* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          LOOKING AFTER ME AND 
          [00:00:01]
GIVING ME STUFF TO READ. 
          UM, I'VE GOT SIX 30. 
          UM, 
          [Special City Council Meeting]
IT IS TUESDAY, AUGUST 15TH, 2023. 
          IT IS 6:30 PM AND THIS IS, UH, MEADOWS PLACE, CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL SESSION. 
          IT'S TAKING PLACE AT, UH, CITY HALL AND MEADOWS PLACE. 
          ITEM A IS CALLED TO ORDER AND ANNOUNCE A QUORUM PRESENT. 
          WE HAVE A FULL CONTINGENT OF, UH, COUNCIL HERE THIS MORNING. 
          AND ITEM B IS, UH, WE'RE GONNA CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY MEADOWS PLACE TO HEAR ANY AND ALL PERSONS DESIRING TO BE HEARD CONCERNING CITY OF MEADOWS PLACE, MUNICIPAL BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022. 
          I MEAN 2023 DASH 2024. 
          SO WITH THAT, UH, WE CALL THE PUBLIC HEARING OPEN. 
          ANYONE WISHING TO ADDRESS COUNSEL AGAIN, PLEASE STEP UP TO THE MICROPHONE AND, AND COMMENT OR ASK AWAY, IS THIS THING WORKING? ? OKAY. 
          WE DO HAVE, OKAY. 
          THIS IS ABOUT THE BUDGET, CORRECT? OR IS IT ABOUT THE NO, THIS IS ABOUT THE BUDGET. 
          AND MIKE, IS THAT THING ON? YES. 
          OKAY. 
          YOU'RE GONNA NEED TO, YOU'RE GONNA NEED TO GET REAL CLOSE TO IT. 
          GIVE US YOUR NAME AND YOUR ADDRESS. 
          MY NAME IS, IS IT ON NOW? YEP. 
          GOT IT. 
          MIKE BESSLER. 
          ONE 1-842-MULHOLLAND SINCE 1975. 
          COUPLE OF COMMENTS ON THE BUDGET HAS TO DO WITH THE, THE, THE ROADS AND THE SIDEWALKS. 
          LAST YEAR YOU DID NOT INCREASE ANYTHING FOR THEIR SIDEWALKS OR FOR THE ROADS THIS YEAR, THE SAME THING. 
          SO WHY HASN'T THAT INCREASED? THE, THE COST FOR THE ROADS AND THE SIDEWALKS IS GOING UP. 
          THE AMOUNT YOU'VE BUDGETED HAS STAYED THE SAME. 
          SO THEREFORE THE AMOUNT OF THE SIDEWALKS AND THE STREETS REPAIR IS GOING DOWN THE OPPOSITE WAY THAT IT SHOULD BE GOING. 
          AND I HAD THAT MARKED THAT IN MY BUDGET. 
          UH, SORRY I'M LATE, BUT I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING. 
          IT'S IN THE BUDGET. 
          AND I, I WANTED TO SEE WHY THAT HASN'T BEEN INCREASED. 
          THAT'S YOUR ONLY QUESTION RIGHT NOW. 
          WHAT? AND THAT'S YOUR QUESTION FOR US, IS WHY YEAH. 
          RIGHT NOW, WHY JUST WANT WHAT HAPPENED? WHY HAVEN'T YOU INCREASED IT? WE DISCUSSED ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT, THAT ARE IN THIS BUDGET. 
          I DON'T CARE WHERE YOU DISCUSS IT OR WHATEVER. 
          WHY, WHY HASN'T IT BEEN INCREASED? WELL, BECAUSE WE GOT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T WANT THEIR TAXES GOING UP IN ANY AREA, AND WE'RE TRYING TO WALK A FINE LINE. 
          AND WE HAVE, WELL, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WOULD, IF YOU WOULD, UH, DON'T WALK SOME OF THE SIDEWALKS AT NIGHT, WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE WALKING THE SIDEWALKS. 
          THEY WALK IN THE STREET BECAUSE THE SIDEWALKS ARE UNSAFES, ESPECIALLY TO THE, TO THE ELDERLY. 
          NOW, I CONSIDER MYSELF TO BE ELDERLY. 
          MY MOTHER-IN-LAW LIVES WITH US. 
          SHE IS ELDERLY AND SHE CAN'T WALK BECAUSE WE'RE AFRAID SHE'S GONNA FALL DOWN. 
          AND THERE'S BEEN SEVERAL INSTANCES OF THAT. 
          ANYTHING ELSE? NOPE. 
          OKAY. 
          WELL, YOUR COMMENTS ARE DULY NOTED. 
          AND MIKE, I WILL SAY THAT, UH, THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT FEEL THE SAME AND THERE'S SOME THAT DON'T. 
          AND WE'RE TRYING TO DO A BALANCED JOB, AND WE'RE TRYING TO GET WHAT WE CAN DONE. 
          THAT'S WHY WE INCREASED THE ROAD USE FEED AT 10 BUCKS. 
          WELL, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD DO AWAY WITH SOME OF THE AMENITIES AND SOME OF THE, UH, SOME OF THE NICETIES THAT YOU HAVE IN ORDER TO DO THAT. 
          NOW, IF YOU WANT TO GET DOWN TO, TO SOME OF THE BUDGET DETAILS AS WELL. 
          THE NATURE CENTER COSTS US MONEY EVERY YEAR. 
          LESS THAN 10% OF THE MEADOWS RESIDENTS USE THAT NATURE CENTER PER YEAR. 
          I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY THAT 75% OF THE RESIDENTS HAVE NEVER BEEN INSIDE THAT THING. 
          AND I THINK IT'S TIME FOR US TO CLOSE IT DOWN. 
          IF THE MONEY THAT YOU SPENT ON THAT NATURE CENTER, OVER A HALF A MILLION DOLLARS, 
          [00:05:02]
COULD HAVE BEEN USED TO, COULD HAVE BEEN USED UP HERE TO, UH, COMPLETE DO OUT, KURT, YOU MADE MONEY ON THAT WHENEVER YOU, UH, HELPED THE CITY PURCHASE IT. 
          NOW IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO MAKE MONEY ON IT BY PUTTING ONE OF YOUR SIGNS IN FRONT OF IT. 
          I DID NOT, OH, RECORDED. 
          I DID NOT MAKE MONEY OFF OF THAT PURCHASE. 
          YOU WERE ONE OF THE REALTORS INVOLVED. 
          I DID NOT MAKE ANY MONEY AT ALL THAT YOU WERE ONE OF THE REALTORS INVOLVED. 
          THAT'S ALL I HAVE. 
          AND, AND FOR THE AUDIENCE AND ANYBODY WATCHING, MIKE HAS ADVOCATED FOR CLOSING THE NATURE CENTER FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW. 
          UM, THAT DOES MEAN SHUTTING DOWN THE, UM, SUMMER CAMPS AND THINGS WE HOLD WITHIN THERE. 
          AND IF THAT IS WHAT THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO SEE, BRING IT FORWARD NEXT YEAR. 
          I THINK MIKE IS A LONE VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS OR A FEW VOICES BECAUSE THE YOUNG PARENTS LIKE THAT CENTER AND THEY LIKE OUR POOL. 
          AND SO YES, WE CAN CUT AMENITIES AND PUT IT MORE TOWARDS THE SIDEWALKS AND, AND, UH, THE STREETS. 
          BUT IT MEANS IS THERE GONNA BE LESS FOR THE KIDS TO DO? THERE'S GONNA BE LESS FOR THE ADULTS TO DO. 
          AND THAT IS THE BALANCE CHARLIE IS TALKING ABOUT. 
          BUT ONCE AGAIN, IN MIKE, EMILY, TWO OR THREE OTHER PEOPLE ATTENDED OUR, OUR HEARING OR OUR WORKSHOPS ON THE BUDGET. 
          WE DON'T SEE ANY OF YOU DURING THE YEAR TALKING ABOUT THE BUDGET OR ASKING QUESTIONS. 
          YOU SHOW UP AT THIS MEETING AND YOU WANT TO NITPICK, AND BY NOW IT'S REALLY TOO LATE ON THE BUDGET. 
          WE START THE BUDGET IN JUNE, OR DID JUNE OR MAY. 
          WAS IT LATE? MAY, MAY LATE MAY. 
          WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR THREE MONTHS. 
          MOST OF YOU AREN'T INTERESTED. 
          YEAH. 
          I'D, I'D ALSO POINT OUT, UH, AND MIKE, I I REMEMBER YOUR COMMENTS AT THAT MEETING, AND I HAVE SOME OF THE SAME CONCERNS ABOUT INCREASING THE MONIES FOR SIDEWALK AND STREET. 
          AND WHAT WE, UH, AGREED AS A COUNCIL WHEN WE, UH, MET WITH NICK AND OUR, OUR, OUR STATE ADMINISTRATOR, WAS THAT THE BUDGET THAT THEY PROPOSED IS BASICALLY A FLAT 3%. 
          THERE'S A FEW INCREASES IN THERE BECAUSE OF COSTS, BUT THE NATURE CENTERS AT THE SAME BUDGET, BUT THE STREETS AND SIDEWALKS WERE, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE NOT GOING TO ADDRESS ADDITIONAL REVENUE TOWARDS THAT. 
          IT'S JUST NOT COMING OUT OF THE, THE, THE TAX THAT WE HAVE IN THIS PARTICULAR BUDGET. 
          SO WE TRIED TO STAY AT 3%. 
          AND THEN THE ADDITIONAL AMOUNT OF REVENUE THAT WE'LL RECEIVE THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF INCREASED VALUES IS IN THAT LAST LINE OF THE BUDGET. 
          IT, IT SHOWS INFRASTRUCTURE 286 ADDITIONAL THOUSAND DOLLARS OF OUR TAXES ARE GONNA GO TO INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          THAT'S WHAT WE PUT IN THIS YEAR. 
          THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA PUT IN FOR THE, THE COMING BUDGET. 
          SO WE ARE LOOKING AT ADDRESSING THOSE REAL NEEDS OF INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          AND IT, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF WHICH LINE DO WE PUT IT IN. 
          AND I'M NOT GONNA GO INTO THE COMPLICATION OF ALL THE DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS THAT WE HAVE MONIES IN FOR PAYING FOR DIFFERENT THINGS, BUT KNOW THAT THAT IS A, UH, ADDRESSED IN A LOT OF THE COUNCIL ACROSS THE TABLE HERE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT OUR STREETS AND SIDEWALKS TO THE POINT WHERE WE FEEL LIKE THERE NEEDS TO BE EVEN MORE DONE OUTSIDE OF JUST THE TAXES. 
          SO WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT FURTHER IN THE AGENDA. 
          ALRIGHT, THANK YOU DAVID. 
          YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT. 
          I HAD FORGOTTEN TO, UH, MENTION THE FACT THAT WE HAVE DEDICATED MY COMMENT INFRASTRUCTURE LINE ITEM THAT WE FOUGHT TO GET $280,000 SET ASIDE IN, IN THIS BUDGET THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT. 
          AND THAT'S FOR INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          MIKE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          YOUR COMMENTS ARE DUE NOTED. 
          I HAVE A READ COMMENTS. 
          CAN I HAVE A READ ADDRESS PLEASE? A WHAT ADDRESS? OH, WELL GET UP AND SPEAK INTO THE DEAL. 
          I'M SORRY, I COULDN'T HEAR YOU. 
          I SAID CAN I HAVE A READDRESS? I THOUGHT YOU DIDN'T ASK FOR ADDRESS AND I WAS CONFUSED. 
          NO, I'M ALREADY, WHENEVER YOU STARTED THE BUDGET PROCESS, MAYOR, I SENT YOU EMAILS AND SAID I WANTED TO BE A PART OF THAT PROCESS AND I WAS EXCLUDED. 
          YOU SAID THAT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN BECAUSE I, I'M SORRY. 
          I TAKE ISSUE WITH THAT, MIKE. 
          WHAT? I SAID I TAKE ISSUE WITH THAT. 
          I NEVER SAID YOU WOULD BE EXCLUDED. 
          YES, YOU DID. 
          I I, I PRODUCED THE EMAIL FOR YOU IF YOU'D LIKE ANYTHING ELSE. 
          AND I'VE, AND I AND YOU SAID, NO, THAT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN BECAUSE I WANTED TO BE IN SOME OF THE DEPARTMENTS AND WHILE THEY SET THEIR BUDGET AND YOU SAID THAT IS 
          [00:10:01]
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. 
          SO I'M GONNA TELL YOU THAT RIGHT NOW. 
          YOU'RE, I STAND CORRECTED IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, WAS COMING TO THE DEPARTMENT HEADS MEETINGS AS THEY SPOKE WITH NICK. 
          NO, THEY, THEY PROPOSED THE BUDGET TO US THOUGH. 
          AND WE, THAT, THAT'S WHAT RICK IS TALKING ABOUT. 
          THAT PROCESS STARTED THEN. 
          WE ARE PRESENTED WITH DIFFERENT SCENARIOS. 
          WE'RE GIVEN A LOT OF THE REASONING BEHIND IT. 
          THE DEPARTMENT HEADS COME TO US WITH A, WITH A PLAN. 
          IT HAS TO BALANCE, HAS TO HAVE ENOUGH REVENUE TO COVER ALL THE EXPENSES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. 
          AND THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF WHAT I THINK THE DEPARTMENT HEADS. 
          UH, WE, I I'M NOT INVOLVED IN THAT MEETING EITHER, BUT I'M SEE THE RESULTS OF IT. 
          SO I KNOW WE'VE HAD ENOUGH WORKSHOPS AND OPEN MEETINGS THAT, THAT ANYBODY CAN PARTICIPATE IN. 
          AND SO, UM, I THINK WITH THAT WE OPEN UP FOR DISTRICT AND WE ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO DO SO. 
          YEAH. 
          AND NOW THANKS TO CAMERON. 
          WE ACTUALLY HAVE A COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT THAT GETS THE NOTICES OUT. 
          WE GET IT ON FACEBOOK. 
          WE'LL GET IT ON TIKTOK, WE'LL GET IT OUT ON INSTAGRAM. 
          WE GOT IT UP ON THE MARQUEES SIGN. 
          WE GET IT IN THE NEWSLETTER. 
          DID I MISS ANYTHING? AND CITY COUNCIL TALKS TO THEIR NEIGHBORS HERE AND I'LL WAIT TILL Y'ALL FINISH. 
          YOU TRUE. 
          OKAY. 
          I'M CALLING TERRY HENLEY 1, 2, 2 0 3 AUSTIN DRIVE DISCUSSIONS THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS AND THEY CONTINUE TO TASTE PSS TWO YEARS AGO AND LAST YEAR CONCERNING MONIES SET ASIDE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          AND THAT'S BEEN DISCUSSED MANY, MANY TIMES. 
          AND IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED IN THESE BUDGET WORKSHOPS AND SOME KIND OF RESOLUTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN ARRIVED AT WHERE YOU ARE SETTING ASIDE X AMOUNT OF DOLLARS EVERY YEAR FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS. 
          I SEE NOTHING IN THE BUDGET RELATIVE TO THAT, EXCEPT FOR MAYBE FIVE BUCKS ON, UH, THE WATER BILL THAT'S, YOU KNOW, 70 OR $80,000 FOR INFRASTRUCTURE, YOU KNOW, AND THAT, AND THEN YOU GOT THE SAME AMOUNT FOR SIDEWALKS. 
          SO, AND I KNOW FROM THE, THE, THE NUMBER, THE NUMBER TERRY IS 280,000. 
          WE SET IT ASIDE LAST YEAR AND WE SET IT ASIDE THIS YEAR FOR INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          YOU'RE SITTING ASIDE ANOTHER 280,000 THIS YEAR. 
          YES. 
          IS THAT SHOWN SOMEWHERE IN THE BUDGET? YES. 
          THAT'S A DROP IN THE BUCKET FOR WHAT YOU NEED. 
          IT IS. 
          AND YOU KNOW THAT. 
          NO. 
          YES IT IS. 
          AND I TRIED TO GET MORE, TERRY, I TALKED ABOUT THE DI MINIMIS RATE. 
          NOBODY WAS INTERESTED. 
          AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT A TAX RATE OF ABOUT 0.799 INSTEAD OF 0.87. 
          WELL, LAST YEAR YOUR BUDGET EXCEEDED THE, UH, CAP, SO TO SPEAK. 
          REVENUE CAP SHOULD HAVE BEEN 8% IS NEARLY 12% AND YOU HAD $380,000. 
          UH, THAT WAS, UH, UH, BUDGET OF WHICH WAS INCREASED FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S BUDGET. 
          THIS YEAR IT'S ONLY WHAT, 260 OR $70,000. 
          BUT THE QUE ANOTHER QUESTION I HAVE, AND MAYBE NICK CAN ANSWER IT. 
          EACH YEAR WE HAD BUDGETED NUMBERS FOR ADMIRAL ALARM TAX MM-HMM. 
          . 
          AND EACH YEAR THE ACTUAL NUMBERS THAT CAME IN WAS ANYWHERE FROM TWO TO 500,000 MORE THAN WHAT WE HAD BUDGETED. 
          IS THAT TREND STILL THE SAME? NOT FROM VALOREM? YEAH. 
          NOT, NOT A WE DID, WE DID AN VALOREM FOR SURE. 
          NO, NOT FOR YEARS. 
          TERRY, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT SALES TAX OR ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, I'M TALKING ABOUT AVALOR TAX. 
          WE'RE ADDRESSING VALOREM TAX, SIR. 
          THAT'S ALL WE'RE ADDRESSING. 
          YEAH. 
          THE VALOREM NUMBERS CAME IN PRETTY CLOSE TO WHAT WE PROJECTED, UM, AT LEAST THE LAST FIVE YEARS. 
          YEAH, BECAUSE THE VALOREM TAX ALWAYS SEEMED TO COME IN HIGHER THAN WHAT WE HAD BUDGETED. 
          MM-HMM. 
          WE CAN LOOK AT THOSE NUMBERS WITH YOU, TERRY, BUT THEN MAYBE IT WAS A TOTAL REVENUE CAME IN VERSUS WHAT WE BUDGETED. 
          IF THAT'S THE CASE, THAT'S FINE. 
          I STAND CORRECTED. 
          SO IF IT WAS THREE TO $500,000, WE HAD ADDITIONAL REVENUE OVER AND ABOVE WHAT WE'D BUDGETED. 
          AND THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GOING IN A KIT, A RESERVE SOMEWHERE. 
          AND WE SHOULD EARMARK SOME OF THAT FOR INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          IT DID. 
          I MEAN, IT WENT INTO THE RESERVES. 
          SO THE CURRENT BUDGET EARMARKS 180,002. 
          280,280,000 FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS. 
          YES. 
          AND WHEN IS, UH, THE PHASE TWO ON DO GONNA HAPPEN? IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN THIS YEAR. 
          IT'S GONNA 
          [00:15:01]
HAPPEN NEXT YEAR. 
          SO WE HOPE TO DO IT JANUARY OF 24. 
          RIGHT NOW WE ARE WAITING ON THE BIDS FOR THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT TO MAKE SURE IT COMES IN WHERE WE THINK IT WILL. 
          UM, AND, AND WE DON'T HAVE TO TRANSFER MONEY TO THAT PURPOSE ONCE WE HAVE A GOOD, HARD NUMBER ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE OR ON THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT. 
          WE'LL BE BEGIN LOOKING AT WHEN WE CAN BID PHASE TWO OF DORRANCE TOO MANY PAGES FOR ME. 
          I HAVE TO LOOK AT ANYTHING ELSE. 
          WELL, THERE'S, BUT WE DON'T REALLY HAVE THE REVENUE TO DO THAT AT THIS POINT'S, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, WE HAVE THE CASH TO DO IT. 
          WE HAVE THE CASH THAT IS IN GENERAL FUND RESERVES. 
          IT'S IN RESERVE. 
          AND THAT'S HOW YOU'RE PLANNING ON HANDLING AT 24. 
          IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. 
          CORRECT. 
          SO, SO TERRY, YOU AND I HAVE HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS AND I WANNA BE BE CLEAR. 
          UM, YOU AND I BOTH AGREE THAT $280,000 IS NOT ENOUGH TO BUILD A STREET. 
          $280,000 IS NOT ENOUGH TO BUILD EVEN HALF OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO FOR PHASE TWO OF DO. 
          BUT $280,000 IS THE EXCESS AMOUNT OVER AND ABOVE A BALANCED BUDGET THAT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AS A PART OF THIS BUDGET. 
          THE WAY COUNCIL GOT TO THE 280,000 IS THROUGH THE TAX RATE. 
          THEY CHOSE WHAT TAX RATE THEY WANTED TO GO WITH. 
          YEAH. 
          BECAUSE OF THE, THE ONE TO FIVE YEARS ALWAYS SHOWS 180,000 THERE. 
          SO IT'S REALLY 280. 
          SO THE TWO 80 THIS YEAR, WE'VE GOT INFRASTRUCTURE LINE ITEM BUDGETED TO RECEIVE $280,000. 
          IF THAT TWO 80 DISAPPEARED, THE TAX RATE WOULD DROP. 
          THE TAX RATE WOULD DROP BY MANY, MANY CENTS. 
          I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY, BUT IT'S, IF IT'S 50, 50,000 A PENNY. 
          SO THAT'D BE SIX OR 7 CENTS. 
          OKAY. 
          SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE AT 0.79. 
          IF WE BROUGHT A BALANCED BUDGET THAT ONLY HAD 185 FOR STREETS AND 70 FOR SIDEWALKS, YOUR NEW TAX RATE WOULD BE ABOUT 72 70 3 CENTS. 
          AS IT STANDS, THE PROPOSED IS 79 CENTS. 
          TODAY. 
          IN FISCAL YEAR 23, YOUR TAX RATE IS AT 80 CENTS. 
          SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT A TAX RATE THAT GOES DOWN ONE PENNY AND BRINGS IN AN ADDITIONAL $280,000 FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IF WELL, RIGHT NOW WANNA PROPOSE TAX RATE IS A 6.6% INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR'S BUDGET. 
          THAT'S RIGHT. 
          OKAY. 
          'CAUSE OF THE VALUATIONS, WHICH IS SHOWS IF COUNCIL WANTED TO GO FROM 80 CENTS TO 85 CENTS, YOU COULD GENERATE ANOTHER $250,000 FOR STREETS. 
          DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? WELL, IF THEY WANTED MY OPINION, YOU CANNOT EXCEED THE 8% REVENUE CAP FOR AVALOR TIMES. 
          THAT'S CORRECT. 
          WELL, NO, WHICH LAST YEAR YOU DID. 
          WE, WE'VE GOT, WE CAN GO TO THE DE MINIMIS RATE RIGHT. 
          UNDER STATE LAW WITHOUT OUR, WITHOUT AN ELECTION, WHICH WOULD BE 87 CENTS. 
          87 CENTS. 
          SO YOU COULD ACTUALLY GO ALL THE WAY TO 87 CENTS WITHOUT AN ELECTION AND GENERATE AN ADDITIONAL, LET'S SAY 300, 350 OR SO. 
          THIS IS DIRTY MATH. 
          BUT YOU COULD GENERATE ANOTHER THREE 50 OR SO IN ADDITION TO THAT TWO 80. 
          AND SO YOU'D HAVE ROUGHLY A LITTLE OVER HALF A MILLION FOR STREETS, BUT YOUR PROPERTY TAX RATE WOULD BE GOING FOR EIGHT IF, IF IT EXCEEDS THE 8%, UH, UH, YEAR OVER YEAR, UH, RECALL CAN BE REQUESTED. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          OKAY. 
          IT ABSOLUTELY COULD. 
          AND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, IF YOU GO THAT HIGH, IT'S GONNA BE A HELL OF A LOT MORE THAN EIGHT, 8% INCREASE. 
          GONNA BE IT IS 15%. 
          BUT REMEMBER IT'S THE DE MINIS RATE FOR CITIES LESS THAN 30,000. 
          YOU CAN GENERATE 500,000 YEAR, 500,000 MORE YEAR OVER YEAR. 
          NO, YOU STILL HAVE THE 8%, UH, REVENUE CAP AS WELL. 
          JERRY, JERRY, I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA STOP THIS IF WITHOUT, I DON'T MEAN TO BE RUDE, BUT WE'VE HAD THIS SAME CONVERSATION NOW FOR ABOUT THREE YEARS. 
          WE'VE TALKED TO OUR LAWYERS, SEVERAL OTHER LAWYERS, WE'VE TALKED TO T M L, WE'VE TALKED TO TMLS LAWYERS, WE'VE TALKED TO OTHER CITY ADMINISTRATORS AND EVERYBODY EXCEPT A COUPLE OF US AGREE THAT THINK WE CAN RUN UP TO THAT DIMINISHMENTS RATE. 
          AND 8% DOESN'T MEAN SQUAT. 
          'CAUSE WE'RE UNDER 30,000. 
          IT USED TO BE BEFORE THEY WERE, YOU CAN, YOU CAN DISAGREE WITH THE ATTORNEY. 
          THE, THE 8% STILL APPLIES IF YOU'RE A CITY OF LESS THAN 30,000 AND YOU EXCEED THE 8% REVENUE YEAR OVER YEAR. 
          A RECALL CAN BE REQUESTED ON THE BUDGET IT BE REQUESTED. 
          IT CAN BE. 
          IT'S NOT REQUIRED. 
          IT CAN BE, IT CAN BE REQUESTED. 
          UNDERSTAND COMPLETELY. 
          WE'RE FORCED TO HAVE AN ELECTION. 
          CORRECT. 
          AND SO IF YOU, UH, IF YOU INCREASE IT 20% AND NOBODY COMPLAINS, THEN IT GOES IN AT 20%. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND YOU GOT 90 DAYS TO DO THAT. 
          SO, AND IS THAT RIGHT FOR THE CITIZENS? NO. 
          AND THAT'S WHY, AND THAT'S WHY WE DIDN'T PROPOSE 87 CENTS TERRY, 
          [00:20:01]
SIR. 
          AND THAT'S WHY WE DID NOT PROPOSE 87 CENTS. 
          I UNDERSTAND THAT. 
          BUT YOU'RE, YOU'RE TALKING OUTTA BOTH SIDES, TERRY. 
          YOU'RE TELLING US WE NEED TO SPEND MORE, WE NEED TO RAISE THE TAXES OR WHATEVER, BUT THEN YOU TELL US WE CAN'T DO IT. 
          TO GET WHERE YOU NEED TO GO AND INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS, WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN THE NEXT 20 OR 30 YEARS? YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO, UH, HAVE, UH, CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION OR YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE BONDS OR SOMETHING TO GET THERE. 
          YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO, LET'S, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE BONDS QUICK, TERRY. 
          HUH? LET'S TALK. 
          NO, WE'RE GOING TO, WE'VE ALREADY RUN THE NUMBERS. 
          TERRY, WE'LL SHOW YOU THE NUMBERS. 
          I UNDERSTAND. 
          IS YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW. 
          LET, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE BOND NUMBERS RIGHT NOW. 
          OKAY? WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT BONDS FOR JUST A SECOND, FOLKS. 
          UM, THERE ARE A COUPLE WAYS YOU FINANCE THINGS. 
          ONE OF 'EM IS A PAY AS YOU GO, OR CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATIONS, WHICH WE REALLY CAN'T DO VERY WELL ANYMORE. 
          OR ISSUE A BOND. 
          A BOND IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE GO OUT AND WE SELL, WE GET OUR MONEY RIGHT THEN AND WE CAN GO TO WORK ON PROJECTS, RIGHT? THEN A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE BONDS, YOU SAW THESE SOUND WALLS, OKAY? BECAUSE WE HAD BONDS ON THOSE AND WE HAD DEBT. 
          WE HAD DEBT FOR 20 YEARS AND WE COULDN'T DO ANYTHING ELSE. 
          AND IT REALLY HURT. 
          DID YOU SAY SOUND WALLS? DID I MISS THAT? YEAH. 
          WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY DEBT ON SOUND WALLS, WHICHEVER IT WAS. 
          WOULD, WHAT WOULD THE BOND WATER WELLS. 
          WE HAD WATER WELLS. 
          WHICH E D C FUNDED. 
          WE HAD, UH, TERRY, WE HAD, WE HAD $20 MILLION IN BOND DEBT. 
          OKAY. 
          AND IT TOOK US 20 YEARS TO PAY 'EM OFF. 
          AND WE DIDN'T DO SQUAT AND E D C OR THE, OR THE CITY HELD US BACK. 
          WE HAD $30,000 FOR SIDEWALKS AND $40,000 A YEAR FOR STREETS, AND THAT'S ALL WE COULD AFFORD. 
          NOW WE'RE AT 30 AT UH, UP TO 70 PLUS. 
          WE'VE GOT THE, UH, ROAD USE FEE, PLUS WE'VE GOT BOND MONEY THAT WE'RE HOPING TO GET, UH, FROM THE COUNTY TO CONTINUE TO WORK. 
          AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION ON BONDS. 
          DAVID, I BELIEVE YOU BROUGHT UP BONDS A COUPLE OF TIMES. 
          I, BUT I, UH, RICK'S GOT A EXAMPLE THAT HE KIND OF RAN THE NUMBERS UP. 
          WELL, RICK, YOU GOTTA EXPLAIN IT OUT. 
          I'LL LET, I'LL LET HIM DO IT. 
          LOOK AT A BIG SCREEN AND WELL, IT'S, IT'S, YEAH, IT'S A SMALL, IT, IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD ON THE, ON THE TV SCREEN. 
          BUT LET, LEMME TRY AND EXPLAIN THIS REAL QUICK. 
          SO WHAT WE DID WAS WE RAN A A, WE RAN A SCENARIO, OKAY? THE REALITY IS, IS THAT IN THE CITY OF MEADOWS PLACE, THE NET TAXABLE VALUE OF ALL PROPERTIES IN TOWN ARE ROUGHLY 450 MILLION. 
          OKAY? THAT'S THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WE HAVE TO BORROW AGAINST WITH A BOND ELECTION. 
          CORRECT? OKAY. 
          SO WHAT WE DID WAS WE DID SOME NUMBERS ON WHAT IT WOULD COST THE CITY AND ULTIMATELY THE TAXPAYERS IN ORDER TO BORROW DIFFERENT AMOUNTS OF MONEY. 
          WE'LL START SMALL. 
          OKAY? SO ACTUALLY NO, LET'S NOT SMART SMALL. 
          WHAT DO YOU THINK WE WOULD NEED TO BORROW IN ORDER TO DO A SIZABLE STREET IN TOWN? WHAT, HOW, WHAT AMOUNT OF MONEY DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD ISSUE IN BONDS IN ORDER TO DO A SIZABLE STREET IN TOWN? UH, YOU'RE GONNA JUST SPEAK IN YOUR MICROPHONE. 
          I CAN'T WATCH YOU'RE SAYING WHAT, WHAT AMOUNT OF MONEY DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD BORROW IN A GIVEN YEAR IN ORDER TO DO A STREET IN TOWN? HOW MUCH IN ONE YEAR? IN ONE YEAR? WELL, IT'S GOTTA BE A CERTIFICATE OBLIGATION OR A BOND AND, AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT, UH, A MINIMUM $20 MILLION IS WHERE YOU SHOULD START. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THEN PAY THAT DOWN AND, AND, AND THROUGH THE, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, DEBT REPAYMENT, WHICH WOULD BE ON TOP OF THE CURRENT VALOR TAX. 
          AND WHEN YOU GET THAT PAID DOWN, YOU DO IT AGAIN. 
          SURE. 
          BUT RIGHT NOW YOU'RE SAYING BASED ON YOUR LONG-TERM CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, YOU'RE GONNA TRY TO DO ANOTHER SECTION OF DO NEXT YEAR. 
          RIGHT? AND YOU DON'T HAVE ANY MORE SCHEDULED UNTIL 28, 29. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          AND THAT'S ANOTHER LITTLE SECTION A DO. 
          AND THEN YOU DON'T HAVE ANY MORE SCHEDULE UNTIL 33, 34, ANOTHER LITTLE SECTION A DO. 
          SO IN ANOTHER 15 OR 20 YEARS, YOU MIGHT GET A PORTION OF A DO FINISHED. 
          CORRECT. 
          AND THAT'S NOT GONNA GET US THERE. 
          YOU'RE RIGHT. 
          AND YOU KNOW THAT I DO. 
          EVERY ONE OF YOU KNOWS THAT UP THERE. 
          I DO. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          AND YOU NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. 
          SO YOU MENTIONED 20 MILLION, RIGHT? CORRECT. 
          20 MILLION WOULD BE A GOOD NUMBER TO DO A GOOD SIZABLE STREET THAT WOULD DO THE REST ADO ALL THE WAY DOWN, RIGHT? SO IF WE WERE TO ISSUE $20 MILLION IN DEBT BASED ON THE VALUATIONS THAT WE HAVE IN THIS TOWN, THAT WOULD BE AN INCREASE IN YOUR PROPERTY TAXES OF 28 CENTS, 28 CENTS. 
          WELL, SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA BITE THE BULLET ON A HOUSE. 
          I UNDERSTAND. 
          ON A HOUSE, ON AN AVERAGE HOUSE IN TOWN, THAT MEANS THAT'S RIGHT. 
          THE AVERAGE TAXPAYER, RIGHT? YOU PAY OVER $800 A YEAR, AND THAT'S STILL A DROP IN THE BUCKET TO WHAT WE PAY IN SCHOOL TAXES. 
          BUT THAT'S NEITHER HERE AND OR THERE. 
          THEY WOULD PAY MORE THAN $800 A YEAR MORE IN CITY TAXES, I UNDERSTAND. 
          [00:25:01]
FOR ONE STREET. 
          AND IF WE COULD PAY THAT OFF IN 10 YEARS AND WE'D DO IT AGAIN, AND IN ABOUT 25 OR 30 YEARS, WE'D HAVE IT DONE THE WAY WE'RE GOING RIGHT NOW. 
          SO CITY PROPERTY TAX RATE, I UNDERSTAND WE'LL STILL BE WORKING ON IT 200 YEARS FROM NOW. 
          YOU'RE RIGHT. 
          SO YOUR CITY PROPERTY TAX RATE, IF WE ISSUED 20 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF BONDS THIS YEAR, WOULD GO FROM 80 CENTS TO $1 A NIGHT. 
          OKAY? AND EVERYBODY IN TOWN WOULD PAY ABOUT $800 MORE A YEAR IN CITY PROPERTY TAXES FOR 20 YEARS. 
          WAIT MINUTE, WE MIGHT WANT TO TAKE A REAL QUICK RAISE YOUR HAND. 
          OKAY. 
          HOW MANY OF YOU WANT TO PAY 800, ANOTHER 840 BUCKS IN TAXES? SO, SO I MEAN, TERRY, WELL, ALL I'M SAYING IS IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE HAS GOT TO HAPPEN. 
          BUT RATHER THAN, RATHER THAN DO BONDS, WHY DOESN'T THE CITY, WHY DON'T THE RESIDENTS JUST SAY, RAISE OUR TAXES ANOTHER 30 CENTS THAT GENERATES 1.5 MILLION A YEAR AND WE JUST START CRANKING OUT PROJECTS. 
          AND THAT WAY WE'RE KEEPING THE MONEY RATHER THAN PAYING THE BANK THE INTEREST. 
          I AGREE WITH YOU. 
          AGREED. 
          SO, SO WHY DON'T YOU DO IT? SO, YOU KNOW HOW MANY TARS, TAR AND FEATHER AND FLAME THROWERS WE'D HAVE OUT HERE IF WE CAME WITH A DOLLAR 10? WE, WE KNOW SOMETHING'S GOTTA BE DONE. 
          SO YOU BY THE BULLET DO IT. 
          AGREED. 
          SO I'M JUST, IF THOSE OF YOU THAT WANT A DOLLAR 10 TAX RATE, GO OUT THERE AND ADVOCATE FOR IT. 
          HEY, YOU, MIKE, YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT RICK'S SAYING BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT'S GONNA TO TAKE. 
          AND IF WE DON'T DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT NOW, YOU, YOU AIN'T SEEN ANYTHING YET THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING TO GET. 
          OKAY. 
          ANYTHING ELSE, TERRY? NOPE. 
          THAT'S IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANKS. 
          SO TERRY, IF, IF YOU GIVE ME THE SUPPORT, I'LL PROPOSE A DOLLAR 10 NEXT YEAR AS LONG AS IT'S EARMARKED FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS. 
          AGREED. 
          YEAH, AGREED. 
          AGREED. 
          AND IDEALLY THE WAY YOU DO IT IS PAY AS YOU GO. 
          AGREE WITH YOU COMPLETELY. 
          AND I WOULD SUPPORT IT. 
          OKAY, SO LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOU HEARD IT HERE. 
          NOW YOU BETTER START ATTENDING THOSE BUDGET MEETINGS NEXT YEAR BECAUSE THESE GUYS ARE GONNA GO UN PROPOSED BUCK 10, WHICH IS GONNA BE ABOUT ANOTHER 800 BUCKS A YEAR IN PROPERTY TAX. 
          ONE, ONE COMMENT CONCERNING FOR EVERYBODY MORE 800 BUCKS, ONE COMMENT ON TOP, THE SAVINGS YOU'RE GONNA HAVE IN SCHOOL PROPERTY TAXES, THIS WOULD OFFSET THAT. 
          AND WE'D GET A BEAUTIFUL CITY IN 20 OR 25 YEARS. 
          SO I THINK IT'S BEAUTIFUL NOW, SIR. 
          . 
          I THINK IT'S BEAUTIFUL NOW. 
          I DO TOO. 
          WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          IT'S TERRY, THE INFRASTRUCTURES. 
          TERRY, DO ME A FAVOR, INSTEAD OF COMING UP HERE ON THE NIGHT THAT WE'RE HAVING FINAL DISCUSSION, WHY DON'T YOU START COMING GET PROPOSED, YOU GET ALL YOUR CREW THAT YOU WANT TO GET IT TO A HUN A DOLLAR 10 AND GET WITH RICK IN MAY NEXT MAY. 
          OKAY. 
          BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT GONNA TAKE. 
          YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE ANY OBJECTIONS OUT OF ME GOING UP UNTIL IT GETS TO WHERE IT HURTS ME TO PAY AND THEN I'LL MOVE. 
          OKAY? OKAY. 
          AND THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT. 
          YOU'RE GONNA HAVE PEOPLE GONNA STAY HERE AND AFFORD TO LIVE HERE OR THOSE THAT CAN'T AND THEY'RE GONNA MOVE IN 20 YEARS OF THAT KIND OF RATE. 
          YOU'LL BE LOOKING MORE LIKE SOUTH SIDE PLACE. 
          HOWEVER, I ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT I THINK IT'S A LUDICROUS TO ASK PEOPLE TO PAY THAT, THAT'S MY OPINION. 
          AND, AND I DON'T HAVE A VOTE, BUT I DO KNOW THIS. 
          WE'RE OUT THERE ON AN ONGOING BASIS AND WE HAVE SOME GREAT INSIGHT OR INSIDE FOLKS TO DISCUSS MOBILITY BONDS FROM THE COUNTY. 
          AND I BELIEVE WE JUST APPLIED FOR A MOBILITY BOND, TIA, DID WE NOT? HUH? AND WHERE DOES, AND WHAT IS THAT MONEY FOR? IT'S FOR INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          WE JUST GOT A 1,000,005. 
          IT'S ON THIS AGENDA FROM THE COUNTY AND ARPA FUNDS. 
          OKAY. 
          SO WE'RE DOING, IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING, TERRY. 
          WE'VE DRUG IN A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY INTO THIS CITY OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS IN, UH, MOBILITY BOND FUNDS. 
          WE'VE GOT PARK. 
          WELL, I AGREE WITH YOU COMPLETELY WITH DORRANCE AND, AND WEST AIRPORT AND EVERYTHING ELSE. 
          UH, NOT DORRANCE. 
          I'M, UH, KIRKWOOD ALL THE STUFF THAT WE BROUGHT IN AND WE CAN CONTINUE TO DO THAT HOPEFULLY. 
          AND WE'RE DOING IT AND A COMBINATION OF EVERYTHING AND WE'RE DOING IT, ALLOW US TO GET THERE. 
          I'M SORRY THAT YOU CAN'T SEE IT. 
          WELL, I CAN SEE IT. 
          OKAY, WELL GOOD. 
          THAT MEANS WE'RE DOING SOMETHING. 
          ANYBODY ELSE? ARE WE DISCUSSING WHOLE? NO, WE'RE ON ITEM B, BUDGET THE BUDGET. 
          SO WHEN WE GET TO ITEM B, WHAT BE DISCUSSED, I MEAN, YEAH, YEAH. 
          ITEM B. 
          ARE THERE ANY, ANY MORE QUESTIONS ON THE BUDGET? HAVE A FOLLOW UP PLEASE. 
          UH, THE ITEM THAT HAS NOT BEEN INCREASED IS ITEM 0 4 0 5 6 1 500 STREET REPAIR. 
          CORRECT. 
          50,000 
          [00:30:01]
FOR EIGHT, UH, FOR LAST YEAR. 
          AND A PROPOSED 50,000 FOR THIS YEAR. 
          NO INCREASE. 
          THAT'S THAT'S OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS THAT'S SIGNED. 
          AND THEN OVER HERE ON, UH, UH, SIDEWALK REPAIR, 70,000 ALL THE WAY ACROSS. 
          NO INCREASE. 
          CORRECT. 
          NOW THAT'S WHY, WHY, WHY AREN'T WE INCREASING THIS? WE'RE GONNA HAVE INCREASE, THE SIDEWALKS AREN'T GETTING BETTER EVERY YEAR. 
          YEAH, THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT I ADDRESSED. 
          WE DID DISCUSS THAT. 
          WE ARE GONNA INCREASE INFRASTRUCTURE TO APPLY THAT. 
          PART OF THAT IS ROD'S C I P PLAN THAT HE'S DONE. 
          SO THERE THERE WAS DISCUSSION. 
          SO YOU'RE SAYING THAT THE STREET REPAIR AND THE ROAD, THE, THE BUDGET WE'RE DISCUSSING THOUGH, IS TO KEEP THE, BASICALLY THE BUDGET FLAT AT 3%. 
          AND THAT'S WHAT THE NUMBERS REFLECT. 
          AND SOME OF THAT MEANS IT'S ZERO ACROSS. 
          AND WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING ACROSS THE COLUMNS, IT'S ADOPTED BUDGET, BUDGET ADJUSTMENT, ADJUST, AMENDED BUDGET, AND THEN THE, THE, SO THE FIRST AND THE LAST ARE KIND OF THE ONES TO LOOK AT. 
          AND THOSE ARE THE SAME. 
          70 AND 70. 
          WHAT WHAT I'M TELLING YOU IS THAT THE REASON WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE INFRASTRUCTURE FEE, THE REASON WE CHANGED OUR WATER AND SEWER RATES, THE REASON THAT WE'RE PROPOSING ADDITIONAL REVENUE IN THE TAX RATE TO PUT TOWARDS INFRASTRUCTURE IS THAT WE AGREE WITH YOU, WE ARE GOING TO ADDRESS STREETS, SIDEWALKS, AND INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          IT'S JUST NOT IN THIS, THE, THE QUOTE REGULAR BUDGET. 
          THAT 287 THAT'S EARMARKED FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IS SOMETHING THAT WE ADDED AFTER THE . 
          OKAY? HOW MUCH OF THAT 2 87 IS FOR STREET REPAIRS? SIDEWALK PEOPLE? IT, THAT'S TO BE DETERMINED BASED ON THE NEEDS THAT WE HAVE. 
          AND BASED ON THE, THE, THE, THE SITUATIONS THIS YEAR WE SPENT ALMOST A MILLION DOLLARS ON WATER WELLS. 
          THAT WASN'T IN THE BUDGET. 
          I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT WIRE WELLS. 
          SO, SO PART OF THAT MIGHT HAVE GONE TO STREETS, BUT WHEN THE, WHEN THE, WHEN THE WELL CAME UP SHORT THAT WE DON'T, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE AN OPTION THERE. 
          SO, SO MIKE, THE 280,000 IN FOUR YEARS, WE CAN DO ANOTHER BLOCK OF DO OR WE CAN TAKE THAT 280,000 AND SPREAD IT ACROSS THE CITY DOING SPOT REPAIR. 
          THOSE ARE THE DECISIONS WE'LL HAVE TO MAKE WITH THE MONEY. 
          ONE THING THAT I, I, UH, YOU KNOW, I I FOLLOWED THE, THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE DORN AS WELL, AND YOU REPLACED ALL THOSE HUGE, HUGE SEWER PIPES AND YOU HAD SOME CONCRETE TSS IN THERE. 
          THERE WERE LIKE FOUR FEET IN DIAMETER. 
          I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU HAD TO REPLACE ALL THE, ALL THAT SEWER PIPE. 
          WE, WE DID NOT REPLACE ALL THE STORM SEWER. 
          WE REPLACED THE, THE SPOTS THAT HAD BELLIES IN IT, AND WE REPLACED ALL THE INLETS BECAUSE THEY WERE CRACKED. 
          OH, OKAY. 
          WE, WE SALVAGED AS MUCH OF THE TRUNK LINE AS WE COULD, WHICH WAS ACTUALLY PROBABLY 80% OF THE TRUNK LINE WE SAVED. 
          WELL, I'M GLAD YOU FIND OUT. 
          AND MIKE, I AGREE, I AGREE WITH YOU. 
          WE NEED TO GET MORE MONEY INTO THE INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          I'VE BEEN FIGHTING FOR IT FOR YEARS. 
          REMEMBER THAT THE, THE FIRST BUDGET THE STAFF BROUGHT US WAS A FLAT BUDGET, A THREE POINT A HALF PERCENT BUDGET, BUT IT DIDN'T HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE MONEY IN THERE. 
          AND I, AND I'M THE ONE THAT REALLY PUSHED THAT AND COUNSEL BACKED ME TO GET, GO AHEAD AND, AND LOOK AT MORE AT A 0.8, 7, 9 9 RATE RATHER THAN A SEVEN FIVE OR SEVEN SIX THAT WE COULD GO TO JUST SO WE COULD GET MORE MONEY INTO INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          SO YOU'RE PREACHING TO THE CHOIR HERE A LITTLE BIT, MIKE, WHAT? I SAID YOU'RE, YOU'RE PREACHING TO THE CHOIR A LITTLE BIT, BUT LET YOUR VOICE CONTINUE TO BE HEARD. 
          WE ARE DOING WHAT WE CAN TO DO, WELL PUT OUR FUNDING INTO INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          OKAY? NOW, NOW I CAN'T ADVOCATE CLOSING THE, THE DISCOVERY CENTER IN THE POOL. 
          I CAN'T DO THAT. 
          WELL, I CAN'T ADVOCATE THAT BECAUSE OF CITIZENS. 
          THERE ARE CITIZENS THAT I TALK TO ON A DAILY BASIS SAYS, HAVE YOU BEEN DOWN THERE? NO. 
          DO YOU, EVERY TIME I DRIVE BY IT, THEY SAY THEY WANT, I UNDERSTAND YOUR FEELINGS ON THAT, BUT I TALK TO PEOPLE THAT DO USE IT. 
          WOW. 
          KURT, DO YOU KNOW ANYBODY THAT USES THE POOL OR, OR THE, UH, NATURE CENTER? OKAY. 
          VERY GOOD. 
          THANK YOU MIKE. 
          ANYONE ELSE? WE ARE GOING TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING UNLESS SOMEBODY ELSE HAS ANYTHING TO SAY. 
          PUBLIC HEARING IS HEREBY CLOSED AT 7 0 4. 
          MOVING ON TO ITEM C, DISCUSSION, CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE 2023 DASH 31, APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE CITY OF MEADOWS PLACE, MUNICIPAL BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023 DASH 2024. 
          WE JUST HAD A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE BUDGET, SO I'M ASSUMING AUDIENCE DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY ON THE BUDGET. 
          [00:35:01]
COUNSEL, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO DISCUSS ON THE BUDGET? I'LL MOVE TO APPROVE MOTION BY RICK TO APPROVE. 
          SECOND. 
          SECOND BY DAVID. 
          ALL IN FAVOR? NO RECORD VOTE. 
          OH, I GOT A RECORD VOTE. 
          I'VE GOT A SCRIPT TO READ. 
          I FORGOT ABOUT THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, TO APPROVE ORDINANCE 2023. 
          UH, 24 IS, UH, ORDINANCE 2023 DASH 31 IS APPROVING ADOPTING THE CITY OF MEADOWS PLACE BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2324. 
          UH, I WILL NOW CALL ON EACH MEMBER COUNCIL MEMBER B, TAKE A RECORD VOTE ONCE YOUR NAME IS CALLED ANSWER AYE. 
          TO SIGNIFY YOUR APPROVAL OR MOTION NAYYY TO SIGNIFY YOUR DISAPPROVAL. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER BAKER STATE YOUR VOTE. 
          AYE. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER MILLS STATE YOUR VOTE. 
          AYE. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER STALEY STATE YOUR VOTE. 
          AYE. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER POPINSKI, STATE YOUR VOTE. 
          AYE. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER MURTON, STATE YOUR VOTE. 
          AYE. 
          LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT ALL MEMBERS WERE HERE AND THE MOTION CARRIED. 
          AND, UH, AND WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA. 
          I THANK EVERYBODY FOR COMING OUT AND LISTENING TO US. 
          YOU HEAR OF WHAT GOES ON ON THIS STUFF AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AND IT'S GONNA AFFECT US FOR A LOT OF YEARS. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, WE APPROVE THAT ITEM D DISCUSSION AND CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2023 DASH 15 AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO A SUB-RECIPIENT AGREEMENT WITH FORT BEND COUNTY FOR THE CITY TO RECEIVE $1,500,000 IN ARPA STATE AND LOCAL AND FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS TO BE DEDICATED TO THE CITY FOR THE REHABILITATION OF THE CITY'S WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT. 
          COUNSEL, WE KNOW WE'VE GOT 1.1 SITTING HERE. 
          IF WE ACCEPT THIS, THIS WILL GIVE US 1.5 AND WE CAN GET MOVING. 
          MOVE. 
          DO I HAVE A MOTION? I'LL MOVE TO APPROVE MOTION BY RICK. 
          SECOND BY TIA. 
          ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON IT? UM, JUST FOR THE AUDIENCE RIGHT NOW, WE BELIEVE THE BID IS GONNA COME IN AROUND 3 MILLION TO 3.2 FOR THIS RECONSTRUCTION. 
          UM, WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN A MILLION FROM THE STATE DIRECTLY. 
          WE'RE GETTING 1.5 MILLION THROUGH FORT BEND COUNTY. 
          THAT GIVES US 2.6. 
          UH, AND THE REST WILL COME OUT OF OUR RESERVE FUNDS AND WE'LL GET STARTED. 
          ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? THAT MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. 
          UM, ITEM NUMBER E DISCUSS, RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENT AND CONSIDERATION REGARDING THE ADDITION OF A UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE FEE TO THE MONTHLY UTILITY BILL. 
          THIS IS WHERE IF YOU WANT TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS, YOU CAN. 
          IF YOU'VE GOT ANY COMMENTS, YOU CAN, UH, BASICALLY WE'RE GONNA DO SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DID WITH THE ROAD USE FEE AND TONIGHT'S MEETING IS TO HELP DETERMINE IF WE DO IT AND IF SO, AT WHAT RATE? WE'VE HAD PROPOSALS, UH, RANGE FROM FIVE TO $20. 
          UM, SO THINK, JUST SO EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS, WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS. 
          THIS IS NOT STATE MANDATED, THIS IS ELECTIVE, BUT THE QUESTION BECOMES DO YOU WANT THE INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIRED OR NOT? OKAY. 
          WE HAVE A DIS UM, UP THERE IT IS ON THE BOARD. 
          OKAY. 
          WHO'S GONNA RUN THAT? YOU I'LL, I'LL JUST MAKE A QUICK MENTION. 
          UM, THANKS MAYOR. 
          UH, JUST WANTED TO KIND OF SET THE STAGE BEFORE THE DISCUSSION. 
          IS IT ON, UM, A YEAR OR TWO AGO, CITY STAFF CAME TO COUNCIL OBVIOUSLY WITH, UM, A PROJECTION. 
          AND THE PROJECTION HAD TO DO WITH THE CITY'S WATER AND SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          AS YOU KNOW, UH, THE WATER AND SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE IS WHAT'S CALLED AN ENTERPRISE FUND, WHICH BASICALLY MEANS THAT IT'S A FUND THAT'S DESIGNED TO PAY FOR ITSELF THE WATER UTILITY RATES THAT THE RESIDENTS AND THE COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS PAY PAYS FOR THE WATER AND SEWER THAT'S PROVIDED, UH, TO THE CUSTOMERS. 
          BUT AS WE WERE GOING AND LOOKING AT OUR RATES, WE WERE NOTICING THAT, AND, AND YOU GUYS MIGHT RECOGNIZE THIS SLIDE 'CAUSE THIS IS WHAT WE SHOWED YOU NOT LONG AGO, UH, TO KIND OF EMPHASIZE THIS POINT IS THAT IF THE CITY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO ADJUST THE RATES AND KEPT THE RATES STATIC, WE WERE GOING TO FALL FARTHER AND FARTHER IN DEBT. 
          NOT IN DEBT, BUT FARTHER AND FARTHER. 
          UH, BELOW BEING ABLE TO MAKE ENDS MEET YEAR OVER YEAR AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN TIME. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE THAT REPRESENTED WITH THAT YELLOW LINE THAT SIMPLY HAS 
          [00:40:01]
TO DO WITH NOT ONLY THE EXPENDITURES WE HAVE, UH, BUT ALSO THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT NEEDS THAT WE HAVE FOR OUR WATER INFRASTRUCTURE OVER TIME. 
          AND SO IF WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO OUR RATES, WE WERE GOING TO BE IN BIG TROUBLE NOT BEING ABLE TO MAKE ENDS MEET ON THE WATER SIDE. 
          SO AT THAT TIME, COUNCIL CAME UP WITH A MULTI-YEAR PLAN TO GO AHEAD AND INCREASE RATES 10% A YEAR OVER THE COURSE OF FIVE YEARS IN ORDER TO MEET THAT DEMAND AND TO BE ABLE TO PAY OUR BILLS. 
          THAT'S REPRESENTED BY THE GREEN LINE RIGHT THERE. 
          AND WHAT THAT SHOWS YOU IS, IS THAT IF WE STICK TO THAT PLAN, IF COUNCIL GO, HASN'T ADOPTS THAT PLAN EVERY YEAR, THAT THERE WILL BE A BIT OF A SURPLUS EVERY YEAR THAT WE CAN PUT BACK INTO THE WATER AND SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE AND THEN GO AHEAD AND MAKE REPAIRS AS NECESSARY AND IMPROVE THE SYSTEM AND KEEP IT RUNNING. 
          THIS LIST RIGHT HERE IS ESSENTIALLY A LIST FROM YOUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN OF ALL THE DIFFERENT UTILITY PROJECTS THAT WE NEED TO DO OVER THE NEXT NUMBER OF YEARS. 
          AND YOU'VE GOT ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT PROJECTS OUT THERE FROM WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT TO SANITARY LINES, UH, REHABS, REPAIRS, UH, UH, THE WATER PLANTS. 
          CAN Y'ALL READ THOSE NUMBERS ON THERE AT ALL? OH, Y'ALL HAVE HANDOUTS. 
          OKAY, NEVERMIND. 
          YEAH, THERE SHOULD BE HANDOUTS. 
          UM, SO YOU CAN SEE IN THE SLIDE BASICALLY ALL OF THE DIFFERENT ITEMS THAT WE HAVE PROJECTED IN OUR CAPITAL PLAN TO DO IN ORDER TO KEEP OUR SYSTEM HEALTHY FOR THE NEXT, UH, 10, 15 YEARS. 
          AND YOU CAN READ ALL OF THE DIFFERENT COSTS AS WELL AS THE, UH, THE ESTIMATED COSTS AS WELL AS THE ACTUAL PROJECTS. 
          W W T P STANDS FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT. 
          IF YOU AVERAGE THAT OUT, IF YOU AVERAGE ALL THOSE COWS OUT PER YEAR, YOU'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT $626,000 WE WOULD NEED TO RAISE PER YEAR IN ORDER TO GO AHEAD AND FUND THESE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE NEED. 
          THAT'S WHAT THIS SLIDE SHOWS HERE. 
          IT BASICALLY TAKES A BAR CHART OF ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT CAPITAL PROJECTS ALL THE WAY THROUGH 2035, AVERAGES THEM OUT AND SHOWS THAT WE HAVE AN AVERAGE NEED OF $626,000 A YEAR, UH, TO PUT TOWARD THESE PROJECTS SEPARATE FROM JUST THE GENERAL OPERATING EXPENSES OF PROVIDING WATER AND SEWER TO THE CUSTOMERS. 
          SO THIS IS IN ADDITION TO JUST MAKING ENDS MEET AND ACTUALLY PROVIDING WATER AND SEWER. 
          SO THE QUESTION MIGHT COME, WELL, HOW MUCH ARE WE ACTUALLY BRINGING IN RIGHT NOW? UH, OVER AND ABOVE BEING ABLE TO MAKE ENDS MEET? AND THE ANSWER IS JUST ABOUT NOTHING. 
          NOT MUCH AT ALL. 
          SO WITH THAT, THE QUESTION CAME, WHAT CAN WE DO AS A CITY TO FIND A WAY TO RAISE MONEY IN ORDER TO TAKE CARE OF THESE CAPITAL PROJECTS NEEDS? WE HAVE A LIFT STATION, WE HAVE A WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT, WE HAVE THREE WATER WELLS AND WE HAVE A WHOLE CITY WORTH OF WATER AND SEWER LINES THAT NEED TO BE MAINTAINED SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE WATER AND SEWER TO OUR CUSTOMERS. 
          AND YET WE HAVE NO EXCESS MONEY COMING IN TO HELP US MAINTAIN THESE AGING FACILITIES. 
          SO THAT'S WHEN THE CITY COUNCIL BEGAN TO DISCUSS THE IDEA OF AN INFRASTRUCTURE FEE. 
          NOW THIS WOULD BE VERY SIMILAR TO THE ROAD USE FEE IN THE SENSE THAT IT WOULD BE TACKED ONTO A UTILITY BILL. 
          AND DEPENDING ON WHAT CITY COUNCIL WANTS TO DO, YOU CAN SEE WHAT THAT WOULD DO AS A COLLECTION FOR THE CITY. 
          SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF COUNCIL DECIDED TO DO IT A $5 A MONTH INFRASTRUCTURE FEE ADDED TO THE UTILITY BILL, THEN THE CUSTOMER WOULD PAY FIVE BUCKS A MONTH, 60 BUCKS A YEAR. 
          AND OVER OUR ENTIRE CUSTOMER BASE, EVERYBODY, THE CITY WOULD COLLECT ABOUT 95,000 A YEAR AND COLLECTIONS. 
          UH, FOR THOSE CAPITAL, UH, THOSE CAPITAL EXPENSES THAT WE NEED, 10 BUCKS WOULD GENERATE GENERALLY 190,000. 
          NOW YOU GUYS MIGHT REMEMBER THAT WE NEED SOMEWHERE OVER 600,000 ON AVERAGE EVERY YEAR JUST TO MEET OUR CAPITAL NEEDS THAT WE EXPECT OVER THE NEXT 10 TO 15 YEARS THAT'S ABOVE AND BEYOND OUR OPERATING EXPENSES, CORRECT, ABOVE AND BEYOND OUR OPERATING. 
          AND SO THIS SLIDE BASICALLY SHOWS YOU WHAT WE COULD ACTUALLY COLLECT DEPENDING ON WHAT WE PUT ON THE BILL. 
          THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH IS THE ONE I BROUGHT UP EARLIER, IS PRETTY SMALL, BUT IT ONCE AGAIN EMPHASIZES OUR BORROWING CAPACITY. 
          AND FROM STAFF'S PERSPECTIVE, AND I'LL LET YOU COUNSEL KNOW, IN MY OPINION, AGAIN, THIS IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST THREATS THAT I THINK MEADOWS PLACE FACES IS THE BORROWING CAPACITY WE HAVE IN TOWN. 
          LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. 
          A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, UM, WE, I WAS READING AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE CITY OF, UH, WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE. 
          UH, WEST JEW IS ABOUT TWO SQUARE MILES. 
          IT'S ABOUT TWICE THE SIZE OF, UH, OF, OF OUR TOWN. 
          OUR TOWN HAS A NET TAXABLE VALUE, MEANING THAT THE VALUE OF ALL THE PROPERTIES IN TOWN THAT CAN BE TAXED, THAT NET TAXABLE VALUE IS ABOUT 450 MILLION OR SO. 
          WEST U, WHICH IS 
          [00:45:01]
TWICE THE SIZE, HAS A NET TAXABLE OF 7 BILLION. 
          THAT'S 14 TIMES THE NET TAXABLE OF MEADOW'S PLACE AND IT'S ONLY TWICE THE SIZE. 
          SO THAT SHOULD KIND OF TELL US EXACTLY WHAT OUR BORROWING CAPACITY IS BECAUSE ULTIMATELY WHEN WE BORROW MONEY, THE 450 MILLION IS WHAT WE'RE BORROWING AGAINST. 
          AND SO A PENNY ON THE RATE HERE DOESN'T GO NEARLY AS FAR AS THE PENNY ON THE RATE WOULD GO IN A WEST U FOR EXAMPLE. 
          ANOTHER EXAMPLE I GAVE FROM A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WAS FROM THE CITY OF BEL AIR, UH, BEL AIR. 
          UH, THEY DID A STUDY AND IF, IF WE MEADOWS PLACE WERE TO RAISE OUR PROPERTY TAX RATE 10 CENTS, WE WOULD GENERATE, UM, I'M SORRY, NOT 10 CENTS, 15 CENTS. 
          IF WE WERE TO GO UP 15 CENTS ON OUR PROPERTY TAX RATE. 
          SO IF YOUR PROPERTY TAX RATE AND MEADOWS PLACE WENT FROM 80 CENTS TO 95 CENTS, THAT WOULD GENERATE ABOUT AN ADDITIONAL 10 MILLION FOR US TO USE ON STREETS IN THE CITY OF BEL AIR. 
          IF THEY WERE TO RAISE THEIR RATE BY 15 CENTS, THEY WOULD GENERATE AN ADDITIONAL $127 MILLION, SAME 15 CENTS, BUT THAT MUCH MORE BECAUSE OF THE VALUE THAT THEY HAVE ON THE GROUND. 
          SO IN MY OPINION, THIS IS THE BIGGEST THREAT WE HAVE IS THAT BORROWING MONEY DOESN'T GET YOU A WHOLE LOT. 
          SO KNOWING THAT CITY COUNCIL'S BEEN TALKING A LOT ABOUT THE IDEA OF THIS INFRASTRUCTURE FEE TO GO ON TOP OF, UH, THE UTILITY BILLS, IT'S NOT THE ONLY OPTION, BUT IT'S THE OPTION THAT COUNCIL'S BEEN KICKING BACK AND FORTH. 
          AND SO TONIGHT I THINK Y'ALL'S CHARGE IS TO TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT THAT FEE TO BE. 
          UM, OBVIOUSLY IT WOULD GO TOWARD WATER AND SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE, IT WOULD GO TOWARD YOUR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT, YOUR WATER AND SEWER LINES, YOUR LIFT STATION, YOUR UH, ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO MAINTAIN. 
          BUT THE QUESTION IS WHAT IS YOUR GOAL ON HOW MUCH YOU WANNA RAISE AND HOW DO YOU WANNA RAISE IT? BECAUSE STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION IS WE GOTTA DO SOMETHING AND WE GOTTA START RAISING MONEY BECAUSE THIS INFRASTRUCTURE'S NOT GETTING NEWER AND IT'S GONNA HAVE TO BE MAINTAINED. 
          SO MAYOR, I WANNA BACK TO YOU. 
          YEAH. 
          NOW FOR THE HARD PART, UM, I WANT TO DIGRESS A BIT TILL WE HAD THE SAME DISCUSSION A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO OVER THE ROADS. 
           TERRY MENTIONED, UH, WEST AIRPORT AND KIRKWOOD. 
          OKAY. 
          BUT WE WEREN'T DOING ANYTHING INSIDE. 
          AND I WAS TALKING TO ANOTHER MAYOR WHO WAS SO TICKLED THAT IT WITH HIMSELF THAT HE'D PUT 10 BUCKS ASIDE IN HIS UTILITIES FOR A FRANCHISE FEE AND HE WAS GOING TO GET THAT MONEY COLLECTED. 
          BUT WHO'S GONNA PAY IT? I ASKED NOT KNOWING. 
          AND HE SAID, OH, THE PEOPLE ARE PAYING IT. 
          I SAID, BUT IT'S NOT LOCKED INTO ANYTHING. 
          YOU CAN JUST THROW IT IN THE GENERAL FUND AND USE IT FOR EVERYTHING HE SAID, YEAH, I SAID, SO YOU, YOU'RE PUTTING IT IN THERE AS IF YOU'RE DEDICATING THE MONEY, BUT YOU'RE NOT. 
          IN FACT MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN YOUR CITY WON'T EVEN KNOW THAT IT'S IN THERE AND WHAT IT'S FOR. 
          I JUST DIDN'T LIKE IT. 
          AND I HAD TO SIT ON A BIT AND I TALKED TO, FORTUNATELY I TALKED TO SOME GOOD COUNSEL AND UM, I ASKED THE QUESTION, WELL, CAN WE JUST WRITE AN ORDINANCE AND PUT SOME MONEY ASIDE AND DEDICATE IT TO INSIDE STREETS AND MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T GET SPENT ANYWHERE? NOT INCLUDING DAIRY ASHFORD OR THE FREEWAY OR UH, AIRPORT OR, OR UH, KIRKWOOD. 
          AND THEY SAID, YEAH, YOU CAN DO THAT. 
          SO WE DID AND WE HAD A HEARING JUST VERY MUCH LIKE THIS AND WE TALKED ABOUT HOW MUCH STARTED OUT AS 3, 5, 10 OR ABOVE AND 'CAUSE WE HADN'T DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS AND I WAS A LITTLE BIT WORRIED THAT PEOPLE WOULD GO IN AT THREE BUCKS OR NOTHING. 
          FORTUNATELY WE HAD AN ENGINEER IN THE BACK. 
          NO IT WASN'T RICK THAT SAID, I LIVE HERE AND I'M SITTING HERE LOOKING AT WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME ON THE NUMBERS YOU'RE GONNA BE AND WHY ARE WE EVEN TALKING ABOUT THIS? WHY DON'T WE JUST PUT $25 AHEAD A MONTH AND GO WITH THAT AND THAT WAY WE CAN FINALLY GET SOME STUFF DONE. 
          WELL, I COULD SEE THE LOOKS IN EVERYBODY'S FACES THAT HE COULDN'T AND IT WAS LIKE 25 A MONTH WAS A LITTLE, LITTLE BIT MORE THAN WHAT MOST PEOPLE WERE COMFORTABLE WITH. 
          SO WE SETTLED THAT NIGHT JUST 
          [00:50:01]
TO GET THIS THING KICKED OFF ON FIVE BUCKS A MONTH, WE RAN FOR FIVE BUCKS A MONTH AND IT BROUGHT US IN ABOUT $95,000, 94,000 AND CHANGE. 
          AND WE RAN FOR THAT FOR A FEW YEARS AND WE WERE ALWAYS SHORT AND WE TALKED ABOUT IT AND COUNCIL SAID, LET'S JUST BITE THE BULLET AND MOVE IT UP. 
          SO WE DID, WE TOOK THAT INFRASTRUCTURE FEE AND WE DOUBLED IT TO $10 A MONTH AND EVERYBODY IN MEADOW'S PLACE NOW $10 PAYS $10 A MONTH FOR WHAT WE TITLE THE ROAD USE FEE. 
          THAT MONEY GOES IN AND BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT IT'S UNDER ORDINANCE, IT'S WRITTEN INTO THE ORDINANCE WHAT IT CAN BE USED FOR. 
          WE CAN'T SLIDE THAT OVER TO GENERAL FUND. 
          WE CAN'T DO IT ON, WE CAN'T BUY GOATS FOR THE NATURE CENTER. 
          UH, WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING ELSE WITH IT. 
          ALL WE CAN DO IS INTERNAL STREET REPAIR. 
          SO WE BUDGET OUTTA GENERAL FUND MONEY AND WE USE THAT 190 OUT OF THE ROAD USE FEE. 
          AND THAT'S WHY WE'VE ALWAYS GOT ONGOING STREET REPAIR PROGRAMS EXCEPT IN YEARS LIKE THIS CAN'T KEEP UP. 
          BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING TONIGHT IN AS A UH, FEE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE UTILITIES, IT WOULD BE A UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE FEE. 
          AND SO WHATEVER COUNCIL CHOOSES TO PUT IN, WHETHER IT BE $5 OR $25, THAT MONEY WILL BE DEDICATED TO USE IN BY ORDINANCE REPAIRS AND UPGRADES IN OUR UTILITY FOR UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          RIGHT. 
          DO WHAT OR UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          YES. 
          FOR UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          SO, AND I HOPE EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS THAT, BUT THAT'S, THIS IS DEDICATED AND IT, AND I LIKE IT A LOT 'CAUSE I'M NOT THE BRIGHTEST GUY UP HERE AND I GET CONFUSED SOMETIMES AND I LOOK AT ALL THIS STUFF AND I GO, WAIT A MINUTE, WHICH FEE IS THIS FOR? AND LIKE DAVID ALLUDED TO, YOU GOT THIS OVER HERE AND YOU GOT THAT LINE ITEM HERE AND, AND, AND I LIKE IT SIMPLE. 
          THIS WOULD, THIS IS NECESSARY. 
          WE'RE FACING SOME STUFF FOR OUR UTILITIES, UH, NEED INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIRS AND WE DON'T HAVE A FUNDING SOURCE. 
          AND YOU SAW THAT YELLOW LINE GOING DOWN, WELL THAT'S YELLOW LINE, UH, DETRACTING THAT UH, WE WENT ON YELLOW'S GOING DOWN, GREEN GREEN'S GOING UP. 
          WHAT DO YEAH, ONE THE GREEN LINE WENT UP. 
          YEAH, THE GREEN LINE. 
          WELL WE NEED TO GET IT ON THE GREEN LINE AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR TONIGHT IS TO HEAR Y'ALL'S INPUT, YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW DO WE, UNLESS EVERYBODY WANTS TO KICK IN A LOT OF MONEY, UH, WE'RE GONNA NEED TO DO SOMETHING AND UH, WE'RE PROPOSING A, UH, UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE FEE. 
          RICK, DID YOU HAVE SOME COMMENTS? WELL, I WAS GONNA SAY, LET'S OPEN IT UP TO THE AUDIENCE. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA ASK YOU TO COME UP AND GIVE THE SAME THING. 
          SPEAK. 
          SO MY COMMENTS IS SORT OF SHORT THE THE GREEN LINE, I'M SORRY, ON YOUR GET CLOSE, GET CLOSE. 
          GIVE US YOUR NAME. 
          NAME  JESSE RODRIGUEZ. 
          11 7 0 7 BROOK MEADOWS HAVE BEEN THERE WELL OVER 30 YEARS. 
          UH, THE GREEN LINE YOU HAD GOING UP WHERE WE HAVE AN EXCESS BUDGET IN THE UTILITY FUNDS THAT BECAUSE OF THE INCREASE ON YOUR SPREADSHEET, THAT INCREASE, IS THAT JUST FOR, DOES THAT GO TO HELP DO THE MAINTAINING OF THE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE OR IS IT JUST STRICTLY FOR WHAT WE HAVE NOW? I MEAN THERE'LL BE A LITTLE BIT ACCESS OVER TIME TO, I MEAN IMPROVE AND MAINTAIN INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THAT GREEN FUND CAN BE USED FOR INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          THAT, THAT'S THE TRICKY PART ABOUT WATER AND SEWER IS THAT IT'S DESIGNED TO PAY FOR ITSELF. 
          RIGHT? SO WE TALK ABOUT PROPERTY TAXES AND REALLY THAT'S GENERAL FUND FOR THE MOST PART. 
          THIS IS A FEE BASED SYSTEM. 
          SO THE, THE, THE FEES THAT WE COLLECT FOR WATER AND SEWER USAGE GOES BACK INTO THE SYSTEM. 
          SO IT REALLY IS KIND OF A UNIQUE SEPARATE FUND. 
          AND MY FEELING, THE INFRASTRUCTURE FEE THAT WE PAY NOW AND THE UTILITY FEE THAT Y'ALL ARE PROPOSING IS BASICALLY ANOTHER WAY TO CIRCUMVENT THE PROPERTY TAX. 
          'CAUSE BASICALLY YOU LIVE HERE, YOU'RE NOT CALLING IT PROPERTY TAX, YOU'RE NOT BASING IT ON THE VALUE OF THE HOUSE, BUT IT IS A TAX, WHETHER WE CALL IT A UTILITY FEE OR AN INFRASTRUCTURE FEE, IT IS A TAX ON THE RESIDENTS THEY, THEY HAVE TO PAY. 
          NOW I UNDERSTAND THAT PRICES OF EVERYTHING GO UP YEARLY 
          [00:55:01]
AND THAT A LOT OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AS FAR AS THE INFRASTRUCTURE, AS FAR AS UTILITIES, SURE THEY NEED REPLACING OVER TIME. 
          BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, PEOPLE'S HOUSEHOLDS ARE SUFFERING INFLATION TOO. 
          SO THEIR EXPENSES ARE GOING UP JUST LIKE THE CITY'S EXPENSES ARE GOING UP. 
          I DON'T MIND A SMALL FEE FIVE, MAXIMUM $10 TO HELP OUT THE CITY. 
          I REALLY ENJOY. 
          BUT ANY MORE THAN THAT PROBABLY HURTS A LOT OF FAMILIES IN THIS COMMUNITY. 
          I MEAN, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED WEST UNIVERSITY AND THEIR PROPERTY. 
          YEAH, THEIR, THEIR HOMES STARTED 1,000,005. 
          I MEAN BEL AIR'S NOT THAT HIGH, BUT THEIR, THEIR, THEIR TAX RATES ARE HIGH BECAUSE THEIR, THEIR HOMES ARE SUPER EXPENSIVE. 
          I DON'T REALLY SEE THE COMPARISON IS, BUT MAYBE THE, THE, UH, FOOTAGE THAT  THAT WE, THAT WE HAVE. 
          BUT WHEN YOU'RE COMPARE RAISING A PENNY OF PROPERTY TAX IN WEST UNIVERSITY AND RAISING IT, OF COURSE THAT'S OBVIOUS THAT WE'RE GONNA GET A LOT LESS MONEY THAN WEST UNIVERSITY WOULD. 
          BUT WHEN YOU'RE COMPARING MORE THAN $10 A MONTH TO A PERSON IN WEST UNIVERSITY COMPARED TO MORE THAN $10 A MONTH TO A FAMILY IN MEADOWS PLACE, THAT'S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TOO. 
          UH, AND WEST UNIVERSITY WOULD PROBABLY SCREAM LOUDER ABOUT $10 A MONTH  THAN THE PEOPLE OF MEADOWS PLACE WOULD, BUT STILL THE PEOPLE OF MEADOWS PLACE ARE AFFECTED A LOT MORE THAN THE PEOPLE OF, OF WEST UNIVERSITY OR BEL AIR. 
          YEAH, JUST, JUST TO CLARIFY, PART OF THAT IS TO SHOW NOT THE COMPARISON OF THE CITIES, IT'S THE FACT THAT WE REALLY DON'T HAVE A, A GOOD WAY TO, TO BORROW MONEY BECAUSE I I ABSOLUTELY, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, YOU YOU BASICALLY PROVE TO WHOEVER'S LENDING TO THE MONEY THAT YOU DON'T NEED IT. 
          WELL, IN THIS CASE WE'VE ONLY GOT $45 MILLION, 45 MILLION, 450 MILLION AS A BASIS TO TO, TO BACK IT UP. 
          ALL OF US, THE 1500 HOMES THAT ARE HERE, WE'RE ALL GONNA GET HIT REALLY HARD IF WE BORROW MONEY. 
          AND NOT ONLY DOES IT HURT US WITH THE SEVEN, $8 A YEAR, IT LOCKS US IN FROM DOING OTHER THINGS IN THE FUTURE BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE THEN, YOU KNOW, IT'S YOU, YOU, WHATEVER YOU BUY ONCE THAT'S BUILT INTO YOUR BUDGET, THAT'S GONNA BE THAT FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS AND THAT THAT'S NO LONGER FLEXIBLE. 
          THE OTHER THING I WILL TELL YOU, AND YOU'RE RIGHT, IT IS A, IT IS ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING IT'S A TAX TO THE MAYOR'S POINT THAT HE MADE EARLIER, THIS FEE HAS WITH IT A RESTRICTION, A DESIGNATED, A DESIGNATED WHERE IF YOU PUT IT AT TAXES COUNSEL TWO YEARS FROM NOW COULD SAY, HEY, WE'RE GONNA DO THIS, THIS, AND THIS AND THAT MONEY WE'RE, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE NEED TO DO SOME OTHER STUFF, BUT WE, BUT WE GOT ALL THIS FUNDING OVER HERE, WE'RE JUST GONNA MOVE IT HERE. 
          THIS IS DEDICATED RIGHT. 
          AND IT'S GONNA BE THERE. 
          YES, IT'S PROBABLY GONNA BE THERE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, BUT IT'S, WE, YOU KNOW WHERE IT'S GOING AND YOU CAN ASK ANYTIME WHAT ARE THE PROJECTS. 
          AS A MATTER OF FACT, CAMERON STARTED TO PUT THEM UP. 
          I DUNNO IF ANYBODY'S SEEN 'EM ON THE WEBSITE, BUT ANYTIME WE HAVE SOMETHING DONE, LIKE THE TENNIS COURTS ARE BEING REDONE, THAT'S NOT YOUR TAX DOLLARS. 
          THAT'S COMING FROM A COUNTY MOBILITY OR COUNTY, COUNTY FUND THAT'S DOING IT. 
          A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WOULD MADE THE CITY NICE. 
          IT'S BECAUSE THE STAFF HAS FOUND GRANTS AND MONEY AND I, AND I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          I KNOW THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE MAYOR DOES IS, IS THAT HE IS ABLE TO GET FUNDING AND WITH THE HELP OF EVERYBODY FOR PROJECTS, UH, THAT, THAT WE HAVE. 
          AND I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND, AND IT'S, IT'S THE, WHEN IT COMES TO FUNDING FOR ME, , THAT THAT, THAT I, I'M GONNA PUT UP A FIGHT THAT, THAT, THAT THAT'S, AND, AND I KNOW IT'S NEEDED AND I KNOW THE RESEARCH ON AND IS NEEDED. 
          I JUST WANT Y'ALL TO BE VERY CAUTIOUS AND IN, IN WHAT YOU PUT THE BURDEN ON THESE FAMILIES. 
          UH, YEAH. 
          CAN CAN I SPEAK TO JUST TO THAT, JUST ONE SECOND. 
          SURE. 
          I THINK YOU HAVE A COUNCIL THAT IS VERY MUCH AWARE OF THEIR NEIGHBORS AND HOW FEES AND TAXES AFFECT THEM AND WE HAVE THOSE DISCUSSIONS EVERY MEETING AND DINNER'S READY, SON LOOKING FOR A JOB. 
          , SORRY. 
          UM, I CAN NOT ALLOW TO ANSWER THIS. 
          GET READY. 
          UM, BUT WE ARE TRYING TO BALANCE THAT WE'VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING YOU MENTIONED FIVE, MAYBE 
          [01:00:01]
10. 
          SO IN YOUR OPINION, $10 WOULD BE THE MAX THAT YOU'D WANT TO SEE FOR, FOR, AND I'M THINKING FOR PEOPLE THAT I KNOW, YES. 
          $10 WOULD PROBABLY BE THE MAXIMUM. 
          WHEN WE HAVE, WE HAVE S SINGLE, WE HAVE SINGLE PEOPLE, UH, RAISING KIDS, WE HAVE OLDER PEOPLE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS THAT, THAT ARE PROBABLY ON A FIXED BUDGET IN A PENSION AND, AND YOU KNOW, , SOME OF 'EM PROBABLY, LEMME FOLLOW UP ON THAT BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS DISCUSSED WAS DO WE DO $5 FOR SENIORS AND $10 FOR EVERYBODY ELSE? YEAH, I LIKE THAT. 
          I'M A SENIOR AND, AND AND THE QUESTION BECAME HOW DO WE ADMINISTER THAT HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE, YOU KNOW, DO WE LOOK AT WHO HAS HOMESTEAD EXEMPTIONS OR DO THEY HAVE TO COME UP AND REGISTER AS OVER 65 TO GET THE DISCOUNT AND YEAH. 
          IT BECOMES A, ANOTHER COST. 
          YES. 
          YEAH. 
          AND, AND SO THERE, THERE IS SOME LOGISTICS THAT MAKE IT DIFFICULT. 
          THEN WE'VE GOT TRACK WHEN A HOUSE SELLS AND REMEMBER TO RAISE THAT UP IF IT'S A YOUNGER BUYER. 
          AND, AND SO IT DOES GET A LITTLE COMPLICATED, BUT IT IS SOMETHING WE'VE DISCUSSED AD NAUSEUM AND, AND IT'S JUST A QUESTION OF, OKAY, INSTEAD IF WE GO TO $10, BUT ROUGHLY A THIRD OF OUR RESIDENTS ARE HOMESTEAD, OR OVER 65 EXEMPTED. 
          SO 30%. 
          SO INSTEAD OF MAKING 190,000, WE MAKE 160,000 OFF THE FEE. 
          SO THAT, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IS HOW DO WE DO THAT AND STILL MAKE IT EASY FOR STAFF TO ADMINISTER OKAY, KISS. 
          WELL, AS LONG AS Y'ALL, YOU KNOW, I SAID MY PIECE. 
          AND, AND, AND KEEP THE RESIDENTS IN YOUR HEARTS AND LET THEM KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S NEEDED. 
          AND, AND, AND YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE AREN'T GONNA UNDERSTAND THAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE THAT. 
          AND, BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT THINGS ARE GONNA GET EXPENSIVE AND THEY DON'T LAST FOREVER. 
          SO, CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION? YES, SIR. 
          AND ANYBODY ELSE THAT WANTS TO THROW A HAND UP? DAVID HAD MADE A POINT TO POINT OUT THAT THIS IS DEDICATED, IT'S A RESTRICTED FEE AND IT CANNOT BE USED FOR ANYTHING ELSE. 
          THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO ME. 
          'CAUSE I'VE SEEN THAT MONEY GO FROM HERE TO THERE AND OVER THERE IN A BUDGET MEETING IN A HURRY. 
          AND YET THIS MONDAY WILL STAY THERE FOR THAT. 
          DOES EVERYBODY, I UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT, YEAH. 
          I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND THAT WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE FEE AND THE UTILITY FEE, BUT THAT THEY'RE DEDICATED AND STAY THERE, BUT THEY'RE FEES. 
          YES. 
          UH, NO, NO HIDING. 
          THAT'S, THERE'S NO HIDING. 
          THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          MAYOR. 
          I HAD A QUESTION, UH, THIS DIDN'T COME UP WHEN WE WERE TALKING, BUT I WAS WONDERING WHAT YEAR DID WE ESTABLISH OUR $5 FEE AND WHAT YEAR DID WE BUMP? I CAN'T ANSWER THOSE. 
          I ROUGHLY HOW MANY YEARS DO YOU THINK? KIND OF, I'D SAY ROUGHLY 10 YEARS AGO ON STARTING THE, THE ROAD USE FEE AND PROBABLY FIVE-ISH WHEN WE WENT UP. 
          YEP. 
          YEAH. 
          WELL, AND, AND I ASK BECAUSE, UM, I WAS SPEAKING, UM, WITH ONE OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE IN THE MEADOWS AND UM, SHE, IT WAS ASKED IF WE DO A FEE, SAY, AND WE HAVEN'T DETERMINED THE FEE YET. 
          SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. 
          BUT ONCE WE DETERMINE THAT, CAN WE SAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO, AND, AND AGAIN, A COUNCIL CAN COME BACK UP AND, AND OVERRULE US AND VOTE SOMETHING DIFFERENT, BUT DO WE FEEL LIKE WHATEVER WE GO UP TO, IS THAT GONNA BE SUSTAINABLE FOR THE NEXT HOWEVER MANY YEARS? CAN WE AT LEAST SAY WE'RE NOT GONNA COME BACK NEXT YEAR AND, AND, YOU KNOW, DOUBLE IT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? I THINK WE CAN ONLY SPEAK FOR OURSELVES BECAUSE WE CAN'T OBLIGATE A FUTURE COUNCIL. 
          YEAH, NO, I AGREE WITH THAT. 
          YEAH. 
          YEAH, THAT'S, AND SO LET'S SAY EVERYBODY GOES AND VOTES. 
          I THINK THREE OF US ARE UP NEXT YEAR, VOTES THREE OF US OFF NEXT YEAR AND PUTS A COUNCIL ON HERE THAT DOES AWAY WITH ALL THESE FEES. 
          THAT MEANS YOU'RE NOT FIXING FIXING ANY OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          WHAT IF WE GET THREE NEW MEMBERS, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY A, A, A, A MAJORITY AND THEY SAY WE'RE NOT SPENDING ENOUGH, WE'RE GOING TO $60 A MONTH. 
          THEY COULD DO THAT. 
          AND IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHO'S SITTING UP HERE NEXT YEAR, TWO YEARS FROM NOW, FIVE YEARS FROM NOW. 
          YEAH, I, I HEARD SOME OF THOSE DISCUSSIONS AT THAT, UH, MEETING TODAY. 
          I HAD ABOUT, UH, UH, SUBSIDENCE DISTRICT AND HOW THOSE FEES HAVE GONE. 
          AND 
          [01:05:02]
YOU KNOW, HOW REALISTICALLY WE, WE SHINE WHEN IT COMES TO COMPARISONS ON WATER FEES. 
          UH, BUT WE CAN'T SPEAK OUTSIDE TO OURSELF AND I DON'T EVEN WANT TO HINT AT IT BECAUSE IT'LL GO DOWN LIKE, WELL, YOU SAID, I I WILL SAY THIS FEE, IF LET'S SAY WE SET IT AT $10, IT WILL BE NEEDED FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. 
          YEAH, I WOULD SEE IT GOING ON. 
          WE'VE GOT, I THINK, OH, IF WE, WE LOOK FARTHER OUT, IF WE LOOK AT, WAS IT 50 MILLION OR A HUNDRED MILLION? IT, IT, IT DOESN'T STOP THE CITY'S 50 YEARS OLD. 
          AND SO BY THE TIME YOU REPLACE THE STREETS SEWER, SOME OF THAT'S GONNA ROTATE THROUGH THE, THE, THE, THE, THE WATER WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT. 
          AND WE'RE GONNA GET ANOTHER, WE'VE GOTTEN REMARKABLY NUMBER OF YEARS ON IT, CONSIDERING IT'S BEEN OUT OF DATE NOW FOR IT'S A ONE OF A KIND. 
          AND SO HE IS NOT OUT OF DATE. 
          WELL, OKAY, SO THE ENGINEERING'S BEEN CHANGED AND WE'RE GONNA UPGRADE IT. 
          SO WHEN WE HAVE IT, IT WILL BE A BETTER SYSTEM THAN WE'VE GOT. 
          UH, AND IT WILL LAST US FOR A PERIOD OF TIME. 
          BUT, BUT THIS, IF WE START THIS, MY FEELING, AND AGAIN, I, AS, AS RICK SAID, WE'RE NOT GONNA, I MAY NOT BE HERE IN TWO YEARS OR FIVE YEARS. 
          I DON'T SEE THIS GOING AWAY ANYTIME BECAUSE OF THE GREATEST NEEDS THAT WE HAVE IN CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE NEXT 20 TO 40 YEARS. 
          YEAH. 
          SO, SO REMEMBER THAT THE BILL YOU GET EVERY MONTH IS A UTILITY BILL. 
          IT INCLUDES YOUR GARBAGE COLLECTION, EVERYTHING ELSE. 
          SO WHAT YOU PAY FOR WATER, SANITARY SEWER, AND OUR MOST HATED, UM, SURFACE WATER FEE, YOU PAY ROUGHLY $5 AND 50 CENTS TO $6 FOR US TO DELIVER A THOUSAND GALLONS OF WATER TO YOUR HOUSE AND TAKE IT AWAY. 
          YOU GO TO THE GROCERY STORE OR THE GAS STATION AND YOU BUY A 20 OUNCE BOTTLE OF WATER. 
          IT'S ABOUT TWO BUCKS. 
          AND WE'RE DELIVERING A THOUSAND GALLONS TO YOUR HOUSE TREATED. 
          THANKS FOR THE REMINDER. 
          IT'S STILL 10 BUCKS . 
          SO IT SOUNDS LIKE COUNCIL IS ZEROING IN ON 10 BUCKS. 
          I HAVE ZEROED ANYTHING. 
          WELL, THE QUESTION I HAD, AND, AND NICK POINTED OUT ALL THESE IDENTIFIED PROJECTS, AND THAT'S OVER THE NEXT 15 YEARS, BUT THERE'S PROJECTS GONNA TAKE PLACE THAT HADN'T BEEN IDENTIFIED THAT WILL COME UP, WE WON'T KNOW ABOUT. 
          WE'LL IDENTIFY SOME PROBABLY NEXT YEAR, TERRY. 
          YEAH. 
          AND, AND, AND UH, AND THE REVENUE YOU'RE PROJECTING AT A 10% INCREASE ON THE WATER FEE, IS THAT GONNA OFFSET SOME OF THESE, UH, PROJECTS? DO WE KNOW WHAT TO WHAT PERCENT IT'LL, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT PERCENT DON'T WHAT PERCENT REVENUE. 
          SO FOR EXAMPLE, THIS PAST YEAR, UM, WE DIDN'T KNOW AT THE BEGINNING THIS TIME LAST YEAR, WE WEREN'T THINKING WE WERE GONNA HAVE TO REHAB THREE WATER WELLS AND THEN WE DID. 
          AND IT WAS TO THE TUNE OF ALMOST $800,765,000 IN CHANGE. 
          SO THAT'S GOOD NEWS. 
          'CAUSE WE HAVE THREE REALLY GOOD WATER PUMPS NOW, BUT WE DIDN'T EXPECT IT. 
          AND THAT WAS MONEY WE HAD TO PULL OUT OF OUR SAVINGS. 
          BUT WE KNOW WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING. 
          OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          BUT SO WE GOTTA SOMEHOW COVER THESE, UH, YOU KNOW, THESE CAPITAL PROJECTS AS THEY'RE COMING UP UP, RIGHT? BUT THAT, THAT 700 THOU, 800,000 CAME OUT OF OUR RESERVES. 
          THAT'S WHAT WE HAD BUILT UP OVER THE PAST 10, 15 YEARS. 
          AND OBVIOUSLY THAT'S A PRETTY BIG HIT. 
          NOW WE'VE GOT ONE, 1.5 LEFT IN RESERVES A LITTLE BIT SOUTH OF THAT NOW. 
          SO ONE, 1.2 STILL GOT 1.2 IN RESERVES. 
          SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE BROKE, BUT OBVIOUSLY WE NEED TO START BUILDING THAT NUMBER BACK UP TO TAKE THOSE BIG HITS WHEN THEY COME UP. 
          SO TERRY, IF, IF OUR PROJECTIONS ARE RIGHT IN 2024, WE'LL WE'LL TAKE IN ABOUT 25,000 MORE IN WATER AND SEWER THAN WHAT WE EXPEND. 
          BY THE TIME WE GET TO 2027, WE'LL BE BRINGING IN ROUGHLY $200,000 MORE THAN WHAT WE SPEND ON OPERATION. 
          SO THAT'S $200,000 WE CAN THEN PUT TOWARDS, UM, PROJECTS. 
          SO AT A $10, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE FEE FOR UTILITIES TO PUT US AT 190,000. 
          SO IT'D BE UP CLOSER TO 400 THEN, CORRECT. 
          SO, WHICH YEAH, CORRECT. 
          YEAH. 
          YEAH. 
          YOU GOT, OKAY. 
          WHICH, YOU KNOW, 10 SEEMS REASONABLE TO START WITH. 
          WE ALREADY GOT FIVE IN THERE FOR SIDEWALKS AND FIVE FOR STREET INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT. 
          SO ANOTHER 10. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT'S KINDA WHAT A LOT OF US THOUGHT WAS FAIR, BUT WE NEEDED TO HEAR FROM THE CITIZENS ON WAS IT TOO MUCH? COULD THEY STAND IT? YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WE CAN STILL TALK ABOUT FIVE, BUT WELL, $5 A MONTH IS ONLY $95,000 A YEAR. 
          AND WHATEVER YOU DO, WE NEED TO TRY TO PUT THE FEES IN OR WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL 
          [01:10:01]
'EM TO PAY AS YOU GO. 
          WE, WE NEED TO AVOID, THAT'S THE PURPOSE TERRY MONS, IF WE POSSIBLY CAN, WHICH IS GOOD. 
          THAT'S THE WHOLE PURPOSE, RIGHT? THAT'S GOOD. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, WE HAD, WE HAD A WHOLE BIG PAY AS YOU GO DEBATE A COUPLE YEARS AGO AND IT WENT FOR WHAT THREE MEETINGS KIND OF KEPT COMING UP AND, UM, SO WE, WE, OKAY, APPRECIATE IT. 
          AND I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT ONE OTHER REASON THAT I'M IN FAVOR OF A PAY AS YOU GO. 
          I CAN REMEMBER IN 2 0 0 8, 2 0 0 9 WHEN EVERYTHING TURNED UPSIDE DOWN AND COSTS WENT CRAZY. 
          TAXES AND, AND REVENUES WENT DOWN TO THE BOTTOM. 
          AND GUESS WHAT, WHAT WE DID, WE QUIT SPENDING EXCEPT FOR ONE LINE ITEM THAT WE COULDN'T AVOID. 
          AND THAT WAS OUR DEBT FROM THE BONDS. 
          SO THAT'S ONE ANOTHER REASON WHY I LIKE THE PAY AS YOU GO. 
          IF WE NEED TO, WE'LL JUST STOP SPENDING. 
          AND I, I'M GONNA TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, I'VE GOT, MOST OF THE DEPARTMENT HEADS ARE IN HERE AND WE HAVE FOLKS THAT ARE ASTUTE AT WORKING AND MANAGING THEIR BUDGETS. 
          THEY KNOW WHEN WE SIT DOWN AND THEY GO, HEY, WE NEED TO LOOK OUT FOR THIS OR WE NEED TO MOVE THIS. 
          THE FIRST THING I HEAR IS, WELL, WE COULD TAKE THIS AND MOVE IT HERE AND WE COULD DO THIS, OR WE'LL SHUT DOWN THIS AND UH, WE'LL PUT IT INTO NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET. 
          SO, I MEAN, I'M CONFIDENT THAT WE'VE GOT FOLKS THAT CAN WORK THE BUDGET. 
          UH, AND UH, NICK IS, UH, WORKS WITH EVERYBODY VERY, VERY WELL. 
          OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR'S WRITTEN BACK THERE. 
          AND SO I THINK FROM A FINANCIAL POINT OF VIEW, WE'RE IN AS GOOD A SHAPE AS WE CAN BE, BUT WE DEFINITELY CAN SEE WE'VE GOTTA INCREASE THE REVENUES. 
          IS THERE ANYONE ELSE THAT WANTS TO SPEAK? WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT'S YOUR ADDRESS? I'M THE VOICE OF THE UNKNOWN, THEN. 
          I'M NOT TAKING THE CALL. 
          TURN IT OFF. 
          MY NAME'S MIKE BESLER AT 1 1 8 4 2 MUL HOLLAND SINCE 1975. 
          I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU, RICK. 
          WHAT CAN WE DO TO PREVENT THESE THINGS FROM COMING UP IN THE FUTURE? HE SAID WE HAD A WATER WELL FAILURE, WE HAD THIS FAILURE, WE HAD THAT FAILURE. 
          IS THERE A MAINTENANCE PLAN INVOLVED THAT Y'ALL ARE GETTING WITH THAT WE NEED TO PAY FOR? SO WE DO HAVE A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT PLAN, WHICH IS BASICALLY YOUR MAINTENANCE PLAN. 
          UM, WELL, THE MAINTENANCE SHOULD BE ON A DAILY BASIS OR ON A WEEKLY BASIS THAT WE SHOULD GO BACK AND LOOK AT THIS EQUIPMENT AND LOOK AT THESE, THESE TANKS AND LOOK AT THIS, UH, SEWER PLANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S WORKING. 
          YEAH. 
          CORRECTLY. 
          SO WATER PLANT TWO. 
          DO YOU REMEMBER HOW OLD THAT PUMP WAS? YEAH, BUT THE, THE PUMP WASN'T THAT OLD. 
          THE PUMP ITSELF. 
          SO BASICALLY THE PUMP ON WATER. 
          WELL, TWO, THE SHAFT BROKE CORRECT. 
          AND FELL DOWN THE SHAFT INTO THE WELL. 
          SO IT WAS UNFORESEEN AND UNFORTUNATELY IT DAMAGED THE CASING ON THE WAY DOWN. 
          AND THAT IS WHY THAT REPAIR WAS SO EXPENSIVE. 
          BECAUSE OF THAT, WE WENT AND PULLED WATER, WELL, ONE, JUST TO CHECK IT, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WEREN'T GOING TO HAVE THAT SAME TYPE OF ISSUE WHILE WE HAD IT DOWN. 
          WE HAD IT ACID WASHED AND CLEANED UP JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT CASING WAS IN GOOD SHAPE. 
          AND SO, YES, WE HAVE A PLAN, BUT I'M SURE YOU'VE HAD A VEHICLE THAT YOU THOUGHT WAS RUNNING GREAT AND ALL OF A SUDDEN LEFT YOU SITTING ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. 
          SO, I MEAN, THINGS DO COME UP UNLESS IT WAS A HORSE VEHICLE, . 
          SO WE, WE, WE DO TRY TO PREVENT THESE THINGS. 
          DO, DO THEY FOLLOW, DO YOU FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURER'S, UH, UH, STANDARD WARRANTIES ABOUT THIS, THESE THINGS? OR DOES THAT EVEN PLAY INTO IT? YEAH, THESE FACILITIES ARE NOT UNDER WARRANTY. 
          THESE ARE VERY OLD FACILITIES. 
          WELL, OTHER MANUFACTURERS, UH, UH, PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MAINTENANCE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. 
          SO WE HAVE, 'CAUSE TO ME, TO ME, OKAY, TAKE THE, THE THE THE SEWER PLANT. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT BIG METROPOLIS THAT WE HAVE OVER THERE THAT SOME OF THE, THE BEAMS ARE NOW ARE, ARE, 'CAUSE THEY'RE SO OLD THAT, THAT IT JUST SHAKES WHENEVER, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE OLD AND I KNOW THAT THEY'RE NOT GOING TO LAST FOREVER. 
          WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? BUT WE NEED, WE NEED A MAINTENANCE PLAN AND A MAINTENANCE TO, TO, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT SOME OF THIS STUFF DON'T HAPPEN 
          [01:15:01]
AGAIN. 
          I CAN HAVE A CAR AND IF I DO GOOD MAINTENANCE ON IT, IT'S GONNA LAST A WHILE. 
          RIGHT? SO THAT IS WHY WE'RE GETTING READY TO SPEND 3.2 MILLION ON THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT. 
          IT'S GOING TO REPLACE THE BRIDGE, IT'S GOING TO REPLACE A LOT OF THE GATES, UM, A LOT OF THE ELECTRONICS TO BRING IT UP TO A MORE MODERN STANDARD. 
          COULD THIS BE DONE OVER A PERIOD OF TIME? IT COULD. 
          THIS HAVE BEEN LOOKED AT LIKE 10 YEARS AGO OR FIVE YEARS AGO OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? YES, IT HAD, AND YES, WE WERE MOVING THAT WAY. 
          WE HAD A C I P AND WE HAD PLANNED ON MOVING UP EXCEPT THE BRIDGE BROKE. 
          SO NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN WE'RE IN ADVANCED STAGES OF MOVING FAST. 
          SO WE WERE ACTUALLY ALREADY 75, RIGHT AROUND 75% DESIGN BEFORE THE BRIDGE BROKE. 
          SO WE WERE ABOUT A YEAR OR TWO LATE, JUST ABOUT. 
          AND SO WE, WE HAD ALREADY STARTED DESIGN WHEN WE HAD THE BIGGEST PROBLEM. 
          SO THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION. 
          YES. 
          WE ARE THINKING OF IT. 
          YES, WE ARE WORKING. 
          YES, WE HAVE A PLAN AND SOMETIMES WE'RE OUT AHEAD OF IT AND MOST OF THE TIME WE ARE WHEN WE HAVE THE FUNDING. 
          AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO TONIGHT ON THIS, IS TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE FUNDING GOING FORWARD. 
          ANYTHING ELSE? I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. 
          GOOD. 
          BUT UH, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE HEARD THAT THE SHAFT BROKE ON THE PUMP OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. 
          YOU KNOW, THAT'S A MAJOR, A MAJOR HAPPENING THAT CAN'T BE HELPED. 
          THE ONLY THING ELSE I HAVE TO PEOPLE LIKE, WE HEARD IT 'CAUSE SHE WAS SITTING IN THE AUDIENCE AND I INVITE YOU TO BE HERE. 
          SO WHAT WAS THAT LAST MIKE? DO WHAT SAID PEOPLE COME AND SIT IN OUR AUDIENCE, MIKE, FOR THESE MEETINGS. 
          THESE THINGS GET REPORTED. 
          AND IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THINGS, ONCE A QUARTER, THIS MAN BACK HERE, ROD HANEY, WHO'S OUR DEPARTMENT HEAD FOR PUBLIC UTILITIES OR PUBLIC WORKS, HE GIVES A REPORT. 
          I UNDERSTAND YOU CAN ALSO PULL IT UP ONLINE AND READ IT, BUT YOU CAN COME AND YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR IT AND ASK QUESTIONS. 
          MIKE, YOU ASK GOOD QUESTIONS AND YOU HAVE GOOD THOUGHTS, BUT YOU'RE ASKING 'EM AT THE WRONG TIME. 
          UH, WELL, I DIDN'T WANT TO ASK YOU BEFORE THE SHAFT BROKE. 
          I WISH YOU WOULD'VE. 
          NOW THE OTHER THING I HAVE TO SAY IS THAT I'M ON FIXED INCOME, UH, BUT I'M DOING OKAY. 
          BUT WHEN YOU START ABOUT THESE FEES, OKAY, FIRST OF ALL, DID THE GROUND USE FEE GO UP THIS YEAR IN AUGUST? NO, IT WENT UP IN JANUARY. 
          IN JANUARY. 
          JANUARY WENT FROM WHAT SURFACE WATER FEE? TWO TO TWO AND A QUARTER TWO 18 TO TWO AND A QUARTER. 
          WHAT'S THAT? THAT'S WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT IN GROUND USE. 
          SO HOW MUCH MONEY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? DID IT GO UP? 'CAUSE I THINK ON MY WATER BILL IT WAS LIKE $25 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. 
          IT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THAT MUCH. 
          JUST ON THE SURFACE WATER. 
          I MEAN IT SURFACE WATER FEE. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO I MEAN IT, IT MIGHT BE THAT TOTAL, BUT IT SHOULDN'T HAVE GONE UP THAT MUCH. 
          I WELL THE SURFACE WATER FEE GOES UP EVERY YEAR, CORRECT? NOT EVERY YEAR. 
          PROBABLY EVERY COUPLE YEARS WE GET HIT WITH A FEE. 
          YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S TIED TO, AND THIS, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE NO CONTROL OVER. 
          IT'S A PASS THROUGH. 
          YEAH, THAT'S CORRECT. 
          THAT'S A, THAT'S A STATE MANDATED COST SO THAT WE DON'T, AS A REGION DON'T PUMP AS MUCH WATER OUT OF THE GROUND. 
          OKAY. 
          SO WE GOT THAT FEE ON OUR WATER BILL. 
          WE HAVE THE FEE FOR THE ROAD ROAD USE FEE. 
          USE FEE. 
          NOW YOU WANT AN INFRASTRUCTURE FEE, A UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE FEE, WHAT CALL IT WATER AND SEWER UTILITY DEDICATED TO WATER AND SEWER. 
          OKAY. 
          BUT THEY'RE ALL FEES, THEY'RE ALL, ALL TAXES. 
          AS A PREVIOUS GENTLEMAN SAID, THERE ARE SOME YEARS THAT, UH, BEING ON FIXED INCOME, WE HAVE A HIGH MEDICAL BILLS. 
          OUR MEDICAL BILLS LAST YEAR WAS A LITTLE OVER, A LITTLE OVER 15,000. 
          AND I'D LIKE TO SEE THE FEE GET ADDED INTO MY TAXES SO THAT I CAN DEDUCT THEM OFF MY INCOME TAX. 
          SO, SO WE DID HAVE THAT DISCUSSION ABOUT USING VALOREM TAXES INSTEAD OF FEES. 
          UM, BUT THE PROBLEM IS THE STATE CAPS THAT NUMBER ON US. 
          OKAY? SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR TAX RATE IS, BUT IF YOU, LET'S SAY YOU PAY 20% TO THE GOVERNMENT IN TAXES, WHICH IS REALLY, I MEAN IT'S ON A FIXED INCOME, THAT'S PROBABLY QUITE A BIT $120, YOU TOOK THAT 20%, YOU'RE GONNA PAY $24 MORE. 
          IF THAT WAS A TAX, YOU WOULD, YOU WOULD GET THAT IF YOU COULD DEDUCT THAT $120 FROM 
          [01:20:01]
YOUR TAXES. 
          BUT I'M, I'M NOT, YOU'D HAVE TO ITEMIZE TO DO THAT. 
          I DON'T THINK I LOOKED AT THE SAME THING TO SEE WHERE WOULD IT GO. 
          MICE BEING SOLD ON THIS, THE FEE VERSUS THE TAX. 
          'CAUSE IT'S DEDICATED, IT'S EARMARKED FOR THAT AND IT'S EASY TO MANAGE. 
          IT'S EASY TO LOOK AT THE, THE GROWTH OF IT. 
          WOW. 
          AND SO THE TAXES, I AGREE THAT, THAT THEY'RE THERE, BUT, YOU KNOW, ITEMIZED, I DUNNO HOW MANY, HOW MANY OF OUR OVER 60 FIVES ITEMIZED THEIR TAXES AT THIS POINT? YOU'RE RIGHT, WITH MEDICAL YOU MIGHT, BUT THAT $120 IS NOT GONNA BE SIGNIFICANT IN YOUR, YOUR TAX BILL EITHER WAY. 
          SO MIKE, IT WILL BE WHAT, WHENEVER YOU START RAISING THE TAX RATE WE'VE PROPOSED, WE ARE RIGHT UP AGAINST THE 8% THAT WOULD TRIGGER THE ABILITY FOR THE RESIDENTS TO, TO CALL FOR A A, A RECALL ELECTION ON THE TAX RATE. 
          OH, THREE AND A HALF, THREE AND HALF PERCENT. 
          I THINK THAT WOULD BE, BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE UP AGAINST THE 8%. 
          AND SO IN ORDER TO ADD $200,000, THAT'S FOUR MORE CENTS. 
          THE TAX RATE WOULD GO FROM 0.799 TO 0.8 4 8 3 9 9. 
          AND THAT'S JUST THE NUMBERS. 
          AND THE STATE IS LOOKING AT AND CAPPING WHAT WE CAN DO ON THE TAX RATE. 
          SO MIKE, AGAIN, I APPRECIATE YOUR INTEREST. 
          I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING ALL THIS UP AND I HOPE YOU CAN APPRECIATE THAT THESE GUYS AND GALS THAT ARE UP HERE PRETTY SMART AND HAVE REALLY DISCUSSED IT AND LOOKED AT IT FROM EVERY, EVERY WAY THEY THINK CAN THINK OF TO TRY TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACT ON US OLD PEOPLE THAT PAY TAXES. 
          I HAVE, UH, WELL I KEEP IT AT FIVE BUCKS THEN. 
          OKAY. 
          I HAVE, UH, I HAVE SOMEBODY THAT COULD NOT ATTEND ACCORDING TO THIS EMAIL AND HAVE BEEN ASKED TO READ THEIR COMMENTS. 
          UH, THIS COMES FROM CONNIE ROGERS AT 1 2 3 0 7 SCARCELLA AND HER QUESTIONS OF COMMENTS REGARDING THE PROPOSED UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE FEE SAYS WE NEED TO ABSOLUTELY NEED TO REPLACE AND MAINTAIN OUR WATER AND SEWAGE LINES. 
          WE UNDERSTAND THAT WITH TEXAS WEATHER AND SOIL AND OUR SOIL, OUR DRY SPELLS MAKE US SUSCEPTIBLE TO LINE BREAKS. 
          THERE HAVE BEEN AT LEAST TWO LINE BREAKS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD RECENTLY. 
          MY QUESTIONS ARE, WILL THIS FEE BE IN PERPETUITY OR IS THERE AN END BUDGET GOAL? THE ANSWER TO THE FIRST OR THE END LAST ONE, IS THERE A BUDGET GOAL? NO, WE DON'T HAVE A SET GOAL TO RAISE. 
          THIS IS JUST INCOME EVERY YEAR. 
          UH, AND IS IT IN PERPETUITY? IT MAY BE OR IT MAY NOT BE. 
          IF IN 25 YEARS WE'VE TAKEN CARE OF EVERYTHING, UH, THEN MAYBE IT CAN DROP OFF. 
          BUT IF THAT, IF I WERE A BUTTON MAN, WHICH I WOULD SAY THAT, THAT THAT FEE'S GONNA BE THERE. 
          UM, OR WILL IT BE THE ROAD USE FEE THAT'S CREEPED UP OVER TIME? THERE'S BEEN ONE, UH, INCREASE IN THE ROAD USE FEE, UH, AS RICK WERE ALLUDING TO ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO WHERE WE DOUBLED IT. 
          UH, THE ORIGINAL, A LOT OF THE ORIGINAL COUNCIL WANTED TO START AT 10 BUCKS. 
          WE WERE A LITTLE HESITANT. 
          WE TOOK IT ON. 
          WE'D NEVER EVER DONE LIKE SOMETHING LIKE THIS BEFORE. 
          SO WE WENT IN WITH FIVE. 
          UM, WE GOT MORE PEOPLE THAN YOU WOULD IMAGINE SAID, WHY DON'T YOU RAISE THAT UP? WHY? 'CAUSE THEY'RE HITTING POTHOLES OUT THERE AND THEY WANT 'EM FIXED AND THEY KNOW IF THEY PUT MORE MONEY IN, WE'LL GET THOSE POTHOLES FIXED TWICE AS FAST. 
          SO THAT'S WHY WE WENT TO 10 BUCKS. 
          UM, AND THEN HOW HAS THE US UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDED BEEN FUNDED IN THE PAST? RICK GAVE A GREAT DISSERTATION HERE A MINUTE AGO OF HOW WE PULLED, UH, ALMOST A MILLION BUCKS OUT OF OUR RESERVES AND WE SHRUNK THAT RESERVE FEE DOWN. 
          I'M PROUD OF THE FACT THAT WE HAD THAT MONEY IN THERE. 
          WE WERE, WE WERE OUT OVER ABOUT WHAT ANNAMARIE ABOUT 14 MONTHS, UH, RESERVE, WHICH IS TWICE WHAT, OR FOUR MONTHS MORE THAN WHAT, UH, COUNCIL HAS SAID THAT IT NEEDS TO BE. 
          SO IT WAS FUNDED OUT OF A PAY AS YOU GO, BUT MOSTLY OUT OF RESERVES OR IN THE CASE, SOME CASES OUT OF, UH, BOND MONEY OR, UH, MOBILITY OR COUNTY BOND MONEY. 
          SO THAT'S HOW THAT ANSWERS. 
          CONNIE, I HOPE THAT, UH, ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION AND THANK YOU FOR SENDING IN YOUR CARDS AND LETTERS. 
          ANYTHING ELSE ON DISCUSSION? UH, WE HAVE SOMEBODY OUT THERE. 
          WERE YOU WAVING YOUR HAND? 
          [01:25:03]
YES. 
          YOU NEED TO GO UP THERE, WAYNE. 
          DON'T LET HER BE AFRAID. 
          GET CLOSE. 
          ELAINE, I'M ELAINE HERFF AND I LIVE AT 1 1 8 1 5 AMBLE WOOD DRIVE AND I'VE LIVED THERE. 
          I'M AN ORIGINAL HOMEOWNER. 
          UM, I'VE PAID BONDS, I'VE PAID, UH, EVERYTHING THAT HAS COME UP AND I'M HERE TO SPEAK FOR OLD PEOPLE WHO ARE ON FIXED INCOMES AND, UM, REALLY I DON'T LIKE TO SEE ANYTHING ELSE ADDED TO MY UTILITY BILL. 
          UM, BUT I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR YOU. 
          SO WHAT CAN I SAY? I WANNA TO CONGRATULATE ALL OF YOU. 
          I KNOW YOU'VE WORKED AT THIS BUDGET, REALLY, REALLY HARD STAFF AND, UH, COUNCIL TOGETHER AND I THINK YOU'VE DONE A SUPER JOB. 
          BUT PLEASE DON'T RAISE MY UTILITY BILL TOO MUCH. 
          I WAS GONNA PUSH FOR 25 BUCKS WITH ALL THOSE KIND WORDS. 
          I'M CUTTING IT DOWN TO 10. 
          I JUST WANNA SAY, ELAINE, JUST SO YOU KNOW, AND, AND JESSE, I KNOW IT CAME UP AND MIKE, WE DO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS AND IT IS BROUGHT UP BY ALL OF US. 
          UH, ME PERSONALLY, MY MOTHER'S ON A FIXED INCOME AND SHE CANNOT AFFORD FIVE, 10, $20. 
          IT HITS HER VERY, VERY HARD. 
          THERE IS, I CAN MAKE MORE MONEY. 
          SHE CAN'T. 
          UM, AND SO IF SHE GOES OVER HER BUDGET, I ACTUALLY HELP TO SUPPLEMENT. 
          SO IT HITS MY BUDGET AS WELL. 
          SO I JUST WANT EVERYBODY TO KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT THIS A LOT AND, AND WE'RE TRYING TO BALANCE, TRYING TO FIX OUR INFRASTRUCTURE WITH YOUNGER COUPLES THAT ARE COMING IN. 
          YOU KNOW, THEY'RE MAKING MONEY RIGHT NOW AND THEN WE STILL HAVE, YOU KNOW, SENIORS THAT ARE ON A FIXED INCOME. 
          SO TRYING TO FIND THAT BALANCE OF WHAT IS THAT THRESHOLD THAT EVERYBODY CAN, CAN, YOU KNOW, TOLERATE. 
          IT'S HARD, BUT JUST KNOW THAT 200 PEOPLE, WE DEFINITELY DO NOT DO IT LIGHTLY. 
          WE ARE CONSTANTLY THINKING ABOUT IT. 
          THEY CAN SELL OUR HOUSES AND GO GET A BOAT. 
          WE JUST ARE RUNNING OUT OF ANSWERS I GUESS. 
          ANYBODY ELSE IN THE AUDIENCE WANT? YES MA'AM. 
          PLEASE NOW'S YOUR CHANCE. 
          NOW REMEMBER, TIA LIKES YOU, BE NICE. 
          HI, I'M TERRY LINDQUIST AND I LIVE AT 11 5 0 7 SCOTTSDALE DRIVE. 
          YES, I'M TIA'S NEIGHBOR THAT ASKED HER ABOUT THAT AND WE'VE BEEN HERE 33 YEARS. 
          UM, FIRST OF ALL, THE PRESENTATION CLEARED, CLARIFIED A LOT OF STUFF FOR ME AND ANSWERED SOME OF THE OPEN QUESTIONS THAT I HAD. 
          THAT'S GOOD. 
          UM, I AM NEWLY IN THE RANKS OF THE RETIRED ON A FIXED INCOME TWO AND A HALF MONTHS. 
          SO I'M STILL TRANSITIONING. 
          I'M FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE OF HAVING, YOU KNOW, BEEN A PART OF THE WORKFORCE AND NOW BEING RETIRED. 
          I THINK $10 IS A GOOD MEDIAN FOR THE MONTH. 
          UM, I WOULD HATE TO SEE GO $5 AND THEN EVERYBODY COMES BACK NEXT YEAR AND SAID, OH, WE NEED TO RAISE IT. 
          SO IF WE CAN GO TO A LEVEL THAT IS SUSTAINABLE FOR A WHILE, IT KIND OF LETS EVERYBODY GET USED TO THAT. 
          UM, AND I LIKE THE FACT THAT IT'S DEDICATED MONEY. 
          THE OTHER THING THAT I LIKE ABOUT HAVING IT ON UTILITY BILL IS THAT PEOPLE THAT RENT IN THIS CITY, THIS PUTS SKIN IN THE GAME FOR THEM. 
          YES MA'AM, IT DOES. 
          UH, OTHERWISE IT GOES TO WHOEVER OWNS THAT HOUSE. 
          THEY MAY OR MAY NOT PASS THAT ON. 
          AND SO I THINK IF YOU'RE GONNA LIVE HERE AND YOU ARE GOING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ALL WE HAVE TO OFFER THAT YOU NEED TO KIND OF PONY UP THE MONEY TO. 
          SO THAT WAS MY COMMENTS. 
          WOW. 
          I SHOULD LET YOU LEAD OFF . 
          THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH. 
          AND YOU'RE RIGHT, THAT DOES, UH, PUT SOME SKIN IN THE GAME FOR EVERYONE THAT LIVES HERE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AUDI. 
          RANDALL MILLER, 1 1 8, 2 2. 
          AMBLE WOOD. 
          UM, I AGREE IN PRINCIPLE WITH, UH, THE FEE I UNDERSTAND NEEDS TO BE DONE. 
          UM, JUST REPRESENTING FAMILY WITH SMALL KIDS. 
          I KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF GRAY HAIR IN THE AUDIENCE. 
          MINE'S GETTING GRAYER, BUT I'LL, I'LL SPEAK ON BEHALF OF MY OWN FAMILY, BUT MAYBE ALSO SOME OF THE, UH, YOUNGER FAMILIES OUT THERE. 
          UM, I WOULD JUST SAY DON'T DROOL OVER THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE, OF THE TABLE AS MUCH AND JUST TRY TO KEEP THE MONTHLY, KINDA THE MONTHLY AND YEARLY HIT IN MIND WHEN YOU'RE THINKING OF WHAT TO, WHAT TO, UH, SET THIS AT. 
          'CAUSE WHEN I LOOK AT THE 10, $15 LEVEL, WHEN I LOOK AT IT AS ON, ON A YEARLY AMOUNT, THAT TO ME IS LIKE MY WEEKLY GROCERY BILL, WHICH HURTS, YOU KNOW? SO ADDING AN EXTRA GROCERY BILL 
          [01:30:01]
ON TOP OF, YOU KNOW, ON TOP OF WHAT I'M ALREADY PAYING, YOU KNOW, EVEN ON AN ANNUAL LEVEL HURTS. 
          SO I WOULD JUST SAY, JUST LIKE TIA SAID, YOU'RE NOT TAKING IT LIGHTLY AND I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          JUST, JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE, LET Y'ALL KNOW. 
          UM, WE UNDERSTAND. 
          I MEAN, I THINK MOST PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE NEED, BUT JUST TO CONSIDER, CONSIDER VERY SERIOUSLY BEFORE SETTING THE AMOUNT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND, AND THANK YOU ALL AGAIN. 
          BEFORE I FORGET IT FOR BEING HERE MANY TIMES THIS COUNCIL'S SITTING HERE WITH NOBODY IN THIS ROOM AND IT MAKES US FEEL A LITTLE BIT LONELY, BUT ALSO ARE, ARE WE DOING SOMETHING WRONG OR RIGHT TONIGHT WE KNOW WE'RE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT AND I THANK YOU. 
          IS THAT IT? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? WHY DON'T YOU TURN ON YOUR SPEAKER  KELLY MILLS 1, 2 1 2 3 SCOTTSDALE DRIVE. 
          UM, ONE OF THE REASONS WE MOVED HERE A BILLION YEARS AGO, 30 SOMETHING YEARS AGO, IS BECAUSE OF THE AGE DIVERSITY. 
          OKAY? I LIKE AND I WANTED TO RAISE MY CHILDREN AROUND. 
          WE ONLY HAD ONE AT THE TIME, THE DIFFERENT AGES WHERE YOU JUST DIDN'T HAVE YOUNG COUPLES. 
          THEY WOULD HAVE THE GRANDPARENTS, THE YOUNG AND EVERYTHING. 
          UH, MY HUSBAND BECAME DISABLED TOTALLY UNEXPECTEDLY BACK IN 2007. 
          OUR DAUGHTER WAS GOING INTO COLLEGE THAT YEAR, JUST GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL. 
          OUR SON WAS MIDDLE SCHOOL OR SOMETHING. 
          WE RAPIDLY BECAME A FIXED INCOME FAMILY. 
          OUR INCOME DROPPED BY OVER A HALF. 
          'CAUSE MY HUSBAND WAS AN, UH, MACHINIST, BLUE COLLAR WORKER, VERY PROUD OF THAT. 
          AND HE WAS, WE WOULD MAKE HAY WHEN THE SUN SHINE IF THERE WAS OVERTIME, HE SUCKED IT UP. 
          WELL ALL OF A SUDDEN HE WENT TO BE IN AN AMPUTEE AND COULDN'T RUN A MACHINE ANYMORE. 
          HE HAS SINCE LOST HIS OTHER LEG. 
          AND I UNDERSTAND EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT QUITE A SENIOR YET, I'M GETTING CLOSER BY THE DAY OF BEING ON A FIXED INCOME AND $5 A MONTH CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE. 
          OKAY? AND I'VE HAD SEVERAL RESIDENTS CONTACT ME THAT, UH, THEY SAY FIVE IS THEIR MAXIMUM. 
          MAYBE WE CAN HAVE PEOPLE MARK ON THE BILL LIKE YOU DO ON YOUR LIGHT BILL. 
          YOU BE ABLE TO DO WITH H L M P. 
          I'M NOT WITH THEM ANYMORE. 
          BUT IF YOU WANTED TO PAY SOMETHING EXTRA TO GO IN TO THE SHARE PROGRAM OR WHATEVER IT WAS CALLED BACK THEN, IT COULD THEN BE USED FOR THE ONES THAT COULDN'T PAY OR SOMETHING OR NEEDED HELP. 
          BUT I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER. 
          I WE'RE TRYING ON CITY COUNCIL TO KEEP IT TO WHERE NOT EVERYBODY HAS TO MOVE. 
          I DON'T WANNA LOSE MY NEIGHBORS, EVEN MR. BEZNER, EVEN THOUGH WE  YANK EACH OTHER'S CHAIN AND ALL. 
          BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO COME TO AN AGREEMENT WHERE WE DON'T RUN OFF THE OLD PEOPLE AND EVERYTHING. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          ARE WE WINDING THAT PART OF IT DOWN? ALRIGHT, SO WE'VE GOT DOWN HERE AND IT SAYS DISCUSSION, RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENT AND CONSIDERATION REGARDING THE ADDITION WAY THIS WORKS. 
          COUNSEL, IF WE DECIDE TO MOVE AHEAD WITH THIS, WE COME UP WITH IT. 
          WE DETERMINE A PRICE THAT WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH. 
          AND THEN NEXT MEETING THE UH, STAFF WILL PREPARE AN ORDINANCE THAT SHOWS THAT AMOUNT IN IT AND DEDICATES IT TO, UH, UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE, IN THE ORDINANCE. 
          SO WE'VE HAD, UH, I THINK $25 WAS SHOT DOWN PRETTY QUICKLY. 
          UH, JESSE CAME UP AND SAID TEN'S MAX THAT HE WOULD LIKE TO SEE. 
          IS THAT RIGHT? MYSELF? I I HAVEN'T RETIRED YET. 
          I DON'T PLAN ON THEY RETIRE ME , I BELIEVE DOLLARS HERE. 
          IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT. 
          I KNOW THAT'S A DIFFICULT WAY TO DO IT BECAUSE THIS CITY, I BELIEVE THERE'S A LOT MORE HONESTY, GETTING IMPATIENT THAT THEY WOULD NOT SAY, 
          [01:35:08]
OKAY, I'M SORRY BY THE WAY, IF WE'RE GONNA GET UP AND ADDRESS COUNSEL LIKE THAT IN FUTURE, GO TO THE SPEAKER. 
          UH, I HEARD YOU THOUGH. 
          YOU GOT A VOICE OF CARRIES. 
          UM, IF YOU LOOK UP THEIR COUNCIL, YOU, YOU GOT 95,000. 
          THAT'S OUR BOTTOM ON THE FIVE. 
          190 IS WHAT WE'RE DRAGGING IN. 
          NOW IF WE WENT TO 15 TO BRING $285,000 IN, THAT'S A A DIFFERENCE. 
          UH, $95,000, UH, IN A YEAR. 
          I TEND TO BE A LITTLE BIT CAUTIOUS AND I RECOMMEND THAT WE STAY WITH ONE SIMPLE FEE. 
          KEEP IT SIMPLE, WHETHER AT FIVE, 10 OR 1520, WHATEVER IT IS, WE KEEP IT SIMPLE. 
          I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE A RECOMMENDATION OF $10. 
          SOMEBODY'S GOTTA DO IT FIRST, AND SINCE I DON'T VOTE ON IT, YOU CAN TELL ME, STICK IT AND DO WHATEVER YOU WANT. 
          BUT I'M TRYING TO GET THE BALL ROLLING. 
          SO I WANNA SAY WE KEEP IT SIMPLE AND PROPOSE A $10 INFRASTRUCTURE, UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE FEE. 
          ANY DISCUSSION ON THAT? I WILL SAY THAT, UM, I WAS NEVER GONNA GO ABOVE $10. 
          SO, UH, I'M GOOD WITH THAT. 
          I, I WAS LEANING A LITTLE BIT MORE TOWARDS FIVE JUST BECAUSE I DO UNDERSTAND HOW HARD IT IS FOR PEOPLE. 
          BUT UM, THAT BEING SAID, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS AND JUDGING BY THE AUDIENCE, I THINK 10 SEEMS TO BE, UM, A PALATABLE NUMBER. 
          UM, DEFINITELY NOT MORE THAN THAT. 
          SO FOR ME IT WOULDN'T, IT WOULDN'T BE ABOVE 10. 
          KELLY NO MORE THAN 10. 
          OKAY, RICK, I'M OPEN TO THE FIVE OR 10 LEVEL. 
          10 SOUNDS LIKE A FAIR NUMBER. 
          WE'VE GOT A LOT TO TACKLE AND FIVE WOULD JUST KIND OF KICK THE CAN A LITTLE BIT AND I'D RATHER TACKLE SOME OF THESE PROJECTS. 
          DAVID. 
          YEAH, SAME FOR ME. 
          I, I THINK WE'VE, WE'RE DONE, WE'RE DONE WITH THE KICKING DOWN THE ROAD PHASE. 
          I THINK WE GOT A, I THINK WE GOT A PONY UP AND I THINK 10 IS A, A PLACE TO START AS SOMEBODY WHO'S ON A FIXED INCOME AND RECENTLY RETIRED. 
          I, THAT'S FOR ME, I KIND OF LOOK AT THAT AND THAT'S WHY I MADE THAT OTHER, SELFISHLY SAID THE OVER 65 THING. 
          BUT, UH, I THINK THAT'S, I THINK THIS IS, THIS IS GONNA GET US TO THE STEP WE NEED. 
          I THINK TED IS WHAT WE SHOULD GO WITH. 
          WELL THEN WE'RE DONE DISCUSSING THIS AND THEN WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD, PUSH IT ON THE STAFF FOR Y'ALL TO COME FORWARD AT THE NEXT MEETING WITH THE ORDINANCE REFLECTING THE $10 A MONTH FEE. 
          LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WHAT, WHAT YOU'VE SEEN IS, IS, UM, GOVERNMENT AT WORK, YOU'VE SEEN A LOT OF DIFFERENT SIDES TO EVERY STORY. 
          UH, AND NOT EVERYBODY GETS ALONG. 
          NOT EVERYBODY UP SITTING HERE RIGHT NOW HAS THE SAME OPINION, BUT WHAT WE ARE OF THE SAME OPINION ON IS DOING WHAT'S BEST FOR THE CITY OF MEADOWS PLACE. 
          I HAVE A LOVE FOR THE CITY AND I LOVE THIS COUNCIL 'CAUSE THEY LOVE THIS CITY AND IT'S REFLECTED IN THEIR ACTIONS EVERY TIME WE MEET. 
          AND THEN I GET TO COME IN HERE AND VISIT WITH THE STAFF WHO UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE TRYING TO RAISE THE STANDARDS OF THE CITY AND EACH AND EVERYTHING WE DO AND TO DO WHAT'S BEST FOR THE RESIDENTS OF MEADOWS PLACE. 
          AND I THINK WE'VE DONE THAT TONIGHT. 
          SO CONGRATULATIONS. 
          AND WITH THAT, UNLESS SOMEBODY HAS AN OBJECTION, I'M GONNA ADJOURN THIS MEETING. 
          ADJOURN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YEAH.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.