD ENABLE US TO RADIATE TO LOVE IN OUR COMMUNITY. GRANT US THE GRACE TO ALWAYS SO YOUR DIVINE LOVE IN OUR COMMUNITY. WE PRAY THAT THE DIVINE VIRTUES OF FAITH, HOPE, JOY AND LIGHT, MAYBE RING KINDLE AMONG US. THEIR LORD DISPEL THE SPIRIT OF DOUBTS, DESPAIR, DARKNESS AND SADNESS THAT IS CRIPPLING AND AFFECTING THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY.

ALL DIVINE MASTER GRANT THAT WE MAY ALWAYS SEEK TO SAVE YOU IN THE WAY WE LOVE AND SERVE ONE ANOTHER. HELP US TO ALWAYS KNOW THAT IT IS IN GIVING THAT WE RECEIVE IN PARDONING THAT WE ARE PARDON? AND IT IS IN DYING TO THE EVILS OF SELFISHNESS AND LACK OF FAITH THAT WE ARE BORN TO ETERNAL LIFE. YEAH AN ANSWER PRAYERS FOR OUR COMMUNITY TODAY LATER, YOUR HOLY NAME BRAIN SUPREME AGAIN AS EVERY SPEAR OF OUR COMMUNITY. ALL THESE WE HAVE THROUGH CHRIST, OUR LORD. AMEN IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. THANK YOU. PLEASE JOIN US IN OUR NATION'S FLAG. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE. IS THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES. THE REPUBLIC. ONE NATION UNDER AND THE VISIBLE. THANK YOU. PASTOR E B. WILL YE AND I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT PASTOR IS THE PASTOR OF OUR VERY OWN. ANGIE THOMAS. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY. I'M SORRY AND ALSO COUNCIL MEMBER DURIO. THANK YOU. MAYOR PRO TEM DURIO. THANK YOU. SO WE HAVE, UH. TODAY ONE PROCLAMATION AND ONE PRESENTATION. AND I WILL START WITH THE PRESENTATION. MAYOR I HATE TO CUT YOU OFF. WE HAVE REAL CON. YES MA'AM. MAY I HAVE THE ROLL CALL, PLEASE. BUTTON PRESENT. TIM DURIO COUNCIL MEMBER GETS PRESENT COUNCIL MEMBER. TURNER PRESIDENT, COUNCIL MEMBER PHIL SHAW, PRESIDENT COUNCIL MEMBERS. SAMUEL COUNCIL MEMORY, NEIL.

THANK YOU. I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY. MISS ROGERS WALKED IN, AND I WAS READY TO GET STARTED WITH THIS

[Proclamations, Presentations and Recognitions-Presentation by Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP]

WHEREAS IN 2022. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT 17,850 MEN IN TEXAS WILL BE DIAGNOSED WITH PROSTATE CANCER AND APPROXIMATELY 2260 WILL DIE FROM THIS DISEASE. WHEREAS GIFT OF LIFE IN COLLABORATION WITH ITS MEDICAL PARTNERS MAKE AVAILABLE TWO MEN FREE HEALTHCARE SERVICES, INCLUDING PROSTATE SPECIFIC, SAY SCREENINGS. PRIMARY CARE HIV. AND HEPATITIS C TEST ALONG WITH ON SITE PHYSICIANS. WHO REVIEW OUTCOMES AND NEGATIVE MEN TO CARE FOR IN THEIR TESTING.

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AND SEPTEMBER 17TH AT THE ORANGE BAPTIST OUTPATIENT LOBBY. WHEREAS THIS 2000 MORE THAN 10,700, SOUTHEAST TEXAS MEN HAVE RECEIVED GIFT OF LIFE FREE PROSTATE CANCER SCREENING, HELPING TO EXTEND THE LIVES OF 77 MEN WHO WOULD WHO WERE DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER AND WHO WERE PROVIDED ACCESS. TWO DIAGNOSTIC EVALUATION AND TREATMENTS. NOW THEREFORE, I ROBYN MARTIN, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT. DO YOU HEREBY PROCLAIM SEPTEMBER 2022 AS PROSTATE CANCER AWARENESS MIGHT AND TUESDAY, AUGUST 30TH 2022. AS THE GIFT OF LIFE PROSTATE CANCER AWARENESS DAY. IN BEAUMONT AND URGE ALL MEN IN OUR COMMUNITY TO PURSUE PREVENTIVE HEALTH PRACTICES AND EARLY DETECTION EFFORTS. ACCORDINGLY I MIRROR ROBIN MOTAUNG HAS HEARING TO SET MY HAND AND CAUSED THE SEAL OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT TO BE A FIXED ON THIS DAY, AUGUST 30TH 2022. SIGN MIRROR, ROBIN MUTHANA AND RECEIVING THIS PROCLAMATION OR. REGINA ROGERS, FOUNDER AND CHAIR, AND NORMA SAMSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF GIFT OF LIFE AND ANY OTHER MEMBERS. PLEASE COME FORWARD. THANK YOU. OKAY? ARE TO BE HERE TO HAVE YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE OUR MESSAGE. HE SAID. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL. OH, I'M SO SORRY. HOW YOU DOING, MA'AM? THANK YOU FOR COMING. WE APPROVE . OH, THAT WOULD BE NICE. WELL WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE YOU ALLOWING US TO BE HERE. AS ALWAYS. IT'S SUCH AN IMPORTANT FORUM. FOR GIFT OF LIFE ARE MEN , EGAN'S CANCER OR PROSTATE CANCER SURVIVORS AND CERTAINLY FOR OUR FOUNDER AND CHAIR. ONE OF OUR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS DOOR NEEDS TO BE WITH US, AS WELL AS SPECIAL AMBASSADOR OF OUR COST CHIEF EARL WHITE, WHO'S A PROSTATE CANCER SURVIVOR, AND EVERYONE HERE HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL AND SHARING OUR LIFE SAVING MESSAGES THROUGHOUT SOUTHEAST TEXAS. AND SO WE FEEL SO BLESSED AND HONORED TO BE HERE AND IMPORTANTLY, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE OUR MEN SCREENINGS ONCE AGAIN IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS. THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR WHERE WE'VE REALLY CHANGED UP OUR SERVICES SO THAT WE CAN ENSURE LOOKING AT COVID AND ALL OF THE CDC RECOMMENDATIONS. SO THIS YEAR WE'RE SCHEDULING. JEFFERSON COUNTY SCREENING SIDE AT THE STC OF THE CONFERENCE CENTER AS YOU MENTIONED FAIR, AND THAT'S TO PROVIDE MEN THROUGHOUT JEFFERSON COUNTY TO COME TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SERVICES HAVE A REALLY LARGE , WONDERFUL FACILITY WHERE WE CAN HAVE SOCIAL DISTANCING AND ALSO, WHAT'S BEEN IMPORTANT IS THIS TIME WE HAVE SCHEDULED APPOINTMENTS, SO IT'S TRULY AN EMPOWERING ROBUST HEALTHCARE EXPERIENCE, BECAUSE THE MEN HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY, AS YOU NOTED IN THE PROCLAMATION TO GET THESE FREE LIFESAVING SCREENING, SOME OF WHICH ARE NEARLY A $400 LAB SCREENINGS AND MORE MORE REMARKABLE TO THEIR ON SITE, PHYSICIANS FROM ONCOLOGY, UROLOGY, INTERNAL MEDICINE THAT ARE THERE TO GO OVER THERE POINT OF CARE. AND TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THEIR NEXT STEPS ARE TO BECOME A COMPLIANT AND IMPORTANTLY FOR THOSE THAT HAVE OTHER LIFE THREATENING DISEASES THAT ARE REALLY PART OF WHAT THIS MESSAGE IS ABOUT CARDIOVASCULAR, DIABETES AND OTHER DISEASES FOR THEM TO GET NAVIGATED INTO CENTRAL CARE WHETHER THAT'S THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS WITH THE FEDERAL QUALIFIED CLINICS ARE THEIR PCP. SO WE ARE SO WE ALSO FEEL SO HONORED THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO HAVE A

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THANK YOU, BOMA AND JEFFERSON COUNTY. VERY, VERY BLESSED. ENTITIES. WE DON'T KNOW OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE THIS KIND OF SERVICES THAT WE GIVE TO OUR PEOPLE, AND IT'S FREE. SO WE CARE THAT MUCH ABOUT THE CITIZENS OF THIS CENTER TO THE CITY OF BEAUMONT AND THE COUNTY OF JEFFERSON THAT WE GIVE THESE THREE SERVICES AND WITHOUT YOUR SUPPORT YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT.

AS YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE YEARS WE COULD NOT DO IT. SO WE JUST WELL, THANK YOU FOR BEING BEHIND US AND SUPPORTING US ALL THESE YEARS. GOD BLESS YOU. THANK YOU, MR SP. GOOD EVENING.

I'M MAC. ENGLISH ALMOST 17 YEARS . SURVIVOR UH, I WANT TO THANK AMERICA COUNCIL FOR INVITING US INTO PROCLAMATION TODAY, BUT I WANT TO CAUTION. ESPECIALLY OUR AMERICAN MEN'S, WHICH PROSTATE CANCER FIXED BASICALLY. APPLE AMERICANS, HISPANICS AND THEN OCCASION. ENCOURAGE YOU TO GET CHECKED. WITH THE P S A AND THE DIGITAL BOTH BUT LET ME TELL YOU A STORY. I WAS DIAGNOSED 17 YEARS AGO. YEAH, I AM. THE P S A. DIDN'T PICK MY EYES UP. WHAT ALL MEANS HATE. I WANT MEANS HATE THAT. AND Y'ALL KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT THE DIGITAL THAT'S WHAT I FOUND MINE. IN THE POSITION TOLD ME THIS THING IS TO GET ALONG. WE'RE GONNA BE ALL RIGHT. AND WITH GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE 12 BIOPSIES. AND GUESS WHAT? ALL 12 WERE BAD, SO I HAD NOTHING GOING FOR ME BUT GOD. SO THEY'VE TAKEN IT OUT. BUT I WANT TO CAUTION. THE MEN'S THEY GOT THINGS OUT THERE NOW TERMINOLOGY BETTER THAN WHAT YOU HAVE, SO DON'T TAKE A CHANCE. EARLY DETECTION. IT'S KILLED.

NUMBER ONE EARLY DETECTION. CATCH IT AND YOU'VE BEEN GOOD SHAPE. AND YOU ALL HEARD THE DATES. THE 17TH. PLEASE BE ADVISED. TAKE DO NOTICE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH, AND I'M NOT GOING TO SAY A WORD. EXCEPT THANKS. AND TO SAY THE REASON WE STARTED. THIS IS BECAUSE MY UNCLE HAD PASSED AWAY FROM PROSTATE CANCER 20 YEARS AGO. AND HE. HAD NOT BEEN TOLD

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IT'S 8 TO 2 O'CLOCK. YOU CAN COME AT 11 30 WHEN WE'RE GOING TO BE HOSTING OUR PRESTIGIOUS SPIRIT OF LOVE AWARD TO A WONDERFUL LONG TERM PARTNER SUPPORTER. IT'S THE SOUTHEAST TEXAS UROLOGY ASSOCIATES, DR DENNY HARRIS AND JOHN HENDERSON AND HIS GROUP WILL BE ACCEPTING THAT AWARD ALONG WITH DON SHAVER , WHO'S THIS YEAR'S HONORARY PROSTATE CANCER CHAIR AGAIN TO SPREAD THE MESSAGE FOR ALL MEN TO GET CHECKED AND TO BE THERE WITH US AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE SERVICES? AND SO WE'RE SHE HAD A CALL. SHE HAD TO GO OUT FOR A PATIENT. BUT DR GWENDOLYN LAVAL IS, UH, THE WONDERFUL ADDITION TO OUR FAMILY WHO IS EXIST. I MEAN, SHE'S EXTENDED CARE FOR ANYONE THAT KNOWS GWEN . SHE'S BEEN IN THIS PRACTICE FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS, SAVING LIVES, AND WE FEEL SO HONORED THAT SHE'S PART OF OUR INITIATIVE BECAUSE SHE LITERALLY GOES THE EXTRA MILE TO REACH OUT TO EACH MAN. IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER THEY HAVE INSURANCE. WE GET CALLS FROM EVERYONE AND THEY'RE LOST. YOU KNOW WHEN YOU GET A CANCER DIAGNOSIS YOU JUST SEE OUR NAME AND YOU CALL US IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER IT'S PROSTATE OR BREAST, SO WE FEEL SO HONORED THAT DR LEVELS WITH US AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND CALLING EACH PERSON AND ANSWERING THE MANY, MANY REQUESTS FOR SERVICES WHEN PEOPLE ARE REALLY DESPERATE, SO THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US THIS MUCH TIME TO SHARE THIS MESSAGE. WE'RE GONNA BE SENDING YOU AN EMAIL AND HOPES THAT YOU'LL BE WITH US ON SEPTEMBER THE 10TH AND WELCOME YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE SERVICES THAT YOUR SUPPORT IS MAKING SUCH AN IMPACT FOR BEAUMONT, MAN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MISS ROGERS. COULD WE GET ONE QUICK GROUP PICTURES? SURE SURE.

DOMINICANS CANCER. WE ALL PLEASE COME BACK UP AND EVERYONE WOULD GIFT OF LIFE WILL TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH. I WANT TO SAY, UM TO THIS ENTIRE FOUNDATION. THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO IN THIS COMMUNITY. SO MANY OTHER CITIES DON'T EVEN HAVE A PROGRAM SUCH AS THIS AND BECAUSE OF YOUR LOVE, REGINA. THIS IS WHY WE HAVE IT AND THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH, AND TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO. YES. I KNOW SHE'S MY IDOL THAT SHE MAKES THIS FEEL BAD MAYOR SHE'S RUNNING CIRCLES AROUND US. ABSOLUTELY. OKAY WELL, WE'LL COME IN HERE AND WE'LL TAKE A REAL QUICK PHOTOGRAPH COULD IS PROBABLY THE LONG WAY. THANK YOU. LISTEN TO BE I GET THE SMILE. THREE.

YES, MA'AM. TAKE CARE. BEFORE BEFORE I LEAVE BEFORE WE LEAVE. I DON'T WANT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING FUNNY. IT'LL TAKE TWO SECONDS. WE HAD A WOMAN WHO CALLED US ONE DAY AND SAID, I

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AND AS THE MAYOR JUST STATED, I AM THE PARTNER OF THE BEAUMONT OFFICE HERE AND WE ACTUALLY HANDLED THE COLLECTION OF YOUR DELINQUENT FEES AND FINES FOR THE BOMB AT COURT. TODAY. I HAVE WITH US OUR CAPITAL PARTNER, MR RICHARD HILL OUT OF THE HOUSTON OFFICE. ALSO HAVE MR BRIAN GROSS, WHO'S OUR DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS FOR FEEDS AND FINDS OUT ABOUT HOUSTON OFFICE. AND WE ALSO HAVE MS BREED TIPTOE AND ALSO MISS PAGE FROM THE BEAUMONT SPOKE COURT ON BEHALF OF THE CITY TODAY, MR GROSS WILL DO THE PRESENTATION FOR THE COLLECTIVE REPORT AND I ASKED HIM TO COME FORWARD TO THE BENCH. THANK YOU. OKAY? GOOD AFTERNOON MAYOR COUNCIL. AS DANIEL STAYED IN. MY NAME IS BRIAN GROSS. I'M THE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS WITH THE LAND BORDER LAW FIRM. AND BEFORE I BEGIN, I WOULD FIRST LIKE TO COMMEND AND SHOW APPRECIATION TO BOTH BRIE AND VICTORIA OUT OF THE MUNICIPAL COURT. THEY MAKE WHAT WE DO. A LOT EASIER. THEY'RE GREAT TO WORK WITH. AND AS FAR AS THE WAY OUR PROGRAM WORKS. YOU KNOW YOU NEED THE ASSISTANCE OF THE COURT AND ANY TIME WE HAVE A QUESTION, OR THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED CLARIFICATION ON THEIR EXTREMELY FAST TO RESPOND, AND THEY MAKE SURE THAT WE RECEIVED EVERYTHING THAT WE NEED EACH MONTH. SO TO BEGIN. WE RECEIVED OUR FIRST PLACEMENT FROM THE MUNICIPAL COURT BACK IN FEBRUARY OF 2021.

AND WE DID OUR FIRST MAILINGS STARTING IN MARCH OF 2021. AND SINCE THAT TIME. THERE HAVE BEEN OVER 60,000 CASES ASSIGNED OR SENT TO THE LINEBARGER LAW FIRM FOR US TO COLLECT THE DELINQUENCIES. THE DOLLAR AMOUNT ASSOCIATED WITH THAT IS A LITTLE OVER $21 MILLION THERE HAVE BEEN SOME ADJUSTMENTS IN THE AMOUNT OF $81,000 AND NORMALLY ADJUSTMENTS TAKE PLACE ON THE COURT SIDE IF THERE'S BEEN SOME FEES, OR SOME DIFFERENT THINGS THAT MAY BE REMOVED. AS FAR AS THE COURT'S DECISION. AS FAR AS CITATIONS COLLECTED. WE HAVE COLLECTED 4759 SITES, UH, DELINQUENT ACCOUNTS. AND THE AMOUNT OF $1.4 MILLION FOR THE CITY. CITATIONS CANCELED. THERE HAVE BEEN 3628 IN THE AMOUNT OF $1.3 MILLION SO YOU UNDERSTAND CITATIONS CANCELED OUR ANY CASES THAT ARE CANCELED BY THE COURT. AND THAT MEANS SIMPLY IF THE WHATEVER DECISION IS MADE BY THE COURT IF THE JUDGE DECIDES THAT AN INDIVIDUAL WILL DO COMMUNITY SERVICE OR IF CASES ARE DISMISSED, OR IF THERE'S SOME OTHER METHOD IN WHICH THAT CASES HANDLED COURT WILL PULL THAT BACK. SO SINCE FEBRUARY OF 2021. WE HAVE RESOLVED. $2.8 MILLION. WHICH IS A 13.9% OF THE PLACEMENTS THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED SO FAR SINCE FEBRUARY OF 2021. NOW TO GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTIONS ACTIVITY THAT WILL BE THE NEXT PAGE IN THE PACKET THAT YOU HAVE THERE BEFORE YOU WE HAVE MAILED 68,061 LETTERS ON BEHALF OF THE CITY. AND WE'VE UPDATED ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS TO IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF 14,237. AS FAR AS PHONE ACTIVITY WE HAVE RECEIVED 3933 INBOUND CALLS AND WE HAVE MADE 256,000 OUTBOUND CALLS ON BEHALF OF THE CITY. TO COLLECT

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WITH THE DOLLAR VALUE ASSOCIATED WITH IT, AND IT GIVES YOU A BREAKDOWN OF THE AVERAGE BALANCE FOR EACH CITATION, SO THE AVERAGE BALANCE IS $340.35. IF YOU LOOK DOWN YOU WILL SEE. AS FAR AS NO MAILING ADDRESSES. THERE'S ONLY 72. RETURN MAIL 13,823. THAT MEANS THAT THOSE CASES ONCE THE FIRST LETTER GOES OUT, OR WE'VE HAD A SECOND LETTER GO OUT. THE FIRST LETTER MAY HAVE HIT GOOD ADDRESS, THEN IF THEY MOVED OR IF IT WAS INITIAL BAD ADDRESS. THEN WHENEVER IT IS RETURNED TO US THAT MAIL IS AUTOMATICALLY PROCESSED THROUGH OUR SYSTEM, AND THEY START GOING THROUGH OUR TEARS. SKIP TRACING SYSTEM. SO THAT WE CAN LOCATE AN ADDRESS ON THOSE INDIVIDUALS. 39,368 OF THE CASES. WE HAVE GOOD ADDRESSES ON , SO WE ARE MAKING CONTACT WITH THOSE INDIVIDUALS. IT ALSO GIVES YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE OFFENSE AGE. IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF CASES A LITTLE OVER. 5% OF THE PLACEMENTS ARE ONE YEAR OR LESS. 8% ARE 1 TO 2 YEARS 6% 2 TO 3 AND THEN 79% OF THE CASES WITHIN THE PORTFOLIO ARE THREE YEARS OR OLDER. THE GOOD THING WITH OUR SERVICE IS, UH, WE CONTINUALLY WORK CASES, NO MATTER HOW OLD THEY ARE IN THE PORTFOLIO. WE'VE ACTUALLY COLLECTED CASES NOT HERE. BUT IN OTHER MUNICIPALITIES IN THE STATE THAT DATE BACK TO 1954. SO WE CONTINUALLY WORK THOSE CITATIONS UNLESS THEY ARE RECALLED BY THE COURT. AND THEN YOU HAVE A PLACEMENT AGE, AND THAT IS WHEN THE CASES HAVE BEEN PLACED IN NATURALLY. A MAJORITY OF THOSE FALL WITHIN THE ONE OR TWO YEARS, AND THAT IS BECAUSE WE ENACTED THE CONTRACT BACK IN FEBRUARY WELL STARTED THE PROCESS. AND RECEIVING THE PLACEMENTS IN FEBRUARY OF 2021. THEN ON THE NEXT PAGE, YOU HAVE A BREAKDOWN AS FAR AS THE ACTIVITY OF THE PORTFOLIO AND THE COLLECTIONS. AND YOU'LL GET A BREAKDOWN ON THE FAR RIGHT THE DOLLARS COLLECTED EACH MONTH. SO YOU CAN START BACK IN FEBRUARY. THAT'S WHEN WE RECEIVED THE FIRST PLACEMENT PLACEMENTS AND THEN MOVING FORWARD UP UNTIL PRESIDENT THERE WILL BE A BREAKDOWN OF THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS COLLECTED. YOU'LL SEE THE MONTHS WHERE THE SPIKES ARE. APRIL WILL . YEAH APRIL AND MAY OF 2021, THEN THE SPIKES IN MARCH AND APRIL OF 2022 THOSE SIGNIFY WHENEVER WE ARE DOING OUR, UH SPRING SWEEP. AND IT FALLS IN LINE WHENEVER INDIVIDUALS ARE RECEIVING INCOME TAX BACK, BUT THIS IS A VERY LARGE PUSH THAT WE MAKE DURING THOSE TIMES. YEAH AND THAT'S WHEN WE GET THE BEST RESULTS AS FAR AS COLLECTIONS ARE CONCERNED. BECAUSE OF INCOME TAX. BUT OVER YOU'LL SEE AT THE BOTTOM. WE'VE COLLECTED A TOTAL OF 1.468 MILLION. IT'LL GIVE YOU

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AND IN 2022. SO FAR WE HAVE COLLECTED 564,720. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? QUESTION. YES COUNCIL MEMBER CHINA. FIRST AND FOREMOST, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND THE WORKOUT DO IT'S APPRECIATED. THANK YOU. WHEN WE SAY OUTBOUND CALLS, IS IT AN AUTOMATIC SYSTEM THAT HELPS YOU OUT? BECAUSE I SEE THIS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF CALLS. DO YOU GUYS USE AUTOMATIC SYSTEM ARE SYSTEM WORKS IS WE LOAD BATCHES OF NUMBERS WITHIN THE SYSTEM? THAT SYSTEM CALLS THE NUMBERS BUT AS SOON AS AN INDIVIDUAL LIVE INDIVIDUAL PICKS UP THE PHONE, THEY'RE IMMEDIATELY CONNECTED TO ONE OF OUR PROFESSIONAL COLLECTORS. OKAY, THANK YOU. YES, SIR.

COUNCIL MEMBER, NEIL THANK YOU, MA'AM. SO AM I READING THIS RIGHT? THE COLLECTION RATE OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS IS 13.9. THAT IS THE RESOLUTION RATE. SO WHAT'S WHAT'S STANDARD? WHAT? WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? SO RIGHT NOW, YOU'RE ACTUALLY RIGHT ON PAR AS FAR AS THE RESOLUTION RATE. WE HAVEN'T HIT THE TWO YEAR MARK. NORMALLY WE LIKE TO BE AROUND 14% IN TWO YEARS. AND THEN AS YOU MOVE, AND AS AS WE MOVE FORWARD, THE LONGER THE CONTRACT AND AS AS WE'VE HAD TIME TO REALLY ACTUALLY WORK ON A LOT OF THOSE CASES. THAT OR THREE YEARS OR OLDER. THAT THAT THAT NUMBER WILL GROW BECAUSE THE NEW CASES NATURALLY WE'RE GOING TO COLLECT THOSE. THOSE ARE THE LOW HANGING FRUIT. THE TRUE BENEFIT OF OUR PROGRAM IS WE WORKED DILIGENTLY ON THE OLDER CASES JUST AS HARD AS WE DO THE NEW CASES SO BY YEAR THREE, YOU'LL SEE AN INCREASE AND WE'D LIKE TO BE SOMEWHERE AROUND 18 TO 20. AND THEN FOUR MID TWENTIES. AND THEN AFTER THAT, IT CAN JUST CONTINUE TO GROW. IT IS JUST DEPENDING UPON THE PORTFOLIO. EVERY PORTFOLIO IS DIFFERENT. OKAY SO THERE'S $18 MILLION THAT'S OWED BACK TO THE CITY RIGHT NOW. IS THAT CORRECT? YES, SIR. I BELIEVE SO. 18,128,000 YES, SIR. SO WHAT OTHER TOOLS IN THE SHED. DO WE HAVE TO GO COLLECT THAT? BECAUSE THAT MONEY SURE WOULD COME IN HANDY ABOUT RIGHT NOW. SO WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING IS WE'RE GOING THROUGH OUR PROCESS. NEXT WEEK WHERE WE SIT DOWN, SIT DOWN ABOUT EVERY SIX MONTHS AND WE EVALUATE EACH PORTFOLIO AND WHAT WE'RE ABOUT TO DO WHEN WE PROCESS THAT PORTFOLIO IS WE'RE GOING TO IMPLEMENT IT IS A PROGRAM WHERE WE MAIL ON HOT SPOTS AS FAR AS WHAT WE LOOK AT. AS FAR AS WHAT WHAT THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF PAYMENTS ARE, AS FAR AS DO WE GO AFTER THE HIGHEST AMOUNT. DO WE GET A LOT OF PAYMENTS FOR THOSE? DO WE GET A LOT OF PAYMENTS FOR CITATIONS THAT RANGE BETWEEN TWO AND $300? WHAT ZIP CODE AREA. YOU KNOW? WHERE ARE THESE? WHAT ARE THE AREAS THAT? HEY SO WE'RE GONNA DO LIKE TARGETED MAILINGS. WE'RE GOING TO START PUTTING IT BACK IN PLACE. NOW THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION, AND WE'VE HAD THE PORTFOLIO LONG ENOUGH. WE'RE ABLE TO LOOK BACK AT THE DATA AND KIND OF BREAK THAT DOWN TO SEE THE AREAS THAT WE CAN TARGET. SO CAN WE START PUTTING LEANS ON PROPERTY? ATTORNEY.

MAYOR COUNCIL I'M RICHARD HILL, PARTNER WITH THE LAW FIRM AND NO, SIR, WE CAN'T START PUTTING LEANS ON PROPERTY FOR THE MUNICIPAL COURT VIOLATIONS THAT ARE SENT TO US. THESE ARE GENERALLY CRIMINAL IN NATURE. THERE ARE WARRANTS HAVE BEEN ISSUED OF A CRIMINAL VIOLATION FOR FAILURE TO APPEAR ON MOST OF THESE CASES, SO THE ENFORCEMENT OR BEYOND THE EFFORTS THAT WE'RE MAKING TO GET THESE DEBTS COLLECTED THE REAL ENFORCEMENT. IT'S WORKING WITH PD IN ORDER TO, UM EXECUTE ON THE WARRANTS THAT HAVE BEEN ISSUED. FOR FAILURE TO APPEAR NOT FOR NON PAYMENT, BUT FOR FAILURE TO APPEAR IN THE COURT TO ANSWER THE CHARGES FOR WHICH THE VIOLATIONS ARE WRITTEN FOR. BUT YOU CAN'T PUT LIENS ON PROPERTIES FOR THESE ACCOUNTS.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. I MEAN, I JUST KIND OF THINK BACK WHENEVER I GET AN AUTOMATED PHONE CALL PERSONALLY, FIRST THING I DO IS HANG UP. WELL THEY AUTOMATED SOUNDS LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE DOES,

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THANK YOU. THANK YOU. CANCER MEMBER GETS AND THEN CANCEL MEMBER DOING? YEAH. BEAUMONT LIKE MANY OTHER PLACES. HAS ITS SHARE OF SCOFFLAWS. AND MR HILL. YOU MENTIONED A TERM FAILURE TO APPEAR. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE OF WHAT YOU HAVE. IN FACT, EVERYTHING YOU HAVE HIS COME TO YOU AS A RESULT OF SOME SORT OF JUDICIAL DETERMINATION. BY THE TIME IT GETS TO YOU, IT'S ALREADY BEEN IN COURT. UH AND THERE'S BEEN SOME SORT OF JUDICIAL DETERMINATION RENDERED THAT ALLOWS YOU TO PROCEED. IS THAT RIGHT? MOST OF THE CASES THERE HAS BEEN A JUDICIAL DETERMINATION. BUT IN ALL CASES , THE COURT HAS MADE AN EFFORT AND REACHED OUT TO THESE INDIVIDUALS TO APPEAR. PAIN DOESN'T HAVE FAILED TO APPEAR. AFTER BEING REQUESTED TO COME TO COURT BY BRIE AND THE STAFF AT THE COURT, WHO WILL NOTIFY THEM THAT THEY NEED TO APPEAR.

REMEMBER THAT SUMMONS OR CITATION HAS BEEN ISSUED WHEN THEY DON'T APPEAR. UH, THERE IS A FAILURE TO APPEAR WARRANT THAT HAS BEEN ISSUED AND BY THE TIME IT COMES TO US, WE HAVE THAT AS WELL. YES SO THAT BRINGS ME TO WHAT IS THE MOST MADDENING THING , BUT I THINK I DEAL WITH ON A FREQUENT BASIS. WHEN YOU HAVE A CITIZEN WHO ABSOLUTELY JUST DOES NOT PAY ATTENTION TO THESE NOTICES TO APPEAR, UH AND OVER AND IN FACT, THERE'S A I THINK IT'S AWARD ONE SITUATION COUNCIL MEMBER NEAL, BUT PLACE OVER ON BANDERA FOUR TIMES THEY HAVE FAILED TO APPEAR IN THEIR HOUSE CONTINUES TO BE KEPT IN A SLOVENLY CONDITION. IT'S UPSET ALL THE NEIGHBORS. UH, MAYBE THIS IS A QUESTION FOR THE COURT STAFF. MAYBE THIS IS A QUESTION FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. IT'S PROBABLY NOT Y'ALL'S AREA, BUT WHAT CAN WE DO? WHEN THEY JUST CONTINUALLY FAILED TO APPEAR BY MY THOUGHT IS THAT IT BECOMES TIME TO SEND THE POLICE OFFICER UP THERE AND HELP THEM FIND THE COURTROOM. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? WHAT DO WE DO? MAYBE THAT'S A CHARADE QUESTION. DO THE POLICE DO DO AN ANNUAL WARRANT ROUNDUP ? UM AND THAT USUALLY HELPS RESOLVE SOME OF THAT FAILURE TO APPEAR SITUATION IS IT'S COLLABORATIVE ACROSS AND SO THEY DO A WARRANT ROUND THAT THEY ADVERTISED TO INDIVIDUALS THEY POSTED LIKE YOU HAVE A WARRANT. THIS IS YOUR TIME TO COME IN AND EITHER SETTLE YOUR ACCOUNT. AND THEY KIND OF HAVE A REPRIEVE. A COUPLE OF DAYS WHERE PEOPLE CAN JUST KIND OF COME IN. AND GET THEIR ACCOUNTS BACK IN ORDER, AND THEN THEY START THE ROUNDUP.

WELL, YOU EITHER. PAY OR YOU GO TO JAIL. OKAY WELL, WE KNOW WE'RE TALKING GENERALLY, CLASS C RIGHT? YES AND SO WE ALSO KNOW THAT OUR JAIL IS PRETTY FULL. AND THAT IT'S DIFFICULT TO FIND PLACES TO PUT CLASSES THAT WAS PRE COVID POST COVID. I KNOW THAT I'M NOT REALLY SURE WHAT THE STATUS IS, BUT ESSENTIALLY YOU GO. YOU CAN BOND RIGHT OUT ON ANY CLASS SEATS AND 1 50 BONDS, YOU CAN GO AND BOND RIGHT OUT IN THE CYCLE WILL JUST REPEAT BUT UP PRIOR TO COVID THAT WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL WHERE THEY WOULD DO THE WRONG ROUTE. TO AVOID GOING TO JAIL. PEOPLE WOULD JUST PAY THEIR FINES OR OR GO IN THE BUSINESS. SOMETIMES IT'S AS SIMPLE AS YOU KNOW THEY WERE PRE WEEK WOULD BE REALLY BUSY BECAUSE INDIVIDUALS WHO TRY TO GET ON SOME TYPE OF PAYMENT PLAN TO AVOID GOING TO JAIL, OKAY? PROTEIN, DORIA. YES, MR BILLS FOR OUR AUDIENCE AND THE FOLKS THAT ARE WATCHING HOW IS YOUR FIRM PAID FOR DOING THIS WORK? IT'S AN ADD ON FEE. THE CITY PAYS US NOTHING. THERE'S A 30% AD ON THE SO YOU GET A PERCENTAGE OF WHAT YOU COLLECT. IS THAT HOW IT WORKS? IT'S AN ADD ON FEET TO WHAT WE'RE SO THE LET'S SAY THE COURT SENDS US OUT $100. DEAD THERE'S A 30% ADD ON TO THAT. SO WHEN WE COLLECT, WE

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TORREY FEED. YES, SIR. COUNCIL MEMBER DURIO, THEN COUNCIL MEMBER PHIL SHOW. I'M SORRY.

MATERNAL EVEN RECOGNIZE THAT I DIDN'T EVEN CATCH IT WELL, AND I UNDERSTAND WE'RE GOING THROUGH MUNICIPAL. ISSUES ON TODAY. I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WAS WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR ARE YOU ARE YOU GUYS AS WELL RESPONSIBLE FOR PROPERTY TAX COLLECTED AS WELL? AND I KNOW WE CAN'T GET INTO IT.

I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHO WHO WOULD WE TALK TO IN REFERENCE TO THAT? IF A CITIZEN IN JAPAN WHAT ARE THE STEPS ARE FIRM REPRESENTS THE CITY. FORWARD DELINQUENT TAX COLLECTION AS WELL. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN FELLOWSHIP. JUST ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. COUNCILMAN TURNER. UM I THINK WE SPOKE ABOUT THIS BRIEFLY. BUT IF YOU WANT TO TALK TO ANYONE REGARDING THE TAXES, YOU CAN ALWAYS SPEAK TO OUR OFFICE. BUT THE PROPER GOVERNING BODY IS THE TEXAS AS A COLLECTOR , SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, YOU CAN DIRECT THEM TO THEM, AND WE WILL ASSIST THEM AND ANSWERING WHATEVER QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MARY . JUST LOOKING AT THE PAPERWORK. I THINK I FOUND MY ANSWER. THANK YOU, THOUGH, JUST LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU FOR A GREAT REPORT AND , UH, KEEP COLLECTING. YES, BECAUSE WE CAN USE THAT MONEY, RIGHT? THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. AND THAT WILL CONCLUDE OUR PRESENTATION. I WOULD LIKE TO READ AT THE CLOSE OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING, THE COUNCIL WILL HOLD AN EXECUTIVE SESSION. TO CONSIDER MATTERS RELATED TO CONTEMPLATE ARE PENDING LITIGATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 551.71 OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE. CALEB. FINTOR VERSUS CITY OF BEAUMONT AND CHRISTOPHER AZMOUN. BECAUSE THE NUMBER B DASH 210.244. THEN CLAIM OF. CLICK ON ER METAL. AND THEN RONALD K. DAVIS VERSUS JOHN DEEP BROWN. CIVIL ACTION NUMBER ONE 0.22. C B 0002. THANK YOU.

AT THIS TIME. THAT CONCLUDES ALL OF OUR PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS AND. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE. I WILL GIVE YOU A FEW MINUTES. EXIT. AND I THANK EVERYONE HAS TO LIFT. SO NOW IT'S THE TIME FOR PUBLIC COMMENT . IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY DONE SO PLEASE FILL OUT THE GREEN SLIPPED TO THE BACK OF THE ROOM HANDED TO THE CLERK TO THE FRONT OF THE ROOM. SHE WILL CALL YOUR NAME. WHEN IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO SPEAK. THE GREEN LIGHT WILL COME ON. YOU WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK. AT THE END OF THE THREE MINUTES. THE RED LIGHT WILL COME ON. WE'LL ASK THAT YOU PLEASE KEEP YOUR COMMENTS AS CLOSE TO THREE MINUTES AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU. I DON'T HAVE ANY AT THIS TIME THERE. OKAY NICE. THANK YOU. SO AT THIS TIME, I WILL CALL FOR APPROVAL

[CONSENT AGENDA]

[Review and discuss the proposed FY 2023 Budget and Capital Program ]

ONE. OKAY, GOOD. PLEASE GET READY. READY? ALRIGHT. READ THE CAPTION. THANK YOU. OKAY? AND AGAIN THIS WORK SESSIONS TO REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE PROPOSED FY 2023 BUDGET AND CAPITAL

[00:45:04]

FIVE BASICALLY, 60 69 A HALF CENTS PER $100 VALUE. INSTEAD OF THE PROPOSED 0.68 POINT 5% TAX RATE AS PROPOSED UH UM. IN ADDITION, THE PROPOSED BUDGET TO REVIEW TO BE REVIEWED TODAY ALSO FACTORS IN A WATER RATE INCREASE LESS THAN WHAT WAS PROPOSED AT 8. SO YOU CAN SEE THE SLIDE BEFORE YOU SLIDE NUMBER ONE, WHICH IS JUST A SUMMARY OF THE GENERAL FUND REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES. WHICH AGAIN REFLECTS THE INCREASED PROPERTY TAX RATE. UM. AND SO IF YOU LOOK INTO THE FINAL COLUMN OVER THAT EXCESS REVENUES OVER APPROPRIATION, YOU'LL SEE A DEFICIT OF $320,000. WHICH OF COURSE, IS LESS THAN WHAT WAS WHAT WAS PROPOSED ORIGINALLY. I SHOULD POINT OUT THAT THE INCREASED TAX RATE, UH HAS RESULTED IN $920,000 IN ADDITIONAL REVENUE, AND THAT REPRESENTS A FUND BALANCE. IF YOU LOOK AT THAT FINAL NUMBER TWO, THE BOTTOM, RIGHT? FUND BALANCE AMOUNT OF 43,437,000. WHICH REPRESENTS A 29.83% FUND BALANCE. OF REPRESENTS 29.83% OF THE ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENDITURE. YOU MAY KNOW THAT OUR POLICY CALLS FOR 20. ADDITIONAL CHANGES THAT WE WANTED TO GO OVER WITH YOU IS WE DO HAVE SOME CHANGES TO HOW WE PROPOSED TO ALLOCATE THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS.

AFTER FURTHER STUDY, WE REALIZED THAT WE WERE ESSENTIALLY CAPPED OUT AT THE $10 MILLION ALLOCATION TO THE CITY GENERAL FUND REVENUE RECOVERY. UM AND WE HAD ORIGINALLY PROPOSED. TO USE SOME OF THESE FUNDS FOR THREE FIRE TRUCKS AND FIVE AMBULANCES TO BE PURCHASED OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. BUT WE LEARNED THAT THAT WOULD COUNT AGAINST THAT $10 MILLION, SO WE HAVE REMOVED THOSE LINE ITEMS FROM THE AARP ALLOCATION. AND INSTEAD WE'VE INCREASED INCREASED THE SEWER REHAB LINE ITEM. FOR THE ART FUNDING. PLACE A JOKE? YES.

SURE. AND AS MENTIONED EARLIER, UM AGAIN AT THE REQUEST OF THE COUNCIL, WE DID, UM, ADJUST THE PROPOSED WATER RATE UP FROM 8% WHICH IS WHAT WAS PROPOSED DOWN TO 6% AND SO THIS SLIDE REPRESENTS THE ADJUSTMENT. OF THOSE AMOUNTS. IN ADDITION, WE LOOKED AT SOME REVISED REVENUE RATES FROM JULY AND WE'VE ALSO BEEN LOOKING AT SOME POSSIBLE SAVINGS AND FEE ADJUSTMENTS.

WHICH MIGHT HELP. TO MAKE THE ENDING. FUN BALANCE PROJECTION BETTER THAN WHAT WE EXPECT.

HOWEVER IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE RESULTING FUND BALANCES CURRENTLY ESTIMATED TO BE AT 18.

UM AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS MORE IN A MINUTE. ALSO THERE'S BEEN SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT THE PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES, AND YOU SEE THAT AS IF YOU LOOK AT THE EXPENDITURE. THAT FINAL COLUMN THERE THE LAST LINE ITEM OF EXPENDITURE PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES. THERE'S BEEN SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT THE PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES TO THE GENERAL FUND. I SHOULD POINT OUT THAT THIS TRANSFER IS SPELLED OUT IN THE CHARTER. WHICH ALLOWS A TRANSFER OF UP TO 20% OF REVENUES BACK TO THE GENERAL FUND. AS WATER AS WATER CUSTOMER . YOU MAY LOOK AT THIS AND WONDER WHY WE'RE MAKING THIS TRANSFER. BUT WE HAVE TO KEEP IN

[00:50:04]

REPAIR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. IN OUR WATER AND SEWER. WE OBVIOUSLY NEED AS MUCH REVENUE THERE. AS WE CAN. TAKEN 7.9 MILLION OUT. MEANS THAT YOU KNOW THAT THAT'S MONEY THAT WE DON'T HAVE FOR THAT. BUT ALSO WE ARE STRUGGLING TO KEEP OUR FUND BALANCE. AT A CERTAIN LEVEL SO THAT OUR BOND WRITING IS AN IMPAIRED. IF YOU PUT THAT MONEY OR LEAVE SOME OF THAT MONEY BACK IN THEN. YOU. HAVE YOUR FUN BALANCE HEALTHIER POINT. SO I GUESS MY QUESTION IS IT? ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED THAT WE TRANSFER 7.9 MILLION OUT OR CAN WE TRANSFER? SOME LESSER AMOUNT OUT IN ORDER TO AVOID EVEN A 6% INCREASE OR GET SOME COMBINATION THEREOF. AND FIND THAT SWEET SPOT WHERE WE CAN. TRANSFER SOME OF THIS MONEY OUT TO THE GENERAL FUND, BUT ALSO RETAIN ENOUGH TO KEEP OUR ENTERPRISE FUND BALANCE AT A HEALTHY LEVEL. AND TWO AVOID A. 6% RATE HIKE INCREASE.

I PERSONALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT. NO MORE THAN FIVE. MR BURTON. YES. COULD WE GET REAL

[00:55:04]

THE AS YOU MENTIONED, THOUGH. IF WE GO BACK HERE, YOU KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE UP FOR IT BY DIPPING EITHER CUTTING EXPENSES SOMEWHERE ELSE OR DIPPING FURTHER INTO THE FUND BALANCE, SO IF YOU REDUCED IT, LET'S SAY BY A MILLION, YOU'D BE LOOKING AT A DEFICIT OF 1.32 MILLION INSTEAD OF THE 3 20, BUT TO YOUR POINT THAT THAT THAT'S CORRECT. AND YEAH, WE CAN HEAR FROM TODD. UM AND WE'RE GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BOND. THE BOND ISSUE. UH, AND THE BOND RATING IN THE METRICS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO LOOK AT WHEN THEY DO RATE THE BONDS. HOW DO YOU EVERYTHING? IT KIND OF HIT ON ALL THE POINTS I WAS GOING TO TALK ABOUT IF YOU REDUCE THAT TRANSFER TO THE GENERAL FUND. OBVIOUSLY IT, UM IT TAKES INTO ACCOUNT INTO THAT FUND BALANCE IN THE GENERAL FUND. IF YOU DID AWAY WITH THE WHOLE THING, WHICH I KNOW WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT DOING AWAY WITH THE WHOLE 7.9. BUT IN TWO YEARS, YOU WOULD BE UNDER YOUR GENERAL FUNDS FUND BALANCE REQUIREMENT IN JUST TWO YEARS, SO YOU DON'T WANT TO CONTINUE TO OPERATE IN THE DEFICIT. IN YOUR IN YOUR GENERAL FUND, BUT AS FAR AS TRYING TO PUT REAL NUMBERS TOGETHER ON THIS. I DID TRY TO LOOK AT THIS TODAY THIS MORNING AND LIKE MOST INDUSTRIES, YOUR OR AT LEAST COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIES. THEY'RE APPRAISED ON BASICALLY THE VALUE OF THAT BUSINESS. AND WHAT? THAT BUSINESS INCOME LOOKS LIKE. SO IN OUR WATER FUND, WE HAVE OVER $470 MILLION OF ASSETS. AND THAT'S THAT HISTORICAL COST, SO SOME OF THESE COSTS GO BACK. 40 50 YEARS. SO YOU COULD EASILY SAY $470 MILLION OVER THE LAST 50 YEARS. UH I'M NOT AN EXPERT AT THIS. WE PROBABLY NEED TO HIRE AN APPRAISAL GROUP. BUT YOU COULD SAY THAT COULD BE WORTH $900 MILLION TODAY. BIG BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT WE GENERATE OVER $50 MILLION OF REVENUE AND APPRECIATION OF THAT BUSINESS, SO $900 MILLION OF ASSETS TRANSLATES INTO $6.2 MILLION IN PROPERTY TAX. SO THAT GETS YOU PRETTY CLOSE TO YOUR 7.9. THEN YOU'VE GOT TO THINK ABOUT THE SALES TAX THAT THEY DON'T PAY. THAT WOULD GO TO THE CITY AND THEN, LIKE MR BOONE SAID, YOU GOT RIGHT AWAY IS LEGAL. HR PAYROLL, ACCOUNTING BENEFITS, PURCHASING TECHNOLOGY SERVICES IF THEY WERE TO HIRE ALL THAT STAFF. SAY 10 PEOPLE AT $100,000. INCLUDING BENEFITS.

THAT'S A MILLION BUCKS JUST FOR 10 PEOPLE. SO I THINK IT'S EASILY JUSTIFIABLE. TO TRANSFER $7.9 MILLION A YEAR FROM WATER TO THE GENERAL FUND TO REIMBURSE THOSE LOST REVENUES. CANCER MEMBER TURNER. AND TODD CHRIS. I KNOW THAT Y'ALL SAID PER CHARTER , YOU CAN GO UP TO 20% I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TIME TODAY THAT BASED ON THE 7.9 NUMBER, WHAT PERCENTAGE IS THAT? SO THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZENS UNDERSTANDING? NO SO HISTORICALLY IT THAT NUMBER USED TO BE 17% NOW IT'S LIKE 14.8% BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN HOLDING THAT TRANSFER LEVEL. EVEN THOUGH OUR REVENUES ARE GOING UP EACH YEAR. AND TIRED. THAT DOESN'T AFFECT OUR BOND RATING, DOES IT? IT DOES, AND WE WILL TALK ABOUT THAT, IN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES. AND MAYOR. ONE MORE THING I'LL ECHO THAT WAS MENTIONED IS AGAIN IF YOU IF YOU WERE TO REDUCE THE TRANSFER, THERE IS AN ARGUMENT TO BE MADE THAT YOU KNOW THE CITY TAXPAYERS WOULD BE SUBSIDIZING THOSE CUSTOMERS OUTSIDE THE CITY. UM WHO ARE NOT NECESSARILY PAYING PROPERTY TAXES, BUT ARE BENEFITING FROM THE SYSTEM. YOU KNOW, MAYBE ONLY A SMALL PERCENT, BUT IT WOULD BE A PERCENT. HAVE A QUESTION. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE PERCENT IS? NO, MA'AM, OKAY. COUNCIL REVENUE . CAN WE LOOK AT RAISING THE RATE FOR THE OUTER CITY USERS? SO AGAIN WE'RE LOOKING AT. WE'RE LOOKING AT A VARIETY OF REVENUE ENHANCEMENTS, INCLUDING, YOU KNOW THAT THAT, OF COURSE, IS SET BY ORDINANCE, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT IS THAT BREAKDOWN BETWEEN INTERNAL CUSTOMERS VERSUS EXTRA OUTSIDE THE CITY? WHAT IS THAT PERCENTAGE? WE'RE LOOKING AT A VARIETY OF REVENUE. UM WE HAVE A DIFFERENT METHODOLOGY FOR HOW WE CHARGE APARTMENTS THAN WE DO SINGLE FAMILY HOMES AND WHETHER OR NOT THAT MAKES SENSE, BUT THIS IS GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME TO STUDY, BUT WE DO PLAN TO DO THAT IN THE COMING MONTHS. COUNCIL MEMBER GETS HOLD OUR OUT OF TOWN USERS. DO WE HAVE A CONTRACT IN PLACE THAT REQUIRES US TO HONOR. ARE CERTAIN RIGHT FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME. IS

[01:00:06]

YEAH, THAT FUN BALANCE AND HOW IT AFFECTS OUR BOND RATING AS WE LOOK TO GO OUT FOR A BOND ISSUE, AND, UM TODD, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO ADD ON THIS? OKAY? SO AGAIN, THESE ARE DIFFERENT BOND RATINGS. AND, OF COURSE, THE LOWER YOU GO, THE HIGHER YOUR INTEREST RATE, THE MORE YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR YOUR MONEY THAT YOU BORROW AND SO YEAH, THE METRICS THAT THAT R RATING AGENCIES ARE GOING TO LOOK AT I TOLD YOU EVERYTHING ON THIS. I WAS GONNA SAY BACK ON THE OTHER SLIDE, YOU CAN GO BACK REAL QUICK. SO YOU HAVE 123456 79. SO YOU GOT 10 RATINGS? BASICALLY THERE'S AN THESE ARE WHAT'S CALLED INVESTABLE CLASS RATINGS. THERE'S ANOTHER CLASS BELOW HERE THAT I DIDN'T SHOW. IT'S CALLED UN INVESTABLE, IN OTHER WORDS, LIKE JUNK BONDS. SO AND I DON'T WANT TO ALARM THE CITIZENS WERE IN GOOD SHAPE. BUT WE DID GO FROM THE A PLUS TO AN A I'M AFRAID AND THIS IS WHERE THE DISCUSSION IS GOING TO LEAD. I'M AFRAID IF WE ONLY DO A 6% RATE INCREASE, WE WILL GET ANOTHER DOWNGRADE. TO POSSIBLY AN A MINUS THAT ONLY LEAVES THREE DOWNGRADES LEFT. HMM. AND IT TAKES. SOMETIMES IT TAKES YEARS TO BUILD YOUR FUND BALANCE UP. SO I'M CONCERNED IF WE DON'T ACT AGGRESSIVELY ENOUGH TO GET OUR FUND BALANCE UP RIGHT NOW.

WE HAVE A MINIMUM FUND BALANCE OF 15% THE RATING AGENCIES CHANGED THE WAY THEY RATE OUR BONDS. PROBABLY THREE OR FOUR YEARS AGO. THEY USED TO JUST LOOK AT FUND BALANCE AND LOOK AT YOUR ECONOMIC, YOU KNOW, INDICATORS GOING FORWARD. NOW THEY LOOK AT WELL, IT'LL BE ON THE NEXT SLIDE. NOW THEY LOOK AT UNRESTRICTED CASH AND DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE. SO, UM WELL, I JUST LET GO AHEAD. TAKE IT. OKAY, SO WE WHEN WE DID A RE FUNDING BACK IN 2022. THAT'S WHEN WE GOT OUR DOWNGRADE FROM AN A PLUS TO AN A AND THEY USED THE FY 20 METRICS THAT YOU CAN SEE HERE. THE FIRST ONE IS UNRESTRICTED CASH. SO WHEN THEY RAIDED US, THEY RAIDED US ON FY

[01:05:01]

AND YOU CAN SEE THE RATINGS TO THE TO THE RIGHT OF THAT. THERE'S SIX RATINGS. OVER 150 IS THE BEST RATING LESS THAN 15 DAYS IS THE WORST RATING. SO WE FELL IN THE SECOND BEST RATING.

AND THEN FOR THE DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE IN FY 20. WE DON'T 1.4 AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE THE SIXTH GRADES OF RATING THERE. TOP GRADE 1.6 AND ABOVE WORST GRADE LESS THAN ONE SO IN FY 20. WHEN WE GOT THE DOWNGRADE, WE WERE IN THE SECOND BEST. RATING. I CALCULATED THE FY 21 METRICS. SO WE'RE GOING FROM 110 DAYS TO 80 DAYS THAT'S GONNA PUT US IN THE THIRD GRADE AND THEN FOR FY 21 DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE. WE'RE GOING FROM 1.4 TO 1.2 THAT'S GONNA PUT US IN THE THIRD. GREAT AS WELL. SO I DON'T WORK FOR STANDARDS AND POOR MOODY. BUT THEY'RE GOING TO LOOK AT THOSE AND WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO GET A DOWNGRADE ON OUR NEXT ISSUE COMING UP LATER THIS YEAR EARLY 2023 AND AS WE ALL KNOW, WHEN YOU GET A DOWNGRADE IT DIDN'T IT AFFECTS YOUR INTEREST RATE. SO WHEN YOU'RE BORROWING 20 TO 25 MILLION THAT CAN ADD UP PRETTY QUICKLY ON YOUR ON YOUR INTEREST PAYMENTS. SO WHEN WE GO OUT FOR THAT BOND ISSUE. THEY'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THESE METRICS AND THEY'RE GOING TO SAY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO IMPROVE YOUR SITUATION? SO THAT'S I KNOW. I KNOW. I KNOW YOU'RE NOT TOUGH SPOT WITH THIS WATER RATE INCREASE. WE ORIGINALLY PROPOSED AN 8% RATE INCREASE. I THINK IT'S NEEDED. ACTUALLY, I THINK I THINK WE NEED MORE. BUT I UNDERSTAND YOU CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH IN ONE YEAR, SO IF WE CAN GET IT, MAYBE A TWO YEAR PLAN GOING FORWARD TO HAVE A MINIMUM FUND BALANCE REQUIREMENT OF 25% I THINK THE RATING AGENCIES WOULD LIKE THAT BECAUSE THEY'RE WANTING. AS YOU CAN SEE. THEY WOULD PREFER TO HAVE 90 TO 150 DAYS OF OPERATING CASH. THAT TRANSLATES TO 25% OR MORE FUN BALANCE. CANCER. MY RETURNER. SO TODD. THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT FROM THAT 8% TO 66% WHAT IS THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT? I'M GONNA MAKE SURE I DIDN'T MISS IT. SO EACH PERCENT WE INCREASE THE RATES. WE GET ABOUT ANOTHER 955,000 OF REVENUE. IF CONSUMPTION IS CONSISTENT, IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH WATER IS CONSUMED. THE DOLLAR PERCENT OF WHAT WAS. WHAT IS THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR THE CUSTOMER PER MONTH? SO THE WAY WE HAVE IT NOW, BECAUSE WE HEARD COUNSEL WE YELL WANTED TO LOWER THE RATE SO WE GOT 6% IN THE SLIDES RIGHT NOW, SO IF YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO THAT ONE SLIDE, I THINK IT'S A LITTLE OVER $4 EXTRA PER MONTH. FOR THE AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL PERSON USING 6000 GALLONS OF WATER A MONTH. SO IT'S GOING FROM 69 72 IN THE HIGHLIGHTED COLUMN TO 73 88. YES, JUST 6. WHEN WE HAD IT AT 8. I BELIEVE THE MONTHLY INCREASE IN THE WATER BILL WAS A LITTLE OVER $6. CRUZ. THE SEWER RIGHT. ALSO. CORRECT. TODD IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY THAT WE CAN OFFSET THIS? WELL, WE TALKED ABOUT YOU KNOW THE IN LIEU OF PAYMENT, BUT THAT GOES AGAINST THE DETRIMENT OF THE GENERAL FUND. OTHER THAN RAISING RATES. AND YOU KNOW, THE CITIZENS GOTTA REALIZE ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT RECORD INFLATION. WE TALKED ABOUT THAT LAST TIME WE TALKED ABOUT HOW THE INDEX SHOWS 8 TO 9% INFLATION WELL, THAT'S AN INDEX OVER HUNDREDS OF GOODS AND SERVICES. WE BUY. LTD. GOODS AND SERVICES. FOR OUR WATER FUN, AND WE'VE HAD CONTRACTS THAT CAME BEFORE THIS COUNCIL, WHERE ARE CHEMICAL COST IS GOING UP OVER 100% WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT EIGHT OR 9% INFLATION FOR THE WATER FUND. SAME THING WITH PIPES AND STUFF. COUNCIL MEMBER GETS SO THE OTHER WAY THAT WE CAN AH! CHANGE THIS IS REDUCE OPERATING EXPENSES. YOU CAN EITHER RAISE RATES OR REDUCE EXPENSES YOU GOT? YEAH. AND PROPOSED A NUMBER OF TIMES NOW. AND I KNOW IT'S NOT GOING TO

[01:10:01]

AND WE DO KNOW THAT IT WAS JUST A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO THAT WE HAD TO REPLACE OUR MAIN 72 INCH WATERLINE. BECAUSE OF ALL THE DAMAGE IN THE CORROSIVE THIS THAT HAD OCCURRED. BECAUSE OF THE FLUORIDE INJECTION POINT, AND THAT WAS A HALF A MILLION DOLLARS RIGHT THERE. SO WE'VE NEVER HAD A WORKSHOP. OH ON WHETHER OR NOT IT WOULD BE A GOOD THING OR BAD THING OR WHAT? THE COUNCIL POLICY. YES, I'LL REMOVING FLORA, BUT I CAN TELL YOU UH, CITIES ALL ACROSS TEXAS, ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY. OR REJECTING FLUORIDE AS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE DONE IN THEIR WATER SUPPLY. UM, IT WOULD HELP. IT WOULD HELP AND, UH YOU KNOW, THERE'S REALLY NO IN MY VIEW.

SOUND MEDICAL REASON TO REQUIRE IT NOW BECAUSE YOU CAN GET FLUORIDE. TO PROTECT YOUR DENTAL ENAMEL THROUGH MOUTHWASH AND TOOTHPASTE EASILY NOW. WHEN YOU USE NOT TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN HAVE WORKSHOP ON THIS, UH, PRIOR CITY MANAGER HAD SAID WE WERE GOING TO SCHEDULE ONE HAD NEVER HAPPENED. AH I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN JUST SEE IF THERE'S ANYBODY UP HERE ON COUNCIL AND GET A CONSENSUS TODAY WHETHER ANYBODY HAS A YEAH, IT GIVES A LOT GIVES THEM A LOT OF HEARTBURN, TOO. WANT TO KEEP FLORIDA I DON'T KNOW THE BEST WAY TO PROCEED, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THAT. WELL I DON'T NECESSARILY BELIEVE THE WORKSHOP IS NECESSARY. WE JUST NEED TO SEE WHAT WE'RE SPENDING ON. FLUORIDE VERSUS AH, THE SAVINGS. SOME MARRIAGE JUST ALONG THOSE LINES FOR THE CHEMICAL ITSELF. I THINK IT'S IN THE 30 TO $40,000 RANGE , SO IT'S NOT A LOT NOW. THE QUESTION IS, YES, MA'AM. MY UNDERSTANDING, THOUGH, IS IT MAY HAVE LONG TERM IMPACT ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE, SO THAT'S KIND OF A DIFFERENT QUESTION. BUT BACK TO THAT POINT IT IS REQUIRED BY ORDINANCE IN THE CITY ORDINANCE. AND SO MY RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE, TOO IF THERE'S ANY INTEREST TO HAVE A WORK SESSION TO DISCUSS THE PROS AND CONS. UM AND THEN, IF THERE'S CONSENSUS TO MOVE FORWARD, OBVIOUSLY, THE ORDINANCE WOULD NEED TO BE AMENDED. I HAVE INTEREST. DON'T THINK BUDDY ELSE DOESN'T BUT I DO. MAYOR. COUNCIL BRINGS SAMUEL I BELIEVE IT WOULD BE IN OUR BEST INTEREST TO AT LEAST SEE WHAT THE IMPACT WOULD BE BOTH HEALTH WISE AS WELL AS THE IMPACT ON OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. AH I'M NOT CERTAIN THAT THE AMOUNT OF SAVINGS WITH JUSTIFY, UM ANY TYPE OF RISK THAT MIGHT BE INVOLVED. BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE PRUDENT FOR US TO LEAST DISCUSS IT AND I THINK IT WOULD NEED TO BE DISCUSSED IN A WORKSHOP. NOT THAT I'M SEEING. I'M FAVORING, UH, TAKING THE FLOOR RIDE OUT OF OUR WATER. BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT WOULD BE THE IMPACT WHAT'S HAPPENING ACROSS THE COUNTRY WAS HAPPENING IN OUR STATE, AND SO WHAT'S THAT? MAYOR IF I COULD GO BACK TO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP RESTORE THAT FUND BALANCE, OR AT LEAST BUILD IT? WE DO HAVE SOME IDEAS. SO WHEN PEOPLE PAY THEIR WATER BILL WITH A CREDIT CARD ON THE INTERNET.

THERE'S A USER FEE THAT ACTUALLY GETS PASSED ON TO THE CITY. THAT'S ABOUT $350,000 A YEAR.

WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH A COMPANY. CALLED FIRST TRANSIT FOR ABOUT 12 MONTHS NOW TRYING TO GET ONTO THEIR PLATFORM. AND IT WOULD IT WOULD PASS THAT USER FIONN TO THE USER, WHICH IS WHAT ALMOST EVERY OTHER ENTITY COMPANY DOES SO THAT THAT COULD SAVE $350,000 A YEAR. ANOTHER THING COUNCIL COULD CONSIDER TO LOOK AT IS THE ORDINANCE ON HOW WE'RE BUILDING MULTI UNIT.

APARTMENT COMPLEXES AND MOBILE HOME PARKS. FOR THE ORDINANCE. WE BUILD THEM 75. OF THEIR UNITS FOR THE MINIMUM CHARGE. THEY PAY FOR ALL THEIR WATER, BUT AS FAR AS THAT MINIMUM FEE WE ONLY CHARGE 75% OF THEIR UNITS, AND I THINK THAT THEORY I WASN'T HERE WHEN THAT WAS DONE. I THINK THAT THEORY IS WELL, THEY'RE NOT 100% OCCUPIED, SO IT'S ON. IT'S UNFAIR TO THE OWNERS TO PAY 100.

MINIMUM USAGE FEES, IF THEY'RE ONLY OCCUPIED 75. BUT I DID DO SOME QUICK MATH ON IT. SO

[01:15:04]

WELL, I MEAN, IF YOU RAISE IT TO 100% IT WOULD BE $440,000 A YEAR . SO 90% OF THAT. TAKE OFF 40,000 FROM IT, OKAY? BUT AGAIN , YOU KNOW, UM, LIKE I WAS SAYING YOU COULD ALSO LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE CHARGING SOME OF THESE STATE AGENCIES PURSUER. NOT SURE WHEN THE 20% DISCOUNT GOT IMPLEMENTED, BUT IT'S BEEN THERE FOR A LONG TIME. AND THEN FINALLY, I THINK, UM, THE MANAGER OVER WATER SAID THAT HE THINKS ARE WATER AND SEWER CAP FEES OR UNDERPRICED. THAT COULD BRING IN CONSIDERABLE MONEY ALSO . SO THESE ARE ALL THINGS WE COULD TALK IN A WORKSHOP. IT WOULD TAKE COUNCIL ACTION ON ALMOST ALL OF THESE ITEMS. I WAS STUCK IN THE WORKSHOP. THAT'S ALMOST A MILLION DOLLARS SAVINGS RIGHT THERE OVER A MILLION. AND THAT WAY WE WON'T HAVE TO RAISE WATER RATES. WELL THIS THIS WOULD BE OVER TIME. YEAH. OVER TIME. COME HERE. TODD PROTEIN WATER RATE INCREASES. IF WE DO 6% WE NEED TO DO ANOTHER INCREASE NEXT YEAR. YES. WHAT ABOUT 8? IF WE GO TO 8% THIS YEAR. AND CONSUMPTION COMES BACK. TO BASICALLY PRE COVID CONSUMPTION. WE'RE NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENED IN THE REFINERIES, BUT OUR COMMERCIAL. WATER AND SEWER CHARGES DROPPED $1.3 MILLION LAST YEAR. SO WE'RE NOT SURE IFS GOING ON OR WHAT THE DEAL WAS, BUT THAT WAS A SIGNIFICANT LOSS. ANOTHER LOSS WAS TO FEBRUARY'S AGO. WE HAD THE WINTER STORM FREEZE. WHERE'S Y'ALL KNOW WE DO A WINNER AVERAGING FOR ALL OF OUR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS? AND WE GAVE THEM ALL LEAK ADJUSTMENTS DURING THAT FREEZE, SO MY ASSUMPTION IS THAT THAT WINTER BROUGHT EVERYONE'S WINTER AVERAGE DOWN, WHICH IS BUILT IN THE SUMMERTIME. SO WE SAW WE SAW A BIG DROP IN OUR SEWER REVENUE THIS YEAR. SO WE'RE HOPING THAT CONSUMPTION COMES BACK. THE WINNER AVERAGE GOES BACK TO NORMAL. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME STABILIZATION IN THIS IN THE RELATION ERI PERIOD THAT WE'RE IN. I SAID ALL THAT TO SAY IT'S POSSIBLE. WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO HAVE A RATE INCREASE NEXT YEAR. IF WE GO 8% THIS YEAR. WE REALLY DEPENDS ON WHAT THE RATING AGENCIES TELL ME. WELL WITH ALL OF THOSE FACTORS, UM COMING BACK ONLINE PURSE, A LIKE YOU SAID, BECAUSE THE WINTER STORM WAS BUILT BUILD IN THE SUMMER. AND THEN THE INDUSTRY. CONSUMPTION WENT DOWN, BUT TAKING ACCOUNT. EXXON MOBIL WAS OUT OF WORK FOR WHAT EIGHT OR NINE MONTHS.

THAT'S ONE OF OUR LARGEST. CONSUMERS SO. HOPEFULLY WITH ALL OF IT COMING BACK ONLINE. WE SHOULD SEE SOME TYPE OF, UH NORMAL BALANCE, WOULDN'T YOU THINK? WELL, THAT'S WHAT I'M HOPING. JUST JUST REMEMBER, UM, THE REVENUE IN THIS FUNDS LARGE SO JUST 1% DEVIATION AND CONSUMPTION OR RATE EQUATES TO ALMOST $500,000 OF REVENUE, SO IT'S VERY HARD TO PROJECT. HOW MUCH REVENUE THIS FUND IS GOING TO MAKE, BECAUSE WE DON'T WE CAN'T CONTROL CONSUMPTION. AND LIKE AGAIN, I'M JUST BEING HONEST. I THINK IF WE GO BEFORE THE BOND RATING AGENCIES THIS YEAR WITH THOSE TWO DROPS IN THE METRICS THAT I SHOWED YOU AND WALKED YOU THROUGH AND THEY'RE GONNA ASK ME. WELL, WHAT KIND OF RATE INCREASE DID YOU PROPOSE? IF I SAY THE 6% I DON'T THINK

[01:20:03]

AND TO THE PUBLIC. THE DOWNGRADE IS. OUR CREDIT RATING, WHICH, OF COURSE, THE LOWER YOUR GREATEST HOW YOU PAY? RIGHT, SO ULTIMATELY. WE COULD STAY AT 6% GET A DOWNGRADE. BECAUSE TUMORS OF THE SYSTEM WE'RE GOING TO PAY MORE AND INTEREST GOING FORWARD. SO YOU KIND OF WANT TO JUST HAD THAT OFF IN THE BEGINNING BECAUSE THAT INTEREST IS GOING TO FAR OUT OUTWEIGH. THE OTHER 2% I MEAN, WE'RE GOING FROM, YOU KNOW $4 EXTRA A MONTH TO MAYBE A LITTLE OVER $6 A MONTH IF WE STAYED AT 8. YOU KNOW, AND WE SHOWED Y'ALL I THINK IN THE LAST PRESENTATION RATE INCREASES SINCE 2008. AND IT RANGED FROM. THANK 5% TO 8. I THINK THERE'S OTHER CITIES THAT ARE DOING MORE THAN 8% RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF THE INFLATION THAT AFFECTS THIS PARTICULAR OPERATION. WHICH IS PRETTY NORMAL ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS. AND YOU SAY THEY'RE DOING MORE THAN 8. SOME ARE SOME AREN'T BUT WE HAVE AN OLDER SYSTEM. AND WE GET A LOT OF COMPLAINTS. YOU KNOW ABOUT THE SEWER, THE WATER. SO THAT'S WHY IT'S IMPORTANT. WE BORROWED THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WE'RE ASKING FOR. TO KEEP ON TOP OF ALL THESE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. THANK YOU. COUNCILOR MEMBER GETS YOU KNOW WE ARE. WE'RE SPANISH, TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY. OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. AND UPGRADING OUR WATER AND SEWER PIPE LINES AND OUR SYSTEM WHEN YOU AGREE. SO WHEN WE.

CONTINUING CONTINUALLY TALKED THE NARRATIVE. THAT WE HAVE AN OLDER SYSTEM. AT SOME POINT, I'M GONNA START QUESTIONING THAT BECAUSE WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY. RENEWING OUR SYSTEM. SO I'M NOT SURE HOW FAIR IT IS TO SAY IT'S AN OLDER SYSTEM. CONSIDERING HOW MUCH WE'RE SPENDING TO RENEW THE SYSTEM, AND MAYBE AND I'VE I'VE SPOKEN TO YOU ABOUT THIS BEFORE. MAYBE ONE OF THE THINGS WE NEED TO CONSIDER DOING IS TAPPING THE BRAKES A LITTLE BIT ON HOW AGGRESSIVELY WHERE DOING THINGS AND WHITE FOR THE INFLATIONARY TIMES TO SUBSIDE. WHITE FOR OURE AT A CERTAIN LEVEL. YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT WE SHOULDN'T MAINTAIN THE MOMENTUM THAT WE'RE GOING WITH BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE CONTINUOUSLY UPGRADE OUR WATER AND SEWER SYSTEMS. BUT THERE MAY BE WAYS TO DO THAT. AND NOT BE QUITE AS AGGRESSIVE AS WE HAVE BEEN FOR THESE LAST TWO YEARS IF WE WERE TO SLOW DOWN A LITTLE BIT. UM WHAT WE HAVE TO BORROW AS MUCH MONEY. YEAH WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE CAPITAL PROGRAM WORKSHOP FOLLOWING THIS AND MAYBE WE CAN ANSWER SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS AND WE'VE GOTTA SLIDE WILL SHOW YOU IN JUST A SECOND. AS TO THE PROGRESS WE'VE KIND OF MADE, BUT WE STILL HAVE A LOT TO DO. CAN'T REMEMBER SAMUEL. I'M I'M I'M I WANT TO BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT WHAT I SAY AND WHAT WE AS COUNCIL MEMBERS SAY TO OUR GENERAL PUBLIC. UM I AM A LAWYER BY PROFESSION. I'M NOT A, UM, I'M NOT IN THE WATER. SO, ER. I'M NOT INTO. I'M NOT BUT AN EXPERT ON THE BUDGET, BUT WE HAVE INDIVIDUALS THAT WORK ON OUR BUDGET. ALL YEAR. THAT'S WHAT THEY DO. AND FOR US TO COME. AND JUST SUMMARILY SAY WE DON'T WANT AN INCREASE AT ALL. WITHOUT KNOWING. HOW OUR BUDGET HAS BEEN IMPACTED OVER THE PAST YEAR. ALL THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE FACING AND THEN TO HEAR US SAY, WELL, MAYBE WE SHOULD NOT BE AS A GREAT AS AGGRESSIVE. OR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS. AS WE SAY IT SHOULD BE. WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR CITY. THE OLDER PARTS OF THE CITY IS WHERE THE WORST INFRASTRUCTURE IS. TO SAY WE ARE SPENDING FUNDS TO IMPROVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE OLDER

[01:25:01]

THERE'S NEEDS ALL OVER THE CITY THAT HAVE TO BE ADDRESSED. COME HERE. UM MAYBE GET OUT. WELL EVERY DAY, BUT I DON'T SPEND EIGHT HOURS A DAY IN MY COMMUNITY BECAUSE I HAVE OTHER THINGS TO DO, BUT FOR ME TO QUESTION THEM WITHOUT HAVING THE EMPIRICAL DATA. DEBASE MY ASSESSMENT ON IT'S NOT FAIR. TWO STAFF. NOR IS IT FAIR TO THE CITIZENS. SO AS WE GO THROUGH THIS BUDGET PROCESS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, PEOPLE TALK ABOUT WHERE WE NEED TO HAVE THIS IN OUR PARTS. WE NEED TO HAVE THIS TO COME INTO DOWNTOWN BEAUMONT. BUT. WE HAVE INDIVIDUALS HERE.

SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. WELL FOR SURE, FIVE DAYS A WEEK WORKING. THEY'VE DONE THIS OVER THE PAST 15. 20 YEARS. I JUST ASKED THAT WE AS A COUNCIL BE CAREFUL ABOUT HOW WE MAKE OUR ASSESSMENTS. NOT JUST ON WHAT WE WANT, BUT ON THE DATA THAT'S BEING PRESENTED, AND WE LOOK AT THAT CLOSELY BEFORE WE MAKE DECISIONS. FOR US TO LOSE OUR RATING. COULD ONLY IT COULD HAPPEN IN A YEAR'S TIME.

BUT WE WOULD NOT RECOVER IN A YEAR. SO. I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE THAT'S GOING TO IMPACT. MY CHILDREN, MY GRANDCHILDREN. OR EVEN US IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.

SO IF IT MEANS ADDITIONAL WORKSHOPS. THAT'S WHAT I NEED. I NEED TO SEE THE INFORMATION. I THINK IF WE TAKE A LOOK AT EVERYTHING THAT'S AVAILABLE WORD SHOPPING. PRESENTED LET US MAKE THE DECISION THEN. BUT TO SAY I DON'T WANT TO SEE AN INCREASE AT ALL. THAT DOESN'T REALLY MAKE SENSE TO ME. MAYBE THERE'S SOME OF THE OTHERS OUT THERE. BUT. FOR ME. IT'S NOT ABOUT GETTING REELECTED. I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN. TO MAKE SURE OUR CITY CONTINUES TO GROW. EVEN IN THE MIDST OF THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN. IN THE MIDST OF STORMS. WE'RE PREPARED TO DEAL WITH EMERGENCIES. ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE RATES THAT WE'RE SETTING. AND OUR BUDGET PROCESS. SO. I JUST HAD TO SAY THAT BECAUSE I DON'T LIKE SOME OF THE THINGS I'M HEARING. IN THE WAY THAT WE ARE MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO, BUT THAT'S JUST ME. CANCEL AMERICANS. SO LET ME BE CLEAR. I HAVE NOT SAID THAT. I DON'T THINK THAT WE SHOULDN'T RAISE OUR WATER RATES. TO SOME EXTENT. I RECOGNIZE THE NEED. I THINK 8% IS TOO MUCH. I COULD PROBABLY LIVE WITH SIX. I WOULD PREFER FIVE. AND I DO THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT WAYS THAT WE CAN REDUCE OUR EXPENSES. AND INCREASE OUR REVENUES. AND, UH, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR ANYBODY ELSE ON COUNCIL, BUT I KNOW THAT MYSELF. I'VE BEEN HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH THE MANAGER AND WITH THE CFO. TO TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS. SO I'M NOT COMING IN HERE SINGING FROM THE HIP. YOU KNOW, I'M UM UM, DOING IT BASED ON KNOWLEDGE THAT I'VE ACQUIRED THROUGH THOSE CONVERSATIONS. SO. BUT YEAH, I SUPPORT WORKSHOPS. IT'S JUST THAT WE'RE KIND OF AT THE POINT MHM. THE CALENDAR YEAR THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH TIME WE HAVE FOR WORKSHOPS BEFORE THESE DECISIONS ARE REQUIRED TO BE MADE. MARRIED TO THAT POINT REAL QUICK AGAIN, OF COURSE, SETTING A BUDGET YOU YOU START WITH THE IDEA THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE NUMBERS ARE GOING TO BE. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE WATER USAGE IS GOING TO BE. WE HAVE TO TAKE OUR BEST EDUCATED ESTIMATES AND PUT IT INTO THE BUDGET WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UM TODD'S TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF POTENTIAL REVENUE. UM AND THINGS THAT WE CAN LOOK AT IN TERMS OF THE REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE SIDE. BUT IT'S GOING TO TAKE TIME. TIME FOR STUDY TIME FOR WORKSHOPS. SOME ORDINANCES HAVE TO BE CHANGED IF WE GO DOWN THAT ROAD. UM SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS, AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THE COMING WEEKS START TO LOOK AT THOSE THINGS. SO HOPEFULLY THIS TIME NEXT

[01:30:03]

BUT WE WERE IN GREAT SHAPE BECAUSE OUR BOND RATING WITH SOMETHING GOOD. COUNCIL MEMBER SAMUEL EITHER CHRIS OR TALK, UM , THERE'S BEEN QUESTION ABOUT, UH, OUR PROCESS AND CHANGING OUR PROCESS AND THE WAY WE APPROACH THE BUDGET IN THE TIMING. CAN YOU GIVE ME A REALISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF HOW? HOW MUCH TIME DO WE HAVE TO MASSAGE? HOW MUCH TIME CAN WE CUT OFF OF THIS

[01:35:02]

WELL, JUST REAL QUICK, SO I THINK THERE'S BEEN A LOT AND WE'LL JUST TALK ABOUT IT. I THINK A LITTLE BIT IN THE CAPITAL PROGRAM. I THINK THERE'S BEEN A LOT MORE DISCUSSION AND YOU KNOW HOW DO WE? HOW DO WE HANDLE THE CAPITAL PROGRAM? BECAUSE, AS YOU ALL KNOW, Y'ALL GET THAT BACK IN MAY BUT EVEN WITH THAT YOU KNOW, I THINK I THINK THERE MAY BE AN ARGUMENT TO SAY LOOK, MAYBE INFORMALLY EARLIER IN THE YEAR WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE CAPITAL PROGRAM. UM SO THAT THE MANAGER GOING INTO SUBMITTING IT TO Y'ALL IN MAY HAS BETTER FEEDBACK. YOU'LL HAVE BETTER FEEDBACK IN TERMS OF WHERE THE CAPITAL PROGRAM IS. UM HOW FAR ALONG ARE WE IN THE FISCAL YEAR? WHERE DO WE EXPECT TO BE AND THEN? YOU KNOW, THERE'S WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN A SECOND. A LOT OF YOU KNOW, NEW PROJECTS REQUESTED TO BE ADDED, UM, YOU KNOW, DISCUSS THOSE AS TO YOU KNOW, DOES IT WARRANT PUTTING IT IN THE CAPITAL PROGRAM? BUT BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, I THINK I THINK ON THAT ON THAT LINE, THERE'S DEFINITELY AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAYBE, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE TRY SOMETHING NEW NEXT YEAR. SO YOU'RE SAYING THERE THERE'S MORE FLEXIBILITY IN DEALING WITH THE CAPITAL PROGRAM? YES, SIR. THAT IS A LARGE PART OF THE BUDGET. YES BUT THE ACTUAL OVERALL BUDGET DOESN'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE THE DEADLINES BECAUSE THEY'RE DONE BY STATUE. MOSTLY, YES. APPROPRIATE ASSESSMENT. YES SIR. AND OUR REVENUE ESTIMATES THAT WE GET FROM OTHER ENTITIES. WE DON'T GET THEM TILL VERY LATE. OKAY GETTING THEM AT THE END OF JULY. WE START WORKING ON THIS IN AUGUST. SO IT DOESN'T IT DOESN'T GIVE US A LOT OF TIME THE COUNCIL MEMBER GETS AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER NEIL CHRIS AND FAIRNESS UH JEFFERSON COUNTY CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT. MIGHT GIVE YOU THEIR CERTIFIED ROLE AT THE END OF JULY. BUT THEY ARE ABLE TO GIVE YOU SOME PRETTY REALISTIC PROJECTIONS. MUCH EARLIER THAN THAT, BASED ON THE NUMBER OF PROTESTS THAT THEY HAVE, AND THE, UH UH, I MEAN, THEY HAVE A PRETTY GOOD IDEA THAT WHAT WOULD THEY HAVE PRETTY GOOD IDEA. WHAT THEY'RE CERTIFIED ROLLS GONNA LOOK LIKE SEVERAL MONTHS BEFORE THAT TIME . I KNOW YOU SOMETIMES WANT TO BE RATHER SAFE THAN SORRY AND SEE WHAT THEY'RE CERTIFIED ROLL LOOKS LIKE BUT REALISTICALLY WE WERE PRETTY MUCH KNOW PROBABLY SOMETIMES. IN JUNE. FOR PROPERTY TAGS, PROPERTY TAXES, OBVIOUSLY ONE OF THE LARGEST, YOU LOOK AT SALES TAX BEING ONE OF THE LARGEST AND SO AGAIN. THE LONGER WE WAIT THE BETTER IDEA SO WE'VE HAD YOU KNOW OUR SALES TAX OBVIOUSLY IS UP THIS YEAR, BUT THAT INCREASE IS STARTING TO DECLINE. SO YOU LONGER YOU WAIT, THE MORE INFORMATION YOU HAVE LOOKING FORWARD. UM AS AS WE DISCUSS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE REDUCED THE PROPOSED INCREASE IN WATER RATES FROM 8 TO 6. UM, PART OF THAT. ALTHOUGH WE'RE STILL NOT COMFORTABLE AS COMFORTABLE AS MAYBE WE'D LIKE TO BE ON THAT, UM, ONE OF THE FACTORS THAT HELPS US FEEL A LITTLE BIT BETTER IS THE JULY REVENUE FOR WATER. YOU KNOW SO AGAIN IF YOU START DOING EARLIER, THE MORE THE LESS INFORMATION YOU HAVE RIGHT AND I KNOW WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT ASSUMPTIONS. AND SO YOU KNOW.

BUT TO COUNCIL MEMBER TURNER'S COMMENTS, YOU KNOW? YOU CAN MAKE SOME PRETTY PRETTY SOLID.

PROJECTIONS AND, UH YOU KNOW, WE PROBABLY COULD STARTED AT LEAST HAVING SOME PRELIMINARY CONVERSATIONS A LITTLE BIT EARLIER. I THINK I COULD INTERJECT ON ON THAT. SO. THE PRELIMINARY NUMBERS THAT WE GET FOR APPRAISED VALUES. WE DO WE DO GET THOSE STARTING IN JUNE.

THE PROBLEM IS THAT'S ONE NUMBE. THAT'S NINE PAGES LONG. SO IT'S FULL OF ADJUSTMENTS. THREE YEARS AGO. IT WAS A LOT EASIER TO PREDICT. PROPERTY TAX REVENUE BEFORE YOU GET YOUR PRAISE, VALUES AND FIGURE OUT WHAT YOUR TAX RATE IS GOING TO BE, AND THE REASON IS BECAUSE YOU HAD ROOM TO GROW YOUR REVENUE 8. AND SO COUNCILS. DESIRE BACK IN THOSE DAYS WAS, LET'S JUST KEEP THE PROPERTY TAX RATE FLAT. IN OUR HISTORY SHOWS THAT. SINCE SENATE BILL TWO COUPLE OF YEARS AGO FOR

[01:40:08]

THAT'S THAT'S BASED OFF OF THE 8% CORRECT. IN THE BUDGET WE GAVE YOU ORIGINALLY. THAT'S 8% I'M NOT SURE IF ALL OF YOU ALL RECEIVED REPLACEMENT PAGES. WHAT WE HAVE ON THE SLIDES HERE. AND YOU COULD PROBABLY GO BACK TO THE WATER FUND THAT SHOWS THE 6. OKAY, SO. YEAH WHAT'S ON THE SCREEN THERE SHOWS THE 6% THE ORIGINAL BUDGET THAT WE GAVE YOU IN YOUR BINDER HEAD 8. OKAY MY QUESTION ON THIS, AND THIS IS PRETTY CLOSE TO THE ONE THAT I HAVE. SO ARE OUR EXPENDITURES ARE STILL HIGHER THAN OUR REVENUE, SO WE'RE STILL NOT FIXING THE FUND BALANCE.

CORRECT. SO WHAT'S THE BREAK EVEN NUMBER? OKAY SO CURRENTLY WE'RE LOOKING AT A DEFICIT AND 1.7 MILLION. HONESTLY YOU PROBABLY NEED ANOTHER 3 TO 4. OKAY OF THAT 6% THAT'S BUILT IN HERE TO BREAK EVEN. AND THIS IS BASED ON FULL STAFFING FOR PERSONNEL, RIGHT RIGHT OUT OF THE WATER DEPARTMENT BUDGETED WE HAVE 131 EMPLOYEES AND YOU KNOW WHAT WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW. I DON'T HAVE THE VACANCY REPORT WITH ME. BUT I WILL TELL YOU IN THE WATER AND SEWER FUN ONLY 23% OF THE BUDGET ROUGHLY AS WAGE RELATED AS OPPOSED TO THE GENERAL FUND WHERE IT'S ABOUT 75% SO IN THE GENERAL FINANCE EASY TO HOLD POSITIONS. AS PEOPLE VACATE THOSE POSITIONS FOR A LITTLE WHILE TO HAVE A BUFFER TO HAVE SOME SAVINGS. IT'S A LOT HARDER IN THIS DEPARTMENT BECAUSE IT'S ONLY 23% IS TIED TO PERSONNEL. SO IF YOU HOLD 230.8 MILLION, I BELIEVE RIGHT, SO IF YOU HOLD THOSE POSITIONS VACANT I'M NOT THE MANAGER OF THAT DEPARTMENT, BUT I THINK THEY'RE ALREADY WANTING MORE PEOPLE, AND THAT'S NOT WHERE I'M GOING WITH IT, BECAUSE IF I GO BACK IN THE BUDGET IF I LOOK AT PAGES 1 39 TO 1 43. LET'S GIVES YOU THE EXPENDITURE BREAKDOWN. THE WONDERING IF THERE WOULD BE ANY SAVINGS THAT WE TRY TO REDUCE THE OVERTIME. YEAH OVER TIME. UM IS ALWAYS A PROBLEM, ESPECIALLY WITH THE AMOUNT OF RAIN WE GET HERE. BART MIGHT BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO IT. I KNOW WHEN WE HAVE HEAVY RAINS, WE HAVE TO MAN ARE PLANTS HEAVIER MONITOR THEM. UM WE ALWAYS HAVE VACANCIES. SO THAT'S FILLED WITH OVERTIME. BUT THEN YOU GET THE SAVINGS OF NOT PAYING THE REGULAR WAGES OF SOMEONE WHO WOULD BE IN THAT POSITION. BUT YES, OVER TIME IN THIS FUN AND THE SOLID WASTE ONE IS ALWAYS HIGH. OKAY? BUT THAT'S THE AREAS IN WHICH WE CAN CUT BACK WHEN WE CAN CUT BACK. I MEAN, THERE IS THERE'S WAYS WE CAN SAY THERE'S UM SOME SAVINGS IN THE BUDGET THAT WE CAN COME TO RIGHT WHEN WE BUDGET WE DO YOU KNOW WE'RE WE'RE GUIDED BY THE CONSERVATIVE PRINCIPLE. IT'S JUST AN ACCOUNTING STANDARDS. SO WHEN YOU'RE BUDGETING YOUR REVENUES, YOU DON'T WANT TO BE REAL OPTIMISTIC. AND WHEN YOU'RE BUDGETING YOUR EXPENDITURES YOU WANT TO BE KIND OF PESSIMISTIC, AND THE PURPOSE OF THAT IS TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T GO OVER YOUR BUDGET. OUR INTENT IS TO GROW THE FUND BALANCE OVER TIME, NOT LOSE FUND BALANCE LIKE WE'RE DOING NOW. WHICH WAS MY ORIGINAL QUESTION. EVEN BY INCREASING THAT WE'RE STILL GOING TO LOSE FUN BALANCE BASED OFF OF THIS BUDGET RIGHT HERE IF WE STAY AT FULL PERSONNEL CORRECT. WE CURRENTLY HAVE EIGHT VACANCIES. WHAT'S THE DOLLAR VALUE? YOU'RE PUTTING THAT A. FOR THOSE VACANCIES PERSON WHAT IS IT USED TO USE 60,000. I THINK FOR THE WATER FUND, I THINK ABOUT 65 70

[01:45:09]

LAST QUICK. COULD YOU USE ANY ANY OF THE OTHER CARES. ACT MONEY. TO SHORE UP THAT FUND.

UM, SO TOP OF THE 8. SO WHAT WE'VE DONE TWO YEARS AGO. I THINK WE SENT $7 MILLION TO SEWER MAIN REHAB. 7.4 MILLION, AND THIS YEAR WE'RE SENDING 4.5 MILLION PURSUER REHAB. THAT SAVES US THAT BASICALLY. SAYS. WE HAVE TO BORROW THAT LESS MUCH WHEN WE GO OUT FOR BONDS. I DON'T EVEN THINK I SAID THAT RIGHT? THAT WAS A TERRIBLE TONGUE TWISTER FOR ME, FOR WHATEVER REASON, BUT ANYWAY, THAT'S LESS MONEY WE HAVE TO BORROW BECAUSE OF THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN APPLIES WELL IN THAT THAT KIND OF DOWNPLAYS IT A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE WE LOOK AT THE OTHER LINE ITEMS ON THE FIRST AARP. THERE WERE SEVERAL LIFT STATIONS. CHEMICAL PLANT IMPROVEMENTS, SLUDGE DRAIN SO THAT WAS OUR FOCUS AND TRYING TO ALLOCATE A R P MONEY TO WATER AND SEWER. IT WAS A SAFE ALLOCATION. FURTHER GUIDELINES PUT IT ALSO PUT THE MONEY WHERE WE GOT A LOT OF BENEFIT FROM IT BY PUTTING IT INTO CAPITAL INVESTMENTS AND NOT HAVE TO BORROW THE MONEY POINT. AND WHEN IS THE SECOND ROUND OF MONEY? WE'VE ALREADY RECEIVED IT WE RECEIVED IN JUNE. WE'RE JUST WANTING TO GET YOUR APPROVAL TO KNOW WHERE TO BOOK IT.

THANK YOU. OKAY? YES. AND AGAIN SLIDE SLIDE. EIGHT HERE JUST AGAIN SHOWS THE CAPITAL RESERVE FUND. AND AS MENTIONED, WE'RE GONNA TRANSFER ADDITIONAL FUNDS HERE FOR THE FIRE TRUCKS AND THE AMBULANCES. SO NOW WE'RE GOING TO GO INTO THE CAPITAL PROGRAM. UM AND AGAIN. THE CAPITAL PROGRAM, OF COURSE, IS A. A FIVE YEAR, UH, PLAN ON INVESTING IN LARGER LONG TERM CAPITAL ASSETS. THE PROJECTS BEFORE YOU HERE ON SLIDE. NINE ARE CURRENT WATER.

PROJECTS. AND SLIDE. 10 SHOWS NEW PROPOSED, UH, WATER PROJECTS. LISTED THERE AT THE TOP. I WILL POINT OUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE WITH THE FUNDING SOURCES, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THERE'S DISCUSSION ABOUT YOU KNOW THE CITY GOING OUT FOR ADEQUATE GRANT FUNDING AND THIS THIS. YOU CAN SEE UNDER THE FUNDING LINE ITEMS FROM FEMA CDBG. RESTORE GRANTS. TEXT DOT R P. AND THAT OF THE $78 MILLION AND PROJECTS 58 OR GRANT FUNDED, WHICH IS, UH APPROXIMATELY 74% HOWEVER, YOU'LL STEVIE LIKE, VERY, THE FINAL LINE ITEM IS FUNDS NEEDED TO COMPLETE THE WATER PROJECTS. SO THAT GOES INTO THE NEED FOR THE BOND. THAT WE DISCUSSED EARLIER. MAYOR. YET. UNDER THE NEW PROJECTS IS PART STREET CHLORIDE, CHLORINE DIOXIDE INJECTION. UH, I'M TOLD THAT WE HAD A CHLORINE. DOCKSIDE INJECTOR AT THE. WATER PLANT PREVIOUSLY IS THAT INCORRECT OR DO WE NEED TO WHY DO WE NEED TO DO? UH DO THIS IF WE'VE HAD ONE PREVIOUSLY BIT OVER A DECADE AGO , THEY TRIED PUTTING CHLORINE DIOXIDE THEN AS IN ENHANCEMENT TO THE DISINFECTION PROCESS, NOT TO ADDRESS MANGANESE OR IRON AND SETTLE THAT OUT. UM IT WAS PUT

[01:50:04]

IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS. AGAIN THESE ARE IN THE CURRENT CAPITAL PLAN. SLIDE. 12 SHOWS THE PROPOSED NEW PROGRAM PROJECTS. AND THEN AGAIN AS YOU CAN SEE, THE AT THE BOTTOM. THE ADDITIONAL 1.7 MILLION NEEDED TO COMPLETE THESE PROJECTS, WHICH YOU CAN SEE THE LINE IS 25 MILLION FOR THE NEW BOND ISSUE. THIS THE NEXT FEW SLIDES TO SHOW YOU SOME OF THE SOME OF THE ITEMS IN THE CAPITAL PROGRAM BUT ALSO WANTED TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF SHOW SOME OF THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE IS PLANNED TO BE DONE. YOU CAN SEE HERE A MAP A LITTLE BIT HARD TO SEE IF THIS SCALE BUT THE RED INDICATES PLASTIC PIPE, WHICH HMM. WE WOULD CONSIDER NEWER PIPE, ALTHOUGH SOME OF IT MAY DATE DATE BACK DECADES, BUT IT'S THE NEWER PREFERRED PIPE. AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THE BLACK LINES THAT ARE OTHER, SO THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT WE WOULD BE TARGETING MOVING FORWARD. I SHOULD POINT OUT, UM SOME OF THE PLASTIC PIPE IN THE WEST END ISN'T NECESSARILY PIPE THAT WE'VE REPLACED BUT PIPE THAT HAS BEEN INSTALLED. THROUGH THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF NEW NEIGHBORHOODS. SO A LOT OF THAT'S PRIVATELY FUNDED THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. CHRIS. I WANT TO AMPLIFY THAT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THERE'S SOME OF THE COMMUNITY THAT THINK THE CITY AT TIMES UNFAIRLY. PROVIDES. TO THE WEST END AT THE EXPENSE OF THE NORTH END OF THE SOUTH END. AND WHAT YOU JUST SAID, IS A VERY SALIENT POINT.

YOU CAN LOOK AT THE WEST AND YOU SEE A LOT OF RED THERE. BUT A LOT OF THAT WAS DONE THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AND NOT BY THE CITY. IS THAT RIGHT? CORRECT? OKAY. BART DO YOU WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS ONE? SO THESE NEXT TWO SLIDES COVER THE COLLIERS FAIRY PUMP STATION. UM THAT PROJECT'S BEEN LET OUT FOR CONSTRUCTION IN JULY. TOTAL PROJECT COST 29 POINT. OH, FIVE MILLION. IT WILL BE LOCATED AT COLLIERS FERRY PARK ON RIGHT WHEN YOU GET INTO THE PARK IF YOU WOULD LOOK OVER TO YOUR RIGHT THAT HILL THAT RAISED UP OFF THE PARKING LOT.

THAT'S WHERE THE PUMP STATION WILL BE. AND THE SITE WAS OVER, UM OR DRIED DURING DURING HARVEY , SO IT WAS NOT FLOODED DURING HARVEY IT'S GOING TO BE SCALED TO 45 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY PRODUCTION AT MAX. WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS WE'RE MICRO TUNNELING FROM THE OLD LAWSON'S PUMP STATION ON THIS SIDE OF THE RIVER TO THE NEW PUMP STATION, SO WE'LL STILL BE RELYING ON THE SIPHON UNDER THE RIVER AND BUNS CANAL TO FEED THE RAW WATER, BUT WE'LL HAVE IMPROVED RESILIENCY DUE TO GETTING IT OUT OF THE FLOODING RIGHT ALONG BY THE RIVER THAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED WITH LOSSES. COUNCIL MEMBER PHIL SHOW. REMEMBER, GET MANY GALLONS DO WE? POP A DAY NOW. WHAT KIND OF INCREASE WOULD THAT BE? RIGHT NOW? WE'RE PROBABLY SOMEWHERE AROUND 30 TOTAL TO THE CITY AND IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST WITH THE HOT WEATHER UM DURING THE WINTER ICE STORM. WE GOT AS HIGH AS 38 MILLION GALLONS A DAY, AT LEAST AS A RATE. UH BUT NORMALLY, IF WE'RE NOT IN REALLY HOT WEATHER

[01:55:04]

YOU DO HAVE AN EMERGENCY INTAKE AT LAWSON'S THAT YOU CAN OPEN UP AND PULL WATER RIGHT OFF THE RIVER. WE DID THAT DURING THE ICE STORM, SO IT'S NOT A COMPLETE FAILURE IF YOU HAD A PROBLEM WITH BUNS CANAL, BUT BUT IT IS A RISK POINT. WE'LL HAVE TO ADDRESS IN THE FUTURE. OKAY, SO. WITH THE PUMP STATION. WE NEED A NEW RAW WATER TRANSMISSION LINE FROM THE PUMP STATION TO THE PLANT. WE PLAN TO BRING THAT ALONG PINE STREET. UH WE WON'T GO INTO CONSTRUCTION ON THIS PROJECT UNTIL, UM ROUGHLY DECEMBER OF THIS YEAR. IT WILL BE A 48 INCH DIAMETER PIPELINE ABOUT 15,000 FT IN LENGTH. IT WILL INCLUDE A PIGGING STATION FOR CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE SO THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN THAT LINE IN THE FUTURE. AND THIS DOES GIVE US REDUNDANCY FOR THE TRANSMISSION LINE TO THE PLANT. IN ADDITION TO THE PUMP STATION THAT'S $18.3 MILLION PROJECT ESTIMATED. CHLORINE DIOXIDE PRETREATMENT WE'VE LOOKED AT AT DISCOLORED WATER. THE PRIMARY RECOMMENDATION WAS TO UM RIGHT NOW. WHAT WE DO WITH THE WATER OFF OF PINE IS WE HAVE A SEQUESTRATION OF THE MANGANESE AND IRON MEANING WE SUSPENDED IN THE WATER WITH A POLYMER. SO AS THAT WATER AGES, WE CAN DROP THAT MANGANESE AND IRON INTO THE PIPES AS A SEDIMENT. BY PRE TREATING WITH CHLORINE DIOXIDE. WE WILL REMOVE THE MANGANESE AND IRON SO WE WON'T BE PUMPING ADDITIONAL, UH, MANGANESE INTO THE SYSTEM. RIGHT NOW. THE ESTIMATED PROJECT COST IS 2.4 MILLION, AND WE'RE JUST NOW ENTERING INTO THE ENGINEERING PHASE ON THAT. AH ESTIMATED COMPLETION IF AT THE CURRENT TIME WOULD BE ROUGHLY QUARTER 1 2024. SO UH, CHRIS HAD ASKED US TO LOOK AT RESILIENCY IN GENERAL WITH THE SYSTEM. SO THESE ARE SOME CURRENT PROJECTS AND FUTURE PROJECTS THAT IMPROVE RESILIENCY WITHIN THE WATER SYSTEM. THE FIRST IS ELECTRICAL BUILDING FLOOD IMPROVEMENTS AT THE PINE STREET PLANT. WE CAME VERY CLOSE TO FLOODING OUT THE ELECTRICAL BUILDING DURING HARVEY, AND IT'S SAYING BAGHDAD. SO THIS PROJECT PUTS A WALL AROUND THAT BUILDING AND FLOOD PROOFS THAT UM IT SAYS HERE THAT WE'RE RAISING A GENERATOR. BUT THAT'S NOT THAT'S

[02:00:03]

THERE IS ONE OLDER GENERATOR AT A LOWER LEVEL THAT IN A FUTURE FISCAL YEAR WILL PARTLY BE TRYING TO LOOK TO REPLACE AND RENEW THAT. SO WE'VE DONE EVERYTHING ON THIS PROJECT EXCEPT FOR THE GATE, WHICH WE'RE JUST WAITING ON BECAUSE OF SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES. OTHER THAN THAT, IT'S COMPLETE. THE SECOND PROJECT IS TO IMPROVE THE CHEMICAL STORAGE AT THE PLANT ON PINE. THIS IS, UH IN GOOD PART RESULTING FROM T C Q REQUIREMENTS FOR US TO STORE MORE CHEMICALS ON SITE. IT WILL IMPROVE OUR RESILIENCY BECAUSE YOU GET INTO A SITUATION LIKE A WINTER STORM OR HURRICANE AND WE'LL HAVE MORE. TREATMENT CHEMICALS AT THE PLANT AND BE LESS RELIANT ON DELIVERIES DURING THOSE EVENTS. CONSTRUCTION COSTS IS ESTIMATED 1.7 MILLION, AND WE PLAN ACTUALLY IT'S BEEN LET IT GOT LET THIS MONTH SO WE'RE UNDERWAY NOW. AND THEN THAT LOBE. WHEN WE DO FEMA PROJECTS, UH WE ALSO GET MITIGATION MONEY, POTENTIALLY.

AND SO WE LOOKED AT LOEB AND WE'RE USING MITIGATION MONEY ON THIS PROJECT TO GO AHEAD AND ELEVATE THE REPLACEMENT GENERATOR THAT'S COMING INTO THAT SITE. AS WELL AS MOTOR STARTERS AND SOME OTHER ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS AT LOEB, SO THAT'LL GET ALL OF THIS EQUIPMENT ABOVE WHERE THE HARVEY FLOOD LEVEL WAS, UM DURING YOUR IN HARVEY AT LOEB. IT WON'T DO EVERYTHING LOOKING AT TRYING TO ELEVATE THE ENTIRETY OF THE SITE ABOVE THE HARVEY LEVEL WAS REALLY EXPENSIVE, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO MAXIMIZE WHAT WAS AVAILABLE ON THE FEMA MITIGATION MONEY AND DO WHAT WE CAN AT THE PRESENT TIME. AND THEN THE REMAINING PROJECT IS AN ADDITIONAL, UH, TREATED WATER LINE OUT OF THE PINE STREET PLANT. CURRENTLY WE HAVE TWO TREATED WATER LINES THAT COME OUT OF PINE STREET AND FEED THE CITY. THEY'RE VERY OLD LINES ROUGHLY PUT IN AROUND THE FIFTIES. SO WHAT THIS PROJECT WILL DO IS INSTALL ANOTHER 42 INCH FINISHED WATER LINE OFF OF PINE STREET. IT WILL ALSO INSTALL FOUR VALVES INTO THE SYSTEM, ALLOWING US TO ISOLATE THESE MAIN LINES COMING IN. AND THEN THE PLAN WOULD BE THAT AFTER WE HAVE THE NEW 42 INCH LINE IN, WE WOULD THEN ISOLATE AND INSPECT. THE OTHER TWO LINES IN SEQUENCE AND THEN DEPENDING ON WHAT WE FIND, WE MAY POTENTIALLY NEED TO PROJECT UH, BETTER PROJECT AND REPLACE THOSE LINES AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO GET PROACTIVE INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN WITH THESE REALLY OLDER LINES. WE WANT TO GET AHEAD OF IT. WE DID POSTPONE THIS ONE. WE'RE CURRENTLY ESTIMATING JANUARY 2024 JUST DUE TO THE AVAILABILITY OF TOTAL FUNDS. COUNCIL MEMBER TURNER. HEY BORED OUT OF CURIOSITY. DO WE KNOW LIKE A NUMBER AMOUNT OF ROUGH ESTIMATE AMOUNT OF HOW MUCH WE SPENT OR INVESTED ON LOAD. I KNOW THAT ONE COMES UP. I CAN GET THAT. A LOT OF WHAT WE PUT IN THE LOBE HERE RECENTLY HAS ALL BEEN FEMA REPAIRS. OKAY GREAT. UM, AND THAT THERE WAS A SLIDE THAT KIND OF BROKE THAT DOWN, BUT I CAN WE ARE ENTERING INTO A AGREEMENT WITH FREEZE TO LOOK AT THE LONG TERM VIABILITY OF LOEB, AS OPPOSED TO POTENTIAL WEST END WATER TREATMENT PLANT AND FORM A LONGER TERM 25 TO 50 YEARS STRATEGY ON WHETHER WE CONTINUE TO INVEST AND IMPROVE LOBE OR WHETHER WE SHOULD GO IN ANOTHER DIRECTION. WHEN WE FINISH THAT STUDY, WE PLAN TO BRING IT TO COUNCIL AND ONE MORE QUESTION. FOLLOW UP BART WITH LOAD. AND I KNOW YOU PROBABLY DONE THIS IN THE PAST. BUT FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE WATCHING WHO MAY NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THE LITTLE DOES FOR US, CAN YOU KIND OF BREAK THAT DOWN FOR SURE. WE HAVE TO WATER SOURCES AT THE CITY. ONE IS WE PULL WATER OFF OF THE NATURE'S RIVER AND TREATED AT OUR PINE STREET FACILITY. LOEB IS A GROUND WATER TREATMENT FACILITY NORTH OF BEAUMONT AND HARDENED COUNTY THAT TAKES GROUNDWATER FROM THREE WELLS TREATS THAT AND PUMPS IT INTO THE SYSTEM ON THE NORTH SIDE. THANK YOU, BART.

THANK YOU FOR. OKAY. THE NEXT SLIDE IS THE. JUST SHOWS THE ASPHALT STREET REHAB PROGRAM, THE LINES AND RED SHOW PENDING PHASE FOUR. THE LINES AND YELLOW SHOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION, AND THEN THE GREEN LINES ARE COMPLETED. AND THEN SAME THING WITH THE CONCRETE STREET

[02:05:14]

AGAIN YOU SEE PHASE ONE UNDER CONSTRUCTION, AND THEN THE RED LINES INDICATE PLANNED.

I SHOULD POINT OUT THERE IS A MISPRINT ON THIS SLIDE. IT'S $2 MILLION ESTIMATED TO BE SPENT PER FISCAL YEAR FOR THE DIGITAL. FISCAL YEAR, 23. DITCHING IS UNDERWAY. NOW WE'RE DOING, UM, FOR PHASE ONE WHICH WE SHOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION. HERE WE BID OUT HALF OF IT, WHICH IS AWARDS TWO AND THREE, AND THEY'RE DITCHING. CURRENTLY WE SHOULD GET THE SURVEY INFORMATION FOR AWARDS ONE AND FOUR IN THE COMING WEEKS, AND THEN WE'LL BID OUT THE LAST HALF OF PHASE ONE.

SO THAT WILL COMPLETE THE TWO MILLION PLANNED FOR THIS YEAR. AND WE HAVE ANOTHER TWO MILLION ALREADY IN THE C I P FOR NEXT YEAR. I GUESS I SHOULD REPEAT ON THIS. THE PLAN IS TO DO 20% OF THE CITY PER YEAR FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AND THAT WILL COMPLETE ARE DITCHING OF THE ENTIRETY OF THE CITY, AND THEN WE'LL ADDRESS WHETHER WE THINK WE CAN HANDLE, UH, DOING THE PERIODIC MAINTENANCE OF THOSE DITCHES AND HOUSE OR WHETHER IT'S A COMBINATION OF IN HOUSE OR OR CONTRACTOR. BUT IN THE PAST WE'VE JUST ADDRESSED PROBLEM AREAS AND WE'RE TRYING TO GET PROACTIVE AND HAVE THE DITCHES IN GOOD SHAPE AND MAINTAIN ON A PERIODIC SCHEDULE , SO THAT WE JUST CONTINUE THAT INSTEAD OF REACTING I HAD TO DO. MAINTAINING JUST TRYING TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT. WE JUST HAVE TO ASSESS HOW MUCH WE CAN DO. WE HAVE THREE GREAT ALLS IN THE DEPARTMENT. IT'S DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN GREAT ALL CRUISE BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO FIND A CDL LICENSED OPERATOR THAT CAN ALSO DID, YOU KNOW? OPERATE A GREAT ALL AND DITCH WELL, AND IT'S DIFFICULT FOR US IN THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT TO TRY TO KEEP THEM. UM WE TEND TO GET HIM HIRED AWAY FROM US. MONEY RAISED THE MONEY AND WE HAVEN'T GOT IT UP HIGH ENOUGH YET. AND THEN THE FINAL SLIDE IS THE GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS PORTION OF THE CAPITAL PROGRAM. THE ONLY CHANGE PROPOSED FOR FY 23 FROM THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR IS YOU MAY RECALL THERE WAS A ROGERS PA&K DOG PARK THAT IN THE AMOUNT OF 460,000, WHICH WAS IN THE PROJECTS FOR CONSIDERATION, CATEGORY AND SO PROPOSED FOR THIS UPCOMING FIX. FISCAL YEAR IS 1.46 MILLION. FOR WHAT WE'RE REFERRING TO AS THE PARKS AND RECREATION ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM. UM AND. THE IDEA BEHIND THIS NEW PROPOSED PARKES ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM. LET ME START WITH THE AMOUNT SO ESSENTIALLY WAS TAKING THE 460,000 FROM THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR AND ADDING A MILLION DOLLARS TO THE PROGRAM. AND WHAT IS PROPOSED IS. I WOULD SAY IN THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF REQUEST FOR ENHANCEMENTS. QUALITY OF LIFE ENHANCEMENTS TO THE PARKS, MOSTLY TO PARKS. AND SO IN AN EFFORT TO TRY TO BRING SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS TO FRUITION. WHAT WHAT WE'VE PROPOSED HERE IS THIS NEW PROGRAM? AND IN OUR MIND THE WAY IT WOULD WORK WOULD BE SOMEWHAT SIMILAR TO THE CDBG

[02:10:06]

NOT MISTAKEN. WE RECEIVED BIDS ON IT ALREADY HAVING WITH CHRIS? YES, SIR. AND AS FAR AS GOOD TURF AND SOME OF THOSE FIELDS. IT WAS THEY WE HAVE. I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE A LOT OF BASEBALL TOURNAMENTS AND SOFTBALL TOURNAMENTS THAT COMFORTABLE AND RAISE A LOT OF MONEY. BRING A LOT OF PEOPLE IN FOR ALL THOSE WEEKENDS, SOMETIMES. YOU MAYBE HAVE 100 100 TEAMS. YOU KNOW EACH ONE OF THOSE HAVE 12 TO 15 PLAYERS ON IT, AND THEY ALL BRING PARENTS AND SISTERS AND BROTHERS SUICIDE IT'S MORE OF AN INVESTMENT. AND THOSE FIELDS WHENEVER IT RAINS.

IF THEY RAN. IF IT RAINS, IT CAN'T PLAY. BUT IF WE HIT THREE OF THEM WOULD TURF ON THE

[02:15:05]

TRACK. WE HAVE PICKLEBALL. PROBABLY MORE FOR SENIORS. LET'S BE THE BIG ONES THAT I COULD THINK OF. YEAH AND MY REASON MY REASON FOR ASKING THAT IS AND I DISCUSSED THIS WITH YOU, AND I SAID IT IN FRONT OF COUNCIL BEFORE IN THE PAST. IN THE CITY OF BEAUMONT. WE CURRENTLY HAVE FIVE GUYS AND NFL ACTIVELY PLAYING AND THOSE GUYS ARE PJ LOCK MIKE J. QUIT TONY BROWN, RYAN GRANT AND KEEP CORBETT. AH IN THE PAST, YOU KNOW, LIKE WHEN YOU LOOK AT FLAG FOOTBALL OR ANYTHING IN REFERENCE TO FOOTBALL, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE FACILITIES OR PLACES FOR THESE KIDS TO PRACTICE. WE HAVE KIDS THAT ARE ACTUALLY PRACTICING. OUT IN FRONT OF THE GRASS AT WESTBROOK HIGH SCHOOL. WE GOT KIDS THAT ARE KIND OF PRACTICING WHEREVER THEY CAN FIND A PLACE.

I WILL SAY THE CITY HAS DONE A GREAT JOB WITH SPROUT PART. I'M GONNA COMPLIMENT THAT. BUT WHEN YOU HAVE THESE LITTLE LEAGUE ORGANIZATIONS, AND WE'RE ACTUALLY BEING SUCCESSFUL AT THESE THINGS I'M JUST LOOKING AT THE FRONT OF RECREATIONAL PERSPECTIVE. I WANT TO SEE I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW. LIKE, WHY AREN'T WE AT LEAST DOING FLAG FOOTBALL, OR AT LEAST PROVIDING

[02:20:05]

MAYBE THERE ARE WAYS WE CAN COLLABORATE WITH. USING THE GYMNASIUMS FOR A LITTLE DRIBBLE PROGRAMS. I THINK THAT THAT IS ALL WORTH CONVERSATIONS. AH BUT IT ALL GETS BACK TO WHAT. MR BOONE IS SAYING AS FAR AS THE PROCESS WE HAVE TO HAVE A PROCESS TO DO THIS, AND RUNNING THIS THROUGH THE. PARKS AND RECREATION OF BOUNDARY BOARD AND HAVING THEM LOOK AT THIS. THAT MAKES SUGGESTIONS AND THEN BRINGING IT TO THE ADMINISTRATION AND THE COUNCIL IS A PROCESS THAT YOU KNOW HOW I WOULD SUPPORT ON NO ONE OF THE PROJECTS THAT YOU MENTIONED WAS ONE THAT I PUT IN THERE AND THAT WAS THE DOG PARK. IT ROGERS PARK. AND, UH, BEEN WORKING ON THIS BEFORE YEARS NOW AND YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALMOST 3000 PEOPLE THAT HAVE SIGNED A PETITION ASKING FOR IT AND YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN TOLD IN THE PAST THAT THERE'S A PROCESS YOU'VE GOT TO FOLLOW. SO I'VE ATTEMPTED TO FOLLOW THAT PROCESS AND YOU KNOW, NOW WE'VE GOT SOME MONEY, POTENTIALLY BEING PUT INTO THE BUDGET. IF THIS IS APPROVED AND ALTHOUGH THAT'S JUST ONE SMALL, TINY BIT OF IT. UM IT SHOULD BE PART OF THE PROCESS. THAT GOES BEFORE THE. PARKS AND RECREATION ABOUT THREE BOARD AND THEN ULTIMATELY LIKE TO COUNSEL. CANCEL MEMBERS SAMUEL THIS IS, UM I THINK IT'S. I AGREE WITH COUNSEL MEMBER GETS, IT'S ABOUT THE PROCESS. I DO UNDERSTAND HE'S BEEN. WORKING ON DOG PARK FOR YEARS, THERE WAS A PROCESS THAT WAS PUT IN PLACE. MHM AND I THINK THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED. I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE FUNDS AVAILABLE. AND NOW WE NEED A PROCESS. FOR THOSE FUNDS TO BE ALLOCATED FURTHER NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY. YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S WHY I LIKE THE IDEA THAT YOU MENTIONED AND BRINGING THE PROJECT TO PARKS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE. AND THEN IT COMES TO COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL. BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS UH. I UNDERSTAND, AND I HOPE WE ALL UNDERSTAND IS THAT THIS IS NOT LIKE PORK. PORK BELLY. UH POLITICS WHERE YOU CAN GO IN INDIVIDUALS. THIS IS NOT US FOR INDIVIDUALS ARE DESIRES WHAT WE WANT TO SEE. BUT IT'S WHAT'S GOING TO BE MOST BENEFICIAL FOR THE MASTERS OF OUR COMMUNITY. AND BY HAVING THAT PROCESS, I THINK THAT TAKES SOME OF THE POLITICAL, UH, MOTIVES AND IDEAS OUT OF THE PROCESS, AND THEN IT COMES TO COUNSEL AND THEN WE MAKE THE DECISION FROM THERE. BUT WITHOUT THOSE PROJECTS, HAVING BEEN FILTERED THROUGH ANOTHER BODY I

[02:25:07]

THEY JUST WANT US TO HELP FACILITATE AND GIVE THEM A PLACE TO BE ABLE TO PLAY AND PRACTICE . AND WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT MARKING THE FIELD THAT'S NOT THAT'S NOT REALLY. THAT'S NOT A LOT OF MONEY. WE TALKED ABOUT PUTTING LINES ON THE FIELD, AND THEY PUT THE LITTLE YARDAGE MARKERS OUT THERE FOR TEACHERS. CANCEL MARY GETS SO I WANT TO JUMP OVER TO, UH, THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 555 MAIN STREET, WITH AN ESTIMATED COST OF $5 MILLION. THE CITY IS ABOUT TO SEND OUT A I BELIEVE WE'RE ABOUT TO SEND OUT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. UH TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY PEOPLE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR THAT WANT TO DO SOMETHING. WITH THAT PROPERTY. I KNOW WE'VE ALREADY HAD ONE. OFFER ON IT. UM. LET'S ASSUME FOR A SECOND AGAIN. THERE'S THAT WORD, BUT LET'S ASSUME FOR A SECOND THAT WE FIND SOMEBODY THAT WANTS TO DO SOMETHING WITH THAT PROPERTY AND UH, WE END UP SELLING THAT PROPERTY AND RECOVER OUR $3 MILLION THAT WE'VE PUT INTO IT AND AH DON'T HAVE TO EXPAND THE ADDITIONAL $2 MILLION TO TEAR THE BUILDING DOWN AND DEVELOP THAT SITE AND SOME MANNER. THAT $5 MILLION NO LONGER GOES FROM A LIABILITY. BUT, UH, I PRESUME IT'S MONEY THAT WE CAN PLUG BACK INTO THE BUDGET USE FOR OTHER PURPOSES. IS THAT RIGHT? SO IF.

THAT LINE ITEM DOES NOT MOVE FORWARD. THEN YOU YOU YOU WOULD ADJUST IT THROUGH IN A BUDGET AMENDMENT OR THROUGH THE FUTURE BUDGET. OKAY, SO. WE WE STILL HAVE IT THERE, THOUGH, AS IF

[02:30:10]

COUNCIL MEMBER TURNER UH, SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IMPROVEMENTS , THE RIVER THE RIVERFRONT PARK IMPROVEMENTS BOARD. DO WE HAVE AN IDEA WHEN YOU KNOW LIKE RPS OR GO OUT? FOR SOME OF THOSE IMPROVEMENTS THAT THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS AND EVERYONE APPROVED . I THINK EVERYBODY'S PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROJECT. THAT'S WHY I'M MAD PROBABLY SHOULD SHOULD HAVE SAID RIVERFRONT PARK BANK STABILIZATION BECAUSE IT'S PRIMARILY TO FORM BACK UP THE BANK ON THERE, THOUGH THERE ARE SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PARK. UM WE'VE GOT THE PLANS SUBSTANTIALLY DONE. WE'VE KIND OF HELD ON PUTTING IT OUT FOR BID BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO WORK THROUGH THAT BP OIL MONEY PROCESS. UM SO WE'RE HOPING THAT WE CAN GET THROUGH THAT AND THEN PROBABLY PUT IT OUT FOR BID AND THE NOVEMBER TIME FRAME IS WHAT WE'RE THINKING RIGHT NOW. OKAY AND JUST THE SECOND FOLLOW UP TO THAT IS, YOU KNOW ONCE IT'S IF IT PROJECTED IF WE GET IT OUT OF NOVEMBER BY MINIMUM, THE RP NORMALLY GOES OUT FOR ABOUT 30 TO 60 DAYS AND 60 DAYS AND WE CAN KINDA IF EVERYTHING GOES AS PLAYING, WE CAN HOPEFULLY BE SEEING SOME WORK DONE. AROUND.

PROBABLY 34 MONTHS AFTER THAT, DEPENDING ON WHEN, UH, MOBILIZATION IS ETCETERA. YOU START SEEING SOME ACTIVITY, OKAY? I JUST KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE EXCITED ABOUT THAT ONE.

SO I JUST WANTED SOME CLARITY. BELIEVE ME, I'D LIKE TO GET IT OFF THE PLATE. OKAY. THANK YOU.

NICE. RIGHT HERE. REMEMBER GET SO. FOLLOWING UP ON THE RIVERFRONT PARK UNDERSTAND THAT MOST OF THE ENGINEERING AND DESIGN WORK HAS BEEN DONE WITH REGARD TO THE STABILIZATION AND THAT IS THAT ACCURATE AND FAIR. IT'S 99% DONE. WE JUST HAVE TO DO A FINAL REVIEW BEFORE WE PUT IT OUT FOR A BIT SO MY CONCERN AT THAT AT THIS POINT IS THAT YES, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE IT STABILIZED. BUT WHAT IS THE PARK ITSELF GOING TO LOOK LIKE? AND AGAIN. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO FOLLOW OR DEVELOP SOME SORT OF PROCESS BECAUSE EVERYBODY MIGHT HAVE DIFFERENT IDEAS OF WHAT KIND OF AMENITIES WE WANT TO HAVE AT THAT PARK. I KNOW JIMMY NEIL HAD FOUND THEY A GRANT FOR SOMETHING CALLED A FITNESS COURT. WHICH. LOOKS LIKE A PRETTY NEAT THING. AND UH, YOU KNOW, RIVERFRONT PARK MIGHT BE AND JIMMY NEIL AGREES IS THAT UH, IS HERE. I DON'T SEE HIM. UT WOULD BE AN IDEAL DEAL THING TO PUT DOWN THEIR RIVERFRONT PARK, A FITNESS COURT. AND UH, BUT BASICALLY IT'S A PARK WHERE YOU CAN HAVE DIFFERENT EXERCISE STATION. USING YOUR OWN BODY WEIGHT. TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF EXERCISES. UH WE NEED TO GO DOWN THERE AND BE ABLE TO EXERCISE. I THINK RIGHT THERE ON THE RIVERFRONT. BUT THERE'S OTHER THINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE GONNA WANNA SEE AT RIVERFRONT PARK, TOO. SO WHAT IS THE PLAN? FOR DETERMINING WHAT THAT WILL LOOK LIKE THIS IS USING FEMA MONEY TO BRING IT BACK. TO WHERE IT WAS BEFORE THE STORM SO IT WILL RESTORE THE SIDEWALKS, INCLUDING THE SIDEWALK ALONG THE RIVER. IT'LL PUT THE LIGHTING BACK IN PLACE. YOU'LL HAVE THE PARK BENCHES AND YOU'LL HAVE SOME WATER FOUNTAINS WERE PUT IN THE

[02:35:03]

THAT'S WHAT THAT'S WHAT THE REPORT WILL BE. OH THE ESTIMATE THAT OH, OKAY, OKAY. UM. WE. I WANT TO MAKE SURE IT'S UNDERSTOOD. WE'RE NOT GIVING ANY FALSE IMPRESSIONS. THERE ARE NO WEEDS. WE DON'T WANT TO GO THROUGH THE WEEDS. WHAT WE'RE SPENDING FOR. RIVERFRONT PARK IS TO RESTORE THE BANK AND BRING THE BALL PARK TO ITS EXISTING BOUNDARIES. WHERE IT DROPS OFF, BASICALLY STABILIZE THE BANK TO POST STORM BOUNDARIES IS WHAT WE AGREED ON WITH FEMA AND THEN THE REMAINDER. OF THE MONEY THAT THEY HAD ALLOCATED. WE'RE GOING TO USE TOWARDS THE CAR. CALL YOUR FAIRY PUMP STATION. OKAY BUT THERE'S NOTHING IN ADDITION TO WHAT WAS ALREADY THERE.

PREVIOUSLY, THERE'S NOTHING NEW GOING TO BE THERE. NO RIVERFRONT PARK BACK SUBSTANTIAL IF WE WERE TO TALK ABOUT DEVELOPMENT WITHIN RIVERFRONT PARK, THEN THAT WOULD GET TO THIS PROCESS WHERE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HAVING A PARKS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE REVIEW RECEIVED IDEAS TO BE DONE, AND RIVERFRONT PARK WOULD BE A PART OF THAT, RIGHT? YES RIGHT NOW. WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT GETTING RIVERFRONT PARK BACK, OPEN BACK OPEN, AND I WOULD REMIND COUNCIL THAT THAT PARK HAS FLOODED TWICE WITHIN THE LAST DECADE. SO ANYTHING WE DO PUT AT RIVERFRONT LEVEL. I THINK WE SHOULD HAVE AN EYE ON THE FACT THAT IT WILL PROBABLY GO UNDERWATER AGAIN. SO I MEAN, IF YOU'RE PUTTING

[02:40:01]

THAT WE'RE HOPING, HOPING TO GET THAT BECAUSE AGAIN, IN OUR OPINION IF WE CAN ESTABLISH A PEDESTRIAN CROSSING AT GRADE AND FENCE IT OFF AND BE ABLE TO BARRICADE IT PROPERLY. IT'S GOING TO BE MUCH SAFER THAN JUST HAVING IT HAVING THAT REAL OPEN FOR THE PUBLIC TO CROSS ANYWHERE. ONE OF THE QUESTIONS IN THE BUDGET BOOK THAT YOU GAVE US UNDER. PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS.

I THINK IT STARTS ON PAGE 2 27 TO 29. THESE ARE PROJECTS ARE THEY FUNDED AND GONNA HAPPEN, OR THESE UNDER FOR CONSIDERATION, BOTH. YEAH, FOLKS, IF IT'S UNDER DESIGN OR CONSTRUCTION, THAT MEANS THAT, YOU KNOW IT'S FUNDED AND WE'RE WE'RE WORKING ARE GOING TO WORK ON IT IF IT'S FOR CONSIDERATION. THAT'S NOT FUN TO PAPER. JUST START SOME PAGES AND SEE WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT CHRISTMAS. SO YEAH. SO AT THE END OF THE CAPITAL PLAN, THERE'S A DESCRIPTION BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EACH PROJECT. BUT THAT DOES DESCRIPTION INCLUDE BOTH THOSE THAT ARE UNDER CONSIDERATION WHICH MAY NOT BE FUNDED VERSUS AS WELL AS THOSE THAT ARE UNDER DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION. SO THEY'RE ALL IN THAT LISTING. WHETHER IT WHETHER THEY'RE IN EITHER OF THOSE CATEGORIES.

OKAY? OKAY? SO AT THIS TIME I WILL ACCEPT CLARK IS YOU HAVE. ANYONE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK

[Receive comments on the proposed FY 2023 Budget and the proposed 2023 Capital Program ]

AH DAVID HASKETT 17 65 IS THAT RICKY SHA OR RICOCHET? HOW DO YOU PLAY RICOCHET LANE BY MY TEXAS? I KNOW Y'ALL ARE ALL TIRED. YOU'VE BEEN HERE A WHILE AND BARBARA. APPRECIATE ALL Y'ALL DO ALL THE TIME. I KNOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A PART TIME JOB Y'ALL PUT IN A WHOLE BUNCH OF HOURS. I DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW I APPRECIATE IT. THE REASON I'M HERE TODAY I WAS LOOKING AT THE CAPITAL PLAN. SOMEONE. I NOTICED THAT THE STREET PROJECTS IN THE WATER PROJECTS OR SEPARATE IN THE CAPITAL FRIEND. THAT'S WHY I'M HERE TALKING TODAY, AND IT SEEMS LIKE WHAT WHAT I'VE BEEN WATCHING FOR. 20 OR 30 YEARS IS IN OLD TOWN. LIKE A ONE BLOCK BETWEEN FOUR STREET AND CENTER STREET. THERE ARE 20 NOW, 12 30 12 LARGE. PATCHES ON THAT ONE. THERE'S NO CROSS STREET 12 LARGE PATCHES IN THAT AND THE SIGNIFICANCE THAT IS, IS EACH ONE OF THOSE PATCHES.

[02:45:03]

MEAT DEPARTMENT NEEDS TO COME TOGETHER. AND SO THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF AND SO I TALKED TO ACCRUE A FEW YEARS BACK THAT WAS WORKING ON FOREST STREET RIGHT THERE WHEN THEY WERE DOING THE SAME THING. THEY WERE. PAGEANT FIXING WATER BREAKS UP AND DOWN THE STREET AND I WAS DOWN DOWN IN THAT AREA. UH, AND I SAID, WHY DON'T Y'ALL DO LIKE INDUSTRY WOULD DO AFTER YOUR PLACE? HAVE TO, UH REPAIR THE PIPE SO MANY TIMES ONE TIME YOU'RE IN THAT KIND OF BUSINESS, MR DEAL TWO TIMES THREE TIMES YOU SAY, HEY, LET'S STOP. LET'S TALK TO THE HEAD, MAN. WE NEED TO REPLACE THIS WHOLE BLOCK OR WE NEED REPLACES HOLD TWO BLOCKS AND STOOD OF JUST PATCHING IT BECAUSE IT'S CONTINUALLY TEARING UP THE STREET. AND HE SAYS IT'S DIFFERENT PILES OF MONEY. SO THAT'S WHY I'M DOWN HERE DURING THE CAPITAL HEARING TO SAY WE NEED TO GET WHERE THAT THE WERE LIKE INDUSTRY HAT. IT'S WHERE I WORKED AT THE PLANT FOR 43 YEARS. IT'S CALLED ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS. THESE OLD STREETS AND OLD TOWN OR THE SOUTH END. STAY TORE UP ALL THE TIME. YOU NEED TO LOOK AT IT. IS IT BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT PUTTING ENOUGH UNDERLAY LIMESTONE OR STUFF? IS IT BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO DIG BECAUSE THE WATER LINE IS UNDER THE STREET IN OLD TOWN IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD? IT'S IN MY FRONT YARD. BUT YOU EVERY TIME YOU HAVE TO. SO WHAT? I'M HERE BEGGING YOU. AND I THOUGHT I WOULD BE SAYING WHEN MR GETS PROPOSED THAT ONE CENT THAT WE DIDN'T GO DOWN TO SAY LIST. UH THE AMOUNT OF UM, AND FINISH YOUR STATEMENT. OKAY LISTEN UP THE AMOUNT THAT WE'RE SPENDING ON STREETS AND WATER LINES AND GETS THERE. I MEAN, THEY HAVE ONE DIRECTOR, SO IT SHOULDN'T BE THAT HARD TO GET THEIR HEAD TOGETHER WHERE THERE'S PUT COORDINATING, ANTIQUATED WATERLINE REPLACEMENTS. AND THEN OVERLAY. AND THE POINT OF THIS IS ANOTHER PLACE IN THE BUDGET WAS GONNA SPIN. IT SAYS RIGHT THERE. THEY'RE GONNA SPEND $3.5 MILLION TO PUT ASPHALT. OWN. GLADYS. FROM EDSON TO INTERSTATE 10. THEY'RE GONNA ASK ME OVER $3 MILLION ON CONCRETE, CURVED AND GET GOOD OR STREET BECAUSE NOBODY WAS THERE. SEEMINGLY.

NOBODY WAS THERE. YEAH, I HAD THE CATCH BASINS PUT INTO THEIR HAVE NO ASPHALTED BECAUSE EVERYWHERE THERE'S A CATCH BASIN . IT'S A DEEP POTHOLE. YOU ALL KNOW THAT IF YOU ALL GO DOWN GLAD TO SYDNEY. SO WHAT WE NEED IS WE NEED WE NEED OUR CITY ENGINEERS TO WATCH NEW CONSTRUCTION CLOSER AND WE NEED I'M ASKING AND BEGGING Y'ALL TO COORDINATE. THE ANTIQUATED PIPE REPLACEMENT AND REPLACE MORE I SENT YOU ALL EAT IT EACH EMAIL, BUT IT JUST SENT IT LAST NIGHT, SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE HAD A CHANCE TO READ IT, BUT PERFECT EXAMPLE. WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT NUMBERS THAT WAS REALLY MIND BOGGLING, BUT FROM WHAT I'M SEEING. THE STREET OF HAZEL.

THIS IS A STREET OF HAZEL HARRISON AND LONG BETWEEN MAGNOLIA AND MLK IS IN HORRIBLE , HORRIBLE SHAPE. AND SO IT'S HARD TO UNDERSTAND WHY WE CAN'T SPEND THAT EXTRA PENNY. THAT MR GETS PROPOSED THAT WE DON'T GO DOWN ON THE TAX RATE ON. THAT'S WHAT I'M BEGGING FOR YOU TO DO.

THANK YOU. JASON AND I'M NOT SURE HOW TO PRONOUNCE YOUR LAST NAME. JASON IT'S 58 85 PINK STEP LANE. BEAUMONT, TEXAS. GOOD AFTERNOON, SO MY NAME IS JASON HIDAKA AND I AM REPRESENTING THE UNITED WAY OF NORTH AND JEFF, BUT NORTH BEAUMONT IN JEFFERSON COUNTY, SO UNITED WAY IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT IS CAPTURED BY PROVIDING OPPORTUNITY FOR ORGANIZATIONS TO PARTNER PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS WHERE WE'RE GOING AT FUND CAMPAIGN FUND RAISE AND WE RAISED THE MONEY AND THEN WE ALLOCATE THOSE DOLLARS TO ORGANIZATIONS THAT GOES THROUGH A STRINGENT, UM UM, PROCESS FOR PREQUALIFICATION. OKAY SO THOSE ORGANIZATIONS ARE FOLKS LIKE THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA RAPE AND SUICIDE CRISIS OF SOUTH SOUTHEAST TEXAS. THE SHORTY CENTER, THE SOUTHEAST

[02:50:03]

SO WHY ARE WE HERE? SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS AMERICAN RESCUE FUND PLAN. OUR OUR ASK IS GREAT. YOUR NEED IN YOUR CITY IS GREAT. OKAY? SO SO, WHAT IS THIS? WHAT IS THIS FUN? DO THIS FUN HAS ALLOTMENT OF TWO TO FISCAL YEAR 2020 TO FISCAL YEAR. 2023 16 MILLION. PLUS, UH, IN THE FIRST IN THE FIRST ALLOTMENT, IT WAS IT WAS REGULATED THAT NONPROFIT COULDN'T GO AFTER THOSE FUNDS IN THE SECOND BATCH OF THE OTHER SIX OF THE 16 MILLION, IT WAS RE REGULATED AND ALLOWS NONPROFIT TO GO AFTER THOSE FUNDS. SO IT'S THIS ISN'T NECESSARILY A PAGE TURN. BUT THIS IS WHERE WE GOT THE DATA FROM TO SUPPORT THE CONVERSATION TODAY THAT THIS PANEL THAT YOU GUYS HAVE SO WHAT ARE WE ASKING FOR? UNITED WAY IS ASKING THAT YOU GUYS, CHRIS, YOU DO A RECOMMENDATION. YOU HAVE ADVISEMENT IN FAVOR OF THIS. MAYOR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, YOU GUYS ALLOW US GIVE US GIVE US THIS. IN FAVOR OF $2 MILLION. AND HOW DO WE DO THAT? SO THIS $2 MILLION IS GOING TO UM THE ALLOCATED THROUGH THROUGH FUNDS APPROPRIATION. AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THE DUE DILIGENCE TO WORK THAT THE UNITED WAY IS CONTINUOUSLY DOING TODAY WE HAVE THE MOST STRINGENT PROCESS OF PRE QUALIFYING PEOPLE AND ENSURING THAT WHAT THEY DO WHAT THOSE ORGANIZATIONS ARE DOING WITH THEIR DOLLARS. THEY'RE DOING THE RIGHT THING. WHEN AN ORGANIZATION REACHES OUT TO ANOTHER ANOTHER ANOTHER REQUEST ON GRANT WRITING DIFFERENT AREAS IN WHICH THEY'RE ASKING FOR MONEY. THEY PUT THE UNITED WAIT BUG ON THEIR ON THEIR ON THEIR PAMPHLET, AND THEY SAY WE ARE APPROVED ORGANIZATION BY THE UNITED WAY BECAUSE WE HAVE THE MOST STRINGENT PROCESS OF MAKING SURE THAT THOSE FOLKS ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING WITH THE MONEY AND THAT THEY'RE APPROPRIATING THOSE FUNDS CORRECTLY. SO I WANTED TO SUPPORT THIS CONVERSATION WITH DAVID. OUR NEED IS GREAT IN THIS CITY IN JEFFERSON COUNTY. UM WE? WE GOT TO THE DEBT. THE INFORMATION FROM 211 AND SO FROM MARCH 23 TO 2022 MARCH 29 2022. THERE WERE 4,000,396. 1009 113 CALLS MADE IT 211 NOW I'M NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH EVERY ONE OF THE ANALYTICS, BUT BECAUSE YOUR TIME IS UP AND WE HAVE THE FORM. WE'RE ALL QUITE AWARE OF THE UNITED WAY WAS UNITED WAY COORDINATED FOR A T AND T FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, AND I THINK MOST OF US UP HERE ARE QUITE FAMILIAR WITH UNITED. WELL, I HEAR YOU GAVE HIM EXTENDED TIME.

AND NOW I'M ASKING YOU TO GIVE ME JUST ANOTHER TWO MINUTES. WELL, AND WE HAVE YOUR DADDY AND WE DO HAVE YOUR DAD SO WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT IT BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY PART OF WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT. IN THE FORM, SO WE'RE QUITE AWARE OF IT. AND I THANK YOU. AND AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT IT AND WE WILL CONSIDER IT. THANK YOU. WE APPRECIATE YOU GUYS. THANK YOU.

CHARLES CRAB 9 28 EAST, DR BEAUMONT, TEXAS. OKAY MY NAME IS CHARLIE CRAB 9 28 STRIVING. I WANT, UH, SAY MAYOR COUNCIL AND STAFF. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. AND, UH, I'VE BEEN LISTENING, LISTENING TO THE BUDGET AND THAT KIND OF OVERWHELMED ME. I THOUGHT I HAD SOMETHING TO SAY. BUT UH, I GUESS ONE THING I'D LIKE TO SEE TO SEE DIFFERENT COSTS IN THE CITY LIKE TRASH PICK UP WHERE WE'RE PICKING UP LIAM'S AND TREES NOW, AND I THINK THE CITY SHOULD CHARGE THE LANDOWNER THERE BEFORE PICKING UP THE TREES BECAUSE OF BIG LOGS AND THINGS, AND I THINK THE, UH TO GET A TREE CUT DOWN. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT $1000 OR MORE SO THEY SHOULD PAY TO HAVE IT MOVES, UH, MOVED TO THE TO THE RECYCLE AREA. OKAY NOW, UH, THIS MAY HAVE ALREADY BEEN ADDRESSED ABOUT THE PINE STREET PIPE. I GUESS, UH, MY QUESTION IS WHY

[02:55:03]

UH, A RECESSION NEXT YEAR, AND IT WILL BE DIFFICULT FOR THE. CITIZENS BEAUMONT TO PAY INCREASED TAXES. AT SEA AND THE WATER BILL. I'D LIKE TO SEE THE WATER BILL TO RE RE, UH REFLECT THE ACTUAL COST THE WATER AND SEWER. AND THEN IF WE NEED TO ADD AN ITEM ON THERE FOR OTHER THINGS FOR CITY EXPENSES ADDED ON LIKE I THINK WE HAVE AN ITEM ON THERE FOR STREETS AND, UH AND OF COURSE, THE WATER BILL IS COLLECTED MONTHLY, SO THAT DOES BRING IN EXTRA MONEY TO THE CITY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU, MR CRABB. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. MAYOR. THANK YOU. SO WE'RE GONNA CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. OH, I'M SORRY. THERE'S SOMEONE IN THE BACK. HE TURNED INTO FORM YOUR NAME, SIR. TALKING ON THE BUDGET, THOUGH. NO, IT'S NOT. THIS WAS ABOUT THE BUDGET. NO PROBLEM. NO PROBLEM. OKAY SO WE'RE GONNA I'M GONNA CLOSE THE FLOOR, UM, FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING. EVERYONE HAS SPOKEN, AND WE'RE GONNA GO TO ITEM NUMBER ONE. WILL YOU PLEASE

[1. Consider a resolution postponing the final vote on the proposed FY 2023 Budget to September 13, 2022 ]

YOU CAN DO THINGS TO THE REVENUE BECAUSE WE DON'T APPROPRIATE REVENUE. BUT IF YOU'RE GOING TO CHANGE ANY EXPENSES MEANING ADDING EXPENSES. IT NEEDS TO BE STATED TODAY SO THAT I CAN PUBLISH A NOTICE IN THE PAPER AND WE HAVE TO HAVE ANOTHER PUBLIC HEARING. WHAT IF YOU'RE FINE WITH THE EXPENSES? WE CAN MOVE FORWARD. I JUST NEED TO KNOW IF THERE IS CONSENSUS ON MOVING FORWARD WITH THE BUDGET AS PRESENTED OR IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE ANY OF THE REVENUES.

COUNCIL MEMBER NEIL THE COUNCIL MEMBER FAILED SHOW, SO JUST TO CLARIFY FOR ME RIGHT NOW, IT'S

[03:00:06]

YOU DO THE STAFF HAS A JOB TO COME TO US WITH RECOMMENDATIONS AND. THEN WE DO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY SUPPORT YOU IN THAT WE MOVE FORWARD. AH THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF TALK TODAY ABOUT 6% 8. UH ALL WE CAN ASK OF YOU IS TO CUT EXPENSES TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY. AND THEN MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO US ABOUT REVENUE OR INCOME. AND I FEEL LIKE SOMETIMES AS A COUNCIL WHEN WE GET DEEP INTO THE WEEDS, THAT'S WHEN WE END UP GETTING IN TROUBLE. I'M ASSUMING THE PROCESS THAT WE'VE USED FOR YEARS HAS BEEN SOMEWHAT PRODUCTIVE AND SIMPLE. YOU DO THE BEST JOB. YOU CAN YOU MAKE THE RECOMMENDATION. AND WE LOOK AT IT TRYING TO COMPREHEND IT THE BEST WE CAN AND WRAP OUR MINDS AROUND IT. AND THEN WE VOTE, BUT YOU KNOW, I FEEL TODAY THAT THERE'S BEEN JUST A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT 8% 6. AGAIN. YOU'RE TRYING TO COUNSELORS TO BE CAREFUL. YOUR YOU WON'T 8% ON THE RATE INCREASE, BUT YOU GAVE US SIX BECAUSE YOU FEEL LIKE WE WOULDN'T SWALLOW THE EIGHT CORRECT. I WAS ASKED TO SEE WHAT I CAN DO TO LOWER THE RATE, SO THAT'S WHEN I UPDATED THE REVENUE PROJECTIONS WITH JULY NUMBERS ON WATER REVENUE. I'M NOT JUST TWEAKING NUMBERS. I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND. I'M NOT JUST TWEAKING NUMBERS, BUT THE JULY REVENUES DID COME IN HIGHER THAN WE ANTICIPATED. SO WE WERE ABLE TO AFFORD A LOWER RATE INCREASED TO GET TO THE SAME MINIMUM FUND BALANCE REQUIREMENT , BUT MY CONCERNS ARE WITH THE BOND RATINGS. I DON'T THINK WE'RE GONNA HOLD OUR RATING AT THE WORLD AT AT WHAT'S PROPOSED RIGHT NOW, SO THE BOTTOM LINE IS AS CITIZENS OUR TAX DOLLARS WERE GOING TO SPEND THAT MONEY ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. OUR PROBLEM IS THAT OUR CONSTITUENTS SEE THAT 6% OR 8% ON THEIR BILL. THEY SEE THAT THAT'S TANGIBLE, AND THAT'S WHERE WE START GETTING PHONE CALLS. BUT IF THEY IF THERE IS A REDUCTION IN OUR RATE ARE I'M SORRY CREDIT RATING CREDIT RATING IS AND WE SPEND OUT MORE MONEY INTEREST. WE SPEND OUT MORE. THEY'RE NEVER GOING TO SEE THAT ARE THEY WELL, THEY WILL IN THE FUTURE BECAUSE UNLESS THEY'RE GONNA FOLLOW THAT BUDGET, PAY ATTENTION TO THE AVERAGE CITIZENS NEVER GOING TO SEE THAT IT WILL. IT WILL LEAD TO A RATE INCREASE. YEAH, YOU HAVE TO COVER YOUR EXTRA DEBT PAYMENTS SOMEHOW, BUT MY POINT IS WHERE WE GET IN TROUBLE, YOU KNOW, OR ARE CONCERNED. TROUBLE IS WRONG IS THAT THAT BILL THEY GET EVERY MONTH AND THAT'S WHY WE STRUGGLE WITH IT BECAUSE BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY THESE MONIES ARE GONNA GO OUT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER CORRECT. WELL, IF IT PLEASES COUNCIL. WHAT WE CAN DO IS IF THERE'S NO INCREASES OF EXPENDITURES. WHAT WE CAN DO IS WE CAN COME TO COUNCIL ON SEPT. SEPTEMBER 13TH WITH OUR PROPOSED TAX RATE. UM WATER RATE INCREASED SOLID WEIGHTED RATE INCREASE. AND Y'ALL CAN EITHER ACCEPT THEM OR CHANGE THEM AT THAT TIME. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER, SAMUEL. WHAT I'D LIKE TO KNOW RIGHT NOW IS, UH ON THE PROPOSED TAX RATES AND WATER RATE AND THE TRASH PURSUER RATE.

AH! INITIALLY THE RECOMMENDATION FROM STAFF WHAT IT CAME BACK TODAY. BY SIX AND THEN WELL NO.

WHAT YOU ALL ADJUSTED IT TO AND YOUR FEELINGS TODAY. I NEED TO KNOW THOSE THREE THINGS ABOUT THOSE THREE ITEMS. PROPOSED TAX RATE, THE WATER RATE TRASH RATE. THE FIRST RECOMMENDATION FROM

[03:05:05]

[03:10:04]

IT'S ECONOMIC OUTLET. SO YEAH, THE THINGS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO IN THE FUTURE, THEY MIGHT BE WAITED 10% TOWARDS OUR CREDIT RATING. WHEN WE OPENED HYDRANTS TO FLUSH OUR LINES. DO WE CALCULATE THAT WATER LOSS IS PART OF OUR WE DON'T CALCULATE THAT DO WE? WE DO. ONE MOMENT. DO, DO WE? IT'S NOT METER THOSE. SO WHEN TODD'S TALKING ABOUT WATER LAWS HE'S LOOKING AT WHAT'S PUMPED OUT OF THE PLANT, AND THEN WHAT WE BUILD AND WHAT? WHAT? WE DIDN'T BILL IS CONSIDERED WATER LOSS, THOUGH YOU DO FACTOR IN SOME ROUTINE FLUSHING, AND THERE'S A FACTOR ON THAT. BUT BUT WE DO NOT WHEN WE OPEN HYDRANTS, WE DO NOT METER THEM. OKAY I KNOW, BUT SOMETIMES WE OPENED HYDRANTS AND WE FORGET WE'VE OPENED THEM FOR A LONG TIME. SO THAT'S WATER LOSS THAT NOW I'M UNDERSTANDING . GUESS REALIZING FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT THAT ACTUALLY CAN HAVE AN EFFECT ON OUR BOND RATING. UH SO WE'RE HAVING TO AGGRESSIVELY FLUSH RIGHT NOW, SO I MEAN, I DON'T I WOULDN'T SAY THAT ANY OF THEM ARE LEFT OPEN AND FORGOTTEN ABOUT WE'RE HAVING TO AGGRESSIVELY FLUSHED, ESPECIALLY IN THE LATE SUMMER MONTHS BECAUSE OF NITRIC FICATION ISSUES TO KEEP THE CHLORINE RESIDUAL OB. SO SOMETIMES THAT MAYBE A WEEK UM, THAT HYDRANTS OPEN THAT IS POSSIBLE. OKAY. JUST. YEAH THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE. I'M GOOD WITH WHAT YOU'VE DONE. AND UM I'M OKAY WITH THE 68 A HALF IN THE 6. THAT'S THAT'S WHERE I'M AT. I'M SORRY. THE SUCCESS 69 A HALF IN THE 6. COUNCIL MEMBER TURNER. SO TIRED JUST TO MAKE SURE I'M FOLLOWING YOU CORRECTLY AND I'M CLEAR YOU PROJECTED THE 8% BUT IF WE AGREE TO 6% YOU COME BACK NEXT WEEK. IT CAN'T GO BACK TO THE 8. YOU PROJECT THE CORRECT NO, WE CAN WE CAN ADJUST REVENUES WITHOUT THE REQUIREMENT OF ANOTHER PUBLIC HEARING. WE JUST CAN'T ADJUST APPROPRIATIONS WHICH ARE EXPENDITURES. OKAY I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I FOLLOWED YOU. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS. COUNCIL MEMBER NEIL. I STILL PREFER THE 68.5 VERSUS THE SAFETY 9.5 BACK TO YOUR ORIGINAL RECOMMENDATION. WHAT'S THE. WHAT WERE WE PLANNING ON DOING WITH THAT ADDITIONAL MILLION DOLLARS OTHER THAN DECREASING THE LAWS FOR THE FUND BALANCE. WELL, YOU GOT TO REMEMBER. SO WE'RE IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT BUDGETED FOR THEIR INCREASE. IT COULD BE MORE THAN THAT. UM, THAT EXTRA 1.

WELL, JUST HELP US GOING FURTHER INTO FUND BALANCE. SO LIKE I SAID, WE'RE THE ONES WHO YOU KNOW PROPOSED TO 68 A HALF CENTS . Y'ALL CAME BACK WITH A 69.5 HALF SENSE. AND THEN AFTER POLICE WE HAVE WE HAVE FIRE. I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR FOR US TO SAY THAT IT'S A TAX REDUCTION.

WELL THAT'S CORRECT. I MEAN, WE'RE REDUCING OUR TAX RATE, BUT WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER APPRAISED VALUES, SO IT'S A COMBINATION OF THE TWO MULTIPLIED TOGETHER. SO SOME PEOPLE, DEPENDING ON THEIR APPRAISED VALUES. IF THEY ARE APPRAISED VALUE HELD OR WENT DOWN. IT IS A TAX REDUCTION. BUT FOR THE MAJORITY, IT'S GOING TO BE A TAX INCREASE. BUT NOT ON THE PART OF THE CITY. CORRECT. WE HAVE NOTHING TO DO THAT WE DON'T CONTROL PROPERTY VALUES ON THE PART OF THE CITY BECAUSE WE'LL END UP NOT THAT PRICE VALUE PRODUCING MORE REVENUE. AT AT A LOWER RATE. SO IT'S STILL A TAX INCREASE. THAT'S CORRECT. COUNCIL MEMBER SAMUEL LINK AGAIN. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTOOD BECAUSE IT SOUNDED A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. UH, WHAT WE WHAT? YOU'RE TRYING TO GET A FEEL OF THIS WHAT TO PRESENT ON THE 13TH. YES OR NOT? I THINK I'M TO THE POINT NOW. I THINK Y'ALL MAYBE UNDECIDED. WE'RE JUST GONNA COME TO COUNSEL WITH THE GENDER MEMOS. I'M NOT YET OKAY, BECAUSE AS I UNDERSTOOD IT , YOU ALL YOU PROPOSED 68.5 50 68 A HALF. IN THE ORIGINALLY RIGHT AND WE WENT TO 69 A HALF BECAUSE WE WERE TOLD YOU CAN ALWAYS GO DOWN. BUT YOU CAN'T GO UP AND THAT'S WHY THAT WAS INCREASED. AND IS THAT THE SAME THING WITH THE 8% VERSUS THE 6% SO THE PROPERTY TAX RATES GOVERNED BY STATE LAW? OKAY

[03:15:06]

[COMMENTS]

[03:20:06]

A FAILED TO UP THANK CHRIS FOR HIS, UH OF SERVICE DURING THIS TRANSITION PERIOD. THE DOG PART.

WE OUGHT TO HAVE THE. THE PROPONENTS OF THE DARK PART INCREASE. I MEAN, RAISED THE MONEY FOR IT THAT THAT WOULD BE GREAT. AND, UH, ANYWAY. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SERVICE, AND I'M GONNA GO HOME AND THANK YOU, MR KOREA. EDDIE ALLEN 96 95 CROSS STREET FROM FROM TEXAS.

AFTERNOON MAYOR COUNCIL INTERIM CITY MANAGER. I'M STANDING HERE. HAVEN'T BEEN HERE AWHILE, AND I LISTENED TO WHAT'S GOING ON, AND I KNOW THAT IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME WITH THIS BUDGET. BUT LIKE THE GENTLEMAN, UH, TALKED ABOUT THE MAINTENANCE THERE WAS DITCHING OUT IN A MILLION. AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS CONSIDERED ELEVATIONS. I HAVE ALGAE NOW IN MY DITCH AND THE WATER DOES NOT MOVE. TALKED TO THE WATER DEPARTMENT ABOUT THAT. SO YOU CAN DIG ALL THE DITCHES YOU WANT. BUT I'D LIKE TO SEE SOMEBODY ADDRESS. ONCE YOU DIG THE DITCHES. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF RAIN. IT'S STANDING. IT'S CREATING MOSQUITOES. THE AIRPORT , WHICH YOU KNOW IS MY THING. UH THERE WAS A CONTRACT THAT WAS GIVEN FOR SPRAYING THE MOSQUITOES. SO NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT MOSQUITO CITY OUT IN THE MILLION. THE OTHER THING IS THERE'S GRASS ORDINANCES. THE STOP SIGNS ON TODD. AND UH, OTHER STREETS NOW HAVE GRASS GOING UP TO THE STOP SIGN. AND SO THE WEEDS CAN'T READ. STOP THEY? THEY'RE GOING. THEY'RE GOING ONE OF THE CITY COUNCILMAN. ASK ABOUT WEEDS AT THE TRACKS. THERE IS SO MUCH STUFF. WE NEED TO LOOK AT IT.

YOU GOT CODE ENFORCEMENT THEY RIDE THROUGH. DO THEY SEE? WE'VE GOT CHILDREN GOING TO A MILLION SCHOOL AND YOU'VE GOT ALL OF THIS GRASS. YOU'VE GOT TRAIN TRACKS. YOU GOT THE TRAINS THAT ARE SITTING AT THE TRACKS BEHIND WEEDS. THERE COULD BE SOME UNSAFE STUFF THAT JUMPS OUT AT THEM WHEN THEY'RE WALKING ON THE SIDEWALKS THAT ARE LIKE A RAILROAD LIKE A MOUNTAIN RAILROAD. SO SIDEWALKS. THE CHILDREN ARE WALKING FROM AMELIA IN THE STREET. MAYBE IT'S FOR B.

I S D. MAYBE IT'S WORTH CITY. I DON'T KNOW. BUT THEN WHEN I LOOKED AT COMPARISONS WITH THE WATER RATE BECAUSE THEY GOTTA MOVE WITH THIS THREE MINUTES ALL THE RED. I WAS TOLD OR WE WERE TOLD, WAS CONSTRUCTION FOR THE SUBDIVISIONS. WHY IS THE CITY THAT KEEPING UP WITH THE CHANGING OF THE MAINTENANCE OF THE PIPES EVERY TIME IT RAINS HAVE BEEN UP HERE BEFORE? THE WATER BACKS UP IN MY BATHTUB. THE CITY HAS BEEN OUT. YOU KNOW, IT'S CONSISTENT NOW THE WATER LEVEL IS LOW. I'D LOVE TO SEE THAT THE CITY OF BEAUMONT HAVE SUPERIOR WATER AGAIN. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RAISING THE RATES. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE MAINTENANCE? YOU KNOW? WE'VE GOT PEOPLE THAT ARE LIMITED INCOMES AND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT RAISING THE RATES. I LOOKED AT THE BILL AT TOOTH IN 2000 WAS $22 BILL THAT I GOT YESTERDAY WAS 68. I CAN PAY IT. BUT LET'S LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE THINGS IF YOU CAN FOLLOW MY RANDOMNESS. HAVE A GOOD DAY AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR THANK YOU.

THAT'S ALL I HAVE. MAYOR. HAS TO SPEAK IT. DID YOU? SORRY. MR HASKETT NOW YOU JUST CHECKED THE PUBLIC HEARING. YEAH BUT I CAN CALL YOU AGAIN. IT'S OKAY AND DAVID HASKINS 17 25 RICOCHET LANE. TEXAS I KNOW IT'S LATE, BUT LIKE, YO, I'VE SIT HERE 3.5 HOURS AND I CAN'T TELL IF WE APPROVED THE TAX RATE IS 68 5 OR 69 5. AND, UH, 69, 5 69 5. AND SO THE QUESTION IS WHAT DID WE

[03:25:04]

JUST FOR THE RECORD AMERICAN. YOU PLEASE CLARIFY THAT WE DID NOT VOTE ON TAX RATE TODAY. TRUE WE DID NOT VOTE ON A TAX RATE TODAY. THANK YOU PROPOSED. THANK YOU. OKAY, THAT'S ALL I HAVE.

MARY. THANK YOU. NOW IT'S THE TIME FOR COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENT AND I WILL START WITH MAYOR PRO TEM DIARRHEA. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UM I JUST WANNA EXTEND MY CONDOLENCES TO THE NEIL FAMILY ON LOSS OF COUNCILMAN NEIL UNCLE, FORMER MAYOR BILL NEAL. SHE COULD PASS THAT ON TO THE FAMILY FOR ME. ALSO I WANNA THANK MIKE HARRIS CAME OUT TO, UM, PARALLEL YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETING AND HE GAVE A GREAT PRESENTATION SPOKE TO HIM. HE EXPLAINED TO THEM ABOUT FLUSHING, HE EXPLAINED TO THEM ABOUT HOW THEY GO DOWN WITH CAMERAS AND INSPECT THE PIPES PERIODICALLY AND MAINTENANCE ON ALL THE PIPES AND EVERYTHING. YOU'VE DONE AN OUTSTANDING JOB.

ONLY PROBLEM. WE HAD TO ASK HIM TO SHUT DOWN BECAUSE HE WAS TALKING TOO LONG. BUT HE DID DO A GOOD JOB AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE. MAYOR. THANK YOU, MR HARRIS. THANK YOU. YOUR PROTEIN.

COUNCIL MEMBER GETS. DITTO TAYLOR ON THE LOSS OF YOUR UNCLE BILL, UH, FORMER MAYOR OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT AND YOU KNOW WE ARE WE SHARE IN MOURNING HIS LOST WITH YOUR FAMILY. UM LAST.

FISCAL YEAR THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE CAPITAL PLAN ABOUT DOG PARKS, FORD AND $50,000. THAT WAS FOR THREE DOG PARKS, NOT ONE. THE PROJECTED COSTS OF ONE DOG PARK IS ABOUT $125,000 AND IT PROBABLY ACTUALLY BE LESS THAN THAT. SO TO CORRECT THE THIS INFORMATION THAT WAS PROVIDED EARLIER. UH YES. ONE SINGLE DOG PARKS NOT GOING TO COST $450,000. UM SO AH, THE.

WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE HERE TODAY , UH, WAS AH, I THINK TAKEN SERIOUSLY BY ALL, IT'S A LOT OF WORK AND APPRECIATE ALL THE EFFORTS OF MR CIMINO AND YOUR STAFF AND GETTING THIS INFORMATION TO US. I KNOW MR BOONE. Y'ALL HAVE BOTH HAD A LOT OF STUFF COMING AT YOU, UH, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE TAKING THEIR JOB SERIOUSLY. BEEN ASKING THESE QUESTIONS BECAUSE THESE ARE BIG DECISIONS THAT WE ALL HAVE TO MAKE, AND WE'RE TRYING TO DO THE BEST JOB WE CAN FOR OUR CITY AND THE CITIZENS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER GETS COUNCIL MEMBER TURNER CHRIS BOONE. YOUR LAST MEETING IS ANYMORE. I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE.

THANK YOU FOR THE EXPERIENCE LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU MORE IN THE FUTURE. AND I APPRECIATE IT. TODD I WANT TO SELL YOU. THANK YOU AS WELL BECAUSE YOU TOOK SEVERAL PHONE CALLS TO EXPLAIN THINGS AND LIKE I STATED, IS MY FIRST TIME GOING THROUGH THIS BUDGET. SO, UH, I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS BECAUSE WHEN CITIZENS ASKED ME QUESTIONS, I'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THEM ACCURATE INFORMATION. SO THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING, EVEN SITTING DOWN WITH ME ONE ON ONE MULTIPLE TIMES AND HELPING ME GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF IT. I WANTED TO SAY I APPRECIATE YOU. AND EVERYBODY WHO CAME OUT. WE APPRECIATE YOU GUYS. THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT, IF NOT EASY, SITTING THROUGH A MEAN 3.5 HOURS , BUT WE APPRECIATE YOU ALL COMING OUT AND SPEAKING, IT MEANS A LOT. THANK YOU CAN'T REMEMBER FELL SHOW. THANK YOU. MAYOR HAS BEEN SAID CONDOLENCE TO THE NEIL FAMILY. MY ONLY REGRET IS AFTER READING ABOUT BILL THAT I NEVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO KNOW HIM. IT'S

[03:30:04]

THANK YOU. COUNCILOR MEMBER SAMUEL. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UM I'D LIKE TO EXTEND MY CONDOLENCES TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. UH MAYOR NEIL WAS THE FIRST MAYOR THAT I WORKED WITH. SO I HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF RESPECT FOR HIM. I LEARNED A LOT FROM HIM. SO MY CONDOLENCES. UM, I WANT TO THANK YOU, CHRIS. FOR THE JOB THAT YOU'VE DONE IN THE INTERIM. BUT I THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE CITY. AND I APPRECIATE YOU AND YOUR STAFF AND ALL OF THE STAFF THAT I KNOW A LOT OF HOURS . A LOT OF TIME IS SPENT IN PREPARING THE BUDGET AND I SINCERELY APPRECIATE IT AND YOU STAND READY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER, NEIL. THANK YOU GUYS.

FOR THE CONDOLENCES FOR UNCLE BILL. HE WAS INDEED A FINE MAN THAT THAT LOVE THIS CITY WITH EVERYTHING HE HAD SPENT OVER 60 YEARS GIVING BACK TO THIS COMMUNITY. THE UH, ALSO LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU, CHRIS FOR THE JOB YOU DID. I CAN'T THINK OF A BETTER MAN FOR THE JOB. DURING THE INTERIM. I THINK HE DID A FINE JOB. AND BEAUMONT IS, UH, IN DEBT TO YOU FOR THE JOB. YOU DID KIND OF ACCURATE, EVERYBODY, SAID TODD SEMINAR ABOUT THE JOB YOU GUYS HAVE DONE IN THE BUDGET, UM IN ARE STILL STRUGGLE WITH THE 68 A HALF VERSUS THE 69 A HALF AS WE DISCUSSED MULTIPLE TOWNS ON THE PHONE, BUT WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS. BUT APPRECIATE THE JOB YOUR DEPARTMENT DID. THANK YOU. ATTORNEY CHERIE READ. I JUST WANT TO ECHO THE SENTIMENTS OF COUNSEL. MY GRATITUDE TO CHRIS WHEN HIS TRANSITION AND ALSO THE CANDELA SINCE THE COUNCILMAN NOW THANK YOU. MHM, BART. OH ECHO CHARADE, CHRIS. THANK YOU FOR HOLDING HOLDING THE SEAT WHILE UH YOU KNOW, WE'RE WAITING. THANKS. TODD. I WAS HOPING TO BE DONE, BUT I CAN'T TAKE THE CREDIT FOR ALL THE BUDGET. I HAVE A GREAT STAFF. CHERYL RACE HERE. STEPHANIE HARDY. WELL, CHERYL JUST LEFT, BUT CHERYL RAYE AND STEPHANIE HARDY. THEY'D THEY'D PUT IN A LOT OF HOURS AND THEN I JUST GOT A GREAT STAFF UPSTAIRS. AND UM, JUST WANNA THANK HIM. THANKS. AND TINA. I JUST WANT TO GIVE CONDOLENCES TO COUNCIL MEMBER NEIL AND HIS FAMILY ON THE LOSS OF HIS UNCLE, AND TO THANK CHRIS BOON FOR AN OUTSTANDING JOB IS INTERIM CITY MANAGER APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE OKAY AND MR CRISPIN. YES MA'AM MARRIAGES, CONDOLENCES TO THE NEIL FAMILY. I READ THE KNEELED FAMILY MOTTO OVER IN THE PAPER THE OTHER DAY, AND I FOUND IT. UM UH BE VERY WISE WORDS SO JUST CONDOLENCES TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. JUST LIKE TO, UH, ECHO. I THINK WHAT WAS SAID HERE ABOUT ALL THE HARD WORK THAT TODD AND HIS STAFF HAS DONE TO PUT HELP PUT THIS BUDGET TOGETHER. AGAIN A LOT OF LONG, LONG HOURS DOING THAT AND, YOU KNOW, JUST EXTEND MY APPRECIATION TO, UM ESPECIALLY ALL THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS WHO HELPED ME THROUGH THE INTERIM PERIOD. AND, OF COURSE, ALL THE STAFF THAT MAKES EVERYTHING HAPPENED. I OBVIOUSLY COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT THEM, AND I APPRECIATE THE MAYOR AND THE COUNCIL SUPPORT THROUGH THE INTERIM PERIOD. AND I THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY. THANK YOU. SO I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, UMS ENTIRE COUNCIL IN THE CITY OF BEAUMONT. UM TAYLOR, PLEASE GIVE THE CONDOLENCES TO YOUR FAMILY. MR NEEL WAS MAYOR FROM 1982 TO 1986 OF THIS CITY. FUNERAL SERVICES WILL BE HELD ON TOMORROW. UM NEXT NEXT WEDNESDAY , NEXT WEDNESDAY. OKAY, I THOUGHT IT NEXT WEDNESDAY. UH, ALSO TO YOU, CHRIS. YOU TOOK OVER APRIL 1ST. AND WE'RE SO GRATEFUL FOR THE JOB THAT YOU DID. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE CITY. WE APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE WELL BEING INTERIM.

MEN IN THIS SHIP. UM, THE CITY NEVER MISSED A BEAT. AND UH, WE THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE PUTTING IN AND FOR YOUR DEDICATION. UM, ALSO PLEASE DON'T FORGET JULIE ROGERS GIFT OF LIFE. UM MEN'S P S A SCREENING. I KNOW THAT'S NOT A FUN WORD TO HEAR P S A. BUT OF COURSE WE'RE ASKING EVERYONE TO PLEASE MAN UP. AND SHOW UP AND EARLY DETECTION. IS UH, THE BEST

[03:35:08]

ON LAST WEEK, I WAS OUT OF TOWN . I WAS IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, UM IN 2019. I CHAIRED THE. POLICY COMMITTEE, WHICH IS THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE POLICY COMMITTEE, AND IT IS LEGISLATIVE POLICIES THAT WILL GO INTO EFFECT. IN 2023. AND ON LAST WEEK, I WAS ASKED TO BE A DELEGATE. AGAIN TO VOTE ON POLICIES THAT WILL BE IN EFFECT. FOR THE UPCOMING LEGISLATIVE, UM, SEASON FOR 2023. IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY. THERE WERE OTHER MAYORS. UM OTHER DIFFERENT OTHER, UM. PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT WERE INVITED ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS. EVERE OF TEXAS WAS REPRESENTED THERE AND IT WAS SOME LONG DAYS, BUT IT WAS STORMING IN AUSTIN, SO WE WERE IN CONFERENCE ROOM FROM 8 TO 5 AND, UH, IT TOOK EVERY BIT OF 8 TO 5 FOR US TO GET ALL OF THAT DONE. AND I'M JUST SO GRATEFUL THAT MAYOR PROTEIN WAS ABLE TO STEP UP AND SIT IN MY SEAT AND HANDLE BUSINESS AS USUAL. SO THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FROM TIME TO TIME. COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, ARE INVITED TO TWO DIFFERENT SESSIONS OF EVEN EXPERTS THAT A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO I LEFT. I LEFT OUT ON A SUNDAY EVENING CAME BACK ON THE MONDAY BECAUSE I WAS INVITED, UH BY C W A, UM JUST FLEW OVER TO SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, AND THERE'S SO MANY CONFERENCES THAT GO ON ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, UM, FOR THE FIRST TIME I WAS INVITED , UH, WELL ATTENDED THE U. S CONFERENCE OF MAYORS, AND THAT WAS MY FIRST MAYORS CONFERENCE AND ALSO THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CONFERENCE OF MAYORS. SO THERE'S SO MANY CONFERENCES THAT OR AVAILABLE FOR LEARNING, UM THAT WE GET IDEALS. WE GET TO SIT AND TALK TO DIFFERENT MAYORS. DIFFERENT UM CITY OFFICIALS ACROSS THE STATE AND ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND SO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED IN THIS CITY HAVE COME ABOUT BECAUSE OF THOSE CONFERENCES. AND SO I'M JUST SO GRATEFUL TO BE ABLE TO ATTEND THOSE CONFERENCES AND BRING BACK TO THE CITY. SOME WONDERFUL IDEAS THAT WE CAN MOVE OUR CITY FORWARD. SO WITH ALL OF THAT SAID, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY, UM, ON BEHALF AGAIN OF THIS COUNCIL. THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT. THANK YOU FOR SITTING THROUGH. AH THIS HAS BEEN A LONG MEETING THAT BUDGET HAS NOT BEEN FUN. THANK YOU HAVE SEEN THESE BINDERS. AND THEY'RE PRETTY THICK. UM. MY HUSBAND IS QUITE FAMILIAR WITH IT BECAUSE HE'S SEEN IT. IT'S GONE FROM MY KITCHEN TABLE TO MY BEDROOM TO MY LIVING ROOM ON MY PATIO WITH COFFEE, SO WE DON'T TAKE THIS LIGHTLY. AND THIS IS TIME THAT WE SPEND ON OUR PERSONAL TIME TAKING CARE OF THIS SO TO TODD AND HIS STAFF. IF WE DID IT IN THE TIME THAT WE DID, AND YOU'VE BEEN WORKING ON IT A WHOLE LOT LONGER THAN WE HAVE. AND IT'S NOT EASY AND I WANT TO THANK YOU AND YOUR STAFF FOR ALL OF THE HARD WORK THAT YOU'VE PUT INTO IT. UM BECAUSE JUST ME LOOKING THROUGH IT THROUGH IT. YOU SITTING ALONG WITH US JUST TO EXPLAIN SOME OF THE THINGS THAT

[03:40:04]